Srisailam Reservoir plunges below Minimum Draw Down Level, raises water worries for Telugu States

The reservoir level touched 810 TMC for the first time after 2015-16.  

Published Date – 28 March 2024, 06:33 PM


Srisailam Reservoir plunges below Minimum Draw Down Level, raises water worries for Telugu States


Hyderabad: Even as the peak summer is round the corner, the reservoir level at Srisailam has dropped below the Minimum Draw Down Level (MDDL) of 834 feet adding to the water worries of both the Telugu States. The two States could make use of over 19 TMC of water going below the MDDL level. The reservoir level touched 810 TMC for the first time after 2015-16.

Andhra Pradesh continued its drawl from the Muchumarri Lift Irrigation scheme to meet the irrigation and drinking water needs under the Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanti. The project used to support the pre-Kharif activity such as rising of seed beds in its command in Telangana and AP. This may not be the case in the next water year.


About 850 cusecs were being drawn from the backwaters of Srisailam, thanks to the continued operation of Muchumarri lift in AP. Telangana State also has been drawing about 800 cusecs from the backwaters of Srisailam to support the crops under Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation scheme. Both States have utilised much of the water from the Srisailam mainly for generation of power which was given priority this year, according to officials.

They said required storage levels used to be maintained in Srisailam as it had been the major support source for feeding the reservoirs downstream including the Nagarjuna Sagar. In view of the deficient rainfall received in the catchment of Krishna, almost all the major projects in the basin are on the verge of going dry.

Srisailam reservoir level dropped to 810 feet on Thursday. In case of an emergency situation, water from the project storage can be exploited up to the level of 805 feet and it may yield less than three tmc more and out of this AP could stake claim for its share. In the year 2015-16, the State had encountered a similar situation.

So far as the Nagarjuna Sagar Project was concerned, the reservoir level touched 513.5 feet on Thursday. It has hardly 3.5 tmc above the MDDL of 510 feet to meet the needs of both the States. AP is yet to utilise 2.5 tmc of water from its entitled share for the current water year.

"No Hardik To Tell…": Ex India Star On Why His Absence Good For GT

Gujarat Titans’ new era under the captaincy of young opener Shubman Gill had a bittersweet beginning in IPL 2024. The 2022 champions began this season by defeating their old skipper Hardik Pandya‘s Mumbai Indians by six runs. However, their IPL 2023 final rivals Chennai Super Kings edged past them by 63 runs on Tuesday at Chepauk. Chasing a whopping target of 207 against Ruturaj Gaikwad and co, GT managed to score only 143 runs and faced their biggest defeat in terms of runs.

Ever-since Hardik switched to MI, there have been talks regarding Gill’s role as a captain of GT. Recently, former India pacer S Sreesanth opened up about Gill and stated that the absence of Hardik is a blessing in disguise for GT.

“There is no Hardik in Gujarat Titans to tell the bowlers what to bowl. Sometimes you need to give the bowler that freedom to bowl. This time the captain is Gill, and I’m sure Ashish bhai (Ashish Nehra) will say ‘let them bowl’. Bowlers will also take responsibility with a young captain and sometimes, this is the advantage of having a young captain,” Sreesanth said on FanCode.

Against CSK, Gill failed to live up to expectations as he scored only 8 runs off 5 balls, before getting dismissed by Deepak Chahar.

“They outplayed us when we were batting, their execution was spot on. We backed ourselves to get a decent score in the powerplay and once we didn’t, we were always playing catch-up. It was unfortunate for us. In T20 you can always talk about 10-15 runs here or there, end of the day it’s about how much they got. On this wicket, we were expecting to chase 190-200. I think it’s a great learning for the bowlers,” Gill said after the match.

“I think it’s better to have this kind of game early on in the tournament rather than in the middle or late. We always expected to chase 190-200, it was a really good wicket. Felt like we let ourselves down while batting. (On captaincy) Lot of new learnings, new experiences and different things. It’s exciting to captain a team like Gujarat Titans, we’ve made it to the finals in the last couple of years so very exciting,” he added.

GT will now be squaring off against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2024 match on Sunday in Ahmedabad.

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5K run taken out to create awareness among electors in Mancherial


Collector Badavath Santosh, alongside Additional Collector (Local Bodies) B Rahul and DCP Ashok Kumar, participated in a 5K run from IB Chowk to ZP High School (Boys) to raise awareness about the importance of exercising the right to vote among electors.

Published Date – 28 March 2024, 06:38 PM


5K run taken out to create awareness among electors in Mancherial

Collector Santosh, DCP Ashok Kumar and Additional Collector Rahul take part in a 5K Run taken out in Mancherial on Thursday 

Mancherial: A 5K run was taken out from IB Chowk to ZP High School (Boys) in order to create awareness among electors over usage of right to vote, here on Thursday.

Collector Badavath Santosh along with Additional Collector (Local Bodies) B Rahul and DCP Ashok Kumar took part in the event.


Speaking on the occasion, Santosh urged electors to exercise their franchise without fail and participation in the voting process would help the country witness development. He opined that one could question a public representative if she or he cast their votes during polls. He added that the administration mechanism was striving hard to raise the polling percentage in the district.

The Collector advised those who aged above 18 years to register their names on electoral rolls by April 15. He stated that steps were being taken to encourage elderly electors, persons with disabilities, and transgenders to cast their votes. He told the voters to exercise their franchise without being fair and being influenced. He requested them to use C-Vigil and toll free 1950 to report grievances.

Election Tahsildar Srinivas, employees of various departments, a large number of fitness enthusiasts including men and women took part in the event.

Exchange, deposit at RBI offices won’t be available on April 1-Telangana Today

Notably, the window for depositing and/or exchanging the Rs 2,000 banknotes continues to be available at the 19 issue offices of the RBI.

Published Date – 28 March 2024, 09:59 PM


Rs 2000 banknotes: Exchange, deposit at RBI offices won’t be available on April 1

Representational Image

New Delhi: The window for the exchange or deposit of Rs 2000 banknotes at RBI regional offices will not be available on Monday, April 1, RBI said on Thursday.

The central bank cited operations related to “Annual Closing of Accounts” as the reason behind the unavailability of exchange and deposit services. The facility will resume on Tuesday.


About 2.4 per cent of the just-withdrawn Rs 2,000 banknotes are still in circulation, about six months after the deadline to deposit or exchange them at bank branches is over.

This essentially meant 97.6 per cent of the total value of the high-value Rs 2,000 banknotes were back in the banking system.

The last day for the public to avail of exchange or to deposit high-value Rs 2000 banknotes at the banks was Saturday (October 7).

The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, the date on which RBI decided to withdraw the banknote. As of February 29, it has declined to Rs 8,470 crore.

The Rs 2000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.

Notably, the window for depositing and/or exchanging the Rs 2,000 banknotes continues to be available at the 19 issue offices of the RBI.

Those 19 RBI issue offices are in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram.

Members of the public from within the country can send Rs 2000 banknotes through India Post from any post office in the country to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts in India.

Members of the public from within the country can send Rs 2000 banknotes through India Post from any post office in the country to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts in India.

The Rs 2000 banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirements of the economy expeditiously after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

The objective of introducing Rs 2000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, the printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19.

US Bridge Collapse May See Biggest Marine Insurance Payout: Report

US Bridge Collapse May See Biggest Marine Insurance Payout: Report

Six of an eight-man construction crew are believed to have been killed in the incident (File)

Washington:

The collapse of a major Baltimore bridge after a cargo ship smashed into it could bring about the largest marine insurance payout ever, the boss of insurance giant Lloyd’s of London said in an interview Thursday.

“It feels like a very substantial loss, potentially the largest-ever marine insured loss, but not outside parameters that we plan for,” chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown told CNBC.

“We’re beginning to deploy resources in anticipation of this being a very substantial claim for the industry,” he added.

Six of an eight-man construction crew are believed to have been killed in the incident, which took place in the early hours of Tuesday.

With vessel traffic at the Port of Baltimore suspended after the accident, experts have warned of knock-on economic effects, especially locally.

Baltimore is the biggest vehicle-handling port in the country, including cars and heavy farm equipment, according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. About $100 to $200 million in value comes through the port daily.

Apart from thousands of workers at the port, Maryland Governor Wes Moore warned in an earlier interview that over 140,000 people could be indirectly impacted by disruptions.

Carnegie-Brown told CNBC that there would be claims for the ship, cargo and the bridge, but it is the “second-order impacts” that would become substantial.

“A lot of business is going to be interrupted,” he said, noting that supply chains would be disrupted by ships trapped inside the port and those initially trying to gain access.

“Those second order effects will take some time to work through,” he added.

A US government supply chain disruptions task force met on Wednesday to discuss the potential impacts on regional and national supply chains, following the bridge collapse, said a White House statement.

Since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, “the White House and federal agencies have engaged extensively with industry, ocean carriers, ports and labor unions to minimize disruptions as shipments are rerouted while the Port of Baltimore is closed to ship traffic,” the White House added.
 

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

Nation of paradoxes

India which takes pride in being the fastest-growing major economy cannot afford to ignore youth unemployment

Published Date – 28 March 2024, 09:02 PM


Nation of paradoxes

India which takes pride in being the fastest-growing major economy cannot afford to ignore youth unemployment

Hyderabad: India is a nation of great paradoxes. The co-existence of contrasting narratives often results in multiple interpretations of the state of affairs. On the one hand, the celebratory tone of the official line peddles a feel-good sentiment about the state of the economy, making bombastic projections for the future, while on the other, the stark realities of growing unemployment and inequalities present a gloomy picture.

While it may be comforting to note that the global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has revised India’s GDP growth forecast for the financial year 2024-25 to 6.8%, up from the previous estimate of 6.5%, the latest figures on unemployment are depressing.


According to the India Employment Report 2024, published jointly by the International Labour Organisation and the Institute of Human Development, the proportion of jobless youth with at least secondary education touched 65.7% in 2022, a massive increase from 35.2% in 2000.

The findings have cast a shadow on India’s capacity to reap the demographic dividend; young people constituted nearly 27% of the nation’s population in 2021. More alarmingly, the labour force participation rate, the worker-population ratio — the number of employed people per thousand citizens — and the unemployment rate witnessed a long-term deterioration between 2000 and 2018. The world’s most populous nation, which is also the fastest-growing major economy, cannot afford to ignore youth unemployment. The government and the industry need to work in close coordination to rein in joblessness. As former Reserve Bank of India Governor and economist Raghuram Rajan said, India needs to urgently fix the structural problems affecting its economy.

It would be naïve to believe the hype being generated around strong economic growth because signals from the ground tell a different story. The biggest challenge before the government is how to improve the education and skills of the workforce. Without fixing that, the country will struggle to reap the benefits of its young population. With high drop-out rates, poor quality of education and growing joblessness, it would be foolish to talk about India becoming a developed economy by 2047. There is a need to first make the workforce more employable and then create enough jobs. The lack of human capital must be a source of worry for policymakers as literacy rates in India remain below other Asian peers like Vietnam.

The female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in India remains among the world’s lowest. It declined by 14.4 percentage points between 2000 and 2019. Policymakers must focus attention on formulating schemes that can spur skill development and employment generation. The robust growth in manufacturing, services and construction sectors should guide stakeholders to optimally use the skills of India’s educated youth. The private sector too should pitch in because it is incorrect to think that government intervention alone can solve every social or economic problem.

Mahbubnagar Local Authorities MLC bypoll passes off peacefully

The polling station set up at MPDO office, Mahbubnagar registered 100 per cent polling as all the 245 voters cast their votes.

Published Date – 28 March 2024, 07:53 PM


Mahbubnagar Local Authorities MLC bypoll passes off peacefully

The polling station set up at MPDO office, Mahbubnagar registered 100 per cent polling as all the 245 voters cast their votes.

Hyderabad: The bypoll for the Mahbubnagar Local Authorities constituency MLC passed off peacefully amidst tight security on Thursday.

Authorities said of the total of 1,439 voters, 1,437 voters exercised their franchise at the 10 polling stations established for the election.


The polling station set up at MPDO office, Mahbubnagar registered 100 per cent polling as all the 245 voters cast their votes. The Mahbubnagar Local Authorities constituency covers erstwhile Mahbubnagar district limits, besides parts of Ranga Reddy and Vikarabad districts. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy cast his vote in Kodangal in the afternoon.

The by-election was necessitated after Kasireddy Narayan Reddy contested the Assembly elections from Kalwakurthy constituency and won, after which he resigned as MLC.

Among the 1,439 voters, elected public representatives include municipal ward, ZPTC and MPTC and mandal parishad presidents. From the Congress, Manne Jeevan Reddy is in the fray while from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, N Naveen Kumar Reddy is contesting the elections. Sudershan Goud is contesting as an independent candidate.

Polling commenced at 8 am and continued till 4 pm. Counting of votes will be held on April 2.

Ayatollah Khamenei: Gazans already victors of war with Israel


Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei meets with Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhala in Tehran on March 28, 2024.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says  the resistance forces and the people of Gaza are already the victors of the war with Israel and their resistance is a “divine phenomenon”. 

[This is a developing story.]


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Pant Achieves Massive IPL Feat, Joins Kohli And Gambhir In Elite List

Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant, who is playing his 100th game in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, received a special jersey as the entire team applauded. DC’s clash against the Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium marks Pant’s 100th game in the IPL. IPL took to X and shared a video of the DC camp celebrating Pant’s 100th IPL game and captioned it, “A round of applause and a special jersey for Captain @RishabhPant17 who is all set to play his 100th IPL match.” Pant, in his 100th IPL game, won the toss and put Sanju Samson-led RR to bat in their second game of the season.

First to play 100 IPL matches for a team:

CSK – Suresh Raina

MI – Harbhajan Singh

RCB – Virat Kohli

KKR – Gautam Gambhir

RR – Ajinkya Rahane

SRH – Bhuvneshwar Kumar

DC – Rishabh Pant

The Rajasthan-based franchise will be looking to ride high on their confidence following their 20-run win over the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). RR are second in the IPL standings with two points against their name.

While DC started their IPL 2024 campaign with a loss against the Punjab Kings. They currently sit eighth on the points table.

After winning the toss, Pant revealed his decision to bowl, his 100th IPL game and said, “We’ll bowl first. The wicket looks fine and we want to use it, there might be some dew in the 2nd innings. Feels good to play 100 matches for the same franchise, but every game is important for me. Most of the concerns are regarding injury, but these are things you can’t control. Two changes for us – Ishant hasn’t recovered, Shai Hope has a back spasm. Anrich Nortje and Mukesh Kumar come in,” Pant said.

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI):David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Ricky Bhui, Rishabh Pant (Wk/C), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar.

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI):Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (Wk/C), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma, Avesh Khan.

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Paradise food chain treats old age home in Falaknuma

Hyderabad: Spreading festive cheers this holy month of Ramzan, the city’s noted food chain Paradise treated the inmates of Fatima Old Age Home in Falaknuma to delicious food as a part of their CSR initiative on Thursday. Over 60 members were served their flavorful Biryani, Haleem, and Double-ka-Meetha. “An act of kindness during Ramzan fosters […]

Published Date – 28 March 2024, 08:00 PM


Paradise food chain treats old age home in Falaknuma


Hyderabad: Spreading festive cheers this holy month of Ramzan, the city’s noted food chain Paradise treated the inmates of Fatima Old Age Home in Falaknuma to delicious food as a part of their CSR initiative on Thursday. Over 60 members were served their flavorful Biryani, Haleem, and Double-ka-Meetha.

“An act of kindness during Ramzan fosters our willingness to continue to serve better. We wanted to bring smiles onto the faces of these wonderful people who also deserve to be happy and feel cared for during this festive month,” said Gautam Gupta, CEO of Paradise Food Court Pvt. Ltd.


As a flag bearer of Hyderabadi Biryani, the food chain has been wooing people from across the world every season, with high hygiene standards. Through the years, Paradise has won several accolades and laurels from Telangana State Hotels Associations, GHMC, Limca Book of Records, and others.