Citizens’ drive to beautify Anantapur launched

Saturdays earmarked for cleanliness, development activities

The Anantapur Municipal Corporation on Monday launched a new initiative, Mana Anantha - Sundara Anantha, to beautify the city by investing ₹150 crore and converting it into a people’s movement involving residential welfare associations, non-governmental organisations and civil society.

With a timeframe of about 60 days from the Republic Day to Ugadi in March, the civic body has come up with the slogan ‘Every Saturday Sundara Anantha Day’ with the focus of the campaign being cleanliness, filling of potholes, repairing and painting the boundary walls and road dividers, widening of existing roads, and development of greenery at all possible places.

MP donates pay

District Collector Gandham Chandrudu, who is the special officer of the AMC, formally launched the programme by accepting a cheque for ₹1.75 lakh from Anantapur MP Talari Rangaiah (one month’s pay) towards the cleanliness drive.

The special sanitation programme will identify small stretches of roads and drains every week for the NGOs, government officials, students and the general public to take up the drive, on 34 roads.

In order to make the city ‘pothole free’ by the end of February, an estimated 3,600 sq.mt of potholes have been identified and widening of 31 major roads to ease the traffic congestion with a total length of 12.34 km has also been proposed.

An area of 1,32,575 sq.ft of wall and 56,023 sq.ft of dividers have also been identified on all the major roads for painting that will depict portraits of prominent persons and historical places highlighting the culture and tradition of Anantapur district.