Overcrowding, littering by noisy tourists take toll on sensitive hilly ecology of Lammasingi

Visakhapatnam: Barely a decade ago, there used to be a pristine, misty hilly village in the Agency (tribal) area in Visakhapatnam district, 130 km from Visakhapatnam city and 30 km from Narsipatnam called Lammasingi (Lambasingi).

Very few adventure enthusiasts from the plains used to visit the place, pitch their tents, star gaze at night, soak in the cold morning mist, observe the flora and fauna, enjoy tranquil nature, and go away.

However, in the last few years, Lammasingi witnessed a sudden spurt in visitors’ footfall in December-January as misinformation about the climate of the place circulated in social media and even some news reports.

It was stated that Lammasingi (now in ASR district) is Andhra’s Kashmir, with winter temperatures dipping very low to one or two degrees or even zero degrees, which is an exaggeration because the temperature ranges between 7 degrees to 22 degrees. Apart from the existing coffee cultivation, strawberry and avocado farming also started in the area, which added to the attraction of the place.

Though the craze for Araku Valley remained, especially among tourists from West Bengal and Odisha, the influx of visitors increased in Lammasingi as well, who are mostly from Vizag, other coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, and a few from Telangana.

And the weekend rush in the fragile ecological area now sees at least 10,000-15,000 tourists, yelling, hooting, boozing, littering, creating chaos, completely ruining the serenity of the scenic place.

Experience of visitors

“I visited in peak winter just before the outbreak of Covid. The early morning view covered in dense fog and clouds is like walking through a dream. The mist was so dense that you could barely see the person in front of you. Picking fresh, organic strawberries from the field for the first time was a real stress-buster. However, we didn’t find a single decent spot to grab a cup of hot coffee and soak in the chill vibes, except for a few roadside shacks offering tea. The place has the potential to be a beautiful tourist spot if they amp up the facilities,” said Ishita Ray, a content writer and resident of Vizag.

Adnan Sabuwala, from Dragon Jade Biking Club (DJBC), pointed out that the roads leading to the place were excellent and it was a pleasure driving to the spot to observe the mist and dewdrops at dawn. “From an adventure travel company, we hired tents for overnight stay. However, the garbage littered around the area was an eyesore. I wish the beautiful place was well maintained and cleaner,” said DJBC leader Kiran Pollipali.

Littering, polluting, tree-cutting and overcrowding

Voicing his concern over excessive footfall in the fragile Agency area, Sohan Hatangadi, an environmental sustainability campaigner and frequent visitor to Lammasingi, said, “With plastic litter and garbage burning, tree cutting and overcrowding, the climate has been getting warmer in the last one decade. Sightings of flora and fauna have also come down due to human interference and noise. Many trees have been cut for pitching tents, for constructing a highway to Vizianagaram, and plowing of fields using a tractor has removed the topsoil, thereby changing the topography of the vulnerable site. Worse, Lammasingi lacks a solid waste disposal system and all the garbage generated including plastic is either found littered or burned adding to air pollution.”

This year, the night temperature at Lammasingi has been 10-12 degrees Celsius while in the early morning, it is around seven to eight degrees and increases during the daytime, ranging between 15 and 22 degrees Celsius, informed Sohan, who had taken the average temperature at different timings. Due to the cyclonic rains in early December, there has been around 80 per cent loss in strawberry production. It has been a bad year for other products like avocado and zucchini as well.

Despite calling and messaging the Integrated Tribal Development Authority (ITDA) project officer regarding plans for a proper garbage disposal system and development of the area, he did not respond.

Tent tourism picking up

Some tour operators are resorting to pitching dozens of tents on an open field for overnight visitors, who mainly come to Lammasingi to enjoy the cool misty dawn and sunrise. The ordinary tents, priced between Rs 1,500 to 2,500 often do not have attached toilets but not well-maintained shared toilets are provided. There are however relatively expensive log and cement cabins, which have attached toilets and more new constructions are coming up.

Cons of tourism

- Absence of a solid waste management system, resulting in the generation of a lot of garbage, especially plastic waste.

- Littering by tourists and petty vendors from the plains and burning of waste.

- Flattening of the hills and removal of topsoil using machinery for making places to pitch tents by local tour operators.

- Overcrowding by visitors in winter.

- Visitors make a lot of noise, drink and drive, and squabble, all of which affect the serenity of the scenic place.

- Massive axing of big trees in the stretch between Chintapalli and Lammasingi to build a state highway.

- Lack of infrastructure including proper accommodation and restaurants at Lammasingi.

- The tourism department’s resorts are still incomplete since 2017 due to a lack of funds.

- No proper public toilets, no proper parking facilities, traffic jams caused by too many vehicles flocking to the area on winter weekends.

Pros of tourism

- For an agriculture-based economy like Lammasingi, tourism provides supplementary income for a couple of months for a few tribal families who supply food items to tent operators and visitors.

- From coffee to spices, strawberries to avocado, a variety of crops can be grown in the cool climes of Lammasingi.

- For Rs 35 crores, a tribal freedom fighters’ museum is coming up at nearby Tajangi, funded jointly by the State and Centre, namely the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GOI and Tribal Welfare Engineering Department of AP.