Necklace road to be renamed as 'PV Gnana Marg': CM KCR

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, on 28 August, declared that Hyderabad's Necklace Road would be renamed P.V Gnana Marg after former Prime Minister P.V Narasimha Rao. He said he will request the Centre to rename the Central University of Hyderabad P.V Narasimha Rao Central University.

The state is celebrating the former Prime Minister's birth centenary this year.

During a review meeting held at Pragathi Bhavan here on Friday, KCR said the state will soon pass a resolution demanding the Bharat Ratna award for the former Prime Minister. “PV Narasimha Rao is a symbol of Telangana's existence. He was a reformer who initiated several reforms in the country. He was recognised as a great intellectual all over the world,” he said.

KCR said that PV's portrait will be installed in the state Assembly. “We will request the Centre to install a portrait of PV in the Parliament. We will ask the centre to rename the Central University of Hyderabad, which was established by PV in Hyderabad, as P.V Narasimha Rao Central University. We will also pass a resolution in the Assembly in this regard,” the CM said. PV’s idol will also be installed at Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi, it was decided at the meeting.

During the meeting, the CM also discussed the development of Laknepally village where PV was born and Vangara where he grew up as tourist spots. KCR instructed cultural affairs minister Srinivas Goud to visit these places and prepare a plan for their development. It was also decided to create a PV Memorial in Hyderabad to showcase the former PM's contributions.

The CM also asked the committee members to prepare a list of programme for the centenary celebrations and plan how they should be conducted in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state plans to request UNESCO to start an award in PV's name and confer it to those who made rich contributions in the fields of literature, science, and technology. The Telangana government has said it will arrange for the cash prize. Also, the state wants countries around the world to celebrate PV Centenary celebrations. Already arrangements are being made to conduct them in the US, Singapore, South Africa, Malaysia, Mauritius, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and other countries.

PV had excellent personal relations with several world leaders when he was the external affairs minister and later as PM. Former US President Bill Clinton and former UK PMs John Major and David Cameron will be invited to participate in the centenary celebrations. Meanwhile, the CM will also personally send invitations to the President, PM, and CMs of various states and request them to participate in the celebrations.

The centenary celebrations will not be confined to Hyderabad but will be organised in all the districts of the state. Moreover, states like AP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu will also celebrate PV's birth centenary.

The Telangana Sahitya Academy will publish the unpublished writings of PV while a special book compiling PV's speeches and interviews will also be released.