Newsmaker-2008: CHIRANJEEVI

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: “Who’s the newsmaker of 2008 in Andhra Pradesh?” The answer is not too hard to guess. Mega Star Chiranjeevi should easily be voted as the Newsmaker of 2008. From a “daring, dashing and dynamic hero” who began his filmy career in 1978, Konidela Siva Sankara Varaprasad – alias Chiranjeevi – has always hit the headlines as he rose steadily in his 30-year-long career in the tinsel town. Year 2008 pushed him into the limelight yet again, for a different reason though. The Telugu Mega Star virtually bid adieu to the film world -- that earned him name, fame and fortune -- to jump onto the political bandwagon, thus becoming the Newsmaker of 2008. On August 17, 2008 he formally announced to the world his decision to join politics, after having kept everyone guessing for over 10 months. And, on August 26, Chiranjeevi launched his Praja Rajyam Party with a lot of fanfare in the temple town of Tirupati, marking the second innings of his life. “I shall usher in the change that people of Andhra Pradesh have been longing for and turn the state into ‘Santoshaandhra Pradesh’ (the state of happiness),” Chiranjeevi vowed while inaugurating Praja Rajyam Party. It took over 15 years for 53-year-old Chiranjeevi to take a political plunge, for, there had been anticipation of his political foray since 1993 when he was at the pinnacle of glory in the film industry delivering one mighty hit after the other. He, however, preferred the celluloid greasepaint to the political sleaze and went on to don a variety of roles in a total of 148 films in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. Incidentally, he donned the role of a politician in only one film – Mutha Mestri (labour leader) – way back in 1993, when the first call for his political debut was heard. Year 2006 saw Chiranjeevi bask in additional glory as the Government of India conferred the Padma Bhushan on him and the Andhra University an honorary doctorate. The next year, however, remained rather turbulent for him due to some disturbances in personal life. But at the same time, calls for his political entry from a cross section of people across the state had also increased. Having endeared himself to the audience as an actor-par-excellence and a great dancer, Chiranjeevi permanently sealed his place in the Telugu people’s hearts through his social service activities – notably eye and blood donation – through the Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust for over a decade. With his only son Ramcharan Tej stepping into his shoes as an actor, Chiranjeevi was in a way left with no other option except to accept the wishes of crores of his admirers – don the politician’s role in real life after having enacted the role only once in reel life. “Former President A P J Abdul Kalam was the driving force behind my decision to enter politics. It would have been a historic blunder had I shied away from taking the political plunge,” Chiranjeevi said while announcing his decision to join politics, adding that the late N T Rama Rao too had inspired him to take up public service.“I am entering the political field with the only objective of serving the people and not with any ambition of securing power,” the Mega Star had declared. The “shift” (from the glamour-filled tinsel town to the murky world of politics) also gave him “self-satisfaction.” Whether or not he will be able to ride to power, Chiranjeevi, however, has certainly emerged as the key factor in Andhra Pradesh politics now who could make or mar the prospects of the existing players. The Chiranjeevi mystique unravels only in April\May 2009 when elections in the state end.

Chiranjeevi: The "symbol" of woes

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: In what could prove to be an electoral disaster, actor Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party will have to contest the ensuing elections in Andhra Pradesh on different symbols as it is not yet a recognized political party. For a new political party that has set its eyes on capturing power, this is certainly a shocker.
While Congress, BJP, CPI, CPM, RJD, NCP and BSP are the recognized political parties at the national level, Telugu Desam Party and Telangana Rashtra Samiti are recognized as state parties in Andhra Pradesh with permanent election symbols. As per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2005, only "recognized" political parties are eligible for a permanent election symbol while "registered" parties will have to choose from the 59 "free symbols" available. The PRP wanted the "Rising Sun" as its election symbol but it is unlikely to get it, at least for the 2009 elections. Ironically, the rising sun is not even a free symbol in the list prescribed by the Election Commission of India and the PRP will have to pick from symbols like aeroplane, almirah, axe, balloon, banana, bangles, cake, comb, cot, frock, electric pole, dao, diesel pump, camera, fork, harmonium, etc. Sources in the Election Commission here said that as per rule 6A of the said Order, a political party shall be eligible for recognition as a state party in a State, "if, and only if" it has secured not less than six per cent of the total valid votes polled in the state and, in addition, it has returned at least two members to the Legislative Assembly and at least one member to the House of People (Lok Sabha) in a general election. "Since Praja Rajyam is a new party, it has only been registered with the Election Commission of India. It gets recognized only if it fulfills the criteria laid down in the Election rules and only then becomes eligible for allotment of a permanent election symbol. In the ensuing elections it will have to make do with only the free symbols," a top EC official said. Being a registered political party, PRP could, however, be given "preference" in allotment of poll symbol in a particular constituency. "The PRP also has the option of making a representation seeking a common symbol for all its candidates across the state. But the allotment is not guaranteed," the EC official added. As per para 12 (3) (a) of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2005, if two or more candidates from registered political parties vie for a particular symbol, the allotment is done only through draw of lots. Besides, if any sitting MLA seeks a particular symbol in a constituency, he shall be allotted the symbol and no one else, the rules say. As such, there is no guarantee that the PRP will get the symbol of its choice across all constituencies. Having to face elections without a common symbol could prove a tough task for the fledgling party, political observers say.

Andhra Pradesh Politics: 2008

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Two things remained conspicuous on the political scene in Andhra Pradesh in the year 2008: one, the birth of Telugu Mega Star Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party and two, the re-alignment of the Left parties with the Telugu Desam Party.
By any measure, these two noteworthy developments on the political scene have become the key factors that will determine the outcome of Elections-2009 in the state, due in April.
More significantly, the state politics have started revolving round the Telugu film industry with parties vying to showcase their “star” might for the first time than ever before.
With Chiranjeevi launching his own party, the principal opposition TD has roped in film stars from the Nandamuri clan for party service while the ruling Congress too tried to enlist star support in equal measure. While TDP founder-president and legendary Telugu actor N T Rama Rao’s son Balakrishna – one of the top Telugu film heroes – was the main draw for the party, NTR’s grandsons Kalyan Ram, Taraka Ratna and NTR (Junior) too have jumped into the political field to “resurrect” the TDP and make Nara Chandrababu Naidu the Chief Minister again.
Chiranjeevi’s youngest brother and film hero Pavan Kalyan has been made chief of Yuva Rajyam, the youth wing of Praja Rajyam Party, with the main objective of attracting youths towards the party.
For the Congress, the star attractions were hero Rajasekhar and his actress-turned-director wife Jeevita. Yesteryear ‘Super Star’ of Telugu films Krishna, former heroine Jayasudha and character artiste Srihari too have sided with the Congress. Krishna, of course, was elected to Lok Sabha from Eluru in 1996 on behalf of Congress but stayed away from politics for a long time.
The Congress desperately tried to rope in Krishna’s son and the current heartthrob Mahesh Babu but the young actor evinced no interest. A consolation for the ruling party, however, has been the endorsement of the state government’s welfare programmes through a visual advertisement campaign by another top hero Akkineni Nagarjuna.
But the Congress has been totally isolated with all its allies of 2004 – the Left parties and the TRS – completely deserting it. The ruling party thus faces a formidable task of contesting the 2009 elections all alone against the backdrop of a perceived anti-incumbency factor.
The TDP too is plagued by its own set of problems with many a senior leader quitting the party and joining the Chiranjeevi bandwagon. TDP heavyweights like Kotagiri Vidyadher Rao, C Ramachandraiah, Tammineni Seetaram, Bhuma Nagi Reddy and his wife Sobha Nagi Reddy, besides a couple of MLAs and former MLAs quit their parent party and joined the Praja Rajyam Party. Congress too saw many of its senior leaders parting ways and walking into the Chiranjeevi camp, notable among them being former Union ministers P Shiv Shanker, P Upendra, former MPs Ch Harirama Jogaiah and K S R Murthy.
With Nandamuri Balakrishna taking an active role in TDP, seniors who quit the party previously have started returning. While Congress MLA Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu quit his post and the party to rejoin his parent party, an independent MLA K Laxmaiah Naidu too returned to the TDP fold.
Still, troubles are not yet over for the TDP as many senior leaders are sulking and preparing ground to leave the party ahead of the ensuing elections.
Many Congress MLAs too are said to be in line to join the Chiranjeevi party owing to their caste connections.
The political crossovers will continue till the elections in April.
Yet another separatist party has taken birth in Andhra Pradesh in 2008 with former home minister T Devender Goud quitting the Telugu Desam Party and setting up his own Nava Telangana Praja Party. It had to be later rechristened as Nava Telangana Party following a technical glitch over its registration with the Election Commission.
Everybody thought the pro-Telangana parties will join hands for a common cause but that did not happen. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti, that had been the sole torch-bearer of the pro-Telangana movement since 2001, has not yet chalked out its future course after having severed its ties with the Congress in 2007.
Both the TDP-Left combine and the Praja Rajyam Party have been wooing the TRS to forge an alliance but the wily K Chandrasekhar Rao, the TRS boss, has been cleverly playing his cards. In fact, the Congress too is desperate to restore its friendship with the separatist party, in whose company it fought the 2004 elections, and prevent a rout in the Telangana region. Even as the pro-integrated state party like the TDP reversed its stand on the demand for a separate state, going by the “wishes” of the people of the region, the Congress that rode to power on the promise of carving out Telangana still remained indecisive.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, that has of late taken a strong pro-Telangana stand and promised to create the separate state in three months if voted to power at the Centre, has not yet consolidated its position. It spent time trying to make friends with pro-Telangana parties like NTP and also the newly-formed Praja Rajyam Party, which is also favourably-inclined towards a separate state. Its efforts, however, did not bear fruit in 2008.
Spurred by the tremendous success of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-model of Dalit-upper caste alignment, some fringe players and caste groups in the state sought to set up platforms for all and sundry to proclaim their political ambitions in 2007. In 2008, all such elements have virtually sunk without a trace.

IPv4 is no Y2K

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Fears of a slowdown in the growth of Internet due to non-availability of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for Indian networks seem to be unfounded.
“IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) address space is still readily available to Indian networks. Based on the current rate of deployment of IPv4 addresses, around two years’ supply of addresses is still available,” director general of Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) Paul Wilson has confirmed.
Wilson said on the sidelines of the Internet Governance Forum conference held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who showed a need for the IP addresses “will certainly receive them.”
Wilson said APNIC declined very few requests for IPv4 address space and addresses were equally available to all ISPs regardless of the location.
Though India ranked second in terms of number of ISPs requesting for IP addresses from APNIC, the space actually being requested was relatively small, Wilson pointed out.
“China has reached a total of over 10 ‘/8’ this month (each /8 represents nearly 17 million individual addresses) while India reached a mere one /8 in total,” the APNIC chief pointed out to drive home the point that IPv4 not being available to Indian networks was “misguided.”
“It seems the Indian Internet industry expects deployment of IPv6 to be a solution to the relatively slow pace of Internet growth. While IPv6 is an important long-term requirement for all economies, its deployment will make no real difference in India if the local environment does not encourage healthy growth of a diverse and competitive Internet industry,” Wilson, who is also the chairman of Number Resource Organisation, observed.
APNIC is one of the five Regional Internet Registries that manages global Internet address resources. It is also supporting the Government of India’s initiatives to translate to IPv6 from IPv4.

Disgusting, disgraceful & disturbing too

DESARAJU SURYA
I am herewith reproducing views and feelings of my dear friend, an Indian Administrative Service officer, on the media coverage of the Mumbai terror strikes. Though being a journalist, I have no hestitation in endorsing what all he said in his blog post. The conduct of the electronic (visual) medium journalists was utterly disgusting and disgraceful, to put it mildly. Shame on their part.I have many examples to illustrate how the visual medium is proving to be a bane to the society. The Telugu television news channels have become obnoxious. I shall putforth my views on the subject sometime later. But now, read my IAS friend's anguish.

"I am on a holiday. Without access to reliable internet connection, blogging was naturally intermittent. However, the rivetting events of the past few days kept me tuned on to the television channels. A few observations from the coverage. Even as the NSG commando were fighting the terrorists holed up inside the Taj, Trident and Nariman House, another battle was being fought outside by the television news media channels to capture the media space. While the commandos acquitted themseleves with distinction, the same cannot be said of the ultra-competitive media channels. To put it bluntly, the actions of large sections of television channels were disgraceful, insensitive and indecent. Many of them came out as undignified and greedy vultures swooping down on hapless victims of the tragedy. I had been under the impression that a reporter was meant to report events and even illustrate possibilities, which were then to be analyzed by editors and external analysts. But the events in Mumbai saw reporters throwing all such distinctions to the wind, elevating themselves as self-appointed analysts and media pundits, spraying "wisdom" in all directions. Some of them had even become self-appointed flag-bearers of nationalism and patriotism. Ironically enough, the anchors and editors who were vituperative in criticising (rightly so) the politicians for using the tragedy to score brownie points, were culpable of falling prey to the same disease. Many of them, with a few honourable exceptions, saw this as an one-time opportunity to make and enhance reputations, and flagellate as popular opinion makers. What spouted out as informed analysis was the routine denuciations of the usual suspects - Politicians and Pakistan - and simplified band-aid solutions to a complex challenge. Traumatized victims (especially foreigners) released from the clutches of terrorists were hounded for soundbites (despite polite refusals), and politicians (like spokespersons of political parties) were accused (even abused) of being responsible for the tragedy in a manner bereft of any dignity. The middle class sentiments were sought to be aroused by playing to the galleries through a brazenly artificial exposition of the courage and bravery of the soldiers and commandos and public catharsis of the released victims and their relatives. If there was poignancy, it certainly was not evoked by most of these journalists, including the superstar ones (who even professed to conveying poignancy), reporting on it. The ruthless and insensitive nosing for news was disgraceful, to say the least. If this was an attempt to whip up national pride and stand up for our armed forces, please, don't ask us to be subtle about it!I vividly recollect a bewildered Chinese looking chef of the Taj, who was hardly able to scramble through the fusillade of questions hurled at him by one of our superstar television journalists, apart from sticking to the safe, if monotonous, "no" to whether he had seen or heard anything. Questions on issues as weighty as who was responsible for the terrorist attacks and how many were killed and injured (something which even the intelligence agencies of the government were yet to figure out!) were thrust on the poor man who had just escaped the hotel. The poor lad was relegated to the backstage, even without as much as a sympathetic remark for the difficult ordeal he had been through, and obvious obscurity for even "not having heard a bomb explosion". This particular "superstar" also "distinguished" himself in his other reports by constantly bombarding his "victims" with his non-stop barrage of questions which appeared to have the objective of eliciting a particular answer than the correct answer. Some of the antics of our popular television news anchors were clearly cheap attempts at imitating western media personalities like John Simpson and Christian Amanpour.The most garish omission obviously was the near total lack of sympathy or coverage of hapless victims, who being lesser mortals" lost their lives in the oblivion of the not so "iconic" CST. So skewed was the coverage that a viewer could be excused for not knowing that the largest number of casualties and biggest "human tragedy" took place at the crowded railway station. The last straw that broke the camel's back was undoubtedly the injured claim on the last day on how "the shocked victims would hardly speak to the journalists who had been patiently waiting for them outside.""

India to define Spam, Phishing, Cyber-terrorism....

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: The Government of India will amend the Information Technology Act, 2000 to effectively deal with online data security, data privacy, identity theft, cyber-terrorism, child pornography, Spam, phishing and other online frauds. The amendment Bill, which has been pending for two years now, will finally be taken up by Parliament in this winter session. For the first time, the Government of India has tried to define cyber terrorism, child pornography, spam, phishing and online frauds through this new legislation. The amended legal framework will be in line with all the provisions of the European Cyber Convention. Once in place, the new legal framework would address emerging issues in cyberspace. The body corporates would have to implement best security practices to secure data collected by them while providing services and any leakage of data would result in payment of compensation to the victims. The government was working in co-operation with the Asia-Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team on cyber-security initiatives. Besides, the Data Security Council of India was also established as a government-industry initiative to create awareness and ensure compliance with the best security practices among IT and ITES organisations. "The challenge is huge for us to train our police and judicial officers to collect, analyse and present digital evidence in courts. We are working in this direction under the public-private partnership model," Gulshan Rai, a top IT official in the Union Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said. The Information Technology department was also working with public and private sector organisations to train manpower to deal with cyber-security issues. India is also sending people abroad for getting trained in implementation of best security practices. While assuring that the Union Communications and Information Technology Ministry would collaborate with "any agency in the world" for providing a safe and secure cyberspace to the citizens, Gulshan Rai called upon lawyers, judges, academia, industry and citizens to work together to evolve a mechanism for effective collaboration and co-operation in this regard.

The threat to Cyber-Security

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: The Internet has been expanding thick and fast across the world and so is the threat to the cyber-security. In India, for example, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) has reported about 800 new electronic vulnerabilities during 2007 in the country, a 20-fold increase compared to 2001. The total number of attacks -- including viruses, worms and cyber frauds in organisations -- are rising by about 15 per cent annually, with many types of attacks doubling in number, according to Gulshan Rai, director-general of CERT in the Union Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Quoting a report prepared by Symantec, Rai pointed out that spam mails accounted for about 80 per cent of the total email traffic in the world. "The situation in India is not much different," he said, at the Internet Governance Forum conference at Hyderabad International Convention Centre. Taking part in a discussion on "Dimensions of Cyber-Security and Cyber-Crime", Rai said a survey conducted by CERT and PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that 57 per cent of the organizations providing one or other type of services experienced compromised systems in 2007, which was almost double compared to 2000. "Technology-oriented indicators clearly reflect that the monthly percentage of personal computers infected by a virus in the country has grown from just one per cent in 2001 to 17 per cent in 2007," the IT director-general noted. Information-stealing through social network sites was also on the rise, he added. Another worrying factor was the growing number of phishing cases, particularly among the Indian banks. "On an average, 7 to 8 cases of phishing are being reported per day in the country. Most of the phishing cases are hosted and registered in another country causing a problem in disabling them," Rai said.The most disturbing fact, according to Rai, was the increase in the number of cases of cyber incidents pertaining to domain name registry. "The registrars, the Internet Protocol address as well as the address of the registrants are found to be fake in many cases. We require a strategy to counter this as it involves cyber-security," Rai said. "Today, the computing systems control the management of power plants, air traffic control systems, energy distribution and the financial systems, to name a few. Banks, for example, rely on extensive distributed communication network and information services, both for customer interaction and inter-bank operations. The reliance of these installations and processes on the IT infrastructure makes that infrastructure itself extra critical and it is essential to safeguard it in the nation's interest," the IT authority observed.

The ever-expanding Cyber world

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: India has been ranked fourth among the top ten nations in the world with 81 million internet users even as the world aggregate touched 134,85,72,040 by the end of 2007.
United States leads the chart with 220 million internet users followed by China (210 million) and Japan (88.1 million).
Brazil comes next to India with 53.1 million users, UK 40.2 million, Germany 39.1 million, Republic of Korea 35.5 million, Italy 32 million and France 31.5 million.
The Internet Governance Forum has released these statistics on the eve of its third global conference at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre.
From about 70 million people (1.7 per cent of the world population) who had access to the Internet at the end of 2007, the figure crossed 134.8 crore by 2007. Asia has the highest number of Internet users with an estimated 568.7 million people followed by the Americas with 377.9 million.
Europe ranks third in this list with 335.9 million users and Africa and Oceania close the rank with 51.8 million and 14 million users respectively, according to the IGF.
India, however, does not find place among the top ten nations in terms of broadband connections where too the US stands first with 73.2 million connections.
China has 66.4 million, Japan 28.28 million, Germany 19.6 million, UK 15.6 million, France 15.5 million, Republic of Korea 14. 7 million, Italy 10.8 million, Canada 9 million and Spain 8 mil lion broadband connections. While there were a total of 13.5 million internet subscribers in India, representing 1.15 per 100 people, broadband subscribers accounted for five million among them.
However, the number of users, who have online access but do not themselves subscribe, is a whopping 81 million or 6.93 users per people.
"Internet is the platform through which we are trying to bridge the digital divide in the country," joint secretary in the Union Information Technology Ministry, Ravi Shankar, said.
The National E-governance Plan envisaged provision of internet access to six lakh villages through one lakh Common Service Centres (Internet kiosks) by the end of 2009. Of the total proposed, 20,000 kiosks have been rolled out so far, he added.
"The essence is to bring about a modicum of e-readiness through the National e-governance Plan. The Department of Information Technology is also working on a plan to build the National Knowledge Network under which 10,000 institutions of higher learning and research will be connected through a 1-GB net work and provide e-learning solutions," Ravi Shankar said.
With the number of mobile phone users touching a staggering 300 million and growing by about eight million per month, the Government of India sees mobile-internet as a further exponential growth platform.

SMSes vent pent up feelings

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: The Mumbai terror strikes have stirred a range of emotions among Indians. There was deep anguish, concern, anger and, of course, contempt. There also was mockery and a certain indifference in the pent up feelings. A string of SMSes that filled the inboxes of mobile phones in the last two days have carried these emotions across the nation. The tone of these short messages was loud and clear: hang the likes of Afzal Guru and put down terror with an iron hand. "Forgiving a terrorist should be left to God. But fixing their appointment with God is entirely our responsibility," read one short message which had a by-line Indian Army. This was an obvious reference to Afzal Guru, the key accused who was awarded death penalty by the Supreme Court in the attack on Parliament case. Another said: "We salute the brave officers who laid down their lives in protecting us and our country, including Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar." Yet another SMS urged people to pray for the people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. "Vote properly to make this country worth dying for," read a terse message that was ostensibly kept in circulation by police officials. In what clearly reflected the pent up feelings of the majority people in the country, one SMS contained mock anger: "Divine justice! 2004: Jayendra Saraswati implicated in murder case and jailed. Tsunami hit Tamil Nadu! 2008: ATS implicates Sadhu and Sadhvi in terror case. ATS chief dead!" There was one interesting message that landed in mobile phones on Friday suggesting that date 26 has turned out to be a doomsday, going by the chronology of events. "December 26-tsunami, January 26-Kutch quake, February 26-Godhra, June 26-Gujarat floods, July 26-Mumbai train blast, July 26-Ahmedabad blasts and November 26-Mumbai terror strikes." Yet another SMS that too vent the frustration and angst of many read: "Afzal ko maafi, Sadhvi ko faansi. RSS par pratibandh, SIMI se anubandh. Amarnath yatra par lagaan, Haj ke liye anudaan. Waakeyi... Mera Bharat Mahan!" One more interesting SMS: "Where is Raj Thackeray and his brave Sena? Tell him that 200 NSG commandos from Delhi, all south and north Indians, have been sent to Mumbai to fight the terrorists, so that he can sleep peacefully!"

The Andhra Pradesh political hot scene

DESARAJU SURYA
Elections-2009 will be by far the hottest in the history of Andhra Pradesh.
The emergence of Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) on the scene has totally altered the political dynamics in the state even as the ruling Congress party finds itself isolated. Old friends -- Telugu Desam Party, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) -- have come together once again to fight the Congress now. In 2004, the Left parties had aligned with the Congress while Telangana Rashtra Samiti was also part of the grand alliance that ousted N Chandrababu Naidu from power.TDP had only the Bharatiya Janata Party for company in 2004 but the combination could not outwit the Congress-Left-TRS combine. The 2004 poll outcome makes for an interesting study. The Congress, which polled 38.56 per cent of the total valid votes, bagged 185 seats in the 294-member state Assembly while the TDP with a 37.59 per cent vote share could manage only 47 seats. The CPI got 1.53 per cent votes (six seats), CPM 1.84 per cent (nine seats) and the TRS 6.68 per cent (26 seats) while the BJP secured 2.63 per cent and just two seats. Elections-2009 will, however, be entirely different. Despite their combination and the prospects of TRS too joining them, the TDP-Left combine cannot sit confident of a victory. Here comes the PRP into play which could mar its prospects as well as those of the ruling Congress. How much will the vote split be is hard to predict but at least in the coastal Andhra region and to some extent in Rayalaseema, Chiranjeevi's party could cast its spell. The PRP's impact is expected to be the maximum in East Godavari and West Godavari districts, which hitherto used to be the TDP's citadels. In north coastal Andhra too -- comprising Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts -- Chiranjeevi's party is likely to eat into the traditional TDP votes much to the comfort of the Congress. In the final analysis, this could prove to be the most decisive factor in determining who comes to power. Of course, the outcome in Telangana will also be crucial as the region has as many as 117 seats. The Congress, however, is putting up a brave front saying no combination or force could prevent it from retaining power. "It will be a positive vote for the government, which is quite unprecedented. The slew of welfare measures, apart from the major development works including the construction of irrigation projects, will stand us in good stead," Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy boasts. There is also widespread talk in the political circles here that another "Mega" alliance could be in the making: Chiranjeevi's PRP, bureaucrat-turned-politician N Jayprakash Narayan's Lok Satta Party and former TDP leader T Devender Goud's Nava Telangana Party. It is also being speculated that the BJP too will be part of this alliance but so far Chiranjeevi has been categorically ruling out any alliance with the saffron party. Lok Satta Party and Nava Telangana Party as such have little influence and will solely try to cash in on Chiranjeevi's charisma. Nevertheless, these combinations will certainly dent the prospects of the Congress and may well dash its hopes of retaining power in Andhra Pradesh.

Wait, wait & wait... for a SWAGRUHA

Desaraju Surya

So, the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government will finally have some “achievement” to claim credit for!
The single bedroom and double bedroom flats, numbering 1140 in all, are said to be nearing completion at Chandanagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad. This will be the first venture under the much-hyped Rajiv Swagruha scheme to be ready for inauguration soon.
But what about the others, you may wonder. The total demand for houses or flats under Swagruha scheme is over 1.74 lakh. As per the information provided by the Swagruha Corporation authorities only 17,446 flats\houses are currently being built under the scheme in different places of the state. While flats at Pocharam and Bandlaguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad have reached the slabs stage, they are still at the foundation level at Vetapalem (Prakasam district), Nellore and Khammam. In Narsaraopet, Kakinada, Mahbubnagar, Tandur (Ranga Reddy district), Nalgonda, Srikalahasthi, Rayachoti, Rajampet and Kamareddy the site clearance works are on while in Yendada near Visakhapatnam the proposed site for Swagruha houses is under development. So, these projects will take shape only in the next two years if everything goes well (like cement and steel prices remaining stable and construction workers are readily available).
Model houses are ready at Pocharam and Bandlaguda while they are being constructed in Nellore. So far the Swagruha Corporation authorities have allotted flats\houses to 35,870 of the applicants while all others have to wait for a longer period for allotment.
The Swagruha Corporation needs a total of 10,000 acres to build houses\flats for all the applicants in the urban areas of Andhra Pradesh. But only 7599 acres of land is available across the state. The Empowered Committee headed by the state Chief Commissioner of Land Administration has cleared 2846.33 acres for allotment to the Corporation of which the Corporation has taken possession of only 1023 acres.
In districts like West Godavari, Krishna, Kurnool, Anantapur and Hyderabad no land is available for these houses. Informed sources say the Swagruha Corporation has dropped the idea of building houses in a city like Vijayawada and will be returning the deposits to the applicants.
As per the original plan, the Swagruha Corporation is supposed to take up construction of 45,000 units in 2007-08 financial year, 75,000 units in 2008-09 and the balance 54,748 in 2009-10. There are just three four more months left for the completion of 2008-09 financial year but still not more than 18,000 units have been taken up out of the total 1.20 lakh. This itself reveals how pathetic the implementation of the Swagruha scheme has been.
The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh wanted to entice the so-called middle-class voters with these “affordable” houses, which should have been completed by 2009, well in time for the elections.
The “progress” of the scheme has dashed the hopes of thousands of people aspiring for a own house and it will certainly dash the hopes of the Rajasekhara Reddy government as well.
Isn’t this the “God’s own administration!” To hell with it.

BRTS in VIJAYAWADA: Not yet ready

DESARAJU SURYA
The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) will become operational in Vijayawada city only after February 2009. The Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner P S Pradyumna initially wanted to start a trial run of the system with a few compressed-natural gas-fuelled buses of the APSRTC from November 15 but reality seemed to have dawned on him after he visited Mexico, Brazil and Columbia to study the implementation of BRTS projects in those countries.
Now, the young commissioner wants to first put necessary infrastructure like bus stations, automated ticket vending machines and signalling systems in place before rushing in to kick-start the BRTS operations. Also, the system cannot be operated with the regular buses that currently ply on the city roads and only specially-designed buses will do. Hence, the wait for a few more months for the BRTS operations to be reality becomes inevitable.
The first phase of the BRTS project covers a distance of 15.5 km. The road – which is meant to be an exclusive BRTS corridor – connecting the GS Raju Road and Madhuranagar is not yet ready and it may take about two months for it to take shape.
This is the new road that is being laid following the removal of the Satyanarayanapuram railway track.
The first phase Green Corridor will have 31 bus stops – each at a distance of 500 mts and 17 traffic junctions. The signalling system which is the key to ensuring a smooth ride for BRTS buses is still not in place. Of the 15.5 km Green Corridor, only a 11-km stretch has a clear way for BRTS buses while the balance portion will have mixed traffic.
The Rs 152.64 crore BRTS project, taken up under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), will make Vijayawada the fourth city in the country after Indore, Pune and Ahmedabad and the first in south India to have such a better urban public transport system. BRTS, an environment-friendly and cost-effective urban public transport system, is an alternative between ‘unreliable’ conventional bus transport and the high-cost metro rail. Usually, it is also referred to as the ‘surface metro’ system that has a dedicated right-of-way on prime roads enabling high operating speeds. In Vijayawada, BRTS is being introduced on a pilot basis along the 15.5-km ‘Green Corridor’: from the police control room to the railway station, Satyanarayanapuram, Eluru Road, Ring Road, Benz Circle, Mahatma Gandhi Road and back to PCR. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation plans to introduce exclusive BRTS buses, each costing Rs 40 lakh, in the later stages. Though the state government approved the proposal to form the Vijayawada Metropolitan Transport Authority for operating the BRTS, it hasn’t been put in place.

Troubled flights

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: It was not the first time that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had a troubled flight in an aircraft. While the latest incident occurred early this week when the new AW139 helicopter -- delivered to the AP government only on November 5 -- developed a major technical snag following the malfunction of an electrical fuse, another incident reportedly took place a few days ago on the Bell 430-model chopper. The AW139 incident saw the light a day later but the Bell 430 incident went unreported, authoritative sources overseeing the Chief Minister's security said on condition of anonymity. Purchased by the AP government in 1998, the Bell 430 was constantly plagued by one problem or the other. In the very recent past, a minor crack was detected on the windshield of the chopper when the Chief Minister was to fly on an official trip to Nizamabad district. The pilot, however, got a clearance certificate signed by the aircraft engineer and took the VVIP "on a ride." "Strictly speaking, the Chief Minister was taken for a ride in total violation of the security norms," the sources revealed. By the time the Bell 430 returned to Hyderabad, the crack on the windshield had widened, the sources added. "Subsequently, the windshield was replaced as part of the 'routine' maintenance. Fortunately nothing untoward had happened that day," a top security official pointed out. There were a couple of occasions when wrong co-ordinates were fed into the helicopter system because of which the aircraft carrying the VVIP had to hover in air in search of the helipad for safe landing. "It was a harrowing experience once when we flew to Adilabad district. We hovered in the air for more than half an hour before we could actually locate the village where we were supposed to land," a senior official in the Chief Minister's Office recalled. Such incidents, coupled with the latest providential escape, have raised serious questions about the air safety aspect related to a VVIP like the Chief Minister. "Security officials were never taken into confidence while purchasing the new helicopter or while pressing it into service. The AW139 barely flew for an hour and it has started giving trouble. This is a matter of serious concern," a high-ranking security official lamented. The state government authorities only hope that the AW139 doesn't go the Bell 430 way and gives the Chief Minister and other VIPs a smooth flight – every time.

Roadblocks for BRTS in Vijayawada

DESARAJU SURYA
The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation is getting ready to commence a trial run of the Bus Rapid Transit System in the city from November 15. The phase-1 of the project is expected to be fully commissioned only in December 2008. However, the project has not yet taken full shape – even the first phase of it which covers a distance of 15.5 km. The road – which is meant to be an exclusive BRTS corridor – connecting the GS Raju Road and Madhuranagar is not yet ready and it may take well over a month to be in full shape. About ten CNG buses of the APSRTC will be used on a trial basis for the BRTS operations from November 15. The first phase will have 31 bus stops – each at a distance of 500 mts and 17 traffic junctions. The signalling system which is the key to ensuring a smooth ride for BRTS buses is still not in place and this leaves one wondering how safe the experiment will be. Of the 15.5 km Green Corridor, only a 11-km has a clear way for BRTS buses while the balance portion will have mixed traffic. With many impediments, doubts are being expressed whether BRTS phase-I experiment from November 15 will be a success. If things are not properly planned and organised, the BRTS experiment may result in further troubles to the road-users.
The Rs 152.64 crore BRTS project, taken up under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), will make Vijayawada the fourth city in the country after Indore, Pune and Ahmedabad and the first in south India to have such a better urban public transport system. BRTS, an environment-friendly and cost-effective urban public transport system, is an alternative between ‘unreliable’ conventional bus transport and the high-cost metro rail. Usually, it is also referred to as the ‘surface metro’ system that has a dedicated right-of-way on prime roads enabling high operating speeds. In Vijayawada, BRTS is being introduced on a pilot basis along the 15.5-km ‘Green Corridor’: from the police control room to the railway station, Satyanarayanapuram, Eluru Road, Ring Road, Benz Circle, Mahatma Gandhi Road and back to PCR. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation plans to introduce exclusive BRTS buses, each costing Rs 40 lakh, in the later stages. Though the state government approved the proposal to form the Vijayawada Metropolitan Transport Authority for operating the BRTS, it hasn’t been put in place.

Nagarjuna Akkineni endorses Cong. schemes

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: In what is seen as a "prized catch," the Congress party has succeeded in enlisting the services of Telugu film star Akkineni Nagarjuna for canvassing the Andhra Pradesh government schemes. Nagarjuna has been propagating the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government's pet schemes like the Indiramma housing, Arogya Sri health insurance, scholarships to students, old age pensions and also the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. "The numerous welfare and development schemes initiated by our government have attracted everyone not only in the state but also in the country. Nagarjuna too was impressed by the schemes and 'volunteered' to take part in the campaign for creating more awareness in the people," state Congress general secretary and MLA Nadendla Manohar said. The film commercials are currently being aired on television news channels through the state information and public relations department. This visual campaign will run till the AP Assembly elections, due in the first quarter of 2009. Asked if Nagarjuna has agreed to campaign for the party in other forms, Manohar said there was no such commitment from the former. "Nagarjuna's endorsement certainly adds value to our campaign," he said. Son of doyen of Telugu films Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nagarjuna is a star in his own right and commands equal fan following like that of Chiranjeevi and Nandamuri Balakrishna. While Chiranjeevi launched his own Praja Rajyam Party, Balakrishna will be the star campaigner for the Telugu Desam Party in the 2009 elections. Though film personalities like Krishna, Rajasekhar, Jeevita, Srihari and Jayasudha have pledged support for the Congress and are getting ready to campaign, Nagarjuna's campaign will give the much-needed "star power" for the ruling party as he wields more clout than others. Nagarjuna asserted many a time that he's not interested in politics and would not join any party. He used to campaign on educative themes like enrolment of voters, voting rights and also against criminalisation of politics in short films produced by Lok Satta, a voluntary organisation that later transformed into a political party. Nagarjuna's actress-wife Amala is an animal rights activist and also a campaigner against global warming.

Balayya unimpressive at Yuva Garjana

Desaraju Surya

Guntur: Actor Nandamuri Balakrishna has not lived up to the expectations. To put it simply, he was unimpressive. The stage was grand for his formal political debut but he could not deliver the best, not even anything better. In his 20-minute address at the mammoth Yuva Garjana (roar of youth) rally organised by the Telugu Desam Party, which witnessed a turnout of over 12 lakh people, Balakrishna merely recited a speech that he has obviously memorised. Just like a school kid would recite a lesson in a classroom. Noted Telugu film writer Paruchuri Gopala Krishna scripted the speech for Balakrishna with all the elements – the Telugu glory, NTR's legacy, the TDP's development policies and, of course, a vitriolic attack on the ruling Congress party. The script was punchy enough but not the actor. Walking across the dais, Balakrishna hurriedly blurted out what all was in his memory and often fumbled. Only towards the end of his address did Balakrishna – the son of TDP founder-president and legendary Telugu actor N T Rama Rao – gave glimpses of his dialogue delivery prowess. He was emotional all through but appeared to be equally hasty. A couple of times he was distracted when his brother Harikrishna and other TDP leaders tried to prompt something to him. Balakrishna's only "powerful" moment was when he characterised various castes and proclaimed "I am a man of all castes. I am Nandamuri Balakrishna, truly yours and one among you." He got a warm hug from his brother and TDP MP Nandamuri Harikrishna upon completion of the speech while other senior leaders of the party too complimented him.

Chiranjeevi's Yatra--1

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: If crowd turnout is to be taken as an indicator, actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi’s first leg of the state tour can be ranked as a “Mega hit.”
Chiranjeevi, who launched his Praja Rajyam Party on August 26, toured Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts in north coastal Andhra as part of his mass contact programme from October 9.
He, however, had to cut short his nine-day tour to a week because of a sore throat that made him difficult to speak. Chiranjeevi returned to Hyderabad on Thursday.
The Praja Rajyam Party chief was “attractive” in his first public show – off screen.
All along his road show, Chiranjeevi was at times straight forward, at times attacking. At times he was emotional and at times he was his normal self – like the actor that he was, enthralling the crowds with some histrionics.
From the huge crowds that assembled at his road shows there were nothing but cheers all through his yatra. His political opponents, however, made snide remarks about the actor’s new avatar, often trying to deride and provoke him.
“I am into politics at the call of my beloved people. The rest of my life is dedicated to your service,” Chiranjeevi repeatedly declared.
“My mother called me one day on phone and asked ‘Do you really need to suffer the heat and dust, besides the unwanted criticism?’ I told her ‘Amma, crores of people are suffering a lot than me. There is no hand to wipe their tears. They wanted me to join politics and serve them. How many would get such an opportunity?’ She then blessed and asked me to surge forward,” Chiranjeevi told a mammoth crowd at Vizianagarm, trying to strike an emotional chord.
Crowds always keep Chiranjeevi pumped up – from the days he was an actor. He opens his heart out and asserts he would always be indebted to them.
In his new incarnation as a politician, Chiranjeevi precisely tried to display the same kind of affection towards the “common people.”
The PRP supremo was vehement in his criticism of the ruling Congress party, particularly over the forcible acquisition of agriculture lands for special economic zones and industrial development. He was “enraged” by the “deep-rooted” corruption that was causing all evils in the society and suppressing development.
He attacked the Congress over the corruption in irrigation projects, permanent housing scheme for the poor and other welfare programmes and exhorted the people to be vigilant.
The Congress was, however, not kind to his diatribe and launched a counter-attack claiming Chiranjeevi evaded income tax by concealing his real income from films.
The actor, too, lost no time in hitting back with a counter: “Had I been a tax-evader, why would the income tax department honour me with an award for prompt payment?”
To the remarks that he was a “political novice,” Chiranjeevi’s retort was: “If looting public money is politics, then I am certainly a novice.”
The PRP chief also used the tour to reveal his party’s policies and focus areas. “All students belonging to backward classes will get free education up to all levels. We will ensure uninterrupted quality power supply free-of-cost to the farm sector. Small and medium industries will be promoted to provide job opportunities for the rural youth,” Chiranjeevi promised.
After a few days of rest, Chiranjeevi will hit the road once again and tour a couple of districts in Telangana region in the third week of October, PRP sources indicated.

Nandamuri Balakrishna's political (re)entry

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: After Chiranjeevi, another Telugu film star Nandamuri Balakrishna is all set to make his political debut soon. The son of Telugu Desam Party founder-president and legendary actor N T Rama Rao, Balakrishna will plunge into active politics on October 24 with the Yuva Garjana being organised by the TDP at Guntur. Upcoming Telugu film stars from the Nandamuri clan and nephews of Balakrishna-Kalyan Ram, Tarakaratna and NTR (Junior)-will also be using the same platform to make their political debuts as well. Balakrishna is the brother-in-law of current TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu. His daugther Brahmani is married to Naidu's son Lokesh. Balakrishna used to actively campaign for TDP when his father held the reigns but stayed away from politics after Naidu took over. In fact, N T Rama Rao had declared Balakrishna as his heir not only in films but also in politics. The rise of Chandrababu Naidu in a coup, however, left NTR's dream shattered. The coup against N T Rama Rao in 1995 had distanced Naidu from other members of the NTR family for many years. In 2007, however, the family ties were restored after Balakrishna got his daughter Brahmani married to Lokesh. For about 10 months now, TDP has been sparing no effort to rope Balakrishna into the party in the wake of Chiranjeevi's political plans.
Balakrishna, who began his acting career as a teenager under the direction of his father, acted in about 80 Telugu films so far and has a strong fan following across Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu Desam Party strongly believes Balakrishna and his nephews can effectively counter the Chiranjeevi impact and help the party realise its objective of returning to power. Hence, the rank and file of TDP exerted pressure on Chandrababu Naidu to rope in Balakrishna and the three young heroes. Obliging them, Naidu held a series of interactions with Balakrishna, Kalyan Ram, Tarakaratna and NTR Jr and prevailed upon them to work for the party. Naidu's other brother-in-law and Balakrishna's elder brother Harikrishna played a key role in enlisting the services of the Nandamuri heroes for the party. Incidentally, Harikrishna, now a member of Rajya Sabha, also acted in a few films in lead roles and Kalyan Ram and NTR Jr are his sons. NTR Jr had campaigned on behalf of TDP candidate Kodali Srivenkateswara Rao in Gudivada in Krishna district in the 2004 elections. Kalyan Ram and Tarakaratna too are yet to make a mark as heroes but their family lineage has helped them stay in the limelight. The TDP, however, is clearly banking on them to brighten its political fortunes.

Adding salt to injury

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh finds itself stifled as unrest among farmers – over forcible acquisition of lands and the administration's failure to supply fertilizers this season – is mounting. Now, the weavers' deaths have left the government totally beleaguered. Seizing the opportunity, opposition parties in the state are adding salt to the injury by upping their ante against the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy administration, espousing the cause of the distressed farmers and weavers. At least six weavers in Sircilla region of Karimnagar district died in the last one week. Three of the six had committed suicide, while others were reportedly starvation deaths. At a time when it is battling hard to pacify the restive farmers, the growing deaths of weavers have come as a rude shock to the state government. All claims of Rajasekhara Reddy and his Cabinet colleagues over the series of measures being implemented for the welfare of weavers proved hollow. Only last week, the Congress government claimed to have extended a relief package of Rs 1.5 lakh each to families of weavers who either committed suicide or died of starvation over the past few years. "We have provided housing and also set up a textile park in the region to improve their working conditions and ensure better livelihood," the government claimed, as a reaction to Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi's visit to Sircilla. Besides, a loan waiver scheme for weavers was also under consideration, it said. As if calling the government's bluff, three weavers ended their lives on Saturday. "What is the government's answer to this," Chiranjeevi questioned even as three state ministers rushed to Sircilla to console the victims' families. The Congress party announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25,000 each to the kin of deceased besides promising Rs one lakh per family towards the education of children. The Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust too paid Rs 25,000 to each family while the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the CPI offered Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 per family respectively. Chiranjeevi said rather than tall claims, the government should come out with measures that provide a permanent solution to the weavers' plight. "The Rajasekhara Reddy government is under the illusion that there is no anti-incumbency. But it is a strong undercurrent, the shocks of which will be felt in the ensuing election," leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu has warned.

All's not well in Praja Rajyam

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Barely one month into its existence, the Praja Rajyam Party of Telugu Mega Star Chiranjeevi seems to be bogged down by internal strife. "Fans" of the star are miffed at being "sidelined" by the politicians who are trying to hog the limelight in the company of Chiranjeevi. "We are getting a raw deal in the party," president of a district Chiranjeevi fans association lamented at the Praja Rajyam Party office here. Ironically, senior political leaders who jumped into the actor's outfit leaving their parent parties too aren't exactly happy with the state of affairs in Praja Rajyam. The coterie around Chiranjeevi is reportedly trying to "dictate terms" even to seasoned politicians who earlier held important positions in their parties as well as the government. Now, some of such leaders are apparently regretting their decision to join hands with Chiranjeevi. "It's a different kind of mess out here," one former minister said. "People here seem to have lot of airs about themselves. You don't find such a situation in any political party," he pointed out. Worse, enthusiastic people who are thronging the Praja Rajyam office in Jubilee Hills here to catch a glimpse of Chiranjeevi are literally being necked out by over-zealous security personnel. This has become a "routine" affair at the party office, the people complain. Even those accompanying party leaders are not being allowed entry into the Praja Rajyam office causing heartburn not only in the people but also the leaders. Two days ago, a woman leader of the party – who switched sides from the Telugu Desam – had faced an ignominious experience when one of Chiranjeevi's brothers came to the party office. The security personnel reportedly asked the leader, a former legislator, to "stand up" as "sir" was coming. As she refused to oblige, Chiranjeevi's brother allegedly pulled up the security personnel for having failed to "follow the system." Knowing this, the woman leader left the party office in a huff. Things at the party office apart, happenings in the districts are also leaving Chiranjeevi's fans seething. Chiranjeevi's youngest brother and actor Pavan Kalyan is reportedly encouraging certain groups in every district to run shows parallel to the former's fans. "This is leaving everyone confused," one district president of Chiranjeevi fans pointed out. Already, the actor's fans and the politicians are at loggerheads over managing the party affairs in the districts and the latest developments will only complicate matters further, it is feared. As usual, the Chiranjeevi camp seems to have not yet taken note of the goings on in the party. The simmering differences will come out in the open once Chiranjeevi begins his tour of the districts early October.

Politics of hate

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: They romanced him in reel life but have now been spitting venom on him in real life. Actresses-turned-politicians Vijaya Santhi and R K Roja are now apparently leaving no occasion to lash out at Chiranjeevi, who launched his Praja Rajyam Party last month. Vijaya Santhi paired with Chiranjeevi in as many as 18 films, the maximum any heroine has done with him, while Roja starred in only two films opposite the Telugu Mega Star. After having sailed with the Bharatiya Janata Party for many years, Vijaya Santhi floated her own political outfit – the Talli Telangana Party – a couple of years ago espousing the separate statehood cause. Roja is now heading Telugu Mahila, the women’s wing of Telugu Desam Party. Both have been taking a dig at Chiranjeevi ever since he jumped into active politics by launching his own party. “How can one expect a man, who has done nothing for the welfare of the film industry workers, to work for the welfare of the people at large,” wondered Roja, firing her first salvo at Chiranjeevi soon after he formally made his political arangetram. Vijaya Santhi, on the other hand, took a dig at the Mega Star for failing to come out with a clear stand on the Telangana issue. “He is trying to hoodwink people on Telangana,” she had said. After Chiranjeevi undertook his first mass contact programme by meeting handloom weavers in Sircilla, Roja unleashed a fresh round of attack on the former by dubbing the trip as a “mere vote-garnering exercise.” “Chiranjeevi had never aided the people in times of natural disasters like the tsunami or cyclones or incidents like bomb blasts. He’s now shedding crocodile tears over the plight of weavers,” Roja said, addressing a gathering of Telugu Yuvatha workers and IT professionals at the TDP office. Around the same time, Vijaya Santhi too was also making snide remarks against the Praja Rajyam Party chief saying “he is a rank junior to me in politics. Don’t compare me to him.” People of Telangana would not trust Chiranjeevi’s words as he lacked sincerity, she said and cautioned him not to take people of the region for granted. While verbal attacks from other political leaders are obvious, the Praja Rajyam Party leader is also having to contend with diatribe from his erstwhile colleagues in the film industry. Besides Roja and Vijaya Santhi, notable Chiranjeevi critics in the film industry are actor Rajasekhar and his actress-turned-director wife Jeevita and producer Tammareddi Bharadwaja. Bharadwaja produced two films with Chiranjeevi in his initial years as an actor while Rajasekhar did a bit role in only one Chiranjeevi film. Rajasekhar and Jeevita have recently joined the Congress party in the state. For now, the Praja Rajyam camp is maintaining a calculated silence on the criticism and will react only at an “appropriate time.”

Apple iPhone-3G: Too much to bear for Indians

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Gadget-lovers had been eagerly awaiting the official launch of Apple’s iconic iPhone in India for some months now. But, the two mobile service providers, who tied up with Apple for delivering the iPhone to Indians, have virtually poured cold water on the hopes of millions of eager customers by fixing an abnormally high price.
Both Vodafone-Essar and Bharti Airtel have priced the iPhone-3G (8GB memory) variant at Rs 31,000 and the 16GB variant at Rs 36,100. Vodafone has started sending SMSes on Wednesday to its customers, who pre-registered for the iPhone, quoting the price and asking them to pay an advance of Rs 10,000 to ensure early delivery of the gadget.
Airtel has not yet formally announced the price but information posted on its website indicated that the price of iPhone gadgets would be the same as quoted by Vodafone.
These phones are locked by the respective cellular service providers and will work only on those networks.
As per the prevailing market rate, the price for a 8GB variant works to 708 US dollars and for 16GB 824 USD. Just a month ago, the iPhone-3G was launched in Japan for 214 USD (8GB) and 321 USD (16GB) by Softbank, but it was a bundle offer wherein customers are required to subscribe to that particular service.
In Europe, iPhone-3G is available for not more than 400 USD.
In the US, the 8GB variant comes for 199 USD and the 16GB for 299 USD. Of course, there too the gadget is locked to the AT&T network. An unlocked version too was made available in the US for 550 USD.
Comparing the price in other countries, the Indian customers will certainly feel let down by the two cellular service providers who are clearly trying to “exploit” the craze for the iPhone. Vodafone and Airtel would have done well to extend bundle offers to their customers and fix a much lesser price for the iPhone-3G. It would have been beneficial to both the service providers as well as the customers. But so far, neither Vodafone nor Airtel spoke of any such offers.
In fact, the high price may well turn into customer anger against the two companies who may not like to be taken for granted. People already started questioning the prices being quoted for the iPhone-3G at a time when the 3G (third generation) services are not yet available in India. It is expected that the 3G services will be formally be available in the country only next year after the Department of Telecommunications finalises the bids for spectrum and grant licenses to service providers.
In the absence of 3G services, the iPhone will best serve as a mobile phone clubbed with an iPod. Nothing more than that, certainly.
And in Indian prices of fancy electronic gadgets always witness a free fall. There is no guarantee that the iPhone-3G prices remain the same. Unless, of course, the two cellular service providers adopt dubious methods to secure their market.
Already, hundreds of iPhones – ‘imported’ from the US and elsewhere -- are being used by scores of Indians and many gadgets are readily available in the grey market. Given the technical expertise our people have, it is no deal to unlock an iPhone and it has already been done successfully.
So, any prudent one would as well choose to get one iPhone from abroad and get it unlocked here.
And, no body knows whether the 3G services will really click and what the tariffs will be. Given the high cost of securing 3G spectrum, one may obviously expect the service providers to fix the 3G tariff on the higher side. This too could act as a deterrent for customers to avail of the services, at least initially.
So, all such factors do really count. Whether iPhone-3G can really penetrate the Indian market as initially expected remains to be seen.

Living up to a role

DESARAJU SURYA

The year: 1993.
The film: Mutha Mestri.
Chiranjeevi plays a labour leader-turned-politician in the film directed by A Kodandarami Reddy. It was the only time that Chiru donned a politician’s cap in his 148 movies.
The character in the film Subhas Chandra Bose, a labour leader in a vegetable market, becomes a minister rather by accident. Bose, as a minister, tries to cleanse a system that had been depriving the poor of their livelihood. At the end, Bose is offered the Chief Minister’s post but he humbly rejects it and bids adieu to politics.
“Don’t think I am quitting politics in toto. I shall come back at an appropriate time to play a major role,” Bose asserts, as a parting shot.
Somehow, that role had cast a spell on Chiranjeevi’s fans. Ever since, they had been longing to see him as a politician to “cleanse” the “system.”
Chiranjeevi, who was at the peak of his stardom in the film industry, quietly used to brush aside all such talk.
The star, however, took up social service activities like blood donation and eye donation through his Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust and won acclaim from all quarters. He also was part of the Heroes AIDS awareness campaign along with Hollywood actor Richard Gere and Kamal Hassan. These activities have endeared him to the masses and made him an icon-of-sorts.
In 2003, there was widespread anticipation of Chiranjeevi taking a political plunge either by launching his own party or by joining the Telugu Desam, then in power. The silver jubilee function of his blockbuster movie Indra was supposed to be his political launch pad but Chiranjeevi belied all expectations.
Cut to 2008, 15 years down the line. At long last, Chiranjeevi bids adieu to films to take a political plunge. A “turning point” in his life, as he himself put it!

Chiranjeevi makes it, finally.

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad, Aug. 17: Telugu Mega Star Chiranjeevi has finally turned a politician on Sunday after having kept everyone guessing for over 10 months now.
He has formally announced his entry into the political arena but reserved the launch of his yet-unnamed political party for August 26, the birth anniversary of Mother Teresa. A mammoth public meeting is being organized in Tirupati on August 26 where Chiranjeevi’s party will formally be launched.
He is the second film star after the late legendary Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, aka NTR, to launch his own political party in Andhra Pradesh. Of course, Chiranjeevi pales in comparison with NTR in every respect.
“This is an unforgettable day in my life, a day that has altered the course of my life. I am dedicating myself to the service of the people of Andhra Pradesh,”Chiranjeevi announced at a crowded press conference at his new party office in Hyderabad. It was a wonderful opportunity given by the people to serve them.
Claiming that his party would be “different” with a “pro-poor” agenda, Chiranjeevi said uplift of the poor and ensuring a better life for them would top his priorities.
“Former President A P J Abdul Kalam was the driving force behind my decision to enter politics. It would have been a historic blunder had I shied away from taking the political plunge,” Chiranjeevi said, adding that the late N T Rama Rao too had inspired him to take up public service.
“I am entering the political field with the only objective of serving the people and not with any ambition of securing power,” the Mega Star declared. The “shift” (from tinsel town to the murky world of politics) also gave him self-satisfaction.
Observing that it was a new role that he has chosen, Chiranjeevi said there was no scope for any action in politics. “I have to literally live up to the role,” he said.
Noting that he had no “political rivals” in the state, the actor-turned-politician remarked that everybody had inspired him in one way or the other. “Poverty and hunger are my rivals,” he said. When questioned about his “inexperience” in politics, Chiranjeevi said people were his teachers and he would learn from them.
On controversial issues like demand for a separate Telangana state, the actor said his party would discuss such “sensitive” issues threadbare and come out with a clear stand soon.
Reacting to the observation that he was too “sensitive” a person, Chiranjeevi remarked: “Sensitiveness is my asset. I can appreciate people’s problems better.”
Asked if he was a leftist or a rightist, he replied: “I am a humanist. Mine is humanism.”
On whether he had called it quits to films, Chiranjeevi said: “It’s a shift from the film world but I shall like to do roles that are educative and useful for the society.”
From where would he contest the next election? “It is for the people to decide. People from all regions of the state love me, so it’s difficult for me to choose a particular constituency,” Chiranjeevi replied.
Now, the focus shift’s to the Tirupati public meeting where the party’s name and agenda will be announced. The party’s flag will also be unveiled on the occasion.

The rise of a MEGA STAR

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: From a dynamic hero to a daring, dashing and dynamic hero to a supreme hero and then a Mega Star, Konidela Siva Sankara Varaprasad alias Chiranjeevi has indeed come a long way in his three-decade-long film career. Born on August 22, 1955, at Mogalturu in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Chiranjeevi obtained a bachelor’s degree in commerce before embarking on his filmy career. He went to Madras (now Chennai) in January 1977 on the pretext of pursuing ICWA course but instead landed up in the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce’s Film Institute. Acting was his passion and becoming a star was his ambition. Even as he was learning the nuances of acting at the Film Institute, opportunity came knocking on him in the form of a bit role in Punadirallu, directed by Gudapati Rajkumar, in 1978. And, he never had to look back again though he did not have any so-called Godfather in the Telugu film industry. His first film that hit the screens, however, was Pranam Kharidu in September 1978. His sharp eyes were the main attraction in Chiranjeevi that prompted many a producer and director to offer roles of varied shades in their movies. And, the roles landed in his lap one after the other in quick succession. Be it a villain (Idi Kadha Kadu, directed by K Balachander) or an anti-hero (Nyayam Kaavali, directed by A Kodandarami Reddy) or side roles in films like Manavuri Paandavulu (directed by Bapu), Chiranjeevi grabbed them all with the only objective of proving his mettle. In Nakili Manishi (1980), he played his first dual role – a hero and a villain – with effortless ease and won the industry’s acclaim. The same year, AVM Studios handpicked him for the lead role in their film Punnami Nagu which won him the first Filmfare award. By then Chiranjeevi had gradually established himself in the industry and offers never ceased to pour in. In the early years of his career, Chiranjeevi acted alongside all the top heroes of the time, including N T Rama Rao, Krishna, Krishnam Raju and Sobhan Babu, but had to wait a good 17 years to co-star with Akkineni Nageswara Rao. In 1980, Chiranjeevi married noted comedian Allu Ramalingaiah’s daughter Surekha. The turning point in Chiranjeevi’s career came in October 1983 when Khaidi was released. The angry young man’s character he played, coupled with some breathtaking dance movements, has catapulted Chiranjeevi into stardom. Though there were many other major hits under his belt in the latter half of his career, Khaidi still remains his best. In fact, Chiranjeevi himself rates Khaidi as his favourite film. Subsequent hits like Challenge, Pasivadi Pranam, Yamudiki Mogudu, Attaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu, Gang Leader, Swayamkrushi, Donga Mogudu, Vijetha, Kondaveeti Donga, Raakshasudu, Gharana Mogudu and Jagadekaveerudu Atiloka Sundari, Rowdy Alludu – to name a few – have firmly established him as the Number One in Telugu film industry for two decades. Chiranjeevi excelled in the portrayal of Lord Siva in films like Aapatbandhavudu and Sri Manjunatha. In his second innings as a hero, Chiranjeevi had mega hits like Annayya, Bavagaru Bagunnara, Indra, Shankar Dada MBBS and Tagore. Films like Indra and Tagore have given him a large-than-life image, though strictly speaking the real actor in him could not be found in those characters as he deliberately tried to build an aura around himself through such roles. Among his critically-acclaimed films are Subhalekha, Swayamkrushi, Aapatbandhavudu (all directed by K Viswanath), Vijetha and Rudraveena (K Balachander). The multi-faceted talent of Chiranjeevi could be found in these films. Chiranjeevi won the Golden Nandi award for best actor from the state government for Swayamkrushi, Aapatbandhavudu and Indra and also won six Filmfare awards among many others in his career. His first home production Rudraveena fetched him the Nargis Dutt award from the Government of India for the best film on national integration. Chiranjeevi also starred in three Hindi films: Pratibandh (remake of Telugu hit Ankusam), Aaj Ka Gundaraj (remake of his own Telugu hit Gang Leader) and Gentleman (remake of the Tamil hit).

Be all, Do all - CHIRU!

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: I am one of the millions of die-hard fans of Mega Star Chiranjeevi, the actor. I am, however, not euphoric as he dons a new role now – a politician.
In fact, I abhor to see him as a politician. This is not without reason, though.
Primarily, Chiranjeevi is a very good human being, totally down-to-earth. He loves people and the adulation he receives from them. He always strove to give his best in front of the camera – be it in dancing, fighting or plain acting. He has excelled as an actor far beyond expectations.
Through his three-decade-long film career Chiranjeevi was never found wanting and almost delivered what audiences expected from him. His focus was purely on excelling as an actor and reaching the pinnacle of glory. And, he succeeded in it through sheer hard work and dedication.
Cut this to the real life. Chiranjeevi is never known to take his own decisions and has entirely depended on his brother-in-law and Man Friday Allu Aravind – be it managing his call-sheets or finances, choice of films and practically everything. So much so that Chiranjeevi doesn’t – or simply can’t – do anything without the guidance of Aravind. Nobody should grudge this as far as Chiranjeevi’s personal affairs are concerned.
But when it comes to public life as a politician, who has his eyes set on the Chief Minister’s chair, Chiranjeevi is required to be the “be all and do all” man. Can he really be so? I strongly doubt his ability in this regard – likes scores of others do.
This precisely takes the sting out of the Chiranjeevi aura and puts him in a dark light. Even if Chiranjeevi tries to impress upon the people that no outside influence would act on him, it can’t be taken on face value. For, history is replete with examples of “external forces” who wield greater authority in the corridors of power than the powers that be. It may happen even with Chiranjeevi and all talk of his idealism and the “change” that he aims to bring about in the “system” will turn hollow.
We can’t really wish away the likes of Allu Aravind from Chiranjeevi’s life but the latter should be bold enough to show them their place in the public domain. It’s the only way he could reinforce his image in the hearts of the people, even as a politician.

An unrealised dream for Chiru

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: He played a villain, an anti-hero, lover boy, lawyer, dancer, ruffian, a Cowboy, politician, a sportsman, a thief, a cobbler, a murderer, professor, Lord Siva, IPS officer, industrialist, Charlie Chaplin, a woman and a host of other characters in the 148 films he has acted in, in a career spanning 30 years.
Konidela Siva Sankara Varaprasad, alias Chiranjeevi, however, could not play his dream role – the one that’s close to his heart.
Ever since he became an actor in 1978, Chiranjeevi wanted to don legendary freedom fighter and martyr Bhagat Singh’s role as the latter was always his “inspiration.” Sometime after his first mighty hit Khaidi was released in late 1983, Chiranjeevi himself had stated this in an interview to a film magazine. Years passed and he gradually was caught in a rigid image frame which did not allow him to do off beat roles like Bhagat Singh. Hence, it remained an unrealized dream for Chiranjeevi.
I had a chance meeting Chiranjeevi in December 1995 in Vijayawada when I broached the issue with him. “Yes, it is certainly my dream role but I am unable to don it because of my current image. People are used to my dances and fights and Bhagat Singh’s role certainly doesn’t have scope for this. I doubt if my fans would accept me in that role, so I am hesitant to do Bhagat Singh,” Chiranjeevi had admitted.
He was repentant but was equally helpless! A price he had to pay for being a Mega Star!
Interestingly, Chiranjeevi never again spoke about his dream role as he acquired a larger-than-life image as an actor.

Study into suicides

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has commissioned a study on cause and effect of suicides in Ranga Reddy district.
A team of sociologists and psychologists of SwC Consulting will undertake the study and submit a report to the Planning Department in three months. Ranga Reddy has been chosen for the study as urbanisation is fastest in the district and it also has the right kind of urban, semi-urban and rural mix that could provide the right analyses for the growing number of suicides.
It is not just the farmers in rural areas who have been taking their own lives but many urbanites, particularly those in the so-called IT district, and students who are resorting to suicide of late.
One of the major causes for suicides is said to be a lack of social support system for those facing crises. Stress-related suicides are said to be on the increase in the recent past.
"There is a certain socio-psychological disconnect which is driving many to suicide as the social coping mechanism has failed," according to special chief secretary (planning) A K Goel. The psychological disconnect was being attributed to increased sociological stress and this was leading to suicides by urbanites. "The intensity of suicides is no less in urban areas as compared to rural. Earlier we used to talk about suicides by farmers, because of economic distress, but now even those well-placed in urban areas are increasingly resorting to such extreme acts," Goel observed.
Sociologist V Radha Krishna, who is piloting the study, pointed out that rapid urbanisation was one of the main reasons for the growing number of suicides. "There are many such factors contributing to suicides. As part of our study we would like to focus on the specific reasons and suggest possible preventive measures with special focus on social capital development," Radha Krishna said.
The Planning Department had previously studied the reasons that drove farmers in various parts of the state to suicide. Based on the study the government came out with a relief package to help the distressed families. "The latest study will help the government take appropriate enabling action to prevent incidence of suicides," special chief secretary Goel added.

Living in many roles

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: A photo exhibition greets visitors to the N T R TrustBhavan, the Telugu Desam Party headquarters in Hyderabad. The photo expo is a constant feature at the TDP office. Large-size pictures of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu taking part in various party programmes and other engagements are put on display. And, the show is constantly updated as fresh pictures start pouring in almost daily. With Chandrababu Naidu on his Mee Kosam Yatra across the state -- meeting people, addressing meetings and doing practically everything to impress every section of the society – lensmen are having a field day. The TDP photographer who takes Naidu’s pictures on the tour, digitally transmits them to the party headquarters and the photos are uploaded immediately on the party’s official website. Besides, enlarged prints of the pictures are taken and put on display at the Trust Bhavan. There is otherwise nothing special about this entire exercise. But, the pictures of Mee Kosam Yatra are looking very interesting. During his Yatra, Naidu has been doing one too many things, much to the amusement of one and all. He tilled land, cradled infants, took to the wheel of a lorry, drove an autorickshaw, tried his hand at weaving, ironed clothes, cut paddy crop and what not… donned many an artisan’s cap to drive home the point that he was, after all, their man. Though he walked into a saloon, Naidu did not do anything except interact with the barber. All these pictures were promptly put on show at the TDP office after the newspapers prominently published them. While almost all pictures looked “routine,” one particular picture attracted everyone’s attention – and snide comments as well. Here Naidu was standing below a palm tree glancing at a toddy-tapper who was climbing down the tree. Naidu later sipped the toddy offered and thanked the toddy-tapper. He, however, did not attempt to climb the tree and try his hand at toddy tapping. “Why did he not climb the tree when he did everything else everywhere,” one wag wondered. Another scribe was quick to react with a sharp reply: “No advance security check was conducted on top of the tree. So, his security personnel did not allow Naidu to accomplish even this task as well.” Now, with Naidu’s yatra in its final lap, one wonders what other role is left for him to don!

Ganesha to sink in Hussain Sagar

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: It would be business as usual in the Andhra Pradesh capital this Vinayaka Chaviti season.
Thousands of Ganesh idols -- of all hues and sizes -- will find their way into Hussain Sagar this year too even as the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority will be taking up the Rs 316 crore Hussain Sagar Lake and Catchment Area Improvement Project, with a loan from the Japan Bank for International Co-operation.
The project is intended to clean up the rotting lake and lessen the pollution caused by industrial effluents, domestic sewerage and, of course, immersion of Ganesh idols. Last year, an estimated 25,000 idols of varying sizes were immersed in Hussain Sagar after Vinayaka Chaviti.
With Huda finally launching the lake improvement project this year after a delay of two years, everyone hoped that idol immersion would not be permitted in Hussain Sagar. But no alternative arrangements have been made to rid the Hussain Sagar of its annual quota of muck and hence the immersion process will continue in the main lake itself.
"The lake improvement project will begin with the construction of sewerage treatment plants at various locations from where sewerage and other effulents flow into Hussain Sagar. The main emphasis will be to reduce the discharge of effluents and sewerage into the lake and contain pollution," a senior Huda official pointed out.
The Huda planned to develop segregated ponds in about nine water bodies in and around Hyderabad exclusively for immersion of Ganesh idols. This proposal was in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board.A segregated immersion pond in 1.2 acres was built in the Safilguda lake using a coffer dam, also known as mini Tankbund, in 2006 as a pilot project exclusively for Ganesh idol immersion. More than 1100 huge idols of Lord Ganesha were immersed in the special pond apart from many smaller ones. Special arrangements were made to drain out the water after the immersion process, making it easy for clearing the debris.
The experiment was extended to Saroornagar lake, Rangadhamuni Cheruvu and Hasmathpet Cheruvu last year.
The Huda wanted to make similar arrangements in other lakes such as Mir Alam tank, Amber Cheruvu, Patan Cheruvu, Langar Houz Lake and Kapra. Besides, a portion of Hussainsagar in front of KIMS Hospital on the Minister's Road was also proposed to be converted into a segregated pond for idol immersion.
But so far the proposals have remained only on paper. "These ponds were proposed to be built as part of the lake improvement project but court cases have hampered our efforts," Buddha Purnima Project Authority officer-on-special-duty N Chandramohan Reddy said.
The Huda has been fighting cases for sometime now against those who encroached many lakes around the city. Till the litigations are cleared, the Huda will not be in a position to take up any works on the lakes. Hence the delay in construction of segregated immersion ponds, according to official sources.

Making amends

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Fearing a negative fallout of the "stifling" regulations in the
different master plans under Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (Huda), the
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department has amended certain provisions in the relevant rules but has not provided "required relief" to real-estate developers.
As developers cried foul over the "stifling" regulations in the revised master plan of Huda and also the master plan of ORR Growth Corridor, the MAUD sought to "ease" certain clauses even as a writ petition challenging the provisions in the master plan was slated for hearing in the High Court.
The MAUD came out with the amendments following representations made by builders, property developers and representatives of commerce and industry, who pointed out that the regulations would adversely affect the realty sector and make the projects unviable.
"After careful examination of the matter and having regard to the recent slump in the real-estate sector, these amendments are being issued," MAUD principal secretary S P Singh said. The amendments will also be applicable to the Development Promotion Regulations of Hyderabad Airport Development Authority master plan.
As per the amendments, developers will now be not required to "gift" five per cent of the developed area to Huda but instead will be required to pay for it in a different form -- 1.5 times the basic value of such land in lieu. The earlier rule stipulated that developers gift five per cent of land to Huda "for disposal for residential\commercial use." But now, the amended provisions say the said land was intended for "provision of master plan facilities." This condition will, however, be applicable only to sites located outside the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits.
Developers see this as a ploy by the government to avoid legal complications as the provision for "gifting" as such is against the Constitution.
The latest amendments also brought down the reservation of land for Economically Weaker Section housing from 10 to five per cent but another new provision has been added under the Group Housing Schemes wherein the developers will be required to part with three per cent of land free of cost to Huda for provision of master plan facilities.
The percentage of land to be reserved for Low-Income Group housing needs has also been brought down from 10 to five while reservation for Middle-Income Group has been done away with.
One relief which the developers have welcomed is the provision of incentives in the form of waiver of applicable fees and other charges on EWS plots or dwelling units. This besides the scope to develop land for EWS houses within a five-km radius of the existing site.
"The incentives are sure a relief for the developers but we primarily want the gift clause scrapped in toto and in every form," AP Builders Forum chairman C Sekhar Reddy asserted.