Category Archives: Records, All

Awesome ‘Eightsome’ Do ALC Proud

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, All

 

NCC cadets of Andhra Loyola College, who participated in the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, shares a light moment before being felicitated by Krishna district collector Babu A on the college premises in Vijayawada on Tuesday | Express Photo
NCC cadets of Andhra Loyola College, who participated in the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, shares a light moment before being felicitated by Krishna district collector Babu A on the college premises in Vijayawada on Tuesday | Express Photo

 

Vijayawada :

Pride of achievement was writ large on their faces and their demeanour spoke of confidence. They were eight NCC cadets engaged in a banter while waiting outside the auditorium in Andhra Loyola College (ALC) on Tuesday to be felicitated by the district collector for representing the state in Republic Day parade.

ALC had achieved a rare distinction of being the first college to have eight NCC cadets selected to participate in Republic Day parade. Sharing their experiences and future plans with Express, the cadets expressed their joy and pride of being able to participate in Republic Day parade.

‘Awesome’, ‘Most cherished moment of life’ were their immediate response, when asked how they felt being part of such a momentous occasion. Many of those cadets want to join civil services and become IPS officers while some want to pursue their career in defence services.

Senior Under Officer D Venkata Krishna, pursuing BSC (MPC) second year, was the contingent commandant from the state. It was a proud moment when he got selected for the RD and had seven members of his own group also getting selected for the event.

Venkata Krishna, the only cadet from Andhra and Telangana to get selected for the All India Guard of Honour – 2015 at RD camp, said it was one of the best moments of his life. “I had  been able to perform cultural programme in Teen Murti Bhavan in the presence of the Prime Minister,” he said. He along with another cadet R Divya Sai got selected for Youth Exchange Programme (YEP) for 2015. They will be visiting a foreign country, yet to be finalised, in March.

Cadet Captain R Divya Sai was part of the Prime Minister’s rally and bagged All India second best cadet award (silver medal).  She also won the Governor’s gold medal for excellence in RD camp 2015 along with Chief Minister’s gold medal at state level. “It was one of the most cherished moments of my life ,” she said. Sergeant M Vikram, who too was part of the PM Rally, said he is proud of his achievement.

Cadets S Naga Balaji and Tijo Thomas said they were excited to march along the Rajpath on Republic Day.

Cadet Shaik Riyaz, who got 3rd place in static model presentation ‘Eurofighter’ explained how he workedhard to prepare for RD camp and the stages he had to cross to get qualified.

Corporal P Gayatri got selected for RD contingent and secured All India fourth place on Gold Star and she was the only girl who could complete the novice show jumping arena with two different horses.

Junior Under Officer Meer Akbar Basha was part of Swachh Bharat Ballet presented by the AP contingent in PM’s house.

“I am proud that I got an opportunity to show culture of both AP and Telangana through my cultural programme,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by S. Guru Srikanth / February 25th, 2015

ANU botany professor pens a treatise on flora of Guntur

Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All
Senior Professor of Botony P. R. Mohana Rao shares excerpts from his book ``Flora of Guntur City Andhra Pradesh," in Guntur. Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar
Senior Professor of Botony P. R. Mohana Rao shares excerpts from his book “Flora of Guntur City Andhra Pradesh,” in Guntur. Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar

A former professor of Botany from Acharya Nagarjuna University has brought out an exhaustive treatise on the wealth of flora in Guntur City. The book, “Flora of Guntur City Andhra Pradesh,’’ a brain child of P.R. Mohana Rao, Professor Emeritus and former HoD, Department of Botony, Acharya Nagarjuna University, is considered the only available and authentic work throwing light on the numerous species of plants and trees in the city.

Dr. Rao was assisted by Assistant Professor of Botony, ANU, S.K. Khasim and former research student Bibi Aasiya, who are the co-authors of the book published by Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh from Dehra Dun.

Dr. Rao had a rich global experience working in University of Cambridge, Delhi University, Himachal Pradesh University before settling at the ANU. He founded the Bio Technology Centre and started M.Sc (Biotechnology) course.

His association with the renowned systematic Botanist Professor late Olov Hedberg at Uppasala University, Sweden, during 1982-83 inspired him to take up the seminal work.

“The book has up-to-date information on flora which will help students, naturalists, tourists and town planners in identifying plants,’’ Professor Rammohana Rao told The Hindu on Tuesday.

The book listed 431 flowering plants, shrubs and trees belonging to 76 families of angiosperms. The families were arranged systematically following Bentham and Hooker System of Classification. The authors besides giving current nomenclature to families, genera and species, also gave original citation and a brief description of species, local names, flowering and dispersal mechanisms. A city map is also incorporated in the book.

It was late Rev.Dr.Uhl, former principal of Lutheran Mission College, Guntur who attempted a book on Flora of Guntur in 1930 but it could not be considered a complete work as Dr.Uhl had not followed any system of classification.

Dr. Rao’s work is based on three years of intensive research during 1990-1993. Leading a team consisting of Dr. Khasim, Aasiya and other students, Dr. Rao began an arduous task of collection of plants from fields, road margins, railway tracks, parks, gardens etc. Field observations included studying habit, habitat, time of flowering and fruiting.

Dr. Rao had also penned a note on the selection of plants for road margins, public parks useful to town planners. Some of the recommended trees included, Adansonia digitata (Baobab tree), Albizia lebbeck and Delonix regia (Gold Mohur) for gardens and parks etc.

“Most of the roads in the city are devoid of tree cover. Unfortunately, the city is lacking in public parks and green spaces. With the town gaining importance due to proximity to capital region, town planners could take a cue from the book on tree planting,’’ Dr. Rao added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by P. Samuel Jonathan / Guntur – February 24th, 2015

Chandrababu to launch 4G services in Kuppam on Feb 24

Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

Kuppam, the assembly segment in the tail of Andhra Pradesh in Chittor district which has been the apple of AP administration as assembly segment of Chandrababu Naidu has notched another credit now.

Andhra Pradesh will be the first in both Telugu states to have 4G services when the Chief Minister Chandrbabu Naidu kick starts the network services on Tuesday, Feb 24. He will formally launch  the newly installed mobile towers supporting the 4G services.

Reliance had come forward to bring 4G services to Andhra Pradesh provided the state had plans to upgrade the existing 502 towers in the state to offer high-speed internet services. Once the Reliance upgradation is through all over the state, the Facebook utility of internet services will be rolled over this network .

Kuppam is located at the intersection of three states viz. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and boasts of Dravidian Universitty, Kuppam Engineering College, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Dr.YC James Yen Rural Polytechnic College, MFC Govt College, Victory Boarding School for Hearing Impaired, Govt Vocational College and IRM Degree college.

Kuppam is also a seat of  unique agricultural initiatives unleashed  by an Isreali concern – BHC( Agro) India  as consultants to Andhra Pradesh in 200 and introduced micro irrigation in the country. And now it is becoming another trend setter  with 4G services.

source: http://www.thehansindia.com / The Hans India / Home / February 23rd, 2015

A.P. team bags first prize in CSI Fun-quiz

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

The team of Firdous Fatma and Y. Chinmayee from Sri Prakash Vidya Niketan, Payakaraopeta, A.P. won the first prize at the Computer Society of India’s (CSI) Funquiz-2015 national finals held at K.L. University here on Saturday.

The team was presented a cash prize of Rs.15,000, a trophy and certificate of appreciation. The students of Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Ernalukam, and those from New India School, Pune, won the second and third prizes respectively. They were awarded Rs.10,000 and Rs.5,000 cash prizes, trophies and certificates.

Dr. K. Gopi Krishna, a scientist from Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, was the chief guest for the finals. Former CSI president professor P. Thrimurthy congratulated the winners and distributed the prizes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – February 22nd, 2015

Rare brain surgery performed at King George Hospital

Records, All, Science & Technology

Visakhapatnam :

In what is perhaps for the first time in state-run hospitals of AP, a complicated neurosurgery (awake craniotomy) was performed at the King George Hospital (KGH) on a 30-year-old patient suffering from brain cancer. Awake craniotomy is an open surgery of the brain under which the patient is not being administered anaesthesia and is fully conscious but kept under analgesia to control the pain.

Appa Rao from Anakapalli underwent this surgery on January 8 for a low-grade Glioma (brain cancer). The tumour part was located in a very delicate area on the right side of his brain as it was surrounded by parts that control the movement of limbs. Any damage to these parts would have made the patient permanently paralytic and the damage could not have been gauged if general anaesthesia was given to him.

“The surgery had to be done under analgesia, during which the patient was awake so that we could constantly monitor his speech by talking to him and checking if he was stuttering (difficulty to talk). We also made him squeeze a toy to see his limbs were functioning. This was done so that if there was a problem, we could have halted the surgery and resumed it after the patient became normal. The patient was maintained under analgesia and in a conscious state using special medication and monitoring devices such as bispectral index,” explained Dr K Satyavara Prasad, head of the department of neurosurgery at KGH, who undertook the surgery along with his team.

The team included Dr BDBS Naik, Dr Vinay Bhushanam, Dr Sivarama Krishna, Dr Harshavardhan along with neuro-anesthesia team headed by Dr Murali Krishna, Dr Annapurna Sharma, Dr Ch Srinivas and Dr Satish.

KGH medical superintendent Dr M Madhusudhana Babu said the patient was conscious immediately after the surgery.

“The patient took oral fluids six hours after the surgery, was able to walk and carry out normal daily activities from the first post-operative day and will be discharged in two-three daysThis is a costly surgery that would have cost more than Rs 2 lakh in any corporate hospital,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / January 14th, 2015

AP to Celebrate Rama Navami at Vontimitta

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Hyderabad :

As historic Bhadrachalam temple is now part of Telangana, the Andhra Pradesh government has firmed up its decision to celebrate Sri Rama Navami with official honours at Kodanda Rama Swamy Temple at Vontimitta in Kadapa district on the ‘night’ of March 28.

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu will offer silk clothes and “Mutyala Thalambralu” to the presiding deity and attend the celestial wedding that night.

TempleANDHRA21feb2015

It was a practice for the AP government to perform Sri Rama Navami celebrations at the historic Bhadrachalam temple, but as the temple is now in Telangana, the TDP government took the decision to celebrate it in Vontimitta temple, located about 26 km from Kadapa, constructed during the Chola and Vijayanagara reigns, which is about 26 km from Kadapa. Disclosing this to mediapersons at the Secretariat here on Friday, AP endowments minister P Manikyala Rao said, “Since the state has been divided, the government has decided to celebrate Sri Rama Navami at Vontimitta Temple. However, we would be sending silk clothes and mutyala thalambralu to the Bhadrachalam temple as well.”

According to the Minister, the Archaeological Survey of India had notified this temple as an ancient monument. Hence, the government had felt that the place would be a perfect location to celebrate Sri Rama Navami in the truncated State.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / February 21st, 2015

Nayudamma Award for Two Women Scientists

Records, All, Science & Technology

Vijayawada :

Prestigious Nayudamma Award will be jointly conferred on two eminent women scientists — Dr Tessy Thomas, missile technologist and Geeta Varadan, expert in remote sensing — for the year 2014.

The award will be presented at a special function to be held at Tenali, the home town of Y Nayudamma, on March 1. Prof Shantha Sinha, Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient and former Head of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and Founder, Manidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation, will present the award.

According to  P Vishnu Murthy, founder and managing trustee of the Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Trust,  it is the first time that the trust is honouring  two eminent women scientists concurrently. They will be the second and third women awardees, the first being Dr. V. Shanta of the Adyar Cancer Research Institute, Chennai.

The award, instituted in 1986 by the Dr. Yelavarthy Nayudamma Memorial Trust in Tenali (Andhra Pradesh), to commemorate the distinguished Scientist and internationally renowned leather technologist Nayudamma, is annually given away to persons chosen for their outstanding contribution to science and technology.

Dr Tessy Thomas, who has earned sobriquets like ‘Agniputri’ and ‘Missile Woman of India’ for her outstanding efforts in successfully launching the prestigious Agni series missiles, including the latest Agni-V, is the Director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Hyderabad. She has been associated with Agni Programme right from its developmental flights.

Making a mark in missile technology, a traditionally male bastion, she has designed the guidance scheme for long range missile systems which is used in all Agni missiles. An energy management guidance scheme was designed and developed for the first time in the country for an all-solid propelled long range systems by her, for which she was conferred with Agni Self-Reliance Award in 2001.

Geeta Varadan is a renowned scientist and technocrat in the field of remote sensing. She is the first woman to head an ISRO centre as Director of the Advanced Data Processing Research Institute, Secunderabad.

As ISRO’s Programme Director (Special Projects), she conceptualised and operationalised the Cartosat 2A/2B and the  GSAT-7 programmes for remote sensing and communications respectively. In addition, she has pioneered the development of a real time satellite data processing system using state-of-the-art GP/GPU technology.

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

They sashay with aplomb!

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All
Participants of Mrs. Vizag contest walking down the ramp at the audition round in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.— Photo: K. R. Deepak
Participants of Mrs. Vizag contest walking down the ramp at the audition round in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.— Photo: K. R. Deepak

Grace Simon’s phone kept ringing as soon as she got off the stage. She hurried out to a corner of the crowded hall to speak to her husband, who seemed as anxious as Grace was to know the outcome of the audition round of Mrs. Vizag contest.

A nurse at the critical section of anti-retroviral therapy at KGH, this was Grace’s first experience in the modelling world as she walked the ramp, a bit tentatively, to participate in the first beauty pageant held in the city for married women.

“I would have never done this had it not been for my colleagues and my husband,” said the 27-year-old mother of two.

Handling the critical care section of providing support to HIV-positive patients, Grace has learnt the art of taking challenges with a smile.

“Married life is challenging and so is the ability of striking a balance. Once we learn to do any work with love and commitment, it is easy to deal with the challenges. Family support, of course, is very crucial,” said Grace, who looks at the Mrs. Vizag platform as a medium to gain self confidence and also to spread awareness about AIDS and various medical assistance available for the patients.

Grace was one of the 80 participants who registered for the audition round of the contest held at Hotel Royal Fort on Tuesday.

Being organised by Moon Power Events, the finale of the contest will be held on February 28 at MGM Park.

The audition round brought out myriad facets of a woman. It was a first for many contestants, who broke the image of their traditional roles as a housewife and a mother to pull out a smile and walk on to the ramp in glittering Indian wear. The wobbly steps on high heels were the first attempt at winning recognition, and, perhaps, one day even celebrity status.

The husbands, with a degree of pride, stood holding the kids and capturing the moment on their cell phones while watching their wives sashay down the stage.

“Doesn’t she look charming!” a man whispered, as he cheered for his wife.

Twenty-five-year-old Charu Chowdhary waited for her turn to walk the ramp as her husband and her months-old baby waved out to her from the other end of the hall. “My husband took a day off from work to support me in the auditions,” she said with a smile and added, “This platform will help me discover myself.”

The winner of the contest will get a gold crown worth Rs. 1 lakh. The event is being held for a charitable cause. The proceeds from the show will go for the welfare of HIV-positive people.

Participants in the audition round of Mrs. Vizag contest shed their traditional roles to make a dazzling debut

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Nivedita Ganguly / Visakhapatham – February 18tgh, 2015

City to Get South India’s First Sports Complex for Diff-Abled

Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports

Visakhapatnam :

Social justice camps will be conducted in all the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh to distribute aid to the differently-abled, which would give them an opportunity to empower themselves in life, said Union minister for Social Justice Thaawar Chand Gehlot, here Saturday.

The Central government has organised these camps in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Tirupati and Anakapalle, and distributed welfare aid worth `5 crore to the differently-abled so far.

Speaking at a social justice camp organised at Anakapalle, the minister said that the Centre initiated various steps to iempower the differently-abled and senior citizens in the country. The department has decided to provide lifts and ramps in all government offices and hospitals for the benefit of the differently-abled. Rehabilitation and training centres will be established in every district, he informed.

The Union government was committed to the welfare of the physically and mentally-challenged people. “The government allocated `6,500 crore for the social justice department and another `560 crore for the department of disability affairs to protect the interests of the differently-abled,” he reiterated.

The minister also revealed the Central government’s plans to introduce e-vidya system for the benefit of differently-abled apart from providing them with educational loans at a subsidised interest rate of four per cent to pursue higher studies.

Anakapalle Parliament member M Srinivasa Rao requested the Union minister to facilitate sanctioning of a National Institute of Spinal Surgery unit at Anakapalle to provide better treatment for the victims of road accidents. State ministers P Sujatha, P Raghunadha Reddy and Ganta Srinivasa Rao elaborated on the welfare measures initiated by the state government.

Later, Gehlot told mediamen in Visakhapatnam that the Union Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment will establish five sports complexes for the differently-abled in five zones of the country. “The only sports complex for differently-abled in South India will be constructed in Visakhapatnam and we have asked the state government to provide necessary land in this regard.”

The Union government would also provide `6 lakh for the cochlear implants towards surgeries conducted for children below six years and provide them a new lease of life.

“Recently, the ministry financed for three children for the cochlear implant in Mumbai. It will conduct camps to distribute motorised tricycles to provide mobility to people with over 80 per cent disability,” he added.

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

Archers get tumultuous welcome

Records, All, Sports
Winners all the way:Archers, who won medals in the National Games in Kerala, being accorded a grand welcome at the Vijayawada Railway station on Tuesday. —Photo: V. Raju.
Winners all the way:Archers, who won medals in the National Games in Kerala, being accorded a grand welcome at the Vijayawada Railway station on Tuesday. —Photo: V. Raju.

Volga Archery Academy archers, who bagged three medals — two gold and one bronze — in the ongoing National Games at Kerala, were accorded a rousing welcome on Tuesday.

Amid rhythmic drum beats and chants hailing late Indian coach Ch. Lenin, hundreds of sports buffs and administrators garlanded archers and celebrated their triumph. “This victory is a major one after bifurcation,” said District Sports Development Officer P. Ramakrishna.

The triumph is timely for the academy which is preparing a road map for the 2016 Olympics Games to be held in Brazil.  “Vizag lad Biraghi Naidu won gold in the Indian round individual event while 17-year-old Purvasha Sudhir Shinde, the bronze medallist at the Incheon Asian Games, proved her mettle once again by winning gold in the compound individual event. These feats will give the necessary fillip to the archers preparing for the Olympics Games trials,” said academy chairman Ch. Satyanarayana.

He said Naidu, who hailed from Paderu near Vizag, was a natural talent and he will be graduated to recurve segment. “He will be given a special training in recurve and I am sure he will make it to the Indian team,” Mr. Satyanarayana added.

‘Missed the gold

by a whisker’

He said that AP women compound team consisting of Purvahsha, Anusha, Geethika Lakshmi, Jyoshna won the bronze in the team championship but missed the gold by a whisker. “An equipment error cost us the gold medal. Anusha Reddy’s bow developed a snag as the peep went haywire.

She missed a vital shot which affected the team’s prospects in the semifinal,” said team’s coach Ali.

The 22-year-old Naidu tamed the best archers in the fray to win the coveted gold by scoring consistently. He piped Huidom of Manipur and Arun Boro of Assam for the gold.

Satahavana College student Purvasha shot around 145 out of 150 in a consistent manner to outplay experienced archers like Punjab’s Trisha Dev to emerge as champion. “Both the gold medallists will get Rs. 7 lakhs as promised by the State government. The compound team which won the bronze will get Rs. 2 lakh,” said Mr. Ramakrishna.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – February 11th, 2015