Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has announced to pursue with due seriousness the process of making Dravidian University a central university.
Speaking after unveiling the statue of former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao, whose brainchild is the establishment of the university at the confluence of the southern States, Mr. Naidu recalled the painstaking efforts put in by NTR in getting the varsity on a 1,100 acre-sprawling campus here, besides thanking the people of the backward Gudupalle mandal for sparing their lands for the noble cause. While stressing the importance of technical and professional education, Mr. Naidu also saw the need to encourage Dravidian studies for the benefit of posterity.
The Chief Minister appreciated Vice-Chancellor K. Ratnaiah and Registrar Ch. A. Rajendra Prasad for developing ‘Moolika Vanam’ (an herbal garden on the campus) to perpetuate knowledge on medicinal plants. He also announced to take up the facility to a higher plane by roping in Ayurvedic and spiritual guru Baba Ramdev, who he lauded for making wonders out of the rare Himalayan herbs. Mr. Naidu also hoped that the Dravidian University would be developed as a centre of excellence and made to stand tall among the IIT, IIM, IISER, Agricultural University, IIIT, NIT and scores of other premier institutes sanctioned to the State. Ministers Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy (Environment and Forest) and Siddha Raghava Rao (Transport) also took part.
