Bhogapuram (Andhra Pradesh), Aug 1 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday hailed the newly inaugurated Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport here in Vizianagaram district as the “jewel” of north Andhra, asserting that it will transform the region’s economic landscape.
The Rs 5,000-crore airport was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier today.
“Bhogapuram Airport is the jewel of North Andhra…Bhogapuram Airport will change the face and direction of North Andhra similar to how the Shamshabad Airport had changed the face and direction of Telangana,” Naidu said at a public meeting after the airport’s inauguration in Bhogapuram.
PM Modi, CM Naidu and other leaders arrived at the venue in an open-top vehicle, welcomed by 13,500 tribal women, who performed the traditional Dhimsa dance.
Today, our tribal children performed Dhimsa dance to achieve a Guinness World record and a World Book of Records record, said Nadu.
Expressing gratitude to the farmers of Bhogapuram for parting with their land for making the project a reality, he said they not only gave the land but secured a prosperous future.
Calling Bhogapuram Airport “truly special”, Naidu said it reflected the Telugu culture at every step, uniquely positioned with hills on one side and the sea on the other.
According to the CM, the North Andhra region has attracted investment pledges amounting to Rs 6.13 lakh crore, which are expected to create more than five lakh jobs.
He assured the completion of eight irrigation projects in the region in the next three years.
The CM announced that the Godavari River water will be brought to Anakapalli on August 14, alongside an initiative to intra-link Godavari and Vamshadara rivers.
Naidu underscored that North Andhra region lacked nothing, listing out National Highways (NHs), ports, airports, railways, rare earths, tourist attractions and others.
Predicting an economic shift, the TDP supremo said the trend of local youth migrating outward for employment would end, and North Andhra will become a destination attracting people from other regions.
In a veiled jibe at YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Naidu alleged that some people said that not even a bus will ply here, but an Airbus will land.
He thanked PM Modi for supporting the southern state “reeling under a ventilator” by saving Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), sanctioning a railway zone (South Coast Railway Zone), reviving the Polavaram irrigation project and restarting the construction work of the greenfield capital city of Amaravati.
The CM promised to complete the crucial Polavaram project by 2027 and Amaravati first phase in 2028 and get both of them inaugurated by PM Modi.
Lauding the PM over his five-decade political career, Naidu said Modi was the only leader with a rare “clarity”.
He said PM Modi was the “right man at the right time in the right place” for India and called him a blessing.
Hitting out at those criticising PM Modi, Naidu questioned them what they have contributed to the nation.
“Modi has the power to propel India to number one position globally, and the Telugu society has the power to create history. Let us step forward with the inspiration of Alluri Sitarama Raju. Both the Centre and the state together will go forward,” he said.
Moreover, the CM called on the North Andhra region to shed its backward tag and aspire to become a global hub. PTI STH RAM GDK ROH
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