The 19 sleek, powerful and lightweight catamarans were lined up on the start pontoon. Inside each cockpit sat a lone individual peering through a tiny windscreen. One hand grasped the steering wheel, the other poised over the start button. The tension inside the cockpit was intense as the drivers waited for the crucial start. Beyond the cockpit there was a silence, all attention fixed on the start.
No sooner did the wait end when 10,000 hp of highly tuned brute power burst into life sending the fleet roaring towards the first corner. "Hey! Look at the glorious fountain of white spray it has left behind," squealed a bloke sitting in a VIP gallery set up at the Punnami Ghat for people viewing F1H2O powerboating race recently.
Relishing every nanosecond of the thrilling high-speed action in River Krishna, the youngster cheered the racers lustily each time the powerboats came gliding within his view.
The Andhra Pradesh government has grabbed the credit of bringing the world sport back to the country after 14 years by playing host to the fifth round of the UIM World Championship Grand Prix in Amaravati. Spectators at the ghats were thrilled to be part of the grand spectacle. "This is unbelievable. I am here watching this race live with my friends," said Syamala Ramachandran, unable to contain excitement.
The local media was pleasantly surprised when the Tourism Department announced at a press conference a couple of months back about its plan to bring the F1H2O Grand Prix to Amaravati. From a place where people are used to living in compact apartments and watching movies on weekends with not many entertainment and recreation options, the State is evolving post-bifurcation.
Close on the heels of the Grand Prix unfolds yet another event of one of the most spectacular categories — a three-day air show, generating a symphony in the sky. Visitors are treated to exhilarating aerobatics of the flying display performances of the pilots.
Faced with the tough challenge of innovation and transformation that can generate a favourable buzz that can attract the world’s attention to Amaravati, the government is walking that extra mile to host some big ticket events even at the cost of financial constraints.
Sources said the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Authority has spent ₹13 crore to host the Grand Prix. In addition to a small amount allocated, the Tourism wing mobilised sponsors who contributed money besides ‘barter sponsorships’. "We are happy with the response to the race and more importantly, that we have been able to wind it up within a very ‘balanced’ budget," says Himanshu Shukla, CEO of AP Tourism Authority (APTA).
Come February and the Krishna river will once again turn a hot favourite of adventure freaks. Mr. Shukla says the aqua biking championship will be a week-long carnival-like affair. Going forward, the State is keen on something on the lines of Jal Mahotsav of Madhya Pradesh, an 80-day-long festival of food, art and nature.
At the F1H2O gathering, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced that the Krishna river will turn a hub of water sports throughout the year. "The idea is to integrate this culture of festivals in the local landscape, making people active part of it," says Mr. Shukla emphasising that it is also important to catch up on domestic tourism.
Organising such events would lead to infrastructure development resulting in more demand for ancillary industries and hotels. "We cannot expect the result to show overnight. It will take some time for an increase in the tourist footfall or spurt in investments," he says.
Mr. Shukla reminds that the APTA has received the country’s ‘Best Judged State Tourism’ award in May this year, informing that the destinations that fetched the award include the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Tirupati that handles 30 million visitors annually, the Rajiv Gandhi National Park, which has the country’s largest tiger reserve at Srisailam, Amaravathi, the ancient capital of the Satavahana empire and where Budha gave his famous Kalachakra sermon, Kursura Museum, the only sub-marine museum in South East Asia in Visakhapatnam and waterfalls and natural beauty of Rajamahendravaram, including the scenic Papikondalu.
After watching the exciting race, the viewers were treated to a saga of song and dance by artists of national and international repute at the Amaravati Global Festival of Music and Dance 2018.
The Social Media Summit that preceded the F1H2O Grand Prix, at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium, brought to the city celebrities from Bollywood and Telugu film industry like Kareena Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar, Samantha and Devisri Prasad and cricketer V.V.S. Lakshman.
