On Monday, Telangana Chief Minister <keyword id="19931047" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Revanth-Reddy" source="keywords">Revanth Reddy</keyword> declared the immediate assistance of Rs 5 crore to the <keyword id="23008881" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flood-hit-districts" source="keywords">flood-hit districts</keyword> of Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem, <keyword id="23008882" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahbubabad" source="keywords">Mahbubabad</keyword> and <keyword id="20549101" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Suryapet" source="keywords">Suryapet</keyword>. CM Reddy also announced Rs 5 Lakh ex-gratia to the kin of people who died in the floods. CM Reddy instructed authorities to respond quickly to the damage caused to the public. He also assured that the compensation will be increased for the loss of cattle, goats and sheep. According to the CMO, the State Government will submit a comprehensive report on flood damages to the Centre. CM Reddy will write a letter to the union government seeking immediate assistance and flood relief. He will appeal to centre to declare the floods in the state as <keyword id="21885536" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-calamity" source="keywords">national calamity</keyword>. The Telangana CM also reviewed the relief operations in <keyword id="22686850" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rain-affected-areas" source="keywords">rain-affected areas</keyword> and asked the officials to remain vigilant where heavy rains are predicted. He also ordered Collectors to set up a Call Centre in their respective districts. He further asked the officials to set up a system at the Command Control Center to deal with the emergency situation. CM Reddy also asked the Police Commissioners of Greater Hyderabad to address traffic problems during heavy rains. He further asked the officials to take up the repair the damaged roads due to heavy rains and resolve power cut problems on a priority. Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Telangana's CM Revanth Reddy on the phone and enquired about the flood situation in the heavy rain-hit areas and the damages caused by the floods, a release from the Telangana CMO said. Further, the CM explained to the Prime Minister that the Khammam district bore the brunt of heavy rains and suffered huge rain-related damages. PM Modi appreciated the state government machinery for maintaining high alert and preventing the loss of life, the release said. Additionally, the Prime Minister assured that helicopters would be deployed to provide emergency services in adverse weather conditions. Meanwhile the <keyword id="6366970" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IMD" source="Orion">IMD</keyword> on Monday in its 24-hour forecast said, "Very heavy to extremely heavy rain likely to occur at isolated places in Nirmal, Nizamabad, Vikarabad, Sangareddy, Medak and Kamareddy districts of Telangana. Thunderstorm and gusty winds to occur at isolated place in many districts."

Telangana govt announces immediate assistance of Rs 5 crore to flood-hit districts

<keyword id="68884" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telangana">Telangana</keyword> Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar on Monday directed Collectors of five districts to prepare a plan to check the spread of COVID-19. On the direction of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, the Chief Secretary held a teleconference with the District Collectors, District Medical and Health Officers (DMHOs) and Superintendents of government general hospitals of <keyword id="4121902" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhadradri-Kothagudem">Bhadradri-Kothagudem</keyword>, <keyword id="162512" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karimnagar">Karimnagar</keyword>, <keyword id="52990" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Khammam">Khammam</keyword>, Nalgonda, and Suryapet districts on <keyword id="8764262" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword> situation, tests, positivity rate and bed occupancy in the hospitals. Somesh Kumar reviewed the situation and instructed the Collectors to prepare a plan and pay special attention on control of COVID-19 in the villages and specific areas in the districts where more cases were reported. He asked officials to focus on border villages and take preventive measures duly increasing tests. Health Secretary, S.A.M. Rizvi, Director, Public Health, Dr. <keyword id="123649" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Srinivasa-Rao">Srinivasa Rao</keyword>, OSD to the CM, Dr Gangadhar, also participated in the review meeting. While the number of COVID cases is on decline across the state, some districts bordering <keyword id="37102" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Andhra-Pradesh">Andhra Pradesh</keyword> and Chhattisgarh continue to report large number of cases. Last week, Rizvi and Srinivasa Rao visited Khammam and Suryapet districts to review the situation. The district officials were asked enforce the ongoing lockdown more strictly to bring down the positivity rate. According to officials, the border districts are reporting high number of cases than the state average. The state Cabinet had earlier instructed the Health Secretary and the medical and health officials to visit places like Madhira, Satthupalli, Alampur, Gadwal, Narayanpet, Maktal, Nagarjuna Sagar, Kodad, and Huzurabad which are on state borders and where Corona spread is more to review the situation and take the necessary measures. Khammam continues to see the second highest number of daily cases in the state after Greater Hyderabad. On June 5, Khammam reported 172 cases, up from 144 the previous day. The daily count in Bhadradri Kothagudem district also went up to 120 from 110 on June 4. <keyword id="11398596" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="nalgonda-and-suryapet">Nalgonda and Suryapet</keyword> districts also reported large number of cases at 156 and 95, respectively on June 5. While Telangana's daily positivity rate came down to 1.5 per cent on June 5, these districts continue to report a higher positivity rate. The Director of Public Health stated last week that the government may lift the lockdown from June 10 if the positivity rate in the border districts drops below 5 per cent. SEE ALSO <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-covid-vaccine-policy-changes-june-21-yoga-day-pm-modi/articleshow/83308314.cms">These are the changes in India’s vaccine policy that will kick in from June 21</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/pnb-housing-finance-shares-hit-upper-circuit-six-days-in-a-row-but-the-potential-upside-could-be-limited-now/articleshow/83305929.cms">PNB Housing Finance shares hit upper circuit six days in a row, but the potential upside could be limited now</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/heres-why-fuel-prices-in-india-may-not-come-down-in-a-big-way/slidelist/83299743.cms">Here’s why fuel prices in India may not come down in a big way ⁠— at least not this year</a>

COVID-19: Telangana to make a special plan for Bhadradri-Kothagudem, Karimnagar, Khammam, Nalgonda and Suryapet districts

Torrential downpours in <keyword id="19909031" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telangana" source="keywords">Telangana</keyword> and <keyword id="37102" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Andhra-Pradesh" source="Orion">Andhra Pradesh</keyword> left 31 persons dead, battered roads and rail tracks snapping connectivity, submerged thousands of acres of crops and left people scampering for daily needs as rescue agencies were pressed into rescue and rehabilitation efforts. The two Telugu-speaking states were reeling under the impact of the rains on Monday, as 16 persons were killed in Telangana and 15 others in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, which particularly bore the brunt of the <keyword id="21758932" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="rain-fury" source="keywords">rain fury</keyword>. A portion of gravel under the railway track near Kesamudram in Telangana was washed away due to floodwaters. Nearly 4.5 lakh people were affected in Andhra, even as heart-wrenching scenes of people struggling to ensure essentials, including milk were witnessed in the worst affected Vijayawada. The most affected districts included NTR, Guntur, Krishna, Eluru, Palnadu, Bapatla and Prakasam, said an official press release. Twenty SDRF and 19 <keyword id="21655017" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NDRF-teams" source="keywords">NDRF teams</keyword> are engaged in relief and <keyword id="20501159" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rescue-operations" source="keywords">rescue operations</keyword>. Life was completely thrown out of gear in Vijayawada following torrential downpour over the past three days and with more than 24 hours of power cuts in several parts of the city. Visuals aired on local TV news channels showed a woman lamenting to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu that people were stranded for two days in Ajit Singh Nagar in Vijayawada without drinking water. She complained no boat came to their rescue while another man standing in waist deep waters begged Naidu, who was touring the flood-affected areas for the third time on a boat, to understand their predicament. People were seen wading through floodwaters carrying their children on shoulders to safety, while an old woman lying on a mattress was seen being shifted over floodwaters by two persons. Some people tried to help themselves through the deluge using a rope. As people waded through the <keyword id="20310051" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flood" source="keywords">flood</keyword>waters, a few of them held on to some basic necessities in their hands and a large queue was formed at one of the flood-affected places to collect milk sachets and food packets. At one such place, a flood victim complained they did not have milk since Sunday morning and alleged no help came their way from the government. Internet and mobile telephone connectivity were disrupted and long traffic snarls disrupted normal life. Connectivity to Hyderabad was affected. Transportation within Vijayawada city and its vicinity was chaotic. At Prakasam Barrage, 11.3 lakh cusecs of floodwaters were discharged by 8 am on Monday. In Telangana, at least 16 people lost their lives in various <keyword id="21591568" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rain-related-incidents" source="keywords">rain-related incidents</keyword> and the state government on Monday put the damage at Rs 5,000 crore citing preliminary estimates. It sought an immediate central assistance of Rs 2,000 crore. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the affected areas and declare the floods as a national calamity. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each to the kin of those who were killed in the rain-related incidents. The CM held a meeting with ministers and officials at Suryapet as part of his visit to rain-hit areas. State IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu said full details on the loss of life and others would be known after reports on damage are received. The government will submit a comprehensive report on the flood damage to the Centre, an official release said. Officials informed the CM that crops in over 1.5 lakh acres suffered damage, as per preliminary estimates The flood-hit areas of Khammam presented a scene of extensive damage as household items were washed away and some items carried away by water were stuck to the gates of houses. Residents of flood-affected areas narrated their woes to state Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, who visited them. An official of the Secunderabad-headquartered <keyword id="19986382" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="South-Central-Railway" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="South Central Railway" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="South Central Railway">South Central Railway</keyword> (SCR) said due to heavy rains and waterlogging over the tracks at several locations on the SCR network, as many as 432 trains were cancelled and 13 trains were partially cancelled. He said 139 trains were diverted till Monday afternoon. Restoration works were underway, he said. Due to incessant rains in the two states, flooding and breaches were reported in Kazipet-Vijayawada section and five trains were stranded. Over 7,500 passengers from these trains were brought to the nearest Railway stations in state-run RTC buses on Sunday evening and special trains were arranged to take them to their respective destinations, he added. A large number of lorries were stranded on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway near Kodada as water was flowing on the road. The officials urged those travelling to Vijayawada to use the Narkatpalli-Addanki highway as an alternative.

Andhra, Telangana reel under rain fury; 31 dead, lakhs affected

The menace of ragging continues to haunt students in some institutions in <keyword id="13104" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="telugu" source="Orion">Telugu</keyword> states as in the latest case in Andhra Pradesh, 18 students of <keyword id="6034800" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jntu-anantapur" source="Orion">JNTU Anantapur</keyword> have been suspended for <keyword id="1325638" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ragging-juniors" source="Orion">ragging juniors</keyword>. The College Academic Council of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (<keyword id="99885" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jntu" source="Orion">JNTU</keyword>) suspended students of Anantapur Engineering College for forcibly taking some freshers to their hostel. The juniors were allegedly forced to stand half-naked and follow orders of the seniors. The incident took place on Friday night but came to light a day later. The college authorities learnt about ragging when a parent of one of the first-year students complained. The college authorities came to know that some first-year students were taken to <keyword id="13120357" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gurukula-hostel" source="Orion">Gurukula Hostel</keyword>, the hostel of seniors. When questioned by the college principal, the freshers revealed how they were ragged by the seniors. Taking a serious note of the incident, the College Academic Council suspended 18 students of the second year found involved in the ragging from academics and hostel. The Council began a detailed inquiry on Monday to ascertain facts from the victims and other students for further action. Police also took suo-moto note of the ragging incident and began a probe. According to Anantapur Superintendent of Police Fakkerappa Kaginelli, the police have not received any complaint but they took suo-moto cognizance and deputed a DSP-rank officer to probe the incident. This is the second incident of ragging in the government-run institutions in the Telugu states in the last one month. Six students of a government medical college in Telangana's Suryapet were suspended for one year for ragging a junior student last month. Second year MBBS students of the Government Medical College Suryapet were punished after they were found involved. They were also arrested by the police under the Anti-Ragging Act. The police rescued the junior student Sai Kumar after receiving a call that some senior students were ragging him in the Boys hostel of the college. The complainant alleged that a group of students came to his room, ordered him to take off his clothes and took video shots of him in their mobile phones. They also tried to cut his hair. The victim said he was physically and mentally tortured for two hours. He later managed to escape from them and called up his father after hiding in another room. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/macquarie-slashes-paytms-target-price-to-700-goldman-sachs-upgrades-it/articleshow/89401105.cms">Macquarie slashes Paytm’s target price to ₹700, Goldman Sachs upgrades it</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/jio-laptop-inches-closer-to-launch-could-be-powered-by-windows-10-and-an-arm-processor/articleshow/89400900.cms">Jio laptop inches closer to launch, could be powered by Windows 10 and an ARM processor</a>

Over 18 students of Andhra Pradesh's JNTU college suspended for ragging juniors

(Eds: Updates with details) Hyderabad, Apr 22 () Stepping up efforts to contain thespread of COVID-19, top Telangana officials visited threedistricts with higher number of infections and reviewedcontainment measures as one person died, taking the toll dueto the disease in the state to 24 on Wednesday. Fifteen more people tested positive for the coronavirus,as the state's tally surged to 943 with 725 active cases, aCOVID-19 bulletin said. In a shift in testing strategy, the government hasinstructed the health department not to screen asymptomaticsecondary contacts of COVID-19 patients, but home quarantinethem for 28 days instead of 14 days. Only the primary contactsneed to be tested.State Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP M Mahendar Reddyand other senior officials visited Suryapet, Gadwal andVikarabad districts, where considerable number of cases hadbeen reported, and interacted with the local officers on thecontainment measures, officials said.In his directivesto the officers of the three districts,the Chief Secretary stressed on effectively tracing thecontacts of persons who tested positive and management ofcontainment zones among others to check the spread of thevirus.According to official sources, Suryapet and Vikarabaddistricts have 83 and 38 cases respectively.Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday asked thetop officials to visit different districts to monitorimplementation of measures initiated to contain the spread ofthe deadly virus.With a fresh death being reported on Wednesday, thenumber of people who succumbed to the virus in the state roseto 24, the bulletin said.It said 194 people have been cumulatively cured anddischarged from hospitals.Four mediapersons working for vernacular news channelshave been quarantined at Mahabubnagar after it was learnt thatthey had lunch at the residence of an MLA, who is under homequarantine in neighbouring Gadwal town, a senior governmentofficial said.Gadwal town headquarters of Jogulamba-Gadwal district wasdeclared a Red Zone by the Centre due to considerable numberof COVID-19 cases.The official said the legislator was already in self-homequarantine since April 10 after he came to know that twopersons who attended a funeral where he was also present,tested COVID-19 positive.However the MLA has tested negative of the virus."As a precautionary measure, the four media persons werekept in quarantine.They do not have any symptoms of COVID-19.They are all doing fine.They are asymptomatic," the officialtold .A communication issued by the Chief Secretary on Wedesdaysaid asymptomatic secondary contacts shall not be tested forCOVID-19. "However, they shall be identified, stamped and placed instrict home quarantine for a period of 28 days and monitoreddaily by the local area multi-disciplinary surveillanceteams," he said. Only the primary contacts of the positive cases shall bebrought to the government identified quarantine centres andtheir samples be taken for testing, it added.Meanwhile, a case was registered against a 20-year-oldB.Tech student for allegedly abusing a head constable onpatroll duty when he was stopped by police at Malkajgiri areahere.The policeman found him roaming on the road withoutany face mask on Tuesday night, police said. SJR GDK VVKVS VS

One death, 15 fresh COVID-19 cases in Telangana

Hyderabad, Apr 23 () Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao hasexpressed hope the spread of COVID-19 inthe state may see a decline due to the strict implementationof lockdown rule and containment measures undertaken as andwhen a positive case is identified.Observing that only 15 cases were reported onWednesday, he said the number of cases in the state may comedown further in the days to come, an official release saidlate last night.Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP M Mahendar Reddy andother senior officials, who visited Suryapet, Gadwal andVikarabad districts on Wednesday, explained the prevailingsituation to Raoafter their return, it said.The Chief Minister held a review on the COVID-19situation with them tilllate night, it said.Medical officials stated there were indications aboutthe possibility of the virus spread decreasing in all parts ofthe state, it said.Speaking on the occasion, Rao said the measuresundertaken by the government were yielding results.The measures like tracing the contacts of virus-infected persons, quarantining the contacts, testing, puttingin place containment zones helped in successfully containingthe spread of the virus, he said."If people continue to extend their support like thisand follow the conditions, regulations imposed by lockdown andat the containment centres, we will certainly get a goodresult," Rao said. SJR GDK SS

Rao hopes COVID-19 spread may see a decline due to lockdown, containment measures

Hyderabad, Apr 21 () Telangana has readied a 1,500-bedhospital here in just 20 days by transforming a 14-storiedtower in a sports complex into a special medical facility forCOVID-19 cases, even as 56 cases were reported on Tuesday,pushing the number of active cases in the state to 711.About a 1,000-strong workforce sweated it out to convertthe tower, part of the sports complex, built in 2002, into afull-fledged coronavirus hospital with 50 Intensive Care Unit(ICU) beds, a senior official of the Telangana governmentinvolved in the execution of the healthcare centre, said.He said the the facility is now ready to accommodatepatients.The official said that the state government has provedthat not only China,which reportedly built a makeshift 1,000-bedded hospital in just 10 days in Wuhan at the peak of thecoronavirus spread, but also Telangana can do wonders in termsof making quick decisions and execution of plans.The Telangana State Medical Services InfrastructureDevelopment Corporation (TSMSIDC) undertook the task andfinished it in less than three weeks."It is a refurbished hospital. They used the first sevenfloors a decade ago. The remaining six floors were in semi-finished condition and never put to use.As soon as we got the nod from the state government westarted working on that made it ready in 20 days. The hospitalis now ready to take patients," the official told .Another official said as many as 400 doctors and doublethe number of nursing staff can work at the new facility.Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had on April 19 saidthe hospital will later be converted into a super- specialtyhospital, known as the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciencesand Research (TIMS).Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases continued to surge in thestate, with 56 reported on Tuesday.The total number of cases reported mounted to 928, ahealth department bulletin said.No death was reported on Tuesday and the number of peoplewho succumbed to the virus stood at 23. Eight persons weredischarged from hospitals, taking the number ofcured and or discharged to 194.Suryapet district, about 135 km from Hyderabad, emergedas a hot spot with 26 fresh cases reported on Tuesday.The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) areacontinued to witness a rise in cases with 19 being reportedfrom the city.Most of the COVID-19 cases in the state are from GHMC.Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao asked the ChiefSecretary, DGP and other senior officials to visit differentdistricts to monitor how the measures initiated to contain thespread of COVID-19 are being implemented.As per his instructions, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar,DGP Mahender Reddy and other officials would visit Suryapet,Gadwal and Vikarabad districts on Wednesday, an officialrelease said.The state government has decided to depute three IASofficers to affected areas in Vikarabad, Gadwal and Suryapetdistricts and then submit reports to the Chief Secretary,official sources said. Health authorities in Telangana have decided not to takesamples from the bodies of those suspected to have died withsymptoms of COVID-19, but follow all due protocols, includingdisposal of the body, contact tracing of the person, isolationand testing by treating it as a suspect case. "Whatever the protocols are followed for a positive casewill be followed," a health official said.Meanwhile, the lockdown was implemented more strictly inthe state by police and a special drive was conducted in thecity against those roaming on vehicles unnecessarily. Thevehicles of violators were seized.A case was registered against a 38-year-old man fromUttar Pradesh after he allegedly spit on the road when apolice patrolling team found him roaming in Nacharam area byviolating the lockdown norms.The man argued with police personnel and spit on the roadwhen they asked him the reasons for moving on the road, policesaid.The state government has disallowed spitting in publicplaces in the state in the wake of COVID-19 spread.The Chief Minister had on Sunday last announcedextension of ongoing lockdown in the state till May 7. SJRGDK VVK APRRAVINDRANATH APRRAVINDRANATH

56 fresh COVID-19 cases in T'gana; State govt readies 1500- bedded hospital in just 20 days

New Delhi, Apr 27 () The Telangana government is doing its best to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus and the situation is under control, Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has said.She also said that the "positive cases' curve has almost started flattening in the last few days" in the state.Telangana has reported 1,002 COVID-19 cases so far, with 280 persons cured or discharged. The death toll in the state is 26, according to Union Health Ministry data. In three of the 33 districts in the state, there has been no new cases in the last few days, the governor, who is a doctor, told over phone on Sunday. "Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's government is doing its best to contain the disease. The spread of the infection is under control and the positive cases' curve has almost started flattening in the last few days," Soundararajan said.The government had deputed some secretary-level Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers as in-charges to supervise actions to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the three districts when more cases were being reported, she said. "The chief secretary and the IAS officers took a helicopter journey to Suryapet and some other districts to personally monitor the control measures," Soundararajan said.The governor thanked the Centre for helping and cooperating with the state government in its fight against COVID-19.On Thursday, a mobile virology research and diagnostics laboratory, a testing facility developed by the DRDO, was launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh through video conference in Hyderabad, she said.The ESI facility in Hyderabad will work with state authorities in the project and the mobile lab can test 1,000 samples in a day, Soundararajan said.On adopting "plasma treatment" for COVID-19 patients, she said experts state that first sufficient anti-bodies should have been formed in cured patients.Plasma treatment is given by taking blood plasma from a cured COVID-19 patient to treat positive cases to effectively strengthen the immune system."Only if adequate anti-bodies are formed it will be effective for treatment. In our Indian set up it is difficult for the formation of adequate anti-bodies they say", the governor added. JBL ANBANB

COVID-19 situation under control in Telangana: Guv

Hyderabad, Apr 17 () As many as 66 fresh cases ofCOVID-19 have been reported in Telangana on Friday, taking thenumber of active cases in the state to 562. With 66 people testing positive for the virus, thetotal number of positive cases reported in the state rose to766, a media bulletin on COVID-19 said. No death was reported today and the number of peoplewho succumbed to the virus remained unchanged at 18. The number of people discharged from hospitals afterrecovery stood at 186, according to the bulletin. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)area accounted for 286 of the total 562 active cases, it said. Containment zones have been taken up in thelocalities where positive cases are reported, an officialrelease said. Across the state, containment measures are beingtaken up in 13 districts in which 209 clusters have beenidentified. With 54 positive cases reported till Friday inSuryapet district, the Suryapet town would be a "red zone", anofficial release quoted state minister G Jagadish Reddy assaying. State Municipal Administration Minister K T RamaRao, who held a video conference with Additional Collectorsand Municipal Commissioners of all districts from Hyderabad,directed municipal commissioners and zonal commissioners toensure that people living in containment zones stay indoors. He suggested that essential items like milk andvegetables and medicines be delivered at the door step ofresidents in the containment zones by volunteers who should beprovided with a separate dress code. He directed the officials to book cases againstthose who flout guidelines to be followed in such zones. On Friday,state Finance Minister T Harish Rao, whofound a group of migrant labourers walking on the road atManoharabad to their native states from the outskirts ofHyderabad, asked them to stay at Manoharabad, a release said. Though the group of migrant labourers sought to goto their native places, they relented after he promised themall support for their stay, it said. Meanwhile, the University of Hyderabad (UoH),aCentral university, said it has been identified as COVID19testing centre under the city cluster identified by theCentre's Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The cluster in Hyderabad consists of Centre for DNAFingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), CSIR-Centre forCellular Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), National Institute ofAnimal Biotechnology (NIAB), CSIR-Indian Institute of ChemicalTechnology (CSIR-IICT), in addition to UoH. The coordinating institution for Hyderabad is CSIR-CCMB, the UoH release said. SJR BNWELCOME BNWELCOME

66 fresh COVID-19 cases in Telangana

Hyderabad, Apr 24 () The Telangana government hasgot the Centre's approval to use plasma therapy in thetreatment of COVID-19 patients, state Health MinisterE Rajender said on Friday, as 13 fresh cases of the virus werereported.With 13 fresh cases reported on Friday, the numberof virus cases reported in the state rose to 983, he said. No death occurred on Friday and the number of peoplewho succumbed to the virus in the state was 25, Rajender said. The number of people who have been discharged fromhospitals was 291. The number of active cases was 663, he said."Plasma therapy.We applied. We did not get permission. We asked how can it be so late (in givingpermission), it should be given on war-footing and that itshould be accepted. They (Centre) said you can do it and permission isdeemed to have been given...They gave permission to us also. We will use it for patients who are serious," he toldreporters here. He hoped that, as per the current trend, there wouldbe decline in cases in Vikarabad, Gadwal, Suryapet districts,where considerable number of cases have been reported, andalso in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)area. The majority of the cases in Telangana have beenreported from the GHMC. "If todays trend continues, there would be controlsoon and it could be positive in Telangana," he said. Hoping for an increase in discharge of COVID-19patients after recovery, he, however, said there is variationin the number of days it took for patients to test negative. Rajender, who cited an instance of a doctor beingturned away by his relatives and others when he had gone totheir residence, deprecated the tendency of showing anunjustified and unfair attitude towards medical personnel. The Telangana government would not spare insults orviolence towards doctors, he said. The minister, who attended a video conference heldby Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday, said theUnion Minister appreciated the state governments work (invirus containment) and also for converting a sports facilityin Hyderabad into a hospital for COVID-19. Replying to a query, he said no no doctor testedpositive for COVID-19 in the state. A lab technician at Gadwal in the state is reportedto have tested positive, the minister said. The state government has taken all measures forpersonal protection of medical personnel from the beginning,he asserted. The government has arranged stay for doctors athotels so that they don't need to go home, he said. There is no shortage of N-95 masks, PPE kits andother equipment, Rajender said. Taking exception to some social media posts,complaining about food and others being provided in hospital,he said the government is providing good quality andnutritious meals to the patients in hospitals. He said 81 per cent of patients are asymptomatic. The city-based Indian Institute of ChemicalTechnology, a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientificand Industrial Research, is collaborating with another city-based LAXAI LifeSciences to jointly develop and manufactureActive Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Intermediates toreduce the dependency of Indian Pharma sector on Chineseimports, according to an official release. The police continued strict implementation oflockdown in the state, aimed at containing the spread ofCOVID-19. SJR GDK BNWELCOME BNWELCOME

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