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HYDERABAD: In the last five years, the city of Hyderabad has become "Greater", expanding to five times its earlier size. Land auctioned by the
Jaganmohan
Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's son Jaganmohan Reddy. (
government here fetched as much as Rs 19 crore per acre, before recession hit the sector. This apart, the state became the country's SEZ capital with over 100 SEZs approved in AP.

Predictably, it is the real estate sector that is most concerned about "the accessible'' YSR's untimely death and is now rooting for his son Jaganmohan Reddy as the next chief minister, as he alone shares his father's passion for real estate, they say.

Apprehending that a non-businessman politician would be unable to understand their business and its prevailing concerns, realtors say Jagan is the next perfect choice for the CM's post. "Jagan is an industrialist himself. He is a real estate businessman and so would understand our business better,'' said Ashwin Rao, director of Manbhum Constructions.

Realtors say that Jagan not only enjoys the support of MLAs that would in turn give the state a stable government (which would be any industry's requirement), but he would also be the only person in the party who would adopt YSR's policies totally. And he is no greenhorn, they say, citing his thumping election victory from Kadapa and his acumen in handling his own firms.

Given that the state attracted infrastructure majors and the city even boasted of a brand-new 5,000-acre airport in YSR's time, city builders say that YSR was an exception among politicians as he had a unique, incisive understanding of the real estate business, a knack that his son has acquired, they say.

Besides, realtors note that if earlier major real estate and infrastructure activity was concentrated in Mumbai and Bangalore, YSR brought it to Hyderabad. "He made it the most happening city and only Jagan can carry this forward, being an industrialist and entrepreneur,'' said P V S N Murthy, president, AP Builders Association.

An example of YSR's "industry friendliness", which realtors expect Jagan would show, is the reduction in the "impact fee" ( paid for buidings over five floors) and development charges that builders sought just before the 2009 elections. YSR allowed builders to pay the impact fee in instalments. He also controversially acquired thousands of acres of land for the Outer Ring Road project and SEZs, which in turn lead to an appreciation in land prices around and turned many farmers into crorepatis overnight, while many were left landless.

YSR's builder friendliness was well known as he introduced a "green channel" for speedy disposal of building applications, in addition to bringing in GO 86 (new building rules, 2006) which did away with FSI completely and introduced a "mortgage rule", wherein one floor or 10% of the built-up area had to be mortgaged with the civic body.

"He (YSR) even waived the 5% stamp duty and broughtregistration charge to a modest 2.5% for affordable housing (for flats measuring up to 1,200 square ft), the lowest in the country,'' said C Shekhar Reddy, president, Builder's Forum. He added that realtors would like Jagan to take over as CM as he was young and serious in the business and has the vision to give the real estate sector a new direction in these turbulent times.

Most significantly, builders say YSR was accessible and want their next CM to be the same. "We didn't have too much difficulty meeting him and if he would say he would take a look into it, he would do it," said Prem Kumar, president, AP Real Estate Developers Association.

Clearly, a lot is riding on the next CM. Land prices would be just one of them.

HYDERABAD: A doctor by training, Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, or YSR as he was popularly known, was known for his strong administrative
YSR Reddy dies
YSR Reddy with principal secretary S Subramanyam on board the ill-fated helicopter on Wednesday. (TOI)

skills and whose second stint as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh this year broke a 53-year-old jinx for the Congress party.

This May, he became the first Congress chief minister since the state was formed in 1956 to complete a full five-year term and retain power in elections. The only other chief minister who achieved the fate was NT Rama Rao of Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

In Pics: YSR Reddy (1949-2009)

One of YSR's main achievements was subduing the ultra-left Naxalite insurgency in the state that had one time gripped 21 of its 23 districts. In the process, the People's War Group (PWG), once the dominant Maoist group in India, was crushed beyond recognition.

When he took over as chief minister for the first time on May 14, 2004 from N Chandrababu Naidu of TDP, it was a dream came true for YSR. The leader from the badlands of Rayalaseema had come up the hard way in his public life spanning three decades and emerged as one of the strongest leaders the Congress has produced in the state.

He has always been a winner. Elected to the state assembly for the fifth time, YSR is also a four-time Lok Sabha member and holds the record of never losing an election.

More than once he proved why he was more popular among masses with his fingers on the public pulse.

Popular as 'people's leader' among his followers, YSR tasted success despite facing a hostile poll campaign from both the TDP-led four party Grand Alliance and the Praja Rajyam Party of actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi.

YSR also emerged as one of the few leaders in the country to retain power beating the anti-incumbency factor. What has made his performance more creditable is the fact that he made no big promises and instead highlighted his performance versus the "poor credibility record" of his main rival N Chandrababu Naidu of TDP.

Banking on his performance and the numerous welfare schemes his government launched during the last five years, YSR retained power despite a three-cornered contest. The man who ran the Congress campaign on his shoulders emerged victorious in the face of hectic electioneering by top stars of the tinsel world in favour of TDP and Praja Rajyam.

Born to a Christian middle class family at Pulivendula, a small town in Kadapa district, on July 8, 1949, YSR made a modest beginning. Eldest of the five sons of YS Raja Reddy, a dynamic local leader in his heydays, he evinced interests in politics while studying at MR Medical College, Gulbarga, Karnataka.

After completing his MBBS, YSR served as medical officer at the Jammalamadugu Mission Hospital briefly. In 1973, he established a 70-bed charitable hospital.

He entered active politics in 1978 and was elected to the state assembly from Pulivendula. He served as state minister from 1980 to 1983 and retained the assembly seat in 1983 even when NTR swept to power with a historic victory.

Sensing a potential leader in him, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appointed YSR president of the state unit of Congress when he was only 34.

In 1989, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa and held the seat till 1999, when he shifted again to state politics. From 1998 to 2000, he again served as president of the state Congress.

Though the party lost the 1999 state elections, YSR emerged as the strongest leader of the party and became the leader of opposition.

The year 2003 was a turning point in his political career as he undertook a 64-day padyatra, or walkathon, across the state. Covering 1,500 km under the scorching sun, he received petitions from people about their problems, mainly relating to agriculture and unemployment.

It was this campaign and a strong anti-incumbency wave against Chandrababu Naidu's government which catapulted YSR to power.

His experiences during the padyatra helped him shape his policies after assuming office as he gave free electricity to farmers, waived their loans, introduced several welfare schemes like pension for the aged, widows and handicapped, housing for poor, Rs2-a-kg rice, Rajiv Arogyasri or community health insurance scheme and a massive programme to build irrigation projects.

Thanks to these initiatives, the Congress won 156 of Andhra Pradesh's 294 seats and bagged 33 of its 42 Lok Sabha seats this time.

In a message on Independence Day on Aug 15, Reddy said: "The state has witnessed tremendous growth in the past five years when compared to the growth that took place since independence. Our people are a happier lot and are embracing a bright future without any fears."

NEW DELHI: An SMS received by a mobile phone of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy's security officer John Wesley after the VVIP
YSR Reddy's helicopter crash
Debris of the Bell 430 helicopter that carried CM YSR Reddy scattered at the crash site, 275 kilometers from Hyderabad. (AP Photo)
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helicopter crashed is what provided the most crucial clue to trace the accident site, government officials said here today.

"The most innovative means to locate the accident site of the Bell-430 helicopter was adopted this morning by tracking the signal from a mobile phone of one of the passengers on board the helicopter. The mobile phone had received an SMS at 1206 hours yesterday, about two-and-half hours after the helicopter had gone missing from the radar," they said.

Though they refused to divulge details of the service provider or the contents of the SMS, the officials said with the help of the last signal from the mobile phone the crisis committee set up in Hyderabad decided to concentrate their search for Reddy's helicopter within a four-km radius from the spot where the mobile phone signal was tracked.

On the suggestion of the IAF representative in the crisis committee, two Chetak helicopters from Hakimpet Helicopter Training School (HTS) of the Air Force was launched this morning at 6.30 Hours and after a two-hour search they found the wreckage around 0830
hours.

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HYDERABAD: Shocked by the sudden and tragic end of their leader, 14 people died in different parts of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. Six people died
in East Godavari, five in Chittoor, while another YSR fan got a cardiac arrest in Vishakhapatnam. Two others died in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.
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Daily wager B Padma (44), a Rajiv Arogyasri benefactor, from Vanamalla in Punganur, collapsed on hearing the news of YSR's death at 10 am and died. Parvathamma (22), from Kummaragunta village in Punganur mandal, too died of shock. An ardent fan of YSR, N Raja Reddy, 52, a shopkeeper in Piler, died of cardiac arrest as soon as he saw YSR's death on television. "The people around him tried to resuscitate him, but he was declared brought dead by doctors at a hospital,'' a relative said.

A farmer from Kadapa, Narsaiah (75), who came to Piler on personal work along with his wife and children two days ago, died of cardiac arrest after hearing the tragic news. In Durgasamudram, Shankaramma (37), a daily wage labourer, who recently underwent a heart surgery under Arogyasri, died at around 6 pm.

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A degree student, Laxminarayana (19), studying in Chittoor Government Degree College, consumed pesticide. "My son could not take the sad news and resorted to the extreme step,'' his weeping mother C Lakshmamma said. The family hail from Chowdepalle mandal.

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In East Godavari, six people died in the aftermath of YSR's death, while former minister Jakkampudi Ramamohan Rao fainted upon hearing the news. Four died of heart attack, two others hanged themselves unable to bear the grief. According to district police, N Yesubabu (20), of Narendrapuram in Rajanagaram mandal and Achanta Ramakrishna (48), of Nagaram in Mamidikuduru mandal committed suicide.

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New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) India's civil aviation regulator seems to be speaking in twin voices on the airworthiness of the helicopter that crashed, killing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. A posting on its website says its certification had lapsed two years ago but a statement issued by it asserts just the opposite.

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The twin-engine Bell 430 helicopter, call sign VT-APG, bore certificate of airworthiness number 2390 issued on July 6, 2006 and was valid till July 4, 2007, says the website of the Directorate General of Civilian Aviation (DGCA).

However, a DGCA statement late Wednesday said: 'The helicopter was in possession with a valid Certificate of Airworthiness No. 2390 with its validity up to 05.12.2010. It had flown for 2,812.20 Hrs since new and 325.10 Hrs from last C of A.'
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On Thursday, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel asserted Thursday that despite what was posted on the DGCA website, the helicopter was airworthy.

The helicopter was registered on Jan 1, 1999 under file number 4-2/99-AI(I) and certificate number 2981 in the name of the general administration department of the Andhra Pradesh government, the DGCA website said.

Powered by two Allison 250B 40C turboprop engines, the helicopter had a seating capacity of nine, including the crew

The helicopter carrying YSR, as he was popularly called, went missing at 9.35 a.m. Wednesday, an hour after it had taken off from Hyderabad on a flight to Chittoor, 588 km away.

Its mangled remains were found at around 8.30 a.m. Thursday morning on a hillock 40 nautical miles east of Kurnool, 200 km from Hyderabad. Four others were also killed in the crash.
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Civil aviation sources here had told IANS Wednesday that the helicopter was not airworthy and was pulled out of the chief minister's use last year after the state purchased a new Italian chopper.

On Thursday, another civil aviation official said the helicopter was not only airworthy but also had a good flying record.

'It has been used by the Andhra Pradesh government and for commuting chief ministers for the last 10 years. It had a good track record and was well maintained,' the official told IANS.

The state government, according to the official, used the Bell 430 chopper even as it purchased a new Italian chopper Agusta AW 139 for the chief minister. 'This was done because the Bell 430 was airworthy,' he added.
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Reacting to the crash, a senior pilot who served state-owned Pawan Hans for over 20 years, said the Bell 430 is 'an excellent flying machine' but at the same time, had limitations.

'It lacks night-landing capability,' he pointed out.

The Agusta AW 139 was put into service in November last year, the sources said.

Soon afterward, the Bell 430 was handed over to the Andhra Pradesh Aviation Corp for commercial operations. According to one official, the police in Andhra Pradesh were now using the chopper.
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