As many as six tented cottages built up by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) abutting Kakinada Beach remained unopened for the last 10 months just because the corporation is suffering shortage of manpower.
Abutting its Haritha Beach Resorts, the APTDC has built the tented cottages by spending about Rs. 36 lakh. Though the cottages look like the makeshift accommodations from outside, the interiors are quite different.
Each cottage is well-furnished and equipped with air-conditioner.
One can reach these cottages by crossing a wooden bridge built across a drain at the Haritha Beach Resorts. In all, it takes a 10 minute walk on the bridge and in the sandy stretch. Inaugurated by Home Minister N. Chinarajappa during the Kakinada Beach Festival in January this year, the cottages registered no guests so far. As a result of lack of regular maintenance, the cottages are losing their sheen.
Opened for the public in November, 2014, the Rs. 4.5 crore Haritha Beach Resorts is a permanent structure, where there are 18 air-conditioned rooms along with a gymnasium, mini-conference hall, restaurant and bar. These resorts, however, are enjoying patronage of the guests and the occupancy is above 50 per cent on any given day.
“Shortage of attendants is a major problem in the resorts. Following the bifurcation, staff like drivers and boat operators have been allocated to Andhra Pradesh in good numbers, but the number of attendants is very less,” says P. Venkatachalam, district Assistant Tourism Officer.
Doubts about security of the tented cottages among the officials is said to be another reason for not encouraging the guests to avail the accommodation.
As the cottages are made of clothe and the cottages are located away from the city and from the resorts, the officials are not sure on addressing the challenge of providing security to the guests.
The APTDC, however, is now looking towards the option of leasing out the resorts and the tented cottages to the private firms and it is on the job of spotting the interested players.
“We have taken up the policy of privatisation at the State-level and we are going to give on lease the resorts and the cottages as well very soon,” says R. Amarendra, Executive Director of the APTDC.
We have taken up the policy of privatisation at the State-level, and we are going to give on lease the resorts and the cottages very soon
R. Amarendra
Executive Director, APTDC
Staff crunch is forcing the officials to keep cottages vacant and the APTDC planning to lease them to
private parties
