Why Many Young People Are Dying With Massive Heart Attack Or Cardiac Arrest?

‍

The recent death of 40-year-old actor Sidharth Shukla reportedly from a heart attack and subsequently cardiac arrest has brought home the fact that even the young and seemingly healthy are susceptible to heart related issues.

Nowadays, 1 in 5 heart attack patients are younger than 40 years of age. Here's another troubling fact to highlight the problem: Having a heart attack in your 20s or early 30s is more common. Between the years 2000-2016, the heart attack rate increased by 2% every year in this young age group.

Arvind Rao does not fit the profile of someone who you would imagine having a heart issue. At 33 years of age, he works out every day, and doesn’t smoke and rarely drinks. So when he found he was having what he assumed was gastritis pains, he put it down to all the eating out he had been indulging in over the past couple of days. When the pain didn’t subside, he decided to visit the doctor. A test revealed he was having a mild heart attack. Luckily, the doctors quickly took action and he survived it.

“Being young does not mean one is immune to heart attacks,” says Dr Sandesh Prabhu, Consultant–Cardiology & Electrophysiology, Care Hospitals, Banjara Hills in Hyderabad. “We are seeing more youngsters coming in and presenting with cardiac issues these days-- before sons used to bring in fathers who were having heart attacks, now we see parents bringing their sons in.”

The recent death of 40-year-old actor Sidharth Shukla reportedly from a heart attack has brought home the fact that even the young and seemingly healthy are susceptible to heart-related diseases as well.

A heart attack, known as a myocardial infarction, is when the blood supply in the coronary arteries reduces due to a blockage leading to the muscles dying because of lack of oxygen. “These blocks are caused by plaque rupturing,” says Dr Sakthivel, Consultant - Cardiologist at Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad. When there are fatty cholesterol deposits (plaque) in the arteries and a person is exerting too much, stressed, or has increased sympathetic overactivity (where the nervous system goes into overdrive due to stress and can raise blood pressure and affect the cardiovascular system), the plaque ruptures and leads to clot formation and heart attack. A heart attack that isn’t caught in time can lead to cardiac arrest. 

“A lot of young people in their 20s and 30s are coming to us with myocardial infarction and need bypass surgery and angioplasty,” adds Dr Sakthivel.

But what causes these heart attacks? There are the typical reasons– obesity, hypertension, smoking, doing recreational drugs and a family history of heart disease. But there are also harder to quantify reasons like stress, sedentary lifestyle and eating junk food which is leading to more youngsters presenting with coronary conditions. Most times it is a combination of factors that leads to heart attacks.

Stress, Dr Prabhu says, is something that should not be ignored and is a common risk factor when it comes to heart attacks.
“We see so many youngsters who are in high-pressure jobs and very stressed,” says Dr Prabhu. Moreover, with prolonged work hours, no work/life balance, lack of physical activity and with job security becoming an issue due to the pandemic, stress is at an all-time high for many. 

Family history has a role to play as well. If hypertension, heart diseases or diabetes run in the family, it tends to present earlier in each generation and adds to the risk of having a heart attack. This makes it important for people to get themselves medically screened from a younger age and more frequently, says Dr Sakthivel.

To prevent heart attacks, doctors highlight the importance of doing 30 minutes of activity daily (jogging, walking or any form of cardio), medical screening once every couple of years after the age of 35 (if there is a family history of certain diseases, tests need to be done every year and from an earlier age), no smoking, eating a fiber-rich diet, maintaining a healthy weight and keeping stress under control.

While men more commonly have heart attacks, women aren’t completely immune to them. “The problem is that with young women the diagnosis or presentation is late as they assume it isn’t a heart attack. They only come when symptoms are severe,” says Dr Prabhu.

How does one know they are having a heart attack? “There are varied presentations,” says Dr Prabhu. “While some come in with the classic chest pain. Many present with a typical presentations like gastritis, but when we do an ECG, ECHO we see a heart attack is taking place.”

Moreover, when a young person who is seemingly fit comes in with chest pain or breathlessness, the suspicion of heart attack is less and a lot of times the relevant tests aren’t done by medical professionals. “Please make sure you are evaluated for one if you have symptoms or family history,” cautions Dr Prabhu. “Rather than assuming it is not a heart attack, it is better to prove it isn't one.”

Symptoms to look out for and when to see a doctor:

> Chest pain. Sudden onset and atypical and usually radiating down the left arm. 
> Breathing difficulty
> Sudden onset of fatigue and lethargy
> Sudden onset of exertion intolerance 
> If there are pre-existing conditions like hypertension, diabetes and there is the development of any new symptoms please get it checked. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍‍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

‍‍‍Feel The Magic Of Urdu Sher And Shayari

Urdu is one of the most attractive languages that built a popularity of its own since Shayaris have taken a pace in the form of beautiful couplets. The ‘couplets’ have become the face of Urdu dialect these days whose words actually come from the hearts of Shayars (or) Shayaranas who knows the pain of a heartbreak.

Shayaris is mostly associated with  heartbreaks or confessing love to your beloved. So, by now you must have understood that Shayaris can indeed be a beautiful way to convey your emotions with utter depth!
You may find many celebrated Shayars across the country and in the city of Hyderabad too, for instance,

Rahat Indori is the biggest face in this arena who is an appreciated Shayar of all times. Who can forget these lines: ‘Itni shiddat se maine tumhe chahne ki koshish ki hai, ke har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai’ (With so much of desire I have always wanted you, and the whole world has now come together to help me be with you), the viral couplet from Shahrukh Khan-starrer that went viral when Om Shanti Om released, such is the influence of it. Shayari is a very rich tradition of poetry and has many different types and forms.

It borrows its style primarily from the Persian language! It’s a Hindi or an Urdu word for a short poem or couplet as mentioned earlier, consisting usually of two to four lines. It has some meter and usually has a profound meaning.

The rhyming poetry as it is called basically comprises a couplet known as Sher. And this is how this form of poetry derives its name Sher O Shayari. Like other languages, the history of Shayari shares its origins and influence with other linguistic traditions within the Urdu-Hindi-Hindustani mix!

Today it forms an important part of Pakistani and North Indian culture.
In the Urdu poetic tradition, most poets use a pen name called the Takhallus. This can be either a part of a poet’s given name or something else adopted as an identity.

So the traditional convention in identifying Urdu poets is to mention the takhallus at the end of the name. In Pakistan, Urdu poetry is written in the standard Nasta’liq calligraphy style of the Perso-Arabic script. However, in India, where Urdu poetry is very popular, the Perso-Arabic is often found translated into the Devanagiri script.

Who would have thought that there will be a day when poetry and Shayari lovers would get to see legends like Javed Akhtar Sahab, Dr. Kumar Vishwas, Kausar Munir, and Zakir Khan share the same stage and narrate Shayari, incidents, and anecdotes from their lives. What felt like a dream was made into a reality that charmed one and all via the ‘India Shayari Project’.

Themed around ‘celebrating poetry, celebrating freedom’, the specials showcased these stellar poets shed light on some very special moments from their lives that gave fans the chance to know them up close and personal.

Having left poetry and Shayari fans with ample food for thought, here’s what the living legend Javed Akhtar had to say about the present and future of Shayari and making it accessible to the youth, “Shayari will continue to exist till the time people can emote and feel.
The real question, however, is how it reaches out and strikes the right chord with the audience.

As far as the path where Shayari is headed, I believe that despite the younger generation not being much into reading, they still consume Shayari through electronic or digital mediums and this special is also a way of making it accessible to youth.” With all the eyes on the master wordsmith, he feels that yes ‘Shayari is getting its due appreciation!’“This is the 5G generation, which is fully absorbed into various musical genres.

Who even remembers Shayars? I want to be a responsible  influencer from the Hyderabadi city and bring back the memorable poetic days of Shayaris adding a social message to it and that is what I am up to. I tend to pick up what is happening in the current scenario, intertwine that into the four most relevant couplets that would want my audience to be lost into it.

Earlier I began with the typical dakhani dialect and now it has a little mix of Telugu also into it so that every native can resonate with it. Having said that, I want my shayaris to be out there in every nook and corner of the city,” shares Mohammed Furkhan Ahmed, who gained popularity with his Shayari version of Jhonny Jhonny in the city along with his band.  

We have always heard about the known men in this profession, what about the women though? Kausar Munir shares why she is yet to be called Shayara and about women in poetry. She is the woman behind the magical lyrics like Love You Zindagi, Maana Ki Hum Yaar Nahin, Falak Tak among others. “I am yet to be called ‘Shayara as it’s a very big word and needs to be earned and I am in the process of doing that. I don’t think poetry has any gender and neither is it true that I, being a woman, will feel more pain and emotions than a male counterpart.

It’s all about the talent and it cannot be further classified into gender,”she added. Let us agree, one must not go blank when someone recalls a woman Shayara. #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 

‍Will ‍BJP Expose Ruling TRS Party Corruption In Telangana?

As a matter of fact, this time any political party will easily grab the power from ruling TRS party with gaining public confidence, solving the much awaited promises and assure the easy life without much hard work. All these BJP can provide in the state if the party becomes Secular and much transparent in terms of getting vote bank in Telangana.

https://youtu.be/W1ybKQKOsVU

Time is running out for the seven-year-long dictatorial rule of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.KCR has played with the lives of students who led the separate statehood movement. He became the CM by playing politics, not leading the movement.

In 2014, on the Floor of Assembly, he vowed to fill 1.07 lakh vacant posts in various departments. In 2017, he announced filling up of over 1.12 lakh posts and promised to issue notifications annually.

However, the number of vacancies in government departments has now piled up to 2.5 lakh. There are many vacant teaching and non-teaching posts in universities even as many government schools have been closed. There has been no instance of filling even one teacher post.

No efforts were made to fill Group-I, junior college, degree college teacher and university teachers posts. In fact, except in the police department, no other vacancy has been filled.The number of districts has been increased, but no effort was made to recruit people needed to administer the districts.

For the post of police constable, PhDs, and those who have done MTech have applied, indicating the desperation of the unemployed. The number of unemployed has shot past the 50 lakh mark if the number of applicants for various posts is any indication.

https://youtu.be/UqgXe-1HHUc

A glance at the Statistics and Programme Implementation Department’s periodic labour force survey statistics or state-wise unemployed data being maintained by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy reveals that the unemployment rate has reached 25 to 33 percent in Telangana. At many places, the unemployed are resorting to suicide.Is this the Bangaru Telangana promised by KCR?

It’s clear that KCR is victimising students who played a crucial role in the Telangana statehood movement.It’s clear that during the past seven years, those who benefited the most are his family members and those nursed by him.Corruption under the KCR regime has reached dizzy heights.

Thousands of crores of corruption is taking place in projects, contracts, construction of projects, sand quarrying, liquor sales and in almost every transaction but nobody raises a voice against KCR.For example, the Kaleswaram project, which was estimated to cost less than Rs 40,000 crore, has been revised to Rs 1.30 lakh-crore. Not surprisingly, the government is accused of swallowing the funds meant for migrant workers.

KCR has shown the door to many leaders – like Ale Narendra, Vijayashanti and now Eatala Rajender – who questioned his activities.His coterie consists of all those who play second fiddle to him. After coming to power for the second time, his ego has become inflated as he feels he cannot be challenged.

KCR went back on his promises like three acres of land to Dalits, construction of 7 lakh 2BHK houses, stipend for unemployed, waiver of crop loans, free KG-to-PG education and construction of a hospital in every constituency.

The Covid second wave exposed the shortcomings of the public health infrastructure. He is also accused of diverting BC, SC and ST Sub-Plan funds to other purposes. Besides misusing Central funds, KCR diverted the funds meant for infrastructure development projects to implement vote bank politics.

The government did not build new projects, but re-designed old ones and inflated the cost many times over to loot public money.KCR claimed credit for implementation of the free vaccination programme, five kg of rice to the migrant workers and old age pension. In fact, the Centre should be given credit for these programmes.

Buying votes by spending crores, bringing MLAs elected on other party tickets into the TRS fold, repressing those who question him are some of the skills nurtured by the CM.The debt burden of the State in 2014 was Rs 60,000 crore and has now risen to Rs 4 lakh-crore.

KCR promised to celebrate September 17 as Telangana Liberation Day, but failed to implement it. Moreover, KCR is in league with communal forces who are heirs to Razakars.

Against the Constitution, he provided 12 percent quota for Muslims. There is no check to the atrocities of the Majlis because of the appeasement politics being practised by KCR.

Majlis leader Asaduddin Owaisi, who opposed triple talaq, is supporting the atrocities perpetrated against women in Afghanistan saying that even more severe atrocities are being perpetrated against women in India.KCR joining hands with people like Owaisi, who wants to see Muslims confined to the Medieval Age to protect his interests, is atrocious.People are realising that the seven year rule of KCR exploited the state.

Cracks are now appearing in the fort of KCR.The people are witnessing the failures of KCR; his popularity graph is on the decline. People have realised that there is no congruence whatsoever between his sayings and doings.

That is why the Praja Sangrama Yatra by BJP Telangana president Bandi Sanjay has received overwhelming support. It shows the fall of KCR is imminent. #KhabarLive #hydnews 

‍‍#Sponsored: Save Extra On The Finest Brands With Zoutons

With more and more people prioritizing quality over logos, top fashion brands are shifting their focus to sustainable fashion. In contrast to fast fashion, sustainable clothing can last everyday wear and tear for seasons.

As a result, these collections are more expensive to make, and therefore to buy, which is not always easy on the pocket. Zoutons, the second-largest coupon website in India, has made fashion affordable for its users through diverse yet unique offerings.

As an established name in the Indian affiliate e-commerce industry, Zoutons has created robust partnerships with the leading players of the online retail world. Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Tata Cliq, Ajio, Clovia, Zivame, Lifestyle, Pantaloons - are some of the most popular brands the coupon aggregator holds in its treasury. 

Whether you are an amateur in the online shopping space or a specialist, finding the best saving opportunity for your purchases is a hit or miss in most cases. Hence, taking assistance from saving experts like Zoutons grants you the freedom of bargaining the best value for your expense. The coupon website features hundreds of coupon pages that are segregated in terms of categories and stores. Customers looking to upgrade their wardrobe can find discounts on everything from clothing, accessories, footwear to jewellery, bags, makeup, and more. 

Featuring Discounts From Top Fashion Brands

Zoutons acts as a one-stop-shop for all your fashion needs (https://zoutons.com/category/clothing-&-accessories) by promoting the latest deals and sales from top fashion brands in India. Users can take advantage of the compiled assortment of coupons at the website to generate a discounted cart value on their online shopping expeditions. The company is known for providing the best in class user experience with its interactive and modern website UI as well as innovative strategies to deliver extensive saving opportunities to its users.

A dedicated team of professionals at Zoutons keeps track of all the latest and upcoming sales, offers and promotions at more than 100 online fashion stores in India. The coupon website features separate pages for men, women and kids fashion, inclusive of all the latest offerings from partner brands. Check out some of the best ongoing fashion deals at Zoutons below:

- Myntra - Up to 80% off on dresses, kurtas, shirts, jeans, bags, shoes, and more
- Flipkart Fashion - Max. 80% concession on Men, Women, And Kids collections
- Ajio - Get 80% off + free shipping on all fashion orders
- Amazon Fashion - Up To 70% Off on clothing and fashion accessories
- Tata Cliq - Max. 70% Off + Free Shipping on all orders
- Pantaloons - Get 60% + Extra 30% off on fashion apparel and accessories
- Lifestyle - Up To 60% + Extra 15% Off on t-shirts, jeans, heels, bags, kurtas, and more 
- Clovia - 60% Off On Innerwear, Activewear, and more + Extra 3% Off on prepaid orders.
- MensXP - Up To 85% Off + Extra 15% Off on fashion essentials and grooming products
- Wildcraft - Buy 2 Get 1 Free On Clothing And Footwear

Bag Extra Savings With Zoutons

Known for pioneering in the couponing world, Zoutons aims to provide a 360-degree shopping experience to assist users on all stages of their online ventures. Whether it is free shipping codes, new user discounts, referral codes, or cashback offers - Zoutons users can discover savings in a variety of possibilities across multiple stores and products. Online shoppers can also find promo codes exclusive to Zoutons and take their savings to the next level by redeeming them at the checkout page of coupon partner websites.

Despite the large number of coupons available at Zoutons, sorting through an assortment of discounts and promo codes can be confusing and time consuming for the best of us. Therefore, to deliver an effortless online shopping experience, the company also launched a coupon finding personal shopping tool. This tool is classified as a Chrome extension and used to apply the most suitable discount to a user’s shopping cart whenever they place an online order. 

The coupon aggregator also sends out weekly newsletters with saving opportunities from top fashion & lifestyle brands as well as essential service providers. As a result, users can receive the latest updates on flash sales, deals of the day, and much more before anyone else. Speaking of delivering updates, Zoutons also hosts a Telegram group that delivers clickable deals directly to a subscriber's smartphone.

For the fond readers out there, the Zoutons website showcases a news section with detailed blog posts shedding light on the intricate details of the latest and upcoming sales, coupons, shopping trends, and saving tips for a wholesome shopping experience. Users can also benefit during seasonal and festive sales because the coupon aggregator creates specialized saving guides that cater to diverse needs. 

Irrespective of what your fashion style is, with Zoutons saving tips and tools, you can make sustainable fashion affordable. So start your savings journey with Zoutons today and discover an unparalleled online shopping experience no matter where you choose to shop. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍Cricket’s Problematic Bid For The Olympics

What is a true representation of the sport?

The irony of only two teams competing for cricket’s gold and silver medals at the Olympics in 1900 is not lost as cricket contemplates a re-entry with an eight-team pool that is not likely to feature any team outside of the so-called big league, making it a largely a redundant affair on the world stage, not to mention a problematic representation of the sport.

There is strong reason to believe that even the Olympics courting cricket is not for the right reason which is why the idea sits somewhat uneasily on cricket minds.

Almost stealing the thunder from the Indian medallists being felicitated in the country upon their return from the Tokyo Olympics, Jay Shah of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the news that the International Cricket Council (ICC) was indeed pushing for a bid for cricket’s inclusion at the Los Angeles Games in 2028 but also, that India would be participating if the deal went through.

The news was met with mixed reactions, with some rejoicing cricket’s long-awaited entry into the Olympics while others, and this includes a fair number of cricket traditionalists, purists and fans alike, were more sceptical of the idea.

While the epitome of any sport lies in its viability across the globe and its inclusion in an epic multi-discipline event like the Olympics to honour the best in the discipline, cricket has a few pointers that counter the fact.

In announcing the decision, ICC chair Greg Barclay released a statement to the effect:

“We see the Olympics as a part of cricket’s long term future. We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 per cent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics. Clearly, cricket has a strong and passionate fan base, particularly in south Asia, where 92 percent of our fans come from, and whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA.”

But the problem is almost immediate. The claim of a billion cricket fans is not hard to see given where cricket’s interest is primarily centred – India – and the idea that the USA has a thirty million fan base does not automatically translate to USA cricket having a following of 30 million followers.

Statistics can easily be misrepresented as they can be used to paint a false, even delusional picture. However, the numbers themselves cannot lie.

Looking at the same numbers, it is not hard either to see why the Olympics is showing an interest in cricket.

Olympics viewership has halved from the London Olympics in 2012 to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 to only twenty million viewers.

The Olympics would like to breach this largely virgin South Asian territory and given that cricket is second to be the world’s second most popular sport after football despite its concentrated pockets around the world, it would seem it was a marriage of equals.

India is celebrating the most medal winners in its history – seven. It seemed ignominious for a 1.3 billion population that they could only produce seven medal-worthy winners, while other more established nations like the USA and China are racking up the medals tally consistently.

Here is the tricky story though.

Firstly, only twelve cricket teams currently play Test cricket. Although the ICC boasts of 92 affiliate nations.

When was the last time an affiliate team broke through the ranks? One has to go back to 2003 and the ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa to remember the heroics of Kenya which got into the business end of the tournament.

Increasingly, there has been a push within cricket’s own circles to sideline these affiliate nations from their only means of exposure – qualifying for the World Cup tournaments – simply because they are not commercially viable for broadcasting and media rights packaging.

Even if cricket were to make it to the Olympics, it would still be likely that even amongst the 12 teams, there would be the usual suspects showing up at the event, leaving cricket to be showcased at the event but sending false hopes to its nearly hundred strong teams on the periphery.

The West Indies will not be able to represent as one nation and neither will England under the Great Britain bracket.

Which Caribbean nation will go through? Without sufficient development projects to bridge the gap of disparity of competitiveness between the permanent member nations and the affiliates, how does cricket aim to be a true representative of deciphering the best team at the Olympics which is riveting only because the quality of the performers is too close to call?

Is medal assurance is now making India change its mind about sending cricket to the Olympics? Is that not convoluted enough?

Secondly, one of the conditions in a sport making it to the Olympics is that the format in which it will be presented at the Olympics should be in international operation.

Cricket has run into hot water over this issue, apart from vested interests of boards in the past. Will a compromise be reached now?

While there is euphoria over the possibility of cricket being showcased at the Los Angeles event even though there is some consideration that cricket would be better off making its debut once more at the Brisbane Games in the next edition in 2032, there is still little consensus about the format in which it will go ahead.

The England and Wales Cricket Board pushing for the Hundred comes as no surprise though there is also in some quarters a push for T10 (as opposed to Twenty20) as a more palatable sport given the time constraints of being able to create space for doubleheaders in a ten days span of time that the Olympics can afford.

The problem with the Hundred is that it is yet another variation of shortening the sport and not all that different from Twenty20 given that it only reduces the match by 20 balls an innings. As far as T10 goes, while the ICC has sanctioned this version in the gulf, it is not an internationally prominent format and therefore, goes against the traditional Olympics regulations.

Twenty20 for all its globally viable purposes is not the true representation of skills and temperament of what makes a cricketer at the highest level.

With it being a more franchisee based concept than a World Cup viability, Twenty20 is about specialists than about cricketers in the true sense. Is that a fair representation of being medal-worthy for something as worthy as the Olympics?

There is some consideration that a better compromise would be the one-day internationals as a fairer representation of the sport though it might be an overkill given that cricket has its own legitimate version to decide the overall winner in the time tested World Cup format. Redundant enough?

There are suggestions that Twenty20 might be easier to push through and also, make cricket’s case easier at the Olympics simply because the format has been around and also, that it would kill two birds with one stone by allowing cricket to do away with the currently overcooked goose that is the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

The only problem with promoting this idea is that the sports that do make it to the Olympics not only feature athletes of the highest quality, but also, in the version of the sport that is internationally renowned as the very pinnacle in its form.

Can cricket say the same for Twenty20, leave alone the Hundred or T20? At the moment, teams that do well at Twenty20 events such as the West Indies rarely reflect the gulf that has developed after the top four teams in the game that are fairly consistent across all three accepted formats.

Although it is being claimed that pushing cricket at the Olympics will be an impetus to push the governments of fringe teams into driving funding into developing these teams, increased medal tally has not done the trick even in the Indian context despite this unprecedented adulation that often comes after the fact and soon as easily forgotten.

Paraag Marathe, part of the ICC Olympics Group that also includes the ECB, the Asian Cricket Council and Zimbabwe cricket, seemed overly optimistic of what cricket at the Olympics could do for USA Cricket.

“USA Cricket is thrilled to be able to support cricket’s bid for inclusion in the Olympics, the timing of which aligns perfectly with our continuing plans to develop the sport in the USA. With so many passionate cricket fans and players already in the USA and a huge global audience, we believe that cricket’s inclusion will add great value to the Los Angeles 2021 Olympics Games and help us to achieve our own vision of establishing cricket as a mainstream sport in this country.”

What Marathe failed to mention was that too many young Indian cricketers are already “retiring” in order to qualify for the Major League Cricket in the USA because of the BCCI’s current restrictive policy that does not allow Indian cricketers to participate in franchisee Twenty20 leagues overseas.

So it is questionable how much of it is homegrown talent and how much of it is a talent that has emigrated overseas, which in the past has made up the numbers of certain affiliate teams that made it on the rare occasion to the top league in a world cup context.

That this exposure will drive the Chinese and USA markets into greater development of cricket seems highly unlikely given that they are not likely to sudden divert their resources from their tried and tested disciplines into a sport where it is highly unlikely that their team will break ranks at the highest level in the immediate or even ten years down the line and that too account for a medal or two at most.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the whole premise of participation at the Olympics seems diluted by the idea of the very motivations that are driving cricket and the Olympics into this arranged marriage.

The ECB sees it as a way of promoting another home driven format – Twenty20 before the Hundred – in the hope of resuscitating cricket interest in the flagging home of the sport.

The BCCI now sees its potential perhaps in how the medal winners are being received and with government impetus – Shah is after all the son of Amit Shah which in itself is contravening of the Lodha committee reforms that looked to separated political affiliations from sports administration – is looking to create its own larger entity.

With conditions of course, since it has traditionally opposed losing its autonomy to bodies like the Indian Olympics Association and through the avoidance of drug testing arm of WADA in India, NADA.

Olympics is meant to be the pinnacle of any sport. It is why the world-class athletes begin training the very next day after the conclusion of an Olympics event in preparation for the next one four years away.

This has also caused some problems in sports like tennis where the top players have tended to be choosy over what they value and where they wish to spread their time – the Grand Slam or the Olympics.

One of the biggest reasons the BCCI is stating this change of heart is the push from the current Indian government for increasing the medal score at the Olympics.

The idea of having a men’s and women’s version at the Olympics means a possibility of two medals, notwithstanding the fact that India is yet to taste top success in the men’s arena since the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017.

However, it has to be remembered that this at the end of the day will ensure at best two medals. This with a large contingent of players who make up a team.

It seems that the Indian government and the sports ministry are better advised to divert their energies to developing the infrastructure to produce greater medal possibilities by following the China and USA models of throwing the gates open to discovering talent by training a larger number of athletes in the various disciplines instead of resting medal hopefuls around the neck of one team in an elusive discipline.

With the podium potential of three medals in each discipline, increasing the calibre and number of athletes makes far better sense.

Besides, cricket, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, does not need a platform nor additional spotlight that takes away from much-needed resources in the other disciplines where athletes could do with greater financial assistance, support structure and backing.

As far as the Olympics goes, if the South Asia Market is their goal to tap into a larger commercial market, perhaps they might want to look into providing impetus towards these governments enhancing interest in non-cricket sports.

Besides, until cricket can sort itself out, having greater exposure is going to do little for the sport itself if it is only going to add to its languishing affiliate nation tally.

Will cricket give up its precious revenue-making bilateral series time, particularly time like the IPL window or the Hundred, for an Olympics event every four years while the remuneration is not likely to justify the decision?

Is cricket willing to incur the short term loss for potential long term gains that might still not accrue from the Olympics where medal racing nations have their traditional sports back?

How likely will it be down the line when cricket might see the merit of sending a second-string team to the Olympics to make up the numbers while the likes of mainstream players are engaged in more lucrative, bilateral engagements?

Is it not why football has so little weightage at the Olympics while the recently concluded Euro took on so much attention and importance?

What is a true representation of the sport? An abridged version, made up of teams with expats and retiring players who will make up teams like Major League Cricket in the USA in a couple of years time?

When purely commercial interests drive even a body like the Olympics to include a sport not for its high-value quality but for its ability to bring it a market, it feels like a self-goal, not done for the right reasons, which is marrying the two because it enhances sport at the highest echelons. #KhabarLive #hydnews 

‍Will Rashid Khan, Mohammed Nabi Play In Indian Premier League Amid Afghanistan Crisis?

The fall of Kabul to the Taliban has put the dreams and aspirations of every Afghanistani in jeopardy, once again. As a result the big question remained unanswered 'will Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi will play IPL and WT20 this year?'. Let's keep the fingers crossed.

Both Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi are two of the biggest stars in world cricket and they have been playing their parts in the Indian Premier League (IPL), winning hearts and showing their proverbial Afghani fighting spirit. But as the world's premier T20 cricket league gets ready for the UAE leg of the COVID-affected 2021 edition, uncertainty emerges about their future.

The fall of Kabul to the Taliban has put the dreams and aspirations of every Afghanistani in jeopardy. Sadly for the adventure-loving Afghanis, the Taliban are not the best custodians of sports. Now, with the political situation taking a new turn in Afghanistan, an uncertain future is waiting for their top cricketers too.

The Taliban took over the reins of the South Asian country as President Ashraf Ghani fled to Tajikistan.
Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi, who are in the United Kingdom competing in the 'Hundred' tournament for Trent Rockets and London Spirits respectively, are due to compete in the remainder of the IPL in the UAE from September 19. Though they are currently not in Afghanistan, the turn of events has deeply affected them. Both Rashid and Nabi play for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The T20 World Cup will be held soon after the conclusion of IPL 2021.

Earlier, they had urged the world leaders to intervene as Afghanistan faces its worst socio-political crisis in the last two decades.

"Dear World Leaders! My country is in chaos, thousand of innocent people, including children  women, get martyred everyday, houses, properties being destructed. Thousands of families displaced. Don't leave us in chaos. Stop killing Afghans and destroying of Afghanistan. We want peace," Rashid had tweeted a few days back.

Meanwhile, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) is reportedly keeping an eye on the developments and is hoping to see the participation of Afghan players in the IPL.

"It is too early to comment but we are keeping a watch. For us, nothing changes and we expect Rashid and other Afghan players would be part of IPL," a BCCI source told.

Rashid, Nabi and Mujeeb Zadran are some of the Afghanistan players who are regular features in IPL teams. Rashid is one of the most sought-after T20 freelancers in world cricket currently.

It remains to be seen if Rashid and Nabi stay back in the UK after completion of 'The Hundred' on August 21 as they have families back home.
And if they stay back in the UK, it will be interesting to see if the BCCI asks them to be on the same charter flight that will take the Indian players to the UAE from Manchester on September 15.

The BCCI is expected to speak with the Afghanistan Cricket Board on the situation.
As per ICC's FTP schedule, Afghanistan are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for six white-ball games this month but the final schedule is still not out yet. Now, Rashid is Afghanistan's T20 captain too. #KhabarLive #hydnews 

‍In Search Of 'True Freedom' After 75 Years Of Independence

Despite many achievements in various fields deserve huge applause 75 years since independence, social freedom is still elusive and nowhere seen. As the story of India’s successful non-violent struggle has inspired many thoughts and movements across the globe, and it is one achievement that every Indian should feel proud of it.

The Prime Minister has in January rightly appealed to people to write about freedom fighters and events associated with India’s independence. It is important that we remember the men and women who have the generous concern and the brave commitment to sacrifice their prime days for our today. 

We have come a long way from those days of channelizing our main resources, thoughts, and energies for the development of the primary sector and eradicating extreme poverty. The transition of India from being an entity composed of different princely states with individual interests to a country that not only stands united today but fought patriotically as one against external aggressions is no mean achievement by any yardstick.

Today, our significant advancement in science and technology, defence, literature, medicine, and the economy at large has captured the world’s attention so much so, India today is regarded not just as an economic powerhouse but also a responsible world leader. That India’s ambition to be part of the UN’s permanent seat garnered overwhelming support from many countries is a testament to the fact that we are no longer a country with a begging bowl.

It is however prudent to ask Is India's growth inclusive. If India lives in its village, as Gandhiji had said, the progress of the nation should thence be measured by the condition of the villages in India. The question which then arises is- “Are our villages self-sufficient today?”

Renewed focus on Subhash Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army is a heartening development, as freedom struggle, in as much as we would love it to be, is not just about Gandhiji and his followers. Also noteworthy is the little yet significant development in the acknowledgement of tribal movements in the North East, long ignored in mainstream narratives of India’s freedom movement; that native writers had to undertake painstaking efforts to rewrite the forgotten stories from scratch notwithstanding, several articles and books have appeared on the subject in recent times.

However, taking the opportunity to evaluate the progress we have made so far, and more so the challenges faced, there are some glaring unfortunate developments and the lack of concrete remedial initiatives thereof that is worth contemplating today.

The fact that hundreds of years of exploitation in the hands of the British have finally ceased for good is a momentous occasion worth celebrating in any sense. Sadly though, a country formed on the underlying principle of non-violence has seen domestic violence right from the moment it was unchained. 75 years later, even as our achievements in many fields deserve applause, social freedom is still elusive to us. 

We still have certain sections of our society that have witnessed countless exploitations and discrimination. What will freedom mean to those thousands of families living in the slums of Mumbai and to the hundreds of thousands of Adivasis who are subjected to social stigmas even today? They may be free of exploitation from foreign force but are facing the same hardship if not graver from their countrymen, and there is certainly no guarantee that the latter is milder to tolerate.

Social divisions such as -Hindu- Muslim, North-South, and the high caste-low caste exists below our artificial portrayal of a socially unified Indian, which manifested into unfortunate incidents on many occasions. In the words of Dr. B R Ambedkar, ‘So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you.’ The issue of social disparity is an issue as old as our civilization. The British made good use of it to further their agenda of divide and rule.

Seventy-four years after the British left, it remains ever fertile to seeds of discord. It is a collective failure on the part of those running the government thus far and no political party can claim to have no responsibility for it. If the present government has received flake for introducing controversial bills in parliament like the Citizenship Amendment Bill and the Instant Triple Talaq Bill, the governments before have been accused of failing to address social disharmony efficiently, if not ignorant of it altogether. 

While the economic impacts of the unprecedented onslaught of the pandemic are surely felt by many countries and it will be incorrect to measure India’s growth development based on current situations, the prevalence of extreme poverty, loss of livelihood and the aforementioned lack of social freedom is a concern India cannot overlook in its effort to portray the India shining image; this should be a commitment irrespective of which party rules.

For India to therefore effectively play a role as a world leader, it has to focus on its domestic issue. We might have comparatively fared better considering our Independence is not even a century old. But seventy-five years surely could have placed us in a far better position than we are at present. 

Independence Day is indeed a day of remembering our freedom fighters and celebrating their achievements. But most vitally, it is a day when we the people of India should celebrate our freedoms. Some of the unfortunate events that have happened post-independence would have left our freedom fighters surely in tears.

It will be a befitting tribute to our freedom fighters to ensure that the freedoms they have fought and laid their lives for, are thriving and blooming today in the world’s largest democracy. Happy Independence Day! #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍‍Why 'Gulf Migration Corridor' At Crossroads In Telangana?

Equipping and empowering our migrants to deal with the complications that arise at various stages of migration is no more an option.

Telangana, the 12th-most populated State in India as per the 2011 census, sends about 1.5 million of a total 8.8 million Indian expatriates to the Gulf. These labourers have played a crucial role in transforming the Gulf States from “camel to Cadillac”. Similarly, the Gulf migration has impacted the upward social and economic mobility of migrant households and strengthened Telangana’s economy through remittances they send home.

Northern Telangana, especially Karimnagar, Rajanna Sircilla, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Warangal districts, has witnessed widespread migration to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Beginning from the second half of the 1980s, people from the Telangana region migrated to the Gulf as a response to the perpetual droughts, lack of irrigable water and the resultant agricultural distress, as well as the heightened naxalism and police encounters. The Gulf oil boom of the 1970s and the tremendous infrastructural development in the region spurred the demand for labour that acted as a pull factor. Since then, the migration of people of all ages, classes and skill levels from the Telangana region to the Gulf is uninterrupted.

Antilogy of Gulf Dreams

Poverty, unemployment, lack of opportunities, local entrepreneurial environment and debt from agriculture force many to seek jobs in Gulf countries. Expatriates from Telangana mostly work in low-paid, semi and low-skilled unorganised sectors of construction, retail, driving, sanitation and domestic work. A few work in the skilled sectors of care services, hospitality and hotel management as well.
Severe hardships they endure in the hostile terrains of Arab lands are yet to be studied and documented by academia and public intellectuals. They are the “precarious proletariat” in the true sense of the term coined by the renowned economist Thomas Piketty, working in 3D contractual jobs (“dirty, dangerous and difficult”) under the much-criticised kafala system in the alienated Gulf societies.

Stagnated wages are an ignored ill-face of blue-collar jobs in the Gulf. They live in overcrowded labour camps or so-called “bachelor” houses, taking up multiple jobs or overtime in arduous work environments with bare minimum facilities for sending some extra money home. They are deprived of social safety nets and labour rights.

Women domestic workers and caregivers who work in the least regulated environments of their sponsors’ houses are often subject to inhuman treatments, gender-based violence and exploitation.
Financial strains and resultant stress, uncertainties related to the temporary contract visa, emotions of loneliness for being away from the family for years together, and concerns about the wellbeing of the family left behind add to the vulnerability of these migrants. Many suffer from serious health problems, and the instances of death due to health complications and suicides are yet to be addressed in our public discourses on migration.

Today, the Gulf dream for many is shattering due to the changes in the tax system, nationalisation and labour quota policies intended to reduce expatriate labourers, such as the Nitaqat in Saudi Arabia. The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated their sufferings, and many are facing the threat of job loss, over-work and reduced salaries or have already lost their jobs.

Return and Re-migration

Unlike the earlier waves of return migration during the Gulf War (1990s), the oil crisis and the economic depression (2000s), or the labour nationalisation (2010s), the pandemic-induced return is unprecedented. The prospect of re-migration is bleak, especially for the low-skilled, with Gulf labour markets moving forward with rigorous migrant labour reduction programmes as a response to the economic fragility, demographic transition and rising unemployment among natives. Parallelly, India is going through an alarming phase of rising unemployment and declining economic growth. It is in this context that these jobless migrants are returning, feeling dejected and disillusioned.

It is estimated that over 75,000 migrant workers in the Gulf from across Telangana are terminated from their jobs and hurriedly returned without procuring salary arrears and end-of-service benefits such as bonus, PF, gratuity, and so on. This serious issue of “wage theft” is not entirely a new pandemic-induced phenomenon, but several employers are taking undue advantage of the current situation. Hence, returning penniless and abashed, they are forced to borrow money or sell assets that they have hard-earned from the Gulf jobs for their sustenance and clearing off previous loans and debts.

Owing to the lack of alternative livelihood opportunities and a supportive reintegration and rehabilitation policy, many returnees, especially between 20 and 45 years age group, are left with no option other than to re-migrate to the Gulf. But, it is more difficult and expensive to re-migrate now due to the long waiting period for Covid-19 vaccines in India, ever-changing entry rules and travel bans in the Gulf, and uncertainty and diffidence around finding new employment or joining back in the earlier Gulf job.

Indian expatriates, including the Telugu people, are taking various transit routes via Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Armenia and Uzbekistan to enter the UAE, Saudi, Oman, and Kuwait as direct entry is barred to these countries. They spend around  Rs 1.5 lakh for these journeys, booking chartered flights, 14-day quarantine in transit countries and PCR tests before entering the final destination. Desperate to get back to the Gulf, these migrants take bank loans or borrow money from private lenders, further falling deep into the debt trap.  

Deceptive Agents, Issue of Trafficking

Even though the bona fide channel of migrating abroad for work is through recruitment agencies licensed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), many approach or are approached by fraudulent agents to facilitate an easy path to the Gulf. The existence of only fewer than 25 registered agencies in the entire State of Telangana makes running an illicit recruiting and travel agency lucrative. The State government established the Telangana Overseas Manpower Company Ltd (TOMCOM) in 2016 to ensure safe, legal migration.

However, taking advantage of high demand from the unemployed and circumstances of those who wish to migrate, the nexus of fraudulent recruiting agents continue to thrive, bypassing all valid emigration procedures. They often dupe job seekers with visit visas or the notorious “free visas” instead of proper employment visas and “push” them through emigration procedures at the source and destinations.

The recent news reports of Telugu women trafficked by promising “high-paying” domestic worker and caregiving jobs in Arab households encapsulate the issue’s gravity. Widespread irregular practices exclude migrants from the official databases and make them susceptible to exploitation and abuse by recruiters, sponsors and/or employers. Their dubious immigration status and lack of proper documents also make it hard for the destination countries’ labour courts to issue legal directions and the Indian government to assist them if they land in any trouble.

Proactive Approaches

Emigration is not often a joyous affair, even though most people migrate voluntarily to the Gulf land of plenty to materialise their dreams of becoming rich, buying land, building secure houses, and saving money for a better future for their family and children. It is necessary to equip and empower them to deal with the complications that may arise at all stages of migration.

Pre-departure orientation and skill training needs to be vigorously imparted to all aspirant migrants to provide them better bargaining power in the destinations, along with a detailed awareness programme on the available Centre and State-level welfare schemes. Likewise, empowering them digitally will equip them to resort to various government portals, like the MADAD, for grievance redressal and verification of the credibility of their visas.

Existing public mechanisms, including the Telangana State Skill Development Mission (TSSDM), National Academy of Construction (NAC) and Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), need to be roped in effectively for skilling and skill upgradation training for aspiring migrants to meet the latest labour and technology adaptation demands. The Institute of Driving Training and Research Centre (IDTRC) in Sircilla is a laudable initiative, which too can be roped in.

Similarly, those who have returned during the pandemic should be directed to register themselves with the SWADES portal of the government  of India to find job opportunities in Indian and foreign companies. There should be policies to incentivise returnees above the age of 50 to start micro, small and medium (MSME) businesses to better utilise their savings, skills, international exposure and experiences.

Migration related awareness creation should be TOMCOM’s top priority of the, along with skill development, training, and overseas recruitment. Operations of unregistered recruitment agencies need to be curbed to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration from the State. Migrant-specific welfare schemes that include migrant families and returnees to its fold need to be initiated at the Centre and State levels.

The scope of some of the existing schemes can be extended, for instance, the Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana, the emigrants’ insurance scheme launched in 2003, to cover deaths by diseases. There also needs to be a special fast-track arrangement in the State for the Gulf migrants to get Covid-19 vaccines to head back when the travel bans are lifted.

Emigration Bill, 2021

The proposed Draft Emigration Bill, 2021, requires further deliberations before passing to ground it on the realities and diversities of emigration of Indians abroad as well as their return and reintegration. Limited availability of data and the discrepancy of available statistics are major stumbling blocks in formulating evidence-based policies and their effective implementation. Hence, creating a consolidated database on migrants and returnees should be the priority of Central and State governments.

For instance, eMigrate initiative of the MEA records only 15 unregistered recruitment agencies in Telangana, which is a gross underestimation. A comparative understanding of best practices and the emigrant welfare programmes implemented by different States governments can be mutually beneficial, and the Telangana government should take formal initiatives and establish permanent bodies in institutionalising such exchanges between other State governments and their agencies like the NORKA in Kerala.

Indian embassies in the Gulf region need to be strengthened to ensure proactive interventions when our expatriates are in need, like providing legal aid or pro-bono lawyers for “wage theft” cases and filing claims on behalf of returned migrants in the Gulf labour courts. Likewise, considering the migrant numbers, initiatives to set up more consulates of the Gulf countries in different parts of the Telangana region can promptly address the issues faced by the migrants in the destination.

The crucial role of civil society and grassroots level organisations based in Telangana and the Gulf for the welfare of emigrants in normal and emergency situations should not be missed. Their advocacy prompted the MEA to roll back its recent circulars on minimum referral wage (MRW) reduction.

The Sircilla-based Telangana Gulf Joint Action Committee, Hyderabad-based Emigrants Welfare Forum, Gulf Telangana Welfare and Cultural Association, Pravasi Mitra Labour Union, and the Dubai-based Indian People’s Forum are a few to mention. The proactive intervention of KT Rama Rao, Minister of IT & NRI Affairs, and KR Suresh Reddy, MP from Telangana, is worth mentioning in the MRW issue.

Bheem Reddy Mandha, president of the Emigrants Welfare Forum, says, “Telangana migrants in the Gulf are sending about Rs 27,000 crore per annum as remittances, and it is, directly and indirectly, boosting the economy. The government should reciprocate by allocating Rs 500 crore in the annual Budget for the welfare of Gulf migrants and their left-behind families”. We should listen to our migrants and their needs, as it is our responsibility as a progressive society to extend solidarity to them during these testing times. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍‍Why Telangana Police Overdoing '‍Cordon and Search' Operations?

The Cordon and Search operations (CASO) conducted by police to combat crime from the society. But nowadays, police frequently conducting CASO and common public is facing more difficulties during night time and lonely women and elderly persons too.

Is the Telangana Police, which likes to call itself people-friendly, overdoing on the Cordon and Search operations (CASO -- essentially a military or counterinsurgency operation) to serve its own interests without there being any need for such operations in routine crime control in the first place? The answer, unfortunately, is in the affirmative if one considers the nature, number and types of CASO operations in the twin cities and elsewhere in the state.

'Cordon and search' is a military tactic to cordon off an area and search the premises for weapons or insurgents.  Used mainly in counter-insurgency operations, there are two sub-categories of CASO: 'cordon and knock' (with permission) and 'cordon and kick' (without permission).  

However, for reasons best known to the Telangana Police, in a few areas of Hyderabad the police simply assume that criminals are living there and do not flinch from knocking each and every door during CASO. This has pitted the police against social activists and raised questions about the legality of some of these CASOs.

Informed sources pointed out that the process normally used to trace terrorists in Kashmir by the military has been adopted by the TS Police to catch even petty criminals. They say there is no particular act or section in law that specifically allows CASO of the TS Police variant. An RTI query yielded a 'reply' that the question was "Not Applicable".  

The police, however, defend CASOs, saying they have always been helpful for them to identify a few criminals and criminals from outside who may be hiding in particular places.

Cordon and Search Operations were started by the military in Kashmir in 2002 to identify separatists and terrorists. Following huge resistance, they were suspended briefly, but resumed again in 2017. In Hyderabad and elsewhere in the state, CASOs started in 2013. They were intensified when the police were pursuing members of the so-called 'snake gang' in the Old City. Since then, the police have been doing CASOs regularly. The operations were suspended due to corona, but resumed in March, 2021.

When it was resumed, Commissioner of Cyberabad Police V.C.Sajjanar told the media: "As the situation comes to normal, we will continue CASO. It is very helpful for us to identify and catch criminals and suspects. Many outsiders, who have committed crimes, are coming here and taking shelter. We can find such types of elements."

The larger question is: On what basis the police are entering houses and interrogating those people who are living there? The police are citing a petition, which had been dismissed by the High Court, in which the petitioner claimed that CASO was illegal and wanted the authorities to stop it.

However, the Court then merely asked the petitioner to approach police officials first on the issue. It did not give any clean chit to the Police. Nor did it authorize CASO.
A police official said: "We will list out cases in our Police Stations. We suspect that a few (criminals) are hiding in particular areas. Naming those cases, we will get a warrant. With that warrant only we will go for CASO".

The reports of the police say that no terrorist or big criminal was found in their CASOs. Yet, they claim, without any evidence, that they got "scoops or information, which helped to catch terrorists".

At the time of public outrage over CAA, NRC and NPR, some people resisted CASO and refused to show their Aadhaar cards. Moreover, asking for Aadhaar cards is against the Supreme Court's order. Local MIM leaders have also argued with the police on these lines. However, after a gap, the police have started CASOs again.

Social activists have alleged that the police are stamping a few areas as 'criminal areas'. In the name of search, they are insulting poor people who cannot question them.  
M.Srinivas, a social activist, said: "Can they can go and conduct CASO in Banjara Hills, where so many white-collar criminals are living  -- those who are doing land-grabbing, making fake documents? Can they dare to enter gated communities for CASO? Can they assure that there are no criminals in those areas? No. Recently an imported cars scam happened.

The Directorate of Intelligence Revenue identified that many cars were purchased by the people of Hyderabad. Can the police go to each and every imported car owner's house and ask for papers? No. The police are showing immature approach towards poor people."

Srinivas further said: "In CASO, they are seizing bikes without papers mostly. Once they have seized pickles prepared by a family, saying that the products are not up to the standards."

Social activists are arguing that if a case is registered and the police get to know that the suspect is living in a particular area, then the police can watch those areas and maintain a beat to catch those criminals.

"How can you enter each and every house, insulting people living there," they ask. They are demanding that the police must stop CASO and maintain vigil to find criminals. They have no business to knock each and every door even if they are after a criminal. #KhabarLive #hydnews

'The Proteins Butchers Academy' Plans To Build 'Professional Butchers' Training In Hyderabad

The city is home to several meat stores. It is home to 4000 chicken, 2000 mutton, 2000 fish shops and hundreds of street-side sales also happen.

 Necessity is the mother of invention. Thanks to Proteins Hygienic Non-Veg Mart, Hyderabad based bootstrapped phygital (physical stores & e-commerce) startup is soon going to have (probably India’s first city) a Meat Academy that will teach lessons of Butchery Skills. It is probably the first city in India to think in this direction of professionalizing Butcher Craft.   

Proteins Hygienic Non-Veg Mart, the Hyderabad based first modern meat retail chain that is expanding its footprint from current 11 stores to 75 by the end of March 2022 by investing about 22 crores is facing a huge shortage of trained and skilled butchers. To overcome this problem it is coming out with the Academy to train people in butchery skills.  Srinivasa Rao Potini and Vijay Chowdary Tripuraneni, the founder​s​ of the company who are also serial entrepreneurs and invested in My Stores, Lenin House Exclusive Stores; Goa Grills announced in the city in a press conference held recently.  

We are thinking about the Academy because we are seeing a huge potential for the space.  What was 2010 for general retail and e-commerce, these few years will be the same for the meat industry: Manchala Vamshi Rai, alumni of Bits Pilani and Director of Proteins Hygienic Non-Veg Mart. 

It plans to train 500 butchers in the next 8 months. It will be on the job training. 10th class pass or failure will be absorbed for the training. They will be given a stipend of Rs 8000/- pm and upon completing the three-month training they will be absorbed into full-time employment.   

Butchers are meat cutters who prepare the meat for the purpose of sale.   

The training will be a short term course that offers skills and training on how to expertly perform Butchery/Meat Cutting, informed Mr Vijay Chowdary Tripuraneni, founder of Proteins Hygienic Non-Veg Mart and the brain behind this novel academy.  

Many hotel management colleges have this subject as their course curriculum. Butchery craft is also taught as part of the course.  

But, there is no exclusive Butcher Craft Training Institute in Hyderabad. Also, there is no information available on the internet about such an exclusive training institute. That is why it is going to be probably the first city in India to have a Butchery Academy. Though this is not open for people who just want to come and learn and go. It is going to be started with the exclusive purpose of training people for their internal use.  

Many Veterinary Colleges also run Butcher Training classes just as part of their overall curriculum. We at ICAR--National Research Centre on Meat also sometimes run Butchery training classes. But now we are not doing these courses because of the COVID. As far as my knowledge goes there isn't any exclusive Butcher Training Academy said Dr S.B Barbuddhe, Director of ICAR-National Research Centre on Meat at ICAR-NRCM office at Chengicherla, Hyderabad.ICAR--National Research Centre on Meatworks under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Headquartered in Hyderabad, its mission is to develop a modern organized meat sector through meat production, processing and utilization technologies and serve the cause of meat animal producers, processors and consumers. 

Emmanuel, Director of the IIHM—International Institute of Hotel Management, Asia’s largest Hotel Schools Chain says there are Meat Technology and Meat Certification Technology courses  etc and many other.  There are plenty of organizations in abroad.  But, I haven't come across any exclusive Butchers Academy  If anyone is starting an exclusive academy it is really good for everyone, he said.  

The butcher as we all know is a meat cutter. He chops, portions and grinds various kinds of meat. To identify meat cuts, cut meat properly, avoid waste, identify good quality meat, store it properly, waste management etc. His job responsibilities include preparing the meat, packaging and serving the customers.    

Hyderabad is the meat consuming city and top in the country. Meat worth INR 3500 crore is consumed every year in the city. The city boasts of conventional shops. The city, according to Vijay Chowdary Triperaneni, the founder of the chain of one-stop meat shops, is home to 4000 chicken, 2000 mutton, and 2000 fish shops. But most of them are untidy and unhygienic. 95% of the meat industry is unorganised, known for poor infrastructure, unhygienic and have an unfriendly atmosphere, and are unreliable for quality and availability.   

Ever since the pandemic hit, people have become more hygiene conscious. They have been giving a lot of importance to fresh food. Now things are changing slowly and steadily.  

The traditional meat shops are being modernised. According to Mr. Manchala Vamshi Rai, an alumnus of Bits Pilani and Director of Proteins Hygienic Non-Veg Mart, more and more professionals are getting into the industry. More investments are being pumped in to offer a modern experience similar to supermarkets. 

The stores are now made women-friendly. They have a rich ambience. 

Conventionally more men go to shops to fetch meat. Though women go to vegetable shops, we don’t see many women going to meat shops because of un-women-friendly ambience and poor infrastructure. So things are changing and they are changing for good. 

The potential of the meat market in India is 4 lakh crore. There is a huge potential for the growth of modern meat retail chains. Keeping this in mind, the Hyderabad based bootstrapped phygital (physical stores & e-commerce) startup has embarked on this initiative. 

Vision is to provide the best professional shopping experience to meat buyers. We must make available the most hygienic, fresh and quality meat for the common man at affordable prices in the most professional manner possible. By meat, it means fish, prawns, crabs, mutton, chicken and their products says Mr. Vamshi.  

In pandemic times like these eating hygienic meat is as important as wearing a mask and maintaining social distance.  

Professionalizing butcher's work is a good idea. I am sure a lot of takers will be there for the training program.  

It will also create newer employment opportunities, said Divi, Big Boss fame, actress and model. She is a brand ambassador to Proteins. #KhabarLive #hydnews