Crowds at Vizag’s Picnic Spots Indicate Shrinking Green Spaces

Visakhapatnam: The end of Kartika month saw every open space in Visakhapatnam’s parks, apart from the beach road, transform into community dining areas. Families filled every available space.

With limited green areas available in the city, many families and picnickers spilled onto the beach road. They spread mats even on footpaths and roadside stretches to share their meals and snacks. The picnic atmosphere remained unmistakable. At the same time, it highlights the diminishing natural shade and tree cover that once defined Vizag’s coastal charm.

For 60-year-old Rukmini Amma, the Kartika tradition is deeply connected to the amla trees. “It has always been a ritual to eat under an amla tree during Kartika month,” she told Deccan Chronicle. “In my childhood, we always sought the shade of amla for Kartika vanabojanalu. Now, these trees have dried up,” says a rueful Rukmini Amma.

Her words echo both nostalgia and concern, as ecological changes in the city have altered its long-standing landscape.

Teacher S. Priya, who brought her students for a picnic, described the improvisation required. “Since the sun was too high on the beach, we arranged meals for the children on the footpath,” she explained. After the meals, the children would play again.” The sight of children eating on the roadside captured the mix of joy and adaptation to keep traditions alive despite the lack of shaded spaces.

N. Kasturi, visiting the Sagarnagar beach with her family, recalled a different landscape. “Earlier, there had been Casuarina (Sarugudu) trees here. They provided shade. Now, the entire beach looks dry,” she pointed out.

Kasturi’s observations reflect a broader sentiment – Vizag’s beaches, once dotted with natural canopies, are losing their cover, leaving visitors exposed to the relentless sun.

Beyond the beaches, picnickers crowded the Visakhapatnam Zoo Park. Its shaded enclosures offered a rare refuge from the heat. Kambalakonda, the forest reserve often described as the city’s lungs, witnessed large crowds. Families trekked its trails and spread meals under scattered trees. This highlights the demand for green retreats in a city, where urban expansion is steadily reducing natural shelters.

For many, the ritual of the month carried a bittersweet reminder: tradition is enduring, but the environment that once supported this tradition is fading.