TIRUPATI: The science museum-cum-planetarium coming up here will be the memorabilia of the 104th Indian Science Congress (ISC) the city is hosting in the first week of January.
SV University will be hosting the conclave for the second time in 34 years.
The museum will be located near the Regional Science Centre at the foot of the Tirumala hills in 140 acres of land. It will have seven domes, symbolising the seven sacred hills.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in all probability, will lay the foundation stone for the project.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who reviewed the arrangements with his Cabinet colleagues, officials, Vice-Chancellors, and representatives of the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) at the university on Friday, told the media that he urged Defence Adviser Satish Reddy to include the museum event in Mr. Modi’s itinerary.
The city is being spruced up for the prestigious event. A sum of Rs.175 crore is being spent for improving roads, footpaths, landscaping, green cover, and sanitation.
With over 10,500 rooms, 2,000 vehicles, and 10 food courts, the city will play host to 12,000 delegates, who include nine Nobel laureates.
“Visakhapatnam, Amaravati, and Tirupati will be developed on an international scale as three mega cities,” Mr. Naidu said.
Given the backwardness of the Rayalaseema region and the water crisis looming over the State, Mr. Naidu suggested that drought be included as a topic for discussion.
ISCA general president D. Narayana Rao said that the subject would be dealt with in the session on food security to be chaired by agriculture expert M.S. Swaminathan.
Mr. Naidu turned nostalgic going round his alma mater, and said that he remembered everything — from hostel room, buildings, trees, to cycle shed.
The hostel blocks and washrooms were getting a makeover for the first time after the university’s inception 60 years ago.
Mr. Naidu exuded confidence that the science congress would mark a new era in the history of the university.
