Andhra Pradesh Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister Botcha Satyanarayana on Tuesday triggered a row after he stated that there was a need to reconsider Amaravati as the state's capital, as the region along the banks of the Krishna river was flood-prone.
Speaking to reporters in Visakhapatnam, Botcha said, “A discussion should be held about the capital after the floods recede and normalcy is achieved. If construction should continue in capital region, then we have to come up with several check dams and other ideas to divert floodwater. In some areas, we are still pumping out floodwaters. I feel all these points should be discussed.”
Pointing out that the Sivaramakrishnan expert committee, which was formed to look into the viability of Amaravati as a capital, had said that it was too close to the flood plains, the YSRCP leader alleged that the TDP went ahead with its plan anyway.
“If it costs 1 lakh for construction (of a building) in any other area, the same will cost Rs 2 lakh in Amaravati. This is nothing but wastage of public money,’’ Botcha claimed.
YSRCP General Secretary Vijayasai Reddy also took to Twitter on Tuesday, hinting that the capital's location should be reconsidered.
"Flood waters have entered the lowlands of Amaravati. Tomorrow, the Centre will ask why such an unsafe land was chosen as the capital. People will also ask the same question. As Chandrababu Naidu has no reply, he is making allegations and spreading falsehood that an attempt was made to flood his house," Vijayasai Reddy tweeted.
అమరావతి లోతట్టు ప్రాంతాల్లోకి వరద నీరు ప్రవేశించింది. అంతగా సురక్షితం కాని పల్లపు ప్రాంతాన్ని రాజధానిగా ఎందుకు ఎంపిక చేశారని రేపు కేంద్రం ఆరా తీస్తుంది. ప్రజలూ ప్రశ్నిస్తారు. జవాబు చెప్పలేకే బాబు గారి నివాసాన్ని వరదలో ముంచారనే దుష్ప్రచారం మొదలు పెట్టారు ‘తీసేసిన తాసిల్దార్లు’.
— Vijayasai Reddy V (@VSReddy_MP) August 20, 2019
The YSRCP had stated earlier that it might go for a core city capital with basic infrastructure, instead of Naidu's grandiose plans. Observers believe that Jagan might not dump Amaravati, as the state capital is functioning from there for four years and that any move to shift the capital might prove counter-productive for him.
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