Vizag discussions

[Gudavalli]

Vizag mandal records 648% population growth

HYDERABAD: Pedagantyada mandal in Visakhapatnam district topped the state in decadal population growth while the peripheral Greater Hyderabad areas in Ranga Reddy district figured in the top ten.

Pedagantyada registered a whopping 647.91 per cent growth of population between 2001 and 2011. This mandal was followed by Visakhapatnam Rural which registered 268.42 per cent growth in population.

Seven mandals in Ranga Reddy district, which are part of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation - Uppal, Hayatnagar, Ghatkesar, Serilingampally, Balanagar, Qutbullapur and Rajendranagar - saw high decadal population growth boosted by massive migration. Of these, Uppal recorded a 225.9 per cent growth in population followed by Hayatnagar (180%), Ghatkesar (112%), Serilingampally (102%), Balanagar (79 %), Qutbullapur (76 %) and Rajendranagar (63%). Balanagar mandal was also found to be among the five most populous mandals in the state with a population of 5,67,996.

In 2011, Ranga Reddy district had a population of 52,96,741, of which 27,01,008 were males and 25,95,733 females. Ten years earlier in 2001, Ranga Reddy had a population of 35,75,064 of which 18,39,227 were males and 17,35,837 females. Thus the district recorded a growth of 48.15 per cent during the last decade. In the 2001 census, the district had recorded an increase of 40.09 per cent from 1991.

The latest census also saw Vijayawada Rural mandal joining the big league by recording a 61 per cent decadal population growth. Vijayawada Urban topped the list with a population of 10,21,806 followed by Visakhapatnam Urban with 9,77,771 people. Guntur and Nellore also secured a place in the top five.

Interestingly, there were 1,514 villages in the state which reported zero population! The reasons, according to the census enumerators, were lack of water resources, heavy chemical and dust pollution, change of land use from agriculture to industrial, setting up of new SEZs which displaced people from the villages.

In some places like Srisailam and Srikakulam, anti-Maoist operations have also forced small habitats to relocate to other places.

[Gudavalli]

Corporates eyeing Port City as the new conference hub

VISAKHAPATNAM: Taking a break from brainstorming sessions in the concrete jungles of Hyderabad, an increasing number of corporates are now dropping anchor in the Port City as it offers an ideal mix of business and pleasure.

Hotel industry sources say Vizag is fast turning into a MICE (meeting, incentives, conventions and exhibition) hub with businesses preferring to hold high-level meetings and conventions in the city as they can soak in the cool sea after a hard day's work.

Already companies like Nestle, Philips, Samsung, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, ACC, Murugappa group, Monsanto Seeds and Life Insurance Corporation have checked out the city's hospitality through conferences over the past year or so. And its not just small conferences but big-ticket ones too that are headed for Vizag. While last year the city hosted 1300 agents of Delhi-based Trail Blazers, Samsung organized a similar do where 700 people participated. This year too, the city played host to 300 personnel from Defence Services Staff College and another 350 people at an event organized by Monsanto Seeds.

Apart from the ideal combination of sun, sea and sand that the City of Destiny offers, what has made it a draw with corporates is the availability of big convention facilities like Novotel's 1200-seater property bang on Beach Road. This is incidentally the largest convention centre in the state after Novotel's Hyderabad convention centre. Sources say in the last couple of years city hotels have witnessed a 10% spurt in terms of conferences and conventions, with Novotel Varun Beach alone hosting 45 large events since it was opened 16 months ago.

Explaining the reasons for corporates increasingly opting for Vizag, Varun Group chief operating officer Madhav Bellamkonda said, "People are tired of seeing concrete all around. They want to see what else they can do to unwind in their leisure time."

"Instead of going to Pune, Goa or Hyderabad, people are looking at other options and once they come to Vizag they just fall in love with the place. As the economy improves, more conferences will keep pouring in," said Bellamkonda. The increasing number of conferences has benefited the over 15 star hotels in the city that are leaving no stone unturned to provide a slew of facilities including Wi-Fi, centres equipped with projectors for power point presentations and also holiday packages centred around Vizag's beaches and the scenic Araku Valley.

General manager of Green Park Hotels, KM Rao said, "Unlike earlier when the visitors had limited hotels to choose from, today there are better and bigger conference facilities in the city. And it's not just about conferences, the city is emerging as a preferred choice for national and international level seminars, product launches and exhibitions as well."

While the conferences offer a platform for business networking, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) deputy director K Ganeshan said they also help create local business opportunities. Elaborating, he said, "Let's say a team from Japan or any other country visits a place, they will be looking at the business potential, which will in turn boosts the local economy." With CII itself having organised about four conferences in the past one year, he said, "People from Bangalore, Bhubhaneshwar, Kolkata are visiting Vizag."

According to hotel industry experts, conferences not just benefit the hotel in which they are being held but also boost the fortunes of the entire hotel industry in the city. "Huge conferences benefits the entire industry as spillover visitors have to be accommodated in other hotels as well," said Novotel general manager Mohammed Shoeb.

[Kochi Resident]

What is the software export figures for Vizag for 2012-13? Any idea?

[Gudavalli]

'Visakhapatnam emerging as retail hotspot'

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Port City is fast emerging as a hotspot for retailers in South India thanks to the rising per capita incomes, a study by retail IT solutions provider Ginesys has found.

The study, conducted over the last five years, found that Hyderabad has emerged as the largest retail hub in South India even as tier-II cities like Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada are witnessing a high penetration of retailers.

The study titled 'Indian Retail Footprint - 2013,' pointed out that for every 100 retail stores in Hyderabad, Vizag has around 20 retail stores. It took into account around 500 organised retailers and over 10,000 outlets in various categories such as lifestyle, apparels, jewellery, food and groceries.

Commenting on the findings, Ginesys chief executive officer Prashant Lohia said, "The rise in discretionary/per capita income has given a boost to retail consumption in tier-II cities and towns. These places have witnessed rapid improvements in infrastructure and logistics, enabling retailers to set up their outlets to cater to the growing demand."

According to the report, Visakhapatnam and Vijaywada have been able to attract retailers in hordes as they are emerging as centres for heavy machine industries, automotive industries as well as hubs for mineral exports through the traditional sea trade. "This heavy commercialization can be considered a key factor responsible for the high retail density. All these trading activities generate high incomes, which in turn leads to higher retail penetration," the report said.

"An interesting trend we noticed in Andhra Pradesh is that people are very fond of local brands in the lifestyle, apparel and food segments and these brands are giving tough competition even to the national players," Rohit Khetan, vice-president, marketing and strategy, Ginesys said.

The study titled 'Indian Retail Footprint - 2013,' pointed out that for every 100 retail stores in Hyderabad, Vizag has around 20 retail stores. It took into account around 500 organised retailers and over 10,000 outlets in various categories such as lifestyle, apparels, jewellery, food and groceries.

[Gudavalli]

Efforts on to promote IT sector in Vizag

VISAKHAPATNAM, MAY 13:
Visakhapatnam is the most important IT destination in Andhra Pradesh after Hyderabad and all efforts would be made to promote the sector in the region and an IT investment region may also be set up in future here, according to Union Minister of State for IT Killi Krupa Rani.

She was addressing a one-day workshop on promoting IT in Visakhapatnam here on Monday organised by the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) in association with the Visakhapatnam IT Association (VITA).

She said one IT investment region was coming up in Hyderabad and she would do her best to get the second one here. The Minister said the Union Government was proposing to set up 10 more software tech parks and as many as 210 electronic manufacturing clusters - including four in Andhra Pradesh - in the country. The four clusters in Andhra Pradesh would be located at Hyderabad (2), Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam, the constituency represented by her. She said there would be 50 per cent subsidy for these clusters.

She said the Union Government wanted robust e-governance and to that end was setting up a data centre in each state capital, including Hyderabad.

The general issues and problems relating to the IT sector such as MAT, service tax and others would be taken up in due course of time and the Government would make all efforts to solve them and promote the sector, she promised. She released an IT directory on the occasion.

Andhra Pradesh IT Minister P. Lakshmaiah said the State Government would make all efforts to promote IT in tier-two cities in the State and incubation centres were being set up at Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Tirupati, Warangal and other places for the purpose. The State Government had declared IT as an essential service to address the labour-related issues and it had issued a GO for uninterrupted power supply to IT units. He said Andhra Pradesh was the most affordable IT destination for the IT companies in the country and the Government would provide them all facilities.

Incentives

STPI Director-General Omkar Rai said four major incentives were in the offing for the IT industry, as the Union Government was planning to compensate for the tax burden imposed on the sector. He said it was a fact that the tax burden was proving to be too heavy for the SMEs in the sector and that was why the Government was thinking of incentives to cushion the blow.

O. Naresh Kumar, of Symbiosys Technologies, a local IT company, spoke at length about the problems faced by the industry here. Murali Manohar Rao, of Sankhya Technologies, another company, said the IT exports from Visakhapatnam amounted to Rs 1,300 crore and they were growing at 15 per cent per annum. At the present rate, IT exports would amount to Rs 3,600 crore or so by 2020, but the industry had set itself the ambitious target of Rs 10,000 crore. The Government should support it fully to achieve it.

Visakhapantam District Collector Seshadri, P. Venugopal, Director of the STPI, Hyderabad, and several local politicians spoke at the seminar.

[Gudavalli]

Vuda warns developers

Visakhapatnam: Developers of layouts in Vuda limits will have to get ready to face punitive action if development remains incomplete within the given time and as per the regulations. Announcing stringent action against all errant developers, the Vuda vice chairman Dr N. Yuvaraj asked private developers to respond to the notices issued by Vuda.

The vice chairman initiated this action plan to avoid irregularities in development of layouts and also to save the public from inconveniences caused by delayed projects. Penalty will be levied for delays and deviations.
Convening a meeting of private developers and representatives of the AP Real Estate Developers Association on Monday, the vice chairman announced that plots under mortgage to Vuda would be taken over and auctioned if developers failed in fulfilling the norms or complete development within the specified time.

Stating that nearly 108 layouts are pending with Vuda for relinquishment of mortgage plots whose regional development and procedural lapses are a cause of concern to Vuda, apart from public buying plots in such layouts. No extensions will be given to developers for completing amenities, the vice chairman underlined.

On non-agricultural land assessment fee to be paid to Vuda and revenue departments, Yuvaraj said some of the developers have obtained conditional court orders for release of Layout Plan (LP) but final orders are yet to come. He asked the developers to produce bank guarantee until the final orders are received.

The amount to be paid will be intimated to the developers. They were asked to complete the process of handing over common amenities such as roads, parks, which is mandatory as per the layout rules. Assuring better and timely services with regard to layouts, the Vuda vice-chairman said field inspections and other statutory procedures would be streamlined.

[Gudavalli]

CCEA likely to approve upgradation of Vizag Port tomorrow

New Delhi: The government is likely to approve tomorrow the upgradation of the existing facility and creation of an iron ore handling unit at the Vishakhapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh.

"Upgradation of existing facility and creation of new facility at the Vishakhapatnam Port Trust for iron ore handling on DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer) basis in two phases, these proposals are likely to be approved by the CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) tomorrow," sources said.

The project involves upgradation of the existing terminal and also creation of a new facility, with a total outlay of nearly Rs 845 crore, including Rs 170 crore, upfront fee to the port.

Currently, the existing Iron Handling capacity of the port is at 12 million tonnes (MT) and it is likely to double up with the expansion.

The capacity of port of Visakhapatnam is 67.33 MT as on March 31, 2013 and the envisaged capacity is 140 MT and 149 MT by 2016-17 and 2019-20, respectively.

[Gudavalli]

Meet Green Visakha target before monsoon, industries told

District Collector tells units to approach VUDA in case of any problem

Industries participating in the implementation of the Green Visakha Project have been told to complete the yearly target for plantation before the monsoon season ends.

District Collector V. Seshadri said plantation at allotted areas by the industries should be planned properly and taken up immediately.

He was reviewing the status and implementation of the Green Visakha Project at a meeting with the VUDA Vice-Chairman N. Yuvaraj and Joint Collector K Praveen Kumar at the VUDA Office here on Friday.

The District Collector asked the industries to carry forward the backlog with the fresh target.

The Green Visakha project was an initiative recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment and Forests, headed by T. Subbarami Reddy to check pollution in Visakhapatnam. It envisaged planting of 40 lakh saplings over a period of five years under the corporate social responsibility by various industries.

The mission has been taken up by the District Administration, VUDA, GVMC and the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board for which the VUDA is acting as the nodal agency. The target for 2012-13 was to plant 10.75 lakh saplings but up to May 2013 only 7.19 lakh were planted. For 2013-14 the target is 8.9 lakh saplings.

Areas were already been allotted to the industries for taking up plantation and the District Collector told them to approach the VUDA authorities if any problem occurs relating to identification of lands of plantation of saplings.