Work on the city’s stormwater drain — a long-pending and highly awaited public infrastructure project — remains ‘stuck’ in correspondence between the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation and the State Government even as several years have passed since the commencement of works.
The governing body of the VMC’s council led by Mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi told the council during the general body meeting held here on Monday that the civic body has been discussing the issue with the State government through correspondence.
The issue was raised in the agenda by CPI(M) floor leader Boyi Satya Babu. He said that the ₹460 crore-project hit a roadblock after completion of about 40% of the work and people are facing hardships during the monsoon due to unfinished works on the outfall drains and side drains at many locations. He asked the council to ensure that work is resumed. The project which began in 2016 under the Public Health and Municipal Engineering Department (PHMED) stopped midway about two years ago in the same year. Owing to inordinate delay, the civic body has taken up several works on its own using general funds.
