The Kakinada Beach Festival ended with a storm on Sunday as hundreds gathered by the Bay of Bengal to lend a ear to their favourite singers from the Tollywood.
The valedictory function on Sunday was addressed by stamps and registration minister Thota Narsimham, collector Neetu Prasad and local MLA Kanna Babu.
People had just ‘got over’ the electric performance by Tollywood composer Koti on Saturday night when singers Geeta Madhuri and Sai Shilpa wowed them with popular hits, while comedy masters Gautam Raju and Kota Sankar Rao had the revelers in stitches. The stalls on the beach turned a major attraction for the visitors. Apart from selling delicious food, clothes, accessories and regional crafts, there were also special outlets selling jewellery and traditional puppets made of goat skin. A few stalls offering fortune games invited people to try their luck, while a special carousel did the rounds with laughing children the whole day.
“There’s never been anything like this around in these parts. We should have more such festivals,” said Ashok Kumar, who came with his friends. Despite minor set-backs such improper parking arrangement, insufficient seating arrangement and absence of canopy to keep out the blaring sun, the three-day festival had been an event to remember.
“Apart from the traffic logjam, there have been glitches in providing water to the plants on display, but the overall reception was overwhelming,” said K Raju, an assistant at a plant stall.
The parking problem apart, the three days have been very eventful for the people of Kakinada and nearby places, who have all joined the merriment at the beach.
Going by the swelling crowds and the smooth organising of events, Kakinada seemed to have more than just passed the litmus test to emerge as the next tourism hub in the state.