Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said he would shift to Visakhapatnam in September.
Though Jagan has earlier stated that he would be working from Visakhapatnam, he specified a time only on Wednesday, 19 April.
The chief minister’s announcement gains significance since the ruling YSRCP has been favouring three capitals for Andhra Pradesh, instead of the lone capital, Amaravati, as mooted by the previous TDP government.
Jagan made the announcement while addressing a public meeting at Naupada village in the Srikakulam district’s Sonthabommali Mandal.
“Visakhapatnam is acceptable for everyone in the state. It has the approval of all the people in the state,” the chief minister, now residing at Tadepalle in the Guntur district, said.
“As part of decentralisating the administration, your son (Jagan) will set up his family (kapuram) also in Visakhapatnam in September,” he stated.
Jagan was in Srikakulam to lay the foundation stone for a ₹4,362-crore, four-berth seaport at Mulapeta, and a slew of other projects.
The government renamed the proposed Bhavanapadu Port as Mulapeta Port on Sunday, 16 April.
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Vizag, Andhra’s largest city
The chief minister had revealed his intention to shift to Visakhapatnam earlier also.
Addressing the International Diplomats Alliance Meet in New Delhi on 31 January this year, Jagan said Visakhapatnam would soon be the capital.
“Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam, which is going to be our capital in the days to come. I would be shifting over to Visakhapatnam in the months to come as well,” he said while inviting industry leaders to set up shop in the City of Destiny.
However, he did not mention a specific time for shifting to Visakhapatnam at the Delhi meeting.
However, during an informal talk with his colleagues after a Cabinet meeting on 14 March, Jagan said he would relocate to the eastern coastal city in July.
The port city, the largest city in the southern state, is key to Jagan’s three-capitals plan: The legislative capital in Amaravati, the judicial capital in Kurnool, and the executive capital in Visakhapatnam.
Jagan’s move set up three capitals ran into legal trouble and is currently under the Supreme Court’s consideration.
Also read: ‘Vizag is going to be our capital, I will move there’
Balanced regional development
The chief minister stressed the need for balanced regional development while addressing the public meeting after laying the foundation stone for the Mulapeta Port.
The port would provide direct and indirect employment to 25,000 people and play a key role in handling exports and imports from other states, including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha.
He also laid foundation stones for a ₹360-crore fishing harbour at Budagatlapalem in Etcherla Mandal, ₹176.35-crore Vamsadhara Lift Irrigation Project that would take water to Hiramandalam Reservoir from Gotta Barrage, and the ₹300-crore Mahendratanaya offshore reservoir project works.
After the ground-breaking ceremonies, Jagan said the Mulapeta Port and other developmental works would change the face of the Srikakulam district, transforming local villages along the lines of cities such as Mumbai and Chennai over time.
The chief minister expressed regret that North Andhra has remained backward for several decades despite the Vamsadhara and Nagavali rivers irrigating the region.
The Mulapeta Port, which is expected to be completed in two years, would encourage the growth of ancillary industries in the surrounding areas. It would also employ the local youth, he said.
Also read: Jagan says he will start working out of Vizag from July
Mulapeta Port’s capacity to be augmented
The Mulapeta Port, being developed on 1,250 acres with an envisaged annual capacity of 23.5 million tonnes, will have four loading and unloading berths to handle exports and imports of coal, multipurpose containers, and general cargo.
Jagan expressed hope that its handling capacity would be augmented to 100 million tonnes in the future.
The ₹15-crore Manchineellapeta fish landing centre would be upgraded as a fishing harbour soon, he said. Fishing harbours in the district would encourage deep-sea fishing and prevent the migration of fishermen.
Jagan said he would complete the Mahendra Tanaya and Vamsadhara second phase stage-2 works. The works were initiated by his late father and former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
The works of the Uddhanam Kidney Centre have reached its final stage, he said, adding that he would inaugurate it in June.
The ₹700-crore drinking water project to bring purified water to Uddanam from the Hiramandalam Reservoir would be ready in the next few months. It would permanently address the recurrence of renal ailments, he said.
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More projects
Vamsadhara Lift Irrigation Project would help stabilise the ayacut with the supply of 19 TMC of water. It would encourage farmers to go for a second crop similar to the coastal districts, he said.
The linking of the Vamsadhara–Nagavaali rivers would be completed in August while the foundation stone for the ₹265-crore water works extension project in the Pathapatnam constituency would be laid in June, he said.
He said he would lay foundation stones for the Bhogapuram airport and Adani Data Centre on 3 May and for the Tribal University at Saluru in June.
The chief minister added that these developmental works would change the face of the Srikakulam district and North Andhra.
The establishment of four new medical colleges besides a tribal engineering college in the region would also serve the growing needs of the locals and better the lives of the tribal youth, he said.
