“Unique” memorial for YSR at Pavularala Gutta

Hyderabad, Sept 24 :

The Rosaiah Government will erect  a “unique” memorial in remembrance of the late chief minister, Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, both at the Pavurala Gutta, where he met with a tragic end in a copter crash, and in the capital city of Hyderabad.

The State Cabinet that met on Thursday under the leadership of the Chief Minister, Mr K Rosaiah, the first meeting after Dr Rajasekhara Reddy’s untimely death, decided to mould the memorial with exceptional features. “It will be a unique memorial, the first of its kind, and is being built as a homage to late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who was very close to the people of the State. The entire cost of the project, both at the accident spot and in Hyderabad city, is estimated to be Rs 3.15 crore,” the Minister for Information and Public Relations, Mrs J Geetha Reddy, told media persons while briefing about the Cabinet decisions.

A huge memorial with good landscaping in an extent of 1,412 acres will be built on the Pavurala Gutta, where Dr Rajasekhara Reddy’s copter crashed killing him along with two pilots, his chief security officer and an IAS officer on September 2.  It will be converted into a Nature Interpretation Study Centre, the Minister said adding that a trekking path up to the memorial also will be constructed. Suggestions will be taken from international consultants in order to make it as an exceptional one, Mrs Geetha Reddy explained.

In Hyderabad city, a six-member Cabinet Sub-Committee has been formed to identify the suitable location for the construction of the memorial for Dr Rajasekhara Reddy. The sub-committee comprises the Minister for Revenue, Mr Dharmana Prasada Rao, the Minister for Home, Mrs Sabitha Indra Reddy, the Minister for Municipal Administration, Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Mrs Geetha Reddy, and the two Ministers from the city -- the Minister for Backward Classes Welfare, Mr Mukesh Kumar Goud and the Minister for Health, Mr Danam Nagender.  

The committee will soon identify the suitable place for the construction of the memorial, she said adding that the entire project cost is estimated at Rs 3.15 crore. The construction will be taken up immediately and it will be completed on a war-footing, she averred.

This apart, the Cabinet decided to promulgate an ordinance for 20 per cent of seats for the students from the State in the Nalsar University of Law. States like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat are already enjoying the quota facility for their students, she pointed out and said that now Andhra Pradesh too will have the reservation for its students.

Hereafter, Scheduled Caste (SC) students seeking admission into private para-medical colleges under management quota need not shell out huge amounts of money. The Thursday’s Cabinet meet resolved to initiate measures to put a check on the huge amount of fees being charged by these colleges from SC students. However, the fee structure at the para-medical college being run by the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) will be applied to these colleges and the guidelines are being framed for the purpose, the Minister stated.

The Cabinet cleared the proposal for the formation of a federation for the welfare of Dudekula Community, which will work under the Minorities Welfare Department and Rs 30 crore sanction for the modernization of the cooperative sugar factory at Chodavaram in Visakhapatnam district on the East Coast. The recommendations of the committee for the welfare of the weavers have also been ratified.