Anam returns escort after cops’ suspension

                                                                         
galled by the suspension of two police officials for allowing his convoy to pass through without checking at an election checkpost in Kovur segment, finance minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy sent back his escort and shot a letter to the district magistrate and Collector that he did not want the escort till the elections were over.
It may be recalled that an SI K. Sekhar Babu and ASI M. Channayya, who were manning an election
In this backdrop, the minister sent back his escort on Wednesday. According to information, the decision of the minister has shocked the district administration.
Speaking to this newspaper on Thursday, Mr Ramanarayana Reddy said that police at the checkpost had allowed his vehicle to pass because the escort was in the forefront, and he had sent back the escort because he did not want any more victimisation.
“It is usual for police personnel to salute when a minister passes and YSR Congress people highlighted this in their newspaper and also complained to the Election Commission. They are targeting me and I don’t want officials to suffer because of this,” Mr Reddy said.

checkpost at Pallipadu in Indukurpeta mandal were placed under suspension for letting the finance minister’s vehicle pass without a check. YSR Congress leaders complained to the EC about the incident and the two police officials were placed under suspension at the instance of the EC.

He said that he will stop his car even if a constable stops him and his drivers also follow this. I came from the people and I have no qualms about moving among people without security, he added.
Meanwhile, Nellore SP, B.V. Ramana Kumar said they had posted security at a distance for all VIPs.
to prevent any untoward incident during electioneering.

Rash driving case: Actor John Abraham taken into custody

                                                                               
MUMBAI: Actor John Abraham has been taken into custody after his revision petition in an old rash driving case was rejected by a Mumbai court on Friday. Abraham's bail plea was rejected by a sessions court.

John Abraham would apply for bail in the Bombay high court at 4pm today. If the Bombay HC grants him bail, John Abraham would walk out as a free man otherwise he would remain in jail tonight.

John Abraham had injured two people while driving his motorcycle in Mumbai's Khar area in 2006.

His motorbike skidded and crashed into two youngsters. Abraham took them to the hospital after the accident.

He was sentenced to 15 days imprisonment in the case by a lower court.

Hyderabad gets first woman locomotive driver

                                                             
S. Satyavathi, the first-ever woman locomotive driver of the South Central Railways, today independently drove the Matribhoomi Ladies Special train from Falaknuma to Lingampally.
The event also got a boost today - on International Women's Day.
"Women are now playing a prominent role in every field. I feel happy to tread this road. Although there are few women drivers in the Railways, this is still a male-dominated field but I have found support from everyone around me," she added.
SCR deployed the first woman locomotive driver as a step towards expanding and strengthening the role of women in the Railways.

She said her next objective is to drive the Rajdhani Express someday.
While Ms. Satyavathi has been shuttling goods trains in and around Hyderabad since 2005, this is the first time she drove a passenger train, independently. Speaking about the experience, she said that it wasn’t very different from driving a goods train apart from the fact the job demanded a greater sense of responsibility.
"It doesn't feel very different driving a passenger train for the first time, but it definitely gives me a much higher sense of responsibility. I am now responsible for a large number of passengers. However, this is nothing great, it is just part of my job," she said.

Ms Satyavathi had joined as an assistant locomotive pilot in Bengaluru in 1999, and was later transferred to the Secunderabad Division. She was promoted to locomotive pilot (Goods) in September 2005, and has been on shuttling goods trains in and around the Hyderabad area.
She underwent special training for driving MMTS trains earlier this year and qualified.

Dravid announces retirement from international cricket

                                                             

Bangalore, Mar 9 : Batting great Rahul Dravid, the second most prolific batsman in the game's history and India's middle order bulwark for years, on Friday bid adieu to Test cricket, bringing down the curtains on a glorious 16-year career.

The 39-year-old Dravid, a former India captain, became the first of the three ageing greats of Indian cricket, besides Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, to retire in the aftermath of India's disastrous Test tour of Australia.

Initially considered a liability in the one-day arena, he re-invented his game over the years to meet the demands of the shorter format, which he played from April 1996 to September 2011. He scored 10,889 runs from 344 ODIs with 12 centuries and 83 half centuries at an average of 39.16.

Under his captaincy between October 2005 and September 2007, India won Test series in the West Indies as well as England but had a disastrous World Cup in 2007 when they were knocked out in the first round of the tournament. He captained India in 25 Tests and 79 ODIs.

Dravid's captaincy coincided with Greg Chappell's controversial tenure as India coach, but that did not 

affect his performance with the bat, as he garnered 1736 runs at 44.51.

 “I would like to announce my retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket. It is 16 years since I played my first Test match for India and today I feel it is time to move on. Once I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country. Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling,” Dravid said at a press conference here.

“No dream is ever chased alone. As I look back, I have many people to thank for teaching me and believing in me. My junior coaches in Bangalore and at various junior national camps inculcated in me a powerful love of the game which has always stayed with me,” said Dravid, who was flanked by N Srinivasan, the president of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), and former captain Anil Kumble.

Dravid said he would leave the stage with wonderful memories he shared with his team-mates who are legends of the game.

“In the Indian team, I was fortunate to be part of a wonderful era when India played some of its finest cricket at home and abroad. Many of my teammates have become legends, not just in India but in the wider cricketing world. I admired them, learnt from them and I leave the game with wonderful memories and strong friendships. It is a great gift to have.”

Characteristic to his simple but dignified approach to his cricket, David said he had tried to uphold the spirit of the game.

“My appoach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game. I hope I have done some of that. I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It is why I leave with sadness but also with pride.”

He also thanked the cricket fans for their support during his long career.

Dravid had a disastrous tour of Australia where he scored only 194 runs in eight innings at an average of 24.25. Even more disappointing was that Dravid, known for his solid technique, was bowled in six out of the eight innings.

There was intense speculation about Dravid's future following the Australian tour and his decision to hang up his boots will now turn the spotlight on another batting great, VVS Laxman, who too had a disappointing tour.

Dravid had already announced his retirement from ODI cricket in England last year after been surprisingly recalled in the ODI team due to his stupendous performance during the Test series against England in which he scored three centuries.

Nicknamed 'The Wall' for his dour defence, Dravid will, however, lead the Jaipur-based Rajasthan Royals side in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Dravid ended his Test career with 13,288 runs -- behind only Tendulkar (15,470 in 188 Tests) -- in 164 matches, with 36 hundreds and 63 half centuries at an average of 52.31, the 270 against Pakistan being his highest score.

Never a natural athlete, Dravid's immense levels of concentration also came in handy as he also holds the world record of highest Test catches -- 210 -- mostly at the slip cordon. He overtook Mark Waugh to become the most successful slip catcher in history. In addition to this, he has 196 catches in ODIs.

Hyderabad:Kiran to visit Tirupati, Nellore today

                                                        

CM N. Kiran Kumar Reddy will tour Chittoor and Nellore districts on Friday.

Election meeting

Mr. Reddy will leave for Nellore by a chartered helicopter in the evening and will address a public meeting at North Rajupalem in Kovur constituency. The Chief Minister will board a train at Nellore in the night to Secunderabad on Saturday morning.

He will attend the marriage ceremony of Putalapattu MLA P. Ravi's daughter at Tirupati and will address an election meeting in Nellore district. He will reach Renigunta airport in the morning and will meet officials and non-officials in the airport longue. Later, he will attend the wedding function at Urban Haat in Tirupati.

Jagan plans relationship with Akhilesh

                                                                         

The emergence of Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav as a key player in Uttar Pradesh politics could see YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy attempting to forge a long term relationship in the run-up to the 2014 general elections.

Anakapalli MP Sabbam Hari, told Media that while Mr. Mulayam Singh had a good working relationship with TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, Yadav junior was friendly with Mr. Reddy. When Mr. Reddy undertook a train journey to New Delhi for his ‘Jaladeekhsa' last year, SP workers, led by the local MLA, gave him a rousing welcome at Jhansi railway station.

Mr. Yadav, in an interview to a TV channel, stated that Mr. Reddy was his friend and colleague in the Parliament, reflecting the rapport between them. Their friendship dates back to 2009 when both were elected to the Lok Sabha. Mr. Reddy was in regular contact with Mr. Yadav when he launched the new political party after severing ties with the Congress. He had called up the SP leader to compliment him for his party's spectacular electoral victory in UP.

Mr. Reddy is looking for support from non-Congress parties so that they could forge some kind of alliance after the 2014 general elections. He is also in touch with leaders of other parties such as Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party. The SP leaders have been closely watching Mr. Reddy's political activities, particularly the ‘Odarpu yatra'. Surveys commissioned by various political parties across the country are said to be one reason for the SP leadership to look at YSR Congress chief as a force to reckon with in AP.

Hyderabad:Governor leads Holi celebrations

                                                                 

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan participated in the Holi celebrations separately here on Thursday. They were greeted by a cross-section of the society on the occasion

.

In Raj Bhavan, Chief Secretary Pankaj Dwivedi, City Commissioner of Police A.K. Khan, Labour Minister D. Nagender, former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, industrialists and others took part.

In the Holi celebrations organised at the Chief Minister's camp office, several Ministers, MLAs, MLCs, MPs, other elected representatives, Congress party leaders and prominent citizens participated.

Hyderabad:Major industries face 40 % power cut

                                                          

The power crisis has worsened in the State as the overall unrestricted demand has reached about 300 million units (mu) per day whereas the supply hovers around 259 mu, leading to heavy cuts for all categories of consumers.

According to the K. Ranganatham, additional joint managing director (Distribution), AP transco, the utilities began to implement power cut for two hours in all cities, including Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Warangal, Rajahmundry and Kurnool -- one hour in the morning and another hour in the evening. The schedule finalised by the utilities has provided some relief to small and medium scale industries as power holidays will be implemented only two days weekly -- Sunday and one working day, while the cut for major industries will be 40 per cent (three days).

 

On Wednesday, the utilities purchased 25 mu from power traders at a whopping Rs 4.86 per unit. The situation would have been still worse but for the 71 mu being received from Central generating stations. AP Genco is meeting nearly half of the demand by providing 120 mu a day.

Guntur:Rayapati offers ‘makara toranam

                                                   

M P, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, on Thursday offered a golden ‘makara toranam', to the presiding deity at Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devastanam at Brindavan Gardens here in a ceremonial event.

Flanked by members of his family, Rayapati himself drove the decorated tractor for some distance from his home and brought the ornament to the temple in a colourful procession.

 Temple committee member, B. Satyanarayana was also present.

The temple is celebrating 12th anniversary. Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswati performed special pooja and addressed the devotees.