Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu being welcomed by officials, public representatives and residents at Markapuram in Prakasam district on Saturday.
Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said it was the sight of his mother tearing up and struggling to breathe in the smoke while cooking on a wood-burning stove that made him launch the Deepam scheme in 1999 so that no mother should have to suffer the hardships that his mother went through.
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu was recalling his childhood while speaking at an interaction held as part of the International Women’s Day celebrations at Markapuram in Prakasam district on Saturday (March 8).
“The TDP-led government gave free cooking gas cylinders to low-income group families. No one in the country had this idea. Again, after forming the alliance government, we started offering three cylinders free under Deepam 2 scheme,” he said.
When the anchor asked him to share an incident that had a profound effect on him, he said his family had an agriculture background and that his mother worked very hard. “I used to walk 6 kilometre to study in Chandragiri. She used to wake up at 5 a.m. to cook food for us … I still remember going to school … at 6.30 a.m., carrying a lunch box along with the schoolbag.”
Responding to a question from audience, he said he feels pride seeing his wife Nara Bhuvaneswari providing employment to many through the Heritage Group and also continuing her voluntary service programmes through the NTR Trust at the same time.
Published – March 09, 2025 01:00 am IST
