Antarvedi water tank is home to rare sea fish

Business & Economy, Nature, Science & Technology

Antervedi (East Godavari):

The famous pilgrim town of Antervedi in East Godavari district, is all set to secure a berth on the global map, not for any religious reasons, but for production of ‘Silver Pampano’, a rare marine white fish, in salt water tanks.

Silver Pampano is available only in seas abutting countries like East Africa, New Zealand, North Japan and South Australia.

Vadapalli Srinivasa Raju, an aquaculturist from Palacole, produced the rare fish in his one acre saline water tank in Antervedi. Raju, who had released 3,400 fingerlings into the tank some six months ago, harvested one-and-half tonne of catch here on Tuesday.

The pilot project taken up by the Central Marine Research Fish Institute (CMRFI), Cochin in association with Raju, has resulted in a good yield. The institute has been experimenting with the project for several years but has tasted success only after tying up with Raju.

Speaking to Express, Raju said that the CMRFI provided the fingerlings and feed and helped in pumping salt water into his one acre tank from the sea.

“I wanted to set an example for the aquaculturists along the coastline in the state. My success will inspire them to take up the fish culture as a serious venture,” he said.

The Silver Pampano (Trachinotus blochii) can be cultivated twice in a year. Aquaculturists can get a production up to 20 metric tonnes every year by releasing 40,000 fingerlings in 10 acres of salt tank and earn up to `40 lakh, said the Palacole aquaculturist. The salt density should be between 5 PPT and 30 PPT for good growth of the fish.

Each fish weighs about one to two kg and is sold for 10 US dollars per kg in the international market. The white fish is in demand for its high nutritious value, he added.

source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / South> Southern News> Andhra Pradesh / by S S Chary / The New Indian Express / April 18th, 2012

 

Tuned to the word

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Shabana Azmi, Mohammad Ali Baig Santoor maestro Rahul Sharma and Tabla artist Mukund Raj during the ‘Kaifiyaath’ (A Hindi Translation of Revered poet and Lyricist late Kaifi Azmi’s Writings). Photo: Nagara Gopal

‘Kaifiyaath’ proved that an evening of poetry and music can rid you of a heavy heart

Losing your soul and heart to Kaifi Azmi’s nazms is easy, it’s getting out that’s hard. Kaifi Azmi had created a space for himself, as the voice of reality.

The intensity of emotion in his words is resolute, complete with a rich descriptive contrast between the better and the worse. An evening revisiting Kaifi Azmi is an evening well-spent. The Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation organised an evening of poetry reading that was interspersed with music. Held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Kaifi Azmi’s poetry was read by Shabana Azmi and Mohammed Ali Baig and harmony was maintained by Rahul Sharma on the santoor.

The audience sat in furrowed silence, when Shabana before commencing with her recital said that Kaifi Azmi was a man of many words and liked a receptive listener.

She coaxed the audience to get out of its gambhir (serious) expression and partake in the event with occasional ‘wah-wahs’ and applause. “Zindagi naam hai kuch lamhon ka…aur unme hi wahi ek lamha jismein do bolti gol se aankhen chai ki pyali se e jab uthe, to dil me dube; dub ke dil me kahe, aaj tum kuchh na kaho, bas yunhi bethe raho…” in this andaz (style), Shabana captured the subtle nuance of mohabbat (love), set to the mellow and melancholy tunes of the santoor.

There is something unflinching about Rahul Sharma’s mastery over the santoor — where you can simply lose yourself in the rippling melody that somehow reminds you of peaceful Himalayan lakes.

The evening was interspersed with funny and insightful anecdotes narrated by Shabana that kept the mood light.

“Mere bhai Baba ka kehna hai ki jo nazm hai, aaj tum kuch na kaho, aaj main kuch na khoon… this could never fall through for us because we loved to talk!” she laughs, followed by a lovely rendition by Rahul Sharma accompanied by Mohammed Ali Baig reciteing Kaifi’s famous “Jab Bhi Choom Leta Hun, Un Haseen Aankhon Ko, Sau Charaagh Andhere Mein Jagmagaane Lage Hain…”, the mood for romance could only multiply.

Kaifi Azmi, the poet extraordinaire cannot be celebrated any other way, if not in poetry and music.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Life & Style>METROPLUS / by Vishnupriya Bhandaram / April 14th, 2012

Vijaywada division earnings go up at Rs 2292 crore

Business & Economy

The annual earnings of the Vijayawada division of the South Central Railway have gone up by 14.34% to Rs 2291.19 crore from Rs 2003.88 crore last year, a top official said today.

In the total earnings, revenue from goods stood at Rs 1706.45 crore and passenger revenue contribution at Rs 501.05 crore, divisional railway manager Anurag told reporters here. Kakinada and Krishnapatnam ports are major contributors in goods earnings, having a collective share of 75%

He further said that works worth Rs 52.86 crore are currently under progress to remodel the Vijayawada station yard to improve the movement of trains. He said that a new ‘Route Releay Interlocking’ system is being fitted at the yard and also all lines at the station are being interlinked for easy movement of trains. This remodelling work will be completed by December.

source: http://www.MoneyControl.com / News> Business> Business News / PTI / Monday, April 16th, 2012

Contenders eye Olympic ranking points in Asian Badminton Championship

Leaders, Sports

UPBEAT: Badminton players Saina Nehwal and Ashwini Ponnappa at a press conference in New Delhi. File photo / PTI

With just two tournaments to go before the Olympic qualification, contenders would look to rack up enough ranking points when they go all-out to earn a Games berth during the Asian badminton Championship beginning at Qingdao in China on Tuesday.

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is already assured of a berth but five of her compatriots are still in the running for a berth in the London Olympics and would look for a productive run in this tournament as well as the subsequent India Open, to be held from April 24 to April 29, before the May 3 deadline.

Saina, the world number five Indian is on a mission to earn some psychological mileage by defeating the top Chinese shuttlers and would start her campaign against Japan’s Kaori Imabeppu.

The 22-year-old has a reasonable draw and is likely to meet second seed Chinese Xin Wang in the quarterfinals. This would be an important tournament for the Indian ace as she would look to test her speed after her recent 5-kilo weight loss.

In the men’s singles, it is a two-way battle between world number 27 Ajay Jayaram and P Kashyap, ranked 31st and the duo would start their campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Jen Hao Hsu and second seed Chen Long of China, respectively.

Top Indian doubles player Jwala Gutta is in running for an Olympic berth in two categories – women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

The 28-year-old from Hyderabad will pair up with Ashwini Ponnappa in women’s doubles as the World number 20 combo opens their campaign against Vita Marissa and Nadya Melati of Indonesia.

“We have been practising with Arif Sir and it has been a good session. We worked hard and we would look to be just calm mentally on court,” Ashwini said.

Jwala will also combine with her mixed doubles partner V Diju to take on Indonesian pair of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili in their tournament-opener.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / Sports> Other Sports / PTI / New Delhi, August 16th, 2012

DuPont sets up ballistic facility in Hyderabad

Business & Economy

Hyderabad, Apr 12 (PTI):

DuPont today announced opening of its first integrated ballistic facility in Asia Pacific region in the Andhra Pradesh capital, to help development and testing of protective gear catering to the specific requirement of Indian security agencies.

The facility located at the DuPont Knowledge Centre (DKC) here has a ballistics testing range, 600-ton helmet press and stab testing equipment and is an example of inclusive innovation,” DuPont President (South Asia), Rajeev Vaidya told reporters. “This facility is an example of inclusive innovation and how you can collaborate with value chain partners to bring solutions to people who protect us,” Vaidya said, adding DuPont is committed to bring its science-powered innovations to meet global challenges of food, energy and protection in India.

The facility will allow DuPont to provide its customers and end-users, including law enforcement agencies and security forces, with application testing facilities that follow international standards. It will help develop solutions that can be tested under local conditions and against local ammunition and will enable introduction of a broader portfolio of Kevlar materials, DKC Technology Leader Yati Waghray said.

“Indian defence and internal security forces have unique and challenging ballistic protection requirements and this facility will help in developing appropriate ballistics solutions and applications for protective vests and helmets,” he said. Reacting to a query, Yati said DuPont is looking forward to collaborate with agencies like Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that can help it understand the requirement of its end-users.

Without disclosing the financial aspect that went into setting up the Indian facility, which is the first DuPont site in Asia Pacific apart from those located in US, Switzerland and Brazil, Vaidya said “India is a strategic and crucial market for us where we really want to work and strategic investments have been made.”

source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / Home> Wires> Latest News / PTI / April 12th, 2012

Companies shift from CBD areas to suburbs in Hyderabad

Business & Economy

Hyderabad

Hyderabad has absorbed 214,000 sq ft in first quarter this year, while new supply of SEZ space is about 360,000 sq ft. While the city witnessed stable leasing and pre-leasing activity during the first quarter, companies have expanded and consolidated their requirements by shifting from CBD and SBD areas to suburbs to take advantage of relatively lower rentals.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle’s quarter review, the city’s Grade B buildings in all submarkets continue to witness healthy leasing of small spaces ranging from 5,000 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft.  However, some companies vacated space in the central business district (CBD) and moved to suburban locations in order to take advantage of the lower rentals.

In a related development, suburbs saw the highest leasing activity during the first quarter this year. Hi-Tech City and Gachibowli which saw strong absorption pace remained modest during the period. The preference for SEZ continued to remain strong amongst tenants and a few of them were inclined to move to locations such as Uppal and Pocharam in the suburban areas.

Among the major transactions in first quarter, specific mention must be made about Broadridge leasing about 200,000 sq ft in the Wipro building at Hi-Tech City and Genpact pre-leasing about 133,000 sq ft at KRC Mindspace East SEZ, at Pocharam.

Rentals are up by 6-6.5% in suburbs of Hitec City and Gachibowli during the first quarter.  IT SEZ spaces commanded higher rentals due to preference by tenants and the supply exceeding demand.  While investments continued to remain subdued due to political uncertainty, capital values increased in Hi-Tech City and Gachibowli by 12-13% in 1Q12 over previous quarter.

Outlook

It is expected that strong pre-leasing activity will lead to increased net absorption during this year.  Despite political uncertainty, the inherent infrastructure development and potential across the city have encouraged corporates to sustain and expand the operations with the result leasing activity is expected to remain stable.  The demand and supply of SEZ space will lead to rentals witnessing a nominal increase or remain stable during the year.  Capital values are expected to increase moderately as leasing activity will remain stable.

V Nagarajan, Property Consultant

source: http://www.content.magicbricks.com / Home> Property News> Other cities / Friday, April 13th, 2012

 

Cheer girls add glitz to bull competition

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

Cheer girls lightened the state-level competitions for Ongole bullocks pulling heavy boulders, here on Tuesday.

The competition is being organised by the JC brothers at a ground near the newly-built municipal office.

As many as 63 pairs of Ongole bulls, known as one of the world’s best bovine species, took part in the competition from all over the state.

Tadipatri legislator J.C. Diwakar Reddy and his brother and former municipal chairman J.C. Prabhakar Reddy made elaborate arrangements for the competition which started on Monday.

On the first day, the competition was conducted in the agriculture and junior sections. A large number of people, mostly farmers, were present.

The highlight of the competition was the presence of cheer girls, who pepped up the spectators with their flashy dances between the breaks.

Referring to the cheer girls’ dances at the IPL 20-20 cricket matches, Mr Prabhakar Reddy said that it was not new to them.

“We had arranged cheer girls around 10 years ago when we conducted a cricket tournament,” Mr Reddy said. He said that it was not obscene and was meant to cheer the spectators.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Cities> Regions/ Anantapur / by DC Correspondent / Taipatri (Anantapur) / April 11th, 2012

On road to London

Leaders, Sports

With the deadline for Olympic qualification fast approaching, the shuttlers in Hyderabad — the hub of badminton in the country — are set for two final events — the Badminton Asia Championships at Qingdao, China, and the India Open Superseries in New Delhi — before the places for London 2012 are finalised.

On paper, a total of 32 places each are up for grabs in the men’s and women’s singles events, while 16 pairs will take part in the three doubles events. The players will be selected based on the Badminton World Federation rankings which would be released on May 3.

Realistically speaking, however, this close to the deadline, few surprises can be expected. From India, Hyderabad’s Saina Nehwal, currently ranked World No.5, is definitely through to the quadrennial multi-sport spectacle. “Saina has qualified for sure,” said national coach Pullela Gopichand. “But everyone else could be affected by how they perform in Qingdao and New Delhi,” Gopi added.

For India, there is one spot open in all the five events. The men’s singles quota will be filled up by either Hyderabad’s Parupalli Kashyap or Bengaluru’s Ajay Jayaram. The women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa should also qualify, according to Gopi. “Jwala-Ashwini and Jwala-Diju (mixed doubles) should be through, but we can’t take it for granted,” said Gopi, explaining, “A lot of factors could still influence the qualification scenario. For example, if Jwala-Ashwini lose in the first or the second round and a Korean pair goes on to win the tournament, we don’t go through. But that’s just conjecture. There are too many permutations at this point to be sure,” Gopi added.

Jwala says a pre-quarterfinal finish in both the upcoming events should guarantee their qualification, but a tough draw awaits them in China. “I don’t have the habit of looking at draws as I believe in just going out there and performing against anyone. But I’ve been informed the draw for the Asian championships is tough. Let’s see how it goes,” said Jwala, philosophically.

“I and Ashwini could well become the first ever Indian doubles pair to qualify for the Olympics. In fact, as things stand now, I am in with a chance of becoming the first Indian to make the cut in both doubles and mixed doubles.”

The Badminton Asia Championships are slated to begin on April 16. They will then take part in the India Open, which will begin from April 24.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Sports> Others / by Vijay Anand / DC, April 12th, 2012

New ISRO centre in Sriharikota will control spy satellite launch

Science & Technology

Chennai:

The Indian rocket that will carry the 1,850 kg indigenous surveillance satellite – Radar Imaging Satellite (Risat-1) – to the skies this month will be controlled by the new mission control centre at Sriharikota, said a senior official of Indian space agency ISRO.

“The second mission control centre was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil this January. The forthcoming rocket launch would be controlled and monitored from the new mission control centre. The rocket will fly off the first launch pad,” S Satish, director (publications and public relations), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told IANS.

ISRO has its rocket port at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh around 80 km from Chennai.

A senior ISRO official not wanting to be named told IANS: “The new mission control centre is modern and has larger area to accommodate more space scientists, officials, VIPs and others.”

The satellite would be used for disaster prediction and agriculture forestry, and the high resolution pictures and microwave imaging could also be used for defence purposes.

ISRO officials told IANS that the rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) carrying remote sensing satellite Risat-1 is slated for launch from 25-30 April.

“The exact launch date depends on the readiness of the rocket and satellite systems. Normally it will take 12-14 days for the rocket launch after carrying out all the tests,” an ISRO official told IANS.

ISRO officials told IANS that Risat-1 systems are being checked at Sriharikota and it will be mated with the rocket later.

Once the satellite is loaded on to the rocket, the entire rocket systems would again be tested.

The PSLV rocket is in a fully assembled condition and is waiting for Risat-1, the heaviest microwave remote sensing satellite to be built by India. The satellite has all weather, day and night imaging capability.

The satellite would be used for disaster prediction and agriculture forestry, and the high resolution pictures and microwave imaging could also be used for defence purposes.

The satellite’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can acquire data at C-band. In 2009, ISRO had launched 300 kg Risat-2 with Israeli built SAR enabling earth observation in all weather, day and night conditions.

Remote sensing satellites send back pictures and other data for use. India has the largest constellation of remote sensing satellites in the world providing imagery in a variety of spatial resolutions, from more than a metre ranging up to 500 metres, and is a major player in vending such data in the global market.

According to ISRO officials, the rocket that would sling Risat-1 would be PSLV’s upgraded variant called PSLV-XL.

The rocket would weigh around 320 tonnes at lift-off and would be the third such expendable rocket to be sent up by ISRO.

IANS

source: http://www.firstpost.com / April 09th, 2012

APSRTC to operate two Chinese Foton buses from Chennai and Bangalore to Tirumala

Business & Economy

State owned public sector undertaking, Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation is planning to operate Chinese buses from Chennai and Bangalore to Tirupati on an experimental basis.

State owned public sector undertaking, Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation is planning to operate Chinese buses from Chennai and Bangalore to Tirupati on an experimental basis. The PSU has already sent two Chinese buses to the Automotive Research Association of India, the Pune-based cooperative industrial research association by the automotive industry, with the Ministry of Industries, Government of India for approval. Once APSRTC gets formal certification, the two buses will start operating. Out of the two vehicles, one is a mini-bus of 8.5 metre length that has 33 seats, while the second vehicle is 12 metre long with a capacity of 41 seats. These two buses are imported from China, produced by the world’s largest bus manufacturer, Foton. In fact, the Beijing-based Foton has forged an alliance with Deccan Auto, a Hyderabad-based automobile company and are setting up a Rs 500 crore manufacturing facility at Patancheruvu in Medak District of Andhra Pradesh.
If approved by ARAI, APSRTC would be operating from Bangalore and Chennai to Tirumala on a trial basis and it finds viable, will order for more buses. The work of the new bus manufacturing unit at patancheruvu is progressing and the first bus would be rolled out next month.

As of now, two major home grown bus manufacturers, Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland dominate the space in the country. With the arrival of other players, the competition in this segment is going to be much more intense in the coming days. When the new India-China joint venture starts mass production of buses, the prices of their vehicles would be much lower than the Indian players. For instance, the APSRTC officials say that the average cost of an 8.5 metre long air-conditioned bus would be between Rs 30-35 lakh. In contrast with that, the Chinese bus with 225 horse power would cost only Rs 27 lakh. The corporation has bought two buses on a trial basis and if found, viable, it is likely to place a big order. Similarly, all the PSUs will be looking forward to buyer low-cost buses to minimise the expenditure.

source: http://www.prlog.org /  April 09th, 2012