Vijayawada–Eluru most favoured for capital?

• Close to Gannavaram airport
• River Krishna water available
• Better rail, road connectivity
• Comfortable weather

Vijayawada: Musunuru and Bapulapadu mandals, located between Vijayawada and Eluru have become the most favoured place for the new capital for the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh. The 20,000 acre forest land available here and even more land available for acquisition in the triangular Vijayawada, Eluru and Nuzvid area is actively considered for the location of the new capital.

An unofficial panel of senior officers from New Delhi that had visited Seemandhra even before the bifurcation was initiated had identified this place besides other places including Nagarjuna University between Vijayawada and Guntur, Macharla area in Guntur, Donabanda area in Prakasam districts. The officers have favoured this place to the others keeping in view its proximity to the railway stations, airport and road connectivity besides the availability of water. The place is ideally located close to the Kolkata-Chennai national highway, the airport at Gannavaram, the railway stations at Eluru and Vijayawada, besides half-a-dozen small railway stations in the section.

The place too has road connectivity to Hyderabad, passing through Nuzvid, Vissannapet, Tiruvur, Kallur and Khammam to touch the Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway.

The panel had also favoured this place for its soft weather when compared with the weather between Vijayawada and Guntur. Though the area is prone to hot waves it is not sultry which gives an edge to the place in the race. The weather here resembles that of Hyderabad and the bureaucrats have voted for this place to be the next capital.

Former Union Minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, Union Minister K Chiranjeevi and more than half-a-dozen MPs have also favoured this place and have given letters to the government during the deliberations on bifurcation. Union Minister Chiranjeevi, who hails from the neighbouring West Godavari district, had strongly argued in favour of this place for the capital location.

In addition to this, the panel appointed by the Union Home Ministry was asked to study the availability of forest land de-recognition and provide massive structures like Assembly, Secretariat, Chief Minister’s camp office, ministers’ residential quarters, and residential quarters for the MLAs, MLCs. As the High Court and other departments are likely to be distributed in other places, the capital will have only those connected with political administration, for which the Vijayawada-Eluru was found suitable and favoured by the committee.

The committee, during its interaction with the officials of the Krishna district administration, felt that Vijayawada as the centrally located place to name it as capital, but the presence of Communists was seen as disadvantage. When the committee, which had examined the power point presentation by the VGTM Urban Development Authority and the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, questioned the officials about the backwardness of the city when compared with Visakhapatnam and Rajahmundry Municipal Corporations, the officials pointed an accusing finger at the political influence.