Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu pronounced the ‘Swacha Ratham’ at the Swarna Andhra – Swachh Andhra program at Tallapalem in Anakapalli district on Saturday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said they have set a target to make the roads litter-free by January 26 next year. He also urged people to help make the country plastic-free by June 2026.
Mr. Naidu attended the Swarna Andhra – Swachh Andhra program at Tallapalem in Anakapalli district on Saturday where he met the green ambassadors and gave a pledge to the students to keep their surroundings clean.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated the ‘Swachh Ratham’ through which people could get essential commodities in exchange for unused and waste items in their homes. He also visited a composting unit where garbage was converted into fertilizer and supplied to farmers.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Naidu said they were recycling waste through circular economy policy and appealed to people to be a part for the benefit of future generations.
“Currently there are 25 Swachh Rathams in the state and soon we will increase the number to 100. We have set a target of making home compost in five million houses in urban areas and 10 million houses in rural areas. We plan to achieve the target by March 26 next year,” he said.
Mr. Naidu said that Anakapalli has been turned into an industrial hub and 24,843 acres in Rambilli, Pudi, Nakkapalli and Makavarapalem have been developed for this purpose. He assured to bring Polavaram water to Anakapalli and also link Godavari river with Vamsadhara river.
Mr. Naidu took a swipe at the YSRCP for trying to stop setting up of IT companies in Visakhapatnam and fill vacancies through DSC by bypassing the courts.
In an indirect reference to YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s criticism of the government for organizing International Yoga Day on a grand scale, Mr Naidu said yoga is a cultural asset of India and thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts, it has gained global recognition, with people practicing it in more than 150 countries today.
“When Visakhapatnam was selected as the center for the 11th International Day of Yoga, the state organized the event in a manner that earned it worldwide recognition,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that there was a month long yoga campaign in the villages where over 21.8 million people participated. A historic yoga practice along the 26.3-km stretch in Visakhapatnam, attended by nearly 3 million people at dawn, showcased the city’s transformation into a yoga capital. The event earned two Guinness World Records and 25 other records and was personally hailed by the Prime Minister as unprecedented.
“Visakhapatnam, once termed as a drug hub, is now emerging as an AI, data center and yoga capital, free from land grabbing and corruption,” the chief minister said, taking a swipe at the previous government for wasting thousands of crores on projects without building even a single medical college.
Emphasizing that yoga is essential for future generations and public health, the Chief Minister said that the government will take the responsibility of making yoga a mass movement. He added that the NDA government has focused on sustainable development and transformed regions once affected by illegal activities into productive and green zones.
Published – 20 Dec 2025 20:27 IST
