Hyderabad: There is an old saying in Hyderabad that goes: “Gandipet ka paani piye toh iddharich marna! (Once you’ve drunk the waters of Gandipet lake you have to die here!)”. And this seems to be true in case of many people who would face a similar situation they have left Hyderabad but their heart remains here.

Similar is the case of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu whose heart lies in the city and he uses many public occasions to voice his wish.

He might have embarked on a mission to build a Singapore-like capital in Andhra Pradesh, but it is evident that Hyderabad remains his favourite city as he plans to refurbish his Jubilee Hills residence.

“I have been living in Hyderabad for the past 30 years and I will continue to live here in the future,” Mr Naidu said recently.



He added that the proposed capital in Vijayawada would only be his administrative capital and Hyderabad would remain the political capital at least for the 10 years that it is supposed to be the joint capital.

He also doesn’t let an opportunity go by to mention his contributions towards making what Hyderabad is today. “When I came to the city, there were only Hyderabad and Secunderabad, but I created Cyberabad that brought international acclaim to the city,” he often says.

Meanwhile, the employees who have to leave the city to work in AP, seem to be caught between the “devil and the deep sea”. Though they might be from Seemandhra, over the decades they have made Hyderabad their home.

Their children have been born and brought up in Hyderabad and have also adapted to the culture of Telangana. “Although our origin is not Telangana, we have made Hyderabad our home over the years. We believed and invested our lifetimes’ hard earnings in this city. Our children study here and their careers are here, how we can leave the city? Our heart lies here” said K. Sanyasi Rao, an AP government employee.