River Krishna beckons VIPs

Vijayawada: A stretch along the River Krishna from the Prakasam Barrage is well on its way to becoming an exclusive destination for those in power, a la Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.

The exclusivity of this stretch is evident from the fact people like minister P. Narayana plans to shift there, while MP Gokaraju Gangaraju’s son is building a palatial house there.

Earlier, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had shifted to the Lingamaneni guest house on the river bund and this is said to be the primary reason for the vicinity to become so much desirable of late. An unhindered view of the Durga temple across the river, boating facilities on the River Krishna, the serene ambience, the opportunity to refresh oneself at any time of the day by taking a dip in the river, are all added attractions.

While the Chief Minister’s son Nara Lokesh shifted to a new house, adjacent to Mr Naidu’s residence two days ago, the pull of the place is such that every person in the state who considers himself someone desires to live in the area.

Minister Narayana is learnt to have been offered a guest house by one of the fortunate owners there, while two other ministers are believed to have approached owners requesting them to allot them their properties.

Even before Mr Naidu had shifted there, the area had been popular with prominent personalities of the city, who constructed guest houses there.

Now that the Chief Minister lives there, the entire stretch, right from Prakasam Barrage is well on its way to becoming an exclusive zone, said an irrigation official.

“Already, the government has unofficially indicated that it will allow structures to come up on the stretch, land pooling or not,” the irrigation official said.