A festive atmosphere prevailed in the Puttaparthi town on Monday as the headquarters of Sri Sathya Sai district was inaugurated on Monday. Children dressed in traditional attires including the one of Sri Sathya Sai Baba welcomed new Collector P. Basanth Kumar at the Collectorate.
Roads and Buildings Minister Malagundla Sankaranarayana, Hindupur MP Gorantla Madhav, MLC Mohammed Iqbal and MLAs D. Sreedhar Reddy (Puttaparthi), Kethireddy Venkataramireddy (Dharmavaram), P.V. Sidda Reddy (Kadiri) took part in the inaugural programme, as Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated all the 13 new districts in virtual mode.
Carrying “Thank You CM Sir” placards, students also took part in the programme. At the Collector’s office, Joint Collector K. Dinesh Kumar and Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Singh, and DRO Gangadhar Goud were also present.
Speaking to the media, the Collector said that achieving sustainable development goals was the key motivation behind the creation of smaller districts.
“Small districts ensure better monitoring of welfare and development. Navaratnalu is an extension of the process of reaching out to every needy citizen in the State for which a beginning was made two years ago with the creation of village secretariats. Now, smaller districts will give an impetus to this goal,” said Mr. Basanth Kumar.
The Minister and MLAs took part in a procession that was taken out from the Collector’s office to the circle nearby. They addressed a gathering and explained the rationale behind creation of new districts. Madakasira and Hindupur MLAs gave the inaugural a miss.
“Transfer orders are being served on the employees supposed to work from Puttaparthi. We hope to make this district headquarters functional in all aspects by April-end,” said Mr. Basanth Kumar.
