HYDERABAD: Lauding the Vijayanagara emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya’s service to the southern states of Karnataka, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala during his reign, chief minister K Rosaiah said that Krishnadevaraya had foresight to build irrigation projects and he constructed number of projects for the benefit of people to make cultivation 500 years ago.
He was the chief guest at the 500th coronation ceremony day celebrations of Sri Krishnadevaraya, being organised jointly by the state government, State Cultural Council, department of culture and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) at Lalita Kala Toranam in the Public Gardens here today.
Addressing the gathering, Rosaiah said Sri Krishnadevaraya built a water supply project at Hampi, which was the capital city. “He had great foresight to help people by providing proper facilities.
He built a temple and a tank (cheruvu) in every village during his ruling to save our culture and history,’’ he said.
He said that the administration of the empire was carried on along the lines indicated in his Amuktamalyada.
He was the opinion that the King should always rule with an eye towards dharma. His concern for the welfare of the people is amply proved by his extensive annual tours all over the empire, during which he studied everything personally and tried to redress the grievances of the people and to punish the evil doers.
“The reign of Krishnadevaraya was also remarkable for the encouragement and development of arts and letters.
A number of towns, dams and public buildings were also constructed. Many festivals and ceremonies were held during the period of Krishnadevaraya who encouraged many arts like sculpture, painting, dancing and music,’’ he added.
Minister for information and public relations J Geeta Reddy said that the government was planning to construct a national museum at Penukonda in Anantapur district and the chief minister would lay the foundation stone soon.
“The state government is organising seminars on History, Literature and Culture at Sri Potti Sri Ramulu Telugu University while as many as 2,000 coins belong to Sri Krishnadevaraya will be on dispaly at the State Art Gallery. A number of paintings are also on display to create awareness among the people on the emperor,’’ she added.
The chief minister felicitated dancer couple Radha and Raja Reddy, singer Vinod Babu and Mridangam maestro Yella Venkateswara Rao at the function.
Minister for animal husbandry K Parthasarathy, TTD chairman DK Adikesavulu Naidu, Cultural Council chairman R V Ramana Murthy, chief secretary (culture) S Chellappa and director of culture M Kantha Rao participated.