Hyderabad Blues

Facebook Activism, Or Something More Sinister?
The arrest of ISIS recruit, 32-year-old Salman Mohiuddin, a Nampally resident, who studied for four years in Houston, Texas, has set alarm bells ringing among security agencies. Mohiudddin and his American girlfriend Nicky Joseph, alias Ayesha, started taking a keen interest in the activities of the ISIS in 2014. They started various Facebook accounts under different profile names in order to attract more youth to the cause. Mohiuddin was a resident of Bazarghat area in Nampally and was basically drifting from one job to another after his return from the US. He was to board a flight to Dubai when he was arrested. The police say the engineer was planning to go to Syria to undergo militant training and then start terrorist activities in India. Police raided the plush HH City Scape apartment where Mohiuddin's parents have been staying for the last three years. His father Ahmed Mohiuddin is a retired civil engineer and says that the police charges are baseless. 

Strange Interim Ban on Cock-Fighting
Even as the Supreme Court issued an interim ban on cock-fighting, a popular sport in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, many chose to interpret it as a go-ahead. Politicians of all hues visited the cockfight venues and posed for photos and if popular guesstimates are to be believed, betting ran into about Rs 1,000 crore. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had earlier issued a ban on cockfights after a PIL was filed saying the sport encouraged animal cruelty, drinking and gambling. But it was challenged in Supreme Court. The apex court has again referred the matter to the High Court. Most organisers claimed there was no betting involved and that razors were not tied to the legs of the fighting cocks. Critics of this sport say a ban ought to be imposed similar to the one imposed on jallikattu (bullfighting). Be that as it may, said most rural folk and went ahead with their favourite sport on Sankranti day. 

The Farmer-Actor Plays the Part
Actor Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party might be a non-starter but his movie career is on a stable path. His latest film Gopala Gopala (a remake of Oh My God) co-starring Venkatesh is running well despite stiff competition from Shankar's I. But Pawan Kalyan is a man with "Che" engraved on his heart. He constantly strives to put out the image of greater societal good and the benefits of traditional farming. So the star who recently entered the Twitter world put up some photos which show him getting down and dirty at his farm near Shankarpally, on the city's outskirts. On the eve of Sankranti, Pawan Kalyan uploaded photos of himself scattering seeds, taking care of cattle and watering trees. The actor follows the Zero Budget Natural Farming method advocated by agriculturist Subhash Palekar. In fact, the star has even been giving promotional interviews of Gopala Gopala at his farm. 

Is Aamir More Popular Than KCR?
So is actor Aamir Khan more popular or is it Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao? According to the CNN-IBN's Indian of the Year (Popular Choice Category), the T-statehood protagonist KCR is No. 2 in a Facebook poll and the only politician in the Top 5 leaders category. At No. 1 stands senior IPS officer from Kerala, P Vijayan, who is known for his battle against narcotics. KCR comes second. At No. 3 is Aamir Khan whose recent hit PK might have made him a more obvious choice. At No. 4 stands the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force. Another Hyderabadi, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, is No. 5 in the poll survey. The awards, which will be given out on January 31, are sponsored by the GMR Group. Now the GMR Group, an infrastructural major, is owned by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, who hails from Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The GMR group also owns the IPL team Delhi Daredevils.

Spotlight on Emaar Properties
The Telangana Chief Minister is planning to take back land allotted to Dubai-based Emaar Properties which runs the prestigious Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club in Hyderabad's. The Dubai-based real estate developer was given 532 acres of land in 2003 under the united Andhra Pradesh government when Naidu was chief minister. The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation had signed a joint venture with Emaar in 2003 for developing a golf course, apartments, villas and a hotel on prime land near Jubilee Hills area in the city. But in 2006, under the Y S Rajasekhar Reddy government, MGF, another Dubai-based company, was brought into the partnership and APIIC's stake was diluted to 6.5 per cent. When the CBI probed the scam, it emerged that APIIC had entered the renewed agreement without government sanction in which Emaar-MGF got undue benefit. Several politicians, businessmen, film stars bought 135 villas in the Emaar Properties at Rs 5,000 per square yard when the market price at the time was Rs 45,000 per sq yard. Twelve persons including bureaucrats and politicians were named as accused in the case. KCR observed during his meeting with officials that Emaar had built a golf course on 250-acre of land and nearly 100 acres were vacant. The TRS government may either develop the land on its own or put it up for auction, say officials.

Two Celebrations of Sankranti
KCR celebrated Sankranti at his farmhouse in Jagdevpur mandal in Medak district. He was joined by his family including son K T Rama Rao, daughter Kavitha and grandchildren. AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu celebrated Pongal at Naravaripalli in Chittoor district. He sported traditional clothes and played festival games with the people of the village. He was joined by his wife Bhuvaneswari, son Lokesh, daughter-in-law Brahmani who is pregnant with the couple's first child. Naidu visited several houses in the village and enquired after their well-being. So it was back to the grassroots for both the CMs to celebrate the festival of the farmers. 

Hyderabadi roads wore a deserted look on Sankranti day, it being a holiday. But the main reason for the city being traffic-free was that most of the citizens had gone to their native villages to celebrate the festival. The rest of the citizens of course flocked to either multiplexes or malls offering 50 per cent discounts. Grabbing a traditional lunch consisting of sweet pongal rice, kalagaya koora, paravannam, perugu gaarelu, mukkala pulusu, pulihora, boorelu and vadas at their favourite restaurants also was on the to-do list of most Hyderabadis.