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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‍How Fintech And Edutech Companies Calling The Shots In Cricket Sponsorship?

The much hyped Bitcoin exchange platforms are the latest to join the cricket sponsorship bandwagon already in the grip of edutech and real money gaming players.

Cricket press conferences can be predictable and mundane in nature. It can be worse if the speaker, invariably a top cricketer or coach, is a poor speaker.

Recently, virtual press conference called by the title sponsors of the Sri Lanka vs India limited overs series in Colombo was one such -- boring.

But if the media had cared to grill the two new-age companies -- Unacademy for CoinDCX -- who have taken to cricket sponsorship in a big way, the session could have been more interesting.

Most reporters who logged in on Thursday had little inclination to know about why edutech and fintech companies are seriously making inroads into sports sponsorship.

Hence after a few predictable questions to Yuzvendra Chahal and even more anticipated answers, the press conference was over in about 15 minutes.

If cricket is a roaring business today, it's because of the money edutech companies like Unacademy or Byju's are spending. Fintech made its presence felt in IPL 2020 with CRED becoming a BCCI partner. Newer players like Upstox are fast emerging.

A new bred of spenders have arrived from the Bitcoin/cryptocurrency space. Whether they will catch the imagination of people is another matter but fintech companies are going full steam to display their wares through all available media channels.

Not sure if CRED were able to make an impact during IPL 2020 with a slew of TV commercials that seemingly lacked imagination and weird.

Retired cine superstars like Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and musician Bappi Lahiri clearly didn't drive the CRED message despite consuming plenty of expensive commercial time. They were subsequently dropped.

CRED, of course, roped in former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid in their next series of TVCs. But it was not the brand but the 'Wall' who made news for his unusual "anger issues" and it was still not clear if CRED actually profited from the advertisement.

But that's not stopping fintech companies from jumping into the cricket sponsorship bandwagon. A financially struggling Sri Lanka was perhaps a perfect starting point for CoinDCX. They are the title sponsors of the three-match T20 Cup.

Ramalingam Subramanium, the marketing head of CoinDCX, admitted Bitcoins were new in India and the sponsorship was part of the plan to build awareness.

"Cricket has a mass appeal and it pans across generations. As we see crypto evolving in India, awareness and education is key for sustainable growth. By partnering and sponsoring the tournament, we believe we'll be able to bring right kind of awareness in the category," said Subramanium.

Sumit Gupta, the CEO of Coin DCX says: "Almost 30-40% of the audience that watches or follows cricket in India is in their early 20s or 30s and with that viewership as the base, we aim to reach out to the millennial and Gen-Z populations in the Indian market, who have either already invested in cryptocurrency or are curious about or interested in them and hence most likely to consider investing in crypto assets."

While CoinDCX will be the title sponsors, another company in similar business, WazirX will be co-presenting sponsor for the live streaming of the Sri Lanka vs India series.

Unacademy, which are the title sponsors of the three-match Sri Lanka vs India ODI series, seems to be leveraging its brand name better. It's marriage with education has been boosted by meaningful association with former cricket stars like Sourav Ganguly.

Unacademy is an IPL sponsor, too. They even wanted to be the title sponsors of IPL 2020 but fantasy cricket operators Dream11 outbid them in a close fight.

"Edutech and sports are actually a natural fit, not just in terms of the demographics but also the way the new generation consumes content. Both students and their parents follow sport, and cricket in particular is massive with a cumulative audience northwards of 400 million for an IPL season alone," said Karan Shroff, Unacademy's chief marketing officer.

"Add to this the fact that the younger generation's involvement with their mobile and computer screens (whether for learning or for entertainment) and their involvement in sport are not mutually exclusive, and we have a winning proposition of reaching out to these new learners who are breaking free of the traditional modes, in their natural habitat in a sense," explains Shroff.
 
There is a huge probability that edu and fintech companies may rule sponsorship in the Indian market, if not globally. With real money gaming facing uncertain times in high courts and even the Prime Minister's Office, operators like Dream11 and MPL may become increasingly circumspect.

Dream11 and MPL, of course have deep pockets with big investors backing them. Both are heavily involved with Indian cricket but deep down they know the honeymoon can end if the government equates the real money gaming business as betting or gambling.

MPL is already exploring the Esports market very seriously and has even tied up with the Indian Olympic Association ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

From an ease of business point of view, these fledgling fintech and edutech companies have a clear vision, says Bhairav Shanth of ITW.

"The new age tech companies are more open to innovation and know what is the outcome or brand impact they are seeking. Since they operate in a digital environment where everything is trackable, the outcomes can be optimised by selecting the right property," explains Shanth.

ITW is a leading player in securing sports sponsorships and brand promotion. ITW works with some of the top cricket boards of the world and is also a partner of Sri Lanka Cricket too.

Shanth says: "Typically the brick and mortar brands mainly want brand visibility and are generally risk averse. Digital companies are agile and adaptive, they can tweak or adjust a campaign based on how it is delivering on their desired outcome.

"On the contrary, traditional brands have more of a legacy approach with preset ways of running a campaign. To use a music analogy, we can say one is consistent, sort of like legendary rockers Pink Floyd, while the other is evolving and agile, a bit like the K-pop chart busters BTS."

The traditional sponsors are surely on their way out. Coca-Cola, associated with football and the Olympics, are long-term global players with billion dollar deals with organisations like FIFA and International Olympic Committee.

The cricket ecosystem is much smaller compared to football or the Olympics. In keeping with the changing times in cricket and a proliferation of Twenty20, the likes of Unacademy, CoinDCX et al are expected to play smart and get the mileage they want. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍Why ‍Telangana Govt Machinery Involved In KCR's Public Meeting In Huzurabad?

Is it an official or public meeting in Huzurabad by-elections. The public meeting addressed by Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to launch the Dalit Bandhu programme has kicked up an interesting debate in the political circles.

The TRS government mobilised all its official machinery to Huzurabad to make arrangements for the public meeting. Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar personally went to Huzurabad a day before by helicopter to oversee arrangements for the meeting along with the local officials.

District authorities gave written instructions to the local school headmasters and education department officials to mobilise crowds for the public meeting by arranging buses and other modes of transport.

The entire cabinet of KCR was asked to be present at the public meeting, where KCR announced the launch of the Dalit Bandhu programme.

All these arrangements could be understood, if it is an official meeting.
“But, why did the government allow TRS leaders like Padi Kaushik Reddy and TRS candidate for Huzurabad Gellu Srinivas Yadav were given seats on the dais along with CM and the ministers? In what capacity?” Congress spokesman Dasoju Sravan asked.

He sought to know if it was a political meeting of the TRS, why the chief secretary was present on the dais.

Sravan alleged that the Telangana police and even senior IAS officials have been acting as TRS members rather than public servants and threatening opposition leaders and people.

"Karimnagar Collector RV Karnan has displayed hoardings welcoming CM KCR with his name in pink colour during KCR's Huzurabad visit. How come a collector, who is expected to set high standards in public life, stoop so low?” the Congress leader asked. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍‍Hyderabad Yatch ‍‍Club Celebrates 'Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahautsav' Sailing With Lesser Privileged Children

The Credo of the Yacht Club is Dignity through Sports. The Yacht Club of Hyderabad marks 75 years of India’s Independence with a flourish of saffron white and green as part of the National Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahautsav celebrations at Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad.

The Yacht Club of Hyderabad is now one of the fastest growing, performance-oriented water-sports facility in the country, bestowed with world-class training systems for both recreational and competitive sailing, and continues to perform at the top levels of national sailing consistently.

It was done taking inspiration from The Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, an intensive, countrywide campaign announced by the Government of India to focus on citizen  participation in nation-building, where small changes, at the local level, will add up to significant national gains.

With 86 state and national medals, multiple national titles and three of its wards being selected for the Asian and World Championships, the YCH Foundation reaffirms its dedication to the nation with a display of the tricolour lighting up the very waters that also played a key role in nurturing the four Indian Sailing Olympians at Tokyo 2021 during their formative years.

Suheim Sheikh loves sailing. A graduate from IIT Madras, he ran a software products company involved in the creation of real-time Stock Trading and Surveillance systems and worked extensively on Fraud Management. Leaving this world of software behind, he decided to pursue his passion and make a difference using it as a tool for the upliftment of lesser privileged children.

Suheim purchased a few boats when he was the Commodore at the Secunderabad Club. He then approached the Army. The Army was willing to help him park the boats but this wasn’t enough, as the sailors weren’t getting any access.

Suheim then approached the State Government for assistance. Since water-bodies are under the purview of the State Government, he explained his intentions to them. It wasn’t difficult persuading them, and Suheim soon found himself well on his way to realise his dream of making children take up sailing seriously as a sport.

Says Suheim “It seemed unfair that the city could not access the water while having such a beautiful lake in its midst. I have enjoyed the sport and the lake for so many formative years of my life.”

Thus was born the Yacht Club of Hyderabad, with the intent of creating infrastructure for all to access. Sailing has been an integral part of the city, and it’s iconic Hussain Sagar lake for more than a century. Suheim, however, noticed that sailing was a sport which wasn’t within everyone’s grasp.

Most of the competitions organised were inter-club events, open only to club members. As for the participants, most were seniors. There were very few children.

Suheim conceptualised the Monsoon Regatta in 2009. In its first year, the event became the largest sailing event in India. Finally, Suheim had broken a barrier, which allowed only Army and Navy personnel or wealthy civilians to take part in sailing.

But Suheim really wanted to do is train a mixed batch of children. Those who couldn’t afford to sail, but had the talent. The Army only takes in jawans after the age of 18. In order to excel at a sport, you need to begin much earlier.

The first batch of 2009 saw three or four kids from a government school taking part in the program. Suheim and his team explained to the children that their education, fees and tuition would be taken care of.

“Dignity through Sports”, is what Suheim termed this initiative.

Set up as a not-for-profit enterprise, the club focused on honing the skills of economically challenged children from government schools. This hard work paid off, as the club produced two national champions in the sub-junior and junior categories within six years, and many in the top 10.

The program is simple and effective. Orphans and deprived children with diverse backgrounds like farming and labour are trained to top levels during the first six years, with their education and nutrition funded and monitored by the Yacht Club of Hyderabad. Many of these kids have decided to give back, and have become instructors at the club.

Suheim is pleased with the way the program is helping change lives. One of the kids sailed with the team for a few years, after which he joined the Indian Armed Forces. The number of batches increased, and so did the focus and drive of the children participating in it.

Inspired by the success of this venture, Suheim started a program called the “Naavika Program”, exclusively for girls. Once again, the Yacht Club of Hyderabad worked with girls from government schools.

Thus, starting with four children and three small boats, the Yacht Club of Hyderabad today has 50 odd boats and more than 50 children participating in the program. Working largely as a privately funded organisation, it focuses on deprived children of government schools, teaching them to sail at the national level.

Suheim uses the sport as a medium to help these children upgrade their ability to handle challenges, success and failure, and fine-tune their spirit of competitiveness.

The Yacht Club helps kids with career counselling, helping them with admission to better institutions, and providing them with nutrition, medical aid, bikes to get them to school, and academic help. The kids travel across the country to championships, and some have even ventured as far as Hong Kong and Singapore for regattas.

Suheim works with children from diverse backgrounds. Kids from affluent families also attend the program, and this has its own benefits. One turns aspirational, and the other a bit humble from the interaction. The focus of the program is to provide kids with a stable and sustainable career, and move them gradually from the vernacular medium to English, and finally into a lucrative profession of their choice.

The Yacht Club of Hyderabad works closely with the Social Welfare Department of Hyderabad, and also the Naandi Foundation. The club is actively and continuously involved in the development of the children, holistically.

Constantly upgrading infrastructure is expensive, but thankfully, having paid students in his batches helps Suheim meet the many costs that need to be taken care of. The Yacht Club hence has some of the finest facilities in the country, which is helpful in making it more revenue-stable and less dependent on donations.

Every good venture always faces hiccups in the beginning, and the Yacht Club of Hyderabad is no exception. Whenever there is an idea that feels out-of-the-box, people tend to object. Suheim recalls a few naysayers who objected to starting another sailing club in Hyderabad, especially when it wasn’t going to compete with the Army or the Navy or against other leading clubs.

Completely missing the point of Suheim’s venture, these voices of dissent discouraged him from starting the program of helping kids.

Thankfully, Suheim decided to steamroll the resistance by just carrying on with his vision. He, however, maintains that if sailing were promoted as a sport by the State Government, instead of a privately run sport, participation would increase.

Sailing is still at a nascent level in India, and if the Government takes over at this stage, it would open the doors to a wider range of audiences willing to participate. A sport is not just for the privileged few, but for all.

If more children take up sailing, the talent-pool will increase, raising the skill-level of the sport in the country. Suheim gives us the example of the child of a house-maid, who went on to win the National Championships.
Speaking in broken English didn’t deter the participant, who beat the competition hollow. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍Why ‍‍Fake Online Crowdfunding Tarnish Fastest Growing Concept In India?

The great Indian loot of crowdfunding is at its peak nowadays. Be it a pandemic help or medical emergency help or an NGO help, or anything getting murkier day after day with the indulgence of fraudsters and machinery system.

A fundraiser on a popular fundraising platform called for donations to support a woman trying to save her 3-year-old baby battling cancer. The campaign said that the little boy was suffering from acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. The post mentioned that the baby was diagnosed with blood cancer in April and that the mother was a teacher who did not have the money to afford the expensive treatment. The campaign also mentioned that Rs 30 lakh was the estimate for the treatment. The campaign also had multiple photos of a baby boy in a hospital bed and one in which the baby was seen wailing.

Sai Charan Chikkulla, a volunteer based out of Hyderabad has been actively working since the pandemic, trying to help patients with oxygen and beds in hospitals. On July 9, Charan received the link to this particular campaign and was asked to help verify if it was genuine. Following which he tried to reach out to the creator of the campaign via Twitter, but to his surprise found that he was soon blocked. Another person on Twitter mentioned that an account (@rakhisingh81) was blocking all those who posed questions to her about this particular campaign. When TNM looked up the handle on Twitter, the account had its tweets protected and the account’s timeline was restricted. Another account (RiyaSingh_1993) which was also promoting the campaign enthusiastically, also restricted its tweets when people began calling them out.  

Charan wrote to the fundraising platform to alert them of the possible discrepancies. In his mail, a copy of which #KhabarLive has, Charan mentioned four reasons why the campaign is likely to be fraudulent. The reasons included absence of hospital and billing information. He also mentioned that the handle promoting the campaign on Twitter was blocking all those reaching out with queries. Another observation mentioned was that the target of the campaign was initially set for Rs 10 lakh, but was later increased to Rs 30 lakh. Charan’s mail however, did not evoke any response. A reminder was sent to the fundraising platform on July 11, but he still didn’t get a response.

Interestingly, the campaign was soon stopped by the platform and a message on the campaign page read, “This campaign has stopped and can no longer accept donations.” The campaign had already managed to raise Rs 27.74 lakh out of the Rs 30 lakh target that was set.

When #KhabarLive asked Milaap about this particular fundraiser, the platform said that the fundraiser was reported by a few users on their page. “Our trust and verifications team re-investigated this, including a physical visit to the hospital. We found the facts mentioned pertaining to the treatment and hospitalization as misleading. We immediately paused the fundraiser and have sought explanation from the family. The family contested our decision with alternate information, and hence we formally sought an explanation via our legal channels, as is our process to ensure authenticity. In case of no response to our legal notice within stipulated time, donors will be informed about the events that transpired through an update and donations will be refunded. We will also report the fundraiser to law enforcement and pursue legal remedies available to serve as a deterrent.”

Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker had recently taken to Twitter to call out a person who had started fundraising campaigns. She got to know about this fundraiser through someone who sent her the link. Deepika, like Sai Charan, often helps amplify campaigns and also reaches out to people who start these fundraisers for more details. Speaking to #KhabarLive, Deepika said, “Someone had sent me the link to this fundraiser. I got in touch with this man from Hyderabad and that is when he told me he had lost his job and that he was struggling to feed his young daughter. I asked him for supporting documents and he said he would share them with me.”

Despite waiting for several hours, Deepika never got the documents. “I realised this was a red flag. I soon realised there was another campaign too on Milaap that was started by the same person. Twice when I tried to reach out to him, he did not answer the call. From experience I knew these were red flags. Also, one of the two campaigns started by him had already raised around Rs 40,000 by then.,” added Deepika.

“The fact that the campaigns did not have supporting documents and that the man’s daughter’s age was mentioned differently in different places, made me more suspicious. I immediately reached out to Milaap and alerted them. The platform tried to verify the details and as they failed to do so, they mailed me saying that the campaign was closed and that the donors were all refunded their money,” explained Deepika.
In response to Deepika’s mail, Milaap’s representative responded saying, “Given the evidence in place as well as the organizer being non responsive despite multiple follow ups to seek clarification, we have deemed this fundraiser as misleading with an intention to defraud the platform and donors.

Therefore, as the campaign is found to be fraudulent, we have refunded the donations made with immediate effect as per protocol.”
#KhabarLive tried to reach out to the man who had started the campaign on Milaap to find out why he had abandoned the campaign and become unresponsive during the course of the campaign.

Speaking to #KhabarLive, the man said, “I had started two campaigns on Milaap. One for myself as I was in a financial crisis, and another campaign to raise money for my friend Raju. He was in need of money, and as I too didn’t have enough, I started a campaign for him. While the campaign was going on, we mortgaged some gold that Raju and I had and we raised the needed money. Hence, I just left the Milaap campaign without closing it.”

When asked if he later managed to find a job, he said he found a job in an automobile showroom in Hyderabad and that’s where he is presently working. He also said this was the first time he had started a campaign to raise funds. “Whatever details were asked by Milaap, I provided them the same. I got around Rs 40,000 from them,” he added.

Charan and many other such volunteers have noticed such red flags in several other campaigns. “It takes a lot of time and effort to verify these crowdfunding campaigns. I have identified nearly six fraudulent campaigns in the last few weeks. In some cases, we check with the concerned hospital and in some cases- we crosscheck with the patient or their relatives.
We also came across cases wherein someone not even related to the patient was found raising money in their name. The patient wasn’t even aware of such a fundraiser that was underway.”

Deepika felt that the onus of checking the veracity of these campaigns should lie with the fundraising platforms. “It is impossible for people to individually check these campaigns. Platforms need to verify documents and only then put out campaigns,” said Deepika.

Fundraising platforms

Over the years, several financing and fundraising platforms have become popular among those hoping to crowdfund. Crowdfunding campaigns to raise money for COVID-19 treatment, cancer, transplants, accidents, education, flood relief etc are the most commonly visible campaigns on these platforms.

#KhabarLive reached out to three popular platforms to find out if they had a mechanism in place to verify fraudulent campaigns. Here’s what we found:

Ketto

Ketto hosts around 5000 campaigns on a monthly basis. While the platform offers a “zero platform fee” option, it relies on voluntary contributions. The platform also has a service-based model wherein they assist campaigners with content, photographs, videos and promote it as ad campaigns. Customers are charged anything between 5% to 13% of the funds raised.

According to Ketto, they reject approximately 23% of campaigns because the campaigners failed to provide additional proofs and documents.

Throwing light on the platform’s efforts to identify and eliminate fake campaigns, Varun Sheth CEO& Co-founder, Ketto.org said, “At Ketto, our endeavour is to provide a seamless experience to both campaigners and donors to help them raise funds for their projects. All the campaigners are required to go through a stringent verification process, a campaigner needs to submit legal identification proof, documents supporting the cause, a cost estimation letter, etc. Once the documents are uploaded, a dedicated team authenticates the campaign based on the submitted legal identity proofs.”

“In case we are not satisfied with the submitted proofs we ask for additional proofs, videos, and pictures to support the cause. If the campaigner fails to provide the same, the campaign will be removed from the platform and a refund will be initiated to all the donors. It is imperative to note that the donor’s money is completely secured with Ketto. We constantly thrive on minimizing imposter campaigns.”

The platform encourages donors to support a cause if they personally know or trust the campaigner and are sure about the cause. Donors are also allowed to ask questions about the project using available features on the fundraiser page.

Impact Guru

This platform mentioned that they transfer funds only to the personal bank accounts of patients or family members of the patient against verified bills.

The platform also mentioned that they have a 5-step due diligence process in place.
1) OTP verification for campaign creations
2) KYC and medical documents verification
3) Hospital verifications through in-person visits or telephone calls.
4) Fund transfers to hospital/healthcare services companies.
5) PAN/ KYC verification for fund transfers to personal bank accounts.

A spokesperson from the company also mentioned, “We continuously keep evaluating how to improve our processes to make them even more robust. Our processes are more advanced than most crowdfunding platforms in international markets.”

Milaap

Milaap says it has been recording around 20,000 campaigns on an average every month. They have raised around Rs 1400 crores for more than Rs 4,70,000 needs across India.

The platform does not charge any fees on donations. They rely on voluntary tips from users.
When asked about how often the platform comes across fake campaigns, Anoj Viswanathan, Co-founder, President, Milaap said, “Everyday, we see anywhere between 500 to 800 fundraisers set up on the platform. We carefully review each and every active fundraiser on the platform to ensure they comply with our T&C as well as provide sufficient information and supporting evidence for their needs.

This review process ensures that an overwhelming majority of fundraisers which raise any amount are safe and legitimate; fraudulent and misleading campaigns make up less than 0.05% of all fundraisers.”  

“Apart from our own internal teams and processes, Milaap also proactively listens to the larger community of users by providing them the option to report a fundraiser anytime via the website or social media if they are misleading or suspicious in nature. All such reported fundraisers are carefully investigated again and if legitimacy is not established, donors are informed and refunded of their donations.  With each fraudulent case, our systems are also constantly improved to minimize these in future,” added the co-founder.

The platform not only removes fundraisers found to be fraudulent but also reports such fundraisers to law enforcement and pursues legal remedies available to serve as a deterrent.  
Highlighting some of the other features, Anoj said, “We also have several parameters in place to ensure donation helps the intended beneficiary and the funds are utilized for the cause intended. For example, we prefer to transfer money to treating hospital’s accounts for medical ailments. We transfer funds against relevant documents, bills/invoices, and that an update is posted on the campaign page to inform donors. Also, a live ticker on the fundraiser page shows the funds collected, the number of donors and supporters and options to directly get in touch with the campaign organiser for any clarification.” 

Fundraising platforms have been a real blessing for several campaigners hoping to raise money for an unaffordable surgery or any other expenditure.

Several campaigns have been successful in raising huge amounts for the intended purpose. Seeing the success of such campaigns, and the ease of making quick money without any real effort, fraudulent people too are increasingly starting fake campaigns and fundraisers.

Donating and supporting genuine fundraisers is necessary. To ensure this happens, it is important that fundraising platforms put out campaigns only after thorough verification of credentials of the campaigner. The onus must lie on the platform.

Charan rightly summed up saying, “Urging donors to be careful while donating is a dangerous precedent. Because it will cause fear among the good-hearted people who genuinely support campaigns.

It is impossible to ask people to verify each campaign before donating. Fundraising platforms must have dedicated teams to do deep verification of all the credentials, documents and other details before launching a campaign.” #KhabarLive

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