Mega tourism plan on the anvil

Karimnagar: Elgandal Fort has a rich past behind it till the seat of power shifted to Karimnagar in 1905. As time moved on, the fort, power centre to many a dynasty, lost its sheen, so was the village.

In fact, Elgandal has even lost road connectivity to Karimnagar in 1982 with huge swathes of the village land submerged in the backwaters of Lower Manair Dam (LMD). Since then the villagers have been taking a roundabout route to reach Karimnagar.

Now as part of its mega tourism plans, the government has got down restoring the old road by constructing a 650-meter bridge.

The bridge not only shrinks the distance between Elgandal and Karimnagar to the tune of 8 kms but also opens up a tourism corridor from the fort to the proposed Rs 500 crore Manair Riverfront at the LMD downstream.

It may be noted here that the government has plans to develop LMD region on the lines of Sabarmati Riverfront which includes Rs 147 crore suspension bridge downstream dam and a garden on the lines of Mysore Brindavan.

With the existing roundabout route (via Baopet village on Sircilla road) to Elgandal is not convenient, it also has an impact on tourist footfall to the fort. Of course, the locals have been vociferous demanding a bridge for a long time.

With the Vemulawada bypass road along the dam banks is almost complete; the upcoming bridge will provide an easy drive to the fort. It may be noted here that recently the tourism department has introduced ‘Sound and Lights’ show at the fort.

Against this backdrop, the Minister for Roads and Buildings Tummala Nageswara Rao laid the foundation stone for the construction of Rs 60 crore bridge and approach road that connects Elgandal village and Chintakunta in the city on Sunday.

Speaking to The Hans India, Karimnagar MLA Gangula Kamalakar said: “The city, which has a huge potential for tourism development, will witness a sea of change in the next couple of years.

The tenders called for the construction of suspension bridge will end on February 20. The works are likely to begin by the end of this month.”

Finance Minister E Rajender said: “Once the construction of the bridge is completed resurrecting the old road, the tourist footfall to Elgandal fort will be increased invariably benefiting the economy of this ancient
village.”