Day and Night in Hyderabad - News update

• Amazon campus in Hyderabad soon, Google likely to follow
• Islamic Art Gallery inaugurated at JNTU by Mr. Zahid Ali Khan, Siasat, 30 October 2013, ---The Siasat Daily is presenting ‘Islamic Art’ exhibition of Paintings by Mohammed Younus, at Nehru Art Gallery, College of Fine Arts, JNTU-FAC, Masab Tank here from October 31 to November 4, 2013. Editor of The Siasat Daily Zahid Ali Khan, will inaugurate the exhibition at 4.30 pm on October 31. The Exhibition will be open from 11 am to 7 pm till November 4. (NSS) 
• Heritage building fire destroys government press Siasat
• Baroda Maharaja settles £3 billion inheritance feud,  -- The Baroda royals were regarded as one of India's five most important families – the Gaekwads, along with the Nizam of Hyderabad Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir, Gwalior, and Mysore, were the only rulers given a 21 gun salute during the British Raj.   
• Hyderabad Habitat Centre to come up at Khanamet  
• Microsoft names new MD for its India R&D operations -- Hyderabad: Microsoft Corp. has appointed Anil Bhansali as managing director of Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt Ltd, one of the operating system ...

Hyderabad Survey on Urdu newspaper readers Most readers buy their copy

Extract:

By A Staff Writer Islamic Voice, June 2010

Hyderabad:
A survey of reading habits of Urdu newspaper readers here reveals that 90 per cent of these readers buy Urdu dailies and read it within the confines of their homes. The survey disproves that most Urdu newspapers are read in the tea houses or restaurants, as was though so far.

The survey was carried out by the students of the Department of Journalism and Mass communication of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University, a central university, recently among 500 respondents. The survey found only 5.6 per cent readers looking at newspapers in restaurants, tea houses or hair cutting saloons.

The findings are significant as Hyderabad is premier centre of Urdu journalism in India and several leading Urdu dailies are published from the city which include Daily Siasat, Rashtriya Sahara, Rahnuma e Deccan, Munsiff, Itimaad, Milap etc. Thirty two per cent of the respondents said they read English newspapers along with Urdu dailies in order to get a comparative outlook of news and events. 12.48 per cent of the respondents complained about paucity of news related to overseas, education, science and technology and research and development in Urdu newspapers. Thirty per cent respondents did not see any significant difference between stuff provided by the English and Urdu newspapers. The survey reveals that only 3.36 per cent of these respondents wanted to read newspapers free of cost. A little over 46 per cent of the respondents wanted the newspapers to be priced at Rs. 2 while 22 per cent respondents liked the price of the Urdu dailies to be pegged at one rupee.

28.32 per cent of the respondents said they liked reading news from the Muslim world and Muslim communities around the world. Nearly 17 per cent said they preferred reading more of political news. Nearly five per cent readers said they read the sport news with preference. Nearly 46 per cent of the respondents said they would like better stuff from the Urdu dailies.

A Considerable section of the Urdu newspaper readers comprises rickshaw pullers, auto rickshaw drivers, beedi makers, push cart vendors and petty merchants. 7.6 per cent of those covered by the survey said the news about minorities is not highlighted properly in the Urdu newspapers.

Asked whether they would like the Urdu newspapers to carry the photographs of the editors in their daily, a little over 57 per cent of the respondents said they disliked the appearance of the photographs of their editors and would instead prefer the space to be devoted to some useful news items. Nearly 37 per cent said they would tolerate such pictures. Nearly 72 per cent of the respondents said they did not like the intense tug of war between editors of various Urdu dailies and 21.44 per cent favoured a truce between the editors. Over five per cent said they would stop subscribing the Urdu newspapers if they carried on the coverage of such items. A good number of Urdu readers voted for Amin Jaferi as the best columnist whose pieces appeared regularly in the Urdu dailies.

They questionnaire carried 19 queries from the Urdu newspaper readers.

Confusing tests stump drivers - SAB CHALTA HAI BHAI

Hyderabad traffic is an epic in itself — spoken of in fearful tones by outsiders but a fun, video-game-arcade experience for the natives. With zooming cars, zipping bikes, horns blaring, you’d be no Sherlock Holmes to deduce that getting a driver’s licence isn’t too hard.

Scratch the surface and alarming stories come forth. A ‘proxy’ taking the driver’s test instead of the applicant, experienced drivers flunking the test because of redundant questions and a list of grouses. continue reading

More on the same shelf:

Traffic Lights - Hyderabad Traffic Police
"Traffic lights, also known as traffic signals or stop light, is a signaling device that is positioned at a road intersection, pedestrian crossing, or other location to indicate when it is safe to drive, ride, or walk using a universal color code."

City changes signal:
GSM technology to send instant alert for repair, timers to blink as per red/ green light ... This, incidentally, is also the first time that a traffic signal has been ...

In Hyderabadi auto there are no free rides or funny rides!!!

Auto ranis’ day out, Deccan Chronicle

"Although Billo Rani from the movie Goal is a popular character, very few have heard about Auto Rani. No, she isn’t an item dancer but chooses to live life on her own terms. Although she would have preferred a chauffeur driven car, she is now settling for chauffeur driven autos. Yes, you have heard right! These ladies have hired auto drivers who drop and pick them up from work every day. Meet the ‘auto ranis’ who travel in their hired autos and pay their drivers on a daily or monthly basis.

...
Remember
* Carry a pepper spray with you
* Do not sleep in the auto, pay attention to the route he takes
* Don’t divulge details like your husband’s office timings or members residing in your house to the driver.
* SMS your family members while getting into an auto."

Auto menace in Hyderabad Says a blog post @ Lifeztough

Hyderabad goes global with Haleem-e-Khas

FE THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS SUNDAY STORY

BV Mahalakshmi: Sep 28, 2008

Be it an off-season or mid-season, the traditional haleem from Hyderabad is going places. Gati, the express distribution and supply-chain management company, will soon be shipping about 600 kg of haleem worth Rs 6 lakhs to middle-east for a confirmed order. continue reading

The World in Pictures -- Colors of Hyderabad

Experience the world without having to leave your desk. View daily gallery of striking images from our the globe.
INDIA - A child plays among sarees out for drying at a cotton saree factory in the outskirts of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. Back to: The World in Pictures - Photo gallery of images from around the world - MSN UK News - news & weather

House buyers flock to Hyderabad

Thats what this image tells you. Hau kya, sachi bhi, nakko poocho:

Info courtesy: Posted by Srini's Weblog HyDeRaBaDi bLoGs.

see also: Hyderabad: A Haven for Real Estate Investors + Much more

Hyderabad: Break traffic rule, be constable for a day

Hyderabad: Shwetal Rai / CNN-IBN Published on Sat, Feb 23, 2008, in nation section

You won't be fined for breaking a traffic rule during non-peak hours in Hyderabad. You'll instead be given a role to play: of a traffic cop. That’s city traffic police's way to make people follow the rules.



Read the details, CLICK here.

What Mysore can learn from Hyderabad...

[Original title: What namma Mysore can learn from Hyderabad; namma=our]

Dr. K. JAVEED NAYEEM, A Mysorean writes: Although I know that Mysore does have its own charm, I have still often wondered why people compliment us so much over our luck in being in such a nice City. But it is only when we compare Mysore with other ... Continue reading [info courtesy: churumuri swalpa sihi, swalpa spicy / Star of Mysore]

Readers' comments are interesting:

9 Responses to “What namma Mysore can learn from Hyderabad”

chetan krishnaswamy Says: 4 November 2007 at 10:29 pm
Let me focus on the most pertinent point in your story…our Biryani is better

Anonymous Guy Says: 5 November 2007 at 8:14 am
Agree with Dr. Nayeem 100%

Kadana Kuthuhala Says: 5 November 2007 at 8:19 am
I think the writer should’nt worry about mysore so much as it’s the people of mysore that actually hinders progress. So if the ‘deve gowdas’ of mysore contribute in their own way, the progress will be definitely slow which obviously means slow growth.
BTW, what does ‘Namma’ mean???

thisisananth Says: 5 November 2007 at 11:16 am
I stay in Hyderabad and experience the traffic problems that you have said. It s really lack of planning on part of GHMC. Even though there are flyovers at every junction, they ease the traffic only at the junction. The traffic at peak time is very slow moving that 13 km distance is taking 45-50 mins. An efficient public transport system can alone solve this. But the buses are few and infrequent. Even the hyped MMTS( multi modal transport system) didnt yield the expected results, the reason being that it just goes around the city and doesn’t touch the main junctions at all. An efficient underground or any other fast railway system can only solve the problem. Hope successive govts who are dodging this issue will realise its importance and take up project without any further delay and be committed towards its completion and make Hyderabad a really enjoyable place.

Dinesh Says: 5 November 2007 at 8:31 pm
[flyovers] are the only solution to any city’s growing traffic needs? On the contrary, I believe transportation engineers have a saying, “You cannot build your way out of congestion”. And thisasananth’s comment seems bears this out, as indeed our experience in Bangalore. And as he says, an efficient public transport system alone can solve this. That and severe restrictions on usage of private vehicles.

ERR Says: 5 November 2007 at 9:43 pm
Let us hope and Pray Mysore will not have a single flyover, if thta’s possible…

Doddi Buddi Says: 7 November 2007 at 4:16 am
Thank you Dr. Nayeem for the update on Hyderabad. I last visited the city in 1988 and I was not impressed at all. But the newspapers made me believe that Hyderabad was doing very well when compared to Bangalore. I am sad it is not true–more hype than reality it now seems to appear.
Bangalore would have done well if only the likes of Dirty Devegowda had not stuck his nose into every development project that could have lifted the city out of its problems. Systematically DDG has rogered the city projects like the transit rail, Kheni’s road to Mysore, the new airport (delayed by many years), roads and other projects. I was in Hassan recently and even the approach road to the city’s industrial park has become a two-lane road from a four-lane road. The reason–the contractors hired by HD Revanna gave us a disposable road–an innovative concept in road making!
Coming to Mysore, I love the ring roads around Mysore. Looks like that is the only thing our town planning authorities have got it right.

Harshith_mysore Says: 21 December 2007 at 4:38 pm
@ ERRI do hope we dont get any flyovers in Mysore.
I always wish Mysore retains its old charm which i used to see in my childhood days.

shanker Says: 3 January 2008 at 8:09 pm
what development have seen in chandra babu naidu and not in ysr, may be you have read development of chandra babu in newspaper and media, if so he developed hyderabad why is lost in election and even he didn’t get single MLA and MP seats . may be i even accpect that he bought IT to hyderabad. with no proper infrastructre

See also: Nizam of Hyderabad and Tiger of Mysore by Neria Harish Hebbar, MD

Cricket fever in Hyderabad

Cricket fever grips Hyderabad, Indo-Asian News Service, Hyderabad, October 04, 2007

The third ODI between Australia and the home team is scheduled to be played at the Uppal stadium here, on Friday, October 5. Tickets have already been sold out as all the newspapers have reported this morning. In fact, the police have had to use their 'lathis' is some places, to 'persuade' cricket fans to leave.

One only hopes that the match will be an enjoyable day out for all the enthusiasts, minus the taste of 'lathis' and other signs of general disorder associated with crowds.
One wishes though, that the HCA--if wishes were horses--had sold more tickets and cut down on their 'complimentaries'. Well, well, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

See also:
Hyderabadi Cricket news updates @ hyderabadi bloggers and @ Google news:

Hyderabad breathes easy!

Yes, the Ganesh immersion passed off peacefully and Hyderabad breathes easy again. Yesterday, people were off the streets, traffic was the thinnest ever in the whole year and the police were busy policing. But give them due credit. Our policemen did a great job--keeping a 'virtual' eye on the massive procession and monitoring it at every point. tv channels covered the procession 'live' late into the night and that was that. Finally, all's well that ends well. The T-20 victory cast its joyous shadow on the procession, according to this morning's newspapers. The processionists had an extra reason to celebrate and a good many of them celebrated the T-20 victory with gusto.
And so, after taking a day off, we get right back into our daily lives : buses, bikes, cars, autos, pan-shops, multiplexes, restaurants, wine-shops and all.....

GHMC--An Alice in Hyderabad's Wonderland

Hyderabad is suddenly being seen as the city of disasters by some of our prophets of doom. Yes, there have been tragic bomb blasts at Mecca Masjid on May 18 and at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chaat, three months later. Both the Mecca Masjid blast and the Lumbini Park blast could possibly have been averted with some vigilance, screening and precautionary measures. But, as always, we seem to be growing wise after the event. Public places now are more sensitive to security, which is a good thing.

The other tragedy that shook us up was the collapse of a section of the flyover near Panjagutta for which there are simply no excuses. The contractor, the consultant, GHMC and all the other government agencies are equally responsible for the death of Ankit Aurora, young techie whose life has been rudely cut short, and that of Ramu, a supporter of a politician, from Armoor. Disaster management is an expression our officials have not heard of. There is no nodal disaster management agency it appears, equipped with gas cutters and other emergency relief equipment. Of course, the officials were there to give sound 'bites' to tv cameras, sounding more like politicians than men on the job responsible for both the disaster and its relief operations. How else can one explain their irresponsibility in blaming 'the unprecended rain' for the flyover collapse? It rained for an hour dammit--I live about a mile away from the blessed flyover: I should know. Of course, a 'wizened' GHMC Commissioner clarified the next day that by 'unprecedented' rain was meant 'the quantum of rain in an hour, a single hour, that is.' Oh really! Give us a break Mr. Sarma! Like millions of other Hyderabadiz I was born in this city and have lived here all my life and have seen enough of 'unprecedented rain'. The GHMC and everybody else told the citizens of Hyderabad that this flyover and others being built along with this elsewhere in the city, were 'quake-proof' and 'terror-proof'. They're telling us now that they aren't even 'shower-proof'! GHMC is the new Alice in Hyderabad's Wonderland. Welcome to 'Greater' Hyderabad!

The spirit of Hyderabad

‘No matter what we will stand together’ Citizens Take

"One thing that is important to know about Hyderabad is the spirit of the city. Initially people were disturbed by the two events but then Hyderabadis are known for their cool kind of perspective to life. The evening after the blasts, people returned.... The Hindu, Aug 30, 2007

Ram-Rahim fight terror after blasts

If disrupting the life of the city was what our 'friends' across the border wanted, they failed miserably in achieving their aim.

Hyderabad is certainly more resilient than they thought it was. It's back on its feet, mourning for the dead, but dealing with the complexities of daily life.
Gone are the days when a single incident could rip the social fabric of the city apart. Hyderabad is stronger than some of our 'brothers' across the border think. It has emerged stronger than before from the recent series of blasts.
'dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil meiN hai'......

Hyderabad mourns again!

Barely 3 months after the Mecca Masjid blast, the city has been rocked by serial blasts killing many more this time, in 2 crowded places--the Gokul Chaat Bhandar in Koti and Lumbini Park. Hyderabad mourns the dead and the injured yet again. Another black day. Another mindless act. Another trail of grief, destruction, loss, suspicion and blame.

See more details:

Hyderabad—time for accountability

36 killed, 40 hurt as 2 blasts hit Hyderabad

Google News: image version

HYDERABAD BOMB BLAST AT LUMBINI PARK Video Google

Bottomline: Ishwar Allah Tere Jahan Mein Nafrat Kyoon Hai - 1947 Earth - [Azgar Khan]



Ishwar Allah Tere Jahan Mein
Nafrat Kyoon Hai, Jung Hai Kyoon
Tera Dil To, Itna Bada Hai
Insaan Ka Dil Tang Hai Kyoon

Ishwar Allah, Tere Jahan Mein
Nafrat Kyoon Hai, Jung Hai Kyoon
Tera Dil To, Itna Bada Hai
Insaan Ka Dil Tang Hai Kyoon

Kadam Kadam Par Sarhad Kyoon Hai
Saari Zameen Jo Teri Hai
Suraj Ke Pherey Karti Hai
Phir Kyoon Itni Andheri Hai
Is Duniya Ke Daaman Par
Insaan Ke Lahoo Ka Rang Hai Kyoon source: Ibibo

Ishwar Allah Tere Jahan Mein
Singer: Chorus - 1947 Earth
Brought to you by: Azgar Khan

Shabana Azmi's Voice: 250 years of the British empire ended in 1947, but whats there to show for it? except the country divided, the massacres and kidnappings, vendettas and more violence, was it all worth it?

50 years have gone by since I betrayed my Aaya, some say she married Ice Candy Wala, some say they saw her in a brothel in Lahore, others that they saw her in Amritsar. But I never saw her again.

That day 1947 when I lost Aaya, I lost a large part of myself.

protests and strikes

We've had more than our fair of share of protests to put up with. Yet, our politicians simply don't seem to grow up. Who gets killed or even injured in police firing? The poor and the innocent. Hyderabadis are sick and tired of political parties doing this to the citizens--picking up a cause or latching on to it, as may be the case and going berserk in the name of 'protest'. For the past few days it's been the Leftists, with the Telugu Desam merrily jumping on their bandwagon.
What do we Hyderabadis have to say? Who's asking?

Leaders and activists of Left parties for relay hunger strike

Hyderabad takes lead in protests

Bandh today: TDP extends support to Left parties

CPI-M demands action against cops for Andhra firing

'smart' city....what about citizens?

Hyderabad is all geared up to introduce multi-application smart cards soon.
These cards, which will double as driving licence and vehicle registration documents will also bring up--thanks to hand-held readers, the history of previous traffic offences, tax and insurance data and and related information on the driver.
The city's turning 'smart' if this bit of news is to be believed, but what about the worthy citizenry? Thereby hangs a litany of woes, which I'll save for another day. The only thing I'll whine about today is what our political parties are doing to Hyderabad--in terms of worsening things. They paralyze traffic for the flimsiest of reasons, creating hopeless snarls. The Left parties say they're doing it to get land for the landless. Others have other reasons. What do our 'netas' think of pressing in their cadre as traffic volunteers to show their protest, instead of getting them caned and fired upon by the police and paralyzing traffic? Idea worth publicizing? What say folks?

see also:

Hyderabad opts for smart system

Smart cards for motorists by October, The Times of India

Biometric tracking gives a tamper proof identity to villagers
Biometric tracking gives a tamper proof identity to villagers, Jaya Menon - Chennai

Pay but don’t touch – Security, Satisfaction, and Expectation
Arby’s rolls out ‘contactless’ payment cards

Hyderabadi roads

We're back with the same refrain--Hyderabadi roads and the attendant chaos that goes in the name of traffic. A longtime Mumbaikar (Deepak DeSouza) wrote to the DC yesterday complaining of the utter absence of pedestrians' rights in Hyderabad. His grievance is spot on.

Where are the 'footpaths', one may ask? In no other city does such chaotic traffic go unregulated, as Deepak rightly points out. That's sadly true. One simply has no place to walk--if one doesn't depend on any mode of transport, that is, such as a car/bike/auto/pushcart/bus/truck etc. The sidewalks have been taken over by 'nature's callers' and hawkers or more often, simply don't exist. Hyderabad's traffic police continues to wink blissfully at the anarchic movement of all and sundry on the streets. One would have expected an aggressive, pro-active campaign from the traffic authorities to bring some sanity on to the streets, but the big question is--where are they, Hyderabad's traffic police, I mean?
On a different note, if you're web-savvy, there are enough tools to navigate you. No longer do you need to ask in the local lingo-"yeh rastaa kaaN jaata?" And get the tongue-in-cheek retort--"kaiiN naiiN jaata bhai, bachpan se dekhruN... aap jaareN jaaN kaiiN jaareN." There are web-tools to help you get there--"jaaN kaiiN aap jaareN", that is.....be it Charminar, Gachhi Bowli or Nacharam!

Ganesh Chaturthi in Hyderabad

Ganesh Visarjana in Hyderabad

Hyderabad for over nearly three decades now, has emerged as a major centre for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. There's a large community of artisans in Dhoolpet and adjoining areas that depends for its livelihood, on making idols of Lord Ganesh for the festival and start making them months ahead.

This year, they seem to be unsure whether to use synthetic colours in making the idols, as they have doing traditionally or comply with the State Government's directives and use herbal colours, intead. The demand, as always is huge--at least 15,000 Ganesha idols have to be made for the festival in September, if not more. The State Government's directive on using herbal colours is meant to prevent water bodies from getting polluted. Artisans say herbal colours are not easy to get and what is available is of inferior quality. Artisans apparently have no problem using herbal colours, but do face a problem when it comes to procuring them. The truth, as all of us do know, is that water bodies do get polluted to indescribable extent on account of the immersion of thousands of idols. All of us need to do our little bit to make the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi more eco-friendly and 'organic'. The least the government can do is make organic, non-toxic colours available to the artisans through organizations like the National Green Corps.

See also:

Hyderabad artisans mull over use of herbal colours on Ganesha idols

Wah Hyderabad!

Taking the same thought forward, from last time--is Hyderabad ready for the big league of metropolises or is the pretence getting to it? On the one hand, there are islands of relative prosperity like Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, parts of Madhapur, Begumpet and other areas. We have 'service apartments' in and around Hi-tech City to cater to the inflow of MNC personnel, the hospitality industry says things are looking up like never before, all hotels are notching up high occupancy rates and real estate prices are going through the roof. On the other, a half-hour thundershower is enough to throw the city out of gear, kill a few people and disrupt thousands of lives for a few hours. And, in terms of infrastructure, the city's bursting at the seams--the roads can't take the traffic, new roads and fly-overs are a long way off from nearing completion and as for our City authorities, the MCH ducks for cover, when it is needed the most.

No one spares a thought for large swathes of the city's population living in sprawling slums from Uppal to Rajendranagar and Kukatpally to areas beyond Vanasthalipuram, sans government facilities in terms of civic amenities, not to speak of two of the most critical areas--health and school education. Don't mention government facilities like the Osmania Hospital, Gandhi or Niloufer Hospital, which were known to be the best in town at one time (when we were growing up in the sixties and seventies). Many schools run by the government do not have roofs, boards, desks and benches, leave alone enough teachers.
And yet, we claim Hyderabad is the most happening place. We need to shake ourselves out of this delusional state and get real.

Monsoon showers in Hyd......

"Monsoon arrives in Hyderabad in June and lasts four months" Institutional Greening through water harvesting, MANAGE - The National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad
The rains are here and the infrastructure of the city, as always, is unprepared and under severe stress. The streets are beginning to overflow. Potholes make life interesting for motorists and bikers and there's more to come. Traffic, already at a snail's pace on most of the city's busy roads has waterlogged roads to contend with. Let's only hope that the Public Health folks are more prepared, because monsoon showers lead to largescale outbreaks of disease. And that's the last thing Hyderabad can deal with. That's the plain and simple truth folks. China can build a road right up to the base camp of Mount Everest in four months, but we take ten years to build half a fly-over!
Hyderabad can be the new Shanghai:
And they say Hyderabad is as happening as Shanghai. 'They', in case this needs any explanation, happen to be politicians and bureaucrats--who between them have reduced Hyderabad to its current state.