The Natural Cowardly Lover

Laying the foundation to history

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was an emotional man as he laid the foundation for the Interim Government Complex at Velagapudi in Guntur district. Performing bhoomi puja amidst Vedic chants, Naidu, said that during the Amaravati capital foundation ceremony, holy water and soil had been brought from various religious places such as Tirumala, Mecca and Jerusalem. "This temporary capital building will be a historical structure and future generations will visit it to know our history," Naidu said. The complex is being built by L&T and Shapoorji Pallonji in a 28-acre area. It will have a built-up area of 6 lakh square feet. Another 17 acres in Velagapudi will be used for creating public facilities around the Secretariat.

Referring to the recent Kapu agitation and laying the blame squarely on the Opposition, Naidu said, "Some people are causing hurdles in the State's peaceful development by raking up caste and regional passions. I request them to be positive." It is expected that the complex from where the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat will function will be ready by June and State government employees will have to shift here.

Spotted at the ceremony was a horse-riding farmer from Velagapudi, K Appa Rao. He sought an audience with the Chief Minister and told Naidu that he had bought the horse with the income from selling part of his land to the State government for the new Capital. He offered Naidu a ride on his newly-acquired horse. Laughing and declining politely, Naidu told him to buy more horses to give everyone a ride.

Jagan abord Naidu's 'sinking ship'

YSR Congress leader Y S Jaganamohan Reddy, however, has ideas of his own about Naidu’s government. The Opposition leader says that several Telugu Desam leaders are in touch with him. "When we have the requisite strength to bring down the Naidu government, we will announce the names," he said. Jagan was responding to queries on the TD government's claims that several YSRC MLAs wanted to join the ruling party. "The yellow (TD flag colour) party has been resorting to this propaganda for a long time. But till now, no MLA from our party has gone to the TD. In fact, the TD is a sinking boat as all people in the State are fed up with Naidu's anti-State regime. Naidu has asked his Ministers to take their cue from Telangana Ministers K T Rama Rao and T Harish Rao in engineering defections from the Opposition," Jagan claimed. He challenged Naidu to snap polls to prove which party has the larger strength in the current scenario.

Organic pride

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared Sikkim the first organic State in India, a Hyderabadi company, 24 Mantra Organic, shared in the pride. In association with the Sikkim government, it helped convert 20% of the State's land into an organic haven. The company has been working with farmers' networks in Sikkim since 2004 to bring about this gradual transformation. 24 Mantra CEO N Balasubramanian says that the company is also working with the Andhra Pradesh government to convert 20,000 acres into organic farming. 24 Mantra currently has 2,000 acres under organic cultivation in Telangana. This is done through a replicable package of practices such as ensuring the farmers get equal yield as traditional cultivation post the three-four year gestation period of converting into organic.

Agriculturists and scientists work with the farmers suggesting them crop rotations and ways to maximise yield. "From social transformation of the farmer to adapt to the organic way of farming -- a four-year process of conversion of land to qualify as organic; to the final produce, field visits, quality checks and certifications, we hold the hand of the farmer all the way," says Balasubramanian.

Another Telangana organisation of repute is the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture headed by G V Ramanjaneyulu. CSA has pioneered the concept of non-pesticidal management. It uses eco-friendly approaches which do not involve the use of chemical pesticides.

Agricultural scientist Dr Ramanjaneyulu has for several years been teaching the farmers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to use traditional wisdom and locally adapted farm practices to beat pests instead of using harmful chemicals. These are called bio-pesticides. They are made from resources which are locally available and which do not harm either the health of farmers, the yield or the environment. They go by curious names such as Agniastram, Brahmastram, Neemastram, Panchagavya, and Jeevamrutham. Bio-pesticides are made from chilli garlic extracts, neem seeds, cow dung, urine, milk, ghee, fish, jaggery, yogurt, lime, egg, custard apples and the like.

Tightening security

The Telangana government has issued a circular tightening security at the Secretariat. From now on, visitors will be permitted to the Secretariat only between 2 pm to 5 pm. Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma issued the circular which states, "No outsider shall be permitted to enter any room without the special permission of the officer concerned. All visitors will be allowed after a thorough check through metal detectors. The private secretaries to ministers and Secretaries are requested to minimise issuing of requisitions for passes to the visitors. The requisition for issue of passes to visitors shall be from the level of PS to ministers/secretaries only." Apart from this, entry of private vehicles into the Secretariat premises has also been restricted now.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't

It was Irrigation Minister and KCR's nephew T Harish Rao, who recently briefed the media after a Cabinet meeting. It is usually KCR himself or Deputy CM Kadiam Srihari who conducts such meets. Of late, after the GHMC elections and Medak bypoll, it is K T Rama Rao who is regarded as the most powerful leader after KCR and an obvious heir. There was speculation that Harish Rao had been sidelined. When quizzed about this, Harish Rao was none too pleased. "I am here to brief mediapersons about the Cabinet decisions and not to answer speculative questions about who is KCR's heir. If I am not seen at the Secretariat, then you people say I am sidelined, and if I hold a press meet, there are some other doubts. I can't answer these questions," he said in a miffed tone.

The natural cowardly lover

Krishnagaadi Veera Prema Gadha starring Nani has again proven that the actor is a delight to watch. Nani carries off the role of a cowardly lover with ease and he appears so natural that the audience remains riveted. His comic timing and dialogue delivery does not miss a beat. Nani plays a Balakrishna fan in the movie set against a backdrop of faction violence in Anantapur. The second half tends to drag a bit but it is now evident that whenever Nani chooses a script, one is sure to see something different. In fact, even actor and politician Nandamuri Balakrishna took some time out from his schedule to watch the movie. What further endorsement would director Hanu Raghavapudi need?