Daily Archives: August 8, 2014

KCR announces cash awards for badminton players

Sports
Athletes from Telangana R. M. V. Guru Sai Dutt, Gagan Narang, Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap, Gutta Jwala, P. V. Sindhu and India’s chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopi Chand meet Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao at Secretariat in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu
Athletes from Telangana R. M. V. Guru Sai Dutt, Gagan Narang, Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap, Gutta Jwala, P. V. Sindhu and India’s chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopi Chand meet Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao at Secretariat in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced cash incentives of Rs. 50 lakh each for the gold medallists, Rs. 25 lakh each for silver medallists and Rs. 15 lakh for bronze medallists in the recent Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Badminton coaches Pullela Gopichand and S.M. Arif will also get Rs. 50 lakh each for their contribution to the success story. It was a pleasant surprise for all the CWG medallists when they met the Chief Minister at his chambers in the Secretariat on Wednesday.

Sports City
The Chief Minister also told the delegates that the government would develop an excellent Sports City around Hyderabad shortly. “Design and development of the Sports City should be planned by using the local Telangana talent. The facility will also host national and international events once in two months,” he said.

Mr. Rao accepted a suggestion to allot the existing sports infrastructure to talented sportspersons to develop academies. He promised to give a new direction to sports by ensuring that all deserving players get the desired support on all fronts. “We will take every step to make Hyderabad the final destination for sports,” he said.

CWG gold medallist Parupally Kashyap, silver medallist Jwala Gutta, bronze medallists P.V. Sindhu, R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt (all from badminton), Gagan Narang (silver & bronze in shooting), gymnast Aruna Reddy (no medal) were among those present along with India’s chief national coach Pullela Gopichand and champion Saina Nehwal.

Later, Gutta Jwala said that the Chief Minister was very positive during his interaction and promised to extend all support to the sports fraternity. She also welcomed the appointment of tennis star Sania Mirza as brand ambassador of Telangana.

“I see nothing wrong in this. I am really proud that a woman sportsperson from Hyderabad has been chosen as one,” she said. Jwala Gutta was also game to meet A.P. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and would not say ‘no’ if offered the brand ambassador role.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – August 06th, 2014

Time to get Nizam’s jewels to Hyderabad?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion
A decade after a strong pitch was made to shift the Nizam's jewels worth millions of dollars to Hyderabad, they are still in the custody of the National Museum, Delhi and safe in the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India.
A decade after a strong pitch was made to shift the Nizam’s jewels worth millions of dollars to Hyderabad, they are still in the custody of the National Museum, Delhi and safe in the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India.

Hyderabad :

A decade after a strong pitch was made to shift the Nizam’s jewels worth millions of dollars to Hyderabad, they are still in the custody of the National Museum, Delhi and safe in the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India.

From 12 April to 27 July 2014, some of the jewels were displayed for the first time outside the country at the State Museum of Moscow, Kremlin.

For permanent display of the jewellery in Hyderabad, the state government even offered to look at different places in the city for a decision to be taken on where the permanent museum could be located. One was a building at the public gardens, another place that was considered was said to be on Road no. 3, Banjara Hills which was, however, ruled out due to security considerations, and another proposal was to buy land behind the museum where a building could be constructed for the permanent display of the jewels.

One location that was felt appropriate was the Dewan Devdi, where the Quli Qutub Shah Urban Development Authority (QQSUDA) office is located. Sources said there was, however, one hitch. The state government wanted the centre to pay for the land and premises. The union ministry of culture outrightly dismissed the idea. Since then, the proposal, which was at least being considered, has been in a limbo.

Some of the Nizam’s jewels were displayed for the first time outside the country last month in the State Museum of Moscow, Kremlin. The centre had acquired the famed jewellery in 1995 after a protracted legal battle with the heirs of the Nizams. For the first time, the dazzling jewellery was displayed at the National Museum in 2001. The 173 set collection comprising 348 pieces was brought to Hyderabad and displayed at the Salar Jung Museum the same year. Subsequently, for the second time, the exhibition was organized from December 31, 2005 to October 2006. This exhibition was followed by another exhibition at the National Museum, Delhi.

In 1991, the entire jewellery was valued at $ 162 million by Sotheby’s. The jewellery included the third largest diamond in the world — the Jacob diamond.

When contacted, Salar Jung Museum director A Nagendar Reddy said the state government would have to take the initiative to bring the jewels to Hyderabad and talk to the centre about it. “Even if we had to organize an exhibition like we did two times in the past, it may not be possible at the Salar Jung Musem. The Eastern block where the jewellery exhibition was conducted now has many galleries where several artefacts are on display,” he said.

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who is showing interest in organizing the Independence Day celebrations at the centuries old Golconda fort may also have to think of bringing the Nizams jewels back to Hyderabad for permanent display.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / Ch. Sushil Rao, TNN / August 06th, 2014