Hyderabad Urban Lab launches interactive ‘Urban Reading Forum’ to enhance textual literacy
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Urban Lab (HUL), a multidisciplinary urban research centre, to host ‘Urban Reading Forum on May 25 (Saturday) at 5 p.m. via an online session through the Zoom app.
“Over the past few months, many of us associated with HUL have been thinking about the gap in educational opportunities for learning to read, and there are several people who teach writing. We wondered what could be a sustainable and rich way to teach researchers, practitioners and students to read different types of documents from these deliberations, the idea of an urban reading forum was born,” said the Hyderabad Urban Lab.
The forum will be an open and collaborative space. Texts will be annotated by experts and users will be able to access and respond to these comments and discuss their way through the text with other users and like-minded people.
Describing their forum, Hyderabad Urban Lab said that they will have different types of texts produced by scholars, activists, governments, and more who work in the field of housing. They also revealed that they will begin with four texts, covering a range of writing forms:
1) An academic piece by Dr. @GautamBhan80 discusses housing policy. Annotated by Dr. Bhan.
2) The guidelines produced for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), which lays out the details of the government’s flagship housing policy. Swastik Harish has annotated this document.
3) An extract from The Housing Question by Friedrich Engels. This theoretical and conceptual piece is annotated by Dr. @amaringanti.
4) Ganga Building Chronicles by Prasad Shetty is a vivid, detailed ethnographic narrative text, blending the worlds of fiction and non-fiction. The annotations by the author lead readers through the piece.
“Our first forum will be dedicated to the topic of housing. Based on this reading, we will explore how different types of arguments can be made and formulated. Readers will learn to interpret and utilise these arguments by understanding how they are placed in a text,” the Hyderabad Urban Lab shared on its ‘X’ (Formally Twitter) account.
With the launch of the ‘Urban Reading Forum’, it is hoped that it will be a valuable resource for people who want to navigate through different types of texts such as political documents, academic research, narratives, ethnographic works and fiction.
Interested individuals can register for the launch here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/registered and for a discussion in the forum.
CM Revanth Reddy reorganizes disaster management for Greater Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has decided to assign critical responsibilities to the Disaster Management Department within Greater Hyderabad. He has directed officials to implement structural changes and redistribute responsibilities accordingly. In a review meeting at the Secretariat on Monday evening, the Chief Minister discussed the reorganization with officials from Municipal Administration, HMDA, and Musi Development.
Expansion of disaster management responsibilities
Recognizing the geographic expansion of Hyderabad, the Chief Minister ordered the Disaster Management Department to extend its jurisdiction to the Outer Ring Road. He suggested including GHMC, 27 surrounding municipalities and corporations, and 33 gram panchayats within its service area. The department will be renamed the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring Protection (HYDRA). The Chief Minister proposed appointing a DIG-level officer as the director and SP-level officers as additional directors. He also recommended special teams from GHMC, HMDA, the Water Board, city traffic, and other departments to join this new division.
The Chief Minister emphasized the need for the Disaster Management Department to offer continuous services to city residents, not just during floods or emergencies. HYDRA should actively address all issues faced by Hyderabad’s citizens, including preserving the city’s tanks and ponds, protecting government properties from encroachments, and managing hoardings and flex banners. Additionally, HYDRA will oversee water pipelines, electricity supply lines, drainage, flood management, and traffic control.
Focus on heritage and infrastructure projects
Chief Minister Reddy directed the acceleration of the Musi River Development Project, aiming to elevate Hyderabad’s international reputation. He stressed the importance of working towards the government’s goal of transforming this project into a landmark. He also ordered officials to take necessary actions to restore historical buildings and structures within the city. The GHMC presented a PowerPoint on various heritage sites, such as the City Library, Charminar Ayurvedic Hospital, and Nizamia Observatory etc. The Chief Minister encouraged exploring ways to develop these sites for tourism and integrating feasible ones into the Musi River Development Project.
The Chief Minister instructed Chief Secretary Shantikumar to draft a comprehensive reorganization plan, including staffing, duties, and budget allocations for HYDRA. He also emphasized identifying key areas where the Disaster Management Department can enhance its operations.
The meeting included Chief Secretary Shantikumar, Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development Danakishore, GHMC Commissioner Amrapali, GHMC Vigilance Disaster Management Commissioner A.V. Ranganath, and Hyderabad Water Board MD Ashok Reddy.
