Deputy Chief Minister Promises Airport in Tuni

Kakinada:Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Thursday floated a plan to instill fighting spirit among youth to promote public causes.

“We will chalk out a plan to develop leadership qualities among the young generation from panchayat level to national level in a decade,” PK said in his I-Day speech after unfurling the national flag at the police parade ground here.

He pointed out that when the split in Bengal happened, the top leaders came together under one roof and ended such a division. Such a fighting spirit will be aroused among the youth in the next five years.

Pawan Kalyan also said that an airstrip or airport would be built near Tuni and an industrial corridor would be developed between Kakinada and Visakhapatnam. These projects would help develop the region in a big way.

Under the forest development programmes, avenue plantations have been carried out on 30 hectares with a length of 16 km. Nine types of plantations will be developed to promote eco-tourism while protecting wild animals, said PK, a forest department official.

He said that due to past lapses and irregularities, the state has lost a large chunk of its most valuable assets. Around Rs 100 crore worth of red sanders were captured in Karnataka, which were smuggled out during the tenure of the YSRC government, and the revenue from these red sanders was deposited in the Karnataka government coffers.

“If the AP squads had seized the records, the proceeds would have been given to the AP government. This money could have been used for welfare schemes like the Dr Ambedkar Videshi Vidya scheme that helps SCs and STs pursue higher studies abroad,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the government is aiming for a drug-free state by implementing several programmes for 100 days and preventing youth from distress situations due to drug use. “We will provide skill development training to youth in technical and non-technical categories through skill hub in each constituency. A skill college will be set up at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada,” he said.

He said lakhs of vehicles ply on the Asian Development Bank-funded road between Kakinada and Rajanagaram. “The road was badly damaged but the previous government did not repair it. It built a palace in Rishikonda at a cost of Rs 640 crore. If the fund had been used for the development of the ADB road, it would have benefited the people.”

PK said the state government had allocated funds for Jal Jeevan Mission to provide drinking water to every household. “The YSRC government spent Rs 4,000 crore on laying pipelines to get commissions from it. But it could not provide taps to people. Our government will sort out all these problems.”

Kakinada MLA Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao, rural MLA Pantham Venkateswara Rao, YSRC MLC Karri Padmashri, district collector Shanmohan, SP Vikrant Patil and others were present.

Pawan Kalyan presented merit certificates to officials and voluntary organisations on the occasion of Independence Day. School children presented cultural programmes and dog squads showcased their skills.