Serene ‘Papi Hills’ Illegally Promoting Sex Tourism In AP

By Raja Ramana / Rajahmundry

Of late, the Rajahmundry-Papikondalu cruise in river Godavari has turned into a sinful affair what with unscrupulous private boat operators offering sleazy packages to sex-starved tourists much to the chagrin of nature lovers who detest the very idea having such anti-socials for company on board.

This trend is largely attributed to the lack of proper surveillance on the part of officials of the irrigation and forest departments. But for their soft-peddling, it is extremely difficult for unauthorised boats and launches to ferry tourists to the serene Papi Hills.

Unauthorised boat operators are said to be making fast buck cashing in on lewd tourists. Private launches have virtually turned into mobile brothels.
On a tip off, the police conducted raids and seized two launches in which prostitution was being organised. The police inspected a launch Jalasri and took 16 women and eight men into custody. The police identified that the youth belong to Maharashtra and the girls hail from Peddapuram, Rajahmundry and Visakhapatnam.

It is learnt that some people are booking the launches or boats by paying higher amounts. The bamboo huts located on the sand dunes between Rajahmundry and Papi Hills have also turned into hubs of sex trade.

Meanwhile, boat operators are not following the security norms. Many a time, the boats get bogged down in the middle of the river creating panic among the tourists. As per rules, the boat operators should provide life jackets besides being equipped with fire extinguishers and 60 to 70 HP engines. The boats should also have 8 mm safety iron plate at the bottom and girders around it.

As if this is is not enough, the operators are overloading 150 to 200 tourists as against the permitted 100 passengers.

Along with the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), private organisations such as Anand Tourism, Nandini, Sai Maruthi, Punnami, Sitara Jalasri and Godavari Vihari are operating launches to Papi Hills.

Though boats are banned from being operated when the government issues the first flood warning, some private operators are paying no attention to it endangering the lives of tourists.

Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department, which issues licences to launches, is not verifying the fitness of boats.