Major Developments in Hyderabad – February 2013

The month of February will be remembered by the people of Hyderabad, as the most sad month of the year. As the city witnessed two bomb blasts in Dilsukhnagar area which rocked the city, killing nearly 18 people and wounding more than a hundred. Then, there was the ongoing tension among people on getting Aadhaar cards before deadline, for LPG subsidy.

The city also experienced some significant developments like, students gearing up for their exams, new Lakdikapul bridge opens for motorists, few more Aadhaar centres coming up and no hike in property tax.

Following is a brief summary of the major developments in Hyderabad in the month of February, 2013. Read on to know what happened in the last month.

General

• Two bomb blasts in Hyderabad took place near Venkatadri theatre and Konark theatre in Dilsukhnagar. At least 18 people were killed and over hundred were seriously injured. Bombs were placed in two cycles. There is still no information on who carried out the blasts.

• After the Dilsukhnagar blasts, the BPPA (Buddha Purnima Project Authority) has closed all its park for security reasons. The city police issued notices to the BPPA to close parks because none of the CCTV cameras was in working condition.

• Hyderabad’s first woman mayor and congress leader Sarojini Pulla Reddy passes away at 85. She was also minister for information and public relations, municipal administration and women and child welfare in various ministries.

• The GHMC is taking measures to issue birth and death certificates at CSCs (Citizen Service Centres) and digitally signed certificates will be issued at the MeeSeva centres.

• The labour department has issued notices to all commercial establishments and shops to display name boards in Telugu.

• The state government hikes professional tax. The hike is levied on salary and wage earners, doctors, lawyers, engineers, insurance agents, people belonging to film fraternity, journalists, cinema theatres and traders.

• Building Penalisation Scheme (BSP) extends the last date for disposing pending applications from Dec 31, 2012 to March 31, 2013. During this period no new applications will be taken.

• Hyderabad ranks fifth in the country for receiving donation from foreign countries. It is said that, the city receives Rs 325 crore every year. These funds are utilised for rural development, establishment expenditures, welfare of children and for building schools.

• The Supreme court ordered state government to grant approval to erect statues or build any form of structure on main roads and in public places that could block traffic. This order was a sigh of relief to GHMC and urban local bodies.

• According to a study by a German team of scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the city has only five percent covered by slums. According to the GHMC, last year there were nearly 17 lakh people living in slums and the study reveals that there were only 10 lakh people living in slums.

• Two-day strike by employees of public sector organisation and banks in Andhra Pradesh staged to protest against price hike and other issues. The nation-wide bandh was called by central trade unions.

• Sixth Nizam Mir Mahboob Ali Khans, two Napier cars were displayed at the Chowmahalla Palace. The cars titled Ajeil or destiny and Mojil or dangerous were placed on either side of their stable-mate, a yellow Rolls Royce.

Roads and Transport

• A new bridge has been opened at Lakdi-ka-pul to ease the traffic problems that most motorists are frequently facing. The Lakdi-ka-pul bridge project costed nearly Rs. 24.75 crore.

• A single smart card can be used for travelling in APSRTC city buses, MMTS trains and metro rail. L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Ltd is planning to introduce the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system for commuters who travel in metro trains.

• The city traffic police will restrict traffic to the area near to Necklace road from March 1 to 13, between 4:00 am and 11:30 am, due to the 5 km run, that is being conducted by the police for police recruitment drive for the year 2013.

• The South Central Railway gets numerous projects during the Railway Budget 2013-14, that was presented by Railways Minister in the Parliament.

• The Srinagar Colony is declared a commercial road. Property owners can use their buildings for commercial use. GHMC will allow retail shopping, service establishments, function halls, shopping complexes, hospitals, hotels and gas stations on the road.

• New subways are to be built at the St. George’s Grammar School at Abids, Afzalgunj bus station, Mehdipatnam crossroads and Owaisi Hospital at Santoshnagar. It is estimated that each subway will cost around Rs.3.94 crore. Also coming up are new Foot over Bridges (FoBs) at Care Hospital, Mahaveer Hospital, Koti Hospital, Banjara Hills, Zoo Park and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Road No.45, Jubilee Hills.

Services

• May 31^st is the new deadline for enrolment of Aadhaar cards. There will be at least 200 more centres in the coming weeks. Citizens can now get themselves enrolled before it is too late.

• Authorities are planning to introduce ‘phone-in’ facility to book slots for Aadhaar registration. This facility will ease the problems of citizens. The toll free number is 1100. To book registration slot on the Internet you can go to the site www.meeseva.gov.in.

• Domestic LPG consumers were in a hurry to submit their Aadhaar details at their respective gas distribution agencies to obtain subsidised cylinders, as February 15 was the last date.

• To avail LPG subsidy, LPG consumers should get their Aadhaar cards in place before March 15. This deadline is only for LPG consumers. The authorities may extend the deadline as many people don’t have Aadhaar cards.

• Having Aadhaar card is not only linked to get subsidy for LPG, but also to avail benefits from other sources. The central government set apart about 34 schemes to the intended beneficiaries from Aadhaar card.

• New Aadhaar centres will be set up at 14 places besides the present 34 centres.

Education

• State government proposed a new rule that every school irrespective of its medium must teach Telugu as a compulsory subject along with English up to higher classes.

• Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) conducted Intermediate practical exams from February 6^th to 25^th and theory examinations from March 6^th to 23^rd. About 6,67,319 students in the state are appearing for Intermediate exams.

• CMAT Online entrance test for admission into AICTE approved business schools was conducted from February 21^st to 25^th.

• UPSC has decided to change the pattern of preliminary exam which is replaced with CSAT recently in 2010 in order to test the candidate’s ability. As part of the changes, more priority will be given to General Studies papers and in the Main examination, optional paper will be replaced with 2 compulsory papers.

• Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC) of the state revealed that none of the private and top engineering colleges have qualified faculties. The committee stated that these colleges are facing shortage of qualified faculty and failed the norm of 1:4:6 professors in each department of the college.

Real Estate

• Beware of flats at Manikonda. In a recent inspection by AP Upa-Lokayuktha it was found that most constructions in that area are illegal. Despite govt. orders, which says panchayats in the state can grant permissions to buildings only up to ground plus two floors, some builders in Manikonda built up to five floors. Around 416 such illegal buildings have been identified in that area.

• Good news for the property owners in GHMC limits! There is no hike in the property tax rate this financial year. GHMC budget for 2013-14 was approved without any effect on the property tax rates. The Mayor of the city ensured that without increasing the tax rates they could be able to reach the tax collection of Rs. 950 crore next financial year by strictly assessing all the un-assessed properties (nearly 3 lakhs) and by bringing all the property owners, who are evading the payment, into the tax net.

Electricity

• In the last weak of February, the city had two hour power cuts in two slots and if there is shortage in power supply, the officials may increase the power cut time.

• You can now save energy and win a prize from Central Power Distribution Company (CPDCL) of AP Limited. The award wining campaign is open for domestic consumers who conserve energy. The last date for registration is before March 10 and if interested, consumers should SMS their nine digits Unique Service Number from their mobile to mobile number – 73822 96458 for registration.

Health

• According to a study by the Indian Medical Academy (IMA), having unclean kitchen may cause intestinal infections like vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea, anorexia and abdominal discomfort, which may be very harmful for your health. Therefore, keep your kitchen clean.

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