Hudhud havoc: Cyclone Hudhud left Vizag battered and bruised along with leaving the residents in a state of shock. All government bodies like GVMC, Vuda, individual houses and fishermen faced huge damages amounting to Rs 21,989 crore. The city’s green cover also took a massive beating. However, the spirit of the city was unflagging.
Medak mishap: Masaipet’s school bus accident, in which 18 children were killed, won’t be forgotten in a hurry. The school bus was hit by a train at an unmanned railway crossing in Medak on July 24. The incident once again raised the security concerns at unmanned railway crossings in the entire state
Beas tragedy: The Beas River incident, which claimed the lives of 24 young engineering students, was one of the worst tragedies of the year. The students had ventured on the Beas riverbed, only to be washed away minutes later when the gates of the nearby Larji dam were opened.
Demise of ANR: Akkineni Nageswara Rao, the legendary actor of the Telugu film industry, was from Ramapuram in Krishna district. His death in January was mourned by every Telugu. His abundant acting talent, his principles and discipline, his efforts to bring Tollywood from Chennai to Hyderabad, his concern for the promotion of the education sector by founding the ANR College in Gudiwada near his native place, his donations to the Andhra Loyola College in Vijayawada and many such deeds are recalled fondly by the people of this region. However, his last film Manam offered some solace to his fans as it fulfilled his ambition of acting till his last breath.
Bifurcation blues: It could have been the happiest moment for the natives of Telangana, but the bifurcation of the state was one of the most painful things to have happened in 2014 for the people of Seemandhra. What was more agonising was the manner in which the state was divided. The unscientific bifurcation left a deep sense of disappointment and a trail of bitter memories. Even Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, in his maiden address to the joint Session of the AP Assembly and Council, could not but describe it as “the manner in which the state was divided left behind a deep sense of disappointment and wounds that will take a long time to heal.” The division of the state left a deep scar on the psyche of the people of Andhra Pradesh, which will take a long time to heal
Vizag not capital: Many Vizagites took part enthusiastically in the Samaikyandhra movement to protest against the bifurcation. However, after the division, they had hoped that the City of Destiny would at least be made the capital of the successor state of Andhra Pradesh. Many forums from Vizag and North Andhra conducted protests, dharnas, seminars and public meetings to champion the cause of Vizag. Unfortunately for the Vizagites, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu picked up Vijayawada as his capital.
Brutal beating A visually impaired school correspondent (Green Field School) beat three visually impaired children in Kakinada.
Techie murdered: Esther Anuhya, 23, a software engineer from Machilipatnam, was murdered near by Mumbai after a failed attempt to rape the victim in January 2014. She was burnt partially to mislead the investigators. The 23 year old victim, a native of Machilipatnam in AP, was employed as an assistant system engineer with IT major TCS at its office. Driver Chandrabhan Sudam Sanap, 28, who has several cases registered against him, committed the crime.
TRV went missing: A Torpedo Recovery Vessel of Indian Navy sunk off the Vizag coast on November 6 during a naval exercise, killing one sailor while Weapon’s Officer Shishir Kumar Y. went missing.
Hudhud survivor dies in cylinder blast: An LPG cylinder explosion in her neighbour’s house at Rangireeju Street in Vizag on December 9 killed a two-month-old baby girl who was born on October 12, the day Cyclone Hudhud had hit the city. The parents of the baby had planned on naming her Varshita.
CPM diminished: The two Left parties, CPI and CPM, lost their base in the last Assembly and Corporation elections in Vizag. The CPM got only one division while the CPI failed to get even a single division in the recent VMC elections. Once the area was treated as a “Red” area, popularly known as the headquarters for the Left parties, but this year witnessed how they lost their role in the development of the city and their role is confined to agitations.
Blast killed 18: As many as 18 people died in a cracker blast incident that occurred at Vakatippa village, 20 Km away from Kakinada in East Godavari district.
Killer lemon: A 10 month old boy, S. Rohit Sai, died after swallowing a lemon at Kasimkota in Vizag. The lemon had been placed under the boy’s pillow to ward off evil forces.
Five girls drowned: Five girls, all below 12 years, drowned in Matsyagedda River of Vizag after a boat capsized in the river on December 3. The incident took place when the girls were crossing the river in a boat as a joy ride.
