Category Archives: Inspiration /Positive News and Features

Adilabad police officer is first Indian woman to scale Kun

Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports
Adilabad Additional Superintendent of Police G.R. Radhika at a tent on her way to the summit of the Kun mountain in Jammu and Kashmir. - Photo: By Arrangement
Adilabad Additional Superintendent of Police G.R. Radhika at a tent on her way to the summit of the Kun mountain in Jammu and Kashmir. – Photo: By Arrangement

Adilabad Additional Superintendent of Police G.R. Radhika performed the feat on September 7 after a gruelling climb for over 10 days.

As any mountaineer would do, G.R. Radhika, the frail-looking police officer in Adilabad District of Telangana also swears by Sir Edmund Hillary’s belief, “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” And her concurrence with the legendary mountaineer does matter as she has become the first Indian woman to conquer the 7,077-metre Kun mountain, the twin of Nun, located in the inhospitable Zanskar range of Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir.

Adilabad Additional Superintendent of Police performed the feat on September 7 after a gruelling climb for over 10 days. The Indian Mountaineering Foundation subsequently declared her to be holding the record for an Indian woman.

“I am a bit of a risk taker,” reveals Ms.Radhika about her personality which evidently craves for challenges that go beyond the ordinary ones faced by women. “I was brought up more like a boy than a girl,” says the younger one of the two children of a teacher couple as she tries to reason out her craving for adventure.

She likes to accept challenges which is why she quit her earlier job as an English language lecturer and took up policing. Despite her inclination, there was nothing to write home about in her 8 years as a cop until the opportunity to climb the rugged mountain came her way.

It was in 2012 that this mother of two children belonging to Anantapur District in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, her birth place and Kadapa, where she grew up, got to know about mountaineering as a sport. One of her friends suggested she get trained in mountain climbing after she successfully completed the difficult pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar in the Himalayas, Radhika recalls.

This set in motion her as yet short yet illustrious association with the sport. She finished her basic and advanced mountaineering courses which was, among other things, a confidence-building exercise.

“As part of the course I climbed the 5,980 mtr high Golep Kangri peak, also in the harsh Zanskar range in 2013,” Radhika states. “The following year, I scaled the 6,443 mtr high mount Menthosa in Himachal Pradesh which was all technical climbing,” she adds.

The policewoman enrolled herself for the Kun expedition with a recognised mountaineering outfit and set off towards it in the latter half of August. The team consisted of 7 muntaineers, some of them much experienced.

“Five of them dropped out on our way to the peak,” Radhika remembers trying to drive home the point about the difficulty quotient which even had her lose 4 kg of her weight. “Kun is considered more difficult because of its numerous crevasses and the ‘walls’ which meant a vertical climb of even 300 mtr at some place with a load of 6 kg,” she shrugs off a shudder as recent memories came flooding back.

Having seen her team mates back out did not diminish the gutsy woman’s enthusiasm in any way though she swears that it was only will power that kept her driving towards the peak. “The peak was visible but seemed ever so far thanks to he fatigue,” she recalls of her final effort.

“It took a few seconds for the feeling of victory to register,” she observes of the moment when she made it to the top. “I felt happy when it was confirmed that I was the first Indian woman to achieve the feat,” she adds, a wide grin breaking on her face.

Radhika is seriously contemplating making an attempt at scaling Mount Everest. “I have not decided as yet but I am definitely inclined to do so,” she asserts.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Telangana / by S. Harpal Singh / Adilabad – October 04th, 2015

Glowing tributes paid to Gurram Joshua

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration /Positive News and Features

Glowing tributes were paid to noted poet Gurram Joshua on his 120th birth anniversary here on Monday.

Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti founder President Manda Krishna Madiga, Prakasam district Collector Sujatha Sharma, Dalita Hakulu Parirakshana Samiti district president N. Nagendra Rao and Gundalakamma Rachayathula Sangham president Sriramsgar Kavacaham were among those who garlanded the statue of Joshua, a noted scholar both in Telugu and Sanskrit, at the Prakasam Bhavan here.

At a commemoration meeting, people from different walks of life recalled the contributions of the poet for the uplift of downtrodden sections of people.

Gurram Joshua’s writings were an emotional outpouring of a person who had experienced poverty and caste discrimination, Krishna Madiga said.

Political power

Extolling Joshua as a ‘king of dalit literature,’ the MRPS leader exhorted one and all to follow his footsteps to ameliorate the living condition of Dalits and unite them in achieving political power.

His works, including Gabbilam (A Bat), Firadausi (A Rebel), and Kandiseekudu (A Refugee), would be remembered forever, said Sriramsagar Kavacham.

The verses of Joshua in the popular play Harischandra were recalled on the occasion with the particular reference to heart-rending cremation ground scene.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu /Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Ongole – September 26th, 2015

Amazon launches ‘Chai Cart’

Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features

Global e-commerce giant Amazon launched its new initiative, Amazon Chai Cart, in the city on Friday.

The initiative aims at spreading awareness among local SMEs and sellers on the benefits of selling online and introducing them to the specialised seller services on the Amazon India marketplace.

Amazon will run the campaign till Saturday and cover areas such as Diamond Park, Dabagardens, NAD, Gopalapatnam, Gajuwaka, and Jagadamba Junction.

Aim is to spread awareness among local SMEs and sellers on the benefits of selling online, says Ram Papatla
Aim is to spread awareness among local SMEs and sellers on the benefits of selling online, says Ram Papatla

According to Ram Papatla, Director-Seller Product Management, Amazon India, the concept will connect thousands of sellers scattered across the country and give them an e-commerce opportunity.

Elaborating on the concept, Mr. Ram said that the sellers can list themselves under specific product heads and, after receiving a sale query, Amazon India would either allow the seller to send the product to the buyer directly, or pick the product and deliver to the buyer under the Amazon Easy Ship scheme, or the seller can send the product to Amazon’s warehouse from where it would be shipped.

There is no upfront payment for hosting the seller’s catalogue on Amazon site, but the revenue model will start after the sale is initiated and the percentage depends on various factors such as product category and shipment mode.

“Using Amazon’s reach to over 19,000 PIN codes in the country, in association with India Post, sellers and small entrepreneurs can leverage on this aspect,” said Mr. Ram.

“It is not just India, we intend to give the seller a global presence,” added Mr. Ram.

The concept was launched about four months ago, and it had reached already one lakh sellers across 22 cities, with over 5,000 in Andhra Pradesh.

The concept also facilitates the seller to create a digital catalogue, by connecting them to the service provider network.

Aim is to spread awareness among local SMEs and sellers on the benefits of selling online

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – September 12th, 2015

Women scientists hail Manjula’s elevation

Amazing Feats, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

A woman defence scientist, having roots in Nellore district, has now become an inspiration for many women aspiring to work with the country’s defence establishments.

J Manjula, director of Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), was on Thursday posted as the director general, Electronic and Communication Systems (ECS), at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).This elevation makes her one of the top seven defence scientists in the country who report to the overall head S Christopher. It was only last year that Manjula was posted as director of DARE.

In fact, this is the second time in the span of a few months that Nellore district has seen one of its own being elevated to a position of eminence.

Before 53-year-old Manjula, it was Dr G Satheesh Reddy who made the district proud by being appointed as the scientific advisor to Raksha Mantri. He heads the Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad.

Manjula’s appointed as DG has brought much cheer, especially among fellow women scientists. The “missile woman of India”, Tessy Thomas, was one of the first to congratulate Manjula. “It really is a great thing that Manjula has got to the top position. It was her sincerity and dedication to her work that led her to where she is now,” Tessy Thomas, director of Advanced System Laboratory , DRDO in Hyderabad told TOI. Manjula had worked at the Defence Electronics Research Laboratory in Hyderabad for more than 25 years in the field of electronic integrated warfare.”We are already seeing a lot of enthusiasm from college students towards science. We expect more would be interested in getting into defence research,” Tessy Thomas, who was the project director for Agni IV , said.

Manjula, a school principal’s daughter, was born in Nellore and did her schooling there. Later, she pursued her higher education in Osmania University in electronics and communication engineering. She worked with the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in Hyderabad before joining DRDO in 1987.

“She has been busy in meetings all through the day . She works till late in the night. Today she took over as the DG and after that was engaged in a video-conference,” an official at Manjula’s office in Bangalore said. Attempts to speak to her did not yield results as Manjula was said to be `extremely busy’ because of her new assignment.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Hyderabad / TNN / September 11th, 2015

Malathi Chandur Award to Yaddanapudi

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration /Positive News and Features
K Rosaiah presenting the award to Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani
K Rosaiah presenting the award to Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani

Eminent Telugu novelist Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani, popular among the ladies and younger generation with her fiction novels based on love stories and drama, was awarded the Sri Malathi Chandur Award for 2015, at Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Kala Mandapam, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University.

Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani, who is renowned for bringing family and women centric issues into the drawing rooms of homes, has written up to eighty bestselling novels, many of which have been converted into movies, too.

Expressing happiness on receiving the award, she urged women to write. “Write in any language, but do write your stories. Modern women have many issues and the current generation should write about them. Also, do not forget your mother tongue, Telugu,” said Sulochana Rani.

“All my characters come from family. I have read a lot of western literature – Somerset Maugham, Oscar Wild, Pearl S Buck and the likes. But I wrote our stories,” she added. Yaddanapudi influenced women and made many of them not just readers, but also writers.

Speaking on the value of family-centric stories, Sulochana Rani said, “People call our stories ‘Kitchen Stories’ – but I ask where would one go if there was no kitchen? Health and happiness of the family comes from the kitchen. Publishers like Emesco and other magazines have been supporting us.

Thanks to that, women started buying these books and writing their stories. The result is that family stories came out.” The writer expressed her affection to Malathi Chandur, the famous Telugu writer, who has written over twenty-five novels and the Central Sahitya Academy award winning novel, ‘Hrudyanetri’.

Her loss, she said, was extremely saddening. “We read her books and gained knowledge of society withoutrealising we were learning.” Eminent journalist Telakapalli Ravi called both Malathi Chandur and Yaddanapudi similar in their focus on women oriented characters. “Both their novels mirrored the middle class women’s desires and aspirations. They helped them gain confidence and self respect,” he said.

Deputy Speaker of Andhra Pradesh, Mandali Budha Prasad, related his memories of Malathi Chandur and said that she is like an elder sister to all Telugu women as she taught them to question through her column and address their problems.

The nostalgia filled evening was attended by dignitaries like Governor of Tamil Nadu, K Rosaiah, Volga, Mrunalini, Sri Ramana, Ghantasala Savitri, Raavi Kondalarao and the who’s who of the Telugu literature world, especially women writers – many her contemporaries.

source: http://www.thehansindia.com / The Hans India / Home / August 25th, 2015

472 tribal youth clear physical tests for paramilitary wings

Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, All

Visakhapatnam :

As many as 472 of the 538 tribal youths trained by the Visakha Rural and CRPF cops passed the rigorous physical tests during the recruitment camp conducted for the paramilitary wings in July. The police bosses in the district are now planning to train the youth for written tests as well. The Visakha Rural cops consider this achievement to be a milestone in their ongoing efforts to prevent tribal youth from joining the Maoists.

The men’s selection tests were conducted in Hyderabad, while the women underwent the tests at the Visakha Steel Plant in the city. As many as 378 out of the 422 men and 94 of the 116 women qualified for the written test.

The Union ministry of home affairs has reportedly asked the Visakha Rural cops to furnish the details of the training programme to extend the same to various other Maoist-infested areas in the country, sources said.

According to sources, the cops, in an attempt to stop recruitments by naxals from tribal areas, began training the youth for various paramilitary posts. “The police bosses analysed the situation and found that a majority of the youth were attracted towards the Maoist ideology due to unemployment,” a senior police officer said, adding that Rural SP Koya Praveen, in coordination with Paderu ASP Attada Bapuji, started the ‘Spoorthy’ programme to check naxal recruitments in tribal areas.

Around 1,000 youth were screened as part of the final selection for physical training by the cops at Paderu in April, of which nearly 538 candidates were selected for the fitness training. More than 75 security personnel from the District Training Centre, CRPF and Rural Police were assigned the responsibility to provide training.

“The programme is aimed at extending a helping hand to tribal youth as they don’t have the resources to get trained like their urban counterparts. The programme will help the youth get jobs in various central government wings. I had conducted one such session in Parvathipuram with cooperation from the ITDA when I was the officer on special duty there. Some of the youth were selected for the state police wing, but some failed due to height,” the Rural SP told TOI.

The Paderu ASP said that all the youth were trained at the Youth Training Centre at Paderu and the ITDA provided them with a nutritious diet. “We divided the candidates into three batches and trained them for 15 days each,” he added.

The Rural SP said they are now planning to provide a four-week training for the written tests with the help of the faculty members of various coaching centres. The material for the training has also been prepared, he said, adding that such training programmes will be continued in the future as well.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by Siva G / August 20th, 2015

Meritorious Awards to AP Police Officers

Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, All

Visakhapatnam :

Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu presented medals in various categories to police officers in recognition of their meritorious service on the occasion of the Independence Day in Vizag Saturday.

Six Police officers, including Director- General of Fire Services TA Tripathi, Additional DGP, Intelligence, AB Venkateswara Rao, JMD/AP Transco P Umapathi, DIG, Intelligence, T Yoganand, Inspector of Police SIB Intelligence B Veera Reddy, Chittoor SI K Murali Narasimhulu were given the prestigious ‘President Police Medal’(PPM) for their distinguished service.

Meanwhile, 25 police officers were awarded ‘Indian Police Medal’ (IPM), which include JD AP Police Academy J Venkateswara Rao, CV and SO TTD D Nagendra Kumar, DCP (Crimes) T Ravi Kumar Murthy, SP (NC) Octopus Hyderabad P Rajendra Prasad, Additional Commandant of Grey Hounds P Seeta Ram, Additional Intelligence, Hyderabad, P Venkata Rami Reddy, Madanapalli DSP K Venkata Raghava Reddy, DSP ISW Hyderabad K Bhadraiah, DSP PTC K Veeranjaneya Reddy, DSP ISW AP P Rajeev Kumar, DSP CID D Naga Mahesh, DSP ACB K Ranga Raju, Additional SP  (Crimes) V Subba Reddy among others.

Five cops received Mahonnatha Seva Pathakam, including Commandant SARCLP SK Hussain Saheb, Additional SP (Tirupati Urban) S Trimurthulu, Additional SP (C.O Stores) K Surya Bhaskar Reddy. Divisional Forest Officer, Narsipatnam, G Lakshman and the Forest Section Officer, Salur Range, Vizianagaram, S. Venkata Rao received State Vana Samrakshana Meritorious Medal.

Eleven Firemen received President Fire Services Medals, Six police officers were given Police Award for Gallantry (PMG/PPMG), 10 Police officers, including Seven Grey Hounds cops, were presented Mukhyamanthri Sourya Pathakam.

Best School Award

Category I /  ZP High School, East Godavari District

Category I I /  AP Residential School (Boys), Srikakulam District

Awards for Best Contingents

Armed Category / 6th Battalion, APSP, Mangalagiri

Un-armed Category / AP Social Welfare Residential Educational Institution Society 

Tableau display

1 Animal Husbandry Dept

2 Cultural Affairs Dept

3 Energy, Infrastructure and Investment Dept

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / August 16th, 2015

Women Making Their Presence Felt: Vizag DRM

Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Leaders
Waltair DRM Chandralekha Mukherjee inaugurating the WIPS Foundation Day celebrations at the Steel Plant in Visakhapatnam on Friday. RINL CMD P Madhusudan and other directors are seen | EPS
Waltair DRM Chandralekha Mukherjee inaugurating the WIPS Foundation Day celebrations at the Steel Plant in Visakhapatnam on Friday. RINL CMD P Madhusudan and other directors are seen | EPS

Visakhapatnam  :

Divisional railway manager, Waltair, Chandralekha Mukherjee said that modern women were very competitive and had strong presence in society. She exhorted women employees to work with discipline, and work hard with commitment to scale greater heights in their profession.

Chandralekha was the chief guest at the Women in Public Sector (WIPS) formation day celebrations held at Ukkunagaram Friday. Sharing her experiences, she said government departments and PSUs were actively empowering and supporting women’s growth. If women prove their worth, the system would automatically support them. The spread of education and western thinking were rapidly aiding women, she said. Chandralekha appreciated the social support activities of WIPS and the encouragement provided by the RINL management.

RINL CMD P Madhusudan complimented WIPS cell for the laurels it won at the national level and promised support to women in career development, initiation of women supportive policies, training and  other infrastructure support.

He said that the WIPS was one of the active divisions of the company and expressed pleasure that women employees at the RINL were working in critical operation areas with dedication and commitment.

Directors (Projects) PC Mohapatra, (Personnel) GBS Prasad, (Operations) DN Rao and (Finance) TVS Krishna Kumar of the RINL and Visteel Mahila Samiti vice-president C Gargeyi were present.

On the occasion, AGM (QA) G Seshamma, who received PhD and the MESA award from Andhra University for her technical paper on treatment of industrial water, and another official Ramya who secured 893 rank in civil services, were felicitated by Chandralekha Mukherjee and P Madhusudan.

DGM (HR) and WIPS coordinator V Padmavathi presented the coordinator’s report and expressed her gratitude to the management for its all-round support. She also stated that the management had accorded permission to organise the 26th National Meet of WIPS in Visakhapatnam on February 12 and 13, 2016.

Earlier, forewoman Annapoorna rendered the invocation song. The programme was conducted by junior manager V Soumya and general secretary C Sheeba Rani conducted the felicitation proceedings. WIPS vice-president Ruchira Guptha and deputy manager Kameswari were present.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com  The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / August 15th, 2015

Masula scientists develop salinity-resistant paddy seed

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology
Scientists of Agricultural Research Station display MCM-103, a new paddy seed variety at Machilipatnam in Krishna District. Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu
Scientists of Agricultural Research Station display MCM-103, a new paddy seed variety at Machilipatnam in Krishna District. Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu

The seed varieties developed by Principal Scientist T. Anuradha and Scientist K. Nagendra Rao are MCM 103, a Kharif variety and Rabi variety MCM110, which are sanity resistant.

Plant breeding scientists of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University’s Research Station at Machilipatnam have developed two new paddy seed varieties, exclusively meant for saline soil and the 10-year research has yielded expected results.

The seed varieties developed by Principal Scientist T. Anuradha and Scientist K. Nagendra Rao are MCM 103, a Kharif variety and Rabi variety MCM110. The duration of crop period of the varieties is 140 and 120 days respectively.

“The Directorate of Rice Research (DRR), Hyderabad, has tagged the MCM 103 as the best paddy seed variety among the 40 entries from across the country in 2013. The DRR has also tested the variety in the six states, where it gave expected results including yield and quality grain”, T. Anuradha told The Hindu.

“The MCM-103 seed variety gives nearly six tonnes of yield while the MCM-110 gives up to 5.5 tonnes per hectare”, she added. The scientists have claimed that the yield of the two varieties would arguably be much higher in the normal soil. Another Scientist K. Nagendra Rao added that the MCM 103 is being tested in the saline fields in the coastal Andhra districts from the ongoing Kharif season and the other variety would also be tested from the next Rabi season in the State.

The District Agricultural Advisory & Transfer of Technology Centre in the respective districts in the State had selected the fields to test the seed varieties from the Kharif-2015. “The medium duration paddy varieties will primarily encourage the farmers to turn the saline soil fields into cultivable fields. The varieties will also ensure better yield”, opined Ms. Anuradha.

Farmers indebted to scientists:

The farmers having saline soil are indebted to the scientists, said Ms. Anuradha and Mr. Nagendra Rao, who had developed two paddy seed varieties – MCM 100 and 101- in 2011. It has been proposed for seeking approval of the Andhra Pradesh State’s Seed Varietal Release Committee for final release of the two varieties into the market.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu /Machilipatnam – July 31st, 2015

Ex-child worker already an MD, to become DM

Education, Inspiration /Positive News and Features

Vijayawada :

A former child worker from Kurnool city is set to join the oncology department of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad. K Sivaprasad, hailing from a backward community, topped the list of candidates shortlisted for admission in doctor of medicine (DM) at NIMS even though a host of candidates with MD qualification vied for only three seats in oncology this year.

What makes Sivaprasad’s achievement special is the fact that he once used to slog at a jute factory after dropping out of school. As there were four mouths to feed, his father Eswarappa had no option but to ask the std VII student to work at the unit along with him for a daily wage of Rs 30. Sivaprasad’s mother Visalamma vended milk to support the family.

The boy’s life took a different turn in 1997-98 when he was spotted by M V Sivakumar Reddy, deputy inspector of factories, during a raid against child labour. The inspector rescued him from the workplace. However, Eswarappa expressed his helplessness to allow Sivaprasad to study further.

Sivakumar Reddy not only offered to pay the fee and purchase schoolbooks but also ensured that the boy was admitted in a nearby zilla parishad high school. Sivaprasad obtained decent marks in the class X public examinations and opted for BPC in intermediate.

Subsequently Sivakumar Reddy extended financial help so that he could attend coaching for EAMCET in a corporate college. Sivaprasad scored 2000-odd rank in the exam, completed his MBBS and later joined a reputed college’s post-graduation course.

The unassuming doctor is not that surprised to have got the chance to become an oncologist.”After all I worked hard and it paid me back at the end of the day,” he told TOI. Visalamma was obviously ecstatic.”I am the most satisfied person today. Everything that has happened is due to God’s grace. I hope he will serve the poor,” she said, patting Sivaprasad on the back.

Eswarappa pointed out that while there are many people with a lot of money, only a few try to help the needy.”My son now has a rare opportunity which so many others crave for. This shows that poverty is not a hindrance to reach heights,” he averred.

Sivakumar Reddy was elated to hear the news.”I never thought of Sivaprasad creating history. I just did my duty and he lived up to everyone’s expectations,” Reddy said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Vijayawada / TNN / July 23rd, 2015