Month: November 2012

Even as bickering is on in Mumbai over the venue for Bal Thackeray’s memorial, the Bhadravati municipal corporation in distant Chandrapur district in East Maharashtra is mulling construction of ‘temple’ dedicated to the Shiv Sena patriarch. “A temple of late Balasaheb Thackeray shall be built in the temple town of Bhadrawati in the district with the cooperation of municipal corporation,” district unit Shiv Sena president Balu Dhanorkar announced in a press conference.

TRS would step up the agitation for achieving separate Telangana and try to emerge as a major political force to be able to articulate its demand forcefully, party president K Chandrasekhar Rao said here today. Addressing a massive public meeting at Suryapet in Nalgonda district tonight, he alleged that the Congress refused to accept separate statehood though he offered to merge his party with it.

Delhi Transport Minister Ramakant Goswami today became the first MLA in the city to launch a website-based grievance handling system for his constituency Rajinder Nagar. This system will enable residents of his constituency to directly register any grievance related to MCD, DJB, DDA and PWD which will be forwarded to the department concerned after suitable checks and moderations by SMSs. The mechanism allows the minister to get similar alerts. The website will also publish the status of the registered complaints after a week.

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi today tried to reach out to a concerned citizenry, insisting that the sweeping powers he had assumed were temporary and aimed at ensuring a smooth transition to an elected parliament, as mounting unrest claimed the life of a Brotherhood member. In a statement issued today, Mursi’s office also promised that his government would include opposition members in the dialogue over drafting a new constitution.

At least five persons, including a child, were charred and over a dozen others injured in a fire accident at Manikonda area in the city, police said. The mishap occurred at Puppalguda at around 8:45 pm when the blaze, which started from a makeshift shed erected by a local shooting unit, engulfed a nearby residential apartment, Cyberabad Police Commissioner Dwarka Tirumala Rao told PTI. He, however, said it was not yet clear whether the victims were residents of the building or comprise any members of the crew.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed grief over the death of 124 people in a major fire that engulfed a multi-storey garment factory on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.

Singh also expressed “sincerest condolences” to the Government and people of Bangladesh.

“I am deeply saddened at the loss of life resulting from the fire in a garment factory outside Dhaka. I express to the Government and people of Bangladesh our sincerest condolences. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families,” he said in a message here.

Israel’s eight-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip has caused more than USD 1.2 billion in direct and indirect damages, a spokesman for the Hamas government said today.

“The total cost of damages caused by the Israeli aggression is USD 1.245 billion,” Taher al-Nunu told reporters in Gaza City.

—PTI

At least 12 men died and several others were in a serious condition after drinking adulterated cough syrup in this eastern Pakistani city today, police said. The men had drunk the cough syrup to get intoxicated, police said. Doctors at a state-run hospital said the men fell ill as the medicine was adulterated.
Over 20 men fell ill or fainted after drinking the cough syrup in Shahdra Town of Lahore.

Four of them died instantly while eight more died in hospital.

At least seven men were being treated in hospital and several of them were in a serious condition, police said.

The controversy over a memorial for late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray continued Sunday with party leader Manohar Joshi insisting on Shivaji Park here as the location and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan citing problems in doing so.

At a function in Nashik Sunday, Joshi reiterated that the memorial must be constructed at Shivaji Park, the venue of Thackeray’s Dussehra rallies for 46 years and where he was cremated at a public funeral Nov 17.

The chief minister however cited certain complications which could arise in permitting a memorial at Shivaji Park.

The probe into Savita Halappanavar’s death will be completed before Christmas, Ireland’s Health Minister has said, even as her distraught husband was considering lodging a complaint with the Ombudsman to assert ownership of his wife’s medical notes.

“I’ve made it very clear this investigation must be completed as expeditiously as possible and I now understand that will happen before Christmas and I may have an interim report in a matter of weeks,” James Reilly, the Health Minister, was quoted by the Irish Times as saying.

Members of Parliament belonging to Congress party from Telangana have set Dec 9 as the deadline for the party leadership to make an announcement for separate statehood to the region.

The MPs announced their decision late Sunday night after a meeting at the residence of Manda Jagannatham here. Besides Jagannatham, Madhu Yaskhi, G. Vivek and three other MPs attended the meeting. Senior leader and former MP K. Keshava Rao was also present.

Five people were killed after a massive fire that broke out in sheds during film shooting spread to a nearby residential building at Poppalaguda on the city outskirts Sunday night, police said.

Police said the fire broke out in sheds erected for shooting of a film and the flames engulfed nearby apartment. The tragedy occurred at Sriramnagar colony at Poppalaguda in Ranga Reddy district.

As many as 11 people died and 30 injured in Nigeria Sunday after suicide bombers attacked a church in military barracks with two blasts in Kaduna state, media reports said.

According to the Nigerian army, the explosions hit the St. Andrew Military Protestant Church in Jaji facility in central north Kaduna state of the country, Xinhua reported.

The first explosion occurred at about 12 p.m. while the second went off 10 minutes later, said an army spokesperson.

The attacks were carried out by suicide bombers who targetted a church inside military barracks, BBC reported.

The State Government will begin the process of District Selection Committee (DSC-2012) recruitments from Monday onwards.

There are 21,343 teacher posts which will be filled and the procedure is expected to be complete before December 17. According to sources, the Education Department on Sunday has sent the Merit list CDs of DSC 2012 to the District Educational Officers. The schedule of releasing the merit lists and the date-wise recruitment details was issued on Saturday.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has approved, sanctioned and announced five important sops for the welfare of weaker sections on successful completion of two years in office.

The Chief Minister announced “Rajiv Vidya Deevena” — a pre-matric scholarship scheme for IX and X Class students on saturation basis with a budget of Rs 120 crores. The scheme will be implemented with the support of the Union government.

MRPS President Manda Krishna Madiga has set political heat in Suryapet,ahead of the Samara Bheri of the TRS.
Manda Krishna has taken out a rally protesting about the TRS Chief Chandrasekhara Rao supporting the Telangana JAC Chief Prof. Kodandaram, who has criticized minister J Geeta Reddy. Activists of the MRPS have taken out the rally from the Suryapet Junior College to Ambedkar statue and raised slogans against both KCR and Kodandaram.

A day after union minister Chiranjeevi sang paeans to the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, the PCC Chief Botsa Satyanarayana has followed him by showering praise on Kiran. He has used the Metro Rail function for Patting Kiran for the good work he has been doing.

Kamala Nehru Polytechnic for Women, Exhibition Grounds here has announced that spot admissions for D.Pharmacy first year will be held on November 26 from 10.30 am.

Principal M. Chandrakala, in a pressnote has stated that candidates, who passed 10+2 (MPC/BiPC) are eligible for admissions. She also stated that one vacancy under SC category was also available. She asked the interested candidates to apply and contact her personally or on telephone No. 04024603634/9912342003.

———————– (NSS)

South Central Railway Employees’ Sangh president Raghavaiah has said that increase in Railway fares was inevitable Speaking at a meeting at Nampally Railway Station here on Sunday convened on Railway Women Employees’ Security, Raghavaiah said the Railway Board has taken a decision to increase the charges to improve the basic infrastructure.

He said that the decision to increase railway charges has been taken to take up new railway projects, construction of new railway lines and to provide additional facilities.

Union Minister for Human Resources Development Pallam Raju has said the Congress was committed to its ideals and socio-economical development of the common people.

Speaking to the media at R&B Guest House here on Sunday, Pallam Raju said the Congress has respect for the Telangana sentiment. He felt that it was easy to prove the strength of the State if it remained in tact. He said that the reforms ushered by the government in 1991 improved the standard of living of middle class people in the country.

Terror convict Aftab Ansari, now on death row for masterminding the American Center attack here 10 years ago, has sought a political prisoner’s status, a jail official said Sunday.

Ansari, lodged in the Alipore Central Jail, sent the application Nov 23.

“We received his application seeking political prisoner status Nov 23. It is addressed to the inspector general of state prisons. We have forwarded the letter to the inspector general,” the jail official told IANS.

The controversy over a memorial for late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray continued Sunday with party leader Manohar Joshi insisting on Shivaji Park here as the location and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan citing problems in doing so.

At a function in Nashik Sunday, Joshi reiterated that the memorial must be constructed at Shivaji Park, the venue of Thackeray’s Dussehra rallies for 46 years and where he was cremated at a public funeral Nov 17.

The chief minister however cited certain complications which could arise in permitting a memorial at Shivaji Park.

Alleging that TRS supremo and Mahbubnagar MP Kalwakuntla Chandrasekhara Rao has been cheating the people of the Telangana region, TDP senior leader Mothkupalli Narsimhulu went on hunger strike at the Gun Park opposite Assembly on Sunday. However, a few minutes later, the city police rushed to the spot and took him into custody and whisked him away to the Nampally Police Station on the charge that the TDP leader violated prohibitory orders in force. With this, the TDP workers had heated arguments with the police officials.

ormer megastar and Union Minister for Tourism K. Chiranjeevi and Tennis star Sania Mirza on Sunday sparkled and stole the limelight at the 10K run organized on the Necklace Road here. Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma, Tennis coach Pullela Gopichand were among a large number of politicians, cine and business elite at the present at the program.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy here on Sunday vowed that he would transform the State capital into a world-class city and the Metro Rail project was a part of his government’s efforts to achieve the goal. He also unveiled a plaque, signalling the launch of the project.