In Chief Minister Naidu's New 59,000-Crore Capital, A Role For Baahubali
Baahubali director S Rajamouli has been roped in to help create Amaravati
Amaravati is to become the capital of Andhra Pradesh in 2019
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has grand ambitions planned for the city
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has become the ultimate dream merchant, roping in SS Rajamouli, the creator of the runaway hit "Baahubali" to create Amaravati, the city that is expected to become a reality in another seven years, when Hyderabad goes to Telangana.
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In Chief Minister Naidu's New 59,000-Crore Capital, A Role For Baahubali
The blueprints show a city grander than Mahishmati -- the kingdom over which the protagonists of Bahubali plotted, murdered and battled
Andhra Pradesh | Reported by Uma Sudhir, Edited by Anindita Sanyal | Updated: December 13, 2017 22:39 IST
In Chief Minister Naidu's New 59,000-Crore Capital, A Role For Baahubali
Amaravati will be the capital of Andhra Pradesh in 7 years, when Hyderabad goes to Telangana.
Story Highlights
Baahubali director S Rajamouli has been roped in to help create Amaravati
Amaravati is to become the capital of Andhra Pradesh in 2019
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has grand ambitions planned for the city
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has become the ultimate dream merchant, roping in SS Rajamouli, the creator of the runaway hit "Baahubali" to create Amaravati, the city that is expected to become a reality in another seven years, when Hyderabad goes to Telangana.
On Wednesday, Mr Naidu held meetings at his office in a temporary secretariat with all those involved in envisioning, designing and executing the building of the new capital city that is expected to cost Rs 58000 crore. Among those who attended was Mr Rajamouli, who was to provide cultural context to the buildings being planned.
In mythology, Amaravati was the fabled capital of Indra, the king of gods. Mr Naidu's dream -- going by a bunch of blueprints he finalised after meetings today -- is equally ambitious. The blueprints show a city grander than Mahishmati -- the kingdom over which the protagonists of Bahubali plotted, murdered and battled: A glass and concrete extravaganza with soaring towers, huge lakes, squeaky clean pavements and trees that look like distant cousins of the red-leafed maple.
Planned over 54,000 acres, Amaravati will be a "green and blue" city.
"I was asked to give some design elements, cultural context,'' Mr Rajamouli said. "When someone sees the building structure, they must be reminded of the greatness of Andhra Pradesh history and achievements,'' he explained.
Planned over 54000 acres, Amaravati will be a "green and blue" city with lung spaces and water, unlike the brown cities across the country, boasted C Sridhar, who heads the Capital Region Development Authority as its chairperson.
For Andhra Pradesh, the clock is ticking. When Telangana was carved out of it in June 2014, Hyderabad was made the joint capital of the two states. But at the end of a decade, it will function only as the capital of Telangana. By that time, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh needs to be up and running to make the transition seamless.
Of the huge expanse of land, 33000 acres have been acquired from farmers in the largest such exercise completed in the shortest possible time. The temporary secretariat and assembly, as of now, stands on 49 acres.
To fund the Rs 58000 crore project, Rs 14,200 crore has been tied up mainly from state-owned Hudco and the World Bank. Another Rs 14,250 crore is expected from public-private partnership, bonds, a collective investment fund and lease rental discounting, among other avenues. For the project to be viable, monetising about 4,000 acres of land in the heart of the city is crucial.
The residents of the state have contributed more than Rs 56 lakh so far, heeding the call of the Chief Minister to contribute at least Rs 10 -- the price of a single brick -- and become stakeholders in the new city.