‘Indiramma' colony cries for attention

Women walking on a road filled with drainage water at the Indiramma colony on the outskirts of Bhimavaram. Photo: A.V.G. Prasad

The colony named after the icon of the ruling Congress and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi built on the outskirts of this coastal town literally cries for government's attention.

Brainchild of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the colony, built on a sprawling 1,200 acres, is inhabited by some 500 low-income group families.

For the residents who eke out their living doing menial jobs, the euphoria of securing a roof over their head has become short-lived after they moved into the houses.

Located in a low-lying area, with houses built on loose soil near Taderu, the colony literally dreads the inhabitants and the visitors. If it rains, life becomes miserable.

Poor sanitation in the absence of proper drainage facility endangers public health. The sewage water finds its way onto the roads from the pits dug in the households. As a result, the roads turn into cesspools, forcing the users to wade through squalor.

The substandard construction by contractors makes the slabs vulnerable to leakages during the rainy season. The basement of the houses sagged for want of strong foundation. Mohan, a stringer working for a vernacular daily and living in the colony, says, “We are constrained to manually drain out the sewage water with buckets from the pits, which get filled up in no time, and dump it at an isolated place quite away from our colony.

This becomes part of our routine ever since we occupied our houses.”

The internal roads need to be levelled with gravel on a war-footing so that they will become fit for use, particularly during the rainy seasons, he adds. The plight of the colony residents spurred the local unit of the CPI (M) into an agitation. Half a dozen functionaries from the party went on an indefinite fast on Friday, seeking a facelift to the colony.

MLA's promise

Local MLA Pulaparthy Anjaneyulu (Anji Babu) persuaded the protesters to end the fast with a promise to ensure sanction of Rs. 45 lakhs from the government for provision of basic amenities such as roads and drainage.