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NATION

Temple gets back

its land after long
legal battle
A.D. RANGARAJAN
TIRUPATI: The Trustee of Sri Sit-

aramanjaneya Bhajan Mandir

has finally got back the piece
of land belonging to the temple which was illegally sold to
a third party, after a legal ordeal of 17 years.
The temple located on Sarojini Devi Road in Tirupati
has 5 acres and 56 cents of
land in survey number 541 at
Venkatramapuram of Kuntrapakam village accounts in Tirupati Rural mandal. The land
was donated to the temple by
the ancestors of the present
Trustee Bandaru Venkatramana in 1953 and a registered
trust was formed, with the
shrine having rightful possession over the stretch. The
trustees and their heirs had
been looking after the temple
and the revenue generated
from the land had been spent
on the daily rituals.
Trouble began when the
land was sold out to a third
party in 1998 on the pretext of
an auction and a section of the
revenue staff had reportedly
removed the name of Anjaneya from the Adangal.

VARSITIES mired in a row

Jan. 11 deadline for detained

A.P., Telangana aspirants?
Unless the students pay their first semester fee by this date, their I-20s will be
rendered invalid and their admissions will get cancelled
NIKHILA HENRY

tered most Hyderabad based

students who were either
HYDERABAD: January 11 could be turned down by airlines like
the final day for detained stu- Air India and Etihad Airways
dents of Telangana and And- to fly to the US on account of
hra Pradesh to take admission past deportations are now
in the two Californian varsi- writing enmasse to varsity auties, Silicon Valley and North- thorities asking for postponewestern Polytechnic, which ment of joining and fee payare mired in immigration con- ment dates.
We have been writing to
troversy.
Unless the students pay the university authorities asktheir first semester fee which ing them to postpone both the
amounts to over $ 6,000 by orientation date and the date
this date, their I-20s will be to pay fee. But on account of
rendered invalid and their ad- the holiday season no one has
missions will get cancelled responded so far, said a stuautomatically. As per the ad- dent who stopped by Eithad
mission guidelines of both the Airways from flying to Caliuniversities, students cannot fornia on December 22.
An estimated number of
take admission after the cut1,500 students (as per emigraoff date for fee payment.
According to sources, tion officials in Hyderabad)
while the last date for pay- from across the country were
ment of fee is not usually al- to fly to San Francisco for ad-

missions in the two institutes.

And over 60 per cent of
them are from the twin States.
Out of this, more than half
have either stayed back fearing stringent immigration
checks and US Customs and
Border Protection (CBP)
agencys clampdown and
deportation.
If the students do not make
it to these universities, they
will not just have to forfeit
their admission for the semester, but the US Visa fee of
160 USD, SEVIS fee of 200
USD and university application fee that range between 50
to 75 USD.
Airlines lenient
However, airlines including
Eithad and Air India have given students an assurance that
they will be allowed to fly to

Adilabad, an emerging tourist

destination in Telangana
S. HARPAL SINGH

The northern
district is an
excellent place for
both leisure and
adventure tourism

ADILABAD: The formation of Te-

langana has certainly improved the prospects of Adilabad emerging as a prime

tourist destination, not long
from now. The increased
number of visitors, who arrived at various spots of tourist interest during the brief
Christmas vacation, is a
strong indicator to this.
Though adventure sports
enthusiasts were the first to
come to the district some
four years ago, it did not catch
the imagination of many. The
shooting of the magnum opus
Rudrama Devi at the iconic
Kuntala waterfall helped attract the attention of many.
Now the district even boasts
of the Youth Hostels Association (YHA) of India and regular visits by those associated
with travel and tourism.
Adilabad has something to
offer to all. It has so far turned
out to be an excellent place
for both leisure and adventure tourism, within the ambit of eco-tourism and village
tourism.
Nature and culture are
possibly two genres that

for eco-based adventure tourism, observed P. Shyamsunder Reddy, president of

YHAs Bellampalli unit.
We have already conducted five camps in Jodeghat, the
Ragapur ghats in the Tiryani
mandal, and the Gandhari
fort in Mancherial. We are
planning to camp at Kosai in
the Talamadugu mandal,
where a trek by the side of the
hilly railway line is possible,
he said.
One of the seven Sapthagundam waterfalls in Sirpur mandal
of Adilabad district. PHOTO: G. SANJEEV REDDY

would be of interest to photographers, said well known

travel and tourism writerphotographer Lakshmi Prabhala of Hyderabad, based on
her experience in capturing
natures beauty in the district
during a recent visit to the
Kuntala waterfall and the Jodeghat valley in Kerameri

mandal. The government

should promote nature tourism and tours to interior
tribal villages like Jodeghat
during the Adivasi festival
season, she added.
Forest cover
Given its excellent forest
cover, Adilabad is the place

Fragile environment
Mr. Reddy, however, added
that the government should
plan the development of tourism, keeping in view the fragility of the environment and
interests of the locals.
Tribal people living close
to eco-tourism spots can be
helped to offer accommodation to tourists which will
bring good income to them
he added.

the US on the same ticket rate

till January 31. As per officials
of Eithad Airways, affected
students can rebook once at
no extra charge in the original
class of travel and same fare
type subject to availability on
flights up to January 31 to enable them to resolve their visa
issues with the relevant authorities.
Air India too had given students the option to use their
services without extra charges soon after matters get sorted with the CBP.
Students should get
fresh I-20s
Students with revoked visas will have to get fresh I-20s
issued from varsities and apply for the US visa afresh to
try their luck at immigration
for the second time.

HYDERABAD

THE HINDU

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2015

Alathur to become first

organic block panchayat
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
PALAKKAD: Alathur will soon
become the first block
panchayat in Kerala to
achieve self-sufficiency in
production and
consumption of
organically grown
vegetables. The block
panchayat has begun a
novel initiative in this
regard with the
cooperation of eight grama
panchayats under it.

Farmers market soon

By the end of the next
economic year, the block
will produce all fruits and
vegetables for its residents
based on the requirement.
A farmers market without
the involvement of
middlemen will be set up
at Vadakkanchery.
After achieving selfsufficiency, retail outlets
will be started in other
parts of the State to sell the
excess quantity of fruits
and vegetables.

Organic vegetable seedlings being arranged at a unit

in Alathur, Palakkad. PHOTO: K. K. MUSTAFAH

The project is being

implemented with the help
of Hill Area Development
Authority, Integrated
Watershed Development
Programme and Swachh
Bharat Mission.
The Agriculture
Department will
coordinate the farming

activities with the help of

local bodies. Efforts are
already on to ensure the
active involvement of the
masses in the project.
Loans with subsidies
will be made available to
interested farmers, besides
supply of seeds and
organic fertilizers.

Draft master plan for

A.P. capital released

Pink city cycle

rally for pollution
awareness

G.V.R. SUBBA RAO

ing levels of pollution, Jaipur

city on Sunday organised a bicycle rally to promote awareness on pollution.
Around 500 participants
across the city participated in
the rally. This is a social
cause event and I am grateful
to the residents of Jaipur who
have actively participated in
the event. There are a few
supporters like DENA Bank,
Mapple Production and others who financially supported
us. This is a social event especially meant to promote
health and safety, said an
event organiser, Ajit Soni.
People from all age groups,
including
ex-servicemen,
took part. The idea behind the
rally was to create awareness
about health, global warming
and its ill effects and the importance of cycling.
The WHO said last year 13
of the worlds 20 most polluted cities were in India, with
New Delhi the worst. ANI

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA)

has released the draft detailed master plan for AP
capital city area. The CRDA
has invited objections and
suggestions, if any, relating
to the said notification.
The Andhra Pradesh government has already pooled
about 30,000 acres from
farmers for the purpose of
building a world class capital with the help of entities
belonging to Singapore, China and Japan.
The CRDA Commissioner N. Srikanth said that the
objections and suggestions
can be sent in writing to the
CRDA Commissioner within 30 days. The person making the objection or suggestion should also give his
name and address, telephone or fax and e-mail address. The CRDA, in its policy guidelines, indicated that
the land usage pattern will
consist of agriculture protection zones, industrial
zones, infrastructure and
protection zone. The guidelines specify uses that are

Visitors trying to locate their area in the 3D presentation

by Singapore at Amaravati. PHOTO: T. APPALA NAIDU

permissible in each land use

zone in the planning area.
However the guidelines are
suggestive in nature and
may be one of the parameters to grant or refuse the
permission by the APCRDA,
the Commissioner said.
The plan proposes to
build capital city in 217
square kilometres involving
29 villages. About 7,000 hectares earmarked for living
spaces, 1,950 ha for public
utilities, 3,385 ha for commercial establishments and
6,390 ha for parks and open
spaces in the mega smart
city. The authority proposed
three agricultural protection zones and urban zone,
including the existing urban

area and the proposed urbanised area. An industrial

zone and a development
corridor zone are also part
of the plan.
The infrastructure category comprises traffic and
transportation, multi model
integrated logistic hub and
airport area. Another protection zone has been created to protect the water bodies, hills and forest.
All agriculture land beyond the proposed Outer
Ring Road and outside the
urbanisable boundary of the
regional centres is zoned for
protection under Agricultural Protection Zone- 2. Land
is reserved for the citys expansion in future.

JAIPUR: As India battles the ris-

Keeping people up to date for 100 years

MURALIDHARA KHAJANE
BENGALURU: It was once the official publisher of the Wadiyar royal family and part of a
dream to modernise the then
Mysore State. Hundred years
later, Bangalore Printing and
Publishing Company, popularly known as Bangalore
Press, is today synonymous
with calendars, diaries, and
panchangas (almanacs). The
press, brainchild of Sir M.
Visvesvaraya, is set to celebrate its centenary year.
H.R. Ananth, Managing Director, Bangalore Press, recalls that the journey began
with a wedding invitation.
When Nalwadi Krishnaraja
Wadiyar got married to Pratap Kumari Devi, princess of
Kathewada, the invitation
cost him eight Varahas (the
then currency), which was
big money). He told Sir MV
that they could as well have
set up a printing press with
that money, and the ingenious
engineer took him on his
word. Thus was born the
dream of a printing press for
Mysore State.
Wadiyar, who went to Lon-

The Bangalore Printing and Publishing Company was once

the official publisher of the Wadiyar royal family

don on the invitation of King

George V, contacted the Royal
Company and purchased a
printing unit. Though Sir MV,
with the support of philanthropist Sir K.P. Puttanna
Chetty, set up the Bangalore
Press in 1915 in a house at
Shankarapuram in Bengaluru,
it got official recognition only
in 1916. Puttanna Chetty was

the first chairman of the publication, while noted personality Rao Bahadur Hayavadana Rao was its first secretary.
Initially, the press was located on the State Bank of Mysore premises on Kempe
Gowda Road. In 1917, it was
moved to Chamarajpet, from
where it stills functions. It
was incorporated as a public

company under the Companies Act in 1956. The press had

the distinction of being the
printer by appointment to
the Maharaja of Mysore.
B. Puttaiah, who trained in
printing technology in London, designed the first calendar. The services of British officer George, who was
working with a calendar company, were drafted to maintain
the quality of printing.
It was in 1921 that the company first published calendars in English. It started publishing the calendar in
Kannada in 1936. Interestingly, Jnanpith recipient writer
Masti Venkatesh Iyengar designed the first Kannada
calendar.
The calendars brought out
by the Bangalore Press were
unique because they aimed to
meet the needs of all sections
of society regardless of caste,
creed and culture. Till Independence, the calendars had
small photographs of Wadiyars in the corner. After 1947,
pictures of national leaders,
including Mahatma Gandhi,
Jawaharlal Nehru, and Vallabhbhai Patel, occupied the

corners. The Bangalore Press

churned out calendars, and a
range of dairies and related
materials.
Mr. Ananth says the collection, compilation and flawless
listing of information on Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and
Jain festivals and other events
is a big challenge. We collect
authentic information from
Panchangakartas, Archbishops and Islamic Arabic colleges and compile them, he
adds.
E-calendar
The Bangalore Press has
tried to keep pace with the
changing times. It uses digital
technology to reach out to
Kannadigas in the country
and abroad. The desktop ecalendar was released eight
years ago. The android app,
which we got developed two
years ago, provides information on events and festivals on
a daily basis. Our Facebook
pages delve into the origin
and significance of events and
festivals. Our site also offers
information on each day of the
year and panchangas, says
Mr. Ananth.

JLF to link rural to urban and traditional to modern

KAVITA UPADHYAY
JAIPUR: Over 200 speakers are
expected to participate in the
9th ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), beginning here on
January 21 next. The festival
with its range of authors and
sessions, will link the rural to
the urban and the traditional
to the modern.
The JLF, this time, will engage the over 2.5 lakh visitors
with the keynote address
from Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee and Margaret At-

CM
YK

wood, and appearances from

a wide range of people from
British comedian, actor, writer and presenter Stephen Fry,
war correspondent Christina
Lamb, Indian author Ruskin
Bond and Dalit activist and
campaigner Bant Singh, a release from the organisers
stated.
William Dalrymple, writer
and co-Director of the ZEE
Jaipur Literature Festival, said
Among the international authors appearing this year we
present writers of genius as

diverse as economist Thomas

Picketty and humourist and
polymath Stephen Fry. We
import some of the worlds
most admired novelists, including Margaret Atwood,
Colm Toibin and David
Grossman, as well as arguably
the worlds greatest living
travel writer, Colin Thubron.
The fest will host sessions
on topics including migration, navigating modernity,
rural life and dysfunctional
urbanities, and the changing
societal structures.

Writer Ruskin Bond and British actor Stephen Fry are among
the invitees to the Jaipur Literature Festival.
HY-HY