Latest News December 23, 2009

No change in Telangana stand: TDP leaders

Telugu Desam’s important leaders, MPs, MLAs, MLCs from Telangana region met on Tuesday and made it clear that there was no change in the party’s pro-Telangana stand and that they will achieve the goal under the leadership of N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, TDP leaders Nagam Janardhan Reddy, Erraballi Dayakar Rao, T. Devender Goud, M. Narsimhulu and Mandava Venkateswara Rao said a resolution was adopted to abide by separate Telangana.

They clarified that the party was united in the region and none of the 39 MLAs in the region had contacted the TRS leadership as claimed by the latter. Most of the leaders attended the meeting barring a few who took prior permission.

They said both Congress and TRS were carrying a misinformation campaign against the TDP and its leadership saying there was change in its stand over Telangana when the fact was that it continued to stick to its resolution of October 2008 supporting separate statehood for Telangana.

Mr. Naidu had never said that he was going back on this stand.



I wanted to prove a point: Lagadapati and ends his fast ‘drama’

Mr. Rao was on fast in the true sense of the term for only one-and-a-half days and spent the rest of the five days in hospital with the aid of intravenous fluids.
He wanted to show to the outside world how leaders could blackmail governments with ‘modern day’ fasts which were a sham.
Taking exception to the Centres’ announcement to initiate the process of formation of Telangana in the wake of the TRS chief’s fast, Mr. Rajagopal appealed to governments not to frame policies under pressure from leaders.
He said he expected the Centre to spell out a fresh proposal acceptable to people of all the regions or else he would launch another fast, this time at Visakhapatnam.
He would not support the Centre’s stand if it went against united State asit would not reflect the desire of people in all the 23 districts.


Relief at last?: Construction of the Chaderghat bridge splay is in full swing.

More than five years after the initial proposal, the Chaderghat bridge left splay works are finally nearing completion, much to the relief of thousands of vehicle-riders who experience bumper-to-bumper traffic on this particularly crammed stretch on the way from Dilsukhnagar towards Koti.

The splay was proposed way back in 2004, as part of the GHMC (then MCH)’s junction improvement plan at 35 locations in the city. Purpose of the project was to ease traffic congestion on the bridge by providing an oblique curve towards left, joining with the road leading to Jambagh and Putlibowli.

The assumption was that the triangular splay, extending up to 25 metres from either side from the corner, would allow more manoeuvring space for the left-ward-bound vehicles, while reducing overall congestion. Cost of the splay was then estimated to be Rs.30 lakh—the highest among all the proposed works. However, construction got embroiled in a legal controversy after a few people went to court claiming ownership of the land on which foundation was laid for the splay. “Works had to be stopped after the pillars were raised. Now the controversy is resolved and we are going ahead with the project. Centring works are on currently and concrete will be laid soon. We are expecting the splay to be complete by the end of February,” said P. Panduranga Rao, Engineer-in Chief. The project cost has been revised to Rs.65 lakh.

However, the number of vehicles plying on this stretch has increased by leaps and bounds during these five years, and the splay could be but a minor respite. Vehicle traffic from areas such as L.B. Nagar, Dilsukhnagar, Chanchalguda and Malakpet includes even long-distance buses from outside the city.
Road widening

“We are already constructing a parallel bridge from Golnaka till Malakpet Race Course to ease the traffic. Plinths have been raised and the bridge could be complete by August, 2010,” informed Dr.Rao. Road widening works on the Nalgonda Crossroads up to Chaderghat had to be stopped at a few places as demolition was obstructed by the owners, he informed.