Thursday, July 27, 2006
Hyderabad City News july 27th,2006
Expansion, in the name of Lord
Hyderabad/Tirupati, July 27: The State Cabinet on Thursday decided to write to the Centre seeking allotment of forest land around the temple of Lord Venkateswara even as the Specified Authority of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) decided to extend the jurisdiction of Tirumala. The move is to deny any opportunity for propaganda for other religion in the vicinity of the popular pilgrimage centre.
As per the existing GO No. 338, the extent of Tirumala is only 27.5 kilometres including the 6,000-acre forest area. The Specified Authority has been contemplating to extend the range to 332.68 kms and bring 80,000 acres of forest land under the TTD control. The Specified Authority is forwarding the proposal to the government with a request to consider and release a GO within the next 10 days.
Though the area is under the control of Central forest department, the GO is being brought to prohibit propaganda by other faiths. TTD executive officer A.P.V.N. Sarma disclosed the details of the decisions taken during the specified authority meet held at Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala on Wednesday. Once the GO is brought, apart from the Seven Hills, all the pilgrimage centres would fall within the 80,000 acres area, Mr Sarma said.
“The State government will ask the Centre to allot the forest land to the TTD for development of Tirumala. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy will write the letter in this regard soon,” a minister said soon after the Cabinet meeting in Hyderabad. If the Centre agrees to the State’s proposal, it will also give the TTD more powers. It will get more area under its jurisdiction which will be governed solely by the TTD Act of 1968 that states that no non-Hindu must be recruited into the TTD.
At present there are several non-Hindus who stay on the Seven Hills running shops and doing other petty business. They, however, are not allowed on the two hills which form the temple town following a TTD specified authority ban. If the entire area of the Seven Hills comes under TTD jurisdiction, these non-Hindus would have to move down to Tirupati. There are also several non-Hindu employees working in various banks on Tirumala Hills.
There is, however, no ban on non-Hindus having a darshan of Lord Venkateswara. People of any religious faith can enter the temple, provided they declare their faith in Lord Balaji. If they identify themselves as non-Hindus, they must sign in a temple register stating that they believe in Lord Venkateswara.
Start now for 2009 Assembly polls: CM
Hyderabad, July 27: Asking his Cabinet colleagues to seriously start preparing for Assembly elections in 2009, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy on Thursday said, “Think that the elections are on right now. You have to be prepared from this day onwards.”
Keeping the Assembly polls in mind Dr Reddy also demanded more involvement on his ministers’ part in matters other than their own portfolios. He advised them to counter all Opposition charges effectively, particularly with regard to misinformation campaign against the government pertaining to chikungunya, fake encounters, Christian propaganda on Tirumala and so on. “You are incharge of a district and you should be ready to answer all the questions. Do not remain confined to your own subject,” he said.
The Chief Minister also dismissed the Telugu Desam charge on chikungunya deaths. “Let them name those who died due to chikungunya. They launched similar misinformation campaign about spread of malaria as well, but they (TD) had to eat their words when it turned out to be false.” Other issues which dominated the Cabineet meet include the killing of Maoists secretary Madhav, propaganda on Tirumala, spiralling prices of essential commodities, panchayat polls setting up of an NRI cell and an exclusive legal cell of education department.
The Chief Minister took pot-shots at a section of media which described Maoists leader Madhav’s death as a fake encounter. “It’s the same press which showed pictures of two injured policemen. How can policemen be injured if it’s a fake encounter?” he told the Cabinet. On a lighter note the Cabinet rejoiced the recent heavy showers across the State. The Chief Minister thanked the rain god for showing mercy on the Congress government. “The rain god is with us. The Opposition is unhappy with rains, but the farmers are happy. The Opposition will have no issue to raise now,” he remarked jocularly.
Enjoy ice cream, get thinner
In its quest to create ice cream as voluptuous as butter and as virtuous as broccoli, the ice cream industry has probed the depths of the Arctic Ocean, studied the intimate structures of algae and foisted numerous failures on consumers. “I have tried them all as they came down the pike: dairy-free, fat-free, sugar-free; with tofu, yogurt, rice, whatever,” said Linda Calhoun, a teacher who lives near Flagstaff, Arizona, cataloguing the disappointments she has tasted over the years. “They always make me sad.”
For people who spend each summer wrestling with temptation, there is fresh hope in the freezer case. New industrial processes, including one that involves a protein cloned from the blood of an Arctic Ocean fish, have allowed manufacturers to produce very creamy, dense, reduced-fat ice creams with fewer additives. The new products appeal to those who have acquired a taste for superpremium high-fat ice cream but cannot stomach its fat content.
Edy’s (which is also branded as Dreyer’s) has tripled sales in its reduced-fat line since replacing its Grand Light with Slow Churned in 2004. Breyers introduced Double Churned flavours last year and has nearly doubled its product line. More than just marketing-speak, slow-churned and double-churned each refers to a process called low-temperature extrusion, which significantly reduces the size of the fat globules and ice crystals in ice cream.
Banking on the creamy mouth-feel of these new formulations, even Häagen-Dazs launched a line of light ice creams last year to complement its butterfat-rich line. “We waited years and years for this technology,” said Gulbin Hoeberechts, a marketing manager for the company. “Before, our only choices would have been adding air, water or ingredients that don’t belong in ice cream.”
Almost all commercial ice creams contain industrial ingredients that mimic the effects of butterfat and egg yolks: some are natural, like carrageenan, extracted from algae plentiful in the Irish Sea; others are synthetic, like mono- and diglycerides.
But using new technologies can be risky for manufacturers. The other new method for making supercreamy ice cream was caught up last month in the global debate over genetically modified foods. In June, Unilever applied to Britain’s Food Standards Agency for permission to use a new ingredient in its frozen desserts: a protein cloned from the blood of an eel-like Arctic Ocean fish, the ocean pout.
Plastic use threatens women’s fertility
Hyderabad, July 27: City-based researchers and fertility experts have established a link between usage of plastic products and incidents of endometriosis in women.A research study carried out by experts at the department of re-productive medicine of Bhagwan Mahavir Medical Research Centre (BMMRC), Maternal Health and Reproductive Institute (MHRI) and Department of Analytical Research and Development of Hetero Research Foundation (DARDHRF) has found that extensive usage of phthalate esters (liquid platicisers) or their presence in the environment is causing endometriosis among Indian women leading to high incidence of infertility cases.
According to Dr R. Rozati, a fertility expert at MHRI, the study suggested that phthalate esters have an aetiological association with endometriosis, which affects women in their reproductive years. Incidents of endometriosis are on the rise in the country and an estimated 50 million women suffer from the problem in India. Endometriosis is one of the main causes of hysterectomy in the country.
In Hyderabad too, the problem of endometriosis is on the rise with about six to 10 per cent of women of reproductive age suffering from it. Pollution due to phthalate ester is contributing to the problem in the city. However, it is not clear what causes endometriosis. Though there are several explanations, scientists and medical experts are not sure what exactly causes the problem. In this backdrop, the study by the city team gains significance as it links the disease with phthalate esters.As part of the study, the team collected samples of blood from a study group consisting of 49 infertile women with endometriosis.
The team also selected for the study 38 age-matched women without endometriosis but with infertility, and another group of 21 age-matched women with pro-ven fertility but without endo-metriosis. The results showed that women with endometriosis showed higher concentrations of di-n-butyl phthalate, butyl benzyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate and diethyl hexyl phthalate as compared to other two groups. The correlation between the concentrations of ph-thlate esters and different severity of endometriosis was “strong and statistically significant” for all these four phthalate compounds.
AP to have NRI cell
Hyderabad, July 27: The State Cabinet on Thursday decided to set up a special Non-Resident Indian (NRI) cell in the General Administration Department in the Secretariat. The special cell will be headed by principal secretary (protocol) and will have a staff of one section officer, two assistant section officers and one officer of subordinate rank initially. The cell, which will start functioning in a couple of days, will deal with all issues pertaining to the NRIs. At present there is no mechanism to monitor the problems of NRIs, particularly those living in the Gulf and no official body to deal with their issues.
“There are host of issues of NRIs. The new cell will be in touch with Indian embassies abroad and guide those going abroad through agents,” a minister told this correspondent.
According to conservative estimates there are about 4.5 lakh Telugus in UAE out of the total NRI population of 10 lakhs and six lakhs in Saudi Arabia besides considerable Telugu NRIs in Bahrain, Qatar and other Gulf countries. The recent death of Telugus working in the Gulf and other countries, cheating by brokers and other related problems forced the State government to constitute a five-member study group headed by minister for information and public relations Muhammad Ali Shabber.
The group visited Kerala, where such a cell exists, Jeddah, Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and submitted a report to Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. It is stated in Kerala the certification verification is completed in just 24 hours while it takes a fortnight to two months in Andhra Pradesh.
YSR asks officials not to harass IR engineers
Hyderabad, July 27: A cold war is on between the Chief Minister’s Off-ice (CMO) and the secretaries of the irrigation department over pointing out lapses in the execution of irrigation projects. Sources in the department said that the CMO has taken serious note of the frequent memos iss-ued by irrigation secretaries Heeralal Samaria and Rajiv Ranjan Mishra to chief engineers (CE) and superintending engineers (SE) over the irregularities being committed by contractors in the execution of the projects. The contractors applied pressure on the CMO to stop harassment by the higher officials in the name of enquiries, which, according to them, is hampering the progress of works.
During a review meet on the progress of irrigation works recently, the CMO officials brought to the notice of Chief Minister Rajasekhar Reddy that the engineers and contractors were getting demoralised by the memos issued by the irrigation secretaries. They also accused the irrigation officials of leaking GOs and memos to the media projecting the engineers in bad light.
Dr Reddy also enquired about the vigilance and enforcement department’s suo motu inquiries on the irregularities pointed out by Mr Samaria and Mr Mishra in their memos to the engineers. The CMO officials told him that the vigilance inquiries were based on media reports highlighting the GOs and memos issued by the secretaries.For instance, recently vigilance commissioner R.S. Samal wrote to Mr Samaria stating that the memo issued by him on substandard material bei-ng used by contractors in various irrigation projects was referred to vigilance and enforcement officials for further probing.
Dr Reddy reportedly di-rected the secretaries not to issue memos to the engineers frequently. “Though there could not be any compromise on the quality of work, the officials should understand that the SEs and CEs and even contractors are part of the Jalayagnam,” he said. He also asked Mr Samaria and Mr Mishra not to leak any information to the media that would be blown out of proportion to degrade the entire Jalayagnam.
5 IAS officers get new postings
Hyderabad, July 27: The State government on Thursday transferred five IAS officers and gave them new postings. C. Parthasarathi, managing direc AP Markfed was posted as director, information and public relations and EO, additional secretary to general administration department (I&PR). Mr Parthasarathi will also be the MD, AP State Film & TV Development Corporation, in place of K.V. Ramanachary who has been transferred. A.L. Kismat Kumar, director is relieved from the full additional charge of the post of commissioner, I&PR and MD, Andhra Pradesh State Film & Television Development Corporation.
Preeti Sudan, who was waiting for posting, is posted as commissioner, disaster management and E.O. secretary to government, revenue (disaster management) department in the newly created post. A. Santhi Kumari, project director, ILIS Project, office of the commissioner, survey settlements and land records, was transferred to panchayat raj and rural development department as additional chief executive officer, Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty.
Sumita Dawra, who was waiting for posting, has been appointed as managing dire-ctor, Andhra Pradesh Urban Finance and Infrastructure Corporation under municipal administration & urban development department, in place of P.V. Ramesh. The services of B. Venk-ateswara Rao, who is waiting for posting, are placed at the disposal of energy department for appointment as director (PA & W), Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd., Kothagudem, in the existing vacancy.
MCH study down the drain
Hyderabad, July 27: The residents of the twin cities were put to undue hardships thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH), which has been keeping an important file pending. The MCH had proposed to conduct a comprehensive study to improve the internal Storm Water Drain (SWD) network in the city. However, the much talked about study is yet to take-off. The MCH was supposed to award the contract of conducting the study to Pune-based Kirloskar Consultants in June. The present SWD network in the city cannot take more than 10 mm (1 cm) of rain per hour while the city has been receiving up to 11 cm of rain since Wednesday evening.
The rains wrought havoc with water entering the houses in at least 10 low-lying areas, 70 main roads being inundated in knee-deep level water, nearly 15 trees uprooted and power supply disrupted in a number of localities. Traffic jams were witnessed on almost all the main roads of the city. It may be mentioned here that this newspaper had carried a report on June 2 that such rain-related problems would persist unless MCH comes up with a permanent solution.
MCH chief engineer Dhan Singh said that the delay in awarding the contract was because MCH needs the government’s approval for sanctioning any project above Rs 50 lakh. “So, it took time to convince the Kirloskar Consultants to bring down the quotation to Rs 48 lakh,” he added. Even if the study is launched in the first week of August, it can only be completed by February next year, which means the MCH will have only two months time to implement the recommendations.
Man falls into open nala, dies
Hyderabad, July 27: Heavy rains on Wednesday night claimed the lives of two persons, including one who was washed away into an uncovered nala by the roadside in Chandrababu Naidu Nagar. Lalaguda police identified the deceased as J. Krishna Swamy, a resident of Chandrababu Naidu Nagar in Lalapet. He accidentally fell into an open drain while walking on the street near his house on Wednesday night.
Swamy could not notice the drain as he was knee-deep in rain water. He was washed away and his body was found half-a-kilometre away in an open nala, according to the police. A case of negligence has been booked by the police and an investigation is in progress. In another incident, Tirumala Rao, 37, a realtor, died on the spot after he was electrocuted in Padmarao Nagar on Wednesday night. According to Chilkalguda assistant sub-inspector Yahia Khan, Tirumala Rao, a resident of Padmarao Nagar, was returning home and was passing by the electric transformer when he was electrocuted to death. The water was knee deep and he might have been walking close to the transformer, the Assistant Sub-Inspector of police said. Chilkalguda police has registered a case of suspicious death and have shifted deceased’s body to Gandhi Hospital morgue for autopsy.
MCH chief says all roads are ok
Hyderabad, July 27: Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) Kirloskar Commissioner Sanjay Jaju on Thursday said despite the city receiving one-tenth of the season’s rainfall (11 cm) on Wednesday night, the civic body ensured that all roads in the city were clear of water for normal movement of traffic. Addressing a media conference, Mr Jaju said the entire machinery of MCH including himself and additional commissioners were on the roads. “None of us slept and were working to clear water from 70 roads where stagnation of rain water is a perennial problem. By 8 am on Thursday, all these roads were ready for normal movement of traffic,” he claimed.
According to him, he and his team of officers visited several areas including Khairatabad, Begumpet, Nallakunta, Nayapul and Chaderghat. However, trees were uprooted at many places including Mehdipatnam, Amberpet Crossroads, Sanathnagar, Adarshnagar, ESI Hospital, MCH head office, Koti junction, Shenoy Nursing Home, Secunderabad, Shankarmutt, Ramnagar, Country Club, Padmarao Nagar, S.R. Nagar, Akbar Bagh, Malakpet, Indira Park and NTR Stadium.
The MCH Commissioner also said that a special drive has been launched for silt and garbage removal for a free flow of storm water. “We appeal to the citizens to contact the MCH Central Emergency control room on 23394564 in case of emergency. MCH is ready to meet any eventuality,” he assured.
Hyderabad/Tirupati, July 27: The State Cabinet on Thursday decided to write to the Centre seeking allotment of forest land around the temple of Lord Venkateswara even as the Specified Authority of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) decided to extend the jurisdiction of Tirumala. The move is to deny any opportunity for propaganda for other religion in the vicinity of the popular pilgrimage centre.
As per the existing GO No. 338, the extent of Tirumala is only 27.5 kilometres including the 6,000-acre forest area. The Specified Authority has been contemplating to extend the range to 332.68 kms and bring 80,000 acres of forest land under the TTD control. The Specified Authority is forwarding the proposal to the government with a request to consider and release a GO within the next 10 days.
Though the area is under the control of Central forest department, the GO is being brought to prohibit propaganda by other faiths. TTD executive officer A.P.V.N. Sarma disclosed the details of the decisions taken during the specified authority meet held at Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala on Wednesday. Once the GO is brought, apart from the Seven Hills, all the pilgrimage centres would fall within the 80,000 acres area, Mr Sarma said.
“The State government will ask the Centre to allot the forest land to the TTD for development of Tirumala. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy will write the letter in this regard soon,” a minister said soon after the Cabinet meeting in Hyderabad. If the Centre agrees to the State’s proposal, it will also give the TTD more powers. It will get more area under its jurisdiction which will be governed solely by the TTD Act of 1968 that states that no non-Hindu must be recruited into the TTD.
At present there are several non-Hindus who stay on the Seven Hills running shops and doing other petty business. They, however, are not allowed on the two hills which form the temple town following a TTD specified authority ban. If the entire area of the Seven Hills comes under TTD jurisdiction, these non-Hindus would have to move down to Tirupati. There are also several non-Hindu employees working in various banks on Tirumala Hills.
There is, however, no ban on non-Hindus having a darshan of Lord Venkateswara. People of any religious faith can enter the temple, provided they declare their faith in Lord Balaji. If they identify themselves as non-Hindus, they must sign in a temple register stating that they believe in Lord Venkateswara.
Start now for 2009 Assembly polls: CM
Hyderabad, July 27: Asking his Cabinet colleagues to seriously start preparing for Assembly elections in 2009, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy on Thursday said, “Think that the elections are on right now. You have to be prepared from this day onwards.”
Keeping the Assembly polls in mind Dr Reddy also demanded more involvement on his ministers’ part in matters other than their own portfolios. He advised them to counter all Opposition charges effectively, particularly with regard to misinformation campaign against the government pertaining to chikungunya, fake encounters, Christian propaganda on Tirumala and so on. “You are incharge of a district and you should be ready to answer all the questions. Do not remain confined to your own subject,” he said.
The Chief Minister also dismissed the Telugu Desam charge on chikungunya deaths. “Let them name those who died due to chikungunya. They launched similar misinformation campaign about spread of malaria as well, but they (TD) had to eat their words when it turned out to be false.” Other issues which dominated the Cabineet meet include the killing of Maoists secretary Madhav, propaganda on Tirumala, spiralling prices of essential commodities, panchayat polls setting up of an NRI cell and an exclusive legal cell of education department.
The Chief Minister took pot-shots at a section of media which described Maoists leader Madhav’s death as a fake encounter. “It’s the same press which showed pictures of two injured policemen. How can policemen be injured if it’s a fake encounter?” he told the Cabinet. On a lighter note the Cabinet rejoiced the recent heavy showers across the State. The Chief Minister thanked the rain god for showing mercy on the Congress government. “The rain god is with us. The Opposition is unhappy with rains, but the farmers are happy. The Opposition will have no issue to raise now,” he remarked jocularly.
Enjoy ice cream, get thinner
In its quest to create ice cream as voluptuous as butter and as virtuous as broccoli, the ice cream industry has probed the depths of the Arctic Ocean, studied the intimate structures of algae and foisted numerous failures on consumers. “I have tried them all as they came down the pike: dairy-free, fat-free, sugar-free; with tofu, yogurt, rice, whatever,” said Linda Calhoun, a teacher who lives near Flagstaff, Arizona, cataloguing the disappointments she has tasted over the years. “They always make me sad.”
For people who spend each summer wrestling with temptation, there is fresh hope in the freezer case. New industrial processes, including one that involves a protein cloned from the blood of an Arctic Ocean fish, have allowed manufacturers to produce very creamy, dense, reduced-fat ice creams with fewer additives. The new products appeal to those who have acquired a taste for superpremium high-fat ice cream but cannot stomach its fat content.
Edy’s (which is also branded as Dreyer’s) has tripled sales in its reduced-fat line since replacing its Grand Light with Slow Churned in 2004. Breyers introduced Double Churned flavours last year and has nearly doubled its product line. More than just marketing-speak, slow-churned and double-churned each refers to a process called low-temperature extrusion, which significantly reduces the size of the fat globules and ice crystals in ice cream.
Banking on the creamy mouth-feel of these new formulations, even Häagen-Dazs launched a line of light ice creams last year to complement its butterfat-rich line. “We waited years and years for this technology,” said Gulbin Hoeberechts, a marketing manager for the company. “Before, our only choices would have been adding air, water or ingredients that don’t belong in ice cream.”
Almost all commercial ice creams contain industrial ingredients that mimic the effects of butterfat and egg yolks: some are natural, like carrageenan, extracted from algae plentiful in the Irish Sea; others are synthetic, like mono- and diglycerides.
But using new technologies can be risky for manufacturers. The other new method for making supercreamy ice cream was caught up last month in the global debate over genetically modified foods. In June, Unilever applied to Britain’s Food Standards Agency for permission to use a new ingredient in its frozen desserts: a protein cloned from the blood of an eel-like Arctic Ocean fish, the ocean pout.
Plastic use threatens women’s fertility
Hyderabad, July 27: City-based researchers and fertility experts have established a link between usage of plastic products and incidents of endometriosis in women.A research study carried out by experts at the department of re-productive medicine of Bhagwan Mahavir Medical Research Centre (BMMRC), Maternal Health and Reproductive Institute (MHRI) and Department of Analytical Research and Development of Hetero Research Foundation (DARDHRF) has found that extensive usage of phthalate esters (liquid platicisers) or their presence in the environment is causing endometriosis among Indian women leading to high incidence of infertility cases.
According to Dr R. Rozati, a fertility expert at MHRI, the study suggested that phthalate esters have an aetiological association with endometriosis, which affects women in their reproductive years. Incidents of endometriosis are on the rise in the country and an estimated 50 million women suffer from the problem in India. Endometriosis is one of the main causes of hysterectomy in the country.
In Hyderabad too, the problem of endometriosis is on the rise with about six to 10 per cent of women of reproductive age suffering from it. Pollution due to phthalate ester is contributing to the problem in the city. However, it is not clear what causes endometriosis. Though there are several explanations, scientists and medical experts are not sure what exactly causes the problem. In this backdrop, the study by the city team gains significance as it links the disease with phthalate esters.As part of the study, the team collected samples of blood from a study group consisting of 49 infertile women with endometriosis.
The team also selected for the study 38 age-matched women without endometriosis but with infertility, and another group of 21 age-matched women with pro-ven fertility but without endo-metriosis. The results showed that women with endometriosis showed higher concentrations of di-n-butyl phthalate, butyl benzyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate and diethyl hexyl phthalate as compared to other two groups. The correlation between the concentrations of ph-thlate esters and different severity of endometriosis was “strong and statistically significant” for all these four phthalate compounds.
AP to have NRI cell
Hyderabad, July 27: The State Cabinet on Thursday decided to set up a special Non-Resident Indian (NRI) cell in the General Administration Department in the Secretariat. The special cell will be headed by principal secretary (protocol) and will have a staff of one section officer, two assistant section officers and one officer of subordinate rank initially. The cell, which will start functioning in a couple of days, will deal with all issues pertaining to the NRIs. At present there is no mechanism to monitor the problems of NRIs, particularly those living in the Gulf and no official body to deal with their issues.
“There are host of issues of NRIs. The new cell will be in touch with Indian embassies abroad and guide those going abroad through agents,” a minister told this correspondent.
According to conservative estimates there are about 4.5 lakh Telugus in UAE out of the total NRI population of 10 lakhs and six lakhs in Saudi Arabia besides considerable Telugu NRIs in Bahrain, Qatar and other Gulf countries. The recent death of Telugus working in the Gulf and other countries, cheating by brokers and other related problems forced the State government to constitute a five-member study group headed by minister for information and public relations Muhammad Ali Shabber.
The group visited Kerala, where such a cell exists, Jeddah, Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and submitted a report to Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. It is stated in Kerala the certification verification is completed in just 24 hours while it takes a fortnight to two months in Andhra Pradesh.
YSR asks officials not to harass IR engineers
Hyderabad, July 27: A cold war is on between the Chief Minister’s Off-ice (CMO) and the secretaries of the irrigation department over pointing out lapses in the execution of irrigation projects. Sources in the department said that the CMO has taken serious note of the frequent memos iss-ued by irrigation secretaries Heeralal Samaria and Rajiv Ranjan Mishra to chief engineers (CE) and superintending engineers (SE) over the irregularities being committed by contractors in the execution of the projects. The contractors applied pressure on the CMO to stop harassment by the higher officials in the name of enquiries, which, according to them, is hampering the progress of works.
During a review meet on the progress of irrigation works recently, the CMO officials brought to the notice of Chief Minister Rajasekhar Reddy that the engineers and contractors were getting demoralised by the memos issued by the irrigation secretaries. They also accused the irrigation officials of leaking GOs and memos to the media projecting the engineers in bad light.
Dr Reddy also enquired about the vigilance and enforcement department’s suo motu inquiries on the irregularities pointed out by Mr Samaria and Mr Mishra in their memos to the engineers. The CMO officials told him that the vigilance inquiries were based on media reports highlighting the GOs and memos issued by the secretaries.For instance, recently vigilance commissioner R.S. Samal wrote to Mr Samaria stating that the memo issued by him on substandard material bei-ng used by contractors in various irrigation projects was referred to vigilance and enforcement officials for further probing.
Dr Reddy reportedly di-rected the secretaries not to issue memos to the engineers frequently. “Though there could not be any compromise on the quality of work, the officials should understand that the SEs and CEs and even contractors are part of the Jalayagnam,” he said. He also asked Mr Samaria and Mr Mishra not to leak any information to the media that would be blown out of proportion to degrade the entire Jalayagnam.
5 IAS officers get new postings
Hyderabad, July 27: The State government on Thursday transferred five IAS officers and gave them new postings. C. Parthasarathi, managing direc AP Markfed was posted as director, information and public relations and EO, additional secretary to general administration department (I&PR). Mr Parthasarathi will also be the MD, AP State Film & TV Development Corporation, in place of K.V. Ramanachary who has been transferred. A.L. Kismat Kumar, director is relieved from the full additional charge of the post of commissioner, I&PR and MD, Andhra Pradesh State Film & Television Development Corporation.
Preeti Sudan, who was waiting for posting, is posted as commissioner, disaster management and E.O. secretary to government, revenue (disaster management) department in the newly created post. A. Santhi Kumari, project director, ILIS Project, office of the commissioner, survey settlements and land records, was transferred to panchayat raj and rural development department as additional chief executive officer, Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty.
Sumita Dawra, who was waiting for posting, has been appointed as managing dire-ctor, Andhra Pradesh Urban Finance and Infrastructure Corporation under municipal administration & urban development department, in place of P.V. Ramesh. The services of B. Venk-ateswara Rao, who is waiting for posting, are placed at the disposal of energy department for appointment as director (PA & W), Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd., Kothagudem, in the existing vacancy.
MCH study down the drain
Hyderabad, July 27: The residents of the twin cities were put to undue hardships thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH), which has been keeping an important file pending. The MCH had proposed to conduct a comprehensive study to improve the internal Storm Water Drain (SWD) network in the city. However, the much talked about study is yet to take-off. The MCH was supposed to award the contract of conducting the study to Pune-based Kirloskar Consultants in June. The present SWD network in the city cannot take more than 10 mm (1 cm) of rain per hour while the city has been receiving up to 11 cm of rain since Wednesday evening.
The rains wrought havoc with water entering the houses in at least 10 low-lying areas, 70 main roads being inundated in knee-deep level water, nearly 15 trees uprooted and power supply disrupted in a number of localities. Traffic jams were witnessed on almost all the main roads of the city. It may be mentioned here that this newspaper had carried a report on June 2 that such rain-related problems would persist unless MCH comes up with a permanent solution.
MCH chief engineer Dhan Singh said that the delay in awarding the contract was because MCH needs the government’s approval for sanctioning any project above Rs 50 lakh. “So, it took time to convince the Kirloskar Consultants to bring down the quotation to Rs 48 lakh,” he added. Even if the study is launched in the first week of August, it can only be completed by February next year, which means the MCH will have only two months time to implement the recommendations.
Man falls into open nala, dies
Hyderabad, July 27: Heavy rains on Wednesday night claimed the lives of two persons, including one who was washed away into an uncovered nala by the roadside in Chandrababu Naidu Nagar. Lalaguda police identified the deceased as J. Krishna Swamy, a resident of Chandrababu Naidu Nagar in Lalapet. He accidentally fell into an open drain while walking on the street near his house on Wednesday night.
Swamy could not notice the drain as he was knee-deep in rain water. He was washed away and his body was found half-a-kilometre away in an open nala, according to the police. A case of negligence has been booked by the police and an investigation is in progress. In another incident, Tirumala Rao, 37, a realtor, died on the spot after he was electrocuted in Padmarao Nagar on Wednesday night. According to Chilkalguda assistant sub-inspector Yahia Khan, Tirumala Rao, a resident of Padmarao Nagar, was returning home and was passing by the electric transformer when he was electrocuted to death. The water was knee deep and he might have been walking close to the transformer, the Assistant Sub-Inspector of police said. Chilkalguda police has registered a case of suspicious death and have shifted deceased’s body to Gandhi Hospital morgue for autopsy.
MCH chief says all roads are ok
Hyderabad, July 27: Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) Kirloskar Commissioner Sanjay Jaju on Thursday said despite the city receiving one-tenth of the season’s rainfall (11 cm) on Wednesday night, the civic body ensured that all roads in the city were clear of water for normal movement of traffic. Addressing a media conference, Mr Jaju said the entire machinery of MCH including himself and additional commissioners were on the roads. “None of us slept and were working to clear water from 70 roads where stagnation of rain water is a perennial problem. By 8 am on Thursday, all these roads were ready for normal movement of traffic,” he claimed.
According to him, he and his team of officers visited several areas including Khairatabad, Begumpet, Nallakunta, Nayapul and Chaderghat. However, trees were uprooted at many places including Mehdipatnam, Amberpet Crossroads, Sanathnagar, Adarshnagar, ESI Hospital, MCH head office, Koti junction, Shenoy Nursing Home, Secunderabad, Shankarmutt, Ramnagar, Country Club, Padmarao Nagar, S.R. Nagar, Akbar Bagh, Malakpet, Indira Park and NTR Stadium.
The MCH Commissioner also said that a special drive has been launched for silt and garbage removal for a free flow of storm water. “We appeal to the citizens to contact the MCH Central Emergency control room on 23394564 in case of emergency. MCH is ready to meet any eventuality,” he assured.
