Bezawada.co.in

Protests by farmers and a few activists of the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) greeted Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday on his maiden visit to Krishna district after assumption of charge.

Mr. Reddy arrived by helicopter and landed on the Guntur district side of Mandali Venkata Krishna Rao Vaaradhi that connects Puligadda in Krishna district and Penumudi in Guntur district. Ministers, MPs, MLAs and other elected representatives of the two districts received him.

Soon after reaching a place designated by the officials at Mopidevi for the farmers who came from different villages to assemble and pour out their grievances, a few farmers raised slogans demanding that the Chief Minister visit Koduru and Nagayalanka mandals that suffered the maximum damage.

Mr. Reddy quickly interacted with a handful of farmers and addressed them standing on an elevated platform. Revenue Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy, Minister for Secondary Education K. Parthasarathi and former Minister Mandali Buddha Prasad were present.

Even as he was clarifying the issues raised by the farmers, a few MRPS activists raised slogans demanding categorisation of scheduled castes. “I will come back to your issue later,” Mr. Reddy said in a bid to silence them, but did not touch upon the subject later.

Farmers, speaking to the media, expressed their displeasure at the very little time Mr. Reddy spent with them. They said that the officials had not visited them till now. “I have two acres and spent Rs.20,000 on each acre. All that has gone down the drain,” said Goriparthi Venkataramaiah with anguish.

The opposition parties and tax payers lament that the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) received a mere Rs. 7.24 crore under non-plan grants from 2005-06 to 2009-10. But the sordid fact is that the Corporation has not laid any emphasis on taxes as well, if the collections were any indication.

Barring Vacant Land Tax (VLT) collection, there is a drop in revenue collections under all major heads like property tax, water tap and sewerage. The fall in revenue collection is not limited to any one circle.

All the three circles in the city fared in similar fashion. The property tax collection during the first half of this financial year (April 1 to September 30) dwindled to Rs. 20.72 crore from Rs. 21.91 crore recorded for the corresponding period of last year. The water tap collections slipped to Rs.31.87 crore from Rs.33.05 crore and the sewerage charges too dropped to Rs. 8.2 lakh from last year's Rs. 8.7 lakh, officials say.

A glance at the performance of the VMC in the first half of the financial year from 2005-06 to 2010-11 indicates that the revenue wing of the Corporation has always fallen short of set targets. Neither was it placing emphasis on ?under-assessed' and ?un-assessed' properties. For instance, property tax collections rose to Rs. 12.65 crore in 2006-07 from Rs. 8.83 crore in 2005-06.

Then Municipal Commissioner Natarajan Gulzar succeeded in revising the ?under-assessed' and ?un-assessed' properties.

When property tax rates were revised in 2006-07, collections jumped to Rs. 18.73 crore. Since then the emphasis on PT collections continued, and the collections reached Rs. 21.79 crore in 2009-10.

A similar emphasis was laid on other heads like vacant land tax, water tap and sewerage charges.

Official sources said that the higher-ups have not reviewed the performance of revenue wing on a regular basis so far.

The demand and collections were earlier reviewed at least every fortnight. The Corporation used to rely on revenue receipts before the State government introduced the Building Penalisation Scheme (BPS).

In the recent past, BPS collections assumed significance as thousands of applications were filed under the scheme.

There is an increase in the VLT collections, sources say, as the Corporation collected the arrears and some new assessments have been added to the list.

The VLT collection came down to Rs. 1.58 crore in 2009-10 from Rs. 2.61 crore in 2007-08. Now, it again touched Rs. 2.15 crore.

City shooters G. Vijaya Parthasaradhy and G. Chaitanya, the brother-sister duo, have added a new dimension to their training module. Henceforth, they will be practising with the help of a simulator, an electronic gadget that enables them to analyse their shot, the mistakes they commit and the ways and means to improve their performance.

The motto

Vijay, 21, and Chaitanya, 24, who take part in the 10-metre peep-sight air rifle event, have shifted their base to Hyderabad to practise in the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh's shooting range at University of Hyderabad with the singular motto of making it big in the sport.

“The simulator is called SCATT and has been created for the Russians to fulfil their coaching requirements. The aiming trajectory displayed on the screen of the computer or a laptop provides complete information about the accuracy of aim and errors made before and during shooting,” says Vijay, who took part in four senior nationals and in the Guwahati National Games representing Andhra Pradesh.

An electronic optical sensor is fixed to the barrel of the weapon. “On activating the weapon trigger, the point of impact is displayed on the laptop. The performance of the shooters can be recorded for analysis,” he explains.

Thanks to the Andhra Cricket Association's policy of encouraging other sports by contributing funds, the shooting duo could get the advanced gadget worth Rs. 2 lakhs. “The new advanced German gun Feinwerkbau P-700 worth Rs. 2 lakhs was also donated by ACA secretary G. Ganga Raju,” Vijay says with gratitude.

No coaching support

But the going is not all that smooth for the brother and sister, as they are learning the nuances of shooting all by themselves with the AP Shooting Association offering no coaching support.

“The association allows us to participate in competitions but we have to take care of the training aspect. Top shooters abroad practise along with professional coaches and it involves huge money,” he points out.

Another problem the duo faces is dearth of pellets for regular practice. “Many a time we run short of pellets. A box of 500 pellets costs Rs. 800 and while practising for a major event we end up emptying 30 boxes in a month,” the young shooter says.

Notwithstanding the lukewarm show by Indian shooters in the ongoing Guangzhou Asian Games, Vijay expresses confidence that more and more corporate outfits would come forward to sponsor talented young shooters in the country.

EXEMPTIONS

The coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, already battered by heavy rains that have claimed 26 lives so far, is now threatened by a cyclonic storm, officials said on Thursday.

Fearing further damage and loss of lives and property during the cyclone, the army, air force and navy, besides the Disaster Management Response Force have been kept on standby.

Under the influence of a depression over the Bay of Bengal that is threatening to unleash a cyclonic storm, rains and thundershowers would happen at most places, from Saturday morning, weather office said.

Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfalls were also expected over north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coasts, it added.

Wind speeds could touch 65 kmph, and commence along and off north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast, the weather office said in a statement.

Sea conditions will be rough to very rough, and fishermen have been advised against venturing into the sea.

“The depression over southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclone and move west-northwestwards towards north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast during next 72 hours,” the Indian Meteorological Department statement said.

“Latest satellite imagery indicates that a depression has formed over southeast Bay of Bengal and lay centred at 0530 hrs IST of 4th November, 1150 km east of Batticaloa, 1400 km east-southeast of Chennai and 1450 km southeast of Visakhapatanam,” the statement explained.

Heavy rains, caused by low pressure over Bay of Bengal and vigorous northeast monsoon, have caused widespread devastation in six districts of coastal Andhra.

Officials said the rains have claimed 26 lives in four days, though the downpour has stopped now. Nearly 600,000 people in 1,000 villages and two towns have been affected and standing crops over seven lakh acres were damaged, dashing the farmers’ hopes of a bumper crop this season.

About 50,000 people were shifted to 110 relief camps in the affected districts. More than 126,000 houses were submerged.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah is scheduled to conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas in East Godavari and Krishna districts on Thursday.

A mythological dance-drama ‘Vijayeswari Durge’ was staged.

A well presented mythological dance-drama Vijayeswari Durge written by Vedantam Ramalinga Sastri and choreographed by reputed Andhra Natyam exponent Sarada Ramakrishna, Director of Ramakrishna Nritya Kala Kshetram, was staged at Gokaraju Laila Gangaraju Kala Vedika on the premises of G.V.R. Government College of Music and Dance, Vijayawada.

The dance drama unfolded the story of Mahishasura, the demon who, on securing a boon from Brahma, turns cruel and begins to torture the sages and devatas. They appeal to Narada to save them from Mahishasura. Narada takes them to Vaikuntha and the Devatas request Lord Vishnu to destroy the demon. Vishnu tells them that he cannot withdraw a boon given by Brahma. However, he says that if all the Devatas give their divine powers to Aadishakthi, she would solve their problem. Acting upon this advice, Indra, Siva, the Devatas and sages offer their powers to Aadishakthi and request her to save them from Mahishasura. .

The story was enacted in the form of a dance drama by the cast led by Sarada Ramakrishna, who donned the main role of Aadishakthi and gave an effective performance. Good portrayal as Mahishasura came from Eleswarapu Srinivas. Other roles were played by K. Subramanya Prasad (Narada), A. Poornachandra Rao (Brahma), Chinta Venkataramana (Siva), V.Satyavara Prasad (Vishnu), V. Vedasaranya, Venkatalakshmi, Lakshmi Sowjanya, Geeta, Praveena, Ramana, Jani Miya, Satyanarayana Reddy, Hemasunder, Saikrishna and Subramanya m. In the function that followed the dance-drama, well known Kuchipudi Natyacharya Vedantam Ramalinga Sastri was honoured.

Counters closed

Apart from implementation of PRC, regularisation of services of Non-Muster Rolls and compassionate appointments were some of their main demands

Many districts in coastal and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh have been receiving heavy rainfall since yesterday as the northeast monsoon became vigorous over the south coast.

According to Meteorological Department, Nellore town received the heaviest rainfall of 17 cms, followed by Kavali 10 cm, Venkatagiri town 9 cm and Tada 8 cm (all in Nellore district), Sompeta (Srikakulam district), Gudur (Nellore) and Srikalahasti (Chittoor district) 7 cm each.

Similarly, Sullurpet (Nellore district) received 6 cm, Tirupathi, Atmakur, Rapur, Kandukur (Prakasam district) and Satyavedu (Chittoor district) recorded 5 cm rainfall each in the 24 hours ended 8.30 am today.

According to reports received here, several low-lying localities in Nellore town were marooned in the rainwater.

The Department today issued a heavy rainfall warning with isolated heavy to very heavy rain over coastal Andhra Pradesh during the next 48 hours and forecast isolated heavy rain over Rayalaseema region.

It further forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers at a few places over Telangana region till the morning of November 1.

Rains also occurred in Hyderabad. The Department has forecast rain of thundershowers in parts of the state capital till the morning of November 1.

A delicious spread of a variety of dishes marked the beginning of Andhra Food Festival at The Gateway Hotel on Friday, which will continue up to October 31 only for dinner.

‘Bayleaf', the recently launched Indian restaurant, offered the fitting ambience as the venue to the food festival that would offer a chance to relish tastes of traditional local cuisine.

Popular Andhra dishes like gonguru mamsam and munakkaya tomato curry are part of the menu. Hotel general manager Vishal Jamuar said that all the popular traditional Andhra varieties would feature in the menu, so that it would allure people to visit. “Dishes of this region are known to be spicy and flavoured. They are tasty with spices they are cooked in. There are varieties like karivepaku kodi, royyala koora and so on. This is where Andhra cuisine comes alive,” he said.

The other attractions of the food festival would be majjiga pulusu, muvvavankai, mirapakaya puttagodugulu koora and so on. To complete the gastronomic experience, there are also the fiery fish and poultry based delectable dishes to offer mouth-watering flavours to the people. The menu features rice combinations also, which include “Pulihora”, “Nimmakaya Pulihora”, “Cut Mirchi Biryani” and so on.

Several aged men and women devotees faced many hardships to climb up the Indrakeeladri hill for a darshan of Goddess Kanakadurga on Saturday, the second day of the nine-day festival.

The 10-day Dasara festivities of Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri began on a subdued note on Friday – Ashwayuja Suddha Padyami – with the pilgrims turning out in fewer numbers. The devotees worshipped the goddess who was adorned as ‘Swarna Kavachalankrita Durga Devi' with devotion and fervour.
Special vehicles

Under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police M. Ravindranath Babu, the city police made elaborate security arrangements with hundreds of policemen posted at all important points like bathing ghats and on the hillock. Along with the police and the temple staff, NSS volunteers impressed the devotees by offering quick and efficient service in queue lines. Special vehicles were arranged for ferrying the aged and the disabled to the shrine. Barring some special vehicles assigned for the staff of temple duty and those of the police, no other private vehicle was allowed on to the hillock. In view of the expected rush of pilgrims at the prasadam counters, the officials of the Devasthanam opened nearly 14 counters for distribution of prasadam. However, there was no problem in getting prasadam on the first day because of the thin crowd.

The temple was opened with ‘Suprabhata Seva' at 3 a.m., which was followed by ‘Snapanabhishekam' at 3.30 a.m. and ‘Balabhoga Nivedana' at 6.30 a.m. The general public was allowed for darshan from 8 a.m. Uninterrupted darshan was provided till 11 p.m., the temple authorities said. Along with bathing ghats, shower bath facility was arranged at a few other places as well. Special ‘Kumkumarchana' was conducted between 10 a.m. and 12 noon. The queue line that began at Vinayaka temple on Canal Road witnessed sparse movement of devotees. The authorities for some time allowed vehicles even up to Model Guest House because of this. Commuters had a tough time reaching down the temple, as the frequency of free buses was not maintained properly. Arrangements were made to guide the public through public address system. At a review, In-charge Collector Gaurav Uppal expressed his satisfaction over the arrangements at the temple and suggested to the temple authorities to increase the quantity of drinking water for distribution to devotees. He asked them to arrange ‘Annadanam' at prasadam counters and provide fans for devotees in queue.

Festival season has begun in the city for the devotees of Goddess Kanakadurga and Lord Siva. The 10-day prestigious Dasara celebrations will begin at the Kanakadurga temple on Indrakeeladri on Friday morning. The organisers made elaborate arran-gements for the celebrations which are expected to attract 12 lakh devotees.

Goddess Kanakadurga will be seen in 10 alank-arams during the festivities from October 8 to 17. Kanakadurga will be seen in the attire of Swarnakavachalankruta Durgadevi, Sri Bala Tripurasundari Devi, Sri Gayatri Devi, Sri Annapurna Devi, Sri Lalita Tripurasundari Devi, Sri Saraswati Devi (Moola Nakshatram), Sri Mahalakshmi Devi and Sri Durga Devi (Durgashtami), Mahishasuramardhani Devi and finally Rajarajeswari Devi.

The joint collector, Mr Gaurav Uppa,l and the temple executive office, Mr N. Vijay Kumar, told reporters on Thursday that all arran-gements were completed for the celebrations. They said bathing ghats are ready.

Earlier, Mr Uppal revie-wed the arrangements with the officials at the sub-collector’s conference hall. On the other hand, a six-feet ice Sivalingam arranged in the Amarnath Yatra at the Swarajya Maidan is attracting thousands of devotees every day. Devotees of Lord Siva are mesmerised to see the Sivalingam, which is a replica of the Sivalingam in Kashmir.

In view of the heavy rush of pilgrims expected for the Dasara celebrations starting on October 8, the city police have imposed restrictions on movement of vehicles coming from and going towards different places, besides announcing diversions, from October 7 to 19.

A good number of parking places have also been earmarked.

All buses coming from Hyderabad will be diverted at Gollapudi bypass to go via Sitara centre, Milk project, Chittinagar, G.G. Chowk, Ganapathi Rao Road, King Hotel, Panja Centre, Railway goodsshed road, Bose statue, Low bridge, Prakasam statue, Police Control Room, City bus terminal, Krishnalanka police station and Pandit Nehru bus station.

All buses going towards Hyderabad will be diverted at Krishnalanka police station to go via city bus terminal, Police Control Room, Prakasam statue, Low bridge, Bose statue, Kaleswara Rao market, B.R.P. Road, King Hotel, Ganapathi Rao Road, V.G. Chowk, Chittinagar tunnel, Sitara Centre, Gollapudi bypass road on NH-9.

No vehicle will be allowed on the ghat road during the celebrations and no lorry carrying sand or grass will be allowed into the city.

Vehicles coming from Hyderabad and Mylavaram will be allowed to park at Bhavanipuram lorry stand and TTD land at Kummaripalem. Vehicles coming from Eluru, Guntur and Machilipatnam have to park in the vacant land in front of Padamavathi ghat and in the vacant land on the east side of Rajiv Gandhi Park. Vehicles coming from Bhavanipuram and Ibrahimpatnam will be allowed to park beside the road at head water works and TTD vacant land.

Vehicles coming from Patamata, Governorpet and Gandhinagar will be allowed to park at the paid parking place at Gadda Bomma centre, Gandhiji Women's College and Tarapet railway station.

Vehicles coming from Kothapet have to be parked at Gandhiji Women's College, Krishnaveni wholesale market complex cellar and Tarapet railway station's parking place.

Vehicles coming from Sitanagaram will be allowed to be parked in the vacant land on the east side of Rajiv Gandhi Park.

Soon after the verdict relating to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site was pronounced by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday evening, people of various walks of life and religions, more particularly Muslims, took upon the task of spreading the message of peace and secularism.

The Muslim youth along with representatives of Ramakrishna Mission and other Hindu groups released doves to drive home the message of peace. Later, they organised a peace committee meeting at the Press Club at Gandhi Nagar. They took out peace rallies and organised meetings in sensitive areas of One Town.

The programmes were organised under the aegis of Muslim United Front and its president Habeebur Rahman. He said that the Muslim clerics were urged to send a peace message at Masjids. Leaders of various political parties urged the people to maintain restraint and peace. They said the judgment should not be interpreted in terms of victory of any one religion and defeat of the other. Everybody should respect the judgment and wait for the final verdict if the Supreme Court was moved, they said.

The police, who beefed up security at all vulnerable points, places of worship like masjids and temples and junctions in the city, heaved a sigh of relief when no untoward incident was reported. Security was tightened in all the sensitive areas. The City Armed Reserve (CAR) police and Quick Response Team (QRT) forces were stationed at all important places.

Ram Gopal Varma announced his subsequent film which is titled as 'Bezawada Rowdeelu'. In the announcement he said, "I'm highly attached to Bezawada town. During my engineering course in Siddhartha Engineering College I used to study the rowdies and their unruly behavior. My debut film 'Shiva' was the outcome of my understanding over the issue. However, the entire spirit of the film 'Shiva' in comparison with the unruly system in Bezawada, is just a drop in an ocean. Though the word 'Rowdy' is not a native of Bezawada, the terrifying image to the word is done in Bezawada."

"In Hyderabad the word 'Rowdy' hardly has significance, where as in Bezawada it has good impact. The rowdies of Bezawada are special in their own way. After mafia gangs of Mumbai, factionists of Rayalaseema, I'm eager to narrate about the rowdies of Bezawada. I was mentally working on the script of 'Bezawada Rowdeelu' since 30 years. I was observing the system ever since my college days and post entering the film industry I followed the incidents, persons and the metamorphosis in the system. Currently the script of 'Bezawada Rowdeelu' is almost completed. Now I'm eager to shoot the film at Bezawada and screen film for the audience as soon as possible," Ram Gopal Varma added.

Young aspirants and future career-makers participated enthusiastically in Synergy-10, a literary and soft skills-related event organised by the Felines, a students' forum, as part of its continuing efforts to help enhance the skill-set of students from various engineering colleges in and around the city.

The students made optimum use of the day's events by showcasing their skills and also to assess their overall preparedness for job interviews.

Events like ‘Head the Herd', ‘Just a Minute', quiz and so on drew impressive participation from the students. The venue came alive with the vibrancy and cheerfulness of young ones who made collective efforts to make the event successful.

Addressing the inaugural function, expert speakers dwelt at length on various aspects of personality development, character, self-learning and communication skills while urging the students to be well prepared for the future. They pointed out that confidence building and creative efforts would play a key role in moulding the bright futures of students.

N. Parthasarathy, Education Officer of Agrigold, who was the chief guest, captured the imagination of the students by narrating a few stories to underscore the importance of competitive spirit, self-reliance and such soft skills.

He asked the young ones to choose good reading material by identifying standard sources of information so that it would help broaden their mental horizons and ensure success in all their endeavours.

K. Ramachandra, head of the Department of English at the VR Siddhartha Engineering College (VRSEC), the guest of honour, said that there was an immediate need on the part of young students to think different and pursue originality in their career-making efforts. He said that the students should not come under the bandwagon effect where everyone wants to run after the same course or career rather than pursuing the paths of their original liking.

Ms. Zachariah, president of the Felines, along with other office bearers and members, conducted the day's events for the participants.

The district administration has taken steps to develop the district into a tourist destination in a phased manner.
As part of the programme, the government is developing Gannavaram airport and constructing a convention centre there. The district collector, Mr Peeyush Kumar, lighted the lamp and inaugurated a three-day tourist festival in the city on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, the collector said the district administration sent a proposal to the government for the construction of the convention centre. He said Machilipatnam port construction work will begin very soon. The government has proposed to develop Gannavaram airport as an international airport. Once the airport is developed tourists from other countries will come to the district, he said. The district administration is developing Manginapudi beach, Hamsaladeevi, Bhavani islands and took steps to provide facilities for tourists after taking foreign tourists into consideration. Mr Peeyush Kumar said the government is ready to release funds for the development of the tourist centres in the district.
The Vijayawada Central MLA, Mr Malladi Vishnu, felt there is need to develop Vijayawada city into a tourist centre and suggested the district administration to develop Bhavani islands in Krishna river and lay ropeway from Seethammavari Padalu to Kanakadurga temple. He said if the outer ring road construction is completed tourist places surrounding the city will develop. He advised the district administration to review the development of tourism in the district every year and promised to extended his cooperation.
AP Tourism Development Corporation divisional manager Mr K. Ramakrishna said they are conducting quiz competitions for school and college students for three days on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
Former mayor Dr Jandhayala Sankar, Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri Urban Development Auth-ority secretary Mr T. Chennakesava Rao and Naidu Westin College of Hotel Management director Mr K. Durga Prasad were present.

Motorbikes to blame

The actors earlier hugged each other and broke down. A large number of students later vied for securing autographs from them. Sudheekshan Foundation president Ch. Vimala said that nearly 80 per cent of road accidents were due to human error, and these could be averted by following a systematic way of driving. Deputy Commissioner of Police M. Ravindranath Babu, ACP (Traffic) A.V. Ramana and others were present.

STRESS ON MAINTENANCE

Kumara Sambhavam, a mythological dance drama, was staged at Sidhardha Auditorium by Mummaneni Subbarao Kala Peetham, Vijayawada. The content of the dance drama tells the story of the birth of Lord Kumara Swamy. In the episode of Daksha Yagnam, Satidevi immolates herself and in the form of Tejojyothi goes to Himalayas and transforms herself as Parvathi and worships Shiva.

Tarakasura, a ruthless demon, tortures the gods. Knowing that a son born to Shiva could kill the demon, they depute Manmadha to ignite the spark of love between Shiva and Paravati.

Shiva, who was in Yoga Samadhi, does not tolerate the disturbance caused by Manmadha. He opens his third eye and destroys Manmadha. Ratidevi falls at the feet of Shiva and prays for the life of Manmadha. Shiva, taking pity on her, brings Manmadha to life but as Ananga (invisible body).

Meanwhile, near Akasa Ganga, Krithika Kanyas see Kumara Swamy, son of Shiva and Parvathi, and become his foster mothers. Kumara Swamy makes them happy by giving darshan in six incarnations. On hearing the existence of Kumara Swamy, Tarakasura goes to fight with him and in the fierce encounter annihilates the demon.

This mythological episode was excellently enacted by the disciples of Madhavimala Sarvepalli of Hyderabad. Simple but elegant sets, apt music (pre-recorded) and admirable synchronisation of movements marked the ballet. The costumes were appropriate for the dance drama and attractive.

Main characters were played by Raviteja (Parameswara), Madhavimala (Parvathi), Sivachandra (Kumaraswamy) and Pavan (Manmadha, Bramhachari and Tarakasura). Minor roles were well played by Mowlika, Sravya, Vaisali, Sandhya, Ekaveera, Rasagna, Srikirthi, Anusha, Anagha, Dedipya and Sumedha.

The general body of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Friday adopted a resolution urging the State government to declare ‘health emergency' in the city.

The issue of seasonal diseases rocked the last meeting of the VMC general body with the opposition parties holding the ruling Congress and the officials responsible for tens of suspected dengue deaths. The CPI (M) described the deaths as “negligent murders”, while the TDP said that the officials were busy in “Vishnu Japam and kowtowing to Congress MLA Vishnu.” The CPI stated that the viral fevers and the resultant deaths reminded the people of the proverb that “Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned.”

At the end of a marathon discussion for three hours, the opposition parties -- the CPI, the CPI (M) and the TDP -- staged a walkout in protest against the “utter failure and indifferent attitude” of Congress leaders and the Corporation , even as Mayor M.V. Ratna Bindu announced lunch break.

‘POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED'

Initiating the discussion, CPI (M) floor leader Ch. Babu Rao alleged that political motives were behind the resolution on health emergency proposed by the Congress. He felt that the suggestion to distribute 50,000 mosquito nets was aimed at the ensuing elections. Referring to vacant posts in the health wing and discrepancies in statistics provided by the officials, he said: “I don't see any rationale behind the resolution if, as per your claims, only 15 suspected dengue deaths have been recorded in the city. There is a dichotomy here. The contents of the resolution appear to be politically-motivated and it is aimed at elections.” Mayor M.V. Ratna Bindu and former deputy mayor Samanthapudi Narasaraju, however, asserted that there were no political motives behind the resolution. It was placed in view of the magnitude of the problem. “The spurt in viral fevers and deaths were a natural consequence, and not because of the failure of either the Congress or the officials,” said Ms. Ratna Bindu.

Cutting across political affiliations, the members stressed the need for controlling viral fevers. They also underlined the need for conducting more medical camps and filling the vacant posts in public health wing of the Corporation.

Municipal Commissioner G. Ravi Babu stated that additional staff had been drafted for the health wing and some posts of doctors would also be filled shortly. The Corporation was ready to pay remuneration up to Rs.40,000 as against the existing Rs. 20,000, he said, adding that walk-in interviews would be conducted shortly. CPI floor leader D. Sankar, TDP floor leader Y. Ramana and others spoke.

In a shocking incident, an eight-year-old boy kidnapped on September 15 in Nuzvid town, about 40 km from here, was found murdered on Saturday. The body, wrapped in a gunny bag, was dumped in a drain beneath a culvert on Valasapalli road in Musunuru mandal, about 15 km from Nuzvid.

Kollipara Rahul was kidnapped on Wednesday evening, and his father Suresh, a driver on contract with the APSRTC, received a phone call the next morning demanding payment of Rs.4 lakh in ransom.

The police said they suspected the involvement of three persons, known to the family of the boy, in the crime. They said that the boy might have been killed accidentally when the kidnappers tried to gag him to prevent him from shouting immediately after he was picked up.

The kidnappers were learnt to have confessed to the police that they eyed the Rs.2 lakh Mr. Suresh received from an insurance company following the death of his younger brother in a road accident a few months ago, the police said.

Always thought other people have all the luck? Well, this is because they understand the difference between luck and planning and know how to place themselves in the path of good fortune. And now, you too can bend the path of luck towards you.

Max Gunther has outlined13 techniques for discovering and taking advantage of life's good breaks in his book 'How to Get Lucky', which has recently been republished after its debut in 1986.

Gunther, who died in 1988, said that lucky people arrange their lives in characteristic patterns and tend to position themselves in the path of "onrushing luck", reports Stuff.co.nz.

Here are his 13 tips to turn your luck around:

1. Never confuse luck with planning:

When a desired outcome is brought about by luck, you must acknowledge that fact. If you confuse luck with planning, you will all but guarantee that your luck, in the long run, will be bad.

2. Find the fast flow:

Go where events flow fastest, surround yourself with a churning mass of people and things will happen. It doesn't matter if you are a quiet person; all you need to do is meet a lot of people and let them know who you are. Then they will direct opportunities your way.

3. Take calculated risks:

There are two ways to be an almost sure loser in life. One is to take risks that are out of proportion to the rewards being sought. The other is to take no risks at all. Lucky people, characteristically, avoid both extremes.

4. Know when to cut and run:

Always assume that a run of luck is going to be short, never try to ride a run to its peak. You will virtually always be right as the law of averages is heavily on your side.

5. Know how to select luck:

Is there some likelihood that the problems with your investment - whether it be time, money or love - will go away? Do you have some realistic hope of fixing them? If so, you should stay aboard. If not, you should get out and look for better luck elsewhere.

6. Take the zig zag path:

Despite what many people think the path to success is rarely a straight line. Lucky men and women, on the whole, are not straight-line strugglers. They not only allow themselves to be distracted, they invite distraction.

A plan should be used as a guide only and if something better comes along the plan should be discarded immediately without regret.

7. Supernatural belief can help:

Not because it makes you more lucky but because it helps you make impossible choices. Sometimes there is no rational choice to make, yet the worst reaction is to do nothing.

A supernatural belief can enable people to get into a potentially winning position simply by helping them make choices.

8. Be a bit pessimistic:

Lucky people, as a breed, tend to be pessimistic. Optimism means expecting the best, but good luck involves knowing how you will handle the worst.

9. Learn to keep your mouth shut:

Talk can tie you up and lock you in positions that seem right today but may be wrong tomorrow. Avoid unnecessary talk about your problems, plans and feelings. When there is no good reason to say something, say nothing.

10. Recognise a non-lesson:

There are experiences in life that seem to be lessons but aren't. Recognise when something was just bad luck and move on.

11. Accept the universe is unfair:

All of us, the good, the bad and the in-between, are all equally likely to realise our fondest dreams or contract cancer.

12. Be willing to be busy:

The more activities you have going the greater the likelihood that something good will happen.

13. Find a destiny partner:

This is someone who is someone who changes your luck over a long term. This person is not necessarily a romantic partner and is usually just found by blind luck but it can help if you are actively looking.

Film: Komaram Puli
Rating: 1.5/5
Banner: Kanakarathna Movies
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Nikisha Patel, Manoj Bajpai, Nasser, Saranya, Charanraj, Ali, Girish Karnad, Brahmaji, Shriya (special appearance), Cochin Haneefa, Gopinath etc
Music: A R Rahman
Cinematography: Binod Pradhan
Editing: Prabhakaran
Story, screenplay, dialogues, direction: S J Suryah
Producer: Singanamala Ramesh Babu
Release date: 10/09/2010

This is the movie from Power star Pawan Kalyan after a long hiatus after ‘Jalsa’. And this is the movie that has come in the combination of SJ Suryah and Pawan that made big success a decade ago with ‘Khushi’. Pawan, who has been keeping his fans in the lurch for quite a while has finally arrived amidst tension and confusion in the form of ‘Komaram Puli’.

Story
The pregnant wife (Saranya) of an honest cop who is killed by the villain Al-Saleem (Manoj Bajpai) vows to bring up her son as a tough police officer. The kid grows up to be Komarum Puli (Pawan Kalyan) and he is a role model to the entire police department.

Saving the PM’s life, he gets to form ‘Puli Team’ which runs independently of any external force. A missing case incident of inspector Hussain (Suryah) gets him to Saleem and that eventually blooms to become a battle between the two.

On the other hand, there is the heroine (Nikesha) who is doing her best to woo Puli before and after marriage. What happens after that forms the rest of the story.

Performances
Pawan Kalyan was loud and annoying, he reminded of Sai Kumar in Kannada movies showing over energy at every dialogue of his. It kind of looked eccentric than his trademark style of performance…

Nikisha is the saving grace of the film, her beautiful eyes and fresh oomph gives ample visual feast and she has shown enough confidence in body language and expressions in terms of her acting.

Manoj Bajpayee did his best to fit the big villain role and as usual, his character was not etched well to give that heavy and powerful impact.

Saranya was at her standard as a mother, crying when needed, motivating when required and doing justice to her role.

Ali was stale, Shriya was not required at all, Charan Raj was apt, Nasser was natural, Girish Karnad came and went, Brahmaji was brief, the person doing the role of Nixon was rigid, the others came in to fill the gap and the film duration.

Highlights:
Heroine

Disappointments:
No continuity from scene to scene:

In one frame Pawan appears with long moustache and in immediate scene with short one…
In one scene the villain finds his car missing in Hyderabad City Center and in immediate scene he confronts Pawan Kalyan in Bangkok on a roof top helipad and asks to get back his car. …
In one scene Pawan Kalyan wears khakhi uniform and in immediate scene he appears in olive green…

No comedy:

There is no instance where the audiences can laugh whole heartedly.
Pawan Kalyan’s so-called comedy with Nikesha Patel in second half when she seduces him is miserable.

Weak Choreography:

Shriya’s item song got wasted with weak choreography
No song is gripping or holding the attention of audiences visually

Analysis
Right from the word goes, the film takes a sloppy opening and the introduction of Pawan Kalyan was ridiculous. Everything looked disjointed and the feel was missing completely. Here are a few blunders if we can call it

poor graphics in Pawan Kalyan introduction sequences, they looked
childish, hardly any punch in the introduction of Nikesha as well
very wrong sequencing of songs and without proper choreography and unwanted close up shots taking away the appeal
each frame lasted not more than 5 seconds and it was visually very disturbing
weak content
unwanted lectures from Pawan Kalyan for every situation
cheap costume selection for Nikesha in many sequences
The uniform of Puli Team which reminds us of private security force
The dual uniform of Pawan which leaves us with a confusion
Negligible and silly comedy
Not one gripping sequence

The list continues for long but overall, the film lacks the strength or the maturity to really be called as a commercial entertainer.

Unfortunately, the strong presence of Pawan Kalyan was missing in this and he looked quite aloof in the film without any involvement.

The major flaw for the film is the direction and raw handling of the script with patchy screenplay. Editing was another disaster. Given the budget involved even if the costs for the delay are taken away, the film could have been much-much better. Not one song is appealing, background score was just average. At the box office, this will have a good opening but running successfully is ruled out.

courtesy : http://www.greatandhra.com

Normal life in the city was partially hit on Tuesday by the general strike called by the central trade unions in support of their demands. The trade unions called a general strike against price rise, violation of labour laws and disinvestment of public sector units.

Except a few, all schools functioned as usual, while government offices, barring the ones like the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), functioned with thin attendance. Petrol pumps, shops and other business establishments remained open and all modes of transport, barring a few autorickshaws, were available. There was no disruption of train and bus services. No untoward incident was reported in the city.

The trade unions stated that food inflation was running in double-digits and the government's easing of subsidies to rein in its budget deficit were stoking discontent. The activists of the unions earlier in the day took out an impressive rally from Ratham centre to the Sub-Collector's office.

AITUC State working president T. Lakshminarayana stated that the workers and employees participated in the strike in a big way across the State. The employees of Singareni open cast mines, banks, LIC, GIC, BSNL, defence, BHEL, ECIL, Visakha steel, Visakha Port and the like participated in the strike, he claimed, adding that the workers were demanding implementation of Social Security Act, withdrawal of the idea of disinvesting the PSUs and initiating effective measures to strengthen banking and insurance sectors in the country. The employees and workers would intensify the stir if the government did not respond, he said. “Chalo Parliament would be organised soon, he added.

Following the call for general strike given by the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), the banks remained closed at many places in the city. The bankers participated in the strike to protest against a host of issues, including foreign direct investment in public sector banks and entry of foreign banks.

Insurance Employees Union Machilipatnam division organising secretary Gurram Srinivas stated that the insurance employees participated in the strike following a call given by All India LIC Employees Federation. The Supreme Court directed the Central government to distribute essential commodities lying in the FCI warehouses for the poor and the downtrodden. However, the government was not ready to take necessary measures and streamline Public Distribution System, he alleged.

What kind of role students have to play in ensuring safety on roads? Do they often get blamed ‘unnecessarily' for not following rules and contributing to chaos on roads?

A large number of students, who actively participated in an interaction with the officials of police and transport departments in two engineering colleges on Monday, organised as part of the ongoing month-long awareness campaign on road safety and traffic rules, admitted that they had an important role to play in road safety but should not be “targeted” by ignoring other groups like auto-rickshaw drivers and APSRTC drivers. They pointed to several issues that merited the attention of the authorities and came out with constructive suggestions to improve traffic scenario in the city.

The programmes were organised by The Hindu in association with the city police and Efftronics at V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College, Kanuru and Potti Sriramulu Chalavadi Mallikharjuna Rao College of Engineering and Technology, Kothapeta in One Town.

Commissioner of Police P.S.R. Anjaneyulu, who addressed the students at VRSEC, said the police were cracking the whip on anybody that resorted to violation of traffic rules and endangered road safety. But in respect of students, the police were more concerned because their age would make them resort to ‘heroics' at the cost of their own lives. “Everything looks fine until one day you meet with an accident that may result if not in death, permanent incapacitation,” he remarked. The Commissioner urged students to apply for driving licence and also use helmets. There should not be any urgency to use a mobile phone while driving, he felt.

During interaction, the Commissioner said nowhere in the world four-lane roads would be available in the heart of the city. Vijayawada would take a long time to evolve as a major city to tackle its own traffic problems.

SAFETY RULES

At the programme held at PSR CMR College of Engineering and Technology, ACP (Traffic) A.V. Ramana and Motor Vehicles Inspector T. Jayapal Reddy dwelt at length on the rules and tips to be followed for safe driving on roads. Mr. Ramana said helmet would be made compulsory from November 15, and girls would not be spared for traffic violations like triple riding. Mr. Reddy said “defensive driving” by following simple safety rules was essential to escape unhurt.

All the officials and the students enthusiastically signed on the huge banners placed on both the campuses with the pledge that “I solemnly swear that I, as a responsible citizen of Vijayawada, shall abide by all the traffic rules and ensure the safety for myself and my fellow citizens”.

Efftronics director B. Sambi Reddy, VRSEC principal K. Mohana Rao, PSR CMR College secretary & correspondent T. Srinivasu, principal K. Sudhakara Reddy, The Hindu Regional General Manager K. Chandrasekaran and others spoke at the programmes.

The proposed superspeciality hospital will come up on the erstwhile campus of the Siddhartha Medical College (SMC) that presently houses the Dr. N.T.R. University of Health Sciences and Government General Hospital along with medical college.

The Assurances Implementation Committee of the Legislative Council visited several locations in the city to identify the best place for the proposed hospital.

The committee chairperson B. Changala Rayalu, along with members T.G.V. Krishna Reddy, Bommidi Narayana Rao, K. Rajyalakshmi and Jelli Wilson addressing a press conference, said that they would recommend to the State government that there was room enough to establish the super speciality hospital on the 48-acre SMC campus, in which other institutions like the Dr. N.T.R University of Health Sciences, the Government General Hospital, the Government Dental Hospital and the Drug Control Authority had place. There was still 16 acres available for the establishment of superspeciality hospital.

Mr. Rayulu said the committee members were under the impression that the SMC campus was better suited than all the other locations they visited.

The other locations the committee visited included 48 acres of Wakf land in Bhavanipuram, the TB sanatorium in Mangalagiri, eight acres belonging to the Labour Department again in Bhavanipuram, 25 acres of land earmarked for the Railways in exchange for the S.N. Puram railway track in Ajit Singh Nagar and 25 acres of Veterinary College, Gannavaram.

DEBATE

Minister for Animal Husbandry K. Parthasarathy said that only five acres were required for developing a superspeciality hospital, but the requirement would be 25 acres if it was to have teaching facilities.

Earlier, the members debated about establishing the superspeciality hospital in the old GGH at Hanumanpet and the old bus station with a bridge connecting the two compounds over the Ryve's Canal. The suggestion that the hospital could come up there, which was made by CPI MLC Jelli Wilson, was rejected by Ms. Rajyalakshmi and Mr. Krishna Reddy.

There appears to be a flurry of activity in the city on the hospitality industry front, as four to five star hotels are likely to open on MG Road in the next six months. The existing players are preparing to face the competition emerging on this commercially vibrant road, even as business opportunities from clients are expected to remain the same as before.

Rajesh Berry, managing director, Hotel D.V. Manor, says that over a decade ago, there was very little that was happening on MG Road in the hospitality industry. But the situation has so dramatically changed over the years that there seems to be no stopping new hotels from coming up and concentrating on this road alone.

“As expected, there will be increased competition. We have to wait to see how hotel business transforms here,” he remarks.

Hotel D.V. Manor pioneered the establishment and development of high class infrastructure in hospitality industry on MG Road when there was no activity. Later, Hotel Fortune Murali Park and The Gateway Hotel joined the race to add glitter to the high street of the city. And, now the hotels that are said to be waiting in the wings are Minerva Grand and one from the Laila group of companies coming up opposite Swaraj Maidan, in the public private partnership with the Department of Tourism. One more top-end hotel is coming up near NTR Circle.

Mr. Berry says these new hotels will add at least 300 rooms to the hotel industry on M.G. Road in the next six to seven months.

The industry observers point out that it is only after the business in jewellery and garments that hotels stand next in terms of creating high class infrastructure to attract customers from far and wide to the city.

Recession or not, jewellery business continued to do well, while the hotel industry is keenly watching the trends to see what is in store for them.

Tweaking a bit its earlier stand of maintaining equidistance from Congress and BJP, the CPI(M) today indicated that communalism posed a greater threat to the nation and asked the Centre and States to make no concessions to such forces.

“The forces of majority communalism work on the basis of the Hindutva ideology and outlook which is injurious to the country and people’s unity,” party General Secretary Prakash Karat said at the inaugural session of the three-day extended Central Committee meeting here.



He said the BJP-run State governments in Gujarat, Karnataka or Madhya Pradesh “are targeting the minorities, both Muslims and Christians, and seek to deprive them of their rights as citizens”.

The recent exposures of “how the police and State machinery in Gujarat have been used to cover-up the pogroms and stage encounter killings are a chilling reminder of what is in store for the country if such forces come to power”, Mr. Karat said.

“Terrorist violence emanating from whichever source should be put down firmly,” he said, adding that this required both the central and State governments not to make any concession to the communal forces.

He also attacked the Congress for pursuing ‘neo-liberal’ policies, which was “an outlook and philosophy which worships the market and promotes greed and rapacity.

“Every institution of the State and every pore of our society is getting polluted and corrupted. The nexus between big business and politics is now out in the open,” Mr. Karat said asking party members to fight against these tendencies.

The Coimbatore Congress of the CPI(M) had laid down a path to maintain equidistance from Congress and BJP, terming them as ‘twin danger’.

But the inaugural speech by Mr. Karat indicates that communalism was a greater danger.

The top CPI(M) leader called for strengthening Left unity and widening the support for a “Left and democratic alternative” but stopped short of suggesting a Third Front.

He said this was the charter for political and social change in India which the CPI(M) and the Left would advocate.

Maintaining that ‘neo-liberal’ policies were not only affecting the economic sphere but governance also, Mr. Karat said.

“public policy making is (being) suborned to serve the interests of a rich and powerful strata”.

The mining “mafia” of the Bellary brothers “dictates politics in BJP-ruled Karnataka and also commands influence in the politics of Andhra Pradesh.

“Whether it is the IPL or the telecom scam, there is no line demarcating public policy and personal enrichment.

Corruption, through the syphoning off of the public funds, preys on the common people who find their rations and other entitlements vanishing into the pockets of a corrupt and greedy nexus of bureaucrats-politicians-contractors,” he said.

The corporate media has become “the cheer-leader for neo-liberal policies”, he said.

Such an atmosphere has begun to “corrode the parliamentary democratic system” and the people’s rights to assemble, organise and protest are being severely restricted by administrative and judicial actions.

“Trade unions are not allowed to function in Special Economic Zones and many other enterprises. Peasants face police repression if they protest against the lands being taken away and student unions and organizations are banned in many educational institutions,” the CPI(M) leader said.

Attacking the Manmohan Singh government for aligning with the United States and Israel, Mr. Karat said, “There are no second thoughts on compromising national sovereignty and even the lives and safety of the people in order to fructify this alliance.”

As part of the commitment made in the Indo-US nuclear deal, the government has brought a legislation in Parliament. “which embodies this subservience”, Mr. Karat said referring to the Civil Nuclear Liabilities Bill.