V. Kishore Chandra Deo wants Vizag as Andhra Pradesh capital

Visakhapatnam: Union tribal affairs and panchayat raj minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo yet again made a strong pitch to make Vizag capital for the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation. Speaking to the media after attending a programme in Araku, Mr Deo said that even a blind man says Vizag has all the facilities and qualities to be the capital of Seemandhra. He said the city has readymade infrastructure, other facilities and around 45,000 acres of land available. “Of the 20,000 acres acquired for Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, only 9,000 acres were utilised  while the remaining land is vacant and readily available. Apart from this, there is a huge chunk of land available in the district,” he said.
Mr Deo added that it’s absurd to say that the capital should be in the middle of a state. He pointed out at national capital Delhi, Hyderabad and other capital cities that are not in the centre of the respective states.
Mr Deo ruled out Kurnool, Ongole and Vijayawada to be the capital of Seemandhra for lack of proper facilities and infrastructure. “Vizag has an international airport, port and strategically located on the NH-16 connecting Chennai and Kolkata. Even the Wanchoo committee preferred Vizag as the capital of Andhra state in 1953,” he said.