Thousands pouring into Amaravati for capital works re-launch

Amaravati, May 2 (IANS) Thousands of people from various parts of Andhra Pradesh have started arriving here on Friday for the re-launch of Amaravati state capital works by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

People from almost all districts were descending on the state capital to attend the public meeting scheduled to be held on Friday evening.

All roads leading to Amaravati were teeming with buses carrying people from all Assembly constituencies.

About five lakh people from across the state are expected to attend the public meeting.

There was a festive atmosphere in the villages in Amaravati as people, especially farmers who gave 43,000 acres of land for the state capital, were celebrating the re-launch of works after years of uncertainty, political turmoil and legal fight.

At the mega event, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation for Rs 49,040 crore worth of capital works in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, ministers and leaders of the ruling coalition.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive at Gannavaram Airport, Vijayawada, at 2.55 p.m. The NDA leaders will receive him.

He will then reach Amaravati by helicopter. Governor Abdul Nazeer, the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister will welcome him at the helipad near the State Secretariat in Velagapudi at 3.15 p.m.

The Prime Minister will reach the venue of the public meeting at 3.30 p.m. He will unveil a pylon to formally re-launch the capital works. These include five towers of the Amaravati Government Complex, the High Court, the Legislative Assembly building, etc.

PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone for some works and inaugurate some other projects worth Rs.8,000 crore relating to the DRDO, the DPIIT, the NHAI, and the Railways.

He will spend one hour and 15 minutes at the public meeting before flying back to Delhi from Gannavaram Airport.

Authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the public meeting on a 250-acre area.

It was on October 22, 2015, that the Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone for Amaravati.

Few development works were undertaken by the then TDP government. However, the works came to a halt after TDP lost power in 2019 as the YSR Congress Party government headed by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy decided to develop three state capitals.

This faced stiff resistance from farmers of 29 villages in Amaravati who had given their lands for the development of the state capital.

After the TDP-led NDA stormed to power in June last year, Chandrababu Naidu decided to resume work on his dream project.

The state government has decided to take up various works at a cost of Rs 77,250 crore. Tenders have already been called for works worth Rs 49,000 crore.

The Centre has assured all support in undertaking the works. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have agreed to lend Rs.15,000 crore. The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has approved a loan of Rs 11,000 crore.

--IANS

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