Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) organised a 4-day workshop on Amaravati master plans. Experts from Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC-Singapore) who attended the conference suggested that considering the future requirements, the state should look for alternate sources of drinking water instead of depending only on River Krishna.
As per the reports in The Hindu, CLC Executive Director Khoo Teng Chye and Senior Deputy Director Aloha Ta speaking on the last day of the workshop said that different and crucial arrangements for drinking water has to be planned now itself.
It may be noted that there will be three reservoirs – Sakhamuru (50 acres), Nelapadu (450 acres) and Krishnayapalem (190 acres) to hold with a total storage capacity of 0.8 tmcft. The experts suggested that these reservoirs should also serve the drinking water purpose to an extent.
The delegation from Singapore recommended to setup a conjoint authority for drinking water supply, flood management, handling storm water and waste water.
They also said informed the CRDA to reconsider setting up waste water treatment plants in 13 zones. It suggested that keeping smaller number of the plants of bigger size is best approach as the maintenance would be less expensive.
Andhra Pradesh’s first private University by SRM Group was launched by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu at Neerukonda village in Mangalagiri Mandal in Amaravati. Venkaiah speaking at the launch said that Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth) will arrive where there is Saraswathi (goddess of Education). However contrary to the reports SRM university would let a student in only if they have lot of money.
The founder and chancellor of SRM University, T R Pachamuthu alias Pari Vendhar has been facing charges in several cases. He was arrested in August2016 for cheating gullible students to the tune of Rs 75 crore. About 110 parents approached the police saying that they have paid Rs 50 lakh each for admitting their kin into the MBBS course.
Also, as of May 2017, he was given a stay on a cheque bounce case. As per the complaint, Pachamuthu who is one of the partners in Vendhar Movies Production, borrowed Rs. 7.50 crore from the complainant. In return, the firm had issued two cheques for 2.60 crore which bounced.
He is the President and founder of Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK) political party in Tamil Nadu. IJK contested in the 2014 General Elections through an alliance with the BJP-led-NDA. Key BJP Ministers of state protested against the alliance.
Nonetheless, famous Perkins and Will architecture firm designed SRM campus. It has big tie-ups with international universities like MIT and UC Berkeley college of engineering in USA. The classes for four Engineering courses are set to commence classes from August with 300 engineering students and 30 faculty members.
Andhra Pradesh Minister P Narayana said that the construction of the capital which will commence on Dusshera is targeted to be completed in a year and half. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Minister Narayana, CRDA officials, Norman Foster, Hafeez Contractor, Chandrasekhar and Consultant in a meeting on Friday discussed about the construction of Amaravati and approved the plan.
Norman Fosters will provide the final details of legislative assembly by August 15 and that of High Court by August 30, while Hafeez contractors will provide structural design by September 15. Subsequently CRDA will call for tenders within one month of receipt of the designs and start the construction activity on Dussehra
Chief Minister also decided to give a presentation to the newly elected President, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Urban Development Minister Venkiah Naidu after the designs are finalized. The CRDA will build a good capital in the next one year.
Chandrababu termed Amravati as ‘Symbol of Pride’ and Polavaram as the ‘Symbol of Progress’. He said that the Andhra Pradesh Legislative buildings will resemble the Kohinoor diamond while the high court will resemble Stupa (hemispherical structure). The Secretariat buildings will have 10 floors with Ministers, Secretary and HODs occupying the same floor. 50% of the total land will be covered with greenery and water (blue-green).
The residences for Legislative Assembly, Secretariat employees, Ministers, IAS officers, other personnel will be constructed in 900acres while the houses of high court judges and officials will spread across 450 acres. They will build an iconic tower at a height of 500 feet. On either side of the administrative city statues of Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao and Ambedkar will be set up. He said that they left some land for various purposes near the River Krishna.
Vaastu has been playing a fundamental role in the construction of the Amaravati. Andhra Pradesh Secretariat is witnessing key changes to make it Vaastu Complaint. The layout alterations have commenced based on the recommendations of the pundits who said that four gates was not in accordance with the Vaastu Shastra. They suggested to add another gate at the fourth and fifth blocks. Consequently, the compound wall has been demolished.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu used to enter the secretariat through gate one, but following the instructions from the pundits, he now uses the second gate to go into the building. Already several modifications were made to the ministers’ chambers and different structures. There is widespread criticism at misuse of public money in the name of Vaastu. Despite being led by tech-savvy CM, the TDP administration continues to spend huge amounts from the state exchequer to ward off evil forces.
Whether you’re planning for a new career or just want to experiment with powers of advanced technologies, the best way to learn is through practice. Amaravati based startup ‘SuBrains’ is providing a platform and through a practical approach of learning in a way helping you to realize your career goals. Telugu360 is in conversation with N Surya Vamshi – Chief Executive Officer who tells us more about SuBrains…
Could you pitch for SuBrains?
Most of the engineering students join various coaching institutes and take those conventional courses after graduation. With an aim to bring about change and move away from traditional form of education towards a more practical approach, we started SuBrains. Our vision is to globalize education in niche technologies. Our USP is that we are supported by expert professionals/scientists around the globe who conduct workshops and we give real time projects. Thus, helping our users adopt to the real-time culture.
Can you walk us through your journey so far?
There is always a gap between the HR requirements and people/students’ perceptions. Due to lack of awareness, a lot of students learn web technologies, not all of them end up with jobs. According to a survey by 2020 India needs 75000 Sata Science resources. I quit my well-paying job and designed a product called poke jobs which is best of the world for recruiters. But we wanted to know more about neural networks and so Saketh Reddy(COO) and I joined M.tech in KLU. With the assistance from KLU, our first incubator and prime investor Tarun Kakani who is a serial entrepreneur and Chair of Young Indians Amaravati, we launched SuBrains in August2016. So far, our workshops have been receiving tremendous response.
Tell us about your upcoming Neural Summit
We are conducting Neural Summit on July26,27. This is the first every Artificial intelligence summit in India and it is purely for knowledge sharing. The speakers are the sharpest minds in AI who will speak about various things including the market trends etc. We have around 50 speakers and registrations are open. Corporate elites like IBM and HCL are our industry partners.
What is code wind?
The problem with core technologies is to get the environment up and running. To ease the infrastructure burden on the user, we have designed code wind which is a simulated environment. It is like a plug and play wherein a user can download code wind, run the environment of preferred choice and start working. It is difficult to get the infrastructure for Robotic kind of models. With code-wind the user just needs to initiate the environment and start importing the models.
There are other platforms that offer training courses, how do you differentiate yourself?
We are a platform which suits the contemporary needs. We offer education in niche technologies like robotics, data science, Artificial intelligence, block chain technology and chip level design. SuBrains helps you to improve your practical knowledge, with real-time projects to enhance the problem-solving capabilities. Moreover, every user who completes the course is certified after completion of course which helps them to get a job undoubtedly.
What is the significant change you have seen in SuBrains from the time you started?
We were two when we started and now we have 20 people working with us. We were able to get likeminded people and our team is your strength. We have around 8resources for marketing, others are into tech. Apart from that we were able to build our network in the industry and establish ourselves.
What is/was your biggest Challenge?
Like any startup, getting investors is a major challenge. Another challenge is the crème de la crème is still outside Andhra Pradesh. We need skilled tech people in Amaravati to develop and expand. If not we have to end up taking support from a consultancy outside AP.
What can we expect from SuBrains in next two years?
We are putting efforts to build the best social networking engine. We want to include virtual reality in SuBrains. We are striving to help every person who enrolls with us, in getting education on par with the top-class universities in the world.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that Vishakapatnam Railway Zone is dream of people and requested Union Minister Suresh Prabhu to speed up the process. TDP chief along with Union Minister of Railways inaugurated several rail infra developmental works at Tummalapalli Kalakshetram on Thursday. Naidu declared that the TDP government is prepared to reduce power tariff for railways.
The TDP supremo appreciating Prabhu’s efforts for state railways, requested rail connectivity to Amaravati. He requested to enhance connectivity between Amaravati-Chennai-Hyderabad, Amaravati-Bengaluru. As per the CM’s request, Prabhu assured connectivity to the new capital. He said AP was ahead of others in development of railways and would soon emerge as a logistics hub. The Rajya Sabha MP also mentioned that said the projects would be taken up at a cost of ₹1.31 lakh crore.
On the ocassion Vijayawada-Howrah Hamsafar weekly express, Tirupati-Jamutavi weekly super-fast train were flagged off. Mechanised laundry at Tirupati, three-phase electric locomotive simulator, doubling of Gutti-Dharmavaram and Guntakal-Rayachur-Wadi line, Vijayawada-Gudivada, Bhimavaram-Machilipatnam and Narasapur-Nidadavole sections were sanctioned.
Along with Naidu and Prabhu, M Venkaiah Naidu and P Ashok Gajapathi Raju participated in the function where railway projects were launched through video link.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday appointed agriculturist and inventor of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) Subhash Palekar as an advisor to promote organic farming in the state.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met Palekar here and appointed him as an advisor to the government, responsible for formulating policies and creating a framework to foster organic farming.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office, the move is part of the government’s efforts to make agriculture more profitable, reduce input cost and to encourage and promote healthy and organic farming.
Naidu also requested Palekar to help build a university in Amaravati exclusively for organic farming. For this purpose, the state government has agreed to allot 100 acres of land and Rs 100 crore as investment.
The Chief Minister said that he will strive to make Andhra Pradesh 100 percent organic in the coming years and eliminate use of harmful chemicals and fertilizers in crop production.
Last year, Palekar had organized a training programme for thousands of farmers from all over the state. The government aims to train 10 lakh farmers in the coming three years.
The state government had last year initiated Zero-Budget Natural Farming. This initiative covered a total of 5 lakh farmers and 5 lakh hectares in 2,000 villages and 50 percent ‘mandals’ of the state spread across all the districts and all agro-climatic zones.
Another 260 clusters have been identified for initiating the work from Kharif 2017. 1,80,000 farmers are expected to be on board this year, said the statement.
Andhra Pradesh assembly building flunked the first monsoon test. The three-month old building constructed at a cost of 120crore rupees couldn’t sustain heavy downpour on Tuesday at Velagapudi in Guntur district. A video posted by YSR Congress party on its social media page shows the water pouring from the damaged false ceiling and AC in the Opposition Leader Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s chamber. The YSR Congress Party is visibly making a mountain of the leak.
YCP leaders who were on a fact-finding mission today, were denied entry into the assembly premises. Consequently, they staged a dharna at assembly gate with black cloth tied around their mouth. The opposition party leaders criticized that the new secretariat is already in ruins. As per the reports even the media was barred from entering the Assembly premises.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu expressed anger over the water leakage in the assembly. He asked the CRDA commissioner to probe into the incident and report with the details. On the other hand, the CID officials examined the reasons for water leak in the Jagan’s Chamber. The CID found that the rainwater pipe on the chamber was cut. Assembly Speaker Kodela Shiva Prasad said that the CID was investigating the possibility of a conspiracy.
CRDA Commissioner Ch Sridhar reportedly said that there were no shortcomings in building construction but the leakage was due to a pipe sunk into the ceiling as part of recent electrical work. He said that water entered as the sunshade was not of enough length in some building. He asserted that the required repairs are being done and moving forward precautions would be taken for future constructions.
The temporary assembly was built in a record time of 190days and about hundred crore expenditure buildings in a tech-savy manner. Even if the quality of construction was assumed to be blameless, the maintenance of the structure is in debateable. Despite being a a small issue, the TDP government should take it up seriously, to avoid being grilled about the permanent structures.
Andhra Pradesh officials are working to bring out the definitive blueprint of government complexes and high court in Amaravati by end of June. The chief minister responded positively to the initial designs of Assembly and High Court submitted by London-based Norman Foster + Partners last week. The firm is now working on submitting final designs in June. The master plan will be available towards end of the month, followed by that the firm will be engaged in Architecture and Engineering designs. Once the designs are finalised after the proposed modifications, government will call for tenders and work will begin as soon as possible.
The chief minister said that the high court chief justice and lawyers should endorse the designs of the high court with minimal involvement from the government. The high court design comprises of High court, Residence of Judges, Universities and Tribunals. Towards the end of June, once the architecture design is completed, works related to engineering design will be kicked off. The government complex will spread across 900 acres while the high court is anticipated to occupy 465 acres. The government complex will host Assembly, secretariat, Raj Bhavan, Residences of Governor and Chief Minister, HOD buildings, MLA quarters and other government quarters.
The constructions will be on par international standards, on the basis of ‘walk to work’ culture and 5:10:15 ratio. The designs are being built such that in case of emergency a person will be able to reach destination in 5minutes, to work in 10minutes and to public places in 15minutes.
The designs will incorporate water canals on Palavagu in Amaravati similar to the one at Thames in London. It may be recalled that the Government allotted lands to nine thematic cities in Amaravati which will spread over a mammoth 217 sq.km. The cities are Government, Finance, Knowledge, Justice, Health, Sports, Tourism, Media and Electronics to be constructed on the basis of urban development models.
Selected Concept Design option for the proposed Legislature Complex in Amaravati. Please share your views on the video. pic.twitter.com/W4QeuaYT0X
Andhra Pradesh is again looked down by the central government after back tracking on several promises already. The proposed Vijayawada Metro Rail is back to square one. The tenders called by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), were suspended on Tuesday without specifying any reason. This is the second time that the tenders have been called off since inception.The metro project is implemented by a special purpose vehicle named as, Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC).
The project which is estimated to cost around 6769 crore rupees, was awarded to E.Sreedharan led Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). DMRC’s successful execution of the Delhi Metro Rail project was the primary criteria to award the Vijayawada Metro Rail project to them. Leave alone successful execution, the project is hitting road blocks in the initial phases itself.
While an extension to Amaravati is proposed in subsequent phase, the proposed first line will follow Bandar Road from Pandit Nehru Bus Station to Penamaluru via Mahatma Gandhi road and the second run from PNBS along Eluru Road to Nidamanuru via Vijayawada Railway Station. The DMRC called off tenders for the second line Eluru corridor. Furthermore, the officials supposedly held that the bid for Bandar corridor will also be withdrawn.
DMRC was asked to complete phase-1 of the project by December 2018 which consists of two corridors covering 26.03 km which is obviously going to miss the target. As a part of making Vijayawada Smart City, Chandrababu considered this project as a prestigious one and is making futile attempts to get it running.
The State Government and Central Governments will invest in 20% while 60% of the funds will be pooled from abroad. German bank KfW agreed to provide a loan of ₹2,500 crore (US$390 million) to the AMRC in February 2017.
As part of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, thirteenth schedule the Government of India shall examine the feasibility of Metro Rail facility in Vishakhapatnam and Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali Metropolitan Urban Development Authority within period of one year from the appointed day and take an expeditious decision thereon. The Center has backtracked on Andhra Pradesh Special Category Status, Kadapa steel plant and uncertainity looms over Vishakapatnam Railway Zone.
Vijayawada: The new capital Amaravati would have pollution-free transportation system, said AP Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar.
The Chief Secretary reviewed the transport arrangements for the new capital at a meeting of the AP Capital Region Unified Transport Authority (APCRUTA). He said that the government was working to introduce the world’s best transportation system in the new capital. The Greenfield transportation system would keep the city clean and pollution-free, he said.
The government had already decided on having sensor-monitored traffic signals in the capital city for the vehicular movement. The officials are already studying the traffic systems, traffic signal systems across the world. The best cities in the world are being visited and the best transportation and traffic management systems are studied to be implemented in Amaravati, the Chief Secretary said.
The Chief Secretary had also directed the officials to take steps to streamline the traffic in Vijayawada. He asked them to speed up the inner ring road and by-pass road works in Vijayawada along with the proposed flyover at Benz Circle.
AP Capital Region Development Authority commissioner Cherukuri Sreedhar gave a power point presentation on the traffic management and vehicle usage for the new capital. He said that the government had proposed the Greenfield traffic management keeping in view the proposed population to be in the city by 2050. He said that the government had already appointed a consultant to study the issue and the requirements of the government. The consultant is preparing the master plan for traffic management in the capital city.
The CRDA Commissioner also explained to the members about the road network proposed for the new capital in the master plan. He further briefed them on the ongoing road works in the capital.
CRDA principle secretary Ajay Jain, Urban Development principle secretary Karikala Valavan, Amaravati Metro Rail project managing director Ramakrishna Reddy and others were present.
Vijayawada: The new capital, Amaravati, would see Chief Minister of the State and the Governor as neighbours living on the same lane. The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) and the Raj Bhavan, are planned to come up in the same lane, making it easy for the security cover.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had advised the UK-based master designers, Norman Fosters, to bring revised designs in the next two weeks so as to place them before the people for their review. The Chief Minister, who took a look at the designs submitted by the Norman Fosters at his Undavalli residence, suggested some changes.
The Chief Minister had asked the designers to plan a 100-feet tower close to the Assembly complex. The tower would be open to the visitors to have an overall view of the capital city from the top of it. Like in Parliament, the Chief Minister had proposed a huge Central Hall between the Assembly and Legislative Council.
The Secretariat and the offices of the Heads of Departments would also come up side by side facilitating easy movement of the staff and the people. These two buildings would have a huge convention center, trade center and an exhibition center located in the opposite direction.
The Chief Minister had also suggested on having massive statues of former chief minister N T Rama Rao on one side and late Dr B R Ambedkar on the other side of the Government City. The Chief Minister wanted the master designers to make some changes to the High Court complex that would reflect the Telugu peoples’ culture.
The master designers were asked to return in two weeks as the government is heading for beginning of the Government City construction work shortly. The task of building the Government City, the first to come up in the nine cities planned in the capital, was already handed over to the Singapore Consortium.
Andhra Pradesh Government is taking unyielding measures against individuals on social media who make derogatory comments. On the other hand Minister for Panchayath Raj, Rural Development Nara Lokesh made his debut on Quora this week. The IT minister answered five questions out of which four were related to AP and Amaravati, one about his father.
His debut on Quora will pave for many more politicians to follow his foot-steps and join the incredible platform. The number of Indian politicians on Quora is countable. While politicians do not want to be answerable to anyone, this step by Lokesh could be considered as another way of apprising social media users about the government’s initiatives.
However most of the questions answered by the minister are old. There are several other questions on topics which Lokesh can choose to answer. It is absolutely necessary if he replies to the queries which have remain unanswered for longtime now in the minds of people, through this medium.
Quora calls itself a place to “gain and share knowledge” and a platform to ask questions and connect with people who contribute unique insights and quality answers. Lokesh is using social media to become more people friendly and this time optimistically to gain and share knowledge. However, it may be recalled that the TDP government is allegedly going to set up a Social Media Regulatory Authority (SMRA) to exercise greater control over social media platforms. Evident from the recent arrests, the government is trying its best to regulate the social media through all possible means. This debut of the minister is hopefully to answer the questions of his choice and not another extortion technique.
Vijayawada: The final designs of the government core complexes in Amaravati would be ready by May 22. The master designers, Norman Fosters from UK, would submit the designs to the government on May 22. The government would then, after an initial review, place the designs for the review of the people, said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The AP Capital Region Development Authority officials have returned to the city after participating in the workshop in London on the core capital designs from May 12 to 16. The final plan proposals of the core capital would have the Assembly complex as iconic tower that reflects the rich tradition and culture of the Telugu people.
While the Secretariat complex is proposed in 8 to 10 floors, the Assembly would be located in over 160 acres of land. The Government complex, which is set to come up on the banks of river Krishna would be well connected by road, rail and inland waterways. The Chief Minister had instructed the officials to plan the transportation for the new capital and wanted them to plan for common ticket for road, rail and waterways. The walking distance for the visitors to any office in the core capital should be maximum of five minutes, he told the officials.
The AP government had already signed MoU with the Singapore Consortium to build the core capital and had even assigned the land for the startup area. The Singapore Consortium and the State government would together develop this startup area and sell the open spaces and built up areas to raise funds for the construction of the Government City.
Having completed the initial process of signing MoU with the Singapore Consortium, the State government is now focusing on the Government City, which it wants to give a shape before going for the next round of elections.
Andhra Pradesh government has taken a big step towards the capital city construction Amaravati on Monday. The government was inked the memorandum of understandings (MoU) with a consortium of Singapore government companies for the startup-area construction. Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu exchanged the MoU with the Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran. Followed by that the foundation stone has been laid for the Amaravati start-up area at Mandadam village.
Speaking on the occasion Chief Minister said that Amaravati will be built on par with international standards like Singapore as per the promise given to the people during the election. He said that the Singapore government gave big plan for Amaravati’s development in just a month. Naidu thanked the Singapore government for its participation and said that Amaravati will be better than Singapore.
Likewise, Singapore’s Minister said he is be happy to be part of the development of Andhra Pradesh’s capital. Iswaran said that a three-stage plan for Amaravati development has already been provided and the capital region will be developed with high standards. In the three phases for next fifteen years 1,691 acres will be developed, with 656 acres in the first phase, 514 acres in the second and 521 acres in the third phase.
It may be recalled that the TDP government has ratified the proposals submitted by the Singapore Consortium for the development of the start-up area of the capital city under the Swiss Challenge method. The consortium comprising of Ascendas-Singbridge Private Limited and Sembcorp Design will develop the area along with the Amaravati Development Corporation (ADC).
Hoping to make huge revenues, Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) has decided to take up auction six big land parcels totalling 15 acres in Raidurg, Hi-Tec City and Khanamet. This auctioning will help us know where Hyderabad stands with respect to its real estate growth. On the other hand, buyers are choosing Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune over the prime metros like Mumbai and Delhi.
Post bifurcation there were many reports on how real-estate will fall flat in the newly formed state of Telangana. However, contrary to the speculations, the income through registrations has seen a significant rise from the fiscal year 2015-16 to 2016-17. The revenue increased from Rs 3,100 crore to Rs 3,528 crore while the real growth rate around 14 percent putting Telangana in first position in South India. After Telangana only Kerala has seen a growth by 5percent. The other south India states including Andhra Pradesh saw a dip. The revenue through registrations in AP fell to 4 per cent, 5.61 per cent in Karnataka and 18.36 per cent in Tamil Nadu.
However, 83 per cent of Telangana registrations are from Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts only. In West Hyderabad alone, 11,877 houses are estimated to be under construction since last year. There is an increase in sales as well because of the implementation of huge projects. At least 600 houses are taken as a part of each project. Consequently, there is really good increase in prices of real estate.
On the contrary, in counterpart Andhra Pradesh the muddle in capital city construction and drought are obstructing the real estate boom. Sales have been halted around the capital city. The Singapore Consortium has set a condition that government should give permission to others only after the work in their plots is completed. The initial excitement to relocate to Amaravati from Hyderabad is fading. The government’s hoped that the citizens of AP will shift their businesses from Hyderabad to Vijayawada but in vain. With Real estate growing rapidly in Hyderabad, those who wanted to swing to Amaravati are reconsidering their plans. It is known that real estate elites of Rayalaseema and Nellore regions established themselves in Bengaluru.
Hyderabad is in a league of its own and as such is lucrative, so even the employees who are posted in AP are not completing shifting their base including the Chief Minister’s family. It will take time for media and entertainment industry to shift their base, even though they have started operations. By 2019, as the election fever grips in, there might be some movement. Everyone is hopeful about the AP capital and want it to constructed at the earliest. The plains have to be converted into sky-rise buildings, industrial corridors and others which can attract investments to make Amaravati a functional capital.
Vijayawada: The 10-day long US tour of AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu concluded with a positive note of roping in prestigious companies like Bell, Dell, Cisco and Templeton to have their operations in Andhra Pradesh. Chandrababu Naidu had held discussions with the heads of these companies and invited them to start their operations in the reorganised State and the new capital. The Chief Minister had also given elaborate power point presentations to the heads of these companies on the ease of doing business in Andhra Pradesh, the resources available here and the advantages of locating in the new capital.
Amaravati, the new capital, has been emerged as the hot favourite for the foreign investments with the government having abundant land on its hand. Chandrababu Naidu had visited 15 cities during his stay travelling over 7,000 km and addressing over 30 conferences. Though he had held one to one consultations with representatives of over 90 companies, the Dell, Bell, Cisco and the Templeton have responded positively to reach out to the Amaravati city in the near future.
The government had also signed several MoUs with various companies to partner the development of the state in sectors like agriculture, IT, electronics and Google which is a positive sign for the future of the State. While it would take a few months to realise these agreements, the State is set to have greater employment opportunities for the youth in the years to come.
The Non-Resident Telugu Society had played a key role in organising the 10-day visit of the Chief Minister. The representatives of the NRTS have taken the trouble in organising the events, including those with the representatives of the top companies. The role that the NRTS delegates played in giving a positive projection to Andhra Pradesh is seen as a welcome move by the Telugu people living outside.
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had successfully roped in over 28 IT companies to have their base in Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh. During his tour in US, Chandrababu Naidu had met the representatives of the 28 IT companies and briefed them about the resources and opportunities that are available in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in Amaravati after the bifurcation. Dell, the computer major, had come forward to have its data center in Amaravati.
The IT companies like Premier IT solutions, GlobalOutlook, Tekpros, Arcus Technologies are a few among them, who had direct interaction with the Chief Minister. These companies will lease space in Visakhapatnam and Amaravati, respectively providing employment to 310 and 64 professionals in those units.
The Chief Minister in his address to these companies said that he is happy to see the conglomeration of U.S’s Telugu entrepreneurs. He said that most of the people who are now in US came with an idea to be professionals and now they have become entrepreneurs.
He urged the Telugus to mingle with the local communities and earn their confidence. Besides complimenting them for their active participation in smart village, smart ward programme, the Chief Minister requested them not to forget their birthplace and their native village. The Chief Minister called upon the Telugus to participate in the development of the State. He said that the skills and knowledge acquired by the Telugus here will be very useful for the development of Andhra Pradesh.
The Chief Minister asked them to start their operations in Andhra Pradesh initially and expand to others parts of India later. I want Indians to be in the forefront in the world and among them Telugus should be the foremost, that’s my dream, the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister also held interaction with the director of Bell Helicopters and requested him to have their helicopter manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh.
Visakhapatnam: Minister for IT, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Nara Lokesh, is sprucing up the beach city for the three-day Mahanadu to be held for three days from May 27. Lokesh, who is now in Visakhapatnam, grabbed the opportunity to visit the venue for the Mahanadu on Saturday and held discussions with the party leaders on the arrangements to be made for the mega event.
This being the first Mahanadu for him as Minister, Lokesh is taking special care to monitor the arrangements in every minute detail. Minister for Human Resources, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, besides others is taking care of the food arrangements for the party leaders and activists to be present during the three days. Party State president and Minister for Power, K Kalavenkata Rao, another Minister Ch Ayyannapathrudu from the region have already got into action preparing the rank and file for the mega event.
Lokesh, who has already been elevated by giving him membership of the two prominent Cabinet committees, Industrial Promotion Board and the Land Allocation Committee for Amaravati, is marching ahead making his mark in the State administration. The absence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had come in as a blessing in disguise for him to establish himself as next in command, both in the party and the government as well.
The Mahanadu arrangements are set to give him a greater opportunity to have his word and prove his leadership qualities. A month after his elevation as the Minister, Lokesh now looks different. He is giving least priority to the criticism on him by the Opposition and also the comments against him in the social media. “My concern is not to counter the criticism. I am focusing more on the developmental works, particularly in the IT and Rural Development sectors. While the IT will bring more jobs for the people, the rural development would change the face of the State and that itself would counter the criticism,” he quipped during a chit chat with the media persons before leaving for Visakhapatnam.
With this changed attitude of ignoring the Opposition criticism, Lokesh looks different as he gained greater experience in politics and administration to be the successor to the master of politics, Chandrababu Naidu. His initiatives in making the next Mahanadu are also set to be a greater opportunity to prove his abilities and energies.
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had come up with a new phrase to describe the new capital, Amaravati. Right from the day one of his plans for the new capital, he had been using the phrase of World Class capital to describe Amaravati plans. He wanted Amaravati to be the global destination for investments and employment.
Now, the buzz word is “World Best”. Chandrababu Naidu wants the Amaravati city to be the world’s best right from its planning to the designs of the structures. As the master plan and the plans for the structures, including bridges across river Krishna are in the final stage, the Chief Minister wants everything now to be the world’s best. He is very particular about the representation of the Telugu culture, the historical Buddhist connection and the prestigious Kuchipudi tradition reflected in every sphere.
Of the two proposed bridges across river Krishna, one bridge would be the total reflection of the Kuchipudi Mudra (dance form). The design of the bridge is in its final stage and the Chief Minister wanted it to be the special attraction for the tourists. The bridge is would have four lanes besides additional space for the people to walk around in the evenings.
The hills around Undavalli and Penumaka, besides the Vaikuntapuram and Harischandrapuram too would be made tourist attractions. The seven Islands in river Krishna, besides the existing Bhavani Island, would also be converted into tourist places.
The government city, slated to come up on 900 acres near Uddandarayapalem too would reflect the Telugu and Buddhist cultures. The city would have the Assembly, Secretariat, Raj Bhavan, the Chief Minister’s Office and the residences for the Ministers, MLAs, MLCs and senior bureaucrats. Chandrababu Naidu wants every structure here should be the world’s best and reflect the Telugu culture. The focus now is on the design of the Assembly building which would have an iconic tower that is expected to go about 500 meters height housing the Assembly and Council Halls, offices of the Speaker and the political parties.
The new city would have metro bus services on the main roads, pollution-free electric bus services in the internal roads. This would be in addition to the water transport being planned in the city. “Every movement and every travel from one place to the other should not take more than 30 minutes,” is what the Chief Minister is insisting on the planners and designers.
In all probability, the Chief Minister is firm on launching the works of the two bridges across the river and the Government city with the construction of Assembly complex on priority. The works on the roads is in progress and they are set to complete 80 per cent in the next six months. Special focus is being laid on the greenery development in the city, along the roads and around the buildings. “All this would make the city a best in the world,” Chandrababu Naidu asserted.
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