Railways stalls popular AP tourism package

Vijayawada: AP Tourism has several products and packages to attract the tourists who are visiting the north Andhra districts in general and Araku Valley in particular. One such package was rail-cum-road package. The package is profitable for both the railways and the AP Tourism department.

However, for the reasons better known to the railway authorities, the rail-cum-road package was abruptly stopped after a landslide on the railway track. The track was repaired but the package was not restored.

Let us have a look at what the package contains. The rail-cum-road package includes the train journey in a coach allotted to the tourism department from Visakhapatnam to Borra Caves and from there they travel on tourism department bus to Haritha Resorts at Araku and after site-seeing, they return to Visakhapatnam on the same bus.

It had been a very popular package and people used to opt for this particular one since they could enjoy the nature’s beauty during the train journey to Borra Caves and from there by road they could reach Araku Valley which actually is the focal point to a number of tourist places which the tourists prefer to visit.

The tourists prefer to visit Paderu, the hilly ghat area atop 3,000 ft mean sea level (MSL), famous for coffee plantations and lush green nature. Tyda, at a distance of 75 km, is another eco-tourism project which is right place for bird watching, rock climbing, trekking, and overnight stay. Ananthagiri waterfalls situated 80 km away from Araku attract the tourists. 

Chaparai, at a distance of 15 km, is the perennial stream gushing through the rocks. Matsyagundam situated 52 km away from Araku is a rivulet passing through huge boulders with the backdrop of Sivalingam.

The tourists stay at Araku and travel all these places to enjoy the beauty of nature. However, with the abrupt stoppage of rail-cum-road package, the pilgrims evince little interest to stay at Araku. The package includes the stay at Araku and provision of Tourism bus transport to various places. 

Now the tourists who get down at Borra Caves are left in the lurch as there is no public transport from the caves to Araku or anywhere else. Surprisingly, the APSRTC also stopped bus service from the caves though there is very heavy demand from people. They have to rely on private taxi or mini bus operators for reaching Araku.

When asked why the package was stopped, Mukesh Kumar Meena, secretary of the tourism department, feigned ignorance of the issue. His aides told him that the railway authorities are seeking permission from Delhi to restart the package. The secretary said that it would be started soon. However, given the present circumstances, it may not materialise.