Hyderabad news live: Telangana records 163 new Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths

A total of 5,17,883 people have so far enrolled to vote in the elections to Mahabubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad graduates’ constituencies, scheduled to be held on March 14. They will be able to exercise their franchise across 799 polling stations. “The number of voters will increase; the final number will be announced on February 26. Of the 799 polling stations, 183 are proposed auxiliary stations,” said a GHMC official.

The election code for the two graduate MLC constituencies has affected lakhs of people waiting for welfare schemes and sops from the state government. Schemes such as unemployment allowance, issuance of new ration cards and extension of Aasara pensions for the new category of people aged between 57 and 65 years among other benefits cannot be rolled out as the poll code is in force for the MLC elections. Read full story

More than 100 passengers had a narrow escape when an RTC bus came in contact with the power line at Sanga Reddy on Wednesday. Three passengers suffered burn injuries but were out of danger.

At a time when fuel sales in India rose for the first time in September 2020 and started rallying since the lockdown in March last, Telangana continues to be behind other southern states in sales of petroleum products. The state also suffered a 30% drop in the sales in the financial year 2020-21, resulting in Rs 1,000 crore dip in income. Read full story

The TRS on Wednesday celebrated CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s 67th birthday grandly with mass plantation, releasing of Kaleshwaram water, offering prayers, blood donation and distributing clothes. KCR, however, was at his Erravelli farm to avoid big gatherings at Pragathi Bhavan in view of the pandemic.

A lawyer couple, known for filing public interest ligations (PILs) in the Telangana high court on human rights issues, was on Wednesday afternoon hacked to death with sickles in the middle of a busy road in Paddapalli district. Local TRS leader and Manthani mandal president, Kunta Srinu, is believed to be one of the assailants and is the main accused in the double murder. Read full story

Pink ballot paper will be used for the two graduate MLC elections to be held on March 14. For the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, white ballot papers were used. “Instructions have been given to the government printing press to keep pink colour paper bundles. Usually, ballot papers are printed by private printers but for the MLC elections the election commission has decided to print them in the government press,” said an official of the GHMC election wing. Read full story