| All set for vote counting in Telangana by-polls Hyderabad, July 29 : Counting of votes in the by-elections to 12 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh's Telangana region will be taken up Friday. The state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) I.V. Subba Rao said all arrangements were made for counting of votes, which will start 8 a.m. The first result is expected by 11 am. Since polling in five of the 12 constituencies were held through ballot papers, the last result is expected by 6 p.m. The results from seven constituencies, where electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used, are likely to be announced in the initial two to three hours. According to the CEO, 66.67 percent of 23.60 lakh voters cast their votes in the elections held on Tuesday. Since the Election Commission received no complaint of rigging or other electoral malpractices from any of the constituencies, no re-polling was required in any polling station. The by-elections were necessitated by the resignations of all 10 legislators of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and one each of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on the issue of separate Telangana state early this year. As many as 435 candidates are in the fray for the by-elections, seen as a referendum on the issue of separate Telangana state. The election authorities have made elaborate arrangements for counting of votes at seven counting centres spread over five districts. No mobile phones would be allowed inside the centres. Arrangements have been made for recording the entire counting process. The CEO said tight security arrangements were made at strong rooms where EVMs and ballot boxes were kept after the polling. Officials have installed CCTVs in the strong rooms with monitors kept outside for the polling agents to keep a watch. CM directs officials to speed up construction of houses Hyderabad, July 29 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah today asked the Housing Department to speed up construction of houses for flood victims and ensure that the affected people occupy them at the earliest. Reviewing the progress of 'Indiramma Housing, AP Housing Board and 'Rajiv Swagruha' schemes with the concerned minister and officials here, he also wanted the 'Rajiv Swagruha' Housing constructions to be put on fast track and the allottees be given the houses for occupation at the earliest. He wanted the Housing programme to be made most transparent and directed the Finance Department to release the required funds on priority basis. The Chief Minister expressed satisfaction that the number of complaints regarding 'Indiramma Housing' had come down drastically since last year. He was informed that while there were 1,736 complaints registered during July 2009, they had come down to just 69 by July this year. This was because payment for the scheme was now made through cheques to individual accounts of the beneficiaries in Post Offices and Banks. EC resents KCR's statement on Sabita Hyderabad, July 29 : The Election Commission (EC) today expressed 'strong displeasure' over the comments made by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) President K Chandrasekhar Rao against Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy. The EC said it was not satisfied with the explanation offered by him. KCR had made the alleged comments against the state Home Minister and other Congress leaders during his campaigning for the by-elections, which were held on July 27 in 12 Assembly constituencies in Telangana region. According to a statement by Chief Electoral Officer I V Subba Rao, the EC had considered the matter but was not satisfied with KCR's explanation. ''It is of the considered view that he, being the President of an important political party, ought to have been more restrained while making comments about the leaders of rival parties'', he said in the statement. The EC had issued a show-cause notice to the TRS chief on July 25, seeking an explanation for his reported use of words like 'sannasi'(useless) against the Home Minister during an election campaign at Sircilla on July 23, while a day earlier in a public meeting in Vemulawada he had allegedly advised the people to ''take money and liquor from the candidates of other parties, but vote for TRS''. PM convenes AP, Maharashtra CMs meet on Babli issue Hyderabad, July 29 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra K Rosaiah and Ashok Chavan on the contentious Babli issue, at New Delhi on August 2. The meeting has been called following a request by an all-party delegation from Andhra Pradesh, led by Mr Rosaiah, which had called on the Prime Minister in New Delhi on July 26. The meeting will be held at the Prime Minister's residence at 1900 hrs. The two Chief Ministers have been informed about the proposed meeting and formal invitations have also been sent to them, sources here said. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah thanked the Prime Minister for convening the meeting on the contentious issue. ''This shows the Prime Minister's commitment to solve the issue,'' Mr Rosaiah said, in an indirect dig at the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Andhra High Court dismisses petition against power project Hyderabad, July 29 : The Andhra Pradesh High Court Thursday dismissed a writ petition against the environmental clearance granted to East Coast Energy Pvt. Limited (ECEPL) for developing a thermal power project in Srikakulam district. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Nisar Ahmed Kakru dismissed the petition filed by an NGO, which challenged the environmental clearance on the ground that the project site is a wetland. The court, however, allowed the petitioner to avail the statutory remedy within 30 days. ECEPL is developing a 2640 MW coal-based thermal power plant at Kakarapalli village of Santhabommali mandal in Srikakulam district. ECEPL, an SPV incorporated for setting up the project, has already achieved financial closure for Rs.12,000 crore project and so far invested Rs.600 crore, said a company statement. Forum for Sustainable Development, in its petition, claimed that the project site is wetland and part of Naupada swamp besides being ecologically sensitive. Some environment groups are opposing ECEPL project and a similar one proposed by Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) at Sompeta in the same district on the ground that they were coming up on wetlands. Police hold meeting with heads of colleges on ragging Hyderabad, July 29 : Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Zone, Akun Sabharwal today said in order to prevent ragging, educational institutions would conduct sensitization programme for faculty and students, form aAnti-ragging committees and allot separate hostel blocks for freshers. Addressing a meeting of heads of institutions, principals and correspondents of Educational Institutions here, he said the educational institutions would also ensure that wardens were available in hostels throughout the day. They would also arrange for round-the-clock vigil and address the need for a psychologist. He said anti-ragging squads would also be set up in each police station. As a novel initiative, Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE), the only registered NGO in India against ragging, has been roped in to help the city police to control this menace, Mr Sabharwal added. He urged faculty and parents/guardians to bring any instance of ragging to the notice of police and heads of institution. Eighty four colleges represented by their heads and students participated in this meeting. Review liquor policy, Lok Satta urges government Hyderabad, July 29 : Welcoming Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s announcement that his government was considering re-imposition of prohibition, Lok Satta party today urged Andhra Pradesh government also to review its excise policy. Talking to newspersons here, party General Secretary K Srinivasa Rao recalled that unlike Andhra Pradesh where liquor shops were auctioned for maximising revenue, in Tamil Nadu, the government itself was running liquor shops. ''While the Tamil Nadu Government is having second thoughts on allowing free flow of liquor, the Andhra Pradesh government is unabashedly planning to make more liquor brands available to addicts in the state. It had even dispensed with the practice of appointing a committee to educate people on the liquor menace,'' he alleged. Assurance Committee will meet on July 30 Hyderabad, July 29 : The Committee meeting of members on Government Assurance will be held here on July 30 to review tour to Chittor District from July 30 to August 1, 2010. On July 31 the members will go to Tirupati and meet with District Collector and other District level officials to examine the implementation of the Assurances pertaining to Chittoor District. The members will return here on August 2. PM calls Andhra, Maharashtra chief ministers on Babhali row New Delhi, July 29 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a meeting of chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra Aug 2 to discuss the row over the Babhali dam project between the riverine states, official sources said. The sources said Thursday that the meeting was aimed at addressing apprehensions among political parties in Andhra Pradesh on Maharashtra not sticking to its commitment about the project following Supreme Court directions. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah had Monday led an all-party delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to direct the Maharashtra government to dismantle the gates installed at the Babhali barrage and take necessary action to put an end to the dispute. The delegation, which had representatives from all registered political parties in Andhra Pradesh, also urged the prime minister to call a meeting of the chief ministers of the two states to resolve the issue of Babhali barrage and 13 other barrages built on Godavari river, which flows through both states. Political parties in Andhra Pradesh have accused Maharashtra of carrying out illegal construction on the Babhali barrage against a Supreme Court order, but Maharashtra denies it. Andhra Pradesh's opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, along with some supporters had earlier this month entered the Maharashtra border district of Nanded in a bid to go to the site of the Babhali barrage. |
