VIJAYAWADA: The raging controversy over the proposed width of the Mahatma Gandhi (Bandar) Road has found an echo in the objections raised to the draft zonal development plan (master plan) of Vijayawada prepared by the Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority (VGTM-UDA).

Of the roughly 680 objections and suggestions that came in response to the draft plan placed for public scrutiny till January 19, as many as 140 pertained to the Bandar Road alone, official sources in the UDA said.

Non-negotiable

Those who filed these objections wanted the road to be widened to only 80 feet.

This was attributed to realisation among people that once the width got incorporated in a master plan, it would be considered as final and non-negotiable.

The draft plan proposed the width to 120 feet, which was stipulated through a GO as an amendment to the earlier master plan. But the district administration had already agreed to limit the width to 100 feet.

The UDA officials were also surprised to see the `organised' manner in which several `individual' objections were filed to the proposed widths of many other roads.

Though the objections were filed in different names, they were all printed and cyclostyled copies of same set of arguments, an official said.

Apart from the objections on the proposed width of the Bandar Road, objections were also raised to the proposed width of 13-14 other important roads, such as B. R. Ambedkar Road, Visalandhra Road, Gopala Reddy Road, Prakasam Road, One Town main road, Satyanarayanapuram Railway Track Road, A. S. Rama Rao Road and so on.

The draft plan proposed the widening of all these roads by 10-20 feet each.

Though the officials were flooded mostly by objections, there were also some `positive' suggestions to the proposed road widths. Representatives of several colonies situated between Bandar Road and Bandar Canal welcomed the proposal to develop an alternative road to Bandar Road, which could run parallel to the Bandar Canal. But they wanted the left bank of the canal to be a 100-foot road on a par with the right bank of the canal.

Scientific study

An official pointed out that all the proposals regarding road widths in the draft plan were made based on a scientific study of traffic pattern and other considerations, and hence, there was little scope for accommodating these objections.

The UDA board of directors would consider these suggestions and objections and accept or reject them before sending the final plan to the State Government for approval.

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