Guntur: The designs for the new city of Amaravati seem attractive, but people are disappointed by the government’s failure to develop historical and tourist spots in the old Amaravati region. Many locations lack even basic amenities such as accommodation and food.
Ever since the Assembly and Secretariat of AP began functioning from Velagapudi, there has been an increase in the number of people visiting the area. However, no accommodation is available for tourists visiting the historical city of old Amaravati. Lodging and boarding facilities are not available at the ancient Undavalli Caves, near which Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s house is located. Similar conditions are prevalent at the Jaggery Temple located atop Mangalagiri hill, Kondaveedu Fort, Guttikonda Bilam and other spots of historical significance. While welcoming the development of the new capital, people seek the development of historical locations in the vicinity as well.
According to the Department of Tourism, 47,47,042 tourists visited historical and tourist spots in Guntur district in the year 2015. This figure doubled to 97,25,646 tourists in the year 2016, when the Amaravati works began. This year, 88,26,642 tourists have visited the district as of September.
Apart from Suryalanka Beach, accommodation is not available for tourists at any location in the district. This includes the Uppalapadu Bird Sanctuary, old Amaravati, the Ethipothala Falls, Durgi stone craft centres, the Guthikonda Caves, Kondaveedu Fort, the Undavalli Caves, and other spiritual spots. Tourists are forced to stay in either in Vijaya-wada or Guntur. The Department of Tourism does not even have an office in the Amaravati Capital Region.
N. Narayana and G. Bhanupratap, tourists from Ongole, say that they expected accommodation facilities to be available in old Amaravati and Dharanikota. They were disappointed at having to stay in Guntur. They said that old Amaravati contained representations of ancient Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cultures, but sadly there were no amenities available for tourists.
Road construction works near Kondaveedu Fort have stopped tourists from being able to visit the ancient fort. Other tourist spots lack accommodation, food, and transportation. K. Sasidhar, the collector of Guntur, said that an action plan would be prepared for the improvement of amenities.
