Two girls drown as car slips into river; father attempts suicide: Two girls drowned as the car driven by their father plunged into the Pampa river at Neerettupuram in the district. The Father was admitted to a hospital after he tried to commit suicide by consuming poison in the shock of the tragedy, police said. The deceased were identified as Darsana (13) and Dona (7), daughters of David, a school teacher. The mishap occurred when David and his daughters were on their way to attend in a church. The girls were trapped in the car while their father managed to come out. His condition was not serious, hospital sources said. The girls' bodies were taken out from the car by local people with the help of police.

Extremism: LDF cannot shirk responsibility, says Chennithala: The CPI(M)-led ruling Left Democratic Front could not shirk responsibility for the growth of terrorism in Kerala, Kerala PCC president Ramesh Chennithala said ."The state government and the CPI-M cannot escape from its responsibility for the growth of extremism by blaming the previous UDF government," Chennithala said. The `soft approach' of CPI-M towards extremist oufits for getting their votes had created a congenial atmosphere for such organisations in the state,he alleged in a statement here CPI-M had allied with organisations like PDP, Jamaat-e- Islami and Popular Front in past elections,he charged.

The LDF government had not taken strong steps in the last four years of its rule despite Intelligence reports about the presence of extremist movements in the state which led to the present state of affairs, Chennithala said. New intelligence reports suggested that there were persons within the state police force who lent a helping hand to extremists, he alleged. The state Home department had been ignoring the warnings of the Intelligence wing, and state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had earlier opposed central agencies like NIA `meddling' with affairs of the state.Claiming that the Congress and the UDF had never allied with extremist organisations, he said in future also the Front would follow the same policy. Chennithala offered all support to the government if it took strong steps to combat extremism.

Attack on lecturer: Sketches of two accused released: The police released sketches of two persons suspected to be in the gang in connection with the chopping off the right hand of the lecturer of Newman College in Moovattuppuzha. The sketch was prepared with the help of the witnesses. Look out notice for two more accused have been issued. With this, look out notices have been issued against five persons.

CPM behind growing terrorism, says Chandy: The CPM is responsible for the growing of terrorism in the state, alleged opposition leader Oommen Chandy. Talking to reporters in the district, Chandy said the UDF is not scared to opine against the Popular Front. The people very well know that who had a nexus with the communal forces during the assembly and Lok Sabha polls. Blaming the UDF unnecessarily will not yield any results, he said. The UDF has never taken a favourable stand against terrorism, he said. He asked the MG University vice-chancellor to clarify whether the deal with the student on CMS college issue in Kottayam still exists.

Probe in attack on lecturer progressing, says DGP: The probe in connection with the attack on lecturer is progressing, said DGP Jacob Punnoos. He said they have got information regarding the accused and has not thought of handing over the investigation to other agencies. The DGP said they are examining the documents seized during the raids from the centres of the Popular Front.


Police begins probe on PFI secret conclave in TN : Kerala police on received information that a secret meet of the Popular Front of India (PFI) is being assembled in Thakkala on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border at a time when raids are being carried out in the offices of the organization in connection with the attack on the lecturer in Moovattupuzha.The meet is being held at Thakkala. The state police as soon as they received information passed it on to the Tamil Nadu police. Initial reports said the meet would hold discussions on the attack on the lecturer and the raids conducted in their centres.

Heavy rain lashes Kerala : Normal life was thrown out of gear in Kerala as heavy rain lashed several parts of the region. Rain occurred at most places in Kerala and Lakshadweep. According to meteorology sources , forecast valid until the morning of July 19, rain or thunder showers will occur at most places in Kerala and at many places in Lakshadweep. Anyhow no damages were reported in the State. Strong onshore winds from north-westernly direction speed occasionally reaching 45-55 kmph along off Kerala coast and over Lakshadweep area during next 24 hours. Isolated heavy rainfall is likely to occur over Kerala during next 48 hours.

Sandal oil factory at Marayur in a year: Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan laid the foundation stone for the proposed sandalwood oil factory at Marayur. Achuthanandan said that the State had made tremendous progress in basic infrastructure development in the past four years. Welfare, development and peace should be the primary priorities of any government. The Opposition had initially criticized the government. The critics are now silent as all-round progress is evident, he said. The State had shown progress in the law and order front, he added. The factory, coming up at a cost of Rs.1.54 crore, would be under the Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC).

The Forest Department has leased out one acre of land to the KFDC for the purpose. On being commissioned, it will be the only sandalwood oil-extracting unit in the State. The Forest Department will sell sandalwood to the KFDC as raw material for the factory at Rs.3,024 a kg under an agreement. It is expected that the sandalwood oil from the factory will hit the market within a year. The factory will produce 400 kg of oil in the first year, 480 kg in the second year, 500 kg in the third year and reach its full capacity of 640 kg in the fourth year. On reaching full capacity, the factory will require 20 tonnes of sandalwood every year.

Initially, sandalwood seized by the Forest and Police departments and dead and wind-fallen tress in forest areas will be supplied as raw material. The government has enough stock of such sandalwood to meet the factory,s requirements for a good number of years. He said the public sector factory would be a major step towards eliminating the so-called sandalwood mafia from the sandalwood-rich Marayur area. The government has provided enough protection to the sandalwood forests of Marayur during the past four years. The Minister said the creation of an exclusive cadre of Forest Department veterinarians would be considered seriously.

3 officers posted to newly formed ISI branch : The state Government has appointed three officers- an SP and two DySP to man the newly created Internal Security Investigation (ISI) branch which will deal exclusively with crimes connected to internal security in Kerala. Eranakulam Special Branch SP A V George, Thiruvananthapuram Cantonment ACP Krishnan Nair and Kozhikode Control room DySP Shaukath Ali are the officers deployed.

40,000 fake doctors on practice in Kerala, says IMA : Indian Medical Association (IMA) stated that as many as 40,000 doctors are practicing in various parts of the state with fake certificates. The IMA is in the process of collecting details and plans to submit a detailed list of fake doctors to the state government within two months. A similar attempt from Tamil Nadu prompted IMA to have such a count in the state also. IMA requested co-operation from the government to identify and isolate such fake doctors. IMA also suggests stringent action against those caught. Currently fake doctors are charged with impersonation. The demand is for stern action according to Indian medical council act of 1965.

Kandal Park closes in Pappinisseri: The Kandal Park in Pappinisseri has closed following pressure from all sides. The centre had asked to close it stating that it was functioning after violating rules. Kannur tahsildar handed over the order of the centre directing to stop it, to the eco tourism society in Pappinisseri. K Sudhakaran MP lodged a complaint to Union Minister Jairam Ramesh saying that it was functioning illegally. The centre immediately sought its closure. Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan informed the assembly that he had directed to stop it. But he kept mum when asked whether it would be closed.

SC rejects state’s demand on users fee: The Supreme Court Tribunal rejected state government’s plea seeking a stay on the users fee imposed at the Thiruvananthapuram airport. The tribunal headed by Justice Arjith Pasayath also directed to send a notice to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in the case. The case will be considered again on September 6. The AAI directed to collect Rs 833 including service charge and user fee Rs 755.

Opposition stages walkout over mangroves park issue: Opposition UDF members staged a walk-out in the state assembly protesting against Speaker K Radhakrishnan refusing leave for debate on an adjournment motion on the CPI (M)-controlled mangroves park in Kannur, which was ordered to be closed down by Union Environment Ministry citing violation of CRZ norms. Replying to the motion by K C Joseph (Congress), Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said on receipt of the Union Ministry's letter, state Coastal Management Authority had constituted an expert committee which would visit the park in two days and submit a report.

The report would be sent to the Union Ministry within two weeks, he said, adding, the matter would be taken up seriously, after which the Speaker refused leave for debate on the issue. Seeking leave for the motion, K C Joseph said the Eco Tourism Society headed by CPI-M leader E P Jayarajan, which was running the park at Pappinissery in Kannur, had flouted all CRZ rules while setting up the facility. In a case related to the park, state Science and Technology department itself had filed an affidavit in the High Court that the area was "ecologically sensitive" and any construction activity there would amount to gross violation of rules under CRZ, Joseph said.

The rules also prohibited use of such ecologically fragile areas for commercial or entertainment activities. The team of experts sent to the park recently by Union Environment Ministry had noted that the park was more of a commercial venture than a conservation venture, he said.Opposition leader Oommen Chandy said the chief minister's reply was an 'admission of guilt'. Despite the state government receiving the Environment Ministry's letter on July 14, no step had been taken to close it down, he said. While the CRZ laws were being stringently applied when poor fishermen wanted to build houses, a CPI (M)-controlled society was being allowed to flout all rules, Chandy said before trooping UDF members out of the House.

Co-operative University under consideration: The state government would seriously consider the demand for setting up a Co-operative University in the state for the control of educational institutions in the sector, Co-operation Minister G Sudhakaran said . Replying to a calling attention motion by V N Vasavan (CPI-M) in the assembly, the minister said the proposal would require a policy decision of the government and so far no such decision had been taken on the matter.

Of the 40,000 seats available in professional colleges, 14,000 seats were in co-operative institutions. The state now had 23 professional colleges in the sector with a total asset of Rs 2,399 crore, he said. A total of 85 arts and science colleges with student strength of 1.5 lakh were also functioning in the state. In such a scenario, the demand for a separate Co-operative University would be considered, he said.

Centre trying to disrupt Athirapally Project, says Balan : Alleging the centre was trying to disrupt the Athirapally and Pooyamkutty Hydro Electric Projects, Electricity Minister A K Balan said there was no need for the Union Government to appoint the Madhav Gadgil Committee to study them. Replying to questions in the Assembly, he said the Centre's decision to appoint Gadgil Committee was not a good move as it would not do any good to the state.

There was no need for appointing such a committee when already three environment panels had cleared the projects, Balan said. Regarding safety of the dams in the state, he said the Intelligence Bureau had intimated about a threat to the dams. A panel comprising Chief Vigilance Officer in the rank of IG, a police superintendent and two deputy police superintendents would look into the safety aspects.

MPs should pressure for Kochi metro: In order to make the Kochi metro rail project a reality, MPs from the state should pressure the centre for its implementation. Talking at the MPs meet, he termed as unfortunate on planning commission’s argument that it will not be profitable. With the completion of the Vallarppadam terminal and the second phase of the Info Park, the journey in Kochi would be severe. The metro rail project would be a solution for it. So, he asked the MPs to force the centre to grant permission for the project.

Aryadan, Shaukath receive death threat: Nilambur MLA Aryadan Mohammed and his son Shaukat, Nilambur panchayat president, received death threats for strongly reacting against the terror activities of the Popular Front. The caller introduced as SDPI activist threatened that the two would be severely attacked and will not allow them to walk out of the house. Aryadan received the message twice on his landline phone in Nilambur. The first threat came soon after the sabotage train bid. When traced, it was noticed that the calls were from the Gulf. The second call came four days before and it was attended by Harris, Shaukath’s friend. The two have not lodged any complaint to the police.

Action should be taken against college principal: The M G University should take action against the college principal of the CMS College for violating rules, said CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. He termed as unfortunate on the stand taken by the principal. He said the SFI will go forward with strong protests against the principal who act as the spokesperson of the UDF. I don’t think the college principal is a respectable person, he said.

Muslim League will not reject anybody’s votes: The Muslim League doesn’t have the guts to reject anybody’s votes in the coming panchayat polls, said party state secretary P K Kunhalikutty. Talking to reporters in the district, he said they will not have any relations with the terror outfits in the polls. The government should be ready to convene an all party meet if the demand of the CPM to ban Popular Front is genuine, he said. No weapon is needed to look into the welfare of the minorities. The CPM’s soft attitude towards terrorist organizations in the state created a perfect environment for such organizations to thrive in the state.

Railway reservation counters in HC premises: A satellite Computerized Passenger Reservation System will be commissioned at the Kerala High Court premises by Chief Justice J Chelameswar tomorrow. Minister of State for Railways E Ahamed will preside over the function, a Southern Railway press release said .

TV serials have affected dramas, says Mukesh: Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi (KSNA) Chairman Mukesh said that TV serials had adversely affected theatre in the state. Talking to newspersons , he said artistes were now choosing other fields and only passionate people still continued in the field. He said the KSNA would continue the works which were started by late Bharat Murali. To a question, Mukesh said if he entered politics, it would adversely affect his career as an artiste.

When asked about veteran actor Thilakan's conflict with Malayalam film industry, he said KSNA was ready to give support if Thilakan gives a representation for acting in theatre. Criticism against superstars or cine artistes was good but should have some truth in it. Otherwise, it would affect the stars. KSNA had decided to conduct international drama festival (ITFOK) at Thrissur in December this year, in which more importance would be given to stage plays from Latin American countries. Mukesh said the Akademi had also decided to launch audio and video CDs. The 'Lanka Lakshmi', a solo drama of Bharat Murali, would be released on August 6, the first death anniversary of Murali along with 'Chembai' and 'Nheralth' CDs, he added.

20 lakh BPL cardholders to get food item kits in Kerala: The Kerala government on said it would distribute kits containing food items free of cost to 20 lakh BelowPoverty Line cardholders, to check prices during Onam festival next monthA decision to this effect was taken at a cabinet meeting Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan told reporters. An amount of Rs 156 crore would be spent for the purpose, he said. The Chief Minister said the cabinet also decided to allot higher secondary school status to 178 schools in the northern districts. This would result in creation of an additional 22,000 seats for higher secondary courses,he said.

CBI petition posted for next month: Kerala High Court posted after three weeks the petition filed by CBI seeking a direction to the state HomeSecretary to handover files of the case relating to custodial death of a murder accused to them. Earlier, a Division Bench had upheld the single judge's order directing handingover to CBI the investigation of the case relating to the custodial torture and death of Sampath, an accused in the murder of a housewife at Palakkad in march this year.

Three accused in the case were arrested and Sampath died following alleged torture while being interrogated. Even after more than a month, files of the Sampath case have not been handed over by the Kerala police to CBI, the central investigation agency stated.When the matter came up before Justice V Ram kumar, Director General of Prosecutions K K Ravindran, informed the court that the matter was pending before the Supreme Court and the government wanted some more time following which the case was posted after three weeks.

Malayalam's best selling novel rendered into Arabic: Malayalam's best selling novel, Oru Sankeerthanam poleby eminent writer Perumbadavam Sreedharan, has been translated into Arabic by a Gulf-based publisher.The novel, based on an emotional phase in the life of renowned Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, was recently rendered into Arabic by Egyptian poet Mohammad Ieed Ibrahim for Kalima publications under the Abu Dhabi Cultural Heritage. The translator used the English version of the novel as his medium for translating it into Arabic but had extensive interactions with Mayalayalm short story writer S A Qudsi to do justice to the spirit of the original work, Sreedharan said.

A moving portrayal of Dostoevsky' emotional engagement with his stenographer Anna Snitkina, Oru Sankeerthanam pole (Just like a psalm) has won high critical appreciation apart from its roaring reception from the readers."I considered myself fortunate that one of my works is available to readers of a global language. Arabic is as rich a language and cultural treasure house as Sanskrit or Persian. I consider this also as a recognition to Malayalam literature and culture?, Sreedharan told.

Architects Hopkins to design new cricket stadium in Kochi: London-based world renowned architects Hopkins has been given the task of designing the international standard 50,000 capacity cricket stadium at Edakochi in Kochi, a top official of Kerala cricket Association (KCA) said . The work on the stadium to come up on an area of 23 acres of picturesque land with water frontage of about 400 metres was expected to begin at the earliest, KCA Secretary T C Mathew told reporters. The stadium will have practice stadium, indoor practice stadium, international quality turf wickets with facilities for conducting day/night matches and Test matches, he said.

On the renovation work at Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium in Kochi, the venue for the one-day match between India and Australia to be played on October 17, he said it was fast progresing and the stadium was expected to be fully ready by September. The turf was being relaid, while the work on the roofing had already been completed. All the old chairs had been replaced with new ones, he said. Besides the India-Australia ODI, a cricket feast awaits Keralites with a string of inter-state First Class matches including, three Ranji trophy matches slated to be played in the state in this season.

Muslim leaders for isolating extremists: A group of Muslim leaders from Kerala on submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan seeking steps to instill a sense of security among the community in the wake of `false campaigns' against it after the recent attack on a lecturer who prepared a inflamatory question paper.The leaders who met the Chief Minister included three MLAs -- K T Jaleel, P T A Rahim and P M A Salam. Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Hameed Vanimel, Mehboob M and PDP leader Gafoor Puthuppadi told reporters here they urged the Chief Minister to check the 'campaigns' against the community under the pretext of reacting to a brutal attack by a group of 'hooligans'.

"This will create a sense of insecurity in the community and will not be helpful in the attempts to isolate the extremists among them," they said. The memorandum wanted the Chief Minister to investigate whether the extremists behind the attack on the lecturer had any foreign links and expose them.The leaders offered all support to the government's attempts to maintain communal harmony and peace in Kerala. The Chief Minister assured that steps would be taken not to portray a particular community in bad light for the barbarous attack on the lecturer T J Joseph, whose right hand was chopped off allegedly by activists of Popular Front of India, a radical Muslim outfit on July 4.

Rain occurred at most places in Kerala: Rain occurred at most places in Kerala and at many places in Lakshadweep. According to meteorology sources , heavy rainfall reports in cm are Kudulu 9, Hosdurg 8. Kannur, Peerumedu, and Vadagara 7 each.Other chief amounts of rainfall reports in cm are Munnar 6, Alappuzha, CIAL Kochi, Perumbavoor, Vellanikkara, Irinjalakuda, Kunnamkulam, Kollam, Nedumangad and Neyyattinkara 5 each.Forecast valid until the morning of July 21, rain or thunder showers will occur at most places in Kerala and at many places in Lakshadweep. Isolated heavy rainfall is likely in Kerala during next 48 hours.Strong onshore winds from westernly direction speed occasionally reaching 45-55 kmph is likely along off Kerala coast and over Lakshadweep area during next 24 hours, outlook no significant change.

Kathakali actor Sivaraman passes away: Veteran Kathakali artiste Kottakkal Sivaraman, who excelled in depicting heroines of Indian mythology, passed away due to old age ailment at his residence in Karalmanna last night, family members said. He was 76 and is survived by his wife and two daughters. He had been keeping indifferent health for some time. In Kathakali theatre, Sivaraman was synonymous with Indian mythological characters like Damayanti, Kunti and Draupadi, teaming up with veteran actors specialising in male roles since his adolescence.

A disciple of Kathakali maestro Vazhengada Kunju Nair, Sivaraman appeared as heroines for renowned artistes like Krishnan Nair, Ramankutty Nair and Kalamandalam Gopi.Though he made a mark in doing romantic roles in the initial phase of his career, Sivaraman later stole the hearts of Kathakali fans through his moving portrayal of Kunti in 'Karna Sapatham', which was performed on thousands of stages, mostly with Kalamandalam Gopi.

Committee visits park, report to be submitted on July 24 : The seven-member team set up by the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority visited the controversial Pappinissery Mangrove Theme Park in Kannur District to assess environmental impact caused by the park, shut down on directions from union environment Ministry. "We are planning to submit the study report to Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority on July 24," Dr B Madhusoodana Kurup, heading the team, told reporters over phone. "We have generated lot of scientific data and would analyse the same," he said.

The committee was formed following a directive from the Union Environment and Forests ministry. The mangrove theme park run by the CPI (M)-controlled Pappinisery Eco Tourism Society had run into controversy right from the start with environmental organisations and opposition UDF protesting against it alleging gross violation of the CRZ norms by the society. The Opposition UDF had also staged a walk-out from the Kerala Assembly over the issue. The park was closed after the Kannur District Administration served the closure notice on the authorities of the society.

German envoy woos Indian students: Indian students could pursue higher education in Germany as it offered cheap and high quality education, a German envoy said .The quality of education provided in Germany, especially in the technical field, was much better than anywhere in the world, Consul General Rolf Saligmann, Consulate-General of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bangalore), said . Speaking at an interactive session organised by Malabar Chamber of Commerce here, Saligmann said only around 4,000 Indian students were studying in Germany while there were 35,000 Chinese students in the country.

"The sad part is only 200 German students are studying in India," he said.Though language was the biggest hurdle in studying in Germany, more and more universities were having English in their curriculum, Saligman said.On trade ties, he said India and Germany had long and good bilateral trade relations. The latest office of Indo-German Chamber of Commerce at Bangalore will become fully functional in the next summer and visa services will be made available from the Consulate in Bangalore for the benefit of people from south India, he said.Pointing out that Kerala had scope for trade, he said the state known for its tourism potential should highlight the available opportunities, especially in Ayurveda.

South-west monsoon active over Kerala: South-west monsoon has been active over Kerala. Rain occurred at many places in Lakshadweep. According to meteorology sources here, heavy rainfall reports in cm are Thalassery 12 and Kudulu 10. Other chief amounts of rainfall reports in cm are Chalakkudy, Munnar and Thaliparamba 9 each. Idukki and Vadagara, 8 each. Kannur, Chengannur and Thiruvalla 7 each.

Forecast valid until the morning of July 22, rain or thunder showers will occur at most places in Kerala and at many places in Lakshadweep. Isolated heavy rainfall is likely in Kerala during next 48 hours. Strong winds from westernly direction speed occasionally reaching 45-55 kmph is likely along off Kerala coast and Lakshadweep area during next 24 hours, outlook decrease in rainfall.

NHRC notice to Kerala Police on harassment of Muslim families: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Kerala police chief on a complaint that Muslim families are being harassed, an official said .NHRC has asked for a report within two weeks in connection with a complaint alleging that the police, in the guise of investigating an attack on T J Joseph, a professor of Newman's College, are harassing some Muslim families.

Joseph was attacked and had his right hand chopped off for allegedly preparing a question paper with derogatory references to Prophet Mohammad. Members of Muslim families are being harassed by frequent searches and seizure of various items from their houses, the NHRC said. N M Siddhiq, president of the National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations, has lodged a complaint with the NHRC in this matter.

Tusker releases book: A budding writer had his first novel released by a tusker, departing from the normal practise of roping in established authors for such functions.The elephant, Madathil Mohan, released the novel penned by Anivelappan by handing over the first copy to its owner picking up the book in its trunk at Parassala, about 30 km from here . A local-history buff, Anivelappan's novel tells the story of the folk hero 'Kaliutayan', who was believed to have lived two centuries back when the princely state of Travancore was in the grip of a fierce power struggle.

He took the theme from the historical fictions of famous writer C V Raman Pillai based on the history of Travancore region in times of King Marthanda Varma. A lot of people gathered to witness the simple ceremony held in an open space under the shade of trees, stripped of such paraphernalia as podium or loud speaker. An autorickshaw driver who studied upto 10th class, Anivelappan turned to writing due to his passion for local history. He said he had plans to come out with more novels based on unknown episodes of Travancore history.

Breach of privilege notice against KP Rajendran: Senior opposition legislator Joseph M Puthuserry submitted a breach of privilege notice to Kerala assembly speaker K Radhakrishnan over the "contradictory" statements made by revenue minister KP Rajendran on the floor of the house. The Kerala Congress (M) member, in his letter to the speaker, said that in reply to a query during Question Hour Friday, Rajendran said chief minister VS Achuthanandan had placed a board on the property of Tata Tea Limited in Munnar in July 2007 which read that the place belonged to the government.

Achuthanandan had embarked on a drive to confiscate government land held by private parties in Munnar, the picturesque hill station in Idukki district. Puthuserry said in his letter that Rajendran told the house July 4, 2007 that the chief minister had placed the board on government land."On the same issue, Rajendran has made contradictory statements and hence I have given a breach of privilege notice to the speaker and he has accepted it," Puthuserry said.

CPM meet to discuss strategy for WB, Kerala polls: The CPI (M) would begin a crucial meeting to define its approach towards Congress and BJP and finalise a tactical line to be adopted in the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal and Kerala.The three-day meeting of its Central Committee would also prepare a political and organisational report, critically reviewing implementation of the goals set by the 2008 Coimbatore Congress of the CPI (M), party sources said. A draft political resolution containing the political and tactical line of the party, prepared by the Politburo earlier this month, would be placed before the 87-member Central Committee for debate and adoption, they said.

The resolution would be further debated and fine-tuned at a meeting of the extended Central Committee in August in Vijayawada. Besides the draft resolution, a document containing the review of the implementation of the political and tactical line will be placed before the Central Committee, they said.While a section in the party still believes that a political understanding with the Congress can make the party more relevant at the national level, there is another line which holds that the party should maintain distance from both the Congress and the BJP. Those holding the latter view feel that though Congress is a secular formation, its "anti-people" economic policies have led to the spiralling prices and other problems facing the people.

Even during the UPA-I rule, the Congress had detracted from the Common Minimum Programme, this section feels. Hence, there should be no question of having an understanding with the Congress as well as the BJP which, the party feels, is communal, this group opines. In the context of Kerala, a large section of the party feels that the opposition Congress-led UDF was mobilising various communal and casteist forces to take on ruling LDF. However in West Bengal, a section thinks that isolating the Congress from Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, even to a certain extent, could help the Left gain some lost ground. This is likely to be the expected line of debate at the three-day meeting, during which the Central Committee would finalise the political-tactical line.

Youth League criticizes E T Muhammed Basheer: The State Committee meeting of Youth League lampooned Muslim League leader and MP E T Muhammed Basheer for showing mild attitude towards Muslim outfit, Popular Front.The meeting found that Muhammed Basheer had agreed to some of the stances of Popular Front. Muhammed Basheer has often justified Popular Front in most of his TV channel discussions. The meeting has decided to inform Muslim League state president Syed Hyder Ali Shihab Thangal and Muslim League state general secretary P K Kunhalikutty about Youth League’s disagreement in this issue.

Govt against reinstating Thachankary: The state government informed the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) that they cannot reinstate IG Tomin Thachankary, who has been suspended for going abroad without government’s permission. Additional advocate general Renjith Thamban, who appeared for the government told the CAT that if he is reinstated, he may influence NIA’s investigation on his visit to Qatar. The government Tuesday handed a copy of the union home secretary’s letter claiming that a NIA probe has begun against the official, to the CAT.

Not only that a probe is being conducted against the vigilance cases registered against him. If he is reinstated at this time, it will badly affect the probe. The government informed the CAT that he has gone abroad many times without the permission of the government. As the arguments have been completed, the CAT has postponed pronouncing the verdict. The argument was heard by a three-member headed by CAT Delhi principal bench vice chairman L K Joshy. Thachankary had argued that he can be suspended only as per the decision of the cabinet members and action can be taken according to that. In the plea, he challenged the chief minister’s decision suspending him.

Police releases sketches of two more accused in lecturer attack case: The Moovattuppuzha police, probing the attack on the college lecturer whose right hand was chopped off allegedly by the activists of Popular Front of India, released the sketches of two more persons in the case. The police had on Sunday released the sketches of two persons. Police said the sketches were prepared after talking to the main witnesses, including the sister of lecturer T J Joseph who was with him when he was attacked. The police had earlier issued a look out notice against the main accused Younus, K K Ali and Nazar. The names of 18 persons have been included in the accused list.

Madhani’s warrant extended till August 3: The non-bailable arrest warrant issued by the Bangalore Metropolitan Fast Track Court against PDP leader Abdul Nazar Madhani, the 31st accused in the Bangalore blasts case, has been extended till August 3.The tenure has been extended as the investigating officials sought more time to arrest the two fugitives including Madhani. Meantime, the accused arrested by the investigating team in connection with the Bangalore blast case, sought a copy of the charge sheet in the court.

Action plan for protecting mangrove forests: Forest Minister Binoy Viswom told the State Assembly that the government will chart out an action plan for protecting the mangrove forests in the state.Replying to questions, he said the mangroves would be protected with the help of the Center. Stating that the government aimed at protecting mangrove forests and other forests in the state, he stressed that the mangrove forests and other forests in the state would be protected at all means.

It may be noted that the Mangrove Theme Park on the northern bank of river Valapattanam was closed Monday after the park drew criticism from environmental activists and the opposition UDF. The Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes with regard to the Mangrove Theme Park with the Opposition staging a walk out alleging destruction of mangrove forests in the area.

Fast track system for dealing with NRK issues: Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said the government had decided to introduce a fast track system for Non Resident Keralites (NRK) for dealing with their issues related to revenue, police and law.In a written reply, he said the problems related to the three issues of revenue, police and law could be taken up with the fast track system that would come up at the NORKA Cells affiliated with the Collectorates.

VS said the Pravasi Identity cards were being distributed through various NORKA Cells. To another question regarding the commissioning of the new terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, he said he hoped Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would commission the terminal in October. A letter stressing that the Prime Minister himself should commission the terminal had been sent, he added.

One killed in lorry-bus collision: One person was killed after a private bus collided with a tanker lorry near Pathadippalam in Kalamassery, at 9.30 am Twelve persons sustained injuries.The dead has been identified as Jayaprakash, a KSEB employee. The private bus to Aluva overturned after colliding with the lorry carrying drinking water.

UDF walkout over tsunami rehabilitation package: Congress led UDF opposition members in the state staged a walkout in the assembly protesting the refusal by Speaker K Radhakrishnan for debate on their adjournment motion on the delay in implementing schemes under Centre sponsored tsunami rehabilitation package. Replying to the notice for motion by P C George (KC-M), Revenue Minister K P Rajendran said out of the total 12,128 houses planned under the project in nine coastal districts, more than 4,000 had been completed and handed over to beneficiaries.Delay in completion of the construction work of houses in certain places was due to litigation connected with land acquisition and dispute over the list of beneficiaries, he said.

However, government had fixed a target of finishing the house construction work by December this year, he said.Radhakrishnan refused leave for the motion after the reply by the minister. Construction work of more than 7000 houses was at different stages, he said, adding, keys of some of the houses would be handed over in October or November. George in his opening remark alleged that the government had failed to complete schemes, particularly house construction even after three years of the tragedy. Government also diverted tsunami funds for other purposes, he alleged. Before the walkout, opposition leader Oommen Chandy said the LDF which was in opposition when the tragedy struck had accused then UDF government of diverting tsunami funds has now not only failed to complete the projects in time but also diverted funds for other works.

Action against those responsible for Sainthia rail mishap: Stringent action would be taken against those responsible for the ghastly mishap involving the Uttarbanga and Vananchal express trains that left 66 dead, minister of state for railways E Ahamed said."Safety of passengers is our top consideration. If it is found that it is deliberate act of commission or omission, if we see any railway employee is involved, stringent action will be taken," he told reporters in Kochi. Describing the accident as "unfortunate", he said the enquiry report is being awaited. The two drivers of Uttarbanga express were experienced and qualified. They had stopped the train at the previous station and it was a puzzle why they did not stop at Sainthia station, he said replying to a question.

For railways, safety was of prime importance. "We are taking efforts to check at odd hours the functioning of the railway employees to see their alertness," he said.On the recent tampering of brake system of a passenger train at Nilambur in Kerala, he said the incident was being investigated. "The investigation is in right direction. Only after we get report we will be able to take further action."Ahamed said a new rail alignment for the Sabari rail project had been suggested at a recent meeting convened by the state chief minister.

The survey would soon be conducted, he said. There were lots of misgivings regarding the previous alignment, he said.Two new satellite reservation centres would be opened at Pangode Military cantonment at Thiruvananthapuram and at Kumily post office.As soon as railways get new bogies, new trains announced in the budget would be launched, Ahamed said. Mumbai-Ernakulam Duranto Express, Mangalore-Thiruchirapalli super fast weekly, Kozhikode-Thiruvananthapuram five days a week Janashatabdi, Pune-Ernakulam bi-weekly trains would be introduced, the minister said. Due to the monsoon, the rail doubling work was going at a slow pace, he said.

Police register sedition case against two PFI activists: The Special Investigation Team registered a case of sedition against two activists of radical Muslim outfit PFI, who were allegedly involved in chopping off the hand of a lecturer for preparing a question paper having "derogatory" references to Prophet Mohammed. Police sources told reporters that a case under sect 124 (A) of IPC (sedition and igniting communal passion) was registered against Reneef, a dentist, who was arrested on July 13 and Naushad, who is absconding.

Police had conducted a raid at Reneef's house last week and seized a book titled 'Jihad' in Malayalam which gave details on the manner in which 'Jihad' is to be waged against democracy and other communities, the sources said.A pamphlet on 'Islam and Democracy' written in Malayalam by Sarfaraz Nawaz, an accused in the 2008 Bangalore blast case, was seized from Naushad's house, police said. The pamphlet had stated that democracy should not be accepted and all Muslims should fight against democratic set up, the sources said. Prof T J Joseph was attacked on July 4 allegedly by activists of Popular Front of India at Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam for preparing a question paper containing "derogatory" references to Prophet Mohammed.

Woman killed as earth caves in Varkala : A woman was killed when earth caved in near Varkala. The dead has been identified as Rejeena of Oottukuzhy. She was 26.

‘Who gave Police the power of Court?’ asks HC: The Kerala High Courtasked the Kerala Police whether anyone has given them the privilege of magistrate to send notices to accused in ‘petty cases’ to appear in court. The court explained that the police have no right to take such an action. The High Court Justice V Ramkumar also said if SP or Commissioner orders their subordinates to cover a target of cases in fixed time interval, then that should be stopped.

The High Court ordered this while considering the petition filed by Ramesan of Marad, Ernakulam against a notice of ‘petty case’ sent by former SI of Panangad Nawaz. The Additional Magistrate Court had taken a case on the basis of SI’s notice.High Court also criticized the Magistrate for not commenting a word against the unlawful notice.Only the court has the right to send summons after verifying the investigation report. But, in this case the SI has grabbed the right of the court.

Saga of unfair game unfolds; Reliance Ltd selling diesel at low price: Is the government at the centre trying to bestow the oil market on private sector? The current sale of diesel of Reliance Industries Limited elicits such a question from the common man.The centre claims that the oil companies lose Rs 30 lakh a day! The government also says that due to the control in price of diesel, oil companies meet a loss of about Rs 2 per litre. The present price of diesel at Reliance pumps in Ernakulam district is Rs 40.79/litre whereas at a petrol-pump in public sector the price is Rs 40.80/litre.

This means that Reliance loses Rs 108 crore a year (Rs 9 crore per month). Will a private company invite such a big loss? Either the government is lying or the Reliance is trying to grab the oil market. Whichever be the truth, the ongoing game is an unfair one. Reliance currently buys diesel at a price of Rs 26.8 from Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL) working in the public sector. Reliance is trying to bring in diesel from its own refinery at Gujarat. Reliance can sell this diesel at low price since the cost of production is 20 % low thanks to the modern technology and efficiency.

82 appointments to Kerala House through unfair means: The 82 out of 102 appointments to the Kerala House (at New Delhi), under the complete control of the Kerala government, have been made through unfair means, sources say.Except the appointments to the 11 gazetted posts and 9 assistant posts, all the rest of the employees have been appointed without following the criteria needed for a government job including PSC tests! Most vacancies are filled without giving advertisements to established media. Even the Public Relations Department or any other government agencies were not sought.

The “newly” appointed employees get salary and all the allowances similar to that of government employees at Kerala. Since they are residing in Delhi, they also get special bata. Presently they get a salary scale of Rs 4510-6230. All the employees at the Kerala House have accommodation facilities. They have quarters at Travancore House (38), Kapoorthal Plot (56) and Kerala House (12) to live in.

All tribes to get rice at Rs 2: Minister for Food and Civil Supplies C Divakaran said on that rice will be provided to all tribes at Rs 2. FCI godown will be renewed at Valiyathura and East Fort. Food Analyse Laboratory will be opened at Konni. Post graduate courses and research centres will also be started.

Malayali stabbed to death in London: A Malayali employee at a laundry was stabbed to death by his Rumanian co-worker at Wembley in London. Peter Joseph (48) of Thumba in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, who has been working at ‘Just To’ laundry for six and a half years, was found dead at his room . It has been said that Peter was a favourite to the owner of the laundry. This was not tolerated by his Rumanian co-worker. This man often entered into quarrel with Peter.

Following the incident, the Rumanian citizen went missing. He was later caught and was being interrogated by Criminal Investigation Department. Peter’s wife is Mary Florin (Latha). They have a daughter Princy and a son Praveen. Princy is a polytechnic student at Nagercoil. Peter had telephoned Mary and Princy just before died.

Popular Front to demonstrate strength through Long March: The leaders’ meet of the Muslim outfit Popular Front has decided to launch zonal marches and a Long March at Kannur to demonstrate the organization’s strength.The meeting convened at Kottayam Padinjarekkara Auditorium was presided by Popular Front state President Nasiruddin Elamaram. About 60 members participated in the meeting. Huge posse of police under the direction of DySP P B Joy gathered outside the venue. The police were allowed to enter the meeting hall. The Long march at Kannur will be carried out on July 27. Before the long march, zonal marches will be held at Kozhikode, Perumbavur and Kollam on July 23.Though the meeting lasted an hour, no reference was made on the hand-chopping incident which made the Popular Front under scanner.

Welfare fund for sports persons in Kerala: The state sports minister M Vijayakumar said that welfare fund will be arranged for sports persons in Kerala, and for this Sports Development Fund will be formulated. One crore rupees has been assigned in the budget for this.

41 cases against other state lotteries, says Isaac: Finance Minister Thomas Isaac stated in the assembly that there are 41 cases registered against illegally operating lotteries organized by other States in Kerala. He said the new lotteries (regulation) act disallows the State government to take action against other state lotteries. But the state can inform this to the concerned state governments and can even approach the centre if the other state does not take action against illegal lotteries.

496 new companies registered in Kerala: Thirteen public companies with a total authorized capital of Rs 34.45 crore and 483 private companies with total authorized capital of Rs 90.84 crore were registered in Kerala during the period from April 1, 2010 to June 30, this year, according to S M Ameerul Millath, Registrar of Companies, Ernakulam. Out of this 35 were big size companies with total authorized capital of Rs 50 lakh and above. 120 cases were filed for violation of various provisions of the Companies Act 1956 and an amount of Rs.2,78,000/- was imposed as fine by the court against the Companies and Directors. During the period 104 companies were struck off, one was amalgamated and 31 companies changed their names.

Two companies were transferred from Kerala to other states and two companies were transferred from other states to Kerala, a PIB press release said. Out of the 496 companies registered in Kerala during the period from April 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010, 168 were registered in Ernakulam. Thiruvananthapuram with 76 companies and Thrissur with 75 were next in the list. Least number of three companies was registered in Wayanad. Maximum number of companies registered was 45 relating to manufacturing. Fortyfour companies for construction and 41 companies for wholesale trade were also registered.

Least number of nine companies was registered for business in stock, share and securities etc. During the period from January 1st to March 31st this year 503 companies were registered in Kerala and out of this 178 were in Ernakulam. Whereas Thrissur with 87 companies stood second and Thiruvananthapuram 54 companies took the third place. Wayanad with four companies was the last. A maximum of 57 companies were registered relating to manufacturing. 43 each were registered relating to construction and chit. Only eight companies registered for stock, shares, securities etc. K P Kamalakaran has assumed charge as a Chief Manager of the National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) Business Development Extension Office, Palakkad.

BJP demands Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's resignation: Alleging that extremists’ activities in the state had increased during the last over four years of LDF rule, Kerala unit of BJP demanded the resignation of Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan owning moral responsibility. During the last four years, no action was initiated in some of the important terror-related cases and Balakrishnan had to own the responsibility for the same, state unit BJP President V Muraleedharan alleged talking to reporters . Muraleedharan also demanded that the government come out with a 'white paper' on the activities of the extremists in the state. He also demanded a ban on the proposed state-wide 'freedom parade' by the Popular Front of India.

Madani’s bail plea: Prosecution to inform its stance: The prosecution will inform its stance at Karnataka High Court on an anticipatory bail application filed by Kerala PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani who is an accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts case. The Karnataka High Court had given a week’s time for the prosecution to file objections if any in granting bail to Madani.

High Court dismisses petitions seeking contempt action: Kerala High court dismissed two petitions seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against CPI (M) leader M V Jayarajan for making "derogatory" remarks against judges of the court. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice J Chalameswar and Justice P N Ravindran came down on the two petitioners advocate Edison of Thrissur and Basil of Ernakulam for filing the petitions without looking into provisions of law. Jayarajan, a Marxist leader from Kannur, had last month allegedly made derogatory remarks against a Judge who had imposed restrictions on conducting roadside meetings and processions.

The court observed that the petitions were not maintainable as contempt proceedings could not be issued on the basis of petitions like this.'No useful purpose will be served by directing the Registry to number the petitions', the bench held.Contempt petitions can be initiated by the Advocate General with his consent or by suo motu. The court is already hearing a petition filed by Advocate P Rahim of Thiruvananthapuram to initiate contempt proceedings against Jayarajan.

Central Committee meeting to fine-tune poll strategy: The CPI (M) Central Committee met to discuss its approach towards Congress and BJP and fine-tune the strategy to be adopted by it in the upcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal and Kerala. The meeting, however, was not attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who has been skipping meetings of the top leaders of the party following reported differences with them. The three-day meeting, which began , would also discuss the contents of a political and organisational report, critically reviewing implementation of the goals set by the 2008 Coimbatore Congress of the CPI (M). This report will be placed before the meeting of extended Central Committee next month in Vijayawada.

“A draft political resolution containing the political and tactical line of the party, prepared by the Polit Bureau earlier this month, would be placed before the 87-member Central Committee for debate and adoption,” a senior party leader said. Besides the draft resolution, a review of the implementation of the political and tactical line taken during the past three years will also be discussed by the Central Committee, the leader said. While a section in the party still believes that a political understanding with the Congress can make the party more relevant at the national level, there is another line of thought which holds that the party should maintain distance from both the Congress and the BJP.

Those holding the latter view feel that though Congress is a secular formation, its “anti-people” economic policies have led to the spiralling prices and other problems facing the people. Hence, there should be no question of having an understanding with the Congress as well as the BJP which, the party feels, is communal, this group opines.In the context of Kerala, a large section of the party feels that the opposition Congress-led UDF was mobilising various communal and casteist forces to take on ruling LDF. However in West Bengal, a section thinks that isolating the Congress from Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, even to a certain extent, could help the Left gain some lost ground.

Private bus operators call off strike: Private bus operators called off their cautionary strike planned . The operators called the strike demanding a hike in bus fares and an upward revision of students’ fare concession. The decision to call off strike came after a meeting between the bus owners and Transport Minister Jose Thettayil, at which the Minster assured them to form a special committee to study their problems. Thettayil also said the approval to the special committee will be achieved at the cabinet meet on July 28.After the meeting, Thettayil clarified that the hiking the bus fares and revising the students’ fare concession were not in the agenda of the government.

Facilities for the aged to be expanded: The State government proposes to implement in all sincerity the measures envisaged under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007, Industries Minister Elamaram Karim told the Assembly .He was replying, on behalf of the Minister for Social Welfare, to a calling attention motion moved by C.P. Mohammed, who said the demographic structure of the State was changing fast and the proportion of the aged in the population was increasing.

The joint family system that used to afford security to the aged in the past too had collapsed. An increasing number of aged people now faced the trauma of neglect and ill-treatment. Karim said the government was aware of the issue and had already initiated steps to expand facilities such as old age homes, day-care homes for the aged and geriatric wards in hospitals, besides increasing assistance to institutions taking care of aged people.

Kozhikode bans freedom parade: The Kozhikode District Administration banned freedom parade organised by radical Muslim outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) at Kuttiyadi in the district on August 15. District Collector P B Salim in an order also banned related activities associated with the parade throughout the district, official sources said. Other districts, including Kottayam, Ernakulam and Kannur were also banned from conducting parades or mass drill that could breach public peace and tranquility in the wake of mounting protests against chopping off palm of a College Professor T J Joseph at Muvattupuzha on July 4.

Khadi Onam fair to showcase silk mela: Minister for Devaswom Kadanappaly Ramachandran will inaugurate the state-level 'Khadi Onam' fair on July 24, Khadi Board Vice Chairman T Govindhan announced . An international Khadi silk mela would also be organised as part of Onam at V J T hall, Thiruvananthapuram and about two lakhs models of Khadi silk sarees would be on display, he said. The total sale of Khadi products during Onam festival was expected to be 12.4 crore as against 10.25 crore last year, he said.

A total of 30 per cent rebate would be allowed to consumers during the festival. Meanwhile, 30 percent rebate would be allowed this year, including the 10 per cent marketing assistance provided by the Centre, he said. A khadi product outlet would be opened this month at the Nedumbassery international airport. The works were in the final stage to obtain ISO 9001,2001 certificates to Kalloor Khadi Grama Soubhaghya, Ernakulam, one of the biggest outlets in South India, Khadi Board member U Babu Gopinath said.

Mullappally to inaugurate NRI Global meet: Union Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran will inaugurate the NRI Global meet organised under the aegis of the Indo-Arab Confederation Council (IACC) here on July 23, IACC chairman Attakkoya Pallikandi said . Talking to newspersons , he said Minister of State for Railways E Ahamed would present the Global NRI award-2010 to P K Luthafudheen, Chairman of Alfa-one group and M P Shafi Haji, a NRI and social worker at Qatar.

The main objective of the summit was to encourage NRI's to start their own enterprises in the Malabar region. Several NRI's had already come forward to invest in Malabar region if the government extends assistance, he said. As part of NRI global meet, seminars on various issues would be held. Devaswom Minister Kadanappally Ramachandran, Pondicherry Speaker E V Sreedharan and MLAs from Kannur and Kasargod districts would attend the function, he said.

Mangrove Park society moves court against closure: A society which has set up a controversial mangrove theme park in Kannur district approached the Kerala High Court seeking to restrain an order by the union environment and forests ministry to close the park. Acting on the suit filed by Pappinessery Eco-Tourism Society, backed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the court directed the state government to implead in the case. The central government's directive to close down the park was made to the state government on July 14. Following an uproar by the Congress-led opposition in the state assembly, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan directed the Kannur district collector to take action. The park was closed Monday evening.

The opposition alleged that CPI-M central committee member and former legislator E P Jayarajan was the force behind the park. The park was in blatant violation of all norms because it came under the Coastal Regulation Zone, an ecologically fragile area, the opposition said. Kannur Lok Sabha member and senior Congress leader K Sudhakaran was the first to complain to the central government about the park."An advertisement on the new park shows that there would be a food court, a health court and a convention centre. They have flouted every norm and have gone ahead with the construction," said Sudhakaran. A seven-member expert committee formed to look into the controversial park visited the site. The committee is expected to submit its report in two weeks' time after meeting environmentalists and political leaders.

Govt confirms report of molestation of women tourists: The state government confirmed a news report that two women tourists were molested by forest guides in Kollam district a few months back and said two of three attackers had already been arrested. Replying to a submission by V D Satheesan (Cong), Forest Minister Binoy Viswam said the duo were tracked down by police and forest vigilance department, based on a Malayalam news portal's report last week "They were arrested and remanded to custody a few days back," he said. The three, all temporary forest guides, reportedly stripped and harassed the woman and her daughter after tying the woman's husband to a tree and took their semi-nude pictures using mobile phones.

Viswam said the trio have been charged with cases under IT act (for taking pictures in mobile phone) and indecent behaviour towards women), but that the government was keen on bringing more serious charges against them under Sec 307 IPC (attempt to murder).He said police have so far have not been able to trace the victims, hailing from Tamil Nadu and that no written complaint has been received from them. Viswam said police were trying to contact them so that more serious charges could be brought against the accused.

Govt officials face court’s wrath over land issue: The government officials faced the wrath of the Kerala High Court over a land issue. Justice Sirijagan criticized the government officials while considering the plea stating that the corporation has not taken over the land acquired for the development of the road in Kochi.The court said the government officials and their chiefs are more interested in criticizing the court than to look into the affairs of the people. Where will the people go for justice if the corporation and the government behave like this? asked the court. Sirijagan observed that the officials don’t even bother to give an apt reply.

50 hurt as bus falls into ditch: As many as 50 passengers were injured, one of them seriously, when the private bus in which they were travelling fell into a ditch at Pongallur in the district .The bus was proceeding to Karulai from Arikkode when the accident occurred, police said. Seriously injured bus driver, Babu, was admitted to Kozhikode Medical College while others in the nearby hospitals, police added.

Lecturer attack: One of main accused arrested: One of the main accused in the attack on a college lecturer, whose right hand was chopped off allegedly by members of a radical group for preparing an inflammatory question paper, was arrested .Yunus was arrested from Palakkad as he was returning from Nagore in Tamil Nadu, police sources told reporters."We have questioned him and are verifying his statements. His confession has revealed that the investigation is in the right direction," a source said. He is facing charges of attempt to murder, harbouring offenders and criminal conspiracy.

Yunus was produced before the Muvattupuzha magistrate court and remanded in 10 days police custody. Police had a few days ago released a lookout notice against Yunus and two others and had sent teams to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and also coordinated with Intelligence agencies in the southern states and Maharashtra to nab the culprits.Police had also released sketches of some accused involved in the case. T J Joseph was attacked on July 4 by activists suspected to be that of Popular Front of India for preparing a question paper which allegedly had derogatory references to Prophet Mohammad. He was returning with his family after Sunday mass that day when the incident took place.

Explosives in Vanchinad Express: Sketch released: The police released a sketch of the person suspected to have placed the explosives in the Vanchinad Express. The sketch was prepared from the details furnished by a passenger of Thiruvalla. The explosives were placed in the general compartment by a person who boarded the train in between Ernakulam and Changanassery.The case is probed by a team led by railway SP A C Thomas. The police believe that more details of the person will be obtained once the sketch is released.

Oppn walks out over Adivasi land issue: The entire Opposition Congress Led United Democratic Front (UDF) staged a walk out in the Kerala Assembly protesting against the encroachment of land of Adivasis in Attapadi in Palakkad district. Even though State Minister for Welfare of Backward and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes A K Balan said that action would be taken against those found guilty in the transfer of Adivasi land to a private company for setting up wind mills, Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy led the entire Opposition out of the House.

Seeking the leave of the House to move the motion, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan of the Congress alleged that a company had set up wind mills in the encroached lands belonging to the Adivasis after forging land papers. He alleged that the company had encroached upon 400 acres of land in Kottathara village in Attapadi. Radhakrishnan also alleged that the State Cooperative Bank had provided loans for such property. He told the Assembly that the government had not taken any action even after it got reports of encroachments in the Adivasi lands. In his reply, Balan said the District Collector had been asked to probe the whole issue and if any person was found guilty, action would be taken.

The Collector had been asked to probe the issue after the Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP) Officer submitted a report stating encroachments in Adivasi lands in Kottathara Village. Meanwhile, State Registration Minister S Sharma informed the House that the RDO, DFO and the District Registrar were looking into the land registrations. If any manipulation was found on the part of any official, strict action would be taken against them, he said. Chandy demanded a comprehensive probe on the issue. Even though the government had got a report regarding land encroachments in Adivasi lands a few months back, no action had been taken, he alleged. He demanded that the functions of the wind mills in the Attapadi region be stopped immediately.

33 civic bodies to submit development projects this week: As many as 33 local self-government institutions will submit detailed project reports for developing infrastructure facilities under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) this week, Local Administration Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty has said. Kutty said in reply to questions in the Assembly that Rs.41.419 crore has been spent under the scheme so far. Securing land was one of the main impediments in taking up projects under the scheme. But the rate of fund absorption under the scheme was much higher than that in the previous years. Refuse management will be decentralised to overcome the hitch in acquiring land. The government and civic bodies will jointly try to identify land.

Kannur municipality has been directed to take steps for improving the Cantonment area in the district. A sum of Rs.15 lakhs has been sanctioned to meet the immediate needs in the area. The Ayyankali Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme will be launched in August. The system of issuing building permits will be made more transparent and efficient. Steps for online issuing of death, birth and marriage certificates will be expedited. Law Minister M Vijayakumar who was deputising for Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the State-level Onam celebrations will be held here from August 22 to 28. The celebrations in the districts have been planned from August 23 to 27. A sum of Rs.1.50 lakh has been allocated for the districts and Rs.25 lakh each for Kochi and Kozhikode for the celebrations.

Four more arrested in lecturer attack case: Four more activists of radical outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested in connection with the July 4 attack on a lecturer whose right hand was chopped off for allegedly preparing an inflammatory question paper.With this, the total number of arrests in the case has gone up to 10. Cases of conspiracy have been registered against Shiyas, divisional secretary of PFI's Nellimattam unit in Ernakulam district and Mohammed Ali of Muvattupuzha, while a case has been registered against Latheef of Aluva and MoideenKutty of Valancherry in Malappuram for harbouring some of the accused involved in the attack on Joseph. The arrests were made on the basis of confessional statements of Yunus, who was arrested from Palakaad while returning from Nagore in Tamil Nadu, police said.

The arrested would be produced before Muvattupzha First class Magistrate court later in the day, they said. The lecturer, T J Joseph was attacked on July 4 by suspected PFI activists for preparing a question paper which allegedly had derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed. He was returning with his family after Sunday mass that day when the incident took place. The investigation team suspects the role of two women in connection with the attack on the lecturer. The intelligence wing has started a probe on this.The incident happened when T J Joseph was returning home with his mother and sister after attending morning prayers at Nirmala Matha Church in Muvattupuzha. At the church, there were two strange women who covered their heads with sari ends. No one in the diocese knows these women.The intelligence wing is on their endeavor to check the video clipping to identify these women.

Plastic carry bags soon to be a thing of past in Guruvayur : Plastic carry bags will soon be a thing of the past in the famous temple town of Guruvayur in Kerala, home to the famous Lord Krishna shrine as authorities have banned it from July 1. Chairperson of Guruvayur Municipal Council, Geeta Gopi told reporters that the authorities had succeeded in ensuring that at least a million such articles were not used in the last one month in the town.There are about 22,000 persons within a 7.46 sq km radius of the temple, which sees a total of 25.5 lakh pilgrims visiting the shrine daily from all over the country.

She said a large quantity of plastic carry-bags and covers were in use, making the temple town a plastic dump yard, creating problems for residents and visitors.The Municipal council and Guruvayur Devaswom then jointly decided to free the town from plastic waste and garbage.Over 90 per cent shop-owners in Guruvayur have stopped selling plastic carry bags and covers since July 1. The Dewaswom has also switched over to paper and cloth bags for distributing 'prasadams' to pilgrims, she said.Over 35,000 plastic covers and bags used to be sold earlier per day in different shops and stores. To create awareness among the public, 25 green volunteers would be deployed in each ward.Gopi said the official communication would be sent to the Southern states, seeking their co-operation in the endeavour to make Guruvayur plastic free.

House surgeons at Kozhikode Medical College on strike: About 200 house surgeons in Kozhikode Medical College hospital began an indefinite strike for non-fulfilment of the promises made by the Principal to the house surgeons demands. Protesting against the allotment of the duties of nurses and lab technicians to the house surgeons, they had gone on an indefinite strike on June 16 on the issue, but was called off on the assurance of the principal that the Medical Education Director's circular spelling out the duties of the staff would be implemented, sources said. A striking student leader alleged that though the principal had assured to solve their demands, nothing had been done.The strike was likely to affect the daily functioning of the hospital.

Flight passenger fare hike would adversely affect NRKs: The Malabar Chamber of Commerce, said that the exorbitant hike in the flight passenger fare, would adversely affect the thousands of Keralites working in gulf countries.The Air India Express flights which were operating as low cost flights had increased the fare by Rs 5000, P V Gangadharan, President, Malabar Chamber of Commerce and Calicut Airport Committee chairman, P V Chandran, said in a release .Other companies too had also increased the passenger fares, it said.Calicut International Airport at nearby Karippur, was experiencing unprecedented passenger rush, since the schools in Gulf countries are having holidays, it said. Due to the heavy rush at the airport, passengers are finding it very difficult to get their luggage without any delay, the release said.

M V Raghavan move HC: CMP leader, M V Raghavan, approached the Kerala High Court seeking to quash the appointment of administrative committee to govern Kerala State Cooperative Hospital at Pariyaram in Kannur. Raghavan, former president of the society, alleged that it was done with 'ulterior motives'. Managing Committee which has more than two and half year term had submitted their resignation and registrar has appointed administrative committee on July 17 this year.

CMS College issue solved: The trouble between the management of CMS College here and SFI has come to an end since the management allowed the dispelled student to appear for the examination. The student’s application would be forwarded to the university. SFI stated that they are ending their strike after the favourable decision from the management.

Probe into tribal land grab by energy firm ordered: Kerala Government ordered an inquiry into alleged grabbing of tribal land by a private wind energy firm in Plakkad district. State Forest Minister Binoy Viswam directed Chief Conservator of Forests (Vigilance) to inquire into the issue and submit a report at the earliest, an official release said. The allegation was that the wind energy company had grabbed about 100 acres of land at Nallasinga and Varnampadi tribal settlements and another 50 acres belonging to the Forest Department in the Attappadi area.

The probe would also examine if there was any laps on the part of the Forest Department officials. The Congress-led UDF Opposition had staged a walkout in the state assembly comprehensive probe into the issue.The opposition members alleged that a mafia was active in the Attappadi area to grab the land belonging to tribals and the government had failed to tackle the racket.

Thomas Isaac welcomes Pranab's proposal on GST: Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac has welcomed the Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's proposal to start the process of introducing a unified single rate structure for Goods and Services Tax (GST) for the whole country from the beginning of next financial year.The proposal is for a three-tier tax structure to start with from April 1, 2010, to be unified at a common point for all goods and services in a phased manner over a period of three years and shared equally between the States and the Union government.

Making a statement in the Assembly , Dr Isaac said he could not attend the meeting the Union Finance Minister had with the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers in New Delhi since the Assembly was in session . He hoped that the formula suggested by Mukherjee at the meeting, involving the phased transition from a three-tier tax structure to a unified one, would help evolve a consensus among the States in introducing the GST.

Tharoor to tie knot in August: Shashi Tharoor, former Minister of State for External Affairs, is all set to wed his friend Sunanda Pushkar next month.Sources close to him said most probably the wedding will be solemnized in the capital city. Even though the news regarding his marriage has been carried earlier, the latest we hear is that the wedding will take place in the auspicious month of Chingam. Unconfirmed reports said the marriage will be conducted at a hall near Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in his own constituency.

The relation between the two hogged the limelight soon after the Kochi IPL controversy. Pictures of the two attending functions were released. He even lost his ministership due to the controversy and Sunanda gave up her stake in the IPL Kochi franchise amid a row involving Tharoor. Even after that, the two visited many places together. The recent picture of the two visiting the Kalahasthi temple in Andhra Pradesh was carried by a leading daily.

Attack on lecturer: Accused to be brought before law : All the accused in connection with the attack on the lecturer of Newman College in Thodupuzha, will be brought before law, said Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Talking to reporters , he said the government will take steps on banning the Popular Front after getting the report of the NIA. Kodiyeri said they are examining whether activists of SIMI, a banned organization have any relation with the Popular Front.

He said the probe whether the Front is receiving any foreign funds should be probed by the centre, as it does not come under our limits. Kodiyeri said they will request the centre to conduct an investigation on the financial sources. He asked the Congress and the Muslim League to disclose their stand on banning the Popular Front. He said an organization cannot be banned after calling all party meet.

Congress will support Govt if it bans extremist groups: Reiterating that the Congress had never entered into electoral alliance with any religious fundamental groups like National Development Front (NDF), Jamaat-e-Islami and RSS, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala made it clear that it would support the LDF Government if it takes a decision to ban these groups in the state. Addressing media persons , he said the Congress had never sought any kind of help from these forces during elections and it would never seek their votes or share platform in any elections in the state.

Asked whether the Congress would support or demand ban on the activities of these extremists groups, he said, ''it is for the government to take action against them since we do not have reports about these groups.'' However, the Congress would extend full support, if the government went ahead with such a move. Evading a direct reply whether the NDF was an extremist group, he said ''both the NDF and the RSS were two sides of a coin.'' Alleging that the CPI (M)-led LDF was responsible for the present sorry state of affairs, he said the government had ignored the warnings from national intelligence agencies about the extremists’ activities, which ultimately helped such groups to spread their activities.

Ramesh alleged that the LDF government had always been adopting a soft approach to these groups by entertaining them for the last 20 years for political mileage in the elections, both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. The Home Ministry has miserably failed to check extremist activities in the state, he charged. The soft approach of CPI-M towards minority and majority extremism also helped strengthen religious extremism, he added. The KPCC meet decided to request the high command to postpone the Congress organizational polls. The organizational polls will be conducted after the panchayat polls.

Kerala seeks new judge for hearing on roadside meetings: The Kerala government filed a petition in the high court seeking the replacement of Justice C N Ramachandran Nair, who is on the bench hearing its review petition against the holding of public meetings by the roadside.The government, in its petition, said that a division bench of the Kerala High Court on June 23 prohibited holding of public meetings by the roadside.

The bench, comprising Justice Nair and Justice P S Gopinathan, had directed the police, civic bodies, local self-government and revenue departments to refuse permission for holding such meetings. In the petition filed , the government said Nair should not hear the review petition filed by it on Monday because he had defended his judgment outside the court. The review petition is to be heard . In its verdict last month, the court said it issued the order to ensure free flow of traffic on public roads and also for the safety of the public.

Madani's anticipatory bail plea hearing adjourned to July 29: The Karnataka High Court adjourned to April 29 the hearing of anticipatory bail plea of Kerala People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Naseer Madani, an accused in the 2008 Bangalore blasts. When the case came up for hearing before Justice N Ananda, public prosecutor H S Chandramouli sought time to file objections. Justice Ananada then adjourned the hearing of the anticipatory bail plea to April 29. On July 9, a fast track court had dismissed Madani's plea on the grounds that there was no prima facie case to grant him anticipatory bail. Madani and 31 others were charge sheeted for their alleged involvement in the blasts on July 25, 2008 here that left a woman dead and 20 others injured.

State to set up Coastal Shipping network: Sports and Youth Affairs Minister M Vijayakumar told the state Assembly that the government was planning to set up a Coastal Shipping Network connecting the ports in state with the ports in North India.In a written reply to C H Kunjambu of the CPI (M) and others, he said the network would be connected to the ports in the state of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The government had already earmarked Rs two crore in the current budget, including to acquire vessels for the Coastal Shipping, he said.

Stating that the project was intended for the development of costal cargo movement, he said the government was holding discussions with the Chamber of Commerce, agents and wholesale traders. Since the movement of materials through road and railway was a costly affair, introducing such a system would help to reduce the cost of transportations considerably besides bringing down accidents and heavy traffic of transports. The government would install beacon lights connecting ports and coastal postings, he said adding that steps would be taken to introduce ISPS codes in ports and purchasing three patrolling boats in this regard.

Govt considering legislation to control pvt hospitals: Health Minister P K Sreemathy informed the state Assembly that the government was seriously considering to enact a legislation to control the functioning of the private hospitals, nursing homes and laboratories and to make uniform fees in these institutions in the state. In a written reply to V Sivankutty of the CPI (M) and others, she said to ensure the quality of lab tests, internal quality control was being undertaken by State Public Health Lab, while external quality control was being undertaken jointly with the Christian Medical College hospital, Vellore. She said the government has no plans to start new Regional Public Health Labs in the state.

2,832 industrial units run by women entrepreneurs: Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem informed the State Assembly that as many as 2,832 industrial units were run by women entrepreneurs during the last financial year in the state. Replying to questions by K K Lathika of the CPI (M) and others, he said the government had introduced a Woman Industrial Scheme from last year to provide margin money to the Bank Loan for woman entrepreneurs to start new units. As per the scheme the government would give 20 per cent, with a ceiling of Rs three lakh of the total expense as margin money, while 70 per cent would be made through loan from banking institutions. The remaining ten per cent should be borne by the entrepreneur, he added.

Metro rail: VS holds talks with Sreedharan : The uncertainty regarding the Kochi metro rail project may soon be over after talks were held between Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and Delhi Metro Corporation chairman E Sreedharan, a Keralite. After holding talks with Sreedharan, VS told reporters that he hope the project will be implemented. The project came to a standstill following planning commission chairman Montek Singh Ahluwali’s directive that it should be implemented with private participation. Ahluwalia’s directive came after the survey proceedings were completed and process for land acquisition was to begin. Sreedharan had the other day opined that it could be carried out with public sector undertakings.

Walkout over stalemate in medical admission : The Congress led UDF Opposition members in the state staged a walkout in the assembly over alleged stalemate in the admission process for medical stream courses in self-financing medical colleges even as government maintained that the issue would be sorted out within a week. Replying to a notice for an adjournment motion on the matter by V D Satheeshan (cong), Minister for Law M Vijayakumar said delay in starting option and allotment process wa due to recent derecognition of certain private medical colleges by the Indian Medical Council.

However, recognition has been received for two out of 11 self financial medical colleges and state government was in touch with IMC for the recognition of remaining two, he said. Recognition for some Medical Colleges for Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Sidha and Dental were also pending, he said. The government expected a decision on these colleges within a week, he said adding government has time till September 30 for completing the admission process.Admission to government run five medical colleges and two co-operative medical colleges were progressing in right direction, he said.

After the reply of Vijayakumar, Speaker K Radhakrishnan refused leave for the motion, and in protest against speaker's decision, the UDF members trooped out of the house led by its leader Oommen Chandy. Disputing government contention, Satheeshan said there was no basis for government argument that Indian Medical Council was responsible for the delay in admission process. Government ineptness in handling the process was to be blamed for the present situation in higher education sector, he said adding the crisis had led to students from Kerala going to neighboring states for admission. He also alleged that government gave undue advantage to those self-financing medical colleges that singed agreement with the government.

E-payment facility from this year, says Premachandran: Minister N K Premachandran told the assembly that the e-payment facility for paying the water charge in the 14 divisions of the Kerala Water Authority will be made possible this financial year itself. The facility is now available only in the capital city.

Kerala beat Uttarakhand in Santosh trophy: Kerala registered a 3-1 win over Uttarakhand in their cluster VII opener at Yuba Bharati Krirangan.Sumesh N scored in the 31st minute to give Kerala the lead while Sakeer M P doubled the lead in the 65th minute. Four minutes later, Uttarakhand pulled one back through Veer Singh Negi before Kerala’s Javed struck in the 90+1st minute to complete the tally.

Popular Front conducts rallies today: Alleging that the Muslims are being hunt by the government, police, political parties and certain media, the Popular Front of India (PFI) will conduct rallies and public meetings at Kozhikode, Perumbavur and Kollam at 5 pm . Popular Front’s National General Secretary K M Shareef and State President Nasiruddin Elamaram will attend the pubic meeting at Kozhikode. Popular Front National President E M Abdul Rahiman and National Committee Member Professor P Koya will speak at Perumbavur. Popular Front National Committee Member Moideen Kutty Faisi and State General Secretary Abdul Hameed will attend the meeting at Kollam.

  Friday

Historian Sreedhara Menon dies: Eminent historian and academic Prof A Sreedhara Menon, who researched and wrote extensively on modern Kerala, died family sources said. Menon, 84, had been keeping indifferent health for quite some time. He is survived by wife and two children. The body of Menon would be cremated today morning. A former head of History Department of Kerala University, Menon had taught and guided students for over five decades.

An authority on the political history of Kerala and author of nearly 25 books in English and Malayalam, his widely appreciated works included 'A survey of Kerala history', 'Triumph and tragedy in Travancore' and a series on Freedom struggle and Kerala.Though an established academic all through his life, Menon's writings were appreciated by general readers as well because of their simple treatment of the subject and lucid style. Despite steering clear of political or ideological bias, Menon had occasionally come under criticism from the Left due to his views on episodes in Kerala history like Communist-led Punnapra-Vayalar uprising against the royal rule in Travancore on the eve of the freedom struggle.

On the 60th anniversary of Independence, Menon was commissioned by the then LDF Government to write a history on the freedom struggle in Kerala. However, he pulled out of the project in protest against the directive that he should consult Marxist ideologues like E M S Namboodiripad in writing the work. Menon, later brought out the work on his own through a private publisher. "Menon has made valuable contributions as a hisotiran. It was through his works that the present generation learn about Kerala history", eminent historian Prof M G S Narayanan said. "Menon was a popular historian. His works could be read and relished by anybody. He also left a mark as teacher and academic," said Rajan Gurukkal, historian and Vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University.

Congress giving clean chit to PFI, says BJP leader: KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala's statement bracketing RSS with the Popular Front of India amounted to giving a clean chit to the latter, which was a communal organisation, BJP state president V Muraleedharan said . Inaugurating the BJP state-level campaign against extremism, Muraleedharan said terrorist activities were on the rise in the last four years of LDF rule. The CPI-M's soft attitude towards extremist elements had resulted in the growth of terrorism in the state, he said. BJP activists also took out a march in the city as part of the campaign.

PFI takes out protest rally in the city: Police would verify whether the Popular Front of India (PFI) activists had violated the directions of the police, while taking out a protest rally in the city, P Vijayan, Kozhikode City Police Commissioner, said. The PFI was given permission with certain conditions like that the number of the processionists should not exceed 1000 and the rally should not affect the traffic flow, Vijayan told reporters.

Once the report on the conduct of the rally was received and if they had violated the directions, then appropriate action will be initiated against PFI activists, he said. PFI had organised the public meeting in the city to protest against alleged 'harassment' by the police in the name of searching the people involved in the attack on Newman College Professor T J Joseph.The rally started from near the Corporation stadium and concluded on the beach, where leaders of PFI addressed the gathering.

PFI a blot on Muslims in Kerala, says Mohammed Basheer: Denouncing a radical Muslim group in Kerala as a blot on Muslims, a senior leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), ET Mohammed Basheer, has urged young Muslims to stay away from such "anti-Islamic outfits". ET Mohammed Basheer, a Lok Sabha member, came out strongly against the Popular Front of India (PFI), whose activists have been accused of chopping off one of the hands of a college professor for allegedly making derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed. The PFI, which enjoys wide support in Kerala, has denied the charge.

"No one who follows the real path shown by the Holy Prophet will go with such anti-Islamic outfits. He has shown us the path of peace. Outfits like PFI, which stand for violence in the name of Islam, are a blot on Muslims in Kerala," Basheer, 64, said.Basheer spoke three days after the IUML youth wing complained against him to the party leadership.Basheer had said he could not state for sure if PFI activists were responsible for the July 4 attack on professor TJ Joseph. The youth wing complained to the party's spiritual head, Sayyid Hyderali Shihab Thangal, saying Basheer's statement amounted to justifying the PFI.

"It is for the police and the government to state who is behind the crime, not me," Basheer said when asked about his controversial statement. "Muslim youths should not walk into the traps of such outfits."Basheer turned his guns on Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF) government and police, accusing them of "trying to portray the entire Muslim community" in the state as a "Talibanised community"."I have opposed the way police and those responsible in the government are making statements... Don't try to give such a wrong message in society. It is unhealthy," said Basheer, who was education minister in the Congress-led ministry in Kerala in 1991-96 and 2004-06. He asked the state government to take immediate action against those involved in the brutal attack on the college professor.

"The government must pinpoint the culprits and expose them before the public without any delay," said Basheer, who represents the Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency. He said the Muslim League was a secular party and it enjoyed the support of the general public."We cannot support hardliners. We cannot go along with them. We are against such outfits and their ideology," he said. Basheer instead accused the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which heads the Kerala government, of promoting hardline Muslim groups like Abdul Nazer Mahdani's People's Democratic Party (PDP) in order to weaken the IUML, a Congress ally since 1977. He also referred to the CPI-M's support to Hussein Randathani, a candidate of Mahdani, to defeat him (Basheer) in Ponnani during the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

'Malayalam film industry should experiment with new faces': The crisis ridden Malayalam film industry should experiment with fresh faces and more youngsters should be given opportunities, well known Malayalam film director Sibi Malayil said."More youngsters need to be given opportunities, not only in acting, but in direction and other technical aspects of film making," he told reporters after a media preview of his film 'Apoorva Ragam', released in theatres across Kerala on July 16. Malayil said he has given chances to new faces and opened doors for the younger generation through 'Apoorva Ragam'.

The veteran director, best known for his melodramas in the Eighties and Nineties, has directed over 40 films, including 'Kireedam', 'Thaniyavarthanam', 'His Highness Abdulla', and 'Bharatam', most of them with actor Mohanlal.He said his next project would also be with youngsters and added that a musical love story was also in the pipeline.The director said he would certainly do films with senior actors like Mammootty and Mohanlal, but should get stories where their talents could be fully utilised. Actors Nishan, Asif Ali, Vinay and Nithya Menon star in the film, which tells the story of three friends. Nishan said 'We tried to break the normal trend. a lot of hard work has gone into it and we getting good reports'. The characters are unpredictable and the script was also different from the beaten track.., he said.

Formation of a third alternative will take some time: With the formation of a third alternative virtually out of sight, the CPI (M) said it will opt for electoral understanding with "secular parties" and strengthen attempts to isolate the "communal" BJP while opposing "neo-liberal" policies of Congress. "Formation of a third alternative will take some time," CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters after a three-day meeting of the Central Committee, the party's highest decision-making body. The meeting was convened to chart out the party's draft political and tactical line to face the current political situation. The party's future course of action, in the light of severing ties with the UPA, would be finalised at the meeting of the Extended Central Committee to be held in Vijaywada next month.

A decision on the party line for the future is crucial as it is facing electoral battles in West Bengal and Kerala next year. As for now, Karat said the Left parties will put up a united front in the upcoming elections in Bihar. The draft political resolution and review report was finalised after a heated debate at a meeting of the Central Committee which saw a section of leaders criticising the top leadership for their "misadventures"."We have postponed the Party Congress by an year. So we felt it necessary to formulate a political line for the party to face the current situation," Karat said. He acknowledged that the new political line would be "different" from the one adopted at the CPI(M) Congress at Coimbatore in 2008 when the party was supporting the Congress-led UPA government.The Coimbatore Congress has decided to support the Congress without compromising on the Indo-US nuclear deal."The present party line is after the Lok Sabha elections. Yes, it is different from the 2008 Party Congress," he said.

Ban on road side meetings: Bench declines to withdraw: Justice C N Ramachandran Nair, declined to withdraw from hearing the petition filed by the state government seeking to review the judgement banning roadside meetings even as the court held that the judgement was passed in public interest. State chief secretary had filed an affidavit in the high court making a plea to the chief justice that Justice Ramachandran should not be allowed to hear the review petition as he had openly made a comment justifying the ban at a public function.

However, Justice Ramachandran, continued to hear the petition when it came up before the division bench headed by him.The bench asked the state how it can act against the interest of public by filing a review petition against the judgement banning meetings on public roads.'You have declared us fools. How can you expect fools to correct themselves. Fools cannot be corrected'. The court also wanted to know who had taken decision to file the petition.'Who is the person behind the mask? Is this a cabinet decision or the matter was discussed in Assembly.

This is a matter of public importance', the court held and wondered how the government was aggrieved by the judgement. Director General of Prosecutions (DGP), K K Ravidranath appearing for the government told the court that the judgement was 'illegal' and passed without giving state an opportunity to be heard.The High Court also declined the statement of the government that the ban on roadside meetings would adversely affect Attukal Ponkala and Thrissur Pooram.

The court said no religious organization has come forward to oppose the judgement made a month ago. The court reminded that it had suggested many ways to conduct Thrissur Pooram. In the case of Attukal Ponkala the government should find a solution. The government should consider finding places like stadiums for the devotees to offer Ponkala. The government money in the exchequer should also be spent for the public, the court said. The petition will be heard on Monday.

178 high schools being upgraded: As many as 178 high schools in the districts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod are being upgraded as higher secondary schools. Speaking on behalf of the Education Minister in the Assembly , Minister for Parliamentary Affairs M. Vijayakumar said new higher secondary batches would start functioning in these schools from this academic year itself. He was replying to a private member's resolution, seeking a special programme for expanding school facilities in north Kerala, moved by Kutty Ahmed Kutty.

Vijayakumar said north Kerala had been remaining backward in all respects, compared to the rest of the State. Over the last four years, there had been a focused effort to change the situation, not only by initiating steps to start several major development projects, but also by expanding the facilities for education in the region. He said more than 22,000 seats were increased for higher secondary education in north Kerala during the last four years. The government's policy was to give top priority to sanctioning new higher secondary schools in panchayats that did not have higher secondary schools now.

Kerala to float global tender for Rs 4,500 cr port dev project: Keralawill float a global tender this month to find a partner for about Rs 4,500 crore development project of the Azhicode port in Kannur district, a state minister told the Assembly . The project, expected to cost Rs 4,500 crore, would give a boost to economic and trade activities in the northern region of the state, Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem said.

The state government decided to go for joint venture as the port needed dredging to facilitate big ships to berth, he said. Plan was to have a wharf to unload coal meant for thermal power plant coming up at nearby Cheemani, he said. Land acquisition process for the port development was progressing. For rail connectivity, an amount of Rs 5 crore has been earmarked, he said.Already work on a 226 feet new wharf has been completed, he said.

Ration card applications to be processed online: Kerala government has prepared an action plan to complete the distribution of new photo affixed ration cards by August 31, Civil Supplies and Food minister C Divakaran told the assembly . Replying to a calling attention by A P Abdullakutty (Cong), the Minister said more than 6.85 lakh new applications received were now pending in various offices for clearance. Government had already distributed 68 lakh new ration cards in place of old ones. Close examination of documents submitted by applicants, as per the directive of Centre, had also caused some delay in the administrative process for the distribution of photo affixed ration cards, he said.

He said all the pending applications would be cleared by August 31.Divakaran said government would also examine the request of Abdullakutty to accept applications for ration cards, which was stopped by the department in view of the pending applications. Taking up the issue, Abdullakutty said delay in getting new ration cards have caused hardship to common man as ration card has become one of the main documents for getting benefits of government sponsored schemes and even for applying for passports.

Replying to another calling attention, Law Minister M Vijayakumar informed the House that instructions were given to Range Inspector General Police officials, Superintendent of Police and City Commissioners to expedite the process of releasing motor vehicles seized by police in connection with offences. Steps also would be taken to speed up the cases of vehicles seized by police in court, he said adding if necessary government would bring in a legislation to dispose the vehicles seized by police. In his calling attention, A A Aeezez (RSP) wanted government to chalk out an alternative system to avoid the accumulation and resultant destruction of vehicles seized by police in various cases in the state.

Attack on lecturer: No change in team: There is no change in the team probing the case in connection with the attack on the lecturer of Newman College in Thodupuzha, said IG B Sandhya. She said the news stating that there is a change in the team is totally baseless. The aim of those carrying the false news is to sabotage the probe. The probe is moving in the right direction and unnecessary controversies will only help the culprits, she said. She said they cannot reveal the details of the probe. Aluva Rural SP Jayanathan and Ernakulam internal security wing DySP R K Krishna Kumar will continue in the team, she said.

Alleged Maoist arrested at Nilambur: Police have arrested one Zinic (56), allegedly a Maoist activist from a house at Kavalamukkatta at nearby Nilambur in Malappuram district. A case has been registered against Zinic, who hails from Trikkakkara in Ernakulam district, under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967, police said.The arrest was made after a tip-off that the activist was staying in a house at Kavalamukkatta for the last over five months, police said.Police said that Zinic, a retired KSRTC employee, had confessed that he had come to Nilambur to study the topography and ethnicity of the area.Earlier, Zinic had connections with some rationalist organisation.Some pamphlets were also recovered, they said. Police have started a thorough investigation.

Joy Thirumoolapuram passes away: Veteran journalist Joy Thirumoolapuram, the first Malayalee to bag the Statesman award for nation's best layout, died at a private hospital . He was 73. He worked with noted Malayalam newspapers Malayala Manorama, Deepika, Mangalam and Kerala Kaumudi. He also worked as news editor at Malayala Manorama, layout editor at Kerala Kaumudi, assistant editor at Deepika, editor at Mangalam and Ee Nad.

The only Malayalee journalist who bagged the President's award consecutively in 1975, 1976 for the best layout in India, Joy was conferred on with Shivram Award. He also penned many books on news, reporting, editing, complete newspaper management. Besides, he also published literary works. He is born to the son of Chacko (late) and Saramma Chacko. Anna Mathew is his wife. Mukesh Mathew (Mali), Mukul Mathew (USA) and Mumtaz Mathew (Bangalore) are his children.

Hand-chopping: One aide arrested: The North Paravur Division President of Popular Front of India (PFI), C S Shiyadi (28) was arrested for helping those who chopped off the hand of Professor T J Joseph at Newman College, Thodupuzha. After attacking the professor the four accused including the chief plotter Nazar came to Shiyadi’s house at Paravur. The police said that it was Shiyadi who arranged facility in a house nearby for the accused to have discussions.

Two PFI activists arrested in Kochi: Two activists of the radical Muslim outfit Peoples Front of India (PFI) were arrested by the Kochi City Police on charges of distributing CDs creating religious hatred. They are Abdul Salam (51) from Ernakulam and Advocate N M Siddique from Marad who was residing at a rental house in Mattanchery.The accused were presented in the court and later remanded. The Police had conducted raids at the offices of Confederation of Human Rights Organization (CHRO) and Muslim Research Development Forum (MRDF) functioning on the rented building MES Centre of Muslim Educational Society near Ernakulam Town Hall.

Police then seized several CDs, which creates religious hatred, on which names such as ‘Vettakkarum Erayum’ (Hunters and Victim), ‘Iraq Yuddham Avasanikkunnilla’ (Iraq War does not end), ‘Chila Gujarat Drishyangal’ (Some Gujarat Pictures) and ‘Maradinte Vazhiye’ (On the Way of Marad) were labeled. It was following the seizure of these CDs that Abdul Salam (Ernakulam district committee member of SDPI) who rented the room at MES Centre. Siddique is the Ernakulam district president of CHRO and the coordinator of MRDF. Meanwhile, the investigating team probing the hand-chopping case questioned the main accused Yunus. He confessed the names and details of four attackers. The rest were selected for the attack by chief plotter Nazar who is the State Committee member of Popular Front.

Congress postpones organisaional polls : The Congress high command decided to postpone the party’s organisational polls in Kerala.The party took the decision after top Kerala leaders of the party Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala held talks with the AICC chief Sonia Gandhi . The polls will now be held after the panchayat elections in the state.

Engineering student drowns at Padmatheertham: An engineering student of Thrissur Government Engineering College died of drowning in the Padmatheertham Pond in front of Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in the capital city. Deepak (19), a second semester B.Tech Production Engineering student, who came with his 52 other friends for excursion, drowned around 7 in the morning. Though a swimmer, Deepak got tired when he swam to the middle of Padmatheertham, and waved his hand for help. Some of his friends swam to help him but in vain.

The Fort Police SI Anil Kumar who came to the spot informed the Fire Force. The body was recovered after a two hour-long search operation by the Fire force. Deepak’s body is now kept at the mortuary in Medical College Hospital after post-mortem. Deepak’s family was reported to be settled in Pune, his father, a native of Palakkad and mother belonged to Chattisgarh. He was staying in the college hostel.

Kavya Madhavan files for divorce: Popular Malayalam film actress Kavya Madhavan filed petitions for divorce and domestic violence in Kochi. She filed the divorce petition with the Ernakulam Family court while another one in the Ernakulam First Class Magistrate Court is against her husband and in-laws under the Domestic Violence Act for causing mental stress.

Kavya, 24, got married to computer engineer Nischal Chandra February last year and decided to call it a day from the film industry at the height of her popularity. After few months living in Kuwait with her husband, Kavya returned to her parents’ home. And after a break from all public functions, in October she made her first public appearances fuelling speculations that she might return to the silver screen. Early this year, she starred in her comeback film “Pappi Appacha” along with Dileep and she has two more films in the final production stages.

Born in Nileshwaram in Kasaragod district, the actress entered the Malayalam film industry as a child artist with “Pookkalam Varavayi” (1991). In 1996, she cut her teeth in the Malayalam films in acclaimed director Kamal’s “Azhakiya Ravanan”. Since then, Kavya has starred with leading superstars Mammootty, Mohanlal, and Jayaram. Her pairing with Dileep was a huge hit at the box-office. Her popular films include “Meesha Madhavan”, “Madhamabhi”, “Classmates” and “Ananthabhadram”, among others.

Animation film on Gandhiji getting ready: An animation film titled 'My Dear Bapuji' on the life of the Father of the nation is getting ready. The Mahatama Gandhi National Foundation is aiming to release the Malayalam version by August 15. The film will be dubbed in English, Hindi and other languages, Foundation chairman, Eby J Jose, told reporters. The film would be released in all Indian languages, including Hindi, producer Retheesh Pazhayaveettil and Director A K Saibar said.

Work on the 45-minute film started over a year ago. Special effort has been taken to make the presentation impressive to children, they said. The film is getting ready as part of the foundation's Mahatma Gandhi National Foundation decision to launch a 'Know Gandhiji' campaign at the national level to impart Gandhi’s ideals to the young generation. The programme aims at warning the children on the evils of racism and terrorism, Jose said. The Foundation also has plans to produce animation films on great freedom fighters like Subash Chandra Bose, Bhagath Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad, among others. Another dream project is a similar presentation on the former President, late K R Narayanan.

Hoax bomb threat to Usha Athletic Academy: A letter threatening to set off a bomb at the P T Usha Athletic Academy at Kinalur in Kozhikode within 10 days turned out to be hoax, police said. Police and a bomb squad conducted a thorough search of the Academy run by former sprint queen and Olympian Usha, but did not find anything. The letter, which also threatened to physically harm Usha and her husband, was received at the District Collectorate recently and was immediately forwarded to nearby Balaussery police station for immediate action, they said. Police have begun an intensive enquiry to find out the origin of the letter.

Disciplinary action against Principal of CMS College: The Syndicate of the Mahatma Gandhi (MG) University decided to take disciplinary action against Prof. M M Kora, the Principal of CMS College for opening the unsealed bundles of question papers before the time of examination and also for not reporting it to the university. The college management was recommended to dismiss the principal. The principal was also debarred from his duties to conduct the examinations.

The police will make a probe into the incident. The severe misappropriation on the part of the principal would be reported to the Director of the Collegiate Education. Meanwhile, a Syndicate sub-committee was appointed to study the attendance shortage of the student Jaik C. Thomas whose expulsion from the college brought about a standoff between the CMS College management and the Students Federation of India (SFI).

Disciplinary action against Prof TJ Joseph revoked: The Syndicate of the Mahatma Gandhi (MG) University has cancelled the disciplinary actions taken against Thodupuzha Newman College Professor T J Joseph. The decision to repeal the disciplinary actions was taken after considering the apology letter from the professor, the attack on him by communal forces and the public apology made by him.

Earlier, disciplinary actions were taken by the university against Joseph for preparing a Malayalam question paper for internal examination which allegedly had derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed. The university had found that Joseph’s work caused religious hatred and it was not suited for a teacher.
Now, he can continue to teach in the college.

Malayali family killed in fire at Muscat home: A Malayali family of four died when their house in old Muttrah district of Muscat caught fire. Ashokan, 42, a tailor; his wife Bindu and two sons Sharon, 11, and Sharaang, 7, were sleeping when fire engulfed their house. Authorities suspect the fire was caused by a short circuit. A neighbouring house of an Omani citizen was also damaged in the fire.

Witnesses said that the house, made up mostly of wood, caught fire at 7 am. The Civil Defence rushed to the spot and doused the fire but could not save the family. Neighbours said that Ashokan, who hails from Kannur, had worked till early morning on Saturday, which is a public holiday in Oman.

Kerala thrashes Himachal by 10 goals in Santosh Trophy: Kerala thrashed Himachal Pradesh by 10-0 in Santosh Trophy National Football Championship Saturday. A hat-trick from O K Javed added the glamour of Kerala’s victory. M.P Shakkir and Rajesh scored two goals each while Martin Joseph and Bijesh Ben hit one goal each. Kerala can get into the second round only when they beat Assam on Monday’s match.

Good Samaritans to be reimbursed in Kerala: People who help accident victims will be reimbursed the cost incurred for taking the injured to hospital, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said. “Those people who come to help accident victims will be reimbursed expenses by the government which they incur,” said Balakrishnan. The decision was taken after a meeting Balakrishnan had with top police officials of the state. The move is intended to encourage people to help accident victims, as most shy away thinking of the consequences of a lengthy legal battle.

The home minister said 20 facilitation centres will be set up for the benefit of the foreign tourists and police stations will have a special cell for senior citizens. “Police stations would be equipped with a special cell exclusively for senior citizens. A new battalion solely for women would be raised and special women’s cells would be set up at 150 places,” Balakrishnan said.

States made bonded-carriers of Centre’s programmes, says VS: Critical of Centre’s flagship programmes, the state accused the UPA of making state governments “bonded carriers” of such schemes which are an “encroachment” on its rights. Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said the Centre was bypassing state governments by making available funds for centrally devised schemes directly to various agencies which “erodes” accountability and sets an “unhealthy” precedent.

He said the states have been opposed to the idea of centrally-sponsored schemes and have demanded instead that the money spent should be handed over to the states to spend in accordance with their own specific requirements, rather than on some uniform “one-size-fits-all” basis. Addressing the National Development Council (NDC) in New Delhi, he said, the Centre often starts a scheme and gets state governments to fall in line and commit their plan resources to meet their share of the cost.

“Then it (Centre) suddenly decides unilaterally to drop the scheme, or to modify the scheme, or to raise the state government’s share in financing it. The state having got involved in a scheme in whose formulation they had no say in the first place are then made responsible for it to ever greater degrees at the whim of the Centre. “They are thus made to act as bonded carriers of centrally-devised schemes. This is an encroachment on their freedom, a pre-emption of their plan resources against their will and does no good ultimately to social sectors,” he said.

To buttress his point, Achuthanandan cited the increase in States’ share in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Centre’s decision to provide funds only for health infrastructure development under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). “The SSA which began with 15 percent State government contribution in 2001-02 and kept this ratio at 25 percent till 2006-07, has raised it to 35 percent in 2007-08 and 2008-09, 40 percent in 2009-10, 45 percent in 2010-11, and 50 percent in 2011-12,” he said.

He said the states now find themselves shouldering an ever increasing burden, whose magnitude is determined again by the Centre unilaterally, in a scheme that is not their own and into which they entered in the first place at the insistence of the Centre. The 13th Finance Commission has provided grants to enable States to meet the rise in their obligation but the cognizance of the problem by the Commission only underscores its seriousness, he said. Similarly, he said, Kerala made a number of appointments under NRHM but the Centre has decided to restrict NRHM funds exclusively for health infrastructure and the payment for all appointees has devolved suddenly upon the State exchequer. He also demanded that the Centre must take full responsibility for financing the implementation of Right to Education Act.

House surgeons strike enters third day: The indefinite strike by the house surgeons in Kozhikode Medical College hospital, which began on July 22, entered the third day. About 200 house surgeons went on an indefinite strike for non-fulfillment of the promises made by the Principal to their demands. The house surgeons had gone on an indefinite strike last month protesting against the allotment of the duties of nurses and lab technicians to them. However, the strike was called off after assurance from the principal, sources said. The college authority was likely to hold talks with the house surgeons on Monday.

PFI aims to convert Kerala into Muslim majority, says VS: Radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) is aiming to convert Kerala into a Muslim majority state in the next 20 years, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said. 'For achieving that goal, the outfit is pumping money to attract youth and give them weapons. They also try to convert youth from other communities and persuade them to marry Muslim girls,' Achuthanandan told reporters.

The chief minister's statement came as his Left Democratic Front (LDF) government intensified a crackdown on the outfit, whose activists have been accused of chopping off one of the hands of a college professor for allegedly making derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed. Justifying the crackdown on the outfit, Achuthanandan said the police are closely watching PFI's activities. The chief minister said the outfit tried to create a clean image by organising freedom parades on Independence Day. Various district administrations have already banned the parade organised by the PFI every Aug 15, he said.

One more PFI activist held in lecturer attack case: One more activist of radical outfit Popular Front of India was arrested Saturday in connection with the attack on a lecturer, whose right hand was chopped off for allegedly preparing an inflammatory question paper. With this, the total number of arrests in the case has gone up to 12. The accused, Sikhender (28), was arrested from Muvattupzuha Saturday morning, police said. He had allegedly prepared the route map and sketch of the house of the lecturer T J Joseph, who was attacked near his house at Muvattupuzha. Sikhender will be produced before the judicial magistrate court later in the day. Joseph was attacked on July 4 by suspected PFI activists for preparing a question paper which allegedly had derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed. He was returning with his family after Sunday mass.

Air fare hike in Gulf sector criticized: Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industry, protested against the exorbitant hike in air fare, specially seasonal upward revision, in the Gulf sector. Speaking to media persons, Sriram, President, Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it was decided to submit memorandums and hold discussion with domestic and foreign airlines in this connection, as the air fare hike was affecting the people adversely.

Besides chamber, North Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, World Malayalee Council, Kozhikode unit and Calicut International Airport Development Society will work unitedly against the air fare hike, he said. The representatives of the four organisations will hold talks with the officials of Qatar Airways at Doha on July 31 and Emirates Airlines at Dubai on August 2, in this regard, he said. The seasonal upward revision of the air fare has become a common phenomenon with all the airlines and hence a concerted policy decision towards this direction and bringing about uniformity and stability of airfare was necessary, he said. It would be advantageous for passengers as well as the airlines, in terms of turnover, to introduce budget airlines in this sector, he said.

The development of Calicut International Airport at the nearby Karippur requires 137 acres of additional land to be placed at the disposal of the Airport Authority, but unfortunately the Kerala Government has not been able to make much headway in its acquisition and as such the proposed developments remain on paper, he alleged. Pointing that the airport has abundant passenger potential, he said over 60 percent of the Keralites belonging to seven districts of north Kerala depends on the airport.

Muslim groups trying to mix religion, terror, says Kodiyeri: Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said some Muslim organizations in the state were trying to propagate terrorism in the name of religion. Addressing reporters after chairing a meeting of Police officials, he said some of the Muslim organizations in the state are trying to whip up passion. "Some of them are trying to experiment if terrorism can be propagated in the name of religion," he said. "The incident in Muvattupuzha where a college teacher's palm was chopped off early this month should not be seen as just an incident but it is a clear case of a crime being done in the name of religion," said Balakrishnan.

Police have so far arrested more than a dozen people who were behind the chopping off of the palm of the teacher who had prepared a question paper which had a veiled reference to the Prophet Mohammed. The arrested people are activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI), a radical Muslim outfit. "Besides this case, we also discussed the cutting of the brake pipe of a passenger train at Nilambur recently and the state government is of the opinion that this case has to be taken up by the National Investigation Agency," the minister said. "We also decided to look into 23 murder cases that have happened in the recent times and analyze them in detail," said Balakrishnan.

Incidentally this meeting was the first after the government decided to set up an Internal Security Investigation Team under Additional Director General of Police Siby Mathews. Balakrishnan also denied reports of difference of opinion between him and union Minister of State for Home Mullapally Ramachandran. "We have no difference of opinion and we have a good working relationship. We have asked the central government to see that suitable amendments are made in rules regarding receiving foreign funding by organizations," he said. "Likewise the state government just can't do anything on the money that is being received in the state through the Indian postal department with the help of Western Union Money Transfer. A lot of money is coming into the state," said Balakrishnan.

He said that the best way for the police to be vigilant is through a good rapport between the people and police. "We want people to come to the support of police and they should pass on information about any development in their locality. We have decided to expand the community policing from the present 43 police stations to 100 very shortly," added Balakrishnan. PFI operates not only in Kerala but also in some other states, so it was for the Centre to examine the activities of the outfit and take a decision, state Balakrishnan told reporters. Kerala wanted the Centre to take up the probe into the case of tampering the brake of a passenger train at Nilambur on July 7.

Kandal Park: Expert team affirms violation of CRZ norms: Expert Committee constituted by the state government in its primary report confirms the violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms in connection with the issues relating to Pappinisseri Kandal Park, near Kannur. The committee has pointed out that mangrove saplings had been destroyed in around three acres of land and the natural flow of river had been disrupted.

The panel has also discovered that the consent of the Panchayat administration was not obtained for construction in the area. TS Nair, a member of the expert team would again visit the park, after which they would submit the final report on the same before the government on 27th of this month.

Villagers launch snail-hunt: After life becoming miserable with the onslaught of snails, a panchayat in Kerala was 'forced' to launch snail eradication programme to free areas of the slow-moving creature. Around one lakh snails were killed Friday alone in Konni village panchayat in Pathanamthitta district, Konni panchayat secretary K N Haribalan told reporters. Since it is bigger than the normal type of snail found in Kerala, villagers call it "African snail", believed to have made its way into the plains of Kerala from the Western Ghats. The fast-breeding mollusk has emerged as a serious threat to farming. Villagers were compelled to launch the snail-hunt as the slimy insect began moving into houses leaving a sticky trail in its wake.

"Some of these snails are 21 cm long and up to 7 cm height. They attack crops like plantain, tapioca and other tuber crops. They could scale up the coconut palms and damage tender nuts," Haribalan said. "They mostly come out after the dusk and could be seen moving up the walls of houses. The ugly creature would sneak into anywhere including kitchen or dining room, making in a nauseating sight", a villager said.

It was a joint operation launched by panchayat with the support of Health and Agriculture Department and local self-help groups. The snails were annihilated by sprinkling a mixture of tobacco and salt. They were then mass-buried in a pit. According to a study done by experts of Forest Research Institute, the "African snail" might have got into a consignment brought from some other place. Only one snail might have come to the village during the time but it multiplied many folds after laying eggs, the study said. According to experts, a single snail would lay 1,000 eggs and 80 per cent of them would hatch. They not only eat farm products but also relish wastes thrown around, a villager said.

MGU axe on off-campus centres: Mahatma Gandhi University has banned admissions in the current year to nine of its illegally functioning off-campus centres on the campuses of the affiliated colleges at various places. The university based on the reports of the special inspection committee has banned C M S College, Kottayam, U C College Aluva, St.Xavier's college, Aluva, St.Albert's College, Ernakulam, St.Paul's College Kalamassery, K E College, Mannanam, S B College, Changanacherry, St. Aloysius Colege, Edathua and Assumption College, Changanacherry from enrolling students, an official spokesman said Saturday. The university had issued directives to the centres to vacate from the premises, of the colleges.

Hand-Chopping: Three arrested for providing SIM card to Nazar: Three persons were arrested for providing SIM cards using fake documents to the main accused Nazar in the hand-chopping case. They are identified as Afsal (20) from Nellimattam, Muhammedali (32) from Maliyekkal and Nissar (22) of Kurumakkudi. All of them were remanded. Meanwhile, the seven accused in the hand-chopping case were shifted to the Viyyur Central Jail. Hitherto, altogether 11 persons have been arrested.

Eight new police stations: Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said eight police stations will be started in the state, and city and rural systems will be implemented by splitting Kollam and Thrissur. New police stations will be started at Mannanthala, Chottanikkara, Mankada, Panamaram, Mayyil and Manjeri.

Colleges allowed to SNDP Yogam, SN Trust: All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) has allowed polytechnic colleges to SNDP Yogam at Pullappalli in Wayanad, and SN Trust at Cherthala. Yogam president Vellappalli Natesan said the college will start functioning from this academic year onwards.