Hyderabad: Hyderabad Police Commissioner on Saturday issued an order prohibiting the use of remotely controlled drones, para-gliders or remotely controlled micro-light aircraft without prior permission, in the wake of intelligence inputs that terrorists may conduct attacks using such devices.

“Inputs have been received by Intelligence agencies about the possibility of attacks by terrorist/anti-social elements by the use of para-gliders, remote controlled drones, remote controlled micro-light aircraft, etc, and there is every likelihood of breach of peace and disturbance of public tranquility and also there is grave danger to human life, health, safety and damage to public property on that account,” Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahender Reddy said in the order.

“Do hereby order that no flying activities of remotely controlled drones or para-gliders or remotely controlled micro-light aircraft be allowed in the Jurisdiction of Hyderabad City Police Commissionerate limits without prior police permission in writing,” it said. No non-government agency, organisation or individual will be allowed to launch Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Unmanned Aerial Survey (UAS), it said. Government agencies and organisations should obtain appropriate clearance from local police and aviation authorities before launching any UAS/UAV for any purpose, the order said. The order shall remain in force from November 8 to December 7, it added.

Hyderabad: Chemical washing works on Charminar were resumed this week. Restoration works on the monument are being conducted for over a year by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Chemical washing helps remove the grime that gets accumulated on the monument due to the monument’s exposure to pollution. An official of the ASI said chemical washing began a few days ago, and is an ongoing process essential for restoration of the monument to its original glory. “It is undertaken periodically by ASI,” he said.

Hyderabad: The CBI’s Hyderabad unit is probing the alleged BHEL fraud worth Rs 71 crore in which Kolkata-based companies and top officials of BHEL Hyderabad’s marketing department are said to be involved. Abhijit Infra Limited of Salt Lake, Kolkata, which is an accused in the case, also figured in the coal scam since coal blocks were allocated to one of it’s group companies.

The CBI FIR states that BHEL officials had violated the rules and delivered turbines and other heavy machinery worth crores, to be used for thermal power plants in Jharkhand and Visakhapatnam, by collecting only advances without total payments. According to sources in CBI, Abhijit Infra had initially paid 10 per cent advance while placing orders for the thermal plant and had got all the equipment delivered without full payment.

“Officials of CM and DGM ranks, who were with the marketing department of BHEL Hyderabad, were also named in the case for their connivance with the private company. An FIR has been issued and investigation is in progress. The same company, Abhijit Infra, also figured in the coal scam. There are other companies too,” said a CBI source. BHEL in August 2010 had struck an agreement with Abhijit Infra to supply equipment worth Rs 2,525 crore for a 1080 MW thermal power plant in Jharkhand. The contract involved supplying and installing the main plant package for Phase-I and Phase-II of Abhijit’s coal-based Matr-ishri Usha Jayaswal Mega Power Plant, located at Latehar district of Jharkhand, near Ranchi.

In 2013, BHEL had stopped supply as the outstanding payments from Abhijit and other companies had mounted to more than Rs 2,000 crore. CBI has also charged Jas Infrastructure and Power Ltd, a subsidiary of the Abhijit Group. The group is also setting up a power plant in the Atchyuthapuram SEZ in Visakhapatnam.

Hyderabad: Engineering and management students and even administrators are perplexed with the circular. Former AICTE director Prof. S.S. Mantha said, “I don’t know how engineering students are connected with wall paintings. Apart from helping prevent use of walls for election and political propaganda, I don’t how this helps cleanliness. As a concept, swachhta is very good but it should come from within rather than painting walls.”

Even if students are forced, they think they would only spoil walls. “I don’t know how AICTE missed the fact that painting is not a part of our curriculum and how we can actually paint murals, that too in crowded public places,” said T. Varun Kumar, a Fourth Year engineering student. In a better initiative, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked schools to get students to put up art work, messages and pointers on toilet walls on personal hygiene and sanitation.

Prime Minister Modi had launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on Gandhi Jayanti last year. With the campaign completing one year, the Centre has begun sector wise celebrations.
“In addition to the activities that they [engineering colleges] had taken up last year, institutes may also take up wall paintings and murals by students, on the theme of Swachhta, on compound walls and other public places in their respective cities,” AICTE chairman Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe stated in the circular sent to all approved institutions.

Hyderabad: For the first time in the history of the Hyderabad High Court, Justice B. Siva Shankar on Friday allowed videographing of the proceedings in the court hall on a quash petition moved by Jerusalem Mattaiah, one of the accused in cash-for-vote scam. It may be recalled that on June 29, Justice Rao, while dismissing the petition of TRS nominated MLC Elvis Stephenson seeking the judge to recuse from hearing the quash petition, had sought permission of the Chief Justice of the HC to conduct in camera proceedings with audio and video recording.

While staying the case against Mattaiah on the day, the judge made it clear that only the advocates of the petitioner and the special public prosecutor of the ACB were to be allowed at the hearing after granting the permission by the Chief Justice. When the case of Mattaiah come up for hearing, the judge asked all the advocates, expect advocates to the case, to leave the court and conducted the in camera proceedings. TS A-G K. Ramakrishna Reddy was among those present.

Penna Cement’s plea dismissed:

The Hyderabad High Court on Friday dismissed an appeal moved by the Penna Cements Ltd and its sister concern Pioneer Holiday Resorts challenging an interim order by a single judge refusing to stay an ongoing adjudication by the adjudicating authority of the ED in attaching their properties. ED had passed a provisional attachment order against the appellant companies under the PMLA for their alleged involvement in Jagan illegal investments case.