Latest news with #Madhukar
Time of India
21-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
CBI to investigate irregularities in ASI epigraphy project
HYDERABAD: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has formally written to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Bengaluru unit, requesting a probe into alleged irregularities involving several public servants in connection with the digitisation of estampages at the epigraphy branch in Mysuru. The letter, dated July 11 and signed by ASI additional director general and chief vigilance officer Madhukar, lists a series of issues that were flagged for investigation following internal findings and a prior vigilance inquiry. ASI noted that with the approval of the competent authority, the matter was now being referred to CBI for further action under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad Specific issues flagged include assigning buyer and consignee duties to unauthorised personnel, placing repeated purchase orders to Hirachi Enterprises, and reimbursing 2.4 lakh to four officials for direct purchases made outside the standard procedures. ASI noted that plywood worth 1.65 lakh was procured to house camera equipment used in digitisation work, and accommodations rented for official purposes were used to carry out the digitisation activity. Another concern raised pertains to the private agency, Dronacharya Seva Sansthan, allegedly failing to deposit EPF contributions of labourers engaged in project, even as payments were released to agency without verification. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like A genetic disorder that is damaging his organs. Help my son Donate For Health Donate Now Undo The sequence of events dates back to 2022 when a Telangana-based photojournalist, D Ravinder Reddy, approached the HC over the cancellation of a work order related to the digitisation of nearly one lakh estampages - manual paper copies of inscriptions - stored at ASI's epigraphy branch in Mysuru. Norms flouted to favour foreign firm: HC According to court proceedings, ASI had initially floated a tender on the GeM platform for a project valued at 1.5 crore. Ravinder Reddy, who has over three decades of experience in photo documentation, emerged as the lowest bidder and was invited to Mysuru for a demonstration. However, the tender was cancelled, and the contract was later awarded to a Netherlands-based firm, PIQL, at an cost of 5.61 crore. The HC set aside ASI's revised work order and directed that the contract be awarded to the next eligible bidder. The HC observed that norms were flouted to favour the foreign firm. Following the verdict, several officials from ASI were transferred amid suspicion of irregularities, and an internal vigilance probe was ordered.
India Today
04-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Telangana students protest over rain-damaged road, officials promise action
Students staged a protest near Bhattupalli village in Telangana's Komaram Bheem Asifabad district, demanding immediate repairs to a rain-damaged road that left them unable to reach their through rainwater and standing on the muddy stretch of the Kagaznagar-Dahegaon main road, the students demonstrated against what they called official apathy despite repeated complaints about the road's protest led to a traffic jam, with vehicles stuck on both sides of the road. Officials intervened after the demonstration disrupted movement for over an Kagaznagar Tahsildar Madhukar visited the site and assured the students that repair work would start within two days. Following his assurance, the students withdrew their another incident, tribal residents of Solubongu in Andhra Pradesh's Alluri Seetharamaraju district finally found relief after years of neglect finally gave way to action. Days after India Today highlighted the plight of the Nuka Dora tribe living in the remote hamlet, officials swung into action, visited the village, and launched long-pending road years, 12 children from the village had to cross the three-kilometre Raiwada reservoir by boat and walk another two kilometres to reach Thamarabba MPP School, a risky ordeal, especially during rains, illnesses, or immediate relief, Araku Tribal Welfare EE Venugopal Rao sanctioned Rs 3 crore for constructing a gravel road, while a special school for the children was also sanctioned.- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Telangana
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Andhra Pradesh unit of BJP pays glowing tributes to Alluri, Pingali and Swami Vivekananda
The Andhra Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a solemn programme at its State office on Friday to commemorate the birth anniversary of Alluri Sitharama Raju and the death anniversaries of Pingali Venkayya and Swami Vivekananda, hailing them as eternal inspirations for the nation's youth. Speaking at the event, BJP State Organising General Secretary Madhukar urged the youth to draw strength and values from the lives of these national icons. He recounted Alluri Sitharama Raju's fearless resistance against the British colonial exploitation in the tribal regions of Andhra Pradesh. Detailing the revolutionary's early life, spiritual pursuits and leadership qualities, Mr. Madhukar described how Alluri Sitharama Raju mobilised hundreds of tribal villagers, trained them in guerrilla warfare and launched daring attacks on British police stations before being martyred. Mr. Madhukar also paid homage to Pingali Venkayya, the architect of India's national flag, highlighting his versatile contributions as a geologist, author and educator. Pingali, he noted, designed the flag prototype in just three hours upon Mahatma Gandhi's request in 1921, which later evolved into the Indian tricolour adopted in 1948. Remembering Swami Vivekananda, Mr. Madhukar called him a spiritual giant and philosopher who carried the soul of Indian culture to the global stage. 'His teachings remain a beacon of strength and self-realisation for India's youth,' he said. Senior BJP leaders, including Uppalapati Srinivasa Raju, Muvvala Venkata Subbaiah, Bharath Kumar Yadav, Syed Basha, and Narasimha Rao attended the event and paid their respects. The programme was marked by emotional recollections and a collective resolve to instil the spirit of nationalism, selfless service and cultural pride among the younger generations.
Indian Express
29-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Voice from inside one of India's widest tunnels: ‘Can't build by fighting with rock'
There are many stories behind the 4.89-km-long, eight-lane tunnel on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway that cuts through Mukundra Hills in Rajasthan's Kota. One of them is that of 58-year-old Madhukar, who has built tunnels all his life. He started this project during Covid in 2021 at the north end, in what could well be his last assignment before retirement in two years. Now, faced with a difficult 500m stretch — he calls it the 'nala portion' — Madhukar is determined to complete his ninth project successfully, and gets emotional while recounting his association with the tunnel. The tunnel, which falls between Ummedpura and Nayagaon village in Kota, is a key link of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway — one of the most ambitious projects of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) under the Bharatmala Pariyojna. With a width of 22 metres and a height of 11 metres, it is also one of the widest tunnels in the country, passing through different rock masses and substrata that include sandstone, shale, siltstone, mudstone and limestone. In the project cluster, which is divided into 53 packages, the Ummedpura-Nayagaon tunnel is being constructed by a joint venture of Dilip Buildcon Limited and Altis-Holding Corporation. It was originally a 30-month project scheduled to be completed in January 2024, but got delayed due to challenges during excavation and is now likely to be completed by the year-end. 'Hum rock se dosti karte hain, aap rock se dushmani karke tunnel nahi bana sakte (We befriend the rock, you can't make a tunnel by fighting with the rock). In this project also, we have come to the most difficult part, but we will pass it slowly. We have to just understand the behaviour of the rock,' said Madhukar, a resident of Khagaria in Bihar, who is in charge of the blasting. Having worked in difficult terrains across Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh, Madhukar, who holds a diploma in mining, deconstructs the challenge. 'The top surface of the hill is in a zig-zag shape. We have come to a point where the distance between the top of the tunnel and the surface of the mountain is just 10.62m. Technically, we call it overburden. So, if not dealt with carefully, it may collapse anytime. For this, we are using a pilot tunneling methodology, where we first excavate a smaller tunnel in advance of the main tunnel's construction,' he said. The tunnel is part of 8.3-km Package-15 of the 1,386-km expressway project. According to NHAI, the owning authority of the expressway, the cost of the tunnel was Rs 1,000 crore before being revised to Rs 1,250 crore. Sanjay Kumar, project head and general manager (Engineering Tunnel) of Dilip Buildcon, said the tunnel is almost 80 per cent complete. 'This 8.3 km stretch of the expressway involves the construction of the highway, an open ramp, a covered tunnel and an underground tunnel. The total length of the underground tunnel is 3.3 km. On the north side, there is a 480m cut & cover tunnel. On the south portal, we have built a 1,084m cut & cover tunnel. Cut & cover is a camouflaged tunnel, which was later made part of the project as per suggestions from the Forest department as it traverses the protected area. This will help animals to pass from one side to another without disturbing the habitat,' said Kumar. 'In tunneling, and especially for such fragile stretches, we have to decide our next step at every metre of excavation. In this 500m section, we are building a smaller tunnel, then we will widen it to take the shape of the main tunnel. It is like making a tunnel inside a tunnel. Currently, on an average, we are excavating 1.2m per day. After that, we will do benching, where the lower part will be excavated. After its completion, it will connect Chechat in Rajasthan to Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh,' said Kumar, the project head. Vikas Prasad, a geologist from Jharkhand, explains the challenges. 'The rock mass is very weak and highly fractured, Because of this, we had to face some unforeseen changes in the geological condition. There was very heavy ground water ingress inside the tunnel. Along with this, due to heavy rainfall, the tunnel submerged in 2022, 2023 and 2024. When we started work, we thought we would get hard strata but the rock formation is soft. Also, we have to give a 100-year guarantee that the tunnel will remain safe,' said Prasad. Surendra Singh, the safety expert, said that since excavation is nearing completion, the next step is to install a robust safety system. 'The tunnel will be equipped with the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system. It will have power supply, ventilation system, fire fighting and hydrant system, fire alarm, gas suppression system, optical linear heat detection, public address, CCTV, emergency telephone, gas sensor, radio rebroadcasting system, signages, emergency power, communication & traffic control, lighting etc,' said Singh. Pardeep Atri, regional officer, NHAI, Jaipur, said the breakthrough was completed on February 20 and April 10. 'The tunnel breakthrough is a sensational moment, when the tunnel being excavated from both sides finally meets. At this moment, for the first time, the air gushes from one side to another and increases the oxygen level,' he said. According to Atri, this tunnel is in an eco-sensitive zone, due to which there were concerns from the forest and wildlife department. 'We redesigned the project accordingly. Most of the tunnels in the country are four-lane. We are building two four-lane tunnels here, which will be a great achievement for the more than 2,000 people who worked on this project. Vehicle movement will start from these tunnels by March 2026,' he said. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
Deccan Herald
11-06-2025
- Science
- Deccan Herald
Mysuru's DFRL understands gravity of astronauts' food cravings
Mysuru: The launch of the Axiom-4 mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others to the International Space Station (ISS) may have been postponed. .But Mysuru-based Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), under DRDO, has prepared a variety of food items that were to have been carried as part of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have developed an Indian menu for space after years of with scientific instruments and personal mementoes, Shubhanshu would have carried Mysuru-made food to the ISS in the Axiom-4 mission that has now been put off. .SpaceX's Axiom 4 mission postponed again, India's Shubhanshu Shukla's maiden journey to ISS officer Madhukar confirmed to DH that the astronaut was to carry a few Indian foods for the mission, including mango nectar (aam ras), carrot halwa (gajar ka halwa), moong dal halwa and a few rice human spaceflight programme director had disclosed this in a meeting held recently in Bengaluru..'As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Isro and DRDO, we are not allowed to give out more details,' Madhukar said..'We are excited that the food products prepared here will be tasted by astronauts of the ISS mission. It is an effort to make the Indian astronaut's space mission memorable,' he cookies and candies are packed for space trips. NASA's space food systems laboratory produces freeze-dried this time the Indian astronaut will have Indian food on DFRL has developed a range of ready-to-eat and semi-hydrated Indian dishes for the mission, tailored for zero gravity. This includes parathas, vegetable biryani, rice and dal, sambar, rajma, khichdi and food has been designed in such a way that it is lightweight, low-volume and easy-to-consume wholesome food. The astronaut just has to add water to the items and warm it before eating it in tickled Rakesh Sharma's taste buds DFRL was established in Mysuru in 1961 to cater to the needs of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, and paramilitary forces. It aims to design light-weight food with a longer shelf life under varied climatic had also prepared and packed food for Rakesh Sharma four decades ago.
