Type | city |
---|---|
Official name | Visakhapatnam |
Native name | Visakhapatnam (విశాఖపట్నం) |
State name | Andhra Pradesh |
Skyline | Vizag-arealview.jpg.JPG |
Locator position | left |
Inset map marker | yes |
Subdivision type | Country |
Subdivision name | India |
District | Visakhapatnam |
Area total | 540 |
Area magnitude | 8 |
Altitude | 5 |
Population as of | 2011 |
Population total | 2,515,120 |
Population metro | 3,015,250 |
Population density | 2,658 |
Official languages | Telugu |
Leader title 1 | Mayor |
Leader name 1 | P. Janardhana Rao |
Leader title 2 | Commissioner |
Leader name 2 | B.Ramanjaneyulu |
Police commissioner | J. Purnachandra Rao IPS |
Established title | Settled |
Established date | 273–232 BCE |
Planning agency | GVMC, VUDA |
Area telephone | 91-0891 |
Postal code | 530 0xx |
Vehicle code range | AP31, AP32, AP33, AP34 |
Unlocode | IN VTZ |
Website | visakhapatnam.nic.in |
Map caption | Location of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh |
Visakhapatnam is second largest city in Andhra Pradesh with an area of 550 km². It is primarily an industrial city, apart from being a port city. It is also home to the Eastern Naval Command. Visakhapatnam has seen rapid development in the past decade.
The Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) will get a new master plan consequent to the increase in its purview from 170 km² to 550 km². The earlier master plan was approved by the government in 2006. VUDA’s jurisdiction has been expanded in mid-2008.
The city sometimes goes by its now mostly defunct colonial British name,Waltair. During the colonial era, the city's hub was the Waltair railway station, and that part of the city is still called Waltair. It is sometimes referred to as the "City of Destiny".
Visakhapatnam 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.
Visakhapatnam was ruled by King Visakha Varma during BC's, according to Hindu Puranams. It was a part of the Kalinga Kingdom, under Ashoka's rule in 260 B.C. It passed on later to the Andhra Kings of Vengi and later to Pallavas. Another story of this place is it was named after Subrahmanyeswara, the deity of valour, the second son of Lord Shiva. The beauty of the place was often compared to the beauty of Sakhi Visakha. The legend is that Radha and Visakha were born on the same day and were equally beautiful. Locals believe that an Andhra king, impressed by the beauty, built a temple to pay obeisance to his family deity, Visakha.
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. 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 Visakhapatnam 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 coastal 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 has the tomb of the Muslim saint Syed Ali Ishak Madina, located atop the dargah-hill near the harbour in old city, which is dated 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's been said that the name Visakhapatnam is named after him i.e. Syed Ali Ishak Madina, the saint. Initially it was Ishaqapatnam which has been modified into present Visakhapatnam may be because of mispronunciation of an Arabic world by the local people.
From a small fishing village in the 20th century, Visakhapatnam has grown into an mega-industrial hub. Its saga began when the British needed a suitable port that could serve move the rich mineral wealth from the central India. Unlike the western coast of India, the east coast is devoid of any natural harbours.To their surprise they located Visakhapatnam which was naturally protected from sea by Dolphin's nose hill and also the estuary of Meghadri river ending into sea formed a natural channel which was protected on south by Dolphin's nose which made it very natural and most suited for major port in those days. They started building the harbour in 1927; in 1933 it was opened to traffic.
One important milestone is the setting up of the Scindia Steam Navigation Co, later known as Hindustan Shipyard Limited 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 & Vessels Ltd, 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 Visakhapatnam 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. 200px|thumbnail|left|Ramakrishna Mission near RK Beach 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 in the Dwarakanagar,R.T.C. complex area and Jagadamba Junction area. It has two multiplexes, namely Varun Beach and CMR Central. Since 2000, the Dwarakanagar-R.T.C. complex area has transformed into a commercial hub with new shopping malls and complexes springing up within a radius of 2-3 kilometers. The city is home to many five-star hotels such as Taj group, ITC-WelcomGroup, Four points by Sheraton and Park Hotels.
Various large and small software and BPO companies have announced plans for starting development and outsourcing centers in Visakhapatnam, which has also contributed to the rise in real estate prices. Inflows from Non-resident Indians (NRIs) from Visakhapatnam have further added to this rise.
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 ITES companies such as HSBCHSBC, thus providing the roots for the growth of the ITES industry in the city. The city registered over 100% growth in the IT sector over the last year, contributing millions of dollars to the economy. The city has 102 small and medium software and BPO 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 IT and banking giants have set up or will be setting up offices in the city. These include Mahindra Satyam, Wipro, iSOFT, HSBC Sankhya Technologies, iFlex, Sutherland Global Services, Kenexa, E Centric Solutions Pvt Ltd, OpenWindow Technologies Inc., and Kanbay. The Andhra Pradesh government provided infrastructure and land for these companies to set up their development centers in the city outskirts via Special economic zones to improve employment and increase the economic growth.
Many City-based SME's such as Gaian Solutions, Acclaris, Manuh Solutions, NuNet Technologies, Patra Corp, Prospecta Technologies, Quant Systems, Sankhya Technologies, Samudra Software, Symbiosys Technologies, Xinthe Technologies, etc., have been providing IT and ITES services. Many of these companies have formed an association called Vizag Information Technology Association (VITA) to help promote IT in Visakhapatnam as well as bridge the Industry-Institution gap. To help companies in and around Visakhapatnam build their human capital, companies like IndiGenius, Mafoi among others have been providing Human Resource (HR) consulting services such as recruitment, temporary staffing and training.
Indira Gandhi Zoological Park was set up in 1972 on the coastal hills north of the city. The zoo park features some of the rarest species in India.
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 allegedly 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 and it has become a major tourist attraction.
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 Chennai and Kolkata, and developed Visakhapatnam during that period. The establishment of the E.N.C. soon after the construction of the ship building yard firmly secured Visakhapatnam's place in the annals of the Indian Navy. Some of the defence related establishments are N.S.T.L. (Naval Science and Technology Laboratories), which is responsible for the development and testing of warship technology, equipment and weapons and Bharat Dynamics Ltd is coming up for manufacturing heavy and light weight torpedoes. The navy also has a naval dockyard [started in 1949] in the city where recently India's first Nuclear Submarine was launched. The navy has plans to set up submarine base in the city at the alternate ENC base in Rambilli near Visakhapatnam.
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 Mumbai and Kochi, 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. Visakhapatnam 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.
According to the 2001 India census, Visakhapatnam had a population of 2,569,608 and that of urban area 3,329,472. After the state government approved the formation of Greater Visakhapatnam with the merger of Gajuwaka municipality and 32 villages in the vicinity in the Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, the population of the city and the metro area swelled present population may be between 2.6 to 3.8 million. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. The city has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 74% and female literacy is 64 %. 10% of the population is younger than six. Visakhapatnam is listed as one of the 100 Fastest Growing Cities of the World.
Hinduism is practised by the majority of citizens, followed by Islam and Christianity. The city patronised Buddhism for 2 millennia as evident from the presence of many Buddhist sangharamas in the outskirts. The Buddhist population has however waned since. All the religions co-exist peacefully
Historians believe that centuries ago, when Uttarandhra was part of the 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, Javanese and Balinese languages and even Sinhala of Sri Lanka. Their similarities to Telugu script can be discerned even today.
Visakhapatnam is home to small Sikh, Gujarathis, Oriya, Bengali, Nepali and Malayalee communities; their migration is recent due to the naval presence and high concentration of public sector industries.
As the city is located on the Bay of Bengal, the humidity remains high throughout the year. The total annual rainfall is around 945 mm (38 inches), the bulk of which is received during the south-west monsoon. October is the wettest month with around 204 mm (8 inches) of rainfall.
The months from November to February are the best times to visit the city, with moderate temperatures and little precipitation.
Visakhapatnam is one of the major cities on the east coast of India connected by NH5, a major national highway and a part of the Golden Quadrilateral system of Indian highways connecting Chennai and Kolkata. The section of Golden Quadraleteral(NH5) from Kolkata to Chennai connects Visakhapatnam to the North-East and to the South. The highway is an important route for transporting cargo and people from these cities to and from Visakhapatnam. Visakhapatnam has a good network of roads. There are frequent buses to Vizianagaram, Cheepurupalli, Srikakulam, Araku, Guntur and Rajahmundry. There are even bus services to Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and few other parts of Orissa and Karnataka.
Residents of Visakhapatnam make use of extensive public transport provided by the APSRTC, which runs metro buses across various routes across the city and its suburbs. The APSRTC complex at Asilametta is the hub for most of these buses causing major traffic jams during rush hours on the heavily populated, congested Asilametta Junction. The city corporation is planning to dig subways, construct pedestrian overpasses and flyovers to address the traffic woes.
A Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) was approved for the city under the JNNURM. This will make use of dedicated lanes for buses allowing for an efficient and high speed mode of transport for the public and significantly reduce traffic congestion, improving safety. This project is under construction and will be completed by the end of 2010.
There are direct rail links to Vijayawada Junction, Secunderabad Railway Station, Tirupati, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Bangalore Bhopal Junction, Mumbai, Surat, Porbandar, Okha, Mangalore, Tiruchchirapalli, Puri, Raipur, Bilaspur, Korba, Nasik, Amritsar, Patna, Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Kanniyakumari, Shirdi, Aurangabad, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Gaya, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Jammu Tawi, Bhilai, Gwalior, Chennai Central, Howrah Station, New Delhi Railway Station etc., and also has direct services to Indore, Ujjain, Coimbatore and Jaipur amongst other major cities.
The IMU has been established as a Central University by the Government of India under an Act of Parliament, namely, the Indian Maritime University Act 2008. The Indian Maritime University, established through an Act of Parliament on 14/11/2008 as Central University, is poised to play a key role in the development of required human resource for the maritime sector. The Indian Maritime University, being the first of its kind in the country will cater to the educational requirement of the maritime fraternity. It is a teaching and affiliating University which will offer degree, post graduate degree and research programmes in all disciplines of maritime sector. The city also has National Institute of Oceanography.
Established in 1878, A.V.N. College is one of the city's oldest educational institutions.
Visakhapatnam is the home of Andhra University (AU) which was established in 1926.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, before he became the President of India, worked as the Vice Chancellor of the University between 1931 and 1936. AU and its affiliated colleges provide education to thousands of students from the 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 IIESTstatus and there is also a proposal for setting up an IIM at Visakhapatnam.
Andhra Medical College, established in 1902, is the home of various teaching hospitals.
GITAM and GVP College of Engineering are other prominent technical education institutions in the city.
Some of the other engineering colleges in the city: Chaitanya Engineering College, Raghu Engineering College, Vignan's Institute of Information Technology, Sanketika Vidya Parishad college of engineering, Pothinamallayapalem, Pydah College of Engineering and Technology, Vignans Institute of Engineering for Women, Al Ameer College of Engineering & Technology, Avanthi Institute of Engineering & Technology, Anil Neerukonda Institute of Technology & Sciences and VITAM College of Engineering. Graduation Degree Colleges: VIPS, Pydah, Gayatri, AVN, DR.V.S.Krishna, etc.
Schools: 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 in the old town region and affiliated to ICSE, Kotak Salesian School, D.A.V Cent. Public School, Delhi Public School, S.F.S. School, St. Anthony's high school, Bethany School, Visakha Valley School, Timpany School are the best schools in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Other schools include Public School at MVP Colony, Pollocks School, St. Joseph's sec school, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir, Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Siva Sivani, Saraswathi Vidya Vihar, Little Angels, Little Flowers, Visvodaya High School and Pavani School. The city has around 10 Kendriya Vidyalaya's with total student strength of 18000. Timpany School has three branches —one affiliated to ICSE and the other two to CBSE. Vikas Vidyaniketan is the largest CBSE +2 residential school affiliated to CBSE Visakha Valley School and Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir are affiliated to CBSE. Municipal Corporation also running the schools in Telugu medium, which offers education at free of cost to the poor. Kurupam Durga Prasad Municipal Corporation High School Est.,in 1954, Zilla Parishad High School are to name a few.
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 8,000 people participated in the I.S.C. in 2008, including prominent Nobel Prize winners from around the world.
It is hub for iron ore and other mineral exports of India, where iron ore from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh is transported to the Visakhapatnam port by means of both Rail transport & Road transport and from here minerals are exported using ships to China and other countries. Visakhapatnam district and its surroundings have Bauxite reserves of 1,000 MT, manganese ore and titanium reserves in the beach sand.
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 ITES companies such as HSBC, IBM Daksh, Sutherland and Acclaris. 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 102 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 and 502 crores in 2008, 1000 crores in 2011 - an increase of nearly 90% every year. Various national and international IT and banking giants have set up or will be setting up offices in the city. Some IT companies started already are Mahindra Satyam, Kenexa, Infotech, Softsol, and Miracle Software. Wipro has finished construction of its campus and is about to start operations. The Andhra Pradesh government provided infrastructure and land for these companies to set up their development centers in the city outskirts. The Andhra Pradesh govt has also started an IT SEZ in Rushikonda hills at Visakhapatnam. IT industry is growing and it is believed that the pace of growth would increase once international flights start from the city's airport.
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 IT destination of the country.
The fishing industry is also on the rise with both foreign and domestic exports of tuna doubling over the past decade. The city has a port called Visakhapatnam Port started in 1933 and a second port called as Gangavaram Port started in 2008 [15 km from Visakhapatnam Port. It started with an investment of 2 billion dollars and is the deepest port in the country with the ability to handle the larger international vessels. Visakhapatnam Port is also expanding and planning to set up a Satellite Port at Bhimili 20 km away from Visakhapatnam.
The city has APIIC Industrial Park at Autonagar and SEZ called as Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone started in 1989. The exports from VSEZ stood at approx 1582 crores in 2011.
Multi Product Special Economic Zones (SEZ) called APIIC SEZ has been sanctioned for the city and this is coming up in 5770 acres at Atchutapuram, Visakhapatnam. Some of the Industries coming up in this SEZ are WS Industries, Pokarna limited, Uniparts, Confidence Petroleum, Southern Online Bio, Nagarjuna AgriChem, Anjaney Alloys, Maithon Alloys, Abhijit Ferro Alloys etc. and railway line is being laid connecting this SEZ with the Gangavaram Port.
Brandix Apparel City is already in operation in Atchutapuram. This is specifically a textile based SEZ spread over 1000 Acres. The aim of this project is to provide 60000 jobs to the local people. It is expected that exports would reach up to 5500 crores once it is fully operational. Currently this has foreign textile manufacturers like Pioneer Elastic Fiber, Ocean India, Quantum Clothing, Fountain Set group, Limited Brands, etc.
Pilkington an automotive glass manufacturer and Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC) are also in the city. JNPC is only the Pharma SEZ in the country, and currently JNPC has 38 pharmaceutical companies with international pharmaceutical players like PharmaZell of Germany and Japan's Eisai Pharma. US-based Hospira Chemicals has purchased land for setting up plant in the city.
Companies like Reliance, Brandix and HPCL have purchased huge areas in the SEZ for setting up their industries and Aluminium refineries like Anrak Aluminium, Jindal Aluminium are coming up in the city because of availability of Bauxite reserves around Visakhapatnam, Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) plans to set up its 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.
Other heavy industries include Hindustan Zinc Limited, GAIL, IOC Bottling Unit, BPCL Bottling Unit, Synergies Castings Ltd., Rain Calcining Limited, Coromandel Fertilizers, Hindustan Ship Yard and Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels Limited (BHPV), Visakha Dairy, Vizag Profiles, Essar Pellet Plant, Andhra Polymers [now called as LG Polymers], Andhra cements, Andhra petrochemicals, Andhra Ferroalloys which contribute to the economy of the city. The city also has some Ferro Alloy units because of availability of Manganese Ore around Visakhapatnam. The city is the headquarters for Waltair division of East Coast Railway. The Waltair division has generated 3483 Crore revenues in 2009-2010 and is one of the highest revenue grosser in the Country.
Its traditional importance in shipbuilding is confirmed by the fact that India's first ship, the Jala Usha was launched in Visakhapatnam. It 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 Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone plays a vital role in the industrial growth of the city. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has started its operation at autonagar (temporary) while the construction for the center is taking on currently. It is expected to be completed soon, the second only centre for India after Mumbai. Nuclear power technologies are to be set up at this centre including a University of its own by BARC.
The city has office of National Institute of Oceanography, Indian Meteorological Department.
The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has awarded the bid to construct a Knowledge City to Unitech Limited in an area of 700 ha, with an investment of Rs. 35 thousand crores.
India aims to build its first strategic oil reserve facility at Visakhapatnam by October 2011.
Visakhapatnam is a part of the PCPIR [Petroleum and Chemical & Petrochemical investment region] proposed between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada. This PCPIR region is expected to generate employment of 1.2Million and projected investement of 34,30,000 Million.
Visakhapatnam has a range of tourist attractions including beaches, cliffs, parks on the hilltop facing the sea, long drives along the beach road, a zoological park and wildlife sanctuary, a submarine museum, hill stations, limestone caves, mountain ranges and colorful valleys, all within 100 km from the city. There are two five-star hotels, The Taj and The Park, and a full range of other accommodation
Kailasagiri is a park developed by VUDA on a hilltop adjacent to the sea. It offers views of the Bay of Bengal, Visakhapatnam city and the Eastern Ghats. A ropeway connects this park from the bottom of the hill.
The Beach Road from East point colony to Coastal battery is studded with parks, statues, etc., and is an evening gathering point. Along the road can be found India's only submarine museum, INS Kursura, as well as the Visakha museum and Matsyadarsini (an aquarium). VUDA park, at the beginning of the Beach Road, has a musical fountain, and entertainment for children. It has a roller skating ground, which has served as the venue for several national and international skating competitions.
Rushikonda Beach, 6 km away from Visakhapatnam city, has become a favorite evening spot. Bhimili-Visakhapatnam beach Road, 30 km long, offers one of the best views of the sea, sand, hills and greenery. Many parks are constructed adjacent to this road. Tenneti park beach park is constructed on the cliff of Kailasagiri. There are several points from which the beautiful rocky beach beneath can be seen. Many Telugu, Tamil and Hindi movies were filmed here.
Simhachalam is a hill shrine of Lord Narasimha 16 km north of the city. The carved 16-pillared Natya mantapa and the 96-pillared Kalyana mandapa are highlights at the Simhachalam temple. It was constructed by Gajapathi Kings of Odisha before 1500 AD. Mr.Poosapati Ananda Gajapati Raju (heir to His Highness Maharaja Vijayrama Gajapati Raju Bahadur of former Vizianagaram princely state).
The city has Ramanaidu Film Studios which has started recently.
Indira Gandhi Zoological Park: Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, between the National Highway 5 and Beach Road, spreading over an area of 250 ha, exhibits about 700 animals belonging to about 89 species. Outside the city, 112 km from Visakhapatnam, Araku Valley is an important tourist destinationhttp://www.go2india.in/ap/araku-valley.php. It is a hill station at an elevation of over 1000 m. famous for its gardens, valleys, waterfalls and streams. On the way to Araku Hill station are the Borra Caves which are naturally formed. They were discovered by British Geologist William King in 1807.
The Marriage Bureau For Rich People series of novels, written by Farahad Zama and published worldwide in over twelve languages, are set in Visakhapatnam and feature many landmarks of the city and its surroundings.
Visakhapatnam is surrounded by ancient Buddhist sites, most of which have been excavated recently. The imprint of Buddhist legacy is so strong here that the interest of archeologists in this area is growing by the day.
The Buddhist Complex on the Mangamaripeta hilltop, locally known as Thotlakonda, lies about 16 km from Visakhapatnam on Visakhapatnam-Bheemili Beach Road. After its discovery (during an aerial survey), the Government of A.P declared the 48 ha site as a protected monument in 1978. Excavations in 1988 to 1992 exposed structural remains and artifacts, classified as Religious, Secular and Civil. These structures include the Stupa, Chaityagrihas, pillared congregation halls, bhandagaras, refectory (bhojanasala), drainage and stone pathways.
Bavikonda is an important Buddhist heritage site located on a hill about 15 km, northeast from Visakhapatnam city. Here the Buddhist habitation is noticed on a 16 ha flat terraced area. The Hinayana school of Buddhism was practiced at the monastery between the 3rd century B.C. and the 3rd century A.D. Bavikonda has remains of an entire Buddhist complex, comprising 26 structures belonging to three phases. A piece of bone stored in an urn recovered here is believed to belong to the mortal remains of the Buddha.
In 1907 a British archaeologist, Alexander Rea, unearthed Sankaram, a 2000-year-old Buddhist Heritage site. Located 40 km from South of Visakhapatnam, it is known locally as Bojjannakonda. The three phases of Buddhism flourished here, ''viz.'' Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana. This complex is famous for its numerous monolithic votive stupas, rock-cut caves, and brick structural edifices. Excavations yielded several historic potteries and Satavahana coins dating back to the 1st century A.D. Similarly at Lingalakonda, there are innumerable rock-cut monolithic stupas in rows spread over the hill. The Vihara was active for about 1,000 years, spanning the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana phases of Buddhism.
Pavuralakonda, or 'the hill of the pigeons', is a hillock lying to the west of Bhimli, at about 24 km from Visakhapatnam. The Buddhist settlement found here is estimated to have witnessed human habitation between 1st century BC to 2nd century AD. Sixteen rock-cut cisterns for impounding rainwater are found on the hillock, which offer a panoramic view of the coastline.
Gopalapatnam, situated on the left bank of River Tandava, is a village surrounded by brick stupas, viharas and other Buddhist remains. Ancient pottery was also excavated from these sites.
The beautiful and well planned township for the employees of the Visakhapatnam steel plant is called Ukkunagaram (''ukku'' in Telugu for steel,''nagaram'' in Telugu for town).
The design of the Township itself is state-of-the-art. The designers followed the Roman Circular design for the layout of homes and roads to keep the distances equal between any two points within the township.
There are 11 sectors in the Township, oldest of them being sectors 1, 2 and 3, and Sector 7 which is the exclusive domain of the directors and the chairman's homes. Other sectors came into being as the plant's staffing matured. On the average, each sectore consists of about 300 housing units, which vary from multi-storied quarters (3 floors) to single family homes. There are also bungalows exclusively for the directors of the plant. There are 5 types of housing units viz. A Type,B,C,D & director's bungalow.
Sector 1 used to house the Russians who came to erect and commission the first blast furnace "Godavari", The RMHP, Sinter, and Coke Oven Batteries I & II.
The Township is located in forest belt starting at the Valleys of Araku through Elamanchili to Narsipatnam. The township comes under the mandate of the Town Administration. The continued afforestation efforts of the management has ensured a green and pollution-free environment and thereby creating a unique ecosystem in itself. The township has well kept roads, regulated traffic. The township also has all market places, parks, clubs, sports facilities exclusively for the employees and their dependents.
Big Kanithi Balancing reservoir provides water for the captive consumption of the plant and the township alike, and sits between the Township and the NH5. It draws its water from a special canal built exclusively for it from the River Yeleru, a tributary of the major river Godavari.
The road that leads from the plant plaza main gate into the township actually travels ahead as a bypass to the busy NH5 and skips Anakapalli directly to Elamanchili and Tuni, cutting almost 30 km on the road route from Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada.
Category:Visakhapatnam Category:Populated coastal places in India Category:Port cities in India Category:Railway stations in Visakhapatnam district Category:Mandals in Visakhapatnam district Category:Visakhapatnam railway division Category:Divisions of Indian Railways Category:East Coast Railway Zone
ca:Visakhapatnam de:Visakhapatnam es:Visakhapatnam eo:Visakhapatnam fa:ویساکاپاتنام fr:Visakhapatnam ko:비샤카파트남 hi:विशाखापत्तनम bpy:বিশাখাপত্তম id:Visakhapatnam it:Visakhapatnam kn:ವಿಶಾಖಪಟ್ಟಣ pam:Visakhapatnam lt:Visakhapatnamas ml:വിശാഖപട്ടണം nl:Visakhapatnam new:विशाखपट्नम् ja:ヴィシャーカパトナム no:Visakhapatnam pnb:ویساکھاپتنام pl:Visakhapatnam (miasto) pt:Vishakhapatnam ro:Vishakhapatnam ru:Вишакхапатнам sr:Визагапатнам fi:Visakhapatnam sv:Visakhapatnam ta:விசாகப்பட்டி ta:விசாகப்பட்டினம் te:విశాఖపట్నం uk:Вішакхапатнам ur:وشاکھ پٹنم vi:Visakhapatnam war:Visakhapatnam zh:维沙卡帕特南This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Rao was educated at Muslim schools, the Madarsa-e-Aliya in Hyderabad and the Aligarh Muslim University, where he became friends with Ahmed Ali. He began learning French at the University. After matriculation in 1927, Rao returned to Hyderabad and studied for his degree at Nizam's College. After graduation from Madras University, having majored in English and History, he won the Asiatic Scholarship of the Government of Hyderabad in 1929, for study abroad.
Rao moved to the University of Montpellier in France. He studied French language and literature, and later at the Sorbonne in Paris, he explored the Indian influence on Irish literature. He married Camille Mouly, who taught French at Montpellier, in 1931. The marriage lasted until 1939. Later he depicted the breakdown of their marriage in ''The Serpent and the Rope''. Rao published his first stories in French and English. During 1931-32 he contributed four articles written in Kannada for ''Jaya Karnataka,'' an influential journal.
Rao's involvement in the nationalist movement is reflected in his first two books. The novel ''Kanthapura'' (1938) was an account of the impact of Gandhi's teaching on non-violent resistance against the British. The story is seen from the perspective of a small Mysore village in South India. Rao borrows the style and structure from Indian vernacular tales and folk-epic. Rao returned to the theme of Gandhism in the short story collection ''The Cow of the Barricades'' (1947). In 1998 he published Gandhi's biography ''Great Indian Way: A Life of Mahatma Gandhi.'' In 1988 he received the prestigious International Neustadt Prize for Literature. ''The Serpent and the Rope'' was written after a long silence during which Rao returned to India. The work dramatized the relationships between Indian and Western culture. The serpent in the title refers to illusion and the rope to reality. ''Cat and Shakespeare'' (1965) was a metaphysical comedy that answered philosophical questions posed in the earlier novels.
In 1965, he married Katherine Jones, an American stage actress. They have one son, Christopher Rama. In 1986, after his divorce from Katherine, Rao married his third wife, Susan, whom he met when she was a student at the University of Texas in the 1970s.
Rao died on July 8, 2006 at Austin, Texas, at the age of 97.
Non-Fiction
Upcoming Work
Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:1908 births Category:2006 deaths Category:Indian writers Category:Indian novelists Category:Aligarh Muslim University alumni Category:Kannada people Category:People from Hassan Category:English-language writers from India
de:Raja Rao kn:ರಾಜಾ ರಾವ್ fi:Raja Rao ta:ராஜா ராவ்This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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