The Capital Conundrum
The issue of bifurcation appears to be any body’s guess. But if the bifurcation does happen, which City in Andhra and Rayalaseema area will be that Hot City? It seems as tough as selecting the City for Hosting Olympics! As in the case of presenting their credentials for allowing them to host Olympics, even the Cities and Towns are vying with each other for that coveted status with their qualifications.
Though it is evident that, given a choice of making a decision, the majority of Andhra people want the state to be united, in their hearts, nevertheless they are also thinking what if the State is divided? With the Congress going steadfast in the case of bifurcation, the issue of where the capital is going to be located is slowly gaining currency.
The issue is also important in the sense that the entire discussion of whether the state should be divided or not is getting focused only on Hyderabad. The city of Hyderabad, a sleeping beauty just a few decades back has become into a bustling metropolis with around 75 lakhs population. Its’ indeed a stark reality that the City of Hyderabad, where in the people of Andhra and Rayalaseema region have put in their fortunes, is the bone of contention.
The fact that the place where normal people have put their hard earned money to acquire a flat of a house or a plot, suddenly is not going to be their States capital and they are going to be just staying there is difficult to digest. But, the issue is that these people have put their money in the city just because they came here migrating from their place for good livelihood. T
he same migration will also happen tomorrow to the new capital. Its beyond doubt that the new capital of Andhra irrespective of the proposed regulation not to make it clutter, will be bustling. The population will definitely make the area grow in leaps and bounds, with their needs of housing, education, markets, clothing, infrastructure, industries, IT, Biotech..what not!!
The provision of Raj Bhavan, Assembly, Council, Secretariat, High Court, various government buildings, Airport, Higher education institutes, more Universities, four and six lane roads, IT, infrastructure, Pharma, industries, parks, housing…etc etc will make the City a Dream City in the next one and half to two decades. All this means, enough of construction work to feed the appetite of various construction firms, for which Andhra is famous for. The number of jobs that all these initiatives will create and the amenities required for them will spur good amount of economic activity around the city.
All this will augur well for the new Capital City. Then why not any city vies for that coveted tag of Capital City then?
Any Capital in the Indian context has been a driving force for the economy of that area. It will be foolhardy at least in the present times, to think of growth without having a great capital city!! In this scenario, the Capital City of Andhra, if formed, has acquired enormous importance.
Then now the discussion centers on the probable Cities / Towns of Andhra which will become the capital. Right from the Political capital of Andhra Pradesh, Vijayawada, to the Port City of Andhra Pradesh, Vishakapatnam, to the Spiritual Capital of Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati, every City is vying for the status.
In between these cities, Ongole, with the tag of having vast government lands, Kurnool, being the capital of previous Andhra State, Rajamundry, with its varied heritage are competing for the capital status.
We will discuss the viability and the credentials of each of the Capital City contender in detail in the coming days. (To be continued)
(By: Neelayapalem Vijay Kumar)