Information on Kerala

Palakkad tense after BJP hartal turns violent

2010-12-04T14:52:00.001+05:30

Violence rocked several parts of Palakkad on Thursday despite the hartal called by the BJP in protest against the killing of an RSS worker allegedly by CPM men at Pudussery on Wednesday.

Majeed, a CITU worker, was attacked at Kootupatha junction in Chandranagar. While Ayyappankutty and Aravindakshan were rushed to a private hospital in Coimbatore, Majeed was taken to the Thrissur Medical College.

Processionists threw stones and damaged CPM and CITU offices as the body of Ratheesh, who was killed on Wednesday, was taken from the mortuary of the district hospital to Kurudikad in Pudussery. Three autorickshaws, two motorbikes and one mini-lorry stationed in the house of CPM worker Azharudheen in Pudussery was damaged in the stone-throwing.

Heavy rush at Sabarimala

2010-12-04T14:46:00.002+05:30

The Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala has been witnessing a heavy flow of pilgrims since the beginning of the annual pilgrim season on November 17. Pilgrims from different parts of the country, mostly the south, trek the holy hills braving incessant rain and traffic bottlenecks along many stretches.Pilgrims have to wait for five to six hours in thickly packed long-winding iron barricades for the holy darshan.

The water level in the Pampa river has gone up considerably following an heavy inflow from catchments in interior forests. Strong currents in the bathing ghats at Pampa have been posing problems for pilgrims taking their customary holy dip in the river (Pampa snanom) prior to the holy trek.

Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sanghom stretcher service captain Thanchavur Damodaran says sanghom volunteers have been giving health tips over megaphones for pilgrims ascending the Neelimala and Appachimedu hills on the traditional trekking path.

Sabarimala has witnessed nine cardiac casualties since the beginning of the season. The Health Department has opened two cardiology centres at the hilltops of Appachimedu and Neelimala.

Sabarimala Executive Officer V.S. Jayakumar says the board has been maintaining a buffer stock of Aravana. One more Aravana distribution counter has been opened at the Prasadom complex in view of the heavy pilgrim influx.

Striking international success for debutant Kerala film director

2010-12-04T14:40:00.001+05:30

Marking a striking success for Malayalam short film genre and for a debut director, Sangeeta Padmanabhan's short film, 'Charulatayude Baaki' (Charulata.. A Sequel of the Life Untold) has won two major international accolades.

The film has just won the jury's Special Mention Award at the 41st International Film Festival of India at Goa, where it competed at the Short Film Centre. It also won the Best Short Film Award at the prestigious Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in New York last month.

Sangeeta directed and scripted the 24-minute film, which is based on a Sahithya Academy Award winning short story by Priya A S, one of the contemporary leading writers in Malayalam fiction.

The film had also won Special Jury awards at the International Women's Film Festival Seoul and the International Short and Documentary Film Festival of Kerala this year. It was also screened at the International Short Film Festival Berlin in November.

"Charulatayude Baaki" is a visual narration set in the mindscape of a young, unmarried girl as she grooms herself for ''the marriage market''. Her parents get busy with the complexities of match making while she breaks up with her lover, an aspiring film maker who dreams of making a sequel to Satyajit Ray''s "Charulata".

Reroute Koodamkulam-Thrissur power highway: Action Council

2010-12-04T14:39:00.000+05:30

Action council activists today staged a dharna and rally in protest against the proposed 400 KV power highway from Koodamkulam Atomic Power Plant in Tamil Nadu
to the KSEB Sub-Station at Madakkathara in Thrissur.

Action Council Convener Sobichan Abraham and other leaders claimed that the Action Council had suspended the five-year-old agitation in January this year following an assurance from the Power Grid Corporation, Electricity Minister, Revenue Minister and other officials that adequate compensation would be given to the affected farmers but contrary to the assurance, the authorities had betrayed the farmers when they stopped the agitation.

They asserted that construction of the proposed power highway would not be allowed under any circumstances as it would destroy the farm sector in the central Travancore area. The power highway should be rerouted, they said.

A public meeting was also held as part of the agitation.

Mammootty conferred D.Litt

2010-12-03T13:02:00.001+05:30

Kerala Governor R S Gavai, who is Chancellor of the Calicut University, on Thursday conferred honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) degree to three prominent personalities including film actor Mammootty, at a function. Mammootty received the degree in person while the nominees of Freedom fighter Captain Lakshmi Sahgal and historian Irfan Habib, received the degree from Gavai, at a special convocation held at the university campus at Tenhipalam, in Malappuram district.

Mohammed Kutty better known as Mammootty, was born on September 7, 1953 at Vaikom in Kottayam district of Kerala. A prominent actor of the Malayalam film industry, he has won three National Film Awards besides several state awards. With over 300 films to his credit in Malayalam and other languages, Mammootty continues to be leading artist icon of Indian Cinema. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1998..

12 Russian pilgrims offer worship at Sabarimala temple

2010-12-03T12:56:00.002+05:30

A team of 12 Russian pilgrims after observing the customary 41-day austerity and abstinence period today offered worship at the famous hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa.

They chanted 'Saranam Ayyappa mantras' as they had darsan, a temple official said. The team was led by 'Induchoodan', a Russian from St. Petersburg who is an ayurvedic doctor and teacher. during conversation he said that its the 15 th time that he is visiting sabarimala.

The team left Moscow and reached Paanchaalipeeda Ashram in Idukki from where they proceeded to Sabarimala.

Special trains for Sabarimala from Kollam

2010-12-03T12:25:00.002+05:30

Special trains are been run by the Southern Railways to Kollam from different parts of Andhra Pradesh to clear the extra rush of passengers during the Sabarimala season.

The Narsapur-Kollam Special via Renigunta, Tirupati and Pakala would leave Narsapur at 2050 hrs on December 30 and 31 and reach Kollam at 0100 hrs on the third day. The Kollam-Narsapur Special will leave Kollam at 0300 hrs on January 1 and 2, 2011, a Railway press release said here.

The Sirupurkagaznagar-Kollam will leave Siruprkagaznagar at 2115 on December 15 and arrive at Kollam at 0510 hrs on the third day. The Kollam-Vijayawada special would leave kollam at 0510 hrs on December 17 and January 7, 2011 and reach Vijayawada at 0520 hrs the next day.

Another special the Karimnagar-Kollam would leave Karimnagar at 2145 hrs on January 5, 2011 and arrive Kollam at 0245 Hrs the third day. The Kollam-Vijayawada Special will leave Kollam at 0510 hrs on January 7, 2011, and arrive Vijayawada at 0520 hrs the third day.

The Aurangabad-Kollam special would leave Aurangabad at 1015 hrs on December 10 and 31 and reach kollam at 0245 hrs on the third day.

The Kollam-Tirupati special would leave Kollam at 0510 hrs on December 12 and January 1 and reach Tirupati at 2145 Hrs on the same day.

The Akola-Kollam speacil will leave Akola at 0940 hrs on December 3 and 17 aqnd arrive at Kollam at 0245 hrs on the third day. The Kollam-Tirpuati special will leave Kollam at 0519 hrs on December 5 and 19 and reach Tirputrai at 2145 hrs on the same day.

KCCI plea to govt on strike

2010-12-03T12:22:00.003+05:30

The Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) today urged the State Government to take immediate steps to end the ongoing container lorry strike. the strike at the cochin port has affected the shipments and as a result the exporters would have to incur losses.

The KCCI has asked the govt to take immediate steps to find a solution to end the strike..

Former Congress M P Rama Rai passes away

2010-12-03T12:20:00.001+05:30

Former Lok Sabha member and Congress leader Rama Rai (77) passed away of old age related ailments at a private hospital in Mangalore tonight. He is survived by wife Umavati, two sons and 2 daughters.

His funeral would take place at Ichilampadi near Kumbla in the district at 1200hrs tomorrow, family sources said.

UDF will make a clean sweep in Kerala: Antony

2009-04-16T15:15:00.000+05:30

Defence Minister A.K. Antony said here Thursday that the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala will make a clean sweep in the Lok Sabha elections.

"What happened to us in 2004 will happen to the Left this time. The people of Kerala will extract a sweet revenge by voting for us. It will be a clean sweep for the UDF," Antony told reporters after casting his vote.

"Kerala will vote and give a clean chit to the Manmohan Singh government. Gone are the days of a single party ruling the country. Hence, even though there are secular parties that are contesting against us in the states, when it comes to forming a government in Delhi we will seek the support of all secular parties," he added.

Mammootty casts vote despite hectic filming schedule

2009-04-16T15:14:00.000+05:30

Malayalam superstar Mammootty took time out from shooting for his latest movie 'Daddy Cool' to cast his vote here Thursday for the parliamentary polls since he believes that it is only by voting that one 'becomes a part of the democracy'.

There have been speculations in the past about the actor entering politics as he is the chairman of Kairali TV, a channel promoted by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

Tenion in polling booth where Tharoor cast vote

2009-04-16T15:11:00.001+05:30

A polling booth in the city witnessed a few unruly scenes when the CPI(M) workers protested against Mr Sashi Tharoor, former UN under secretary Congress candidate for the Thiruvanantapuram Lok Sabha seat that he was obstructing the way of voters this morning.

The trouble started when Mr Sashi Tharoor was sharing his experience with the media after casting his ''maiden vote'' with his family members at L P School at Jawahar Nagar. However, the angry CPI(M) workers alleged that the media was obstructing the way of voters who were entering the polling booth.

Heated arguments ensued between the party workers and the police officials.

Later, the police and polling officials forced to take stern action against media personnel, particularly visual media, following the incident and asked them to leave the polling station.

After casting his first vote, the former UN Under Secretary expressed the hope that he would win the contest and added he was proud to exercise his first vote in his home constituency.

Karunakaran-Murali supporters clash in Kochi

2007-12-05T10:59:00.001+05:30

A major scuffle broke out between the supporters of Karunakaran and Muraleedharan in the district today. It has been reported that almost fifty persons owing allegiance to Murali, barged into the meet convened by N Venugopal with sharp weapons. They damaged the chairs of the auditorium and destroyed he camera of the media persons present there. In the scuffle, many persons have been reported injured.

The police had to lathicharge them to disperse the agitated mob. A tense situation is prevailing in the district.

Mass prayer at Guruvayur temple

2007-12-05T10:58:00.000+05:30

A section of devotees offered a mass prayer at the Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple here on Monday.The mass prayer was a prelude to the penitential rites recommended by a ‘devaprasnam’ (astrological examination of temple affairs), which begin at the temple on December 6.

The devotees took out a procession, bearing pictures of the deities Guruvayurappan and Alila Kannan from Manjulal to the temple around 7 a.m.

The devotees offered silk clothes, kadalippazham (bananas) and thulasi flowers to the deity of the temple. They chanted the Narayana Mantra.

Passenger vanishes after obtaining boarding pass

2007-12-05T10:56:00.000+05:30

The ‘disappearance’ of a Mumbai-bound passenger, Solanki, after obtaining boarding pass from Cochin International Airport spread panic among the security personnel and airport authorities on Sunday evening.Solanki had obtained boarding pass to fly by Go Air flight on Sunday evening. He was waiting in the security area after completing all formalities when he reportedly got some telephonic message.

He asked the security personnel to allow him to leave the airport for some urgent personal need. But they turned down his plea as he had completed all formalities to board the flight.According to aviation security norms, allowing a passenger to leave the airport after completing the formalities of the journey including checking and clearing of luggage, is a serious security violation.

In such cases the traveller will be allowed to leave the airport only if the security personnel were clearly convinced of the reason for leaving. The boarding pass and luggage clearance should be cancelled before allowing the passenger to leave the airport.But in this case, Solanki managed to escape from the security zone reportedly without undergoing security formalities. Solanki left the airport by arranging a pre-paid taxi from the airport counter inside the domestic terminal.

The flight had to be detained as the ground handling staff and security personnel could not locate Solanki who had obtained the boarding pass. However, the flight was allowed to take off from Kochi airport after 30 minutes after a thorough check of the luggage.

UAE most favoured destination of Keralites

2007-12-05T10:54:00.000+05:30

A study on non-resident Keralites shows that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to be the most favoured destination of people from Kerala seeking employment abroad. These results have come out in the third round of the Migration Monitoring Studies (MMS) being conducted by the Research Unit on International Migration of the Centre for Development Studies (CDSMRU). The Department of Non-Resident Keralite Affairs of the Kerala government is financing the studies.

MMS 2007, conducted during April-September 2007, was the third in this series. The first one, called the Kerala Migration Study (KMS), was conducted in 1998. The second one was conducted five years later in 2003. The studies have shown that the non-resident Keralite population rose from 1.36 million in 1998 to 1.84 million in 2003 and grew a shade to touch 1.85 million in the latest study.

According to S. Irudayarajan of the CDSMRU, international migrants constituted 37 percent of the population in UAE in 2003 but now make up 42 percent of the inhabitants.The study shows that Kerala received about Rs.240 billion as remittances in 2006-07, which is about 20 percent of the state's net state domestic product and 30 percent more than the state's annual receipts.

Kerala buying Andhra rice to control prices

2007-12-04T10:10:00.000+05:30

With the price of rice shooting up to Rs.20 a kg in the open market, the Kerala government has taken steps to buy 20,000 tonnes of rice from Andhra Pradesh and sell it at Rs.10 a kilo. 'Our officials are in Andhra Pradesh. The state government has sanctioned close to Rs.50 million to be given to state-owned Supplyco as subsidy to import rice,' said state Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran to reporters here Monday.

'From Wednesday onwards, Supplyco is opening up exclusive shops selling rice across the state. Our aim is to sell rice at Rs.10 a kg,' said Divakaran. 'This is being done as part of our efforts in market intervention to bring down the prices.' He said 80 percent of this was due to reasons associated with the centre and only 20 percent associated with the state. 'To have a permanent solution, the state government is now getting ready an essential commodities bill. Only through this can we bring to book hoarders and black-marketers. You just wait and see. Once this is ready, then the problem of artificial hike will be over once and for all,' said Divakaran.

The state government was talking to the Centre to see if rice could be imported from Thailand, he said.

Heavy rush continues at Sabarimala

2007-12-03T11:14:00.000+05:30

The Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala witnessed heavy rush for the third consecutive day on Sunday. The pilgrims had to wait for long hours to climb the holy steps (‘Pathinettampady’). The queue of pilgrims extended even beyond Sabaripetom, 3 km from the Sannidhanam, on the Pampa-Saramkuthi-Sannidhanam traditional trekking path on Sunday.

The toilet blocks at the Pampa in the foothills of Sabarimala remained closed on Sunday.
District Collector Raju Narayanaswamy had directed the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials on Saturday to ensure that the toilets at Pampa remained open.It is alleged that certain contractors who had secured the licence to run the toilets constructed by the TDB have been stage-managing a rush before the toilets with the intention of fleecing pilgrims. The Collector has warned the contractors of stern action.

'Karunakaran's return to Congress would strengthen party'

2007-12-03T11:13:00.000+05:30

Return of veteran leader K Karunakaran to Congress would only strengthen the party, senior party leader from Kerala V M Sudheeran said here. "Congress is a big organisation. Many had left the party and the organisation had always welcomed those who had returned to Congress", Sudheeran told reporters here.

The organisation had not shut doors on anybody, he said adding "I do not think anybody in Congress will object to the return of Karunakaran to the party". His return would only give impetus to the party on its forward journey, he said. The octogenarian leader who left Congress three years back and floated his own outfit DIC-K, which later merged with NCP, had expressed his wish to return to Congress. The Congress high command has not taken a decision on the matter.

A district-level meeting of political activists who support K. Karunakaran will be held at 11 a.m. on December 4 at G Auditorium on Hospital road. Kodoth Govindan Nair, N. Venugopal, M.V. Mani, N.K.A. Latheef, Ibrahim Kutty Kallar and others will speak, according to a press release.

360 women advocates in Kollam Bar

2007-12-03T11:10:00.000+05:30

As the Kollam Bar Association celebrates its centenary, it also has to its credit women advocates who had reached coveted positions in the judiciary and political arena.Announcing the programme of the Lady’s day celebrations to be held on December 2 as part of the centenary celebrations, celebration committee vice-chairperson Jameela Ibrahim said there were 360 women advocates practicing in Kollam courts.

Kollam Bar had women advocates who became luminaries in the judicial profession. It was on November 14, 1950, that Justice Fathima Beevi enrolled as an advocate at the Kollam Bar. She became judge of the Supreme Court and was later appointed as Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Kerala Police sets up helpline at Sabarimala

2007-12-03T11:09:00.000+05:30

With lakhs of devotees thronging the Ayyappa temple during the annual pilgrimage season, Kerala Police has set up a 24-hour helpline to assist pilgrims facing difficulties at the hill shrine. Arrangements for conveying emergency messages for pilgrims from their native places had also been made part of the helpline system, official sources said.

The pilgrims requiring any help from the authorities could contact the telephone numbers "100", "04735-202016", "984700100" and "9946100100", they said. The services of Travancore Devaswom Board which administers the temple, hospitals, fire stations, forest stations, government agencies, BSNL and Ayyappa Sevasangham could also be sought through the helpline.

81,000 deported from Gulf this year: Minister

2007-12-03T11:08:00.000+05:30

More than 81,000 Indians have been deported from Gulf states so far this year for visa and other offences, a minister said yesterday. Nearly half of those were sent back by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said Vayalar Ravi, who heads a ministry set up to look after Indians working abroad.

The reasons for their deportation include non-possession of valid visas, resident permits and violation of local laws. Saudi Arabia deported 28,904 illegal Indian migrants, while oil-rich Kuwait kicked out another 8,234, he told parliament.

Nearly 676,000 people, mainly from the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, flew to the Gulf in 2007 in search of jobs, the ministry said in a statement, adding that a majority were skilled workers. Ravi also said he was taking steps to protect Indians, especially female workers, amid growing complaints of harassment of expatriate house maids.

Out of 70,000 illegal immigrants sent back recently from UAE, nearly 50,000 were from Andhra Pradesh.

Moosa in 'Pardesi' most satisfying role ever: Mohanlal

2007-12-03T11:06:00.000+05:30

After essaying a wide variety of characters in over 300 films, noted actor Mohanlal says being cast as Valiyakathu Moosa, in the recently-released 'Paradesi' has given him the "most satisfaction" in his film career spanning over 30 years.

The film by P T Kunhimohammed, who has also written its screenplay, is based on the story of partition and its effect on several Muslim families in Kerala's Malabar area who are forced to deal with the 'outsider' label imposed on them.

Moosa, a Muslim who moved to Karachi before Partition in search of a better livelihood finds that he is treated like an alien on returning home after the Partition. The film, which has been acclaimed in the press for its sensitive potrayal, is a "genuine film, a real film," says Lal. He remains unfazed on not getting into the Goa Festival and it not getting box-office success.

Film festival from December 7

2007-12-03T10:57:00.000+05:30

Five french films dealing with the problems of youth and the fight against injustice in society would enliven the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2007) beginning here on December seven.

`When you come down from heaven' by Eric Guirado, `Nearby neighbours' (Malik Chibane), `Samia' (Philippe Faucon), `Zim and Co' (Pierre Jolivet), `Wesh Wesh Whats happening' (Rabah Amer Zaimech) and `Forgetting Cheyyene' (Valerie Mineno) are the films that are part of the section.

A total of 133 film personalities from across the world would be participating in the festival. Five major production and distsribution companies, Celluloid dream, Sony Pictures, Wild Bunch, Pioniwa Films and Fortissimo would also be part of the festival to fetch market for their films at the IFFK which had become a main event in the international calendar of the Federation of International Film Producers Association (FIAPF). Latin American director Miguel Littin, Iranian film-maker Mania Akbari, Abdulla Oguz (Turkey) and Pavao Mrinkovic (Croatia) are among the eminent personalities attending the event.

IFFI lacks in programming: Adoor

2007-12-03T10:54:00.000+05:30

Malayalam filmmaker Adoor Gopalkrishnan, who praised the atmosphere at the 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) ending Monday, is however, not satisfied with selection of films and programming.

"In terms of film festival, it has an excellent ambience this year. Now it looks like the people in the campus are seriously interested in Cinema. Projection is excellent in all the cinema halls. You cannot expect this quality of projection anywhere in the country. They are as good as anywhere in the Europe," Adoor told IANS.

Two of his films were screened at the festival. His recently released "Naalu Pennungal", a screen adaptation of famous Malayalam author Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai's short stories, was screened in the feature film section of Indian Panorama and "The Dance Of The Enchantress" was shown in the non-feature film division. Addor strongly feels that films shouldn't be randomly selected for the festival.

"Film loving people should select the films for the festival. It is not like somebody has sent you films and you are choosing from that. You have to go around seeing films and then decide which films should be shown. "Whosoever is programming this festival should have seen all the films. They should be able to tell the audiences what films to be seen. For that you have to be knowledgeable you have to really love cinema and you will also have to share your knowledge with others," he said.

There are many who agree with the director and say films like "Full Circle" and "The Eigth Day of the Week" were not worth screening in a festival of this stature.
Adoor feels that to match up with the other international festivals, their pattern of selecting films should be followed.

Other problem he pointed out was the programming.
He said: "The programming is not as good as the atmosphere. You can put more attention to programmes. Something like Master Class was badly placed. It was kept just after the screening - after watching two hours long movie who would like to sit in a class and discuss the film. Some people might be hungry and would like to eat. While I was taking the Master Class someone asked me to hold it for a while so that he can go and fetch something for himself to eat."

Fados to be the closing film at IFFI

2007-12-03T10:50:00.000+05:30

Filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the 38th edition of the International Film Festival of India on Monday. The festival, which began on November 23, will end with the screening of the Portugal-Spain film Fados, directed by Carlos Saura.

Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will attend the closing ceremony. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting P.R. Dasmunsi, who is also the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, will not be able to attend it as Parliament is in session.

Unlike in the last couple of years, the festival this year passed off without any rancour or protests. The organisers — the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) and the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) — received appreciation for keeping films as the focus of the festival and for the success of the new ticketing system.

The upgraded festival infrastructure, including more screening theatres, also found favour with the audience. The Film Bazaar organised by the National Film Division Corporation attracted good response from representatives of film marketing firms from India as well as abroad. A total of 176 films from 46 countries were screened during the 11-day festival. The Indian Panorama presented 21 feature and 15 non-feature films.

Kushboo in Mohanlal's movie.

2007-12-03T10:49:00.001+05:30

After sharing the screen with Mammooty last year for a Malayalam movie, actress Kushboo now teams up with Mohanlal for a movie to be directed by Sathyan Anthikaud, features Mohanlal and Meera Jasmine in the lead roles.

Kushboo had acted as Mohanlal's heroine a few years ago for a movie titled Uncle Bun. Interestingly, she now plays a character role in Mohanlal's film. The movie, which would go to floors in January, 2008, also features Seetha and Mohnini in key roles.

‘Star Singer’ to start next 15

2007-12-03T10:48:00.001+05:30

Viji Thampi's new offering 'Star Singer' will kick of its shooting from the 15th of this month. The film which will get completed in two locations, in Thiruvananthapuram and Kodaikanal will have super star Suresh Gopi in the lead supported by, forty new artists.

The film will have six songs by six eminent music directors, each doing a song for the film. The flick which is based on the present popularity of reality shows will bring out the background stories and planning sessions of each successful program.

Viji Thampi, Immediately after completing the film will start his next venture which is titled ‘Suspense’.

LDF panel moots Vigilance probe into ‘aravana’ issue

2007-11-30T10:59:00.001+05:30

The State committee of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has asked the government to hold a Vigilance investigation covering all aspects of the award of contract for supply of ‘aravana’ at Sabarimala.

Briefing reporters about the deliberations of the LDF committee here on Thursday, Front convener Vaikom Viswan said the Vigilance probe would focus on the contract rather than any individual. “If any person’s action needs to be looked into, the investigation would cover that as well,” he said when asked whether the investigation would cover Travancore Devaswom Board president C.K. Guptan as well.

The committee, he said, had not discussed Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran’s demand that the Devaswom Board members must resign in the light of the controversy over the ‘aravana’ contract. The committee did not think that the Board members would be able to influence the investigation if they remained in office when the probe was on.

SAIL to takeover Kerala's steel plant

2007-11-30T10:57:00.000+05:30

State-owned Steel Authority India Ltd (SAIL) has initiated steps to takeover the ailing Steel Complex Ltd (SCL) owned by Kerala government here. SAIL had already conducted two rounds of discussions with company authorities and the state government in this regard. The takeover is expected to bring in an investment of around Rs.3.5 billion to the state.

"After the takeover, SAIL is expected to invest in SCL and ancillary units. It has plans to start small units that will help it meet demands from the Kerala market," said K. Sasikumar, managing director of SCL. A delegation from SAIL had visited SCL in the first week of Nov and assessed the facilities at the unit.

The SCL is currently producing steel billets, which are used by rolling mills to make iron bars used in construction.

Tatkal option for waitlisted passengers

2007-11-30T10:56:00.002+05:30

Southern Railway has announced the trains on which waitlisted passengers would get an opportunity to opt for booking under Tatkal quota at the time of buying the ticket.The trains are the ones on which the use of tatkal in sleeper class is less than 50 per cent on an average for the whole financial year.

The trains that have been included are the Coimbatore-Bangalore Express (2678), Kanyakumari-Mumbai CST Express (6382), Ernakulam-Pune Poorna Express (1098), Thiruvananthapuram-Gorakhpur Express (2512), Thiruvananthapuram- Nizamuddin Weekly Express (2643), The Ernakulam-Nizamuddin Millennium Weekly Express (2645), Nagercoil-Shalimar Gurudev Express (2659), Chennai-Mangalore-Chennai Express (2685/2686), Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Superfast Express (2696/2695), Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Weekly Superfast Express (2697/2698), Alappuzha-Dhanbad Tata Nagar Express (3352), Chennai Egmore-Guruvayur Express (6127), Thiruvananthapuram-Bangalore Weekly Express (6322), Thiruvanantha puram-Mumbai Weekly Express (6332), Thiruvananthapuram-Palakkad Town Amritha Express (6343/6344), Kannur-Yeshvanthpur Express (6528), Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore Maveli Express (6604), Chennai Egmore-Mangalore-Chennai Egmore Express (6607/6608), Chennai-Mangalore West Coast Express (6627), Trichy-Ernakulam-Trichy Express (6865/6866) and Madurai-Kollam-Madurai Fast Passenger(727/728).

Grand Kerala Shopping Festival to focus on handloom

2007-11-30T10:56:00.001+05:30

Handloom will be the focus of the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival here beginning on December 1. Additional District Magistrate E.K. Kunhanandan and District Industries Centre General Manager S. Sreedharan said at a press conference here on Thursday that arrangements were under way for the 45-day shopping festival.

The State government had sanctioned Rs. 5 lakh for the promotion of handloom products during this period.They said that 400 shops in the town had so far registered as partners in the festival. An amount of Rs. 1.42 crore had been mobilised by way of registration fees, they said. They said that the sales target during the festival period here had been set at Rs. 4 crore. Scratch cards with gift coupons for weekly and final draw of lots would be available for each purchase for Rs. 1000, they added. The gifts include cars, TV sets, luxury cars, flats and tour packages, they said.

RIL to return 7 Konkan- Kerala blocks

2007-11-30T10:54:00.000+05:30

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will surrender seven oil and gas exploration blocks. It had earlier surrendered 11 blocks. An RIL source said the company will surrender three blocks in the Kerala Konkan (KK) region it won during the first and second rounds of bidding under the New Exploration and Licensing Policy. The blocks are due for surrender, unless the government decides to give them research and development (R&D) status.

Surrender of blocks means that all investments made for survey work or for drilling wells would go waste, since it yields no result by way of oil or gas discovery. Reliance Gas Transportation and Infrastructure Ltd (RGTIL) vice-president EVS Rao said his company would surrender seven blocks and had earlier surrendered 11 blocks that span the west and east coasts and also on-land regions.

RGTIL is a fully owned subsidiary of RIL. Rao said that RIL plans to invest Rs 9,000 crore over the next two years in deepwater oil exploration business by 2009, besides infusing Rs 8,000 crore to meet minimum work programme commitments. The company has already invested Rs 9,000 crore on deepwater oil exploration, he added. If R&D status is granted, it will open a new kind of exploration licensing in the country, since it will lead to suspension of development phases earlier committed by the company in the production-sharing contracts signed with the government.

In his presentation, Rao said exploration and production business in the petroleum sector was full of risks.

Kerala art festival in the Gulf

2007-11-30T10:52:00.001+05:30

A four-day festival of Kerala art forms, Utsavam 2007, opened here as part of the celebrations to mark 60 years of India’s Independence.

The festival showcases traditional art forms of Kerala such as Kathakali, Thayambaka, Keli, and Mohiniyattom, Venu Rajamony, India’s Consul-General in Dubai, told reporters

Kin of Ayyappa's Muslim disciple dies

2007-11-30T10:51:00.001+05:30

A 'descendant' of Lord Ayyappa's Muslim disciple Vavar died of heart attack in the premises of the famed hill shrine here today. P A Siddique Musliar, 79, collapsed and breathed his last while "blessing" pilgrims at the Vavar Nada near the 'holy 18 steps' of the temple. He was the senior most member of the Vavar family, which enjoys certain privileges at the hill shrine during the annual pilgrimage season.

Legend has it that Vavar was a bandit before he got reformed after becoming a follower of Ayyappa. Vavar was said to have served as Ayyappa's trusted lieutenant in battles waged by the lord against evil forces. Revered by both Muslims and Hindus, it is a practise for pilgrims trekking to Sabarimala to pay respect to Vavar at the mosque at Erumeli, some 40 km from Sabarimala. Also, the senior most member of the Vavar family is allowed to be present at the hill shrine premises all through the two-month-long pilgrimage season to bless the pilgrims.

Indian held for killing compatriot in Dubai

2007-11-29T10:13:00.000+05:30

An Indian was arrested here recently for killing one of his compatriots and critically injuring two others. The accused, a 43-year-old, was arrested earlier this week following a joint manhunt launched by the Dubai and Sharjah police, a Sharjah police source said.

The deceased, identified as Satyarajan (53) from Kerala, worked as an electrician in a Sharjah-based company.

The injured had initially been admitted to a hospital in Sharjah, but one of the injured was later shifted to Al Qasimi Hospital for surgery, the Gulf News reported. The incident occurred on Thursday following a drinking binge when one of the victims demanded Dh.100 owned by the accused. On denying, the accused was pushed out of the room. He later returned with an iron rod and attacked them.

Hollywood expert lauds Kerala's talent

2007-11-29T10:12:00.000+05:30

Hollywood's animation and graphics expert Richard Klien said the creative minds of Kerala have more reasons to enjoy as the talent in the state is 'amazing'. 'It is not often that appreciations would pour in from the outside world, especially on creativity in a tech savvy animation industry. The talent that I find here is amazing, and is second to none in terms of creative capability,' said Klien.

Klien is a self-taught graphics expert who has worked with famous productions like 'Space Jam', 'Batman and Robin', 'Air Force One' and more recently on an unreleased Warner Brothers' blockbuster '10,000 BC'. Klien Wednesday interacted with animators at the Toonz Animation studio here in the Technopark campus.

'I can see a lot of interest among the youth in graphics and animation and academies like Toonz would go a long way in helping them hone their skills,' said Klien.

Helmets, seat belts to be strictly enforced: Minister

2007-11-29T10:11:00.000+05:30

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said the police will take strong action against motorists driving vehicles without fastening seat belts and two-wheeler riders who do not wear helmets.

Inaugurating the traffic awareness campaign for schoolchildren here on Wednesday, he said stringent enforcement of the High Court direction on the use of seat belts and helmets was necessary for reducing the accident rate in the State. So far, the police resorted to ‘other measures’ to enforce the use of helmets and seat belts.

This was following criticism that the police were harassing people under the pretext of enforcing traffic rules, he said.

Kerala shopping festival to lure overseas buyers

2007-11-29T10:09:00.000+05:30

Crafted on the lines of the mega Dubai Shopping Festival, the 46-day Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) staring Dec 1 at 14 district headquarters across the state is expected to attract foreign buyers and tourists in large numbers.

'All those shopping for Rs.1,000 and more from selected shops across the state will get a lucky coupon that could win prizes worth Rs.100 million,' said senior bureaucrat T. Balakrishnan to reporters here Wednesday.

GKSF will promote traditional items from the state, such as marine products, decorative pieces, handicrafts, consumer durables, jewellery, textiles, resorts and ayurveda centres. 'The response from shopkeepers has now peaked. We expect that the 46-day festival will be a bonus for those who purchase and also for the shopkeepers, who can expect bumper sales. This period is the peak tourist season,' said Balakrishnan.

The festival will promote business tie-ups. Entrepreneurs will get the GKSF branding, with special GKSF arches and danglers in their stores.'The state government has pumped in Rs.150 million for promotional activities,' Balakrishnan added. 'We envisage that in five years, GKSF would be one of the biggest shopping festivals, comparable to festivals held in Dubai and Hong Kong.'

'Kerala yet to receive reply from Centre on Mullaperiyar'

2007-11-29T10:08:00.000+05:30

The Centre was yet to respond to Kerala Government's request for intervention in resolving the dispute with Tamil Nadu over Mullaperiyar Dam, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said on Wednesday. The Kerala cabinet had recently decided to go ahead with the construction of a new dam across Mullaperiyar as an alternative to the present one with a view to ensuring the safety of people living downstream. Tamil Nadu has however objected to the proposal.

The state has recently sought the Centre's intervention in the matter in the wake of an expert committee report pointing out 'safety concerns' about the more than 100-year old Mullaperiyar Dam in Iddukki District. But the state government had so far not received any reply from the Centre to its request.

The dispute is over increasing the storage level from the existing 136 feet to 142 feet. Kerala wanted to maintain the water level at the existing level considering the safety of the dam, while Tamil Nadu has been insisting on raising the water level to increase the availability of water for irrigation in Madurai District.

Police tie up with Orkut

2007-11-29T10:05:00.000+05:30

The police have entered into an agreement with Orkut, an online community portal, to check its misuse. With this, Kochi becomes the fourth city after New Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow to have a facility to tackle those misusing Orkut.

On an average, the police get 20 complaints a month about misuse or abuse of the portal, which has caught on with those hooked to the Net.

Though most of the complainants stop at getting the false site removed, the police team can support those who want to follow up the complaint. “We can have the Internet Protocol (IP) address, if we want to, and thus lead to the suspect,” Mr. Abraham said.

Once convicted, offenders can get imprisonment up to five years under the information technology Act.

X’mas celebrations!

2007-11-29T10:03:00.000+05:30

Malayalam cinema releases in 2007 Christmas is going to be a treat for the audiences as four biggies are going to clash for the X’mas cake (box office). All the films release date is 21st December.

FLASH
Cast- Mohanlal, Parvathy, Jagathy
Director- Sibi Malayail
Genre- Comedy and psychological thriller
Produced and Distributed- Mulukupadam Films.

KATHA PARAYUMBOL
Cast- Mammootty, Meena, Sreenivasan
Director- M.Mohanan
Genre- Comedy and social satire
Producer- Mukesh. Distributor- Seven Arts.

KANGAROO
Cast- Pritviraj, Kavya Madhavan, Jayasurya
Director- Raj Babu
Producer- Sisili Biju. Distributor- Lal Creations.

ROMEO
Cast- Dileep, Vimala, Samvrutha
Director- Rajasenan
Producer- Rafi-Mecartin, Distributor- Marakkar Films.

Armed men rob 300 gram gold and Rs.20,000

2007-11-28T10:19:00.000+05:30

Nearly 300 grams of gold and Rs 20,000 in cash were stolen by a three member armed gang from a gold dye workshop in thrissur, police said.

The three entered the workshop late last night where two workers were engaged in gold cutting work. They assualted the workers with a gun and fled with the gold and cash.

CBI against reopening of Kiliroor sex file

2007-11-28T10:16:00.000+05:30

The CBI has said that there is no need of a re-investigation into the reasons that led to the death of Sari S Nair, the victim in the sensational Kiliroor sex scandal. The investigating agency informed this to the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Ernakulam, who was hearing the case. The agency told the court that the girl, Sari, had died due to infection in the blood. It also added that no traces of copper had been found in the girl's blood. The earlier reports had suggested that the girl had died of excess presence of copper in the bloodstream, which led to the suspicion that the girl might have been murdered.

The Kiliroor sex scandal, which remains a sensational case in Kerala, had evoked a huge controversy after the allegation that the girl's condition had worsened after a 'VIP' had visited her at the hospital in Kottayam where she was undergoing treatment. There were also reports that several prominent persons including political leaders,businessmen were involved in the Kiliroor sex scandal which had rocked the State. The parents of Sari had recently petitioned the Chief Minister on the issue and had revealed to mediapersons that it was indeed PK Sreemathy who was the 'VIP' who had visited her while she was admitted to a hospital following multi organ failure.

The main culprit in the case Latha Nair, who is said to have acted as the conduit in presenting the girl to several VIP's, had lured the girl who comes from a humble background and promised her that she would be introduced into the world of television and cinema. Latha Nair who had boasted of having high level connections is also accused as the key person behind the death of girl Anagha and her family after she had also met with the same fate.

Ombudsman appointed for Devaswom Boards

2007-11-28T10:15:00.000+05:30

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday appointed former High Court judge R. Bhaskaran as Ombudsman for the Travancore and Cochin Devaswom Boards to look into complaints against the functioning of the Boards and temples and institutions under them and to investigate such complaints.

A Division Bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice T.R. Ramachandran Nair directed the Boards to provide sufficient infrastructure for the Ombudsman. It directed the government to provide the service of a police officer of high reputation and integrity, not below the rank of Superintendent of Police, and sufficient police officers to the Ombudsman to investigate and take appropriate action on complaints. The government should spare the service of a special tahsildar for recovering property of the Boards.

The appointment is for three years. The court ordered that the Ombudsman would take charge on December 1 and function from Kochi. The Bench appointed the Ombudsman in response to a suggestion made by the review committee on the implementation of the directives made by the high-power commission on the functioning of the Boards. The committee, headed by former High Court judge B.M. Thulasidas, felt that an Ombudsman could be appointed to “facilitate speedy disposal” of complaints. It had found the functioning of the Boards unsatisfactory.

The Bench said the government and others were unanimous that there had been large-scale corruption in the Boards and maladministration of temples and properties of the Boards. The government took the stand that urgent measures should be taken in view of the serious allegations of corruption in the Boards.

The court pointed out that the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act empowered the High Court to control and supervise the Board’s functioning. The court observed that the Ombudsman would be of considerable help to the High Court in discharging its duties and responsibilities.

Court rejects plea against churidar in Guruvayur temple

2007-11-28T10:14:00.000+05:30

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Guruvayur Krishna temple’s decision to allow entry of women wearing churidar. A Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices R.V. Raveendran and J.M. Panchal dismissed a special leave petition challenging the August 23 Kerala High Court order, which upheld the temple’s decision.

Manoj V. George, counsel for a devotee K. Mohandas, argued that the change in the 5,000-year-old practice of allowing only women wearing the traditional sari hurt the sentiments of a section of worshippers.

He said the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee had no right to interfere in spiritual matters. “Today it is the dress code, tomorrow it may be something else.”
Rejecting the argument that tradition should be preserved, Justice Balakrishnan said, “The dress code has to change with the time, with the change in practices, as long as it is not violative of the public standards of morality.”

Prabhudas Lilladher now in Kochi

2007-11-28T10:13:00.000+05:30

Mumbai-based Prabhudas Lilladher, an institutional brokerage house, Tuesday commenced operations in Kerala by opening its first office here.The branch was opened as a part of the company's expansion plans in the state. It plans to open 10 new centres in the state soon.

The company's core areas of operations are stock broking and allied services. It also offers research and advice in equities and derivatives.

Mohanlal in Malaysia

2007-11-28T10:05:00.000+05:30

Mohanlal, Parvathy, Sibi Malayil and the unit of Flash, flew to Malaysia to shoot a song for the film last week. It is a peppy romantic song featuring Mohanlal and Parvathy. Sibi is introducing a new music director Gopu Sundaram, with Flash, which has lyrics by Rafiq Ahammed.

The shoot of the film is almost over, with the climax scenes being shot in Trivandrum. Sibi will start the post-production work of the film which releases for Christmas.

Supreme Court grants Sanjay Dutt bail

2007-11-27T19:51:00.000+05:30

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to actor Sanjay Dutt who had been convicted in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. The actor had been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by the TADA court in the case.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan took up Dutt's plea along with petitions of other convicts Yusuf Mohsin Nallawala, Samir Hingora and Zaibunisa Anwar Qazi. "Considerations for his bail were related to Arms Act, which is not anywhere related to bomb blast and he has been there in the jail for a long time. He was there since 18 months and that is the reason for his bail being granted today by the Supreme Court. He will be released only after two days now. He has to submit his passport too. His appeal would take time," Dutt's lawyer Karan Singh said.

Granting him bail, the apex court said Dutt will have to furnish a bond subject to satisfaction of the TADA judge and his passport will remain deposited. The apex court will now hold next hearing in the case after six months, implying that Dutt's relief will be of at least that period.
The court also granted bail to 17 of the 25 convicts who approached it. The court adopted common parameter in granting bail to those convicts, who have already undergone half the period of sentence awarded by the trial court.

In case of Somnath Thapa, the custom officer sentenced to life term, the bail was granted on medical ground as he is suffering from cancer.

All those granted bail, will have to report before the Special Task Force of CBI, Mumbai once in a month, the court said.

Several injured in clash at engineering college

2007-11-27T10:44:00.001+05:30

Three Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists, a few students and two policemen were injured in clashes at the MES College of Engineering, Kuttippuram, on Monday.
The clashes were the continuation of fisticuffs on the campus last Thursday between members of the United Democratic Students’ Front and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).
The students first clashed with the DYFI activists and later with the police, who chased them away.

Palm oil brought by train

2007-11-27T10:43:00.001+05:30

A train load of palm oil arrived at the Ernakulam Harbour Terminus railway station on Monday. Railway sources said that the consignment arrived in 35 wagons, from the Chennai port, for being supplied to a private company here. The palm oil is being pumped to huge storage tanks of the company in Wellingdon Island.

Two more train loads of palm oil are likely to be brought here, since the government and the High Court have imposed restrictions on palm oil being brought through the sea route

Kochi and Kozhikode best Indian cities to live in

2007-11-27T10:40:00.000+05:30

Kochi has emerged as the most liveable city in India followed by Kozhikode, according to a study by the New Delhi-based economics research and data analysis firm Indicus Analytics.
Shimla stood third followed by Thiruvananthapuram, Mysore, Goa, Thrissur and Puthucherry, says its survey, the Housing Skylines of India 2007-08.

Interestingly, four out of the ten best places to live in are in Kerala and eight are in the southern states.The survey that provides information on households across different income groups, family structure, ownership and growth of the sector ranks the Indian cities on three indices — to reside in, invest in and earn in.

Silvassa, the capital of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Coimbatore and Ludhiana are the best cities to invest in while Gurgaon, Silvassa and Noida offer maximum earnings. Over 600,000 millionaires are concentrated in just ten cities of the country, with the national capital accounting for maximum number of them, the survey says.

New Delhi has the largest number of millionaire households in the country (138,000) followed by Bangalore (104,000) while Chandigarh has the maximum density of millionaires earning more than Rs100,000 a year followed by Silvassa and Rupnagar in Punjab.Thane, Pune, Surat, Ahemdabad and Jaipur also figure among the top ten cities in terms of number of millionaire families. Interestingly, most of the metros are not on top of the list. Chennai ranked ninth, Hyderabad 12th and Kolkata 26th.

In Kerala, the booming port city of Kochi and the state capital Thiruvananthapuram are witnessing heavy demand in the housing sector triggered by software and hospitality industries.“Within the next two years, 65,000 more IT jobs are expected to be created in Kerala at the existing facilities. Added to this is the Smart City which is expected to create 10,000 jobs every year for the next ten years. There is going to be huge demand-supply gap,” Kerala Builders Forum president George E George said.

KSRTC plans to build swanky shopping malls

2007-11-27T10:38:00.000+05:30

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), running up an accumulated loss of over Rs16bn, has proposed the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model to develop facilities, including swanky new shopping complexes, at prime locations to augment its revenues.
Corporation chairman and managing director T P Sen Kumar says the corporation, with staff strength of 30,000, of which 10,000 are temporary hands, is facing its worst-ever financial and managerial crisis.

In the short term, Kumar wants the Government to waive Rs 7 billion the Corporation owes to the exchequer and issue Transport Bonds to mobilise Rs5 bn so that the corporation could foreclose debts and begin its accounts on a clean slate.

In the first phase, the Corporation calculates to earn Rs800 million a year by opening up 30 of its locations- depots and bus stands- to contractors who would build, operate and transfer the developed property after a term of 20 years or more.

In the second phase, another 29 locations would be added to the BOT list, further enhancing the Corporation revenues. Projects can be taken up jointly with Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation as BOT operator. It has been envisaged that the 50 percent of the BOT revenue would be shared with the corporation, right from the first year of the operation.

The proposal has been pending with the Government and once the official nod is given, the Corporation would invite tenders and complete the work within 30 months

'LTTE shifting operations to Kerala coast'

2007-11-27T10:36:00.000+05:30

With its movement restricted on the Tamil Nadu coast due to constant surveillance by Navy and coastguard, the LTTE has started shifting its operations to the Kerala coast, a top Naval official today said.The Sri Lankan forces have understood LTTE's tactics and the Indian Navy has increased vigil on the Tamil Nadu coast, making it virtually impenetrable, Flag officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval command, Vice Admiral Sunil K Damle said.

Now attempts are being made by the LTTE to slowly use Kerala coast for smuggling arms and ammunition and drugs. Efforts are also being made by other terrorist organizations to use Malabar as a landing point for RDX.

Citing instances of LTTE's illegal activities in Kerala waters recently, including when the outfit allegedly seized a fishing vessel between Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, for its clandestine activities, he said ''this is just the beginning of infiltration.''

Shruti Kamal Haasan to maker her debut

2007-11-27T10:35:00.000+05:30

The light-eyed daughter of Kamal Haasan will be finally making her film debut with Tamil heartthrob Madhavan. It is also a well-known fact that Shruti is a trained musician from New York in Western classical music. She had even given playback for a song in her dad’s film Dasavataram.

Now, it has been announced that she will be acting in a Tamil film to be directed by Marathi director Nisikant who had directed Evaro Oruvan, the Tamil remake of the award-winning Dombivili Fast. The film is being made by Gnanam Films.The shooting is expected to begin in January, 2008.

Shruti will also be releasing her solo album before the film’s release.

IFFI venue was once dilapidated hospital

2007-11-27T10:33:00.000+05:30

Not too long ago patients hobbled around here, plastered and in bandages, and sick children shed many a tear. Today the International Film Festival of India's (IFFI) dreams are being nurtured in the very same place. The 38th edition of IFFI, being held in Goa for the fourth successive year, got off to a colourful start Friday and its venue - on a riverside promenade on the western side of Goa's capital Panaji - was a hospital a few years ago.

The 'Old GMC (Goa Medical College) complex', as it is still referred to, was built on the main road along the Mandovi river in 1927.Today, the building has got a costly re-do. To restore two more old buildings -which also house the media centre - the Goa government spent an estimated Rs.140 million this year. Being restored just prior to this IFFI was a place now called the Maquinez Palace. This complex was built as a countryside resort by the Portuguese noble family of the Count of Maquinez, on the banks of the Mandovi river.

Entertainment Society of Goa's press spokesperson Ethel da Costa, told IANS that there was a total shortage of historical information about this place. The Maquinez Palace was spacious and had a chapel of its own, still visible and sitting incongruously alongside the film festival that celebrates beauty, sex, glamour and politics. Built in 1720, the chapel is devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows. The palace functioned till Pangim (as the city was then known) grew through the early 1800s. It was taken over by the Portuguese government to house the Escola Medico, one of the early medical schools in South Asia, in 1842.

Over time, this building came to be in a state of disrepair, and was 'devoid of any specific function', as the government itself concedes in an official press note. Currently, the 18th century palace has been restored with lightening, sanitary and drainage facilities, and even a shivery-cold air-conditioning system.

Adoor's 10th film is a perfect 10 at IFFI

2007-11-27T10:28:00.000+05:30

Adoor Gopalakrishnan's 10th feature film, "Naalu Pennungal" (Four Women is among the most awaited films at the 38th International Film Festival of India here.

Fans of the master filmmaker are in for a treat as "Naalu Pennungal" is a typical Adoor, and more. The four-part Malayalam film, in which each episode is an ode to a woman trapped in the vortex of a society in flux.

"Naalu Pennungal", dwells upon the struggle of four women from different strata of society grappling with the pulls and pressures responding to their inner urges while having to live up to the expectations of those they love and those they do not even know. It draws inspiration from the short stories authored by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, one of the most keenly observant chroniclers Kerala has ever seen.

The stories are titled The Prostitute, The Virgin, The Housewife and The Spinster," said Adoor.
The film owes its life to a Doordarshan proposal for a 100-minute television series based on Thakazhi's stories. "I wasn't interested in doing something solely for TV," revealed Adoor.

Keralotsavam: Begins on Monday at Kollam

2007-11-26T10:50:00.000+05:30

The district-level Keralotsavam will be held here from November 26 to 29.

Kerala Sports Council vice-president K. Thankappan will inaugurate the sports competitions at the Lal Bahadur Stadium here on Monday. The arts festival will be inaugurated the next day by Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran. More than 2,000 persons will be competing in 59 events, including coconut palm climbing, paddy harvesting and tilling.

District panchayat president K. Somaprasad said the contestants were selected from 71 grama panchayats, two municipalities and also from the Kollam Corporation area. The district Keralotsavam is being held to select the team from the district for the State-level Keralotsavam to be held at Thrissur from December 6 to 9.

Politicians in Kerala town join hands against Reliance

2007-11-26T10:45:00.000+05:30

The cacophony of discord is often a hallmark of politics, but if you travel to Mukkom you will be struck by an unusual show of harmony by various political outfits in Kerala in opposing a Reliance retail outlet.

In the heart of this small town Mukkom, about 600 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram in Kozhikode district, various political outfits in Kerala in opposing a Reliance retail outlet. One can see a thatched shed in front of a building where Reliance plans to open the outlet.
The shed has become a rallying point for those opposing "monopolies" and "the policy of globalisation" and is adorned with a bunch of flags representing almost all political outfits in the state.

The protest at Mukkom began seven months ago and soon became a popular movement in the area. The agitators had erected the shed in July to prevent the company from undertaking any work to open the outlet and are maintaining round-the-clock vigil at the site. A large crowd prevented the authorities from removing the shed on Nov 21.

The agitation here is being spearheaded by the Anti-Monopoly People's Movement (AMPM), which was floated in March 2007. "The agitation in Mukkom is the first organised resistance against the entry of retail giants in the country. It was our action that inspired those in Uttar Pradesh and Orissa to protest the retail companies," claimed A. Subair, one of the conveners of the AMPM and a district committee member of the youth wing of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S).

ESI doctors to go on strike

2007-11-26T10:44:00.000+05:30

Demanding a settlement to the ongoing strike by Government doctors, implementing the speciality/administrative cadre and NRHM scheme in the ESI Department, the Kerala Government Insurance Medical Officers Association will start a non-cooperation strike from Sunday.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, association state president K P Mohammed and general secretary Selvan Lukose said that they would boycott monthly review meetings, filing of monthly statements, Sabarimala duty, working arrangements, arogyamela and national programmes as part of the strike.There are 550 doctors in the 136 dispensaries and 12 hospitals under the ESI Corporation.

However, the association leaders said they would not refrain from examining the patients who come to the hospitals.

Medical colleges to be upgraded in Kerala

2007-11-26T10:43:00.000+05:30

An ambitious project to upgrade government-run medical colleges in Kerala was launched, the Rs1.2bn project under the Pradhan Mantri Swastya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) was cleared by the federal government in March last year. The Thiruvananthapuram Medical College is the first among 13 selected from across the country to be upgraded.

Under the scheme, the colleges will be upgraded to the standards of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi.Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan inaugurated the project implementation while federal Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramdoss laid the foundation stone for a super-specialty hospital, nursing and paramedical blocks.

The project aims at making availabile affordable and reliable tertiary level healthcare in the country in general and to augment facilities for quality medical education.

TDB to set up Aravana plant

2007-11-26T10:42:00.000+05:30

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is planning to set up a new plant for the preparation, cooling and packing of Aravana prasadam at Sabarimala. Board sources told The Hindu that against the average capacity of the existing plant to prepare 80,000 cans a day, the new plant will have the capacity to produce 5 lakh cans per day.The installation cost of the plant has been pegged at Rs.8 crore.

The Board would also try to mechanise the preparation of ‘appam’ from the next festival season, sources said. Considering the increasing demand for prasadam every year, the Board has been exploring various options to enhance the volume so that a steady supply can be ensured during the festival season lasting 70 days a year.

The new plant is expected to put an end to the complaints about the shortage being felt at present.

Indian Panorama opens with 'Ore Kadal’

2007-11-26T10:40:00.000+05:30

38th international film festival of India will be inaugurated today by Bollywood super star Shahrukh khan, at Goa. The festival which will last for another 11 days will have around 200 feature films shown in various packages.

Shyama Prasad's 'Ore Kadal', starring Mammootty and Meera Jasmine, the film which has won many laurels from the critics is the screen adaptation of famous Bengali writer Sunil Gangopadhyay's novel 'Heerak Deepthi'. It revolves around Mammootty, a world famous economist who does not believe in lighter emotions and love, and a housewife, Meera Jasmine, who is tired of the monotonous middle-class life.

The panorama will show case 21 films selected for the 119 entries, of which the selected 10 are from South. Adoor Gopalakrishnan's 'Naalu Pennungal', based on four stories of Jnanpith award-winner Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai,Lenin Rajendran's 'Rathri Mazha' starring Vineeth and Meera Jasmine, Ranjith's 'Kaiyoppu' with Mammootty and Khushboo, and Babu Thiruvalla's 'Thaniye', which stars Nedumudi Venu and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy are the other Malayalam films selected in the Panorama .

Vinayan to experiment again…

2007-11-26T10:39:00.000+05:30

After the new film of Vinayan 'Harindran Oru Nishkalangan' which hit the screens last week he remains the busiest director with a number of projects under his sleeve. The chief ones are the two films which he agreed for the Navodaya. The director who always loves to experiment in his career is also planning a new film in Tamil industry. Paruthi Veeran fame Karthi will be hero of this movie.

The director who had been largely successful with every type of genres like action, comedy to horror movies is planning another horror comedy in the near future. He is also holding talks with Amithabh Batchchan to make him appear in his venture. '' If things happen well, it could happen next year but it's too early to comment on all of this''. Added the creator.

'Ottakkayyan'- a Malayalam film with a difference

2007-11-26T10:36:00.000+05:30

Indugopan, a journalist turned director who directed 'Ottakkayyan', a Malayalam film that hit the theatres last week, made it evident with his debut movie that he thinks differently.
'This is a real time film and the story happens entirely in a single night. All outdoor scenes are shot completely at night, which is rare in Indian cinema,' Indugopan told reporters here Sunday after the film was screened for the media.

The story happens at midnight on an island, which is connected to the main land only through a rail link. Two youngsters, members of different fundamentalist groups get trapped on the island after committing a murder. The rains and darkness have been filmed in a masterly way by the cinematographer M.J. Radhakrishnan.

'The film was shot in 15 days by working 20 hours everyday and I have made no compromises because today every shot in a cinema can be made like a commercial product,' added the director who is also an accomplished writer with several novels and books to his credit.The film also delves into how politics and politicians trap people for their own benefit.

The cast includes popular Comedian Harishree Asokan, actress Rani Babu with Asokan, Arun and T.G.Ravi. Confirming that he will not remain as a 'one film wonder', Indugopan said, 'Certainly this is not the end of it, you will certainly see more of me in the coming years. I am here to stay.'

King Khan is star attraction at IFFI inaugural

2007-11-26T10:34:00.000+05:30

Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi announced on the occasion that lifetime achievement awards would be given to two living legends - thespian Dilip Kumar and Indian nightingale Lata Mangeshkar. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was unquestionably the star attraction at the opening ceremony of the 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here on Friday.

Shah Rukh Khan, riding high on his two back-to-back hits Chak De! India and Om Shanti Om, was the chief guest at the inaugural. Dressed in a black suit and his now trademark ponytail, Shah Rukh got a huge applause when he came up on the stage, which was designed simply and elegantly with the IFFI logo in the background.

Shah Rukh dedicated the festival to "freedom from loneliness". He said that cinema not only entertains people but also relieves them from tension and gives them company. Neelam Kapur, director of the film festival, G S Mayawala, president of the Film Federation of India, and Paruthiveeran star Priyamani were at the function.

Uddhav Thackeray visits Guruvayur

2007-11-25T10:45:00.001+05:30

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray visited the Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple on Saturday. He arrived at the temple town at 9 p.m. on Friday with his wife and an astrologer. He visited the temple between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Saturday and left the town immediately.

Kerala for IT meet in Hyderabad

2007-11-25T10:44:00.000+05:30

Kerala will participate in Infocom 2007 to be held at the Hitech City in Hyderabad from November 28 to December 1. Ajay Kumar, Information Technology (IT) Secretary, said here on Saturday that Kerala was participating in the event with the aim of attracting more investment to the IT sector in the State.

The inauguration of the Smart City project in Kochi and the positive response of entrepreneurs to the proposed Technocity in Thiruvananthapuram had given a new life to the IT investment sector.

The Kerala team will be headed by IT Mission Director Saurabh Jain

Special security force at Sabarimala

2007-11-25T10:41:00.000+05:30

The police have constituted a special security task force at Sabarimala Sannidhanam, called ‘Sannidhanam Shadows,’ to ensure better security cover at the Lord Ayyappa Temple, according to the Police Special Officer P. Vijayan.

Mr. Vijayan said the ‘Shadows’ team, in mufti, was deployed at Sannidhanam on Friday. He said the modus operandi of the special force would be very casual so that their presence would not be easily felt. The Special Officer said the policemen attached to ‘Sannidhanam Shadows’ will also check pick-pocketing and acts of pilferage, if any, at Sabarimala.

However, their main duty would be to check any act of sabotage by anti-national and anti-social outfits, he added. The ‘Shadows’ personnel will meet every day at 12 noon to take stock of the situation, the special officer said. Mr. Vijayan said four armed commandos at Sannidhanam and three at Pampa were also deployed.

Sabarimala received heavy downpour on Saturday afternoon. The pilgrims found it tough to trek the route to the shrine. However, Sannidhanam witnessed heavy rush on Saturday evening.

Actor Ravi Menon pases away

2007-11-25T10:39:00.000+05:30

Actor Ravi Menon, who got famous through M T Vasudevan Nair's Nirmalyam, passed away of cardiac arrest at the Alshif Hospital in Perinthalmanna.

He was 57. He is a native of Palakkad Sreekrishnapuram. His acting in films like Manthrikam, Shalini Ente Kootukari and Indrajalam were brilliant. His body has been taken to his native place

Doctors, government stick to their stands

2007-11-25T10:37:00.000+05:30

Even as speculation is rife that the State government is in the process of working out some solution to end the ongoing stir by government doctors, both the parties have reiterated that there will not be any change in their stance.

Health Secretary Vishwas Mehta told presspersons here on Thursday that “as of now, pay-scale revision is non-negotiable.” The Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) made it clear that it was not prepared to budge from its demand for revision of pay scales at the entry cadre. It was not for plentiful allowances for senior doctors.

The government and the association have said that they are not interested in a confrontation. However, while Dr. Mehta said that the government was waiting for a positive move from the doctors, a KGMOA spokesperson said the ball was in the government’s court. “We cannot let this fight go now because we never got a good deal in the last three pay revisions. If we do not get our pay scales revised now, doctors do not stand a chance at the next pay revision.

In the next four years, when the next pay revision is due, more than 1,000 doctors will retire from Health Services and there will not be even anyone left to put up a fight,” Sunny P. Orathel, president of KGMOA, said.

Kerala milkmen heading to the Gulf

2007-11-25T10:34:00.000+05:30

Indians have always been in great demand in foreign job markets for their software or management skills or for other technical qualifications. However, now there is a new job opportunity opening up in the Gulf, which requires skills of a bovine kind.

Thirty-five-year-old Ajay Kumar has been milking cows ever since he was a child. His family has been in this business for generations. But the younger generation has taken up other jobs as the business declined. However, Ajay stuck around and this has now fetched him a job offer from a Muscat-based dairy farm. He is one of the four milkmen to have been selected from 500-odd candidates in Kerala to milk cows at the dairy farm in Oman. It is a windfall for Ajay as he will be earning the equivalent of Rs 12,000 per month plus other perks.

The government-run recruitment agency that helped Ajay get the job is not too surprised that Gulf employers are looking at Kerala's milkmen. ''Our people, even though they are milkmen, they know English. Any nook and corner of Kerala, there will be someone knowing English.

Then dairy farming and animal husbandry is also very advanced in Kerala,'' said S Srinivasan, Chairman and MD, Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants.

Berthed ferry sinks partially

2007-11-25T10:15:00.000+05:30

A major portion of a passenger ferry of the State Water Transport Department, berthed at the Ernakulam main boat jetty, sank early on Saturday morning.The boat, bearing the number A-86, used to conduct services on the Ernakulam-Fort Kochi route.

Officials of the department said it had been berthed at the jetty for the past few months, awaiting repairs. S. Padmanabha Mallya, secretary of the Pashchima (Western) Kochi Boat Passengers’ Association, said the incident showed the ineptitude of the department in carrying out timely repair of boats.

The agency had been functioning without a director and was inefficient, he added.

Three daily flights by AI for Mecca

2007-11-24T11:53:00.000+05:30

Beginning Friday, Air India will operate three daily flights to carry Haj pilgrims from Kerala and Lakshadweep to Mecca. Flight AI-3611 will leave Karipur at 6.30 a.m. on Friday. The other two flights will be at 10.05 a.m. (AI-3731) and 12.45 p.m. (AI-2455). The triple-flight schedule will continue till Tuesday.

Air India operated Airbus A300-B4 aircraft on Wednesday and Thursday, carrying 215 passengers on each flight.On Friday, the first flight will be Boeing 737-800, which will carry 160 passengers. The second flight (AI-3731) will be Boeing 747 Combi, which will carry 293 passengers. And the third flight (AI-2455), Airbus A300-B4, will carry 215 passengers.

Apart from those three aircraft, Air India will operate Boeing 747 Jumbo on December 3, 4 and 5.

Japanese delegation visits Kinfra park

2007-11-24T11:51:00.001+05:30

A business delegation from Japan, currently touring the State, visited the Kinfra Film and Video Park on Friday, brightening hopes of future tie-up between the Kinfra Film and Video Park and Japan.

“We will like to establish business relationships with Kerala,” Shoichi Matsuya, Director, Kyushu Economic and Industry Department, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan, said. The delegates included Munetsugu Kanamaru, Assistant Director, Kyushu economic and Industry Department, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan; Yuji Yasuda, Director, KITA Environmental Cooperation Centre; and Ootani Tomoo, Sr. Research Associate, Research Department, Kyushu Economic Research Centre, Japan.

S. Ramnath, Kinfra Managing Director, welcomed the delegates and made a formal presentation on Kinfra.

Ransom calls in kidnap case baffle Kerala police

2007-11-24T11:48:00.000+05:30

No breakthrough has yet been made in a case of kidnapping of a 40-year-old restaurant owner and the police have been further baffled by ransom calls made to the family from international numbers. Abdul Razzak, resident of Vengara near here and owner of a restaurant in Angamali near Kochi, went missing Nov 5 while he was on his way to Mangalore, Karnataka.

For the last few days now, Razzak's brother Siddique has been getting ransom calls from a mobile number originating from outside the country, and this has baffled the police. 'The callers are demanding Rs.50 million for Razzak's release. They are not making any other demands,' said Shaji, sub-inspector at Vengara police station, investigating the case. In their preliminary investigations, the police traced the number to a South Korean mobile operator.

'The calls are indeed originating from a number outside the country and it is suspected to be a Korean number. We have to probe further to get it confirmed. We also have to probe whether there is some other mischief behind the entire episode,' the police officer said. Siddique, who runs the restaurant with his brother, told IANS that the kidnappers called him again Thursday.

Compulsory rural internship for MBBS students mooted

2007-11-24T11:44:00.000+05:30

The Union Health Ministry is contemplating the introduction of Compulsory Rotational Internship of two years for MBBS students, out of which one year will have to be served in a rural station of the student’s choice in any State.At present, MBBS students in medical colleges in the country undergo four-and-a-half years training plus one year of internship in a teaching institution.

The current proposal is to add another year of compulsory rural internship to the existing five-and-a-half-year course.If the proposal comes through, the total duration of the MBBS course would become six-and-a-half years in all medical colleges in the country, only after which the students would get permanent registration from the Medical Council of India, P. H. Ananthanarayanan, Deputy Director General (Medical), Directorate General of Health Services, said.

UST Global opens Kochi centre

2007-11-24T11:41:00.000+05:30

The Chief Minister, Mr V. S. Achuthanandan has inaugurated the UST Global Kochi Centre at Vismaya Building in Info Park here. After the UST Global Thiruvananthapuram centre at Technopark, the Kochi facility is the second centre to come up in Kerala. The UST Global development centre features a total built up area of two hundred thousand square feet with eight floors, each comprising of 25,000 square feet.

Beginning with a 250-strong workforce, the centre will scale up to accommodate 2000 IT professionals within 2 years. The Kochi Centre is a key pivot of the UST Global ‘hub and spoke’ expansion model, where offshore development centres are established in close proximity to untapped centres of IT potential.

UST Global centres at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram will leverage diverse skill sets available across the State, gaining UST Global the cost and competitive edge.

Awards for Lata, Dilip Kumar

2007-11-24T11:40:00.000+05:30

The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has chosen veteran film actor Dilip Kumar and melody queen Lata Mangeshkar for the life-time achievement awards for their contribution to Indian cinema in the field of acting and film songs.

Announcing this at the IFFI inaugural ceremony here, Minister for I&B Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said the Ministry decided to honour film artistes and technicians for their contribution to the industry, in view of the 60th anniversary of India’s Independence

38th International Film Festival to begin in Goa

2007-11-24T11:34:00.000+05:30

The 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will start in Goa from Friday. Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan will be the Chief Guest at the inaugural session of the festival. Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, PR Dasmunsi and Goa Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat besides several important film personalities will attend the inaugural ceremony.

The inaugural lamp will be lit with the assistance of Priyamani, the rising star of southern cinema. The Palme D' OR winner of Cannes 2007- titled '4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days' (Romania) will be the opening film at the festival. The director of the film, Cristian Mungiun and the main actress, Anamaria Marinca will also be present. Besides, there will be other foreign delegates representing various international film festivals from Netherlands, China, Poland and Mexico.

A major delegation from Poland and China will also be present. Portugal-Spain film 'Fados' directed by Carlos Saura will be the closing film for the festival. The Cinema of the World Section will feature a choice of year's best international cinema. This section will have 76 films from 42 countries.

A specialized competition for feature films by Asian, African and Latin American directors will also be organised. Under this section, fourteen films from 13 countries have been selected for the competition.

Competition jury is headed by the eminent award winning film maker from Hungary Marta Mazaros, who has directed more than 60 films and has won awards in Cannes, Berlin, Venice and San Sebastian International Film Festivals. Other members of the jury are Meltem Cumbul, a young leading actress from Turkey; Shaji N Karun, cinematographer, film director and script writer from Kerala; a noted Argentinean film director Pablo Cesar, who has won awards in the Montreal International Film Festival and National awards in Argentina and Robert Sarkies, a young film maker from New Zealand. Hungary will be in focus under the section 'Country Focus'. Seven films 'Black Brush' (director Roland Vranik), 'Dealer' (director Benedek Fliegauf), 'Eastern Sugar' (director Ferenc Torok), 'Hukkle' (director Gyorgy Palfi), 'Temptations' (director Zoltan Kamondi), 'The Porcelain Doll' (director Peter Gardos) and 'Vagabond' (director Gyorgy Szomjas). In 'Film India Worldwide' category, three films 'AIDS Jaago' (Mira Nair), 'Amal' (Richie Mehta) and 'The Pool' (Chris Smith). Retrospective of Ingmar Bergman will feature seven of his highly acclaimed films - 'Autumn Sonata', 'Fanny and Alexander', 'The Seventh Seal', 'The Virgin Spring', 'Through a Glass Darkly', 'Shame', and 'Wild Strawberries'.

Indian Panorama at IFFI - 2007 will present a bouquet of 36 films, 21 features and 15 non-feature films. The package is a mixed bag with stalwarts like Budhadeb Dasgupta and Adoor Gopalakrishnan presenting two films each. The section will have Ami Iyasin Aar Amaar Madhubala (The Voueurs- Feature) and Naushad Ali- the Melody continues (Non Feature) by Budhadeb Dasgupta and Naalu Penunungal (Four Women- Feature) and The Dance of the Enchantress (Non Feature) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan.

The debut directors like Sameer Hanchante, Samir Chanda, and Bhavna Talwar will present their films Gafla (Scam), Ek Nadir Galpo (Tale of a river), and Dharm respectively. A special section celebrating 60 years of India's independence, India @ 60, will showcase seven patriotic films including three feature and four documentaries. IFFI will also feature a Film Bazaar for films from India as well as large number of foreign countries, seminars, discussions and press conferences, IFFI Goa film treasures (a section dedicated to international film heritage) and special festival publications on the films being screened.

Theatre facilities for IFFI - 2007 have been significantly upgraded. Nine theatres with a total seating capacity of 3,026 will be part of the festival complex as compared to five theatres with a total seating capacity of 2,200 last year. The theatres are, Inox Multiplex (4 screens), Kala Academy (2 screens), Ashok & Samrat (2 screens). Two new screens have been added in Maquinez Palace, which have the capacity to be looped.

Over 3500 delegates have registered. Around 350 media persons have registered of which 80 are from Goa. (ANI)

Friends Forever!

2007-11-24T11:09:00.000+05:30

Who is Superstar Rajnikanth's best friend in the industry? Those close to him, without blinking an eyelid would say – Mohan Babu, the Telugu star. They started their career together almost 33 years back in the then Madras, which was the centre of south Indian film production. They had an understanding that Rajni would concentrate on Tamil while Mohan would do Telugu films.

It worked perfectly as both made rapid strides in their respective careers, and became superstars. When they were in Madras, at the end of the day they used to compare notes and also work out strategies. Later Mohan Babu shifted to Hyderabad, as Telugu industry moved office to Andhra, but the friends kept each other posted about their career moves.

And on Thursday, November 22, 2007 Rajnikanth took the first available flight from Chennai to Hyderabad to be with his friend on an emotional and nostalgic day. November 22 marks the successful completion of 32 years in the film industry by Padma Shri Dr. M. Mohan Babu, as a Telugu film hero. He debuted with the Telugu film Swargam Narakam in 1975 on the same date, and Rajni had to be in Hyderabad to spend the day with his buddy. And whenever Rajni needed him, Mohan Babu came to Chennai by the next available flight.

Rajnikanth is one of the few actors who believe that those who stood with him during his early struggling days are his friends forever!

NCP leaders to meet Karunakaran today

2007-11-23T11:23:00.000+05:30

Five top leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) from the district will meet senior leader K. Karunakaran in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. The meeting with Mr. Karunakaran comes close on the heels of NCP State president K. Muraleedharan visiting Kollam on Thursday to try and stump a mass exodus from the NCP to the Congress. The NCP leadership fears that the party will lose its strength in Kollam when Mr. Karunakaran returns to the Congress.

A close confidant of Mr. Karunakaran said that 80 per cent of the NCP leaders and cadres from the district will follow Mr. Karunakaran to the Congress. He said that they include eight district committee office-bearers of the party, nine block committee presidents, many State committee members and several leaders of the party’s feeder organisations.

Meanwhile, there are strong differences of opinion within the district unit of the Congress on endorsing the return of K. Karunakaran Pillai, who is NCP’s State secretary. Before joining the DIC(K), Mr. Pillai was the DCC vice-president.

Congress sources said that Mr. Pillai’s calculations of returning to the Congress in the same capacity he holds in the NCP will be opposed. A powerful group from the district is working to ensure that Mr. Pillai is not even accommodated as a KPCC executive committee member from the district.

Two Day Kerala Diaspora Meet In January

2007-11-23T11:22:00.000+05:30

Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Thursday said that a two-day diaspora meet would be held at Kochi Jan 2-3 next year.'The main purpose of this two-day meet is to discuss the various problems facing the thousands of non-resident Keralites (NRK) settled outside the country,' Achuthanandan told reporters here.

'The meet in January is a delegate meet where in representatives from various Kerala based organizations functioning outside the country can take part,' said Achuthanandan. Those interested to register for the meeting can log on to www.norka.gov.in or www.norkaroots.net before Dec 15.Some two million Keralite's are working outside the country.

According to a latest State Level Bankers Committee report they have contributed a record Rs.319.95 billion, which is 34.56 percent of total deposits in all the Kerala banks.

Kerala to set up new bank

2007-11-23T11:20:00.000+05:30

The Kerala government will soon establish a new bank, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac says.
The state government has cleared the idea, but the modalities were still being considered, Isaac told IANS.'We have two options, either to take over an existing bank or float a new one with clearance from the Reserve Bank of India,' the minister said.

He expects the state-owned Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE) Ltd to take the lead in this effort. The new bank could be a subsidiary of KSFE, he said. 'The capital requirement for a bank is around Rs.3.5 billion and at present KSFE has reserves of Rs.1.5 billion.

'Don't forget that we have a very strong non-resident Keralite community across the globe. We bank our hopes on them when floating the proposed bank. We are certain that these expatriates will provide us the financial impetus when it comes to subscribing shares for the new bank,' the minister maintained.

There are well over two million expatriate Keralites.
According to the latest State Level Bankers Committee Report here, the expatriates have deposited a record Rs.319.95 billion in banks, which is 34.56 percent of total deposits in all banks in Kerala

Preparations for Anbumani’s visit

2007-11-23T11:18:00.002+05:30

Three prestigious projects aimed at delivering better health care services in the State’s public health sector will be flagged off by Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss here on Saturday.
Mr. Ramadoss will lay the foundation for the Super Specialty block of Medical College hospital here, which is being constructed at a cost of Rs.34 crore under the Rs.100-crore Centrally sponsored upgradation scheme, Pradhan Mantri’s Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

Interestingly, serious efforts are afoot in the department now to somehow settle the stir of government doctors, which has crossed over 50 days. The doctors’ strike could pose an embarrassment for the government during the high-profile visit of Mr. Ramadoss, especially if the media choose to bring it up, it is felt.

Bible Tower attracts tourists in large numbers

2007-11-23T11:18:00.001+05:30

The tallest Bible tower of Asia, attached to the Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours here, has become one of the major pilgrim tourist attractions in the state, visited by people from around the world including Europe.

According to Fr George Manadan, Rector and Vicar of the Basilica, the church founded in 1925 was one of the biggest Christian shrines in Asia covering a plinth area of 25,000 sq ft.
The Bible tower commands a height of 260 ft and about 500 to 600 pilgrims visit the Basilica and the tower daily, Fr Manadan told a press meet on Thursday.

The four-day long annual festival of the Basilica would begin on Friday with a high mass led by Major Archbishop Baselios Mar Cleemis of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church.

Kerala's plea to Centre

2007-11-23T11:17:00.000+05:30

Kerala has asked the Centre to increase the procurement price of paddy to Rs 1,000 per tonne from the existing Rs 750, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said. The Centre should also assist the state in fixing coconut procurement price at minimum of Rs six per coconut, he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

Achuthanandan, said the Centre's decision to increase the wheat procurement price to Rs 1,000 per tonne and fixing procurement price of paddy at Rs 750 was a clear case of discrimination between the corps cultivated in North India and South India.

The state also wanted the Centre to include Alappuzha, Palakkad, Kottayam and Thrissur districts in the Centre's National Food Security Programme, he added.

Dy.Manager, ship repair operations, Cochin Shipyard convicted

2007-11-23T11:09:00.001+05:30

A local court sentenced K Arumughan Pillai, Deputy Manager, (EE & I), Ship Repair Operations, Cochin Shipyard Limited, to rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs 17,500.

While working as Deputy Manager, (Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation), Ship Repair Operations, CSL, demanded and accepted an amount of Rs 3000 from the complainant as a motive or reward for placing orders on the company owned by the complainant for supply of 'max plus grade-III,' a solution used for cleaning electrical motors and armatures etc, to the CSL.

Mahapratibha award for Lohithadas

2007-11-23T11:07:00.000+05:30

Writer-director Lohithadas has been selected for the Mahapratibha Puraskaram, instituted by the Ashlyn Chemmannur Instruments Private Limited. The award will be presented at a function today.

'Gauri' to hit screens on Nov. 30

2007-11-23T10:57:00.000+05:30

Taking a strong stand against abortion, "Gauri" a supernatural thriller in Hindi will hit the screens on November 30. The film starring Anupam Kher, Atul Kulkarni, Rituparna Sengupta and child actress Rushita Pandya tells the story of "Gauri", who was aborted by her parents and "her revenge and fight for justice".

Kulkarni, who plays the leading role, said the film, directed by Aku Akbar, goes beyond just being an ordinary supernatural thriller. "When the story of 'Gauri' was narrated, I was sold out," he said, adding "passive roles are more difficult to essay."

National Award winning Bengali actress Rituparna Sengupta, who portrays Atul's wife in the film, says she was "extremely happy and fulfilled" after doing the film. "As a responsible actress, I feel I should do something which will excite the audience and this film is an attempt in that direction," Sengupta said.

It was shot in Kerala's Idukki district in 30 days.

'Ore Kadal' to open Indian Panorama at IFFI

2007-11-22T11:02:00.001+05:30

Director Shyama Prasad's 'Ore Kadal', starring Mammootty and Meera Jasmine, will open the Indian Panorama section at the 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2007, staring Nov 23 in Goa.
The film is the screen adaptation of famous Bengali writer Sunil Gangopadhyay's novel 'Heerak Deepthi'. It revolves around Mammootty, a globetrotting economist who does not believe in love, and a housewife, Meera Jasmine, who is tired of the monotonous middle-class life. What happens to Meera after she falls for Mammootty's charm is the film all about. Of the 21 films selected for the Indian Panorama, 10 are from South.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan's 'Naalu Pennungal', based on four stories of Jnanpith award-winner Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, leads the Indian Panorama list.

Then there are three Malayalam films - Lenin Rajendran's 'Rathri Mazha' starring Vineeth and Meera Jasmine, Ranjith's 'Kaiyoppu' with Mammootty and Khushboo in the lead, and Babu Thiruvalla's 'Thaniye', which stars Nedumudi Venu and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy.

Two Tamil films, Gnana Rajasekaran's 'Periyar' and Padma Magan's 'Ammuvagiya Naan', will also be screened.

From the Kannada film industry, P.R. Ramadas Naidu's 'Moggina Jade', B.S. Lingadevaru's 'Kaada Beladingalu' and Shivarudhraiah's 'Daatu' are selected for screening.

First Haj flight carrying 215 pilgrims departs from Kerala

2007-11-22T11:01:00.000+05:30

The first of the chartered Air India flights, carrying 215 Haj pilgrims from Kerala to Saudi Arabia, left here Wednesday. All arrangements for the pilgrims were made by the State Haj Committee, a set-up constituted by the state government. It will operate a total of 31 flights.
'This year, the State Haj Committee has the sanction to take 8,249 people for the pilgrimage. The flights will continue till December 6,' said Prof A.K.Abdul Hameed, chairman of the State Haj Committee.

The committee will also make arrangements for the stay of the Haj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.
'The pilgrimage will continue for about 40 days. The return flights will start on January 4 and all the pilgrims will be brought back by January 18,' said Hameed. Around 20,000 people from Kerala, including those taking the chartered flights, are expected to travel to Saudi Arabia for Haj this year.

Kerala's Minister for Local Administration Paloli Muhammedkutti flagged off the first Haj flight at the Karipur Airport.

Confusion reigns over Kumbalanghi project

2007-11-22T11:00:00.002+05:30

Even as Kumbalanghi, arguably the first-ever model tourism village in the country, is poised to scale new heights of glory, confusion remains about the implementation part of the project.
The Union Ministry of Tourism is all set to promote Kumbalanghi as one of the leading destinations in one or two-day packages along with the Incredible India campaign. But the developments on the ground do not match with the vision those at the helm have.

The District Collector, in his capacity as the nodal officer for the model tourism project being implemented with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funds, has issued a stop memo for construction activities at a resort in the village.However, the village panchayat gave green signal for construction of 56 cottages, perched on pillars set in water bodies. “Such a construction activity can only be allowed after proper study by aquaculture experts,” said Collector A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish.

The Union Ministry, he said, was very particular in conserving the pristine rural charm of the village. Any activity contrary to that would lead to re-thinking about being included in the Incredible India campaign.

e-Kendras to Initiate Medical Transcription Training in Kerala

2007-11-22T11:00:00.001+05:30

Kerala’s networked multipurpose community technology centers, known as Akshaya e-Kendras are launching a training program on medical transcription by end November. The program will be initially launched in Malappuram district.

Medical transcription training is being conducted in collaboration with Keltron (Kerala State Electronics Development Corp) and will be monitored by the state’s IT Mission.The transcription training will be for six months and will cost Rs.15,000. Each centre will have two trainers with either postgraduate diploma in computer applications or diploma in computer applications.

For people who undergo training in the Akshaya centres, Keltron will ensure placement in BPOs or in other firms. Meanwhile, Akshaya authorities are selecting candidates for the program.

Ditex '07 expo in Kochi

2007-11-22T10:59:00.000+05:30

Ditex 2007, the first exhibition of digital products in Kerala, will be held in Kochi on December 27 to 29 at Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium. It focuses on the fastest growing sectors and brings together major network, security, office technologies, IT business solutions and telecommunications, which delivers focused forums for key buyers and decision makers across the state.

Ditex 2007 is the first of its kind organised on the lines of Gitex Technology Exhibition by Dubai World Trade Centre in the Gulf and Middle East countries and Hyderabad.

Multinational and domestic companies which are in the business of mobile phones, digital cameras, office automation, education and training solutions, network and network components, communication security system, card payment solutions, broadband networks, optical networking, Wi-Fi, EPayment Systems, Gaming Technologies etc will be participating in this expo.

A yatra to take IT to villages

2007-11-22T10:58:00.002+05:30

The Kerala leg of the Bharat Vikas Yatra, organised by the Confederation of NGOs of Rural India (CNRI), will start from the Gandhi Park in Thiruvananthapuram on December 1. The yatra will focus on educating the rural masses on the nation’s achievements in the science and technology sector and promoting the use of Information Technology for social development. It seeks to popularise community legal services and create awareness about the Right to Information Act and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

The yatra also highlights the need for empowerment of women, school education and village knowledge centres.The campaign will cover 650 panchayats across the State before concluding at Kasaragod on December 31. The 40-member team will join hands with NGOs, panchayats, elected representatives and Kudumbasree units to conduct public meetings, science exhibitions, quiz programmes for children, street plays and people’s adalats.

The campaign is supported by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Ministry of Small Industries.

Bank employees stir

2007-11-22T10:58:00.001+05:30

The employees from Kerala will participate in the all-India strike being organised by employees of the Associate Banks on December 3 to protest against the move to merge these institutions with the SBI, according to P.V.Jose, general secretary of the SBT Staff Union.

Show-cause notice to TDB Commissioner

2007-11-22T10:57:00.000+05:30

The Devaswom Department has served a show-cause notice on the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB)Commissioner C.G. Sachithanandan asking him why action should not be taken against him for dereliction of duties assigned to him.

The Commissioner was required under the Devaswom Act to submit a report on the financial matters of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to the Government once in three months.

‘Make tourist destinations beggar-free’

2007-11-22T10:56:00.000+05:30

Kerala Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Cherian Philip has urged the State government to make all major tourist destinations in the State beggar-free zones.

The KTDC chairman said the pestering caused by beggars in the tourist destinations is spoiling the reputation of the destination and causing inconvenience to the guests. The existing tourism machinery is unable to take steps to check their activities.

Bomb hoax at Sabarimala

2007-11-21T19:47:00.000+05:30

Police on Wednesday conducted a search in Sabarimala temple and surrounding areas following a bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax. After receiving the call, police sounded a red alert and carried a thorough search of the area and later declared the complex safe. The temple has been witnessing heavy rush of pilgrims since the commencement of the pilgrimage season last week.

The call, received in a police station at Kozhikode, said a bomb would go off at 3.30 pm near the temple. Police also searched shops in the area, boxes where devotees throw cash offerings and bundles and bags carried by the pilgrims. The security has been strengthened at the holy eighteen steps that lead to the temple complex.