Andhra Pradesh is a place which can make you wonder, it has got everything that can satisfy a tourists. Some say Andhra Pradesh is called the Rice Bowl of India. It has several mind blowing tourist destinations. With a land having such a glorious past cannot be missed. Andhra Pradesh is mentioned in Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas and Jataka Tales. The different caves in Andhra Pradesh takes us back to an era where the legends lived among humans, mythology coexisted among reality. It is an exuberating experience to explore the caves and reanimate the lost legends. The major caves are Belum caves which are the second largest cave in the Indian sub continent, Bora caves in Kirinrandal where the Gosthani River flows through the cave, Undavalli caves where rock cut Buddhist architecture can be seen and Yaganti caves.

Andhra Pradesh has an international airport in Hyderabad with a wide network of flights in and outside the nation. Hyderabad railway station is also one of the major railway stations in the country hence the accessibility is of least concern. There are also several hotels and resorts in Andhra Pradesh.

The long-term “Revenge of Geography”; (Oct. 30, 2009)

In ancient times, oceans, seas, high mountain chains, vast deserts, large rivers, and lakes formed natural barriers that separated settled tribes from nomadic ones.  Eventually, rivers were no longer major barriers for demographic explosions and warrior-like tribes; deserts were sort of conquered with caravans of camels by 2,000 BC that originated in Yemen; mountain chains could be overcome when the other side did not offer any worthy hardships for the wealth and bounty of fertile lands.  The Mediterranean Sea was the playground for commerce and trade of the Greeks, Phoenician City-States of Sidon, Tyr, and Byblos; later Carthage, the Roman Empire, and the Byzantium Empire conquered this sea.  Major oceans were criss-crossed by the gigantic Chinese fleet as early as 1000 AC that reached the Arabic Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.  By the 15^th century, Portugal and then Spain conquered the Pacific and then the Atlantic and started the colonial period that lasted five centuries and is still going on under different labels and forms.

“It is man who has the power to create; it is nature that commands to a large extent” said Harold Mackinder in 1904.  To Mackinder, the “Heartland zone” of earth is that vast land forming Russia, Central Asia, and parts of Central Europe.  All imperial military and economic strategies such as the British and the USA were based on encircling this “heartland” with military and trade zones. 

Russia was plagued by invasions from Mongolia and Central Asia and thus, to create durable buffer zones Russia countered by expanding into that “heartland” toward Siberia in the East, Central Asia toward Turkey and Iran, and then toward Central Europe in the West.  China also suffered from relentless invasions from Mongolia and the south east civilizations and endeavored to expand westward into Tibet and Central Asia and southward into South-East Asia.  Europe turned overseas since the 15^th century to open up and conquer trade implants and then colonize the bordering regions around the “pivotal heartland”.  The 13 federated states in America expanded to the Pacific Ocean and toward Mexico.

Along the borders of the “Heartland pivot land” there are natural blocks of lands such as the South-East (from Vietnam to Burma or Maynamar with their jungles); the Indian sub-continent with the Himalaya and the Indo-Kouch mountain chains which include all of current Pakistan, then you have Iran that includes all of Afghanistan, then you have Turkey and the Caucasus. That is how the 21st century is looking like when all is settled.

The main power will reside on who control the sources of the major rivers.  China has conquered Tibet because three main rivers take their sources from the Himalaya mountain chains; mainly the Mekong (that flow into the South East), the Indus (that flow in Pakistan), and the Brahmapoutre that flow in India and join the Gange River.  China has already built 86,000 dams along the Blue and Yellow Rivers that take sources on the western plateaus; China has not consulted with the South East countries and has already built four mega dams on the Mekong, including two huge lakes that will take about 10 years to fill in order to generate hydraulic power.

Turkey controls two huge rivers the Euphrates and the Tiger that flow in Syria and Iraq.  Turkey has been building dams on these rivers without consulting with the southern neighboring States.  Ethiopia is in control of the Nile if it wishes to.  The US has been building dams along rivers that flow into Mexico.

The USA would like you to believe that there are no natural borders for its military might. That is not a half truth; it is a lie and a psychological propaganda.  Planes, missiles, tanks, and navy do not conquer lands: it is the walking soldier that does this job in order to retain any conquered land. If there is the will to resist in a rough geographic landscape then there can be no conquest. The US used all kinds of defoliate gas (Orange gas) in the jungles of Vietnam but it had to declare defeat and retreat in total chaos; it is already preparing plans to retreat from Afghanistan; it gave up rapidly after the first major skirmish in Somalia.  If the US managed to enter Baghdad it is because there was no will to resist by the people: they wanted to get rid of despot Saddam Hussein; the US is packing up and leaving next year after pressuring the Iraqis to sign an agreement.

Yes, we are witnessing the era of “Anthropocene” which means man is doing more damages to the environment than nature can stabilize but the main reality is there to account for: sources of water.  China, Turkey, Russia, USA, and Brazil control sources of major rivers.  The main struggle in the medium-term is who will control the Nile, the Congo, and Niger Rivers in Africa. Water desalination of Oceans and the towing of icebergs will do for a while but cannot resolve a long-term problem in water shortages.  Actually, huge displacement of people from megapolis to near water sources will have to be undertaken because of the huge investment of supplying water to big urban cities and in order to recover sub-terrain naps and natural ecosystems.

Good morning friends.  Today, everybody is invited to the celebration of Vulture Awareness  Day.  City NO’s will join to Vulture Awareness Day celebration.  We should participate all in giving importance to it. 

September 5 will be celebrated as International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD-09) worldwide. Several NGOs, including some based here plan to celebrate the event by creating awareness about vulture conservation in the region.

According to Junagadh-based NGO, Mudra Ecological, Cultural and Heritage Ovation Society, several peaks and ranges in Girnar Mountains near Junagadh are considered among the few nesting sites of vultures.

The ambitious ropeway project is also being considered a possible threat towards the conservation of these birds. According to sources, some nature clubs and environmentalists have raised the issue with the Centre, even as public agitation for the early commencement of the ropeway project gathers momentum.

J Nimish, a member of Mudra society, said: “We are not opposing the ropeway project, but believe at the same time that vulture conservation should not be sidelined. Both the ropeway project and vulture conservation are equally serious issues. We will approach education institutions and provide them with information about the importance of vultures and their conservation.”

Ankit Shukala and Mitesh Dave, other members of the NGO, who favour development of tourism here, echo the same view.

Some nature clubs and environmentalists have expressed doubts that the ropeway project will threaten the vulture habitat and nesting site on Girnar Mountains.

According to environmentalists, at present, Girnar Mountain houses around 30 vultures.

The bird is considered shy and has a habit of taking shelter in isolated areas far away from human population.

During the last one decade,vulture population has drastically reduced in the Indian Sub-Continent.

Incidentally, Gujarat Minister of State for Environment and Forest Kiritsinh Rana, had also said in his reply to a question on February 20, 2009 during Question Hour in the Gujarat Assembly, that vulture population in the state has reduced from 2,647 to 1431 in two years from 2005-07.

Gujarat was the first state in the country to ban the use of diclofenac drug, considered to be the prime reason for the disappearance of these scavengers. – Yahoo

Sibte Husain Bukhari

26/11 was indeed India’s 9/11. The relations between the two nuclear neighbours of the Indian sub-continent have been stressed again. Terrorism is nothing new to India and most people have got used to this nonsense. There were aplenty of cowardly attacks by the home-grown enemies first, and now we have to fight this Tier-II of the group: The Non-State Actors of Pakistan. The Non-State Actors work on behalf of Pakistan and Taliban though.

image from topnews.in

In case of Pakistan, nothing like free-trade, cultural exchange in the form of movies and music, trains plying between the two countries seem to be working. A positive outcome to have come out of all this is a good harmony found between the middle-classes of the two countries. We Indians enjoy Pakistani music; Pakistanis enjoy Indian movies. Many Pakistani educated citizens were expressing their grief over the Mumbai attacks, but the Military rule in Pakistan hasn’t changed a bit. Even if it is a democracy as a cover for the world, the real men in power are those in military.

There are three main fundamental units in Pakistan. The terrorists a.k.a. non-state actors, the military, the democratic government. The terrorists do the ground level work; the military is always at an aggressive when it comes to India and they are the ones who have a good power in the government’s decisions; and the cover to represent to the world, the democratic government which is passively in support of the terrorists and the military. Not passive support, an open support we can say now. All this is certainly helping them from not being declared a ‘terrorist state’.

In case of China and Taiwan free-trade was the most wonderful thing that worked for them. The relations are not friendly now, but certainly they aren’t as stressed as before. In one of their recent elections in this decade, there were two political parties contesting for elections. One had propaganda of bringing in more businesses from their rival China in electronic component manufacturing; another had the stance on more China-related issues. People finally opted for the party which offered more jobs.

In short, motherboards won over motherlands!

Something like this in India and Pakistan issue is desirable but not that easy. Pakistan’s gravest mistake was to let open the Afghan border. That has allowed many Talibanis to come and stay in the country. Also, I doubt what holds Pakistan as a nation together apart from an anti-India stance. It would have been chopped off into pieces if this anti-India stance did not come up. A different Sindh, a different Punjab, a separate Balochistan and Waziristan, all hating the North West Frontier Province and the demand of a separate Pakhtoonistan in Afghan-Pak border was to happen in reality by now very easily. The nation still remains intact with a separate Bangladesh and the daily terrorist attacks from Taliban. The daily attacks are enough to show the Taliban’s loyalty to Pakistan even in crisis with India. Also, 4 Indians were caught by the Pakistan Police in connection with the Lahore blasts, but Taliban has accepted the responsibility for that same very attack. This one incident is enough to show whether Pakistan is a country deserving free-trade and other goodies with India or not. When Zardari’s wife was also a victim of terrorism, it seemed Zardari was a reliable bet for India on new relations with Pakistan. He is also on the radar of these terrorists, but his soft corner for them is much higher than his own late wife it seems.

Any guess, what will be next? There’s Taliban with it’s aspirations of world Islamic conquest. The biggest enemies of The Taliban are democracy, freedom and equality. Despite all their clashes with Pakistan Army, please note that Pakistan is not remotely enemy no.1 of Taliban. Their real enemy is something else. The Taliban’s chief has shown strong support to Pakistan in case if a war with India goes. They have a string army of 1000 suicide bombers ready. The martyrs who die in suicide bombing get to dance with 72 virgins in paradise is what the central theme is in brainwashing youth. The greed of a sexy after-life can have great impact on some closed conservative minds. After removing democracy in Pakistan, there next target is naturally going to be India. Attempts to root out democracy (though under military rule) have been unearthed in Bangladesh last week. Shall we call them agents of Taliban?

Considering all that is happening in Pakistan, the menace of Taliban, the overall ideology of the public (of which most are uneducated and illiterate), it is very difficult for Pakistan to get a place in WTO and to become a progressive democratic state. The investment in schools and other educational institutions from Pakistan Govt. has been negligible. It can be called as nothing but a failed state. The only good thing we can expect is that Taliban should not take over Pakistan and be successful in uprooting the government out there. The controls of the nuclear bomb will go in the hands of the devil’s people then! Pakistan has not been successful in its issues with India, it hasn’t been successful as a decent economy, it hasn’t been successful in handling the attacks from Talibani terrorists, it hasn’t been successful in at least getting a place of trust in the world as a country.

What it has ever been successful is in showing aggression to India by deploying army at border, by deploying nukes at the border. It’s focus should rather be on economic progress for the welfare of it’s people who are increasingly being pulled towards a support for terrorism.

Friends Travel specializes in providing custom vacations to the world’s most remarkable destinations.  Have one of our expert trip advisors create the itinerary of your dreams today.  Indulge in a luxury travel package to Asia, embark on an adventure to the South Pacific, take an alluring African safari – just dream of your ultimate trip and we will create the ideal itinerary for you.  Our trip advisors distinctively tailor inspiring travel experiences that suit the needs and wants of individual and group travelers.

Our unparalleled team of destination experts takes care of every detail of your exotic vacation – from the magnificent accommodations and delectable cuisine to the enchanting excursions and flawless details, with Friends Travel, expect the best in enriching travel and unsurpassed quality.  Friends Travel only deals with top-of-the-line operators in each of our destinations.

Moin Shakir’s ‘Women in Muslim Society’ as it appears in ‘Status of Women in Islam’ edited by Asghar Ali Engineer, demonstrates that very few Islamic countries have in fact progressed at the desired pace. Much of what Shakir writes in ‘Women in Muslim Society’ can still be applied today.

Published in 1987, twenty years ago, the question of the position of women in Islam remains pertinent.

Shakir comments that ‘the practice of seclusion or veil existed in the pre-Islamic times. In the same way a number of customs which are now treated as Islamic have nothing to do with Islam. These customs and practices have been the features f the social and cultural life of the people who did not abandon them after embracing Islam. The example of the Indian Muslim social structure may be instanced here. This may be described the folk aspect of religion which may go or may not go against the letter and spirit of normative aspect of religion. In other words religion, normative or popular, is not and should not be viewed as an autonomous and independent phenomenon.’

Status of Women in Islam, edited by Asghar Ali Engineer was first published in 1987 by Ajanta Publications.

November 10, 1897 has been an epoch making day in the history of power sector in our country, century back on this day the first hydel power station and reportedly in Asia too was commissioned at Sidrapong near Darjeeling Town, heralding the Electrical-Energy-Era in the Indian Sub-continent. On February 11, 1896 a meeting of the Municipal Commissioners of Darjeeling was held and presided over by R. T. Greer, I. C. S. the then, Deputy Commissioner of Darjeeling and the Chairman of Darjeeling Municipality. At the meeting they resolved to set up a Hydro Power Station to light up Darjeeling Town by seeking a loan of Rs. 1. Lakhs from Government. A site for the Power Station was selected at the foot of the Arya Tea Estate at Sidrapong. What was then a fine orchard of the Maharajah of Burdwan and considering the importance of the scheme in the public interest, Maharajahdiraja Sir Bijoy Chand Mahatab Bahadur, G.C.I.E.K.C.S.I., I.O.M. was pleased to make it over to the Municipality. The work of installation of power station was started immediately. The Machines and Equipment came from Britain. There being no proper road communication all the Equipment, Machinaries and construction materials had to be transported manually.

The first plant consisted of two 65 KW Crompton-Brunton Single Phase 2300 volts and 83.3 cycles alternators coupled with two Gunther’s Turbines. The country’s first Hydro-Electric Power Station with 2 x 65 KW capacity was commissioned on the 10^th November, 1897 by C. C. Stevens the then Acting Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. It is a noteworthy fact that the first power utility run on commercial basis for use of general public sector under state patronage. The total initial cost of installation of this power station had been only Rs. 1.2 Lakhs. In 1905 one 135 KW set was installed in 1909 in the same power house. The place being too small a new power house was built in 1916 at a higher location, now known as Jubilee Power House. In this way the total capacity of the station grew from 130 KW to 1000 KW. But owing to the limited supply of water the generation could not be increased to match the growing demand of the town and of the neighbouring tea gardens to run their factories with electricity. Various schemes were prepared to install larger power station elsewhere. The present installation, therefore, consist of 3 sets of 200 KW at Sidrapong power house besides one D. C. hydel generating set and 20 KW for auxiliary power.

West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) inherited Sidrapong hydel power station by taking over the Darjeeling Electric Supply undertaking from Darjeeling Municipality on January 30, 1978. And has since been under WBSEB.

SALIENT FEATURES

Location :-

At the foot-hills of Arya Tea Estate, about 12 km from Darjeeling town via Bloomfield Tea Estate at an altitude Of 3600 ft.

Source of Water :-

(all of black plain steel sheets folded in rectangular shape and bolted longitudinally).

Penstock :-

Two Nos. 18″ dia for M/C No. 3 & 22″ dia for M/C No. 1 and 2 Length 720 ft &
725 ft

Forebay Tank :-

By Barun Roy | Beacon 15 January 1998