Jubilee Hills Check Post is probably one of the most important landmarks in Hyderabad city. Daily, scores of people cross the checkpoint as they go to work or the upscale localities of Jubilee Hills or Banjara Hills. However, for quite some time, the traffic has become heavy, and one has to wait for a few minutes when the signal is on at the check post. The traffic and civic authorities are coming together to make it a signal-free zone where the traffic can flow freely to address this issue.Additional city traffic commissioner AV Ranganath surveyed the area to make the Jubilee Hills X roads or check post better and develop it. He was accompanied by engineering cell inspector Srinivasa Reddy, GHMC EE Vijaykumar, AE Venkatesh, and CRMP manager Sriram Murthy, among others. They later discussed the steps that needed to be taken to make Jubilee Hills check post a ‘signal-free’ junction.Soon, the civic authorities and traffic department will work on a strategy wherein the vehicles from all four sides can flow freely even during peak hours without the need for signals. Towards this end, they made plans to widen the roads and footpaths in the area. Apart from that, on all four sides of the check post, U-turns will be allowed on all four sides. A U-turn at Banjara Hills Road No. 2 gymkhana will be provided, facilitating the movement of vehicles going from Jubilee Hills Road No 1 TV5 office towards Jubilee Hills Rd No. 45 Film Nagar.Another measure being taken is to facilitate free left turns. Right now, traffic movement is one way from Jubilee Hills Road No 36 Kalanjali towards Chiranjeevi Blood Bank. So, going forward, a route change is being proposed.To ease the traffic woes of people who cross the Jubilee Hills check post daily, the traffic police and GHMC have decided to work in tandem.

Signal-free Jubilee Hills Check Post Soon

Ever since Telangana was formed, the government has emphasized developing lung spaces and developing various hitherto unused spaces into verdant spreads. Apart from many infrastructural projects, the government is also into developing parks big time.Incidentally, out of the 1037 parks and green spaces under the GHMC limits, ten major parks are spread over five acres of land and 17 theme parks. Four hundred thirty-nine parks were developed after 2014.In a new press release, GHMC has said that two urban forest parks and 56 theme parks are under various stages of development. The two urban forest parks will be located n Madannaguda near Shamshabad and Nagaram, while the 55 theme parks will be distributed across different parts of the city.The Pranavayu urban forest park and the Sports Theme Park in Gajularamaram are a few examples of an urban forest park and a theme park. It is known that both these spaces have been inaugurated by MA &amp; UD minister KT Rama Rao recently.Animal kingdom park, a science theme park, a knowledge park, a topiary garden, a women’s park, an adventure theme park, a community park, a children’s park, and a golf theme park are some of the other themes under consideration. The inauguration of the parks will start sometime in February and go on till December. The parks are being developed at an estimated cost of Rs 130 crore.The best part about these carefully developed lung spaces is that they will offer various facilities for all age groups like yoga centers, walkways, open gyms, lawns, washrooms, etc. Of late, GHMC has started using spaces under the flyovers to spread the green cover, and space under the Shaikpet flyover is now available for the public. Plans are on to convert the space under LB flyover soon.

More Lung Spaces Springing Up Soon in Hyderabad

Our Sacred Space is an organization that nurtures wellness, inclusiveness, and environmental consciousness in twin cities. It helps people to connect with their inner consciousness and leads to the creation of a caring society that transcends borders. The Secunderabad located cultural space had day-long events to mark the occasion.The event was started by lighting the lamp by Harikrishna Mamidi, director of the Department of Language and Culture. Various prominent people, along with those associated with culture, were present at the event. The place was full of visitors, performers, and patrons, which added color to the celebrations.The first performance was an invocation by Pranav and Purnima, followed by a Kathak performance, where the performances explained the nuances of the dance form. There was a Kalaripayatu performance by disciples of Jitender and ghazals by Seema Gupta. Urdu poetry was recited by those learning Urdu at Our Sacred Space. There were musicals that made use of didgeridoo, djembe, hand pan, etc. Hyderabad Storytellers Association narrated stories, and the classical concert by Ravi Kulottama Rao was one of the highlights of the day.There were also Kuchipudi, Tai Chi and Bharatanatyam performance by Ananda Shankar Jayant. There was a play, Nanga Raja, staged by Bhumika Theatre, and the evening ended with Salsa social by students of Nitish.There were food stalls and various handicraft and handloom stalls, stalls of ethnic jewelry, and baked confectionaries.

Our Sacred Space Celebrates 10 Years With Day-long Events

Music is their life, and it’s the rhythms and sounds that lighten up their lives. While they are visually challenged, their music has helped them to reach out to people. Three visually challenged people go around singing soulful melodies to eke a meal for the 25 others with physical challenges.Some of you might have seen them at Film Nagar or other busy junctions in the city. Venkata Ramana, Nageshwar Rao, and Y Devi are the three-member orchestras who sing and make music to ensure a meal for their physically challenged friends in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh.Incidentally, none of them are singers or musicians. But the circumstances made them take up music, and quite a few people stop at traffic signals as their music tugs at their hearts. In fact, Venkata Ramana has done MA in English Literature, while Nageshwar is a graduate. Both of them could not find jobs, and Venkata Ramana also has a family and two children.The trio is part of Swara Madhuri Andha Vikalangula Aarthika Sahayaradham and is the only one who can sing and play music among the 25 members. Others stay in Gudivada and work for daily wages whenever possible.They are supported by 25-yr-old K Sundeep, an auto-rickshaw driver who is dedicated to them and drives them around. If they are lucky, they get Rs 10 and Rs 20 as tips. Those interested in supporting them can reach out to them at 62815 92469.

Music Lights Up Their Lives, Though It’s a Long Journey

In a case of conviction by doctors, a team of doctors at Citizens Speciality Hospital in Hyderabad performed a limb restoration surgery on a 22-year-old.The surgery of amputated wrist surgery was done by a team of experienced orthopedic surgeons in the twin cities. The team also had plastic surgeons on board, backed by an expert team of anesthesiologists.Twenty-two-year-old Harish happens to be a machine operator in a beverage factory in Nandigram near Sangareddy. His right wrist got amputated by accident while working on a machine. Luckily for him, his co-workers put the wrist in a plastic bag with ice and rushed him to a nearby hospital. He was then shifted to Citizens Speciality Hospital in Nallagandla.When he arrived at the hospital, he was in shock due to blood loss. He was stabilized and wheeled into the emergency operation theatre. Dr. Vasudeva Juvvadi and Dr. Kilaru Praful from orthopedics and Dr. Venkatesh Babu and Dr. Sasidhar Reddy from plastic surgery started the marathon surgery of saving and replanting the hand.Young males who have occupational exposure to different machines are predominantly affected by hand trauma. Hand amputation is one of the most debilitating injuries. In case of replantation, rushing the patient to the hospital within six hours and preserving the limb is of prime importance for good results, shares Dr. Ashok Raju Gottemukkala, head &amp; senior consultant, Dept of Orthopedics.For the unversed, in India, the first 60 minutes after a trauma is considered the ‘golden hour’ of trauma.

Wrist Cut Off in Accident Replaced by Hyderabad Doctors

Srikanth Bolla’s story is not any sob story. Of course, there is enough pathos, but he has managed to turn around his life to the extent that his story is being made into a biopic. The boy who was not allowed to study science after Class X went on to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.When Srikanth was told that he could not study science after the 10th standard, he fought a long legal battle with the government and won it. He later went to MIT, and he excels in blind cricket, international chess, baseball, and swimming too. This is the story of Hyderabad-based visually challenged entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla.Born blind to poor parents, he was abandoned only to emerge victorious in life. He says he was not keen on his biopic but adds that director Tushar Hiranandani’s perseverance got him to give his nod. He has already met Rajkumar Rao, who will be playing him on the big screen.Srikanth says he is now confident Rajkumar Rao will be able to play the role effectively and adds that the film will focus on his early life and his journey of setting up Bollant Industries. They make Kraft paper from municipal waste paper and other paper-based disposable and packaging material. Today, the company is worth Rs 500 crore and provides employment to 3000 people directly and indirectly.Srikanth says his objective of setting up the industry was to help people like him who are often shooed away, saying they have low skills or no skills. He says at MIT; the course tore him apart only to build him again. The brutal regimen he went through at the institute gave him life lessons that he will cherish and remember, says Srikanth.

Biopic on Hyderabad’s Visually Challenged Businessman

The start-up ecosystem was robust, and with quite a few unicorns, 100 to be precise, emerging from the city, many of them wanted to go for IPO. While the whole idea of funding was based on that, the start-ups in Hyderabad are feeling the effects of a global scenario that is out of their hands.The Russia-Ukraine war and resulting geo-political-economic situations have led to uncertainty and disruptions. Central banks in India and the US have increased interest rates leading to a slowdown in start-up and public investments. To add to all this, COVID fears from China and recession fears have further worsened the situation for the home-bred start-ups.The local start-up entrepreneurs say financial discipline is the word to go ahead or to rise above the present gloom. Many feel that the start-ups have overspent without understanding the requirement and have hired more than they should. Today, many start-ups are laying off employees to pare their costs.Some say government policies and interests are also affecting businesses. While no vertical has been left out in this confusing time, ed tech companies have been the worst hit. Post pandemic and with schools reopening, the teachers seem to be happy going back to having one-to-one interactions.The start-up entrepreneurs are positive despite the signals. They say many created the problem by hyping up valuations, lack of profitability, etc. And the way ahead for mid-level, growing start-ups is to sustain themselves, turn profitable and then think of scalability.

Resilience is Key for Start-up Survival, Say Industry Experts

In a rather bizarre and shocking incident, one woman planned the gang rape of an aspiring UPSC candidate. The said woman doubted that her husband was having an affair with the aspirant and plotted to get the ‘other’ woman gang-raped.The husband happens to be an IAS aspirant, and she became friends at the institute. Their friendship developed over a period of time, and the woman studying for IAS moved into the house of the man and stayed with the couple between October 2021 and February 2022.Then, the wife started doubting their relationship, and there were constant altercations, following which the IAS aspirant moved out of the house. However, the wife was suspicious and got the woman gang-raped by five goons.According to the police handling the case, the IAS aspirant was called to the house by the wife. When the aspirant went to the house along with her parents, the wife told her parents to wait outside. Once the aspirant was inside the house, she was gagged and beaten. Four men then outraged her modesty, and one man raped her. So, the police say it was gang rape. The whole incident came to light when the IAS aspirant lodged a complaint after her parents rushed in and rescued her.Once the wife was arrested, she confessed to the plot, and five goons were later identified and nabbed. Currently, all of them are in judicial custody.

Wife Gets Husband’s Alleged Lover Gangraped

In an incident that has rattled those working in small firms, employees of Innohub Technologies in Hyderabad’s HITEC city were cheated and left in a lurch by their now former employers. The company had collected Rs 20 crore from the employees and shut shop without any notice. Meanwhile, the employees filed a cheating case against the management at the Madhapur Police Station.The employees collected Rs 2 lakh from each employee, offering them monthly emoluments for 2 months training period. A total of Rs 20 crore was collected from them, and the employees were given two months’ training and salaries. Then the company owners simply vanished.About two weeks back, the company’s website and emails were blocked by Innohub Technologies. When the shocked employees tried to meet the company owners, they were shocked to see that the board was removed. Realizing they were cheated, the employees then lodged a formal complaint.However, the employees allege that the police were not taking up their case, though a week has already passed. The helpless employees have staged protests outside the police station to take action.

Company Shuts After Cheating Employees To The Tune Of Rs 20 Cr

The year 2022 has been a growth-inspiring time for the start-up ecosystem in Hyderabad. Within a span of 7 days, the ecosystem has seen one start-up become a unicorn, five start-ups raising funds, and another selling the stake to a top food aggregator platform. Given this growth trajectory, experts are quick to point out that Hyderabad is set to witness more unicorns – start-ups valued at over $1billion -- in the coming years.There are about six to seven start-ups on the brink of becoming unicorns, shares Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary, IT and industries department. He adds that 2-3 firms have the capacity to turn unicorns this year itself.A few days back, Hyderabad joined the unicorn list, with Darwinbox getting valued above $1billion. On the same day, two companies – Stanplus and OurFood, announced their funding round. To add to all this, on Friday, Zomato announced that it would be buying a 19.48 percent stake in city-based ad-tech company Adonmo Inc for a total cash consideration of Rs 112 crore.While there was a talk of investments not coming to Hyderabad and large investors unwilling to invest here, the funds raised within a span of few days shattered those myths, says Jayesh Ranjan. Another start-up that is working in the space tech sector, Skyroot Aerospace, announced fundraising of $4.5 million in a bridge round to Series B funding led by Google’s founding board member Ram Shriram’s Sherpalo Ventures.Meanwhile, Smartron and Sustainkart also announced their funding. While Sustainkart, which is an e-marketplace for sustainable products, raised $5,00,000 in its pre-seed round led by India Accelerator. On the other hand, Smartron secured a $200 million capital commitment from Global Emerging Markets Group (GEM).However, the big break will come when one of the start-ups announces its IPO, says Ramesh Loganathan, professor Co-Innovation, IIIT-Hyderabad. That’s when 50-100 people will rush to set up business in Hyderabad, and there will be a flush of investors, he says.

More Unicorns Coming Up in Hyderabad

Optum Global Solutions India, which happens to be a part of Optum and UnitedHealth Group, has announced the launch of Optum Start-up Studio in India in partnership with the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H).The same was launched by IT principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan and Optum chief information officer Phil McKoy. The studio’s objective is to identify innovative ideas and start-ups that can help accelerate value delivery by seeking solutions to some of healthcare’s toughest problems.Optum has started similar initiatives in the US and Ireland, and the Indian wing is an extension of their end goal of amplifying the impact of the vibrant health tech start-up and innovation ecosystem in India. The start-up accelerator aims to explore the full potential of India’s promising health tech start-ups, mentoring them to maturity and support for fast-track pilots with relatively mature start-ups that already have market-ready solutions.IIIT-H will be the organization’s innovation partner. Ideas submitted by participating teams will be independently evaluated by industry and functional experts from Optum and IIIT-H for perusal and future funding.