GHMC election Results 2009 – PRP Scored One

Cheeranjavi is expecting PRP candidate to be on the position of Dep Mayor seat, not even the single seat has been scored by PRP in GHMC election.

If we think sarcastically for a while that congress is wanted to offer the chair to PRP, even though it has secured no seat, then only one question come that when everything will be blank than to whom did congress will offer it. Will this be accepted by Allu Aravind?

Congress said that Aravind will defiantly accept it even if the skin of the onion will be freed.

A house wife who on the daily base follows the political developments of the state said that if Pawan Kalyan is suited for that then surely he will kick his puli shooting & come to have a seaton the chair

Read more: http://www.dailylatestnews.com/2009/11/26/ghmc-election-results-2009-prp-scored-zero-01959#ixzz0XxNzD9P6

TDP may field candidate

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu called for a meeting with Kadapa district leaders tomorrow to discuss party’s strategy to be adopted for Pulivendula byelections.

Though the TDP initially thought of not fielding its candidate in Pulivendula, but later changed its mind.

“Naidu called for a meeting of Kadapa leaders tomorrow to elicit the opinions of district leaders. The party Politburo will take a decision later whether to contest or not,’’ a TDP senior leader said.According to party insiders, TDP will field its candidate in the Pulivendula byelections and use it an opportunity to expose the ‘misdeeds’ of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Congress, MIM ahead in Hyderabad civic polls

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh's ruling Congress party and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) were Thursday ahead in the Hyderabad civic polls with the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) trailing in third position.
Counting of votes for the election held Monday began at 8 a.m. The Congress had won 17 seats and was leading in 11 while the MIM had bagged 15 seats and was ahead in four. The TDP was at third place with 10 seats and leading in four.


About 43 percent of 5.7 million voters had cast their votes in the elections for the 150-member Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).


Though Congress and MIM do not have an alliance, they are likely to enter into a post-poll agreement for election of mayor and deputy mayor to be held on Dec 4.


The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has so far won only one seat and is leading in another. The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) of actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi and Lok Satta floated by former bureaucrat Jayaprakash Narayan are yet to open their account.


This the first test of strength for the political parties after the April-May elections to the state assembly and the Lok Sabha. The elections also come in a changed political scenario following the Sep 2 death of former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash.


This is the first municipal election after Greater Hyderabad was created in 2007 after merging eight municipalities and 12 villages of neighbouring districts with Hyderabad.


This has made Greater Hyderabad the second biggest urban agglomerate in the country after New Delhi in terms of area (621.48 sq km).


The last election to the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) was held in 2002. The TDP, which was in power in the state, had won majority of the seats in the then 100-member body in alliance with BJP. The TDP candidate was elected mayor in the direct elections held to the post.


This time the newly-elected corporators and ex-officio members (state legislators and MPs) will elect the mayor.

TDP to lead all-party team to Delhi

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will lead an all-party delegation to Delhi tomorrow to mobilise the support of various parties against illegal mining.

TDP will press for a review of mining policy and demand State takeover of mines or call for global bids for allotting mining leases. The party is of the opinion that mining money should reach the exchequer and should not be pocketed by some invidiuals.

TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, who held an all-party meeting at his residence this evening, demanded that all the officers involved in the Obulapuram Mining Company’s irregularities should be arrested and prosecuted. He demanded that Mining and Forest ministers should resign or the Chief Minister should sack them from the Cabinet.

He also sought an all-party meeting to finalise the terms of references of CBI probe into the OMC’s irregularities.

All files relating to mining activities of OMC should be placed before the State Legislative Assembly Speaker for the scrutiny of all leaders, Naidu demanded.

CPM State secretary BV Raghavulu said that the State Government ordered stopping of mining in Anantapur district as it had no other option on hand.

He demanded a probe into all other illegal mining activities in the State.

CPI leader K Ramakrishna said that the State Government’s directive to stop mining in Anantapur vindicated the Opposition’s stand that there were irregularities in the iron ore mines of OMC.

GHMC - Results

TOTAL : 150
BJP won at Gosha Mahal, Mehidipatnam, Gudi malkapur, Kurma guda & Kachi Guda

Kapra Winner - (TDP)
Mallapur Winner - (TDP)
Langarhouse Winner - G.Ravi Yadav (MIM)
Chavnee Winner - Murtaja Ali (MIM)
SaleemNagar Winner - Srinivas (TDP)
Srinagar Colony Winner - Vijayalakshmi (TDP)
Vidyanagar Winner - (TDP)
Bholakpur Winner - Mohammad Hussain (Independent)
Hydernagar - Bhanu Prasad (TDP)
Malla devara pally Winner - Prem Das Goud (TDP)
Fathenagar Winner - Krishna Goud (TDP)
Kuthbullahpur Winner - Venkateswar Rao (TDP)
Baghamberpet Winner - Gnaneswar goud (Congress)
Somaji Guda Winner - Mahesh yadav (Congress)
Nacharam Winner - Nemali Ramesh (Congress)
Moulali Winner - Ramani (TDP) * lady don farah khan (MIM) lost, she got only 12 votes
Gowlipura Winner - Ale jitendra (Congress) * son of Ale Narendra
Habsiguda Winner - H.Reddy (Congress) * Congress Mayor Candidate
Husseni Alam Winner - Meer Julfikar (MIM) * MIM Mayor candidate
Barkat Pura Winner - Diddi Rambabu (Independent) * Krishna-Mahesh Fans President / congress rebel
Adikmet Winner - Sunitha Prakash Goud (Congress) * Equal votes in EVM for Congress & TDP, won with 2 postal votes
Old Boinpally Winner - Narasimha Yadav (PRP) * Solo winner from PRP. :) ek niranjan ???
Aliyababd winner - Satyanarayana (TDP)
Old Malkajgiri Winner - Y.Prem Kumar (TDP)
Rajendra Nagar Winner - Satyanarayana (Congress)
Moghulpura Winner - Mukharram Ali (MIM)
Amjadpura Winner - Amjad Ali Khan (MBT)
Addagutta Winner - Ratna Kumari (Congress)
P & T colony Winner - Dhanalakshmi (TDP)
Mansoorabad Winner - K. Latha (TDP)
Jeedimetla winner - K.M.Gowrish (TDP)
KharmanGhat Winner - Gajjela Sushma (TDP)
Shapurnagar Winner - Pala Krishna (TDP)
Charlapalli Winner - Dhanapal Reddy (Independent)
Ramnagar Winner - Kalpana Yadav (Congress)
Ramgopalpet Winner - Kiranmayi (Congress)
Ameerpet Winner - M.Venkataramana (TDP)
Moosapet Winner - Babu Rao (TDP)
Safil Guda Winner - Manjula (TDP)
Banjara Hills Winner - Bhararhi Naik (Congress)
R.K.Puram Winner - Depa Surekha (TDP)
Padmarao Nagar winner - Savitri (TDP)
Redhills Winner - Johra Begum (MIM)
Ahmadnagar Winner - Majid Hussain (MIM)
Sanathnagar Winner - Ayub Khan (Congress)
Vivekanandanagar Winner - (TDP)
Mallepally Winner - Gous Pasha (MIM)
Saroornagar Winner - P.Bharghavi (TDP)
Dattatreyanagar Winner - Ishrat Sultana (MIM)
Puranapool Winner - SunnamSirlatha (MIM)
Lalithbagh Winner - Yusof (MIM)
Dhoolpet Winner - Anil Singh (Congress)
Chanda Nagar Winner - Ashok Goud (TDP)
KPHB Winner - Shobhanadri (TDP)
Gunfoundry Winner - Madhu Goud (Congress)
Jhansibajar Winner - Rajani Devi (Congress)
Yusufguda Winner - BJP
Chintalabasthi Winner - Srivara Reddy (Congress)
Himayath Nagar winner - Hemalatha (TDP)
Tarnaka Winner - Karthik Reddy (Congress)
Shivarampally Winner - Habib Jain Arif (MIM)
Hayathnagar Winner - Prabhakar reddy (TDP)
Serilingampally Winner - S.Ravindra (TDP)
Domal Guda Winner - Nirmal Reddy (Congress)
Golnaka Winner - Kaleru Venkatesh (Congress)
Champapet Winner - Ramana Reddy (TDP)
Patanchervu Winner - SafanDev (TDP)
Mothi Nagar Winner - Sayyed Babu (TDP)
Chandrayan Gutta Winner - Ansari (MIM)
Gaddi Annaram winner - Subhashini (Congress)
Mangalhat winner - Rajsingh Lotha (TDP)
Panjagutta winner - Raju Yadav (Congress)
Ambarpet winner - Fakruddin (MIM)
Gosha mahal winner - Vaikuntham (BJP)
Suraram colony - Suresh Reddy (Congress)
Nallkunta winner - Sridevi (Congress)
Vanasthalipuram - Rajashekhar Reddy (TDP)
Kukatpally winner - Vengalarao (Congress)
Rahmath nagar winner - Chandramma (congress)
Yerragadda winner - Sadashiva Yadav (TDP)
Uppal winner - Suguna (congress)

Bad news for Reddy: Andhra to suspend illegal mining

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government is all set to suspend illegal mining operations on the AP-Karnataka border.

The move comes weeks after Opposition parties and the central empowered committee (CEC) criticised the way the state government handled illegal iron ore mining activity in the area.

According to sources in the government, an in-principle decision has been taken on suspending the mining operations in six mines on the AP-Karnataka border.

The government will also impose restrictions on the transportation of the iron ore.
The Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), which is owned by tourism minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, operates three of the six mines facing heat.

Though a formal order on suspending the mining operation is yet to be issued, the government is said to have taken a decision based on the advice of the empowered committee.

Though the CEC had submitted its report enlisting the deviations and unlawful mining on the border, the government was taking cover under the guise of non-receipt of the report or CEC's recommendations.

However, sources said the CEC on Tuesday had formally written to the state chief secretary advising him to suspend all mining activities in these six mines and also impose restrictions on the movement of the iron ore that has already been excavated and stored for transportation.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah along with mines minister B Srinivas Reddy held a meeting with the officials of mines and forest department.

While it was decided in the meeting that the government should formally seek a legal opinion on the issue, it was also decided to suspend the mining and iron ore transportation activities in the six mines.

AP government to abide by court orders on mining

Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah said here that the ruling Cong-ress government would abide by the apex court’s verdict on the alleged irregularities by mining firm Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC) in the Bellary reserve forest of Anantapur district.

OMC is owned by Karnataka tourism minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.

“Our government will act if the Supreme Court issues any directions on the basis of the report of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) appointed by the apex court on the mining issue,” the chief minister said.

The CEC, in its report submitted to the court on November 20, established illegal mining activity in Anantapur district bordering Karnataka and recommended that the mining in the region be stopped till the boundaries of all mining lease holders are clearly demarcated.

Lashing out at Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu’s allegation that he (Rosaiah) was trying to protect Janardhan Reddy’s OMC, the chief minister challenged Naidu to debate on the allegations of corruption during his (Naidu’s) nine-year rule, while rejecting the Opposition party leader’s demand for his resignation over the issue.

The Andhra Pradesh government, on November 11, ordered an inquiry into the alleged mining of iron ore and violation of forest laws by OMC. The government has also constituted a three-member committee of senior officials of the state forest department to probe allegations against OMC.

Brushing aside Telugu Desam Party’s allegations that he and his top officials were on the payrolls of the OMC, Rosaiah said, “A person with a sound mind will no make such wild allegations and use such language.”

Stating that despite being defeated in the recent gen-eral elections Naidu appe-ared in great haste to come to power, Rosaiah said he would resign as chief minister if the TDP got one seat more than the Congress in the 150-member Greater Hyd-erabad Municipal Corpora-tion elections scheduled for November 23.

“Much before the CEC had submitted its report, we requested the Centre to order a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry. The inquiry will unearth the real problem,” Rosaiah said, adding that the mining lease to OMC was originally issued during Naidu’s regime.

State Govt suspends mining in Anantapur

HYDERABAD: In a major setback to the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by Karnataka Tourism Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, the State government has suspended mining operations, including transportation of already mined material, in all the six mines, including Reddy’s two mines, in Anantapur district.
The State government’s late-night decision followed a high-level meeting called by Chief Minister K Rosaiah with Mines Minister B Srinivasa Reddy, Forest Minister P Ramachandra Reddy and Chief Secretary P Ramakanth Reddy after it received an advice from the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court that it should take immediate steps for stopping ‘‘illegal mining’’ in all the six mines.
Y Srilaxmi, then Secretary to the Government for Mines, accused of being too lenient on the OMC in granting leases, also attended the meeting since the Chief Minister sought information on various lease agreements.
Under fire from the Opposition parties, particularly the Telugu Desam, Rosaiah acted swiftly on the empowered committee’s advice in an attempt to refurbish the image of the State government and that of the Congress which had taken a battering in the recent past.
Adding to the government’s cup of woes, the empowered committee, set up after one Tappal Ganesh of Bellary district filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking suspension of the mining operations, recently submitted a report to the apex court confirming violation of the Forest Conservation Act and illegal mining in Anantapur district.

Boundary no concern of CEC, says OMC

BANGALORE: The Obulapuram Mining Company owned by Karnataka Tourism Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy has sought to clarify a few specifics in the wake of the report by the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court charging it with illegal mining activities in the Bellary Reserve Forest area spread across the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka border.
In a press release, OMC managing director B V Srinivas Reddy has noted that it would be improper and premature for it to comment on the recommendations of CEC without a direction to this effect by the Supreme Court itself and it would be sub judice too. He, however, lists some observations saying that the company is `pained’ by the `distorted version’ of certain issues pertaining to it and Andhra Pradesh’s late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
OMC’s observations:
• The boundary dispute between two private companies is not the concern of the CEC. The said boundary dispute is already adjudicated by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The HC judgment has become final, since no party has preferred any appeal against it.
• The CEC had issued no notice to Obulapuram Mining Company and other affected parties while preparing its report and the SC had not sought it too. The observations and recommendations were in effect made without any direction by the Supreme Court.
• Unless and until they are approved by the SC - which may or may not approve the same - the said observations and recommendations continue to be the views of CEC and cannot be called as an order of the SC.

Only 42.92% denizens turned up to cast votes

HYDERABAD: Of 56,99,015 (57 lakh approximately) voters, only 24,08,001 citizens exercised their franchise in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal
Corporation (GHMC) elections held on Monday. In other words, only 42.92 per cent voters turned up to cast their votes.

Incidentally, even during the 2002 polls to the then Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH), 43 per cent of the voters had exercised their franchise.

The GHMC authorities and State Election Commission (SEC) had initially estimated that the polled votes per cent would be around 48 per cent. However, final figures came as a rude shock to both political parties and contestants.

Aliabad division in the Old City recorded the highest voting percentage, 62.13 per cent votes, while Moghalpura logged 60.11 per cent. These were the only two divisions which registered over 60 per cent turnout. On the other hand, Vijayanagar Colony and Red Hills recorded 27.15 per cent and 27.84 per cent respectively, lowest in the city.

Interestingly, Kapra division, where most employees, reside had registered only 31.11 per cent polling. Upmarket areas like Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills recorded only 39 and 37 per cent respectively.

GHMC voters enjoy holiday, give poll a miss

HYDERABAD: Poll fatigue appears to have set in among the citizens of Greater Hyderabad as less than 48 per cent of the total 57 lakh voters cast

their votes in a low-key but peaceful polls to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on Monday. Votes will be counted on November 26 and results are expected by afternoon.

While election officials blamed the thin attendance at many of the 5,718 booths on winter, polling agents attributed it to the extended holiday (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) prompting families to opt for a vacation instead.

But for many, it was election fatigue. “We are still recovering from the hype and hoopla over the general and assembly elections in April when another election comes along,” said A Hanumantha Rao from Punjagutta who gave this poll a miss.

Of the 150 municipal divisions, most in the Old City recorded a high turnout of 55-64 per cent, while Vijayanagar Colony and Red Hills registered a turnout of a little over 27 per cent. This year’s total turnout (48 per cent) was higher than the 2002 municipal elections (43 per cent). But it was much lower than the 56 per cent in the Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts during the assembly and general elections held in April this year.

But for minor incidents of violence, stone pelting and candidates charging their rivals with circulating money, the polling was peaceful. Police seized Rs 10,000 from Mehdipatnam BJP candidate Bangaru Prakash, while the TDP lodged a complaint with the state EC that R Ravinder Reddy, Loksatta candidate from Bagh Lingampally, was distributing money.
Officials said repolling is likely in one booth in Defence Colony where votes cast were more than the electorate. In a few booths in Serilingampally and Kukatpally, polling went beyond the closing time of 5 pm because of long queues.

While in some booths there was a delay due to technical glitches involving EVMs, in many others there were complaints of lack of space compromising vote secrecy.

City will be back in shape, vows Naidu

HYDERABAD: TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu kick-started his campaign for the GHMC polls from Qutubullapur division on Thursday and lashed out

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at the Congress party for its failure to address civic issues in the twin cities for the past six years.

Naidu, who travelled about 35 kms covering Jagadgirigutta, Gajularamaram, Shahpur, Suraram colony, Jeedimetla and Fatehnagar divisions, said that if the TDP was voted to power in the GHMC elections, it would take all steps to restore the city’s glory.

Alleging that the Congress party had collected money to give tickets to the candidates, he said a vote for the Congress would mean a vote for corruption. Amidst shouts and whistles from party activists, Naidu promised to see that basic problems like drinking water, sewerage, electricity, roads, health and housing were attended to. He assured them that if voted to power, the TDP would decentralise local administration so that local leaders do not have to run around offices of corporations for various permissions.

Referring to the Bholakpur deaths, poor conditions in government hospitals, and the spread of vector-borne diseases like chikungunya and dengue, he said these speak volumes about the government’s attitude towards its citizen.

On the goings on at Obulapuram mines, he said while the Centre constituted dozens of teams to probe into the Rs 5000-crore scandal involving former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, the state government was silent on the Rs 10,000-crore scam in OMC mines.

Meanwhile, 17 rebels were suspended from the party for failing to withdraw from the polls. The rebels are from Uppal, Chandrayangutta, Jubilee Hills, Sanatnagar, Serlingampalli, Kukatpally, Qutubullapur, Malkajgiri and Secunderabad.

Rice will cost Rs 100 if Cong wins: TD chief

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu has accused the State Government of failure to control the prices of essential commodities, maintain law and order, and address the problems of weaker sections.
Campaigning for his party candidates in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, Naidu addressed a string of meetings in the city today.
If the Congress was voted to power, life would become miserable for the citizens and rice would sell at Rs 100 a kilo, he warned.
Describing the Congress Government as the most inefficient and corrupt, Naidu said that during its tenure, law and order had taken a beating what with terrorists setting off bombs at Gokul Chat, Lumbini Park and Mecca Masjid. During the days of TDP government, Hyderabad used to be the most tranquil city with development taking place all over and no law and order problem ever raising its ugly head, he claimed.
Naidu was critical of the Congress for not being responsive to the needs of the weaker sections who were clamouring for house-sites. “For the Congress, which is not interested even to part with 60s sq yards for the poor for housing purpose, showed unusual interest in handing over thosuands of acres to those who happened to be in their good books,’’ he remarked.

Sonia should reply to Reddy's mining activities: Naidu

Hyderabad, Nov 19 (PTI) TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu today said Congress president Sonia Gandhi owed an answer to the people for turning a blind eye to the alleged illegal mining activities by Karnataka Tourism Minister Gali Janardhana Reddy's mining firm in the state and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

"The Karnataka unit of Congress is fighting the illegal activities of Gali while the AP unit has been supporting it. Even the Congress high command too seems to be supporting the mining mafia," Naidu told reporters.

"It is obvious that the late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's family is hand-in-glove with Gali. Sonia Gandhi owes an answer to the people on this because the mining mafia led by the Karnataka minister was looting precious national wealth," Chandrababu alleged.

"Gali has pumped tonnes of money into the Congress kitty in Andhra Pradesh.

TDP now targets Bramhani Steels

HYDERABAD: Continuing its attack against the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), the Telugu Desam party (TDP) today made another allegation that the State Government had shown undue favour to Bramhani Steels Limited.
Speaking to reporters here today, TDP MLA A Revanth Reddy alleged that the State Government issued orders for supplying 2 tmcft of water by constructing an intake well in the backwaters of Mylavaram reservoir instead of the Gandikota reservoir. He pointed out that the government had asked the APGenco to carry water from Brahmasamudram three years ago for the Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant (RTPP) because there was no water available in the Mylavaram reservoir. But the same government issued a GO in 2008 allocating 2 tmcft of water to Bramhani Steels, he alleged.
``If water was available in the Myalavaram reservoir, why did the government want Genco to carry water from the Brahmasamudram through pipelines, which costs the Genco around Rs 300 crore?’’ Reddy recalled that originally the government had wanted the Bramhani Steels to tap the Gandikota reservoir but the latter preferred the Mylavaram source. The government’s permission was nothing but favouring Bramhani Steels and subjecting Genco to a loss, the TDP leader alleged.
Revanth Reddy accused Chief Minister K Rosaiah of being blind to the irregularities and helping the `J’ gang increase their assets. ``If Bramhani Steels drew water from the Mylavaram reservoir around 1.10 lakh acres in Kadapa district would turn bone-dry,’’ he said and called for an immediate halt to the pipeline works of Bramhani Steels. He also demanded that the State government order a probe into the matter.
Meanwhile, leaders of Opposition parties have decided to stage a dharna near the Ambedkar statue here in protest against the `irregularities’ of OMC.

Telugu Desam demands judicial supervision, time

HYDERABAD: Welcoming Chief Minister K Rosaiah’s request to the Centre to order a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities of Obulapuram Mining Company, the Telugu Desam party (TDP) today demanded that the probe should be conducted under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court.
Speaking to reporters here today, TDP MLAs A Revanth Reddy and S Venugopalachary demanded that the government fix a time-limit for the probe into charges of illegal mining by the OMC.
CBI probes were ordered in Paritala Ravindra’s murder and on the alleged irregularities in the Outer Ring Road (ORR) project but no one knew the outcome of those enquiries, they pointed out. The TDP MLAs also demanded that the chief minister remove director of mines and geology VD Rajagopal and principal secretary (CCF) Sivasankar Reddy from their present posts.
Those officials who could help the CBI in the investigation should be appointed, they demanded.
The TDP leaders alleged that there was a `J’ gang behind the OMC irregularities.
They, however, did not specify the names. ``Those whose names begin with the letter `J’ are all behind the irregularities.’’ They demanded that the mining leases be kept in abeyance and all the properties be confiscated till CBI completed its probe. The CBI should also cover the evasion of royalty and sales tax and other issues, they demanded.

TDP to intensify stir against OMC after November

HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam will intensify its agitation against the ‘irregularities’ committed by the Obulapuram Mining Company after the declaration of GHMC election results on Nov 26.
Speaking to TV news channels here today, party president N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the mining mafia was shamelessly using `caste and region’ factors to protect themselves.
He said his party had been fighting against the irregularities of Gali Janardhan Reddy and the then chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy since 2004.
Naidu distributed copies of the book `Raja of Corruption’ brought out by the party against Rajasekhara Reddy some time ago. He said he would visit Delhi after Nov 26 and meet leaders of all national political parties, the prime minister and the President.
The ‘nexus’ between politicians and mining mafia as well as the `ill-gotten’ wealth of OMC owner Gali Janardhan Reddy should be probed, he demanded and claimed that if a proper enquiry was conducted it would reveal corruption to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore.

Google Chrome OS

There are lot many talks about Google Chrome OS and its initial screenshots but here is the download link for the Google Chrome OS (Unofficial) which can be used to install Chrome OS on your disk. This operating system is build around Google Chrome browser. This is going to be a lightweight Linux distribution for power web browsing.



Google has provided some inbuilt software with this OS. They are as below:
1. GNOME 2.24 desktop environment
2. Google Chrome 4.0.207 browser
3. OpenOffice.org 3.0
4. Flash Player 10.0
5. Google Calendar
6. Gmail Apps and many more

Here is the download link for ISO copy of the Google Chrome operating system. As this copy of OS is still in development stage, you will have to be prepared for some initial bugs.

Download Google Chrome here

How To Install Google Chrome OS

Go ahead and download the .gz copy of the Google Chrome OS and then Unzipped it. Now burn the copy on a blank CD. Now boot your computer using that CD. Use the below user password and root password for at the time of boot,
User Password: user
Root Password: root

Now you will have to click on “Live Installer” to install Google Chrome OS on your hard disk because you can’t run chrome OS from Live CD. Go ahead and install the OS on your hard disk. Now reboot your computer with hard disk and then start using Google Chrome OS.
Here are some other screenshots of Google Chrome OS, Thanks to Amit of Digital Inspiration for sharing these screenshots

If you are having some other updates related to Google chrome OS, then please share it over here. This is really going to change the web experience for many of us and will increase the Internet Penetration to get new users.

Tree cut to make way for CM's convoy?

HYDERABAD: Was a huge old banyan tree on Karkhana main road almost axed on Tuesday to clear the way for chief minister K Rosaiah’s convoy? The roads
and buildings department brought down a leafy banyan, which sources say was to give a clear passage to the chief minister who is expected to pass by this route to attend the inauguration of a Kalyana Mandapam near Hakimpet Air Force Station Compound on Wednesday.

The tree-felling was stopped when the residents of the area started inquiring why the banyan was being cut and started contacting this newspaper to complain about the same. With forest officials reaching the spot and the R&B department getting alerted, the tree-felling, which was meant to continue all night, was stopped. However, almost half the tree was mutilated.

While sources said the green murder was to make way for the CM’s convoy, which is expected to pass by this stretch twice on Wednesday, officials denied the same.

While the tree-cutting was proposed months ago, the authorities had gone slow on it till the CM announced his plan to pass by this route.

“The CM is scheduled to pass through the road. The tree was coming in the way of our repairing the road,” an R&B official told TOI. However, senior officials of the department said this was not so and that the tree-felling exercise was “routine” for which they had even taken permission from the forest department in 2008. “This is a routine exercise and we will relocate the tree if possible,” said Sudarshan Reddy, executive engineer, R&B, who maintained that the CM taking this route had nothing to do with this decision.

Meanwhile, officials of R&B, Karkhana police and even the forest department ganged up against the tree and said it was “half dead’’, termite-infested and could fall on its own if not removed. “The tree was old and obstructing the way. It could fall any time and that is why it was removed,” said Subhash Babu, Karkhana police inspector. However, citizens who saw the tree being axed disagreed. “The tree was very green and had new shoots springing up. The claim that it is termite-infested and half dead is far from the truth,” said Ramesh Kodambi, a businessman who was present at the site.

Green lovers also asked how a tree which is in the corner of the road and leaning towards the police station would disrupt the passage of the CM’s convoy.

According to another resident of the Karkhana area, tree-felling has been rampant in this area for long. “This tree has been around for a long time and it is a shame that it was cut down. It was not blocking the road,” said Suresh Kochattil, a concerned denizen.

The forest department had revoked all tree-felling permissions last year in response to the green movement catalysed by The Times of India. Tree-felling, it had said, would be permitted only if there was no other alternative and only after translocation as an option had been considered.

TDP to use K’taka Cong report to expose OMC

HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam plans to use the material prepared by its arch-rival, the Congress, to expose `illegal mining’ by the company owned by Karnataka Minister and BJP leader Gali Janardhan Reddy.


A TDP delegation, which will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon, will present a booklet brought out by the Karnakata Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on `illegal mining activities’ of Gali Janardhan Reddy.

KPCC’s `fact-finding’ report was published last year and the TDP is quoting from the book in support of its allegations against Janardhan Reddy, who is the Tourism Minister in the BJP Government in Karnataka.

Speaking to reporters here today, TDP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy said that they would soon meet Chief Minister K Rosaiah and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding immediate halt to the mining activity in Andhra Pradesh by the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by Gali Janardhan Reddy. ``We will also present the KPCC report to the prime minister,’’ the TDP leader said.

Reddy said that his party had been fighting against the illegal mining by Gal i Janardhan Reddy for the last four years but the State Government issued notices only yesterday. ``Mere issuance of notices is not sufficient, the State Government should stop all the mining activities of OMC,’’ he demanded. He also urged the State Government to arrest the directorgeneral of mining for lending support to the illegal mining.

The TDP leader said that an expert committee should be constituted to fix the boundaries of OMC. He alleged that government’s advisor KVP Ramachandra Rao and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy abetted the illegal mining.

When the BJP leader was resorting to illegal activities, the Congress government supported him, he alleged.

Another TDP leader S Venugopala Chary demanded that the State Government impose a heavy penalty on Gali Janardhan Reddy and collect sales tax from him.

Cong buys Chiranjeevi insurance against YSJ

NEW DELHI: Congress may have found an out-of-the-box solution to settle the Andhra Pradesh leadership issue. The party has roped in actor
Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections to be held later this month.

The tie-up has sent shock waves through the Andhra unit of the party as its real significance goes much beyond the local body elections in Hyderabad on November 23. The move effectively sidelines late Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s son Jaganmohan Reddy and puts in place a safety net for the K Rosaiah government in the state in case the Jagan faction decides to walk out of the party. PRP has 18 MLAs in the 294-member Andhra Pradesh assembly.

There was speculation that the resignation of state women welfare minister Konda Surekha last week could have hastened efforts by Congress to insulate the party from desertions by Mr Reddy’s supporters.

However, it is the prospect that the Congress high command has found a face fill up the leadership vacuum left behind by YSR that has fuelled speculation about how the tactical move will play out in the run up to the assembly elections in 2014. Political observers suggest future developments will have to be watched closely to decipher exactly where the charismatic and popular matinee idol would fit in the Congress scheme of things.

In the absence of a replacement for YSR, the party may have handed over charge to the experienced Rosaiah but there is little doubt Congress will be looking for a leader who can attract crowds for the next assembly polls. YSR’s 36-year old son is ruled out, at least for the moment. The high command has signalled its reluctance to hand over the leadership baton to Mr Jaganmohan Reddy, who is seen as too young and inexperienced . Moreover, the campaign launched by the Jagan group to install him as CM immediately after his father’s death was also seen as a move to arm-twist the high command.

The only draw back for the Congress in the alliance lies in the performance of PRP. Mr Chiranjeevi , who made a big bang entry on the political scene with a massive rally in Tirupati, was not able to demonstrate N T Rama Rao-kind of appeal in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections held this year. Though he served to damage the opposition TDP in the elections, his party only managed to pick up 18 seats. It remains to be seen how Congress-PRP alliance performs.

The tie-up was formalised after negotiations between APCC president D Srinivas and PRP leader and Mr Chiranjeevi’s brother-in-law Allu Aravind.

Notice to Reddys on ‘illegal’ mining

ANANTAPUR: District Forest Officer Kallol Biswas issued a notice to Obulapuram Mines Company seeking an explanation on how it had illegally excavated Rs 25 crore worth iron ore over the last two years.
The Obulapuram Mines Company belonging to Karnataka Minister Janardhan Reddy has been in accused of illegally excavating ore from areas beyond its allocated jurisdiction.
There is a case pending in the Supreme Court on the issue.

Karnataka minister's mining firm denies receiving notice

Obulapuram Mining Co, owned by Karnataka Tourism Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, Thursday said it has not received any notice on alleged illegal mining in Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh.

'We came to know through the media about the notice issued to the company,' said Obulapuram managing director B.V. Sreenivasa Reddy in a statement.

'We will respond once we receive the same (the notice). We are surprised that the officer concerned approached the media before the company was served a notice,' Sreenivasa Reddy said in the statement.

He was reacting to media reports that Anantapur district forest officer Kallol Biswas had issued a notice to Obulapuram seeking an explanation on how it had illegally excavated iron ore worth Rs.25 crore over the past two years.

Obulapuram promoter and Karnataka minister Janardhan Reddy is a business associate of Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the son of the late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

Obulapuram has been accused of having illegally excavated iron ore in areas beyond that allotted to it.

The issue has created political heat in the state on several occasions with the main opposition, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), alleging that the Congress government showed undue favour in extending mining lease to the company.

Levy royalty on iron ore, TD tells Govt

HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has demanded that the State Government, like its Karnataka counterpart, levy royalty on iron ore. It has also urged it to check the irregularities being committed by the Obulapuram Mining Corporation of Gali Janardhan Reddy.
Speaking to reporters here today, TDP leader N Janardhan Reddy said the Karnataka Government had fixed Rs 1,000 as royalty for every tonne of iron ore extracted and that the AP Government too could get much-needed income through a similar measure at a time when it did not even have money to pay salaries and pensions.
Should Chief Minister K Rosaiah take the step, the State would get crores of rupees as the daily earnings of Gali Janardhan Reddy were between Rs 10 crore and 15 crore, the TDP leader explained.
He said Gali Janardhan Reddy was extracting large quantities of ore from Obulapuram mines, while maintaining that some of it was being drawn from Pendlimarri, Dhone and Veldurthi mines.
The late YS Rajasekhara Reddy had encouraged Gali Janardhan Reddy, he alleged, and urged the present chief minister not to continue likewise.
He demanded that the State Government should fix the boundaries of Obulapuram mines as there were allegations of illegal mining.
He recalled that the TDP had already highlighted corruption in the mines and that the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee had published a book on the illegal activities of Gali Janardhan Reddy.

Sources: BJP offers olive branch to Karnataka Speaker

Source have told TIMES NOW that the BJP has offered an olive branch to Jagdish Shettar, who is the Speaker of the Karnataka assembly. Sources claim that in order to quell the infighting in the state BJP, the party’s central leadership has offered Shettar any cabinet post of his choice in Karnataka – but that Shettar has rejected this offer.

In the ongoing fight between Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and the Reddy brothers, Shettar seems to have become a rallying point for the latter as well as other dissident MLAs, and his name is apparently being proposed as a possible alternative to Yeddyurappa.

Shettar is said to have decided to resign as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and now if reports of his turning down a place in the Chief Minister’s cabinet are true, the BJP’s troubles in the state could get more complicated.

Shettar, who was in the city of Mysore yesterday (October 28) to attend a wedding on Wednesday, said,” I am closely watching the political developments. Rest of the things are left to the almighty.”

Sources say the Speaker also is unhappy with the chief minister’s style of functioning and also Minister for Rural Development and Panchyati Raj Shobha Karanlaje’s prominence in the government.

He is said to have thought of resigning on October 9, along with Chief Minister’s parliamentary secretary S A Ramdas and four others. However, the decision was put off in the wake of the floods in north Karnataka.

BJP leaders close to Shettar claimed supports from majority of the ministers including independents, MLAs that would take to a logical end in a week.

Earlier in the day, there were reports that the BJP high command, through the state BJP incharge, Arun Jaitley who is at present camped in Karnataka speaking to both sides, had conveyed to Yeddyurappa their support and asked him to take a call on how to deal with the brewing ‘rebellion’.

A jittery BJP has however, so far officially denied any infighting within the party.

source@
http://www.timesnow.tv/Sources-BJP-offers-olive-branch-to-Karnataka-Speaker/articleshow/4330783.cms

REDDY, 15 MLAS LAND IN HYDERABAD RESORT

• One more group leaving for Goa

• CM cancels MLAs' meet

• Shettar firm on CM's post

• Solution this evening or 'morrow

• YSR's son may intervene

Bangalore, Oct. 29 (MRS)- The rift within the ruling BJP seems to be heading towards the final showdown, with rival groups refusing to budge.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyu-rappa suffered a setback as a meeting of MLAs, he considered them to be his supporters, did not take place.

He had called the meeting at his residence on Race Course Road at 8 am. The CM had to cancel it as only three MLAs turned up till at 8.30 am.

According to sources, the Chief Minister was expecting at least 71 MLAs to turn up.

Meanwhile, he continued to challenge Reddy camp when he transferred today 21 officers of Bellary and Gadag districts including Bellary Addl. Superintendent of Police Ashok Kurera.

Chief Ministerial aspirant and Assembly Speaker Jagadish Shettar today became more assertive. He refused to accept the Cabinet berth offered by the Chief Minister.

Shettar's close aides, who met him and extended their support to him, contended that the time had come for installing Shettar as the Chief Minister.

In Hyderabad

BJP sources said that 15 MLAs supporting Reddy brothers have landed at a resort on Airport Road in Hyderabad. Tourism Minister Janardhan Reddy is expected at the resort any time for a meeting with them.

There are also strong rumours that Reddy may meet Jagmohan Reddy, son of late Andhra Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy.

Another source said that 11 more MLAs and four Ministers will leave for Goa by a chartered flight at 4 pm and stay at a resort.

It’s final: GHMC elections on Nov 23

HYDERABAD: The poll bugle has been sounded for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections. Putting an end to a two month-long suspense, the State Election Commission on Wednesday announced the schedule for GHMC polls to be held on November 23. Votes will be counted on November 26.
Addressing a packed media conference at his office on Thursday, State Election Commissioner AVS Reddy stated that the elections will be held for 150 wards in GHMC limits and a formal notification will be issued in this regard on October 31. Candidates can file the nominations from October 31 and the last date for submission of nomination is November 6. The scrutiny of nominations will be on November 7 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is on November 10. The final list of candidates will be published on the same day.
On November 23, the polling will be held from 7 am to 5 pm where Electronic Voting Machines will be used for the first time in local body elections.
Election to the offices of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of GHMC will be conducted on December 6 for which a formal notification will be issued on December 2. In case the election cannot be held on December 6, it will be held on December 7. The model code of conduct has come into force from 4 pm on Wednesday. The State Election Commission is preparing a special circular to avoid interruptions to government programmes.
“Hyderabad being the State capital, there are certain problems or limitations in implementing the model code of conduct. There are several Statewide programmes which will be affected due to the model code of conduct.
The State Election Commission is preparing a circular in this context without interrupting such regular programmes. However, we request everyone, including political parties and the media not to blow issues out of proportion keeping in view the larger interests of the public,” said AVS Reddy.

Total number of Wards 150
Reserved 92
Unreserved 58
Total number of electors 54,26,106
Male 28,35,578
Female 25,90,528
Total Polling St ations 5,663
Men 1,239
Women 1,184
General 2,962
Auxiliary 278
Sensitive 560
Hyper sensitive 465
EVMs to be used 15,000
Polling personnel 48,000
Rosaiah rides the poll wagon
Chief Minister K Rosaiah had a hectic day on Wednesday laying foundation stones and inaugurating development schemes across the city, thus raising the curtain for the hustle and bustle of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections.
In his maiden tour of Greater Hyderabad, Rosaiah accompanied by Union Minister for Urban Development S Jaipal Reddy, his Cabinet colleagues, MLAs and MPs promised all things to all people. Rosaiah’s tour started at ACS Nagar in East Marredpally where he laid the foundation stone for JNNURM Housing Colony.
Health Minister for Health D Nagender, Minister for Backward Classes Mukesh Goud, Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy, Secunderabad MLA Jayasudha, Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav participated in the tour.
YSR wishes ko salaam
“As per the wishes of the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, we will construct houses under the JNNURM with proper infrastructural facilities.
If the beneficiary invests Rs 1 lakh, we will pay the remaining Rs 3 lakh to help him complete his house,” Chief Minister K Rosaiah said. “Under JNNURM, Rs 4,000 crore has been spent to develop localities under GHMC in the last few years,” he said adding that 1.2 lakh houses would be built. A foundation stone was laid for the IDH Colony near Bhoiguda.
Three reservoirs
Proposals for three reservoirs by HMWS&SB at Chilkalguda, Chanchalguda and Santhoshnagar acquired life with the Chief Minister laying the foundation stones for them.
Suburbs in focus
In the suburbs, foundation stones were laid for many infrastructure projects.
They included road-widening works between Ambedkar University and Kavuri Hills, a new road from Madhapur to Raheja Park. The tour concluded at BHEL junction after laying a foundation stone for Central Modern Lighting from BHEL Junction to Nakka Vagu. Rosaiah talked of the upcoming joint venture of BHEL-NTPC at Srikalahasti and expansion of the Visakha steel plant.
Taatha is here!
Wherever CM Rosaiah went, children cheered him, singing songs and addressing him as grandfather (taatha). Surprisingly, the Chief Minister disappointed locals in all the locations he visited, by not interacting with them. Many wanted to have a word or two with the newly-appointed CM but Rosaiah did not seem to have the time.
No politics please
Rosaiah steered clear of any political statements throughout his tour. He did not hit out at the Opposition parties like the TDP or TRS or their leaders. He confined himself to stating what the government was doing.

Rosaiah has no peers in Congress : Babu

HYDERABAD: Reiterating his party’s resolve to fight the government, Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu has, however, a word of compliment for Chief Minister K Rosaiah that he is a powerful leader in the Congress.
Talking with reporters at his party headquarters here today, the TDP president observed no one in the Congress had had the capabilities Rosaiah had. Whenever the Congress was in power, Rosiah launched a tirade against the Opposition parties, particularly the TDP, he said.
He wanted to know if the Congress won in the last general election on the late Rajasekhara Reddy’s image, how come it won fewer Assembly seats in proportion to the Lok Sabha seats.
“Chief Minister K Rosaiah and ministers are working in two different directions becasue of which the government failed on all fronts. The chief minister should remove the ministers who are not discharging their duties,’’ Naidu advised Rosaiah.
He said he was going on a State tour from Wednesday from Karimnagar district to expose State Government’s failures, particularly in the medical and health sector.
The TDP president demanded that the government withdrwa the GO providing 4 percent reservation to Muslims in BC `E’ category in the coming GHMC elections. The government should take a final decision on the matter in due consultation with all political parties, he said. In reply to a question he said he did not wish to react to the statements made by TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao as he did not want to degrade himself.
CM to tour Medak distr ict today
SANGAREDDY: For the first time after assuming office, Chief Minister K Rosaiah will tour Medak district tomorrow.
According to District Collector L Sashidhar, he would lay foundation stone for the twocrore Central Modern Lighting system at the BHEL junction here in Patancheru Assembly constituency.
After attending the programme at 12:40 p.m, he will proceed to Chandanagar to participate in another programme at 12:50 p.m.

TDP opposes grading system in SSC exams

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) today opposed the grading system in SSC examinations saying that it would become a problem in Government recruitments.
Speaking to reporters here today, TDP leader Gali Muddu Krishnama Naidu said that recruitment of RTC conductors, attenders, record assistants would be made on the marks obtained in the SSC examinations.
If the grading system is introduced, the recruitment would open d o o r s fo r large scale corruption, he feared.
He recalled that a similar GO was issued during the TDP regime, but the then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu cancelled it in the larger interests of job-aspirants.
He demanded that the State Government should take the opinion of teachers’ associations and convene an all-party meeting before implementing the grading system.
He found fault with the Government for not filling of 14,000 teacher posts, which were already notified in the DSC-2008. The Government is finding lame excuses and to fill these posts notified under DSC-2008, he alleged.
Several schools in the State lack basic facilities like drinking water, toilets, buildings and even teachers, he said and added that the new universities set up recently did not have even buildings and proper infrastructure.

Elections to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corp next month

Hyderabad: Battle lines have been drawn for elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the first to the local body since it has come into existence, next month as the state's ruling Congress party faces the first test of popularity in post - YS Rajasekhara Reddy era.


The tenure of the general body of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, which was controlled by TDP-BJP combine, ended in February 2007 but the Congress government had put the elections on hold as it was in the process of merging 11 surrounding municipalities and some gram panchayats with MCH, thereby making it the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

The GHMC came into being in April 2007 but the elections were postponed due to a variety of reasons, including the need for delimitation of wards and some legal wrangle.

In the 2002 elections, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had won the Mayor post in a direct election in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party which took the Deputy Mayor's post.

Majlis Ittehadul-e-Muslimeen (MIM) won 36 out of the 100 seats while TDP-BJP combine won 38 seats. Congress won 20.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti and Majlis Bachao Tehreek won two seats each while Telangana Sadhana Samiti won one seat.

Post-delimitation, GHMC has 150 seats and no electoral alliance has been formed between any party so far this time for the November 23 poll.

TDP is likely to align with Left parties for the election while Congress and MIM are likely to extend their tacit understanding for the GHMC polls as well.Lok Satta Party and Praja Rajyam Party--all new entrants in GHMC poll fray-?are likely to contest the elections on their own.

Congress starts the GHMC poll race with an advantage as the Mayor will be elected indirectly. The party has 14 MLAs, seven MPs and nine MLCs who, as ex-officio members of the GHMC, will decide who becomes the city Mayor.

Congress is going to the people on the development plank claiming it has launched projects worth Rs 5,555 crore in the last five years for the development of the city.

Though the ruling party claims that more than Rs600 crore worth of work has already been completed, the condition of roads, poor traffic management, sanitation conditions, erratic power and drinking water supply could weaken Congress' claims.

Both TDP and BJP have challenged the Congress to a debate on the development of Hyderabad saying not a single project worth the name has been completed in the last five years.

"Congress will have to do a lot of answering on the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project, the failure in taking up the second phase of Multi-Modal Transit System and the housing schemes", says BJP floor leader G Kishan Reddy.

State health minister and Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee president Danam Nagender, however, exuded confidence that the party would win 100 out of 150 seats in GHMC elections. "This will be a tribute to our late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and a gift to chief minister K Rosaiah," Nagender said.TDP has ruled out any truck with TRS for GHMC elections and said it would talk to Left parties for forging an alliance. It also indicated willingness to an alliance with actor Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party if the latter came up with a proposal.

"We will get 100 seats in this elections since it is our party that has developed Hyderabad to this level," TDP politburo member Nagam Janardhana Reddy claimed.

Workers are backbone of part y: Babu

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu said that he would allot 50 per cent of his time to party workers and the remaining time to people. In an informal chat with partymen from West Godavari, Guntur, Chittoor, Nalgonda and Rangareddy district at NTR Bhavan here today, Naidu said that workers are the backbone for the party and they would be given due recognition in the party. Despite some senior leaders ditching the party, workers always remained with the party and striving hard to strengthen the party, Naidu said.
He recalled that several TD workers have been killed by Congress and false cases were foisted against party workers in several district including Anantapur.
Assembly segment-wise meetings will be held on October 27, 30 and 31 across the State. Organisational matters, membership drive, floods and drought will be discussed in the meetings. The leaders will also analyse the political situation in the State and chalk out future course of action.
Meanwhile, TDP minority cell which met here today under the chairmanship of its president Ameer Babu wanted Muslims to support TDP in the forthcoming Greater Hyderaba.

Speedy repair of Sunkesula dam will save crops: Chandrababu

Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday urged that repair works of Sunkesula dam on river Tungabhadra be begun immediately to save standing crop in over 2.5 lakh acres and ensure drinking water supply to over 300 habitations.



In a letter to Chief Minister K Rosaiah, the Leader of Opposition said repair and restoration works on the dam were yet to commence after the recent floods left the structure badly damaged.

"The delay in beginning the works is due to the protest by villagers of Sunkesula and Rajoli who are not allowing the works to be taken up till their demands are met. But, Sunkesula is the source of drinking water for over 300 habitations in the region while more than 2.5 lakh acres of crop under the KC Canal irrigation system is also dependent on this water. Unless the works are completed on a war-footing, more than Rs 500 crore worth crops will be lost," Chandrababu said.

"I, therefore, request you to direct the authorities concerned to commence the Sunkesula works immediately by amicably sorting out problems of the affected people," the TDP chief requested the Chief Minister.

Bureau Report

TDP to get into action mode

HYDERABAD: The newly-constituted state executive of the TDP which met here on Wednesday, has decided to put the party in action mode by deciding

to pin down ministers for their failures, but spare chief minister K Rosaiah for the time being.

The party which was lying low ever since the death of former chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has now decided to take on the government for its omissions and commissions.

The party and its president N Chandrababu Naidu have been adopting a soft stance towards Rosaiah, and on several occasions in the past two months, both Naidu and Rosaiah have shared the same platform. The party, it seems, wants to continue the same stand for some more time, that being one of the reasons for supporting the government's decision to file a review petition in Supreme Court on its decision to declare Hyderabad as free zone for administrative purposes.

The state executive also called upon the rank and file to gear up for the ensuing GHMC polls as a notification in this regard is expected soon. But the internal bickerings in the party came to fore on this issue since T Srinivas Yadav and former deputy speaker K Harishwar Reddy who was hoping to be inducted into the politburo kept out of the meeting. Harishwar Reddy has been made as one of the vice-presidents. He was also opposed to readmitting T Devender Goud who had quit the party before polls and joined PRP.

Later briefing the media, politburo member K Yerranaidu said that the executive was of the opinion that all the advisors in YSR's government should quit and give a free hand to Rosaiah to constitute his own team.

Referring to reports of possibility of a conspiracy behind YSR's death in chopper crash, the party demanded a full-fledged inquiry and said that pending inquiry the chairman of advisory committee on public security K V P Ramachandra Rao should resign. If the DGP can be removed for negligence in duty why not the advisor, he said. The party also condemned the government's move to issue a GO fixing creamy layer for the backward classes and demanded it to take back the decision.

Jagan shoots from the lip

HYDERABAD: A day after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi and agreeing to leave the leadership issue in AP to her, Kadapa MP Y

S Jaganmohan Reddy — flanked by several cabinet ministers — on Friday targeted the Rosaiah regime. Vowing to fulfil the poll promises and projects envisioned by his father, the late CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, he accused the Rosaiah government of failing to implement even a single poll promise made by YSR.

Rosaiah’s cabinet colleagues who were in attendance at Jagan’s maiden press meet at the CM’s camp office while he took aim at the CM included home minister Sabita Indira Reddy, industries minister D K Aruna, IT minister Komitireddi Venkat Reddy, health minister D Nagender and education minister Manikya Varaprasad.

“Our beloved leader Rajasekhara Reddy promised to increase the Rs 2 kg rice quota for the poor from 24 kg to 30 kg every month. That has not been done. My father had promised to raise free power duration to farmers from 7 hrs to 9 hrs. That too is still to be done,” Jagan said.

Expressing unhappiness over Rosaiah’s functioning, Jagan said not only poll promises but even YSR’s development schemes were being neglected. “Let it be pension for the poor, houses or white ration cards, nothing has been done. White ration cards have been kept on hold on the grounds that a survey is on to weed out bogus cards. The survey itself is moving at a sluggish pace. Whether it is Rosaiah or anybody else nominated by the high command, I will continue to fight for the realisation of my father’s dreams,” he said.

On how he would rate the performance of the Rosaiah regime which marked 50 days on Friday, he said: “It is a controversial question. I do not want to comment.”

The Kadapa MP’s unhappiness with the high command was also on display. He first refused to grace the chair reserved for him in front of three portraits of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia, and then chose to address the media standing away from the portraits.

Sources close to Jagan said he intends to contest from YSR’s assembly constituency Pulivendula. “I am interested in state politics,” a source quoted him when he (Jagan) was asked about contensting from Pulivendula.

At the press meet, however, he said he had never expressed a desire to be CM but hastened to ask the media whether it was wrong for a son to aspire to fulfil a father’s dreams. “I am 36 years old. It is not my ambition to become CM by any means whatsoever. I will work hard, reach out to the people and the post would then come calling one day,” he said. He signed off by talking of his father’s ambition to ensure that Rahul Gandhi became the PM. “I will make sure that the Congress wins 41 Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 elections and Rahul becomes the PM,” he said.

Lutyens bungalow for Jagan Reddy

NEW DELHI: Jaganmohan Reddy, son of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy, might have lost the race for the CM’s post but in New Delhi,

the first time Member of Parliament has been allotted a huge bungalow in the posh Lutyens Zone.

Though Jagan failed in his bid to become the chief minister, sources said the directorate of estates under urban development ministry has offered him a Type VII bungalow — 26, Lodhi Estate.

Generally, Type VI and VII bungalows are allotted to ministers of state or senior parliamentarians.

First-time MPs are entitled to apartments in VP House, North Avenue, South Avenue and in multi-storey flats at Bishwambhar Das Marg. However, there are deviations from the rulebook as some first-time MPs like Sachin Pilot and Jitin Prasad continued to retain the bigger bungalows allotted to their fathers.

The allotment of a bungalow at 26, Lodhi Estate for Jagan has raised many an eyebrow. The move could also be an indication of a “bigger” role for YSR’s son in central politics.

However, if one goes by the category and size of bungalow allotted to Jagan, he is likely to settle for a minister of state portfolio in the Union Cabinet and may not get Cabinet rank. According to officials, Cabinet ministers, irrespective of their tenure as parliamentarians, are entitled to Type VIII bungalows.

The higher category allotment to Jagan was made by the UD ministry taking a Cabinet Committee on Accommodation (CCA) route. “Out-of-turn or above entitlement allotment needs approval from CCA,” said an official.

There were reports that Congress high command has decided to take Jagan into the Manmohan Singh Cabinet as part of a compromise formula arrived at by the Congress leadership to let K Rosaiah continue as the chief minister.

Political fortunes decide where politicians stay in the Capital. Ram Vilas Paswan, who had not vacated his Type VIII bungalow — 12, Janpath — next to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s residence even after losing Lok Sabha polls in May, has been issued eviction order.

TDP may not back TRS on free zone issue

HYDERABAD: Six months after the Assembly elections, the main Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has almost dumped its ally the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The TRS too is trying hard to move away from the TDP in order to get closer to the Congress.
As the experiment with the TRS failed to click in the Assembly elections, the TDP is now targeting the TRS leadership for its failure to carry forward the Telangana slogan effectively.
The TDP is now trying to project a picture to the people of Telanagana that it is the only party which has been with the Telangana people through thick and thin.
The TDP leaders say that they launched agitations against `skull symbol on beedi packs’, Babhali project and other key issues. It was TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu who visited several villages in Mahaboobnagar and helped the flood victims by providing relief material.
“We thought that if all the Opposition parties sailed together it would help to dislodge the Congress Government in the State. But, the poll arithmetic proved otherwise,’’ said a TDP leader from Telangana.
In the wake of these developments, TDP is unlikely to support the no-trust motion being introduced by the TRS against the State Government on Hyderabad free zone issue.
If at all Assembly session is convened to discuss the notrust motion, the TDP is likely to watch the reactions from Congress rather than supporting the TRS. TDP stand on free-zone is that the Government should not deviate from the Presidential order or GO 610. The TDP had already endorsed State’s move to file a review petition in the Supreme Court on free zone issue.

Modern shelter for Sabarimala pilgrims coming up

KOTTAYAM: A modern shelter for Sabarimala pilgrims will be set up here soon, under the aegis of the Southern Railways at a cost of Rs 1 crore, said general manager M S Jayanth here on Sunday.
The long-awaited facility will be similar to the one coming up at present on the premises of Chengannur Railway Station.
Accompanied by S D Dutt, divisional manager, Southern Railways, Thiruvananthapuram, and other officials from the division, Jayanth made a threadbare, onthe- spot assessment with regard to passenger amenities here, as part of a drive from stations in between Kottayam and Chenagannur on the eve of the upcoming Sabrimala pilgrimage season.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the lack of sufficient number of toilets and other amenities as well as deficiency in cleanliness at the station here, the general manager said that more temporary toilets would be set up in Platform number two, during the pilgrimage season.
"Galvanised roofs will be introduced in platforms where it has been found lacking and big screen electronic boards highlighting the arrival and departure timings of trains as well as positioning of coaches will be installed", he said.
The information counter at the station which is in the centre of severe criticism from passengers for long, will be beefed up and made attentive.
Memorandums were submitted to the general manager by officebearers of the Passenger's Associations demanding re-routing of the Venad Express through the Ernakulam South station, extension of the Ernakulam-Kottayam passenger upto Kayamkulam and allotting a halt for the evening Kayamkulam- Ernakulam push pull train at Kumaranaloor.

Sabarimala gears up to welcome devotees

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 15 (PTI) Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the famous Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala, has geared up to provide basic facilities at the hill shrine for lakhs of devotees expected during the festival season starting next month.

About three crore devotees visited the temple last year and the number would go up this year, State Devaswom Minister Kadanapalli Ramachandran told reporters after a meeting of South Indian state ministers in charge of departments administering temples and officials here.

It has been decided to allot land on a temporary basis to neighbouring states at Nilackel for putting up information counters, with people from respective states manning them.

It would to a great extent solve communication problems.

To ensure the availability of 'Aravana', the main prasadam of the temple, the capacity of the manufacturing plant has been increased from one lakh tins per day to 1.50 lakh tins.

Happy Diwali...

May This Diwali be as bright as ever.

May this Diwali bring joy, health and wealth to you.

May the festival of lights brighten up you and your near and dear ones lives.

May this Diwali bring in u the most brightest and choicest happiness and love you have ever Wished for.

May this Diwali bring you the utmost in peace and prosperity.

May lights triumph over darkness.

May peace transcend the earth.

May the spirit of light illuminate the world.

May the light that we celebrate at Diwali show us the way and

lead us together on the path of peace and social harmony

‘WISH U A VERY HAPPY DIWALI’

...

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Mee.... Bandlamudi

Jagan bhajan singers tune up again

HYDERABAD: Now that the floods have receded and the elections in the northern States are over, Rajasekhara Reddy loyalists are preparing to serenade the high command again with their “Jagan for CM” song.
They will, however, refrain from any strident demands, aware that this would only irritate the party bigwigs.
No fewer than eight ministers and 19 MLAs were among those who called on him on Day 2 of his return to the city.
While Women and Child Welfare Minister Konda Surekha openly said she still wanted him to be chief minister, others were not so forthcoming. Municipal Administration Minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, after being closeted with Jagan Mohan Reddy, merely said they were all waiting for word from the Congress high command.
He said there was no question of any split in the party in the event of the decision being one not to their liking. The ministers and MLAs also met Rajya Sabha member KVP Ramachandra Rao at the latter’s residence and reviewed the situation.
Ministers Vatti Vasant Kumar, D Manikya Vara Prasad and Jupalli Krishna Rao, and former minister DS Redya Naik were among those who conferred with KVP.
Surekha was combative in her demand that Jagan Mohan Reddy be made chief minister. She dared all those who “criticised” the late Rajasekhara Reddy to resign their posts and contest the elections again to “prove their mass base.” School Education Minister D Manikya Vara Prasad, who is not apprehensive about being seen in Jagan Mohan Reddy’s company all the time, merely said: “I am for Jagan. I will say no more.” Most of the visitors either said Chief Minister Rosaiah was doing a good job or kept quiet, and none criticised him. However, Congress MLA from Medchal K Lakshma Reddy said he still considered Rosaiah an interim chief minister.

Telugu Desam Party MPs to contribute Rs4crore to AP flood relief

Hyderabad: Eight Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs have decided to contribute a sum of Rs4crore from their Local Area Development Fund to take up a special restoration project in the worst flood-hit parts of the state.

The NTR Trust will contribute a matching grant of Rs2crore for this project, party president N Chandrababu Naidu said.

"We are chalking out details of the works and will take them up in identified places soon," he told a press conference here today.

The Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party leader Nama Nageswara Rao has contributed Rs10lakh personally to the NTR Trust while all the party MPs (six Lok Sabha and two Rajya Sabha) would be contributing their two months salary.

The NTR Trust, along with the TDP machinery, was in the forefront of the rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit districts of the state. Apart from supplying food, drinking water, clothes and other essentials to the flood victims, the NTR Trust has pressed 150 doctors into service for organising special medical camps in the affected areas.

Our doctors have attended to over 2lakh patients while medicines worth Rs one crore have been distributed, Naidu said. He sent out 3.80crore messages on all mobile phones seeking help for the flood victims.

There has been an overwhelming response to our call as people from students to businessmen donated to our Trust, he said.

Students of Bhashyam School donated Rs10,116 to Naidu at the press conference.

More than the government machinery, it was the non-governmental organisations that did stupendous work in the aid of the flood victims. We are going to felicitate officials and non-officials who did their might in reaching out to the flood-hit people in the hour of misery, Naidu said.

Film Stars To Gather Funds

The film industry is reportedly planning to come up with a programme or a cricket match to organise funds for the flood victims. Never has been such floods at this magnitude.

The film stars are supposed to have met today to discuss the further course of action. Balakrishna is taking special interest to bring the people together for this purpose.

Naidu blames Ponnala for floods

IJAYAWADA: TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu held irrigation minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah responsible for the unprecedented floods in the state and

demanded his resignation.

Speaking to media here on Monday, Naidu said the floods were man-made and not due to the nature's fury. He said water from Srisalam was not released downstream in spite of clear warnings from the Central Water Commission and added that the minister and his officials should take the blame for this tragedy.

He alleged that the government was not coming out with facts on the fiasco as every official right from the CMO to the district collector in Kurnool were responsible for the worst floods the state had witnessed. Naidu said he had not seen such worst conditions in his life. "The administration has failed to remove even the garbage and slush formed in the houses of each and every corner in Kurnool," he bemoaned.

He said the flood banks were not properly maintained as the entire money was eaten away by the contractors backed by the ruling Congress leaders. He said the ministers camped in the flood-hit districts but confined themselves to the guest houses. Naidu visited flood-hit villages in Diviseema on Monday.

Breaches in Krishna embankment flood more Andhra villages

HYDERABAD: The Krishna river breached its embankment on Tuesday inundating dozens of villages in Krishna and Guntur districts, worsening the century's worst flooding in Andhra Pradesh that has claimed 52 lives.

Flood waters submerged dozens of island villages near where the swollen Krishna falls into the Bay of Bengal. Though most people had already moved to safety, many were rescued by boats, averting a major tragedy.

Residents of other villages facing threat of inundation are being warned to immediately shift to safer places.

Authorities in the two districts have evacuated 250,000 people from over 200 villages and parts of Vijayawada city, which too faces a threat due to the rising level in Prakasam barrage.

However, the loss of life was minimised as officials had adequate time to evacuate people after Kurnool and Mahabubnagar districts were flooded upstream Oct 2.

The water level in Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada city on Tuesday rose to 21.9 feet against its full reservoir level of 23 feet. The inflows reached a record 1.13 million cusecs while the discharge into the sea was at 1.08 million, threatening the villages downstream.

Areas upstream have already come under six to seven feet water. The Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway is also submerged, disrupting traffic between the two cities.

Andhra chief minister K. Rosaiah on Tuesday held a teleconference with collectors of five flood-hit districts and asked officials of Krishna and Guntur districts to be on alert for the next 36 hours and monitor the situation at embankments closely.

Kurnool and Mahabubnagar, battered by floods last week, got a respite as water flow has almost stopped from dams in neighbouring Karnataka.

The inflows at Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects have considerably decreased, enabling authorities to focus on relief and rehabilitation in Kurnool, Mantralayam and Nandyal towns as well as villages that bore the maximum brunt.

The floods have claimed 52 lives in Andhra Pradesh and affected over 1.6 million people in five districts. Half a million people are homeless.

While 28 people were killed in the worst-hit Kurnool district, 17 died in Mahabubnagar. The remaining deaths were reported from Krishna and Nalgonda (3 each) and Guntur (1).

The destruction to infrastructure and crops has been massive. Initial estimates put the loss at Rs.12,225 crore. The government has urged the centre to declare the floods a national calamity and provide an immediate assistance of Rs 6,000 crore for relief and rehabilitation.

Diviseema goes under

HYDERABAD/VIJAYAWADA: The fury of the Krishna is now being vented on the district that bears its name, with parts of Vijayawada and island villages at the mouth of Bay of Bengal under threat, even though inflows into the river have abated a bit at Srisailam Reservoir.
Meanwhile, an embattled State Government requested UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to arrange for immediate assistance of Rs 6,000 crore, after she made an aerial survey of the flood-affected districts, to grapple with the postflood crisis in Kurnool and Mahaboobnagar and the looming crisis in Krishna and Guntur districts.
Though Krishna district administration, unlike its Kurnool counterpart, has had time to be prepared for the eventuality the enormity of the challenge is nevertheless unnerving.
At least 30 villages remain marooned in Diviseema at the mouth of the Bay, an area comprising the mandals of Nagayalanka, Avanigadda and Koduru.
The administration has pressed into service men, material and boats to go to the rescue of the victims but they appear woefully inadequate to the magnitude of the task.
On an island village, Edlanka near Avanigadda, a boat ferrying about 11 persons capsized in flood waters. While nine persons managed to swim to safety, the whereabouts of two children are not known.
Air-dropping of food and water sachets continued in marooned villages but nowhere on the scale required.
The situation in some parts of Vijayawada, the commercial capital of the State, is no less grim with several localities abutting the flood embankment inundated. Road links to Hyderabad have been badly affected with the National Highway No 9 submerged at several places between Kanchikacharla and Ibrahimpatnam in Krishna district.
The threat of more areas coming under water will continue for the next 36 hours with the Prakasam Barrage still receiving inflows. At present, the inflow is 11 lakh cusecs and outflow 10.87 lakh cusecs. The effect of decreased discharges from N’Sagar and Srisailam would be visible only tomorrow, officials said.
Meanwhile, discharges into Srisailam, the major reservoir on the Krishna in the State that receives waters from Karnataka, have come down. Karnataka has significantly reduced discharge from Almatti and Narayanpur, thus giving Andhra Pradesh a breather.
Officials said the emergency gate was being closed as inflows had decreased. The inflow into Srisailam reservoir was 4.5 lakh cusecs while the outflow was double the volume whereas the discharge from the Nagarjuna Sagar is 10.27 lakh cusecs which the Prakasam Barrage downstream can handle.

Relief for flood victims pours in

The AP Government Doctors’ Association on Sunday announced donation of the members’ one day’s basic salary, amounting to Rs.60 lakh, to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the benefit of flood victims. P. Srinivas, president, said the doctors would work to their utmost capacity to take care of the affected persons and run medical camps.

The Apollo Hospitals is sending medicines worth Rs.25 lakh to the affected areas. Its four teams are working in Mahabubnagar district. One team is carrying medicines worth Rs.5 lakh and will be in the district for a week. Additional teams are ready to go to Kurnool.

Activists of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, AP Paschim, is running 15 relief camps in Kurnool and nine in Mahabubnagar districts.

They saved 50 persons from flood waters and distributed more than 1.5 lakh food/water packets, biscuits and clothes. The VHP is sending 25 quintals of rice and clothes for 5,000 persons in Mahabubnagar.

The Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL ) has deployed 33 doctors for providing relief in Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts. It has sent 76 staff for taking up rescue.

Drinking water

Heritage Foods, managed by Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s family, has distributed thousands of drinking water sachets in Kurnool, Mahabubnagar and Krishna districts to the flood-affected persons.

Scientists of the Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University are guiding farmers in the areas affected by Krishna and Tungabhadra floods, in coordination with the Agriculture department staff. They are examining damaged crops and advising farmers on steps to minimise the loss.M.V. Foundation is collecting food/clothes in Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda, Adilabad, Hyderabad and Khammam districts. Families of several policemen in twin cities dispatched six loads of relief material to the flood-hit areas in Mahbubnagar district on Sunday.

Four loads of clothes and blankets and two loads of food items, including 9,500 packed food items, 6,500 baked food sachets, 1,600 litres of mineral water and 10 quintals of rice were sent to help the villagers.

DCP (CAR Headquarters) E. Damodar said efforts were on to sent two more loads of relief material to Mahbubnagar on Monday. “We are unable to send material to Kurnool district as road connectivity was cut-off due to floods,” he said. The Agarwal Samaj has also come forward to help the people in flood-affected areas. “We have requested them to provide more blankets, bread and biscuits,” he said.

Helpline

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) will distribute relief material to flood victims when its MLAs visit Mahabubnagar on Monday with the stock that the party has collected from various sources.

TRS legislature party leader Eatala Rajender and another MLA T. Harish Rao told a press conference on Sunday that it was also decided to hold a health camp in Mahabubnagar as the post-flood period was vulnerable to spread of viral fevers.

The party has set up a round-the-clock help-line with phone numbers 9949411222 and 9490201066.

The TRS MLAs would contribute a month’s salary to procure additional relief material for distribution.

The party had already collected 20,000 bed sheets, clothes, bread and biscuit packets.

They criticised the tardy progress in relief by the Government but did not wish to make it an issue as this was not the time to indulge in it. They demanded a high level inquiry into the delay in discharge of water from Srisailam project and the closure of crest gates after they had been opened earlier.

They alleged that the gates were not opened until the full reservoir level was reached. This was in spite of the Central Water Commission (CWC) forewarning the State government about the likelihood of floods.

Opposition blames govt for failure to handle flood situtation

HYDERABAD: The government came in for sharp criticism from the opposition parties for lack of coordination between various departments and the

inaction of Kurnool district administration. "It was overaction at the Secretariat level and inaction at the district level," is how they described the government's response to the unprecedented floods.

If the government had paid heed to the warning by the metereological department, the central water resources ministry and released the water from Srisailam downstream when the reservoir levels were at 882 ft, there would have been some cushion in the reservoir and the impact could have been reduced. The central agencies issued the warning on September 30 but the government failed in anticipating the severity.

Talking to media after the all party meeting, TDP leader and former irrigation minister Kadiam Srihari said that the chief minister pressed the panic button on Friday night and said that the continued heavy inflows into Srisailam would maroon Kurnool town by Saturday morning causing panic in the town. Apparently, he has been misled by the officials. The flood in Kurnool was due to heavy releases from Tungabhadra river and not Srisailam. Despite release of a record 25 lakh cusecs of water from Srisailam, the water levels in Kurnool town receded by 4 feet."

Further, the CPI and CPM blamed the irrigation department for poor maintenance of the Sunkesula Barrage gates and delay in modernisation and repairs of Handri-Neeva Canal. They said the administration due to improper planning failed to even provide food packets and drinking water to the marooned people. They suggested district level all party committees to monitor distribution of relief material.

The opposition also suggested that the government should take proper care and see that once the water recedes, there are no fresh casualities due to collapse of walls and houses and asked the chief minister to ensure that proper and effective steps were taken to prevent spread of epidemics. They further demanded that 30 kg of rice, five litres of kerosene and clothes be distributed to the effected people in Kurnool, Mahbubnagar and Krishna districts.

Meanwhile, the state witnessed unprecendented floods as it lacks a proper disaster management programme, averred M Shashidhar Reddy, member National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Reddy said that every state has been advised to keep a Special Disaster Management Force in place to meet any such eventualities but Andhra Pradesh has not complied. He told TOI that the NDMA has a special team drawn from police and other wings to take up rescue operations during natural calamaties. At least now, the government should focus on such issues and also have contingency plans in place to meet any eventuality, he said. Knee-jerk reactions do not help in effective handling of emergencies like the one faced on Friday. He said even the men and material sent by the NDMA could not be pressed into service on Friday due to logistic problems.

Meanwhile, irrigation expert C L N Shastri said that disaster management needs advance planning. He said the state has the ability to handle any kind of crisis and irrigation officials who can handle any kind of inflows and take up water management. Between 1964-2005 the irrigation officials had shown exemplary performance in water management even when the inflows were over 9 lakh cusecs. But this time, it appears the authorities were unprepared, he observed.

Andhra: 18 lakh people, 400 villages affected

In Andhra Pradesh, at least 37 people have died in the floods, and lakhs are in relief camps across the state.

The death toll is expected to be higher as the administration currently doesn't have spare officials to count the dead. Thousands are reported missing, lakhs are still stranded.

Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Krishna and Guntur are the worst affected districts. Overall, at least 18 lakh people in nearly 400 villages of Andhra Pradesh have been affected by the floods. 180 villages in Kurnool, 89 in Mahbubnagar, 100 in Guntur and 22 in Nalgonda are in bad shape due to the flood waters.

550 army men, 6 choppers, 1000 swimmers and 254 boats are involved in the relief work.