Six cities in India vying to be Seemandhra capital

The centre is expected to announce formation of an official committee soon to identify suitable location for building the new capital for the residual Andhra Pradesh. Post-bifurcation, Hyderabad will be the common capital for 10 years after which it would be the permanent capital of Telangana state comprising 10 districts.

Hectic lobbying has begun for the new capital in Seemandhra spread over 13 districts, a relatively more prosperous region of the state. There is a growing demand to identify the new capital well in advance so that it could be developed on par with Hyderabad over the next decade. There are six cities in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra vying for the coveted honour. They are Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada-Guntur, Ongole and Rajahmundry in the coastal region and Kurnool and Tirupati in Rayalaseema. The ruling Congress leaders have already started pitching for their favourite cities to locate the new capital.

The port city of Visakhapatnam, the second biggest city in AP, is endowed with fully developed infrastructure, besides road, rail and air connectivity and a modern port. The headquarters of Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam is home to a string of important central establishments including Vizag Steel Plant, Hindustan Zinc and Naval dockyard.

However, its location in the eastern tip of AP could prove to be disadvantageous for people from distant Rayalaseema. Besides, land acquisition could be a problem.

Ongole, the headquarters of Prakasam district, is considered by many as an ideal location as vast stretches of government land are available. More importantly, its strategic location in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema adds to the advantage. The government has already acquired nearly 30,000 acres of land in Ongole. The city is centrally located with a port, rail and good road connectivity. However, this backward town has severe water shortage during summer.The Vijayawada-Guntur stretch, arguably the most prosperous region of the state, has backing from influential politicians and industrialists of the region. However, non-availability of government land and sky-rocketing prices of private lands are seen as major drawbacks. It is argued that the sprawling campus of Nagarjuna University could be ideally suited to house the legislature, secretariat, Raj Bhavan and government offices of the new state.

Kurnool, which was the original capital of Andhra state before the formation of AP in 1956, is also in the race. The equidistance from coastal and Rayalaseema regions will be an important factor in zeroing on the new capital for AP. But, it lacks infrastructure and air connectivity and is reeling under water scarcity.

There is also a demand to make the temple town of Tirupati the new capital as it is well developed. The popular Tirumala shrine attracts highest number of domestic tourists. It is well connected and is close to Chennai and also Bengaluru. However, availability of land will be a problem, though some argue that the 7,500 acres of reserve forest abutting the city could be considered for building the new capital.

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