Visakhapatnam: Only Rs 31 lakh of the Rs 27.76 crore donations promised to Andhra University on its first grand ‘Alumni Day’ in 2015, have actually been paid. The first ‘Alumni Day’, observed on October 12, 2015, to mark the first anniversary of Cyclone Hudhud, had drawn promises of donations of about Rs 13.88 crore from its alumni. These included Rs 1 crore promised by HRD minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and his close associates from the 1981-83 Law batch, Rs 1 crore by Union urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, who promised to raise the donation through his contacts, Rs 1 crore by GMR Group chairman G. Mallikarjuna Rao and Rs 50 lakh by Narsapuram MP Gokaraju Gangaraju.
Various public sector units also assured of donating Rs 5 crore and some alumni of the 1961-62 batch had promised another Rs 5 crore. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who attended the event announced Rs 13.88 crore as a matching grant, taking the total to to Rs 27.76 crore. A year later, only Rs 31 lakh has been realised – Rs 30 lakh by Mr Mallikarjuna Rao, who is chairman of the AU Alumni Association, and a Rs 1 lakh contribution by Vizag MP K. Haribabu, who is also part of the association. Mr Mallikarjuna Rao has been paying for the AU Alumni Association office in the university and its workforce.
Andhra University started celebrating its “Alumni Day” as a grand spectacle from 2015 to tap into the expertise and knowledge of its large alumni base and to create a good corpus. Thanks to officials as well as the alumni association’s efforts, the varsity could gather thousands of alumni at one place last year. But it has yielded just Rs 31 lakh donations. Not deterred by these developments, Andhra University officials have been gearing up for the second alumni day on December 17. Andhra University Vice-Chancellor Prof. G. Nageswara Rao said that they have extended invitations to all alumni.
“Noted film director K. Raghavendra Rao has been directing the theme song for the alumni day. A dedicated website as well as a mobile app for the alumni would be launched on December 17. The week-long celebrations would start from December 10, marking the birth anniversary of founder vice-Chancellor Sir C.R. Reddy. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Union minister Venkaiah Naidu would grace the event as chief guests. A documentary on the history of the university is also on its way,” Prof. Nageswara Rao added.
