Hyderabad to have underground power cables: CM

Hyderabad will soon have underground power cables in phases, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah informed the State Assembly today.

In a written reply to Mr D Sudheer Reddy of Congress, he said laying of underground power cables in the city was being taken up in a phased manner under funding by the Power Finance Corporation, the Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company Limited (APCPDCL) and the Andhra Pradesh Transmission Corporation (APTRANSCO).The laying of underground cables was necessited as television, internet and broadband cables were running over electricity poles indiscriminately, causing a lot of inconvenience to department staff for climbing up the poles to attend regular maintenance works, he said.
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Chief Minister Rosaiah, expresses shock over plane crash

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah today expressed shock and anguish over the crash of a navy aircraft on the penthouse of a building during the air show at the opening of the India Aviation-2010 air show here.He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members of the pilot and the co-pilot, who were killed in the crash.The Chief Minister asked the Air show organisers to ensure no such accidents take place during such shows, which are witnessed by a large number of people. (thanks to newkerala)
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"I LOVE MY INDIA" but country rejected me,laments Maqbul Fida Hussain,

Political leaders, intellectuals and artists in India kept silent when right-wing outfits targeted him, legendary painter M.F.Hussain says “with deep pain” in his heart.“I still love India. But India doesn’t need me. I am saying this with deep pain in heart,” Hussain told Gulf Madhyamam, Kerala-based Malayalam daily Madhyamam’s Doha edition, in an interview.“India is my motherland. I can’t hate my motherland. But India rejected me. Then why should I stay in India?” the 95-year-old painter said in his first interview after accepting Qatar citizenship.“When Sangh Parivar outfits targeted me, all kept silent. No one, including political leadership, artists or intellectuals came forward to speak for me. But I know the fact that 90 percent of the people of India love me. They are with me,” he said.“Only 10 percent of people, including some politicians, are against me,” Husain said.Husain has dozens of lawsuits against him across the country for his paintings of goddesses that some Hindus find sacrilegous. The artist has been living abroad as a fugitive since 2006.He said he was not worried as people across the world love him.“India’s continuing governments could not protect me. So, it is very difficult for me to stay in such a country. Politicians are eyeing only votes.”“Now, they are asking me to come back. I was in exile…There was no one to speak for me. No governments recalled me. Now they are asking me to return after one country offered me citizenship. How can I trust a political leadership that refused to protect me?” he said.“Is there any surety that I would be given protection in India?” Hussain asked.He stressed that the cases against him went against an artist’s self-expression, and maintained that he did not want to hurt anyone’s sentiments.“It is a move against art and the artist’s self-expression. I never intended to hurt anyone’s sentiments through the art,” he said.“I only expressed my soul’s creativity through art. Art’s language is universal language. People who love it beyond all narrow viewpoints are my strength,” he said.“I enjoy complete freedom in Qatar. Now Qatar is my place. Here no one controls my freedom of expression. I am very happy here,” he said.Hussain added that he would visit India, if he gets the opportunity.  (thanks to way2online)
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Air crash will not affect Hyderabad air show: PRAFUL PATIL

Terming the crash of a naval aircraft here during an international civil aviation exhibition as “unfortunate”, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Wednesday said the tragedy will not affect the event in any way.“These kinds of mishaps have happened during such events in the past the world over. It is very unfortunate but I don’t think this (aircraft crash) will any way hamper or effect the event,” the minister said.According to a civil aviation ministry official, there were five such crashes during air shows in the world last year. Similarly there were four such crashes during air shows in 2008 and seven in 2007.An Indian Navy trainer aircraft crashed into a two-storied building in a congested locality during an air show here Wednesday, killing the pilot and his co-pilot who found no time to eject.Commander S.K. Maurya and Lt Commander Rahul Nair were killed when the HJT-16 Kiran Mk2 trainer, built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, crashed in Bowenpally locality near the old Begumpet Airport in the city.  (thanks to way2online)

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One pilot ejected in Naval plane crash

One of the two pilots killed when a Naval aircraft crashed into a building in Hyderabad Wednesday had ejected but his parachute did not fully open, a top Navy official said here.“Lt. Commander Rahul Nair, who was the co-pilot of Commander S.K. Maurya, had ejected. His parachute could not be fully deployed because of the low height. Maurya went down with the plane. Both were killed in the crash,” said a Navy official.According to standard operating procedures, the co-pilot first ejects in case of any emergency. He is followed by the pilot.After the crash, the Navy has grounded its fleet of 20 HJT-16 Kiran Mk aircraft till the board of enquiry is completed and all the aircraft undergo inspection. Sources say the planes are likely to remain grounded till Friday.The Navy had inducted these trainer aircraft in 1970.Out of these 20 HJT-16 Kiran Mk aircraft, 12 are Mark 1 and the other eight are Mark 2 aircraft.“This is the first accident of Kiran aircraft in the past 10 years and first of Sagar Pawan aerobatics display team since its inception in 2003,” the official said.The last accident of Kiran in Indian Navy took place in December 1999. The plane crashed in a Goa railway yard.The aircraft which crashed Wednesday was supplied to the Indian Navy by the Hindustan Aeronautical in 1997. It was a Mark 2 aircraft.According to Navy officials, one Kiran on an average flies 700-800 hours per year. “The accident rate in the past 10 years has been one in 10,000 hours,” the official said.Sagar Pawan is one of the two Naval aerobatics teams in the world, the other being the Blue Angels of the US Navy.It has participated in over 100 air shows in the past seven years, the last one being a fortnight ago in Goa. The Sagar Pawan team has 16-17 pilots and on an average eight pilots are available for operational purposes.The Navy said Commander Maurya, who was commissioned in the Navy in 1993, has been with the Sagar Pawan team since 2004. Maurya, 39, is survived by his wife. He hailed from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh.Nair, 34, was commissioned in the Navy 1998. He is survived by his wife and a three-year-old son. (thanks to way2online)
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Suicide bombers 'unIslamic' and going to Hell, says leading cleric

A prominent Muslim organisation in Britain has issued a fatwa on suicide bombings and terrorism — declaring them “un-Islamic”. Minhaj-ul-Quran, a organisation based on Sufi principles which advises the Government on how to combat radicalisation in Muslim youth, launched its 600-page religious verdict in Central London this morning, condemning the perpetrators of terrorist explosions and suicide bombings. The fatwa condemns suicide bombers saying that they are destined for Hell, countering extremist propaganda that Islamist terrorists will enter paradise after death. The document is written by Muslim scholar Dr Muhammed Tahir ul-Qadri, a former government adviser in Pakistan and friend of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the founder of the increasingly influential Minhaj-ul-Quran movement. In it, suicide bombings and terrorism are prohibited as “totally un-Islamic”. The fatwa, first launched in Pakistan in December, uses texts from the Koran and other Islamic writings to argue that attacks against innocent citizens are “absolutely against the teachings of Islam and that Islam does not permit such acts on any excuse, reason or pretext”. Although the fatwa might carry little weight among some in Britain's majority Sunni Muslim community, it will have an overall impact because of Minhaj-ul-Quran’s growing influence as a community representative body with hundreds of thousands of followers in South Asia as well as the UK. It is a strong counter to Islamic schools of thought that condemn unbelievers and call for their subjugation, and will contribute to a climate where all Muslims can speak out freely against atrocities committed in the name of their religion. Dr Tahir ul-Qadri, who is based in Canada and has written more than 400 books on Islamic law, is recognised in Pakistan as an authority on Islamic jurisprudence. A spokesman for the counter-extremist think tank Quilliam said: “This fatwa has the potential to be a highly significant step towards eradicating Islamist terrorism. “Fatwas by Wahhabi-influenced clerics and Islamist ideologues initiated modern terrorism against civilians. “Terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda continue to justify their mass killings with self-serving readings of religious scripture. Fatwas that demolish and expose such theological innovations will consign Islamist terrorism to the dustbin of history.” Shahid Mursaleen, spokesman for Minhaj-ul-Quran UK, said: “He has hit hard on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists from considering suicide bombers as ‘martyrs’. This fatwa injects doubt into the minds of potential suicide bombers. “Extremist groups based in Britain recruit youth by brainwashing them that they will — with certainty — be rewarded in the next life and Dr Qadri’s fatwa has removed this key intellectual factor from their minds.” Minhaj-ul-Quran is an organisation based in 80 countries that follows Sufi teachings of peace and moderation, gaining ground among Muslim groups eager to combat the radicalisation of young people. The group receives no government funding. The Minhaj-ul-Quaran movement runs courses in combating religious extremism in educational centres throughout Britain including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nelson, Walsall, Glasgow and Dundee. fatwa, an edict issued by a Muslim scholar, may concern any aspect of Islamic life. It became associated with extremism after 1989 when the author Salman Rushdie was forced into hiding following a fatwa calling for his death was issued by Ayatollah Khomeni, then the Supreme Leader of Iran, on the grounds that his book, The Satanic Verses had “insulted” Islam. The Communities Minister Shahid Malik, whose Dewsbury constituency was home to the 7/7 bomber Mohammad Siddique Khan, welcomed the new fatwa. “It is incumbent on Muslims to stand up for their faith — when 7/7 occurred those four evil young men killed themselves and over 50 innocent people because they followed a twisted and perverted interpretation of Islam which told them by doing so they would go to heaven,” he said. “A clear and unequivocal message must go out that Islam teaches that these four are not martyrs going to heaven but sinners going somewhere very different indeed. “Hence, I very much welcome the work of Dr Qadri in helping reinforce this most crucial of message to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.” An Islamic scholar Shaikh Mohammed Hisham Kabbani, of the Centre for Spirituality and Cultural Advancement, also welcomed the fatwa. “This scholarship is a landmark in enabling Muslims living in the UK to be able to silence the small minority of people who think it is OK to commit violent acts in the name of Islam,” he said. “We are happy and honoured to be working with Dr Qadri and Minhaj-ul-Quran to support the UK Muslims in countering the radical Islamist rhetoric in the world.” (thanks to timesonline)
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