Latest news with #State-run
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Pushpak services see a ‘lean' phase
While Pushpak, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation's environment-friendly airport bus service, has remained a lifeline for thousands of daily commuters, a dip in passenger numbers of late have prompted the State-run transporter to quietly revise its ticket fares upwards. While the move upset some regular users, who took to social media to express their displease, recent data suggests that daily average ridership levels have seen a slump. Data over a 45-day period beginning June 1 this year indicates that while the services witnessed steady ridership in June, the numbers saw a decline in July. Since January this year, the occupancy ratio fell from 74% in January this year to 67% in July. To illustrate, the average daily passengers in January were over 5,100. In July, this number dipped to around 4,100. The TGSRTC pegs this to what they said is a general dip in passenger movement at the airport. Parallelly, the passenger traffic at the RGIA shows that the number of travellers handled by the airport management in June was higher with the single highest passenger traffic recorded on June 1. Passenger data for July was unavailable. Explaining the rationale behind the Pushpak fare hike, a TGSRTC official said 'The RTC did not increase ticket prices for more than 10 years. We saw a lot of changes in this decade, including costs related to crew utilisation and inflation. Over this period, the price remained constant, and after internal discussions with the management, the ticket price was increased accordingly.' Meanwhile, V. C. Sajjanar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of TGSRTC, clarified that the months of June and July constitute a phase in which the State road transport undertaking deals with relatively fewer passengers. He said that the trend was not specific to Pushpak services. 'In these couple of months, we see that the holiday season comes to an end. With schools and colleges reopening, there is lower passenger activity as people travel less often, especially with their families. This is not just applicable to services to the airport, but to other services as well. It is a lean period for us,' he clarified. Mr Sajjanar also told The Hindu that a recent meeting with airport officials was held in which passenger traffic at the RGIA was discussed, along with Pushpak services.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
Ten students fall ill after consuming khichdi at State-run school for girls in Khammam
Around ten students were taken ill after reportedly consuming khichdi at the Tribal Welfare Ashram High School for girls in Kalluru town of Khammam district on Monday. Sources said that several students complained of nausea and stomach ache after having breakfast at the school on Monday morning. They were rushed to the local Community Health Centre and their condition is stated to be stable. Mandal-level officials of the Revenue and other allied departments visited the hospital and enquired about the health condition of the students. The cause of illness is suspected to be a 'half-cooked' dish, sources added. Meanwhile, various student organisations sought immediate steps to prevent reoccurrence of such incidents in State-run residential schools and welfare hostels.
The Hindu
30-07-2025
- The Hindu
ED raids at eight locations in connection with ₹700 crore sheep distribution scam
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday (July 30, 2025) raided eight locations in Hyderabad as part of its probe into the ₹700 crore sheep distribution scam. The searches were carried out at properties linked to beneficiaries, suspected middlemen, and individuals named in earlier complaints, including G. Kalyan, officer on special duty (OSD) to former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) minister Talasani Srinivasa Yadav. Kalyan is one of the accused in an FIR filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which had earlier unearthed large-scale irregularities in the implementation of the State-run scheme. Acting on the ACB's findings, the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and launched its own investigation. Officials said that those targeted in Wednesday's searches were identified on the basis of financial transactions that raised red flags during the preliminary inquiry. The ED is now examining the money trail to determine how public funds may have been misused. The investigation is ongoing.
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Congress, BJP aid corporate hospitals by vilifying Kerala's public health sector: CPI(M)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretariat has accused the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) of launching a vilification campaign against Kerala's robust public health system to aid the corporate medical-care sector. CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan told a news conference here on Friday that the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had sought to politicise the tragic building collapse at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kottayam, to paint a dismal picture of State-funded hospitals to help corporate hospitals corral patients. He said the building collapse occurred when the hospital authorities were moving patients to the newly constructed block. Mr. Govindan said global capital had 'gobbled up' most legacy hospitals in the private sector, which had sacrificed medical ethics at the altar of profit-making. He said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had sought to protect the working class from predatory medical practices by adding more super-specialty units, including liver and kidney transplant departments, to State-run hospitals. Affordable care He said the Government Medical College Hospitals had successfully conducted organ transplants at minimal rates. The service was provided at no cost to economically disadvantaged individuals. 'In contrast, private corporate hospitals charged not less than ₹40 lakh for the life-saving procedures,' he said. Mr. Govindan said that an almost 50% increase in patient footfall at State-run hospitals had deprived the private sector of business. The Congress and the BJP had come to the aid of the corporate medical industry by seeking to demonise public health care. Mr. Govindan said the private sector was appalled that the LDF had opened outpatient centres at primary health-care centres and created 2,430 new facilities, adding to the existing clinical services to make health care easily accessible and affordable for the public. The private sector had now found a partner in the Congress and the BJP, who were out to malign State-subsidised health care. 'UDF cut allocation' Mr. Govindan said between 2011 and 2016, the Congress government had systematically slashed public health sector allocation from ₹139 crore to ₹116 crore. 'The UDF had planned to privatise State-funded hospitals,' he added. In contrast, since 2021, the second LDF government had increased public health spending to ₹1,600 crore. Kerala's health sector had won at least 21 national and international recognitions. Mr. Govindan said the BJP government at the Centre punished Kerala for its public health achievements by reducing allocations as part of the Centre's 'vengeful politics.' The LDF balanced the books by raising ₹80,000 crore from the global market to modernise State-funded hospitals, which now offered state-of-the-art treatment on a par with developed nations. It also increased the Gross State Domestic Product to catalyse welfare and development, given the Centre's attempt to financially strangulate Kerala.
The Hindu
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Minister instructs officials to conduct joint inspection of school buildings in current rainy season
Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageshwara Rao, who is the in-charge Minister of the erstwhile Karimnagar district, asked officials to immediately identify dilapidated school buildings and shift the students to nearby buildings. Mr. Rao presided over a review meeting with the officials of Karimnagar, Jagtial, Peddapalli and Rajanna Sircilla districts at the Collectorate in Karimnagar on Sunday. He reviewed the functioning of School Education, Agriculture and Housing departments. Minister for IT and Industries D. Sridhar Babu, Minister for Transport and Backward Classes Welfare Ponnam Prabhakar, among others attended the meeting. Metpally MLA K. Sanjay apprised the district in-charge Minister of the dilapidated condition of the State-run high school building in Metpally and sought speedy completion of the government junior college building on the same premises to shift them into the new building. The Minister instructed the officials of the School Education, Panchayat Raj and Roads & Buildings departments to jointly inspect the condition of government school buildings to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of students in the current rainy season. He asked Collectors to focus on students' enrolment drive in government schools, achieve the stipulated targets of oil palm cultivation and effective implementation of the Indiramma Illu, the flagship housing of the State government, in a transparent manner. Mr. Sridhar Babu said the State government accorded top priority to education, health and agriculture sectors. He called upon the officials to strive to ensure the benefits of the welfare schemes, including Indiramma housing, reach all the deserving people. He wanted the officials to encourage farmers to grow suitable alternative crops, including vegetables, so as to double their income. He directed the officials to take stringent action against those selling spurious seed. Mr. Prabhakar asked the officials to focus on improving students' enrolment and enhancing learning outcomes in government schools. Highlighting the initiatives of the Congress government such as recruiting teachers and conducting training programmes for teachers of State-run schools, he emphasised the need for increased community engagement in Badi Bata enrolment campaign to make all stakeholders active partners in the endeavour. He added that the government has started disbursing ₹9,000 crore to farmers under the Rythu Bharosa, the investment support scheme, across the State within nine days in a mission mode.
