Andhranews

Kadapa, Sept. 23: Two more Maoist sympathisers of Kadapa, who were allegedly involved in the illegal transport of rocket launchers, were arrested by the district police on Friday night.

According to superintendent of police Y. Nagireddy, the police arrested Veluru Venkataramana and his friend Naveen Kumar Reddy.
It was revealed during their investigation that the two had shifted the rocket launchers from Kadapa to Giddalur.

The rocket launchers, which reached Kadapa from Vedayapalem in Nellore through Kranthi Transport, were transported to Giddalur by Venkataramana with the help of his friend Naveen. Venkataramana is one of the friends of Lankamalla dalam commander Dayakumar.
Venkataramana used to supply milk sachets, clothes and essential commodities to the Maoists.

The police grew suspicious of the movements of Venkataramana and kept a tight watch on him.Finally, the police arrested both of them on Friday night near the RTC bus stand. The accused reportedly admitted to their crime during interrogation.

Rayachoti, Sept. 23: Several youth, both men and women, were going to the Gulf from Rayachoti and Lakkireddipalle Assembly constituencies for a decent living as they could not get any employment in view of the severe drought. While some of them were able to make money in their Gulf trip, many others were languishing in jails in the Gulf countries.

According to those who returned from the Gulf, the employers were snatching away their passports and removing them from service. As they do not carry any valid passport, the Gulf police were arresting them and keeping in jails.Very recently, Ramasubbaiah alias Siva alias Allah Baksh, Eswaraiah, Nagabhushanam Reddy, Anwar Basha, Sridevi, Padmavathi, Palakonda Reddy and others returned from Jeddah jail on Friday.

All of them belong to Pulikunta Boreddigaripalle village in Galiveedu mandal under Lakkireddipalle assembly constituency. These Gulf-returnees said that several youth belonging to this region were working as gardeners, workers and shepherds, while some others are working as construction labourers.

While sending the workers to Gulf, the brokers were taking visas in the name of gardeners and housekeepers, but actually they were being employed to look after the camels and sheep by employers there. These people have to stay in deserts, hundreds of kilometres away from the city. The employers visit them frequently and supply the necessary food and other articles.

They have to live a lonely life in the tents there for months together. When the workers plead with the employer to send them back to India, they used to snatch the passports of these workers and removing them from employment, even without paying wages.

The workers somehow reach the nearby towns only to be caught by the police, when they move under suspicious circumstances.
If the workers were able to show their passports, they would be handed over to the Indian embassy.

Otherwise, they will be kept in prisons. If their friends, who know their condition, were able to pay Rs 25,000 to the police, they would be released and handed over to the Indian embassy, which will send them back with temporary visas. At least 500 people were languishing in Jeddah jails, according to information from those returned from the Gulf.

It may be mentioned here that several Telugu people were changing their names as Muslims and were going to the Gulf in search of employment. There were several instances where the people of the region were lodging complaints with the police, regarding the whereabouts of their relatives.

Kadapa, Sept. 23: The tour programme of All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi to Kadapa and Kurnool districts was officially confirmed on Saturday. According to official sources, Mrs Gandhi will reach the Tirupati airport in a special flight from New Delhi on September 27 at 10.30 am.

She will meet the people’s representatives and party leaders and activists there till 10.40 am. She will reach Kadapa on a helicopter at 11.20 am. After meeting the party leaders and activists for about 10 minutes, she will go to Rims at 11.40 and unveil the statue of late Rajiv Gandhi. Later, she will participate in a public meeting at 12 noon.

From there, she will leave for Brahmamgari Matam at 1 pm by helicopter and reach there at 1.20 pm and release water from Brahmamsagar reservoir. She will take rest for about an hour between 1.40 pm and 2.30 pm. Later, she will fly to Kurnool and reach there by 2.50 pm.

There she will meet the people’s representatives for about 10 minutes and inaugurate the Kisan Ghat, constructed in memory of the late chief minister Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy at 3 pm. After taking part in the public meeting being organised at STBC College grounds, she will leave for Hyderabad in the helicopter at 4.10 pm.

The police made elaborate bandobust arrangement for the ensuing visit of Mrs Gandhi. Already the places to be visited by the AICC president were completely blocked by the police and thorough checks are being made to prevent any untoward incidents.

Nellore, Sept. 23: Responding to ‘Sharks eat up gods land’ report published in these columns on September 10, officials of the State endowments department handed over 921.26 acres of land to the trustees of Sri Kodandarama Swamy temple of Buchireddypalem.

The lands in Reddyvarikandriga village of Chejerla mandal were under illegal occupation of the locals for the last 37 years. Though the court verdict came in favour of the temple sometime back, endowments officials delayed the process of taking over the lands due to alleged political pressure. Endowments assistant commissioner P. Poornachandra Rao, Chejerla mandal revenue officer D. Channaiah and sub-inspector Ramarao visited the village to hand over the lands to temple officials.

Tirupati, Sept. 23: Elaborate arrangements are being made for the nine-day annual Brahmotsavam at Tirumala, the abode of Lord Sri Venkateswara. The festival would begin with Dwajarohanam (hoisting of temple flag) on September 25. TTD executive officer A.P.V.N. Sarma and joint executive officer G. Balaramaiah on Saturday said steps were being taken to ensure free food to more than 50,000 pilgrims in the TTD-run annadanam canteen at Tirumala and also at Vaikunta queue complex when pilgrims wait for darshan.

As many as 3 lakh laddus have been kept in stock for the Brahmotsavams. And the production of the most-sought after prasadam (laddu) will be increased from 1.40 lakhs to 2 lakhs per day to meet the demand. As per the existing practice, laddu would be given to all the pilgrims at the Vaikunta queue complex for Rs 5 each and additional laddu each at Rs 10.

Arrangements have been made for drawing 28 lakh gallons of water from Kalyani Dam and Papavinasam Reservoir. TTD is also engaging 100 barbers in addition to the existing workforce for the nine-day event at Kalyanakatta.

All advance reservations for rooms would be cancelled, and allotment would be made on first-come-first served basis. Additional security forces would be deployed at sensitive points in view of the recent bomb blasts in the country.

Nellore, Sept. 23: Though she continued her stir for the sixth day on Saturday in front of her in-law’s house, peoples’ forums and political parties supporting the agitation of Ms Rajarajeswari preferred a settlement with her in-laws instead of prolonging the stir.

A woman corporator said that Ms Rajarajeswari was also vexed with the attitude of her husband after counselling on Thursday. It may be recalled that Ms Rajeswari fainted soon after her talk with Santhan Sagar at the Fifth Town police station on Thursday.

The corporator said that Ms Rajeswari had hopes of reviving their relationship but lost heart after the meeting with her husband, who had refuted all her claims.

Ongole, Sept. 23: Telugu Desam leader and Addanki legislator Karanam Balara-m challenged Ongole legislator Balineni Srinivasulu Reddy to prove the allegations he levelled against him while agreeing to resign from his post. Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Mr Balaram said that he is ready to contest from any place and dared Mr Balineni to contest from any place other than Ongole.

\He alleged that Mr Balineni developed superiority complex because of his relationship with Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. He invited Mr Balineni to come out with the details he got against his assets while assuring to disclose his own assets before the all-party delegation.

He said that he is also ready for a judicial probe into his properties. He criticised Mr Balineni for his remark that he went to Addanki out of fear of defeat while reminding that he began his political career from Addanki. Referring to Balineni’s claim to resign if he could not render justice to the people, he questioned him as to why he could not solve the problems of the people of Dhenuvukonda.

He said that everybody is aware that Gundlakamma left canal works are being grounded by Chief Minister’s co-brother Subba Reddy. He alleged that an IAS officer brother has tak-en up the left canal works. Alleging that Chief Minister relatives made crores of rupees in left canal works, he questioned the rational behind not paying compensation to the people of submerging villages.

Mr Balaram said that he was instrumental in selecting Mr Balineni as block congress president when he was district youth Congress president. He said that he never entered contract field and he had a car when Mr Balineni don’t even know what a cycle is like.

Nellore, Sept. 23: Ragging can be effectively tackled only by students who are victims of the menace, according to Jana Vignana Vedika State vice-president Dr Vijayakumar. Addressing students of the Audi Sankara Engineering and Technology institute at Gudur on Saturday, he said that there was no use of legislations unless there was a change in the attitude of students.

He cited the presence of ragging in one form or other in society, referring to various incidents in society including ill-treatment meted out to women at their in-law’s house. He reminded that the menace continued despite various legislations to protect the rights of woman.
He called upon senior and junior students to jointly take a decision to eradicate ragging in their college. Dr Vijayakumar ridiculed the notion that ragging impro-ved ties between students.

Advocate and AISF former district president I. Raja expressed concern over the increasing incidents of ragging in Nellore district unlike never before. “Those involved in ragging were liable for a penalty of Rs 50,000 besides a jail term as per the latest legislation. The guilty could not pursue education anywhere else if once booked,” he said.

He urged students to remember their responsibilities and behave accordingly, reminding them that their parents were spending lakhs of rupees pinning all their hopes on their future.

Rajahmundry, Sept. 23: CPI State committee member K. Subba Raju flayed the Congress government for failing to strengthen the Godavari river flood banks as part of the modernisation of the delta on a permanent basis. He said the flood banks were getting breached, resulting in the inundation of villages.

Mr Subba Raju told newsmen on Saturday that though Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had assured to allocate Rs 1,000 crores for the modernisation of the Godavari delta, works were not yet taken up. He said that due to frequent floods to the Godavari river, several islands and villages located along the banks of the river were facing the problem of inundation.

Mr Subba Raju underlined the importance of fixing a timeplan for taking up the works to provide a permanent solution to the problem.
He also called for payment of adequate compensation to the villagers who were affected due to cyclones and floods and felt the need to avoid complaints from villagers over irregularities in the distribution of relief.

Referring to the poor network of drainage system, especially the Nalla channel, which was causing inundation of several low-lying areas due to rains in the city, the CPI leader called for taking up proper measures to address the problem on a permanent basis.

Dwelling at length on other issues, Mr Subba Raju was critical of the State government for failing to regulate prices of essential commodities and asked it keep a tab on middlemen who were also responsible for effecting a price hike. He called for streamlining the public distribution system to ensure that the poor were not subjected to hardship as they could not afford to purchase essentials in the open market.

Mr Subba Raju said that the CPI would take up a State-wide agitation, demanding that the government implement a special package for the development of the Telangana region from October 6 onwards. A CPI delegation visited the Nalla channel and the affected low-lying areas and reiterated its demand for immediate modernisation of the drainage system in Rajahmundry.

Kakinada, Sept. 23: Bankers in East Godavari are to extend Rs 217.10 crores as rehabilitation and relief measure to the recently flood affected people. According to lead district bank Andhra Bank sources, the amount was being extended in the form of crop loans converted into medium term loans, fresh crop loans, fresh agriculture term loans, loans to non-farm sector, to Self-Help Groups and consumption loans.

With the process already started in the first week of September, 9,679 beneficiaries were distributed assistance to the tune of Rs 27.80 crores out of the targeted amount of Rs 217.10 crores by the third week of the month. This is in addition to the district target of Rs 2,400 crores fixed by the SLBC (State Level Bankers’ Committee) for 2006-07. Out of this total Rs 1,186.75 crores was distributed already by September second week to different sectors.

Crop loans lead the table with Rs 642.08 crores for the kharif crop, agriculture term loans Rs 86.55 crores, allied activities to agriculture Rs 121. 35 crores, SSI and non-farm sector Rs 159.22 crores and Rs 177.55 crores was distributed to other priority sectors.

The district also leads in extending loans to tenant farmers through Rytu Mitra groups to the tune of Rs 11.83 crores to 942 identified groups. Bankers are extending loans to housing to weaker sections in a big way in the district.

Under the Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana, 10,441 houses were being financed to the tune of Rs 26.10 crores in the present financial year. In the present year, the scale of finance was increased from Rs 16,000 to Rs 25,000 for each house and also for houses constructed under G plus to 2 scheme. As part of women’s empowerment through self -help groups, Rs 196 crores was being extended in the present financial year to 30,000 groups.

Karimnagar, Sept. 23: Karimnagar has once again become the focal point in the Telangana movement following the declaration of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao to construe the outcome of the by-election to Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat as a referendum on Telangana.

The withdrawal of TRS from the UPA and the acceptance of Mr Chandrasekhar Rao’s resignation by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee have triggered off intense political activity in the district in anticipation of the announcement of the date of by-election. The TRS, the Congress, the Telugu Desam and the BJP have commenced intensive parleys to formulate strategies to win the bypoll.

Even while the political parties are making spirited claims about winning prospects, The ensuing by-election is all set to be very intense and volatile considering the unpredictable verdict given by the voters of the constituency in the past.

The Congress won the seat eight times in the past. The BJP bagged the seat twice, and the Communists (PDF), the TDP, the Telangana Praja Samiti (TPS) and the TRS wrested the seat once each since 1952. Former MP late J. Chokka Rao was elected thrice from the constituency.

Sports minister M. Satyanarayana Rao was elected thrice from the seat including once on the TPS ticket. Mr Chokka Rao defeated former chief minister M. Chenna Reddy who contested the Lok Sabha elections from Karimnagar in 1984 on National Democratic Party ticket. BJP senior leader Ch. Vidyasagar Rao won from the seat twice in 1998 and 1999.

Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao won from the constituency in 2004 in alliance with the Congress. He defeated Mr Vidyasagar Rao with a margin of about 1.38 lakhs votes.

Warangal, Sept. 23: Mattewada Ajay Ku-mar, a local miniature gold item enthusiast, came up with a smallest gold fan weighing 6.5 grams and 3.2 cm height. Ajay Kumar, 33, a goldsmith, prepared the gold fan in 26 hours and its hands rotate 10 to 15 times in a second. The fan runs with a small battery.

His earlier gold miniature item, smallest gold lock and key, earned him a place in The Limca Book of Records. The lock with seven levers and with a key measured 1.54 grams and 11.2 mm in length. His other miniature works like painting President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on a rice grain and carving the Agni missile on gold and its launching pad in silver have received all-round praise. “My dream is to present the miniature painting to Mr Abdul Kalam himself,” said Mr Ajay Kumar.

Vijayawada, Sept. 23: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has come up with a Rs 35-crore package to provide effective drainage system to drain out rain water into the canals. All roads in the city will be connected to the three canals that flow along the city to absorb the rain water. The project will be part of the Central government-funded Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Open drains will be constructed on both sides of the roads.

The scheme will be first implemented at Suryaraopet and Mogarlajapuram connecting the road-side drains to Ryves Canal and Bandar Canal. Rain water from the roads in Suryaraopet would be drained into the Ryves Canal while the lone Boyapati School Road in Mogalrajapuram will be connected to Bandar Canal through Tikkle Road. Boyapati Road will solve the frequent stagnation of water at Mother Teresa junction and also Kandhari lane, that have turned into major traffic bottlenecks.

According to municipal commissioner Natrajan Gu-lzar, the scheme will be implemented in 12 cities across the country to solve water stagnation problem. “The scheme will be designed in such a way that water gets drained out from the roads into the canals, making it easy for the flow of traffic,” the commissioner added. In addition to this, over Rs 11.8 crores of the mission funds will be utilised for the underground drainage from Ranigarithota to Ramalingeswara Nagar on the National Highway.

With this, the entire southern part of the city will get the underground drainage system. In the second phase, the JNNURM funds will be used to provide underground drainage system for Gunadala and Ajitsingh Nagar areas.

Vijayawada, Sept. 23: Religious fervour marked the first day of Dasara Navratri celebrations in Vijayawada on Saturday. The devotees were seen thronging the temple since early in the morning to catch a glimpse of Goddess Durga who was decorated in the incarnation of Swarna Kavachamkruta Durga Devi.

The APSRTC started plying buses from 3 am onwards. There was a huge crowd in the morning, but the rush of devotees decreased by afternoon. Cultural programmes organised by the temple authorities on the occasion were well attended. Many pilgrims from in and around Vijayawada took a holy dip in river Krishna.

The rituals commenced with suprabhataseva followed by balabhoga naiv-edyam and nityarachana. The utsav diety was placed in Bhavani Deeksha mandapam for special pujas by the devotees.

Visakhapatnam, Sept. 23: In a bid to improve the education standards in the Agency areas of the district, the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) has for the first time appointed one taskforce officer each in all the 11 Agency mandals.

These officers would monitor the day-to-day activities of around 2,450 schools including aided high schools, primary schools, schools run by zilla parishad, MPP and ITDA, alternative schools and welfare hostels.

The officers would conduct surprise checks on these schools and check whether the teachers are discharging their duties. “After thorough observations and various surveys it was observed that the teachers and staff were not attending to their duties regularly and were also not maintaining the stipulated timings due to which the education standards are coming down.

The teachers are not even completing the syllabus on time. To overcome all these problems the taskforce scheme was introduced” ITDA project officer A. Sharath said. Mr Sharath said that tribal students were not in a position to appear for competitive exams.

The taskforce officers should conduct sudden raids and should at least check five primary schools, three primary and secondary schools, five high schools, six ashram schools, two hostels, two primary health centres in a month. They should also check the facilities provided at the hostels and also ensure that the food is served according to the menu fixed by the ITDA. The officers would send the reports to the ITDA project officer regularly.

Visakhapatnam, Sept. 23: Indian Lawyers Association State president and senior advocate of AP High Court, C. Padmanabha Reddy on Saturday said that lawyers should update their knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of the changing trends in the society in the wake of globalisation.

Addressing the inaugural function of seventh conference and seminar on ‘Changing trends in law — Challenges to the legal profession,’ organised by the local chapter of the Indian Association of Lawyers here Mr Reddy said: “There is a need to revamp the entire curriculum as new challenges have come up in the legal system. The students of law should be now taught about corporate law, cyber law, human rights and international legal issues. The current emerging trends have opened up a plethora of opportunities for the talented lawyers, but a proper training is required.”

Speaking on the occasion AP High Court Judge B. Prakash Rao observed that lack of command over English grammar has been creating hurdles for the advocates from south as compared to those from other States and added that lawyers should take short-term courses on English for being successful in the profession.

Justice Rao felt that though there were several law institutions like the Nalsar, which were providing adequate training, the graduated ones from these institutions were being absorbed by corporate law firms and other organisations as law officers thereby creating a dearth for professional trained lawyers.