BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath dies at 63, leaders condole
Hyderabad (PTI): Opposition BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath passed away early on Sunday at a private hospital here following a heart attack.
He was 63.
Gopinath had been admitted to the AIG Hospitals on June 5 after a massive heart attack.
He was declared dead at 5.45 am, the hospital said.
Gopinath, MLA from Jubilee Hills here, had defeated Congress leader and former cricketer Mohd Azharuddin in the 2023 assembly elections.
A former TDP leader, Gopinath served as the party's Hyderabad unit president and was elected from Jubilee Hills on a TDP ticket in 2014. He joined the ruling BRS (then TRS) in 2016 along with several other TDP legislators. He was re-elected to the Assembly on a BRS ticket in 2018 and again in 2023.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Union Minister and state BJP president G Kishan Reddy, BRS Working President K T Rama Rao and several other leaders condoled the demise of Gopinath.
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Telangana survey flags 89,000 child labourers, highlights caste disparities in employment
Hyderabad: A caste-based survey conducted by the Telangana government for 2024–25 has identified around 89,000 children engaged in labour across the state, with a large share belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.
The findings are part of the Socio, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey, which covered about 3.5 crore people across 242 caste groups. According to the report, nearly one per cent of individuals below 18 years are involved in daily wage work. While the percentage appears small, officials noted that the absolute number reflects a serious concern.
The survey found that 11 per cent of identified child labourers belong to the ST Lambadi community, while 14 per cent are from the SC Madiga community. The highest incidence was reported among the ST Kolam group, where 7.2 per cent of minors are engaged in daily wage labour.
The data also revealed wider socio-economic disparities. Nearly half of the Scheduled Caste population is dependent on daily wage work, while only around 5 per cent are employed in the private sector, compared to about 30 per cent among General Castes.
State Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the findings show that SC and ST communities remain three times more backward than General Castes, while Backward Classes are about 2.7 times more disadvantaged.
The report further noted that, on average, 31.3 per cent of people in the 25–65 age group depend on daily wage work. Among communities, the BC-A Odde group recorded the highest share at 55 per cent. In contrast, only 2.6 per cent of OC Brahmins rely on such work.
Several SC and ST communities, including Kolam, Beda, Madiga, Koya, Gond, Yerukulas and Mala Sale, were found to have among the highest proportions of daily wage earners. On the other hand, most General Caste communities and some Backward Class groups such as Goldsmiths and BC-C Christians showed lower dependence on daily wage employment.
The survey also pointed to inequalities in access to formal employment. Communities such as OC Rajus, OC Brahmins and Kapus were found to have a higher presence in private sector jobs, with up to 27 per cent of their population employed in such roles.
