Horticulture varsity in AP

Yet another feather in Andhra Pradesh's crown. The state is all set to get an exclusive horticulture university.

The Andhra Pradesh government issued an order on Tuesday to set up a horticulture varsity at Venkataramannagudem near Tadepalligudem in West Godavari District.

Three constituent horticulture colleges in Tadepalligudem, Anantharajupet in Kadapa and Mojerla Village in Mahboobnagar district will also be started. Each college will start with 50 students for the academic year 2007-08.

The university will have about 246

acres of campus. The Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) has been asked to provide Rs 13 crore for the purpose.

Andhra Pradesh produced over 14.43 million tonnes of horticulture products during 2005-06.

The university has been located in the agriculture rich coastal district, which has a variety of horticulture crops, infrastructure and a State Horticulture Export Zone is also located in nearby Vijayawada city.