Hyderabad, March 21: The present pattern of IIT entrance examination is flawed and needs a change, eminent educationist and MLC Chukka Ramaiah has said.
Speaking at the launch of ‘Concept Maps’, which is developed by Butterfly Edufields exclusively for IIT and AIEEE aspirants, the ace IIT coaching expert did not hide his displeasure at the present pattern of entrance examinations conducted by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
Hyderabad, March 21: Thinking of quenching your summer thirst with some ice cold beer? Better brace yourself for some disappointment as a number of wine shops and bars in the city are gracing their doorsteps with ‘no stock’ signs.
The reason? Dealers, who supply beverage brands to them are unable to provide them with enough stock.
With wine shops mushrooming in every nook and corner of the twin cities including the suburbs, there is a huge gap between the demand and supply of liquor, leading to a shortage of beer, say shop owners.
Hyderabad, March 21: The deadlock in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly over the demand of constitution of a Joint Legislature Committee to probe land allotments continued for the fourth day today, as both government and the opposition remained unrelenting.
Proceedings were adjourned twice this morning as the Telugu Desam Party stuck to the demand that JLC be set up to probe land allotments in the last six years, and government maintained that there was no provision for constitution of a JLC as per the rules.
Hyderabad, March 21: Welcoming chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s announcement that he would review the land allotment policy, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member K Keshava Rao yesterday remarked that there was likelihood of handing over the entire state to private companies in the name of SEZs (Special Economic Zones) if the existing policy was not reviewed.
Hyderabad, March 21: Launching a vitriolic attack on the CPM yesterday, Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhara Rao wondered why the Left party had failed to elect a Telanganite as its state secretary at least once in its long history.
The TRS chief, in a ‘kind’ gesture that would humiliate the Left party, offered to compensate the monthly salary for four CPM whole-timers who joined the TRS along with scores of other CPM workers from Ranga Reddy district.
Vijayawada, March 21: The police on Sunday busted a drug racket by arresting five members of a gang.
Addressing newspersons here yesterday, DCP M Ravindranath Babu said a Task Force team arrested the five ,including an RMP of Mangalagiri, after conducting raids at various places. About 13,000 Pentwyn and Verpin vials were seized in the raids.
Following a tip off, the Task Force conducted raids in Arundelpet and Sanjeevaiah Colony and arrested drug seller M Nageswara Rao. Based on information given by Rao, raids were conducted at four places.
Guntur, March 21: Eleven people including two women and a baby died in a major road mishap on NH-5 at Yanamadala village near Pattipadu in Guntur district yesterday.
According to information reaching here a lorry going towards Chilakaluripet from Guntur crashed into an APSRTC bus coming from the opposite direction. The lorry driver lost control of the vehicle after its front tyre was burst.
Hyderabad, March 21: CPM state secretary BV Raghavulu is continuing his hunger strike at Gandhi hospital, even after his fast was disrupted by the police on Saturday night.
He refused to call off his fast till the demands he placed before the government were resolved.
Meanwhile, CPI state secretary K Narayana called on fasting Raghavulu at the hospital and extended his support to him.
Hyderabad, March 21: Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s own district is no exception as far as Jagan effect on the Congress party is concerned. A tough contest is in the offing with a strong anti-CM sentiment among the ruling party MLAs.
The Congress has 568 voters while the TDP has 326. The Congress has fielded M Naresh Kumar Reddy, the former municipal chairman of Madanapalle.
Prodattur, March 21: “Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and five of his cabinet colleagues are trying all means to suppress me politically,’’ YSR Congress Party founder-president YS Jaganmohan Reddy has alleged.
Hyderabad, March 21: Highlighting the key role the government has to play in championing environmental issues, environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh felt that the rapid urbanisation coupled with mass migrations from rural areas are throwing up new challenges for the safety of the environment.
He supported the creation of green buildings as an effective means to contribute to the green cover in urban areas. He was speaking at a special plenary of the Green Landscape Summit organised by the Confederation of the Indian Industry held here today.
Hyderabad, March 21: The Congress, TDP and an independent candidate supported by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s group are locked in a keen contest here. If not for Jagan, it would have been a cake walk for the Congress here. The poll scene here is as yet hazy and speculation is rife on who the Congress voters would vote for and whether the TDP voters would resort to cross-voting. The Congress has 416 votes (ZPTCs – 24, MPTCs – 384), but it is a divided house with more than half of the voters defecting to Jagan’s side.
Hyderabad, March 21: Amidst rising fears among public over the safety of nuclear power plants in the country, contrasting versions emerged from two government functionaries who spoke on the issue yesterday.
Kadapa (AP), March 21: A fire broke out in the Rayalaseema Thermal Power Project (RTPP) in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh today but there was no casualty, officials said.
The blaze, which started in the fifth unit of RTPP near Muddanur in the noon, damaged the cable network and it was shut down immediately, they said adding no causalities were reported.
The firefighters took about two hours to control the flames, the officials said.
Hyderabad, March 21: CPI(M)’s demand for a debate on welfare of Dalits and tribals and TDP’s plea for appointment of a Joint Legislative Committee to go into alleged irregularities in land allotments led to the adjournment of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council today.
Alleging that irregularities took place in land allotments during the last several years, Leader of Opposition Dadi Veerabhadra Rao demanded that a Joint Legislative Committee be constituted to go into the issue.
Guntur, March 20: Eleven people, including three women, were killed and 30 others injured when the bus they were travelling in collided with a truck at Yanamadala village on NH-5 here this evening, police said.
The incident occurred when the truck driver lost control over the vehicle after one of its tyres burst, resulting in a collision with the state-owned bus, killing eight persons on the spot, they said.
The injured were admitted to various hospitals in the district where three of them succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment, they said.
Hyderabad, March 20: A keen contest is awaited as candidates of the ruling Congress, TDP and supporters of Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy battle it out in the elections to nine Local Authorities’ Constituencies (LAC) of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council tomorrow.
The nine seats are: Anantapur, Kadapa, Nellore, West Godavari (2), East Godavari, Srikakulam, Chittoor and Kurnool.
The Anantapur LAC is witnessing a direct contest between Patil Venugopal Reddy of Congress and M Govinda Reddy of TDP.
Visakhapatnam, March 20: A toll-free number has been provided to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Visakhapatnam branch, and public can call the Central Bureau of Investigation here on 1800 425 00100 from anywhere in India, Deputy Inspector General of Police and Head of Branch G. Nageswara Rao, said in a press release here on Saturday.
Public can use the toll-free number in addition to landline telephone numbers of the CBI here — 0891 2783322, 2783333 and 2783344 — and they can also email to hobacvskp@cbi.gov.in, Mr. Nageswara Rao added.
–Agencies
Hyderabad, March 19: A day after browbeating bete noire YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the MLC elections, a confident Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday concluded that MLAs loyal to the former MP had “cheated” the Congress and said it was now clear who were his “friends” and “foes.” Hinting at “controlled aggression,” he ruled out “offthe- cuff ” remarks against Jagan and pointed out that the defiant legislators’ actions (read cross-voting) couldn’t possibly invite disqualification.
Hyderabad, March 19: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka secretary Dusi Ramakrishna has said some political parties are trying to gain political mileage by linking the organisation with ‘Hindu terror outfits’ in the country. The malicious campaign against the RSS is meant to woo minorities in the country, he said.
Hyderabad, March 19: Banswada MLA Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy will submit his resignation both to the membership of TDP and as an MLA on March 23.
He will join TRS on the same day at a function in Banswada in the presence of TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao. Announcing this to media persons in Assembly premises, Srinivasa Reddy said he was quitting the TDP as the party chief N Chandrababu Naidu lacked clarity on Telangana issue. He voted for TRS candidate in the MLC elections yesterday. Reddy differed with Naidu and had been
Hyderabad, March 19: TDP’s K Pratibha Bharati was a victim of ‘political compulsions’ in the MLC elections. Had Naidu allotted one vote more to Bharati, she would have been elected to the Council.
Initially, Naidu had thought of allotting 24 votes each to the two TDP candidates and 23 votes to the CPI candidate and 22 votes to Pratibha Bharati. But he couldn’t do so under pressure from both Telangana MLAs and CPI leaders. However, the party still feels that their strategy to allot 21 votes to Pratibha Bharati was right.
Vijayawada, March 19: Krishna Drugs Control Administration has seized Amlodac 5 and Amlodac AT tablets here yesterday suspecting them spurious, said its assistant director and district licensing authority S Vijay Kumar.
Based on the information received on March 12, drugs inspectors conducted a raid on Sai Krishna Medical distributors here and seized the lots. The medicines were sent for analysis, he said Express on a telephonic conversation.
Hyderabad, march 19: The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, which recently suspended some of its party members for alleged anti-party activities in the elections for MLC seats from local bodies, yesterday took action against 13 party leaders, including former minister, ex-MPs and ex-MLAs, of East Godavari district based on a report submitted by the DCC president.
Hyderabad, March 19: The alleged cross-voting by the TRS legislators leading to the defeat of the party nominee had a section of Telangana students up in arms. They suspect that the party chief is behind the defeat of the nominee as they believe that he allowed himself to be purchased by members of the Congress.
The Telangana Students Joint Action Committee (Independent) yesterday alleged that TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao was hand in glove with the Congress and had been diluting the movement for his political gains.