Vijayawada: Boating operations to resume at Punnami ghat

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) will resume the boating operations in Krishna river at Punnami ghat for the visitors from Sunday onwards after a gap of nearly three months.

The APTDC had suspended the boating in Krishna river due to the floods for three months. Prakasam barrage received heavy inflows of floodwater this rainy season. The irrigation department denied permission for the boating due to the risk of mishaps between August and October, 2021.

With the decrease in floodwater inflows into Prakasam Barrage in recent days, the APTDC has decided to resume the boating activities for the visitors from November 7. The APTDC officials informed that the boating will start at 9 am on Sunday and will continue till 5 pm. During the Kartika masam a large number of people visit the Punnami ghat and Bhavani Island for recreation and enjoy the boat ride.

The district administration has arranged a control room near the Punnami ghat to monitor the boats in Krishna river. Staff members from the tourism, revenue, police, fire and other departments will monitor the boats from the control room.

Fire and police departments will jump into action in case of boat disasters in the river. The boating staff insists that the visitors must wear life jackets during the boat ride.

Boating is one of the important sources of revenue to the APTDC, Vijayawada division, which comprises Krishna and Guntur district. Around 500 visitors enjoy the boat ride in Krishna river daily during the holidays.

The APTDC used to get revenue of more than Rs 1 crore every year before 2018 in Vijayawada. Since the mishap occurred at Pavitra Sangamam in Krishna river in 2018, the APTDC revenue drastically declined. Covid pandemic also badly affected the tourism in Krishna district.

The boating activity came to a standstill during the first and second wave of Covid. The boating operations were resumed slowly in June and July 2021. Later, the APTDC suspended the boating operations for three months due to floods. Now, again the boating will be resumed from Sunday at Punnami ghat. The APTDC used to get income during the Dasara festivities as a large number of devotees who visit Kanakadurga temple also visit the Punnami ghat and enjoy the boat ride. For two consecutive years, the APTDC lost revenue on boating due to the impact of Covid as well as Krishna river floods.