Visakhapatnam, earlier known as Vizagapatnam and now also known as Vizag, was declared as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said he would also shift his office to the port city of Visakhapatnam in the coming months.
Speaking at a preparatory meeting in Delhi for the Global Investors Summit to be held in Visakhapatnam in March, he told investors, “Here I am inviting you to Visakhapatnam which is going to be our capital in days to come. Will shift to Visakhapatnam in the coming months.”
Some things you should know about Visakhapatnam, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh:
◉ Visakhapatnam is the largest and most populous city of Andhra Pradesh. It is between the Eastern Ghats and the coast of Bay of Bengal. is the second largest city on the east coast of India After Chennai and the fourth largest in South India. It is one of the four smart cities in Andhra Pradesh selected under the Smart Cities Mission.
◉ Visakhapatnam is said to be surrounded by ancient Buddhist sites, most of which have been recently excavated and reflect the legacy of Buddhism in the region.
As of 2011 Census of India, Visakhapatnam had a population of 1,728,128, of which males were 873,599 and females 854,529 – a sex ratio of 978 females per 1000 males. The most recent estimate of the city’s population in 2022 is 2,358,412.
◉ Telugu is the official and most spoken language by native speakers. According to the 2011 census, Telugu is the most spoken language in the city with 92.72 percent speakers, followed by Urdu (2.52 percent), Hindi (2.15 percent), Odia (1.00 percent), Tamil (0.33 percent) comes , Malayalam (0.32 percent), and Bengali (0.31 percent).
◉ Visakhapatnam is known for its beaches, caves and Eastern Ghats as well as wildlife sanctuaries. According to WikipediaAbout 30 percent of the city is covered with greenery.
◉ The city houses the two largest ports of the country – Vizag Port and Gangavaram Port.
◉ In August 2022, the first of its kind Composite Indoor Shooting Range (CISR) was inaugurated at INS Karna, which is located in the Eastern Naval Command’s home port of Visakhapatnam. According to the Indian Navy, CISR is a state-of-the-art, self-contained, 25 m, six lane, live firing range for all primary and secondary weapons in the Navy.
◉ Nestled between the Eastern Ghats mountain range and the Bay of Bengal, Visakhapatnam is often referred to as the ‘Jewel of the East Coast’ for being one of the largest port cities in South India.
◉ The Kursura Museum of the Indian Navy, which is inside a real submarine, is located in Visakhapatnam. INS Kursura was the fourth submarine of India. It is located at RK beach near the war memorial in Visakhapatnam. According to news agency ANI, the submarine played an important role in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.
◉ Established in 1941, Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is located in Visakhapatnam and is the first and oldest shipyard in the country. In 2022, HSL recorded the highest value of production in its history.
A blockbuster film by SS Rajamouli ‘RRR’ brought Alluri Sitarama Raju into the limelight as actor Ram Charan played the role of a freedom fighter who spent a few years in Visakhapatnam.
political background
In 2015, the N Chandrababu Naidu-led government acquired over 33,000 acres of land from farmers to develop Amaravati as the state capital.
After Jagan Reddy took over in 2019, the Andhra Pradesh government wanted three capitals – Visakhapatnam-executive capital, Amaravati-legislative capital and Kurnool-judicial capital and passed appropriate legislation.
The Jagan Reddy government had in November last year passed a bill in the Assembly repealing the controversial AP Decentralization and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, which aimed to set up three capitals for the state.
Jagan Reddy, speaking in the assembly without setting any time frame, said the government would bring a “comprehensive, complete and better” bill after plugging the loopholes in the previous version.
In March last year, the Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled against the three capitals and directed the government to envisage Amaravati as the state capital. The court, in its judgment dated March 3, 2022, also said that the state legislature does not have the competence to make any law to move, divide or trifurcate the capital.
Challenging the order of the High Court, the State Government filed a petition in the Supreme Court.
The High Court also set a timeline for the development of Amaravati.
Many ministers are clearly saying that the government will come out with a new bill on the issue of three capitals, despite the litigation going on in the Supreme Court.
(With inputs from PTI)
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