Psychopath techie killer on loose in AP

By U Sudhakar Reddy
The state police is on the lookout for Nalla Nagendar Reddy, a psychopathic techie killer, who has been involved in several murders in the state, Karnataka and London. Officials from Interpol and Hertfordshire, UK, have approached the Crime Investigation Department seeking his arrest and extradition.
Nagendar has escaped from the police twice in the past three years and is an accused in six murders. He attempted suicide on May 8 by slitting his wrist in the prison in Belgaum and was shifted to a hospital there, from where he escaped on May 11 after killing a policeman in the hospital.
In London, he allegedly killed and then burnt Ch. Radhakrishna for property. The 27-year-old software professional is a native of Subashnagar in Nizamabad and has many alias names such as Vishnu, Indira Kumar, Madhu Kumar, John and Mural. Sources in the police said that Nagendar Reddy allegedly murdered Chepooru Radhakrishna in England in September 2004 and later escaped to India.
Radhakrishna was repeatedly stabbed and his body was wrapped in a carpet, placed in a suitcase and transported in car to Aldenham in Hertfordshire in England. The body was burnt later by the killer and dumped at Aldenham. In the dossier submitted to the CID by the Hertfordshire police, the motive behind Radhakrishna’s murder was to gain financially from the sale of his property.
After a few days Nagendar Reddy sold his car and later sold the property belonging to Radhakrishna including a mobile telephone, laptop, a camcorder to one Waseem Bhatti, who later identified Nagendar Reddy from photographs. He left London in December 2004 and came to Hyderabad.
Handwriting analysis done by the Hertfordshire police has revealed that Nagendar Reddy was responsible for the transactions on Radhakrishna’s credit and debit card accounts. According to the police, he was involved in an automobile theft at Afzalgunj in Hyderabad in 2006.
He is also involved in a case at Victoria police station in Bengaluru. He is also involved in murders at Secunderabad and Karnataka.

Kalpavriksha(adansonia) face threat on NH-9 extension

By Udumula Sudhakar Reddy

Mythological Kalpavriksha known as Baobab trees are facingextinction due to the extension work of National Highway 9 from Hyderabad toVijayawada.As per botanists there are only eight such trees aged hundreds to thousands of years ofold in the State and mostly distributed in Krishna district along the highway. There is onetree in Golconda in Hyderabad and other near Hayatnagar in Ranga Reddy district.Scientist found that tree with several medicinal properties is facing serious threat to roaddevelopment works. Baobab is scientifically known as Adansonia digitata and known asKalpavriksha as the tree that provides food, water, shelter and has medicinal values.Mr A Ravi Kiran a research fellow with National Remote Sensing Centre in the city said,"We have found there are six plants in and around Krishna district. One them is locatedat Share Mohammedpet, four at Chillakallu and other one at Machilipatnam. Centre hasdecided to extend NH-9 and this is now posing a big threat to rare species of the plantdue to habitat loss,"Mr Ravi Kiran said that the tree is a native of Africa and it bears very large and heavywhite flowers. "the tree stores several litres of water and during extreme dry conditionpeople used to depend on it for water. they are pollinated by fruit bats. Their fruits arefilled with pulp and after drying it looks like dry bread. Kalpavriksha means wish fulfillingtree. It looks like upside down with branches appearing as roots,"Ecologists have asked AP Forest and Environment department to conserve these plantsfor ecological sustain ability. Botanists from Vijayawada are also working on tissueculture of the plant.One of the tree aged 700-year old situated near Golconda fort in the city has a 36 squarefeet hollow and accommodate at least 12 persons.According Environmental Information System on Medicinal plants of the centre thesetrees are medicine plants and are used in Ayurveda, Folk, Unani and Sidha medicinalsystems.Baobab tree leave have several magically medicinal properties and can be used invarious deficiencies of calcium, vitamin B-1 (Thiamine), Vitamin B-2 (Riboflavin), andVitamin C. Few leaves of Baobab everyday can help in supplementing the nutritionalneeds Botanists said. It has also anti allergic, anti asthmatic and anti malarial propertiesand used for gastro intestinal disorders like constipation and acidity."the roots can also be tapped for water. Water collected in trunk was source of water fortravellers earlier," said Ravi Kiran. The tree near Hayatnagar was facing extinction dueto Out Ring Road officials said. Vernacularly in Telugu it is also known asBrahmamalika.

Efforts for conservation of Pulasa fish germplasm

By Udumula Sudhakar Reddy

A P Biodiversity Board has began the process of the preservation ofgermplasm of Queen of the fishes locally known as Pulasa found in Godavaribackwaters.The fish germplasm is being preserved due to the increased threat of pollution inGodavari river and the high rate at which it was sold due to non abundance. Pulasa is sold at the rate of Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 per Kg.AP Biodiversity Board Chairman Dr R Hampaiah said ,"It is most sought after fish. Evenseveral Ministers from Hyderabad get that Pulasa on special order by spending largeamount. The fish swims upstream the river water and it tastes delicious during thisperiod,"The board took up the project of preservation of germplasm of Pulasa variety found inGodavari backwaters."Like cat fish imitating murrel there is a fish now sold in the markets appearing similar toPulasa. We have to preserve the DNA of Pulasa as it has great bioresource value likeJapan Tuna fish," said Hampaiah.Dr Hampaiah said ,"we have taken initiatives as per Biological Diversity Act2002. Geographic indications which decides the patent rights of a particular thing in thenew IPR regime. This prompts us to be ready with a geographically referenced databaseto challenge any conflict which may arise in the future for genomic rights on our ownspecies with geographical indications,"The fish is usually found from June to August in the backwaters in Godavari.Senior Zoologist Mr V Babu Rao said ,"it is known as Hilsa Ilisha and migrates from seawater to fresh water for breeding. It is an Indian Shad. It is found in areas likeBhimavaram during rainy season like this,"The AP Biodiveristy Board will take the help of local fisheries department officials andNational Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources at Lucknow to conserve it.Senior scientist Dr Rajiv Mathew said ,"It is bony and oily fish. The oil fights lot ofdiseases including removal of bad cholesterol,"The fish swims from seat to fresh water for 50 to 100 kilometres usually and sometimesup to 1500 kilometres. It is one of the fastest swimmers covering 71 km in a day.Germplasm preservation techniques is used by cryopreservation in aquarium fisheswidely as they have biomedical research value and ornamental fish trade.

Robbery on Camera at AS Rao Nagar Hyderabad

Robbers attacking jewellery shop owner with sword and later stealing the jewellery

Unique ID project and Population census 2011

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Ahead of Multi-Purpose National Identity Card mega project the government has began the exercise of preparing National Population Register in coastal areas including in Andhra Pradesh as part of steps to beef up maritime security post Mumbai terror attacks.
After covering the coastal areas as part of Unique ID card project preparation of National Registers for Citizens(NRIC) would be taken up in other parts of the Country. As the nation is preparing for 2011 population census experts say that the implementation of NPR project is in perfect timing.
However experts say that preparation of National Population Register will not be an easy task due to the size of the population in the country as well as the lacunae and corrupt practises in the government departments.
NPR will be a gigantic task for the government as the population of the country and state are put at 116 crore and 8.66 crore respectively by the officials on World Population Day. Government is planning to merge the preparation of the electronically-guided National Population Register (NPR) with the 2011 Census officials said.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which was set up by the government
will implement the project. The NRIC would be continuously updated by linking it to the registration of births and deaths The exercise would involve a systematic listing of houses and households followed by canvassing of the schedule for preparation of Population Register. After Population Register Schedules are canvassed, the data entry of Population Register would be done.
Fears of duplication of databases and concerns over possibility of illegal immigrants getting enrolled are now being discussed by the agencies working on the project. Officials fear the verification process of citizenship if not carried out genuinely will lead to a chaotic situation.
For NPR in coastal areas AP Fisheries Department is assisting the centre.
Fisheries Department Additional Director Mr M Ram Gopal Rao said ,"we are assisting the centre in enumeration and making census in coastal villages. As part of NPR the centre will be issuing ID cards to all the fisherman. Apart from that as part of security scheme of the centre the State government is issuing separate ID cards to the fisherman going to the sea. The project is in initial stage. ECIL co-operation is being taken up in this,"
Government also made registration of sea vessels and fishing boats compulsory.
Ministry of Home Affairs has granted Rs 80.78 crore to Registrar General of India in the first phase for the preparation of NPR in the coastal villages. Nine coastal States Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal and four Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Pondicherry are covered under NPR scheme in coastal areas. Around 3331 villages are covered under this scheme initially.
Additional Director General of Police(Law and Order) Mr A K Khan says ,"After Mumbai attacks the necessity of having a National Population Register in coastal areas have come to the fore. Issuing ID cards to fisherman in coastal villages has assumed significance. This can be useful in identifying the illegal immigrants and terrorists coming from sea route. As the threat to coastal areas has increased this register would be of immense help. The ID can be verified both on land and sea,"
Police say at least two to three lakh people are detained for want of identity in the State every year. The proposed Multi Purpose ID cards will be of great help to the security agencies in easy identification of suspicious persons.
Mr A K Khan opined " Unique ID cards to citizens is an imminent necessity. As per section 41 of Criminal Procedure Code if any person is found moving under suspicious circumstances he can be detained by authorities for want of identity. The police keep on detaining large number of such suspicious persons daily. It would run into a big number raining from two to three lakh in a year. This happens particularly during night time and vehicle frisking. In this process the genuine citizens are also harassed. The National Police Register and Unique ID card will prevent this,"
Mr Khan said ,"when the multipurpose cards are being bough all other cards can be phased out. This document can be used for all purposes. Right now there was lot of harassment and inconvenience to citizen to get a passport or a ration card as he has to prove his identity and address time and time again. Even in the implementation of social security schemes like Aarogyasri and pensions these cards can prove useful,"
Mr Khan allayed the fears of duplication of the Unique ID cards ,"faking of these cards is almost impossible as they will have unique IRIS identification biometric technology.
It is going to be a huge project. It is a great service to the citizens when done,"
The NRIC will be maintained at the centre by the National Office of Citizen’s Registration. This will be continuously updated mainly through the system of registration of births and deaths. The Registrars of births and deaths will send relevant extracts from the births and deaths register periodically to the MNIC Centre to be permanently located at sub-district or sub-town areas. The updating of NRIC would also include updating of change in address, marital status, name.
Hyderabad District Medical and Health Officer Dr Ch Jayakumari says ,"this is not only useful for security situation improvement but also to weed out bogus beneficiaries in the schemes including health and family welfare measures.
A senior official of revenue Department said ,"Several departments in the Centre and State governments may continue to use their own database for implementing schemes. Those databases may be adding the Unique National ID number. The databases with passport office, income tax department, Municipal administration, Road transport authorities will continue to exist,"

Wanted Sparrow Alive!

By Udumula Sudhakar Reddy

Wanted Sparrow Alive! The campaign to save the house sparrow has picked up in the city with several apartment associations coming forward to create artificial nests.
The initiative taken up by Environmental Cell of AP Forest Department and Centre for Environment Education officials is to spot to the sparrows and create facilities to allow them to breed naturally.
Additional Chief Conservator of Forest(environment cell) Mr C S Ramalakshmi said ,"The sparrow population is declining drastically and it has become a rare occurrence in the city. Sparrows are good for nature as they help in biological control of pests. In residential areas in balconies sparrows can be attracted by placing plastic bowl filled with water and spilling the grains. Later we can enable them to create nests. Several organisations including bird watchers society, biodiversity board and AP Environment Connect are involved,"
A sparrow population survey was conducted recently near Rajbhavan in the city.
Ornithologists and wildlife experts speculate that the population crash could also be linked to a variety of factors like the lack of nesting sites in modern concrete buildings, disappearing kitchen gardens, increased use of pesticides in farmlands and the non- availability of food sources.
Mr U S Ushodayan programme officer of Centre for Environment Education said ,"In urban and semi urban areas sparrows are rarely found. There is no documentation also. Earlier in construction of building ceramic water and sewerage pipes are used. There use to be big gap at the joints which are useful for the sparrows to form the nest. Now only plastic pipes are used and there is no possibility of house sparrow to have a nest,"
"If any one spots the sparrow they can SMS to 9949297898 or send an email to savesparrows.apec@gmail.com or call on our mobile. We will note down the address and location. Then we will conduct survey in the area and create further facilities to improve the sparrow nesting," said Mr Ushodayan.
Decline of house sparrow( scientifically known as Passer domesticus ) is also due to introduction of unleaded petrol, the combustion of which produces compounds such as methyl nitrite, a compound which is highly toxic for small insects.
The other possibility could be increased predation by crows and cats, while crows have grown in number as a result of garbage accumulation in the city.
Noted biologist Mr Mrutyenjaya Rao said ,"we have been doing artificial nesting facility in apartments in Kakinada. We could successfully make sparrows breed in the cardboard boxes set up in the parking area of the apartment,"

CBI seeks US help in Satyam scam: letter rogatory sent

U Sudhakar Reddy

The Central Investigation Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the letter rogatory to be sent to the United States will ask the country to give details on fund diversion from Satyam Computer Services Limited to three companies based in the US.
Sources in the CBI said the former Satyam chief, Mr Raju, diverted Rs 42 crore from Satyam to three companies in the United States.
The CBI DIG, Mr Lakshmi Narayana, said, "we are going to send the letter rogatory within a week.The fund diversion aspect is being looked into."
Initially, the letter roga tory (communication l between courts of two countries) will be sent to the United States and Mauritius and later to four other countries.
The probing agency is also looking into the acquisition of nine compa nies by Satyam. An offi cial said, "the transactions of acquisitions of nine , companies in the US will be looked into."
The role of auditors involved in the scam will also be studied, the official added. "The property acquired by off-loading the shares will be . attached," said a senior t CBI official.

Swine flu alerts fake: National Institute of Virology, didn't recommend Nilgiri oil

Swine flu SMSes and email alerts being sent in the name of National Institute of Virology (NIV) have been found to be spam and promotional tricks.
NIV authorities said they have not recommended any indigenous products such as Nilgiri oil for use against H1N1 virus.
NIV has asked citizens to to refer to the public health information issued by the government.
Several SMSes are doing rounds advising public to use Nilgiri oil drops on masks as preventive measure against swine flu.
Another SMS asks to take five tulsi (ocimum) leaves a day to keep the flu away.