When Andhra Pradesh was divided and a new state was formed in 2014, a lot of promises were made by the Central government to the state, under the State Reorganisation Act 2014. Later, many other promises were made in the subsequent annual budgets by the Modi government but many of them were not delivered. The ones that were delivered, like the amount allocated to the Vizag Metro, were in amounts that can only be termed as a joke. Here’s taking a look at some of the biggest failed promises to Andhra Pradesh and the number of years it will take to complete them as per the funds released by the central government.
CENTRAL POWER MINISTER: AMARAVATI WILL NOT HAVE ANY POWER SHORTAGE
Here is some great news for the new greenfield capital city of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati. The capital will not have any shortage of power whatsoever. Central Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said, “I can assure that at no point of time, the new capital of Amaravati will have any shortage of transmission capacity,” during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha.
Responding to a supplementary raised by TDP leader CM Ramesh on status of pending green projects in the state, the Minister said Andhra Pradesh is the first state to take up green energy corridor and solar power park concepts. Almost 1,500 MW transmission has been set up in and around Ananthapur and 250 MW has already been commissioned. The second phase of 750 MW transmission would be ready by March 2017 and 500 MW will be ready by September 2017, thereby making this a vibrant solar power park.
The Andhra Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (APTRANSCO) has a proposal for a transmission network of 3,830 MVA capacity around the capital city to meet the required power demands.
“For other solar parks, the state government is in synergy with the Ministry of Renewable Energy for adequate land which will help us implement the solar parks. Whenever land is available, we will again plan the transmission infrastructure and the centre cannot plan transmission in advance,” said Mr. Goyal.
What These Thieves Did To Rob A Train In Tamil Nadu Will Blow Your Mind
In what seems to be straight out of the Dhoom series, a group of thieves robbed a train in a dramatic way in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank of India booked a railway coach to transport money from Salem in Tamil Nadu, and robbers cut through the roof of the coach and escaped with an undisclosed sum of money on Tuesday morning.
The officials from RBI found out the robbery had taken place after the coach attached to the Salem Express reached the Chennai Egmore railway station. But they have yet to estimate the amount of money missing from two trunks that the robbers had opened. “The train was carrying 228 trunks packed with Rs 342 crore in banknotes. The money weighed around 23 tonnes. This is the first such robbery in a moving train”, railway police DIG, Bhaskaran, told the media.
Investigators suspect that the robbers boarded the train somewhere along the way, used steel-cutters and welding machines to make a hole on the roof, and bolted with the loot at Virudhachalam, where the train halted for some time around 1.30am. The CCTV footage at the station showed some people trying to open a ventilator of the coach, which was locked and sealed from outside, with nobody inside.
INFOGRAPHIC: KRISHNA PUSHKARALU 2016 IN NUMBERS
Pushkaram is a festival celebrated by Indian devotees to worship sacred rivers. It is also known as Pushkaralu in Telugu. It is celebrated at major religious shrines along the banks of 12 major sacred rivers in India. They happen once in every 12 years corresponding to each of the 12 rivers.
The 2016 Krishna Pushkaralu start today on 12th August and will go on until 23rd August. While it is celebrated all along the length of the river, Vijayawada is a prime spot; as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. The government of Andhra Pradesh has taken several measures to ensure pilgrims have it smooth.
With 139 ghats catering to the needs of pilgrims in the districts of Kurnool, Krishna and Guntur, all arrangements are made in terms of safety, medical care, security and transport. The Krishna Pushkaralu just took off with a remarkable grandeur.
KRISHNA PUSHKARALU 2016:
Surpassing his fears, this poor onion farmer is now at the Rio Olympics
He was just an onion farmer. He was poor. His father died. His mother is lying on a hospital bed because of brain damage due to an accident. Above all, water scared him beyond anything.
And now, he is the only one representing India at the 2016 Rio Olympics for the rowing event.
Life is tough. As the famous Hollywood movies suggest, one should become more than just a man to face the most powerful impulse of the spirit, the fear of death.
Here’s the original post, by Ms. Roopa Pai, a renowned writer, that is doing rounds across social media for the immense amount of valor displayed by Dattu Bhokanal:
“If it weren’t so heartbreaking, this would be a funny story. Imagine this, if you will – there is this young 21-year-old onion farmer in a tiny village called Talegaon Rohi. The village is in one of the most drought-stricken areas of Maharashtra, the kind of place where farmer suicides are as routine as 45 deg C temperatures and accepted with the same weary resignation. His only familiarity with largish bodies of water comes from looking down the deep, dark wells his father digs and seeing, sometimes, a suggestion of a shimmer somewhere far below. He doesn’t do it often, though – he is terrified of water.
And then, suddenly, the universe shifts. The young man’s father dies, and the burden of supporting his family falls on his lanky 6 ft 4 frame. In 2012, looking for opportunities outside his village, he goes off and joins the army. An officer takes stock of his build, and suggests he try rowing. The young man swallows hard and gets into the boat. He knows that if he begins to do well at the sport, there is a chance for promotions, and monetary rewards, which he can send back home to his mother.
Four years later, exactly four years after he picked up an oar for the first time, the young man comes to the Olympics, an international sporting event he has never heard of until a year before, as his country’s sole qualifier in the rowing category.
This is a true story. The young man in question is Dattu Bhokanal, who qualified for the quarterfinals of the men’s single sculls on Saturday at Rio. Today, at 5:30 pm IST, he will row his heart out again, attempting to book himself a berth in the semis. An entire country will be rooting for him, hoping for his fairy-tale to have a happily ever-after.
But chances are that Dattu Bhokanal will not be as concerned about that – chances are he will be thinking of his mother, lying in a hospital bed in Pune, brain-damaged after a recent accident, unable to comprehend what her son has achieved.
It takes all kinds of strengths to be an Olympian. <3″
Let us all hope his mother shall get to witness what her son has achieved. Way to go, Dattu!