VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

A few days ago I had written about the need to have a clear policy on waterfalls management. Please see the message that follows. I realise that for many this sounds like a far-fetched idea. "What impact could a waterfall in the Eastern ghats miles away from us have on us?" we may ask. We may feel that it is just an intellectual exercise with no real value. The fact is that it DOES IMPACT US in more ways than one but I will leave that to another occasion to expand. Coincidentally I visited several water flow sites in the hills some with waterfalls and others with water flowing over rocks. It was shocking to see that all these sites were filthy and in a few years will become unbearable to visit. The tourism department's objective is to show that they have developed a new tourist spot. They do not give a damn about how these spots can be maintained. A simple argument they have is "anyway visitors are coming here, all we are doing is making steps so...

Vizag’s incredible treadmill Sohan Hatangadi TOI dated 28 August 2016 If you notice that the most plans announced by the government for Vizag really doesn’t get executed. Enthusiastic government officials and political leaders announce project as soon as it pops up in their minds and the Press, hungry for some juicy news, goes to town announcing every outlandish plan with great relish. We the readers are also quite optimistic and believe everything in print. The minute we read the news, being proud Vizagites, we put it out on FB and WhatsApp and give the impression that it is really happening. This is indeed good for the wellbeing of our citizens who are always buoyed by good news however far it is from reality. Researchers are studying why only a small teeny weeny percentage of ideas actually get implemented and their findings are quite revealing. I therefore decided to meet the leading experts on the subject. Alphabet number 22 I walked along the long corridors of th...

Will the real Vizag stand up? Sohan Hatangadi TOI dated 10 July 2016 Those who have stayed for half a century or more in Vizag have witnessed the multiple personality changes the city has gone through. These changes have been due to a number of reasons, the most obvious being the arrival of waves of settlers at different times in the city’s history, the setting up of industry that impacted large numbers of people and the desire of Vizagites to live in “better” parts of town. Over time the city went through huge demographic changes worth studying in detail. As of now the city has no single personality label. It is a city with multiple personalities and that is an interesting phenomena. The comfortable decade, 1960 - 1970 When present senior citizens were kids, our little town was all sea, fisher folk, beaches, rolling wooded hills, miles and miles of palm trees and a large expanse of swampy land on the west. Most children went to schools or colleges by bus, bicycle or...

STOP LAYOUTS FROM DESTROYING OUR RURAL LANDSCAPE Ask anyone if they would like to live in a house surrounded by trees. Wherever they live nine out of ten would say “yes”.  Yet layout developers do not seem to understand the modern customer’s preference. As we drive through the countryside admiring the farms and tree-filled rural greenery we come across several brown layouts with great big arches and fancy names. These layouts are generally empty lands crisscrossed with fresh bitumen roads and devoid of trees or character. These layouts take the place of charming farm lands and mixed tree forests. We are losing thousands of acres of farm lands and green cover every year in the name of layout development. Loss of tree cover Developers buy 20 to 100 acres of farm land from farmers in the rural areas. These lands are generally full of shrubs, small trees and a few large ones. Some of the trees are 50 to 100 year old banyan, peepul, neem, tamarind, mango and jackfruit that ha...

Further to my post about CII's magnanimous attempts to develop Vizag. Here is a typical "Development" story adapted from Oren Ginsburg's presentation courtesy "Survival International". Prequel : When I travel - and someone asks me where I am from - and I say "Vizag" - and they say "wow, heard its a great place" - I say "its a lousy place - don't bother visiting". This is a defense mechanism. I am doing my part in reducing influx into Vizag. For God's sake - why can't they leave us alone to enjoy our city? Do your bit - don't go around telling folk from elsewhere that Vizag is great. _________________________________________________________________________ O nce upon a time two management gurus decided to "develop" Vizag. They made their way into Vizag's heartland with their laptops and suits.  They wanted to do a survey. After a while they came to a beautiful habitation in Viz...

Hi, Saw this news report in the Hindu on 20th April and thought to myself -  we are in deep trouble . The "development" brigade is marching again , Vizag is already over populated, over industrialized, over polluted, over loaded with traffic and over exploited. Vizag is bursting at its seems and in a constant state of chaos. There are no pavements that a pedestrian can use. All over the city small, school going children, scurry across the roads between traffic. Our beaches - one of the few recreational spots we have - is packed to capacity.  There is complete absence of public sanitation facility. Thousands urinate and defecate in the open everywhere. Look outside your window now and you will spot a a few on the job. Every gedda is choked with plastic waste. Our sewage system, serves only 30% of the population and that is already overloaded. Garbage overflows from municipal dustbins.  None of our pristine hills ...

Tourism for Vizag   “This city is so beautiful” the wise men said "The news of its charms, we must spread" The IAS boss of the town announced “someday… Vizag will be just like Mumbai” We must get the crowds here they declared For this a tourist hub must be prepared So they held a big tourist fair And officials came from everywhere "Infrastructure is required!" they stated And a very pretty picture they painted Businessmen licking their lips Looked forward to tourists in planes, trains and ships The leaders of Industry, And Vizag’s upper gentry, The rich and the famous Talked of structures quite wondrous "This CRZ laws must go" they thundered "Our environmentalists have all blundered" We need more beach resorts in our city And let's get rid of the damn fishing community The air travellers association Sold the benefits of increased av...