Andhranews

State adds Shamshabad to CBI list


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: In a twist to the CBI inquiry into the alleged scandal in the alignment of the Outer Ring Road (ORR), the State government on Thursday included the new international airport at Shamshabad into the ambit of the probe. Several senior Telugu Desam leaders including politburo member T. Devender Goud reportedly hold vast extents of land around Shamshabad airport.

This is reportedly done to put the main Opposition Telugu Desam, which has been leading the protests over the ORR realignment, in the dock. The TD has taken the issue to court. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had announced a CBI inquiry and a judicial probe into the alleged scandal on Tuesday.The government on Thursday sent a formal letter to the Centre with the terms of reference for the probe. Chief secretary J. Harinarayana in a letter to L.K. Joshi, secretary, department of personnel and training, government of India, requested for institution of a CBI probe in the ORR deal.

Official sources said the government had included the Shamshabad airport area into the probe to embarrass the Telugu Desam, which had released a list of senior Congress leaders who had allegedly benefited from the change in the ORR alignment. Congress leaders have been alleging that several TD leaders had unlawfully gained from the Shamshabad deal.

The scope of inquiry includes, (1) whether the alignment of the ORR has been changed for reasons (mala fide) other than those required by technical, financial, environmental or other bona fide considerations? (2) To examine whether the withdrawal of draft notification issued for acquisition of lands or allowing lapsing of draft notification issued for acquisition of lands, in respect of ORR, HUDA townships at Mankhal and Kokapet. (3) Whether the draft notification issued for the acquisition of land/decision for locating new international airport near Shamshabad and APIIC hardware park at Kancha Imarat?






Pervez: Couriers hold key to Qaeda network


New Delhi, Sept. 28: The Al Qaeda has established a well-entrenched courier system as the mainstay of its communications network in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in his fascinating memoir In the Line of Fire, has provided some rare insights into the working of this system which he claimed the Pakistan Army came across when “it went into the mountains of Waziristan and smashed Al Qaeda’s communications network in Pakistan.”

The courier system, he said, is four-tiered, with distinct layers for administration, operations, media support and the top hierarchy. The first three function on two-way communications, that of the Al Qaeda command is one way, top to down. The administrative courier network, according to the general, deals with the communications pertaining to the movement and shifting of families and other such administrative activities. It also deals with the flow of information from families to financiers and vice versa, with Afghan and Pakistani couriers running this particular network.

The operational courier network deals with passing operational instructions. Gen. Musharraf said more care is exercised in selecting couriers in this category as the procedure ensures maximum security through a codeword and cutout system. Explaining this, he said, “in that unwitting couriers are substituted for knowledgeable people wherever possible.” The media support courier network is used by Al Qaeda for propaganda and motivation, with the messages being usually in the form of CDs, leaflets and videos that “are often delivered to the television network Al Jazeera.”

Gen. Musharraf disclosed that an intense search is on for the couriers to penetrate this system and get to the top leaders. The fourth tier of the courier network is used only by the top leaders of Al Qaeda, who try not to pass messages in writing except when unavoidable. He cites letters written by Osama bin Laden to a third ranking member of Al Qaeda, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured by the security forces in Peshawar; and Abu Faraj Al Libbi, who was arrested in May last year, as exceptions to the rule.

“Normally the leaders make their best, most trusted diehard couriers memorise messages to Al Qaeda’s operational hierarchy, and then convey them verbatim,” the general wrote. Interestingly, Gen. Musharraf is certain that it is just a matter of time before Osama bin Laden is caught, that is of course if he is still alive. He has suggested that he has been moving back and forth across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and speaks of the possibility of the Al Qaeda chieftain being in the Konar area because “so many Saudis” are there.

But the general makes no such concession about Taliban leader Mullah Omar, insisting in the book and more emphatically now during his visit to the United States that Omar has never visited Pakistan, and is in Afghanistan. He said that the suggestion by the top leaders of Afghanistan that Mullah Omar was in Quetta was “ridiculous, and may even be mischievous.”

The Pakistani leader said that after 9/11 his government had taken the decision that it was imperative to flush Bin Laden and his supporters out of Pakistan. His book provides some interesting facts about Mullah Omar going back to his antecedents and his rise to power. He said Pakistan had invited him several times after he gained power but that he had always refused.

“We also offered to send him for umrah (Mecca pilgrimage) but he parried this offer too. He always met delegations from our intelligence agency but never allowed any of his field commanders to interact with us,” Gen. Musharraf notes. He has claimed that relations with the Taliban were “never smooth” and that dealing with Mullah Omar was like banging one’s head against the wall.

The disdain and even a level of dislike for the Taliban leader creeps through the book. In an account of a meeting between Saudi Arabia’s Prince Rurki Al Faisal, the Pakistan ISI chief and Mullah Omar in Kandahar on September 19, 1998 (in the wake of Al Qaeda’s bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania) Gen. Musharraf said that both sought to convince the Taliban leader to expel Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan or hand him over to Saudi Arabia. In a heated discussion the prince lost his composure, according to the author, and pointed an accusatory finger at Omar.

The Taliban leader walked out of the room in anger and returned dripping water, completely drenched. He informed the prince that he had poured cold water over his head to cool off, and “if you had not been my guest I would have done something dire to you.” After a while, it was the turn of the prince to lose his cool and he got up and left the meeting. Mullah Omar, according to Gen. Musharraf, was shocked as “he had been playing to the gallery.”

The author goes on to ask: “How do you negotiate with such a man? He was and is still caught in a time warp, detached from reality.” He said that efforts by the Pakistan government to prevent him from destroying the Buddha statues at Bamiyan failed as the Taliban leader insisted that God wanted him to blow up the statues. Gen. Musharraf said that Pakistan, despite all efforts, had also failed completely to make Mullah Omar hand over Osama bin Laden after 9/11 before the US moved into Afghanistan.

He said that “people like me hold it as a cardinal principle that a leader’s first duty is to protect his country and the lives and property of his people”; while for people like Mullah Omar all this is secondary to their “principles and traditions.” Gen. Musharraf confirms the story that the Taliban leader escaped on a Honda motorcycle in the first week of December 2001 and went into hiding. He said he had told then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan that the best advertisement for Honda would be a campaign depicting Mullah Omar fleeing on one of its motorcycles.




Inzy is out of Champions Tournament


New Delhi, Sept. 28: The four-match one-day international ban slapped on Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul Haq for bringing the game into disrepute” by the International Cricket Council (ICC) means that he stands to miss out on a significant part of Pakistan’s run in the Champions Trophy to be played here in India next month.

Pakistan are scheduled to play their opener against one of the two qualifying nations at Jaipur on October 17. They then meet New Zealand at Mohali on October 25 and South Africa two days later. If the ban holds, Inzamam could even miss the semi-final, provided Pakistan make it that far.

In London on Thursday, ICC chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle — who chaired the hearing into two charges against Inzamam — absolved him of ball-tampering but held him guilty on the second count.
In a sense, the Pakistan captain got off lightly as the maximum penalty for this infringement is suspension for two Test matches and up to eight ODIs.

After the hearing — brought on after the incident in the fourth Test at The Oval against England last month when umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove penalised Pakistan five runs fortampering with the ball — Madugalle said he was satisfied with the Pakistan captain’s explanation. As captain, Inzamam was also charged with bringing the game into disrepute over his side’s refusal to come back out on to the field in protest against the ball-tampering decision.

In a statement explaining his decisions, Madugalle said: “Having regard to the seriousness of the allegation of ball-tampering — it is an allegation of cheating — I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities there is sufficiently cogent evidence the fielding team had changed the condition of the ball.

“In my judgment the marks are as consistent with normal wear and tear of a match ball after 56 overs as they are with deliberate human intervention.” He added: “On two occasions (Inzamam) led a protest against the umpires by failing to come on to the field of play at the relevant time. I have taken into account Mr Ul-Haq’s expression of regret and an apology and I take into account all the surrounding and mitigating circumstances.”






Films to help DD recover


New Delhi, Sept. 28: Public broadcaster Doordarshan has decided to replace cricket fever with movie magic after losing out on the exclusive telecast rights for cricket. A desperate attempt to woo its audience back in the months to come, DD is now looking at blockbuster movies to bring back the kind of revenue that cricket helped it achieve.

Based on the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by Prasar Bharati CEO Brijeshwar Singh, the coming months will see DD make use of star power to keep its viewers glued to their sets. The committee, which has DD director-general L.D. Mandloi and additional director-general for finance Rajat Bhargava as members, has been set up to suggest ways to ensure the smooth implementation of the revived film policy.

A 15-member preview and grading committee has also been constituted to categorise movies as “A” or “Super A” on the basis of their value to the channel. Working with five weekly film slots currently, it has been decided that the films will be marketed by Prasar Bharati’s marketing divisions in Mumbai and New Delhi. With the films being procured through the National Films Development Corporation (NFDC), the broadcaster is also hoping to attract a sizeable chunk of the cable TV audience to the channel.

The move comes following DD’s own studies indicating that movies will be the big revenue winner for the channel. A revenue flow analysis has reportedly revealed that films have the maximum potential to deliver net revenue. The Friday feature film alone has been a clear winner for the channel by being the most watched feature film on television (with a TV rating of seven and above as per TAM figures) and fetching a revenue of over Rs 80 lakhs per film.

Next on the popularity chart here is the Saturday feature film, which grosses Rs 70 lakhs for the channel. Unlike earlier days, when the channel screened classics, the last couple of years have seen DD making a genuine effort towards procuring new films. According to the DD internal survey, blockbusters also helped promote the channel’s serials and programmes.





Many civic bodies fail to fund poor


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: Urban local bodies ruled by the kin of the high and mighty have been far behind in spending funds allotted for poverty alleviation and improvement of infrastructure. They include the Kadapa Municipal Corporation, controlled by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s brother-in-law P. Ravindranath Reddy, and Nizamabad Municipal Corporation, where Rural Development Minister D. Srinivas’s son D. Sanjay is the mayor.

These municipalities have not been properly utilising funds provided under the Andhra Pradesh Urban Services for the Poor funded by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom. The funds have been better utilised by smaller urban local bodies of the State. In Nellore too, the presence of influential politicians has only hampered development. The local MLA, Mr A. Vivekananda Reddy, has been criticised by many for this. Kadapa, Nellore and Nizamabad, along with Machilipatnam, Vizianagaram, Khammam, Ramagundam, Proddutur and Adoni have not yet qualified for second cycle of the project while 20 other municipalities are surging ahead.

The project is divided into cycles and each cycle has three components — reforms, infrastructure works and community building. Project officials promote the urban local bodies from one cycle to another depending on the proper utilisation of funds. “Whoever spends more and submits utilisation certificates will get additional funds,” said APUSP Project Co-ordinator B. Janardhan Reddy. “There is no upper limit on the release of funds. That is the unique thing.”

Out of the total project outlay of Rs 747 crore, the major component of Rs 525 crore has been set apart for infrastructure improvement. In all, Rs 7.5 crore was released for Kadapa of which only Rs 5.96 crore was spent. Similarly Nizamabad got Rs 8.35 crore and spent Rs 6.46 crore while Vizianagaram got Rs 6.95 crore and utilised Rs 6.10 crore.

Nellore got Rs 8.4 crore since the project was launched but it utilised only Rs 7.66 crore. At the same time, Rs 20.77 crore was released to Guntur and Rs 11.52 crore to Tenali based on their performance. Similarly, Qutbullapur got Rs 14.12 crore, Rajahmundry Rs 16.3 crore and Kurnool Rs 13.85 crore. These municipalities entered the third cycle and are likely to get the lion’s share of the development funds to be released in later stages.

Nellore Mayor P. Sailaja said that the Telugu Desam had totally neglected the project during its tenure and it was only after the Congress came to power in 2005 that the funds were utilised. However, the fact remains that Karimnagar too entered the first cycle just three months before Nellore but managed to get into the second cycle by January 2006.

“Smaller municipalities are way ahead, thanks to the co-ordination between council and officials, while politics is hindering development in big municipalities,” said a senior official of the municipal administration and urban development department.




Star tortoise may go extinct


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: Its dazzling carapace and peculiar gait has made the Indian star tortoise a craze among pet keepers with dollars to spare.Sadly, this newfound fondness of the elite may drive the animal to extinction in its choice haunts, including the forest lands of Andhra Pradesh.

Jam-packed in suitcases and hidden in cardboard boxes, these elegant amphibians are now being smuggled in hordes to Southeast Asian countries through Chennai and Bangladesh. Local gangs from Chittoor, Kadapa and Nellore are involved in this massive and relentless smuggling operation with the help of Malaysia-based gangs.

Some shipments are sent through Chennai airport and others slip the animals through porous borders of Bangladesh via Kolkata. These star tortoises earn a good price in the pet markets of Malaysia, Bangkok and have even surfaced recently in some parts of the United States.

Conservator of Forests of Tirupati S.N. Kukrety said that much of the smuggling was taking place from Chittoor through nearby Chennai. “The species is abundant in certain pockets of Chittoor, Kadapa and Nellore,” he said. “Local people keep them as pets. They are also seen as a good omen.” Malaysians dote the Indian star tortoise with “cosmic” patterns on the carapace. Some rear it as a pet and others eat it as a rare delicacy.

The large-scale smuggling came to light in August 2005 when customs officials at Chennai caught a Malaysian national, Loh Seng Hong, with 1,460 live star tortoises. The consignment was estimated to be worth Rs 30 lakh in international market. “Each tortoise will fetch the smuggler or middlemen around Rs 350,” said a forest official. ”The price is much higher in the international market. The tortoise goes for $40 in Southeast Asian countries and $150 in the US.”

In fact, customs officials went on to seize 3,297 star tortoises at Chennai airport in 2005. In the same year, about 1,600 star tortoises smuggled from Andhra through Kolkata were seized in Bangladesh. “We now keep extra vigil on passengers bound to Kuala Lampur and other Southeast Asian countries to keep a tab on wildlife smuggling,” said a customs official. Because of this, the smugglers now prefer to move their illegal consignments via Bangladesh.

The chief of the wildlife department, Mr A.V. Joseph, said that if the rampant smuggling of star tortoises continued at the present rate, it would soon become an extinct species. “We prosecuted two persons involved in the smuggling at Palamenru and are paying money to those who tip us off,” said Mr Joseph. “Vanasmrakshana Samithis and eco groups are also active in spotting the smugglers.”

A key operative of the smuggling racket, Narayananan, was arrested in Chennai recently. He confessed that he got most of the star tortoises from Madanapally. “It is easy to hide star tortoises. Consequently, it is difficult to spot the smugglers,” said Mr Kukrety. In the past two years, several smuggled star tortoises were recovered from Malaysia and brought back to the Nehru Zoological Park.

“We also got 1,800 tortoises from Singapore,” said Mr Joseph. Officials estimate that at least 20,000 star tortoises were smuggled out from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the past six years. Marine Zoologist Dr Duggaraju Srinivasa Rao said that smugglers often jam together hundreds of star tortoises in bags and many die before reaching the destination. “They need lot of calcium and Vitamin D3 in their diet,” he said. “Otherwise they die quickly.”




Confusion on Pakistan visa offer


New Delhi: A day after Pakistan tourism minister Nilofar Bakhtiar offered a liberalisation of the visa regime, agency reports quoted Pakistan as clarifying on Thursday that the visa-on-arrival scheme would not include Indians.

Earlier in the evening, India had welcomed the news report from Pakistan and said it favoured liberalisation of the visa regime with Pakistan. India has already notified a visa-on-arrival scheme for Pakistanis aged below 12 and above 65 at Wagah. MEA spokesman Navtej Singh Sarna said India had given a detailed proposal for the liberalisation of the visa protocol of 1974 and was awaiting a response from Pakistan.




Man jumps to his death after a 3-hour drama


Karimnagar: A 32-year-old taxi driver kept the town on tenterhooks for three hours on Thursday morning before plunging to his death from the top of a three-storied building in the full glare of media crews and cops, reports our correspondent. It was domestic troubles which drove Abdul Rahim, a native of Gagillapar in Bejjanki mandal, atop the building near the main market in the heart of the town. Police and fire force personnel tried hard topersuade him to come down.

But he behaved strangely and finally hurled himself down. Though APTransco switched off power lines in the area to save the life of the hapless man, fire force personnel failed to spread a safety net under the building to cushion his fall. Many felt that this could have saved his life.

The tense drama began at about 6.30 am, when early morning customers at the market noticed Rahim sitting on the edge of the roof of the building in a suspicious manner. When they shouted at him to be careful, he did not respond. Suspecting trouble, local shop owners alerted the One Town police, who immediately rushed to the spot.

The police personnel tried to speak to Rahim, but he did not respond. Instead, he moved further to the edge of the roof evoking a hushed sigh from the crowd which had thronged the street below by then. Realising that Rahim was teetering on the verge of a decision, police hurriedly summoned fire service personnel.

In the meanwhile, they tried to talk to him again and again, but there was no response. Transco staff switched off the power supply in the area so that Rahim would not get entangled in the power lines if he jumped. As minutes and hours ticked away, police officers tried to reason with him.

But all on a sudden, Rahim jumped from the building. Hordes of cops, fire force officials, television crews, and local people watched helplessly as he hit the wires and plunged headlong to the street, crashing on to it within seconds. As shockwaves surged through the crowd, police rushed in. It did not take them even a minute to realise that Rahim had died of severe head injuries.

“We tried our best to save him but he did not even respond to our appeals,” said Karimnagar DSP A Mogilaiah. Mahbub Ali, father of Rahim, alleged that his son committed suicide unable to bear the constant harassment by his in-laws. His wife had lodged a dowry harassment case against him and had divorced him recently.

“Initially we thought someone was up there to do some repairs,” said Vinay, a trader of the market. “But soon we realised that he wanted to take his life. Had the fire department put up a safety net underneath the building, his life could have been saved.”





Sonia wants MP RSS order reversed


New Delhi, Sept. 28: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has urged President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to reverse the Madhya Pradesh government’s decision to allow its officials to take part in the RSS’ shakhas and other activities. BJP president Rajnath Singh, on the other hand, strongly defended his the party government’s decision.

“To allow government employees to participate in the activities of an organisation that has had a long record of stoking religious prejudices, inflaming religious passions and polarising our society is a dangerous move and will not be in national interest,” Mrs Gandhi said in a letter to the President, which was handed over to him by a Congress delegation.

“It is also a move that goes against the principles of our administrative machinery being independent and unbiased,” she said, and added that the state government’s order dated August 27, 2006 is “illegal and violates both the letter and spirit of the Constitution”. Charging the RSS with polarising the society, Mrs Gandhi, in the strongly-worded letter to Dr Kalam, accused the RSS of promoting “religious prejudices and passions and polarising the society”.

The letter was handed over to the President by a delegation of Congress leaders led by AICC treasurer Motilal Vora. Mrs Gandhi said: “It is of utmost importance to maintain social cohesion in our diverse society.” While drawing his attention to how the BJP’s Gujarat government had passed a similar order in 2000, which was reversed after the intervention of then President K.R. Narayanan following a representation from the Congress, she said: “I understand that he (Narayanan) did take up the matter with the government of India and subsequently the Gujarat government was persuaded to withdraw its order removing the ban on its employees participating in RSS activities.”

Claiming that the decision by the Madhya Pradesh government was taken without the knowledge of the governor, she demanded an immediate reversal of the order, saying it was not in national interest. Besides Mr Vora, the Congress delegation comprised political secretary to the Congress president Ahmed Patel, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh, AICC general secretaries Margaret Alva, Ashok Gehlot, B.K. Hari Prasad and state unit members, including Leader of the Opposition Jamuna Devi.

The President has assured that he will look into the matter and take appropriate action, AICC spokesman Satyavrat Chaturvedi, who was also part of the delegation, told reporters after the meeting. The BJP, meanwhile, remained firmly behind the decision of its government in Madhya Pradesh to allow its employees to take part in RSS activities.
“The Madhya Pradesh government has carried out this move after careful thought. There can be a ban on government employees from becoming members of political parties but as far as the RSS is concerned, it is the world’s largest socio-cultural organisation and there should be no ban on participating in its activities,” BJP chief Rajnath Singh told reporters here.




New amendment to protect workers


New Delhi, Sept. 28: The Union ministry of overseas Indian affairs is considering an amendment to the Immigration Act of 1983 to introduce stringent regulations that will help control the exploitation of Indians working abroad.

Already in talks with four to five countries for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the Centre is looking at a system whereby an Indian citizen will be made to deposit his passport at the Indian embassy and be given a card to prevent any misuse or exploitation by employers.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference held here on Thursday to announce the dates for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Union minister of overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi said the ministry was in discussions for a MoU with Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Malaysia, and hoped to sign a deal with at least two of these countries by the end of the year.

The seizure of passports by employers continues to be one of the major problems faced by many Indians going to work in the Gulf. There are as many as five to ten lakh Indians going to the gulf countries every year for work.




Vidisha bypoll on October 30


New Delhi, Sept. 28: The bypoll to Vidisha Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh would be held on October 30, the Election Commission announced on Thursday. The seat fell vacant after chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan was elected to the state Assembly.

Reports have suggested that Ms Maneka Gandhi’s son Varun was likely to be fielded by the BJP from the seat. The Commission also announced bypolls to Assembly seats of Malehara (Madhya Pradesh), Chowgate and Tlungvel (both in Mizoram) and Talsara (Orissa).

According to the poll schedule, notifications would be issued on October 6. While the last date for filing nominations would be on October 13, the scrutiny would be held on the following day. The last date for withdrawal of nominations would be on October 16. Counting of votes would take place on November two.

The model code of conduct would come into force with immediate effect for the polls which would be held through Electronic Voting Machines. Two Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, Karimnagar and Bobbili are vacant. However, bypolls have not been announced for them.

Vegetable prices sour in city


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: The prices of green vegetables have shot up in city markets in the festive season.
The crop was poor this year because of incessant rains and this is said to be the main reason for price rise. In the last two days, prices have touched a new high in all markets and rythu bazaars because of shortages. Prices of most green vegetables have gone up by Rs 4 to Rs 5 per kg in the city markets. This has prevented many consumers from purchasing even tomatoes and potatoes which are used daily in kitchens. Tomatoes and potatoes are being sold at Rs 16 per kg. Last week, the cost per kg was around Rs 12.

Similar is the case of other green vegetables. French beans cost Rs 30 per kg, carrot Rs 20, bitter gourd Rs 18 and lady’s finger Rs 18. Vendors are selling ribbed gourd at Rs 17 per kg, brinjal for Rs 14 per kg and cauliflower Rs 14 per kg in all nine rythu bazaars in the city and outskirts. The rates are more in other markets and grocery stores. “With such prices, how can we get into the festive mood?” asked Y. Nageswara Rao, a customer of Saroornagar rythu bazaar. Officials expect prices to go up further in the coming days. “We will try to stabilise the prices of potatoes, tomatoes and other vegetables by bringing additional stocks from other districts,” said P. Yellaiah, assistant director of the marketing department.




Water likely to get dearer from next year


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: Chief Minister Dr Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy on Thursday directed the municipal administration officials to explore avenues to generate additional income of over Rs 750 crore to make municipalities self-reliant. Reviewing the performance of municipalities at a high level meeting here, the Chief Minister is understood to have asked the officials to plug loopholes in the collection of building permission fee, water charges, property tax and betterment charges.

“The Chief Minister has fixed a target of Rs 761 crore additional revenue by the end of the current financial year,” official sources told this correspondent. The government has already taken a decision to review property tax, which would come into effect from April 2007. A proposal is pending before the government to rationalise the slab charges of drinking water supply. In all likelihood other service charges including user charges will also be hiked, sources said.

The State Government requires about Rs 1,200 crore for its ambitious 24-hour water supply scheme in all the municipalities. This would be an added burden on cash starved municipalities. Though the government is looking at external funding agencies, the Chief Minister wanted the officials to look for increase in income of the municipalities. Meanwhile, Minister for Municipal Administration Mr K Ranga Rao told mediapersons that the government is planning to extend 24 hours water supply in municipalities around the city from April 1, next year.




Offices to get Telugu software


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: A new Telugu software developed by the National Informatics Centre will be int-roduced in all government offices in order to make use of Telugu mandatory. According to Official Language Commission chairman A.B.K. Prasad, training classes for employees will start from October 23. He said the panel has received complaints about the Secretariat using English for its communication.



Ponnala extends deadline


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: The State government has revised time table for completion of 12 major irrigation projects. During a review meeting held on Thursday, major irrigation minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah has decided to complete Sriramsagar second stage, flood flow canal project and Bheema project in five years while the Devadula project on the river Godavari would be completed in two years.

The Kalwakurty, Nettempadu and Dummugudem projects will be completed in the next five years. Water from lift irrigation projects in Nizamabad will be released by December, 2007. Officials said more funds have been allocated for projects in Telangana.




TD stages dharna for Naidu


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: Telugu Desam senior leaders and legislators on Thursday staged a dharna outside the office of the DGP and blocked traffic protesting against the alleged reduction in security to party president N. Chandrababu Naidu.

They resorted to the protest following a security breach at Mr Naidu’s house on Wednesday night. An unidentified car entered the highly secured area by breaking the police cordon and hitting a police outpost outside Mr Naidu’s house. Reacting to the incident, home minister K. Jana Reddy said a probe has already been ordered to trace the car and intention of the driver.




SHGs to procure paddy


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: The State government has decided to rope in woman members of the Indira Kranti Patham Self Help Groups (SHGs) to procure paddy.Agriculture minister N. Raghuveera Reddy said that the SHGs had done a great job last year in procuring maize. “We are expecting better performance from them this kharif season. The government has decided to procure 20 lakh tonnes of paddy,” he said.

As many as 232 SHGs are being roped in to procure paddy from 2,430 villages in 19 districts. A tra-ining programme is being launched for the members of the SHGs for the purpose. The total earning is likely to cross Rs 4 crore in the current kharif season.

SHGs, which got international acclaim with their expertise in different fields, were entrusted with the job of procuring maize on an experimental basis last year. The SHGs procured 200 tonnes of maize earning Rs 2 crore as commission.

Meanwhile, the Central government has increased the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy by Rs 50 per quintal for this kharif. With this the MSP for A-grade paddy goes from the current Rs 600 per quintal to Rs 650 and common grade from Rs 570 to Rs 620 per quintal.




Police academy not to be shifted


Move comes after Desam warns of stir

Hyderabad, Sept. 28: The State government on Thursday backtracked on the proposal to acquire Andhra Pradesh Police Academy (APPA) lands for the Outer Ring Road in the backdrop of criticism over the project. Home minister K. Jana Reddy on Friday said no decision had been taken on shifting the academy from its premises at Gandipet.

He said that the government was trying to find out 300 acres to 400 acres of land to develop a state-of-the-art police academy of international standards. Any proposal for shifting of the academy would come only after constructing a new academy with more facilities, he said. That would put it off almost indefinitely.

Mr Reddy said 27 acres of land and a few quarters of the academy were being taken for the ORR. He said there was a proposal to compensate for that with 60 acres at some other place. “We feel that having two campuses will not be convenient,” he said, adding, “It will be of more useful if we develop a new academy with international standards.”

Before this development, reports said that Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had agreed to shifting the academy and handing over the APPA land to Huda. Earlier on Thursday, the Telugu Desam had announced that it was planning a State-wide agitation to oppose shifting of the APPA. Senior TD leader T. Devender Goud said that the TD would review the decision after it returned to power.He felt that there would be no takers for the APPA lands as it would land them in legal battles.




Congress: Let CBI probe ’95 land deals


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: The AP Congress on Thursday demanded that the government include within the purview of CBI inquiry and judicial probe all the lands purchased from 1995. APCC vice-president Md Jani, APCC spokesperson N. Tulasi Reddy and senior leader M. Kodanda Reddy alleged that several Telugu Desam leaders had benefited during the TD regime.

“The TD government had allocated HUDA land to NTR Trust Bhavan. Cyberabad Development Authority was created though Huda was there. All this was to benefit TD leaders,” they said. Elsewhere, government chief whip N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, CLP secretary D. Sridhar Babu and MLA Gade Venkat Reddy said the Opposition demand for the Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s resignation was “ridiculous.”




Email pal cheated me, says Shillong woman


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: An e-mail friendship has cost a woman from Shillong Rs 9 lakh. Ms Sushmita from Shillong befriended one Sony of Hyderabad through the internet. As they got friendly, Sony reportedly used to send her emails about her financial problems. Moved by this, Sushmita reportedly sent her Rs 23,000 earlier.

Sushmita told police that she came to Hyderabad on September 13 and reportedly handed over Rs 9.06 lakh to Sony. After receiving the money, she began avoiding contact, Sushmita alleged. On Thursday, Sushmita lodged a complaint with Gopalpuram police here. Sub-inspector Ismail said the police was searching for Sony based on information given by Sushmita. There was no word on how Sushmita came by such a huge amount of money, or whether she handed over the money based only on trust.




HC wants Centre reply


Hyderabad Sept. 28: A division bench of AP High Court on Thursday directed the Centre to inform it about the steps taken after the State government’s order referring the Outer Ring Road controversy for CBI investigation.

The bench ordered notices on Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy and other persons against whom specific allegations were made by the Telugu Desam in a writ petition. It adjourned the case of October 23.

On Thursday, the government submitted GO 240, dated 28-09-2006, to the court wherein the government had decided to entrust the case to the CBI under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Enactment Act, 1946.The bench asked for information about the Centre’s action by October 15.

Election upheld

A division bench stayed the order of the single judge who directed the Chief Minister to take action against his Cabinet colleague Shathrucharla Vijaya Rama Raju upon the representation made by Nimmakka Jayaraju. The single judge on August 2 had directed the Chief Minister to consider a representation made seeking prosecution and removal of Mr Raju, the forests minister,




RTC to deploy guides at halts


Hyderabad, Sept. 28: The APSRTC has come up with an innovative idea to manage the traffic at city bus stands. They are planning to press into service young traffic guides.The guides will help the passengers as well as senior citizens, physically challenged and children to board the right buses. They will clear autorickshaws and unauthorised vehicles parked at bus stops and regulate traffic.

‘E-Junction’ will supply the guides, who will be given a monthly salary of Rs.3000. In the first phase 40 guides will regulate traffic at the 28 bus stops between Kukatpally Housing Board and Dilsukhnagar routes. The second phase will cover the routes of Patny-Kukatpally village, Lakidikapul-Toli Chowki and Charminar-Lak-dikapool.

Additional police commissioner (traffic) A.K. Khan launched the programme near the RTC halt in Khaiaratabad. “We are facing problems with bus drivers who stop buses on middle of the road,” he said. The expectation is that the guides will help prevent this

Rajnath hints at TRS tie-up


New Delhi, Sept. 28: BJP president Rajnath Singh on Thursday indicated that the party welcomed the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) into the National Democratic Alliance. The BJP has set its sights for a revival in the parliamentary elections in 2009 and it is looking at its prospective alliance with the TRS in Andhra Pradesh to boost its electoral prospects and to make a bid for power at the Centre.

Mr Singh said, “Before I take any decision, I have to consult my party unit in Andhra Pradesh. I have also suggested to TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao to discuss the issue with the State BJP leaders.” He met BJP national secretary Bandaru Dattatreya and discussed with him the TRS issue. Clearly, the BJP is exploring the possibility of entering into an alliance with the TRS and expanding the NDA by admitting new allies to strengthen the NDA.

It was only with such political objective that the BJP national executive in Dehra Dun had adopted a resolution for the creation of separate Telangana. The BJP State executive in 1998 had adopted a resolution on Telangana and even had contested the 1999 simultaneously Assembly and parliamentary elections in AP on the one vote, two States plank. With the BJP national executive having adopted the resolution, it wants to play for higher stakes.

Former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu is also playing a key role in working out an electoral arrangement with the TRS. The BJP gameplan appears to be to rally all pro-Telangana forces under its umbrella, so that it could then consolidate the Telangana factor. If actress-turned politician Vijaya Shanti and the TRS could be rallied behind the BJP, then it could emerge as a major force in AP.

Toughening his stand against the TRS, Mr Dattatreya said that the BJP-TRS alliance should not be limited for the Karimnagar parliamentary by-election. The BJP wants to work with the TRS. But it cannot be for a limited goal. Mr Dattatreya had a dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi for showering praises on Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. He said that she should also visit Kokapet and understand the various scams in the making, before lavishly praising the Chief Minister.




Bill next session on vote for NRIs


New Delhi, Sept. 28: The government has decided to drop the idea of conferring dual citizenship on people of Indian origin. Union minister of overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi said on Thursday that “it is difficult to work out.” The UPA government has, instead, introduced Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) and People of India Origin (PIO) cards for such people and is planning to introduce a bill in the Winter Session of Parliament to enable voting rights for NRIs.

Noting that the Overseas Citizens of India card was valid for life, Mr Ravi said it would enable a person to come to India at any time and avail of all facilities, except voting rights. “It is almost equivalent to dual citizenship,” Mr Ravi said. The problem with providing dual citizenship, the Union minister said, was that it would require a memorandum of understanding with various countries, which turned out to be difficult and complicated.




MiG-29 crashes, pilot unhurt


New Delhi/ Chandigarh, Sept. 28: A MiG-29 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in a village near Ambala on Thursday afternoon. The pilot ejected safely. In a statement, the IAF stated that there has been no report of any damage to civil property or individual injury as a result of the crash.

An inquiry has been ordered to find out the cause of the crash though engine trouble is suspected. The aircraft took off from the Adampur air base and was on a routine training exercise when it crashed.

This is the fifth IAF air-crash this year and the second incident of a MiG-29 crashing. The aircraft, piloted by Squadron Leader V. Naik, had taken off on a routine training sortie from the IAF’s fighter base at Adampur in Punjab. It developed a snag and went down in paddy fields barely 100 metres from the Ambala-Chandigarh railway track.




Five accused in ’93 Mumbai blasts acquitted


Mumbai, Sept. 28: The Tada court on Thursday acquitted five accused in the 1993 bomb blasts case, who were charged with going to Dubai en route to Pakistan for arms training. Special judge P. Kode while pronouncing the judgment said that the evidence against them was weak and fell short of conviction.

However, the court convicted Sarfaraz Phanse, an aide of Tiger Memon, for aiding terrorist acts by facilitating the landing of arms and explosives at Shekhadi coast in Raigad district which were used in the 1993 blasts. Phanse is the son of Dawood Takla, who was convicted last week for attending the conspiracy meeting called by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai to plot the 1993 serial explosions.

He faces maximum punishment of life imprisonment for aiding terrorist acts, but was acquitted of the conspiracy charge on Thursday. Those acquitted include Mansoor Qureshi, Shaikh Kasam Babulal, Sultan-e-Rome Ali Gul, Abdul Aziz Kader and Mohammed Iqbal Ibrahim as the prosecution failed to prove that they had gone to Dubai for arms training. They were also acquitted of charges of attending the conspiracy meeting in Dubai.




How Pervez became Chief


New Delhi, Sept. 28: First he was intrigued and then surprised when he was called by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and heard that he has been appointed as Pakistan’s new Army Chief. Giving an insight into what transpired on October 7, 1998, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, in his book In the Line of Fire, said around 7.30 pm he got a call that Mr Sharif wanted to see him the same night.

Gen. Musharraf was aware that it was not normal for a Prime Minister to call a Lt. General like that and at night when Army Chief Jahangir Karamat was available next door to sort out anything. Mr Sharif’s military secretary, who telephoned him, insisted that he come in uniform and not to talk to the Army Chief. Gen. Musharraf recalled that as he was entering Islamabad, he received a call from Brig. Ijaz Shah, his friend and ISI’s detachment commander in Lahore. Brig. Shah congratulated Gen. Musharraf, saying he was being made the new Army Chief.