VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

Dear friends, The new year is but 4 days away. One more year, a turbulant one, will be behind us. It is a good time to reflect on how we are faring as a nation. Today instead of my usual Vizag centric post I thought I should publish a speech delivered by my good friend, an exceptional manager and a visionary Mr. T.G.S. Babu who currently lives and works in Chennai. He worked in Vizag in the late '70s then left for greater assignments in other parts of the country. He gave this keynote speech in February 2010 at the  Coimbatore Management Association annual day. Do take the time to read it. Managing India: turning a dream into reality Good evening to all of you. You have chosen to assemble here on a Sunday evening to listen to a speech instead of opting for a movie or an outing with the family. I hope that you will not regret the choice that you made at the end of the event. I agreed to give a short address on the theme “Managing India: turning a dream into a reality” that...

Please first read this news item which appeared today 3 Dec, by clicking on this link: Vizag to become major hub for port activity Vizag Port Trust's Magic Trick Great magicians are experts in diversion. Accompanied by drum rolls, they direct your attention to something exciting and as you watch they perform their tricks behind smoke screens and curtains. This is what the port trust seems to be doing in Vizag. After years of complaints regarding pollution they say that they are cleaning up their act by installing a few mechanical coal handlers in the outer harbour. They hand out press notes and make statements saying that all the coal dust problems are solved. No one asks them and they don't want to say about where the coal is being stored! The major problem has been their archaic storage yards from where coal dust spreads all over the old city and sometimes all the way to Chinna Waltair and Gnyanapuram. What do they plan to do about that? North and West migra...

The peculiar headline   On page 3 of today’s (20 Nov) Deccan Chronicle I came across a very peculiar news item. The headline read “Sand mining gets nod” but the report itself said nothing about this “nod”. Now, the word “nod” in this context means “approval”. So someone scanning the headlines would think that the project is approved and the heavy machinery will move in any time soon to take away all the beach sand. I can only assume that some poor overworked reporter nodded off while writing that ridiculous headline.  The peculiar headline and the nod that isn't Telineelapuram? - Whats that? Ironically the news item appeared a along with another news item on the same page that read: Vizag turns into bird-lovers haven. The other news item on the same page Looking past the headline As we look past the peculiar headline we find that the two stories read together tell an amazing story of greed and stupidity. 97% greed and 53% stupidity. I know that 97%...

A version of this article also appeared in the Times of India, Vizag Edition, today Nov 18, "Forget tourists, develop city for its own people". ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Over the last several months I have been travelling out of Vizag often. Each time I return I am glad to be back. Not only because I am coming home to family and friends but because I come home to Vizag; my stunningly beautiful city.    It is natural that the residents of the city to be proud of Vizag. And from this pride comes the tendency to show off the city to others. That is why we Vizagite say “We should develop Vizag into a tourist spot”. The rationale for wanting tourists is that: tourism brings in visitors who spend gobs of money here and generate employment that makes Vizagites rich . Notice how a subliminal pride of the city is rationalized into what appears to be a good reason. But what is the truth about tourism? ...

Last evening it rained cats and dogs (and I stepped into a poodle!) This morning I went down to the beach road for a walk. I was hoping to walk along our pristine sands breathing in the fresh sea air and watching the sea gulls strutting at the water's edge. Yeah - in my dreams. But what I found was plenty of garbage, quite a stink and thousands of crows (bless them for they help clean our mess). I pity Vizag's beach cleaning brigade, the GVMC sanitary workers -  they have quite a job cleaning up the beach after a storm. But I digress... What caught my attention was a heap of bottles gathered by a couple of beach combers. Some bottles were already filled in large sacks and others were lying in neat piles. I asked them how many they had collected and from where. They said around 300 or so bottles already this morning from the gedda nearby. I was curious and asked him how much they were worth. He said the going rate was Rs. 15 per kg and he hoped to collect around 15 kg at that...

Who killed the Bora caves?     The buzz over Bora Over the last few days there is quite a buzz about promoting even more tourism in and around Bora and Araku. This news is scary. Why? You ask. Well, a visit to Bora Caves illustrates the huge adverse impact of tourism on the area. Gone in a blink In the early 1970’s I have visited the caves, long before it was made into a “picnic spot” and spent time admiring its imposing beauty.  Now, this important and sensitive geological formation has been made into an amusement park, with visitors clambering all over the formations and thousands carving their graffiti on the cave walls.  Guides The freelance tribal guides do not bother about the vandalism. They  are poorly trained and mope around, completely demoralized by their APTDC bosses.  Gone in a flash What took millions of years to form has been destroyed in a mere 10 years ... a blink in geological time. Formations, what f...

The Robert Wadera  News example Last night every English TV channel carried Arvind Kejriwal's news conference asking how Robert Wadera the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi got so rich so fast. I was expecting to read more about it in this morning's papers. I subscribe to the "Deccan Chronicle" and "The Hindu" . As I sat at the dining table sipping my sugar-free filter coffee and munching on my digestive biscuits, I noticed that while The Hindu thought that the story deserved front page mention, The Deccan Chronicle did not breathe a word about it in their front page. "What's a 300 crore scam in this day of lakhs of crores of scams" , the DC must have thought. "The public don't care about these piddly little scams, and who in Vizag bothers about Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law?" I am yet to compare the Telugu dailies . However the comparison of the front page of the two English papers shed light on how public opinion is shape...

Karthik Masam is here.   Starting at the end of October and stretching for a month. Hordes of picnickers will descend on Vizag's best green spaces and dump heaps of garbage everywhere. They think it is a spiritual communion with nature! Last year I made and circulated these flyers and posters. I will be doing it this year too. My tiny little bit to make my city clean. If you want to help, get vocal, protest if you see picnickers littering. Let them know you are unhappy. Keeping quiet wont help. Please pass this on to friends. More later, Sohan

Whats your pole number? Do you know your pole number? You know ... that electrical pole outside your apartment or villa? If you do not know, then as a good citizen, go down and take a look. What do you see? Does it have a number on it?  I don't mean the number of the packers or movers, or the friendly local electrician. I mean the number of the pole itself as allotted by GVMC or EPDCL. Why would you need the pole number? Well, if the street light is not working in your part of town, you will have to call a GVMC  number to lodge a complaint. To do this you will first have to know the street light not working complaint number.  This telephone number is not displayed anywhere prominently for the general public to see. Going by how few people know this number I assume it is a top secret classified number . But, have no fear, I will reveal it to you. The number is   155304 . However if you call the number to lodge a complaint, they will ask you for your POL...

What does our Andhra University say about us? When we think of Universities, what generally comes to mind is, imposing buildings, green lawns, old trees, a dignified island of academics. Peaceful, distinguished and clean. But, when it comes to Andhra University what comes to mind is ramshackle buildings, poor maintenance, filth and dirt. Don't believe me? Just visit the Convocation theater  toilet. You would rather go in the bushes than go into the loo. Library Andhra University Library Compound The famous D.V.S. Krishna library is a poor imitation of its past. The structure needs urgent attention both inside and outside. Look around the lawns. A couple of vending carts have taken the role of a library cafeteria. Several people eat and drink here. Thousands of plastic tea cups and  plates are scattered all over the compound. What type of people create the garbage? What type of people allow this hideous apology for a canteen to run here?  Are they reall...