Telangana political issue: Apex court

New Delhi, Aug 20 : The Supreme Court Friday declined to interfere with the Telangana imbroglio saying that it was a political issue and was better left to the political bosses.

"Why should this court entertain the PIL at this stage? It is a political question. No decision has been taken so far. Why should we pre-empt it," said Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia. The apex court bench of Chief Justice Kapadia and Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan said the court could step in only after the law carving out a separate state of Telangana was put in place and the same was challenged before it. The court said that when such a law was made it would be open to the petitioner to move the court. The court made these observations in the wake of the hearing of a PIL seeking to restrain the Justice Srikrishna Committee from going ahead with its task of examining the request for a separate state of Telangana. The petitioner Bondada Purushottam Yadav told the court that when the state of Telangana would be created it would violate the unity and integrity of Andhra Pradesh. The Srikrishna committee is engaged in seeking the opinions of political parties, organizations, individuals and groups on the demand for a separate state of Telangana. Disposing of the PIL, Chief Justice Kapadia said that the stage for the court to step in had not come. "We don't know what would be the recommendation of the Justice Srikrishna Committee and what would be its paradigms." Senior counsel Harish Salve who appeared for another petitioner Srinivas Reddy wondered on what "principles states are formed". "Should there not be some parameters. Can it be done on politicians' and public demand," he said. Salve said that when the Srikrishna committee was set up there were no proper terms of reference. The senior counsel asked how could the demand for Telangana be justified on "linguistic and administrative basis".
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New Vice-Chancellor of NTR University takes charge

Vijayawada, Aug 20 : Newly appointed Vice-chancellor Dr I V Rao here today assumed charge of NTR Health University from outgoing Vice-chancellor Krishnam Raju.Talking to reporters, Mr Rao said the staff in the NTR Health University was disproportionate to the work load and he would strive to augment the staff.He said 360 institutions are affiliated to the NTR University and the workload had increased considerably.The Vice-Chancellor said he would approach the government for permission to shift the Health University, at present located in the premises of the Goverment General Hospital and affiliated institutions to one campus. He said he would appeal the government to allot 25 acres of land for this purpose.
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12-yr-old girl set to enter Guinness Book

Vijayawada, Aug 20 : Twelve-year-old M Saichandrika is all set to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest solo performance of 'Kuchipudi' dance at the Rotary Club Auditorium here today.One of the organisers and Nataraj Samskrutika Kalapeetham Founder M Surya Prakash told UNI here the Guinness Management had already been informed about the performance.Saichandrika started dancing at 0900 hrs this morning and wound up after performing non-stop for three hours, six minutes and 43 seconds, claimed to be a record for a solo performance.Senior Journalist Turlapati Kutumba Rao, who holds the Guinness record for delivering the most number of public speeches (number over 10,000) witnessed the entire fete of the lass.Andhra Pradesh Animal Husbandry Minister P Parthasarathi, Vijayawada (C) MLA Malladi Vishnu and City Congress President P Sominaidu were present.Congratulating the girl, the Minister said, ''even after dancing for over three hours, the little girl did not appear tired and seemed raring to go for another three hours.'' The Minister hoped that Saichandrika would find an entry into the coveted Guinness Book of World Record.The organisers said they would be sending the video clippings and other material to the Guinness Management.
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Telugu actor's kin held for buying drugs

Hyderabad, Aug 20 : A day after two brothers of Telugu film actor Ravi Teja were arrested while buying drugs from a Nigerian national, Hyderabad police were Friday keeping an eye on at least 60 other suspects, including people from the film industry, politics and the high society.The police Thursday night arrested two brothers of actor Ravi Teja and their associate Naresh in the posh Banjara Hills neighbourhood when they were allegedly buying cocaine from a Nigerian national, Cheema Claymen. Police seized 51 grams of cocaine from the foreigner and eight grams from the actor's brothers and their associate. A car and an electronic weighing machine were also seized. Teja's brothers, B. Raghunath Raju alias Raghu Babu and Bharat Raju, and the two other accused were brought before the media Friday. The four were slapped with cases under the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and will be presented before a magistrate's court later. Police Commissioner A.K. Khan told reporters that the police would set up an anti-drug cell and deal firmly with the menace. The names of some actresses had also cropped up during the questioning and investigations were on, he said. "We will not only deal firmly with people who are selling drugs but also those who are consuming it," Khan said. The police are keeping an eye on about 60 people from rich and famous families, he added. The police commissioner said at least four gangs were operating in the city and were smuggling drugs through Mumbai. He has already written to his Mumbai counterpart seeking cooperation to nab the peddlers. Khan said the pub culture was promoting the use of drugs. "People in pubs may also consume drugs without even knowing it," he said, and appealed to parents to control their daughters and sons from falling prey to the drug menace. Since a large number of foreigners are staying in Hyderabad, the police have decided to keep a close watch on their activities. The Nigerian who was arrested for selling drugs was overstaying in the counrty, he said. The police have also asked universities to provide details of foreign students on their campuses. Police were keeping an eye on the actor's brothers ever since the arrest of a Nigerian early this month when he was found selling drugs. The foreigner had given the names of some of his customers coming from the elite sections of society.
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Monsoon boosts groundnut, crop cultivation area expands: Collector

Tirupati, Chittoor, Aug 20 : In view of good monsoons this season, groundnut crop cultivation increased to 1.47 hectares as against 1.40 last year, District Collector V Seshadri said.Addressing a meet-the-press programme here yesterday, he said 66 mandals in the district were badly affected due to drought last year, but rainfall was above normal this year.For the first time, Rs 831 crore crop loans were disbursed to 35,498 farmers in the district against a target of Rs 793 crore, he stated.Out of 760 joint liability groups of tenant farmers, crop loans were provided to 175 groups.Referring to dairy, 16.2 lakh litre per day of milk was produced by 11.15 lakh cattle in the district, while three lakh litre was procured by 54 bulk milk procuring centers, he said.Mr Seshadri added to overcome the fodder scarcity, innovative methods in preserving of fodder were developed with the help of agriculture research experts.
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Tributes paid to Rajiv Gandhi on 66th birth anniversary

Vijayawada Aug 20 : Floral tributes were paid to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on the occasion of his 66th birth anniversary, here today.Several Congress leaders garlanded his portrait at the Congress office and recalled their intimacy with him.Andhra Pradesh Animal Husbandry Minister P Parthasarathi, participating in a programme held at Gandhi Nagar, recalled Rajiv Gandhi's efforts in curbing terrorism. He said Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed his life in battling against terrorism.He praised him for his foresight in developing the country technologically and attributed the development of the country to the vision of the former Prime Minister. Mr Parthasarathi exhorted people to strive to make the dreams of Rajiv Gandhi true.The Minister, on the occasion, inaugurated blood donation programme. Later, he distributed sarees to poor women.Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee Secretary Kolanukonda Shivaje, Vijayawada (C) Malladi Vishnu, City Congress President Pyla Sominaidu also took part in the programme.
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