Visakhapatnam: TD leader Chintada Giri, who is the husband of MPTC, grabbed an abandoned RTC bus shelter and the land surrounding it at three roads junction of Hiramandalam Gotta Barrage in Srikakulam district. The TD government sanctioned Rs 1.5 lakh for the shelter in 2018 but it was later abandoned. The leader also built a compound wall around the encroached land.
Sources said the contractor stopped the works after he failed to get the pending bills cleared. After the elections, the YSRC government came to power and the shelter was completely neglected. Giri, with the help of local sarpanch, claimed the ownership of the land to build a shopping complex.
After Giri started raising the construction, the local people lodged a complaint with Roads and Building officials who, with the help of police, visited the place and stopped the works. However, the TD leader resumed the construction works and the complaints fell on deaf ears. The cost of the land would be around Rs 50 lakhs.
When asked, Hiramandalam tahsildar Behera Murali Mohan said that he sent his revenue staff for a survey and asked the executive officer of the panchayat to issue notice to accused Giri.
