Lambasingi lacks basic amenities

Visakhapatnam: Despite being rated as one of the coldest places in Andhra Pradesh during winter and drawing huge crowds from Visakhapatnam and neighbouring districts, the Lambasingi hill station lacks even basic amenities such as a public toilet for tourists.
Located about 100 kms north-west of Vizag, Lambasingi is a huge draw for visitors not only from Vizag, but also from East and West Godavari districts and north coastal districts of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram.In addition to this, tourists from West Bengal too visit the hill station to experience the chilling weather conditions prevalent between November and January.
However, much to the dismay of visitors, especially elderly and women, there are no public toilets available in the area. And if one wants to use the restroom in restaurants and hotels, that too is not possible as they too do not exist.
“Large number of youngsters come to visit Lambasingi during this time of the year because of the cold climate. Some of the families either stay in Narsipatnam or come from Araku as there is no place to stay in Lambasingi,” observed social activist Srinivas Ganjivarapu. He said, “Lambasingi valley or the Thajangi Reservoir is usually frequented by tourists, but it is sad that no facilities have been provided until now.”
Meanwhile, cab operator Veer Raju said, “There are a lot of expectations from people when they decide to visit Lambasigni hill station. But, when they go to the place, there is actually nothing there for them to do or see except feel the cold. Sometime ago, there was a proposal for some resort, but nothing has taken off till now.”
Speaking to TOI, APTDC regional director Sreeram Naidu said, “We will take up the construction of toilets at the earliest by utilising local tourism funds.” He said even though there are plans to build a eco-tourism resort, the project had yet to take off due to lack of bidders. He said, “As there are visitors coming to the area, we will try and construct the public toilets for the convenience of the tourists at the earliest.”
Temperatures in Lambasingi on the Chintapalli ghat road dropped to 2 degrees Celsius last week. Also known as Andhra’s Kashmir, Lambasingi is located more than 3,600 feet above sea level.