Associations collectively voice opposition against proposed mall construction in APSRTC land
At a roundtable organised by Vijayawada Poura Vedika (Vijayawada Citizens Forum) on Thursday, a resolution was passed to stage a massive dharna at the Old Bus Stand, the proposed site for construction of the mall, on August 6. The members also constituted an RTC Asset Protection Committee with the national working president of All-India Lawyers' Union (AILU) S. Rajendra Prasad as its convenor and called for a broad, apolitical unity to protect RTC lands and ensure the survival of small and middle class traders in the surrounding areas.
Former Minister Vadde Shobhanadreeswara Rao took strong exception to the government selling public assets and said it was against the law. Calling for a united fight, he said that people cannot remain silent spectators when valuable RTC lands worth crores of rupees were being handed over, in Vijayawada and in Visakhapatnam, to the MNC at throwaway prices. He said that it was against the 2012 Land Allotment Act of united Andhra Pradesh, which mandates market value and transparency in land allocation.
Former Mayor Jandhyala Shankar said it was unfortunate that in its eagerness to usher in development, the TDP-led coalition government was losing sight of critical factors like environmental protection and public welfare. He said it would severely harm the interests of the urban residents.
Mr. Rajendra Prasad highlighted the need for a sustained legal, as well as people's struggle, to protect the RTC lands, while the forum's State convener Ch. Baburao called for a united agitation to scuttle the government plans in this regard. He urged all sections — intellectuals, civic leaders, RTC unions, civil society bodies and others to unite for the cause. He said while the market rate of the land was ₹200 per sq. ft on Bandar Road, the valuable RTC land was being given for an alarmingly low rate of ₹1.50 per sq. ft.
Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department (APPTD) Employees Union State president P. Damodar the RTC unions were ready to make any sacrifice to protect the assets belonging to the Public Transport Department.
Representatives of various organisations like Jana Chaitanya Vedika, A.P. Chamber of Commerce, farmers' associations, hotel owners' association, pensioners' association, tax-payers association and others attended the meeting and expressed solidarity for the cause of protecting APSRTC land.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Pakistan seeks to expand high-tech ties with China in space, nuclear fields
Pakistan wants to deepen technological cooperation with China in the fields of space exploration and nuclear technology, a senior Pakistani minister has said. Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan plans satellite launches and aims to send astronauts to China's space station next year.(Ahsan Iqbal/ LinkedIn ) Pakistan is keen to strengthen scientific partnerships with China, including in artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, Pakistan's Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, who was on a visit to China, told the media. "I had an opportunity to meet with the new chairman of China's nuclear authority and the space agency,' Iqbal said in a media briefing early this week, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Thursday. 'We also discussed how we can further strengthen our cooperation in peaceful nuclear use of technology by extending nuclear power into agriculture,' he said. Also Read: China backs Pakistan's counter terrorism efforts, says foreign minister Wang Yi Pakistan's Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3, which uses the Chinese-made Hualong One reactor, completed its final tests before going into operation, according to the report. Iqbal said China-Pakistan space cooperation included satellite launches and plans to send Pakistan's astronauts to China's space station next year. 'Later with Chinese help, we will send and land a rover on the moon that will be yet another milestone,' he said. 'Pakistan also aims to have its lunar landing or landing on the moon by 2035, and we have also sought cooperation in this field,' he said. During his visit to China, Iqbal said he had witnessed the July 31 launch of the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite-1 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
Beijing's growing influence, suppression of academic freedom in UK Universities: Report
Advt Advt A recent report published by UK-China Transparency (UKCT), which investigates transparency matters between the UK and China, has revealed systematic efforts by Beijing to inhibit academic freedom and influence the narrative concerning China within British universities, according to a report from publication, titled "Cold Crises: Academic Freedom and Interference in China Studies in the UK", claims that the Chinese government is employing students, scholars, and financial leverage to intimidate academics and limit discussions on sensitive subjects, thereby creating a culture of fear across UK on feedback from 50 scholars specialising in China studies throughout UK institutions, the findings depict a troubling scenario of surveillance, harassment, and self-censorship in academia. UKCT reports that Chinese students and academics are sometimes pressured through threats against family members back home to monitor their peers and report on politically sensitive conversations to Chinese authorities."We're observing you," one academic recounted being told by a visiting scholar from China, while others shared experiences of online harassment and intimidation, including notifications from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, as mentioned in the Phayul report suggests that Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs), present in most UK universities and connected to the CCP, act as "vectors for surveillance and repression", fostering a climate of fear, especially for students of Chinese direct intimidation, the CCP is alleged to exploit financial dependencies to apply pressure on university administrations. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that the reliance on tuition from Chinese students affected how university leadership managed relations with Beijing. Certain institutions faced accusations of withholding funding for research considered politically sensitive, while others reportedly stifled critical scholarship to maintain financial connections or placate Chinese Gregory Lee, professor emeritus at the University of St Andrews, described the report as "the most significant" ever released on censorship and coercion in UK-based China studies. "By failing to act on these matters, we in the UK are complicit in the Chinese authorities' attempts to impose their idyllic depiction of China on the minds of students and non-students alike," Lee stated, as reported by publication of this report follows closely behind the introduction of new UK legislation that mandates universities to actively protect academic freedom and freedom of speech. This law also addresses foreign partnerships, such as those with Confucius Institutes, which may jeopardise ideological neutrality or impose constraints on teaching and findings in the UKCT report resonate with broader apprehensions reflected in other nations, including Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United States, where previous documentation has indicated Chinese influence within academic institutions using similar tactics involving surveillance, visa control, and pressure on diaspora communities, as noted by Phayul.
Hans India
29 minutes ago
- Hans India
Putin says he hopes to meet Trump as White House presses for peace deal on Ukraine
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he hopes to meet next week with US President Donald Trump, possibly in the United Arab Emirates. The news came on the eve of a White House deadline for Moscow to show progress toward ending the 3-year-old war in Ukraine. Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov had said earlier a summit could possibly take place next week at a venue that has been decided 'in principle.' Ushakov brushed aside the possibility of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joining the summit, something the White House had said Trump was ready to consider. Putin has spurned Zelenskyy's previous offers of a meeting to clinch a breakthrough. 'We propose, first of all, to focus on preparing a bilateral meeting with Trump, and we consider it most important that this meeting be successful and productive,' Ushakov said, adding that US special envoy Steve Witkoff's suggestion of a meeting including Ukraine's leader 'was not specifically discussed.' Putin made the announcement in the Kremlin after his meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE. There was no immediate comment Thursday from the White House and it was unclear how the announcement of the meeting would affect Trump's Friday deadline for Russia to stop the killing or face heavy economic sanctions. Asked who initiated the meeting, Putin said that didn't matter and 'both sides expressed an interest.' Speaking of the possible involvement of Zelenskyy in future talks, Putin said he has mentioned several times that he wasn't against it, adding: 'It's a possibility, but certain conditions need to be created' for it to happen. Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund who met with Witkoff on Wednesday, said a Trump-Putin meeting would allow Moscow to 'clearly convey its position,' and he hoped a summit would include discussions on mutually beneficial economic issues, including joint investments in areas such as rare earth elements. The meeting would be the first US-Russia summit since 2021, when former President Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva. It would be a significant milestone toward Trump's effort to end the war, although there's no guarantee it would stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace. Next week is the target date for a summit, Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organise and no date is confirmed. The possible venue will be announced 'a little later,' he said. Months of US-led efforts have yielded no progress on stopping Russia's invasion of its neighbour. The war has killed tens of thousands of troops on both sides as well as more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Western officials have repeatedly accused Putin of stalling for time in peace negotiations to allow Russian forces time to capture more Ukrainian land. Putin previously has offered no concessions and will only accept a settlement on his terms. A meeting between Putin and Trump on the war would be a departure from the Biden administration's policy of 'nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine' — a key demand from Kyiv. At the start of his second term, Trump was conciliatory toward Putin, for whom he has long shown admiration, and even echoed some of his talking points on the war. But he recently has expressed increasing exasperation with Putin, criticising the Kremlin leader for his unyielding stance on US-led peace efforts, and has threatened Moscow with new sanctions. Zelenskyy seeks European involvement Zelenskyy said he planned calls with European leaders Thursday to discuss the latest developments amid a flurry of diplomatic activity. European countries must also be involved in finding a solution to the war on their own continent, he said on Telegram. 'Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same bold approach from the Russian side. It is time to end the war,' he added. A ceasefire and long-term security guarantees are priorities in potential negotiation with Russia, he said on social media. Securing a truce, deciding a format for a summit and providing assurances for Ukraine's future protection from invasion — a consideration that must involve the US and Europe — are crucial aspects to address, Zelenskyy said. He noted that Russian strikes on civilians haven't eased off despite Trump publicly urging Putin to relent. A Russian attack Wednesday in the central Dnipro region killed four people and injured eight others, he said. Poll shows support for continuing the fight waning in Ukraine A new Gallup poll published Thursday found that Ukrainians are increasingly eager for a settlement that ends the fight against Russia's invasion. The enthusiasm for a negotiated deal is a sharp reversal from 2022 — the year the war began — when Gallup found that about three-quarters of Ukrainians wanted to keep fighting until victory. Now only about one-quarter hold that view, with support for continuing the war declining steadily across all regions and demographic groups. The findings were based on samples of 1,000 or more respondents ages 15 and older living in Ukraine. Some territories under entrenched Russian control, representing about 10 per cent of the population, were excluded from surveys conducted after 2022 due to lack of access. Since the start of the full-scale war, Russia's relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. On the 1,000-kilometre front line snaking from northeast to southeast Ukraine, where tens of thousands of troops on both sides have died, Russia's bigger army is slowly capturing more land. In the new Gallup survey, conducted in early July, about seven in 10 Ukrainians say their country should seek to negotiate a settlement as soon as possible. Zelenskyy last month renewed his offer to meet with Putin, but his overture was rebuffed. Most Ukrainians do not expect a lasting peace anytime soon, the poll found. Only about one-quarter say it's 'very' or 'somewhat' likely that active fighting will end within the next 12 months, while about seven in 10 think it's 'somewhat' or 'very' unlikely that active fighting will be over in the next year.
