Getting to Zero - World AIDS Day Theme

December 1, will be observed as World AIDS Day every year. World Heath Organisation (WHO) is leaving a theme for every year, this year it is getting to Zero - Zero New HIV infections, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths, announced Dr. Kutikuppala Surya Rao. Speaking to the media on Monday, he said, about 30 million people worldwide are infected with HIV globally, and there are millions of new infections each year. When it comes to India, it is beyond 82,000 new cases that have registered in the first quarter of this financial year, he added. The research endeavour of tens of thousands of scientists and clinicians have had considerable progress in diagnosing and treatinginfection. The preventing of HIV infection, the care and treatment of AIDS patients are still a major priority. To integrate global resources in order to better help millions of AIDS patients. In this connection China is conducting a three day International Seminar from December 1 to 3, 2011 in Beijing, its capital. Dr. Surya Rao, is going to make a keynote address at the seminar. The other speakers are Dr. Shibo Jiang, Professor Fudan University, China and Dr. Kalevi Reijonen, FIT Biotech Limited, Finland.

Heritage walk to Erramatti Dibbalu

Intach conducted a heritage walk to Errimatti Dibbalu whose beauty fascinates people, to focus the attention of the citizens on the scientific and cultural aspects of this rare geographical formation. It was a well attended walk represented by various sections of society like the members of the photography club, families of Naval officers, officers of HSBC and students of schools like Sri Prakash and Presidential School. Professor of Geology in Andhra University, Rajasekhar Reddy, addressed the gathering and explained the ‘why and how' of the Erramatti Dibbalu. He said that the these formations had taken place about 18,000 years ago and were caused by various factors like marine activity in the region when earth passed through the ice age to melting of the sea waters, while it went through the convulsions before it took the present shape and that they were caused by the action of the sea and wind apart from weathering. He said that these are unusual phenomena exclusive to Visakhapatnam. There are only three such formations in the South East Asia - one in Tamil Nadu called Teri Sands, second one in Sri Lanka and the third being in Visakhapatnam. Every citizen of Visakhapatnam is rightly proud of this unusual sight nature has bestowed on him or her close to the city, he stated. “Just as we learn lessons from the past, present is a window to the future. The study of Erramatti Dibbalu is of great importance to the future generations as knowledge of these formations can throw a lot more light on the future of the earth. The preservation of these Erramatti Dibbalu is of prime importance to the students of earth sciences and posterity,” he observed. An officer from the navy explained the precautions to be taken while proceeding on the walk as the ravines which are breathtakingly beautiful, can also be quite confusing and one may get lost. The walk in the hot sun at ten in the morning was worth the effort. Mr. Sishir proposed a vote of thanks.

NAVY CHILDREN SCHOOL CELEBRATES ITS ANNIVERSARY

The Secondary Wing of Navy Children School (Nausena Baugh) celebrated its 36th Annual Day on Friday, 25 Nov 11 at the Samudrika Naval Auditorium. Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, AVSM, Chief Of Staff, Eastern Naval Command was the Chief Guest at the Event and Mrs Reena Lanba was Guest of Honour. The theme of the Annual Day, Transcending Time was depicted by portraying various ages through each performance such as the English play Miss-matched, the Hindi skit Pamarse Pandit, Fusion dance etc. Navy Children School Management Committee members, dignitaries of Eastern Naval Command and parents were also present on the occasion. Mrs Reena Lanba gave away trophies to academic toppers and all-rounders. Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba commended the award winners on their achievements and the participants on their engaging performance and urged the teachers and parents to work together in making the Navy Children School a place of excellence fostering an optimal holistic growth of the students.

NAVY CONDUCTS MEDICAL CAMP AT RAMBILLI

Indian Navy organised a Medical Camp as part of the ongoing Navy Day celebrations at the Naval Rehabilitation Colony, M Chintuva, Rambilli. INS Virbahu, the Submarine Base Ship conducted the Camp on Friday, 25 Nov 11. All 450 families of the Naval Rehabilitation Colony and other populace residing in adjoining villages were beneficiaries of the Camp. Medical officers from the Indian Navy screened the individuals for ailments and disbursed free medicines. Awareness on ill effects of tobacco products was imparted to the local community. A large number of villagers utilised the medical facilities that included a general medical checkup, nutritional evaluation, screening for treatable diseases, Health Education regarding communicable diseases and oral health awareness. Nearly 200 villagers availed the opportunity and benefited from the Camp that was part of the series of welfare initiatives undertaken periodically by the Indian Navy.

Month long SKML festival begins

Arrangements for the month long Margasiramasa festival are going on at Sri Kanakamahalakshmi temple. Special rituals will be offered on every Thursday during the month, chanting of Vedic hymns, Lakhsmi sahasranamam, ksheerabhishekam and other rituals will be offered to the goddess. Veda Sabha - a conference on Vedic issues will be discussed on December 18, Sahasraghatabhishekam on December 22, followed by Mahaannadanam. Devotees in large number will take part in Ghatabhishekam, to get the blessings of the goddess. This tradition is being observed from years together. A unique service is allowed here for devotees, that they can offer self rituals to the goddess. The temple doesn't have any roof of the sanctum sactorum. Festival will conclude on 26th of December. Temple authorities are expected about 60 thousand devotees on every Thursday. A police outpost was instituted at the Reading room to restrict the pickpocket and chain snatching teams.

Paresident VMS Falicitated

Mrs. Lata Choudhary, President of Visteel Mahila Samiti (VMS) handed over the Furniture and Sports material worth of Rs.65,000/-, to MPP School, BC Colony in Paravada Mandal at a simple function organized in the school premises today. Mrs. Latha Choudhary was felicitated by the Local leaders along with staff of the School. Visteel Mahila Samiti (VMS) has procured the furniture and sports equipment with the financial assistance provided by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Department of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Mrs.Mukta Gupta,Secretary, Mrs.Sunanda, Jt.Secry. and members Mrs.Lilly and Mrs.Uma Majumdar, of Visteel Mahila Samiti, Mr. Murthy MN from CSR Dept., VSP, Mr. Gopalkrishna, Mandal Resource Person, Paravada, Staff of the School, Parents and Children in large number were present.

BLOOD DONATION CAMP HELD BY THE NAVY

A Blood Donation Camp in collaboration with the Blood Bank of King George Hospital (KGH) was organised as part of Navy Week Celebrations at the Naval Dockyard Dispensary today, 23 Nov 11. Rear Admiral KR Nair, VSM, Admiral Superintendent Naval Dockyard (Visakhapatnam) inaugurated the Camp. There was an overwhelming response from among uniformed and non-uniformed personnel, including ladies of the Naval communities. Over 550 personnel turned up to donate Blood and strengthen bonds with local community. Dr G Santha Rao, Superintendent KGH, extended his cooperation by providing the services of the hospital blood bank. Addressing the gathering at the inaugural function, Dr K Shyamala, Medical Officer-in-Charge, Blood Bank, KGH stressed on the need to build awareness about voluntary blood donation, and of the misconceptions regarding the act. Speaking on the occasion, Rear Admiral Nair reiterated the importance of the Donation and of Navys continued commitment to the cause of the Societal Healthcare.

VPT protest

Residents of old city decided to fight against the pollution. They held a rally from Kotha Veedhi to Collectorate on Monday seeking solution for pollution released by the Visakhapatnam Port Trust. A gathering of the huge crowd from various sections of the Kotha Veedhi, Abusarang street, Jalaripeta, Gnanapuram had joined the rally at Kotha Veethi. Schools in old city remain closed voluntarily to support the good cause. Tha procession passed through Kotha Road, Purnamarket, Chitralaya, Jadamba junction. The gathering formed a human chain at Jagadamba junction, one of the busiest centres in the town. Vizagites had supported this rally for revolution against pollution. All the Political Parties extended their support to this march past. Addressing the procession, Mr. Dronamraju Srinivas, MLA- Viskaha South promised activists to resolve the problem soon. It is the responsibility as an MLA to protect valuable constructions and directed to fight in a peaceful way. He will have a discussion with the concerned authorities to withdraw the evicting old city. Mr. Ganesh Kumar, Telugu Desam Party said, it is the wrong treatment with this residents which were settled here over the centuries, whereas Visakhapatnam Port Trust was set up only in 1930s. VPT is dumping waste use in high quantity at the streets. He further stated that it is the right time to fight against the concerned authorities. The procession further proceeds to Collectorate, where all party representatives had joined the rally at the protesting camp. During the procession activists had started slogans like Forget evicting Kotha Veedhi, No Pollutin Please, Protect old monuments, etc. One of the specialist doctors has said, most of the health problems like kidney failure, heart problems, etc., were a result of pollution. After having protested for about two hours, a five member team met District Collector and submitted a memorandum. District Collector promissed these members for finding solution to this pollution system. As per the committee decision, there would be relay hunger strike from Tuesday onwards at the Kotha Veedhi junction till they find a proper solution. Mr. Rasool, President Kotaveedhi Residents Welfare Association, K. Tatabbai, Md Ali Khan, JD Naidu, B. Appa Rao, and others lead the procession.

VICE CHIEF OF NAVAL STAFF AT VISAKHAPATNAM

Vice Admiral RK Dhowan, Vice Chief of Naval Staff, accompanied by Mrs. Minu Dhowan, President, Navy Wives Welfare Association (Northern Region) arrived Visakhapatnam on Sunday, 20 Nov 11, on a three-day visit to the Eastern Naval Command. The Flag Officer held discussions with Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Eastern Naval Command. Thereafter, he visited the Hindustan Shipyard Limited and some Naval establishments. Mrs. Minu Dhowan interacted with the members of the NWWA Committee in the course of her stay here. Vice Admiral and Mrs. Dhowan are scheduled to depart Visakhapatnam on 22 Nov 11.

“SERVICE & SPIRITUAL ACTIVITIES MARK COMMENCEMENT OF 86TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS OF BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAIBABA”

Fervour and devotion marked the beginning of 86th birthday celebrations of bhagavan sri sathya sai baba at prema sadan, mvp colony today. Sri sathya sai city seva samithi is organizing a 5-day programme to mark the 86th birthday celebrations of bhagavan sri sathya sai baba vaaru. Today, 19th November, 2011 is observed as “ladies day-shakthi swaruupini day”. Lady devotees of sri sathya sai seva organization presented new clothes,napkin, sri sathya sai baba’s photo, vibhoodi, sweets, fruits, toiletry kits to 86 new borns at Ghosha hospital and presented sarees to 86 mothers. The day started with om karam, suprabhatham and nagara sankirthana in which devotees sang bhajans with devotion. Later, the ladies performed sri sathya sai sahasra namarchana and rendered lalitha sashasra namam. They offered sumptuous food the poor and needy and presented sarees to 86 needy women at MVP mandir. they offered one sewing machine to a poor lady under self development scheme.ladies performed “seemantham” to 2 poor pregnant ladies by offering them with love sarees, turmeric, kumkum, bangles, Horlicks etc., Later, veda patanam by ladies and spiritual discourse by smt. Jaya kameswari and soulful songs by smt lalitha Chandrasekhar and party enthralled the audience. City youth (men) organized mass sri sathya sai divya vratham by 86 couples of konamam village of anathapur mandal, today. Hundreds of ladies have enthusiastically participated in the birthday celebrations. Sri K.Venakateswara raju, convener, sri sathya sai city seva samithi is overseeing all the arrangements.

CROWDS THRONG NAVY MELA AND THE NAVAL SHIPS

As part of Navy Week celebrations, three warships of the Eastern Fleet namely INS Shakti, INS Ranvir and INS Kuthar were open for visit by children and the public over the past two days. INS Shakti is a Fleet Tanker and INS Ranvir, a Kashin Class Destroyer, while INS Kuthar is a front line Missile Platforms of the Indian Navy. A large number of public from all walks of life visited the ships today, 19 Nov 11. The visitors were taken on a guided tour of the ships and briefed about the diverse weapons and equipment fitted onboard. Various Naval evolutions and operations were explained to them by the means of photo boards and projection systems. Caps, flags and posters depicting Naval evolutions were distributed amongst the children visiting the ships. There was also a Career Counseling Corner for those with an interest in joining the Navy. Refreshments were provided to all on completion of the visit. The visitors experienced life in the Navy from close quarters and considerable excitement was in evidence. The Navy Mela at Samudrika grounds also evoked good response, with over 23,000 people visiting the venue to date. People have been showing keen interest in the stalls put up by the Naval Dockyard, Armament Depot, Fleet Maintenance Unit and INS Kalinga that have been garnering the maximum attention. Sunday, 20 Nov 11 is the last day for visiting the ships between 9 AM to 5 PM and also for visiting the Mela between 10 AM and 10 PM.

Steel Minister furthers his mission to improve steel reach in rural India

BRINL and SAIL organized a Steel Dealers Meet at Lucknow today. Shri Beni Prasad Verma, Hon’ble Minister of Steel presided over the meet. Speaking on the occasion he said, “India’s heart lives in its villages. Therefore, we need to provide steel in the rural heartland, through an efficient and widespread distribution network.” Shri Verma said, “The rural markets will provide the next big leap to steel demand in the country and the dealers at district and block levels will be the catalysts in this chain reaction”. The Steel Minister also added that there is a need to make Indian villages the centers of excellence, so that development efforts reach all sections of the society. Speaking about his thrust areas Shri Verma said, “I believe in setting up steel processing units that convert semi finished products like Billets into finished products like TMT bars in states where required natural resources to set up an integrated steel plant are not available. I also want steel usage to increase so I have instructed the Steel Ministry to take necessary steps to increase awareness amongst the rural masses about the usage of steel.” The Steel Minister lauded the efforts of RINL in setting up Steel Processing Units in Uttar Pradesh and various other states of the country and the initiatives taken for securing iron ore mining lease at Lalitpur. The clearance for the same is pending with the state government, which needs to be given fast, for the benefit of the public at large. Subsequently, a steel plant could be set up which would lead to greater development of the region and increase in employment opportunities. Appreciating the efforts of both RINL and SAIL in appointing dealers at District and Block levels, the Steel Minister said that both RINL and SAIL have taken many initiatives for developing an extensive dealer’s network. He also stated that a lot more needs to be done to ensure that steel reaches every doorstep, particularly in rural areas. Shri P.K. Misra, Secretary Steel, Govt of India acknowledged the initiatives taken up by RINL and SAIL at reaching out to the masses and ensuring increase in usage of steel. Sri A P Choudhary, CMD, RINL while addressing at the meeting emphasized the role of steel in the development of the country. He lauded the Steel Minister’s efforts and initiatives in increasing the steel consumption in India particularly in the rural areas. Uttar Pradesh, being a big state in the country, efforts towards increasing of steel consumption in UP will have a larger effect on the overall steel consumption, Sri Choudhary added. In an interaction session held earlier Shri A.P. Choudhary, CMD, RINL and Shri C.S. Verma, Chairman SAIL, Sri T K Chand, Director (Commercial) RINL held discussionswith the dealers and noted their needs and concerns.
OTHER MAJOR INITIATIVES IN UP : Sri T K Chand, Director (Commercial) RINL said that RINL has three Branch Marketing Offices one each at Ghaziabad, Agra and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh and planning to open one more Branch at Allahabad. He said that 33 rural dealers have already been appointed in UP and added that RINL is also in the process of appointing one Consignment Sales Agency in Varanasi Revenue Division. For bringing further development in the state, RINL would be setting up 2 Steel Processing Units (SPU) in UP one at Ghaziabad and other in one of the backward areas of UP. Around 400 Steel dealers from both RINL and SAIL attended the meeting.

Bike rally in protest against pollution caused by VPT

Bike Rally has been carried out by the Old town people in Protest against Visakhapatnam Port Trust authorities over pollution in old city. In view of this, Communist Party of India (Marxist) - (CPI-M) activists had burnt the effigy of VPT chairman at the Arch in old city. Mr. Rajeswara Rao of CPM warned the VPT authorities, if they try to evacuate the old city, the agitations would be severe.

SPECIAL CHILDREN VISIT INS SHIVALIK

As a part of the ongoing Navy Week celebrations, INS Shivalik, the first indigenously built Stealth Frigate of the Navy, hosted special children from various schools of Visakhapatnam today, 18 Nov 11. Captain Rajesh Pendharkar, Commanding Officer INS Shivalik, and Mrs Sandhya Rao Pendharkar interacted with over 160 Special children and faculty members from Sankalp, Arunodaya Special School, Lebenshilfe, Sunflower Special School, Bethany School, Mandala Vikalangula Sankshema Sangham and Pavani Institute. The children were given a guided tour of the ship and a feel of the nautical way of life including a live demonstration. Photographs were also displayed on photo boards to apprise them of the Fleet activities undertaken all year round. Thereafter the children exhibited their cultural talents through a short variety entertainment programme. The Drawing and singing competitions organised by the ship followed by a sumptuous meal onboard had the children thoroughly enjoying themselves. Mrs. Sandhya Rao Pendharkar gave away prizes to the children who participated actively in the competitions. All children were given ships caps and gifts by the Eastern Fleet, making their visit even more memorable.

NAVY MELA 2011 INAUGURATED

The Navy Mela, a Naval Exhibition by units of the Eastern Naval Command and local business houses was inaugurated by Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, at the Navy Mela Grounds today, 17 Nov 11. The Event which is scheduled from 17- 20 Nov 11, opened with a colourful entertainment program presented by the children of Navy Children School, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Nau Sena Baugh and dance groups from NWWA Kendra,104 Area. The young members of the Naval community displayed their enthusiasm and talent through these enchanting performances. The Navy Mela provides a window of opportunity for Vizagites to visit the Naval premises and see vignettes of Naval lifestyle. In addition to a large representation by MNCs, financial institutions, IT firms, electronic and consumer durables, and the amusement park featuring a host of rides and games, performances by several professional entertainment groups have also been organised as a part of the Mela this year. Parking for two wheelers at the Navy Mela will be along the road next to Samudrika auditorium and for four wheelers it will be on the side opposite to the auditorium and Mela grounds. Naval Ships Open to Public: As a part of the Navy Week, three major ships of Eastern Fleet will be open to visits by the general public on 19 and 20 Nov 11 from 9 AM to 5 PM. Personnel visiting ships are advised not to carry hand bags, camera, tape recorder, camera phones and other electronic goods as these will not be allowed inside the Naval Dockyard due to reasons of security. The entry to ships will be from Pallava gate, which is located near the Pipe Line Junction near INS Satavahana.

Agitation against VPT over pollution

Fishermen in the old city held agitation against the Management of Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) for releasing more pollution and dumping waste use at the prime locations. A rally by several fishermen held in prime locations of the old city against the VPT Management regarding the issue of pollution casued by the VPT due to which people are suffering with heart, kidney, eye, skin and lung diseases. Speaking to the newsmen, one of the participants has said, that thousands of families have been well settled since ages, of which most of them were daily labour. It is a tough time for these families, when the VPT is going to evacuate this place without the consent of the resident fishermen. VPT is dumping of waste use is increased day by day for the past 15 days, he added.

IRCEN to promote classical dances

Noted Odissi dancer Rinajana had conducted a classical concert performance at two schools in the city on Tuesday. As part of the Cultural promotional activities of India International Rural Cultural Centre (IRCEN), New Delhi she visited Sacred Heart High School, Gnanapuram, SFS High School, Seethammadhara schools and demonstrated the fundamentals of the dance art. Ms. Rianajana is a top grade artist in Doordarshan and outstanding grade artist of ICCR, New Delhi and also empanelled with the Sangeeth Natak Academy, and an external examiner with Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Earlier, she had visited Germany, Italy, United States, France, Thailand and Denmark in her career. She is a disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. Prior to her demonstration, she taught various forms of the classical dance. By the directions of the district administration, above said school managements provided her all the necessary arrangements. She will continue her demonstration and awareness camp at St. Anns High School - Bheemili, Jawahar NavodayaVidyalaya- Kommadi, Government Queens Mary's Girl High School- Visakhapatnam, Zilla Parishat High School- Lankelapalem, ZP High School- Atchutapuram, ZP High School- Yelamanchili, CAHS- Arakuvalley, CAHS- Paderu. She was accompanied by a team of IRCEN and local administration.

GO ALONG WITH THE COMMUNITY, INDUSTRY TOLD

Dr Irani, Dr J J Irani, Director, Tata Sons and former MD Tata Steel while delivering a lecture on “Challenges before Indian Steel Industry” organized by VSP’s HRD Dept. at T & D Centre Auditorium today said that no industry in the country would prosper and grow unless it go along with the community and advocated to formulate policies and rules to benefit the community growth. He also said one of the key challenges for Steel Industry in India was availability of resources like land, raw material security and water resources. While sharing his experiences, Dr Irani urged the government to fix time targets with regard to allotment of land, sanction of mines and providing of water, key elements for any industry, automatically steel production will grow to 120 mt by 2020 as envisaged by National Steel Policy. Dr Irani said steel producers should first generate wealth and the best way is distribute the same for the community development. He said that government should think of Indianisation of mines for the benefit of the industry to prosper. Dr Irani said that environmental protection is another key challenge for Indian Steel Industry and Govt. of India had formulated very strict rules as far as environmental protection is concerned only implementation to be executed by one and all. He said India has tremendous advantages as far as technology and skilled manpower is concerned and added that Indian minds are better than foreigners. Sri A P Choudhary, CMD in his closing remarks praised Dr Irani’s contribution to the Indian Steel Industry particularly to Tata Steel. He said RINL is in forefront in adopting cleaner technologies and the plant is growing to 20 MTPA by 2020 with its highly skilled manpower and newer technologies. RINL has the great advantage of huge land bank to meet its expansion needs and its environmental initiatives are the best in the country. Even though, RINL having no captive mines, the Company is earning profits since 2002, with prudent management’s initiatives and committed workforce. RINL Directors S/Sri Umesh Chandra (Operations), P Madhusudan (Finance), T K Chand (Commercial), Y R Reddy (Personnel) and large number of executive fraternity attended the programme. Earlier Sri Y R Reddy, Director (Personnel) introduced the speaker to the audience. Sri A Radhkrishna, GM (HRD & Trg) proposed vote of thanks.

Demolition of Unauthorised Cellars- GVMC

Unauthorised Cellar construction at Sri Mukha Complex, Sathya Surya Complex, Potluru Towers, Uma Bala Constructions (Jyothi Book Depot) were removed by the GVMC authorities in the drive taken to restrict unauthorised constructions in the City.

Childrens Day 2011 Cycle Rally

A Cycle Rally with nearly 200 children carried out in association with GVMC on Monday on the eve of Childrens Day. Rally had been flagged off by Shri B. Ramnjaneyulu, GVMC Municipal Commisioner and Mr. P. Janardhana Rao, Mayor, GVMC. Mayor garlanded Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Statue present at Beach Road. Mayor, GVMC Commissioner and other officials of GVMC also participated in the Rally along with the children. Speaking on this occassion GVMC Commisioner iterated the need to avoid pollution by conducting this type of Cycle Rallies in future

Collector inaugurates Indra AC buses

Mr. Lav Agarwal, District Collector inaugurated two Indra buses at Dwaraka Bus Complex on Monday. Indra- one of the sophisticated bus services of Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Services with fully air conditioned, double screen TVs, DVD, service launched in Hyderabad recently by Transport Minister. Speaking to newsmen after the inauguration Mr. Agarwal said, the BRTS service in the city will be completed soon and district administration is expecting more better services in the city. Mr. B. Ramanjaneyulu, Commissioner, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Commissioner, flagged off these buses along with two student special city services at the same venue. Speaking to the media, he said, the corporation had been discussed with local educational institutions including Engineering and Management to avoid two wheelers and utilise student special bus services. Mr. A. Venkateswara Rao, Executive Director, Vizianagaram Zone (APSRTC), Mr. Madhusudhan, Regional Manager (Visakhapatnam APSRTC) and others present at the opening ceremony.

VSP PAYS TRIBUTE TO PANDIT NEHRU

Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) paid tributes to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his Birth-day. Sri. R. Ranjan, Executive Director (Works) garlanded the statue of Pandit Nehru at Nehru Park in Ukkunagaram. Shri Ranjan, said that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a visionary of Public Sector Undertakings. VSP is fulfilling his dreams by doubling its production capacity to 6.3 mtpa very soon. Explaining the importance of day, Sri. Ranjan also said, 14th November is declared as National Metallurgists day, and World Diabetics Day as the importance attached to Health and Industries which helps Nations Growth. Senior Officials, Trade Union Leaders, Members of Associations, students and teachers participated in large number.

INDIAN NAVY BAND ENTHRALS PUBLIC AT SHIVAJI PARK

As part of the Navy Week celebrations, the Eastern Naval Command organised a public performance of Military Music with its team of 50 skilled musician sailors at Shivaji Park today, 13 Nov 11. The program was aimed at re-acquainting the music-loving public of Visakhapatnam with the professional capabilities of the personnel of the Naval Band. The one hour package presented by the ENC Band commenced with the famous march titled Old Comrades and continued with traditional Big Band pieces and golden oldies of Telugu, Hindi and English. The band was conducted by eminent conductors of ENC Band, RK Tamang, T Vijayaraj and Johnson Vincent. The program evoked a good response from the large numbers that witnessed the thrilling show by the men in uniform. The musical evening culminated with the popular patriotic song Sare Jahan Se Achha. The Eastern Naval Command Band was commissioned as the Band of INS Circars in the early 50s. The 26 men band of those times has emerged as a 50 piece Symphonic band today with a vision to develop further. Apart from enthralling the audience at Visakhapatnam and in all the major cities of the country, the Band has also enchanted audience overseas with its performances. Progressing from martial music, the band has widened its capabilities to include overtures, concerts, symphonies, solos and duets and other forms of contemporary music as well as Western and Indian classical music. The Band is led by its Director Lieutenant Commander VC DCruz. The Naval Symphonic Band is also scheduled to perform a Concert of Western Classical and other forms of music during the forthcoming Navy Week celebrations.

Water treatment plant

Following permission given by the East Coast Railway headquarters at Bhubaneshwar laying of a pipeline from under the railway track will be taken up at Sundarayya Colony. Work on the filtration plant at the colony has been completed at a cost of Rs.5 crore. Of the 5.8 km pipeline, 150 m of line has to be laid from under the railway track. Following the permission accorded, a horizontal tunnel would be dug at 10 ft below the track for laying the pipeline. Mayor Pulusu Janardhana Rao, who visited the work site along with GVMC and railway officials on Friday, directed them to complete the work, costing Rs.50 lakh, in a month.

11.11.11 world peace rally held

All the problems will be solved through nonviolence and peace, opined Mr. P. Balaraju, Minister for Tribal Welfare. While inaugurating the world peace rally at Ramakrishna beach on Friday celebrating 11th November 2011, he said, this is the day in 1918 the first world war ended and it is the time to leave a message to world to maintain peace. Children from various schools released balloons by 11 hours 11 minutes, whereas all the dignitaries on the dais released pigeons . Later they held a rally from RK beach to Submarine. Mr. Lav Agarwal congratulated all the students who have participated to convey a message of universal peace. Mr. Vijay Prasad, MLA- Visakha West, Mr. B. Ramanjaneyulu, Commissioner, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation and others present at the wonderful moment.

Drona meeting

Corporate wellness Programme held in APEPDCL corporate Office on Friday.

Karthika Pournami celebrated

Full Moon day in the month Karthikam is observed as Karthika Pournami. Devotees will have holy bath at the sea and visit temples to perform rituals since morning. Temples at Isukakonda, Kanakamahalakshmi, Rishikonda, Shirdi Sai filled with devotees and organisers have made all the neccessary arrangements for the rush. Mr. Ramesh Babu, MLA- Pendurty had participated in special rituals at Isukakonda. Devotees in large number involved in mass vratams at Satyanarayana Temple there. All the devotees were given Anna Prasad till evening. Number of Vizagites enjoyed the divine full moon day at the beaches in the evening. Members of District Yadav Welfare Association participated in Radhakrishna Mahotsav at the beach by offering pure ghee, milk and cheese to the goddess Krishna.

FREE EYE CAMP CONDUCTED BY VSP

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Department of Visakhhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) in association with Sankar Foundation conducted a free ‘Eye Screening Camp’ at Community Welfare Centre of Aganampudi rehabilitation colony on 10th Nov. 2011. 132 persons were examined at the Eye Camp, out of which 25 cases were identified for cataract surgery. The surgeries will be conducted on 15th of this month. The patients who have to undergo the cataract surgery will be provided all necessary facilities on free of cost like transportation, food during the hospitalization period, accommodation, medicines and post operative medical care with the funds provided by VSP. While addressing the gathering Sri. G. Madhavarao, DGM (CSR) advised the public to make use of such programmes and to give wide publicity among the people who really ought to have. Medicines were distributed to the needy people. Dr. A. Subbarao and Sri. K.S Vinod Kumar along with their medical crew from Sankar Foundation have participated in the programme. Sri. Kosireddy Raja, President,CWC, Sri.Neelakantam, Secretary, CWC, leaders from various trade unions were attended the programme. VSP sanctioned an amount of Rs.3 crores from its CSR Fund to the Sankar Foundation, with which 8 operation theaters were built to serve the needy people. So far 119 eye camps were conducted by VSP in collaboration with Sankar foundation 19,932 patients were examined and cataract surgeries were conducted to 4,522 poor people.

Argument overcome main issues at GVMC Council

The last council session for this first Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation concluded without attending the issues on property tax, BRTS, Simhachalam lands, JNNURM housing schemes etc because of the argument between Mayor P. Janardhana Rao and Telugudesam Party Floor leader Pyla Mutyala Naidu which diverted the focus from main issues at Council session on Wednesday. About one hour duration was totally went in vain at the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. Later the council formally discussed on pending issues. Mr. Ramanjaneyulu, Commissioner readout the action plan for the next few months to the council. Mr. Dorababu, Deputy Mayor, members of ruling Congress, opposition Telugudesam, CPI, CPM and others participated in discussions.

VICE ADMIRAL PATTANAIK VISITS ENC

Vice Admiral RK Pattanaik, AVSM, YSM, Controller of Personnel Services, arrived Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, 08 Nov 11, on a two day visit to the Eastern Naval Command. On arrival the Admiral held discussions with Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Staff at the Headquarters, Eastern Naval Command. The Admiral also chaired the Annual Navy Education Society Conference, held at Swarna Jyoti Conference Hall at the Naval Base here today, 09 Nov 11.

Jail Bharo held

Activites of Trade Unions in city had conducted mass dharna at District Collectorate with a demand to fulfil their rights as per the directions of Nation wide Jail Bharo session on Tuesday. Mr. Swadesh Deva Roy, Secretary National Committee of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) frays on the Union Government for implementing anti Trade Union Act. Most of the industries doesn't maintain minimal amenities, including wages, education for children, insurance, PF, pension, medical services etc, he added. Local bodies including construction, godowns, muthas, auto rickshaw, etc are due for above said schemes, State and Union Governments were failed to aimed at such below poverty line groups. Most of the deaths occured at building construction industry and are in need of life insurance and financial support. All the activists were tried to enter into Collectorate before they taken into custody by police. Earlier, large number of activists had a rally from Saraswati Park juction to Collectorate. Mr. VV Rama Rao, Mohan Kumar, Venkata Reddy, Rehman and members of INTUC, AITUC, BMS, HMS, TNTUC, AIIEA, AIBEA, BEFI, APNGGO's, NEPS, BSNLEU Unions were participated in it.

Commissioner warns for subleases

Mr. Ramanjaneyulu, Commissioner Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation fired on a sub lease incident during his regular visit to a Municipal Shopping Complex in Gullalapalem on Tuesday. He found a To-let board on one of the shops and called for enquiry, noticed the sub leasing system. Immediately he called his subordinate to enquire about the leasing owner and deactivated on spot. According to the sources, three shops were on leasing 3,600 rupees per month to D. Karuna, M. Uma Maheswari and S. Varalakshmi, are offered for 5000 with four months advance. As per the leasing regulations, shops are not allowed for sub lease and irregular activities. For the past few weeks Commissioner inspecting all the shopping complexes in city to prevent anti-lease activities. He found number of commercial activities besides the complexes which were shut down during his visit on Tuesday. Zonal Commissioner, AMO and ACP and others joined Commissioner.

PRATIBIMB - 11 PAINTING COMPETITION HELD BY ENC

Setting off the month-long festivities comprising over eighteen activities scheduled to culminate in the Navy Day celebrations on 04 Dec 11, the Fleet Maintenance Unit of the Eastern Naval Command organised Pratibimb-11, a Painting Competition for children from schools of Visakhapatnam today, 06 Nov 11, at the Swarna Bharati Indoor Stadium,. The event was graced by Rear Admiral T Sudhakar, NM, Chief Staff Officer (Personnel & Administration). Shri V Ramesh, an eminent painter of international repute, was the Guest of Honour on the occasion. Nearly 1400 children from various schools including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Municipal, Naval and Private schools took part in the Event that had the Naval community joining hands with the citizens of Visakhapatnam and their wards. The competition was held for children under three different categories of Sub-Junior, Junior and Senior Groups. Themes of Sailboats at Sea and Landscapes from Sea were given beforehand to the Sub-Junior Group. The themes for the other groups given included Environment Pollution and Water Conservation for the Juniors, and Men in White: Defenders of Indian Seas and Coasts and Sea and Humanity for the Seniors. Children from Special Schools were also invited once again to take part in the Event. The 50 children that participated in this category competed in two groups of speech/hearing impaired, who were given the themes of Peace/ Harmony/ Nature and the differently-abled who were free to paint on any topic of their choice. A panel of four eminent artists from the Naval community evaluated the paintings and short-listed best paintings in each category. Awards for the Winners will be presented on 22 Nov 11 onboard an Indian Naval Ship during the Day at Sea program.

Immense response to VUDA Competitions- Events to continue till Nov 14

Children and parents are turning over with over whelming response to take part in the Children’s Day events conducted by the VUDA Children Club as part of the nine-day Children’s Day celebrations. The Vice Chairman of VUDA Kona Sasidhar flagged off the scheduled competitions and cultural performances on Sunday starting with drawing competition conducted in the morning session and the group songs contest in the evening, which were attended by big number of enthusiastic kids and witnessed by huge gathering of parents and general public. The drawing competition was held in three categories viz., Sub-Juniors, Juniors and Seniors and attended by more than one thousand kids. Children filled the canvass not only with colours but also with creative ideas and visionary values on the topics given on “Me and My City” and “Me and My Country”. The creativity has shown the vision of kids to see their city and country as value based and disciplined living places. Most of the children concentrated on showing the adverse effects of degrading environment. The Vice Chairman Sasidhar interacted with the participants to know their feelings and ideas on the topics given to him for drawing. He was very much impressed with the talents exhibited by the children both at drawing and group songs competitions. The Vice Chairman assured many more children oriented activities through the VUDA Children Club and will be extended to many more kids, adopting it as a social responsibility. The Vice Chairman invited the parents, schools and the general public to enjoy the children festival by attending the programmes every day at Gurajada Kalakshetram till 14 November. The evening session at Gurajada Kalakshetram recharged the gathering with melodious voices of children participated in the Group songs contest. As many as 38 groups from various schools and music institutions actively took part in the challenge. Having given a right platform, the kids competed with each other not only for securing the winning places but also to impress the huge gathering. Patriotic, folk, classical and message oriented songs were presented by the teams. Some teams used instruments to make the number more melodious. Meda Mastan Reddy, Nanduri Ramakrishna, Anjani Nikhitha and T Sai Prakash and Ravi gopikrishna were the judges. Entire programme was organized by the VUDA Media Officer B Prabhakara Reddy. Empower People, a training and recruitment services company is extending its services in assessing the status of children above 12 years through a questionnaire, based on which a two-day workshop called “Uttej Vidyarthi” for the children would be conducted at free of cost in association with VUDA, after the Children’s Day celebrations. The workshop throws light on attending the psychological fears and problems of children and finding remedies. Free Dental Camp and Classical -Group dances on Monday As part of the Children’s Day celebrations, VUDA is conducting classical group dance performances at Gurajada Kalakshetram on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Children from various places of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts are participating to showcase their talents and to enthrall the Vizagites. About 20 groups will be taking part in the competitions on each day. The show starts at 5.00 PM at Gurajada Kalakshetram and all are invited to witness the event. A free Dental medical camp for kids has been scheduled on Tuesday from 5.00 PM onwards. Dr Divya Uppala and Dr Samapika Roupray would be rendering professional services to the children, parents and those attend the camp. Thrilling and entertaining folk dances would be presented by the kids from various schools and dance institutions on 9 and 10 November. About 40 teams have registered names for participation in the competition. All are invited to make use of the camp and also to enjoy the performances by the children. Those teams could not register names before and willing to participate in the classical-group and folk-group contests would be given a chance to take part and informed to contact the Media Officer and the vent organizer B Prabhakara Reddy on 98660 76932.

High tension at Rachabanda

High tension take place at Rachachabanda programme held at Indira Priyadarshini stadium on Saturday. State Government is conducting Rachachabanda sessions to clear all the pending applications for various schemes. Mr. Dronamraju Srinivas, MLA- Visakha South failed to control the force of the applicants. All of a sudden a group of 200 members started slogans to respond on Indiramma housing scheme which were due for months together. Mr. Girija Shankar, Joint Collector, asked police to control the situation only after four of the applicants were severly injured. Some of the applicants staged protest against the activation of Rachabanda session. About 1000 applications for Arogya Sri, Pension, Gas connections, were about to clear in this session and was ended without opening the file atall.

TRANSPERANCY AND GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNACE ENHANCE IMAGE OF ORGANISATION: RINL CMD

Sri A P Choudhary, CMD, RINL, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant stressed the need for active role and ethical conduct of all stakeholders for success and growth of an organisation. Transparency in systems & procedures, business transactions help Organisation to prosper. Addressing the valedictory function of “Vigilance Awareness Week” today at the Training & Development Centre Auditorium, Sri Choudhary said good corporate governance and ethical conduct of business enables the organization to achieve the desired goals. He said that VSP has taken many initiatives in that direction which helped improvement in systems & procedures in VSP. Sri Venugopal K Nair, IPS, Addl. Director General of Police, Government of Kerala, an eminent speaker addressed a cross section of the employees on “Vigilance & Corporate Governance - Its Relevance Today” at T&DC Auditorium on 4th November 2011. In his speech he emphasized on preventive vigilance through system improvement in Corporate Governance. Later, the dignitaries distributed prizes to the winners of various competitions conducted to mark the occasion.

Mayor honour Dy CM

Mr. P. Janardhana Rao, city Mayor honoured Mr. Bhatti Vikramarka, Deputy Chief Minister of the State on Thursday. He was in city to take part in a few programmes in the District. Number of welfare schemes implemented by Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) during their discussion at circuit house. He was accompanied by Mr. Sailajanath, Minister for Primary Education. Both of the higher officials will take part in cycling session at 6 am on Friday at Beach road to create awareness on protection of environment. Mr. Janardhana Rao once again congratulated Mr. Bhatti on his first visit to Vizag as a Depury CM.

HON’BLE STEEL MINISTER REVIEWS RINL-VSP’s H-1 PERFORMANCE

Record Turnover of Rs. 6216 crs; a growth of 28% over CPLY.
Net Profit of Rs. 221 crs in H 1; up by 5% over CPLY.
Marketing Network in rural areas increased by 70%.
Dividend to GOI of Rs.271 crs on a PAT of Rs. 658 cr for 2010-11.

Shri Beni Prasad Verma, Hon’ble Steel Minister while reviewing the performance of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd – Visakhapatnam Steel Plant appreciated their efforts in achieving net profit after tax of Rs 221 Crs in H1 up by 5% over CPLY. The company sold about 1.34 million tons of Steel and registered highest ever half yearly turnover of Rs. 6216 crs in the current year, a growth of 28% over CPLY. With this, the company’s net worth has gone up to Rs. 13,450Crs as on 30th Sept’ 11 thereby enhancing the financial health of the company which will help in raising funds from the market for phased future expansion. Sri AP Choudhary, CMD, RINL indicated that the impact of around Rs. 650 crs mainly on account of higher coking coal prices and iron ore prices could be partly offset through management initiatives & in-house cost reduction exercise such as optimization of coal blend, reduction in energy consumption, reduction coke rate, increased usage of metallurgical waste, improvement in yields of various units etc. 27 applications for allotment of captive iron ore mines have been submitted by RINL in the States of Odisha, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and AP. Hon’ble Steel Minister has taken up the matter with respective State Governments for favourable consideration of RINL applications. In line with the recent special thrust given by the Hon’ble Steel Minister and Secretary (Steel) for the steel industry to be competitive by improving various parameters to international level, RINL has quickly responded by achieving efficiency in four of its parameters namely water consumption, Fuel rate in the Blast Furnace which includes coke rate & others, BF slag utilization etc. During first half of the current fiscal RINL also excelled posting the highest average converter lining life - the best since inception, reduction in defectives etc. In H1, expansion to 6.3 mtpa capacity also progressed well and all physical work got completed for Phase I. Production from the new units is likely to come in the market in this fiscal itself. Hon’ble Minister appreciated the progress of expansion and asked RINL to expedite the commissioning of expansion units for start of production in this fiscal itself and also launch the next phase of expansion to add another 4 MT capacity immediately. Performance of RINL towards CSR, Environmental Measures as well as progress made by RINL for improving its presence in rural India by appointing large no. of rural dealers were appreciated by Hon’ble Minister and Secretary (Steel). Shri PK Misra, Secretary (Steel) lauded RINL for winning coveted awards viz. “Excellent Energy Efficient Award”, “Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Award (First Prize), “Excellent” and “Distinguished” awards at ICQCC, Japan, “India’s Best Companies to Work” for in 2011, National Sustainability Award 2011- First Prize, Shram Awards for five of its employees.

Needy will get all policies : Lav Agarwal

All the needy will get all the Government policies announced Mr. Lav Agarwal, District Collector. Addressing the gathering at the 56th State Formation Day ceremony on Tuesday, he said, Vizag district is ahead of most of the districts in the State in governance. Celebrations were began with garlanding of the portrait of Potti Sriramulu, who sacrificed his life fast unto death about 58 days to get the first separate state on linguistic basis in 1956. Mr. Agarwal, readout the glory of Andhra Pradesh and most powerful faces of the State like Andhra Kesari Tanguturi Prasakam Pantulu, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, Durgabai Deshmukh, Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramaiah, Madapati Hanumantha Rao etc on the occasion. Since then, this State could have good power, irrigation projects, barrages, etc. Coming to present activities Mr. Agarwal said, State Government is aimed to provide 15 lakh jobs by next three years through Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu, many more schemes are welcoming needy through Women Welfare schemes, upliftment of backward classes, agriculture, education, health and medical facilities. Most prestigious scheme among them is Kg rice per one rupee, 25 paise interest rate for below povertyline, Self Help Groups, Mahila Sadassu, Sthri Nidhi banks (in rural) etc, he mentioned. Mr. Dronamraju Srinivas, MLA- Visakha South, Mr. Baburao, MLA- Payakaraopeta, Mr. B. Purnachandra Rao, Commissioner of Police, Mr. B. Ramanjaneyulu, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, Mr. Girija Shankar, Joint Collector and others present at the ceremony. Children of various schools performed cultural shows on the occasion.

VICE ADMIRAL ANIL CHOPRA PAYS HOMAGE TO MARTYRS

In his first formal ceremony on assuming charge of the Eastern Naval Command and prior to commencement of regular functioning as the Commander-in-Chief, Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, AVSM,Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command paid rich tributes to the martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice for the countrys Independence and in defence of the mother land. A 50-man Guard of Honour was paraded on the occasion at the Navy War Memorial on the Rama Krishna Beach Road today, 01 Nov 11. The Admiral was received on arrival by Commodore SR Kapoor, Commodore Commanding Submarines (East). The Flag Officer proceeded to the War Memorial in slow march with the wreath bearers marching in front. The Guard performed the Salami Shastra followed by Shok Shastra as the Commander-in-Chief placed the floral wreath. A two minute silence was observed as the bugler sounded the Last Post. With the guard reverting to the Salami Shastra position, the Bugler sounded, Rouse heralding the end of the Ceremony.

AP FORMATION DAY CELEBRATED AT VSP

Mid-day meal for weavers : Minister Sankar Rao