Vijayawada

Vijayawada is a city in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also known as Bezawada, and was developed into a municipality in 1888. It is the second most populous district in Andhra Pradesh state. The city is fast growing, and attracts working class labourers. In Vijayawada, the Urban SHADE project will be working in the informal settlements of New Raja Rajeshwari Peta, and Vambay colony. 

Vambay Colony

Vambay Colony is a low-income resettlement neighborhood in Vijayawada for those displaced from informal settlements along riverbanks, canals and flood prone areas of the city. It was established in the early 2000s under the Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) and later linked with Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) housing schemes. The colony has grown beyond the government-built buildings and has informally built houses built around these buildings. 

Despite resettlement efforts, the houses have structural vulnerabilities. More than 1200 households who live here have socio-economic challenges. Residents experience recurring difficulties in accessing clean water, sanitation, healthcare, and protection from extreme weather events.

The engagement of the Urban SHADE team with Vambay colony started with the ARISE (Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity) Project, which focused on vector-borne disease monitoring and health interventions among waste-picking communities. 

The residents of this colony are from vulnerable lowered caste/Dalit, tribe and minority groups. Many households have second- or third-generation migrants from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur, Krishna, and Prakasam districts who came in search of work in the city.

Men mostly work as daily wage laborers, construction workers, carpenters, auto-rickshaw drivers, or sanitation workers, while women engage in domestic work, ragpicking, or tailoring. Children sometimes assist in waste collection or vending. Household incomes range from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 per month, often fluctuating seasonally during summer and monsoon periods. Their income is seasonal and sensitive to environmental shocks, limiting economic security and social mobility.

Limited access to formal banking and credit increases dependence on Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and local moneylenders, often at high interest rates which increases debt, heightening residents’ vulnerability to floods, heatwaves, and public health crises like COVID-19.

The government-provided housing are three storied apartment blocks. The blocks are showing signs of deterioration. Many people have modified their homes by using tin or asbestos sheets, or cement work. Some have even created upper floors or small extensions. 

Tenure is a major concern. Although residents were relocated nearly two  decades ago, they still lack formal title deeds (house registrations/house pattas). In February 2024, the residents protested for proper registrations of their houses, some even going on hunger strike. Without legal ownership, many feel they cannot claim full rights over their homes or land, feel insecure about eviction, and cannot easily access credit or make improvements.

The houses are not very well maintained. Residents report damp walls, cracked pipelines, leaking roofs, especially during rains. The pipelines that supply drinking water also have leakages, complain residents.

The community is exposed to extreme heat during the summer. The Vambay colony houses trap heat and cause indoor heat stress. The elderly, children, and outdoor workers are particularly vulnerable and report dizziness, fatigue and dehydration during the summer. Very few households have fans or coolers, and frequent power cuts worsen the situation. 

The colony is located at the western periphery of the city, adjacent to the Budameru rivulet floodplain. This rivulet has acquired the title “Sorrow of Vijayawada” because of its propensity to flood the city. The proximity to Badameru increases the risk of floods whenever intense rainfall or upstream inflows push Badameru beyond capacity. While post-flood drainage improvements have begun under “Operation Budameru,” internal drainage within the colony remains insufficient.

In 2024, more than 30 persons died in a major flood in NTR district where Vijayawada is located. The flood covered more than 40 percent of the city including Vambay colony. During these floods, homes were submerged, families displaced to relief camps, and livelihoods disrupted. There were outbreaks of water borne and vector borne diseases after the floods.

The residents say that emergency responses by disaster-relief teams were delayed and that they relied on their own informal networks to evacuate. While there is a city-wide disaster management plan, Vambay colony needs a local ward disaster management committee, community level evacuation plans, or first responder training for residents. The residents are rarely included in any municipal planning initiatives.

Water and Sanitation

The water supply is irregular. Piped networks, borewells, and standposts managed by the municipal authorities deliver water once every 2–3 days. Households store water in drums and buckets.

Sanitation is inadequate. Open drains overflow during rainfall, mixing sewage with stormwater, which facilitates the spread of vector-borne and waterborne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and diarrhoea. Community toilets exist but are poorly maintained, and women report safety concerns after dark. Garbage collection is irregular, with accumulated waste often blocking drains, worsening floods.

 Infrastructure

The internal roads and inner lanes are mostly narrow, unpaved, or partially paved. Informal extensions of structures have reduced the width of the roads here. During the monsoons, these roads become waterlogged, muddy, and slippery making it difficult to navigate especially for the elderly people and children. The narrow roads affect people’s ability to reach work, schools, or health facilities.

Because of narrow lanes and encroachments, ambulance or emergency vehicle entry is constrained, particularly in inner stretches. Public transport connectivity is limited which forces residents to primarily depend on share-autos, two-wheelers, and bicycles for commuting. The combination of irregular transport services and poor road conditions adds time, cost, and risk to everyday travel, particularly for low-income households relying on hourly wages.

Health and Access to Services

While the nearest Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) is inside the community, residents complain about unavailability of staff and delay in care. The residents say they rely more on private formal and informal clinics, pharmacies. The residents are vulnerable to waterborne diseases, such as diarrhoea or cholera, vector-borne diseases such as dengue or malaria, respiratory illnesses (possibly due to pollution near garbage sites), heat related stress and ailments, and psychosocial stress.

Vambay Colony illustrates how planned resettlement may perpetuate vulnerabilities without adequate infrastructure, tenure security, and community-inclusive disaster planning. There is a need to secure tenure, work on infrastructure development and healthcare access, improve access to skill based programmes, and improve climate resilience.

 New Raja Rajeshwari Peta 

^{RR Peta. Credit- Menaka Rao}

The new Rajarajeshwari Peta or RR Peta as it is colloquially called is a resettlement colony, constructed next to Budamera rivulet. It is an initiative taken by municipal and state authorities under the Central Government scheme, Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission or JNNURM. This area was once a government wasteland and is still cut-off from major business centres of Vijayawada. 

The area was created to provide housing to the poor and accommodate communities evicted from footpaths and those living on the riverbanks of Krishna River which flows through Vijayawada. RR Peta has grown mainly along the railway line. 

These houses have been allotted to daily wage labourers, street vendors, domestic workers, waste pickers, some of who were living in makeshift houses by the road, among others. As these are daily wage workers, they are particularly vulnerable to weather-induced issues such as sunstrokes, fatigue from working in extreme heat conditions, skin burns, etc. 

While the colony was built by the state, these structures were left vacant and neglected for a few years, before people occupied them. There is a dearth of infrastructure and public services in the area. In fact, many houses are still unoccupied. In some houses, the cement walls have come apart. The civic body constructed water storage tanks in the basement, but the water has to be pumped up for those living in the higher floors to use. However, these pipes are damaged. Residents have to often abandon work and come collect water on the ground floor at allotted timings twice a day. The broken pipes cause water leakages and the collection of swampy water around them increases risk of water contamination. 

This settlement is in a low-lying area and is prone to flooding by canals and rivulets surrounding it. Along with Vambay colony, RR Peta was also affected by the 2024 floods in Vijayawada. 

The settlement is also exposed to extreme heat and extreme rain. The poorly constructed buildings offer little protection during either extreme heat or extreme rain. 

The residents also face frequent electricity cuts. Residents complain that swampy water around the complexes result in a growing mosquito population, and thereby increasing risk of residents contracting vector-borne diseases. They also complain that there are many snakes and scorpions around the complex, making them feel unsafe. Garbage is dumped on the road, occupying the open spaces where children play. The lack of streetlights also do not give a sense of security for the residents. Overall, the slum is situated in a geographically disadvantaged area, with households lacking access to essential services.

Even though there is a government-run Primary Health Centre (PHC) near the settlement, communities prefer to rely on informal health providers, commonly referred to as ‘RMPs’ who live and operate clinics near the settlements. Residents also rely on pharmacists to get medicines (both over-the-counter and prescription) without visiting the doctor. 

^{Some of the civic amenities present in the settlement include a government school, a Primary Health centre.}

The residents complain that they do not get satisfactory care in PHC, and that it is not open during the evening when they are relatively free. For what they consider serious health issues, or emergencies, including childbirth they rely on two secondary level hospitals about 5-10 kms away. They complain of long waiting times, which result in loss of wages for the entire day. 

^{Children buying knick-knacks from street vendors who ply in the colony.}