Temporary accommodation for hill slope residents at night shelters

uge boulders rolled down from the Mogalrajpuram Hills on a house in Journalists Colony at the foothills and the family members managed to escape with injuries.

In the aftermath of Mogalrajpuram landslide incident in which six persons were injured on Sunday, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is now planning to provide temporary accommodation for residents living on the hill slopes at its night shelters in the city.

Huge boulders rolled down from the Mogalrajpuram Hills on a house in Journalists Colony at the foothills and the family members managed to escape with injuries. This is not the first such incident and four houses in Brahmananda Reddy Nagar at the Mogalrajpuram foothill were completely damaged in a landslide in 2012. A VMC water tanker was also damaged in 2010 in a similar incident.

Most of these incidents occur during rainy season and VMC officials appear to have learnt a lesson or two from such incidents. This year, officials are willing to provide free accommodation for few residents, whose houses are constructed precariously on the hill slopes and have potential threat of sliding following heavy rains.

“It is not a compulsion but as a preventive measure, we are inviting few residents to take shelter at the night shelters to avoid any mishap this season,” said VMC Commissioner G. Veerapandian.

VMC operates three night shelters at Tunnel Road, Gandhinagar and Ranigarithota with a maximum capacity to accommodate 250 persons. However, more than 1.5 lakh residents live on the hill slopes at different areas like Mogalrajpuram, Gollapalemgattu, Jodubommala Centre, Frizerpeta in the city.

Admitting the challenge, Mr. Veerapandian said that if more residents are willing to take shelter at the shelters, the corporation would hire other premises to accommodate them.