Neglect taints Vizag's historic structures

One night in Visakhapatnam makes a hard man humble. Made of equal parts in spirituality and nirvans, Vizag continuous to hold tourists in thrall. An iconic track that sums up, everything that it represents as capital tourists destination. Home to over 20 lakh people, Vizag is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia and a wannabe metropolis with one of Asia's widest rich-poor disparities. The chaotic and vibrant city is a mishmash of dizzying upcoming skyscrapers and colossal shopping malls jammed up against residential apartment buildings and homes. Crowded streets bustle with sidewalk vendors and motorbikes, and 7.5 million registered cars overwhelm roads designed for just 1.4 million.

Ramakrishna Beach is the central point from where one should start for the site seeing of historical monuments, age-old structures and temples. Visakhapatnam is gay at night with neon signs and its hotels, I-maxes, restaurants and shops doing brisk business during the period. Visakhapatnam, which during independence was full of hills appropriate to the southern capital of the Raj and now hoardings has come everywhere. Its shoddy-streets and well tended apartments are the most fascinating and terrible changes being wrought on it makes the man on the street ponder awhile. As a matter of fact, they are in a league of their own, and most foreign tourists would be content to see and go home.

The city of destiny with its remarkable yet exquisite historical monuments and heritage buildings are vanishing gradually. Vizag is a place where legendaries, saints preached and stood for, is now becoming a cynosure for the common man and tourist folk for state government’s myopic vision and apathy coupled with callousness towards preserving the age old historical structures in the contemporary era for future importance.

The list goes on ----Town Hall (Heritage Building) & Madeena Dargah (supposed to be the oldest building in Visakhapatnam – 1257 A.D.), the Dutch Cemetery, existing dilapidated King George VII Market- popularly known as Kurpam Market built and presented by Rajah of Kurpam, Old Light house at port, Upputery that once used to be anchoring for ships, St.Jhon’s School and St.Aloysius School. Some of the old structures like the building where Dr.Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan lived, old DEO's office and some of the landmarks of that era are already lost.

Appeals of the NGOs regarding safeguarding the 2000-year old ancient Buddhist monuments of Bavikonda and Thotlakonda in an around Visakhapatnam to Government and the district administration largely falling on deaf years. Passing the buck is regular feature.

The rich cultural heritage of the country should be protected in the name of development. Bavikonda, Thotlakonda and Pavuralakonda were dated back to the 3rd century BC and the ashes of Buddha were found in a Mahasthupa at Bavikonda. Protecting them will also help tourism development in a big way. We cannot afford to lose them. All this and more, you love to hate but you cannot afford to miss it.

Visakhapatnam has been transformed over the last decade. It is less cameos picturesque poverty, more object lessons in how community should plot its prosperity and not leaves market forces unchecked. Visakhapatnam shamefully neglects their no-less-splendid inheritance, muttering always that they are too poor for fine buildings. One reason, perhaps the chief reason, why Visakhapatnam is so poor is that it disregards its appearance. The villas and bungalows are being demolished and replaced by office blocks and flats. Poverty is not the reason for the hideous spread of hoardings or for rich property owners to ignore maintenance. Behind the grime, over-crowding and corruption, Visakhapatnam is beautiful, but its beauty is sinking into its gutter. Rather than compete by restoring and boosting of its history, Visakhapatnam seems to set on a path to Latin –American ugliness.

Historic buildings are regarded by the district administration as “given”, a seam of fold that can be mined for tourist revenue but will never give out. They need protection or maintenance, official claim. Unscrupulous activities of outsiders in connivance with local people are something which is more amazing and agonizing. All this and more, are the tip of the iceberg of Visakhapatnam’s age-old history now tainting the image of bygone era.

“There are ‘action plans’ for hotels, roads, faster transport but scarcely any mention of conserving the Visakhapatnam’s historical monuments that tourists were coming to see” voiced top bureaucrat in the secretariat by pleading anonymity.

The collectorate buildings retaining its scruffy bustle and many other old structures enveloped in chocking fumes from which even the most indulgent lover of Visakhapatnam’s street life must recoil. The suburbs of Visakhapatnam are similarly blighted. Though the vizag hopes to become one of the Asia’s great tourist venues. But will tourists have the time or inclination to drive for hours in ghat roads to look valleys and temples at every nook and corner of the zones, when the walled city has crumbles away and what remains has been marinated in Carbon-mono-oxide?

Visakhapatnam attraction lies not just in the beauty of its antiquities, but also in their setting, in the harmony of the street, temples and hills far away from hustle-bustle. It has the appeal to evoke from even the most casual visitor, not just for admiration but enduring love. Visakhapatnam protests that such talk is code for keeping them poor. That is nonsense. Wealth is not the enemy of conservation, as the European cities show. Nor, does conservation require wealth. It requires political will to enforce that tourist revenue goes into safeguarding what tourists see, not into the pockets of the already rich. Poverty does not stop its Chief Ministers and ministers living in regal splendor. Most historic buildings in Visakhapatnam are being destroyed by the rich not the poor. Only few historical buildings though dilapidated emerges clean from jams and smog. At the secluded but exquisite tourist destination –Araku and few hotels have been built in and around adjacent places near scintillating waterfalls at Ananthagiri.

More to the point, it wants tourists flow. It hopes to attract even more than other states in future. Airports have been upgraded to International status. The number of flights risen including foreign airlines expected to increase their frequency by adding many more routes to gulf and south East Asia. Visakhapatnam is and will be one of the showpieces of Asia in the next century. With BRTS roads and some historical sites listed for preservation, the district administration gradually understands its historic character is as important to business as to passing tourists.

Visakhapatnam needs to show that it can attract visitors. For what attracts visitors also attracts the investment that Visakhapatnam desperately needs. It is no coincidence that the city is palpably booming. Visakhapatnam is also the most carefully tended and civilized to live. Visakhapatnam keeps its magnetism. No other region has such quantity of beauty on display human as well as political. It is here, also great civilization outside Europe, whose history can still be witnessed in brick and stone.Visakhapatnam is infinitely precious. It is now infinitely fragile.

By G SAMBASIVA RAO
The author is Vice President, The Andhra Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation