The multi-faceted U.V. Krishnam Raju, who breathed his last on September 11, had lived his entire life close to his very own soil - the Godavari region.
A pall of gloom descended on the village of Mogaltur, where he was born on January 20, 1940, and left an indelible mark in the village with his services apart from bringing laurels as an actor.
The house of U.V. Krishnam Raju at Mogaltur village in West Godavari district. | Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
Padavala Satyanarayana, Mogaltur Sarpanch, told The Hindu; “our village was expecting Krishnam Raju to come for Pongal. We have planned to discuss the village development plan with him. He was the man behind the national highway for Mogaltur and two bridges that cut the distance between Narsapur and Bhimavaram”.
Down to earth
“For outsiders and Telugu people, Krishnam Raju is known as an actor and politician. In the village, he had always lived as a fellow villager. He remembers every villager of his age by the name”, added Mr. Satyanarayana, who cultivates four acres of land of Krishnam Raju.
Renovation of junior college and drinking water projects in Mogaltur are a few contributions of Krishnam Raju to his own soil.
September 2019 was Krishnam Raju’s last visit to Mogaltur, where he attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday celebrations.
In 1946, Krishnam Raju studied primary education at Government Boys School, Mogaltur, and later joined Taylor’s High School in Narsapuram. He had completed B.Com at Badruka College in Hyderabad.
Good Samaritan
During the 1986 Godavari flood that ravaged Mogaltur, Krishnam Raju had despatched loads of commodities and clothes to the flood victims.
In his political career, he has served as MP from Kakinada and Narsapuram constituencies. Subsequently, he joined the Praja Rajyam Party, established by actor K. Chiranjeevi, and quit later.
The villagers on Sunday recollected that most of the movies of Krishnam Raju were shot in the Godavari region and Godavari river. Scores of locals on Sunday thronged his house here to pay tributes.
