Minister for MA&UD P. Narayana during his visit to Lakshmi Nagar slum at Velampeta area in Visakhapatnam on Monday.
| Photo Credit: V. RAJU
Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development P. Narayana noted on Monday (December 29, 2025) that Visakhapatnam has the highest number of slum areas in the State. He announced that the Velampeta slum, located in the city, would be taken up as a special project for comprehensive development, and added that the ground realities would be brought to the notice of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
The Minister visited Lakshmi Nagar slum at Velampeta area in Visakhapatnam South Constituency along with Mayor Peela Srinivasa Rao, Deputy Mayor Dalli Govindaraju, South MLA Vamsikrishna Srinivas, GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg, VMRDA Commissioner N. Tej Bharat, and local Corporator Villuri Bhaskar Rao on Monday.
He inspected the slum and interacted with the dwellers, who told him their problems. The Mayor, MLA, Deputy Mayor, GVMC Commissioner apprised the Minister on the issue pertaining to construction of houses in the slum. Mr. Narayana assured public representatives and local residents that all possible steps would be taken to complete the construction of houses at the earliest.
He said that the Chief Minister has directed that houses be constructed immediately for the displaced families, and that special action plans are being prepared in this regard.
Minister for MA&UD P. Narayana interacting with locals of Velampeta area in Visakhapatnam on Monday.
| Photo Credit:
V. RAJU
The residents informed the Minister that they had been residing in the area for nearly 50 years, earning a living as daily-wage labourers, and requested that immediate steps be taken to sanction houses. They informed the Minister about the hardships faced during the monsoon season and appealed for the construction of houses for 177 families, along with the provision of basic amenities.
The Minister visited the houses of the displaced families. He stated that it was painful to see families living in extremely small spaces and assured them that steps would be taken to construct houses. He said that the ground realities would be brought to the notice of the Chief Minister.
Speaking on the occasion, MLA Vamsikrishna Srinivas Yadav said that the problems faced by residents of the Velampeta slum area have remained unresolved for a long time. He appreciated the State government for focusing on its development and noted that, apart from the Lakshmi Nagar layout, five more projects are still pending. He added that if these issues are addressed, the Visakhapatnam South Constituency could be developed into a model constituency in the State.
Additional Commissioners of GVMC D.V. Ramanamurthy and P.M. Satyaveni, Chief Engineer P.V. Satyanarayana Raju, Zonal Commissioner M. Mallaiah Naidu, Superintending Engineers Pallamaraju and Royal Babu, Assistant Medical Officer Dr. Krishnam Raju, APD Padmavathi and others participated in the programme.
Published – December 29, 2025 07:09 pm IST
