Kurnool district authorities are gearing up to host the Belum Caves festival soon, with the government releasing ₹50 lakh for the event.
The festival, expected to be held sometime in December, will be the first tourism festival to be held in the district after a gap of five years.
Sources in the tourism office said the name ‘Kandanavolu Sambaralu’ has been proposed for the festival, ‘Kandanavolu’ being the original name of Kurnool.
Speaking to The Hindu , District Tourism Officer B. Venkateswarlu said that they have confirmed Belum Caves as the venue for the festival as there is a need to popularise the caves. “This is the largest cave system in the Indian sub-continent that is open to the public. However, minor caves around the State are more popular than Belum Caves due to better publicity,” he said.
The festival is tentatively scheduled to be held either on December 14 or 15.
Protected monument
“Earlier, we had planned to hold a two-day festival but due to budget constraints, we are expecting that it would be a one-day affair,” Mr. Venkateswarlu said.
Belum Caves are the largest cave system open to the public in the Indian subcontinent and is a protected monument. “As there is no greenery near the caves, they have remained largely unnoticed as opposed to the Borra Caves in the Araku Valley,” said Mr. Venkateswarlu.
Authorities are currently in the planning phase. “We will soon complete the planning process and go into implementations. We have drawn up plans as part of which competitions and cultural events will be conducted. The schedule will be finalised after discussions with all stakeholders,” he added.
