AP determined to forge ahead: CM Jagan Mohan Reddy

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh will forge ahead overcoming all hurdles being created by vested interests and manipulators, said Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

During his address on the occasion of AP Formation Day here on Sunday, the Chief Minister said it was through the sacrifices of great leaders like Potti Sriramulu that Andhra state was formed on October 1, 1953 and a separate Andhra Pradesh was formed on November 1, 1956. Recalling the sacrifices of Telugu leaders, the Chief Minister said that the new generation should take inspiration from such leaders to work for betterment of society. "Even today there is 33% of illiteracy in the state and 85% of people are still dependent on white ration cards and living below the poverty line and 90 lakh women are struggling for existence. Large extent of land does not have irrigation facilities and 32 lakh people are waiting for a house, it reminds us of the government's responsibility to fulfil the aspirations of the people, the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister said the government has been focusing on family healthcare, education, agriculture and irrigation for the past 17 months with commitment and implementing several welfare schemes for the poor. It was his dream to change the lives of the Telugu people radically by taking village as a unit, he said.

The Chief Minister said every village with a population of 2,000 has been provided with a village secretariat where at least 12 volunteers work relentlessly, each volunteer catering to the needs of 50 families through door delivery of welfare schemes. The Government has taken initiative to revamp government schools on par with the private schools under the Nadu-Nedu scheme, and offer English medium education to all the students and also has established health clinics in every village for their healthcare with 51 types of medicines, he said.

The Chief Minister said he was proud to say that all these amenities were being provided all over the state without any room for corruption for the past 17 months and without any discrimination of caste, creed or gender. However, it was unfortunate that some unscrupulous forces in the state, who were jealous of the government's good performance, were out to resort to mud-slinging.

Earlier, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy hoisted the national flag, offered floral tributes to Potti Sriramulu and Telugu Thalli and received guard of honour on the occasion of Andhra Pradesh Formation Day.

Minister for Endowments Vellampalli Srinivas, MP Nadigam Suresh, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, Director-General of Police Gautam Sawang, Government Advisor (public affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Government Advisor(communications) GVD Krishna Mohan were among those present.