Araku-bound tourists disappointed

Visakhapatnam: Tourists from outside, mostly from West Bengal are disappointed as the train movement between Kothavalasa and Kirondol via Borra Caves and Araku Valley has been cancelled due to crashing of huge boulders on the track. Visit to Borra Caves and Araku Valley and its surroundings remain most attractive for the tourists, some of them prefer to travel by train particularly Vistadome.

The train passes through 58 tunnels giving a breath-taking view of the valley. The addition of Vistadome introduced this year has been attracting more people to travel by rail. Though the ticket is priced at Rs 650, all the seats have been sold out till January 15. Railway officials said the boulders caused extensive damage to the track and it would take more than two months for restoration.

The cancellation of the lone train also brought down the number of visitors to the Borra Caves and Araku Valley. Around 4,000 people visit both the places per day during this season but the cancellation brought down the number to less than 2,000, said manager of Borra Caves M Badrinath.
Tour operators said around 20 per cent of the tourists have cancelled their resorts in Araku Valley due to non-availability of Vistadome.

This year, the inflow of tourists has been impressive with record number of visitors coming from West Bengal. Last year, there was 33 per cent growth with 9.9 lakh tourists visiting the city. “With the inauguration of Aircraft Museum TU 142 next week , there will be more tourists this season,’’ said executive director of APTDC R Sreeramulu Naidu.

Another official from tourism department said work on 20 cottages estimated at a cost of Rs 5 crore at Lambasinghi has started and they would be completed by March end. Each cottage can accommodate four persons, he added.