KHAMMAM: As thousands queue up for a cruise tour of the scenic Papi hills, the lack of proper safety precautions is causing anxiety among the tourists as they travel amid constant fear of accidents. Currently, there are more than 20 boats that carry tourists to Papi hill from the villages of Kunavaram and Ramagiri. However, most of these boats are old and rarely exercise minimum safety precautions during the tours. It has been learnt that, except ITDA, none of the private boats carry life jackets for the protection of the tourists.
As per tourism norms, all boat owners should ensure that the engines are properly maintained and that life jackets are compulsorily carried on the boats during tours, despite which majority of the boats are not maintained well.
K Rama Krishna, a tourist from Kurnool who recently completed a trip across the hill, said that he spent the whole duration of trip in the grip of fear. “It was a horrible journey for me. The water level is considerably high but there were no safety precautions taken. They did not even offer us life jackets. The boat staff did not seem to care about the safety of the tourists at all,” he added.
“No precautions or safety measures are being taken for safety. If we question them, they shut us down with threats,” said N Sumati from Hyderabad.
Though the boat owners have been frequently accused by the tourists of not following the safety norms, the officials are yet to take any action against them boat owners. There is allegation local officials of concerned are taking bribes from boat owners and not taking any action. When contacted the Irrigation officials not did not respond.