Hyderabad (PTI): Veteran Telugu actor Krishna died on Tuesday at a city-based private super-specialty hospital where he was undergoing treatment following a cardiac arrest.

He was 80.

Krishna, father of superstar Mahesh Babu, was admitted to the hospital in the early hours of Monday and was put on ventilator.

He was being treated by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors following the cardiac arrest. The actor died at 4 AM on Tuesday, hospital sources said.

Over the last 24 hours, Krishna continued to remain in an extremely critical state, following his admission to the emergency ward due to a cardiac arrest and upon resuscitation he was shifted to ICU, the hospital said in a statement

"He remained critically ill with multi-organ failure and severe hypoxic brain injury It was decided late evening with family members and all the consultants not to pursue further supportive care given to his dismal prognosis and to keep him final moments painless and peaceful. He expired in early hours of the morning at 4.09 AM," the statement said.

Ghattamaneni Sivarama Krishna, popularly known as Krishna, began his career in the early 1960s and acted in about 350 films.

Krishna is known in the Telugu film industry for his good-nature and courageous attitude. He earned fame with his cowboy roles and by introducing advanced technologies in film-making.

Krishna was a Lok Sabha member from Eluru Parliamentary constituency, winning the elections in 1989. His son-in-law Jayadev Galla is presently a TDP Lok Sabha member representing the Guntur constituency.

Chief Ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, K Chandrasekhar Rao, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and MK Stalin respectively condoled his death.

Chandrasekhar Rao, in a statement recalled Krishna's five decades of contribution to the Telugu film industry as an actor, producer and director.

"Krishna, who acted in over 350 movies, left an indelible mark on the hearts of moviegoers and his death is a huge loss for the Telugu film industry," Rao said.

"Krishna garu is a Telugu superstar. He is Alluri...He is our James Bond. As a man of heart in real life as well, who earned distinction for himself in the film industry, his death is a great loss for Telugu film industry and Telugu people," Jagan Mohan Reddy tweeted.

Condoling, the death, Stalin said his demise is an irreparable loss to Indian cinema.

In a statement, he said Krishna was known for including many innovative aspects in cinema. He expressed his condolences to his son Mahesh Babu and the bereaved family.

Actor and former union minister Chiranjeevi in a statement posted in his Twitter page said he could not believe that Krishna is no more and offered condolences to his family members.

"Krishna garu is synonym for adventure. Apart from many experimental films and distinctive characters, your credit for introducing many techniques to Telugu cinema will always be remembered," Jr NTR tweeted.
Several film personalities have recalled their association with the departing soul.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the Delhi government over delay in implementation of stricter anti-pollution measures under GRAP-4, and said it will not allow scaling down of the preventive measures without its prior permission.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih pointed out that there was a delay in implementation of preventive measures under stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) even after the Air Quality Index (AQI) touched alarming levels in the national capital.

At the outset, the counsel for the Delhi government informed the bench that stage 4 of GRAP has been implemented from Monday and heavy vehicles have been banned from entering the national capital.

“The moment the AQI reaches between 300 and 400, stage 4 has to be invoked. How can you take risk in these matters by delaying applicability of stage 4 of GRAP,” the bench told the counsel.

It told the state government that the court wants to know what steps it has taken to curb the alarming rise of pollution level.

"We won’t allow scaling down of preventive measures under stage 4 even if AQI goes below 450. Stage 4 will continue till court permits," the bench said, adding it will hear the matter in detail at the end of the day’s work.

On Sunday, the CAQM announced stricter pollution control measures for the Delhi-NCR under GRAP-4, effective from 8 am on Monday, including a ban on truck entry and a temporary halt on construction at public projects.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued the order as Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) worsened, reaching 441 at 4 pm and rising to 457 by 7 pm due to unfavourable weather conditions.

According to the order, no trucks would be allowed into Delhi except for those carrying essential items or using clean fuel (LNG/CNG/BS-VI diesel/electric).

Non-essential light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi will also be prohibited, except for EVs and CNG and BS-VI diesel ones.

On November 14, the top court had agreed to urgently list the plea after it was told that Delhi should not become the most polluted city in the world due to the rising pollution.

It had earlier said the right to live in a pollution-free atmosphere was a fundamental right of every citizen, protected by Article 21 of the Constitution.

The apex court is hearing a plea seeking directions to curb air pollution in the national capital and adjoining areas.