Visakhapatnam
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Template:Infobox Indian urban area Visakhapatnam (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 but mostly defunct 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
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 Chalukyas during the 8th century, the Cholas, the Qutb Shahis of Golconda, the Mughal Empire, and the Nizams of Hyderabad.
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 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. Noted litterateur Ganapatiraju Atchutarama Raju contradicted this http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2002/07/15/stories/2002071501150200.htm
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 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. Famous People
The City/Town
From being a tiny little fishing village in the ninteenth century, Vizag has grown into an industrial hub. 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. Economic liberalization in the ninties did bring a modest growth to the city but not as much as it did to the state capital Hyderabad. The urban sprawl that characterizes other major cities is yet to be seen here.
It has a small airport( which shuts down quite frequently when there is heavy rain due to flooding) and has daily flights from Hyderabad and Mumbai. With the entry of two new budget airlines: Air Sahara and Air Deccan operating there along with the State-owned Indian Airlines, there's a modest increase in frequency of the flights. 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.
There has been a rise in the real estate prices, mainly attributed to the Telangana movement for a separate Telangana state with some speculating on Vizag becoming the next capital.
Colleges
- Andhra University - Comprises of Colleges of science, Arts & Commerce, College of Engineering etc. [1]
- AL-Ameer College Of Engineering[2]
- Anil Neerukonda Institute of Technology and Sciences (ANITS)[3]
- Avanthi Institute of Engineering and Technology (AIET) [4]
- Chaitanya Engineering College
- Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) [5]
- Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering (GVPCOE) [6]
- Dr. N. S. Kolla School of Business [7]
- Dr. LB College
- Pydah College
- Raghu Engineering College [8]
- Samata Institute of Post Graduate Studies
- Sanketika Vidya Parishad College Of Engineering
- Vignan's Institute Of information Technology
- Mrs. A.V.N. College[9]
- St.joseph College for Women
Schools
- St.Peter's Elementary School, Gnanapuram
- St.Peter's High School, Gnanapuram
- Jassver English Medium School, Lawsons Bay Colony
- Seventh Day Adventist High School, Jagadamba Center
- DAV Centenary Public School, Ukkunagaram
- Kotak Salesian School, Waltair
- Sacred Heart's High School
- St. Aloysius Anglo-Indian High School, Old Post Office
- Satya Sai Vidhya Vihar
- SFS School, Seethammadhara
- St. Ann's High School
- St. Joseph's High School & Junior College
- Timpany High School
- Visakha Valley School
- Visakha Tutorial College, Co-operative Colony
- M.V.P Public School
- Sri TVS Rao Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir
- St.Anthony's High School
- Nehru Muncipal Corporation High School(NMCH)
- Olivet school,krishnanagar
Medical & Health Centres
- Apollo Heart Centre
- Care Hospital (Cardiac Centre)
- KALA HOSPITALS,6th lane Dwarakanagar.(24 hours, with I.C.U Doctors:FounderDr.P.VRamanamurthy,Chairman Dr.P.Kalavathi)
- King George Hospital (Medical College Hospital affiliated to Andhra Medical College)
- Krishna Hospital (Women's Hospital)
- Krishna IVF Clinic (Infertility Centre - Krishna Hospital)
- Seven Hills Hospital
- MVP Colony Hospital
- Victoria govt hospital (Government Women's Hospital)
- BHPV English/Telugu Medium School
- LITTLE ANGELS HIGH SCHOOL,MVP COLONY
- SFS school madhurawada*
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)Vizag Steel Plant
- Hindustan Zinc Limited
- Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels Ltd (BHPV).
- Hindustan Shipyard Limited
- Coramandel Fertilizers
- NTPC
- Rain Calcining Limited
- Essar Pelletization Plant (Recently a major expansion was done. The iron ore now used by this plant comes via a 267 km long pipeline from Bailadila, helping reduce transportation costs substantially)
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
Vizag city has about 50 small and medium software units, of which about 10 units started their operations during the year 2005-2006. 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. Refer Business Standard
List of companies currently operating out of Vizag
- SymbiosysTechnologies
- WIPRO Technologies
- Satyam Computer Services Ltd.
- Omega Technologies
- Synectic InfoTech Pvt. Ltd.
- Phoenix IT Solutions Ltd.
- HSBC
- NuNet Technologies
- Gallega Software Solutions
- http://www.amatra.com Amatra
- http://www.mylodestar.com Lodestar Consulting
- Extreme IT Solutions Pvt Ltd.
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.
Vizag recently hosted the Presidential Fleet which was attended by the His Excellency, the President of India, Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam. The Navy showed its prowess and it was a treat to watch for the locals of Vizag.
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.
- 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.
- 1981: Visakhapatnam Steel Plant commenced operations.
Vizag pictures
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Fishermen in Vizag.
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A lion dancer from a local festival.
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An aerial view of National Highway.
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Naturally formed caves.
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An image from Hill top of Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary
External links
- http://www.visitvizag.in
- http://www.vizag.in
- http://www.VisakhaSPCA.org
- http://www.Vizaginfo.com
- http://www.VizagInfo.net
- http://www.visakha.org
- http://www.vizagcityonline.com
- http://www.vizageshop.com
- http://www.vizagnews.com
- http://www.vuda.org
- http://www.vizagredcross.org
- http://www.andhrauniversity.info
- http://www.aucevizag.ac.in
- http://www.vizagpressclub.com
- http://www.aptourism.in/imagegalleryviz.html
- http://www.visitvizag.com
- http://strides.org.tripod.com
- http://VSPCA.com
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/vizag/