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Hyderabad
Hyderabad
हैदराबाद / Hyderabad ) is the capital city of the Indian state of
Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad has an estimated metropolitan population
of 7 million, making it an A-1 status city and India's sixth-largest
metropolitan area. Hyderabad is known for its rich history, culture
and architecture representing its unique character as a meeting
point for North and South India, and its multilingual culture, both
geographically and culturally.
Also known as The City of Nizams, Hyderabad is today one of the most
developed cities in the country and a modern hub of information
technology, ITES, and biotechnology.
Hyderabad has developed into a major
hub for the Information technology industry in India. It is the
Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Capital of the Country. The city is
home to the world's largest film studio, the Ramoji Film City as
well as the Telugu Film Industry, the second-largest in India, known
popularly as Tollywood. It is also a sporting destination with
numerous sporting venues and stadia. Various national and
international games are conducted here, and the city is the home of
the Deccan Chargers, Indian Premier League team.
Situated on the Deccan Plateau,
Hyderabad has an average elevation of about 489 metres above sea
level (1,607 ft). Most of the area has a rocky terrain and some
areas are hilly. Crops are commonly grown in the surrounding paddy
fields.
The original city of Hyderabad was founded on the banks of river
Musi. Now known as the historic Old City, home to the Charminar and
Mecca Masjid, it lies on the southern bank of the river. The heart
of the city saw a shift to the north of the river, with the
construction of many government buildings and landmarks there,
especially south of the Hussain Sagar lake. The rapid growth of the
city, along with the merging of Secunderabad, 12 municipal circles
and the Cantonment has resulted in a large, united and populous
area. Still so many villages near by are getting a facelift to merge
in the twin cities in the near future.
Hyderabad has a tropical savanna
climate with hot summers from late February to early June, the
monsoon season from late June to early October and a pleasant winter
from late October to early February. In the evenings and
mornings the climate is generally cooler because of the city's good
elevation. Hyderabad gets about 32 inches (about 810 mm) of rain
every year, almost all of it concentrated in the monsoon months. The
highest temperature ever recorded was 45.5 o C (113.9 °F) on 2 June
1966, while the lowest recorded temperature was 6.1o C (43 °F) on 8
January 1946.
Hyderabad is known as the city of pearls, lakes and, lately, for its
IT companies. The bangles market known as Laad Bazaar is situated
near Charminar. Products such as silverware, saris, Nirmal and
Kalamkari paintings and artifacts, unique Bidri handcrafted items,
lacquer bangles studded with stones,silk ware, cotton ware and
handloom-based clothing materials are made and traded through the
city for centuries.
By road to Hyderabad
The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, which runs the
world's largest fleet of buses, connects Hyderabad with neighboring
cities and states.
Hyderabad is connected to the rest of the country by National
Highways—NH-7, NH-9 and NH-202. Hyderabad is also well connected to
the remaining parts of the state. Like other cities, Hyderabad
suffers from traffic congestion. Completion of the Inner Ring Road
and construction of the Outer Ring Road encircling Hyderabad city is
also underway and is touted to make travel in the city easier. Many
flyovers and underpasses are also being constructed to ease traffic
congestion in the city.
The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation runs a fleet of
19,000 buses, the largest in the world. Hyderabad has the third
largest bus station facility in Asia, with 72 platforms for 89 buses
to load passengers at a time. Officially named as the Mahatma Gandhi
Bus Station, it is locally known as the Imlibun Bus Station, Jubilee
Bus Station at Secunderabad runs buses to various parts of the state
and to some parts of South India.
The yellow colored Auto Rickshaw usually referred to as an auto, is
the most widely used transport service and has flag down minimum
fare of Rs 12 for first 1.5 km and then Rs 7 per km. Radio Taxis and
cabs by private players have provided an easy travel in the city.
Hyderabad has a light rail transportation system known as the
MultiModal Transport System (MMTS) which offers connectivity between
rail and road transport for the facility of the commuters. MMTS
provides connectivity to most of the major parts of the city, and is
a suitable alternative for those who want to avoid road traffic. The
Hyderabad Metro is a proposed rapid transit for the city.
Secunderabad Railway Station is the headquarters of the South
Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways and is the largest
railway station serving Hyderabad. The station is located in
Secunderabad and is one of the major railway junctions in the Indian
Railways. The other major railway stations serving the city are
Hyderabad Railway Station (Nampally) and Kachiguda Railway Station.
These stations provide connectivity within the city and the rest of
the country. A modern railway terminal is being planned to be
constructed near HITEC City railway station to facilitate passengers
in the western parts of the city. There are also proposals to build
a fourth railway terminal to handle the excess inter-city railway
transportation in the city due to an increase in rail traffic.
There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of passengers
leading to increased air traffic The Airport at Begumpet was unable
to cope up with the situation and was shut down on 2008-03-22. The
new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport was opened in March 2008 by
Sonia Gandhi at Shamshabad, southwest of the city The airport has
the second longest runway in India next to Delhi and caters to the
high passenger and cargo volumes it experiences. There are flights
to many destinations, both domestic and international from this
airport.
The PV Narasimha Rao Expressway was constructed at an elevated level
from Mehdipatnam to Rajendranagar along with an underpass and
trumpet interchange for providing dedicated high speed travel to the
airport. It is the longest flyover in India. There are three wide
roads leading to the new airport from the city and modern taxis and
buses can shuttle passengers between the city and the airport. The
Nehru Outer Ring Road serves as an expressway between Gachibowli and
Shamshabad.
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