The two-day Perupalem Beach Festival saw thousands of tourists, fishermen and villagers living along the Mogaltur coast and adjoining mandals in attendance.
The festival was organised for the first time here by the State government. The village of Perupalem in Mogaltur mandal was decked up for the event.
Women arranged a food exhibition with ethnic and traditional dishes. Officials of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Horticulture, Fisheries, Endowments, Women Development and Child Welfare and other departments arranged stalls depicting the culture of the area under the theme ‘Godavari Ruchulu’.
APTDC, in association with the district administration, organised the festival on February 15 and 16 on the beach. Villagers from K.P. Palem, Narsapuram, Mogaltur, Kalipatnam, Bhimavaram, Palakol and other places thronged the events.
Cultural shows
Housing Minister Cherukuwada Sriranganatha Raju, Women Development and Child Welfare Minister Taneti Vanita, Narasapuram MP Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, MLA Mudunuri Prasada Raju, APTDC Chief Executive Officer Pravin Kumar and Collector Revu Mutyala Raju inaugurated the festival.
All roads leading to the Perupalem beach were illuminated, and organisers arranged a dais on the beach. Artistes performed ‘burrakatha’, classical dance, songs and group dances on the seashore.
“It was a great experience. We enjoyed the festival amid the sound of the waves lashing the shore. The government should develop all the beaches in a similar manner and conduct more such festivals,” said M. Pedda Babu, a villager.
Local delicacies
Local delicacies like ‘bobbatlu’, ‘kobbarundalu’, ‘ariselu’, ‘sunnundalu’, ‘putarekulu’, ‘alva’, and ‘khakalu’ were on offer at the food stalls arranged on the beach. APTDC and Endowments officials arranged photo exhibitions at different tourist spots and temple tourism across the State.
The Ministers said that the Perupalem beach should be developed on par with Rushikonda, Kakinada and other beaches in the State. APTDC was organising beach festivals along the coast on ten beaches at a cost of ₹10 crore, said APTDC CEO Pravin Kumar.
MLA Prasada Raju and Narasapuram Sub-Collector K.S. Viswanadham, who flagged off the 5K Run on the beach on Sunday, said the unique feature of Perupalem beach is that both sunrise and sunset can be viewed from here.
Prizes were given away to winners of cultural shows, food festival and 5K Run during the closing function of the beach festival.
