Mines dept offices to come up in all dists

Ongole: Mines Minister Kollu Ravindra announced plans to establish Mines Department offices across all 26 districts of Andhra Pradesh. The Minister, along with Social Welfare Minister Dr Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, performed the groundbreaking ceremony for a new office building here on Sunday. The modern facility will be constructed on 20 cents of land with an investment of Rs 2.14 crore.

Speaking at the event, Minister Ravindra emphasised that Ongole has become the first location in the state to establish a Mines Department office. He stated that this office would serve as a model for similar facilities across other districts. He highlighted the government’s implementation of a free sand policy to ensure adequate supply throughout the state. Regarding industrial development, Ravindra said that Visakhapatnam offers significant opportunities for establishing industries after America. He said that Google is planning to set up operations in Visakhapatnam, and the recent industrial investors’ summit attracted commitments worth Rs 13.5 lakh crore, which are expected to generate employment for 17.5 lakh people.

Minister Veeranjaneya Swami expressed satisfaction that the office would provide convenient access to industrial entrepreneurs in the granite-rich Prakasam district. Later, the ministers laid the foundation for the development works worth Rs 10.94 crore at Autonagar in Ongole. Several dignitaries, including MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, Ongole MLA Damacharla Janardhana Rao, MLAs BN Vijay Kumar, Dr Mukku Ugranarasimha Reddy, other public representatives and officials, attended the ceremony.