Flooded river hurts tourism in Krishna

Vijayawada: River Krishna that has been overflowing over the past few days has hurt the tourism sector in the district.

Parts of Bhavani Island, arguably the best known among the city’s tourist spots, are lying under 3.5 feet to four feet of water. The water level is expected to rise late on Friday and in the early hours of Saturday. The island has been cut off for tourists for the past three days.

As part of precautionary measures, the authorities have stopped the leisurely boat rides and had evicted the tourists staying in the cottages on the island. As of now, all the 19 rooms on Bhavani Island and 26 rooms in Berm Park are vacant.

Following instructions from tourism department MD Praveen Kumar, NDRF teams evacuated the tourist staying in resorts from Monday. Initially, the tourists were shifted to Berm Park from Bhavani Island, but with the floodwaters rising, they were told to leave Berm Park too.

The tourism department has decided to stop taking all bookings for a few more days. According to officials, this is resulting in losses in lakhs.

According to officials, all entertainment programmes at Bhavani Island have been stopped and the cruise boats anchored at Berm Park and Punnami Hotel Boating Point.

Adding to the anxiety of the officials, some of the recently installed laser show equipment has been submerged in the floodwater. The staff shifted equipment like projectors, sound system etc., the pipes used for laser shows are now underwater.

APTDC executive director G. Uma Maheswara Rao said that Bhavani Island is under 3.5 feet water. “Most of the equipment and movable objects have been shifted to the first floor of the cottages. We expect the water level to reach up to seven ft,” he said.

Mr Rao said that the booking amount is being returned to the tourists.