A house located at Pedaparupudi village in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, wherein Cherukuri Ramoji Rao, founder of Eenadu group, Ramoji Film City, and others was born and brought up.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Villagers at Pedaparupudi, located in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh, mourned the loss of their loved person Cherukuri Ramoji Rao who was a business tycoon, the founder of Ramoji Film City, Eenadu group and many other industries.
Born and brought up at the village in a humble farming family, Ramoji Rao rose to reach an accomplished position by his dedication, commitment, accountability and discipline in his journey of 87 years as industrialist, social activist and his contributions to society, media, culture, agriculture and many other sectors. He was born on November 16, 1936, and his parents are Mr. Venkata Subba Rao and Ms. Venkata Subbamma.
Ramoji Rao: Film fraternity mourns the passing of a legend
Gaapati Baburao, former sarpanch of Pedaparupudi and the member of Ramoji Foundation, said Mr. Rao adopted their village and spent around ₹20 crore through the Foundation and other works estimated at a cost of ₹20 crore are under consideration for the welfare and development of the village.
Mr. Baburao said, “Ramoji Rao rebuilt the school in which he studied. Apart from the elementary school, his contributions to the village included construction of MPP School building with digital classroom facilities, a veterinary hospital, a overhead water tank, free water tap connection to more than 700 houses of poor people, a building for cooperative bank, beautification of water pond with fencing, a walking track around the pond and many others.”
The former sarpanch added that Mr. Rao approved many more projects for the overall development of the village, which would cost around another ₹20 crore. He explained that a proposal was approved by him to construct an underground drainage system. Additionally, Mr. Rao purchased one-and-a-half-acre land where a compound wall was constructed for the villagers.
Mr. Baburao added that Mr. Rao, who sold all his assets in the village, again purchased the land to donate it to the residents. He said that all the villagers expected a rapid development and growth in the village after the change in the government at the State level in these general elections, but they lost their hopes after the sudden demise of Mr. Rao.
Another member of the Ramoji Foundation from the village P. Prasad, other villagers such as Chappidi Kishore and others said that the village has benefitted a lot from Mr. Rao. They said that, before adopting the village, Mr. Rao invited all the residents to Hyderabad Ramoji Film City and spent the entire day with them and discussed the needs of the village. They said that Mr. Rao even constructed toilets for the poor and supported replacing the streetlights in the village.
The residents gathered at the village and expressed gratitude to Mr. Rao by offering their condolences. They said that Mr. Rao was an inspiration for them forever and they recall how he had developed as a mighty in the business industry despite being born into a normal agricultural family.
