District Collector V. Vinay Chand along with officials from the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) took part in the inaugural ceremony of the Boating Control Room at Rushikonda beach here on Friday. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated the facility through video-conference from Vijayawada.
The facility is one among the nine control rooms in the State set up to mitigate boating/drowning accidents. The State government had decided to have disciplined boating system after the accident at Kutchuluru in East Godavari district last year.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vinay Chand said that Rushikonda beach has been one of the biggest attractions in the city and the boating facility over here attracts nearly 2,500 tourists per month and about 30,000 tourists every year. Apart from the APTDC boats (two four-seater boats, two Jet-ski and one eight-seater), there are two six-seater boats of private operators functioning here, he said.
The control room will have ticketing counter, waiting hall, restrooms/changing areas and CCTV cameras, with live feed for boating operations, public address system for emergency announcements, drinking water facility, power back-up with solar panels, adequate illumination, lighting and first-aid kits. He said that there will be breath analysers to check alcohol consumption, life-saving equipment and patrolling boats for rescue operations.
He said that an official from the Revenue Department, of the rank of MRO / Deputy Tehsildar, staff from the Water Resources Department, two tourism department staff for system operation and inspection, security personnel from the Police Department, lifeguards and swimmers / Quick Response Team from the Tourism Department will be posted at the control room.
Mr. Vinay Chand said that the Chief Minister has also given the nod for starting the boating operations. Since we have proper Standard Operating procedure (SOP) to run the boating facilities, the Chief Minister has permitted to resume operations. The tourism department will be given permission after contacting the government soon, he said.
