Over one lakh people likely to attend two-day Pakala Beach Festival

Over one lakh people are expected to visit Pakala Beach in Singarayakonda mandal in Prakasam district on February 14-15, 2026. It is not to celebrate Valentine’s Day or Maha Sivaratri, but to enjoy Pakala Beach Festival to be held this weekend. Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), Tourism Department and Maritime Board are jointly hosting this event.

To promote the maiden beach festival here, the local ministers, political leaders and government officials have been actively participating in a series of small events to make it a grand success. AP Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar has launched the poster last Friday. Later, State Social Welfare Minister Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy released a promotional video.

The Minister along with District Collector P. Raja Babu, Maritime Board Chairman Damacharla Satyanarayana, APTDC Chairman Nookasani Balaji, and various college students participated in a beach cleaning programme on Sunday. Local MLA Damacharla Janardhana Rao conducted a curtain raiser event in Ongole on Monday.

A 2K run will be organised in Kandukuru, Kanigiri and Podili under the auspices of the concerned MLAs on Tuesday. A yoga programme will be organised at the Pakala Beach on Wednesday. Apart from cultural programmes and food stalls, the two-day event will feature helicopter rides, boat rides, paragliding, beach volleyball, throw ball, kabaddi, tennikoit, tug of war and musical chair.

Mr. Veeranjaneya Swamy is closely observing the arrangements for the beach festival as it is being held in his own Kondapi constituency. He said, “After the development of this beach, huge number of visitors are coming from all parts of the State. Around 10,000 people visited the beach each day during Sankranthi festival period.”

“Pakala Beach has been developed as a very safe beach. Due to the installation of a bay watch tower on this beach to alert visitors at all times, not a single death took place here this year. Several programmes are being carried out to publicise its importance across the combined Prakasam district,” he informed.

Earlier, Mr. Gottipati Ravi Kumar stated that the development of Pakala Beach will generate large-scale employment and livelihood opportunities for local youth. This beach is being developed on the lines of popular tourist destinations such as Chirala and Suryalanka beaches, so that the backward region in Prakasam district will witness significant growth and development.

He expressed confidence that the tourism sector will emerge as one of the largest employment-generating sectors in the coming days. He urged local youth to make the best use of the job and self-employment opportunities created through tourism. He called upon local residents to take the lead in promoting the beach as a tourist-friendly site.