Hyderabad live news: Andhra Pradesh has seen 140 cases of attack on temples, says BJP in Rajya Sabha

A BJP member raised the recent spate of attacks on Hindu temples in Andhra Pradesh in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and demanded that the Union home ministry seek a report from the state. Raising the issue through a zero-hour mention, GVL Narasimha Rao of the BJP said more than 140 incidents of attacks on Hindu temples have taken place in Andhra Pradesh.

East Godavari police on Tuesday formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the kidnap and suicide case of Sabbella Srinivasa Reddy, husband of a sarpanch candidate at Gollalagunta village of Jaggampeta mandal in the district. District SP Adnan Nayeem Asmi said the SIT will be headed by DSP B Appa Rao.

Millers from the Telugu states have started exporting broken rice to China. The neighbouring country began importing rice from India for the first time in December last year apart from its traditional suppliers like Pakistan, Vietnam and Myanmar. Read full story

Telangana added 185 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the total infection count to over 2.94 lakh.

Telangana state police conducted road safety awareness program with auto drivers and passengers in Nalgonda.

This winter was dirtier for Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam as compared to that of 2019 in terms of atmospheric pollution. For Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry, the dirtiest week during winter 2020-2021 was the week ending January 3. For Tirupati and Visakhapatnam, the dirtiest week was the one ending on December 27, 2020. The high winter pollution is blamed on the reopening of the economy and changing meteorology. Read full story

The reopening of primary schools with increase in enrollments has prompted the municipal administration department to appoint part-time teachers in all urban schools. Read full story

The health department has been able to contain the wastage of Covid vaccine. The state vaccine wastage is much below 5%, less than the allowed vaccine wastage at 10% fixed by the Union government.

After over 10 months of hosting events on virtual platforms, Ravindra Bharathi is set to reopen its auditorium to the public from February 7. “We were waiting for comprehensive guidelines from the government before taking the decision to allow 100% occupancy,” said Mamidi Harikrishna, director, department of language and culture.

As many as 1,000 poultry birds have died in Suryapet district prompting officials to send the samples for testing to check if avian influenza was the reason. “From preliminary examination, we are of the opinion that there is no bird flu. But, we sent the samples for testing to Pune lab,” district veterinary and animal husbandry officer Venu Manohar Rao told TOI on Tuesday.

The fake vehicle insurance scam seems to be continuing unabated in the city despite Telangana police’s crackdown on the illegal business which led to the arrest of 11 persons including an insurance agent within a month. Read full story

Scores of students across semesters under Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University-Hyderabad (JNTUH) woke up on Tuesday morning to find they had scored zero in external exams. Read full story

A local court has sentenced an accused to undergo life imprisonment for killing a four-year-old girl at Sanathnagar in 2015. Two other accused were sentenced to five years imprisonment in the same case. The VIII Additional District Judge court of LB Nagar on Monday delivered the verdict in a murder case registered at the Sanathnagar police station in 2015.

A 45-year-old woman was strangled to death allegedly by her neighbours who suspected that her black magic was the reason for the death of a kin The deceased was identified as N Bujji of Gandhi Nagar thanda in Nalgonda district, Telangana. “On Sunday afternoon, while Bujji was going to Narayanpur with another villager, Narasimha Yadav, and catch a bus to Bandalemuru to attend a function, she was kidnapped by her neighbour M Narasimha Naik and some others,” Choutuppal inspector A Venkataiah said.