PM's statement to Media at Leh

(PIB NEWS) Aug,17, Following is the text of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s statement to the Media at Leh today: “I was shocked to hear about the tragic loss of lives and extensive damage to property caused by the sudden cloudburst on the night of August 5-6, 2010. My heart goes out to all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray to God to give them strength in their hour of bereavement. I also wish the injured persons speedy recovery. I wanted to come earlier. But, I felt that my visit earlier could have hampered the rescue and relief executions. My Cabinet colleagues Dr. Abdullah, Shri G. N. Azad and Prithviraj Chavan, have already visited Leh, supervised the rescue operations and briefed me. I gather that 179 persons including 6 foreign nationals have lost their lives and approximately 400 persons have been injured. Reports indicate that a number of people including foreign nationals are also missing. There has also been extensive damage to the civil hospital, airport, telecom, drinking water supply works, National Highways connecting Leh-Manali, Leh-Kargil and also to private properties. I congratulate the brave personnel of the Army, the Air Force, BRO, ITBP and the NDRF on their courage, tireless efforts and deep concern for their fellow citizens in distress. The State and the Central Government worked hand in hand and ensured that emergency supplies like tents, blankets, turpentine, food and water urgently dispatched and distributed. The doctors and nurses have also done a very good job. I must congratulate the Leh Council, the Deputy Commissioner and his team and the senior officers of the State Government, for their prompt response. All together, it has been a fine example of prompt and coordinated action in the face of nature's fury. The focus should now shift to restoration of public services and rehabilitation. I would like to assure you that no efforts would be spared by the Central Government in this regard. I urge the Chief Minister to quickly send the memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs so that a Central team is sent at the earliest. I had already announced ex-gratia assistance of Rs 1,00,000/- each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000/- per head for seriously injured persons. I have made a public appeal requesting people to donate generously to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to help those affected in Leh. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources is sending 1000 number of solar lanterns for the affected houses in Leh. These lanterns will provide light in the night and can be charged during the day with solar energy. We will fund a special package amounting to a sum of around Rs 125 crore for the Ladkah region from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF). This will cover the restoration of drinking water supply, renovation of the power supply system including DG sets, repairs to the SNM Hospital and replacement of the C.T. Scan machine, in Leh. It will also cover the restoration of the water supply system and the supply of DG set(s) of appropriate capacity to Kargil. In addition, untied grant of Rs 5 crore each will be provided to the Leh & Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Councils under the Special PMNRF package, to meet emergent requirements. Keeping the special locational disadvantages of the Ladakh area, enhanced assistance will also provided for housing. The State Government will set up a Project Monitoring and Implementation Unit under the Chief Secretary to ensure time bound implementation of the relief and rehabilitation projects. My office will render all possible assistance. Additional financial assistance for the restoration of infrastructure and other items, will be provided on the basis of the memorandum of the State Government and the recommendations of the Central team.”
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PM-assures to take necessary actions,

(PIB NEWS) Aug,17, The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh assures to take necessary actions to expedite relief operations to rehabilitate the flash flood victim at the relief camp, in Choglamsar, Leh, Jammu & Kashmir on August 17, 2010.The Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad and the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Shri Omar Abdullah are also seen. (Photo by PIB No.CNR-32909)
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journalism students meets the speaker lok sabha,

(PIB NEWS) Aug,17, A Group of Students from the Department of Journalism of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi meets the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar, in New Delhi on August 17, 2010. (Photo by PIB No.CNR-32919)
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Sonia expected to be re-elected Congress chief

Aug,17, Congress president Sonia Gandhi is Sep 21 expected to be formally elected for another term in office.The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met Monday and decided the election schedule for the election of the Congress chief and the state party chiefs.Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said after the meeting that according to the election schedule, the election would be notified Aug 27 and the last date of filing nominations is Sep 2.The date of polling, if necessary, is Sep 17 and the counting of votes and declaration of results will take place Sep 21.Sonia Gandhi first became the Congress president in 1998.
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Big B spins charkha at Sabarmati Ashram

Aug,17, Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan walked barefoot and spun the charkha (spinning wheel) at Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad where he is shooting for the second phase of advertisements for Gujarat Tourism.The 67-year-old megastar felt that “serenity and peace descended” upon him and his team as they entered the Ashram where Mahatma Gandhi lived and “from where was born the idea of his struggle for the freedom of our country – of sacrifice, non violence and resolve”.A few scenes for the advertisement for Gujarat Tourism required him to walk around the region in a contemplative mood and he duly did so by removing his shoes.“I removed my shoes by the road and walked about barefoot, even though all others do not. It is not required that they do so but I could not somehow make myself to not go barefoot. The sanctity and the purity of the premises just prompted me to do it,” Bachchan posted on his blog.He even spun the charkha.“I sat with the lone figure of an inmate of the trust that runs the ashram as he spun the ‘charkha’ and produced the fibre for khadi. I tried my hand at it. It is a simple yet intricate procedure of weaving the thread and the extreme joy of having been so close to that most identifiable element of the Mahatma, overpowered all other thoughts,” added Big B, who is the brand ambassador for Gujarat.
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Infant stolen from government hospital in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Aug 17 : In yet another incident of its kind in Andhra Pradesh, a month-old infant boy has been stolen from the state-run Niloufer Hospital here. The government has formed five special teams to track the baby.Share This Article:The parents, who belong to Godavarikhani in Karimnagar district, had admitted their infant son to the hospital for treatment of an ailment 12 days ago. The mother told police that she was sleeping Tuesday morning and found the baby missing when she woke up after some time. In January, a three-day-old girl was kidnapped from the same hospital by a woman who had befriended the baby's mother. In May, a new-born was stolen from a government-run hospital in Kakinada town in East Godavari district. However, the woman was identified with the help of the closed circuit television cameras in the hospital and the infant boy was rescued a few days later. A 20-day-old girl went missing from the neo-natal ward of the Niloufer Hospital in 2006. The health authorities are planning to install CCTVs in all government-run hospitals to check such incidents.
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Criminal shot dead in court premises

Hyderabad, Aug 17 : Unidentified attackers opened fire and shot dead a criminal in the premises of a court in Eluru town of West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh.Share This Article:Police said P.Ravi, a rowdy, was killed when two motor-cycle borne assailants fired at him in the district court premises. The assailants fled after throwing away the revolver on the ground. Later, police said one of the suepcets has been taken into custody. Ravi had come to the court in his car when the assailants fired at him in public view. The rowdy was involved in 32 cases, including 11 of murder. Police suspect that Ravi's rivals may have eliminated him to take revenge.
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Heavy rains to continue in AP

Hyderabad, Aug 17 : With an upper circulation extending along the Bay Coast from Orissa to Tamil Nadu, the Weather officials here today said moderate to rather heavy rain thundershowers would occur at many places over Rayalaseema and in the districts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore of Coastal Andhra Pradesh.Share This Article:For next two days light to moderate rain/thundershowers may occur at a few places over Telangana and in the remaining districts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh.No large change was expected for subsequent two days.Sky condition over Hyderabad City and neighbourhood would be generally cloudy with a few spells of rain or thundershowers occurring in parts of Hyderabad city. Maximum and Minimum temperatures would be around 33 and 23 degrees Celsius respectively.The bulletin at 0830 hours today said Southwest monsoon has been active over Rayalaseema. Rain occurred at many places over Rayalaseema and at a few places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.The following stations recorded heavy rainfall in cm: Atmakur (Nellore district) 8, Amalapuram (East Godavari dist), Atmakur (Kurnool dist), Narayanakhed (Medak dist), Nizamsagar (Nizamabad dist) 7 each. The other chief amounts of rainfall recorded in cm were Banswada (Nizamabad dist), Chintalapudi (West Godavari dist), Huzurabad (Karimnagar dist), Kaikalur (Krishna dist), Medchal (Rangareddy dist), Mudhol (Adilabad dist), Ramayampet (Medak dist), Seetharamapuram (Nellore dist) 5 each, Cuddapah, Bobbili and Srungavarapukota (both Vizianagaram dist), Eluru (West Godavari dist), Muddanur (Cuddapah dist), Sirpur (Adilabad dist) 4 each, Machilipatnam, Badvel (Cuddapah dist), Kadiri (Anantapur dist), Kalakada (Chittoor dist), Kamareddy (Nizamabad dist), Paleru Bridge (Krishna dist), Polavaram (West Godavari dist), Rapur (Nellore dist), Suryapet (Nalgonda dist) 3 each, Arogyavaram, Nandyal, Allagadda and Koilkuntla (both Kurnool dist), Amarapuram and Chilamattur (both Anantapur dist), Chintapalli (Visakhapatnam dist), Jammalamadugu and Porumamilla (both Cuddapah dist), Karimnagar and Sircilla (both Karimnagar dist), Tiruvuru (Krishna dist), Venkatapuram (Khammam dist) 2 each and Chittoor, Hakimpet AP, Kalingapatnam, Kavali, Khammam, Narsapur, Ramagundam, Rentachintala, Addanki, Kandukur and Podili (all Prakasam dist), Asifabad (Adilabad dist), Bhimadole and Tadepalligudem (both West Godavari dist), Chodavaram (Visakhapatnam dist), Gudivada (Krishna dist), Hindupur and Madakasira (both Anantapur dist), Madnoor (Nizamabad dist), Manthani (Karimnagar dist), Prathipadu (East Godavari dist), Rajampet, Rayachoty and Vempalli (all Cuddapah dist), Salur (Vizianagaram dist), Satyavedu and Thambalapalle (both Chittoor dist), Vinjamur (Nellore dist) one each.
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AP CM to attend SBM 2012

Hyderabad, Aug 17 : 'The Saakshar Bharat Mission (SBM) 2012' will be celebrated at Hyderabad by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry at a national-level function on the International Literacy Day on September 8.Chief Minister K Rosaih, Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal and Minister of State for HRD Purandareswari will attend the function.This was decided at a review meeting the Chief Minister had with Ministers and officials at Secretariat on School and Intermediate Education, a release from Chief Minister's office said yesterday.The Chief Minister asked the Finance Department to release the state share in all the Centre-sponsored schemes so that Central assistance could be availed. He asked the Finance department to release the funds on top priority basis.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had launched 'Saakshar Bharat Mission 2012' on September 8, 2009. 'Saakshar Bharat', a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, with sharing pattern of 75:25 between the Centre and the States came into operation from October 1, 2009. The Gram Panchayat is the main implementing agency at the operational level. In the first phase, it is proposed to cover districts with Adult Female Literacy rate (15+ age group) of 50 per cent and below by 2012.The scheme is to impart functional literacy and numeracy to non-literate and non-numerate adult. It will enable the neo-literate adults to continue their learning beyond basic literacy and acquire equivalency to formal educational system, impart non and neo-literates relevent skill development programmes to improve their earning and living conditions and to promote a learning society by providing opportunities to neo-literate adults for continuing education.
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Speaker inaugurates water scheme in AP

Visakhapatnam, Aug 17 : Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy has inaugurated a new Protected Water scheme in Indiranagar here.The scheme, executed at a cost of Rs 1.2 crore, was launched in the 68th ward of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation yesterday. Later, Mr Kumar refused to make any comment on the present political situation, saying that being a Speaker was not supposed to make any political comments.Minister P Balaraju, MLAs T Vijaya Kumar, G Babu Rao, and M Vijaya Prasad, Mayor P Janardhana Rao, District Congress president T Nagesh, PCC Secretary Y Mariadas and several corporators and Congress leaders were also participated in the function.
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9 die due to diarrhoea; CM directs awarness campaign

Hyderabad, Aug 16 : In the wake of nine diarrhoea deaths in the state, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah has directed the officials of Panchayat Raj and Rural Water Supply to take up a week-long campaign to bring awareness among the public about sanitation and to contain water-borne diseases in the State.The Chief Minister will hold video conferencing with district collectors with special focus on sanitation on August 18, a release from Chief Minister's office said here today.He was reviewing on issues pertaining to water-borne diseases and sanitation with Minister of Panchayat Raj Botsa Satyanarayana, Minister for Rural Water Supply P Viswarup and senior officials concerned.Noting that nine deaths were reported due to diarrhoea in 13 districts, the Chief Minister said in spite of making available required funds, sanitation conditions were not improving, especially in rural areas. ''Prevention is better than cure. The departments concerned should act more proactively in advance of every monsoon season to prevent recurrence of water-borne diseases and prevent water pollution by taking an intensive drive,'' the Chief Minister asserted. He wanted that the awareness campaign should be conducted not in a routine manner but be done in a focused manner.
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Rosaiah to look into teachers' demands

Hyderabad, Aug 16 : Andhra Pradeh Chief Minister K Rosaiah today assured to positively consider few genuine demands of the Teacher MLCs.After Rosaiah held a meeting on the demands of the Teacher MLCs with ministers and officials and the Teacher MLCs at the Secretariat, he asked the department to examine the possibility of extending the benefit of GoMs 330 to the Grade II Language Pandits who were appointed and acquired Grade I qualifications prior to 1982. The Chief Minister also agreed to positively consider regularisation of contract teachers in A P Residential Schools.Dr Rosaiah also agreed to examine granting two notional increments to apprentice teachers in Municipal Schools. He also agreed to look into other demands of the teacher MLCs positively. The Chief Minister said was always sympathetic to the genuine demands of the teachers but had to look into the financial implications of each demand since he would like to implement the assurances immediately as per his promise.Minister for Secondary Education, Manikya Vara Prasad, Minister for School Education, Ahmadullah, Adviser to Chief Minister, P K Agarwal, Principal Secretary, Finance, L V Subramaniam, Secretary, School Education, Sambasiva Rao, Teacher MLCs: Subba Reddy, Mohan Reddy, Sudhakar Reddy, Ram Reddy, Satyanarayana Raju, Srinivasulu Naidu, Chukka Ramaiah and Laxman Rao and other officials attended the meeting, a release from Chief Minister's office here said.
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