Andhra Pradesh: Bhavani Island to reopen from September 1

Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao recently announced that Bhavani Island will be reopened for the public from September 1. While the process of bringing the island to its previous shape will take some time, restoration work will take another three to four months to complete. However, when the island is thrown open for visitors, electricity will be restored.

The island remained inaccessible for the past 15 days because of floods in River Krishna and its aftermath.
The minister also added that proper measures are being taken to ensure that the profit earned from the island goes up from INR 3 crore to INR 5 crore. A budget of INR 167 crore has also been allotted for the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority (APTA), AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) and Bhavani Island Development Corporation (BIDC) to achieve the same. The motive behind this expansion is to ensure that the tourism sector comes up with long-lasting things and that taxpayers’ money does not go to waste.
The island’s landscape endured major damages that amounted to around INR 1 crore, a tower worth INR 24 crore and others. A prominent musical fountain was badly damaged in the flood whereas other components like selfie point, pathways, electrical equipment, signage boards were also washed away by the flood.
Elaborating on the case of Mumbai, the Minister stated that they should take cues from the city that faces a similar situation during every rainy season. While addressing the media, he mentioned that there are a couple of projects lined up as well, and that the tourism department was working toward a plan to set up a ropeway from Kanaka Durga temple to Berm Park. He stated that efforts are also being made to come up with such a facility that tourists can experience a ropeway, also making traffic management an easier task.