Kochi (PTI): A former Miss Kerala and runner-up in the same competition were killed in a road accident at Vytilla near here, police said on Monday.

Ansi Kabeer (24) who hails from Thiruvananthapuram and Anjana Shajan (25), a Thrissur native, were killed when their car allegedly swerved in a bid to avoid hitting a motorcyclist.

Two other passengers in the car were also injured in the accident which took place around 1 AM on Monday.

"One another person who was with them in the car is admitted to a nearby hospital and his condition is serious. He hails from Mala in Thrissur," police told PTI. However, the condition of the fourth person seems to be stable.

Police suspect that only the driver was wearing the seatbelt.

Kabeer and Shajan were the winner and runner-up respectively in the 2019 edition of Miss Kerala.

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Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the state government is working to appoint an agency to manage clean drinking water units in rural areas.

The state Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister was responding to a question by Hirekerur MLA U B Banakar in the legislative assembly.

"In the rural areas of the state, many clean drinking water units have been set up under corporate social responsibility (CSR) grants, including contributions by MLAs and MPs, and handed over to gram panchayats. After the maintenance period, problems have arisen in keeping these units operational," Priyank said.

He added that a proposal has been made to award a maintenance contract to one of the country’s reputed drinking water unit manufacturing companies, but so far, no companies have come forward to take up the work.

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"The government is continuing its efforts and will resolve this problem soon," he said.

On a query regarding fluoride content in water, the minister said water quality testing is being conducted monthly in all zilla panchayats.

"Laboratories have been opened for this purpose. Around 6.5 lakh water samples have been tested across the state, and water testing kits have been provided to villages," he added.