Monthly Archives: December 2014

NGOs distribute blankets to the homeless in Hyderabad

Hyderabad :

With night temperatures dipping in the city, many blanket donation drives are being organised for the poor and homeless. As per GHMC records of January 2014, there are 3,498 homeless people living in Hyderabad.

One such initiative was started by NGO Robin Hood Army, consisting of 70 volunteers, who distributed 1,350 blankets in Banjara hills, Secunderabad railway station and Gachibowli. “Since the temperature is dipping, we thought of giving back to the community something that we have. About six bags of old clothes were also distributed by 12 teams in various areas,” said Spoorthi Reddy, a volunteer of Robin Hood Army.

Observing Boxing Day on December 26, the Joy of Sharing Society distributed about 800 blankets to several homeless people in Madhapur, Kukatpally and Dilsukhnagar. “We observed that many homeless were sleeping using plastic sheets to protect themselves from the cold. Hence, we decided to distribute blankets to them,” said A Raghuveer, president of the Joy of Sharing Society. The NGO will be distributing another 200 blankets to old-age homes and orphanages.

The cold wave is not only affecting people but also animals. Blue Cross Hyderabad has been aiding sick and injured dogs in the city for the past 23 years by conducting blankets and clothes drives.

“We have 200 sick and injured puppies and another 500 animals in our shelter. Like humans, even animals suffer a lot during winter. When wounds are exposed to the cold, it is more painful. In such cases, we ask people to donate blankets and cotton clothes so as to make beddings for the pets,” said N Pravallika, education officer at Blue Cross Hyderabad.

Apart from NGOs, there are companies like Mist n Creams, in association with Youngistan Foundation and Hyderabad Foodies Club, who joined this drive on Boxing Day. They distributed blankets, woolens, socks, mufflers, bed-sheets and food to many underprivileged people in the city.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / December 29th, 2014

Harita Haaram to Commence Soon

plantationTELANGANA30dec2014

Hyderabad :

The government plans to employ National Rural Employment Generation Scheme workers in a big way to implement ‘Telanganaku Harita Haaram’, a project conceived to increase the green cover in the state.

Having set itself a huge target of planting 130-crore seedlings outside forest areas in the state, the government, for the first-time, intends to involve even big farmers in the plantation drive.

In the united AP, the plantation drives held on smaller scales were confined to the participation of only small and marginal farmers as the targets set for the purpose were minimal. For instance, last year only 5 crore saplings were planted in 23 districts, officials in the rural development commissionerate pointed out.

As per the modalities worked out, field assistants of the rural development department will identify suitable places for planting the saplings. It can be on government offices’ premises, government-owned vacant lands or even lands owned by individual farmers.

For plantation in fields, each farmer will be given a maximum number of 160 saplings per acre for bund plantation and 600 saplings for block plantation. These saplings, mostly teak, are being raised at government and private nurseries in districts and will be ready by July when the first spell of monsoon is expected.

“Authorities of the concerned government office would be made responsible for a healthy growth of the plantations on their respective office premises,” a senior official in the department added, disclosing the guidelines finalised for the implementation of the programme at a high-level meeting held recently.

To ensure that the planted saplings are taken care of well, the government has laid down strict norms before paying the farmers. As per the rates finalised by the government, farmers will be paid `10 for digging a pit and `4 for planting a sapling. They will be paid `5 per plant at the end of every month for two years. However, this comes with a strict rider: they should ensure that at least half of of the saplings they plant should survive.

“That means there should be proper maintenance. Farmers should water the plants and clear the debris regularly to make sure that they receive the payment for two full years,” he pointed out.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Vikram Mukka / December 29th, 2014

Adivasi Gonds gear up for festivities

Mesram Kothmabai, a Gond woman from Keslapur village grinds red gram the traditional way in Adilabad. Photo: S. Harpal Singh / The Hindu
Mesram Kothmabai, a Gond woman from Keslapur village grinds red gram the traditional way in Adilabad. Photo: S. Harpal Singh / The Hindu

With the onset of the poos or Pushya masam, the sacred period, the Adivasi Gonds in Adilabad have begun preparations for festivities. The period up to January 20 will see jataras of respective clans organised across the district. The most famous of them is the Nagoba jatara at Keslapur in Indervelli mandal.

The Nagoba jatara is organised by the Mesram clan of Gonds at the end of the religious month. The tribal people stick to age old customs and traditions while organising the festivities.

As part of the preparations, the Adivasi people have started collecting foodgrains needed to prepare the sacred offering or naivedyam. The exercise includes grinding on traditional grindstones only the indigenous variety of foodgrains raised in their own fields. The oil used in cooking the offerings is also obtained from indigenous oilseeds ground in traditional mills.

A Gond adivasi woman washes the mud walls of her home with liquid cowdung at Keslapur in Adilabad. Photo: S. Harpal Singh / The Hindu
A Gond adivasi woman washes the mud walls of her home with liquid cowdung at Keslapur in Adilabad. Photo: S. Harpal Singh / The Hindu

The Mesram clan messengers, a Gond priest called Kathoda and a Pardhan elder called Pathadi, have set off to inform and invite the clan members and others associated with religious festivities during the Nagoba jatara. The jatara will begin on January 19.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Adilabad – December 26th, 2014

Noted revolutionary poet passes away

Noted revolutionary poet Nellutla Kodanda Rama Rao, popularly known as NK, died here late Saturday night. He was 70 and survived by wife, two daughters and a son. NK was one of the founder members of Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Virasam) – group of revolutionary poets. He belonged to first generation Naxalbari poets in early 1970s along with Kondapalli Sitaramaiah, K.G. Satyamurthy, Tarimella Nagi Reddy and others.

He was a close associate of noted poet Varavara Rao and took to revolutionary path in writing. His father Nellutla Ramakrishna was also a popular poet in Telangana. Rao worked as Assistant Registrar at Kakatiya University. In 1980s, he wrote a 17 page long poem ‘lal bano, ghulami chodo, bolo Vandemataram’ which punned on the call ‘lal ghulami chodkar bolo Vandemataram’ given by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad asking people to give up Leftist struggles. The poem, which was written to inspire radical students who frequently quarrelled with the ABVP, earned him fame.

NK wrote his autobiography under the title “Amma Sparsha”. He went to jail during the Telangana agitation in 1969 and again during Emergency in 1975.

He was the main singer and poet for all people’s movements in Warangal. He also prepared the tune and sang several songs written by Satyamurthy from jail. On learning about his sudden demise, Kaloji foundation convenor Nagilla RamaSastry, Mithra Mandali convenor V R Vidyarthi and poet Potlapalli Srinivasa Rao visited the hospital to pay tributes.

VaravaraRao expressed shock and grief at his demise.The funeral would be held on Monday on return of his daughters from the US. A procession would be taken from his residence in Kumarpally.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Warangal – Hyderabad / December 29th, 2014

Ali Reza teams up with Muddha Manadaram’s cast

Ali-RezaMPos30dec2014

Ali Reza, who shot to fame with Pasupu Kumkuma, is eagerly awaiting the release of his upcoming film Gayakudu.

While Pasupu Kumkuma has gone off air, Ali was recently seen at the Zee Golden awards show and now, we hear that he’ll soon team up with Muddha Mandaram’s cast when they visit Kurnool on December 27.

As per the storyline, Akhilandeswari’s family visits Kurnool for an important occasion and all these scenes will be shot at STBC College, Railway Station Road in Kurnool.

More details about the event will be revealed soon.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> TV> News> Telugu / TNN / December 27th, 2014

I believe art has no barriers: Kavitha

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

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

Stunning maps from another era on show

A motley collection of brilliant and rare maps from the 16th to the 19th century is on display at Heritage Arts in Mattancherry as part of ‘Cosmology to Cartography’, an exhibition—the first of its kind in India—jointly organised by the Hyderabad-based Kalakriti Archives and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

It showcases as many as 47 maps straddling four centuries and under ‘Jain Cosmic’, ‘Pilgrimage’ and ‘Cartographic’ categories. On display are the early cartograms produced with vegetable dye on cotton and the ones in woodcuts, copper engravings with colour or watercolour and ink on paper.

A pilgrimage map to Nathdwara temple are among the exhibits at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
A pilgrimage map to Nathdwara temple are among the exhibits at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Kalakriti founder Prashant Lahoti collected the unusual treasure of India maps. The brightly-coloured maps present the world in many fashions: some in sync with Jain philosophy where the earth is divided into regions of the Gods, mortals and the cursed; the pilgrimage maps, on the other hand, chart out panoramic routes to Badrinath in the Himalayas or Shatrunjaya in Gujarat.

“The exhibition displays move from the symbolic to the political, and there is a dichotomy in the first, the middle and the last few,” said executive curator Vivek Nanda, who is a town planner and whose current projects include the Mumbai-Delhi corridor. “The early part of the exhibition represents a world of meaning, while the political ones are a world of order. They depict coastal towns and sea ports, which were important trading indicators.” Also on show are the first Dutch map of the subcontinent and the Middle East, and the first map of India as a single entity, made in 1822, for the directors of the English East India Company.

The first Dutch map of the subcontinent and the Middle East done in 1596.
The first Dutch map of the subcontinent and the Middle East done in 1596.


Arts and Medicine

The famed biennale programme, in its 43rd episode on the General Hospital premises on Wednesday, saw Kochiite Charles Antony crooning songs in at least 10 languages, including Italian, English, African, Sinhala and Japanese, as he played the guitar and the mouth organ. Mr. Antony had sung a Spanish song alongside Diego Maradona during his visit to Kerala in 2012. His 80-minute performance began with Jim Reeves’ ‘Welcome to my World’. Mehboob Memorial Orchestra provided accompaniment.

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

Karimnagar Farmer Shows the Way Out of Darkness

Veerla Prabhakar Rao stands beside the solar panels at his farm land in Velichala | expressphoto
Veerla Prabhakar Rao stands beside the solar panels at his farm land in Velichala | expressphoto

Karimnagar :

At a time when many farmers in the State are struggling to irrigate crops due to erratic power supply, Veerla Prabhakar Rao from Velichala village in Ramagundam mandal, has found a way out of the bleak scenario.

Rao, who owns about 60 acres of farm land at Velichala, which is 12 km from here, has installed solar photovaltaic (PV) panels with a total capacity of 18 KV, which can run two 7.5 HP pumpsets and irrigate seven acres. Speaking to Express, Rao said he had invested `7 lakh to set up the solar panels for irrigation of his paddy crop. He said thanks to the solar power, he is able to irrigate his crops well and believes the future lies in this.

“We can get power throughout the day with these solar panels. Besides, it is reliable and we could be self-reliant,” he pointed out. However, it is the cost factor that prevents farmers from opting for solar power.

“That is the reason why the government should provide at least 50 per cent subsidy,” he felt and appealed to the government to also bring awareness among farmers on the importance of harnessing non-conventional energy resources. “The power situation might worsen in summer. To have uninterrupted power supply for crops, it is better for farmers to opt for solar power and generate power on their own,” he said.

The government may take time to create awareness but Rao is leading by example. Farmers from surrounding areas are showing keen interest in his solar power. But as Rao himself says, the cost of installing solar power panels is what is holding them back.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / December 23rd, 2014

Medak Bags Highest Number of Nirmal Puraskar Awards

Sangareddy :

Medak district stood in first in securing the highest number of Nirmal Puraskar awards announced by the Central government on Monday.

While, 35 villages in Telangana were selected for the 2013 Nirmal Puraskar awards, 25 villages out of them are from Medak district alone. The basic criteria for getting the award is achieving 100 percent sanitation, toilets at every household, good supply of safe drinking water, CC roads, on time tax payments by the villagers to the gram panchayat, all school-aged children going to school, etc.

The awards were not given on the basis of reports from local officials but a special team deputed by the Central government who visited the villages and submitted its report based on the on-the-field observations. Sources said, the credit of bagging as many as 25 awards by Medak district goes to the earlier officers who worked a lot to achieve 100 percent sanitation. Besides Medak, Karimnagar bagged five Nirmal Puraskar awards whereas Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Nizamabad secured three each.

Between 2006 and 2013, Medak district bagged 125 Nirmal Puraskar awards including 25 in 2013. Officers are hopeful that in 2014 awards also Medak will retain its first position.

RWS SE Vijay Prakash said in 2008 the district bagged an all-time record of 44 Nirmal Puraskar awards. “Getting the award to a village is not an easy task. It requires cleanliness in village and having individual toilet in every house, facilities to collect litter from houses, which constitutes an overall efficient sanitation system,” he added.

He said once a village gets the award, Central government takes care of development of the village and provides funds of `1 lakh to `10 lakh for various development activities, and `7 to `20 lakh for solid-liquid waste management.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by P. Krishna / December 23rd, 2014