Lokesh calls for public participation in the development of Visakhapatnam
IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh inaugurated the Sneha Sandhya Age Care Foundation Geriatric and Palliative Care Center at Gambheeram in Visakhapatnam on Monday. | Photo credit: Paul Nicodemus
Andhra Pradesh IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh on Monday called for greater public participation in the development of Visakhapatnam, saying civil society, government and officials can achieve more if they work together.
Speaking after inaugurating the Geriatric and Palliative Care Center of Sneha Sandhya Age Care Foundation at Gambheeram in Anandapuram mandal, Mr. Lokesh said that the services provided by the late Dr. SV Adinarayana Rao will be remembered.
He said the family of Dr Adinarayan Rao had set aside six acres for social services and described the facility there as an example of how one person’s contribution can benefit many.
A college, a mid-day meal program through the Hare Krishna Movement and an aged care facility have been set up on the property, he said.
Mr Lokesh said it was painful that some parents were neglected in their old age. As HRD minister, he said, he has the responsibility to ensure that children get not only education but education imbued with values and ethics, from Anganwadi level to higher education.
“A developed India without values is not a developed India,” he said.
The minister said that the state government was providing a pension of ₹ 4,000 to senior citizens and ₹ 6,000 to disabled persons so that they could live with dignity. Calling the donor a role model for the society, he said the 100-bed hospital set up on about one million square feet is commendable. He said the palliative care center should become a model for the country and the world and urged the youth to participate in such services.
On the development of Visakhapatnam, Mr. Lokesh said the government would not undertake any program against the interests of people or nature. Members of the public have a responsibility to dispel any misconceptions that might arise as development moved quickly, he said.
Referring to data centers, he said he had inspected the Intel data center and that technologies aimed at reducing water consumption, including air cooling, would be prioritized in Visakhapatnam.
Mr. Lokesh said that the AIG Hospital would be completed in two years and that Visakhapatnam would set a new benchmark for development as Hyderabad had done. “Visakhapatnam should be number one,” he said, adding that the aim was to build it as one of the model cities of the country.
Hare Krishna Vaikuntham Cultural Complex
Earlier, the minister visited the Akshaya Patra Foundation’s centralized kitchen. He performed bhumi puja for the Hare Krishna Vaikuntham Cultural Complex in the presence of the Hare Krishna Movement, Visakhapatnam President Niskinchan Bhakta Das and inaugurated the new school building of the Prema Group of Educational Institutions. He opened the fourth and fifth floors in the care center and met with important donors.
The event was presided over by O. Naresh Kumar, Chairman of the Fundraising Committee of Sneha Sandhya Age Care Foundation. Foundation Chairman G. Sambasiva Rao, Board of Trustees N. Satyanarayana Raju, Prema Sunkara Group of Educational Institutions Chairman Sasi Kiran, Dr. R. Sasi Prabha, Chairman Free Polio Surgical and Research Foundation, Member of Parliament M. Sribharat, TDP State President Palla Srinivasa Rao and Rao Rajivasa MLAhnus GNU
Published – 31 Aug 2026 23:46 IST