VISAKHAPATNAM: Taking the onus of rebuilding the Hudhud-hit Visakhapatnam upon himself, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu Monday promised to develop the city to make it cyclone-proof by introducing cyclone-resilient infrastructure like underground power cables and service ducts for telephone and other cables. He said that the objective would be to take measures that would help the city bounce back within hours of being hit by a storm, if any.
Addressing a gathering after launching ‘Haritha Visakha’ plantation programme at MVP Colony here Monday, Naidu praised the city residents for their steely resolve in overcoming the recent cyclone. “I shall not forget the cooperation of the people of Visakhapatnam in helping the government’s efforts to restore normalcy,” he said.
He urged the people to continue their cooperation in making it the most sought-after destination. He also launched a portal ‘www.onevizag.org’, developed by Phoenix IT Solutions, for mapping the planted saplings and tracking their growth.
The chief minister said that Vizag has good natural resources and it would be rebuilt as a beautiful city which would be the most favoured destination for investors, employees and tourists alike. He said that all natural resources available in the city will be utilised to turn it into a smart city.
Call for ‘Haritha Visakha’
After planting a sapling at MVP Colony, Naidu stressed the need for planting trees and protecting them. He said that the district administration has managed to sort out the majority of problems within a month’s period to restore normalcy in the city.
“It is now the turn of people to take up the responsibility of planting trees and protecting them,” he said. About 79,000 saplings were planted in 72 wards of the city including Anakapalle and Bheemili on Monday itself.
Later, the chief minister participated in the Karthika Vana Mahostsav programme at Kailasagiri and had lunch with the members of SHGs.
Interacting with the women, he promised all help from the government for their welfare.
Ministers Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy, Ch Ayyanna Patrudu, Palle Raghunadha Reddy, Ravela Kishore Babu, Kimidi Mrinalini, P Narayana and Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Visakhapatnam MP Kambhampati Haribabu, Visakhapatnam East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, district collector N Yuvaraj, joint collector Pravin Kumar, GVMC commissioner M Janaki and other officials were present.
With the call for the chief minister’s ‘Haritha Visakha’,many educational institutions and organsations actively took part in the plantation programme.
GITAM institution management took part in the plantation programme at Tenneti Park, where the chief minister appreciated the GITAM Alumni association of North America, who adopted Tenneti Park and took up the challenge to reconstruct it.
The chief minister promised complete support from the government’s behalf. GITAM donated `60 lakh as the initial amount for the reconstruction of the park,where the officials mentioned that they would concentrate on making it a tourist attraction.
Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) too took part in the tree plantation programme here Monday here at the Port High School at Kailsapuram. VPT Chairman MT Krishna Babu, along with the officials and school staff participated in the programme.
Meanwhile tree plantation programmes were conducted at the Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS), where the hospital management, staff and other employees actively took part in the programme.