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CyClng to their futureAs a part of the ‘Badikosta’ programme, the Government of Andhra Pradesh is providing bi-cycles to girl students of Class IX in the state.

It was a random revelation by a young woman at the re-dedication day of AP government, afew months ago, that was the trigger for this program. The woman said that the earlier TDPgovernment had taken up distribution of bicycles to girl students in 2003, which enabled herto complete her school and college.

Touched by her statement, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu immediately took up the initia-tive once again and approved the scheme. As many as 1,81,556 cycles were distributed nowto Class IX students of 5,628 schools including 246 government schools, 4,432 ZP schools, 319municipal schools, 471 aided schools and 160 model schools at a cost of Rs 74.93 crore.

In rural and tribal and even urban areas, owing to lack of transport facilities many girl studentsfrom lower middle class and poor families were dropping out. Giving them bicycles would helpreach schools in time and improve their health by providing physical exercise.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said that girls would do better than boys in educationgiven the necessary support and encouragement.

w

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C O N T E N T SKia Motors to investRs.7,000 cr in AP

Mega tourismevents planned

Mega Solar Parknearing completion

10

12

14

Good tidings forGirijans 22

British Council to help APstudents improve soft skills

5

Construction of thenew manufacturingfacility, Kia Motors’first in India, willcommence in the finalquarter of 2017.

Making peoplepartners in

development

Happening Andhra

20

632

Snapshot: Revenue receipts

9Bali BaliBali ra BaliSahooreRajamouli

26

8 Amazing AP:Moghalrajpuram Caves

30

Various developments across thestate of Andhra Pradesh.

Telemedicinecentres launched17

For smoother roads

‘Protect federalsystem’

City Gallery first ofits kind in India tocome up in Amaravati

SP, Hema Malini bagNTR awards

16

157

Vistadome Train Coacheswith Glass Ceiling


MAY 20174 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

Citizen-centric governance

Building a responsive and responsible government is achallenge which modern administrations are grappling with

for a long time now. With information technology making giantstrides, it has now become possible to listen to the pulse of thepeople on real time basis.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, a firm believer in harnessingtechnological innovations to reach out to the people, is a pioneerin making use of IT initiatives for improving administrativeefficiency. The CORE (CM Office Real time Executive) Dashboardwhich the CM monitors on a daily basis was the first attempt atreal time governance anywhere in the country. The Control andCommand Centre set up last year on the eve of KrishnaPushkarams was also another important step in this mission.

Going forward, the CM came up with the new concept of creatinga direct channel of communication between the citizens and theChief Minister. The mobile app CM Connect, a new featuredeveloped within Kaizala platform of Microsoft, opens up newpossibilities in forging an interactive government.

Using the new app, citizens can provide feedback on a daily basis,which will be reviewed by the CM directly. As the Chief Ministersaid this move is indeed ‘a big step towards enabling a citizen-driven participatory governance that operates in real time mode’.

Taking the concept further, the AP government also set up thebiggest call centre run by any state government in the county toreceive independent feedback from beneficiaries of variousgovernment schemes. Named Parishkara Vedika, the call centre isa Citizen Experience Management Centre with more than 1200people working 24/7 listening and interacting with the citizens ona day to day basis in three languages.

These commendable initiatives will go a long way in makingpeople partners in development.

Ramesh Babu KandulaEditor

EDITORIAL

CommissionerS Venkateswar IISEditorRamesh Babu KandulaExecutive EditorNaresh NunnaCover PageKIA comes to AP

Second Cover Girl Empowerment

Third CoverMonth in pics

Fourth CoverAPIIC Advt on Sunrise State

Published by:Information & Public Relations DepartmentGovernment of Andhra PradeshHyderabad - 500 028Ph: 040-23300258

Views expressed by various authors in this issue reflect theirpersonal opinions.

DesignKarthik Beesu

Photos:T.Srinivasa Reddy, VijayawadaPrinted atCaxton Offset Pvt. Ltd.HyderabadEach Issue : Rs 20/-Annual Subscription : Rs 220/-www.andhrapradeshmagazine.orgEmail: [email protected]

ANDHRA PRADESHPublished Monthly In English & Telugu

May 2017Volume:11 Issue:11Salivahana Era 1939

Printed and Published by Ramesh Babu Kandula on behalf of Director/Commissioner, Information and Public Relations Dept.;Printed at M/s Caxton Offset Pvt. Ltd., 11.5.416/3, Red Hills, Hyderabad - 500 004; Published at Office of Director/Commissioner ,I&PR Dept, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, Samachar Bhavan, AC Guards, Hyderabad - 500028. Editor: Ramesh Babu Kandula.Ph: 040-23300258.


MAY 2017 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG 5

The Andhra Pradesh government in April enteredinto a partnership with the British Council tolaunch a pilot programme to improve the softskills and employability of one lakh universityand college students in the state. The pilot project will focus on providing training to stu-dents in areas related to spoken English communication,confidence building, better employability, CV/resumewriting and preparation for interviews. The pilot project will focuson providing training tostudents in areas related tospoken English communi-cation, confidence build-ing, better employability,CV/resume writing andpreparation for interviews. It will offer 150 hours (100hours of face-to-face and50 hours of online English)of learning model supple-mented with mobile learn-ing and English clubs. This initiative also includes thetraining of 150 master trainers and 2,500 teachers. For effective implementation of the project, AndhraPradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) andBritish Council will evolve a coordinated approach in se-lecting and training 150 highly qualified master trainers

to be trained by the representatives of British Council,who will further train 2,500 teachers selected from allacross the state. These 2,500 teachers will further provideface-to-face training to one lakh students enrolled in AP’sHigher Education Institutions. “We have a vision of making Andhra Pradesh the beststate in the country by 2029 and a major part of this vi-sion entails developing the state into a knowledge hub, bystrengthening the system of education to produce well-educated youth to enter into various technological fields”Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said. He asked the British Council to explore other opportuni-ties and partnerships in the field of education and help in-crease the employability of students in the state Alan Gemmell, director, British Council India said, “Wewill respond to the Chief Minister’s ambitious goals andprovide support to the state in improving the educationalopportunities and employment skills of the learners.” Last year, the state government had invited the BritishCouncil to conduct an investigation of the current situa-tion of English language teaching and learning in 14higher education institutions, where in 139 teachers, 672learners and 90 staff members participated in the pro-gramme. The outcomes of the study suggested that there is a strongneed to improve the language proficiency and soft skills ofstudents enrolled in the higher education institutions inAP.

British Council to helpAP STUDENTS IMPROVE SOFT SKILLS

v

The pilot projectwill address thestrong need to

improve languageproficiency and

soft skills ofstudents in higher

education.

CM and other dignitaries after signing MoU with British Council to provide quality education & improve English language proficiency for 100,000 college students.



Computerized Road Management System forthe State highways and major district roads inthe State is expected to improve the condi-tions of the roads in the state. As part of the review held with the officials of theRoads and Building department, the Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu reviewed the working of thesystem for the state highways and major districtroads. The officials who made apresentation on the roadmanagement system saidthat the RMS is linked toGIS database and bypreparing multi-yearrolling plans it wouldhelp in road improve-ment and annual mainte-nance. The framework for theAPRMS includes data col-lection on various as-pects such as road inventory, pavement condition,maintenance history and thickness and traffic volume.The collected data will be transferred to a databasesystem and then to the decision and support center.Here at this center, economic analysis, rolling out ofplans, work programmes and prioritization of workswill be decided. Computerization of RMS data linking to GIS and

preparation of rolling out plans have been completedfor state highways for 8 districts which includePrakasam, Guntur, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram,Visakhapatnam, Krishna, East Godavari and Nellore.Coming to the districts of West Godavari and Kurnool,preparing of rolling out plans is due and will be com-pleted soon. With regard to Chittoor, Kadapa and Ananthapuramdistricts the process is yet to begin and will becompleted by the end of May 2017. A pilot study was conducted on 40 roads in the districtof Prakasam to understand the network condition ofstate highways. A number of distresses such as pot-holes, edge breaks, cracks, raveling, longitudinalcracks and rutting were found and treatments weresuggested. The overall average network quality of the1257.66 Km surveyed was understood to be poor andnot up to the IRI standards. The officials also informed the Chief Minister that theexisting roads and buildings maintenance practiceswhich is a combination of ordinary and periodicalmaintenance has many shortfalls and lacked a scien-tific approach. The Principal Secretary informed the Chief Ministerthat 7 nodal officers were appointed to ensure thespeedy implementation of the 7 critical projects in theState. Nodal officers are appointed to projects such asAmaravti – Ananthapuramu National Expressway,

The Chief Ministersuggested appointing

knowledge partnersas consultants towork with nodal

officers to maintainbest road network in

the State.

FOR SMOOTHER ROADS


ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG 7MAY 2017

Benz Circle Flyover (NH 16), Outer RingRoad for New Capital Amaravati,Vijayawada-Gundugolanu Project: 6-laning including Vijayawada Bypass onNH 16, 4-Laning Vijayawada – Machili-patnam section NH 65, Guntur –Narasaraopet,Perecherla section NH544D, and Beach Corridor Project fromBhimunipatnam to Bhogapuram. Officers were also appointed to overseeworks of External Aided Projects forRural Road, technology development &CM Dash Board and for the develop-ment of quality methods, Policies,Training programme for institutionalcapacity building of (R&B) Dept.Sanctions from the CentreThe officials of the roads and buildingsdepartment informed the ChiefMinister about the recent sanctionsmade by the Government of India. Rs3370.93 crores were released by theGOI for various works. Under the Central road fund, the Centerreleased an amount of 1690.60 crorefor taking up of 132 works. Besidesthis, Rs.896.37 crore was released forworks relating to Vizianagaram Bypass, NH 340 (Rayachoti-Angallu) & NH 75(Mangalore-Tiruvannamalai Road ).Another 783.96 crores were releasedfor Railway Road Over bridges andRoad Under Bridges works. The Chief Minister suggested appoint-ing knowledge partners as consultantsto work with nodal officers to maintainbest road network in the State. Let’s keep AP clean: CMThe Chief Minister during the reviewsuggested some steps to make AndhraPradesh clean. He said that the officialsat various levels should use technologyto keep the state roads clean. “Engi-neers should take a video which lastsfor one-minute and they should put thevideo online. The video should beprocessed using machine learning tech-nology,” the Chief Minister said. At the end of the meeting the ChiefMinister suggested the constructionand maintenance of all the roadsshould be brought under the purviewof the road development corporation. Ifneed be, the corporation can borrowfunds, he suggested.

Andhra Pradesh Government announced NTR National FilmAward to renowned singer S P Balasubrahmanyam for theyear 2012 and to Hindi Film actor and the yesteryear dreamgirl Hema Malini for the year 2013. The NTR award carries acash award of ₹5 lakh and a citation.The State Government revived the presentation of four prestigiousawards instituted in the name of eminent film personalities- NTR, B NReddy, Nagireddy and Chakrapani (all national ) and RaghupathiVenkaiah Film Award, after a gap of five years.Veteran film director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao won the B N ReddyNational Film Award for the year 2012. The other two awards —Nagireddy and Chakrapani National Film award went to film producerDaggubati Suresh and Raghupathi Venkaiah Film award to film directorKodi Rama Krishna for the year 2012.For the year 2013, NTR National Film Award was conferred on HemaMalini, B N Reddy National Film award to Director Kodanda Remireddy,Nagireddy and Chakrapani National Film award to producer Dil Rajuand Raghupathi Venkaiah film award to actor Vanisree.Addressing the media, Murali Mohan and Balakrishna said thecommittee submitted the list of awardees for the two years to the ChiefMinister N Chandrababu Naidu and he gave his approval 10 days ago,but due care was taken not to leak the information.They said the awards could not be announced since 2012 because ofthe disturbed political situation in the undivided state. Murali Mohan said the committee did not want to discriminatebetween Telugu people of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as the filmindustry was one. The committee as well as awardees belonged to boththe States. Committees would be soon constituted for selection ofawardees for 2014, 2015 and 2016 for Nandi awards for film, theatre,Television and NTR national awards and the process would be com-pleted in two months.The awards for all the five years would be presented at a grand functionto be held over two days in October or November.

SP, Hema Malini bag NTR awards

v v

I&PR Commissioner S Venkateswar, MLA, Actor Balakrishna, MP, Actor MuraliMohan, film Industry personality Ramesh Prasad announcing the awards.


8 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG MAY 2017

Aiming to provide adelightful travellingexperience to thepicturesque Arakuvalley in Visakhapatnam, theRailways in April introduced asee-through Vistadome coachon its Visakhapatnam-Kiran-dul passenger train.Railway Minister SureshPrabhu flagged-off the trainthrough a video link fromBhubaneswar.The specially-designed Vista-dome air-conditioned coach,claimed to be a first-of-its-kind on Indian Railways, haslarge glass windows and anobservation lounge that offerpassengers a panoramic viewof the sites along the 128-kmrail route from Visakhapat-nam to Araku valley hill sta-tion.A unique feature of this Rs3.38 crore 40-seat coach isthe double-wide recliningpassenger seats that could berotated 360 degrees for a bet-

ter sightseeing experience.The coach also has a glass-domed ceiling, automatic slid-ing doors and a multi-tierluggage rack, a railway re-lease said.The tourists can now sit re-laxed in their seats and get aclear view of the breath-tak-ing Anantagiri ghat section,Lambasingi, Borra caves andthe tunnels along the route,from the Vistadome coach,unlike the crammed traincompartments.Only one coach has been at-tached to the train now on atrial basis while one more willsoon be added.After the launch, Prabhu saidthe Vistadome coach wasbeing introduced for the firsttime in the country to pro-mote tourism.A similar coach would later beintroduced on a route innortheast as well, he said.Visakhapatnam MP, Kamb-hampati Haribabu attended

the function along withPrabhu in Bhubaneswar,while Araku MP KottapalliGeeta, MLAs, Railway Divi-sional Manager (Visakhapat-nam) ChandralekhaMukherjee and others tookpart in the launch from Vizag.What’s the most fascinatingabout the Vistadome coachesis the glass ceiling with elec-trically controlled trans-parency. Passengers of theVisakhapatnam-Araku Valleytrain can climb to special ob-servation lounges in the Vis-tadome coaches for morespectacular views.The Vistadome coaches arealso fitted with automaticsliding doors and multi-tierluggage racks. The modernamenities that the glasscoaches are equipped with forconvenience of travelers in-clude LED lights, GPS-enabledinfo system, and multiple TVscreens for infotainment, ac-cording to the press releaseissued by Indian Railways.

VISTADOMETRAINCOACHESWITH GLASSCEILING

v

Tourists now can haveunfiltered view of the beautyof natural sights along the128-km route from Visakh toAraku Valley.



w Tax revenue for the year 2016-17is Rs. 44,055 crores

w Non tax revenue is Rs. 5,046crores

w Share in central taxes is Rs.26,264 crores

w Central grants is Rs. 24,365crores

w Total revenue receipts is Rs.99,730 crores

w Shortfall under receipts fromGovernment of India for capitalcity and Polavaram is Rs.3,358.96 crores

w Revenue deficit grant for2014-15 given by the Center isRs. 1,176.50 crores and shortfallprojected is Rs. 1,823.50 crores.

w 450 crores given by the centerfor capital city and shortfallis Rs.550 crores.

w Rs. 2,514.54 crores released bythe Center towards Polavaramproject and shortfall is Rs.985.46 crores.

w During the year 2016-17 up toMarch 2017, the total revenuerealized by the Commercial Taxdepartment is Rs. 33,566.65 croreswith a growth rate of 12.29%.

w The Prohibition and Excisedepartment achieved a growthrate of 5.88% and has earnedrevenue of Rs. 4,644.45 croresfor the year 2016-17.

w Negative growth rate was regis-tered in the Departments of Reg-istration, Stamps and Forest.

w In comparison to the previousyear, the growth rate fell by-4.01% in revenue from stamp

Duty and Registration.

w Likewise, negative growth rateof -49.29% was seen in theForest Department.

w The land Revenue Department’sgrowth rate is 17.33% and hasearned revenue of Rs.267.90crores.

w The revenue achievement in theTransport department isRs. 2,463.21 crores and thegrowth rate achieved is 15.71%.

w Rs.1,700.61 crores revenue wasachieved in the year 2016-17 bythe Department of Mines and Ge-ology with a growth rate of 22%.

w Among all the 13 districts, EastGodavari district achieved thehighest revenue of Rs.315 croresand Vizianagaram the leastrevenue at Rs. 30 crores.

w The total revenue earned by allthe 7 departments for the year2016-17 is Rs. 46,285.30 crores andthe growth rate achieved,compared to 2015-16, is 9.81%.

w Krishna District is the highestrevenue collector with Rs.16,226crores, followed by Visakhapat-nam at Rs.12,130 crores andGuntur at Rs.3,648 crores.

w The revenue target set for theMines Department for the year2017-18 is Rs.1,960 crores.

w GSDP for 2016-17 at currentprices is at Rs.6,99,307 croresand growth achieved is 14.65 %.Tax revenue for 2016-17 is Rs.46,285 crores, growth at 9.81%.Tax revenue as percentage ofGSDP is 6.61%.

SNAPSHOT

REVENUE RECEIPTSThe following details emerged at a review meeting of theChief Minister with revenue-earning departments in April.

v



It’s a dream come true for the State of AndhraPradesh. The State Government under the leader-ship of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu hadbeen relentlessly working to position the state onIndia’s automobile manufacturing map. And nowits efforts have borne fruit with the signing of the Memo-randum of Understanding with Kia Motors Corporationto set up a car manufacturing facility in AnanthapuramuDistrict. The MoU was signed bySolomon Arokiaraj, Secretary,Industries, Government of AndhraPradesh and Han-Woo Park, Presi-dent of Kia Motors, in the presenceof the Chief Minister Naidu. Kia Motors along with his associ-ates and vendors will set up agreen-field car manufacturingfacility in Erramanchi in Ananta-pur district with total investmentof USD 2.0 billion. The company will produce strategiccompact sedans and compact SUVs, which will be de-signed to suit the Indian market conditions. The unitwill incorporate facilities for stamping, welding, paintingand assembly. Besides an advanced training center, KiaMotors will also establish a township for their employ-ees. The project is expected to generate employment for

over 11,000 people, both permanent and temporary.The project is likely to commence work in the last quar-ter of 2017 and is expected to roll out the first batch ofcars in the second half of 2019, to eventually produce upto 300,000 units each year. The Chief Minister in his address on the occasion saidthat it is a proud moment for him and as well as to thepeople of Andhra Pradesh to welcome a global automo-bile giant to the State. “I am very happy that Kia Motors has finalised its invest-ment plans to enter India, and has selected AndhraPradesh to set up their new plant,” the Chief Ministersaid. He, in fact, advanced the deadline for trial produc-tion from June 2019 to the end of December 2018. The Chief Minister said that he considers the Automo-bile & Auto-components as a very important thrust sec-tor for the growth of Andhra Pradesh and that today’sMoU will go a long way in its development history andwill also strengthen his commitment towards “Make inIndia” program. With an accent on manufacturing efficiency, as India’sautomobile industry had made great strides in recentyears, the Chief Minister said that he is confident thatKia Motors will bring in its latest technology, both inproducts as well as in its machinery and also help

KIA MOTORSto invest Rs.7,000 cr in AP

Construction of thenew manufacturingfacility, Kia Motors’

first in India, willcommence in the

final quarter of 2017.

CM and Industries Minister at the signing of the MoU for setting up of KIA Motors plant.



v

strengthen the automobiles sector in the State by en-hancing its auto-components ecosystem. On behalf of the Andhra Pradesh government, the ChiefMinister assured Kia Motors that the government ma-chinery would extend all the needed support to theproject and will stay committed all though. “We willstand by you and provide a transparency ecosystem”,the Chief Minister added. Andhra Pradesh is poised to become a very strong hubfor Automobile sector in India. Its overall target is toemploy at least 2 lakh in the Automobile and Auto com-ponents sector by 2020. The government believes that with the presence of KiaMotors and its ancillaries, the entire region from Anan-tapur towards Bengaluru will be developed into astrong economic hub. Besides this, the project willhave a spin-off effect on industrial development andemployment in backward areas within AndhraPradesh. The Chief Minster said that he would personally moni-tor the progress of the project every 4th Monday andappointed the District Collector of Anantapur as thenodal officer for this project. Both the plant managerand the nodal officer would be responsible for thespeedy completion of the plant, the Chief Minister said. In his concluding remarks, the Chief Minster said “Iwould reiterate my Government’s commitment to-wards providing Kia Motors with all necessary supportand handholding throughout the implementation life-cycle.”Han-Woo Park, President of Kia Motors in his openingremarks said that he is delighted that Kia is setting upits newest manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh. He expressed his gratitude to the Chief Minister and to

Solomon Arokia Raj, Secretary Industries for theirefforts in making this MoU happen. He spoke at length about Kia Motors profile wherein hementioned that Kia is Korea’s 2nd largest vehiclemanufactuer and that it has a production capacity of3.5 million units and annual revenue of the company isUSD 45 billion. The company has 14 manufacturingand assembly operations in 5 countries. He stated that this MoU is a next major step in Kia’sglobal expansion plans and that it would help them be-come a strong player in the overseas market. He assured the Chief Minister that they would con-tribute to the economic development of AndhraPradesh and in turn sought continuous support fromthe government. “ Kia Motors and Andhra Pradesh are now a family.Today’s MoU will open a new chapter in our company’sgrowth and also for the growth and development ofAndhra Pradesh,” said Han-Woo Park. AP Auto Policy bears fruitGovernment of Andhra Pradesh has identified automo-biles as a key thrust sector for industrial development.With a view to the sector’s tremendous potential togenerate employment opportunities and foster innova-tion and growth, the state came up with the Automo-bile & Auto Components Policy 2015-20, which aims togenerate new employment opportunities for at least 2lakh people and attract new investments of at least Rs20,000 crore in this sector by 2020. Automobile & AutoComponents Policy 2015-20 encompasses a holisticpackage of incentives on infrastructural support, subsi-dizing common infrastructure development and aidingmarketing, patenting and quality certification.

The project, bybrining in around Rs12,000 cr investment,is expected to generate employ-ment for over 11,000people, bothpermanent andtemporary.


The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department is mon-itoring as many as 113 projects that will en-hance the tourism profile of the the State. TheTourism Department officials informed the ChiefMinister that 75 projects worth Rs 3,341 crores havebeen grounded and another 38 projects worth Rs 10,958crores are in pipeline. These details were shared by thedepartment officials at a recentreview meeting held with theChief Minister at Velagapudi. Andhra Pradesh’s domestictourist footfall has increased byover 30% in comparison to lastyear. The domestic arrival in 2014 was98 million and has increased to158.5 million till March 2017. The international arrivalhas picked up over the years and is now at 3.24 lakhs. The GSDP contribution was at 6.8% in 2014 and the pres-

ent contribution is 7.03%. The room carrying capacityhas increased from 6,742 in 2014 to 8,835 in March2017. The Tourism department has won three awards at vari-ous occasions this year. “Andhra Pradesh – EmergingTourist Destination” Award was presented at the ITB(The World’s Leading Travel Show) – Berlin in March2017. Similarly Most Promising New Destination Award waspresented at the Travel Trade Fair - Outbound TravelMart (TTF-OTM) – Mumbai.And the Pilgrimage Destination of the Year & Best Deco-rated Stand Award was presented at the India Interna-tional Travel Mart (IITM) – Kolkata. The officials informed the Chief Minister that they arefocusing on infrastructure development and marketingand promotion for the 5 identified hubs in the State. The department aims at attracting private sector invest-ments worth Rs 2,200 crores for infrastructure develop-ment and has prepared a plan to add as many as 1500rooms at 5 Star hotels for the year 2017-18. The tourism department has signed a MoU with aSpanish consultant to design and develop an Oceanariumat Visakhapatnam. Central government projectsOut of the 11 projects sanctioned by the central govern-ment, 6 have been completed. The centre has sanctioneda sum of 180 crores of which 75 crores were released and56 crores have been spent. Development of Rayalaseema Religious and HeritageTourist Circuit in Rayalaseema districts, development ofMahayana Buddhist Circuit, development Rajamahen-dravaram Heritage, Eco and Nature Tourism Circuit,development of Tirupati temple Town, and developmentof Srisailam Temple Town, are some of the proposalssubmitted to the central government for consideration. Activities and events planned for 2017-18For the year 2017-18, 24 mega-events and 76 days ofactivities with a budget of 65 cr have been finalized bythe department.


MEGA TOURISM EVENTS PLANNEDFountain and Multimedia show on the banks ofBhavani Island to come up by Dasara

The tourism depart-ment has signed a

MoU with a Spanishconsultant to design

and develop anOceanarium at

Visakhapatnam.



Sand Marathon, The Yacht Pentagonal, Visakha Utsav,Sound Cloud, Cooking Olympiad, Araku Balloon Festivalare some of the events planned for Visakhapatnam. Buddhism festival, though leadership, Amaravatitheatre, Amaravati music and dance show in Amaravati,world spiritual week, crafts Mela, flamingo festival inTirupati and celebrating A. R Rehman, KonaseemaSankranti, Godavari Dance and Lantern show inRajamahendravaram are some of the events planned forthis year. The Chief Minister after reviewing the presentation saidthat services and hospitality provided to the tourists isthe key element which determines the success of thetourism sector. He asked the officials to involve serviceproviders to provide best services and make sure thatpremises and places are kept neat and clean. The Chief Minister shared his ideas on how the depart-ment can plan activities to encourage water sports, vil-lage and agricultural tourism and food festivals in theState. The Chief Minister said once these activities are executedhe is hopeful that the tourist flow will grow by 40 to 50% and achieve a growth rate of 15%. Bhuma Akhila Priya, Minister for Tourism, Cultural andTelugu language made a presentation on the observa-tions made in the department and proposed changes tothem. She also proposed some new projects of which ‘Street Theater’ is one. Department of telugu language and CultureThe department of Telugu Language and Culture briefedthe Chief Minister about the proposed new infrastructureprojects in the State. Pavitrasangamam Cultural Centre and Godavari Kalak-shetram at Kakinada, Amaravathi Cultural Centre, districtcultural centers, Kuchipudi Natyaramam are some of newprojects proposed. The government also proposes to establish 6 schools ofperforming and visual arts and also set up a GhantasalaMuseum. Director, Culture informed the Chief Minister that to pro-

tect and perpetuate Telugu Literature and different ArtForms, the Committee on Telugu Bhasha has suggested inits report to establish Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi,Andhra Pradesh Sangeetha Nrutya Akademi, AndhraPradesh Nataka Ackademi, Andhra Pradesh DrusyaKalala Akademi, Andhra Pradesh Folk and CreativityAkademi, Andhra Pradesh History Akademi and AndhraPradesh Science & Technology Akademi. fountain and Multimedia show atBhavani islandBhavani island is a unique gift of nature and is most ap-propriate to be developed as a major tourist destination.In this context, the government is proposing to develop afountain and multimedia show on the banks of BhavaniIsland to act as catalyst to increase tourist footfall. BITC envisages to set-up musical fountain with provisionfor water screen of suitable size for the purpose of dis-playing laser and high lumens projections on waterScreen. All features, including water works, music, lasershow will be seamlessly synchronized so as to generatemesmerizing shows for minimum 250 spectators.The proposed fountain would be 75 m wide and 25 m tallwith world class features on the lines of Bellagio fountainat Las Vegas, Burj Khalifa Lake fountain in Dubai. Thelaser show content would be highlighting themes rele-vant to Andhra Pradesh culture. BITC is planning to havethe project ready by Vijaya Dasami.

v

Sand Marathon, the yacht Pentagonal,Visakha utsav, Sound Cloud, Cookingolympiad, Araku Balloon festival are someof the events planned for Vizag.



The single large solar park in the world, with amaximum capacity of 1,000 megawatts, isnearing completion in Andhra Pradesh. Thenine-square-mile Ultra Mega Solar Park, whichcosts 70 billion rupees ($1.09 billion) of both public andprivate money to construct, contains 4 million solarmodules.The park is located in the Kurnool district of AndhraPradesh, which in recent years has distinguished itself asthe solar power capital of India. It is a joint endeavor ofIndia's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)and the Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation, a pri-vate venture company mostly owned by government cor-porations.Construction of the park began inDecember 2016, and it is expectedto be fully operational in May. Al-ready, 900 of the park's 1,000 MWcapacity has been implemented.Kurnal Ultra has single-handedlymade Andhra Pradesh the Indianstate with the highest solar powercapacity, 1,867 MW. In secondplace is Rajasthan with 1,812 MW.Renewable power activists and energy industry profes-sionals alike are impressed with the speed and efficiency

of the Kurnal Ultra project. Bids for the project in April2015, and only two years later the project is nearingcompletion. "This means that the solar park model isworking," said P. Vinay Kumar, COO of Greeniko Energies,which is building another solar power park in AndhraPradesh. "We are able to scale up capacities faster. Also,the IPPs [independent power producers] are unbur-dened of the responsibility of land acquisition and con-structing evacuation infrastructure, the activities thatgovernments are better at doing."Along with the Kurnool Park, three other large solarpower parks are planned for construction in AndhraPradesh: Ananthapuram I and II (500 MW each) andKadapa Ultra Mega Solar Park at 1,000 MW. Kadapa is ex-pected to be operational in 2018.These parks are part of an Indian initiative to reach100,000 MW in solar capacity in 2022. The State nowhas 6,052 MW of installed renewable projects.India’s renewable energy target by 2022 is 175 gigawattsof which 1 lakh MW should be generated from solar and60,000 MW from wind energy and the balance is frombiomass, he explained. Following the same, AP has setthe target of producing 10,000 MW from solar and 8,000MW from wind energy, he said, adding that one croretonnes of carbon dioxide could be reduced per year, ifthe 1,000 MW solar energy is produced.

The world’s largestsingle-location solar

park of 1,000megawatts (1 gi-

gawatt) is nearingcompletion in

Kurnool district.

v

MegA SolArPArkneAring CoMPletionWith the commissioningof the solar park, theinstalled capacity will goup to 1,867 MW in AP,making it the state withhighest generationcapacity.



A‘City Gallery’ which will serve asAmaravati Experience Centre is likelyto come up in the new capital. ChiefMinister N Chandrababu Naidureviewed the proposal for setting up such agallery.The city gallery which is perhaps the first of itskind in India would engage people of the capi-tal in the development process of Amaravati-The People’s Capital. The gallery would comeup in an area of 4.5 acres a cost of 13.69 crores.After studying city galleries in cities such asSingapore, Astana, Berlin and Chicago theCRDA officials came up with this concept.The gallery would provide interfaces throughphysical models, virtual reality experience andexhibitions for people to participate in thegrowth of Amaravati. Besides this it will alsoshow images depicting the past, present andfuture of Amaravati.The temporary structure will be built onexisting infrastructure near the Amaravatifoundation stone area and a semi- permanentstructure would also come up to house thecapital city model. The proposed number ofvisitors per day is 300 to 500 and may cross4,000 after its completion. Various conceptsand designs for the city gallery were discussedby the officials and the Chief Minister hasasked them to come up with more innovative

designs in the next meeting.Later the Chief Minister reviewed theproposals for the development of Rajiv GandhiRiver Front Park and integrated transportationplan.At the beginning of the meeting CRDA officialsplayed a walkthrough video on the streets ofLPS layouts. In a few days the departmentproposes to develop a virtual experience of thewalkthrough video and show it to all thestakeholders involved.Sharing his comments on the video, the ChiefMinister said that a more number of trees,walking and cycle paths and green ways shouldbe developed keeping in view the climaticconditions of the State.The Chief Minister suggested that Amaravatishould have a wide range of public transportfacilities. He said that main centers in the cityshould be connected through metro and othercenters through electrical buses. Small distancetravel should be through waterways, he added.The Chief Minister suggested that a beautifulreplica of the sacred Tirumala Temple beconstructed on a hill.River front development activities at Varadhiand pavitra sangam were discussed by theChief Minister in detail. He asked the officialsto take up religious and spiritual activities atPavitra Sangam.v

CITYGALLERY First of its kindin India to comeup in AmaravatiThe Chief Minister suggestedthat a beautiful replica of thesacred Tirumala Temple beconstructed on a hill.



The TDP government in Andhra Pradesh, an allyof the ruling NDA, said the central governmentshould not accept the recommendation of aGovernor to impose President's rule in anystate. Addressing the Standing Committee meeting ofthe Inter-State Council, Andhra Pradesh FinanceMinister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said such a decisionwas necessary for protecting the federal system in thecountry."It has been requested not to accept the recommenda-tion relating to imposition of local emergency under Ar-ticles-355 and 356 of the Constitution of India as thesame is against principles of federalism," said Ramakr-ishnudu, who deputised for Chief Minister N Chan-drababu Naidu.He said as regards the role of Governor, it was suggestedthat one month's time is given to the Governor for givinghis assent to a bill or making reference to the Presidentwherever required as against thetime limit of six months recom-mended by the M M Punchhi Com-mission.He said the recommendations re-lating to providing a fixed tenureto Governors and their impeach-ment was not necessary.The minister said as regards fixingeligibility criteria for selection ofGovernors, it was specifically sug-gested that retired bureaucratsand judges should have a mini-mum cooling off period before which they are consid-ered for Governorship.Ramakrishnudu suggested the Standing Committeemeetings of the Inter-State Council be mandatorily heldat least three times a year."It was further suggested that the treaty-making powersof Union Government, whenever they are impinging onthe jurisdiction of states, the state governments con-cerned should invariably be consulted and any financialloss/burden be compensated," he said.

The AP Finance Minister said for assenting a Bill thathas been referred to the President, a time limit of threemonths should be fixed.Regarding the recommendation for creation of more AllIndia Services, he said each state should form its ownadministrative/developmental services to man the de-partments of health, education, etc.He said the Punchi Commission's recommendation re-lating to equal representation to all states in the RajyaSabha was against the interests of larger states likeAndhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat etc.Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meet-ing, while Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Odisha, Tripuraand Chattisgarh counterparts Naveen Patnaik, ManikSarkar and Raman Singh attended it.Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Punjab and AndhraPradesh, who are also members of the committee, didnot attend the meeting and sent their representatives.

State at Inter-State Council

‘PROTECT FEDERAL SYSTEM’

AP Finance MinisterRamakrishnudu said

each state shouldform its own admin-

istrative/ develop-mental services to

man the depart-ments of health,

education, etc.

Don't accept Governor's recommendation to impose Presidents rule: AP tells the Centre

v



Andhra Pradesh performed ex-ceedingly well in the imple-mentation of the MahatmaGandhi National Rural Em-ployment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA),said Panchayat Raj & Rural Develop-ment Commissioner B Ramanjaneyulu. Speaking at a press conference, he said6,41,294 families across the 13 districtshad utilised the 100 days of employ-ment and Rs. 5,715 crore had beenspent for the purpose in 2016-17.Livelihood securityThe MGNREGA was initiated to enhancelivelihood security in rural areas by pro-viding at least 100 days of guaranteedwage employment in a financial year toevery household whose adult membersvolunteered to do unskilled manualwork. “Out of the 13 parameters of thescheme, AP was in the first position infive, second in two, third in one andfourth and fifth in two each,” he said.Elaborating, he said with regard to mak-ing payments within the stipulatedtime, use of material component, settingup farm ponds, individual lavatories andvermin-compost pits, the State was inthe first position.In spending the funds allocated by theCentre, in providing 100 full days ofwork and in starting anganwadi centres,the State stood second.In providing work to women, it was inthe third place, in the number of days ofallocated work and in growing trees oneither side of the roads, it was in thefourth place while in spending on wagesand in the number of families broughtinto the purview of the MGNREGA, itwas in the fifth position, he said.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched the ‘Mukhya-mantri Arogya Kendras’ (MAK), e-urban primary health cen-tres, for providing telemedicine. The government plans torun the MAKs in the private-public partnership mode. Inau-gurating them at his chambers at the Secretariat, Naidu said theprocess to cleanse the government hospitals had begun. Equipmentworth crores were lying in the government hospitals. The patientsdid not benefit though the government had provided the equipment.Noticing these horrifying conditions, the government had decided todevelop the government hospitals on a par with the corporate hospi-tals, he said.Future plansThe Chief Minister said AP would be developed as medical hub whichwould be the destination for patients across the globe. The Indo-U.K.Institute of Health, in association with King College, would come upin the capital city of Amaravati. A medical and health university at acost of ₹1,000 crore would be set up as part of the project. A 1,100-bed hospital would be part of the project, which would bereferred to as the health care city. The government planned to com-plete it by 2018, he said.Work on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) wouldbegin soon at Mangalagiri in Guntur district. It would come up at acost of ₹1,618 crore. The VIMS at Visakhapatnam would also beoperational.Naidu, referring to kidney patients, said the government had plans toset up dialysis centres in all 13 districts. A research centre wouldcome up in Srikakulam.Medical and Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas and PrincipalSecretary (Medical and Health) Poonam Malkondaiah were present.

AP in forefrontin MgnregAimplementation

teleMeDiCineCentreS lAunCheD

vv



THE INVINCIBLE KRISHNA DEVARAYA AND HIS

AMUKTA MAALYADASri Krishna Devaraya (1474-1530 ??) is very reveren-tially remembered by thepeople even after 500 yearsof his coronation on August 7,1509 for his art of administration,for his smile for friends and sneerfor enemies, and for his uniquelove for literature and art. Valourwas this dauntless ruler’s gift. Hehad been designated king on July22, 1509.Born at Hampi in Karnataka in aTulu dynasty, this king of Vijayana-gara empire was most appropri-ately titled “Andhra Bhoja,” “MooruRaayaraganda,” “Kannada RajyaRamaa Ramana,” and “Malla Rayar.”Sri Krishna Devaraya, one of thegreat emperors of India, was anidol of countless Dravidians, partic-ularly the Tuluvas, Kannadigas andTelugus. Today we know a gooddeal about his rule and characteris-tics through the inscriptions andthe writings of Portuguese trav-ellers Domingo Paes and FernaoNuniz. This Emperor was ablyassisted by his Prime Minister Tim-marusu (said to be from a NiyogiTelugu Brahmin family), who wasinstrumental for his coronation,which was said to have taken placeon Janmashtami --- Lord SriKrishna’s birthday.His mother was Nagala Devi. Hisfather Tuluva Narasa Nayaka wasan army commander under SaluvaNarasimha Devaraya. He developedan exquisite outlying residentialdistrict in memory of his mother.He always sported a smile andtreated the foreign visitors withgreat respect. A man of immensestrength and courage, he was ruth-less in maintaining law and orderand in fighting the enemy. As a

warrior he did physical exercises tokeep himself combat-ready andwithstand exhaustion. Besidesbeing an able administrator,Krishna Devaraya was a marvel-lous army general leading from thefront in battles, and was exemplaryin attending to the wounded.In the history of Vijayanagara, therule of Sri Krishna Devaraya is asplendid chapter. The Vijayanagaraarmies were victorious whereverthey fought a battle. His arch ene-mies were the Gajapatis of Orissawho had been in constant conflictever since the rule of SaluvaNarasimha Devaraya. The BahmaniSultans were also a regular threat.The Portuguese became a risingmaritime power and controlledmuch of the sea trade. The feuda-tory chief of Ummathur, the Reddysof Kondavidu, and the Velamas ofBhuvanagiri repeatedly rebelledagainst the Vijayanagara ruler.However, Krishna Devaraya over-powered the local rulers, Kon-davidu Reddys, BhuvanagiriVelamas, and occupied the lands

up to River Krishna.The Ummathurregion, after its ruler Ganga Rajacommitted suicide, was made partof Srirangapatnam province.Krishna Devaraya effectively put anend to the raids and plunder ofVijayanagara towns and villages bythe Deccan Sultans. His armyfought with the Sultan of Bijapur atDiwani and seriously wounded Sul-tan Mahmud, and defeated him.Yusuf Adil Khan was killed andKovilkonda was annexed. At thattime the Bahmani Sultans weredisunited. Taking advantage of this,Sri Krishna Devaraya invadedBidar, Gulbarga and Bijapur. Hereleased Sultan Mahmud and madehim the de facto ruler of Bijapur.During the period 1516-1517, Kr-ishna Devaraya advanced beyondthe River Godavari. He conqueredthe Gajapati Kings of Orissa, whooccupied northern Andhra, afterwaging wars with them five times.Inspired by the success atUmmathur, Sri Krishna Devarayacampaigned into the Telangana re-gion which was under the control



of Gajapati Pratapa Rudra. Earlier,he annexed the Udayagiri fort dur-ing 1512-1513. Later, accompaniedby his wives Tirumala Devi andChinna Devi, he offered prayers toLord Venkateswara at Tirumala.The Vijayanagara army later onconfronted the Gajapati army atKondapalli and laid siege to thefort. The Gajapati King met with acrushing defeat. Accepting defeat,Gajapati offered his daughter Ja-ganmohini in marriage to KrishnaDevaraya. She was his third wife.The period of Sri Krishna Devarayawas a golden age of literature inmany languages, particularly forTelugu literature. It was hailed asthe age of “Prabandhas” --- a liter-ary genre. Several Telugu, Sanskrit,Kannada, Tamil, Jain, Shaiva, Vaish-nava poets enjoyed his patronage.The emperor was fluent in manylanguages, including his mothertongue Tulu. Being an accom-plished poet and aesthete himself,Sri Krishna Devaraya wroteAmukta Maalyada. His Telugu liter-ary court was known as BhuvanaVijayam. Eight Telugu poets distin-guished as “Ashta Diggajas”adorned his court. Among thoseeight literary luminaries, AllasaniPeddana, who wrote Manucharitra,was regarded as the greatest andwas conferred with the titleAndhra Kavitaa Pitaamaha (fatherof Telugu poetry). The other sevenpoets were: Nandi Timmana (Paar-ijaathapaharanam), MadayagariMallana (Rajasekhara Charitra),Dhurjati (Kaalahastiswara Mahat-myam), Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu(Raamaabhyudayam), PingaliSurana (Raghava Paandaveeyam

with double meaning running intothe Ramayana and the Mahab-harata), Bhattumurthy alias Rama-rajabhushanudu (Vasucharitra),and Tenali Ramakrishna (Pan-duranga Mahaatmyam).The noted Telugu scholar AdapaRamakrishna Rao says that KrishnaDevaraya’s distinction in thesphere of poetry is evident fromthe fact that his poetical workAmukta Maalyada had traditionallybeen included among the five clas-sics (Pancha Kavyas) in the Telugulanguage which were requiredreading for aspirants to scholar-ship. Krishna Devaraya dedicatedhis classic Amukta Maalyada toLord Venkateswara. A staunchdevotee of the Lord, he visitedTirumala seven times during 1513-21 and offered several diamondstudded ornaments to the deity.Sri Krishna Devaraya embarkedupon writing his classic in the formof Prabandha after being ordinatedby Lord Vishnu in a dream. Duringone of his attacks on King Gajapatiof Orissa, Krishna Devaraya had tocamp at Vijayawada. He availed theopportunity to visit Srikakulam, asmall town in Divi Seema, in Kr-ishna district, famous for theshrine of Lord Vishnu. The deity isalso called Srikakulandhra Vishnu.He is famed as Telugu Vallabha(deity). It was Ekadasi day. In thenight the Lord appeared to him in adream and advised him to write aPrabandha in Telugu (as it is thebest and sweetest of all languagesof the country) on a girl (GodaDevi) who used to offer him a mar-vellous garland after trying it outon herself first. Amukta Maalyada,

though called a Prabandha (a com-prehensive narrative poeticalwork), reads like an epic written bySri Krishna Devaraya. Amukta Maalyada, in short, is thelife story of Goda Devi (Andal), andof her deep devotion to LordVishnu (Sri Krishna). Goda Deviwas found in the garden of Tulasiplants (ocimum sanctum) that be-longed to Vishnuchitta (Perialwar)in Srivilliputhur in South TamilNadu, India. Perialwar took herhome and brought her up withloving care in an atmospheresurcharged with love and devotion.Goda Devi’s love for Lord Vishnuwas symbolic of Madhura Bhakti.She was head over heels in lovewith Sriranganatha (Lord Vishnu).Perialwar (Vishnuchitta), her fos-ter parent, could not understandthe reason for her impatience andher strange behaviour. He soughtguidance from the Lord to managethe situation.The Lord first nar-rated the story of Mala Dasari, astaunch devotee who prayed to,sang in praise of the Lord anddanced in ecstasy of devotion. TheLord then opened his mind tomake him understand who GodaDevi was in reality and her pangsof separation from the Lord God. A perfect melody, a rare sense ofbeauty, a splendid imagination, alofty moral purity and seriousness,a delicate idealism and a deep de-votion to Lord Vishnu mark Kr-ishna Devaraya’s poetry. Anothercharacteristic of the King’s poetryis his beauty of expression and awonderful sensitiveness to beauty. - Y. V. RamakotaiahSenior Journalist

there is an exquisite art of story-telling in verse in the text. krishna Devaraya’s idealism,his love of beauty, and his very fine melody have all earned him the sobriquets ofpoet-king and a poets’ poet and an ideal literary workman.



Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N ChandrababuNaidu in April launched a mobile application“CM Connect” through which people couldconnect directly with head of the state. Theapp runs on Microsoft’s Kaizala platform. Calling it a “unique app in the world”, Naidu, afterlaunching the app, said, “Thisis a very interesting experi-ment. This is a milestone aswe are moving for a real-time e-governance, and onethat makes people partnersin development.”The app is built into Kaizalathrough which smart phoneusers could respond to aquestion posed by the ChiefMinister’s Office and insert abrief comment.The Chief Minister said thatover 3000 users respondedto the question, “Are you sat-

isfied with the government’s performance?” “A whop-ping 75 per cent rated the government’s performanceas good with just four per cent saying it was bad. I willhave a team in my office to monitor the public re-sponse and take required action,” he said.According to a news agency report, those who said thatthe government’s performance was good also hadcomplaints to make. One farmer from East Godavaridistrict complained that the second installment of hisloan waiver was never delivered despite repeated vis-its to the authorities concerned.A farmer from Amaravati capital region complainedthat he was not being issued the pattadar passbook(denoting the title deed) for his agricultural land. “Imet you personally five times over the issue but to noavail,” he told the Chief Minister.Another person from Prakasam district brought to thenotice of the CM that the local TDP MLA promised tobuild a road in his village, but failed to keep the wordin three years.One user from Vizianagaram district heaped praise onthe AP CM as well as Union Civil Aviation Minister PAshok Gajapati Raju, even as he cited lack of any devel-opment in his village. “The state seems to be develop-ing but not our village,” he wrote.After reading out the responses, Naidu said, “Peopleare happy with our government but it is coming with arider.” When asked about the lack of features in the ap-plication, the Chief Minister said some more (features)would be added in the days to come.“This is a very interesting experiment we are doingusing technology. This is unique not only in the coun-try, but also in the world. People should be positive andbe truthful in their response,” he added.“Be it pension, ration, water, climate or anything else, Iwill address them directly and these inputs will beused to review the working of that particular depart-ment,” he informed. The new concept of citizen-driven participatory gover-nance that operates in real time mode will be helpful tothe government to draw policies which will improvethe standard of living of the people of the state, Naiduaverred.“I need unbiased feedback from the people throughthis app, where the people can give their valuable opin-

MAKING PEOPLE PARTNERS IN DEVELOPMENTCM CONNECT

The new concept ofcitizen-driven

participatory gover-nance that

operates in realtime mode will be

helpful to thegovernment to

draw policies,which will improve

the standard ofliving of the people.



ion on the performance of thegovernment. “The people can give theiropinion on the performancewhere four options will begiven viz., happy, ok, can bebetter and disappointed, fromwhich they can chose one an-swer. “The caller’s name and hisidentity will be kept confiden-tial and I will personally moni-tor every feedback,” he informed.how to Connect with AP CM?w Install Kaizala from PlayStore. w Activate with your phone number.w Click on Discover and Subscribe to "AP CM Connect".w Click on "Share Feedback" on top panel to provide yourfeedback on the government.Call Centre for grievanceredressal inauguratedAndhra Pradesh has started a first of its kind call centerfor public grievance redressal. This is part of the ChiefMinister Chandrababu Naidu ‘s initiative to make part ofthe process of governance. The CM inaugurated "Parishkara Vedika", a mega call cen-tre in capital city Amaravati as part of his initiative to de-velop citizen-centric governance. The main aim of thisinitiative is to establish a grievance redressal-orientedforum to enable all the citizens to get transparent and ap-proachable services, directly by stating their Aadhaarnumbers.The centre is being aimed at getting independent feed-back from the beneficiaries on various government wel-fare schemes, and educating them on ways to derivemaximum benefits from respective schemes.Citizen contact will occur through various means likeIVRS, SMS, voice response, web chat, social media andmultiple web platforms of Andhra Pradesh government.The mega call centre was established with 750 seats andfunctions for 12 hours a day initially.Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said, "Our priority is touse technology to reach public directly and get cent percent satisfaction level from them. This centre would help

solving the grievances of people in real time and also helpto curb corruption."The centre also has unique robo calls through voice of CMChandrababu Naidu on different events and occasions, au-tomatic call distribution, interactive voice response sys-tem, computer telephone integration, citizen experiencemanagement centre application, performance monitoring,quality management and recording with toll free numbersfor people.“This is our first step towards building an interactivegovernment - citizen relationship for a better AndhraPradesh,” said the CM on the occasion. The state of the artCall Centre located in Guntupalli, Vijayawada, will stand as

an excellent cost-free interactive platform for the citizensto directly enquire, file complaint and suggest. Thequeries will constantly be monitored, reviewed and dailyreports will be sent to the officials of the relevant depart-ments.The aim is to actively interact with the citizens of AndhraPradesh on a day to day basis and provide better gover-nance.

The CMinaugurated

"Pariskara Vedika",a mega call centre

in capital cityAmaravati as partof his initiative to

develop citizen-centric governance.

v



For long, the Visakhapatnam Agency regionwas written off as a place beyond repair,due to lack of communications and sheerbackwardness. Successive Governmentswere blamed for neglecting the place. Butquite a few things happened during April which willgo a long way in the development of the place andhelp really uplift the tribals.The first and foremost is the introduction of as manyas ten Telugu Velugu buses for improving transport fa-cilities in the remote areas of the Agency. TransportMinister K. Atchan Naidu flagged off the buses, bought

with Girijan sub-plan funds. The new buses would beoperated from Paderu and Narsipatnam to Mampa,Bakuru, Jolaput, Maredimilli, Gudem, Chintapalli,Sileru, Pedavalasa, Donkarayi and other places result-ing in connectivity to an extent of over 600 km.More, the cost of each bus is Rs.25 lakh and thoughplying under Telugu Velugu banner, the buses havemodern equipment making travel smooth and pleas-ant even on the ghat road. Andhra Pradesh State RoadTransport Corporation occupies the first place in thecountry plying 12,000 buses over 45 lakh km carryingabout 80 lakh passengers and won several awards.

GOOD TIDINGS FOR

G I R I J A N S



Though the APSRTCis facing a loss ofRs.800 crore,, it isconfident that itcould tide over thecrisis with supportfrom the State Gov-ernment. Laws forthe safety of the pas-sengers and also toextend the serviceswould be enacted tocater to the needs ofthe passengers, theMinister said.The second impor-tant factor is that there are healthy signs for improvingthe medical facilities in the agency. There is this allega-tion that doctors are unwilling to work in the Agencydue to lack of facilities and backwardness of the area.However, Health Minister Kamineni Srinivasa Rao an-nounced in Visakhapatnam mid-April that doctorswilling to serve in Agency area would be paid highsalaries and also appointed through National HealthMission. Addressing a review meeting on `Health intribal areas' , he said medical specialists who had donepost-graduation would be paid as much as Rs.2 lakh amonth while doctors with MBBS qualification wouldget up to Rs.One lakh a month. This certainly is theright incentive for the service-minded doctors to rushto the Agency to have the pleasure of working therewithout monetary loss.Also, the Minister said that in remote areas wherethere are no proper roads and inaccessible for ambu-lance, the Government would introduce bike feederservices shortly. The blood collection vans in all 13districts started on April 20. Sick new born care unitswill be set up at all community health centres andwhere there is need, primary health centres will pro-vide round-the-clock services, he assured. The Rampa-chodavaram hospital will be upgraded with 100 bedsand dialysis centres will be set up at Rampacho-davaram and Jangareddigudem. The Central Govern-ment would give an incentive of Rs.6,000 to motherswho are delivered children in Government hospitalsand the State Govenment, on its part, would provide amother kit, baby kit and Rs.1,000 as incentive, theMinister stated. The third incident was the much-awaited Vistadomecoach for the Araku-bound train. Railway MinisterSuresh Prabhu laid the foundation stone and dedi-

cated various railway initiatives to the nation at RailSadan in Bhubaneswar through video conferencing.The minister dedicated Vistadome coach and laidfoundation stone for mechanised laundry under BOOTmodel at Visakhapatnam in the presence of UnionMinister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain, Visakhap-atnam MP K. Haribabu, Visakhapatnam North MLA P.Vishnukumar Raju, and others at Rail Sadan.The Vistadome coach has features like glass roof, LEDlights, rotable seats, GPS based info system, etc. offer-ing the tourists to enjoy scenic beauty not only at des-tination but also along the journey which has scores oftunnels.The mechanised laundry under BOOT model atVisakhapatnam would significantly improve thequality of linen leading to enhanced passengersatisfaction.A function was also arranged on the occasion atVisakhapatnam railway station where a large numberof public representativesc including ArakuMP Kothapalli Geetha, MLAs Bandaru SatyanarayanaMurthy, K. Sarveswara Rao, V. Ganesh Kumar,PGVR Naidu, and P. Srinivasa Rao along with DivisionalRailway Manager Chandralekha Mukherjee, werepresent.Last but not the least, the Visakhapatnam agencyregion which is notorious for the presence ofMaoists, will soon see two more companies of CRPFmen stationing there to control the situation,according to the Director General of Police N Samba-siva Rao who was in Visakhapatnama for a reviewmeeting. This will certainly boost the confidence of thetribals as well as the tourists going to places likeAraku, Anantagiri, Tyda, Borra Caves, Paderu,Chintapalle and Lambasingi for sight-seeing.- B. Prabhakara Sarma

Health MinisterKamineni Srinivasa

Rao has announcedin Visakhapatnam

mid-April thatdoctors willing to

serve in agency areawould be paid high

salaries and alsoappointed through

National HealthMission.



The late Gurazada Apparao Pantulu, theauthor of Kanyasulkam, needs no intro-duction to the Andhra Public. Thethinnest human form that I had everseen, he was usually clad in two orthree shirts and one or two coats, and in winter, atrifle more of inner and outer clothing, cotton andwool, with thousand as a human to give him a pre-sentable appearance. But he was a fairly healthyman, and what is more, an intellectual giant. Hewas a great scholar in Sanskrit, Telugu and English,and he could wield his pen with distinetion in anyof the three languages. He was the pioneer of thenew school of Telugu Literature, which is charac-terized by originality of style, of metre, of thought,and of imaginative art. It is a pity he is not livingtoday, to see the popularity of and the status in lit-erary world attained by the new school that hefounded.I came into contact with him in the year 1905, justby accident, even as Boswell came into cantact

A social reformer, champion of spokendialect and a poet of superlative artisticacumen and ingenuity- GurazadaVenkata Apparao (1862 – 1915) standstall on several counts and is rightlyhailed as father of Telugu modernliterature. A poet, playwright, writer,critic, Gurazada, through his life andworks, shaped the thinking of hiscontemporaries and influence the latergenerations leaving his foot prints onthe sands of time.

During the first decade of 20th centurywhen the times were on the cusp of anew era, Vangolu Munisubrahmanyamhad incidentally become his ward.Gurazada treated him like his son andtook care of his academics. Later ,Vangolu, being a fanatical Gurazadadisciple, wrote his memoirs, recallinghis close association withGurazada- "Literary reminiscences ofGurazada Apparao Pantulu". In thispersonal account on Gurazada, thewriter chronicles his association withthe literary-colossus. We thank therenowned Telugu writer, AkkirajuRamapathi Rao for handing over thismemoir, which is richly historical bothin content and expression, for publish-ing it in series in the columns of AndhraPradesh.

- Editor

k k k

Literary reminiscences Of

GURAZADA APPARAO PANTULU

- Vangolu Munisubrahmanyam



with Johnson. I was then a poor student of the Ma-haraja’s College at Vizianagaram seeking his help tocarry on my college studies. Slowly, I found myself,quite unconsciously, both morning and evening, athis desk or in his library, dabbling in all kinds of liter-ary work that he was doing. Such was the hypnoticinfluence on me of his personality, and my attach-ment to him, that my friends at college likened us, insport, to the Scottish biographer and the literary dic-tator of England.When, in 1909, I graduated from that College and leftVizianagaram and settled down as a teacher in mynative district of Nellore, and afterwards at Co-canada, the literary work that was being carried onwas disturbed, and the same had to be done by cor-respondence for one or two years. It was during thatperiod that Apparao Pantulu wrote to me a numberof letters, rather lengthy some of them which arepieces of fine literature in English, and living trea-tises on several aspects of literature, science and art.The letters lay in oblivion for over quarter of a cen-tury. Recently they have been recovered and read outby me to my friends here in Ongole, at whose sugges-tion, I am endeavoring to present extracts from themfor the benefit of the large number friends, followers,and admirers of the large number friends, followers,and admirers of the late Apparao Pantulu.The parting of literary companionship was indeedpainful, and I wrote to him early in 1909, expressingmy gratitude to him and regretting the unavoidableseparation. The following ext --- from his reply to meshows not only his particular attachment to me, butalso his feelings towards “the coming generation”,which we are now in a position to state authorita-tively, has fully justify his expectations. He says “Ifcontact with me inspired you with literary enthusi-asm, I am sure your acquaintances with me, mademe think better of the coming generation, and get in-terested in them. Through you I recovered my betterself”.Spoken Dialect And literary DialectIt is well know that Apparao Pantulu was a literaryreformer. He used to tell us that literature should bemade more democratic. He raised a huge controversyon the subject and his play Kanyasulkam, almostcaused an explosion in learned Telugu circles.

His argument was this. If a learned Sastri is notashamed to talk to his wife and children in good,sweet, polite and colloquial Telugu, why should he beashamed to write a literary work of merit in thatstyle and make it available to be assimilated by awider range of reading public?In one of his letters to me he wrote as follows “mycause is the people’s cause. I have cultured opinion atmy back. I do not mind of those who are incapable ofunderstanding the subject, array themselves againstme. Their conversion can do no good to the language.They are so hopelessly wedded to the old highly arti-ficial literary dialect that I can never expect them towrite well in the new. Even in the old literary dialect,good writers are few. I want young men like you tocreate a tradition of good writing in polite spokenspeech. I am sorry to learn that Cocanada is stillagainst me”.Apparao Pantulu was scholar in both Telugu andSanskrit. It was whispered here and there that hewas advocating spoken dialect, because he could notwrite in good literary style. There is a reference tothis point in one of his letters, wherein he says “Isuppose you have received my ‘Songs of Blue Hills. Ifso, review it also along with my play, so thatphilistines may not say “This man has written inspokes dialect, because he cannot wield literary di-alect”.I remember well that Apparao Pantulu was carefullypicking up strictly ungrammatical forms in workswritten in florid artificial literary style. He ridiculedthe impossible standard of strictly grammatical liter-ature which of the mars the harmony of literary formand theme. He wrote to me in one of his letters “Iwant more writers, who write spoken Telugu dialectconsciously, not those who pretend to write in theold literary dialect and lapse into modern spoken di-alect”.He wanted to prove that the spoken dialect can beused in any kind of literary work, and for the expres-sion of any kind of sentiment or emotion. He says “Iam engaged in writing a Drama on the story of Bil-hana to show that spoken dialect lends itself to theexpression of the higher emotions”. (To Be Continued)

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Back in 2009, when SS Rajamouli's Magad-heera released in theatres, it not only setnew records at the box-office, but also Ra-jamouli's prowess to make epic dramaswas cemented once and for all. No otherTelugu filmmaker has come close to him, in terms ofturning movies into visual spectacle. Although therehave been plenty of other films which have surpassedMagadheera's box-office records, little did anyone ex-pect that Rajamouli would turn out to be the latestsuperstar in Indian cinema, purely on his own merit.First it was Eega which stunned everyone and nowwith Baahubali : The Conclusion hitting the screensacross the nation, the director has turned into a na-tional treasure of sorts.Rajamouli's journey into filmmaking began in theearly 90s when he joined Kranthi Kumar as an assis-

tant director. Soon, he began working under KRaghavendra Rao and went on to direct few episodesof Shanti Nivasam, a TV serial produced by KRaghavendra Rao, which paved way for his directorialdebut Student No 1. But it was the phenomenal suc-cess of Simhadri which turned him into a director towatch out for. And in the past 15 years, Rajamoulihasn't disappointed his admirers.Even as he kept pushing the bar, in terms of the emo-tional quotient of his film, Rajamouli never gave upon his dreams to make period dramas. In fact, he hasrepeated, time and again, that he's hugely influencedby Amar Chitra Katha, Mahabharata, and Ramayana,and his influences are quite evident in his style ofstory-telling. Whether it's Magadheera or Vikra-markudu, Eega or Baahubali, some of the themes likerevenge, redemption, quest for power, death, reincar-

Bali Bali Bali ra Bali Sahoore Rajamouli

SS Rajamouli has emerged as the latestSuperstar in Indian Cinema, thanks toBaahubali, which has shattered all culturalbarriers across the nation.


MAY 2017

nation, and sibling-rivalry have made it into his stories inmore blatant ways than one can imagine. The success of Baahubali : The Beginning was perhapsonly the beginning of Rajamouli's rise to fame on the na-tional stage. In a recent column in India Today, writtenby filmmaker Rohan Sippy, it's quite evident that Ra-jamouli's way of story-telling holds several lessons forother filmmakers, especially in Bollywood. "Projects likeBaahubali are driven by the madness, passion and in-somnia of phenomenal storytellers who recognise thevalue of universality and timelessness. The Baahubalifilms are not going to be dated because they are set in afantastic world. Because we have grown up on Amar Chi-tra Katha stories of kings and queens and revenge andredemption, the filmfeels red-blooded andisn't alien in anyway. In asense, it is an Indian filmwhich fits in the Marveland DC action enter-tainer universe that'sflourishing in Holly-wood," Rohan Sippywrites. Truer words havenever been spoken!The thing about Ra-jamouli's films is thatthey strike an emotionalchord which is hard toforget. Take for instance,that iconic scene fromChatrapathi where Prab-has crosses the line, drawn by the antagonist, and thefollowing bout of violence and emotion is a stuff of leg-ends. It gives the audience an emotional high which is notjust hugely satisfying as a viewer, but also a testimony toRajamouli's ability to make the audience invest their en-ergy and time in watching a character grow into a hero. His penchant to create powerful villains has paid off quitehandsomely, considering how gratifying it is to watch thehero win in the end. In a way, Rajamouli's films, over theyears, have traditionally followed the 'Baasha' template;however, the director has, time and again, managed to stunthe audience with the emotional highs in the story. One ofthe bestever interval bangs, so to speak, in his filmographyappears in Baahubali : The Beginning. When Bhallaladevarealises that the people in Mahishmathi haven't forgottentheir true king Baahubali, we are told how jealous he is ofhis brother. The visual cuts to a wide shot of Bhallaladeva'sstatue looking like a dwarf in front of Baahubali's image.There's not a drop of bloodshed in the shot and there's not

even a shot of the hero challenging the villain. But the factthat we are in awe of that scene, even after so manymonths of watching the film, speaks volumes about Ra-jamouli's command over the storytelling. In a recent interview when Rajamouli was asked when didhe realise that he was good enough to make Baahubalifilms, he said, "I think I've always wanted to make filmslike this. I'm a big fan of Amar Chitra Katha and Mahab-harata, and over the years, I've learnt to refine my abilityto tell a story in the biggest possible way." Well, that's allthere is to his style of filmmaking - He makes films in thebiggest and most exquisite manner. Watching a SS Rajamouli film isn't just a one-off thing inour lives. They remain as a memory that you want to keeprevisiting over and over again. For that alone, he must behailed as the best of the lot. All hail Rajamouli!- hemanth kumar Cr

ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG 27

Although there havebeen plenty of other

films which havesurpassed Magad-heera's box-officerecords, little did

anyone expect thatRajamouli would turn

out to be the latestsuperstar in Indian

cinema, purely on hisown merit.


28 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM MAY 2017

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu laid thefoundation for Ambedkar Smriti Vanam atInavolu village in Thullur mandal in the capitalregion on the occasion of Dr. Ambedkar’s 126thbirth anniversary. It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had announcedlast April that the state government would install a 125-foot statue of BR Ambedkar in Amaravati to mark the Daliticon's 125th birth anniversary.He also laid the foundation-stone for a 126-ft statue ofAmbedkar that will come up in the park, spread over a 20-acre site. The Smriti Vanam will have a multi-purposeConvention Hall with a seating capacity for 3,000 persons.A Buddhist Dhyana Kendram (Meditation Hall), Dr B RAmbedkar Memorial Library with his collected works andthoughts, Memorial Park with aesthetic and landscapedgardens and an Open Air Theatre with a seating capacityof 2,000 people with facilities for conducting multi-mediashows are some of the other features of the Smriti Vanam.The state government has allotted Rs 97.64 crore for theproject that is expected to be completed in 24 months.This includes Rs 25 crore for the 126-ft statue.Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, Social WelfareMinister Nakka Anand Babu and others attended the func-tion.Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said that India withstoodmany ups and downs in its history but continued to be astrong nation because of the robustness of the Constitu-

tion, which was almost single-handedly drafted by Dr.B RAmbedkar.“A majority of the members of the committee appointed todraft the Constitution were unable to fulfil their mandatefor various reasons. But, Dr. Ambedkar, who headed thepanel, did not give up his responsibility. The Constitutiondrafted by him became the bedrock of the Indian demo-cratic system which won global acclaim,” observed Mr.Naidu.Addressing a public meeting after laying the foundationfor Ambedkar Smriti Vanam, Naidu said the principalarchitect of the Constitution had overcome great difficul-ties in his personal life and was not allowed by his detrac-tors to grow in the political arena, but he proved hismettle as an intellectual and a talented barrister.The Chief Minister said the downtrodden sections wouldremember Dr. Ambedkar for his efforts in getting reserva-tion implemented and the battle he waged againstuntouchability, and vowed to strive to eradicate poverty.The Chief Minister said he was fortunate to get theAmbedkar memorial built on 20 acres at Inavolu andadded it would be completed in two years. Earlier, Naidu consecrated the place at Inavolu whereAmbedkar’s statue would be built, with holy water andsoil brought from Mhow (Dr. Ambedkar’s birthplace),Parliament and various Buddhist shrines amid thechanting of hymns in praise of Lord Buddha and the‘Father of the Indian Constitution’ by Buddhist monks.

Foundation for AMBEDKAR MEMORIAL laid

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CM and other dignitaries at the foundation laying for Ambedkar Smriti Vanam


MAY 2017 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM 29

The AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC)held successful talks with the central governmentofficials in New Delhi for reviving the INS Viraatproject, which was thought to be shelved due to lack offunds.APTDC executive director K Sriramulu Naidu, who alongwith principal secretary of tourism N Srikanth returnedfrom Delhi on Friday, said that the project cost has beenreduced to Rs 300 crore and all the proposals wereshown to the tourism secretary in a power point presen-tation. He said that this Rs 300 crore would be spent for bring-ing the vessel from Mumbai, construction of dry dockand development of 500 acre area surrounding it. “It hasbeen proposed to berth the giant vessel at Mulakudduvillage near Bhimili close to the creek. The entire areawill be declared as special tourism zone,” SriramuluNaidu said. The government will be announcing five suchspecial tourism zones across the country to boosttourism. Naidu said tenders would be called for prepar-ing Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Rs 300 crore.As per initial plans, a convention centre and floatinghotel will be constructed. However, the vessel will bedocked at special jetty being constructed under Sagar-mala project. Earlier, principal secretary Srikanth said hisdepartment will propose 15 integrated projects thatwould be easy to get partners for PPP projects.Tour operators and travel agents who had a meeting withthe collector Pravin Kumar recently said that with exist-ing INS Kursura submarine museum and the proposedTU 142M aircraft museum close to it, INS Viraat willboost the tourism in a big way. Vistadome coach intro-duced in april and thus in the next couple of years, thetourist footfall will definitely increase with the aboveproposed projects, the operators said.v

INS VIRAATto berth at Bhimili creek

The State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB)which metunder the chairmanship of the ChiefMinis N Chandrababu Naidu granted approvalfor setting up of two mega projects in theState. Tremag Alloys Private Limited and Tata Chemicals Lim-ited have been granted approval for setting up of unitsto manufacture Magnesium Ingots and prebiotics. Tremag Alloys Private Limited has come forward to setup a Magnesium Ingots Manufacturing Plant in theKadapa Mega Industrial Park in an extent of 100 acres.While the total investment proposed by the company isRs.660 crores, it will provide direct employment to over1200 persons and indirect employment to 6000 per-sons. The phase one of the project will commence in themonth of November 2018 and second phase will startfrom May 2019. The expected turnover is Rs. 800 crores. This is 1st such project in India to use Pidgeon processto produce magnesium ingots; used primarily for steel,auto, aviation industries. Tata Chemicals Limited is keen on setting up a Prebi-otics Manufacturing Plant to manufacture FOS (Fructo-oligosaccharides) and GOS (Galacto-oligosccharides)powders. The plant will come up in APIIC Industrial Park, Mam-battu Village, Tada Mandal, Nellore district, in an area of39.81 acres with a total investment of 400 crores. Theexpected turnover is Rs 183.crore by 2021 and will pro-vide direct employment to 150 people and indirect em-ployment to 80 members. The plant will be completed in two phases and the pro-duction will start by 31st December 2018.

two MegA ProjeCtSAPProVeD By SiPB

The two companiestogether will investmore than Rs 1,000crores and createnearly 1500 jobs.

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AMAZING ANDHRA PRADESH

MOGHALRAJPURAM CAVESRefuse To Cave In To Times



why to visitIt is not merely a leisure trip to these caves. Exploring themonumental caves will also provides the visitor a betterand detailed understanding of rich heritage of amazingAndhra Pradesh.

other attractions1. The Undavalli caves, on the other side of river Krishna

banks, are surrounded by the green countryside. Thereopens beautiful view through those ancient sculptures to-wards other green hills and stands of palms below.

2. Kanaga Durga Temple, which stands majestically over theIndrakeeladri Hillock on the banks of River Krishna, is themajor pilgrim center in Vijayawada to visit.

3. The impressive Prakasam Barrage, which is 1223.5 mt longacross the river Krishna has created a beautiful reservoirlake. Boating is also another facility at Bhavani Island re-sorts.

how to reachMoghalrajpuram caves are accessible by public transportfrom various locations in Vijayawada. Being capital ofAndhra Pradesh on various fronts, also being one of thebiggest railway junctions of India, Vijayawada has many asource of connectivity through road, rail and also airways.It is well connected to most major cities of the countrylike Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyder-abad, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Tirupati. Undavalli Cavesare very proximate to the city and thus, very accessible asbeing part of the city.

After all, it’s just about rocksin the cozy city with its en-viable memoirs of past.The rocks in the swankyvicinity of Moghalrajpu-ram, seemingly in mystic silence andlying with Sisyphean ennui, are not re-ally rudimentary, as they appear to be.The solitary rocks of Moghalrajpuramcaves mutely ruminate the empiricalendurance of history. The rock-cutcaves of Moghalrajpuram are, what isleft of a glorious past, that is over 2,000years old.The site has five rock cut sanctuaries ofstunning sculptures and carvings, dat-ing back to the 5th century AD. Most ofthese caves are also one of the finestexamples of various types of architec-ture of those times and also have de-picted some really fascinatinganecdotes of history. The uniquemonolithic structure houses the con-spicuous sculptures of Lord Nataraja,Ganesh in one cave. They are still ingood condition among the worn imagesof deities. Cave 2 shows an overhangingcornice with artificial windows. One of the three cave temples carriesan impressive carving of ‘Ardha-nariswara’ which is thought to be theearliest in South India.Buddhist Viharas or hinduCave temples?Archaeologists had gone on record thatthe site was of Buddhist Viharas, whichwere later converted into Hindu Cavetemple. Eminent archaeologist and his-torian, Veluri Venkata Krishna Sastry(1934 - 2012), who hailed from Kr-ishna district, affirmed the conversion.According to him, Moghalrajpuramcaves were the monasteries mentionedby Chinese Buddhist pilgrim andscholar Xuan Zan(also spelled HsuanTsang or Hiuen Tsang), who traveledduring 7th century in India to recordthe accounts of the life of the people.The remnants of Poorasaila (easternhill) and Aparasaila (western hill)monasteries mentioned by Xuan Zangwere actually the Moghalrajpuramcaves and the Akkannna Madannacaves located in the heart of Vi-jayawada. Later, the Buddhist Viharaswere said to be converted into HinduCave temples during the reign of the

Vishnukundins. Prior to Sastry, ahistorian, civil servant and keeperof the Madras Record Office,Robert Sewell, argued verystrongly that Bezawada was theplace where the two famousmonasteries were located. By thetime he made his observations in1878 the Chaityas and Viharas ofAvarasila and Pourvasila were to-tally destroyed.Caves CrumbleNow, the site was crumbling notdue to any communal catastrophe,but due to the potential vandal

threat. Because the monumentalsite is located in the heart of thecity, proxy to the new capital ofAndhra Pradesh, it is further ingreat danger. Grills have been putto protect the site. Cracks appearin the rock and rain water seeps in,forming stalagmites and stalac-tites. Every year repairs have to beconducted to the grills and fences.An Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) officer of the Senior Conser-vator Assistant cadre is posted inVijayawada to protect and main-tain the site.

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Snapdeal partners AP for smart village projectE-commerce firm Snapdeal today announced a partner-ship with University of California, Berkeley and AndhraPradesh government to enable digital access for smallartisans in the state's 'Smart Village' project. The objec-tive of the joint partnership is to create viable solutionsthrough digitisation and new-age services, Snapdealsaid in a statement. Under the partnership, Snapdealwill provide local handloom weavers direct market ac-cess to buyers across the country, through its platform.

12,000 km CC roads in villagesMinister for panchayat raj and information technology NLokesh said that the state government would constructnearly 12,000 km CC roads in all the villages by the endof 2018. The state government will construct under-ground drainage in villages which have a population ofmore than 5,000 to improve hygienic condition and pre-venting seasonal diseases like dengue, cholera. He saidthat the state government would supply LED bulbs to allpanchayat offices to reduce power bills.

flyover in VizianagaramAP government and Indian Railways are taking up con-struction of underground and fly over in Viziangaram toovercome the traffic snarls. The new fly over and under-ground passage will help the vehicles to have hassle-free journey. Around Rs.10 crore is being sanctioned tobuild the fly over and underground passage. Once theproject gets completed the vehicles passing towardsSalur and Bobbili can move through underground pas-sage and the vehicles coming from return journey cancome by the fly over.

work on Benz CirCle flyoVer SoonWork on the Benz Circle flyover will commence very

soon with the city police preparing alternative routes todivert the highway traffic. The National Highways Au-thority of India (NHAI) has already completed soil test-ing on the highway from Benz Circle to the RameshHospitals junction. To divert the traffic, the NHAI wasasked to complete the Kankipadu bypass on NH-65 on apriority basis. The government has plans to completethe flyover work on time and to inaugurate it in August2018 at any cost. The designs for the flyover have beenprepared. The 1.6 km-flyover starts at Ramesh Hospi-tals/Gurunanak Colony junction and ends near the SkewBridge.

Vizag girl wins gold Vizag Local girl M Sahithi Varshini has made countryproud by winning two gold medals (under-10 year girls)in Classical and Blitz categories in Asian Youth ChessChampionship held in Tashkent. Sahithi Varshini becamethe first girl from the region to win the medals at theAsian level. Indian team ruled the roost at the AsianYouth Chess Championship by clinching 12 medals, in-cluding four gold medals. Varshini has qualified to playin the world cadet girls under-10 championship to beheld in Brasilia in Brazil in August 2017. A third standardstudent of a private school in the city, Sahithi was initi-ated into chess around three years ago by her father-cum-coach Lokeswara Rao, a senior officer with theHPCL, and chess player Rama Kumar.

Collector offers job to Satyam BabuDistrict Collector Babu A provided a job in the govern-ment sector as an outsourcing staff member to PSatyam Babu, who was acquitted recently in the sensa-tional B Pharmacy student Ayesha Meera’s murder case.Satyam Babu met the Collector at Prajavani programmein Machilipatnam and urged him to provide him a jobon temporary basis in the government sector. The Col-

HAPPENING AP

Renowned filmmaker and actor Kasinathuni Viswanath was hon-oured with the prestigeous Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year2016. The award is conferred by the Government of India foroutstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cin-ema. The award consists of a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prizeof Rs 10 lakh and a shawl. The award will be conferred by the Presidentof India at a function on May 3 at Vigyan Bhawan. A presenter of classi-cal and traditional art, music and dance, K Viswanath has been a guid-ing force in the Indian film industry. As a director he has made fiftyfilms since 1966 known for their strong content, endearing narrative,honest handling and cultural authenticity. His films on a wide range ofsocial and human issues had great appeal to the masses. K Viswanathwas born in February 1930 at Repalle in Andhra Pradesh. He receviedthe Padmashri Award in 1992 by the Government of India for his con-tribution to filmmaking. He has also been awarded 5 National Awards,20 Nandi Awards (awarded by the State Government of AndhraPradesh), 10 Filmfare Awards including Lifetime Achievement Award.

A LEGEND HONOURED



lector, who responded positively, immediately issued or-ders offering him a job as an outsourcing employee. Healso sanctioned a pucca house to Sayam Babu in his na-tive Anasagaram village of Nandigama mandal. SatyamBabu also requested the Collector to provide an em-ployment to his sister as an ANM.

Synthetic track to boost sportsAn eco-friendly Rs 8.86cr blue synthetic track is underconstruction in Acharya Nagarjuna University, which isexpected to boost sports activities. State athletic cham-pionship and national junior athletic championshipevents, scheduled for November, are likely to take placeon the new track under the aegis of the Athletic Federa-tion of India (AFI), according to Dr Paul Kumar, Principalof Physical Education College, an arm of ANU. The400mt-long eight lane track will make way for hosting allthe track and even field events like shot put, javelinthrow, hurdles, triple jump, long jump, high jump, be-sides football and cricket which also could be con-ducted. This is an international level blue eight lanesynthetic athletic track, according to officials.

govt planning municipal residential jr collegeThe Municipal Administration Department is reportedlyworking on establishing a state level municipal residen-tial junior college in Vijayawada or Guntur. The studentsof municipal schools, who obtain 10/10 score in SSC ex-aminations, will be eligible to get admission in the jun-ior college and a screening test will also be conductedfor selections. The purpose is to provide best educationto the municipal school students coming from poor fi-nancial background. The Department has taken the de-cision on establishing the college in principle and isframing guidelines.

CrDA bags 2 huDCo awardsUnion Minister for Urban Development M VenkaiahNaidu presented HUDCO awards to CRDA CommissionerCherukuri Sreedhar in New Delhi on the occasion ofHUDCOs 47th foundation day. The CRDA won two na-tional awards. It has won the award for implementation

of the ‘Voluntary Land Pooling Scheme at Amaravati’under urban governance category. It has also won theaward for implementing innovative ideas in formulatingbest plans for urban infrastructure. The APCRDA ac-quired around 32,000 acres in Amaravati through landpooling scheme for building new capital city. Sreedharsaid that the national award was in recognition to sacri-fices made by farmers who parted with their landsunder land pooling scheme.

AP to pass gSt bill in May sessionThe AP Assembly will conduct a special session some-time in May second week to ratify the ConstitutionAmendment (122nd) Bill for the Goods and Services Tax(GST), Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao said. At least 16out of 31 state Assemblies, including Union Territoriesof Delhi and Puducherry, need to pass the bill with asimple majority enabling the Centre to seek the Presi-dent’s consent.

Metro rail works to be entrusted to two firmsAmaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) has decidedto entrust metro rail project works, except metro depotat Nidamanuru, to two companies. The two companiesL&T and Afcons Infrastructure got eligibility in financialbidding that was conducted in Delhi in April. Accordingto a senior officer of AMRC, each corridor work will beentrusted to one company. Two corridors, one fromPandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) to Penamaluru and theother from PNBS to Nidamanuru are planned to bebuilt. It may take around two months for the project totake off.

relief to nregS workersChief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu instructed officialsto suspend working hours of employment guaranteescheme from 12 noon to 4 pm every day in view ofscorching heat. Participating in a review meeting withhealth department officials at Interim Secretariat at Ve-lagapudi, he asked them to distribute butter milk toworkers during their work period. The health depart-ment officials were directed to take immediate steps toavoid sunstroke by distributing medicines. v

Minister for it & Panchayat raj n lokesh consoling the family members of the victims of the lorry accident atyerpedu in Chittoor district. he also handed over financial assistance to the victim’s families.


34 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM MAY 2017

For the past few months, India’s challenge onbadminton courts has been dominated by thewomen and Telugu one at that. PV Sindhu hasbeen the cornerstone of India’s challengefrom Rio Olympics last year to the India Open SuperSeries a few two weeks back. But at Singapore Open,that has changed with two men – both proud Telugus- making their way into the decider. B Sai Praneeth and K Srikanth fought for the honourswith B. Sai Praneeth seizing the moment and make it

count. Playing his maiden Super Series final for theSingapore Open title, Sai beat K. Srikanth in a historicall-India final for a first major international title. In a contest lasting 54 minutes, Sai prevailed 17-21,21-17, 21-12 to maintain his supremacy overSrikanth, ranked a place higher at 29. It was a proud moment for Telugus when both play-ers later stood on the podium with the national flagsloosely resting on their shoulders. Sai received$26,250 and Srikanth, $13,300

Srikanth and Sai Praneeth make it to the top

title winner Sai Praneeth runner up kidambi Srikanth

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IN PICS

Pic 1: CM Chandrababu Naidu after a fruitful meeting with the Consul General of South Korea, Kim Hyung Taeat AP Secretariat.

Pic 2 CM and Union Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju welcoming the heaviest and fastest flying Turboprop in the world TU-142, whcih is to be converted into a museum and placed at Beach Road, Vizag.

Pic 3: AP Assembly Speaker K Sivaprasada Rao meeting Union Minister for Housing and Information & Broad-casting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in Delhi.

Pic 4: CM Chandrababu Naidu complimenting Revanth from Visakhapatnam who won Sony TV Reality Show In-dian Idol.

Pic 5: Nandi TV Awards Committees submitting the report on the Television Nandi awards for the years 2012and 2013 to the Chief Minister at Secretariat.

Subscription Details: Yearly Subscription rate is Rs 220 for Andhra Pradesh (Eng) Magazine. Readers may send MO or DD in the nameof Accounts Officer, I&PR Department, Vijayawada. Mention your full postal address in your letter and send to Accounts Officer, I&PRDepartment, II floor, NTR Administrative Block, Pandit Nehru Bus Station, Krishnalanka, Vijayawada - 520013 Ph: 9949351534

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