The recent reports about the suspected movement of the activists of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) have come as a big jolt to the people living in the border villages and towns of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
For two days, reports kept pouring in about the Tada area having been taken as a shelter zone by the SIMI activists who were also suspected to be the masterminds of the Chennai Central railway station blasts. Such unfounded reports continued with none of the authorities concerned coming forward to provide a clear picture. The district officials say that there is a routine alert which has to be there as a ritual regardless of any situation.
One officer said that an alert doesn’t mean that the suspected activists have entered the AP borders, which can be ascertained only when there is strong proof. With the issue not being put in proper perspective, doubts are still lingering over what exactly is happening on the AP-TN border.
Worrying scenario
A major phishing scam came to light during the week in Ongole, ringing alarm bells among the business community, which off late adopted e-commerce striking deals with overseas customers and transferring money online.
Worried over losing foreign customers, the Granite Owners Association (GGOA) secretary M.A. Azeem wanted the State government to take stringent action against unidentified phishers, who had hacked the email account of GGOA member and Anjani Exports chief Challa Srinivasa Rao and transferred 1.25 lakh US dollars to a foreign bank by sending a fictitious mail to a Chinese importer for rough granite block exports.
Similar phishing scams had occurred in Chimakurthy thrice in the past, Mr. Azeem said, adding that the government should strengthen the cyber crime detection wing
Waste of public money
The second edition of Collector’s conference, which conducted in Vijayawada a few days ago, came in for much criticism from opposition.
Apart from the public money spent on conducting the conference, the opposition parties claimed that the meeting did not serve the purpose as most senior authorities did not attend.
While, a section of political circles were criticising the quantum of expenditure, which is estimated at Rs.30 lakh, incurred in conducting the conference, YSR Congress party claimed that farmers, who were not willing to part their lands for capital construction, were deprived of an opportunity to meet the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu due to deployment of heavy police force at the conference.
They said that the heavy police force posed a problem to approach the CM.
All in all, the conference went off peacefully and city police and Krishna district administration heaved a sigh of relief.
(With inputs from G. Ravikiran, S.Murali and S. Sandeep Kumar)
