Two students mowed down in front of city Kendriya Vidyalaya

The Kendriya Vidyalaya had a bloody opening for the academic year when a DCM van allegedly driven by a drunken man on Monday mowed down two girl students even as police personnel watched in Uppal crossroads at around 3 pm.

The school had opened for the academic year on Monday.

T. Srinitya, 10, a Class VI student, died on the spot, while Akhila, 8, who studied in Class III, succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment. Several others were injured.

Their blood-soaked schoolbags and books lay strewn on the road after the mishap.

The scene was reminiscent of the accident near St. Ann’s School in Secunderabad a few years ago, where a student of the school was killed on the road.

Police personnel were present on the other side of the Uppal circle, near where the school is located.

There appeared to be no effort to regulate traffic when children are crossing the busy road which connects to the Vijayawada and Warangal highways.

Police tried to palm off the responsibility to the GHMC and school authorities, saying prevention of accidents required “more coordination”.

Eyewitnesses said the recklessly-driven van was coming in from LB Nagar and rammed into the student and parent, moments after they stepped out of the school and were walking across the road near the Ambedkar statue.

Local people caught hold of the driver of a speeding DCM truck and handed him over to the Uppal police.

“He seemed to be drunk,” said an eyewitness. The vehicle was set ablaze.

Srinitya was walking towards her house in Saraswathinagar along with her elder sister, Sri Mega, also a student of the school, when the van hit her.

“The DCM ran over Srinitya, while her sister was flung a few yards away,” said her cousin Bharath who collected her blood-stained books from the road.

“Sri Mega ran all the way to her home and broke down before her mother. Cops were there when it happened”. Srinitya’s father, Mr Gyaneshwar Rao, runs a car rental store in Secunderabad.

Akhila was walking home along with her brother Nikhil and mother Lavanya when the van knocked her down. Lavanya and Nikhil were flung a few yards away in the impact.

The girl’s uncle, Mr Dinesh, said local people rushed her to Kamineni hospital but she died while undergoing treatment. Her friend Anusha’s leg was broken but she is out of danger.

Asked about the inability of police personnel to prevent the slaughter, the Malkajgiri assistant commissioner of police, Ms P.V. Padmaja Reddy, said regulation of traffic required coordination of several agencies including GHMC and traffic wing since heavy vehicles plied in most of the roads in Cyberabad commissionerate.

“The school management has been intimated to work out a system to ensure the safety of the children,” she said. “We are working out alternative arrangements with the departments concerned to prevent such incidents.”

AP abolishes 10 varsity councils

The state government on Friday abolished the executive councils (ECs) of 10 universities. The ECs are the highest decision-making bodies in universities. All decisions have to be endorsed by the ECs before they are implemented.

Though there is no official reaction on the issue, it was learnt that the government had issued the orders on the directions of the Governor and Chancellor of Universities, Mr E.S.L. Narasimhan, who is reportedly upset with the functioning of the ECs.

The government issued the orders terminating the ECs of the Osmania University, Andhra University, Kakatiya University, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Sri Venkateswara University, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Dravidian University, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Dr B.R. Ambedkar Open University and Sri Padmavathi Mahila Viswavidyalayam.

As per norms, the tenure of an ECs is only three years. However, the ECs in all the universities have been functioning for more than three years citing “technical reasons” in the Universities Act.

Ever since he took charge as the Governor in January 2010, Mr Narasimhan has been pitching for reforms in the universities. He asked the officials of the higher education department to constitute a “collegium of eminent persons” to select EC members from academic, industry, culture and sports fields.

In the absence of full-time ECs, the universities will continue to function with ex-officio members .

No more ECs

* Osmania University.
* Andhra University.
* Kakatiya University.
* Sri Krishnadevaraya University.
* Sri Venkateswara University.
* Acharya Nagarjuna University.
* Dravidian University.
* Potti Sriramulu Telugu University.
* Dr B.R. Ambedkar Open University.
* Sri Padmavathi Mahila Viswavidyalayam.

CM rejects EMRI plea to fund 108

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Thursday rejected the proposal of the EMRI, which runs the 108 ambulance services, to bear the entire operational cost.
The government already meets 95 per cent of the cost. The rest is borne by the EMRI, which was handed over to the GVK group after its founder, Satyam group, was embroiled in a multi-million dollar scam.
Sources said the trust argued that management costs have increased and the state government should bear the entire cost. Mr Rosaiah rejected the proposal citing financial constraints.
EMRI officials also proposed to reduce the fleet strength stating that the number of vehicles kept in reserve were excessive.
It was also found that the number of trips of 108 ambulance had come down.
The Chief Minister decided to constitute a special cell for effective monitoring of the 108 and 104 services. He wanted the trusts to cut down all wasteful expenditure.
The Chief Minister was told by the officials that 60,754 lives were saved since August 2005. As many as 38.42 lakh emergencies, including 6.75 lakh pregnancy cases, were attended to by the services during this period.