Will focus on employment via tourism, says BJP MLA Vishnu Kumar Raju

Talking to this correspondent on Friday about his priorities, he said he will apprise the TD-JS-BJP alliance government about Visakhapatnam having a short tourism window from October to January, whereas other places have tourists round the year.

Vishnu Kumar Raju underlined that Visakhapatnam is one of the most beautiful cities in south India, having a vast coastline and eco-rich green hills on the Eastern Ghats. But its potential has never been fully exploited.

“Successive governments have failed to tap the tourism sector, which could earn revenue for the state as well as create employment for youth,” he pointed out.

The BJP MLA said last year, tourism projects worth ₹22,000 crore had been signed between investors and the state government. But none of them had been grounded, even though former tourism minister R.K. Roja assured that tourism projects will be fast-tracked.

Among other priorities, Vishnu Kumar Raju said he and his party colleagues will ask the new central government to withdraw the proposal for privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and suggest its merger or takeover by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

He maintained that he will also focus on improving the law and order situation in Visakhapatnam city, which had suffered under the previous government.

“There is an urgent need to control ganja smuggling, curb rowdyism and other anti-social activities, so that a peaceful atmosphere could be created in the city,” the BJP MLA stated.

He said he would suggest that the state government speed up development of the Polavaram project and hand over land, so that a new railway zone could be created with Visakhapatnam as headquarters.