Nine Flights Cancelled at Visakhapatnam Airport

Visakhapatnam:Flight operations at Visakhapatnam International Airport were disrupted on Saturday, with nine cancellations among 20 scheduled services, affecting passengers travelling to major cities across the country. Airport officials confirmed that flights to Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Delhi were among those withdrawn.

The cancelled flights included services to Chennai (845), Mumbai (6585), Hyderabad (6645, 783, 883, 6286), Bengaluru (2772), Kolkata (617) and Delhi (6680). Passengers reported last-minute alerts and long queues at airline counters for rescheduling and refunds.

Despite the disruptions, 11 flights operated as scheduled, maintaining partial connectivity. These included services to Hyderabad (307, 779, 216), Vijayawada (7129), Delhi (579), Bhubaneswar (7381), Chennai (881, 6089), Kurnool (7177), Tirupati (7063) and Raipur (7296).

Travellers expressed frustration over the uncertainty, particularly those with connecting flights or urgent work commitments.

CID raids prime accused’s house in Madanapalle file-burning case

Nellore:CID officials conducted extensive searches on Saturday at the residence of Madhava Reddy, the prime accused (A1) in the file-burning case linked to the Madanapalle sub-collector’s office.

The incident dates back to July 21, 2024, when a suspicious fire broke out at the sub-collector’s office, destroying nearly 2,440 key revenue files. The Crime Investigation Department later confirmed the blaze was a deliberate act of arson, allegedly carried out to destroy evidence relating to large-scale illegal land transactions.

The raids began early on Saturday morning, with officers thoroughly inspecting the house in Madanapalle. Sources said Madhava Reddy was not present and remains untraceable.

A CID team led by DSP Venugopal from Tirupati, along with CIs Raj Kumar and Rangaswamy, and One-Town SIs Shivakumar and Ansar Basha, took part in the search operation.

Task force busts prostitution racket in Guntur, four held

Vijayawada:A special task force team conducted a surprise raid on a lodge allegedly running an organised prostitution racket near Railway Station Road under Kothapeta Police Station limits on Friday evening, arresting four persons.

Acting on a tip-off, the operation was carried out around 4.30 p.m. on the instructions of Guntur District SP Vakul Jindal. The information about illegal activities at the lodge was routed through the SB CI to the SP, who immediately authorised the raid.

The task force team, led by SS Hanumantha Rao, apprehended two women and two men from the premises. Police also seized five mobile phones from the accused, who were shifted to the police station for further investigation.

Five held in Guntur burglary; cash, gold traced

Vijayawada:Old Guntur Police have arrested five persons in connection with a burglary, recovering `3.5 lakh in cash and pledge receipts for 90 grams of stolen gold.

The case dates back to August 9, 2025, when complainant Mudrasu Saraswati (35), a resident near Vasavi Complex, Redla Bazaar, reported that her house had been broken into between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m., with ₹10 lakh in cash and around 90 grams of gold ornaments stolen.

Police apprehended the accused on December 6 from the First Line area of Suddapalli Donka, Durganagar.

During interrogation, the prime accused, Maddu Anitha (30), confessed to planning the theft with her accomplices after facing financial distress following separation from her husband. Investigation showed the stolen gold had been pledged at two banks in Medikondur for ₹2.75 lakh and ₹2.25 lakh.

The arrested accused are: Maddu Anitha (30), Sheikh Karimullah (38), Reddy Sai Santosh (32), Gandikota Gopi (22), and Banavat Chandu Nayak (21).

Ensure MSP for maize to avoid distress sale: Collector

Kurnool:District collector Dr A. Siri announced that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for maize has been fixed at `2,400 per quintal by the Central government. She instructed traders to strictly follow this MSP and ensure that farmers are not forced to sell their produce at lower prices.

Speaking at a meeting with traders at the collectorate on Saturday, she said that officials from the agriculture and marketing departments would monitor the procurement process to prevent any loss to farmers. She also directed officials to inspect weighing machines regularly to avoid cheating, noting that penalties were recently imposed on traders using faulty equipment.

Traders assured that they would purchase maize as per the MSP. They also raised concerns over high transportation charges being collected by the local lorry association. The collector assured that she would look into the issue and take appropriate action.

English trainer from Kurnool gains national recognition

Kurnool:Freelance competitive English faculty M. Rathnam from Kurnool has earned national recognition, securing a place among the country’s top 100 effective English trainers. The distinction follows a nationwide survey conducted by the TY Foundation of Uttar Pradesh and Rashtriya Naitika Samman, and the recognition has been endorsed by NITI Aayog and the Union ministry of corporate affairs.

Rathnam, one of India’s youngest competitive English trainers, has already made a mark in the field, guiding aspirants to secure placements in government sector banks and various competitive streams. He is also a recipient of the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam National Excellence Award, further adding to his professional credentials.

Restore Krishna irrigation waters to Seema: RSSS

Kurnool:The Rayalaseema Sagu Neeti Sadhana Samiti (RSSS) appealed to the Nandyal district administration to ensure proper functioning of the Pothireddypadu-Banakacherla regulator complex, stressing that the system is failing to serve its original mandate of meeting Rayalaseema’s irrigation needs. Samiti members, led by president Bojja Dasharatharami Reddy, submitted a detailed note to the collector on Saturday highlighting lapses in Krishna water distribution from the regulator complex.

They pointed out that due to construction deficiencies, lack of maintenance and unfinished distributary works, a major volume of water flowing from Banakacherla is being diverted into the Kundu river instead of reaching command areas. The diversion, they said, has severely affected irrigation prospects across Rayalaseema.

The Samiti sought immediate clearing of obstructions in the main canals and completion of pending distributaries to ensure that 44,000 cusecs released from Pothireddypadu for 30 days, estimated at 120 tmcft, reaches SRBC, Telugu Ganga, Galeru-Nagari, Mylavaram, Pydipalem and Chitravathi reservoirs, covering nearly eight lakh acres. The collector assured that a comprehensive report would be forwarded to the state government for further action.