Send Flowers to Hyderabad

Television broadcasting in Hyderabad began in 1974 with the launch of Doordarshan, the Government of India’s public service broadcaster, which transmits two free-to-air terrestrial television channels and one satellite channel. Private satellite channels started in July 1992 with the launch of Star TV. Satellite TV channels are accessible via cable subscription, direct-broadcast satellite services or internet-based television. Hyderabad’s first dial-up Internet access became available in the early 1990s and was limited to software development companies. The first public internet access service began in 1995, and the first private sector Internet service provider (ISP) started operating in 1998.

Telugu is the official language of Hyderabad and Urdu is its second language. The Telugu dialect spoken in Hyderabad is called Telangana, and the Urdu spoken is called Dakhani.:1869–70 English is also used, particularly among white-collar workers. A significant minority speaks other languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali and Kannada.

The Andhra Pradesh Vaidya Vidhana Parishad is the state government department responsible for administering healthcare in Hyderabad. As of 2010–11, the city had 50 government hospitals, 300 private and charity hospitals and 194 nursing homes providing approximately 12,000 hospital beds, less than half of the required 25,000; for every 10,000 people in the city, there are 17.6 hospital beds, 9 specialist doctors, 14 nurses and 6 physicians. The city also has about 4,000 individual clinics and 500 medical diagnostic centres, which are preferred by many residents; an estimated 28% of the population use government facilities, because of their distance, poor quality of care and long waiting times,:60–61 despite the high proportion of the city’s residents being covered by government health insurance, 24% according to a National Family Health Survey in 2005.:4 As of 2012, many new private hospitals of various sizes have opened or are being built. Hyderabad also has outpatient and inpatient facilities that use Unani, homeopathic and Ayurvedic treatments.

The establishment of the Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), a public sector undertaking, in 1961 was followed over the decades by many national and global companies opening manufacturing and research facilities in the city, contributing to its reputation as “India’s pharmaceutical capital” and the “Genome Valley of India”. It is a global centre of information technology, for which it is known as Cyberabad (Cyber City). During 2008–09, Hyderabad’s IT exports reached US$ 4.7 billion, and 22% of the NASSCOM’s total membership is from the city. The development of HITEC City, a township with extensive technological infrastructure, prompted multinational companies to establish facilities in Hyderabad. The city is home to more than 1300 IT and ITES firms, including global conglomerates such as Microsoft (operating its largest R&D campus outside the US), Google, IBM, Yahoo!, Dell, Facebook,:3 and major Indian firms including Mahindra Satyam, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Genpact and Wipro.:3 In 2009 the World Bank Group ranked the city as the second best Indian city for doing business. The city and its suburbs contain the highest number of special economic zones of any Indian city.

The Golconda and Hyderabad styles are branches of Deccani painting. Developed during the 16th century, the Golconda style is a native style blending foreign techniques, bearing some similarity to the Vijayanagara paintings of neighbouring Mysore. A significant use of luminous gold and white colours is generally found in the Golconda style. The Hyderabad style originated in the early 17th century under the Nizams. Highly influenced by Mughal painting, this style makes use of bright colours and mostly depicts regional landscape, culture, costumes and jewellery.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city’s 18 “circles”, which together encompass 150 municipal wards. Each ward is represented by a corporator, elected by popular vote. The corporators elect the Mayor, who is the titular head of GHMC; executive powers rest with the Municipal Commissioner, appointed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The GHMC carries out the city’s infrastructural work such as building and maintenance of roads and drains, town planning including construction regulation, maintenance of municipal markets and parks, solid waste management, the issuing of birth and death certificates, the issuing of trade licences, collection of property tax, and community welfare services such as mother and child healthcare service, pre-school education, and non-formal education. The GHMC was formed in April 2007 by merging the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) with 12 municipalities of the Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medak districts covering a total area of 650 km2 (250 sq mi).:3 In the 2009 municipal election, an alliance of the Indian National Congress and Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen formed the majority. The Secunderabad Cantonment Board is a civic administration agency overseeing an area of 40.1 km2 (15.5 sq mi),:93 where there are several military camps.:2 The Osmania University campus is administered independently by the university authority.:93

The historic city established by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah on the southern side of the Musi River forms the “Old City”, while the “New City” encompasses the urbanised area on the northern banks. The two are connected by many bridges across the river, the oldest of which is Purana Pul (old bridge). Hyderabad is twinned with neighbouring Secunderabad, from which it is separated by Hussain Sagar.

The HMWSSB regulates rainwater harvesting, sewerage services and water supply, which is sourced from several dams located in the suburbs. In 2005, the HMWSSB started operating a 150-kilometre-long (93 mi) water supply pipeline from Nagarjuna Sagar Dam to meet increasing demands. The Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company manages electricity supply. Firefighting services operate from the 13 fire stations, as of March 2012, of the Andhra Pradesh Fire Services department. The state-owned Indian Postal Service has five head post offices and many sub-post offices in Hyderabad. The state postal service is complemented by private courier services.

The jurisdiction of the Hyderabad Police Commissionerate is divided into five police zones, each headed by a deputy commissioner. The Hyderabad Traffic Police is headed by a deputy commissioner who reports to the commissioner. In 2012, the Andhra Pradesh Government announced its intention to merge the Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police Commissionerates into a single Greater Hyderabad Police Commissionerate.

The Kakatiya dynasty was later reduced to a vassal of the Khilji dynasty (1310–1321) after their defeat by Sultan Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate. This lasted until 1321 when the Kakatiya dynasty was annexed by Allaudin Khilji general Malik Kafur. During this period, Alauddin Khilji took the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is said to have been mined from the Kollur Mines in Golkonda, to Delhi. Muhammad bin Tughluq succeeded to the Delhi sultanate in 1325, bringing Warangal under the rule of the Tughlaq dynasty until 1347 when Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah, a governor under bin Tughluq, rebelled against the sultanate and established the Bahmani Sultanate in the Deccan Plateau, with Gulbarga, 200 km (124 mi) west of Hyderabad, as its capital. The Bahmani kings ruled the region until 1518 and were the first independent Muslim rulers of the Deccan.

The Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium and the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium host cricket matches; the latter serves as the home ground of Hyderabad Cricket Association. Hyderabad has been the venue of many international cricket matches, including matches in the 1987 and the 1996 Cricket World Cups. The Hyderabad cricket team represents the city in the Ranji Trophy—a first-class cricket tournament among India’s states and cities. Hyderabad is home to the Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad formerly known as Deccan Chargers which won the 2009 Indian Premier League held in South Africa.

The name Hyderabad means “Hyder’s abode” or “lion city”, derived from the Persian/Urdu words “haydar” or “hyder” (lion) and “abad” (city or abode). According to John Everett-Heath, Hyderabad was named to honour the Caliph Ali Ibn Abi Talib, who was also known as Hyder because of his lion-like valour in battles. One popular theory suggests that Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of the city, named it “Bhaganagar” or “Bhagnagar” after Bhagmathi, a local nautch (dancing) girl with whom he had fallen in love. She converted to Islam and adopted the title Hyder Mahal. The city was renamed Hyderabad in her honour. According to another source, the city was named after Haidar, the son of Quli Qutb Shah. Andrew Petersen, a scholar of Islamic architecture, says the city was originally called Baghnagar (city of gardens). However, no sources define when or by whom the city was named.

The residents of Hyderabad, referred to as “Hyderabadi”, are Urdu-speaking, followed by Telugu people people and a minority of Tamil, Marathi, Kannada (including Nawayathi), Marwari, Bengali, Malayali, Gujarati, Punjabi and Uttar Pradeshi communities. Among the communities of foreign origin, Yemeni Arabs form the majority, although African Arabs, Armenians, Abyssinians, Iranians, Pathans and Turkish people are also present. The foreign population declined after Hyderabad State became part of the Indian Union, as it lost the patronage of the Nizams.

The Secunderabad Railway Station is the headquarters of the South Central Railway zone of Indian Railways, and the largest station in Hyderabad. Other major railway stations in Hyderabad are Hyderabad Deccan Station, Kachiguda Railway Station and Begumpet Railway Station.

There are 13 universities in Hyderabad: two private universities, two deemed universities, six state universities and three central universities. The central universities are the University of Hyderabad, Maulana Azad National Urdu University and the English and Foreign Languages University. Osmania University, established in 1918, was the first university in Hyderabad. As of 2012, it is India’s second most popular destination for international students. The Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University, established in 1982, is the first distance learning open university in India.

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Send Flowers to Hyderabad