No railway zone: GVMC polls tough for TD, BJP

Visakhapatnam: With the Railway Budget failing to announce a separate railway zone headquartered at Vizag, tackling any elections to the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) won’t be an easy task for the ruling parties — TD and BJP. The railway zone is a long-pending demand in this region. Second rung leaders of TD and BJP are worried that the non-announcement of separate railway zone will cost both the parties dearly in the GVMC polls, whenever they are held. Left parties and civil society organisations have begun plans to corner the ruling parties by launching campaigns on how the duo have deceived Vizagites.  Both TD and BJP have high stakes in Vizag. Majority of urban MLAs that come under GVMC limits belong to TD and local MP K. Haribabu is from BJP.

Vizag has been without a mayor after the term of the GVMC’s first civic body led by P. Janardhana Rao of the Congress expired on February 25, 2012. Since then, GVMC has been administered by a special officer of the rank of principal secretary in the AP Secretariat. GVMC polls were not held due to various issues rising out of the state government’s proposal to merge Anakapalle and Bheemili municipalities into GVMC. “Both the MPs from the district, K. Haribabu and Muttamsetti Srinivas are ineffectual. They should be ready to face the wrath of the public on the non announcement of the railway zone. It is unfortunate, that Vizag MP  has not uttered anything regarding on the Railway Budget,” YSRC leader Koyya Prasad Reddy said.