Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu called people to take oath for merging all rivers in AP on Friday. After taking a holy bath along with his family members, he said “as Chief Minister got an opportunity to organise Krishna Pushkaralu river festival this time.”

He said, “I will never forget in my life the holding of Krishna Pushkaralu after the Godavari Mahapushkaralu. I have got a chance to conduct the Godavari Mahapushkaralu. All the gods will bless the state. The government plans to link all the rivers in the state, which will permanently solve the drought problem. I urge all the devotees to take oath on this occasion and pray to the gods for early completion of river linkage in the state. The government will also complete the projects by taking inspiration by Sir Arthur Cotton.”

He added “the work on Amaravati capital city construction was going forward by overcoming various hurdles, with blessings from gods. The state has every right to get special status and would not dilute its stand on this. The government has already urged the Centre to provide all facilities to AP as per the AP Reorganisation Act.”

Ministers Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Palle Raghunatha Reddy, Kollu Ravindra, MPs Konakalla Naray-ana, Kesineni Srinivas, MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna and several officials were also present.

BY M. DIVYA SRI