Articles
Eliminating Poverty And Building Up Amaravati
Dt: 18/8/25
Eliminating Poverty And Building Up Amaravati
Dr T H Chowdary*
The Government Girls High School in Angaluru, Gudlavalleru Mandalam, Krishan district was adjudged as the best high school in AP for the year 2025. The distinctions were 100% pass and the State’s highest average marks in the SSC examination in the year 2025 and highest average marks scored in the examination . For these distinctions the school was honoured through its Head Master Sri G Jagan Mohan Rao by the Chief Minister of AP on the 15th of Aug.
2. Angaluru has the sobriquet, “Anganaluru” , the village of ladies for its women were in the forefront of Bharat’s struggle for freedom from British rule ; it has been having a girls high school since 1946 that is, 10 years before the Boys High School; a library Balasaraswati Pusthaka Bhandagaramu since the first decade of the 20th century; and a lady as the Chairperson of the Panchayat in the early 1950s itself.
3. In 1946 an Anglo- Indian Inspector of Schools came to the village. The women gheraoed her with a request for a high school, since until then there was only a school upto 5th calls for girls. The Inspector said government has no money . Then the women took out their valuable ornaments and each one put them in the packet and placed them in front of that lady Inspector with a request that they may be sold and the money utilized for starting the high school. She was stunned. She went to Madras met with Avinash Lingam Chettiyar, the then Education Minister in the Congress government. After hearing the story of the women, Sri Avinash Lingam Chettiyar, the Minister then and there sanctioned the High School (1946). This is how the girls’ school came 10 years before the high school for boys.
4. The District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in the village is graduating scores of teachers year after year the majority of whom are girls . The girls are now having an intermediate college . Now it is also known as Chaduvuluru .
5. It has been my pleasure to equip the high school with a computer and a stage for performance . Those who hailed from this village and are in good positions would do well if they contribute for the development of this school . It has already been upgraded into an intermediate classes.
6. Sri Nadendla Brahmam Chowdary, Chairman of Kamma Corporation of AP one among about 50 caste-related corporations created by the former Chief Minister Sri Jagan Mohan Reddy was facilitated by a Kamma association in Hyderabad on 12 Aug 2025. I have written to him seeking information as to how much was granted to this corporation and for what purposes the benefit of how many the corporation spend its money.
7. The Chief Minister Naidu garu has announced that by the Year 2026 there will be no poverty in AP ! This is a very bold promise. Because poverty had never been eliminated in any part of the world since ages past. In our country the poor Daridra had been equated to God Narayan himself by referring to them as Daridra Narayan. Jesus Christ said that the poor would inherit the earth. That means, even 2000 years ago elsewhere in the world too there was poverty. Therefore for the Chief Minister to say that in our state poverty will be eliminated is astounding and most welcome if it happens. It will be unique achievement. He has been exhorting well-to-do families to adopt the poor just as he has adopted a few hundred families to lift them out of poverty. We all pray and wish that he would achieve this miracle for the poor in AP.
8. Gujarat , Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were all new states carved out of bigger states. All these new states are having capitals. To equip them as the capital of these state or states none had spent tens of thousands of crores of rupees. Amaravati is a dream capital of our Chief Minister and many of the state’s well-wishers want a great capital. But great capitals were never built anywhere in the world by governments. They facilitated . The chosen cities were built by the people facilitated by the government. Amaravati could not be built up during the 5 year tenure of our Chief Minister during 2014-19. Now last one and half years works costing more than Rs. 40,000 cr had already been initiated. They may be by the completion of the total project another Rs. 1 lakh cr may be needed. Is it wise to put in so much money for the development of one city ? In order to eliminate corruption there may be concurrent audit. That is, as and when expenditure is incurred the CAG in the state may audit every expenditure related to these contracts. In the past combined state of AP and Telangana only Hyderabad was developed and now it is growing and developing without government investment . Many reckon that the Hyderabad was developed and no other city in the composite state of AP. We should not repeat that mistake.
9. Borrowing money and distributing it known as panchudu is not the way to eliminate poverty . There is a Chinese proverb that, if you want a person to live for a day feed him fish but if you want him to live for long teach him how to catch fish. That is a great lesson . Programs in the state should be to enable people earn money, good education and limited population can only assure lasting prosperity . Singapore had been visited by a 22 strong officials and ministers headed by the Chief Minister once and the second time by the Chief Minister and education minister and one or two others. It is surprising to expect investment to come from Singapore of all places . There are not many billionaires or global companies. It is nearly intriguing as to how such a tiny country could be expected to put billions of dollars for the development of Amaravati. One Minister has recently gone from Singapore to Malaysia . Which Malaysians can invest in India?
10. The southern Chief Ministers especially our Chief Minister exhorting people to produce more and more children is going to be devastating for the state. It may be the political game in the shape of voters though it will be after 20 years . But in the long term it will reduce us to the status of Bihar. A child producing factory. People will do well not to go in for this disastrous measure just to please some politicians . (11,06 words)
END