The Month That Was: CM Serving Midday Meal, Visiting Dignitaries, Loss of Goutham Reddy....

AMARAVATI: The February month has seen a drastic drop in Covid-19 infections, top stars of Tollywood coming to town besides Indian Navy showcasing its maritime might and has also left behind a sad note in the untimely demise of State Minister M Goutham Reddy while a host of dignitaries visited the State.

February has turned out to be bitter-sweet, with the Union Budget 2022 not very encouraging, the sudden demise of State Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy soon after his return from Dubai Expo and night curfew being lifted after Covid-19 cases came down significantly. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy along with his wife YS Bharathi Reddy paid homage to Goutham Reddy and consoled the family members.

Also Read: AP CM Misses a True Friend in Mekapati Goutham Reddy

The Chief Minister spoke to Union Minister for External Affairs Dr. S Jayashankar and sought support in the safe return of the stranded students in Ukraine after the war broke out last week. The State government had also set up control rooms at the district level for the flow of information. 

Also Read: CM YS Jagan Talks to Minister Jaishankar Over Safe Return of AP Students From Ukraine

On the development front, the Chief Minister played a pivotal role in the sanction of 30 Road over Bridges along with East bypass to Vijayawada city by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari during his visit for inaugurating the Benz Circle flyover-2. The Union Minister also laid the foundation stone for 51 projects with a cost of over Rs 21,000 crores and praised the Chief Minister for his strong mettle in taking the State forward.

Also Read: Nitin Gadkari Assures Eastern Bypass, 30 RoBs for AP

Further, Electrosteel Castings Ltd had come forward to extend its operations in Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. In this regard, the company's MD Umang Kejriwal has met Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and laid the proposal.

The Chief Minister visited the Statue of Equality at Muchintal, near Hyderabad and took part in the Sri Ramanuja Millennium celebrations. He also visited Sri Sarada Peetam at Chinamushidiwada in the Visakhapatnam district and took part in their annual celebrations and performed holy rituals. He was the Chief Guest at the Milan 2022 International City Parade. The Chief Minister and his wife witnessed the colourful parade and visited the INS Visakhapatnam warship and INS Vela submarine.

During the month, the Chief Minister inaugurated the centralised kitchen Akshaya Patra set up by ISKCON at Atmakur in Mangalagiri, which will prepare the food required for the midday meals and supply it to schools. He was seen interacting with the students and serving food to the school children. Also, the Chief Minister inaugurated Pushpagiri Vitreo Retina Institute in Kadapa.

The month had seen the disbursal of Rs 285 crore under Jagananna Chedodu, Rs 526 crore under Jagananna Thodu, and Rs 571 crore under input subsidy benefiting lakhs of people across the State. The Chief Minister congratulated the Indian Cricket Team Under-19 Vice-Captain Shaik Rasheed, a native of the Guntur district, who played a key role in winning the U-19 World Cup. He announced a Rs 10 lakh cash incentive, a house site in Guntur and promised a Sub-Inspector job after his graduation.

The Tollywood top stars Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu and Prabhas along with Ali and Posani Krishna Murali had called on Chief Minister. 

France Consul General Thierry Berthelot, newly appointed APPSC Chairman Gautam Sawang, NTPC CMD Gurudeep Singh have paid a courtesy visit to the Chief Minister. During the month, the Chief Minister along with Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan had received President Ram Nath Kovind, who had come to attend the Presidential Naval Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam.