Very few people and hardly any VIPs attend the function at NTR Stadium

The official State Formation Day celebration here on Sunday was a low-key affair in terms of turnout as very few people and hardly any VIPs attended the function at the NTR Stadium.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah acknowledged the inability of the government to celebrate the event on a grand scale as in the past due to the death of his predecessor Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and recent floods.

Except Minor Irrigation Minister V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy, none of the Ministers were present at the event which lasted just 90 minutes. The VIP enclosure as also the galleries for general public had several empty chairs, reflecting lack of efforts to mobilise a big crowd. The government had also not released any advertisements due to the election code in city.

On the other hand, the police stepped up security in the surroundings due to the call for ‘black day’ given by Telangana Rashtra Samiti.

Houses for victims

In his speech, Mr. Rosaiah promised to continue all the programmes and schemes taken up by YSR. The government decided to construct one lakh houses for those who were rendered homeless due to floods in Kurnool, Mahabubnagar, Guntur, Krishna and Nalgonda districts.

International airport

He said the government would shortly begin construction of an international airport at Tirupati as part of developing the basic infrastructure sector. The metro rail project for Hyderabad would also take shape soon. He also said the capacity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant was proposed to be increased from three to nine million tonnes with an investment of Rs. 12,500 crore.

Mr. Rosaiah added that the government had decided to increase ayacut in the State by seven lakh acres in rabi to overcome loss to agricultural production due to drought and floods in kharif.

This was possible because reservoirs and tanks on Krishna had good storage levels after floods.

A parade by police contingents and cultural performances by three schools marked the occasion.

Parade

Mr. Rosaiah also distributed medals and certificates to the State government staff who performed well in their duties, on the occasion.