Vijayawada:

The family of late media baron Ch Ramoji Rao on Thursday donated Rs 10 crore to the Andhra Pradesh government for the development of Amaravati city.

They handed over the cheque to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at a state event organised on the outskirts of Vijayawada to commemorate Ramoji Rao’s life, legacy and contributions.

Addressing the public meeting organised in honour of the Eenadu Group founder, the Chief Minister stated that a road will be named as Ramoji Rao Marg in Amaravati.

“Ramoji Rao was not a person, he was an institution. He was an uncompromising fighter who worked for the betterment of the society…” said Mr Naidu.

In recognition of his services to the Telugu society and country, he said a centre named Ramoji Vignan Kendra will be set up in Amaravati, which will host top events.

Mr Naidu also promised to establish Chitra Nagari in port city Visakhapatnam, which will be a facility for film shooting.

The family members of Ramoji Rao, several ministers, Telugu film personalities and other dignitaries participated in the event to pay their tributes to the multi-faceted personality.

According to Mr Naidu, Mr Rao had started a magazine called Annadata in 1969 before launching the Eenadu Telugu newspaper in Visakhapatnam in 1974.

From a single edition newspaper, Mr Naidu said Ramoji Rao had transformed Eenadu into a 22-edition giant and went on to build several highly successful business ventures, including the Ramoji Film City (RFC) in Hyderabad.

When everyone thought there was no alternative to the Congress party in undivided Andhra Pradesh, Naidu said Ramoji Rao had played a key role in bringing the N T Rama Rao-founded TDP to power in the 1980s.

The CM added that Ramoji Rao had mooted the idea of naming Andhra Pradesh’s greenfield capital as Amaravati after a lot of research.
 

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