Hyderabad

KTR challenges Revanth Reddy to quit as CM and battle it out in Malkajgiri for LS seat

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In a tit-for-tat exchange, BRS working president KT Rama Rao responded to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s challenge to secure at least one seat in the upcoming Parliament elections by issuing a challenge of his own.

Published Date – 29 February 2024, 05:15 PM


KTR challenges Revanth Reddy to quit as CM and battle it out in Malkajgiri for LS seat


Hyderabad: Responding in equal measure and more at Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s challenge to win at least one seat in the ensuing Parliament elections, BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Thursday challenged the Chief Minister to resign from his post and as Kodangal MLA to fight it out in the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat.

“I too will resign as Sircilla MLA and contest from the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat. Let’s decide in just one seat,” Rama Rao said.

Suggesting the Chief Minister to refrain from indulging in “silly politics”, the BRS working president also challenged him to fulfill his promises including the Rs.2 lakh farm loan waiver, Rs.2,500 monthly financial assistance to women and the 420 promises made to the people.

Speaking to the media here ahead of the ‘Chalo Medigadda’ programme of the BRS slated for Friday, Rama Rao took potshots at Revanth Reddy’s ‘payment quota’ backdoor entry into the top seats of the Congress, including that of the TPCC president and even the Chief Ministerial post. He also ridiculed the Congress system of State units paying for the national unit’s activities.

“Why are building permissions being kept on hold in GHMC and HMDA limits? This is being done to carry payment bags to New Delhi,” he said, also asking: “If I am from the management quota, to which quota do Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi belong?”

The BRS working president demanded the State government to initiate rectification measures at Medigadda and supply water to the farming community. “We are accepting Revanth Reddy’s challenge and will take up rectification measures and supply water. In the political witchhunt to blame the BRS, farmers should not be troubled,” Rama Rao said.

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Telangana Student, Barred From Exam For Reaching Late, Dies By Suicide

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Telangana Student, Barred From Exam For Reaching Late, Dies By Suicide

Tekum Siva Kumar was upset after he missed his exam

Hyderabad:

A Class 11 student, upset after he was barred from taking an exam because he reached late, has died by suicide in Telangana’s Adilabad district.

The body of Tekum Siva Kumar was recovered from Satnala dam this afternoon. A suicide note was found near the landing he must have jumped from. His watch, wallet and other items were found with the note. In his wallet were two photographs – his and his father’s.

The note in Telugu read, “I am sorry, daddy, forgive me. I am not able to cope with this trauma. You have done a lot for me, but I am not able to do anything for you. I have never felt this bad. I have missed the exam for the first time. I am feeling terrible,” the note says.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed near the dam when the youngster’s body was brought out of the water and his relatives broke down.

About 10 lakh students of the Telangana state education board are taking the intermediate exams that started yesterday. Siva Kumar’s death has brought under the spotlight a strict rule of the Telangana board that a student won’t be allowed to take the test even if he reaches the exam centre a minute late. As the exams started, students were seen running to their exam centres. Many of them, barred from taking the exam because they were late by a few minutes, were seen crying outside and pleading with the examiners to let them in.

Hyderabad

Director Krish Jagarlamudi on the run 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.

Published Date – 29 February 2024, 04:48 PM


Director Krish Jagarlamudi on the run in Gachibowli drug case

Representational Image

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.

World

Russia shoots down 48 Ukraine drones near Kupyansk in a day

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“During the air defense of the West group of troops, 48 unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed in one day,” Russia’s TASS news agency quoted head of the press center of the troops involved Ivan Bigma as saying.

Kupyansk is a city in the Kharkov Oblast in eastern Ukraine.

Bigma also said that Ukraine suffered up to 145 casualties in the area. Furthermore, Russian fire hit two BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, four artillery pieces, a mortar crew and two pickup trucks.

There was no immediate response from Ukraine.

RHM/PR

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Cabinet OKs Solar Scheme To Give Families 300 Units Of Free Power A Month

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Cabinet OKs Solar Scheme To Give 1 Crore Families 300 Units Of Free Power A Month

Under the scheme, financial assistance will also be provided for residential rooftop solar installations.

Continuing its push for renewable energy, the government has approved a scheme providing assistance of up to Rs 78,000 to 1 crore families to set up rooftop solar systems, which will enable them to get free electricity up to 300 units per month. 

Addressing a press briefing, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Thursday that the Union Cabinet has approved the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. The scheme, which will have an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore, had been launched by PM Narendra Modi on February 13.

The minister said the decision will not only help families and give a boost to domestic manufacturing of solar energy components, but also provide direct employment to 17 lakh people. 

Under the scheme, central financial assistance (CFA) will be provided for residential rooftop solar installations. An official release said assistance of 60% of system cost will be given for 2 kilowatt (kW) systems and 40% of the additional cost will be given for systems which have a capacity of between 2 and 3 kilowatt. The CFA will be capped at 3 kW. 

“At current benchmark prices, this will mean Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1 kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2 kW systems and Rs 78,000 for 3 kW systems or higher,” the release said. 

Officials said the subsidy will not apply to residential consumers who already have rooftop solar systems.

Benefits For Consumers

The government said households will be able to save on their electricity bills and earn additional income through the sale of surplus power to discoms. A 3 kW system, it said, will be able to generate more than 300 units a month on an average for a household.

“Of the approximate cost of Rs 1.45 lakh for a (rooftop) 3 kW plant, Rs 78,000 will be given by the Centre as a subsidy. For the remaining sum, a low-interest loan can also be taken from banks. The consumer will save on electricity, because he will get 300 units free. Additional units can be sold to discoms through net metering,” Mr Thakur said. 

“Assuming a consumer spent Rs 1,875 per month; if Rs 610 is the EMI, he will save Rs 1,265 a month because he won’t have to pay the (electricity) bill. This will mean savings of Rs 15,000 a month for 1 crore families,” the minister added.

Families can apply for subsidy through the National Portal and also select a suitable vendor for installing the rooftop solar systems. The release said the National Portal will assist the households in their decision-making process by providing relevant information such as appropriate system sizes, benefits calculator and vendor rating.

To install the systems, families will be able to access collateral-free low-interest loan products of around 7% (at present) for installation of systems of up to 3 kW.

Reducing Emissions

The release said the scheme will lead to the addition of 30 gigawatt of solar capacity through residential rooftop systems, resulting in a reduction of 720 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the 25-year lifetime of the systems.

“It is estimated that the scheme will create around 17 lakh direct jobs in manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, sales, installation, operations and maintenance, and other services,” it stated.

PM Modi had first mentioned the scheme in January, after the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. 

Hyderabad

Special drive from March 1 for pending Dharani applications

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All the District Collectors have been directed to form two-three teams in every Tahsildar office to scrutinise the pending applications, conduct field inspections and prepare reports, within a stipulated time frame.

Published Date – 29 February 2024, 04:46 PM


Special drive from March 1 for pending Dharani applications

All the District Collectors have been directed to form two-three teams in every Tahsildar office to scrutinise the pending applications, conduct field inspections and prepare reports, within a stipulated time frame.

Hyderabad: For speedy disposal of the pending applications in the Dharani portal, a revenue special drive will be conducted at all the Tahsildar offices across the State from March 1 to 9.

All the District Collectors have been directed to form two-three teams in every Tahsildar office to scrutinise the pending applications, conduct field inspections and prepare reports, within a stipulated time frame.

According to the orders issued, the teams will comprise revenue officials, paralegals and community surveyors working in DRDAs, Agriculture Extension Officers and Panchayat secretaries. Necessary training has been already given to these teams where the pending applications will be distributed either module-wise or village-wise.

They will verify all types of land records including Setwar, Khasra Pahani, Sessala Pahani, old pahanis, 1B register and Dharani portal as well as details pertaining to assignment, Inam, PoT registers, Bhoodan, Wakf and endowment lands, if necessary.

The District Collectors have been instructed to provide the Tahsildar office teams with access to pending applications and the documents submitted along with those applications.

The team leads will ensure that information is given to applicants through village-level officers or WhatsApp/phone/SMS. Based on the verification, the teams will prepare reports on each application recommending acceptance or rejection.

A total 16 modules have been identified for quick disposal in the first phase, at the level of the Tahsildar, Revenue Divisional Officer, the District Collector and also the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration.

While the Tahsildars and the District Collectors have been directed to dispose of the applications within seven days, the RDOs and the Additional Collectors (Revenue) must dispose of them within three days.

“The special drive is being conducted based on the suggestions made by the Dharani Committee and to bail out of the problems faced by the farmers and other applicants. The grievances which can be resolved without much complications will be disposed of immediately.

Based on the reports submitted by the District Collectors and disposal of the applications, pending applications pertaining to certain complex issues will be disposed of in the next phase,” a top official in the Revenue department said.

Middle East

Top aid worker 'shocked' by catastrophic humanitarian condition in Rafah visit

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The head of a Norway-based NGO has been “shocked” after witnessing the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Rafah in southern Gaza, caused by the Israeli regime’s months-long genocidal war on the besieged Palestinian territory.

Visiting a school sheltering some 4,500 displaced Palestinian who fled Gaza City in the north of the territory and nearby Khan Yunis, Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), in a post published on X platform on Wednesday expressed his dismay at the living conditions they were enduring.

“The disabled, the pregnant and the newborn share 18 latrines with 4500 others. Malnutrition, epidemic disease and trauma is everywhere,” Egeland wrote.

Shocked by conditions at this school in Rafah, #Gaza. 4500 here come from Gaza City, Khan Younis etc. The disabled, the pregnant and the newborn share18 latrines with 4500 others. Malnutrition, epidemic disease and trauma is everywhere. NRC providing all the aid we can get in. pic.twitter.com/k5jonz2rld


— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) February 28, 2024

Egeland slammed Israel and its allies for carrying out a relentless onslaught against the besieged civilian population of Gaza and called it “a stain on an international community” which has failed to secure any kind of restraint or humanitarian access.

“People are traumatized beyond belief and live under the most horrific condition,” he called the situation in Gaza in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.

In an earlier post from the Rafah border crossing into Gaza, Egeland said hundreds of aid trucks were waiting to travel into the Palestinian territory to help “a starving civilian population”. “The system is broken,” he said of the process involved in allowing aid into Gaza. “Israel could fix it for the sake of the innocent,” he added.

Hundreds of aid trucks wait in line to cross into Gaza at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings to a starving civilian population. There has not been a single day we have gotten the needed 500 trucks across. The system is broken and Israel could fix it for the sake of the innocent pic.twitter.com/dMb9gTbchJ


— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) February 28, 2024

Recently, a United Nation official said that Israeli forces are systematically blocking access to people in need in Gaza, complicating the task of delivering aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.

Rafah, the town along the Egyptian border, which was once deemed a “safe zone” by the Israeli military forces, has now become the last refuge for over half of Gaza’s entire population of more than 2.3 million, who have fled their homes in other parts of the territory to shelter from incessant Israeli attacks.

At least 500,000 people are facing famine in Gaza, while the entire population of the territory is experiencing acute food shortage, according to figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Over 30,000 Palestinian, including 14,000 children, have been killed in Gaza, 146 days into the latest offensive launched by Israel, according to Gaza’s health ministry. 

India

Better air quality linked to reduced suicide rates: Study

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The team used weather conditions to tease apart confounding factors affecting pollution and suicide rates, arriving at what they consider to be a truly causal connection.

Published Date – 29 February 2024, 03:45 PM


Better air quality linked to reduced suicide rates: Study

File Photo

New Delhi: Lower air pollution levels may be associated with reduced suicide rates, according to a study conducted in China. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, estimate that China’s efforts to reduce air pollution have prevented 46,000 suicide deaths in the country over just five years.

The team used weather conditions to tease apart confounding factors affecting pollution and suicide rates, arriving at what they consider to be a truly causal connection.

The results, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, unearth air quality as a key factor influencing mental health.

Issues like air pollution are often framed as a physical health problem leading to a spectrum of acute and chronic illnesses such as asthma, cardiovascular disease and lung cancer, the researchers said.

The research team had previously studied the effect of temperature on suicide rates in India, finding that excessive heat drives those rates up. The team was curious to notice that the suicide rate in China dropped far faster than its decline in the rest of the world.

In 2000, the country’s per-capita suicide rate was higher than global average but two decades later it has fallen below that average, which itself is declining, the researchers said. At the same time, air pollution levels were plummeting, they said.

“It’s very clear that the war on pollution in the last seven to eight years has led to unprecedented declines in pollution at a speed that we really have not seen anywhere else,” said study co-lead author Tamma Carleton, an assistant professor at UC Santa Barbara.

Carleton and co-lead author Peng Zhang, a former UC Santa Barbara doctoral student, teamed up with researchers in Xanghai and Beijing to examine the effects of China’s recent crackdown on air pollution on suicide rates across the country.

They gathered demographic data from 2013 through 2017 from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and meteorological data from the China Meteorological Data Service Center.

The team compared suicide numbers across 600 counties between weeks with inversions and those with more typical weather, running the data through a statistical model.

“Suicide rates increase substantially when air pollution rises,” the researchers found. The effect was particularly strong for elderly people, with older women 2.5 times more vulnerable than other groups.

The researchers are not certain why older women are especially vulnerable to this effect, though it may be partly cultural.

Previous research suggests that most suicides by women in China are driven by acute crises. If pollution has an acute effect on mental health, it could disproportionately impact older women, they said.

The phenomenon does appear to happen relatively quickly. Rates increase within the first week of exposure, and then abruptly decline once conditions improve, according to the researchers.

This suggests that pollution may have a direct neurologic effect, rather than creating chronic health issues that drive suicide rates up later on, they said.

Carleton hopes the findings can reframe how society approaches suicide prevention.

“Public policy about air pollution — something you can’t control, what’s outside your window — is affecting the likelihood that you take your own life. And I think that puts a different lens on the solutions we should be thinking about,” she added.

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Have you seen this video of Bill Gates sipping roadside chai in India?

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The well-known philanthropist Bill Gates, who is visiting India, recently posted a video to his Instagram page in which he can be seen asking the well-known Dolly Chaiwala for “one chai, please.”

Published Date – 29 February 2024, 04:07 PM


Have you seen this video of Bill Gates sipping roadside chai in India?


Hyderabad: When Microsoft’s co-founder sips tea from a bandi, it will undoubtedly rock the internet community. The well-known philanthropist Bill Gates, who is visiting India, recently posted a video to his Instagram page in which he can be seen asking the well-known Dolly Chaiwala for “one chai, please.”

“In India, you can find innovation everywhere you turn—even in the preparation of a simple cup of tea!” With over 30 million views on Instagram, the video that Gates captioned went viral.

Netizens have taken notice of the unique way the chaiwala prepares tea, wherein he boils milk, tea powder, and ginger and pours it into a glass and serves Mr. Gates. In the video, Gates states, “I’m excited to be back in India, home to incredible innovators working on new ways to improve and save lives.”

“How much was the bill,” commented Swiggy India on the post. “Marvel has the best crossover, meanwhile Dolly chaiwala:,” commented another Instagram user. “Wtf does this mean Bill Gates came to Nagpur,” exclaimed a fan. In the Sadar neighborhood of the city, close to the old VCA stadium, is Dolly Chaiwalla’s roadside tea stand.

Mr Gates concludes the video by stating, “Looking forward to many chai pe charche.”

Mr Gates had also visited the Microsoft India Development Centre (IDC) in Hyderabad.

Watch the entire video here:

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Absurdity of UK foreign policy and surging fuel prices

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Britons are once again forced to pay more for fuel with petrol prices having increased by more than three pence per liter at the time of this report, while diesel has risen by four pence.

That means the cost of filling up a typical family car in the UK has now increased although prices had supposedly bottomed out from the record highs in 2022, which, in large part, had been caused by the UK and other NATO countries’ sanctions on Russian energy imports at the start of the Ukraine war.

The cost of fuel at the petrol pump in England is impacted by the price of oil on international markets and by the value of the pound against the dollar, since oil is traded in dollars.

The new pump price increases have been brought about by a recent jump in the price of oil.

And one reason for that can be sought in the foreign policy decisions by the UK and its allies in the energy rich Middle East; decisions such as supporting Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, which has led Yemen’s armed forces to launch attacks on Israel-bound ships, including UK vessels.

There is a rise, obviously to do with the fact that the tankers are not able to go through the Suez Canal because the insurance rates have gone through the roof if you try to do that.


So they’re diverting the tankers around the Horn of Africa and that means that the shipping costs are getting higher because there’s less [sic] ships available than normal.


And also, you know, transportation costs, labour, and hiring tankers for longer.


Professor Keith Pilbeam, City University London

The British Chambers of Commerce says more than half of the UK retailers and exporters have been affected by the disruption to the Red Sea trade with a 300% increase in the price of shipping a single container from Asia to Europe.

All this as the UK-US bombing of Yemen continues, essentially adding fuel to the fire.

Yemen is implementing international law by trying to prevent genocide and it’s absolutely absurd for the UK Government to go along with the US Empire and actually bombing these Yemeni positions.


And, actually as a result of that, causing a situation where the cost of living is increasing in Britain because of the ridiculous foreign policy that our politicians are embracing.


Chris Williamson, Former British MP

So what we have here is the British government tying the welfare of its own citizens to that of a rogue regime intent on committing genocide.