State committed to the welfare of minorities: CM

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrabbau Naidu on Saturday laid foundation for construction of Haj House in 1.2 acres land at a cost of Rs 80 crore in Vidyadharapuram here.

The Haj House was one of the pre-poll promises of the Telugu Desam Party in 2014. Speaking on the occasion, Chandrababu Naidu said the government resolved to construct a model Haj house and felt it would be very useful to the Haj pilgrims.

Attired in traditional Muslim dress, Chandrababu Naidu was in a cheerful mood and actively participated in the foundation stone laying programme. Muslims clerics narrated the importance of Haj House in the state.

The TDP government is committed for the development of minorities in the state, he said. Naidu stated that was privileged to build the Haj Houses in Hyderabad, Kadapa and Vijayawada. He recalled the TDP government had earlier constructed Urdu universities in Kadapa and Hyderabad. He said Haj house construction works were in progress in Kadapa.

The Haj House will have conference halls, mosque, dormitories, service rooms, cellar and administrative office for the convenience of Haj pilgrims and Haj committee office etc. The building consists of a cellar, ground floor and six floors. After bifurcation of the state, Haj pilgrims of Andhra Pradesh do not have a place to gather and fulfill their basic needs before the pilgrimage.

Minister Prattipati Pulla Rao, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Mayor Koneru Sridhar, Krishna district collector B Lakshmikantham, Vijayawada West MLA Jaleel Khan, ZP chairperson Gadde Anuradha, AP Haj Committee chairman Momin Ahmed Hussain, Muslim leaders, clerics and local Muslims attended the event.