With five weeks to go for the Godavari Pushkarams, Rajahmundry presents a shabby look. Arterial roads have been dug up to erect new facilities for the pilgrim rush. Rubble from dismantled encroachments lies on the sidewalks. Trenches dug to lay new pipelines or telecom cables line the streets.
Municipal officials cite various reasons for this state of affairs: transfer of top officials four months ahead of the Pushkarams; scarcity of sand and gravel; difficulties in getting labourers; and the tardy response of contractors. “Most of the roads in the city are having to be relaid within three months of being repaired. Contractors fail to display signboards stating the work details,” complained Lok Satta convener Rajagopal.
Particularly, the removal of encroachments, ostensibly to facilitate drains, has invited severe criticism from the public, particularly the business community.
In the main business centres like Kotagummam and Tadithota, the municipal authorities dug up roads on both sides and removed the stepping stones of shops.
“They did not give any prior notice to us. I came to know about it just an hour before. We have no drainage problem. Even if it rains heavily, the rain water drains away in five minutes. What was the necessity of constructing a drain again?” complained Boda Anand, owner of Anand Sweets.
Dr. Ravindra Kumar, a homoeopathy physician who has a practice on the Thadithota main road, complained that the municipal contractor pulled down the façade of his clinic, although it was not an encroachment.
The City Planner (in-charge) Saibabu said it was the municipal commissioner’s decision to remove all encroachments at short notice. He said he had no idea why encroachment clearing work was clubbed with Pushkaram works.
And then, just after the municipal authorities and roads and building staff completed laid new roads, up came workers contracted by Reliance to lay underground cables. The company’s representatives say they have their work to do, and if any payments have to be made to the corporation, they will.
