AP means Amaravati, Polavaram, says CM Naidu

Amaravati, June 20 - Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday visited Amaravati capital region to get first-hand information about the status of the capital’s development work and said Andhra Pradesh stands for Amaravati and Polavaram.

A week after assuming office as Chief Minister, he went around Amaravati where work on the capital came to a grinding halt in 2019 after the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government decided to develop three state capitals, reversing the decision of the earlier TDP government to build Amaravati as the sole capital.

CM Naidu began his visit from Praja Vedika, a building demolished by the previous government headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy in 2019.

He saw the debris of the structure built by him close to his official residence when he was the Chief Minister between 2014 and 2019.

The Chief Minister later told media persons that the government will keep the debris of Praja Vedika so that people remember the destructive role of Jagan Mohan Reddy like people remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The TDP leader said farmers of Amaravati withdrew their 1,631-days’ long protest after formation of the coalition government with the hope that it will complete capital development work.

CM Naidu, who had visited Polavaram three days ago, said Andhra Pradesh means Amaravati and Polavaram.

He said he had taken up capital development so that people don’t have to migrate to other states for work.

Similarly, Polavaram was given priority as the project, when completed, would irrigate the entire state.

Naidu also visited Uddandarayunipalem, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation for the capital in 2015.

Claiming that he tried to create brand Amaravati, he alleged that Jagan Mohan Reddy tried to kill it by making false allegations of insider trading and forced the Singapore Consortium to leave.

CM Naidu said the YSRCP government harassed the farmers, who had given their lands for capital development.

The Chief Minister visited the Seed Axis Road, the housing complexes for the All India Service officers, ministers and High Court judges.

The works started by the earlier TDP government had come to a halt.

He said the previous government did not to stop theft of construction materials from Amaravati.

CM Naidu said Jagan tried to divide people in the name of three capitals. He assured that the government would work for development of all the regions.

He recalled that 11 educational institutions were launched in different parts of the state to ensure their development.

The Chief Minister also went around the places where construction works were started during the earlier TDP regime for the iconic buildings.

CM Naidu has already declared that the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP government will develop Amaravati as the sole state capital.

In 2019, Jagan-led government had announced that three state capitals would be developed. The YSRCP government had mooted Visakhapatnam as the administrative capital, Kurnool as the judicial capital and Amaravati as legislative capital.

After assuming office as minister for municipal administration and urban development on June 16, P. Narayana had said that state capital works would be completed in two-and-a-half years.

He made it clear that Amaravati would be developed as per the old master plan.

Narayana said development of Amaravati in three phases would cost Rs.1 lakh crore.

The first phase was taken up by the earlier TDP government at a cost of Rs.48,000 crore.

--IANS