saleem The woes of power-starved Andhra Pradesh have been further compounded with the Centre’s order that two million metric standard cubic meters per day of gas be diverted from the Krishna-Godavari Basin to the Ratnagiri power plant in Maharashtra.
Already starved of gas for its power plants that have been working with a plant load factor of only 30 per cent, the state will now get only 1.
–Agencies
Ammonium nitrate is suspected to be the explosive used in four low-intensity serial bombs which rocked Pune the day before, Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil said here Thursday.
“According to preliminary reports, ammonium nitrate was the primary ingredient used in the devices which were apparently triggered by electronic triggers. We are awaiting a detailed forensic report on this,” Patil told reporters Thursday evening.
The minister also said that there was no central intelligence input received on the possibility of the blasts which left one person injured.
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd today said its networth far exceeds its current outstanding and rejected reports that its debts ran to the tune of thousands of crore.
“The net worth of DCHL far exceeds its current outstanding. The loan outstanding and the overdue sums relate to payments that were due only in the last couple of months.
–Agencies
Mystery continues to shroud the death of Infosys employee and software professional Neelima who jumped to her death under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday.
Postmortem of the girl who has come back to India only a few days before allegedly committing suicide was completed on Thursday. Doctors who performed the postmortem have found deep injuries on her body. They have filmed the postmortem process in view of the mystery surrounding Neelima’s death. Doctors said they had samples for analysis to the forensic laboratory.
State’s Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal has said that if it was proved that minister Parthasarathy has filed a wrong affidavit during the 2009 elections, the Election Commission would take suitable action.
Bhanwar Lal has held a review meeting with the Collector and Tahsildar on the changes in voters list and setting up of polling centers here on Thursday.
Speaking on the occasion, he said if there were mistakes and deliberate omissions in the affidavit filed by the minister suitable action would be taken.
The Police of Osmania University Police Station nabbed four African nationals for possessing contraband narcotic drug Cocaine and for involving in Credit card fraud
The arrested accused were Patrick Emario(29)) Rosita Miriam Thangavalu(22), Samuel Kings Hedion(40) and Liatu Baraya Yelmi(28).
YSR Congress Party MP from Nellore Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy on Thursday demanded stringent punishment for those responsible for the the blast in the Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express, which claimed 32 lives and injured 28 others.
Condemning the remarks of former advisor to government K V P Ramchander Rao against the party for not using YSR’s picture on the banners hung at the Prakasham Hall recently, Rajya Sabha Member V Hanmantha Rao alleged that KVP was a ‘covert’ of YSR Congress president Jaganmohan Reddy.
The High Court on Thursday granted conditional bail to Trimex Chairman Koneru Rajendra Prasad in the Emaar Properties scam.
While sanctioning bail to Koneru Prasad, the Court directed him to furnish a surety bond of Rs 5 lakh. The court also asked Koneru Prasad not to leave the state without informing the probing agency.
Presently Koneru Prasad was lodged in the Chanchalguda jail since nine months.
Alleging discrimination and disrespect by the State Government and Andhra officials over distribution of health cards to employees, members of Telangana Gazetted Officers Association on Thursday barged into the Secretariat where a review meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Minnie Mathews on the subject was going on.
Sensing the situation the officials have postponed the meeting immediately. Later, the Chief Secretary announced that the meeting would held on Friday.
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested a town planning supervisor at municipal office after he was trapped while allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 8,000 in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh.
Nampally Rajendra Prasad was caught red-handed by the ACB officials late last night at his office at Khammam when he demanded and accepted Rs 8,000 as bribe from the complainant for doing an official favour, an ACB release said here today.
Prasad was arrested and produced before the Second Additional Special Judge for ACB cases here.
The case is under investigation.
–Agencies
Telangana Nagara Samithi chairman and Nagarkurnool MLA Nagam Janardhan Reddy on Wednesday said that all problems of the employees and students would be resolved with the formation of separate Telangana State.
Addressing the round-table conference on Violation of Presidential Orders and GOs organized under the aegis of Telangana Nagara Samithi at the Jubilee Hall, Janardhan Reddy said that the students and employees have suffered major injustice in the united Andhra Pradesh. He said that the justice could be done to the region only with the formation of separate State.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the State government to implement uniform fee structure for all the Engineering colleges in the State.
The Apex Court has ordered that there should not be difference between the fee of management and convenor quotas in Engineering colleges. The bench further directed the colleges and the State government that an average of both the fees, Rs 52,000 should be fixed as fee from this academic year. The court also ruled out any exemption for this year as pleaded by the State government as the fee reimbursement is becoming burdensome.
Nizamabad MP Madhu Yashki Goud on Wednesday came down heavily on former government advisor and Rajya Sabha member K V P Ramachandra Rao for raising objection over placing of former chief minister YSR’s portrait in the State Youth Congress Committee swearing-in ceremony.
Talking to media persons at Jubilee Hall, Madhu Yashki suspected that KVP was pressing this issue fearing the CBI arrest in connection with Call Data Record case filed against his relative Raghu Ramaraju and in order to protect his properties.
Several Telangana leaders, irrespective of political identities, have expressed concern over the Telangana youth saying that they were losing heavily in the United Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana Nagara Samithi organised a ‘Round Table’ on violation of Presidential Orders and issue of several GOs against the interests of Telangana region, at Jubilee Hall here on Wednesday.
A special tribunal today upheld the ban imposed by the Centre on Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), which has links with Pakistan-based terrorist outfits including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its front, Indian Mujahideen.
Justice V K Shali of Delhi High Court, who heads the tribunal, submitted the report to the Home Ministry upholding the ban on SIMI.
The order came after the Home Ministry in February extended the ban on SIMI by two more years.
–Agencies
Society for Promotion of Tolerance (SPoT) secretary Syed Ali Hashmi has demanded that the Centre order an inquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court and initiate action against the culprits in the communal violence in Kokrajhar district of Assam.
Speaking to the media here on Wednesday, Syed Ali Hashmi demanded that the Union government introduce ‘Communal Violence Bill’ in Parliament and pass it in the ensuing session. He lamented that though riots took place in Assam, the Muslim Parliamentarians have failed to raise the riots’ issue.
Telangana Congress MPs called on new Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde here on Tuesday.
Speaking to the media later, MPs Ponnam Prabhakar, Rajaiah and Suresh Shetkar said that they just met Shinde as a matter of courtesy and had not discussed any political issues with him.
As Shinde has taken over as the new Home Minister from Chidambaram, who was shifted to the Finance Ministry again, it would be Shinde who would be handling the Telangana issue henceforth. It is in this context that the Telangana Congress MPs met Shinde.
A Delhi Police team will soon go to Iran to question some suspects as part of the probe into the Feb 13 Israeli embassy car blast case which left the wife of a diplomat injured, said Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday.
A fresh date has been fixed for the Delhi Police team’s visit to Tehran, said Chidambaram.
“Iranian government had agreed to allow Indian authorities to question some suspects who are believed to be in Iran but there was some inconvenience with the dates,” the minister said at a press conference here.
A demand for raising the limit of the Special Railway Safety Fund (SRSF) to Rs 50,000 crore from Rs 27,000 crore in the wake of yesterday’s train mishap in Andhra Pradesh has been made by former minister of state for railways Bandaru Dattatreya.
–Agencies
A forensic expert, deposing in the twin Aarushi-Hemraj murder case, today told a court here that a bottle recovered from the crime spot bore the blood stains of both the victims.
The senior scientist, BP Mahaptra, of Central Forensic Science laboratory
also told the court that blood stains found on Aarushi’s clothes and her bed’s sheets matched her group.
The CBI today produced seven exhibits out of 36 parcels in the special trial court here.
–Agencies
The Election Commission today directed the Krishna district Collector and Election Officer to register a case against Andhra Pradesh secondary education minister K Parthasarathy for filing an “inaccurate affidavit” during the 2009 Assembly elections concealing the fact that he was chargesheeted in a FERA violation case.
The minister was last week convicted in the case and awarded a two-month jail term, besides a fine of Rs 5crores.
–Agencies
A retired Revenue Department official in Andhra Pradesh has been arrested for possessing disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 2.48 crore, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said today.
Thupakula Anjana Devi, a former Tehsildar of Kallur mandal in Kurnool district, was arrested yesterday on charges of amassing assets which were in excess to her known sources of income, an ACB official said here.
–Agencies
Around 100 people fell sick after eating at an iftar party here in North 24 Parganas district, a health official said today.
Chief Medical Officer of North 24 Parganas Sukanta Sil said around 100 people fell ill after having food at an iftar party at Bankra near Birati last night.
Several of them complained of vomitting, nausea and illness, the CMO said, adding all of them were admitted to various hospitals across the city.
–Agencies
Unidentified persons allegedly looted cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 50 lakh from a house near here.
The incident occurred last night when one Gouri Shankar (70) and his family members were sleeping in their home in Birkhari village. The robbers entered the house by scaling the rear wall of the house, police said.
They allegedly decamped with Rs 2 lakh in cash, silver and gold jewellery and other valuables worth nearly Rs 48 lakh, police said.
–Agencies