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A 25yearold woman who was allegedly facing dowry harassment from her husband and inlaws died by suicide at her house in Harshaguda in Pahadishareef on Sunday night.

The Pahadishareef police said the victim, It Roja, 25, mother of a fourmonthold baby girl and a twoyearold son, was living along with her husband R. Veeresh, a private employee, and her inlaws at Harshaguda.

Her father S. Hanuma, a farmer from Manchal mandal in Ranga Reddy district, lodged a complaint alleging dowry harassment and murder by Veeresh and his family members.

Hanuma alleged in his complaint alleged that despite giving Z6 lakh cash, 15 tolas gold and household articles as dowry during the marriage in 2017, Veeresh and his parents were demanding additional dowry of Z3 lakh. As he could not give money, they harassed his daughter mentally and Physically, leading to her death, he said.

CM briefs Gov. on Covid control

 Sources in the government said that the Chief Minister briefed the Governor on the steps being taken to contain the spread of Covid19 in the state. Mr Rao also briefed the Governor on his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Moth over the phone on Sunday. Mr Rao told the Governor of the government's move to revamp.

THE CHIEF Minister explained to the Governor the new design and landscape to be developed on the new Secretariat premises the irrigation department and the verdicts of the Supreme Court and High Court with regard to the construction of the new Secretariat complex. Sources said that the Chief Minister explained to the Governor the new design and landscape to be developed in the new Secretariat premises.

HYD TECHIE TO TAKE PART IN UN MEET

Ruchi Mehta, a Hyderabadbased IT professional, will be participating in a multistakeholder meeting organised by the United Nations (UN) Tuesday. The meeting is being held in preparation for the highlevel meeting of the UN General Assembly in September on the theme of gender equality and women empowerment. Mehta is a consultant with the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Sarnia (BMVSS), which is famous for producing the "Jaipur foot", a prosthetic leg. The samiti has a "special consultative status" with the UN's Economic and Social Council.

Tuesday's meeting will be presided over by United Nations General Assembly president Tijjani Muhammed Bande. Representatives of UN members, specialised agencies and intergovernmental agencies will participate in the meeting.

1,198 NEW COVID CASES, 7 DEATHS REPORTED IN TS

A total of 1,198 new cases and seven deaths were recorded in the state on Monday. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation recorded 510 of these cases, and the rest of the state 688. Ranga Reddy district reported 106 cases, followed by Karimnagar 87, Medchal 76, Warangal Urban 73 and Mahbubnagar 50 cases, according to the state health bulletin. Several parts of rural Telangana state have gone into a selflockdown with traders deciding to shutdown till July 31. The spread of the virus has led to markets remaining closed and only essential services operating. The government said there were 11,530 active cases of Covid 19 on Monday. Senior doctors said there are many undocumented cases which must be checked, traced and recorded. Covid19 patients who are coming into hospitals in a very serious condition and collapse within a few hours are not being spotted earlier. This is a requirement to curb the spread of Coronavirus cases. Doctor said there is a need for people to strictly wear masks and follow social distancing.

Immune response boosted after Oxford vaccine's second dose

 He said the vaccine seemed to produce a comparable level of antibodies to those produced by people who recovered from a Covid19 infection and hoped that the Tcell response would provide extra protection.

There's increasing evidence that having a Tcell response as well as antibodies could be very important in controlling Covid19, Dr Hifi said. He suggested the immune response might be boosted after a second dose; their trial tested two doses administered about four weeks apart.

Dr Hill said Oxford's vaccine is designed to reduce disease and transmission. It uses a harmless virus a chimpanzee cold virus, engineered so it can't spread to carry the coronavirus' spike protein into the body, which should trigger an immune system response.

Dr Hill said Oxford has partnered with drugmaker AstraZeneca to produce their vaccine globally, and that the company has already committed to making two billion doses. Even two billion doses may not be enough, he said, underlining the importance of having multiple shots to combat the Coronavirus. "There was a hope that if we had a vaccine quickly enough, we could put out the pandemic," Dr Hill said, noting the continuing surge of infections globally. I think its going to be very difficult to control this pandemic without a vaccine.

While Oxford's data is promising, scientists said that the study was not conduct on how the human body responds once it has been infected with the Coronavirus. This, they say, is crucial for the development of vaccine. Though the Oxford's vaccine may provide some protection against the Coronavirus, it is still yet studied as some patients who have been cured of Coronavirus were reported to have been reinfected again. Last week, US researchers announced that the first Covid19 vaccine tested in the country boosted people's immune systems just as scientists had hoped and the shots will now enter the final phase of testing.

That vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna, produced the molecules key to blocking infection in volunteers who got it, at levels comparable to people who survived a Covid19 infection.

Another trial led by China's Jiangsu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention showed that more than 90 per cent of people showed either antibody or T cell immune responses between 1428 days after being given the developmental vaccine.

The Chinese researchers used a weakened human cold virus modified to deliver genetic material that teaches cells to recognise the novel coronavirus. Side effects in both trials were moderate but authors of the Chinese study said they needed to test the vaccine safety on older patients. "Elderly people ... are an important target population for a Cov id10 vaccine," said Wei Chen, from the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology. "It is possible that an additional dose may be needed in order to induce a stronger immune response in the elderly population."

The Hyderabad East Zone Task Force police apprehends a 28yearold man from Andhra Pradesh who cheated about 200 persons across the Telugu states on the pretext of donating plasma for Cov id19 patients and supplying antiviral drugs, on Monday.

Accused Reddy Sandeep, 28, a native of Ponugutivalasa in Srikakulam district, faces a series of cases at the Punjagutta, Ramgopalpet and Banjara Hills police stations and the Central Crime Station. Sandeep, who graduated in 2016, did a course on hardware networking, but could not secure a job. To meet his expenses. He Both volunteers are being monitored in the hospital's intensive care unit and are stated to be in a stable condition. They have not displayed any sideeffects. They will be kept at NIMS till Tuesday and then discharged. Their health and various parameters of their wellbeing, as required under the vaccine testing protocol, will be monitored via telecommunication and videoconferencing every day.  Ccommitted thefts at houses in Vizag and was arrested. On his release, he learned about the demand of plasma from Covid19 recovered patients and antiviral drugs.

He pretended to be a recovered patient and offered to donate his plasma to patients. He took money from them for travel expenses but never turned up.

"Sandeep also cheated people on the pretext of arranging Tocilizumab 400 mg, an antiviral drug for Covid19 treatment. So far, he cheated about 200 persons in the Telugu states. He has been apprehended and handed over to the Punjagutta police," said Task Force Additional DCP G. Chakravarthy in a note on Monday.

The doctors at NIMS stated that the volunteers taking part in the trial will be called for physical checkups. There are a total of 30 volunteers on whom the vaccine is to be tested. Data collected from the different subjects at 13 testing centres is being pooled in a data field and will be compared. Any variations will be noted and there will be analysis done of each volunteer's health before and after the vaccine administration.

SIX ARRESTED  FOR ILLEGAL SAND MINING

The LB Nagar Special Operations Team caught six persons who were involved in illegal sand mining for the last four months at Mulugu district, on Monday The accused persons were creating fake eway bills and receipts of sand allocation at a reach in Mulugu and selling the sand illegally.

Prime accused B. Madhukar, 28, who runs a transport business, heads the racket, police said. He obtains anticipatory bail and surrendered before the police.

On June 12, K. Ramakrishna, lorry driver working for Madhukar, was arrested by the Ghatkesar police for transporting the sand illegally. After further investigation, other accused, B. Kiran Kumar of Hanmakonda, K. Rajashekhar, 30, supervisor at Malyala sand reach in Mulugu, P. Naveen Kumar, 27, and K MallilcarJun, outsourcing employees with TS Mineral Development Corporation, M. Bhargay. 25, and G Legman. 31, security guards were apprehends. Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said that Madhukar had hatched a plan along with Bhanu Kumar, who has a contract of loading the sand into the government permitted vehicles, and roped in the outsourcing employees working at the sand reach and the security guards.

ON JUNE 12, K. Ramakrishna, lorry driver working for Madhukar, was arrested by the Ghatkesar police for transporting the sand illegally. After further investigation, other accused were arrested.

PD patients a challenge for caregivers

 Parkinson's disease is a growing concern with more than 70 lakh cases globally, which is expected to double by 2050.

World Brain Day falls on July 22.

What is Parkinson's disease (PD)?

It is a common degenerative and slowly progressive disorder of the brain caused reduction in the dopamine producing cells. It causes a great deal of disability and suffering to both the individual and the caretaker/family.

Which population is qlfected?

Most of the people diagnosed with PD are beyond 50 years of age. However a minority (510 per cent) may be young (less than 90 years).

Is there a cause?

The exact cause of PD is still not known, there is ongoing research in this field. People with a family history, head injury, brain stroke, those working with the mining industry, exposure to pesticides are some of the predisposing factors have been associated with the disease.

What are symptoms of Parkinson's disease? T (tremors i.e. shaking of one side), R (Rigidity i.e. stifihess in the body), A (akinesia or slowness of all movements) and P (postural instability i.e. difficulty with balancing and walking) are the symptoms affecting movement. Nonmotor symptoms like loss of smell, dream enacting, depression, anxiety, constipation, dizziness and fainting may precede the motor symptoms.

How is PD diagnosed? A neurologist will diagnose Parkinson's disease based on the history and neurological exam. A positive response to the drug levodopa confirms the diagnosis. The neurophysician may also ask for an MRI brain and blood tests when indicated. Dopamine transporter scan (DaTscan) is a special nuclear scan used rarely when there is a diagnostic dilemma.

How do you treat PD? Treatment includes drugs, exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Teamwork involving new rology, psychology, physiotherapy, occupational

D OCTOR SPEAK

Dr Abhinay M. Huchche Consultant Neurologist

Dr Suma Kandukuri Consultant Neurologist

Dr Raghavendra H. Neurosurgeon (Brain & spine specialist) laG Hospitals, Bachupally. Hyderabad.

and speech therapy provides holistic care to PI) patients. Recently, newer drugs and injections have been made available for PD. In advanced PD, brain surgery (deep brain stimulation) remains an option in selected individuals.

Any concerns for PD patients pertaining to the Covid19 pandemic? Most of the PD population being aged is at risk. If one is exercising regularly at home and following the neurologist's prescription, one need not fear. Online consultation with the neurologist is preferred during this pandemic.

Any advice for the caretaker Caring for our loved ones with PD is an emotionally and physically daunting task. The caregiver may have to face many challenges as the disease progresses as PD patients may become moody, hallucinate, start doubting you (delusion) and may forget you. Mental preparation and counselling for these challenges in advance may help the caretaker cope up better and prevent burnout.

What are the surgical options for Parkinson's disease?

In selected individuals with advanced PD who have intolerable sideeffects to medicines, a team of doctors will evaluate the suitability for surgery Deep brain stimulation (DBS) involves implantation of an electrode to stimulate targeted regions of the brain with electrical impulses generated by a batteryoperated neurostimulatot In simpler words, it is a pacemaker for the brain.

DBS is generally safe, but there is a low risk of complications due to anesthesia, infection, stroke, or cranial bleeding. Most of the carefUlly selected candidates do well after.

DOCTORS BLAME LACK OF COUNSELLING

Dr Ashih Chauhan, senior general physician explained, "Plasma therapy is promising and patients need to come forward willingly to help society. We all have to stand together in this." Lack of counselling for recovered patients, failure to create and crosscheck records for accurate information and no followup after recovery are leading to this situation.

 Now that treatment is showing results, we need to boost the morale of people who have recovered and persuade them to come back and help other serious patients recover." He said plasma donation is similar to blood donation from Covid.19 recovered patients. Covid survivors reluctant to donate plasma in city. To find a recovered Covid. 19 patient to donate plasma in Hyderabad is a Herculean task as they are not coming forward to help out. Some recovered patients are holding a grudge against hospitals for overcharging them and not responding to appeals for help.

Others are bluntly denying that they suffered from Covid 19 when their phone numbers are circulated as being eligible for plasma donation. Because of these factors, many patients needing plasma therapy are chasing false leads.

The state has 32.438 recovered patients of whom at least 25,000 are eligible to donate plasma. Patients whose numbers were given by hospitals are saying: "Kisne bola humko Covid19 hua. /faun fails ream hat yeh khabar? Hamare bons wale ko hua our hum ko .

 DELAYED COVID RESULT LEADS TO TEACHER'S DEATH

A senior English teacher of government tribal welfare school in Chunchupalli village died at the Covid19 ward of MGM Hospital in Warangal died on Monday.

His family members said his samples had been collected and sent for testing five days ago. But his treatment for coronavirus was not started as the result of the test had not been received by the hospital.

 Health officer stays mum on case ghar pe bilha cliya (Who says I had Covid19? Someone is spreading rumours. My neighbour had Covid19 and I was quarantined)."

Many others simply switch off their phones when they get calls asking for plasma. Others simply refuse to donate plasma, saying that they are saving it for their near and dear ones.

Private hospitals who have treated more than 400 patients and have a good number under home treatment are finding the recovered patients scared. "What if we get Covid 19 again? Who will take care of us? Will we have to pay the same huge hospital bills?." are some of the questions asked  This is inhuman. If this is the way society behaves, doctors will have to think of saving themselves."

KCR wants new Sectt in one year  Suggesting a few changes to the design prepared by a Chennaibased architect firm for the new Secretariat complex, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Tuesday asked officials to draft a plan to complete the construction in less than a year.

According to the Chief Minister's Office. Rao said the interiors and exterior of the new Secretariat should reflect the pride, prestige and grandeur of Telangana state's culture and life.

He told officials that the offices should be conducive for the Chief Minister, ministers, the Chief Secretary, secretaries, government advis ers and their staff to work. The CM was speaking at a review meeting with senior officers and representatives from Oscar & Ponni Architects of Chennai, who drew up the design of the new Secretariat.

He said each floor should consist of a conference room, waiting rooms for VIPs, delegates, dignitaries, and other prominent personalities and guests, and a dining hall. Sources in the Chief Minister's Office said that as the design is almost finalised, steps will be taken to get approval of the Cabinet and floating tenders to commence the construction during the auspicious Sravana masam which started on Tuesday.

APPRISE HC OF STEPS TAKEN BY STATE, SAYS CM

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday instructed officials of the health department to place before the Telangana High Court the measures taken by the state government to contain the Covid19 pandemic. He was reviewing the Covid19 situation with health minister Etala Rajendar, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and senior officers of the department at Pragathi Bhavan against the backdrop of the High Court expressing displeasure at the state administration over the measures taken to check the pandemic. Rao told officers to tbrnish the complete details sought by the High Court and explain the measures taken up for containment of the virus spread, testing and treatment of patients and the precautionary measures being taken. He directed officials to file a detailed affidavit before the court in this regard.

Man tries to end life in PS Police suspect he was involved in snatching mobile phone from a motorist.

 A 20yearold man attempted to end his life in the Chandrayangutta police station premises on Monday. The incident happened after he was questioned by the police for allegedly snatching a mobile phone from a motorist.

The injured suspect, Mohd Shabbir, 20, has been admitted to Osmania General Hospital with burns, while an inspector rank officer and a constable who were injured while attempting to douse the fire were treated for simple wounds.

Shabbir was named by one R Naresh Goud, 40, of Kummarwadi in Keshavgiri, in his complaint with the Chandrayangutta police. Goud said that when he and his brother Chandra Shekar were leaving a petrol bunk, his brother's mobile phone was snatched by Shabbir. Chandra Shekar caught Shabbir with the help of locals and handed him over to the Chandrayangutta police.

The police said that on checking Shabbir, a mobile phone, a pocket knife, a small amount of ganja, and cigarettes were found. The mobile did not belong to Chandra Shekar but to another person and was reportedly stolen about three days ago. Police said Shabbir has been jailed in four cases of theft and booked in eight cases within the city limits. He has a historysheet against him at the Chandrayangutta police station.

So, he was let go. Sometime later, Shabbir poured petrol on his body and returned Beaten by cops at police station, alleges mobile shop owner.

A mobile shop owner in the city suffered a bleeding injury to his nose after he was allegedly beaten by police personnel at the Bahadurpura police station.

Kareem, who runs a mobile store along with his younger brother Hafeez at Bahadurpura on Tuesday, told the media holding a lighter. He entered the police station premises, set himself alight and ran outside," said Chandrayangutta inspector Rudra Bhaskar. Additional inspector K.N. Prasad Varma, who was standing outside the police station and speak ing on the phone to senior officers, and constable S. Salk iran put out the fire.

that a Bahadurpura subinspector had beaten up Hafeez after calling him to the police station on the pretext of talking about an incident that took place about five days ago.

 This happened about five days ago. Today, a subinspector called and asked Hafeez to visit the police station to  Varma suffered burns to his fingers and Saikiran got burns to his legs. They talk about a case, and beat him," said Kareem.  When contacted, Bahadurpura inspector S. Durga Prasad said the allegations were false.  He got injured somewhere else and is levelling allegations on the police got themselves treated and were discharged," said the inspector Bhaskar. Responding to a query, Bhaskar said, "We are investigating if Shabbir threw away Chandra Shekar's phone or passed it off to any accomplice present in the mob."

Mask with valves are risky Centre cautions states

 Tens of thousands of people who have taken to wearing masks with builtin valves to make breathing easy have been putting themselves, and those around them, in harm's way when it comes to either preventing themselves from getting infected by the Coronavirus, or, in the event they are carrying it, from spreading it to others.

Worried over the rampant abuse of the masks by unscrupulous manufacturers promising easy breathing and 'sweatless' mask wearing, particularly of the N95 variety, the Centre has warned states to get cracking on such 'valved respirators . In a letter, Director General of Health Services Dr Rajiv Garg told states that "the use of valved respirator N95 masks is detrimental to the measures adopted for preventing.

 Instead of such masks, people can use reusable  doublelayered cloth masks manufactured from good quality tightly woven cloth. They should be such they properly cover the nose and face and do not leave large gaps around it and fit the face of the user snugly.  Incidentally, many mask manufacturers, including some wellknown lifestyle brands, have been marketing normal pollution masks with the numbers '95' slapped on to the description of their products making it appear that their not so cheap products can actually help prevent people from breathing in the virus while claiming at the same time, their masks are for designed for pollution and help prevent in breathing in bacteria.

Two policemen donate plasma Hyderabad: Two Hyderabad  police officers, who have  recovered from Covid19  infection, donated plasma to  Covid19 patients. The  donors, B. Anil, a constable  working with the Golconda  police, and Mukhandam, a  Home Guard with the  Habeebnagar police, had  contracted the virus while on duty a month ago. They both had recovered and reported to duty. On a call from police commissioner Anjani Kumar, both policemen donated plasma. Anjani Kumar thanked both of them and asked more officers and Good Samaritans who had recovered from the disease to donate plasma.

Top pharma company's owner, son die of Covid

A fatherson duo from a prominent Hyderabadbased business family, who owned one of the oldest medical stores in Himayatnagar and became one of the leading names in the pharma industry with a turnover of over 2500 crore, died due to Covid19, triggering panic among medical store owners and in the pharma industry alike. Two more members of the family are under treatment at a corporate hospital in the city.

Sources close to the family told Deccan Chronicle that the medical store, which started operations way back in 1985, has over 20 dedicated staff who were running the establishment while the family members were focussed on their other businesses, particularly pharma distribution.

In the wake of the pandemic as their medical store was witnessing a huge rush, the family

IN THE wake of the pandemic as their medical store was witnessing a huge rush, the family members were visiting the store occasionally to supervise the operations. Their godowns are located close to the shop.

members were visiting the store occasionally to supervise the operations. Their godowns are located close to the shop. In all, five members of the family were infected with the deadly virus. The group's chairman, who was in his late 50s, and his father died in the last couple of days.

Having started their business with a single medical store with an investment of around 21.5 lakh, the group grew into a t500 crore pharma distributing entity in the last three decades. They forayed into the pharmaceu tical distribution business in 1988, and the firm distributes products from 480 pharma divisions from 300 companies.

Their monthly turnover had touched 21 crore in 1995. By 2006, they established a company dealing in vaccines and speciality drugs and, in 2014, set up another firm to make and market their own generic drugs. They had also tied up with a corporate hospital for supply of medicines and this deal was worth hundreds of crores. Presently, the family owns more than halfadozen companies and has close to 500 employees.

It is learnt that despite taking all necessary precautions, some of their employees at the medical store were got infected with Covid19 which led to the store being shut from the last one week.

HEAVY RAIN WARNING IN PARTS OF STATE

Moderate to heavy rains, including thundershowers, were likely across Telangana state for three days beginning Tuesday, the Indian Meteorological Department has said. The 24 hours since Monday evening saw Kamareddy receive 16 cm of rain while heavy rain occurred at isolated places in Mahbubnagar, Sangareddy, and Vikarabad districts, the IMD said.

While moderate rain is described as a place receiving between 1.5 cm and 6.4 cm of rain in an hour, heavy rainfall, as per the IMO, means anywhere up to 11.5 cm of rain in one hour.

As far as the city is concerned, the IMD said Hyderabad, on Tuesday, could experience generally cloudy skies with light to moderate rain of between 1 cm and 2 cm per hour. There was also some possibility of thundershowers over some parts of the city. Among the places that received heavy rain since Monday evening, were Jukkal in Kamareddy district (16cm), Chinna Chinta Kunta (10 cm), Kosgi and Gandeed (8 cm) all in Mahbubnagar district, Sangareddy (8 cm), Doma (7 cm) in Vikarabad district), and K. Agraharam (6 cm) in JogulambaGadwal district.

e THE IMD said Hyderabad, on Tuesday, could experience generally cloudy skies with light to moderate rain of between 1 cm and 2 cm per hour.

Bread brands claim to boost immunity

This is not the only bread to make such claims. A Ludhianabased company introduced in May its own immunity boosting version of bread. While the version offered by Modern Foods had turmeric, ginger, clove, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin and jaggery, as 'immunity boosters', the 'Nu Health' bread introduced by Bonn based out of Ludhiana listed turmeric, black pepper, oregano, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cumin and ginger 'to boost your immune system.'

Ever since Covid19

took hold in the country, people appear to have rediscovered the importance of developing general immunity and this pursuit has resulted in practical daily shortages of multivitamins, zinc and Vitamin I) supplements country as doctors have been speaking about how these may help people stave off Coronavirus infections.

The Ayurdeva major Patanjali, that announced amidst much fanfare its 'Coronil' claiming that it 'cured' people of Covid19, backtracked and later claimed that its product was an 'immunity booster and cough and fever 'cure'.

Finish irrigation projects fast, CM directs officials

 Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Tuesday instructed officials of the irrigation and finance departments to finalise the flindraising process for completion of ongoing projects.

Mr Rao instructed the officers to supply 3 tmc ft of water through the Kaleshwaram project and expedite the completion of of PalamuruRanga Reddy and Sitarama projects and the Sanunakka barrage.

While reviewing the progress of construction work on irrigation projects with senior officials at Pragathi Bhavan, Mr Rao said, "we are constructing the projects to supply water to 1.25 crore acres by supplying 4 tmc ft of water from the

Godavari and 3 tmc ft of water from the Krishna per day when water is available during the monsoon."

He told the officers to complete the processes to ensure that the financial institutions release the loans as the government had already signed the memoranda of understanding with the institutions concerned.

He asked the officers to take steps to pay the government's share to the institutions so that they will release the fluids, and speed up the construction work as soon as the monsoon ends.

TESTING I TIMES Mere online learning will put special kids at a disadvantage, say activists Disabled kids illequipped for elearning  Parents of children with disabilities, apart from teachers and activists dealing with such kids, are worried over the emphasis the state government is giving to online education. They are categorical that mere online learning will put children with disabilities at a major disadvantage, jeopardising their future in the long run. This is the strong belief of, among others, P. Anasuya, faculty member of National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH) at Bowenpally, which is part of the  National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with              Intellectual Disability      (NIEPID).

Mother of a visually impaired son herself, she teaches children "daily living skills", such as eating. bathing, walking without running into objects and  even wearing clothes. All such Instructions need "touch and feel" guidance. Anasuya recalls her struggle in teaching students to differentiate between idli rava and Bombay rava. difference in texture by guiding their hands. It is an absolute challenge doing this on phone," she maintains. As a result, Anasuya is unable to teach more than five students at a time on phone.

Srinivasulu of Hyderabadbased Network of Persons with Disabilities Organisation (NPDO) says Covid19 pandemic has made life much tougher for children with disabilities. With thrust on online education, such families will ask their kids to forget all about education," Srinivasulu points out. Kolli Nageshwar Rao of All India Disabled Persons Rights Forum (AIDPR) feels Telangana government's measures leave much to be desired.

bother to publicise it. No one in rural areas even knows about the availability of a helpline number," he says. A survey by NGO Swabhhnan and National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) paints a grim scenario with regard to the (Inure of children with disabilities if online education is insisted upon. The survey in which over 2,000 children, parents and teachers participated, predicts that 4153 percent of disabled children will drop out from getting educated just because of the sole reason that they do not have a smartphone.