Pawan Kalyan Launches Rs 5.5 Cr Road Project in ASR District

Visakhapatnam:Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has announced major road development initiatives in tribal areas during his visit to the Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district on Saturday. As part of it, he laid the foundation for a ₹5.5 crore BT road between Gummanthi and Ballagavaru in Anantagiri mandal.

Speaking on the occasion, he said the NDA government will be building roads totalling to 95.8 kilometres in ASR district, involving an expenditure of ₹105.37 crore. ₹72 crore will come from the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana and ₹33 crore from the Panchayat Raj department. The roads will benefit 72 villages with 4,369 residents.

Pawan Kalyan walked three kilometres uphill along one of the proposed roads and interacted with the local Adivasi. He said his vision is to develop the area, which has just 20 houses, into a tourist destination. He pointed out that if two homestays are built in the village with the consent of locals, it would benefit the village economically. He stressed on the need to provide not only roads but also health facilities and drinking water to the sparse population living in 2,612 hamlets within 420 panchayats.

The Deputy CM underlined that Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu promptly allocated ₹49 crore for connecting 24 tribal village panchayats with roads. The central government has also cleared initiatives like Van Dhan, specifically designed for tribal development.

“Our aim is not to derive electoral gains but ensure that tribal populations do not struggle due to lack of roads,” Pawan Kalyan clarified, mentioning that roads will provide access to education for tribal youth.

The Deputy Chief Minister expressed concern over cultivation of ganja in tribal areas on commercial scales. The associated mafia are posing a challenge to police officials. He stressed on the importance of raising awareness among youth about eradicating ganja. To move forward on this matter, he wanted alternative employment opportunities created in the tribal regions.

During Pawan Kalyan’s visit, the district collector informed him that 1,500 hamlets in the area have no links with the mainstream. Rehabilitating them will cost around ₹2,200 crore, the collector stated.