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News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
CITY BROUGHT TO A STANDSTILL
DRUG SMUGGLING
Jagan Effect on traffic leaves tired citizens fuming The release of YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy might be happy news for his fans, but for the general public it meant facing traffic jams and consequent delays. This may last for at least two more days, say police. ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The City witnessed hours of traffic jams after the release of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on bail from jail on Tuesday. Traffic came to a standstill in most areas of the City with lakhs of Jagan followers and their vehicles pouring out onto the streets to celebrate their leader’s release. Traffic in several areas slowed to a crawl. The traffic police warn that the situation may continue today and into tomorrow too. “Though it’s not going to be like what it was on Tuesday, there will still be heavy traffic on roads. Many supporters have come down from Seemandhra. Traffic congestion may depend on the areas that Jagan might visit over the next few days,” said a senior traffic official. On Tuesday evening there were traffic jams right from Chanchalguda all along the route to his residence near Lotus Pond. The traffic police had a tough time managing the traffic. Last minute traffic diversions brought misery to commuters. The entire stretch from Begumpet to Panjagutta Flyover was blocked. Roads leading to Nalgonda crossroads were blocked and vehicles diverted from Saroornagar. Heavy traffic may continue in areas like Begumpet, Panjagutta, Khairatabad, Raj Bhavan Road, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills Check post, Road No 45,Road No 36, Apollo Hospital Road, Lotus Pond and other surrounding areas say
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last evening. The traffic police should not have given permission for the rally. By doing that they inconvenienced the public,” said Srinivas Kumar a private firm employee. Another motorist C Praful, says, “Many of the areas are blocked because of the traffic congestion and we are forced to take longer diversions. U-turns have been blocked in several places like Panjagutta and we have to travel further in order to make u-turns. The traffic police should relax all such rules and make it convenient for commuters at least till the traffic gets back to normalcy. It is the duty of the police to make sure that just because of one person the general public are not inconvenienced.”
traffic police. As of now there are no diversions in place. Traffic police say that they will keep releasing traffic updates on their official Facebook page and keep the public informed.
TRAFFIC SIGNALS GO OFF The fancy solar signals may go off during peak traffic hours for the next few days. This is
because of the heavy traffic flow. “It is difficult to monitor the traffic in peak hours using traffic signals. So at main junctions there are many traffic police deployed to manually monitor the traffic. This to some extent helps in traffic flow and prevent jams,” said the Traffic DCP. “It took me more than two hours to cross the stretch from Begumpet and reach Paradise
It took me more than two hours to cross from Begumpet and reach Paradise. The traffic police should not have given permission for the rally. By doing that they inconvenienced the public... Srinivas Kumar Private firm employee.
Indian in ephedrine drug ring SYDNEY: Australian authorities Wednesday said they had uncovered a major 274 kilogramme haul of the stimulant ephedrine, used to make crystal methamphetamine, during a pest check on a rice shipment from India. The seizure is one of the largest of ephedrine in Australia, with enough of the drug to manufacture 200 kilogrammes of crystal meth worth up to Aus$200 million ($188 million), Customs said. The crystalline substance was scattered throughout bags labelled “basmati rice” which arrived in a 3,600-packet consignment in Melbourne in July, and were physically checked for pests by a biosecurity officer. “The officer who did the inspection was really on the ball,” Agriculture Department first assistant secretary for border compliance Tim Chapman said. “He realised that the powder AROUND THE
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that was in the bags of rice that were tested wasn’t just residue from the rice, there was something different about it.” Three people — two Canadians and one Australian — were arrested and charged over the alleged importation and intended distribution of the ephedrine after the bags were delivered to their destinations in Sydney and Melbourne. An Indian national, allegedly responsible for organising the ephedrine and sending the consignment to Australia, was also detained in India by local police. Australian Federal Police national manager for crime operations Ian McCartney said the seizure had dismantled a multinational syndicate. Customs and Border Protection compliance and enforcement director Karen Harfield said hiding the drugs in rice was an unusual method.
WORLD BRIEFS Briton, Irish women plead guilty in Peru
Bill backs Obama’s push to promote health law
Centrist coalition set to Lawyer puts price on cling to power in Austria MJ’s death at trial
Greek police raid neo-Nazi party’s offices
LIMA: Two young women from Britain and Ireland pleaded guilty in a Peruvian court to attempting to sneak 11 kilos of cocaine out of the country and into Spain. Michaella McCollum Connolly, 20, of Ireland and Melissa Reid, 19, of Britain, stated that they “regret having participated in such an act,” according to a court press release.
NEW YORK CITY: President Barack Obama got backing from Bill Clinton as he sought to promote his health care law to the US public amid a congressional battle and an approaching sign-up date. After a day dedicated to diplomacy at the UN, Obama took part in a one-hour conversation with his White House predecessor.
VIENNA: Austrians are expected to opt for stability in elections Sunday and return the current centrist coalition to power. This is despite a vigorous challenge to the status quo by the far right seeking a repeat of Joerg Haider’s 1999 triumph, as well as the Greens and Austro-Canadian billionaire eurosceptic Frank Stronach, 81.
ATHENS: Greek police raided the offices of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn and arrested a police officer, authorities said, amid a major probe on the links between law enforcers and far-right politicians. A 45-yearold officer, who is working as the bodyguard of a Golden Dawn lawmaker, was detained during the raid at party offices in central Greece.
LOS ANGELES: The promoters of Michael Jackson’s last tour should pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to his family over his 2009 death, a lawyer said. In a final presentation, attorney Brian Panish urged jurors to award $85 million to each of the star’s three children and $35 million to his mother in socalled non-economic damages.