Water levels in Nagarjunasagar reservoir have come down drastically

Water levels in Nagarjunasagar reservoir, considered as the lifeline for several districts including Hyderabad in the State, have come down drastically. If the levels go down beyond the minimum draw down level, drinking water supply to Hyderabad and its suburbs will be hit.

The current water level in the reservoir is 503 ft which is at its lowest in recent years. At this level the water can be drawn only for two or three more days. However, officials are now trying to run emergency motors to lift water and pump it into supply chain to ensure uninterrupted drinking water for twin cities. There is a shortage of 100 tmcft of water in the reservoir when compared to that of last year's.

The Nagarjunasagar dam, an 11,472 million cubic metres reservoir, serves as one of the primary irrigation and hydroelectric projects. Besides providing water for irrigation Nagarjuna reservoir also caters the daily water needs in city. The state government seems to have exhausted all water for irrigation and power generation.

The water levels in the dam now stand at 194.33 tmcft as against 234.10 tmcft this day last year. There is no water available in the reservoir for irrigation, according to the officials from Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

"The water level in the reservoir has decreased to 503 ft due to which as of now we have stop catering water for irrigation. However, there is no problem as far as supplies for drinking are concerned. As of now 1.5tmcft water is stored in Akkampalli reservoir, from which water is drawn for twin cities. Hyderabad also gets water from Singur, said G Rameshwar Rao, chief general manager, transmission circle, HMWSSB.

Though the Rabi season has come to a close, water will be required for filling of drinking water tanks in Guntur, Eluru, Machilipatnam, Gudivada and hundreds of villages in Krishna delta, before the summer is over. There is 194.33 tmcft water in Nagarjuna reservoir which can be pumped using lifts in case of an emergency.

Lack of Fire Staions in city!!!!

If you didn't know, Azamabad Industrial area does not have a fire station! In an emergency one has to depend on fire tenders coming all the way either from Secunderabad or Malakpet. Which takes nearly 30 minutes to reach the spot.

Azaamabad is not the only place without a fire station. There are many such industrial areas or highly density population area in city, which do not have fire stations and are forced to wait for fire fighters to arrive, from several kilometers away.

For example, if there is a fire accident at Himayatnagar in the city, fire tenders have to be rushed either from Musheerabad or Gowliguda, which are at a distance of four to five km respectively. And, if it is rush hour, then one can imagine the loss of time.

As per the norms of the Standing Fire Advisory Council, an area of 10.24 sq. km with a population of 50,000 must have a fire station. Data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs says, as against the requirement of 27,506 fire stations needed, State has only 252 Out of which 13 fire stations are in Hyderabad.

"It is impossible to have so many fire stations because of the fund crunch, inadequate manpower and above all, lack of interest shown by the Government in allotting land," said, a Fire Department official.

While 10 susceptible areas in the city were identified by the fire department and a proposal to set up fire stations in these areas was sent in 2006, the government is yet to sanction them.
To avoid longer response time, a fire station needs to be set up in all 1,158 mandals in the state. Officials, however, said there are just 252 fire stations across the state.

"There are very less fully equipped fire stations in city to combat fire accidents in twin city. A proposal has been sent to state government for allotment of land for new fire stations in city" said, P. Deen Dayal, District Fire Officer (DFO).

Meanwhile the training of fire-fighter for newly bought Hazmat Vehicle from Finland in completed. Registration of these vehicles will take more three days of time and once the registration is completed the vehicles will be stationed in Gowliguda, Madhapur and Secretariat fire stations. Adds Mr. Dayal.

BSNL NOVA net PC service

In a bid to make computing and internet an affordable and hassle-free experience, the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), in collaboration with Novatium Solutions Private Limited (NSPL), today launched ''BSNL NOVA net PC service'' in Andhra Pradesh circle.

Addressing a joint press conference on Saturday in city, BSNL Chief General Manager, T N Sudhindra Kumar and NSPL Chief Technical Officer, Vinod Kumar said, the device along with BSNL broadband connection enabled customers to access value-added services, including internet, downloading of documents through acrobat pdf viewer, education, news, entertainment and games for offline play, round the clock through Novell optimised open office.

The BSNL will provide modem for broadband connection free of cost. The customers with an initial investment of Rs 3900 and recurring monthly charge of Rs 193 could access internet and computing applications, hassle free, leaving any hardware and software problems for handling by the NSPL server functioning round-the-clock.

This unique facility will provide maintenance free computing experience to customers. BSNL subscribers now need not worry about hardware crashes, virus attacks, data loss and regular upgrades.

"Now these would be taken care of by a remote server client computing model maintained by Novatium. The service would increase the broadband penetration and decrease the digital divide in India by making broadband and internet available to rural customers also in large numbers "said, T N Sudhindra Kumar, BSNL Chief General Manager.

"With our huge connectivity and infrastructure, BSNL hopes to give a new wind to the computing and broadband revolution in the country through bundling with products like Novatium netPC", He adds.

BSNL plans to attain a subscriber base of 2 lakh by the end of the financial year 2009-10.

Fish prasadam in city....

The famous fish prasadam, believed to cure respiratory disorders, was administered to thousands of people suffering from asthma by the Bathini family here on Monday.
The fish prasadam, earlier known as fish medicine, is given once in a year at the onset of Mrugashira Karti, heralding the southwest monsoon. The prasadam, whose formula is held in secrecy by the Bathini family for decades, is put in the mouth of a murrel fish before it is slipped into the throat of asthma patients.

The Bathini family members, dressed in a traditional attire, started distributing the fish prasadam at 11.00 am. The distribution will continue non-stop will 11.00 am on Tuesday.
The murrel fingerlings were sold for Rs 10 each and were distributed across 32 counters including one for VIPs, physically handicapped, at the sprawling Exhibition Grounds in Nampally here. However, the number of patients this time was comparatively smaller than that of previous years.

However, allopathic doctors, medical researchers and even Ayurveda experts opposed the fish prasadam saying it's unscientific. They said the prasadam is not efficacious and will not cure asthma or any respiratory disease.

Film actor Dr Rajasekhar staged a protest at the venue saying that the fish prasadam has no scientific standing. His actor-wife Jeevita too participated in the protest-cum-awareness campaign. "The way of administering the medicine is harsh and patients are vulnerable to contagious diseases. It has no scientific basis too," said Dr Rajasekhar.

He charged the Bathini family members with neglecting hygiene. People should take precaution while taking the medicine as there's a risk of contacting infectious diseases. The saliva of a patient might stick to the hand of the person administering the fish prasadam and when the person gives prasadam to another patient, it might transmit bacteria, germs or viruses to the latter through the salivary contact", he adds.

Jeevita said she was not in favour of the government supporting distribution of fish prasadam. She alleged that the Bathini family was not ready to prove the medicinal value of the fish prasadam or disclose the ingredients of the medicine. "I doubt there is any scientific basis for this alleged cure and somehow I feel the number of persons coming here is also decreasing because of the unhygienic way of administering the medicine," she adds.

However, patients have a different version to tell. Dr GD Gupta, an ENT specialist from Guwahati who has been suffering from asthma for the last 12 years, said "I have taken this medicine for four years, and I am now completely cured. It is really a miracle medicine for asthma."

"There's nothing wrong in the way of administering the prasad, it is an holy prasad no one can claim it wrong. The Bathini Goud family has been administering the unique treatment free of cost to millions of asthmatics for the last 163 years. Every year lakhs of people come here, not just from different parts of India but even from different countries (Mostly NRIs) which proves that the medicine is curable" claims Mr Bathini Harinath Goud.

For vegetarian people who cannot swallow the live fish, the brothers also offer the Karti medicine, which is in the form of a paste and equally helpful for the disease.Bathini Harinath Goud, along with his brothers B Vishwanath Goud and B Shiv Prakash Goud and family members administered the fish Prasad. The distribution will also later continue at the family residence in Doodhbowli for those who could not take the prasadam.

BlackBerry services in the city

Here is good news for mobile savvy. The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is all set to launch its BlackBerry services in the city by this month-end.BlackBerry services have earlier come under scrutiny after Central security agencies expressed concern that the data being transmitted through the device could not be intercepted due to the high encryption codes involved.

The Department of Telecommunications has earlier asked telecom service providers, BSNL and MTNL, to stop providing 3G services till call-monitoring is available to Intelligence agencies. 3G services provide high-speed data and video streaming. However, BSNL now got approval from the Central government and it will launch BlackBerry services in city.

"We have got the required approvals from the government and will launch BlackBerry services in Hyderabad soon. We have already launched it in other metros," said Chief General Manager, AP Telecom Circle, T N Sudhindra. Sudhindra clarified that monitoring 3G services has not been put on hold. "It is possible to monitor 3G services. BSNL BlackBerry Internet service will be offered to individual customers and BlackBerry enterprise service for corporate customers".

The postpaid monthly rentals will range between Rs 299 and Rs 875. BlackBerry handsets will be available from BSNL. This is the first blackBerry solution for enterprises as well as individual customers are available on the 3G network.

"Initially about 1,000 handsets will be made available in the market. Blackberry combined with the 3G network will help us boost growth this year" added Sudhindra.

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.''