The New Year celebrations with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu as a special guest proved to be a windfall for this nondescript but prosperous village located on the periphery of Kolleru Lake in West Godavari district.
After taking part in the celebrations by cutting a cake, Mr. Naidu unfolded his plans to develop Chataparru as a ‘smart’ village, with zero tolerance to infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality rate (MMR). and no child in the school-going age out of school and no household without individual sanitary latrines (ISLs).
The village, which happens to be the birthplace of the two Lok Sabha members—Maganti Venkateswara Rao (Eluru) and Maganti Muralimohan (Rajahmundry)—played host to the Chief Minister for the first-ever New Year celebrations after the State bifurcation. With a population of 7,000, the village beckoned Mahatma Gandhi twice during the freedom movement and former Chief Minister of Madras Province Bezwada Gopala Reddy.
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The village lore has it that a child admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, Maganti Annapurnamma, had won his heart by donating her jewellery during his visit for the cause of freedom movement. The Telugu Association of North America (TANA) president and Jampala Chowdary volunteered to adopt the village.
Mr. Naidu asked Mr. Muralimohan and Mr. Venkateswara Rao to chip in the mission with funds under the MPLADS.
The Chief Minister also promised to sanction Rs.1 crore to supplement the efforts being put in by the NRIs to make the habitation a ‘smart’ village.
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With Sankranti festival due in the next 10 days, rendition of devotional songs by Haridasu, gobbemmalu, acrobats of ‘gangireddulu’ (decorated bulls) and bullfights were the main attractions during the new year revelry.
Mr. Venkateswara Rao allowed cockfights for a while in the run up to the Chief Minister’s arrival with a message that the fights involving roosters during the Sankranti festival was part of the tradition in the coastal Andhra and that it should not be viewed as an offence.