Development skips I-Town area in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: While the entire city has seen drastic change over the years, it appears that I-Town area of the city has stuck to the primitive age,– be it infrastructurally or otherwise.

Deriving its name from the brasssmiths, who were once the major inhabitants of the area, the Kanchara Veedhi in I-Town area is one of the oldest localities of the city, seeking the attention of the authorities. Even after decades of existence, the facade of the colony hasn’t changed, it is still a non-preferred zone for many residents.

The narrowed roads, decayed drains and pollution from the neighbouring port are the major issues facing the locality. Karri Mahalakshmi, a resident, explained the history of the colony. She said that the underground drainage gets blocked every now and then.

“The blocked drains leads to overflowing sewerage. The over-ground drainage system worked better. Streetlights have been giving problems on a continuous basis,” she said.

A bustling thoroughfare of the colony has several temples, churches and a dargah, the Hazrat Yaseen Baba Dargah. The colony is a perfect religious blend of Hindu, Christian and Muslims and other religions with people living in harmony.

The over a century old Sri Embermannar Swamy temple, which is now in the hold of the endowments department, is a point of pride for the residents. M. Trinath of the colony said that they are taking the issues prevailing in the area to the attention of the officials concerned.

“The pollution from the port has been a concern. After the conveyor belt system was introduced in the port, there was a decline in pollution levels. But unfortunately, the pollution control measures are not being implemented effectively at the ground level,” he said.

Recently, a dilapidated building collapsed in the area. Following the mishap, the Town Planning Officials identified a few shaky buildings in the vicinity and slapped notices on the residents to vacate them. The area surrounded by Soldierpeta, Chintakayalavari Veedhi and Punja Junction is inhabited mostly by the locals, who were born and brought up in the same locality.

N. Sankar, another resident of the colony, remembered the olden days where the movies were the only entertainment option and explained how the days felt so long.

He recalled theatres like Krishna, Satyanarayana, Ramakrishna and Narayana which do not exist now.