Monthly Archives: August 2015

Mallapur villagers make things happen

Mallapur villagers repairing the road leading to their village in Indervelli mandal on Tuesday. (right) Utnoor ITDA Project Officer R.V. Karnan helping the villagers in repairing the road.-Photos: S. Harpal Singh
Mallapur villagers repairing the road leading to their village in Indervelli mandal on Tuesday. (right) Utnoor ITDA Project Officer R.V. Karnan helping the villagers in repairing the road.-Photos: S. Harpal Singh

80 tribals join hands to repair the connecting road in just a couple of hours

Instead of waiting for things to happen, the Adivasi villagers of Mallapur in Indervelli mandal got down to making things happen. They made the difficult looking task of repairing road look so easy as 80 of them got down to obliterating dangerous potholes on the connecting road in just a couple of hours.

About 80 tribal individuals, one each from a family, joined the effort to repair the road. The decision to repair the road, on their own, was taken by the village development committee.

The Project Officer, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor, R.V. Karnan who has adopted Tejapur gram panchayat of which Mallapur is a constituent village, was all praise for the effort. He even contributed his mite by digging gravel and spreading it on the road during his visit to the village as part of Grama Jyothi programme on Tuesday.

Visiting agricultural fields in Mallapur, the Project Officer assured the tribal farmers of purchasing the indigenous variety of maize and minor millets which they have cultivated during the season. “This was part of the action plan devised to make Mallapur a seed bank for indigenous variety crops,” he said.

The ITDA has already purchased about 200 kg of millet seeds from the village. “These have been distributed among Adivasi farmers in Wankidi mandal under the Centrally sponsored Vanabandhu Kalyan Yojana,” Mr. Karnan pointed out.

“We will pay you more than the market price,” the Project Officer said while inquiring about the market rate of regular hybrid variety of millets and other food grains. He said payments will be made through the special committee on agriculture formed in the village under the Grama Jyothi programme.

Earlier, Mr. Karnan exhorted the villagers to go in for planting more number of custard apple trees under the Telanganaku Haritha Haram programme. He said the fruits fetched good price in the open market to bring in healthy income for the farmers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by S. Harpal Singh / Mallapur (Adilabad Dist) – August 19th, 2015

NIT adds another feather in its cap

The National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal has scored another milestone in its annals on Tuesday by commencing Electronics and ICT Academy activities by Padma Shree Prof. D.B. Phatak, a renowned computer professor of IIT, Mumbai.

Mr Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Electronics and IT under Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, New Delhi also graced the occasion. The academy strengthens brand of NIT to train faculty of electronics and computer science in advanced areas, enabling other faculties of engineering to use ICT in their teaching and modern research.

The president of the function, Prof. T. Srinivasa Rao, Director of NITW narrated the chronology of events that culminated into to today’s commencing of activities ceremony.

The guest of honour Dr. Ajay Kumar gave the background with which DeitY concluded to have seven academies spread across the country and the method of selection of four institutes initially to understand pros and cons attaching about seven to eight nearby states for each academy. “Two such academies are in operation at Tamilnadu and Kerala the success of which led to the birth of these new generation academies,” he said.

The Chief guest Prof. D. B. Phatak acclaimed the efforts of technical institutions and government machinery to bring the fruits of ICT into teaching learning process to overcome the huge shortage of faculty to a large extent. He illustrated his point by mentioning the success of online courses through e-outreach, MOOCS, MOODLE and Coursera. “We aim to bring awareness amongst the faculty the advantages of using these online tools to 10,000 teachers all over India,” he said.

Representatives from industry, institutes, state and central governments, deans, heads of departments and centers, officers and other staff members were also present.

The academy strengthens brand of NIT to train faculty of electronics and computer science in advanced areas

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Warangal – August 19th, 2015

D Srinivas Appointed Advisor to TS Government

Hyderabad :

Former APCC president D Srinivas, who joined TRS recently, will join the list of advisors to the Telangana State government.

Srinivas joined TRS recently stating that he would like to share his vast experience as a politician for developing the new state. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, while admitting DS, into the Pink Party also said the latter’s experience will be utilised for realising the goal of Bangaru Telangana.
On Friday, the government issued orders appointing DS as special advisor to the state government for inter-state affairs. The cabinet rank post has a tenure of one year from the date of assumption of office.

The state government has already appointed more than half-a-dozen advisors for guiding the government. Like the other advisors, DS will be paid Rs 1 lakh as salary apart from other allowances and perks. DS will get medical reimbursement on par with All India Services officers. He would be provided five supporting staff.

With the possibility of a rise in inter-state disputes, the government decided to appoint DS as an advisor for inter-state affairs.

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

Here come the heroes

The winners of the Big Real Hero awards
The winners of the Big Real Hero awards

Hyderabad’s ‘real heroes’ were honoured by 92.7 Big FM

It is not easy to initiate a change. But, the best way to bring a change is by paving a new path. While most of us complain at the way society turns a blind eye to the problems and situations, there are a few who do not complain, instead take things in their hands and set an example. To felicitate their efforts and set them as role models to society, 92.7 Big FM invited these heroes as part of their ‘Big Real Hero Awards’ campaign.

As we celebrate the 69th year of independence the change makers of our society become the real heroes to fight for various forms of independence in our independent society. These heroes are silent and are making a difference without talking about it.

As part of their campaign, Big FM in their breakfast show asked people to share the names of heroes they have seen working for society. After an overwhelming response some of them were even featured in their breakfast show ‘Salaam Telangana’ hosted by RJ Shekar and Swapna.

In an event on Friday, the channel felicitated the six heroes namely—Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sharif, Rajeshwra Rao, Bhagya Lakshmi, Yadigiri and M. Vijay Ram Kumar. The awardees come from different walks of life and serve society in different ways and means. They, in their own right have been working for a change. Bal Gangadhar, a retired railways employee has used his pension to fill more than 1100 potholes in the city. He took the initiative when he witnessed several incidents caused by the bad state of roads. In Bal Gangadhar’s absence his brother Bhimesh Shankar was present. He established shramadaan.org

Sharif is the founder of Friends2support.org. F2S is a group founded by five friends to help people meet the emergency blood requirement for free. F2S claims to be India’s largest blood donor database. The organisation has won several national and international awards. Rajeshwar Rao is the founder of Satya Harishchandra foundation. They cremate unclaimed and unidentified dead bodies. Bhagya Lakshmi from ‘Manchi Pustakam’ is a small initiative taken to publish, encourage and promote Telugu books. Yadigiri is a chef and he donates food from his restaurant—Ulavacharu to orphans everyday and M. Vijay Ram Kumar of Emerald sweets has been working for a green society. The awards were given away by Somesh Kumar, Commissioner GHMC and actor Manchu Lakshmi.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Prabalika M. Borah / Hyderabad – August 14th, 2015

Guinness recognition awaits Hyderabadi for fastest nose-typing

Mohammed Kursheed Hussain nose-typing in Hyderabad on Monday.- Photo: By Arrangement
Mohammed Kursheed Hussain nose-typing in Hyderabad on Monday.- Photo: By Arrangement

How fast do you think you can type?’ Before most would have gone half-way with the sentence, 24-year-old Mohammed Kursheed Hussain of Hyderabad would have finished typing, with his nose.

Mr. Hussain attempted to break a Guinness world record for fastest nose-typing here on Monday. In 43.85 seconds, he typed the 103-character long ‘Guinness world records have challenged me to type this sentence using my nose in the fastest time’. He had to best 46.30 seconds, the standing record that was set in December 2014. An official word from Guinness is awaited to confirm his Monday’s feat.

Incidentally, Mr. Hussain had set a nose-typing Guinness record in February last year when he typed the challenge sentence in 47.44 seconds.

“I was told by Guinness in January this year that the record I had set was broken. Since then I trained to break the record,” said Mr. Hussain, who is a masters student at a university in Indiana, US.

Hussain’s tryst with typing began when he turned seven. It was however not until he turned 18, did he realise the uniqueness of his skill.

“I thought nothing of my typing ability until I had gone to college. That is when my friends made me realise that I had skill that others did not have. But I never thought that I would be a Guinness record holder,” he said. In 2012, Hussain hand typed the English alphabet with spaces in record 3.43 seconds, debuting in the annals of the Guinness World Records.

“I had to beat 3.52 seconds. It seemed impossible then,” he said. That record stands unbroken for three years now. Ask how he types with his nose when keys are blurred at nose’s width away from the keyboard,

Mr. Hussain offers a plausible explanation. “I think I just have a big nose,” he chuckles.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Rohit P.S./ Hyderabad – August 18th, 2015

Poorna named brand ambassador

Pakala village is looking to achieve cent per cent construction of Individual Sanitary Lavatories

Collector Yogitha Rana appointed mountaineer Malavath Poorna, who scaled Mount Everest, as brand ambassador for the Individual Sanitary Lavatories scheme in her native village – Pakala of Sirikonda mandal.

Declaring this at the Grama Sabha conducted as part of the implementation of Grama Jyothi programme at the village on Monday, she said residents should consider roads, schools, government offices and property as their own.

The Collector adopted the village for the execution of the Grama Jyothi programme.

She made it clear that if people wanted the government to do everything, a positive change would never come about in villages.

It is everyone’s responsibility to keep villages clean and green. Appealing to the villagers not to send their children to work and instead send them to schools, she said education would bring about a great change.

Explaining the intention of the Grama Jyothi, the Collector said that seven committees on sanitation-safe drinking water supply, healthcare-nutrition, education, social security-poverty alleviation, harnessing natural resources, agriculture and basic infrastructure development would be constituted to supervise the implementation of works.

She said that 40,000 saplings should be planted in the village and cent per cent ISLs be built within 30 days.

The village Sarpanch, Lakshmi, presided over the meeting.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Nizamabad – August 18th, 2015

A village’s tryst with Armed Forces

Bondugula, a small village in Rajapet mandal in Nalgonda district has the distinction of sending 25 persons to Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces.-Photo: Singam Venkataramana
Bondugula, a small village in Rajapet mandal in Nalgonda district has the distinction of sending 25 persons to Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces.-Photo: Singam Venkataramana

Bondugula, a nondescript village in Rajapet mandal in Nalgonda district, has sent 25 persons to Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces in the past 40 years.

Apart from that, at least 10 other persons from the village including an ASP rank officer are working with Telangana State Police.

Stating that youth from the village take pride in serving the nation, Kalluri Pochaiah, whose son Venkatesh was working with Border Security Force in the capacity of Lance Naik, said that at least a dozen youth from their village aspire for either Army, Central Armed Police Forces or State Police even today. After the recent State Government notification for recruitment of over 8,000 police personnel , he said a dozen eligible youth joined a coaching centre . The small village with a population of 3,000 was largely depended on agriculture for living, but Gaddameedi Mallesh set a new course for the village by joining Indian Army about 40 years ago. Though some of them had retired, at least 20 people from this village are currently working with the Army and Central Armed Police Forces. One youth Vijay Kumar joined the Indian Air Force recently thus becoming the first person to join the Air Force from Bondugula.

Two sons of B. Butchiramulu are also working with Central Armed Police Forces while Dr. M. Chandrasekhar is working as Assistant Superintendent of Police with Telangana State Police in Hyderabad. Chepuri Mallaiah, whose son Bikshpathi joined Army about 18 years ago, said the youth from the village have developed passion towards the uniform services. “My friend Mukka Rajmallaiah’s daughter also cleared Civil Services Mains, but failed in the interview, Mr. Mallaiah said. Otherwise, he said that they would have had a woman IPS officer from their village. “The woman, whose name Mr. Mallaiah could not recollect, later joined in a government job.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by T. Karnakar Reddy / Nalgonda – August 16th, 2015

President’s Medal for Nizamabad DIG

Deputy IG of Police, Nizamabad range, Yedla Gangadhar has been awarded the President’s Police Medal for his distinguished service in the department on the occasion of Independence Day celebrations.

Ever since his appointment as Deputy SP in September 1987, Mr. Gangadhar rendered excellent service in various capacities.

He served as Karimnagar and Vijianagaram SP and Deputy Commissioner of Task Force in Hyderabad. He also worked in the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Kosava, Bosnia and Sudan and was honoured with UNO Peace Keeping Medal thrice.

Honoured with several medals

Mr. Gangadhar has received several medals, awards, commendation certificates and cash rewards. AP Police Seva Pathakam, AP Police Uthama Seva Pathakam, Telugu Visista Seva Pathakam, Mukhyamantri Sourya Pathakam, Police Medal for Gallantry and Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service are some among them.

Before being promoted and appointed as Deputy IG, he was Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) in Cyberabad Commissionerate. Police personnel and district authorities congratulated him for achieving the President’s Medal.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Nizamabad – August 15th, 2015

Giving back Chenchus their music

Stringed music instrument restored after 50 years. A team from the Forum and the university, guided by G. Manoja from Palamur University, travelled all the way to the Appapur hamlet in Nallamala forests.

It was quite a homecoming for ‘Kinnera’ (aka ‘Kinneri’), a stringed music instrument, when it arrived into the Chenchu tribal heartland amid the forests of Mahabubnagar district of Telangana, after decades of wandering.

A Chenchu tribesman playing ‘Kinnera’ presented by the Telangana Rachayithala Vedika and the University of Hyderabad. /  by Special Arrangement
A Chenchu tribesman playing ‘Kinnera’ presented by the Telangana Rachayithala Vedika and the University of Hyderabad. / by Special Arrangement

The rare instrument with three resonators, which was popular in the tribe long ago, but disappeared later, was restored to them recently, thanks to the joint efforts by the ‘Telangana Rachayithala Vedika’ (Telangana Writers’ Forum) and the University of Hyderabad.

A team from the Forum and the university, guided by G. Manoja from Palamur University, travelled all the way to the Appapur hamlet in Nallamala forests on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People on August 9, to present their exquisite find to the tribe. To their surprise, they were greeted by smiles of recognition, as the instrument was still part of their lore if not lives.

“Though they lost the instrument 50 years ago, a few tribesmen still remember it. In fact, three old-timers could even play it,” says academic and writer Jayadhir Tirumal Rao, who headed the team.

The instrument uses bamboo for the neck, dried and hollowed gourds for resonators, human hair or animal nerves for strings, and pangolin scales for frets which are fixed using honey-wax. According to Mr. Rao, visiting faculty at the Centre for Dalit and Adivasi Studies at the UoH, Chenchus lost the instrument half a century ago when the gourd used for resonator became extinct in this region.

It was inherited by the ‘Dakkali’ nomadic community of the district which was a ‘Madiga’ sub-caste and lived a troubadour for existence. They, however, reduced the number of frets to seven, purportedly in honour of Chenchus.

Obtaining ‘Kinnera’ from Dakkali community was an arduous task for Mr. Rao who stumbled upon the instrument while researching about Panduga Sayanna, a Telangana fighter.

“Dakkali singers sang his praise using ‘Kinnera,’ which egged me on to explore its history. To obtain it, I had to follow the community’s trail for almost three years. Initially they were afraid, but later came round and parted with this rare gift,” Mr. Rao said. And it was from the hands of Dakkali Pochaiah that the tribe received this souvenir.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hinduj / Home> National> Telangana / by Shanthi V. / August 15th, 2015

Chronicling the milestones of SCCL

Former director writes a book highlighting the glory of the State-owned coal company

After an illustrious career spanning over 36 years in the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), Jammalamadaka Dattatreyulu, former Director of the SCCL, has taken to literature to spread the glory and trailblazing production endeavours of the State-owned premier coal production company.

He has penned a book titled Mining ideas and coal – Journey with Singareni chronicling the many significant milestones and benchmarks achieved by the SCCL in coal production.

Mr. Dattatreyulu, who did B.E (Mining) from Osmania University, joined the SCCL as Mining Graduate Trainee in 1976.

He served as a Director on the board of SCCL for over eight years in the fag end of his career. He was widely appreciated for his significant contribution to upgradation of technology and enhancement of coal production in the company besides pioneering initiatives in other realms such as coal exploration dispatch, welfare and safety of workmen, in addition to corporate social responsibility.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by P. Sridhar / Khammam – August 24th, 2015