‘Pakistan Colony’ heaves a sigh of relief as authorities finally change its name

A view of the ‘Pakistan Colony’, which is now renamed as ‘Bhagiratha Colony’, in Vijayawada.
| Photo Credit: Giri KVS

After eight years of efforts to get the name of their colony changed, residents of Pakistan Colony in Payakapuram of Vijayawada finally heave a sigh of relief as NTR district Collector G. Lakshmisha has declared that the colony would be now officially called Bhagiratha Colony.

The announcement, on January 28, came after a proposal for the name change was approved in the recent Vijayawada Municipal Corporation’s council meeting. The Collector said three Aadhaar centres had been set up to facilitate the address change.

Recalling their long journey with the quirky colony name, Kagga Seetharamaiah, a resident, has a hearty laugh. “We were tired of explaining to auto drivers, relatives and government officials about how the name came to be. Now, we are glad that we do not have to narrate the whole story,” he says.

The colony, as per residents, borrowed its name from the Indo-Pak war of 1971, when a few houses were built for war refugees in Payakapuram. “The government built houses for war refugees in many cities. Vijayawada, too, was one. The refugees left, but the name of the place, which then was called ‘Pakistan Colony’, stayed,” recalls an elderly man, M. Raju.

Relocation of families

A truck driver in those days, Mr. Raju’s family of five including wife, two children and a brother, used to live in small huts on the banks of the Eluru canal, near the Sri Velidandla Hanumantaraya Grandhalayam, in the early 1980s. He had three huts, out of which he rented out two and used to get ₹15 per hut, he smiles.

Then, the municipal authorities asked them to shift to another place, in Payakapuram, and they were given plots. But, just as they started setting up huts here, the Budameru floods happened, Mr. Raju says.

“Then, our eyes fell on the houses vacated by the refugees. These had slabs, toilets, and doors. We thought we can stay here and occupied them,” he says. Since then, many continued staying in the colony that came to be known as the ‘Pakistan Colony’.

Name spells trouble

But, the name gave him a lot of trouble too. “My brother and I, along with eight others, got a posting in Navata Road Transport. A job here meant a salary, two sets of clothing per year and PF. We were elated. But except the two of us, everyone else’s position was finalised,” he remembers. It was then that they understood that this was because of the name of their colony.

Mr. Seetharamaiah also recalls how children who wanted to leave for other countries faced trouble during the passport application process. “That is why, we felt it best to get the name changed,” he adds.

But getting pattas for the ‘encroached land’ was difficult. They remember kindly of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI (Marxist) leaders for helping them in getting road, streetlights and pattas.

As of today, out of 58 plots in the colony, 41 have been regularised, since they fall under the ‘Unobjectionable Encroachment’ category.