Andhra Pradesh

Koyyalagudem, February 17: The tobacco growers from the northern light soil (NLS) area on Wednesday pleaded with M. Venkaiah Naidu, BJP vice-president and member of the Indian Tobacco Board, to take up the issue of increasing taxes on non-filtered cigarettes with the government during his visit here. The increasing taxes resulted in closure of the non-filtered cigarette manufacturing units and a glut in the ‘low-profile’ tobacco market, they said. Mr.

Hyderabad, February 17: Wildscreen aims to encourage excellence in producing films about the natural world, so as to increase public awareness and understanding of nature and the need to conserve it.

Founded by Sir Peter Scott in 1982, the festival has been organised every alternate year in Bristol for the past 28 years. The Wildscreen Festival came to India in 2007.

The five-day festival includes ‘masterclasses’, workshops for the young and budding filmmakers and students apart from screening of award-winning films on climate change and wildlife.

Hyderabad, February 17: Christened as ‘TSR Film Awards-2010’, T Subbarami Reddy, member of parliament, formed the TSR Film Awards committee consisting of Rama Devi, former governor of Karnataka, Subhashini Reddy, former high court chief justice, D Rama Naidu, Dada Saheb Phalke awardee, R V Ramana Murthy, chairman, AP State Cultural Council and Ravi Prakash, CEO, TV 9 as members.

The awards committee will present the awards taking public opinion through SMS voting apart from letters.

Tirumala, February 17: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will shortly deposit the silver in its treasury in nationalized banks. It has also sought the help of Mines & Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC), Hyderabad for refining and converting the silver ornaments and utensils with it, into Silver bars.

As on date, 11,117.94 kg silver items other than solid silver, King George V and VI silver coins are available with the TTD.

Hyderabad, February 17: The Telangana Congress MLAs and MLCs are camping in Delhi hoping against hope that they would be able to get a positive assurance from the party high command on Telangana issue.

They are likely to return to Hyderabad tomorrow evening after meeting Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. It is highly improbable that the finance minister would say anything that would comfort them.

As many as 26 MLAs and six MLCs left for Delhi on Monday, after making it clear that they would return to Hyderabad with a specific assurance from the party high command.

Hyderabad, February 17: As a part of their agitation for introduction of T bill in the Parliament, pro-Telangana activists on Wednesday tried to storm the residences of two ministers and five legislators of both Congress and the TDP here demanding their resignations.

Police foiled the attempts of the protestors belonging to the TRS, BJP and the CPI-ML (New Democracy) to storm the residences of ministers and legislators and took several of them into custody and later released them.

Hyderabad, February 17: BJP president Nitin Gadkari and senior party leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitely and several other leaders would address NDA’s public rally here on Thursday highlighting corruption in the Congress government.

The massive public meeting christened ‘War against corrupt Congress’ is being organised by the state unit of the BJP at the Nizam College grounds here tomorrow.

Elaborate arrangements were being made for the meeting, BJP state president G Kishan Reddy told reporters.

Hyderabad, February 17: The Telangana Coordination Committee (TCC) on Wednesday expressed its support to non-cooperation movement, a programme to be launched with single point agenda of achieving statehood to Telangana.

The TCC also condemned the prime minister’s statement that carving out separate Telangana was difficult.

Manmohan Singh even said that a consensus was necessary for according statehood to the region.

Kadapa, February 17: Health minister DL Ravindra Reddy held former chief minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s welfare and development programmes as the main reason for the economic crisis in the state today.

The minister, who inaugurated BMB tobacco processing unit at Kazipet today, said that they don’t have funds to purchase Calpol tablet to supply for 104 vehicles and have to take loans for procuring the same.

Hyderabad, February 17: The state education department has given relaxation to degree colleges across the state on pre-condition of owning the college building for starting new undergraduate courses during the academic year 2011-2012.

The decision was taken following representations made by degree colleges and college management associations for relaxation of the norm.

A huge demand for combination courses at the under-graduate level has forced the government to allow the relaxation.

Khammam, February 17: Tension prevailed in Kothagudem on Wednesday when Congress workers attacked a former Praja Rajyam activist near the Three Town police station this afternoon.

The attack seemed to be related to the rising friction between Congress workers and Praja Rajyam activists about to join the former party.

Rajhmundary, February 17: BJP senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu has said that the UPA government was given time till February 21 to take a decision on constitution of a JPC to probe various scams.

Speaking to reporters here today, he said if the Centre fails to respond positively, NDA and its affiliated parties will meet on February 22 to decide on the future course of action.

Hyderabad, February 17: Talks on fee reimbursement between a cabinet sub-committee and private colleges failed today and the latter vowed to close their gates to students from Feb. 24.

The college managements spurned an offer by the state government to release for now Rs 1,000 crore of the arrears towards fee reimbursement, scholarships and mess charges, demanding payment in full.

Of the total amount due of about Rs 2,600 crore towards fee reimbursement, the sub-committee offered to immediately clear 25 percent of it and to pay the remaining in a phased manner by October.

Proddatur, February 17: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will go on a week-long hunger strike in Hyderabad from February 18 to bring pressure on the state government to clear fee reimbursement arrears to engineering colleges in the state.

Visakhapatnam, February 17: A week-long cartoon exhibition on climate change in the GVMC Visakha Museum in the Port city concluded here yesterday.

The exhibition was organised by the British Council in collaboration with Association of British Scholars, Visakhapatnam and the Forum for Action Research and Policy Studies (FARPA), a statement issued here said.

Mr Paul Sellers, Director, British Council, Southern Region, Chennai, city interacted with the principals of the high schools who have participated in the various training programmes organised for the school children.

Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, February 17:A Maoist couple, considered to be hardcore, surrendered before East Godavari SP Ghattamaneni Srinivas here today.

Kolikela Balaraju (27) alias Bhagat alias Rakesh , a divisional committee member of Malkangiri, which comes under Andhra Orissa Border Special Zonal CPI-Maoists, surrendered along his wife Veka Bheeme (24).

They said they were disenchanted with the policies of the leaders and killing of innocent people in the name of police informants and decided to join the mainstream.

Hyderabad, Feruary 17:The Andhra Pradesh Government has allotted 50 acre of land last week for establishing National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) unit near Mangalagiri in Guntur District.

Talking to UNI here today, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Vice-Chairman and Congress MLA M Sashidar Reddy said the NDRF, with about 1100 personnel, would commence operations in a year’s time at a permanent building with a infrastructure costing Rs 200-250 crore.

Balaghat (MP), February 16:Sessions court here awarded two years’ rigorous imprisonment to a man for raping a dalit woman and shooting her obscene MMS clip.

According to the prosecution, Virendra Ranglani, the ccused, lured the woman with a promise to marry her. He took her to a hotel in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, and raped her on June 18, 2008.

After the woman lodged a complaint, charge-sheet was filed against Ranglani under Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, apart from relevant sections of Indian Penal Code.

Hyderabad, February 16: Though the Election Commission is yet to sound the bugle, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is busy preparing for the electoral battle for the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly constituencies, vacated by him and his mother Vijayamma respectively.

Ever since the mother-son duo left the Congress and quit their Assembly and Lok Sabha seats, Jagan Mohan Reddy has been touring Pulivendula, his hometown, very frequently. Pulivendula is a part of the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency.

Hyderabad, February 16: In an obvious attack on former Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday asked Congress leaders to give a befitting reply to anyone who tried to malign the image of the party or its leadership.

“Time has come for us to realise who are our enemies and who are our friends,” he said. The chief minister, speaking at a meeting of the APCC’s programme monitoring committees at Gandhi Bhavan here, reportedly asked the party leaders at all levels to give it back in equal measure to whoever sullies the image of the party.

Hyderabad, February 16: The state government will constitute two separate teams comprising irrigation experts and legal experts to file review petition and fight its case before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal on sharing of Krishna river water. Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has decided to convene an all-party meeting once again and seek their opinions before filing the review petition.

Hyderabad, February 16: The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation of India (APIIC), which earlier was against the proposal putforth by Emaar Properties to surrender 26 percent of saleable land, said it would consider going for an arbitration with the developer if it is in the best interests of the state.

Hyderabad, February 16: In yet another veiled political move, transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana on Monday dashed off a letter to chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy seeking a direction to the industries department to rein in cement companies from forming a cartel to jack up prices.

Hyderabad, February 16: A degree student turned into a chain snatcher allegedly to pay his examination fees with the government failing to release his scholarship amount.

20-year-old Durga Prasad, a third year BSc student from Loyola Academy at Alwal was facing difficulties in paying his exam fees.

Though Durga Prasad’s family could provide money to him in the first two years, they later developed financial problems. Compounding to the problem, Durga Prasad who hails from the SC community did not get his scholarship amount since the start of the academic year.

Karimnagar, February 16: The senior TRS leader and Siddipet MLA, Mr T Harish Rao, has taken serious exception to the remarks of the Narasaraopet MP, Mr Venugopala Rao, who had stated that he would lift and throw the TRS supremo, Mr K Chandrasekhara Rao.