VISAKHAPATNAM: Winter being the best season for boating and kayaking, hundreds of tourists visit Vizag every season for enjoying the water sports in the sea. However, with delay in the inspection of the government and private boats, the boat owners wait patiently for the resumption of services at least by December when the tourist season begins.
It is more than a month that boat services were stopped after the boat capsize incident on River Godavari. Speedboats run by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism department at Rushikonda and Fishing Harbour and a private company, Livein Adventures, speedboat and kayaking service at Rushikonda beach were stopped.
The boat owners were told to resume boating activity only after the submerged boat in the River Godavari was retrieved and later officials would inspect each area. Even a week after the boat was retrieved, Kakinada Port officials, who gave licence for boat operations, are delaying the inspections.
The boat owners are clueless when the team would visit the city—they are more worried about the revenue loss. The closure of boat services has severely affected the tourism revenue during Dasara holidays and it is likely to continue till December, which is again a vacation season for many tourists visiting the city.
“This is the best season for boating activity as the sea is serene and kayaking can be taken up from morning till evening.
But we have no idea when the inspections will be done with to resume services. In fact, in Vizag, especially boating at Rushikonda is certified and all safety measures were taken. Currently, inspections are underway at River Godavari, but the teams could have visited Vizag for inspections first as this is one of the tourism spots, which will have an inflow of tourist footfall in winter,” Balaram of Livein Adventures said.
Private boat owners are worried about the Kayaking trainers who had to be paid salaries though there is no work. Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) divisional manager Prasad Reddy told TNIE, “We are regularly asking the teams about the progress of inspections. The officials will arrive for inspection in the next few days. But this has affected the boat services and tourist flow. At least a revenue of `60,000 per day is lost due to stoppage of boat services. This would affect the ensuing tourist season badly if boat services are not resumed.”