Amaravati: Free food and free transportation being arranged by the state government and various NGOs for pilgrims to the Krishna Pushkaralu has hit the hotel and travel business hard.
NGOs like the Rice Millers Association, Ramakrishna Mission, ISKON, Akshayapatra etc. have been arranging nutritious and tasty food for free for the pilgrims at Pushkarnagar and selected places. Interestingly, the police department is also supplying food for free at Pushkar ghats.
The pilgrims are preferring the free food for its taste and variety and this has affected the business of hotels and restaurants who were expecting bumper business during the Pushkaralu.
Similarly, the travel agencies too have been hit hard due to the APSRTC arranging free transportation for pilgrims up till the bathing ghats.
The APSRTC is operating 905 bus services for Pushkaralu in the Guntur district. There are 15 Pushkar Nagars and APSRTC is offering free transportation directly to the ghats from these Pushkar Nagars.
The police has imposed restrictions on cars, motorcycles and other vehicles till ghats so the people are utilising the free travel in the buses.
S. Ranga Rao, a travel operator, said that they had minted money during the Godavari Pushkaralu since the demand for cars and vans to reach the ghats was huge. “The free buses have damaged our business,” he said, adding that initially, the pilgrims were ready to pay up to Rs 2,500 to reach the ghats from Guntur but now the fare has dropped to Rs 800.
A car driver, N. Ramu said that the pilgrims are preferring to travel in cars and vans from Nellore, Kavali, Ongole and adjacent areas so some drivers have gone there and earning well. Similarly, hotelier planned to do good business but the free food has derails these plans.
There are about 500 good eateries in old Amaravati, Tadepalli, Undavalli, Seetanagaram, Mangalagiri and Guntur but they are doing nominal business, despite the milling crowds.
A hotelier at old Amaravati, R. Pratap said that they bought extra groceries and ordered extra milk, curd and butter hoping of good business during the 12-day festival but the free food has hit them hard.
The free food consists of vegetable biryani, white rice with curries, sweet, curd and the pilgrims are relishing it. K. Mallesh, a pilgrim, said that free food is quite tasty and would cost about Rs 70 to Rs 100.
