Heavy rain in Kurnool and Anantapur districts during Southwest Monsoon might have brought woes to farmers, but winter has set in early with temperatures falling below 20°C at some places and plains witnessing foggy conditions from early November – a phenomenon usually witnessed by December-end in these parts.
A cautious beginning for religious and nature tourism in Kurnool district is on the cards from mid-November and the Tungabhadra Pushkaram from November 20 has probably come at the right time to test the people’s willingness to participate in such activities in the post-COVID scenario. While the ban on the holy dip, a key aspect of the rituals that take place once in 12 years during pushkaralu, has taken away its sheen, the footfall is likely to dwindle drastically from the earlier estimates.
Srisailam gears up for auspicious month
Four days before the pushkaram begins, the auspicious Karthika masam starts and the Srisailam Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Devasthanam usually is a beehive of activity. But in the post-COVID-19 scenario, the temple Executive Officer Karanam S. Rama Rao expects not more than 20,000 devotees to converge on the hill-top shrine. Currently, the average footfall is 6,000.
"We have 550 rooms of our own and 1,000 dormitory beds besides 2,000 rooms in private choultries, which must suffice the demand, though the capacity gets cut to half due to COVID-19 norms," Mr. Rama Rao explains. "The maximum footfall is expected on Sundays and Mondays, but the majority of them would have darshan and leave Srisailam by evening," he points out.
Eco-tourism
Bairlooty and Pacherla in the Nallamala forest of Kurnool district, among the best nature/eco-tourism spots in the State, will reopen next week along with the Visakhapatnam and Tirupati zoos as per a directive of the Forest Department received on Thursday. The Divisional Forest Officers at Nandyal and Atmakur are busy getting the huts (accommodation) ready at both places. "We retained the entire staff comprising primitive tribal groups in both these community-based projects during the COVID pandemic so that they do not suffer unemployment," says DFO Sambangi Venkatesh.
The other attraction is the Rollapadu Bird Sanctuary. Popular for its blackbuck population, it will open soon to public. In Anantapur district, Veerapuram on the A.P.-Karnataka border gets migratory painted storks during early winter for nesting.
