Commissioner to decongest city September 03, 2011 18:16
The Commissioner, Mr B. Ramanjaneyulu, held a high-level meeting with his officials on Friday and issued directions so as to decongest the city within a short period. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is going all out to regulate the traffic and ensure a peaceful ride, on the Vizag roads. The main congestion on the roads according to the Commissioner is due to the construction of shops in the cellars in different parts of the city. Nearly 57 cellars with shops have been identified by the authorities. He asked the officials to form special teams and demolish all the encroached shops by September 10. The demolition charges should be collected from the shop owners. The second main reason for congestion according to him was lack of proper parking facilities. They had identified 71 junctions where parking facilities should be created for which land should be identified by September 14. They also propose to set up at 40 locations with multi-level parking. Officials are trying to identify the places. In a move that is right now not available across the country, the commissioner suggested to launch a single contract to be awarded to an agency and vehicle owners purchasing a single parking ticket could park anywhere in the city in a single day. Even monthly parking tickets could also be issued.
Read More
Jagan knocks on SC door again August 16, 2011 17:27
YSR congress party president Mr YS Jaganmohan reddy today filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a stay of the AP High Court order directing the CBI to conduct a full fledged investigation into his alleged amassing of wealth trough corrupt means. Jagan’s lawyers filed the petition on his behalf saying that the petitions filed by Minister Shankar rao and TDP leader Yerram Naidu in the High Court are politically motivated and bear no significance at all. “My client seeks an immediate stay on the orders of the High Court,” said Jagan’s counsel in the petition. It might be mentioned that the High Court has ordered the CBI to conduct a full-fledged investigation into the allegations that Jagan has resorted to corrupt means and amassed illegal wealth during the YSR’s regime as a prima facie proof existed against him. The court has also directed the CBI to file criminal cases against Jagan and start the investigation.
Read More
Two 4-year old boys die of asphyxia August 11, 2011 20:25
In a freak incident, two 4-year old boys died of asphyxia when they inadvertently went into a car dickey that was kept open and closed the dickey door in Vijayawada today. The unfortunate incident took place in Gayatri Nagar at Gunadala in the evening hours when the boys were playing near the car. The boys seemed to have unsuccessfully tried to open the car dickey after realizing they were locked up inside. “The boys died of breathlessness,” said the police officials who rushed to the spot after receiving complaints from the locals. One of the boys was identified as Prakash and the other is yet to be identified. The parents of the boy Prakash are said to be working in an apartment complex in Gayatri Nagar. Police are on the look out for the car owner.
Read More
Seasonal fevers crosses 150-mark in Vizag August 10, 2011 18:06
PADERU (VISAKHAPATNAM): Contrary to the claims of the medical and health authorities, the death toll in seasonal fevers, including malaria, in Vizag Agency area has crossed the 150-mark. In the last one week alone, 15 tribals have died of viral fever, malaria, diarrhoea and other seasonal diseases. While there is a shortage of paracetamol tables in the primary health centres, there are no regular doctors in 17 PHCs in the Agency. According to officials, there are over 700 high risk malaria-affected villages in the Agency. Sources said most of the deaths were occurring due to lack of medicines and transport facility. Curiously, the district medical and health officials have claimed that there were only two malaria deaths, while 65 others had succumbed to seasonal diseases. N. Bendri (35) and Bhumika (3) of Marriputtu village in Kummariputtu panchayat, Pangi Rambabu (28) of D Kummariputtu in Darela, V Jaggamma (60) of Talabthota in Sujanakota panchayat, A Sarwanandam (60) of Jangamsarayi in Yenugurai, L Lokeswari (6) of Mokkaputtu in Karinikaputtu and Baby (9) of Dumbriguda mandal had died of viral fevers. Of the seven deaths in the last one week, six were reported from Munchingput mandal alone. Five tribals suffering from high viral fever were in critical condition in Kummariputtu village.
Read More
Deaths due to seasonal fevers crosses 150-mark in Vizag August 08, 2011 16:41
Contrary to the claims of the medical and health authorities, the death toll in seasonal fevers, including malaria, in Vizag Agency area has crossed the 150-mark. In the last one week alone, 15 tribals have died of viral fever, malaria, diarrhoea and other seasonal diseases. While there is a shortage of paracetamol tables in the primary health centres, there are no regular doctors in 17 PHCs in the Agency. According to officials, there are over 700 high risk malaria-affected villages in the Agency. Sources said most of the deaths were occurring due to lack of medicines and transport facility. Curiously, the district medical and health officials have claimed that there were only two malaria deaths, while 65 others had succumbed to seasonal diseases. N. Bendri (35) and Bhumika (3) of Marriputtu village in Kummariputtu panchayat, Pangi Rambabu (28) of D Kummariputtu in Darela, V Jaggamma (60) of Talabthota in Sujanakota panchayat, A Sarwanandam (60) of Jangamsarayi in Yenugurai, L Lokeswari (6) of Mokkaputtu in Karinikaputtu and Baby (9) of Dumbriguda mandal had died of viral fevers. Of the seven deaths in the last one week, six were reported from Munchingput mandal alone. Five tribals suffering from high viral fever were in critical condition in Kummariputtu village. The condition of Munchingput PHC leaves a lot to be desired. There are no paracetamol tablets, antibiotics, saline bottles, IV fluids, ORS sachets and BP tablets. Paderu CPM division secretary K Suryanarayana alleged that 150 people had succumbed to various diseases in the last two months. "Our party workers visited interior villages and found that more than 35 tribals had died of malaria alone. Shockingly, the medical authorities were claiming only two malaria deaths," he said. Sources said more than 20 tribals had succumbed to jaundice and typhoid. Several others had due to viral fevers. Tribal students leader Rama Rao Dora lambasted the district administration for failing to supply mosquito nets and undertake fogging to check mosquite menace in the villages. Jana Vignana Vedika leader and MLC M Geyanand alleged that the government has been giving false data on the fever deaths in the Agency. "Our team came across the deaths of 10 tribals due to malaria in Pedabayalu and Munchingput mandals recently," he claimed. The MLC said they conducted rapid tests on 70 people at Allamput in Pedabayalu mandal where 32 had tested malaria-positive. Of the 28 people tested in Lakshmipuram in Munchangiput, there were 12 malaria-positive cases. "How can the government claim that there were no malaria cases? When will the officials rush medical aid to the affected tribals who are dying of malaria and other fevers?" he asked.
Read More
Passport Seva Kendra opens in Vizag August 06, 2011 12:48
A Passport Seva Kendra, the first in the State and the 13th in the country, was inaugurated here on Friday. Six more such kendras would be opened in the State and the total number in the country would go up to 77. Mr Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi, the Joint Secretary and the Chief Passport Officer in the Ministry of External Affairs, who inaugurated it, said the e-governance project was being implemented in the country in association with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to pave the way for hassle-free and transparent issue of passports, eliminating middlemen and touts. Procedures had been simplified even for a common man to get a passport easily. He said there were at present 37 passport offices in the country, including the one at Visakhapatnam, but they were not able to cope with the work pressure in view of the ever-increasing number of passport applicants.Therefore, in the public-private partnership mode, the Ministry of External Affairs had introduced the PSK project in association with TCS. The first PSK was set up in Bangalore, in 2010, and the remaining would be opened in phases. Mr K. Srikar Reddy, Regional Passport Officer, Hyderabad, said six more such PSKs would be opened in the State in a few months' time. Three of them would be located in Hyderabad and the rest at Vijayawada, Nizamabad and Tirupati. Mr Surendra, Passport Officer at Vizag, said the local passport office had been rendering excellent service to the public, in spite of staff shortage and the setting up of the PSK would greatly ease the pressure.The local office was covering five coastal districts - Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, East and West Godavari districts. The rest of the State comes under the jurisdiction of the Hyderabad passport office. Features introduced Mr Rajesh Dogra, head of the passport wing, TCS, said the Passport Seva Kendras in the country had so far processed over seven lakh passport applications. On the aggregate, each PSK was processing 4,000-4,500 passport applications every day.Biometric features and digital signatures had been introduced. There was also a fully functional call centre and the passport applicants can obtain answers in five languages, including Telugu, to their queries on the status of the application. He thanked the Ministry of External Affairs for its co-operation in the implementation of the project.Police verification Mr J.V. Poornachandra Rao, Commissioner of Police, Vizag, promised that the police verification procedures would also be expedited and made hassle-free to make it easier for the passport seekers. Mr Chandra Prakash, Post Master-General, Vizag region, promised that the passports would be delivered quickly. Mr Rupesh K, head of the local PSK of TCS, also spoke. Mr K. Sasidhar, Vice-Chairman of the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, also participated in the function.
Read More
Heavy rain cripples life in Vizag August 02, 2011 13:11
VISAKHAPATNAM: Nearly 150 trees were uprooted and several electric and communication poles fell as gales accompanied by rains wreaked havoc in Vizag on Monday. While the Met department forecast heavy rain in north Telangana and north coastal Andhra in the next 48 hours, Navipet in Nizamabad district recorded 15 cm rainfall. Heavy downpour accompanied by strong winds crippled normal life in the port city in the evening as hundreds of trees, electric poles, hoardings, flexi boards, cable lines and wires fell on the roads disrupting traffic movement. The cement poles were uprooted as winds at 50-55 kmph hit several areas in the city. An electrical pole fell on an auto at Akkayyapalem while at Dwarakanagar, a huge tree fell on a moving car. Luckily, no one was injured in both the incidents. Scores of trees fell at Railway New Colony, Dwarakanagar, Gnanapuram, MVP Colony, Abidnagar, Santhinagar and Seetampeta. Big hoardings too fell from atop the buildings at several places. Many low-lying areas were inundated as rain water entered houses. Though the impact of the rain was less, the gales caused maximum damage as the civic authorities could do little. Vehicular traffic on national highway-5, which passes through the city, came to a grinding halt due to strong winds and heavy rain. The power officials cut off supply for nearly one hour as a precautionary measure. Though the rains brought respite from the heat, the strong winds affected normal life as people ran for cover. In Nizamabad and Adilabad districts, crops in hundreds of acres were inundated. In Bilal village, Bodhan mandal of Nizamabad, a daily wager Santhu went missing in the swirling waters of a stream. Officials launched a search operation for Santhu who was reportedly washed away in the waters. Several streams developed breaches as rain water overflowed on to the roads and inundated the crops. Many places in Telangana received heavy rains in the past 24 hours. Bodhan recorded 13 cm, followed by Manchiryal (Adilabad) 9, Mednoor (Nizamabad) 8, Khanapur (Adilabad) 7, Mudhole (Adilabad) and Nirmal (Adilabad) 6 each, Makthal (Mahbubnagar), Armoor (Nizamabad), Asifabad (Adilabad) and Metpalli (Karimnagar) 5 cm each.
Read More
Sea levels rising on Indian Coasts July 29, 2011 17:06
Coastal cities like Visakhapatnam, Mumbai, Kochi and Chennai are facing long-term threats from the sea as the average sea levels in these cities are going up by 1.30 mm every year. Data collected by Hyderabad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services showed that the trend of mean sea level rise varied from 1.06 mm to 1.75 mm per year on the Indian Ocean, including the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Analysis of 113 years of data of Mumbai revealed that the increase in the mean sea level was 1.20 mm per year while 54 years of data of Kochi showed an average increase by 1.75 mm per year. In Visakhapatnam, the data for 53 years showed a net sea level rise of 1.09 mm per year. Diamond Harbour (Kolkata), which has data for 55 years, shows an average increase in sea level by 5.74 mm, the highest for any sea-side city in the Indian Ocean. The rise has been attributed to an increase in the temperatures of the sea. The annual mean sea surface temperature has risen by 0.31°C, 0.40°C and 0.24°C per decade in Mumbai, Kochi and Visakhapatnam respectively. Sea level increase threat to economy According to the officials of Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, the increase in sea levels poses a serious threat to the life and economy of the east and west coasts as 26 per cent of the country’s population live within 50 km from the shores. Most of the coastal areas are low-lying and vulnerable to oceanogenic hazards like tsunamis and storm surges, besides sea level rise. Incois, which has now emerged as a major tsunami research and prediction hub in the Indian Ocean rim, monitors the sea levels through its active Argo floats deployed at dozens of locations. It also banks on satellite data of the earth's gravity field. Besides a rise in the mean sea level, there has also been increase in the annual mean tidal level at Kochi, Vizag and Mumbai.Kochi registers the highest trend of 1.3 mm/year, followed by Vizag (0.97 mm/year) and Mumbai (0.8 mm/year).The mean tidal level values were worked out on the basis of data available since 1878 in the case of Mumbai, 1939 for Kochi and since 1937 for Vizag. According to official records, among the seasonal trends, the highest trend of 1.8 mm/year has been found at Kochi during the pre-monsoon season. The fluctuations in the sea level is the lowest at Mumbai and highest at Visakhapatnam.
Read More
Seema Andhra to send 1 lakh post cards to Sonia July 26, 2011 15:48
The JAC leaders of United (Samaikhya) Andhra Pradesh today launched a post-cards agitation in Visakhapatnam in support of the cause of keeping the state united. Under the agitation, the JAC leaders have asked the people of Visakhapatnam to write one lakh post cards to the chair person of the UPA government and congress president Sonia Gandhi demanding her to keep the state united. Launching the programme at the post office of the Pedawaltair in the city, JAC leader GA Narayana Rao lambasted the Telangana congress leaders for their en masse resignations. “The resignations are not for Telangana state. They are meant for the post of the Chief Minister,” he alleged. Narayana Rao has asked the people of Visakhapatnam to participate in the post-cards agitation in large numbers and make it successful.
Read More
Anti-Actimus clamour turns shrill in Vizag July 25, 2011 16:17
Even as a team of officials from the Drugs Standard Control Organisation (DSCO) of Hyderabad continued their inspection of records of Actimus Biosciences Pvt Ltd for the second day on Thursday, members of the All-India Democratic Women’s Association and the Students Federation of India staged a protest in front of the company’s office demanding the government close it down. During inspection of the company’s records on Tuesday, the officials of the Andhra Pradesh Drug Control Authority (DCA) had found that Actimus representatives took volunteers’ signatures on several papers without informing them of their content by offering `6,000 each, AIDWA and SFI leaders alleged. They said that the company faced similar charges (illegal detention of persons) during tests conducted on migrant labour in 2009 but the government did not take any action against it. Meanwhile, during the two-day inspection of the records and procedures of Actimus, the officials did not find any violation of moral and ethical standards while administering the tests on students. According to sources, as anti-epilepsy drug, Lamitrezen, is not a new drug in the international market, the company conducted the bioequivalence tests on students following the norms of ethics committee. But some experts said the ethics committee should be nominated by the government and not by the companies. The state DCA should be given power to inspect whenever irregularities come to light and file criminal cases against such labs, they added. The DSCO officials are likely to submit a report within a few days.
Read More
The white tigers in Visakhapatnam Zoo July 23, 2011 12:27
She and her little ones are the pride of the place. The four cubs in a playful mood with their mother is a sight to behold, remarked the Governor of Andhra Pradesh E.S.L. Narasimhan during his recent visit to the city zoo. Well folks, the inference is about Kumari, the white tiger at Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, and her four cubs. The zoo can be credited for breeding a significant number of white tigers in captivity in the last four years. “Today, the population has increased from just one to nine,” says the Curator of the zoo G. Ramalingam. The loner White tigers have become the pride of the zoo and probably this could be one among the few zoos after Nandankanan in Bhubaneswar to boast of a sizeable number of white tigers. The first white tiger Sireesh was brought from Hyderabad in 2003. To give the loner a company, Kumari was transferred to the zoo again from Hyderabad in 2006. Tigers become adult at around three years of age, and after both Kumari and Sireesh attained the required age and the breeding symptoms were noticed, that they were brought closer. “Initially, they were kept in different enclosures. It was only that after Kumari reached the heat period - they were brought closer. Tigers do not accept each other at the very instance. To build up the acquaintance, they were first kept in the adjoining cages. In 2009, Kumari gave the first litters. She gave birth to three cute cubs (one male and two females). And today, those three have become full grown two-year old cats,” informs the curator. Giving names to the newborns or new entrants has been the tradition of the zoo. The male cub was named as Giri and the females were named as Veena and Vani. They respond to their keeper T. Appanna by the names. Kumari again littered in April this year, and this time it was five. While one died within days, the other four survived and are growing stronger and naughtier with every passing day. And these were the cubs that Governor Narasimhan was referring to. “They haven't been christened yet and we are planning to do it in the month of August,” says Mr. Ramalingam. Why white White tigers are said to be larger, more intelligent, smarter, majestic and are considered to be show stunners when compared to their yellow brethrens. In fact they are in tune with Aravind Adiga's protagonist Balram Halwai's in his book The White Tiger. The curator informs that the first white tiger was noticed by the Maharaja of Rewa Martand Singh in the Govindgarh jungle at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. He captured the white tiger and with the help from veterinary experts, he succeeded in creating a second generation of white tigers by breeding it with another yellow tiger. Thereafter, white tigers are born and bred in captivity, with Nandankanan showing the way. At present, there are about 92 white tigers in captivity across India. Mr. Ramalingam says that white tigers are born due to genetic mutation. “It is not exactly a case of melanin pigmentation, but they are born by the presence of a recessive gene. The modern white tiger population includes both pure Royal Bengal and hybrid Bengal–Siberians, however, it is unclear whether the recessive white gene came only from the Royal Bengal, or if it also originated from the Siberian ancestors,” he says. Majestic Tigers are majestic creatures and they tend to prefer a solitary lifestyle, unlike other animals that prefer to live in herds or groups. It is said that in the wilderness every tiger tend to rule over at least 20 sq km. “They clearly demarcate their area by their pug marks or droppings or urine and will not allow another tiger to enter that area,” says Mr. Ramalingam. The next time you are at the zoo, do make it a point to visit- Sireesh and Kumari and their cubs, a pretty large family of nine members.
Read More
Harish gets wild, beats up AP Bhavan employee July 21, 2011 17:56
TRS MLA Mr Harish Rao lost his cool and beat up an employee of the AP Bhavan in Delhi today as the authorities did not allow the TRS leaders to bring the dead body of Mr Adi Reddy, who committed suicide near Rashtrapathi Bhavan on Wednesday, inside its premises. Harish Rao, Etela Rajender and K. Taraka Rama Rao, who arrived in Delhi this morning to take the body of Adi Reddy to Hyderabad, sought permission to keep the dead body there and hold a demonstration in the AP Bhavan to take political mileage. Resident Commissioner of the AP Bhavan refused the request and told the TRS leaders to take the body direct to Hyderabad from the hospital mortuary. During the course of the heated arguments, OSD Mr Chander rao told Harish Rao that they had to obey the rules and such things could not be allowed in the AP Bhavan. Harish Rao got wild with the assertive nature of the official and beat him up in a fit of rage. Following this, the employees of the AP Bhavan protested and held a demonstration. “It is an attack on a Dalit employee,” the staff alleged. “We are not part of the politics and kindly don’t involve us in your politics as we are just employees,” the staff members appealed to the leaders of the three regions.
Read More