Vizag ZP chairman assures commitment to public service will continue

Visakhapatnam: Zilla Parishad Chairperson Jallipalli Subhadra assured that her commitment to public service will continue irrespective of the position she holds. Speaking at the final general meeting of the Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad held here on Tuesday, Subhadra mentioned that serving the people as Chairperson had given her immense satisfaction. The meeting marked the completion of the five-year term of the Chairperson, ZPTC members and vice-chairpersons. Subhadra opined that holding meetings alongside ZPTC members, vice-chairpersons, MLAs, MLCs, MPs, Collectors of three districts, officials and other public representatives associated with the historic Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad was a matter of great pride.

She felt emotional about the final meeting, but noted that the division of districts was a natural administrative process aimed at decentralisation. “Districts may be divided, but the responsibility of serving the people remains unchanged,” she emphasised.

The Chairperson recalled that the Zilla Parishad provided an important platform for bringing grassroots issues before the administration. Problems originating at the village level were discussed and several steps were taken towards finding solutions, she said. During the meeting, members raised several public issues, particularly concerning healthcare in the tribal and agency areas. They sought expansion of medical services and urged the authorities to extend ambulance facilities from agency areas to the plains and major mandal headquarters.

Members also requested that patients from tribal areas such as Araku and S. Kota be referred to King George Hospital (KGH), Visakhapatnam, instead of being directed to hospitals in Vizianagaram.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajya Sabha member Golla Baburao said Panchayat Raj institutions need to be strengthened further to ensure that development and welfare programmes reach people effectively at the grassroots level. MLC Varudhu Kalyani stated that positions are temporary, but the service rendered to people, development undertaken and respect earned among the public remain constant. MLA Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy called for appropriate measures to ensure equitable treatment of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju districts following the reorganisation of the Zilla Parishad. He said he had been associated with the Zilla Parishad for nearly four decades and urged the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer to draft a fair mechanism for the future distribution of ZP assets.

He suggested that the three districts should receive their appropriate share based on population as well as the allocation of employees, ensuring fairness and transparency in the distribution of resources and administrative assets.

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The Hans India