Bad roads, slow traffic makes Guntur air unbreathable; civic body under flak

Guntur: Steep increase in vehicular traffic and consequent air pollution has made life tough for the people of Guntur city. The failure of Guntur Municipal Corporation ( GMC ) in widening roads and keeping them clean is worsening the situation.

The civic body has also been unable to take action against sanitation staffers who are burning garbage across the city.

According to the Pollution Control Board (PCB), PM 10 level in Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) is hovering between 60 and 70 against the safe level of 50. “It is an indication of growing air pollution. Everyone has responsibility to bring it down,” said VR Maheswara Rao, PCB executive engineer.

The practice of pulmonologists has suddenly gone up in the city due to growing complications in lungs functioning. “Youngsters are falling prey to pollution. People should wear masks or helmets while moving in busy traffic zones,” said pulmonologist Dr Raghu.

City roads damaged during the Under Ground Drainage (UGD) project have not yet been properly restored. High vehicular traffic on these roads has worsened the situation. “The situation has turned horrible in the city. No official is bothered about the situation,” said a social activist SVS Lakshminarayana. He said he had lodged a complaint with the chief secretary against GMC authorities.

GMC has not initiated any new measure to set up traffic signals in key traffic junctions and restore the faulty ones. Commuters are facing difficulties due to lack of coordination between traffic police and the GMC administration.

The plans to construct subways and new flyovers have been put on hold by GMC citing paucity of funds. Interestingly, South Central Railway (SCR) authorities have come forward to fund subways under railway tracks in the city to ease traffic congestion in key locations. But GMC has not taken any measure to put the project on fast track for fear of opposition from locals.

Interestingly, a huge number of auto rickshaws were plying in the city despite the transport department restricting registration of new autos. “People are getting new autos registered in rural centres and bringing them to the city. It is illegal to move rural vehicles in the city,” said deputy transport commissioner Meera Prasad.