Karur: AIADMK members staged a walk out during the Karur Municipal Council meeting here on Tuesday protesting the denial of permission for hailing the AIADMK candidate’s victory in Karur Lok Saba constituency. The Council met here with Chairperson P. Sivakamasundari in the chair and in the presence of Commissioner R. Ramani. As soon as the council convened the DMK members proposed a resolution hailing the victory of the UPA group in the recent Lok Sabha elections and the stellar role the DMK played in its success in the State under the stewardship of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. The resolution also sought to welcome the elevation of Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin as Deputy Chief Minister. Irked over this, the AIADMK members present in the House too wanted their party candidate M. Thambi Durai’s victory in the Karur Lok Sabha constituency recorded through a resolution. The DMK members objected to the demand of the AIADMK members as they had raised similar objections. But the DMK members went ahead tabling their resolution and the six-member AIADMK group staged a walk out protesting the resolution contents. They never returned to participate in the proceedings all through the session.

Tambaram: Several youths from many parts of Tamil Nadu started coming to the Indian Air Force Station in Tambaram from Tuesday evening, only to go back home disappointed as they were misled by media reports that gave wrong dates for the recruitment rally. The youths, official sources said, started trickling in since late on Tuesday night. When questioned by staff on duty, the youths told them that they had seen advertisements in a section of the media about a recruitment rally that was commence on Wednesday. The staff on duty at the main entrance contacted senior officials, who said that the recruitment rally was due only next month. The youths, mostly from the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, took out newspapers that carried reports mentioning that the rally was scheduled to begin on Wednesday. Officials said the reports were wrong and clarified that the recruitment rally would be held between July 24 and 28. Disappointed, the youths returned to Tambaram to board buses and trains back home. Some of them, the sources said, had come from as far as Ramanathapuram and Kanyakumari. An Air Force official in the Tambaram station said that the IAF had issued a clear statement that the drive would be held only in July . But media reports with wrong dates caused the confusion.

Tirunelveli: The Nanguneri court has issued an arrest warrant against the Bishop of Tirunelveli CSI Diocese Rev. S. Jayapaul David and five others for allegedly making corrections in a court order. When John filed a petition in the Nanguneri court with the prayer that no election should be conducted for some posts, including that of lay secretary of Tirunelveli CSI Diocese, the judge gave an order. The corrections were allegedly made in the order that prevented the then lay secretary A.D.J.C. Dhinakar and his supporters from casting their votes. Robert Jayakumar filed a petition before the court urging that a criminal case be filed against them.

Chennai: As many as 10 huts with tiled roof were destroyed in a fire accident in Lock Nagar, Chepauk, on Wednesday. No casualties were reported. According to personnel of the Fire and Rescue Services Department, about 30 persons lived in these huts. After the fire control room received a call around 11 a.m., a total of six tenders from Triplicane and Egmore rushed to the spot, where residents came out to the streets, panicking. While the cause of the fire has not been established, police and the Fire and Rescue Services Department personnel suspect that a stove in one of the houses could have caused it. The Triplicane police are investigating. “Around 11 a.m., we heard our neighbour screaming that there was smoke. All of us rushed out and were shocked to find thick, black smoke right behind our homes. We called the fire control room immediately,” said R. Sathya, one of the residents. “We quickly checked if all children were safe. That area (where the accident occurred) is where the children usually play. All of them are safe,” said G. Indira, her sister. The fire was put out in nearly an hour. Residents also pitched in by filling pots and buckets with water from a Metrowater tanker in order to put out the flames quickly.

Hyderabad: Taking a tough stance, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to file a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court against the Maharashtra government for violating the court’s direction not to take up construction of the Babli project on the Godavari. The decision taken at the review meeting on irrigation projects chaired by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on Wednesday was disclosed to media persons by Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah. Mr. Lakshmaiah said that following the government’s objection, particularly the construction of 11 barrages across Godavari as it would adversely affect ayacut under SRSP project in five districts of Telangana, the Supreme Court ordered the Maharashtra government not to construct the gates. But the latter erected the gates in the name of conducting trial runs. Meanwhile, the Telugu Desam (TDP) and Praja Rajyam have demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the Babli and 11 other projects taken up by Maharashtra. Separately, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti said the government lacked commitment to take on the Maharashtra government since it failed to mention 14 other projects upstream of Babli in its petition in the Supreme Court.

Sangareddy: The officials of Vigilance and Enforcement Department on Wednesday raided a rice mill on the outskirts of Sangareddy town and seized 750 quintals of rice estimated to be worth over Rs. 10 lakh. According to vigilance official Raj Kumar, on a tip-off they raided the mill and seized the rice stored illegally. He said investigations were still on and the officials were checking the records.

Hyderabad: Taking cue from Kovvur Telugu Desam legislator N. Prasanna Kumar Reddy, another former MLA, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, has decided to write a letter to party president N. Chandrababu Naidu seeking reversal of the party’s stand on Telangana. Mr. Yadav, a former Minister who contested and lost from Secunderabad constituency in the recent elections, is believed to have taken this decision after holding a meeting of his supporters at his farmhouse in Shamirpet on Wednesday. Sources close to him said Mr. Yadav had also decided to abstain from the all-important three-day workshop beginning Thursday to carry out a detailed analysis of the party’s debacle. Party MPs and MLAs as well as the defeated candidates had been invited to the workshop to be presided over by Mr. Naidu. Instead of attending the meeting “which may not serve any purpose”, he thought the “open letter” route would a better and effective option, his supporters said. The letter would be sent to Mr. Naidu on Thursday.

Hyderabad: Abacus Infotech and Abacus Computers owner Muddamalla Satish and his associate Smitha, who were wanted in a job fraud case, were arrested by the Hyderabad Detective Department officials on Wednesday night. The duo used to collect money ranging from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 1.7 lakh per head from unemployed youths with false assurances of providing them with employment in software companies. Then they would do the ‘disappearing’ act. They were earlier arrested by the Bheemili police in Visakhapatnam. According to the police, the accused had set up office at Marredpally after being released on bail. They recruited jobless youths, pay them salaries for two to three months and disappear, the police said. The two would be produced in court on Thursday.

Bangalore: Minister for Tourism G. Janardhan Reddy on Wednesday said he and Revenue Minister G. Karunakara Reddy had no objection to a joint survey by the Union Government of iron-ore mining areas along the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border. Speaking to presspersons after the performance review of his departments by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, Mr. Janardhan Reddy said the Revenue Minister had written to the Survey of India to take up a joint survey to correctly demarcate the boundary between the two States. On the second day of the four-day exercise, the Chief Minister reviewed the performance of Revenue, Tourism and Infrastructure, and Industry departments and expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved. G. Karunakara Reddy and Mr. Janardhana Reddy attended the meeting. “We are not against conducting the survey. We are against illegal mining in the State.” The Government had requested the Survey of India to take up the work by taking the assistance of officials of both States, Mr. Janardhan Reddy, who is one of owners of the Obalapuram Mining Company, said.

Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Wednesday expressed optimism that Karnataka could emerge as number one in the country if the blueprint for development drawn up by the Vision 2020 Task Force was implemented. “I believe that Karnataka, which is placed seventh in the country’s development map, can reach the top slot with the help of the blueprint,” Mr. Yeddyurappa said while addressing a meeting of the Vision Group 2020 here. The Chief Minister said the Vision 2020 Task Force had dwelt upon 12 key areas, including Agriculture, Rural Development, Education, Health, Irrigation and Transport, to achieve all-round development of the State. Pointing out that the Cabinet, at its meeting on May 22, 2009, had approved the Vision 2020 document, Mr. Yeddyurappa directed the Planning and Finance departments to initiate steps to include its contents in the next State Budget.

Vittalapura: Residents of various villages who were angry over the apathy of officials and elected representatives in providing safe transport facility to cross the river gheraoed Shirahatti MLA Ramanna Lamani on Tuesday at Vittalapura village in Mundargi taluk where eight persons drowned on Tuesday. They had gathered at the spot in the morning as search operation for fishing out the bodies of six of the victims began early.

Bangalore: Kiran Bedi, retired IPS officer, said India was in urgent need of police reforms, and the police system could no longer be governed by the Indian Police Act of 1861. She was interacting with presspersons before attending the convocation ceremony of the Institute of Finance and International Management (IFIM) here on Wednesday. In response to the issue of why the Bangalore Police did not take any action against the series of attacks on women in the city a few months ago, she said, “The police force is usually dependant on the party in power”, and added that professional insulation was the key to police reform. However, she stressed that professional accountability must be simultaneously increased.

Nedumbassery: The two Nigerian footballers, who spent 18 months behind bars after being arrested from Kattapana for overstaying their visas, departed for their homeland from here on Wednesday. Aadibe George (34) and Kinston E. Chukku (34), boarded an Emirates flight to Dubai at 10.30 a.m. from the Cochin International Airport on their way to Lagos, Nigeria’s capital. Innocent O. Udeh, Minister (Consular and Education) of the Nigerian Embassy in New Delhi, A.P. Aliyar, State secretary of KTUC (M) and the sub-inspector of police from Kattapana, T.D. Sunil Kumar, were also at the airport to see them off. An ecstatic Chukku thanked everyone who helped them to get past the ordeal and said he was delighted to go back home. “I am only a football player and have played professional football in many countries including Greece and Turkey,” he said. Mr. George was taken to the flight on a wheelchair. The footballers needed emergency travel certificates to leave the country and as the formalities were progressing in the Nigerian Embassy, Mr. Chukku was put up in a government guest house in Kattapana under police observation while Mr. George was recuperating in the hospital. The travel expenses of the players were met from the fund of the Idukki District Police Superintendent.

Thiruvananthapuram: “The media has been generally shy of highlighting the magnitude of the human tragedy in Sri Lanka during the long civil war. Even after the defeat of the LTTE, the whole of the island nation is under military control. Human rights are violated and journalists are assaulted and imprisoned,” says S. Somatheeran, a Sri Lankan journalist participating in the ongoing International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala. Addressing a Meet-the-Directors programme organised by the Press Club and the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy here on Tuesday, Mr. Somatheeran, who had moved to Chennai for further studies at Loyola College, said people seemed to be obsessed with LTTE supremo Prabhakaran. “I am repeatedly asked whether Prabhakaran had actually been killed. It is surprising that the death of so many people in the civil war and the suffering of many others have not evoked so much response.” Mr. Somatheeran said the press in his home country were muzzled. “It is not only the Tamils that are suffering. The Sinhalese also have to bear the atrocities committed by the military. “The government is mobilising funds for reconstruction in the North but no one is allowed to visit the place.” Mr. Somatheeran said the bloated Sri Lankan military had become a burden for the nation.

Bhubaneswar: Worried over tribal upsurge in different parts of the State, Orissa government on Wednesday decided to strictly enforce laws under land reform act and laws relating to scheduled area, official sources said. The government's hurried action to give justice to the tribal population came in the wake of violence at Narayanpatna in Koraput district. Realising that Maoist ultras were trying to take advantage from tribal unrest, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked the officials to ensure that not an inch of tribal land illegally remained in possession of non-tribals. Tribals across the state, mostly in schedule areas, had been agitating for a long time alleging that their lands were fraudulently taken away by non-tribals while the law prohibited transfer of tribal land to non-tribals in scheduled areas. The tribals had, meanwhile, staged rallies and agitation in Koraput, Bolangir and Rayagada demanding return of their land allegedly in illegal possession of non-tribals. "The government has decided to provide legal assistance to tribals who are unable to file cases against alleged land encroacher's," said Revenue minister S N Patro after a high level meeting chaired by Patnaik. The government would launch an awareness drive to sensitise tribals regarding their land rights, Patro said adding all vacant posts in tehsil and revenue inspector's office would be filled on priority.

Thiruvananthapuram: The portraits of two former Principals of University College painted by the legendary Raja Ravi Varma, now displayed on wall inside the college building, will soon be registered as antiquities and subject to conservation measures. On Thursday, the paintings will be shifted to the Principal’s chamber. Following a media report on Wednesday about how the paintings were unprotected and have suffered damage, Director of Archaeology K.K. Mohanan Pillai inspected the two portraits. “We could identify the signature of Ravi Varma only on one of the paintings. But we were told that the other portrait too was done by him. We have asked the college Principal to write a letter asking that the portraits be conserved. We will then initiate the procedure for registering these as antiquities. We will then be able to clean up the paintings and carry out conservation measures,” he said. The government will now have to take a decision on where to house these portraits, he added. College Principal Chris George said she had requested the City Police Commissioner to provide protection to the portraits.