Shabbir Ali demands recall of new Adv General

Hyderabad, June 30 : Deputy Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir has strongly opposed the appointment of senior advocate K Ramakrishna Reddy as Advocate General for the State of Telangana.

In a representation made to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao here on Monday, Shabbir Ali said Ramakrishna Reddy had openly opposed the reservation for Muslims in Andhra Pradesh.

Citing instances, he said when Andhra Pradesh Government issued a GO Ms No 33 dated 12th July, 2007, giving 5% reservation for Muslims in jobs and educational institutions, the same was challenged in the court by T Muralidhar Rao and others and it was Ramakrishna Reddy who appeared in this writ petition and objected to the reservation for Muslims. Later, a five-Judge bench of High Court by judgment dated 21st September, 2004 struck down the GO Ms No 33 on procedural lapses.

Shabbir Ali said that Ramakrishna Reddy continued his opposition to Muslim reservations on multiple occasions in both High Court and Supreme Court of India. He appeared along with other senior counsels and opposed the reservation to Muslim minorities.

"The Muslim community in the State is apprehensive that the appointment of Ramakrishna Reddy as Advocate General may cause prejudice to them. I may bring to your notice that your government had declared that it will give 12 % reservation to the Muslims in the State, but the appointment of Chief Law Officer of the State (Advocate General) is not in that direction," Shabbir Ali said. He demanded that Ramakrishna Reddy's appointment has to be reviewed and recalled to give assurance to the Muslims in the State that the TRS Government was committed to provide reservation to the community. "A person who had opposed and object to the reservation of Muslims in the State as being unconstitutional could not have been chosen as the Advocate General for the State of Telangana. This is causing immense fear and anxious moments in the entire Muslim community across the State," he said.

Shabbir Ali announced that he would approach the court if the Chief Minister fails to withdraw the appointment of Ramakrishna Reddy in the next two days.    INN

Naidu, KCR congratulates ISRO scientists on successful PSLV launch

Hyderabad, June 30 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has congratulated the scientists of ISRO for the yet another successful launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-23 today at the SHAR space station, Sriharikota in Nellore district.

Describing the 25th successful launch of the PSLV rocket by the ISRO scientists with indigenously developed technology, as a major milestone in the space program of India, Naidu said the country was proud of their stellar achievement and putting India in the global space club.

The chief minister said the space technology and the satellites could be used to promote peace and betterment of mankind besides harnessing nature and globalise research and higher education.

He said the government of Andhra Pradesh was keen to coordinate efforts with ISRO exploit the indigenously developed technologies for betterment of agriculture and healthcare in the state.

Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in a statement has congratulated ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishna and his team of scientists on successful accomplishment of their mission. He said such successful accomplishments will bring laurels to the Nation and every Indian should feel proud of their efforts.

Congratulating the ISRO scientists, YSR Congress Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the successful launch has placed India alongside the developed nations in the Space orbit.   INN

KCR lacks clarity on T-development plans: Errabelli

Hyderabad, June 30 : TDP floor leader Errabelli Dayakar Rao on Monday accused Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of lacking clarity on his plans to develop Telangana State.

Speaking to media persons at NTR Trust Bhavan here, Errabelli said that KCR was criticising Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu only to hide his failures. He said that KCR did not come out with a single policy aimed at development of Telangana. He said that the TDP was ready to cooperate with the government, but the latter is not having any plans which could be supported.

Errabelli alleged that KCR was indulging in mere statements and local politics. He is still behaving like a politician than working as the Chief Minister of Telangana, he alleged adding that KCR's statement asking party men to grab Chairman's posts in local bodies elections was a proof for the same. He said people of Telangana were quite disappointed with the performance of the Chief Minister.  INN

Harish Rao asks T-employees to play an active role

Hyderabad, June 30 : Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao on Monday appealed to the employees to play an active role in the development of Telangana State.

Addressing the State-level review meeting at Jal Soudha at Erramanzil here, Harish Rao said that farmers have lot of expectations and hopes on the TRS Government. He said that the government could not achieve anything without the active support and involvement of employees. Therefore, he said that the employees should play their role in the development of new State.

Harish Rao said that the TRS Government would never initiate high-profile schemes like Jalayagnam which did not yield any direct benefit to the farmers. However, he said that the government would take practical measures to help the farmers. He asked the irrigation department employees to focus on conservation of water.

The minister said that the government, officials and employees should feel accountable and answerable to the people.   INN

T-Cong opposes elections for Council's chairman post

Hyderabad, June 30 : The Telangana Congress on Monday strongly opposed the elections for the post of Chairman of Telangana State Legislative Council.

Speaking to media persons after holding a meeting with Telangana Congress MLCs at Gandhi Bhavan here, Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council D Srinivas informed that his party would meet Governor ESL Narasimhan seeking his intervention to stop elections for the Chairman's post. He said that the Congress party enjoys majority in the Upper House and therefore, was no need to conduct fresh elections for the Chairman's post. However, he said in case TRS Government decides to conduct elections, then the same would be contested by the Congress party.

Srinivas also informed that five MLCs, who recently joined the TRS, were yet to resign from the Congress party. Therefore, in case of elections, the Congress party would have the advantage of issuing whip to its members and any violation would attract disqualification.

The meeting was also attended by TPCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah and Leader of the Opposition in Assembly K Jana Reddy. According to sources, the Congress has decided to field Farooq Hussain as its candidate against the TRS nominee for the Chairman's post.

Meanwhile, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Mohammad Ali Shabbir condemned the action by five MLCs who joined the TRS without formally resigning from the Congress party. He said that the leaders should have resigned from their posts before joining the other parties.   INN

GHMC gets good response for Property Tax Parishkaram programme

Hyderabad, June 29 : The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has conducted Property Tax Parishkaram (PTP) program in all its 18 Circles here on Sunday.

The GHMC received 457 applications under this programme. Of them, 178 applications have been sorted out. All the Deputy Commissioners were instructed to sort out the remaining issues in next one week.

The Property Tax collection this year has crossed Rs. 200 crore. Till today, about Rs 204.00 crores has been collected from more than 4 lakh tax payers. Last year till June, the overall collection was only Rs. 91.16 crores.

This year, Monday (June 30) is the last date for payment of Property Tax without penalty.  From 1st July onwards two per cent penalty will be levied. Hence, the GHMC has requested all the Property Tax payers to make payment of Property Tax through Bill Collectors / Citizen Service Centres / Mee Seva Centres / Online. All the Citizen Service Centres will remain open on Monday till 8 PM.  INN

Naidu greets Muslims on commencement of Ramzan

Hyderabad, June 29 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has greeted the Muslim brethren on the occasion of commencement of holy month Ramzan.

Naidu said that the State Government was committed to implement all welfare and developmental schemes for betterment of the Muslim Community without fail.  INN

Palle assures all facilities to Muslims during Ramzan

Hyderabad, June 29 : Andhra Pradesh Minorities Welfare Minister Dr Palle Raghunatha Reddy on Sunday conveyed his greetings to the Muslim brethren of Andhra Pradesh on the eve of the beginning of Holy Month of Ramadan.

Dr.Palle also said that during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslim brethren observe fasting from dawn to dusk and offer prayers to the Almighty Allah and Wished them that may Allah Blesses all with Happiness, Warmth and Peace.

The Minister said that instructions were given to all the Officers concerned to maintain sanitation, hygiene and provision of drinking water and Law and Order at all the holy Prayer places of Masjids etc. in Andhra Pradesh. He also said that permission had been accorded to all Muslim Employees of the A.P. Government to leave the Office one hour before at 4 pm during the month of Ramadan so as to facilitate them to offer their prayers at holy Masjids.   INN

VHR to issue Polavaram issue in Parliament

Hyderabad, June 29 : Rajya Sabha MP V Hanumantha Rao on Sunday announced that he would raise the issue of Centre's ordinance on Polavaram Project in the upcoming session of the Parliament.

Speaking to media persons at the Congress Legislature Party office here, VHR said that injustice was being done to Telangana State by giving away seven mandals of Khammam to Andhra Pradesh. He said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu immediately reacted when Telangana Government announced to extend fee reimbursement benefit only to local students. However, he remained silent when injustice was done to Telangana on Polavaram issue.

VHR said that he would not only raise the issue in Parliament, but will also approach the Supreme Court, if required. He also advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be cautious against Naidu.  INN

Not in the race for Council's chairman post: Amos

Hyderabad, June 29 : Senior MLC KR Amos on Sunday claimed that he was not in the race for the post of Chairman of Telangana State Legislative Council.

Speaking to INN, Amos, who had recently quit Congress to join the TRS, said that he was never in the race for any post. He made it clear that he had quit Congress party for the reason that it ignored minorities. He said despite strong opposition from a majority of MLCs, Srinivas was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council purely on the basis of money. He said a young and active leader like Mohammad Ali Shabbir was ignored by the party while a tainted leader like Srinivas was selected for the top post.

Amos said he never aspired for any posts during his long political career. He said he joined the TRS on the basis of principles and not for the posts. He expressed ignorance about his candidature being considered by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for the post. However, he advocated the candidature of Swamy Goud for the top post. He said Swamy Goud had played an active role in Telangana movement and his nomination should be considered.

Amos advised the Congress party to leave the post of Chairman and Deputy Chairman for the TRS instead of contesting the same.  INN

T-Cong eyes Legislative Council Chairman's post

Hyderabad, June 29 : The Telangana Congress is hoping to win the seat of Chairman of Telangana State Legislative Council.

The elections for the post of Council's Chairman and Deputy Chairman will be held on July 2. According to sources, Leader of the Opposition in Telangana Council D Srinivas held a meeting with Congress MLCs on Sunday at his residence. However, the candidate for the post of Chairman could not be decided in the meeting. Therefore, the party has decided to hold another meeting on Monday at Gandhi Bhavan to finalise the candidature.

Sources say that Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Ponnala Lakshmaiah has proposed the candidature of Mohammad Ali Shabbir for the post and it is most likely to be approved during Monday's meeting.  INN

KCR wants TRS rule in local bodies

Hyderabad, June 29 : Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday directed his cabinet colleagues and party leaders to ensure that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi nominees win the posts of Chairman in municipalities, local bodies, MPTC and ZPTCs across the State.

According to sources, KCR held a meeting with senior leaders of the party including ministers at his camp office on Sunday morning to discuss the issue. He said it would be easier for the State Government to implement welfare schemes if local bodies are under the control of ruling party. Party's Secretary General K Keshava Rao has reportedly been made incharge for this task.

The Chief Minister also discussed the elections to the post Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Telangana State Legislative Council to be held on July 2. The candidature of Swamy Goud and KR Amos.  INN

Telangana Government created Social Media Cell: KTR

Hyderabad, June 29 : Information Technology Minister K Tarakarama Rao said that the Telangana Government was proactive to Social Media. 

Participating in a Panel Discussion on “Social Media in Today’s World" organised by the Hyderabad Chapter of Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) on Saturday night, KTR informed that the government has created a Social Media Cell.  "Our ministry has now Facebook and Twitter Accounts. Our government will also have digital platform-CMO Telangana to reach out to people," he said.

The Minister described the Public Relations as a very important tool.  "Everyone needs to promote themselves. Our government will not shy away in promoting various activities taken up by using PR," he said.

"It is not what you actually do, but what you present is more important.  As politicians we deal with two different forms of media - print and electronic.  Now we have third menace which is a social media. We have been continuously haunted by social media. It is really challenging for us politicians to deal with all these three different formats of media," KTR said

Speaking further, he added, "The technology is supposed to make our lives easy, but are making more complicated.  Social Media has created another layer, but, it is very impactful. Twitter is very addictive.  Our Prime Minister Modi is avid and active Twitter.  These social media offer another forum through which we can reach our people without any filter.  Electronic Media tends to put what is said in 60 minutes in just 30 seconds and repeats the same, as if the politician has not said anything else.  Whereas, Social Media helps us to reach the masses unadulterated and unedited straight to their hearts." 

"Our Chief Minister and my father is more misunderstood than understood by the electronic media and during the days of agitation, they have only showed that they wanted in just thirty seconds and rest of the speech has gone for toss," he informed

KTR also said that today people in urban cities ‘tweet’ more than ‘vote’.  They just resolve to armchair criticism and they don’t go to vote. What it matters is those who go and vote.

Central Bankd of India (Hyderabad Zone) K Eswar also addressed gathering. The Panelists comprising of Ramesh Loganathan, Chairman of ITsAP, Shakeel Ahmed, PRO of South Central Railways; Prasad Pingali, Co-founder of CEO of Veooz Labs Pvt. Ltd and Nischala Agnihotri, Content Marketing Consultant on Social Media deliberated on “Social Media in Today’s World”. Prashanth Meka, Head Branding, IIIT-Hyderabad moderated the panel discussion.  The subject has evoked lot of response.

Nearly 250 PR, Advertising, Media, Digital Marketing Professionals participated in the meeting.  INN

Rajnath Singh may attend AIMF Iftar Dinner in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, June 29 : Elaborate arrangements are being made for the Iftar Dinner to be hosted by the All India Minorities Forum in Hyderabad on July 5, 2014.

According to the AIMF Secretary & Convener Jabir Patel, the Iftar Dinner is likely to have the participation of representatives of all political parties, many countries and other sections of the society. Eminent political personalities including Union Home Minister Dr Rajnath Singh are likely to attend the Iftar Dinner. For the first ever, the Chief Ministers of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, K Chandrasekhar Rao Garu and Nara Chandrababu Naidu Garu too will be seen on the same platform during Iftar Dinner, he said in a press release said.

The Governors of different States are also likely to participate in the Iftar Dinner and Governors Ram Naresh Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), Aziz Qureshi (Uttarakhand) and Sheila Dixit (Kerela) have reportedly confirmed their participation. Former Union Ministers Rahman Khan and Veerappa Moila, Lok Sabha MPs Moulana Asrarul Haque, Secunderabad MP Bandaru Dattatreyya and a few other dignitaries have also confirmed their participation.

The AIMF Iftar dinner will also have the participation of Ambassadors of many countries. According to Jabir Patel, this year's Iftar Dinner has been aimed at conveying the message of love and peace and communal harmony in the country.  INN

AP Govt to adopt multipronged strategy to meet energy needs

Hyderabad, June 29 : In view of the unprecedented demand for power and to meet the requirements of the electricity consumers, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to adopt multipronged strategy to ensure adequate and quality power supply to the consumers of all categories by putting in place Energy Efficiency & Energy Conservation (EE&EC) measures apart from expediting the construction of ongoing projects and reduction of Transmission & Distribution losses.

As part this strategy, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, who will hold the high level meet exclusively on Energy Efficiency shortly, is expected to give a road map to the SECM and other key departments on energy efficiency and energy savings measures which will help in savings of around at least 15-20% of energy in future.  The Chief Minister has also directed that a mechanism should be developed to involve all the key depts. like Industries, MA&UD, Agrl., RWS, etc. to fix the accountability in achieving the desired goals of energy savings for which state & stakeholders will get benefit to a larger extent.

Disclosing the above details, Chief Secretary and SECM Chairman IYR Krishna Rao, who briefed the Chief Minister before leaving for Tirupati on official visitabout the initiatives taken up by SECM, said that a comprehensive proposal has been submitted to SECM by Energy Efficient Services Limited (EESL) to upgrade the public lighting infrastructure with the LEDs in the entire state on a revenue sharing basis. Since Energy Efficiency is a driving force for the economic development, the Chief Minister is keen to adopt a comprehensive communication strategy in a mission mode and involving all Self Help Groups (SHGs) to make the Energy Efficiency & Conservation programmes a successful, the Chief Secretary said.

Energy Efficiency Improvement Plans: In the present global warming scenario, protection of water, energy and environment is essential to protect the interest of the public in the long run, CS said.  For instance by using star rated electrical appliances, consumers can conserve a minimum of 20% energy and reduce their power bills considerably apart from helping the nation by way of saving of natural resources like coal and gas and protection of environment.  That’s why instructions are going to be issued to all the Govt. Depts to adopt Dept wise Energy Efficiency Improvement Plans.                       

The CS along with G. Sai Prasad, Secretary to CM, Ajay Jain, Secretary, Energy (FAC), Vijayanand, MD/APGENCO & APTRANSCO have informed the Chief Minister about the power supply position and procurement of addl power. They informed that utilities could supply 125 MU as against the demand of 148 MU with a deficit of 23 MU.

Procurement of additional power:  The Chief Secretary further said that CM has directed for procurement of addl. power from various sources to meet the requirements of the public.  The officials informed the CM that in the combined state orders have been placed to purchase power to an extent of 1750 MW from pvt. generating stations.  Out of which AP is getting 800 MW to meet the demand.  In addition to the above, AP state Govt. is making all out efforts to procure power from neighbouring states i.e. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for the Month of July, 2014. 

Already orders have been placed for 300 MW (100 MW from Karnataka, 200 MW from Tamilnadu), out of which 100 MW from Karnataka will be flowing from 1st July.  For the balance 200 MW efforts are being made at highest level to get consent from Tamil Nadu for flow of power.    With the persuasion of the Chief Minister, Central Generating Stations (CGS) will be giving 65 MW in addition as per the corrected ratio of the CGS share between the 2 states, the CS said.    INN

Death toll rises to 19 in GAIL tragedy

Hyderabad, June 29 : The death toll in the GAIL pipeline blast at Nagaram village of East Godavari increased to 19 with one more person succumbing to severe burn injuries which he suffered on June 27.

Kasu Chinna, 20, succumbed to the burn injuries while undergoing treatment at Kakinada Hospital on Sunday morning. Earlier on Saturday, two other persons including a baby girl had succumbed to the burn injuries which they suffered in the blast.  INN

Dy CM launches GHMC emergency vehicles

Hyderabad, June 28 : Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali informed that the GHMC has deployed 18 emergency vehicles for the monsoon season with latest equipments to tackle the situation while on heavy down pours. Previously the GHMC use to have only six vehicles which now have been enhanced to 18 so that each circle will have an emergency vehicle to tackle the monsoon related problems.

The Deputy CM, Home Minister Nayini Narsimha Reddy, Excise Minister T Padmarao and GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar have formally launched 18 emergency vehicles at GHMC Head Office on Saturday. The GHMC has taken up this innovative scheme with the emergency vehicles in a span of 15 to 20 minutes the vehicles will be available at the site as soon as the call from the public.

Mahmood Ali praised the GHMC Commissioner for implementing the instructions of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao without any delay. He said he was very impressed when he visited Mecca Masjid where the works have already been completed for the ensuing Ramzan festival as per the instructions of the Chief Minister.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the GHMC has strengthened the emergency team with modernized and latest equipments to tackle emergence situation in a more appropriate way without any inconvenience while performing their emergency duties for the citizens at the site on the spot.  He has also appealed the citizens to make use of 24X7 Call Centre No. 21 11 11 11 to represent their grievances which will be sorted within minutes after receiving a grievance from the Call Centre.

Narsimha Reddy said that the Chief Minister was very keen to turn Hyderabad into a model city in the entire country and asked the GHMC to play its role in achieving the goal.  INN

Ramzan to commence from Monday, crescent not sighted

Hyderabad, June 28 : The Holy Month of Ramzan will begin in Hyderabad from Monday as the crescent was not sighted in the city or its surroundings on Saturday night.

The Central Ruiyat-e-Hilal Committee announced that the Holy Month of Ramzaan will begin from Sunday night and the first Roza or fasting will be observed on June 30. Majlis-e-Ulema-e-Deccan president Syed Mohammed Qubul Pasha Quadri Shuttari gave the official declaration after the religious Ulema (learned men) met at Hussaini Building, Moazzam Jahi Market. The committee headed by Moulana Syed Shah Qubool Pasha Shuttari met here this evening and said that the moon was not sighted at Hyderabad or any other nearby cities or towns. Therefore, Sunday will be 30th of Shaban and the first Roza will be observed on Monday.

This year, the timing of fasting or Roza will be three minutes longer than last year. The first Roza will be of 14 hours and 46 minutes.

Special arrangements have been made at all mosques across the State for the conduct of Taraveeh prayers in the night. In Mecca Masjid, nearly 8,000 to 10,000 Muslims are expected to participate in the Taraveeh prayers. Arrangements have also been made at several places for Simaat-e-Quran, the congregations where Holy Quran is recited. Such gatherings are primarily attended by women.

It may be mentioned that the Holy month of Ramzan has begun in the Arab countries on Saturday night and the first Roza will be observed on Sunday across the Middle-East.  INN

Telangana Govt will be industry-friendly: KTR

Hyderabad, June 28 : Telangana Information Technology Minister K Tarakarama Rao has emphasized the need for close interaction with the industries and elicit their views for inclusion in the new Industrial Policy being brought out by the government so that Hyderabad city can be developed as a world class destination for setting up of Industries.

KTR expressed these views in an interaction Meeting with MSME sector at Cherlapally Industries Association here on Saturday. The meeting was jointly organised by the Cherlapally Industries Association, Telangana Industries Federation, FAPSIA and CNMISS.

KTR, who is incharge of Industries portfolio, has deliberated on various issues plaguing the industries like power crises, availability of skilled man power, infrastructure facilities for the expansion of the existing units. He promised that their government is Industry friendly government and for setting up of the industries all the sanctions shall be provided under single window system. In case of any delay from the government side he said they are implementing Right to Single Window Clearance Act, similar to that of Right to Information Act  so that entrepreneurs can obtain information about their unit.

The minister also explained that the government policies and commitment for providing quality power for all the industrial units within three years by setting up a 6000 MW generation station. For immediate overcoming of the problem he explained that the grid connectivity for transmission of purchased power from Chattisgarh state is being taken up on war footing in addition to the 250 MW power purchased from Karnataka State.

KTR also suggested the idea of regional ring road outside the ORR and the annular land between these two roads shall be developed as industrial clusters including residential townships for the working people in that area and other amenities.

The minister patiently listened to all the problems raised by the industrialists in the interaction meet and promised to solve all the problems depending on the feasibility. He also promised to look into the issues of the Cherlapally Industrial estate like, permanent Police Station, Fire Station, Industrial Exhibition Center extras.

Earlier, Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary & Commissioner of Industries and VC & Managing Director of IIC- Telangana unit narrated the new government policy.

K Sudhir Reddy, President Telangana Industries Federation (TIF), M Gopal Rao, Secretary TIF; P Chandrasekhar Reddy, President Cherlapally Industries Association (CIA),; Y Sudhakar Reddy , Secretary CIA, and other office bearers of CINMIASS and FAPSIA spoke on the occasion.  INN

Gas mishap: Jagan demands more compensation

Nagaram (East Godavari dist), June 28 : YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has demanded Rs one crore ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased in the pipeline blast and said that YSRCP MPs would submit a memorandum to the concerned ministry seeking adequate compensation to the injured and the farmers whose fields were set ablaze in the fire mishap.

Speaking to reporters after consoling the kin of those who lost their lives in the mishap, he said: This is not the first time that such incidents are taking place in this part of the state. It is sheer negligence on part of the oil companies which has led to this tragedy.

“While the oil companies are reaping all the profits, any disaster is being faced by the locals and there is no compensation to the seismic disruption and environmental hazards. The Centre and State Governments should mount pressure on GAIL, ONGC and the concerned ministry to pay Rs 1 crore compensation for the family which lost a member in the mishap and adequately compensate the injured by providing employment in the government sector. 

The environment should also be taken care of and for those farmers whose fields are razed; they should be adequately compensated as they lost their livelihood.  The royalty paid to the state for off shore drilling is paltry while the damage done to the region is huge. We demand that the Centre and the State work out a policy where in our share of gas is in the KG basin is defined and given to us. We will distribute our share of gas in our region and set aside a fund to meet such calamities, he said.

The negligence of the oil companies is very blatant as there were frequent complaints for the past one year about the leakages and even a small spark can ignite a major blast, which was the case now. The complaints were attended to half heartedly and tentative repairs were done as the management was not serious about the local issues, he said.

The oil companies are earning thousands of crores of rupees from the gas and oil drilled but the local are bearing the brunt in terms of seismic and environmental imbalances.

As the Centre and erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh State had an equal share in Singareni Collieries which is now transferred to Telangana state, our state should have its share in the gas production in KG basin, he said.  INN

Telangana Govt to introduce new ration cards: KCR

Hyderabad, June 28 : The Government of Telangana will introduce   new ration cards shortly.

The decision was taken during a meeting held by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to review the civil supplies department activities with specific reference to ration cards. The Chief Minister said that there are 83.59 lakhs of households eligible for white ration cards and as against this, 91 lakh cards have been issued, accounting for an excess of 7 lakhs. In addition there are 15 lakh pink ration cards over and above the required number and thus, there are 22 lakh of excess cards in the State, both White and Pink.

The Chief Minister asked the officials to find out whether the excess cards are with the ration shop dealers and if so, a warning to all dealers who possess the excess cards has to be issued to surrender them immediately failing which severe action will be initiated against them. All ineligible ration cards, both Pink and White are to be with drawn forth with.

KCR told the officials that when he mentioned this fact in the Assembly, all the Members have agreed to initiate action against the guilty and the mood of the house was against the illegal ration cards. He said he was very much worried about the ration cards issue and how the systems were wrecked during the previous governments. He desired that every thing must be streamlined and an integrated approach has to be taken so that the poorest of the poor should not suffer.

The Chief Minister also instructed the officials to initiate action to over come the deficiency of petrol in the northern parts of Telangana.

Finance Minister Etela Rajendra, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma, Prl. Secretary to CM S Narsing Rao, Commissioner Civil Supplies C Parthasarathy and Managing Director Civil Supplies Corporation Anil Kumar attended the meeting.  INN

Naidu to attend bankers' meet on Monday

Hyderabad, June 28 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu will participate as Chief Guest at  the State level Bankers’ Committee meeting  at 3 PM  on June 30.

The meeting, first after the reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh, will be held in a private hotel at Raj Bhavan Road in Somajiguda. The Chief Minister is likely to discuss the issue of loan waiver for farmers with the bankers.  INN

HCI permits change of category for Haj pilgrims

Hyderabad, June 28 : State Haj Committee Special Officer Prof. S A Shukoor has informed that the Haj committee of India has  decided to allow the selected pilgrims of Haj 2014 to change their accommodation category from Green to Azizia (downgradation) or from Azizia to Green category (Upgradation).

Those desirous of availing the facility have been asked to submit their request directly to the Haj Committee of India, Haj House,  7-A MRA Marg (Palton Road) Mumbai 400 001 (Fax No. 022-2262 0920/2263 0463) on or before 10th July 2014. He further said that the applications received after the due date would not be considered.

The pilgrims can obtain more details from the office of the AP State Haj Committee, Haj House, Nampally, Hyderabad (Phone No. 040- 2329 8793).    INN

KCR demands Bharat Ratna for PVNR

Hyderabad, June 28 : Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday announced that his cabinet would pass a resolution seeking Bharat Ratna for former Prime Minister late PV Narasimha Rao.

Speaking at the 93rd birth anniversary celebrations of late Narasimha Rao at PV Gnana Bhoomi on Necklace Road here, KCR recalled the services of Narasimha Rao for the people of this country, especially the Telugus. He said it was APV who brought recognition to Telugu people at the global level. Therefore, he said that the Centre should confer Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, to Narasimha Rao, the first Telugu Prime Minister. He also asked the Centre to construct a memorial for Narasimha Rao in New Delhi.

KCR also announced that the government would construct a memorial, name a district and university after Narasimha Rao. He praised Narasimha Rao for introducing revolutionary economic reforms during his tenure as the Prime Minister. He said those economic reforms gave a boost to country's economy and placed it on the path of growth.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor ESL Narsimhan appreciated the State Government for celebrating PV's birth anniversary as a State function.

Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali, Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy, Finance Minister Etela Rajender, Transport Minister Mahednder Reddy, MPs K Kavitha, Bandaru Dattatreya, Dr K. Keshav Rao, Jithender Reddy, Telugu litterateur C Narayana Reddy, PV's son Rajeshwar Rao, Congress senior leaders K. Jana Reddy and Dr J Geeta Reddy and several others participated in the event and paid rich tributes to the former Prime Minister.     INN

Save farmers from distress, YSRCP tells Naidu

Hyderabad, June 28 : Demanding the Chandrababu Naidu government to implement its poll promise of waiving all agriculture loans immediately, YSR Congress has said farmers are in distress as the sowing operation has to commence and there is no word from the state on this regard.

“Farmer s are facing unprecedented uncertainty with rainfall playing truant and banker’s refusing to sanction fresh loans and no assurance coming from the Andhra Pradesh government though the sowing operations are due for the kharif,” party spokesperson Ambati Rambabu told reporters here on Saturday.

Lack of rains and State government delaying the loan waiver issue on some pretext or the other has put the farming community in a quandary and we demand that the Chandrababu Naidu government should immediately address to the needs of the farmers by first waiving all agricultural loans.

TDP leaders have been speaking in different voices adding to the woes of the farmers, be it constituting a committee, fixing a ceiling or searching for other escape routes but majority of the people in Seemandhra are dependent on agriculture and the government ignoring their interests will not be tolerated, he said.

Chandrababu Naidu, who once has declared that agriculture is a waste, has changed tune during elections and along with the loan waiver promise has said that he wants to make agriculture more profitable.

“The deeds of TDP government have been otherwise. The MSP has been increased only by RS 50 which shows the scant respect Naidu has towards farmers. During his previous term of nine years he increased the MSP by Rs 170 while YSR in his 5.3 year rule has increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 and the succeeding Congress government has hiked it by Rs 300 which shows that who has more concern towards farmers,” he said.

We demand that the loan waiver should be carried out immediately to all agriculture loans failing which the farming community will be at a loss and recalled that farmers had earlier declared a crop holiday. Incidents of forcible recovery of loans from farmers are also being reported though Chandarbabu Naidu during his electioneering has openly appealed to the people not to pay the dues.

“Any government that deceives the farmers will have to pay a heavy price and TDP should honour its commitment as the agricultural operations are fast approaching,” he added.   INN

HMWSSB constitutes 28 Emergency Responsive Teams

Hyderabad, June 28 : The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board has constituted 28 Emergency responsive teams to tackle the emergency situations for high alertness during ensuing rainy season and to take precautionary as well as preventive measures on the trunk sewers in areas under O&M Divisions I to XVII.

Apart from these 28 ERTs, to be headed by Deputy General Managers, a Central Emergency Disaster Management Cell has been constituted to operate from the Head Office to receive the complaints on 24 Hours basis. This Cell will be headed by the Deputy General Managers (Engg.) drawn from the Revenue Circle assisted by one five-member ERT Team equipped with safety equipment, dewatering pump sets and One Vehicle for transportation of Men and Material to the complaint spot.

The Deputy General Managers designated for Central Emergency Disaster Management Cell shall work in three shifts under the control of Chief General Manager (Engg.), O&M Circle-III. The above, additional Eight ERT Teams shall function for a period of Three Months i.e., from 1st July 2014 to 30th September 2014. The Deputy GMs in the Central Team are R Bhaskar Rao-9989985120; D V Ramakrishna - 9989989030 and S Ramesh - 9989992927.     INN

Congress seeks disqualification of five rebel MLCs

Hyderabad, June 28 : Leader of the Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council D Srinivas on Saturday sought the disqualification of five Congress MLCs who joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi recently.

 

Speaking to media persons after meeting Assembly Secretary S Raja Sadaram here, Srinivas informed that the Congress party has sought the disqualification of KR Amos, Jagadishwar Reddy, V. Bhupal Reddy, Bhanuprasad and N Rajalingam as members of Telangana Legislative Council. He said those MLCs were elected or appointed to the post on the Congress party's banner. Therefore, they should be disqualified as MLCs as they cease to be the Congress members.

 

Without naming Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Srinivas alleged that the ruling party was encouraging defections in Congress party. He said that legal action was also being initiated against the rebel MLCs. INN

KCR greets Muslims on beginning of Ramzan month

Hyderabad, June 28 : Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has conveyed best wishes to all the Muslim brothers and sisters of Telangana State and those Telangana people living across the globe on the commencement of the holy month of Ramzan from Sunday.

In a message, the Chief Minister stated that Telangana government was committed for the development and welfare of Muslims. He further stated that all measures have been taken for the uninterrupted water and electricity supply during the month of Ramzan besides permitting Muslim government employees to leave the office by  4 PM  to conduct holy prayers.  INN

Two student held in chain Snatchings

Hyderabad, June 27 : The Banjara Hills police crime staff on information nabbed two snatchers Shaik Siraj (19) an  Student (1st year CEC-Mumtaz College), Resident of Malakpet, Hyderabad and  Shaik Saif, (19) an Intermediate  student of 1st year (CEC at St. Joseph college), Resident of B-Class Aghapura, Hyderabad who indulged in committing snatchings at various places in Banjara Hills and seized three Gold Chains and one two wheeler Bajaj Discover from their possession all worth rupees 3 lakhs. 

The accused persons are schoolmates in Jubilee school of Aghapura, Hyderabad. The accused are riders. Last year in the month of June and August the accused came to Banjara Hills and committed gold chain snatchings near Darga, Hakimshah colony, and Film nagar areas. In this month about one week back the accused committed gold chain snatching at Church road, Road No-12 of Banjara Hills and used Bajaj Discover motor cycle, and they are indulged in three chain snatchings in the colonies of Banjara Hills.

The arrest was made by detective inspector K Kiran, DSI B. Bhaskara Rao and crime staff of Banjara Hills PS apprehended the above snatchers and being produced before the court. M Ramesh Reddy ACP Banjara Hills division said.     INN

List of injured persons in gas pipeline blast

Hyderabad, June 27 : Following is the list of 15 injured persons released by the Andhra Pradesh Government on Friday evening.

The injured admitted at Apollo Hospitals at Kakinada are: V Madhusudhan (8), V Mohan Krishan (7), Mohammd Taqi (42), Kashi Chinna (19), T Rajyalakshmi (25), T Lakshmi Jyotsna (5), R Suryanarayana (20), B Appala Narasamma (60).

Three persons are undergoing treatment at Kakinada Trust Hospital. They are V Venkataratnam (46), B Ratnakumari (36) and B Peddaramu (40). Four others who are undergoing treatment at Amalapuram KIMS Hospital are B Kalyan (18), B Harishita (14), B Shanti (12) and R Satyavati (50).  INN

Three members of interstate gang nabbed by task force

Hyderabad, June 27 : Central Zone Task Force Team apprehended three person of Inter State gang who are moving on bike Shabbir Ali @ Shabbir Jaffri @ Shabbir Hussain (39),  Shaik Hassan (21) and Huju Ali (20) all are residents of  Pirani Paada, Shanti Nagar, Bhiwandi, Thane District, Maharashtra, N/o Ganga Nagar, Guntakal, Ananthapur District who are involved in (11) cases of Diverting Attention & Pseudo Police Cheating in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujrat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka & Tamilnadu States and Seized Cash of Rs. 10 Lakhs & Two Bikes from their possession.

During the course of interrogation, they revealed that the Gang Members are native of Guntakal Village of Anantapur District and they are settled in Pirani Bada, Bhiwandi of Maharashtra State.  They belong to Irani Community and formed into one Gang headed by Yaser Ali.  Their Gang Members are Shabbir Ali, Shaik Hassan, Hujju Ali, Taki Ali, Sakhi Ali, Mehdi Hassan & Aslam and their Gang Leader is Yaser Ali.  For Lavish expenditure and life they commit Property Offences like Pseudo Police, Attention Diversion Cases all over India. 

They will be targeting the innocent women wearing gold ornaments, who go by walk alone and one of the gang member will be intercepting the woman introducing himself as Police Constable in mufty and take her to another gang member saying to be a Police Officer, who warns her that snatching offences are frequently occurring in this area and warns her to remove her gold ornaments and to keep in her bag/wallet and when the victim woman believes them and removes her gold ornaments, all of sudden one of the gang member takes the gold ornaments into his hands and diverting her attention, they wrap the artificial ornaments or stones brought by them into a paper and keep the same into her bag and escape from the spot.

They will be moving in the Banks and they will take the amount from the customers in the bank on the guise of counting, they commit theft of some notes from the bundles with their hand tricks and escape from the spot.

They will enter into the shop on guise of change for Rs.500 or Rs. 1,000, while exchanging the Notes, they commit theft of cash from the cash chest with hand trick and escape from the spot.

The arrested accused along with the seized material are handed over to Humayun Nagar Police station for taking further action.

The arrest was made by A. Bhaskar Inspector along with sub inspectors S. Saidababu, P. Raghavender, K. Vinod Kumar with the assistance of staff of Central Zone Team, under the supervision of N. Koti Reddy, Additional DCP Task Force Hyderabad.    INN

KCR expresses shock over GAIL gas pipeline mishap

Hyderabad, June 27 : Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday expressed shock over the tragic demise of 15 people in gas leakage incident at East Godavari District.

In a media statement, the Chief Minister has expressed his condolence to the families of those killed in the incident.  INN

SHC asks Haj pilgrims to pay 2nd installment by July 19

Hyderabad, June 27 : Andhra Pradesh State Haj Committee Special Officer Prof S A Shukoor has informed  that the Haj Committee of India has fixed the  last date for payment of 2nd Installment of Haj amount as 19th July 2014.

Prof Shukoor said that the  Balance Amount for the Green Category Pilgrims  will be Rs. 1,10, 200/- and for Azizia category Rs. 79,450/- for the Hyderabad Embarkation Point. While infant charges are fixed as Rs. 12,050/- the repeaters will have to pay an additional amount of Rs.  31,600/-. He further said that the pilgrims going from the Bangalore Embarkation Point will have to pay Rs. 1,12,250/- for Green category and Rs. 81,550/- for  the Azizia  category. The infant charges are Rs. 11,750/- while the repeaters should pay an additional amount of Rs. 34,950/- he added.

Meanwhile, the Haj Committee of India through a letter has communicated that the Consul General of India Jeddah has not provided Tasreeh in favour of the HEH the Nizams Awkaf Committee, Hyderabad for allotment of accommodation in Rubat Hyderabad. Therefore, the Haj pilgrims  will not get  any exemption for stay in Rubat.

Prof. Shukoor said that the ongoing dispute between the Awqaf Committee HEH the Nizam and the Nazir of Hyderabad Rubat is yet to be resolved. The Haj Committee is receiving queries form pilgrims regarding their accommodation status in Hyderabad Rubat, as they have received allotment letters from Nazir of Rubat. He said that Haj committee of India Mumbai is of the opinion that since the accommodation letters are not issued by Haj committee of India through Awqaf Committee, therefore such letters are invalid.  Thus, the pilgrims will not get exemption under Rubat Accommodation Scheme, he said.

The selected pilgrims can get more information from the office of the State Haj Committee at Haj House, Nampally or Phone No 040- 2329 8793.     INN

GHMC proposes special drive to protect Trust, Govt lands

Hyderabad, June 27 : GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar said that a special drive with a 10-point formula has been taken up with multi disciplined team with the departments of Police, HMWS&SB, Electricity Department, Collector, Ranga Reddy and other various Heads of Government Departments with a speedy schedule to protect all the trust and Government lands.

The Commissioner said that the GHMC’s special drive was aimed at protecting Government lands and to stop all unauthorized constructions with integrated approach. The 10-point formula of the special drive taken up in Gurukul Trust lands include Public announcement through mike; Caution boards at every entry point; Marking “illegal” on every house; Electricity cut in area where demolition is taking place; Reminder letter to TGSPDCL to not to household connections; Letter to HMWS&SB not to give water connections; Letter to TGSPDCL to implement Government Order for levying 3 times of charges; FTL marking of Tammidi Kunta; Demolition of left over ongoing construction  and seizure of buildings.

Somesh Kumar along with all the senior heads of the departments has inspected some of the areas at Gurukul Trust at West Zone.  The Commissioner said that the identified buildings have already been demolished, some more buildings have been identified and they will be demolished immediately following all the prescribed procedures. He further informed that most of the people does not know the procedures while purchasing the land, plot, construction building, already constructed buildings whether they have been constructed authorizedly / un authorizedly. In this connection the GHMC is planning to have a large scale awareness campaign to the people to know the do’s and dont’s while purchasing the same.

The Commissioner said that in the awareness campaign the people will be informed about the various procedures to be adopted while purchasing or selling the buildings. The GHMC will be giving specific instructions to the people if anybody purchase or sale the unauthorized buildings they will be facing serious action from the Government. Keeping in view of the seriousness the people must follow the prescribed rules strictly even GHMC can book criminal cases against the people and they will also to taken in to the custody for 3 years so.

Somesh Kumar further stated that the teams of senior officials have decided to display the sign boards saying that the constructions taken up in Gurukul Trust land without valid permission will be demolished as per the GHMC Act at every entry point of the roads.  Every unauthorized building identified will be marked with red colour as “illegal” to identify those structures as illegal for not to purchase the unauthorized building. GHMC has sent reminder letters to TGSPDCL and HMWS&SB to disconnect the connections of the people whose buildings are unauthorized have already taken electricity and water connections without occupancy certificate.  

Cyberabad Police Commissioner CV Anand said that entire team of senior Government officials were keen in taking up this special drive to stop the unauthorized constructions. He said that the Cyberabad Police has drafted more than 200 police personnel have been deputed for the purpose and all the departments are coordinating among themselves to complete the drive in a war footing basis.

TGSPDCL Managing Director SAM Rizvi, HMWS&SB MD M. Jagadeeshwar and other senior officials from various Government departments have participated in the inspection.     INN

Centre to extend Rs 7,842 Crs loan for two giant power projects

Hyderabad, June 27 : Impressed with the sustainable activities of AP power sector in recent times for achieving overall economic development of the State and generation of employment and to provide qualitative power supply to the public, the Union Ministry of Power has assured unstinted support to AP in its endeavour to become model State in power sector in the Country.

As part of this initiative, the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) have come forward and agreed in principle to extend huge loan of around Rs.7,842 Crs for major power projects of Dr. NTTPS- Stage- V (1X800 MW) and DSTPP, Krishnapatnam – Stage II (1X 800 MW) respectively.

During teleconference, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed Ajay Jain, Secretary, Energy (FAC), K. Vijayanand, MD/APGENCO & CMD/APTRANSCO (camping at Krishnapatnam) and Munidra, Spl. Secretary Energy, to take all possible steps for expediting the works of above power projects since getting addl. Generation is the need of the hour for the state.

The Chief Minister has reiterated that Centre has given full assurance for strengthening the power sector which is the back bone of economy of the State.  Union Minister of Power Piyush Goel assured the State Government to allot additional wagons for supply of coal through NTPC dedicated railway lines to AP which helps to generate 500 MW of addl. Power in the next 2 to 3 months.  Centre has also assured AP to favourably consider declaring AP as a pilot project to supply quality power to both industries and houses on 24 x 7 basis.

Ajay Jain apprised the Chief Minister about the power supply position and informed that maximum efforts will be made to complete the above major projects in time to meet the power demand.  He informed that utilities could supply 126 MU as against the demand of 147 MU with a deficit of 21 MU.

Vijayanand informed the Chief Minister that, Krishnapatnam, Stage-I, Unit-1 which was already commissioned, is expected to generate 300 MW by tomorrow and will come into full fledged operation (800 MW) by July, 2014.

The officials also informed the Chief Minister that boiler light up of Stage-I, Unit-2 of Krishnapatnam (800 MW) is completed today is expected to be commissioned by 30th September, 2014.  The Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant (RTPP) Stage IV -1 x 600 MW will be commissioned by December, 2015.

The top officials of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) assured I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, Chief Secretary, Govt. of A.P. & Chairman/ State energy Conservation Mission (SECM), who has accompanied the Chief Minister during the New Delhi visit that EESL is ready to make investments towards Energy Efficiency programmes such as replacement of inefficient street lighting with LED lighting system in corporations and major municipalities which is expected to save around 40% of estimated existing power consumption.  They have also informed the AP Govt. that detailed proposals in this regard will be submitted to SECM within a week.   INN

APCC demands Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia for GAIL pipeline mishap victims

Hyderabad, June 27 : Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Spokesperson Rudraraju Padmaraju on Friday demanded that the Centre grant an ex-gratia payment of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of those killed in the GAIL pipeline blast mishap.

Speaking to media persons at Indira Bhavan here, Padmaraju demanded that a high-level probe must be conducted into the incident and stern action should be taken against those responsible for the tragedy. He said besides payment of Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia, the government should also provide one job in the Gas Authority of India Limited to the family members of victims. He expressed deep sympathy over the incident and said steps should be taken to prevent such mishaps in future.  INN

Telangana should seek more railway projects: VHR

Hyderabad, June 27 : Rajya Sabha MP V Hanumanth Rao on Friday asked Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to pressurise the Centre to sanction new railway projects for Telangana.

Speaking to media persons at Congress Legislature Party office here, VHR said that the Telangana Government should make strong representations with the Centre for new railway projects and sufficient funds for the State for completion of pending projects. He said that the Railway Budget was on the final stages of preparation and therefore, the State Government should submit its proposals to the Centre.

However, VHR alleged that the Chief Minister appears more interested in encouraging defection in opposition parties. Referring to five Congress MLCs who recently joined the TRS, he said that the political defections were not in the interest of Telangana.

The Congress MP said that all leaders, irrespective of their political affiliation, should focus on the development of the new State. He said while Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandhrababu Naidu was utilising his clout to get more sops for his State, KCR was still busy in local politics. He demanded that an all-party MPs delegation should be sent to the Centre seeking more railway projects for Telangana.   INN

Telangana industries are moving to AP, alleges TPCC

Hyderabad, June 27 : Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Ponnala Lakshmaiah on Friday demanded that the Telangana Government immediately announce its industrial policy.

Speaking to media persons at Gandhi Bhavan here, Ponnala claimed that the industries of Telangana State has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore in the recent past due to lack of clarity on the government's policy. He alleged that several industries were shifting their base to residuary State of Andhra Pradesh. He said while the TRS Government should have ensure new industries in the State, the existing were leaving Telangana due to lack of facilities and support from the government.

Therefore, Ponnala demanded that the government come out with its new industrial policy to prevent the existing industries from leaving the State and also to attract fresh investments.

Ponnala also announced that the TPCC would start a website to promote its vision of "Bangaru Telangana" by seeking opinion from intellectuals, experts and general public.

He also expressed condolences over the deaths in GAIL pipeline blast mishap.  INN

Kishanbagh Riots: Minorities Commission to hold public hearing on July 1

Hyderabad, June 27 : The State Minorities Commission will conduct a public hearing on July 1 on the communal clashes at Arsh Mahal, Sikh Chawni of Kishanbagh which occurred on May 14.

The Commission had Suo-Moto admitted the case and accordingly asked for a report from Cyberabad Police Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad on May 14 itself. In pursuance to the said notice, the Commissioner had filed a reply before the Commission. After examining the reply fresh Notice was sent to the Commissioner for further clarifications, and the matter was posted on June 21. The Commissioner sent a further detailed report through the Asst. Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad.

"The Commission will examine the report on July 1. Any stake holder, concerned affected individuals and citizens Who want to present before the Commission, may present themselves along with relevant documents on July 1 at 11.00 AM,, at 1248, Raghava Sadan, Adjacent to Lakeview Guest house, Rajbhavan Road, Hyderabad," the Commission said in a press release here.     INN

Naidu orders probe into GAIL pipeline blast

Hyderabad, June 27 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Friday ordered an inquiry into the GAIL gas pipeline tragedy in Tatipaka of Mamidikuduru mandal East Godavari district which claimed 15 lives in the early hours of Friday.

"My condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in East Godavari blast. Ordered an enquiry & action plan to avoid these in future," tweeted Naidu, who is Delhi. He said he had asked Deputy Chief Minister Chinarajappa to go to the ONGC pipeline blast site and provide required support. "We need a preventive plan to ensure safety," he tweeted.

The Chief Minister has cut short his New Delhi trip and rushing to East Godavari along with Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to reach the accident spot.  INN

Prohibitory orders around High Court from today

Hyderabad, June 27 : City Police Commissioner P Mahender Reddy has imposed certain prohibitory orders around the High Court building premises.

The Commissioner has imposed a ban on public meetings; assembly of five or more persons; carrying of fire-arms, banners, placards, lathis, spears, swords, sticks, bricksbats, etc.; shouting of slogans; making of speeches etc.; processions and demonstrations and picketing or dharnas in any public place within the area specified in the schedule and sketch map without a written permission.

Mahender Reddy said that the areas where prohibitory orders are being imposed are busy places due to functioning of the High Court, causing movements of litigants and Advocates to and from the premises of High Court. The areas are City College Junction to Nayapul Road, Madina Circle to City  College Road and its three by-lanes leading to Ghansi Bazar and other three by-lanes lanes leading to Patel Market/Ricobgunj, Nayapul – Madina Circle, Pathargatti – Madina Circle, Muslim Jung Bridge Circle, Puranapul – PTO – City College X- Road and Moosa Bowli – Mehandi – City College X- Road – High Court Road.

The Commissioner said that that unrestricted holding of public meetings, processions/ demonstrations, etc. in the area is likely to cause obstruction, annoyance or injury to any person lawfully employed, or danger to human life, health or safety or disturbance of the public tranquility or a riot or an affray and inconvenience in the smooth functioning of the High Court and disturbance to the litigants and Advocates. Therefore, it has been decided to impose prohibitory orders in the area. However, he said religious functions/ rallies/ public meeting, etc., in the above specified areas can be held with prior written permission  from the South Zone DCP.

The prohibitory orders will remain in force from 6 AM on June 28 (Saturday) for a period of  two months  i.e. upto 6 AM on August 26, unless withdrawn earlier.   INN

Sitharaman condoles deaths in gas pipeline explosion

Hyderabad, June 27 : Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (Independent Charge) Nirmala Sitharaman, who is on official tour to China as part of the delegation of the Vice President Hamid Ansari, has deeply condoled the loss of lives in the explosion at GAIL plant at Nagaram village in Mamidikuduru mandal of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh.

In a message from China, the Minister said, “I am deeply shocked to hear about the loss of lives in the explosion of a GAIL gas pipeline in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. The Government is committed to provide all necessary help to the affected people and families. I convey my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery to the injured people and will be in touch with authorities to ensure that the needful is done on an urgent basis.”  INN

PM announces ex-gratia for gas pipeline blast victims

Hyderabad, June 27 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives in the GAIL pipeline fire in Andhra Pradesh on Friday.

This is in addition to the relief assistance given by the Petroleum Ministry and GAIL. An ex-gratia relief of Rs 50,000 has also been sanctioned for those who were seriously injured in the incident.  INN

President, PM condole loss of lives in gas pipeline blast

Hyderabad, June 27 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the loss of lives in the fire in a GAIL pipeline in Andhra Pradesh on Friday. He has spoken to the Petroleum Minister, Cabinet Secretary and GAIL Chairman and asked them to ensure immediate relief at the accident site.

"My thoughts with the families of those who lost their lives in the GAIL Pipeline fire in AP. Prayers with the injured. ‎I have spoken to the Petroleum Minister, Cabinet Secretary & GAIL Chairman and asked them to ensure immediate relief at the accident site," Modi said.

Meanwhile, President of India Pranab Mukherjee has also condoled the loss of lives in the gas pipeline blast. In his message to Governor ESL Narasimhan, the President has said, “I am extremely saddened to learn about the explosion of a GAIL gas pipeline in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh in which some persons have lost their lives and many others are injured,".

"I am sure that the State Government and other agencies are taking necessary steps to provide urgent medical assistance to the injured and all possible aid to the bereaved families, who have lost their near and dear ones. Please convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. I wish speedy recovery to the injured persons,” the President said.      INN

15 killed in gas pipeline blast in East Godavari

Hyderabad, June 27 : At least 15 people were feared killed and several others suffered serious injured when Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) pipeline burst caused a major fire in Tatipaka of Mamidikuduru mandal of East Godavari district in the early hours of Friday.

The blast in the GAIL pipeline took place around 5:30 AM due to a gas leak in the pipeline. "The injured have been admitted to Amlapuram hospitals. The Officials of the Ministry and GAIL are in contact with the district administration. The fire has been brought under control. All the steps have been taken on the site for prevention, like closing of input/output valves to the pipeline. The cause of the accident is still not known," the Ministry of Petroleum said in its statement.

Minister of State (Independent charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has ordered a high level inquiry into the pipeline explosion. The inquiry will be undertaken by the Committee, headed by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas, ED, HPCL, ED, OISD, and a nominee from the National Disaster management Authority (NDMA).

Pradhan has condoled the deaths. He has expressed concern at the accident, and assured that strong steps for safety and security of oil and gas installations will be taken so as to ensure non-recurrence of such incidents.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has expressed deep shock at the tragedy. Home Minister N Chinarajappa and District Collector Neetu Prasad supervised the rescue and relief operations. INN

Humanities syllabus of inter first year revised

Hyderabad, June 27 : The Board of Intermediate Education has informed the Principals, lecturers and students of Intermediate Education that there is a revision of syllabus of Humanities text books first year Intermediate course under Part-III i.e. Economics, Civics, Commerce, History, Public Administration, Psychology, Logic, Home Science, Geography, Geology and Sociology w.e.f. the academic year 2014-15.

The new text books for these subjects are available in the market. The Principals, Lecturers and Students of Intermediate Education have been asked to follow the revised syllabus and text books of Humanities prepared by Board of Intermediate Education, Hyderabad and printed & distributed by Telugu Akademi from the academic year 2014-15. The revised syllabus and Model Question papers of these subjects are printed in the respective text books and are available in the BIE website.  INN

Inter supplementary results today

Hyderabad, June 26 : The results of the candidates who appeared for second year Intermediate Public Advanced Supplementary Examinations, May / June 2014 for General and Vocational courses will be declared on Friday at  5 PM. 

After declaration of the results, for the convenience of the students, parents and general public, the results with Marks / Grades will also be made available in the following ways. They can access to their results by using Register Number as User ID and Date of Birth / Centre Code mentioned in the hall ticket as Password. The results will be available on many websites including http://examresults.ap.nic.in, http://results.cgg.gov.in, www.indiaresults.com, www.exametc.com, www. nettlinxresults.net, www.manabadi.com, www.99results.com, www.schools9.com and www.vidyavision.com. To know the results through SMS, the BSNL users may send IPE2 <space><HT No. ><space><Centre Code> to 53346 and all users may send IPEG2 <space>  <Hall Ticket No><space><Centre Code> to 5676750 for General results IPEV2 <space> <Hall Ticket No> <space><Centre Code> to 5676750 for  Vocational results.

The Principals of the Junior Colleges can view their college results from the site http://bieap.cgg.gov.in by using the User Id and Password already provided by the Board.  INN

AP will focus on improving road connectivity: Raghava Rao

Hyderabad, June 26 : Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister S Raghava Rao has informed that the road connectivity in the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh would be improved on war footing.

Speaking to media persons at the State Secretariat here on Thursday, Raghava Rao said that all Gram Panchayats of Andhra Pradesh would be connected with the District Headquarters by improving the existing roads and laying of new roads, wherever required. He said better road connectivity would play a crucial role in the development of Andhra Pradesh.

The minister also informed that steps were being taken to minimise losses being suffered by the State-run Road Transport Corporation. He said that the RTC was incurring losses of Rs 2.70 crore on daily basis. However, he said that losses could be minimised by improving the services. He said there is a proposal to replace the old buses with the new ones which would ensure better service and convenience to the passengers while reducing pollution. Further, he said RTC would soon introduce services on new routes. INN

Home Minister reviews security for Bonalu festival

Hyderabad, June 26 : Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy on Thursday directed the police officials to take measure to ensure peaceful conduct of Bonalu festival in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

DGP Anurag Sharma, Hyderabad Police Commissioner P Mahender Reddy and other senior officials participated in the review meeting held at the State Secretariat on Thursday. During the one-hour long meeting, the minister directed the officials to conduct video recording of entire Bonalu procession to be held on June 29. He also asked the officials to keep a watch on the anti-social elements.

The DGP briefed the minister about various steps being taken to ensure smooth conduct of Bonalu, which has been declared as the State festival by the Telangana Government.     INN

118 schools to face criminal action for collecting exorbitant fee

Hyderabad, June 26 : Acting tough against the erring schools, the Hyderabad District Fee Regulation Committee on Thursday recommended criminal action against 118 schools who did violated the prescribed fee norms.

Briefing the media persons after chairing the DFRC meeting, Hyderabad District Collector Mukesh Kumar Meena said that the criminal action would be taken against 118 schools for violation of fee norms. He said their recognition might also be cancelled. He informed that notices have been served to as many as 770 schools for not following the fee structure prescribed by the DFRC. Action will be taken against these schools if they fail to reply to the notice within a week, he said.

As per the GO 40 and 42, the DFRC has fixed an annual fee of Rs 9,000 for Primary and Rs 12,000 for High School students. All schools are required to display the fee structure in their premises. Meena asked the parents to approach the DFRC if they find schools violating the prescribed fee structure. He said all schools should provide basic facilities like toilets, drinking water, electricity and benches.

In cases where the schools want to implement a high fee structure, they need to get prior approval from the DFRC citing valid reasons. The DFRC will review such applications and take a decision after conducting the inspections, the District Collector said.  INN

T-Govt promises support for research on kidney treatment

Hyderabad, June 26 : Deputy Chief Minister Dr T Rajaiah on Thursday said that Hyderabad would be developed as a Medical Hub.

Speaking to the representatives of Japanese Nephrology Research Development firm NIPRO and Oasis Nephro Care of Hyderabad in the State Secretariat here, Dr Rajaiah said that world class health facilities would be made available in the city in coming days. He also said that latest and large scale Nephro Projects would be started for the treatment of kidney related ailments. He assured to promote the latest technologies for the kidney ailments and said that Telangana Government would support for all the necessary research in this domain.

Dr Rajaiah expressed concern over the increasing number of kidney patients. Hailing the services of Oasis Nephro Care for in this domain, he asked the Japanese delegation to choose Hyderabad as their center of research activities and assured that the government would extend all support in this cause.

The delegation led by Oasis Nephro Care managing director Dr Mohammed Niaz Ahmed Khan informed T Rajaiah that until today dialysis was done with liquid material in a conventional method. But the Japanese company NIPRO has developed a powder form of the dialysate to treat the kidney patients. This dialysate powder is very easy to use and cost effective, the delegation informed minister.

Congratulating Oasis Nephro and NIPRO for joint venture to be started in Hyderabad for the manufacturing of Dialysis Powder, the Minister said that TRS Government would surely extend its support to this project. He also said that this project would fetch employment to 150 highly qualified youth in city.

Dr Niaz Ahmed Khan explained the details of project to the minister and said that the latest reasearch was very useful in bringing the dialysis to reach of common man. Every year the kidney patients are increasing at the rate of 8.2 percent and government has to take initiatives to stop this trend.

Principal Secretary (Health) P C Joshi, Japanese delegation members Yoki Yamada, Tuka Hashi Nikai, Toshinari Takahashi, Dr Anil Kumanee, Ujwal Pradhan, Qureshi and other were present in the meeting. INN

TDP demands immediate repair of city roads

Hyderabad, June 26 : TDP floor leader in GHMC Singireddy Srinivas Reddy on Thursday requested Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to issue directions for execution of repairs to the damage roads and laying of new roads in the GHMC limits.

In a representation made to the Chief Minister, Sinigreddy said that he has made several representations to the GHMC Commissioner and launched several agitations seeking immediate repair of damaged roads and laying of new roads during the summer expeditiously so as to complete them prior to the arrival of monsoon. But unfortunately, he said that the GHMC could not commence the work citing elections code and now the passing away of summer season.

"Fortunately, the monsoon is yet to arrive and the delay should be used an opportunity to execute the pending works. Holding meetings with the officials concerned without ground the works will not solve the problem, but it will aggravate the problems during the ensuing rainy season which is fast impending," he said adding that the works could be taken up by calling short tenders.

Singireddy threatened that the TDP Corporators and activists would stage dharna in front of all the Zonal offices of GHMC in the first phase and a protest would be organised before the Secretariat in the second phase if the requisition is not considered. INN

KCR reviews power crisis in Telangana

Hyderabad, June 26 : To overcome the Power deficiency and to meet the challenges of power crisis, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has instructed the officials of department of Energy to draw up short term and long term plans.     

The Chief Minister reviewed the Power situation in the state against the background of power crisis due to the intentional mischief created by Andhra Pradesh GENCO. He elicited the opinion of officials as to the existing power position and the inadequacy of power supply to the farmers and said the government if required has to buy power from neighboring states to overcome the crisis.

KCR has asked the officials to enquire about the availability of power in other states for sale to Telangana along with the costs, and work out the plan in this regard. He said that when the state is in crisis, let the neighbor States come to the rescue of the state. If required he said he would personally talk to the Chief Ministers of the concerned states like Karnataka. He mentioned that, the present crisis is of two types, one created by Andhra Pradesh and the other due to drought.

As a short term measure, the Chief Minister has asked the officials to workout a plan of action to overcome the crisis by purchasing the power from available sources including that of private. The Chief Minister also indicated to have a tie up with states that have rich coal reserves like Chattisgarh. The Chief Minister said to draw of transmission lines from Chattisgarh in to the state through Wardah.

The Chief Minister is likely to visit Chattisgarh in couple of days to personally talk to Chattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh and explore the possibilities of purchasing power from them.

Chief Secretary Rajeev Sharma, Prl Secretary to Chief Minister N Narsing Rao, Prl Secy. Energy Suresh Chanda, Telangana Southern Power Corporation MD Syed Rizvi and AP GENCO CMD Prabhakar Rao attended the review meeting.    INN

Telangana Congress may lose Muslim, BC support

Hyderabad, June 6: The Congress party might lose its base among the Muslims and Backward Classes in Telangana State.

The recent "Cash for Post" controversy involving Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council Dharampuri Srinivas took a caste and community turn with the Muslim and BC leaders viewing it as an attempt to establish the dominance of one specific BC caste in the Telangana Congress. During the meeting of Congress MLCs, several leaders strongly supported the candidature of former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir as party's floor leader in Legislative Council. However, Srinivas captured the post despite facing allegations of bribing the MLCs to vote in his favour. Many MLCs were of the view that the Congress party should elevate a Muslim leader to counter the Telangana Rashtra Samithi which gave the post of Deputy Chief Minister to a Muslim leader Mahmood Ali. However, the Congress High Command ignored their contention.

As per the Six Point Formula, the Deputy Chief Minister's post should have been given to a Muslim leader. However, the Congress party did not gave prominent political posts to Muslim leaders during its rule spread over 50 years. In contrast, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao nominated Mahmood Ali as the Deputy CM in less than three hours after taking oath. Further, he allocated the second most important portfolio of Revenue to Mahmood Ali. These moves have certainly strengthened the TRS standing among the Muslims in Telangana.

The forcible denial of post of Leader of the Opposition in Council to Shabbir Ali has angered the Muslim leaders of Congress party with few of them seriously considering their resignations. "It was a golden opportunity for the Congress to revive its ties with the Muslim community. Shabbir Ali's elevation to the top post would have helped the Congress in effectively countering the TRS. However, by not promoting Shabbir Ali, the Congress gave clear message that it is no more interested in sailing with the Muslims of Telangana," a senior leader said.

"As a two-time minister, Shabbir Ali could have revived the Congress party in Telangana by taking the minorities along. The entire community acknowledges his contribution in getting 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in the State. He, along with the then Chief Minister Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, was instrumental in implementing the Congress party's major promise of giving reservation. His promotion would have helped the Congress party in winning back the confidence of Muslims, who constitute more than 15 per cent of the total population in Telangana," another leader said.

When the Congress party can ignore a senior leader like Shabbir Ali, then it will give no importance to workers like us who began our political careers recently, a young Congress worker said adding that he was exploring the option of joining the TRS which gave the post of Deputy CM to a Muslim.

A majority of BC leaders in the Telangana Congress too are unhappy with the party. They feel that the party is promoting just one BC community - Munnuru Kapu, who constitute just 4.5% of the total population in Telangana. The PCC chief post was given to Munnuru Kapu leaders for five times. They were V Hanumantha Rao, D Srinivas, K Keshava Rao, Botsa Satyanarayana and the present Telangana PCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah. The Congress leaders representing this BC Caste are presently holding three important posts. Besides PCC chief and Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council, the Deputy Chairman of Council - Neti Vidyasagar Rao is also from Munnuru Kapu community.

The Goud community too is unhappy with the Telangana Congress as it has simply ignored the publicly lodged complaint of senior MLC Rajalingam. “Digvijay Singh outrightly dismissed Rajalingam’s allegations just because he does not belong to the same caste as of Srinivas. This is not only an insult for Rajalingam but for the entire community that he represents. If the Congress party wants only one BC caste, then it should ask all other leaders to quit the party,” a Congress leader said.

The senior leaders feel that the Congress High Command should take immediate steps to restore the confidence of Muslims and BCs. Else, these communities, especially the minorities might embrace the TRS by dumping the Congress party.