The people as well as public representatives in the city seem to be equally keen on naming of a few places, schools, hospitals and streets after their favourite leaders. Towards the fag end of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) general body, corporators competed with each other in the naming exercise. More than 40 suggestions and resolutions were either adopted or recorded for office remarks in the recent general body meeting.
Not withstanding this enthusiasm, there was strikingly no coordination among the ruling Congress members. Two corporators, Samanthapudi Narasaraju and Kunuku Rajasekhar, who served as deputy mayor and the party floor leader, respectively, tabled resolutions to name a new school coming up at Jakkampudi after a former MP and a former corporator of their choice.
The VMC is constructing the school at the new housing complex – Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Nagar -- in Jakkampudi. While Mr. Rajasekhar wanted the school to be named after former corporator Mahadevu Rama Rao, Mr. Narasaraju wanted it to be named after Parvataneni Upendra.
Congress corporator Kalapala Ambedkar went ahead and suggested naming of a street, which is currently known as Acharya Ranga Road, as Devineni Gandhi street.
The corporation officials already erected name boards for this road, which is accessible from the ITI Road. The Vijayawada base map also refers to this road as ITI Road and/or Acharya Ranga Road.
Deputy Mayor S.P. Gritton tabled about seven proposals, while former Mayor Tadi Sakuntala and Congress senior corporator Musunuri Subba Rao moved five proposals each. And, there was no criterion to suggest the names. Some names cropped up as they were living there for long time.
There was a gross mismatch in respect of donations too. While a name was suggested because a person donated just about Rs.20,000 for a community hall, another name was suggested because the persons paid Rs. 1 lakh or agreed to bear the cost of the road.
If there were umpteen proposals to install statues of former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, there were also proposals to install statues of film actor Sobhan Babu, freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and chairman of the Constitution's drafting committee B.R. Ambedkar.
