Gandhi Hill cries for attention

Vijayawada: Gandhi Hill, one of the historical and most important monuments of the city, is crying for attention as it lost its glory due to negligence of the State and Central governments over the years. The monument was the centre of attraction in Vijayawada for many decades since 1970 but gradually lost its glory and charm.

Though the State government has sanctioned Rs 5 crore for its development, the funds are yet to be released. The development of Gandhi Hill will depend on releasing of funds and construction of new planetarium and museum on the hillock. People are expressing their displeasure over the neglect of important monuments in the city.

The capital region can't be developed as a tourist hub until and unless the government spends money for tourism promotion and renovation of existing monuments. The 500-ft high Gandhi Hill is spread over 20 acres very close to the Vijayawada West Railway station had been attracting thousands of visitors every month till early 2000.

For more than 15 years, various successive governments grossly neglected it. The planetarium has been closed for more than ten years and the Gandhi library was also shut down two decades ago. The equipment in the Gandhi planetarium has become outdated. It was also closed more than a decade ago.

After bifurcation, the State government had sanctioned Rs 5 crore for the development of Gandhi Hill particularly for the construction of new planetarium, developing greenery and landscape, setting up of Gandhi museum and other works.

"However, the government has not released the funds so far," said Gokaraju Gangaraju, Narasapuram MP and the chairman of Gandhi Hill Foundation. He said the Foundation has been taking care of the maintenance of the hills. He feels the Gandhi Hill can be developed as a major tourist attraction if a new planetarium and museum are constructed. He said the beautiful hillock located in the city could attract large number of visitors.

A 52-ft tall giant Gandhi Stupam with inscriptions of Gandhian philosophy were installed on the hillock in the late 1960s to popularise the Gandhian philosophy. The tall and elegant Stupam stands proudly on the hillock and visible from many parts of the city.

A library built on the Gandhi Hill was closed two decades ago due to poor maintenance. Sound and Light programme, which was very popular in Vijayawada city in the 1970s, was also discontinued due to negligence of the successive governments.

Fortunately, the toy train on Gandhi Hill has survived and gives memorable experience to visitors. The entire Vijayawada city can be viewed from the circular small toy train. The Gandhi Hill Foundation proposed the construction of a new planetarium with state-of-art technology, said V Durga Prasad, secretary, Gandhi Hill Foundation. He said the state government sanctioned Rs 5 crore but it is yet to be released.

He said proposals have been made to shift the existing Gandhi Library from hillock to the foothill for the convenience of visitors particularly the students.

Andhra Pradesh Tourism department Executive Director R Mallikarjuna Rao underlined the need for the development of Gandhi Hill as a major tourist destination in the capital region. He said the Tourism department allocated Rs 5 crore and efforts were on to get the funds released for the development of Gandhi Hill.