Kakinada: Civic works pending ahead of Beach festival

Kakinada: The Kakinada Beach festival is slated to begin on Tuesday, but a lot still needs to be done to make it a successful show. Roads leading to the Sarpavaram junction are in a poor condition. District collector Karthikeya Misra in his review meetings has been instructing officials for the past two months to hasten up and complete the works by December 10. But work has been lethargic. 

According to officials, the district administration had mainly concentrated on completion of Beach Front development works given in view of that being inaugurated by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who will not attend the ensuing meetings due to his foreign tours. One visit to the Kakinada Beach reveals a scurry of last-minute activity and pending work being carried out hurriedly. According to sources, the works would earlier be shared by many departments. This time, however, it has been entrusted mainly to the tourism department. 

AP Transco Department officials though chipped in with lighting arrangements to illuminate the beach.  Meanwhile, collector Misra called upon the people to attend the three-day fete in large numbers, and requested officials to take part in the fest with their families, for whom separate seats will be set aside. He instructed the District Education Officer to announce a half-day holiday during the three-day festival. Superintendent of police Vishal Gunni visited traffic routes leading to the beach and instructed officials to ensure a trouble-free experience for the people.