By DC Correspondent

Copyright deccanchronicle

Vijayawada:The Group of Ministers has called for the Surya Lanka Beach Festival to be conducted in a grand manner from September 26 to 28, with the aim of positioning it as a global tourism centre.The GoM held a review meeting at the AP Secretariat on Wednesday to assess the arrangements being made for the event.Ministers Kolusu Parthasarathi, Kollu Ravindra, Anagani Satya Prasad, and Gottipati Ravi Kumar issued a series of directives to officials for the smooth conduct of the festival. They suggested providing sports facilities, essential amenities, and basic infrastructure, along with arrangements for adventure sports, exhibitions, a laser show, and cultural programmes.They also noted that people from neighbouring states were expected to attend the event and stressed the importance of maintaining proper law and order.Meanwhile, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is scheduled to visit Surya Lanka on September 27 and lay the foundation stone for works worth ₹97 crore.Train services disrupted on Vijayawada–Duvvada section due to bridge worksVijayawada:South Central Railway has announced disruptions to train services on the Vijayawada–Duvvada section due to non-interlocking works linked to the construction of new bridges.Between November 21 and 25, 2025, eight trains will be cancelled and three others rescheduled.The affected trains include services connecting major stations such as Rajahmundry, Visakhapatnam Junction, Guntur, Kakinada Port, and Vijayawada Junction. Train numbers 67285, 67286, 17239, 17240, 17267, 17268, 12717, and 12718 will not operate on specified dates between November 22 and 25.In addition, Train 11019 (CSMT Mumbai–Bhubaneswar New) departing on November 21 will be delayed by 180 minutes, Train 13351 (Dhanbad Junction–Alappuzha) departing on November 24 will be delayed by 180 minutes, and Train 22837 (Hatia–Ernakulam Junction) departing on November 24 will be delayed by 160 minutes.HC allows exhibition on temple land for 56 daysVijayawada:The Andhra Pradesh High Court has permitted the organisation of the ‘Vijayawada Utsav’ exhibition on 35 acres of farmland belonging to the Gogudupeta Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Gollapudi, issuing a stay on an earlier single-judge order that disallowed the use of temple land for commercial purposes.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dheeraj Singh Thakur and Justice Cheemalapati Ravi heard the petition on Wednesday and granted approval for the event, which will run for 56 days and is expected to generate revenue of ₹45 lakh.The court observed that since the organiser, Society for Vibrant Vijayawada, had assured that the land would be restored to its original state after the exhibition, and considering the significant income the temple would earn, permission was justified.SIT contests default bail for three in AP liquor scamVijayawada:The AP CID’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) raised objections in the High Court on Wednesday against the grant of default bail to three accused in the AP liquor scam — Balaji Govindappa, K. Dhananjay Reddy, and P. Krishna Mohan Reddy.During the hearing of a petition seeking revocation of the bail granted earlier by the ACB court, senior counsel for the SIT argued that the ACB court had cited lacunae in the chargesheet while sanctioning bail. He submitted that the lacunae were later rectified, but the ACB court failed to take this into account.He further contended that the ACB court erred in granting default bail on the grounds that the chargesheet filed was incomplete.After hearing both sides, the single-judge bench headed by Justice Jyothirmai Pratapa adjourned the matter to Thursday.33 diarrhoea cases reported in GunturVijayawada:As many as 33 cases of diarrhoea have been reported from 17 areas in Guntur on Wednesday.The affected areas include Old Guntur, Redla Bazar, Buchaiah Thota, Hanumantha Nagar, Tarakarama Nagar, Bhagya Nagar, Railway Station, Srinagar, Donka Road, Sampath Nagar, Ramireddy Peta, RTC Colony, Mangaladas Nagar, Nalla Cheruvu, Obuulanaidu Palem, Tenali and Tadepalli.Guntur district collector A. Thameem Ansari reviewed the outbreak of diarrhoea with officials from the health and other stakeholder departments in Guntur on Wednesday and directed them to take all necessary measures to ensure no further cases are reported. She advised people not to panic and instructed hospitals to provide better medical care. She also directed officials to undertake sanitation measures, spray bleaching powder and advised residents to consume only boiled and cooled water.Authorities confirmed that the outbreak of diarrhoea was not due to potable water supplied by the Guntur Municipal Corporation but resulted from the consumption of contaminated food.