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Visakhapatnam (also known locally as Vizag) is the second largest city in 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. It is primarily an industrial city, but also attracts tourists due to its unspoilt sandy beaches, well built and maintained parks and nearby scenic areas, such as the Araku Valley. Currently the city has a population of about 1,500,000.
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Visakhapatnam (Vizag) is second largest city of 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. Kailasagiri is the best evening destination for Vizagites. It gives a beautiful view of the Vizag city, the sea and the mountains. All these make Vizag a beautiful city despite having a hot and sultry climate.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.
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.
Visakhapatnam is also popularly known as "City of Destiny"
From being a small fishing village in the twentieth century, Visakhapatnam has grown into an mega 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.
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.
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Victory at Sea 1971 commemorating victory over Pakistan
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.
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