By SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam, Jan 31, 2012: Local liquor dealers and excise officials have not mended their ways.
While dealers continue to sell alcohol of various brands at more than MRP, men of the enforcement and monitoring authority — the excise department — are still seen cooling in their offices without taking any action.
Both dealers and excise officials have not learnt any lessons from the recent raids and arrest of some liquor dealers in the city by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
A status check by this correspondent reveals that most shops in the city are selling various brands of alcohol at staggering higher rates than MRP.
For instance, Officers Choice whisky which is priced at Rs.294, is being sold at Rs.420 at a popular wine shop located in Siripuram junction.
While Vizag city has 56 shops, Gajuwaka has 148 and Anakapalle 202. Janap-riya Syndicate controls most shops in the city bes-ides two more syndicates.
On Saturday, PVRK Prasad of Janapriya Syndicate, along with Pushkara Ganesh who runs another syndicate were arrested by the ACB for encouraging corruption. “We will be taking some stringent measures from tomorrow onwards to ensure that liquor is sold at MRP,” excise deputy commissioner Bhaskar Rao told this correspondent.
It is learnt that Mr Rao is also under the scanner of the ACB.
Meanwhile, liquor dealers are finding fault with the excise policy of the government and expressed helplessness.
Dealers maintain that they cannot survive in business if liquor is sold at government fixed rates.
They added that the present MRP rates were fixed long ago in 2005 and they bagged dealerships and shops at a high bidding conducted by the excise department.
During the last auction held in 2010, a liquor shop at Peda Waltair was bid for ` 4.72 crore, the highest in the city. Around 56 IMFL shops in the city fetched ` 140.37 crore to the excise department as against last year’s Rs.73.68 crore, registering almost a 90 per cent growth.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Ganta faces his first test on home turf
BY SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam, Jan 30,2012: Minister for ports and infrastructure Ganta Srinivas Rao, who had said that there would be no conflict of interest between his business and his Cabinet responsibility, will face his first test on his home turf on Monday.
If the stand taken by the Telugu Desam corporators in the GVMC is anything to go by, Mr Srinivas Rao would find himself in a tight spot over a two-and-a-half acre plot of prime land located in Aseelmetta that was bagged by his firm, Pratyusha Constru-ctions.
The TD corporators plan to corner the minister in Monday's GVMC council meeting over the fact that the Mr Srinivas Rao's firm bagged the lease rights for 33 years for the land under PPP mode.
The GVMC had decided to develop nine sites in various parts of the city under Public-Private- Partnership by inviting tenders. A special technical committee was also formed in this regard.
Though the bidding was finalised by the special technical committee, it has to be approved by the Council. This will be taken up at Monday's meeting.
The TD corporators are gearing up to oppose it tooth and nail, alleging that GVMC officials helped the minister to bag the lease.
“It is clear that Mr Srinivas Rao managed the GVMC officials. Normally, the tendering process should be widely advertised. But in this case, it was not at all advertised. Not even a single big firm showed interest in this land which is located in the prime locality,” said former minister and TD district president Ch. Ayyana Patrudu.
Mr Patrudu added that no one was aware that tenders calling for development of the site in Aseelmetta near Sampath Vinayagar temple. “It was all done in a hush-hush manner,” he said.
Around 14 firms showed interest in developing the site. Out of 14 around three firms were scrutinised and among these three, Pratyusha Constructions quoted the best bid and bagged the lease.
It is learnt that Pratyusha Constructions expressed the willingness to pay Rs.2.5 crore to the GVMC annually after developing the land.
Mr Patrudu said that due to lack of proper publicity, no one came forward to take part in the bidding process. “The three firms that were finalised are also associated to Mr Srinivas Rao. The bidders were also ringed due to which the minister could get the site at a very nominal cost,” he alleged.
The TD leader added, “The GVMC council should approve the lease which is likely to be taken up tomorrow as part of the table agenda. Our corporators would definitely oppose it and will not allow the land to be given to minister's firm.”
Visakhapatnam, Jan 30,2012: Minister for ports and infrastructure Ganta Srinivas Rao, who had said that there would be no conflict of interest between his business and his Cabinet responsibility, will face his first test on his home turf on Monday.
If the stand taken by the Telugu Desam corporators in the GVMC is anything to go by, Mr Srinivas Rao would find himself in a tight spot over a two-and-a-half acre plot of prime land located in Aseelmetta that was bagged by his firm, Pratyusha Constru-ctions.
The TD corporators plan to corner the minister in Monday's GVMC council meeting over the fact that the Mr Srinivas Rao's firm bagged the lease rights for 33 years for the land under PPP mode.
The GVMC had decided to develop nine sites in various parts of the city under Public-Private- Partnership by inviting tenders. A special technical committee was also formed in this regard.
Though the bidding was finalised by the special technical committee, it has to be approved by the Council. This will be taken up at Monday's meeting.
The TD corporators are gearing up to oppose it tooth and nail, alleging that GVMC officials helped the minister to bag the lease.
“It is clear that Mr Srinivas Rao managed the GVMC officials. Normally, the tendering process should be widely advertised. But in this case, it was not at all advertised. Not even a single big firm showed interest in this land which is located in the prime locality,” said former minister and TD district president Ch. Ayyana Patrudu.
Mr Patrudu added that no one was aware that tenders calling for development of the site in Aseelmetta near Sampath Vinayagar temple. “It was all done in a hush-hush manner,” he said.
Around 14 firms showed interest in developing the site. Out of 14 around three firms were scrutinised and among these three, Pratyusha Constructions quoted the best bid and bagged the lease.
It is learnt that Pratyusha Constructions expressed the willingness to pay Rs.2.5 crore to the GVMC annually after developing the land.
Mr Patrudu said that due to lack of proper publicity, no one came forward to take part in the bidding process. “The three firms that were finalised are also associated to Mr Srinivas Rao. The bidders were also ringed due to which the minister could get the site at a very nominal cost,” he alleged.
The TD leader added, “The GVMC council should approve the lease which is likely to be taken up tomorrow as part of the table agenda. Our corporators would definitely oppose it and will not allow the land to be given to minister's firm.”
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Maoists help tribals quarry gemstones
By SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam, Jan 23, 2012: The presence of Maoists in hillocks in Chintapalli worries both police and forest officials, also due to the illegal quarrying of semi precious stones which has been reported to be rampant in Vizag Agency.
While forest and police officials successfully controlled this illegal activity, which was widespread until a few years ago, in Karaka forest range coming under Narsipatnam, they do not dare to enter Singanapalli, Gondupalli in the Boincy reserved forest region coming under the Chintapalli Agency mandal, for fear of Naxalites.
It is reported that hundreds of local tribals are actively involved in quarrying of semi precious stones, which fetches lakhs in the open market, in the newly identified hillock in Chintapalli.
Local traders deal with traders from Rajasthan, Odisha and Tamil Nadu and engage tribals in quarrying with Maoist cover. Middlemen pay tribals Rs.10,000 to Rs.50,000 for a stone depending on the size. The unscientific way of quarrying is posing a threat to the lives of tribals.
On Sunday morning, a hillock, where tribals were busy digging until late on Saturday night, suddenly collapsed. Fortunately there were no casualties as no worker was there at that time. “We are trying our best to control the activity as any quarrying or mining activity in the reserved forest area is banned and illegal,” the divisional forest officer of Narsipatnam, Mr Ram Mohan Rao told this correspondent.
Recently, Chintapalli police arrested 13 persons and seized semi precious stones worth Rs.3 lakh in their possession. It is learnt that Maoists are endorsing the illegal activity by collecting money from traders.
Visakhapatnam, Jan 23, 2012: The presence of Maoists in hillocks in Chintapalli worries both police and forest officials, also due to the illegal quarrying of semi precious stones which has been reported to be rampant in Vizag Agency.
While forest and police officials successfully controlled this illegal activity, which was widespread until a few years ago, in Karaka forest range coming under Narsipatnam, they do not dare to enter Singanapalli, Gondupalli in the Boincy reserved forest region coming under the Chintapalli Agency mandal, for fear of Naxalites.
It is reported that hundreds of local tribals are actively involved in quarrying of semi precious stones, which fetches lakhs in the open market, in the newly identified hillock in Chintapalli.
Local traders deal with traders from Rajasthan, Odisha and Tamil Nadu and engage tribals in quarrying with Maoist cover. Middlemen pay tribals Rs.10,000 to Rs.50,000 for a stone depending on the size. The unscientific way of quarrying is posing a threat to the lives of tribals.
On Sunday morning, a hillock, where tribals were busy digging until late on Saturday night, suddenly collapsed. Fortunately there were no casualties as no worker was there at that time. “We are trying our best to control the activity as any quarrying or mining activity in the reserved forest area is banned and illegal,” the divisional forest officer of Narsipatnam, Mr Ram Mohan Rao told this correspondent.
Recently, Chintapalli police arrested 13 persons and seized semi precious stones worth Rs.3 lakh in their possession. It is learnt that Maoists are endorsing the illegal activity by collecting money from traders.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Cops to snoop on violators
By SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam, Jan 1, 2012: Now an offender cannot just go scot-free from the watchful eyes of surveillance cameras and alert police personnel who monitor key junctions across the city round-the-clock sitting at the integrated control room.
As a New Year initiative, city police recently lau-nched an integrated traffic control room that connects surveillance cameras, which has three months data back up facility, installed at 19 key junctions in various parts of the city.
This control room is different from the regular control rooms that every town and city have. Recently, police were successful in cracking a case where an unknown person opened fire in the air at the railway station and also traced missing schoolchildren with the help of surveillance cameras.
Applying the same concept, police staff at the integrated control room will, round-the-clock, monitor data from the surveillance cameras, and pass on necessary information and inputs to police standing at the next junction accor-ding to the moves of an offender.
Signal jumpers and traffic rules offenders can also be booked effectively with the help of the new system,, added a senior police official.
The city witnessed around 396 deaths and 1,298 were injured in road accidents during 2011.
Visakhapatnam, Jan 1, 2012: Now an offender cannot just go scot-free from the watchful eyes of surveillance cameras and alert police personnel who monitor key junctions across the city round-the-clock sitting at the integrated control room.
As a New Year initiative, city police recently lau-nched an integrated traffic control room that connects surveillance cameras, which has three months data back up facility, installed at 19 key junctions in various parts of the city.
This control room is different from the regular control rooms that every town and city have. Recently, police were successful in cracking a case where an unknown person opened fire in the air at the railway station and also traced missing schoolchildren with the help of surveillance cameras.
Applying the same concept, police staff at the integrated control room will, round-the-clock, monitor data from the surveillance cameras, and pass on necessary information and inputs to police standing at the next junction accor-ding to the moves of an offender.
Signal jumpers and traffic rules offenders can also be booked effectively with the help of the new system,, added a senior police official.
The city witnessed around 396 deaths and 1,298 were injured in road accidents during 2011.
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