Monthly Archives: July 2012

Secunderabad Cantonment Board to promote rainwater harvesting

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

Hyderabad:

The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) will follow in the footsteps of Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) and construct rainwater harvesting (RWH) structures in its jurisdiction. Though the RWH structures should have been in place before the arrival of monsoon, the SCB officials claim it is never too late to start a good initiative.

“We have experienced severe water crisis this summer. The HMWS&SB could not supply the assured quantity of water to us. Adding to the problem, groundwater in the Cantonment area also got depleted. Of 200 borewells in the Cantonment area, 150 have dried up completely,” an SCB water works official told TOI.

“In view of the recent experience, we felt the need for construction of rainwater harvesting structures. Initially, we will educate and encourage citizens to construct RWH structures by distributing pamphlets containing information on how to build them,” the official added.

Initially, the SCB would spread awareness about the concept in 100 residential colonies in Mahendra Hills, Trimulgherry, Bowenpally, Bolarum and Marredpally. “We will give technical assistance to construct RWHs. The residential association has to bear all the expenditure for construction of RHW on their premises,” added.

A proposal would also be moved to make RWH structures mandatory either at the time of new water connection or sanctioning building plan. The proposal would be tabled before the next Cantonment Board meeting to be held shortly, the official said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / July 11th, 2012

Secunderabad comes alive with Bonalu

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Devotees offering Bonalu at the Ujjaini Mahankali temple on Sunday | Express Photo

Most parts of Secunderabad were in a festive mood on Sunday as thousands of devotees thronged various Mahankali temples, including the 191 year old Sri Ujjaini Mahankali temple to celebrate ‘Bonalu’, a traditional Hindu festival of Telangana.

‘Bonalu’ is dedicated to the Mother Goddess Mahankali and is held in the month of Ashada Masam (July/August) every year. It is celebrated to ward off evil and to usher peace and harmony.  Womenfolk, dressed in their best traditional attire, carried ‘bonam’ (a pot carrying rice, turmeric powder, jaggery, milk and curd, covered with neem leaves and a lamp placed on top of it) on their heads to the Ujjaini Mahankali temple. The temple was decorated with buntings, festoons and neem leaves.

Siva Sattulu dances under trance near the Ujjaini Mahankali temple in Secunderabad | EPS

‘Pothrajus’,smeared with colours carried long whips and ‘ghatams’ as ‘teen maar’ drumbeats and Telugu folk songs reverberated the by-lanes of Secunderabad.

Separate queues were made for the convenience of devotees carrying ‘bonalu’. Water sachets and ‘prasadam’ were supplied free of cost to the devotees, many of them from the surrounding districts of Rangareddy, Medak and Nalgonda. The ritual of ‘Rangam’ (foretelling the future) by a young spinster will be performed on Monday at 9 am.

The devotees were interrupted by the visits of politicians, including chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, for which they had to wait outside the temple for three long hours. Eventually, when Reddy exited the temple, they expressed their frustration by raising slogans like ‘CM down down’.

They were also unhappy with the discrimination meted out to them by the temple authorities by giving VIP treatment to the politicians. N Chandrababu Naidu, ministers C Ramachandraiah, Mukesh Goud, Danam Nagender, J Geetha Reddy, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Botcha Satyanarayana, deputy speaker Bhatti Vikramarka, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president G Kishan Reddy, V Hanumanth Rao, Anjan Kumar Yadav offered prayers at the 19th century temple.

Apart from ‘Lashkar Bonalu’, devotees thronged different Mahankali temples in Ramgopalpet, Pan Bazar, R P Road and M G Road, Paradise, Mettuguda, Bhoiguda, Ranigunj and YMCA.  The festival will conclude on Monday with ‘Rangam’ and ‘Ghatam’ procession of Mahankali Goddess on an elephant in the neighbourhoods of Sri Ujjaini Mahankali temple. The temple deity was installed by soldiers from Ujjain, who were part of an army contingent trapped in cholera epidemic.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / July 09th, 2012

Yagneswari bags gold medal in AIMS talent examination

Uncategorized

S. Sai Yagneswari posing with the gold medal she won for securing 12th rank in AIMS Talent Examination, in Vijayawada. / Photo: V.Raju / The Hindu

A native of Penamaluru village in Krishna district, Yagneswari, scored 99.84 marks in the test organised by Centre for Excellence in Academics (CEA).

A ninth standard student, Sambhana Sai Yagneswari of Samvida Vidya Peeth in Poranki, has achieved gold medal by securing 12th rank in the All India Maths Science (AIMS) Talent Examination 2011-12.

A native of Penamaluru village in Krishna district, Yagneswari, scored 99.84 marks in the test organised by Centre for Excellence in Academics (CEA).

“The question paper was for 50 marks for science and mathematics subjects and test of reasoning. CBSE had conducted the test in December 2011, and the results were announced recently”, Yagneswari told The Hindu.

Yagneswari also topped in the State-level drawing competition held last year, and third prize in the drawing contest organised by Gora Science Centre, said her grandfather Kesanakurthi Nageswara Rao. The talent examination was conducted at both junior and senior levels in many schools across the State, and some thousands of students took the test.

CEA has awarded me a gold medal and certificate, besides providing free entry for the AIMS talent test to be held this year.

“My mother K. Swathi Sree, uncles K. Phani Kumar and K. Chaitanya, principal P. Malathi Latha and mathematics and biology teachers G. Srinivas and Shiva helped me a lot to prepare for the talent test at all India level”, said Yagneswari. Samvida Vidya Peeth former principal Bhargavi, management and staff complimented the student for securing top rank in the AIMS talent examination

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / July 09th, 2012

 

City gets multi-purpose fire tender

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Firemen presenting a demonstration of Multi-Purpose Fire Tender, after the launch of the new vehicle at Swaraj Maidan in Vijayawada on Sunday. / Photo: V.Raju / The Hindu

District Fire Officer V. Srinivasa Rao said the new vehicle is having capacity to contain 4,500 litres of water, 600 litres foam and 250 kg of dry chemical powder.

The Fire Department has got the first multi-purpose fire tender for the city. MP Lagadapati Rajagopal and MLC Ilapuram Venkaiah inaugurated the new vehicle at Swaraj Maidan here on Sunday.

MP sprays water

Mr. Rajagopal drove the fire tender and sprayed water by operating the hose pipes in the ground.

Speaking on the occasion, the MP said the multi-purpose vehicle is very much essential in the city as many multi-storeyed buildings have come up in Vijayawada.

NOC

The owners of the apartments, offices, shopping malls and educational institutions should follow fire safety norms and obtain ‘No Objection Certificates’ from the fire personnel, he said adding that the government is planning to strengthen Fire Department by sanctioning more funds.

Capacity

District Fire Officer V. Srinivasa Rao said the new vehicle is having capacity to contain 4,500 litres of water, 600 litres foam and 250 kg of dry chemical powder.

Multi purpose fire tender can put off oil, electrical and normal flames, and is also equipped with hydraulic cutter and expanders, the DFO said.

Assistant District Fire Officer B. Narasimha Rao, Station Fire Officers B. Srinivasa Rao, C.H. Suryaprakash, Mahender Rao and other staff participated.

Later, the fire personnel presented a demo on operation of the new vehicle.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff  Reporter / July 09th, 2012

Sindhu wins Asia Youth Under-19 Championship

Records, All, Sports

 

Rising India shuttler P V Sindhu clinched the Asia Youth Under-19 Championship title with a thrilling three-game victory over Japan’s Okuhara Nozomi at Gimcheon, Korea.

The top seeded Indian, who turned 17 last Thursday, bounced back from a game down to see off the second seeded Japanese 18-21 21-17 22-20 in almost an hour in the women’s singles final at the Gimcheon Indoor Stadium.

The world number 25 Sindhu had defeated third seed Thai Ongbamrungphan Busanan and sixth seed Sun Yu of China in the semifinals and quarterfinals respectively.

In the summit clash, Sindhu narrowly lost in the opening game but the gutsy Indian came back strongly in the second.

In the decider, she was leading 19-16 but the Japanese girl reeled off three points to claw back before Sindhu sealed it. PTI

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> In School / by PTI / New Delhi,  July 09th, 2012

Biography of Harikatha exponent released

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Bommidala Krishnamurthy and noted critic Papineni Sivasankar unveil the biography of Sri Madajjadabhatla Narayanadasu “Na Yeruka, written by M. Ravirkrishna on the premises of Annamayya Kalavedika at Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Guntur on Friday. / Photo: T.Vijaya Kumar / The Hindu

The book was released at a function held at Annamayya Kalavedika on the premises of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devastanam at Brindavan Gardens here.

A compilation of biographical snippets of the life of father of Harikatha (a distinct folk art form) in Andhra Pradesh, Sri Adibhatla Narayana Dasu –“Na Eruka,’’-, penned by Telugu Lecturer M. Ravikrishna was unveiled here on Friday.

The book was released at a function held at Annamayya Kalavedika on the premises of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devastanam at Brindavan Gardens here. Unveiling the book, noted literary critics U.A Narasimha Murthy and Papineni Sivasankar hailed the contribution of Narayana Dasu to the propagation of Harikatha, a popular folk art and a form of entertainment.

The cover of the book has a wonderful artistic expression of Narayana Dasu painted by Rayana Giridhar Gowd.

Noted industrialist Bommidala Srikrishna Murthy, secretary of temple committee Gummadi Radhakrishna Murthy who spoke on the occasion lamented that the traditional art forms have lost popularity

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff  Reporter / Guntur, July 07th, 2012

Stone laid for waterfront project at Bhavanipuram

Business & Economy

VGTM UDA Vice-Chairman G.S.R.K.R. Vijay Kumar explaining Vijayasiri riverfront development scheme to MP Lagadapati Rajagopal in Vijayawada on Saturday./  Photo: V. Raju / The Hindu

A multi-storeyed recreation centre with an aquarium to be developed

The foundation stone for “Vijayasiri”, the waterfront development project of the Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority (UDA) in Bhavanipuram was laid by MLC Ilapuram Venkaiah here on Saturday.

The UDA has prepared a plan to develop and beautify 6.5 acres of land near the Pushkar Ghat area at an estimated cost of Rs. 40 crore.

Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, Vijayawada Central MLA Malladi Vishnu and Vijayawada East MLA Vellampalli Srinivas participated in the programme.

Minister for Municipal Administration M. Mahidar Reddy, who was supposed to lay the stone, was conspicuous by his absence.

The Minister reportedly gave dates to UDA officials for the programme and postponed his visit half a dozen times.

The UDA officials however went ahead with the programme under pressure from those who donated land for the development of the project. About 25 people donated 40 per cent of the land required for development of the project.

The Minister for Secondary Education K.Parthasarathi also failed to turn up.

Addressing the media after the function the Vijayawada MP said that UDA was also approaching the Centre for funds. A multi-storeyed recreation centre with an aquarium would be developed at an estimated cost of Rs 12 crore on a private public partnership basis.

ROPE WAY

A rope way and suspended bridge to Bhavani Island have also been proposed.

WATER SPORTS

On completion of the project water sports like parasailing, water scooters and jet skis would also be introduced, Mr Rajagopal said.

About various clearances required for the project Mr Rajagopal said UDA was not going to wait for them as further delay might result in the donors taking back their lands.

The MP was however confident that the UDA waterfront project was “viable” and that the Centre would grant funds for it.

UDA vice-chairman G.S.R.K.R.Vijay Kumar and other UDA officials were present.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / July 08th, 2012

V V S Laxman @ Paradise Biryani Pointe, New Jersey

Nri's / Pio's, Sports, World Opinion

Paradise Biryani Pointe organized and celebrated Meet and Greet with Cricket great Mr. V V S Laxman.

Very  Very  Special  Laxman is  one of the “Big Four” prolific run scorers in Indian cricket. Steve Waugh once said if you get Dravid out its great, if you get Sachin it’s brilliant, If you get Laxman then it’s a miracle.

It was a pleasant and exciting Tuesday evening for cricketing Fans at Paradise Biryani Pointe, East Windsor location to Meet and Greet Mr. Laxman the real match winner for India on many occasions. Can anyone forget his knock of 281 at Kolkata Eden Gardens to win the test followed by series win.

Excited Fans, Kids and young cricketers got a chance to interact with their favorite cricketer from Hyderabad so close. They got an opportunity to ask questions and tips from Mr.Laxman.

Mr. Laxman signed autographs and encouraged young children to dream big and achieve it by passion, dedication and practice.

Mr. Laxman was impressed with the growth of cricketing trend in USA among youth.

Mr. Laxman Congratulated Paradise Biryani Pointe for their growth and bringing in the Traditional Hyderabadi  Biryani to USA, which is now open in 20 locations and is planning to open another 15 locations to make it to total of 35 locations all over USA by end of this year.

On this special occasion Paradise Biryani Pointe and Fans congratulated Mr.VVS Laxman and  wished Good Luck in future endeavors.

source: http://www.greatandhra.com / Home> Articles> Special Articles / July 04th, 2012

Free fodder saves drought-hit cattle

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment

The free fodder centres, set up by government, have come in handy for farmers in Anantapur district, where most wells have dried up and the depleting water table has made hand pumps empty.

The free fodder centres, set up by government, have come in handy for farmers in Anantapur district, where most wells have dried up and the depleting water table has made hand pumps empty.

It would have been a disaster for farmers had not government provided their cattle with free fodder for the last two months.

Fodder centres at Penukonda, Madakasira and Pennahobilam are currently accommodating over 25,000 cattle. In all, 4,469.98 metric tonnes of fodder were supplied to the three fodder centres, according to officials.

Meanwhile, the Shirdi Sai Global Trust has been providing mid-day meals to farmers who come with their cattle to the Penukonda fodder centre.

Farmers were also provided with meals at the Madakasira fodder centre under the aegis of minister for revenue N. Raghuveera Reddy’s family.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Regions> Anantapur / by DC Correspondent / Hindupur (Anantapur) / July 05th, 2012

Singer Mohammad Irfan Ali given warm welcome at Hyderabad.

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Celebration at Charminar

Mohammed Irfan Ali, Hyderabad based champion of Jo Jeeta Vohi Sikander superstar season 2, telecast on Star Plus, was given a warm welcome after arriving at Hyderabad.

Mohammed Irfan Ali expressed thanks to the Hyderabadi citizens especially Siasat daily. Congress leader Mr. Khaleequr Rahman and Mr. Amir Javeed Congress general secretary Andhra Pradesh NSUI, the student outfit of Congress, and his friends greeted Mohammad Irfan Ali at the airport on his arrival. Later he was taken to the historical Charminar in an open jeep escorted by motor cycle rally with full pomp and show.

Talking to Siasat Mohammad Irfan Ali told that this reality show is the greatest in his life. He had taken part in 4 reality shows so far, but could not reach to finals but thanks to Siasat and Mr. Air Ali Khan who conducted massive campaign to vote for him, he could bag the title of Superstar in Jo Jeeta Vohi Sikander

Great celebration was organised at the historical Charminar.(Photo Mazher)

source: http://www.siasat.com / Home> Hyderabad / Tuesday, July 03rd, 2012