‍‍‍‍‍Are Telugu States Usher 'Privileges To Brahmins' Under 'Upper Caste Politics' Influence?

The Telugu States (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_states) govts know that while Brahmins (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmin#:~:text=Brahmin%20(%2F%CB%88br%C9%91%CB%90,of%20sacred%20learning%20across%20generations) are electorally insignificant, they can influence others.

Telugu state governments in south India, representing both sides of the Hindutva divide, have strengthened their outreach programmes for Brahmins, in order to remain politically relevant among the community and counter opposition parties’ attempts to woo them.

In the Telugu-speaking non-BJP-ruled states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the Brahmin population is negligible and their mandate politically insignificant. But none of these states’ governments have taken their eyes off this influential community, frequently unveiling schemes to incentivise education and employment, or to perpetuate ‘their’ Vedic culture.

Of course, the benefactors of these initiatives must show proof of caste — that they are Brahmins by birth — as most of them are from the economically weaker sections.

In Andhra, the Brahmins have always thrown in their lot with the Reddy community since a fight with the erstwhile Chandrababu Naidu government. But are they happy with Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, particularly when the opposition BJP tomtoms itself to be the “protector of Hindu dharma?”

Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao publicly lives the life of a ‘devout Hindu’. And while there’s hardly any representation of Brahmins in his government, he continues to put them on a pedestal — now and then, he gets vocal in his demand for a Bharat Ratna for former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, who hailed from the community.

Intellectuals, however, point out it is farcical to base policy outreach on the feudal concept that Brahmins are powerful.

The Andhra government’s Vedic education scheme for Brahmins has come in for particular criticism. Political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta wrote (https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/brahmin-welfare-schemes-social-justice-7495186/) that the state cannot provide support to a profession whose eligibility is determined by birth. If Vedic studies are good for Brahmins, they should be good for all, he argued.

Both the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments have designated Brahmin welfare departments — set up in 2014 and 2017 respectively — and portals, which describe the community as ‘brilliant’ and ‘big’ thinkers.

The Telangana Brahmin Samkshema Parishad — the government body working for the upliftment of the community — says on its website (https://brahminparishad.telangana.gov.in/FirstPage.do) that BRAHMIN stands for “Broad and Brilliant in Thinking; Righteous and Religious in Livelihood, Adroit and Adventurous in Personality, Honesty and Humanity in Quality, Modesty and Morality in Character, Innovation and Industry in Performance and Nobility and Novelty in approach”.

Andhra Pradesh’s site (http://www.andhrabrahmin.ap.gov.in/bwc/aboutus.aspx) defines the community as “Big Thinking, Resource Leveraging, Attitude (positive), Hard Work, Modesty, Integrity and Neo Thinking”.

Both state governments offer financial assistance for higher education, entrepreneurship, skill development, coaching for competitive exams — primarily for the economically weaker groups within the community.

Such schemes, however, are not exclusive to the Brahmin community in the states. There are designated departments working for backward communities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, offering almost similar financial assistance to promote empowerment.

There is not a single Brahmin minister in KCR’s cabinet, nor in Jagan’s, except Deputy Speaker Kona Raghupathi. There are only a handful of Brahmin legislators in both states, which reflects the fact that Telangana has less than 3 per cent Brahmin voters while Andhra has 5 per cent. But Brahmins are important to both the CMs, say analysts.

There are also financial assistance schemes to promote ‘Vedic culture’ and ‘Vedic education’ in the community. The Telangana Brahmin Parishad offers a scheme named ‘Vedahitha — Vedic Students’, which pays each Brahmin student a sustenance grant of Rs 3 lakh after the successful competition of ‘Smarta’ studies and Rs 5 lakh after finishing ‘Agama, Kramantha and Ganantha’ studies.

A similar scheme in Andhra pays as high as Rs 36,000 annually for a period of six years.

In Telangana, the government bears 75 per cent cost of construction of ‘Brahmin Sadans’ at district and mandal levels under its ‘Brahmin Sadan Scheme’.

Andhra’s ‘Vasishta Scheme’ provides coaching for competitive exams such as the civil services, paying candidates’ boarding and lodging charges.

One of the eligibility criteria for all these schemes is that the beneficiary and the parents should be Brahmins.

From 2015 to 2019, mostly under Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra spent Rs 216 crore on welfare schemes for the community.

The Andhra government also offers financial assistance for funeral expenses of a deceased from a Brahmin family, if the family cannot afford it.

Political analyst Telakapalli Ravi told #KhabarLive, “Considering our society, Brahmins still play a major role in public opinion. They hold influential positions. Though their economic and political power may not be much, several government advisers belong to the community, and there are bureaucrats in top positions.”

Ravi added that chief priest of the famous Tirumala Temple, A.V. Ramana Deekshitulu, had a certain amount of influence in former CM Chandrababu Naidu’s government.

But that does not mean there are no poor Brahmins, he pointed out.

In Telangana, KCR’s most recent sop to Brahmins was the year-long Narasimha Rao birth centenary celebrations he announced in 2020. A statue of the former PM was erected in Hyderabad in June, which the CM himself inaugurated. The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, in the graduates MLC polls, named his granddaughter a candidate, and she ended up winning.

“KCR does not give the community much power but keeps them on a pedestal, conveys that he is respecting them,” Ravi said.

Prof. Kodandaram Reddy, founder of political party Telangana Jana Samithi, said the community is present mostly in urban pockets.

Brahmin voters dominates 12 urban assembly constituencies in the state out of the total 119, according to Telangana BJP leader Ramchander Rao.

Compared to Andhra Pradesh, the Brahmin community in Telangana was not initially influential due to the zamindar (landlord) culture and the Nizam rule. But things changed and certain sub-castes from the Brahmin community such as ‘Karnam’ took over maintaining village records and looked after revenue, Kodandaram Reddy said.

Meanwhile, political analyst Pratap Bhanu Mehta said that secularism and social justice have become “farcical ideas” in these states. He opined that politics and public policy were being reduced to “jati-based” mobilisation in the most absurd way.

“Can you think of anything more grotesque than the idea that in the 21st century the state provides support to a profession whose eligibility is determined by birth? If Vedic education is unalloyed good, why should it not be open to all, subject to conduct rules? How can the state discriminate and confine it to Brahmins identified by birth? This cannot pass any constitutional smell test,” he wrote.

“…this is exactly the perversion of social justice discourse that was set in motion post-Mandal where the question of deeply entrenched historical discrimination was confused with backwardness and poverty in general,” Mehta added.

Other analysts say the state governments continue to keep Brahmins in good humour because of their ‘reverential position’ in society, despite the negligible vote bank.

Independent activist Sky Baba said: “Decades-old feudal systems believed if Brahmins were in an authoritative position, everything would automatically be in place. These governments are still following that sentiment.”

But think of the regression this represents in politics. Recognising caste to overcome discrimination was one thing. But entrenching it as a compulsory identity, certified by the state, and reproducing birth-based entitlements are a perversion of social justice.

Politics and public policy is being reduced to jati-based mobilisation in the most absurd way. Dalits were poor on account of their caste, which is why caste was recognised.

Now the state wants to ensure that all who are poor are permanently stamped with their caste by an official seal. The free for all that is ensuing for reconfiguring caste-based benefits, the demands of local domicile reservation, are signs of pessimism about the economy.

Much heat will be generated about how to distribute the current and shrinking pie of jobs and resources along jati lines. But no one is getting seriously upset about the fact that the pie is not growing as fast as we need it to.

The benefits for Brahmins may seem like a reductio ad absurdum of our politics, a little farce. But behind it is a great tragedy, of a nation with diminishing prospects for everyone, encouraging them to reach into the narrowest-minded conceptions of identity and calling it social justice. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍BPL Families Replaces Firewood Instead Of LPG In Rural Telangana As Gas Price Rises

As the LPG steep rise in domestic cylinder prices and drastic cut in subsidy amount over the past two years have been forcing consumers from BPL (below poverty line) sections switch back to firewood and kerosene.

This trend is seen more in villages and interior areas when compared to cities and towns. The demand for refills has come down significantly from these sections indicating how consumers are shunning LPG and switching back to age-old methods of using firewood and kerosene for cooking purposes.

The agencies handling the mid-day meals scheme in government schools are also hit by rising prices of LPG and are switching back to firewood, unable to afford costlier cylinders.

"There are nearly 1.14 crore domestic LPG connections in Telangana. Of them, 30 lakh connections pertain to BPL sections. They were given connections under the state government's Deepam scheme and the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. There is a sharp reduction in ordering refills from these sections," said D. Ashok Kumar, president, Greater Hyderabad LPG Distributors Association and also the president of Association of Bharat Gas Distributors and Associates of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

"When PM's Ujjwala Yojana was launched in 2016 for BPL sections, the price of a cylinder was Rs. 590. Today, it has increased to Rs. 930. They are receiving a subsidy amount of just Rs. 40 into their bank accounts later as part of direct benefit transfer scheme. We have seen a 25 percent drop in refill orders from these sections for the past few months. However, this trend is seen more in rural and interior areas than in towns and cities, where firewood is available," Kumar added.

Government schools across Telangana reopened from September 1 after a 17-month break due to Covid-19 pandemic. Students are being served mid-day meals in all government schools from September 1.

Collectors and education officers of respective districts who are making surprise inspections of schools to assess the conditions in schools are shocked to find school premises filled with smoke as agencies cooking meals are using firewood unable to bear higher LPG price.

Nirmal district collector Musharraf Ali Farqui issued notices to two schools recently when he found agencies using firewood to cook meals against the norms. Though the Centre and the state government reimburse cylinder cost to these agencies later, it takes a few months to get the bills passed.

"They need one or two cylinders per week to cook meals depending on the enrollment of students in a school. They are finding it difficult to pay higher LPG price initially and wait for months to get their bills from the government. To overcome this, they are switching back to firewood in villages and interior areas," official sources said. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍'‍Kolam, The Raj Gonds Riddles' Of Andhra Pradesh - A Sheer Reflection On Telangana Languages

“Riddles are probably the oldest extant forms of humour”, says Encyclopaedia Britannica. They are also the vehicles of heritage knowledge for every community. They were in vogue from the earliest literary texts of Vedas.

The following riddle from Rigveda is popularly cited (for ex: by Velaga Venkatappayya in Podupu Kathalu, 2008, p. vii).
Dwaanuparnaa sayujaa rakhaayaa samaanam
Vriksham parisha swajaate yoranyah
Pippalam swaadyatti ankyovashnannabhi baaka reti

Thereafter many Itihasas, Puranas, poetic works, stories, Jain and Buddhist texts and Bible mention the riddles and they are more popular among the rural people. The peoples’ memory is rightly emphasised by Devendra Sathyarthi (in “Indian Children’s Rhymes and Chants”, Modern Review, October – November, 1936, p. 39): “The people were the victims of great catastrophes, but none could kill the children’s indigenous games and home spun songs”.

During the evening times of leisure the village elders, boys and girls gather in the courtyard of a village/street elder and pose riddles to each other to uncover the intended meaning. Not only are they humorous in spelling out rhythmically by expressing the beauty of the language and vocabulary, but also carry the knowledge of their environs indirectly suggesting ‘learn to live’. This way the riddles are not only entertaining but also educative.

One of the most ancient races that have been carrying the heritage of riddles is of Kolams. Renowned anthropologist Professor Haimendorf made the following observations on the Kolams (The Raj Gonds of Andhra Pradesh, pp. 32, 38 & 345-48) — “The population that can best claim the epithet ‘aboriginal’ is the Kolams or Kolavars … several thousand members of the tribe are found scattered over the greater part of the Adilabad district from the uttermost corner of Kinwat to the taluqs of Sirpur and Lakshetipet in the east and south. Most Kolams speak a distinct tribal language, but some groups in the west have exchanged this for Marathi while in the east there are communities of telugised Kolams. In their own language, the Kolams call themselves Kolavar, but in Gondi they are called Pujari, in Telugu Mannevarlu, and in Marathi and in Urdu Kolam. Their tribal language known as Kolami is a Dravidian tongue and belongs, like Gondi, to the intermediate group of Dravidian languages, agreeing in some points with Telugu and in others with Tamil and connected forms of speech. The Kolami spoken in Adilabad is unintelligible to Gonds and judging from my limited word lists it seems, at least in vocabulary, to have closer affinities to Telugu than to Gondi… Those outlying groups who have fallen under the sway of either Marathi or Telugu culture and lost with their language many of their old customs occupy a different position; they are in the process of becoming a Hindu caste, and between them and the Gonds there is no feeling of common tribal tradition”.

His observations made some points clear — one, Kolams are one of the most ancient tribes in South India (across erstwhile Adilabad district in Telangana). This is why the Government of India recognised them as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PvTG). Their population is almost stagnant for the past three decades — 1991 to 2021 — oscillating between 40,000 and 45,000 while the population of all other communities in India are increasing. Two, the Kolams speak a language of their own and it belongs to “intermediate group of Dravidian languages”, like Gondi and Telugu. Linguists starting from Bhadriraju Krishnamurti (Telugu Verbal Bases Comparative and Descriptive Study, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1961, p. 269) recognised Kolami as one among the 11 languages belonging to the Central Dravidian branch of proto Dravidian language. Third, the Kolams living on the borders are losing their language and culture to those of Marathi and Telugu. This is a threat to their ancestral heritage.

Fourth, the Kolam vocabulary is more akin to Telugu than to Gondi. Well-known linguist P. S. Subrahmanyam concludes that the Kolavagotti (language of Kolams as they call it) imbibed many words from Telugu. Therefore it can be presumed that their homeland might be the Telugu land itself (Draavida Bhaashalu, 1977, p. 42 & Kolavagotti, jstor, 1998).

However, other scholars like M. Rama Rao (Temples of Tirumala, Tirupati and Tiruchanur, TTD, 1999, p. 3) trace the roots of Kolams to the down south, i.e. Tirumala Hills called Vengadam in the remote past: “Vengadam was inhabited by an uncivilised tribe of hunters known as the Kalvar. Their chieftain was Pulli, who was a fierce and powerful master. He and his people spoke a language which was different from the language of Tamilaham. The Vengadam hill was known to many poets of the Sangam age as famous for its forests, for its elephants, for its streams and for its drunken bouts”.

It appears to be true, because the word Kalvar is similar to Kolvar; kal meaning offshoot. There are still some villages by name like Kollam Penta and Komman Penta (in Nallamala forests in Nagarkurnool district) that suggest their migration from south to north through the hinterland of Telangana, during the times of far histories.

The word kollam and even kolam also means rangoli. Rangoli is elaborate among the Kolams and festivals can not happen without them. And, kolam was very popular with the people of Indus valley civilizations, some 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. This way the ancestry of the Kolams goes back to proto-historic times and their language stands as a link between the south and north Indian regions.

However, now the two observations of Professor Haimendorf – losing of Kolam language and culture to their associated dominant peoples and its affinity to Telugu – prompt us to study the language of the ancient race of Kolam. As such, five years ago I started encouraging Athram Mothiram to collect folk songs of his own tribe Kolam. Initially he did not find ‘great things’ in the folklore, but as I went on convincing him on the importance of his ‘community memory’ which is entering the endangered zone, he finally utilised an opportunity and recorded the riddles spelt out in leisure time by Kolam students studying classes 3rd to 10th in the Government run residential school in Endha, Utnoor Mandal, Adilabad District, during the closing months of 2019.

Further, few months earlier Athram Mothiram participated in another similar evening session in a Kolam village Choupanguda, Wankidi Mandal in Kumram Bheem Asifabad District with six teenagers and a youngster – Athram Ravi (12), Anasuya (15), Kova Renuka (15), Sidam Kavita (15), Kova Prasad (13), Kova Bheemrao (26) – and recorded the riddles (altogether 112).

The riddles in their language Kolami are labelled sitah and are posed randomly in an enthusiastic flow. Yet, earlier scholars tried to present the riddles in a systematic manner and a scholar on the subject Archer Taylor divided them into five groups – animal related, human related, tree related, things related and non comparable riddles. But a primary study of the riddles of the Kolams leads us to divide them under the following categories:
1. House, food and health related riddles
2. Forest and environment related riddles
3. Agriculture related riddles
4. Culture and education related riddles

Till recent times, the Kolams lived upon food gathering, hunting and a primitive agriculture stage. Therefore, we find more number of their riddles (62) revolving around the things related to the ways of acquiring food in the forested environs (25) and from their primitive cultivation (18). Since they are strong believers in appeasing their deities by playing musical instruments during their fairs and festivals, we come across those things in the riddles (4). Education is a relatively latest addition to the social system and this is also evident in their riddles (3).

The house related riddles are about house plastering, swing, clothesline, door, pot hanging ring, wooden pillar, sweeping, termites, bore pump, lamp, ladder, dog tail, neem fruits, umbrella, andugu tree, oil presser, log and thorns. Food related items include popcorn, spatula, custard apple, tamarind fruit, egg, castor oil, mahua flowers, fire ash, bean support log, stove, cake piece, pan, millstone rawa, bitter gourd, match stick, fire, salt, onion, brinjal, nutmeg and maize. Human related things are shade, spit, nose, cry, leather sandals, old people, kid, comb, navel, eyes, nails, teeth, tattoo and lice. Forest related riddles are about Vemapli tree, Buduma fruits, Morri nuts, Aare leaf, wild bitter gourd and bamboo shoot. Birds like sparrow, gijigaadu and peacock and terrestrial animals like rats, ants, porcupine, boar, scorpion, chameleon, squirrel, fishermen – fish, burrowing quail and partridge appear to be humorous riddles. Environment is reflected through the riddles to unfold the intended meanings of stars, valley, stream, air and moon.

Agricultural equipment is expressed through the riddles on machan, paise, axe, ship, causeway, goad, blacksmith, cart axle. Cattle related riddles include the meanings of cow, cow udder, tail and the crops include millet, sesame, fangs, cotton, groundnuts and maize.

There are riddles that talk about musical instruments like Dol, Kaalikom, Dandaari cap and flag. Book and pen are also dealt in few other riddles. The above words are very close to Telugu vocabulary.
To cite a few riddles: the Kolami riddle “iduput mudipi” can be translated as “idupulo mudi” in Telugu; another Kolami riddle “thutthur thummeng, netthur thothed” can be translated as “thurrmane thummedaku netthuru ledu” in Telugu; the Kolami riddle “sikding ver thod, jinkskung jaaga thod” can be translated as “chikkuduku veru ledu, jinkaku jaaga ledu” in Telugu.

A general observation of the Kolami words let us find them with similar spelling and phonetic sound of the Telugu words. For example: the Kolami word gol is gollu in Telugu; chimni is same in both the languages; neenda in Kolami is needa in Telugu; satri in Kolami is chatri in Telugu; cheeme in Kolami is cheemalu in Telugu; the Kolami word pelaa becomes plural word pelaalu in Telugu. Thus, there are slight differences between the two languages, especially in respect of prepositions and verbs. Most of the Kolami words end with nasal sounds which can not be written so easily.

This appears as one of the reasons for the absence of script for the language.
Several scholars made considerable efforts to understand the language and vocabulary. Emeneau’s classic work (1955) presents a detailed grammar, vocabulary (with cognates for Dravidian words and identification of loans from Indo-Aryan and other sources), a discussion on the relationship of the language with the other ones of the Dravidian family, a chapter on the features of the Adilabad dialect as found in P. Sethumadhava Rao’s work (A Grammar of the Kolami Language, 1950) and a few texts. Other tribal languages Naikdi and even Naiki of Chanda can be considered as dialects of Kolami for all practical purposes, say linguists P. S. Subrahmanyam.

Thus, Kolami is not only related to the Telugu language but also to other tribal languages and carries historical community memory through the folklore like riddles. All the dialects of the language Kolami are on the edge of disappearing now. If their folklore is not studied and recorded, the humankind will lose the much needed diversity. I hope this benign effort will serve the interests of the scholars on the subject to take up further works like this to preserve the endangered community’s heritage memories. #KhabarLive #hydnews 

‍Jagan, Sharmila 'Rift Politics' Visible During YSR Tribute Meet At Idupulapaya And Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Reddy and sister Sharmila have not had the best of ties since July, when she launched her YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) in Telangana without her brother’s backing.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy skipped a meeting to celebrate the legacy of his father and former Congress CM Y.S. Rajashekara Reddy, further fuelling speculation of a rift with his sister Y.S. Sharmila.

The meeting in Hyderabad Thursday, the 12th death anniversary of YSR, was hosted by Jagan’s mother Y.S. Vijayalakshmi. While the Andhra CM gave it a miss, it was attended by sister Sharmila.

Earlier in the day, however, Jagan had accompanied his mother Vijayamma and sister Sharmila to pay homage to his father at the YSR Ghat in Idupulapaya, Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh. Even then, sources said, there was a “coldness” between the siblings.

“Though they came together, they did not talk to each other much even though they were there for about 40 minutes,” a source close to the family told ThePrint. “It seems like there was pressure from the mother to appear together and not fuel further speculation. They attended it together but it was more to save face.”

The two siblings have not had the best of ties since July, when Y.S. Sharmila launched her YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) in Telangana without her brother’s backing.

Back then, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, an advisor to the Andhra government and a member of Jagan’s YSRCP, clarified that the chief minister was against the idea of a political party in neighbouring states.

Since then, speculation has been rife that the rift between the duo has only grown.

The ‘YSR commemoration meeting’ Thursday held significance as the 12th year is related to the Hindu water festival Pushkaralu, which occurs once in 12 years.

Experts say this was planned as YSR was known to be connected to water and took personal interest to revamp the state’s irrigation system.

They added that it was also held in Hyderabad in an attempt to leverage Sharmila’s political party in Telangana.

“I believe the meeting was organised to reignite memories of YSR for people in the Telangana region. Inviting YSR’s contemporaries is a statement Sharmila is trying to make about the support she has,” political observer Palwai Raghavendra Reddy said.

“The presence of invitees from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions might not help her greatly electorally but it is certainly good for optics.”
Sources said that mother Vijayamma, who holds an honorary position in Jagan’s YSRCP, was personally involved in sending out invitations. They added that invitations were sent to over 250 people, which included former civil servants, and political party leaders who once worked with YSR in the Congress.

A majority of YSR loyalists in the Congress party did not attend the meeting.
Sources in the Congress said the party had, both in Andhra and Telangana, issued a diktat directing leaders not to attend, saying the meeting was “politically motivated”.

Despite that, at least three Congress leaders attended, including former Rajya Sabha member KVP Ramachandra Rao.

YSRCP leaders, although a majority of them are based in Andhra Pradesh, voluntarily abstained from attending the meeting.

A senior government official, also a close aide to the Reddy family, told ThePrint on condition of anonymity, that he was also invited to the meeting but refrained from going following “orders from the top”.

“Most of the party leaders were in Andhra and all of them celebrated YSR’s legacy in their own constituencies — in mandals and villages. So, they were all busy there,” YSRCP MLA Abbaya Chowdary told ThePrint.

Y.S. Sharmila has always campaigned for brother Jagan — be it before the 2019 assembly elections when he won by a thumping victory or in 2012, when she managed to keep YSRCP active with a 3000-km padayatra after Jagan was jailed in connection with a disproportionate assets case.

She has, however, never been part of his government or the cabinet. But party insiders told ThePrint that she had asked for her rightful share in the form of a Rajya Sabha nomination, which her brother denied. They added that the chief minister is not keen on power sharing within the family.

Their political tussles have begun showing in their personal lives. Unlike every year, Sharmila did not visit her brother Jagan on Rakhi this time around. She instead wished him on social media platform Twitter, and tied Rakhis on a few of her party leaders.

Sharmila has also begun referring to herself as the “daughter of YSR” — right from her Twitter bio to her public meetings. On her father’s death anniversary Thursday, she tweeted that YSR always pushed her to win even if she was fighting alone.

Stuck in the rift between the siblings is Vijayamma, who is now visibly supporting Sharmila in her political venture. For long in the shadows of her husband and then son, Vijayamma has begun coming to the fore.

She attended Sharmila’s first public meeting in Khammam in April and also sought blessings for her daughter. She was also present at the YSRTP’s grand launch in Hyderabad on 8 July.
Speculation is now rife that Vijayamma, who has largely been inactive in Jagan’s YSRCP, might give up her position in the party to support Sharmila.
“For her, both her children are the same. She has perhaps now decided to support Sharmila,” a senior YSRCP leader said on the condition of anonymity.

“She stood by Jagan when it was necessary and now it is Sharmila’s turn. She cannot do that while holding a position in Jagan’s party. In fact, Jagan’s wife Y.S. Bharati (though officially not part of the party) has a better say in the YSRCP than the mother.” #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍Will Andhra Pradesh People Ever Forgive Congress Party?

In the context of the manifest as well as probable consequences of the bifurcation of combined Andhra Pradesh, the moot question for the Congress is: Will the people of residual Andhra Pradesh ever forgive us?

The grand old party, due its 'misguided' strategy, is yet to come out of the clutches of the 'Frankenstein' monster it had unleashed by way of bifurcation. There is no doubt that the people of Telangana benefited more from bifurcation than those of residual AP, considering that bifurcation per se was carried out by flouting all democratic norms and without even a proper discussion in Parliament.  

Of course, the Congress was aware that it would lose the goodwill of voters in the Andhra region, considering that the very dea of bifurcation was initially rejected by the legislature of the undivided AP by voice vote.

The Congress had forged post-poll alliance with the YSR Congress party headed by YS Jaganmohan Reddy. The Congress thought that there would be no political harm for itself in the 2014 elections due to AP's bifurcation should it fail to get a single seat. It was confident of getting support from the eventual winner with a good number of seats. With this reading, the Congress looked confident of getting maximum Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, ahead of the UPA government granting the new state. This was on top of the possible support coming from Andhra with its arrangement with YSRC should it emerge victorious.  

Now, the Congress is planning to restart its political journey in Andhra Pradesh with it new-found promise of Special Category Status (SCS) that was assured by then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the floor of the Rajya Sabha. Later, it was denounced by the BJP government, though arguments in favour of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh were then made by none other than M. Venkaiah Naidu in the Upper House.

In fact, Venkaiah Naidu had suggested that SCS should be given for 10 years, instead of the five-year period assured by the Prime Minister. The Congress picked up the slogan of SCS that was rejected by the BJP government, though it had previously backed SCS.

The Congress got political life and life support from the people of undivided AP twice. The Congress got 41 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 in AP in the 1977 elections, after it faced a humiliating defeat all over the country in the post-Emergency period that turned the destiny of Congress. People of AP had given 30-plus Lok Sabha seats in two  consecutive elections  -- 2004 & 2009 that literally helped the UPA rule the country for 10 years as there was no other state in the rest of the country that had given the party such huge number of seats. The Congress' plight then can be understood from the fact that in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress got only two seats (Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi).

Hence, the Congress is trying woo Andhra Pradesh without treading on the tender toes of Telangana people.  Its USP is that it granted T-State knowing fully well the fact that it would badly affect its political prospects in the residuary state of AP. It is OK if it is seen as having had a hidden understanding with the YSRCP of Jaganmohan Reddy on possible post-poll support.

Considering the negative implications of taking up SCS, especially in the context of Telangana Rashtra Samiti's oft-repeated assertion that 'Andhra' leaders had given a short shrift to Telangana region in the combined AP, the Congress has started making it clear that its support for SCS to AP would not be at the cost of the interests of people of Telangana.

Former president of AICC Rahul Gandhi had a series of meetings with Andhra leaders on the possibilities left for reaching out to people of AP. Naturally, it was pointed out that the grand old party had deceived the people of Andhra in the process of bifurcation. Nobody had a clear answer when Rahul Gandhi reportedly asked: "Will the people of Andhra Pradesh ever forgive us?"  

However, all of them underlined that a committed approach towards realisation of SCS would enable the party to win back the confidence of AP people to some extent so that the party can regain lost ground in the not-so-distant future. The leaders also drove home their point that proximity with Chandrababu Naidu of TDP would be detrimental to the interests of the party. According to them, the Congress can bank on 7-8 per cent of the voters in AP.  But for its truck with TDP, its vote bank would have been 10% of voters.

Political strategist and psephologist Prashant Kishor (PK) has been asked to look into the ways in which the party can reach out to people of AP after overcoming the minus points related to bifurcation. PK had worked with YSRCP, which emerged victorious in the 2019 polls winning 151 Assembly seats out of 175, creating history. Despite being asked to work for YSRCP again in 2024 by none other than Jagan at a thanksgiving programme, Prasanth did not agree this time.

Congress had to first choose one person to head the party in the state in place of P. Sailajanath. The name of former Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy surfaced. Despite Kiran's reluctance to helm the Congress over its questionable role in the bifurcation episode, he is being pressurized to accept the responsibility.

Will this high-profile man accept the offer made by the party's high command is a big question? Before Kiran gives an answer, the Congress per se has a long troublesome journey ahead. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍Will 'Metro Rail' Ever Chug In Old City Areas In Hyderabad?

Lack of funds, interest and selfish reasons the metro rail project is not able to extend till old city areas in Hyderabad. The political-will is the main reason behind this delay. And it will continue for long till the politicians feel pressure from public.

Not anytime soon, according to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) who have been demanding that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government release Rs 1,000 crore funds for the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project as promised in the Telangana budget this financial year. 

While the eastern parts of the old city have access to the metro via the Malakpet station. The western region of the area is completely cut off. And residents await the promised metro stretch of six kilometres from Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) metro station to Faluknuma as part of the second phase, which was promised by the Telangana government before the 2018 elections. 

The Hyderabad Metro Rail, which was inaugurated in 2017, in its first phase covers a distance of 69.2 kilometres across three corridors, from Miyapur to LB Nagar, from Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) to MGBS and from Nagole to Raidurgam. It runs along the middle of the Old Mumbai Highway, dividing city blocks and communities. In cities like Bengaluru and Chennai, parts of the metro run underground and blend into the city. In Hyderabad however, the metro rail stands out. It’s a fully elevated, grey concrete structure that stands apart from the city landscape. 

However, some transport researchers argue that it provides little last-mile connectivity and doesn’t connect the parts of the city with larger population density. And the people with perhaps the least access to the metro are from the predominantly Muslim, old city of Hyderabad. 

Syed Amin Ul Hasan Jafri, a Member of Legislative Council from AIMIM says the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project at the time of its planning did not carry out any public consultation with locals of the old city.
“The east side of the old city has access to the Hyderabad Metro at Malakpet metro station and also to the Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS), but those who are on the west have to commute and spend more to reach the metro or the MMTS,” says Jafri. 

On the western part of old city, you have Hussain Alam, Patter Darwaza, Purana Pul, there is Mangalghat, Dhoolpet and Begum Bazaar, says Jafri ”These are slums with high population densities but none of these areas is covered by the metro or the MMTS,” he adds. 

The Telangana government before the state election in 2018 had made announcements over Phase 2 of the Hyderabad Metro extending the lines from Raidurgam to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad. The plan also included extending the metro line from LB Nagar and from Faluknuma to Shamshabad. However, these plans are yet to come to fruition. 

In October 2020, the L&T Group, who took over the project in 2013,  had expressed their intention to exit the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project, citing losses. The metro is operated by L&T Metro and the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL), representing the government side, through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

L&T Metro says that it suffered a net loss of Rs 382 crore from the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project in FY 2019-20. The loss has been attributed to the closure of the metro service for 170 days during the COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdowns. The year before, the company had reported a profit of Rs 16,344 crore and losses of Rs 149 crore. The Hyderabad Metro reportedly has cost overruns to the tune of Rs 16,000 crore. 

“To overcome the huge financial burden on us, and for some respite, we are exploring different options with all related stakeholders. Due to COVID-19, Hyderabad Metro Rail operations were suspended for about 170 days. Presently, our prime focus is to continue operations adhering to safety norms," a spokesperson of the L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited told #KhabarLive at the time. 

“Now the operator is seeking compensation in the form of aid, this puts further strain on the state,” said Jafri. Reports suggest the Telangana government has turned down L&T Metro’s request for aid but has instead offered to assist in procuring soft loans. “The state is already facing a financial crunch and L&T Metro has overspent on the metro construction by Rs 3,756 crore. Now they have no money for completing the remaining stretch to Faluknuma, nor do they seem to have funds for Phase 2,” he adds. 

Professor C Ramachandraiah, an Urban Transportation expert from the Centre for Economic and Social Studies, says one must pay attention to how the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project was planned in the first place. 

Before the L&T Metro came into the picture, the project in July 2008 was first awarded to Maytas, an infrastructure firm promoted by Satyam Computer Services for a projected cost of Rs 12,132 crore. Maytas would lose the project a year later in 2009 when the promoters of Satyam were found to be indulging in financial fraud. 

This was in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was in power. The project was awarded on a Build Operate Transfer (BOT) model to Maytas by the then Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP). The Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) were prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) at the time headed by E Sreedharan. DMRC was made a consultant for the project.

Prior to the project being awarded to Maytas, the HMRL refused to make the DPRs of the project public, says Ramachandraiah, this is despite filing Right to Information appeals, he adds.

But controversy broke when Sreedharan wrote to then Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, in September 2008 pointing out discrepancies in the project. Sreedharan raised concerns over the BOT model of awarding infrastructure projects to private companies. He also pointed out that the routes were planned to benefit the real estate sector. The GoAP was unhappy with the letter and the DRMC parted aways from the project as consultants, shortly after.

To clear the air, Sreedharan in 2008 expressed in a report, “When we discovered that the metro lines were altered and extended (DMRC had objected to this) to areas where the successful BOT operator had extensive private landholdings — a metro connection would enhance the market value of these plots four or five times — we began to feel that the tendering process was clearly not transparent enough and we withdrew from our role as prime consultants.”

Jafri says these changes in the plans have impacted connectivity for the old city. “The plans were prepared in a hurry, the DPRs that were prepared did not survey many areas with high population density and there were controversies surrounding the way GoAP awarded the project to Maytas. The company didn't even have any prior experience building a metro. The state is also dragging its feet to complete the doubling of rail tracks for the MMTS, connecting Faluknuma to Shamshabad,” he adds. 

The AIMIM leader alleges that the originally planned routes were altered and the DPR was tailored to benefit Maytas. “If the government did the project, the plans would have been made after talks with the public, it would have served more people. But here the government agencies were not involved, the public was not consulted.

When L&T Metro came into the picture, the DPR and routes weren’t revisited. The then government went on to approve and the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government also approved the project costs,” he says.
However, Jafri says that even if the metro line is extended to Faluknuma, it does not address the connectivity issues plaguing the old city. 

The area already suffers from poor bus connectivity and the existing Hyderabad Metro route to Faluknuma won’t help the locals to travel within the area, says Rathnam, a city-based transport researcher. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has two bus depots at Falaknuma and Farook Nagar, and he adds that people will choose the buses as it’s cheaper.

However, Rathnam also says, “these buses are useful to commute outside the old city, they don’t service within the localities. Most of the streets are narrow, which is one reason why the buses don’t service interior routes of the old city. Also the routes are loss making for the corporation. They had tried operating mini buses in the interior routes. Unfortunately, they gave up too soon before a ridership could be built,”

Residents thus therefore mostly rely on shared autos. “The men use bikes, the women mostly walk. Using shared autos can be expensive as they have to switch autos because of no direct routes to destinations. This will be the case even if the metro comes, it is going to be equally expensive. The metro routes are being designed to follow the existing bus routes that are how the metro route has been planned. It gives residents an option to move in and out of the old city but travelling within still remains an unaddressed issue,” he adds. 

A response from L&T Metro is awaited and the story will be updated when they respond. HMRL Managing Director, NVS Reddy declined to comment on this story.

Seeing all the reports, versions and updates, it is quite evident that technically it is not viable to run the metro rail in old city and a strong political support helps to stop the process. Let's wait and see the public reaction and other civil societies version and government review on this long-pending project. #KhabarLive #hydnews 

‍New Norms With Self-Regulation For Fantasy And Online Gaming Industry in Telangana

Telangana was the first state to ban online and fantasy gaming alleging that it resorts to gambling.

The Telangana government is coming up with new rules for online and fantasy gaming which will encourage self-regulation and game development in the state, a senior state government official said.

Telangana was the first state to ban online and fantasy gaming alleging that it resorts to gambling.
Telangana principal secretary for industries and commerce and IT Jayesh Ranjan said that the present scenario around fantasy sports is "a bit muddied and complicated" at present but the state government is bringing new norms which will make the state a role model for other states.

"In Telangana also there has been push back in the past. I have taken this responsibility upon myself personally to get a very simple and industry-friendly piece of regulation in place of what already exists. I have consulted everyone who is involved in this domain,” he said.

"The draft regulation that we have prepared has been shared with everyone. I am preparing ground for this progressive piece of regulation to be introduced in our state," Ranjan said at a seminar organised by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS).
He said that the regulation which exists in Telangana as of now was largely driven by the police department because they had certain apprehensions about the way online gaming happens.

"The new piece of regulation that we have drafted has been shared with the police department. They are involved in every process. Only after their complete satisfaction, we will take it to the next level- before our minister, law department cabinet, etc.

"It is a matter of time but I can assure you will see regulation from Telangana where not only self-regulation but development will also be encouraged. I am very confident that this will be a role model for other states as well," Ranjan said.

Indiatech CEO Rameesh Kailasam said that multiple court rulings have given adequate clarity and accorded legitimacy to online gaming formats including fantasy sports, however, in certain states such as Telangana, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Nagaland such online formats are not allowed if they involve any money.

Retired IAS officer and FSRA chairman Bimal Jhulka said that fantasy sports is a sunrise sector in India and it has already overtaken the US with 12 crore users and contributed Rs 3,000 crore to the exchequer.

He said that the fantasy sports sector has the potential to contribute Rs 13,500 crore to the exchequer by means of taxes, create 12,000 additional jobs, and attract Rs 10,000 crore in foreign direct investments.
Invest India director and CEO Deepak Bagla said that online gaming is expected to see a huge push once 5G services are rolled out in India. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍Telangana ‍Private Schools Urge Govt Aid To Overcome Financial Distress

In Telangana, about 9,500 of the total 11,500 private schools are categorized as budget schools. These schools cater to about 33 lakh students. Almost 3500 schools already closed in this about a lakh of teachers lost jobs and upto 15 lakh students career gone in dark.

According to the Telangana Recognised Schools Management Association (TRSMA), about 3500 private budget schools are closed and about a lakh teachers from these schools have changed their professions to sustain their families.

While welcoming the Telangana government’s decision to reopen all educational institutions from September 1, managements of private budget schools in the state have sought monetary support in the form of unsecured loans to help them overcome the financial distress as a result of remaining shut for nearly 18 months.

According to the Telangana Recognised Schools Management Association (TRSMA), about 3500 private budget schools are closed and about a lakh teachers from these schools have changed their professions to sustain their families. In Telangana, about 9,500 of the total 11,500 private schools are categorized as budget schools. These schools cater to about 33 lakh students.

“After the Telangana government’s announcement that students would be promoted to the next class without mandatory attendance and assessment, nearly 75 percent of students have stopped attending classes.

About 50 percent of these schools could not conduct online classes. Many of the students are unreachable. Many have started going to work along with their parents for daily wages. As per our date, 3500 private budget schools in Telangana have been shut down,” Madhusudhan Sadula, general secretary of TRSMA and national vice-president of National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA) told #KhabarLive.

Speaking to #KhabarLive, Dr. Kulbhushan Sharma, national president of NISA pointed out that the grim situation has led to many school owners across the country ending their lives by suicide. He said about 30 crore people associated with education and allied sectors have been affected nationwide due to the shutdown of schools.

30-year-old Pradeep who ran a budget school in Telangana’s Jagtial district and a young couple, Subramaniam and Rohini, who ran a school in Andhra Pradesh’s Koilkuntla had died by suicide recently unable to deal with the financial constraints. “These are not suicides. These are institutional murders due to policy failures. In today’s scenario, it is not easy to run a budget school and we don’t need any more deaths,” said Sharma, demanding support from the government.

“Schools have remained shut for long. Over a lakh teachers have found other professions, and students are not interested in education. It is an education emergency,” added Madhusudhan.

TRSMA state president Yadagiri Shekhar Rao appealed to parents to send their children to schools without any concerns. “We are ready to open schools, duly following all Covid protocols. It is our responsibility. But we want the government to support schools with an unsecured loan of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh to stand on our feet,” he added.

According to TRSMA, these schools are mostly run from rented spaces. As they have been shut for 18 months without any operations, owners have not been able to pay rent, electricity charges, property taxes, and EMIs for loans availed for establishment and expansion.

The association has demanded the state government to extend the moratorium period for existing loans of all schools for one more year. Many school owners have availed loans from private financiers and are facing harassment as they are unable to repay them. “The Centre has now extended the support under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) to traders too. This should be extended to schools too,” he said.

As the Telangana government is yet to issue guidelines for the reopening of private and public educational institutions, the managements have called for a comprehensive policy to allow operations of schools while containing the spread of Covid-19. NISA and TRSMA have sought an inquiry into the deaths of school owners and demanded an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh to the families of the deceased. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍Why ‍'Political Bazaar' Getting 'Hot' In Telangana?

Telangana people are quite surprised upon heating up the political activities in the state for a by-election in Huzurabad to dominates the supremacy over one and other political parties poll-strategies and electioneering tactics.

As #KhabarLive analyzed the entire situation, reveal the political supermacy dominates the major political parties. Its still more than two years for Assembly elections in Telangana but the series of yatras, rallies and meetings by the political parties have created a poll-like atmosphere in the state.

A series of developments and hectic activity by all major political players has increased the political temperature in the state, where elections are due towards the end of 2023.

Opposition parties are vying with each other in targeting Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for its failures even as Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao himself is leading the counter-attack from the ruling party by rolling out a slew of schemes.

With the by-election to the Huzurabad Assembly seat likely to be held soon, both the ruling and opposition parties are going all out to woo the voters. By announcing 'Dalit Bandhu' and an insurance scheme for weavers and by luring some top leaders of the Congress, BJP and TDP into its camp, the TRS is leaving no stone unturned to ensure a victory in Huzurabad.

The by-election has become a battle of prestige for the TRS as Eatala Rajender, who was dropped from the State Cabinet in May following allegations of land grabbing, will be contesting as the BJP candidate.

As Rajender had been winning the seat since 2009, the BJP is hoping to ride on his popularity in the constituency to deal a blow to the TRS ahead of the next Assembly polls. The leaders of the saffron party hope that a win in Huzurabad will boost its confidence to achieve the goal of coming to power in the country's youngest state.

The recent elevation of G. Kishan Reddy as an independent minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet has boosted the morale of the saffron party, which had set alarm bells ringing in the TRS camp by wresting the Dubbak Assembly seat and by putting up an impressive performance in the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) last year.

While returning to his home state after his elevation, union minister for tourism and culture Kishan Reddy mounted a scathing attack on TRS by undertaking a Jana Ashirwada Yatra from August 19. He slammed KCR and his family, for what he called massive corruption and for pushing the state into a debt trap.

Kishan Reddy's three-day yatra covered 305 kilometres across eight Parliament segments and 17 Assembly constituencies including Huzurabad.

The BJP is looking to mount further pressure on the ruling party as its state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar will be launching a 'Praja Sangrama Yatra' from August 24.

The party says the walkathon, to begin from Bhagyalakshmi Temple at Charminar, is aimed at making citizens aware of the 'corrupt and dictatorial' family rule of KCR.

Sanjay, who is also the MP from Karimnagar, said the main objective of his walkathon is to enthuse the people to protest against the TRS government as it has failed to justify the reasons for which the separate state was formed.

"We need to free Telangana Talli (mother Telangana) from this corrupt family regime which is not at all concerned with people's issues. We have to take the failures of the government to the people at every booth level and understand the people's concerns which would help during our manifesto preparation," he said.

During the yatra, the BJP leader also plans to receive representations from people about the unfulfilled promises of the TRS government and also the complaints about not receiving the benefits under various welfare schemes. The saffron party will forward these representations to the government.

The BJP's central leadership will be keenly following the walkathon, which is expected to set the tone for the Huzurabad bypoll and the next Assembly elections.

The success of Sanjay's yatra will be crucial for the party to bounce back after receiving a jolt in the recent by-election in Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly constituency and the Legislative Council polls from the graduates' constituencies. The saffron party lost the lone Legislative Council seat it was holding and had a disastrous performance in Nagarjuna Sagar, where its candidate forfeited the deposit.

A rejuvenated Congress party has also stepped up its activities. With A. Revanth Reddy taking over as the president of the party's state unit last month, it has become aggressive in taking up various issues and targeting the TRS government over what it called its unfulfilled promises and failures.

During the last few days, Revanth Reddy led two major public meetings as part of its Dalita Girijana Atma Gaurava Dandora (Movement for SC/ST self-respect). Through this statewide campaign, the party is trying to woo Dalits and tribals by highlighting how the TRS government neglected them during the last seven years.

The Congress is upbeat over the huge public response it received at its meetings at Indravelli in Adilabad district and at Raviryala on the outskirts of Hyderabad. It is now planning to organise a third public meeting in Gajwel, the constituency represented by KCR.

The Congress, like the BJP, is also targeting KCR for announcing 'Dalit Bandhu' only to garner the votes of Dalits in the Huzurabad bypoll. "After the by-election, KCR will again forget Dalits. Why is he not implementing Dalit Bandhu across the state, why only in Huzurabad," asked Revanth Reddy.

The TPCC chief also recalled that KCR did not fulfil his promises of installing a 125-feet Ambedkar statue in Hyderabad, three acres of land to each landless Dalit family, KG to PG free education and a job to every household.
Buoyed by the huge public response to its meetings, the state Congress leadership has decided to invite party leader Rahul Gandhi to a series of public meetings in the run up to the 2023 Assembly elections.

Rahul Gandhi is likely to address a public meeting in Warangal next month as part of Dalita Girijana Atma Gaurava Dandora. The party is planning the meet as a massive show of strength before the Huzurabad bypoll.

The Congress party has started the groundwork for the next Assembly polls. Manickam Tagore, AICC in-charge of Telangana, held a review meeting with party leaders in Nagarkurnool parliamentary constituency on August 20 and directed all party leaders and those who unsuccessfully contested the 2018 and 2019 polls to start working in their respective constituencies by meeting the people.

"Talk to voters, spend time with them, list their problems and find out what they have to say about the unfulfilled promises of the TRS and BJP governments in the state and at the Centre respectively," he said.
Claiming that the political situation in the state is turning in favour of the Congress, Revanth Reddy said the party is certain to win at least 72 of the 119 constituencies in the elections to the Assembly whenever they are held.

The newly formed YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) led by Y S Sharmila has also launched its activities, adding to the political buzz in the state. The sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is undertaking a fast every week over the issue of unemployment. After calling on the families of unemployed people who committed suicide, she sits on a day-long fast every Tuesday. She is demanding that the government fulfil its promise of filling all vacancies in various departments and providing jobs to all.

Three days ago she also staged a protest in Mulugu district over the issue of podu lands or the lands tilled by tribals. She accused KCR of cheating tribals by not fulfilling his earlier promise to resolve the podu lands issue. She assured her party's support to tribals, demanding that the government give them ownership right of podu lands.

Amid the stepped up activity by the opposition parties, Chief Minister KCR visited Huzurabad constituency on August 16, launched his ambitious scheme 'Dalit Bandhu' and addressed a huge public meeting. The scheme was launched on a pilot basis in Huzurabad and he promised that all Dalit families in the state will receive benefits under the scheme. Every Dalit family will get a Rs 10 lakh grant under the scheme to start a business of its choice, he said. Hitting back at his political rivals, KCR asked why their governments in the states or at the Centre never thought of designing a scheme to empower Dalits.

The politics over Dalits in the state took an interesting turn this month when former IPS officer R. S. Praveen Kumar joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Kumar, who held the rank of Additional Director General of Police, took voluntary retirement last month. The officer urged Dalits to become rulers and not slaves. He joined the BSP at a massive public meeting at Nalgonda on August 8. On Dalit Bandhu, he said that the scheme was a constitutional right and not anybody's charity.

He told KCR that the money he was spending on the scheme was what weaker sections had earned by tilling the land. "If you have any love for Dalits, spend your money on them," he said. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍‍'Horsley Hills' Known As 'Travellers Paradise' In Andhra Pradesh

Horsley Hills is home to a 160-year-old eucalyptus tree, reportedly planted by WD Horsley, the erstwhile Collector of Cudappah district, who made the hills his summer retreat in the 19th century.

It was a pleasant drive up the 8-kilometre stretch leading to Horsley Hills in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district. As the car wove through the hairpin bends amid luxuriant vegetation teeming with eucalyptus, teak, sandalwood, mahogany and bamboo, looking out for forest denizens like bears, leopards or even deer. However, if you are travelling in summer, you will be greeted by the exuberant hues of the blooming gulmohars and jacarandas along the winding road.

After settling in my room at the Governor’s Bungalow, #KhabarLive enjoyed the most unusual luxury – a languid pace of life! Despite the verdant foliage around and the temptation to trek, opted not to venture out. As relaxed on the verandah with #KhabarLive travel crew, sipping cups of steaming tea in between nibbles of samosas.

The magical stillness of the evening was broken by the raucous cries of the birds as they returned to their roost. Some common langurs were prancing from one tree to another, indulging in playful pranks.

The overhanging branches are large enough to lull you to sleep. Soon learnt that one of the unique features of this part of the world is that you will find trees of all shapes and sizes, ranging across diverse heights, each of their flowing boughs sheltering hundreds of birds.

The more than 160-year-old eucalyptus tree called Kalyani, reportedly planted by WD Horsley, the erstwhile Collector of the Cuddapah district, is the star attraction of the place. The lush forests around these hills have plentiful activities to keep you engaged. If the outdoors fascinates you, you can indulge in birdwatching, trekking, or camping under a starry sky. If your goal is only relaxation, take a leisurely stroll amidst rich flora and fauna.

The place abounds in legends. According to popular lore, a religious woman called Mallama, lived in solitary isolation on a hill in the Nallamala Range of Andhra Pradesh. She was protected and looked after by an elephant (yenugu in Telugu). Subsequently the place came to be known locally as ‘Yenugu Mallamma Konda’ (Konda meaning hill in Telugu).

WD Horsley, the Collector of Cuddapah District in the late 19th century, heard of the legend and decided to make a trip there to escape the heat, dust, and spicy food of the plains of Andhra Pradesh. During one of his meanderings through the hill ranges of Chittoor district, Horsley chanced upon these pristine tracts. Enthralled by their natural beauty and cool environment, he constructed a cottage and spent his summers here.

In 1870, he constructed two quaint houses and thus laid the foundation of a hill resort, which was duly named after him. Today, the beautiful house in which Horsley once resided still remains.
It was in 1958 that the hilltop villa became the summer residence of the Governor of Andhra Pradesh for many years. Since then, Horsley Hills has taken its place on India’s tourism map.

Unlike other hill stations, Horsley Hills is sans the hustle and bustle of commercial delights. Now it has metamorphosed into a popular trekking escapade and a watering hole for day-trippers.

However, this small hilltop has sights that are quite unique and unexpected – it flaunts a botanical garden with rare plants and a deer rehabilitation centre. The Forest Department has developed parts of the Horsley area into an attractive tourist park called ‘Environment Park’. The children’s park with a mini zoo has rhesus monkeys and crocodiles.

The densely-wooded slopes developed by the department are abound with flocks of exotic birds. The hoopoe is the star attraction among them. The Environment Park is well-maintained; the birds and animals here are well fed and cared for, sheltered as they are in individual cages.

From the ‘Valley View Point’, just behind the Governor’s Bungalow, we had panoramic views of the valleys, a patchwork of paddy fields, and the hamlets in the neighbouring places. The perpendicular drop on one side reminded me of ‘Tipu's Drop’ at Nandi Hills. If you are in an adventurous mood, climb up the rocky escarpments to view spectacular sunsets. The magnificent boulders are an ideal place to practice rappelling and rock climbing. You can laze around or even doze off on the rocky outcrops of these hills.

Another prominent tourist spot is Gali Bandalu (Windy Rock ), a rocky slope that derives its name from the gusty winds that blow nearly all day. Gurram Konda, 40 kilometres from Horsley Hills, is another interesting spot nearby. 

On our return journey from Horsley Hills, we took a detour to Talakona Falls, 57 kilometres away from Tirupati and nine kilometres from Nerabilu. En route we saw a sign board indicating the presence of a 300-year old, 5-km-long killer weed that spread its tentacles for some distance around and had killed all the plants in that radius.

A short trek from here led to a small waterfall surrounded by ruby-coloured quartz rocks. It's an ideal place for rock climbing and rappelling. There was nothing to disturb peace in the serene locale except the gentle trickling of water. Talakona is well-known in these parts for the famous temple of Sri Siddheswara Swamy and the picturesque waterfalls in the midst of thick forested land. About 2 kilometres from the temple is ‘Sirodronam’, a sacred grove.

The Talakona Waterfalls which cascades down from a height of 300 feet is a 4 kilometre trek from the temple. Though the waterfalls are an all-year-round phenomenon, there was hardly any water during the visit. #KhabarLive saw numerous silvery streaks cascading  down the cliff face into the ravines below. Descending the virtually untouched locale, we promised to return when the falls were in full spate. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍Covid Scare Still Looms On ‍Parents, Not In Favour Of Sending Children On Reopening Of Schools In Telangana

Though the Telangana government has decided to reopen all educational institutions from September 1, many parents are still not ready to send their children to schools.

Most of the parents, especially those of primary and secondary school students, are not willing to send their wards. They are not ready to take risks as the Covid-19 cases continue and vaccine for children is still not available.

The fear of their children contracting Covid may prompt the majority of parents not to send them for physical classes immediately but wait for a few weeks before making a decision.

The state government on Monday decided to reopen all educational institutions from KG to PG across the state from September 1. The decision was taken by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at a meeting with education minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy and senior officials.

With the health department officials stating in their report that Covid situation in the state is under control, the chief minister announced that all educational institutions including Angandwadis will be reopened.

The officials of the education department told the meeting that due to continued closure of educational institutions, students, especially school children, have come under psychological stress and this may have an impact on their future.

Keeping this in mind and after studying all aspects and after taking views of all, the chief minister decided that all educational institutions should be reopened with precautionary measures.
Some states including Andhra Pradesh have already reopened schools. The neighbouring state reopened schools a week ago.

However, on the day when the Telangana government took the decision to reopen all educational institutions, four students of a government-run school in Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district tested positive for Covid-19 in the random sample testing conducted on Monday. Some students of government schools in Guntur and Prakasam districts had also tested positive for Covid after reopening schools in the state on August 16.

The decision of the Telangana government to open all educational institutions has come under criticism from parents. "Instead of opening all institutions in one go, the government should have announced this in phases. Schools above eighth standard should be reopened first and if everything goes fine, physical classes can be resumed for others," said P. Mohan Reddy, whose son is a student of fifth class in a private school in Hyderabad.

The parents recalled that lack of proper planning had led to closure of schools within a few days after reopening in February.

After a gap of nearly 11 months, educational institutions in the state had reopened in February this year. However, due to the surge in Covid-19 cases during the second wave, they were shut down on March 24.

The media reports about experts warning a possible third wave playing up in parents' minds. "The experts have not ruled out a third wave. There were also reports that children may be the worst affected in the third wave. In such a situation, how can we take risks," asked Syed Ashfaq, whose three children are in primary and secondary schools.
While parents agree that continued closure of schools is taking a toll on children's psychological health, they want to wait for some more time to see how the pandemic situation evolves before taking a decision.

"There is still no vaccine for children. If they are fully immunized, parents may be ready to send them but at this juncture not many are willing," said Ayesha Fatima, a teacher at a private school.
She pointed out that when schools had reopened for Class 7 and above in February, the attendance was only 25-30 per cent.

Lack of clarity about online classes has also landed parents in a dilemma. While announcing re-opening of all educational institutions, the government did not clarify if online classes will continue for those students whose parents are not ready to send them for physical classes.
Most of the parents are of the view that the government should continue online classes till the threat of the pandemic is completely eliminated. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍Why ‍Congress, TDP Start Wooing Smaller Parties In Telangana?

With the ruling parties in both the Telugu States well and truly entrenched, the main opposition parties are intensifying efforts to woo smaller units to form an alliance even as over two years remain before the next Assembly elections.

The Congress in Telangana and the Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh are trying to strike an alliance with like-minded parties in the two States and have started efforts in this direction.

These two parties believe that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and AP Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy are losing public support and that if they can gather strength with the help of like-minded parties, they can take the fight to the camp of the ruling parties in the next Assembly elections.

On Wednesday, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A Revanth Reddy praised former IPS officer Praveen Kumar who joined the BSP recently, indicating that the Congress may be looking at the BSP as a potential ally.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress cobbled together the ‘Mahakutami’ (grand alliance), but failed to dethrone the TRS.
SC and ST communities are traditional Congress voters, but the party has in recent times lost their support.

The Dalit Bandhu scheme introduced by the TRS government may wean away SC voters from the Congress. Praveen Kumar joining the BSP will also have some affect on SC voters.

It may be recalled that in the 2014 Assembly elections, the BSP won two seats in Telangana, at a time that it had no strong or popular leader.

Praveen Kumar has some following in SC and ST communities and his joining the BSP will strengthen the party in Telangana.

If the Dalit vote is split between the TRS and BSP, it will be the Congress that will lose most.

Keeping this in view, the Congress is looking at an alliance with BSP. Any alliance with the BSP will definitely improve the prospects of Congress in some areas, said a senior Congress leader.

Meanwhile in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP has been trying to woo the Jana Sena-BJP alliance. It may be mentioned here that the TDP and parted ways with the BJP before the 2019 General Elections.
In the previous Assembly elections, the TDP fought alone and failed miserably in retaining power.

Political observers believe that the presence of the Jana Sena helped the YSR Congress Party win an additional 25 to 30 seats. In these seats, the votes polled in favour of the TDP and the Jana Sena were more than what the YSRCP candidate who ultimately won, polled.
AP present, the BJP and Jana Sena have an alliance in AP, but Jana Sena supremo Pawan Kalyan is reportedly not happy with the BJP.

Though the TDP is trying its best to revive its alliance with the BJP, the latter is not showing any interest because of its past experience.

Rebuffed by the BJP, the TDP would be happy having the Jana Sena as an ally. In fact, a TDP-Jana Sena combination will be stronger than the BJP-Jana Sena combination.
Even Jana Sena leaders express the same opinion.

As of now, the chances of a TDP-Jana Sena alliance in Andhra Pradesh and Congress-BSP alliance in Telangana appear to be bright.

The Communist parties have lost ground in both the Telugu States and are struggling against the ruling parties.

In Telangana, the Left parties may have an alliance with the Congress and with the TDP in Andhra Pradesh, provided the latter maintains a distance from the BJP.
The Communist parties had peen part of an alliance with the Jana Sena, but have broken their ties.

If TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu convinces the Left parties, they may agree to be part of the TDP-Jana Sena alliance in Andhra Pradesh. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍New Temples Built For Jagan ‍‍In Andhra Pradesh Termed As Height Of Sycophancy!

Political leaders go to any extent to be in the good books of their bosses so that they could get some good positions including cabinet berths or even the party ticket in the elections. Sycophancy is the hallmark of today’s politicians.

Biyyapu Madhusudhan Reddy, YSRC MLA from Srikalahasti assembly constituency in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

He has constructed a temple for Jagan Mohan Reddy to display his unflinching loyalty and reverence towards the chief minister.

The temple, which is nearing completion, is all set for consecration shortly. It resembles any other temple of a Hindu god and also has a lot of specialities.

Apart from the idol of Jagan in the sanctum sanctorum, there are different mandirs for each of the Navaratnalu (nine jewels) – the nine welfare schemes introduced by the Jagan government. There is also a hall of mirrors, reflecting the welfare rule of the chief minister.
Apparently, Madhusudhan Reddy wants to show his respect for Jagan, who had given him party ticket despite losing the seat in 2014.

Claiming himself to be an ardent devotee of Jagan on the lines of Hanuman for Lord Rama, he said he was displaying his devotion towards the chief minister.

“If you ask me whether I want my wife and children or Jagan Mohan Reddy, I will prefer the latter. If Shah Jahan had built Taj Mahal for his wife, I have constructed a temple for Jagan for the sake of the people,” he asserted.

Interestingly, another temple for Jagan is also coming up at Gopalapuram in West Godavari district. This temple is being constructed by local MLA Talari Venkat Rao adjacent to Jagananna Colony, where the poor are allotted house sites.

“I have decided to construct a temple for the chief minister, who has earned a special place in the hearts of the poor people by taking up several welfare schemes,” the MLA said. The temple, however, is yet to take off.

There are some blind “bhakths” as well, who take this sycophancy to newer heights by constructing even temples for their political bosses.
We have seen temples built for former chief minister of combined Andhra Pradesh Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy at several places like Rajagopalapuram in Visakahapatnam, Chennareddypalem in Nellore and another one in Kadapa district.

In Telangana, too, a temple was built for Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at Rajendranagar in Hyderabad.

There was an attempt to build a temple even for Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu at Harischandrapuram village near Thullur in Amaravathi, but it did not materialise.

Now, even YSRC Congress party president and present Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has become a subject of personality cult.

Undoubtedly, Jagan has emerged as the most popular chief minister of the state by winning a record number of 151 MLAs in the last assembly elections and has become a cult figure for his party leaders.

Naturally, his party leaders have started deifying Jagan’s image to project him not just as a god’s gift to the people of Andhra but a god himself, with an obvious intention to get into his good books so that they would get some good positions. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍Corona Killed More Than One Lakh in Telangana During 2020, MeeSeva RTI Reveal

The RTI Reveal the real face of the Telangana government on covid deaths counting the data. This reveal by a MeeSeva RTI as the entire data source to the governmental bodies.

A RTI reply from citizen helpline MeeSeva suggests potential Covid death undercounting in Telangana. State doesn’t call it a Covid death if patient has comorbidities. 

Telangana witnessed thousands of ‘excess deaths’ in 2020, as compared to the average annual fatalities in the four preceding pre-pandemic years, state government data obtained through an RTI query suggests.   

‘Excess deaths’ refer to the additional fatalities reported in a certain time period, as compared to the average number of deaths expected in that time based on trends witnessed in earlier years. 

In the context of Covid, excess deaths may convey pandemic fatalities that never made it to official records — for example, those that were categorised with a different cause — or patients of other grievous ailments who could not get requisite medical care as the healthcare system turned its focus to the novel coronavirus.
  
While the Telangana government acknowledges that there has been an increase in deaths in 2020 and 2021, as compared to previous years, it says they are yet to look into the matter since they’re “busy tackling the pandemic”.

According to data sourced by city-based activist Vijay Gopal from  ‘MeeSeva’ — a government-run citizen helpline that helps with issuing/applying for Aadhaar cards, ration cards etc, besides providing copies of birth, death certificates — Telangana witnessed at least 1,20,929 deaths in 2020. 

In comparison, the state of approximately 3.5 crore residents, recorded at least 79,097 deaths in 2019, 62,142 in 2018, 63,900 in 2017, and 48,849 in 2016, the data shows. The average thus derived comes to 63,497/year. 
At least 1,80,437 deaths were recorded between March 2020 and mid-June 2021, the RTI data further states.

However, experts said the actual figures could be different, even higher, because of how MeeSeva records data — the figures here convey the number of people who died in the stated period, but only those whose relatives approached MeeSeva for copies of their death certificates.  

The official Covid death toll for Telangana, which recorded its first case of the disease in March, was 1,544 as of 31 December. The number had risen to 3,831 by 10 August.

Reached for comment, the Telangana government denied undercounting of Covid deaths in the state. Telangana Director of Public Health G. Srinivas Rao said a Covid-infected individual’s death is only categorised as pandemic-related if the patient was otherwise healthy and without comorbidities. 

“There is no issue of underreporting. We report whatever has come to our notice. For any death to be officially counted as a Covid death, the person should not have any comorbidities and must be full healthy (say a 35- or a 45-year-old) and then if they’re infected and unfortunately succumb to the virus – only then we count it as a Covid death,” he said. “If the person is aged and has comorbidities, then we do not really consider it as one.”

Rao said the rise of deaths in 2020 and 2021 has come to the state’s notice but the department is yet to look into the issue since they’re “busy tackling the pandemic”.  

MeeSeva was launched as an online e-governance service in 1999, with one centre, by the then N. Chandrababu Naidu government of united Andhra Pradesh. In 2001, it was launched on a larger scale as a pilot project. 

As of now, there are about 4,500 MeeSeva centres in the state, according to state project manager Narasimha Rao Bajjuri from Telangana’s Electronic Services Delivery department.

A citizen usually obtains original death certificates from their local municipality. MeeSeva comes into the picture when the citizen wants a copy of the certificate for sundry purposes such as bank work etc, Gopal told #KhabarLive. 

This means that the number of deaths, as evidenced by MeeSeva data, just refers to the number of fatalities for which death certificate copies were sought, Gopal said. 

“Every death registered has a ‘unique death certificate number’ and that is the data we sought from MeeSeva via this RTI… It’s like, say, an Aadhaar number. So, all these death certificates issued are unique and there is no repetition of counts,” Gopal told #KhabarLive. 

Among other things, the data also reveals that, in the first six months of 2021, the state had already recorded 80,631 deaths. This is a figure higher than the annual toll of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Allegations of undercountinting have dogged Telangana’s Covid data since the start of the pandemic.

In April this year, the Telangana High Court, hearing multiple petitions related to Covid, pulled up the state for apparently hiding the real death count and said there should be display boards at crematoria and burial grounds depicting the true picture. 

The same month, a group of doctors, led by Dr Lakshmi Lavanya Alapati, managing director of the American Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology in Hyderabad, wrote to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, urging him to increase testing and issue transparent health bulletins with real cases and death count.
Speaking to #KhabarLive, Alapati said “lapse in death reporting is a shame”. 

“It is a lot in Telangana — deaths are almost 10 times more than what they report as official state count. Even if the government thinks they will lose credibility, it is fine, but what they should do is rewrite the deaths that were not counted before to give us the real picture,” she added. #KhabarLive #hydnews