Lokesh urges collective effort for Visakhapatnam's growth

Andhra Pradesh IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh on Monday emphasised the need for greater public participation in Visakhapatnam's development, stating that civil society, the government, and officials could achieve more by working together. He was speaking after inaugurating the Sneha Sandhya Age Care Foundation's Centre for Geriatric and Palliative Care at Gambheeram in Anandapuram mandal.

Mr. Lokesh paid tribute to the late Dr. S.V. Adinarayana Rao, noting that his family had allocated six acres for social service. The land now houses a college, a midday meal programme run through the Hare Krishna Movement, and elderly care facilities. The Minister described this as an example of how one person's contribution could benefit many.

Addressing the issue of elderly neglect, Mr. Lokesh said it was painful that some parents were neglected in old age. As HRD Minister, he said he had a responsibility to ensure children received education imbued with values and ethics, from the Anganwadi level to higher education. "A developed India without values is not a developed India," he remarked.

The Minister highlighted state government initiatives, including a pension of ₹4,000 for the elderly and ₹6,000 for persons with disabilities, to help them live with dignity. He praised donors as role models and said the 100-bed hospital, built on about one lakh square feet, was commendable. He urged the palliative care centre to become a model for the country and the world, and encouraged young people to participate in service activities.

On Visakhapatnam's development, Mr. Lokesh assured that the government would not undertake any programme against the interests of the people or nature. He said public representatives had a responsibility to dispel misconceptions that could arise during rapid development. Referring to data centres, he mentioned inspecting an Intel facility and said technologies aimed at reducing water use, including air cooling, would be given priority in Visakhapatnam.

Mr. Lokesh said the AIG Hospital would be completed in two years and that Visakhapatnam would set a new development benchmark, as Hyderabad had. "Visakhapatnam should be number one," he said, adding that the objective was to develop it as one of the country's model cities.

Earlier, the Minister visited the Akshaya Patra Foundation's centralised kitchen, performed the bhumi puja for the Hare Krishna Vaikuntham cultural complex, and inaugurated a new college building of the Prema Group of Educational Institutions. At the care centre, he opened the fourth and fifth floors and met major donors.

O. Naresh Kumar, chairman of the fund-raising committee of the Sneha Sandhya Age Care Foundation, presided. Foundation chairman G. Sambasiva Rao, managing trustee N. Satyanarayana Raju, Prema Group chairman Sunkara Sasi Kiran, Dr. R. Sasi Prabha, MP M. Sribharat, TDP State president Palla Srinivasa Rao, and MLAs Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Vishnu Kumar Raju were present.