Hyderabad’s start-ups incubated at T-Hub are indeed going places. Now, electric ride-sharing platform Hala has announced that it has secured funds to the tune of $1 million led by Magnifiq Securities. The start-up is a 100 percent electric ride-sharing platform that does away with last-mile connectivity problems.The funds will be used to significantly increase the number of electric vehicles, improve infrastructure for swapping, research, and develop new product offerings. Hala happens to be part of T-Hub’s T-Angel program and has achieved a 40 percent raise in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). The program also enabled Hala to be investment ready through pitch review, financial projections, valuation certificate, funding need estimation, and equity exchange.“Since the beginning of our operations, Hala has covered 8 million green kilometers saving 717 tonnes of Co2 emissions, saving 300,000 liters of petrol consumption, and doing 32,000 battery swaps a month. We are aiming to create the largest ecosystem for all things EV and are delighted by the support provided by our investor,” shares Hala Mobility founder and CEO Srikanth Reddy.

T-Angel Program’s EV Start-up Hala Mobility Raises $1 Million

This is May, and already cyber fraudsters have swindled around Rs 2.7 crore within the Cyberabad Police Station limits. They used a bait that many fell for – investment. As most people are greedy enough to fall for lucrative offers, 50 cases pertaining to investment fraud have been booked by the Cyberabad Police this year.Businessmen and techies topped the list of victims, and the irony is that they fell for illiterate gangs operating from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Bengaluru. Cybercrime officials share that in all investment frauds, fraudsters banked on the greed in people, mostly youngsters, IT professionals, home-makers, the elderly, and teenagers, who were lured by the chance of making easy money.In all cases, the fraudsters send links to the victim’s mobile phone with attractive investment schemes, promising quick and high returns. Once the money is collected, they simply vanish into thin air, says Cyberabad Cybercrime Cell ACP G Sridhar.Fraudsters also approach people with a few popular investment schemes that include investments in reputed companies offering 10-20 percent high returns, investments in real estate, bitcoins, and the share market.The modus operandi includes the fraudsters calling the victims with offers to invest in franchises of reputed firms or on gold stocks. They show them profits initially and collect thousands to crores. Once they collect the money, they switch off their mobile phones.The Cyberabad Police is taking petitions from the public at various local police stations and filing criminal cases, and investigating. One can also report at cybercrimes.gov.in (National Cyber Crimes Reporting Portal – NCRP) for quick legal action and also block the flow of money. Cybercrime police can be reached at 9490617310 or Cyberabad Whatsapp 9490617444 or Dial 100 or 1930 within 24 hours.

Investment Bait Fraud of Rs 2.7 Cr in Cyberabad

To begin with, there are issues like slow-moving traffic, speed-breakers, potholes, and rumble strips at every turn. Then there is the big issue of challans. Many motorists, especially the bike owners, feel they are unduly fined, and for some bike owners, challans are irksome as they get fined multiple times on the same day for the same violation.While the commuters say they are fined mostly to meet the targets of traffic police, the traffic police on their side assure that the challan issuing process has been revamped and add that they are now focusing on accident-prone areas. The discount on clearing traffic challans is just the beginning, says AV Ranganathan, joint commissioner Traffic, Hyderabad City Police.Motorists say they get faulty challans for violations like jumping red signal, crossing stop line, free left, etc., even when there are no clear markings. One motorist says he got a challan when he crossed the line when the signal was orange. Another says most junctions don’t have clear markings. And cops sit or stand and click pictures, though they are not visible to the public. Also, most of them say they are not aware of challans till the police stop them.So, now, the traffic police have started taking steps to mitigate the issue. No more than 400 challans will be issued per day under any traffic police station. Earlier, most challans were issued for bike owners for not wearing helmets; now, they intend to focus on all motorists.Also, the traffic cops will no longer hide but will be visible to the public, and the challans will be examined before a fine is imposed. The penalty for speeding, wrong side driving, etc., was the same for all vehicles in all areas; now, it has been changed on the basis of vehicle, location, and other parameters.

Traffic Challans Turn Headache for Commuters

Hyderabad is catching up rapidly on property deals like Delhi and Mumbai. For example, the chairman of Suven Pharmaceuticals, Venkateswarlu Jasti, reportedly sold a posh independent house in the Jubilee Hills area for Rs 34.75 crore.According to the documents, in August last year, the sale was recorded, and the transaction paid a stamp duty of Rs 2.64 cr. Bhagwati Devi Baldwa bought the property.Earlier, an independent house spread across 6,033 sq ft in the city's posh Jubilee Hills area was bought by the owner of business conglomerate GVK Group for a whopping Rs 23.15 crore in July.Another priciest deal was again in the posh area of Jubilee Hills when an owner of a data center company CtrlS bought a 2,644 sq yards property for Rs 48 cr. The property belonged to Suryanarayana Raju Nandyala.Earlier, the owner of pharma company Virchow Laboratories Limited, N Venkata Reddy, had bought a property in the same Jubilee Hills area for Rs 41 cr. The land admeasured at 1,837 sq yards or 1,537 sq meters.As per the data revealed by Zapkey, Jubilee Hills recorded as many as 120 sale transactions above Rs 10-crore in the last five years.In contrast, there were more than 20 sale transactions above Rs 10 crore in Jubilee Hills in 2021, and buyers mainly included prominent Tollywood celebrities, industrialists, and politicians.The local brokers say there has been an increase in demand for properties in the area post-pandemic. More people, especially the super-rich elite citizens, have started preferring to shift to low-density properties rather than scouting for luxury flats in highly populated skyscrapers.

Jubilee Hills No Less Than Mumbai and Delhi in Property Sales

Food lovers look for variety, and of late, the restaurant owners in Hyderabad are getting quite experimental. And it’s not just high-end restaurants; budget hotels too are coming up with various techniques to attract customers. For starters, there are catchy names like Baahubali Haleem, Shadi ka Table, and Naidu gari Kunda Biryani. Naidu gari Kunda Biryani is a chain of restaurants in Telugu states that are now serving Baahubali Thali.Well, the interesting bit here is that it is more of a challenge to the foodies. If one can finish the entire thali all by themselves within 30 minutes, they will win Rs 1 lakh. As for the thali contains 30 veg and non-vegetarian dishes like chicken biryani, prawns curry, and Schezwan noodles and includes salad, raita, and drinks. The thali costs Rs 1800 and is sufficient for three to four people.The challenge can be taken up any day except on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when the business is very busy. Food apart, the newly inaugurated restaurant has a homely ambiance, and most of the dishes are served in earthenware.

Finish Baahubali Thali and Win Rs 1 Lakh

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has prepared proposals to build a solar roof-topping corridor on the Outer Ring Road. Currently, work is underway to widen the service roads on both sides of the ORR by 8 km from Nanakramguda to the Telangana Police Academy and another 13 km from Narsingi to Kollur.In addition, a bicycle track will also be constructed. A solar rooftop will be installed on the bicycle track. These will be set up with a target of generating about 9 MW of electricity. The basic designs were prepared by HMDA officials. Leading environmentalist Eric Solheim tweeted a video of a bicycle track with solar panels in the middle of the road in South Korea.After watching the video, Minister KTR tweeted to Municipal Commissioner Arvind Kumar that he should look into setting up a similar structure on the proposed cycle track of 21 km along the Outer Ring Road. The commissioner immediately responded and issued orders to the HMDA officials. Under this, proposals have been prepared for the construction of a solar rooftop on the cycling track.

Solar Rooftop Cycling Track On ORR

The state government has set two-, three- and four-wheeler speed limits on Greater roads. Cars will have a speed limit of 60 kmph on major roads while buses, autos, and bikes are required to travel at a speed of 50. Official notification to this effect was issued on Wednesday.All vehicles are advised to go at a speed of 30 kmph on the colony roads. Compared to the past, major roads, as well as internal roads, have improved throughout the Greater. BT, VDCC, and CC roads were constructed where necessary. So, the government has imposed speed limits to prevent accidents.The government has divided the speed limits into three categories based on reports from GHMC, police, and transport department officials. Officials said the speed limit has been ensured so that the motorist can reach the destination safely as there is a danger of speeding on better roads. According to these limits, Speed guns will be installed in many places and violators will be fined.

Government Notifies New Speed Limits In The City

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Hyderabad for the 20th-anniversary fete of the Indian School of Business (ISB), Gachibowli. To commemorate IBS's 20 years, PM Modi addressed the graduating PGP Class of 2022 and even gave gold medals to students. Addressing the audience, he talked about the need for innovative leadership for the country's growth, among other things.Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao flew to Bengaluru to avoid receiving the Prime Minister at the Begumpet Airport. Meanwhile, TRS has put up banners across the city questioning the discrimination against Telangana. There are questions about various failed promises to the state.The banners read:“Why is medical college not sanctioned by the Centre?Where is the Indian Institution of Science Education and Research for Telangana?Why is the Defense corridor not sanctioned for Telangana?Where is the national status of the Kaleshwaram project?Where is the national status of the Palamuru-Rangareddy project?Where is the Kazipet rail coach factory?Why did the global center for traditional medicine move from Hyderabad to Gujarat?Why is the new Navodaya Vidyalaya not sanctioned for Telangana?Why is the turmeric board not sanctioned for Nizamabad?Where is the Bayyaram steel factory?Where is ITIR for Telangana?Where is the National Institute of Design for Telangana?Why are relief funds for the Hyderabad floods not given?NITI Aayog recommended funds for Mission Bhagiratha, where are they?Why not a single mega power loom textile cluster allocated to Telangana?Any financial support for the pharma city in Telangana?Where is IIM for Telangana?” 
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Ahead of PM Modi's visit to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hyderabad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hyderabad</a>, TRS puts up posters across the city questioning the delay in sanctioning development projects, educational institutions including medical colleges to the state <a href="https://t.co/MVYxTcqNKr">pic.twitter.com/MVYxTcqNKr</a>— Swastika Das (@swastikadas95) <a href="https://twitter.com/swastikadas95/status/1529700369680723968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

Banners Across The City Questioning PM Modi

It’s not like in movies, where you move to a different city, find a cozy and comfy little nook for yourself, and enjoy your ‘freedom.’ Real life has real issues, and one that most working women face regularly is that of accommodation. Finding a space in a bustling city is nothing short of a nightmare for most.In Hyderabad, the offices are slowly withdrawing the WFH option, and the employees are being called back to work. So, many men and women who went back home to work from home are now back in the city and in huge numbers. There was a time when most of these women lived in hostels that were ‘women only.’However, these hostels were shut down during the pandemic for a year and a half. Then, once the pandemic subsided, the women’s only hostels were converted into men’s hostels. With women back in the city, they are in a major crisis as not many house-owners prefer to have bachelors as tenants.As for the hostel owners, they are worried about the pricing. As the hostels were shut, those who ran hostels were paying half the rent. Now, the building owners are looking at higher rents, and the hostel managements don’t want to pay those amounts as their inmates wouldn’t pay higher charges. Also, due to competition, they will shift to hostels that offer lesser rent. As of now, the hostel rents are in the range of Rs 12,000 for a single person and Rs 5500 for four people, and this includes food.While many continue to suffer, some are taking flats for rent, though it works out to be costlier.&nbsp;

Back To Office, Working Women Face Accommodation Problems

Electric cars are not just about making a statement. They are an extremely sensible and cost-effective idea, say, automobile experts. Also, in western countries, electric cars are no longer a default option. Therefore, more and more people in Telangana are also opting for these environment-friendly cars. If one has to give out the statistics, there are about 3000 e-cars and bikes in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Warangal, and Karimnagar.Right now, just about everyone knows that electric vehicles promote a green economy as they produce zero tailpipe emissions. This makes them clean, green, and a sensible choice concerning environmental concerns.Of course, all good things come with a price, and e-vehicles are costlier than conventional vehicles, at least for now. However, experts insist that investing in these vehicles is a cost-effective decision when one thinks long-term. According to N Janaiah, VC and managing director of Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation (TSREDCO) Limited, the e-vehicles don’t burn a hole in common man’s pockets.Those in the know argued that lifetime ownership of a conventional vehicle is far more than the higher cost of an e-vehicle. They further add that conventional vehicle maintenance costs between Rs 24,000 and Rs 40,000 annually. On the other hand, EVs have about 100-120 parts, and annual services cost Rs 500 and Rs 1200 each.Also, with increasing petrol and diesel prices, the cost of maintaining a conventional vehicle has increased many-fold. Therefore, the state government is also giving many incentives to promote the purchase of e-vehicles. They have exempted road tax and registration for electric two, three, and four-wheelers, light commercial, shared transport, and public transport vehicles purchased and registered within the state.

E-vehicles Turning Out Better Future Investment

Banjara Hills police have arrested a man who came to repair the internet and tried to take a video of a woman taking a bath. According to the local police, K. Martin, 19, of Indiranagar, near Mallepally, was working as a technician at ACT Fiber Net in Banjara Hills.He went to an apartment on Banjara Hills Road No. 2 on Tuesday afternoon after receiving a complaint that the internet was not working properly. A 45-year-old woman was bathing in the bathroom of a house next door. Martin has observed this while inspecting the cables while standing on a ladder to a pole on the road.He then started recording video with his cell phone. The woman who noticed this alertly told her husband who was at home. The victim's husband, with the help of locals, got the accused Martin arrested and handed him over to the Banjara Hills police. To this extent, the accused was arrested by the police who registered a case under Section 354 of IPC.