Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will inaugurate the IT incubation centre at Rushikonda here on September 29 and on the same day a major seminar on IT development will also be held, according to State HRD Minister G. Srinivasa Rao.
He said here on Wednesday that an IT start-up centre would also be inaugurated. He said the Government was keen on removing the hurdles to the growth of the IT industry in the State and the academic institutions in the State would also take all steps to turn out the suitable personnel for the industry.
There would be interaction between the educational institutions and the IT industry. The Government would play the role of a facilitator, he added.
He said several industries would be set up in the vicinity of Visakhapatnam and the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) chairman would visit the city on September 21 and hold a review meeting here.
He would review how much land had been allocated to each industry such as Brandix and the promised jobs. It would be reviewed whether the industry had fulfilled the job obligation and what steps should be taken in case the industry failed to do so, he said.
If there were any genuine problems holding up the growth of the industry, they would be addressed but it would not be allowed to hold onto the piece of land given to it without generating any economic activity, he said.
He said a skill development centre would also be set up here with the assistance of the local industries. The AP Government was taking steps to supply power 24 hours a day to all the industries.
The State Govt. had also allocated land to the NTPC at Pudimadaka village in Visakhapatnam district to set up a power plant with a capacity of 4,000 MWs.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by The Hindu Bureau / Visakhapatnam – September 17th, 2014
Space for navigation at the Fishing Harbour may increase soon with the Visakhapatnam Port Trust adopting a two-pronged approach to get the unused trawlers removed.
Efforts made earlier had not yielded any result. This time, Visakhapatnam Port Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu has taken a bold move to identify the trawlers with court problems and others without any case so that they could be taken to the slipway and later dismantled as part of scrapping in order of priority.
There are 60 to 65 trawlers which are either abandoned by their owners due to non-payment of bank loans or recurring losses. Some of them have also sunk over the years.
As per rules, ‘no objection certificate’ from AP Pollution Control Board is a pre-requisite for their removal. For past several years, the board has been objecting to issuing of NOC despite several representations from the port as well as the Association of Fishing Professionals and Association of Indian Fishery Industries (AIFI).
The board has been insisting on shifting the vessels to a ship-breaking unit, which is only available at Alang in Gujarat. As this is not possible, now efforts are being made for dismantling them and later shifting the parts to scrap market without causing any pollution.
One-third of berthing space at the Fishing Harbour set up by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1976 in an area of 24 hectares is occupied by the abandoned and sunken vessels. According to an estimate, 14 trawlers have sunk with a hole in the hull. The oil tanks are also said to be empty.
Mr. Krishna Babu told The Hindu that in the first list, they would remove some of the trawlers without court cases safely to the slipway and later begin their scrapping process. Subsequently, efforts would be made to remove other vessels with court permission to ensure ‘operational safety.’
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – September 22nd, 2014
In this Nov. 15, 2007, file photo, Mandolin Shrinivas performs along with Hariharan at The Hindu Friday Review November Fest at the Music Academy in Chennai. Photo: R. Shivaji Rao
Grief overtook Mandolin Shrinivas’s admirers, childhood friends and artistes in this cultural capital of West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh as news of his untimely death spread.
A pall of gloom descended on Palacol, the cultural capital of West Godavari district, with the demise of its child prodigy Uppalapu Shrinivas, a globally acclaimed Carnatic music exponent.
Shrinivas is its second son of the soil who did the tiny non-descript coastal town proud by securing Padmasri award in an early age after Allu Ramalingaiah, a noted film actor. He had the prefix `Uppalapu’ to his name replaced by `Mandolin’ for his blending the Western instrument with Carnatic music in a unique manner.
Grief overtook his admirers, childhood friends and artistes in the prosperous town. Although he was born in a marriage band music family in the town, he lost connections with his birthplace after he left for Chennai as a boy to explore the depths of music.
According to Vinnakota Venkateswara Rao, a local septuagenarian scribe, Srinvas gave his concert last in his hometown was during the Tyagaraya Aradhanotsavams a decade ago. Manapuram Satyanarayana, president of the Palacol Kalaparishad, a childhood friend of Srinivas, recounted his association with the exponent. “I too used to associated myself with marriage band music parties with him (Srinivas), playing electric mandolin. Srinivas used to display innovation by playing mandolin for film songs when we were in elementary school itself”, he recollected.
Mr. Sudarsanam, a blind who retired as a lecturer in a local government degree college, was said to have attended his first concert in Palacol and could not resist his temptation to take part in another one in Eluru. He did it with the help of an assistant in the mid 80s. “This was how he cast a spell over his audiences,” said a retired teacher Krishna Prasad. He would not have been known to the world as an acclaimed classical musician, but for Rudraraju Subbaraju from Poduru near Placol, who taught Srinivas’ father Satyanrayana mandolin playing. Identifying the latent talent in the child prodigy, Mr. Subbaraju was said to have taken Srinivas and his father to Madras to hone up his skills under the tutelage of great exponents.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by G. Nagaraja / Eluru – September 19th, 2014
Italian traveller Marco Polo’s accounts stand testimony to their weaving expertise which had floored the Europeans during the medieval period.
Weavers in Chirala in Prakasam district had carved a niche for themselves worldwide from time immemorial with their weaving skills.
Italian traveller Marco Polo’s accounts stand testimony to their weaving expertise which had floored the Europeans during the medieval period. Chirala, which gets its name from Chira (saree), had weavers who could produce a transparent saree which could be folded and kept in a match box.
However, in the wake of power looms gaining ground, weavers from, among other places, Kanigiri, Ethamukala, Vetapalem, Janarpeta in the district faced hardship due to lack of orders for their deft hands in the era of globalisation.
“The Rs. 70 crore Mega Handloom Cluster, which is all set to commence operations from the second week of October will be game changer,” explained Handlooms and Textiles Assistant Director M. Ramamurthy Naidu after holding awareness programmes for the weavers.
“Eight interventions are planned to strengthen the hands of 12,000 identified weavers to come out with innovative designs, reduce drudgery and help them find new markets within and outside the country through e-marketing,” he added while talking to The Hindu.
He said the interventions included a Rs. 7-crore yarn bank, modern compressed looms, motorised jacquards, emergency solar lamps, a modern design studio, work sheds for the identified weavers to improve productivity and income for them.
“Our aim is to empower the 12,000 weavers from the district to work wonders on the loom like their forefathers a tapestry of designs and textures”, he added.
K. Venkateswara Rao, a weaver from Epurupalem, said that the government should provide solar lamps of higher capacity to energise at least two tube lights and a fan instead of an emergency lamp which would not serve any purpose.
Weaver A. Veerabrahmam felt that the government should do away with the 20 per cent beneficiary contribution and double the subsidy component for new work sheds from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 50,000. Subsidised yarn and chemical dyes as also export sub-centres should be set up, added another weaver Katuri Narasimha Rao.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by S. Murali / Ongole – September 23rd, 2014
Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh would be developed as ‘smart cities’.
He also said that Vijayawada, Guntur and Tenali would be provided metro rail services.
Notably, the state government had recently announced that the new capital of Andhra Pradesh would be located “around Vijayawada”.
“As a part of the Centre’s decision to develop 100 smart cities in the country for making urban life comfortable by improving living conditions there, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam in AP would get a chance to be developed as smart cities,” Naidu said.
He was participating in a seminar on ‘smart cities’ conducted by the Andhra Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.
The smart cities would be required to provide round-the-clock drinking water, power, transport and health services at affordable prices to the public, he said.
The development of a smart city needs political will and guts to enforce proper taxation system, implement good governance, weed out corruption and check unauthorised constructions, he said.
He also appealed to the public to pay taxes properly to avail the amenities and services.
The Centre has so far not decided on the places for the smart city project. The state governments have to propose the names for it, he said.
However, the four metros, the capitals of states and major cities and their surrounding areas would be developed as smart cities, he said.
Lok Sabha MP G Ganga Raju and Andhra Chamber of commerce and industry president M Murali Krishna were among others present on the occasion.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / PTI / September 15th, 2014
For the first time in Andhra Pradesh, a Snake Saver Society (SSS) has been formed exclusively for protecting snakes and generating public awareness. With widespread misconception and fear resulting in many snakes getting killed, some snake lovers got together to set up the society and a snake rescue habitat, which was launched at Gajuwaka on Monday. The society will also impart training to those interested in catching snakes and releasing them into the safety of forests.
Certified snake-catcher from Andhra and SSS president Rokkam Kiran Kumar, said, “The aim is to generate awareness about snakes and train people in snake catching. We will be collaborating with the forest department and GVMC in this regard. We already have 16 members, who will visit schools, industries, residential colonies and surrounding villages to educate people.”
According to experts, only four of the snake varieties found in Vizag and the surrounding Eastern Ghats are poisonous — viper, cobra, krait and branded krait. The rest are non-venomous but end up getting killed when they venture into residential areas.
“Snakes are an important part of the environment. They they kill rats and prevent them from destroying crops,” said Kiran, who has saved 17,000 snakes in the past decade. SSS secretary Nageshwar Rao said 10 people are being trained to catch snakes in the city. “If you spot snakes, don’t kill them. Call the snake helpline: 9849140500,” Rao said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / September 16th, 2014
U. Shrinivas, who cast a spell on audiences with his Western instrument, the mandolin, died here on Friday. He was only 45 and is survived by his father, mother, two sisters and brother Rajesh, who is also a mandolin player.
Mandolin Shrinivas, as he came to be known, had been ailing for a while. He reportedly was being treated for liver failure at the Apollo Hospital. He had lately received a liver transplant and had recovered, but a lung infection proved fatal. In a statement, Apollo Hospital said “the transplant procedure was uneventful, and his liver function showed signs of recovering. After initial improvement of five days, he developed a secondary lung infection leading to shock and multi organ failure.” Shrinivas was a man of clean habits, and had been ignoring an infection for a long while, friends told The Hindu.
Born in Palakol in Andhra Pradesh in 1969, Shrinivas was the son of clarinet player Sathyanarayana. Young Shrinivas, however, was attracted by mandolin used by his father’s friend in recording studios. He quickly mastered it and his skills were further honed by Rudraraju Subbaraju, a student of late Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagavathar.
His first concert was held at Kudivada in 1980 and later mridhangam player organised a concert for him in Kumbakonam in 1981. As Chennai is the capital of Carnatic Music, his family settled here and he was promoted by Updendran and his uncle, late thavil maestro Valangaiman Shanmugasundaram, who accompanied him in thavil.
As a child prodigy, a permanent smile on his face and with joy apparent while playing his instrument, he created waves in the Carnatic music world.
He instantly caught the attention of late Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, who declared him the musician of the Tamil Nadu Government when he was just 11 yeas old. He was awarded Padmashree in 1998.
“After listening to him play in a temple, I recorded him for the Doordarshan. The audition test was attended by great musicians such as Emani Sankara Shastry. When we telecast the programme, we received a call from the then Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, requesting a copy of the recording and his address,” said Sampath Kumar, who worked for both the All India Radio and Doordharsan.
Humility personified
Shrinivas, humility personified, always gratefully acknowledged the contribution made by others towards his career.
Mridangam maestro Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, who accompanied Shrinivas since he was 10, said his greatest quality had always been to absorb the best from the stalwarts and infuse nuances into his magical instrument.
Even though western instruments such as violin, clarinet and saxophone were metamorphosed into a complete carnatic classical instrument by the handlers, Shrinivas secured an unparalleled status for the mandolin. He performed along with the English guitarist John McLaughlin and top Indian musicians Zakir Hussain, V. Selvaganesh, Shankar Mahadevan, Shivkumar Sharma, and Hariprasad Chaurasia.
In India, the instrument was mostly used in light music and Hindustani musicians, it was Shrinivas brought it to the mainstream Carnatic music world. I am still not able to understand how he was able to produce ghamakas in a Western instrument,” said Mr. Sampath kumar, who also produced a documentary on Shrinivas.
Recalling his association with MGR, Shrinivas once told The Hindu that since he did not have a telephone, the Chief Minister’s secretaries visited his house.“The Chief Minister’s secretaries visited my house and wanted to know whether I could perform at a function. Since I had a concert on the same day, they gave me another date and the occasion — a felicitation function for actor Kamal Hassan for his role in the film ‘ Ek duje ke liye’ . Mr. MGR and our present Chief Minister Jayalalithaa listened to the entire concert,” Shrinivas once reminisced.
At one concert, T.N. Seshagopalan, moved by his music, presented a gold ring to Shrinivas.
Shrinivas joins late N.C. Vasanthakokilam, Karukurichi Arunachalam and Needamangalam Shanmugavadivel, other Carnatic music greats who left the world when they were at the peak of their career.
Carnatic music world mourns its loss
The Carnatic music world is in a state of shock over the untimely death of Mandolin U. Shrinivas here on Friday.
He was reportedly being treated for liver failure at the Apollo Hospital here. He had lately received a liver transplant and had recovered, but a lung infection proved fatal.
The greatness of his place in this world is probably best explained by a small story that the late violinist Lalgudi G. Jayaraman’s family recounts.
It happened when Jayaraman, along with his son Krishnan and daughter Vijayalakshmi stepped into the elevator of a restaurant. While everyone wondered how he was able use a western instrument so successfully to render gamaka-laden Carnatic music, Shrinivas explained the modifications he made to achieve the result, says Ms. Vijayalakshmi.
“We happened to listen to the sweet strains of Shrinivas playing our guru’s [Jayaraman] Yamunakalyani tillana. With a smile our guru stood there listening to it, not minding that the elevator doors had closed and we were moving on to the next floor,” recounts Mr. Krishnan.
“Doing away with the eight-string model, I transformed the instrument into a four-stringed one early in my career. Later, I added a fifth string on the advice of my father,” Shrinivas used to say. His achievement is explained by music historian V. Sriram: “It is not often that someone gets to introduce a new instrument in Carnatic Music and yet be welcomed with open arms.”
For mridangam player Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, his death is a great personal loss. He provided accompaniment to Shrinivas in hundreds of concerts. “We were to play two concerts this December. Alas! it is a great loss,” he says.
Describing Shrinivas as a great scholar and inventor both in melody and rhythm, Mr. Sivaraman said that his name became synonymous with the instrument and made him an icon. He was humble and respectful.
Another senior musician who accompanied Shrinivas in a number of concerts is Ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram. Unable to overcome his grief he said, “Only his body is dead. His music will continue to live on.” Music director Ilayaraja, one of the great fans of Shrinivas, paid homage to him at home. Music composer A.R. Rahman (@arrahman) has tweeted his message: “Emotionally shaken to hear of Carnatic shining star Mandolin Shrinivasji’s demise… May God bless him with happiness in the next world.”
Noted playback singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam on his Facebook page, said Shrinivas had elevated Indian classical music to “universal level.” He recalled his first meeting with him at Gemini Studios in 1980 where he was doing the background score for Hum Paanch directed by Telugu director Bapu who passed away recently.
Playback singer Shankar Mahadevan who performed with Shrinivas for ‘Remember Shakti,’ is poignant in his message. “A very important part of my music is over…. praying for your soul U.Shrinivas, my friend my brother …in extreme sorrow.”
Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain tweeted: “Today mother India cries, today a part of Indian music died and we are orphaned, RIP my dear brother Mandolin Shrinivas.”
“I got to know today that Shrinivas is no more. I am very sad to hear that. When he was 14-year-old, I saw his performance on TV. He used to play Indian classical music brilliantly. It was quite tough to play classical music on mandolin… May his soul rest in peace,” noted playback singer Lata Mangeshkartweeted.
Sonu Nigam tweeted: “The great mandolin exponent U. Shrinivas is no more unfortunately. Was going through a liver transplant.”
(With additional inputs from PTI)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – September 19th, 2014
Amateur naturalist and student of B.Sc Botany Pavani holds a Calico flower, a native flower of Brazil, that bloomed at the Biodiversity Park at the RCD Hospital compound in Visakhapatnam. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu
Amateur naturalist and student of B.Sc Botany Pavani holds a Calico flower, a native flower of Brazil, that bloomed at the Biodiversity Park at the RCD Hospital compound in Visakhapatnam. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / September 15th, 2014
The Andhra Pradesh government will nominate renowned filmmaker-artist Bapu, who died recently, for the Padma Vibhushan, along with radiation oncologist Dr Nori Dattatreyudu and gastroenterologist Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy.
The names will be finalised at the Cabinet meeting on Monday. According to sources, the Cabinet is likely to recommend the name of N.T. Rama Rao for the Bharat Ratna. For the Padma Bhushan, the government is expected to nominate party MP and filmmaker Maganti Murali Mohan, apart from Carnatic vocalist Nedunoori Krishna Murthy and Chaganti Koteswar Rao, an expert on Sanatana Dharma.
The names of character artiste and BJP leader Kota Srinivasa Rao, cartoonist Sridhar, journalist I. Venkat Rao and social worker Satyavani are expected to be nominated for the Padma Shri.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / September 15th, 2014
Visakhapatnam Port Trust Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu, organiising committee chairman of third ODI bewtween India and West Indies giving details of arrangments. Photo: By Aarrangement / The Hindu
Third ODI between West Indies, India to be played on Oct. 14. Several committees were constituted during a meeting with the GVMC and district officials on security, traffic control, food, water, sanitation, etc.
The Caribbeans are coming to the city again. The third ODI between West Indies and India will be played at the ACA-VDCA stadium on October 14. West Indies played India in November last, and an ODI during its India tour was allotted to the city again in view of the diamond jubilee of the Andhra Cricket Association.
This will be the fourth ODI in the city between India and West Indies. India won two matches, at the MCV stadium and the ACA-VDCA stadium. The city has hosted 10 ODIs so far.
Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Trust M.T. Krishna Babu, who is chairman of the ODI organising committee, at a press conference here on Thursday, explained the arrangements being made for the match.
Several committees were constituted during a meeting with the GVMC and district officials on security, traffic control, food, water, sanitation, etc.
District Collector N. Yuvaraj, president of Andhra Cricket Association D.V. Subba Rao, and general secretary Gokaraju Gangaraju were present.
Tickets priced at Rs. 250 (1,800) meant only for clubs and their players; Rs. 400 (3,500), Rs. 1,000 (9,298), Rs. 1,500 (6,028); Rs. 2,000 (4,310), and Rs. 5,000 (1,620) will be issued. Higher denomination tickets will be sold online and other tickets through eSeva centres.
Another meeting will be convened on October 4 to finalise the arrangements and to check the floodlights and other facilities at the stadium.
Regarding Test status to the stadium, Mr. Gangaraju said some minor changes suggested to the venue by the ICC would be completed by this month end. A BCCI team was expected to visit the stadium again. He was confident that the BCCI, during its next AGM, would accord Test status to the stadium.
The BCCI and other centres in the country appreciated the ACA for conducting all the ODIs without any hitch, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – September 11th, 2014
