Bandar beach to be developed as tourism spot: Kollu Ravindra

VIJAYAWADA: Minister for mines, geology and excise Kollu Ravindra has said the state government would develop the Manginapudi beach near Machilipatnam, the Krishna district headquarters, as a prominent tourism spot. Pointing out that Hyderabad residents need better weekend getaway vacations, the minister suggested that Manginapudi beach could be a popular choice if developed with full infrastructure. The minister announced that he would constitute a beach development committee soon to commence the development work and informed that several companies were showing interest in setting up beach resorts in Manginapudi.

The minister was speaking at a beach cleaning programme, participated by Krishna district collector D.K. Balaji, his wife Pruthvi Kalyani, joint collector Geethanjali Sharma and other officials on Sunday. The group actively collected the waste and later attended a yoga session conducted on the beach.

Ravindra said the previous TD government allocated a total of `15 crore for beach development and constructed a wall and a road along the seashore. He alleged the YSRC government had stalled the remaining development work.

The minister has instructed the officials to make arrangements, such as drinking water, clothes changing rooms and restrooms, for the thousands of pilgrims coming to the beach during the auspicious Kartika Pournami festival. Thousands of people from different religions visit the beach during the festivals to take a holy dip in the sea.

The government was planning to organise yoga sessions and cultural activities on Sundays as more than 7,000 people come to the beach every Sunday, he added. Furthermore, he said efforts were also being made to develop the temple tourism on Manginapudi beach.