Hyderabad metro rail will be inaugurated by PM Modi

Hyderabad Metro Rail: The Hyderabad Metro Rail will be inaugurated  by PM Narendra Modi on November 28.

Hyderabad’s Metro project Highlights:

1. The opening will set a record as no other Metro project in India has rolled out operations in such a long stretch in one go after inauguration. The project is set to get operational soon on the Miyapur-Ameerpet (13km) of corridor-I and Ameerpet-Nagole (17km) segment of corridor-III.

2. The Rs 14,000 crore project was planned with three corridors in Hyderabad. However, the inaugural 30 km stretch is made up of sections of two different intersecting corridors that connect two ends of the city. The Metro trains and the related infrastructure has especially been made disabled friendly with multiple ramps at stations and platforms, grabhold in Metros, high contrast signboards for the visually impaired as well as ticket vending machines to help the speech impaired.

3. CMRS has approved the section connecting Mettuguda and SR Nagar via :Ameerpet Interchange Metro Station. This will allow LTMHRL to operate Metro trains from Nagole to Miyapur via Ameerpet seamlessly. CMRS approval for commissioning stage 1 — Nagole to Mettuguda and stage 2 — Miyapur to SR Nagar has already been secured by the LTMHRL

4. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the first phase of the project.

5. The Hyderabad Metro project is also expected to eventually adopt driver-less Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) technology on all of its three corridors. L&T has in the past 2-3 years carried out successful trial runs of this technology on this line as well. However, for now, the Metro corporation will stick to locomotive pilots running the Metro trains till the passengers get accustomed to the technology.

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Hyderabad Rockathon

The 6th Hyderabad Rockathon is being organised by the Society to Save Rocks, in association with the Great Hyderabad Adventure Club (GHAC). It is a day long event that caters to all age groups for a fun time in the rocks combining adventure, fitness and rock awareness. To be held on 12th November, 2017. The venue will be the beautiful rocky hill of Fakhruddingutta (Khajaguda) behind Lanco Hills in Manikonda.
The programmes will be manifold from adventurous (rappelling and zip-lining, trail-biking, rock walks and bouldering) to educational (Rock Quiz, Snake Awareness Programme) to pure fun (Rock Balancing, Treasure Hunt, Slack Lining, Rock Tattoos and Rock Selfies). There will be activities for every age and every level.

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Visakhapatnam-Kakinada sea cruise

Visakhapatnam-Kakinada sea cruise

If everything goes according to plans, the much-hyped Vizag-Kakinada sea cruise will be operational in the next few weeks. Officials from the tourism department are currently studying the viabilities of the project and a trial run was held about a week ago from Kakinada to Vizag.

A 40-seater glass-domed ship will be introduced and the fare of the cruise will be higher than the existing fare of both bus and train, the officials said. The sea route distance between Vizag and Kakinada is nearly 70 nautical miles or 130 kilometres.

The jetty at the lighthouse of Kakinada port at Uppada will accommodate the cruise liners in Kakinada while the slipway passenger jetty of Visakhapatnam Port Trust near Fishing Harbour will anchor the vessel locally.

R Sreeramulu Naidu, executive director of AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) for Visakhapatnam, said the Vizag-Kakinada sea cruise will be one of the first such projects taken up by the corporation in the state. Till date, the corporation operates river cruises, he said, hoping that the cruise would attract tourists to the blue waters of Bay of Bengal and the panoramic beauty of Konaseema and Eastern Ghats.

Naidu further said apart from the Vizag-Kakinada sea cruise, the corporation also plans to run a passenger ship from Rushikonda beach to the deep sea as part of the beach tourism plan. "The trial runs and studies for the both Rushikonda-deep sea tour and Vizag to Kakinada cruise are almost complete. The projects will be operational soon," Naidu added.

On the other hand, a senior official from tourism department said the Vizag-Kakinada sea cruise could have been operational by this time but that it was delayed due to the strong opposition from the fishermen at Fishing Harbour where the slipway jetty is located. The fishermen believed the tourism ship would spoil their livelihood by imposing restrictions, the official said.

source : timesofindia.

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Buddhist Monuments - Jeelakarragudem (Guntupalli) Caves

Exploring Jeelakarragudem’s Ancient Buddhist Caves & Monuments

 Nestled amid the scenic hills of West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, the Jeelakarragudem (Guntupalli) Caves are a rare glimpse into India’s Buddhist past. This lesser-known archaeological gem presents rock-cut chaityas, monastic cells, stupas, and ancient mandapas—constructs dating as far back as the 3rd century BC. Let’s uncover the secrets of this tranquil site and why it deserves a spot on the heritage map. 

 

Jeelakarragudem, village belonging to Guntupalle is located at the distance of 6.4 kms from Kamarvarapukota and 47 kms from Eluru, westgodavari.

Guntupalli is dotted with some of the finest specimens of monolithic and structural Buddhist remains datable to the 3rd-2nd century BC to 5th-6th century AD. The important monuments located are: rock cut temple or vritta chaitya, large monastery, small monastery, brick chaitya, ruined mandapa, stone stupa and cluster of votive stupas.

Rock cut Temple(Vritta Chaitya): Datable to the 3rd-2nd century BC, the vritta chaitya is circular on plan and enshrines a rock cut votive stupa provided with a small circumambulatory path around it. Locally known as Dharmalingeswara, it has vaulted domical ceiling marked by carved ribs while its exterior shows an arched facade, with ornamental rafts resembling famous Sudama and Lamasrishi caves of Bihar.
Large Monastery: Excavated into the sandstone cliff, the monastery contains a series of cells of varying dimensions meant for the monks to live in. It has a main entrance with the windows on sides, a narrow terrace and verandah. Both the entrances as well as the widows invariably bear arched facades akin to that of vritta chaitya. Marked by its simplicity the entire monastery is devoid of any ornamentation or decoration and thus attributed to the earliest Buddhist monastic architecture. Some of the cells were provided with deep cut channels to facilitate the rainwater drain in to a natural fissure located on the backside of the monastery.
Small Monastery: This rock cut vihara, located at a higher elevation of the hill is relatively smaller in dimension. In all there are five cells in it, which are crudely excavated and some remained unfinished. Due to the ravages of nature its façade was badly affected leaving behind traces of gables on it.
Group of Stupas: Located on one of the terraces of hilltop and numbering more than sixty, these votive stupas erected on different occasions and time frames vary in their shape, size and mode of construction. Fashioned out of stone and also in brick, these votive stupas were set up on stone or brick basements. Amongst them are also seen small apsidal and circular votive chaityas.
Stone stupa: Datable to the 2nd century BC, this stupa with block stone veneering was subjected to partial excavations in the last quarter of 19th century. Considerable damage was done to its dome by the treasure hunters even before the excavations. The dome measures 2.62m height and 4.88m dia was erected over a circular basement. The excavations have yielded a stone relic casket containing gold and rock crystal.
Ruined Mandapa: The monument, presently represented by four standing broken stumps of the pillars was once supposed to be part of a large pillared assembly hall meant for the monks. An inscribed stone pillar retrieved during the clearance work speaks of the existence of a pillared mandapa, which received donations from the 1st to 5th century AD. The dimension of the original assembly hall was estimated as 56 ft.x34ft and was provided with entrance porches on eastern and western sides respectively.
Circular Brick Chaitya Griha: Datable to C. 3rd-2nd century BC, it is at the eastern extreme of the hill over an elevated terrace, approached by a long flight of stone steps. A record of an upasika datable to 2nd-1st century BC refers to the setting up of these stone steps at the entrance platform. Its external diameter is 11 m and has an imposing adhistana. The wall of chaityagriha rises to 80 cm height and measure 2.14 m wide. It houses a stupa at the center. The circumambulatory path around the stupa is 1.38 m wide.

Buddhist Monuments.

 

Visiting Details and Tips

• Opening Hours: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
• Best Time to Visit: Cooler months (October–March) are ideal to explore comfortably.
• How to Reach: Located near Guntupalli; closest town is Kamavarapukota (~6 km away). Combine the visit with nearby heritage sites like Belum Caves for a full-day heritage excursion.
• On-site Essentials: Wear sturdy shoes, pack water and snacks, and plan for a light trek upward to the terraces.

 Though less talked about, these sites resonate deeply with heritage explorers and historians—capturing quiet reverence and ancient craftsmanship. 

 

“The rock-cut part… has two Buddhist caves, a chaitya hall and a large group of stupas… the chaitya hall has a rare carved stone entrance replicating wooden architecture…”

 

Quick Itinerary Suggestion

Time	Activity
Morning	Arrive at Jeelakarragudem → Explore monastery caves and chaityas
Midday	Ascend to the stupa terrace → Photograph votive stupas
Afternoon	Visit the ruined mandapa and brick chaitya → Reflect in the serene surroundings

Buddha Park, Eluru

Explore More into Belum Caves : 

Explore More into Undavalli Caves:

Explore More intoMogalarajapuram Caves: 

 

 

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World Tourism Day celebrations at RK Beach, Visakhapatnam

VISAKHAPATNAM: The state-wide World Tourism Day -2017 is celebrating at RK Beach, Vizag on September 27. 6 days event Dasaravali will be held at RK Beach.This festival will continue from September 27th to till October 2nd.
Cultural programmes showcasing orchestra, dances from Uttarandhra, Odisha and Sambalpur, magic show, folk theatre would be held from 4 pm onwards.
Food courts would be set up at R K Beach while the night bazar at Shilparamam would commence on September 27.  

 

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Indian Photography Festival (IPF) Hyderabad-2017

The Indian Photography Festival (IPF), which will started on September 8 in Hyderabad, Madhapur, the festival spreads its wings wider this time with 525 photographers from 40 countries.
Pitched as a non-profit initiative by the Light Craft Foundation in association with Telangana Tourism, the fest brings together images across a spectrum of genres, from portraits to landscape, abstracts to news photographs. The photo fest is built in collaboration with photo agencies across the globe to facilitate cultural exchange. “This helps our photographers, particularly from Hyderabad, to showcase their work abroad. Earlier this year a few photographers exhibited their work in Georgia, last year we took the work to Auckland and Sydney and we are in talks to showcase in Slovenia in addition to China,” says Aquin Mathews, festival director.

Key exhibitions
Before it’s too late by Mathieu Willcocks (UK)
Landscape by Cecilia Paredes (Peru)
Philippines Drug Wars by Kate Geraghty (Australia)
Celebrity portraits by the photographers from Sydney Morning Herald
The Rescue by Francesco Giusti (Italy)
The Hungry Tide by Swastik Pal (India)
Empathy by Sudharak Olwe (India)
Head On Photo Festival (Australia)
Water by Hikari Creative — IPF Portrait Prize (India)
Venues: State Gallery of Art, The Gallery café, Srishti Art Gallery, Inorbit Mall, Goethe Zentrum, IIT Hyderabad, Saamanya Shastram, Shilparamam, Chowmahalla Palace, Lamakaan and Deja Brew Art Café.
IPF opens on September 21, 5pm, at State Gallery of Art, Kavuri Hills, Madhapur, and will continue till October 8. For a detailed schedule and to register for workshops, look up www.indianphotofest.com

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World’s tallest giant wheel soon in Andhra Pradesh's Amaravati

AMARAVATI: Euro Destination India (UDI) has come forward to set up the world’s tallest  Giant Wheel at an estimated cost of `440 crore in the capital city of Amaravati of Andhra Pradesh. The UDI will set up the giant wheel. While Italy-based Fabbri Group will extend the necessary technological support for setting up the Ferris Wheel, Turkey-based Polin Water Park will be the partners in developing the surroundings of the giant wheel as a tourist attraction as part of Amaravati Tourism.

UDI managing director M Krishna Rao and Fabbri Group president Gianluca gave a presentation to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, which will be developed in three phases.Currently the 167.6 m (550-foot) Ferris Wheel in Las Vegas of US is the world’s tallest giant wheel.

The Chief Minister named for the giant wheel as ‘Amaravati Buddha Chakra’.

Image source: Pinterest

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India's first Hyperloop in Andhra Pradesh to connect Amravati and Vijaywada

AMARAVATI:
An hour-long journey between Vijayawada and Amaravati, could well become a Five minute affair thanks to the agreement signed by Andhra Pradesh government with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT). Under the agreement, HTT will develop a Hyperloop transportation route between the cities of Amaravati and Vijaywada, reducing the one-hour trip to as little as just Five minutes, if successful. The agreement will employ a public private partnership model funded primarily from private sources to fund its construction.

The Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (AP-EDB) and the US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Amaravati. The MoU was signed by HTT chairman and co-founder Bibop Gresta and AP-EDB CEO J Krishna Kishore. While an official release on the MoU did not disclose the probable cost of the project, Krishna Kishore told ET that the project will involve little over $200 Mn of investment and take a year or so to complete it once all the approvals and Right of Way were in place.

If all goes well, this could be the first Hyperloop project to be implemented in India. HTT says it expects to generate 2,500 jobs during the project. The two-phase plan includes first conducting a feasibility study beginning in October, which is expected to last around six months. In phase 2, the actual construction of the Hyperloop  will begin.

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INS KURSURA – VIZAG, ASIA’S FIRST SUBMARINE MUSEUM

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Heli tourism / Helicopter tourism soon in Andhra Pradesh (Vijayawada, Tirupati , Vizag )

AMARAVATI: To improve Heli tourism in the State, the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department signed a MoU with New Delhi-based Mak Aerospace and Aviation Pvt Ltd.

As part of the agreement, services will be started in Tirupati, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam shortly.

Helicopter services include joy rides, packages, Heli-taxi services, packaging with wedding plans in Tirupati and aerial reconnaissance and disaster management. 

In the initial stage, the helicopters shall be six-seaters (Bell 206 L4 / Bell 407). Gradually,  the number of seats will be increased realising the full potential of Heli-tourism and air-connectivity in the State.
The tourism department has assured to provide all infrastructure support to Mak Aerospace and Aviation Pvt Ltd to carry out the operations. Infrastructure support includes the necessary helipads in the areas of operation, passenger holding area, control room and security/screening facility. 

Mak Aerospace and Aviation Pvt Ltd will be responsible for ticketing, promotion and executing all commercial operations with the support of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department.

“The MoU will help in boosting tourism services in the State. We shall extend our full support to ensure smooth implementation of this initiative. Heli-tourism will provide a good opportunity for locals and tourists to explore weekend getaways in a convenient manner,”.

courtesy: http://www.newindianexpress.com

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