Mancherial traders protest road widening during festival, marriage season

Commercial establishment owners in Mancherial have expressed concern over road-widening works undertaken by the municipal corporation, saying the exercise during the festival and marriage season is affecting businesses and causing financial losses amid an already challenging economic situation.

Mancherial: Owners of commercial establishments expressed displeasure over widening of roads being executed by Mancherial municipal corporation (MMC) officials for affecting their business at the time of festivals.

Important roads such as Bellampalli Chowrasta-Mancherial railway station, IB Chowk-Srinivas Gardens, Railway Station to the flyover on the College Road, Vishwanatha temple to Venkateshwara Theatre, Bhashyam School-Police Station and other key stretches in the town are being widened in order to ease traffic congestion. Estimated cost of the development project is Rs.78 crore sanctioned a few months back.

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Underground drainage system, underground electrification, medians, central lighting, footpaths of these stretches are going to be created on these roads. A portion of frontal facets, entrances and thresholds of the commercial establishments are being dismantled as part of widening of the roads, resulting in an adverse impact on their businesses and financial burden as well.

Incidentally, the widening is being executed at the beginning of the marriages season, when the establishments witness brisk sales. The work on some of these roads commenced during Dasara and Diwali festivals. It was stopped when proprietors of the commercial establishments raised objections, but resumed recently.

The owners opine that the process of widening had hit hard their businesses which were already reeling under a crisis for the past two years. They urged the officials to postpone the work until the monsoon. They regretted that textile, food, hospitality, medical, utensil and many other sectors were registering losses since 2024, following an unprecedented slump in the real sector for the last few years.

Meanwhile, the former MLA Nadipelli Diwakar Rao who inspected a razed down structure of a commercial complex slammed local legislator Kokkirala Premsagar Rao for taking the up widening during the festival season. He alleged that Premsagar Rao nursed a grudge against the owners of the establishments for losing in the 2018 polls. He termed the process a hoarseness act.

Diwakar Rao lashed out at Premsagar Rao for targeting those who supported the BRS and ignoring the establishments that backed the Congress. He regretted that a major portion of owners leased out the complexes by paying hefty rents.