Naidus Praise Each Other In Vijayawada

Union minister for urban development M Venkaiah Naidu today said that Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu was a person with a vision and transparency.

He was addressing a foundation stone laying ceremony in Vijayawada. Union minister for road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation for the six-lane Durgamma Gudi flyover, for widening of roads to four-lane, and for the upgradation of three different roads.

Venkaiah Naidu predicted that Andhra Pradesh would emerge as a strong State in the future. The initiative of Chandrababu Naidu for the six-lane Durgamma Gudi flyover and road-widening to four lanes in Vijayawada would always be remembered, the Union minister said. He also added that more shipyards would developed in the state.

Reciprocating, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu asserted that Venkaiah Naidu was extending plenty of cooperation for the development of Andhra Pradesh. He disclosed that Venkaiah Naidu had played a major role in the merger of seven Telangana mandals into AP. Had these mandals not been added to AP, the Polavaram project would have been stopped, he said. The project was also being implemented with the support of the Centre, the Chief Minister said.

"We have interlinked the Krishna and Godavari rivers with the launching of the Pattiseema lift irrigation project, and we have been able to irrigate over eight lakh hectares with this project," Naidu said.

He also said that Nitin Gadkari's assurance that Rs 60,000 crores would be spent on developing the roads in Andhra Pradesh was laudable.

The Chief Minister said that AP would be developed into one of the three best States in the country. He expressed happiness that the Centre was coming forward to develop the residuary AP. Of the 2.60 lakh houses sanctioned by the Centre, AP's share was 1.90 lakh houses, he said. He added that a 220-km long Outer Ring Road would be developed around Amaravathi and that the Centre had sanctioned Rs 20,000 crores for the purpose.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State Sujana Choudhary said that various welfare programmes were being implemented in the State with the support of the NDA government. The state had a 970-km long coastline, and there was a possibility of the development of more shipyards, he said.

Besides the Chief Minister, State ministers Chinarajappa, Sidda Raghava Rao, Devineni Uma and Kamineni Srinivas, MPs Kesineni Nani, Haribabu, Gokaraju Gangaraju and Konakolla Narayana, and others attended the function.