Monthly Archives: October 2018

The ‘padwomen’ of Telangana

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Successful venture: Adivasi women working at the sanitary napkin unit in Bhadrachalam, Telangana

Sanitary napkins made by adivasi women of the State are in great demand.

In Telangana’s tribal belt, since February this year, adivasi women have been running four small units that produce sanitary napkins for free distribution to students in the tribal welfare hostels and ashram schools. Now, the region is set to get four more sanitary napkin production units, thanks to the demand for pads among young women in the adivasi community.

While the State has four such units currently running in Bhadrachalam, Utnoor, Mannanur and Eturnagaram, with a collective production capacity of 6,000 to 7,000 pads per month, the facilities in the pipeline are expected to increase the total production of napkins to 40,000 per quarter.

All the existing units were commissioned under the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA). Christina Z. Chongthu, Commissioner, Tribal Welfare, has already consulted with the ITDA to support the proposed units. As per the Commissionerate of Tribal Welfare in Hyderabad, talks are on with NGOs and commercial sanitary napkin units to support adivasi youth in sanitary napkin production in districts where tribal population is high.

Expansion plans
Speaking to The Hindu, N. Vijaykumar, deputy general secretary of the Girijan Cooperative Corporation, which distributes the pads among the adivasi students, said, “With the new units, we will be able to produce 40,000 sanitary napkins per quarter.” The napkins will then be supplied to women in the adivasi community who live in the tribal pockets near each manufacturing unit.

As per the 2018 report of the National Family Health Survey, 62% of women use cloth instead of sanitary pads. In most of the adivasi villages in Telangana, women were found to be using cloth or ash for menstrual protection. The pad-making units were set up primarily to support adolescent girls and young women enrolled in schools.

The decision to start more units came after demand for the pads increased, officials said. Once funds are sanctioned for starting the units, the four existing units will also undergo a technological upgrade. While the units in operation do not make the extra safe winged variety of pads, the new technology that is set to be introduced will make it possible.

The units have provided jobs to around 30 women in each unit, with altogether 120 adivasi women employed in the four facilities.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by Nikhila Henry / Hyderabad – October 15th, 2018

DD-Hyderabad turning 41

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Doordarshan Kendra-Hyderabad will be inviting film and TV artists, who made their debut through the channel, and felicitate them on its 41st Formation Day celebrations on October 23 at its premises.

DD in Telangana has a viewership of over 1 crore, claimed channel head M. Vijay Bhagwan on Sunday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – October 21st, 2018

A flourishing trade centre revisited

About Telangana, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

A bird’s eye view of Peddabonkur village of Karimnagar district.


Coins, terracotta beads, pearls, semi-precious stones unearthed at Peddabonkur village of Karimnagar

The Hussain Miyan Vagu, a tributary of Godavari, flows beside the largely agriculture village of Peddabonkur in Karimnagar district. But 20 centuries ago, it was a flourishing trade centre.

“The vagu (stream) might have been a source of water for the village that flourished in the 1st and 2nd century. The village had flourishing trade centre during Satavahana rule and later in Chalukya times,” says N.R. Visalatchy of the Department of Archaeology and Museums (DAM). The Satavahanas ruled between 1 BCE and 2 CE in a region that now stretches over Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra while the Eastern Chalukyas ruled between 7th and 12 century.

The DAM recently finished excavation of the Satavahana era site and a vast trove findings about 922 artefacts were discovered in one layer. The excavation throws a new light on the Satavahana era and the trade links of the village in the interiors of Karimnagar. The coin hoards unearthed include punch marked coins dating to pre-Satavahana era, variants of Satavahana coins, Eastern Chalukyan coins, Pallava coins and one Chola coin. “The coin collection makes me believe that the village was continuously inhabited for a long time and had trade relations with many places in the country,” says Ms. Visalatchy who led the excavation team. Besides agricultural produce and cattle trade; the village had a tradition of textile manufacture. Needles, knives and nails have been uncovered at the site.

It is not just the trade links that formed a key part of the findings at Peddabonkur. Among the artefacts are 500 terracotta beads. “We recovered 50 tiny pearls from the site. The pearls are very small and the technique for drilling a hole through them and stringing them would be worth researching,” said Ms. Visalatchy.

Among the other findings from the site are jade, jasper, shell bangles besides crystal and semi-precious stones. The findings also include amalkha gold foil work, the ribbed shape of amla, for ear rings.

From a historical perspective, this was one of the biggest finds during the archaeological season for the DAM. A report cataloguing the finds as well as the historical context has been sent to the Government of India.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Serish Nanisetti / Hyderabad – October 20th, 2018

Dutch firm opens facility in Jadcherla

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Dutch multinational firm Royal DSM has set up its second animal nutrition and health premix plant in India at Jadcherla, near Hyderabad.

With the facility, which was formally opened on Monday, the company aims to serve the growing Indian market in tune with the objective of providing solutions tailor-made for local needs. DSM Animal Nutrition and Health Business Unit Director (South Asia) Ravindra Vyawahare said the company has been in the region for over 20 years.

“We see strong potential for growth in the animal premix industry. The Jadcherla plant gives us far greater geographic reach and increases our production capacity to meet the growing industry demands,” he said in a release. The first plant of the company in India is in Maharashtra.

DSM, which is listed on Euronext Amsterdam, and its associated companies had annual net sales of about €10 billion and a headcount of about 23,000 people.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – October 15th, 2018