ONGOLE: State HRD, IT, Electronics & Communications and Real-Time Governance Minister Nara Lokesh on Friday undertook a whirlwind tour of Santhanuthalapadu and Ongole constituencies in Prakasam district, inaugurating and laying foundation stones for several development projects.
He also participated in a TDP workers’ coordination meeting in Ongole and issued directions to the cadre in view of the upcoming local body elections.
Lokesh began his tour by performing Bhumi Puja and laying the foundation stone for a new Radisson five-star hotel at Chadalawada village in Santhanuthalapadu constituency. The hotel, being developed with an investment of Rs 100 crore, is the first international-branded five-star hotel to be established in and around Ongole.
The project is being taken up jointly by the Ravisankar Group and Ravipriya Hospitalities LLP and will be built to international standards.
Speaking on the occasion, Lokesh said the project would create large-scale employment and livelihood opportunities for local youth in hospitality, tourism, transport and allied service sectors.
After the programme, Lokesh interacted with party workers and fans, posed for photographs and received their grievances. In view of Rakhi, several women workers tied Rakhis to him, and he conveyed his Raksha Bandhan greetings to them.
Later, Lokesh received a warm welcome from students of Sri Harshini Engineering College at Yedugundlapadu before entering Ongole constituency.
At KIMS Hospital Flyover Junction, he unveiled statues of 20 eminent personalities from Ongole who made significant contributions in various fields. He also unveiled a statue of the ‘Ongole Gitta’, a symbol of Prakasam district’s culture and its famed livestock, as part of the ongoing 150-year celebrations of Ongole.
Lokesh garlanded the statues and paid tributes to the personalities. He said installing the statues of eminent persons who had contributed to social, cultural, educational, political and literary fields at one place was commendable.
He then took part in a roadshow, with MLA Damacharla Janardhan Rao leading a bike rally. TDP cadres gave Lokesh a grand welcome with DJs and giant garlands, while women performed harathi and traditional rituals to ward off the evil eye. At Anjayya Road, students of Andhra Kesari Vidya Kendram welcomed Lokesh by raising slogans of ‘Thank You Lokesh Anna’.
Later, at Rangarayudu Cheruvu, Lokesh unveiled a pylon for the project to provide 24x7 drinking water supply to Ongole city under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme at a cost of Rs 424.42 crore.
Ministers Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, Gottipati Ravi Kumar and Dola Sri Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, MLAs Damacharla Janardhan Rao and M Ugra Narasimha Reddy, MLC Kancharla Srikanth, public representatives, officials and members of the public participated in the programmes.
