Andhranews

Kurnool, Oct. 4: Rayalaseema Hakkula Aikya Vedika president T.G. Venkatesh demanded that the State government withdraw its idea to implement GO 610, as it would flare up regional passions.
“If the government attempts to send back the officials belonging to Rayalaseema from Hyderabad in the name of implementation of GO 610, the Vedika would neck out the officials belonging to other regions from this place,” he threatened.

If the State government is committed to implement the GO, all those officials who do not belong to the Telangana region and Hyderabad had to leave the capital, Mr Venkatesh said. He criticised the agitation taken up by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti leaders demanding the repatriation of officials who do not belong to Telangana region from the Hyderabad Metro Water Works and termed their claim as meaningless.

All those officials who were supposed to be the victims due to the implementation of the GO 610 also participated in the press briefing along with the Vedika president. “Of the 27 officials who would face the transfer, 17 belong to the Telangana region only. Is it justified to transfer those who belong to Telangana region just because they are not from Hyderabad city,” he questioned.

He threatened that if the government resorted to implementation of the GO, the Vedika would send back all the employees belonging to Telangana and coastal Andhra, who were working in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and those who were working in several capacities in various districts of Rayalaseema. Mr Venkatesh said that the TRS leaders who resorted to an agitation in front of Hyderabad Water Works and caused mental agony to the officials should apologise to them.

The Vedika leader said that the State would suffer badly if the government tries to divide the government officials region-wise. If the GO has to be implemented, there would be differences even at mandal and district levels, he bemoaned. He alleged that the government was trying to ignite regional passions with the implementation the Girglani Committee recommendations. Mr Venkatesh said that the Vedika was committed to a united State and fight on behalf of the employees and officials belonging to all the other regions.

Those who participated included Messrs Balamuni, Bhaskara Reddy, Krishna Rao and others. Mr Krishna Rao of Karimnagar said that he was one among the victims who was expecting a transfer from Hyderabad Metro Water Works, though he belonged to the same region.

Kurnool, Oct. 5: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) had started an inquiry into the bloodshed during Banni festival, in which lakhs of people participate with sticks on Vijayadasami day every year, at Malava Malleswara Swamy temple in Devaragattu village in Holagunda mandal of Kurnool district. The SHRC secretary, Dr N. Chellappa, reached here on Wednesday and proceeded to Devaragattu to start an inquiry. District rural development officer (DRDO) Ramasw-amy accompanied him.

Dr Chellappa said that the SHRC had met at Hyderabad and decided to hold an inquiry into the incide-nts, following reports in newspapers over the bloodshed. As part of the progra-mme, he came to Kurnool, Dr Chellappa added.

He stressed the need to enlighten the people and bring out a change in the inhuman culture among people. The SHRC secretary said that he would speak to the temple organisers and the devotees and then submit a report to the commission. The latter would take a decision and initiates steps on how to conduct the festival in a peaceful manner.

Nizamabad, Oct. 4: It was chor police with a twist. Villagers mistook Kamareddy deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Sheikh Salimuddin and four others, who were reportedly on a hunting trip, to be a gang of robbers and beat them up.

The incident occurred late on Tuesday night at Kalvaral village of Sadasivanagar mandal. The DSP was driving the vehicle himself.
Among those accompanying Mr Salimuddin were a police constable and three villagers, Raju of Chinnamallareddy village, Khurram and Mazhar of Kamareddy town. They were said to be experts in trapping wild boar.

As is usual in Maoists-affected regions, the jeep was unmarked and Mr Salimuddin was not carrying his service revolver or his identity papers. He was not accompanied by his gunman. The villagers were edgy because of a few robberies a month ago. Mr Salimuddin had set up patrols with local youth and villagers.
When they saw the unmarked jeep, they signalled it to stop. The DSP dodged them at first but stopped finally.

The villagers pounced on the people inside and beat them up. Mr Salimuddin told them that he was the DSP but he could not prove it. Meanwhile someone informed Kamareddy sub-inspector Sardar Singh — the local SI being on leave — on the phone. The SI reached the village, 15 km from Kamareddy, in about half an hour and identified Mr Salimuddin. The crowd then melted away.

Superintendent of police Mahesh Chandra Laddha told this newspaper that the police was taking the incident seriously. A detailed report has been sent to director-general of police Swaranjit Sen for taking action against the DSP. “He will continue in duty till action is initiated against him,” Mr Laddha said.

Karimnagar, Oct. 4: The main opposition Telugu Desam (TD) has commenced its election campaign for the Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat bypoll. TD politburo member and the TD Legislature Party deputy leader T. Devender Goud has chalked out a pre-poll strategy at the party’s constituency-level extended general body meet here on Wednesday.

Addressing the party cadre from seven Assembly constituencies, Mr Goud charged the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) with deceiving the people of the region in the name of Telangana in connivance with the Congress in the last Assembly elections.
Mr Goud asserted that the TD would emerge victorious in the by-election with the overwhelming support of all sections.

TD general secretary Kadiam Srihari alleged that TRS president Chandrasekhar Rao had remained a mute spectator while the Congress government vigorously pursued policies detrimental to Telangana on the irrigation and other important spheres. TD general secretaries E. Peddi Reddy and others spoke.

Meanwhile, speaking to newsmen at the District Congress Committee office here, APSRTC chairman Gone Prakash Rao dared Mr Chandrasekhar Rao to join him in a public debate before embarking on Palle Bata to discuss on his contribution to the development of the constituency as a Union minister. “The TRS president has committed a blunder by resigning to his post. The Telangana movement would get buried if he gets defeated,” Mr Prakash Rao said.

Adilabad, Oct. 4: The State government wrote a letter to district collector Ravala Subbarao stating that the newly-announced medical college for the district would be established at the district hospital premises in Adilabad town. The collector received a letter to this effect from Mr Aravind Reddy, managing director of Health and Medical and Housing infrastructure Development Corporation.

A State-level team would visit the town soon in this regard. The existing infrastructure will be upgraded and a new hostel and hospital buildings will be constructed in the premises of the district hospital. Mr Subbarao and Adilabad Congress MLA Ramachandra Reddy inspected district headquarters hospital on Wednesday and enquired about the land available there.

Twenty-five acres of land is required for establishing a medical college, including a hostel building, as per the directions of the Medical Council of India. The collector said that the existing facilities in the district hospital would be availed for the proposed new medical college. A total of 52 acres of land was available in the premises of the district headquarters hospital.

Meanwhile, differences surfaced between leaders representing the east and west areas of the district in the Telugu Desam (TD) over selection of the medical college site. Asifabad TD MLA A. Sridevi demanded that the State government set up the college at Bellampalli which comes under her constituency.

The TD leaders representing Adilabad, demanded that the college be set up there. Ms Sridevi is planning to meet Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy on the issue. The Congress leaders of the coal belt area are also building up pressure on labour minister G. Vinod to set up the college in the coal belt area.

Vijayawada, Oct. 4: The proposal by the civic administration to merge over a dozen gram panchayats with the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is evoking widespread opposition from the respective villages.

The VMC officials have listed the proposal for the October 6 council meeting for approval of the council which would be sent to the State government for enacting a GO merging the villages with the civic body. The villages, which were proposed for merger include Kanuru, Kamayyathopu, Tadigadapa and Poranki on Machilipatnam side, Ramavarappadu, Enikepadu, Prasadampadu and Nidamanuru on the Eluru side and a few villages adjacent to the city around Gollapudi on Hyderabad Road and Nunna on Nuzvid Road.

This would be the third exercise of the civic body to merge the gram panchayats during the last 25 years. When the city was upgraded into Municipal Corporation in 1981, the State government had merged Machavaram, Gunadala and Patamata and again in 1985, Payakapuram and Kandrika were made part of the city.

Though the council during Dr Jandhyala Shankar’s regime had proposed a greater Vijayawada with its limits extended to Mangalagiri, Gannavaram and Ibrahimpatnam by the inclusion of all gram panchayats in the area, it did not succeed due to pressure from the respective gram panchayats.

The heads of the gram panachayats feared that the cost of living might go up, besides taxes shooting up from the day they are merged with the city. The villages geographically attached to the city are not part of the civic administration. The villages from Kanuru to Poranki on the Machilipatnam road and those from Ramavarappadu to Nidamanuru on Eluru road remain part of the city.

Whether the October 6 meeting of the VMC adopts a resolution for the merger of these villages or not, the gram panchayats have already began opposing the move. The newly-elected sarpanches of these villages have called for an emergency meeting at Gollapudi on Wednesday to oppose the move but have cancelled it following the intervention of Kankipadu MLA Devineni Rajasekhar Nehru.

Sources told this correspondent that the MLA had promised to speak to the Chief Minister about the issue and even arrange a meeting for the sarpanches to express their resentment. Mr Nehru also asked the sarpanches to wait and watch on the issue as the VMC council would have to respond to the move.

Vijayawada, Oct. 4: The Congress leaders from the city are busy lobbying with the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) leadership for the next mayoral candidate to step into the shoes of CPI mayor Tadi Sakuntala who is scheduled to vacate her seat by October 7.

APCC president K. Keshava Rao and Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy have authorised district in-charge minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy to hold talks with the MLAs and work for a consensus. City MLAs Devineni Rajasekhar Nehru and Vangaveeti Radha Krishna and city Congress president Pyla Sominaidu were asked to meet Mr Diwakar Reddy on the consensus candidate to head the civic administration for the next one year.

The APCC leadership has already indicated to the MLAs and the Congress leaders that the mayoral candidate would be for one year in office and the post would go to the candidates of the legislators and the MP in rotation. While the MLAs have agreed to put up candidates for the post in rotation, the problem is who should be given the first opportunity.

According to party sources, MP L. Rajagopal and MLA Radhakrishna are insisting on their candidates being given the first chance. While Mr Rajagopal is backing the candidature of Mallika Begum representing the Vijayawada West Assembly segment, Mr Radhakrishna is supporting the candidature of Ratna Bindu from the Vijayawada East segment. It is to be seen who would get the first chance when the issue is to be decided on October 6 in the presence of the Chief Minister.

A CPI delegation led by its State secretary K. Narayana which had met the Chief Minsiter and the APCC president a couple of days ago, has only thanked them for having given the mayoral post to the party in the first year. However, the delegation had remained silent on asking for an extension of the term by another year though there was speculation on the continuation of Ms Sakuntala. This had raised the hopes of the Congress aspirants.

Visakhapatnam, Oct. 4: Former Union minister and senior BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya on Wednesday said that the BJP would field candidates for Bobbili and Karimnagar Lok Sabha by-elections. He also said the party would contest eight MLC seats in the elections to be held for the new State legislative council.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr Dattatreya said former union minister Ch. Vidyasagar Rao is the party choice for Karimangar bypoll.

The candidate for Bobbili will be finalised in a meeting to be held on October 6 in Hyderabad, he added. Stating that there would be no tie-up with any political party in both the seats, he made it clear that the party was determined to win both seats. “We are not fielding our candidates not to make our presence felt. We will prove our strength by winning the seats,” Mr Dattatreya said.

Mr Dattatreya demanded an inquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court or Supreme Court into the alleged outer ring road (ORR) land scam in Hyderabad. Pooh-poohing the State government’s decision to refer the ORR case for a probe by CBI, he said the BJP has no confidence in the CBI. “What came out of the CBI inquiry into the Volkswagen issue that rocked the State? The Union and State governments are influencing the agency, Mr Dattatreya alleged.

Visakhapatnam, Oct. 4: Three students belonging to Scheduled Caste(SC) community were allegedly necked out by the revenue inspector (RI) K. Shyam of China Gadili mandal for asking caste certificates here on Wednesday.

When they approached the RI, he allegedly told them to stop their studies and start working in the fields. “We were thrown out of the MRO office for asking the caste certificates,” one of the students said. The three met district collector A.K. Singhal and submitted a memorandum seeking certificates. The collector in turn asked the revenue divisional officer (RDO) M. Venkateswara Rao to conduct an inquiry.

The students, requesting anonymity, told reporters that they have been staying in social welfare hostel in Arilova on the basis of temporary certificates issued by mandal revenue officer in March this year. But the warden insisted that they produce permanent caste certificates by Wednesday. RDO Mr Venkateswara Rao said an inquiry would be conducted into the allegations on Thursday.