more-in In the heritage town of Amaravathi, lies a sprawling pushkar ghat overlooking the 125-foot Dhyana Buddha statue. The ghat had witnessed heavy crowds during the Krishna Pushkaramulu in August 2016. Tiled pavements, statues of Telugu Talli perched on granite slabs and the sight of flowing River Krishna have brought thousands of people. But two years later, the ghat has lost its sheen. The resting places have become a safe haven for anti-social elements that gather at dusk and the river itself has turned into a huge mass of hyacinth. What could have been made into a popular tourist spot in Amaravathi, has been left unattended. The ghat has been developed at a cost of ?1.5 crore by the Irrigation department and was the cynosure of all eyes after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu visited it in August 2016. The CM had then promised that the ghat would later be developed into a park, which would have a walking track and the river front would be developed into a boating point. Mr. Naidu also talked of establishing food courts and gaming zones but all that remained on paper, as the Irrigation department has left the ghats to be developed by local panchayats. The panchayats, many of them short of funds, have no wherewithal to maintain sanitary staff and provide basic amenities like water, toilets. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority (APTA), which has tapped funds under the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), has done works related to erection of flood lights and beautification of the Dhyana Buddha statue but has stopped short of developing the ghat into a tourist spot. “The pushkar ghat at Amaravathi is in a bad shape. The local panchayat has no funds to maintain and keep it clean. We are not able to afford even wages to sanitary personnel,” rued sarpanch Bethapudi Yellamanda.

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