Hamasaladeevi

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Hamasaladeevi is a village in Krishna District in Andhra Pradesh. It is also known as "Swan Island".

The river Krishna branches in to two streams at Puligadda near Avanigadda. The eastern stream empties into the Bay of Bengal at Palakayi Tippa, 5 kilometres from Hamsaladeevi. TIPPA or DIBBA in Telugu means elevated land. The western stream again branches into three streams, Lankavani Dibba Krishna, Naasagunta Krishna, and Venisagaram Krishna, and then empties into the Bay of Bengal.

The people of Andhra Pradesh worship the River Krishna by the name "Goddess Krishna Veni". Nearly 8% of the total cultivated land in the country is in the Krishna River watershed.

One can see the beauty of the River Krishna which merges in to the Bay of Bengal (Samudrudu) at Palakayi Tippa. This place can be reached by road and the actual 'Sagara Sangamam' (confluence with the ocean) is a few kilometers away and can also be reached by road. The road ends at a beach and one needs to travel further along the beach (not very safe late in the evening during the high tide) for another kilometer before reaching the confluence point. At the point, there is a sign warning people not go more than a few meters into the water (the water at that point is apparently 30 feet deep) - there are cement pillars erected to indicate the safe area.

There is a building erected near the point and if one climbs it for a bird's-eye view, one can clearly see the river dumping water(of a slightly different color) and soil into the sea (which looks very blue in the afternoon sun). The confluence (along with the swans on the beach) is a visual treat for anybody who loves nature and it offers a deep spiritual experience for the religiously inclined.

There is also an old Venugopalaswamy(Lord Krishna) temple at Hamsaladeevi - the 'pujari'(Hindu priest) in-charge even gives us a brief history (and a lot of legend) about how the temple came up. People celebrate 'Magha Pournami' (February) as a holy day. That day 'Anna daanam' (food-donation) is done for who ever comes to visit this place.

Hamsaladeevi can be reached by Bus from Vijayawada or from Gudivada.