Vizagapatam’s centuries-old heritage under threat Premium

Discover the rich heritage and natural formations of Visakhapatnam, threatened by neglect and destruction, through a captivating presentation.

Buddhism flourished in the Visakhapatnam region some 2,000 years ago. The first Sepoy Mutiny took place in Visakhapatnam on Oct 3, 1780. Ivory furniture made in Vizagapatam around 200 years ago was much sought after by the royalty, and had made its way to the Buckingham Palace. Sounds interesting, right?

Gen-Z may find it unbelievable as many of the heritage monuments and natural formations are either in a state of neglect or are being destroyed to satiate man’s greed. The Kurupam Market has been razed to the ground while the old building at the Queen Mary’s Government High School building is in a dilapidated condition and no action seems to have been initiated to restore it to its past glory. It poses a threat to children, who are accommodated in new buildings on the same campus.

The Buddhist heritage sites at Thotlakonda, Bavikonda and Parvulakonda, dotting the Visakhapatnam coast, could have been lost long ago had they not been buried under mounds of mud atop the hills for several centuries. The chance discovery atop hills during an aerial survey for finding a suitable location for establishment of INS Kalinga by the Indian Navy a few decades ago had given an insight to archaeologists and historians to the fact that Buddhism had flourished in Visakhapatnam region, some 2,000 years ago.

The old Dutch Building, on the Beach Road, was converted into the ‘Visakha Museum’, which houses a number of artefacts belonging to different periods in history. Had it not been converted into a museum, the building would have paved the way for construction of multi-storey buildings or apartment complexes.

The Erra Matti Dibbalu (Red Sand Dunes), located near Bheemunipatnam, which have been declared as one of the 34 national geo heritage sites by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), in 2014, are under the threat of encroachment. These unique geological formations are a result of the accretion of sand and mud, and provide valuable information about the conditions in the region several thousands of years ago. They had formed during the interglacial period and provide valuable information for scientific research.

They had formed during the last glacial maxima (LGM), which is estimated to have occurred globally around 18,500 years ago. The coastline of the Bay of Bengal, is estimated to have been about 50 km inwards into the land, during the LGM. Archaeological evidence of Stone Age tools from Microlithic, Mesolithic and Paleolithic eras have also been found in the region of the red sand dunes.

About half-a-century ago, Visakhapatnam had two railway stations: the main station and the Town Station, in the Port area. The Town Station building was put to disuse a decade ago. Later, it was leased to the Container Corporation of India (Concor). On expiry of the lease period, Concor moved over to its new premises, located opposite the airport, a few years ago.