Andhra Pradesh was spared the onslaught of cyclone Phailin, which left one person dead and inundated a few thousand acres of crops, a relatively small toll when compared to the doomsday predictions

Hyderabad: There has been a spurt in real estate activity in several villages covered under the GO 111 which restricts development in the 10-kilometre radius of twin water bodies of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar.

Besides increase in transactions by 10-15 per cent, the local registration and revenue offices are flooded with enquiries by realtors about relaxation of stringent norms of construction in 84 villages covered under the GO.

Hyderabad: Citizens will soon be empowered to verify whether the radiation emission levels emanating from cellphone towers in their locality are within permissible limits.

With no scientific study available yet in the world confirming that cell towers are health hazards, and apprehensions among people about living near such towers increasing, the state government is coming out with a set of guidelines to do a balancing act.