Blast near Indian embassy in Kabul

New Delhi
Oct. 8: A Taliban suicide bomber blew up an explosives-laden car outside the Indian embassy in Kabul on Thursday, killing 17 people and injuring over 80 others. There were no Indian casualties. One Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) member suffered slight injuries, the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, Mr Jayant Prasad, told this newspaper.

The blast took place at about 8.30 am local time (9.30 am IST). The suicide bomber drove up near a side entrance to the embassy and blew himself up. The doors and windows of the chancery building were blown off and a watchtower inside the Indian embassy compound was damaged.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as Khalid, Al Jazeera TV channel said. A Taliban spokesman said the Indian embassy was the intended target. Ambassador, Mr Prasad said the Afghan security agencies were following certain technical leads but it was evident that the attack was carried out by enemies of the growing friendship between the people of India and Afghanistan.

The explosion was heard across a large area. A Ria Novosti report from Kabul said the blast was strong enough to be felt in the Russian embassy compound on the other side of Kabul.

Several vehicles and shops in the vicinity of the Indian embassy and the Afghan interior ministry, located across the road, were totally destroyed. Windows of shops were shattered and walls of buildings badly damaged in the blast.
Source::DC

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No Advani in next LS election, says Venkaiah

New Delhi
Oct. 8: Ending speculation, the former BJP president, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, on Friday declared that the party will not contest the next Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Mr L.K. Advani and agreed that it would be logical for the party to get a new leadership at that juncture.

“Mr Advani is not going to contest the next elections. We are not going to fight the next elections under his leadership. Next general elections are going to happen when you know (2014),” said Mr Naidu in an interview to a private news channel.

Agreeing that it sounded logical that in such a scenario the BJP would need a new leader, Mr Naidu said for this the change of guard would have to take place couple of years before the polls.
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CM for linking AP rivers

Hyderabad
Oct. 8: A day after the UPA government shelved the river linking project, the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, sang a different tune and said linking of rivers within the state could be useful.

The Congress-UPA government dumped the river linking programme, mooted by the former BJP-led NDA government, because of the AICC general secretary, Mr Rahul Gandhi’s vigorous opposition to it.

Mr Gandhi had said recently that the river linking programme was unwise and would create more harm than good. Following Mr Gandhi’s cue, the Union environment minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh, had said the other day that the NDA-authored project was being dropped since it would cause a “human, economic and ecological disaster.”

However, Mr Rosaiah, who is in favour of river linking in the state, said that the young Congress leader might have been talking about linking of rivers across the country. “He may be referring to Ganga-Cauvery project which would benefit some states and harm others,” he said. Mr Rosaiah said the state government had envisaged linking of Godavari and Krishna in the state to save Godavari water from being let out into the sea. He agreed that there were differences of opinion on the issue and added that alternative ways could be explored for linking of rivers within the state.

In was in 1988 that the N.T. Rama Rao government tentatively started the inter-linking of rivers in the state by releasing Krishna waters from Pothireddypadu head regulator to Pennar Basin. The Krishna-Pennar rivers link was originally conceived during British rule.

There is also going to be a major link of Godavari and Krishna rivers through Polavaram project which is under construction. Mr Rosaiah can perhaps push his plans since Mr Ramesh had said the other day that the UPA government was not opposed to the inter-basin level river linking on a local basis. It was the former Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, who took the initiative to promote the ambitious national river linking project. The task force he deputed had said that if the rivers are interlinked around 160 million hectares of farm lands could be irrigated in the long run.

The task force had envisaged the project as involving a peninsular component and a Himalayan component. Under the peninsular component, a southern water grid was to be developed with 16 linkages and the Himalayan component involved conserving the flow of waters in the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their tributaries.

In fact, while relinquishing power, Mr Vajpayee had requested Dr Manmohan Singh to continue with the river-linking project.
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Bilakhia eyes opener’s slot

Hyderabad
Oct. 8: As the D-day draws closer for the Deccan Chargers who will play Somerset CCC in their first match of the Champions League on Saturday, all eyes will be on the batsman who will open with skipper Adam Gilchrist.
While there is no dearth of options for the Bulls, Gilly has already listed out his options in the form of Azhar Bilakhia, Tirumalsetti Suman and VVS Laxman. Interestingly, Gilly opened with Abhinav Kumar in the practice game against Otago Volts and opened with Laxman in the practice tie against Hyderabad XI on Thursday. Both Abhinav and Laxman were aggressive in their approach, scoring runs at a blistering pace.
Others in the fray — Suman and Azhar have all opened for their respective sides. Azhar appeared excited at the prospect of opening the batting. “To open with Gilly would be fantastic. You get to learn about how to pace the innings and shift gears when necessary,” Azhar said. If one watches him at the nets, one can spot an uncanny similarity in his stance with the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar. When asked about it, Azhar appeared surprised and said, “Well, like many others I have admired his batting but never thought that my stance was similar to his. I take that as a compliment.” On his preparations for the Champions League, Azhar said, “After IPL-2 in South Africa, we were given a fitness programme to be followed plus I have been playing local games to remain in a good shape.”
On the mantra that the Bulls follow, Azhar said, “Our coach Darren Lehmann always says — one step at a time. Concentrate and channelise all your energies on the current game in hand and you will be able to perform well. We never get ahead of ourselves and that was crucial in our successful campaign in the IPL.”
While Gilly keeps his cards close to the chest, it will be interesting to see who opens with him on Saturday even as the Bulls get ready to fight out for the top honours in the Champions League.
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On-high Harmeet hungry for more

Hyderabad
Oct. 8: Harmeet Singh is a special cricketer. The Deccan Chargers have never lost a game whenever this tall mediumpacer was in the playing XI, statistic that may have prompted captain Adam Gilchrist to recall him for the semifinal and the final of IPL-2.
The Punjab youngster who celebrates his 22nd birthday today is a keen learner of the game and is yearning to continue the winning streak in the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 tournament. “IPL-2 is a superb chapter in my career. I want to carry that form into the Champions League,” Harmeet told this newspaper.
Harmeet began IPL-2 with a bang, getting Sourav Ganguly out with his second delivery (first to the former Indian captain) in Chargers’ opening match against the Kolkata Knight Riders. “It put a spring in my step. I’ve been watching Ganguly on television ever since I was a kid and to have him as my first victim was thrilling,” he says.
Harmeet subsequently faced tough time but the big names came to his rescue. “Playing alongside Gilchrist, Symonds, Laxman bhai, Rohit (Sharma), R.P (Singh) in IPL-2 has given me a lot of experience. I’ve learnt quite a bit about handling pressure in big match situations,” Harmeet says.
“The special thing about Gilchrist and Lehmann is that they never let you get bogged down. They are adept at taking the pressure off the players and keeping them at ease. That helps a lot,” he continued.
On the bowling front, “R.P has taught me so much. The way he bowls is brilliant — he got 22 wickets in IPL-2 to win the Purple Cap. It’s not easy to get those wickets in a T20 game. Also, Chaminda Vaas is very friendly and helpful. They always keep telling me a few finer points of fast bowling.”
Harmeet admits life can be difficult for quick bowlers in a T20 match as the batsmen try to go after them every ball. “But, fast bowling is all about handling pressure and using the variations according to the situations. You’ve got to have tremendous control if you are to succeed,” he says.
Ever the workhorse, Harmeet is always thinking on his feet. “I plan every ball I send down in an attempt to sort out the batsmen,” he says.
The best results are often achieved by sticking to the basics. “Line and length is my strength. I find it easy to frustrate the batsmen by keeping the ball in a disciplined range,” Harmeet says.
However, “speed, and a few variations like slipping in the slower deliveries as well as the yorkers to catch batsmen on the wrong foot,” are some of the weapons Harmeet wants to add to his armoury.
And he is in a hurry.
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Dominant Duminy derails RCB

Bengaluru
Oct. 8: J.P. Duminy struck a majestic unbeaten 52-ball 99 to power South African champions Cape Cobras to a thrilling five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of the Champions League T20 here on Thursday.
Set to chase 181, the 25-year old southpaw hit five towering sixes — including one in the final over — and eight fours to guide the Cobras home with two balls to spare. Duminy came in at a tricky situation when Herschelle Gibbs went off the first ball. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Praveen Kumar bowled a gem of a delivery that sent the explosive opener back.
Andrew Puttick too didn’t survive longer as the Cobras skipper also fell to Praveen’s outswinger. With the openers back in the pavilion — the Cobras’ score reading 14/2 — a lot depended on Duminy and the left-hander answered his team’s cause in a spectacular fashion. For the little Duminy, it didn’t matter that he was playing in the Indian conditions for the first time. He paced his innings in such a way that he was at the end when Cobras reached the target. Needing two for his century and also for his team to win, Duminy showed team spirit when he took a single and gave the strike to Rory Kleinveldt, who finished off with a four.
Earlier, Robin Uthappa 51 (39b, 7x4 2x6) and Ross Taylor 53 (24b, 4x4, 4x6) set the stadium on fire with some amazing strokeplay that gave RCB the advantage going into the innings break.
Uthappa, the Kodava lad began tentatively, survived a dropped chance and swung and missed a few times, but later on played some delightful strokes. Until then the Cobras opening bowlers Langeveldt and Rory Kleinveldt had tested Uthappa with short balls, but the first-change bowlers pitched the ball too far up as Uthappa came into his element.
Uthappa struck two big sixes in a Monde Zondeki over, the second one bringing up his fifty, before he fell off the next ball. The right-hander sliced a fuller-ball to Gibbs, who held on to a sharp catch at point. Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli looked in fine touch, before gifting their wickets away. Much depended on the 25-year-old Taylor, and the Kiwi batsman used the long handle to good effect.
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 180/4 (Ross Taylor 53, Robin Uthappa 51) lost to Cape Cobras 184 for 5 (J.P. Duminy n.o. 99).
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ADAG threatens to sue oil monitor

Mumbai

Oct. 8: The ADAG company Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) on Thursday wrote to the home ministry describing as “irresponsible, absurd and baseless” the allegations against the group by director general, hydrocarbons, Mr V. K. Sibal.
In a letter to the home ministry, Mr Sibal sought protection from the ministry, as he feared threat to his life and his family members from the ADA group.
The group also sought a comprehensive investigation into the approvals given by the direct general, hydrocarbons for the Rs 40,000 capex of RIL.
In its letter to the home ministry the ADA group said that Mr Sibal’s sole intention was to divert media attention covering his partisan acts towards RIL against favours and challenged the DGH to bring on record anything to support his wild allegations. The group said that it would file criminal proceedings against the DGH for defamation and character assassination.
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Mallya to settle dues in EMIs

Mumbai, Oct. 8: The private carrier, Kingfisher Airlines, which is facing a legal case from the oil PSU BPCL over payment default, on Thursday offered in the Bombay High Court an out-of-court settlement.
The Court adjourned the matter for hearing on October 15 after BPCL’s counsel sought time to respond.
During the proceedings on Thursday, Kingfisher said it could clear its jet fuel dues of Rs 314 crore at a monthly installment of Rs 10 crore. However, the BPCL’s lawyer, Mr Janak Dwarkadas, said that this formula was not acceptable and asked for a better proposal. “They have the money to run Formula 1...where is that money coming from? They don’t have money to pay us...We are waiting to see the colour of money,” Mr Dwarkadas said.
To this, the Kingfisher’s lawyer, Mr N.H. Seervai said that Kingfisher was ready to sort out the issue at the top level, and the airline’s top officials were ready to sit across the table with the BPCL management and negotiate.
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Telecom price war to hit MFs

Mumbai
Oct. 8: The mutual fund investors having exposures to the telecom companies stocks are likely get affected due to the tariff war between telecom companies.
The investment by the mutual funds in telecom stocks is estimated at Rs 8,000 crore. According to the experts, the tariff war between the telecom companies would hamper the profits of those companies and consequently it would affect the NAVs of mutual fund schemes having exposure to the telecom stocks.
Admitting that there is a concern over mutual funds’ exposure to the telecom sector, Mr Alok Mahesh-wari, the executive vice-president and head equities of DSP Blackrock AMC, said: “Fund houses on a regular basis reduce or increase their exposure to various sectors depending upon the performance. Since the last few days, when concerns have been raised about the profitability of telecom companies, fund houses across the board have started reducing the exposure to telecom companies.”
According to some experts, already investors in the mutual funds have seen NAVs declining on account of poor performance of telecom companies.
Mutual funds have invested about Rs 8,000 crore in five major telecom companies. According to valueresearchonline, mutual fund’s share of exposure is largest at 39.06 per cent in Bharti Airtel followed by Reliance Communications (20.38 per cent), Tulip Telecom (18.24 per cent), Sterlite Technol-ogies (13.34 per cent) and Idea Cellular (8.07 per cent).
According to Mr Binu Joseph, research analyst, capital markets of JRG Securities, “Fortunately mutual fund houses have not launched schemes dedicated to the telecom sector. Otherwise, the losses to the investors would have been far more. In the last couple of days the market capitalisation losses of telecom sto-cks were about Rs 35,000 crore and the mutual fund investors also had to bear their share in these losses which was evident in the declining level of NAVs.”
He said: “Though, mutual fund houses would take corrective measures, the bigger threat in the near term would be mobile number portability.”
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Michelle ancestor was a slave girl

WASHINGTON

Oct. 8: In 1850, the elderly master of a South Carolina estate took pen in hand and painstakingly divided up his possessions. Among the spinning wheels, scythes, tablecloths and cattle that he bequeathed to his far-flung heirs was a 6-year-old slave girl valued soon afterward at $475.
In his will, she is described simply as the “negro girl Melvinia.” After his death, she was torn away from the people and places she knew and shipped to Georgia. While she was still a teenager, a white man would father her first-born son under circumstances lost in the passage of time.
In the annals of American slavery, this painful story would be utterly unremarkable, save for one reason: This union, consummated some two years before the Civil War, represents the origins of a family line that would extend from rural Georgia, to Birmingham, to Chicago and, finally, to the White House.
Melvinia Shields, the enslaved and illiterate young girl, and the unknown white man who impregnated her are the great-great-great-grandparents of Michelle Obama, the First Lady. Viewed by many as a powerful symbol of black advancement, Ms Obama grew up with only a vague sense of her ancestry, aides and relatives said. During the presidential campaign, the family learned about one paternal great-great-grandfather, a former slave from South Carolina, but the rest of Ms Obama’s roots were a mystery. Now the more complete map of Ms Obama’s ancestors — including the slave mother, white father and their biracial son, Dolphus T. Shields — for the first time fully connects the first African-American first lady to the history of slavery, tracing their five-generation journey from bondage to a front-row seat to the presidency. The findings substantiate what Ms Obama has called longstanding family rumours about a white forebear.

By arrangement with
the New York Times
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Zardari suspects plot to oust him

Islamabad
Oct. 8: The Pakistani President, Mr Asif Ali Zardari, is convinced that “some elements” are trying to dislodge him from the presidency, official sources said.
“The Kerry-Lugar Bill is being blown out of proportions. The President thinks the controversy is a part of conspiracy to oust him”, a source close to the President told this newspaper.
The Pakistan’s Army and opposition parties have rejected the Kerry-Lugar aid bill proposed by the United States.
The Prime Minister, Mr Yousaf Raza Gilani, has taken the middle line saying the Parliament will take a decision and that the Kerry-Lugar Bill will not be accepted without the Parliament’s consensus approval.
Only Mr Zardari is of the view that the US bill is the best thing to happen to Pakistan which pits him against the rest of the people except the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which he leads.
The PPP however, also lack consensus on the issue with many rejecting the bill that imposes strict conditions on Pakistan.
On Wednesday, the United States announced that there was no threat to the democratically elected government in Islamabad.
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Nasa to ‘bomb’ moon today for water traces

Washington, Oct. 8: Just weeks after Isro and Nasa announced discovery of evidence of water on the lunar surface, the US Space agency is all set to bomb the moon on Friday in search for hidden water in a controversial mission.
Scientists will see two spacecraft slamming into the moon’s south pole at 9,000 kmph kicking up a 10-km-high shower of debris that National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) hopes will confirm the presence of enough water necessary to supply future visits by astronauts.
Amateur astronomers in parts of the world may be able to view the impact through a telescope; for everyone else, the crash will be broadcast live on the Nasa website along with early pictures of the lunar dust cloud during the dramatic mission.
Within an hour of the impact, scientists will know whether water was hiding there or not.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) announced in November that the country’s first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-I
found evidence of water on the moon within a month after it was launched in October last year to make the first such discovery.
Nasa had also announced last month that it found evidence of water.
The crashing spaceship was launched in June along with an orbiter that is now mapping the lunar surface. LCROSS, short for Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite and pronounced L-Cross, is on a collision course with the moon, attached to an empty 2.2-tonne rocket that helped get the probe off the ground.
Nasa is carrying out this mission to see if any water, ice or vapour is revealed in the cloud of debris.
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18 cops killed in Maoist ambush

Mumbai
Oct. 8: A day after the Union home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, said in Mumbai that Naxals would be taken on if they did not forego the path of violence, the Naxals answered with trademark ferocity, gunning down 18 policemen and engaging forces for several hours in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Thursday before retreating.
The 18 policemen of the elite anti-Naxal C-60 commandos were killed after being ambushed by a group of 150-200 Naxals armed with sophisticated weapons. The encounter took place in the Laheri police station area.
[A police informer identified as Suresh Alami was beheaded in Gadchiroli just before the third major Naxal strike in this district, PTI reports. About 15 Naxals were also killed.]
According to a senior police officer, at around 3 am a team of policemen comprising 40 C-60 commandos ventured into the forest in search of Naxals as they had specific inputs that Naxals were hiding in there. “At around 11 am the police and Naxals came face to face and firing took place between them,” said the officer. “Around 2.30 pm the firing stopped and, during the encounter, 18 policemen lost their lives,” said a source.
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Rahul: Maha polls fight of 2 ideologies

Mumbai
Oct. 8: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that the Maharashtra state Assembly elections is the fight between two ideologies. He said that while the Congress’ ideology revolves around the aam admi (common man), the Opposition’s ideology is about select people.
The Congress leader addressed his first campaign rally for the ensuing state Assembly elections at Panvel in the Raigad district. Speaking at the rally, Mr Gandhi said, “In this election there are two ideologies. One is the Congress’, which is the poor people’s ideology, while the Opposition’s ideology is India Shining. But it is the ideology of some select people.”
Mr Gandhi urged the people of Maharashtra to vote for his party in the October 13 Assembly elections for better governance. Though the campaign rally was for the state elections, Mr Gandhi only spoke about the governance of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government in the Centre and the programmes undertaken by the Central government. Surprisingly he did not mention any of the work done by the Congress-NCP government.
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CCS nod to anti-naxal plan

New Delhi
Oct. 8: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Thursday approved the home ministry’s action plan for anti-naxal operations in states affected by Left wing
extremism.
The anti-naxal operations will be carried out in 20 states over a two-year period laying special emphasis on the Maoists’ pockets of influence, government sources said. The operations will be led by the local police and Special Task Force of the naxal-hit states and assisted by the central paramilitary forces in areas where the Maoists are wielding heavy influence.
“The government is strengthening the states in the battle against naxalism,” highly-placed government sources said on Thursday.
The Centre’s anti-naxal plan was first placed for approval by states during the Chief Ministers’ conference held in January.
Incidentally, the Maoists stepped up their offensive against security forces on Thursday killing 17 policemen in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, prompting the government to rush additional forces to the state.
Meanwhile, the ministry of defence (MoD), is examining a proposal of the Indian
Air Force (IAF) asking for authorisation to fire back in self-defence at naxalites, highly-placed MoD sources said, adding, the MoD would first examine the proposal before the Cabinet Committee on Security takes it up.
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Fakes grab real victims’ share of aid

Vijayawada
Oct. 8: Not just fund collectors, some of the “victims” in the relief camps too are bogus. And they are depriving the real sufferers of succour.
Several benami persons, including those who are financially very sound, have intruded into the nine camps in Vijayawada to grab the financial relief from both government and non-government organisations.
Many of them have enrolled their names as flood victims, preventing the real victims from getting the benefits.
In many of the camps, infighting among bogus and real victims is common. In fact, at the relief camp in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Bus Stand, there was a near stampede when some people came to donate food packets and blankets.
“Benami victims are intruding into the camps with bogus ration cards. Though we are the real sufferers, we don’t have ration cards as they were washed away in floods,” said Mr P. Shankara Rao.
The district administration, however, said it had given identity cards to the real victims for the
verification to ensure that bogus victims don’t claim relief. The officials have advised the real victims to alert the authorities of any bogus victims.
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Rosaiah mum on TRS charges against YSR

Hyderabad
Oct. 8: The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Thursday parried allegations of corruption made against the late chief minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and his pet irrigation project, Jalayagnam by the TRS president, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
Mr Rosaiah said he would respond to the allegations after dealing with pressing issues.
It was left to the ministers, Mr D. Nagender, Mr P. Lakshmaiah and Mr D. Sridhar Babu, and the senior Congress leaders, Mr T. Jeevan Reddy and Mr G. Prakasa Rao, who were close to YSR.
The TRS chief had on Wednesday appealed to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to order a CBI probe into Jalayagnam, alleging that the construction of projects illegally was responsible for the wide-scale damage.
Mr Rosaiah dismissed Mr Rao’s allegations about his administration’s negligence in flood management.
The irrigation minister, Mr Ponnala Laxmaiah, later challenged the TRS chief to prove his allegation that the floods was caused by human error and also due to the Pothireddypadu head regulator, which takes Srisailam water to Rayalaseema. Mr Laxmaiah said he was ready to face any punishment if guilty.
In response, Mr Chandrashekhar Rao, who is presently in Delhi, said he was ready for a debate to prove his allegation.
Responding to this, the TRS chief said in Delhi that he was accepting the challenge and was ready for a debate to prove his allegation. If proved wrong, he said, he is prepared to be hanged in public at the Public Gardens in Hyderabad.
Earlier, the TRS chief said that to ensure supplies to Pothireddypadu regulator and projects in Rayalseema, engineering officials had delayed the release of water, which caused flooding in Kurnool.
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Head priest was reluctant to leave Mantralayam

Hyderabad
Oct. 8: The pontiff of the Sri Madhvacharya Moola Mahasamsthana Raghavendra Swamy Mutt at Mantralayam Sri Suyateendra Teertha Swamy was reluctant to be airlifted from the mutt on the day Tungabhadra ravaged the town. He agreed only after 10 hours of persuasion by his disciples and the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa.
Sri Suyateendra Teertha Swamy shared his experience with this newspaper.
He said: “It was quiet till the evening of October 1. However, the water levels started rising by the midnight. I took the Moola Rama deity box and along with 35 sishyas moved to the first floor. On October 2, the water level touched 16-18 feet in the main temple.”
The pontiff added, “I prayed to Lord Rama and Sri Guru Raghavenda Swamy to see that no life is lost.” However, the water level rose. “Even the banyan trees in the garden were uprooted. Looking at the scene, I could imagine ‘pralaya’ as described by sage Markandeya,” the pontiff said.
One devotee, Mr Subanna, called the Karnataka MP, Mr Anantha Kumar, and discussed the situation at the mutt and the need to airlift Swamiji.
Swamiji ensured all disciples and archakas got on board the chopper and only took the last chopper at 5.15 pm on October 2. He was airlifted along with the Moola Rama deities to Raichur. He conducted poojas for the Moola Rama deities on October 3 and 4 at Raichur Swamy. He returned to the mutt on October 5.
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Beware of bogus relief collectors

Hyderabad
Oct. 8: Preying on people’s generosity to make a profit, several bogus humanitarian organisations and individuals have started collecting donations for the flood victims in the state.
However, such donation hardly ever reach the genuine victims and are mostly used up by the fly-by-night organisations and dubious collectors themselves.
The state government has now put the police, even in the districts, on an alert to identify such bogus relief collectors and take stringent action against them.
Officials have revealed, at least 3,000 organisations and individuals, many of them bogus and without accountability, have been collecting funds in the state.
The information minister, Dr J. Geetha Reddy, on Thursday requested people not to donate medicines. She said the government alone will ensure the supply of medicines to the flood-affected areas. She also asked people to refrain from donating used clothes and cooked food.
The Hyderabad district collector, Mr Navin Mittal, who is coordinating with the districts administrations of Mahbubnagar, Kurnool and Krishna, said donors should send in their donations — cash or kind — only to authorised Non Governmental Organisations or newspaper organisations besides well-known individuals. Mr Mittal asked people to hand over cheques or demand drafts (DDs) at the special counter in the Secretariat or at the district collector’s office. He said donation in kind, especially cooking utensils, will also be of great help.
Meanwhile, the state government has set up special centres in various cities and towns to receive aid material. Dr Geetha Reddy said the material could be handed over at the Exhibition Grounds, Nampally, in Hyderabad; Sports Stadium at Kurnool; Lalitha Kala Pranganam at Tirupati; the Corporation office at Vijayawada; the collector’s office in Guntur and at the church in Repalle.
Dr Geetha Reddy also announced that the assistant sub-inspector, Mr T. Satyanarayana, and the constable, Mr Rama Rao, were suspended following allegations that the two had sold relief material in Veeravalli in Mahbubnagar district.
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YSR plan will save Krishna

Vijayawada
Oct. 8: Modernisation of the Krishna delta alone will provide a lasting solution to the perennial flooding of Krishna district, said irrigation experts.
Implementation of the long-pending modernisation scheme was one of the cherished dreams of the late Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.
The Krishna Delta modernisation was planned in 1973 itself but successive governments ignored the plan, which was then estimated to cost Rs 98 crore.
Though the plan was put in cold storage during the last three decades, Dr Reddy took it on priority basis as part of Jalayagnam.
He dreamt of modernising the entire Krishna Delta at an estimated cost of Rs 4,576 crore since it would ensure water to 13 lakh acres in Guntur, Krishna and Prakasam districts.
YSR opposed taking up repairs on canals and strengthening of embankments as that would not provide relief to farmers and waste money. At his behest, a comprehensive plan was approved but fund crunch delayed its implementation. Ironically, the delay in strengthening the bunds and flood banks is being cited as the reason for inundation of lakhs of acres in the recent floods.
The All India Kisan Sabha vice-president, Mr K. Nageswara Rao, said: “We have been requesting the Planning Commission also to consider the proposal and release funds. If the canals and embankments are strengthened, the district need not worry about heavy flooding.”
Politicians have also said implementation of YSR’s proposal is the only solution to save the delta. “The World Bank provides funding only when other states submit similar proposals. With no initiatives coming from other states for canal modernisation, the state is unable get the funds,” said Mr M. Buddha Prasad, former Congress minister.

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