Newly created districts have no dedicated tourism officers

Mancherial, Kumram Bheem Asifabad and Nirmal districts continue to lack dedicated tourism officers, affecting administration and delaying projects. Several proposed tourism initiatives, including wedding destinations, boating facilities and a tourism circuit around waterfalls, remain incomplete or stalled

Mancherial: Despite immense potential to shine in the tourism sector, three districts formed recently continue to suffer from the absence of dedicated officers. This is not only hampering the administration of the department but also delaying the execution of proposed projects.

While the parent district of Adilabad has a regular tourism officer, Mancherial, Kumram Bheem Asifabad and Nirmal districts, carved out of Adilabad district in 2016 as part of the reorganisation of districts, are yet to have dedicated officers. Instead, District Youth and Sports Officers (DYSOs) were deputed as in-charge tourism officers of these districts a few years ago.

---

The in-charge tourism officers apparently are unable to take key decisions and effectively administer the department, considering their limited familiarity with the field and various other constraints. They are facing difficulties in handling tourism-related responsibilities, besides their existing workload. They regretted that the new districts had not been provided with the required staff, offices and infrastructure.

Consequently, several ambitious projects remain in cold storage. For instance, proposals were prepared to develop the Sripada Yellampalli Irrigation Project (SYP) at Gudipet, the historic Gandhari Khilla or fort, and the ancient Sri Satyanarayana Swamy Devasthanam (SSSD), located on a hillock near Gudem in Dandepalli mandal, as wedding destinations by creating basic amenities, accommodation and other facilities. The plan continues to be a distant dream.

Similarly, a boat ride and a lake-view restaurant established at the Kumram Bheem Irrigation Project at Ada village in Asifabad mandal have become a passing fancy in just three years since their creation. The ride facility and restaurant were created to boost the tourism sector, with Rs 25 lakh and Rs 40 lakh spent on them, respectively, in 2023.

Incidentally, the district is home to natural wonders such as Sapthagundala Waterfalls, also known as Mitte Waterfalls, which comprise a series of seven waterfalls within a distance of five kilometres at Pittaguda. A proposal to develop a tourism circuit connecting the waterfalls has failed to take off, disappointing nature lovers.

It is learnt that newly recruited Group I officers have now been posted as nodal officers of the Tourism Department for the newly created districts to streamline administration. It remains to be seen whether this move will finally give the sector the much-needed fillip in the near future.