Efforts on to set up prime institutions

Khammam: Efforts are on in a big way to bring two prestigious educational institutions to the district, cashing in on the facilities available in the new state of Telangana. As part of the AP Reorganisation Act-2014, the Centre assured setting up of a horticulture university in Telangana state.

It also announced it in the Budget and allocated Rs 200 crore to that end. As a result, district officials, particularly the agricultural college of Aswaraopet, prepared a blueprint on it.

There are plenty of groves in Aswaraopet, Dammapet and Sattupalli mandals and the atmosphere too is favourable for raising horticulture crops. The local farmers grow coconut, mango, cashew, palm and coco in these mandals.

The agricultural college in Aswaraopet has all the facilities to set up a horticulture university. Various researches on horticultural crops are conducted on the sprawling 500 acre college grounds.

Further, other institutes, including Coconut Seed Garden, Horticulture Research Centre, Forest Department Sapling Centre and some 50 private horticulture nurseries are located in Aswaraopet and Dammapet.

Officials of the horticulture commissionerate have asked the district officials to come with a blueprint on setting up of a horticulture university to Hyderabad on July 26. The TRS government too has come forward to fulfil its poll promise of setting up of a medical college with cooperation of Singareni Collieries Company Limited.

It has already completed a survey on it and there is a plan to link the SCCL 250-bed hospital with the proposed medical college. With this there is every possibility to upgrade the present hospital as a super-speciality one.