Andhranews

Hyderabad, Sept. 8: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy assured the MLAs of Kurnool district that the State government would take effective steps to protect the standing crops in the district. He addressed the Kurnool district MLAs here on Friday on issues relating to drought and drinking water needs of the district. Minister for commercial taxes Konathala Ramakrishna, minister for irrigation Ponnala Lakshmaiah, minister for agriculture N. Raghuveera Reddy and minister for rain shadow area development M. Mareppa were present.

The MLAs brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that the water flows in Low Level Canal of Tungabhadra received during the period from July last week to first week of September is only 245 cusecs as against the average indented discharge of 600 cusecs, because of which, there is lot of uproar from farmers.

They also said that transplantation has been made only in 6,000 acres as again-st 34,600 acres due to the meagre realisation of water at AP border. This is becau-se of the drawing of water illegally by Karnataka farmers, they alleged and propo-sed to examine bringing of water from TB Dam thro-ugh pipelines to arrest misuse of water by Karnataka.

The Chief Minister directed the engineer-in-chief to examine the proposal and prepare a feasibility study to take up the issue. He also directed the minister for irrigation to meet the Karnataka irrigation minister and apprise him of the situation especially on the misuse of water by Karnataka farmers. Mr Lakshmaiah is slated to attend the TB Board meeting on September 14.

The Chief Minister questioned TBB chairman Jyothi about what action the TB Board is taking when the water is being illegally drawn and due share of the State is not being released. The Chief Minister also briefly spoke with his Karnataka counterpart H.D. Kumaraswamy over phone and urged him to take appropriate action. He also directed the officials to examine the feasibility of enhancing the capacity of Sunkesula reservoir. The Chief Minister assured the Kurnool representatives that the government would take every step to protect the standing crops in the district under K.C. Canal.

When the leaders brought to the notice of the Chief Minister about the severe drought situation in the district, he directed collector Dana Kishore to take up rural employment guarantee programme though it is not covered under NREG programme.

The State could take up the programme on its own in the district in view of the prevailing situation there, the Chief Minister assured. He directed the officials to study the drinking water requirement in the district.

Adoni (Kurnool), Sept. 8: Demanding release of water to the Tungabhadra Lower Level Canal (LLC), former MLA Prakash Jain began an indefinite hunger strike here on Friday. He reached the Ambedkar statue, in a procession along with leaders of various people’s organisations.

After launching the hunger strike, a meeting was held at the camp under the chairmanship of CPI (M) leader Radhakrishna. Addressing the meeting, former MLA and Telugu Desam constituency in-charge Meenakshi Naidu criticised the Congress MLAs of lobbying for berths in Cabinet instead of looking after the welfare of the farmers in the region.

He attacked the policies adopted by Adoni MLA Sai Prasad Reddy. Mr Naidu sa-id that he and other party le-aders went to meet Mr Red-dy to lodge a complaint ov-er the misuse of LLC water by the Karnataka farmers, when the DDRC meeting was in progress.

Instead of giving a positive reply, Mr Reddy made a sarcastic comment that water could not be released through mere agitations. Such a comment from an MLA was uncalled for, he added. Though there was adequate water in the Tungabh-adra dam, the Congress MPs and MLAs utterly fail-ed in getting the water rele-ased to the LLC.

The farmers are suffering a lot due to the closure of RDS sluice as water failed to reach KC Canal. This has resulted in shortage of drinking water to 226 villages, he added.

Kurnool, Sept. 8: Three senior medicos — Srinivas, Muralikrishna Reddy and Sudhirkumar Reddy — who resorted to ragging were arrested by the police in the early hours of Friday. The three had already been suspended from the Kurnool Medical College a week ago.

The police laid a trap and arrested the accused in front of their hostel building. They were produced before the local munsif magistrate, who remanded them to 27 days. On August 30, the three seniors forced three juniors to stay half-naked. Following a complaint by Principal Dr M.S.R.K. Prasad, the II Town police registered a case, said circle inspector P.N. Babu. In protest against the arrest, senior students staged a rasta roko in front of the district collectorate. Traffic was disrupted for an hour following the protest.

Ongole, Sept. 8: To prevent further exodus of farmers and labourers to cities in search of livelihood, the State government is contemplating to implement the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the drought-hit Prakasam district. So far, more than 50,000 people have migrated to the cities in the last three months due to the continuous dry spell.

Under the NREGS, the government would provide 100 days of work to each family every year. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the programme in Anantapur district in February this year. Almost all Telangana districts are covered under NREGS.

Leaders of the Telugu Desam, Left parties and farmers in the district have been demanding that the government declare the district a drought-hit area and implement the scheme. The government recently sent a three-member team to study the drought in the district.

Based on its report and keeping in view the drought conditions, the government is considering to implement the scheme in the district and is likely to issue a GO in this regard within a month. It is estimated that farmers suffered a crop loss worth Rs 12 crores due to low rainfall. Crops dried up at early stages in the district.

More than 50 per cent of land in the district depends on monsoon in kharif. In the last three months, the district registered 107.1 mm rainfall against the average rainfall of 147.7 mm. In July, 60.2 mm rainfall was registered against the average rainfall of 130.3 mm.

The situation is similar in August. The UPA government selected more than 200 districts across the country for the implementation of NREGS.
Only Kandukur MLA Mahidhara Reddy raised the issue in the recent Assembly session.

Kandukur, Sept. 8: Telugu Desam (TD) district unit president and Addanki legislator Karanam Balaram alleged on Friday that Congress MLAs, including mi-nister for finance K. Rosai-ah, failed to persuade the government in declaring Pr-akasam a drought-hit region though a large number of people were migrating to other regions.

Mr Balaram visited Kandukur to take part in the TD activists meeting. Speaking to reporters, he said that although four MPs, including a Union minister represented the district, they failed to persuade the government to declare it a drought-hit. He said that the district registered below average rainfall in kharif.

He questioned the government on the reason for not implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the district. The Centre annou-nced Rs 10 crore package for districts where the sche-me was sanctioned. He criticised the government for tacitly promoting migration by providing RTC buses to Hyderabad and Bangalore.

The TD leader said that Prakasam was in the third place among the severely drought-hit districts in the State. The team, which was deputed by the government to assess the drought in the district, did not visit all dro-ught affected regions and submitted a false report to the government, he alleged.

Former minister Damach-arla Anjaneyulu, former Zi-lla Parishad chairman Muk-ku Kasireddy, former legislators Sai Kalapana Reddy, Divi Sivaram, David Raju and other TD leaders were present. The leaders held a meeting with leaders of the four Assembly segments of Darsi, Kandukur, Kondepi and Kanigiri and discussed various issues.

Rajahmundry, Sept. 8: The Union health ministry proposed to make it compulsory for doctors to serve in rural areas for two years after completing their internship. Disclosing this here on Friday, Union Minister of State for Health Panabaka Lakshmi said that this move would help solve the shorage of doctors, especially in primary health centres to cater to the medical needs of villagers.

The minister said that in order to transport patients in need of emergency medical assistance, an ambulance would be provided in a radius of villages covering 1.5 lakh people and added that the responsibility for maintaining the ambulances would be given to non-governmental organisations.

Ms Lakshmi said that as part of the National Rural Health Mission, four lakh health workers under the AIDS Awareness and Sustained Holistic Action programme, popularly known as Aasha, were going to be appointed. She said that each health volunteer would get Rs 1,000 per month and added that though a pass in Class X was the minimum eligibility for becoming a health volunteer, there would be no regulations for volunteers working in hilly areas.

The minister said that under the programme, two lakh health volunteers have already been appointed. The health volunteers would be trained on administering first aid besides giving health tips to pregnant women. She also said that efforts were on to appoint a doctor either from homoeo, ayurveda or unani categories in each PHC.

Bhimavaram, Sept. 8: At a time when the world is celebrating the 40th International Literacy Day, villagers launched an agitation by locking the mandal pari-shad special primary school, seeking appointment of a permanent teacher in the school at Kovvada Annavaram village of this mandal on the second day.

A large number of villagers locked the mandal parishad special primary school on Thursday as they were fed up with education authorities for their failure to appoint a full time teacher at the school despite repeated reminders. Villagers did not allow the school to function on Friday too. Mandal educational officer M. Satyavardhan rushed to the school and tried to convince the villagers, but in vain.

The villagers contended that unless higher officials of the education department visit the school and give an assurance on the appointment of a teacher, they will not allow the school to function. The MEO informed the villagers that a teacher, Nageswara Rao, currently working at Komatitippa North and another teacher, Venkatippa were appointed to teach at the school for the time being.

He also said that the appointment of Mr Rao was informed to higher officials in the department and added that until further orders, Mr Rao would continue to work as a teacher in the school. The villagers told the MEO that earlier Potti Babji used to work in the school as a secondary grade assistant but he was shifted to the municipal school on deputation some two years ago.

They said that since then no teacher was appointed to the school on a permanent basis. Meanwhile, some students who arrived at the school had to stay outside as their school was locked for the second day too.

Warangal, Sept. 8: The district authorities have initiated steps to develop the city as the State-level industrial hub with a special emphasis on the development of information technology parks. District collector K. Damayanti, who took the initiative in organising a joint meeting of various departments including IT, BSNL, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), revenue and other educational institutions in the district, said that soon the city would be turned into a major IT hub in the State.

She said that there was a great scope to develop the city as an industrial hub with its infrastructure and strategic location. “The lands at Madikonda in survey numbers 23, 24 were identified as ideal for setting up of the IT parks and a detailed report on the land availability will be made in a week,” Ms Damayanti said.

The revenue department would carry out a survey at the identified survey numbers and would submit the detailed land availability report in order to facilitate the setting up of the IT Parks. National Institute of Technology (NIT) representative Prof. Jaya Kumar said that 3,500 square feet was available for setting up of the IT parks in the sprawling campus of the NIT, which is now hosting the STPI.

Assuring the potential entrepreneurs of IT parks, BSNL general manager Prof. K.K. Thakur said that the BSNL was ready to offer broadband Internet connectivity and optical fibre cable network wherever required. The Kakatiya University and the Kakatiya University of Technology and Sciences have offered to supply the qualified and trained human resources to the companies through their Jawahar Knowledge Centres.

Information Technology department additional secretary Raghuveer, who was present at the coordinated meet, said that the government was ready to provide all the facilities and infrastructure to the IT companies. He directed the concerned departments to conduct joint meetings regularly in order to speed up the process.

Warangal/Karimnagar, Sept. 8: Thousands of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) activists from Warangal and Karimnagar took part in the party’s meet at Siddipet on Friday. Scores of vehicles were arranged by the party leaders in the Warangal district to transport the activists.

A huge convoy of vehicles was flagged off at the Azam Jahi Mills grounds in Warangal where TRS leader and former MLA Donepudi Ramesh Babu and Mr Karimilla Babu Rao flagged off the convoy. A total of 100 vehicles proceeded to Siddipet amidst the slogans of Jai Telangana.

The city wore a festive look with the party’s pink banners and posters were put up all over the city. Addressing at the meet, Mr Ramesh Babu said that the Siddipet meeting would be a turning point in the movement for separate Telangana and exhorted the people to join the movement in large numbers.

Earlier, massive rallies were organised in the city and mock funeral of the Congress leaders was also taken out by the TRS activists. In some areas, the TRS activists enforced bandh in schools and colleges. All educational institutions in Karimnagar district observed a bandh to enable students attend the meet.

Managements of private educational institutions also declared a holiday on Friday. People, mainly from Kamalapur, Huzurabad, Sircilla, Nerella and Karimnagar constituencies, went for the TRS meet. About 100 TRS activists started a cycle yatra to Siddipet from the Tower Circle in Karimnagar. District TRS president E. Rajender and former minister Capt. Lakshmikanta Rao launched the yatra.

Mr Rajender said that over 75,000 people from the district went to the meet. Meanwhile, TRS activists staged a rasta roko on Hyderabad Road near Kaman Chowk in protest against the removal of party flags by traffic police.They alleged that police had kept quiet when activists of other parties put up their flags.

Siddipet (Medak), Sept. 8: “Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy would meet a fate worse than even N. Chandrababu Naidu,” saying this Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao launched a scathing attack on the Congress and the Chief Minister at a meeting in Siddipet here on Friday.

Called Samara Shankaravam, the first public meeting by the TRS chief after resigning from the UPA was a very well-attended one. Appealing to people to re-ignite the flames of the movement for a separate State, Mr Rao likened the Telangana-cause to the first war of Independence.

“It is time we emulate the acts of our great freedom fighters of 1857 who had carried forward their freedom struggle against the colonial rulers with valour,” Mr Rao said. Stating that the TRS MLAs and MPs are ready to quit their posts for the cause of Telangana, he dared the Congress MLAs and MPs of the region to follow suit to demonstrate their sincerity.

Continuing his attack on the Congress Mr Rao peppered his speech with popular Telangana proverbs, verses and historical accounts. However, he spared the Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Mr Rao said, “The Congress breached the trust of the people of Telangana. It made its own Prime Minister lie. We had mustered the requisite support from major parties for Telangana in Delhi, but the Congress backtracked on its commitment. Even their president had made a commitment to Telangana. Take the Congress leaders to task and corner them in the villages democratically.”

Congress Variki Shankaragiri Manyale Gathi, he remarked to thunderous applause from the audience. “They will not be allowed into their houses by their own family members because of their deception,” he said and added that the TRS would expose the video clippings which show several Congress leaders assuring the TRS on separate Telangana. Not believing the government claims of development in Telangana, Mr Rao said the Jala Yagnam project benefits Andhra and Rayalaseema at the cost of Telangana.

Siddipet turns pink

Siddipet (Medak), Sept. 8: The Siddipet town virtually turned pink as thousands of Telangana activists and supporters arrived from all over the region. A strong contingent of advocates, clad in black coats, hogged the limelight as they vociferously raised slogans in favour of Telangana.

Earlier, the TRS chief arrived in a convoy of cars and four wheelers comprising about 1,000 vehicles to the venue near the cotton market yard in Siddipet. The party has put up huge hoardings at the public meet venue to expose the “Deception of the Congress” on Telangana issue.

“Jai Telangana – 60+60 = 120 and Congress = 420” read one hoarding near the dais. In an apparent bid to lift the morale of the cadres, the organisers put up banners – Apajayalu Kalginachote Gelupu Pilupu Vinipisthundi (Sound of victory is being heard in places where we lost battle).

Vijayawada, Sept. 8: An all-party meeting here on Friday warned the district administration against continuing the ban on the movement of heavy vehicles into the city following the shifting of the wholesale market to Gollapudi on the outskirts. Urban Telugu Desam general secretary K. Nagul Meera, city Congress president Pyla Sominaidu, CPI city secretary Palla Surya Rao, CPI(M) city secretary R. Raghu, Hardware Merchants Association leader C.L. Kantha Rao and several others participated in a round-table conference.

Extending support to the trading community, the leaders of various political parties, including the TD and the Congress, opposed the administration’s move to shift the market totally to the outskirts and restrict the movement of heavy vehicles into the city.
Ironically, it was the TD which had initially proposed to shift the wholesale market to the outskirts and constructed the massive complex at Gollapudi.

Similarly, the Congress which came to power in 2004 had completed the market and Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had inaugurated it. However, the two parties are now opposing the move by claiming that larger interests of the trading community and the city development.

They warned the district administration against its move to shift the trade to the outskirts and ban the heavy vehicles into the city. The leaders also threatened to observe city bandh on September 11 if the officials failed to withdraw the orders. Meanwhile, police commissioner Umesh Sharraf said that the police would allow heavy vehicles into the city during night time. However, he said that they would not allow any vehicle into the One Town area as the wholesale market has been shifted to Gollapudi.

Vijayawada, Sept. 8: With only one month left for mayor Tadi Sakuntala to vacate her seat fulfilling the understanding between the Congress and the CPI, the Congress leadership has began the search for a suitable replacement.

Ms Sakuntala was sworn in on October 7 last year as the Congress allocated the seat to the CPI in the first year of the five-year tenure. While speculation is rife over the continuation of Ms Sakuntala for another term, the Congress leaders are lobbying to take over the post as they were having a tough time with the Left parties in the council and would need their own mayor in the chair.

Local MP Lagadapati Rajagopal is backing the candidature of Mallika Beg-um, while Vijayawada East MLA V. Radhakrishna is sponsoring the candidature of B. Rathna Bindu. Though Kankipadu MLA and former minister Devineni Rajasekhar Nehru did not stake claim for the post for his supporter, senior corporator and former deputy mayor Anne Prasanna’s chances of becoming mayor are brighter.

Keeping this controversy in mind, the Congress high command has called for a report on the status of the senior woman corporators. The high command is believed to have asked the leaders to check the candidate’s seniority in the council, their ability to handle the council meetings, their political understanding to face challenges from the Left and their availability to the party.

The party would require a strong support in the council now, particularly to face the increasing onslaught of the Left. The CPI(M) is leaving no stone unturned to target the Congress on various issues and Congress corporators feel that mayor Sakuntala was not helping the party from the CPI(M) criticism. Taking all these aspects into consideration, a senior Congress leader said that the crown may go to Ms Prasanna.

Mandasa (Srikakulam), Sept. 8: Tension prevailed in the town when the Telugu Desam (TD) organised a bandh and Sompeta MLA Gouth Sivaji staged a dharna in protest against the beating up of two party activists by the police on Thursday night.The police personnel led by sub-inspector (SI) B.S.S. Prakash and constable Mastan beat up TD activists Prakash Panigrahi and Regu Krishna Rao at market complex.

Condemning the incident, the party gave a bandh call on Friday and took out a huge rally. According to eyewitnesses, Prakash Panigrahi and Krishna Rao were talking at the complex when the SI came to them and asked about their identity. Even as they were replying, the SI pulled out a stick from a paan shop and beat them up.

“I pleaded with the police not to beat Panigrahi as he was suffering from heart disease. But the SI did not heed to our pleas,” Krishna Rao told reporters. Later, both were dragged to the police station and kicked in the belly, he alleged. Panigrahi was later admitted to Sompeta hospital.

Sompeta circle-inspector K. Srinivasa Rao, who came to know of the incident through MLA Sivaji, rushed to Mr Panigrahi to render medical aid. The news spread like a wildfire and TD activists immediately called for a bandh on Friday. All the shops and establishments downed their shutters. The party workers then took out the rally raising slogans against the police.

MLA Sivaji also joined the rally and later staged a dharna at the bus complex. The CI reached the spot and tried to pacify the MLA and the party workers. “We probed the incident and found the SI had beaten up Mr Panigrahi and Mr Krishna Rao. A report is being sent to higher officials to initiate action against him,” the CI told the reporters.

Mr Panigrahi’s daughters Vandana and Archana told the CI that their mother died a month ago and the father suffered a heart attack. “I never saw such a cruel police officer in my life,” said MLA Sivaji. Refuting the allegations against him, the SI said both were found drinking and he had sent them to hospital for a medical check up.

Visakhapatnam, Sept. 8: Andhra University (AU) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to carry out research and development work related to science, technology and engineering here on Friday.

The documents were exchanged between university vice-chancellor Prof. L. Venugopal Reddy and DRDO chief controller A. Sivathanu Pillai. As per the MoU, the post-graduates, research scholars and faculty of the varsity will undertake various research projects for Naval Science and Technological Laboratory under DRDO in such a way that both are benefitted.

Addressing the gathering after the signing ceremony, Mr Pillai said universities should become incubators for technology. However due to lack of funds, they were not able to play their role properly, he said. It was the duty of research institutes to provide the funds and expertise to bring out the talents from the universities, he added.