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Telangana government organised the 68th Independence Day celebrations at the historic Golkonda Fort in the city instead of Parade Grounds of Secunderabad where the chief ministers in the undivided state used to hoist the tricolour and address the people.
In spite of Hyderabad being the joint capital AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu chose Kurnool town, which had briefly served as the state capital following the formation of Andhra state in 1954, to hoist the national flag and addressed the public.
Chandrasekhara Rao highlighted the history of Golkonda to explain as to how it was the center of Telangana's life and its culture as far back as in 16th century since he chose the Golkonda Fort to celebrate the Independence Day as a symbolic way of returning to the old roots following the bifurcation. The Mujra dances and Qawwali songs were also payed on this occasion as a mark of change following the formation of Telangana state.
Rao distributed the land titles to a group of Scheduled Caste women under a new scheme wherein every landless SC family in the state is supposed to be provided with 3 acres of land along with irrigation and other assistance by the state government.
In his address he said about 5 lakh acres of non-cultivable land will be made available to the Telangana State Infrastructure Corporation(TSIIC) for the development of industrial clusters across the state.
AP chief minister Naidu said that injustice was done to the residuary state in the bifurcation process and therefore the state is facing a host of challenges and the problems including shortage of resources. He, however, said the government would create enabling conditions for the development of ports and industrial activity to make AP number one state in all respects.
The chief minister announced several schemes including a manufacturing hub in 30,000 acres and an airstrip exclusively for Kurnool district as it has been witnessing a new wave of agitations demanding the government to locate AP capital in Kurnool.
Naidu said Kurnool will be developed as the state's first smart city under the Centre's smart city plan and 14 other towns and cities in the state will also get a face lift to become new centers of wealth creation.
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