VMC council witnesses protests against OTS, new property tax system
The Hindu
‘Government’s decisions burdening the common man’
The council meeting of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation on Saturday witnessed protests by the opposition parties over implementation of the new property tax system and the State government’s One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for registration of houses.
CPI(M) leaders Ch. Babu Rao, Gade Adilakshmi and others attempted to lay a siege to the VMC office in protest against hike in property tax and imposition of user charges on garbage collection. The TDP corporators also staged protests on the VMC premises against the OTS scheme.
Mr. Babu Rao, who was arrested along with other leaders and activists, said the government succumbed to the pressure mounted by the Central government, which, for the first time, imposed user charges on every household for garbage collection.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.