Legendary filmmaker Ramanaidu is no more

Legendary film producer Daggubati Ramanaidu (6 June 1936 – 18 February 2015) passed away in

Hyderabad on Wednesday after fighting prostate cancer. Father of noted film hero, D. Venkatesh and grandfather of upcoming actor, Rana, Ramanaidu established the well-known film house Suresh Productions, named after his elder son. was a multilingual Indian film producer. He was the founder of Suresh Productions and holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most films produced by an individual, having produced more than 150 films in 13 Indian languages. He has also served as a member of parliament for the Bapatla constituency of Guntur District in the Lok sabha from 1999 to 2004. He produced over 150 films in most of the Indian languages with Telugu topping the list. Considered as an icon of film industry, he introduced several film personalities through his Suresh Productions.

Recipient of Dada Saheb Phalke Award for lifetime achievement in 2009 and also Padma Bhushan in 2012 in recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema, Ramanaidu also holds the record for producing highest number of films in the world.

Born in an agricultural family in Karamchedu in Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh, Ramanaidu also represented the Bapatla constituency in Parliament during 1999 - 2004 getting elected on the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ticket.

He started Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad in 1989 and offered the film-makers the facility of walking in with a script and leaving with the final copy. He was also known for appearing in guest roles in the films produced by him. Some of his well-known films include Prem Nagar, Mundadugu, Soggadu, Jeevana Tarangalu, Devatha, Sangharshana, Prathidwani, Aha Na Pellanta, Prema, Indrudu Chandrudu and the latest being Gopala Gopala starring Venkatesh and Pawan Kalyan.

Some of his runaway hits in Hindi include Tohfa, Insaf Ki Awaz and Prem Qaidi in which he introduced Karishma Kapoor to the silver screen.

A large number of film personalities made a beeline to his residence in the city soon after his demise. Among them actor Nagarjuna, Rajasekhar, Chiranjeevi, Allu Arjun, Nagachaitanya, film maker Allu Arvind paid floral tributes to the departed film producer.

Cremation on Thursday

D. Venkatesh, actor son of Rama Naidu came out of his residence and announced that his father had died at 2.30 p.m. The body would be kept at Rama Naidu Studious on Thursday morning. The funeral would be held later in the day, he added.

Chandrababu Naidu to launch flagship programme " Neeru-Chettu" (Water-Tree) to make AP 'drought-free'

 Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will launch his government's major programme 'Neeru-Chettu' (water-tree) on Thursday, which is aimed at making the state "drought-free".

On the eve of the launch of the programme at Tamballapalle in Chittoor district, Naidu said the initiative has to be taken up on a campaign mode, eventually making it a people's movement. Ministers, Districts Collectors and nodal officers would launch the programme simultaneously tomorrow at the district and mandal level. Through 'Neeru-Chettu', the government aims to make AP a drought-free state by encouraging plantations and through 100 per cent drip and sprinkler irrigation in the drought-hit areas, a state government release said.

The objectives of the programme are: inventory of existing water harvesting structures and repairs to them, construction of new water harvesting structures using the remote-sensing or geo-tagging technology, construction of recharge pits through roof-water collection, de-silting of tanks and breach restoration, better water management through improved-agricultural practices.

Under the programme, the government would focus on planting saplings, enhancing ground-water table and utilizing available resources through environmental protection. Noting that the programme has to benefit the community ultimately, the Chief Minister said it should create a relationship between people and nature and only then would it be absorbed into the community.

Similarly, the Chief Minister pointed out that district officials should work with irrigation, rural development, municipal administration, forest and other related departments. They should also have brainstorming sessions on novel ways to implement the programme, he said.

He also suggested that district officials could consult retired engineers or experts from the field or communities to create effective structures like check-dams, etc. "You have to think out-of-the-box and identify low-hanging fruits," he told officials.

The Chief Minister said all the updates regarding the works carried out will be online and geo-tagged based on the locations. Later, satellite mapping will also be carried out. Those who have implemented best practices and have achieved results will be awarded.

This, according to Naidu, will increase accountability and keep people updated about work in real time.

He suggested preparing project profile of all districts based on the works carried out from the district level to village or ward level. "This will help us and the districts understand where we stand and how we can take this forward and address the gaps," he said.

The Chief Minister directed district collectors to work on the initiatives, which will ensure there is no water scarcity in the coming summer through extensive drip and sprinkler irrigation. He directed that beautification of tanks and fencing or creating lung space depending on purpose of water usage be taken up. Naidu also suggested the irrigation department to prepare a project report to submit it to the (Central) Water Resources Ministry for special grant for drought-proofing the state.