Cherukuri Kiron Prabhakar, the managing director of Eenadu newspapers and the son of the late media baron and business tycoon Cherukuri Ramoji Rao, announced a donation of Rs 10 crore for the development of Amaravati city. The Rao family handed over the cheque to Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu at an event organized in Vijayawada to honour and celebrate the legacy of the Eenadu group founder on Thursday.
Chandrababu Naidu addressed the event and announced that a road in Amaravati will be named “Ramoji Rao Marg” in his honor. In recognition of his impact and service to the Telugu society and the country, the CM said a center would be established in Amaravati as a tribute, and it will be known as “Ramoji Vignan Kendra”, which will host top events.
“Ramoji Rao was not a person, he was an institution. He was an uncompromising fighter who worked for the betterment of the society,” CM said.
He also promised to create Chitra Nagari, a film shooting facility, in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
Rao’s family, numerous ministers, Telugu film personalities, and other dignitaries attended the event to pay their respects to the media baron.
Naidu remembered Rao’s work since starting a magazine called Annadata in 1969 before launching the Eenadu Telugu newspaper in Visakhapatnam in 1974. Naidu appreciated Rao’s efforts in transforming a single-edition newspaper into a 22-edition giant. He also highlighted his other successful business ventures, including the Ramoji Film City (RFC) in Hyderabad.
Naidu stated that when it seemed there was no alternative to the Congress party in undivided Andhra Pradesh, Ramoji Rao played a crucial role in bringing the N T Rama Rao-founded TDP to power in the 1980s.
The CM also stated that Ramoji Rao was the one who suggested the idea of making Amaravati the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
The Late Ramoji Rao, who lost his life at the age of 87 earlier this month on June 8, was a key figure in the Telugu industry. He was the founder of Ramoji Group, which owns the world’s largest film production facility Ramoji Film City, Eenadu newspaper, Etv network of TV channels and Ushakiran Movies a film production company.
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