The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : It's a surprise for them all

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

It's a surprise for them all

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, AUG. 31. The Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy's decision, taken on the spur of the moment to visit Vijayawada this afternoon, caught the staff in his office by surprise.

Dr. Reddy had sat down for lunch along with the Adviser for Public Affairs, K. V. P. Ramchander Rao at 1.45 p.m. after completing a meeting to review Information Technology (IT) projects. He suddenly disclosed his plan to inspect the Krishna Pushkaram arrangements in Vijayawada, which was the scene of a tragedy on Saturday.

Engagements cancelled

He sent for his Principal Secretary, Jannat Hussain, the Special Secretary, P. Subramaniam, and the Chief Security Officer, Ramesh Reddy, and informed them about his visit "right now.'' All his engagements for the day, including a meeting with a Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi delegation led by Bandaru Dattatreya, were cancelled.

Pilots of the Government's helicopter -- Sunder Raman and Jagan Mohan Raju, however -- said they needed about 30 minutes to get ready. Dr. Reddy took off in the chopper at 2.40 p.m. along with Mr. Subramaniam and the CSO after instructing that the additional security person be dropped and the space used for official files for his perusal during the hour-long flight.

Official sources said the Joint Collector of Krishna, Sampath, was the only person outside Hyderabad informed about Dr. Reddy's hurricane tour which concluded on his return here at 7.15 p.m.

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