Andhra govt to develop houses for 177 Velampeta slum families

Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to develop houses for 177 families living in the Velampeta slum in Visakhapatnam. The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by municipal administration and urban development minister P Narayana with officials from the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) area, including GVMC commissioner Ketan Garg, VMRDA metropolitan commissioner Tej Bharath, and other officials in Amaravati. However, a decision regarding the financial aspects of the housing construction will be taken soon.Minister Narayana had visited the Velampeta Lakshmi Nagar slum in the Vizag South constituency in Dec, along with local representatives and officials. The residents, most of whom are daily wage labourers, informed the minister that they have been living in the area for nearly 50 years and requested immediate steps for housing allotments.
They reported facing severe hardships during the monsoon and appealed for the construction of houses for all families, along with the provision of basic amenities. The minister visited the residences and observed the living conditions, noting it was painful to see families living in extremely small spaces. The minister assured that the Velampeta slum area would be taken up as a special project and developed comprehensively. Meanwhile, the Amaravati meeting also discussed the preparation of the master plan for the VMRDA area. While a total of 15 roads are proposed under the master plan, Narayana has instructed officials to complete seven roads on a fast-track basis in the first phase. Discussions were also held on developing a tourism circuit in Visakhapatnam by linking Kailasagiri, Kambalakonda and the Zoo park. The minister advised the VMRDA commissioner to focus on further tourism development in coordination with officials from the tourism department. He also suggested creating public awareness to facilitate the regularisation of unauthorised buildings and layouts within the VMRDA limits.