Andhra Pradesh inaugurates capital today, gold-coated trowel for Bhoomi puja
GUNTUR: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will symbolically start work on Amaravati at precisely 8.49 am on Saturday. Amaravati will be India’s third planned city after Gandhinagar and Naya Raipur and serve as the capital of residuary Andhra Pradesh.
Accompanied by his wife Bhuvaneswari, Mr Naidu will perform the Bhoomi puja on a 40-acre plot in Tallayapalem. The rituals will start at about 3 am and include Vigneswara and other pujas, while a Shanti homam would be performed to avert any hurdles in the construction of the new capital. A gold-plated trowel and a silver gamela (a plate-like thing to carry sand, cement etc.) have been specially made for Mr Naidu to use during the rituals.
As many as 19 Vedic priests would take part in the Shanti homam, which would be performed in a separate shed in Survey No. 136. The state officials have already arranged for a cow and a calf for the rituals. Priests said that the first ritual would be sthala shuddhi (to cleanse the land), and then punya vachanam would be performed.
Today is a historic day for people of AP. Bhoomi Pooja in Amaravati is symbolic of a million dreams turning into reality. #EveryDreamCounts
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) June 6, 2015This would be followed by the Vighneswara puja that would be performed at sunrise, and later, Kalasa puja, Ashtadikpalaka puja and Navagraha Aradhana will be performed. Vaastu expert Raghavendra from West Godavari district is supervising the pujas.
Mr Naidu will arrive at Gannavaram airport by 7.55 am and leave for Mandadam by helicopter. He would take part in the rituals from 8.30 am to 9.30 am. The CM would interact with farmers from 9.30 am to 10 am and leave for Vijayawada to inaugurate the CM’s camp office.
Tullur ZPTC B. Narendra Babu, in whose farmland the capital land puja is scheduled, said that the people are excited at the prospect of living in a world-class capital. On Friday, excitement was palpable among the people of Mandadam, Tallayapalem, Tullur and adjacent villages, which were brightly decorated. Banners welcoming Mr Naidu and others were seen at almost every corner in these villages.
Farmers D. Nageswara Rao and others said that the future generations stand to benefit from the capital which will have world-class institutions and infrastructure. Friday saw hordes of villagers trying to get a glimpse of the Bhoomi puja site. Security personnel had a tough time turning them away. Media advisor to the AP government Parakala Prabhakar, minister P. Pulla Rao, Guntur range IGP N. Sanjay, Urban SP Sarvasresth Tripathi, rural SP Narayana Naik, Guntur collector Kantilal Dande and others supervised the arrangements.
Gold-coated trowel for Bhoomi puja
The much-awaited land puja for AP’s new capital would be performed using a gold-coated trowel and a silver gamela on Saturday. The gamela weighs nearly 1kg. On Friday, Alapati Venkataramaiah of Angalkuduru village, Tenali, presented the gold-coated trowel and the gamela to Tullur tehsildar A. Sudheerbabu.
Moreover, other donors have also presented silver coins and Navaratna gems and pearls for use during the Bhoomi puja. According to Hindu tradition, Nava Dhanyas (nine varieties of food stuff including rice) and Navaratnas should be placed in a 3-ft pit during the puja.
Farmers to complete hand over process
The Bhoomi puja for the new capital has encouraged landowners/farmers to complete the land agreement processes and hand over their farmland to CRDA under LPS for the new capital establishment. The CRDA appointed special officers to swiftly complete the land agreement processes to start the capital work.
The CRDA collected 33,600 acres of farmland from the farmers of the capital region, but the donor farmers showed reluctance to completely hand over their farmland by completing the land agreement processes. The land collection programme was started on January 2 by CRDA.
