"He was humble, treated all equally"; condolences pour in for minister Goutham Reddy

Andhra Pradesh: "Im still in a shock about the sudden loss of Mekapati Goutham Reddy. He is a very down to earth person and used to treat me like his own brother. He used to seek my advise everytime. Best thing about him is, he likes to take challenges in every work he is into. Infact, today morning we discussed in a call about the recent Dubai Expo 2022. We planned to prepare a presentation to submit to Chief Minister", said Industries Advisor Lanka Sridhar.

Tributes and condolences poured in for Andhra Pradesh's young IT minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy who passed away on the morning of 21 February at his residence in Hyderabad after a heart attack. The minister, who was a fitness enthusiast and encouraged youth to pursue fitness, was getting ready to go to the gym when he collapsed with chest pain.

Since Monday morning, social media was flooded with posts mourning the loss of the minister at the age of 50.

The minister's driver remembers him as a kind man who was never angry. "From Goutham sir feeling uneasy and sitting on the couch to getting admitted to hospital, things happened within hours. Just last night, I took him to attend a wedding reception. I have been working with him since 2002. He was never angry with me. 'I'm always there for you, don't worry,' he told us every time."

With a rich academic background, Mekapati Goutham Reddy was a grassroots politician who called for shared growth and economic opportunities. Following the footsteps of his father Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, he entered politics in 2014 and contested for the YSRCP from Atmakuru in the 2014 and 2019 Assembly elections. As minister for industries, commerce and Information Technology, he was responsible for building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation in governance such as implementing the 'Samagra Parishrama Aadhar' to map all the industries in the state to improve productivity levels, bridge supply-chain gaps and skill requirements of the industry. His recent visit to Dubai Expo 2022 where he signed five MoUs for investments worth Rs. 5,150 crore had heralded a promising future for AP.

He was passionate about infrastructure development, sustainable production and manufacturing, skill development, Information Technology, and water and urbanization. Under his dynamic leadership, Andhra Pradesh ranked number one in State Business Action Reforms undertaken during 2019-20.

Goutham Reddy comes from a distinguished family of first-generation entrepreneurs engaged in building infrastructure and creating assets for the nation. He had a Master's degree, specializing in textiles, from Manchester, UK. After completing his studies, he joined his family business at KMC Constructions in March 1997. His passion, hard work, tenacity led KMC to great growth and success. He lived on construction sites working closely with the labourers and engineers to ensure that projects were executed on time and within the estimated cost.

During this period, he visited many places and interacted with people. These experiences shaped his views on sustainable development and the need to make sure communities are not left behind in the industrialization journey.

Goutham Reddy launched unique ideas like Pipal Tree Ventures that has trained thousands of young men in basic vocational skills for the fast-changing infrastructure industry.

A two-day state mourning has been announced by the Andhra government following the minister's death. He would be air lifted either by a Defence chopper to Nellore or to Tirupati. From there the body would be taken to Nellore for the locals to pay their last respects. His last rites will be conducted at his native village Brahmanapalli in Nellore district on 23 February after his son Arjun Reddy arrives from the US.