Delayed drainage works leave Pedapenki families without safe entry to homes

Around 800 families in Pedapenki village, located in Balijipeta mandal of Parvatipuram-Manyam district, are facing severe hardship in entering and leaving their homes after civic works aimed at improving drainage, water tanks and roads were left incomplete.

As part of the developmental drive, officials removed the steps and ramps of houses and cleared encroachments on drainage channels about eight months ago. With no concrete structures restored in their place, residents have been forced to rely on wooden boards and makeshift arrangements to move in and out. These temporary measures are lightweight and unsuitable for regular use, leaving the elderly and patients among the worst affected.

Local leaders Burada Rammohana Rao, Sadhu Rambabu and M. Papinaidu alleged that the work has progressed at a snail's pace because of poor coordination among contracting agencies and departments including Panchayat Raj, the Water Management Agency and Rural Water Supply.

Mr. Rammohana Rao said the government sanctioned around ₹3.8 crore for improving sanitation in Pedapenki, a village that has recorded cases of filariasis and other waterborne diseases, and attributed the initiative to Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. He added that the works were not being completed on the ground.

The issue also figured in a recent developmental review meeting in Parvatipuram, where TDP MLA Bonela Vijaya Chandra asked Collector N. Prabhakar Reddy to act against the officials responsible for the inordinate delay. The exchange reportedly turned into a heated argument between the legislator and the collector in the presence of Minister for Tribal Welfare Gummadi Sandhya Rani. Mr. Vijaya Chandra is said to have taken the matter to the Chief Minister's Office, expressing his dissent over what he described as a casual response from officials to the plight of hundreds of families.

A senior official maintained that most of the works were completed long ago and that the remaining portions in certain pockets would be finished within a few weeks. The official also alleged that locals were dumping garbage and sand into under-construction drains, contributing to the delay.