A Grand Wedding

They say gods and angels shower their blessings from heaven when two people get married. But at a wedding in city, there was also one helicopter. As the son of a rich plastic businessman Pramod Tibrewala went on a baarat (procession) to take his bride, the chopper showered flowers on the entire hotel area.

It was a one hour adventure, the helicopter made 20 rounds within a half kilometre of Hitex Novotel Hotel, showering rose petals. The Baarat was attended by as many as 200 people and the unique wedding by 2,500 guests.

This was Mr Vikas Tibrewala’s the bride groom and Manisha Kedia the bride’s biggest moment. "We wanted to do something different for our brother’s wedding. It is a great feeling to do something unique which is eye catching," said Ashwin Tibrewala.

It was also a sign that Indian weddings, perhaps the most elaborate ones globally, have become a veritable industry in their own right and offer a compelling opportunity for entrepreneurs. Hiring a helicopter and showering flowers from it is the cherry on the cake, a booming wedding industry with a turnover of roughly Rs 40,000 crore per year.

"It was not easy to get permission for the helicopter we need to clear many formalities before hiring it from the aviation department. We got permission only for one helicopter"

"Helicopter weddings are primarily becoming a fad and it is easier to land a chopper or shower flowers through helicopter in city without hassles. It adds an modern twist to an age-old practice. It is a niche business market, but still growing. "There are around a dozen helicopter operators in South India, each rents out one helicopter for at least three weddings each year," said Amit Bhardwaj, CEO, Webvivah, wedding planner in city.

Historical Kamans of Charminar lie neglected

The beautiful and historical Kamans of Charminar lie neglected for want of proper maintenance. For over a decade nothing has been done by the State Archaeology and Museums department and the Tourism and Culture department to conserve and restore the Char Kaman.

Char Kaman, which served as the gateway to the Zilu Khana (ante chamber) of the royal palace and are named Machli Kaman, Kali Kaman, Sher Gil Ki Kaman and Char Minar ki Kaman, is surrounded by footwear, cosmetic and other utensil shops.

The Sher Gil Ki Kaman on the western side of Charminar was actually the gateway to the Qutb Shahi palace situated in the north western quadrant. Mir Momin, the then Prime Minister of the Qutb Shahi rulers, is believed to have decorated this gateway with a huge tapestry of gold. He is also stated to have got some magical chant engraved on a stone pillar right next to the kaman. This was intended to protect the palace, which housed the royal "zenana", from witchcraft. Anyone trying to get past the arch with an evil desire would be foiled in his attempts. But today this place is full of tiny shops dealing in a variety of footwear.

Cement plaster on arches is peeling off. Graffiti on the walls by tourists has spoiled the splendid visage. The area around it has become a dumping ground, littered with food packets and used water bottles. "We all know that the old city is known for its colour and thriving business but all these can happen at some distance from the monument and arches," alleged a tourist.

The road to Charminar is clogged and hawkers have surrounded it, Some tourists complain that government negligence and the greed of shopkeepers are degrading the architectural beauty. It is in a very bad shape compared to a few decades ago.

Mr P Chenna Reddy, director, state archaeology and museums department, said, ``elaborate exercise has been planned for the conservation of Char Kaman. Besides restoration and conservation plans of arches, a health centre, communications centre, heritage centre, travel help-desk and tourism customer care centre will be set up.''

Rain welcomes monsoon

The city received heavy rainfall on Sunday, a day ahead of the official date for the southwest monsoon to set in over the area. The usual date for the onset of the monsoon is June 15. The city recorded 17.8 mm rain by 8.30 pm. Youngsters danced with joy and a few unfortunate two-wheeler riders skid on the rain-drenched roads. The rain had its flip-side and showed that the city was ill-prepared.

Several low-lying areas were inundated and traffic was thrown out of gear. Traffic crawled in Punjagutta, Khairatabad, Somajiguda, Lakdi-ka-Pul, Ameerpet, Raj Bhavan, Dilsukhnagar, Saidabad, Paradise, Ranigunj and MG Road, Begumpet and Mettuguda as motorists gingerly negotiated sections covered by stagnated water.

“The early onset of monsoon is good for farmers, especially those in drought-hit parts of the state. For the last three years the southwest monsoon has been arriving here late June. But this time it has set in early,” said G. Subba Rao, meteorologist, Hyderabad Met Centre. The four-month monsoon season began on May 26, earlier than the usual date of June 1.

Meteorological reports said the monsoon would also cover Telangana and coastal AP by Monday evening. These areas can expect heavy rainfall due to formation of a so-called “upper air cyclonic circulation” over Telangana and Karnataka.

Monsoon takes another break

The monsoon is delayed yet again, and the sunburnt city will have to wait for another week for soothing rain and lower temperatures.

The monsoon had covered south Rayalaseema and some areas of coastal Andhra by June 1. It was expected to cover the city by June 8. In fact, a downpour the previous day had swamped the city. But that is where the story ended. Met officials now say the monsoon may take another week to hit the city. There was no significant movement in its progress over the last two days.

“The weak phase of monsoon is likely to continue. Consequently, the advance of monsoon over east, north peninsular and central India will be delayed” said Mr G. Subba Rao, meteorologist at the Hyderabad Met Centre.

“The advance of southwest monsoon is generally not a systematic feature. It accompanies surges in the strength of southwesterly winds over the north Indian Ocean,” Mr Rao said.

“Rainfall is revived in association with each surge. After each wet spell, there comes a hiatus of about 6 to 8 days in which the rainfall activity gets subdued, and northward advance of monsoon is also halted,” he explained.

All this means that the city will have to bear with temperatures touching 40ºC. The met department has given a heatwave warning for coastal Andhra and Telangana for the next two days. The city may witness occasional thunderstorm activity during the night.

No record of archaeological sites

The state archaeology and museums department does not have land records of archaeological and historical sites in the state. Heritage sites like Qutub Shahi tombs, Paigah tombs, Toli mosque, Hayat Begum Bakshi mosque and Hasmathpet megalithic burial compound have been encroached upon. Residential colonies have sprung up on the land belonging to these sites.
The department does not have land records to stake claim on these lands. In the absence of records the department is unable to evict the encroachers.

“There is, however, no comprehensive record in the form of database by which we can prove that the encroached land belongs to the archaeological department. As a result this finite, non-renewable and irreversible resource of our state is fast disappearing without any record for posterity,” said Mr P. Chenna Reddy, the director of state archaeology and museums department.

Mr Chenna Reddy admitted that there was an urgent need for a proper survey of such resources. “Many of the sites belong to the period of Nizams and there were no records maintained since that period. In some areas the land has been sold by the revenue officers to the local residents without the consent of the archaeology officials and now they are not ready to vacate the area. We feel helpless,” said Mr G. Ramakrishna, the deputy director of the state archaeology and museums department.

“Action will be initiated to remove the illegal structures at the earliest with the assistance from the revenue and police officials. Once the encroachers are evicted we will start the documentation of these sites for future reference,” said Mr Chenna Reddy.

Aila sucks up monsoon

The southwest monsoon, which was expe-cted to enter the state three days ago, will get delayed by a few more days.Aila, the recent cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal has put the brakes on the advance of monsoon into Andhra Pradesh.

“There was no further advance of monsoon till Friday,” said Mr G. Subba Rao, meteorologist at the Hyderabad Meteorological Centre. “Numerical weather prediction models indicate that further advance of monsoon is not likely during the next 4 to 5 days. Monsoon activity is likely to remain subdued.”

The southwest monsoon advanced till Monday, when Aila began to form in the Bay of Bengal. By the time the storm dissipated, the damage had been done. Sweltering heat continues in AP. In fact, the weather men issued a heat wave warning in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Medak. Hyderabad recorded maximum temperature of 42ºC on Friday. The weather will remain the same in the next two days.

The highest temperature of 45ºC Celsius was recorded at Adilabad and Rentachintala, though the days began to get cooler in coastal AP. Meteorologists also predict some rain over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema

Ban goes up in smoke

The ban on smoking, which came into force from October 2008, remains ineffective. The Union health ministry’s directive seems to have gone up in smoke in the state.Even as ‘No Tobacco Day’ will be observed on Sunday, the state government has not done enough to enforce the law. The government is caught between the compulsions of making money and playing the moral police.

The state government has neither assigned any special officers nor has it strictly implemented the ban. So far, only 39 cases have been registered and Rs 3,900 was collected as fine by the Hyderabad district medical and health office.Unlike other states where state tobacco cells have been formed, the state government is yet to come up with its own structured tobacco cell despite such a provision being compulsory for every state. There are clear-cut rules on making “no smoking signboards” with certain dimensions but in most public places in the city these norms are not complied with.

Speaking on the initiative taken by the district medical and health officer, Ch. Jaya Kumari, said, “We are opening Tobacco Intervention Initiative Centre (TIIC) and Exclusive Tobacco Cell in the district medical and health office as directed by the WHO.”