| Hyderabad, Aug. 13: The controversial government order No. 5 for restructuring of public sector enterprises is all set to appear in new forms.
Following criticism from all quarters, the earlier order was kept in abeyance by the State government. However, Secretariat sources told this correspondent that the public enterprises department was working on new orders which would replicate the controversial GO in a piecemeal form. Instead of targeting all the 30 PSEs in go, the new orders will initially target loss making PSEs. Following this, the government may go in for disinvestment of government equity in the profitable PSEs. The earlier GO and the present ones being fine-tuned are meant to pave the way for implementation of phase-111 of the structural reforms. As part of the new strategy, the public enterprises department will issue a series of GOs in the next three years. At present, GOs pertaining to restructuring of five PSEs are being given shape. Earlier, the department had proposed to restructure nine PSEs, including AP State Trading Corporation, AP State Housing Corporation, AP State Road Transport Corporation, AP State Cooperative Central Bank, AP Mineral Development Corporation, and AP State Minorities Finance Corporation. The earlier GO had also proposed to offer voluntary retirement scheme to 36,283 surplus employees. This had generated much controversy forcing the government to backtrack. A chastened government has now decided not to touch the APSRTC and AP State Housing Corporation this year. Instead, it would restructure, APMDC, APCOB and AP State Minorities Finance Corporation. Among them, APSTC is most likely to be privatised because it is incurring losses. AP State Minorities Finance Corporation will be wound up and its activities would be transferred to the minorities’ welfare department. The government would invite private partnership to reinvigorate APMDC. With regard to APCOB, the plan is to restructure it with more decentralisation to district cooperative central banks, sources said. Though the government will not dabble in the affairs of APSRTC and Singareni Collieries at present, it will freeze recruitment in these two entities and appoint staff on contract. This would be a prelude to eventual downsizing. Recently, the government issued GO No. 2501 seeking to appoint Class III employees and Class IV employees on contract. There would be no filling up of backlog vacancies in these corporations. “This is also part of the reforms process,” said the source. “Simultaneously, the government can implement VRS for the existing staff in a phased manner”. |
| New Delhi, Aug. 13: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member M. Shashidhar Reddy, who is handling the subject of cyclones, is currently negotiating a $300 million aid from World Bank for the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP). This marks a paradigm shift in tackling cyclones, as the focus now shifts to prevention, preparedness and mitigation to face such natural disasters, marking a shift from the earlier approach of rescue, relief and rehabilitation at the time of disasters. Thrust now is on employing latest scientific and technological know-how for preparing to face disasters. According to sources, the NCRMP was transferred from the Union home ministry to the newly-constituted the NDMA. Under the NDMA, the NCRMP is likely to get a more focused attention. The recent massive devastation and destruction due to cyclones and flooding in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka has given a new fillip to the NDMA to push through the project, which has been in the pipeline for the past couple of years. This could mark the beginning of many such mitigation projects for all the 13 coastal States and Union Territories. It may be recalled that in Andhra Pradesh alone in 1990, a proposal was mooted by the then Andhra Pradesh chief minister M. Channa Reddy, which is acknowledged even today as marking a paradigm shift in the approach, to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore. As a first phase, the World Bank approved Rs 735 crore.
It was grounded and completed in a record time of three years. Dr Channa Reddy negotiated a stand alone loan of $380 million for cyclone shelters in the state, as the state has been found to be prone to disasters. The cyclone crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast on the night of May 9, 1990. Dr Channa Reddy left for the United States within three weeks of the disaster, with a firm proposal for Cyclone Emergency Reconstruction Project in hand.
Within six weeks, the World Bank Team arrives for an on-the-spot investigation. Within three months, the World Bank-assisted project was grounded and it was completed ahead of schedule. India has 8,000 km-long coastline, but it is the Eastern Coast, which is more vulnerable to cyclones. |
| Nizamabad, Aug 13: People in Nizamabad town can soon expect their daily newspaper served with a free condom. The Nizamabad district medical and health department has planned an unique campaign to sensitise people about safe sex and also distribute as many condoms as possible. AP State AIDS Controlling Society (APSacs) has been providing boxes of condoms for free distribution. But the district medical and health department and family planning department were finding it difficult to distribute lakhs of condoms. Also, there was the issue of storage. Keeping in view these problems, the department had come up with the idea to attach a condom to each newspaper. Dr Dinesh, district nucleus officer, pointed out that the “condom with newspaper” distribution system will create awareness and at the same time help reduce the extra stocks. “We have received about four lakh condoms from the APSacs. Using the newspaper delivery network is the most effective and easy way to distribute the condoms. I have discussed the matter with Dr Kodandapani, district medical and health officer, and he has agreed to execute this system. We have chosen Nizamabad town on an experimental basis. Later, we may extend it to all rural areas,” Dr Dinesh said. | Nagarjunasagar water threatens coastal areas | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 13: The Rayapatnam bridge near Dharmapuri which connects Karimnagar and Adilabad districts was submerged again on Sunday. This followed the release of water from the upstream Sriram Sagar Project, which is receiving huge inflows from Maharashtra. The bridge had been submerged for a week and emerged to the surface only on Thursday last and was opened to traffic on Friday. Scores of vehicles were str-anded on either side of the bridge over the river God-avari throughout the day. Truckers had it tough because they were not able to take alternative routes which have weaker brid-ges. Meanwhile, a depression over the Bay of Bengal crossed the coast near Balasore in Orissa on Saturday night and lay centred near Keongjhargarh, said a special weather bulletin issued by the Cyclone Warning Centre at Visakhapatnam. There was trouble on the Krishna river. With the possibility that the Nagarjun agar dam could release large quantities of water, several lowlying areas and island downstream faced the danger of inundation. Officials said these areas would be safe till the discharge from Nagarjunasagar reached 7 lakh cusecs. Nagarjunasagar is presently releasing 5.21 lakh cusecs of water. With the possibilty of more water coming in from Karnataka and Maharashtra, 5.56 lakh cusecs of water was being released to Nagarjunasagar, where the water at 579.1 feet is almost full. |  |
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YSR hiked relief limit | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 13: The political fight between the Congress and the Telugu Desam over provision of relief to flood affected people has taken a new twist with each claiming that the other was miserly when it comes to providing succour.
Official records, however, show that the Telugu Desam government had fixed upper limits for financial assistance to people affected by natural calamities. According to an order (GO 1337) issued by then TD government in 2003, the quantum of relief fixed for people whose houses were fully damaged was Rs 1,500 and for partially damaged houses was Rs 750. The TD reg-ime had fixed relief for utensils and clothes at Rs 750. The Congress, after coming to power, revised the quantum of relief. In its orders issued last year, the Congress government had increased assistance for fully damaged houses to Rs 2,000, for partially damaged houses to Rs 1,200 and for utensil to Rs 1,000. The Central government has announced an additional exgratia of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of the victims, besides the exgratia of Rs 50,000 announced by the State government. TD president N. Chandra-babu Naidu, however, wanted the exgratia to be incre-ased to Rs 3 lakh. BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu deman-ded Rs 1,000 crore Central assistance to the State. Accusing the TD chief of “mean talk” over a human tradegy, PCC chief K. Kes-hav Rao asked the TD leader to do some home work bef-ore criticising the Congress. Mr Rao also suggested that a new disaster management department should be for-med to deal with the subject. | |
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Rajnath takes ill, admitted | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug 13: BJP president Rajnath Singh was admitted to a private hospital in the city on Sunday following complaints of high blood pressure. Mr Singh who was in the city to attend the marriage of RSS leader Ram Madhav’s brother complained uneasiness in the evening. He was rushed to a hospital in Secunderabad, where doctors performed all tests. “He was having a throat problem. Doctors also diagnosed high blood pressure and advised rest for one day,” BJP State general secretary K. Laxman said, adding that he would be discharged on Monday. “Nothing to worry about his health,” Mr Laxman said. He said that the BJP president would in all probability leave for New Delhi on Monday as scheduled. Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and senior leader L.K. Advani called up and inquired about his health. | |
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City turns into haven for burglars | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 13: The city has become a safe haven for burglars with at least three to four burglaries every day. Property worth Rs 30 crore was stolen from the city and Cyberabad in a year as against Rs 77.35 crores stolen in the State. Increase in thefts by non-local gangs and criminals recently released from jail combined with lack of vigil by authorities were the main reasons behind this alarming trend. According to State Crime Records Bureau statistics, the quantum of property stolen is highest in Hyderabad (Rs 20.6 crores), followed by Cyberabad (Rs 9.78 crores).
The percentage of recovery of stolen property is the least in Hyderabad at 37 per cent. Out of the Rs 20 crore worth of property stolen in the city only Rs 7.6 crore property was recovered. The State average is 48 per cent. An SCRB official said, “Hyderabad has topped the list of property crime for three years. Cyberabad which was in third place climbed to second this year. At least 6,000 cases of property crime are reported every year in the city.” Police said robbers are turning more violent which is a disturbing trend. Every year, about 135 persons are murdered in the State. Chikkadapally ACP Su-mathi said, “Public should be more alert and they should take precautions. More crimes are reported in middle class localities than posh localities. Lack of security guards makes the middle class localities vulnerable.” | |
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Lumbini will now be called Anjaiah | | |
| Hyderabad, Aug 13: The popular Lumbini Park abutting Hussainsagar will be renamed after former chief minister T. Anjaiah. The park will henceforth be known as T. Anjaiah Lumbini Park. Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy will rename the park on August 16, the birth anniversary of Anjaiah. He will also unveil the statue of Anjaiah in the park. Congress legislator P. Janardhan Reddy said that AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh and APCC chief K. Keshava Rao would attend the function.
Anjaiah had masterminded the Buddha Purnima project which included beautification of Tank Bund and Necklace Road, Mr Janardhan Reddy said. | |
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Shop near police station looted | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug 13: Burglars broke into a mobile phone shop near Vanasthalipuram police station in the wee hours of Sunday and stole handsets worth Rs 2 lakh. The owners of Vinakay Traders and Mobile Sales shop noticed some activity near their outlet at 3 am and raised an alarm, the burglars fled in a van. The owners, who stay in a house opposite the shop, complained that though they informed the police immediately, they did not act promptly. Mr A. Nagaraju, owner of the shop, said that his father Krishnamurthy woke up at 3 am and noticed a van parked in front of the shop. “I stay on the top floor and my father called me up immediately and I came running down,” he said. “But the burglars escaped in their van”. Mr Nagaraju said he immediately rushed to the police station. “I knocked at the gate for 10 minutes but there was no response,” he said. “Then I entered the station on my own and informed the cops about the burglary”. Usually an armed sentry guards the police station. However, during elections all the weapons were shifted from the police stations fearing a Maoist attack. Now, there is no sentry guarding the station. | |
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Two from city drown in Goa | | |
| | Hyderabad. Aug. 13: A jolly trip to Goa turned out to be the proverbial final journey for a student and a lecturer of a city-based engineering college. The duo was pulled into the sea by a giant wave on Friday evening when they ventured into the beach soon after arri-ving at a Goa resort. Th-eir bodies were found only on Saturday morning. Since life guards on the beach were on strike, there was nobody to save them. The deceased were ide-ntified as T.L.N. Murthy, 21, a third year student of St Mary’s College of Engineering and Technology of Desmukhi in the city outskirts, and Vishnu Vardhan, 31, a lab programmer of the same college. K.V. Rao of the college told this correspondent from Goa that the duo was part of a 30-member team of students and lecturers who went on a private tour. The team left for Goa on Tuesday. “It was not a college tour and they were just making use of the holidays,” said Mr Rao. “There were 16 students from our college in the team.” Murthy, Vishnu and others went to the beach while others were checking into the AP Tourism resort. “Initially Murthy was dragged into the sea and Vishnu tried to save him and he was also pulled in,” said Mr Rao. |
“We are planning to contact the newspapers’ circulation department to work out the modalities,” he added. The reaction of newspaper readers was, however, mixed. Mr Rajasekhar, 42, a State government employee thought the idea may work. “It’s wonderful idea. People may not use the condoms, but it will create awareness,” he said. Student Sulochana also agreed with Mr Rajasekhar. “I support the idea, it will sensitise more people,” she said. Housewife Rajyalakshmi, however, did not approve. “The condom attached to newspapers will embarrass people, especially family members. Nowadays, people know the uses of a condom and how to use them, so what is the point in attaching them to dailies? If someone wants a condom, they can buy one.” she said.
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