Well-known cartoonist Ragati Pandari (50) passed away here on Thursday while undergoing treatment for a lung disease at a private hospital. Pandari fell ill after her mother Santa Kumari’s sudden demise a month ago.
Pandari started her career as a cartoonist at the age of eight. Affected by polio as a child, Ragati could not pursue her studies and learnt to draw cartoons by sketching in books available at home. Since 1980, her cartoons have been carried in several regional and English newspapers, weekly and monthly magazines. Ragati, who drew inspiration from eminent cartoonist Jayadev, sketched more than 16,000 cartoons, pictorial stories and scripts.
The city-based cartoonist was felicitated by various organizations and received several awards, including Kalaratna by the state government. As per her last wishes, Pandari’s body was donated to a hospital and eyes donated to an eye bank.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / February 20th, 2015
A Sensory Park at Kurnool, Braille printing press at Guntur and Regional Centre for Rehabilitation of Physically Challenged in Nellore district are among the facilities the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will set up in Andhra Pradesh.
This was announced by Union Minster for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot here on Saturday.
The State Government had agreed to allot land for the Regional Centre for Rehabilitation of Physically Challenged.
Eleven districts in the State would have District Disability Rehabilitation Centres.
“At the Sensory Park the arrangements are such that the visually challenged, hearing impaired and physically challenged would sense the flowers, colours, etc. of a park,” the Union Minster said.
Zonal Sports Complex
For the multi-crore Zonal Sports Complex sanctioned to the city, the State Government would have to allot land, he said.
Asked on the necessity for increasing accommodation for girl students, particularly on Andhra University campus, the Union Minister said that funds would be released for providing facilities to the SCs, OBCs, physically challenged and other eligible sections.
The university should, however, make a representation to the Ministry.
The Ministry would also provide funds for providing lifts, ramps and toilets at public utility places such as hospitals and bus stations for making them accessible to physically challenged persons.
The Collectorate and District Courts Complex here were sanctioned lift and ramps.
The budget allocation for the Ministry was Rs. 6,500 crore under social justice wing and Rs. 565 crore for physically challenged rehabilitation section.
Visakhapatnam MP K. Haribabu lauded the Ministry for brining out a compendium of its schemes and programmes for people to understand what it was doing and what help they could get.
Mr. Gehlot said the Indian team had won 33 medals at the Asian Para Olympics held in South Korea recently. India beat Pakistan in the final of World Cup cricket tournament for the blind.
International para sports meet
The Government was planning to host an international para sports meet by spending Rs. 20 crore, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – February 15th, 2015
Prestigious Nayudamma Award will be jointly conferred on two eminent women scientists — Dr Tessy Thomas, missile technologist and Geeta Varadan, expert in remote sensing — for the year 2014.
The award will be presented at a special function to be held at Tenali, the home town of Y Nayudamma, on March 1. Prof Shantha Sinha, Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient and former Head of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and Founder, Manidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation, will present the award.
According to P Vishnu Murthy, founder and managing trustee of the Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Trust, it is the first time that the trust is honouring two eminent women scientists concurrently. They will be the second and third women awardees, the first being Dr. V. Shanta of the Adyar Cancer Research Institute, Chennai.
The award, instituted in 1986 by the Dr. Yelavarthy Nayudamma Memorial Trust in Tenali (Andhra Pradesh), to commemorate the distinguished Scientist and internationally renowned leather technologist Nayudamma, is annually given away to persons chosen for their outstanding contribution to science and technology.
Dr Tessy Thomas, who has earned sobriquets like ‘Agniputri’ and ‘Missile Woman of India’ for her outstanding efforts in successfully launching the prestigious Agni series missiles, including the latest Agni-V, is the Director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Hyderabad. She has been associated with Agni Programme right from its developmental flights.
Making a mark in missile technology, a traditionally male bastion, she has designed the guidance scheme for long range missile systems which is used in all Agni missiles. An energy management guidance scheme was designed and developed for the first time in the country for an all-solid propelled long range systems by her, for which she was conferred with Agni Self-Reliance Award in 2001.
Geeta Varadan is a renowned scientist and technocrat in the field of remote sensing. She is the first woman to head an ISRO centre as Director of the Advanced Data Processing Research Institute, Secunderabad.
As ISRO’s Programme Director (Special Projects), she conceptualised and operationalised the Cartosat 2A/2B and the GSAT-7 programmes for remote sensing and communications respectively. In addition, she has pioneered the development of a real time satellite data processing system using state-of-the-art GP/GPU technology.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / February 15th, 2015
Participants of Mrs. Vizag contest walking down the ramp at the audition round in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.— Photo: K. R. Deepak
Grace Simon’s phone kept ringing as soon as she got off the stage. She hurried out to a corner of the crowded hall to speak to her husband, who seemed as anxious as Grace was to know the outcome of the audition round of Mrs. Vizag contest.
A nurse at the critical section of anti-retroviral therapy at KGH, this was Grace’s first experience in the modelling world as she walked the ramp, a bit tentatively, to participate in the first beauty pageant held in the city for married women.
“I would have never done this had it not been for my colleagues and my husband,” said the 27-year-old mother of two.
Handling the critical care section of providing support to HIV-positive patients, Grace has learnt the art of taking challenges with a smile.
“Married life is challenging and so is the ability of striking a balance. Once we learn to do any work with love and commitment, it is easy to deal with the challenges. Family support, of course, is very crucial,” said Grace, who looks at the Mrs. Vizag platform as a medium to gain self confidence and also to spread awareness about AIDS and various medical assistance available for the patients.
Grace was one of the 80 participants who registered for the audition round of the contest held at Hotel Royal Fort on Tuesday.
Being organised by Moon Power Events, the finale of the contest will be held on February 28 at MGM Park.
The audition round brought out myriad facets of a woman. It was a first for many contestants, who broke the image of their traditional roles as a housewife and a mother to pull out a smile and walk on to the ramp in glittering Indian wear. The wobbly steps on high heels were the first attempt at winning recognition, and, perhaps, one day even celebrity status.
The husbands, with a degree of pride, stood holding the kids and capturing the moment on their cell phones while watching their wives sashay down the stage.
“Doesn’t she look charming!” a man whispered, as he cheered for his wife.
Twenty-five-year-old Charu Chowdhary waited for her turn to walk the ramp as her husband and her months-old baby waved out to her from the other end of the hall. “My husband took a day off from work to support me in the auditions,” she said with a smile and added, “This platform will help me discover myself.”
The winner of the contest will get a gold crown worth Rs. 1 lakh. The event is being held for a charitable cause. The proceeds from the show will go for the welfare of HIV-positive people.
Participants in the audition round of Mrs. Vizag contest shed their traditional roles to make a dazzling debut
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Nivedita Ganguly / Visakhapatham – February 18tgh, 2015
Degala Lakshmi, a pioneer in lace work, displaying designer saris at an exhibition in Tanuku of West Godavari district.— Photo: A.V.G. Prasad
Degala Lakshmi, an unassuming SHG woman who became a brand ambassador for lace products in the global market once, is now in oblivion.
She shared the dais with the Microsoft giant Bill Gates at a function in HITEC city, Hyderabad, in 1999, where she displayed her exquisitely crafted lace products . The symmetrical beauty of the lace creations with a world-wide craft-loving clientele helped her embark upon an exciting journey from her non-descript delta village of Annavarapupadu under Peravali mandal of West Godavari district to the United States, Sri Lanka and Dubai. A lace flower presented by Ms. Lakshmi elegantly adorned the then US president Bill Clinton who visited her stall in the US. The SHG movement, which began in a small way in her village with only three groups in 1996, grew into 86 groups under her tireless efforts.
For Ms. Lakshmi, it is all history now. She bears testimony to the utter neglect the art of international fame and its artisans have been subjected to. She has diversified into designer and painting works and doing lace borders on saris as she finds little support from the government agencies.
Ms. Lakshmi was spotted by this correspondent at a stall put up at a college here in connection with a symposium on women entrepreneurship. She said she felt suffocated in the SHG movement due to politicisation of the groups and the lack of a sense of belongingness among the members.
The Union Ministry of Textiles proposed to set up a mega hub for hand-crafted lace at Rustumbada near Narsapur at a cost of Rs. 70 crore, but the project failed to take off.
Degala Lakshmi shared the dais with Bill Gates at a function in HITEC city in 1999
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by G. Nagaraja / Tanuku (West Godavari Dist.) – February 18th, 2015
Social justice camps will be conducted in all the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh to distribute aid to the differently-abled, which would give them an opportunity to empower themselves in life, said Union minister for Social Justice Thaawar Chand Gehlot, here Saturday.
The Central government has organised these camps in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Tirupati and Anakapalle, and distributed welfare aid worth `5 crore to the differently-abled so far.
Speaking at a social justice camp organised at Anakapalle, the minister said that the Centre initiated various steps to iempower the differently-abled and senior citizens in the country. The department has decided to provide lifts and ramps in all government offices and hospitals for the benefit of the differently-abled. Rehabilitation and training centres will be established in every district, he informed.
The Union government was committed to the welfare of the physically and mentally-challenged people. “The government allocated `6,500 crore for the social justice department and another `560 crore for the department of disability affairs to protect the interests of the differently-abled,” he reiterated.
The minister also revealed the Central government’s plans to introduce e-vidya system for the benefit of differently-abled apart from providing them with educational loans at a subsidised interest rate of four per cent to pursue higher studies.
Anakapalle Parliament member M Srinivasa Rao requested the Union minister to facilitate sanctioning of a National Institute of Spinal Surgery unit at Anakapalle to provide better treatment for the victims of road accidents. State ministers P Sujatha, P Raghunadha Reddy and Ganta Srinivasa Rao elaborated on the welfare measures initiated by the state government.
Later, Gehlot told mediamen in Visakhapatnam that the Union Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment will establish five sports complexes for the differently-abled in five zones of the country. “The only sports complex for differently-abled in South India will be constructed in Visakhapatnam and we have asked the state government to provide necessary land in this regard.”
The Union government would also provide `6 lakh for the cochlear implants towards surgeries conducted for children below six years and provide them a new lease of life.
“Recently, the ministry financed for three children for the cochlear implant in Mumbai. It will conduct camps to distribute motorised tricycles to provide mobility to people with over 80 per cent disability,” he added.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / February 15th, 2015
Winners all the way:Archers, who won medals in the National Games in Kerala, being accorded a grand welcome at the Vijayawada Railway station on Tuesday. —Photo: V. Raju.
Volga Archery Academy archers, who bagged three medals — two gold and one bronze — in the ongoing National Games at Kerala, were accorded a rousing welcome on Tuesday.
Amid rhythmic drum beats and chants hailing late Indian coach Ch. Lenin, hundreds of sports buffs and administrators garlanded archers and celebrated their triumph. “This victory is a major one after bifurcation,” said District Sports Development Officer P. Ramakrishna.
The triumph is timely for the academy which is preparing a road map for the 2016 Olympics Games to be held in Brazil. “Vizag lad Biraghi Naidu won gold in the Indian round individual event while 17-year-old Purvasha Sudhir Shinde, the bronze medallist at the Incheon Asian Games, proved her mettle once again by winning gold in the compound individual event. These feats will give the necessary fillip to the archers preparing for the Olympics Games trials,” said academy chairman Ch. Satyanarayana.
He said Naidu, who hailed from Paderu near Vizag, was a natural talent and he will be graduated to recurve segment. “He will be given a special training in recurve and I am sure he will make it to the Indian team,” Mr. Satyanarayana added.
‘Missed the gold
by a whisker’
He said that AP women compound team consisting of Purvahsha, Anusha, Geethika Lakshmi, Jyoshna won the bronze in the team championship but missed the gold by a whisker. “An equipment error cost us the gold medal. Anusha Reddy’s bow developed a snag as the peep went haywire.
She missed a vital shot which affected the team’s prospects in the semifinal,” said team’s coach Ali.
The 22-year-old Naidu tamed the best archers in the fray to win the coveted gold by scoring consistently. He piped Huidom of Manipur and Arun Boro of Assam for the gold.
Satahavana College student Purvasha shot around 145 out of 150 in a consistent manner to outplay experienced archers like Punjab’s Trisha Dev to emerge as champion. “Both the gold medallists will get Rs. 7 lakhs as promised by the State government. The compound team which won the bronze will get Rs. 2 lakh,” said Mr. Ramakrishna.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – February 11th, 2015
Students honour parents during ‘Mata Pita Pujotsavam’ in a school in Ongole on Monday.—Photo: Kommuri Srinivas
Over 400 students of the Montessori Public School performed puja to their parents and honoured them during the ‘Mata Pita Pujotsavam’ organised under the banner of the Sanatana Dharma Prachara Samiti here on Monday, ahead of Valentine’s Day. School headmistress Sucharita joined the students in honouring the parents of students.
The event was organised to mould children into responsible citizens, taking care of their parents well and not to blindly ape western cultural practices like the Valentine’s Day, Samiti Ongole chapter president J. Satyanarayana Raju.
After the break-up of the joint family system, parents were left in the lurch due to western cultural onslaught, said Samiti Ongole chapter secretary N. Bharata Sastri.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Ongole – February 10th, 2015
A kidney harvested from a brain dead patient in Guntur travelled 400 km by road to the Port City recently to give a fresh lease of life to a 51-year-old man suffering from chronic kidney disease in Visakhapatnam, thanks to the police department playing the good Samaritan.
In a rare case of perfect coordination, the kidney, which was harvested from the accident victim at 2 am on January 31, was carried by the paramedical team in an ambulance that was escorted by the traffic police and police department personnel on its road journey from Guntur to Vizag via Vijayawada.
“The police department in all the three cities provided 10 patrol cars at strategic points to escort the ambulance that was carrying the kidney from Guntur. Thanks to this support, the ambulance could travel 400 km without any delays on the highway and the kidney reached our hospital on time at 8 am, where the 51-year-old patient was already awaiting the organ in the operation theatre,” said Dr P Sriram Naveen, consultant nephrologist at Manipal Hospitals, Visakhapatnam, who headed the operation along with his team.
“The kidney transplant was done successfully and the condition of the patient monitored the next few days. He is now doing fine,” Dr Naveen added.
On January 30, 2015, at 6 pm, the 54-year-old road accident patient was declared ‘brain dead’ at a private hospital in Guntur. After his family members decided to donate his organs, Jeevandan Organisation, which manages the cadaver transplantation scheme, allotted a kidney to Manipal Hospitals, Visakhapatnam, from where a team of skilled paramedics was sent to the Guntur Hospital.
Attributing the success of the surgery largely to the support of the police department, G Sukesh Reddy, unit head at Manipal Hospitals, Visakhapatnam said the kidney was able to travel 400 km in just six hours only because of the police personnel in the three cities of Guntur, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. “Time is of essence in organ transplants, which should be done within 24 hours of retrieval of the organ, provided it is preserved appropriately,” he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / February 05th, 2015
A file photo of M. Anjaneyulu, Chairman of The Visakhapatnam Cooperative Bank Ltd walking into the bank’s new branch premises inaugurated in Tirupati in 2011. Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar / The Hindu
Scripting a success story one after another, Visakhapatnam Co-operative Bank Ltd (VBCL) will achieve a major landmark by launching its year-long centenary celebrations from February 5.
The bank which was set up in 1916 and remained a single-branch bank with deposits of Rs.69 lakh and advances of Rs.50 lakh till 1983. It has grown in strength year after year following a major revamp and expansion drive later.
The bank at present has 35 branches spread over 11 districts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and has plans to expand its business to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and neighbouring Odisha. The bank at present has deposits to the tune of Rs.2,000 crore and advances of Rs.1400 crore with its plans to expand to 55-branch bank with deposits to the tune of Rs.4,500 crore and advances Rs.3,000 crore.
“We are among few cooperative banks with a 100-year-old history with efficient management. We weathered a storm when the bank due to rumours had to face withdrawal of deposits to the tune of Rs.204 crore out of total deposits of Rs.308 crore during 2003-04. At that time, our old customers withdrew their savings from other banks and kept it with us due to their faith in us,” VCBL Chairman Ch. Raghavendra Rao told reporters on Wednesday.
Minister for Cooperation B. Gopalakrishna Reddy will inaugurate the centenary year celebrations at Andhra University Convocation Hall on Thursday.
VCBL Chairman Emeritus and former MLA Manam Anjaneyulu said that they had proved that through efficient management, healthy management practices and brand loyalty, a cooperative bank could serve the customers better than other banks. He said that within nine months of taking over as bank’s chairman, he could enable the bank to achieve Rs.1-crore deposit-mark in 1983, 67 years after its establishment.
VCBL CEO P.V. Narasimha Murthy and Directors G. Bhaskar Rao, A.J. Stalin, R.V. Jagga Rao, G. Janardhan Rao, K. Bhavani, D. Babu Rao, N. Kama Raju, C. Adinarayana Sastry and T. Padmavati were present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – February 04th, 2015
