Untidy vacant lands with stagnant water and overgrown plants are causing severe inconvenience to residents. According to official reports, over 12,000 vacant lands are present in the city, with many left unattended for years. The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) has instructed landowners to clean and maintain their properties and has issued orders to levy additional taxes on non-compliant owners, but the results have not been as expected.
Speaking to TNIE, K Devayani, a resident of Ramireddy Nagar, said that the vacant land beside their apartment is filled with stagnant water and weeds, breeding mosquitoes. “When the civic body issued clear instructions and set up a notice board on the vacant land, the owner did conduct a cleaning drive, removed overgrown plants, and levelled the land with sand to prevent water stagnation. But after a few months, the weeds overgrew again, and the situation is the same now. We request the officials to take this issue seriously and provide a permanent solution,” he added.
Following this, GMC officials have been directed to expedite water bailout works across the city and immediately take up silt removal efforts to prevent the spread of seasonal diseases. Sanitation workers have been deployed to conduct regular cleaning and unclogging operations across the city to minimise the risk of water stagnation and subsequent disease outbreaks.