Visalakshi Nagar victim of apathy

Visakhapatnam: Nestled amidst two hillocks with a beach on one side washed by pristine waters of Bay of Bengal, Visalakshi Nagar  is home to more than 35,000 people and a much sought after residential paradise in Vizag.

Surprisingly, the  locality with its serene and  enviable green cover is being  ruined by  the apathy of  GVMC and other government authorities. With NH-5 on one side and the beach road leading to  Bheemili and hillocks on the other,  the colony enjoys pleasant temperatures even during scorching summers.

Connecting NH5 to the beach road are two main roads passing  through Visalakshi Nagar which  were  taken up for widening. The road repairs have  left  behind mounds of debris along the roadside with  ugly potholes forcing residents to risk their lives while  walking on roads. The condition becomes worse during the monsoon.

The snarls of improperly regulated traffic at Hanumanthavaka Junction leads to chaos  and noise pollution in the peaceful haven.  B. Samatha, a resident of Visalakshi Nagar for  20 years,  reveals many concerns of the residents.  “Taking an after dinner stroll has become a risky affair, thanks to the lack of streetlights leading to increased  number of  chain snatching,” she said.

The lack of streetlights confines residents to their homes at night, packs of street dogs rule the streets  making  it risky to venture out of  home even during the day.  Following complaints from residents, GVMC personnel picked up the dogs only to release them nearby. 

Another issue  that plagues  the seaside residents from enjoying the beach is lack of infrastructure to control tourist inflow in the area. The road  to the beach stinks  due to irregular collection of garbage thrown by visitors and walkways used as public urinals due to lack of public toilets in the area.

In the age of information technology, it is an arduous task for residents of Visalakshi Nagar to get a new telephone connection as BSNL does not have enough junction boxes in the area, as a result of which  residents cannot get  new connection, shift an existing  one or get a broadband connection.

The authorities have failed to provide a solution to the problem. Irregular and infrequent bus services by APSRTC is a bane of the residents. People are forced to take shared autos and risk their lives. if they want to go to some place.

Residents hope that their peaceful and serene locality does not become another polluted, dusty and noisy suburb and that the authorities will wake up and  act now.