Beach Love Festival, the event being planned on one of the city’s beaches between February 12 to 14 — Valentine’s Day — sparked strong protests, forcing government officials and even the Minister concerned to come out with explanations.
The festival was proposed by the Positive Global Services and Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. of Mumbai.
Thanks to its track record in Goa, about which many reports did the rounds, the proposal to hold a similar event in a Visakhapatnam beach had many up in arms.
Several organisations, particularly women’s groups and political parties, have come out strongly against the festival saying it goes against the State’s culture.
Locals feel that such festival might be acceptable in Goa but not in Visakhapatnam. YSRC MLA R.K. Roja said the festival cannot be held “at any cost.”
‘A shame’The BJP’s Floor Leader and local MLA P. Vishnukumar Raju said he would not allow it to happen, even though his party was part of the ruling coalition in the State. The day saw AIDWA’s State president B. Prabhavathi saying it was “a shame” on the part of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to conduct such a programme for the sake of attracting investments and promoting tourism. A.P. Mahila Sangham held a demonstration near the Gandhi statue.
‘Drop the proposal’District secretary A. Vimala demanded that the government immediately drop the proposal.
The criticism forced the Secretary of Tourism, N. Srikanth, and Regional Director Sriramulu Naidu to say no programme that was against the culture of people would be supported by the government.
As their statements failed to convince people, HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao held a press conference and said: “The government is keen on the growth of the State but it will not allow it at the cost of our culture and traditions.”
