A resident of Guntur becomes a minister in Canada: Read this story

Panda Shivalinga Prasad, the Minister of Infrastructure in the State of Alberta, Canada. He was sworn in as the MLA for the second time after winning in the general election last April. He said his first priority was to keep Alberta out of debt. Sivalingam Prasad hails from Sanghajagaralamudi of Tenali Mandal in Guntur District. Prasad completed his engineering in Mechanical branch in Vijayawada. He worked for a year at Alvin's Andhra Pradesh Scooters Limited in Hyderabad and then at Reliance Industries in Mumbai for 16 years.

The state of Alberta, Canada, the world's third-largest producer of oil reserves, which who was instrumental in building the world's largest Jamnagar oil refinery has attracted Prasad. After eleven years of experience, he looked at the politics of the state. He joined the Opposition Wild Rose Party and contributed significantly to the development of the party. Calgary then contested the by-election and won. Being in opposition he worked as a Shadow Minister for Economic Development and Trade.

Prasad, who won from Calgary-Edmonton in the general election on April 16, 2019, took over as Minister of Infrastructure. About 75 percent of the people in that constituency are whites.16 percent are Chinese while Indians are of two per cent. Prasad, who had recently returned to his homeland, told the media that the locals had embraced him with his long experience as an oil and gas expert.

He explained that people do not see the caste and differences of the region, but rather the history and competencies of the candidates and the right person is chosen. At present, the state's economy is in the process of reducing debt and balancing the budget.