Sightseers threaten Airport security

The new international airport at Shamshabad has become a picnic spot for local people, raising many security concerns.

Thousands of people throng the airport every day to enjoy its ambience and to see flights coming in and going out. On Sunday, there was unprecedented rush of "sightseers" and some of them even came with packed lunch and other picnic paraphernalia. During peak hours, people were sitting in groups at the airport entrance having their snacks or lunch.

A majority of the visitors are local people who sacrificed their land for the construction of the airport. They feel that they have every right to enjoy themselves.

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Demolish, Don't regularise

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday directed the State government not to regularise unauthorised constructions till further orders.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice A.R. Dave and Justice R. Subhash Reddy passed the interim orders while hearing a petition filed by Mr K.H.V. Prasad challenging the government's Building Penalisation Scheme.

"No person shall put up construction in violation of the sanctioned plan," said the court. "And those who submitted applications under the ordinance, their constructions shall not be demolished."

The court added that unauthorised constructions made after December 15, 2007, should be demolished in accordance with law. It had earlier directed the government to accept applications and continue inspection of unauthorised constructions. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has fixed March 31 as the deadline for receiving applications for BPS.

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Tata lands Jaguar, Rover deal

Tata Motors, a $7.2 billion company, on Wednesday acquired two iconic brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, in an all-cash deal of $2.3 billion.

The company announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Ford Motor Company for the purchase of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) comprising brands, plants and intellectual property rights.

The Tata Sons and Tata Motors chairman, Mr Ratan N. Tata, said, "We are very pleased at the prospect of Jaguar and Land Rover being a significant part of our automotive business. We have enormous respect for the two brands and will endeavor to preserve and build on their heritage and competitiveness, keeping their identities intact. We aim to support their growth while holding true to our principles of allowing the management and employees to bring their experience and expertise to bear on the growth of the business."

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Reinvestigate Gujarat Riots: Supreme Court

Dissatisfied with the investigations into the Gujarat riots, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the plea of the National Human Rights Commission and agreed to set up a five-member special investigation team to reinvestigate cases of communal carnage that rocked Gujarat for close to three months in 2002. Over 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, had lost their lives in these riots.

The riots, however, consolidated the position of the state's BJP Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, as "Hindu Hriday Samrat" and bought him impressive victories in Assembly elections. Reopening of the investigations into the riot cases are likely to bring out several skeletons.

The SIT has been directed to submit its report within three months.

The Narendra Modi government is happy with the setting up of an SIT primarily because it feared that the investigation might be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, over which it would have no control. Pushed on to the back foot, the Modi government did not argue much in the court and readily agreed to an SIT investigation.

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Babus To Get Bonanza

Bringing cheer to four million Union government employees, the Sixth Pay Commission on Monday recommended an average 40 per cent hike in their salaries.

The commission recommended a number of incentives for the disabled, women, the armed forces and pensioners. It announced plans to reward good performers in an effort to increase the efficiency of government employees.

The commission, in its report submitted to the Union finance minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, here on Monday, recommended a minimum salary of Rs 6,660 for a Union government employee. The Cabinet Secretary stands to gain the most, with the recommendation that the top bureaucrat's salary be revised upward to Rs 90,000 from Rs 30,000 a month. The salaries of secretary-level officers are to be revised to Rs 80,000.

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Spice crashes party

A SpiceJet Airlines flight scrambled its schedules and landed first at the new international airport ind Shamshabad on Sunday to set a record. By touching down almost 50 minutes ahead of schedule, the SpiceJet flight pulled a fast one and spoilt the show for Lufthansa which was all set to become the first airline to land at the new airport. SpiceJet flight SG 397 from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad was scheduled to land at 12.50 pm, but it touched down at 12.01 pm because "the pilot decided to take off early".

Airport officials were puzzled by SpiceJet's explanation that their pilots had decided to take off early though the management had agreed to fly in late. But it was Lufthansa that arrived from Frankfurt at 12.19 pm, six minutes ahead of its scheduled time, which got the official welcome. Fire tenders

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Sarabjit Life On Hold

The Pakistan President, Mr Pervez Musharraf, on Wednesday provided a ray of hope to Indian national Sarabjit Singh, condemned to death for alleged involvement in four acts of terrorism, as he issued a stay order against his execution.

"The hanging (scheduled for April 1) has been stayed until April 30. There will be further orders in between this period," a senior Pakistan government official told this newspaper. "The President has stayed the execution of the Indian prisoner after appeals for clemency from the Indian PM and others," the official said.

Sarabjit's wife, Ms Sukhpreet Kaur, greatly relieved by the temporary relief granted to her husband, said on Wednesday she was grateful to President Musharraf, but the reprieve was only temporary. She said she hoped her husband would get a full pardon.

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GMR hopes for Ugadi start

The new Hyderabad international airport, beset by unexpected delays, is likely to start functioning in 20 days. Regular flights from the airport at Shamshabad are expected to begin from Ugadi, on April 7.

A GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) official, while declining to make any formal announcement, said: "We hope Ugadi, the Telugu New Year's Day, will usher in a new beginning for us.

" A statement on the airport's official website says: "We understand that some airlines have approached the ministry of civil aviation seeking more time to begin operations from HIA. Acceding to their requests, (the ministry) has advised us to begin operations in a few days. We will intimate the new date and will commence operations soon."

Highly placed official sources said the civil aviation ministry is under pressure from low-cost airlines to have two airports in the city. Air travellers and Airports Authority of India (AAI) staff have also been pushing for operations to continue at the Begumpet airport. Low cost airlines have apparently joined hands to apply pressure

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Andhra Pradesh builders to go on Strike

More than 2,000 builders of the city are boycotting construction work from March 22 to force the government to bring down the prices of cement and steel.

A slowdown is imminent in the Rs 1,000-crore construction sector in the city because of the sharp increase in the prices of cement and steel.

The price of cement has gone up to Rs 230 a bag from Rs 160 and steel prices have touched Rs 50,000 a tonne from Rs 28,500 in the past six months.

Worried at the unrestrained rise of the price line, the Greater Hyderabad Builders Federation has decided not take up any construction work until the government comes out with a policy to control steel and cement prices.

The federation held meetings on Sunday and Monday and also urged steel and cement dealers to join hands since their business would also be affected by the probable slump.

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Tibet Fire Spreads

The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on Sunday called for an international investigation into the crackdown against protesters in Tibet, which he said is facing a "cultural genocide."

"Some respected international organisation can find out what the situation is in Tibet and what is the cause," he told reporters in Dharamsala, the seat of his government-inexile.

Addressing his first press conference after the outbreak of violence in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, since Friday, the exiled Tibetan leader said while India had "a few limitations" as far as China was concerned, he felt it was "too cautious" on the Tibet issue.

Replying to questions, he said the Tibetans' protests in Lhasa and elsewhere were "borne out of China carrying out a sort of cultural genocide in Tibet, intentionally or unintentionally."

On whether he could contain the violence, the Dalai Lama said: "I have no such power... I do feel helpless."

The Indian government, the 73-year-old monk said, had "hostile views" on certain actions of Tibetans, but "we should not pick up one particular incident." He did not elaborate.

The Dalai Lama, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, said he was not demanding cancellation of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August, as demanded in some quarters, but reminded China that it should play a "good host."

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Begumpet For Private Planes

Airport employees on Thursday called off their two-day long agitation following an assurance from the government that no airport would be closed without consulting them.

The Union government also assured that it would not shut down old airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore but would try to expand operations there.

"They will be used for general aviation," said the Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Praful Patel.

The term ‘general aviation' denotes non-scheduled operations of private aircraft or chartered planes.

Demand for general aviation is growing in leaps and bounds and several orders were being placed for small jets and private aircraft," said the minister, hinting that Begumpet airport would continue to thrive.

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United States bans starlet, 200 for fake-visa racket

A list of persons, including South Indian film actors and directors who are alleged to have helped a number of people get US visas through illegal means, has been submitted by US consulate officials to the Chennai police for further action.

A senior Chennai police official disclosed that the list is now with the Chennai commissioner of police.

The racket was recently busted with the arrest of actress Flora Shiny, who has acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films. Following the unearthing of the racket, the US consulate in Chennai slapped a lifetime ban on travelling to the US on nearly 200 personalities from the South Indian film industry. They are reported to have used false credentials to apply for visas to the US. Many of the persons on that list are said to come from Andhra Pradesh.

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Twin Blasts in Lahore Kill 26

At least 26 persons, most of them employees of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency, were killed and over 150 injured in two bomb blasts in Lahore, Pakistan, on Tuesday.

The first blast destroyed the FIA office at 9.23 am, tearing off the facade of the building and exposing the inside and leaving piles of blackened rubble and burning cars. The FIA is the Pakistani equivalent of India's CBI.

"Twenty-two people were killed in the blast on the FIA premises. It seems that a bomb was planted somewhere in the building. The death toll may rise as there are so many severely injured people," a senior police official said. TV reports said a red alert had been declared across Pakistan.

[Several hours after the twin car bombings, four persons were killed and three others injured by unidentified gunmen who sprayed bullets at a coach of the Badar Express travelling from Faisalabad to Lahore, PTI reports. The assailants fled after the attack and no one had claimed responsibility for the attack.] The police cordoned off the area while emergency workers carrying stretchers scrambled over the rubble. A car was set ablaze by the force of the blast and others were damaged by downed electricity cables and rubble.

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Olympic Dream : Chuk De

Ten minutes was all it took for Great Britain to end Indian hockey's Beijing Olympic Games dream.

Pitted in the final of the Olympic qualifier in Santiago, Chile - the easiest pool India could get - the men in blue on Monday scripted their blackest chapter, surrendering like lambs to a team ranked just one notch above them.

For the record, India lost 0-2 to Great Britain. The manner in which they succumbed was heart-breaking. Britain, the 1988 Olympic champions, sang and danced as they bruised Indian egos en route to Beijing. The Indians were quite simply run off their feet.

For India, eight times Olympic champions, it was a piece of unwanted history as for the first time in 80 years India will be missing from the Summer Games. The spectacle has not seen India progress beyond sixth place after 1980, when India won their eighth and last gold medal on the biggest stage for the game. To miss out on qualifying is something that the nation has not dealt with before.

Great Britain induced crippling blows right from the word go. Barry Middleton began the demolition in the fourth minute, finding the net with a superb field goal that caught the Indian defence off-guard. Richard Mantell followed suit six minutes later to make a mockery of the defence. Outwitted in form, skill and spirit, the Indians went into a shell and were mere spectators thereafter till the final whistle.

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Sonia hits out at NDA

The Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, in an unusually combative mood, attacked the Atal Behari Vajpayee government here on Sunday for neglecting farmers during its tenure.

"What did the NDA do for farmers? They are shedding crocodile tears now. If the farmers' plight has worsened, the NDA is the root cause. While a lot still needs to be done for farmers, whatever has been done for them is thanks only to the Congress, the UPA and the Prime Minister," she said while addressing the mammoth farmers' rally at the historic Ramlila Grounds.

Speaking at the one-lakh strong rally held to celebrate the waiver of farmers' loans announced in the Union Budget recently, Mrs Gandhi profusely thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the measure. "A farmer produces not merely for himself but for the nation. The loan waiver is a way to pay a debt of gratitude to the farmer," she said.

This is not the only initiative for the farmer, she said. During its four years in office at the Centre, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government had taken several initiatives such as increasing the minimum support price, increased credit flows for farmers, and a special package had been announced by the Prime Minister for 31 suicide prone districts spread over four states.



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Telugu Desam leader tells Naidu to chant ‘Jai Telangana'

The Telugu Desam was rocked by Telangana tremors on Thursday when senior leader Kadiam Srihari, told the leadership that the party would be wiped out in the elections if it did not say "Jai Telangana".

"The TD too should raise the ‘Jai Telangana' slogan," Mr Srihari said. "Self-respect is more important than development. We want separate Telangana and the party leadership should not keep the issue pending."

Mr Srihari is the second leader after Mr T. Devender Goud to publicly espouse the Telangana statehood cause.

Mr Srihari's outburst came a day after the party president, Mr N. Chandra babu Naidu, said in Nellore on Wednesday that the Telugu Desam would await the Congress's decision on Telangana before it would make its stand public.

Mr Srihari's public support for Telangana took the TD leadership including Mr Naidu by surprise and forced it to hold an emergency meeting on the subject.

In January, Mr Goud had asked Mr Naidu to take a decision on Telangana before the TD Mahanadu in May. Mr Naidu succeeded in convincing Mr Goud but it was only temporary.

Mr Goud created ripples earlier this week in the Assembly with his speech on statehood immediately after the resignation of 16 TRS legislators.

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Panel is against Closure of Airport

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd on Wednesday said there is no question of "renegotiating" the deal signed with the Union government for the development of the new international airport at Shamshabad.

Responding to a Parliamentary panel recommendation that agreements for the greenfield international airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad should be modified so that existing airports in the metros would not be closed down, Mr Kiran Kumar Grandhi, GMR Group chairman (airports), said operating two airports in the city would not be financially viable.

The Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, headed by the CPI(M) leader Mr Sitaram Yechury, asked the government to "modify or scrap" certain clauses in the agreements with the developers of the airports, keeping in mind air traffic growth in recent years.

"The government still has time to renegotiate the issue with the concessionaire and can modify or scrap the clause which facilitates the closure of the existing airports," Mr Yechury said.

Mr Yechury said that the possible revenue implications of such a renegotiation should not inhibit the government from proceeding on such a course in national interest.

The government, however, expressed doubts about the possibility of renegotiating the agreements.

"It is not possible to renegotiate the deals at this stage especially when the inauguration of the Hyderabad airport is just a few days away," the Union civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, said.


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Kashmir comes home

An Indian who survived an unbelievable 35 years on death row in Pakistan on charges of spying has returned home after being granted an unconditional pardon by the Pakistan President, Mr Pervez Musharraf.

Kashmir Singh, who was released from Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail on Monday evening, shakily walked his final steps to freedom across the Zero Line at the Attari Wagah border post shortly after 11 am on Tuesday.

Clearly overwhelmed by a sense of disbelief and the moment itself, the 67-year-old Indian tightly clutched a plastic bag with his meagre belongings as he waved his gratitude to a people who had long condemned him to the terrible solitude of a death row cell but in the end also became his liberators.

Lustily cheered by thousands who came to welcome him home, the short balding man sporting grey stubble took a moment to touch the earth then

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Telangana-issue hits Sonia rally

The UPA chairperson, Mrs Sonia Gandhi's mega public meeting at Secunderabad Parade Grounds on March 14 has been cancelled. The acting APCC president, Mr G.S. Rao, issued a press release saying the meeting had to be called off as Mrs Gandhi had "an urgent assignment".

Mrs Gandhi was expected to make a statement regarding the party's stand on a separate Telangana state at the event which was expected to draw a crowd of up to 10 lakh. Some Congress leaders said the meeting was probably called off as the party high command is reluctant to spell out its position on Telangana for the present.

"If Mrs Gandhi addresses a public meeting in Telangana she has to make some announcement on the vexed Telangana issue," a senior party MLC observed. "Failing to make any announcement would trigger further trouble for the party."


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European Union to offer Indian techies Blue Cards

The Indian emigration dream could acquire a new colour if the European Union succeeds in introducing "Blue Cards" to attract highly-skilled workers.

The new visa regime, similar to the American "Green Card", would allow high-skill workers with at least three years of experience and a recognised university degree to work in an EU member state.

The European Commission introduced the proposal in October 2007. It will now be negotiated with the member states in the Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament will be consulted.

The proposal needs unanimous approval by all 27 member states of the EU. To be adopted, the member states have to reach an agreement in the council and Parliament has to deliver an opinion. Also, the member states will need to harmonise their national laws during a two-year period. The


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