Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad, May 24: Information Technology minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah said that the state government would soon move to 4G spectrum technology in Hyderabad.

Speaking at a seminar here on Sunday on ‘New Telecom Policy and Better Rural Life with Information Communication Technology (ICT)’ on the occasion of World Telecom and Information Day, conducted by Bharath Sanchar Nigam Limited, he said the state would bring pressure on the Centre to launch 4G technology in city.

Hyderabad, May 24: Home minister Sabita Indra Reddy on Monday expressed hope that the written examinations meant for recruitment of SIs in the state would be held soon with chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy representing the need for deletion of clause 14 F from the presidential order.

Hyderabad, May 24: The in-fighting among the Telangana TDP leaders showed no signs of abating with MLAs Nagam Janardhan Reddy, K Harishwar Reddy and Jogi Ramana on Monday staying away from the meeting of the Telangana Forum which dubbed Nagam as an agent of Jaganmohan Reddy and sought action against him.

Hyderabad, May 20: Rajya Sabha MP V Hanumantha Rao will tour north coastal Andhra from May 30 to June 3 to counter the challenge posed to the Congress by Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

“I will tell farmers that Jagan has no right to talk about their plight since he himself has usurped farmland,” Hanumantha Rao told mediapersons at his residence on Thursday.

The MP will begin his tour in Srikakulam where several farmers have died resisting the loss of their land to thermal power projects.

Hyderabad, May 20: Despite the orders of the Supreme Court that reservation for weaker sections should not exceed 50 per cent, the state government has decided against reduction in BC reservations in the ensuing local bodies elections.

At a press conference held at the Secretariat here on Thursday, Transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana along with BC Welfare minister Basava Saraiah said the state government will stick to the existing reservation quota, which is more than 55 percent, in the local bodies elections.

Hyderabad, May 20: Two ministers in the Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet and both hailing from Mahaboobnagar district are fighting with each other over the Telangana issue.

Jupalli Krishna Rao, who resigned as endowments minister (his resignation is yet to be accepted), has been on a padayatra _ Telangana Praja Abhiyan _ in Mahaboobnagar district since April 28 demanding statehood for Telangana. He represents Kollapur in the state Assembly.

Hyderabad, May 20: The board of inquiry constituted to go into the circumstances that led to the collapse of a gate in the dry dock of the Naval Dockyard at Visakhapatnam, which killed four naval personnel including commander Ashwani Kumar, is likely to probe how they had died and if any one was to blame for the disaster.

Hyderabad, May 20: Congress leader Palvai Govardhan Reddy on Thursday questioned the continuance of minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy in the state cabinet while being a supporter of Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.

Speaking to reporters on the Assembly premises, Goverdhan Reddy said Venkat Reddy and his brothers K Rajagopal Reddy are known in Congress circles as ‘coverts’ of Jagan’s YSR Congress party in the state cabinet.

“The minister has himself admitted he is a strong supporter of Jagan. In this situation how can he continue in the cabinet,’’ he questioned.

Nellore, May 20: Eight persons died and 12 others were injured in a mishap near Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

All the victims were from Gudur in Nellore district. According to information reaching here, 20 people belonging to two families of Gudur town in the district went to Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh for participating in Ganga pushkarams.

After completing their trip to Allahabad, they booked two vans to visit Ayodhya.

While returning from Ayodhya, their vehicles were hit by a speeding tanker.

Hyderabad, May 20: Telangana Telugu Desam Forum convener E Dayakar Rao on Thursday said that the party should not discuss Telangana issue during Mahanadu scheduled to be held in the last week of May in the city.

Speaking to reporters at the TDLP office here, he said the TDP is still committed to its earlier stand which was mentioned in letter submitted to the Pranab Mukherjee committee.

“There is no need for the party to discuss Telangana at Mahanadu,’’ Dayakar Rao clarified.

Hyderabad, May 20: As per the instructions of chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, chief secretary S V Prasad on Thursday reviewed rabi procurement activities in the state with district collectors and special officers appointed for the purpose.

The officials informed the chief secretary that so far 30 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been purchased from the farmers by the Food Corporation of India, the Civil Supplies Corporation, and Indira Kranthi Patham women groups and rice millers.

Hyderabad, May 20: Congress MP V Hanumantha Rao said Thursday that the state Congress needs surgery to become a formidable force in the 2014 election, which can only happen if a ‘fighter’ is made the PCC chief.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, the senior leader said, “Since the party is facing a threat from Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, it is time the party geared up for the next elections.”

Hyderabad, May 20: A tiff between a couple led to the death of their 16-month-old daughter at Devarakadra in Mahabubnagar district on Thursday.

The girl, who was in her mother’s arms, fell on the gravel leading to her death when the couple had a tiff over a petty issue, the police said.

According to police, the couple, Chennaiah and Padmamma, hail from Potanapally in Mahabubnagar mandal. They have two daughters, a seven-year-old girl and a 16- month-old girl, Nandini. On Thursday afternoon, the couple left to Devarakadra village to visit Chennaiah’s sister.

Hyderabad, May 20: A revamp of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) administration is on the cards. Official sources on Thursday indicated that the government may appoint a new executive officer and revive the TTD Trust Board.

IYR Krishna Rao, the present TTD EO, is likely to be replaced with another IAS officer LV Subramaniam.

Orders to this effect are likely to be issued after Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy returns from a visit to Delhi later this week.

Hyderabad, May 20: Creating a flutter among the police, a poster purportedly issued by a Left-wing naxalite group, was found near Manchal on the outskirts of the city.

The poster appealed the people to participate in the nationwide bandh call given by Maoists on May 21 and 22 protesting against the arrest of its leaders in Bihar, sources said.

Senior police officials, however, dismissed the issue as a ‘mischievous act’.

According to police, the poster was found near a private clinic at Dathpally village in Manchal mandal of the neighbouring Ranga Reddy district.

Hyderabad, May 20: Meticulous maintenance of coaches and tracks is indispensable for a safe and comfortable journey by train.

Modern engineering, prompt and expert operational maintenance, and a dedicated and skilled workforce are the factors contributing chiefly to the fulfillment of this objective.

This became amply clear to a team of journalists which visited railway coach maintenance depot in Secunderabad at the invitation of South Central Railway officials.

Hyderabad, May 20: For Kapil Dev ‘success’ equals ‘passion’. He described himself as a passionate man, someone who is passionate about everything in life. ‘‘When I played cricket I was 200 percent passionate about playing the game. I perhaps didn’t know the Prime Minister’s name then, as I was so much engrossed in my game,’’ he said.

The former cricket captain, who won for India its first world cup in 1983, called for a positive attitude in everything one does.

Hyderabad, May 20: The Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) on Thursday issued orders to exempt mortgage of a portion of the construction plot of individual residential buildings to the municipality.

Amendments were made to the AP Revised Common Building Rules and accordingly, individual residential buildings (6 mts high and of 300 sq.mts area in case of municipalities and an area of 200 sq.mts in case of municipal corporations and urban development authorities), are exempted from handing over 10 percent of the construction area to the government.

Hyderabad, May 20: The documentary film-making workshop covers all stages of producing either a documentary film from the idea through development. Students produce their own projects on either film or videotape.

“Nowadays, lives are being strongly influenced by media in all forms and with the recent spread of using cameras extensively by all age groups, there is a great potential to use this rapidly growing trend to produce documentaries which will impact the society.”

Hyderabad, May 20: Around 1028 applicants from the state have so far been given permission for the Amarnath Yatra, according to the records at the Jammu & Kashmir Bank at Abids.

This year’s pilgrimage to the cave shrine in southern Kashmir, begins on June 29 and ends on August 13.

The branches of Jammu & Kashmir Bank at Abids and Pathergatti are the two centres where pilgrims have to register before June 23.

M Malik, assistant manager, J&K Bank, Abids, said applicants have to come with original documents for identity and address proof and four passport-size photos.

New Delhi, May 20: Andhra Pradesh and Odisha continue to lag behind over the issue of complying with the directives of the Environment Ministry on coastal zone management.

The meeting of National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) on Thursday reviewed the compliance status of its decisions by the State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) and action taken on the violations.

Hyderabad, May 20: Fresh from a humiliating by-election defeat at the hands of former party MP Jagan Mohan Reddy, Congress is now facing another challenge in Andhra Pradesh as party MPs and MLAs are threatening to openly lend support to the demand for a Telangana state.

Congress caught the first glimpse of the trouble ahead as MPs from Telangana joined representatives of Telangana Rashtra Samiti and TDP in supporting a day-long dharna called by the Telangana Journalists Forum at Jantar Mantar on Thursday.

Karimnagar, May 20: Karimnagar district is soon to get an India Reserve Battalion (IRB) Centre, where Reserve Police will be stationed to tackle law and order situations.

Additional Director General of Police S K Jaya Chandra, who told this to reporters, also said that the foundation stone for the centre would be laid in June 2011.

Jaya Chandra said, “Once the IRB centre is set up, about 1,000 Reserve Police will be stationed there, who could be deployed in law and order situations.”

He said that the centre would provide employment opportunities for the local youth.

Hyderabad, May 19: Is there no place for film stars in Jagan’s party? Is it the reason that Jagan was unable to digest their popularity?

While Dr. Rajasekhar and Jeevita bid bye to Jagan and left his party recently, actress Roja who has been a strong vocal supporter of Jagan also appears to be leaving him. As Roja was not seen at the 48-hour ‘Rythu Diksha’ of Jagan at Guntur, the reports of her having left the party got credence.

Hyderabad, May 19: Seeking to clear the air about his brother’s health, Satyanarayana Rao Gaikwad, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s elder brother who stays in Bengaluru, said that the superstar’s current bout of infections — in the lung and the liver — were largely due to the actor reducing his intake of alcohol in the recent past.

The actor did not have pneumonia, nor did he suffer significant kidney damage to undergo dialysis, he added.

Sathyanarayana, a retired government employee, is said to be very close to Rajinikanth.