Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday inaugurated the Earth Sciences University, named after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, at Kothagudem in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district.

Addressing a public meeting after the inauguration, he said the university was named after Singh as he fulfilled the long-held dream of Telangana people for a separate state during his tenure as Prime Minister. The university is the first of its kind in the country, he added.

The government decided to set up the Earth Sciences University to promote research in mineral wealth and to strengthen the state-run miner Singareni Collieries, spread across Kothagudem and other districts.

On the ongoing Gram Panchayat elections, Reddy appealed to people to elect sarpanches aligned with government ministers for development, rather than candidates likely to oppose them. “Stop political animosities. Stand by us for 10 years. Elect sarpanches who work with ministers for development,” he said.

The Earth Sciences University was earlier a college offering courses in mining and geology. It has now been upgraded to offer several courses in subjects related to Earth Sciences, official sources said.