Solar boat makes its debut in Andhra Pradesh

Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology
The pontoon shaped solar-powered boat all set to be launched in River Krishna on Ugadi day in Vijayawada. Photo: V. Raju
The pontoon shaped solar-powered boat all set to be launched in River Krishna on Ugadi day in Vijayawada. Photo: V. Raju

The 12-seater pontoon-shaped vessel can cruise at a speed of 7 knots.

An eco-friendly solar-powered boat was launched on the pristine waters of River Krishna here on Friday.

There are only a handful of such boats operating on solar power in the country. The 12-seater pontoon-shaped boat can cruise at a speed of 7 knots for an estimated range of over 35 miles.

“We chose to launch the boat in River Krishna on the occasion of Ugadi festival on a trial run. While the boat may not change water travel, it is an effective and attention-grabbing demonstration of the sun’s power. We wanted to include an eco-friendly boat in our fleet of water sports operating in Krishna since Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is keen on bringing into use green energy,” said Subhakar Rao Surapaneni, CEO and Managing Director of Champions Yacht Club, a Goa-based yachting and boating service company which is launching the new facility.

Imported from China

The solar boat, facilitating clean and efficient cruise, has been imported from China.

Solar-powered boats get their energy from the sun. Using electric motors and storage batteries charged by solar panels fitted to the roof, these boats can significantly reduce or eliminate use of fossil fuels.

“Unlike conventional boats that operate using diesel engines which are fuel-guzzlers causing air and noise pollution and disturbance to the local habitat endangering the ecological balance of the surrounding areas, the solar boats are uniquely suited to transform light energy into movement,” said Sri Ranga Sai, Champion Yacht Club’s Vijayawada unit manager (Operations).

The boat will be rented out on hourly basis for kitty parties and other parties by small groups, says Mr. Sai.

The firs solar boat designed in India was named Surya, a 25-seater, by Kerala-based TeamSustain in 2008. It operated in the backwaters of Kerala ferrying passengers and in 2010, it was included in the Limca Book of Records as Asia’s largest solar-powered passenger boat.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News>Cities> Vijayawada / by P. Sujatha Varma / April 09th, 2016

Double delight for carroms player

Education, Sports

Kondru Santhi, a student of AMG Junior College, Chilakaluripet, has secured a double haul of gold and bronze medals at the National Junior Carroms Championship held recently in Gujarat.

Mind over matter

A native of Adigoppula village in Durgi mandal, Santhi overcame her physical disabilities to win gold for her team in the team championship.

She also secured bronze in the individual event.

AMG International director Arun Kumar Mohanty, vice-president Jacob, AP Caroms Association president M. Chandramouli and district secretary Jaleel congratulated the student.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / Staff Reporter / April 07th, 2016

City skaters in International competition

Sports, World Opinion

Visakhapatnam :

Five skaters from AP have been selected for the Indian squad that would take part in the Malaysian Open Figure Skating Competition from April 14 to 17. The skaters, including three from the city, will also attend a training camp to be held in Kuala Lumpur from April 6 to 14.

Out of the five skaters, Priyam Tated, Pratham Tated and M Vishal Anand are all from Timpany School based in the city. The other two skaters B Jaswanth Kumar and Riya Saboo are from Vijayawada. All the five skaters are medal winners in various formats at the national level. The group of five will be accompanied by P Satyanarayana, the coach of the India team.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / April 05th, 2016

Techies in metros invest in Vizag startups

Business & Economy

Visakhapatnam:

Even as Vizag is trying to attract multinational companies to invest in the city, many IT professionals working in metros such as Bengaluru or Hyderabad or Chennai are becoming part of startups in the port city. According to approximate estimates from startup sources, nearly 20 to 25% of startups have founders or co-founders based out of the three metros and having a stake in upcoming IT businesses in the port city.

While the ‘home-connection’ with Vizag is one of the major reasons, other factors such as cheaper manpower, lower costs in terms of running a business and improved internet connectivity are also ensuring that Vizagites staying elsewhere invest or become a part of startups in the city.

Speaking to TOI, Ravi Teja KonathalaCEO of Unihalt, a startup from Vizag, said, “The costs of setting up a startup in cities such as Bengaluru or Hyderabad are quite high as compared to a city like Vizag. If you take Bengaluru, then you will have to pay a minimum of Rs 1 lakh as deposit for a small room, whereas it works out quite cheaper here. Also, the probability of a startup with one of the co-founders working in a full-time job becoming successful is higher, because the co-founder can help pull the startup through tough times.”

At the same time, he said, “Hiring talent in metros can be quite a tough task as the salary requirement is quite high. But we can take people as interns here and train them by providing them travel and food allowances. This is win-win situation for both the startup and the interns.”

According to Raja Sekhar, COO of Eunoia Technologies, “Homeground advantage is one of the major factors besides the availability of facilities in the port city. Nowhere else do we have a complete incubation facility with infrastructure and devices given for free such as being done at the Sunrise Startups in Vizag.”

Another startup founder, who didn’t want to be named as he is working in Bengaluru for an MNC said, “Vizag is the perfect marketplace if you want to test if your idea can work. It has the cosmopolitan culture that makes it similar to either Bengaluru or Hyderabad and then you have a tech-savvy crowd too. So, if your product is related to technology, then you can iron out your glitches here and test different strategies at a lower cost as compared to other metros.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by Manish, TNN / April 03rd, 2016

City startup wins award

Business & Economy, Education, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology

Genius Edulabs bags the award under social impact category

Genius Edulabs, a city-based startup which was incubated at Startup Moksha, Rushikonda, has received an award from Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA) for its innovation.

The award was presented by Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao at a function organised recently at Hyderabad.

Genius Edulabs got the award under social impact category for their innovation — Nano Science Lab — which is a 3ftx3ft modular cabinet with wheels that can store 415 varieties of lab apparatus and chemicals to perform 250 science experiments for the Classes VI to X under CBSE/ICSE/State syllabus.

“A science teacher can walk into the classroom with Nano Science Lab and create lot of excitement among students ,” Startup Moksha CEO Thumati Vasudeva told The Hindu .

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam –  April 05th, 2016

On a ‘record’ quest in performing push-ups

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

For many people, push-up is a way of punishment and for a few it is a noting but a physical exercise. But for Haridasu Ramesh Kumar, a youngster from Chollangi, on the outskirts of Kakinada, push-ups provided the platform to achieve a good number of records.

Ramesh Kumar’s specialisation is in Hindu push-ups, also known as Hanuman push-ups, Judo push-ups or Dive Bomber push-ups, which he learnt from his father Govindaraju in the childhood and practises every day without fail.

Ramesh Kumar got his first national record from the Unique World Records in 2014 for doing 100 Hindu push-ups in two minutes and 19 seconds.

It was the beginning of his quest for records, which made him attend the competitions conducted by different organisations.

Merit certificates

After achieving a good number of merit certificates and awards, including a couple of honours from the Incredible Book of Records, in doing 60 Hindu push-ups in 64 seconds and in doing 102 Hindu push-ups in two minutes and six seconds, he has now shifted his focus towards achieving the Guinness Book of World Records and manifold the daily practice of push-ups.

Physical exercise

“I have started the push-ups for the sake of physical exercise in my childhood. As I grew up, I have found myself closely associated with this form of exercise and decided to achieve something in this field,” says 34-year-old Ramesh Kumar, who finished his masters in science and is preparing for competitive examinations.

“There is no need of playground or equipment to practise Hindu push-ups, as one can do it in the sit-out or in the hall. This exercise keeps us fit both physically and mentally,” he says.

I have started the push-ups for the sake of physical exercise in my childhood. As I grew up, I have found myself closely associated with this form of exercise and decided to achieve something in this field

Haridasu Ramesh Kumar

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh  / K.N.Murali Sankar / Kakinada – April 06th, 2016

Nori’s statue to be unveiled today

Education, Leaders, Science & Technology

The Forum For Better Bapatla is instal the statue of Padmabhushan Nori Gopalakrishnamurthy, a famous hydroelectric engineer, in Bapatla as a token of gratitude for him for bringing name and fame to the town. The statue will be unveiled at Patelnagar on Saturday by former dean, Acharya Nagarjuna Universuty, S.R Parimi. His son Kesav Nori and other guests will attend the function.

Born in Bapatla on February 16, 1910, Nori studied in Bapatla Board School and secured first rank in SSLC examination in 1924. Later he joined Guindy College of Engineering,Madras from where he graduated in Civil Engineering in 1930. In 1931, he joined the prestigious Indian Service of Engineers.

Starting his career as assistant engineer in Solapur district, Maharashtra, he worked in various capacities as Chairman, Bhakra Nangal Management Board, Managing Director of Water and Power Consultancy Organisation, Chairman, Bombay Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

He was president of Central Board of Irrigation and Power during 1967-68 and authored number of technical papers which won him awards.

Mr. Gopalakrishnamurthy is instrumental in setting up Koyna Hydoelectric Project in Maharashtra and served as chairman of Bhakra Nangal Project. He received Padmasri in 1963 and Padmabhushan in 1972 from Government of India.

During second world war, he designed and constructed aerodromes at Pune and Belgaum as well as Noval Engineering Centre at Lonovala.

He served as chairman of Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission and Vice-Chairman of International Congress of Large Dams.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Bapatla – April 02nd, 2016

Musician Gangadharam dead

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

The first-ever film orchestra conductor in unified Andhra Pradesh, Peddireddi Gangadharam, passed away after a brief illness here on Saturday. He was 79. He is survived by wife, son, and daughter.

Born and brought up at Hasanbada near Draksharama in East Godavari district, Gangadharam learnt Carnatic music from Ch. Sanyasi Rao and harmonium from Akula Narasimha Rao in his childhood. His penchant for film music made him launch Gangadharam Music Party with five members in 1955, which was the first film orchestra in the Telugu States.

Subsequently, he resigned to his government job and turned a full-time orchestra conductor and gave thousands of performances in India and abroad over the years.

Renowned playback singers S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P.B. Srinivas, V. Ramakrishna, Madhavapeddi Satyam, V. Anand, and Jikki sang for his orchestra many a time.

Last year, he celebrated the diamond jubilee of his orchestra here for three days, in which Mr. Balasubrahmanyam and Kalpana enthralled the audience along with several up-and-coming singers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / Staff Reporter / Kakinada – March 27th, 2016