Visakhapatnam: The ASR district administration has called for tenders for the extensive exercise of laying roads to connect 1,500 settlements that are not connected to the mainstream areas of the district. The total cost of the work is Rs 2,200 crore.
Tenders have also been invited for relaying the road from GK Vidhi to Sileru connecting AP with Odisha. This road was damaged in the cyclone last July. The project will cost around Rs 36 crore. The state government has already allocated 18 million rupees for the work.
“In the recent Collectors’ Conference, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu took a serious view of tribals using dollies to move their disabled and sick to hospitals. The Chief Minister said that this should not happen in future,” ASR District Collector AS Dinesh Kumar told this correspondent on Thursday.
The Collector said that Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan also expressed concern over the issue. “He is expected to assess road connectivity in interior areas of the agency area on Saturday,” he disclosed.
When asked about the source of funds, Dinesh Kumar said that 60 percent of the funds will be collected from the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana and the Prime Minister’s Tribal Tribal Justice Campaign. The rest of the expenses will be borne by the state government.
The collector said that most of the roads which were damaged by the continuous rains due to cyclones and low pressure systems have been repaired at a cost of 6 crores.
Sources in the agency area have said that the bad roads in the agency area are being negatively publicized, as the number of inconvenienced tourists is increasing, they have started highlighting this issue.
The police have identified 96 black spots in the ASR district, where roads need to be widened, including speed breakers. A senior police officer said that as many as 15 black spots in G. Under Madugula police station, eight each under Koyyuru and Rampachodavaram, seven under Araku Valley and five each under Munchingput, Peda Byalu, Dumbrigua, Anantagiri and Annavaram police stations.