GVMC intensifies Operation Lungs 3.0, clears cellar encroachments

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Visakhapatnam: The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has so far cleared tens of stilt and cellar floors being used for commercial purposes, rather than their intended use for parking, as part of Operation Lungs 3.0. Chief city planner A Prabhakar Rao urged all business owners occupying these floors to voluntarily vacate their premises immediately.The drive cleared encroachments in several key localities, including Mithilapuri Colony (Madhurawada Zone), Seethammadhara, and Dondaparthy in the North Zone. Action was also taken at NAD Junction and Isukathota in the East Zone, along with Darapalem. In the Gajuwaka Zone, violations were removed on Gajuwaka main road and in the Soundarya area.

The Anakapalli Zone saw clearances at APNR Complex on MRO office road and along Pudimadaka road.

“Vehicles parked on roads, footpaths, and other open spaces across the city are causing traffic congestion and inconvenience to the public. To address this issue and provide dedicated parking facilities, the city administration launched Operation Lungs 3.0, with the aim of clearing cellar and stilt floors for exclusive use as vehicle parking areas.

With the support of GVMC field-level teams and the police, several encroachments have already been removed. As part of the operation, in Gopalapatnam’s 91st Ward at Ramakrishna Nagar, grills enclosing a cellar floor were dismantled. A two-wheeler showroom service centre occupying a cellar floor, along with staff lockers and tailoring equipment on Netaji Street, were also cleared,” the chief city planner said. “The operation is ongoing across the city, and all business operators currently using cellar or stilt floors for commercial purposes must vacate the premises immediately, so the floors can be used solely for parking. The operation involves assistant planning officers from various zones, staff from the planning department and secretariat, and police personnel,” Rao added. After clearing nearly 3,000 encroachments from public places under Operation Lungs 2.0, the GVMC recently launched the next phase of the drive—Operation Lungs 3.0. This new phase focuses on removing illegal commercial activities being carried out in the cellar floors of commercial buildings. Building on the success of Operation Lungs 2.0, which cleared thousands of encroachments from footpaths, roads, and other public spaces, Operation Lungs 3.0 aims to tackle one of the major causes of traffic congestion: the misuse of cellar parking areas.