Thu May 29 03:47:43 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article based on the provided text:

**Headline: Visakhapatnam Residents Protest Proposed Property Tax Hike**

**Visakhapatnam, India – May 29, 2025** – Members of the Visakhapatnam Apartment Resident Welfare Association (VARWA) and the Federation of Greater Visakha Colonies Association (NIVAS) staged a protest in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, demanding the Andhra Pradesh government withdraw proposed increases to property taxes. The protest took place near the Mahatma Gandhi statue near the GVMC office.

Demonstrators urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to fulfill his election promise of reviewing the current property tax system. They are advocating for a complete abolition of the property tax policy in favor of a return to the former house tax system.

“We have distributed over 10,000 pamphlets to raise awareness about this issue,” said N. Prakash Rao, President of VARWA. B.B. Ganesh, Secretary of VARWA, and Pitta Narayana Murty, General Secretary of NIVAS also voiced their complaints. Resident Welfare Associations throughout the city have reportedly sent thousands of petitions to the Chief Minister on the matter.

Protesters submitted a memorandum at the Mayor’s office, highlighting a series of recent financial burdens on residents. They pointed to increases in house plot and construction values by the Stamps and Registration Department in February, a 15% hike in property taxes in April, and the potential for another increase of at least 20% in June due to orders from the Municipal Administration Department. “These changes are happening in just four months,” lamented a protester.

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