| Chiranjeevi's political foray would not affect the Congress : D. Srinivas Hyderabad, Aug 19 : Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee(APCC) President D Srinivas today said film actor Chiranjeevi's political foray would not affect the Congress Talking to newspersons here, Mr Srinivas said the Congress strength lies in its cadre. On Chiranjeevi's desire to enter politics to create ''happy AP'', the APCC President said, ''people are already happy under the Congress Government, which stood as a model for other State Governments in implementation of a large number of welfare programmes.'' On the allegation of Congress MP Harirama Jogaiah, who had quit the party to join Chiranjeevi's party that corruption was rampant under the Congress regime in the State, Mr Srinivas said, ''I do not give any credence to the utterances of Mr Jogaiah.'' On Mr Chiranjeevi's observation that the benefits of faster economic growth had not reached the people at the grassroots level, Mr Srinivas said people would derive benefit from the plethora of welfare programmes launched by the party. He said justice would be ensured for Backward Castes(BCs) in the distribution of party tickets for the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State. The party and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance(UPA) Government would also ensure social justice for the BCs, he said, adding that only in Andhra Pradesh, scholarship was provided to all BCs, based on the saturation concept. The APCC President said the State Unit would pressurise the UPA Government to provide reservation for BCs in Parliament and State Legislatures. It was the Congress Government, which had increased the limit for creamy layer among BCs to Rs four lakh, he added. Chiranjeevi has entered politics for 'power',claims Minister Hyderabad, Aug 19 : Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Minister JC Diwakar Reddy today claimed that Telugu film star Chiranjeevi has entered politics only for power. Addressing a press conference, he claimed that Chiranjeevi's intention to come to power was exposed when he said he would contest in the coming elections on the same day he entered politics. Chiranjeevi made the announcement of his entry into politics to serve the people by saying that Mahatma Gandhi, Dr B R Ambedkar, Mother Teresa and Jyothirao Phule were his inspiration, but these leaders dedicated their lives for the country and never enjoyed power, he pointed out. Referring to the state Zilla Parishad and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constitutency (ZPTC and MPTC) members' union proposal to organise ''Chalo Assembly'' to support their demands, Mr Reddy charged that Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and MLC E Babu Rajendra Prasad was instigating the local body representatives to malign the image of the state government. Cong MP joins Chiru's party Hyderabad, Aug 19 : Mr Hariram Jogaiah, who resigned from the Congress and Lok Sabha, today joined Matinee Idol Chiranjeevi's yet- to-be-named party. Addressing the press along with Mr Jogaiah, the actor welcomed him to the party to be floated by him at Tirupati on August 26, the birth anniversary of Mother Teresa. Stating he was looking for services of experienced leaders, Mr Chiranjeevi said he wanted to build the party by having the right blend of senior leaders and youth. Mr Jogaiah said he believed only Mr Chiranjeevi would be able to bring about the change sought by the people. Mr Chiranjeevi appealed to his admirers not to throng the party office on his birthday on August 22 to wish him. Instead, they should concentrate on social service work in their localities. Telugu NRIs to campaign for Chiranjeevi Hyderabad, Aug 19 : Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi has a huge fan following in the United States and many of them have thrown their weight behind the actor who is set to launch his political party on Aug 26. A group of NRIs will launch a 'maha yatra' or mega tour of Andhra Pradesh from here Thursday to mobilise public support for the actor's first public meeting to be held in the temple town of Tirupati. The actor Monday night threw a gala dinner for about 300 NRIs, who had arrived here, to campaign for his party. The dinner at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) was attended by Chiranjeevi, his brother and actor Pavan Kalyan, brother-in-law and chief advisor Allu Arvind and some close aides. Chiranjeevi, who has a three-decade long film career, Sunday announced his entry into politics and said he was dedicating his life to public service. The NRIs hailed the superstar's decision and hoped that he would usher Andhra Pradesh into an era of development and prosperity. GHIAL to levy UDF from domestic passengeres Hyderabad, Aug 19 : GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), the developer and operator of the new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, today announced that it would levy a User Development Fee (UDF) of Rs 375 per head to all domestic outbound passengers. According to a press release here, The UDG would be collected at the Airport before boarding passes are issued from passengers who had not been charged UDF as a part of the ticket charge by travel agents. The GHIAL Chief Comercial Officer Viswanath said the levy of UDF was necessary in view of the huge investments made by the GMR led consortium for creating world class facilities for the passengers who use green field airport. The collection of UDF was as per the business plan approved by union ministry of Civil Aviation, he added. GMHC to introduce Automated Pay and Park System Hyderabad, Aug 19 : GHMC will implement the first Automated Pay and Park System to streamline parking of vehicles in four heavily clogged roads of the twin cities through a joint venture with Smart Interpark India Private Limited. The system would be initially implemented in the Park Lane and Gandhi Statue (Secunderabad) stretch, Abids, Basheer Bagh and Ameerpet, a release said here. Smart Interpark India Private Limited, which would operate the Automated Pay and Park System on Build Operate Share and Transfer (BOST) basis, would install 19 solar powered parking meters, which was imported from France, on these roads. The parking meters would be operational between 0900 hrs and 2300 hrs on all days. The system would be inagugurated this week. The company along with the GHMC would share the revenue generated from these parking lots, the release added. Moderate rain likely in next 48 hours Hyderabad, Aug 19 : Light to moderate rain or thundershowers are likely to occur in all the three regions of Andhra Pradesh in the next 48 hours. Rain occurred at a few places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rayalaseema in the last 24 hours, according to Indian Meteorology Department here. Sullurpet (Nellore dist) recorded a heavy rainfall of nine cm followed by Seetharamapuram (Nellore dist) eight cm and Porumamilla (Kadapa dist) seven cm. The other chief amounts of rainfall recorded in cm were Avanigadda It would be generally cloudy in Hyderabad. One or two spells of rain or thundershowers were likely in parts of the state capital. |