Monthly Archives: October 2014

The good doctor!

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Leaders, Science & Technology
Endocrinologist Goutham Meher points out to a picture in which he is on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world. He is the first resident of Vijayawada to scale Mount Kilimanjaro. Photo: V. Raju / The Hindu
Endocrinologist Goutham Meher points out to a picture in which he is on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world. He is the first resident of Vijayawada to scale Mount Kilimanjaro. Photo: V. Raju / The Hindu

He wants to raise funds for the Indian Navy and Visakhapatnam which were battered by the Hudhud cyclone. The port city and neighbouring district too took a massive beating. Moved by the damaged caused by the super cyclone Dr. Meher turned into a fundraiser.

City-based endocrinologist Goutham Meher has attained celebrity status by becoming the first resident to conquer Kilimanjaro. He will be back in the news for running in a marathon to raise funds for the Indian Navy and Visakhapatnam city which were battered by the Hudhud super cyclone.

Besides mountaineering Dr. Meher is very fond of running. He has participated in most of the marathons conducted in the different places in the country. By default, he registered himself to participate in the Vizag Navy Marathon a couple of months ago.

Hudhud caused the Indian Navy a loss of Rs. 2,000 crore.

The port city and neighbouring district too took a massive beating. Moved by the damaged caused by the super cyclone Dr. Meher turned into a fundraiser. Instead of taking the beaten path of collecting for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) he registered on to an online fundraising website saying that he would run the marathon to cover the loss of Indian Navy and for the re-building of Visakhapatnam city and asked his friends to donate generously on Facebook.

Dr. Meher received an overwhelming response from his friends, several of them NRIs. With two days still left for the event the physician raised five times what he set as a ‘goal’ for himself.

“We can win many battles, but it is not easy when you are against the fury of nature. Cyclone Hudhud battered the strategic naval base at Visakhapatnam, damaging its airfield and other installations. Thirty to forty per cent of trees inside the naval station got uprooted,” Dr. Meher said.

He was glad that all the income from the First Vizag Navy Marathon would also go for the rebuilding of Visakhapatnam city, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – October 31st, 2014

AP capital to come up in Guntur district

Uncategorized
Verdant paddy fields dot the land scape on Tadikonda-Thullur stretch, a region chosen for construction of the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar / The Hindu
Verdant paddy fields dot the land scape on Tadikonda-Thullur stretch, a region chosen for construction of the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar / The Hindu

Decision emerges from marathon Cabinet meet; 30,000 acres identified across 17 villages. He said the 30,000 acres would be divided into six sectors and the farmers would be given 1,000 yards of fully developed land with infrastructure for every one acre they parted.

The new capital of Andhra Pradesh would come up in Guntur district with the government identifying 30,000 acres across 17 villages for building the required infrastructure for various public utilities, besides the Secretariat and the Assembly.

The issue was discussed at a marathon Cabinet meeting after which the Cabinet sub-committee on land pooling met and decided the modalities.

Briefing reporters later, Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister P. Pulla Rao said the farmers in 14 villages of Tullur and three villages of Managalgiri mandals would be convinced and a system of land pooling would be adopted for taking the land. He also announced that the Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri urban body would be abolished and a new Capital Region Development Authority would be constituted.

He said that from Friday the process of convincing farmers would start and pooling would be completed in nine months. The government would pay Rs. 25,000 per acre per year for 10 years to each farmer who parted with his land. There would be a five per cent increase every year and by the end a decade the amount would be Rs. 37,500. Nearly 20 per cent of the 30,000 acres might be government land, he added.

‘Farmers stand to gain’

He said the 30,000 acres would be divided into six sectors and the farmers would be given 1,000 yards of fully developed land with infrastructure for every one acre they parted. He said the farmers would be allotted that land through lottery system.

Replying to a question, he said the value of those lands would further increase in future and benefit the farmers. The Minister said the cooperation of farmers and people was needed to build the new capital. He said that after developing the core area, other new areas would come up on a total of 60,000 acres or one lakh acres in the new capital.

He said the Chief Minister was keen that not a single tmcft should go waste into the sea and suggested that an action plan be drawn up for creating new ayacut in that region for another three lakh acres.

Irrigation Minister Devineni Uma Maheswar Rao said the people of that region were indebted selecting the region around the Krishna for locating the capital and appealed to everyone to cooperate.

The 14 villages in Tullur mandal are: Tullur, Borupalem, Nelapadu, Nekkalu, Shakamooru, Vangadam, Malkapuram, Velagapudi, Modalingapalem, Uddandarayapalem, Lingayapalem, Rayathuri, Apparaju Palem and Dondapadu. The three villages of Managlagiri are Neerukonda, Nidamarru and Kooragallu

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – October 30th, 2014

Delta Faucet opens outlet in city

Business & Economy, World Opinion
Kiran Singh, marketing director, Delta Faucet Company India Private Limited, at its new outlet in Vijayawada on Wednesday. Photo: V. Raju
Kiran Singh, marketing director, Delta Faucet Company India Private Limited, at its new outlet in Vijayawada on Wednesday. Photo: V. Raju

Offering an array of faucets and showering products for bathroom and kitchen space, Delta Faucet Company launched its first outlet, Celestile Home and Bath Boutique, at Bank Colony on Wednesday. The company has three outlets in Hyderabad.

The outlet will offer innovative products such as faucets that turn on and off at just a touch. The company offers its products in two brands – Delta and Brizo. While Delta caters to premium customer requirements, Brizo products are targeted at high-end market, said Kiran Singh, marketing director, Delta Faucet Company India Private Limited. The price the products ranges from Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 2.5 lakh.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – October 29th, 2014

Andhra Pradesh introduces putti boating in Kakinada beach resort

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Nature
Putti boating has been introduced by Haritha Beach Resorts at Kakinada. (Photo: DC)
Putti boating has been introduced by Haritha Beach Resorts at Kakinada. (Photo: DC)

Kakinada:

The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation is throwing open its facilities at the newly constructed beach  resort ‘Haritha’ at Vakalapudi Beach near Kakinada.

The APTDC has constructed 10 resorts here with air-conditioned facility at a fixed price of Rs 1,500 including food, games and other entertainment facilities.

The APTDC has made arrangements for tourists to have a cruise in the creek and the Bay of Bengal. There are small creeks between the resorts and the sea. Boating  facility  using  puttis (a round shape wooden boat) on the creeks has also been introduced.

“For the first time in Andhra Pradesh, the puttis facility has been provided at a beach resort,” said  G. Ramakrishna,  divisional manager, APTDC. He said that the facility is open to all. Jet skiing and other rides are also available.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / October 29th, 2014

Acme Group wins bid for 160 MW solar projects in AP

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

Projects will require estimated investment of Rs.1,250 crore

Acme Cleantech Solutions will sign a 25-year power purchasing agreement with Southern Power Distribution Co. Ltd in Andhra Pradesh. Photo: AFP
Acme Cleantech Solutions will sign a 25-year power purchasing agreement with Southern Power Distribution Co. Ltd in Andhra Pradesh. Photo: AFP

Hyderabad:

Acme Cleantech Solutions Ltd. on Monday said it has won a bid to develop 160 megawatt (MW) of solar power projects in Andhra Pradesh.

The projects will be set up in the Anantapur, Kurnool and Chittoor districts in Andhra Pradesh and will require an estimated investment of Rs.1,250 crore, the company said in a statement.

“This win is the country’s largest win by any private solar developer,” Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, founder and chairman of Acme Group said in the statement. “With this addition, our solar power portfolio has reached 422.5 MW and we are on way to generate 1000 MW by year 2017,” Upadhyay added.

The company will sign a 25-year power purchasing agreement with Southern Power Distribution Co. Ltd in Andhra Pradesh.

A total of 51 bidders participated in the tender process.

Bifurcated Andhra Pradesh is one of the three states chosen by the union government for the power for all scheme that will ensure 24X7 power supply. The N. Chandrababu Naidu government is keen on harnessing solar energy for electricity generation.

Public sector National Thermal Power Corp. (NTPC) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh government to develop a 1,000 MW solar park on a build-own-operate basis with an investment of Rs.7,000 crore. The Union government also agreed to grant Rs.500 crore to Andhra Pradesh to develop 2,500 MW of solar energy, PTI reported on 24 October.

Acme Group has solar power projects in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

source: http://www.livemint.com / Live Mint / Home> Industry / by Yogendra Kalavalapalli / Tuesday – October 28th, 2014

Heritage school faces demolition threat

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

Visakhapatnam :

Heritage activists from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) are apprehensive that the century-old Queen Mary’s Government High School (QMGHS) in Old Town would be pulled down citing reasons like natural calamities in the near future. During a recent visit to the school, in the aftermath of Cyclone Hudhud, education department officials from Hyderabad had suggested bringing down a portion of the school instead of wasting money on repair.

Though the cyclone partially damaged the old building, especially the roof and wooden staircases, heritage activists feel the structure is quite sturdy and can be easily restored with the help of some repairs and renovations instead of demolishing it and replacing with new constructions.

“Recently, officials from the education department in Hyderabad visited the school. It has come to our knowledge that after seeing the damages caused by Hudhud, the officials publicly expressed their intention to replace the damaged heritage structure with new constructions. However, despite being one of the oldest buildings of Vizag, the lime and mortar structure is quite sturdy and can withstand the ravages of time. It only needs some repair and renovation of the roof and staircases,” Intach’s Vizag chapter convener P V Prasad said.

According to government sources, some months ago a sum of Rs 32 lakh was sanctioned by the state education department for construction of a new school building in the existing premises but the funds were later diverted to other “needy” schools. The century-old school has a strength of 1,300 students and around 60 teachers, besides 15 non-teaching staff. The building, which now houses the school, was earlier a medical school and before that housed the Old Collectorate in the early 19th century.

When contacted, school staffers admitted that while there was some talk of carrying out construction work in the premises, they said they are not aware of the detailed plan.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam /  TNN / October 29th, 2014

Kursura faces erosion threat

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology

Visakhapatnam :

Vizag’s pride, the Kursura Submarine Museum may have stood tall against burly 200kmph winds unleashed by Cyclone Hudhud, but the threat of erosion is now posing a danger to one of the city’s biggest attractions with morning walkers on Tuesday observing waves lapping right at the base of the submarine.

According to oceanography experts, the area around the only submarine museum in South Asia may witness further erosion – especially the area north of Kursura and up to 50 metres behind the museum.

In fact, post cyclone Hudhud, erosion is being witnessed all along the coast, including behind the Vuda Park near the East Point Lighthouse and also a nearly 200-metre stretch in Bheemili.

Experts said that the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (Vuda) in consultation with the Indian Navy should immediately take up measures to protect Kursura, which was India’s fourth submarine and served for nearly 31 years.

“In the last two days, high winds have been hitting the coast due to the onset of the north-east monsoon due to which the sea waves are also increasing. A situation similar to the one that took place earlier this year, when one portion of Beach Road collapsed, may occur in the next few months,” said an oceanography expert from Andhra University.

Concurring, another ocean scientist warned: “Earlier the protection wall served as a defence for the submarine, but now the northern side is also exposed. In the next four months, due to the sea currents flowing from north to south, the area in front of Kursura and immediately behind it is likely to witness more erosion.”

“We are noticing that now the sand deposition is taking place near RK Beach and Coastal Battery side due to coastal currents,” he said while pointing out that the rate of deposition is less than the rate of erosion.

Meanwhile, sources at Vuda lamented that the lack of a full-time vice-chairman was hampering the urban development body from taking any decisions. A Vuda official said, “We have cleaned up the submarine museum premises, but we can’t allow visitors from a safety and security point of view because the sea side stretch is now open without the protection wall.”

“Even though the Indian Navy is regularly monitoring the situation, we have to take up work immediately for raising the protection wall failing which it can cause further damage.”

“About 275 metres length of wall has to be built and landscaping needs to be taken up, but as of now the in-charge vice chairman (who is also the EPDCL CMD) is himself busy with restoring power lines across north coastal districts, so the state government has to understand the situation and depute a full-time VC.”

Meanwhile, a Navy spokesperson said the Navy was planning to do the needful and something more “permanent and lasting” to secure the unique museum.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by Manish, TNN / October 29th, 2014

15-year-old helps save the day

Education, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Science & Technology
Executive Vice-chairman and Director of National Institute of Amateur Radio S. Ram Mohan and Tom K Jose of Hyderabad who played an active role in the relief works of the recent Hudhud Cyclone. Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu
Executive Vice-chairman and Director of National Institute of Amateur Radio S. Ram Mohan and Tom K Jose of Hyderabad who played an active role in the relief works of the recent Hudhud Cyclone. Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu

Uses his Ham radio skills to gather vital information during Hudhud. One contact talked about trees falling at a Jain temple in Bhimli and resulting in precarious conditions. The young Ham immediately passed on the information to senior officials, who in turn directed their field personnel.

For a week, Tom K. Jose kept his studies aside, travelled to a cyclone-hit city and used his Ham radio skills to contribute to disaster management.

When Hudhud swept through Visakhapatnam disrupting its communication network and a team of amateur radio (Ham) operators from the city were sought, the 15-year-old student of Little Flower Junior College, Uppal, volunteered for the task.

With his call sign, VU3TMO, Tom was stationed in the control room set up at Visakhapatnam Police Commissionerate and spent long hours collecting messages from other team members spread over the cyclone affected areas and passed them on to the administration for relief measures.

The intermediate first year student, who got his Ham licence at the age of 13, along with colleagues, operated under adverse conditions, often skipping meals and spending long hours before the radio, waiting for it to crackle with messages. “For seven days, I was at the Visakhapatnam Police Commissionerate and one day at the District Collector’s office at Srikakulam and made anywhere up to 500 contacts,” says Tom.

One contact talked about trees falling at a Jain temple in Bhimli and resulting in precarious conditions. The young Ham immediately passed on the information to senior officials, who in turn directed their field personnel, and the situation was attended to. Another was a contact from Bangalore who was desperately trying to locate his brother and sister in the Hudhud affected area. “We operated without checking the watch or caring whether it was day or night. We had to just sit in front of the radio and wait for a contact,” he says.

Tom, who got his licence when he was in class 9, explores the Ham world and so far, has contacted more than 150 countries and received appreciations for his operational skills from Ham associations from different parts of the globe, including US, Germany and Japan. He comfortably juggles his hobby with studies and says, “Each night after studies I spend 30 minutes to 45 minutes with the radio apart from a brief tryst in the morning before going to college.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Telangana / by T. Lalith Singh / Hyderabad – October 26th, 2014

Andhra Pradesh gets its own Film Chamber

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All
Andhra Pradesh Map
Andhra Pradesh Map

Guntur:

 A separate film chamber was launched for AP state on Saturday at Tadepalli of Guntur district.

Film director Dileep Raja said that in view of bifurcation, Seemandhra Film Chamber of Commerce was formed for the welfare of AP film industry with the cooperation of producers and directors. He said that disputes are common in the film industry and various organisations work to resolve them.

Welcoming the new capital at Vijayawada, he said that there were lots of chances for development of the Telugu film industry in Vijayawada and Guntur.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / October 26th, 2014

Varun group starts work on 5-star hotel in Vijayawada

Business & Economy

Visakhapatnam-based Varun group has started work on its five-star hotel project in Vijayawada, according to the Managing Director V Prabhu Kishore.

He said in an interview that more than ₹100 crore would be spent on the hotel and “it may be completed in three years or so”. He said the group had first built a five-star hotel on the beach road — Varun Beach Novotel — here; this hotel suffered minimal damage during the recent cyclone due to precautionary measures.

“Fortunately, we weathered the storm and we did our best to provide all comforts to our guests even on the cyclone day. It is the worst natural disaster to have befallen the city at a most crucial time in its history but we will overcome it,” he said, adding that it was a blow to the tourism and hospitality sectors.

However, he said, the outlets of Varun Motors and other units of the group suffered considerable damage from Hudhud in the districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam and “we estimate the loss to be ₹8.5-9 crore. We expect insurance companies to settle claims quickly.” He said the Varun Group would carry on undaunted in spite of the cyclone and contribute its mite to the relief work.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / by CH Sharma / Visakhapatnam – October 26th, 2014