TIRUPATI: Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various development works in the temple city of Tirupati.
Jagan inaugurated Sri Venkateswara Institute of Cancer Care and Advanced Research, spread in 1.65 lakh sqft along the Alipiri zoo park road. The state-of-the-art institute has been set up by Alimelu Charitable Trust and supported by Tata Group which funded `80 crore towards the project. The chief minister later laid the foundation stone for Sri Padmavathi children’s superspecialty hospital being established by the TTD at a cost of `300 crore.
The 350-bed hospital will come up in 6 acres near Alipiri with a built-up area of 4.11 lakh sqft. The hospital will have 15 special wings of paediatric treatment including haemato-oncology, medical-oncology, cardiology, nephrology and much more.
He next went to TTD-run Birrd hospital where he also inaugurated cleft palate, and deaf and dumb wards, where the government, in association with voluntary organisation Smile Train, will offer free service in behavioural counselling and speech therapy to cleft palate patients below 16 years of age.
Jagan also opened the first phase of Srinivasa Sethu elevated expressway corridor works being funded by the TTD, which is contributing `458.3 crore out of the total estimated cost of `684 crore to complete the project.
TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy, deputy chief minister K Narayanaswamy, ministers Botcha Satyanarayana, RK Roja and Vidadala Rajini, Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, MP Dr Gurumoorthy and others were present during the CM’s visit. Earlier, several functionaries of TDP, BJP and Left parties were placed under house arrest by the police in view of the chief minister’s visit. CITU leader Kandarapu Murali, who supported the agitating forest workers associated with TTD, was among those placed under preventive detention.
Former Tirupati urban development authority chairman G Narasimha Yadav slammed the ruling party for ‘stifling’ the voice of opposition. TDP youth leader Ravi Naidu, who staged a novel protest in front of his parked car in Tirupati, was placed under house arrest late on Wednesday night.
