Saturday, July 22, 2006
Hyderabad City News july 23rd,2006
276 MLAs get assets notice
Hyderabad, July 22: The legislative department has sent out notices to 276 of 295 legislators (including the nominated MLA) to file returns of their assets and liabilities before July 31. These returns should have been filed by March 31. So far, only 19 legislators have filed the papers including Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy and Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu.Out of the 24 ministers in the Rajasekhar Reddy cabinet, only K. Rosaiah (finance), Sabita Indra Reddy (mines), Kanna Laxminarayana (transport and cooperation), K. Rajyalakshmi (school education), J. Geetha Reddy (tourism) have filed their returns, sources in the legislative department said.Filing returns is mandatory but legislators ‘forget’ to file them. Some others claim that they do not know that they should file the returns every year. And yet others assume that the returns they filed after the 2004 Assembly polls will do. It is mandatory since 1998 for all MLAs to file details of their properties within 30 days of taking of oath as legislator and subsequently every year before March 31. “We have sent notices to those MLAs who have not filed their returns so far,” a senior legislative department official told this correspondent. “They need to file returns every year and if there is no change they can intimate us,” the official said, seeking anonymity in view of the sensitivity of the subject. But Speaker Suresh Reddy came to the rescue of ministers and legislators who have not filed their returns.“If they have filed details of assets and liabilities once and have not filed it again, we assume that there is no change in the assets and liabilities,” he told this correspondent. He continued: “If there is a change in the assets and liabilities, the MLAs should file every year.” Despite distributing booklets and reminders, many MLAs say they do not know of the requirement. “I thought it was a one-time affair,” said Congress legislator Anam Ramnarayan Reddy from Nellore. “I filed the details when I got elected,” he said, adding, “I received a letter few days back,” he said.Congress legislator Jalagam Venkat Rao too said he had received reminders and promised to file the returns.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
276 MLAs get assets notice
PM: No change in office of profit Bill
Manmohan gave us what Atal refused: US expert
Kenyan police says it was not Tunda
Niloufer prof, driver held for sex abuse
Police arrests Hizb ‘courier’ in city
276 MLAs get assets notice
Hyderabad, July 22: The legislative department has sent out notices to 276 of 295 legislators (including the nominated MLA) to file returns of their assets and liabilities before July 31. These returns should have been filed by March 31. So far, only 19 legislators have filed the papers including Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy and Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu.Out of the 24 ministers in the Rajasekhar Reddy cabinet, only K. Rosaiah (finance), Sabita Indra Reddy (mines), Kanna Laxminarayana (transport and cooperation), K. Rajyalakshmi (school education), J. Geetha Reddy (tourism) have filed their returns, sources in the legislative department said.Filing returns is mandatory but legislators ‘forget’ to file them. Some others claim that they do not know that they should file the returns every year. And yet others assume that the returns they filed after the 2004 Assembly polls will do. It is mandatory since 1998 for all MLAs to file details of their properties within 30 days of taking of oath as legislator and subsequently every year before March 31. “We have sent notices to those MLAs who have not filed their returns so far,” a senior legislative department official told this correspondent. “They need to file returns every year and if there is no change they can intimate us,” the official said, seeking anonymity in view of the sensitivity of the subject. But Speaker Suresh Reddy came to the rescue of ministers and legislators who have not filed their returns.“If they have filed details of assets and liabilities once and have not filed it again, we assume that there is no change in the assets and liabilities,” he told this correspondent. He continued: “If there is a change in the assets and liabilities, the MLAs should file every year.” Despite distributing booklets and reminders, many MLAs say they do not know of the requirement. “I thought it was a one-time affair,” said Congress legislator Anam Ramnarayan Reddy from Nellore. “I filed the details when I got elected,” he said, adding, “I received a letter few days back,” he said.Congress legislator Jalagam Venkat Rao too said he had received reminders and promised to file the returns.
PM: No change in office of profit Bill
New Delhi, July 22: The Union government on Saturday decided to reintroduce the controversial Office of Profit Bill in Parliament without any changes. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had returned the Bill in May for reconsideration.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met the President and apprised him of the government’s move on Saturday afternoon. With the government deciding to reintroduce the Office of Profit bill in the same form, the President will have no choice but to accord his assent once it is passed by Parliament.
This is the first time that a Bill sent back by a President to Parliament invoking Article 111 of the Constitution is being brought back in the same form. The decision to reintroduce the Bill in its present form was taken at a Cabinet meeting at the residence of the Prime Minister on Saturday morning. Parliamentary affairs minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi announced that the Bill would first be placed before the Rajya Sabha on July 25.
Along with the legislation, the government will also bring a motion in response to the President’s message appealing to Parliament to reconsider the Bill. He added that the MPs would respond to the message as they feel and that it is equally the duty of the government to respond to the motion. The legislation is expected to sail through Parliament since the Congress Party has the numbers, both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Moreover, the NDA was also divided on the issue with the Janata Dal (United) indicating that it would support the bill. The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on May 16 and the Rajya Sabha the next day, provides for the exclusion of 56 posts, including that of National Advisory Council chairperson, from the definition of office of profit.
The Left parties rallied behind the government and assured their support to the controversial legislation. The Left also demanded that a parliamentary committee be set up to clearly define the issue. Nine CPI(M) MPs, including Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, face charges of holding offices of profit.
Accusing the government of trying to “protect those holding offices of profit” and “succumbing to the Left’s pressure”, the BJP said it would oppose the Bill. While returning the Bill on May 30, the President had said the criteria for exemption of posts should be “fair and reasonable” and applicable in a “clear and transparent” manner across the States and Union Territories.
Another point raised by the President was in relation to the posts sought to be exempted by the new law. The implication was that the names of offices, for which petitions were already pending under process by the competent authority, should be addressed by Parliament while reconsidering the Bill.
“We had supported the legislation earlier also. If the government brings it now, in its present form, we will support it again,” CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury said after an hour-long meeting of the Left parties ahead of a meeting of the UPA-Left co-ordination committee. Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister held closed-door talks with defence minister Pranab Mukherjee and Union home minister Shivraj Patil.
Manmohan gave us what Atal refused: US expert
New Delhi, July 22: Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was not willing to “offer much to the United States in exchange for the (civilian nuclear energy) agreement, we got more from the government of Dr Manmohan Singh,” according to Dr Ashley Tellis, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Dr Tellis worked with US officials on the nuclear agreement with India.
Dr Tellis, who was earlier posted at the US embassy here as adviser to former ambassador Robert Blackwill, told Internet news site Rediff that the Vajpayee government also wanted the deal, but one could not be reached because it was not giving much to the US. He said he could not disclose what Washington had wanted from the Vajpayee government but had been unable to get.
Asked by the reporter if Dr Manmohan Singh had caved in “easily”, Dr Tellis said, “There is no question of Dr Singh caving in, India has got a deal that it would not have got in the past or in the future.” Sources close to Mr Vajpayee said there were three points that his government was not willing to concede to Washington with a clear record of this being established through the Jaswant Singh-Strobe Talbott talks. These concerned the CTBT, the moratorium on fissile production and a proposed restrain in the nuclear regime. The bills now pending a vote in the US Congress clearly seek to “cap, reduce and eliminate” India’s nuclear programme, the sources pointed out, adding that the US administration at the time “knew from the record that the Vajpayee government would not concede any ground on these issues”.
The only issue that the NDA government reportedly was finally prepared to “elaborate upon,” the sources said, was the CTBT in that the US was told that India would not come in the way if all the other countries agreed to ratify the treaty. It did not come to that point finally as the US Senate itself rejected the ratification of CTBT. The discussions, the sources said, did not get near the shape of an agreement as the issues that needed to be reconciled for such an agreement to take shape were not agreed upon by the NDA negotiators at the time.
“We did not give them anything, and they never came out with anything (like a nuclear agreement) openly,” the sources said. Dr Manmohan Singh has agreed to accept all the conditions that were reportedly rejected by his predecessor. The bill cleared by the US Senate committee on foreign relations seeks to “achieve as quickly as possible a cessation of the production by India and Pakistan of fissile materials for nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices”.
The US Atomic Energy Act will be invoked to ensure that India cannot test a nuclear device. Dr Tellis, who was here to “celebrate” the first anniversary of the India-US civilian nuclear energy co-operation agreement, admitted in the interview that the treaty “could” fall if India conducted a nuclear test. Nuclear experts have already pointed towards US success in bringing India within the CTBT “through the back door”. Leading nuclear scientist Dr Homi Sethna has gone on record to say that it would be better if India signed the NPT than conformed to the provisions of the deal as “it was the lesser of the two evils.”
Kenyan police says it was not Tunda
New Delhi, July 22: In a dramatic twist to the reports that one of India’s most wanted men, Syed Abdul Karim, alias Tunda, had been arrested in Mombasa, the Kenyan police said late on Saturday night that the arrested man was a West African national amid media reports that he had been handed over to the FBI.
Tunda, founder of the Laskhar-e-Tayyaba in India and wanted for several blasts in Mumbai, Delhi and other places in the country from 1993 to 1998, was said to have been arrested in Mombasa on Thursday night, news that had been received with great satisfaction by security agencies here.
However, Kenyan police spokesman M. Kibunja told PTI that the arrested person was not an Indian but a West African national. “He has nothing to do with the Mumbai blasts,” Mr Kibunja said. The newspaper Kenya Times had reported that a man suspected to be linked to a series of terrorist attacks in East Africa and India was arrested on Thursday and deported to an unknown country. The suspect, arrested on the Kenya-Tanzania border, was linked to the attacks on Mumbai’s commuter trains, the newspaper said, quoting police sources.
Security agencies here are baffled by the sudden turn of events and are extremely unsatisfied with the version given by Kenyan police. Efforts will be made on Monday to officially ask the Kenyan authorities about the matter, official sources said.
Niloufer prof, driver held for sex abuse
Hyderabad: Police on Saturday arrested a professor of the Niloufer Health School and the driver of the school’s principal for allegedly sexually harassing auxiliary nursing midwives (ANMs) who had come for training from five districts, reports our correspondent. Nampally police inspector K. Chakrapani identified the arrested as Professor Kalaiah, 50, a statistics tutor, and Mujeem Alam Khan, 35, driver of the school’s principal.
Police is to arrest another tutor, Dr Prabhakar Reddy whose name figures in the ANMs’ complaint. The arrests were made under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code on charges of “making words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of women.”
Nampally inspector Chakrapani said, “The alleged incident took place on June 30 when most of the ANMs turned up without doing their homework. The accused persons allegedly abused them in foul language.” The inspector said, “They allegedly called them sex workers who sleep with sarpanches and political leaders.”
The ANMs’ course had started on June 26. The women had come to the Niloufer school for six-week training from Adilabad, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts. On Wednesday, the ANMs complained to the women’s commission after the media reported IAS officer K. Mangapathi Rao’s alleged sexual harassment and the commission’s role in securing his suspension.
Commission chairperson Mary Ravindranath said things took an ugly turn on Friday night when some staff members banged on the doors of the ANMs’ hostel rooms and threatened them for lodging the complaint.
“They warned them of dire consequences if they did not withdraw the complaint.” she said. On Saturday, the commission went to the hostel and spoke to the women. Following this, about 36 ANMs lodged the police complaint in the presence of Ms Ravindranath.
“The suspects offered them pornographic CDs and made advances. They made abusive fun of them,” Ms Ravindranath alleged. School principal Dr Srinath was not available for comment about the alleged harassment. Prof. Kalaiah said, “It is a false complaint. I am a tribal that’s why they are targeting me. Nothing has happened like that.”
Police arrests Hizb ‘courier’ in city
Hyderabad: A Hizbul Mujahideen was arrested in the city by the Central Crime Station police, reports our correspondent. Sources said Shaik Awaid, alias Awad, 32, of Batwada village of Nalgonda district had delivered and a letter asking for two AK-47s and Rs 5 lakh in November 2004 to HuM activists Bilal Ahmed Shah and Kallu in Srinagar on the directions of Hizbul Mujahideen ‘commander’ Mujeeb Ahmed. Mujeeb was arrested recently
Rs 300-cr scam hits Devadula
Hyderabad, July 22: The irrigation department is probing yet another scandal where officials released Rs 300 crore to contractors of Devadula phase-II project on the Godavari in Warangal district. The contractors did not actually execute the work.The scandal came to light during a recent high-level official meeting conducted by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy who asked why Devadula contractors were getting excess payments though the progress of work was very slow.
His special secretary M.G.V.K. Bhanu reportedly told him that there were grave irregularities in the execution of the project. Dr Reddy asked irrigation secretary Hiralal Samaria to inquire. Mr Samaria, who made field inquiries, was shocked to find that the contractors had claimed bills for Rs 300 crore for laying pipelines, amounting to 70 per cent of the total cost of laying pipelines for 100 km, though they had laid pipelines for 28 km.
The contractors told him that they had manufactured pipes for 100 km. As per the agreement, they could claim 70 per cent of the cost for manufacturing the pipes. Mr Samaria, in his memo to chief engineer of Devadula (Memo No. 20558/Maj.Irr.IV.1/06-1 dated July 20, 2006), pointed out that the CE and SE concerned had not fixed any milestones for the contractors.
He said the payments made for manufacture of pipes was highly disproportionate to the actual laying of the pipeline. He asked the officials to fix the milestones for both manufacturing of pipes and laying of pipelines, and that the gap between the two should not be more than 10 kms, as the agreement specifies.
Which means, as per the agreement, the contractors should have laid pipelines for 90 km, if they had claimed payments for 100 km pipeline work. Mr Samaria ordered that further payments be stopped till they reached the revised milestones.
TD seeks probe into Huda land sale
Hyderabad, July 22: The Telugu Desam on Saturday demanded a judicial probe into various land dealings in the State including the auctioning of prime lands by Huda in and around Hyderabad.Addressing a press conference at NTR Bhavan here, TD official spokesperson M.V. Mysoora Reddy said the Huda had become a real estate dealer by selling prime lands at exorbitant rates to big players. Those behind the Huda auctions and illegal land dealings should be exposed and punished.
Mr Reddy said the TD was ready to face any sort of probe on the land dealings during the previous TD regime. He alleged that Huda had forgotten its prime duty of helping poor and the middle classes.The TD also took the government to task for its alleged failure to protect prime Wakf properties from encroachment and illegal sale.
A team of senior Telugu Desam leaders visited the Wakf property at Guttala Begumpet which has been under encroachment. The TD team found fault with officials for taking up construction work on the Wakf property in contravention of all rules.
Senior TD leader and MP SM Laljan Basha accused the government of failing to protect prime Wakf lands.The TD, meanwhile, has decided to bear the cost of bronze statues of Alluri Sit-arama Raju and TD founder N.T. Rama Rao for installation in Parliament.
The Telugu Desam’s decision follows the State government’s reluctance on the issue during the last two years. The Statue Committee of Parliament gave its nod two years ago to a proposal from the State government on installation of these two statues.
MCA is back in demand at Icet
Hyderabad, July 22: After being out of demand for the last couple of years, the Masters in Computer App-lications (MCA) course has made a comeback with a bang at the Icet-2006 counselling for admission into MBA and MCA courses, which began at seven university centres across the State on Saturday.
In all 631 of the total 699 candidates who got admitted on the first day chose MCA. Only 38 candidates preferred admission into MBA. The Icet fifth ranker was the top ranker to take admission on the first day. The first four rankers of Icet did not attend the counselling.
Icet convenor Uma Maheshwar Reddy said that the first preference of a majority of the candidates was in the Acharya Nagarjuna University at Guntur followed by other university colleges. He said the counselling is being held for 20,443 seats in 300 colleges and first spell of the counselling will go on till July 31.
KCR to seek divine help
Hyderabad, July 22: With temporal forces turning inimical, Union labour minister and TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao is once again trying to get divine help to achieve a separate State. On Monday, he will visit Jahangir Peer Dargah near Kothur village in Mahbubnagar district to seek blessings.
Fortified, he will leave for New Delhi on the same evening to attend the monsoon session of Parliament, where he will intensify his lobbying for Telangana.On August 14, he will conduct a yagam at the Telangana Bhavan, the party’s headquarters. This is also meant to get divine help for his campaign.
Incidentally, August 15 is the deadline he has fixed for the Congress to come out with a clear policy sta-tement on Telangana. If that does not materialise, he and his colleague A. Narendra are expected to come out of the UPA government and revive the Tel-angana struggle. This is not the first time that the TRS chief is conducting yagams and visiting dargahs.
He visited Jahangir Peer Dargah before the 2004 Assembly polls. He continued to visit dargahs and co-nduct yagams on and off. But, things did not go as pl-anned. He broke his leg in an accident and the party faced a debacle in polls.
Sen has a word of praise for city
Hyderabad, July 22: Director-general of police (DGP) Swaranjit Sen on Saturday called upon police personnel to be vigilant against the menace of terrorism.Mr Sen was speaking at the passing out parade of the third batch of assistant sub inspectors and head constables of the Central Industrial security Force at the National Industrial Security Academy.
“In the changing security scenario, CISF should be prepared to assist in dealing with disasters, VIP security and aviation security,” he added.The DGP added that the accused in the Mumbai blasts had no links with Hyderabad. “Hyderabadis are good and are not involved in it,” he said. “Of course, some outsiders have instigated a few youth here but the situation is under control”.
Mr Sen stressed the need for forming a national level coordination committee for to tackle the threat of terrorism sponsored by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, as had been done in the case of Maoists.
Power cut hits life on weekend
Hyderabad, July 22: Vast swathes of the city went without power for several hours on Saturday. There was no power in S.R. Nagar, Balkampet, Sanathnagar and Alwal, residents from these areas called up to complain. In some areas the power utilities had themselves switched off power after advance notification but even here, the cuts ranged from three to six hours.
“I had to cancel a party due to the power cuts,” software engineer B.V. Goud complained from Balkampet. “At the last moment I had to call up the invitees on phone and tell them to stay away,” he said.The daily life was affected and business were hit because of the prolonged power cuts.
When contacted a senior APTransco official said that major work was in progress which was why the power utility had switched off power. He requested the public to cooperate with APTransco. Officials however did not respond when asked about power cut in non-specified areas.
“We have already given notice in newspapers about the power cuts,” he said. However, several areas other than those notified also suffered power cuts. “There was no power from 2 pm to 5 pm and from 7.15 pm to 9.30 pm. I had to close my shop early,” said N. Rajshaker of Dhanalakshmi medical shop, S.R. Nagar said.
In the localities surrounding Balkampet there was no power even till 10.20 pm. “We usually have dinner by 9 pm and go to sleep before 10 pm. Today we waited for the power till 10.15 pm and finally had dinner in the dark at 10.20 pm,” P. Tarun of Babunagar, S.R. Nagar, said.
The authorities failed to inform us of power cut timings, Mr Tarun said.Late in the night, this office continued to receive calls from angry residents from Alwal who said they had no power. They had not been informed about power cuts, the caller said.
ECI talks to teachers unions
Hyderabad, July 22: The Election Commission of India on Thursday started consultations with teachers’ unions on the constitution of electoral colleges of teachers and graduates for the AP State Legislative Council, which is to be revived shortly.
Chief electoral officer V. Bhaskar held negotiations with representatives of AP Teachers Federation and United Teachers Federation, among others, at Secretariat. “We will have more consultations before taking a decision,” Mr Bhaskar said.
The unions have suggested that teaching staff working in teachers’ training institutes, BEd colleges, BPEd colleges and oriental training institutes should be given voting rights. They have recommended the case of teachers working in the upper primary schools.
Similarly, they want those working in unaided but schools and colleges recognised by the government be given voting rights, provided they were appointed as per government regulations.
The unions have demanded rationalisation of the constituencies for the Legislaive Council. There are three districts some of the constituencies; six in some others and only one in Krishna district. They want Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy to be merged into one. Of the remaining 21 districts, three districts each could be made into one constituency.
Code in rest of State from 28th
Hyderabad, July 22: The controversial film, The Da Vinci Code, was screened without incident for the second day on Saturday. Kishore of Lakshmi Ganapati Films, which distributed the film, said it was screened in five halls without incident. He said no theatre recorded full house.
“We are planning to release it across the State next Friday,” he said. A delegation of Christian and Muslim organisations presented a memorandum to Union urban minister K. Jaipal Reddy urging him to seek a ban on the film all over the country. An organisation briefly protested the screening of the film at Jeedimetla and left the place.
‘Make education must for elections’
Hyderabad, July 22: Central Election Commission former advisor K.J. Rao said that the time had come to specify educational qualification to contest an election to Parliament or State legislature.
He said that when the Constituent Assembly of India made the statute, the literacy rate was only 15 per cent. Since the literacy rate was low, “It was decided to defer a decision on the subject to an appropriate moment,” he said.
That time spoke has come now, Mr Rao said. He was delivering the M. Gowrishankar Memorial lecture, organised by the State ABVP. Mr. Rao advocated barring of criminals from contesting elections.
OU panel blocks VC
Registrar’s extension
Hyderabad, July 22: The controversy over the extension of the service of Osmania University (OU) registrar Prof. M. Mutha Reddy took a new twist on Saturday with seven of the nine members in the executive council (EC) deciding not to ratify the action. OU vice-chancellor Sulai-man Siddiqui has extended the tenure of Prof. Reddy up to October 31, 2008.
Prof. Reddy had already completed more than three years in office and the EC wants a new registrar. “We express our inability to ratify the action taken by the VC on the subject (extension of the tenure). Further, the EC shall appoint a new registrar as per the provisions of the University Act,” the EC members pointed out in their letter to the VC.
Moreover, they have sought an emergency meeting of the EC “within seven days” to discuss this and other issues. The EC members had charged the VC with “falsehood, misuse of authority” while extending the tenure of the registrar.
“In the interest of smooth functioning of the university, we request you not to lean on falsehood, misrepresentation or distortion of executive council orders. Also request you not to find methods or ways of circumventing EC resolutions,” they said.They also alleged that the registrar had committed “gross irregularities and wilful default of duties and contravention of the EC decisions”.
MCH chief blamed for viral diseases
Hyderabad, July 22: The general body meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) turned stormy with corporators lashing out at the civic body for its failure in controlling the spread of chikungunya and other viral diseases in the city.
MIM corporator and former standing committee chairperson Abdul Rahman Khan pinned the blame on MCH commissioner Sanjay Jaju and sought his transfer. “Heaps of filthy garbage can be seen everywhere in the city and this had resulted in the spread of Chikungunya and viral fever,” said Mr Rahman Khan. “The commissioner is responsible for this.”
Mr Jaju’s predecessors used to make surprise insp-ections to keep the city cle-an, but the new commissioner did not even have the courtesy to meet corporators, he added. Though Mr Rahman Khan moved a resolution for transfer of the commissioner in public interest, others did not support him on the issue.
However, they endorsed his criticism of the MCH and faulted it for failing to clear garbage, take out anti-larval measures and maintain sanitation. Corporators from the Congress too joined the chorus, though they were more subdued.
When officials tried to explain, corporators shouted them down and asked them to visit hospitals which were flooded with viral fever patients. The commissioner has agreed to the demand of corporators to conduct medical camps each in the 100 divisions.
BE student dies in road accident
Hyderabad, July 22: A Chennai-based engineering student was among the two persons who were killed in separate road accidents in the city since Friday. R. Shobana, 20, an engineering student, succumbed to injuries on way to the hospital while her friends and their driver were injured when the car in which they were travelling overturned at Raidurg on Friday night.In another incident, Mohammed Ghouse, 51, an employee of Fever Hospital, died after he fell from his scooter at Wattapally near Falaknuma on Friday night.
Traffic curbs for Bonalu
Hyderabad, July 22: In view of Bonalu festival at Katta Maisamma Temple on the Lower Tank Bund Road, police has imposed traffic restrictions from 7 am to 11 am on July 23 and from 4 pm to 10 pm on July 24.
* Traffic coming from Iqbal Minar towards Katta Maisamma Temple will not be allowed on Telugu Talli flyover. * Vehicles moving towards the Katta Maisamma Temple from DBR Mills, Kavadiguda, will be diverted towards MRO’s office and Indira Park via Vaartha Lane. * Traffic coming from Vaartha office lane towards Katta Maisamma Temple will be diverted towards Reliance Apartments. * Vehicles coming from RTC Crossroads towards Katta Maisamma Temple will be diverted towards Reliance Apartments and via Street No.5, Domalguda.
Police promises kids’ safety
Hyderabad, July 22: Additional commissioner of police (traffic) A.K. Khan said on Saturday that safety of schoolchildren would be the top priority of his department this academic year.
“We have resolved that no schoolkid would die in a road mishap this year,” Mr Khan said. “The medical fraternity should also come forward to take up accident cases to save lives without caring too much about bills,” he added.
The task was going to be difficult since 9.5 lakh schoolchildren and 12 lakh parents come out on the roads every day to reach about 5,000 schools. Traffic personnel would be provided with gloves and surgical equipment to give first aid to road accident victims and to avoid blood-transmitted infections, Mr Khan said.
Training for providing first aid was being imparted at Apollo Hospitals for the traffic personnel. Most of them were found to have no knowledge on first aid and life saving techniques. “We will keep gloves and medical kits in all police vehicles,” said Mr Khan.
Software firm MD traps 2 Nigerians
Hyderabad, July 22: The managing director of a software company and his friend helped the Banjara Hills police arrest two Nigerian youth who were trying to dupe them on Friday night. The Nigerians were identified as Tom Ayemere, 21, and Prince Joseph, 26, who were based in Mumbai.
Banjara Hills sub-inspector K. Madhu Mohan Reddy said that Kolgolta Technologies MD K.V. Murali had previously got an email from some Nigerians offering to invest funds in his company for a $5,000 fee. Mr Murali ignored the email but discussed it with his associate Ramesh.
The Nigerians approached Mr Ramesh on Friday at a shopping mall and asked him about an email they had sent him about diversion of funds. Mr Ramesh called up Mr Murali, who alerted the police and laid a trap. Accordingly, Mr Murali asked the Nigerians to come to his office in his car. As per the plan, a policeman in plainclothes was already in the car. The Nigerians were driven straight to the police station.
Most basic elections start on July 29
Hyderabad, July 22: Battlelines are drawn for the closely fought gram panchayat elections which commense on July 29. Elections will be held for the post of sarpanch and ward members.
This is as close to the grassroots as it can get. The average number of voters for a gram panchayat is 1,800 and for a gram panchayat ward, 180. Because of the small electoral base, these elections are the most keenly fought of all polls.
The elections will be held on July 29, August 2 and 6. Panchayat polls are held on non-party basis but all political political parties have geared up to consolidate their electoral strength at the grassroot level by encouraging their local leaders to jump into the fray.
“Law and order is going to be a major problem. We will need a lot of force to maintain law and order. That’s why we are going in for three-phase elections,” State Election Commissioner A.V.S. Reddy said.
That the stakes are very high is evident from reports that candidates in many places are spending around Rs 20 lakh for the post of sarpanch. The SEC has fixed an election expenditure ceiling of Rs 40,000 for villages with more than 10,000 population and Rs 20,000 for panchyats with less than 10,000 people.
The amount fixed for a ward member (non-notified panchayat) is Rs 3,000 but reports indicate election expenditure has touched Rs 50,000. Over three crore voters will elect sarpanches for 21,254 gram panchayats and members for 2,13,482 gram panchayat wards. In the first phase, elections will be held to 6,545 panchayats and 65,846 wards spread over 26 revenue divisions in 22 districts.
In the second phase 7,886 gram panchayats and 78612 wards in 28 revenue divisions will go to the polls. Elections will be held for 6923 panchayats and 69024 wards in 25 revenue divisions in the third phase. Though political parties do not figure directly in the elections, the party of the candidates is clearly known. With parties fielding active politicians for the posts of sarpanch and ward members, the elections have actually turned political.
TTD may limit Tirumala only to Hindus
Hyderabad, July 22: The Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams’ specified authority will hold a crucial meeting on July 27 in the backdrop of allegations that Evangelists are active in the surroundings of the Venkateswara temple.
The meeting may recommend a ban on non-Hindus staying on the Tirumala Hills. The three-member specified authority, constituted in place of TTD Trust Board whose term expired in June, comprises secretary, revenue (endowments) D.C. Rosaiah, endowments commissioner Dinesh Kumar and TTD executive officer A.P.V.N. Sarma.
As of now, there is no ban on entry of persons of any religious faith into the Tirumala temple and their activities on Tirumala hills. In fact, non-Hindus were recruited into the TTD in the past. They held crucial positions in the offices atop the Hills and they were also given temple quarters for staying. There were also non-Hindu employees working in various banks operating on Tirumala Hills.
After the TTD Act was amended in 1968, no non-Hindu was recruited into the TTD and it was made a condition that only Hindus should be recruited. During the period of IAS officer Ajay Kallam as TTD executive officer, he ensured that non-Hindus working in the TTD vacated their quarters and moved to Tirupati.
MCH drive to clear city footpaths starts on 27th
Hyderabad, July 22: Armed with an order from the AP High Court, the MCH is preparing to launch a drive to clear the footpaths of encroachments by thousands of shops owners, hawkers and others who have encroached upon the footpaths in the twin cities.
The seven-day deadline for the encroachers to voluntarily move out ends on July 26 and the MCH will start removing encroachments the July 27.MCH additional commissioner, projects, Dhanunjaya Reddy told this newspaper that they would first concentrate on encroachments by shopowners on main roads. This has been marked as no-hawker Red Zone. Next will be the turn of the Amber Zone where hawking is restricted.
The MCH does not have data on the number of encroachments and will launch the drive zone-wise. Encroachments which project onto the footpath or the road will be removed.Mr Dhanunjay Reddy said the MCH will take the help of the police to clear the encroachments.
“MCH will remove the encroachments without notice under Section 405 of the HMC Act, 1955. The expenses will be collected from the persons responsible (for the encroachments), Mr Reddy said, adding, “MCH will not be responsible for damage to such material.” During the next month, MCH will issue ID cards to hawkers and then start regulating street hawkers.
Hyderabad, July 22: The legislative department has sent out notices to 276 of 295 legislators (including the nominated MLA) to file returns of their assets and liabilities before July 31. These returns should have been filed by March 31. So far, only 19 legislators have filed the papers including Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy and Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu.Out of the 24 ministers in the Rajasekhar Reddy cabinet, only K. Rosaiah (finance), Sabita Indra Reddy (mines), Kanna Laxminarayana (transport and cooperation), K. Rajyalakshmi (school education), J. Geetha Reddy (tourism) have filed their returns, sources in the legislative department said.Filing returns is mandatory but legislators ‘forget’ to file them. Some others claim that they do not know that they should file the returns every year. And yet others assume that the returns they filed after the 2004 Assembly polls will do. It is mandatory since 1998 for all MLAs to file details of their properties within 30 days of taking of oath as legislator and subsequently every year before March 31. “We have sent notices to those MLAs who have not filed their returns so far,” a senior legislative department official told this correspondent. “They need to file returns every year and if there is no change they can intimate us,” the official said, seeking anonymity in view of the sensitivity of the subject. But Speaker Suresh Reddy came to the rescue of ministers and legislators who have not filed their returns.“If they have filed details of assets and liabilities once and have not filed it again, we assume that there is no change in the assets and liabilities,” he told this correspondent. He continued: “If there is a change in the assets and liabilities, the MLAs should file every year.” Despite distributing booklets and reminders, many MLAs say they do not know of the requirement. “I thought it was a one-time affair,” said Congress legislator Anam Ramnarayan Reddy from Nellore. “I filed the details when I got elected,” he said, adding, “I received a letter few days back,” he said.Congress legislator Jalagam Venkat Rao too said he had received reminders and promised to file the returns.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
276 MLAs get assets notice
PM: No change in office of profit Bill
Manmohan gave us what Atal refused: US expert
Kenyan police says it was not Tunda
Niloufer prof, driver held for sex abuse
Police arrests Hizb ‘courier’ in city
276 MLAs get assets notice
Hyderabad, July 22: The legislative department has sent out notices to 276 of 295 legislators (including the nominated MLA) to file returns of their assets and liabilities before July 31. These returns should have been filed by March 31. So far, only 19 legislators have filed the papers including Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy and Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu.Out of the 24 ministers in the Rajasekhar Reddy cabinet, only K. Rosaiah (finance), Sabita Indra Reddy (mines), Kanna Laxminarayana (transport and cooperation), K. Rajyalakshmi (school education), J. Geetha Reddy (tourism) have filed their returns, sources in the legislative department said.Filing returns is mandatory but legislators ‘forget’ to file them. Some others claim that they do not know that they should file the returns every year. And yet others assume that the returns they filed after the 2004 Assembly polls will do. It is mandatory since 1998 for all MLAs to file details of their properties within 30 days of taking of oath as legislator and subsequently every year before March 31. “We have sent notices to those MLAs who have not filed their returns so far,” a senior legislative department official told this correspondent. “They need to file returns every year and if there is no change they can intimate us,” the official said, seeking anonymity in view of the sensitivity of the subject. But Speaker Suresh Reddy came to the rescue of ministers and legislators who have not filed their returns.“If they have filed details of assets and liabilities once and have not filed it again, we assume that there is no change in the assets and liabilities,” he told this correspondent. He continued: “If there is a change in the assets and liabilities, the MLAs should file every year.” Despite distributing booklets and reminders, many MLAs say they do not know of the requirement. “I thought it was a one-time affair,” said Congress legislator Anam Ramnarayan Reddy from Nellore. “I filed the details when I got elected,” he said, adding, “I received a letter few days back,” he said.Congress legislator Jalagam Venkat Rao too said he had received reminders and promised to file the returns.
PM: No change in office of profit Bill
New Delhi, July 22: The Union government on Saturday decided to reintroduce the controversial Office of Profit Bill in Parliament without any changes. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had returned the Bill in May for reconsideration.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met the President and apprised him of the government’s move on Saturday afternoon. With the government deciding to reintroduce the Office of Profit bill in the same form, the President will have no choice but to accord his assent once it is passed by Parliament.
This is the first time that a Bill sent back by a President to Parliament invoking Article 111 of the Constitution is being brought back in the same form. The decision to reintroduce the Bill in its present form was taken at a Cabinet meeting at the residence of the Prime Minister on Saturday morning. Parliamentary affairs minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi announced that the Bill would first be placed before the Rajya Sabha on July 25.
Along with the legislation, the government will also bring a motion in response to the President’s message appealing to Parliament to reconsider the Bill. He added that the MPs would respond to the message as they feel and that it is equally the duty of the government to respond to the motion. The legislation is expected to sail through Parliament since the Congress Party has the numbers, both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Moreover, the NDA was also divided on the issue with the Janata Dal (United) indicating that it would support the bill. The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on May 16 and the Rajya Sabha the next day, provides for the exclusion of 56 posts, including that of National Advisory Council chairperson, from the definition of office of profit.
The Left parties rallied behind the government and assured their support to the controversial legislation. The Left also demanded that a parliamentary committee be set up to clearly define the issue. Nine CPI(M) MPs, including Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, face charges of holding offices of profit.
Accusing the government of trying to “protect those holding offices of profit” and “succumbing to the Left’s pressure”, the BJP said it would oppose the Bill. While returning the Bill on May 30, the President had said the criteria for exemption of posts should be “fair and reasonable” and applicable in a “clear and transparent” manner across the States and Union Territories.
Another point raised by the President was in relation to the posts sought to be exempted by the new law. The implication was that the names of offices, for which petitions were already pending under process by the competent authority, should be addressed by Parliament while reconsidering the Bill.
“We had supported the legislation earlier also. If the government brings it now, in its present form, we will support it again,” CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury said after an hour-long meeting of the Left parties ahead of a meeting of the UPA-Left co-ordination committee. Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister held closed-door talks with defence minister Pranab Mukherjee and Union home minister Shivraj Patil.
Manmohan gave us what Atal refused: US expert
New Delhi, July 22: Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was not willing to “offer much to the United States in exchange for the (civilian nuclear energy) agreement, we got more from the government of Dr Manmohan Singh,” according to Dr Ashley Tellis, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Dr Tellis worked with US officials on the nuclear agreement with India.
Dr Tellis, who was earlier posted at the US embassy here as adviser to former ambassador Robert Blackwill, told Internet news site Rediff that the Vajpayee government also wanted the deal, but one could not be reached because it was not giving much to the US. He said he could not disclose what Washington had wanted from the Vajpayee government but had been unable to get.
Asked by the reporter if Dr Manmohan Singh had caved in “easily”, Dr Tellis said, “There is no question of Dr Singh caving in, India has got a deal that it would not have got in the past or in the future.” Sources close to Mr Vajpayee said there were three points that his government was not willing to concede to Washington with a clear record of this being established through the Jaswant Singh-Strobe Talbott talks. These concerned the CTBT, the moratorium on fissile production and a proposed restrain in the nuclear regime. The bills now pending a vote in the US Congress clearly seek to “cap, reduce and eliminate” India’s nuclear programme, the sources pointed out, adding that the US administration at the time “knew from the record that the Vajpayee government would not concede any ground on these issues”.
The only issue that the NDA government reportedly was finally prepared to “elaborate upon,” the sources said, was the CTBT in that the US was told that India would not come in the way if all the other countries agreed to ratify the treaty. It did not come to that point finally as the US Senate itself rejected the ratification of CTBT. The discussions, the sources said, did not get near the shape of an agreement as the issues that needed to be reconciled for such an agreement to take shape were not agreed upon by the NDA negotiators at the time.
“We did not give them anything, and they never came out with anything (like a nuclear agreement) openly,” the sources said. Dr Manmohan Singh has agreed to accept all the conditions that were reportedly rejected by his predecessor. The bill cleared by the US Senate committee on foreign relations seeks to “achieve as quickly as possible a cessation of the production by India and Pakistan of fissile materials for nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices”.
The US Atomic Energy Act will be invoked to ensure that India cannot test a nuclear device. Dr Tellis, who was here to “celebrate” the first anniversary of the India-US civilian nuclear energy co-operation agreement, admitted in the interview that the treaty “could” fall if India conducted a nuclear test. Nuclear experts have already pointed towards US success in bringing India within the CTBT “through the back door”. Leading nuclear scientist Dr Homi Sethna has gone on record to say that it would be better if India signed the NPT than conformed to the provisions of the deal as “it was the lesser of the two evils.”
Kenyan police says it was not Tunda
New Delhi, July 22: In a dramatic twist to the reports that one of India’s most wanted men, Syed Abdul Karim, alias Tunda, had been arrested in Mombasa, the Kenyan police said late on Saturday night that the arrested man was a West African national amid media reports that he had been handed over to the FBI.
Tunda, founder of the Laskhar-e-Tayyaba in India and wanted for several blasts in Mumbai, Delhi and other places in the country from 1993 to 1998, was said to have been arrested in Mombasa on Thursday night, news that had been received with great satisfaction by security agencies here.
However, Kenyan police spokesman M. Kibunja told PTI that the arrested person was not an Indian but a West African national. “He has nothing to do with the Mumbai blasts,” Mr Kibunja said. The newspaper Kenya Times had reported that a man suspected to be linked to a series of terrorist attacks in East Africa and India was arrested on Thursday and deported to an unknown country. The suspect, arrested on the Kenya-Tanzania border, was linked to the attacks on Mumbai’s commuter trains, the newspaper said, quoting police sources.
Security agencies here are baffled by the sudden turn of events and are extremely unsatisfied with the version given by Kenyan police. Efforts will be made on Monday to officially ask the Kenyan authorities about the matter, official sources said.
Niloufer prof, driver held for sex abuse
Hyderabad: Police on Saturday arrested a professor of the Niloufer Health School and the driver of the school’s principal for allegedly sexually harassing auxiliary nursing midwives (ANMs) who had come for training from five districts, reports our correspondent. Nampally police inspector K. Chakrapani identified the arrested as Professor Kalaiah, 50, a statistics tutor, and Mujeem Alam Khan, 35, driver of the school’s principal.
Police is to arrest another tutor, Dr Prabhakar Reddy whose name figures in the ANMs’ complaint. The arrests were made under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code on charges of “making words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of women.”
Nampally inspector Chakrapani said, “The alleged incident took place on June 30 when most of the ANMs turned up without doing their homework. The accused persons allegedly abused them in foul language.” The inspector said, “They allegedly called them sex workers who sleep with sarpanches and political leaders.”
The ANMs’ course had started on June 26. The women had come to the Niloufer school for six-week training from Adilabad, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts. On Wednesday, the ANMs complained to the women’s commission after the media reported IAS officer K. Mangapathi Rao’s alleged sexual harassment and the commission’s role in securing his suspension.
Commission chairperson Mary Ravindranath said things took an ugly turn on Friday night when some staff members banged on the doors of the ANMs’ hostel rooms and threatened them for lodging the complaint.
“They warned them of dire consequences if they did not withdraw the complaint.” she said. On Saturday, the commission went to the hostel and spoke to the women. Following this, about 36 ANMs lodged the police complaint in the presence of Ms Ravindranath.
“The suspects offered them pornographic CDs and made advances. They made abusive fun of them,” Ms Ravindranath alleged. School principal Dr Srinath was not available for comment about the alleged harassment. Prof. Kalaiah said, “It is a false complaint. I am a tribal that’s why they are targeting me. Nothing has happened like that.”
Police arrests Hizb ‘courier’ in city
Hyderabad: A Hizbul Mujahideen was arrested in the city by the Central Crime Station police, reports our correspondent. Sources said Shaik Awaid, alias Awad, 32, of Batwada village of Nalgonda district had delivered and a letter asking for two AK-47s and Rs 5 lakh in November 2004 to HuM activists Bilal Ahmed Shah and Kallu in Srinagar on the directions of Hizbul Mujahideen ‘commander’ Mujeeb Ahmed. Mujeeb was arrested recently
Rs 300-cr scam hits Devadula
Hyderabad, July 22: The irrigation department is probing yet another scandal where officials released Rs 300 crore to contractors of Devadula phase-II project on the Godavari in Warangal district. The contractors did not actually execute the work.The scandal came to light during a recent high-level official meeting conducted by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy who asked why Devadula contractors were getting excess payments though the progress of work was very slow.
His special secretary M.G.V.K. Bhanu reportedly told him that there were grave irregularities in the execution of the project. Dr Reddy asked irrigation secretary Hiralal Samaria to inquire. Mr Samaria, who made field inquiries, was shocked to find that the contractors had claimed bills for Rs 300 crore for laying pipelines, amounting to 70 per cent of the total cost of laying pipelines for 100 km, though they had laid pipelines for 28 km.
The contractors told him that they had manufactured pipes for 100 km. As per the agreement, they could claim 70 per cent of the cost for manufacturing the pipes. Mr Samaria, in his memo to chief engineer of Devadula (Memo No. 20558/Maj.Irr.IV.1/06-1 dated July 20, 2006), pointed out that the CE and SE concerned had not fixed any milestones for the contractors.
He said the payments made for manufacture of pipes was highly disproportionate to the actual laying of the pipeline. He asked the officials to fix the milestones for both manufacturing of pipes and laying of pipelines, and that the gap between the two should not be more than 10 kms, as the agreement specifies.
Which means, as per the agreement, the contractors should have laid pipelines for 90 km, if they had claimed payments for 100 km pipeline work. Mr Samaria ordered that further payments be stopped till they reached the revised milestones.
TD seeks probe into Huda land sale
Hyderabad, July 22: The Telugu Desam on Saturday demanded a judicial probe into various land dealings in the State including the auctioning of prime lands by Huda in and around Hyderabad.Addressing a press conference at NTR Bhavan here, TD official spokesperson M.V. Mysoora Reddy said the Huda had become a real estate dealer by selling prime lands at exorbitant rates to big players. Those behind the Huda auctions and illegal land dealings should be exposed and punished.
Mr Reddy said the TD was ready to face any sort of probe on the land dealings during the previous TD regime. He alleged that Huda had forgotten its prime duty of helping poor and the middle classes.The TD also took the government to task for its alleged failure to protect prime Wakf properties from encroachment and illegal sale.
A team of senior Telugu Desam leaders visited the Wakf property at Guttala Begumpet which has been under encroachment. The TD team found fault with officials for taking up construction work on the Wakf property in contravention of all rules.
Senior TD leader and MP SM Laljan Basha accused the government of failing to protect prime Wakf lands.The TD, meanwhile, has decided to bear the cost of bronze statues of Alluri Sit-arama Raju and TD founder N.T. Rama Rao for installation in Parliament.
The Telugu Desam’s decision follows the State government’s reluctance on the issue during the last two years. The Statue Committee of Parliament gave its nod two years ago to a proposal from the State government on installation of these two statues.
MCA is back in demand at Icet
Hyderabad, July 22: After being out of demand for the last couple of years, the Masters in Computer App-lications (MCA) course has made a comeback with a bang at the Icet-2006 counselling for admission into MBA and MCA courses, which began at seven university centres across the State on Saturday.
In all 631 of the total 699 candidates who got admitted on the first day chose MCA. Only 38 candidates preferred admission into MBA. The Icet fifth ranker was the top ranker to take admission on the first day. The first four rankers of Icet did not attend the counselling.
Icet convenor Uma Maheshwar Reddy said that the first preference of a majority of the candidates was in the Acharya Nagarjuna University at Guntur followed by other university colleges. He said the counselling is being held for 20,443 seats in 300 colleges and first spell of the counselling will go on till July 31.
KCR to seek divine help
Hyderabad, July 22: With temporal forces turning inimical, Union labour minister and TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao is once again trying to get divine help to achieve a separate State. On Monday, he will visit Jahangir Peer Dargah near Kothur village in Mahbubnagar district to seek blessings.
Fortified, he will leave for New Delhi on the same evening to attend the monsoon session of Parliament, where he will intensify his lobbying for Telangana.On August 14, he will conduct a yagam at the Telangana Bhavan, the party’s headquarters. This is also meant to get divine help for his campaign.
Incidentally, August 15 is the deadline he has fixed for the Congress to come out with a clear policy sta-tement on Telangana. If that does not materialise, he and his colleague A. Narendra are expected to come out of the UPA government and revive the Tel-angana struggle. This is not the first time that the TRS chief is conducting yagams and visiting dargahs.
He visited Jahangir Peer Dargah before the 2004 Assembly polls. He continued to visit dargahs and co-nduct yagams on and off. But, things did not go as pl-anned. He broke his leg in an accident and the party faced a debacle in polls.
Sen has a word of praise for city
Hyderabad, July 22: Director-general of police (DGP) Swaranjit Sen on Saturday called upon police personnel to be vigilant against the menace of terrorism.Mr Sen was speaking at the passing out parade of the third batch of assistant sub inspectors and head constables of the Central Industrial security Force at the National Industrial Security Academy.
“In the changing security scenario, CISF should be prepared to assist in dealing with disasters, VIP security and aviation security,” he added.The DGP added that the accused in the Mumbai blasts had no links with Hyderabad. “Hyderabadis are good and are not involved in it,” he said. “Of course, some outsiders have instigated a few youth here but the situation is under control”.
Mr Sen stressed the need for forming a national level coordination committee for to tackle the threat of terrorism sponsored by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, as had been done in the case of Maoists.
Power cut hits life on weekend
Hyderabad, July 22: Vast swathes of the city went without power for several hours on Saturday. There was no power in S.R. Nagar, Balkampet, Sanathnagar and Alwal, residents from these areas called up to complain. In some areas the power utilities had themselves switched off power after advance notification but even here, the cuts ranged from three to six hours.
“I had to cancel a party due to the power cuts,” software engineer B.V. Goud complained from Balkampet. “At the last moment I had to call up the invitees on phone and tell them to stay away,” he said.The daily life was affected and business were hit because of the prolonged power cuts.
When contacted a senior APTransco official said that major work was in progress which was why the power utility had switched off power. He requested the public to cooperate with APTransco. Officials however did not respond when asked about power cut in non-specified areas.
“We have already given notice in newspapers about the power cuts,” he said. However, several areas other than those notified also suffered power cuts. “There was no power from 2 pm to 5 pm and from 7.15 pm to 9.30 pm. I had to close my shop early,” said N. Rajshaker of Dhanalakshmi medical shop, S.R. Nagar said.
In the localities surrounding Balkampet there was no power even till 10.20 pm. “We usually have dinner by 9 pm and go to sleep before 10 pm. Today we waited for the power till 10.15 pm and finally had dinner in the dark at 10.20 pm,” P. Tarun of Babunagar, S.R. Nagar, said.
The authorities failed to inform us of power cut timings, Mr Tarun said.Late in the night, this office continued to receive calls from angry residents from Alwal who said they had no power. They had not been informed about power cuts, the caller said.
ECI talks to teachers unions
Hyderabad, July 22: The Election Commission of India on Thursday started consultations with teachers’ unions on the constitution of electoral colleges of teachers and graduates for the AP State Legislative Council, which is to be revived shortly.
Chief electoral officer V. Bhaskar held negotiations with representatives of AP Teachers Federation and United Teachers Federation, among others, at Secretariat. “We will have more consultations before taking a decision,” Mr Bhaskar said.
The unions have suggested that teaching staff working in teachers’ training institutes, BEd colleges, BPEd colleges and oriental training institutes should be given voting rights. They have recommended the case of teachers working in the upper primary schools.
Similarly, they want those working in unaided but schools and colleges recognised by the government be given voting rights, provided they were appointed as per government regulations.
The unions have demanded rationalisation of the constituencies for the Legislaive Council. There are three districts some of the constituencies; six in some others and only one in Krishna district. They want Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy to be merged into one. Of the remaining 21 districts, three districts each could be made into one constituency.
Code in rest of State from 28th
Hyderabad, July 22: The controversial film, The Da Vinci Code, was screened without incident for the second day on Saturday. Kishore of Lakshmi Ganapati Films, which distributed the film, said it was screened in five halls without incident. He said no theatre recorded full house.
“We are planning to release it across the State next Friday,” he said. A delegation of Christian and Muslim organisations presented a memorandum to Union urban minister K. Jaipal Reddy urging him to seek a ban on the film all over the country. An organisation briefly protested the screening of the film at Jeedimetla and left the place.
‘Make education must for elections’
Hyderabad, July 22: Central Election Commission former advisor K.J. Rao said that the time had come to specify educational qualification to contest an election to Parliament or State legislature.
He said that when the Constituent Assembly of India made the statute, the literacy rate was only 15 per cent. Since the literacy rate was low, “It was decided to defer a decision on the subject to an appropriate moment,” he said.
That time spoke has come now, Mr Rao said. He was delivering the M. Gowrishankar Memorial lecture, organised by the State ABVP. Mr. Rao advocated barring of criminals from contesting elections.
OU panel blocks VC
Registrar’s extension
Hyderabad, July 22: The controversy over the extension of the service of Osmania University (OU) registrar Prof. M. Mutha Reddy took a new twist on Saturday with seven of the nine members in the executive council (EC) deciding not to ratify the action. OU vice-chancellor Sulai-man Siddiqui has extended the tenure of Prof. Reddy up to October 31, 2008.
Prof. Reddy had already completed more than three years in office and the EC wants a new registrar. “We express our inability to ratify the action taken by the VC on the subject (extension of the tenure). Further, the EC shall appoint a new registrar as per the provisions of the University Act,” the EC members pointed out in their letter to the VC.
Moreover, they have sought an emergency meeting of the EC “within seven days” to discuss this and other issues. The EC members had charged the VC with “falsehood, misuse of authority” while extending the tenure of the registrar.
“In the interest of smooth functioning of the university, we request you not to lean on falsehood, misrepresentation or distortion of executive council orders. Also request you not to find methods or ways of circumventing EC resolutions,” they said.They also alleged that the registrar had committed “gross irregularities and wilful default of duties and contravention of the EC decisions”.
MCH chief blamed for viral diseases
Hyderabad, July 22: The general body meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) turned stormy with corporators lashing out at the civic body for its failure in controlling the spread of chikungunya and other viral diseases in the city.
MIM corporator and former standing committee chairperson Abdul Rahman Khan pinned the blame on MCH commissioner Sanjay Jaju and sought his transfer. “Heaps of filthy garbage can be seen everywhere in the city and this had resulted in the spread of Chikungunya and viral fever,” said Mr Rahman Khan. “The commissioner is responsible for this.”
Mr Jaju’s predecessors used to make surprise insp-ections to keep the city cle-an, but the new commissioner did not even have the courtesy to meet corporators, he added. Though Mr Rahman Khan moved a resolution for transfer of the commissioner in public interest, others did not support him on the issue.
However, they endorsed his criticism of the MCH and faulted it for failing to clear garbage, take out anti-larval measures and maintain sanitation. Corporators from the Congress too joined the chorus, though they were more subdued.
When officials tried to explain, corporators shouted them down and asked them to visit hospitals which were flooded with viral fever patients. The commissioner has agreed to the demand of corporators to conduct medical camps each in the 100 divisions.
BE student dies in road accident
Hyderabad, July 22: A Chennai-based engineering student was among the two persons who were killed in separate road accidents in the city since Friday. R. Shobana, 20, an engineering student, succumbed to injuries on way to the hospital while her friends and their driver were injured when the car in which they were travelling overturned at Raidurg on Friday night.In another incident, Mohammed Ghouse, 51, an employee of Fever Hospital, died after he fell from his scooter at Wattapally near Falaknuma on Friday night.
Traffic curbs for Bonalu
Hyderabad, July 22: In view of Bonalu festival at Katta Maisamma Temple on the Lower Tank Bund Road, police has imposed traffic restrictions from 7 am to 11 am on July 23 and from 4 pm to 10 pm on July 24.
* Traffic coming from Iqbal Minar towards Katta Maisamma Temple will not be allowed on Telugu Talli flyover. * Vehicles moving towards the Katta Maisamma Temple from DBR Mills, Kavadiguda, will be diverted towards MRO’s office and Indira Park via Vaartha Lane. * Traffic coming from Vaartha office lane towards Katta Maisamma Temple will be diverted towards Reliance Apartments. * Vehicles coming from RTC Crossroads towards Katta Maisamma Temple will be diverted towards Reliance Apartments and via Street No.5, Domalguda.
Police promises kids’ safety
Hyderabad, July 22: Additional commissioner of police (traffic) A.K. Khan said on Saturday that safety of schoolchildren would be the top priority of his department this academic year.
“We have resolved that no schoolkid would die in a road mishap this year,” Mr Khan said. “The medical fraternity should also come forward to take up accident cases to save lives without caring too much about bills,” he added.
The task was going to be difficult since 9.5 lakh schoolchildren and 12 lakh parents come out on the roads every day to reach about 5,000 schools. Traffic personnel would be provided with gloves and surgical equipment to give first aid to road accident victims and to avoid blood-transmitted infections, Mr Khan said.
Training for providing first aid was being imparted at Apollo Hospitals for the traffic personnel. Most of them were found to have no knowledge on first aid and life saving techniques. “We will keep gloves and medical kits in all police vehicles,” said Mr Khan.
Software firm MD traps 2 Nigerians
Hyderabad, July 22: The managing director of a software company and his friend helped the Banjara Hills police arrest two Nigerian youth who were trying to dupe them on Friday night. The Nigerians were identified as Tom Ayemere, 21, and Prince Joseph, 26, who were based in Mumbai.
Banjara Hills sub-inspector K. Madhu Mohan Reddy said that Kolgolta Technologies MD K.V. Murali had previously got an email from some Nigerians offering to invest funds in his company for a $5,000 fee. Mr Murali ignored the email but discussed it with his associate Ramesh.
The Nigerians approached Mr Ramesh on Friday at a shopping mall and asked him about an email they had sent him about diversion of funds. Mr Ramesh called up Mr Murali, who alerted the police and laid a trap. Accordingly, Mr Murali asked the Nigerians to come to his office in his car. As per the plan, a policeman in plainclothes was already in the car. The Nigerians were driven straight to the police station.
Most basic elections start on July 29
Hyderabad, July 22: Battlelines are drawn for the closely fought gram panchayat elections which commense on July 29. Elections will be held for the post of sarpanch and ward members.
This is as close to the grassroots as it can get. The average number of voters for a gram panchayat is 1,800 and for a gram panchayat ward, 180. Because of the small electoral base, these elections are the most keenly fought of all polls.
The elections will be held on July 29, August 2 and 6. Panchayat polls are held on non-party basis but all political political parties have geared up to consolidate their electoral strength at the grassroot level by encouraging their local leaders to jump into the fray.
“Law and order is going to be a major problem. We will need a lot of force to maintain law and order. That’s why we are going in for three-phase elections,” State Election Commissioner A.V.S. Reddy said.
That the stakes are very high is evident from reports that candidates in many places are spending around Rs 20 lakh for the post of sarpanch. The SEC has fixed an election expenditure ceiling of Rs 40,000 for villages with more than 10,000 population and Rs 20,000 for panchyats with less than 10,000 people.
The amount fixed for a ward member (non-notified panchayat) is Rs 3,000 but reports indicate election expenditure has touched Rs 50,000. Over three crore voters will elect sarpanches for 21,254 gram panchayats and members for 2,13,482 gram panchayat wards. In the first phase, elections will be held to 6,545 panchayats and 65,846 wards spread over 26 revenue divisions in 22 districts.
In the second phase 7,886 gram panchayats and 78612 wards in 28 revenue divisions will go to the polls. Elections will be held for 6923 panchayats and 69024 wards in 25 revenue divisions in the third phase. Though political parties do not figure directly in the elections, the party of the candidates is clearly known. With parties fielding active politicians for the posts of sarpanch and ward members, the elections have actually turned political.
TTD may limit Tirumala only to Hindus
Hyderabad, July 22: The Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams’ specified authority will hold a crucial meeting on July 27 in the backdrop of allegations that Evangelists are active in the surroundings of the Venkateswara temple.
The meeting may recommend a ban on non-Hindus staying on the Tirumala Hills. The three-member specified authority, constituted in place of TTD Trust Board whose term expired in June, comprises secretary, revenue (endowments) D.C. Rosaiah, endowments commissioner Dinesh Kumar and TTD executive officer A.P.V.N. Sarma.
As of now, there is no ban on entry of persons of any religious faith into the Tirumala temple and their activities on Tirumala hills. In fact, non-Hindus were recruited into the TTD in the past. They held crucial positions in the offices atop the Hills and they were also given temple quarters for staying. There were also non-Hindu employees working in various banks operating on Tirumala Hills.
After the TTD Act was amended in 1968, no non-Hindu was recruited into the TTD and it was made a condition that only Hindus should be recruited. During the period of IAS officer Ajay Kallam as TTD executive officer, he ensured that non-Hindus working in the TTD vacated their quarters and moved to Tirupati.
MCH drive to clear city footpaths starts on 27th
Hyderabad, July 22: Armed with an order from the AP High Court, the MCH is preparing to launch a drive to clear the footpaths of encroachments by thousands of shops owners, hawkers and others who have encroached upon the footpaths in the twin cities.
The seven-day deadline for the encroachers to voluntarily move out ends on July 26 and the MCH will start removing encroachments the July 27.MCH additional commissioner, projects, Dhanunjaya Reddy told this newspaper that they would first concentrate on encroachments by shopowners on main roads. This has been marked as no-hawker Red Zone. Next will be the turn of the Amber Zone where hawking is restricted.
The MCH does not have data on the number of encroachments and will launch the drive zone-wise. Encroachments which project onto the footpath or the road will be removed.Mr Dhanunjay Reddy said the MCH will take the help of the police to clear the encroachments.
“MCH will remove the encroachments without notice under Section 405 of the HMC Act, 1955. The expenses will be collected from the persons responsible (for the encroachments), Mr Reddy said, adding, “MCH will not be responsible for damage to such material.” During the next month, MCH will issue ID cards to hawkers and then start regulating street hawkers.
