VARWA and NIVAS stage a protest seeking scrapping of user charges for garbage collection in Visakhapatnam

‘The issue is still pending in the court’

Ahead of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) council meeting, members of the Visakhapatnam Apartment Resident Welfare Association (VARWA) and the Greater Visakha resident Colony Association Federation(NIVAS) staged a protest demanding that the GVMC scrap the decision to levy charges for garbage collection, at the Gandhi Statue, near the GVMC building, on Tuesday. They also demanded that the corporation stop collecting user charges as the issue was still pending in the court.

The members stated that several people were opposing the decision to levy user charges for garbage collection. The protestors alleged that cases filed by several taxpayers’ association and public representatives across the State were pending in the court.

They said that VARWA and NIVAS submitted several memoranda to the GVMC on the issue, but there was no response. Since the GVMC council meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, the council should take a pro-people decision, they said.

N. Prakash Rao, Ch. L.N. Sastry, P. Narayana Murty and J.P. Sarma were present. CPI(M) leader and corporator (Ward 78) B. Ganga Rao also joined the protest.