Andhra Pradesh

Hanoi, July 06: The government says the death toll from landslides and floods in Vietnam’s mountainous north has risen to 22.

Thirteen other people are still missing after the heavy rains that struck on Friday night.

The Central Committee for Floods and Storms Control said on its Web site Monday that authorities have recovered seven more bodies bringing the toll to 22.

The committee said the landslides and floods destroyed or damaged more than 500 houses and hundreds of acres (hectares) of rice fields.

Vijayawada, July 5: Controversy-ridden Andhra Cricket Association has appointed its women wing chairman J Narendra and Anantapur District Association chief M Ferrer as the vice-presidents after three state government officials resigned in the wake of ACA general secretary’s sacking.

The ACA took the decisions in its executive committee meeting yesterday and also accepted resignations from two IAS officers M G U K Bhanu, M Ravichandra and IPS officer AK Khan, ACA president Gokaraju Gangaraju told PTI.

Hyderabad, July 05: Internal differences in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to the fore again at the State executive committee meeting which began here today.

BJP national secretary N Indrasena Reddy and party State general secretaryDr Laxman have boycotted the meet. Several prominent leaders and chiefs of several district units reportedly said that the leadership should be held responsible for the poor performance of the party in the recently held general elections.

Mahboobnagar, July 05: Mild tension prevailed at Shadnagar in Mahboobnagar district today when Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders organised protests over arrest of their leader Ibrahim and his followers. The rasta roko held by them led to heated argument between the police and TRS activists.

When police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd, TRS leaders protested against the police high handedness and alleged that the local DSP Bapu Reddy had manhandled TRS leader Harish Rao.

Kurnool, July 05: Fund crunch has seen contract workers in the Indiramma project retrenched. Despite being required for the tasks at hand, the government has had to bow to the inevitable. This move has rendered 198 jobless in the district while another 243 have been thrown out of work across the State. They were employed in phases on a contract basis. As many as 373 work inspectors and 68 data-entry operators were recruited on January 19, 2007 and had been drawing salary from the Housing Corporation.

Hyderabad, July 04: Barring two Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MPs, Mamata Benerjee’s Railway Budget disappointed every one.

People expected that Mamata will reverse the injustice done to the State in the successive Budgets presented by Lalu Prasad Yadav. But, Mamata too followed her predecessor’s line for AP rail projects.

Mamata even turned a deaf ear to the requests of YS Jaganmohan Reddy, son of Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Jagan recently led a delegation of Andhra MPs and requested Mamata to sanction Kadapa- Bangalore line, which will ensure 18 per cent returns.

Hyderabad, July 04: A panel constituted by the Andhra Pradesh government has recommended that private schools in urban areas should not charge more than Rs.24,000 per annum as tuition fee up to Class 5 and Rs.30,000 up to Class 10.

The six-member panel was constituted last month following public complaints that several schools effected a steep hike in tuition fees from the academic year 2009-10.

Hyderabad, July 03: The state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) recorded a steady growth in IT exports from Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) at Rs 32,509 crore, a 24.5 per cent increase over last year and much above the tentative national average of 20.65 per cent.

Interestingly, the scam-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd., now rebranded as Mahindra Satyam, continues to be the top performer with Rs 4,231 crore worth software exports registering a 27 per cent increase over the previous year.

Guntur, July 03: A farmer attacked his wife and their two-year-old daughter by throwing acid on them in the wee hours today, police said.

The accused B Pulliah (26), in a fit of anger attacked his wife Sivaparvathi and daughter Meenakshi, as she refused to return to his house, police said.

The victim on some domestic issue left her husband and was staying with her parents in Yellamanda village for the last two months. She also took her baby with her, police said.

Pulliah sent feelers for rapprochement, but she didn’t bother to respond, police said.

Warrangal, July 02: In a major blow to the CPI-ML Praja Pratighatana, its State secretary Sudhakar alias Ashok was killed in an alleged encounter in the Eturunagaram forests, Warangal district, on Wednesday. Another Naxalite was also gunned down but his identity is yet to be established.

Police recovered one SLR and a 0.8 mm rifle from the scene of action.

District Superintendent of Police V C Sajjanar said the exchange of fire took place in the forests near Bhupathipur village in Eturunagaram mandal.

Hyderabad, July 02: The constitution of an Advisory Committee on Public Safety and Security with Chief Minister’s YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s Man Friday, KVP Ramachandra Rao, as its Chairman has raised many eyebrows.

Those critical of the decision wonder where is the need for such a committee when there is a full-fledged home department. Ironically, Home Minister Sabita Reddy has been left out of the committee which, critics say, indicates that all is not well with the committee.

Anantapur, July 02: Andhra Pradesh is likely to get Rs 800 crore compensation for the crop loss incurred by farmers last kharif season, under the crop insurance scheme, Agriculture Minister N Raghuveera Reddy has said.

Talking to newsmen at the municipal guest house here Wednesday, he said Andhra Pradesh was the only State in the country, which is implementing the crop insurance scheme by taking village as a unit. As many as 17.45 lakh farmers had taken the crop insurance policy in the State and of them 4.61 lakh are in Anantapur.

Hyderabad, July 02: After the fabulous success of Navulla Don last year, Radio City 91.1 FM brings the fun and humour back in 2009 for Season 2. Navulla Don is a first-of-its-kind reality hunt, is on the prowl again – hunting for the city’s best Fun Jockey, who can tickle the funny bone and make the entire city laugh with his or her wit and humour.

Vijayawada, July 02: Scheduled Castes Cell of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) today staged dharna infront of Sub-collector’s Office here to protest the filing ‘false cases’ against its Kovvur Legislator K V Rama Rao by the Congress Government.

Addressing the media, TDP Urban SC Cell Leaders K Devraj and E William criticised the government’s attitude towards TDP MLA who was facing CB-CID inquiry in a case of alleged rape and murder of a student in his college and described it is a false case.

Hyderabad, July 01: The city police today nabbed four people, who were involved in brutal murder of a woman at Choutuppal in Nalgonda District two years back.

According to police, the accused burnt the body with an intention to destroy evidence. The case was not proved for the last two years for want of clues and identity of the deceased.

The accused Arshad had a love affair with Mariyam, sister of the victim Kanees Fatima, who had warned him of dire consequences.

She also told him that her parents had refused his marriage proposal with her sister.

Hyderabad, July 01: Congress MP from Nagarkurnool in Andhra Pradesh M Jagannath on Wednesday denied having slapped the manager of a bank in Mahabubnagar district, even as bank unions vowed to intensify their protests over the incident.

“He challenged me to come to the bank. I wanted to put my hand on his shoulder but he pulled back. In the process, my hand happened to touch his cheek,” Jagannath told reporters.

Slapping of bank manager by MP most unfortunate: Moily

Vishakapatnam, July 01: The five schoolchildren of Bhashyam School in the city, who left their respective homes more than a week back to undertake a pleasure trip, were finally traced in Visakhapatnam. They were caught by the Government Railway Police (GRP) after they landed in Visakhapatnam railway station on the East Coast Express late on Tuesday night.

Hyderabad, July 01: The newly-elected members of Parliament should exercise discretion while dealing with the power of Legislature, while ensuring overall uplift for people at the local level.

The message rang clear from ex-Governor of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, and one time Election Commissioner V S Ramadevi, at a meeting with new MPs at the Osmania University campus. The interaction, organised jointly by the University and the Centre for Political Development saw academics interact and discuss issues with the political players at a session lasting well over two hours.

Hyderabad, July 01: The State Government on Tuesday appointed Rajya Sabha member K V P Ramachandra Rao as Chairman of Advisory Committee on Public Safety and Security. Chief Secretary to Government and Director General Inspector General of Police will be the Co-Chairmen.The Principal Secretary to Government, Home Department, Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), Director General, A.P Fire Emergency services and Chairman, A.P State Council for Higher Education will be the Ex-Officio members.

Hyderabad, July 01: Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy will issue pass books to ST (Scheduled Tribes) beneficiaries under the ST and other traditional forest dwellers (Record of Rights) Act, 2006.

The chief minister will visit the Rampachodavaram tribal agency on July 5.

Faizabad, July 01: Seven years after their land was acquired for Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) camps in Siddarthnagar district, poor farmers in the terai border region are yet to get any compensation. Left landless and with no jobs at hand, they are fighting to earn a living for their families.

The state government had in 2002 acquired hundreds of acres of land, all agricultural fields, for a permanent camp of the SSB, a paramilitary force guarding the Indo-Nepal border, in Siddarthnagar district that shares about 15 km of open border with Nepal.

Hyderabad, June 30: Exuding confidence that the ruling Congress would win the coming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, likely to take place in Aug, Union Minister and in charge of AP affairs M Veerappa Moily Monday said the party State unit was free to choose its allies in the polls.

After a good performance in the Central and State elections that ensured its return to power, the party was well on its way to repeating the show in the GHMC and other local body polls, he claimed at a press conference following a PCC meeting at Gandhi Bhavan.

Hyderabad, June 30: The government will examine redefining Section 377 of the IPC which makes homosexuality a crime.

Replying to a question at a news conference here on Monday, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily said: ‘‘We will not act in haste in repealing the controversial Section 377.’’ The provision, which has come to be known as anti-gay law, has pushed the government into a catch-22 situation with gays demanding its repeal and Christian and Muslim leaders opposing any amendment to the same,.

Ongole, June 30: In yet another atrocity on women, a B.Ed student Marella Nagamani, was attacked by her beau, Gummadi Kumar Babu, right inside her house in the town Monday. Babu inflicted deep injuries in Nagamani’s neck, right hand and the right shoulder with a sickle. The girl was immediately shifted to the Ongole General Hospital where the doctors said she was out of danger.

Hyderabad, June 30: Congress MP from Nagarkurnool in Andhra Pradesh M Jagannath has allegedly slapped a bank manager in Mahabubnagar district for not releasing loans to SC/ST beneficiaries.

At a meeting of Uppununtala mandal officials and public representatives yesterday, Jagannath was told that Ravinder Reddy, manager of a local branch of Andhra Pradesh Grameen Vikas Bank, was not releasing the loan amount to SC/ST beneficiaries, official sources said.