Mecca Masjid blast third anniversary passes off

Hyderabad, May 18 : The thirdanniversary of the bomb blast at historic Mecca Masjid here passed off peacefully amid tight security.No untoward incident was reported from any part of the city, police said. The afternoon and evening prayers at the 17th century mosque passed off peacefully as police made elaborate security arrangements. A tight vigil was maintained across the old city after unidentified gunmen killed a policeman last Friday. The motorcycle borne suspected terrorists shot dead the police constable at Shahali Banda, about a km from Mecca Masjid. One policeman was gunned down in a similar fashion by unidentified persons on this day last year. Police suspect involvement of suspected terrorists, who have allegedly vowed revenge for the police firing after the blast three years ago. Nine people were killed in the blast during Friday prayers at the mosque May 18, 2007. Five more persons were killed in the subsequent police firing on protestors outside the mosque. Police are yet to achieve a breakthrough in the blast case. Initially the Bangladesh-based Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami (Huji) was blamed for the attack and some suspects were also picked up. Though the investigations were handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the case has not been cracked even after three year. The government said the case has turned 'cold' as the two primary suspects were killed in an alleged shootout in Pakistan. The case, however, took a new turn early this month with the CBI questioning the members of some Hindu extremist outfits allegedly involved in Ajmer Dargah blast for their role in Mecca Masjid case. Various organisations have demanded fresh probe into the case in view of the revelations. The Bhaskar Rao Commission formed by the Andhra Pradesh government to probe police firing has also not submitted its report even after three years.

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Andhra calls in rescue teams as cyclone threat grows

Hyderabad, May 18: The administration in Andhra Pradesh's coastal region Tuesday went on high alert and National Disaster Response Force was called in for rescue operations as the cyclonic storm Laila intensified and is likely to cross the coast between Visakhapatnam and Ongole early Thursday.Second warning signals have been hoisted at all Andhra ports as the depression over the Bay of Bengal turned into a cyclonic storm and lay centred 550 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam. It is likely to cross the coast between Ongole and Visakhapatnam by early hours of May 20. "Under the influence of this system, north coastal Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh are likely to experience widespread rainfall with scattered heavy to very heavy falls (25 cms or more) and isolated extremely heavy falls during next 48 hours," said a bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Strong gales with speed reaching 65-75 km an hour are likely to commence along and off Andhra Pradesh coast Tuesday night. It may increase to 115-125 kmph at the time of landfall early Wednesday mroning. Since the sea condition will also be rough, the fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea. The state government has called in the National Disaster Response Force from Tamil Nadu and Bhubaneshwar for rescue operations. The force from Bhubaneshwar will be stationed at Visakhapatnam to look after the rescue operations in the districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office. The personnel from Arakonam, Tamil Nadu, will be stationed at Vijayawada to look after the rescue operations in the districts of West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore. The official machinery in all the nine coastal districts has been asked to be on high alert. Leave of employees has been cancelled till May 25. Those on leave have been asked to report back immediately. Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Dharmana Prasada Rao told reporters here that the leave of employees, especially in departments like disaster management, revenue, police, fire services, electricity, roads and buildings and Panchayat Raj, has been cancelled. Chief Minister K.Rosaiah directed the district collectors to take all preventive measures to minimise the loss of life and property. He asked them to be ready for evacuating to safer places the people likely to be affected. A sub-committee of top officials will be formed immediately for round-the-clock monitoring of the situation. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has also issued cyclonic storm advisory, asking the state government to keep a close watch and take appropriate precautionary measures. Following the advisory, control rooms have been opened at the state secretariat and at all district headquarters. The chief minister asked the officials to be ready with alternative steps for effective communication in case there is damage to communication network.
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CM alerts official machinery on 'Laila'

Hydeabad, May 18: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah today alerted the entire official machinery view in of the deep depression over southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas moving westwards and intensifying into a cyclonic storm ''Laila''.The Chief Minister reviewed the latest situation with Ministers and officials here and asked the Collectors of the Coastal Districts to advise the fishermen not to venture into sea during this period.The government would take further measures at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, he said and asked the officials to monitor the situation round-the-clock. He directed them to be very alert during the days and take all precautionary measures to prevent loss to life and property of the people.
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Minister stresses media's role in development of society

Hyderabad, May 18: Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information and Public Relations J Geetha Reddy today said the media should play a key role in the development of the society and work as a link between the government and the people.Releasing the handbook on the activities and programmes being taken up by the Andhra Pradesh Press Academy (APPA) here, she said journalists should contribute their might through their writings to create awareness among the people, particularly people in rural areas, about the developmental and welfare schemes of the government.There was no point in taking up welfare schemes if it did not reach the targetted people. Media should play a key role in this regard by educating the people about the schemes, she added. APPA Chairman T. Surender said the Academy would launch several activities for the benefit of journalists and media in the state. He said the academy proposed to help media to create a self-regulatory mechanism to follow ethics and improve the quality of media. Apart from the existing activities of the academy, it was decided to develop an online knowledge centre by making the existing website more meaningful. The academy decided to supply regular useful material to all the mediapersons, particularly journalists in rural and remote areas, he said.
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Andhra on high alert as cyclonic storm intensifies

Hyderabad, May 18: The administration in Andhra Pradesh's coastal region Tuesday went on high alert as the cyclonic storm Laila intensified and is likely to cross the coast near Machilipatnam.Second warning signals have been hoisted at all Andhra ports as the depression over Bay of Bengal turned into a cyclonic storm and lay centred at 690 km southeast of Visakhapatnam. It is likely to cross the coast near the port city of Machilipatnam in Krishna district, about 450 km from here, in about 72 hours. Since the coastal region will experience the impact of the storm from Tuesday night, authorities have sounded a high alert. According to the Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre, strong gales with speeds reaching 65 to 75 km per hour are likely to commence along and off the Andhra coast from Tuesday. The wind speed may further increase as the system moves closer to the coast. Since the sea condition will also be rough, the fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rain in coastal Andhra from May 19. The impact of the cyclonic storm may continue till May 25. "The system is likely to intensify further and move in a west-northwesterly direction for some more time and then move in a northwesterly to northerly direction during the next 72 hours towards the Andhra Pradesh coast close to Machilipatnam," an IMD bulletin said. The official machinery in all the nine coastal districts has been asked to be on high alert. Leave of employees have been cancelled till May 25. Those on leave have been asked to report back immediately. Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation D. Prasada Rao told reporters here that the leave of employees especially in departments like disaster management, revenue, police, fire services, electricity, roads and buildings and Panchayat Raj have been cancelled. Chief Minister K. Rosaiah directed the district collectors to take all preventive measures to minimize the loss of life and property. Since there is still sufficient time before the cyclone crosses the coast, the collectors were told to take measures to save life and property, he said. The strong winds could topple walls and electricity and communication towers.
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ACB unerathed Rupees 90 lakhs alleged disproportionate assests in AP

Visakhapatnam, May 18: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) unearthed alleged Disproportionate assets worth over Rs 90 lakh allegedly belonging to a Traffic Police Inspector in the Port city.Simultaneous searches were conducted yesterday by the ACB officials at the residences of Rajasekhar, a Police Inspector with traffic branch, at Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Amalapuram.The searches yielded assets worth over Rs 90 lakh, an ACB release said yesterday.Which included six house plots, two houses, a flat, household articles worth Rs 2 Lakh and Rs 39,000 in cash, it said, adding further investigation was still going on.
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