Govt revives 3 Academies

Hyderabad: In a further boost to Telugu language and culture, the State Government has revived three academies � Sahitya, Sangita Nataka and Lalithakala Academies (literature, music and drama and fine arts respectively), which were disbanded 28 years back. A GO to this effect was issued on the eve of the Telugu New Year. A Committee headed by senior journalist Potturi Venkateswara Rao had recommended the revival of the three academies. Accordingly, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy made a promise to this effect during the fourth World Telugu Conference in December in Tirupati. He had declared 2013 as Telugu Development Year and said the focus would be on promoting Telugu language and culture in a big way. A sum of Rs 25 crore was already sanctioned to this end. The Academies were scrapped during the NTR regime, a move that hurt many artistes in a big way. Dr Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna, Carnatic music giant, publicly announced that he would not perform any concert in AP.