Kakinada: Union Minister of State for Defence M.M.Pallamraju said that defence would get a higher allocation of funds in the ensuing budget from the current allocation of Rs.89,000 crores.

Mr Pallamraju told newsmen at Annavaram on Tuesday that every effort was being made to attract youngsters to join the armed forces by providing more amenities. He said that security all over the 7,600 km border was being strengthened, equipping the armed forces with modern weapons. Conceding that the proposal for linking Kakinada to the main railway line has been pending since long, Mr Pallamraju said he would intensify the efforts to materialise the project at the earliest, keeping in view the developmental needs of the district, especially the port city.

Need for link

He said the need for linking to the main line was being felt more now in view of the proposed SEZ, including the ONGC refinery. Stating that he had strived hard for sanctioning the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) in his capacity as the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on information technology, which would come up at Kakinada shortly.

On the proposed SEZ project, he said it would pave the way for faster industrial development of the region, bringing international recognition for Kakinada.

Later, addressing the District Congress Committee meeting at Suryakala Mandir here in the evening, Mr Pallamraju said he would strive to live up to the expectations of the people of the constituency and party leader Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

DCC president Thota Narasimham chaired the meeting. Among those who attended included Vundavilli Aruna Kumar, AICC secretary, Minister for Roads and Buildings Jakkampudi Ramamohana Rao and MLAs Mutha Gopalakrishna, Routhu Suryaprakasa Rao, Thota Gopalakrishna, besides former DCC president TV Satyanarayana Reddy.

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