Vijayawada: With the onset of monsoon season, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation is getting ready to tackle the challenges in the rainy season in the city. The civic body is gearing up to face different types of problems that haunt the city for several years.
VMC Commissioner Dhyanachandra HM on Friday conducted a teleconference with the heads, staff and secretaries of the Engineering, Sanitation, Town Planning departments and asked the latter to get prepared to address the problems in the rainy season. He directed them to submit a detailed report covering the nature of problems encountered during rains at the Secretariat, ward, and constituency levels, along with proposed temporary and permanent solutions.
Each Secretariat has been asked to identify and report the number and location of dangerous potholes, and to ensure that they are repaired immediately. Locations where rainwater tends to stagnate should be marked as black spots, and VMC vehicles must be deployed to clear the water.
If the existing fleet is insufficient, additional vehicles should be arranged. He also directed that roads with potholes that may pose a danger during rains should be repaired promptly. If repair is not possible immediately, warning sign boards should be placed to alert the public. The Commissioner asked officials to analyse the causes of water stagnation in the city and submit a report with both short-term and long-term remedies so that rainwater does not remain stagnant on city roads.
In case of unexpected floods, areas prone to waterlogging must be identified in advance, and necessary arrangements should be made to inform residents and shift them to designated rehabilitation centres.
He questioned officials about flood-prone zones in each constituency, and officials shared the relevant information with the Commissioner.
Additionally, officials were instructed to identify the rehabilitation centres where the affected population can be relocated and submit a detailed report on the same. On another note, the Commissioner stressed the need to accelerate the desilting process in city canals.
He stated that desilting must be an ongoing process, and that drains within the city as well as the outfall drains leading to final discharge points should be covered
completely.
