Vijayawada projects turn crucial for Chandrababu Naidu's image

Vijayawada: Action alone will not do, it should be visible too. This is what guides the state government in deciding which projects will see the light of day before Krishna Pushkaralu — and which won’t.

The state government has focused on two projects mainly, for the mileage they will bring to the administration. These are the Durga temple and Durga temple flyover: hordes of devotees come to the temple and lakhs will use the flyover to attend the Pushkaralu.

The flyover has been on the people’s wish list for long, with motorists invariably facing a logjam at the temple’s location. This prompted the state government include it as an election promise, which is now being borne out, with work proceeding on a war-footing so that it is complete before the Pushkaralu commences.

The work was also allotted to contractors upon the condition that they completed it in time. Chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and the officials concede that it will not be possible to complete the six-lane road over the bridge right away, but the CM announced that the four-lane portion of the road  would be finished by the end of this month. Once this is done, the road will become visually more pleasing and convenient for those using it, said project general manager G.V. Sudhakar.

He said that they were working two shifts a day, but the rains were impeding the work’s progress.

The state government has similarly taken up several works at the top of the Indrakeeladri in the premises of the Durga temple. The CM has urged officials to meet the deadline in view of the rush of devotees expected on the auspicious occasion, but the plan could be designed with a long-term schedule in mind.

Former Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali, Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority chairman T. Premnath said that the government was likely to win widespread attention from the large pilgrim influx, and people will be impressed by the scale of the works undertaken.