Industry mourns Minister's death

Hyderabad: The representatives of several industrial bodies in Andhra Pradesh have deeply mourned the sudden death of Industries, Commerce, IT and Skill Development Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy (50) in Hyderabad on Monday. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Andhra Pradesh Chairman D Tirupathi Raju paid tributes to the minister and expressed condolences to his family members. "Goutham Reddy was great friend of CII and the industry. CII AP had the opportunity to work with him closely on strategic imperatives for development of the State and promoting it as the best investment destination," he said in a statement.

"The minister was a visionary leader, who had shown greater determination to address the concerns of industry during Covid-19. Infact, he played a key role in framing Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Policy 2020-23 in consultation with all stakeholders. He will be missed by the industry fraternity and people at large in the State," it added.

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) President V Atchut Rao, Vice President V Satish and Managing Committee Members expressed deepest condolences to the bereaved family and a great loss to the State.

"Goutham Reddy is known for his sincerity, hard work, dynamism and a very friendly attitude towards all. Till the last day, he was working for the promotion of the industry and his recent visit to Dubai shows that he was successfully attracting more investments and promotion of exports from AP. His recent visit to Dubai has made significant completion of the mission to attract more investment for the State," Atchut Rao said recalling his meeting with the minister along with the FAPCCI delegation last February.

"His encouragement to the FAPCCI during the further discussion meeting with the President and other executives regarding various development initiatives has given a lot of stimulus in extending its services. His contribution for the development of the State will be on record for a long time," he said. AP Maritime Board CEO K Muralitharan said, "He was a truly lovable and practical leader with thorough knowledge of the whole ecosystem of business, industries and trade."

IT Association of AP president Sreedhar Kosaraju said his untimely demise was a huge loss to the IT fraternity. He said he was easily accessible and had the commitment to understand and solve the problems faced by the trade.