Pamarru (Krishna district): The national highway between Vijayawada and Machilipatnam is going to prove as a game changer for the people of the area, once completed. Though the 65-km long four-lane highway was initially planned to get complete by June 2018 but will take a few more months to be brought into full utilisation.There was a hue and cry from the people all along the route when the project was announced back in 2009. The initial plan was to expand the existing road that passes through at least three towns and 8 villages excluding Vijayawada and Machilipatnam cities and also to connect the highway to the port coming at Machilipatnam.The initial plan would have seen the demolition of various houses along the road resulting which people staged a protest demanding the change in plan. Soon the protests paid rich dividends for the people as the alignment was changed from the existing villages to the formation of the by-pass road from all these towns and villages, except from Gudur on the outskirts of Machilipatnam and a few other villages.The families who feared demolition of their houses for the highway are now relieved as according to the new plan, the highway would pass by the village through the agriculture lands. Moreover, people have now started moving to the side of the highway establishing small shops and other commercial establishments, making an entry into highway business.“As of now the business on the highway is insignificant. But once the highway and the Machilipatnam port are ready, we are expecting the business to go up,” quipped a small tea vendor, Satyanarayana at Ogirala village along the highway.The farmers were paid compensation amounting to a total of Rs 500 crore from the initial estimate of Rs 83.01 crore. This was due to protests from the people whose lands were acquired for the highway and whose shops and buildings were demolished in Vijayawada and Machilipatnam, besides other places. The road, which starts from Benz Circle in Vijayawada ends at Machilipatnam port site.

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