Members of CPI and CPI(M) staged protests against the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) proposal to impose annual user charges on walkers at public facilities such as Indira Priyadarshini Municipal Stadium and Swarna Bharathi Indoor Stadium. The activists called such ideas ‘anti-people’, and called for their immediate withdrawal.

The Maddilapalem Zonal Committee of CPI(M) leaders staged a demonstration in front of the Swarna Bharathi Indoor Stadium. CPI(M) leader RKSV Kumar strongly criticised the GVMC and termed it as a ‘tax on walking’. He alleged that the GVMC is burdening its citizens with additional charges for basic amenities. He also alleged that the idea to impose user charges is a one more attempt to privatise public spaces, including parks, stadiums and community halls, under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.