On Friday morning, an uproar was in full swing at Secunderabad station. At the railway station, horrifying scenes were witnessed.&nbsp;A man was shot dead in police firing in Secunderabad, trains were burnt up in flames, and private and public vehicles were attacked as highways, and railway stations turned into a battleground amid burgeoning protests against Agnipath, the contentious defense recruitment scheme.Food stalls and other shops on all platforms were looted and set on fire. Some of the protesters were seen with sticks and hammers. When the protesters tried to enter electric locomotive engines, railway officials cut the entire railway station's power.After four hours of dharna and attacks, the number of agitators significantly came down. But those present at the railway station continued to protest on the railway tracks. The police tried to convince them to call off the protest, but they refused to budge.The police then continued their talks with the agitators, surrounded them, and around 5.30 pm, started taking them into custody and shifted them to the police station.Due to protests in the city against the Agnipath scheme, the Hyderabad Metro Rail had suspended all operations for a few hours till evening.By late evening, Operation All Clear became successful, and the railway authorities restored rail operations.

Agnipath Anarchism Rakes Havoc in City

The city boasts of good infrastructure and robust IT growth. However, if one looks beyond the sheen and glitter, there is a reality that is harsh. And one example of such harshness is the dilapidated state of government colleges in the city. According to RTI’s reply to a public petition, Rs 16.25 crore was allocated for infrastructure development in the colleges.Also, Rs 10 crore was allotted for two-degree colleges at Chanchalguda and Falaknuma, and works are yet to commence in these colleges. And it’s not the case with one or two government colleges; degree colleges at Neredmet, Chanchalguda, Golconda, and Falaknuma are in a dilapidated condition. Ironically, the government degree college at Sitaphalmandi is located on private land. The government hasn’t allocated land, and the colleges don’t have basic facilities.“It seems that funds sanctioned for renovating government degree colleges are only on paper. The government claims that the sanctioned amount has been utilized, but the ground reality is no development works have taken place from 2014-to 22. All colleges lack washrooms, there are no fans in classrooms, and a drinking water facility is lacking. There are computer labs without computers,” says social activist Robin Zaccheus.Though the government could have focused and rejuvenated the colleges using the funds, they haven’t bothered to take any steps in that direction, he adds. Due to lack of basic facilities, boys are forced to relieve themselves in public, while girls have to put up with dirty toilets, say the students.In yet another disturbing situation, the degree students at Neredmet college are forced to sit outside as the premises also have inter-college.a

Govt Colleges in Dilapidated State, Despite Having Funds

A young couple in their 20s has been excommunicated from their caste for marrying in the same gotra. Despite people advancing and prospering, some sections of society seem to be stuck in their age-old and often redundant thoughts.The couple who are from Hyderabad’s Shahinyatgunj has been excommunicated for marrying against their parents’ wishes. Incidentally, the couple tied the knot at an Arya Samaj temple in July 2020. The case of contention is that the boy and girl belong to the same caste and gotra. The girl’s family did not accept the marriage as it violated the ‘gotra.’The couple claims that their family members are harassing them by putting up abusive posts on social media. The couple realized that there was a threat to their lives based on such posts and approached the local police. A case of criminal intimidation was filed based on a complaint from the woman. The police accordingly called their community members and the family and warned them to mend ways, shares Afzalgunj inspector Ravinder Reddy.In the same area, Shahinyatgunj, a horrific killing took place in the name of ‘honor killing.’ A 21-yr-old man was stabbed to death in Begum Bazaar for marrying outside his caste. At least five people stabbed the man multiple times on the busy streets of Begum Bazaar. The deceased Neeraj Kumar married a girl a year ago. The police suspect the role of the girl’s family in the murder.

Couple Excommunicated and Threatened for Marrying in Same Gotra

India’s No.1 homegrown burger chain, Jumbo King, serving on-the-go vegetarian burgers, has come up at the Ameerpet Metro Station.The new Jumboking store at the crowdy Ameerpet Metro Station will have the brand’s entire product range of lip-smacking premium vegetarian burgers, including Nachos, Spicy Mexican, Hara Bhara Kabab, Crispy Veg, Mac &amp; Cheese, Big Crunch, and Corn Palak, along with fries (peri peri and cheese), thick shakes, softy, and coke.Dheeraj Gupta, the founder and MD of Jumbo King Foods says that Hyderabad has a spunky food culture with novel eating habits, a blend of cuisines, and a big density of young population. Our brand values are anchored in value for money, customer centricity, and the joy of delicious food! He said that they are excited to be a part of Hyderabad’s foodscape.Gupta adds that people are traveling as places and offices have begun opening up again. Hence, on-the-go snacking options largely driven by convenience and consumer needs have emerged again.Jumbo King caters to students, young working professionals, and anyone conscious of hygienic street food. It also has delivery tie-ups with Zomato, Swiggy, and Uber Eats, enabling order-ins as well.

Homegrown Vegetarian Jumbo King At Ameerpet Metro Station

Mental health is a much talked about and oft-debated topic these days. Yet, mental health continues to be a taboo among all sections of people. While many benefit by talking out their problems and seeking solutions and therapy, quite a few, especially in the under-privileged sections, continue to suffer due to a lack of awareness among their families. It is here that Roshni Trust comes in, which has been doing commendable services since the year 1997. However, Roshni is not just for under-privileged sections. They have a diverse section of clients from varied backgrounds.Since its inception, the Trust has provided free and confidential emotional support to the depressed through a call. Initially, Roshni Trust started its services by offering a helpline for the depressed through its center in Secunderabad. Since then, it has set up a counseling center in 2010 and has recently launched Psychiatry at Doorstep service for the underprivileged.Over the years, they have extended their services, and now they have a psychologist, counselor, therapists, and a child guidance center, among other things. The counselors address issues like career guidance, adolescence, marriage guidance, and others. They also provide free mental health counseling camps and free medication through them, shares Shashi Reddy, founder of Roshni Trust.However, despite all this, they realized that mental health issues were a huge taboo among lower-income groups, and of late, they have come up with Psychiatry at Doorstep to remove the stigma and help those in need. They have joined hands with Aanganwadi workers, set up posters, and given pamphlets to educate the people in these areas. They have also run awareness videos at nearby schools, says Shanthi Krish, founder of Roshni Trust.One can reach out to them at 040 66202000/ 66202001. For appointments at the counseling center, one can call 040 66661117/ 66661118 between 10 am to 6 pm Monday to Saturday. One can also check out their website&nbsp;https://roshnitrusthyd.org/&nbsp;for further details.

Roshni, A Ray of Hope For Those Battling Mental Health Problems

Renowned yoga and spiritual guru was in Hyderabad to create awareness about his latest mission, ‘Save Soil.’ The Gachibowli stadium was filled to the brim to meet Sadhguru, who has been touring on his bike across countries and continents. During the massive congregation, he spoke on the need for the conservation of Soil.Save Soil is a global initiative launched by Sadhguru to address the soil crisis by bringing together people of the world for soil health. In the process, he has been meeting heads of various nations to institute national policies and action to increase the organic content in cultivable Soil.During his talk, Sadhguru shared that for Soil to be called Soil, it has to have at least 3% organic content, as per United Nations. He was concerned that in most countries, the percentage was really sad. While northern Europe had the highest percentage with 1.48% organic content, India had a mere 0.68%, he said.Wednesday was his 94th-day solo motorcycle journey for the Save Soil event, and he has already covered 562 events and 26,000 km. Present at the event were actress Samantha, agricultural minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy and sports minister V Srinivas Goud. There were rich cultural performances to mark the occasion.Sadhguru spoke elaborately about the damage that lack of good Soil will cause to human beings. He said if the situation continues, the land will become unusable. He said food shortages would become a norm, and people would perish within days. He also warned that Soil had millions of microorganisms, and life is created as it grows. We need to consider Soil as our mother and not a mere resource, he said. However, he had a word of hope and added that if humans could work towards it, the situation could be reversed in 10-15 years.

Sadhguru Rides Into City For ‘Save Soil’ Mission

Development of infrastructure can become a pain as the people of Hyderabad are experiencing it during the monsoons. The newly constructed flyovers in the city have become pain points even as the monsoon season has begun in Hyderabad. The roads under them are seeing heavy waterlogging, and this has led to severe problems for the commuters.The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has been ignoring ten major roads where flyovers have been opened recently. On Wednesday, southern parts of Hyderabad recorded 54.3 mm rainfall, which was the first heavy rainfall of the monsoon season.The roads that were connecting major junctions to multiple areas and see a large number of commuters had become major spots for waterlogging. On the other hand, the government claims that it has spent around Rs 671.19 crore under the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) for developing urban infrastructure and providing hassle-free connectivity to commuters.Though the government also claimed that it has now put a stormwater system in place, it looks like it is a big failure going by the hardships people faced with just one shower. There are also complaints that while the government is going about completing projects, it is not taking into consideration the impact of climate change which is causing heavy rains in the city.The areas where there was heavy water-logging included Rajendranagar, Rambagh Colony located under the PVNR Expressway, Attapur, Chandrayanagutta, Zoo Park, and Kanchanbagh, where a flyover is being constructed.

Monsoon Menace: Major Waterlogging at Roads Under Flyovers

Check out the many flavors of tea in this newly opened cafe in SR Nagar. Popular anchor Suma Kanakala opened the restaurant and was quite pleased to see the variety on offer. The Pepper Tea cafe, as it’s called, has been opened by Neoma Foods, which is a well-known name in the food industry.The cafe offers many traditional teas, but their specialty happens to be bellam pepper tea or jaggery pepper tea. The cafe’s menu is a blend of varieties of beverages, hot and cold. It also has a good spread of food and finger snacks.The ambiance too is inviting and relaxing that can celebrate tea, food, and leisure. There was a time when tea and coffee were the luxuries that the Nizams enjoyed. Today, the Irani cafes have made chai accessible to all. The city has also developed coffee culture. Goes without saying, the chai-coffee culture has led to the opening of many new, upscale cafes in the city.The cafe has been started by Lakshmi Chaparala and Ramakrishna Raju, who intend to open another 200 cafes in the next couple of years across various metros and cities. The duo did a lot of food trials before deciding on the menu and customizing it to the requirements of various age groups.While here, you can order special teas, quick bites, sandwiches with awesome fillings, soft yet crunchy burgers, and shakes to grab and go. Pepper Tree has curated a menu that can be served fast with less waiting time.

Pepper Tea Cafe is Latest Entrant into Comfy Tea-coffee Spaces

Malla Reddy Narayana Hospitals, Suraram, Jeedimetla, has launched a Cancer Screening program in association with IIT-H (IIT Hyderabad). The program was initiated by Haragopal, Director of Finance, MRNH, and Prof B S Murty, Director, IITH, on Wednesday with the screening of more than 100 Contract Workers at the IIT campus by the hospital's team at Primary Health Centre, IITH.A huge Eicher bus has been allotted with all screening equipment to conduct the Cancer screening drive. The Cancer screening coach is operated and managed by the MRNH Team and supported by the Rotary Club of Ameerpet.The bus has facilities like Doctor Consulting Room, Colposcopy, Mammography, X-ray, and reporting room. It is also equipped with a television to display the preventive videos and has a separate inbuilt washroom. Malla Reddy Narayana Hospitals has developed a well-trained and exclusive team to drive the Cancer Screening program on Wheels.Prof B S Murty thanked Haragopal, Director of Finance, Malla Reddy Narayana Hospitals, and Dr. Bhadra Reddy, Chairman, and said, "Through this collaboration with Malla Reddy Narayana Hospitals, we would like to take the Cancer Screening to the remote villages as well.

Cancer Screening Now on Wheels in Hyderabad

Sustainable, natural, earthy... probably the buzzwords during the pandemic times for most Hyderabadis. Already, the city was on the brink of an evolution of sorts, with people opting for all things natural, clean, and nutritious. And in the process, the people of Hyderabad have gone back in time and are enjoying food stored or cooked in earthen pots and pans. And it’s not just picking up from roadside potters; many Hyderabadis are now proud owners of artisanal pottery.Artisinal pottery comes in myriad colors and textures and takes some technique to become something that is both eye-catching and functional. While a terracotta pot is fired up to 800 degrees centigrade, the pit is dug using firewood and baked. But ceramic pottery is more durable and can be permanently glazed in various colors and hues. It also requires special raw materials and glazers. But, of course, the whole effort is worth it and is surely on the pricey side of normal earthenware.Carmel Hessing of @claysutra on Instagram is the founder of Claysutra and is an instructor. She has a course for beginners, intermediate and advanced levels. She holds workshops at her Padmarao Nagar Studio in Secunderabad every Sunday.Then there is Manpreeth Singh Nishter, founder of MSN Studio in Kokapet. Incidentally, he found his calling 14 years back and specializes in tableware. His art is inspired by nature – animals, flowers, leaves, etc. He says pottery is gratifying as he gets to make something out of nothing. Manpreeth also feels the city has evolved in terms of its choices. He says the studios in Hyderabad are definitely on par with Bengaluru, though they are still far from Delhi and Mumbai.