Cycling event, bouquet exhibition and cultural show mark the second day of Araku Utsav ‘Chali’

Artistes performing a folk dance at the Government Degree College Grounds at Araku Valley in Alluri Sitharama Raju district on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT

The second day of Araku Utsav, a tourism festival – ‘Chali’, began with a 5k cycling event from Borra Caves to Government Degree College grounds at Araku, in which a number of persons from various parts of the country participated. This was for the first time in the Agency, a cycling event was organised. District Collector A.S. Dinesh Kumar flagged off the event. A number of tribals from Sunkarametta, Anathagiri and Araku flocked to witness the event.

O.P. Agarwal from Madhya Pradesh won the first prize in the event, while a local youth Pangi Ajay from Dumbriguda mandal won the second prize. Mr. Dinesh Kumar, who gave away the prizes to the winners, said that the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) Paderu will give Ajay an advanced riding cycle very soon. He also said that the administration will provide all support to groom and nurture the local youth to set records across the State and the national events.

In the name of ‘Araku Bouquet’, an exhibition showcasing a wide variety of bouquets was kept on display for the visitors at the main venue. The District Collector said that Araku Valley has a number of varieties of flowers. He proposed a training programme for the tribal youth to prepare bouquets and will come up with ‘Araku Bouquets’. Later, the bouquets were made available for the tourists for sale. As part of the festival, plantation programmes were organised at various government offices and tourist spots.

Cultural programmes which include performances from the folk artistes belonging to various States, and comedy skits entertained the visitors on the second day. Being a weekend, more number of visitors attended the fesival on Saturday. The authorities expect a good number of visitors on Sunday, the final day of the utsav.

The demand for helicopter rides and tethered hot air balloon rides was good. The food stalls offering traditional tribal cuisine attracted several visitors

Meanwhile, to create awareness about the ongoing utsav to the tourists in Visakhapatnam, the authorities have organised ‘Dhimsa’ dance performances with tribal folk artistes in various star hotels in the city on Saturday.

Several programmes like trekking competitions, rangoli and firecracker celebrations are scheduled to be organised on the third day of the utsav.