Andhra Pradesh Discussions

[Gudavalli]

No problem in the state for northeast people: says Andhra CM

Polavaram: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday downplayed the flight of northeast people from the state, saying they were leaving as they wanted to be with their families in their native states.

"There is no problem in the state and they (northeast people) are leaving because they want to be with their families back home," Reddy told a news agency.



Hundreds of people from northeast have begun fleeing Hyderabad fearing communal attack on them in the wake of violence between Bodo and Muslim communities in Assam.



"Police assured them yesterday that they would be safe here," the chief minister said.

"The police commissioner will be meeting them today... They are citizens of India and we will do everything it takes to protect them," Reddy added.

In the last two days, Karnataka has witnessed exodus of thousands of people from northeastern states following rumours doing rounds that they would be attacked.

[Gudavalli]

Protests against erratic power supply

Farmers attack power sub-stations; hold dharnas

Irate over the erratic power supply, farmers attacked the sub-station at Ramayampet on Friday, They destroyed furniture and organised rasta roko for about two hours.

According to sources, frequent power cuts was taking place at several villages in Alladurg mandal for the past few days and repeated appeals by farmers had not yielded any result. Two days ago, farmers of some villages held dharna demanding to solve the but officials failed to address the issue as promised in 24 hours.

Some of the farmers from Rampur village held dharna on Thursday night and continued their agitation on Friday morning. They also destroyed some of the furniture at the sub-station and continued their dharna on Narayanakhe and Sangareddy highway. As a result the traffic on the road came to a stand still and police had to intervene. The issue was referred to Transco Divisional Engineer Vijayakumar.

Mr. Vijayakumar had assured to address the issue by next week. If he failed to resolve the issues, farmers can hold dharna in front of his house, he told them. Following an assurance, the farmers withdrew their agitation.

SUB-STATIONS RANSACKED

Kurnool Special Correspondent writes: A huge gathering of farmers stormed sub-stations at Bukkapuram near Mahanandi and Sirivel in Kurnool district on Friday. The angry farmers ransacked the offices and broke furniture. At Sirivel, the protesters chased staff including Assistant Engineer Maddileti. The protesters turned violent at Bukkapuram too and ransacked the office.

The farmers said the kharif crop and nursery beds were damaged due to erratic power supply.

FARMERS’ DHARNA

Khammam Staff Reporter writes: Simmering discontent among farmers over the long hours of power cuts has led to widespread protests in the district on Friday.

The protests, which started late on Thursday night in Madhira, Yerrupalem, Dummugudem and Julurupadu mandals, gradually spread to other mandals as the power supply position became precarious. Consumption of power over and above the allotted daily quota of 4.95 million units to the district has resulted in unscheduled load-shedding in many parts of the district, including Khammam.

Farmers, staged a dharna in front of the APTransco Divisional Engineer’s office at Sattupalli. MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah led the agitation. The protesters displayed a replica of a defunct electricity sub-station to highlight the plight of the consumers. Traffic on the Thallada-Devarapalli State highway was disrupted for nearly an hour. The police detained the protesters including the MLA and later let them off.

T-PJAC Chairman M. Kodandaram took part in a demonstration organised by the villagers at Keshavapuram in Kusumanchi mandal. Earlier, his vehicle got stuck in a traffic jam at Keshavapuram owing to a road blockade staged by villagers. Similar demonstrations were organised by agitated villagers in Madhira, Yellendu, Mulkalapalli and several other mandals.

DETAIN TRANSCO WORKERS

Adilabad Staff Reporter writes: Villagers at several places in Adilabad district staged protests against the frequent power cuts being imposed by the APTransco. At Jannaram, BJP activists detained three workers of the Transco by locking them in their office on Thursday.

They also staged a rasta roko in front of Jannaram bus stand demanding power supply. The protesters accused the government of imposing late night power cuts without an announcement.

At Boath, people held a demonstration in front of the Transco office.

[Gudavalli]

Power cuts to be longer

Tripping of three thermal units and closure of hydel plant

The AP Transco has announced enhanced duration of power cuts for domestic consumers and others following tripping of three thermal units and closure of a hydel plant, resulting in an abrupt loss of 1,076 MW of installed capacity to the grid which is equivalent to 20 million units per day.

Two units of Rayalaseema Thermal Power Station at Muddanur in Kadapa district, each with of 210 MW, and the 500 MW fifth unit of the NTPC’s super thermal station at Ramagundam in Karimnagar district tripped.

The State’s share out of the tripped Ramagundam unit was 160 MW.

On the other hand, AP Genco shut down four out of the six units of Jurala hydroelectric project as inflows into the reservoir began dwindling. Only 78 MW out of the total capacity of 234 MW was being operated now.

The Transco on Friday said it was forced to resort to unscheduled increase in power cuts to keep the frequency (voltage) of the transmission lines at the required level and ensure the safety of the grid.

At present, power cuts are being implemented for one hour in Hyderabad, two hours in other cities like Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Warangal for more than two hours in mandal headquarters towns, and for most part of the day in villages.

Overall demand

Meanwhile, the overall demand in the State hovered at 262 mu on Thursday while the power utilities could supply only 243 mu.

[Gudavalli]

Polavaram project good for AP: CM

Once Polavaram and Pranahitha-Chevella are made national projects, it will help the State immensely, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said here on Friday.
Addressing the people who lost lands for Polavaram project at Devaragoindi village in West Godavari district during his Indiramma Bata, he said that national project status means 90 percent of the project cost will be borne by the Central government.
He said the state government had spent Rs 4,700 crore so far on Polavaram project, which requires an estimated Rs 16,000 crore to complete. Once the project is ready, it will irrigate lakhs of acres and pave way for the development of the region, he said, adding that in all likelihood it will be completed in five years time.
He said the state is indebted people who had sacrificed their land.
“We have offered a good rehabilitation package for the displaced and it has been brought to my notice that Polavaram is facing drinking water problem.
It is really sad to notice that the village close to Godavari river is facing such issues. We will take measures to address the issue immediately,” he said

[Gudavalli]

Andhra Pradesh CM to tour T.P.Gudem,Tanuku, Achanta, Attili

Hyderabad: The Chief Minister Mr N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is now in West Godavari district on his fourth leg tour of Indiramma Baata, after night halt at the Horticulture University, Venkatramanagudem will inaugurate the Administration Blocks in Horticulture University and interact with Students, Farmers and LEC card Holders and distribute Farm Machinery at Venkatramanagudem from 9.30 am to 10.30 am on Saturday, 18th August, 2012. He will inaugurate Urban Housing Colony (360 houses) at Kondruprolu, T.P.Gudem Municipality and interact with beneficiaries from 10.45 am to 11.05 am.

He will inaugurate the Road Over Bridge constructed at a cost of Rs.35 crs in T.P.Gudem at 11.25 am. The Chief Minister will reach Tanuku at 11.55 am and inaugurate Road over Bridge constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.15.7 crs at 12 noon. He will attend a Disabled Camp at TTD Kalyanamandapam in Tanuku and interact with beneficiaries up to 12.50 pm. He will reach Attili and will have lunch at AMC, Attili with farmers from 1.10 pm to 2.10 pm. The Chief Minister will lay Foundation Stone for Attili Panchayat Drains constructed at a cost of Rs.2.50 crs from 2.20 pm to 2.35 pm. He will reach Achanta and interact with WUAs at AMC, Achanta from 3.05 pm to 4.05 pm. He will arrive at Marteru and lay Foundation Stone for PHC Building at Marteru and Junction Improvement at Marteru constructed at a cost of Rs.4.3 crs from 4.15 pm to 4.35 pm. Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy will reach Penugonda and distribute Indiramma House Site Pattas and interact with beneficiaries at Open Theatre opposite Gram Panchayat Office from 4.45 pm to 5.15 pm. He will also interact with BC Boys Hostel students from 5.20 pm to 6.20 pm at Penugonda.

The Chief Minister will also attend Iftar at Reddy Kalyanamandapam from 6.25 pm to 7.25 pm. He will speak at the Party Workers Meeting at Sri Janardhanaswamy Kalyanamandapam, Penugonda from 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm. He will have Dinner & Night Halt at AMC, Penugonda. The Chief Minister had so far covered the districts of East Godavari, Srikakulam and Khammam as part of his Indiramma Baata tour.

[Gudavalli]

Patterns from the past

A heritage textile exhibition in Delhi tells the tale of revitalising old and tradition patterns

This Sunday, viewers, especially those interested in cotton fabric, ranging from saris to dupattas to other clothing, will find a reason to be at Agha Khan Hall as it will host an exhibition of traditional Indian textiles — showcasing contemporary textures, designs, colours and patterns from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.

Utsav is a 25-year-old initiative by Shashiv Chandran, a textile aficionado who works directly with weavers from almost all the States, especially the southern and northern ones. The weavers, some of whom work exclusively for him, recreate designs they had learnt from their grandfathers on new fabric; sometimes, they even blend two separate fabrics or patterns from two different States.

From the design point of view, for instance, custom-coloured saris woven specially in Kanchipuram have a plain block colour with a classical zari border and pallav. These are sent to Shantiniketan for kantha thread work with designs and colours as visualized by Mr. Chandran. Similarly, fine cotton weaves from Uppada in Andhra Pradesh are finished in Lucknow’s intricate chikan-kari embroidery or khadi saris woven in Andhra find their way to Bhuj for fine bandhej (tie and dye) patterns for which Gujarat is famous. Mr. Chandran says: “Sometimes one sari takes as many as six months to complete because of the amount of painstaking work it requires.”

“Also,” he adds, “I make them recollect the designs their grandfathers worked on, some of them do remember those patterns. We modernise them by giving the textile a contemporary look. Surprisingly, these weavers did not want to use old patterns in the face of demand for new designs by the new generation. They didn’t even think of setting up looms for the same reason but after they blended old patterns with new designs/fabric/embroidery, they found great results. This is helping them not only to revive the traditional designs which were on the verge of extinction but also learn contemporary patterns the new generation looks for. My customers include women who got married 25 years ago but still want to buy the same sari they wore, with some new designs for their daughters. I, therefore, take great care that I don’t forget to keep the traditional design as the crux of the textile.”

These heritage textiles are eco-friendly, safe, soft and subtle. Mr. Chandran says: “I work with vegetable dyes like kashish, indigo, harad, anar chilka, alum and haldi.”

Having worked with them for quarter of a century now, he is not unaware of the problems the poor weavers face. He recalls: “Some of the weavers work in extreme conditions, especially those in Tamil Nadu. Once I went to a weaver’s house in Kanchivaram. There was no electricity and he had no fan either. He had a small window in his house which he had opened for some light and air. When I asked him about the government’s scheme to provide free electricity to weavers, his wife said ‘What’s the use of such free electricity when daily power cut is for 10 hours?’” Utsav has been endeavouring to participate in making a difference to the lives of traditional weavers, even though it is a drop in the ocean.

[Gudavalli]

A woman of many talents

Multi-talented T. G. Kamala Devi moved beyond films into sports, promotion of arts and social service

With her mellifluous singing and neat portrayal, she enthralled a whole generation of theatre audience and movie goers during the Forties and Fifties. Besides being an actor, she was also a billiards champion, social activist and promoter of arts. The multi talented T. G. Kamala Devi passed away after a brief illness in Chennai on August 16, 2012. She was 84.

Born in Karvetingaram in Chittoor district on December 29, 1928 to T. Krishnaswamy Naidu and Lakshmamma, Thota Govindamma Kamala Devi started learning classical music from the age of 7 thanks to her mother who spotted her latent talent. At 11, she cut her first gramophone record, Lavakusa along with Ch. B. Venkatachalam. It was a rare feat in those days to sing for a gramophone record at such tender age. During her primary school days, Kamala Devi played the lead, Thara in the stage play, Oka Thara and played the title roles in such plays as ‘Gnanasundari’ and ‘Bhuputhri’ while she was studying Matriculation at the American School. She also sang for Radio.

Her tryst with cinema came when the famed Tamil director Raja Sandow who was making a Telugu film, Choodamani (1941) signed her to play C.S.R. Anjaneyulu’s sister in the movie. The same year she also acted in two more films, Tenali Ramakrishna with L.V. Prasad and Dakshayagnam. Interestingly her first Tamil film, Selladha Kasu was also released during that time. In all these films, she rendered her songs herself. Though she was mostly signed to play sister and such characters in almost all of her nearly 70 films, in Mugguru Marateelu Kamala Devi was cast opposite A. Nageswara Rao as his heroine. Despite a career in films, Kamala Devi continued to act on stage – mythological (as Narada in Savithri and as Krishna in Thulabharam), historical (as Roshanara in Roshanara) and social plays, one of which, Malladi Avadhani’s ‘Galivana’ fetched her the best actress award at the Bandaru Nataka Kala Parishath competitions. Her other popular plays include – Anna Chellelu co-starring with Kongara Jaggaiah, Chalam and Pinisetty Sri Ramamurthy and Acharya Athreya’s Parivarthana where she acted opposite the ace comedian Ramana Reddy. She was also awarded with the title, ‘Nataka Kala Prapoorna’ by the Andhra Pradesh Nataka Academy in 1983. Kamaladevi represented India at the First World Music Conference held at Berlin.

Kamala Devi married A. Chandrababu, an engineer with Corporation of Madras and an art lover. Incidentally her elder sister Jayalakshmi was married to the legendary actor Nagaiah.

Associated with Chennapuri Andhra Maha Sabha since 1949, Kamala Devi was its secretary for over 25 years and rendered yeomen service to the performing arts not only by directing and staging dramas but also conducting drama competitions and inviting popular stage troupes to perform in its premises.

Another facet of Kamala Devi was that she was a brilliant billiards player and won the national women’s championship in 1991 and won a couple of other prestigious tournaments too. Whatever role she took up Kamala Devi tried to excel in it.

[Gudavalli]

No exodus, only few have left, says Andhra police

Several top cops, led by director-general of police V. Dinesh Reddy, along with the police commissioners of Hyderabad and Cyberabad, held a press conference. They said there was no exodus of Assamese from the state and clarified that only a few of them have left. “We appeal to the Assamese people not to panic,” Mr Reddy said, adding that the city police is known for tackling any kind of situation and that the city is renowned for its communal harmony.
He said that there should be no room for “rumours or apprehensions”, adding that people who feel threatened, can approach a nearby police station. Armed platoons have been posted at vulnerable spots. He said there has been a huge exodus of Northeasterners from Karnataka and that AP police was providing armed escort to the trains passing through the state.
When asked about action against those who started the rumours, he said the rumours didn’t emanate from the state.
As for people fleeing from the state, he said the number was not alarming, it was in just three digits.
There had been just a couple of calls to the help-lines since Thursday. Mr Reddy went on to clarify that the attack at Raidurg was not related to ethnic violence.
When told that a huge number of Assamese had left on Thursday on the Falaknuma express, the DGP said that trains do leave in jam-packed conditions and it didn’t have to do with panicked people fleeing the city.

***
None will face difficulty: jaya
Chennai, Aug. 17: Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Friday sought to allay fears of violence against people of north-eastern states residing in Tamil Nadu, holding that her government will ensure that no person faces any difficulty even as hundreds of workers and students from Northeast thronged the Central railway station, reports our correspondent.

[Gudavalli]

ITAP caught in red-tape

It was hailed as a solution to perennial problems of farmers

Eleven years after it was piloted and hailed as a promising solution to perennial problems faced by farmers, Information Technology for Agriculture Project (ITAP) appears to have been caught in a bureaucratic quagmire.

Claimed to be a unique Private Public Partnership venture, it was to be a model of harnessing the immense potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for farmer-centric integrated rural and agriculture development.

But the ITAP was bounced from one department/ Ministry to another, various financial institutions and now, no one in the officialdom knows its fate. “Though it was approved by the then Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the Agriculture Minister, top State officials, officials of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and the State-level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) in 2008, there is no forward movement”, Thiruchelvam Ramakrishnan, IT professional and originator of the project laments.

The project piloted in some villages of Pulivendula mandal in Kadapa district was aimed at using ICT for addressing farmers’ problems and filling the gaps in selection of right kind of crop, the area, supply of inputs, credit and remunerative price for agriculture produce.

After the pilot was hailed by experts, a proposal was submitted to the Department of Information and Communication Technology and Department of Rural Development to extend it to the entire Kadapa district and then to the State. A MoU was signed on August 25, 2006, without any financial commitment from the government.

RKVY

As Mr. Thiruchelvam and others were in the process of bringing investors, the Central government announced Common Service Centre scheme first and then launched the RKVY with a financial outlay of Rs.25,000 crore. The ITAP was considered for inclusion in the RKVY programme in October 2007.

On the direction of the SLSC, it was re-submitted on PPP mode on January 23, 2008. With Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) showing interest, Mr. Thiruchelvam formed a company, ITR Technology India Private Limited and a MoU was signed. Both submitted a joint proposal to the State government. The government was to own the infrastructure while the private partners were to roll-out their IT solution and manage the recurring expenditure of Rs.54 crore for a period of four years. The SLSC approved the proposal on March 15, 2008.

From here, Mr. Thiruchelvam, said the project ran into rough weather with the transfer of two key officials of Agriculture Department. Despite clarification by the then MD of and CEO of IL&FS on November 22, 2008, the ITR was asked to submit micro-level details of the project.

“We furnished the details though it ran the risk of a unique content developing algorithm being pirated,” Mr. Thiruchelvam said.

‘No response now’

He alleged that though Rajasekhara Reddy, who returned for second term gave a go-ahead in January 2009, some top Agriculture officials were reluctant and worked against the project.

“These officials misled the Chief Minister over availability of funds and another Central scheme Agriculture Information System Network (AGRISNET). And now no official is giving a proper response”.

[Gudavalli]

Andhra Pradesh govt to recruit 25,000 police constables

KAKINADA: Andhra Pradesh DGP V Dinesh Reddy today said 25000 vacant police constable posts will be filled up soon and police sub-inspectors in the state get gazetted rank.

"The state government is according highest priority to police welfare. A 50-bed super specialty hospital for police will be set up at Hyderabad on par with corporate facilities. While the promotional avenues are being increased by modifying the existing rules, all Head Constables on completion of three years in service will be considered for promotion as Assistant Sub Inspectors," Reddy told the police personnel after inaugurating a modern police canteen built on the lines of the armed services.

"The police canteen would prove to be a boon to the families of policemen as all the household articles and other provisions, including two-wheelers, will be available for sale with a tax rebate," the top cop said.

[Gudavalli]

Admission and Fees Regulatory Committee to fix engineering fee

The Admission and Fees Regulatory Committee (AFRC) on Friday undertook to fix the fee of professional colleges without being influenced by the state government. Following this, the high court closed the writ petition filed by the private engineering colleges questioning the action of the state government in fixing a uniform fee of Rs 35,000. P2

The judge recorded the statement made by AFRC that it would complete the task of fixing the fee without being influenced by the state government. It assured the court that it would carry out the the undertaking in strict compliance with the law and not be influenced by any decision or diktat of the state government.

It further assured court that it would go strictly by the recommendations made by its in-house experts. Having received these assurances, the judge accordingly closed the writ petition. The writ petition was filed in light of the decision of the stage government setting a uniform fee for all colleges at Rs 35,000 per annum.

The petitioners contended that it was not for the state government to fix the fee in such a manner. They further pointed out that it was the apprehensions of having to bear an increased financial burden under its fee reimbursement scheme which had led the state government to ask college managements to give an undertaking saying that they would accept the uniform fee of Rs 35,000 per year.

The institutions, they alleged, which refused to fall in line were threatened with serious action, including conduct of raids and initiation of criminal proceedings against them. The counsel for the petitioners said that these acts of the state government were completely without jurisdiction and constituted an act of 'state terrorism'.

It has been contended in the writ petition that the power of the management of private engineering colleges to fix their own fee has been upheld by the Supreme Court in the TMA Pai case. They also pointed out that AFRC had been constituted further to the said verdict. The petitioners would contend that the state government was bound by the recommendations of the AFRC and not vice-versa.

Eamcet counselling notification on Aug 20: Justice CV Nagarajuna Reddy on Friday closed the writ petition filed by a student after being informed by the state government and the AP State Council for Higher Education that the notification concerning the counselling dates for first year engineering stream would be issued on August 20. The authorities were earlier called upon to come up with their schedule in the writ petition filed by a student, one Arun, who complained that the delays in the process were likely to jeopardise the academic year. The authorities also informed court that the details and the various dates would be spelt out in the notification.

[Gudavalli]

Home-bound Assamese wary of accepting food

Anxiety was writ large on the faces of Assamese travelling in a special train to Guwahati from Bengaluru when some RSS volunteers asked them to open compartment doors to distribute food packets here on Thursday.

The non-stop train was halted for two minutes at Nellore railway station to enable RSS cadres to distribute food packets and water sachets to the thousands of Assam bound passengers from Bengaluru.

Doors of all the coaches were locked by passengers from inside and they were wary of opening them, probably fearing an attack.

The slogans, Vande Mataram and Jai Bharat Mata raised by RSS activists gave them the needed confidence to open the doors and accept the food.

Every compartment was full to its brim and not less than 200 passengers were found travelling in each compartment.

A twenty year old girl, Riya of Dharapur in Assam, said that she had downed the shutters of her beauty parlor at Whitefields in Bengaluru, fearing an attacks by locals.

When reminded that there was no such incident in Bengaluru, she said that she heard about some and decided to return home.

She added that her parents also advised her to rush back, worried over her safety. Others recited similar stories.

RSS men led by Nagaredddy Harikumar Reddy, Dr C.V.Subramanyam, Koduru Satyanarayana, Menta Rammohan, Guruprasad, Vasu and Jayaram Reddy along with volunteers of the organization distributed nearly 1,500 food packets containing tomato rice.

Government Railway police also distributed water bottles on their own after passengers of a coach sought more water.

Railway station manager S.K.Shahjahan, Railway Police DSP, G.Srinivasa Rao took the initiative to stop the train at Nellore.

They also tried to stop another train, the Shalimar Express bound for Assam from
Trivandrum on the request of RSS men, but in vain.

Higher authorities did not entertain the request. The volunteers have asked their counterparts in Vijayawada to arrange food for the Shalimar passengers.

[Gudavalli]

Water: State to move HC

The state government, faced with a crisis-like situation with no major inflows in dams, has decided to move the AP High Court for relaxation of its orders on maintaining minimum level of Srisailam Dam, in order to supply water to standing crops under Krishna Delta as well as to Vijayawada Thermal Power Station.
The High Court, in two separate orders, had directed the government not to release water below 510 feet from Nagarjunas-agar Dam and below 834 feet from the Srisailam Dam. This resulted in sto-ppage of water to Krishna Delta from NS Dam for the last 15 days. But due to heavy rains in Warangal and Khammam, Prakasam Barrage has received good inflows in the last 10 days which can ensure water supplies to 13 lakh acres of paddy nurseries.
But on Saturday, Prakas-am Barrage recorded 792 cusecs inflow against the requirement of 7,000 cusecs per day. In addition, the 2,500 MW Vijayawada Thermal Power Station has been facing severe water shortage due to reduced level at the Barrage.

It is mandatory that 12 feet water level should be maintained at Prakasam Barrage to ens-ure water supply to the thermal power station at Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada. The present level is 10.2 feet at the barrage making the situation critical.
At NS Dam, though dead storage waters (131 TMC ft) could be released to Prakasam Barrage, the HC orders have forced the authorities to maintain the level at 510 feet. It could be a major problem for the drinking water supply to the capital, if water levels go below 510 feet MDDL (Minimum Draw Down Level) as the whole system is designed to function at that level.
The government had released water from NS Dam by opening river sluices of upstream Srisailam Dam and maintained the level at 510 feet. But following HC orders not to release water from Srisailam Dam below 834 feet when the dam level was at 797 feet, the authorities stopped the release of the balance 47 TMC ft of water to NS Dam.
Meanwhile, due to some recent inflows into Srisailam Dam, the level has gone up to 831 feet and the capacity had increased to 81.44 TMC ft on Saturday.
Srisailam inflows also reduced from 70,000 cusecs to 12,104 cusecs. With poor inflows, Srisailam Dam presently cannot hope to go beyond the 834 ft mark, while NS Dam on Saturday touched the 510 ft MDDL mark.
MLAs from Krishna, Gu-ntur, Prakasam and West Godavari districts met Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and demanded release of wate-rs from NS Dam to Prakas-am Barrage to save the standing crops. The CM promised to take appropriate measures.

[Gudavalli]

Southern, western states keep India healthy, Azad says

BANGALORE: Who is helping India uphold its image of a healthy country in the international scene? It's the southern and western states, according to Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

"All the southern states, irrespective of the ruling party, are doing well on the health front. Whether it is Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu or Puducherry, all are best performing states. They along with western states, are keeping India's health indices presentable in the international arena. Rest of the country, in northern, eastern and northeastern states, it is very bad, showing negative performance. This is neutralized by performance of southern and western states," the minister said while inaugurating the Rs 200-crore super speciality hospital block at Vani Vilas Hopital on Saturday.

The minister also said that six AIIMS-type centres are coming up in backward areas of the country in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Orissa and Bihar. Upgradation of 19 hospitals is also under way in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and other states, he said.

Lauding the state government for contributing Rs 100 crore, about 50% share of the super speciality complex under the Prime Minister Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), the minister said other states should emulate this example and make best use of central assistance. The super speciality complex was sanctioned in 2006-07 . The building has built-up area of more than 14,000 sqm with ground and five floors and has 203-bed capacity.

[Gudavalli]

NTR University admissions open

Eligible candidates are invited to apply online for the courses of M.D. (Ayurveda), (Homeo), (Unani), M.Sc (Nursing) and MPT courses for the academic year 2012-13 in colleges affiliated to Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences.

The candidates can apply online through www.pgntruhs.org. Application and Prospectus are available on the site from August 20, 10 a.m. to August 31 (before 5 p.m). Candidates should submit print of the filled in online application form along with the copies of required certificates attested by Gazetted officer and SBI e-challan either by post or in person to “The Convener, Post Graduate Committee AYUSH Courses, Dr. NTR University of Health Science, Vijayawada- 520008.

Last date for submission of printed application for registration is September 5 till 5 p.m. The registration fee is Rs. 1050 for OC/BC and Rs. 850 for SC/ST to be remitted in the form of e-challan in branch of State Bank of India.

The candidates can download their hall tickets from the same website from 10 a.m. on October 3 to 5 p.m. on October 4 for all the M.D courses and from 10 a.m. on September 13 to 5 p.m. on September 14 for the M.Sc course. There will be no entrance test for the MPT courses.

Entrance test centre for M.D (Ayurveda) and M.D (Homeo) is Vijayawada on October 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and for M.D (Unani) is Hyderabad with the same timings on the same day. Entrance test for M.Sc (Nursing) will be conducted on September 16 from 11 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. in Vijayawada.

For further details one can go through the prospectus which has all the instructions for filling online application and samples, also available in the University website www.ntruhs.ap.nic.in.

[Gudavalli]

Andhra Pradesh CM to tour Palacole, Narasapuram

Hyderabad: The Chief Minister Mr N Kiran Kumar Reddy on the third day of his Indiramma Baata tour of West Godavari District will arrive at Palacole at 9.35 am on Sunday, 19th August, 2012. The Chief Minister will visit RYK Institute and interact with Trainees at Lions Club Kalyanamantapam and lay Foundation Stone for Siragalapalli Lift Irrigation Scheme to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.15 crores up to 10 am. He will visit Lace Park and interact with Lace artisans and foundations from 10.30 am to 11.30 am.

Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy will also lay foundation stone for the International Lace Trade Centre at Rustumbada at 11.35 am. The Chief Minister will reach the Swarnandhra Engineering College at 11.50 am and chair the District Review meeting at Narasapuram in the Swarnandhra Engineering College premises from 11.50 am to 1.50 pm. He will have lunch at Swarnandhra Engineering College and then address a public meeting at Steamer Road from 3 pm to 4.30 pm. He will later leave for Gannavaram Airport by helicopter and for Hyderabad by regular flight to reach Camp Residence at 7.10 pm.

[Gudavalli]

Andhra Pradesh CM said state government spent Rs.4890 crs on farmers welfare in 1.5 year

Hyderabad: The Chief Minister Mr N Kiran Kumar Reddy today announced that the State Government within this one and half year span spent Rs.4890 crs on farmers welfare only apart from the budget allocations for Agriculture, free power to farmers etc.

The Government is spending Rs.1,000 crs towards NREGS. To protect farmers, the State Government has already requested the Government of India to converge NREGS with Agriculture. The Chief Minister was addressing the Aqua, Horticulture and general farmers at Horticulture University, V.R. Gudem, West Godavari District during his Indiramma Baata second day tour. He said the input subsidy, Minimum Support Price (MSP) enhancement for paddy, construction of godowns etc are some of the welfare measures, he added.

[Gudavalli]

Plan to shift proposed major port draws flak

Any attempt to shift the proposed major Port at Nakkapalli in the district will be opposed tooth and nail by the YSR Congress. The undue delay in the granting of round-the-clock operations at Visakhapatnam Airport also came in for criticism from the YSRCP leaders at a media conference here on Saturday.

Payakaraopeta MLA Golla Babu Rao said the proposed port could result in the development of the backward Nakkapalli area, which falls in his constituency. He appealed to Minister for Infrastructure and Investments Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy to intervene in the matter and thwart any move to shift the proposed airport to Prakasam district.

He said the Congress would be taught a fitting lesson in the next elections, if injustice was done to the district. Referring to the Visakhapatnam – Kakinada PCPIR region, which was mooted by the late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, he said it was unfortunate that no steps were being taken in that direction also. He said an all-party delegation could go to Delhi, if necessary, to prevent the shifting of the proposed port.

Mr. Babu Rao sought a firm commitment from the government before the Chief Minister comes to the district for the ‘Indiramma Baata’ programme. He decried the inordinate delay in starting of round-the-clock operations at the Visakhapatnam airport. He said Union Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju and Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari should exert pressure on the government in this regard.

YSRCP City convener Vamsi Krishna Srinivas Yadav alleged that the State government was giving lame excuses on the plan to shift the proposed port at Nakkapalli by shifting the blame on to the Navy. He said Mr. Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Ms. Purandeswari should take steps to obtain early clearance for 24/7 operations.

YSRCP leaders G.V. Ravi Raju and Koyya Prasad Reddy were present.

[Gudavalli]

Kalyan Jewellers to invest Rs 1,000 crore this year

KOCHI, AUG. 19:
Thrissur-based Kalyan Jewellers plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore this year to open 15 more showrooms across the country.

The showrooms will be in Gujarat, Maharasthra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and in Kerala. Showrooms in Warangal, Kukkatpally (Hyderabad), Kancheepuram, Kakkinada and Ahmadabad, will open in the second half of 2012 and would expand to 100 stores spread across India by 2015.

Speaking to reporters in connection with the opening of the 36th showroom in Kochi, T. S. Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director of Kalyan Jewellers, said the number of showrooms would touch 50 by the end of this year.

He said the group is targeting a turnover of Rs 16,000 crore in the current fiscal. The brand had a turnover of Rs 9,473 crore in the last fiscal. The sales for the first quarter were Rs 2,915 crore, he added.

At present, Kalyan Jewellers has a customer base of more than 7 lakh, which is also the largest in the country, he claimed.

Earlier, the group’s 36th showroom in Kochi was inaugurated on Sunday by Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Malayalam actor Dileep.

The showroom has been set up in an area of 20,000 sq feet spread over three floors and offers a variety of jewellery. The largest ever collection of gold- studded designs with silver designs and a collection of gift articles are among those displayed.

The over 100-year-old Kalyan Jewellers recently signed up two mega superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as brand ambassadors.

[Gudavalli]

ACAP awards presented

Adventurers Ch. Ravi Paul of Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI), Ukkunagaram, Visakhapatnam, and Umakanth Sunkari of Hyderabad have bagged State Adventure Awards, instituted by Adventure Club of Andhra Pradesh (ACAP) on Sunday.

Physical Director of Suchitra Academy School, Suchitra Junction, Bowenpally, V. Venkateshwar Rao received the Best Adventure Promoting Teacher Award while Oxford Grammar School, Himayathnagar, was chosen as the Best Adventure Promoting School in the State.

Sri Chaitanya Youth Association, a group of youth from Tanakalan village, Nizamabad district, walked away with the Best Adventure Eco Tourism Organisation Award for developing boating activities at Alisagar, Nizamabad district.

The village committee members of Kuntala, Adilabad district, also received the Best Adventure Eco Tourism Organisation Award for promoting eco-adventure tourism at Kuntala waterfalls, Adilabad.