Vijayawada: Chitti Nagar faces traffic torment
Houses built close to hill area
Vijayawada: Heavy traffic has become a torment for the residents of Chitti Nagar as thousands of vehicles pass through the Chitti Nagar tunnel every day. Parents live in constant fear about the safety of children.
Chitti Nagar is one of the biggest areas in the old city and faces severe traffic problem due to its location in a very prominent area. Chitti Nagar tunnel is the connecting point between Vijayawada city and Gollapudi bypass. Consequently, there is heavy traffic in this area.
Thousands of people have been living on the hill area in Chitti Nagar for several decades. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) constructed roads and steps for the convenience of the residents.
The colony people have infrastructure facilities like drinking water and street lighting.
Scores of private and government schools are in Chitti Nagar, KL Nagar, Kotha Peta, Labour Colony and other nearby areas. Thousands of children cross Chitti Nagar junction to go to schools and police regulate the traffic during the busy hours to avoid mishaps.
But traffic problem is increasing year after year as the number of vehicles and city population is ever increasing.
The residents living above Chitti Nagar tunnel live in constant fear due to falling of rocks and boulders during rainy season.
B Mohana Rao, who lives near Chitti Nagar tunnel, said that due to unavoidable conditions they have been living in the hazardous location over the tunnel.
The residents are habituated to live in the densely populated colony more than seven decades, he added.
The VMC also developed infrastructure facilities for the convenience of residents. All these factors help the residents to live very near to the tunnel and above the tunnel area.
Initially, poor and middleclass families settled in this area, later followed by upper middleclass people. Later on, affluent people also constructed houses after infrastructure facilities were developed by the VMC during the last three decades.
Commercial activity gradually increased in Chitti Nagar resulting in the increase of rents in some streets and the main road. Chitti Nagar is also well known for holy shrines including temples, churches and mosques and people are living with harmony and peace.