A New Scheme on Safety and Fire Prevention to be launched soon in VSP: CMD of RINL

Mr. PK Bishnoi, CMD of RINL-VSP declared that a New Incentive-Award Scheme is proposed to be launched in VSP and requested all creative employees to give fruitful suggestions to reduce fatal and fire accidents in VSP. Speaking as Chief Guest at the Annual Recognition Function for Quality Circles, Suggestion Schemes and 5S-2010, Mr. Bishnoi complimented all the award winners and said that it gives joy and immense satisfaction to be in their midst who contribute for improving production, productivity, cost reduction and increasing efficiency in the organization. He appealed to them to contribute further for improving the bottom line of the organization further by commissioning the expansion units on schedule and reach the rated capacity faster. At the recognition function held in Training and Development centre of VSP on Saturday, Awards were presented to Best Srujan Vikas Co-ordinators, Best Quality Circle Facilitators & Leaders, Best 5S coordinators. Best QC Teams, Best QC Departments and Best Suggestors with whose contribution VSP had a substantial saving to the tune of Rs 40 Crores. Mr. Umesh Chandra, Director (Operations), Mr. AP Choudhary, Director (Projects), Mr. P Madhusudhan, Director (Finance), Mr. YR Reddy, Director (Personnel), Senior Officials, Union Leaders and Awad Winners were present. An Exhibition of QC Models was also organized.

TROPHIES AWARDED TO SHIPS OF LOCAL FLOTILLA

Trophies were awarded to Ships of Local Flotilla at an impressive Ceremonial Parade held at the Flotilla Sports Ground at the Naval Dockyard today, 29 Apr 11. Commodore Gangesh Kumar, Naval Officer-in-Charge (Andhra Pradesh) inspected the Parade comprising personnel drawn from Minesweepers, Landing Craft, Torpedo Recovery Vessels and Ocean Going Tug. The event was a culmination of a year that saw the achievement of various operational goals with typical zeal and professional pride. Nine ships contested keenly across several categories with INS Kozhikode winning the Best Ship and IN TRV-72 the Most Innovative Ship. The Other prestigious awards were those of the Best Ship in Small Vessel Category won by INS Gaj and the Most Spirited Ship that was won by INS Cuddalore. The Local flotilla has been operational on the Eastern seaboard for over 20 years and is tasked with the defence of the coastal assets of Andhra Pradesh. To this end, in addition to operational deployments, Regular Coastal Security Awareness Campaigns have been conducted in all the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Continued interaction with Marine Police has given the much needed fillip to the nascent organisation and has laid the foundation for an enriching and fruitful cooperation. The Office of the NOIC (AP) is also the nodal agency for interaction with the various oil operators of the Krishna Godavari Basin and the port authorities of all the ports on the AP coast. Operationally the Eastern Local Flotilla is actively involved in minesweeping and mine laying operations off the Eastern seaboard including the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The Flotilla ensures a safe channel for the Fleet Ships to transit through. The flotilla ships remain in a high state of preparedness to counter any threat.

Gangavaram Port distributes plants

Gajuwaka 25th April 2011 - Gangavaram Pot Limited as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program and green belt development distributed about 1500 plants (Coconut, Almond and others ) to the rehabilitated families of Dibbapalem village at Yetapalem Kalyana mandapam. In the meeting held at Kalyana Mandapam Mr. K Raja Ratnam Naidu (VP-R&R and Security) addressed the gathering and stressed the need for plantation and assured the rehabilitated people of full co-operation from the Port management in maintaining the ecological balance and protecting the surrounding from pollution. He emphasized that Gangavaram port management is ready to take care of old men and women by providing net knitting and sewing machines respectively. Mr. L P S Naidu (Liaison Officer), MR Satyanarayana (Sr. Manager HR&IR) and Mr. Murali Varma participated in the program. The program was very well received by the villagers especially from woman folk. Gangavaram Port is committed towards the development of the society and plans to conduct medical camps and further distribution of plants in future.

sri sathya sai vidya vihar school children offering prayers along withn all school teachers on 25th april, 2011.

prof .Y.Satyanarayana Vice-Chancellor, A.P.University of Law addressing members of Public Society of India Visakhapatnam Chapter on the occassion National Public Relations Day on April 21,2011.

Wire Rod Mill- 2 of VSP Gets Lighted Up

Mr. PK Bishnoi, CMD of RINL-VSP lighted up the Furnace of the Wire Rod Mill-2 of the 6.3 Million Tonnes Expansion on Thursday, achievement of yet another Milestone. The Wire Rod Mill-1 is operating at over rated capacity of 1.05 Mt and Wire Rod mill-2 is planned with a capacity of 0.6 Mt. While Wire Rod Mill-1 is producing wire rods and re-bars in the sizes of 5.5 mm to 12.7 mm, the expansion unit will facilitate rolling of 5.5 to 20mm in coils with emphasis on special steel like ‘Electrode Quality’, ‘Spring steel’, ‘Free Cutting steel’, etc. In line with the philosophy of ‘one tree for every ton of steel’, CMD, Directors, Senior Officials and union Leaders planted trees at the Wire Rod Mill-2 Complex. Mr. PK Bishnoi also inaugurated the 3rd Gas Cutting Machine in CCM-4 of SMS-I which is being used to increase operational efficiency of cast blooms production. The first gas cutting Machine was installed March, 2009 and the second in Nov, 2010. The fourth is planned in June, 2010. Mr. Bishnoi complimented the Projects division and works division for completing the critical tasks and commended the efforts of M/s Fivestein who supplied the furnace of Wire Rod Mill-2 Mr. Umesh Chandra, Director (Operations), AP Choudhary, Director (Projects), P Madhusudhan, Director (Finance), Senior Officials of VSP and executing agency and Union Leaders were present.

Prof K.Suryanaryana held the audience spellbound when he spoke on the history of Vizag for the last 1500 years or so at a gathering orgainesed by Intach Visakhapatnam Chapter on World Heritage Day on 18th April 2011.
Teachers and students of Visakha Valley School also sang "Yenki Patalu" written in village language by the poet Nanduri Subbarao in the 1920s

The Vizagapatam Chamber of Commerce held an interactive session 'Avagahana Sadassu' on the e-initiatives of the Commercial TAx Department presided by President Mr Kancharla Vijay Kumar and with Mr Suresh Chanda, IAS, Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Government of AP as the chief guest on 17th April 2011

CP inaugurates Kailasagiri Jogging Track Compliments as a special gift by Sreedhar to Vizagites

The Kailasagiri Jogging Track developed by VUDA all along the foothill of the most popular tourist destination of Vizag, Kailasagiri, on MVP Colony side has been inaugurated by the Commissioner of Police J Purnachandra Rao here on Tuesday. He complimented it as a very special gift from the outgoing Vice Chairman of VUDA B Sreedhar to the people of Visakhapatnam with its eco-rich and healthy surroundings. A brainchild of the Vice Chairman of VUDA B Sreedhar, the jogging track has been developed all along the Kailasagiri foothill from Ropeway junction on Beach Road with a distance of 2.5 kms, ending near Hanumathawaka junction. Initially the track has been developed for immediate use up to a distance of 1.2 km and the remaining part will be lined up within a short time. VUDA is investing a total cost of expenditure is Rs.10.00 lakhs for this activity. After inaugurating the track, the Commissioner of Police along with Vice Chairman and officials and members of walkers associations, took a brisk walking on the one kilometer stretch of the track. Appreciating the efforts of VUDA VC and officials, the CP said the track is very rich in regard with its eco-friendly surroundings and amenities. Since the track is little far away from seashore, the atmosphere becomes free from sea breeze and walking, jogging and cycling will be very healthy, he added. The CP further said the Kailasagiri Jogging Track would be doubt become much popular than the existing areas in Visakhapatnam for walking and jogging. He suggested the VUDA authorities to provide watch and ward and circuit TVs for the safety of the commuters. Explaining on the amenities on the track, the Vice Chairman of VUDA B Sreedhar said melodious music through loud speakers, drinking water, benches seating, toilets and other user-friendly facilities would be promoted. Because of the natural surroundings, Senior citizens, women, sufferers of health problems will be benefited more than the common users, the VC opined. Facility for cycling will also be developed on the track, he said. VUDA Secretary MS Bhagavan, Estate officer A Jagadeesh, Chief Engineer I Viswanatha Rao, Chief Urban Planner K Ananda Babu, DFO BVK Krishna Murthy, Jogging Track project in charge V Bhavanishankar, Executive Engineers I Suraiah, MSS Prasad, Planning Officer Dr KD Brainard, representatives of walkers’ associations Dr Peda Somulu, Dr V Rama Rao, senior citizens, S Bhujanga Rao of Forum for Better Visakha, children of SOS village and others participated.

SAIKORIAN JEEVAN DAAN BLOOD AND ORGAN DONATION CAMP HELD

A Blood and Organ Donation Camp was organised as part of the ongoing Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Sainik School Korukonda at the Naval Coast Battery today, 17 Apr 11. Commodore GV Babu, President of the Visakhapatnam Chapter of Association Saikorian inaugurated the Camp that is being held in collaboration with the Indian Red Cross, Organ Retieval Banking Organisaton (ORBO). AIIMS, New Delhi and Moshin Eye Bank. There was an overwhelming response from the alumni of the hallowed institution and from their families as well. Several members also pledged to donate their organs that include heart, liver, lungs, kidney, eyes, pancreas, skin, bone marrow and middle ear. Speaking on the occasion, Commodore Babu urged the members not to think of organ donation as giving up a part of yourself for keeping a total stranger alive, but to see it as total strangers giving all of themselves to keep a part of you alive. Sainik School Korukonda entered the Golden Jubilee year on 18 Jan 2011. A plethora of activities are being conducted all year round to commemorate the Occasion, culminating in a grand finale at the School on 18 Jan 2012. These include Tree Plantation, Sailing, White Water Rafting, Motor Arcade and Paragliding displays at Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. As a part of these events, a cycle rally was undertaken 20 Jan 11 from the Naval Coast Battery to the Alma Mater. The day had also marked the laying of foundation stone by Honourable Minister of State for Defence, Shri MM Pallam Raju, to the Indoor Sports Complex, being built on the School premises under the aegis of Association Saikorian of ex-students. A sponsored trip for select children from the school to Sri Nagar concluded earlier this week, wherein they could even visit Vaishno Devi Temple on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami, in addition to going across to a sister school at Nagrota. The visit to Army and Air Force establishments gave them a good insight into the functioning of the Armed Forces in the Valley and further motivating them to join the Services.

VCTPL handled Container Train in Record Time.

VCTPL set up a record in Container Train handling at Visakha Container Terminal (VCT) in the late hours of 13th of April 2010. A full rake (Train) load of MAERSK Line containers were discharged at VCT in just 10 minutes. The rake which arrived at the terminal at 2335hrs in the morning began discharge immediately and operations were completed at 2345 hours. This is probably the fastest rake handling time achieved by any container terminal in India. With this our own record of handling a train with in 25 minutes has been broken, Significantly the train was dispatched at 0010hrs i.e. in a mere 35 minutes after its arrival at VCT with Engine on Load. Excellent coordination between Terminal Operations department with the state of the art cranes and highly skilled operators made it possible. This quick turnaround time of 10 minutes is comparable with express trains stay duration at Railway Stations. Therefore, VCT stands out at National Level on two aspects one being handled the train within 10 minutes and second being dispatched train with in 35 minutes from the terminal.
The containers handled belonged to Maersk Line, and arrived from Vedanta Aluminium Limited plant located at Jharsuguda. CONCOR and other private rail operators regularly operate container trains between Visakhapatnam and various locations, ICDs across the country. VCT has the facility to accommodate two trains at a time, and trains have regularly been visiting the terminal since the year 2004. CONCOR also has a rail facility located close to the terminal, and containers from their facility regularly move to and from Raipur, Nagpur, Jharsuguda among many other locations. With the burgeoning Far East market and located ideally on the centre of east coast, Visakhapatnam is emerging as an ideal gateway for the container traffic to the vast hinterland extending up to Delhi.
Visakha Container Terminal has recently been in the news for other reasons – it achieved a record increase of container traffic of 48.37% year on year. The numbers of vessel calls have also increased to more than 30 vessels per month, from an average of 18 vessels a month previously. Transshipment traffic to and from Kolkata, and increased movement by road and rail into the terminal has contributed to these increases.

PROBE-21 SYMPOSIUM INAUGURATED AT ENC

A two-day Symposium on Prospects for Research in Ocean Based Enterprises in the 21st Century (PROBE-21) is being conducted jointly by CASTLE (Centre for Advancement of Science, Technology. Law and Engineering), a non-profit Scientific Society, the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) and the Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering at Samudrika Naval auditorium, commencing today, 01 Apr 11. The Symposium will have researchers, scientists, administrators, academia and experts from industry and Government discussing and deliberating on themes related to Ocean resources, Commerce, Security, Policies and Regulation, and thereafter making recommendations for future implementation.The Symposium was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Vice Admiral Anup Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command. Prof (Dr) Rao Tatavarti, Executive Director, CASTLE welcomed the distinguished guests and delegates, and Commodore (Retired) S Shekhar, Regional Director, Navy Maritime Foundation, Chennai Chapter introduced PROBE-21 to the gathering. The Seminar is being attended by a number of eminent disnitaries including Dr. J Narayan Das, Chief Controller (R&D), DRDO, Dr. TGK Murthy, Program Director, ISRO and Directors from GTRE, DRDL, IMU and other distinguished organizations from across the Country.Following serious challenges in meeting the Nations Food, Energy, Power and Water requirements in the twenty first century, arising out of burgeoning population and stagnant land based resources, the Symposium sponsored by the Ministry of Earth Sciences proposes to seek maritime solutions. The 7600 km of coast line and over two million square kilometers of exclusive economic zone with its vast living and non-living resources cab be harnessed effectively towards setting up ocean based enterprises like coastal and offshore energy and power development, marine farming, and even perhaps communities located inocean based structures. The Symposium sponsored by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India proposes to seek maritime solutions to these twenty first century challenges.