It was a competition where over 80 participants, from teenagers to senior citizens, had to put in their best efforts to emerge winners.
Such was the competition’s toughness that participants had to introduce themselves, exhibit their skills and answer the judges’ questions in just two-hand-half minutes. All this effort was for Hyderabad Metro Rail brand ambassadors campaign finals held at Annapurna Studios on Sunday.
Of the 16,000 participants, 81 finalists from various categories, including schools and college students, executives, housewives, senior citizens and entrepreneurs competed in the event. They were judged by a panel of nine members, including A.P. State Police Housing Corporation Limited V-C and MD S.A. Huda, NAR Infra Private Limited executive director Parvathi Reddy, fashion designer Asmita Marwah, film director Dharma Teja and others. While, ten participants from each category were shortlisted, 20 boys and girls were shortlisted in school and college students’ category. One brand ambassador will be selected from each category and two each will be selected from school and college category. Hyderabad Metro Rail Managing Director N.V.S Reddy said usually film stars and celebrities were selected to be brand ambassadors for major projects. But the metro rail project was being taken up for people under the public private partnership mode and hence people from different categories of age groups were being selected to be brand ambassadors, he said. The HMR brand ambassadors’ campaign had reached out to the public through over 500 events organised in schools, colleges, housing societies, welfare associations, etc. The winners will be announced at a felicitation ceremony for the brand ambassadors in November.
HMR Managing Director N.V.S Reddy said efforts were on to extend the Metro connectivity to Shamshabad, besides identifying 7 to 8 new places for metro works under phase II. The central government has in principle approved the Shamshabad connectivity project and a detailed project report was to be prepared.
A study needs to be conducted on ascertaining different aspects like execution of the project and the process to be adopted in taking it up have to be worked out, he said. A model coach was being brought to the city from South Korea and it would be exhibited from October 2 for over a month to enable people to get a feel of the coach and the comfort they would have in travelling in the metro rail, he added.
He said the metro rail works were being taken up at a brisk pace and the 8-km stretch from Nagole to Mettuguda would be ready by December 2014. After obtaining mandatory railway safety clearances, it would be commissioned by March 2015 Ugadi festival, said Mr. Reddy.
