Collector orders airport builder to fix village roads after construction damage

Vizianagaram Collector S. Ramsundar Reddy on Tuesday ordered GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL) to repair the roads in and around Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram without delay. He also told the firm to lay new roads where needed, using CSR or other funds, so that nearby villages can travel easily. The directive follows a Hindu report on October 12 that highlighted villages such as Dibbalapalem, Ravada, Byreddipalem, Gudepuvalasa and Kancheru being cut off after the airport was built on nearly 2,500 acres. Farmers in those villages could not reach their fields or take produce home because heavy‑vehicle traffic damaged the approach roads. Officials had previously blamed a shortage of funds for the delay. “We directed the GVIAL authorities to take up road repairs immediately since many farmers had complained that they are unable to move to their agriculture fields,” Ramsundar Reddy said. He also asked National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials to ensure a link between the airport and the national‑highway service roads as soon as possible. Passengers now travel at least eight kilometres on service roads to reach the highway, the only route to the airport. NHAI promised to make the necessary changes within a couple of weeks and to widen the service road near Rajapulova junction, which lies between Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam, to merge traffic with the six‑lane road and remove congestion.

Context

The airport’s large 2,500‑acre site has displaced existing rural road networks, a common issue when major infrastructure projects expand into agricultural areas. Connecting the airport to the main highway is essential for both local commuters and airport users, and CSR funding is often used in India to offset community impacts of large private projects.