‘Akhanda Godavari’ will become an iconic tourist destination, says Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan on Thursday performed bhumi puja for the ₹94-crore Akhanda Godavari project on the banks of the Godavari in Rajamahendravaram.

Under the Union Government-funded Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), the State government would renovate the 125-year-old Havelock Bridge with more tourist attractions, apart from developing Dowleswaram, Kadiyam, Kovvur, Nidadavolu, and surrounding areas as prime tourist destinations.

Mr. Shekhawat and Mr. Pawan Kalyan went round the photo exhibition on the projects proposed under Akhanda Godavari initiative.

Addressing the gathering at the Havelock Bridge, Mr. Shekhawat said, “The Godavari riverfront development project, titled Akhanda Godavari, will become an iconic tourist destination in India. The project aims at creating a comprehensive riverfront experience anchored along the 125-year-old Havelock Bridge and Pushkar Ghat.”

“The Akhanda Godavari project is the most ambitious among the ₹450-crore worth of seven projects that have been sanctioned to Andhra Pradesh over the past one year,” said Mr. Shekhawat.

He further said that walkers would be allowed to walk for 1.2 km on the bridge, on which an interpretation centre would come up to showcase Godavari regional culture and heritage. He observed that at least 20 lakh annual footfalls of tourists could be expected at the Havelock Bridge and the Tent City on its island.

Mr. Shekhawat said the three-acre Kadiyam flower nurseries’ experience centre would feature flower exhibitions, live demonstrations and offer Godavari regional cuisines.

Wish fulfilled: Pawan

In his address, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said the decades’-long wish to renovate the abandoned Havelock Bridge was being fulfilled with the Akhanda Godavari project. He reminded that Rajamahendravaram was the land where Adikavi Nannaya was born, and civilisation thrived by the river.

State Minister for Tourism and Culture Kandula Durgesh and MP D. Purandeswari appealed to Mr. Shekhawat to sanction a branch of the National School of Drama.