GUNTUR: Palanadu has got a lion’s share of tourism spots after the reorganisation of Guntur district and the State government is making efforts to develop the region to attract more visitors to the sites tagged with historic and religious significance.
Palnadu District Joint Collector Prakhar Jain said that, the 76 km long coast line, Buddha Stupa, Motupalli Vodarevu, Bhavannarayana Swamy Temple will be developed as a tourist circuit with Rs 100 crores in the near future.
After the formation of new districts majority of tourism spots in the undivided Guntur district were now in Palnadu including Amaravati, Nagarjuna Sagar, Kotappakonda shrine, and Kondaveedu fort.
After decades of negligence, several developmental works have been taken up at Kondaveedu Fort due to which it has now become one of the major tourist spots in undivided Guntur. Various adventure sports have also been launched at the fort to attract more tourists.
Under the Union government’s Swadesh Darshan Buddhist theme-based circuit initiative, Buddhavanam was constructed in Amaravati at a cost of Rs 15 crore to attract Buddhists worldwide. Open-air theatre, Pooja Mandir, auditorium, food court, open meditation hall, information centre, and library hall were also set up. The tourism department officials are taking the required action to finish the pending construction works and inaugurate it soon.
Archaeologically, Nagarjuna Konda is considered a very important site in the country with a vast expanse of Buddhist ruins including stupas, statues, and scriptures which are proof of Buddhist civilization.
The ruins are visible today in the island museum in their reconstructed form based on what was salvaged from the riverbed. To visit them, tourists not only from India but also from Japan, Nepal, and China also used to visit. A mega tourism project has been taken up at Nagarjuna Sagar to attract tourists. According to the officials, luxury resorts, and agribusiness projects will be set up in as many as 250 km which will be an add-on to the Nagarjuna Hill Museum.
