Daily Archives: February 28, 2017

City boy conquers ‘Ultraman Florida’

Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nri's / PIO's, Sports, World Opinion
Sweet victory: Manmadh Rebba at the finish line of Ultraman Florida

Solace for Telugus in the US

Even as Telugus are worried over safety issues in the United States, a young architect from the State has brought some cheer finishing the Ultraman Florida — an athletic endeavour that covers 321.6 miles (517.5 kilometers) including swimming, biking and marathon in three-days in the USA.

Manmadh Rebba, an alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU) is one of the few who completed the race considered one of the toughest in the world where the participants complete a 6.2 mile (10 Km) open water swim, a 263 mile (423 Km) bike ride, and a 52.4 mile (84 Km) ultra-marathon run.

Testing limits

“It tests the athlete’s mental and physical limits. The three day schedule is strenuous,” says Manmadh, who is one of the five participants from India and the only one from South India. The first day consists of a 6.2 mile swim and 92 mile bike, while second day consists of a 171 mile bike, and the last day is a 52.4 mile run. The event saw participation from 44 athletes from 21 countries.

Manmadh’s third day double marathon timing of 10 hours 2 minutes holds the fastest double marathon and he finished the race with a three-day aggregate time of 31 hours 43 minutes. It wasn’t easy as he had to face several personal challenges even before the race started. His cottage was burgled a day before the race.

Tutoring kids

“Luckily, my bike was in the car when I went to the race briefing and that saved my race. I got only two hours of sleep but was determined to finish the race,” says Manmadh, who is also one of the designers of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.

Manmadh has several achievements to his credit and one of which is the prestigious Presidential award in the US in 2016. He was honoured with this award for tutoring homeless kids since 2011. “I enjoyed every minute of my time spent with all the amazing and extremely potential kids. Receiving this award with the appreciation letter from the President Barack Obama during his last year in office is definitely very special to me,” says the Architect, who is now working in the San Diego Airport.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by R Ravikanth Reddy / Hyderabad – February 27th, 2017

Mission Kakatiya awards for 2016 announced

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

The Hindu Warangal Reporter wins second prize in print media category

The State Government on Monday announced the Mission Kakatiya media awards for 2016 with G. Krishna of Namasthe Telangana, a Telugu daily newspaper, selected for the first prize in print media category that includes Rs.1,00,000 cash and a memento.

The committee headed by Press Academy Chairman Allam Narayana and comprising Resident Editor of The Hindu Chintala Prashanth Reddy and Editor of Namasthe Telangana Katta Shekhar Reddy completed the process selecting mediapersons for awards after examining the entries received in various categories.

The theme for entries this year was impact of Mission Kakatiya on different sections of society, particularly those depending on community-based vocations.

Other winners include Gollapudi Srinivas Rao of The Hindu for second prize and E. Ganganna of Andhra Jyoti for third prize in the print media category comprising the case prizes of Rs.75,000 and Rs.50,000, respectively.

In the electronic media category, G. Buchhanna of V6, M. Mainkeshwar of Etv and B. Shiva Kumar of T News were selected for the first three prizes. Special category awards comprising Rs.1,00,000 cash prize each were given to K. Ramachandra Reddy and T. Anjaiah.

Jury special awards comprising Rs.25,000 cash prize each were given to D. Suryakumar and S. Bhatla Narasiah, both of Telangana magazine, S. Rajasekhara Reddy of Sakshi and B. Rajender of Eenadu in the print category and D. Ramesh of TV9 and B. Narender of TV5 in the electronic media category.

Special category (consolation) award comprising Rs.10,000 cash prize was given to Tejaswini, a student of RGUKT at Basar.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 27th, 2017

Former Union Minister P Shivshankar passes away in Hyderabad

Leaders, Records, All

From polishing shoes to becoming a minister in Indira Gandhi’s government, Shivshankar had come a long way.

Shivshankar died Monday morning due to old age-related health issues, said his son Vinay Kumar.

Hyderabad:

Former Union Minister P Shivshankar, an influential Congress leader during the governments of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, passed away on Monday in Hyderabad. He was 90.

He died Monday morning due to old age-related health issues, said his son Vinay Kumar.

Shivshankar served as a judge in the then Andhra Pradesh High Court, but resigned from his job and practised law in the High Court and Supreme Court, he said. He successfully handled cases, especially those related to the Emergency, on the request of Indira Gandhi and won as an MP from Secunderabad in 1978 and 1980.

He served as Union Law Minister in 1980 and also as Minister for Energy (Petroleum). Indira Gandhi used to wait for Shivshankar’s arrival for important meetings, Kumar claimed.

The senior leader played an important role in Congress affairs as well. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, amid doubts expressed by some, Shivshankar felt that Rajiv Gandhi could become the Prime Minister.

He lost narrowly from Medak Lok Sabha constituency, which was earlier represented by Indira Gandhi. He was, however, elected to Rajya Sabha from Gujarat and held important portfolios like the External Affairs, HRD, Commerce and Planning in Union Cabinet.

He served as Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and also as Leader of Opposition in the Upper House. In 1998, he was elected to Lok Sabha from Tenali in Coastal Andhra.

He also served as Governor of Sikkim and Kerala. He joined the Praja Rajyam Party of actor turned politician Chiranjeevi which subsequently merged with Congress.

Born in Hyderabad as one among 11 children, Shivshankar ran away from home as he could not continue studies and reached Amritsar, Kumar said.

He did odd jobs like shoe-polishing in Amritsar, but educated himself. He returned to Hyderabad and joined as PA to then Mayor of the city before becoming a judge in the High Court, he added.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy and several other leaders have condoled the death of Shivshankar.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> In Other News / by PTI / February 27th, 2017