Monday, January 25, 2016

Encroachments demolished amid high drama

Encroachments demolished amid high drama:

  • SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM, January 26, 2016

Authorities accused of not giving ample time to vacate, while civic chief says they are going by the book

Acting tough:MCR staff demolishing shops in the cellars at Danavaipeta in Rajahmundry on Monday. — PHOTO: S. RAMBABU
Acting tough:MCR staff demolishing shops in the cellars at Danavaipeta in Rajahmundry on Monday. — PHOTO: S. RAMBABU
It has become a cat and mouse game between traders and the Municipal Corporation of Rajahmundry (MCR) ever since the later served notice for demolition of the shops came up illegally in the cellars meant to be used as parking lot. There has been a stiff resistance from Rajamahendravaram Chamber of Commerce (RCC) and traders on the Municipal Commissioner’s decision to go ahead on a demolition spree that began on Monday.
On Monday, the MCR authorities cracked down on the cellar encroachments, adding to the growing discontent among traders. The new Municipal Commissioner, V. Viajayrama Raju, who worked as the Sub-Collector till the first week of December last year, started the demolition drive to provide breathing space to citizens and for the beautification of the city.
Unfazed by the tremendous political pressures against the move, the MCR authorities served two types of notices on 58 people who were running shops from the cellars at different important junctions in the city. City Planner Saibaba, Assistant City planners N. Srinivasa Rao and B. Ranga Prasad, three Town Planning Supervisors and two Building Inspectors arrived at the Surya Hotel in Danavaipeta area at 8.30 a.m to demolish the encroachments. They received a stiff resistance from the representatives of RCC and the hotel management.
Town planning authorities made them clear that they would demolish the cellar. Meanwhile, Central Zone DSP Kulasekhar pressed police forces into action and brought the situation under control. The authorities demolished the cellars at Surya hotel, Gandhi Surgicals, apart from readymade shops and hangings on the road.
According to Mr. Saibaba, notice number 452 was served for 58 cellars of multi-storied building out of the 120 identified illegal and again notice number 636 was served for the cellar owners and three days were given to vacate the place. The management of Surya Hotel filed a case in the High Court which was rejected.
Meanwhile, the shop owners whose shops in the cellars were demolished blamed the officials for not giving ample time to vacate. Venkateswara Rao, owner of the Gandhi Surgicals said: “I have received the notice 29 days back and I have informed my building owner who said that he will take care of the issue. I have asked time up to January 28 when I received the second notice. Suddenly, municipal authorities arrived this morning and demolished my shop without even giving me time to vacate it.”
Speaking to The Hindu , the Municipal Commissioner made it clear that cellar encroachments would not be spared. He explained that the High Court has directed the government to go ahead with the procedures. He maintained that the MCR has taken up the operation as per the rules, added that ample time was given for the cellars owners to vacate

‘Life is an education, learn it’

‘Life is an education, learn it’:

Binki Da Maharaj of Thakur Anukul Chand Satsang of Jharkhand addressing a gathering at Rajamahendravaram on Monday.— Photo: S. Rambabu
Binki Da Maharaj of Thakur Anukul Chand Satsang of Jharkhand addressing a gathering at Rajamahendravaram on Monday.— Photo: S. Rambabu
Binki Da Maharaj of Thakur Anukul Chand Satsang of Jharkhand has advised the youth to learn from their own experiences in life and practice positive thinking at every stage.
He came to Rajamahendravaram to open a branch of Satsang- a spiritual organisation that spreads the message of transforming individuals for positive development. During his message to his disciples on Monday at a layout donated by auditor V. Bhaskarram in DVB Raju Layout, Swami Binki Da Maharaj said that the spiritual movement `Satsang’ and Sri Mandirs which was started in 1946 at Deoghar in Jharkhand by his grandfather Sri Sri Acharyadev has about 10 crore disciples and the organisation is taking up social service activities across in the country. He asked the local people to construct the same Satsang in Rajamahendravaram and take up social service for well being of the mankind.
Income Tax Assistant Commissioner Arun Kumar Das, City Satsangh Vihar incharge Kesavarao Manzal, Manorajan Bihari from Vizag, Amit Bhattacharya from Eluru, Ashok Gidwani from Hyderabad, Auditors of Rajamahendravaram V. Seshagiri Varaprasad and V. Bhaskarram, PVS Krishna Rao, Diabetic specialist Dr. Kandula Sai and others participated in the programme.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Mokshagna to make a debut

Mokshagna to make a debut:

  • SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Actor and Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna being offered a cake by senior TDP leader Ganni Krishna at Nara Lokesh’s birthday party at Rajamahendravaram on Saturday.—PHOTO: S. RAMBABU
Actor and Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna being offered a cake by senior TDP leader Ganni Krishna at Nara Lokesh’s birthday party at Rajamahendravaram on Saturday.—PHOTO: S. RAMBABU
Here is good news for fans of Nandamuri Balakrishna. His son Mokshagna is all set to take forward the Nandamuri legacy on the silver screen soon.
The announcement to this effect was made by Mr. Balakrishna himself on Saturday when he came to Rajamahendravaram as part of the success tour of his recent film, Dictator .
Incidentally, Saturday was Nara Lokesh’s birthday too.
Speaking to the media at Mr. Lokesh’s birthday party, Mr. Balakrishna said that his family members took a decision to introduce Mokshagna in films.
“He is being trained in all aspects,” he said, and added that acting was in the genes of the Nandamuri clan.
When asked about his campaign for the GHMC elections, he said he would abide by the party’s decision.
Mr. Balakrishna expressed happiness over the success of his film and added that he wanted to do a film for every Sankranti.
Rajamahendravaram MP and actor M. Muralimohan, TDP MLAs Gorantla Butchaiah Choudary and Pendurthi Venkatesh, Mayor Pantam Rajani Sesha Sai, film’s director Srivas, actors Pridhvi and Sitharam, and script writer Sridhar Seepana were present on the occasion

Thursday, January 21, 2016

National workshop on neo-Hindi writers begins

National workshop on neo-Hindi writers begins:

  • SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT


GAIL (India) Limited General Manager M.V. Iyer, along with Gandhari Pangathi, Assistant Director, Central Hindi Directorate, New Delhi, lighting a lamp marking the inauguration of workshop in Rajamahendravaram on Thursday.— PHOTO: S. RAMBABUGAIL (India) Limited General Manager M.V. Iyer, along with Gandhari Pangathi, Assistant Director, Central Hindi Directorate, New Delhi, lighting a lamp marking the inauguration of workshop in Rajamahendravaram on Thursday.— PHOTO: S. RAMBABU

The eight-day national workshop on neo-Hindi writers sponsored by the Central Hindi Directorate, Ministry of Human Resources Development, New Delhi was inaugurated at Sri Kinjarapu Yerram Naidu Hindi Teachers’ Training College on Thursday.
The workshop was inaugurated by M.V. Iyer, General Manager, GAIL (India) Limited along with Gandhari Pangathi, Assistant Director, Central Hindi Directorate, New Delhi, Prof. Ramchandra Roy, Hindi Scholar from Shantiniketan, Prof. Ajay Patnaik, Bhuvaneswar, Prof. Yendluri Sudhakar, Sri Pottisriramulu Telugu University , Prof. HMS Kameswara Rao, retired Principal of Government Degree College and others. Writers, poets, scholars from Assam, Maharastra, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana participated.
Mr. Iyer said such workshops should carry a message in spreading the importance of Hindi. Ms. Gandhari said the Directorate brought many reforms including extension programmes for the benefit of post-graduates, teacher-trainers and teaching faculties for the development of Hindi language. She said that her office was supporting the printing of magazines, buying books, encouraging textbooks in Hindi for academics

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Tradition takes a back seat

Tradition takes a back seat:

  • B.V.S. BHASKAR
  • GenX is losing taste for Sankranti sweets. This Russian girl seems to be an exception. —Photo: B.V.S. Bhaskar
    GenX is losing taste for Sankranti sweets. This Russian girl seems to be an exception. —Photo: B.V.S. Bhaskar
    For East and West Godavari districts, touted as the rice bowl of the State, kick-start the three-day harvest festival, Pongal, with Bhogi. The first day is dedicated to Lord Indra, who is the god of rain. He is worshiped for abundance of harvest, which brings prosperity.
    Lighting a bonfire is the hallmark of Bhogi. However, the tradition is disappearing in most villages.
    “In olden days, youth used to make a bonfire of tree trunks (Bhogi mantalu) in one corner of the street in the early hours of the day,” recalls Tirumal Rao, a villager of Arthamuru.
    Preparation of traditional sweets at houses is also part of the festival. But due to availability of “pure home-made” sweets in the market round the year, traditional preparations are going out of fashion.
    Polisetty Mallibabu, owner of Suruchi Foods that dishes out the popular Tapeswaram Kaja, says: “Bulk booking of dishes such as ariselu, kajjikayalu, paakundalu, gorumitteelu, muripeelu, jantikalu, chegodilu, challa guttulu, pootharekulu, sunnundalu, and bobbatlu has come down drastically.”
    “The present generation has forgotten about jeellu, which has a long history. They were once in huge demand, particularly during village festivals (tirunallu),” Mr. Mallibabu says.
    Connecting on
    social media
    Peddinti Seetharamaih Bhargav, an octogenarian medical practitioner Korukonda, says that his children and grandchildren, who have come from Hyderabad and the U.S. to the village, are busy connecting with their friends on the social media. “My granddaughter says that she knows about Sankranti as she has read postings about the festival on the Facebook,” Dr. Bhargav says. Says Vedic scholar ‘Mahamahopadhyaya’ Sri Viswanatha Gopalakrishna: “On Bhogi day, people clean their homes, collect unwanted goods, and make a bonfire of them. The day is meant for undertaking such domestic activities. The tradition of placing pumpkin flowers set in cow dung balls among rangoli patterns has disappeared, thanks to cement roads and apartment culture. Freshly harvested rice, turmeric, and sugarcane are not seen anywhere.”

‘Prabhalu’ add to the festive spirit

‘Prabhalu’ add to the festive spirit:

  • B.V.S. BHASKAR
  • People participating in Prabhala Utsavam at Jaganna Thota in East Godavari district on Saturday. —Photo: B.V.S. Bhaskar
    People participating in Prabhala Utsavam at Jaganna Thota in East Godavari district on Saturday. —Photo: B.V.S. Bhaskar
    A 450-year old tradition, protected and religiously followed by residents of about 250 villages in the Amalapuram revenue division, for some strange reason, has failed to grab the attention of the government.
    The Prabhala Theertham, or Prabhala pandugain local parlance, is all about taking out Prabhalu(flowery replica of religious idols built with bamboo frames decorated with colour papers and lights)in a procession that adds beauty to the Konaseema region during Sankranti festival. These decorated bamboo arches with Lord Siva’s images on them, are taken around in a huge procession from 150 villages in Konaseema area. The practice is said to be in vogue from the time of Pithapuram Rajahs. A few archives in Rajamahendravaram Gowthami Regional library indicate that the Pithapuram king’s advisor Vittal Jakkanna started the tradition of Prabhalu to bring unity among all sections of people.
    These decorated pieces emerge from different Agraharams, villages and colonies and merge at places like Jaganna Thota, once called Vittal Jakkanna thota, Gangalakurru, Mosallapalli, Vakkalanka, K. Pedapudi, Irusumanda, Nedunuru, Mukkamala, Palagummi, Kulletikurru, Gangalakurru Agraharam and Vyaghreswaram.
    On Kanuma day every year, many NRIs join their local friends to watch the traditional procession.
    The height of a prabha is the main attraction. The revellers burst crackers throughout the way. This year’s tallest prabha in Kondaseema was a 50-ft high Tondavaram Todeswaraswami Prabham next only to a 45-ft high prabha brought from Vakalagruvu village.

Saraswathi temple coming up on Godavari banks

Saraswathi temple coming up on Godavari banks:

Gnana Saraswathi temple is coming up on the banks of the Godavari in Rajamahendravaram. It is being constructed by Sri Gnana Saraswathi Peetham Charitable Trust.
Neerabh Kumar, Principal Secretary, AP Tourism, who was here last week, said that as part of the spiritual tourism, the government, while concentrating mostly on the temples in Rayalaseema areas, is also considering the proposals to include some of the historic temples and new temples in coastal areas.
“Basar Saraswathi temple is most popular and it attracts students from different parts of the combined Andhra Pradesh. After bifurcation, the Andhra Pradesh government is contemplating having such temple in the State. When some of the trust members approached Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during the Godavari Pushkarams, he directed us to look into the matter.”
Sri Gnana Saraswathi Peetham Charitable Trust has already started construction of the temple beside the AP Tourism office on the banks of the Godavari at VVIP ghat, which is now called as Saraswathi Ghat. Its unique feature is that Gnana Saraswathi idol is being carved with most precious green crystal.
“It is being made in Tamil Nadu-Kerala border by a sculptor,” said Thota Subbarao, managing trustee of the temple. ‘Thrisakthi peetam’ – idols Mahakali, Mahasaraswathi, and Mahalakshmi -- which will be installed on the first floor by swamijis like Bharathi Theertha and Vedic pandits along with Srichakra Meruvu, Sri Rajarajeswai and Vasudharinidevi on both sides on the ground floor for children’s ‘Akshrabyasam’ every day, Ganeshini idol in front of Srichakram will be installed.




The main temple will be constructed with 56 pillars with single stone granite to resemble 56 alphabets in Telugu language.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Trouble in tourist paradise - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu

Trouble in tourist paradise - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu



With private operators calling the shots, visitors to Papikondalu a harried lot

A tale of neglect:APTDC operates only two boats between Purushothapatnam and Papikondalu. —PHOTO: S. RAMBABU
A tale of neglect:APTDC operates only two boats between Purushothapatnam and Papikondalu. —PHOTO: S. RAMBABU
: Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), which is still operating from Hyderabad, is failing to tap the potential in East and West Godavari districts, particularly the scenic beauty of Papikondalu.
The number of tourists is coming down drastically as there is no control over the private boat operators who outnumber APTDC. According to statistics, the number of foreign tourists was around 400 in 2009-10 and in 2014-15 it has come down to 150.
Papikondalu, where the river Godavari meanders between two hills, is a place where hundreds of endangered spices can be spotted all along the journey.
Eighteen boats are operated between Purushothapatnam, starting village of West Godavari district, and Papikondalu. APTDC runs only two and about 50 per cent of the tickets of the APTDC boats are being sold by private operators.
All the operators, who are having own boats, are the members of The Launch Operators’ Association and every year they renew their licences by paying the annual fee with Divisional Engineer, Head Works of Irrigation Department at Dowleswaram. They also take fitness certificates from the boat superintendent.
“We will only renew the licence after our junior engineer certifies the fitness of the boats. We are not concerned about passenger amenities or any other issue,” said Ratnarajkumar, DE, Irrigation Head Works.
On several occasions many passengers were stuck in the waters while returning from Papikondalu when the engines of the boats failed.
But, revenue and police personnel hold the Irrigation Department responsible for the situation. “It is the responsibility of operators to provide life jackets, walkie-talkies as the area is out of mobile network covergae,” said Rajahmundry Urban SP S. Harikrishna.
The boat operators collector Rs.700 per head from Rajahmundry and take the passengers from Pushkarala Revu near Uma Markandeya Swami temple on Godavari river bund to the Purushothapatnam boat point, which is about 35 km. “The transport vehicles are too congested and the 40-minute journey is terrifying,” said Radhe Syam, a Hare Krishna devotee from Pineland in the U.S.
Most of the passengers complain about non-availability of life jackets even in APTDC boats. “There is no control over the non-stop sound system which is affecting the ears. If some one wants to enjoy the nature, it is not possible,” said Sekhar, Vasuprada from Mumbai.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Three LNG terminals vie to fuel economic development of State - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu

Three LNG terminals vie to fuel economic development of State -  The Hindu

Three LNG terminals vie to fuel economic development of State



Three Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, one in public private partnership mode and other two by private investors, are going to compete with each other in East Coast to fuel economic development of the State and also parts of Telangana and Tamil Nadu.First PPP in India
An agreement was signed between the Andhra Pradesh Gas Development Corporation (APGDC), a joint venture company between the State government and the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), GDF SUEZ and Shell companies to construct a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) at a cost of Rs. 1,800 crore. This agreement and MoUs were made in September 2015 after public hearing was conducted twice in Kakinada by the GAIL and the APGDC. The APGDC, GAIL and Shell companies agreed to produce gas in 2018. But, this consortium has not sent report on public hearing, MoUs and other required documents to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) till date. “We only received soft copy, but we want hard copies of DPR (Detailed Project Report) to circulate among the screening committee members,” said a top official in the MoEF on condition of anonymity.
According to GAIL sources, it will take at least six months to get environment clearance after submission of designs to the MoEF and construction of terminal and agreements will take another one year.
KG LNG Terminal
The Krishna Godavari LNG terminal, the first private terminal in Kakinada Deep Water Port, completed public hearing in November. “The company has conducted public hearing without any memo or GO from the State government and every thing was stage-managed. We have asked the District Collector about the GO copies through the RTI and also the names of investors and their credentials and source of investment, guarantors, funding and other details,” said Muppalla Subba Rao, A.P. Bar Council member and head of Samachara Hakku Vedika.
When contacted, M.V.S. Kamesam, Director (operations) of KGLNG, said that they had conducted public hearing on the directions of the Chief Minister and Principal Secretary of Energy to the District Collector and the allegations on the company and investors were false. He said that the present estimate of the project cost was $442 million and they will start construction within three months of getting environmental clearance from the MoEF.
LNG Bharath Tolling Terminal
On the other hand, the second private project is LNG Bharat Tolling Terminal which is going to come up at Krishnapatnam Port, Nellore, to address the industrial needs of Rayalaseema districts of the State, Tamil Nadu and also parts of Telangana. LNG Bharat Limited terminal is promoted by Rajahmundry based KEI-RSOS Petroleum & Energy Ltd group, jointly owned by Lieutenant Murthy Jasti of the River Bay group of Rajahmundry and the KEI group owned by Anil, Shobana Kamineni of the Apollo Hospitals family.
The chairman of this tolling terminal Lieutenant Murthy is hopeful of vetting from the IDBI Capital and also achieving financial closure within four months.
In addition, he is expecting Chinese and Japanese investors who have approached the group for equity participation in both the special purpose companies which incidentally are in the sectors which permit 100% FDI in automatic route.

Flexi culture claiming lives of youth in twin Godavari districts - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu

Flexi culture claiming lives of youth in twin Godavari districts - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu

Flexi culture claiming lives of youth in twin Godavari districts


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The culture of putting flexis for some or other occasion came to big towns like Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Bheemavaram, Tanuku, Palkol, Amalapuram and Mandapeta. The cost of flex boards has come down from Rs.200 per foot to Rs.10 and the youth started putting up flexis for each and every occasion.
“It was very costly during 2005 as we are importing from Bengaluru. The numbers of flexi printing units have gradually increased and now it came to Rs.8 to Rs.10 per foot according to size and width of the flexi,” said Mr. Veerabhadram of VR3 Flex Printers in Rajahmundry, who brought this culture to the city.
Putting up flexi culture has spread to rural areas year after year and the competition among the printers has brought down the prices drastically. “Initially the youth brought this culture of putting up flex boards for some important occasions like political meetings, elections and release of films of their favourite film heroes,” said Prof. P.V.B. Sanjeeva Rao, Lecturer and head of Youth Affairs in SKVT College. Slowly this ‘culture’ spread to personal functions like birthdays of actors and political leaders, birth and death anniversaries of State and national leaders and legends.
“I have seen many clashes in putting up flex boards in front of many theatres for the last 10 years and several youth sustained serious injuries,” said Challa Sankar Rao, a leading film distributor and Chairman of Aryapuram Cooperative Bank.
Fans of actors also perform ‘puja’ and ‘abhishekams’ with milk to the flex boards.
“We don’t encourage such type of actions and my hero wants distribution of milk to orphans or the poor in government hospitals,” said Srinivas, district president of Hero Chiranjeevi Fans Association.
In Ravulapalem, Amalapuram, Ramachandrapuram and Mandapeta police stations, there are a number of police cases on youth who clashed with each other in the name of fans’ associations. According to L. Ankaiah, DSP, Amalapuram and Ambika Prasad, DSP of District Crime Records Bureau, about 10 youth died in clashes between these associations in the last 8 to 9 years in East Godavari district.
In West Godavari, the situation is same and particularly, Bheemavaram, Palkol, Naraspuram, Tanuku and other towns are most sensitive areas where the youth clash with each other on the release of their favourite heroes’ films. “They first concentrate on flex boards and tore others or burn them. Automatically the trouble starts and then we have to chase them to restore normalcy,” said P. Soumyalatha, East Zone DSP, Rajahmundry, who came here a month ago after working in Narasapuram and Bheemavaram.

Trouble in tourist paradise - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu

Trouble in tourist paradise - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu

With private operators calling the shots, visitors to Papikondalu a harried lot

A tale of neglect:APTDC operates only two boats between Purushothapatnam and Papikondalu. —PHOTO: S. RAMBABU
A tale of neglect:APTDC operates only two boats between Purushothapatnam and Papikondalu. —PHOTO: S. RAMBABU
: Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), which is still operating from Hyderabad, is failing to tap the potential in East and West Godavari districts, particularly the scenic beauty of Papikondalu.
The number of tourists is coming down drastically as there is no control over the private boat operators who outnumber APTDC. According to statistics, the number of foreign tourists was around 400 in 2009-10 and in 2014-15 it has come down to 150.
Papikondalu, where the river Godavari meanders between two hills, is a place where hundreds of endangered spices can be spotted all along the journey.
Eighteen boats are operated between Purushothapatnam, starting village of West Godavari district, and Papikondalu. APTDC runs only two and about 50 per cent of the tickets of the APTDC boats are being sold by private operators.
All the operators, who are having own boats, are the members of The Launch Operators’ Association and every year they renew their licences by paying the annual fee with Divisional Engineer, Head Works of Irrigation Department at Dowleswaram. They also take fitness certificates from the boat superintendent.
“We will only renew the licence after our junior engineer certifies the fitness of the boats. We are not concerned about passenger amenities or any other issue,” said Ratnarajkumar, DE, Irrigation Head Works.
On several occasions many passengers were stuck in the waters while returning from Papikondalu when the engines of the boats failed.
But, revenue and police personnel hold the Irrigation Department responsible for the situation. “It is the responsibility of operators to provide life jackets, walkie-talkies as the area is out of mobile network covergae,” said Rajahmundry Urban SP S. Harikrishna.
The boat operators collector Rs.700 per head from Rajahmundry and take the passengers from Pushkarala Revu near Uma Markandeya Swami temple on Godavari river bund to the Purushothapatnam boat point, which is about 35 km. “The transport vehicles are too congested and the 40-minute journey is terrifying,” said Radhe Syam, a Hare Krishna devotee from Pineland in the U.S.
Most of the passengers complain about non-availability of life jackets even in APTDC boats. “There is no control over the non-stop sound system which is affecting the ears. If some one wants to enjoy the nature, it is not possible,” said Sekhar, Vasuprada from Mumbai.