Women in thousands perform Pongala ritual: Thousands of devotees performed the pongala ritual in one of world's largest religious congregations of women at the famed Attuakal Bhagavathi temple here. Cutting across class, caste and even religious barriers, women of all ages squatted in an area of seven km around the temple and boiled the rice-jaggery-coconut 'pongala' in fresh earthen pots on make-shift brick hearths. According to tradition, the ritual is performed by women to seek the blessings of Goddess Bhagavathi for peace, plenty and prosperity. The ceremony began at 10:10 am with the chief temple priest taking fire from the sanctum sanctorum to light the 'holy hearth' in the shrine kitchen.

He then handed over the fire to the devotees and within minutes the flame changed hands with thousands of hearths getting lit. The ritual concluded with temple priests sprinkling the offerings of devotees with holy water. According to legend, Kannaki destroyed the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu after the king of Madurai wrongfully imposed death penalty on her husband. Kannaki then travelled to Kerala, where she rested for a while at Attukal and women are said to have cooked pongala to appease her. The Guinness Book of Records listed the festival as the world's largest annual gathering of women on a single day in 1997, when 1.5 million devotees converged on February 23.

Once a ceremony performed by women in a hamlet on the banks of the Killiyar river to commemorate a local legend, over the years the pongala has become a pilgrimage as huge as that of the hill shrine of Sabarimala. If Sabarimala pilgrimage is primarily for men, pongala is an all-woman religious event, though there is no gender discrimination for worshipping at the temple, situated on the southern periphery of the state capital.The fame of the festival has even crossed the national boundaries, attracting devotees from abroad as well as academics who study female spiritual traditions and fertility rites.According to temple authorities, the turn-out this year exceeded last year’s 2.5 million.

Fuel Price: CPI-M to Hold Rally in Delhi; Strike in Kerala: CPI-M Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan urged all sections of people to support the strike call for March 2 by transport workers unions against petroleum price hike. In a statement, he said the strike should send a "strong signal" to the union government, whose budget proposals would impose a heavy burden on the common man. The proposals would mainly affect consumer states like Kerala and would lead to inflation. The Centre was in the process of cutting subsidies and withdrawing from welfare sectors to pursue its policies of globalisation and privatisation, he alleged. He said the centre, through its budget, had declared a 'war' on the people of Kerala by turning a blind eye to the justifiable demands of the state. Even UPA partners had come out against the budget proposals, the statement said.

Fuel Price Hike: CPI-M to Hold Rally in Delhi on Mar 12: CPI (M) also announced that it will organise a "mass rally" in Delhi on March 12 against the increase in the price of petroleum products, saying the hike will badly hit the common man. The rally would be part of the nation-wide agitation to be taken up by Left parties against the "anti-people" proposals in the 2010-11 Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said.

Addressing a public meeting at Pattambi in connection with the birth centenary celebration of late E M S Namboodiripad, he alleged the budget had many concessions for the elite class which constituted only five per cent of the population while ignoring the common man. The budget should have found ways to help ordinary people by levying more tax on the richer sections, he said. He alleged farmers in the country were bearing the brunt of globalisation and liberalisation policies of the Centre.

Kerala police accused of hindering maintenance work at dam : Tamil Nadu PWD engineers were allegedly prevented by Kerala police from carrying out maintenance work at Mullaiperiyar Dam in Kerala's Idduki district, officials here said. The workers involved in painting and oiling sluices at the Main dam, Baby dam and Gallery areas for about a month, were warned against continuing the work and chased away by a 15 member Kerala police team last night, Kannan, Assistant PWD Executive Engineer, told reporters here Sunday. This was despite the officials showing the Government order to undertake repairs and maintenance work, he said.

PWD officials had informed the Tamil Nadu government of the incident, he said. He said the job of Kerala police at the site was restricted to prevent strangers from entering the dam area. Both Tamil Nadu and Kerala are locked in a bitter tussle over the century old dam, which caters to the irrigation and drinking water needs of Tamil Nadu. Kerala, citing the safety of the dam, wants to demolish the existing structure and construct a new one at an alternative location, which Tamil Nadu is opposed to. The issue is pending before the Supreme Court, which recently set up a committee to look into all aspects of the dispute.

Passenger arrested with fake passport: A 45-year-old man from Kerala was arrested at the airport while trying to travel to Sharjah on a fake passport, airport sources said.They said Vijayakumar of Palakkad district was scheduled to board the early morning flight. However, immigration officials grew suspicious of the address given and on verification, found it had an address in Kumbakonam, though it was issued in Tiruchirapalli.Since the man could not provide proof of residence, he was handed over to police, they said.

Bt food varieties only way to feed starving millions: The "spat" against Bt varieties like Bt Cotton and Bt brinjal on ethical grounds was meaningless while millions of people are starving in the world, world renowned biomaterial scientist, Prof Buddy D Ratner said. Speaking to reporters , Prof Ratner, Director, University of Washington, Engineered Biomaterials, said the only way ahead to feed these people was available food varieties and supplements brought out through Research and Development in biotechnology. Those opposing it on ethical grounds should consider the issue of starvation and support R&D in this area, he said.

Earlier, in his keynote address at the "International Conference on Biomaterials, Artificial Organs and Tissue Engineering," he claimed his institute has developed a new technology by which biomaterials can independently grow as stem cells in the body.This would avoid usage of foreign cells in healthcare treatment, a revolutionary step in saving lives of millions in the world suffering from various ailments, he said. He said India was well ahead of China in biomaterial research and development and on par with R&D in US and Europe.The conference was organised by SCMS Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology Research and Development.

Women devotees worship at Chottanikkara Bhagavathy temple: Thousands of women devotees from across Kerala and outside the state offered worship at the famous Chottanikkara Bhagavathy temple in Ernakulam district on the occasion of the 'Makam Thozhal' festival. The Cochin Devaswom Board had made all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the festival.

Bank to give loan without surety, says Minister: Workers co-operative bank will start giving loan without surety for the poor and labourers, said Cooperative Minister G Sudhakaran. The loan can be obtained at 7% interest, he said. Cooperative banks will be initiated for aiding Consumerfed. Steps will be taken if anyone tries to take advantage in the bank’s circular and orders. Criminal case will be registered against those trying to swindle the banks, Sudhakaran said.

‘Toddy-taping industry should be reorganized under co-operative sector’: Labour and Excise Minister PK Gurudasan demanded that the toddy-taping industry should be reorganized under co-operative sector. This has been implemented in two districts completely. This venture is not only a success but also attracts many a labourer. Taking this fact into consideration, everyone in the co-operative sector should come forward to reorganize the industry step by step.The minister was inaugurating the delegate assembly of the Kallu Chethu Vyavasaya Thozhilali federation (CITU) state conferenece.

Man faints to death after returning from Gulf: A Keralite who had spent 15 years in Saudi Arabia devoid of any chance to visit his homeland because of lack of money and diseases, died here at his native land as soon as he arrived after he fainted at railway platform. Nazar (52) is a native of Navayikkulam. He reached Mumbai with the help of some Malayalis’ associations and close aides, and from there reached Varkala by train around 9.30 am.Though railway police came to his rescue and took him to Chirayinkeezhu Taluk hospital his life could not be saved. He died at 2.30 pm. He is survived by his wife Shailabeewi, son Muhammed Jahsin and daughter Jinsy Beegam.

Thilakan condemns Mammootty’s statement as mere drama: Responding to superstar Mammootty’s statement to settle the row with him, Thilakan condemned Mammootty’s statement as mere drama. Thilakan said even after 28 hours after Mammootty delivered his statement for compromise, he (Mammootty) did not call him. He also said he could not take part in the meeting with AMMA, an association of artistes.

AMMA suspends Thilakan: After a verbal duel lasting for weeks, Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) suspended veteran actor Thilakan for his `unbearable' attacks on the outfit that had `harmed its reputation.' The decision to suspend Thilakan from AMMA membership was taken at a meeting of the five-member disciplinary panel of the organisation that met here. AMMA president Innocent and panel member T P Madhavan told reporters that Thilakan had been making provocative statements against his colleagues in the industry even after a notice was given to him to appear before the disciplinary panel .They felt that his choosing not to appear before the panel was `deliberate.

' The problem could not be solved without co-operation from his part. Thilakan had been given time till March 8 to come out with a credible explanation or appear in person before the committee, they said. Innocent said Thilakan, instead of presenting his problems before AMMA had gone public about the denial of chance in a film and hurled charges against those in the industry. Legal steps would be taken against Thilakan's statement that he was not getting AMMA's monthly financial aid of Rs 2,500 being given to senior artistes, he said.Reacting sharply to the decision, Thilakan said AMMA was responsible for harming his reputation. He would decide later whether to give explanation to the AMMA panel before March 8. "Only AMMA will stand to lose if I am expelled," he added.

Thilakan and AMMA had been embroiled in a war of words for the last few weeks with charges and counter-charges from both sides, prompting many from the film and cultural field including eminent critic and orator Sukumar Azhikode taking up the issue.While Thilakan maintained that he was denied chance in the film 'Christian Brothers' at the instance of Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) with the silent backing of a superstar, AMMA countered it by saying the actor was making irresponsible statements.The debate hotted up when popular actor Mohanlal and AMMA vice president K B Ganesh Kumar questioned Azhikode for 'interfering' in the film industry's affairs.Stating that he had the right to question the 'injustice' meted out to Thilakan, Azhikode launched a series of attacks on superstars.

The bitter row appeared to end on Saturday when superstar Mammootty offered a truce saying AMMA would settle the issue and would not indulge in public debate any longer. But the star himself backtracked later, apparently under pressure from his colleagues.An angry Thilakan said Monday Mammootty's role in the 'entire drama' was to appease him before the 'real kill' planned in the backstage."AMMA is now merely an organisation of two or three actors and their sycophants. All others are treated as their slaves," he alleged.The actor said he would wait till March 8 for further developments and think of moving court against the denial of job to him by "vested interests" in the film industry.

UDF Opposition walkout over Munnar land encroachment issue: Congress-led UDF Opposition in Kerala staged a walkout in the assembly at the fag end of an adjournment motion debate on matters connected with encroachment of land in the hill station of Munnar.Opposition alleged that government was not 'sincere' in evicting land grabbers and walked out at the end of four-hour discussion even as Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan assured the House that steps would be taken to retrieve government lands illegally occupied by anyone including Kannan Devan Hills Ltd, controlled by Tata Groups.Winding up the debate on the motion moved by Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan (Congress), Achuthanandan said it was difficult for the government to fix a time frame for eviction as cases connected with the issue was pending in courts.

'Government can take steps only based on court orders', he said while referring to Opposition leader Oommen Chandy's demand that government should evict encroachers on a time-bound basis. Land encroachment in Munnar in Idukki district was an issue in the limelight in the state since LDF government came to power in May 2006 promising during poll campaign that land grabbers would be evicted from government land. However, government efforts to retrieve the land ran into trouble with court cases and protests from CPI-M local leaders and its partner CPI. Eviction drive in Munnar came into focus again recently with a High court directive to government to initiate steps against encroachers.

KAU develops 14 seed varieties: Kerala Agricultural University's (KAU) research section has developed 14 new varieties of seeds here. KAU Vice Chancellor, K R Visambharan told newsmen that various research institutions under the University have evolved the new varieties of hybrid seeds for release to the farmers. These new breeds had been approved by the State Seed Sub Committee on Crop Standard and release, he said. He said that the new varieties included seven red-rice paddy varieties, two vegetables, two pulses, two ginger and cashew.

He said this was the first time new varieties of ginger were developed by the KAU.He said the University had developed over 200 varieties of hybrid seeds and all these varieties were available to the farmers from its seed farms. He said during fiscal 2008-09, the University had produced and distributed to farmers seeds and seedlings worth Rs.3.26 crore. This included 246 tons of paddy seeds, 6.22 tons vegetable seeds and over a lakh coconut seedlings and others.

Women’s commission to launch SMS system to book eve teasers: Eve teasers, be careful ! You may smoothly land in trouble without ever knowing as Kerala Women’s Commission is all set to launch an SMS alert service to trap you.If a woman finds herself being harassed by teasers, she just needs to type the word Vanitha on her mobile and after leaving a space message it to the Commission on a number to be announced shortly.On getting the alert, the help desk at the Women’s Commission would inform the nearest police station from where the message is sent for the help of the woman in trouble.Before doing so, a preliminary verification would be done to ascertain if the message is genuine, the Commission secretary V P Ramachandran told reporters.

."We have worked out the nitty gritty of the proposal and submitted it to the Government for clearance from the IT Department. Discussions are also on with service providers like BSNL. We expect the system to be through by this month end," he said.The messages would be simultaneously received on the main server of the Women’s Commission office and the mobile phones of the designated officers.The Commission has also introduced SMS facility to reply to queries on the status of pending cases by typing "Vanitha" followed by the file number of the case concerned. An online facility for lodging fresh complaints has also been launched by the Commission on its website www.keralawomenscommission.govt.in.

Kerala Assembly pays homage to Jyoti Basu: The Kerala Assembly paid homage to veteran Marxist leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu. Speaker K Radhakrishnan said Basu was a great leader who championed the cause of the oppressed classes. He was the longest-serving chief minister in the country and had proved himself as an able administrator, the Speaker said.The assembly also condoled the deaths of former members of the House M Sathyanesan, Jose Thannikkal and N Ganapathi. The House observed one minute silence in memory of the departed leaders.

Kerala to ask Centre to permanently ban endosulfan: Kerala government would put pressure on the Centre to announce a permanent ban on the use of endosulfan insecticide in cashew plantations in Kasaragod district, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan told the assembly . Replying to a submission by C H Kunhambu (CPI-M), he said temporary ban on endosulfan use imposed by the Centre, after protests from local people affected by the health problems caused by the insecticide, was not enough as its spraying had proved fatal.He said around 400 persons had died due to the ill-effects of the insecticide in the district and their relatives were being given Rs 50,000 each as compensation.

The Chief Minister said 178 families had already been provided with the compensation. The government had also set apart Rs 50 lakh to set up a special cell for taking up treatment of the affected people. He said Rs 128 lakh had been given from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to develop facilities in hospitals in the area for the treatment of endosulfan-affected people. In his submission, Kunhambu said people in 11 villages in the district had been affected by endosulfan spraying.

Make nation-wide strike a success says Kerala state committee of United Trade Union :The Kerala state committee of United Trade Union, a body of eight trade union organisations, urged the working class and democratic forces to make the proposed March 5 nation-wide agitation for implementation of various demands, a success.Talking to reporters, AITUC leader Kanam Rajendran said the main demands included steps to control price rise, protection of right to work and non-disinvestment in public sector companies. He said over 10 lakh people would participate in the agitation across the country. As a part of the nation wide agitation in Kerala, dharnas would be organised in all the districts. Trade union leaders have also extended support to the one-day strike called by various Motor Vehicle workers association today, protesting against the hike in petroleum products.

Workshop on ‘art and aesthetics of acting’:The Government of Kerala is conducting a two-week residential workshop on ‘Art and Aesthetics of Acting’ at Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan from March 5 to 17 as part of the National Theatre Festival, Public Relations Department, 2010. The training camp will orient aspiring actors into various traditional and contemporary methods of acting through both theory and practice. The training will feature eminent actor trainers, directors, academicians and art critics in the country. Applications should be sent to Bandhu Prasad, secretary, Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. Contact Ph: 9387224599

Kunhalikutty claims one Rajya Sabha seat: A Rajya Sabha seat is crucial for the Muslim League, said party general secretary P K Kunhalikutty. He said that they had held the first round of talks with the Congress over the seat.A representative of the league is in the Rajya Sabha for the past 42 years. The only problem is that if they demand one seat, A K Antony will have to be kept apart. They are planning to find a solution for this. Meantime, UDF convenor P P Thankachan said that talks will be held with KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala and opposition leader Oommen Chandy regarding the demand of the ML.

Girl hacked to death: A 21-year old girl was hacked to death by her uncle following a family dispute.The victim has been identified as Shyama, daughter of Sundaran of Thadakkusseri. Her mother Radhamani, and father Sundaran, who received serious injuries have been admitted at the Thrissur Medical College Hospital. The incident happened Sunday night. When the people came to the spot, the accused identified as Balan fled from the place. A case has been registered.

No plan to hike milk price: The government has no plan to hike the price of milk in the state, Civil Supplies Minister C Divakaran informed the state assembly .In a written reply to Abdurahiman Randathani of the IUML and others, he said though the Milma had made a request to the government to hike the price of milk, no such move was under consideration. Because of effective measures taken by the government, milk production in the state was increased to 24.63 lakh metric tonne in 2008-2009 as against 22.48 lakh metric tonne in 2007-2008, he claimed. Divakaran said the government would set up a modern laboratory under the Kerala Diary Development Corporation to check the quality of milk. The estimated cost of the proposed laboratory would be Rs one crore and it would be set up at the capital city, he added.

Paper agent bludgeoned to death: A paper agent identified as Radhakrishnan Nair (55) of Parasala, was bludgeoned to death. Nair and his friend, who received injuries after a fight broke out between the two, were undergoing treatment at the hospital. From the hospital bed, Nair went home took the dailies and went for distribution. But soon his cries were heard and when his wife and daughter came running, they saw him lying in a pool of blood. Though he was taken to the hospital, his life could not be saved.The police have taken into custody his neighbour identified as Nagamanikkam and his children Mohan Kumar and Retnakaran in connection with the incident. Nair leaves behind his wife Bhuvaneswari and daughters Radhika and Renuka.

Pension age will not be raised, says VS: Raising the pension age of government employees is not under consideration of the state government, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan told the assembly . Replying to a question, he said the pension age is raised after considering the special situation of each state. As per records, almost 20,000 government employees would retire on March 31. Almost Rs 1500 crores are needed to give benefits for them. Punching system would be introduced before March 31st in the Secretariat.

Govt grants permission for adjournment motion on Munnar issue: The ruling front surprised the opposition by granting permission for an adjournment motion to discuss the Munnar encroachment. The notice was issued by Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan of the Congress. Most probably, discussions would be held itself.Thiruvanchoor demanded a discussion on government’s laxity in Munnar eviction and the delay in providing title deeds for the landless farmers.Usually only very rarely the government grants permission for an adjournment motion. The speaker informed the assembly that after holding discussions with the chief minister and opposition leader, the time for discussion will be informed.

Girl student commits suicide after classmate hanged to death: A girl student committed suicide after her classmate hanged to death. The girl is identified as Hrudya (22), a sixth semester BTech student, and daughter of M Sahadevan. She was found hanging at her house on Saturday morning. Hrudya’s classmate Jitin (20) had committed suicide by hanging at his residence on 17 February.

Munnar: LDF members will be evicted first, says VS: In his reply to the UDF’s adjournment motion on matters connected with encroachment of land in the hill station of Munnar, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said if lands encroached by LDF is found, they would be the one who would be evicted first. Achuthanandan said the affidavit filed by Munnar Collector before the court revealing the statement of opposition leader Oommen Chandy that majority of lands at Munnar was encroached by LDF activists, would be seriously considered. A refined affidavit with the inclusion of the details of UDF encroachers would be submitted.

Demand for High court bench in Thiruvananthapuram: The Centre's attitude of not sanctioning a high court bench in the state capital even after the assembly adopted a resolution in this regard twice was very unfortunate, state law minister M Vijayakumar said. Replying to a submission for setting up a high court bench in Thiruvananthapuram by ruling LDF MLA, V Surendran Pilla in the assembly , Vijayakumar said the Union government had informed the state again that Centre could proceed in the matter only if High Court gives its approval. The Centre's reply in the matter was only a repetition of its earlier stand, he said. The demand for high court bench was taken up by chief minister VS Achuthanandan with prime minister Manmohan Singh in the presence of defence minister AK Antony and state opposition leader Oommen Chandy, Vijayakumar said.

‘M F Hussain denigrated Indian culture’: Bharatiya Vichara Kendra director P. Parameswaran has criticised painter M.F. Hussain for consistently denigrating Indian culture. In a press release issued in the background of the news that Hussain had accepted Qatar nationality, Parameswaran said that in the name of artistic freedom Hussain had painted Hindu gods and goddesses and even Bharat Matha in a manner, which deeply hurt the sentiments and sensibilities of patriotic Indians.That M.F. Hussain has accepted Qatar nationality is good news, good for him and good for India. He got what he desired and lost what he hardly deserved, the statement said.

He had to leave India because of the intense anger of his misusing artistic freedom. Now, he is free to utilise his newly-won nationality to make full commercial benefit of his negative artistic talents while staying abroad, the statement said. A number of human right activists are raising a hue and cry against the denial of M.F. Hussain’s fundamental right to live in India. Their argument is that he has done only what has already been in vogue in India a long time back. In many Hindu temples, figures have been painted in an obscene manner. But it must be remembered that great Indian patriots like Swami Vivekananda have openly condemned such paintings and described such paintings as degenerate and not representing true Indian art.

Nobody now admires them and no artist reproduces such paintings except Hussain, the statement said. It was against such paintings that the great Indian artists Raja Ravi Varma produced hundreds of portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses and won worldwide acclaim, the statement said. It was an act of sheer arrogance on the part of the Kerala Government that it recently decided to honour M.F. Hussain by giving him Raja Ravi Varma award. It is another matter that they could not succeed in this nefarious attempt due to public protest and judicial intervention, the statement said.

The “righteous indignation!’’ of the human rights activists in the case of Hussain is to be seen in comparison to their silent acquiescence of the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama half-a- century-old exile in India. Hussain had to leave India for denigrating Indian culture, whereas Dalai Lama was forced to leave Tibet in order to protect and practise the millennium-old tradition and culture of Tibet. It will indeed be interesting to watch if Hussain utilises his freedom as a Qatar national to produce paintings of Islamic symbols in the manner in which he has been painting Hindu icons and symbols. That would also show how genuine is his secularism and the independence of his vociferous supporters in India, he said.

Dawn-to-dusk State-wide strike affects normal life: The dawn-to-dusk State-wide strike by motor transport workers and taxi and autorickshaw drivers to protest against the hike in the price of petrol and diesel, greatly affected normal life. A ‘bandh-like’ situation prevailed in the capital district as private buses, taxies, autorickshaws, lorries and mini-lorries kept out of the road in response to the strike call by the KSRT Employees association, private bus workers unions and the joint coordination committee of the taxi and autorickshaw unions. Attendance was thin in the government offices as the public transport system came to a grinding halt. Most of the educational institutions remained closed. The annual examinations in schools and the University examinations were postponed on account of the stir. Shops and business establishments downed their shutters.

Medical shops and petrol pumps of Civil Supplies Corporation functioned as usual and long queues were seen in front of them. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s effort to operate the long distance services was not successful as protestors blocked the buses at many bus stations in the State. Around 20 per cent of the KSRTC staff reported for duty, a KSRTC official said.The KSRTC could operate only 250 services in the State. In the capital, the KSRTC could not operate the regular city services. The corporation suffered a loss of Rs. 3 crore on account of the strike.Those who arrived in trains at Thiruvananthapuram Central Station and by flights at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport after the strike began, were stranded.

The police came in handy for the stranded passengers in the railway stations and airport. Small incidents of violence The strike was marked by small incidents of violence in the district. Strike supporters damaged the windowpanes of a village office at Malayankeezhu in the early hours. The rural police have booked four Left Democratic Front (LDF) activists on the charge of violating the Prevention of Public Property Destruction Act. They said the agitators attempted to forcibly close the village office.The supporters of the stir blockaded the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s depots to prevent stage carriage and long distance service operations.

The police had to forcibly remove the agitators in several depots, including Vithura and Trivandrum Central. Strike supporters blocked the buses carrying VSSC employees to the institution’s prime facility at Thumba. The police later removed those who had staged a sit-in on the Kazhakuttom-Thumba road. In the city, strike supporters attempted to disrupt stage carriage and inter-State long distance services at Thampanoor and Music College junctions. They attacked an autorickshaw carrying passengers at Poonthura. In several places in the city and suburbs, the supporters of the stir blocked private cars and two-wheelers.The police said they provided escorts to buses transporting passengers to the airport fromThampanoor and Technopark.

UDF walkout over price rise: Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan asked the Centre to correct its economic policy and strengthen public distribution system in the country to check price rise of commodities.Achuthanandan's statement came during a debate on an adjournment motion on 'price rise' moved by the Congress-led UDF in the state assembly during which the ruling CPI-M led LDF and Opposition traded charges at each other for skyrocketing prices. During the four-hour debate, LDF members alleged that the wrong economic policies of Congress-led UPA government at the Centre were responsible for the spurt in prices.The opposition staged a walkout at the fag end of the debate not satisfied with the government reply on a reference in the Accountant General report relating to state government's management of rice provided by the Centre 'under the noon-meal scheme'.

In his reply, Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac said total mismanagement of foodgrain procurement process and import-export policy on wheat and sugar led to the present food crisis in the country. The recent price hike of petrol and diesel has worsened the situation, Issac said. However, he rejected Opposition demand to forego the increased revenue the state would get due to rise in petrol and diesel prices, saying it was not practical.Opposition leader Oommen Chandy said though he agreed that recent price hike of petroleum products could have been avoided, the state government could not wash its hands off by blaming the Centre for price rise.

Bench cannot be established without HC’s permission: Union Minister of Law informed the chief minister that permission of the Kerala High Court is needed for establishing a bench in the capital city, Minister M Vijaya Kumar told the assembly . If the centre demands, the President can issue an order permitting to establish the bench. A political decision is needed from the centre for this, he said.

League gives up claim of Rajya Sabha seat from state: The Muslim League gave up the claim of a Rajya Sabha seat from the state. Instead they expressed their desire to get one from any other state. The League changed their stand as A K Antony wants to be re-elected from Kerala. Not only that the Congress is firm in fielding Antony in this seat. The League has a presence in the Rajya Sabha for 42 years. In the meet held , party general secretary P K Kunhalikutty said there was no questing of giving up the claim for the Rajya Sabha seat. IUML leaders were aware of the difficulties that the Congress would face if it was to allot the seat to the IUML, instead of its own candidate Antony.

State lacks foreign investment: Finance Minister Thomas Issac told the State Assembly that state's share in the total foreign investment in the country during the past ten years was only a miniscule. Replying to questions, he said it was a matter of serious concern as the state got only less than one per cent of the total foreign investment in the country during the past decade.He called upon the political parties to evolve a consensus on the developmental issues. Referring to the Rs 10,000 crore stimulus packages announced by the state last year to tide over recession, he said the government had already given administrative sanction for various infrastructure development projects worth Rs 3,000 crore.

Nazir taken to spots of twin blasts in Kozhikode: National Investigating Agency (NIA), probing various terror related cases in the state, took suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba operative T Nazir to two bus shelters here where he had allegedly masterminded the March 2006 blasts. Nazir with his face covered by a mask was taken to the private bus station and the nearby KSRTC bus station on busy Mavoor Road here around noon amid tight security by NIA official T K Rajmohan who is heading the probe team. Prior to this, he was taken to the adjacent Markaz mosque complex, NIA sources said. Nazir, suspected to be LeT's South India commander, was brought night as part of information gathering on the twin blasts in two bus stations in which two persons including a police constable were injured.

He was later taken to the government guest house for questioning, sources said. Nazir, a resident of Kannur, is suspected to have masterminded a well orchestrated network to recruit youths from Kerala to the Pakistan-based LeT to carry out subversive activities. The terror suspect remained elusive for months till his arrest last year along the Indo-Bangladesh border. Nazir has reportedly confessed to have plotted the blasts in the two crowded bus stations in Kozhikode and torching of a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus near Kochi in 2005 to protest the detention of People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Naser Madhani in a Coimbatore jail in connection with the 1998 serial blasts. He was earlier in the custody of Bangalore Police in connection with the July 2008 serial blasts there.

Govt to step up measures to protect government lands: Revenue Minister K P Rajendran said 13,159 acres had been retrieved from land grabbers in different parts of the state. Replying to a calling attention in the assembly, Rajendran said district and taluk level task forces had been set up for the purpose of evicting encroachers and a special task force was engaged in the task in the hill station of Munnar.The land retrieved would be registered in 'Kerala State Land Bank' set up for protecting and allotting land to landless people and for development purposes, Rajendran said, reiterating government's resolve to retrieve encroached government lands.

The LDF government had assigned land to more than one lakh landless families including tribals and scheduled caste and plans were on to distribute land to another one lakh families, he added. Government also plans to bring in necessary amendments to the Kerala Government Land Protection Act to ensure stringent punishment to those who encroach public lands and protection of the surplus lands in the state, Rajendran said. Taking up the issue, Anathalavattom Anandan (CPIM) said a section in the bureaucracy with the help of media was trying to scuttle government efforts to evict encroachers from government lands, especially in Munnar.

Community policing to be extended to 100 more stations: Community policing would be extended to 100 more stations in Kerala this year as the police-citizen collaboration has helped control crime, according to state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan."Wherever the project was implemented on a pilot basis, it has proved a success in bringing down the crime rate," he told the Assembly during question hour.Kerala's community police "Janamaithri" has been implemented in about 50 police stations since its launch in 2008.

The concept involves enlisting of participation of citizenry in tackling crimes in the respective area. Specially trained inspectors and constables are designated as community police personnel in each locality. They keep in constant touch with members of the local community and their suggestions and help are sought to tackle crimes.Two-wheelers should not be harassed in the name of helmet hunt, Kodiyeri said. The government has instructed the police not to follow motorists without helmet and harass them.

Seven die in highway accident in Palakkad: In a tragic and shocking accident, seven persons, on a pilgrimage from Coimbatore to Guruvayoor Sree Krishna Temple, died when the Maruti Omni van they were travelling in collided with an oncoming truck in front of the Kasaba Police station on National Highway-47 in Pudussery in the early hours. In this major accident, six persons died on the spot and one died in the District Hospital in Palakkad.The bodies of the deceased were handed over to the relatives after postmortem in the district hospital . The State government has announced a compensation of Rs.1 lakh to the family members of each of the deceased.

The deceased are Sreenivasan (40), son of Raghavan of Vignesh Nagar, Coimbatore, his wife Saritha Sreenivasan (30), son Nishkar Krishna (5) and daughter Lakshmi (1 year).The other deceased are Dinesh Kumar (28), son of Rajan of Rangaraja Gaundar Veedhi, Coimbatore, and Madhu (28), son of Ganesh Kumar of Thalaikalam Parambu, West Hill, Kozhikkode. The local people, police and fire force personnel conducted relief operations and brought the victims of the accident to the District Hospital.The two families hailed from Kaloor in Pathirippala and the nearby Mankara in the district but settled in Coimbatore for the last several years, the relatives of the deceased said.

Kerala losing tax revenue: Small Mahe is being used to evade tax legitimately due to Kerala, the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report for the year ended 2009 says.Mahe’s status as part of the Union Territory of Pondicherry whose sales tax is lower than that of Kerala is being used to cheat Kerala of tax revenue, the report tabled in the Assembly said. Unscrupulous dealers are using Mahe, which is geographically situated within Kerala, as the declared destination of goods to get the tax concessions, but diverting them to other parts of Kerala. Movement of goods to Mahe through the NH 17 is regulated by the checkpost at Kunjippally, situated 4 kilometres away from the actual border of Mahe. Pocket roads that exist between the checkpost and the Mahe border are being used to divert good-laden vehicles to places within Kerala.

Audit scrutiny of five commodities revealed that during the period from January 2008 to December 2008, taxable goods valued at Rs 374.02 crore involving a tax effect of Rs 119.02 crore in Kerala, intended for delivery in Mahe, was transported through the Kunjippally checkpost. This include 7,50,89,000 litres of petrol and diesel; 48,11,976 litres of Indian-made Foreign Liquor; 94,15,314 kilogrammes of chicken; 1,02,404 cases of ghee and 7,90,240 sqm of tiles. Mahe has an area of about 9 sq km and population of 36,823 with a total vehicle strength of 341. ``Considering the population and vehicle figures, it can be easily inferred that such huge quantities of goods cannot be consumed in Mahe. Thus, Mahe is being used as a pocket for evasion of tax legitimately due to the Kerala state exchequer,’’ the report said.

Decision on bus fare hike : The cabinet sub-committee would take decision on hiking the bus fare . Though the committee was convened to take decision, it was decided to postpone the meet.

State keen on having control of Mullaperiyar dam: The state said it is keen on having total control of the proposed new dam at Mullaperiyar, an issue over which the state and Tamil Nadu have locked horns for long."Kerala’s firm position was that it should have the right of construction, ownership, operation and maintenance of the new dam, while giving water to Tamil Nadu on the basis of a clear cut agreement," water Resources Minister N K Premachandran told the state Assembly during Question Hour.The minister reiterated Kerala's position that a new dam alone in place of the 113-year-old existing reservoir was a lasting solution to the long-pending dispute with Tamil Nadu.

This is the model followed in the case of Siruvani dam (from which water is released for Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu), he said. He said Kerala had made its position clear in the Supreme Court, which recently constituted an empowered committee headed by former Chief Justice of India, Justice A S Anand, on the safety aspects of the existing Mullaperiyar dam.Tamil Nadu has been strongly opposing construction of a new dam downstream of Mullaperiyar river, contending that repairs to the existing reservoir would suffice. Kerala however, feels that the structure is unsafe, posing a potential threat to people living downstream.

On the ruling DMK's decision that Tamil Nadu should not nominate its representative to the Apex Court appointed panel, he said the neighbouring state should have its nominee to resolve the tangle. Premachandran told the assembly that the government will take a decision on the state’s representative in the five-member panel directed by the Supreme Court in the Mullaperiyar case. Premachandran said the Jalanidhi project will be implemented in 400 panchayats. Drinking water will be available for 41 lakh people after the implementation of the Japan Drinking Water Project.

No plan to introduce flavoured alcoholic drink in the state: The government on said there was no plan to introduce flavoured alcoholic drink 'Bacardia' in the state. Answering a submission on the matter, State Excise Minister P K Gurudasan told the assembly that an application had been received from Bacardia Martin, seeking licence to sell their flavoured alcoholic drink in the state.The application was being examined by officers concerned, he said. However, he made it clear that the matter was not under the government's consideration.

The company has sought permission for selling the product through Indian Made Foreign Liquor shops and not retail shops and supermarkets. Taking up the issue,Abdul Rehman Rendathani (IUML), quoting media reports, said government was planning to give sanction for the company to sell Barcadia, with five per cent alcohol content, in the state which tops the list in liquor consumption in the country.It would have a very bad effect on the society, he said, and asked government not to give sanction for the product.

NIA gathers evidence:The National Investigation Agency (NIA) brought Thadiyantavide Nazeer, accused in many terror link cases, to various spots in Kannur district as part of collecting evidence in connection with the twin blast case at Kozhikode bus stand. Nazir was taken to the vegetable market in Kannur town, a lodge at Anakulam, where the bombs were believed to have been made. He was also taken to Maithanapalli beach near Payambalam, where a sample of the bombs were believed to have been tested and to a mosque at Chalad in the morning.Nazir who was in custody of the Bangalore police, was handed over to Kerala, following the production of warrant by the NIA.

Fire in Minister Isaac’s office room: A fire broke out at the office of Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac at the secretariat. Fire brigage officials suspect it to be a case of short circuit from the air conditioner of the room adjacent to chief minister’s office block. The minister was not in office at the time of the incident.

Allegations baseless, says Sreejith: Kozhikode city police commissioner S Sreejith on said the allegations levelled by A N Satheedevi, daughter of former MLA and CPM leader A S N Nambeesan, against me are totally baseless. The officer said that he had only helped her on some occasions. Sathydevi lodged a complaint to the chief minister stating that Sreejith had exploited her family. The complaint also says that the woman’s daughter is under the control and influence of the officer. Some bank transactions of the officer were held in her daughter’s name.

Auto driver succumbs to injuries: An auto driver, who was undergoing treatment at the medical college hospital after he tried to commit suicide by dousing petrol on his body , succumbed to his injuries . He has been identified as Rajasekharan Nair (50) of Mannamoola.

Two more arrested in Paul murder case: The CBI arrested two more persons from Alappuzha in connection with the murder of Paul M George. Those arrested are stated to be relatives of Aneesh, who arranged the quotation gang. They have been identified as Ismail and Siddique.

Commissioner to probe Mangode issue : Deputy police commissioner will probe the sensational issue between Mangode Radhakrishnan MLA and KSRTC driver, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan informed the assembly .Soon after zero hour, the MLA narrated the incident. “For the past 30 years, I had behaved politely. This allegation has been levelled in order to tarnish my image. I spoke to the driver in the presence of the ASI,” he said.

Justice K T Thomas in Mullaperiyar panel: The state directed the name of former judge Justice K T Thomas as the representative of the state in the five member panel directed by the Supreme Court in the Mullaperiyar case. Tamil Nadu had earlier informed the Supreme Court that they are not interested in sending a representative.

Bus fares to go up in Kerala: Kerala cabinet has accepted the ministerial sub-committee's proposals to increase bus fares of private and state run Kerala State Road Transport Corporation services. According to official sources, a formal announcement in this regard would be made in the state assembly by state Transport Minister Jose Thettayil. The minimum charge for ordinary services would go up from Rs.3.50 to Rs.Four and there would proportionate increase in fast and super fast services. The fare hike proposals were finalised by the cabinet sub-committee this evening.Private bus operators have threatened to indefinitely suspend services later this month demanding hike in fares following increase in petroleum prices.

Cabinet sanctions Rs.25 crore to face drought: Kerala cabinet decided to earmark Rs.25 crore to take up relief works in drought afffected areas in the state, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said. The Kerala Water Authority would get Rs.15 crore and district collectors Rs.10 crore for relief operations, he told reporters after a cabinet meeting. On other cabinet decisions, he said the notification fixing fair value of lands in different parts of the state would be issued soon. Cabinet also approved the Abkari Policy with an increase in licence fee for bars in clubs, he said. The bar licence fee of clubs have been increased from Rs.eight lakh to Rs.15 lakh.

Buccan to coach coaches: In order to bring about a standardization in the coaching system, the Association of Basketball Coaches in Kerala will be conducting a five-day Basketball Coaches Clinic here from March 7 to 11. Speaking to mediapersons , Joseph Chaco, Secretary, Association of Basketball Coaches, Kerala, said one of the drawbacks in Indian basketball coaching system is the lack of a uniform approach and this aspect is reflected in the quality of coaching that is being imparted in various schools and colleges in the country. Over 100 coaches, both professional and amateur, will attend the camp, he said.The camp will be headed by Serbian Coach of India, Alexander Buccan, who has been in the country for the last two years as the Head Coach of the Indian team. The course content covers a wide range of subjects including techniques, tactics, sports science, nutrition and officiating, he said.

India and Taiwan has good bilateral trade relation: Taiwan was keen to increase investment in India especially in sectors like information Technology, seafood trade and human resource management, the country's envoy said .Weng Chyi Ong, Taiwan's Ambassador to India, said that Indo-Taiwan trade was 5.3 billion , accounting for mere one percent of Taiwan's total foreign trade. He was optimistic that in five years time Taiwan's investment in India will be increased to USD 15 billion.Taiwan, though smaller than Kerala in size, was looking forward to exploit India's huge domestic market, he told reporters here.Taiwan had invested over the last twenty years in China around USD 300 billion 'creating millions of millions of jobs' there.

In India, we have only managed to invest about slightly less than USD one billion mostly confined to areas of Delhi and Tamil Nadu and not in this part of the country,' he said. Most investors coming from Taiwan look at Tamil Nadu, as it is closer to Taiwan, as the first destination for investment. About USD 300 Million investment has been made by Taiwan companies in Tamil nadu, creating around 16,000 jobs.In 2009 Taiwan had imported seafood worth about USD 300 million, he said, adding out of this India's share was USD 18 million. Education in Taiwan would be far less expensive than what Indian students spend in other countries. Indian students could choose Engineering and business studies in Taiwan, which are of international standard, he said.

IT sector registered growth under LDF rule: Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said the IT sector in the state had registered tremendous growth in the last four years of Left Democratic Front rule. IT exports had also increased from Rs 680 crore in 2006 to Rs 3,000 crore and the government had taken steps to sustain the growth rate, he said.The IT industry had developed manifold and several infrastructural facilities had been set up during the period, he said replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address in the assembly. Achuthanandan said his government had checked the previous UDF government's move for privatisation of Infopark at Kochi. With a specific IT policy,government was trying for a balanced expansion of IT industry in all parts of the state instead of concentrating on one or two cities.

Several small IT parks were being set up in co-ordination with Technopark, Infopark and Cyberpark in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. Technopark, which was developed in 242 acres in 2006, had now grown into 837 acres for which land had been acquired. A total of 63 new companies had started functioning in the centre, he said. IT development in the state should not be measured by the Smart City project which was yet to take off, he said. Even without Smart City project, Kerala's IT sector was developing rapidly. More jobs could be generated at Infopark in Kochi than offered by the promoters of Smart City, the Chief Minister said.

Sangh ideologue slams Husain: Painter M F Husain, who has accepted Qatari nationality, has come under attack from a leading Hindutva ideologue who accused him of "maligning" India's image before the world by creating an impression that it is a nation of fundamentalists. "He is deliberately trying to create an impression that Islamic countries have more freedom than India," said P Parameswaran, director of Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram here.On Husain's claim that he enjoyed more freedom in Qatar, he sought to know if he would be "bold enough" to exercise his artistic freedom and paint Islamic symbols. "What kind of artistic freedom is he talking about? Is painting Hindu gods and goddesses and even Bharat mata in bad light the ultimate test of artistic freedom? Has freedom no restriction or limit," Parameswaran told reporters.

"If Danish newspapers can apologise for carrying cartoon of Prophet Muhammad, why can't Husain apologise for hurting the sentiments of people of the country? Husain had actually got what 'he deserved and probably what he desired'," he said. On how he saw erotic murals and sculptures in Hindu temples, he said great Indians like Swami Vivekananda had openly condemned and described such paintings as "degenerate and grotesque caricatures" and not true Indian art."Nobody now admires them. No artists reproduce such paintings except Husain. Great Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma produced hundreds of portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses and won worldwide acclaim," he said.

Kalam inaugurates Science and Technology fest : The annual science and technology festival of students at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) will be inaugurated by former President and IIST chancellor A P J Abdul Kalam. Students from various engineering colleges would participate in the four-day event, named `Conscientia-2010,' an IIST press release here said.Conscientia would give special emphasis to fields that have a bearing in space applications and offer a unique insight and opportunity to work in these upcoming areas, the release said.ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan will preside over the inaugural function to be held at the IIST campus tomorrow, the release said.

No decision on setting up "Islamic Bank" in Kerala: Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation did not take any decision to set up an "Islamic Bank" in the state but had a proposal to start a non-banking financial institution functioning on non-interest basis, Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem said . However, Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy had filed a petition in Kerala High Court challenging KSIDC's proposal to invest 11 per cent stake in it.Admitting the petition,the High Court had on January 5 issued notices to the state government, KSIDC, Finance Secretary to Union Government and RBI Governor, the minister said in replies furnished in the state assembly . The petitioner had sought a direction from the court to quash the order on setting up such an institution. A meeting of promoters convened by Industries Minister in July last decided to form a public limited company to start such a financial institution and mobilised Rs 4.20 crore as initial capital from 14 promoters,he said.

Income Tax Ombudsman takes charge: K K Tripathi has taken charge as the Income Tax Ombudsman . Tripathi belongs to the 1975 batch of the Indian Revenue Service, a PIB press release said. He was earlier working as Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) Chennai. The ombudsman's jurisdiction will cover Kerala and Lakshadweep.

Muthoot murder: One more in CBI custody: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team probing the Paul Muthoot George murder case has reportedly taken into custody one more person from Mannancherry in connection with the case. The person taken into custody was Anish, son of Ismail, who was arrested . Anish, who will be arraigned as the 28th accused in the case according to sources, faces the same charges– that of attempts to destroy evidence - as his father Ismail, the 27th accused and Siddique, the 26th accused and who was arrested along with Ismail.

A 10-member CBI team took Anish to various spots in and around Mannancherry to collect evidence after they arrived with him here around 5.15 p.m. Most of the evidence collection was centered in a marshy area behind the Mannancherry bus-stand, where the team made Anish dig up a few places. A plastic kit was recovered from one of these pits, sources said, though the contents of the kit were not revealed. The team left for Kochi with Anish around 6.50 p.m.

Bus fares hiked in Kerala: The Kerala government hiked bus fares in the state by 50 paise to Rs.4. The per km fares for auto rickshaws and taxis were also raised by 50 paise to make these Rs.5.50 and Rs.7.50 respectively. The new fares will come into effect on the midnight of March 7. The state cabinet had decided to hike the fares . Transport Minister Jose Thettayil announced it in the assembly State-owned National Transportation and Planning Centre had earlier submitted a report giving the nod to an increase.

Private bus operators in the state have long been asking for a fare hike. Still, they are not happy as they wanted a cut in the concessions given to students and that the minimum fare be fixed at Rs.5.A section of the private bus owners said they would go ahead with a proposed strike on March 16 as their demands had not been met in full. More than 30,000 private buses are plying in the state. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation has 5,115 buses.

Dam retrieval committee to block roads to Kerala: The Mullaperiyar Dam Rights Retrieval Committee, spearheaded by MDMK leader Vaiko, said it would block all 13 roads from Tamil Nadu leading to Kerala on May 28 protesting "denial" of the state's rights over the dam.Vaiko and Tamizhar Desiya Iyakkam leader P Nedumaran told reporters here that the members of the committee, which also include various farmers outfits, would participate in the blockade in Tirunelvei, Theni, Kanyakumari and Coimbatore, the border districts. They accused Kerala Government of taking series of steps to destroy agriculture in Tamil Nadu by denying its right over Mullaperiyar dam and creating problems on the course of Shenbagavalli, Azhiar, Neyyar and Pambaru rivers.

Nazir has confessed to plotting Kozhikode blasts: Suspected Lashkar operative T Nazir has confessed that he had plotted the 2006 twin bomb blasts in two bus stations here, a senior official of NIA team, probing terror related cases in Kerala, said.Nazir, being interrogated by NIA, had admitted that he had masterminded the twin blasts at KSRTC and private bus stations here on March 3, 2006 that left two persons injured, the official told reporters over phone from Kannur. The ultra was taken to various localities in Kannur including Camp Bazar and Thekki Bazar, where he confessed to have devised the bombs and Payyambalam and Maidanapally beaches where he had tested the explosives. NIA had gathered information here by taking him to the two bus stations."Presently we are focussing our investigation into the Kozhikode blasts and the interrogation of the ultra is going on," the official said.

Mohanlal under fire: For the second day running noted critic Sukumar Azhikode blasted Malayali actor Mohanlal for using his army uniform to endorse products such as jewellery and khadi. Sukumar asked Defence Minister A.K. Antony, who made Mohanlal an honorary Lt. Colonel in the Territorial Army, for an explanation."Just because he has acted in a few films as an army officer he was commissioned into the TA battalion. And now he uses that (his uniform) to sell jewellery. Antony owes an explanation for this," Azhikode told reporters here.

Azhikode and Mohanlal have been at loggerheads ever since the former came out in the open to defend thespian Thilakan whose outbursts against superstars led to his suspension from the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) Monday."The state government should appoint a committee to inquire about the undesirable activities in AMMA where there are allegations of sexual exploitation taking place," said Azhikode.It was a disgrace that Mohanlal was made the brand ambassador to promote the use of Khadi products by the Kerala government, he said. " A person who endorses liquor is now endorsing Khadi products. This is a disgrace to Mahatma Gandhi," Azhikode said.

Private bus strike from March 11: Bus operators’ representatives’ meet decided to go on an indefinite strike from March 11 for not hiking the bus fares and students concession as per the hike in petroleum products. They said the renewed hike is not acceptable and their main demands are a reasonable hike in the fare and students concession.

My mother forced me to blackmail Sreejith: My mother forced me to lodge a complaint against Kozhikode city police commissioner S Sreejith and blackmail him, revealed Anitha Krishnan, grand daughter of CPM leader and former MLA ASN Nambeesan. My parents wanted to grab money from the commissioner, she said.Anitha said her mother threatened her saying that if she fails to sign some papers, unnecessary allegations would be voiced between the two.

She told Kerala Kaumudi Flash that when she was studying for engineering in Thrissur, her mother had taken her to the then collector M Beena and IG (training) Alexander Jacob to lodge a complaint against the officer. She said that her parents wanted to taint the officer. Due to the physical torture, she fled to her granny’s house in Thrissur. While studying in Thrissur, she fell in love with a guy named Lishoyi, got married in Guruvayur last year without the consent of her parents. She is staying happily with her husband in Edapally now.

Kerala achieves growth rate of 6.98 per cent: Despite fears of the global recession having an adverse impact on Kerala's economy, the state has registered GDP growth rate of 6.98 per cent,slightly higher than national growth rate of 6.7 per cent, according to the state's economic review. Though there was an apprehension that Kerala's growth rate would be low in 2009-10 due to world economic crisis, "things certainly have not been as bad as feared at one stage', the Economic Review-2009, tabled in the assembly Thursday, said. Continuation of 'capitalist' crisis and signing of Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN countries by the Centre are the two specific features that would have a bearing on the Kerala economy during 2010-11, the review pointed out.

With inflationary recession to affect the world economy and India in particular in the coming months, the review predicts a bleak employment prospect, subdued prices for cash crops and escalating prices for foodgrains in the state. Referring to the fiscal position of the state, the review said Kerala was on the path of fiscal consolidation since 2004-05 and fiscal position has witnessed significant improvement in the recent years. Total revenue receipts are estimated to increase by Rs 3641.72 crore in 2009-10 as against Rs.3405.39 crore last year.Total revenue estimated for the current year is Rs 28,154 crore.However, a major concern of Keraka is its debt burden, which was Rs 67,180 crore in 2009-10, up from Rs 15,700.27 crore in 1998-99.

Minister Baby expresses regret in House: Congress-led UDF Opposition in the state created uproar in the assembly over Education Minister M A Baby's contention that government had withdrawn an order prescribing guidelines for conferring minority status on educational institutions. Holding that Baby had misled the House on the matter, opposition members moved to the well of the House which led to the adjournment for nearly an hour. Former State Minister K M Mani, who gave a notice for an adjournment motion on the issue, said the Minister had only given instructions to the officials to call back the impugned order and 'not actually issued government order' and sought an apology from the minister.

Conceding the opposition demand, Baby expressed regret over his statement and said there was no deliberate attempt to mislead the House. What he meant was that he had already given instructions to cancel the impugned order. Mani demanded that the order be quashed as it contained certain conditions and provisions to determine the minority status of education institutions which had been quashed by the Kerala High court. So the government order was violative of the constitution and action should be taken against officials who prepared the order, Mani said. Baby said as and when the matter was brought to his notice after media reports, instructions had been given to examine how such an order was issued.

Govt firm on taking back encroached land at Munnar: Revenue Minister K P Rajendran said there was no going back on the state government's resolve to take back all encroached land at the hill station of Munnar. If Tata group was found to be in possession of lands above the lease agreement with the government they would be taken back, Rajendran informed the state assembly.As part of the move, aerial survey of Munnar with the help of National Remote Sensing Agency had been completed.

Based on that, the land survey was in progress, he said.If anybody, including the Tata group, was found to have committed encroachment and holding land above the lease agreement, they would be taken back and vested with the government, he said in reply to supplementaries.The government had recently launched the second phase of anti-encroachment campaign at Munnar, a high altitude hill station dominated by tea plantations, including the Tata controlled Kanan Devan Hill Plantations Ltd. As its name figured in connection with the campaign, Tata Group had recently come out with a clarification that the encroachment charges were false and unjustified.

Anu's mysterious death : Priest Fr. K J Joseph alias ‘Habeeba Achan’ of Pathanapuram Mount Tabor monasty has been arrested by the Crime Branch in connection with the mysterious death of Anu, an inmate of Pothukal Christian Hostel near Nilambur.Anu, native of Kannur, was a plus one student at Catholicate Higher Secondary School. Anu’s sister who was also an inmate of the same hosel has provided statement to the police that two priests including Habeeba Achan sexually harassed Anu, and the case was handed over to Crime Branch as allegation came that the police was extending hand to accused.

The police has not yet revealed about the case charged on the priest. The arrest was carried out by Crime Branch Inspector P T Vasudevan. Later the priest was handed bail. The police hint that more arrests would happen. The post mortem report says the consumption of rat poison. Anu’s family and relatives believe she was forced to consume the poison.

State budget: Dr. T.M. Thomas Isaac, Minister for Finance, would present the state budget in the Kerala Legislative Assembly at 9 in the morning. The budget is expected to be pro-citizen in the light of the widespread protests against the union budget.

Leader K Karunakaran wins Panampilly Puraskaram: Veteran politician and former chief minister of Kerala K Karunakaran has won the Panampilly Puraskaram for best social worker. The award contains one lakh rupees, citation and plaque. Panampilly Govinda Menon Foundation representaives would hand the award to him at the death anniversary function of Panampilly Govinda Menon arranged on May 23.

  Friday

Antony inaugurates CPI-M backed TV channel's new building: Defence Minister A.K. Antony inaugurated the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) backed TV channel Kairali's new multi-storeyed office complex . While Antony inaugurated Kairali Towers, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat opened the Kairali Studio complex. A virtual Who's Who of Kerala politics, including Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy, CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, all cabinet ministers and top leaders of political parties attended the function.

Located in the heart of the city, the twin towers boast of five state of the art studio complexes and large areas of office space. Kairali's chairman, Malayalam superstar Mammootty said: 'I take this opportunity to thank nearly 2.50 lakh shareholders who have remained with us all these years. We also announced a dividend for the first time last year.'Antony said he is happy to be a part of the function. 'Look at the guests sitting on the stage. Where else except in Kerala can you find political leaders carrying diverse opinions coming together. This can happen only here,' said Antony.

Chandy struck a lighter note when he said new Kairali building could be an impetus to Congress-backed Jai Hind TV channel to have its own office. 'Jai Hind channel does not have an office of its own. Now we hope Jai Hind can have an office of its own, maybe it will not be this imposing,' said Chandy. The CPI-M-led ruling Left Democratic Front is locked in a bitter electoral battle with the Congress-led United Democratic Front to hold on to power in next year's assembly elections. The Left front received a drumming in the Lok Sabha elections last year.

Kerala budget taxes drinks, spares religion :Economist-turned finance minister TM Thomas Isaac claims his latest budget is a green one, but its contents point to the budget being a 'spiritual' one as well, in more ways than one. In his budget proposals for 2010-11, Isaac has suggested a 10% hike in tax for liquor other than beer and wine, and a reduction of 10% for beer and wine. In contrast, the finance minister has completely abolished tax on a number of items related to the spiritual realm, including rosaries, vibhooti and priestly robes for the Holy Mass. That isn't all that the finance minister has done, from a religious point of view.

He has proposed an allocation of Rs 20 lakh each to the Haj committee and the Wakf Board. And if the reduction in tax on wine is linked to the usage of wine in churches, that could be construed as another sop for religion. Isaac says shops that sell items like rosaries and priestly robes make up only a miniscule part of the trading community in the state, and hardly contributes to the state exchequer in terms of tax volumes, and that he had included the measure in his budget to formalize their exemption from taxation. The Church in Kerala has been fighting the spread of drinking culture, particularly among youth and students. On Christmas day and its eve, liquor worth Rs 44.30 crore was sold in Kerala.

But for the state government, excise and sales tax earnings from liquor form a large portion of its revenue earnings. Sales of Kerala State Beverages Corporation are tipped to touch Rs 5,300 crore this fiscal, which will mean tax and excise earnings of over Rs 4,000 crore for the state government. Interestingly, the sops given to religion and the minority appeasement allegations that it could trigger, come on the heels of two former MPs - KS Manoj and AP Abdullakutty - leaving the CPM, on grounds including the party's antipathy towards religious rites.

Finance Minister presents budget in assembly: Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac presented the state budget for the coming financial year in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. He began his speech by recalling the verses of poet Vyloppilly Sreedhara Menon. Relating to the verses, the Minister said that he was presenting a red and green budget. Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac announced rice at Rs 2 a kg to workers in the unorganised and traditional sectors as he began presenting the budget.

Highlights
8% tax imposed for cars above 1500 cc. Luxury cars, bus to cost more
Stamp duty exempted for govt’s housing projects
Liquor to cost more. Sales tax on these products will be 10%
Surcharge for stamp duty exempted
Spl law will be imposed to take over government land from Tata
1058 crores for drinking water project
42 crores for cooperative sector
2 cores for C-DIT
Pay revision will be implemented this year
De-addiction centres for Beverages Corporation
Loan for 4 % interest for Kudumbashree members
9 crores for renovation of fire force
Teachers to get UGC scale from March
Arts & Science College in Ambalappuzha
62 crores for National Games
Medical University to start functioning this year
121 crores earmarked for harbours
114 crores for water transportation
All UGC directives to be implemented except raising pension age
Coastal shipping company linking Kerala-Maharashtra harbours to be established
1600 crores for development of second phase of KSTP
50 lakhs for Bala Sahitya Institute
4 crores to buy new boats
Rs 1000 crores for Kannur Airport
29 crores for IT Mission
Rs 118 crores for protection of animals
KSFE to start chitty abroad
10 crores earmarked for study of new dam in Mullaperiyar
House and power for deserved fishermen before 2012
Scheme providing jobs to 100,000 will be commenced at the Info Park.
Smart City project to be implemented
IT share raised to 77%
LNG terminal to be commissioned in 2012
Rs 125 crores assigned for Vizhinjam harbour. Global tenders will be invited
Spl scheme for women and divorcees
Rs 40 crores for Kudumbashree
Agricultural calendar for Kuttanad
Resting centers for women in public places
Power auditing for all industrial firms
10 crore trees to be planted in 2 years
Welfare pension raised to Rs 300
Health Insurance Scheme to be expanded
Rice for Rs 2 for 35 lakh workers. Rs 500 crores earmarked
Allowance for students of pre-metric hostel increased
Rs 1000 cores haritha fund in five years
Minimum wages for cooks will be Rs 150
Grants for orphanages and inmates increased
Aid for marriages of SC, ST women increased
Rs 20 crores granted for Ayyankali Employment Guarantee Scheme

Kerala sets up Green Fund to fight ecological challenges :In the backdrop of climate change and other environmental challenges, Kerala announced a Rs 1000-crore 'Green Fund' for the next five years while earmarking an initial provision of Rs 100 crore in the budget for 2010-11.State Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, who presented the budget in the state assembly, said the fund would be utilized to take up projects to preserve natural assets like forests and promote green technology. Besides restoration of degraded forests, it envisages steps towards acquisition of land to link patches of forests and protect core areas from interference.

It would also give thrust to preservation of mangroves, much of which is facing threat of degeneration. Since a large extent of mangroves is under control of private individuals, a fixed amount would be given to them as incentives to protect mangroves.Energy conservation being a critical component of green initiatives, all industrial and commercial establishments would have to submit to mandatory energy audit. The 'Green building' concept would be introduced in the construction sector to promote use of environment friendly methods and materials. Small-scale units would be set up in all panchayats to converts plastic wastes into pellets.Isaac said the Green Budget did not scheme just inclusion of few other schemes, but part of the larger aim of creating the concept as the very basis for future planning and development.

Rs 10 crore for new dam at Mullaperiyar: Noting that construction of a new dam across Mullaperiyar to replace the 113-year old existing structure was "inevitable", Kerala Government earmarked Rs ten crore in its budget for 2010-11 for a detailed study of the project. Presenting the budget, State Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac said considering the safety and interest of the people of Kerala, it was inevitable to construct a new dam which will also ensure sufficient water to Tamil Nadu."For the detailed study of the dam, Rs 10 crore is being set apart," Issac said. Kerala is locked in a bitter tussle with Tamil Nadu over the dam located in Idduki District. Though located in Kerala, the dam caters to the irrigation and drinking water needs of Tamil Nadu and is under its control.

Stay on demolition of 2 dams in Tata estates extended: Kerala High court extended the stay on demolition of two check dams constructed by the Tata group-owned Kanan Devan Hills Plantation company in its estates in Munnar for a further period of one month. The interim order was issued by a Green Bench comprising Justices P R Raman and C N Ramachandran Nair on an affidavit filed by the Plantation company challenging the show cause notice issued to it by the Idukki Collector.The bench asked the Government to inform its views regarding establishment of special tribunal to resolve the disputes regarding land in the resort town of Munnar.It also asked Additional Advocate General Ranjit Thampan to inform the views of government regarding regularisation of old occupants of small holdings in Munnar.

Kerala budget has nothing much for non-resident Keralites : Non-resident Keralites (NRKs) appear to have received scant attention from Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, who presented the state budget in the assembly Friday.There is nothing significant for them in 2010-11 budget as Isaac has set aside just Rs.six crore for the Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs Department for its activities.Isaac said urgent measures would be taken to make the activities under the non-residents’ welfare fund more effective and that the already announced special loan scheme of the Kerala Financial Corporation for the NRKs would be re-organised. Isaac allocated Rs 2 crore to set up Malayalam Mission, which is aimed at acquainting children of NRKs with the Malayalam language and culture of Kerala. At present, there are more than two million NRKs settled outside the country. A majority of them are in the Middle East.

And over the years, their remittances have crossed Rs.25,000 crore, comprising about 20 per cent of the state’s net domestic product and 30 percent more than the state’s annual receipts. In his budget speech, Isaac said that due to various reasons, INKEL, a joint venture meant to attract investments from NRKs for the industrial sector, had not taken off as expected.“In the current year, the shortcomings will be rectified and the implementation of some of the ventures will begin. About 15 detailed project reports are being prepared. Rs. three crore has been set aside for the purpose,” he said.One of Isaac’s pet project hanging fire for long is the opening of branches of the Kerala State Financial Enterprise (KSFE) in the Middle East. The KSFE is into chit fund business for long.“The major step in 2010-11 is to form subsidiaries for chitty in foreign countries,” Isaac said.

Kerala presents please-all budget as local body polls near : There are sops galore in the Kerala budget for the year 2010-11 as polls to the local bodies are round the corner. Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, who presented his fifth straight budget , set aside Rs.500 crore to provide rice at Rs.two per kg to all labourers in the unorganized sector and to families who have completed a minimum of 50 days of work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.Welfare pension was hiked to Rs.300 a month. He provided an extra Rs.300 to those challenged persons confined to bed. The monthly grant for inmates of orphanages, old-age poor homes has been raised by Rs.50 to Rs.250.

And to please women, he almost doubled the allocation for schemes benefiting them from Rs.318 crore last year to Rs.620 crore. Likewise, the “Kudumbashree” programme got a hefty hike when he gave Rs.50 crore, up from Rs.30 crore last year.For infrastructure development, Isaac set aside Rs.1,000 crore for building the Kannur Airport - the fourth international airport in the state. He also gave the nod for setting up a joint venture company for a rapid rail corridor project to connect the northern and southern tips of the state.Also, Rs.125 crore have been set aside to start eight public sector undertakings.Isaac raised allocation for the IT sector by 73 per cent to touch Rs.412 crore. This includes development of IT parks in five districts.“The Smart City at Kochi will be implemented. Unfortunately, the project is getting delayed due to demands raised by TEECOM (Smart City Dubai) which were not there in the original agreement.

Infopark Kochi will initiate a project which will generate one lakh jobs for which 150 acres of land will be acquired by this month,” he said. He also brought down luxury tax from the present 10 and 15 per cent to 7.5 and 12.5 per cent for the tourism industry which is under stres due to the global recession. And bringing cheer to beer and wine drinkers, the tax was reduced by 10 per cent, but he pinched the liquor tipplers by increasing the tax by 10 per cent.Understandably, the budget showed a revenue deficit of Rs.3,629.55 crore.And as expected, the opposition Congress party called the budget “lacklustre”. “This is an irresponsible budget and moreover, several schemes that were announced in the last budget continue to remain in paper,” said Oommen Chandy, Leader of Opposition.

Budget focused on basic-social sectors:The budget presented by Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac in the Kerala Assembly focused on basic sector, social welfare, traditional and industrial sectors. It was a balanced budget refraining from new taxes and giving emphasis to welfare schemes. He tried not to impose excess burden on the public. Development in public sectors was stressed and not only that the minister said all these firms would be made profitable this year.

Chandy terms budget a gimmick to cheat people: Opposition leader Oommen Chandy launched a scathing attack against Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac for cheating the public with his gimmicks in presenting the budget. Addressing reporters, Chandy said there is nothing new in the budget presented.Chandy called the budget lacklustre. "This is an irresponsible budget and moreover, several schemes that were announced in the last budget continue to remain in paper," said Chandy. Chandy pointed out the budget is devoid of any creative suggestion to check the price hike of essential commodities. The finance minister had adopted a negative approach towards the problems faced by the common man.

Youth’s charred body found: The charred body of a youth was found near the Siva temple in Avilisseri. The body has been identified as Nixon (36), son of Varghese of Nadathara. An empty can, an empty liquor bottle and a broken glass were recovered from the spot. A bag containing some medicines was also found a few metres away from the body. He was working in a vegetable shop and was staying with his sister. He was undergoing treatment for kidney problems during the past three months.

Rs 246 crore allotted for traditional, small scale industries: Stressing the need to protect employment and income of employees working in traditional and small scale industries, Finance Minister allocated a sum of Rs 246 crore for the development of these sectors in the state. Presenting the budget for 2010-2011 in the state Assembly, he said only Rs 77.18 crore was set apart during the year 2005-2006. Like agriculture sector, a large number of people were depending on these sectors for their livelihood.He stressed the need to pump in more funds to these sectors in order to get relief from the global economic recession.

''Only by protecting employment and income these sectors, can the shift in focus to new growth sectors like IT and Tourism get social approval.'' Traditional industries like, coir, cashew and handloom would get a sum of Rs 82 crore, Rs 52 crore and Rs 57 crore, respectively and claimed that this would be the highest outlay ever in the history of these sectors. For reviving the small industrial units, he set apart Rs 40 crore, which was just Rs six crore during the period 2007-2008, he added.

Smart City to be implemented in two phases: Aimed at exploring the information technology sector, the state government has earmarked Rs 153 crores 77 per cent increase from the previous year, for the development of IT in the state.Presenting the budget, Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac said the Smart City, which had been lying in limbo, would definitely be implemented.Stating that the Smart City project would be implemented in two phases, he said the Info Park would take up the first phase of activities and an amount of Rs 50 crore had been earmarked for it. A business model would be formulated in line of CIAL or VISL for the second phase, he added.

The Budget allocated Rs 70 crore for the development of IT Parks at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, cyber parks at Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargode and Info Park at Kochi. An amount of Rs 20 crore had been set apart for the Information Technology Infrastructure Company for land acquisition.Issac also said Rs 6.8 crore was earmarked for Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management. An ICT Academy would be established at Thiruvananthapuram with Central assistance, he added.

Budget disappointing, says Chennithala: The budget presented by Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac is disappointing, said KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala. The government who destroyed the hopes of the people has now proved that they too have lost it, he said. In the past one year, almost 400,000 unemployed have registered their names in the employment exchange. No solution has been found for it, he said.There was no focus on the development of IT and agricultural sectors. Only some announcements were made on the industrial sector. The announcements made in the last budget are still in papers.

State presents please-all budget as local body polls near: There are sops galore in the state budget for the year 2010-11 as polls to the local bodies are round the corner.Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, who presented his fifth straight budget , set aside Rs 500 crore to provide rice at Rs two per kg to all labourers in the unorganized sector and to families who have completed a minimum of 50 days of work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Welfare pension was hiked to Rs 300 a month. He provided an extra Rs 300 to those challenged persons confined to bed. The monthly grant for inmates of orphanages, old-age poor homes has been raised by Rs50 to Rs 250.

And to please women, he almost doubled the allocation for schemes benefiting them from Rs 318 crore last year to Rs 620 crore. Likewise, the "Kudumbashree" programme got a hefty hike when he gave Rs 50 crore, up from Rs.30 crore last year.For infrastructure development, Isaac set aside Rs 1,000 crore for building the Kannur Airport - the fourth international airport in the state. He also gave the nod for setting up a joint venture company for a rapid rail corridor project to connect the northern and southern tips of the state.Also, Rs 125 crore has been set aside to start eight public sector undertakings.Isaac raised allocation for the IT sector by 73 per cent to touch Rs.412 crore. This includes development of IT parks in five districts.

"The Smart City at Kochi will be implemented. Unfortunately, the project is getting delayed due to demands raised by TEECOM (Smart City Dubai) which were not there in the original agreement. Infopark Kochi will initiate a project which will generate one lakh jobs for which 150 acres of land will be acquired by this month," he said.He also brought down luxury tax from the present 10 and 15 per cent to 7.5 and 12.5 per cent for the tourism industry which is under stress due to the global recession. And bringing cheer to beer and wine drinkers, the tax was reduced by 10 per cent, but he pinched the liquor tipplers by increasing the tax by 10 per cent. Understandably, the budget showed a revenue deficit of Rs.3,629.55 crore.

Legislation to redeem land from Tatas in Munnar: Kerala Government plans to enact a legislation for redeeming the hill resort town of Munnar from the hands of Kannan Devan Hlls Plantation Ltd (KDH) controlled by Tata group. This was stated in the budget for the year 2010-11 presented by Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac in the Assembly Friday.'Legislation will be enacted for redeeming the Munnar town from the Tatas,' Issac said.In order to build a new Munnar Town under a special Development Authority, Rs.20 crore has been set apart in the budget, Issac said.

The announcement assumes significance in the back drop of the eviction drive launched by state revenue department against encroachers of government lands in Munnar. The government had alleged that KDH was occupying large tracts of lands in Munnar more than they were eligible under the lease given to them for tea plantation.Tatas have denied the allegation and moved the Kerala high Court against a show cause notice issued by Idukki District Collector to demolish certain structures, including check dams.

Russian women swim to safety; Indian man drowns: Two Russian women swam to safety but an Indian man accompanying them drowned when their country boat capzised in Periyar River in Idukki district, police said. Nadza (24) and Nadalia (27), both from St.Petersburg and reportedly visiting Kerala for the first time, managed to swim ashore, when the boat capsized at Thattekad last Thursday. However Nadeem (35), who was with them drowned, police said. Police said the victim's body was recovered from near the accident spot and were looking into all aspects in their probe. The Russian women had necessary travel documents and had come to Kerala on their own, police said. A case was registered against 'Kilikkoode' resort at Kothamangalam where the women were staying. The owner was arrested for failing to inform them about the presence of foreigners at their resort.

Rs 50,000 crore rapid rail project to take off soon, says Thomas Isaac: Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said the proposed Rs 50,000 crore rapid rail corridor project in the state could become a reality in six years. Isaac told reporters that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been asked to prepare the preliminary report for which Rs 50 crore has been set aside in the state budget. The proposed project would extend from the northern tip of the state to the southern point and the 600-km distance can be covered in six hours, he said. "This proposed project is likely to come up with the help of the Indian Railways. This corridor can either pass by the side of the existing railway track. Through this land required can be minimised," said Isaac.

He said a separate company, in which the government will have a stake, would be set up. "It could be on the lines of the Konkan Railway Corporation," he said. With regards to the funds, Isaac said state industries minister Elamaram Kareem has already come up with a proposal where a monetary institution is ready to fund the project. "It has now proved beyond doubt that state government companies cannot execute such projects due to various reasons and hence it would be handed to independent corporations who will execute it in a time bound manner," added Isaac.

Budget to strike a course for future: Finance Minister T M Thomas lashed out at the Centre, saying it was imposing its decisions on states without considering their specific requirements. He accused the Centre of not giving adequate share for states which did not conform to federal principles. There should be a `legal remedy' to deal with the gradual decrease in allocation of funds for the states, he told a meet-the-press arranged by the Press Club in the capital city. The focus on gender justice, environment concerns and higher education in the budget, presented in the state assembly Friday, would strike a course for future development of Kerala, he said.

Isaac said he could present several welfare measures in the budget including Rs 2 per kg rice to 35 lakh families without imposing new taxes on the common man. The minister said he expected revenue from removing silt and sand from dams and revising lease rates for plantations. The budget also proposed the setting up of an energy management service company (ESCO) to contain misuse of power in government offices and households.

In a proposal to benefit women, 8.5 percent of the total plan expenditure of Rs 620 crore would be set apart for their welfare schemes. More funds had been allocated to the higher education sector also, he said. Isaac said all state governments, mostly Congress-led governments had to raise VAT in the background of recession, while Kerala could offer sops to the common man by proposing to collect revenue from non-tax sources.

CBI court remands Nazir to custody till March 11: A CBI court remanded terror suspect T Nazir, accused in the 2006 twin Kozhikode blasts case, to judicial custody till March 11. Nazir, who was under custody of National Investigation Agency probing terror-related cases in Kerala since February 27 for ten days, was produced before CBI Special court Ernakulam after the agency said they had completed questioning of the accused for the time being. On February 24, Nazir, suspected LeT operative and his aide Shafaz, who were in Karnataka police custody, were brought to Kochi from Bangalore and produced before the special court which remanded the two to judicial custody.

The NIA officials had taken Nazir to Kizhakkambalam and surrounding areas in Ernakulam district to collect evidence. Based on the reported confession by Nazir, the NIA team along with police had raided a house at Kizhakkambalam, allegedly from where he had got explosive material. Later, NIA officials had also interrogated the house owner. Nazir, suspected to be the South India Commander of the LeT outfit, is said to have masterminded a well-orchestrated recruitment drive of Muslim youths to the outfit.

Nazir has reportedly confessed to have plotted the blasts in two bus stations in Kozhikode and torching of a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus near Kochi in 2005 to protest detention of People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Naser Madhani in a Coimbatore jail in connection with the 1998 serial blasts. He was earlier in custody of Bangalore Police in connection with the July 2008 blasts there.

Media awards presented: Defence Minister A K Antony wanted media to perform their duties with commitment and earnestness as in a democracy journalism was like a weapon 'capable of destroying anything.' Speaking after presenting the Excellence in Journalism awards Instituted by Media Trust, a social organisation, Antony said journalists should work according to their conscience. 'Before reporting, you (media) should re-check the news with other sources for confirmation", Antony said.

Sebastian D'Souza, Internationally acclaimed News photo journalist who captured the photo of terrorists in action during the Mumabi 26/11 attacks, veteran cartoonist Yesudasan, News Chief of Malayala Manorama, New Delhi, D Vijayamohan and Associate Editor, Mail Today, New Delhi, Rajesh Ramachandran, received the awards from Antony. Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac was also present.

State writes to Bachchan to become brand ambassador: The state government has sent a letter to Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, responding to his offer expressing interest in becoming a brand ambassador of state tourism. Official sources told reporters that Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had sent a letter to Bachchan after he offered to be a brand ambassador for Kerala in an interview to a Malayalam television channel.

In the interview, the megastar had said that he was only too keen to be the ambassador of the state that he loved. Expressing gratitude towards Bachchan's gesture, the minister in his letter said the government would like to hold further talks with the actor on the matter.

Finance minister presented a model budget, says Pinarayi: The state budget presented by Finance minister Thomas Issac was a model budget, CPI (M) state secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan, said. Lauding the budget, Vijayan said it had touched all the sectors with the aim of aiding people's progress. The present budget was the continuation of the first budget presented by the LDF government, he said, adding the government had announced its development policy in the first budget itself. However, the Centre was not allowing the state government to move forward as per its development policy, he alleged.

Part of land for AMU's Kerala centre handed over: The state government transferred a portion of the land allotted for the Aligarh Muslim University's special centre at Malappuram and promised the rest in the next two months. Education and Cultural Affairs Minister M. A. Baby handed over the papers and a map of the 122 acres of land to AMU Vice Chancellor P. K. Abdul Azis at a public meeting here, while Local Self Government and Rural Development Affairs Minister Paloli Mohamed Kutty assured that the remaining 270 acres of land would be handed over by the end of May.

Addressing the gathering, the chief guest and Minister of State for Railways E. Ahamed said the central government has taken note of the severe educational deficit prevailing among the Muslims in the country and has taken measures to redress this as pointed out in the Sachar Committee report. Ponnani MP E.T.Mohamed Basheer and local legislators V. Sasi Kumar, Abdurrab, Abdur Rahiman Ramdhani, MLA, Thannur and other politicians and officials were also present at the public meeting.

Courts will take 320 years to clear backlog cases: Indian judiciary would take 320 years to clear the backlog of 31.28 million cases pending in various courts including High courts in the country, Andhra Pradesh High Court judge Justice V V Rao said. "If one considers the total pendency of cases in the Indian judicial system, every judge in the country will have an average load of about 2,147 cases," Justice Rao said, while delivering the keynote address on E-Governance in Judiciary.

India has 14,576 judges as against the sanctioned strength of 17,641 including 630 High Court Judges. This works out to a ratio of 10.5 judges per million population, Justice Rao said. The Apex court in 2002 had suggested 50 judges per million population, he said. If the norm of 50 judicial officers per million becomes reality by 2030 when the country's population would be 1.5 to 1.7 billion, the number of judges would go up to 1.25 lakh dealing with 300 million case.

A recent study indicated that the number of new cases has direct relationship with increasing literacy rate and awareness, he said. Citing example of Kerala, a high literacy state, he said with awareness, 28 new cases per 1000 population per annum have been added, whereas, Bihar with relatively low literacy rate the figure stands at just three, he said. He opined that the use of Information and Communication Technologies in judiciary helps judicial administration in speedy disposal of cases by providing access to legal and judicial database to judges.

Piracy attempt on Maltese ship foiled, Navy rushes help: A Maltese bulk carrier passing about 200 nautical miles off Laskhadweep Islands in Indian Exclusive Economic Zone came under pirate attack following which the Navy rushed its warship from Kochi to help the merchant vessel. But the attack was foiled even before the Indian warship could reach the merchant vessel 'MV Melina I', the Navy said here in a press release.

However, the Navy did not spell out how the pirate attack was foiled by the merchant vessel. Merchant vessels are not permitted to carry arms on board and hence are vulnerable to attack from pirates, who are well armed. "Around 6 am today, the Master of MV Melina I had reported sighting of four skiffs approaching his vessel and sought assistance. Accordingly, the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard had launched operations for assistance to the ship," the release said.

The Maltese ship was on passage from Ukraine to Paradip in Orissa when it encountered the pirates. The Southern Naval Command here said the warship, INS Sujatha, with an armed helicopter and Marine Commandos (MARCOS) on board had the capability to effectively deal with any "emergent situation". The Coast Guard, on its part, rushed its vessel 'CGS Annie Basant' and a Dornier maritime patrol aircraft to render assistance to the distressed vessel, the release said. Considering the situation, INS Sujata would close in on the merchant vessel and escort it to safe waters before returning to its base.

India voices concern over US equipping Pak Army: The government expressed serious concern over the US equipping Pakistan Army with modern weapons and asked Washington to ensure that they were not used against India. “United States decision to provide sophisticated weapons (to Pakistan) is a matter of serious concern to India. The U.S. should ensure that these weapons are not targeted against India” Defence Minister A. K. Antony told reporters.

Noting that the issue had already been taken up with the US Defence Secretary during his visit to India recently, he said the American explanation that Pakistan Army has to be strengthened to fight terrorist outfits like Al-Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan was not convincing to India. Antony, who inaugurated a new building at the Coast Guard Station at Vizhinjam near here, said, “Our past experience is bitter” on this issue. The Defence Minister said he told U.S. Defence Secretary that even though they were providing equipment to fight terrorists, Pakistan Army was deploying them on Jammu and Kashmir borders.

“This is a matter of concern to India and I hope that the US will take a serious note of this,” Antony said. He said while India preferred to carry on talks with Pakistan, Islamabad should take firm action to dismantle as many as 42 terrorist camps operating on its soil.” Unless these terrorist camps are destroyed, it is a difficult situation. We want some action (by Pakistan) to dismantle these camps,” he said. On infiltration from across the border into Jammu and Kashmir,. Antony said the situation in the State had improved and tourists had started visiting it again. However, there were forces that still create trouble.

“Normalcy is returning and tourists are coming. But some forces against India have not reconciled with the situation. So, they have redoubled their attempts to infiltrate but our forces have by and large checked their attempts,” he said.

After Mumbai terror strikes, Indian forces had been maintaining an “eternal vigil”. It was due to the alertness of the defence forces that many attempts by terrorists to strike were foiled, he said. Rejecting the criticism by certain defence analysts that the acquisition of equipment for the Army had been less in the last few years, Antony said, in fact, this had doubled in the last five to six years.

Antony ruled out the use of military to combat Naxal violence, saying a permanent solution to deal with it was to strengthen State police forces. However, he said military would provide logistic support like training and assistance to State police forces in their effort to combat the Naxal threat. Earlier after inaugurating the Coast Guard Administrative complex, Antony said the Coast Guard planned to set up Coast Guard Air Enclave at Kochi, Goa, Mangalore and Vishakapatnam.

Indian Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral Anil Chopra said Coast Guard would be strengthened by inducting 85 more ships by 2012. As part of expanding its marine intelligence gathering activities, Coastal Surveillance Network has been established, Chopra said.

Kerala slipping in coconut cultivation: Kerala, the land of 'Kera' (coconut tree), has been steadily slipping in area under cultivation of coconut losing ground to neighbours Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Kerala's share in area under coconut cultivation in the country has fallen sharply from 57 per cent in the early 1990s to 43 per cent in 2008, while Tamil Nadu and Karnataka together accounted for 41.43 per cent of the total coconut production of 14,744 million nuts a year, according to current year's Economic Survey of the Kerala Planning Board.

In India, coconut is grown in an area of 1.90 million hectares with Kerala accounting for 7.81 lakh hectares, covering 38 per cent of the net cropped areas of the state. A silverlinging, however, is that the production of coconut in the state had shown an uptrend of 2.17 per cent in 2008-09 after declining consecutively in three previous years. According to farming experts, fragmentation of palm gardens into housing plots and as sites for commercial constructions were a major factor that contributed to the shrinkage of area under cultivation over the years. However, farmers hold that steady fall in coconut prices was a factor that compelled them to look for other crops that ensure better returns.

Must get Rajya Sabha seat, says RSP: The RSP state committee has unanimously decided to stick on to their demand of getting one Rajya Sabha seat out of two winnable LDF seats. The stance of CPI (M) which craves for both the seats is not acceptable. Thus it is expected that the LDF meeting to be convened next Thursday would witness a clash.

Two killed as lorry runs into labourers’ assembly: Two women were killed and six injured when a mini lorry lost control and ran into a labourers’ assembly at Kiliyoor near here at 5.30 pm. The dead were identified as Susheela (49) and Shantha (maria-65). Susheela is the wife of Vijayan, the state general secretary of building constructing labourers’ union (KSTUG). Susheela died on the spot while Shantha died at medical college hospital while undergoing surgery.

Susheela has three children--Bipil, Binu and Akhila. Those six injured are driver Shibu (27), Prathapan (42), Mary (60), Asha (29), Sheeja (30) and Girija (35). They are admitted in medical college hospital. The incident happened when the Grama Panchayat Secretary Selvaraj was delivering the speech witnessed by over 200 people at 5.30 in the evening. The police and fire force entered into rescue operations.

Former CPI (M) activists at the venue of Youth Congress meet: The CPI (M) former MPs K S Mnaoj, Dr Sebastian Paul and S Sivaraman participated in a Youth Congress meeting here at Mamman Mappila Hall. The three lashed out at the CPI (M) in their speeches.

Three LDF MLAs to join League, says Kunhalikutty: The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state general secretary P K Kunhalikutty said that three MLAs from LDF would join the League.

Youth beaten up by sand mafia in front of police, complains father: The Kanjirappally Taluk Sabha has got a complaint that a youth was beaten publicly and forced to drink urine in front of the police by sand mafia for revealing to the police the registration number of a vehicle which carried sand illegally. The complaint was filed by the father of victim Sobi (30), Joseph.

Sobi was cleaning his vehicle at Pampa River last Sunday when Erumely SI asked him the registration number of the vehicle which loaded sand illegally. It was after Sobi revealed the number that a fifteen-member gang beat Sobi in front of the police. Though police saved Sobi and took him home, a fake case was charged against Sobi, says his father in the complaint. In the complaint it was also stated that Sobi was forced to drink urine while at police station. The complaint filed at the taluk Sabha would be handed to Chief Minister, Home Minister, District Collector and SP.

Alphons Kannamthanam safe after car accident: Alphons Kannmthanam MLA remained unexpectedly safe even as the car he was traveling in met with an accident at Aroor on the national highway around 12 pm. He himself was driving the car from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi. The car which lost control tumbled thrice after hitting the median and smashed at a nearby electric post. Local people came to his rescue.