Andhra CM Jagan Reddy declares Visakhapatnam as new capital; Interesting facts about the city

ANDHRA Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said on Tuesday afternoon that Visakhapatnam will become the state's new capital, marking the end of Amaravati on the banks of the Krishna River as the state's capital.

Here are some interesting facts about Visakhapatnam

- Visakhapatnam, also known as Vizag, is the most populous city in Andhra Pradesh, located between the Eastern Ghats and the coast of the Bay of Bengal. It is the only city in India to have two prominent ports, Vizag Port and Gangavaram Port which were built in 2009.

- The state has several reputed central and state educational institutions including Andhra University (AU), Andhra Medical College (AMC), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE), and many others located in Visakhapatnam.

- India's first naval base was also established at Vizag, one of the three main bases of the Eastern Naval Command.

- Navy Day is celebrated on 4th December every year to commemorate the Navy's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war. Beach Road is packed with spectators who have come to witness the magnificent naval fleet displaying power at sea.

- Visakhapatnam is also home to South Asia's first underwater museum. One of the first four submarines purchased by the Indian army was INS Kursura in 1969. It played an important role in the Indo-Pakistani war in 1971. It was decommissioned in 2001 and reopened on 9 August 2002 as an underwater museum at Rama Krishna Beach in Vizag.

- Visakhapatnam is considered one of the traces of Buddhism. Buddhist artifacts found in the Thotlakonda Buddhist complex are believed to date back to the first century BC. until the second century AD

- Visakhapatnam is also known as the land of Narasimha. Lord Vishnu reincarnated as Lord Narasimha in the temple in response to Bhakta Prahlada's pleas to destroy the demon Hiranyakashyapu to restore faith and order. Lord Narasimha temple is just 25 km from the city.