I am a resident of Hyderabad due to my job. My native place is Guntur, and my wife’s native place is Rajahmundry. It is natural for me to travel with my family to both places every Sankranthi.
As usual, we started our journey yesterday, but to our shock and frustration, it took us nine hours just to reach Vijayawada.
Yes, traffic on the national highway has become menacing, and long queues at toll gates, despite Fastag, severely test one’s patience.
This highway was expanded into four lanes during Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime due to pressure on the central government at that time, considering the growing traffic needs.
The expansion happened mainly because of his initiative, and the central government then was also led by Congress. Later, the state was divided, but people continued the same travel connections between the two states as before.
Is it not now the responsibility of the chief ministers of both states to appeal to the central government for further expansion or better solutions to meet the demand?
N Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, is in alliance with the BJP. Why can he not work on this issue? I am not speaking only about the national highway.
The condition of roads in Andhra Pradesh is miserable. Driving from Vijayawada city to Mangalagiri and then to Guntur feels like a circus act. The roads themselves are in terrible condition.
The bypass road at Vijayawada that has been under construction for years is still incomplete, forcing people to pass through Vijayawada city. This has become a punishment for both travelers and the residents of Vijayawada.
What is Chandrababu Naidu, a leader known for the tag of 'development', actually doing? What happened to his much spoken PPP model? Why can he not bring private participation to develop road infrastructure in the state?
The same Chandrababu Naidu and TDP leaders blamed Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for the poor road conditions during his regime, which is true. Roads during that period were indeed in bad shape. But why has there been no visible correction now?
Sankranthi season always brings massive traffic between cities and towns due to holidays and events like cockfights in the Godavari districts. Could this demand not have been anticipated?
He speaks about building Amaravati as the capital. When will that actually happen, and when will that region gain momentum? As of now, this itself looks like a failure. Forget building a new city. At the very least, the present government should maintain existing infrastructure and expand capacity.
I have understood one thing clearly. Chandrababu Naidu’s development appears only in newspapers and television channels, not on the ground. I am not a supporter of YSRCP either, and I had complaints during that tenure as well. But now, since Chandrababu Naidu is the Chief Minister and carries the image of a development-oriented leader, it is disappointing to see nothing changing.
I have decided not to travel to Andhra Pradesh by car next time. I would rather book train or flight tickets months in advance. A car or bus journey during Sankranthi holidays on this route has become nothing but a punishment.
Kishore Kallakuri
