STATES CRACK THE WHIP DELHI Is witnessing the fourth wave of Covid-19 infection Fourth wave seems less serious than previous ones as there are fewer deaths and Govt not planning hospitalisations, a lockdown as says CM Arvind of now Kejriwal WARANGAL  SATURDAY  APRIL 03, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION MAHARASHTRA 47,827 CASES ACROSS STATE, 8,832 IN MUMBAI ON FRIDAY  Eateries, bars and restaurants in Pune district KARNATAKA ordered to be shut for seven days from Saturday School hostels,  Will order complete lockdown across state if situation gyms, club doesn't improve in 2 days, says CM Uddhav Thackeray houses and  Children and youngsters constitute 47% of new cases pools shut 2ND WAVE FAST-N-FURIOUS, 10 STATES FIGHTING INFECTION EXPLOSION S U M I S U K A N YA D U T TA @ New Delhi AT least 10 states are fighting the fresh Covid-19 wave, according to government data. The second wave, which started in February in a handful of states led by Maharasthra, has now spread to more states. Till last month, it was Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat that were riding the second wave of the pandemic. But now, four more states — Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana — are showing alar ming growth rates in active cases. Worryingly, the seven-day moving average of the test positivity rate, which is 6.3% nationally is seen rising in some , states including West Bengal, Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. Over the past 24 hours, the country has recorded 81,466 new cases taking the cumula- tive active cases to 6,14, 696 — the highest since October. In the past 21 days, cases have zoomed from 18,377 (March 10) to 81,466 (April 1). In the first wave, which peaked in September last year, daily cases had jumped from 18,000 to 80,000 plus in 65 days. Trends suggest India may soon surpass the peak of 93,277 cases recorded on September 17. Not just infections, Covid deaths are also rising. For more than a week now, the daily death count has been above 200. On April 1, this number touched a whopping 469. Experts say the second wave could be more intense than the first one. The oft-cited reason for the infection explosion is the relaxed, careless behaviour by public and lax health administration. However, the role of mutant virus in driving the transmission is also under investigation. According to Union health ministry data, eight states -Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Kar nataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh -- have shown a steep rise in cases. As much as 81.25% of the new cases are P8 from these eight states. CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI KCR draws plan for integrated growth of RR & Medchal-Malkajgiri districts A nodal agency to be formed to find solutions to problems the two districts are facing now EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad THE State government will soon constitute a nodal agency , under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, to oversee the integrated development of Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts, which are well connected with Hyderabad. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao took a decision to this effect during a review meeting held at Pragathi Bhavan on Friday. He also announced the decision to provide the necessary funds for the development works. The nodal agency will be tasked with the responsibility of finding long-lasting solutions to the problems persisting in the two fast growing districts. During the meeting, the Chief Minister said that con- NEW DEVELOPMENT PLAN TOWNS TO BE DEVELOPED IN RANGAREDDY Shadnagar, Pedda Amberpet, Ibrahimpatnam, Jalpally, Shamshabad, Turkayamjal, Manikonda, Narsingi, Adibhtla, Shankarpalli, Tukkuguda and Amangal municipalities. Badangpet, Bandlaguda Jagir, Meerpet, Jillelaguda Municipal Corporations struction of integrated vegetable and non-veg markets, town halls and roads and providing drinking water, power and other basic amenities should be taken up in all Assembly segments, municipalities and important towns in these two districts. He also said that solutions should be found for flooding, drainage water and traffic problems. oped as a cosmopolitan city. Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri are part of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. In tune with the changing situation, the municipalities and corporations in these two districts should be developed along with Hyderabad,” Rao said. People in these two districts should get medical and educational facilities on a par with those living Hyderabad, he said. The respective MLAs should prepare development plans after identifying the issues and needs of their respective segments, Rao said and added that the nodal agency should meet regularly . The peoples’ representatives of these two districts should have at least one meeting every month with the Chief Secretary he added. , TOWNS TO BE DEVELOPED IN MEDCHAL-MALKAJGIRI Boduppal, Peerzadiguda, Jawahar Nagar and Nizampet Municipal Corporations. Medchel, Dammayiguda, Nagaram, Pocharam, Ghatkesar, Gundla Pochampally, Tumukunta, Kompalli, Dundigal municipalities The CM directed the Chief Secretary to conduct a meeting with Ministers, MLAs and MLCs and also with officers of all the departments from these districts for chalking out an action plan for the development. Ministers P Sabitha Indra Reddy and Ch Malla Reddy and several MLAs were present at the meeting. “Hyderabad is being devel- 2 kids die, parents critical after eating contaminated fruit Local residents try to rescue one of the six persons who were being swept away by Godavari water near SRSP in Pochampad of Nizamabad district on Friday Out for a bath, six meet watery grave in Godavari EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Nizamabad IN a tragic incident, six persons met with a watery grave while taking bath at the VIP Pushkhar Ghat of Sri Ram Sagar Project in Pochampad village, on Friday . The deceased, including three minors, were identified as J Suresh, 40, J Yogesh, 16, Bobbili Srinivas, 40, and his sons Bobbili Siddartha, 16, Bobbili Srikar, 14, and D Raju, 24. They were natives of Nizamabad. The local residents managed to rescue the seventh pers o n , R av i K a n t h f r o m drowning. According to ACP V Raghu, the incident occurred when around 25 people from three families gathered at the Godavari Ghat for tonsuring ceremony of a child. EC SUSPENDS FIVE, ORDERS BOOTH REPOLL IN ASSAM P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati THE Election Commission on Friday suspended five polling personnel, including a presiding officer, and ordered repoll at a polling booth in Assam after a polling team, travelling with polled EVMs in a car registered in the name of a BJP MLA’s wife, was held hostage and allegedly attacked. A sub inspector of police tasked with escorting the polling party was also suspended for leaving them stranded and not ensuring their safe arrival at their destination. With the incident triggering a flutter, the EC explained it was raining heavily and the polling party of No 149 Indira MV School of Ratabari seat was returning with escorts when the vehicle broke down and got detached from the convoy . EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Peddapalli IT’S strange but true. Two children of a family died while undergoing treatment at the government hospital in Karimnagar on Friday while their parents are in critical Shivanand condition at a hospital in Hyderabad after allegedly consuming a fruit that was contaminated with some toxin. According to some relatives of the tragedy-struck family belonging from Vissampeta village in AntharSravan gaon mandal of Peddapalli district, Daraboina Srisailam and Gunavati, the parents of the two deceased children — Shivanand, 11, and Sravan, 13 — purchased muskmelons on Wednesday. They kept the fruits in a shelf at their home, which they consumed on Thursday and fell sick after which they were shifted to the government hospital in Karimnagar. It is suspected that the fruit was contaminated by rats which consumed rat poison placed at different locations in the house by the couple. EXPRESS READ 0 Julurpad sizzles at 43.8 C As IMD predicted heatwave in Telangana, highest temperature recorded in the State on Friday was a scorching 43.8 degree Celsius at Julurpad in Kothagudem district. In Hyderabad, it was 39.7 degree Celsius at Saroornagar. In most parts of the State, the maximum temperatures were 2 to 3 degree Celsius above normal. WHAT ARE THE ODDS? 15 get Covid after both doses of vax D O N I TA J O S E @ Hyderabad THERE have been at least 15 cases of Covid-19 infection amongst fully vaccinated individuals in Telangana. All 15 individuals had taken both doses of the vaccine and still contracted the virus. However, the infection stayed between mild to moderate levels among all the patients, senior health officials said. “As per our information, at least 15 such cases have been reported among individuals who got vaccinated with both doses. There is nothing to panic about this as this is a fairly normal occurrence,” explained Dr G Srinivasa Rao, Director of Public Health. He explains that both the vaccines in India — Covishield and Cov- axin offer an efficacy of 71-81%, implying that the rest 20-30% could still get infected even after the vaccination. “No vaccine available in India has 100% efficacy, which means a small proportion will still get infected with Covid-19. However, this must not stop one from taking the vaccine as the benefits are far more,” he said. MILDER INFECTION Doctors state that even if vaccine may not prevent infection, the immune response it starts off helps prevent a severe Covid infection Boda Sunil Naik Kakatiya University students stage a protest in front of the residence of Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao in Hanamkonda on Friday Week after suicide bid, jobless youth breathes his last; protests rock TS EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Warangal Twenty-eight-year-old unemployed graduate, Boda Sunil Naik, who was depressed over the State government not issuing job notifications and attempted suicide by consuming pesticide a week ago in Warangal, breathed his last at Hyderabad’s NIMS Hospital in the early hours of Friday . Naik’s death sparked protests by students and triggered adverse reactions by leaders of Opposition parties against the TRS government. Naik, a resident of Gudur mandal in Mahabubabad district, had shot a video of himself after consuming pesticide on March 26 near the Kakatiya University campus. In the video, he rued that Telangana is not issuing notifications for government jobs to fill up existing vacancies and also the dearth of employment opportunities in the State. He also said that he had been waiting for more than five years for the job notifications. Meanwhile, his body was taken to his native village of Tejavath Ramsingh Thanda in Gudur mandal by Friday evening. However, with the villagers, students and a few political leaders refusing to perform his last rites, his body was kept in the ambulance, parked on the outskirts of village, till late in the night. CONTINUED ON P4