Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada, July 19: It’s a case of confusion worst confounded insofar as the availability of total seats in medical colleges in the state is concerned even as the date for the counselling is fast approaching.

The counselling for the general seats in medical and dental colleges is scheduled to begin this Monday. Curiously, the authorities at the NTR University of Health Sciences are yet to receive instructions from the state government on its latest decision to increase the management quota seats from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.

Hyderabad, July 19: With the monsoons slowly looming over the city, the Hyderabad district authorities are gearing up to meet the onset of waterborne diseases. According to officials at the District Medical Health Department, a comprehensive action plan is presently being put into motion to combat possible outbreaks of water and vector-borne diseases in the city.

Hyderabad, July 18: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leader M Venkaiah Naidu today said the country was shocked to hear the joint statement of Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, which sand action on terrorism should not be linked to the ‘Composite Dialogue’ process and described it as ”a complete surrender from the Indian side”.

Hyderabad, July 17: In a major catch, a senior official of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was caught with disproportionate assets worth more than Rs 1 crore in the city on Thursday.

The official invested a large part of his ‘income’ in land and was found to be possession of houses at upmarket localities like Banjara Hills and Ameerpet, several plots in the city outskirts and gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh. Though the documentary value of the property is Rs 1.2 crore, the market value of the property is estimated to be over Rs 15 crore.

Hyderabad, July 17: Call it a lip-smacking ad campaign or call it a simple mix of politics and a spicy menu. The man who has evoked severe criticism from his own party cadre of late, Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao, is proving to be a lucky marketing mascot.

A restaurant owner in the city hit upon a novel idea and has used KCR’s caricature for an Andhra Food festival with a caption that says “Even Telangana heroes will love it”. The innovative poster has had several people flocking to the restaurant to sample the Andhra fare.

Bellary, July 17: Officials of Indian Bureau of Mines, Survey of India, Forest and Revenue Departments of Karnataka, in the absence of Mines and Geology Department o f f i c i a l s o f Andhra Pradesh, started survey of mining areas of bordering Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. The joint survey was taken up as per a Karnataka High Court order, following complaints from mining companies and other lease owners.

Hyderabad, July 15: One person was killed as he fell in the Nagavali river in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh which was in spate as heavy rains lashed several parts of coastal districts on Wednesday.

The man and about 20 livestock were washed away in the river at Tamminaidupet in Etcherla mandal of Vizianagaram district, police said.

Normal life was affected as heavy rains, due to active southwest monsoon, were reported in the north coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam.

–PTI

Nizamabad, July 15: A government primary school in Nizamabad district has asked a five-year old boy to leave school as he was said to be HIV +ve.

The boy had been admitted about a week ago in the school in Timmapur village, about 150 km from here. When other parents came to know of the child’s admission in the school, they objected. The headmaster then asked the boy not to come to school anymore.

Hyderabad, July 14: Here is some good news for the people of Andhra Pradesh. If the prophecy of this year’s Oracle (Swarna Lata) at the Rangam programme of Bonalu is to be believed, the State is all set to have good rainfall this year too.

Tirupati, July 14: Security at Tirupati Railway Station will be tightened, SCR Incharge General Manager Kuldeeep Chaturvedi has said. Talking to newsmen here today, Chaturvedi said that Rs 5 crore had been allocated for beefing up the security. As part of the exercise, luggage scanners, metal detectors and metal door-frames would be installed.

Also, a dog squad and a bomb disposal squad would be in place on round-the-clock vigilance duty at the station where 30,000 to 40,000 pilgrims arrive daily.

Hyderabad, July 14: A Colonel from Andhra Pradesh was among two armymen killed in a powerful blast on the Assam-Arunachal border on Monday. Col. S Madhav Perumal, a native of Tirupati, was on his way to Tenga in Arunachal Pradesh from the Army’s 4 Corps Headquarters in Tezpur, Assam, when militants suspected to be from the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) struck.

Hyderabad, July 14: Alarmed over the rising number of road accidents before sunrise due to “sleepy drivers”, Andhra Pradesh is planning to ban movement of buses and other heavy vehicles between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.

The transport authority plans to issue orders to keep these vehicles off the highways in the early hours to bring down the number of accidents,

Transport Minister S. Vijayarama Raju said.

In another move, the authorities have made it compulsory for private bus operators to provide two drivers for each bus for the night hours.

Hyderabad, July 13: Two leaders hailing from Nalgonda district, J Balakrishna Reddy and B Somi Reddy (TRS Nalgonda district president), resigned from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) today.

Reiterating that TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao cannot lead the party, they said that they had lost confidence in the TRS leadership. Both the leaders were confident that some more TRS leaders would join them.

Kurnool, July 13: Eleven persons died and 20 others suffered serious injuries in a ghastly road mishap near Allagadda in the district in the wee hours of Sunday.

The accident occurred when a speeding private bus going to Madanapalle from Hyderabad hit a stationary lorry at Peddakandakur in Allagadda mandal.

The iron rod-laden lorry (AP21U3639) was parked on the roadside for repair.

The private bus (APC4U 4689) was heading to Madanapalle via Kadapa when the accident occurred around 5 a.m.

Vijayawada, July 12: Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) S S P Yadav and his spouse today worshipped Goddess Kanakadurga on the Indrakeeladri hill here today.

He was received by Temple Executive Officer T Chandra Kumar at the entrance. The temple priests blessed the Yadav couple in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

Mr Kumar later presented portrait of Goddess Durga, the temple prasadam, laddu and a silk garment (‘seshavastram’) to the DGP.

Hyderabad, July 11: The opposition Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) today announced that party activists would launch a statewide agitation on people’s issues, including price rise on July 16.

Addressing a press conference here, PRP founder President Chiranjeevi and senior party leader T Devender Goud criticised Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Redy for holidaying in Goa at a time when the people were faced with serious problems, including skyrocketing of prices of essential commodities.

Hyderabad, July 11: In a clear indication that the noose is tightening around Kovvur TDP MLA T V Rama Rao, the West Godavari district police today informed the AP State Human Rights Commission (APSHRC) that there was primafacie evidence against the MLA that he attempted to molest a student of Spruha Nursing College in West Godavari district.

The Commission chairman B.Subhashan Reddy had sought a report from the West Godavari police who were investigating the case before it was transferred to the State Crime Investigation Department (CID).

Hyderabad, July 10: Two engineering students – a girl and a boy – ended their lives in separate incidents in Hyderabad and Vijayawada on Thursday.

In the State capital, A Tejaswani leapt to death from the terrace of an apartment in Marutinagar while in the commercial capital of the State, Patti Siva Prasad hanged himself in his hostel room near NTR University.

The reasons behind these two suicides are not quite clear. Tejaswani, according to police, was a first year engineering student of Boji Reddy Engineering College in Ibrahimpatnam near Hyderabad.

Warrangal, July 10: The body of Budde Kiran, a software engineer of Warangal who died after being shot at by unidentified assailants from point blank range in Johannesburg, is likely to reach Saturday morning. The Indian Embassy in South Africa has reportedly made arrangements to shift the body from Africa in a special cargo aeroplane to Hyderabad. An official from the Embassy has communicated information to this effect to Kiran’s brother Ganesh living in Arepalli in the district.

Kurnool, July 09: The illegal mining of sand in the district is depriving the government revenue to the tune of Rs 20 crore a year.

The activity is being carried out unabatedly in villages of Tungabhdara and Handri-Neeva command areas due to the collusion of people’s representatives and officials.

As much as 500 trucks and 50 lorries load of sand is being shifed daily.

While a tractor load of sand is sold for an average of Rs 1,000 that of a lorry is priced at Rs 8,000.

There are allegations that political leaders are involved in the illegal activity.

Guntur, July 08: A dreaded gangster and his accomplice were allegedly axed to death by unidentified men in Sattenapalli town here, police said on Wednesday.

Gangster G Isaac and his aide T Joseph were attacked by 10 assailants near Sarabhayya High School last evening when they were riding a motorbike, they said.

Issac was involved in as many as 25 cases including eight homicides, police said.

The duo had stabbed another criminal J Maria Das on June 23, 2006 in the same town and police suspect the attack could be a fall out of the incident and rivalry.

Hyderabad, July 08: TDP leader and former minister T Srinivas Yadav reportedly decided to quit the party and join the Congress. Having taken a decision to quit the TDP, Srinivas Yadav has intentionally raked up the controversy over the party supporting the separate Telangana State. He insisted that the party should change its stand and stick to Unified Andhra State.

Hyderabad, July 08: The State Government on Tuesday ordered a common inquiry against former Peishkar and Deputy Executive Officer R Prabhakar Reddy and 18 others of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for the alleged misapropriation of 300 gold coins of five grams each.

By GO (No 665), the Revenue Department sought a written explanation from Prabhakar Reddy and others on the charges framed against them by the Vigilance wing of the TTD.

Warangal, July 08: B Kiran, the software engineer from Arepalli in Hanamkonda mandal, Warangal district, who was shot at by unidentified men in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Sunday night succumbed to his wounds in a cruel reversal of fortunes. His parents, Shankaraiah and Indiramma, woke up to the tragic news this morning. ‘‘I can’t believe my son is dead,’’ Indiramma said.

arangal, July 07: A software engineer from Andhra Pradesh, who was shot at by unidentified assailants in South Africa, today succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Johannesburg. On Thursday last in Johannesburg, the assailants attacked B Kiran, a native of Arepalli village near Warangal who was on his way from work, and fled away with his laptop, his father B Sankaraiah told. Four bullets hit Kiran, two in stomach and two in thigh.