Hyderabad, Aug. 16: The State government is looking at redesigning the Polavaram dam on the Godavari river to enable it to withstand bigger floods and protect the temple town of Bhadrachalam downstream. The decision comes after the government vigorously defended the current design of the dam. This newspaper had reported that a slew of reports by experts had stated that the dam, as it is planned now, cannot handle floods beyond a certain volume.
Sources in the department said the recent floods were an eye-opener. Officials are now planning for a situation where the Godavari river and its major tributaries like the Penganga, Pranahita, Indravati and Sabari flood simultaneously. Last week, 28 lakh cusecs flowed down the Godavari. (A cusec is a cubic feet, about 28.4 litres of water, a second; 28 lakh cusecs means approximately 7.7 crores litres of watering flowing a second). The record was the flow of 36 lakh cusecs in 1986.
An environmental impact assessment report had indicated that the spillway of the dam was designed for a flood of 36 lakh cusecs based on the 1986 figure. According to the model, if the reservoir level is maintained at 140 ft above sea level (ASL) at Polavaram dam, the backwater at Bhadrachalam would be at 186 ft at ASL. During the current floods, the ASL at Bhadrachalam was 180 ft and water entered the town. The consequences would have been disastrous, the officials realised, if water at the future Polavaram dam reached 150 feet ASL Following suggestions from various quarters, the department officials are now rethinking on the design to withstand PMF of 45 lakh cusecs, assuming that all its tributaries and the Godavari are flooding at the same time.
As per the Godavari Waters Disputes Tribunal award in 1980 and the subsequent agreement signed with Chhattisgarh (which was part of Madhya Pradesh then) and Orissa, the design and flood discharge operation of Polavaram project would be looked after by the Central Water Commission. Therefore, the department would propose to the CWC on redesigning the project spillway based on the revised PMF of 45 lakhs. As an adjunct, the discharge capacity of Dowlaiswaram barrage downstream of Godavari river would have to be increased from the present level of 28 lakh cusecs to 45 lakhs, sources said.
| Depression to bring heavy rains in State | | |
| | Visakhapatnam: The Cyclone Warning Centre on Wednesday said that the low pressure over northwest Bay of Bengal off West Bengal-Orissa coast intensified into a depression and is likely to cross north Orissa coast between Paradeep and Balasore by Wednesday night. Under its influence, rain or thundershowers are expected at many places along the State’s coast during next 24 hours. Heavy rainfall is also likely in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea. Distant cautionary signal number 1 has been hoisted at Visakhapatnam and Machilipatnam ports and distant cautionary signal number 1 with section signal number 1 has been hoisted at the Kakinada port. |  | | |
Government forgets vow, to sell Azam Jahi Mills | | |
| | Warangal, Aug. 16: The State government has gone back on its promise to set up an apparel and textile park on the 130-acre plot housing the defunct Azam Jahi Mills. Instead, the government is now planning to sell off the prime piece of land through an open auction. The sale is expected to raise at least Rs 100 crores. Senior political leaders including Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had repeatedly assured people of the district that an apparel and textile park would come up at the site located in front of the Warangal Railway Station.
However, much to the shock of the local populace, it has now asked the Kakatiya Urban Development Authority (Kuda) to sell off the land. Kuda chief Ch Srinivasa Reddy said that the National Textile Corporation would soon transfer the land to the authority. “We will sell it and use the money for the development of this historic city,” he said. Ironically, the foundation stone for the apparel park laid by former chiefminister N. Chandrababu Naidu in February 2004 still stands mutely in the site. Earlier, in 2004 when the Telugu Desam government had tried to sell the land, the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti had agitated against the move and forced the government to backtrack. Business houses Reliance and Sahara had shown keen interest in 2004. The Congress leaders had at that time assured people that their government would make the apparel park a reality. When he toured the area for Rajiv Nagara Bata last October, Dr Rajasekhar Reddy too had promised the same. “People of the city have an emotional tie with the mill which was set up during the Nizam era,” said M. Laxminarayana, a former mill employee. “Its siren used to the wake up call for the city,” he said. The mill was known for its superior quality products and used to export fabric to the Gulf and other Western countries. It was established in 1935 and employed nearly 10,000 people directly and around half a lakh people indirectly till it was closed down in 2002. The sale of the land will also result in the displacement of the families of 140 mill employees who still stay in dilapidated quarters. “There should be a special package for us,” said Kota Sanjeevulu, a resident of one of the quarters. Senior academic P. Sarangapani pointed out that if the government sold off public sector units such as the mill, it would never be able to tackle chronic unemployment in the area. “Consequently, it will not be able to prevent the youth from jointing extremist outfits,” he warned.
| | | |
IT firms struggle to combat job fraudsters | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 16: IT companies in Hitec City are facing new challenges during recruitment: Impersonation by candidates during interviews and written exams, and aspirants turning up with fake appointment letters. At least six cases of recruitment fraud were reported from HiTec City this year. Police says there could be more such cases as companies sack the fraudulent employees and don’t lodge a complaint. “Usually the companies disqualify the candidate and blacklist him. They don’t come forward (to complain) as this may result in drawing attention to the company,” police sources said. Madhapur inspector S. Jayaram said, “We have arrested some people in all the six cases, though some others are absconding. All of them are young and have BE and MCA degrees.” The IT giant Wipro had lodged two complaints regarding impersonation during interviews and written exams, Mr Jayaram said. “In the Wipro cases, an IT professional attended the written test and interview but another person turned up to join. This was detected by staff,” Mr Jayaram said. “Usually in IT companies written tests, interviews and recruitment are done at different places at different levels,” the inspector said. “The companies are not insisting on photographs at the written test and interview levels,” he said. As recently as on August 7, the Madhapur police had arrested two persons who sold fake appointment letters to IT job aspirants. One of them allegedly was Kalyan Chakravarthy, a former employee of CFC Ltd. “He began the racket after he was sacked,” Mr Jayaram said. Chakravarthy had allegedly prepared fake appointment letters in BPO firms,” Mr Jayaram said. He allegedly collected Rs 45,000 each from aspirants. “We arrested him and seized the cash,” the inspector said. The forged letters have been sent to AP Forensic Science Laboratory. Police also arrested one D. Sudhakar Reddy alias Sudhakar who signed on the appointment letters in the case related to Crime No. 278/2006 under cheating and forgery sections of the Indian Penal Code. A human resource development manager of an IT company at HiTec City on condition of anonymity said, “Several types of fraud take place during recruitment. As recruitment take place in a mass scale, impersonations take place and fake certificates are often submitted.” “The candidate may be good at the subject but may not have communication skills. Such candidates depend on job racketeers,” the official said. “Following these frauds, most of the recruitment is being done with references by employees working in the company.”
| | | |
Space jam: Pluto holds on for now | | |
| | Pluto has dodged a bullet. In the hope of ending years of wrangling, a committee of astronomers and historians has proposed a new definition of the word “planet” that would expand at a stroke the family of planets from nine to 12 and leave textbooks and charts in thousands of classrooms out of date. But astronomers immediately began to wrangle about it.
“It’s a mess,” said Michael E. Brown of the . Among the chosen few within the solar system would be not only Pluto, whose status has been challenged in recent years, but also Ceres, the largest asteroid; 2003 UB313, nicknamed Xena, an object discovered by Dr Brown in 2005 orbiting far beyond Pluto in the outer solar system; and even Pluto’s largest moon, Charon.
In addition, at least a dozen more solar system objects are waiting inthe wings for more data to see if they fit the new definition of planethood, which is that an object be massive enough that gravity has formed it into a sphere and that it circles a star and not some other planet. The definition, they said, would apply both inside and outside the solar system. The new definition was to be announced on Wednesday in Prague, where some 2,500 astronomers are meeting in the assembly of the International Astronomical Union. |
| State to beautify heritage structures | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 16: Farmer friendly Rajasekhar Reddy government is now knocking at Centre’s doors to fund tourism projects in the State. The State government has sent proposals to Centre for funding 23 tourist projects spread across various districts including Hyderabad which is estimated to cost about Rs 40 crore. The projects are likely to be cleared soon. An 8.17 crore proposal for the integrated development and beautification of the famous 14th century Qutub Shahi Tombs, Golconda Fort, Shaikpet Sarai (resting place of kings), Hakeempet Sarai, Premavati Mosque and Khazana Building Museum has been made. Out of Rs 8.17 crore, the Centre’s share will be Rs 6.53 crore. “These sites are archeological monuments that fall under heritage and religious tourism,” Ms Chitra Ramachandran, Secretary, Tourism told this correspondent.
Plans are also afoot to rechristen Qutub Shahi Tombs as “Bagh-e-Faiz-e-Ather (Garden of peace). Qutub Shahi Tombs that spread across 100 acres, comprise 21 tombs including 7 royal tombs , Taramati tomb, Premavathi tomb, Hakim’s tomb, Hayath Bakshi Begum tomb and Kulsum Begum tomb, 17 mosques, 5 baulis (wells), one Idgah, 10 heritage fountains, and one underground water channel. The Tombs’ premises would be environmentally upgraded along with construction of landscapes, tourist amenities, refurbishment of the monuments, entry plaza, ticket counter, international interpretation centre among other facilities. “The entire area will also be illuminated with solar lights, pathway lights and garden lights including sonnet-e-lumiere (sound and light show),” she added. Sarais or rest houses, which served as oasis to weary travellers in the past, will be restored to their old glory. The one at Shaikpet village, near Golconda Fort, that was built for tra-vellers between Mumbai and Ma-chilipatnam will be renovated. Projects that are likely to be taken up in Vizag are development of beach circuit at a cost of Rs 6.12 crore, and development of Buddhist Circuit Bhavanikonda, Totla Konda. Similar landscaping, provision of amenities and other developmental works have been planned in and around the 1000 pillar temple at Warangal. Elegandal Fort in Karimnagar district which was constructed during the Kakatiya period, will also be beautified. Construction of restaurants, illumination, drinking water facilities, construction of link roads, and children’s park have been planned at a cost of Rs 57.25 lakh. Under rural tourism initiative, Kolanupaku in Aler mandal of Nalgonda, famous for its Jain temple will also be renovated. Similarly, Pillalamarri, a small village near Suryapet famous for its Shiva temples is being taken up for beautification. | |
|
Diggy says Telangana being taken care of | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 16: All India Congress Committee general-secretary and State in-charge Digvijay Singh on Wednesday asked the State government to keep a close watch on prices of essential commodities. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the statue of former chief minister T. Anjaiah at Lumbini Park, Mr Singh said the State government should be vigilant and take steps to ensure that the pric-es are under control and within the reach of poor. However, Mr Singh was all praise for the Chief Minister for “doing exceedingly well” in fulfilling the electoral promises. Maintaining that the State government was attending to all the issues raised by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Mr Singh said his party was holding a dialogue with TRS notwithstanding the deadlines fixed by the latter. “All the irrigation projects that help Telangana have already been take up and TRS is given full assurance on proper rehabilitation and resettlment of the outsees of Polavaram,” he said. | |
|
Old buildings pose new problems | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 16: The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) is planning to forcibly vacate those occupying dilapidated and unsafe buildings in the city as a prelude to their demolition. “We are in the process of identifying the most unsafe buildings and demolition will start as soon as the list is ready,” said a senior MCH official. MCH has already issued notices to owners of 500 dilapidated buildings. Zonal additional commissioners are now busy categorising the buildings as most dangerous, dangerous and less dangerous. Additional Municipal Commissioner K. Dhanunjaya Reddy said MCH would first try to persuade owners. “If they do not listen, we will vacate them forcibly to save their lives,” he said. However, owners are hesitant to move out because of the financial loss they would suffer. Some of the buildings identified for demolition are in places like Begum Bazar where land prices are rising. Several other buildings are caught in legal tussles and owners fear they may lose ownership rights, if they vacate. Also, MCH has no provision to help those who have no other place to move. MCH has fastened up the process after the hostel collapse in Sultan Bazar on Aug. 5. The Association of Colonies and Apartments has asked to make alternate arrangements before taking up the demolition drive. | |
|
Student dies in car, bus smash on Tank Bund | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 16: Naz-ia Hasan Ansari, a B.Arch student of Venkateswara College of Engineering, died when the car she was driving collided with an RTC bus on Tank Bund on Wednesday morning. Ansari, daughter of Ahmed Hasan Ansari, was a resident of Mehidipatnam. Gandhinagar sub-inspector G. Ramesh said, “The mishap took place around 7 am when Nazia was returning from her friend’s house. Her car was hit by an RTC bus which was going to Secunderabad. She was shifted to KIMS Hospital where she died..” A case has been registered against RTC driver Mohammed Fayaz Hussain of Jagityal depot. Elsewhere, the body of Joga Rajaneesh, a Hyderabadi student who was killed on August 8 in Australia, was cremated in the city on Wednesday. His family resided at Dilsukhnagar. Rajaneesh, was doing his post-graduation in professional accounting at Melbourne Institute of Technology and working as a part-time taxi driver. He died after being seriously assaulted and thrown out of the cab by the 20-year-old man he had taken in as a passenger on Tuesday last. “(Australian) doctors had said that he had multiple fractures. It took eight days for the body to be flown home,” Rajaneesh’s brother Rajesh said. In another case, Balaji of Dilsukhnagar who was injured in a road mishap at Saifabad a week ago died at Gandhi Hosptial on Wednesday. | |
|
SCR’s superfast trains turn into slow coaches | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 16: Several superfast trains in the South Central Railway jurisdiction have earned a dubious distinction of chronically running late, causing inconvenience to thousands of passengers. Passengers complain that Simhapuri Express, which runs between Secunderabad and Gudur, and Gauthami Express, which runs between Secunderabad and Kakinada, are running late after they were declared superfast trains. Inquiries by this correspondent revealed that Simhapuri did not arrive on time for a single day at Nellore in the past one month and for about 15 days it was late by a minimum by an hour. “For instance, on August 11, the train arrived on the Secunderabad platform at 10.20 pm against the scheduled departure of 9.30 pm and left for Gudur at 10.40 pm,” said M. Ravi, a Nellore-bound passenger. Contrary to general practice of berthing the train on platform 1, it was diverted to platform 2 without any announcement, he said. Several passengers mobbed the station superintendent’s office and shouted at the officials present on duty. “The officials are so indifferent that they are not able to give reasons for the delay nor were they in a position to give us correct information about the arrival of the train,” said V.V. Rao, another passenger. Mr Rao had a bitter experience of travelling by the train which left the station at 10.25 pm on August 7. The passengers of these trains are put to inconvenience even after paying the additional charges ranging from Rs 20 to Rs 50, he lamented. Similar was the complaint of passengers of Gauthami Express, which was also running late after it was upgraded to ‘superfast’ status. “When I travelled to Kakinada on July 28, the train rea-ched at 9.40 am against the scheduled time of 7.15 am and again when I tra-velled on the same train on August 10 it reached at 8 am,” said S. Radharaman, a bank executive. | |
|
Centre to fund modernisation of sugar mills | | |
| | Hyderabad, Aug. 16: The State government will take up expansion and modernisation of seven cooperative sugar factories at a cost of Rs 266.94 crores with fina-ncial assistance from the Central government, minister for sugar and tourism J. Geetha Reddy said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters here, Ms Reddy said that the seven cooperative sugar factories namely Chodavar-am, Thandava, Anakapalle (all in Visakhapatnam district), Sri Vijayarama Gaja-pathi (Vizianagaram), Kov-vur (Nellore), Sri Venkates-hwara and Chittoor sugar factories (Chittoor) will be taken up for modernisation and expansion. While National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) would provide a loan of Rs 122.74 crores, the Sugar Development Fund would contribute Rs 117.50 crores for the project. Besides, the State government would provide 10 per cent of the members’ contribution of Rs 26.7 crores to the project. It would give a guarantee to the tune of Rs 160 crores for the loans obta-ined from the Centre. She said the loans would be obtained at an interest of nine per cent per annum. “Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has extended full support to the implementation of the revival project. Under the Congress government, all the sick cooperative sugar factories were revived and they recorded profits during 2005-06. Eight sugar factories earned profits to the tune of Rs 31.26 crores,” she claimed.
With the expansion of the proposed seven sugar factories, their crushing capacity would be increased from 13,450 tonnes to 18,900 tonnes per day. Their capacity of co-generation of power would also go up from 6.15 MW to 58.65 MW, after the project was completed. | |
|
|
|
