Hero IPS officers fight crime, a collector wants her town voted the best, a mountaineer climbs the world’s highest peak and a lawyer takes on the system to fight for nine lakh ignored individuals. These are some of the stories you could celebrate today.
Warangal has a new champion
K. Amrapali, Collector
Warangal urban District Collector Amrapali Kata has been able to achieve within months what her predecessors could not achieve in decades; she has put Warangal on the map as a global city.
The IAS officer was formerly the joint collector of Ranga Reddy district; she assumed charge as the collector of Warangal in October last year. Since then, she has been involved in several projects — boosting the image of Warangal worldwide.
“With the International Kite Festival, we were able to showcase the culture and tradition of the Kakatiya dynasty, and we were able to showcase Warangal city at an international level. Over 50 representatives from 30 countries participated in the event,” Ms Amrapali said.
The collector’s aim is to see Warangal’s name among the top five cities in the Swachh Bharat rankings. Last year, the city was ranked 23rd.
To everest, and beyond
Poorna Malavath, Mountaineer
The story of Poorna Mala-vath, a tribal girl from Nizamabad district, who conquered Mount Everest at the tender age of 13, in the year 2014, is set to hit silver screens across the globe on March 31. The biopic “Poorna” has been made by Bollywood actor Rahul Bose, and it depicts the life and achievement of the young girl. This is the first time that the biopic of someone from Telangana has made national and international headlines. The title role is played by a debutant actor.
Meanwhile, the real-life Poorna has set her sights on the IPS exam. At present she is a Class XII student of the Social Welfare Residential School in Tadwai of Nizamabad district, and is currently appearing for her Intermediate second-year exams in the MPC stream. She plans to obtain admission in a degree college and prepare for the UPSC Civil Services Exam.
Fighting the biggest odds
Raavi Kalpana, Cricketer
Honesty and hard work are the only keys to success according to budding cricketer Raavi Kalpana. Kalpana, the daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver whose wages are insufficient to support their livelihood, faced an intense struggle to be selected wicketkeeper for the national women’s cricket team in the year 2015.
“My life took a turn in 2009, when I was pursuing my education at Bishop Azariah High School, in Class VIII. The physical director of my school, Rachel, encouraged me to play cricket and I began my coaching in city,” said Kalpana.
“My father and my mother are not educated; they didn’t know about education and my interest in sports. I was selected to be the wicket keeper for the under-16 Andhra Pradesh team because of the guidance of my first coach, Eshwar,” she said.
From the IITs to fighting crime
Chandana DeepthI, SP
“It was fate that brought me the IPS but I like it more now. It teaches you one thing — the practical uses of power,” says Ms G. Chandana Deepthi, superintendent of police, Medak.
A product of IIT Delhi, Chandana says she gave up a career in the academics to pursue the civil services. “We get to see genuinely happy faces every day. We earn respect, and not money. We also gain goodwill and work on human capital — it’s a different kind of wealth,” adds the top cop. She is a 2012-batch IPS officer and a native of Warangal.
During her posting in Nalgonda, she played an active role in busting a nation-wide identity-theft racket. Now, as the SP of Medak, she is fighting flesh trade in the region. “It affects the most vulnerable women and children. Worse, there’s a certain addiction involved, which is why we have to bust the big fish. There’s no other way out.”
The world photo contest
Shravya Kagolanu, Photographer
Shravya Kagolanu, a young photographer from Vijayawada, is probably the first female photographer from the state of Andhra Pradesh to get short-listed into the final 10 of the World Photography Awards.
Shravya Kag, which is how she is known in the western world, gets into the final under the student category.
Shravya graduated in electrical engineering from Koneru Laxmaiah College of Engineering and completed her MA in broadcast communications from MOP Vaishnav College, Chennai.
According to Shravya, her heart was always with the arts, but compelled by social pressures, she studied engineering.
“I used to read a lot and write as well. As a kid, I learnt how to play the piano and violin. After graduation, I realised that technology was not my cup of tea and started pursuing my dream of building a career in arts,” Shravya said.
The top cop with the plans
B. Sumathi, DCP
IPS officer B. Sumathi, within a short period of time, has made her presence felt in the Hyderabad. She took charge as deputy commissioner of police, North Zone, with one plan in mind — that criminals will not rest in peace. Before her Hyderabad posting, Sumathi had earned much praise thanks to her tactics in Medak.
The 2002-batch officer has introduced the ‘Village police officer’ plan — an initiative that was later implemented across Telangana State. She made sure every single village in Medak was put under the surveillance of a constable, who would also work as the “station house officer”, taking in complaints from residents. Another plan was Chethna — a distress counselling centre — to counsel victims who had suffered various crimes, including sexual. That initiative also won an award. In the North Zone, Sumathi has also introduced counseling centres to help victims of crime.
Howzzat for a job?
Aarti Nalge, Cricket video analyst
A video analyst’s job is usually considered a male bastion. But Hyderabad-born Aarti Nalge has broken all stereotypes to become the first Indian woman video analyst for the Indian women’s cricket team. She has been with the Indian women’s cricket team since 2014.
The success of the Indian women’s cricket team can be attributed in large measure to Aarti, who has been playing a silent but impactful role. A former cricketer herself, she has been assisting the Indian Women’s Cricket team since 2014. Aarti is a key member of the team think-tank that formulates strategies for each match.
Her work begins two weeks before the actual series starts. She describes her job in the following words: “I collect information about the opposing team, like video footage of players (batswomen and bowlers), their stats and performances in various conditions, their strengths and weaknesses. This info will be shared with the coach and players.”
Ushering in a free spirit among women
Vaishali Kulkarni More, Biker
At the age of 49, Vaishali Kulkarni More goes on long distance motorbike expeditions and treks to all parts of the country, and wherever she goes she encourages women to do likewise and get into good shape for the sake of their health. After teaching in a school for 24 years, Vaishali has decided to make it her mission to educate girls and women about the importance of health and fitness.
She has christened her 220 cc Bajaj Avenger Cruise bike ‘Ellie’ (short for esprit libre meaning free spirit in French).
In one year she covered 1,700 km from Vizag to Shirdi and has just completed another bike expedition from Puducherry to Kolkata. Her theme in life is: ‘Be bold for change’.
Malnutrition, a shame
Bharati Kulkarni, Deputy director
For Bharati Kulkarni, a deputy director at the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, malnutrition in children has been a subject she has been involved in for the past 15 years. Despite economic progress in some areas, high levels of malnutrition in children continue to shame the country. Ms Kulkarni says it will require much effort and hard work to end this problem as different dynamics are at work at the ground level.
Both urban and rural areas continue to see malnutrition in young children, which later manifest in the early onset of lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
No more blasts here
Akhila priya, Youngest MLA
Youngest MLA in both Telugu states Bhuma Akhila Priya has said she was working hard to fulfil her mother’s aim to develop Allagadda Assembly constituency and make it number one in the country.
“Once Allagadda meant bombs and factions, but my mother in her long tenure as an MLA changed that culture and put the constituency in development path,” she said. After Bhuma Sobha Nagireddy’s sudden death in 2014 in an accident, her daughter Akhila Priya contested from Allagadda Assembly constituency and got elected.
It’s a race to save farmers
Rachana Reddy Bollu, High Court Advocate
“Any development ought to be sustainable development... which benefits all sections and where there is minimal intrusion or violation of rights,” says High Court advocate Rachana Reddy Bollu. Rachana has been fighting the Telangana government on behalf of farmers who are set to lose their lands to the Mallannasagar reservoir project.
The petitions against GO 123 number 900 and Rachana is the only woman amongst eight senior advocates looking into the matter. According to her, nearly 2 lakh people will be affected by the project. “There are challenges, but I am determined to protect my clients’ interests and their rights,” says the advocate.
A former lecturer with the California International University and a former assistant professor at Nalsar Law University, Rachana maintains that farmers are some of the most neglected people in the society. “People live in this unrealistic bubble that India has suddenly become an industrialised country,” she says.
Stanford nod for Kakinada 7
Seven girl students of University College of Engineering Kakinada (UCEK) have been selected for University Innovation Fellowship (UIF) of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (D. School). The university selected 224 students from 58 higher education institutions in seven countries this year for UIF.
Out of these, seven girl students and one boy student were selected from UCEK. The girl students were Nukala Likhitha, Murapaka Srilekha, S. Lakshmi Bargavi, Balu Sandhya, Gopi Sowmya, Prathibha-nkitha and Tejaswini. While Likhitha, Srilekha, Lakshmi Bargavi and Sandhya will go to the US on Wednesday, the remaining three students will go to Stanford University in November 2018.
Google has sponsored for these students by spending $4,000 for their training. The students will also get $1,300 each as travel expenses. Likhitha, Srilekha, Bargavi and Sandhya of third year CSE students want to become software engineers and make use of their services to the society well.
Likhita of Kakinada wants to do MS in the US and later start companies related to computer science technology. M. Srilekha of Rajahmundry said: “After getting good experience and marketing strategies in the field, I will become an entrepreneur with innovative ideas. I want to do MS in the US.”
They plan to start “Idea Club” after completion of training to teach what they learn in the US. Balu Sandhya of Yenimireddypally village in Prakasam district hails from a rural family and wants to become a software professional. She also wants to invent new technology for the next generation.
