197 Days And This Happened…

Ever since Amaravati was named as the capital of a bifurcated AP, there has been a lot written about it. Lot of plans made, lot of plans shown touting Amaravati as the first futuristic capital of Andhra Pradesh. There were talks of none of them ever materialising and the capital of our state just remaining a barren piece of land, showcased as an imaginary city. But now, things have taken a turn for the better. An aerial view drone video put up on the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) FB page yesterday shows the development that has taken place at the capital already. By the looks of it, whatever Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed for the capital has already begun materialising. But what garners our attention is the fact that the video claims a development took place there in mere 197 days!

It shows people already busy at work at the capital, being driven around in battery operated vehicles. A man interviewed for the video states – “We have come far from having to hold meetings under trees or huts to a highly developed secretariat in Amaravati. This shows the speedy development of the place. No matter how rich a person is, it takes more than 6-8 months to build a house. But here, to see such development in mere 197 days, I feel proud to even be standing here and talking to you about it.

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The video then proceed to show interior shots of the secretariat that was built in 197 days. Such speedy development is a path-breaking one for our country, and not just Andhra Pradesh.

Amaravati is all set to be a futuristic city with cloud-connected driverless transit, electric buses and buildings designed so they’re energy-efficient according to what’s being planned by UK-based Foster + Partners. Consisting of 27 townships, each one would be a block measuring 2 x 2 KMs and 10% of each area would be made up by waterbodies. Of the 900 acres of total space, 51% would be green space, 25% building footprint, 14% roads and 10% waterfronts.

Furthermore, only electric vehicles and buses will be allowed to ply in the city, reducing carbon-footprint. Rainwater and stormwater harvesting will be in place with energy consumption reduced to 40-60% with solar power used instead. Vehicle-free zones will be put in place, making it a walkable city, with dedicated bicycle routes and canals used for water taxis.

Here’s hoping all the plans materialise to make Amaravati genuinely the most futuristic city in the country.