The Hindu Business Line : Engineers oppose four-laning of Visakha-Bheemli road

THE Visakhapatnam Consulting Engineers' Consortium has urged the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) to stop four-laning of the Visakha-Bheemli road taken up with the avowed objective of promoting tourism.

The project will be harmful to the public and fishermen in the area in many ways besides being violative of the coastal regulatory zone regulations, they said.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Mr S. Gopala Sastry, the secretary of the consortium, said that there was no need to widen the road, as it was situated in the vicinity of the NH-5 which anyway had been four-laned as a part of the Golden Quadrilateral project.

Moreover, VUDA would not be able to recoup the amount (Rs 40 crore) spent on the road project.

Besides, it would not bring about any great spurt in tourism. Development and construction activity on the ecologically-sensitive beach road would harm the marine resources and affect the livelihood of the fishermen.

The Government was also granting permission to a number of private companies to set up resorts, pubs and clubs, ruining the serenity of the place, he alleged.

Mr Sastry suggested that the Government and VUDA tread cautiously in promoting tourism in the area.

"The tranquillity of the Buddhist sites (Thotlakonda and Bavikonda) on the Vizag-Bheeli stretch should be preserved to attract Buddhists from far and wide," he said in the statement.

He also said the present road could be made a two-lane one, with additional one-metre berms on either side for two-wheelers.

The eroded beach should be nourished with sand and all steps should be taken to prevent further erosion.

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