Main road from Anakapalle in Andhra turns out to be a nightmare for motorists

Closure of alternative entry road into Visakhapatnam is forcing vehicles to take this route.

September 02, 2021 01:24 am | Updated 07:45 am IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

Cars are getting stuck often in the cavernous potholes dotting the stretch. This road is under GVMC limits.

Cars are getting stuck often in the cavernous potholes dotting the stretch. This road is under GVMC limits.

The main road from Anakapalle, which connects the National Highway-16 (NH-16) bypass road and further up to Atchutapuram and beyond, has turned out to be a nightmare for motorists, be it day or night, rain or shine. Vehicles are getting stuck in the innumerable potholes and trenches.

This double road is the gateway into the jaggery town for the vehicles coming from the Rajamahendravaram-side. With one side of the road being badly damaged, the other side, which is comparatively better, is being used by both up and down vehicles. Accumulation of drain water on the road is said to be adding to their woes. The closure of the other entry into the town from Visakhapatnam city side due to the flyover work has further added to the traffic on the road.

“My car got stuck in the trench-like pits, which formed on the road, when I was returning home recently. Though there was no rain, drain water, which overflowed onto the road, collected in the pits and potholes and there was no way of knowing how deep the pothole is,” says R. Kiran Kumar of Green Hills Apartment, located beside the NH-16, at Anakapalle.

“This double road, leading to the town from the NH-16, has some apartments, shops and motor vehicle service centres. The bad stretch of road is not far from the highway junction and soon after my car was stuck in the ditch, a policeman came and asked me to remove my vehicle as it was obstructing the free flow of traffic," he says.

“I told him that my car could be damaged, if I move further without knowing the depth of the potholes. I had phoned for the towing vehicle to take my car safely out of the mess,” says Mr. Kiran, a techie from Hyderabad, who has returned to work from home in view of the pandemic.

“We have been facing this problem for over a year now. The wheels of cars are getting stuck in the large holes and rotating on their axis instead of moving ahead. We have complained to the GVMC officials but only temporary measures like filling up the holes with crusher dust is being done and the problem was back to square one, after a spell of rain or due to accumulation of overflowing drain water,” says Srinivas, a resident of Simhadri Residency, located right beside the main road.

Mr. Srinivas as also other residents of the apartment complex are unable to take out their cars from the cellar parking for the past several months. “Craters have formed right outside our complex and there is a danger of the underside of the cars (especially low height cars) hitting the ground, while entering or emerging out of the complex,” he says.

“Sitting in the shop for 10 minutes is enough to get a coat of dust all over one’s body. Lack of proper outlet for the drains seems to be the cause of drain water accumulation,” says Venkata Kiran, who owns a chicken centre. “There is heavy movement of vehicles on this road and water logging has turned out to be a major problem for motorists,” says Santosh, a service advisor at Hyundai showroom.

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