Vijayawada: The devotees interested in going to the Maha Kumbh Mela from Andhra Pradesh are fewer in number compared to other famous devotional tourism destinations. Telugus are generally considered more devotional, but they are not as keen to visit famous devotional places like Chardham Yatra, Vaishno Devi Temple, Varanasi, and Ayodhya in North India, and Arunachalam, Rameswaram, and other places in South India.
In anticipation of demand for the Maha Kumbh, some tour operators announced special packages. However, they received a poor response from the devotees, making their packages unviable and forcing them to cancel the offers. A Sai, managing director of Adhya Tours and Travels, said that the major problem for the poor response to Kumbh is the lack of proper travel facilities.
Sai observed that road and air travel are almost ruled out as it is not an option for many; rail journey is the only option left. However, very few trains are available to go to Prayagraj, including the special trains. “Going on a pilgrimage to North India from Andhra Pradesh is tedious because of the distance and limited options. People usually go with a group and with a plan to visit multiple places. However, they could not get many options as it is not viable for travel operators to go to multiple destinations from Prayagraj,” he said.
K Venkata Krishna, who also runs a travel agency, said that people from AP are more inclined to go on leisure trips. Previous experiences of stampedes at Rajahmundry during Godavari Pushkaralu will also have an impact on the back of the minds of people. As 10 crore people are expected to visit the Maha Kumbh, many people from AP are not interested in taking risk, he said.
In anticipation of demand for the Maha Kumbh, some tour operators announced special packages. However, they received a poor response from the devotees, making their packages unviable and forcing them to cancel the offers. A Sai, managing director of Adhya Tours and Travels, said that the major problem for the poor response to Kumbh is the lack of proper travel facilities.
Sai observed that road and air travel are almost ruled out as it is not an option for many; rail journey is the only option left. However, very few trains are available to go to Prayagraj, including the special trains. “Going on a pilgrimage to North India from Andhra Pradesh is tedious because of the distance and limited options. People usually go with a group and with a plan to visit multiple places. However, they could not get many options as it is not viable for travel operators to go to multiple destinations from Prayagraj,” he said.
K Venkata Krishna, who also runs a travel agency, said that people from AP are more inclined to go on leisure trips. Previous experiences of stampedes at Rajahmundry during Godavari Pushkaralu will also have an impact on the back of the minds of people. As 10 crore people are expected to visit the Maha Kumbh, many people from AP are not interested in taking risk, he said.
