Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu seems determined to transform the new capital of Andhra Pradesh into a world-class destination and to achieve his goal, he has identified tourism as one of the major drivers of growth.
Rapid growth of tourism is economically important for progress of any place, especially for a State like Andhra Pradesh which saw its boundaries redrawn recently as a result of bifurcation.
Among the several other key sectors that have been draining Mr. Naidu’s energies after the latter assumed charge as the Chief Minister of the splintered State, tourism has always been in the forefront. Big promises were doled out and huge plans drawn out to change the face of the State to make it one of the most sought-after tourist destinations, both for domestic and international tourists.
The officials at the helm of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) have been speaking about mega tourist circles that are proposed to be created by connecting places of importance across this region. The Centrally-funded projects which were to take off a few years back, continue to wait for grant of adequate finances.
Nothing practically has changed in the much-hyped Bhavani Island perched on River Krishna, a picturesque location tipped as the prized possession of AP Tourism. The talk about mega plans to develop the island by bringing in attractive features on the lines of the world famous Sentosa Island of Singapore raised the hopes of the amusement-starved local crowd in the vicinity.
Broad hints were dropped about proposals to merge the Bhavani Island and another unnamed adjacent island on the Guntur side to develop it as a comprehensive world-class tourist destination. But nothing concrete has come up at any of these locations.
Mr. Naidu may have been succeeded in keeping people’s hopes on tourism alive but a stoic silence on the part of the APTDC officials here has led to doubts about feasibility of implementing such a grand project here.
“Lot of big things are being planned at the island by engaging consultant companies from Singapore but nothing concrete has emerged so far,” is the standard reply of the tourism officials, most of whom seem to be equally clueless about Mr. Naidu’s ‘grandiose’ plans.
For now, restoration of the lost sheen of Gandhi Hill is the only project taken up by the APTDC.
