KAKINADA: Historical and spiritual town of Pithapuram, once a prominent town of Eastern Chalukyas, is now lacking even basic civic amenities. This is despite the town having the famous shrines of Goddess Kunthi Madhava Swamy, Lord Kukkuteswara Swamy, and Goddess Puruhitika Devi.
Pithapuram, also known as “Pada Gaya’’ and “Dakshina Kasi’’, is said to be the birthplace of Lord Dattatreya. The town was quite prominent when Pithapuram Raja ruled it. He donated hundreds of acres of lands in the East Godavari district to spiritual and educational institutions. Crops grown in the Pithapuram constituency, like paddy, sugarcane, maize and vegetables, are quite famous and tasty. Nobody can forget once they taste the region’s maize. Controversial guru Chandra Swamy appreciated crops of the area and declared that he had never tasted such sweet maize.
However, Pithapuram faces problems of congested streets and lack of drainage. Even a small rain submerges the town’s main road. Sanitation is a major issue. The town also faces a drinking water problem. It gets its drinking water supply from two sources – Kumarapriyam and Chitrada. But they are insufficient in catering to the needs of the town, particularly the outskirts.
Proposals had been prepared in 2005 for creating a reservoir for drinking water at an estimated cost of Rs. 20 crore. This estimate has risen to Rs. 36 crore, as no government, including that of Congress, Telugu Desam or now YSRC, has taken up the project yet.
People are hoping that at least the new municipality that gets elected will develop the city and complete the reservoir.
