Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: The Mumbai terror strikes have stirred a range of emotions among Indians. There was deep anguish, concern, anger and, of course, contempt. There also was mockery and a certain indifference in the pent up feelings. A string of SMSes that filled the inboxes of mobile phones in the last two days have carried these emotions across the nation. The tone of these short messages was loud and clear: hang the likes of Afzal Guru and put down terror with an iron hand. "Forgiving a terrorist should be left to God. But fixing their appointment with God is entirely our responsibility," read one short message which had a by-line Indian Army. This was an obvious reference to Afzal Guru, the key accused who was awarded death penalty by the Supreme Court in the attack on Parliament case. Another said: "We salute the brave officers who laid down their lives in protecting us and our country, including Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar. "Yet another SMS urged people to pray for the people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. "Vote properly to make this country worth dying for," read a terse message that was ostensibly kept in circulation by police officials. In what clearly reflected the pent up feelings of the majority people in the country, one SMS contained mock anger: "Divine justice! 2004: Jayendra Saraswati implicated in murder case and jailed. Tsunami hit Tamil Nadu! 2008: ATS implicates Sadhu and Sadhvi in terror case. ATS chief dead!" There was one interesting message that landed in mobile phones on Friday suggesting that date 26 has turned out to be a doomsday, going by the chronology of events. "December 26-tsunami, January 26-Kutch quake, February 26-Godhra, June 26-Gujarat floods, July 26-Mumbai train blast, July 26-Ahmedabad blasts and November 26-Mumbai terror strikes." Yet another SMS that too vent the frustration and angst of many read: "Afzal ko maafi, Sadhvi ko faansi. RSS par pratibandh, SIMI se anubandh. Amarnath yatra par lagaan, Haj ke liye anudaan. Waakeyi... Mera Bharat Mahan!" One more interesting SMS: "Where is Raj Thackeray and his brave Sena? Tell him that 200 NSG commandos from Delhi, all south and north Indians, have been sent to Mumbai to fight the terrorists, so that he can sleep peacefully!"
Sunday 30 November, 2008
Wednesday 26 November, 2008
Hot Hot: The AP political scene
Desaraju Surya
Elections-2009 will be by far the hottest in the history of Andhra Pradesh.
The emergence of Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) on the scene has totally altered the political dynamics in the state even as the ruling Congress party finds itself isolated. Old friends -- Telugu Desam Party, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) -- have come together once again to fight the Congress now. In 2004, the Left parties had aligned with the Congress while Telangana Rashtra Samiti was also part of the grand alliance that ousted N Chandrababu Naidu from power.TDP had only the Bharatiya Janata Party for company in 2004 but the combination could not outwit the Congress-Left-TRS combine. The 2004 poll outcome makes for an interesting study. The Congress, which polled 38.56 per cent of the total valid votes, bagged 185 seats in the 294-member state Assembly while the TDP with a 37.59 per cent vote share could manage only 47 seats. The CPI got 1.53 per cent votes (six seats), CPM 1.84 per cent (nine seats) and the TRS 6.68 per cent (26 seats) while the BJP secured 2.63 per cent and just two seats. Elections-2009 will, however, be entirely different. Despite their combination and the prospects of TRS too joining them, the TDP-Left combine cannot sit confident of a victory. Here comes the PRP into play which could mar its prospects as well as those of the ruling Congress. How much will the vote split be is hard to predict but at least in the coastal Andhra region and to some extent in Rayalaseema, Chiranjeevi's party could cast its spell. The PRP's impact is expected to be the maximum in East Godavari and West Godavari districts, which hitherto used to be the TDP's citadels. In north coastal Andhra too -- comprising Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts -- Chiranjeevi's party is likely to eat into the traditional TDP votes much to the comfort of the Congress. In the final analysis, this could prove to be the most decisive factor in determining who comes to power. Of course, the outcome in Telangana will also be crucial as the region has as many as 117 seats. The Congress, however, is putting up a brave front saying no combination or force could prevent it from retaining power. "It will be a positive vote for the government, which is quite unprecedented. The slew of welfare measures, apart from the major development works including the construction of irrigation projects, will stand us in good stead," Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy boasts. There is also widespread talk in the political circles here that another "Mega" alliance could be in the making: Chiranjeevi's PRP, bureaucrat-turned-politician N Jayprakash Narayan's Lok Satta Party and former TDP leader T Devender Goud's Nava Telangana Party. It is also being speculated that the BJP too will be part of this alliance but so far Chiranjeevi has been categorically ruling out any alliance with the saffron party. Lok Satta Party and Nava Telangana Party as such have little influence and will solely try to cash in on Chiranjeevi's charisma. Nevertheless, these combinations will certainly dent the prospects of the Congress and may well dash its hopes of retaining power in Andhra Pradesh.
Elections-2009 will be by far the hottest in the history of Andhra Pradesh.
The emergence of Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) on the scene has totally altered the political dynamics in the state even as the ruling Congress party finds itself isolated. Old friends -- Telugu Desam Party, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) -- have come together once again to fight the Congress now. In 2004, the Left parties had aligned with the Congress while Telangana Rashtra Samiti was also part of the grand alliance that ousted N Chandrababu Naidu from power.TDP had only the Bharatiya Janata Party for company in 2004 but the combination could not outwit the Congress-Left-TRS combine. The 2004 poll outcome makes for an interesting study. The Congress, which polled 38.56 per cent of the total valid votes, bagged 185 seats in the 294-member state Assembly while the TDP with a 37.59 per cent vote share could manage only 47 seats. The CPI got 1.53 per cent votes (six seats), CPM 1.84 per cent (nine seats) and the TRS 6.68 per cent (26 seats) while the BJP secured 2.63 per cent and just two seats. Elections-2009 will, however, be entirely different. Despite their combination and the prospects of TRS too joining them, the TDP-Left combine cannot sit confident of a victory. Here comes the PRP into play which could mar its prospects as well as those of the ruling Congress. How much will the vote split be is hard to predict but at least in the coastal Andhra region and to some extent in Rayalaseema, Chiranjeevi's party could cast its spell. The PRP's impact is expected to be the maximum in East Godavari and West Godavari districts, which hitherto used to be the TDP's citadels. In north coastal Andhra too -- comprising Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts -- Chiranjeevi's party is likely to eat into the traditional TDP votes much to the comfort of the Congress. In the final analysis, this could prove to be the most decisive factor in determining who comes to power. Of course, the outcome in Telangana will also be crucial as the region has as many as 117 seats. The Congress, however, is putting up a brave front saying no combination or force could prevent it from retaining power. "It will be a positive vote for the government, which is quite unprecedented. The slew of welfare measures, apart from the major development works including the construction of irrigation projects, will stand us in good stead," Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy boasts. There is also widespread talk in the political circles here that another "Mega" alliance could be in the making: Chiranjeevi's PRP, bureaucrat-turned-politician N Jayprakash Narayan's Lok Satta Party and former TDP leader T Devender Goud's Nava Telangana Party. It is also being speculated that the BJP too will be part of this alliance but so far Chiranjeevi has been categorically ruling out any alliance with the saffron party. Lok Satta Party and Nava Telangana Party as such have little influence and will solely try to cash in on Chiranjeevi's charisma. Nevertheless, these combinations will certainly dent the prospects of the Congress and may well dash its hopes of retaining power in Andhra Pradesh.
Saturday 22 November, 2008
Swagruha heads no where
Desaraju Surya
So, the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government will finally have some “achievement” to claim credit for!
The single bedroom and double bedroom flats, numbering 1140 in all, are said to be nearing completion at Chandanagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad. This will be the first venture under the much-hyped Rajiv Swagruha scheme to be ready for inauguration soon.
But what about the others, you may wonder. The total demand for houses or flats under Swagruha scheme is over 1.74 lakh. As per the information provided by the Swagruha Corporation authorities only 17,446 flats\houses are currently being built under the scheme in different places of the state. While flats at Pocharam and Bandlaguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad have reached the slabs stage, they are still at the foundation level at Vetapalem (Prakasam district), Nellore and Khammam. In Narsaraopet, Kakinada, Mahbubnagar, Tandur (Ranga Reddy district), Nalgonda, Srikalahasthi, Rayachoti, Rajampet and Kamareddy the site clearance works are on while in Yendada near Visakhapatnam the proposed site for Swagruha houses is under development. So, these projects will take shape only in the next two years if everything goes well (like cement and steel prices remaining stable and construction workers are readily available).
Model houses are ready at Pocharam and Bandlaguda while they are being constructed in Nellore. So far the Swagruha Corporation authorities have allotted flats\houses to 35,870 of the applicants while all others have to wait for a longer period for allotment.
The Swagruha Corporation needs a total of 10,000 acres to build houses\flats for all the applicants in the urban areas of Andhra Pradesh. But only 7599 acres of land is available across the state. The Empowered Committee headed by the state Chief Commissioner of Land Administration has cleared 2846.33 acres for allotment to the Corporation of which the Corporation has taken possession of only 1023 acres.
In districts like West Godavari, Krishna, Kurnool, Anantapur and Hyderabad no land is available for these houses. Informed sources say the Swagruha Corporation has dropped the idea of building houses in a city like Vijayawada and will be returning the deposits to the applicants.
As per the original plan, the Swagruha Corporation is supposed to take up construction of 45,000 units in 2007-08 financial year, 75,000 units in 2008-09 and the balance 54,748 in 2009-10. There are just three four more months left for the completion of 2008-09 financial year but still not more than 18,000 units have been taken up out of the total 1.20 lakh. This itself reveals how pathetic the implementation of the Swagruha scheme has been.
The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh wanted to entice the so-called middle-class voters with these “affordable” houses, which should have been completed by 2009, well in time for the elections.
The “progress” of the scheme has dashed the hopes of thousands of people aspiring for a own house and it will certainly dash the hopes of the Rajasekhara Reddy government as well.
Isn’t this the “God’s own administration!” To hell with it.
So, the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government will finally have some “achievement” to claim credit for!
The single bedroom and double bedroom flats, numbering 1140 in all, are said to be nearing completion at Chandanagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad. This will be the first venture under the much-hyped Rajiv Swagruha scheme to be ready for inauguration soon.
But what about the others, you may wonder. The total demand for houses or flats under Swagruha scheme is over 1.74 lakh. As per the information provided by the Swagruha Corporation authorities only 17,446 flats\houses are currently being built under the scheme in different places of the state. While flats at Pocharam and Bandlaguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad have reached the slabs stage, they are still at the foundation level at Vetapalem (Prakasam district), Nellore and Khammam. In Narsaraopet, Kakinada, Mahbubnagar, Tandur (Ranga Reddy district), Nalgonda, Srikalahasthi, Rayachoti, Rajampet and Kamareddy the site clearance works are on while in Yendada near Visakhapatnam the proposed site for Swagruha houses is under development. So, these projects will take shape only in the next two years if everything goes well (like cement and steel prices remaining stable and construction workers are readily available).
Model houses are ready at Pocharam and Bandlaguda while they are being constructed in Nellore. So far the Swagruha Corporation authorities have allotted flats\houses to 35,870 of the applicants while all others have to wait for a longer period for allotment.
The Swagruha Corporation needs a total of 10,000 acres to build houses\flats for all the applicants in the urban areas of Andhra Pradesh. But only 7599 acres of land is available across the state. The Empowered Committee headed by the state Chief Commissioner of Land Administration has cleared 2846.33 acres for allotment to the Corporation of which the Corporation has taken possession of only 1023 acres.
In districts like West Godavari, Krishna, Kurnool, Anantapur and Hyderabad no land is available for these houses. Informed sources say the Swagruha Corporation has dropped the idea of building houses in a city like Vijayawada and will be returning the deposits to the applicants.
As per the original plan, the Swagruha Corporation is supposed to take up construction of 45,000 units in 2007-08 financial year, 75,000 units in 2008-09 and the balance 54,748 in 2009-10. There are just three four more months left for the completion of 2008-09 financial year but still not more than 18,000 units have been taken up out of the total 1.20 lakh. This itself reveals how pathetic the implementation of the Swagruha scheme has been.
The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh wanted to entice the so-called middle-class voters with these “affordable” houses, which should have been completed by 2009, well in time for the elections.
The “progress” of the scheme has dashed the hopes of thousands of people aspiring for a own house and it will certainly dash the hopes of the Rajasekhara Reddy government as well.
Isn’t this the “God’s own administration!” To hell with it.
Friday 21 November, 2008
NTR Jr: A SHAM
Desaraju Surya
Chiranjeevi is no match to Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. And the so-called NTR Jr is certainly no match to Chiranjeevi. To pit NTR Jr against Chiranjeevi is utterly ridiculous, idiotic, foolish, stupid and abhorring.
It is nothing but stupidity on part of the Telugu Desam Party leadership to even think that NTR Jr can be used to counter the Chiranjeevi effect in politics.
Chiranjeevi is a self-made man who rose to become the Mega Star of Telugu films. He has tens of mighty hit films to his credit and millions of fans cutting across all sections of the society who simply adore him. I am one of them.
But what is NTR Jr? He has so far done less than 10 films of which only three were successful. Those three hits made him such a pigheaded fellow and bloated a false ego in him. He thus began to rank himself as the heir of great N T Rama Rao, who incidentally happens to be his grandfather.
My foot! This young fellow is simply a sham.
He has no acting skills and was cast so far only in stereo-type roles. But quite insensibly, NTR Jr feels he is great and greater than the likes of Chiranjeevi, who is talent personified.
All this idiotic talk of pitting NTR Jr against Chiranjeevi gained momentum after Nandamuri Balakrishna and his other nephews Kalyan Ram and Taraka Ratna decided to campaign for the TDP. Of course, Balakrishna is certainly a big star than the others from the NTR clan and ranks just a notch below Chiranjeevi in the Telugu film industry.
He can be a match to Chiranjeevi – to a certain extent – in the political sphere as well.
While relying on Balakrishna, the TDP leadership seems to be giving undue and absolutely unwanted preference to NTR Jr. This may in fact boomerang and prove counter-productive for the party as NTR Jr is not known to have a good personality.
NTR Jr commands no respect as he is known for his immense arrogance. He is just in his early-20s and has not even crossed the nascent stage of his filmy career. Frankly, his so-called fans are confined only to a particular community and that too only in a few pockets of the state. He doesn’t have a universal appeal like Chiranjeevi.
By any measure and any account, NTR Jr will be a disaster. Unless the TDP leadership realizes this, it will only be harming its own interests.
Chiranjeevi is no match to Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. And the so-called NTR Jr is certainly no match to Chiranjeevi. To pit NTR Jr against Chiranjeevi is utterly ridiculous, idiotic, foolish, stupid and abhorring.
It is nothing but stupidity on part of the Telugu Desam Party leadership to even think that NTR Jr can be used to counter the Chiranjeevi effect in politics.
Chiranjeevi is a self-made man who rose to become the Mega Star of Telugu films. He has tens of mighty hit films to his credit and millions of fans cutting across all sections of the society who simply adore him. I am one of them.
But what is NTR Jr? He has so far done less than 10 films of which only three were successful. Those three hits made him such a pigheaded fellow and bloated a false ego in him. He thus began to rank himself as the heir of great N T Rama Rao, who incidentally happens to be his grandfather.
My foot! This young fellow is simply a sham.
He has no acting skills and was cast so far only in stereo-type roles. But quite insensibly, NTR Jr feels he is great and greater than the likes of Chiranjeevi, who is talent personified.
All this idiotic talk of pitting NTR Jr against Chiranjeevi gained momentum after Nandamuri Balakrishna and his other nephews Kalyan Ram and Taraka Ratna decided to campaign for the TDP. Of course, Balakrishna is certainly a big star than the others from the NTR clan and ranks just a notch below Chiranjeevi in the Telugu film industry.
He can be a match to Chiranjeevi – to a certain extent – in the political sphere as well.
While relying on Balakrishna, the TDP leadership seems to be giving undue and absolutely unwanted preference to NTR Jr. This may in fact boomerang and prove counter-productive for the party as NTR Jr is not known to have a good personality.
NTR Jr commands no respect as he is known for his immense arrogance. He is just in his early-20s and has not even crossed the nascent stage of his filmy career. Frankly, his so-called fans are confined only to a particular community and that too only in a few pockets of the state. He doesn’t have a universal appeal like Chiranjeevi.
By any measure and any account, NTR Jr will be a disaster. Unless the TDP leadership realizes this, it will only be harming its own interests.
Sunday 16 November, 2008
BRTS in Vijayawada: The wait continues
Desaraju Surya
The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) will become operational in Vijayawada city only after February 2009. The Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner P S Pradyumna initially wanted to start a trial run of the system with a few compressed-natural gas-fuelled buses of the APSRTC from November 15 but reality seemed to have dawned on him after he visited Mexico, Brazil and Columbia to study the implementation of BRTS projects in those countries.
Now, the young commissioner wants to first put necessary infrastructure like bus stations, automated ticket vending machines and signalling systems in place before rushing in to kick-start the BRTS operations. Also, the system cannot be operated with the regular buses that currently ply on the city roads and only specially-designed buses will do. Hence, the wait for a few more months for the BRTS operations to be reality becomes inevitable.
The first phase of the BRTS project covers a distance of 15.5 km. The road – which is meant to be an exclusive BRTS corridor – connecting the GS Raju Road and Madhuranagar is not yet ready and it may take about two months for it to take shape.
This is the new road that is being laid following the removal of the Satyanarayanapuram railway track.
The first phase Green Corridor will have 31 bus stops – each at a distance of 500 mts and 17 traffic junctions. The signalling system which is the key to ensuring a smooth ride for BRTS buses is still not in place. Of the 15.5 km Green Corridor, only a 11-km stretch has a clear way for BRTS buses while the balance portion will have mixed traffic.
The Rs 152.64 crore BRTS project, taken up under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), will make Vijayawada the fourth city in the country after Indore, Pune and Ahmedabad and the first in south India to have such a better urban public transport system. BRTS, an environment-friendly and cost-effective urban public transport system, is an alternative between ‘unreliable’ conventional bus transport and the high-cost metro rail. Usually, it is also referred to as the ‘surface metro’ system that has a dedicated right-of-way on prime roads enabling high operating speeds. In Vijayawada, BRTS is being introduced on a pilot basis along the 15.5-km ‘Green Corridor’: from the police control room to the railway station, Satyanarayanapuram, Eluru Road, Ring Road, Benz Circle, Mahatma Gandhi Road and back to PCR. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation plans to introduce exclusive BRTS buses, each costing Rs 40 lakh, in the later stages. Though the state government approved the proposal to form the Vijayawada Metropolitan Transport Authority for operating the BRTS, it hasn’t been put in place.
The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) will become operational in Vijayawada city only after February 2009. The Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner P S Pradyumna initially wanted to start a trial run of the system with a few compressed-natural gas-fuelled buses of the APSRTC from November 15 but reality seemed to have dawned on him after he visited Mexico, Brazil and Columbia to study the implementation of BRTS projects in those countries.
Now, the young commissioner wants to first put necessary infrastructure like bus stations, automated ticket vending machines and signalling systems in place before rushing in to kick-start the BRTS operations. Also, the system cannot be operated with the regular buses that currently ply on the city roads and only specially-designed buses will do. Hence, the wait for a few more months for the BRTS operations to be reality becomes inevitable.
The first phase of the BRTS project covers a distance of 15.5 km. The road – which is meant to be an exclusive BRTS corridor – connecting the GS Raju Road and Madhuranagar is not yet ready and it may take about two months for it to take shape.
This is the new road that is being laid following the removal of the Satyanarayanapuram railway track.
The first phase Green Corridor will have 31 bus stops – each at a distance of 500 mts and 17 traffic junctions. The signalling system which is the key to ensuring a smooth ride for BRTS buses is still not in place. Of the 15.5 km Green Corridor, only a 11-km stretch has a clear way for BRTS buses while the balance portion will have mixed traffic.
The Rs 152.64 crore BRTS project, taken up under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), will make Vijayawada the fourth city in the country after Indore, Pune and Ahmedabad and the first in south India to have such a better urban public transport system. BRTS, an environment-friendly and cost-effective urban public transport system, is an alternative between ‘unreliable’ conventional bus transport and the high-cost metro rail. Usually, it is also referred to as the ‘surface metro’ system that has a dedicated right-of-way on prime roads enabling high operating speeds. In Vijayawada, BRTS is being introduced on a pilot basis along the 15.5-km ‘Green Corridor’: from the police control room to the railway station, Satyanarayanapuram, Eluru Road, Ring Road, Benz Circle, Mahatma Gandhi Road and back to PCR. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation plans to introduce exclusive BRTS buses, each costing Rs 40 lakh, in the later stages. Though the state government approved the proposal to form the Vijayawada Metropolitan Transport Authority for operating the BRTS, it hasn’t been put in place.
Thursday 13 November, 2008
Air-miss!
Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: It was not the first time that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had a troubled flight in an aircraft. While the latest incident occurred this week days ago when the new AW139 helicopter -- delivered to the AP government only on November 5 -- developed a major technical snag following the malfunction of an electrical fuse, another incident reportedly took place a few days ago on the Bell 430-model chopper. The AW139 incident saw the light a day later but the Bell 430 incident went unreported, authoritative sources overseeing the Chief Minister's security said on condition of anonymity. Purchased by the AP government in 1998, the Bell 430 was constantly plagued by one problem or the other. In the very recent past, a minor crack was detected on the windshield of the chopper when the Chief Minister was to fly on an official trip to Nizamabad district. The pilot, however, got a clearance certificate signed by the aircraft engineer and took the VVIP "on a ride." "Strictly speaking, the Chief Minister was taken for a ride in total violation of the security norms," the sources revealed. By the time the Bell 430 returned to Hyderabad, the crack on the windshield had widened, the sources added. "Subsequently, the windshield was replaced as part of the 'routine' maintenance. Fortunately nothing untoward had happened that day," a top security official pointed out. There were a couple of occasions when wrong co-ordinates were fed into the helicopter system because of which the aircraft carrying the VVIP had to hover in air in search of the helipad for safe landing. "It was a harrowing experience once when we flew to Adilabad district. We hovered in the air for more than half an hour before we could actually locate the village where we were supposed to land," a senior official in the Chief Minister's Office recalled. Such incidents, coupled with the latest providential escape, have raised serious questions about the air safety aspect related to a VVIP like the Chief Minister. "Security officials were never taken into confidence while purchasing the new helicopter or while pressing it into service. The AW139 barely flew for an hour and it has started giving trouble. This is a matter of serious concern," a high-ranking security official lamented. The state government authorities only hope that the AW139 doesn't go the Bell 430 way and gives the Chief Minister and other VIPs a smooth flight – every time.
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