The municipal corporation had a year ago developed the abandoned tract between the national highway (Kolkata-Chennai) and its service roads into beautiful green paths with walking tracks for the benefit of locals and to welcome visitors to Amaravati from the Vijayawada Airport in Gannavaram with green pastures.
Christened Happy Streets, the tracks that stretch up to three kilometres on both sides of the NH starting from the Nirmala Covent road junction to the Ramavarappadu Ring Road were inaugurated on December 27, 2015.
In the span of a year, the tracts have lost greenery and do not serve the purpose of providing a healthy ambience for walkers. For the people entering the city from the airport, the sight of these patches would only remind them of the city’s infamous ‘Blazewada’ tag.
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In fact, the stretch of the national highway from the airport to Benz Circle was developed into a green path by the APCRDA following directions of the Chief Minister who wanted to provide a scenic view for visitors. The Happy Streets were also developed with the same intent.
Defunct borewells
While half of the stretch is slightly degraded, the stretch between the NTR University and the Ramavarapaddu junction turned completely dry. In order to supply water, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation dug several borewells from where groundwater was sourced. However, following the failure of these wells, the plants were hardly irrigated and left to dry. “The walking tracks are very close to the highway and walkers can feel the movement of heavy vehicles. It is difficult to walk either in the morning or evening if there is no greenery. Due to lack of water, the existing big trees are also dying,” said Sk. Ahmed, a resident of the Srinivasa Nagar Bank Colony.
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With such poor maintenance, walkers shunned the tracks and are going back to the Siddhartha Academy and the Andhra Loyola College. The VMC spent more than ₹12 lakh on the development of the tracts.