Gandikota is a small village with a historical fort on the right bank of the Pennar river, 15 kms. from Jammalamadugu in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The history of this place dates back to 1100 CE. Over time the area has become famous for the deep gorge formed by the river Pennar. The beauty of the gorge has often been compared to the Grand Canyon in Colorado, USA. In addition to a historical fort built during the latter half of the 13th Century AD, there are ancient temples, a masjid, a jail, a step well and a granary.
Gandikota as a tourist destination, provides the enthusiastic traveller with spectacular views of the gorge, natural beauty, ancient history, and temple architecture.
A lot has been written in the social media glorifying the attractions of Gandikota with eye catching photographs and mesmerizing videos drawing the attention of potential tourists to the place.
All this does not reflect the depressing picture on ground. Once you get there, you find Gandikota crying out hoarsely for attention. This wonderful place has been reduced to a dumping yard for garbage. Neither the concerned State nor Central Government agencies seem to be taking any interest in its cleanliness, upkeep and maintenance. There appears to be a deep sense of apathy and neglect towards this heritage which is of national importance. Terrible approach roads, no meaningful signage or informative boards about the history of the area to help the tourist, third rate eating places and a complete absence of clean public toilets and waste bins, are some of the serious issues which stand out.
In this blame game, we tourists are also responsible for this mess. We litter the place without any hesitation. The ‘Litter Gang’ should be fined and punished if need be.
We proudly talk of Bharat reaching USD 3 Trillion economy, India on its way to becoming a ‘Vishwa Guru’, and so on. In tandem we must develop a method to invest in our heritage assets and bring them up to international tourist standards.
It’s a wakeup call for the Government of India, Andhra Pradesh and their various archaeological and tourism organizations to restore Gandikota to a position of pre-eminence.
I do hope someone is listening.
Captain's Corner 
There are other places crying for attention. When you visit Konarak, you are greeted by along line of shanty shops all along the way to the site. There is a dilapidated toilet badly maintained. Also no eateries. The structure itself has repair strictures that look like they are not in active use. All in all depressing.
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