Category Archives: Nature

Hyderabad’s Durgam Cheruvu bags green award

The landscaping at Durgam Cheruvu was developed on international standards with  focus on eco-friendly environment and ambience

Durgam Cheruvu was developed during the period of Quli Qutub Shah rule (1518-1687) for providing drinking water to Golconda.

Hyderabad :

Durgam Cheruvu in Madhapur, which is developed as a tourist spot, has been selected for the prestigious Green Standard Award by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for its beautiful landscaping.  

The landscaping at Durgam Cheruvu was developed on international standards with focus on eco-friendly environment and ambience.  In association with Raheja Group,  the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) developed the Durgam Chervu with the eco-friendly environment, ambience and scenic beauty. So far only three parks were given Green Standard awards.

On the lines of ISO, the Indian Green Building Council also scientifically examines ratings and awards the IGBC award every year.  These awards are given every year.

The IGBC, which is part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), was formed in 2001 with a vision to enable a sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in the sustainable built environment by 2025.

Durgam Cheruvu also known as Raidurgam Cheruvu is a freshwater lake located in Rangareddy district. The lake, which is spread over 83 acres is located near Hitec city.

It was developed during the period of Quli Qutub Shah rule (1518-1687) for providing drinking water to Golconda.

The award was given to Durgam Cheruvu landscaping for efficient protection of the water body and for energy efficiency, said Serilingampally Zonal Commissioner,  Harichandana Dasari.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / October 27th, 2019

This Telugu IFA-funded documentary follows women farmers

A still from the documentary ‘Songs of our soil’  

Mumbai-based researcher Aditi Maddali’s film ‘Songs Of Our Soil’ places women farmers of Telangana at the frontline of agrarian rights and agriculture futures

There is a pivotal moment in the documentary Songs Of Our Soil, in which woman farmer Suguna approaches an agriculture meeting and asks, “what about us?” This scene is one of Aditi Maddali’s most meaningful moments in a film which took almost three years to bring together. The film observes the subversive histories of women, like Suguna, in the fight against oppressive societal structures in Telangana through uyyala songs. “You do see these women contemplate their place in society,” observes Aditi.

The Telugu title of the film is Pani Pata Poratam. Aditi began looking at songs primarily from the political movements space; while she was working she started understanding how intricately linked these songs are with politics and land. She noticed agriculture was at the centre of everything, but they were still songs in the movements space.

Aditi Maddala  

In fact, the film’s ideologies refer as far back as the Telangana People’s Struggle of 1948 to 1951, and these songs became part of the movement when a large number of women from marginalised socio-economic backgrounds joined to fight, particularly given land ownership is largely a ‘man’s game.’

Having done research on the project since 2016, it was initially just an idea for Aditi. She hadn’t had funding back then either, she recalls, adding that it was a rather under-researched area, being a sentence in an academic paper at most. “I applied to places for funding saying I wanted to make a podcast series on this,” Aditi explains, “and I got government funding initially but when there was a funders’ meet, I was asked to include devotional songs because uyyala songs are also religious; I was asked to shoot film. It did not work out, though, because my mandate was not around devotional songs and they were unwilling to increase my budget. So I walked out of that agreement.”

A still from the documentary  

In 2017, she started working with Indian Foundation for the Arts who provided great value to her research. With very little research done into this subject, the placement of these songs have not been solidified. Language was one of the most prominent points for Aditi. “The language in these songs is so different! If you look at the songs from the Left Movement, they are all in dialogue form with the prime articulation,” she avers.

It was important for Aditi to understand the right grounding for the term ‘uyyala’ itself, which literally means ‘swing’ but indicates ‘to sleep’ but also ‘awakening.’ Having that concrete appreciation was valuable to the film and this is different between the different generations of farmers with whom Aditi spent long amounts of time during production.

When it came to the end of documentary production, Aditi was stuck on how the film should end — a challenge, given there is no real end to the subject matter. “Those who watch the film may see that the film ends rather abruptly,” she says. But the ongoing fight, she comments, does not.

(A screening and a discussion on Songs Of Our Soil will be held at Lamakaan on September 27, 7 pm.)

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Movies / by Divya Kala Bhavani / September 27th, 2019

INCOIS Director elected to UNESCO body

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) Director Satheesh Shenoi has been unanimously elected Vice-Chair (Group IV), of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission for 2019-2021. Group IV encompasses the countries of Australia, China, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Thailand.

UNESCO-IOC has around 150 member States and promotes international cooperation and programmes in marine research, services, observation systems, hazard mitigation, and capacity development in order to understand and effectively manage the resources of the ocean and coastal areas. Representatives of the member states are currently meeting at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France for the 30th session of the IOC Assembly (26 June – 4 July 2019).

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – July 05th, 2019

TSSPDCL bags ‘Smart Cities India Award’

The award recognises pioneering projects that aim to make cities more liveable, sustainable and economically viable by honouring best practices and models, said a release on Friday.

Hyderabad : 

The Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana limited (TSSPDCL) has bagged the prestigious ‘Smart Cities India Award’ for solar rooftops under the category of ‘ Clean & Green City’ at the 5th Smart Cities India 2019 held in New Delhi, for achievements in adoption, promotion & integration of renewable energy under distributed generation model. G Raghuma Reddy, chairman & MD of TSSPDCL received the award.  

Smart Cities India Awards is an annual event designed to felicitate, recognise and encourage individuals, policymakers, companies, government bodies and associations working behind the successful execution of the huge dream of developing 100 smart cities & rejuvenation of 500 cities in India.

The award recognises pioneering projects that aim to make cities more liveable, sustainable and economically viable by honouring best practices and models, said a release on Friday. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / May 25th, 2019

Global acclaim for Anshul’s 2-min ‘eco-comedy’ film

Hyderabad :

Hyderabadi film maker Anshul Sinha’s two-minute film, ‘Waterman’ is garnering appreciation in film festivals all over the world. The almost-silent film gives water a human form to highlight the issue of water scarcity.

“We wanted to make a humorous film that could communicate the message on a global platform,” says Anshul, adding that the lack of dialogues gives it a universal appeal, beyond the barriers of language. The narration was kept light as people often tend to disregard films on environmental issues. One of the challenges was that it took them a month to figure the characterisation of water as human. The film stood second in the eco-comedy video competition in the 8th edition of the International Environment Film Festival, in Washington DC, out of the 250 film submissions.

“We won The Infocus National Film Festival, Hyderabad,” said Anshul recounting the awards won for Waterman, which total up to 8 till date and have nominations in 12 other international film festivals. Anshul has been making documentaries since 2012.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Aakanksha Madhavaram / Express News Service / May 01st, 2019

TS seeks German support in setting up seed park

Telangana emerging as seed bowl of the country with about 400 seed companies based in the State

The Telangana government has requested the officials of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture to extend technological support in establishing the seed park at Banda Mylaram in 150 acres.

The request was made to a delegation of the German Federal Ministry including officials of the Indo-German (seed) Cooperation Project visiting the State. Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy, Principal Secretary C. Parthasarathi, Commissioner Rahul Bojja, Director of Marketing G. Lakshmi Bai, and Director of Telangana State Seed and Organic Certification Authority K. Keshavulu had a meeting with the visiting delegation.

A bilateral agreement was also signed by Telangana and German Federal Ministry for the development of seed sector in the State. Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Niranjan Reddy said Telangana was emerging as the seed bowl of the country with about 400 seed companies based in the State and doing a business to the tune of ₹ 5,000 crore with the help of 1.5 lakh skilled labour in seed production.

Giving a powerpoint presentation to the visiting delegation, Mr. Parthasarathi said high quality hybrid seed of paddy, jowar and maize was being produced in the State and even the seed produced in other States was being processed and stored here due to the most conducive conditions. The Indo-German seed project was also extended for three more years recently, he noted.

Parliamentary State Secretary to the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture Michael Stubgen said there was huge scope for food processing sector too in Telangana and they were ready to cooperate in that area too. He invited the Agriculture Minister to visit Germany for studying the agriculture sector there.

Director of TSSOCA Mr. Keshavulu asked the German delegates to attend the International Seed Testing Association congress being organised here in June-July this year. President of National Seed Association of India M. Prabhakar Rao and others participated.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities > Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – March 26th, 2019

Mountain climber Malavath Poorna scales Cartensz Pyramid in Indonesia

Malavath Poorna, the youngest girl to summit Mount Everest when she was just 13 years old, has added another feather in her cap.


Malavath Poorna. (Photo | Twitter@indianeagle)

Hyderabad :

Malavath Poorna, the youngest girl to summit Mount Everest when she was just 13 years old, has added another feather in her cap.  Now at 18, she has scaled another major peak the Cartensz Pyramid which stands at a height of  4884m in Indonesia.

As part of her 7-Summits Challenge, which is about scaling the seven tallest mountains, one in each continent, Poorna has scaled five peaks with her latest addition. Now, Poorna is just two peaks away from achieving her goal.

But scaling Cartensz Pyramid had a different set of challenges when compared to Himalayan and other ice-capped peaks. This peak is located in dense jungles of Indonesia and getting to the base camp is a big challenge. After reaching the base camp, a lot of rock-climbing skills are needed to get to the summit.

In order to train for this climb, the teenager trained at Rock Climbing School, Bhongir, (RCSB), under the guidance of chief instructor Parmesh Kumar Singh.  She trained specifically in the techniques that would be required in not only climbing, but also descending from this peak in Indonesia. After her intense training and preparation for the climb, Poorna left Hyderabad for Indonesia on March 17. 

“It was very windy but I had maintained my composure throughout. I reached the summit in the early hours of March 22. It was a very satisfying climb. My entire team and I had a safe summit and have now descended back to the base camp. We will reach Hyderabad on March 27,” she said over phone. 

Poorna is currently pursuing her under graduation in the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) for Women, in Tadwai, Kamareddy.  RS Praveen Kumar, secretary, TSWREIS, lauding Poorna’s feat said, “We always believed that she has the spark within and no mountain is too high for her. I hope she continues to be successful in her future expeditions,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / March 26th, 2019

IICT scientist to head CSIR’s only north east lab


G. Narahari Sastry 

‘The institute has made a big difference to the area through its research and by introducing about 100 tecnologies’

“It is the only lab of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in north east at Jorhat in Assam that is involved in multifarious scientific activities. I feel proud to be heading an institute that is soon to celebrate its diamond jubilee,” said G. Narahari Sastry, the newly appointed director of North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST).

Dr. Sastry, 53, who was with CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) since 2002 heading the Centre for molecular modelling, has just taken over and was here for a conference when he told The Hindu about his new ‘institute of eminence’ and the direction he intends to take it forward.

North East is blessed with abundance of natural resources like varied flora and fauna, minerals, natural gas, petroleum, aromatic and medicinal plants and hence, NEIST is targeted to undertake research in those areas. “The institute has been dealing with chemicals, agro-technology, geotechnical and other studies spread on a sprawling campus of 400 acres. It already has an excellent record and has made a big difference to the area through its research and by introducing about 100 technologies,” he said.

Dr. Sastry said emphasis will be on fundamental and translational research of applying basic biology and clinical trials to address critical societal health needs through drug discovery, environment care and sustainable development.

With a PG degree in chemistry from Osmania University and Ph.D from University of Hyderabad, he moved to ‘bio-informatics’ during his teaching stint with Puducherry university. His research is on employing artificial intelligence and machine learning to integrate with bioinformatics in developing disease-specific web portals and delineating disease biology in the area of healthcare.

“Seventy per cent of my research work deals with biology combining computational mathematics and AI. The government’s directive now is while excellence is good, science should be relevant to the people and improve their quality of living,” says Dr. Sastry.

A Shanthi Swarup Bhatnagar Award winner in chemical sciences in 2011, he has been a visiting professor for universities in Japan, Germany and United States.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by V. Geetanath / Hyderabad – March 04th, 2019

A ray of hope for kids with cancer


(Left) Research scholars Kruthi Doriya and Anup Ashok with chemical engineering associate professor Devarai Santhosh Kumar (centre) at Industrial Bioprocess and Bio-Prospecting lab at IIT-H; (above) civil engineering associate professor Asif Qureshi.  

IIT-H team finds Antarctic fungi that may help treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) working with scientists from National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, have isolated Antarctic fungi that contain ‘L-Asparaginase’, an enzyme-based chemotherapeutic agent used to treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Fewer side-effects

ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer and isolation of L-Asparaginase’ containing fungi from extreme environments could lead to development of new chemotherapeutic treatment methods that have fewer side-effects than the existing methods.

In ALL, the bone marrow produces an excess of immature lymphocytes, a form of white blood cells.

One of the most frequently used chemotherapy drugs to treat ALL is the enzyme ‘L- Asparaginase’ which reduces the supply of asparagine, an amino acid that is essential for the synthesis of protein, to cancer cells. This prevents the growth and proliferation of the malignant cells.

The path-breaking work has recently been published in Nature’s Open Source Journal, Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38094-1). IIT-H team consisted of Devarai Santhosh Kumar, associate professor, department of chemical engineering, and Asif Qureshi, associate professor, department of civil engineering, along with their research students Anup Ashok, Kruthi Doriya and Jyothi Vithal Rao while NCPOR team included Dr. Anoop Kumar Tiwari.

Drug costs

Principal investigator Dr. Santhosh Kumar said, “Extensive purification steps are necessary before L-Asparaginase derived from E. Coli and E. Chrysanthemi is used as a drug to treat ALL. This increases cost of the drug.”

‘L-Asparaginase’ enzyme used for chemotherapy is currently derived from commonly found bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Erwinia chrysanthemi. These enzymes are always associated with two other enzymes, glutaminase and urease, both of which cause adverse side effects in patients such as pancreatitis, hemostasis abnormalities, central nervous system dysfunction and immunological reactions.

The research team looked at psychrophiles as alternate sources of the enzyme. Psychrophiles are organisms capable of growth and reproduction in low temperatures in the range of −20 °C to +10 °C, such as those found in Antarctic regions.

These organisms have modified life processes that help them adapt to the extreme conditions of living. For example, psychrophiles have ‘anti-freeze’ enzymes that are powerful enough to be able to work at the freezing temperatures of the poles, unlike mesophiles that live in more habitable zones of the earth. The potency of the enzymes makes them promising as powerful drugs for diseases such as cancer, he said.

55 samples collected

Industrial bioprocess and bioprospecting laboratory research team, seeking alternate sources of L-Asparaginase, screened and isolated fungi collected from the soil and mosses in Schirmacher Hills, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. These fungi were found to have L-Asparaginase free of glutaminase and urease. The team isolated 55 samples of fungi, of which 30 isolates had pure L-Asparaginase.

Absence of glutaminase and urease would prevent the serious side-effects currently seen with the use of bacteria-derived L-Asparaginase. “Fungal species have the ability to mimic the properties of human cells, as both are eukaryotic in nature, which makes it easier for their usage in treatment of ALL,” the researchers wrote in their Nature Scientific Reports paper.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities > Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 20th, 2019

Working all alone, woman farmer scripts history


Rupireddy Laxmi at her field.   | Photo Credit: K M Dayashankar r

School dropout impresses scientists

A woman farmer from the interior Kondapalkala village of Manakondur mandal scripted history and emerged a role model.

She cultivated paddy without engaging farm labourers — be it for tilling the soil, removing weeds or any other related activity. She adopted innovative farming techniques and reaped a bumper harvest compared to other farmers who employed farmhands.

Adversity to opportunity

Meet Rupireddy Laxmi, a native of Kondapalkala village, who had dropped out of school after class 5. But she received appreciation from scientists of the agricultural university, Krishi Vignana Kendra, and others. For the last four and a half years, she has been cultivating paddy single-handedly on her 12 acres of land. Ms. Laxmi only sprinkles paddy, which is kept wet for one day on the field. Her cultivation technique have reduced the use of fertilizers and pesticides and also water consumption. She sprays pesticides only to avoid growth of weeds on the field.

The idea of taking up paddy cultivation by sprinkling seed occurred to Ms. Laxmi when there was acute shortage of labourers in the village. So, she did it all by herself, and saved an average of ₹ 6,000 to ₹7,000 per acre in the process. Moreover, when other farmers harvested 40 to 45 bags of paddy per acre by adopting the normal form of cultivation, she could reap 55 bags, much to their dismay.

Labour of love

Inspired by her innovative farming techniques, more than 10 farmers of the village had adopted the Ms. Laxmi’s techniques since the last kharif season and reaped more. Incidentally, her husband Tirupathi Reddy had taught her driving of tractor, two-wheeler and car and tilling operations. Recently, this progressive woman farmer purchased a luxury car, following a bumper harvest. Talking to The Hindu on Sunday, Ms. Laxmi said farmers could reap riches if they enjoyed the profession. “If there is no zeal to do cultivation, then the farmer cannot become a king by securing a good harvest,” she says boldly. Ms. Laxmi feeling proud of her herself is well-deserved as agricultural scientists invited her to various agricultural research stations in the State for displaying and sharing her techniques.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by K. M. Dayashankar / Karimnagar – January 13th, 2019