No question of leaving Cong: Reddy

New Delhi, May 31: Congress MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy, who was recently detained for his controversial 'yatra' (rally), said he will not leave the party but is ready to quit from his Lok Sabha post."There is no reason why I should leave my party (Congress). If I had to leave, I would have done that immediately after my father (late Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy) died; at that time I also had sympathy of 135 MLAs," Reddy told reporters on Monday here.Reddy, who is in the Capital to meet Congress top brass over the 'yatra' controversy, said: "I respect madam (party supremo Sonia Gandhi) a lot, and have full faith in her. My intensions are clear, my mind is guilt-free, I have not done anything wrong."I am here (Delhi) to request the Congress to allow me continue my Odarpu Yatra. I will explain my stand behind this apolitical rally. The 'yatra' cannot be stopped...it's my moral responsibility and duty to carry on with it. "Asked if there are chances that Congress will take action against him over this issue, Reddy said: "I don't think the party will take action against me. Why should they? I have done no wrong."On May 28, Reddy was taken into preventive custody by the Andhra Pradesh police, apprehending violent clashes after he refused to call off his controversial yatra (rally).Reddy was arrested from a train at Vangapalli in Nalgonda district while he was on way to Warangal to console the family members of those who died of shock or committed suicide after his father's death in a helicopter crash last year.Reddy was on a yatra to meet the bereaved family members and even after his arrest, he has reportedly stated of resuming his travel at a later date.His yatra was seen as a move to give air to the anti-Telangana lobby, of which Reddy and his late father were supporters.Like the late chief minister, the younger Reddy is also against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and he had, along with MPs from Rayalaseema and Andhra regions, voiced their opposition to formation of Telangana state in the Parliament.The yatra could have fuelled clashes between Reddy's supports and pro-Telangana activists.The Joint Action Committee (JAC), Telangana Rashtra Samiti, other pro-Telangana groups, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had announced their plans to stall the yatra.Some Congress leaders were also against Reddy's yatra and had even reportedly got Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to ask Reddy to stop his rally.But Reddy had decided to go ahead with the yatra, which he has now stated of resuming at a later time.He has maintained that the yatra was not a political statement, and his detractors were trying to defame him.
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HIV woman refused admission, gives birth by roadside

Hyderabad,May 31: An HIV-positive woman was forced to give birth to her baby by the roadside after a government-run hospital allegedly refused her admission.The shocking incident took place Sunday evening in Suryapet town of Nalgonda district, about 170 km from here. According to delayed reports reaching the state capital, some women in the town helped deliver the baby after the pregnant woman collapsed by the roadside. Alivelu, wife of a daily wage labourer from Kesaram village in Nalgonda, reached Government Area Hospital in Suryapet. After the blood examination, she was found HIV-positive and the staff on duty allegedly refused her admission saying the doctors were not available. The 28-year-old was asked to come to the hospital the next day. Some relatives accompanying her tried to get her admitted to a private hospital but could not arrange the money. In the meantime, she developed labour pains and some local women came forward to help her. Shocked by the incident, Health Minister D. Nagender announced a probe. "We will take action against those who refused to admit the woman," the minister told reporters. Alivelu, who had returned to the village with the new-born Sunday night, was brought to the town and admitted to the hospital by health officials. R.V. Chandravadan, director, Andhra Pradesh AIDS Control Society, said there was no reason for a government hospital to deny admission to any HIV-infected person. "Action will definitely be taken against those found guilty," he said.
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Heat wave prevails in coastal AP, Telangana despite rain

Hyderabad,May 31: Heat wave conditions prevailed over Telangana and over the districts of Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam of Coastal Andhra Pradesh despite isolated rain occurring over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rayalaseema.The maximum temperatures changed little over Telangana and Rayalaseema and fell at one or two places over coastal Andhra Pradesh. They were significantly above normal over Rayalaseema and at one or two places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh. The highest maximum temperature of 46 degrees Celsius was recorded at Adilabad, Met Department said today.Srungavarapukota (Vizianagaram district) recorded a heavy rainfall measuring nine cm. Palamaner and Punganur (both Chittoor districts) received three cm each rainfall, Kuppam (Chittoor district) 2 cm and Mahabubnagar, Araku Valley (Visakhapatnam district) and Vizianagaram (Vizianagaram district) recorded one cm each rainfall.Heat wave conditions would continue to prevail over Telangana and may continue to prevail over the districts of Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam of Coastal Andhra Pradesh during the next two days.Isolated rain/thundershowers would occur over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rayalaseema.There is a chance of rain/thundershowers in parts of the city while maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 43 and 28 degrees Celsius respectively.
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Hyderabad gets an eco-friendly ice skating rink

Hyderabad,May 31: Hyderabad got its first eco-friendly ice-skating rink with a synthetic surface on Sunday.The rink has been introduced by Sparq Concepts in conjunction with Spanish company, XTRAICE.Spanning an area of 1,300 square feet, the sporting arena is all set to woo ice skating enthusiasts."The rink here is artificial ice rink. This is not ice but it is 97 percent close to ice-skating. It is a fibre-plastic on which we put solution and we skate. We get 97 percent similarity of ice skating," said Anup Kumar Yaman, an Asian Games medallist in figure skating.With zero electricity consumption, the rink can accommodate 25 skaters at a time and has a viewer gallery, which can accommodate double the number of visitors overlooking the skating rink."It''s a remarkable technology and the same product is being used in US and Canada where the ice hockey teams called Florida Panthers and ..., they are using the same product in their training centers," said Afroz Khan, Associate Manager, Sparq Concepts.Similar kind of artificial ice rinks are present at Disneyland in Paris, Toki No Sumik in Japan, the Danish and Spanish ice hockey Associations, and the Bastad Stadium in Sweden.
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Jagan leaves for Delhi to meet Cong high command

Hyderabad,May 30: Reprimanded by the Congress high-command for defying its advice against the 'Odarpu Yatra', which was aborted amid firing and escalating law and order probelms, Congress MP from Kadapa Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy left for New Delhi this evening to put forward his side of the story to the party.After Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee advised to cut-off 'Odarpu Yatra', Jagan had called on Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimham at Rajbhavan yesterday bypassing Chief Minister Rosaiah.He had reportedly compalined to the Governor that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had deliberately stoked the Mahaboobabad firing incident on May 28 'by attacking the Congress leaders there'.The Mahaboobabad firing incident triggered a bandh in Telangana where the government was able to bring back peace after more than 5 months turmoil with the appointment of the Justice Srikrishna Committee. The political temperature in Telangana went up with the yatra. Jagan who is member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance which is meeting in New Delhi tomorrow is likely to use opportunity with the visit to meet party high command including Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily who is incharge of Andhra Pradesh affairs.Jagan's visit also come at a time amid reports of businessmen known to him had reporterdy approached the Bharatiya Janata Party for a look into the new situation in Andhra Pradesh. Jagan's business links with the 'Gali brothers', the BJP minister of Karnataka is no secret.
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Chiranjeevi's party to support Cong. in RS polls

New Delhi, May 30: South Indian superstar Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) has pledged its support to the ruling Congress in the coming Rajya Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh as the national party fell short by six votes to get its fourth candidate elected to the Upper House.The agreement between the Congress and PRP was reached at a meeting between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and PRP chief Chiranjeevi at Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence here Saturday. Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, Union Minister for Law and party in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Veerappa Moily and PRP leader C Ramchandraiah were also present. The PRP has decided to withdraw its candidate for the Rajya Sabha election and its 18 MLAs in the state Assembly shall now vote in favour of Congress candidate, Ramchandriah said. With this, Congress' candidates victory in four seats has been ensured, for which it required 164 votes but, prior to the understanding with the PRP, was falling short by six votes. The PRP leader maintained that no favour has been sought from the Congress in return, though he added that Gandhi's support was asked for getting two irrigation schemes in the state declared as national projects. The arrangement with PRP will spell double benefit for the Congress as the party was facing prospects of revolt by former chief minister late YSR Reddy's son Jagan Mohan and his loyalists. Reddy's lobby has support of about 18 MLAs and if they leave the Congress, Rosaiah's government would have been reduced to majority. The PRP's support in such a scenario could come handy for the ruling party.
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Four of a family murdered in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, May 30: In a gruesome incident here, four members of a family were murdered by their son-in-law and his relatives early Sunday, police said.

Six assailants hacked to death four people in a house at Premnagar in Amberpet neighbourhood. Another person sustained serious injuries and is battling for life in hospital, police said. Qamruddin, his wife Sajida Begum and two other family members Abdullah Begani and Abdullah Kirmani were killed in the attack. Qamruddin's daughter Afreen, wife of the main accused, is in critical condition. Police said while one person died on the spot, three others succumbed to the their injuries in hospital. After the murders, Jehangir, son-in-law of Qamruddin, and his brother went to the police station where they surrendered. Police also arrested their four other relatives who helped them in committing the crime. Jehangir, who separated from his wife following a marital dispute, said he committed the crime to take revenge for a dowry harassment case filed by Afreen against him. Police are investigating.
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