Cramped colony sans basic amenities

Krantinagar, with narrow lanes, cries for attention. The neighbourhood is fairly dominated by the middle class and lower middle class families.

As you pause for the traffic signal to turn green on the busy road towards Satyam junction, just beside the Sivalayam at Nakkavanipalem, a signboard indicating Kranitinagar grabs one’s attention.

While you move a little forward, the colony looks like a path-finding puzzle, where the entrance leads to several narrow lanes, leaving you in search of the other end of the street. Here, it is impossible to navigate in a four-wheeler.

Narrow lanes

Decades ago, the place was an investment made by several small-time employees working in various establishments. Thirty years later, the closely-knit neighbourhood has more than 2,000 tiny houses dotting all along the narrow lanes.

“Earlier, the locality was clubbed with Nakkavanipalem village. Over the years, Krantinagar has been carved out as a separate neighbourhood. As sangham representatives, we take up initiatives such as hosting ‘jatara’ for the neighbouring temples, organising ‘annadanam’, and celebrating festivals,” says P. Ramana, president of Krantinagar Grama Seva Sangham, who has been residing in the colony since its inception.

The neighbourhood is fairly dominated by the middle class and lower middle class families. Self-help group women residing in the area for several years hope that BJP MLA-elect P. Vishnu Kumar Raju will usher in considerable change in their lives.

One of the colony residents and secretary of Sampath Mahila Podupu Sangham R. Padma shares a different version altogether.

“Majority of women here are housewives. Our intention is to empower them by providing training in crafts such as stitching, painting, and embroidery. We would like to meet Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju, who won from the Visakhapatnam North Assembly constituency, and request him to facilitate such training programmes and help us earn a livelihood,” she says.

Though the population of the cramped colony is growing to a considerable extent, certain factors such as lack of basic amenities, including proper roads and water supply, continue to cause inconvenience to the residents.