India China Hand in hand exercised new video

10:39 PM Posted by ukmad

Suhas Talwar can challenge, inspire, motivate and dare you to rediscover yourself

10:12 AM Posted by ukmad

In my endeavor to bring forth talent from Belgaum to the fore front here is just one more attempt.



Suhas Talwar is from Belgaum and was in Belgaum till his education and also afterwards and then went into this field of Training.


“It's Not The Chances We Take; It's The Choices We Make, That Determines Our Destiny.”



Suhas Talwar has an experience of 10 years working in various fields across all the levels of organizations. His passion and the calling for facilitation transited his career into the world of facilitation. Working with diverse teams and organizations over a period of time has given him an unique insight into understanding human performance and its variables. He has an unique ability to inspire, motivate, challenge and make people laugh at the same time. In addition to his capability to manage Soft Skills Training function, he has trained a variety of audience ranging from Executives to Managers on varied subjects. He has had the privilege to work and learn from some of the most successful people. He is absolutely committed and is result oriented. He believes in helping people create positive changes and produce measurable results by taking massive action.


Through his work we believe in creating your best life – whatever that may mean to you. It is about learning to do things in a different way, to create different results and making a permanent positive change in every area of your life. A lot of us have under achieved and wasted our potential for too long. In our workshops which are confronting, eye-opening and a lot of fun, Suhas will challenge, inspire, motivate and dare you to rediscover yourself.


 What is that you exactly do?


I am a facilitator, educator and coach. I help people realize there true potential and create a best life for people through training programs and one-to-one coaching sessions.






 You have workshops on specific issues or in general, motivation?


We conduct a range of programs addressing various topics. A list of the programs is mentioned below. The programs are conducted both in-house and at a location you choose us to conduct.


• Communication and interpersonal skills.


• Soft skills


• Accent Neutralization


• Personality Development


• Cultural sensitivity


• Behavioral


• Analytical skills


• Team building


• Effective listening skills


• Presentation skills


• Leadership


• Motivation


• Influence


• Customer delight


• Time management


• Change management


• Campus to corporate






Some of the open programs that we conduct are:


• Making powerful presentations – A two day intense workshop


• Embracing Change – A half day workshop.


• The Power Within – One day workshop


• Communication – The Lifeline - A two day workshop






 You basically interact with the employees of a company and teach them how they could contribute to the company more effectively?


We work on the method; analyze, plan and deliver. We first meet the concerned people and understand the issues. We then meet the participants/employees of the organization and understand from them how they feel about the situation (issues). We then develop a customized program for them so that they can relate to it and hence help them to realize what they can do to eradicate the problem and enhance productivity joyfully at the workplace.


We also provide one-to-one coaching services to supervisors, senior executives and managers of organizations.


 What is the basic use of the training you give?


The use of my training is like the use of any other thing. I share tools and strategies with people who want to be successful. I teach people that they are the solutions to the problems and they are the problem too. If you implement what you understand from my programs it’s life changing (better of course) and if not implemented it’s a waste. It’s like an degree which when used can be very powerful and if not is just a piece of paper.






 Why have you chosen this field?


I have worked in various fields before I finally got into facilitation. I have always had this urge to understand human behavior and help people in some way possible. This passion of knowing what makes the difference in human performance lead me into the world of personal growth and facilitation. I have worked at a garment store, a medical transcriptionist, a manager at a call center and then with a couple of training organizations thus gaining rich experience and exposure by working at various levels across organizations. The primary reason to choose this field is the passion to understand human performance and help people to live a better life.


 How many employees help you in this?


I am supported by 3 people at this time and have a pool of consultant trainers who are associated with us. It is an ecosystem that we believe in.


 Where have your workshops being held? Name a few


We have conducted most of our workshops in Pune. However, we have also conducted some programs in Mumbai and Bangalore. Most of these programs were conducted for corporates’ like IBM, Infosys, Compulink, Option one, Forbes Marshalls and a few others.


 Where did you get your training done in this field?


I have been trained by some of the best trainers in the country. I was initially trained by Mr. Mitesh Khatri of GLC and then by Mr. Kirron Gulrajani of Eternale learning for behavioral skills and leadership. I am also trained by Ms. Aparna Prabhudesai for accent neutralization and cultural sensitivity. A list of programs I have attended and trained for are as below.


• Time management program


• Silva mind control


• Silva life systems


• The millionaire blue print – Arfeen Khan


• Open space technology.


• Counseling skills


• The tao of facilitation – Kiran Gulrajani


• Accent neutralization – Aparna Prabhudesai


• Leadership training – Kiran Gulrajani






 So you travel a lot to different cities or is it you have a school?


We do have an office where we train people at the same time we also travel to any place where we need to help people and organizations through our training.


 Where was your preliminary education?


I completed my diploma in civil engineering from government polytechnic, Belgaum after completing my schooling at St. Paul’s High School, Belgaum.


 How and what was the response from your family when u said you will go into this field?


Well I did not tell my parents about me taking this path. My wife has stood by me all the time, strong like a pillar. My parents have always let me do what I have wanted to do, I have been lucky in this area.


 You worked in a garment store, then a call centre. So that must have been hard times for you?


I would not say that the road was a bed of roses. I did face a lot of problems and this is where I learnt my valuable lessons from. I share a lot of my experiences in my programs and help people to relate it to situations in their lives and it is not very difficult to overcome them.


 What motivates you to motivate others?


I have shared with you that it’s my passion to understand human performance and this motivates me to help see others in their peak state, psychologically and physiologically.


 Do you do this for only corporate or also try it for college students or even school going kids?


I conduct programs for corporate and for anyone who wants to live an extraordinary life, anyone who wants to live a life of design and not a life of chance. I do conduct special programs for students. I am thinking of a program for school kids though which I will start early next year (2009).


 Have you planned any program in Belgaum?


I will conduct my first program in Belgaum in January and I hope to meet and make an impact on the enthusiastic people.


Disclaimer: I have known Suhas since school, as he was in my batch. I am again and again reiterating that I am here to get people like Suhas known to the world.


Founder of the Indian Mujahideen visited Belgaum

4:29 PM Posted by ukmad

Founder of the Indian Mujahideen visited Belgaum



The alleged founder of the Indian Mujahideen, Roshan Khan alias Riyaz Bhatkal, one of the most wanted terror suspects, has reportedly visited Belgaum recently.


He visited the city with the name of “Sharukh Khan” for a short period. During his visit to the city, he reportedly met a few arrested terror suspects at Hindalga Jail by camouflaging his identity.


Bhatkal has a committed team of hardcore men in Karnataka. He is now known as Sharukh Khan to hide his original identity and has a good network in Belgaum, Bijapur, Hubli and Bhatkal.


Source: ExpressBuzz

Power Shortage in the State: Who said see this waste?

1:49 PM Posted by ukmad



This image taken by UkMaD is in Kadolkar Galli at 10.45 am today. All the street lights were illuminated at that time.

The city is facing power cuts of 3 hours daily and we citizens have been asked to save energy and the Govt. spends it in this fashion.

This is SARKARI KAAM.

Jumbo Anil Kumble in Belgaum

10:51 AM Posted by ukmad

Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble will be in Belgaum on Saturday 13th December for the Annual convocation of the J N Medical College.

Belgaum Rotary’s Annotsav 2008 tickling taste buds

10:13 PM Posted by ukmad

The Rotary club of Belgaum organizes the Annual event Annotsav from the past many years. This time the fete is organized at Sardars High School Ground, opp Old REX College Road.
 
About 105 different stalls serving various delicacies are there to give those old taste buds some rejuvenating flavor.  Right from Pani puri, ice cream to Vada Kombda, Bhaji etc.
 
You have to be there and enjoy the lovely atmosphere while your nostrils fetch some nice aroma of a Tandoor or a Biryani. All the major hotels like Niyaz, Zaika have their stalls. In addition, some very good homemade food is available which is great.
Also see in the image VOTE FOR VAYAVYA LABS is the main banner behind the live show. So Belagum is now getting much more aware about getting Belgaum on the IT map.
 
In addition, there are the car stalls, solar water stalls etc etc etc.
Again, the live music shows and various competitions held during the fete are a topping on the cream.
Parking facility is good enough, but I point I noticed was lack of security. After the Mumbai terror attacks something must have been put in place, but I could hardly see two police officers that too on the main road entrance and no one else. May be some other security arrangements should have been done, I am not aware of it. But it feels secure enough to roam about with your family and kids seeing all those new food being made and enjoying the atmosphere. The entry fee is Rs.5.
 
The fete, which opened on 7 Dec, will be open until 14 December 2008. So, if you are in town in that period you know one dinner is fixed at some stall in there.

Chinese army men ready with Mohabbatein, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna in Belgaum

3:41 PM Posted by ukmad

WHERE diplomacy fails, Bollywood usually takes over. There has been no exception even with the piquant Chinese.

Chinese soldiers who have come to Belgaum for a week's joint military exercise with the Indian army cannot stop humming songs from Shah Rukh Khan movies like Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Mohabbatein.

The 137 infantry toughies from China have in fact collectively memorised the entire Mohabbatein number 'Aankhein khuli ho ya ho bandh' along with the Indian national anthem, and have been regaling the Indian side with some memorable renditions over raucously cheerful and backslapping dinners.




Some Other Video Links:

http://videosfromindia.smashits.com/view/5289/indian-and-chinese-troops-display-their-strategic-skills


http://videosfromindia.smashits.com/view/5281/sino-indian-joint-military-exercise-begins


http://www.cctv.com/video/ChinaToday/2008/12/ChinaToday_300_20081205_4.shtml

Source: Mid-Day Main story

India China Military Excercise Photos

10:04 AM Posted by ukmad


This is a collection of images from various sources like Sina.com, mangalorean.com, abclive.com, cctv.com.



This will be automatically updtaed as and when I find the pics. So keep looking.

BelgaumBlog: 50000 hits: Thank you readers

10:41 PM Posted by ukmad


“It’s Not The Chances We Take; It’s The Choices We Make, That Determines Our Destiny.” 
Someone said it and I am following it. I merely started this blog as a hobby 490 days ago and today it has seen 50,000 hits. These don’t include the 149 people who receive it daily directly in their mail box.
620 posts in 490 days, an average of more than one post a day with regular news updates from various sources to special stories exclusively on this blog. From covering events just as they happened and got you pictures the fastest I could to showcasing those talents of Belgaum to the world. It has been a long journey for me.
I have made many new friends by this blog and I would cherish their friendship for life. I got designers to design for me, Thanks Leading minds; you made my job easier and more presentable & Hyperwebenable team for their support.
Lastly, THANKS to all those readers who throng my site, some before starting work some later, it has been your support which has brought me here and I won’t let you down.

At last Big Cinemas to open today

11:54 AM Posted by ukmad

The wait for so many years is over; the Big cinemas in Nucleus Mall will be opened by Mr.Prabhakar Kore MP today evening at 6.30pm. It will be open to public from this Friday with Rab ne bana de Jodi with an inaugural offer of Rs.60/ticket.

This is just a formal opening of the mall and Big Cinemas.
Big cinemas have two screens in here named KAPEEL -1 and KAPEEL -2, after the earlier Kapeel theatre on which this whole mall is built. There is space for about 55 cars and about 250 two wheelers for parking, which is obviously paid.

The interiors are very similar to all those others in metros with anti fire mats, 4 way surround sound etc.

The mall is still not working, only big Cinemas will commence all others have to take up their space yet and mostly the ground floor is being taken up by leading foreign footwear brands and watch brands.

This first weekend for Big cinemas is going to be a great treat for all, them and as well as Belgaumites. Now we don’t have to go to Mumbai or Bangalore, ‘Apne he shaer mein hain na’.

Belgaumites take War on Terror: Candle light rally

8:11 PM Posted by ukmad






































Today evening a huge crowd gathered at the Chennama Circle to rage a war against terror and pay homage to those who were killed in the recent 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
The young and the old both were there. Some exclusive pictures and videos only for Belgaumblog readers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOFjglTLL6o

Indo China Military exercise Photos held at Belgaum

6:35 PM Posted by ukmad

This is a collection of images from various sources like Sina.com, mangalorean.com, abclive.com, cctv.com.




http://english.sina.com/china/2008/1205/202998.html


http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=103955

Big cinemas Belgaum to open for public on Friday 12 December

10:33 AM Posted by ukmad

The much awaited opening of the Big Cinemas will be done tomorrow on Monday and will open to public from the Friday, 12 December with the film “Rab ne Bana di Jodi.
The mall still looks completely from the outside only the Big cinema floor is illuminated in the night. There is also a pay parking available, but how much space is there has to be seen.

Petrol to cost 51.57 in Belgaum

11:10 AM Posted by ukmad


After the price cut on fuel prices, the effective fuel prices in Belgaum are:
Petrol will cost Rs.51.57 (Unleaded) [old price Rs.57.03] and Diesel Rs.37.14 [old price Rs.39.33].
So effectively petrol is cheaper by Rs.5.46/liter.

HC order comes as a relief to farmers

10:11 AM Posted by ukmad

The Karnataka High Court’s interim order has come as a relief to small and marginal farmers who have been fighting to protect their fertile land on the either side of the Pune-Bangalore National Highway (Express Highway) 4.
About 20 families of farmers owning small and marginal land on survey Nos. 628, 629 and 630 on either side of the highway, just 2 km from the Central Bus Stand, have been fighting against the move by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) to allegedly hand it over to Parivartan Alpasankhyatara Krushi Sahakara Sangha (PAKSS), a private society controlled by Belgaum South MLA Abhay Kumar Patil of the BJP.
The KIADB had initiated steps to acquire the land against the will of the farmers who were depending on it for livelihood. The PAKSS wanted to set up a cold storage plant there. The National Highway Division, Belgaum, in its notification issued on March 27, 2000, determined the “building lines” and “control lines” and declared that 75 metres on either side of the existing highway as “Green Belt Zone” and banned construction activities and development work in this area.
When the farmers challenged the move to acquire their land in the High Court, the KIADB temporarily stalled the process only on the direction of Regional Commissioner Amita Prasad. But the police started harassing and threatening the farmers.
The High Court recently passed an interim order and asked the Government to respond “as to why the State should not take the responsibility of providing cold storage facilities to farmers as sought to be done by PAKSS for whose benefit the land is proposed to be acquired by the board.”

Source The Hindu

Candle light vigil and torch rally against central govt. on Sunday 7th dec 2008 @5:30 pm at Chennamma circle

10:01 AM Posted by ukmad

KRV Belgaum is organizing a candle light vigil for the martyrs who died in the Mumbai attacks and that will be followed by torch rally which will be like a warning to the central government which has been inefficient and incapable in handling terrorism on Sunday 7th December, 2008 at 5:30 pm at Chennamma circle. The central government is still in diplomatic dialogues with Pakistan; indirectly the central government is buying time and thinks Indians will forget this issue as always and thing will be the same again.
People are requested not to carry any other flags except for the national tricolor flags.
Please ask all your friends to participate in this; this is just another way to show our solidarity towards those who lost their lives. Many may say it happened there and why this show off here, to all of them, it was Mumbai then and it could be us anytime. At this time no caste, creed or language is a barrier we all need to come up and fight this terrorism.

Chinese army arrives in Belgaum for drill

10:12 AM Posted by ukmad

Indicative of the growing military-military cooperation between India and China, a 137-member team of the People's Liberation Army arrived at this cantonment town Thursday for the second joint anti-terror drill with the Indian Army beginning here Friday.
The drill, named Exercise Hand-in-Hand 2008, "is aimed at expanding and strengthening military-to-military ties between the two armed forces”.
During the course of joint training that will last till Dec 14, the Chinese troops from an infantry battalion of the Chengdu Military Area Command and Indian Army troops from for a Maratha Light Infantry battalion "will undergo joint tactical manoeuvres and drills, interoperability training, and joint command post procedures, culminating in a joint counter-terrorist operational exercise with a simulated enemy.The helicopter assets of the Indian Air Force will also be incorporated for conducting special heli-borne manoeuvres and assault operations.
The Chinese contingent had earlier arrived in a military aircraft at Pune. After a brief reception at the Pune airfield, six Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft transported the Chinese army personnel and their stores were to Belgaum.
The joint exercise is the second in the series, the previous one having been conducted in Kunming, China late last year.
Source

10:40 AM Posted by ukmad

Who will hear the farmers? Police accused of harassment

The Belgaum Shahar Shetkari Sanghatana, which has taken up the cause of farmers struggling to save their lands from being acquired by Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, has alleged that police officials and their staff attached to the Malmaruti Police Station are harassing farmers.
A procession was taken to the DC’s office, against the KIADB had proposal to acquire fertile and irrigated agriculture land off Pune-Bangalore National Highway 4 (Express Highway) falling under Survey Nos 628, 629 and 630 only to allot to a private society controlled by BJP MLA (from Belgaum South) Abhay Kumar Patil. This was being done though the land had been earmarked as Green Belt area.
The farmers are small and marginal landholders. They are raising crops such as paddy, wheat and jowar for their living. However, the KIADB had proposed to acquire their land in an illegal manner and without observing procedural norms only to hand it over to Alpasankyatar Krushi Sahakar Sangh controlled by Mr. Patil.
A complaint was also made to the Governor and the High Court following which the Regional Commissioner of Belgaum Revenue division directed the KIADB against pursuing with the acquisition. Yet, the police were harassing and even arresting innocent farmers and creating panic among their families, it claimed.
The police were behaving in a threatening manner instead of providing protection to these poor families, it alleged. Though the matter was brought to the notice of the Superintendent of Police Sonia Narang, there was no let-up in the harassment by police. It was not clear whether the police stood for the politically influential and the rich or the poor and the weak.

This blog has has been following up this story, see earlier stories
http://belgaumblog.com/2008/09/farmers-concerned-over-kiadb/
http://belgaumblog.com/2008/07/farmers-accuse-mla-of-trying-to-grab-land/
http://belgaumblog.com/2007/10/farmers-say-don%e2%80%99t-take-our-land/
Source:The Hindu

St Paul’s 1993 Batch plan a REUNION — they have set an amazing example of using the internet to maintain school bonds

10:10 AM Posted by ukmad


St Paul’s 1993 Batch plan a REUNION — they have set an amazing example of using the internet to maintain school bonds — theirs truly is friendship of the 21st century!


Carefree & joy–filled days of school can never be forgotten. In so many ways they continue to influence every stage of our life’s journey. This is especially the case with about 160 students who finished their schooling from St Paul’s, Belgaum in 1993. Each batch-mate walked a path on his own terms, many scaling new heights in India and beyond her shores. Now after 15 years, they will come together to share their rich experiences.
The ‘Paulites of 93’ are indeed a very unique batch. They have stayed in touch via a yahoo-egroup since the past 7 years. But, what makes their story really fascinating is that even after so many years their intensity of communicating has not waned. In fact, the year 2008 saw an average of greater than 250 emails clocked each month; one month reaching an astounding 600 emails!
In 2003, precisely 10 years after completing school, they met to relive school days, with about 110 batchmates attending the reunion. Now after another 5 years, they plan to meet again. The planning of the second reunion began about 6 months ago via the egroup. Mr. Rahul Chingale (founder of the Paulites egroup) told this blog, “It is thanks to the egroup we know who is married or getting married — who has kids and how many — and who works where and lives in which city or country”. He and several others in the batch are ardent promoters of uniting the batch through the egroup. Mr Kiran Nippanikar, another enthusiastic Paulite said, “During the 2003 Reunion, donating part of the funds to an Old Age Home set a very solid example of how we should conduct ourselves to help society. This Reunion we intend to use a similar approach by diverting part of the reunion funds to assist the school in whatever ways possible”.
Many batchmates abroad are super-duper excited about the prospects of meeting school friends. They have booked tickets almost 4 to 5 months in advance. Like them, batchmates scattered all across India have been deeply involved in the planning process. The massive flurry of activity on the egroup is a testimony of the level of excitement within the batch of coming together. It is not just the Reunion that is the primary topic of discussion on the egroup — recommendation for jobs and exchange of professional information also takes a lion’s share. During these hard times of global recession, Mr Kiran Patil has stepped up to create a professional database of the batch which could be used in the years to come as a career boosting tool.
The 2008 reunion will be held on the 27th December in Camp, Belgaum at the school campus. There will be several unique sessions held; one of which is called the “Chronicles of 1993”. Mr. Devikant Birje who is making this happen said that the “Chronicles of 1993” would be a collection of events and pranks played in school, for example — it could be incidents involving stealing the teachers’ cake, wild fights, copying during exams, and even extreme confessions of final-exam paper leaks. Already, many batchmates have contributed to these chronicles via the egroup. The goal of this session will be to recreate these memories and turn them into a book accompanied with a short film.
The Paulites of 1993 sure know how to throw party and yet make it meaningful. This blog will report their story as it unfolds. Best wishes to them for decades to come!
Edited by PDK

Smart Retail: Reviewed: FIR

8:41 PM Posted by ukmad


Smart Retail has just opened a month back on Club Road at Thakkar Plaza near Harsha.

Here is the Review of the same:
A regular retail super Shoppe but the name is a bit unknown. Its website http://smartretail.co.in/ does not open at this time, so I could not get the details of the company and its operations.

To begin with, the arrangement from LEFT to right, vegetables on the left then fruits, cold beverages, ready to eats, groceries, soaps and one complete section on the right of the entrance where there is cutlery and storage jars.

Vegetables were in huge quantities and almost all had 2 varieties one looked very fresh and one a bit stale and both were priced also in that manner, the fresher the costlier. Some vegetables like Gourd, Capsicum was very fresh.

Now to the pricing: Vegetable pricing was high; if you, compare it to local Main market (Ganpat Galli and beyond) the prices of vegetables are costly. Onions were Rs.16.90/Kg in the market it was Rs.14/kg. It was with beans Smart price was Rs.35/Kg market it was Rs.20/Kg. Sugar was Rs.20/Kg and in market, it was Rs.19/Kg.

The over arrangement and ambience was ok, AC was off and was a bit hot. Staff was trained but did not find the zeal with their work. There are in total 3 cash counters 2 in the centre at the entrance and one at the left corner.

One notable thing which I had made earlier also, Purohit Sweets and Savories have found a place for themselves in almost all these super markets, may it be Big Bazaar or Reliance fresh.

On a scale of 10, I would rate it 6.5, ok average buying experience. I did buy a few things and my bill said I saved Rs.6.25 so you know how much you saved if you bought somewhere else, all these items were MRP based. If you are near to it, then it is the nearest best option.

The coloured Sky

8:00 PM Posted by ukmad


This is a picture taken by UkMaD on Tuesday evening near TV Centre, The whole sky had a orange colour after sunset.

Big Cinemas Belgaum launch postponed

7:58 PM Posted by ukmad

The much-awaited launch of Big Cinemas in the Nucleus mall has been postponed with no new formal date for the launch, it was earlier planned to be opened on fifth of December.
The Management in its email has only communicated & I quote “We have postponed the launch of BIG Cinemas in Belgaum. Shall keep you posted on the same”.

Load Shedding timetable changed: Evening time no power cuts

10:42 AM Posted by ukmad


The load-shedding timetable has been changed. The hours of power cut remain the same 3 hours, but the power cuts being done in the evening will now be done in the afternoon.
Every Monday the time will be shuffled, like if it was 8am to 10 am this week, next Monday it will be 6am to 8am.
Source: Tarun Bharat

Rapid action force in Belgaum

10:41 AM Posted by ukmad

After the attack on Mumbai, men of the Rapid action force have been seen in Belgaum. They are here to assess the security position of the city.
About 20 odd jawans are here and they visited all the police stations in the city.
See [IMAGE]Many were astonished to see the RAF men in Belgaum. However, this time the govt is not taking any chances, I guess. In addition, as in the past Belgaum has seen some terror related activities the central Govt has deployed them here.

Police launch Crime Prevention month: safety tips issued

10:01 AM Posted by ukmad

The Belgaum district police has launched the Crime prevention month and has laid down the following safety tips to all.
According to Superintendent of Police Sonia Narang, residents should avoid keeping large amounts of cash and valuable ornaments in their houses and instead opt for safety lockers in banks.

They should install a door with iron bars inside their house, superior quality night latches and special eye lens on the main door.

Ideally, interaction with strangers and vendors should be through the grilled door.

High wattage light source with pilfer proof cover outside the main door should be installed for better illumination around the house.

While they go outstation, residents should not only inform their nearest police station but also their neighbors.

To take precaution against chain-snatchers, women going for a morning or evening walk should cover ornaments properly with their sari or dupatta.

They should not entertain unscrupulous elements coming home under the pretext of cleaning/polishing golden ornaments and other valuables.

Persons traveling in auto rickshaws should note down the registration number of the vehicles before boarding them.

She said the residents should check the antecedents/credentials of security guards and domestic servants before hiring them. They should insist on references and photographs.

They can also furnish particulars of domestic help and guards to the police.

They should avoid discussing money transactions and other important family matters in the presence of servants and outsiders.

People should be vigilant and inform the police about suspicious happenings or unclaimed objects found in suspicious circumstances and strangers moving suspiciously in their areas.

Thoughts on this please. Even after doing all this something happens who will take the responsibility, common people or the police or the Govt.

Source The Hindu

Belgaum ATS sleeping: Waiting for a Attack on the city

4:30 PM Posted by ukmad

Those 60 hours everyone was glued to the TV screen to know what’s happening in Mumbai. Now that one chapter is over and the 2nd rounds of political deaths around have a look at the Belgaum ATS.
We have yet been not a part to an attack but no one in this country is safe, now that Mr.Chidambaram is home minister we should just hope that he brings down Terrorism just has he brought down Share prices.
Though Belgaum is a known ‘sleeping cell’ for Islamic terrorists, the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) located in the city doesn’t have the teeth to fight or tackle possible terrorist attacks.
Established about six months ago, the ATS staff does not possess modern weapons, bulletproof jackets or even the necessary vehicles. Even the staff is not trained to the required standards to face terrorists. Then why call it ATS?
The ATS does not have a separate office from where it can work. At present, the civil police staff is used for ATS operations. It does not also have a professional informers’ network.
Belgaum is believed to be a ‘stopover’ for terrorists going to or coming from Mumbai. ATS sources confirmed to this website's newspaper that often, terrorists come to Belgaum to hide, after bomb blasts in Maharashtra.
Belgaum has been a den of terrorists since long. The arrest of terrorists - Liyaquat Abdulganni Sayyed, Naseer Ahmed Liyaquat Ali Patel, Nadeem Abdul Raheem Sayeed, Imtiaz Dalayat, Ijaz Hussain, Tanveer Mulla, Iqbal Ahmed Jakati and several others in Belgaum, while they were planning to cause violence in the city as well as in the district, speaks volumes about the growing terror activity in the region. During interrogation, they revealed that terrorists had also planned to blast a polling booth near Tilakwadi during the 2008 Assembly elections. One of the top terrorists Dr Munroz, who was arrested in Indore a couple of months ago, hails from Belgaum. A more shocking revelation was that these terrorists had also planned to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi when he addressed the public in Belgaum during the Assembly election campaign.
Even after such serious developments, the state government has not woken up. They are not trained even to identify terrorists, let alone fight them. A senior officer told to this website's newspaper that the staff posted for ATS were mostly those considered ‘unwanted’ in the police department or those transferred as a means of punishment.
In case of a bomb threat, the ATS staff does not have the expertise even to detect explosives. Though they have the necessary equipment, they are not trained in their use.
ATS has just 11 members, a ridiculously low number, given that it is there to fight high-profile terrorists.
Sources said that the ATS had already submitted a proposal to the Home Minister requesting him to provide modern weapons and bulletproof jackets for the staff, apart from increasing their numbers substantially with trained personnel. Its proposal, however, is lying in cold storage.
After reading all this you will feel ashamed on any government, its only acts when something happens. All governments have been reactive, they should be proactive. They will only get up when something happens. Wake up politicians, WE need security, you live in full fledged security but what about the common man.
Your thoughts are a must please comment; speak out, if you don’t speak now you will never then.
Source: Express Buzz

Still a bumpy welcome to Belgaum

10:50 AM Posted by ukmad


On Sept 15 A bumpy welcome to Belgaum I had made this post.
Nothing much has changed over the past 2 months other than some bolders being put on the road but still it’s a dusty and bumpy ride from road leading to city at NH4 (road which leads to KLE).
The Belgaum authorities do a great job when some high profiler or big politician is coming to town. Dividers are washed, painted but the entrance of the city, Who cares? Most of the MP’s MLAs travel by air so they take the Hotel Shankam route or if they took the railway no question arises.
It’s we the common people who come in from that road and we will have to suffer I don’t know till when. Until then have a bumpy ride.Images are not very clear as they are taken on mobile.

BIG Cinemas @ Nucleus Mall is all set for launch in Belgaum on the 5th of December

10:10 PM Posted by ukmad

EXCLUSIVE
The wait is almost over; city’s first Multiplex, BIG Cinemas will start from 5th of December at the Nucleus Mall.

The details of the property are as below:
1.BIG Cinemas, Nucleus mall, Old Kapeel Theatre, Belgaum
2. Screen Nos. - 2
3. Screen Capacity: Screen 1 - 276 seats, Screen 2 - 468 seats
4. Features: fully air conditioned, plush push back seats, great sound and picture quality, world class auditoriums, great food & beverage offerings and many more
5. Tickets have been priced between Rs.40 to Rs.80 across 3 classes

If its news its broken at Belgaumblog.com
and all is official about it.
No Rumors Just plain News
Even before You read it in you paper

Source: Email from Shirish Srivastava
Manager - Marketing
BIG Cinemas
Meadows, Sahar Plaza, Floor 2nd,
Next to Kohinoor Continental Hotel,
Andheri-Kurla Road, Andheri (East),
Mumbai - 400 093.

Stars of Belgaum:Vayavya Labs

11:22 AM Posted by ukmad






Vayavya Labs
This is an interview with Mr.R K Patil of Vayavya Labs.
1. Vayavya Labs is an Electronic System Level tools provider? In lame words what does it really mean to a common man?
VLabs>> The increased complexity of chips (semiconductor chips) and associated software (commonly referred as embedded software) has resulted in stretching the time involved in bringing a product to market. Also the engineering effort and costs involved have gone up. System design companies are on the lookout for tools which can help them shrink development times, increase productivity of engineering teams and bring the products to market in shorter duration.
Electronic System Level (ESL) design methodology is an emerging field to address these industries need.
2. You started this startup in 2006, what made you start this? What was the motivation behind it?
VLabs>> We started the Company with the vision of doing something innovative and distinctive in technology space. The basic premise was that by adopting Vayavya's methodology, customers could raise the level of productivity and drastically reduce product development cycles thereby making huge cost savings and allowing a manufacture to bring new technology to the consumers faster.
On a different note, we also envision an India where technology growth doesn't get limited to just tier 1 cities, but gets spread all around the country.
3. You left your earlier job at Genesis Microchip Inc and started this, weren’t you afraid what will happen if I fail?
VLabs>> I was a fortunate guy to be in right time and in right company of people. Vayavya Labs is effort of a founding team that has common vision and goal. A job at MNC or for that matter any place can come by any time, however an opportunity to start something new arrives once in a while and one has to be prepared to seize it. I would say the "heart" decision ruled over "head" decision. I guess for all Vayavya team members, including me, we are set up for a great future. We believe in our vision and hence no need to be afraid of anything.
4. Also why Belgaum? You could have started it in Bangalore or Pune? Any specific reason behind it?
VLabs>> I ask why not Belgaum. Like any other place this place too has everything. It has a large skilled resource pool, good access to the nearest metros, climate conditions are just perfect. To top it I feel Belgaum is a mini-cosmopolitan without the nuances of traffic jams and concrete jungles!
I did my graduations here in Belgaum from GIT and some of the founding team members are from Belgaum. We always wanted to do something away from large metros and hence Belgaum was a natural choice.


5. How did you fund it? All with internal accruals or personal savings?
VLabs>> Yes most of the money has come from the founding team. We also have few angel investors.

6. How and what was the reaction of your parents and friends when you told them about this startup.
VLabs>> I would say it was a mixed reaction. Fortunately for my parents and family I had done a similar 'unconventional' move in the year 2000. Vayavya happens to be my second start up experience. The first one turned out to be a good experience both in terms of market exposure and money. So I would say this time they were not opposing an idea of start-up.
I would also like to take this opportunity to convey to the parents and elders at large, that they need to encourage their children to experiment and indulge in entrepreneurial ventures. The future community is going to be creative and competitive. To be successful and most important to cherish the work one indulges in , success and failures are to be treated as two faces of same coin. I know this might sound philosophical but this is going to be the mantra of coming age.

7. How did you land up with this unusual name, Vayavya Labs?
VLabs>> Frankly speaking the genesis of this is NWKRTC (the state transport in Belgaum). We have had several names to ponder upon. But nothing really made that "first impression “to tag on. One day couple of my colleagues and I were walking on college road and then one of the colleague (Parag, also a co-founder of Vayavya Labs) notices the name written on the passing by bus and makes a remark as to how about name “Vayavya"?. As it turns out we are in the noth-west part of state and also an important direction as per Vedas which signifies path/direction of success. So was "Vayavya Labs" born.
8. You began with 5 employees or so and now you have about 50, how s the labor attrition, if any?
VLabs>> We have been fortunate enough to assemble a team that believes in vision and long term objectives. We have had no attrition due to someone going in for another company/job ever since we started. We have had 3 team members leaving the company so far out of which one went to USA after her marriage and the other two went out to pursue higher education. I would say that our selection process has been pretty good in identifying the right team members. All team members share our vision and belief.

9. You started this with a few friends then or colleagues? What was your startup team?
VLabs>> We had an initial team of four founders who are also executive team members. Two of other co-founders are in advisory roles. In last two years we have added six other core team members who come with vast industry experience. We have a constant intake of junior engineers every year and then groom them to take additional responsibilities in the company as they gain experience.
10. You make money by Tools licensing, Embedded software services, which is the target market of this India or elsewhere?
VLabs> Our target markets are in India as well as outside India. Majority of the companies (target customers) are head quartered outside India but have substantial engineering presence in India.
11. This field seems to me as highly qualified, have you partnered with some other firms or organizations?
VLabs>> I agree with you. If you look at the top-30 list in TATA-NEN probably we are the only product technology firm. We have some industry associations and partnerships with Texas Instruments, Microsoft and SPIRIT consortium. As we go along we will increase our partnerships and associations. This approach is very common in the domain we operate.
12. How much turnover do you expect to achieve in this current year and what are your estimates for the next two years, any targets?
Vlabs>> We should be doing a business of half a million dollars this year. We have an aggressive target for the coming year however a lot depends on the industry outlook and also the progress we make on our tools.
13. Have you been hit by the deprecating Rupee or in fact gained from it?
VLabs>> Since our revenues are generally dollar denominated at this stage I would say we have gained. But as the capital expenditure is on the rise especially the spend done outside country we will soon see the other effect too.
14. In this time of global recession is there any slowdown in your business, or do you see it coming a bit later?
VLabs>> We are not hit by this yet. But we are also not 100% immune from it. Fortunately our tools make a lot of sense to the customer in the current scenario. Our tools improve the productivity of design engineers which means they can do more things in the existing budget.

Mr.R K Patil did his schooling from Sainik School Bijapur (SSBJ). He completed his Engineering in Computer Science from Gogte Institute of Technology (1988-1992).

a. What do you like the most to do when you are not working?
RK>> Oops...I wish I get that time. I do a bit of reading, try to play golf and make time to meet friends and family circle.
b. At the age of 38 do you think you are successful and you have achieved something what you had thought of?
RK>> I am enjoying my work and hence contended with what I have at this stage. There is lot to be accomplished.
c. Are you married, if yes any kids and how is their support to your company?
RK>> Yes, married for last eight years, have two lovely kids.
d. Lastly what do you think about this blog? I too am a first time entrant in this field of websites with no technical knowledge of computing, only started as a hobby and continuing to make this blog much more popular.
RK>> Personally I am a novice when it comes to blogs. I got to know about your blog thru one of my colleague, and you know what, someone in Singapore sent out a email that they read about Vayavya thru your RSS-feed. I am whelmed by the power of web and its reach. There is no second thought on how useful and effective your blog is. In my opinion technology is just an enabler, what one does with it is more important.