Vijayawada: The swearing in ceremony of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as Andhra Pradesh CM will take place on 30 May at the Indira Gandhi Municipal stadium.
The YSR Congress swept to power in the State with a landslide victory, winning 151 seats in the 175-member Legislative Assembly and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats.
According to media reports, large number of YSR Congress supporters are expected to visit the stadium and officials are in race against time to ready the venue. It is said that the stadium can accommodate only 25,000 people in the gallery and party leaders from the 13 districts have been asked not to bring too many people. The stadium had hosted a One Day International between India and the West Indies in 2002.
Jagan’s father Y S Rajasekhar Reddy had taken oath at a stadium in Hyderabad and the stadium was chosen out of sentiment. Security is also a reason for choosing the venue, said some reports.
Krishna District Collector A Md Imtiyaz speaking to a news agency said extensive arrangements have been made to accommodate around 40,000 people in the cricket stadium, and live-streaming of the event through LED TVs at important locations of the city would also be arranged in order to avoid overcrowding. Traffic arrangements without affecting normal life would be put in place, while provisions for drinking water, fans and air coolers would also be made, he added.
According to Vijayawada Police Commissioner Dwaraka Tirumala Rao common people would be allowed till the venue is full, after which entry would be restricted.
Workers at the stadium maintained that staircases leading to galleries had worn-out, upper balconies did not have shade and people have to sit on concrete slabs. However, one of the organisers said arrangements would be made for those sitting in the upper balcony of the gallery to have some shade and added that the ceremony would be held without hiccups just like how over 200 events were hosted in the last five years.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao, besides party MLAs, MPs and dignitaries from neighbouring states are likely to attend the ceremony. Reddy also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the event when he met him in the national capital yesterday.