Monthly Archives: March 2016

Vice-Chancellor of EFLU elected ICCR vice-president

Sunaina Singh, Vice-Chancellor, English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad has been unanimously elected as Vice President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi for a period of three years.

The ICCR Constitution provides for three Vice Presidents out of whom two are elected by the General Assembly. Prabhat Shukla, former Ambassador is the other dignitary who was elected as Vice President while Dr. Jai Shankar, Foreign Secretary to the Government of India is ex-officio third vice-president of the Council.

ICCR president Prof. Lokesh Chandra conducted the General assembly and the Governing Board meetings recently, a press release said.

Prof. Sunaina Singh’s election adds another feather to her career as an academic and as one of the few woman Vice Chancellors of a Central University in India today. She is the first and only Indian woman to have headed the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, a bi-national organization and has rich experience of academic administration at both the national as well as at the international levels.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is a body functioning under the aegis of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India and its mandate includes participation in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes relating to India’s External Cultural relations and to foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – March 31st, 2016

This app offers trial before purchase!

Akash Agarwal, Prashant Surana Jain and Sandeep Singh,co-founders of Snapper Technologies. -Photo: by arrangement
Akash Agarwal, Prashant Surana Jain and Sandeep Singh,co-founders of Snapper Technologies. -Photo: by arrangement

Snapper will be launched in April on Android and iOS platforms

If purchased goods can be home-delivered so can the products worth a trial. Now, order any number of items ranging from jewellery to apparel to even electronic gadgets and wait to try it out at a comfortable location for free. That too, within 40 minutes of placing the order, promises the team behind the mobile app, Snapper which is to be launched in April first week on Android and iOS platforms.

The city-based co-founder of the startup, Snapper Technologies, Prashant Surana informed that the ‘Try It Now’ feature on their app will let the users get access to dozens of stores across the city.

“The customers can order items from multiple stores and they don’t have to necessarily buy it after trying them,” said Mr. Surana. “Nowadays, travelling in traffic consumes a lot of time. Instead of physically going to various shops, the users can make their homes in to trial rooms without paying a penny. We have our own logistics team to make sure the products quickly reach the users.”

Not just the shoppers, but the app is blessing in disguise for the vendors too, according to Mr. Surana.

“By tying up with the vendors, we have provided them with the revolutionary customer relationship management tool. They will become more organised and can track down their customers residing nearby and connect with them through push notifications and messages. They can know the purchase habits of the customers too. Since we are taking care of logistics, they do not have to spend on delivery boys,” said Mr. Surana. Through their one-of-its-kind digital payment options, ‘Kwik Pay’, the users also can recharge to shop more and receive discounts.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / Rahul Devalapalli / Hyderabad – March 29th, 2016

This progressive farmer’s effort pays off

Timely returns:The water harvesting pit in the farm of S Jayapal Reddy of Kesamudram in Warangal district.–Photo: M. Murali
Timely returns:The water harvesting pit in the farm of S Jayapal Reddy of Kesamudram in Warangal district.–Photo: M. Murali

Farm pond dug up in Jayapal Reddy’s field three years ago begins to yield water

To spend Rs. 10 lakh to dig a farm pond is not possible to every farmer. But S Jayapal Reddy, who with a fond hope of harvesting water, went on and dug up a huge open pit.

“I have about 50 acres land here but as there was no water I embarked upon the task of getting a water harvest pit dug up in my land about three years ago. The pit is 30 feet deep and 100 feet wide.

This effort started yielding some water which is enough to irrigate about 10 acres,” he explained. He draws water with three motors for about five hours daily to wet his paddy fields. He strongly argues in favour of massive plantation and digging up water harvesting structures everywhere to conserve every drop of water.

According to him, the huge trench in his fields also helps recharge bore wells and open wells around his fields belonging to other farmers.

There were no proper rains for the past three years. As a result , he groundwater table also went down and with no irrigation water in these parts of the mandal, the farmers were finding it difficult to continue farming operations with meagre water in extreme weather conditions.

Going by the advice of scientists, many decided to opt for farm ponds, recharge pits and trenches in fields to hold little water when it rained.

“We hope to get good rains this year. But not much is being done to hold as much as possible.

Motivating others

Here we are motivating farmers to opt for farm ponds and rain water harvesting pits wherever possible,” Mr Jayapal Reddy explained.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao / Kesamudram (Warangal Dt) – April 26th, 2016

Aswaraopeta has huge potential for apiculture

The enormous potential for promotion of apiculture (beekeeping) as a means to provide alternative income to farmers is waiting to be tapped in Aswaraopeta, the horticultural hub of Telangana.

Aswaraopeta and its surrounding mandals including Dammapeta in Khammam district account for the lion’s share of horticultural crops in the entire Telangana State.

Oil palm plantations are mainly concentrated in Aswaraopeta and Dammapeta mandals. The total area under the oil palm cultivation is 30,000 acres in the district. Coconut plantations are spread in over 2,000 acres in the two mandals.

Aswaraopeta mandal encompasses a sprawling coconut seed garden, horticulture research station, and around 200 private horticulture nurseries. The mandal consisting of nurseries of diverse range of horticulture crops including coconut, oil palm, mango, and cashew is considered most suitable for beekeeping.

Availability of flower bearing plants that bloom almost throughout the year and abundant nectar to support beekeeping activity on a commercial scale make Aswaraopeta mandal the ideal place for taking up the agro-based income generation activity, notes Prabhakar, an oil palm grower of Aswaraopeta.

Beekeeping has lot of financial potential as it helps produce a wide range of bee products including honey, jelly, wax and pollen which are in huge demand in the market.

The drastic decline in honey collection in Bhadrachalam Agency has necessitated the need for promotion of apiculture to meet the burgeoning demand for honey in the open market, he points out.

Apart from honey production, beekeeping activity also aids cross pollination thereby helping in maximising the horticultural crop yield, says R Srinivasa Rao, Deputy Director, Horticulture Department, Khammam.

A proposal to provide training to some field level functionaries and horticulture farmers of the mandal on scientific methods of beekeeping at a reputed institute in the neighbouring State is under consideration, he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by P. Sridhar / Khammam – March 23rd, 2016

A story lost in the mists of time grabs limelight

A village called ‘Military Madhavaram’ sparked off the idea and it was but natural for an astute filmmaker called Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi to narrate its story in the form of a film called ‘Kanche’ that got attention at the national-level and got nominated as the Best Regional Film.

Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi popularly known as Krish directed the award winning Telugu feature film "Kanche".- Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi popularly known as Krish directed the award winning Telugu feature film “Kanche”.- Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

“I am so happy that an untold story bagged national attention. From this village alone, about 2,000 people fought for the allied forces in World War II, all over Asia. Each one of them is a story and I wish I could narrate each of them the way I did, in ‘Kanche’, produced by my father Sai Babu Jagarlamudi and my friend Y. Rajeev Reddy,” is what Krish, as the filmmaker is popular, had to say once he got news of the award. The film has Pragya Jaiswal and Varun Tej in the lead.

‘Military Madhavaram’ per se dates around from the 17th century and history says that the then King Pusapati Madhava Verma Brahma of the Gajapati dynasty ruling the Deccan and Orissa regions built a fort in Arugolanu village about 6 km from Madhavaram to protect his kingdom from enemies. He deployed soldiers from northern Andhra to this fort and provided them with agricultural land and housing sites.

According to senior citizens, Mahatma Gandhi once visited this village and a war memorial like the Amar Jawan Stupa at India Gate has been built in the memory of the soldiers from this village who sacrificed their life for the nation.

The village is called ‘Military Madhavaram’ because atleast one person from each family has worked in the military. Agriculture apart, an ambition for most of the youth is to join the armed forces, the filmmaker recalled, speaking about ‘Kanche’.

The nearest rail heads are Tadepalligudem and Nidadavolu. Asked about what sparked off the idea of making a film with this theme, Krish said, “No one really is aware that a whopping 25 lakh Indian soldiers fought in the World War II, the biggest event that changed the economic, political and power scenario of the world. I was keen on telling the world that India played a major role in this gigantic war.”

Since morning, the filmmaker’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing and his office is full of bouquets from people like Nandamuri Balakrishna, Prakash Raj and filmmaker Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, to name just a few !

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Suresh Krishnamoorthy / Hyderabad – March 29th, 2016

Meet world’s youngest girl to climb Mt Everest

Malavath Purna happens to be the youngest girl to scale the Mount Everest.
Malavath Purna happens to be the youngest girl to scale the Mount Everest.

Jodhpur :

There definitely is no comparison between Mount Everest and the vast stretches of desert in Jaisalmer. Yet, both of these geographical highlights on Earth have been etched in the memory of Malavath Purna, who happens to be the youngest girl to scale the Mount Everest.

Talking to TOI here on the sidelines of 65th All India Police Games Volleyball cluster 2015-16, she said that she is equally impressed with the vastness and might of both the places, and is quite awed with the very feeling of being at the Indo-Pak border, which made her even more proud of her feat.

Many treks have been charted since the historic ascent of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norway scaling Mount Everest in 1953. However, scaling of this Himalayan peak by Malavath Purna on May 25, 2014 was an altogether different achievement. This has set a record of a ‘new age new scale’. Purna became the youngest girl (at a mere 13 years and 11 months) in the world to reach the pinnacle of the 8,848 metres high Mount Everest. Hailing from a small village ‘Pakala’ in Nizamabad district of Telangana, she is the younger child of the farm labourers Lakshmi and Devidas while her elder brother is pursuing an engineering degree.

However, this mountaineer who made headlines ever since her feat, is now focusing on her studies and wants to be an IPS officer just like her real life idol and motivation R S Praveen Kumar, secretary, Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society.

Candidly, she shared as to how her parents are now proud to flaunt their diligent daughter. Purna, while advocating following a strict discipline and cleanliness measures by mountaineers said that she took the Tiber North Col Route or the North Ridge which happens to be less crowded.

“I was fortunate enough to be allowed to scale the peak at that age since now both Nepal and China are enforcing the age limits for various reasons including those aimed at eliminating risks taken by the younger and less experienced enthusiasts and also to reduce the litter,” said Purna adding that she had undertaken enough trekking training in mountains of Ladakh and Darjeeling. However, nothing had actually prepared her for braving the minus 60 degree celsius temperature of Mount Everest.

Focusing on her own studies and motivating children to pursue hard work for achieving their goals at present, she recollects treading off the beaten path while being accompanied by Sandhana Palli Anand on that glorious day of May 25 when her 52-day-long expedition culminated in a world record at about 5.55 am. “We were amongst 150 children who were originally selected for adventure sports and 20 of us were sent to the premier Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling and the two of us with a higher endurance were sent for Mt Everest expedition in April that year,” she retraced.

It was the 10 commandment of ‘never give up’ recited in her school every day that made her continue climbing the peak despite the initial sight of six bodies of mountaineers shaking her very soul.”

Long trekking hours, acclimatization and then bad weather were all actually a motivation to not give up before hoisting the National Flag at Mt Everest and even offering a salute to B R Ambedkar,” said Purna even as she expressed her gratitude for all that Telangana showered upon her after her accomplishment.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Jaipur / by Jatinder Kaur Tur, TNN / March 27th, 2016

A success story that is a grim reminder too

They say the fittest survive in this highly competitive world. But, 25-year-old Varunchand Vemuganti is in the mood to redefine that adage with his indefatigable spirit as was evident from his three-gold medal haul in the recent Indo-Sri Lankan aquatics meet in Colombo.

For, this spirited swimmer suffering from autism clearly means business when it comes to representing the country and, more important, clinching honours.

Apparently, the recent gold in 50m, 100m and 200m events in Colombo has enthused this Hyderabadi to dream big and prepare for the Special Olympics Nationals held every four years and put up a performance which should see him represent India in the 2019 Special Olympics. Fortunately, his parents ensure that he gets the right kind of support to look ahead and not sulk in the wilderness. “From our experience, I must confess that there is no system in place which trains these athletes and make them excel in the big events. Not many get the desired support, especially during the crucial transition period from the childhood to becoming an adult,” says the proud mother Aparna.

“There is a dire need to make these kids comfortable along with normal people and create an environment where they can compete, learn and be in the comfort zone,” she says. In a way, Varun’s success story is also a grim reminder of the need to think about providing free coaching at all sports complexes, and special allowances for these differently-abled to bring more swimmers out.

“We hope that the World Autism Awareness Day on April 2 is not reduced to a mere formality but some major announcements are made for the benefit of these athletes,” feel many parents.

But, far away from the madding crowds, under the watchful guidance of his coach Suresh at the Gachibowli SAT Academy, Varun is honing his skills.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – March 28th, 2016

120th jayanti of Parcha Ranga Rao to be held on March 27

The 120th jayanthi of eminent advocate Parcha Ranga Rao would be held on March 27 at Vagdevi College in Hanamkonda.

Parcha Ranga Rao Memorial Charitable Trust secretary Parcha Kodandarama Rao said they would be felicitating T. Rangaswamy for his services in the field of literature and also B Ramaleela, founder of Mallikamba Manovikasa Kendra.

District Session Judge C. Vijayasaradhi Acharyulu would be the chief guest and Lawcet convenor Prof. M.V. Ranga Rao and Warangal Bar Association president Vaddiraju Venkateswar Rao would be guests of honour. Trust president Parcha Mohan Rao would preside over the function.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Warangal – March 26th, 2016

Chicken rice at only Rs. 15 per plate

In this world of inflation when an ordinary tea costs Rs. 10 per cup, here is a Good Samaritan who is feeding hungry stomachs, and that too at an affordable cost of Rs. 15 per plate for non-vegetarian dishes – chicken baghara rice or egg baghara rice – opposite the Huzurabad bus station complex in Karimnagar district.

Nampally Venkateshwaralu of Kothapalli locality in Huzurabad started eking out his living by providing food to his customers at an affordable cost since the last 15 years. Initially, he served chicken baghara rice at Rs. 10 per plate. With the escalation of prices of rice and chicken, he is serving the same for Rs. 15 per plate. Labourers, auto-drivers, and farmers, among others, patiently wait at the bus stop for Mega Chicken Hotel to open at 8 a.m. It shuts around 11 a.m., and the customers relish the delicious chicken or egg baghara rice. Instead of eating breakfast, the customers directly eat the chicken baghara rice and start their daily activities.

Clarifying that serving chicken rice was possible at Rs. 15 per plate, he said that he reduces labour cost by cooking, serving, cleaning, etc. all by himself. Through this, he is earning a profit of Rs. 500 and per day and eking out a living.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by K.M. Dayashankar / Karimnagar – March 20th, 2016