Andhranews

Kadapa, Sept. 21: The APTransco conducted extensive raids in various villages across the district and found that there were over 1,550 illegal connections. The officials had started taking measures to regularise these illegal connections. It was decided to book cases against the farmers if they do not come forward to regularise their connections.

There were about 85,000 agricultural connections and of them there are 1,550 illegal connections. Across the district there were about 5.22 lakh connections including domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors. Of them 3.92 lakh were domestic connections. As the State government initiated measures to put the agricultural connections in order and urged the farmers to arrange capacitors to their electric motors. So far, the APTransco officials were able to convince 85 per cent farmers to set up capacitors.

The APTransco officials set a target to supply 52 lakh units per day to these customers, but the demand has gone up to 63 lakh units. As a result, there was a deficit of 11 lakh units. The officials were charging Rs 5 per unit if they consume power more than the demand during the peak hours and the customers were forced to bear the cost.

As the demand is more than the supply, it has become a headache for the APTransco officials to supply adequate power. Moreover, there were political pressures over the disconnection of illegal agricultural power connections. At the same time, the number of illegal power connections is going up during nights in some villages which are not coming to the notice of APTransco officials.

In fact, the number of illegal connections is more than double the figure that came to the official notice. It is learnt that the customers were luring the low-level staff by paying bribes and utilising the power illegally. However, the higher officials did not dare to take harsh measures in containing these illegal connections, it is rumoured. As a result, the unscheduled power cuts are going up.

Nellore, Sept. 21: Ms Rajarajeswari, who is agitating in front of her mother-in-law’s house seeking a reunion with her husband since the last four days, was admitted to a local private hospital when she lost consciousness soon after a one-to-one discussion with her husband at Fifth Town police station here on Thursday evening.
Her condition is said to be stable. Nellore police traced Santhan Sagar, her husband, and brought him to the station in a bid to counsel the couple with the help of the family counselling committee.

Though she refused to take part in the counselling session earlier on the plea that the exercise would be of no use without the presence of her mother-in-law, she relented, following the initiative taken by her advocate. She was with her husband for half-an-hour after the counselling committee preferred a one-to-one talk between the couple.

She came out and collapsed after complaining that her husband had told her that he did not know anything about her gold. The women who appeared to be very weak, was rushed to a local hospital. Earlier, she came to the Fifth Town police station along with hundreds of her supporters, but returned without entering it when she came to know that her mother-in-law was not present. Incidentally, her mother-in-law, Sunandamma, who allegedly consumed sleeping pills a couple of days ago, is undergoing treatment in a local superspeciality hospital.

Earlier, Congress corporator Bhanusree, former public prosecutor C. Ramakrishna, and other members of the family counselling committee advised Ms Rajarajeswari to have a dialogue with her husband but she did not agree. She, however, reiterated her demand to keep all the property given by her parents as dowry in her name. She said that she wanted to live with her husband separately. She expressed confidence in changing the attitude of her husband if they lived together.

However, Sagar had told a TV channel that he would only follow his mother’s advice. He said that his wife and her relatives were more interested in money and a share in his property, rather than his wife living with him. Sagar, who is working in a software firm at Hitech city, blamed his wife’s parents for the state of affairs in his family. With the latest twist in this drama, people wonder what will happen next.

Nellore, Sept. 21: Screening tests held in nine mandals of the district on Wednesday and Thursday for children below 12 years suffering from cardiac ailments evoked poor response, according to sources in the medical and health department.

Those identified at the mandal level would be screened again in the super speciality camp slated for September 24 to detect heart ailments. The fact that only 100 patients turned up for the screening at the headquarters hospital in the town is an indicator to the response.

Meanwhile, local legislator Anam Vivekananda Reddy reviewed arrangements for the camp with medical and health officials on Thursday. Zilla parishad chief executive officer Penchal Reddy, medical superintendent of headquarters hospital Him-adevi and DPRO Prasad took part in the meet. The MLA said that they would use echo equipment to identify heart ailments.

Ongole, Sept. 21: Referring to the case against Telugu Desam(TD) MLA Karanam Balaram for his alleged remarks against the Prakasam district collector Udayalakshmi, TD politburo member Erraballi Dayakar invited the IAS officers’ association office bearers to Prakasam district to take stock of the situation and take action against whoever was at fault in the episode.

He was speaking at a public meeting held at Mallavaram village after interacting with people of the submerging villages under the Gundlakamma project. He alleged that false cases were foisted against Mr Balaram for pulling up the district administration over the injustice done to the farmers in Prakasam district.

He also alleged that the district collector had failed to resolve various issues pertaining to farmers, particularly of the farmers of Mallavaram who lost their crops because of breach to a diversion canal. Mr Dayakar Rao alleged that Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Rao’s relatives had collected crores of rupees in the packages of the Gundlakamma project.

Telugu Yuvatha president Mr Talasani Srinivasa Yadav alleged that Congress leaders were instigating attacks on TD leaders and cadres. “Where will you go when we come to power after two years?” asked Mr Yadav, taking a dig at officials supporting the Congress.

Addanki MLA Mr Karanam Balaram alleged that left canal works of Gundlakamma project were allotted to the Ongole legislator’s brother-in-law and right canal works to close relatives of the Chief Minister. “Cases are foisted against me at the instance of the Chief Minister,” Mr Balaram alleged.

He said that people of submerging villages were eligible to get Rs 1.52 lakh per acre but the laxity of the district administration led to a poor compensation package. He said that he was annoyed when his conversation over telephone with the State-level secretary on the compensation issue was disturbed because of the speech of the collector over the public address system at Mallavaram.

Rajahmundry, Sept. 21: With incessant rains during the last few days, more than knee-deep rain water entered into Aryapuram and Tummalova areas causing concern to residents on Thursday. As the flood water in Godavari crossed the second warning signal at the Dowleswaram barrage in the early hours of Thursday, the drain water outlet through the Nalla channel into the river was closed.

Civic authorities fixed a 180 hp motor and three 30 hp capacity motors at the outlet of the channel to drain out rain water into the river. But as the river water level went up, there was no option for civic authorities but to close the outlet gates and drain out the water into the river at a higher altitude.

The civic authorities hire additional high capacity motors from other sources to bail out water whenever there is heavy rain. Similarly, with water getting logged in Aryapuram, Tummalova and others areas causing hardship to people, civic authorities arranged high capacity motors hired from Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills, ONGC and also from the Fire Services and started bailing out water.

As it was dry on Thursday, there was no collection of additional quantum of water giving much relief to the civic authorities. AP Tourism Development Corporation boats were pressed into service to help people go out from the marooned areas. District collector M. Subramanyam visited the area and underlined the importance of installation of a 500 hp motor to facilitate quick bailing out of water from the Nalla channel.

Local MLA Routhu Surya Prakasa Rao, who visited the area, said that the State government had already issued an order on September 19 to release Rs 6.38 crores for solving the inundation problem of low-lying areas in addition to supplying potable water to the people. The MLA assured to take up the relief works on a permanent basis and solve the problem.

Kakinada, Sept. 21: Civic amenities elude residents of Kakinada in spite of its elevation to Corporation status about two years ago. Consumer and rate payers associations allege that this is due to gross negligence on the part of authorities and people’s representatives.

About four lakh residents suffer due to lack of sanitation and an ineffective drainage system with indifferent maintenance. The Kakinada civic body which has 140 years of history was elevated as a special grade municipality in 1980. Since then the talk of upgradation into a corporation picked up momentum with the merger of 16 surrounding villages.

This status was attained without merging the surrounding villages in January 2005. Lack of civic amenities, especially on the sanitation front, needs special attention. Mr Dusarlapudi Ramana Raju, vice-president, Kakinada Municipal and Mandal Consumer Welfare Association, says that the shortage of staff and priorities are the main reasons for this sorry state of affairs. In 1987, for two lakh population about 850 sanitation staff were managing the wing, but after two decades the number has come down to about 670 with an increase of another two lakh population.

The storm water drain and the Cheedalapora drain cater to the drainage system of the city. Kakinada, in spite of its elevation to the status of a corporation, has the dubious distinction of lacking drainage in several parts of the city. In areas like Gandhinagar, Ramarao Peta, Srinagar, Ashoknagar and some other areas the facility is yet to be extended. People in several areas dig pits in front of their houses to flush out the used water. Main drains are not being desilted regularly.

Drains are desilted when rains occur and all the desilted mud returns to the drains along with the rain water, said Mr Ramana Raju. The underground drainage system which was planned in 1971 is pending since the last three-and-a half decades. The estimation then was Rs 9 crores and now has gone up to Rs 80 crores, said social activist Dhulipudi Mohana Rao.

The need for outlets for smooth flow of traffic by providing flyovers at Sambamurty Nagar, Perraju Peta and Atchutapuram was stressed by several organisations at different fora. The cost of these projects is estimated at Rs 16 crores.

Karimnagar, Sept. 21: Fabulous paper products made by women artisans from Durshed in Karimnagar are all set to storm the German market. The products, crafted in eco-friendly handmade paper, have already created waves in the domestic market. The artisans are now using the internet to find markets for their products overseas.

They are keen on marketing their products in Germany, the first country to ban polythene carry bags. Artisans of Laxmi Paper Crafts, a women-run venture functioning under the Khadi Village Industries Commission, have already entered into a tie-up with the Munich-based firm Tranquill to act as their dealer.

“Lampshades made of paper are in great demand in Germany,” said Ms A. Venkata Laxmi of Laxmi Paper Craft. “We will display our products in the international handmade paper fair to be held in Frankfurt next January.” The women artisans have created a ‘payment gateway’ through the internet as part of their export promotion activities.

“We have got encouraging response and bagged several orders for wedding cards and other products from NRIs in London and the United States,” said Ms Laxmi. A new website, laxmipaperscrafts. com, is being launched to further promote the products.

“At present, we are working on a big order for 10,000 paper lampshades for a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company,” said Ms Sarada, another artisan. “Fresh orders are pouring in for the Diwali festival. We are earning money without damaging nature.” The artisans say that customers are also keen on eco-friendly products nowadays. “There is huge potential for our products and we are going to tap it,” said Ms Sarada.

Warangal, Sept. 21: Major irrigation minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah on Thursday said that 4,800 tmc ft of water was released into the seas this season. He said that the State could store and use only 1,400 tmc ft of water compared to the huge quantity being released into the seas.

Expressing anguish over the huge quantities of water going waste into the seas, he said that the ongoing irrigation projects taken under the Jalayagnam would help the State to store and utilise a good quantity of rain and floodwater.The minister was addressing a press conference at the collectorate here after touring the flood-affected areas in the district.

“The fact that we are losing precious quantity of water underlines the need for more irrigation projects and the Congress government launched Jalayagnam to use the rain and floodwater to maximum possible extent,” he added. Mr Lakshmaiah said that in order to end the regional imbalances and to irrigate the upland areas which experience regular drought conditions, lift irrigation schemes like Devadula were taken up.

The Flood Flow Canal being constructed to utilise the Godavari floodwater would also benefit the Nizambad, Karimnagar, Warangal districts, he added. Fulfilling the wish of the people of Karimnagar and Warangal districts, the government has also called for tenders for the construction of the Mid Manair dam.

Earlier, revenue minister Dharmana Prasada Rao, social welfare minister D.S. Redya Naik and Mr Lakshmaiah visited the flood-affected areas in and around the city and inspected the relief camps where the flood-affected people were kept in the city.

The revenue minister handed over the ex gratia cheque for an amount of Rs 1.5 lakhs each to the families of the deceased persons. District collector K. Damayanti, joint collector Syed Omer Jaleel, mayor E Swarna, municipal commissioner Smita Sabharwal and others were present.

Khammam, Sept. 21: Four persons drowned at various places in the district during the last 24 hours due to rains and floods in the district. However, inflows to River Godavari and its rivulets started receding on Thursday.

Bathula Mahalaxmi and Tipparapu Renuka, residents of Gumpellagudem under Karepalli mandal drowned in Nakkalavagu while they were crossing it. Tuppati Ramalaxmanudu, a shepherd, drowned in a trench near Pedamunagala under Konijerla mandal.
Vanga Sai Kumar, 12, a deaf and dumb student studying Class III in a hostel at Dornakal drowned in a canal in Yellandu.

Inflows to river Godavari at Bhadrachalam receded to 47 feet by Thursday evening and it is expected that it would recede further by Friday morning. Inflows from the tributaries of Sabari, Taliperu and Indravathi also receded.

The officials closed the gates of Kinnerasani Project. The rivulets of Wyra and Munner had a normal flow of water and there is no danger. All the tanks and reservoirs of Wyra, Palair, Pedavagu, Bayyaram, Lankasagar and Bethupalli are brimming with water.

Meanwhile, minister for municipal administration and district incharge minister Koneru Ranga Rao on Thursday said that seven villages were affected due to the floods to Godavari river and 270 families were shifted to safer places.

Mr Ranga Rao told presspersons he reviewed the flood situation with the officials and they were alerted to face any situation. He said that the affected people would be extended all help. Mr Ranga Rao said that the government took initiative to complete the pending projects to tap water of the rivers which has been going waste into the sea. The minister said that many water projects would be completed within two to three years.

Vijayawada, Sept. 21: A campaign is on to ensure that the district is free from child labour by 2007. The administration has been involving various dep-artments and non-governmental organisations in the district, which have been conducting special schools for working children.

In continuation to the on-going exercise of releasing children from their work places, the district administration has now set its eyes on children working as cattle boys with the farmers and landlords. While young girls are engaged as domestic-help, the boys are engaged in the fields to guard cattle. The administration had so far freed over 75 girls working as domestic-help and sent them to the hostels.

With the success of the rehabilitation of girls, the administration is now concentrating on bringing boys to the child labour schools and the bridge schools. A meeting of the officials from the education department, besides those from the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), along with the representatives of the non-governmental organisations that have been working for the rehabilitation of children would be held in the city on September 23.

The administration asked the NGOs and the officials from the education department to collect information about children in their operational areas, while the officials from the NCLP and the SSA would prepare a strategy to rehabilitate the working children.

“District collector Navin Mittal has been working to meet the deadline of 2007 to make the district a child labour-free district. We are confident that all this will work out positively and there would be no child labour by 2007,” said NCLP project director K. Sivashankara Rao.

Visakhapatnam, Sept. 21: The temple hill of Simhachalam will soon become ‘Divyakshetram’ and the State government sent the orders to the local office here to go ahead with the works. The status of Divyakshetram will enable temple officials to clear the hilltop of all private properties besides providing for improved infrastructure facilities. Executive officer(EO) of the temple V. Shankara Reddy told this correspondent here on Thursday that 230 families living on the hill would be shifted to the foothill area for which land has been already sanctioned for them.

Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (Vuda) was asked to develop the area for construction of houses. “All the houses and private constructions will be demolished and roads and parks would be constructed in their place,” the EO said. The queue complex for the devotees would be modernised for the convenience of the people coming in large numbers from different parts of the country.

The main kalynamandapam would be also be developed for conducting important festivals. Free dormitories, drainage system and other basic infrastructural facilities would be created on the lines of major temples in the State, the EO said. The contract for entire works was being given to Central public works department.

The works would begin from the first week of October, he added. He said the security cover would be enhanced after the entire hill town becomes Divyakshetram. Presently, only five armed police personnel were manning the security system and keeping in view the present threats to the temples across the country, it needs to be enhanced further, Mr Shankar Reddy felt.

Meanwhile, Sarada Peetham seer Swaroopanandendra Sway said many tribals living on the hill would lose their livelihood if the temple town was declared a Divyakshetram. He said that at least one member from a tribal family should be given employment in the temple. “The temple is shifting the rich by giving them prime lands. The authorities should also think of poor tribals,” the Swamy said.

Visakhapatnam, Sept. 21: The foundation stone for new integrated terminal building complex at the airport would be laid at 12 noon on September 25. This was informed to local MP and former chief minister N. Janaradhan Reddy by Union minister of State for civil aviation Praful Patel.

In a fax message to Mr Janardhana Reddy, copy of which was released to the media on Thursday, Mr Praful Patel said the terminal complex being developed by the Airports Authority of India was estimated to cost Rs 95 crores.

The new world class terminal building with an area of 20,200 square metres would be centrally air-conditioned with all the modern passenger amenities. They would include passenger boarding bridge with visual docking guidance system, escalators, lifts, conveyor belts in the arrival hall as well as in the departure hall and the car parking facilities to accommodate 600 cars.