Safety audit: Boat services to Papikonda Hills halted for a week

The week-long suspension of tourism boat operations on the Godavari river routes from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to the Papikonda Hills commenced on Sunday.The decision follows after an incident that took place on June 12, wherein 89 tourists aboard a private boat were stranded in the river near Devipatnam in Polavaram district, due to a technical glitch.Tourism Department Kakinada Divisional manager M. Ch. Pawan Kumar told The Hindu: “As many as 34 tourism boats have suspended operations for the safety audit. Of these 15 boats operate from Posammagandi point, and 19 boats operate from Pochavaram, where boats from Bhadrachalam in Telangana enter the Papikonda Hills.” The Department of Tourism officially operates only one boat.Rampachodavaram Revenue Divisional Officer K.

…

Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Hindu — Top.