A 3km trek into the forest, rangoli competition, flash mob, fashion show and cultural programmes marked the third and final day of Araku Utsav, a tourism festival titled ‘Chali’, at Araku valley in Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district on Sunday. The number of visitors to the event saw a rise on Sunday, compared to the other two days.
The adventure trek was organised with volunteers, environmentalists and enthusiastic tourists from Sunkarametta Coffee Gardens, at early morning on Sunday. A team from Madhya Pradesh supported the trekking event and created awareness about the protection of forests, consequences of plastic use in forest areas. The trekkers, sighted birds, medicinal plants among others.
The rangoli competition organised at the Tribal Museum, meanwhile, received good response. A large number of girls and women from the surrounding areas of Araku, and several tourists participated. ASR district Collector A.S. Dinesh Kumar and Anakapalli district Collector Vijaya Krishnan who attended the programme as chief guest, gave away the first prize to B. Devi and second to L. Madhu Sri, both from Araku.
The flower show at the newly-opened Padmapuram Botanical Gardens also received good reception. A number of tourists from various parts of the State, Odisha and West Bengal were seen capturing pictures.
Cultural programmes, on the other hand, included folk and western dances by artists from Manipur, Odisha. They entertained the crowds gathered during the closing ceremony at Government Degree College Grounds. Sri Jayabhaskar Thala Vaidyam, shadow dance by Manipur team, Egyptian Tanoura dance, and folk songs were performed as part of the programmes.
Published – February 02, 2025 08:04 pm IST