The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Slum-dwellers seek better living conditions

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Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Slum-dwellers seek better living conditions

Staff Reporter

Meet held to mark visit of National City Makers Caravan

VISAKHAPATNAM: Slum-dwellers living in various areas of the city sought provision of better living conditions so that they could live with dignity. They expressed their views at a meeting jointly organised by the Association for Regional Tribal Development (ARTD) and the Indo Global Social Service Society (IGSS) to mark the visit of the National City Makers Caravan on Urban Homeless at Seva Nagar slum near the railway station on Friday.

Apex court directive

The 15-member caravan is going around the cities and towns in the country creating awareness among the homeless on the orders of the Supreme Court directing the government to provide shelter to them.

GVMC Additional Commissioner (General) S. Krishna Murthy said that the corporation had already formulated plans for provision of better amenities in various slums. He said that GVMC was allocating 40 per cent of its funds for the poor and these included the development works taken up in the slums. The objective was to make Visakhapatnam a ‘hut-less city' in the next five years.

Caravan team leader Anand said that slum-dwellers, who contribute to the development of cities by constructing buildings and laying roads, had to live and die on the streets in the absence of a roof over their heads. He said that the Supreme Court had passed a judgment directing the State Governments to provide shelter to the homeless poor. The slum-dwellers were given the name ‘City Makers' to enable them to be treated with respect. He called for unity among the slum-dwellers.

Pathetic state

Convener of the Forum for Better Visakha (FBV) E.A.S. Sarma described the Supreme Court direction as a “landmark judgment.” It was unfortunate that the poor slum-dwellers were living in sub-human conditions amidst unhygienic conditions. Seva Nagar president A. Joji Babu, ARTD representative P. Vasu and Devullu spoke.

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