By KVVV Charya
NDA government led by Chandrababu Naidu is eying Kurnool as the next destination city for the proposed ‘drone hub’ project.
Known as gateway to Rayalaseema region, Kurnool was the first capital of erstwhile Andhra between October 1953 and October 1956, later the capital for Andhra Pradesh was moved to Hyderabad owing to the logistic needs.
After bifurcation from Telangana, Amaravathi was identified as the capital for Andhra Pradesh, however, during JaganMohan Reddy regime, the government proposed three capital cities and Kurnool was identified as Justice City and plans to shift High Court Kurnool. For various reasons the proposal could not materialize, meanwhile after return of Chandrababu Naidu government again Kurnool resurfaced into the discussion and this time the incumbent government proposed to develop the city as industrial city with the development of Orvakal industrial area.
Apart from industry, the city will also get air connectivity and High Court bench to make Kurnool a happening city. According to the official releases, the survey for establishment of High Court bench is underway and it may be completed in the next six months.
Very recently, the Central government announced infrastructure development at Orvakal node on the Hyderabad-Bangalure Industrial Corridor, with an investment of Rs 2,700 crore. The government is planning several industrial clusters on the proposed industrial corridor, near Kurnool.
Coming to drone hub, the state is proposing a 300-acre hub at Orvakal, claimed to be the first-of-its-kind in the country. To make the proposal more viable, the State government is shortly coming with a drone policy, enabling the use of drones within the state, especially in the areas of healthcare and agriculture sectors.
The Kurnool Airport is the near Orvakal and it started commercial operations from March 2021. It is expected to increase its operations with the industrial activity at Orvakal.
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