Sunday, July 23, 2006
Hyderabad City News july 24th,2006
State Maoist chief killed in encounter
Hyderabad/Markapuram, July 23: Police scored its biggest success against the outlawed Naxalites on Sunday, killing Madhav, the top State Maoist in an encounter in the dense Nallamala forests of Prakasam district. Police is scouring the forests on foot and from helicopter to spot any senior Maoist who might have escaped after the encounter.
Police initially thought that it had killed Maoist Guntur district chief Jeevan, based on the recovery of a kit bag bearing his name. But ‘spotters’ including Maoist sympathisers and ex-Naxals who were taken to the site to identify the dead said among the victims was Madhav, CPI (Maoists) State committee secretary.
Only last week Madhav had challenged the police to come to the Nallamala forests and face the Maoists. The killing comes in wake of reports that the Maoist leadership is riven with differences that has resulted in the police getting accurate information on the movement of rival chiefs.
Some reports said that Jeevan was also among the dead, but Prakasam district superintendent of police Balasubramanyam said he could not confirm that. With this, almost all top leaders in the Nallamala area have been killed except Mahbubnagar Maoist chief Sambasivudu and — pending confirmation of his status — Guntur chief Jeevan.
Last month the police had killed another top Maoist leader, Matta Ravikumar, a Central Committee member who was initially tipped to be State secretary. Seven other Maoists, including his protection squad member Shyamala, and Suseela, member of Nallamalla forest division committee and convenor of Chaitanya Mahila Mandali, Hyderabad, died in the encounter.
“A senior Maoist leader was among those killed while another escaped,” director-general of police Swaranjit Sen said. A search was on, backed by helicopters, to capture the escaped Maoists. “We will continue combing operations in the Nallamalla forest,” Mr Sen said. “If they do not drop their guns they have no other alternative.
How can we let them loiter with unlicensed weapons?” Mr Sen said. “It is a hard time for them. Even now we advise them to drop their guns,” he said. The hour-long encounter took place in thick forests between Palutla and Nekkanti Chenchugudem villages of Yerragondapalem mandal in Prakasam district.
The spot is about 350 km from here and close to the temple town of Srisailam. Madhav’s, 48, original name was Burra Chinnaiah and he came from Mangapeta village of Sulatanabad mandal in Karimnagar district. He operated with aliases like Mallanna, Manohar and Narender. He took over as State committee secretary from Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna, who participated in the peace talks with the State government in October 2004.
Ramakrishna was promoted to the Central Committee in August 2005 and shifted base to Chhattisgarh. According to the reports reaching here, Greyhounds, the special anti-Naxal police force which has been extensively combing the Nallamala forests, stumbled upon Madhav and his group at Barabilupenta between Palutla and Nekkanti Chenchugudem villages at 10.30 am.
A fierce gunbattle ensued and lasted for about an hour. At the end of it, police found that eight Maoists had been killed. No police personnel suffered injuries during the exchange of fire. Some reports said police from four districts which the Nallamalla forests cover — Prakasam, Guntur, Mahbubnagar and Kurnool — participated in the attack.
Police got a tip-off that the Maoists were camping at that spot, sources said. Markapuram officer on special duty Ranganath said about 30 Maoists could have been present during the exchange of fire and many of them escaped towards Kurnool district. The bodies would be brought to the Markapuram government hospital on Monday.
Madhav was a key military strategist and had several high-profile attacks against his name including the abortive bid on the life of then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in 2003 and the killing of Congress legislator C. Narsi Reddy last year. He had joined the Naxalite movement about 25 years ago.
The police recovered some weapons including an AK-47 rifle, some wireless sets and Maoist literature from the site. Police sealed off all the escape routes in Nalamalla forests after the encounter and launched a manhunt for the remaining naxalites. Revolutionary balladeer Gaddar described the Nallamala encounter as “fake” and warned the government of severe repercussions, while home minister K. Jana Reddy said there was no reason to believe that it was a fake encounter which had taken place as part of the law and order maintenance.
2 motorcyclists die on city flyover
Hyderabad: In a ghastly motorcycle crash, T. Amruth Kumar, 28, manager in a software firm, and MBA student K. Ashwin Kumar 25, died on the spot when their motorcycles collided on the flyover at Central Telegraph Office near Parade Grounds in Secunderabad on Saturday.
This is the sixth incident of motorcyclists being killed on flyovers in the city, and second since October last on the CTO flyover, highlighting the absence of any safety features on the structures. Police said Ashwin tried to overtake a car and rammed into Amruth’s motorcycle. Amruth was wearing a helmet but died on the spot due to multiple injuries he sustained in the horrific crash. Ashwin was not wearing a helmet, police said.
The accident took place at about 2.30 am. Amruth was returning home in Begumpet. His colleague J. Srikanth, riding pillion on the motorbike, was injured in the head and is in hospital. Ashwin was son of city security wing inspector Arjun Kumar, Ramgopalpet police inspector T. Nagaraju said.
Both motorcycles were completely damaged, and debris was spread all over the flyover, Ramgopalpet sub-inspector Kalinga Rao said.
Earlier fatal mishaps on flyovers: July 6, 2006 Jeevan Kumar, 28, of Karimnagar died when his car rammed into the divider on Telugu Talli flyover.July 3 2006: Software engineer R. Kiran, hit by a van at Tarnaka flyover.June 26, 2006: Krishna Mohan, marketing manager of a Telugu daily, hit by a schoolbus on YMCA flyover. His body was thrown 35 feet down to the road below under the impact.January 12, 2006: Abdullah Khan 24, knocked down by lorry on Begumpet flyover.October 17, 2005: Nitin, 24, died when his motorcycle was hit by an oncoming vehicle. the impact threw his body off the flyover.
Minority colleges flout norms
Hyderabad, July 23: Minority medical colleges have ganged up to bring pressure on the State government to increase the tuition fee even as the medical counselling is in progress. The State government, through its latest order on July 10, permitted minority medical colleges to conduct their own counselling filling up to 70 per cent under the Eamcet convenor quota. Under the convenor quota, the colleges can collect Rs 40,000 per year from students for certain number of seats and Rs 1.60 lakh for other seats. For remaining 30 per cent seats under the management quota, the minority colleges are free to fix their own fee structure.
For non-minority medical colleges, the fee for 50 per cent of the seats is Rs 40,000 and Rs 1.60 lakh per year for 25 per cent of seats. While the remaining 25 per cent seats under the management quota.However, the government is silent on the number of seats the fee of Rs 40,000 will be applicable in minority medical colleges.
In the absence of proper guidelines, unscrupulous managements are demanding a flat Rs 1.60 lakh and even more as tuition fee.“When non-minority medical colleges are able to manage themselves with the fee structure fixed by the State government, how could it be difficult for minority managements. Moreover, minority colleges have 30 per cent seats under their quota as against 25 per cent in case of non-minority colleges,” argues Nishat Hussain, executive council member of Padmavathi Mahila University.
Many minority students have complained to the minorities welfare department that medical college managements are keeping the fee structure under warps. “There are insta-nces where the managements have demanded tuition fee up to Rs 4 lakhs from merit candidates. Some colleges intentionally did not mention the fee structure in their admission notifications,” alleges Minorities Education Rights Committee convener Muhammad Ansari.
However, the managements argued that they cannot successfully run the institution with the “meagre” fee fixed by the State government. “At the minimum level, we need Rs 1 crore per month to run a medical college. On an average a college spends Rs 8 lakh per seat per year,” said a senior doctor.
CM asks banks not insist on farm loan recoveries
Hyderabad, July 23: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy on Sunday issued fresh guidelines for effective implementation of contingency plan to provide adequate relief to farmers in areas where crops have suffered due to scanty rainfall.
Dr Reddy, while revi-wing the seasonal conditions and forecast of rains, has instructed officials of various departments to work in close coordination to help the farmers in distress. Meanwhile, about 43,000 quintals of pulses, oil seeds and other seeds have been sent to the affected areas.
As many as 23 teams comprising senior agricultural officers and scientists will visit the worst-hit revenue divisions in coastal, Telangana and Rayalaseema districts for two days from July 24. The team members will tour the revenue divisions extensively covering all major villages and interact with farmers.
Later, they will submit a report to the State government based on the first-hand assessment of the farm situation in villages. The Chief Minister has advised bankers not to insist on crop loan recoveries in the affected villages.
He has also asked officials to hold special district consultative committee meetings for additional dose of credit to farmers.Rainfall continues to be cause of concern in the districts of Ranga Reddy, Prakasam, Karimnagar, Medak, Nalgonda and Kadapa.
Sabitha avoids RR ZP chief
Oath taking
Hyderabad, July 23: The Telugu Desam formally ta-ken over the reins of the Ranga Reddy zilla parishad (ZP) on Sunday with the swearing-in of Patnam Sun-itha Reddy and Kasani Swetha as chairperson and vice-chairperson.
In an indication of the unease in the Congress over the happenings at the Ra-nga Reddy zilla parishad, Sabitha Indra Reddy, the lone minister representing Ranga Reddy district, stayed away from the swearing-in ceremony.Speaking to reporters, the TD ZPTCs said the minister has stayed away from the meeting “intentionally” because she had lost the district to the Telugu Desam in the recently held polls.
The TD victory in the district had made the minister to face the ire of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, who has a special place for the district as he had launched all his schemes including pre-election pada yatra from Chevella in Ranga Reddy district.When contacted, Ms Sabitha Reddy said it was not mandatory for her to attend the swearing-in ceremony. “Besides, I did not receive any invitation. The TD has no right to make an issue out of it,” she said.
The TD has been in power in the district for the last 17 years. TD deputy floor leader in the Assembly T. Devender Goud had started his political career as the Ranga Reddy ZP chairman 17 years back followed by K.S. Ratnam and K. Gnaneshwar.New chairperson Sunitha Reddy is the first woman to hold the post since 1959. While, a majority of the 33 newly elected members are not only first timers but also young.
Cops book car driver for helmetless ride!
Hyderabad, July 23: Drive a car and you may end up being challaned for helmetless driving. Stop your vehicle at the “Parking” zone, you will still end up being fined for parking it in a “No Parking” zone.
In a bid to achieve their self-imposed targets, the Hyderabad traffic police are issuing challans left, right and centre in the process of earing a record Rs 7 crore in just six months so far this year.The amount collected is staggering compared to 2005 when fine collections amounted to Rs 10 crore for the entire year.
What is shocking is dictatorial manner in which the traffic poli-ce are going about issuing challa-ns and notices to the drivers leaving them shell-shocked and ligh-ter by a few hundreds of rupees.
For instance, Mahankali traffic police had served a notice of traffic violation (Case No. 20199/06) stating that the car driver did not wear a helmet while driving at Monda Market. He was issued a notice under Section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
Ironically, the police categorised a car as a motorcycle and fined the driver for not wearing helmet. However, in the notice they served, the vehicle was recategorised as a car but stated that the alleged violator was fined for not wearing helmet while driving the car.
Furthermore, the notice was served four months after violation had allegedly taken place.Mahankali Traffic-1 assistant commissioner of police R. Krishnamurthy said, “Section 129 pertains to wearing of protective head gear while riding two-wheelers. The challan may have been issued by mistake. It is common. Violators must omit that Section and pay the fine.”Shockingly, some drivers end up paying twice for the same violation due to the brazen ways of the Traffic Police.
An alleged traffic violator paid a fine of Rs 100 at the Central Compounding Booth (Challan No. 121930) for violating “No Parking” rules. However, he was again issued a notice to pay the fine after five months.The challaning spree did not spare a vehicle owner who turned out to be the son of an employee in the Police Department.
“My son was fined for not wearing a helmet at Ashoknagar. The fine actually is Rs 100. But the traffic constable issued a challan for Rs 50 and demanded that the rest of the amount be given to him,” the police department employee said. However, ACP (traffic) G. Sampath Kumar Reddy denies the allegations.
“Thousands of challans are issued every day. In a few cases, such as wearing helmet in a car, it might be a mistake due to work pressure. We haven’t set any targets,” he said.
16-year-old sets herself ablaze
Hyderabad, July 23: Sixteen-year-old G. Madhavi, who was preparing for SSC private, committed suicide at her house in Jinsi Ch-orahi after her boyfriend, G. Sangamaiah, allegedly refused to marry her.Madhavi, daughter of Pentaiah, doused herself with kerosene and set herself ablaze on July 19. She succumbed to burns on Sunday. Madhavi had reportedly proposed to Sangamaiah to marry her on July 15.
MIM back in Bonalu after four years
Hyderabad July 23: For the first time in four years, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) helped the Bonalu festivities in the old city on Sunday. MIM members put up a stage near Charminar to welcome the thousands of devotees who were heading for the Akkanna Madanna temple for the festival. The MIM also put up posters at prime locations to welcome and greet the devotees.
MIM corporator Sunnam Rajmohan said, “We are doing this after a period of four years. We welcomed the devotees. People are enjoying the festival.” The city police roped in additional forces to keep the peace. The festival passed off without incident however.
Festivities began with an aarti at the 17th century Akkanna Madanna Mahankali temple at Hari Bowli. This temple was opened to the public on September 19, 1948, when the devdi surrounding it was broken.
The aarti was next held at the 115-year-old Lal Darwaja Mahankali temple, which is celebrating the Bonalu festival for the 95th year, and the Darbar Maisamma at Karwan. Akkanna Madanna Mahankali Temple committee president G. Niranjan said the pujas would continue till midnight because of the large number of women coming to the temple with bonam.
The colourful elephant procession will be taken out on Monday at 3 pm from Lal Darwaja and will pass through Sudha theatre, Shalibanda, Charminar, Patharghatti, Nayapul and conclude at Musi river at around 8 pm.
A number of politicians turned up to participate in the festival including home minister K. Jana Reddy, minister J. Geetha Reddy, TRS leader A. Narendra, TD leader Devender Goud, APCC president K. Keshava Rao.
Auctions to go on despite protests
Hyderabad, July 23: Ignoring protests by several individuals, who claim to be the owners of the land, the Hyderabad Urban Dev-elopment Authority (Huda) is all set to auction about fo-ur acres of land in survey No. 6 and 7 of Serilingampally mandal at Izzat Nagar near Hitec city on Monday.
Nearly 50 bidders are exp-ected to participate in the auction from 11 am at the Huda office in Police Lines near Begumpet. An official spokesperson from HUDA said that two plots of two acres each at Izzat Nagar would be auctioned as ann-ounced earlier on Monday.
The ‘upset price,’ the price below which a land will not be sold, of this auction has been fixed at Rs 5 crore and the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) Rs 50 lakh. Huda officials expect the bids to touch an average Rs 15 crore per acre, as against Rs 14.45 crore per acre, the highest bid price recorded so far in and around the city.
“There are some vested interests who are trying to create rumours about the land being owned by some individuals. The reality is that the government has asked us to auction this land. There are no litigations involved with the two premium plots,” the official spokesperson said.
PJR faults Huda’s land acquisition
Hyderabad, July 23: Senior Congress legislator P. Janardhan Reddy on Sunday dashed off a letter to APCC chief K. Keshava Rao, pointing out that unchecked acquisition of land from poor farmers at cheaper rates in and around Hyderabad had reflected in the poor performance of the Congress in MPTC and ZPTC elections in Ranga Reddy district.
He found fault with the Huda taking up real estate business in the State capital by acquiring land from poor at cheaper rates and selling them to influential sections at exorbitant prices.Referring to the alleged diversion of Krishna waters through Pothireddypadu head regular, Mr Janardhan Reddy, popularly known as PJR, demanded that the APCC convene a meeting of legislators from Telangana to discuss the issue of diversion of Krishna waters to Rayalaseema.
The government has been insisting that it is taking aw-ay only the flood waters for Rayalaseema and the farmers in Telangana and Andhra will not be affected in any way. “We still have doubts on government’s assurance. It should convene a meeting of MLAs from Telangana region to discuss the issue,” Janardhan Reddy pointed out.
Police exploits Maoists’ rivalry
Hyderabad, July 23: The police could successfully exploit rising differences between Maoist leaders and secure accurate information which has led to the killing of several top extremists in the recent past, reliable sources said.
A document recovered from the site of an earlier encounter revealed that a section of Maoists was highly critical of the soft-approach of India’s top Maoist Ganapathi, the Central committee secretary, and wanted more militarisation in the party. There were also reports that this section was planning a coup against Ganapathi.
In this backdrop, the elevation of Madhav, a close follower of Ganapathi, as AP secretary was not taken kindly to by some sections including Matta Ravikumar, a Central Committee member, and Nallamala forest division secretary Sudershan. Ravi Kumar was initially tipped to be State secretary. Within a couple of months of the document coming out, Ravikumar was killed in an encounter amidst suspicions that the informers could be from the Ganapathi group. Nallamala chief Sudershan moved to Chhattisgarh.
The police could arrest Suryam, top Maoist leader from the Dandak-aranya in Khammam, The police could exploit internal bickerings among the Maoists and gather information about Madhav and others.
Akhtar no to politics
Hyderabad, July 23: Noted writer Javed Akhtar on Sunday disagreed with the view that present generation youth is not interested in watching serious films and theatre and listening to Urdu lyrics.
Interacting with a group of mediapersons, the writer who was here to perform in a theatrical presentation Kaifi Aur Main along with Shabana Azmi and Ghazal singer Jaswinder Singh said: “It is absolutely wrong when somebody says that youngsters are trying to avoid serious films and theatre. “What I have observed is that they welcome serious theatre, poems if they are presented properly. They do like serious issues but they don’t want to get bored. So it is our responsibility to make these things interesting.” Asked whether he is interested in joining politics, Akhtar replied, “I would prefer to be a responsible citizen and raise my voice when it matters rather than joining politics.”
He came down heavily on those who are trying to link the Godhra incident to the recent Mumbai serial blasts. He alleged that people like Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi have the habit of linking the Godhra incident to Mumbai blasts. He opined that such statements will incite passions among communities; as a responsible citizens one should desist from making such statements.
Hyderabad/Markapuram, July 23: Police scored its biggest success against the outlawed Naxalites on Sunday, killing Madhav, the top State Maoist in an encounter in the dense Nallamala forests of Prakasam district. Police is scouring the forests on foot and from helicopter to spot any senior Maoist who might have escaped after the encounter.
Police initially thought that it had killed Maoist Guntur district chief Jeevan, based on the recovery of a kit bag bearing his name. But ‘spotters’ including Maoist sympathisers and ex-Naxals who were taken to the site to identify the dead said among the victims was Madhav, CPI (Maoists) State committee secretary.
Only last week Madhav had challenged the police to come to the Nallamala forests and face the Maoists. The killing comes in wake of reports that the Maoist leadership is riven with differences that has resulted in the police getting accurate information on the movement of rival chiefs.
Some reports said that Jeevan was also among the dead, but Prakasam district superintendent of police Balasubramanyam said he could not confirm that. With this, almost all top leaders in the Nallamala area have been killed except Mahbubnagar Maoist chief Sambasivudu and — pending confirmation of his status — Guntur chief Jeevan.
Last month the police had killed another top Maoist leader, Matta Ravikumar, a Central Committee member who was initially tipped to be State secretary. Seven other Maoists, including his protection squad member Shyamala, and Suseela, member of Nallamalla forest division committee and convenor of Chaitanya Mahila Mandali, Hyderabad, died in the encounter.
“A senior Maoist leader was among those killed while another escaped,” director-general of police Swaranjit Sen said. A search was on, backed by helicopters, to capture the escaped Maoists. “We will continue combing operations in the Nallamalla forest,” Mr Sen said. “If they do not drop their guns they have no other alternative.
How can we let them loiter with unlicensed weapons?” Mr Sen said. “It is a hard time for them. Even now we advise them to drop their guns,” he said. The hour-long encounter took place in thick forests between Palutla and Nekkanti Chenchugudem villages of Yerragondapalem mandal in Prakasam district.
The spot is about 350 km from here and close to the temple town of Srisailam. Madhav’s, 48, original name was Burra Chinnaiah and he came from Mangapeta village of Sulatanabad mandal in Karimnagar district. He operated with aliases like Mallanna, Manohar and Narender. He took over as State committee secretary from Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna, who participated in the peace talks with the State government in October 2004.
Ramakrishna was promoted to the Central Committee in August 2005 and shifted base to Chhattisgarh. According to the reports reaching here, Greyhounds, the special anti-Naxal police force which has been extensively combing the Nallamala forests, stumbled upon Madhav and his group at Barabilupenta between Palutla and Nekkanti Chenchugudem villages at 10.30 am.
A fierce gunbattle ensued and lasted for about an hour. At the end of it, police found that eight Maoists had been killed. No police personnel suffered injuries during the exchange of fire. Some reports said police from four districts which the Nallamalla forests cover — Prakasam, Guntur, Mahbubnagar and Kurnool — participated in the attack.
Police got a tip-off that the Maoists were camping at that spot, sources said. Markapuram officer on special duty Ranganath said about 30 Maoists could have been present during the exchange of fire and many of them escaped towards Kurnool district. The bodies would be brought to the Markapuram government hospital on Monday.
Madhav was a key military strategist and had several high-profile attacks against his name including the abortive bid on the life of then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in 2003 and the killing of Congress legislator C. Narsi Reddy last year. He had joined the Naxalite movement about 25 years ago.
The police recovered some weapons including an AK-47 rifle, some wireless sets and Maoist literature from the site. Police sealed off all the escape routes in Nalamalla forests after the encounter and launched a manhunt for the remaining naxalites. Revolutionary balladeer Gaddar described the Nallamala encounter as “fake” and warned the government of severe repercussions, while home minister K. Jana Reddy said there was no reason to believe that it was a fake encounter which had taken place as part of the law and order maintenance.
2 motorcyclists die on city flyover
Hyderabad: In a ghastly motorcycle crash, T. Amruth Kumar, 28, manager in a software firm, and MBA student K. Ashwin Kumar 25, died on the spot when their motorcycles collided on the flyover at Central Telegraph Office near Parade Grounds in Secunderabad on Saturday.
This is the sixth incident of motorcyclists being killed on flyovers in the city, and second since October last on the CTO flyover, highlighting the absence of any safety features on the structures. Police said Ashwin tried to overtake a car and rammed into Amruth’s motorcycle. Amruth was wearing a helmet but died on the spot due to multiple injuries he sustained in the horrific crash. Ashwin was not wearing a helmet, police said.
The accident took place at about 2.30 am. Amruth was returning home in Begumpet. His colleague J. Srikanth, riding pillion on the motorbike, was injured in the head and is in hospital. Ashwin was son of city security wing inspector Arjun Kumar, Ramgopalpet police inspector T. Nagaraju said.
Both motorcycles were completely damaged, and debris was spread all over the flyover, Ramgopalpet sub-inspector Kalinga Rao said.
Earlier fatal mishaps on flyovers: July 6, 2006 Jeevan Kumar, 28, of Karimnagar died when his car rammed into the divider on Telugu Talli flyover.July 3 2006: Software engineer R. Kiran, hit by a van at Tarnaka flyover.June 26, 2006: Krishna Mohan, marketing manager of a Telugu daily, hit by a schoolbus on YMCA flyover. His body was thrown 35 feet down to the road below under the impact.January 12, 2006: Abdullah Khan 24, knocked down by lorry on Begumpet flyover.October 17, 2005: Nitin, 24, died when his motorcycle was hit by an oncoming vehicle. the impact threw his body off the flyover.
Minority colleges flout norms
Hyderabad, July 23: Minority medical colleges have ganged up to bring pressure on the State government to increase the tuition fee even as the medical counselling is in progress. The State government, through its latest order on July 10, permitted minority medical colleges to conduct their own counselling filling up to 70 per cent under the Eamcet convenor quota. Under the convenor quota, the colleges can collect Rs 40,000 per year from students for certain number of seats and Rs 1.60 lakh for other seats. For remaining 30 per cent seats under the management quota, the minority colleges are free to fix their own fee structure.
For non-minority medical colleges, the fee for 50 per cent of the seats is Rs 40,000 and Rs 1.60 lakh per year for 25 per cent of seats. While the remaining 25 per cent seats under the management quota.However, the government is silent on the number of seats the fee of Rs 40,000 will be applicable in minority medical colleges.
In the absence of proper guidelines, unscrupulous managements are demanding a flat Rs 1.60 lakh and even more as tuition fee.“When non-minority medical colleges are able to manage themselves with the fee structure fixed by the State government, how could it be difficult for minority managements. Moreover, minority colleges have 30 per cent seats under their quota as against 25 per cent in case of non-minority colleges,” argues Nishat Hussain, executive council member of Padmavathi Mahila University.
Many minority students have complained to the minorities welfare department that medical college managements are keeping the fee structure under warps. “There are insta-nces where the managements have demanded tuition fee up to Rs 4 lakhs from merit candidates. Some colleges intentionally did not mention the fee structure in their admission notifications,” alleges Minorities Education Rights Committee convener Muhammad Ansari.
However, the managements argued that they cannot successfully run the institution with the “meagre” fee fixed by the State government. “At the minimum level, we need Rs 1 crore per month to run a medical college. On an average a college spends Rs 8 lakh per seat per year,” said a senior doctor.
CM asks banks not insist on farm loan recoveries
Hyderabad, July 23: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy on Sunday issued fresh guidelines for effective implementation of contingency plan to provide adequate relief to farmers in areas where crops have suffered due to scanty rainfall.
Dr Reddy, while revi-wing the seasonal conditions and forecast of rains, has instructed officials of various departments to work in close coordination to help the farmers in distress. Meanwhile, about 43,000 quintals of pulses, oil seeds and other seeds have been sent to the affected areas.
As many as 23 teams comprising senior agricultural officers and scientists will visit the worst-hit revenue divisions in coastal, Telangana and Rayalaseema districts for two days from July 24. The team members will tour the revenue divisions extensively covering all major villages and interact with farmers.
Later, they will submit a report to the State government based on the first-hand assessment of the farm situation in villages. The Chief Minister has advised bankers not to insist on crop loan recoveries in the affected villages.
He has also asked officials to hold special district consultative committee meetings for additional dose of credit to farmers.Rainfall continues to be cause of concern in the districts of Ranga Reddy, Prakasam, Karimnagar, Medak, Nalgonda and Kadapa.
Sabitha avoids RR ZP chief
Oath taking
Hyderabad, July 23: The Telugu Desam formally ta-ken over the reins of the Ranga Reddy zilla parishad (ZP) on Sunday with the swearing-in of Patnam Sun-itha Reddy and Kasani Swetha as chairperson and vice-chairperson.
In an indication of the unease in the Congress over the happenings at the Ra-nga Reddy zilla parishad, Sabitha Indra Reddy, the lone minister representing Ranga Reddy district, stayed away from the swearing-in ceremony.Speaking to reporters, the TD ZPTCs said the minister has stayed away from the meeting “intentionally” because she had lost the district to the Telugu Desam in the recently held polls.
The TD victory in the district had made the minister to face the ire of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, who has a special place for the district as he had launched all his schemes including pre-election pada yatra from Chevella in Ranga Reddy district.When contacted, Ms Sabitha Reddy said it was not mandatory for her to attend the swearing-in ceremony. “Besides, I did not receive any invitation. The TD has no right to make an issue out of it,” she said.
The TD has been in power in the district for the last 17 years. TD deputy floor leader in the Assembly T. Devender Goud had started his political career as the Ranga Reddy ZP chairman 17 years back followed by K.S. Ratnam and K. Gnaneshwar.New chairperson Sunitha Reddy is the first woman to hold the post since 1959. While, a majority of the 33 newly elected members are not only first timers but also young.
Cops book car driver for helmetless ride!
Hyderabad, July 23: Drive a car and you may end up being challaned for helmetless driving. Stop your vehicle at the “Parking” zone, you will still end up being fined for parking it in a “No Parking” zone.
In a bid to achieve their self-imposed targets, the Hyderabad traffic police are issuing challans left, right and centre in the process of earing a record Rs 7 crore in just six months so far this year.The amount collected is staggering compared to 2005 when fine collections amounted to Rs 10 crore for the entire year.
What is shocking is dictatorial manner in which the traffic poli-ce are going about issuing challa-ns and notices to the drivers leaving them shell-shocked and ligh-ter by a few hundreds of rupees.
For instance, Mahankali traffic police had served a notice of traffic violation (Case No. 20199/06) stating that the car driver did not wear a helmet while driving at Monda Market. He was issued a notice under Section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
Ironically, the police categorised a car as a motorcycle and fined the driver for not wearing helmet. However, in the notice they served, the vehicle was recategorised as a car but stated that the alleged violator was fined for not wearing helmet while driving the car.
Furthermore, the notice was served four months after violation had allegedly taken place.Mahankali Traffic-1 assistant commissioner of police R. Krishnamurthy said, “Section 129 pertains to wearing of protective head gear while riding two-wheelers. The challan may have been issued by mistake. It is common. Violators must omit that Section and pay the fine.”Shockingly, some drivers end up paying twice for the same violation due to the brazen ways of the Traffic Police.
An alleged traffic violator paid a fine of Rs 100 at the Central Compounding Booth (Challan No. 121930) for violating “No Parking” rules. However, he was again issued a notice to pay the fine after five months.The challaning spree did not spare a vehicle owner who turned out to be the son of an employee in the Police Department.
“My son was fined for not wearing a helmet at Ashoknagar. The fine actually is Rs 100. But the traffic constable issued a challan for Rs 50 and demanded that the rest of the amount be given to him,” the police department employee said. However, ACP (traffic) G. Sampath Kumar Reddy denies the allegations.
“Thousands of challans are issued every day. In a few cases, such as wearing helmet in a car, it might be a mistake due to work pressure. We haven’t set any targets,” he said.
16-year-old sets herself ablaze
Hyderabad, July 23: Sixteen-year-old G. Madhavi, who was preparing for SSC private, committed suicide at her house in Jinsi Ch-orahi after her boyfriend, G. Sangamaiah, allegedly refused to marry her.Madhavi, daughter of Pentaiah, doused herself with kerosene and set herself ablaze on July 19. She succumbed to burns on Sunday. Madhavi had reportedly proposed to Sangamaiah to marry her on July 15.
MIM back in Bonalu after four years
Hyderabad July 23: For the first time in four years, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) helped the Bonalu festivities in the old city on Sunday. MIM members put up a stage near Charminar to welcome the thousands of devotees who were heading for the Akkanna Madanna temple for the festival. The MIM also put up posters at prime locations to welcome and greet the devotees.
MIM corporator Sunnam Rajmohan said, “We are doing this after a period of four years. We welcomed the devotees. People are enjoying the festival.” The city police roped in additional forces to keep the peace. The festival passed off without incident however.
Festivities began with an aarti at the 17th century Akkanna Madanna Mahankali temple at Hari Bowli. This temple was opened to the public on September 19, 1948, when the devdi surrounding it was broken.
The aarti was next held at the 115-year-old Lal Darwaja Mahankali temple, which is celebrating the Bonalu festival for the 95th year, and the Darbar Maisamma at Karwan. Akkanna Madanna Mahankali Temple committee president G. Niranjan said the pujas would continue till midnight because of the large number of women coming to the temple with bonam.
The colourful elephant procession will be taken out on Monday at 3 pm from Lal Darwaja and will pass through Sudha theatre, Shalibanda, Charminar, Patharghatti, Nayapul and conclude at Musi river at around 8 pm.
A number of politicians turned up to participate in the festival including home minister K. Jana Reddy, minister J. Geetha Reddy, TRS leader A. Narendra, TD leader Devender Goud, APCC president K. Keshava Rao.
Auctions to go on despite protests
Hyderabad, July 23: Ignoring protests by several individuals, who claim to be the owners of the land, the Hyderabad Urban Dev-elopment Authority (Huda) is all set to auction about fo-ur acres of land in survey No. 6 and 7 of Serilingampally mandal at Izzat Nagar near Hitec city on Monday.
Nearly 50 bidders are exp-ected to participate in the auction from 11 am at the Huda office in Police Lines near Begumpet. An official spokesperson from HUDA said that two plots of two acres each at Izzat Nagar would be auctioned as ann-ounced earlier on Monday.
The ‘upset price,’ the price below which a land will not be sold, of this auction has been fixed at Rs 5 crore and the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) Rs 50 lakh. Huda officials expect the bids to touch an average Rs 15 crore per acre, as against Rs 14.45 crore per acre, the highest bid price recorded so far in and around the city.
“There are some vested interests who are trying to create rumours about the land being owned by some individuals. The reality is that the government has asked us to auction this land. There are no litigations involved with the two premium plots,” the official spokesperson said.
PJR faults Huda’s land acquisition
Hyderabad, July 23: Senior Congress legislator P. Janardhan Reddy on Sunday dashed off a letter to APCC chief K. Keshava Rao, pointing out that unchecked acquisition of land from poor farmers at cheaper rates in and around Hyderabad had reflected in the poor performance of the Congress in MPTC and ZPTC elections in Ranga Reddy district.
He found fault with the Huda taking up real estate business in the State capital by acquiring land from poor at cheaper rates and selling them to influential sections at exorbitant prices.Referring to the alleged diversion of Krishna waters through Pothireddypadu head regular, Mr Janardhan Reddy, popularly known as PJR, demanded that the APCC convene a meeting of legislators from Telangana to discuss the issue of diversion of Krishna waters to Rayalaseema.
The government has been insisting that it is taking aw-ay only the flood waters for Rayalaseema and the farmers in Telangana and Andhra will not be affected in any way. “We still have doubts on government’s assurance. It should convene a meeting of MLAs from Telangana region to discuss the issue,” Janardhan Reddy pointed out.
Police exploits Maoists’ rivalry
Hyderabad, July 23: The police could successfully exploit rising differences between Maoist leaders and secure accurate information which has led to the killing of several top extremists in the recent past, reliable sources said.
A document recovered from the site of an earlier encounter revealed that a section of Maoists was highly critical of the soft-approach of India’s top Maoist Ganapathi, the Central committee secretary, and wanted more militarisation in the party. There were also reports that this section was planning a coup against Ganapathi.
In this backdrop, the elevation of Madhav, a close follower of Ganapathi, as AP secretary was not taken kindly to by some sections including Matta Ravikumar, a Central Committee member, and Nallamala forest division secretary Sudershan. Ravi Kumar was initially tipped to be State secretary. Within a couple of months of the document coming out, Ravikumar was killed in an encounter amidst suspicions that the informers could be from the Ganapathi group. Nallamala chief Sudershan moved to Chhattisgarh.
The police could arrest Suryam, top Maoist leader from the Dandak-aranya in Khammam, The police could exploit internal bickerings among the Maoists and gather information about Madhav and others.
Akhtar no to politics
Hyderabad, July 23: Noted writer Javed Akhtar on Sunday disagreed with the view that present generation youth is not interested in watching serious films and theatre and listening to Urdu lyrics.
Interacting with a group of mediapersons, the writer who was here to perform in a theatrical presentation Kaifi Aur Main along with Shabana Azmi and Ghazal singer Jaswinder Singh said: “It is absolutely wrong when somebody says that youngsters are trying to avoid serious films and theatre. “What I have observed is that they welcome serious theatre, poems if they are presented properly. They do like serious issues but they don’t want to get bored. So it is our responsibility to make these things interesting.” Asked whether he is interested in joining politics, Akhtar replied, “I would prefer to be a responsible citizen and raise my voice when it matters rather than joining politics.”
He came down heavily on those who are trying to link the Godhra incident to the recent Mumbai serial blasts. He alleged that people like Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi have the habit of linking the Godhra incident to Mumbai blasts. He opined that such statements will incite passions among communities; as a responsible citizens one should desist from making such statements.
