Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami Monday formally launched Mayiladuthurai as the state’s 38th disctrict. The newly created Mayiladudurai district consists of two revenue divisions Mayiladudurai and Sirkazhi. Mayiladudurai, Sirkazhi, Kuthalam and Tharangambadi areas will be the new revenue taluks of the district, which also comprises of 15 revenue firkas and 287 revenue villages.
READ | Edappadi Palaniswami formally launches Mayiladuthurai as the 38th district of Tamil Nadu
Also Read | 'Buy for farmers’: Hyderabad techies’ group helps tomato farmers get better price
Following three deaths by suicide linked to harassment for loan repayment in Telangana, the Cyberabad Police have busted a racket of app-based unauthorised lenders who offered instant personal loans at exorbitant rates through several mobile applications available on the Google Play Store. Unsuspecting customers were coerced into parting with double the amount borrowed.
READ | Telangana cops bust mobile loan racket after 3 deaths ‘due to harassment’
For assistance on COVID-19-related queries and mental health support in Chennai, citizens can contact the Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) COVID-19 helpline 044 46122300 | Citizens can find the nearest GCC-facilitated COVID-19 fever clinic here | For lodging rain-related complaints and assistance during the monsoon, citizens can contact the GCC's monsoon helplines 044 25384530 or 044 25384540 or the control room 1913 (available 24x7)
Three people who returned from the UK recently were infected with the mutated strain of coronavirus, a top official of the CCMB in Hyderabad said on Tuesday. Around 40 samples were sent to CSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) for ascertaining the presence of the new variant out of which three had the new strain.
"CCMB has received about 40 samples of COVID-19 positive patients who returned from the UK recently. Some of them have wrongly tested positive for the virus. We finished sequencing (for a new variant) of 20 samples, out of which three are positive of this strain (new variant from UK)," Rakesh Mishra, Director, CSIR-CCMB told PTI.
According to the official, large scale testing is the need of the hour and people need not worry too much about the new strain. "It (new strain of COVID-19) is just fresh, otherwise, it is the same virus and not much of an issue. Same symptoms, mortality, everything is the same.. we just have to take precautions," he said adding that the new strain may spread faster.
One person who returned to Tamil Nadu from the UK has tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said on Tuesday. He said that the patient has been isolated in a separate room in the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research here while his co-passengers and other contacts have been tested and found negative for COVID-19.
Radhakrishnan said more than 2,200 people had arrived in Tamil Nadu from the UK after November 25 and all of them underwent RT-PCR tests. As of Tuesday, 17 returnees have tested positive for COVID-19.
Reiterating that there was no need for any panic because of the new strain, he said RT-PCR test was being done for all returnees from the UK. "Those found positive are being treated in separate rooms even though results of their genomic sequencing were awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune. Therefore, the chances of spread of the virus in Tamil Nadu is less", he said. (PTI)
Rajinikanth’s elder brother R Sathyanarayana Rao on Tuesday backed the Tamil superstar’s decision to not launch his political party. The 77-year-old said it’s his brother’s wish and one can’t force him to change his mind.
Rao told PTI: “We too believed that (he would launch the party). He (Rajinikanth) has cited health reasons. So, we can’t force him. It’s his wish (not to launch party). Whatever decision he has taken, that’s definitely right.”
R Sathyanarayana Rao said he spoke to Rajinikanth on Monday inquiring about his health. Earlier this month, Rajinikanth paid a visit to his brother in Bengaluru, where he grew up.
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Superstar Rajinikanth’s decision of not entering politics due to health issues and the pandemic situation might have left fans disappointed, but his colleagues are supporting the move. Several stars from the film industry took to social media on Tuesday to lend their support to Rajinikanth.
Filmmaker Karthhik Subbaraj tweeted, “Thalaiva… Pls Don’t feel bad… May be we didn’t deserve a good political leader like you….. You are important to us Thalaiva… Take care & we will Love you as always Thalaiva ????”
Singer Srinivas wrote on Twitter, “It’s over guys .. The dream of Rajni and Kamal coming together” Others like producer G. Dhananjayan, filmmaker N. Lingusamy and actor Nadiya also reacted to Rajinikanth’s decision.
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Telugu actor Ram Charan has tested positive for coronavirus. Charan took to social media on Tuesday morning to share the diagnosis.
Ram Charan tweeted, “I have tested positive for Covid-19. No Symptoms & Quarantined at home. Hope to heal soon & come out stronger.” He further wrote, “Request all that have been around me in the past couple of days to get tested. More updates on my recovery soon.”
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Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth Tuesday announced that he would not be entering politics owing to his ill health and the pandemic situation. His announcement came two days before he was to reveal details of the launch of his political party.
In a three-page statement on Twitter, the actor expressed regret and said it pained him to make such an announcement after having said he would contest the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in 2021. “It is with profound regret that I have to say that I will neither be launching my political party nor entering politics. Nobody can understand my pain in making this decision,” he wrote.
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Following three deaths by suicide linked to harassment for loan repayment in Telangana, the Cyberabad Police have busted a racket of app-based unauthorised lenders who offered instant personal loans at exorbitant rates through several mobile applications available on the Google Play Store. Unsuspecting customers were coerced into parting with double the amount borrowed.
Officials said that if a person borrowed Rs 30,000 for seven days, the company charged Rs 24,000 as interest.
“If the customer could not pay the entire amount back, agents from call centres start harassing. Through the app they collect phone numbers of the family members and friends and call them and send abusive messages too,” Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar said.
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Telangana recorded 397 fresh COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the total positives to over 2.85 lakh while two fatalities pushed the toll to 1,535. Actor Ram Charan was among those who tested positive for the virus.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 92, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri and Rangareddy with 37 and 28 respectively, a government bulletin said on Tuesday.
The total number of recoveries stood at 2,77,931. As many as 5,999 patients are under treatment and 42,737 samples were tested on Sunday. Cumulatively, over 67.93 lakh samples have been tested. The samples tested per million population was over 1.82 lakh, the bulletin said.
The case fatality rate in the state was 0.53 per cent while the recovery rate in Telangana was 97.36 per cent.
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) conducted 334 fever clinics in Chennai on Monday. A total of 18,969 people attended the clinics, with swabs collected from 283 people who were identified with ILI symptoms, while others were provided with medication for minor ailments.
The most number of camps were held in Adyar (Zone 13) where 36 camps had been set up, while Manali (Zone 2) had the least with five camps.
Chennai has 2774 active cases across all 15 zones of the city.
Here are the active cases in the top 10 zones of Chennai:
Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) leader Kamal Haasan on Monday released a bribe tariff card which lists out the rate of bribe allegedly collected for various services provided by the Tamil Nadu government.
The MNM leader, who often states ‘Honesty as MNM’s Ideology,’ unveiled the bribery list while addressing reporters in Tiruchirapalli where he took part in several events organised by the party cadres. Haasan has been visiting various districts ahead of the 2021 state Assembly election.
Rebutting Chief Minister Edappadi’s claim that the state is progressing in the right direction under his government, Haasan said the state is deep-rooted in corruption as one has to pay bribes in all government offices.
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The Greater Chennai Police on Sunday rescued two minor girls, aged 13 and 8, from an 18-year-old engineering student who had convinced them to accompany him to his hometown, Srivilliputhur. The youth had befriended the 13-year-old girl through social media.
According to the police, the father of the 13-year-old girl lodged a complaint on December 26 at the J-4 Kotturpuram police station claiming that his daughter and her eight-year-old cousin had not returned home. Based on the instructions of Chennai Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, a team led by Mylapore Deputy Commissioner conducted a search operation around the girl’s residence.
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A total of 227 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 114 arrivals and 113 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami Monday formally launched Mayiladuthurai as the state’s 38th disctrict. Earlier in April, the state government issued a Government Order notifying that Mayiladuthurai would be carved out of Nagapattinam district.
The newly created Mayiladudurai district consists of two revenue divisions Mayiladudurai and Sirkazhi. Mayiladudurai, Sirkazhi, Kuthalam and Tharangambadi areas will be the new revenue taluks of the district, which also comprises of 15 revenue firkas and 287 revenue villages.
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Tangedco has announced a powercut in parts of Chennai today from 9 am to 2 pm to carry out maintenance work.
Here are the affected areas:
A total of thirteen passengers who had returned to Tamil Nadu from UK have tested positive for COVID-19 till date. A total of 93 contacts of the 13 patients have been tested. So far, 15 have tested positive and 77 contacts have tested negative, while the results of one more passenger is awaited.
Among the 13, five cases were reported in Chennai, three in Thanjavur, two in Nilgiris and one each in Theni, Madurai and Chengalpattu.
A total of 2300 passengers have travelled to Tamil Nadu from UK between November 28 and December 21, of which 1549 have been tested. Among these, 12 have tested positive, 1432 have tested negative and the results of 104 passengers are awaited. Of the 49 passengers who travelled between December 21 and 23, one passenger tested positive.
All the UK returnees and their contacts have been kept in isolation wards, according to the Tamil Nadu Health Department.
Tamil Nadu recorded 1005 positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 8,15,175. Among these, Chennai reported 285 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 2,24,672.
The state recorded 11 deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 12,080. Ten of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. The state discharged 1074 patients following treatment, putting the total number of recoveries at 7,94,228.
As of Monday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 8867. Till date, 4,92,604 males, 3,22,537 females and 34 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.
According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 1,36,85,464 samples from the state have been sent for testing till date, with 62,884 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 235 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 67 are government and 168 are private facilities.
Good morning!
Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on Tamil Nadu elections 2021, northeast monsoon, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.
Music maestro AR Rahman’s mother Kareema Begum passed away in Chennai on Monday. Rahman confirmed the news by sharing a photograph of his mother on Twitter.
Director Mohan Raja, producer Dr Dhananjayan, singer Harshdeep Kaur among others took to social media to offer their condolences to Rahman.
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When the price of tomatoes fell below Rs 2 per kilogram, Nagamani last week decided to plough off the field and not bother to pluck the fruit. A recipient of the uttama rythu (model farmer) award in 2014, she figured that there was no way she would cover even the input costs.
“No one cares for the farmer’s woes. We put all that we have on our fields expecting some returns. And then, the market is never in our favour. Those who cannot sustain are on the verge of leaving their farms,” Nagamani told indianexpress.com over the phone. An independent farmer since 2009, she cultivates sweet lemons, tomatoes, papayas, and drumsticks on 35 acres and employs 50-odd workers.
But over the weekend, things changed drastically. All her produce was purchased by a group of IT professionals from Hyderabad who sold off the entire stock at Rs 15 per kg in the city. The group of volunteers, affiliated with the Forum of IT Professionals (ForIT), sold over four tonnes of tomatoes promising to compensate the farmer with the entire proceeds.
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Candidates who have qualified AP EAMCET and participated in the counselling process can now submit their APEAMCET web options on the official website. The online web options entry will be available from December 28 to 29 at apeamcet.nic.in for students who have secured rank 1 to 60,000.
Other rank holders can submit their online web option on December 31. The facility to exercise fresh or change of options will be open on January 1. The allotment list will be released on January 3, as per the official notice.
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Three persons, including a Chinese woman, were arrested from Pune by Telangana police in connection to the ongoing crackdown against instant loan lending apps Sunday.
The police teams of Rachakonda Commissionerate busted a call center at Koregaon Park in Pune and arrested the Director of the company Parshuram Lahu Takve, his wife Liang Tian Tian, and Aaqib Shaik, who works as HR manager. Another director Amit Nandu Kalbhor is absconding.
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The Greater Chennai Police on Sunday rescued two minor girls, aged 13 and 8, from an 18-year-old engineering student who had convinced them to accompany him to his hometown, Srivilliputhur. The youth had befriended the 13-year-old girl through social media.
According to the police, the father of the 13-year-old girl lodged a complaint on December 26 at the J-4 Kotturpuram police station claiming that his daughter and her eight-year-old cousin had not returned home. Based on the instructions of Chennai Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, a team led by Mylapore Deputy Commissioner conducted a search operation around the girl’s residence.
With the help of the Mylapore cyber-crime department, the police tracked the cellphone of the 13-year-old girl and found that they had boarded a train from the Perungalathur Railway Station. A special team was formed and details of the missing children were shared on local WhatsApp groups.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami Monday formally launched Mayiladuthurai as the state’s 38th disctrict. Earlier in April, the state government issued a Government Order notifying that Mayiladuthurai would be carved out of Nagapattinam district.
In March, Palaniswami informed the state Assembly that bifurcation of Nagapattinam district was needed for administrative convenience and to accelerate the public welfare measures.
The newly created Mayiladudurai district consists of two revenue divisions Mayiladudurai and Sirkazhi. Mayiladudurai, Sirkazhi, Kuthalam and Tharangambadi areas will be the new revenue taluks of the district, which also comprises of 15 revenue firkas and 287 revenue villages.
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The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) board, the trust that manages the Balaji temple at Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati, which has lakhs of worshippers across India, will build a replica in Mumbai, with work scheduled to start early next month.
The temple will be built in Bandra East on land allotted during the tenure of the previous the BJP-Sena Maharashtra government. It will cost around Rs 30 crore to build.
“This temple will come under Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam board which is in Andhra Pradesh. The temple will be built on similar lines of the one at Tirupati. The idol will be the same as it is in the original venue. It’s not possible for everyone to go to Tirupati and seek God Balaji’s blessings. So, the board had long ago decided to build a new temple in the city,” Amol Kale, a board member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam trust and a member of the local advisory committee, told The Indian Express.
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Telangana reported 205 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the lowest figure after several months, taking the tally to over 2.85 lakh while two fatalities pushed the toll to 1,533, the state government said on Monday.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 54, followed by Rangareddy and Karimnagar with 15 and 13 respectively, it said in a bulletin.
The total number of positive cases stood at 2,85,068 while recoveries were at 2,77,304. As many as6,231 patients were under treatment and 27,244 samples were tested on Sunday. Cumulatively, over 67.50 lakh samples have been tested. The samples tested per million population was over 1.81 lakh, the bulletin said.
The case fatality rate in the state was 0.53 per cent the recovery rate in Telangana was 97.27 per cent.
Actor Rajinikanth has been discharged from Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. According to a medical bulletin, the decision was taken due to the Tamil superstar’s improved medical condition.
Rajinikanth, who was admitted to the hospital following ‘severe blood pressure fluctuations’, has been advised complete bed rest for a week and minimal physical activity.
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The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) conducted 286 fever clinics in Chennai on Sunday. A total of 6749 people attended the clinics, with swabs collected from 93 people who were identified with ILI symptoms, while others were provided with medication for minor ailments.
The most number of camps were held in Teynampet (Zone 9) where 25 camps had been set up, while Manali (Zone 2) had the least with four camps.
Former minister Vakiti Sunitha Lakshma Reddy was appointed as chairperson of the Telangana state women’s commission, nearly two and a half years after the post fell vacant. The women’s commission also got six new members who will hold office till 2025.
Sunitha Lakshma Reddy was the minister for women and child welfare in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government. An MLA from Narsapur assembly segment in Medak district, she joined the ruling TRS party in April 2019. And the new members are Shaheena Afroze, Kumara Eshwari Bai, Kommu Umadevi Yadav, Gaddala Padma, Sudham Lakshmi, and Katari Revathi Rao.
A fully functional women’s commission has been a longstanding demand of several women’s groups in the last couple of years.
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In its first poll rally in Chennai, the ruling AIADMK on Sunday bluntly told ally BJP that it cannot make a dent in Tamil Nadu and ruled out accommodating the saffron party in the government if it won the assembly elections, due next year, and retained power.
The BJP has to endorse Chief Minister K Palaniswami’s candidature for the CM’s post for the polls and agree to its other terms -like non-participation in government- and if not, should rethink of its 2021 electoral options, the AIADMK indicated at its meet.
Pointing to the deaths of AIADMK’s top leader J Jayalalithaa and DMK’s M Karunanidhi who opposed her, senior leader and AIADMK Deputy Coordinator K P Munusamy said that in the absence of such leaders, ‘many’ parties were now trying to make a political entry into Tamil Nadu and succeed.
Munusamy made the remarks in the presence of Chief Minister K Palaniswami, deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and other senior leaders. In his fiery speech, Munusamy, a senior leader seen as close to Panneerselvam, who is also the party coordinator, was clear in his message that BJP cannot succeed independently in Tamil Nadu and was very much dependent on AIADMK.
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A total of 248 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 124 arrivals and 124 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.
Tangedco has announced a powercut in parts of Chennai from 9 am to 2 pm to carry out maintenance work.
Here are the affected areas:
Thirteen passengers who had returned to Tamil Nadu from UK tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. A total of 93 contacts of the 13 patients have been tested. So far, 12 have tested positive and 76 contacts have tested negative, while the results of five more passengers are awaited.
Among the 13, five cases were reported in Chennai, three in Thanjavur, two in Nilgiris and one each in Theni, Madurai and Chengalpattu.
A total of 2300 passengers have travelled to Tamil Nadu from UK between November 28 and December 21, of which 1437 have been tested. Among these, 12 have tested positive, 1224 have tested negative and the results of 1224 passengers are awaited. Of the 49 passengers who travelled between December 21 and 23, one passenger tested positive.
All the UK returnees and their contacts have been kept in isolation wards, according to the Tamil Nadu Health Department.
Tamil Nadu recorded 1009 positive cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the state tally to 8,14,170. Among these, Chennai reported 290 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 2,24,386.
The state recorded 10 deaths on Sunday, putting the state toll at 12,069. All 10 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. The state discharged 1091 patients following treatment, putting the total number of recoveries at 7,93154.
As of Sunday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 8947. Till date, 4,91,980 males, 3,22,156 females and 34 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.
According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 1,36,22,580 samples from the state have been sent for testing till date, with 63,919 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 235 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 67 are government and 168 are private facilities.
Good morning!
Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on Tamil Nadu elections 2021, northeast monsoon, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.