Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju today said the Kadapa airport in Andhra Pradesh will be named after 'Annamayya', the famous poet and worshipper of Lord Venkateshwara.
Raju along with Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of State for Science and Technology Y S Choudhary and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the airport today.
The much-touted air connectivity to Kadapa finally became a reality on Sunday with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu declaring open the airport.
The airport has been constructed by the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an investment of Rs 42 crore as part of the government's efforts to promote regional and remote area connectivity in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
Since Tallapaka Annamacharya hailed from this very land and in deference to the aspirations of the people, the Chief Minister announced to get the airport named after the saint-poet. While personally interacting with the passengers who disembarked the maiden Bengaluru-Kadapa flight and inquiring about their experience, he promised to get flight connectivity to Chennai, Bengaluru and Tirupati. Citing statistics, he said the number of air travellers would double by 2020. He narrated how the airport facility would be followed by allied infrastructure, which in turn would bring in a slew of industrial units and jobs.
Referring to the ‘hurdles’ being created in land pooling and on the loan waiver issue, the Chief Minister said poverty alleviation would be possible only if the political parties extended cooperation. Union Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapati Raju agreed to consider naming the airport after Annamayya if the State government forwarded the proposal. Minister of State for Science and Technology Y.S. Chowdary,Deputy Chairman of Legislative Council S.V.Satish Reddy, and Whip M. Mallikarjuna Reddy were present.