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FRIDAY, February 26, 2016
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Vol. 29 No. 9 Friday, February 26, 2016 • Published Weekly from Houston • 713-774-5140 20 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: voiceasia@aol.com
Indian man who went missing from daughter’s wedding in US found dead
Prasad Mopart. Photo source: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.
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OS ANGELES: |PTI, February 24, 2016 - The body of a 55-year-old Indian man, who was on a visit to the US has been found in a waterway, 10-days after he walked away from his daughter’s wedding reception, a media report said today. Authorities in Sacramento County in California found the body of Prasad Moparti on Monday in a waterway about 8 km downstream from the wedding reception where he was last seen alive on February 13, Sacramento Bee reported.
2nd Annual “University of Houston Day” at India House
Fundraising Banquet for Telugu Bhavanam on March 5
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OUSTON - On Wednesday, February 17, as the sun was setting down, India House started buzzing with dozens of enthusiastic youngsters, most of them with parents or other family members to attend this very important day to figure out how to navigate towards their future career. A city’s growth and progress is seen in its potential in the next generation’s capability and success. Together, India House and University of Houston, under the leadership of President Dr. Renu Khator, who is also the Chancellor of UH System, organize this special UH Day at India House to guide students at all levels to select the correct path to carve their future career and head in the right direction to crystallize their educational goals.
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ouston’s Telugu community is organizing a Banquet on March 5th (Saturday) at 6 PM at India House to launch its campaign to build Telugu Bhavanam, a community center in Houston. Hon. Consul General Parvathaneni Harish will be the Chief Guest for the evening.
The event started with social hour and visit to multiple informative booths, representing all the 13 colleges of UH to give a general information about what each of the college can offer. The attendees, about 250, were treated to delicious dinner catered by Kurrywalah of Katy. Once inside the Banquet halls, where the main event was hosted, India House President, Dr. Manish Rungta welcomed UH Faculty and Staff and
Dr. Renu Khator, Chancellor of UH System and president of UH speaking at the India House on February 17. Photo credit: Bijay Dixit, Unique Photo Images.
The Coroner’s Office said there was no trauma to the body, but that the cause of death has yet to be determined. A boater in the area reported seeing Mr Moparti’s body, and crews were soon able to get him out of the water, the report said.
The task force in consultation with an architect developed detailed plans for the phased development of Telugu Bhavanam including the facility requirements, initial estimates, possible land options, fundraising plans, donor recognitions, maintenance plans, and proposed timeline. The goal of the banquet is to seek support for this exciting project and to involve the community in all phases from planning to inauguration. This project is supported by the Telugu Cultural Association (TCA) and Telangana Association of Greater Houston (TAGH).
In the days leading up to the ceremony, he had started taking long walks while visiting his daughter in Los Angeles, family members said.
Authorities said immediately after he disappeared that there were no suspicious circumstances or foul play. The Sheriff’s Department had conducted a search for about 72 hours in surrounding areas. The search was later called off and a sheriff’s spokesman said Mr Moparti was considered to be a “voluntary missing person” though he was not familiar with the area
The proposed Telugu Bhavanam is designed as a multipurpose facility to promote Telugu language, traditions, education and service to the community. The concept of Telugu Bhavanam has been in the discussion for over a decade. However, it started to take shape in the last few months because of the strong initiative by Sri Chowdary Yalamanchili who offered to make a generous matching donation of $500,000 to build Telugu Bhavanam. This generous commitment by the community leader and entrepreneur energized the community to take concrete steps to plan and build the Telugu Bhavanam. The community initiated a task force team and had several meetings for the last few months to develop the plans and to seek input from the community. Over $200,000 was also raised in several of these informal meetings.
Mr Moparti, who travelled from Hyderabad in January to attend his daughter’s wedding, was reported missing since February 13 when he walked away from his daughter’s wedding reception at Grand Island Mansion in Walnut Grove in Northern California by himself and never returned.
“Family members further indicated Moparti suffered from depression, and that he showed indicators of his depression leading up to the wedding,” Tony Turnbull, spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department had said last week.
Houston Telugus to build new community center
Gathering at the India House on the occasion of University of Houston Day on February 17. Photo credit: Bijay Dixit, Unique Photo Images. all the students and families and spoke about the partnership of the two institutions, whose mission is to serve the Greater Houston community at large and help each individual to attain their full potential. India House serves very young students, who are just starting school and UH educates more senior students who are thinking about their career paths. Col. Vipin Kumar, Exec-
utive Director, India House presented programs and activities of India House through a video. He encouraged all the attendees who were new to India House to join and become partners in such community service programs based on their expertise. He introduced Dr. Richard Walker, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, UH, who talked about the UH
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