Do you know these things about Vizag?
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced at the international diplomatic alliance meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday that Visakhapatnam will become the new capital after almost nine years of Telangana and Andhra becoming separate states. In 2015, the then CM Chandrababu Naidu announced that Amaravati will be made the new capital. But in 2020, CM Jagan’s government has planned three capital cities of Andhra Pradesh – Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool. In March last year, the Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled against the decision. She told the government to develop Amaravati.
The capital of AP, the coastal city of Visakhapatnam is also known as Vizag.
‘Second largest city’
Located in the Eastern Ghats mountain range, bordering the Bay of Bengal, Visakhapatnam is one of the largest port cities in South India. It is the largest and most populous city in Andhra Pradesh. It is the second largest city on the east coast of India after Chennai. Many beaches, museums and temples also make the city a tourist hotspot.
A city with two ports
As the financial capital, now the state capital of Andhra Pradesh, it is the only city in India to have two of the largest ports in the country – Vizag Port and Gangavaram Port. Opened in 1933, Visakhapatnam Port will be among the top five ports in India in terms of cargo volume handled in 2022. Gangavaram is recognized as India’s deepest port with a total depth of 21 meters. It was launched in 2009.
First naval shooting range
Flag-Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice-Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Eastern Naval Command, inaugurated the Composite Indoor Shooting Range (CISR) at INS Karna on the Eastern Seaboard in August 2022. A first-of-its-kind shooting range in India, it serves as one of the three major bases of the Eastern Naval Command. It also houses the headquarters of the ENC.
First Submarine Museum in South Asia
Kursura, one of the first four submarines purchased by the Indian Navy in 1969, has been converted into a museum. This submarine played an important role in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan conflict. He was discharged from the Navy in 2001. It was transformed into South Asia’s first submarine museum in 2002 near Rama Krishna Beach. It is the second submarine museum in the world and was completed by the then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Oldest shipyard in India
Established in 1941, Hindustan Shipyard Limited is India’s first and oldest shipyard. In 2022, Hindustan Shipyard Limited recorded the highest production value in its history.
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant
Established in 1971, the Vizag Steel Plant at Gajuwaka is India’s only coastal based steel plant spread over 33,000 acres. The plant is focused on producing value-added steel by producing 5.773 million tonnes of hot metal, 5.272 million tonnes of crude steel and 5.138 million tonnes of salable steel in the financial year 2021-2022.
