This year’s Vijaya Dasami day will mark an important milestone in Andhra Pradesh’s history, with the foundation stone of new capital city Amaravati set to be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 12.45 pm on Thursday.

The foundation stone laying ceremony will take place in a small village called Uddandaryunipalem, in Guntur district, on the banks of river Krishna. The capital city will come up in and around Uddandaryunipalem.

Several villages, which have been farmlands for decades, have now been converted to serve as part of the seed capital area, where the AP Secretariat, Assembly, and other buildings are proposed to be constructed. The master plan for the core capital area, presented by the Singapore Government, is receiving final touches.

Many dignitaries expected A battery of political leaders, people from other walks of life and thousands of farmers, who contributed their land under the land pooling process, will be present at the venue.

Apart from several union ministers, Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, officials from various consular offices in Delhi and Chennai, and representatives of the Japanese Prime Minister and Singaporean Prime Minister, are expected to be present at the ceremony. Elaborate arrangements have been made and the venue has been turned into a high-security zone, with entry restricted. Special Protection Group personnel will guard the main stage, where the Prime Minister and other dignitaries will be seated.

According to JV Ramudu, State Director General of Police, arrangements have been made to accommodate about 1.5 lakh people at the venue.

There has been a lot of speculation over whether Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will attend the event.

If Rao decides to visit — he has assured Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu he will — political observers see it as a big positive for the two estranged States.

The government plans to develop a time capsule that captures the history of Amaravati.

After the ceremony, the Prime Minister is scheduled to fly to Tirupati to inaugurate the new international airport terminal and an IT incubation centre there.

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