Monthly Archives: May 2017
12th
Oz some work: Vizag sculptor creates thunder down under
Visakhapatnam :
At just 26 years of age, Vizagite Durugadda Harsha Vardhan has won the Rio Tinto Sculpture Award at the ‘Sculpture by the Sea-2017’ contest recently held in Australia. His work ‘Column of Sound’ has emerged as winner among works by 78 international sculptors and is now being showcased in Perth.
Harsha’s creation ‘Column of Sound’ consists of two mild steel hemispheres and slices of marble (8 ft by 4 ft dimension) stacked in between. It is based on the visual dynamics of an audio wave where sound translates to tangible and eternal, rendering a paradigm shift of sensory experience. In Harsha’s words, “It’s a translation of sound into a visual form, in the same way we store images as memories, it’s actually my memory of a sound.”
He was a student of St Francis School and Bullaya College in Vizag following which Harsha completed his B.Sc from Hyderabad and Masters in Visual Communication from Delhi. He also completed a course in arts and aesthetics from JNU. Eventually, he took up sculpting which has also been the profession of his father and grandfather.
Harsha plans to participate in the next ‘Sculpture by the Sea’ contest to be held at Bondi in Sydney in October. Speaking about his next sculpture, he said, “Made with corten steel, it would be called ‘Fish Love’. This structure will showcase misinterpretation of love. Though, love is always talked about in great terms, it’s often self-gratification rather than a selfless emotion. True love should be always giving without thinking about the self.”
“Vizag is blessed with the sea, which is a soother and contests and exhibitions by the sea can be held just like in Australia. But we need to create that environment and not ruin art by politicising the events. We need an organising committee for it with encouragement from well-to-do private patrons just like it’s in Australia. Vizag needs more galleries and more events as well as private patrons,” Harsha said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Visakhapatnam News / by Sulogna Mehta / TNN / May 11th, 2017
10
09
Shanmukhapriya – Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jarx7JMUe0
Shanmukhapriya From Vizag on Zee TV – SaReGaMaPa Li’l Champs 2017
source: http://www.youtube.com
First emergency medicine department in Andhra to be set up at KGH
Visakhapatnam :
King George Hospital (KGH) is soon going to start an emergency medicine department (EMD), the first among the government hospitals in the state. It would help bring down mortality in trauma and accident cases by speeding up treatment .
In this regard, a meeting was also held in KGH-AMC this week. Plans are on to house EMD in the new casualty building, which is nearing completion. It’s likely to start functioning in July or August.
The EMD would have different specialists working together under one roof headed by a general physician or intensivist. It should also have an anaesthetist, orthopaedic doctor, a neurosurgeon, a general surgeon, a plastic surgeon, pulmonary medicine specialist and cardio-thorasic surgeon acting as one unit.
They would be all trained in advanced life support (ALS). There would also be ALS trained personnel and paramedics to stabilise the patients on the spot of accident before taking the patient to the nearest hospital. This unit of specialists can take maximum care in minimum time lapse so as to prevent deaths due to loss of time.
Usually victims of poisoning, drowning, animal and reptile bites, burns, road accidents, heart attacks, gunshots or weapon wounds, victims of natural calamities all come under emergency and would be treated in the EMD, say doctors.
For the upcoming EMD, doctors from Amcana (Andhra Medical College Alumni of North America) would also come forward to help with software and technical support by helping to set up an electronic medical records system and by training doctors, medical officers, nurses and paramedics on EMD protocols. They can also help with the equipment as and when required, pointed out AMC principal Dr P V Sudhakar.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Visakhapatnam News / by Sulogna Mehta / TNN / May 03rd, 2017
Telangana boy tops Andhra Pradesh Eamcet for engineering
A. Sai Bharadwaj from Kothagudem stood second and Satyam Ralhan from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, third with 152.521 marks.
Vijayawada:
With 153.96 marks out of 160, Telangana student V. Mohan Abhyas stood first in the engineering stream of AP Eamcet 2017 in the results released on Friday.
A. Sai Bharadwaj from Kothagudem stood second and Satyam Ralhan from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, third with 152.521 marks.
V. Venkata Anirudh from Guntur topped the medical and agriculture stream with 150 marks out of 160. Dogga Sandeep from Vishakhapatnam stood second with 148.67 and Nunna Himaja from Rajamahendravaram secured third rank with 148.41 marks.
Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao Kamineni Srinivas and Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy announced the results and said the government had successfully conducted the examination online and released the result in a record one week.
Mr Srinivasa Rao said AP was the first state to conduct all common entrance tests online.
“The examination was conducted at 124 centres iin AP and four in Hyderabad. As many as 1,98,035 students enrolled for engineering stream and 1,87,484 appeared for the online examination, of which 1,39190 students qualified with a pass percentage of 74.241,” he said.
Mr Chandramohan Reddy, after releasing the key for medical and agriculture streams, said 80,768 students had applied of whom 75,489 took the test. Of these, 64,379 students passed with 85.28 percentage.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / Deccan Chronicle / May 06th, 2017
Wheelchair basketball players aim high
They set sights on gold medals at international events
Binding to a wheelchair does not dampen their spirits to aim high. They feel even sky is not the limit for them. It is the inspiring tale of two women from Andhra Pradesh — 30-year-old B. Hima Kalyani and 29-year-old Pandranki Satyavathi — afflicted with polio at the age of five.
After attending the ‘2017 Women’s Development’ camp organised by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) – Asia Oceania Zone in Thailand, they not only attained great skills in wheelchair basketball but also wanted to train women suffering from a similar impairment.
Their association with the basketball made them realise that the sport would help instil great self-confidence and zest for life in such women.
Presently employed with Thomson Reuters’, Bengaluru, as a content analyst in finance and risk wing, Nidadavolu-based Hima Kalyani says she was unaware of the game until she attended a wheelchair basketball camp in Hyderabad last June.
“When we came to know about the camp through Global-AID, an NGO working for development of persons with disabilities, we wanted to give it a shot. The camp introduced us to a new world, making us realise that life is more beautiful than what we assumed it to be,” narrates Ms. Satyavathi, who is working in the Global AID, Gajapathinagaram mandal, Vizianagaram district, as teacher and hostel warden.
Five months later, the duo participated in the third National Wheelchair Basketball Championship, Chennai.
“The maiden event, organised jointly by the Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India (WBFI) and the International Committee of the Red Cross, made me win a bronze medal,” states Ms. Hima Kalyani.
‘Not an easy task’
Ms. Satyavathi was able to reach up to the semi-final round in the tournament and she along with Hima Kalyani and a few other players got selected for further intensive coaching organised by the IWBF in Thailand.
“We forgot our physical impediment for a while and competed with international players with ease.
“Playing basketball on wheels is not an easy task but the vigorous coaching exposed us to different techniques of the sport, manoeuvring special wheelchairs,” they say.
The players’ next target is to grab gold medals in international events.
“In addition to this, we also want to train wheelchair-bound women in the sport,” the players say.
According to founder-president of Global AID Sai Padma, the NGO plans to provide specialised coaching to the physically challenged persons in wheelchair basketball through the Andhra Pradesh Wheelchair Basketball Association.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Rani Devalla / Visakhapatnam – May 03rd, 2017
Banganapalle mango gets GI tag
Banganapalle mangoes have been grown for over 100 years in Andhra Pradesh.
The succulent Banganapalle mango has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, making Andhra Pradesh the proprietor of the variety known for its sweetness.
The Registrar of Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai, O.P. Gupta has accorded the registration following an application from the Horticulture Commissioner, Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra Pradesh government is the registered proprietor of the GI tag for mangoes, often hailed as “the king of fruits.”
A GI tag indicates that the product comes from a specific region.
Banganapalle mangoes have been grown for over 100 years in the State. It also known as Beneshan, Baneshan, Benishan, Chappatai and Safeda.
Besides, they are also called Banaganapalli, Banginapalli, Banaganapalle.
The fruits can retain their quality under cold storage even up to three months, Andhra Pradesh government said in documents seeking GI.
“The prominent characteristic of Banganapalle mangoes is that their skin has very light spots, stone is oblong in shape and has very thin seed with sparse and soft fibre all over,” it said.
The primary centre of origin of the fruit is Kurnool district comprising Banaganapalle, Paanyam and Nandyal mandals, according to the Andhra Pradesh government which mentioned Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra as secondary centres of origin.
The government has also listed Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy, Medak and Adilabad districts in Telangana as secondary centres of origin.
Submitting documents for proof of origin, it also cited historical records like a “war fund seal (Banganapally-State Madras War Fund Seal).”
A logo too is in place — featuring a bright yellow fruit around which the tagline says “Banganappalle Mangoes of Andhra Pradesh,” with images of a man and a woman appearing to be farmers.
According to an affidavit furnished in 2011 by the then Andhra Pradesh Commissioner of Horticulture, I. Rani Kumudini, nearly 7.68 lakh families were involved in the production of Banaganapalle mangoes.
About 5,500 tonnes of Banganappalle mangoes were being exported annually to countries like the U.S. and U.K.
While the annual turnover of Banaganapalle mangoes was approximately ₹461 crore, exports were to the tune of ₹20.68 crore, she had said.
GI is covered under the Intellectual Property Rights and the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
A GI tag certifies the origin of a product or produce from a particular region as the quality or other features of the product is attributable only to the place of its origin.
The tag helps farmers or manufacturers, as the case may be, to get a better price in the market.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Agriculture / PTI / Chennai – May 04th, 2017