-The Hindu Hyderabad: The very severe cyclonic storm, 'Leher' which lay over southeast and adjoining central Bay of Bengal will intensify further and move west northwestwards and cross Andhra Pradesh coast near Machilipatnam on Thursday afternoon. On Tuesday it was said that the cyclone will cross the coast at Kakinada. Citing an IMD bulletin, Mr. C. Parthasarathi, Disaster Management Commissioner, said that rainfall would commence at many places in coastal Andhra from Wednesday...

-The Business Standard Berhampur (Odisha): The expert team of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday visited different areas of the cyclone Phailin-hit Ganjam district in Odisha to assess the damage caused due to the calamity. Divided in groups, the 14-member team along with the government officers visited different areas including slum pockets in Berhampur, fishermen and coastal villages in Ganjam, Chhatrapur and Rangeilunda blocks. The team led by the...

-The Indian Express Pune: About 1200 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be deployed for relief and rescue operations as cyclone Lehar is expected to hit coastal Andhra Pradesh by Thursday. The rescue and evacuation operations which involve teams from the defence paramilitary forces will include 30 NDRF teams, each consisting of 40 personnel, according to Alok Awasthy, commandant of Pune-based fifth NDRF battalion. While 10 teams from Vijaywada-based...

-The Hindu     While it is apparent that due process has been subverted to the advantage of a few by the political executive, it is equally true that there has been some politicisation of the civil service Two recent events have focussed attention on the relationship between the political executive and public servants. At the international conference on corruption organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation on November 11, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh...

-The Hindu     While making grain available to all is important, it is equally essential to ensure that all food supplied for consumption remains unadulterated and uncontaminated. When India became independent, the Constitution declared it to be a socialist, secular, democratic Republic. The first fundamental right under the Constitution sets down that every citizen has a right to life. This has been interpreted by the highest court as every citizen's right to a...