The Hindu : Briefly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 05, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Briefly

Adjudged best gram panchayats

CUDDAPAH: Three gram panchayats -- Upparapalle in Siddhavatam mandal, Potladurthy in Yerraguntla mandal and Alladupalle in Chapadu mandal -- had been adjudged best panchayats at the State-level, the Collector, Jayesh Ranjan, said.

Speaking after inaugurating the Upparapalle village secretariat building on Wednesday, he said the Government had devolved several powers to local bodies. The Government would grant Rs. 1 lakh if local people raised Rs. 50,000 for constructing a building for village secretariat, he said. Mr. Ranjan stated that credit cards were sanctioned for 500 handloom weavers in the district.

Six express trains rescheduled

HYDERABAD: The South Central Railway (SCR) is rescheduling six express trains with effect from February 6 following works on a new bridge being constructed between Ulavapadu and Singarayakonda stations in the Vijayawada Division.

A press release issued by the SCR stated on Wednesday that the rescheduled trains would be the Secunderabad-Tirupati Padmavathi Express (reaching Secunderabad at 6.45 a.m. instead of 5.50 a.m.), the Hyderabad-Kochi-Hyderabad Sabari Express (arriving in Hyderabad at 2.40 p.m. instead of 1.40 p.m.), the Hyderabad-Chennai Charminar Express (reaching Hyderabad at 9.25 a.m. instead of 8.25 a.m.), the Kakinada-Chennai Circar Express (arriving in Kakinada at 9.15 a.m. instead of 8.15 a.m.) and the Tirupati-Secunderabad Padmavathi Express (reaching Tirupati at 8.40 a m. instead of 7.40 a.m.).

The release said, pending completion of the work, arrival of certain express trains at Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Kakinada and Tirupati would be delayed by half an hour.

BJP's rural artists' workshop concludes

HYDERABAD: The State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), N. Indrasena Reddy, has stressed the need to communicate to the people the developmental schemes launched by the Vajpayee Government through the use of cultural and other traditional media.

Speaking at the concluding session of a three-day workshop organised for rural artists by the BJP's cultural wing, he said the advantage of cultural programmes was that the people could be communicated in their own language and in the form in which they understood.

Popular film actress and All India BJP Mahila Morcha vice-president, Vijayashanti, said that there was no alternative to the leadership of Vajpayee and gave a call for defeating the Congress, "which had ruined the country during its 40-year rule."

Later, in a brief interaction with the reporters, she said that she would contest the elections if the party's central leadership so desired.

I-T Inspectors jailed for graft

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Special Judge for CBI cases, Y. Dhilleswara Rao, on Wednesday found two Income-Tax Inspectors (I-T) guilty of demanding and accepting bribe and sentenced them to serve prison terms and pay fines. An I-T notice server was, however, acquitted.

A press release said that P. Raghavachari, I-T Inspector of IT Ward-3, Kakinada, and K. Bapuji, I-T Inspector of Rajahmundry along with A.V. Ramana, an I-T notice server of Kakinada, demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs.20,000 from a money lender, G.P. Ramanna, for returning the notebooks seized from him, the key of his almairah and also for not collecting any tax from him.

Consumer panel chief assumes office

HYDERABAD: A retired judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, I. Venkatanarayana, who assumed charge as President of the A.P. Consumer Disputes Redress Commission, here on Wednesday underlined the need for creating consumer awareness.

Addressing the gathering, he stated that the commission would give priority to dispose of cases within the prescribed time limit of 90 days to 150 days. The post of president of the commission has been lying vacant since November 8 last when Ramakrishnam Raju retired.

L. Ravi Babu, Registrar, C.P. Suresh and Sreesha, members, Raju, president of the commission's Bar Association, and V. Vinod Kumar, secretary, and a large number of advocates were among those present.

`Panchaloha' idols seized

GUNTUR: Three `panchaloha' idols, valued at Rs.20 lakhs, stolen from the Chennakesavaswamy temple in Venkatadripalem in Prakasam district a week ago, were recovered from Uppalapadu village in Guntur district.

The police chanced upon the idols that were got sculpted by Palnadu Brahmanaidu in 14 A.D. when they arrested a murder accused and dacoit, Akkayya, on Monday at Uppalapadu, the Superintendent of Police, Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, told reporters.

While the idol of Chennakesavaswamy was found in Akkayya's house, he had buried two others -- that of Sri Devi and Bhoodevi -- in the forest land adjoining Vajreswarapadu village in the district. The police were on the look out for three other accomplices of Akkayya, said to be from Mahbubnagar district.

Nine students taken ill

GUNTUR: Nine students of Vani Convent in Karampudi village of Guntur district were taken ill on Wednesday after they consumed some snacks near their school. Five boys and four girls, in the age group of 5 to 12 years, were admitted to a private hospital following complaints of loose motion and vomiting. The condition of all the nine students is said to be out of danger.

Dry weather to continue

HYDERABAD: Except for very light rain in East and West Godavari districts, weather was dry in the State.

Adilabad recorded the State's lowest night temperature of 13 degree Celsius. Minimum temperatures nosedived at many places in Telangana, but rose at a few places in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.

They were significantly above normal at a few places in Rayalaseema, above normal at many places in Coastal Andhra and normal in Telangana.

Dry weather would continue over the State on Thursday, a forecast issued by the State Met Office said.

Heroin seized:

TIRUPATI: Prohibition and excise sleuths have seized 131 kg of heroin from a house in Avilala, a southern suburb of Tirupati, on Tuesday. Acting on a tip-off, officials led by the Circle Inspector, Eswaraiah, raided the residence of P. Balu, son of P. Subramanyam, and seized the Rs.1.31 lakh-worth contraband, said to have been smuggled into the temple town from Warangal. The material was meant to be sold in the surrounding areas of Tirupati. Balu was taken into custody and would be produced before the additional district judge, Chittoor, on Wednesday.

Madabhushi remembered

TIRUPATI: Madabhushi Anantasayanam Iyengar, a great statesman and the former speaker of the Lok Sabha, was remembered on his 114th birth anniversary at a function organised at the Officers' Club here on Wednesday under the auspices of Madabhushi Anantasayanam Institute of Public Affairs (MAIPA). G. Subramanyam, SVIMS director, paid rich tributes to him and called him a simple man hailing from Tirupati. The MAIPA founder president and former AP Assembly Speaker, Agarala Eswara Reddi, the MAIPA secretary general, A. Reddeppa Reddy, and Ratna Malika, a doctor, spoke.

Four held for circulating fake currency

CHITTOOR: The Chittoor West police have arrested four persons at Gandlapalle in Chittoor rural mandal for circulating fake currency notes worth Rs.5 lakhs. Rajendraprasad alias Raghu (42), N. Venkataramana (30), E.Elumalai (30), all belonging to Arakkonam taluk of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu, and D. Ratnam (36) of Mitta Harijanawada of Mukkulathur near Chittoor, were caught red-handed by a team of sleuths led by Shankar, Chittoor West inspector, on Chittoor-Bangalore bypass road, when they were exchanging fake notes.

Three hurt in road accident

Cuddapah: Three persons sustained injuries when a lorry bound for Tiruchanur rammed into a stationary lorry, on the outskirts of Rayachoti town in the early hours of Wednesday. The driver of the rice-laden lorry going from Proddatur to Tiruchanur, Balakrishnaiah, cleaner, Madhubabu and the driver of the lorry under repair, Anooran, sustained fracture to their legs. They were taken to Rayachoti Government hospital, from where they were shifted to Cuddapah Government hospital. The Rayachoti Urban police registered a case.

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Andhra Pradesh