Guntur: The areas around the Amaravati capital region are developing gradually, but 10 villages including Tullur, Rayapudi and others have no bus services even though they have private banks, hotels, big shops, car and two-wheeler showrooms, gold shops, Internet centres and other utility services.
The CRDA had constructed wide roads, connecting Uddandarayuni-palem, the spot where the capital’s foundation was laid, to Amaravati.
The combined population of Venkatapalem, Sakhamuru, Ainavolu, Lingayapalem, Anantha-varam, Abbarajupalem, Tallayapalem, Bethapudi and Nelapadu is 20,000.
Venkatapalem, a prosperous village with a population of 3,700, is famous for producing commercial crops including banana and vegetables.
Also, BJP MP, Gokaraju Ganga Raju and other VIPs own land in this village, which is located on the banks of the Krishna river, about seven km away from the new capital of Amaravati.
"Yet, villagers are forced to walk 4 km from Undavalli and 3 km from Penumaka to Venkatapalem as there are no buses," said N. Anjaneyulu, a resident.
He and others opined that APSRTC buses could be run in the village, including Uddandara-yunipalem, using the new roads.
The historic ancient village, Uddandarayunipalem, built by Vijayanagara King Sri Krishna Devaraya, is the new capital of Amaravati and people in large numbers visit it on weekends and holidays. But they have to walk 2 km from Mandadam/Velagapudi. D. Ravinath and others from Vijayawada lamented that city buses were available from Vijayawada to old Amaravati, but they would not come to Uddandarayunipalem.
The people of Ainavolu were having to walk 3 km from Malkapuram and Velagapudi and 4 km from Mandadam to reach their houses while those living in Sakhamuru were covering 5 km on foot from Tullur/Velagapudi and 4 km from Ananthavaram.
The people of Lingaya-palem, which is famous for the export of commercial crops to Krishna, Guntur and other districts, is also in the same boat despite being situated 2 km from Tullur. What’s more, devotees in large numbers come to the famous Shiva pilgrimage centre, consisting of 1 lakh idols, at Tallaya-palem but they have to use private vehicles to reach it, a place that is a part of the government’s core area, Amaravati. Abbarajupalem, Nelapadu, Bethapudi and Yerrabalem are also demanding APSRTC bus connectivity.
