CITIES
7 killed in AP temple wall collapse | Hyderabad News – The Times of India

Visakhapatnam: Seven devotees were killed and one injured after a wall collapsed near the queue lines at the famous Simhachalam temple in the Eastern Ghats, Visakhapatnam, early on Wednesday morning. The dead included four members of the same family.
The temple’s hereditary trustee, former Union minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju, and his family were in the temple offering prayers when tragedy struck but they suffered no harm.
Thousands of devotees from across Andhra Pradesh had gathered at the temple dedicated to Lord Varaha Narasimha Swamy to witness the annual Chandanotsavam. All through the year the idol is covered in sandal paste, and only during Chandanotsavam does the deity give darshan in His original form, attracting thousands of devotees.
Tragedy struck between 3 am and 3.15 am when a newly built wall, meant to act as a barrier against landslides, collapsed on devotees standing in queues. The 20 feet long and 2.5 feet wide wall caved in after a heavy 40-minute downpour accompanied by thunderstorms and fierce gales. The wall was built only last week.
State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) jawans retrieved six bodies by removing debris with their bare hands and also rescued two people. They did not have any equipment at the time.
Devotees alleged the wall collapsed because of substandard construction. They said from the debris it seemed as if it contained excessive sand and insufficient cement. The wall was also built without supporting pillars or beams on the ground.
This is the first ever tragedy at the centuries old temple during Chandanotsavam. Though there have been minor stampedes in the past, there were no fatalities.
State home minister V Anita said, “Action will be taken against those responsible for the accident.” Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu held a teleconference with ministers Anam Ramnarayaa Reddy, Anita, Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, Anagani Satya Prasad, Visakhapatnam MP M Bharat, Gajapati Raju, and others.
There was tension at the King George Hospital mortuary for almost five hours as family members and relatives of Pilla Umamahesh and Sailaja, a software engineer couple, did not agree to a postmortem unless the govt announced higher compensation and a govt job to a family member.
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The Andhra Pradesh govt appointed a three-man committee to look into the cause of the tragedy. It includes municipal administration principal secretary Suresh Kumar, Eagle Force chief Ake Ravikrishna, and irrigation engineer-in-chief Venkateswara Rao. CM N Chandrababdu Naidu announced an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh each for the kin of the deceased. One member of the family will also receive a govt job. The injured will receive Rs 3 lakh each.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the deceased’s families and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM relief fund.
List of the dead
HCL employee Pilla Umamaheswara Rao (30), his wife Pilla Sailaja (27) of Chandrampalem, his mother-in-law Pyla Venkata Ratnam (45), and a relative G Mahalakshmi (65)
K Manikantha Eswara Sesha Rao (29) and Pathi Durga Prasad Naidu (30) from Korlapativaripalem in Ambajipeta, East Godavari district
Yedla Venkata Rao (58) of Adavivaram Gurukul School area in Vizag
Pyla Praveen of Arilova, the injured person, is receiving treatment in VIIMS hospital.
CITIES
Mumbai sets new property registrations record | – The Times of India

MUMBAI: Despite geopolitical tensions and global economic slowdown, Mumbai’s property registrations scaled fresh highs in the first four months of 2025.
Citing Maharashtra State Revenue Department data, real estate consultancy firm Anarock said that the overall revenue collected by the authorities from property registrations, and the total registrations in Mumbai in January to April 2025, were at record highs.
An analysis of the data of the Inspector General of Registration (IGR), Maharashtra revealed that the overall revenue collected from property registrations in Mumbai stood at Rs 4,633 crore in first four months of 2025. This is 21 per cent more than last year’s corresponding period when the revenue collected was about Rs 3,836 crore.
In terms of registration numbers, 52,896 properties were registered in the city in the first four months of 2025, against 48,819 in the same period last year. This is an 8 per cent jump this year over 2024.
According to Anarock, a deeper analysis revealed that April 2025 recorded the highest number of property registrations since 2019, with over 13,080 properties registered.
The revenue collected in April 2025 stood at approximately Rs 1,115 crore. In comparison, April 2024 saw around 11,648 property registrations–about 12 per cent lower than this year. Revenue collection last year was also lower by nearly 5 per cent.
Considering that housing sales remained tepid in across MMR (including Mumbai) in January-March 2025, the spate of registrations in the first four months of the year is remarkable.
As per ANAROCK Research, Q1 2025 saw approximately 21,930 units sold in Mumbai – about 28 per cent less than in Q1 2024.
Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Group, said, “A key factor behind the surge in property registrations in this period is the record-breaking activity in March, when 15,501 properties were registered. This spike came close on the heels of the announcement of a 3.9 per cent hike in Maharashtra’s ready reckoner rates for FY26.”
CITIES
Delhi minister Parvesh Singh accuses Punjab govt of deliberately triggering water crisis amid heatwave | Delhi News – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Delhi minister Parvesh Sahib Singh has accused the Punjab government of intentionally disrupting water supply to both Delhi and Haryana, calling it a politically motivated move aimed at creating a crisis in the national capital.
Taking to social media platform X, Singh said, “The Punjab government has resorted to dirty politics by stopping the water supply to Haryana and Delhi. After losing in Delhi, now they want to create a water crisis here.”
He claimed that the Delhi government is working around the clock to ensure clean water reaches every home, and alleged that Punjab was now attempting to “take revenge” on the people of Delhi. “Stop this dirty politics or else you will be expelled from Punjab as well,” he warned.
The remarks come as Delhi battles soaring temperatures and rising water demand, with reports indicating a reduced flow of water to the city.
The controversy escalated further after Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini slammed his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann for refusing to release additional water to Haryana. Saini accused Mann of politicising the issue and clarified that the dispute is not related to the long-pending Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal case, which is under the Supreme Court’s supervision.
“This is about drinking water, not SYL,” Saini said during a press interaction. “In the last week, Haryana received only 4,000 cusecs of water, which is approximately 60% of the state’s total demand. If BBMB (Bhakra Beas Management Board) releases the remaining amount, it would account for just 0.0001% of Bhakra Dam’s reservoir.”
Saini also echoed Singh’s claim, suggesting that the refusal to release water may be linked to political fallout following the Aam Aadmi Party’s electoral defeat in Delhi.
CITIES
Couple leaves Kolkata hotel briefly, returns to find kids killed in fire | Kolkata News – The Times of India

KOLKATA: On Wednesday afternoon, businessman T Prabhu sat on a bench, staring blankly at the cold, white walls of the Kolkata Police Morgue. A mortuary box was in front of him, in which lay his 3-year-old son Rithan’s body.
Tuesday would have been the Tamil Nadu-based family’s last night in Kolkata after a vacation in the hills of Sikkim and Darjeeling. Their train was at 11.45pm. Instead, Prabhu lost his son, 10-year-old daughter Diya and father-in-law in the devastating fire at central Kolkata’s Rituraj Hotel that claimed 14 lives.
Ahead of their train journey, Prabhu and his wife M Madhumita had stepped out of the hotel to get some food for the hungry children. By the time they returned, smoke had engulfed the third floor of the hotel where they were staying.
Prabhu used a ladder set by firemen to climb up, shattered window panes and tried to rescue his kids and father-in-law, trapped in Room 313. The smoke, however, was too much. The flashlight of his phone could not pierce the black cloud and the desperate father had to give up. He climbed down, gagging.
It was the herb trader’s father-in-law, Muthukrishnan, who had insisted on a day tour of Kolkata. On Tuesday morning, the family visited the Kalighat temple to offer prayers. By evening, they had their bags packed and were set to leave when the couple went to buy some food. “It was the first time I left my children alone. I never step out without them… I still can’t believe I lost them,” said Madhumita through her tears as she stepped out of the NRS Hospital morgue, where her daughter Diya’s body had been kept.
A few kilometres away, in the police morgue on Nilmadhab Sen Lane, Prabhu’s phone went on vibrating while he ignored the calls. A cop sitting near him tried to draw his attention to the frequent missed calls. “Everything has ended. What do I say anyway?” replied the devastated father.
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