HYDERABAD: It is official now. Amaravathi in Andhra Pradesh and Warangal in Telangana will soon join the club of holy towns such as Varanasi, Mathura, Gaya, Ajmer, Amritsar, Kanchipuram and Velankanni for having the best infrastructure.
According to Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu, the Centre had decided to develop Amaravathi and Warangal as heritage cities along with 10 other cities across the country such as Varanasi, Mathura, Gaya, Ajmer, Amritsar, Kanchipuram and Velankanni, considering their ancient history.
As part of this Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme, the Centre will allot sufficient funds to each identified heritage city to enhance the quality of urban life in that city apart from improving its physical, social and economic structures.
In fact, it was reported earlier in these columns that Warangal was included in the HRIDAY scheme. Venkaiah Naidu, while addressing mediapersons here Sunday, disclosed that Amaravathi and Warangal are part of HRIDAY, including 10 other cities across India.
According to him, the `500 crore HRIDAY scheme would be launched by the ministry of urban development very soon.
‘’Amaravathi has rich history and it is close to the location where capital city of Andhra Pradesh will come up. Considering this, the government has decided to develop the city as tourist spot. Same is the case with Warangal, which is a historical city,” Naidu said.
Warangal was the capital of Kakatiya dynasty, while Amaravati, situated on the banks of river Krishna, was the capital of Satavahanas in the 2nd Century, besides being a major Buddhist centre.
He further stated that a meeting was convened with municipal commissioners and district collectors to discuss as to how to improve the city and conserve rich history of these two places. “The Central government will consider suggestions from the officials during the meeting and the scheme is contemplated to be started in January.”