A section wants it to be named after NTR; another roots for Amaravati
Andhra Pradesh Map
Hyderabad:Even before the official announcement by the state government on the location of new capital, Telugu Desam MLAs and ministers have started pressuring Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to name the capital according to their choice.
Major irrigation minister Devineni Umamaheswar Rao from Krishna district and agriculture minister Prattipati Pulla Rao and senior TD MLA Dhoolipalla Narendra from Guntur district met the Chief Minister on Tuesday at the Assembly and requested him to name the new capital after late NTR.
They said that the new capital could be named as NTR Nagar or Tarakarama Nagar on the lines of Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Speaking to the media later, Mr Pulla Rao said the farmers are ready to give 8,000 acre, if the new capital is named after NTR.
However, a few ruling party MLAs are opposed to naming the capital after NTR. They said if the capital is named as NTR Nagar, people may equate it to the slum area in Hyderabad, called NTR Nagar.
“We are going to construct a world-class capital city and its name should recall the historical background of the state and not a slum area,” said one of them.
A senior TD MLA from a costal district said the new capital should be named Amaravati and that he had informed the same to Mr Naidu. He added, they could name an important building like the Secretariat after NTR and the government could also set up an NTR museum in the capital city.
The MLA said he will start collecting signatures from MLAs in support of Amaravati and submit it to Mr Naidu.
Dasami auspicious for capital:
AP Chief Minister, who was to announce the capital on Tuesday was advised to make the announcement on Thursday as Tuesday was considered inauspicious. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had made it clear to the ministers that the most preferred location for the capital is between Vijayawada and Guntur, if farmers comes forward to give their lands.
The second preference is Nuzvid, where land is available. He once again made it clear that the Sivaramakrishnan Committee’s report on the capital city was only advisory and not mandatory. Mr Naidu was reportedly advised by his close aide and party MP from Rajahmundry M. Murali Mohan that Tuesday was Ashtami, which is considered to be inauspicious and an important announcement like the capital city should be made on an auspicious occasion like Dasami.
Vedic astrologers also said that Ashtami coincided with Tuesday and both were considered inauspicious. Popular astrologer J.U.B. Sastry told DC that no auspicious activities are taken up on Ashtami and Navami. Quoting the Telugu Phrase “Ashtami, Navamulu Kashtalu,” he said if auspicious works are taken up on these days, hurdles come.
“Also, this Ashtami coincided with Tuesday ‘mangalavaram’ which again is considered to be inauspicious. It is not advisable to take up good works on Tuesday (mangalavaram) as the planet Mars rules over it,” said Mr Sastry.
Ironically, it was Amavasya (new moon night) on March 1, when the President of India signed the AP Reorganisation Act.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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