Jakkampudi basks in glory of economic township in Amaravati

​Jakkampudi: The Economic Township proposed to come up in its lap as a feather in the cap of the capital in Amaravati with all the glitter and grandiose offers a flickering hope for this backward nondescript village located stone’s throw from Vijayawada city.

The village with three habitations such as Jakkampudi, Ampapuram and Shahbad under its limits with around 5,000 voters is situated hardly 10km away from the city. But it craves for basic amenities like potable drinking water, healthcare, schooling and housing.

The Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA &UD) issued a GO on January 2 this year to facilitate the Economic Township project at this village with residential, commercial and institutional land uses in a sprawling plot of 265 acres.

According to the GO, the Economic Township will showcase housing complexes comprising economically weaker sections (EWS), low income group (LIG), middle income group (MIG) and Higher Income Group (HIG) dwelling units, economic land use for light and green industry to support economic activities and provide employment to the locals, commercial land use to support commercial needs of the residents etc.

Nandipamula Chinnabbayi is in the fond hope of staying connected to the mobile world if the so-called economic township comes up with `walk to work’ concept with all infrastructures. With an imposing hillock devoid of greenery behind, the village remains out of coverage for cell services for want of a cell tower in the vicinity.

“My mobile will receive and send calls with poor quality only when I go up to the building terraces in our village”, Chinnabbayi said, getting worried more over mobile connectivity issues than the other mundane things. Ward member Rayudu Srinivasa Rao said the gram panchayat is getting ready to adopt a resolution offering a piece of land for any service provider willing to set up a tower in the village.

Bali Appa Rao, a retired government doctor, said “No one in our village knows as to how exactly the Economic Township will boost the village economy. We are badly in need of potable drinking water. Our villagers are prone to osteoporosis due to consumption of ground water with high florin levels “.

He further adds, “This is my worry which may be addressed if Economic Township becomes a reality.
Although agriculture was once a principal economic activity with 1,800 acres of fertile lands, the failure of the Krishna river to provide sufficient irrigation water and rapid urbanization that gobbles up a major chunk of farm lands changed the face of the village adversely. Agriculture workers switched to alternative employments in construction and automobile fields. “In Jakkampudi main village alone, more than 70 persons go to Vijayawada for building work daily”, says Chinnabbayi.

Muthuri Venkateswara Rao hopes to see an improvement in frequency of bus services on the Vijayawada-Nuzvid road touching his village once the Economic Township comes up. “We are also desperately in the need of water for irrigation and drinking.

What is the use of the so-called Economic Township when basic needs like water are not met”, asks Venkateswara Rao. As he rightly pointed out, the Polavaram right main canal, transferring the Godavari water into the Krishna river through the Pattiseema lift scheme passes through the village without meeting its water needs. Similarly, a pipeline is laid from the Krsihna river to Nuzvid for water supply which also goes through the village, failing to quench the thirst of villagers.

Srinivasa Rao said it is the incidence of snake bites and monkey attacks that worry the villagers the most. An army of monkeys keeps straying out of the Kothuru reserve forests, subjecting inhabitants around to attacks.

As there is no health centre in the village, the victims will have to either to rush to Vijayawada or the Velagaleru sub-centre. Private hospitals in Vijayawada are flourishing with patients suffering snake bites from the village.