Notification of WB recommendations on May 27: APWJF

Hyderabad, May 21 : The Andhra Pradesh Working Journalists Federation (APWJF) today said the notification for the recommendations of Justice Majithia Wage Board for Journalists and Non-Journalists and other newspaper employees will be issued on May 27.In a statement here, APWJF President M S Hashmi and General Secretary G Anjaneyulu said Union Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge had signed on the final report and sent it to the Union Cabinet Committee for approval and notification.In a open letter sent to the Union Cabinet Committee through the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry by APWJF, it appealed for immediate announcement of the notification and consider the issues proposed in the submissions presented by the APWJF.The APWJF is only one organisation in the list of representatives of stake-holders of Justice Majithia Wage Board from Andhra Pradesh which expressed its views and proposals by focusing the problems of working journalists before wage board, the statement claimed.
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South Central Railway(SCR) to conduct intensive ticket checking drives

Hyderabad, May 21 : South Central Railway(SCR) will conduct massive ticket checking drives in trains, in an effort to curb ticketless travel, in its jurisdiction.

Special ticket checking squads with the assistance of Railway Protection Force personnel, will check the passengers on various trains and at platforms on May 23, 24 and 25, a press release from SCR said here today.Intensive ticket checking drives will also be conducted throughout the year, it said.SCR requested the passengers to travel with valid tickets-season tickets to have a safe and comfortable journey.Those passengers found travelling without valid ticket-authority will be fined-prosecuted or both, the release said.
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TWO State ministers arrested, 1 released on personal surety

Mahbubnagar,Andhra Pradesh, May 21 : High drama was witnessed as Information and Public Relations Minister D K Aruna and Endowments Minister Jupally Krishna Rao from the district were arrested by police at different places in order to avoid a clash between their groups over the latter's padayatra.Police said Mr Krishna Rao was arrested at Aiza town when he was about to embark on his yatra and shifted him to Pebberu Police station.At the same time, when Ms Aruna was on her way with her supporters in Gattu Mandal, she was also arrested at Dharur and taken to police station.Enraged over the arrest of Mr Rao, his supporters enforced a bandh in Aiza town besides reportedly damaging windscreens of three APSRTC buses while the Congress workers in support of Ms Aruna staged a Rasta Roko on the Aiza-Raichur Highway and called for Gadwal Bandh.Mahbubnagar Superintendent of Police S Sudheer Babu said the arrests were made to avert law and order problems and the situation was well under control.Mr Krishna Rao, who had submitted his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in March demanding creation of Telangana state, had undertaken the Pada Yatra in this district from April 24 for the cause of Telangana and also to win back the party cadres who were deserting the organisation.
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AP-CM agrees to extend reservation for physically CHALLANGED

Hyderabad, May 21: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy today said his government would extend reservation for Physically Handicapped (PH) people, including the percentage of quota for posts, age concession of ten years for recrutiment and exemption from payment of the prescribed application fee in respect of applications submitted to Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) for selection to various posts till May 31, 2021.An official release here tonight said the decision would go a long way in helping the physically handicapped people in the state.Another release from Chief Minister's office said Mr Reddy also announced that the pay scales of employees of Girijan Cooperative Corporation Limited, Visakhapatnam would be brought on par with the government employees, as per their demand.
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Kiran Kumar Reddy- administers Anti-Terrorism day oath

Hyderabad, May 21: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy administered 'Anti-Terrorism' day oath on the occasion of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary at AP Bhawan in New Delhi today.An official press release here said after taking oath, the Chief Minister said late 'Rajiv Gandhi was a great administrator and a good visionary of modern India'. During his five-year term as Prime Minister, he brought many reforms in administration and took up several programmes for the welfare of the people.He led the country towards 'modernization and strengthened the country economically and scientifically', the Chief Minister said.
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Chief Minister meets Prime Minister in New Delhi

Hyderabad, May 21:Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram during his visit to New Delhi.Later talking to media at AP Bhavan, Mr Reddy said there is a quantum of jump in the production of rice during Rabi in 2010-11 reaching 65.62 lakh MT against last year’s production of 48.82 lakh MTs. An official release here said during the entire Kharif Marketing Season (both Kharif and Rabi), the production of rice during the current year is 140.65 lakh MT against 108.35 MT last year. The paddy arrivals from Rabi crop had already started, the release said, adding, in spite of opening paddy purchase centres by the Government agencies for undertaking MSP operations, traditionally in Andhra Pradesh, maximum quantity of paddy is mopped up by the rice millers at MSP and above for delivery of rice under levy and utilisation of levy free rice.The Chief Minister further said he has explained the Prime Minister about the godown space constraint and the FCI is not in a position to accept the levy rice as offered by the rice millers in some major rice procuring districts. Due to this, the millers were holding the rice stocks in their godowns and were not in a position to make paddy purchases briskly.This was having an adverse effect on the paddy prices and the farmers were not able to dispose of their paddy at MSP, Mr Reddy added.He also said he had brought to the notice of the Prime Minister, the export of boiled rice which is not consumed within the State was permitted to be exported so that the space occupied with this rice in the rice mills is cleared and the millers would be able to purchase paddy briskly for further milling and discharging the levy obligation. The release said some surplus raw rice is also available with the rice millers which is not finding market in other states due to adequacy.Therefore he requested the Prime Minister to consider export of 15 lakh MTs of boiled rice and 10 lakh MTs of non-basmati raw rice from Andhra Pradesh to other countries through normal trade channels so that the rice millers could liquidate the stocks in their godowns and start brisk purchases of paddy from the farmers at MSP and above.also requested the Prime Minister to enhance the MSP by Rs 200 for paddy.The Chief Minister once again requested the Prime Minister to declare Indirasagar Polavaram Project and Pranahitha-Chevella Project Irrigation Projects as National Projects. He also said the Polavaram Project aims to provide fresh irrigation to 7.2 lakh acres besides stabilising 23 lakh acres of ayacut existing in Krishna & Godavari Deltas and producing power of 960 MWs. It envisages diversion of 80 TMC of water from Godavari to Krishna river in conformity with the Godavari Tribunal Award. Out of this, 35 TMC of water will be made available to the Karnataka and Maharashtra States, while the remaining 45 TMC will be used for benefiting drought-affected areas in Rayalaseema and Telangana regions.Besides this, Orissa and Chattisgarh can also draw 5 TMC and 1.5 TMC of water from the Polavaram reservoir for irrigation purpose ,The Chief Minister brought to the notice of Mr Chidamabaram about the four natural calamities that occurred in 2010 and requested to treat the four calamities as national calamity and to sanction Rs 1744 Crores from NDRF.He also requested to expedite the proposed amendments to the 14(f) clause.The Home Minister assured to convene a joint meeting of the ministries concerned, the release said.
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Former CWC member Venkataswamy hospitalised

Hyderabad, May 20 : Veteran Congress leader and former CWC member G Venkataswamy was today hospitalised following respiratory problems.

According to sources, the 82-year-old Swamy also known as "Kaka" was hospitalised after he complained of breathlessness.His condition was stated to be normal and undergoing treatment at the hospital, the sources added.The former Deputy leader of the party in the Lok Sabha was not included in the re-constituted CWC after he raised the Telangana issue at the Committee's meeting where he demanded the resignation of Sonia Gandhi as the party Chief.
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CBI books case against AP police officials

Hyderabad, May 20: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of Hyderabad registered a case against Andhra Pradesh police officials on the allegations of a "fake encounter" that led to the death of Cherukuri Rajkumar, alias Azad and Hemchandra Pandey.The case was registered on the basis of the allegations made in the Writ Petitions filed by Swami Agnivesh and Bineeta Pandey in the Supreme Court pertaining to death of Central Committee Member and Spokesperson of Communist Party of India (Maoist) Azad and a freelance journalist Pandey by the Andhra Pradesh Police on the intervening night of July 1 and 2 last year, CBI Joint Director and Head of Zone ( Hyderabad) V V Lakshmi Narayana said in release here.On the directions of the Supreme Court, CBI (Hyderabad) registered a case against Circle Inspector (Asifabad), Sub-Inspector (Thandur Police Station, RSI (AR Head Quarters, Bellampally), Civil and AR Special Party Police Officers and others.Investigation was being taken up, the release added.
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Two Andhra ministers arrested to avert clash

Hyderabad, May 21 : Andhra Pradesh police Saturday arrested two cabinet ministers to avert a clash between them in Mahabubnagar district.Minister D.K. Aruna was arrested from her assembly constituency Gadwal early morning as she had threatened to stop her cabinet colleague Jupalli Krishna Rao from entering there. Police later arrested Rao also at Aiza to avert a clash between the two groups of the ruling Congress party. There was high drama as Rao locked himself inside his vehicle and threatened to commit suicide if the police tried to arrest him. Rao's supporters had a heated argument with police officials, who later convinced the minister to come out. Endowments minister Rao, who had submitted his resignation to the Congress leadership in March, was on a padyatra to demand statehood for Telangana region.Tension prevailed in the district as supporters of the two ministers indulged in stone pelting. Protesting his arrest, Rao's sympathizers damaged three buses of the state-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC). The two groups have called for shutdown in Gadwal and Aiza towns, respectively.Aruna, minister for information and public relations, had threatened to prevent Rao from stepping into her constituency saying he had not informed her about the padyatra. She demanded that the party leadership take action against him. Aruna was later released on personal bond.Rao criticized his arrest and vowed to take up the padyatra in the same constituency again. He had sent his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanding that she make a clear-cut announcement in Parliament on the formation of a separate Telangana state.Both the ministers come from Mahabubnagar district. While Aruna represents Gadwal assembly constituency, Rao was elected from Kollapur.
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