In a rare incident, a legislator in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore has got fed up with civic officials for not cleaning the drain on time. To protest the delay in work, ruling YSR Congress MLA Kotamareddy Sridhar Reddy entered an open drain at Ummareddygunta in Nellore city, cleaning up the long-pending drainage problem after locals voiced their difficulties. opposed to official indifference.
As a protest, the YSR MLA sat on the bank of an overflowing drain in which his feet were submerged. He said that despite several requests to the authorities for cleanliness, he was not listened to.
The nullah is located close to the railway track and residents are facing a lot of trouble due to the foul smell emanating from the drain and the menace of mosquitoes in the area.
Reddy said that it is his responsibility to answer the people of the area. He demanded the officials to give him, in writing, a reasonable time limit (to complete the work), adding that if they fail to clean it, he would come again and sit in the drain.
On receiving information about Reddy’s protest, Railway and Municipal Corporation officials reached the spot and discussed the issue with the MLA and assured to resolve it within ten days.
The MLA said that though he belonged to the ruling party, the officials remained indifferent to the issue raised by him.
The MLA said that the railway and municipal authorities have been neglecting the issue for almost 10 years.
The MLA ended his dharna only after the officials gave in writing that they would start cleaning the drain from July 15 and would complete it in a month. Railway officials have also promised to complete their share of work by August 25, he said.