Efforts under way to tide over water crisis; long-pending ropeway will be a reality soon, says tourism official

Horsley Hills, the one and only 160-year-old hill station in Andhra Pradesh, which faced the worst-ever water crisis in 2015, has a ray of hope this year with steady inflow of tourists from all over India, particularly from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The Kadapa District Collector during the British rule, W.D. Horsley, discovered the beauty of the gigantic 4,312-ft.-high hill near Madanapalle in 1857. In a record time of a couple of years, he had transformed it into a hill station. The resort gradually took the name of its discoverer.

It had served many a British officer and royal family visiting it to beat the oppressive summer heat in South India till Independence.

Later, the hill station faded into oblivion. And it is yet to regain its lost glory. In spite of this, the very mention of Horsley Hills means romance and beauty to nature-lovers and tourists. After the State’s bifurcation in 2014, the hill station has topped the list of thrust areas of the AP Tourism.

The accommodation potential has risen to over 500 tourists from half of the figure. An amount of Rs. 50 lakh was spent to construct tent-model cottages, which would be ready in the next few months.

The annual revenue suddenly shot up to Rs. 3 crore from a few lakhs before 2014.

The hill station has everything to attract tourists such as trampoline, meltdown zone, adventure combo, bull ride, canopy walk, and view points at dizzy heights overlooking steep valleys, mini-zoo park, swimming pools, and, above all, cool climate round the year, which feature has brought it the title ‘Andhra Ooty’.

The Governor’s Bungalow and Forest Bungalow are an added attraction, for they have turned historical monuments.

To meet the water needs of the tourists, the hill station completely depends on water pumped from the foothills.

At present, water is being pumped to the hilltop through pipelines up to a distance of nearly 8 km in eight stages.

The daily average consumption stands at one lakh litres. The consumption could be more in the summer months. In 2015, when groundwater totally dried up, the tourists were forced to return immediately on arrival.

District Tourism Manager D.V. Chandramouli Reddy told The Hindu that the administration was all set to execute a master plan, giving top priority to overcome the water crisis and give wide publicity to attract tourists.

“In fact, the space available on the hill is just two square km, and congestion will be another problem. In the next one decade, Horsley Hills will definitely be one of the best hill stations with global standards. The long-pending ropeway will be a reality soon,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / byK. Umashanker / Chittoor – April 19th, 2016