Rushikonda Beach in the city has become the first in Andhra Pradesh and among eight beaches in India to be awarded the Blue Flag, the prestigious eco-label which places it in the league of world-class beaches.
Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao hoisted the flag at Rushikonda on Monday.
Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar hoisted the flags at the eight beaches simultaneously through a video conference from Delhi.
Mr. Srinivas Rao said the coveted certification features Rushikonda prominently in the league of world-class beaches. The certification was done based on 33 parameters like environment education, environment protection, management, quality of water and bathing facilities.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao appealed to the Union Minister to consider development of nine other beaches in A.P., including the beach near Erramatti Dibbalu in Visakhapatnam, Suryalanka in Guntur district, Kakinada and Chintalamori in East Godavari, Perupalem and Mulaparru in West Godavari district, Manginapudi in Krishna district, Ramapuram in Prakasam district and Mypadu in Nellore district, as Blue Flag would help in attracting tourists from across the globe.
He said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was according top priority to promotion of tourism in A.P. as part of which the State government had declared the new tourism policy recently. The State with a vast coastline line of 944 km had immense tourism potential and was second in tourism after Kerala. He, however, said that tourism infrastructure development in the last decade was not up to the mark. Efforts were being made to establish either 5 or 7 Star hotels at 12 places in the State.
A.P. Tourism Authority CEO Pravin Kumar, District Collector V. Vinay Chand and officials of the Tourism Department attended the programme.
