Chandrababu vows to rebuild Vizag

"It is my responsibility to develop Visakhapatnam as a beautiful city. It will become a smart city in future," Naidu said addressing a gathering after participating in a tree plantation programme launched by the district administration.

The government will develop the city as a smart city by utilising all natural resources available here, he added. He praised the city residents who faced the recent cyclone bravely. "I will not forget the cooperation of the people of Visakhapatnam in helping the government's efforts to bring back normalcy," he said.

Appreciating the district administration for its rescue and relief operations post cyclone, he said the government managed to solve the problems of the city in 35 days. Naidu also underlined the need for more industries to be set up in the port city to make it an import-export hub.

The government will develop the city's beaches to attract domestic and international tourists and also give importance to development here, he said, adding a green field airport on the lines of the Hyderabad airport will also be developed here.

After planting a sapling in MVP colony, he said, trees are very essential to protect the environment and eradicate pollution. It is everyone's responsibility to plant trees and protect them. The district administration today has plans of planting 79,000 saplings in all 72 wards of the city. Several state ministers and TDP leaders also participated in the programme.

TDP leader MVVS Murthy, who is the president of the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) University here, too called upon people to plant trees to bring back the lost greenery of Visakhapatnam during a separate tree plantation programme organised by an NGO here.