VELAGAPUDI (GUNTUR): Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the construction of a temporary secretariat at Velagapudi, in Amaravati, Guntur district.
He reached Velagapudi at 8.15 am and performed the holy ritual of placing the brick and pa-sting the cement amidst chanting of mantras by Vedic priests in an auspicious muhurut at 8.23 am.
A pit was dug to perform the rituals and Mr Naidu performed “Sashtanga” namaskaram to the sacred pit, bowing down in a prone position. This was probably the first time that the public had seen him do this.
Famous Nalluru priests led by head priest, V. Bhattacharyulu, perfor-med the holy pujas. They offered special pujas, such as ‘Dathusthapana’, ‘Ratnanyasam’ and ‘Ishtikanyasam’, seeking swift completion of the temporary secretariat complex buildings.
Mr Naidu sprinkled the holy water collected from Mecca, Jerusalem, Tirupati and other holy places in the pit and mixed in holy soil, brought from sacred spots, including the Indian Parliament, which had been earlier presented by PM Narendra Modi during the foundation ceremony for Amaravati in 2015.
The officials expected a crowd of about 5,000 people, including farmers, to attend the programme, but only a few hundreds were present. The pooled farmers who had offered their land for Amaravati to the CRDA under the LPS created a stir, shouting at ministers, legislators and officials.
The angry farmers barged in, close to the puja area where upon minister for health K. Srinivas, minister for agriculture P. Pulla Rao and police officials persuaded them to return to where they were standing.
The farmers stood where they were adamantly, demanding that ministers, legislators and officials vacate their spots so that they could view the puja rituals being performed by Mr. Naidu.
The spot was cleared, the farmers returned to their places and the programme resumed peacefully. Later, Mr. Naidu gave the farmers a chance to speak during an interaction when they expressed their happiness over the starting of the work and wished for its speedy completion.
Opportunity to show our talent: Chandrababu Naidu
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said that within one year of the Hudhud Cyclone, Visakhapatnam had emerged as one of the best cities in India, which showed the TD government’s dedication for development.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken salute from 50 countries during the recent International Fleet Review, which was a matter of pride for AP.
He added, “We did not wish to construct a new capital, but at the time of bifurcation, the new capital was burdened on Andhra people.”
He said that he took this as an opportunity to show the Andhras’ ability to establish a world-class capital. Mr Naidu said that there were only two castes in society, the poor and wealthy, and he was working for the poor.
He also said that he had not seen this kind of opposition, referring to the YSRC, in his 35 years of politics and asked the public to cooperate with the government for development of AP.
