Vizag Gas Leak On May 8, the NGT had imposed an interim penalty of Rs 50 crore on the firm, after the ghastly incident which killed 12 people. PTI File Photo/PTI The Supreme Court on Thursday deferred the proceedings before the National Green Tribunal in connection with the Visakhapatnam LG Polymers gas leak incident in which 11 people were killed and nearly 1,000 people exposed to the leak. A bench headed by Justice U U Lalit also granted LG Polymers 10 days' time as the last opportunity to fil

Education Colleges and high schools will reopen first, followed by lower grades. TNM Staff Image for representation/PTI Schools and colleges will reopen in a phased manner in Andhra Pradesh from November 2, the state government announced on Thursday. Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney said in a statement that all government schools and colleges would reopen from November 2 for Classes 9, 10 and Intermediate, with all necessary precautionary measures to check the spread of coronavirus. Classes 9 and 1

Prohibition Since the prices for low-priced liquor were slashed earlier in September, smuggling of medium category brands from neighbouring states has reportedly increased. TNM Staff Image for representation: Pixabay/Michelle Bryant Once again, the Andhra Pradesh government has revised the liquor prices in the state, this time reducing the rates of medium to high priced liquor. Earlier in September, the government had slashed the rates of liquor in low-price categories, in order to prevent smugg

Awards Kerala is second on the list with nine awards and Maharashtra and West Bengal won four awards each. TNM Staff Image for representation The Andhra Pradesh Police Department has brought laurels to the state by securing 48 SKOCH awards at the national level out of a total of 83 awards up for grabs, for the use of technology in policing. This is the second time in a row that the AP police has won the awards, which were announced at the 67th SKOCH Summit on Wednesday. SKOCH Awards are given ev

Accident The friends, holding each other's hands, were washed away in the stream which was in spate. TNM Staff A celebration to bring good tidings turned into a tragedy after six teenagers between the age of 15 and 16, drowned in the Pedda Vagu rivulet in West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh. The deceased were identified as Gangadhara Venkata Rao (16), Siramula Sivaji (16), Koonavarapu Radhakrishna (15), Gottuparthi Manoj (16), Karnati Ranjith (15) and Kella Sai (16). All of them were natives of B

Controversy Andhra Pradesh Election Commission says they did meet with Health Department officials ahead of meeting with political parties and refuted allegations by YSRCP. TNM Staff The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (APSEC) on Wednesday refuted allegations by the YSRCP that the Commission had not bothered to meet the state's health officials ahead of holding talks with political parties. The YSRCP had alleged that the decision to hold local body polls were being taken without consult

Education Major private colleges have not been listed on the Board of Intermediate website, as they reportedly did not submit their intake capacity. Jahnavi Reddy Image for representation/PTI In Andhra Pradesh, admissions to intermediate first year began on the official website of the Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Education (AP BIE), on October 21. The process has moved online completely, and the last date for enrollments is October 29. As the government cancelled the SSC (Secondary Schoo

Crime The coordinated efforts of the police from 4 states has helped nab seven out of a total of 12 accused. Paul Oommen By Arrangement A Hyderabad-based dentist, 56-year-old Behjath Hussain, who was kidnapped from his hospital in Bandlaguda on Tuesday afternoon was rescued by Anantapur police near Rapthadu in the early hours of Wednesday. The Cyberabad police nabbed seven of the 12 accused and the doctor has also been rescued from the clutches of the kidnappers with the help of the Andhra polic

Investment The Andhra Pradesh government has asked Kinetic Green, which has signed a deal with Tonino Lamborghini, for a detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted. Paul Oommen FB/MekapatiGouthamReddy Luxury lifestyle accessories brand Tonino Lamborghini may soon be involved in the manufacturing of certain vehicles in Andhra Pradesh, after electronic vehicle manufacturer Kinetic Green, with which the former had signed a deal, is looking to set up a manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh. Ki

Politics TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu was addressing TDP in-charges for all the 174 Assembly constituencies via video conference. TNM Staff Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and the principal opposition leader in Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, on Tuesday alleged that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy failed to fulfil the promise of setting up a Rs 4,000 crore disaster relief fund. He reminded that this was an election promise of Jagan and he had promised that it would be fulfilled after com

Politics The YSRCP pointed out that the state government was not consulted on the issue, which was a violation of a verdict given by the Supreme Court. TNM Staff The ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh has decided to boycott a meeting called by State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar. The meeting scheduled for Wednesday was to discuss local body elections. Sattenapalli MLA Ambati Rambabu, a senior leader of the YSRCP, announced the partys decision. The SEC called for one-on-one meet

Interview Andrew Fleming has made his mark by promoting business and trade between the UK and the two Telugu states, besides connecting with several people, especially through Twitter. Nitin B. Image: British Deputy High Commission, Hyderabad It has been three years since Andrew Fleming became the Deputy High Commissioner of the United Kingdom (UK) to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The senior diplomat, who took up the position in July 2017, has made his mark by promoting business and trade betwee

Policy The incentives include providing seed capital assistance, reduction on power bills and GST, and also reducing operating costs among others. TNM Staff The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday announced of establishing a dedicated SC/ST entrepreneur facilitation centre and offered various incentives like providing seed capital assistance, reduction on power bills and GST, and also reducing operating costs for the Dalit and Adivasi entrepreneurs as part of the special industry policy for SC a

Banni festival The annual Banni festival involves a stick fight where thousands of participants try to take possession of two idols. TNM Staff Screengrab Despite prohibitory orders in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, the annual Devaragattu stick fighting festival, known as Banni Utsavam, took place in Andhra Pradeshs Kurnool district. Though police strictly urged people not to celebrate the festival this year due to COVID-19, thousands gathered at Devaragattu village on Monday night. Accor

Flood Telugu Desam Party (TDP) General Secretary Nara Lokesh alleged that, in Srungavarappadu, one of the flood-affected areas, residents did not even receive basic essential kits. IANS Telugu Desam Party (TDP) General Secretary Nara Lokesh alleged that no minister or ruling party leader was visiting the flood-affected people in the state.You (YSRCP leaders) are in power. Because you are not visiting, I am visiting for the sake of the people even when I am not in power. If you visit, we don't ha

Politics The TDP slammed the government and claimed that they were indulging again in vendetta politics. TNM Staff Officials of the Revenue Department and the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) in Andhra Pradesh cracked down on encroachment of government land, allegedly by Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM), located in the coastal citys Rushikonda area. The move by the revenue officials early on Saturday morning was aimed at retrieving government land that had

Judiciary BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay said that Jagans letter to the CJI scandalises the authority of both the Supreme Court and the High Court. PTI File Photo An advocate on Sunday wrote to Attorney General K K Venugopal seeking his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and his principal advisor Ajeya Kallam for making allegations against a Supreme Court judge. BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay said the l

Politics Kishan Reddy urged the party cadres to take the schemes being implemented by the central government to the people at the grass-root level. IANS Image courtesy: Facebook/Kishan Reddy Gangapuram Union Minister of State for Home G.Kishan Reddy on Sunday said that BJP has been emerging as a strong force in Andhra Pradesh. Inaugurating the BJP's state office here on the occasion of Dussehra, he said the party had become the voice of the people in the state. He exuded confidence that BJP will

Crime The accused were reportedly traced by the police through payments made by them on a digital wallet app. IANS Image for representation Prakasam district police in Andhra Pradesh have arrested nine men, four months after the alleged sexual assault of a minor girl from Nellore district girl, who had been forced into sex work by her own relative. Police arrested Syed Salman (24) from Kondapi, Katragadda Siva Kumar (24) and Unnam Naveen (31) from Chowtapalem, Burramsetty Ravi Teja (24) from Sin

Crime Police managed to trace the digital trail left by the nine accused while paying money to another accused through a digital payment app. IANS Image for representation In a sensational development, Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district police have arrested nine men, four months after they allegedly raped a minor girl from Nellore district and forced her into commercial sexual exploitation. Police arrested Syed Salman (24) from Kondapi, Katragadda Siva Kumar (24), Unnam Naveen (31) from Chowtlap

Politics Jagan said Andhra Pradesh is only an executing authority of the project being monitored by the Government of India. IANS File photo Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the Polavaram Irrigation Project (PPA) is a national project which the Union government has a responsibility to complete. He said the Union government has the responsibility as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 and a central cabinet decision taken earlier. He said Andhra Pradesh is o

Flood The team will comprise officials from the Agriculture, Finance, Jal Shakti, Power, Road Transport and Highways and Rural Development ministries. TNM Staff Image for representation: PTI A seven member central team will visit Andhra Pradesh for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by the recent heavy rains and floods in the state. Based on the study, the inter-ministerial team, headed by Rakesh Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, will also recommend whethe

Transport The Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister on Saturday said that special APSRTC buses will be available at all Telangana check points in view of the festival. Balakrishna Ganeshan With limited public transport options between the Telugu states, Hyderabad residents wanting to travel to Andhra Pradesh for Dasara are forced to rely on private cabs, which are charging almost double the regular fare. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) and its Andhra counterpart (APSRTC) are y

Inflation With onion prices soaring due to the rains, the government has now begun selling subsidised onions at Rs 40 per kg. TNM Staff Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday directed the officials concerned to take stern action against people creating artificial scarcity of essential commodities citing floods and rains. With onion prices soaring in the state, the Andhra government has begun selling subsidised onions. Jagan tasked the district collectors and superintendent

Crime Police seized 300 notes of 5,00,000 Turkish lira, which the group was allegedly trying to sell at an exorbitant rate. TNM Staff Vijayawada Task Force police arrested five men on Friday, who were trying to sell demonetised currency notes of Turkish lira by passing them off as legitimate, valid notes. The five men were arrested in Vijayawadas Andhra Prabha colony, and police seized 300 notes of demonetised Turkish lira from them. The men were allegedly trying to sell the worthless notes for

Weather At least 19 people in the state have died in rain-related incidents over the past few days. TNM Staff Image for representation/PTI The India Meteorological Department(IMD) has forecast thunderstorms with lightning at isolated places in Andhra Pradesh's Rayalaseema on Friday. Rayalaseema comprises the four districts of Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa and Chittoor in southern Andhra Pradesh. However, the Met Department did not predict any rainfall on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Meanwhile, the

Jobs Several candidates had moved the court over various discrepancies in the preliminary exam and preparation of merit list. TNM Staff Image for representation The Andhra Pradesh state government has postponed the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission's (APPSC) Group-I mains examinations on the directions issued by the High Court. The examinations for the high-level government posts were scheduled to be held between November 2 and November 13.It is hereby informed that the mains (descriptive

Court The High Court was hearing a petition by the State Election Commissioner alleging non-cooperation from the state government. TNM Staff File Photo The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday questioned the State Election Commissioner (SEC) about the need to have an official residence in Hyderabad when he is working for Andhra Pradesh. The court was hearing a petition by SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, in which he alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government was not cooperating to allow the proper

Tourism Tourism officials said that though hotels and other establishments have reopened after the lockdown, the footfall of tourists is not yet encouraging. PTI Image Credit: Pixabay/Prasanna Devadas Andhra Pradesh is looking at popularising virtual tours of various important tourist destinations in the state keeping with the trends in virtual tourism, Special Chief Secretary (Tourism and Culture) Rajat Bhargava said on Wednesday. Development of rural tourism, given the perception of being safe

Security Officials believe that the incessant rains in the state caused the landslide to occur. TNM Staff Screenshot A landslide shook Vijayawadas' temple hillock Indrakeeladri on Wednesday, injuring three police officials on duty and trapping a few devotees under the debris. The mishap took place just hours before Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy'svisit to the Kanaka Durga temple, located on the hill. The Kanaka Durga temple is a famous place of worship, and witnesses several

Coronavirus The students belonged to classes 9 and 10, and were from four private schools. TNM Staff Image for representation/PTI At least 27 students attending private schools in Andhras Kurnool district have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The students belonging to classes 9 and 10 were from four different private schools in Sunnipenta of Srisailam mandal, and the District Collector has issued orders to shut down all four schools for ten days and to sanitise the surroundings. While

Rains The staff from various departments have been pressed into action for damage control exercises, especially for roads, buildings and electricity departments. TNM Staff There seems to be no respite from the rains for Andhra Pradesh with the Met department predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in coastal Andhra and Yanam. The deep depression over Andhra Pradesh caused heavy rainfall over the last few days which resulted in flooding in several places in the state. Heavy rai

Fourteen out of the 19 families of flood victims have already received the ex-gratia payment. TNM Staff A total of 19 people have died in rain-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh so far. Fourteen families have already received the compensation after Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed officials to provide an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of those who died in the recent rains. The Chief Minister held a video conference with the district collectors and joint collectors on Tuesday a

Politics Dinaker Lanka was suspended after he allegedly did not toe the party line on a TV debate. Paul Oommen FB/BJPAndhraPradesh BJP leader and party spokesperson from Andhra Pradesh, Dinakar Lanka, was suspended from the party late on Monday evening. The letter announcing the suspension was sent on Whatsapp to him, the politician said. The decision came as a surprise to many, considering Lanka was a popular spokesperson who often represented the party on regional as well as national news chan

COVID-19 The accused were allegedly performing tests without wearing PPE kits and were not registering patient data online with the government. TNM Staff Image for representation/PTI At a time when COVID-19 tests have become a lot more accessible than the early days of the pandemic, police in Andhra Pradeshs Krishna district have arrested a group of men for selling COVID-19 test kits and even allegedly performing tests without proper permissions or safety protocols. Police in Nuzvid town seized

Disaster management CM directed the officials to complete crop damage estimation at the earliest and provide input subsidy to farmers. TNM Staff Images : Facebook/YS Jagan Mohan Reddy Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday undertook an aerial survey of flood-hit Krishna and Guntur districts. Flying in a helicopter, Reddy observed the devastation left behind in places such as Nandigama, Avanigadda, Penamaluru, Mylavaram and Tadikonda constituencies. Jagan, after taking stoc

Politics Appointing Atchannaidu as state party chief is aimed at serving the twin purposes of appealing to the BC communities and also to inject new blood into the party's ranks. IANS Courtesy..Twitter Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, a backward class (BC) community leader has been appointed as the Telugu Desam party chief for the State of Andhra Pradesh by party leader, Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Monday. Atchannaidu's promotion comes at a time when Naidu is keen on shedding the 'kamma party' tag of T

Rains Jagan Mohan Reddy sought a grant of Rs 2,250 crore to take up relief and restoration measures in the state from the Union Government. TNM Staff Image: PTI The incessant rain in the upstream of river Krishna has triggered floods leading to overflow. Over the last week, the upper catchment of the river in both states witnessed heavy rains as a result of a low depression over the Bay of Bengal. According to reports, the Srisailam project and Nagarjuna Sagar dam on the river have received heav

Controversy BJP leader from Tirupati Bhanu Prakash Reddy said the government would have to face the consequences if the proposal wasnt withdrawn. TNM Staff IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/NIKHIL B The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board has clarified that it is unlikely to invest the TTDs funds in Union government or state government securities. The announcement came after opposition over the possibility of the TTD investing some of its wealth, which is currently placed in fixed deposits, in var

Judiciary Earlier this month, Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had written a letter to Chief Justice of India, where he levelled various allegations against Justice Ramana. IANS File photo Supreme Court judge Justice NV Ramana on Saturday said it is an important quality for a judge to withstand all pressures and odds and to stand up bravely against all obstacles. Most importantly, particularly for a judge, one must be steadfast in holding on to their principles and fearless in their de

Floods We urgently need at least Rs 1,000 crore as advance to undertake relief works on a war-footing and restore normalcy, the Chief Minister said. TNM Staff File photo Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting that the Union government immediately grant Rs 2,250 crore for repair and restoration work in the aftermath of the heavy rains and floods last week. The Chief Minister said that as per preliminary estimates, Andhra P

Festival The temple, which sees lakhs of devotees visiting during the festival every year, has limited the entry of devotees due to the pandemic. IANS PTI The Dasara Mahotsavam (grand celebrations) commenced in Vijayawada on Saturday at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam, commonly known as the Kanaka Durga temple. The famous temple will celebrate a different form of the goddess on each of these days from Saturday to October 25. On Saturday, the temple will celebrate and worship Sri

Coronavirus Chittoor saw five more COVID-19 deaths while Guntur and Krishna reported four more each. PTI File photo/PTI Andhra Pradesh recorded 5,529 recoveries and 3,676 new coronavirus positive cases, while 24 fatalities were reported in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday. The latest bulletin showed 7,76,251 total confirmed cases, 7,32,743 recoveries and 6,406 deaths so far. The active cases declined further to 37,102, it said. More than 70,000 sample tests were conducted, according to the b

Landslides Earlier this week, a 50-year-old man named Siva Sankara Rao died in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Vijayawada. Jahnavi Reddy File Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Man Praveen On Tuesday, as heavy rains poured down on many parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Siva Sankara Rao, a middle-aged man living in Vijayawada, wasreportedlywatching TV, when the roof of his house came crashing down on him. This happened after boulders rolled down a hill following a landslide and fell on his hou

Politics Narasapuram MP RK Raju has been vocal against his own party in power in Andhra Pradesh after a series of raids by the ED and CBI over alleged loan defaults. TNM Staff Kanumuru Raghurama Krishnam Raju, the Narasapuram Member of Parliament (MP) of Andhra Pradesh, has stepped down as the chairperson of the committee on subordinate legislation. The YSRCP has instead appointed MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry to the committee. Raju says he was served notice of his replacement three months ago thro

Death Divya was found with injuries to her throat, abdomen and hand, in her house in Christurajapuram. TNM Staff On Thursday morning, Kusuma returned to her house after spending some time talking to a ward volunteer on the street. She believed her 20-year-old daughter Divya was sleeping in their house, in Vijayawadas Christurajapuram. On finding the door locked, and with no response from her daughter, she called the neighbours to help break the door, only to find Divya lying in a pool of blood.

Politics The price of liquor in Andhra Pradesh is much higher than in its neighbouring states. Paul Oommen Sunil Sharma*, a resident of Visakhapatnam who was visiting his daughter in Hyderabad, dropped by a liquor shop to pick up some alcohol. He was shocked to find that the price that he usually paid for a full bottle of a certain liquor brand in Visakhapatnam was available for 1/3 the price in Hyderabad. He filled his cart with the best brands, hardly believing the prices he was seeing - compa

Cinema A multiplex chain listed the Telugu movies 'Solo Brathuke So Better', 'Love Story' and 'Vakeel Saab' as forthcoming attractions. IANS IMAGE FOR REPRESENTATION: PICXY.COM/CHAWS7098 Most cinema halls and multiplexes in Andhra Pradesh remained shut on Thursday, citing high costs among other reasons, even though they are now allowed to open as per Unlock 5.0 guidelines. One multiplex screen, INOX Varun Beach, belonging to the INOX chain, opened in Visakhapatnam,

Andhra Pradesh Rains 2020 Visakhapatnam, Krishna, Guntur, Kadapa, Kurnool, Srikakulam and Godavari districts suffered major damage. TNM Staff The recent downpour in Andhra Pradesh due to a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has damaged crops over 67,864 hectares in the state. Eight districts have suffered major damage Visakhapatnam (5,435 hectares), East Godavari (29,362), West Godavari (15,926), Krishna (12,466), Guntur (381), YSR Kadapa (2,053), Kurnool (249) and Srikakulam (1,992). The d

Crime Tirupati Urban SP denied allegations that there was political pressure to hush up the crime as the accused was an influential man. TNM Staff Image for representation Tirupati police arrested a man for allegedly sexually assaulting his employee, on Thursday. The accused, Devasahayam, had sexually assaulted an employee of his company, Rainbow Cleaning Products, located in Renigunta, Andhra Pradesh. He is also reported to be an evangelist. Incidentally, a former Director of the Central Bureau