Monthly Archives: June 2014

Dutch firm to prepare sanitation plan for Vizag

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, World Opinion

Visakhapatnam :

Noida-based consultancy firm Royal Haskoning DHV, part of the Dutch Royal Haskoning group, has been commissioned by the Union ministry of housing, urban development and poverty alleviation to undertake a study and prepare an action plan for implementing a clean sanitation programme covering the entire Greater Visakhapatanam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) limits.

The project, called capacity building for urban development, is expected to be completed within the next four months, GVMC commissioner MV Satyanarayana said, pointing out that the consultancy firm will prepare an action plan and submit a report to the central government. The report will also include the requirement for necessary funds from the Centre and state, apart from the share to be put in by GVMC, based on the financial status of the civic body.

Showcasing the highlights of the preliminary studies to various stakeholders on Wednesday, team leader Ashit Neema said their team had been conducting a study for the last 20 days in the city and had looked at drinking water supply, sanitation, drainages and solid waste management.

As per the 2011 census, Neema said 68% of the houses in the city were getting clean drinking water whereas 17% were dependent on borewells and another 15% on wells. Furthemore, coming to the sanitation aspect, he said about 86% people had access to toilets, 4% were dependent on public toilets and 10% has no access to toilets. Also, he said that only 60% of city had drainages and that there was a need to strengthen the city’s solid waste management system.

Neema said the project would be taken up in eight phases, with the first phase being constituting a city sanitation task force, followed by various rounds of workshops to make stakeholders understand the problems and resolve them . He said that a final city sanitation plan would be released after four months or so as part of the project in order to make Vizag a clean city.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / June 05th, 2014

AP: Farmers floats cooperative

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

CowAP05jun2014

Nearly 1,000 farmers from six villages in Mopidevi mandal of Krishna district have resolved to form a marketing co-operative society for their agriculture produce.

The farmers growing vegetables and horticulture products along the banks of the Krishna river will greatly benefit from this cooperative venture.

The venture mainly supported by Nabard will enable the farmers to open vegetable and fruit collection points in their respective villages and sell the produce without middlemen.

With the availability of abundant ground water the farmers in the villages have been growing crops round the year and waiting for better marketing facilities. The cooperative society will solve their long-standing problem.

source: http://www.indiancooperative.com / Indian Cooperative / Home> From States / by Amey Kumar / June 01st, 2014

Europeans bowled over by Kalamakari

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, World Opinion

 

A foreigner selecting Kalamkari products at Pedana in Krishna district. / Photo: T Appala Naidu / The Hindu
A foreigner selecting Kalamkari products at Pedana in Krishna district. / Photo: T Appala Naidu / The Hindu

Nicolas Sarkozy’s sister to Oprah Winfrey’s designer, many prefer it.

Traditional Kalamkari artisans of a tiny town on the Indian East Coast have a valid reason to cherish and celebrate their work, for to which Europeans are doffing their hats in awe. If anything to go by the sale of Kalamkari products, exporter P. Srinivas and his New York-based business partner Mary Mulcahy, France President Nicolas Sarkozy’s sister, designer for Oprah Winfrey and world famous interior designer Jacques Grange are a few who fell in love with the exquisite work done by the rural artisans.

The swelling register of the Kalamkari lovers also tempted the ‘Vogue Magazine’ that ran a green campaign referring natural fabric designs and products of the Kalamkari in their Christmas issue. In Hollywood, Kalamkari product made in Pedana can be sighted in the Academy Award winning movie Dallas Buyers Club, an American biographical drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallee.

Referring to orders pouring in from across the Europe, in an e-mail to Mr. Srinivas, Ms. Mulcahy wrote earlier that “I wanted to tell you that the crown princess of Greece contacted me and wants to use our fabrics for her products and her shops in London, Athens and New York. That is quite an honour!!!”.

“Many a times I am helpless to meet the demand from my customers, particularly in the rainy season. It was a great honour for every artisan for the recognition that our art has received around the world,” opined Mr. Srinivas. Kalamkari artisans and renowned Kalamkari block-designers Gangadhar brothers have expressed that they have a greater responsibility in maintaining the standard and quality of the rural industry for the sake of well-being and survival of the traditional art – Kalamkari.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu / Pedana – June 03rd, 2014

Pedana Kalamkari art form gets GI tag

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, World Opinion
A Kalamkari artist immersed in designing a piece of cloth. / File Photo / The Hindu
A Kalamkari artist immersed in designing a piece of cloth. / File Photo / The Hindu

Now, the production of Machilipatnam Kalamkari will be geographically limited to Pedana town and its neighbouring villages

Kalamkari, renowned for natural dye art or designs on fabrics, has been registered in the Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) of the Government of India under the Geographical Identification of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

Members of Vegetable Dye Hand Block Kalamkari Printers’ Welfare Association, Pedana received the registration certificate from the GIR, Chennai. In the GI Registration, this art form has, however, been recognised as ‘Machilipatnam Kalamkari’. Pedana is 15 k.m. from Machilipatnam.

“The registration will enable us to initiate legal action against those who copy the art or design in any form. It also restricts the production of fabrics with Kalamkari art in the areas falling out of the registered geographical area,” said the Welfare Association executive member Bandaru Anand Prasad.

According to GIR’s authorised user no – AU/396/GI/19/12, production of Machilipatnam Kalamkari is geographically only limited to Pedana town and its neighbouring villages of Machilipatnam, Polavaram and Kappaladoddi in Guduru mandal of Krishna district.

The ingredients used in the preparation of colours, stages of applying the dye and designs on fabrics were also submitted to the GIR authorities for the conservation of the art as well as easy identification of violators anywhere. Nevertheless, the geographical identification was limited for a few areas of production – such as textiles and textile goods, bed and table covers, clothing, carpets, rugs, linoleum and other materials for covering existing floors and embroidery.

“Since the new status deals with promising the registered standards of the Kalamkari, even local artisans and production houses have no exemption from the guidelines, framed for conservation of the art, if they fail to maintain the respective standard,” added Mr. Anand Prasad.

“Now we have every right to seek legal action against the violators – who copy the art form on the registered products,” he added. On the other hand, the scientists of National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad were engaged in producing new colours meant for Machilipatnam Kalamkari and a special training programme on applying new colours was also completed this week.

As a witness of the existence of the art form, a wall hanger dating back to 15th Century AD, is still being displayed in Victoria Museum, London.

The article has been edited to correct an editing error.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by  T. Appala Naidu / Pedana (Krishna District) / August 18th, 2013

City lad for national meet

Education, Inspiration /Positive News and Features
A. Kundhan Karunakar / The Hindu
A. Kundhan Karunakar / The Hindu

Among 364 applicants, who have been selected for the national-level ‘Change-makers confluence’, to be held between June 26 and 30 at Ishan Institute of Management and Technology, Greater Noida, is student from the city A. Kundhan Karunakar.

Karunakar, student of Miracle School of Engineering, is one among the 1,730 participants who have been shortlisted for the four-day youth conference. He is also instrumental in drawing scores of students together to work for the underprivileged groups through Oneness Organisation, an association of students. In order to encourage the young participants to become torchbearers of the nation, the confluence includes sessions like ‘young parliament’ and ‘social innovator programme’.

“It came as a pleasant surprise to me as I did not expect that I will be selected among hundreds of other participants. I am looking forward to the big day as it is a rare opportunity to meet people from different walks of life and share a common platform to express our views in panel discussions that cover topics like politics, education, health and other fronts,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Staff Reporter / Visakhapatnam – June 03rd, 2014

Book released

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Krishna University Registrar D. Suryachandra Rao released the second printed version of ‘Taratarala Bandar Charitra’ book, authored by amateur historian Mohammed Silar, here on Monday at the Town Hall.

Addressing a galaxy of literary personalities and historians of Machilipatnam, Mr. Suryachandra Rao opined that the book would serve as a reference for those who wanted to research in Telugu as well as History.

“A few copies of the book will be made available in the Krishna University Library and given access to the readers”, he added. Krishna District and Sessions Judge G. Chakradhara Rao recollected the glorious past of Machilipatnam and how the port town became key location for all means of administrative and legal services in Coastal Andhra Pradesh during the post-independence period.

A well-known doctor Dhanwanthari Acharya received the first copy and other guests discussed at length about the hardship involved in bringing out of the book, which was based on the ten-year research by Mr. Silar, in 2010.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Machilipatnam – October 08th, 2013

Historian of Bandar pens encyclopaedia

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion
Machilipatnam-based historian Mohammed Silar./ The Hindu
Machilipatnam-based historian Mohammed Silar./ The Hindu

‘Machilipatnam Sarvasvam’, (Encyclopaedia of Bandar), written by Bandar-based modern historian and numismatist Mohammed Silar, is all set to be released by the end of June. The book focuses on the flourishing of Buddhism and Jainism in Krishna district as well as individuals and institutions which brought laurels to the port town.

In 2010, he wrote his first book ‘Tara Tarala Bandar Charitra’, which became a reference guide for history research scholars. It was reprinted in 2013. “My second book has a detailed narration about the rule of several dynasties in Masula – from Mughal, Dutch to British and French. The history of India’s third municipality, Machilipatnam Municipality, is also one of the key chapters of the encyclopaedia,” Mr. Silar said.

Based on Battiprolu inscription in Pulinda script, Mr. Silar is trying to establish the birth of Telugu language in Machilipatnam. As Machilipatnam played an important role in the evolution of education and literature in Andhra Pradesh, the book chronicles the lives of many luminaries including Madras University’s first elected Vice-Chancellor Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu of Machilipatnam.

Mr. Silar, a retired Special Grade Tahsildar and a Food Inspector during the cyclonic storm in 1977, has been engaged in documenting the glorious past of the town. “Bandar population was 64,000 in 1865 as against 9,000 of Vijayawada. The demography shows the glorious past and development of the tiny town in those days”, he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – June 02nd, 2014

Jagarlamudi Narendranath passes away

Leaders, Sports
Jagarlamudi Narendranath / The Hindu
Jagarlamudi Narendranath / The Hindu

Secretary and Correspondent of J.K.C College and chairman of the Women Cricket Academy of Andhra Cricket Association, Jagarlamudi Narendranath, 67, passed away at his home after a brief illness.

Narendranath had been suffering from cancer and ailing for the last few months, his brother and Managing Director of Jocil Industries J. Murali Mohan said.

The eldest son of former MP J. Chandramouli, Narendranath took over the reins of the college and established the college as one of the premier educational institutions in the district.

During the last five years, Narendranath dedicated himself to the setting up of the Women Cricket Academy, the first-of-its kind in the country.

The academy, the first-of-its kind in the country, has facilities for accommodating 70 players, coaches and supporting staff. The academy has 16 rooms and a dormitory. A state-of-the-art gym makes the academy complete.

With the setting up of the academy, Guntur has emerged as the nerve centre of women’s cricket in the State.

Mr. Narendranath was always in the thick of action overseeing construction of the academy or providing facilities for players and coaches. He had convinced the JKC College to part with the three acres of land and spent nearly Rs.4 crore for setting up the academy.

Leading personalities of the town, MPs-elect Rayapati Sambasiva Rao and Galla Jayadev, MLA-elect Alapati Rajendra Prasad, M.D of Pioneer Automotives and member of JKC College committee Chukkapalli Ramesh and others paid their respects.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / Guntur – June 02nd, 2014

Gollapudi pens poem on last day of united Andhra Pradesh

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Popular actor, journalist and writer Gollapudi Maruthi Rao released a poem on united Andhra Pradesh to mark the last day ahead of bifurcation.

In recognition of his service to film industry and journalism, E.V.V. Yuva Kalavahini felicitated Mr. Rao at a hotel in Guntur on Sunday. Well-known music director A. Prabhu presided over the function.

Speaking on the occasion, he recalled his early days in the film industry. “I attribute my success to pure selflessness and humble attitude in the industry,” said Mr. Rao.

Addressing the gathering, Guntur MP-elect Galla Jayadev said Mr. Rao was an inspiration to several artistes in the industry. He rendered yeomen services to both films and journalism and wished him great success.

Actor A. Sundara Ramakrishna, EVV Yuva Kalavahini V. Krishna Murthy, TDP State secretary M. Subba Rao and Mr. Jayadev’s wife G. Padmavathi spoke on the occasion.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – June 02nd, 2014