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Visakhapatanam
Visakhapattanamu, shortened and anglicised: Visakha/Vizag or Vizagapatam/Vizag City) is a coastal, port city, often called "The Jewel of the East Coast", situated in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located on the eastern shore of India, nestled among the hills of the Eastern Ghats and facing the Bay of Bengal to the east. It is the administrative headquarters of Visakhapatnam District and is also home of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.
Overview
Alternatively, the city sometimes goes by its now mostly defunct colonial British name, Waltair. During the colonial era, the city's hub was located at the Waltair railway station, and that part of the city still goes by the name of Waltair. It is sometimes also referred to as the "City of Destiny".
The city is home to several state owned heavy industries, one of the most advanced steel plants 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.
Name and history
The city is said to have derived its name Visakhapatnam from the deity Visakha' (the God of Valour); Patnam is the Telugu word for city.
Visakhapatnam or the place of Visakha, is named after the deity of valor, the second son of Lord Shiva. The other story is that the beauty of the place was compared to the beauty of Sakhi Visakha. The legend is that Radha and Visakha were born on the same day and equally beautiful. The city people believe that an Andhra king, impressed by the beauty, built a temple to pay obeisance to his family deity, Visakha.
The epic city
The city has been mentioned in the Indian epics Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, as well as the forests of the Eastern Ghats where the two brothers Rama and Lakshmana wandered in search of Sita, wife of Lord Rama. According to the epics, Rama formed his army of monkey men in the region with the help of Hanuman and Jambavan. The monkey army of Rama later defeated the demon King Ravana to claim back his wife Sita. An episode of Mahābhārata when Bheema killed the demon Bakasura, was believed to have happened in the village Uppalam, just 25 miles from the city.
Buddhist influence
The religious Hindu texts mention that the region of Visakhapatnam in the 5th century BC was part of the vast Kalinga territory which extended up to the Godavari River. The relics found in the area also prove the existence of a Buddhist empire in the region. Kalinga later lost the territory to King Ashoka in the bloodiest battle of the time which prompted him to embrace Buddhism.
Later history
The territory of Viskahapatnam then came under the Andhra rulers of Vengi. Then Chalukyas, Pallavas, and the Reddy kings ruled over the placid land. The Chola kings built the temples in the city in 11-12 century AD as established by archeological findings. The Mughals ruled this area under the Hyderabad Nizam in the late 15th and early 16th century. European merchants from France, Holland and the East India Company used this natural port to export tobacco, ivory, muslin and other textile products.
Local legend states that an Andhra king while on his way to Benares, rested there and was so enchanted 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 Cholas. A shipping merchant, Sankarayya Chetty, built one of the mandapams (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 Atchuta Rama Raju contradicted this.
In the 18th century, Visakhapatnam was part of the Northern Circars, a region comprising Coastal Andhra and southern costal Orissa that was initially under French control and later the British. Visakhapatnam became a district in the Madras Presidency of British India. in September 1804, British and French squadrons fought the naval Battle of Vizagapatam off the harbour. After India's independence it was the biggest district in the country and was subsequently divided into the three districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam.
The city also has the tomb of the muslim saint Syed Ali Ishak Madina, located atop the dargah-hill near the harbor in old city, which is dated way back to 18th century, where hindus make vows at it as often as Muslims. The saint is considered to be all potent over the elements in the Bay of Bengal. Many old residents say that every vessel passing the harbour inwards or outwards used to salute the saint by hoisting and lowering its flag three times, and that many ship-owners offer chadar at the shrine after a successful voyage.
It is also called as Vizag.
The city
From being a small fishing village in the twentieth century, Visakhapatnam has grown into an industrial hub. Its saga began with the quest of the British to find a suitable port that could serve the hinterland possessing rich mineral wealth. Unlike the western coast of India, the east coast has few undulations to form a natural harbour. Their quest ended with Vizag, the most protected natural harbour in Asia. They started building the harbour in 1927 and in 1933 it was opened to traffic. One more important milestone is the setting up of the Scindia Steam Navigation Co., later known as Hindustan Shipyard Ltd in 1940. With the construction of the K.K. line connecting the iron ore mines of Bailadila in M.P. (present day Chattisgarh), its importance grew. In the 1950s and 1960s the government and the private sector set up large scale basic industries like Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels (B.H.P.V.), Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Caltex oil refinery (later acquired by government as H.P.C.L.), Coromandel fertilizers, and Andhra Polymers (now LG Polymers). The 1980s saw a major development with the development of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and other major industries. Economic liberalization in the 1990s brought a modest growth to the city but not as much as it did to Hyderabad. However, some industries sprang up like Rain Calcining Ltd., expansion of HPCL, setting up of Vizag Export Processing Zone, and the Simhadri Thermal Power plant of N.T.P.C. Visakhapatnam was declared one of ten fastest growing cities of the world in a recent study conducted by the United Nations.
Due to the presence of the Eastern Naval Command, Steel Plant and H.P.C.L., the city has been the home to people from different parts of the country and due to this the city has a cosmopolitan nature.
The city's main commercial and shopping centres are located in the Dwarakanagar-R.T.C. complex area and Jagadamda Junction area. Since 2000, the Dwarakanagar-R.T.C. complex area has transformed into a commercial hub with new shopping malls and complexes spring up within a radius of 2-3 kilometers. The city is home to many five star hotels such as Taj group, ITC-WelcomGroup and Park Hotels.
There has been a rise in the real estate prices attributed to the Telangana movement for a separate Telangana state, fuelling speculation that Visakhapatnam will become the next capital. Recently various large and small software and BPO companies have announced plans for starting development and outsourcing centres in Vizag, which has also contributed to the rise in real estate prices. Inflows from Non-resident Indians (NRIs) from Vizag have further added to this rise.
Indira Gandhi Zoological Park was set up in 1972 in the city outskirts. The Zoo Park features some of the rarest species in India.
Due to the presence of the Eastern Naval Command, Steel Plant and H.P.C.L., the city has been the home to people from different parts of the country and due to this the city has a cosmopolitan nature.
The city's main commercial and shopping centres are located in the Dwarakanagar-R.T.C. complex area and Jagadamda Junction area. Since 2000, the Dwarakanagar-R.T.C. complex area has transformed into a commercial hub with new shopping malls and complexes spring up within a radius of 2-3 kilometers. The city is home to many five star hotels such as Taj group, ITC-WelcomGroup and Park Hotels.
There has been a rise in the real estate prices attributed to the Telangana movement for a separate Telangana state, fuelling speculation that Visakhapatnam will become the next capital. Recently various large and small software and BPO companies have announced plans for starting development and outsourcing centres in Vizag, which has also contributed to the rise in real estate prices. Inflows from Non-resident Indians (NRIs) from Vizag have further added to this rise.
Indira Gandhi Zoological Park was set up in 1972 in the city outskirts. The Zoo Park features some of the rarest species in India.
Strategic importance
Many battles have been fought in the city during such conflicts as World War II, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was only the second region in South Asia to be attacked by Japanese fighter planes during World War II. Recognising the strategic importance of the city and the role it played during the Bangladesh Liberation War, Pakistan sent its submarine, PNS Ghazi to destroy India's only aircraft carrier. The submarine sank off the coast (Pakistan claims, accidentally hitting one of the mines it laid; India claims, from a depth-charge dropped by the destroyer INS Rajput). The remnants of the submarine are on display on the beach road.
The city was so important during times of war that the Indian government decided to set up the Eastern Naval Command, overlooking the more populous Madras and Calcutta, and developed Vizag during that period. The establishment of the E.N.C. soon after the construction of the ship building yard firmly secured Vizag's place in the annals of the Indian Navy. More defence related establishments would later come up including the N.S.T.L. (Naval Science and Technology Laboratories), which is responsible for the development and testing of warship technology, equipment and weapons. The Navy is also constructing a second base as the current base is overpopulated and not sufficient to meet the needs of the E.N.C. Despite its importance, the Naval establishment has become a hindrance for the development of Visakhapatnam. The harbour is not open to the general public for reasons of security, while in Bombay and Cochin, the entire port along with Naval docks are opened for boating and tourism.
Visakhapatnam is surrounded on three sides by the overlapping mountain ranges, and the southeastern city is safeguarded by the Bay of Bengal. Vizag is far away from any international border, both land and sea, making it the choice for strategic placement of the headquarters of the eastern naval command.
Language
Visakhapatnam is predominantly a Telugu speaking city. The Telugu spoken by the middle classes is a standard dialect, while a significant population who have settled down in the city from the adjoining villages and neighbouring districts of East Godavari, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam speak Uttarandhra (North Coastal) Mandalikam dialects. Historians believe that centuries ago, when Uttarandhra was part of the KalingaEmpire, 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 Sri Lanka. Their similarities to Telugu script can be discerned even today.
Visakhapatnam is home to a small Oriya, Maharashtrians,Bengali and Malayalee communities; their migration is of recent origin. Due to the Naval presence and high concentration of public sector industries, Visakhapatnam has a significant Hindi speaking population.
Visakhapatnam is home to a small Oriya, Maharashtrians,Bengali and Malayalee communities; their migration is of recent origin. Due to the Naval presence and high concentration of public sector industries, Visakhapatnam has a significant Hindi speaking population.
Climate
The climate of Visakhapatnam has no appreciable seasonal changes. Being close to the sea, the level of humidity is high. The fluctuations in temperature are fairly uniform in character, except during the dry months when the rise in temperature is higher than it is during the monsoon period. From February onwards, the temperature rises progressively till May, which is the hottest month. From 1931-60 the maximum average (Mean) temperature was 34 °C. This has been showing an upward trend with the minimum and maximum for the period of 1975-81 being reported as 38 °C and 29 °C, respectively. In recent years, it has not been uncommon for the daytime temperature to exceed 43 °C during May. December, January are the coldest period of the year.
The average annual rainfall for the city and its surrounding area is of the order of 95 centimeters with the bulk of the rain coming from the north-east monsoon. Between September and November, storms and depressions originating in the Bay of Bengal cross the east coast in the neighbourhood causing heavy rains and gales. As per Thornthwaite’s classification, Visakhapatnam and its environs come under the semi–arid (D) category. All the elements of climate viz. temperature, pressure, wind, rainfall, relative humidity and other weather phenomena hardly exist and exhibit a well-marked variation while January is the coolest month of the year with average temperatures of 30 °C and 22.5 °C respectively.
 Weather averages for Visakhapatnam, AP  | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Average high °C | 25 | 31 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 35 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 29 | |
| Average low °C | 18 | 21 | 23 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 19 | |
| Precipitation mm | 12.0 | 12.0 | 17.0 | 39.0 | 48.0 | 103.0 | 133.0 | 169.0 | 160.0 | 179.0 | 79.0 | 4.0 | |
| Average high °F | 84 | 88 | 93 | 95 | 98 | 96 | 92 | 91 | 91 | 90 | 87 | 85 | |
| Average low °F | 65 | 69 | 74 | 79 | 82 | 82 | 80 | 79 | 79 | 76 | 72 | 67 | |
| Precipitation inches | 0.47 | 0.47 | 0.67 | 1.54 | 1.89 | 4.06 | 5.24 | 6.65 | 6.30 | 7.06 | 3.11 | 0.16 | |
| Source: www.wunderground.com 2008-03-24 | |||||||||||||
The average annual rainfall for the city and its surrounding area is of the order of 95 centimeters with the bulk of the rain coming from the north-east monsoon. Between September and November, storms and depressions originating in the Bay of Bengal cross the east coast in the neighbourhood causing heavy rains and gales. As per Thornthwaite’s classification, Visakhapatnam and its environs come under the semi–arid (D) category. All the elements of climate viz. temperature, pressure, wind, rainfall, relative humidity and other weather phenomena hardly exist and exhibit a well-marked variation while January is the coolest month of the year with average temperatures of 30 °C and 22.5 °C respectively.
Educational facilities
Visakhapatnam is considered a centre for education in the state of Andhra Pradesh. There are several primary, high school and college level institutions in the city. Apart from state-run schools for the poor, there are many private institutions, missionary schools and colleges. Established in 1878, A.V.N. College is one of the city's oldest educational institutions. is also the home of Andhra University which was established in 1926. Sarvepalli Radha Krishna, before he became the President of India, worked as the Vice Chancellor of the University between 1931 and 1936. The University and its affiliated colleges provide education to thousands of students from 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. The AU college of Pharmacy is the second oldest pharmacology institute in India. The university is in the process of obtaining IIEST status and there is also a proposal for setting up an IIM at Visakhapatnam. Other institutions of higher education include Andhra Medical College, established in 1902 and the home of various teaching hospitals, A.V.N. College, one of the city's oldest educational institutions, the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM), which recently attained the status of an autonomous university, Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering, and the Pydah College of Engineering and Technology.
St. Aloysius Anglo Indian High School is the oldest school in the district and one of the oldest schools in the country. It was established in 1847 and is located in the old town region. Pollocks School, Kotak Salesian School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, S.F.S, Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir (situated in Dwarakanagar), Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Siva Sivani, Little Angels, Timpany and Visakha valley are other schools in the area. The city has around 10 Kendriya Vidyalaya's with total student strength of 18000. Timpany School, Visakha Valley School rank amongst the top schools in Andhra Pradesh. School has three branches - one affiliated to ICSE and the other two to CBSE. Visakha Valley and Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir are affiliated to CBSE.
The International Science Congress (I.S.C.) was hosted by Andhra University in 1976 and again in 2008. It is the largest congregation of scientists from different disciplines in the world. Over 8000 people participated in the I.S.C. in 2008, including prominent Nobel Prize winners from around the world.
St. Aloysius Anglo Indian High School is the oldest school in the district and one of the oldest schools in the country. It was established in 1847 and is located in the old town region. Pollocks School, Kotak Salesian School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, S.F.S, Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir (situated in Dwarakanagar), Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Siva Sivani, Little Angels, Timpany and Visakha valley are other schools in the area. The city has around 10 Kendriya Vidyalaya's with total student strength of 18000. Timpany School, Visakha Valley School rank amongst the top schools in Andhra Pradesh. School has three branches - one affiliated to ICSE and the other two to CBSE. Visakha Valley and Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir are affiliated to CBSE.
The International Science Congress (I.S.C.) was hosted by Andhra University in 1976 and again in 2008. It is the largest congregation of scientists from different disciplines in the world. Over 8000 people participated in the I.S.C. in 2008, including prominent Nobel Prize winners from around the world.
Economy
Visakhapatnam Port.
Visakhapatnam Outer Harbour
Megadri River Channel that connects Outer Harour of Visakhapatnam Port with Inner Harbour
HPCL Petro-Chemical Complex
Satyam Development Center
Naval warship
Hindustan Shipyard Ltd Visakhapatnam
Fishermen in Visakhapatnam.
The city has developed into a hub for many heavy industries. The Visakhapatnam Port, the largest in the country, was the ideal gateway contributing to the development of petroleum, steel and fertilizer industries. The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. were the two multi-billion dollar investments which put Vizag on the country's industrial map. The city also has two N.T.P.C. power plants to satisfy the huge power needs of the industries. Visakhapatnam also houses the headquarters of the Dredging corporation of India.
Other heavy industries include Hindustan Zinc Limited, Synergies Castings Ltd., Rain Calcining Limited, Coromandel Fertilizers, Hindustan Ship Yard and Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels Limited (B.H.P.V.). These industries provide employment to hundreds of thousands of people and pump billions of dollars into the state's economy.
The city also owes its economic growth to the availability of an educated English-speaking workforce. English is the first language in many places of higher education in the city. This availability of a highly educated workforce allowed the entry of many B.P.O. companies such as HSBC, thus providing the roots for the beginning IT/ITES industry in the city. The city registered over 100% growth in the I.T. sector over the last year, contributing millions of dollars to the economy. The city has around 50 small and medium software and call centre units, of which about 10 units started their operations during the year 2005-07. Software exports from the Visakhapatnam in 2007 were worth Rs. 245 crores - an increase of over 100% over the previous year. Various national and international I.T. and banking giants have set up or will be setting up offices in the city. These include Satyam, TCS, HSBC, Cognizant, Oracle Corporation, ABN AMRO, Patni, Hexaware Solutions, iSOFT, Sankhya Technologies, Infosys, iFlex, HCL, EDS, Datasoft Comnet Pvt. Ltd., Sutherland Global Services and Kanbay. The Andhra Pradesh government provided infrastructure and land for these companies to set up their development centers in the city outskirts.
Also, there are many Vizag-based SME's that have been providing IT and ITES services such as Xinthe Technologies, NuNet Technologies, Symbiosis Technologies, Sankhya Technologies, Patra, Acclaris, Samudra Software, etc. Many of these companies have formed an association called VITA (Visakhapatnam Information Technology Association) to help promote IT in Vizag as well as bridge the Industry-Institution gap.
To help companies in and around Visakhapatnam build their human capital, companies like IndiGenius have been providing Human Resource (HR) consulting services such as recruitment, temporary staffing and training.
The growing population and economy have resulted in the revamping of the real estate prices with prices at some prime locations in the city quadrupling over the past couple of years. Various real estate companies are setting up housing projects in the outskirts of the city which is being touted as the future I.T. destination of the country. Multiple Special Economic Zones (SEZ) have been sanctioned for the city. Reliance, Brandix and HPCL have purchased huge areas in the SEZ for setting up their industries. Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) plans to set up it's second research facility in the country after Trombay in this region. The city was one of the five in the country selected to hold strategic crude reserves for the nation in times of national emergency.
The fishing industry is also on the rise with both foreign and domestic exports of tuna doubling over the past decade. A second port is being constructed at Gangavaram with an investment of 2 billion dollars which when completed will be the deepest port in the country with the ability to handle the larger international vessels.
Its traditional importance in shipbuilding is confirmed by the fact that India's first ship, the "Jala Usha", was launched in Visakhapatnam. Visakhapatnam 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 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has also expressed interest in setting up a nuclear power plant here.
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, with an investment of Rs. 35 thousand crore.
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