‍‍‍How 'Female Egg Donors' Dupe IVF Clinics In 'Fertility Fraud' To Make Some Big And Quick Bucks?

Despite the stringent laws and absence of any regulatory authority, thousands of fertility clinics have mushroomed in the country over a period of time.

With infertility rising among couples in India, fertility clinics have become a booming business. Reports say that out of 10 lakh annual In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) cases in the world, 2.5 lakh, which is 25 per cent of the global share, take place only in India.

In the absence of any regulatory authority, thousands of fertility clinics have mushroomed in the country over a period of time. There is no monitoring mechanism in place on their quality of services and treatment which makes stakeholders, especially couples, vulnerable to various types of fraud.
One such fraud is committed by female egg donors where they hide their personal details, religion, and donation status to cheat fertility clinics.  

IVF is a medical procedure in which a female egg and a male sperm are fertilised in a petri dish or outside the female body. After fertilization, it is placed in the female’s womb to grow as a fetus as in the case of a normal pregnancy. 

Couples, where one of the two are infertile due to various reasons, opt for IVF clinics that arrange either female eggs or male sperm depending on the need in the case.    

“If in a couple, the female partner is not able to produce enough or healthy quality eggs, we need female egg donors and if the male is unable to produce good quality sperm, we look for male donors,” Dr Suparna Banerjee, Clinical Director of Ankur Fertility Clinic, Kolkata and Institute of Reproductive Solution, Uttarpara.

“There is always a high demand for female egg donors, especially, in tier II and tier III cities. This is because while a male can give millions of sperms with natural stimulation, females are administered hormonal injections for 10 to 12 days so that they can produce some 10 to 20 eggs,” Dr Banerjee said.
Fertility experts say that a female’s egg quality deteriorates with each donation and good clinics don’t entertain a female donor more than three to four times.

“Though so far as I know, in many developed countries one female donor can donate eggs six times,” Dr Banerjee said.
Also, only healthy young females below the age of 30 years are considered good candidates for egg donation. These issues are governed by guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research as there is no law that regulates IVF procedures in India.

All these factors restrict female donors from egg donation and force them to resort to deceiving tactics. Fertility clinics say that female donors hide their age, religion, times they have donated eggs in the past, and their health status.

“While performing health check-ups we catch them red-handed. Like ultrasound can give us an idea of the history of their egg donations in the past but sometimes they can manage to get away with it,” Dr Saurav Prakash Maity, Gynaecologist and Fertility expert, Rashmika Fertility, Kolkata, said.
Dr Maity added, “We can catch them only when we retrieve poor quality eggs from them. 

These experts say that there is no centralised data of donors in India and each clinic maintains its own records. So clinics cannot crosscheck and donors exploit the situation.

“They even manipulate their age and name by getting fake government IDs like Aadhar Card or Driving license issued. Just recently I caught a lady who came with a different Aadhar card with a different name,” a fertility clinic owner in Delhi said requesting anonymity.  

Dr P Agarwal, MD, Sanjivani Test Tube Baby Centre, Sambalpur, Odisha said, “In places like Odisha where infertility among couples is a big issue, we always face a shortage of female donors and we have to depend on states like Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Mumbai.”
  
Fertility experts say that a female donor earns between Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 for each donation and normally those who are in need of money come forward for that.    
Experts have differences of opinion on the question of payment as many feel that they are well-compensated while some call it exploitation by the hands of fertility clinics which force women to go for multiple donations and commit fraud. Some experts also say that since there is no regulator, IVF clinics also try and exploit these helpless women by sometimes paying them as minimum as possible. 

The government is in the process of bringing legislation and the current Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill is being deliberated upon among stakeholders. Interestingly, the bill says that a woman cannot donate eggs more than once in her lifetime. 
Fertility experts say that this will not only create a huge shortage of donors but increase many types of frauds as well.

“Unless the government maintains a national database of all the donors and gives its access to all the IVF clinics, it is impossible to ensure one donation per female donor in India. It will increase a huge shortage of donors and couples have to pay more also,” the Delhi-based fertility clinics quoted above said. #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 

‍‍Parents Rattled Between Govt Orders And Schools For Schools Reopening On September 1, Court Stayed GOs In Telangana

Several schools in Hyderabad have asked parents to sign 'consent forms' that say management takes no responsibility for health of children on reopening from September 1. Now, Telangana High Court stayed the government orders on reopening of schools. This is considered as a major relief to parents and educational institutions in the state.

The “lack of clarity” and “suddenness” with which the Telangana government has ordered the reopening of educational institutes has left parents in the state worried. And this has been exacerbated by ‘consent forms’ from three schools that seek to absolve the management of all responsibility towards children’s health.

After last week’s state government order asking all educational institutions — from kindergarten to post-graduation — to resume physical classes, several schools in Hyderabad sent forms to parents seeking their consent for children returning to schools from 1 September.

However, at least three schools also asked parents to sign a declaration, which states that the school management is not responsible for children’s health or any “untoward incident”.

In a form sent by Sujatha High School, one of the oldest schools in the city, the management asked parents to take responsibility for their child’s health.

They were asked to undersign a statement on the form, accessed by ThePrint, which read: “I declare that I am sending my child to the school at my own risk and responsibility and that I will not hold the school responsible for my child’s health.”

Delhi School of Excellence, which has branches across the city, sent out a similar form in which parents were asked to declare they are “sending their ward to the school willingly and will not hold the school responsible for any untoward incident”.

Another well-known institution in Hyderabad, the Gitanjali Group of Schools also asked the parents to take sole responsibility for their child’s health and asked them not to hold the school accountable in case he or she is infected despite the precautions taken.

“It is impossible to determine who has it and who does not given the current limits in virus testing,” read an internal circular from the school.

All three of these forms, meanwhile, also listed out the precautionary protocols the schools will be taking against Covid to keep the children safe, such as social distancing and mandatory masking.

Ashish Naredi, member of the Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA) — an independent organisation that mostly includes parents of children who attend private schools — and a parent of a Class 8 student, called the language used in the forms reprehensible.

“Parents and schools are not against each other. What we have to ensure is the safety of the children. The language used by these schools in the consent form is reprehensible. It’s like schools are shrugging off the responsibility of child’s health. How will a parent sign such a declaration form in such times,” Naredi told #KhabarLive.

When #KhabarLive reached Delhi School of Excellence via call and Gitanjali Group of Schools over email for a comment but received no response till the time of publishing of this report. Sujatha High School, meanwhile, declined to comment over a phone call.

No response was received from Hyderabad District Education Officer R. Rohini either, when reached over text message and call, till the publishing of this report.

Parents of school children have also criticised the lack of clarity in the state government order calling for reopening of schools. Unlike other states, the K. Chandrasekhar Rao-led government has not designed a formal modus operandi for the resumption of physical classes.

The Telangana government released a memo on 24 August announcing the reopening of educational institutions. On the same day, in another circular, the government released a list of basic Covid protocols to be followed which included sanitising premises and taking symptomatic children to healthcare centres. No other protocols specific to resumption of schools have been released yet.

According to Seema Agarwal, another member of the HSPA, “No clear instructions are given to the parents. It is left to their whims and fancies on how they want to operate.”

She further noted that a survey conducted among 300 parents of the association, revealed that about 87 per cent of them were not willing to send children to offline classes.

“I am actually surprised how the government just said that all institutions can re-open without listing out some detailed guidelines. I think the first step before calling any child to school is making sure all teachers are vaccinated, at least with first dose,” Naredi said.

Meanwhile, It is known that the Telangana government has decided to reopen schools and colleges in Telangana from tomorrow after a halt for a long time. However, the Telangana High Court on Tuesday ruled that the opening of schools is not mandatory and imposed a week-long stay on the Government Order.

The High Court said that students need not attend classes in any of the public schools or private schools.

The High Court has also ordered that no schools should force the students to come to school and also asserted that the management should not take any undertaking from the parents regarding the Covid-19. The High Court agreed with the petitioner that there is no scientific study to start the schools. It remains to be seen how the government would respond to the High Court order.

The High Court heard the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by private teacher Balakrishna against the direct teaching to pre-primary and primary classes in the schools. The petitioner contended that direct teaching was inappropriate amid the coronavirus third wave thread.

The petitioner alleged that the government has decided to start educational institutions without any scientific study and guidelines. The High Court heard the case on Tuesday and stayed the re-opening the schools.  #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍Why ‍KCR Plans To Revive Much-Sought 'Federal Front' Plans?

Going by the size of the entourage and the ongoing churn in the opposition camp at the national level, it appears that Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, during his visit to Delhi on 2nd September, may tie up the loose ends of his Federal Front formation.Officially speaking, KCR is going to Delhi to lay the foundation stone for the construction of TRS office building in Delhi. The Centre had allotted 1,200 sq yards of land for TRS office at Vasanth Vihar in Delhi.

In the recent TRS state committee meeting, the party leadership had decided to go ahead with the construction of an impressive party office in Delhi. KCR will lay the foundation stone in the presence of TRS MLAs, MLCs, MPs and members of the State Executive Committee. According to CMO, the Chief Minister will leave for Delhi on 1st September and return to Hyderabad on 3rd September.

At the national level, former Union minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have initiated steps to unite 'anti -BJP forces' to fight with BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections. KCR perhaps thinks that the political atmosphere in the country is presently in favour of those whom he had previously  envisaged as part of his Federal Front: 'anti BJP' and 'anti Congress' forces. The image of BJP, notwithstanding the pull of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is fading. At the same time, the Congress, despite being a pan-India party, is not in a position to regain its lost ground by taking advantage of the present political situation.  

KCR is of the considered view that time is ripe to meet some political leaders at the national level who are against BJP and Congress on this occasion. KCR is also thinking of inviting some leaders to the function, but the problem is that the Delhi government has been strictly implementing Covid protocol with regard to any functions. Since it is not possible for KCR to gather all the leaders, he is also considering separate meetings with some of them to discuss the political agenda.

Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee are in favour of the Congress party and want to form a front with anti-BJP parties, including Congress. But they don't want this front to be headed by Sonia Gandhi. KCR wants his Federal Front to comprise forces that are against BJP and Congress.

As for TS, TRS cannot join hands with the Congress because the grand old party is the main opposition in the state. 'Anti-BJP' parties like DMK, Janata Dal (Secular) of HD Deve Gowda, RJD of Tejaswi Yadav (Bihar) are also thinking that without the Congress it would not be possible to form a front at the national level against BJP.  Those parties have no problem with the Congress in their state-level politics, unlike the TRS in Telangana. Even Communist parties are in favour of having Congress in any front that may be formed ultimately to fight the BJP.  

Against this background, it remains to be seen which political leaders KCR would invite and how he would convince them to join his Federal Front at the national level. In fact, KCR has already discussed this issue with Mamata Banerjee, MK Stalin, Deve Gowda, Navin Patnaik, Hemanth Soren and others in the past.  They all are in favour of the Federal Front, though not minus Congress party.  In any case, KCR wants to be active in national politics ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍Is Telangana CM KCR Focussing On National Politics?

Will TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao announce his decision to plunge into national politics on September 2? This is the topic which is being discussed in political circles. KCR will be visiting Delhi to lay the foundation stone for the new building of Telangana Bhavan in the national capital.

The entire Telangana cabinet, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and senior TRS leaders have been invited to attend the foundation stone laying function in Delhi. Sources said that the new party building would reflect the Telangana culture and traditions and the elevation will be similar to the Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad.

Official sources said that the chief minister is planning to stay in New Delhi for two to three days and would try to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some Union Ministers. The CM is keen to meet Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and explain the challenges faced in the utilisation of Krishna water after the Union government issued a gazette which accorded full powers to the Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards (KRMB and GRMB) in the management of the river waters.

Other issues which he may take up with other ministers relate to sanction of national highway projects and release of funds, approval of new airports, release of funds for the centrally-sponsored projects like AIIMS and railways.

The CM has asked the officials to prepare detailed reports to be submitted to the Union ministers. Efforts are on to get an appointment for one-on-one meeting with the PM, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The possibility of informal meetings with some political party leaders is also not ruled out. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍How ‍Telangana Govt Illegally Laid Roads In Protected Forests?

The areas where roads were constructed without approval include the Kawal Tiger Reserve, spread across parts of erstwhile Adilabad district in Telangana.

The Telangana government has drawn flak for allegedly violating forest conservation laws by taking up road construction works in at least three reserve forest areas in the state. The road construction activities were taken up by the state government under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The issue came up for discussion at the 49th meeting of the Regional Empowered Committee (REC) under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC). According to the minutes of the meeting, of the 24 proposed road development projects, nine have been completed in reserve forests without obtaining permissions.

This means that the Telangana government allegedly failed to obtain the requisite permission before going ahead with construction and also violated the forest conservation and wildlife protection laws in place.The online REC meeting, which was attended by around nine members including the Chairman and special invitees on August 17, said that out of the nine projects, four fell under the jurisdiction of the Kawal Tiger Reserve, while three fell under the Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary and two under the Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Kawal Tiger Reserve is spread across parts of erstwhile Adilabad district and hosts a wide range of wildlife, besides tigers. The Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Bhadradri Kothagudem district while the Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Warangal Rural district. The Kawal Tiger Reserve has significantly contributed to the steady rise in the tiger population in the state in recent years.

The REC termed the partial and full completion of these nine projects as "very serious" and directed the state Principal Chief Conservator of Forests to ensure that no other work be carried out, till an approval from the competent authority is obtained.

"After deliberation on each proposal, the committee noted that most of the road stretches have already been completed partially or fully by the User Agencies without prior approval of the competent authority, in violation of Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The committee considered such works in violation very seriously and directed the PCCF, Telangana to ensure no works will be carried out further till the approval from the competent authority is obtained," the minutes of the meeting stated.

The REC also said that such an action could warrant action, including a penalty. It has directed the Integrated Regional Office of the MoEF&CC in Hyderabad to write to the MoEF&CC’s central office in New Delhi, for further orders on how to proceed with the issue of violations.

The committee further said that as a large number of road proposals are falling in the above wildlife habitats, a comprehensive plan needs to be prepared by experts that can be implemented in a phased manner for betterment of wildlife and to avoid man-animal conflict.

The committee also asked the MoEF&CC office in Hyderabad to issue a letter to the state government, to direct its field officials to ensure that no work in violation of the Forest Conservation Act shall be undertaken. The committee decided to conduct a physical inspection of the site ahead of the next REC meeting. The REC also said that the state government shall submit a complete list of proposals under PMGSY, which fall in areas with wildlife. #KhabarLive #hydnews 

‍New Governor For Telangana Likely Yediyurappa To Take Charge Soon!

The most valid reports coming from Delhi sources are to be believed, Telangana is likely to get new Governor in a week or two in place of existing Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.

According to these reports, Tamilisai, who has been holding additional responsibility of holding the gubernatorial post for Pondicherry, reportedly requested the Centre during her recent visit to New Delhi that she be relieved from Telangana.

Apparently, Tamilisai told the Centre that she would be more comfortable in Pondicherry, which is the neighbouring state of her native place Tamil Nadu. 
The Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry, which is a state-cum-Union Territory, is more powerful than the Governor of any other state.

Right now, Tamilisai is spending more time in Pondicherry, where there is a coalition government comprising NR Congress and the BJP, is in place. 
The Centre is looking for a full time Lt Governor for Pondicherry and Tamilisai is lobbying for the same.

Sources said the Centre has agreed to Tamilisai’s request and is likely to appoint her as full-time Lt Governor of Pondicherry by August end or September first week. 

In that event, the Centre has to appoint a new Governor for Telangana.
According to sources, in all probability, the Centre might appoint former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa as the new Governor of Telangana. 

Yediyurappa recently stepped down as the chief minister of Karnataka to make way for Basavaraj Bommai.

At the time of relinquishing the chief minister post, the BJP high command reportedly assured to give a respectable post to Yediyurappa. 

“In all probability, he would be made the Governor of Telangana. Since it is a neighbouring state of Karnataka, Yediyurappa can still have a say in Karnataka politics, albeit indirectly,” sources said. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍‍‍Will Dry Fruit Supply Dry Up From Afghanistan To Hyderabad?

With Kabul falling into the hands of the Taliban, bilateral import-export trade between Afghanistan particularly that of dry fruits is likely to be adversely impacted.

The demand for dry fruits increases during the rainy season and due to Raksha Bandhan, but due to lack of supply, the prices are seeing an increase of about 7-12 percent. Within a week, the rates have surged by Rs 200-250 per kg. across the country.

India gets dried raisin, walnut, almond, fig, pine nut, pistachios, dried apricot and fresh fruits such as apricot, cherry, watermelon, and medicinal herbs. India's outbound shipments to that country include tea, coffee, pepper and cotton, toys, footwear, and various other consumable items.

The Afghan developments have left the dry fruit traders worried. Most of these imports from Afghanistan enter India via Pakistan from Attari border in Punjab and are supplied to northern parts of the country including Delhi. Hyderabad which is another major dry fruit importer from Afghanistan gets dry fruits via Mumbai and Dubai.

Traders are now worried on two counts. One, most of the imports which transit through Pakistan are currently stuck in Pakistan. Apart from not getting their supplies, the money they had invested to buy dry fruits is also stuck. Traders say that they have been feeling the pinch of Afghan developments for past one and half months and now they would face real problem.

Prices of all dry fruits have already started skyrocketing. For past one week, traders in Mumbai are unable to contact their suppliers in Afghanistan and cargo movement has totally stopped. Since Hyderabad gets its stocks from Mumbai, Hyderabad market too seems to be in for a gloomy situation.

Traders now recall the first ever dry fruit exhibition that was held during the annual Numaish, (Industrial Exhibition) at Nampally exhibition grounds in 2018. People from Afghanistan had come all the way and had set up stalls which proved to be runaway hit. Huge crowds were seen in front of stalls selling original Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, dates, cashewnuts, peanuts, dried apricots, blueberries etc.

The main reason for this craze was because they are organic and the quality is highly superior. Afghanistan is one of the leading producers of dry fruits in the world and among the world's tastiest. The flavour and taste is something which people particularly those from the old city are not able to forget.

The process of drying fruits is a family business in Afghanistan that has been passed down from one generation to another for many years. People typically dry their fruit in an entirely natural way either in the sun or, as it is the case with certain varieties of grapes, in unique 'raisin rooms' known as khasmish khana. Lets hope Achche Din for dry fruits will return soon. #KhabarLive #hydnews

How To Get 'Lost Money' Online?

Earning money from the comfort of your couch is no longer a dream, thanks to the internet, but we all must be cautioned at the same time that all that glitters is not gold.

We have seen people who lose money via social engineering crimes  (a) KYC frauds (b) Customer care frauds (c) E-commerce frauds (d) Job frauds (e) Marriage frauds (f) Romance frauds etc.

We have seen another set of people subscribing to simple tasks for hefty sums of money, some of them have very simple tasks i.e.  (a) Watching lots of videos and pressing the “like” and “follow” buttons. (b) Editing a single A4 size document for over 50$ revenue (c) Investing peanuts on Crypto Currencies and earning millions (d) Subscribing to a lottery that has never been bought.

Many of the offers you see have nothing but empty promises, and even worse, some of these offers turn our desires into substantial monetary losses.

Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System
The Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRM) has been developed in-house by I4C to integrate Law Enforcement Agencies and Banks and Financial Intermediaries. It is currently being utilised along with Helpline no 155260 by seven States and Union Territories (Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh).

The facility empowers both the banks and the police, by leveraging new-age technologies for sharing online fraud-related information and taking action in almost real-time. The loss of defrauded money in online cheating cases can be stopped by chasing the money trail and stopping its further flow before it is taken out of the digital ecosystem by the fraudster.

Step by step process

Step 1 – Victims can call on Helpline no 155260, which is manned and operated by the respective State Cyber Crime Police officers.

Step 2 – The Cyber Police notes down the fraud transaction details (Account number, wallet, UPI, transaction ID, date, debit/credit card numbers etc) and other basic personal information of the caller and submits a Ticket on the portal.

Step 3 – The Ticket gets escalated to the concerned banks, wallets, merchants and so on, depending on whether they are the victim’s bank or the bank/wallet in which the defrauded money has gone.

Step 4 – An SMS is also sent to the victim with an acknowledgement number of the complaint with directions to submit complete details of the fraud on the portal within 24 hours, using the acknowledgement number.

Step 5 – The concerned bank, which can now see the ticket on its dashboard on the Reporting Portal, checks the details in its internal systems.

Step 6 – If the victim’s money is still available, the bank puts it on hold, i.e., the fraudster cannot withdraw the money. If the victim’s money has moved out to another bank, the Ticket gets escalated to the next subsequent bank to which the money has moved out. This process is repeated (Between 5 to 20 banks depending upon the severity) until the money is saved from reaching into the hands of the fraudsters.

Step 7 – Victim is given a petition number and requested to reach nearest police station to register it as an official First Information Report for further Process just in case the money is withdrawn from multiple banks accounts as prescribed by Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System hosted on National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.

Safety tips

- No bank sends links to update KYC

- Be wary of short URLs and information requested on SMS, Emails forms from unknown sources for verification of KYC or requesting to invest in Trade or Crypto Currencies, or saying you won a lottery

- Never send sensitive, personal or proprietary information via email, regardless of who is asking for it

- Never click on Links / Forms asking for personal information (Passwords & Bank Information)

- Never search for customer care numbers on Search Engines – Open the app or application’s website for customer care number

- Scanning QR Code or giving OTP, UPIN, BankCard and CVV numbers means you are transferring money from your account, NOT receiving

- Never do banking transactions while you are on telephonic conversations

- Never share your screen (Any Desk, Team Viewer Etc) with unknown people

- Enable two-factor authentication for all email and social media accounts

Victims who lose money online are advised to collect the petition from CFCFRM authorities and then go to the nearest police station for filing a First Information Report for further processing. #KhabarLive #hydnews

IPL 2021: Free Australian Cricketers Can Be Replaced And Brought Back

The availability of Australian cricketers is now confirmed after the One-Day International (ODI) series against Afghanistan and India has been postponed. Cricket Australia (CA) will issue No Objection Certificates for the players who want to return to the IPL 2021 continuation in September. 

The VIVO IPL 2021 started in April in India but was later postponed in May due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the country. Eventually, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to hold the continuation of the rest of the IPL season starting on September 19 in the UAE. 

Since the confirmation of the venue and the dates, it was a matter of waiting game to know the availability of the players. Fans and cricket punters held on to their 10CRIC IPL bet until they know if their favorite cricketers will be available for phase 2 of the biggest cricket tournament worldwide.

The boards said in a statement, “The Afghanistan Cricket Board and Cricket Australia agreed to postpone the tour given the complexities of travel, quarantine periods, and a finding a suitable location for the matches given the relocation of the T20 World Cup to the UAE. With the World Cup relocated from India to the UAE, the ACB will continue to explore the possibility of hosting a proposed T20 tri-series involving Australia and the West Indies.”

The Possibility that Not All Australian Cricketers Will Be Back

Even if CA has already confirmed the availability of their players, it will still be up to the cricketers themselves if they will want to join the upcoming IPL matches. CA said, “No objection certificates will be granted to Australian players wishing to take part in the remaining upcoming Indian Premier League matches to be played in the UAE.”

These certificates will mean that the players opted to participate in the remainder of IPL matches themselves. A player who’s not likely to sign this is fast bowler Pat Cummins. Cummins has already spoken about where he’s at when it comes to attending the IPL in the UAE.

On a YouTube live session, Cummins explained why he won’t be coming back and said, "Unfortunately, at this stage, I don’t think I will go for the IPL. Haven’t made an official call, but Becky, my partner, is pregnant, and our baby is due right in the middle of the IPL. There are also travel restrictions on getting back to Australia. There’s two weeks quarantine, and there’s also quarantine going into the UAE. So, it’s going to be tough to go and play there.”

So far, only Cummins is likely not to return this September.

Players Like Shreyas Iyer and T Natarajan Cleared to Return

Aside from the Australian players, IPL COO Hemang Amin also told the franchises that players who were replaced because of injuries or other personal reasons during the first leg of the IPL are cleared to return on the IPL phase two. The deadline for the submission of the replacement players list will be on August 20.

Amin told the franchises, “If in case any player who was injured or unavailable during the India leg of IPL 2021 and is now fit or available, then the franchise which had taken a replacement player [due to] such previous unavailability, will need to elect [either] one of them."

According to the IPL COO, the players who were brought in as replacements and will not be retained for the second leg will be put into the IPL’s registered pool of players. However, if the original player is released, he will not be part of the registered pool.

One of the players who had to be replaced during the IPL in India is Delhi Capital’s (DC) Shreyas Iyer. This happened after he dislocated a shoulder in March during the ODI series against England in Pune. Iyer is already fit to play once again and he is now in Dubai to join the rest of the contingent next weekend after his mandatory quarantine for a week. DC has not yet made any announcement on whether Iyer will take his leadership duties back from his replacement, Rishabh Pant.

T Natarajan suffered a sore knee and was also taken out of the IPL in late April to undergo surgery. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SH) has not yet made any official announcements on whether the player will be back in September but there is a good chance that he will. SH is now at the bottom of the table after only having one win out of their seven matches of the current season. #KhabarLive #hydnews 

Covid-Induced 'Work From Home' Concept Hits Govt Revenues hard In Telangana

It is not just the shortage of beds, medicines or oxygen that had caused problems for the State Government during the last two waves of corona pandemic. There is another serious cause of worry for the government and that is the concept of work from home which is becoming a hurdle to get proper Revenues from IT sector.

When there was an outbreak of corona cases during the first wave, all IT companies and ITES (IT Enabled Services) announced work from home policy to avoid spread of the virus. This concept of course had its own impact on the employees who feel that they are under greater work pressure now but as far as the government is concerned, it has a much bigger cause of worry.

The IT companies from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru which had planned to expand their branches to Hyderabad have now seem to have backtracked.
They are employing people but are encouraging them to work from home. This is adding to the worries of the government as the WFH system by the existing companies has resulted in revenue loss of nearly Rs 3,000 crore and has taken away the indirect employment of cabs, air travel, hospitality industry and other services provided by the IT firms. 

Now the decision of the many companies to encourage WFH model instead of opening new branches is threatening to result in a major blow to the revenue earning of the governments.

A top official of the state Commercial Taxes department told The Hans India that the WFH option has been playing a big havoc on the services' sectors which depend on IT companies.

Some small IT and ITES companies have vacated the campuses in Hi-Tech city. As a result, economic activity has come to standstill. If the companies run their business as usual, the government will earn money through tax collections like property taxes and turnover tax. Once the companies shift their operations from their head office to some other place in the country, the State starts losing tax money earned in different forms. Officials say that about 15 to 20 small and medium IT companies have vacated the offices in Hyderabad to cut the establishment expenses after the employees were given WFH option in March 2020. Another 10 to 15 companies headquartered in Gurgaon and Punjab have postponed their plan to open their branches in Hyderabad.

Officials said that nearly 15,000 to 20,000 working in the service sectors like canteen operations, interior and office maintenance in the IT companies have lost their livelihood. The firms engaged in the service sectors stopped filing tax returns and it was a stark example of the impact of the work from home.

"Taking commercial spaces on lease in the IT zones has also stopped. Hospitality industry and recreational zones in the IT zone have registered the lowest ever flow of visitors," said an official.

The Commercial Taxes department officials want the government to take initiative to revive the business activity in the IT zones and see that they reopen with 50 per cent attendance. #KhabarLive #hydnews 

‍‍‍How Badminton Star Sindhu Makes Telugu States United With Her Medal Achievement?

At a time when the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana bicker about their share of river waters, the phenomenon called P.V. Sindhu makes all of them and their leaders forget these issues a while with her athletic exploits and Olympic medals.

Sindhu is a major unifying factor and is equally celebrated by both the Telugu states every time she wins.

When she won the badminton silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Telangana government rewarded her with a sum of Rs 5 crore, while Andhra Pradesh gave her Rs 3 crore and a plum state government job.

Former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu offered her the job of a Deputy Collector, which is the top job through the state public service commission's recruitment process.

In fact, a Deputy Collector's job leads one to become a conferred Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer later on in their career.

As an employee of the Andhra Pradesh government, Sindhu says she is always encouraged and helped with working leave when needed.

Will Sindhu also go on to become a senior official in the state government after completing her badminton conquests, taking a leaf out of former fast bowler and inaugural 2007 T20 world cup winning Indian team member Joginder Sharma? Will have to wait and watch for some more years.

Sharma bowled the last over of the T20 world cup to trounce Pakistan and went on to become a senior officer in the Haryana state police department.

After winning her historic second medal at the Tokyo games, becoming first Indian woman to do so, Andhra Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy hailed her as the lone Indian woman to do it.

"All good wishes and congratulations to our Telugu girl Sindhu for winning Bronze for India at Tokyo Olympics 2020," said Reddy.

He did not stop with the wishes but proceeded to reward the state government employee and Olympian with a cash award of Rs 30 lakh.

The Andhra government handed over the cheque to the badminton superstar on Friday after she met Reddy along with her family.

Minister Avanti Srinivas handed over the cheque to Sindhu in the presence of special chief secretary Rajat Bhargava and I & PR Commissioner Vijay Kumar Reddy.

Even before leaving for Tokyo, Reddy met Sindhu and handed over a cash incentive of Rs 5 lakh, along with a copy of the government order allocating 2 acre of land to Sindhu to set up a badminton academy in the port city Visakhapatnam, which will soon become the executive capital of the southern state.

On being asked when she would set up the academy, the much loved shuttler said she would do it soon.
"I am so grateful for your continuous support Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, thank you sir," said Sindhu.

She said the Chief Minister is constantly supporting her and even assured that they are always behind her, including offering whatever she needs to make sure she keeps winning.

"I am very happy. He (Reddy) congratulated me. The Chief Minister blessed and told me to definitely bring a medal and I brought a medal. The whole state has been congratulating me. Thanks to all of them," she said.

In fact, Reddy himself urged her to start the academy soon to nurture more youngsters like her.
The ace shuttler also praised the Andhra Pradesh government for introducing schemes to encourage sports-persons.

Appreciating the state government for reserving 2 per cent jobs for sports-persons in government posts, Sindhu said: "It is appreciable to know that the state government is giving YSR awards to sportspersons to encourage them."

After reaching Hyderabad from Tokyo via Delhi, Sindhu received a rousing welcome in Telangana state as well. V. Srinivas Goud, the Telangana Sports Minister, was present at the airport to personally welcome her along with other senior officials.

Goud also met Sindhu before leaving for Tokyo and playfully engaged in a short badminton game with her.

Several Tollywood actors celebrated the badminton superstar's success with equal zest, including Lakshmi Manchu, Mahesh Babu, Varun Tej, Sharat Chandra and others.

Telugu film legend and megastar from Mogalturu village Chiranjeevi said: "Congrats Sindhu on winning the medal and creating history for being the first Indian woman to bring Olympic medal twice in a row."

Outside the sporting realm, the badminton virtuoso unites both the states by embracing and revering deities in the Telugu states.

She is a regular at Lal Darwaza Mahankali temple Bonalu celebrations. Like a traditional Telangana girl, Sindhu carries the �Bonam' during the popular festival in Hyderabad.

Similarly, she has great devotion for Kanakadurgamma at Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada. She visited Kanakadurgamma temple on her return from Tokyo along with her family members.

Sindhu said she is a devotee of the deity and visits the temple regularly.
The shuttler not only unites but has also inspired a generation of young people with her sporting excellence, resulting in more youngsters taking up the sport nowadays in the Telugu states. Sindhu and her victories are leaving a lasting positive effect on both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as the whole nation. #KhabarLive #hydnews

Remembering ‘The Great Fall Of Hyderabad Princely State’

On the eve of the 73rd anniversary of this princely state’s surrender to the Indian Union, a look back at the trail of events that led up to it. 

On 18 September 1948, Major General Syed Ahmed El Edroos, Commander-in-Chief of the Hyderabad State Forces, surrendered his army to Major General JN Choudhuri, who had led Indian troops in Operation Polo, a military invasion against a defiant Hyderabad State that had refused to accede to the Dominion of India. In an archival news clip, El Edroos, a career soldier commissioned in 1919 who had seen action in both World Wars as part of the 1st Hyderabad Lancers, stoically addresses the camera: “The men under my command were called to perform a superhuman task… there was no alternative for me left but to surrender.”
 

An understatement if anything. The odds against the resistance were inexorable, not just for the regular army but the irregular militia—of Razakars—organised under the incendiary leader Qasim Razvi, president of the Majlis-i-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), the political party then known as the Ittehad. The ‘Police Action’, as the military invasion is commonly known (thereby giving it a civil character) was quick, efficient and according to a subsequent independent report sponsored by the Government of India, and repudiated by Sardar Patel, brutal in the reprisals against the Muslim community in its wake.

The year leading up to this dramatic denouement in Independent India’s youthful political history was no less dramatic. It was, by all accounts, an intricate labyrinth of political intrigues, spy games, secret gun-running, economic and social embargoes, backdoor negotiations, collusions with the ‘enemy’, murders most foul, and of course, the odd honey trap. Worthy of a first-rate thriller, the smoke and mirrors leading up to the fall of the princely state has been documented by a few. 

Three partisan, first-person accounts provide fascinating insights into the beguiling drama: The End of an Era by KM Munshi, India’s Agent General in Hyderabad who fell out of favour with his political overlords in Delhi; The Tragedy of Hyderabad by Mir Laik Ali, the last Dewan or Prime Minister of Hyderabad State who defied the Indian leaders to the very end and secretly escaped to Pakistan in 1950; and Hyderabad of the Seven Loaves by Major General El Edroos, the ‘dashing’ soldier of Arab ancestry, who met a melancholic end.

The core dispute was of territorial sovereignty. Once the Indian Independence Act of 1947 was passed, Mir Osman Ali Khan, the ruler of Hyderabad, decided not to accede to either of the new dominions, but to remain independent. This was conveyed to Lord Mountbatten on 9 July 1947. India, of course, did not see things in the same light—Hyderabad, landlocked and bang in the centre, was a critical part of the Union, and had, at no time, any legitimate claim to independence. 

British suzerainty over Indian states had lapsed, and it was then, as assumed initially, up to the two dominions and princely states to forge alliances. Lord Mountbatten’s mandate was to cajole the princely states to accede to India, and he set himself to the task with great ceremony. Subsequently, negotiations began between India and Hyderabad, whose delegation included constitutional advisor Sir Walter Monckton (he had also drafted the abdication papers of King Edward VIII). Munshi, devoted to Sardar Patel, dismissed the Nizam as ‘an inveterate lover of autocratic power and Islamic domination’ while claiming, incredibly, that Osmania University was set up ‘to bring up a race of young educated Muslims indoctrinated with the Muslim Conquistador [sic] spirit’. 

He informs us of the final signing of the draft ‘Standstill Agreement’ on 29 November 1947. This had been a major hurdle in an already difficult process, both Munshi and Laik Ali admit, particularly due to the Ittehad which had prevented the Hyderabad Delegation from leaving for Delhi in late October. Consequently, the Nizam was bullied into dissolving the delegation and reconstituting it with a member of the Ittehad on it. 

The Ittehad, formed in 1927, gained prominence under the stewardship of Nawab Bahadur Yar Jung from 1939 on. Their doctrine of An-al-Malik (I am the Ruler), developed further during his leadership, asserted that the Nizam was merely a figurehead for Muslims of the Deccan. His untimely death in June 1944, rumoured to have been by poisoning, left the party bereft of strong leadership. Thereafter, the infamous Qasim Razvi took over as president, and the Ittehad became associated (and synonymous) with militancy. 

Popular movements against the autocracy, by the Congress and Communists, in Telangana had also gathered steam in the post-war years. For Munshi, anyone not a nationalist was necessarily aligned with the Ittehad, which ‘ran a school of espionage and propaganda. Some of the trainees, in the guise of Brahman priests, would encourage the Hindus of a village to inflict injury on a local mosque’. The Nizam too, as was popularly rumoured and reported by Indian newspapers then, was secretly arming them. Both El Edroos and Laik Ali rubbish this claim.

The allegation of arming Razakars, writes Laik Ali, was part of the propaganda of the Indian Government to discredit the Nizam and build a case for annexation. El Edroos throws some light here by revealing that there were hardly any arms to speak of. Three-quarters of Hyderabad’s troops went abroad during WW II, he says, and on their return relinquished their weapons and ammunition, which the Government of India was to replace at its cost in due course. The matter was raised by Hyderabad with Mountbatten and the Military Adviser-in-Chief of Indian Forces, General Moore, who in turn told El Edroos that Sardar Baldev Singh, Defence Minister of the Interim Government, was blocking the request. 

All attempts to re-arm Hyderabad State Forces were rebuffed by Delhi. El Edroos was then sent to Europe to explore procurement and import of arms and ammunition into Hyderabad but the mission proved unsuccessful—it was impossible to do so since Hyderabad was not recognised as an independent country. Travelling as a civilian, he bumped into Mountbatten at the Dorchester Hotel, London, and on the latter’s inquiry, said that he was there for ‘eye treatment’. Mountbatten responded with a wink. The Agent General of Hyderabad in London, Mir Nawaz Jung, had during this time engaged the services of an Australian man, an ‘adventurer’, Sidney Cotton, who brought in supplies and guns to Hyderabad surreptitiously through a fleet of planes he owned. 

All three accounts use the arms embargo issue to point to disagreement over the terms of the ‘Standstill Agreement’, which became the cause of further deterioration of talks. While the Indian unionists saw this as a breach, so did Hyderabad. The Government of India also charged Hyderabad with breaching the agreement by transferring securities worth20 crore to Pakistan, prohibiting Indian currency as legal tender in Hyderabad, and allowing the United Press of America to set up a wireless receiving station there.

The presence of foreign correspondents (seen to be sympathetic to Hyderabad) was also of concern to India. Munshi rails against the Hyderabad government’s propaganda machine, while claiming ‘authentic reports’ of the atrocities perpetrated by Razakars and Communists provided to him regularly by intrepid workers and brave journalists. These he would pass on to Delhi. 

Munshi opines that a section of ‘influential persons in Delhi’ discredited him and accused him of supplying unsubstantiated reports. Which was also what Hyderabad had accused him of. Munshi writes conspiratorially of a ‘young lady of Hyderabad’ residing in Colaba cultivating ‘our Army officers’, who on his advice was sent back to Hyderabad. When her mother later confronted Munshi, he recalls advising her it was ‘wicked’ and ‘dangerous’ that a young lady should remain ‘untethered to a husband, to live away from her parents’. This young lady, Munshi claims, used to entertain foreign correspondents in Hyderabad. Contradictory reports from Munshi and a foreign correspondent regarding an alleged inflammatory speech by Qasim Razvi during a rally for ‘Hyderabad Arms Week’ only gave Munshi’s Delhi detractors more fodder, he reveals, although his report hit its mark.

Munshi’s arrival in Hyderabad on 5 January 1948 itself was a dramatic event. While he was met by government officials and given a guard of honour, Laik Ali informs us pointedly, there was no reciprocal reception for Hyderabad’s Agent General in Delhi, Zain Yar Jung. The Indian Government had wanted Munshi to occupy the erstwhile British Residency, symbolic of British suzerainty. Hyderabad, seeing this desire as a hint of India’s intentions, declined. Frenzied communication between Delhi and Hyderabad ensued, and in the dead of night, Laik Ali reports, two Indian officers occupied an ‘anti-room [sic] of the main Residency building’, and on discovery the next day, refused to budge. Eventually, Munshi moved to Deccan House in the cantonment of Bolarum and promptly renamed it Dakshina Sadan. This too irked Hyderabad.

Before Mountbatten’s departure—Munshi says he wished to ‘leave in a blaze of glory’ and in Laik Ali’s estimation had no real power since it was Nehru, Patel and Menon who were dictating terms—a personal emissary was sent by him to Hyderabad, his press attaché Campbell-Johnson, on ‘a mission of unknown dimensions and opportunity’. During this period of rapidly deteriorating relations, while Laik Ali was in Delhi meeting Mountbatten and Indian leaders, a rumour circulated that the Nizam had purchased several atom bombs that were to be used on Indian cities in the event of Indian aggression. After Mountbatten’s departure on 21 June 1948, tensions escalated and talks failed. India sent Hyderabad an ultimatum, and both Nehru and Patel talked tough—accession or war.

While Hyderabad had been alleging border raids, false propaganda and an economic blockade by India, the Indian Government had declared Hyderabad’s intentions as mala fide and a threat to tranquillity in the Dominion. There was no way out of the impasse. In the meantime, after an unsuccessful secret trip by Laik Ali to Quetta to seek Jinnah’s advice (he was on his deathbed), Hyderabad prepared a delegation to present its case to the UN Security Council, hoping that before it fell, a cease-fire resolution would be passed—attracting world attention. 

No timely UN intervention (a familiar theme) was to be had and intelligence reports estimated 20 September as the date of the looming Indian invasion. The Nizam passed a mobilisation order. Laik Ali writes of El Edroos’ claim of engaging the Indian Army for two to three months, while El Edroos informs us, amazingly, that he had ‘passed on secret instructions to various Army sector commanders they were not to offer any resistance to the Indian Army but gradually fall back or surrender’. In the meantime, having been sidelined by Delhi, Munshi reports of how he was forlorn and looked like ‘Sita in Ashok Vana in a beautiful garden by myself’. 

In the early hours of 13 September 1948—Jinnah died the previous day, while Laik Ali, the Nizam, and Munshi alike were destroying important documents—reports of the advancing Indian forces came in. But for a few stray pockets of resistance and minimum casualties for them, they marched safely on to the capital. Just six days later, on the 17th, the Nizam went on air, followed by Munshi, to report the dismissal of the government, the withdrawal of the UN appeal, and the city’s capitulation. Azad Hyderabad had fallen.

Laik Ali ends his account cryptically with ‘a providential escape’ from house arrest; El Edroos tells the story of the ex-prime minister being whisked away in the boot of a car, for which he was falsely accused and later incarcerated; Munshi writes of his deep hurt over the way he was treated by Delhi. And in this manner, three distinct and colourful accounts of the fall of Hyderabad come to a close, the composite of which, remains a complex and curious political saga. #KhabarLive #hydnews 

We Need A New ‘Quit India’ Movement For True Independence'

My father went to jail in the 1942 Quit India movement. He was interned for 2.5 years in Delhi and Lucknow jails and was released in 1946.

I often used to ask him whether he and thousands of Indians like him who sacrificed so much for India's independence ever thought that it would become such a chaotic and corrupt country.

The Centre's 'City Liveability Index' Is Set To Become A Major Tracker Of Urban Indian Life

News that no Indian city made it anywhere close to the top of the latest list of most liveable cities in the world gets routinely buried in the inside pages of most newspapers. On the Internet too, such news does not figure high on the home pages of search engines, a sure way for the report getting buried somewhere deep in the cyber abyss.

Did Modi Mislead Parliament on the Number of Fake Ration Cards that Aadhaar Had Exposed?

There is no official data to back up the prime minister’s claim that the use of “Aadhaar and technology” had led to the discovery of nearly 4 crore bogus ration cards.

Nobody in the Narendra Modi government seems to know where the prime minister got the data on the basis of which he told the Lok Sabha that the use of technology and Aadhaar led to the discovery of 3.95 crore bogus ration cards (from 1:19 onwards in the video below), Right to Information Act activist Anjali Bharadwaj on Tuesday claimed at a press conference organised to “expose the false claims of the government about the benefits of Aadhaar”.

India’s Doctors Weigh In: People In Pain Need More Morphine, Not Medical Marijuana

Women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi suggested legalising marijuana for medical purposes at a meeting of a group of ministers examining the draft cabinet note on the National Policy for Drug Demand Reduction earlier this last week. However, several doctors working in palliative care say that they would rather see the government ensure a better supply of opioid drugs, the medical use of which is already permitted.

Political Love Fest: We Pledge To 'Protect' Women On Rakhi, But Forget To Treat Them As Equal Citizens

Misogyny remains misogyny even if you tie a rakhi on it. A woman ties "Rakhi" onto the wrists of a man sitting inside a passenger bus during Raksha Bandhan celebrations in Kolkata.

I don't know about brothers and sisters, but for politicians, Rakhi seems to have become the festival of binding ties. Politicians are very busy this Rakhi, tying themselves into knots.

Straight Talk: Why It's 'Plain Stupid' To Buy A House In India?

The crash of the Indian housing market is imminent. Two incidents gave me pause for thought recently.

Firstly: Just as I was about to tee off at the Milpitas golf course in California this September I heard a "fore" and was fascinated to see a fellow golfer tee off from the backyard of his home. I thought, "What a life/luxury!"

I realised that this 7200 yard golf course is inhabited by a mere 50 families and Zillow (an app that dispenses info on real estate prices) indicated the price of each bungalow was in the range of US$1.1-1.3 million (approx ₹7.5 crore).

'Yes, we do sell affordable homes, if you happen to be Donald Trump.'
One cannot ignore that the US of A was built on the premise that infrastructure (rail, road, bridges etc) are the bedrock of economic activity and the growth of any nation. And the USA has by far the best infrastructure in the world.

Speciasl Report: Inside The Surreal Battle For Mind Control Playing Out In Rajasthan's Classrooms

From history to politics to math, text books are throwing caution to the wind, as teachers grow divided.

For someone who is courageously speaking truth to power, 51-year-old Mahavir Sihag is exceedingly soft spoken. On occasion, you have to remind him to speak louder, so that you can hear.