Problems galore for new Nirmal civic body admin

Nirmal: The new governing body of Nirmal municipality has several challenges and problems to face like drainage, sanitation, roads construction and expansion, drinking water, protection of ponds, development of historic structures, illegal constructions, slaughter houses, animals menace, pending bills, underground drainage and many more.

The total number of wards in Nirmal municipality was increased to 42 with the merger of surrounding two gram panchayats – Manjulapur and Venkatapur. The most serious problem is that many illegal structures have been constructed. Realtors are encroaching government and other lands and raising illegal ventures (layouts), which is a headache for the newly elected governing body.

Drainage problem has been plaguing the town since decades. Due ot lack of proper drainage system, water will flow on the roads in every rainy season. Before elections, Forest and Environment Minister Allola Indrakaran Reddy had promised the people that he will take up under-ground drainage works with an estimation cost of Rs 100 crore. But it seems that he had forgotten his promise.

There are no internal roads in several municipal wards and people are suffering with narrow roads. They are demanding construction of new roads as well as to widen the narrow roads.

Water is a big problem in many wards in the municipality. It is the same problem in every summer. Water supply will often get disrupted due to frequent repairs to old pipelines. Sometimes there will not be water supply for a week or even for 10 days until the problem is restored. The government, Ministers and officials assured that the water problem will be solved once Mission Bhagiratha works are over. The Mission works are completed but the problem is same as it was.

The last but the most important menace is of stray animals like dogs, swines, monkeys etc. Earlier, a special team from Andhra Pradesh used to catch stray animals and left them in the forest. A special conservation centre for monkeys was also established. But the work was stopped abruptly, making the people to face the problem once again.

Another major trouble waiting for the new general body is the pending property tax bills. The department officials couldn't reach at least 70 to 80 per cent of the target, forcing the new civic chiefs to focus on the pending property bills.