Capital to be christened Amaravathi

Naidu to make official announcement once the proposal gets the Cabinet nod

• The govt to elicit public opinion on the issue
• The new capital to have a permanent name
• Amaravathi means ’abode of immortals’

Hyderabad: The spotlight has now turned on the temple town of Amravathi which is located about 40 kms from Vijayawada as the State government has decided to name the new capital as Amaravathi. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who frequently refers to the Telugu pride during his speeches, be in the State Assembly or any public platform, is learnt to have zeroed in on this name to the new capital. The issue will be put before the State Cabinet at its next meeting and after getting the Cabinet nod, it will be officially announced, according to sources.

The government will also take public opinion on it and the process has already begun with the TDP legislators. It is learnt that the Chief Minister who discussed the issue with some of the senior Ministers on Ugadi day wanted to announce the name of the new capital on the auspicious occasion of Ugadi, but held it back as he did not find the arrangements there satisfactory and changed his mind.

The government is of the opinion that the new capital should have a permanent name and should not give any scope for any kind of politics in future. Hence, though at one point of time it thought of naming the new capital city after N T Rama Rao, it was later felt that any other government in future may think of changing the name of capital and that would not be good in the larger interest of the State’s development.

Moreover, at that time the government had also not decided on the exact location of the new capital. Now, that it has decided that the capital will be at Amravati, it felt that the new capital should be named as Amravati only, said our sources. Named after Amareswara Swamy Temple, one of the Pancharamas in the southern region, this small village and the neighbouring Dharanikota were once the seat of power during the rule of Satavahana, who ruled during the 2nd century BC and 3rd century BC.

Since then, it continued as the capital of many Andhra dynasties until the Mogul conquest and the subsequent British rule. It is also a famous Buddhist centre. Amravati, in Sanskrit, literally means 'abode of immortals'. Meanwhile, the sources said Naidu would be visiting Singapore this month-end to discuss details of the master plan being prepared by agencies of Singapore government. After his return, there would be greater clarity on the master plan. However, important buildings like Assembly, Secretariat and Raj Bhavan would be constructed within the core capital area of 7,500 acres.