Forest officials of Srisailam Tiger Reserve have begun tiger census in the Nallamala forest. During the weeklong exercise, the teams will count the pugmarks at water-holes. Nearly 200 teams are scurrying the forest existing on 3,000 sq km. Assistant Conservator of Forest and in charge of bio-diversity wing Tulasi Rao told The Hindu that the survey was meant for annual review and updating of records. According to him, only tigers and panthers would be counted during the current exercise, which would end on May 7.

Anantapur district topped the state in speeding up works of the second phase of houses under the Indiramma scheme at the field level.

The government has confirmed prevalence of anthrax in Chittoor, Prakasam, Kurnool and Mahabubnagar districts and attributed its outbreak in the State to the leather industry thriving in Tamil Nadu close to the common border. Replying to a question tabled by G. Muddukrishnama Naidu (Congress), Animal Husbandry Minister M. Buddha Prasad informed the Assembly on Wednesday that disease broke out among sheep at Jandlapeta in Karvetinagar area of Chittoor Municipality close to the Tamil Nadu border. Five sheep and four cattle perished last month as a result. The incidence of the disease was also reported in Prakasam district in December and some

Farmers belonging to several villages complained to the district collector against the managements of cement factories being set up on their lands at the praja darbar held in the Collectorate on Monday. In a memorandum submitted to the collector, Mr Eddula Chennaiah, a farmer from Madhavaravam village of Pyapili mandal alleged that cement companies were forcibly occupying their land in the village.

THE international diamond industry has found its next big destination, and it's the land of the Nizams. Geological findings in seven districts of Andhra Pradesh have shown up extensive diamond deposits which, naturally, has got the big boys interested. Already, seven companies have applied for prospecting licences (42 in all) covering a land base of over 1,495 sq km.

Kurnool, June 2: The managing director of Enercon India Private Limited, Mr Yogesh Mehra, said that the company would commission a wind energy plant with an outlay of Rs 600 crores under the Vaayu India Power Corporation Limited project in Kolimigandla mandal in Kurnool district.

Stating that the recent unseasonal heavy rains were so rare that they occurred only the third time in the last 100 years, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy announced a "special package' to liberally assist farmers whose crops were damaged in 11 districts of the State. The cash compensation allowed on each crop damaged has been doubled under the package. The 11 districts are Prakasam, Nellore, Guntur, Krishna, Srikakulam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Kadapa, Kurnool and Nizamabad. Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy said the commercial crops faced the brunt as they were normally sown around this time of the year. The package provided for payment of compensation of Rs. 4, 500 per hectare in case of paddy, groundnut, chillies and vegetables and Rs. 3,750 per hectare for sunflower, maize and pulses. The government would recommend to cooperative and other banks to reschedule present crop loans and issue fresh ones.