VISAKHAPATNAM: With Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy hinting at setting up of Executive Capital of the State in Visakhapatnam, the district machinery is said to be preparing the ground for submitting various alternatives to him to take a call on the location of the Secretariat and other buildings if the State government takes a final decision in this regard.
According to officials who stated that the ground level identification of government lands has just begun, about 1,000 acres of land is available in Anandapuram Mandal north of Vizag city, while another 900 acres of land has been identified at Aganampudi in the south and also another 90 acres at Kommadi. There is not much government land in Vizag city.
The available government land is more than 20 km away from the city, sources said. Anandapuram lies approximately 23 km from Vizag, while Aganampudi is 25 km away. In the wake of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s hints in the Assembly that the State may have three capitals, 29 official teams have been deployed to conduct a survey for five days from Thursday to identify 5,000 acres of government land in the district.
Though Joint Collector M Venugopala Reddy maintained that the survey is being undertaken for identifying land as part of the housing scheme for the poor, the timing of the massive survey assumes significance in the wake of the hints given by none other than Chief Minister that Visakhapatnam may be considered for setting up of executive capital.
The first phase of the master plan of Metro Rail Project for Visakhapatnam has been changed to suit the ‘future needs’. One among the routes proposed in the first phase is Steel Plant to Kommadi stretching over 34.23 km. The same has been now extended till Bhogapuram to provide connectivity to the proposed airport, officials said.
Farmers stage protest; bandh today
Vijayawada : A day after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy hinted at making Amaravati the legislative capital, giving Visakhapatnam the executive capital status, protests erupted in several villages with farmers staging rasta rokos and sit-in protests on Wednesday, opposing the idea of decentralised administration. The farmers also gave a call for bandh on Thursday. They staged protests at Velagapudi, Rayapudi, Kistayapalem, Mandadam, Venkatayapalem and other junctions leading to the Secretariat and blocked traffic on Wednesday. Expressing anger on the govt, farmers raised slogans against Jagan