Vastu push: AP secretariat to get a new gate

Ever since he started functioning from the Andhra Pradesh government's transitional headquarters in the Amaravati capital region in October 2016, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been claiming that "everything good is happening" to the state.
Naidu, now he appears to be a little unhappy with the "vastu" of the transitional headquarters complex, prompting him to take up some structural changes.
One such "corrective step" is the construction of a new entrance gate on the northern side of the complex, called in local parlance as 'temporary secretariat.'
"Vastu" is the traditional Indian system of architecture, under which the designs are intended to integrate man-made structures with nature, utilising geometric patterns, symmetry and directional alignments.

A portion of the compound wall of the complex has been demolished to build the fifth entrance gate only to rectify the vastu defects.
"No body is above certain beliefs. Vastu is one such belief," state Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu remarked, when asked about the new gate.

"The new changes may usher in good things and improve the state's revenues," he said, adding that "certain adjustments" were generally made depending on the need.
This is not the first change made in the secretariat complex.
The interior of the chief minister's office block was dismantled after construction a year ago as it did not comply with the vastu requirements.

Another reason being cited for the construction of the new gate is that it will add up to nine, which section of people consider as a "lucky number."
"There are currently four gates each to the secretariat and legislature complexes. The new gate will be the ninth and that's the lucky number," a political aide to the chief minister said.
"Not only the new gate, some modifications are being made in the existing blocks as well in accordance with vastu and that's one reason for preparation of chambers for some new ministers to be getting delayed," an official of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) said.

The temporary secretariat, built at a cost of over Rs 750 crore, has two main entrance gates and two other gates that are never used.
The legislature complex, also located on the same premises, has four gates -- two facing the road and two into the transitional headquarters.
Gate-1 of the secretariat complex is reserved for the chief minister, but a month ago he stopped using it, apparently after his vastu consultant advised against it.
Though there is a special entrance gate right outside his office block (No.1), the Chief Minister never used it, also said to be due to the vastu reasons.

Now that gate-2 is being used by the chief minister, the CRDA has been asked to build a new gate for others.
Besides the gate, the CRDA will also have to lay at least a 500-metre access road which will take a few more days for completion, sources in the CRDA said.