VIJAYAWADA: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has appealed to the Telugus the world over to contribute ‘one brick each or its value in cash’ for the construction of the capital for Andhra Pradesh.
Addressing a group of farmers from Tullur region in Guntur district after receiving cheques for a total amount of Rs 3,52,675 from two of them -- the farmers returned the annuity granted by the government for handing over their land under the Land Pooling Scheme -- the chief minister said that he wanted the capital to belong to all sections of people -- farmers, farm labourers, women, students and workers.
Naidu said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was favourably inclined to the construction of the capital and that he was ready to support the project financially so that it would become an international city. “The ‘Bhoomi pooja’ for the new capital on Oct 22 will go down in the history as one that has heralded a new chapter in the lives of the Telugus,” he added.
He said it was heart-warming to note that the farmers in village in Tullur mandal had stood by the government by donating 33,000 acres under the Land Pooling Scheme despite vicious propaganda by others against the capital city construction.
The two farmers who returned the annuity amount to the government -- Peravali Chandrasekhara Rao and Adusumilli Subrahamnayam -- said that in future too they would return the annuity amount to the government till the amount added upto `60 lakh. “This is our contribution to the construction of the capital city,” they added.