Days after senior YSR Congress Party leader and former minister Botsa Satyanarayana stated that the party would review its stance on Amaravati, his colleague in the Legislative Council, Pandula Ravindra Babu, stirred controversy by calling Amaravati a ghost city.
“Some leaders claim Amaravati is being developed as the capital because of its central location in Andhra Pradesh. Why behave like an ostrich burying its head in the sand?” he questioned.
Arguing that building a city from scratch is unrealistic, Pandula dismissed Amaravati’s viability, stating: “Amaravati isn’t just about bricks and cement. Cities don’t develop artificially; they grow naturally. Look at Burma (Myanmar)—they built a new capital, but it’s now a ghost city with buildings but no people.”
He further asserted that YSRCP never accepted Amaravati as the capital and questioned whether industrialists would invest there.
"A capital should generate employment and opportunities. Does Amaravati have highways, runways, roadways, or waterways?" he asked.
Pandula’s comments triggered strong reactions from TDP ministers Kollu Ravindra, K. Parthasarathi, and K. Atchennaidu, who lashed out at YSRCP’s stance on Amaravati.
Minister Kollu Ravindra emphasized that the people of Andhra Pradesh had decisively rejected the YSRCP’s three-capital proposal in the recent elections.
"We campaigned with Amaravati as the single capital, and the people backed us. The mandate was clear," he stated.
He reiterated that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is committed to transforming Amaravati into a world-class capital and that his government’s actions would prove its vision.
Minister Parthasarathi ridiculed Pandula’s claim that Amaravati is uninhabitable, questioning: "If Amaravati has no people, then whom are they addressing when they visit the place?"
Minister Atchennaidu added that cities naturally expand over time, citing Hyderabad’s growth into its suburbs and predicting that Vijayawada and Guntur will merge with Amaravati.
He expressed confidence that under Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership, Amaravati will flourish into a great city.
