In a rather surprising and disturbing incident, a drone was spotted making rounds over Hyderabad Shamshabad airport. The drone was spotted on March 26, Tuesday night, at around 11 pm.The drone made rounds on the northern side of the airport, and the airport authorities share that the drone came up from the Mamidipally side and did rounds over the CISF housing community, GAMR Chinmaya School, Dharmagiri temple, and surrounding areas for about four hours.Usually, the planes that wait for the green signal from the ACT fly in this zone at a low altitude. Thankfully, on the night when a drone was spotted, there were no planes lined up for landing. This deferred any chances of collusion in the sky.It is prohibited to fly any drones in this zone, and the drone flew into the area despite this. The incident has put the security authorities on high alert. The entire area, too, has been put on high alert. Cyberabad police are investigating the incident.Drones have been spotted in sensitive zones in some parts of the country, giving rise to security concerns. Nowadays, drones are being used for civilian activities, though some areas are strictly off-limits.

High Alert Declared as Drone Spotted Over Shamshabad Airport

It’s Ramzan and that time of the year when people in Hyderabad stop thinking about calories and instead enjoy elaborate meals throughout the day. There is food and more food all over the city, and with home deliveries becoming a norm, there is a huge spike in the amount of food eaten. According to an analysis by Swiggy, there has been a 33 percent spike in haleem orders as compared to last year, and about 8 lakh biryanis were ordered since the beginning of the Ramzan season.It does sound like a lot of food indeed. But the food-loving Hyderabadis haven’t stopped there. In the 20 days since Ramzan season began, people have been gorging on traditional favorites such as chicken biryani, haleem, niharis, samosas, rabdi, malpua... and the list goes on.Many, in fact, break their fast with haleem, and this year, the popular types of haleem have been mutton haleem, special haleem, and chicken haleem or murgh haleem. Incidentally, nihari too was ordered about 30 times more than last year.Iftar time (usually between 5 pm and 7 pm) is the time when the orders are more, and there is a whole variety of foods that people order like paneer butter masala, chicken 65, and masala dosa. Meanwhile, the most popular Iftar snacks include samosa, bhajiya, rabdi, firni, malpua, and dishes made with dates. Orders were also high for gulab jamun, rasmalai, double ka meetha, tender coconut ice cream, and idlis. Swiggy says it received around 4.5 lakh orders in the city between 5 pm and 7 pm.

Haleem Orders Rise By 33 times, 8 Lakh Orders for Chicken Biryani

More and more people spend time on social media these days, and one of the outcomes of such activities is the increase in the number of sex and extortion cases. While there has been an increase in the number of cyber-crimes, there has been a steady rise in sextortion cases in the city.Such crimes are always conducted in a systematic manner, and the pattern is more or less the same. Usually, one member of the gang befriends people on Facebook through friend requests. Then once the conversations reach an intimate level, the member invites the person for a WhatsApp chat. During the chat, he or she is asked to chat nude. When the person obliges and strips on camera, the act is recorded on mobile phones, and the same clippings are sent to the person later to blackmail them.The police warn that even a 5-second clipping is used to manipulate the trapped persons into giving money. Huge amounts are demanded through online transfers as the victims are threatened that the videos will be made public or posted on social media.Sadly, already two people have lost their lives in the past few months. While one person was from Langer Houz, the other was from Nizamabad. KVM Prasad, ACP Cybercrime Hyderabad, has warned that in most cases, Facebook requests are sent by ‘beautiful women.’ According to ACP (Cybercrime), Rachakonda, S Harinath, many victims do not come forward to lodge a complaint as they fear social stigma.While gangs from West Bengal were known to indulge in such acts, now the police have been seeing an increase in gangs from Rajasthan and Haryana. Also, gangs from Alwar, Bharatpur, and Mewat, who were once known for e-commerce portal frauds, have now moved into sextortions, and Facebook and Whatsapp frauds, apart from QR Code scams. While some victims end up paying huge sums due to fear, the police have said that citizens should refrain from accepting Facebook requests from strangers.

Social Media Sextortionists On Rampage in Hyderabad

It is the third week of April, and the heat is constantly rising. People are already dreading May and June when many colonies and apartment blocks in Hyderabad face water problems. Already many colonies are facing the problem, and residents of such colonies say that despite several pleas, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS &amp; SB) officials have been citing technical and operational reasons for the delays.The water supply is happening every alternate week, and since the timings are not being maintained, people are facing problems in under-served areas. In fact, in Old Alwal, where the ground levels have plunged, people are in immediate need of a regular water supply.The residents have been facing hardships for over a month now, and many feel the problems will only worsen in the coming months. The people in such colonies say that they are getting water every three days and at low pressure for just 45 minutes.The problem is also severe in Surya Nagar, where the groundwater level is next to nothing. However, G Ramesh, manager, operations and maintenance, HMWS &amp; SB, Old Alwal, shares that they are trying to resolve the issue at the earliest. The present problem is due to leakage of water in the areas, adds Ramesh.Similar problems have been reported in Ganga Nagar, Jiyaguda, Zeba Bagh in Asif Nagar, and Deluxe Colony at Tolichowki.

Water Crisis Looms Large on Many Colonies in Hyderabad

Books are a person’s best friends, or at least so was the case till people got hooked to the digital world. To keep this association alive, Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) is making sure that the travelers get to experience books at first of its kind library at the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) in Hyderabad.Entry into the library is free, and it is open round the clock, all seven days of the week. However, in keeping with the social distancing requirements, the library accommodates around 35 people at a time. Opening a library at the bus station was the idea of TSRTC managing director VC Sajjanar, who took up the initiative to encourage reading among the city’s youngsters.The library was inaugurated on Ugadi by TSRTC chairman Bajireddy Goverdhan while it became fully operational from World Book Day on April 23. It is located in the deluxe lounge of the MGBS and has novels, comics along with study material, and daily newspapers to help students prepare for Groups exams and other competitive examinations. However, the team behind the library plan to take feedback from the travelers and users of the library before adding more books.Though situated in the busiest bus station, the library is located in a quiet place so that the readers can read in peace and can take a rest simultaneously. As for the funding and the books, they were collected from various sources, including the RTC staff. Those interested in donating books can contribute them to the library at MGBS or contact the number 7382800595.

Bus Travelers Now Get to Sift Through Books at MGBS Library

Mangoes are never cheap during the peak season. However, this year, they are priced higher, just like all food items. In the post-pandemic year, the supply is short as the production has been low. As of now, good-quality mangoes are priced at Rs 100 and Rs 150 per kilo.Batasingaram Fruit Market Committee secretary Ch Narasimha Reddy shares that only 400 trucks have come to the market as opposed to 650 to 700 trucks in the past from districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. However, he adds that the fruit will be available in the market till June due to late crop and other factors.Also, the government has set up a temporary market at the logistics park at Batasingaram till the Koheda Market at Hayathnagar gets ready. The market gets supplies from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh. Still, the supplies are low as the arrivals are about 60 to 70 percent less.As per Horticultural Department, the temperatures were not right during the flowering season from November to January, resulting in damage of flowers. Some varieties of mango trees bearing abundant fruit in alternate years is another reason. Of course, there is the impact of COVID-related lockdowns and regulations.

Mango Lovers to Pay More Due to Scarcity

Tough times make people wither under pressure or blossom with willpower. Sachin Kumar Lakkampally, a software engineer from Kompally, did the second. His casual visit to an ENT doctor revealed that he had grade two cancer.A battery of tests later, he was told by the doctor that he had grade two cancer. At that moment, Sachin Kumar was disheartened. But he soon regained his composure and did what was needed instead of moping.Due to his brain tumor, he had two surgeries and was under radiation therapy for over 45 days. Before that, he could barely walk and experienced a complete loss of appetite. He recollects he felt like a semi-paralyzed person. But during this time, his father, Sanjeev Rao, was of great support. Once he was operated on, his father helped him to walk again and stood by him like a rock.Once Sachin recovered, he realized the importance of health and fitness. So he took to walking, meditation, and a balanced diet. All this helped him complete the 10K run, though he did the virtual 10k run before this.Sachin now works from home or work from anywhere and is a crusader for a good and healthy lifestyle. He is also working on achieving higher endurance and scaling up wellness activities. From one who was not into sports and was overweight to being able to run a 10k marathon after beating cancer at the age of 43 is a huge achievement for Sachin.

Cancer Survivor From Kompally Spreading Fitness Mantra

A young man who was seriously injured in an accident was rushed to the hospital by a man. A young man's bike was heading towards Lingampally from the Gachibowli flyover. He lost control of his bike and hit a divider. The youth was bleeding on his face and also lost consciousness.Locals called an ambulance to rush him to the hospital after he was seriously injured in the crash. But the ambulance did not arrive. A man in a Benz car stopped seeing the rush. He immediately rushed the victim to a nearby private hospital. The seriously injured youth escaped death due to timely treatment.&nbsp;Many praised the Benz car owner for responding in a timely manner. People usually have an impression that those in fancy cars are not mindful of the people around them. But this man proved wrong. The period lasting one hour following a traumatic injury is called the Golden Hour, during which there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing prompt medical care. This biker was taken to the hospital in the Golden hour and got saved.

Benz Car Owner Takes Accident Victim To Hospital

Recently, there was an incident when a car went up in flames right on the road. The fire tender arrived on time though the car was totally up in flames. While it’s a rather scary incident, a passerby from the old city frowns that the entire old city barely has three fire stations.The situation is so, particularly in the south zone and its extension area up to Pahadishareef. As of now, there are three fire stations in Moghulpura, Chandulal Baradari, and Malakpet to attend emergency calls in the old city. Incidentally, all the three were set up about 20 years back.The fire station at Chandulal Baradari was set up as there was an industrial area, though the companies later moved to Katedan and Gagan Pahad. Another fire station was sanctioned for Yakutpura. However, due to the unavailability of land, the station was not set up. Though the fire officials requested the government for land, the station did not materialize.However, finally, the fire station was instead set up at the Osmania General Hospital on ‘express instructions’ to attend fire calls from the hospital and surrounding areas. Yakutpura happens to be a densely populated area with about 70 small colonies and slums. The slums have small cottage industries, and small fire accidents are common. But the fire tender comes from Moghalpura, which is between three to four kilometers.Lots of chaotic traffic is a huge problem in this part of the world, and many locals say it would be best if a fire station is opened at Chandrayanagutta. This would help the tender to reach in five minutes, they say. Similarly, locals feel if the government sets up a fire station on Bandlaguda road, then people from Katedan Industrial Area, Falaknuma, Chandrayanagutta, Errakunta, Hafeezbabnagar can be attended to at the earliest.

Only Three Fire Stations For All of Old City

Hyderabad turned Pink for the TRS Plenary on Wednesday. Party banners, flexes, and cutouts are everywhere you look in the city. Flexis were set up across traffic signals at some points for the Plenary. Authorities are only fining complaints coming to the Central Enforcement Twitter account. With this, the people are vexed at the attitude of the authorities.Only nominal fines were levied for complaints received. It is learned that fines of around Rs 3 lakh have been imposed. Ministers, MLAs, and corporators across the city put flexes heavily during the TRS Plenary last October. At the same time, EVDM officials set aside the complaints received online citing technical issues.&nbsp; BJP corporators have raised concerns on a large scale over this. Three days after the plenary, fines were raised for some of the complaints received online.&nbsp;Now it looks the same again. GHMC Enforcement Director Vishwajit, who went on leave during the last Plenary Time, is now on leave again. The EVDM wing that recently made rides on Flexi printing centers has now gone silent. BJP leaders allege that the checks were carried out targeting the printing presses where BJP flexes were printed. Meanwhile, Praja Shanthi Party President, KA Paul approached the high court against this.

TRS Flexis Flood City, Enforcement Director Goes On Leave!

Well, no story these days is complete without the word pandemic. So like all places, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamakaan">Lamakaan</a>, which is known as a liberal, cultural space, is now fully open, much to the delight of many Hyderabadis. It’s not just the young ones, but the older people too enjoy sitting in the space to discuss just anything and everything under the sun. But during the pandemic, the place shut down, causing panic among many.However, the good news is that Lamakaan is reopened, and it functions between 10 am to 10 pm.Just before the pandemic, the place had some serious discussions and hosted a series of events when the protest against the CAA or Citizenship Amendment Act was going on. Similarly, there were discussions on the National Register of Citizen or NRC that is being carried out in Assam.As it has thrown open its doors once again, the first event will be the screening of a children’s film on November 21. Those interested can email the owners at lamakaan@gmail.com. Though the space would have been closed by 9 pm in the past, it is now open till 10 pm, which is good news to regulars.Also, the snacks and food that are so loved by the guests here will now be available as parcels. While the guests were allowed to sit for only half an hour during the times when it was open during the pandemic, one could sit and enjoy the various discussions and check out upcoming events. However, masks are mandatory inside.Started by friends Ashhar Farhan, Humera Ahmed, Elahe Heptoola, and Biju Matthew in 2010, Lamakaan is also considered to be a precursor for co-working spaces in Hyderabad.