Andhra Pradesh government website showcases foreign pix

Visakhapatnam: In what could be termed as a misleading representation of the state, the municipal administration website of the state government carries pictures of high-rise buildings and long span bridges that are not of Andhra Pradesh. These pictures, lifted from other countries, are believed to have been placed to showcase the state, but are in marked contrast to reality in the state.

For example, the website used a picture of the world-famous Empire State Building, the 102-storey skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City. Another picture posted on the website is of the Tsing Yi South Bridge of Hong Kong, which is a combination of bridges, the two-way traffic Kwai Tsing Bridge and the one-way traffic Tsing Yi Bridge. The photo is supposed to have been taken from the Green House of the Evergreen Village, which is the best place to watch the Tsing Yi South Bridge. Another picture is taken of the ‘Nizhny Novgorod’ city in Russia, which is an important economic and educational centre and the main hub of river tourism in Russia.

These pictures have been doing the rounds on various social media platforms, particularly WhatsApp, for all the wrong reasons, and are drawing criticisms from netizens. “It is not the proper way to sell the brand image of Andhra Pradesh. How could the government promote AP by placing pictures of other countries on its municipal administration website? This is misleading the people. Even if the designs of the futuristic Amaravati were posted on the website, it could be accepted as paving the way to place Amaravati on the global map,” read a WhatsApp comment.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a Left leader said that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu always wanted to charm MNCs by showcasing things, a far departure from reality. “The promotion on this website could boomerang on the state government as the real AP wouldn’t be able to match the photos placed on the MAUD website. This would instead discourage prospective investors,” he said.