Hyderabad

Jal Shakti Minister’s adviser accuses State officials of non-cooperation in Medigadda

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Vedire Sriram, advisor to the Union Jal Shakti Minister and chairman of the Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers, voiced criticism toward the State government for its failure to furnish requested details to the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) for a thorough investigation into the Medigadda incident.

Published Date – 29 February 2024, 08:08 PM


Jal Shakti Minister’s adviser accuses State officials of non-cooperation in Medigadda

Vedire Sriram, advisor to the Union Jal Shakti Minister and chairman of the Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers, voiced criticism toward the State government for its failure to furnish requested details to the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) for a thorough investigation into the Medigadda incident.

Hyderabad: Vedire Sriram, adviser to the union Jal Shakti Minister and the chairman of the Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers, criticised the State government for not providing details sought by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to conduct a detailed probe into the Medigadda incident.

He found fault with the then UPA government at the Centre for drafting of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, with many deficiencies over water allocations and irrigation projects management.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Thursday, Sriram raised concerns over the lack of details provided by the State officials post the Medigadda incident when the NDSA team visited the barrage ahead of the Assembly elections in Telangana. He also accused the current Congress government of non-compliance with the NDSA’s requests to cooperate and provide details sought by them, for an indepth probe into factors that led to the sinking of piers at the barrage.

The advisor to the union Jal Shakti Minister claimed that the Medigadda barrage was constructed without involving geological surveys. He emphasised the need for third-party quality checks and staggered completion reports during the project construction. The NDSA committee, approved by the union Minister, is set to visit the spot next week, following a request from the State government.

Further, Sriram pointed to the AP Reorganisation Act’s failure to specify water allocations while allowing completion of six projects including four in Andhra Pradesh and two in Telangana. He urged both states to engage in dialogue and resolve the issues.

He asserted that the ongoing disputes between both the States can be resolved only with allocation of water by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II.

Top News

How Will BCCI Contract Snub Impact Kishan And Iyer Financially – Explained

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Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan found themselves excluded as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its centrally-contracted players for 2023-24. The decision was taken amid the controversy surrounding both cricketers ignoring the board’s directive to play Ranji Trophy. While Kishan did not play for Jharkhand despite opting out of the Test series against South Africa citing personal reasons, Iyer made himself unavailable for Mumbai due to injury – a claim that was dismissed by National Cricket Academy (NCA). The exclusion means that both cricketers will not receive the money that comes with the central contracts. While BCCI did not mention any specific figures in this year’s announcement, the list for the 2022-23 year provides a sneak peek into the salary brackets.

A player listed in Grade A+ earns Rs 7 crore, followed by Rs 5 crore in Grade A, Rs 3 crore in Grade B and Rs 1 crore for players in Grade C.

While Kishan was placed in Grade C for the previous year, Iyer belonged to Grade B .

Another big setback for both Iyer and Kishan will be the lack of access to NCA in Bengaluru. As part of the centrally-contracted players list, they had free access to the facilities. However, if they want to use the NCA facilities now, they will need to get clearance from their respective state associations.

Central contracts for 2023-24:

Grade A+:Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.

Grade A: R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.

Grade B: Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Grade C: Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar.

Fast bowling contracts: Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa.

Topics mentioned in this article

Hyderabad

Tollywood Director Krish Jagarlamudi absconding in Gachibowli drug case

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Officials informed the court that a notice was issued to Krish asking him to appear before them for recording his statement and also taking a drug test

Updated On – 29 February 2024, 06:46 PM


Tollywood Director Krish Jagarlamudi absconding in Gachibowli drug case

Photo: X

Hyderabad: The Cyberabad police investigating the drug case surrounding a star hotel in Gachibowli, took a crucial turn as the investigation officials informed the court that director Krish Jagarlamudi, a suspect in the case, was absconding.

Officials informed the court that a notice was issued to Krish asking him to appear before them for recording his statement and also taking a drug test. They were currently looking out for him.

In the remand report submitted in the court, the police said the prime suspect Vivek’s driver, Praveen and drug peddler Mirza Wahid Baig were added as suspect numbers 11 and 12 in the case. Elaborating further about the case, police said drug peddler Syed Abbas Ali confessed the hotel premises was often used for illegal activities including consuming drugs since at least a year now.

Officials alleged that Krish, and other suspect Nirbhay Sindhi consumed drugs in the hotel room on February 24, which was participated by Swetha, Lissi Ganesh and Neel as well. Their WhatsApp chats also confirmed that they invited friends to the party.

Further, police alleged that Krish and Nirbhay frequently met at the hotel for parties. On Sunday too, all suspects consumed 3 grams of cocaine with the help of white paper rolls.

You Tuber suspect missing:

On the other hand, another suspect Lissi, a YouTuber and short films actor, has been missing ever since the drug case was booked against her. A missing complaint in this regard was lodged by her sister Kushitha, also an actor.

Business

Growth in bank credit to industry decelerates to 7.8 pc in Jan: RBI-Telangana Today

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The RBI’s data on ‘Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit – January 2024’ also showed that credit growth to agriculture and allied activities improved to 20.1 per cent in January 2024 from 14.4 per cent a year ago.

Published Date – 29 February 2024, 07:58 PM


Growth in bank credit to industry decelerates to 7.8 pc in Jan: RBI


Mumbai: Growth in bank credit to industry decelerated to 7.8 per cent year-on-year in January compared to 8.7 per cent in the same month last year, according to Reserve Bank data released on Thursday.

The RBI’s data on ‘Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit – January 2024’ also showed that credit growth to agriculture and allied activities improved to 20.1 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2024 from 14.4 per cent a year ago.

Among major industries, growth in credit to ‘food processing’ and ‘textiles’ accelerated in January 2024 against the corresponding month of the previous year, while that of ‘basic metal & metal products’ and ‘chemicals and chemical products’ decelerated.

Further, bank advances to the services sector grew by 20.7 per cent in January 2024 against 21.4 per cent a year ago. Among major contributors, growth in credit to ‘trade’ improved, while that to ‘non-banking financial companies (NBFCs)’ decelerated year-on-year in January 2024.

Also, personal loan growth moderated to 18.4 per cent in January 2024 against 20.7 per cent a year ago due to decelerated growth in vehicle and other personal loans, the RBI said.

Data on sectoral deployment of bank credit for January 2024 has been collected from 41 select commercial banks, accounting for about 95 per cent of the total non-food credit deployed by all banks.

Top News

Prince William's First Appearance After Mysteriously Pulling Out Of Event

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Prince William's First Appearance After Mysteriously Pulling Out Of Event

Prince William wore a kippah, the traditional Jewish cap.

London:

Britain’s Prince William visited a London synagogue on Thursday to hear about an upsurge in antisemitism, as he returned to public duties two days after mysteriously pulling out of a high-profile royal event over what was described as a “personal matter”.

A week after the heir-to-the-throne called for an end to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, William met young ambassadors from the Holocaust Educational Trust who are seeking to tackle hatred amid soaring antisemitism in Britain.

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced 54 million pounds ($68 million) of new funding to protect Jewish communities after figures showed antisemitic incidents had hit a record high in Britain last year.

During his visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue, the prince, who wore a kippah, the traditional Jewish cap, listened to Jewish students as they recounted how there had been what one described as an “explosion” in antisemitism, including death threats and assaults.

He also met with 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Renee Salt to hear of her experiences.

Last week’s unusually direct intervention by William that “too many have been killed” in the Gaza conflict and that Hamas must release hostages generated international headlines as royals by convention avoid contentious political matters.

But after becoming the first senior British royal to make an official visit to Israel and occupied Palestinian territory in 2018, he has followed the region closely, his office said.

The 41-year-old has been expected to step up and perform more public engagements after his father, King Charles, revealed earlier this month that he was undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer.

But his withdrawal from a memorial service at Windsor Castle for his godfather, the late King Constantine of Greece, on Tuesday had sparked intense speculation, as William’s wife, Kate, is also recuperating from abdominal surgery last month and has not been seen in public since Christmas Day.

Palace sources said that his absence, officially because of an unexplained “personal matter”, was not linked to his father’s illness and that Kate was continuing to do well.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad

Kothagudem ZP chairman joins Congress

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Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy invited the ZP chairman along with 150 leaders, municipal councillors, former sarpanches, MPTC and ZPTC members from different parties into Congress at his camp office

Published Date – 29 February 2024, 08:00 PM


Kothagudem ZP chairman joins Congress

ZP chairman K Chandrasekhar Rao joined Congress in the presence of Revenue Minister P Srinivas Reddy in Kothagudem.

Kothagudem: Kothagudem ZP chairman Kancharla Chandrasekhar Rao has joined Congress in the presence of Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.

The minister invited the ZP chairman along with 150 leaders, municipal councillors, former sarpanches, MPTC and ZPTC members from different parties into Congress at his camp office here on Thursday.Chandrasekhar Rao was associated with BRS party since its formation and was known as a follower of Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy after the latter joined the BRS. Speaking to the media, Srinivas Reddy claimed that BRS would not win a single MP seat. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would contest from Telangana and would become Prime Minister. The government would extend benefits of welfare schemes to all deserving people, he said.

Steps would be taken to issue new ration cards and start the Indiramma Housing Scheme. The promises made to farmers would be delivered no matter how many difficulties the government faces, he said.

In Khammam, 59th division corporator B Lalita Rani of BRS also joined Congress party in the presence of the minister on Wednesday night.

Top News

Amid Defections In Lalu Yadav's Party, Rabri Devi Cautions Nitish Kumar

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Amid Defections In Lalu Yadav's Party, Rabri Devi Cautions Nitish Kumar

“If there is anybody who needs to worry, it is Nitish Kumar,” Rabri Devi said.

Patna:

Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi today asserted that defection of MLAs belonging to her RJD and ally Congress should “worry” incumbent Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president who recently tied up with BJP, and he should “see the writing on the wall”.

Rabri Devi, who is the wife of RJD’s founding president Lalu Prasad Yadav, also claimed that the BJP was poaching her MLAs out of the belief that the political battle in Bihar was between the two parties.

“It is now RJD versus BJP in Bihar. There is no third force of consequence. This is something the BJP knows, a reason why it is trying to wean away our people,” said the RJD national vice president.

“But we are not worried. If there is anybody who needs to worry, it is Nitish Kumar. He needs to see the writing on the wall. It is not for nothing that the BJP is trying to increase its own strength in the assembly,” she added.

Notably, Rabri Devi’s statement came a day after her party MLA Mukesh Raushan had alleged that after having a sufficient number of MLAs by its side, the BJP would engineer a split in the JD(U) to dethrone Nitish Kumar, the longest-serving chief minister of the state.

Rabri Devi seemed to be in agreement with the contention and said, “You just need to look at what the BJP has been doing in other states.” Altogether four MLAs of the RJD and two of the Congress have switched over to the NDA in the last couple of weeks. None of them has, so far, joined the BJP though speculations are rife that they may formally do so in the near future.

The Congress had on Wednesday moved an application before Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav, seeking the disqualification of its MLAs Murari Gautam and Siddharth Saurav.

Rabri Devi said her party was planning to do the same for RJD MLAs Chetan Anand, Neelam Devi and Prahlad Yadav, all of whom crossed over on the day Nitish Kumar won a trust vote, and Sangita Kumari, who did the same a couple of days ago.

Rabri Devi said, “We will try to keep our flock together. But those who have made up their mind to switch sides should first resign their membership of the assembly. They should be ashamed of what they are doing. I wonder how the Speaker can allow this.” The RJD leader also dismissed allegations by some of the defectors that those not from the Yadav caste were getting a raw deal in the party.

“It is utter nonsense. Be it the extremely backward classes or the Dalits, the RJD has given respect to all. No other party has rewarded sweepers, stone-cutters and labourers with berths in the state legislature or cabinet,” she said.

In the 243-strong assembly, the NDA enjoys the support of 134 MLAs, including the six defectors. The BJP, on its own, has 78 MLAs, as against only 45 of JD(U).

The ruling coalition also includes four MLAs of ex-CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and an Independent.

The RJD, which was the single largest party with 79 MLAs until it got hit by defections, lost power a month ago when the JD(U) supremo abruptly called off the alliance and returned to NDA.

Rabri Devi was also asked about rumours that the chief minister was scheduled to go abroad next week.

She said, tongue in cheek, “I wish him the best of luck. He might do well to settle abroad. Not much is left for him here.”
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

India

150 railway stations get FSSAI’s ‘Eat Right Station’ certification: Govt

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In a statement, the health ministry said, “The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)’s Eat Right

Updated On – 29 February 2024, 07:37 PM


150 railway stations get FSSAI’s ‘Eat Right Station’ certification: Govt


New Delhi: Food regulator FSSAI on Thursday said it has awarded ‘Eat Right Station’ certification to 150 railway stations so far for ensuring safe, hygienic and nutritious food options for passengers.

In a statement, the health ministry said, “The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)’s Eat Right

Station initiative is making significant strides in ensuring access to safe and healthy food within these bustling hubs.” Till date, 150 railway stations across the country have been certified as ‘Eat Right Stations’, ensuring safe, hygienic, and nutritious food options for millions of passengers.

The ‘Eat Right Station’ certification process involves rigorous audits of food vendors, training of food handlers, adherence to strict hygiene and sanitation protocols and efforts to raise awareness among individuals to make informed food choices.

Stations that meet these stringent criteria are awarded the ‘Eat Right Station’ certification. Some of the prominent stations that have been certified as Eat Right stations are in New Delhi, Varanasi, Kolkata, Ujjain, Ayodhya Cantt, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Kozhikode, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Vadodara, Mysuru City, Bhopal, Igatpuri, and Chennai, among others from various states.

That apart, six pioneering metro stations have also been accredited as ‘Eat Right Stations’, including stations at Noida Sector 51, Esplanade (Kolkata), IIT Kanpur, Botanical Garden (Noida) and Noida Electronic City.

FSSAI remains committed to further expanding the ‘Eat Right Station’ programme. The aim is to encompass all major railway stations and metro stations.

Hyderabad

Schools across Telangana to be closed from March 8-10; Find out why

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Students across Telangana will likely have three consecutive days off in the month of March

Updated On – 29 February 2024, 07:46 PM


Schools across Telangana to be closed from March 8-10; Find out why


Hyderabad: Schools in Telangana are likely to be shut for three consecutive days, from March 8 to March 10.

As per the Telangana Government’s Calendar, a holiday for Mahashivaratri  is listed for March 8, which falls on a Friday. The subsequent days, March 9 and 10 being second Saturday and Sunday respectively, are also designated holidays.

With this, students across Telangana will likely have three consecutive days off in the month of March.

World

LVPEI founder Dr Gullapalli N Rao honoured with ‘World EyeCons21’ award

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Dr Gullapalli N Rao is the first and only Indian to be selected for this recognition

Published Date – 29 February 2024, 07:40 PM


LVPEI founder Dr Gullapalli N Rao honoured with ‘World EyeCons21’ award


Hyderabad: Dr Gullapalli N Rao, founder of the LV Prasad Eye Institute, was honoured along with 23 other most influential ophthalmologists around the world with the “World EyeCons21” award at the 39th Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

He was ranked among the top 10 in this group for his exceptional contributions to shaping the world of eye care in the 21st century. This was the inaugural award initiated by the Asia Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology (APJO).

Dr Rao is the first and only Indian to be selected for this recognition. He was the former Chair of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in which role he led the Global VISION 2020: The Right to Sight along with the World Health Organization (WHO), and the former President of the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis (AOI), a group of the 80 most eminent academicians in ophthalmology.