Indian officials from the state of Andhra Pradesh want to bring eco-tourists to Lake Kolleru. The lake is one of the three major freshwater bodies in India and it is the biggest lake within the Andhra Pradesh state. Lake Kolleru was known for its flora and fauna, especially for the numerous birds that used to arrived here in large numbers. Nevertheless, the ecology of the place was spoiled and polluted.
The government nowadays is going to restore the former beauty of the lake. The officials from the state government have decided to implement an eco-tourism project to attract tourists to the lake. Anam Ramnarayan Reddy, Minister for Information & Public Relations, Cinematography, Tourism and Culture said: “The project will link Kalakarru and Gudivadalanka by boats, which will be operated from a base camp where there will be cottages.” The minister also mentioned that a 100-room budget hotel was already coming up in Vijayawada, while a 40-room hotel in Machilipatnam, two 20-room hotels in Nuzvid and Jaggaiahpeta would also be built in public-private partnership model soon. The hotels will be built on Government lands, especially those belonging to the Roads & Buildings Department and lying unused.
It is not only the lake that should attract more tourists. There is also a project for a special tourism train, which had been tentatively named ‘Southern Splendour’. The train could be operational next year in May or June. According to Mr. Reddy, 19 special coaches were being manufactured at the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, for the special train. The train should go to important places like Puttaparti, Tirupati, Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu and go up to Konark temple in Orissa, covering other important tourist places en route.
Some tourists were scared off by the recent bomb blasts in Hyderabad and the government took measures to restore tourists’ trust in safety in the state. The fact that Hyderabad had been chosen to host the next meeting of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) could be enough to prove the state’s safety.
