The Hindu : New Delhi News : ‘Classical status to Telugu likely in July’

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Friday, Jun 20, 2008
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New Delhi

‘Classical status to Telugu likely in July’

Special Correspondent

Union Minister for Tourism and Culture promises to hold panel meeting to finalise the issue

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy is hopeful that the decision on awarding classical language status to Telugu, on par with Sanskrit and Tamil, will be finalised by next month.

Talking to mediapersons here after meeting Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni he said the latter had assured him that a meeting of the committee, set up in this regard, would finalise the issue next month.

Dr. Reddy said he had requested Ms. Soni to sanction Rs. 38 crore as Central assistance to Kadapa district to develop it as a heritage tourist circuit. Later, he met Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony with a request to relax some rules relating to the construction of private buildings near the defence establishment at Kancha Imarath in Hyderabad for the establishment of centre of excellence in education by Aga Khan Foundation. Mr. Antony promised to look into it, Dr. Reddy said.

Fertilizer supply

The Chief Minister met Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ram Vilas Paswan and sought additional allocation of 50,000 tonnes each of DAP and Complexes to the farmers of AP.

Railway zone

To a question, Dr. Reddy said he would again take up the issue relating to the demand of the north coastal Andhra Pradesh people to create a new railway zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters or merge the existing Waltair railway division with the South Central Railway (SCR).

Dr. Reddy said he had wanted to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and seek Rs. 1,000 per tonne as MSP for paddy but could not do so as Dr. Singh was indisposed.

MRPS ultimatum

On the 48-hour ultimatum given by MRPS to arrest ‘Andhra Jyothi’ (Telugu daily) senior journalists under the Atrocities against SC/ST (prevention) Act vis-À-vis opinion expressed by the newspaper on the MRPS agitation on reservation, Dr. Reddy said the State government would not work under threat from anyone. The government would ensure that the law takes its own course. “We know how to deal with the situation,” he said.

Palar reservoir

Dr. Reddy ruled out reconsideration or holding talks with the Tamil Nadu government on the issue of construction of a reservoir across Palar river in Chittoor district to store 2000 tmcft of water. “We will go ahead with the project as soon as the Supreme Court gives its clearance as the issue is pending in the Apex Court,” he said.

There should not be any objection from Tamil Nadu and whatever done by AP on the issue was absolutely well within its rights. All the necessary permission for the project had been obtained and even tenders had been finalised, he said.

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