In mission mode

NESTLED between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, Visakhapatnam is a city that still has potential for growth It has retained its roots but branched out into a range of activities that has raised its stature and made it a prominent destination on the eastern coast. Long before successive governments chose Visakhapatnam - after the State's capital, Hyderabad - for new development initiatives in tune with the changing global scenario, its King George Hospital, Andhra University and port played a pivotal role in the physical well-being, social mobility and economic prosperity of the people of the backward north coastal districts.

The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), which extends to the outskirts of the city, covers an area of 534 square kilometres and has 17.6 lakh residents. "We have taken up several initiatives under the city development plan prepared by the then Commissioner and engineers. Several big industrial ventures like the VSEZ [Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone], an SEZ of the APIIC [Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation] and an IT [information technology] SEZ have been established and others are coming up. There is growth potential and a demand for improvement in the quality of life, particularly in the peripheral areas that became part of the city recently," said Municipal Commissioner B. Sreedhar.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) came as a big boon to the administrators who were in search of solutions to the city's civic problems. Sreedhar said projects involving an outlay of Rs.1,885 crore had been sanctioned under the JNNURM's Urban Infrastructure and Governance scheme and Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme, and works worth about Rs.1,573 crore were in various stages of progress. For a project under the mission, the Central government sanctions 50 per cent of the funds, the State government grants 20 per cent and the corporation contributes 30 per cent.

In the schemes initiated to improve the quality of life, the supply of drinking water justifiably gets top priority. While the central part of the town is covered by the existing water supply system, new schemes are being drawn up for the other areas.

"Work on a drinking water scheme at a cost of Rs.39.7 crore for Gajuwaka has been going on under the JNNURM," said GVMC Chief Engineer B. Jayarami Reddy. About 40 per cent of the work is complete on the 12-million-gallons-per-day scheme. The water needs of the city are now met by drawing 2 mgd from the Kanithi Balancing Reservoir that caters to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

Simultaneously, work on a distribution network to supply water through pipelines to homes has been taken up at an outlay of Rs.46 crore. "We are intent on completing the work by December 2009, and providing water to the four lakh people there by next summer," said Jayarami Reddy.

The GVMC comprises gram panchayats that are lacking in water supply, roads and drainage. It has initiated several schemes for the panchayats. One such is a water supply scheme for 32 panchayats. The massive project, being carried out at a cost of about Rs.240 crore, is in its initial stages. "A 10 mgd treatment plant has to be constructed. While 90 km of the pipes for the pumping main have been received, about 30 per cent of them have been laid," said Jayarami Reddy.

The work on the distribution network will also be taken up. A pipeline has been laid from the town service reservoir in the heart of the city to Yendada on the outskirts. The work, which is almost complete, will carry 2 mgd water to the Madhurawada area and will benefit two lakh people. "About Rs.20 crore has been spent on it. Thus, the fruits of the urban mission are already at the doorstep of people," said the Chief Engineer.

Replacement of the 40-year-old, 63-km Tatipudi pipeline has also been taken up under the mission at the cost of Rs.62.28 crore, and more than 80 per cent of the work is complete. The partial improvement to the storm water drains in the One Town and Jnanapuram areas, at the cost of Rs.21 crore, prevented the flooding that used to be a regular feature. A Rs.72-crore plan is being drawn up for the total improvement to the two storm water drains under the mission.

The industrial and domestic water needs of the city are projected to rise to about 86 mgd from the present 56 mgd. "Water for future needs is no problem as 24 tmc ft [thousand million cubic feet] of water to be channelled by the Left Main Canal of the Polavaram (Indirasagar) Multipurpose Project has been allotted to the city," said Sreedhar. But storage space is a problem. The Visakhapatnam Industrial Water Supply Company, of which Sreedhar is Chairman, has decided to appoint a consultant to prepare project reports. With the augmented storage, the needs for the next 20, or even 30 years, will be taken care of, he added.

BRTS

"The prestigious bus rapid transit system (BRTS) is in progress on two corridors [the Pendurthi Transit Corridor (PTC) and the Simhachalam Transit Corridor (STC)] at a cost of Rs.474 crore to promote safe and efficient public transportation, cut travel time to the city and limit the use of private vehicles," said Sreedhar. The PTC and STC are dedicated bus lanes that connect the outlying areas to Dwarakanagar, the city nerve centre, in two different directions.

As part of the BRTS, a subway and a flyover on the PTC are expected to ease the traffic congestion at Dwarakanagar, where the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation's main terminus is located. About 20 to 25 per cent of the work on the corridors, which total a distance of 42 km, has been completed.

Drainage

The entire city is to be provided with underground drainage. Two schemes have been taken up, one covering One Town and the other the central part of the city. While a sewage treatment plant at One Town will be completed in the next few months, another two will take a year. The plans have been chalked out in accordance with the master plan of the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, with whom the GVMC is working in close coordination.

With the ultimate goal of doing away with slums, the corporation has taken up several initiatives under the BSUP, including the launching of a project to construct 15,000 houses.

In 22 settlements for the poor, a scheme has been started to provide 7,352 houses and basic infrastructure, such as roads, drains, drinking water and lighting, at a cost of Rs.90.99 crore. In another package, 45 per cent of the work - involving the construction of 6,384 houses - has been completed in six settlements.