A treat in store for birdwatchers at Flamingo Fest

Minister for Municipal Administration P Narayana has appealed to bird lovers in the State to make the ‘Flamingo Festival-2015’ at Nelapattu in Nellore district a grand success by visiting the bird sanctuary in large numbers.

Speaking after releasing a brochure of Flamingo Festival to be held from January 9 to 11 on Sunday, he said that it would be a delight to bird lovers to watch different species of migratory birds at the sanctuary.

“The State Government is organising the Flamingo Festival to tap its eco-tourism potential and promote awareness among people about the need to protect the migratory birds and the fragile eco-system. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is planning to develop the Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary as a major eco-tourism destination in Andhra Pradesh to tap its full potential as countries like Singapore are earning 68 per cent of their GDP from tourism,’’ he said.

Nelapattu is spread across two streams in an area of 210 acres. About 150 species of migratory birds visit the sanctuary for breeding from August to January every year. Flamingos and pelicans from Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and other countries visit Nelapattu for their annual sojourn.

Ministers Prathipati Pulla Rao, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, MLAs Gadde Ramamohan, Bode Prasad and K Rama Krishna, Mayor Koneru Sridhar, Nellore district tourism officer Nagabhushanam and others were present on the occasion.