VIJAYAWADA: Md Azeem was waiting eagerly at the Berm Park, with his friends, to book tickets to celebrate the completion of exams with his friends on Sunday at Bhavani Island, only to be sent back by the authorities.
Speaking to TNIE, he said, “We had read in papers that boating at the island would be reopened from December 1. So since it was a Sunday, we thought we would make our picnic plan at Bhavani Island. But after we came here we got to know that the boating facility had not resumed yet.”
The officials said that they could not start the boating facility as the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) did not receive no objection certificate (NoC) from the port authorities. "We tried to find out the reasons for the delay, but the authorities said that they were not in a position to disclose them. They said they will give directions and state reasons soon. Unfortunately, this kept us away from starting services, despite the good condition of boats," said M Ravi, assistant water fleet manager at APTDC.
The authorities also seemed to be unhappy over the indefinite closure of the island to public. "Since the Godavari boat mishap, the island has not seen a single good day in terms of generating adequate revenue. Initially, there was scare among the people, but as days passed by, optimism returned. I do not understand the reasons for withholding permissions even though the boats are completely in desired condition. I request the port authorities to understand that this is the peak season and grant us permission to at least operate smaller boats to ferry tourists from the park to the island," said one of the officials on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, National Institute of Water Sports (NIWS) will start training 75 to 80 boat drivers and swimmers from Monday at Berm Park as per the directions of Machilipatnam and Kakinada port authorities.