New state of Telangana is born in southern India

India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh has formally split in two, with its northern area carved out to create a new state called Telangana. 

The move followed prolonged protests by residents of Telangana, who felt the region had long been neglected.

Telangana, which officially came into existence at midnight Monday 2 June 2014, becomes the country's 29th state.

With a population of 3.5 crore, it comprises 10 former districts of Andhra Pradesh and the city of Hyderabad.

Hyderabad, which forms the joint capital of the two states for the next 10 years, was covered with pink balloons, banners and flags to mark Telangana's statehood, Pink is the colour of the TRS.

"The sacrifice of the youth who led the movement has culminated in the formation of a new state. It is a historic day for Telanaga people."

Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao will be the first Chief Minister of Telangana with 9 man team in first cabinet.

From the skies to the sidewalks, all are draped in a pretty shade of pink. Cheers of jubilation drift through the air, thick with pride for realizing a long cherished dream. There is a sense of satisfaction too as the days of struggle are, at last, over and finally there is hope of a more fulfilling tomorrow.

To make June 2 a day to remember, for eternity, for those like Rao, workers of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have arranged for massive fireworks, exclusively ordered and shipped from Mumbai. The grand 'light and sound' show will be played out for an hour at 120 junctions across the twin cities all through the day. Programmes, showcasing the rich culture of the new state, will also be organized on 100 different stages in the city, even as partymen distribute sweets to passersby at various important junctions across Hyderabad.

New passport seva kendras

Hyderabad: The passport authorities promise to make the life of citizens seeking new passports and renewals easier from November 25. They have also promised to do away with the menace of middle men and make the services accessible and less cumbersome with the help of online slot booking facility.

Addressing the media after inaugurating the new passport centre at Begumpet on Tuesday, the Regional Passport Officer K Srikar Reddy said once the citizens file applications online, they would be given time to be present at the passport centre and it would take just 40 to 45 minutes to complete the procedure. They would then be getting passport in the shortest possible time, he said.

Hyderabad Regional Passport Officer (RPO) K Srikar Reddy said that the three passport centres would be established at Gowra Trinity Complex at Begumpet, Anand Silicon Chip centre at Towlichowki and Aditya trade centre Ameerpet in the city. Another three centres would be set up at Pragatinagar in Nizamabad, MG Road in Vijayawada and Annmayya Marg in Tirupathi.

The new system is being launched as a joint venture with Tata Consultancy Services. The officials also assured that this new system would do away with the menace of touts fleecing the passport seekers. The entire system is being computerised and would bring down 80 per cent of manual work involved in passport process to zero,” said Mr Srikar Reddy.

Even police verification which results in undue delay in issuing passport would also be done online. The practice until now is to send and receive the details through post.

With an existing system, the passport issuance process under the Tatkal scheme takes at least 7-14 days and in general scheme 35-45 days. But with the proposed system, the time period for passport issuance under Tatkal and normal scheme would come down to 1-3 days and 7-30 days respectively, said the RPO.

With integration of slot booking system, there is no need to queue up at the passport office from early dawn nor would the passport offices be crowded, Reddy added.

Online registration: http://www.ap.nic.in/passport/

Chiranjeevi launched his political party 'Praja Rajyam'

Actor Chiranjeevi on Tuesday announced the name of his political party, Praja Rajyam, amidst thunderous cheers from lakhs of hysteric fans and vowed to change the politics of Andhra Pradesh.

Giving full play to histrionics, Chiranjeevi, the son of a police constable, recounted the difficulties he had faced as a child in an emotion-choked voice and charged up the crowd in the temple town with a few interactions before announcing the name of his party with a dramatic countdown.

In fact, Chiranjeevi waited till sundown to announce his party’s name and stretched his speech till then, so that the display on the giant screen behind him and 18 screens located at the ground would be eye catching.

As the name of the party was splashed on the huge screens to the accompaniment of music, the 53-year old actor got a handicapped person to unfurl a green and white flag with a red sun in the middle.

Chiranjeevi's 'Praja Rajyam' flag

The roaring crowds surged ahead, breaking barricades and alarming security men, even as Chiranjeevi declared that he was entering politics to ensure social justice and development. Around 40 persons were injured in the melee.

“People want me to join politics,” said Chiranjeevi, who earlier entered the stage dramatically with his arms stretched wide.

“I am here to restore respect to politics. After spending 30 years in the glamorous world of films, I could have lived a cosy life. But I decided to be in your midst.” “How blessed are my eyes to see these crowds who love me,” said Chiranjeevi, as people roared in appreciation.

“I am overwhelmed by your support. Now it is time for me to give it back.” The actor in Chiranjeevi was in play throughout the speech, which was carefully crafted and touched upon all major issues though giving the appearance of spontaneity.

“Mine will be a democratic and secular party, born from the hearts of the people,” he said. “Its goal will be the contentment and happiness of the state.” Though high on rhetoric, the actor’s speech was devoid of courage or imagination when it came to crucial issues. He said he was not averse to a separate Telangana but added that his first priority would be trying to end the backwardness of the region. He also sought more “brainstorming” to solve the Maoist problem and said the issue of backward status to Kapus should be examined thoroughly.

However, Chiranjeevi vigorously opposed the concept of Special Economic Zones and said land was meant for cultivation.

“My top priority would be to make agriculture viable,” he said. “Even a soap manufacturer can decide the price of his product, but not a farmer.” The actor said that only at few people were cornering all benefits in societies and major communities were being denied opportunities and added that he would put an end to that. He said he was also aware of the plight of the middle classes who did not get the benefits of any scheme.

“They can neither send their kids to government schools nor pay huge fee at corporate schools,” he said.

Taking a subtle swipe at other political parties, Chiranjeevi said that his party had no rivals. “Problems are our rivals.

We have entered the battlefield but our battle is against problems,” he said.

An Indian woman, who spent 17 long years in Pakistan against her will

An Indian woman, who spent 17 long years in Pakistan against her will, finally boarded a plane to India on Friday to be reunited with her family in Andhra Pradesh.

Yellamilli Kejiamani was brought to Pakistan in 1990 by a man named Riaz from Kuwait, where both of them were then working. "Riaz, a resident of Lahore, snatched everything she had and burnt her Indian passport He tortured her before finally throwing her out of his house six months after she reached Pakistan," Rao Abid Hamid, an official of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, told the Dawn newspaper The next 10 years were very hard for Kejiamani. "I had lost my senses. Then I met Muhammad Amin, a cook, who took me to his house and provided me shelter But soon my presence in his house started causing trouble for him," she said.

Amin's wife did not want to keep Kejiamani at their home and one of the neighbours filed a case against Amin for keeping a woman in his house without legal permission. Amin then took Kejiamani to his native village in Sahiwal district and arranged a marriage "on paper" with her after giving her the Muslim name Ayesha. He helped Kejiamani, a Christian from Sakhinetialli Mandal village in Andhra Pradesh, obtain a national identity card and a Pakistani passport.

Kejiamani also succeeded in contacting her family in India and one of her two sons working in Qatar One of her cousins in Britain came to know about her whereabouts in Pakistan, and his contacts in Lahore initiated efforts to help Kejiamani reunite with her family The woman's case finally reached the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which wrote to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on September 24. Rights activists said they believed there could probably be other Indian women being held against their will after being brought to Pakistan following marriages in the Middle East. But Kejiamani's was the first case where a woman had contacted the authorities to seek help to go back home.

Tech Babu goes live with radio over Net

The main opposition Telugu Desam has set up an online radio station named TDP Radio. All you need is an Internet connection and a pair of speakers to tune into TD's version of the happenings in the State.

TDP Radio is the brainchild of party president N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has a yen for things hi-tech. He wants to disseminate hot news of the state to Telugu speaking people living in foreign countries, with a TD slant of course. It can be assessed by clicking TD's official website, www.Telugudesamparty.org.

Mr Naidu got the idea of having his own radio station after the recent interaction with Telugu speaking NRIs in the US, the UK and Canada.

A survey conducted by the party showed that about five million Telugu speaking people were living in about 100 countries. "The online radio service will not only give news to Telugu's but will also keep them in touch with our party," said a senior TD leader.

An exclusive website for the Telugu NRIs for exchange of views on various important topics has also been set up by TD. Telugus outside the country can post their views on TDP Radio in the NRI website. Since TDP Radio is webcast, it can be accessed and heard from anywhere in the globe. TD is perhaps the only political party in the country to have its own online radio station. Mr Naidu has also set up video links in the party's official website to enable people to see happenings in TD headquarters NTR Bhavan. Press conferences held at NTR Bhavan are webcast, both in audio and video formats.

Now that the State Assembly elections fast approaching, Mr Naidu is also thinking of reviving his party's mouthpiece, Telugu Desam Weekly, published earlier in Telugu and Urdu.

Andhra bhoomi full of gems

Andhra Pradesh is turning out to be the diamond mine of the country. The Geological Survey of India identified 110 kimberlite pipes (diamond-bearing formations) in the State, the highest in the country.

These kimberlite pipes were found in the most backward places such as Anantapur, Mahbubnagar, Kurnool, Kadapa, Chittoor and Nalgonda districts. Kimberlites are the most important sources of diamonds and are usually found on the earth's crust as vertical structures.

Mines minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy said that the latest findings were very encouraging. "Studies in 1997 discovered only seven such places in the State," she said. Ms Reddy added that the government was getting several proposals from foreign companies for exploration.

The Centre is giving maximum priority to gold and diamond exploration as the country is importing jewellery worth Rs 1.25 lakh crores at present.

It has directed the State to complete the first and second stages of exploration in three years and then start mining the diamonds.

BHP Billiton, Phelps Dodge, Rio Tinto, DeBeers and several other companies have already taken prospective licences for the 50,000 sq. km of formations.

"Some companies have already completed high-resolution magnetic surveys using helicopters," said Mr V.D. Rajagopal, managing director of AP Mineral Development Corporation. "Now they are into field level reconnaissance study. Two companies have even started second stage operations."

The GSI survey had identified Timma Samudram, Bommaganapalli, Pillalapalli in Anantapur district, Maddur-Narayanpet

Andhra Pradesh is biggest producer of explosives

Andhra Pradesh is the biggest manufacturer of explosives like slurry and detonators in the country. Nalgonda, about 70 km from here, is the hub of the activity.
Lack of supervision by police on the sale and use of explosives and detonators has resulted in serious lapses. Many times, explosives and detonators have fallen into the hands of Maoists, terrorists and petty criminals from the underworld. This has come to light during raids and seizures.
This newspaper has previously reported that detonators and explosives can be bought off the market, just like any commodity. There is no accountability for the explosives and detonators at the user level. The licensee merely says that he has used the explosives for the intended purpose, for example blasting rocks to clear construction sites.
According to statistics available with Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (Peso), out of 57 factories manufacturing explosives, nine are based in Nalgonda. In Andhra Pradesh, there are 66 licences for different premises. Nalgonda alone as 25 licenses with nine factories.
There are 283 sale licences (dealers) in the State. Nalgonda stands first, followed nationwide by Nagpur.
"We are empowered to oversee the operation of the Explosives Act which oversees the sale, possession and in particular to prevent accidents," said a Peso official. "Explosives and bombs are different. If explosives are improvised to make bombs it falls under the purview of the police," the official said.

40,000 Andhra Pradesh labourers in Iraq

More than 100 illegal migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh are busy constructing the biggest and most expensive United States embassy in the world in strife-torn Baghdad.

The US plans to open its ‘Vatican-sized' diplomatic enclave in Baghdad by September and workers from Karimnagar, Adilabad and Nizamabad are now racing against time to meet the deadline.

It is coming up in 42 hectares on the banks of the Tigris River. Workers from Philippines and Bangladesh are also on the job.

Around 40,000 workers from Jagtyal and Sircilla in Karimnagar, Armoor in Nizamabad and Nirmal in Adilabad are employed by American and Iraqi forces in Iraq, it is estimated.

Majority of them are illegal migrants and entered Iraq through other Gulf countries without proper visas. They are mainly engaged to work in military bunkers, to supply food to soldiers and to do other menial jobs.

About a 100 of them have been drafted to work on the embassy, which is being built by spending $ 592 million.

The State government's NRI cell does not have any record of AP workers in Iraq since 90 per cent of those employed there are illegal. They are mainly picked up from Kuwait and UAE.

Poor and unskilled workers from backward districts of Telangana visit the Gulf countries on a visit or tourist visa. Local recruiting agents are handing them over to US military officials for employment.

The Union government has imposed restrictions on unskilled workers leaving for Iraq and this is the reason for their taking a roundabout route.

"We are always facing risk of attacks from insurgents but the money is good," said Tirupati Reddy of Laxmipur village in Jagtyal mandal. "We can never earn so much at home."

Also, with UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries tightening their immigration rules, unskilled labourers from backward Telangana districts now prefer strife-torn Iraq for jobs.

Since they are shipped to the bunkers by US military aircraft, the visa and immigration rules are relaxed. The workers are free to stay as long as they wish. The return is also as smooth as their entry.

"But life is hard in the bunker and that is why I returned," said K. Mahesh of Kondagutta village in Karimnagar. "Many from my village are still working there."

Illegal migrants from the State get about Rs 5,000 a month in UAE and other Gulf countries, but those employed in Iraq are paid between Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000.

Ramana Reddy from Malial mandal in Karimnagar returned after working at the US embassy site for some time.

"It is hard work since they are constructing a 21-building complex," he said. "Also, we never know what will happen the next moment in Baghdad. But we risk everything for the big pay."

Andhra Pradesh Bags 25 of the top 100 ranks in IIT-JEE 2007

AP Bags 25 of the top 100 ranks: Hundreds of students from the State have performed well in IIT-JEE 2007, the common entrance test for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology and affiliated institutions.

Nearly one fourth of the first 100 ranks were from Andhra Pradesh. At least 40 per cent of the total 7,000-odd students who qualified in IIT-JEE were from the State.

Almost 2,000 students of the State passed the test, the results of which were released on Wednesday. Last year, only 600 students from the State had qualified.

Narayana Educational Institutions claimed its students had got 1,064 ranks, Sri Chaitanya 603 ranks, FIIT-JEE 150 ranks, Ramaiah IIT study circle 115 and Delta Academy 41 ranks.



P. Santosh Kumar, a student of Narayana, got the 15th rank in the open category, which is highest for a student of the State. K. Venkatesh from the same college got second rank in the physically handicapped category, while Gowrav of Sri Chaitanya Educational Institutions got 11th rank in the scheduled tribe category.

T. Varun, a student of Ramaiah IIT study circle, got the 18th rank in the open category and B.T. Satish Kumar of same institute got 7th rank in SC category.

S. Nitesh, who studied in Delhi branch of Narayana, got the all India second rank in IIT-JEE, while Ankit Garg of Bhatinda in Punjab got the sixth rank.

Sri Chaitanya students Hridil got the all-India 11th rank, Vijay Karthik got 16th, Naga Pratyusha 21st, Ankush 28th, and Achyut 37th rank.

Academic experts said more number from the State qualified for the IIT-JEE because the exam pattern was changed to objective type. The coaching institutes are completely oriented towards objective type questions.

The total number of students who qualified across the country increased to 7,000 in view of the IITs deciding to set up the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research and Indian Institute of Science and Technology. Admissions to these institutes are also being made through the IIT-JEE test.

The recent tragedy of BE III student Jay Bharadwaj from the State committing suicide in Kanpur IIT seems to have left an impact on the students.

"Tarun and several other students will easily get in Kanpur because of their rank but they are too scared to go there," said IIT guru Ch. Ramaiah even as Tarun nodded in agreement.

Mr Ramaiah was of the view that Kanpur had the best infrastructure and its tie-up with US universities would also help students. He said Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy also wrote to the authorities concerned to complete the inquiry and submit the report.