*Visakhapatnam turned into Crime, Drug Capital: YSRCP*

Visakhapatnam, August 27: YSRCP Visakhapatnam district president K.K. Raju said the Chandrababu Naidu-led coalition government has pushed Visakhapatnam into neglect, crime, drugs, land exploitation and administrative failure, while deliberately weakening the city to prioritise Amaravati.

Speaking at the YSRCP office in Visakhapatnam, Raju said the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government worked to develop Visakhapatnam as an administrative capital and global city, but the coalition government has turned it into a centre for ganja, drugs, spurious liquor and land mafia. Valuable lands worth thousands of crores are being handed over to corporate interests in the name of investment and industry.

He strongly condemned the midnight evacuation of around 480 tribal students from the Marikavalasa Gurukulam, saying officials forced sleeping children to pack their belongings around 10 p.m. and frightened parents living in remote tribal areas. If a Centre of Excellence is required, the government should construct a new facility instead of throwing tribal children out at night, he said.
Raju said ganja, drugs and illicit liquor are freely available across Visakhapatnam, while drinking water has become scarce. He referred to drug-linked violence, rave parties and deaths in Kancherapalem and Aganampudi, saying public safety has deteriorated sharply.

He said KGH, strengthened with hundreds of crores during the YS Jagan government, is now suffering from medicine shortages, absentee doctors and diversion of poor patients to private hospitals.

Raju also said air pollution has reached dangerous levels because of weak monitoring of port operations and industrial pollution. He demanded immediate action on tribal education, drinking water, public healthcare, pollution and drug control, and said YSRCP would continue fighting to protect the interests of Visakhapatnam and North Andhra.