Residents protest GVMC policies, allege rising burden on public

Members of the Visakhapatnam Apartment Residents Welfare Association (VARWA) and the Greater Visakha Resident Colony Associations’ Federation (NIVAS) district committee staged a protest at the GVMC Gandhi Statue on Tuesday, alleging that recent decisions of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) were increasing the burden on the public and facilitating the transfer of public assets to private entities.

Speaking on the occasion, VARWA district president N. Prakasa Rao and NIVAS district secretary P. Narayana Murthy said that while residents of the city were already grappling with multiple civic issues, the decisions being taken by the government and the GVMC were further aggravating the situation. They questioned the rationale behind increasing taxes and user charges without addressing long-pending civic problems, particularly at a time when basic amenities were deteriorating.