Visakhapatnam: Questions surround the holding of the three-day Visakha Utsav-2017 that was scheduled to start on January 29 with the partnership summit hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) slated to open in Vizag city on January 28 as well as the fact that festival website has not been accessible due to technical glitches.
The ambitious gala event of the state government was aimed at attracting domestic and foreign tourists to Vizag city. However, when one tries to open the website, it displays an error message. The Visakha Utsav websitewww.visakhaustsav.com was launched amidst much fanfare in the presence of HRD minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and several officials on January 1, 2017 (New Year day).
The main venue for the Utsav is the Ramakrishna Beach in the city. The event is likely to be postponed to early February because of the CII summit.
Though the district administration and political leaders have been claiming that Visakha Utsav is meant to promote the brand image of Vizag and to attract tourists, the Visakha Utsav website appears to reflect the attitude of leaders and officials. The websites has not been functional for the past few days, say K. Siva Kumar, software professional. The Facebook page of Visakha Utsav has not been updated, he added.
Many people are unaware of the scheduled cultural, entertainment and sporting activities during the Visakha Utsav as the website for festival always non-functional. “I tried to find out whether the Visakha Utsav will he held on scheduled dates or not, but I didn’t get any clue as the website and Facebook pages of Visakha Utsav have turned ineffective,” says Viswanath K, a student of Andhra University.
Since the dates of inaugural of Visakha Utsav and CII summit is coinciding, we will take a decision on Visakha Utsav soon, says district collector Pravin Kumar.
Sources said that Utsav dates might be postponed to first week of February.
