VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

Vizag’s dirty secret Nallah nostalgia Storm water drains form naturally over time when rain water runs-off the land towards slopes. We also call them “nallahs” or “geddas”. Vizag has hillocks on three sides and a sea on one side. It is natural that all the rain water to gush quite quickly down the slopes and into the sea. Along the way the storm water gathered in some of the low lying areas forming natural reservoirs before making its way to the sea. Vizag always had an excellent natural storm water drainage system. A survey of India map of Vizag in 1929 shows that we had 31 km of storm water drains within the smaller Vizag at that time and 300 acres of water bodies that these storm water drains drained into. Fascinating ecosystem This system of natural storm water drains was an ecological wonderland. Tall grass grew all along the nallahs and played host to myriad creatures. At the bottom of the food chain were the worms, grasshoppers, mantis, tadpoles, frogs, snai...

CRZ is a much misunderstood law. Read this article to get an overview of the subject from Vizag's perspective. Just click this link. CRZ story: Battle to save coast The story as it appeared in the newspaper: In word document: CRZ story: Battle to save coast Sohan Hatangadi Dated: 23 April 2015 To appreciate the philosophy of CRZ let’s go back a few decades. When we were kids most of us lived in Vizag’s “Old Town” near Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT), we lived within a few hundred yards of the beach, and played on the beach and swam in the sea whenever we could. Hundreds of catamarans, boats made with just two pieces of wood, would sail out every morning with their white sails dotting the clear blue sea and come back every afternoon laden with fish. Some fishermen would spread their nets from the beach and haul in a bounty of assorted crabs, prawns and fish that would leap in the nets as they came ashore, sparkling in the sun like stainless steel springs. Some ...

Vizag's mysterious black hole Read all about it ... click on this link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Vizags-mysterious-black-hole/articleshow/46731793.cms?utm_source=fb&utm_campaign=toimobile&utm_medium=referral

V izagites have a love affair with plastic and it’s not only on Valentine Day. Look around and see the ubiquitous water bottles, water sachets, milk sachets, plastic bags, tea cups, and Styrofoam plates. Plastics are in mounds everywhere, from Akkayapalem to Andhra University, from Dabagardens to Dwarakanagar, from RK beach to Railway Station, from Gajuwaka to Gopalpatnam. They lie in heaps - at the tiffin, tea and panipoori shops, stuffed into Vizag’s drains and geddas, strewn across our once pristine beaches, at RTC bus stands, alongside our roads and rail tracks, on every empty plot of land and at temples where prasadam and offerings are made accompanied by some sort of plastic. In fact our beaches today still shows the ravages of the recent Shiva Rathri when lakhs bathed themselves in our sacred bay. The trouble with plastics Plastics are a headache to get rid of. They are not soluble in water and they just do not decompose or deteriorate easily. So every time we throw a...

In February 2014 Bangalore Mirror ran a series of public service ads along with a campaign asking for footpaths in Bangalore. In Vizag too there are no continuous running footpaths for pedestrians. We are forced to walk on the road along with the vehicular traffic and this situation endangers our lives. After we have parked our bikes or cars we need to walk some distance on a footpath to go to our destination - a shop or office or school. It's time we asked for basic footpaths. Those interested in this topic please contact me at sohan.hatangadi@gmail.com

Please leave our beach alone In the 1970’s, ‘80s and early ‘90s one went to the RK beach for some peace and quiet, it was a place for reflection, for rejuvenation and for recharging the spirits of those who wanted to take a short break from the hustle and bustle of the city. A place for recreation It is difficult to believe but the beach was lonely and quiet then. All sorts of Vizagites went there during the day or night. Businessmen irked with the pressures of work life rode their rickety Vespas to the beach road and parked there for a while. Listening to the sounds of the waves they found some solace. After puffing on a Charminar, they went back to work greatly refreshed. In the late afternoons, young men and women, with raging hormones, sat on the sand necking. As evening descended, a couple of beat constables set out on their bicycles to cover their territory from RK Beach to Palm Beach. No fancy “beach police” cooling their heels in jeeps like now. When they cycle co...

Here is a device that could help sharply cut down "nuisance". At the same time it could reduce population!

To read this article please click on this link: Integrating ecology and economy - The Hindu Very often, around watering holes in Vizag, the subject of environmental protection comes up for discussions and turns to heated argument quite soon. Many of us think that we have a responsibility to generate growth and the damn environmentalist is obstructing us. The newspaper reports and some politicians encourage this thinking because they want to get their hands on the resources, make money and exit as soon as possible. Others are of the opinion that we cannot, must not rob the future by our actions in the present. Like us there will be hundreds of generations. They must be given a chance to enjoy nature as we have in our lifetime. There are several issues in this ecology-economy debate. Please read this article before you make up your mind on the subject.

Come with me on a wild drive through our crowded Dabagardens area. Here like in most of Vizag there is no room for pedestrians. Enjoy the drive!

Panaji and Visakhapatnam a s study on climate resiliency Published on 5 Jan 2015 India has 130 towns and cities in 84 coastal districts. Climate science is increasingly warning us about the likely impacts of sea-level rise and cyclones on these cities. But are we paying heed? ‘Losing Ground’ maps out the climate vulnerability of two coastal cities in India- Panaji and Visakhapatnam, and builds a case for all coastal cities to start climate proofing their infrastructure and services without losing any more time.

Hatangadi's North India trip September-October 2014 At Rohtang Pass Here is the route Paragliding in the Himalayas Click here to see my paragliding YouTube video

Being practical is being smart Published in The Times of India on 21st December 2014 Every morning our heart leaps with joy when we read about the wondrous developments that are planned for Vizag. Apparently we are going to be a smart city. The mental imagery of this idea is quite enticing. I can visualize eager young executives riding gleaming Metro coaches and the BRTS to work and back. Stylish hospitals delivering babies, who go to smart schools and universities, get qualified, and go on to work in factories and ITES companies. Tourists descending on Vizag and spend bushels of money, they go swimming, wind surfing and sun bathing in swim suits. Our elderly, fortified by excellent health services, sit at the beach (with their binoculars, ensuring that the sun bathers in swim suits are safe). All citizens living in clean green living spaces with parks and houses like in Singapore. Children play in the park and the sound of their laughter permeates the air. What a glorious wonder...

Diabolical designs Published in the Times of India on 30 Nov 2014 We Indians are poor planners and designers. It must be something to do with the imprecise fuzzy way we think. Our philosophy that it is our karma to suffer for past sins and our “ parva ledhu ” (doesn't matter) attitude doesn't help either. Whatever the reason, we must conclude that we are the reigning champions of lousy design. Here are a few, of many reasons, why. BRTS The bus rapid transit system being implemented in Vizag shows amazing examples of daft design. It is logical that when passengers get off the bus they need to move safely away to the pavement on either side of the road. A good example of irrational design is the BRTS bus stand in front of the Swarna Bharati indoor stadium on Rama Talkies Road. The bus stand is barely 4 feet wide and shrinks to 2 feet or so at the exit point. A partial bus load of passengers stepping off the bus will obviously be bottle-necked at this narrow point ...

October 2014 Branding Vizag In the recent past, there has been quite some talk of branding Vizag. While branding appears to be a straight forward exercise, the fact is that it involves considerable research, strategy, creativity and long-term marketing discipline. Leave it to the professionals The tricky thing about branding is that once it has acquired a set of attributes it becomes difficult to change. For example, would you be comfortable with a soft drink called “Dettol” or a motorbike called “Colgate”?  Brands take years to build and cost a lot of money. In fact, brands constitute a large portion of the value of a company. They are zealously protected and very often the brand is more important than other assets that an organisation may have.  Branding products and services is complicated enough but branding a city is an even more difficult proposition. That is why branding must be handled by professionals with deep understanding and experience of the subject....