Bhogapuram Airport Opens With 13,000 Tribal Dancers on August 1

Nearly 300,000 people from five districts – Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Anakapalli and Parvathipuram Manyam – are expected to attend. Around 5,000 buses will ferry participants from 36 Assembly constituencies. MT Krishna Babu, Chief Officer of the Airport Inauguration Committee, said one LED screen will be installed for every 5,000 attendees so the crowd can watch the Prime Minister's address.

The Dhimsa dance, performed by groups of 15 to 20 women in traditional sarees and ornaments, features synchronized circular movements set to indigenous instruments. An Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department official described it as the best-known cultural expression of the Araku Valley hill tribes. The Mori wind instrument and Thudum and Dappu drums accompany the dancers. The dance's forms portray worship, hunting, agriculture and daily life.

The cultural showcase is not just ceremonial. Araku Valley is a growing tourism draw, and the airport's larger capacity could lift visitor numbers to tribal regions. For GMR Airports, the Bhogapuram facility diversifies its portfolio beyond Delhi and Hyderabad, adding exposure to a state with rising air travel demand. The scalable design means the company can add capacity as Andhra Pradesh's economy expands, without the constraints of older urban airports.