Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the cloud computing technology centre, Pi Data Centre, in Mangalagiri. The centre spread over 1 lakh square yards in 10 acres has been set up at a cost of Rs 600 crore.
The centre already has 300 employees working for it and will be recruiting 1,300 more employees. This is the fourth largest data company in South India.
In a mood of setting up new companies, the AP state government has decided to launch six new sports academies and four water sports academies in various places of the state from August 15. The Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) officials have been asked to establish sports academies at Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Gudivada, Narasaraopet, Nellore, Anantapur, and four water sports academies at Vijayawada, Nagayalanka, Jangareddygudem and Tadipudi on August 15. The government will provide Rs 20 crore per annum for the maintenance of these academies, which will have 80 expert sportspersons training students.
The government is also planning to set up a sports school at Lambasingi in Visakhapatnam district (this is the coldest spot in Andhra Pradesh), with Naidu reiterating that all villages must have a play field. He said: “Every activity will be recorded in a state-wide database connected to the CM’s dashboard. All the details of participants and activities in the state must be recorded in the portal, so that we can measure the outcome."
Sports Development Centres across the state, called Kreeda Vikas Kendras, are indoor and outdoor facilities for sports and recreation. Thirty of them were completed in 2016-17 and 62 of them will completed by 2017-18.
Caste politics
Meanwhile, Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham was stopped from conducting his promised padayatra on July 26, with him and other Kapu leaders being put under house arrest.
People are wondering why this same leader had forgotten about the welfare of Kapu community during his tenure as minister for 10 years. While Naidu might fulfill his promise of getting the Kapu community the BC status, he is also questioning why the YSRCP did not bother to discuss issues of Kapus or BCs during its recent plenary in Visakhapatnam.
The entire plenary of the opposition party was, seemingly, focusing only on finding mistakes of the ruling party.
Jagan in trouble
Meanwhile, YSRCP leader Jagan Mohan Reddy faces fresh trouble with the Enforcement Directorate attaching assets worth more than Rs 148 crore in connection with its money laundering probe. The ED has attached assets worth Rs 148.89 crore in a quid pro quo case of Vodarevu-Nizampatnam Port and Industrial Corridor (Vanpic) Project in which Jagan and others were allegedly involved. Various companies and individuals made huge investments in companies floated by Jagan for the favours from the govt of AP when Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was CM.
Pawan's team to visit Uddanam
The other person trying to win the confidence of the people is Power Star Pawan Kalyan. He has invited a team of doctors from Harvard University to visit the kidney disease-affected villages in Uddanam region of Srikakulam district, over which PK spent a lot of time.
The Harvard team will meet doctors of Andhra Medical College (AMC) and then will leave for Borivanka village of Kaviti mandal in Uddanam region. Pawan Kalyan will meet the doctors on Sunday when a medical symposium on Uddanam Chronic Kidney Disease will be held. He will then meet Naidu in the evening. But it would seem that Naidu is sending feelers to PK to find out what his plans are for 2019 elections.
