YSRCP to contest all GVMC wards, flags ward delimitation and water crisis
YSRCP says it will field strong candidates in every GVMC ward and raises concerns over ward delimitation, drinking water supply and environmental damage.
The YSR Congress Party will field candidates with strong winning prospects in every ward of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, party leaders said on Monday, describing victory in the civic polls as a matter of prestige.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the GVMC coordination committee at the district party office in Visakhapatnam, held under the leadership of district party president K.K. Raju. MLC Botcha Satyanarayana, party regional coordinator Kurasala Kannababu, former MLAs and coordinators Tippala Srinivas, Devan Reddy, Molli Apparao and Botcha Anusha were among those who attended.
Leaders at the meeting said the previous YSRCP government had given top priority to the city's development and public welfare. They alleged that the current alliance government was neglecting both the city's growth and the administration of the GVMC.
The party flagged an acute drinking water crisis, criticising a situation in which water is supplied only once every three or four days. Although recent rains have brought temporary relief, the leaders urged the government to come up with a long-term plan to secure drinking water for residents.
Transparency in the handling of valuable government land and assets in Visakhapatnam was another demand raised at the meeting. The leaders also voiced concern over environmental damage in areas around the city, saying the administration has a responsibility to stop hill excavation and illegal mining. They called for protecting the environmental, historical and spiritual significance of places such as Panchadarla Hill, Bavikonda and Simhachalam Hill.
The party also sought full transparency from officials on the delimitation of wards in the corporation. It pointed to wide disparities in voter numbers across divisions, saying these raised suspicions that ward boundaries were drawn to serve political interests rather than considerations of public representation, geographical connectivity and social cohesion. The delimitation exercise, the leaders said, should take administrative convenience and population balance into account.
YSRCP leaders said they were already consulting legal experts and were prepared to go to court, if necessary, to protect the rights of the people.