Hyderabad, September 20: Heavy rains during the last two months have filled up the Singur, Manjira, Osman Sagar, and Himayath Sagar, which are brimming with full storage capacity levels. These reservoirs are the major source of drinking water supply to over 80 lakh citizens.
The reservoirs are nearly brimming over after nearly a decade. With the present levels, it is hoped that the city will be spared water woes for at least the next two or three years.
Hyderbad, September 20: Two persons who tried to force their way stray into chief minister K Rosaiah’s convoy near his residence on Dharam Karam road this evening were caught by the police.
The duo were riding a motorbike in an inebriated condition, police said.
The duo, Siva Reddy and Krishna Reddy, are natives of Kurnool. They are into used cars business and were in the city on business work.
Hyderabad, September 20: With the centralised Ganesh idol immersion and the verdict of the Allahabad High Court in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid row falling in quick succession, on September 22 and 24 respectively, the city police have geared up to face possible outbreak of trouble and have even asked the army to be on stand-by to meet any eventuality.
The police decided to act tough if anybody tried to create communal trouble, and also on any form of rumour mongering like sending SMSes which might foment trouble during the two crucial days.
Lucknow, September 20: After failing to get a favourable decision on his application for deferment of verdict in the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, Ramesh Chandra Tripathi today said he would file a special leave petition (SLP) in the supreme court possibly on Wednesday.
“Through my counsel Prashant Chandra I will move the Supreme court most likely on Wednesday. We will leave for New Delhi tomorrow as we firmly believe that another attempt should be made for deferring the judgement (slated on September 24),” Tripathi told PTI.
New Delhi, September 20: Delhi Police Monday transferred the case related firing near Jama Masjid in old Delhi which left two foreigners injured to its specialized anti-terror unit Special Cell.
Two Taiwanese nationals were Sunday injured at Gate Number 3 of the historic mosque when they were shot by two unidentified men on a motorcycle.
“The case has been transferred to the Special Cell to probe the terror angle,” said a senior police official.
Police are yet to interrogate Mohamed Salim, a rickshawpuller, who chased the attackers.
Hyderabad, September 20: A day after the gruesome murder of a girl student by her senior, Hyderabad police Monday were questioning two of their friends.
Shekhar Goud, who killed engineering final year student Divya by smashing her head with a baseball bat, is still at large and police have formed special teams to arrest him.
Police suspect it to be a case of sexual jealousy as Divya had been avoiding him of late and had befriended another boy, Pradeep.
New Delhi, September 20: Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh Monday said he cannot trust the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on the Ayodhya dispute as “they could do anything”.
He said the Congress made a mistake in 1992 by believing the affidavits filed by Sangh parivar organisations. The Babri mosque was demolished Dec 6, 1992 by Hindu mobs who had gathered at the spot.
Hyderabad, September 20: The Congress legislators from non-Telangana regions Monday took exception to the Andhra Pradesh government giving a written assurance to Telangana lawyers following their agitation demanding 42 per cent share in judicial posts.
“We feel it is objectionable to give it in writing about things that are not in Constitution and the orders issued by President on the Telangana issue. We feel it will lead to more problems in future,” S Sailajanath, convener of Congress MLAs and MLCs from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, told reporters.
Kochi, September 20: People’s Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Madani’s wife today moved a special court here seeking relaxation in her bail condition to visit her husband, an accused in the 2008 Bangalore blast case.
Soofiya Madani, who herself is an accused in a case of burning a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus in 2005, filed a petition before the National Investigation Agency court for permission to leave Ernakaulam district to meet Madani, lodged in a jail in Bangalore.
New Delhi, September 20: A day’s joint sitting of Parliament is likely on November 9 to enable US President Barack Obama to address the members while the Winter session could be convened from the third week of November as usual.
Though there was no official word on it, Government sources said there was a fresh plan to hold the Winter session from November 22 to December 22.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal had earlier said that the month-long session could be convened from November eight.
New Delhi, September 20: Enthused by the response of ticket-seekers swarming the party headquarters, Congress is hoping to form a government in poll-bound Bihar.
AICC general secretary in-charge for Bihar Mukul Wasnik claimed that the election results will present a “totally different picture” with Congress all set to come to power on its own.
“People are not believing it now but we are getting support from all sections,” he said adding that the alliances led by Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad have been “exposed by hollow claims and hollow promises”.
Dubai, September 20: India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag are in the running for the International Cricket Council’s ‘Cricketer of the Year’ award.
South Africa’s Hashim Amla and England’s Graeme Swann are the two other players short-listed in the category.
The votes have been cast by the independent 25-member academy and one of them will be awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year at a glittering ceremony in Bangalore Oct 6.
Hyderabad, September 20: As many as 16 people lost their lives during the Ganesh idol immersions in different parts of Andhra Pradesh Monday, police said.
Tragedy struck Ganesh festivities in Krishna district when six people were drowned while immersing an idol in a lake. According to police, the incident took place at Gollanapalle village of Gannavaram mandal.
Local fishermen fished out the bodies of the six youths, all hailing from Gannavaram.
Islamabad, September 20: At least six alleged militants were killed Monday in a missile strike in Pakistan’s tribal region near the Afghan border, Pakistani security officials said.
Three more people were injured in the airstrike that targeted a house and a vehicle near Mir Ali, a major city in North Waziristan tribal district.
“A US drone fired three missiles. Two of these hit a house and one destroyed a vehicle,” said an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “According to our information, six people are killed and three injured in both attacks.”
Kolkata, September 20: Mohammadan Sporting today removed their Dronacharya awardee coach Syed Nayeemuddin after the club’s shock exit from Federation Cup qualifiers.
Top officials of the Mohammadan Sporting including union Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed is currently in a meeting to decide on their next coach.
“It’s best to part way with the coach, following our pathetic shows,” a club official said.
Hyderabad, September 20: Over 120 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), barring the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh will be ruled by Special Officers from September 29 with the state government today deciding to defer the civic elections in the state indefinitely.
The five-year term of the elected councils of ULBs would come to an end on September 29.
The state government has decided not to conduct fresh elections to ULBs immediately as it could not fix the issue of 50 per cent reservation for women.
New Delhi, September 20: India is concerned about the growing trend of protectionism and will raise the issue at the G20 meet next month, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday.
“Obama’s statements may lead to protectionism. I am, of course, worried about the growing trend of protectionism. And G20 leaders should take note of it and when they meet in (South) Korea they will make it quite clear that the answer to the problems in international financial crisis does not lie in protectionism,” Mukherjee told a television channel.
New Delhi, September 20: Trinamool Congress chief and Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she is not a “seasonal flower” in another apparent snipe at Rahul Gandhi.
Mamata also said she does not do politics from a “bed of gold”.
” Amra dumurer phool noi (We are not a seasonal flower rarely seen) that we will appear like cuckoos before elections, chirp and fly away,” Mamata said yesterday without making any reference to the young AICC General Secretary but comments seen as directed at his two recent visits to West Bengal.
Kashmir, September 20: There is no immediate end to ongoing unrest in the valley as the separatists are not ready to bend and stick to their demand for autonomy.
A group of all party delegation met Hurriyat hawk Syed Shah Geelani and emphasised on to start the dialogue process.
But the meeting was not fruitful as the Geelani was not ready for less than autonomy, removal of AFPSA and acknowledgement of disputed nature of the valley.
The all party delegation headed by Home minister P Chidambram arrived in Srinagar on Monday morning amid curfew and separatist boycott.
Bihar, September 20: The word war has been intensified in Bihar ahead of the assembly election. Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday lashed out chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday for financial irregularities during his regime.
The former Bihar chief minister accused NDA government of misuse of government fund.
“It is certain that the JD-U-BJP (Janata Dal-United and Bharatiya Janata Party) government of Nitish Kumar will not win the (October-November) assembly elections,” Lalu Prasad told a press conference in Patna.
South Africa, September 20: The master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have been shortlisted for the awards at the LG ICC annual Awards.
The event will be held in Bengaluru on October 6.
Both the players have been nominated for both Cricketer of the Year and test Cricketer of the Year awards.
South Africa’s Hashim Amla is another player who also figures in both the categories of awards, along with the Indian cricketers, to be presented in association with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA).
Allahabad, September 20: The Allahabad High Court today extended till October 28 the stay on the arrest of Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh in connection with an FIR accusing him of having committed financial irregularities when Samajwadi Party was in power in Uttar Pradesh.
The order was passed by a Division Bench comprising justices Vineet Saran and Y C Gupta on a writ petition filed by Singh who was himself present in the court along with fellow RS member Ram Jethmalani.
New Delhi, September 20: With just 12 days left for the Commonwealth Games and several projects not yet complete, a worried Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday directed concerned agencies to set up special teams to accomplish all the unfinished work.
At a high-level meeting attended by all her Cabinet colleagues and top officials of PWD, NDMC, MCD, Delhi Metro, Delhi Jal Board and discoms, Dikshit took stock of the city’s overall preparation for the event and asked all concerned agencies to make a final push to complete the remaining work.
Tehran, September 20: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s list of enemies is long, spreading from his feud with the West to reformists at home to emerging rivals in his own hardline camp. But support from Iran’s strong Revolutionary Guards and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei still ensures him the upper hand.
Discord among the hardline rulers in the Islamic Republic has never been so public. The rift has little to do with Iran’s nuclear row with the West or the pro-reform opposition, which rejects Ahmadinejad’s 2009 re-election as rigged.
New Delhi, September 20: The Assam government has paid a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of two persons killed in alleged police firing in Karbi Anglong district two years ago, the NHRC said today. Ram Nath Chauhan, an advocate, and Jawahar Singh Gour had become victims of “excessive use of fire arms against protesters by the police” in Mailo under Kheroni police station area in Karbi Anglong district of Assam on August 16, 2008, it said.