The corporate cycling competition will be held on August 15 at the Gachibowli stadium and is being organised by The Atlanta Foundation (TAF), a not-for-profit organisation.
By the end of this year, health conscious Hyderabadis will have one more reason to smile. A 30-km long cycle track, being laid in Cyberabad by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (APIIC) and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), will be completed by this year-end.
APIIC managing director Jayesh Ranjan, speaking at the launch of the fifth Freedom Ride-2013, a corporate cycling competition here Friday, said 10 cycle stations will be built and employees working in the area can pick up a cycle from one of them to commute to their place of work for a fixed amount every month.
The corporate cycling competition will be held on August 15 at the Gachibowli stadium and is being organised by The Atlanta Foundation (TAF), a not-for-profit organisation.
Jayesh Ranjan said the event, supported by the APIIC, is intended to encourage cycling among people. The organisers announced that participants have to cycle 66 km to celebrate India’s 66th Independence Day.
Deenanath Harapanahalli, founder of TAF, said a part of the money collected through registration fee for the competition will be used to provide education to underprivileged students through educational programs conducted at four government schools adopted by TAF.
Donations generated through the competition will be collected by TAF’s charity partner ‘United Way of Hyderabad’ which will be used to fund activities in rainbow schools.
Close to 5,300 people have already registered for the competition. Those interested can register till August 13 by paying `1250. The freedom ride will be flagged off at 7 a.m. on August 15.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / August 10th, 2013
Devotees throng in large numbers to have glimpse of presiding diety goddess Kanaka Durga atop Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada on Friday. / Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu
Devotees thronged temples, more particularly Kanakadurga temple atop Indrakeeladri, on the first Friday of the auspicious ‘Sravana masam’ in Vijayawada on Friday. The Kanakadurga temple was spruced up for ‘pavitrotsavam’ performed during the auspicious month. Devotees began coming to the temple from the wee hours after taking a holy dip in the River Krishna. They attended the poojas performed to mark the beginning of the Sravana maasam festivities.
The ghat road was a river of humanity. At a point of time, the temple authorities stopped Antaralaya darshan in view of heavy rush. Additional queue lines were formed from reception counter for VIPs and Rs. 100 ticket holders. It is estimated that about 80,000 devotees visited the temple by evening. The temple authorities, however, decided to perform Vara Lakshmi pooja next Friday. The presiding deity will be decked up as Vara Lakshmi on that day. The temple authorities have cancelled the ‘Khadgamala’ a special pooja slotted for next Friday in view of the Vara Lakshmi festival. A ‘kalasa ooregimpu’ (procession with kalasams) would be organised on that day. The women would have to bring their kalasam and join the procession at Durga Ghat on Thursday. After showing the kalasam to presiding deity, the kalasam could be used for pooja on Friday, said Sthanacharya Sivaprasada Sarma. The temple, for the last two years, is organising Varalakshmi pooja atop Indrakeeladri. About 100 women took part in the pooja during last two years. The authorities are expecting that nearly 200 women will take part in the Varalakshmi pooja on next Friday. The temple gave away blouse pieces and bangles as ‘prasadam’ to the devotees who performed the pooja. The three-day pavitrotsavam will begin with Udaka Santhi on August 19 evening. The rituals will begin with ‘snapanabhiskeham’ on August 20. Sarvaprayaschita havanam would be organised, and the pavitrosavam would conclude with poornahuti and distribution of pavitras on August 22.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – August 10th, 2013
The warehouses of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) in Mahabubnagar and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh were linked with the National Commodities Exchange (NCDEX) spot exchange on 5 August 2013.
As a part of this initiative eight PACS had received the membership certification, which would help the farmers to sell their goods on exchange platform. This is the first of its kind initiative in the country and was initiated by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
How this Initiative help farmers?
• The initiative will help in providing seamless access of national markets to farmers, whereby they can sell their produce through a computer-linked method.
• The computer-linked trading will ensure that farmers will get the best available price at the national level. The trading will ensure that sale of the commodity at a particular price is at the discretion of farmers helping them get the best price prevailing on the particular day.
• The spot exchange will support the farmers by helping them reach the buyers or processors directly, which will result in better price realization and also help in lowering the supply chain costs in the agricultural commodities gamut.
• This initiative is expected to change dynamics of the trade and supply chain of agricultural commodities with respect to the storage, commodity financing, trade facilitation, and other value added services that could make farmers a key point in entire value chain of agricultural commodities.
• NCDEX Spot platform will also enable the PACS in creating price transparency for farmers.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) joined hands with the Cooperative Central Banks (CCBs) of the two districts, AP State Cooperative Bank and NCDEX to make the linking a reality.
The new facility would ensure speedy payment of money to farmers, through the CCBs with core banking solutions, once the sale was completed.
National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX)
National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) is a nation-level, technology driven on-line commodity Exchange. NCDEX is a public limited company registered under The Companies Act, 1956 with the Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra in Mumbai on 23 April 2003.
source: http://www.jagranjosh.com / Jagran Josh / Home / August 07th, 2013
Gone are the days of raised compound walls embedded with glass splinters jutting over them as a means of safety from burglars. Solar fences which are the preferred choice of security for institutions and sites of historical or archaeological prominence, are of late gaining prominence among owners of individual houses and apartment complexes.
More than 700 families, including those staying in apartments at Somajiguda, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Gachibowli, Madhapur and Medchal areas in Hyderabad have installed solar fences to protect their premises from thieves. Those residing in gated communities in Medchal, Rajendranagar and Gachibowli also have gone the solar way.
“I faced a harrowing time when unknown persons entered my house by scaling the compound wall and stole pump-sets, drainage covers and water faucets. I have now overcome the problem by installing solar fencing around my house,” said Srinivas, a 40-year-old State government employee from Medchal.
Like Srinivas, many residents, who are staying on the suburbs, have begun to protect their homes with solar fencing to prevent burglars from entering their houses. With increase in thefts in cities and suburbs, most home owners are evincing interest in fortifying their compound walls with solar fencing. The management committees of several religious places are also coming forward to put up the fencing.
Companies dealing with installation of fencing say perimeter security is the present day’s need. Solar fencing is the modern day’s alternative to the conventional type of perimeter protection. These are active fences and punish the intruder the moment he touches or tries to tamper with it. Conventional fences are only passive types and cannot resist the intruder if he tries to enter forcibly.
Solar fences ward off thieves by giving a sharp, short but a safe shock and create psychological fear. The alarm incorporated in the system goes off when the fence is tampered with and alerts inmates, explains Excel Security Systems proprietor Sameer Hussain.
He says solar security fencing delays, denies and detects the entry of intruder and reduces the expenditure on security guards even while providing quantifiable enhancement in security. It would also provide 24X7 protection without delays or inconvenience to occupants in the building.
According to Hussian, the facility is scientific and works on solar energy with backup facility to run uninterruptedly during night as well as cloudy days. The whole system can be divided into two segments, namely the central control unit or solar power generating system with SMSS500 unit and the actual fence.
The solar photovoltaic module converts sunshine into electrical energy and sends them to the SMSS500 unit through a backup battery. The SMSS500 unit takes 12V supply as input and energizes it into high volt pulses in the range of about 7,000 Volts.
These pulses will travel through fencing wires at regular intervals of 1.2 seconds and the duration of each pulse will be 3 million seconds.
The fence part is a scientific layout in which multi-strands at four inches gap will run through the insulators, which are pre-welded and pre-fabricated to MS posts. The height of the fence above the ground/compound wall will be as per the requirement of site conditions. The posts are arranged at 10 feet gap with perfect support to the corner poles. Super earth kits, a composite mixture of different minerals, helps the fence to have a perfect earthing system as solar fencing requires good earthing for effective working.
There is a provision for restricting the intrusion through the gate as well as over the gate. The spring loaded barricades arranged to the gate will electrify the gate and activates the alarm when somebody tries to open the gate forcibly. Pulses travel through the springs arranged on the gate and give out shock to trespassers.
According to Hussain, the burglar alarm in the server room gets activated automatically when someone tries to intrude, even while serving the intruder a sharp, short and painful shock.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Habitat> Design / by M. Srinivas / Hyderabad – August 09th, 2013
It is that time of the year when the smell of biryani, korma and seviyan fills the air.
“If I am in Hyderabad during Eid, I make sure to cook for the entire family living in the city,” says Aditi Rao Hydari, who traces her ancestry to two royal families of Hyderabad–namely Muhammed Saleh Akbar Hydari and J Rameshwar Rao of erstwhile Raja of Wanaparthy family.
Who: Aditi Rao Hydari
What: On Eid, Acting, Fitness
The actress who grew up in a multi-cultural environment talks about Eid in Hyderabad, acting and why dancing is a passion.
Hyderabad Hues
Be it any festival, we as a family celebrate it. We all meet and join in the revelry. As for Eid, there is a stream of guests and relatives at our home. As kids, we would receive money and gifts as ‘eidi’. Now, I give eidi to the young ones in the family. At home, we cook delicacies like sheer kurma, biryani, haleem, salli boti and the special Hyderabadi biryani. Recently I visited the the streets of Mumbai during Ramzan. I enjoyed the nalli nihari (mutton dish), chicken and mutton kebabs and firni. Thankfully, I have an appetite of a sparrow. So it doesn’t show on my figure.
In the orbit of fame
Since childhood, I was told that I would be an actress because of my good looks. Though I would pretend not to understand, it was a secret desire that i would grow up to be one. The fact that I was a good singer and dancer helped fuel my ambition. I had started learning Bharatanatyam since I was six and became a disciple of Leela Samson. My dream came true when I made a debut in a Malayalam film opposite the legendary Mammootty. In 2007, I played the role of devadasi in a Tamil film. I got that film when the director of the film Sharada Ramanathan saw me perform at a conference. After that things started falling in place. Movies like Delhi 6, Yeh Saali Zindagi, London Paris New York and Murder 3 came my way.
Dancing and friends
I keep myself fit by dancing and practising yoga. By God’s grace, I have a high metabolism level which keeps my weight in check. When I am not shooting, I spend time with my family and friends. I don’t have many friends in the industry, my friends are from my childhood days.
Bollywood’s warm welcome
I am an outsider in Bollywood with no connections whatsoever. But the industry accepted me with open arms. It is one’s talent that is recognised here. I feeI truly blessed to be the part of the industry. An actor’s most valuable asset are his/her fans. I believe in satisfying them with my performances. It’s their love and appreciation that I yearn for as an actor.
source: http://www.mid-day.com / Mid-Day / Home> Entertainment / by Nilesh Rao /Mumbai – August 09th, 2013
Kursura Submarine Museum, one of the significant landmarks in the tourism circuit in Visakhapatnam and located on the Beach Road, will be celebrating its 11th anniversary on Friday.
The first of its kind in the whole south Asia, the INS Kursura Submarine is a Soviet built-I-641 class submarine and was inducted into the Indian Navy on Dec 18, 1969, and the same was decommissioned on Feb 27, 2001 after 31 years of glorious service to the nation.
During her ferocious and victorious service, the submarine traversed 73,500 nautical miles participating in almost all types of naval operations.
She played a vital role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. She was the pioneer submarine extending goodwill and harmony through her visits and flag-showing missions to other nations.
The submarine is the fourth among the first generation submarines inducted in to the Indian Navy.
After decommissioning from services, the complete submarine, including the weapon package was hauled-up from sea to land and positioned on a concrete foundation at Ramakrishna Beach Road.
For setting-up the Submarine Museum, Rs 6 crore was spent in technical association with Naval-ship Design and Research Center.
The length of submarine is 91.3 meters, while the breadth is 8 mts. Kursura submarine Museum is the only Submarine Museum in India.
The Indian Navy is proposing to add another submarine museum by setting up the INS Vela, the first among the second generation submarine decommissioned on Jan. 25, 2010, between Chennai and Mamallapuram in Tamilnadu.
The state government issued GO Ms. No. 88 in 2002 ordering transfer of the entire submarine museum with the surrounding areas developed for the museum, including the food courts and open areas to Vuda for the up-keep and maintenance and throw it open to the public for display and entertainment.
The Kursura Submarine Museum was dedicated to the nation on Aug. 9, 2002 by the then chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / Visakhapatnam – August 09th, 2013
In addition, this year there will be small group sessions to allow more direct interaction with internationally renowned faculty from both India as well as abroad.
Hyderabad :
A major three-day global event in heart diseases will be held at the HICC beginning on Friday. The Facts Foundation, India in partnership with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, US is hosting the premier Interventional experience – ACVS (Advanced Cardiovascular Solutions) India 2013.
Over 1,700 delegates from India and abroad will be taking part said Guru N. Reddy, Founder and Chairman, Continental Hospitals and A. Sreenivas Kumar & Susheel Kumar Kodali, programme directors of the event. More than 200 faculty members will also participate. The conference will have live demo of complex, new procedures and technologies, transmitted from local, national and international sites with all academic institutes of excellence within India being represented.
Martin B. Leon along with other CRF & Columbia colleagues, will participate in the meeting. In addition, this year there will be small group sessions to allow more direct interaction with internationally renowned faculty from both India as well as abroad.
The workshops will also be coordinated by Horst Sievert from Germany, considered to be one of the pioneers in the field of cardiovascular sciences, a press release said.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by The Hindu Bureau / Hyderabad – August 08th, 2013
Dr S Venugopal Rao, associate professor, Advanced Centre for Research in High Energy Materials (ACRHEM), University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been elevated as a senior grade member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). IEEE is a professional association headquartered in New York city that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence.
Speaking about his achievement, Venugopal Rao said, “Becoming a senior grade member gives me an opportunity to interact with IEEE fellows and co-senior grade members”. He added, “Now I feel more responsible towards my research and teaching”. Venugopal Rao is part of ACRHEM’s defence funded project where laser is used to study certain particles.
Explaining the selection process as a senior grade member of IEEE, Venugopal said, “A person has to be a member of IEEE for 5 years, prove their research work and three senior members of IEEE need to nominate him as a senior grade member after which a panel comprising of senior professors go through the nominated person’s achievements and work and take a decision”. Venugopal Rao has also won the Nasi-Scopus young scientist award for the year of 2012 in Physics category.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / August 03rd, 2013
Calling for entries for the Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize
Instituted by the Srinivas Rayaprol Literary Trust to recognise excellence in poetry written in English, the prize is administered jointly by the Department of English, University of Hyderabad.
The prize, consisting of a cash award of Rs.10,000 and a citation will be presented at a literary event in Hyderabad in October 2013.
The entries will be judged by a distinguished jury of poets and literary personalities. Entries are invited from Indian citizens between 20-40 years. Deadline: August 31, 2013
The entries must include: Three different, unpublished poems written by the applicant;
Evidence of age and complete contact information.
Poems submitted must not have names of the poet on them.
Send entries to:
Dr. Aparna Rayaprol, Convener, Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize, Director, Study in India Programme, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad AP 500046 or e-mail: rayaproltrust@gmail.com
Shortlist for 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature
The shortlist of nominees for the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature is out. The list includes César Aira, Mia Couto, Duong Thu Huong, Edward P. Jones, Ilya Kaminsky, Chang-rae Lee, Edouard Maunick, Haruki Murakami, and Ghassan Zaqtan.
For the first time ever, authors have been nominated from Mauritius, Mozambique, Palestine and Ukraine. Additionally, Jones is the first male African American writer to be nominated in the 44-year history of the prize.
The winner will be announced on November 1 and will receive $50,000, a replica of an eagle feather cast in silver, and a certificate of recognition.
For more information on the Neustadt Prize and the fall 2013 festival, visit www.neustadtprize.org
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books / Hyderabad, August 03rd, 2013
Ausaf Sayeed I.F.S in Hyderabad. / Photo: G. Ramakrishna / The Hindu
Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, who will take charge as Indian Consul-General in Chicago on August 6, will have his jurisdiction in the Midwest region, which happens to be President Obama’s constituency
Good news for the Hyderabadi diaspora in Chicago. A civil servant hailing from their city is set to become their Consul-General soon. Incidentally, he is the first Muslim officer ever to assume this important position. Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, who just completed a three-year stint as Indian Ambassador in Yemen, will take charge on August 6 as Indian Consul-General in Chicago. He succeeds Mukta Tomer.
A career diplomat of the 1989 batch, Dr. Sayeed has his priorities cut out. He wants to first streamline consular and visa services for Indian Americans. “I want to make use of the social media to improve communication,” says Dr. Sayeed.
Chicago has a large Indian population of 3.50 lakh, including 40,000 Hyderabadis. Dr. Sayeed plans to have direct access to Indians through a website. The idea is to let people communicate their grievances and suggestions and get quick replies. His consular jurisdiction spreads across the Midwest region comprising the nine States of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana and Wisconsin.
The Midwest region is important in that it happens to be the constituency of President Barrack Obama. Besides, as many as 150 of the Fortune 500 companies are located there. Dr. Sayeed sees greater scope for boosting Indian trade and business there. Another priority for him is addressing the issue of illegal Indian immigrants in Chicago. “Right now, I don’t know the dimensions of the problem. But definitely we will guide the immigrants in the conversion of their status so that they can live legally,” he adds.
Dr. Sayeed has an emotional attachment to Chicago as his father, Awaz Sayeed, a poet, was buried there. He passed away in 1995. “I look forward to a very interactive period,” he says. How does he cope with the hectic schedule? Dr. Sayeed turns to his wife, Farha, and says: “It’s all because of her support”.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by J. S.Ifthekhar / Hyderabad – August 03, 2013
