AMARAVATI: Guntur city — district headquarter of the new capital city — and the Amaravati capital region have been lagging behind in development since the past two years. Some improvement was begun: the AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) introduced city buses in Guntur, modernized the NTR bus station and the Guntur Municipal Corporation started widening roads. But the underground drainage project is still a non-starter despite the sanctioning of Rs 950 crore in funds by the Union government, with residents continuing to face severe water shortage.
Drains remain clogged, roads pothole-ridden and underground drainage absent. Recreation facilities are nil and traffic jams frequent. KS Rami Reddy and other residents of Arundelpeta lamented that their hopes of Guntur receiving a shot in the arm for development with the establishment of Amaravati had been belied as Guntur remained a town, not a city. They wanted to appeal to the government to do the needful for Guntur, an important part of the region.
YSRC MLA of Manga-lagiri, A. Ramakrishna Reddy alleged that the TD government had never tried to develop Guntur and Amaravati: they had only shown interest in snatching the lands of farmers in the name of development. The heartburn of Guntur's citizens is understandable, but changes are arriving swiftly in the Amaravati capital region, with villages acquiring modern buildings, wide roads, new businesses, banks and other marks of contemporary urban living.
There were earlier -- before the announcement of the new capital -- only three banks in the Amaravati capital region, but this number has now increased to 30, with there being 18 ATM centres. The Indian Overseas Bank came first, followed by Andhra Bank, Vijaya Bank, SBH, ICICI and others, which opened branches in Tullur, Rayapudi, Dondapadu, Velagapudi, Ananthavaram, Undavalli and Penumaka. Roads to all these villages have been built while construction of the temporary secretariat complex is also going on apace in time for its opening on June 15.
The APSRTC has been running buses to Velaga-pudi and other villages, which has been enabling people to reach the Amaravati capital region. A local, P. Raghavaiah, said that land prices had risen largely in the past two years and capitalising on this, the farmers had sold some part of what they owned and joined the wealthy classes. They now drove swanky cars and limited edition motorbikes while some of them in the capital region had now been able to provide their children a good education. Meanwhile, the construction of modern houses, apartments and villas due to the farmers' improved financial conditions has been altering the profile and skyline of villages.
