Brahamanapalli mourns their beloved leader
The Hindu
Villagers assemble at Mekapati Goutham Reddy’s ancestral house, recall his services
A pall of gloom descended on Brahamanapalli in SPSR Nellore district, the native village of Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy who died of heart attack on Monday.
On coming to know of the untimely death of their leader, the villagers, including a large number of farmers, assembled at his ancestral house and wept inconsolably. They recalled the services rendered by the Minister along with his father and former YSR Congress Parliamentary Party leader Mekapati Rajmohan Reddy to improve the living conditions of the local people and augment civic infrastructure.
A confidante of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Goutham Reddy had handled several important portfolios, including Information and Technology, Commerce and Skill Development, on becoming a Cabinet Minister for the first time in 2019. The two-time MLA from Atmakur had won with a comfortable 31,000 majority in 2014 when he entered active politics. He retained the seat in 2019 with a reduced margin of over 22,000 votes defeating the nearest Telugu Desam Party rivals Gunturu Murali Kanna Babu and Bolineni Krishnayya.
He had been steering the KMC constructions since 1997 after completing his post graduation in textile technology from the University of Manchester in England. He had his graduation from Badruka College of Commerce and Arts in Hyderabad and schooling in Good Shepherd International School in Ooty in Tamil Nadu.
Funeral would be conducted at Brahamanapalli on Wednesday, according to District Collector K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu who oversaw the arrangements along with Superintendent of Police Ch. Vijaya Rao and other district officials.
The body of the Minister will be kept at his residence here for people to pay their last respects, according to State Irrigation Minister P. Anil Kumar Yadav.