Bhavani Island to be open for public again from September 1

Vijayawada: State tourism minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao aka Avanti Srinivas on Tuesday said Bhavani Island would be reopened for public from September 1.

On Tuesday afternoon, the minister visited the island ravaged by floods and inspected damaged areas and on-going restoration works along with tourism officials.

Addressing a press conference, Srinivas said overall restoration works would cost around Rs 2 crore but appreciated officials for saving more than Rs 3 crore worth of properties of the tourism department from the island, including projectors used for musical fountain show.

“Pathways, landscapes, safety wall and water tower were damaged. It is expected to take at least three months to fix these,” said Srinivas. He said the priority would be to restore electricity in the island and letting boats ply from September 1.

The restaurant, too, would be reopened on Sunday. When asked about lack of precautionary measures in the island, Srinivas admitted it was a good lesson that needed to be learnt, be it in Amaravati or Bhavani Island. Officials would hold discussions with the irrigation department to develop safety measures across the island premises, he said.

“In the coming days, there is a need a to take precautionary measures especially at places situated near the river bank. Instead of going for permanent structures, we would take experts’ advice and go for eco-friendly constructions,” Avanti Srinivas added.

The minister took a dig at the previous government for not taking up their suggestions about environmental violations near the Krishna river bank areas. The island still wears a deserted look as restoration works have just begun. Apart from infrastructural damage, several birds kept in the enclosures died in the floods.