The Gurajada Kalakshetram, which has been renovated at a cost of ₹ 9.5 crore, was formally inaugurated by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu by garlanding the bust of writer and social reformer Gurajada Appa Rao here on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister left immediately after garlanding the statue due to paucity of time as he had to rush to Delhi.
Later, MLCs MVVS Murthy and Pappala Chalapathi Rao, Minister Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu and MLAs unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion and later lit a lamp to inaugurate the cultural programmes on the stage.
The popular open air theatre had been rendering yeomen services to the promotion of art and culture since 1991.
It suffered badly during the 2014 Hudhud cyclone. The open-air theatre now has a roof made of poly carbonate sheets, imported from Israel.
The theatre, which can comfortably seat 2,300 persons, has now being equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system.
MP K. Haribabu, MLC G. Srinivasa Naidu, MLAs Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, Peela Govind Satyanarayana, PGVR Naidu, Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu and Giddi Eswari and VUDA Vice Chairman Basant Kumar were present.
