The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Vijayawada News : Poor drainage system causes concern

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Thursday, Mar 03, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

Poor drainage system causes concern

By G.V.Ramana Rao

DEATH TRAP: The open drain is a serious threat. — Photo: Raju V.

VIJAYAWADA, MARCH 2. The 10th division of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is densely populated, but the number of voters here is relatively small. A division with a population of 18,000 has only 6,000 voters. The division begins with the One Town landmark, the Royal Hotel, as its south-east corner. With the B R P Road forming a border on the east, the division extends up to the Krishnaveni Wholesale Cloth Market on the north-east, VRL Transport Office on the Kothuru-Tadepalli Road on the north-west corner and Potaraju Street on the south west corner. The backward classes and Muslims are a majority in the division. Candidates of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress have been winning the elections from here.

Ban of the division

The bane of the division is an open drain, originating from over half-a-dozen divisions in the old city that converges into one here. Foul sewage flows through this drain because these divisions do not have underground drainage and the liquid waste from the toilets is released directly into the storm-water drains.

The sewage from divisions four, five, six, nine, 10, 11, 12 and part of 15 flows into the drain that occupies a major portion of a street in the division. People feel the presence of the drain to such an extent that it has been named `drain street'. When it rains, the drain overflows and the street gets flooded. The general sanitation in the division suffers because of the drain. "Water comes from everywhere and the street turns into river," says Raghavendra Rao, who lives in a house on `drain street'.

In a tragic accident, a few years ago, a three-year-old boy was swept into the drain by rainwater. The body could be found only after a couple of days. The corporator of the division, Avala Venkata Durga Sankara Prasad, announced that the street would be named after the boy.

Poorly equipped hospital

The Kothapet Maternity Hospital being run by the municipal corporation is also located in the division. A couple of decades ago, it was the only maternity hospital in old city and nearly 60 per cent of the deliveries were done by doctors and paramedics here. The hospital is today both a boon and bane for the people. While it is easily accessible to them, it does not have the required personnel or equipment needed to perform caesarean sections, the minimum expected in a maternity hospital.

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