Category Archives: Records, All

State data to be in public domain

About Telangana, Business & Economy, Records, All

Hyderabad:

Much like the Centre, the Telangana government too plans to put out data pertaining to various departments in the public domain. On the lines of data.gov.in — the website on which the central government shares information — a single portal has been envisaged for state-related data.

The purpose of such a move is to make available to the public a huge cache of information that can be analysed or made use of. “Once such data is put up to be accessed by the public, there are endless possibilities on how it can be used for the benefit of society in general,” said Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, founder of ‘Factly’ and co-convenor of National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI).

The Telangana ICT Policy Framework 2016, which was made public a month ago, clarified the government’s stance in favour of putting out data in the public domain. This was reiterated this time round by IT secretary Jayesh Rajan at the ‘Public Data Devthon’ oragnised by Factly in association with the Telangana government and T-Hub.

During the Devthon, groups of people demonstrated an analysis of how data from various departments, including the GHMC, could reveal crucial information regarding spending on public schemes. “Government data which can be given out to the public should be put up in real-time. Anyone can come up with suggestions or recommendations on how to rectify shortcomings in the functioning of various departments,” Dubbudu said. For instance, he said, if there were places where too many accidents were taking place, this could be analysed to come up with suggestions as to how to prevent the same.

Apart from the Centre, no other state government has put up much data in the public domain, although some annual reports are released by departments. While mentioning ‘Open data’ in its IT policy, the government said various departments were involved in collection, generation and updating of data on multiple issues collected using public funds. Such data should be readily available for citizens’ consumption. “Although individual departments share data for use by civil society and the private sector, there is a need for an open data policy that enables proactive data sharing by every department. This will not only result in greater transparency, but also help the government in better decision making,” the policy said.

According to the IT policy, the IT, Electronics and Communication (ITE&C) department, will formulate the open data policy based on best practices adopted in the national open data policy. The ITE&C department will also identify departments for the first phase of the open data roll out.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / May 18th, 2016

Dictionary is her Bible for scrabble

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, Sports

VaishnaviTELANGANA18may2016

Hyderabad :

You think scrabble is a child’s game? Well, 13-year-old Vaishnavi Reddi has surely turned heads as she recently won the scrabble championship held at Landmark, Somajiguda. In an astounding display of vocabulary, this child prodigy from Alwal competed against 128 children and emerged victorious, making her parents proud.

“I started playing scrabble when I was eight and I keep practising with my elder sister and this has given me the edge over others,” says Vaishnavi who is also a voracious reader and loves fictional fantasy, her current favouite being The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater.

Landmark has taken up the initiative to bring back the frenzy of board games with this scrabble championship amongst children amidst their obsession with gadgets and the social media. Children of age group 6-14 participated in this competition. “I was a little unsure about myself in the beginning but I started believing in myself and played with a clear mind.” smiles this vibrant child who loves playing the piano. She actively participates in various co-curricular activities in her school – St. Andrews, Bowenpally.

The Class IX student had to clear two rounds before qualifying for the finals. “I check up sites like ‘Dictionary.com’ to brush up my glossary to learn new words and synonyms.” says the winner who bagged a trophy for the scrabble championship.

On being asked how does she manage to keep herself updated with new words and this upcoming prodigy quips “Learning new words and their meanings is super fun, I never procrastinate and complete my homework in school so that I have ample time to practice at home.”

Vaishnavi is planning to participate in the Spellbee competition too.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Soumyani Ghoshal / May 18th, 2016

First Telugu to head All-India Carrom Federation

Leaders, Records, All, Sports
Proud moment:S. Madan Raj, the newly-elected treasurer of All-India Carrom Federation, seen with the federation’s new president Dr. Neeraj Sampathy, in Hyderabad on Sunday.– PHOTO: V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
Proud moment:S. Madan Raj, the newly-elected treasurer of All-India Carrom Federation, seen with the federation’s new president Dr. Neeraj Sampathy, in Hyderabad on Sunday.– PHOTO: V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

In a rare show of unity in sporting circles, Andhra Carrom Association and Hyderabad Carrom Association join hands to ensure unanimous election for all posts

He was not born when the All-India Carrom Federation was formed back in 1956. But, 47-year-old Dr. Neeraj Sampathy has achieved the rare distinction of becoming the first-ever Telugu speaking official to head the national sports body, on Sunday.

Nothing could have been more symbolic than one of the founder-members of the AICF, 75-year-old omnipresent B.K. Haranath, ensuring that there are no more hiccups in handing over the baton to Dr. Sampathy, who himself is a passionate carom player besides being an enterprising president of Andhra Carrom Association.

Ironically, despite his vast experience and major contribution to promoting the sport, Mr. Haranath has never headed the AICF. In the new setup too, he was given the post of director (media), as he is known to be adept in handling the media.

And, in a rare show of unity in sporting circles, both Andhra Carrom Association and the Hyderabad Carrom Association joined hands as part of the process to ensure the unanimous election for all the posts at the AGM here. Consequently, S. Madan Raj, secretary of Hyderabad Carrom Association, will be the treasurer.

The new AICF chief says that every effort would be made to see that carrom, which is in Group C in terms of sports discipline priority list – both at the State and the Central-level, gains a place in Group A.

“The only way out is to popularise the sport hosting more events – national and international – to produce more champions,” Dr. Sampathy remarked. “With the School Games Federation of India already including carrom in its curriculum, we will try our best to see that it is introduced at the university level too,” he said.

We will try our best to introduce carom at the university level. Dr. Neeraj Sampathypresident, AICF

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V.Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – May 16th, 2016

Temple artefacts unearthed near Medak

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

Sangareddy :

A Trikutalayam or a three-shrine temple is said to have been discovered on Friday during canal digging works for Mission Kakatiya in Pedda Kodur village of Medak.

ArtefactsTELAN15may2016

A Dhwaja Stambham (temple flag post) and Shiva and Hanuman idols surfaced during the excavation works. The digging is being carried out on Ranganaik Sagar reservoir.

Officials feel that the temple could be as big as an acre. Villagers meanwhile say that these idols might belong to Trikutalayam and that they were constructed by Kakatiyas. The public has appealed the archeology department to protect the idols and if possible, reconstruct the temple.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / May 14th, 2016

Vishnu Vardhan bags another ITF title

Records, All, Sports

Top seed Vishnu Vardhan asserted his supremacy yet again as he beat local lad Dalwinder Singh 7-6(4), 6-4 in the final of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament at the Harvest Academy, Jassowal, on Saturday.

It was a high quality fare from the 28-year-old, who served 12 aces in the match and converted one breakpoint. He saved the only breakpoint he faced in the whole match, in what proved to be the last game of the contest, to win in an hour and 48 minutes.

It was the fifth title in recent weeks for Vishnu, who had won back-to-back titles in the Asian Tennis Tour (ATT) in Delhi at the start of the four-week campaign.

He had won a double crown in Chandigarh in the first Futures event in the country this season, and had stumbled last week at Jassowal, in the second round of the singles and the doubles semifinals.

Vishnu had opted to focus on singles alone and reaped rich rewards, in the form of his ninth singles title in the professional circuit.

“I am really elated to keep up the winning streak, after being exhausted physically last week. I focused only on singles this week, keeping in mind the weather,” said Vishnu, who is coached by C.V. Nagraj in Hyderabad and has Mohd. Abdul Latheef as his physical trainer.

The ONGC employee was understandably happy, as he had survived two match-points in the first round against Kaza Vinayak Sharma.

Overall, Vishnu served strong and did not give many chances for his opponents, event though he did drop two sets along the way.

He said it was the best he had served the whole week, in any tournament, firing 23 aces in one match.

For 20-year-old Dalwinder Singh, trained at the Academy for the last 10 years, it was a big leap as he had rarely crossed the second round in such a tournament.

The results (final): Vishnu Vardhan bt Dalwinder Singh 7-6(4), 6-4.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sports> Tennis / by Sports Bureau / Ludhiana – May 14th, 2016

Veteran leader Chennamaneni Rajeswara Rao passes away

Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All
Rajeswara Rao served the Communist Party of India for four decades since his student days / The Hindu
Rajeswara Rao served the Communist Party of India for four decades since his student days / The Hindu

Veteran Communist leader and five-time-MLA Chennamaneni Rajeswara Rao died on Monday at a hospital in Hyderabad, following illness. He was 93 and is survived by three daughters and a son Ch. Ramesh, who is the TRS MLA from Vemulawada constituency in Karimnagar district. Rajeswara Rao’s brother Ch. Vidyasagar Rao is the Governor of Maharashtra.

Mr. Rao served the Communist Party of India for four decades since his student days and was elected as its MLA four times from Sircilla, now renamed as Vemulawada. He participated in the Telangana armed struggle against the tyranny of Nizam’s rule and went underground for sometime.

He was the president of the Telangana Freedom Fighters Association and the president of the farmers’ wing of CPI. He quit the CPI as the chairman of its legislature party in 1999 and joined the Telugu Desam, the party which he described as the closest to his heart. He, however, lost the Assembly election on a TDP ticket in 1999 and went on to represent the party in the Assembly in the next term. He distanced himself from active politics after 2009 when his son Ramesh, a professor in agricultural economics at a German university, was elected.

The funeral will take place on Tuesday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by N. Rahul – Hyderabad – May 09th, 2016

A heritage structure waiting to be recognised

Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All
Nostalgic:Kanaka Rajubai (right) recalling her association with anthropologist Christopher von Furer-Haimendorf during the 1940s at Marlavai village in Adilabad district.— Photo: S. Harpal Singh
Nostalgic:Kanaka Rajubai (right) recalling her association with anthropologist Christopher von Furer-Haimendorf during the 1940s at Marlavai village in Adilabad district.— Photo: S. Harpal Singh

An open well at Marlavai village is connected to legendary anthropologist Christopher von Furer-Haimendorf, who conducted anthropological studies here

“You don’t stumble upon your heritage. It’s there, just waiting to be explored and shared,” opined famous Canadian singer Jamie Royal Robertson aka Robbie Robertson, apparently while talking about the importance of heritage.

In the currently parched tribal heartland of Adilabad district, at Marlavai village in Jainoor mandal to be precise, an abandoned open well is waiting to be rediscovered, repaired and recognised as a heritage structure. The open well is connected to legendary anthropologist Christopher von Furer-Haimendorf, who conducted anthropological studies here and designed the Land Transfer Regulation to protect Adivasis from exploitation, during his stay in the village between 1941 and 1949.

Deputed by the Nizam of Hyderabad to look into the problems of Adivasis of Adilabad, especially Raj Gonds, Haimendorf, in his capacity as Advisor to the Nizam on Backward Classes and Tribal Affairs, chose Marlavai to establish his permanent camp on the invitation of Lachu Patel, an articulate Gond from the village, according to Hyderabad-based social anthropologist Urmila Pingle. “It was Lachu Patel who had assured Haimendorf that Marlavai had a good well with sufficient water,” she wrote in her paper titled ‘C.von.Furer-Haimendorf: Half a century of his imprint on tribal welfare in Andhra Pradesh’.

“The Adilabad highlands had water scarcity even in those days, and the open well of which Lachu Patel talked about belonged to late Kanaka Hannu, one of two Gonds who emerged as teachers from the Teacher Training School which the anthropologist established at Marlavai,” said Kanaka Ambaji Rao, the president of Haimendorf Youth Organisation at Marlavai. “All the families in the village supplied water to the Haimendorfs twice daily by turn,” he added. “The couple were given three or four pots of water in the morning and evening, but they had their bath once in three or four days only. They washed their own clothes and linen,” recalled nonagenarian Rajubai, the wife of Hannu master, about the life of the anthropologist couple at her village. “The well was in use until 1986,” recalled Soyam Raju, a farmer from the same village. “It was nevertheless used sparingly as the government had dug an open well in 1962,” he added.

“Though dilapidated, the well located about 200 metre from the village needs to be repaired. It can even be put to use as the level of water in it is about 10 feet deep at this time,” the farmer suggested.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by S. Harpal Singh / Marlavai(Adilabad Dist.) – May 09th, 2016

UoH Student Bags Baillie Gifford Prize Fellowship

Education, Records, All, World Opinion
Garima Goel
Garima Goel

Hyderabad :

A final year student of MA Political Science at the University of Hyderabad (UoH), Garima Goel has been selected as the Baillie Gifford prize fellow for the year 2016-17.

The fellowship is given to only one person in the world and she would be studying MRes in Contemporary India at King’s College, London.

“With the whole digitisation, there is a lot of data that is available as open source and it is kind of exciting. All I want to do is research on Indian politics and be close to the policies. I just don’t want to keep on writing and be of no use. Publishing papers is not my main aim, creating an impact with my work is what I am looking forward to and I intend to explore understudied topics within mainstream political science in India through a career in research and teaching,” Goel said.

When asked what made her took up research work, she said, “Last year, I was among the three students selected from UoH to do a study on transcultural studies at Heidelberg University, Germany. It is there, my interest for research started and now all I want to do is to carry out research work.”

Goel enjoys uncovering and answering questions related to Indian politics using open data and maps, which are increasingly available to researchers today. During her time at King’s, she will work on ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) voting patterns in India’s elections under the supervision of Dr Louise Tillin.

“Politicians do not care much about NOTA as it has no impact on results. However, through my earlier research, I found out that there has been a significant rise in the use of NOTA and as many assume there is a specific pattern and not just ignorance the reason for usage of NOTA. Also, there is no co-relation between NOTA and turnout,” Goel, who has earlier studied NOTA during the Bihar elections, said.

The fellowship, worth up to 30,000 pounds, provides full financial support to one student at King’s India Institute for research-track Masters programme that imparts advanced training to develop a thesis under expert supervision.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / May 06th, 2016

Martyr’s memorial to come up on Hussainsagar bank

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel

The environs of Hussainsagar lake in the heart of Hyderabad are set to undergo one more change in near future with the Telangana Government deciding to locate a massive martyrs’ memorial on a 12-acre land to be reclaimed by shifting out Buddha Purnima project, tourism and electricity department offices.

The decision was taken by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at a review meeting held here on Tuesday on conducting the State Formation Day celebrations falling on June 2 and laying foundation stone for the new martyrs’ memorial. Accordingly, he would participate in the ground-breaking ceremony for the memorial on June 2 on the bank of Hussainsagar.

He directed the officials to design and construct the memorial in such a way that the spirit of the movement for statehood to Telangana and the sacrifices made by activists were remembered by future generations. Stating that the memorial would be the tallest one, the Chief Minister asked Engineer-in-Chief I. Ganapathi Reddy to take the responsibility to construct the memorial and develop a memorial park.

Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao suggested that the memorial centre also have un-published literature on Telangana history, culture and the movement so that it could be a major literary centre. Giving an example, he said the literature should comprise the biography of Telangana ideologue Prof. K. Jayashankar who spent all his life in the movement for statehood. “If one visits the memorial, one should long for spending more time there. The ambience should reflect the self-respect of Telangana. The Buddha statue would be in front and the Ambedkar statue would be in the back with Secretariat building on the other side. The memorial should be very tall,” the Chief Minister said. He told Mr. Ganapathi Reddy to start supervising the work immediately so that ground work could be taken up at the earliest.

The Chief Minister directed the officials to organise the State Formation Day celebrations in districts, the State capital and the national capital with innovative programmes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Nwes> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – May 04th, 2016

Restoration of Doll House in final stage

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All
The Doll House received a special citation by INTACH recently. Experts believe it predates the Residency Building / Photo: G. Ramakrishna
The Doll House received a special citation by INTACH recently. Experts believe it predates the Residency Building / Photo: G. Ramakrishna

The origin of the building is unknown, but many intriguing stories surround the structure

Why is the Doll House behind the Koti Residency building in the Koti Women’s College premises called so? And what was its purpose? Was it really built for Khairunnisa, the wife of resident James Achilles Kirkpatrick, who couldn’t enter the main structure, or was it actually a scale model built prior to construction of the edifice?

The Doll House received a special citation by INTACH recently. Experts believe it predates the Residency Building (above) in Koti’s Women College.– Photo: G. Ramakrishna
The Doll House received a special citation by INTACH recently. Experts believe it predates the Residency Building (above) in Koti’s Women College.– Photo: G. Ramakrishna

With little information at hand, the origins and purpose of the miniature model, which received a citation from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) recently, are still shrouded in mystery. While that may be so, the good news is that the white marble structure is now almost back to life, thanks to the Deccan Heritage Foundation.

A few theories exist about its origin. According to the romantic version, it was built for Khairunnisa. However, it is now believed that the Doll House could predate the Residency Building itself. Architect Sarat Chandra, who is working on its restoration, said that it could be treatise. “Whenever you construct such a building, you need to build a scale model. But we don’t know if that was done here, because we don’t know the exact date,” he added. Mr. Chandra explained that some of the architectural elements in the Doll House they found were the same as the Residency Building, hence he is inclined to believe that the model predates the latter. “For example, we found wooden beams and circular columns which were similar. Anuradha Naik also found archival evidence of the model, i.e. two videos from the Cambridge University library,” he said.

William Dalrymple, who authored White Mughals, a book on the love story of James Achilles Kirkpatrick and Khairunnisa, also said that there is only speculation about the Doll House’s origins. He added that it could be called so as it is located in what could have been the children’s area back when the Residency building was constructed in the early 20th century. Mr. Chandra also agreed with this, as he said that doll houses are commonly found in European villas.

Lying in the garden behind the Residency Building, the Doll House is now almost restored, with work going on in full swing. When work began last July, apart from the plinth, only the north and south-eastern portions of the Doll House were intact, as a mahogany tree had crashed into it some years ago. Currently in the final stages of restoration, it will take a month more for it to be ready.

Two fountains, pathway discovered

But apart from restoration of the Doll House, heritage conservationists and lovers might be delighted to know that two fountains and a pathway were discovered recently in the garden area. What makes it interesting is that both of them are aligned in a straight line axis with the model. “The next phase of restoration is to restore the garden,” mentioned Mr. Chandra.

Mr. Chandra added that the director of the State Department of Archaeology will conduct a scientific investigation, which will then be used to restore the ‘Rang Mahal’ garden in the coming days.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Yunus Y. Lasania / May 02nd, 2016