Local resident Mr. Abhiram clinched the singles title in the Pin Strikerz Bowling Championship held here on March 8 and 9. Mr. Vivek from Hyderabad and Mr. Pasha from Vijayawada bagged the second and third places respectively.
In the doubles category, the team of Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Vamsi from Vijayawada won the championship, while another local team of Mr. Pasha and Mr. Dilip Jain from the city bagged the second place.
In all, 32 participants from different parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States participated in the two-day championship.
Andhra Pradesh Ten Pin Bowling Association general secretary Smitha Chowdhary was chief guest for the prize distribution ceremony. P.S. Charan, general manager Planet Fun and Praveen Tungala, president Pin Strikerz Group, distributed the trophies, said a press release.
In the doubles category, the team of Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Vamsi from Vijayawada won the championship
source:http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – March 10th, 2015
She is no different from the children of her age. Like others, she loves cartoons and chocolates. But the special talent of nine-year-old Ch Dolly Shivani in archery makes her different from other children.
Spending more than three hours a day on practice at Cherukuri Volga Archery Academy from age 2, under the guidance of her coach L Chandra Sekhar, Shivani is all set to enter the India Book of Records in the sub-junior category.
Addressing newsmen here Wednesday, Ch Satyanarayana, head of the academy and father of Shivani, said for the first time in the history of archery, a nine-year-old kid was holding the recurve bow which was specially made in Poland by Ukraine expert Alexander and shoot arrows to the board at a distance of 7 m.
“Shivani is going to perform before the public at VMC Volga Archery field on March 24 to set a record by shooting with recurve bows at this tender age for certification by the India Book of Records,” he said. Shivani is the third daughter of Ch Satyanarayana and Krishna kumari, who had lost their two daughters and international archers Volga and Lenin in an accident, a few years ago. On the occasion, Satyanarayana requested the government to support talented players like in other countries.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / March 12th, 2015
A picturesque view of Araku Valley in Visakhapatnam district. – Photo: K R Deepak / Business Line
Visakhapatnam :
The Araku valley in Visakhapatnam district, known previously as only a hot tourist spot, has become famous for its coffee cultivation during the past 10-15 years and in the years to come it will also be recognised as a large bio-dynamic farming zone, according to Manoj Kumar, CEO of Hyderabad-based Naandi Foundation.
He said in an interview that so far “the focus has only been on chemical agriculture, or organic agriculture, but the future belongs to bio-dynamic agriculture which preserves bio-diversity and takes care of soil nutrition.”
The Girijans of Araku valley are practising bio-dynamic agriculture, he said, with the help of NGOs like Naandi.
He said bio-dynamic farming would produce organic food, improve quality and yields of crops as well and enrich soil. “If we pursue bio-dynamic farming, there is really no need for GM crops,” he said.
In the years to come, Araku valley will be recognised as a large bio-dynamic farming zone
He said the foundation would continue to encourage and help the Girijans in the valley to pursue coffee cultivation and in future it would also take up mango cultivation. “We will encourage them to grow Banganapalli variety of mango which is famous in AP,” he said and the target was to have 40,000-50,000 tonnes of mangoes from the valley.
Manoj Kumar said coffee and cash crops were bringing prosperity to the region, but there was also the danger that with prosperity consumerist trends may gain ground, and that would be detrimental to the natural habitat of the tribals and their nutrition may also suffer. “We are educating them and sensitising them on the crucial aspect,” he explained.
He said the Mahindra & Mahindra group was financing the project along with some European companies, and “the Government has to come up with the right policy framework to encourage the private sector and the NGOs working in the area.” He said Chief Minister N. Chandra Babu Naidu had adopted a village in the Araku valley and promised all co-operation in its development effort.
He said that after the devastation of Hudhud cyclone in the valley a massive afforestation drive would be taken up to make up for the lost green cover.
Savouring Telugu flavours:Stefan Binder from Germany. —Photo: V. Raju
As part of my Masters, I started learning Telugu and Sanskrit and in the last semester, I opted for Telugu. By the end of it, I was able to translate Telugu in German
There is a Chinese proverb which says learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
Stefan Binder of South Germany is an insatiable learner basking in the glory of Telugu language in Vijayawada city.
A student of cultural anthropology back home in Berlin where he lives, his first visit to India was a couple of years ago.
“As part of my Masters, I started learning Telugu and Sanskrit and in the last semester, I opted for Telugu. By the end of it, I was able to translate Telugu in German,” he says.
Starting with locals
And then, he started learning the language on his own. In the beginning, he had problem in speaking Telugu with locals but later got used to it.
By sheer coincidence, he landed in Andhra Pradesh for his research project. “The Telugu taught in the university was very technical unlike the colloquial one. Now I am confident of striking a conversation in Telugu, even if it is about my research project,” says the 29-year-old scholar with an emphatic nod.
Ask him about the most difficult part of Telugu and he points to its “syntactic structure which is different from European languages.
“Theoretically I can understand it,” he hastens to add. The best part, he says, is that the Telugu grammar is not too complex compared to Sanskrit or “my own mother tongue German.” Give him a lot of time and a dictionary and he can translate Sanskrit too. “Actually, my Hindi is better but my vocabulary is shrinking because of late, I have been focusing only on Telugu,” he says.
Films his passion
He enjoys watching Bollywood films. “ P.K and Haider were the latest ones and I also plan to see Dum laga ke haisha ,” he adds.
As far as food is concerned, the German youth is having a delicious time tucking into his favourite dosasin breakfast and delicacies like pulusu (gravy) made with sweet potato and ladies finger.
“I love the combination of mudda pappu (dal) and allam pachchadi (ginger pickle) with ghee,” his smile returns.
Mr. Binder calls his visit a learning experience. “My first visit was to an undivided Andhra Pradesh. I returned after a gap to find two different States with boundaries redrawn. I have friends on both sides. But regardless of physical barriers, I find the emotional chord intact,” he says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by P. Sujatha Varma / Vijayawada – March 03rd, 2015
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), in collaboration with NGOs and the Andhra Pradesh government, has kick-started a four-year pilot project ‘Convergent Action for Adolescents’, to educate and empower adolescents of Vizag district.
Apart from Unicef, 22 government departments of AP (at the district level), guided by AIKYA, a Kerala-based NGO, will team up for the project. The team met Vizag district collector N Yuvaraj on Wednesday to discuss the project.
The project is aimed at educating pre-pubescent and adolescent children on physiological changes they undergo after attaining puberty and prevent negative behavioural traits from creeping in during their interaction with adults during this stage.
The project also aims to protect these children and adolescents from being sexually exploited and eradicate the system of child marriage.
Speaking on the project, social worker and child rights protection specialist Sony Kutty George said that many children in this phase (10-19 years) of life find it difficult to cope up with the changes leading to depression, loss of confidence and even juvenile delinquent tendencies. “The project aims to boost mental, physical and emotional health in these adolescents,” George said.
On why Visakhapatnam district was selected for the project, George said the district has a unique urban-rural-tribal divide. “The district is not only home to the largest city of AP, but also has vast rural and tribal areas that are extremely backward. Also, the 2011 census revealed that the district has a high number of child labourers,” he said.
Ruth L Leano, chief of field office (Karnataka and AP), Unicef, who was present at the meet, said the pilot project will help generate awareness and develop a healthy future for these youngsters. She said that across the vast rural and tribal stretch many youngsters miss out on opportunities that other privileged children of the same age group have access to. District collector N Yuvaraj said the authorities will work hard to ensure that the project is a success.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / March 05th, 2015
Shiva Sri from Appughar in the city bagged the first prize in the concept film contest-2014 conducted by Eastern Power Distribution Company of AP Limited (EPDCL) to promote awareness on electrical safety and energy conservation. The second prize went to D Balaiah from Kurnool and Ravi Arji from Khairatabad in Hyderabad received the third prize, according to chairman and managing director EPDCL R Mutyala Raju.
Announcing the prizes here on Friday, the CMD said the first prize winner would be presented Rs 50,000 cash, the second prize winner Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 for the third spot. He said Rs 10,000 each would be given to the six consolation prize winners — B Hari Venkata Ramana from Akkayyapalem, Srikanth Sathivada of Dabagardens, Jeelakarpa Yaswan from New Gajuwaka, Satyada Narsinga Rao of Ambedkar Colony and M Satyanarayana of Kothapalem in Vizag and V Bhargavi from Yusufguda in Hyderabad.
Ninety-three people from AP and Telangana participated in the contest, which was judged by film director MV Raghu, EPDCL retired chief engineer M Krishna Murthy and A Babji, assistant director, AP information department.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / February 14th, 2015
Large numbers of people visiting the CREDAI expo that concluded in Visakhapatnam on Sunday | Express Photo
Visakhapatnam :
The three-day Vizag Property Expo-2015 concluded on a grand note here Sunday with the Visakhapatnam unit of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) announcing ‘BR Raju Memorial Award’ to three meritorious students from the architecture department of the Andhra University College of Engineering for the eighth consecutive year.
HRD minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao gave away the award to the meritorious students during the valedictory held at Swarna Bharati Indoor Stadium. Sneha Patel of first year, Sheik Aasmeena of second year and K Sai Harshitha of third year from the AU architecture department bagged the award for scoring the highest grade in studies for 2014. They were each presented an award along with `1 lakh cash prize. The award was instituted in 2007 in memory of BR Raju, who served the CREDAI in various capacities.
Crowds swelled at the venue on the last day of the property expo, which had more than 60 builders and another 20 material suppliers offering over 200 projects in and around the city. The organisers said that the expo witnessed more than one lakh footfalls in the past three days. The CREDAI Visakhapatnam chapter authorities said that there were numerous inquiries over the prices of plots and flats, while there was a good response for villas and commercial spaces as well.
Pendurthi MLA Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, Yelamanchili MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, State Bank of India deputy general manager KN Nayak, CREDAI Andhra Pradesh chairman K Subba Raju, president Are Siva Reddy, CREDAI-Visakhapatnam chapter chairman B Raja Srinivas, president K Rama Krishna Rao and secretary P Koteswara Rao were present.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / March 02nd, 2015
A view of Seethammapeta in Visakhapatnam.— PHOTO: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
The sound of temple bells and hawkers is often drowned by non-stop traffic that zips through the restless roads. Once upon a time, this 300-acre neighbourhood was a deserted village where people were engaged in farming and cattle-rearing.
As the years rolled by, Seethammapeta has become one of the busiest localities that houses several small enterprises, tailoring shops, eateries, kirana stores, temples and a variety of outlets that sell home needs. Those who have been living here for generations say that the colony is self-sufficient and closely knit.
Located amidst National Highway near Gurudwara, Rajendra Nagar and Dwarakanagar main road, Seethammapeta exudes an ancient charm. The unique feature of the locality is the four mukha dwaramulu (arch-shaped entrances) – Sri Kanakamma Ammavari Mukha Dwaram, Sri Sitaramula Mukha Dwaram, Sri Parvateeswara Alaya Mukha Dwaram, and Sri Krishna Yadu Vamsi Mukha Dwaram leading to Kanakamamba Ammavari alayam, Sri Radha Krishnula alayam, Parvateeswara alayam along with Durga Ganapathi, Hanuman, and Saibaba temples.
“You will not find such entrances anywhere else in the city. A couple of them have been built by the members of Sri Krishna Yuvajana Seva Sangam. People bond over family functions, festivals and jatara which form an integral part of our lifestyle. More than 80 per cent of the residents are from Yadava community who are into dairy business,” says Eesarapu Pydi Raju, a resident and chairman of three temples in the colony.
Having four ‘mukha dwarams’ is the unique feature of Seethammapeta
Colony maintenance
When it comes to maintenance of the colony, most of the lanes, although they are hardly six feet wide, look neat except a few spots that are heaped with debris. “We feel responsible for maintaining cleanliness in our colony. We regularly organise awareness programmes on health and hygiene as it helps in educating the slum-dwellers who form a part of the colony,” says Vijay Kumar, a resident.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Rani Devalla / Visakhapatnam – March 04th, 2015
Participants at a workshop on startup ventures in Visakhapatnam.
In their quest for building a thriving startup community, young innovators from across the country are able to make a beginning in spreading awareness in Visakhapatnam.
UP Global, which was founded by Andrew Hyde in 2007 and converted into a non-profit organisation two years later to popularise ‘startup weekend’ concept in Boulder, Colorado, has now become a thriving startup community with presence in 660 cities across 120 countries with thousands of aspiring and successful innovators. The initiative is supported by Google for Entrepreneurs, Bill Gates and Mellinda Foundation, Amazon, and other organisations.
The first startup weekend conducted in the city at Prism Degree College recently becamea big hit with participation by several youngsters, majority of them students.
Anyone with an idea, as an individual or team, can attend the startup weekend and launch an enterprise within 54 hours.
The programme was organised by 12 engineering students from Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram.
“We ask them to spell out their ideas and get support from those already in the field with success stories and experience to motivate them further, improve their ideas, and groom them as entrepreneurs,” says UP Global community leader Sayan Ganguly.
One of the organisers of the city’s two startup weekend programmes, Sayan is co-founder of E2P Group, which deals with R&D and other consultancy services. He is a B.Tech final year student at GITAM University.
Now, Vizag has Ganguly and Sushant Mohapatra, who also studies B.Tech at GITAM, as community leaders, along with 16 volunteers to spread the idea of startup communities using social media.
“Though it is a Herculean task, the initial response is quite encouraging,” says Sushant.
With successful entrepreneurs volunteering to be mentors and new-found confidence after attending 54-hour boot camp, most of those attending the startup weekend are now raring to go.
“With a strong will power, anyone can start an enterprise and own a billion dollar company one day,” says Sayan.
Young innovators join hands to organise ‘startup weekend’, where participants are encouraged to spell out their ideas and get groomed by successful entrepreneurs
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – March 01st, 2015
