After opposition's Save AP Roads campaign, Jagan orders road repairs once the monsoon recedes

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy has blamed “the improper maintenance” during his predecessor Chandrababu Naidu's regime for the bad condition of the roads in the state.

Reddy had come to power over two years back, in May 2019.

With rains worsening the road infrastructure especially in some interiors where traveling has become a back-breaking venture, the opposition TDP and Jana Sena have accused the Reddy government of neglecting the thoroughfares essential for public commute.

The Jana Sena Party led by Pawan Kalyan had last week launched a campaign focused on the awful state of the roads. While staging demonstrations at such spots, the JSP activists have also been posting pictures of ram-shackle roads from across all the districts with the hashtag #JSPForAP_Roads.

The JSP has alleged that its party men were assaulted by the ruling YSRCP cadres in police presence, during one such peaceful protest at Amudalavalasa in Srikakulam district on Saturday.

“Such incidents took place in other places too like Nandigama. While we are democratically requesting the government to repair the roads that have become death traps, police cases are foisted against our activists,” Kalyan stated on Sunday.

On Monday, CM Reddy held a review on the roads etc infrastructure and directed the officials to focus on repair of roads once the monsoon recedes.

Reddy, according to the CMO officials, said that his government has laid a special focus on repairing the damaged roads and “has also set up a special fund for the purpose.”

The CM instructed for the completion of pending approach roads near the bridges. Officials informed Reddy that plans are underway for the construction of new roads with a Rs 6,400 crore financial assistance from the New Development Bank.

“The YSRCP government has opened its eyes and started thinking about the road repairs and construction only after Janasena has exposed how bad the roads are in the state through the social media platforms. Lakhs of people have reported hardships due to these bad roads,” Kalyan said in a statement on Monday.