Visakhapatnam

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Map showing Visakhapatnam district

Visakhapatnam (విశాఖపట్నం) (also Vishākhapatnam, shortened and Anglicized: Vizag or Vizagapatnam) is a Port city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the eastern shore of India nestled among the Eastern Ghats Hill Ranges and facing the Bay of Bengal on the East. City is about 650 KM on North-East from Hyderabad.

Alternatively, it sometimes goes by its British colonial name- Waltair. During the colonial era, the city had at its hub the Waltair railway station, and that part of the city still goes by the name of Waltair.

The City is home to several State Owned Heavy Industries, has one of the Country's largest ports, and its oldest Shipyard. It has the only natural harbour on the eastern coast of India.

Andhra University, a prominent seat of education in Andhra Pradesh, is located here.

Vizag is primarily an Industrial City apart from being a Tourist Destination. It draws tourists to its unspoilt beaches, nearby scenic Araku valley and Borra caves, the 11th century Simhachalam temple, and ancient Buddhist sites spread across the area.

The City boasts a submarine museum, the first of its kind in South East Asia, at Rama Krishna Beach.

Visakhapatnam is also the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.

History

Ramayana and Mahabharata

The city is named after the God of valour, Visakha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, who is also the ruler of the planet Mars and the God of war.

The antiquity of the region is evident as it is mentioned in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The former tells of the forests through which Rama travelled in search of his abducted wife Sita , and where he meets his devotee, Shabari, who directs him to the mountains where Hanuman lives. Rama also meets Jambuvan, half-bear half-man, who helps him in his battle with Ravana. It was here, too, that Bheema defeated the demon Bakasura - the Pandava's huge stone club can be seen in the village of Uppalam, about 40 km away.

500 BCE to 2000 AD

This region, formerly part of the great Kalinga empire that stretched up to the river Godavari, has also been mentioned in Hindu and Buddhist texts from the 5th and 6th centuries BCE, as well as by Sanskrit grammarians, Panini and Katyayana in the 4th century BCE.

This city was ruled by several dynasties: the Kalingas during the 7th century, the Chankyas during the 8th century, and later the Rajahmundry Reddy kings, the Cholas, the Qutb Shahis of Golconda, the Mughal Empire, and the Nizams of Hyderabad.

Scenic beauty of Vizag beach

Local legend has it that an Andhra king (9-11th century), on his way to Benares, rested there. So enchanted was he with the sheer beauty of the place that he ordered a temple to be built in honor of his family deity, Visakha. Archaeological sources, however, reveal that the temple was possibly built between the 11th and 12th centuries by the Chola king, Kulottunga. A shipping merchant, Sankarayya Chetty, built one of the mandapams, or pillared halls of the temple. Though it no longer exists - it may have been washed away about 100 years ago by a cyclonic storm - elderly residents of Vizag talk of visits to the ancient shrine by their grandparents.

In the 18th century, Visakhapatnam was part of the Northern Circars, a region of Coastal Andhra that came first under French control, and was later captured by the British. Visakhapatnam became a district in the Madras Presidency of British India. After India's independence this was the biggest district in the country, and was subsequently divided into the three districts of Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram and Visakhapatnam.

The City/Town

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Vizag Port

From a tiny little fishing village in the previous century, Vizag has emerged into an industrial hub and has seen tremendous growth since India's economic liberalization in the early 1990s. Fortunately, the city has not seen the urban sprawl that characterizes many older Indian cities.

In the seventies and the eighties the city grew rapidly with a lot of investments in the state owned Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Vizag Steel, and other major industries.

While its airport is relatively small, activity has picked up with the entry of two new budget airlines: Air Sahara and Air Deccan operating there along with the State-owned Indian Airlines. Vizag Airport has recently received permission to operate night flights, and is in the process of constructing a new 10000-foot long runway to accommodate international flights and larger aircraft.

With the Telangana movement for a seperate Telangana state carved out of Andhra Pradesh, Vizag has witnessed a hike in investment and property prices on account of being a possible choice for the next capital (with Vijaywada being the leading candidate).

Economy

The city's growth has mostly been due to its heavy industries (both state owned and private) such as...

• HPCL – Oil Refinery (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited)
• Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL))
• Hindustan Zinc Limited
• Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels Ltd (BHPV).
• Hindustan Shipyard Limited
• Coramandel Fertilizers

Its traditional importance in ship building is confirmed by the fact that India's first ship, the "Jala Usha" was launched in Vizag.

Vizag is also one of India's main fishing ports, has a dedicated harbour for the fishing industry and handles a large percentage of India's seafood exports.

The Vizag Special Economic Zone plays a vital role in the industrial growth of the City.

The Andhra Pradesh government is trying to confirm deals with Wipro, TCS and Volkswagen to set up a presence in the city. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has also expressed interest in setting up a research centre and a nuclear power plant here.

IT/ITES Industry

Apart from the traditional industries, several Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing companies have established centres in the city in the past few years, adding to its growth.

• HSBC BPO
• NuNet Technologies
• Satyam Computer Services Ltd.
• Gallega Software Solutions Inc

Several other companies which are currently established in Hyderabad have also expressed interest to expand into Vizag.

Events

Despite being on the coast, Vizag was little affected during the disastrous December, 2004 Tsunami. The tsunami did wash the stock of some fish warehouses out to sea.

Vizag was recently expanded into Greater Visakha, incorporating the Steel Plant and previous outskirts like Gajuwaka and Madhurawada into the city limits. This also increased Vizag's population by approximately 500,000 people.

Timeline of Vizag's history

• 260 BCE: Ashoka conquered the Kalinga empire (of which Vizag was a part).
• 208: Chandra Sri Satakarni was king of this region.
• 14th Century: Simhachalam Temple built.
• 1515: Krishna Deva Raya was ruler of the area comprising Vizag
• Mid-17th Century: A factory was founded in "Vizagapatam" by the British East India Company.
• 1689: This factory was occupied by the forces of Aurangzeb.
• 1735: Dutch Colony was established.
• 1765: The territory of the Northern Circars, of which Vizag was a part, ceded to the East India Company on dissolution of the Moghul Empire. Following this, a British colony was established.
• 1904: Railway from Madras to Calcutta, passing through Vizagapatam was opened.
• 1923 :Andhra medical college started .
• 1926: Andhra University established.
• 1933: Visakhapatnam Port established.
• 1942: Japanese war planes attack Vizag.
• 1947: Eastern Naval Command established its base here. Prior to 1947 the Royal Navy had a base in HMIS Sircars.
• 1949: Scindia Shipyard started. Later nationalised and called Hindustan Shipyard.
• 1957: A petroleum refinery by Caltex, currently owned by HPCL.
• 1971: INS Rajput of the Indian Navy destroys the Pakistani submarine Ghazi in the Indo-Pak War off the coast of Visakhapatnam.
• 1981: Visakhapatnam Steel Plant commenced operations.

Vizag pictures

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Websites About Visakhapatnam

http://www.Vizaginfo.com
http://www.VizagInfo.net
http://unix2.iimb.ernet.in/~yadav03
http://www.visakha.org
http://www.vizagcityonline.com
http://www.vizagnews.com
http://www.vuda.org
http://www.vizagredcross.org http://www.andhrauniversity.info http://www.vizagpressclub.com