A woman gets her nasal swab sample taken for COVID-19 test at a government health center in Hyderabad. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A/File)Hyderabad Police on Monday urged people to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi and Muharram at home, adding that no idol installation or public event of any kind will be allowed, as directed by the Telangana government. “Protect your family against COVID-19. Do ‘maatam’ of Muharram at home. Similarly, Ganesh puja has to be done at home. No idol installation or any event will be held at public places as directed by the government”, Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar tweeted.
With fresh 894 being reported in the span of 24 hours, the number of novel coronavirus cases in Telangana rose to 92,255. The state registered 10 new fatalities, thus pushing the death toll to 703 in the state. The state now has 21,420 active cases. Meanwhile, at least 70,132 patients have recovered from the deadly infection, the state government bulletin said. The state’s recovery rate stands at 76.01 per cent, as compared to that of 71.91 per cent in the country.
The Covid-19 tally in Andhra Pradesh touched 2.89 lakh on Sunday as 8,012 fresh cases were added while the total number of recoveries crossed the two lakh mark. With 88 fresh casualties, the overall coronavirus toll climbed to 2,650, according to the latest bulletin. It said 10,117 patients had recovered from the viral infection in the last 24 hours. The state now has 85,945 active coronavirus cases after 2.01 lakh had recovered so far.
The Telangana government on Monday said it would distribute 80,000 clay idols of Lord Ganesha among the devout as it urged people in the city to celebrate Ganesh Chathurthi in their homes in view of the spread of COVID-19. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority will procure these idols from various sources and distribute it among the public, an official release said.
The decision was taken after a review meeting Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav and Home Minister Mahmood Ali had with senior officials, including Greater Hyderabad Muncipal Commissioner Lokesh Kumar, city police commissioner Anjani Kumar, VHP State President Rama Raju and others, it said. During the meeting, Yadav urged the people to understand the situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and cooperate by celebrating the festival in their houses.
He said 80,000 clay idols of Lord Ganesha would be procured from HMDA and be distributed to the Public by GHMC. Since the government gives importance to tradition and Culture, the Minister instructed the Endowments Department officials to ensure that all Ganesha temples under it perform puja in the traditional way till the Navarathi festival (Dussehra), the release said.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has decided to have Legislative Sessions from Sept 7. On Monday the CM held discussions with several Ministers. It was decided to hold Assembly Monsoon Session to discuss several important issues and take decisions. The CM and other Ministers felt that if the session duration is for 20 days, detailed debates could be conducted on several important issues.
They wanted at least 15 working days. The CM asked the Ministers and officials to get themselves prepare for the Monsoon sessions. He said all the concerned should prepare themselves as there will be policy announcements from the government during the session besides the regular passing of Bills, Resolutions etc.
The CM has instructed legislative Affairs Minister Sri Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Legislative Assembly secretary Sri Narasimhacharyulu to make the arrangements in tune with Covid guidelines of physical distancing.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed the officials to be on high alert in wake of the Godavari floods and provide all necessary relief to the affected people and be more attentive as the Covid is also prevalent.
During a review meeting held here on the flood situation with the Collectors of East and West Godavari districts, the Chief Minister said that there should be preparedness from the official side and succour should be provided to people living in low lying areas. He said that people in the relief camps should get all needed help and there should be no difficulty in procuring essential commodities.
Normal life was affected at various places in Telangana on Monday due to the incessant rains lashing the state for the past few days which inundated several low-lying areas, news agency PTI reported. The flood level in Godavari river at Bhadrachalam was 60.7 ft, crossing the 3rd Warning Level, at 1300 hours on Monday, official sources said. Several rivulets and other water bodies at different places in the state were overflowing due to the incessant rains, leading to the inundation of low-lying areas and affecting transport links.
The Godavari river is swelling by the hour, inundating more villages along the course, as it inched towards a record flood level on Monday. As the water level crossed 60 feet at Bhadrachalam in neighbouring Telangana, the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram near Rajamahendravaram received 18.27 lakh cusecs by noon on Monday. Authorities are discharging all the flood water into the Bay of Bengal as the third warning signal is due to be raised. The second warning is now continuing at Dowaleswaram, the State Disaster Management Authority said. Over 55 villages in West Godavari district and about 100 in East Godavari district remain marooned or inundated due to the deluge. (PTI)
Hyderabad Police on Monday urged people to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi and Muharram at home, adding that no idol installation or public event of any kind will be allowed, as directed by the Telangana government. “Protect your family against COVID-19. Do ‘maatam’ of Muharram at home. Similarly, Ganesh puja has to be done at home. No idol installation or any event will be held at public places as directed by the government”, Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar tweeted.
The total number of tests for detection of COVID-19 has crossed the 3 crore mark in India, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data. A total of 3,00,41,400 samples have been tested until August 16 with 7,31,697 samples being tested on Sunday, the ICMR said. The total number of tests for detection of COVID-19 had crossed the 1 crore mark in India on July 6, while the 2 crore mark was crossed by August 2. Having started with one laboratory at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and then expanding to 100 laboratories around the beginning of the lockdown, the ICMR on June 23 validated the 1,000th testing lab. Total labs in the country testing for COVID-19 now stand at 1,470 -- 969 government labs and 501 private labs, according to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. (PTI)
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that the ruling YSR Congress government in the state is tapping the phones of opposition parties. "The ruling party in its overenthusiasm to retain power at any cost is dangerously threatening and attacking any person or institution raising their voice against the malfunctioning of the government," Naidu stated in the letter. "It appears that the ruling YSRCP has now even targeted judiciary, the third pillar of the democracy, as it is facing hurdles from the judiciary," the letter added.
His letter comes a day after a rebel MP of the ruling YSRCP K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju alleged his two of his mobile phones were being illegally tapped for the past few months by the state Intelligence authorities of Andhra Pradesh and wrote to the centre about it. In a letter to Union Home Secretary A K Bhalla, the Lok Sabha member from Narsapuram, also alleged he was getting threatening calls from strange numbers displaying codes of Romania, Denmark, Switzerland, South Korea, and Spain. "Kindly instruct the authorities concerned to investigate from when my phones are being tapped and identify the persons responsible for such criminal activities," the MP requested the Home Secretary.
With fresh 894 being reported in the span of 24 hours, the number of novel coronavirus cases in Telangana rose to 92,255. The state registered 10 new fatalities, thus pushing the death toll to 703 in the state. The state now has 21, 420 active cases. Meanwhile, at least 70, 132 patients have recovered from the deadly infection, the state government bulletin said. The state's recovery rate stands at 76.01 per cent, as compared to that of 71.91 per cent in the country.
With heavy rains in Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is regularly reviewing the situation from time to time, a statement from the CMO said. The CM is reviewing information district-wise and giving instructions and suggestions accordingly. The heavy rains in the state have caused inconvenience situation in many places. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rains in the state for the next three to four days.
The swollen Godavari river continued to cause flood havoc in East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday as tens of villages lay marooned even as three teams of State Disaster Response Force have been deployed for rescue and relief operations. A total of 3,340 people have been moved to 16 relief camps in the two districts so far. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy reviewed the situation with top officials and directed the Collectors of the two districts to remain on high alert and ensure there was no loss of lives due to the calamity. A release from the CMO said Jagan Mohan Reddy asked the Collectors to constantly coordinate with the State Disaster Management Authority and take required measures for rescue and relief of the affected people. (PTI)
Heavy rains lashed many parts of Telangana, claiming the life of an octogenarian and her 50-year-old daughter after their house in Nagarkurnool district collapsed, police said on Sunday. The deaths happened on Saturday night, even as weathermen warned of thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places in the state on Monday. The 80-year-old woman and her daughter were buried alive after their mud house collapsed, senior police official told PTI over phone.
Chittoor district reported the highest number of 981 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, followed by West Godavari 893 and East Godavari 875. East Godavari crossed the 40,000 mark in the overall number of cases, the top in the state. Krishna district, which was once the number two from the top in the state, now slid to the second position from the bottom in the Covid-19 table, aggregating 12,344 total cases. The active cases in the district remained at 3,391 after 263 were added in the last 24 hours, the lowest in the state. (PTI)
The Covid-19 tally in Andhra Pradesh touched 2.89 lakh on Sunday as 8,012 fresh cases were added while the total number of recoveries crossed the two lakh mark. With 88 fresh casualties, the overall coronavirus toll climbed to 2,650, according to the latest bulletin. It said 10,117 patients had recovered from the viral infection in the last 24 hours. The state now has 85,945 active coronavirus cases after 2.01 lakh had recovered so far. The infection positivity rate continued to shoot up and has now reached 10.13 per cent after 28.60 lakh tests were done. (PTI)
Right now, Bihar is the fastest-growing state among the major states, more than even Andhra Pradesh, which has been slowing down a bit after growing at over eight per cent for quite some time. Bihar’s current growth rate is 4.32 per cent per day, compared to the national growth rate of 2.66 per cent. The growth rate of Andhra Pradesh has now fallen to 3.8 per cent. Read more here
Telangana reported 1,102 fresh cases of the novel coronavirus infection in the span of 24 hours, on Sunday, taking the total tally over 90,000 (91,361) in the state. With nine fresh fatalities, the death toll stood at 68,126. Meanwhile, at least 68,126 patients have recovered from the deadly infection, the state government bulletin said.
India's COVID-19 tally increased to 25,89,682 with a single-day spike of 63,490 cases, while the total number of recoveries rose to 18,62,258, pushing the recovery rate to 71.91 per cent on Sunday, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The death toll climbed to 49,980 with 944 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday asked officials to be on alert in view of heavy rains in the state and toldministers to stay put in their respective districts and have regular coordination with the officials. Several tanks and canals are overflowing due to heavy rains and the floodwater inundated the roads at some places, an official release said. Rao, who spoke to ministers, Chief Secretary and DGP and reviewed the situation district-wise, directed that two control rooms be set up in Hyderabad. He asked the ministers to stay put in their respective districts and be in touch with district Collectors and police officials on a regular basis, it said. (PTI)