Category Archives: Leaders

Eshwari Bai Biography to be Introduced in School Syllabus

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Hyderabad :

A lesson on the life of Eshwari Bai, former politician, will be introduced in the school syllabus in Telangana, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at the award presenting ceremony of Eshwari Bai Memorial Award – 2015, Rao said the new syllabus will feature biographies of several other leaders of Telangana like G Venkataswamy as well.

The state government will also officially celebrate the birth and death anniversaries of Eshwari Bai, the CM promised. When Eshwari Bai Trust approached the chief minister for attending the award ceremony, he not only gave a nod immediately but also promised to make it a state government function.

Every year the government will coordinate with the trust to organise grand celebrations on both birth and death anniversaries of Eshwari Bai. The CM further said, Eshwari Bai was a great leader and she will remain an inspiration to the younger generation. “Her speeches have been widely quoted in the Telangana movement and are still relevant,” he added.

The Eshwari Bai Memorial Award – 2015 was given to retired bureaucrat and former secretary to Union government Dr PS Krishnan. Though he belongs to Kerala, Krishnan had worked in the united Andhra Pradesh for a long time and he is very familiar with the developments in Telugu States way back from the inception of Telangana movement.

Congress leader Geeta Reddy, daughter of Eshwari Bai, praised the state government for honouring Eshwari Bai by officially celebrating her death anniversary. Jana Reddy said, “This is a good move that the state government has recognised the great personalities of Telangana irrespective of the political differences. I hope this will be followed in future.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / February 25th, 2015

TS Gandhi Cremated with State Honours

Leaders

Warangal :

Funeral rites of veteran freedom fighter, Bhupati Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Telangana Gandhi, were performed with state honours here on Monday. Krishnamurthy, who was the president of Telangna Praja Samithi (TPS) died here on Sunday night. He was 89-years-old and is survived by a son and daughter.

Deputy chief minister Kadiyam Srihari, TJAC chairman M Kodandaram, PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, district collector Vakati Karuna, superintendent of police Ambar Kishor Jha and several others, paid respects to the departed leader.

The funeral procession was taken from his residence in Girimajipet to Vysya cremation grounds at SRR Thota on the city outskirts. Krishnamurthy was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and accompanied Gandhi on his visit to Warangal town then.

He fought against the British and Nizam rulers and also participated in the struggle for a separate Telangana. He, however, refused to merge TPS with TRS party and remained a lone fighter till the end. His relatives said, Krishnamurthy does not even own a house and lost all his wealth fighting for freedom of the country and later for Telangana.

Sources in TRS party said they were planning to celebrate his 90th birthday on February 21 on a grand scale, and now his demise has come as shock for the entire party. Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed his condolences to the bereaved family.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / February 17th, 2015

TS Gandhi Cremated with State Honours

Leaders

Warangal :

Funeral rites of veteran freedom fighter, Bhupati Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Telangana Gandhi, were performed with state honours here on Monday. Krishnamurthy, who was the president of Telangna Praja Samithi (TPS) died here on Sunday night. He was 89-years-old and is survived by a son and daughter.

Deputy chief minister Kadiyam Srihari, TJAC chairman M Kodandaram, PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, district collector Vakati Karuna, superintendent of police Ambar Kishor Jha and several others, paid respects to the departed leader.

The funeral procession was taken from his residence in Girimajipet to Vysya cremation grounds at SRR Thota on the city outskirts. Krishnamurthy was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and accompanied Gandhi on his visit to Warangal town then.

He fought against the British and Nizam rulers and also participated in the struggle for a separate Telangana. He, however, refused to merge TPS with TRS party and remained a lone fighter till the end. His relatives said, Krishnamurthy does not even own a house and lost all his wealth fighting for freedom of the country and later for Telangana.

Sources in TRS party said they were planning to celebrate his 90th birthday on February 21 on a grand scale, and now his demise has come as shock for the entire party. Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed his condolences to the bereaved family.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / February 17th, 2015

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY PRACTITIONERS : Road less travelled

Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Dr. Raghu Ram
Dr. Raghu Ram

Credited with spreading awareness about breast cancer to a large extent in the State, Dr. P. Raghu Ram is set to receive the Padma Shri

Talk Breast Cancer and the one name that will come to mind is Dr. P. Raghu Ram. Right from talking about the rarely discussed ailment to creating a high awareness about ‘Breast Cancer month’ every year in a bid to spread awareness and organising the star-studded Pink Ribbon walk, the oncoplastic breast surgeon has made tremendous headway in breast health care in the state in the last decade. And it’s in recognition of his contribution towards improving awareness about breast health care that he will be conferred with the Padma Shri this year.

“It’s humbling and a great honour to be chosen for this award. I am very happy and I think God placed me at the right place at the right time,” he smiles, between sips of lemon tea as he continues to go about his work.

With not too many medical practitioners choosing to work in the area of breast health, Dr. Raghu Ram chose to take the road less travelled and specialised in the field after his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. “Awareness about breast cancer was in its infancy back then and there were no advanced screening programmes either. There was no such concept of a dedicated breast health surgical society either. I wanted to change that,” he says.

Settled in the UK at the time, he decided to move back to Hyderabad. “I debated if I would be able to achieve the goals I had set for myself. But my wife was very supportive and we made the move. When I began meeting people here and talking to them about breast health I was laughed at. Slowly but steadily I was able to make headway and spread more awareness about the condition. In 2007 we established the Ushalakshmi Breast Health Centre, a free standing place, at KIMS,” he says.

Ever since, Dr. Raghu Ram has successfully conducted several awareness campaigns including the Pink Ribbon Walk and roped in celebrities like Marcia Barrett, Gautami and Kamal Haasan and Pamela Yash Chopra to create more awareness about breast cancer. “My next step was to set up a community-based screening programme; it was implanted in 2013. We train health care workers to examine women between the ages of 35 and 60 to detect breast cancer in the early stages. I hope some day soon Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will become benchmark states for community programmes like this,” he says.

He also set up a support group as part of the breast cancer foundation to help patients deal with the emotional baggage that cancer entails. Apart from his medical practice and awareness programmes, he is also heavily into academic work, having penned several chapters on the topic for various publications and also teaches students. Given his vast body of work, the oncoplastic surgeon has been in the past bestowed with several awards and has been invited for talks and lectures by various international bodies of breast health surgeons.

While his work is his passion, Dr. Raghu Ram also prioritises family time. “My kids bath time was always my time with them. Now that they’re older I make it a point to spend at least an hour with them each evening. I’d like them to imbibe values like honesty and stay grounded at all times. While we don’t expect them to be the best in everything, we do encourage them to give whatever they’re doing the best,” he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Ranjani Rajendra / Hyderabad – February 09th, 2015

Memorial for Kaka in City: CM

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao along with Congress leaders S Jaipal Reddy, K Jana Reddy and Union labour minister B Dattatreya at a condolence meeting of G Venkataswamy at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad on Wednesday. | express photo
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao along with Congress leaders S Jaipal Reddy, K Jana Reddy and Union labour minister B Dattatreya at a condolence meeting of G Venkataswamy at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad on Wednesday. | express photo

Hyderabad :

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has promised to construct a memorial in the name of Congress senior leader G Venkataswamy, popularly known as Kaka, in a prime location in the city.

Similarly, a Venkataswamy Square will also come up in the city, he said at the meeting organised to condole the death of the departed leader held in the city on Wednesday. Rao said the sons of Venkataswamy have also identified a couple of locations for construction of the memorial in the city.

“A decision will be taken soon and foundation will also be laid for the memorial,” Rao said. He hailed the services of Kaka for the downtrodden and also lauded the departed leader’s efforts in achieving separate Telangana.

“I did not like speaking to Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee (now President) in Delhi during the talks for alliance between the TRS and Congress in 2004 elections. It was Kaka who called me for lunch and made the alliance work,’’ Rao recalled.

Union Minister for labour Bandaru Dattatreya said Kaka, who worked as union labour minister, was responsible for initiating several welfare measures for the workers.

Leaders of various parties including Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, S Jaipal Reddy, Mothkupalli Narsimhulu and others spoke on the occasion.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / January 22nd, 2015

Five new women Collectors in Telangana

Leaders

Karimnagar District Collector Neetu Kumari Prasad. - Photo: S. Rambabu / The Hindu
Karimnagar District Collector Neetu Kumari Prasad. – Photo: S. Rambabu / The Hindu

In its maiden appointments after allotment of all India service officers between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the latter on Monday confirmed postings of 24 IAS officers as Collectors.

Karimnagar Collector M. Veerabrahmaiah has been transferred and posted as Special Commissioner of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Warangal Collector G. Kishan as Additional Commissioner of GHMC, and Mahbubnagar Collector G.D. Priyadarshini as Collector of Adilabad.

Neetu Kumari Prasad was made Karimnagar Collector, V. Karuna posted as Warangal Collector, T.K. Sreedevi as Mahbubnagar Collector and P. Satyanarayana Reddy as Nalgonda District Collector. All of them were awaiting postings.

K. Nirmala, who was also awaiting posting, is the new Hyderabad Collector, a post that was vacant after the incumbent Mukesh Kumar Meena was allotted to Andhra Pradesh. The adjacent Ranga Reddy District also gets a new Collector in M. Raghunandan Rao.

The other officers, who were awaiting postings after reporting for duties in Telangana government, included senior bureaucrats M.G. Gopal who is made Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development and Ranjeev R. Acharya is Principal Secretary of Education. Navin Mittal and Gaurav Uppal have been appointed as Special Commissioner and Additional Commissioner respectively of GHMC. Pausumi Basu is also another Additional Commissioner of the Corporation.

Rajat Kumar Saini, K. Surendra Mohan and Patil Prashant Jeevan will be the Joint Collectors of Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad and Warangal districts respectively. Hari Chandana Dasari is the second Joint Collector of Ranga Reddy. The Joint Collector of Karimnagar Sarfraz Ahmed is the new Municipal Commissioner of Warangal, Bharati Hollikeri is Chief Rationing Officer of Hyderabad.

Four Sub-Collectors have also been appointed, including D. Krishna Bhaskar (Jagtial in Karimnagar), Alagu Varsini (Vikarabad in Ranga Reddy), Rajeevgandhi Hanumanthu (Asifabad in Adilabad) and Khartade Kalicharan Sudamrao (Paloncha) in Khammam district.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by N. Rahul / Hyderabad – January 12th, 2014

I believe art has no barriers: Kavitha

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Travel

Telangana Jagruthi Samithi president and MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha sharing a few thoughts with renowned kuchipudi danseuse Shobha Naidu at the International Kuchipudi Dance Convention at GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. Photo: V.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu
Telangana Jagruthi Samithi president and MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha sharing a few thoughts with renowned kuchipudi danseuse Shobha Naidu at the International Kuchipudi Dance Convention at GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. Photo: V.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu

‘Let us live together, forget about the bifurcation’. Taking a cue, Padma Sri recipient Yarlagadda Laxmi Prasad felt that the three-day convention was more than symbolic in many ways of how Telugu-speaking people can live and enjoy all liberties.

The three-day International Kuchipudi Dance Convention at GMC Balayogi Indoor Stadium could not have begun on a more touching note on Friday in terms of how the Telugu-speaking can live together and aspire to prosper.

It was a brief but to-the-point speech by Kalvakuntla Kavitha, Nizamabad MP and president of Telangana Jagruthi Samithi, which clearly floored the select audience at the Convention, organised by Silicon Andhra.

“Not many people liked the idea of me coming over to grace the inaugural of this three-day dance convention as they felt there is a clear tinge of residual Andhra Pradesh in the way the event is being organised. But I insisted that though Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are divided politically and administratively, that should be not the case with arts and culture. I believe art has no barrier,” Kavitha said amidst applause.

“Moreover, this being held in Hyderabad, it is a question of pride for all of us. Like Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao too is all for the promotion of arts and culture of Telugu-speaking people. Let us live together, forget about the bifurcation, which is for a different cause,” she reminded.

Taking a leaf from the pages of history, Kavitha enthralled the audience by gently reminding them that though Kuchipudi was born in a village in Andhra Pradesh, it took the generosity of the 17th Century king Abdul Hasan Qutub Shah (more popularly known as Tani Shah) to promote this world-famous dance by setting up a ‘kuchipudi agraharam’ in Hyderabad,” she said to repeated cheers from the audience.

Taking a cue, Padma Sri recipient Yarlagadda Laxmi Prasad felt that the three-day convention was more than symbolic in many ways of how Telugu-speaking people can live and enjoy all liberties. “Let me tell you that the Telangana Chief Minister has given this venue free of cost and promised to extend all possible help to the organisers. This speaks of how we can steer clear of petty issues,” he remarked. AP Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Mandali Budda Prasad felt it was a question of great pride for the country itself that Kuchipudi had become synonymous with Indian culture.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – December 26th, 2014

KCR to Release Book on Telangana Today

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

Hyderabad :

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will release a book, ‘Emergence of Telangana,’ written by retired IAS officer A K Goel, who is presently serving as advisor to the government. The book will be released at a function to be held at Ravindra Bharathi on Friday. The book is one of the first books about TS to be released by the first chief minister after realization of the state on June 2.

Telangana is a multidimensional reality. Its evolution has witnessed each and every dimension through the vicissitudes of time.

This book attempts to narrate the whole story from ‘Birth of the Universe’ to the ‘Birth of Telangana,’ an official release said.

The initial chapters, reflecting geographical and technological aspects, would be quite familiar to scientist and engineers.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / December 26th, 2014

Venkatswamy’s was an illustrious career

Leaders

Mr. Venkatswamy was first elected to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in 1952 from Chennur segment in Adilabad district. He was MLC from 1978 -1984 during which term he became Minister for Labour and Civil Supplies. He was thrice MP from Siddipet in 1967, 1971 and 1977.

In the Cabinet of Indira Gandhi, he was Union Deputy Minister for Labour and Rehabilitation in 1973, and Union Deputy Minister for Supply and Rehabilitation from November 1973 to March 1977. After his election to Lok Sabha in 1977, he resigned his membership of Parliament and returned to State politics to become Labour and Civil Supplies Minister in the Cabinet of Chenna Reddy and his successors.

He shifted his Lok Sabha constituency to Peddapalli in 1989 and wrested the seat in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 2004 general elections. He lost the election in 1998 and was denied ticket in 2009. After P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister in 1991, he was inducted in his Cabinet as Union Minister of State for Rural Development till 1993. He was Minister of State for Textiles in 1993-95 and promoted to Cabinet rank in the same portfolio in 1995.

He was president of APCC from 1982-84 when the Congress lost power. His son G. Vinod is a former Labour Minister and former president of Hyderabad Cricket Association. Another son Vivekanand was elected Peddapalli MP on Congress ticket in 2009.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – December 23rd, 2014

Ghanta Chakrapani is first Chairman of TSPSC

Leaders

Ghanta Chakrapani / The Hindu
Ghanta Chakrapani / The Hindu

Academician, journalist and political commentator Ghanta Chakrapani has been appointed as the first Chairman of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC). Three other members were also appointed while the Governor is said to have rejected the names of few other members.

Prof. Chakrapani, who is presently the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU) is a well-known intellectual face of the Telangana movement strongly arguing its case at the State and national level. Born in Yaswada village, which was submerged in the Lower Maneru Dam construction, he did his post-graduation in Sociology and Communication and Journalism from Osmania University. He started his journalism career after Intermediate and worked in all the popular Telugu newspapers before moving into academics. Recipient of national and international fellowships including the prestigious India China Institute fellowship, he worked on Globalisation and Inequalities in India and China. He published 12 books and 52 research articles. He also received the best teacher award in 2014.

Widely travelled around the world, Prof. Chakrapani made his mark in journalism reporting on inequalities in the society and later as a political commentator on television. He received wide appreciation for his unflinching support to the Telangana agitation and making a strong case for separate statehood. He will hold the TSPSC office for six years.

The constitution of the TSPSC was approved by the Governor with these members but he rejected recommendation of the government to nominate T. Srinivas, Dinesh Kumar (of Kakatiya University), Rajeshwar Reddy (OU) and advocates Sriranga Rao, Gopu Chandrashekhar Reddy.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – December 18th, 2014