Vijayawada, the third largest city in Andhra Pradesh is located on the banks of the majestic Krishna River, and is surrounded by the lndrakiladri hills on the West and the Budameru river on the North. Situated along the Madras-Howrah and Madras-Delhi rail route, this is the largest railway junction of the South Central Railway. The city forms a part of the Krishna district, and is spread over an area of 58 sq. kms (urban area), with a population of 8,25,436 (2001 census). About 265km east of Hyderabad, it's an important industrial center and a fairly hectic town. Till recent past, geography wise, Vijayawada is considered as the center of Andhra... but now it is fast becoming one of the sought after destinations in Andhra.

To hasten such development and make it a 'destination city' - is the mission of Lagadapati Rajagopal. Infact, he embarked on such mission even before joining politics.

Rajagopal calls Vijayawada his 'Dharma bhoomi'. Educated in Siddhartha engineering college in Vijayawada, Rajagopal has strong links to the city. And With the establishment of Lanco Kondapalli power plant in Kondapalli, his association with the city grew even closer. This power project is a 'dream come true' for Rajagopal which provides employment to thousands  just like his other concerns in core sector and IT industries. As a chairman of Lanco's charitable trust, LIGHT, Rajagopal undertook several initiatives in and around Vijayawada. Some of them