VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said on Thursday that he would lobby the Centre to denotify the reserved forest land around Hamsaladeevi, the confluence of the Krishna river and the Bay of Bengal in Krishna district, so that it can be developed into a major tourist spot. It is at this spot that the Krishna splits into two distributaries and joins the sea.
Offering pooja to Krishna river at Hamsaladeevi on the occasion of Sravana Pournima on Thursday, the chief minister said this year’s Krishna Pushkaralu were being performed in a befitting manner to thank the river for sustaining the people of Andhra Pradesh.
Stating that the Ullipalem bridge would be completed in four months to ensure better road connectivity between Hamsaladeevi and Machilipatnam, he said development of the Bandar port would boost industrial development in the area.
Once the proposed beach road from Ichapuram to Tada gets financial sanction, the preofile of the region would undergo a tremendous change, he said.
Elaborating on his favorite subject -- interlinking of rivers -- the chief minister promised to ensure supply of irrigation and drinking water to the Krishna delta without a hitch.
Speaking on the occasion, deputy speaker Mandali Buddha Prasad said Chandrababu Naidu is the first chief minister to have visited the confluence point of the river and the sea. “Things are going to change in the coming days and development of Machilipatnam port will as foster growth in the Hamsaladeevi region,” he said.
The day’s ceremonies witnessed a Kolatam performance by 2000 students from educational institutions in Diviseema. Veera Natyam by M Rambabu, Buttabommalu by V B R C Murthy and other cultural programmes were performed on the occasion. Local rice millers provided free food to the pilgrims on the occasion. Backward classes welfare minister Kollu Ravindra, MP Konakalla Narayana, district collector Babu A and others were present on the occasion.