PM Narendra Modi being welcomed at Gannavaram Airport by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of Andhra Pradesh's new capital Amaravati in Guntur district
at a grand event today that is expected to be attended by over four lakh people. The guest list includes mega star Amitabh Bachchan, several union ministers and chief ministers including
Telangana's K Chandrasekhar Rao and top industrialists from across the country.
The function is being held at Uddandarayunipalem village on the banks of the river Krishna. The Prime Minister would spend about 90 minutes at the event during which he will perform 'shila nyas' for the new capital city, located about 40 kms from the commercial capital Vijayawada.
Priests perform pooja at the site where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation of the new capital.
The state government has also invited eminent personalities and foreign dignitaries for the event. Ministers and delegations from Singapore and Japan are also expected to attend the function. Singapore government agencies have
helped in preparing the master plan for the city.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has personally invited the Prime Minister, several union ministers, Governor ESL Narasimhan and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Setting aside the bitterness in their relations due to cash-for-vote scam, Mr Naidu met his Telangana counterpart and invited him for the event.
Hundreds of Kuchipudi dancers perform during the inauguration ceremony.
Amaravati, situated in Guntur district, was once the seat of power of Satavahana rulers. Mr Naidu has said he wants it to be a "people's capital", a destination of opportunities and a city of the future.
As per a call given by the chief minister, soil and water from 16,000 villages in the state and prominent pilgrim centres across the country have been brought to the capital region to be used in construction.
Yesterday, this soil and water was sprinkled over the area where the capital city is to be built in a symbol of collective participation in the launch of the "people's capital".
Seeking support for Amaravati, the chief minister and his family members took to the social media and urged people to take a selfie and use
#ManaAmaravatiManaRajadhani with it. Hours before the inauguration, the hashtag was a top trending topic on the microblogging site.
Earlier this month, Mr Naidu had urged each citizen of the state to buy "e-bricks" at Rs. 10 each for the new capital Amaravati. Within 24 hours of the launch of the website "My Brick My Amaravati," nearly four lakh "e-bricks" were bought.