________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]
HYDERABAD: Additional Solicitor General of India Mr Natarajan, while supporting the action of
the Telangana state government, submitted that the Union of India Acts, under Section 5(2) of
Indian Telegraph Act and the relevant provisions, empowered the government to take possession
of licensed telegraphs and to order interception of messages.
He said that the state of Telangana had sought the opinion of the Centre before intercepting certain
telephone conversations and the entire correspondence regarding the interception were privileged
documents and could not be disclosed or forced to be disclosed even before a court of law.
AP Advocate-General P. Venugopal reminded the court that the telecom companies had been
directed by the Supreme Court to place the material before the Vijayawada court in a sealed
envelope.
The Chief Metropol-itan Magistrate’s Court, Vijayawada, on July 17, in another order, had
directed the telecom service providers not to destroy the required material and data in respect to
telephone numbers specified in the notices and original letters of interception of emergency and
regular monitoring by the agencies, namely IGP (Intelligence), IGP (Counter Intelligence cell), IGP
(SIB) pertaining to Telangana state etc.
The lower court had passed the orders based on applications moved by the SIT which was
constituted by the AP government to probe a case registered on the complaint of AP irrigatino
minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao alleging that TRS leaders were intercepting the telephone
calls of AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his Cabinet colleagues in Hyderabad.
Aggrieved by the orders of the lower court, the Telangana state government had moved the High
Court contending that the Telangana state government was not party before the court at
Vijayawada and passing an order without being heard was illegal.
The registry of the HC listed the petitions before the judge with an objection of maintainability of
the petitions. Advocate-general of TS, K. Ramakrishna Reddy submitted that when a court passed
an order without giving an opportunity to being heard, the affected party had the right to move the
HC, which had power to entertain such petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution.
He said that interception of certain phone conversations was done in accordance with law and the
lower court had no right to call for the records when the interception was done as per law in the
interest of security and safety of the government and the public.
When the judge agreed to hear the matter, Mr Ram Jethmalani , senior counsel of the Supreme
Court, appearing for the Telangana state government submitted that the action of the lower court
caused infringement of rights of the state government and the Supreme Court had already held that
whenever rights were infringed, the affected parties had the right to move the High Court.
He said that orders of the lower court were not only illegal and without jurisdiction, but also in
breach of the provisions of Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act and Section 123, 124 and
131 of the Indian Evidence Act.
He said that the proceedings before the lower court were going on based on rumours of alleged
phone tapping without there being any concrete proof and such proceedings were liable to be
quashed.
While refuting the contentions of Mr Venugopal, the judge held that the petitions were maintainable
and directed the lower court to return to the call records to the registrar of the High Court without
opening the sealed cover whenever it received the same from the service providers.
While adjourning the case for four weeks, the judge directed the lower court not to proceed further
in the case.
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Osmania General Hospital shifting turns knottier
Protesting the decision to shift on Thursday, hospital doctors did not operate outpatient services for
a while prompting the women to hold an impromptu dharna at Koti Crossroads.
The exercise to shift Osmania General Hospital (OGH) just got knottier with pregnant women,
medical and administrative staff of Sultan Bazar Maternity Hospital expressing their displeasure at
being moved to Petlaburj Maternity Hospital.
Protesting the decision to shift on Thursday, hospital doctors did not operate outpatient services for
a while prompting the women to hold an impromptu dharna at Koti Crossroads.
The matter was resolved only after hospital administration including Superintendent K. Sudha Rani
managed to convince senior doctors to start working in the vital outpatient wings for the sake of
expectant women. However, the women vent their ire over the decision to shift the hospital, which
will now force them to travel for at least six more kilometres.
Many have raised logistical issues too. “I come all the way from Vanasthalipuram to Sultan Bazaar
because I have a direct bus. It would be very difficult for me to travel to Petlaburj because there is
no direct RTC link. How can they expect me to walk or take a private transport in this condition?”
complains Gauri Devi, who is five months into pregnancy.
At present, the official bed strength of Sultan Bazar maternity hospital is close to 160 but on any
given day, anywhere between 250 and 300 women are admitted to the inpatient wards for delivery.
Shifting women, who are in advanced state of their pregnancies, from the in-patient wards to
Petlaburj is turning out to be a nightmare for senior doctors.
“Shifting these women is fraught with inherent risks. Moreover, at present, there is no infrastructure
support at Petlaburj because medical equipment is yet to be shifted. It is going to be very difficult to
shift a maternity hospital overnight,” senior doctors said.
Pregnant woman from Dilsukhnagar, Vanasthalipuram, Nampally, Himayathnagar, Barkatpura and
nearby areas avail the medical facilities at Sultan Bazar Maternity Hospital.
“From the past three months I have been coming here from Malakpet. Now, they are asking me to
go to Petlaburj, which is six kilometres more. Is it fair?” questioned P. Nirmala, another expecting
mother.
The Petlaburj hospital mostly caters to the needs of patients drawn from Old City. “It would be
very difficult to control the patient flow once both the hospitals start operating from the same
building. The Government should reconsider this decision,” hospital staff maintained.
Meanwhile, the Hospital Superintendent, senior doctors and administrative staff met Director of
Medical Education (DME) Ramani. “Within an hour, we convinced our doctors to get back to
outpatient wings. We have also appraised DME about the emerging situation in the hospital.
Hopefully, Government will take a call that would be beneficial for all,” Dr. Sudha Rani said.
..................................................................................................................
OGH relocation begins with shifting of patients
Hyderabad: The relocation of Osmania General Hospital (OGH) started on Wednesday with the
shifting of 24 patients, three assistant professors, seven specialists, six junior doctors and 14 nurses
of the orthopaedic department to King Koti district hospital.
According to sources, the government has decided to shift general medicine, general surgery,
medical gastroenterology and surgical gastroenterology to the Sultan Bazar Maternity hospital. The
patients at Sultan Bazar Maternity hospital would be shifted to the Government Maternity Hospital,
Petlaburj.
Health authorities have maintained that the shifting of health wings will be taken up in a manner that
would be least intrusive with patient services.
The complicated task of shifting health care wings from heritage building of Osmania General
Hospital (OGH) was formally launched with a part of Orthopaedic Department being moved to
King Koti Area Hospital on Wednesday.
The emergency and outpatient services, however, for all the health wings will continue to operate
from the OGH campus. The shifting of the medical wings is being done in such a way that health
care services will continue to be provided in King Koti Area Hospital, Sultan Bazar Maternity
Hospital and OGH simultaneously.
Health authorities have maintained that the shifting of health wings will be taken up in a manner that
would be least intrusive with patient services. “We have divided our staff and they will now work
from two different places simultaneously. At present, there are 114 patients recovering in the in-
patient wards out of which we have shifted close to 24 on Wednesday. It will take at least ten days
for us to complete the shifting,” said Head, OGH Orthopaedics doctor G.V.S. Murthy.
Nearly 16 care givers, comprising of three assistant professors, seven speciality doctors and six
junior doctors along with proportionate number of nurses, paramedical staff and class four
employees from Orthopaedic Department will now start working out of King Koti Area Hospital.
“We have doctors at the existing OGH campus to operate emergency and outpatient services. In-
patient recuperating wards and operation theatres for surgeries will be provided in King Koti Area
Hospital. So, we will be working simultaneously in King Koti hospital and OGH,” Dr. Murthy
pointed out.
Senior hospital doctors said that the process to shift the remaining wings that include general
medicine, general surgery, gastroenterology and surgical gastroenterology will commence in the
next few days.
“There is a need to take up minor adjustments and repairs at Sultan Bazar maternity hospital and
King Koti Area Hospital to suit the needs of the health department. However, we do not intend to
slow down the shifting process. It will take at least a month to complete the process,” Dr.
Narender, senior OGH doctor said.
Meanwhile, members of Telangana Doctors Forum (TDF) have urged the State Government to
develop OGH on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The TDF members
also pointed out that there was a need to safeguard the old building of OGH because of its heritage
status.
“It’s possible to come up with a solution acceptable for all. The heritage building is just spread in
2.5 acres while the OGH campus is close to 26 acres. There is a need to conserve the heritage
building and at the same time have a modern structure like the AIIMS. We hope that the
Government manages to find a middle road,” says Chairperson, TDF, Dr. A. Gopal Kishan.
Keywords: Telangana Doctors Forum, Osmania General Hospital, King Koti Area Hospital
........................................................................................................................ACB files preliminary charge sheet in ‘Cash for Vote’ case
The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a preliminary charge sheet in the ‘Cash for
Vote’ case before the Special Court for ACB Case here on Tuesday.
The charge sheet has been filed against TDP MLA A. Revanth Reddy, Bishop Sebastian Harry,
Reddy’s aides Uday Simha and M Jerusalem under relevant sections of the Prevention of
Corruption Act and section 120 B (Criminal Conspiracy) of IPC. The 25-page charge sheet also
contains the statements of 39 witnesses and other documents.
The ACB officials said that they would file another charge sheet in near future against another TDP
MLA Sandar Venkata Veeraiah and others. They maintained that further investigation in the case
were still on.
It may be mentioned that TDP MLA Revanth Reddy was arrested by the ACB on May 31 when
he allegedly tried to bribe nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson to vote in favour of a Telugu Desam
nominee Vem Narender in Telangana Legislative Council elections. The ACB had also seized cash
of Rs. 50 lakh. (INN)
........................................................................................................................Dy CM inaugurates vaccination camp for Haj pilgrims
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali assured that the State Government
would provide all facilities to the pilgrims going for Haj 2015.
The Deputy CM informed that the Haj Flights from the Hyderabad Embarkation Point would
commence from September 2 and conclude on September 8, with 16 flights, at the rate of three
flights a day. “Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao desires to provide full support to the Haj
pilgrims”, he said and added that in spite of bifurcation of the State, the budget of the Telangana
State Haj Committee remained at Rs. 2 crores. He said that this time the Air India had been
entrusted the task of taking Haj pilgrims and hoped that it would provide better services to the
pilgrims. “Making Haj arrangements is the responsibility of the government,” he said.
Mahmood Ali was speaking at the inauguration of the Vaccination Camp of the Haj Pilgrims at the
Haj House in Nampally on Monday. On this occasion, he released the Haj Guides published in
three languages, i.e. English, Telugu and Urdu. He elaborated on the arrangements being made for
the smooth Haj operations this year and said that the State Government would make all out efforts
to make the Haj Camp 2015 a grand success.
Nampally MLA Jaffer Hussain Meraj advised the pilgrims to obey the rules and regulations of both
India and Saudi Arabia in the matter of Haj Journey. “Haj journey is the most sacred and important
journey in the life of a Muslim,” he said.
Minorities Welfare Department Secretary Syed Omer Jaleel advised the pilgrims to take care of
their health and take vaccines. “People from across the world gather at the Haj and bring with them
various kinds of virus,” he cautioned and added that vaccinations were necessary to remain safe
from various kinds of diseases.
Telangana State Haj Committee Special Officer Prof. S. A. Shukoor informed that altogether
3,117 pilgrims from Telangana State were selected to perform Haj this year and the Haj Camp
would commence from 31st August with hectic schedule of 16 Haj Chartered Flights of Air India in
just seven days. The Haj Committee made elaborate arrangements for vaccinations and distribution
of suit cases to all the pilgrims. He said that the Hyderabad Embarkation Point was adjudged as the
best point in the country in 2104 and assured to make better arrangements than the previous years.
Dr. K. Amarender Reddy Director Institute of Preventive Medicine was present on this occasion.
Medical Teams from Princess Esra Hospital, Owaisi Group of Hospitals and Institute of Preventive
Medicine administered Anti Meningitis, Seasonal Influenza Vaccine and Oral Polio drops to the
pilgrims. The Vaccination Camp at the Haj House will continue till Wednesday 29th July. (INN)
..........................................................................................................................................
Free KG to PG Education From 2015-16: Kadiyam
Warangal: Deputy chief minister Kadiyam Srihari here on Sunday said that the KG to PG free
education programme would be implemented from the coming academic year (2015-16).
“A series of meetings with the educationalists, teachers, intellectuals and other stakeholders will be
held in order to evolve a policy which will be acceptable to all with regarding to the KG to PG
education programme,” he said and added that he is very much committed to provide quality
education to the poor students who study in the government schools and residential schools in the
state.
Answering several queries at the "Meet the Press" programme organised at Press Club,
Hanamkonda, Kadiyam Srihari, however, had not made any comment on the appointment of the
regular vice-chancellors to several universities in the state.
“Since I have taken charge (as the education minister) recently, I need at least two months to
study," he added.
The deputy CM has also said that they were analysing the news in the print media every day
adding that many news papers are wrongly presenting the issues and developments.
“While an issue makes a banner story for one paper, it may become a inside story for another
paper and it may not be found in some other paper, The values of the press are also falling like
politics,” he alleged.
Rebuttal to MRPS leader Manda Krishna’s allegations:
The Deputy CM has also refuted the allegations made by MRPS leader Manda Krishna against
TRS government and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao about the removal of T Rajaiah from
the cabinet.
“Manda Krishna is an unstable person. He lost the faith of his own colleagues in the Dandora
movement. That is why his organisation MRPS has been tattered,” he said and made it clear that
Krishna can not dictate the terms to chief minister with regard to the appointment of the ministers.
“It is the prerogative of the CM whom to appoint or remove as the ministers. No one can
question this power,” he added.
He also said that KCR had done justice to Madiga community by appointing him as the minister as
he belonged to a sub-caste of Madiga.
“Manda Krishna himself stated that the sub-castes of Madiga were backward than Madiga caste,"
he added.
........................................................................................................................Telangana Government Declares Recruitment of 15000 Posts TSPSC Govt Jobs Posts in
15 Departments for 2015
Good news for Telangana state unemployed state government jobs seeking as the Cheif Minister
KCR has nodded and approved the recruitment of 15000 government jobs in 15 various
government departments of state government.
CM Sri K Chandrashekar Rao signed on the file for first phase of recruitment in Telangana State
through TSPSC, Police Recruitment Board, TRANSCO, GENCO and DISCOMS.
About 15,000 jobs would be filled up in 15 state government departments. An additional 10 years
age relaxation would be provided for applicants in this phase of recruitment.
The state government which has been prolonging the government jobs vacancies since past one
year is now all set to recruit eligible candidates for 15000 government jobs in 15 various
departments. Some of the departments which have the vacancies in their respective departments
and which will be recruiting unemployed eligible candidates during this first recruitment drive are,
Stamps and Revenue Department
Municipal Department
Panchayati Raj Department
Transport Department
Commercial Taxes
Roads and Building
Transco, Genco, DisCom
Electrical Department
GHMC,
Transport Department
Police Department
Telangana government would be recruiting the government jobs in three different levels as,
State level,
Zonal level,
District level,
All the declared 15000 Telangana government jobs would be recruited through the recruitment
boards where the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) would be recruiting all
departments jobs apart from police departments.
Sub-Inspector of Police (SI) and Constable posts and vacancies would be recruited through police
department vacancies.
..........................................................................................................................Congress won’t allow government to take land of farmers easily, says Rahul Gandhi
Hitting out at the NDA government over the contentious Land bill, Congress Vice President Rahul
Gandhi today said he would not let Prime Minister Narendra Modi take farmers’ land easily.
Referring to government’s move to amend the Land bill to give flexibility to states to frame their
own laws in a bid to break the impasse in Parliament, he said the Prime Minister has understood
that he cannot push farmers, after the agrarians showed their strength.
“We have not even showed 10 per cent of the strength of farmers of India. And the Prime Minister
suddenly understood that he cannot push the farmers of this country,” he said.
Addressing a rally here during his foot march, he said, “The unwritten promise, the promise that the
Prime Minister did not tell was that he has told his friends that he would take land away from the
farmers.”
Hitting out at the NDA government over the contentious Land bill, Congress Vice President Rahul
Gandhi today said he would not let Prime Minister Narendra Modi take farmers’ land easily.
Referring to government’s move to amend the Land bill to give flexibility to states to frame their
own laws in a bid to break the impasse in Parliament, he said the Prime Minister has understood
that he cannot push farmers, after the agrarians showed their strength.
“We have not even showed 10 per cent of the strength of farmers of India. And the Prime Minister
suddenly understood that he cannot push the farmers of this country,” he said.
Addressing a rally here during his foot march, he said, “The unwritten promise, the promise that the
Prime Minister did not tell was that he has told his friends that he would take land away from the
farmers.”
............................................................................................................................................KCR tells doctors to vacate crumbling wing of OGH
HYDERABAD: With fears growing about the safety of medical staff and patients in the ageing,
dilapidated Osmania General Hospital inpatient block, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar
Rao on Thursday directed authorities to vacate the building within one week. He said he would
hold a meeting with GHMC officials to discuss alternative accommodation for shifting the hospital
within a week.
The chief minister, who visited the hospital along with top officials, including health minister Dr C
Laxma Reddy and chief secretary Rajiv Sharma, said that despite the best possible efforts to
renovate the building, the lifespan of the structure may be only up to 3-4 years. This was based on
the expert opinion given to the government by a team of architects from JNTU.
"Something may go wrong at any time. Since the hospital building enjoys the heritage tag, I would
personally request the governor and the high court chief justice to visit the OGH to look at its
condition themselves as the safety of patients, doctors and nurses is important," said
Chandrasekhar Rao, adding that the second and third floors of the hospital building are in bad
shape.
He clarified that the hospital would be reconstructed at the same spot. However, the building plan
of the new construction would be finalized only after taking inputs from doctors and the hospital
administration.
It may be recalled that early this month, panic-stricken doctors protested after a large chunk of
false ceiling collapsed in the chamber housing the surgery department head.
The OGH inpatient block, which has a total of 850 beds, houses general medicine, general surgery,
surgical gastroenterology, gastroenterology and neurology departments.
"There is a possibility that the patients may be shifted to other state-run hospitals at Malakpet,
Vanasthalipuram, King Koti, Nampally or Fever hospital till a new hospital building comes up," said
prof B Nagendar, president of Osmania government doctors' association Unit 1.
....................................................................................
KCR Slams Naidu Over Remarks On Hyd
Exhorts litterateurs to give a befitting reply to AP CM through their works
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Wednesday paid floral tributes to noted
Telangana poet and literary icon Dasarathi Krishnamacharyulu on his 91st birth anniversary at
Ravindra Bharathi here. Chandrashekar Rao handed over the Dasarathi Award and cash of Rs 1
lakh to his teacher Tirumala Srinivasacharya on the occasion. He also felicitated Srinivasacharya
with a shawl.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister faulted his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N
Chandrababu Naidu for his remarks in Rajahmundry that Hyderabad people had no culture and
were idle, became active and learnt to wake up early in the morning at the behest of former Chief
Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder the late N T Rama Rao.
Chandrashekar Rao reprimanded Naidu for belittling Hyderabadi culture and community and said
the latter could build his Amaravathi and develop it instead of making fun of Telangana and its
people. “We are fortunate that Hyderabad, a historical city, is our State Capital and Naidu cannot
compare his yet-to-be developed Amaravathi with it,” he said.
He exhorted the gathering of poets, litterateurs, authors and intellectuals to give Naidu a fitting reply
through their works of poetry and books and other literary works. “Better if Naidu minds his own
business, else we will teach him a lesson,” he warned. The government would come with a policy to
promote Telangana literature, poetry, culture and tradition in a big way, he vowed on the occasion.
Assembly Speaker S Madhusudhana Chary, Home Minister Naini Narsimha Reddy, Gnanpeeth
awardee Dr C Narayan Reddy and government Advisor K V Ramana Chary were also present at
the programme organised by the State government.
Naidu terms Dasarathi a Telugu icon
Even as Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is on a mission to protect State literature,
language and parlance, culture and traditions in a big way, and celebrated noted Telugu poet
Dasarathi Krishnamacharya’s 91st birth anniversary for the first time on behalf of the State
government, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu, who is ‘often noted for
creating hurdles’ in the way of State development, on Wednesday raked up another ‘controversy’
of sorts by ‘claiming’ Dasarathi Krishnamacharya as ‘Telugu Jathi Muddu Bidda’ (a loving son of
Telugu community).
According to reports, Naidu termed the late poet as the icon of Telugu literary and poetic world on
the occasion Dasarathi’s birth anniversary. Naidu recalled that Dasarathi’s works like “Naa
Telangana Koti Rathanala Veena” prevailed in our society even today. Naidu further said that with
his poetry Dasarathi took on to the might of Nizam’s anarchy and Razakars’ indulgence of misrule.
....................................................................................................................................S'pore firms eye project to build new capital city
At least two Singaporean township developers are likely to bid for the project to help build a new
capital city for the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
For the third phase, the project covers about 17 sq km in the centre of the new capital Amaravati,
which is being built on the banks of the Krishna River.
Singapore submitted the third and final master plan for the city to the Andhra Pradesh government
yesterday. The master plan was designed by Singapore's Surbana Jurong. It sets out the land use
and infrastructure plans for a 16.9 sq km start-up area within the 7,000 sq km capital region.
The first part was delivered in March while the second was delivered in May. The city centre will
be home to government buildings, including the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of the
Andhra Pradesh government.
It will also include a mix of commercial and residential areas to cater to the employment, housing,
social, cultural and recreational needs of the residents. By 2050, Amaravati is expected to be home
to over 10 million people.
"Singapore is honoured to have been invited by the Andhra Pradesh government to master plan and
develop its new capital Amaravati," said Mr S. Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and
Second Minister for Trade and Industry, in Andhra Pradesh yesterday. He was there to deliver the
plan to the state's Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
Mr Iswaran said the master plans have been completed on schedule and Singapore is keen to help
the city implement and develop them.
"This collaboration has also opened up more business and investment opportunities in Andhra
Pradesh and India for Singapore companies," he added.
With the completion of the development blueprint, the next step is for the Andhra Pradesh
government to select a master developer.
In an interview with the Singapore media last week, Mr Iswaran said Singaporean township
developers Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development have both indicated interest in
bidding for the project.
Mr Iswaran said either of these firms stand a good chance of clinching the project as they have
good track records in township development projects in countries such as China and Vietnam, and
both are familiar with India.
Sembcorp Development chief executive Kelvin Teo said: "For over 20 years, we have been at the
forefront of many government-supported projects. We have conceptualised 13 large-scale
integrated urban developments covering 11,000ha of land across Asia, and invested in more than
3,300MW of thermal and renewable power assets across seven Indian states, including Andhra
Pradesh."
Ascendas-Singbridge deputy chief executive Manohar Khiatani, who is also president and chief
executive of Ascendas, said India has always been a key market for Ascendas-Singbridge. Andhra
Pradesh is an exciting chance for the firm to deepen its presence in India, he added.
"We will study the master plan... when it is available, to identify areas where we could potentially
participate in and contribute our expertise in urban development."
Singapore's involvement in the Amaravati's development will help create business opportunities for
local firms in areas such as manufacturing and logistics, said Mr Iswaran.
The project also has significance for bilateral ties as it is an example of how Singapore can help
India build sustainable, smart cities, he added.
Mr Iswaran said either of these firms stand a good chance of clinching the project as they have
good track records in township development projects in countries such as China and Vietnam, and
both are familiar with India.
Sembcorp Development chief executive Kelvin Teo said: ''For over 20 years, we have been at the
forefront ofmanygovernment-supported projects.We have conceptualised 13 large-scale integrated
urban developments covering 11,000ha of land across Asia, and invested in more than 3,300MW
of thermal and renewable power assets across seven Indian states, including AndhraPradesh.''
Ascendas-Singbridge deputy chief executive Manohar Khiatani, who is also presidentandchief
executive of Ascendas, said India has always been a key market for Ascendas- Singbridge.
AndhraPradesh is an exciting chance for the firm to deepenits presence in India,he added.
''We will study the master plan... when it is available, to identify areas where we could potentially
participate in and contribute our expertise in urban development.''
Singapore's involvement in the Amaravati's development will help create business opportunities for
local firms in areas such as manufacturing and logistics, said Mr Iswaran.
The project also has significance for bilateral ties as it is an example of how Singapore can help
India build sustainable, smartcities, he added.
.................................................................................................................................Singapore presents master plan to Naidu
The government of Singapore on Monday presented the Seed Capital Area (SCA) Master Plan for
Andhra Pradesh capital Amaravathi to Chief Minster N Chandrababu Naidu in Rajahmundry. The
Seed Capital Area Master Plan is the final of the three-stage Master Plan submitted by the
government of Singapore. The SCA Master Plan is for an area of 16.9 sq-kms and would be
developed in 5 phases. The Seed Development Master Plan sets out in detail the land use and
infrastructure plans for the start-up area of Amaravati. The Seed Development will rise on the south
bank of the Krishna River as the heart of Andhra Pradesh’s new capital city. Its civic district will
house the institutions and buildings of the government of Andhra Pradesh, including the Legislature,
the Executive and the Judiciary.
“Amaravati is envisaged to be developed as smart, green and sustainable city. In the line of being
developed as the People’s Capital of Andhra Pradesh, our aspiration is to create a vibrant, diverse,
inclusive and modern city which will be a symbol of pride for the people of Andhra Pradesh and
India,’’ CM Naidu said. “My heartfelt thanks to the Government of Singapore for their dedication
and fast pace of work. October 22, 2015 has been decided as the day of laying foundation stone
for Amaravati. We need to begin ground work from that day. Amaravati is a project which is being
watched by people across India,” Naidu said.
The six key factors taken into consideration for this Master Plan are “providing jobs and homes,
world-class infrastructure, quality living, protecting identity and heritage and resource management
and environment.” S Iswaran, Second Minister for Trade and Industry, said, “This is where the
beginnings of a great city will be established and Singapore is honored to play a small part through
the master plans for Amaravati. However, our partnership with Andhra Pradesh will begin from this
point by assisting them in the development of capital city.We will continue to collaborate on
development of Amaravati.”
The key highlights of the Seed Capital Area (SCA) Master Plan of the Capital City which will
catalyse the development of Amaravati: 1. The Seed Capital Area is planned for about 3 lakh
residents. Being developed as a vibrant business hub, a total of about 7 lakh jobs are expected to
be created in various sectors including government jobs. 2. The Seed Capital Area aspiration is to
create a thriving state of the art Central Business District (CBD) for business and living. 3. The
Seed Capital Area master plan provides nodes and development corridors from transit oriented
development approach.
...............................................................................................................................
Eid-ul-Fitr celebrated in AP, Telangana
Hyderabad: Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan, was
celebrated yesterday with traditional fervour and gaiety across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Members of Muslim community gathered at mosques across the two states to offer prayers. In
Hyderabad, the biggest congregation was seen at Idgah Mir Alam in Old City.
......................................................................................................................................................
Punjab Industries Minister praised Telangana's new Industrial policy.
Hyderabad, July 16 (INN): Telangana Industries Minister Jupally Krishna Rao met his Punjab
counterpart Madan Mohan Mittal here on Thursday.
The Punjab Minister, accompanied by S.R Ladhar, Secretary-cum-Director of Industries &
Commerce, K.S. Brar, Jt. Director, (Commerce) Dept of Industries & Commerce and others met
Jupally praised Telangana's new Industrial policy.
The Team from Punjab is in Hyderabad to study the Industrial policy, they will visit the Software/IT
Park and also NIFT,.
The Salient features of Industrial Policy of the state, IT & ITES Strategy and Policy of the State,
Mining Policy, experience of Implementation of these policies have been discussed. The Punjab
Minister also said that at TIPP the Telangana policy was very much applauded.
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Sanitation workers stir enters tenth day
Hyderabad, July 15 (UNI) : There will be no respite from stink from the garbage piles for citizens in
the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and also across Telangana as the Municipal
sanitary workers' indefinite strike entered tenth day today in the state demanding salary hike and
better facilities among other things.
Even as the state government given deadline for joining duties last evening, the representatives of
municipal workers' unions spearheading the agitation decided to continue with their strike
demanding their 16-point charter demands.
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Tragedy strikes Godavari Pushkaram in Andhra Pradesh, 27 dead in stampede
Rajahmundry: Twenty seven pilgrims, 23 of them women, died in a stampede on Tuesday on the
banks of the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh on the first day of a major religious festival
Godavari Pushkaram.
Pilgrims surged towards one of the gates that allows access to the river banks and a group of
women slipped causing the stampede, said officials.
The incident took place between 7.30 am and 8 am on the opening day of the 12-day event after
gates were opened for people to take holy dip in the Godavari river.
"We have received crowd of more than the capacity of the ghat here which is about 15,000
whereas we today had about 50,000 outside the Ghat. There was pushing and pulling between the
crowd coming out of the Ghat and those entering," East Godavari Collector Arun Kumar said.
The stampede happened soon after Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his family members
left the place after taking holy dip in the river.
Out of several Pushkar Ghats in the East Godavari district, people in particular had thronged in tens
of thousands to this place, apparently taken in by publicity blitzkrieg that it is the "most holiest"
among them, officials said.
They said that Rajahmundry town was highlighted in all advertisements on Pushkaram, while other
areas where the river flows were reportedly not given "due importance" leading to people
converging here, largely giving a go-bye to other ghats.
Officials also said the government setting a Muhurtham (auspicious time) at 6.26 am today for the
commencement of Pushkaram prompted people to reach the spot at this hour to take a dip.
Andhra Pradesh DGP, J V Ramudu, said 27 people, including 23 women, lost their lives in the
incident which officials said also left 25-30 people injured.
According to officials, the women were in the age group of 50-60. Most of the victims had been
waiting since early hours.
"Some of them were also tired as they had travelled long distances to reach here and there is also a
possibility they might have died due to suffocation," Rajahmundry Sub-Collector Vijay Ramaraju
said.
"There was a sudden rush on this particular ghat, despite several ghats being earmarked for the
convenience of the devotees within the vicinity. It may be that they had a feeling that this particular
ghat (Pushkar ghat where the incident happened) is the holy one," DGP Ramudu told PTI adding,
there was a lot of jostling and pushing among the large crowd.
A devotee, who is yet to recover from the shock of
the death of his wife and mother in the tragedy, said police personnel had not been deployed in
sufficient numbers to control the crowd.
He said most areas of the ghat where the stampede took place were closed for about two hours to
facilitate VIPs including the Chief Minister to take a dip in the river.
Lamenting the death of her mother Vijayalakshmi, a woman from Visakhapatnam said there was a
mad rush and even before they realised what was happening, "we were overpowered by the
surging crowd".
Many pilgrims also complained that gates were not opened to enter the ghat which led to the
stampede and that drinking water was not available for those who were in the queues.
The Chief Minister termed the incident as "very unfortunate and shocking".
"I have come here many times and tried to ensure that the event is held smoothly. But some
problems cropped up in execution", Naidu said, adding, an enquiry would be conducted.
Condoling the deaths, he announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh per family of the deceased.
Governor E S L Narasimhan, who spoke to Naidu, too conveyed his condolences to the bereaved
families and appealed to the pilgrims to maintain peace and tranquility and ensure that the holy dip is
taken in an orderly manner.
Slamming the AP government, former Union Minister Chiranjeevi said Naidu claimed to have made
grand arrangements, but it all came to nought.
Godavari 'Pushkaram' is observed once in 12 years, but this time it is considered auspicious from
astronomical point of view as it is Maha Pushkaralu which comes once in 144 years.
The 'Pushkaram' is a similar to the 'Kumbh Mela' performed alongside rivers elsewhere in the
country and taking holy dip is the main ritual of the festival.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Congress
president N Raghuveera Reddy, his party colleague and MP Chiranjeevi, Telangana Chief Minister
K Chandrasekhar Rao and a number of other leaders condoled the deaths in the stampede.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi today offered
condolences to those who died in a stampede.
"I was shocked to know the tragic incident that has taken place. It's unfortunate. I offer my heartfelt
condolences. I hope the people who are injured will recover fast," he told reporters.
He said he had spoken to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu who assured him
that all necessary precautions are being taken and the festival will go on.
Naidu appealed to the people visiting the festival to not to rush as having pious bath any day was
the same. He urged people to wait, follow certain regulations and cooperate with local
administration.
He said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has told him that a judicial inquiry has been ordered into
the incident.
Naidu said sitting so far and leveling allegations was not correct and said that a judicial inquiry has
already been ordered and one should wait till it gets completed.
He was asked to comment on allegations that the concentration of administrative and police officials
on the Chief Minister's visit led to decrease in staff for crowd control.
"Leveling allegations and doing politics in everything is not right. Making every issue political and
controversial while this pious programme is going is not in the interest of anybody. As far as we are
concerned, we do not want to join any sort of criticism or counter criticism," he said.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also spoken to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister.
The district administration late this evening released a list of the names of 25 out of the 27
deceased. Two bodies were yet to be identified.
The deceased include one each from Bangalore and Bihar. The others were from East Godavari,
Srikakulam, West Godavari, Vizinagaram and Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh.
The names of the deceased: C Rangaswamy (age 55, Bangalore), P Meenakshi, (65, Bihar), K
Janakamma (55, Nellore), D Krishnamma (52, East Godavari), M Anantha Lakshmi (30, East
Godavari),? M Satyavathi (55, East Godavari), S Ammayamma (75, Srikakulam), P Lakshmi (42,
Srikakulam), P Thirupathiamma (Srikakulam), P Ramakrishna (65, Srikakulam), P Pentaiah Naidu
(60, Srikakulam),? P Nagalakshmi (42, Srikakulam), P Venkatappa Naidu (Srikakulam), O
Appalanarasamma (50, Srikakulam), B Prasthana Kumar (12, Srikakulam), P Amaravathi (45,
Srikakulam),?K Kalavathi (62, Srikakulam), L peramma (55, Srikakulam), A Peditalli (55,
Vizinagaram),? A Narayanamma (60, Vizianagaram),? G Mangayamma (60, Visakhapatnam), P
Vijaya Lakshmi (62, Visakhapatnam), K Mahalakshmi (60, Visakhapatnam),? B Lakshmi (West
Godavari) and?M Lakshmanarao (70, West Godavari).
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FM dismisses reports on phone tapping equipment
The Andhra Pradesh government has dismissed as false and baseless the reports that it is
negotiating the purchase of phone tapping equipment with vendors in the US.
Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said it was ‘false propaganda’ by some news channels
which aired the news about WikiLeaks expose relating to the alleged deals of the AP government
with a Singapore based Hacking Team to purchase phone tapping equipment.
In a statement on Saturday, Mr. Ramakrishnudu said some individuals owning television channels
were bent on maligning Andhra Pradesh government and thus resorting to such conspiracies. The
AP government had no connection whatsoever with such news stories or emails.
Though the WikiLeaks itself stated that it could not vouch for the authenticity of the emails between
some agencies, these channels deliberately ignored the caution held out by the WikiLeaks and
telecast the reports with a vested agenda.
‘Vilification campaign’
“It is not proper for the TV channels to resort to such vilification campaign. It is deplorable that
some political parties had set up newspapers and TV channels with the sole objective of defaming
their opponents. Such tactics are bound to boomerang on such individuals and people would teach
a fitting lesson to those behind the conspiratorial politics,” Mr. Ramakrishnudu said. Government
sources said the purported internal email exchanges between the Italian cyber-surveillance firm
Hacking Team and top Indian security agencies released by WikiLeaks on Thursday revealed that
the Italian firm reached out to the government allegedly via third party vendors.
The customers being addressed by the third party vendors include the Cabinet Secretariat and
intelligence units in various States and police in various cities. But nowhere Andhra Pradesh
government was specifically referred to in those email exchanges and it was ridiculous for these
channels to link those exchanges to AP government citing the developments like cash-for-vote
episode and phone tapping issue as a pretext.
Senior police officials suspected the involvement of vested interests in the entire episode. How
could the government think about procuring phone tapping equipment when it itself was fighting
against such practices.
They see this as an exercise to divert the attention from the main issue, the strong case put up by
the government relating to tapping of phones of key functionaries in the Government including Chief
Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu himself. “How can we think about such measures at a time when
we ourselves are putting up a strong case against the incident in which phones of important
functionaries are tapped,” a senior official said on the condition of anonymity.
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Tremors at Utnoor in Telangana
The tribal area headquarter town of Utnoor experienced minor tremors on Saturday spreading fear
among residents. "The tremors were felt for only two seconds at 10.40 a.m. but everyone ran out
of their houses," said Bandari Poshanna of old Utnoor locality.
Tremors were felt at Lakkaram, Santoshnagar and Sevadasnagar though no loss of any kind was
reported.
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TPCC to Host Iftar Party on July 11
HYDERABAD: The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) will be hosting Iftar for
Muslims on July 11, a day before the government’s official iftar, at a private function hall in
Nampally.
TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy told reporters here on Wednesday that the Iftar at Red Rose
function hall at Public Gardens, will be attended by AICC secretary Digvijaya Singh. The TPCC
organising the Iftar is seen as an effort to woo Muslims into their fold before the GHMC elections.
Meanwhile, speaking at a meeting organised at the party headquarters on the occasion of minority
leader Faqruddin taking charge as the party’s minority cell president, Uttam Kumar Reddy lashed
out at the TRS for failing to fulfill its poll promise of 12 per cent reservations to Muslims.
‘’Before the elections, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced to provide 12 per cent
reservations to Muslims within four months of coming to power. It has been 14 months since KCR
came to power, but no effort has been put to provide reservations to Muslims,’’ the TPCC chief
alleged.
TPCC working president Mallu Bhatti Vikaramarka said the TRS will sail along with BJP after the
GHMC elections.
Earlier, in the day, the senior leaders of Congress met at the Gandhi Bhavan to discuss various
steps for strenghtening the party. Rajya Sabha MP V Hanumantha Rao reportedly suggested that
the party take up various protests against the failures of the government.
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ACB grills TDP lawmaker in cash-for-vote scam
Hyderabad, July 9 : The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana on Thursday grilled Telugu
Desam Party (TDP) legislator Sandra Venkata Veeraiah in the cash-for-vote case.
The ACB officials questioned the lawmaker at ACB headquarters in Banjara Hills here to elicit
more information about the role he played in the scam.
The investigating agency believes Veeraiah played a key role in t rying to bribe the nominated
member of the state assembly. It had already informed the court that the TDP leader spoke to one
of the accused in the case 32 times over mobile phone. The officials were trying to identify
'Janardhan', the name repeatedly taken by him during the conversation.
A city court on Wednesday sent Veeraiah to the ACB's custody for two days. The ACB took him
into custody from Cherlapally Jail on Thursday morning. The questioning will continue till 5.30 p.m.
and will resume on Friday at 9 a.m.
Meanwhile, the court adjourned to July 12 the hearing on the MLA's bail petition.
The ACB arrested the lawmaker on Monday after questioning him for seven hours. He was
included as the fifth accused in the case. It conveyed to the court that there is a strong evidence of
his involvement.
The court on Tuesday sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.
Veeraiah, who represents the Sattupalli assembly constituency in Khammam district of Telangana,
is the second TDP legislator to be arrested in the case.
TDP legislator Revanth Reddy was arrested by the ACB on May 31 while he was offering Rs.50
lakh as a bribe to nominated member Elvis Stephenson reportedly to induce him to vote for the
TDP-BJP candidate in the state council polls.
The ACB, which laid a trap on a complaint by Stephenson, also arrested two aides of Revanth
Reddy.All the three were granted bail by the Hyderabad High Court last week.
Studying post-mortem tissue from brains of psychiatric patients,
Monsheel Sodhi from University of Illinois at Chicago, noted that female
patients with depression had abnormally high expression levels of many
genes that regulate the glutamate system, which is widely distributed in
the brain.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who made a statement on Gurdaspur attack
in Lok Sabha a day after his speech on the issue was disrupted in Rajya
Sabha, attacked the opposition for making it appear that Parliament is
divided on terrorism.
Consequently, shortage of rice varieties such as Surekha andJaya has been reported from the market.