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Visakhapatnam

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Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
city
Map
Government
 • CommissionerMeena
Population
 (2001)
 • Total
1,498,900

Visakhapatnam pronunciationⓘ(telugu - విశాఖపట్నం) (also Viśākhapattanamu, 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 hills of the Eastern Ghats and facing the Bay of Bengal to the east. The city is about 650km northeast of Hyderabad. The city is the administrative headquarters of Visakhapatnam District.

Alternatively, it sometimes goes by its now mostly defunct colonial British 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. It is also popularly referred to as "Vizag", a shortening of its full name. It is sometimes also referred to as the "City of Destiny".[citation needed]

The city is home to several state owned heavy industries, one of the most advanced steel plant and 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. Tourists are attracted by its unspoilt beaches, nearby scenic Araku Valley and Borra caves, the 11th-century Simhachalam temple and ancient Buddhist sites like Totlakonda & Bavikonda spread across the area.

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

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

History and Culture

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 Chalukyas during the 8th century, the Cholas, the Qutb Shahis of Golconda, the Mughal Empire and the Nizams of Hyderabad.

Scenic beauty of Vizag beach

Local legend says 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 honour 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 Chola I. A shipping merchant, Sankarayya Chetty, built one of the mandapams, or pillared halls, of the temple. Although it no longer exists (it may have been washed away about a hundred years ago by a cyclonic storm), elderly residents of Vizag talk of visits to the ancient shrine by their grandparents. Noted author Ganapatiraju Atchutarama Raju contradicted this [1].

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

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[1] Visakhapatnam had a population of 3,198,960. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Visakhapatnam has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74% and female literacy is 63%. In Visakhapatnam, 10% of the population is younger than six.

Language

Visakhapatnam is predominantly Telugu speaking city. The Telugu spoken by the middle classes is a standard dialect with a good dose of English words, while a significant population who have settled down in the city from adjoining villages and neighbouring districts mainly Vizianagaram and Srikakulam speak Uttarandhra (North Coastal) Mandalikam (dialect). But even in Uttarandhra dialect there are subtle differences and in fact Telugu spoken in Srikakulam (Kalinga Andhra) is quite different from Telugu spoken in Visakhapatnam. Historians believe that centuries ago, when Uttarandhra was part of Kalinga empire Buddhist Missionaries and Merchants might have taken Telugu (derived from Brahmi script)script to Southeast Asia from the shores of Uttarandhra where it parented into the scripts of Mon, Burmese, Thai, Khmer, Siam, Javanese and Balinese languages and even Sinhala of Srilanka. Their similarities to Telugu script can be discerned even today. Vizag is also home to a large Oriya and Bengali communities. One can find Oriya inscriptions in Simhachalam temple and the temple in fact thrives on pilgrims of Orissa. Vizag due to the NAVY and high concentration of public sector industries has good amount of Hindi speaking people. Vizag is also home to a large section of muslim's most of them date back to many generations in Vizag which makes Hindi probably second most popular spoken language in vizag.

The City/Town

Vishakapatnam Railway station

From being a small fishing village in the nineteenth century, Vizag has grown into an industrial hub. Its saga began with the quest of British to find a suitable port that connects the rich mineral belt of Central provinces with the East Coast. Unlike western coast of India, East Coast have few undulations to form a natural harbour. Their quest for finding out a harbour ended with Vizag. Vizag is the most protected natural harbour in India. They started building a harbour in 1927 and in 1933 it was opened to traffic. One more important milestone is setting up of Scindia Steam Navigation Co. later known as Hindustan Shipyard Ltd in 1940. With the construction of KK line connecting iron ore mines of Biladila in MP (present day Chattisgarh) its importance grew. In 1950s and 1960s Government and private sector setting up some largescale Basic industries like Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels (BHPV), Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Caltex oil refinery (later acquired by Government as HPCL), Coramandel fertilizers, Andhra Polymers (Now LG Polymers), etc. 1980s saw a major development with the setting up of Vizag steelVizag Steel and other major industries. Economic liberalization in the 1990s brought a modest growth to the city but not as much as it did to the state capital, Hyderabad. However, some industries sprang up like Rain calclining Ltd., Expansion of HPCL, Setting up of Vizag Export Processing zone, Simhadri Thermal Power plant of NTPC, etc. The urban sprawl that characterizes other major cities has yet to be seen in Vizag.

Due to the presence of Eastern Naval Command, Steel Plant, HPCL, the city has been the home to people from different parts of the country and due to this the city has a cosmopolitan texture to it.

The city's main commercial and shopping centres are located in the Dwaraka Nagar-RTC Complex area and Jagadamda Junction area. In the recent years since 2000, the Dwaraka Nagar-RTC Complex area has transformed into a commercial hub with new shopping malls and complexes spring up within a radius of 2-3 kilometers.

Vizag is well connected with daily flights from Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Tirupati, and Raipur. With the entry of several new airlines, Air Sahara, Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines, and Paramount Airways operating there along with the state-owned airline Indian, there has been a modest increase in frequency of the flights. Vizag Airport has recently received permission to operate night flights, a new runway 10,000 feet long was contructed and became operational to accommodate international flights and larger aircraft. Visakhapatnam has a good network of roads.there are frequent buses to vizianagaram,srikakulam,araku and rajahmundry.There are even bus services to hyderabad,vijaywada and few parts of orissa. The city is home to many five star hotels with the presence of Taj group, ITC Welcomegroup & Park hotels group. Only city in Andhrapradesh that has an Airport, Seaport, Railway & Bus connectivities.

There has been a rise in the real estate prices, mainly attributed to the Telangana movement for a separate Telangana state, some speculate on Vizag becoming the next capital. Satyam Computer Services Limited opened software development center in 2007.While smaller companies with around 75 - 100 employees like Encore Indiaa Recruitment Process Outsourcing firm with its headquarters in Los Angeles and Operations in Visakhapatnam have been in existance since 2004. Recently various other large and small software and BPO companies such as Patra Corporation, ,Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services Limited have announced their plans for starting development and outsourcing centers in Vizag, which has also contributed to the rise in real estate prises. Inflows from NRIs from Vizag has further added to this rise. Leading Cisco Partner Datasoft Comnet Pvt. Ltd. has setup the Operations of Patra Corp. and a host of other ITES companies etc. and also provide LAN and WAN consultancy to the Various BPOs and ITES companies in Vizag.

The city has the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park setup in the year 1972 at the city outskirts. The Zoo Park features some of the rarest species in India.[2]

Educational Facilities

Visakhapatnam is also considered as one of the main centres of education in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The Mrs.A.V.N. College is one of the oldest and premier educational institutions established in 1878.[3] It is the home of the renowned Andhra University (established in 1926). Prof S. Radhakrishnan, before he became the President of India, worked as the Vice Chancellor of this university between 1931 to 1936. The university and its affiliated colleges provide high quality and affordable education to thousands of students not only from the northern region of Andhra Pradesh but of the entire state. Post Graduate and Graduate courses are offered in various branches like Arts, Commerce, Science & Technology, Engineering, IT, Business Management,Law and Pharmacy.

Another important landmark in the education map of Visakhapatnam is the Andhra Medical College (established 1902). The college has ushered in an era of Medical Education in Visakhapatnam and continues to uphold the prestigious tradition of engendering the finest doctors from its aisles.

Coming down to the primary, high school and college level,Visakhapatnam has several good institutions, providing quality education. Apart from state run schools for the poor, there are many private institutions and missionary schools and colleges all of which provide quality education. Few of these schools have been running since more than 75 years whereas St. Aloysius Anglo-Indian High School was established in 1847 and is one of the oldest in India.

Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech) will establish its campus in Vizag. Making it the first foreign university to establish a campus in India.

Visakhapatnam has now become a preferred destination for students after Hyderabad. The city now has a large number of engineering colleges. The prominent institutions are -

There is one famous polytechnic college in Visakhapatnam -

  • Government Polytechnic - VSKP

One more famous educational institution in Vizag is St. Frances De Sales (SFS) situated in Seethammadhara.

Economy

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

Total logistics India Pvt Ltd

Its traditional importance in shipbuilding 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 has confirmed deals with Satyam and Wipro to set up a presence in the city. Satyam's office has already been built and started working. Wipro's office is coming up on the site of the old TB hospital. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has also expressed interest in setting up a research centre and a nuclear power plant here.

Sports

Vishakapatnam has 7 cricket stadiums which are used for Ranji Trophy matches. However only 2 of these stadiums have been used for One Day International ("ODI") matches.

  • Indira Priyadarshini Stadium (5 ODI Matches): Also known as the Municipal Corporation Stadium, it hosted the first ODI match on 9 December 1988 and the last of the 5 on 3 April2001. The stadium has discontinued hosting ODI matches in favor of the newer ACA-VDCA Stadium, which is situated in the satellite township of Madhurawada. The stadium is set amidst the hills and offers a scenic view.
  • ACA-VDCA Stadium (2 ODI Matches): The ACA-VDCA Stadium has hosted 2 ODIs with India winning against Pakistan in the first and against Sri Lanka in the second.

The city of Vizag has never hosted a Test Match. The ACA-VDCA Stadium was recently awarded Test status. This makes the ACA stadium the ninth stadium to have a Test status in the country and the second in Andhra Pradesh.

IT/ITES Industry

Vizag city has about 50 small and medium software and call centre units, of which about 10 units started their operations during the year 2005-07; the foremost being Sand Software Solutions,Mahathi Software[2],Miracle Consultancy,Encore India,Patra Corp,NuNet Technologies,Synectic infotech,Graymatter Informatics, Symbiosys Technologiesfollowed by HSBC and which have spawned several rapidly growing organizations through their American relations. Software exports from the Visakhapatnam region increased by around 56 per cent at Rs 109 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2006, as compared to Rs 70 crore in the corresponding previous year.IT Infrastructure support is available from Leading Cisco Partner Datasoft Computers to enable BPO and ITES units setup operations quickly. Many ISPs like VSNL, Bharti/Airtel, VOL etc. provide Internet connectivity at aggressive prices.

Knowledge City

The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has awarded the bid to construct a Knowledge City to Unitech Limited in an area of 1750 acres.[4]

Famous Personalities

1) Alluri Sitaramaraju - Freedom Fighter
2) Sir Dr.C.V. Raman graduated high school from A.V.N. High School.
3) Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan- Served as Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University (1931-1936).
4) Y Venugopala Rao - Cricketer: He made his One Day International debut against Sri Lanka on July 30, 2005.

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.
  • 11th century: Simhachalam Temple built by Kulottunga I.
  • 13th century: Simhachalam Temple renovated and made southern imperial centre by the Ganga king Narasimha I of Orissa.
  • 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: The British 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 British East India Company by the Nizam of Hyderabad. Following this, a British colony was established.
  • 1904: Railway from Madras to Calcutta, passing through Vizagapatam, was opened.
  • 1902 :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. Before 1947 the Royal Navy had a base in HMIS Sircars.
  • 1949: Scindia Shipyard started. Later nationalised and called Hindustan Shipyard.
  • 1953: The Boat Repair Shop expanded into a Base Repair Organisation (BRO) and shifted to the location at the mouth of the northwest channel.
  • 1957: A petroleum refinery by Caltex, currently owned by HPCL.
  • 1965: Two survey ships, "Jumna" and "Investigator", were permanently rebased at Visakhapatnam.
  • 1971: INS Rajput of the Indian Navy destroys the Pakistani submarine Ghazi in the Indo-Pak War off the coast of Visakhapatnam.
  • 1977: Indira Gandhi Zoological Park established near Madhuravada.
  • 1981: Visakhapatnam Steel Plant commenced operations.
  • 1997: September 14 - A blast in HPCL with an official death toll of 33.

Vizag pictures

  • View of the amazingly beautiful Gangavaram beach.
    View of the amazingly beautiful Gangavaram beach.
  • View from Kailashgiri
    View from Kailashgiri
  • Another view from Kailashgiri.
    Another view from Kailashgiri.
  • View of Vizag city from Kailashgiri.
    View of Vizag city from Kailashgiri.
  • Fishermen in Vizag.
    Fishermen in Vizag.
  • A lion dancer from a local festival.
    A lion dancer from a local festival.
  • An image from hilltop of Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary
    An image from hilltop of Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary
  • the buddha statue in thotlakonda,visakhapatnam.
    the buddha statue in thotlakonda,visakhapatnam.
  • the floral clock on kailash giri hill.
    the floral clock on kailash giri hill.
  • city view from simhachalam.
    city view from simhachalam.

References

  1. ^ Template:GR
  2. ^ "The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam".
  3. ^ Home Page of Mrs.A.V.N.College
  4. ^ "APIIC confirmed Unitech bid for Knowledge City".

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