Tourists visiting Vanjangi hill will now have to avail themselves of a jeep ride in order to reach the hilltop as the Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district administration has banned the entry of private vehicles on the ghat road.
The decision has been taken to check pollution, traffic congestion on the ghat road, and avoid accidents.
Vanjangi hill, which is popularly known as ‘Meghala Konda’ (a hill of floating clouds), is the most sought-after tourist destination in Paderu mandal of the district.
Tourists not only from Andhra Pradesh but also from Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha throng the place to enjoy the enchanting view of sunrise and chillout in the hanging clouds.
Locals say that the number of tourists visiting Vanjangi hill is more compared with the footfalls at Lambasingi, a tribal hamlet in Chintapalli mandal, which records zero degree Celsius during winter.
In 2022, the officials had decided to allow entry of tourists between 3 a.m. and 5 p.m. and discourage the visitors from drinking in the open and dumping plastic waste.
This year, the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) authorities, tribal people / locals from three panchayats, the police and other stakeholders conducted a meeting and decided to enforce a ban on plying of personal vehicles.
The authorities constituted a team of volunteers, which was entrusted with the responsibility of cleaning the tourist hotspot twice during a week, apart from creating awareness among the tourists about the importance of not littering the area.
Mandal Parishad Development Officer of Paderu Naveen said they had earmarked a vast area at the foot of the hill to enable the visitors to park their vehicles. An entry fee of ₹50 per head (only adults) would be charged from the tourists. The visitors would have to hire a jeep (all panchayat approved vehicles) to reach the viewpoint, and the fee for it was put at ₹150 per person.
“We appeal to the tourists not to litter the area, right from the entry gate. Steps are being taken to ban the use of plastic. The ban on personal vehicles is aimed at checking pollution on the hill and avoid accidents. Not many people have the skill to drive on the ghat road,” he said.
He further said that there was a plan to construct toilets on the hill, but it could not be implemented as the area fell under reserve forest. But, as a temporary measure, efforts were on to set up bio-toilets, he said.
Permanent toilet facility was being arranged at the foot of the hill near the parking area. Sale of water bottles was allowed on the hill.
ITDA Project Officer V. Abhishek said that steps were being taken to control plastic pollution on the hill.
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