Safety Audit: Boat service to Papikonda Hills has been stopped for a week

Boats moored at the Gandiposamma temple near Devipatnam in Polavaram district. | Photo credit: ARRANGEMENT

A week-long suspension of tourist boat operations on the Godavari river routes from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to the Papikonda range began on Sunday.

The decision follows an incident that took place on June 12 when 89 tourists aboard a private boat got stuck in a river near Devipatnam in Polavaram district due to a technical fault.

Kakinada Tourism Department Head of Division M. Ch. Pawan Kumar told The Hindu, “As many as 34 tourist boats have suspended operations for a safety audit. Out of these, 15 boats operate from Posammagandi point and 19 boats operate from Pochavaram, where boats from Bhadrachalam in Telangana enter the Papikonda range.” The Ministry of Tourism officially operates only one ship.

Revenue Divisional Officer Rampacchodavaram K. Swathi said the safety audit of all government and private ships will begin on Monday and continue for a week. “The last safety audit of boats operating in Papikonda Hills was done a year ago,” Ms. Swathi said.

The security audit will be jointly conducted by the departments of tourism, revenue, police, forest and water resources.

Published – 14 Jun 2026 20:15 IST