Visakapatnam pronunciation (help·info) (Telugu: విశాఖపట్ణం) (also Viśākhapattanamu, shortened and anglicized: Vizag or Vizagapatnam) is a coastal, port city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located on the eastern shore of India, nestled among the hills of the Eastern Ghats and facing the Bay of Bengal to the east. It is the administrative headquarters of Visakhapatnam District and is also home of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.

Alternatively, it sometimes goes by its now mostly defunct colonial British name, Waltair. During the colonial era, the city had at its hub the Waltair railway station, and that part of the city still goes by the name of Waltair. It is sometimes also referred to as the "City of Destiny".^{[citation needed]}

The city is home to several state owned heavy industries, one of the most advanced steel plants and has one of the country's largest ports and its oldest shipyard. It has the only natural harbour on the eastern coast of India.

Andhra University, a prominent seat of education in Andhra Pradesh is located here.

Vizag is primarily an industrial city, apart from being a tourist destination. Tourists are attracted by its unspoilt beaches, nearby scenic Araku Valley and Borra caves, the 11th-century Simhachalam temple and ancient Buddhist sites like Totlakonda & Bavikonda spread across the area.

The city boasts a submarine museum, the first of its kind in South Asia, at Rama Krishna Beach.

The City:

From being a small fishing village in the twentieth century, Vizag has grown into an industrial hub. Its saga began with the quest of British to find a suitable port that connects the rich mineral belt of Central provinces with the East Coast. Unlike the western coast of India, the east coast have few undulations to form a natural harbor. Their quest for finding out a harbor ended with Vizag. Vizag is the most protected natural harbour in Asia. They started building the harbor in 1927 and in 1933 it was opened to traffic. One more important milestone is setting up of Scindia Steam Navigation Co., later known as Hindustan Shipyard Ltd in 1940. With the construction of the K.K. line connecting the iron ore mines of Biladila in M.P. (Present day Chattisgarh), its importance grew. In 1950s and 1960s Government and private sector setting up some largescale Basic industries like Bharat Heavy plates and vessels (B.H.P.V.), Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Caltex oil refinery (Later acquired by government as H.P.C.L.), Coramandel fertilizers, Andhra Polymers (Now L.G. Polymers), etc. 1980s saw a major development with the development of Vizag Steel and other major industries. Economic liberalization in the 1990s brought a modest growth to the city but not as much as it did to Hyderabad. However, some industries sprang up like Rain calclining Ltd., expansion of H.P.C.L., setting up of Vizag Export Processing zone, Simhadri Thermal Power plant of N.T.P.C., etc. Vizag is now declared as one of ten fastest growing cities of the world a recent study conducted by the United Nations.

Due to the presence of the Eastern Naval Command, Steel Plant, H.P.C.L., the city has been the home to people from different parts of the country and due to this the city has a cosmopolitan texture to it.

The city's main commercial and shopping centres are located in the Dwaraka Nagar-R.T.C. complex area and Jagadamda Junction area. Since 2000, the Dwaraka Nagar-R.T.C. complex area has transformed into a commercial hub with new shopping malls and complexes spring up within a radius of 2-3 kilometers. The city is home to many five star hotels such as Taj group, I.T.C. Welcome Group & Park Hotels.

There has been a rise in the real estate prices attributed to the Telangana movement for a separate Telangana state, fueling speculation on Vizag becoming the next capital. Recently various large and small software and BPO companies have announced plans for starting development and outsourcing centers in Vizag, which has also contributed to the rise in real estate prices. Inflows from N.R.I.'s (Non Resident Indians) from Vizag has further added to this rise.

Indira Gandhi Zoological Park was setup in 1972 in the city outskirts. The Zoo Park features some of the rarest species in India.

History and Culture:

This region, formerly part of the Kalinga empire (ancient Orissa) that stretched up to the river Godavari, has also been mentioned in Hindu and Buddhist texts from the 5th and 6th centuries B.C.E., as well as by Sanskrit grammarians Panini and Katyayana in the 4th century B.C.E.

This city was ruled by several dynasties:

1. Chedi
2. Kalinga up to 7th century
3. Chalukyas during the 8th century
4. Cholas
5. Eastern Ganga Dynasty (11-14th century)
6. Vijayanagara Empire

Local legend states that an Andhra king (9-11th century) while on his way to Benares, rested there and was so enchanted with the sheer beauty of the place, that he ordered a temple to be built in honor of his family deity, Visakha. Archaeological sources however reveal that the temple was possibly built between the 11th and 12th centuries by the Chola's. A shipping merchant, Sankarayya Chetty, built one of the mandapams (Pillared halls) of the temple. Although it no longer exists (It may have been washed away about a hundred years ago by a cyclonic storm), elderly residents of Vizag talk of visits to the ancient shrine by their grandparents. Noted author Ganapatiraju Atchuta Rama Raju contradicted this [1].

In the 18th century, Visakhapatnam was part of the Northern Circars, a region comprised of Coastal Andhra and southern costal Orissa that was initially under French control and later the British. Visakhapatnam became a district in the Madras Presidency of British India. After India's independence it was the biggest district in the country and was subsequently divided into the three districts of Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram and visakapatnam.

Strategic Importance:

Ever since the battle of Kalinga during emperor Ashoka's reign, the city found itself as a hotbed of military activity in almost every battle witnessed in the country. Right from the battle of Kalinga, World War II, India-Pakistan war of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War. It was only the second region in south Asia to be attacked by Japanese fighter planes during world war II. Recognising the strategic importance of the city and the role it played during the Bangladesh Liberation War, Pakistan sent its submarine, P.H.S. Ghazni to destroy the port and sink India's only aircraft carrier. The submarine was spotted by the coast guard and sunk. The remnants of the submarine are on display on the beach road.

The city was so important during times of war that the Indian government decided to set up the Eastern Naval Command, overlooking the more populous Chennai and Kolkata and developed Vizag during that period. The establishment of the E.N.C. soon after the construction of the ship building yard firmly secured Vizag's place in the annals of the Indian Navy. More defence related establishments would later come up including the N.S.T.L. (Naval Science and Technology Laboratories), which is responsible for the development and testing of warship technology, equipment and weapons. The Navy is also constructing a second base as the current base is overpopulated and not sufficient to meet the needs of the E.N.C.

DOORS AND ITS TYPES

A door is a panel or barrier, usually hinged, sliding, or electronic, that is used to cover an opening in a wall or partition going into a building or space. A door can be opened to give access and closed more or less securely. The term door is also applied to the opening itself, more properly known as the doorway.
Doors are nearly universal in buildings of all kinds, allowing passage between the inside and outside, and between internal rooms. When open, they admit ventilation and light.
The purpose of a door closure is primarily to give occupants of a space privacy and security by regulating access. For this purpose doors are equipped with a variety of fittings ranging from simple latches to locks.
The door is used to control the physical atmosphere within a space by enclosing it, excluding air drafts, so that interiors may be more effectively heated or cooled. Doors are significant in preventing the spread of fire.
Doors also have an aesthetic role in creating an impression of what lies beyond. They are also used to screen areas of a building for aesthetic purposes, keeping formal and utility areas separate. They act as a barrier to noise.
Doors are often symbolically endowed with ritual purposes, and the guarding or receiving of the keys to a door, or being granted access to a door can have special significance. [1] Similarly, doors and doorways frequently appear in metaphorical or allegorical situations, literature and the arts, often as a portent of change.
When framed in wood for snug fitting of a door, the doorway consists of two vertical jambs on either side, a lintel or head jamb at the top, and perhaps a threshold at the bottom. When a door has more than one movable panel, one of the panels may be called a leaf.
See door furniture for a discussion of attachments to doors such as doorhandles and doorknobs. Doors are also found in cupboards and other furniture, cages, and vehicles.

A flush door is a completely smooth door, having plywood or MDF fixed over a light timber frame, the hollow parts of which are often filled with a cardboard core material. Flush doors are most commonly employed in the interior of a dwelling, although slightly more substantial versions are occasionally used as exterior doors, especially within hotels and other buildings containing many independent dwellings.

A moulded door has the same structure as that of flush door. The only difference is that the surface material is a moulded skin made of HDF / MDF. It is commonly used as interior doors.

A ledge and brace door is a door made from multiple vertical planks fixed together by two horizontal planks (the ledges) and kept square by a diagonal plank (the brace).

Mechanism of the sliding door of an elevator

A garden door is any door that opens to a garden or backyard. It is often used specifically for double French doors in place of a sliding glass door. In such a configuration, it has the advantage of a very large opening for moving large objects in and out.

A pet door is an opening in a door to allow pets to enter and exit without the main door being opened. It may be simply covered by a rubber flap or it may be an actual door hinged on the top that the pet can push through. Pet doors may be mounted in a sliding glass door as a new (permanent or temporary) panel. Pet doors may be unidirectional, only allowing pets to exit. Pet doors may be electronic, only allowing pets with a special electronic tag to enter.

A bifold door is door unit that has 2 to 4 sections, folding in pairs. The doors can open from either side for one pair, or fold off both sides for two pairs. Wood is the most common material, and doors may also be metal or glass. Bifolds are most commonly made for closets, but may also be used as units between rooms.

A bypass door is a door unit that has 2 or more sections. The doors can slide from each direction on an overhead track, sliding past each other. They are most commonly used in closets, in order to access one side of the closet at a time. The doors in a bypass unit will overlap slightly, in order not to have a gap between them.

A pocket door is a door that slides on rails, rather than swinging on hinges, and, when opened, slides into an open cavity within a wall.

A sliding glass door, sometimes called an Arcadia door, is a door made of glass that slides open and sometimes has a screen. Sliding glass doors are common in many houses, particularly as an entrance to the backyard. Such doors are also popular for use for the entrances to commercial structures.

A false door is a wall decoration that looks like a door. In ancient Egyptian architecture, this was a common element in a tomb, the false door representing a gate to the afterlife. They can also be found in the funerary architecture of the desert tribes (e.g., Libyan Ghirza). It may have influenced the mihrab in a mosque.

A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors (wings/leaves) that hang on a center shaft and rotate one way about a vertical axis. Between the point of access and the point of exit the user walks through an airlock. The door may be motorized, or manually people use pushbars. People can walk out and into the building at the same time. Revolving doors are a good air seal from the outside. Also minimize A/C and Heating Costs climate control from the building. This type of door is also often seen as a mark of prestige and glamour for a building and it not unusual for neighbouring buildings to install their own revolving doors when a rival building gets one.

A Butterfly Door is so-called because of its two "wings". It consists of a double-wide panel with its rotation axle in the centre, effectively creating two separate openings when the door is opened. Butterfly doors are made to rotate open in one direction (usually counterclockwise), and rotate closed in the opposite direction. The door is not equipped with handles, so it is a "push" door. This is for safety, because if it could open in both directions, someone approaching the door might be caught off guard by someone else opening the other side, thus impacting the first person. Such doors are popular in public transit stations, as it has a large capacity, and when the door is opened, traffic passing in both directions keeps the door open. They are particularily popular in underground subway stations, because they are heavy, and when air currents are created by the movement of trains, the force will be applied to both wings of the door, thus equalizing the force on either side, keeping the door shut.

Automatic doors are powered open and closed, a door fitted with a spring to close it is not an automatic door. There are three methods by which an automatic door is activated.

Inward opening doors are doors that can only be opened or forced open from outside a building. Such doors pose a substantial fire risk to occupants of occupied buildings when they are locked. As such doors can only be forced open from the outside, those within buildings are prevented from escape, unless people outside the building can force the doors open and off their hinges as there is no way to lever a door open from inside.

1 - A sensor detects traffic is approaching. Sensors for automatic doors are generally:

• A pressure sensor - a floor mat which reacts to the pressure of someone standing on it.
• An infrared curtain or beam which shines invisible light onto sensors; if someone or something blocks the beam the door can open.
• A motion sensor which uses low-power microwave radar.
• An electronic sensor (e.g. based on infrared or radio waves) can be triggered by something that someone carries, or is installed inside a vehicle. These are popular for garage doors.

2 - A switch is operated manually, perhaps after security checks. This can be a push button switch or a swipe card.

3 - The user pushes, or pulls the door, once the door detects the movement it completes the open and close cycle. These are also known as power-assisted doors.

Leaf Diagrams of the selfbolting door concept

In addition to activate sensors automatic doors are generally fitted with safety sensors. These are usually an infrared curtain or beam, but can be a pressure mat fitted on the swing side of the door. The purpose of the safety sensor is to prevent the door opening or slow its speed if an object is detected in its path whilst opening and to prevent the door closing or reactivate it if an object is detected in its path whilst closing.

Heron of Alexandria created the earliest known automatic door in the 1st century AD. Later in the 13th century, al-Jazari created more elaborate automatic gates.^[2]

Blast-proof doors, nuclear-blast proof doors, etc.

A tambour door is made of narrow horizontal slats and rolls up and down along vertical tracks and is typically found in entertainment centres and cabinets.

A selfbolting door is a door that has special hinges that allows a door leaf to slide into the place of the bolt after complete closing.

GUNTUR

Guntur pronunciation (help·info) (Telugu: గుంటూరు, Urdu: گنٹور, Hindi: गुंटूर) is a city and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located 40 miles to the north of Bay of Bengal. It is approximately 1000 miles to the south of the capital, New Delhi. The city has an estimated population of 818,330 (514,707 as per 2001 census) with an Urban Agglomeration of approximately 1,028,667. Guntur is one of the larger (tier-2) cities in the country.

Guntur is a centre of learning and the administrative capital of Guntur district, which is home of historically significant Amaravati, Bhattiprolu and Sitanagaram monuments. The city is also a centre for business, industry, and agriculture. The region is identified as a major transportation and textile hub in India. Additionally, the Guntur area economy has an agricultural component that is internationally known for its exports of chillies, cotton, and tobacco.

Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Modern Guntur 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Culture and diversity 4.1 Language and Festivals 4.2 City lifestyle 5 Economy 5.1 Cotton-Tobacco-Chilli city 5.2 Industrialisation 5.3 Farming and Vegetation 5.4 Ports and Shore points 6 Transportation 6.1 Highways/roadways 6.2 Trains 6.3 Air travel 7 Academics/education and research 8 City Affairs 8.1 Local Cuisine 8.2 Market 8.3 Entertainment and events 8.4 Infrastructure and media 8.5 Health care 8.6 Local governance, The GMC 8.7 Law and order 9 Tourism & places of interest 10 Sports and stadia 11 Countryside 12 Trivia 13 References 14 See also 15 External links

[edit] History

The Kingdom of Pratipalapura of 500 BCE (Bhattiprolu in Guntur district), appears to be the earliest known kingdom in south India. The earliest recorded reference of Guntur comes from the Idern plates of Ammaraja I (922-929 CE), the Vengi Chalukyan king. Guntur also appears in two other inscriptions dated 1147 CE and 1158 CE. The original Sanskrit (ancient Vedic culture/tradition) name for Guntur was Garthapuri (a place surrounded by water ponds('garta'/'gunta')).

An old temple at Garthapuri

The 'Agasthyeswara Sivalayam' in the old city is an ancient temple for Lord Siva . It has inscriptions on two stones in 'Naga Lipi' (an ancient script) dating back to about 1100 CE. The backyard of the temple hosts a very historic tree . It is said that Agastya built the temple in the last Treta-Yuga around the Swayambhu Linga and hence it has this name. The 'Nagals' were said to have ruled the region at that time. More recently, the region was under the Nizam's rule (known as jagir of Nawab Salabat Jung till 1788) prior to the colonial period. During colonial rule, Guntur was under the control of the French and then the British, until India's independence. The region has been historically known for Buddhism and the first Kalachakra ceremony performed by Buddha himself ^[1][2].

LumbiniVanam

The place of Sitanagaram and the Guthikonda Caves ^[3] can be traced (through Vedic Puranas) back to the last Treta-Yuga and Dwapara-Yuga (Traditional Time scale: 1.7 to 0.5 million years ago, Ref).

Further information: Guntur District#History and in a Paleolithic aspect. Also check Timeline of Guntur.

[edit] Modern Guntur

A park place

A city street

The original Guntur used to be located where the current 'Old Guntur' exists. Over the last 50-100 years, the city has expanded largely to the north, which is called New Guntur ^[4]. The current size of the city has an inner radius of about 6 miles. The City-region comprises the surrounding suburban and rural areas spanning in all the directions. New townships are mushrooming in these areas. ^{[5] [6]}

[edit] Geography

Guntur Region from a Satellite

• Guntur Plains: Guntur is located at 16.20° N 80.27° E^[7]. It has an average elevation of 33 metres (108 feet) and situated on the plains. There are a few hills in the surrounding suburban areas. The city is located around 40 miles (64 km) to the north of the Bay of Bengal on the east coast of India. The Krishna Delta lies partly in Guntur district. There are other smaller rivers and channels in the region such as Guntur Channel, Chandravanka, Naagileru, Guntur Branch Canal ^[8] etc.
• As quoted in NASA's website ^[9] "it is typical of the wider deltas along the southeast coast of India (known as the Coromandel Coast). The braided stream channels, broad floodplain, and extensive sandbars suggest that this part of the Krishna River flows through relatively flat terrain and carries a substantial amount of sediment, especially during the monsoon season." Image Website of NASA of the Guntur City and District/Region of India. With the ocean on the top portion of the image, the actual location of the city is on the bottom right side portion of the image.
• Rain storms and hurricanes are common in the region during the rainy season, which starts with the monsoons in early June. The hurricanes could occur any time of the year, but commonly between May and November.
• Also check Guntur City Region on Wiki-Maps.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^[10], Guntur had a population of 514,707. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Guntur has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 62%. In Guntur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The region extends over an area of 11.68 sq. miles, while its population was about 25,000 by 1866 census and 30,183 by 1902 census. By 1961 census Guntur had a population of 187,122. It has grown about six times in its size during these 60 years. Currently the city is estimated to have population of around 800,000 with Urban Agglomeration of approximately 1,028,667.

[edit] Culture and diversity

With the culture and traditions of ageless Sanatana Dharma/Ancient Vedic Civilization (known as Hinduism) and its principles (Sarvē Janā Sukhinō Bhavantu), the Guntur Region had a place for all religions, castes, sects and creeds. One of the purportedly lost tribes of Israel called Bene Ephraim, has a presence in Guntur, with even a Jewish synagogue. Religious faiths such as Islam and Christianity lead a harmonious existence.

[edit] Language and Festivals

Festival Parade

Street Fireworks

Telugu is the main language of communication in the city. One of the earliest/purest forms of Telugu language can be noticed in this region. Other languages such as English and Hindi are used in the city to a minor extent. The culture is vibrant with many festivals (that have been celebrated over thousands of years). Those festivals observed in Guntur with great pomp and splendour are: Deepavali, Krishna-Ashtami, Rama Navami, Sankranti, Sivaratri, Ugadi, Vijaya Dasami, Vinayaka-Chaviti. Also, noticeable are festivals introduced before a few centuries, including Christmas, Eid ul-Fitr, Muharram, Ramadan. The 30th International Kalachakra festival was held at Amaravati near Guntur.

A late evening

[edit] City lifestyle

The city's lifestyle has a mixture of both urban and rural with some cosmopolitan element. Like any typical Indian city, the majority of the population is from middle and lower middle class families. With a reasonable cost of living and most basic amenities available, the city attracts people from outside. Guntur's residents wear both Indian style and Western style clothing. The common traditional clothing for women is a Saree, Salwar and for men formally, a Dhovathi or Pancha or casually, a Lungi.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Cotton-Tobacco-Chilli city

Farming outside city

Guntur City and its region is a major commercial centre in India. Cotton, tobacco and chilli are some of the major commodities that are exported from here to different parts of the world. The city hosts the largest Asian market ^[11] for red chillies. The Tobacco Board, India, a part of the Government of India, is headquartered in Guntur. The chillies that are grown in this region are some of the hottest in the world, and are in constant competition ^[12] with chillies from Mexico for first place. A 'Spice Park' is currently being setup in the area ^[13]. The cotton that grows in the region is used in making some of the finest sarees in India ^[14].

[edit] Industrialisation

The industrial development in the Guntur Region is of medium scale. On a positive note the region has minimal industrial and related pollution as compared to major cities in the country. Some of the industries in the area are: textile mills/handloom, silk, Sangam Dairy, cement factories, Andhra Fertilizers, jute mills, granite industries, diamond and other ore processing (Hindustan Zinc Limited), Auto-Nagar and software/IT Companies. A Textile Hub is being developed on the southwestern side of the city ^[15], and the government is also encouraging the setting up of new industries. Possible future plans include the Biotechnology Park, ^[16] Knowledge Park etc.

[edit] Farming and Vegetation

• Farm lands

The Guntur region (that is, the Krishna Delta part) is one of the most fertile areas in India. With the River Krishna flowing to the north of the district, the area has many farmlands and paddy fields growing wide varieties of rice, other food grains, and other various crops. The Guntur Branch Canal (GBC) and other smaller rivers serve water to the farmlands in the region.

Green Motto

• Afforestation, Green Guntur

A social forestry project for Guntur is on the anvil to make the region greener; Guntur^[17] (since only about 35% of the forest in the district has survived as per available statistics, a common issue throughout India). The government is closely working with other corporates in meeting the goals. As a part of this Green Guntur project, one crore saplings have been planted in the city. The city's UDA is also developing many medium and small size parks throughout the city.

[edit] Ports and Shore points

Main article: Guntur Coast

Located about 40 miles from the city's urban area, the region has enough coastline helping its economy either through tourism or trade. Though the exports from Guntur region mainly depend on Chennai harbour, there is a push to bring back one of its shore points as a harbour, with a chemical park also under consideration ^[18].

• The Port City Complex in Guntur District/Nizampatnam Harbour

A port city to be built^[19] near Nizampatnam in Guntur District. This is part of a major renovation of the Nizampatnam Harbour. The development of this harbour will enable the Guntur region to be a major port player, with direct access to exports and imports to, around the world Projects Today,Yahoo News.

• Surya Lanka near Bapatla

Suryalanka is a tourist shore point 40 miles south of Guntur City, with all desirable features of a sea shore. It has good facilities for the stay and entertainment of visitors.

[edit] Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Guntur

[edit] Highways/roadways

Auto's on a Street

Main Bus Station

The city is the regional headquarters of the State Road Transport System. It is connected to all the major cities of the country through various national and state highways. There are a couple of major highways such as Madras—Guntur—Kolkata highway and the Guntur—Nagarjuna Sagar—Hyderabad highway (which can take to other major routes like Mumbai and Delhi). Within the city the traffic primarily flows using the inner, outer ring-roads, few bridges, main roads. Few intersections have traffic signals and video cameras to control and monitor the traffic ^[20]. Common modes of road transport within the city are buses and auto-rickshaws; antique pedal rickshaws can still be seen. The city is also part of the Golden Quadrilateral system, a major transportation project, under progress.

[edit] Trains

Central Train Station

New Guntur Station

Guntur junction is one of the Divisional headquarters(Guntur division) and a major transit point of the Indian Railways System. All four "super metro" cities and most state capitals can be accessed through this transit point. Greater Guntur has the following stations: the Main Station (near Arundelpet and Railpet) and the others at Nallapadu, University-Center(Namburu), New Guntur(Reddipalem). Two other major transit points close to Guntur are: Tenali and Vijayawada with a future plan of running suburban trains in the suburban region. The Indian Railways is one of the most convenient and efficient systems of commute for the people throughout India.

[edit] Air travel

The closest major airport is located at Hyderabad(4.5 hours travel) with limited international connections. A major international airport is located near Chennai (which is 8 hours by rail from Guntur) operating various airlines throughout the world. A local airport at Gannavaram offers daily flights to Hyderabad and Chennai. There is a proposal to build a more practical airport to the south-west of Guntur City near Chilakaluripeta.

[edit] Academics/education and research

Main article: Education in Guntur

A Campus

College Transport

Guntur is one of the first cities to provide higher education and graduate programs in India. The Acharya Nagarjuna University is one of the largest universities in the country, and covers various institutions from 3 districts. There are a number of graduate schools, colleges, and high schools providing basic and higher education (agricultural, arts, bio-med, engineering, management, medical, nursing, pharmaceutical, sciences, technology) in the region. The Guntur Institute of Medical Sciences is one of many premier institutes in the city region. The Vedic University near Guntur specializes in the teaching of Vedic Sciences, other related philosophies, and the Vedanta.

• Acharya Nagarjuna University ANU
• Vedic University at Sitanagaram Jeeyar Educational Trust
• Medical Colleges: Guntur Medical College/GIMS, NRI Academy of Medical Sciences, KMC.
• Engineering Colleges: RVR, Vignan's, LITAM, NIET, NEC, KLC, BEC,SCREC.
• Legacy: Andhra-Christian College, Hindu-College.
• Hundreds of high schools/colleges (providing basic & higher education) eg:AM,AS,CP,JK,TJ etc.
• Agricultural Research Center, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Lam
• Central Tobacco Research Institute(CTRI) of Indian Tobacco Board

[edit] City Affairs

Sunny day

The climate in Guntur City is very tropical in nature, but there are dry spells especially during the winter season, Current Temperature@City. The average temperature is warm to hot throughout the year, with temperatures ranging from approximately 16C to 46C (60F to 116F). The summer season (especially during May/June) has the highest temperatures, but these are usually followed by monsoon rains in that season. The winter season (from October to February) is the most enjoyable with a pleasant climate. Summer clothing suffices throughout the year. Local Time at Guntur.

[edit] Local Cuisine

BreakFast

Main Market

Guntur City is famous for the food items such as mirchi bajji (mirapakaya bajji), aavakaaya pickle, gongura pickle , with traditional Andhra style meals and common breakfast items such as Idli , pesara/ravva/attu dosa, and puri. ^[21] There are many hotels that offer varieties of food items (from several regions of India). The common masala stands, jilebi push-carts, sugar cane juice sellers can be noticed in every corner of the city. There are also fast food and pizza outlets. The city has many lodgings, inns and motels in every corner.

[edit] Market

Supermarket

There are numerous markets selling vegetables, fruits, flowers and other commodities throughout the city. Also, many super markets are opening due to an increasingly expanding middle class. The 'Patnam Bazar' area of the city is famous for the wholesale market of many consumer goods. The traditional method of selling vegetables, flowers and other consumer goods using push-carts is still very common and effective. There are special Rythu-Bazars^[22] in every corner of the city to sell fresh produce. Locally famous fruits and vegetables include the oval shaped - (unique honey taste) - sapota, mango, Seethaphalam, and Dosakai (cucumber).

[edit] Entertainment and events

A Cineplex

ExpCamelOnRide

Motion Pictures/Films are a common form of entertainment in the city as well as in the rest of India. Guntur has many movie theatres that play Telugu, English, and Hindi movies. Though not as popular, traditional drama and theatrical events too have their presence in the city ^[23]. The Guntur Nataka Rangam, Guntur Cultural Association ^[24] are premier organizations in the state that promote and conduct theatrical events. During early summer season there are festivals and fairs that take place in the city, many types of rides, shows, novelties and food. There are numerous places of interest and parks in and around the city/district for entertainment, culture, and history. Suryalanka is the closest beach/shore-point for the city.

Museum

[edit] Infrastructure and media

Guntur's infrastructure includes state-of-the-art technologies such as high-speed Internet and multimedia for applications such as news, education, etc. News sources, in Telugu, such as (Andhra Jyothi,Eenadu,Vaartha) and those in English, such as, The Hindu (newspaper) are widely used. Some newspaper offices are located within the city. Cable TV news has become another common mode for news information.

[edit] Health care

A eye hospital

The region of Guntur is one of the best in providing excellent medical and health care facilities on the east coast of India. It boasts major medical facilities (super specialty hospitals) and related research institutions. The General Hospital provides free health care to people across the coastal districts. The Sankar Eye Hospital^[25], Kugler Hospital (more than a century old) and St. Joseph Hospital are just a few of the many premier hospitals in the region. A new medical facility VIMS [1] is currently being established at Viswanagar to serve the people in the rural areas that are to the south and west of the city.

[edit] Local governance, The GMC

Administrative

eService

Both bureaucrats and elected officials manage the city and its issues in general. The municipal commissioner and district collector are usually from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The MP, MLAs, Mayor, corporators constitute the local elected officials. Corruption has become commonplace in most parts of the world, and Guntur is no exception. But various initiatives such as E-Governance are being put in place to reduce red-tapism, thereby enabling transparency and reducing corruption. The Guntur Municipal Corporation is among the select cities (4) across the world where an ‘eco-budget’ is being implemented. ^[26]

[edit] Law and order

City Court

Guntur Range (Andhra Pradesh Police Department) is the regional headquarters of the State Police with its own Inspector General covering three nearby districts (including Guntur district). The High Court was in Guntur briefly after the separation from the erstwhile Madras State, ^[27] which was later moved to the current state capital after the formation of AP. There is a pending plan to create a High Court bench at Guntur, covering for the coastal districts. ^[28] Guntur also hosts one of the Indian Army recruitment and training centres^[29]. Suryalanka of Guntur Region has an airbase of the Indian Air Force.

[edit] Tourism & places of interest

Main article: Guntur Tourism

Title	Type	Location	Distance	Brief Description	Image
Uppalapadu Nature Conservation	Bird Sanctuary	Guntur City Rural	4 Miles S	Bird Refuge, endangered Spot-Billed Pelicans, Painted Storks[30],[31].
Viswa Nagar/Viswamandiram	Spiritual	Guntur City (Rural Chowdavaram)	8 Miles S-W	Sri Viswayogi Viswamji, the Univ. Integration Pillar.
Downtown, City Centers	Urban, Parks	Guntur City	City	Parks(M.Sarovar), Archeo.Museum, Brodi-Arundel, Jinnah-Naaz Center and more.
Prakasam Barrage	Bridge	Guntur District	18 Miles E	Bridge built on River Krishna connecting GNT and VIJ/Krishna.
Undavalli caves	Ancient caves	Guntur Urban/District	15 Miles E	Excavated in 4th to 5th centuries A.D., a huge reclining statue of Lord Vishnu.
Amaravathi	Ancient, Archaeological, Spiritual	Guntur Rural/District	15 Miles N-W	Ancient Amareswara temple with swayambhu linga, Mahachaitya stupa of Buddha(200B.C) [32].
Bhattiprolu	Ancient	Guntur Rural/District	20 Miles S-W	Pratipalapura, earliest known kingdom in the District [33].
Kotappakonda Trikutaparvatam	Ancient, Spiritual	Guntur District/Narasaraopeta	25 Miles S-W	Three-peaked hill surrounded by other hills named after Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara.
Kondaveedu	Historical Fort	Guntur Rural/District	17 Miles	Built 1400A.D. 21 structures in the fort. Gopinatha temple and Kathulabavi at the foot of the hillock.
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam & Ethipothala Falls	Irrigation Dam, Water Falls	Guntur District	100 Miles N-W	Natural Falls and Nagarjuna Sagar massive irrigation project. Place of Acharya Nagarjuna
Sitanagaram	Ancient, Spiritual	Guntur District	16 Miles N-E	On the banks of river Krishna. Rel. to ancient history of Ramayana of last Treta Yuga.
Chebrolu	Ancient, Spiritual	Guntur Rural/District	10 Miles S	Famous for chaturmukha Brahma and Lord Nageswara Swamy. Has a beautiful red stone Nandi.
Ponnur	Ancient, Spiritual	Guntur Rural/District	25 Miles S	Famous for temples with huge monolithic statues of Lord Hanuma etc.

[edit] Sports and stadia

The city has hosted several national and international level sporting events for various sports. It is one of the places in India to host the International Grandmaster Chess tournaments. ^[34] Cricket is the most common and well followed sporting event, there are other sports such as kabbadi, volleyball, basketball, tennis, badminton, table tennis hosted regularly.

Parade Ground.

Sports Complex.

• Brahmananda Reddy Stadium ^[35]
• Tennis clubs
• Gunta Ground ^[36]
• NTR Stadium, Brindavan Gardens
• Police Parade Ground ^[37]
• Prakasam Stadium
• Public Works Department Ground
• Zilla Parishad
• Krishna Cricket Academy

[edit] Countryside

• Chilakaluripet ^[38] is a countryside of Guntur City. The present prosperous place that is developing in education, arts and business was once called "Chilakala Thota, Rajagari Kota and Purushothamapatnam". The British called the area “Chick pet." Due to the orchards, a number of parrots used to come here and live on the trees. So that this place was once called “Chilakaluri” in the time of the Chilakaluripeta zamindars.
• Namburu
• Piduguralla
• Ponnuru
• Vadlamudi
• Chebrolu is a major panchayat comprising three villages Chebrolu, Pathareddypalem and Kothareddypalem. It is a mandal headquarters. Buckingham canal, which passes nearby is used for inland transport and irrigation. It was a regional fort for the Pallavas, Chalukyas and the Kakatiya Empire. Its ancient name was Sambhole (from which 'Chebrolu' is derived). There are famous Chalukya inscriptions. Chebrolu is mentioned in the Yuddamalluni-Vijayawada inscriptions. It became famous during the rule of the Kakatiyas, as a great general Jayapa ruled the Chebrolu fort. Jayapa's sisters were also, married to Ganapatideva, the greatest Kakatiya. Jayapa also wrote a famous book on Indian dance, Nrutyaratnavali.

[edit] Trivia

• Mica (Aubrakam in Telugu/Sanskrit) was first discovered around 2200 years ago in the Guntur region, believed to be by the Great Philosopher Acharya Nagarjuna. ^[39]
• Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen (1824-1907) discovered the existence of Helium in Guntur, in 1868, while watching a complete solar eclipse. The unusual length of the eclipse, about ten minutes, had attracted many scientists from all over the world.
• The only Indian family on the Titanic was from Guntur ^{[40] [41]}.
• Jinnah tower, a commemorative tower for Pakistan's founder Muhammed Ali Jinnah is unique to Guntur in the whole of South Asia. ^[42]
• The 30th Kalachakra International Festival took place at Amaravathi of Guntur in the presence of the Dalai Lama during January 2006.
• Guntur is one of the major textile hubs and a major business district in India ^[43].
• The name of a dormant volcano near Guntur City is Mangalagiri, which is believed to be kept under control through traditional means.