APJ Abdul Kalam's statue to be installed at varsity in Guntur

Vijayawada, Jul 31: The Andhra Pradesh government today decided to install a statue of late President APJ Abdul Kalam at Acharya Nagarjuna University in Guntur and also name a technology institute after him.

The state cabinet, which met in Vijayawada, where the capital city is coming up, took a decision to this effect, Information Minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy told reporters. Also, awards, in the name of Kalam, would be given to meritorious students, he said.

The cabinet decided to build two lakh houses for the poor in rural areas for 2015-16 at a cost of Rs 5,500 crore under the 'NTR housing scheme', he said.

The cabinet decided to offer Rs 10 lakh and a 500 sq yards plot to the family of Rishiteswari, a student of B.Arch who allegedly committed suicide due to ragging by seniors in the Nagarjuna University.

The government would take stern measures to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the state, Reddy said.

An inquiry is already on into the student's suicide by a government-appointed committee.

PTI