Chennai Hyderabad June 7, 8, 9 Highlights: TN records 17,321 cases and 405 deaths

A nurse accidentally cut off a portion of a 14-day-old baby’s thumb while attempting to remove a cannula from the girl’s hand using a scissor at a Thanjavur hospital in Tamil Nadu on Monday.

The baby, born prematurely on May 25 to Priyadarshini (20) of Kattur village, had congenital anomalies and had been on intravenous (IV) support without breastfeeding at Government Raja Mirasudar Hospital (GRMH). She was about to be discharged when the mishap occurred in the afternoon.

A senior paediatric surgeon rushed to the ward and attached the severed part to the thumb using a suture.

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Aiming at achieving transparency in the managing of the temples under its ambit across the state, the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable and Endowments Department (HR &CE) uploaded ownership documents pertaining to the lands belonging to temples on its website on Wednesday.

Particulars of the lands to the extent of 3,43,647 acres has been published in the first phase-out of a total of 4,78,272 acres of land identified to belong to the temples in Tamil Nadu. On Tuesday, HR & CE Minister minister PK Sekar Babu said 70 per cent of the total property containing the ownership documents will be uploaded on the website. He added that there are over 36,000 temples under the department’s control and the verification of title deeds was on.

“Title deeds of temple lands were corroborated with the software available with the state Revenue Department. These were classified into three categories viz. fully compatible, partly compatible, and new group. Steps will be taken to ensure that the title deeds of all the lands belonging to the temples are in the name of the temples concerned,” he said.

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A total of 21,38,586 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 11,127 people inoculated on Tuesday alone, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

Two days after a nine-year-old lioness succumbed to Covid-19 and nine others tested positive at a zoo in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has carried out swab tests of captive elephants at two camps in Coimbatore and Nilgiris districts.

At the Kozhikmudi camp in Topslip, 28 elephants underwent the test. The elephants included Kumkis, safari elephants as well as aged ones. At the Theppakadu camp in Mudumalai, Nilgiris district, samples of 28 elephants were collected. As many as 52 mahouts and 27 kavadies were also vaccinated against Covid-19.  Temperature checks are regularly carried out by the officials before letting them go near the elephants.

Forest minister K Ramachandran, who took stock of the situation at Kozhikmudi camp, also distributed PPE kits and other necessary medicines to the officers. He said that after the incident at Vandalur Zoo in Chennai, Chief Minister MK Stalin has instructed them to conduct tests in all the sanctuaries across the state.

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After being steady for a day, prices of petrol and diesel were hiked again on Wednesday, June 9, 2021, touching fresh record highs across the country. In the national capital, the petrol price rose by 25 paise while that of diesel too inched up 25 paise.

In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs. 96.94 per litre and diesel at Rs. 91.15 per litre.

In Hyderabad, petrol costs Rs. 99.31 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 94.26 per litre.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which developed 2-Deoxy-D-
Glucose (2-DG), a drug used for treatment of COVID-19 patients, has called for Expression of Interest (EoI) to transfer the technology to Indian pharmaceutical industries for production.

According to the EoI document, applications should be submitted before June 17 through email. "The EoI submitted by industries will be scrutinised by a Technical Assessment Committee (TAC). Only up to 15 industries will be given ToT on their capabilities, technical hand holding capability of DRDO and on First Come First Served Basis," it said.

The bidders should have a Drug license to manufacture Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) from Drug Licensing Authorities and WHO GMP (Good manufacturing Practices) certification among others. Laboratory synthesis process for 2-DG has been developed using D-Glucose as starting material. The synthesis process consists of conversion of D-Glucose to 2-DG through five chemical reaction steps followed by purification.

The process has been established at batch scale (100g) and pilot plant scale (500g) and necessary patents have been filed by DRDO in this regard, the Defence body said. (PTI)

Leader of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday urged the state government to direct authorities to be factual in certifying COVID-19 deaths and charged that ascribing incorrect causes in certificates could lead to problems during this pandemic.

He pointed out that children orphaned due to the death of their parents because of the virus would forfeit the state and central government assistance if the death certificate issued mentions the cause of death to be some other reason other than COVID-19.

“I request the state government to ensure the death certificates mention the exact cause of death in the case of those who lose their lives to the infection, Palaniwami said in a statement in Chennai.

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Mid-sized motorcycle maker Royal Enfield on Tuesday said it has presented a cheque of Rs 2 crore to the Tamil Nadu government for COVID-19 relief work. Royal Enfield CEO Vinod K Dasari handed over the cheque to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.  

"Tamil Nadu is the home of Royal Enfield motorcycles and we are committed to support the State in all its efforts to combat the devastating second wave of the pandemic. Our commitment to extend support to the state government today is being accompanied by a host of initiatives that Royal Enfield is undertaking in the region to extend relief to the community," Dasari said in a statement.  

The company, part of Eicher Motors, continues to assess the situation closely and will undertake any further steps required to extend further support towards relief and rehabilitation efforts in the long run, he added. (PTI)

A consignment of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, said to be the first such one for Tamil Nadu, arrived in Chennai by a private airline from Hyderabad on Tuesday. The processing of the shipment at the Chennai airport was completed quickly and it was handed over to a transport agency, airport sources said.

It was taken to a private laboratory at Periyapanicheri in Chennai by vehicle. Later, one box of vaccines was disptached to Coimbatore, sources said.

Scheduled to be rolled out by mid-June, the Sputnik V vaccine was accorded emergency use authorisation by the Drugs Controller General of India and it joins Covishield and the indigenous Covaxin in the battle against COVID-19. The first dose of the imported vaccine was administered in Hyderabad last month.

The vaccine, developed by Russia's Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, is said to be 91.6 per cent efficacious - the highest among COVID vaccines available in India. (PTI)

When Bala Govind Kumar, a 25-year-old visual artist, contracted Covid-19 and had to be quarantined, he decided to use his skills for self-portraits, conveying what he was going through.

Bala, who works as an assistant art director to a production designer, tested positive for Covid-19 in April and was in home isolation. This was when he began recording himself, and used the videos for his portraits. One image, he says, took a minimum of two hours to complete.

Bala hails from Tirunelveli. After finishing his architecture course in Ooty, he moved to Chennai for work. “From childhood, I was interested in art. I started painting from Class II. I have always believed there should be something in the work that is more than just colours and figures. Through my brother, I started to learn about other contemporary artists and tried to incorporate them into my works,” he says.

Bala says he wanted to unburden himself of his pain and hence channeled his negative emotions into art. The pictures he produced during this period — Rooted Termite; Persistence of Memory; Exigency; Out for the Count; The life of Riley is Imminent; and The Abandoned Story — describe his experience of isolation and illness.

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The Madras HIgh Court on Tuesday directed business houses, hotels, bakeries and other establishments directly involved in supplying food material to customers, not to blow the covers or touch the saliva to separate the covers and packing materials.

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy gave a direction to this effect while admitting a PIL petition from Tiruchendur-based advocate, B Ramkumar Adityan. 

The petitioner submitted that an awareness has to be created with regard to packing materials to the business houses. The packers used saliva to separate the covers or blew them up. This would result in the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, he contended. 

"These are some things we do not realise while doing it," the bench admitted. Appreciating the petitioner for making the good suggestion, the bench directed the state to create awareness or issue instructions to all business houses involved in packing food items, where such practice is in vogue. The matter stands adjourned by four weeks. (PTI)

A total of 88 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 44 arrivals and 44 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.

There are at least 40 children in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana who have lost a parent to Covid after the death of another due to illness or accident a few years ago, according to official data. There are 143 children who lost both their parents to Covid in Telangana while this number stands at 154 in Andhra Pradesh. And then, there are those who have lost one parent to Covid — more than 1,000 such children in each of the two states.

Officials said that many of these orphans are living with their grandparents who, apart from having very little income in the form of pensions, are in no position to take care of the children due to their advanced age. Officials said that protecting the mental health of the children is essential and they are given regular counselling.

Juvenile Welfare Department Director Kritika Shukla said the Andhra Pradesh government is putting fixed deposits of Rs 10 lakh in the name of each orphan and this can be withdrawn after they attain the age of 25. The children can withdraw the monthly interest till then.

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Ownership documents pertaining to the lands belonging to temples under the ambit of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable and Endowments (HR & CE) Department, across the state, will be uploaded on its website today. Particulars of the lands to the extent of 3,43,647 acres will be published in the first phase out of a total of 4,78,272 acres of land identified to belong to the temples in the state.

"Nearly 70 per cent of the total property containing the ownership documents will be uploaded," HR & CE Minister P K Sekar Babu said in a statement on Tuesday. There are over 36,000 temples under the department's control and the verification of title deeds was on, he said.

"Title deeds of temple lands were corroborated with the software available with the state Revenue department. These were classified into three categories viz. fully compatible, partly compatible and new group," he added.

About 3,43,647 acres currently identified as compatible and the 'A' Register / Urban Land Survey Record and Cita of those lands will be published on the department's website on Wednesday for public viewing, the minister said. Steps will be taken to ensure that the title deeds of all the lands belonging to the temples are in the name of the temples concerned, Sekar Babu said. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu Health Minister M Subramanian on Tuesday warned of ‘strict police action’ against individuals who attacked doctors, nurses if a COVID-19 patient succumbed to the virus at a hospital.

He noted that doctors, nurses and the government were working on a ‘war-footing’ to save the lives of people amid the COVID-19 pandemic and said even doctors tried their best to save a life even at critical moments.

Briefing reporters after identifying land for setting up a multi-specialty hospital at the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research campus in Chennai, he said it has come to the notice of the government that relatives and some individuals of a patient who died due to COVID-19 attacked doctors, nurses and the staff of a hospital.

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The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday launched an exclusive WhatsApp number to enable the public to make complaints to officials or share information during natural disasters. People can provide information relating to disasters round the clock and could even send photos through this number (9445869848) to the disaster management department, state Revenue Minister K K S S R Ramachandran said.

This new feature is in addition to the seamless flow of information on disasters like heavy rains, flood, cyclone, earthquake, tsunami, etc. available through the TNSMART mobile app, Twitter, Facebook, print and television channels, he said in a statement in Chennai.

The new platform launched by the Revenue department will help the government to initiate appropriate action, he said. Also, the public can convey information through the "Citizen Corner" on the Tamil Nadu Disaster Management Authoritys website besides the toll free number: 1070. 

Damini app could be downloaded to get warnings on lightning and thunder within 40 km radius and 45 minutes in advance. "This will help convey information on lightning or thunder strikes and avoid loss of lives," the minister said. (PTI)

The Bengaluru City Police, in a routine night check, found liquor boxes hidden under vegetables bags being transported to Tamil Nadu. 

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sanjeev M Patil, two accused were detained after a total of 59 liquor boxes with  509 litres of alcohol was found from a pick-up vehicle.  

The accused have been identified as Ramakrishnan (24) and Rajkumar (27), both residents of Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu.

Vilathikulam constituency MLA GV Markandayan is earning all praise for his noble gesture of converting his office into a government hospital providing vaccination and other treatments needed to prevent people from getting infected with Covid-19.

The hospital is named after DMK patriarch and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late M Karunanidhi and was inaugurated by Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi on Sunday. The hospital functions from 9 am to 6 pm. A total of five healthcare personnel including doctors and nurses are currently deployed here.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, MLA Markandayan said that considering the situation in his consistency where people were suffering from lack of healthcare facilities, he decided to dedicate his MLA office for this purpose. He added that till his term of five years end, the hospital will continue to function.

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Telangana on Tuesday recorded 1,897 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 5,95,000, while the toll rose to 3,409 with 15 more deaths, as 2,982 people recovered from the disease.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 182 followed by Khammam (163) and Nalgonda (151) districts, a state government bulletin said.

The number of recovered cases continued to outnumber fresh infections with 2,982 people recovering from the infectious disease on Tuesday, taking the cumulative number of recoveries to 5,67,285. The number of active cases now stood at 24,306, the bulletin said. It said 1,33,134 samples were tested Tuesday and the total number of samples tested till date was 1,61,27,372. The samples tested per million population were 4,33,298.

The case fatality and recovery rates in the state were 0.57 per cent and 95.34 per cent, respectively. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu recorded 18,023 positive cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the state tally to 22,74,704. Among these, Chennai reported 1437 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,19,574. The state recorded 409 deaths on Tuesday, putting the state toll at 27,765. 302 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 31,045 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 20,28,344.

As of Tuesday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 2,18,595. Till date, 13,34,635 males, 9,40,031 females and 38 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, 2,90,62,609 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,70,112 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 271 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 202 are private facilities.

Good morning!
Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, politics, civic issues and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.

Tamil Nadu recorded 18,023 positive cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, bring the state tally to 22,74,074. Among these Chennai accounted for 1,437. Experts said the decline in number of cases in the city is a good sign as the positivity rate has gone down below five per cent now. The city now has 5,19,574 cases. The state recorded 409 deaths, putting the toll at 27,765. A total of 31,045 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 20,28,344.

Ahead of his birthday on June 10, Nandamuri Balakrishna on Monday requested his fans not to wish him in person amid the coronavirus pandemic. He took to his Facebook page and shared a special note for fans in Telugu.

“Dear fans, I am always grateful and indebted to you for the love that you have been showering on me to visit and wish me every year on June 10 which is my birthday. But, in these pandemic times, it will not be a good thought to come to greet me. Your love and support have made me what I am today. No blessing is greater than your love, and there is no greater wish for me than your good health. The happy time that you spend with your family itself is my birthday celebration. I am once again requesting every fan not to come to wish me. My deepest condolences to the fans and others who have lost their lives in these tough times,” Balakrishna wrote in the note.

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As the Tamil Nadu government extended the lockdown till June 14, some of the districts with low test positivity rates will see quite a few relaxations. But for 11 districts — Coimbatore, Nilgris, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai — the relaxations are minimal.

In cities like Chennai, e-registration is required to travel from one police limit to another. Police said stringent action would be taken against those who violate the lockdown norms.

Click here to read more on the application process

After rising for two successive days and hitting new record highs on Monday, petrol and diesel prices were steady across the country on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. The auto fuel prices had touched record highs on June 7, when petrol rose by 28 paise per litre while diesel inched up 27 paise in the national capital.

In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs. 96.71 per litre and diesel at Rs. 90.92 per litre.

In Hyderabad, petrol costs Rs. 99.06 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 93.99 per litre.

Y S Sharmila, daughter of late Y S Rajashekara Reddy and sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, will launch her political outfit, the YSR Telangana Party, on July 8 in Hyderabad. The Election Commission of India is likely to register the party soon.

The 47-year-old had announced in April that she would launch her political party on July 8, her father’s birth anniversary.

The YSR Telangana Party would be the first political outfit in the two Telugu states to be founded and led by a woman. Vaduka Rajagopal, a staunch supporter of YSR, has been named president of the party in Telangana. Sources in Sharmila’s camp said that she has no intention of launching a party in Andhra Pradesh where her brother is the CM.

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Filmmaker Bharathiraja on Monday issued a statement seeking a ban on Amazon Prime Video’s hit thriller series The Family Man. “We are upset with the Indian government for not passing an order to stop the streaming of The Family Man Season 2, despite our request. The scenes in the show reveal that this series has been made by those who do not know the history of Tamil Eelam fighters. I condemn the show that insults the rebellion that was filled with good intentions, valour, and great sacrifices. I request Information and Broadcast Minister Prakash Javadekar to immediately stop the streaming of the show,” said the filmmaker.

He further alleged, “As we all know, this show continues to show people from Tamil, Muslim and Bengali communities in a bad light.”

Bharathiraja’s statement comes a day after Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) chief Seeman made the same request. Bharathiraja and Seeman have said they will boycott Amazon products, should the retail giant fail to remove the second season of the show from its streaming platform.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement that the Centre will provide free COVID-19 vaccine to states for inoculation of all above the age of 18 from June 21 appeared to be the result of the Supreme Courts intervention, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said on Monday.

In a series of tweets on Modis statement, the Hyderabad MP said private hospitals will continue to have a 25 per cent quota so that rich have 'VIP queue', while poor have to wait for vaccine availability.

He alleged that Modi has put politics before saving lives and the "liberalised vaccine policy" has chosen gimmicks over efforts to increase vaccine production. Describing the CoWIN platform for vaccination as a lottery, Owaisi said till recently the site was only available in English, a language understood by a small minority while excluding women, poor, rural Indiansand a majority who don't have internet. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reversing the Centre's position on COVID-19 vaccines.

A day after Tamil Nadu cancelled the class 12 board exams, Puducherry has announced the cancellation of the Plus two/HSE exams in the union territory. Puducherry doesn’t have its own state board and all schools in the UT are affiliated to the Tamil Nadu higher secondary examination (TN HSE) board. 

More than 14000 students in Puducherry had been waiting for the final decision on the class 12 board exams. However, after the Tamil Nadu government cancelling the state board exams, the decision was conspicuous.

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The Madras High Court on Monday directed the State and the Central governments to consider a plea to vaccinate on priority basis students aspiring to go abroad for studies.

"With several countries now opening up and allowing international travellers from India, this aspect of the matter gains even more significance," the First Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said.

The Bench was passing further orders on the issue it had taken up on its own last month on the basis of newspaper reports, which had alleged shortage of beds, vaccines and ventilators and diversion of oxygen to other States.

For students who wish to study abroad and for those on short visits or others who need to undertake international travel, both the State and the Centre should consider vaccinating them on a priority basis and put in place some norms for it, the court said. (PTI)

Most teachers across Tamil Nadu have welcomed the government’s decision to cancel the state board examinations. While some pointed out that students were not in a position at this moment to take exams, others said they were just happy that after so much confusion clarity has emerged at last.

Expressing satisfaction with the decision, a teacher from Tiruvannamalai Government Higher Secondary School said, “From January 18, we started conducting classes for Class XII students. The classes went on till April and the schools were asked to shut down. Then we were told to conduct online classes, but the issue was many of the students didn’t have access to smartphones or the internet. The pandemic forced many of the students from the lower-income sector to go for daily wage labour. On the whole, the students were in no position to write the exams. We are thankful to the government for this decision.”

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A total of 80 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 40 arrivals and 40 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.

Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K N Nehru on Monday issued appointment orders to 100 women to work as temporary nurses at various government hospitals to assist in vaccinating against Covid-19.

Nehru, who was in Coimbatore to review the steps taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19, said the measures taken after the visits of Chief Minister M K Stalin to Coimbatore district have reduced the incidence of the disease by nearly 60 per cent.

The nurses would get a consolidated salary of Rs 12,000, he said. The Corporation has set up 38 centres from where Covishield vaccines were given and so far 2.01 lakh people have been inoculated in the Corporation limits, Nehru said.

He also reviewed the functioning of Covid war room, progress of construction of various projects under Smart City and multi-level parking facility in the city, an official release said. (PTI)

All efforts should be taken by Chief Minister M K Stalin to remove the “injustice” caused by the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K S Alagiri said in Chennai on Monday.

As regards Tamil Nadu, students belonging to socially disadvantaged groups like the Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes studying in government schools are seriously affected due to the NEET exam, he said.

However, students who are from the CBSE stream and private schools get more opportunities to study medicine and this was “injustice,” he said.

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Underlining that sexual autonomy is an essential aspect of the right to privacy, the Madras High Court on Monday issued far-reaching guidelines aimed at mainstreaming LGBTIQA+ persons — from prohibiting attempts to “medically cure” persons belonging to the community to seeking changes in school and university curricula and recommending awareness programmes for judicial officers, police and prison officials.

The order was issued by Justice N Anand Venkatesh on a plea filed by a lesbian couple whose relationship was being opposed by their parents. After they fled their homes in Madurai to live in Chennai, families of the petitioners had filed missing person complaints with the police, eventually leading to the registration of two FIRs and the couple being interrogated. The petitioners had moved the Madras High Court seeking protection against police harassment and from any threat or danger to their safety and security.

Saying LGBTQIA+ persons are entitled to their privacy and “have a right to lead a dignified existence, which includes their choice of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender presentation, gender expression and choice of partner thereof”, the court said, “This right and the manner of its exercise are constitutionally protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.”

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An oxygen express with two tankers carrying 32.38 MT of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) arrived at Madukkarai near Coimbatore on Monday. It is the eighth express that has transported LMO so far to Coimbatore area, a railway press release said.

The LMO that arrived Monday was from SAIL Steel Plant in Rourkela, Odisha, the release said. 

The eight expresses operated to the Coimbatore area -- seven to Madukkarai and one to Irugur -- have brought 413.61 MT of LMO, the release said. Till date, the total oxygen supply received at Madukkarai touched 332.92 MT, the release said.

Tamil Nadu has so far received 3,608.99 MT of LMO through 53 express services, it added. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu has allotted Rs 25 crore from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund (CMPRF) towards procurement of Amphotericin B drug and other medicines to treat black fungus-affected patients in the State.

The announcement on Monday comes in the backdrop of the State government declaring the black fungus as a notified disease.

According to the Medical Minister M Subramanian, the number of those infected by it stands at 921 in the State as of Sunday (June 6).

“Chief Minister M K Stalin has issued orders to allocate Rs 25 crore to procure Amphotericin B and other life-saving medicines towards treatment of black fungus,” an official release said.

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Telangana Cabinet will convene Tuesday afternoon to discuss the incidence of coronavirus infections in the state. The Cabinet is scheduled to review the Medical and Health Department's response and preparedness to tackle a third wave, ongoing agriculture operations, and the impact of lockdown on state's economy, etc.

Telangana reported 1,933 new Covid-19 infections and 3,527 recoveries from the disease on Monday apart from 16 deaths due to the disease.

The cumulative caseload of patients stand at 5,93,103. Of them, 25,406 are active and undergoing treatment or isolated at their homes.

The recovery rate now has climbed to 95.14 percent. Greater Hyderabad reported 165 new cases on Monday. The state capital is followed by Khammam and Nalgonda districts which reported 160 and 148 new cases, respectively. Rangareddy district reported 116 new cases. All other 29 districts reported new cases less than 100. 

As many as 1,32,996 samples were tested on Monday. Results of 1,356 were awaited when 1,933 tested positive. The Test Positivity Rate for the day was 1.46 percent.

Tamil Nadu recorded 19,448 positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 22,56,681. Among these, Chennai reported 1530 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,18,162. The state recorded 351 deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 27,356. 324 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 31,360 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 19,97,299.

As of Monday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 2,32,026. Till date, 13,34,643 males, 9,32,000 females and 38 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, 2,88,92,497 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,70,838 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 271 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 202 are private facilities.

Good morning!
Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, politics, civic issues and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.

Tamil Nadu recorded 19,448 positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 22,56,681. Among these, Coimbatore reported 2,564 while Chennai accounted for 1530 positive cases. The state recorded 351 deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 27,356. 268 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 31,360 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 19,97,299.

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked again for the second consecutive day on Monday, June 7, 2021, touching fresh record highs across the country. In the national capital, the petrol price rose by 28 paise while that of diesel too inched up 27 paise.

In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs. 96.71 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs. 90.92 per litre.

In Hyderabad, petrol costs Rs. 99.06 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 93.99 per litre.

Chennai police have registered a case against a woman, claiming to be a lawyer, for abusing and threatening cops after her daughter's car was stopped at a checkpoint near Chetpet junction on Sunday morning.

When cops on duty at Chetpet found out that a maskless woman was driving without the e-registration pass mandatory for travel during the lockdown, they fined her Rs 500. She phoned her mother who then rushed to the spot and argued with the police in an intimidating manner.

In a two-minute viral video, the woman named Tanuja Kathula, also maskless, claimed that she is an advocate and could make the cops pay for their actions. She threw away the challan and asked her daughter to get back into the car.

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A total of 21,19,597 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 8713 people inoculated on Sunday alone, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

Tamil Nadu will take steps to again float a global tender for vaccine supply as no companies had bid for it, the period for which ended on June 5, Medical and Family welfare minister M Subramanian said in Udhagamandalam on Sunday.

He said the state had so far received 1.45 crore covid vaccines and about 39 lakh additional doses are expected to be received by the end of this month. The government, he told reporters, was in discussions with the Centre to reopen its plant at nearby Chengalpet to manufacture vaccines. 

The state government had on May 15 floated a global tender to procure 3.5 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines to administer to those in the 18 to 44 years age group. The state sought a delivery schedule of 180 days progressively from the date of purchase order for 3.5 crore (35 million) vaccines for Rs 2,00,00,000 (20 million).

The minister warned that stringent action would be taken against private hospitals overcharging covid patients and said government had so reviewed 870 hospitals.

Earlier, he visited the Chemmantham tribal hamlet at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and said 3,000 of the total of 21,435 residing in MTR area had been vaccinated. The others are expected to be given the shots by the end of this month, he said. (PTI)

The DMK government would work towards getting all the languages including Tamil, listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, the status of the official language of the union government, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said in Chennai on Sunday.

Recalling that on this day in 2004, the Centre announced that Tamil would be declared a classical language following the continued efforts of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Stalin said his party-led government would continue to work to embellish the Tamil language more and more.

A notification was issued on October 12, 2004 by the union government giving Tamil the classical language status. Further, the Chief Minister in a statement said: "The DMK government will work resolutely to make all the languages including Tamil listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, the official language of the union government."

Besides Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam are among the languages declared as classical in India. According to Article 343 of the Constitution, the official language of the union government is Hindi in Devanagari script. The Eighth Schedule has 22 languages including Hindi. (PTI)

The Union Territory of Chandigarh and the states of Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have come out on top in the latest edition of the Performance Grading Index (PGI) released by the Education Ministry on Sunday.

The PGI rates performance in school education based on data drawn from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus, National Achievement Survey, Mid-Day Meal, Public Financial Management System, and the Shagun portal — all maintained by the department of school education.

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The infected Asiatic lions at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park (AAZP), popularly known as Vandalur zoo in Chennai, have been quarantined and on a regimen of antibiotics and other prophylactic drugs.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who visited the zoo on Sunday and took stock of the situation, directed the officials of Environment & Forest department and the facility to provide the best treatment to the infected lions as per protocols.

Also, he instructed the authorities to ensure proper vaccination is administered to all animal handlers and officials at the zoo where the first instance of COVID-19 was found among the lions.

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A 42-year-old Maoist died on Sunday while undergoing treatment in the State-run Osmania Hospital in Hyderabad for illness, police said.

Gaddam Madhukar, a senior leader of the ultras, was carrying Rs eight lakh reward on his head, Warangal Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi said.

Madhukar was communications head of Dandakaranya area serving the banned organisation for the last 22 years, the police official said.

He was arrested a few days ago in Warangal when he was undergoing treatment for diarrhoea and fever. He was shifted to the Osmania Hospital after his condition worsened two day ago, the official said. (PTI)

At an age when most people prefer to use an elevator or an escalator, a young Indian boy has displayed exceptional skills for climbing steps, breaking world records. Aadhav Sugumar has broken the Guinness World Records (GWR) for being the fastest person to climb 50 steps while hula hooping!

In a video shared by the Guinness World Record, Sugumar from Chennai can be seen achieving the incredible feat in just 18.28 seconds, leaving netizens awestruck. According to the official entry by the organisation, he climbed 50 steps while magnificently spinning the hula hoop around his waist. It showed him swiftly climbing the first 38 steps, dashing across a courtyard and then climbing the next 12 steps in another building.

Sugumar has been practising hula hooping for two years before he decided to aim for a Guinness record. Finally, in April this year, he aced the feat and set a new record, taking the internet by storm.

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Actor Sonu Sood's Foundation and Swag ERT that supplies free oxygen on bikes to those patients needing it during pandemic times on Sunday entered Tamil Nadu by opening a centre in Coimbatore.

The company has gone to the rescue of many across different States in need of oxygen and averted many fatalities related to Covid-19, a press release said.

The user can take oxygen from the Swag ERT Centre and return the cylinder back after use and the services would be maintained by Poppys Infrastructure and Swag ERT, the release said. (PTI)

AIADMK top leader O Panneerselvam on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to abolish the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and other similar examinations for all professional and other courses.

A day after Chief Minister M K Stalin urged Modi to cancel all national level tests like NEET and allow Tamil Nadu to fill professional seats, including the MBBS, based on class 12 marks, Panneerselvam backed the DMK government’s position.

Till her death in 2016, late AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa had strongly opposed NEET and AIADMK government (2011-21) opposed it all along and two Bills were also adopted in the Assembly in 2017 but to no avail, Panneerselvam said in a letter to Modi.

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In two separate incidents, the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized about 12 kilograms of heroin worth around Rs 78 crore in the international grey market from two woman drug-peddlers at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

The two women passengers from Uganda and Zambia concealed heroin in their checked-in baggage.

The woman from Uganda was detained on June 5 when she came to the airport to collect her baggage which she claimed was missing. She had arrived in Hyderabad from Zimbabwe via Johannesburg and Doha a few days ago. Upon examining the baggage, the officials found white powder suspected to be a narcotic substance concealed in the sides. It was tested and found to be heroin.

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Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman on Sunday demanded Amazon Prime Video to stop streaming The Family Man 2 web series as it allegedly misrepresents Tamils and distorts their Eelam liberation struggle. He expressed anguish over the series having been released on June 4 despite opposition from the Tamils across the world, and warned of massive protests if the screening was not stopped.

"If you fail to do so and ignore and disrespect our emotions, we Tamils across the globe may have to lead a massive campaign to boycott all Amazon services, including Prime Video," he said in a letter to Aparna Purohit, Head of India Originals at Amazon Prime Video, Mumbai.

Seeman said the series portrayed the Tamil Eelam freedom struggle "cheaply, intending to tarnish Tamils image." It is condemnable that the web series has been made to sound like the voice of the Sinhala government which allegedly invaded, dominated and annihilated the homeland of the Tamils, he said.

Such series, he said, should never be screened as it contains "obnoxious content against Tamil and supports pro-Sinhala ideologies or any other race." (PTI)

A total of 81 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 41 arrivals and 40 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.

Telangana continued to witness a downward trend in COVID-19 cases with 1,436 fresh infections being reported on Sunday, the lowest single day spike in two months. The tally now stands at over 5.91 lakh while the toll stood at 3,378 with 14 casualties, a bulletin said.      

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 184 followed by Khammam (148) and Nalgonda (118), the bulletin said. 

The State has 27,016 active cases and over 97,000 were tested. The total number of cumulative cases in the state stood at 5,91,170 while with 3,614 being cured, the total recoveries were at 5,60,776. Cumulatively, over 1.58 crore samples have been tested. The samples tested per 10 lakh population were over 4. 26 lakh, the bulletin said.

The case fatality rate in the State was 0.57 per cent while the recovery rate in Telangana was 94.85 per cent. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu recorded 20,421 positive cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the state tally to 22,37,233. Among these, Chennai reported 1644 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,16,628. The state recorded 434 deaths on Sunday, putting the state toll at 27,005. 324 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 33,161 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 19,65,939.

As of Sunday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 2,44,289. Till date, 13,13,878 males, 9,23,317 females and 38 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, 2,87,21,659 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,74,982 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 271 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 202 are private facilities.