PM Modi announces new Central Tribal University in Telangana; will be named after goddess

HYDERABAD : Ahead of the Telangana Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced setting up a Central Tribal University in Telangana, an assurance mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. After launching and inaugurating multiple developmental projects worth more than Rs 13,500 crore in Mahabubnagar district in Telangana, Modi also said the Centre would set up a National Turmeric Board, which would benefit turmeric farmers in Telangana and the country immensely.

"Today, it is necessary to take initiative in a more professional way on the whole turmeric value chain, from production to export and research. The central government has decided to set up the National Turmeric Board in the interest of turmeric farmers, keeping in view their needs and their future possibilities," Modi said. The National Turmeric Board would help farmers in the supply chain, from value addition to infrastructure works, he said.

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The Central Tribal University, to be established in Mulugu District of Telangana, would be named after tribal goddesses “Samakka and Sarakka” and the Centre will spend Rs 900 crore on it, he said. However, it is not clear where the proposed National Turmeric Board will be set up. The issues of setting up a tribal university and a turmeric board have been a bone of contention between the ruling BRS government and the BJP. The establishment of a turmeric board, which was a long pending demand of turmeric farmers of Nizamabad, became a focal point during the election campaign of the past two Nizamabad Lok Sabha polls, with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha losing to the BJP’s D Arvind in 2019.

Arvind in 2019 poll campaign pointed out that Kavitha had failed in fulfilling the demand for setting up a turmeric board as promised in the 2014 polls. He had then assured that it would be established in Nizamabad. Meanwhile, Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for several developmental projects and inaugurated other finished structures, in total worth more than Rs 13,500 crore in Mahabubnagar district in Telangana, where he addressed a public meeting later.

New projects

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for key road projects that are part of the Nagpur-Vijayawada Economic Corridor, including the 108 km-long four-lane access-controlled greenfield highway from Warangal to Khammam section of NH-163G and the 90 km-long four-lane access-controlled greenfield highway from Khammam to Vijayawada section of NH-163G. These roads will be built at a total cost of about Rs 6,400 crore, a release here said.

The PM also inaugurated the newly four-laned 59 km long Suryapet to Khammam section of NH-365BB. Built at a cost of about Rs 2,460 crore, it is a part of the Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam Corridor and is developed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. He also inaugurated the 37 km section of the Jaklair–Krishna New Railway Line. Built at a cost of more than Rs 500 crore, the new rail line section brings areas of the backward district of Narayanpet for the first time onto the railway map. The 'Hassan-Cherlapalli LPG Pipeline' which has been laid at a cost of about Rs 2,170 crore was also inaugurated today. The LPG pipeline, from Hassan in Karnataka to Cherlapalli (suburb of Hyderabad), provides a safe, cost-efficient, and eco-friendly mode of LPG transportation and distribution in the region.

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Additionally, Modi laid the foundation stone for the multi-product petroleum pipeline project of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) from Krishnapatnam to Hyderabad (Malkapur). The 425-kilometre pipeline will be laid at a cost of Rs 1,940 crore. Among new structures inaugurated were five new buildings of Hyderabad University -- School of Economics; School of Mathematics & Statistics; School of Management Studies; Lecture Hall Complex – III; and Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication (Annexe). The PM also flagged off the Hyderabad (Kacheguda)-Raichur-Hyderabad (Kacheguda) train service from Krishna station. The train service will connect Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Mahabubnagar, and Narayanpet districts in Telangana with Raichur district in Karnataka.