All Parties Unite In GVMC For Appointment Of Vizag Commissioner

VISAKHAPATNAM: The meeting of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC)’s council on Friday, chaired by Vizag mayor Pila Srinivasa Rao, saw unanimity while seeking immediate appointment of a new commissioner, whose post has been vacant for over five months.

YSRC members filled the council hall during the zero hour, carrying placards and chanting slogans demanding appointment of a new commissioner within the next two to three days.

BJP MLA Vishnu Kumar Raju expressed his support to the demand, emphasising that lack of a dedicated commissioner is hindering effective governance. “The day-to-day operations of the GVMC are being impacted. I am in favour of the council passing a resolution on appointment of the GVMC commissioner,” he underlined.

TD state president and Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivas, who spoke at the meeting, promised to appeal to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, seeking an expeditious appointment of the commissioner.

Significantly, YSRC corporators had come to the meeting with black scarves, accusing that development in the city had come to a halt. The meeting became all the more charged when Visakhapatnam district collector M. Harindra Prasad, who is the in-charge commissioner, joined the meeting one hour late.

YSRC floor leader Banala Srinivasa Rao seized the opportunity to remark that the GVMC council cannot function properly without a full-time commissioner. He attributed the delay to inaction within the NDA coalition government which, he claimed, is obstructing critical developmental initiatives.

Mayor Srinivasa Rao intervened to say that the state government will be requested to appoint a new commissioner soon.

The session on Friday addressed 27 items on the agenda, half of them focused on the city’s development projects. The meeting continued till late into the night, after beginning with condolences for the victims of the Pahalgam attack and those who lost their lives during Operation Sindoor.