New CMO? Work at Rushikonda Hills gains pace

Visakhapatnam: Even as the YSRCP leaders and ministers have been making repeated announcements about Visakhapatnam becoming the executive capital, the timeline set by the Chief Minister clears the roadmap. With Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announcing that he would be shifting to Visakhapatnam by July, the prime focus is now on the location of the CM's residence that takes centre stage.

Among other locations, the controversial Rushikonda site hogs the much-required limelight once again. Despite the case associated with the Rushikonda Hill project pending in High Court, work has picked pace albeit in a discreet way.

As a part of its extensive search, the district administration has considered several suitable locations for facilitating the Chief Minister's residence in the city. Earlier, Port guesthouse, Andhra University premises, Bay Park and IT Hills, among other areas were considered as favourable for the CM's residence. According to reliable sources, three blocks of the Rushikonda Hill project are nearing completion. Apparently, they will be readied in a month or so. The YSRCP leaders drop a hint that the place is quite conducive for the CMO. Close to the hills, some of the guesthouses have also been selected for the purpose. Following the CM's recent announcement that came along with a timeline, work at Rushikonda gains momentum.

In addition, district officials examined sites to set up various department wings. As a part of the exercise, locations were considered at Srinivas Nagar at Simhachalam to set up the prime administrative building of the Endowments Department, while Karasa was examined for police quarters.

Despite the court's clearance on executive capital, party leaders make it clear that the Chief Minister is keen on operating his office from Visakhapatnam for the first few days of the week from July. Earlier, Jagan Mohan Reddy himself has repeated a couple of times that he would be shifting to Visakhapatnam shortly. The announcement was made once during the global investors' conference in Delhi and later during the recently-concluded Global Investors' Summit in Visakhapatnam.