The place where the ashes of former Union Minister K.L. Rao were entombed on the banks of river Krishna will be given a facelift. Daughter of K.L. Rao and former Union Health Secretary K. Sujatha Rao on Tuesday met Krishna District Collector M. Raghunandana Rao to discuss the upkeep of the area around the K.L.Rao sepulchre. A beautification project will be taken up around the tomb located between the Durga Bathing Ghat and the Model (Irrigation) Guesthouse.
Appalling conditionsThe last time when Ms. Sujatha Rao came to pay homage to her father she was taken aback by the appalling conditions. The area adjoining the sepulchre was being used for dumping trash. A garden which was developed around it was nowhere to be seen and even a makeshift wire fence meant to protect it was in a dilapidated state.
“The District Collector promised to improve the place. They are on the lookout for a good design,” Ms. Sujatha Rao told The Hindu.
An engineer by profession, Kanuri Lakshmana Rao was elected to the Lok Sabha from Vijayawada constituency. He was the designer of Nagarjunasagar and Bhakra Nangal dams and was known as the ‘Father of the Indian Irrigation System’ which provided livelihood to millions of farmers.
K.L. Rao had worked as Union Minister in the Cabinets of Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri and was a recipient of Padma Bhushan.
Shooting down a proposal to entomb his ashes in Hyderabad, former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao took special interest to get his ashes entombed on the banks of the Krishna.
Then Minister for Irrigation Tummala Nageswara Rao laid the foundation stone for the sepulchre beautification project.
The city is home to many admirers of K.L. Rao. There was a hue and cry when the Srisailam Project was named after Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, while K.L. Rao was the “deserving candidate.”
