News Accross India, Month of August, 2010

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-flooded-Chetla-drain/articleshow/6242319.cms

Boy drowns in flooded Chetla drain
TNN, Aug 1, 2010, 02.31am IST

KOLKATA: A 15-month-old child died after falling into an open drain at Chetla on Saturday morning.

Debangsi Singh was a resident of a slum in Chetla lock gate area. Around 6 am, the kid slipped out of his shanty. The adjacent road was waterlogged and as the boy walked along it, he fell into an open two-foot drain that was overflowing with rain water and, hence, not visible.

Hours later, when Debangsi's parents Ashok Singh and Tuni noticed he was not at home, they began a frantic search, but could not find him. Some time later, one of their neighbours found the boy's sandal floating near the drain. As locals searched the drain, they found him lying deep down.

They brought the boy out and took him to SSKM Hospital where he was declared dead. Locals alleged that they had been repeatedly requesting the local councillor to have the drain covered but to no avail. "The drain is dangerous as the street mostly remains waterlogged during the monsoon," said Ashok.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ted-in-overnight-rain/articleshow/6242315.cms

Roads inundated in overnight rain
TNN, Aug 1, 2010, 02.23am IST

KOLKATA: Night-long rain left large parts of the city, including the mayor's own ward, inundated and traffic in a mess on Saturday.

Though water receded faster than apprehended, the traffic mess continued longer than expected. The city police had a harrowing time restoring normal traffic flow. Even major thoroughfares like DH Road, the Rashbehari connector, Sarat Bose Road, Prince Anwar Shah Road connector, part of Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road and Minto Park were inundated till 11 am.

North Kolkata was surprisingly spared major waterlogging. Only Thanthania and its adjacent roads like Bechu Chatterjee Street, part of Bidhan Sarani and Muktaram Babu Street were under knee-deep water.

Traffic was thrown out of gear in the southern part of the city. A large part of Lake Gardens, Harish Mukherjee Road, Kalighat, Chetla and Deshopriya Park were flooded. Traffic movement was extremely slow. Along some stretches, traffic plied in both directions on just one flank, said deputy commissioner (traffic) Dilip Bandyopadhyay.

Behala was the worst-affected zone. People were largely confined to their homes in Behala and Thakurpukur. There were long traffic snarls on DH Road which lasted till late in the afternoon. A major part of Mayor Sovan Chatterjee's ward 131 in Behala was inundated. Chatterjee, however, immediately got a powerful pump from his neighbouring inundated ward (129) pressed into action in his ward.

Speaking to the media, Chatterjee conceded that some areas of his ward got inundated since those were "low lying" areas. Furthermore, residents across large parts of Behala would have to wait for some more time to get the benefit of the drainage modernisation programme under the Kolkata Environment Improvement Project (KEIP) funded by the Asian Development bank.

In the mayor's ward, where the KEIP is still on, Panchanantala, Banomali Naskar Road and Bhutnath Park were under 6 inches of water. Shantanu Mukherjee of Baomali Naskar Road said: "The mayor is promising a lot, yet he can't even make his own ward better. There is a problem with the level of the KEIP pipeline. The water is flowing back."

Behala bazar area got completely muddled. With the vat on Diamond Harbour Road overflowing, the entire area was left filthy. "The garbage got dragged far and wide with passing vehicles. Traffic came to a grinding halt on DH Road beyond Behala Chowrasta. Ward 129 was also badly affected. Its councillor, Sangita Das, admitted that a large part of her ward was inundated. "Areas like No 4, Sen Pally, Naba Pally were under knee-deep water. But by 11 am, water receded completely," she claimed.

Equally bad was the situation at ward 125. The councillor of the ward, Ghanoshree Bag, said: "Bank Colony, Bhattaharyya Para and Palli Manga were in a bad situation."

"We remained confined at home the entire day. Venturing out would mean wading through filthy waterlogged roads. If you want to avoid it, you have to pay Rs 25 to a rickshaw-puller for travelling a stretch whose fare is less than Rs 5 on a normal dry day," said Gita Sarkar, a resident of Pallimangal.

Fear gripped locals after a part of DH Road near Thakurpukur PS suddenly caved in. Police then allowed traffic in both directions to ply along the western flank of the road. Local people blocked the road in protest against the administration's inability to prevent waterlogging in their areas.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100802/jsp/frontpage/story_12759435.jsp

Somnath 'unwell' ahead of meeting
BARUN GHOSH

Calcutta, Aug. 1: Somnath Chatterjee today said he was "not in a mood to attend" a meeting on Subhas Chakraborty's first death anniversary on Tuesday "because I am feeling unwell".

The statement came a day after the late transport minister's widow Ramala, who is organising the commemoration meeting, called on the former Lok Sabha Speaker at his Calcutta residence.

Asked if he had changed his mind after Ramala met him, Chatterjee ducked the question but confirmed the meeting. "Ramala came to me last night and discussed the August 3 programme at length with me," said Chatterjee, whose upcoming memoirs have details that have already put CPM boss Prakash Karat in a tight corner.

"I am not in a mood to attend Subhas's memorial meet because I am feeling unwell," Chatterjee told The Telegraph over the phone from Santiniketan this afternoon.

Ramala said she had called on Chatterjee but refused to disclose what was discussed during the hour-long interaction.

If the former Speaker does stay away from the event, the gesture will help Ramala and some Bengal CPM functionaries wriggle out of the tricky situation of having to share the stage with Chatterjee after the disclosures in his upcoming book that embarrassed Karat.

Three days ago, Chatterjee had said he had extended his stay in Calcutta till August 4 only to attend "Subhas's death anniversary programme".

Ramala and the former CPM MP from Barrackpore, Tarit Topdar, are organising the memorial meeting under the banner of the Subhas Chakraborty Foundation at Netaji Indoor Stadium.

Sources said Ramala had informed Chatterjee of the sensitivities involved in sharing the stage with him in the wake of an expression of disapproval by some CPM leaders.

"Although the invite had already been sent to Chatterjee and the posters referred to him as the president for the memorial meet, Ramalaboudi was in a fix after some leaders disapproved of our association with him so soon after his comments on the party chief," said a CPM state committee member.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-loses-baggage-at-IGI/articleshow/6245994.cms

Games exec loses baggage at IGI
TNN, Aug 2, 2010, 02.03am IST

NEW DELHI: Six business class passengers, the pilot and the co-pilot of an Air India flight from Bangkok had a harrowing time at the IGI Airport on Sunday after their baggage went missing. Their baggage was finally traced to the transfer area, but not before the harried passengers spent about four anxious hours waiting for their baggage to come.

Air India flight 854 landed in Delhi at 11:30am and the lost baggage was found only around 3pm. Among the passengers was an Australian national, John Lade, who is a private consultant to the Commonwealth Games. Speaking to Times City, Lade — who has been coming to Delhi regularly for the past seven months to help with the Commonwealth Games preparations — admitted that the delay in getting luggage had been frustrating but it was a common problem in many airports.

''We are not sure exactly what went wrong, but it took a long time for the baggage to arrive. The baggage was eventually found in the make up/transfer area a few hours later. There were also some problems at the immigration gate and we had to wait for about 30 minutes before getting clearance. Initially, when the baggage went missing, there was some confusion as there seemed to be no representative from the airline. When they finally came, the issue was resolved quickly,'' he said.

The other affected passengers, however, were not as forgiving. ''It was total mismanagement. All the luggage with priority tags went missing and there was no one from the airline for a long time. We kept pacing up and down asking for information but everyone at the airport seemed clueless. At the Indian Airlines help desk, the staff said they were not in a position to help as it was an Air India flight and they were from Indian Airlines,'' said Rajan Bakshi, an affected passenger.

Anil Verman, another passenger whose baggage got misplaced, said: ''It took about half-an-hour for the immigration gates to open and then our baggage went missing. There is total chaos at the new terminal.'' Air India officials said that they could deliver the baggage only after 40 minutes due to technical hiccups.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...to-woo-back-TN-dalits/articleshow/6246007.cms

PC leads Cong effort to woo back TN dalits
TNN, Aug 2, 2010, 02.12am IST

CHENNAI: A concerted effort is on in the Congress in Tamil Nadu to win back its dalit base. The endeavour is being spearheaded by Union home minister P Chidambaram who, on Sunday, invited the scheduled castes to join the Congress, saying that it was the only party that could give them due recognition.

As the party enthusiastically welcomed dalit legislator K Selvam, formerly in the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi and later state president of the Bahujan Samaj Party, into its fold, its leaders sounded upbeat about reviving the party's original support base among the oppressed classes.

"The Congress cannot become the principal party in TN without the support of dalits, and no party which wants to be number one can ignore a section that accounts for 18% or 19% of the population," Chidambaram said, after party leaders honoured Selvam with shawls.

At the function, Congress leaders emphasised that it was not good for the dalits, who had once been with the party, to be scattered among various parties. And Chidambaram remarked that as long as dalit leaders were in the Congress, atrocities against the scheduled castes were under control.

Selvam, who was elected to the state assembly on a Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK) ticket, and had a brief stint as president of the Bahujan Samaj Party's state unit, still retains his MLA seat.

Whether Selvam's entry into the Congress would boost the party's electoral prospects in Tamil Nadu is debatable, but its leaders gave the impression that they saw the event as a precursor to the revival of the party's dalit vote bank. And they hoped dalits would not be scattered among different identity-based parties, but would embrace the Congress.

As a large number of young supporters of Selvam greeted each reference to his name with applause and whistles, Congress leaders appeared happy to have roped in a dalit leader with a youth following. For, as the party's deputy leader in the legislature D Yasodha pointed out, the Congress has seen the erosion of its dalit base over the decades. "The Congress needs the support of dalits to become the principal party in Tamil Nadu," said Union home minister P Chidambaram.

Chidambaram said that when dalit leaders were in the Congress, atrocities against the scheduled castes were under control. "It was only when they left the party that atrocities began to increase." He also said the credit for the good performance of dalit leaders in India should go to the Congress for providing them the opportunities, giving the examples of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Babu Jagjivan Ram.

Chidambaram referred to former state home minister P Kakkan, a dalit stalwart of the Congress whose centenary celebrations were held in Madurai on Saturday, and said tireless work, great personal integrity and boundless love for the poor were the reasons behind Kakkan's rise in public life, despite his humble birth and sparse education.

Wishing that others would emulate him, he said Kakkan was the first dalit president of the state Congress, and there were two more — Maragatham Chandrasekar and L Elayaperumal. The day was not far off when another dalit could occupy the post. "The government will give you concessions, jobs, land and loans, but only a political party can give you status and recognition. That party is the Congress," he said.

Selvam said his mind had been poisoned against the Congress in the past, but had now been touched by the affection of Congress leaders who, he had once thought, were not easily approachable.

TNCC president KV Thangkabalu and other Congress functionaries including S Thirunavukkarasar and Karthi Chidambaram felicitated Selvam and his supporters for joining the party. Ravi Mallu, a Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh who is an observer for the TNCC, appealed to Chidambaram to continue with his efforts to win over dalits to the party's ranks.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rahul-Gandhi-revamps-IYC-core-team/articleshow/6245945.cms

Rahul Gandhi revamps IYC core team
TNN, Aug 2, 2010, 01.30am IST

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi has a new team of core workers for the Youth Congress, a frontal outfit of Congress under his charge as the AICC general secretary.

Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Rajiv Satav on Saturday announced the new team that comprises 10 general secretaries and nine secretaries. These office-bearers, sources said, have been selected from a pool of leaders, who were interviewed by Rahul Gandhi personally. Those who made the grade include young MLAs and former MLAs.

IYC chief Satav is also a legislator from Maharashtra. Priyavrat Singh, Virender Rathor, Amrinder Singh Raja Brar, Jothimani have been repeated as general secretary while Vikas Upadhyay has been promoted from the post of secretary.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...rucks-with-small-fine/articleshow/6245918.cms

Rajasthan tweaks SC order, allows overloading of trucks with small fine
Dipak Kumar Dash, TNN, Aug 2, 2010, 01.11am IST

NEW DELHI: Overloading is one of the major reasons for road accidents and the Supreme Court has banned such practices. But recently, Rajasthan government allowed overloading on trucks by fixing a penalty, contrary to the apex court's ruling of November 2005.

A notification issued by the state transport department on July 22 fixed Rs 500 penalty for overloading three tonnes over and above the prescribed load limit. It further said those carrying above three tonnes of extra load will have to pay Rs 1,000 penalty per tonne followed by Rs 1,500 per tonne penalty over and above overload of 10 tonnes.

Sources said the powerful lobby of marble traders, cement manufacturers, mining contractors and big transporters had been mounting pressure on the transport department to ease load restrictions. ''The state government has hoodwinked the provisions under different sections of Central Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and the compounding powers under section 194/200 of the MV Act to benefit these resourceful business lobbies,'' said S P Singh, senior fellow with the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT).

The organization has also written to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, PM Manmohan Singh and the road transport minister mentioning that Rajasthan transport minister Brij Kishore Sharma had also approached the Transport Development Council (TDC) in February 2010 to ask the ministry of road transport and highways to exempt overloading of goods carriages/trucks in his state.

Industry sources said this was a clever ploy to regularize the illegality of overloading of trucks by the state government and these trucks often travelled with excess weight to neighbouring states.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...tarakhand-quota-error/articleshow/6244819.cms

Govt to correct Uttarakhand quota error
Subodh Ghildiyal, TNN, Aug 2, 2010, 01.16am IST

NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Backward Classes has stepped in to remove a major anomaly by which no backward caste from Uttarakhand has been able to avail reservation in central employment and education since the state came into being eight years ago. The reason: Uttarakhand had not notified its central list of OBCs after it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2002.

In a key ruling, NCBC said the central list of OBCs for UP would be treated as the central list for Uttarakhand. The commission has asked Union social justice ministry to ask the state to implement the decision.

Uttarakhand's failure to notify its list of OBCs for 27% quota for central jobs and education for eight years led to a major anomaly in backward reservation. It meant while OBCs were eligible for quota in state jobs and educational bodies, they were ineligible for central reservation.

As a result, OBCs from the hill state were not able to tap quota benefits for elite jobs of UPSC as well as the various middle rung and lower rung jobs in central ministries and PSUs. At the same time, central educational institutions offering professional courses were out of the ambit of backwards from the state.

Abdul Azizi. member, NCBC, said, "The state's failure to notify the list has deprived OBCs living in Uttarakhand of their legitimate rights to have the advantage and facilities in central government jobs and admissions in institutions under the control of central government. The delay in notifying the central list of OBCs should not affect the public interest adversely. So, we have stepped in."

Newly-appointed NCBC chairman M N Rao, after taking over last month, moved to plug this gap. In a meeting on July 6, the commission decided to adopt the central list of the parent state for Uttarakhand.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-govts-shining-claims/articleshow/6244074.cms

Cong looks to cash in on Nitish govt's 'shining' claims
TNN, Aug 2, 2010, 01.18am IST

NEW DELHI: As Congress looks to mark its presence in the Bihar elections due later this year, it is looking at whether a mismatch between the state government's media campaign and ground realities could make chief minister Nitish Kumar vulnerable to an "India Shining" trap.

With the party having decided that it would go it alone in Bihar without teaming up with the Lalu Prasad-Ramvilas Paswan duo, Congress is taking stock of what could be its line of attack. There is a feeling that the recent media blitz launched by the Bihar government smacks of NDA's ill-fated 2004 India Shining campaign.

While the JD(U)-BJP rule has been undoubtedly an improvement over Lalu raj, the claims made by the government may not be in sync with delivery that has been marked by the usual inefficiencies and corruption, feel senior Congress sources.

Also, given Bihar's poor communication links and development backlog, delivery of welfare schemes is a challenge.

By focusing on local grouses, the Congress would hope to deflect attention from a polarising scenario where the choice is between Nitish Kumar's continuation in office or the return of Lalu Prasad and RJD. Though Lalu can count on Yadav and minority support, sections opposed to him remain hostile despite the upper castes' uneasy relations with Kumar.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...n-writers-prostitutes/articleshow/6245932.cms

Sibal slams Wardha VC for calling women writers 'prostitutes'
TNN, Aug 2, 2010, 01.24am IST

NEW DELHI: Vibhuti Narayan Rai, vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya in Wardha, could land himself in serious trouble for his alleged sexist remarks against women writers.

A shocked HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Sunday said he had asked for the Hindi journal in which Rai's interview was published. But what has appeared so far has made him angry and he did not rule out action if the facts were true. "I believe this is unacceptable. It is an affront to womanhood and disparaging to woman writers as a class," he said.

Sibal also said such "disparaging remarks from someone holding an exalted office suggests a mindset that is inconsistent with the dignity of that office". Earlier, Rai's remark against dalits saw dalit teachers and students of the university call him "secular casteist".

But Rai, who was an IPS officer, was unperturbed and felt it was no more than literary discussion. Speaking from Wardha, he said, "The word chhinal does not mean prostitute. Even Premchand has used it more than a hundred times."

According to him, "I only said for many women writers, discourse on women has become discourse of the body. I said women should include others like tribals and dalits to make their battle more effective." Rai also did not approve of any action from HRD ministry.

"What will ministry do. Apart from being the vice-chancellor, I am also a writer. Am I not allowed to even make a comment," he said. Rai has been in the news ever since he took over as VC. His remarks against dalits had antagoniesd a large section of the university. Rai had taken action against Lela Karunyakara, director of Balasaheb Ambedkar Centre for Dalit and Tribal Studies, for participating in a candle light procession in the university on Ambedkar's Mahaparinirvan Day.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...misses-deadline-again/articleshow/6224992.cms

GPS in buses: Delhi govt misses deadline again
PTI, Aug 2, 2010, 02.51am IST

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has missed a second deadline for installing global positioning systems in buses and sought more time from the high court which granted it four months to finish the task.

Appearing before a bench headed by Justice A K Sikri, the counsel for the government sought more time to install GPS in the buses saying it would not be able to complete the task by August 15, the deadline fixed by the court, as there was paucity of the instruments in the market.

After hearing his argument, the HC gave the government four more months to install the system in all buses. GPS bus tracking system uses satellite technology and advanced computer modelling to track vehicles on their routes. Each vehicle is fitted with a satellite tracking system. Taking into account the actual position of the buses, their intended stops and the typical traffic patterns, the system can estimate vehicle arrivals with a high degree of accuracy.

The court had earlier on February 4 extended the time for installing the system and fixed the August 15 deadline. The court was hearing a matter in which it had taken suo motu cognizance following an accident involving a blueline bus in October 2008 in which eight people were killed at Badarpur area.

The court had directed the phase-out of Bluelines, after which the city government launched low-floor buses last year. It had also directed the city government to frame guidelines for drivers, bus operators and owners.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...t-to-end-House-logjam/articleshow/6238361.cms

BJP determined to thwart any attempt to end House logjam
TNN, Jul 31, 2010, 03.03am IST

NEW DELHI: Though the weekend is expected to see efforts to end the logjam over price rise in Parliament, no solution was yet in sight with BJP against any "middle path" formula that could see both Houses adopt a "resolution" urging the government to take note of concern over inflation.

The possibility of a resolution was briefly discussed by BJP leaders in L K Advani's office on Friday morning but did not find much support. Advani is understood to have expressed his reservations and BJP leaders felt joining hands with UPA over a resolution that could not be critical of the government would dilute the party's position.

If the government remained resolutely opposed to a discussion under Rule 184 that entails a vote and no compromise seemed likely, the BJP might well quit its protest on a "moral high" by arguing that it was not interested in any of other proposal. The party would say that since government is blocking a serious discussion, BJP was not keen on further negotiations.

This would allow BJP to deflect criticism that it was disrupting Parliament for a second week running. Party MPs could sit in the House "under protest" holding placards blaming the government for not discussing price rise. The BJP strategy will be finalised on Monday morning after informal consultations with other non-UPA parties.

There is, however, a feeling in both camps that it might be time to end the standoff but this may need interaction between a senior UPA figure like finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and the Opposition. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday morning though it was not clear whether the situation in Parliament was discussed. RJD leader Lalu Prasad also met Mukherjee.

Lalu is understood to have discussed the caste census issue with Mukherjee while he has also been pressing the government to revise MPs' salaries. What should give the government food for thought is that Opposition remained united on Friday with SP and RJD at forefront of protests in Lok Sabha.

Speaker Meira Kumar's Monday morning meeting with leaders may see some efforts to resolve the issue. While the Opposition has refused to budge from its demand for a discussion which requires a vote, the government has said no to a division.

On Friday, Opposition benches ensured no business was transacted continuing their vociferous protest and forcing an adjournment of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

"We have been pressing for a debate on price rise for the past four days either under adjournment motion or Rule 184, but the government is adamant on not having a debate under any rule that entails voting,'' said Sushma Swaraj.

Parties including BJP, BJD, JD(U), BSP, SP, RJD presented a solid front trooping into the well shouting slogans and demanding removal of the government. The Speaker told Swaraj that her notice for discussion under Rule 184 was under her consideration.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the government had always favoured a debate and blamed the Opposition for not allowing it for the past four days. "They (Opposition) keep talking about rules, but we are ready for discussion,'' he said.

In the din, the Speaker called for question hour prompting BJP members to troop to the Well and raise slogans against the government. She then adjourned the proceedings till noon. After the House reassembled, papers were laid but the opposition members persisted with their protests in the Well and forced adjournment for the day.

Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha. The moment Chairman Hamid Ansari took up the listed questions, the entire Opposition led by BJP stood up protesting. They were joined by most of the non-NDA opposition, including Left, AIADMK and even the BSP which gives outside support to the government. With the Opposition refusing to relent, the House was adjourned till Monday after laying of papers.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ted-for-selling-drugs/articleshow/6252943.cms

Nigerian arrested for selling drugs
PTI, Aug 3, 2010, 08.17pm IST

HYDERABAD: Two persons including a Nigerian national were arrested by the police in Hyderabad on Tuesday in two separate cases for selling cocaine, charas and suspect that the Nigerian might have supplied the banned substance to some personalities in the Tollywood (Telugu Film Industry).

The arrested Nigerian identified as Okechukwu Ohazurike, who came to Hyderabad last year on a four-month-visit visa accompanied by one Tony, a Uganda national, was engaged in selling cocaine to the people living in posh localities here, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner A K Khan, told reporters.

One De Romo, a major supplier of prohibited drugs has been supplying cocaine to them for the last one year.

The Nigerian purchased cocaine for Rs 2,000 per gram and sold the same for Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 per gram, Khan said.

A special team of City Police worked on leads for the past 15 days and arrested Ohazurike, who was overstaying in India, while he was selling cocaine pills near Jubilee Bus stand here and seized 210 grams of high quality cocaine worth Rs 10 lakh, Khan said, adding a hunt has been launched to nab two other drug peddlers.

Responding to a query whether the Nigerian also had customers in Tollywood, Khan said "It seems so. We have also found some telephone numbers from the Nigerian, that are of the film personalities. But I cannot say anything until we get hard evidence that they were supplying drugs to the film personalities among others."

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...14-live-rounds-seized/articleshow/6254011.cms

3 held, two pistols, 14 live rounds seized
TNN, Aug 4, 2010, 12.30am IST

HYDERABAD: Police on Tuesday arrested a three-member gang and seized two country-made pistols, four magazines and 14 live rounds from their possession at Paradise in Secunderabad.

The three persons were identified as Md Najimuddin Khan, 26, a native of Murshidabad in West Bengal who stays near Hi-Tec City, Mohd Razzak, 21, a native of Jorhat and Kanchan Das, 22, a native of Tinsukia, both from Assam.

Addressing a press conference here, Hyderabad police commissioner A K Khan said the three-member gang was nabbed by a Task Force team while they were trying to sell the fire arms to prospective customers at Paradise in Secunderabad.

Mohd Najimuddin Khan came to Hyderabad in 2006 and was working as a labour contractor at various construction companies.

During one of his visits to his native place, he came in contact with Mama, an arms supplier of Govindpur village, Murshidabad, West Bengal. From him, he came to know that arms could be procured easily and Najimuddin thought he could clandestinely smuggle them into Andhra Pradesh and make huge money by selling them to anti-socials.

When he discussed it with his associates Mohd Razzak and Kanchan Das, they readily agreed to Najimuddin's proposal, the commissioner said.

About 10 days ago, Razzak and Kanchandas were sent to Govindpur village and they procured two country-made pistols, four magazines and 14 live rounds for Rs 50,000 and came to Hyderabad and handed them over to Najimuddin.

The trio along with the seized property were handed over to the Ramgopalpet police station for further action.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...nflows-into-Srisailam/articleshow/6253779.cms

Heavy inflows into Srisailam
TNN, Aug 4, 2010, 12.30am IST

HYDERABAD: While two bodies were found from the swirling waters of Nagavali river in Srikakulam district on Tuesday morning, the Srisailam reservoir is receiving heavy inflows from Jurala project as heavy rains lashed the catchment areas in upper reaches of Krishna river.

Inflow of two lakh cusecs is reaching Srisailam every day. While the reservoir level reached 865.50 ft on Tuesday, officials said it would reach the FRL if another 96 tmc of water reaches the reservoir.

Irrigation authorities said if the outflow from Jurala continues at the same rate, the Srisailam would reach FRL in next five days.

Meanwhile, officials said the bodies of two youths were found at Bonthalapuduru in Etcherla mandal. They were washed away in the swirling waters of Nagavali two days ago.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ution-to-Babli-row-CM/articleshow/6253781.cms

No quick-fix solution to Babli row: CM
TNN, Aug 4, 2010, 12.37am IST

HYDERABAD: The state government rejected Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan's plea to withdraw all cases pertaining to the Babli issue in the Supreme Court.

Expressing satisfaction at the outcome of the meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart in Maharashtra, chief minister K Rosaiah said on Tuesday that they were sincerely trying for a judicious end to the Babli case. "We are trying both ways (political and judicial). All our options are open, but we have conveyed to Maharashtra CM that we are not keen to withdraw cases, including the contempt proceedings against it on Babli in the SC," he pointed out.

"The Prime Minister was very sympathetic to our viewpoint. He suggested all of us to wait for the adjudication by the SC. He issued instructions to the Central Water Commission to continue to verify the compliance status of the order issued by the SC. He further advised the government of Maharashtra to strictly abide by the interim orders of the SC dated, 26th April, 2007," he pointed out.

The chief minister said Chavan went on record to claim that they were not operating the Babli gates and that the Supreme Court had not taken note of the contempt case filed by Andhra Pradesh against it on the matter. "I told him that installation of gates at Babli itself was a clear violation of the Supreme Court orders. And the highest court had not given any certificate/ clean chit to them," he said.

The chief minister said the PM was also sympathetic to their suggestion of constituting a strong authority to ensure entitled utilization by the respective party states for river Godavari with necessary constitutional backup and strong implementing teeth.

Stating that the Babli issue was sensitive, he said, "The state government has conveyed emphatically to the Prime Minister all view points in the presence of Chavan. He heard me patiently and told him that we were downstream and put to hardship. Our request to the PM has been consistent. The GoI is very much concerned about our plea on the loss to state. The issue takes time. It cannot be solved in an hour or two. I have urged the GoI to come to our rescue."

Rosaiah said the Union minister of water resources would soon call for a meeting of irrigation ministers of AP and Maharashtra to amicably resolve issues pertaining to the construction and operation of 13 other projects and furnishing of information on utilization of Godavari river water by the Maharashtra government.

He made it categorical that the Babli issue was an administrative matter and did not want to involve UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Rosaiah brushed aside allegations by opposition parties - TDP and PRP - that had alleged that the chief minister had mortgaged the interests of the state by failing to present a strong case of Babli before the PM. "There is no scope for any kind of mortgage in matters like these. I urge the opposition leader to refrain from resorting to such talk," he observed.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...e-saving-prescription/articleshow/6253783.cms

DS rushes to Delhi for face-saving prescription
TNN, Aug 4, 2010, 12.39am IST

HYDERABAD: Beleaguered PCC president D Srinivas rushed to New Delhi on Tuesday with a mission to convince the party high command to submit a report to the Srikrishna committee in favour of Telangana.

Srinivas, who was trounced by the BJP candidate Y Lakshminarayana for the second time from Nizamabad Urban in the recent bypolls, now wants a Telangana statement of sorts from the Congress high command to enthuse the party workers and leaders alike. "By presenting a pro-Telangana report to the Srikrishna committee, the party at least can face the public before the municipal elections scheduled to be held later this year or early next year," party sources said.

But it may not be an easy task for the PCC president as the Congress has refused to officially take sides either with Andhra leaders, who are against the division of the state, or, the Telangana partymen who are for creation of a separate state. However, DS efforts would be to tell the central leaders that: "The refusal to reveal its stand on Telangana is the reason for the people of the region to view the party with distrust. Can the people believe a party which is not ready to express its stand before the committee and vote for it."

However, if not an official endorsement of Telangana, the PCC chief is hoping that his mission would at least result in some forward movement. "The high command is most likely going to reject the plea of DS. At most, it might suggest that the PCC chief lead an unofficial delegation of Congress leaders from Telangana to Srikrishna committee and pitch for their cause," the sources asked.

If that happens, the PCC chief wants to submit a strong resolution to the Srikrishna panel and circulate the same to the people of the region. However, according to AICC sources, the high command is not very happy with the results, in particular, that of DS's own defeat.

According to sources, when all the Congress candidates were losing one by one, party chief Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, who was in constant touch with PCC president, asked him to ascertain his chances of victory. Patel reportedly was extremely upset over the result in Nizamabad Urban where despite the presence of a sizable Muslim electorate, a BJP political novice managed to trounce a Congress stalwart.

Indications are that the Srikrishna committee will meet Congress leaders anytime after August 8. The PCC chief's gameplan is to ensure that the Congress comes out with a positive and clear report in favour of Telangana, either official or otherwise. In New Delhi, DS is likely to meet Sonia, Ahmed Patel, M Veerappa Moily, party in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, and other senior leaders like Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Motilal Vora etc.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ds-bar-licence-policy/articleshow/6254007.cms

CM defends bar licence policy
TNN, Aug 4, 2010, 12.41am IST

HYDERABAD: Refuting charges of encouraging liquor consumption in the state, chief minister K Rosaiah said the policy announced on Monday was meant to streamline grant of licences to bars.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Rosaiah said the guidelines were meant to streamline the bar licensing system and not encourage liquor consumption, as is being alleged by the opposition parties. "The government's intention is very clear. We have to regulate the licensing system in the state according to the rules in vogue. Middlemen have been taking fresh applicants for a ride by promising them out of turn allocations. I have asked officials to issue a clarification as several doubts have been raised on the G.O. No. 723 issued by the revenue department (excise) on Monday," Rosaiah observed.

He said the government's policy was to permit new bars very sparingly based on population in a municipality or municipal corporation. Rosaiah said if they did not provide bars accordingly, illicit distilling would grow and pose a grave threat.

Earlier, panchayat raj minister Botsa Satyanarayna took pains to explain the government order. He said there were 1,449 bars across the state in 2009-10 and more than 701 applications were pending with the excise commissioner for grant of fresh bar licences for the past two years.

Denying media reports that the government had lifted the flood gates for opening new bars, the minister said as per the revised exercise, there was scope for grant of a single bar in 11 relatively big municipalities (having more than 50,000 population) that do not have a single bar. "The municipalities eligible for grant of one new bar are Guntakal, Yemmiganur, Kadiri, Rayachoti, Bellampally, Mandamari, Nagari, Rayadurg, Samalkot, Gadwal, Tuni, Medak and Adoni," he said.

Apart from the above, 38 new bars could be permitted in the GHMC area. However, it is to be noted that as many as 27 bars existing in 2009-10 have not renewed their licences for 2010-11 due to viability problems, he informed. "Hence, other than the 13 new bars mentioned above, not new bars will be permitted in terms of implementation of G.O. No. 723," the minister clarified.

He, however, admitted that there were 402 bars in excess of the revised exercise across the state, including 68 in Vijayawada Municipal Corporation.

Earlier in the day, PRP chief K Chiranjeevi said the approach of the state government to allocated bars based on population was in poor taste. He said the party would take up the issue extensively during the Praja Chaitanya yatra beginning August 8.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...heory-exams-postponed/articleshow/6254010.cms

MBBS second year theory exams postponed
TNN, Aug 4, 2010, 12.45am IST

HYDERABAD: The strike by the AP Government Doctors Association (APGDA) led to the postponement of MBBS second year theory examinations on Tuesday. An estimated 4,000 students from government and private medical colleges were to write the examination conducted by the NTR University of Health Sciences.

While the examinations scheduled for August 3 and 4 stand postponed tentatively, authorities said that if the strike continues for more days the subsequent examinations might also be postponed. The doctors who were supposed to invigilate decided to boycott their duties on Monday night which led to the postponement of the exam.

"Unless the demands on non-private practice allowance, academic allowance and career advancement are met, we will not call off our agitation. So far there has been no response from the government for negotiations," said Dr Putta Srinivas, president, APGDA. Bowing down to the agitation which started from July 28, the state government had agreed to revise the pay scales of doctors as per the 2006 UGC scales on August 1. However, the AP Government Doctors Association (APGDA) decided to continue with their agitation statewide till the rest of their three demands are met.

From August 5, the practical examinations are scheduled and the doctors have decided to boycott the practicals as well if their demands are not met. The doctors have also been boycotting PG classes since August 2.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...trap-Tirumala-leopard/articleshow/6254013.cms

All-out bid to trap Tirumala leopard
TNN, Aug 4, 2010, 12.59am IST

Hyderabad: Forest department officials have put up four trap cages to catch the leopard that has been wreaking havoc at Tirumala.

The Alipiri road passes through the 526-sqkm Sri Venkateswara Wildlife Sanctuary that is home to at least 22 leopards. According to officials, there could be around eight leopards roaming the area close to the road. "We have no idea whether it is one leopard or more than one that is attacking children. Nevertheless, we have already set up trap cages in areas that are frequented by leopards. We expect some result soon,' a senior forest department official said.

Another officer said that there could be more than one reason why the big cat has come closer to human habitation. First of all, the two attacks that took place in the last week could be accidental. The animal might have come hunting for some deer and attacked the child instead. Leopards have been roaming more in the area since the population of the deer in a nearby park increased to 250. Another reason could be that it had come looking for dogs, pigs etc that feed on the refuse food being dumped in the area.

He said that the situation should be taken seriously as it indicates that the leopard has lost fear of coming closer to humans. Secondly, it appears that humans could be its next target. "Given this scenario, every effort should be made to catch or neutralize the animal," he said.

The trap cage comprises two compartments and well camouflaged. The door to the first compartment comes down when the leopard enters it and tries to attack the bait which could be a dog, goat or sheep kept in the second compartment of the cage.

To ensure faster trapping of the animal, the road has been closed down for pilgrims between 4:00 pm and 6:00 am.

Meanwhile, the officials have started to shift the deer to various locations from the deer park which is spread over seven hectares. The per-hectare carrying capacity of park is only about eight deer. Based on this calculation, the park should not have more than 60 deer.