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Vizag tourism suffers Rs.175 cr losses
The ambitious plans to develop Visakhapatnam into a world class tourist hub to attract foreign and domestic tourists suffered a major setback after super cyclone Hudhud ravaged APTDC-owned resorts and hotels in the plain and agency tracts.
- APTDC hotels closed
- We will seek funds from Centre: Chandana Khan
Hyderabad: The ambitious plans to develop Visakhapatnam into a world class tourist hub to attract foreign and domestic tourists suffered a major setback after super cyclone Hudhud ravaged APTDC-owned resorts and hotels in the plain and agency tracts. Even those owned by private sector too were damaged.
The Steel city which once boasted 18,000 hectares of reserve forest in the midst of city has now turned into a grey city with Hudhud. All major 57 tourist spots in the city and in the agency areas suffered serious damages and it will take at least 10 years to retain its past glory.
Cottages in Jingle Bells and Tyda in the agency area were damaged after huge trees fell on the roofs. The lone train to Araku Valley has been stopped after boulders fell on the rail track. Borra Caves, the most visited tourist spot near Araku Valley next to Kailasagiri too was bruised. The Titanic view and toy train atop Kailasagiri are no more. The hilltop, through which the Hudhud eye passed, is stripped off its green cover. The huge tide on the day cyclone crossed the coast, brought muddy sand on to the RK Beach Road and demolished the submarine museum compound wall. The submarine is one of its kind in Asia and draws lakhs of people throughout the year.
“Initial damages are estimated to be Rs 175 crore and we are making all out efforts to restore them at the earliest. We are seeking Rs 50 crore immediately from the Central government and remaining in phases so that the tourist spots could be opened at least next year,” said chairman and managing director of APTDC Chandana Khan.
Soon after returning from Visakhapatnam on Sunday, she told The Hans India that all the APTDC and government-owned tourist spots and resorts were closed temporarily. The district earns around Rs 30 crore from tourism with a visit of half a million tourists.
The AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced an ambitious plan to develop tourism in the city soon after he took over and said he would make it as number one tourist destination in India.
However, private operators are hopeful that the city would get tourists from West Bengal and neighbouring Odisha and Chhattisgarh during this winter unmindful of the damage caused by the super cyclone Hudhud.
