Telugu Desam Party general secretary and Andhra Pradesh state minister Nara Lokesh on Saturday expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of maintenance of NTR Ghat on the banks of Hussainsagar lake in Hyderabad, where legendary actor and former chief minister N T Rama Rao was laid to rest in 1996.
Accompanied by his mother Nara Bhuvaneshwari, Lokesh visited the NTR Ghat in the morning on the 29th death anniversary of NTR and paid floral tributes to his grandfather.
On this occasion, Lokesh observed damage to walls and ceilings and uprooting of garden lights.
He directed his staff to carry out necessary repairs and offered to spend money from his own personal funds for the same as soon as possible.
Lokesh criticized Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority for not showing any interest in the maintenance of NTR Ghat.
He reiterated past requests to the Telangana government to hand over the responsibility to the NTR Trust.
Fans of NTR expressed anger over the poor upkeep of the NTR ghat.
Lokesh recalled that NTR brought recognition to the Telugu people and brought many reforms in administration. He hoped that NTR would soon be conferred with India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna.
Earlier, Lokesh’s father-in-law and Tollywood actor N Balakrishna, Jr NTR and Kalyan Ram also paid homage to the former chief minister. They recalled N. T. Rama Rao's contributions as an actor, leader and Chief Minister.
Balakrishna said NTR was not only the greatest actor but he dedicated himself to serving people, especially the poor and downtrodden. He said NTR would always live in the hearts of people.
The actor-politician said it was NTR who fought for the self-respect of Telugu people by floating TDP and bringing recognition to them globally.
Balakrishna said NTR's contributions to films and politics would always be remembered.
He recalled that as the chief minister, the late leader launched many schemes for the welfare of the poor. He described NTR as a university and a role model for all.
