With tigers and temples, Nallamala forests set to emerge as ecotourism hub

HYDERABAD: The Nallamala forests with its many natural wonders, and the Amrabad tiger reserve nestled in the Nallamala ranges, will be developed as an international ecotourism destination, tourism minister Jupally Krishna Rao said on Friday.

Krishna Rao, who along with health minister Damodar Rajanarasimha, and MLAs from the erstwhile unified Mahbubnagar district, went on a safari drive in the Amrabad reserve, as part of a study tour to assess tourism potential and discuss with officials the way forward on improving tourism infrastructure, plans, and creation of employment for locals through these activities.

The ministers said the government plans to develop tourism infrastructure in a way that will make the Nallamala forests a destination for international tourists, and an ecotourism hub, as per the directions of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.

“These forests are home to tigers, temples, waterfalls, and many other natural wonders. I will be visiting one district every month to assess tourism potential and developing it. One of our aims is to generate employment for local youth through tourism activities, as well as revenue for the state,” Krishna Rao said.

“Some countries, which do not have natural resources like we do, give a lot of importance to the tourism sector. We, with our resources, should be doing better. The study tour is part of these efforts.”

Rajanarasimha said the Farhabad View Point, and the Bourapur temple inside the tiger reserve would attract nature lovers.

Prior to the jungle safari during which the visiting ministers saw some dholes (Indian wild dogs), sambar and other species of deer, they, along with the MLAs, visited the Umamaheshwaram temple near Achampet, and the Niranjan Shavali dargah. On Saturday, they are scheduled to visit the Srisailam temple.

Among the study tour team were MLAs Vamsi Krishna, Kasireddy Narayana Reddy, Vakati Srihari, Dr Rajesh Reddy, Veerlapalli Shankar, Madhusudhan Reddy, Megha Reddy, and former MLA Sampath Kumar. Accompanying them were PCCF R.M. Dobriyal, DFO Rohit Gopidi, Nagarkurnool district collector Ila Tripathi, and superintendent of police Vaibhav Raghunath Gaikwad.