Category Archives: Amazing Feats

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

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

State, Maharashtra sign historic accord

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (right) and his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis exchanging the agreement on the Godavari projects in Mumbai on Tuesday.– Photo: PTI
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (right) and his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis exchanging the agreement on the Godavari projects in Mumbai on Tuesday.– Photo: PTI

Chief Ministers of both States ink pact on inter-State board on Godavari projects like Lendi, Lower Penganga, Pranahita which include barrages at Chanakha-Korata, Rajapet, Penpahad and the newly-proposed Medigadda.

Chief Ministers of Telangana and Maharashtra K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Devendra Fadnavis, respectively, unveiled a new chapter in the inter-State relations in the country by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Mumbai on Tuesday for establishing an inter-State water board on Godavari projects.

The agreement is expected to end decades of discord between the two States on utilisation of water of the Godavari and its tributaries and pave the pay for the two States to take up and complete irrigation projects which have been mired in disputes all these years, particularly pending projects such as Lendi, Lower Penganga, Pranahita which include barrages at Chanakha-Korata, Rajapet, Penpahad and the newly-proposed Medigadda.

MilestoneTELAN12mar2016

The proposed inter-State board to be headed by the two Chief Minister alternatively every year would help work out mutually-agreeable specifications on the construction of Medigadda barrage as part of the Kaleshwaram project and a component of the redesigned Pranahita-Chevella project.

The barrage would allow irrigation of 16.4 lakh acres in Telangana and over 50,000 acres in some tribal areas of Maharashtra with the help of four small lift irrigation schemes.

A meeting of the new board likely to be held in a fortnight’s time would decide the height, full reservoir level (FRL), of the Tummidihatti and Medigadda barrages. The FRL of barrage near Tummidihatti is likely to be 148 meters while that of Medigadda could be anywhere between 100 and 103 meters.

Speaking after inking the bilateral document, Mr. Fadnavis said they had agreed for the pact with Telangana after the neighbouring State had explained and convinced it about various possibilities on taking up the two barrages on which Maharashtra had serious objections. “It’s a historic agreement by all means when several States are at loggerheads on issues related to river waters,” Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said.

“We are ready to take up construction of Medigadda barrage, if given a go-ahead by Maharashtra, immediately even as talks could continue on deciding the height of the barrage at mutually agreeable level. However, my request to Maharashtra is to keep in mind that higher the storage capacity of the barrage larger the benefits to farmers of both the States, without causing much submergence”, Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said.

KCR extends invite to Fadnavis

He invited Mr. Fadnavis, Water Resources Minister of Maharashtra G.D. Mahajan to Hyderabad for the next meeting of the inter-State board to discuss and decide upon the levels of Medigadda and Tummidihatti barrages.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister recollected that efforts were on between Maharashtra and the then combined Andhra Pradesh States for an agreement on Godavari waters since October 1975.

“When neighbouring countries could have good relations, why can’t two States have such ties,” the Maharashtra Chief Minister asked stating that the agreement would benefit the people of both Maharashtra and Telangana.

It’s a historic agreement by all means when several States are at loggerheads on issues related to river waters.

K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana.

When neighbouring countries can have good relations, why can’t two States have such ties?

Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by B. Chandrasekhar / March 09th, 2016

Bharat Biotech to start pre-clinical trials of vaccine for Zika virus

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has filed for global patent of two vaccine candidates – a recombinant vaccine and an inactivated vaccine – for Zika virus.

The company announced that it could make available the inactivated vaccine in two years if the Indian Government fast-tracked the regulatory approvals once the pre-clinical trials proved to be successful.

Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech at at a press conference in Hyderabad on Wednesday. - Photo: Mohammed Yousuf  / The Hindu
Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech at at a press conference in Hyderabad on Wednesday. – Photo: Mohammed Yousuf
/ The Hindu

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of the company, said that Bharat Biotech was probably the first in the world to file for global patent for the two promising Zikavac vaccine candidates.

While the recombinant vaccine might take time, the pre-clinical testing of the inactivated vaccine in animals would be completed in five months.

He said that the company had invested over $ 150 million since its inception to build its portfolio of vaccines, which included Rotovac (rotavirus vaccine) and Typbar TCV, typhoid conjugate vaccine. He said that a patent was also filed for Chikungunya vaccine, which would be entering Phase-1 trials shortly.

Bharat Biotech Director R & D Sumathy said that work on Zika vaccine project was started in 2014 and the patent was filed in July 2015. She said that Zika fever was an unmet healthcare need in India and other countries and the potential for Zika virus epidemic was high.

Mr. Krishna Ella said the normal process for a vaccine to get commercialised would take seven years, including the clinical trials.

However, he said that the Zikavac vaccine could be made available if the Indian Government declares national emergency and moves aggressively in regulatory approvals. He said that women would be the prime target group for the vaccine, followed by adults of both the genders since the virus causes Guillain-Barre syndrome in them.

Zika virus disease is an emerging viral disease transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. / AP
Zika virus disease is an emerging viral disease transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. / AP

A Bharat Biotech press release said that the WHO just announced a disease linked to the Zika virus in Latin America poses a global public health emergency requiring a united response.

Zika is now present in 23 countries. Brazil, the hardest-hit country, has reported around 3,500 cases of the devastating birth defect called microcephaly. The Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, which can breed in a pool of water as small as a bottle cap and usually bite during the day.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Business / by Y. Mallikarjun / Hyderabad – February 03rd, 2016

Telugu states bag 14 Padma awards

Hyderabad :

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh once again made their mark on the national stage with 14 individuals from the two Telugu speaking states bagging the Padma awards.

Between them, the two states shared two Padma Vibhushan awards, five Padma Bhushans and seven Padma Shris for the year 2016. The awards were announced in New Delhi on the eve of the Republic Day on Tuesday.

Last year, the two states had to settle for four Padma Shri awards while the year before in 2014, unified AP had the honour of receiving two Padma Bhushans and seven Padma Shri awards.

Leading the winners this year are Ch Ramoji Rao of the Eenadu Group, who was chosen for the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in the country, for his contribution to education, literature and journalism. The danseuse Yamini Krishnamurthy is the other winner of the award.

Chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed happiness at the Ramoji Group chairman being chosen for the prestigious award. Naidu said Ramoji Rao had taken print and television journalism to great heights. He had launched ‘Eenadu’ in Visakhapatnam in 1974.

The 79-year-old Ramoji Rao, who was born in Pedaparupudi of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, is also a film producer with 87 films to his credit, has a chit fund business and owns a group of hotels. His Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad is a filmmaking destination for producers even from Hollywood, apart from being a tourist attraction.

Among the Padma Bhushan winners are the popular sports stars Sania Mirza (tennis) and Saina Nehwal (badminton). With the Rio de Janeiro Olympics round the corner, the awards are expected to come as a great boost to both of them. Mirza had won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award last year.

SS Rajamouli, who made waves with his blockbuster film ‘Bahubali’ has been awarded the Padma Shri. Rajamouli, officially listed as hailing from Karnataka by the government in its release announcing the awards, is currently shooting in Kerala for ‘Bahubali-2’.

His father, K Vijayendra Prasad, told TOI that he was happy that his son has been given the award. “First of all, it is God’s grace. And secondly, he is sincere, hardworking and humble. He deserves the award,” he said.

Two other well-known personalities from the city, social worker Sunita Krishnan won the Padma Shri while gastroenterologist Dr D Nageshwar Reddy has been awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Well-known artist K Laxma Goud, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Mannam Gopi Chand and cardiac surgeon Dr Alla Gopalakrishna Gokhale were also awarded the Padma Shri.

QUOTE
This award is not just mine, but belongs to all Telugu people who have been with me in this journey in journalism
Ramoji Rao
First of all, it is God’s grace. And secondly, he is sincere, hardworking and humble. He deserves the award
– K Vijayendra Prasad, father of director SS Rajamouli

|Telugu Winners
Padma Vibhushan
Yamini Krishnamurthy Art classical dance
Ch Ramoji Rao Literature, education & journalism

Padma Bhushan
Dr Alla Venkata ama Rao Science and engineering
Yarlagadda Laxmi Prasad Literature and education
Dr D nageshwar Reddy Medicine, gastroenterology
Saina Nehwal Sports – Badminton
Sania Mirza Sports Tennis Padma

Padma Shri
Dr Nayudamma Yarlagadda Medicine, pediatric surgery
Sunita Krishnan social work
Dr TV Narayana social work
SS Rajamouli Art Film direction & production (Officially listed as from Karnataka)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> India / TNN / January 26th, 2016

Amrita’s helpline reaches out to women travellers in distress

Former flight attendant Amrita Ahluwalia says that her helpline in the Hyderabad airport will link women travellers in distress with support facilities. Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu
Former flight attendant Amrita Ahluwalia says that her helpline in the Hyderabad airport will link women travellers in distress with support facilities. Photo: Nagara Gopal
/ The Hindu

The former flight attendant is also writing a book on her role in the rescue of a child bride who was being flown out of India

Cancer has failed to break her spirit and, as indefatigable as ever, Amrita Ahluwalia is back.

The former flight attendant was in the news after her timely alert that led to the rescue of an 11-year-old Hyderabadi girl married to a 60-year-old Arabian and travelling on an Indian Airlines plane that Ms. Ahluwalia was working in.

Ms. Ahluwalia is now starting a helpline for women in distress at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here. “I am launching a round-the-clock Amrita’s helpline at the airport for women air travellers in distress. After fighting and surviving cancer, it is a new life for me and I will work on this till my last breath to help and support women and children of Hyderabad, the city which I have adopted,” she says.

Ms. Ahluwalia earned recognition for her sensitivity to a girl in distress and her courage in tackling the issue, when she helped a passenger on August 10, 1991. She had noticed a sobbing Ameena on the Hyderabad –– Delhi flight and took the child under her wings. She filed a complaint with the police in Delhi, raising a nationwide outcry against the practice of forcible marriage of young girls to Arab nationals.

“I felt ashamed to be the one to tell the world that look, we sell our children in the name of marriage,” says Ms. Ahluwalia. She is recuperating from a surgery followed by six sessions of chemotherapy and 32 sessions of radiation therapy to tackle cancer that was diagnosed last year. She said that such practices continue, despite all the attention that the 1991 episode created. The helpline, which is to be launched with the assistance of the Hyderabad police, will provide a support system to women air travellers in distress. Transit and short stay facilities, counselling, linkage with welfare departments and identification of family and friends for care and protection will be offered.

Apart from medical care and assistance, legal support will be provided if required. “It could be poor maids returning home from abusive or exploitative employers or those cheated by agents with their passport or documents taken away,” she explains.

Ms. Ahluwalia’s life comprising long hours on flights and trials and tribulations on personal and professional fronts and the crusade on behalf of Ameena, all are getting into the pages of a book, Ek Thi Amrita.

“I am halfway through writing the book. Comedies and tragedies and all aspects of my life are part of it,” she says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News / by T. Lalit Singh / Hyderabad – December 23rd, 2015

Osmania surgeons pull off a miracle

Conduct auto-transplantation of liver successfully to save life of a 24-year-old security guard

It was a desperate last ditch attempt by surgeons of State-run Osmania General Hosptial (OGH) here in Hyderabad that saved the life of a 24-year-old security guard, Naga Raju from Khammam. The surgeons extracted his liver, preserved it for hours, removed his blocked and underdeveloped hepatic blood vessels and then reconstructed them with artificial grafts and transplanted the same liver back into his body.

Post surgery, the doctors and parents of Naga Raju kept fingers crossed! As fate would have it, after a fortnight, Naga Raju made a near perfect recovery.

“We lost all hope because private hospitals here had given up on my son. In fact, the doctors at OGH also made it clear that the surgery was risky because such a procedure was unheard of and never attempted before,” recalls Alivellu, the mother of Naga Raju.

On their part, the Government doctors at OGH have maintained that other than one instance in Canada, they have not come across many instances of this procedure, which is technically known as Auto-Transplantation of Liver.

“The youngster had Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS), which is blockage of veins that carry blood from the liver. He had to undergo liver transplantation and was in the waiting list. But it was taking time to get a donor liver and his condition was worsening by the day. Removing his liver, reconstructing the blood vessels was the last option,” says Head, Surgical Gastroenterology, Dr. Ch. Madhusudhan.

According to doctors, the prevalence of BCS is one among one million individuals. In addition to blocked blood vessels of the liver, the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC), the large vein that carries blood from lower part of the body to the heart, was also blocked. This caused complete occlusion of hepatic veins that drain the liver.

“The very fact that he has survived for 23 years itself is a miracle. His body had adjusted and over a period of time,” says Superintendent, OGH, Dr. C. G. Rahuram.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by M. Sai Gopal / Hyderabad – October 30th, 2015

First Cadaver Paediatric Liver Transplant Surgery at Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad

Hyderabad :

Salama, a four-and-half-year-old girl from Hyderabad, became the first girl in the country to receive a cadaver paediatric liver transplant.

A team of transplant surgeons led by Manish C Agarwal at Apollo Hospitals, perfomed a paediatric liver transplant surgery on Salama, who was suffering from a rare liver disease called Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OCT), due to which liver lacks enzymes required for processing proteins. Due to the problem the child could not eat foods like chocolates or milk.

Upasana Kamineni with a four-yr-old girl, who underwent a complex paediatric liver transplant suugery, at a media conference in Hyderabad on Wednesday | A SURESH KUMAR
Upasana Kamineni with a four-yr-old girl, who underwent a complex paediatric liver transplant suugery, at a media conference in Hyderabad on Wednesday | A SURESH KUMAR

“Till her second year she was fine but problem started two years ago, when she was two-and-half years. When we consulted doctors we were told that liver transplant is the only option for her problem,” Mohammed Mujeeb, father of Salama, said. They had to wait for more than two years as it was highly difficult to get a liver donor for a child.
“Doing a liver transplant for a kid is highly complicated as we need liver only from a child. If there is no suitable donor in the family then a child donor has to be found, if not a split liver trasnplant, where an adult liver from a brain dead person is divided into two small parts and one is transplanted in a child. Surgeons need to be highly cautious while performing the surgery as body parts of kids will be about 25 percent of the size of elders’ organs,” said Manish, chief transplant surgeon.

In Salama’s case as there were no suitable donors in the family she was put on cadaver organ waiting list under Jeevandan, Telangana’s cadaver organ transplantation programme.

The long painful wait for Salama ended when liver transplanation was performed on her in July third week, following organ donation from a brain dead child.

“This is the first cadaver liver transplant for a child in India, and though it’s an achievement for us, the real credit goes to the cadaver organ donor kid, because of which the organ transplantation was possible.

A multidispcliary approach involving surgeons, doctors and support staff from various specilaistaions is needed for performing a pediatric liver tranpslantion. The surgey which was very complex but has been so succesful that Salama was moved out of the ICU in just three days and discharged after 12 post operative care,” Manish said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / August 13th, 2015

Youngest CA in country authored books at 10

Hyderabad :

While other children at the age of 10 were busy brushing up their mathematical skills, Hyderabad’s child prodigy authored books on the subject and became the youngest income tax payer for the royalty he received from developing the math laboratory.

Meet Nischal Narayanam, 19, who last week became the country’s youngest chartered accountant, capping an already long list of achievements. Not only did he display his talent by completing five classes, class 8 to 12, in one academic year, securing the top rank in the International General Certificate of Secondary Education board in Cambridge University in 2010, he also is a double Guinness world record holder in the category of memory. He made the record first at the age of 11. He is also the recipient of the National Gold Medal for exceptional achievement in 2008, presented by the then central government.

A prodigy from the start, Nischal’s skills were honed by 40 tutors from across the world, who taught him almost all the Math methodologies. “I have been taught almost all Math methodologies such as Abacus (China), Trachtenberg system (Germany), Napier Bones (Scotland), Vedic Math (India), among many others. These mental methodologies are the foundation of my success,” said Nischal.

In fact, Nischal designed the Math laboratory at the age of 10. Manufactured by Nischal Learning Solutions Pvt Ltd., the Math lab includes various tools and equipment to explain various mathematical concepts. “The Math lab teaches basic concepts such as multiplication of six digit numbers, algorithms, structures etc. with a wide choice of problem solving skills. Through these portable labs, teachers can teach several concepts which cannot be taught only through textbooks,” said Nischal.

No wonder then that the Math lab is technically empanelled by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). It is already being used in almost 2 lakh schools across the country and will be introduced in the schools run by the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments from this academic year.

In the meantime, Nischal, who plans to study further in the field of finance and statistics, is relaxing with movies and travelling. “I watch movies almost twice a week. I don’t isolate myself from social life and attend almost all family functions,” said Nischal, who had already been to 18 countries so far.

National Geographic Channel has recently named Nishal among “7 brilliant brains of the world”. Deloitte International audit firm, recognizing his amazing abilities, had invited him as a special invitee and speaker at their global conference in Shanghai. The conference was attended by delegates from 190 countries. At Deloitte, Nischal is the youngest amongst their two lakh members, globally. Nischal’s passion for mathematics was spotted by his parents at an early age of nine and since then they have encouraged him for all his achievements.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / July 24th, 2015

This math genius is youngest CA too

Nischal Narayanam (second from left) with his parents and brother at an event where he was felicitated on Wednesday.– Photo: Mohammed Yousuf
Nischal Narayanam (second from left) with his parents and brother at an event where he was felicitated on Wednesday.– Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

Nischal Narayanam, who is hailed as a mathematical genius, has cleared the CA exam recently and is said to be the youngest in the country to do so.

The kid who spotted the mistakes in a balance sheet of his dad’s company as a nine-year-old has become the youngest Chartered Account in the country at just 19.

Nischal Narayanam, who is hailed as a mathematical genius, has cleared the CA exam recently and is said to be the youngest in the country to have successfully cleared one of the toughest exams in the country. However, he will have to wait for two more years to sign on the balance sheets of the company as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) doesn’t enrol members less than 21 years.

“The journey wasn’t easy and a tough one. But I was determined to achieve it,” Nischal said. His mother, Padmavathy, who holds a Ph.D in Sanskrit from Osmania University, was the first to recognise his talent when he was just nine. “He was passionate about numbers and I was amazed at his skills.” The curious mother then checked the Internet to find mentors from across the world to guide his son on improving his mathematical skills.

“He has mentors from across the world and is trained in methodologies of several countries in Mathematics and Memory,” she said. Her son had exhibited enormous talent as a child and won several laurels from a very young age. His extraordinary memory and abilities enabled him to become the youngest ‘Double Guinness World Record holder’ in the category of memory, youngest World Memory Champion, one of the “7 brilliant brains of the world” as accredited by National Geographic Channel and youngest graduate in the history of Osmania University from where he completed his B.Com and M.Com.

Deloitte International audit firm, where Nischal did his articleship for CA, recognised his amazing abilities and invited him as a special invitee and speaker at their Global Conference in Shanghai, attended by delegates from 190 countries.

At Deloitte, Nischal is the youngest amongst their two lakh members, globally.

Nischal also found ‘Nischal’s Smart Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd’ through which he designed and developed a Mathematics Laboratory that is adopted by hundreds of schools in the State. He plans to assist poor but talented students through the royalty he gains from this company.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by R. Ravikanth Reddy / Hyderabad – July 23rd, 2015