Bheemili MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao announced that a stadium for people with disabilities will be built across 22 acres at Kommadi, Visakhapatnam, at a cost of ₹200 crore. The announcement was made during the Amaravati Championship at the Kommadi Integrated Sports Complex on National Sports Day. Andhra Pradesh would be one of only two Indian states with such a stadium.

Srinivasa Rao said the state government plans to support athletes with land, employment opportunities and financial incentives, and is formulating a new sports policy. Corporate social responsibility funds and donations will be used to improve sports infrastructure.

Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh chairman A. Ravi Naidu said the state provides a 3% job reservation for sportspersons and is filling 427 posts through the DSC. Education Minister Nara Lokesh has made sports grounds mandatory in all schools.

APSRTC’s air-conditioned ASR-1 and ASR-2 buses run about every 30 minutes, roughly 4:30 am–10:30 pm, from Old Gajuwaka to Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport, about 45 km from Visakhapatnam. ASR-1 travels via NAD, Kancharapalem, Gurudwara, Maddilapalem, Hanumanthuwaka, Zoo Park, Yendada, Madhurawada and Kommadi; ASR-2 via Scindia, the railway station, RTC Complex, Siripuram, VMRDA Park, ISKCON Temple, Rushikonda and IT Hills. They join at Marikavalasa. Fares: ₹400 from Old Gajuwaka, railway station and Scindia; ₹350 from NAD, RTC Complex, Siripuram and VMRDA Park; ₹300 from Gurudwara, Maddilapalem and ISKCON; ₹250 from Zoo Park and Rushikonda; ₹200 from Madhurawada; ₹50 from Airport Junction. RTC Complex was also quoted at ₹300; Marikavalasa fares were reported as ₹150–₹250. ASR-1 takes about two hours, or 2 hours 15 minutes at peak; ASR-2 about 2½ hours. Flights moved from the old airport at 12:01 am on 17 August 2026; VTZ now refers to Bhogapuram, in Vizianagaram district off NH-16. Temporary lounges operate at Araku Coffee near VMRDA Park and Sai Priya Resorts in Rushikonda. Round-the-clock cabs wait about 100 metres from the terminal.

The Centre has approved the Visakhapatnam Metro project, estimated to cost ₹11,488 crore. The plan covers 46.22 kilometres, 43 stations and three corridors:

• Kurmannapalem to Kommadi
• Gurudwara to Old Post Office
• Tadi Chetlapalem to China Waltair

Officials said services may be extended in future to the proposed Bhogapuram International Airport.

Continuous rain has affected Visakhapatnam district since Wednesday night. Waterlogging on the Gangavaram–Pedagantyada road disrupted traffic. At Raykan Towers in the Housing Board Colony, Kommadi, Madhurawada, rainwater and sewage flooded the cellar after a retaining wall collapsed beside the sloping site. Police, NDRF and fire services evacuated 71 people from 15 families around 1 am.

Harijan Jaggayyapalem was inundated. A sheet-roofed shed collapsed in the hill-slope area of Carpenter Colony while Metta Ramu slept there with his family; his wife Kanchana and their two children suffered minor injuries. A tree fell across the highway at Aganampudi. Fallen trees on electricity poles behind the gas godown in Vepagunta and in Krishnanagar disrupted power throughout Wednesday night.

Rain also uprooted a tree in Srinagar, Kakinada district, disrupting traffic. In East Godavari, the overflowing Errakalava stream flooded the causeway, severely affecting traffic between Nidadavole, Madhavaram and Tadepalligudem.

Visakhapatnam’s northern corridor has recorded its strongest housing growth over the past two decades, transforming Yendada, PM Palem, Rushikonda, Sagar Nagar, Kommadi and Madhurawada into urban neighbourhoods. The upcoming Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram has accelerated the expansion. PM Palem, Anandapuram, Kapuluppada, Bheemili, Tagarapuvalasa and Padmanabham have seen sharp rises in residential and commercial construction, with developers launching townships, apartment complexes and plotted layouts. IT and data-centre investments are also driving demand. A proposed metro, planned coastal highway between Visakhapatnam and Bhogapuram, airport approach roads and highway upgrades are strengthening investor and homebuyer interest. In neighbouring Vizianagaram district, Bhogapuram, Denkada, Pusapatirega, Nellimarla and Vizianagaram mandals have emerged as real estate hotspots.