The Hindu 21.08.2010
Mithilapuri residents’ plea to GVMC
Special Correspondent
VISAKHAPATNAM: Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority formed the Mithilapuri VUDA Colony at Madhurawada as a prestigious satellite township in 1989 promising black-top roads among other facilities, but residents suffer even today travelling on muddy roads.
The Mithilapuri VUDA Colony Welfare Association in a release has said that it had approached VUDA and the Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation many a time, but there has been no response from the authorities, though they had collected development fee from the owners for this purpose at the time of registration.
“While some parts of the colony were blessed with black-top roads, some pockets have been neglected for the past 18 years,” said association member M.R. Patnaik. “We completed constructing our house at S.No. 265&266 in different MIG Plots in the sector in 1992, but have been waiting for other plot owners to build houses, but with VUDA giving exemption from compulsory house construction, many plots have remained vacant for about a decade.”
Madhurawada Panchayat was merged with the GVMC, house taxes doubled or trebled in some cases but, black-topping of roads have never figured in the priority of the works, the release explained. At many places road formation has not been done leave alone black-topping.
Loose stones create a menace of sorts for two-wheelers and pedestrians find it difficult to walk on the roads when it rains as puddles of water develop into deadly pits.
Topsoil that gets washed away gets silted in the rainwater drains creating yet another problem, Mr. Patnaik pointed out.
Many plot owners were hesitating to construct houses in these pockets in the colony as they fetch meagre a rent due to the lack of a good approach road, while they have to repay hefty instalments on loans every month.
