August 2011 ~ KERALA NEWS

South-west monsoon active over Kerala

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: South-west monsoon has been active over Kerala and rain occurred at most places in Lakshadweep. Heavy rainfall reports in cm are – Thrissur 9, Irikkur (Kannur district) 8 and Kannur 7.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: Declining to be carried away by the controversy over the WikiLeak’s revelation of the CPM leaders meeting US diplomats and discussing investment possibilities when in power in Kerala, party’s state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan today said it was not a “big issue” as the party had a clear stand on foreign investment.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: President Pratibha Patil today asked universities to promote skill development apart from providing education and stressed that there was a need to work on socially relevant issues.

Laying the foundation stone for Indira Gandhi National Open University Southern Regional Campus here, Patil said the link between learning and livelihood was important. She said distance learning must give weightage to enhance knowledge that gives practical and necessary know-how for livelihood opportunities.

Anna discharged from hospital

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: Anna Hazare was discharged from a hospital here this evening where he was admitted on Sunday after he broke his 13-day fast demanding a strong Lokpal.

“Yes, he is out,”Dr Yatin Mehta, who was attending on 74-year-old Hazare, told media when asked if the Gandhian was discharged from Medanta Medicity where he had been under treatment for the past four days.

The activist left from the back door to avoid the media which was present in strength outside the hospital premises.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: An eyewitness in the sensational Sampath custodial death case, has reiterated that he needs protection from alleged police harassment.

The Kerala High Court while considering the plea filed by eyewitness has sought an explanation from the state government regarding this issue.

Sampath was arrested as a prime suspect in the murder of a businessman’s wife Sheela in Palakkad for gain on March 23 last year. The 47-year-old woman was found with her throat slit, and her 70-year-old mother Karthiyani amma was seriously injured inside their home.

Sampath died in police custody on March 29, 2010, allegedly following the third-degree torture during interrogation at Irrigation Department Guest House, Muvattupuzha.

Remand prisoner escapes from Ponkunnam sub-jail

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: A person who was remanded to the Ponkunnam Sub-Jail after being arrested for several criminal cases escaped from the jail here on Tuesday.

The person has been identified as Rajesh, a native of Neyyattinkara, police told. Jail authorities believe him to have scaled the wall and escaped.

The police have launched a massive search to capture the escaped prisoner.

Santiago Martin’s bail plea adjourned to Sept 5

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: The bail plea of lottery king Santiago Martin, who controls a vast lottery empire across the country, has been adjourned to September 5 by a local court here.

His bail plea, which came up before the Chief Judicial Magistrate court here yesterday was adjourned to that date after the government pleader opposed it. Martin was brought here from Vellore jail where he is now lodged along with his relative Benjamin and both were taken back there later, police said.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: Muslims across Kerala celebrated Id-ul-Fitr with devotion and fervour to mark the end of the month-long fasting by offering prayers in mosques specially arranged Idgahs.

Faithfuls thronged in the Idgahs and mosques to offer morning Id namaz and exchaged greetings as part of celebrating the festival.
Muslims account for 24 percent of the state’s 32 million people.

Sony MIX goes on-air on 1st September

Multi Screen Media has announced the launch of MIX, A pure Hindi Film Music channel. The latest offering from the MSM bouquet is a destination dedicated to music and all that belongs to it. Coming from the SET, MAX, PIX and SAB family of channels – a group that has prided itself on providing fresh breakthrough programming – MIX too promises an exciting and expansive library of Hindi film songs spanning all eras. Served through a theme based music play out suiting the need of the hour, these songs set up MIX as a channel where everyone will find their favourites everyday.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: A major fire broke out at Attakulangara market in Thiruvananthapuram district on Wednesday morning. Shops selling paper plates have been partially gutted in the fire.

Fire Force rushed to the spot and all efforts are being taken to douse the fire.

DCC office witnesses unruly scenes

KANNUR: Some unruly scenes were witnessed at the DCC office in the district Wednesday morning. As part of group squabbles, a scuffle broke out when some Congress activists blocked DCC president P Ramakrishnan.

When he tried to enter the office, he was stopped by some activists. He was blocked in protest against the criticism towards KPCC general secretary K Sudhakaran

President's copter develops problem

KOLLAM: President Pratibha Patil's scheduled departure from here for Thiruvananthapuram was delayed as the helicopter she was to board developed a technical problem, police said today.

The President was scheduled to leave by the helicopter from the Ashramam maidan at 10.10 am to attend an official function to be held at 11 am in the state capital.

As she arrived at the grounds, the helicopter could not take off due to the problem, sources said.
The President had stayed here last night after inaugurating the first President's trophy boat race at the Ashtamudi lake in the evening.

Kerala celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr

Children participating in the Id prayers held at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium as part of Id-ul Fitr. The month long fast came to an end yesterday.

Cabinet rejects proposed sports bill

New Delhi: The union cabinet Tuesday rejected the proposed National Sports Development Bill aimed at bringing more transparency and accountability in the functioning of the National Sports Federations (NSF), saying the legislation needs to be reworked.

The cabinet decided not to table the bill in this session of parliament and asked Sports Minister Ajay Maken to rework it.

Kolkata: Over two thousand delirious soccer lovers gave sleep the miss as they danced, cried and shouted slogans eulogising football magician Lionel Messi, who arrived in Kolkata early Wednesday amid stringent security for Friday's first ever FIFA official international friendly in the Indian sub-continent featuring Argentina and Venezuela.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011: Today is Atham, which marks the beginning of the ten day long ‘Onam’ celebrations in the State. Onam, which commence with Atham (the first day), would culminate on Thiruvonam (tenth day).

The auspicious day is whole heartedly welcomed by the people by making ‘Pookkalam’ or floral carpets in front of their homes as a symbolic gesture to welcome the legendary king Mahabali.

As part of the grand Atham procession, colourful and spectacular display of various art forms, tableaux and floats would line up in streets. The procession would present Kerala’s culture and its rural arts and is one of the much awaited annual cultural processions noted for caparisoned elephants, traditional art forms like Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Kummatii Kali, Thiruvathirakali, Theyyam and Pulikali, musical ensembles like Chendamelam and Panchavadyam.

Minister Thiruvanchoor backtracks from earlier stand

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Following severe criticism and media flak over the move to rob the tribals of their land at Attappady to benefit Suzlon company, Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Monday backtracked from his earlier stand.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: William S Pinckney, MD and CEO of Amway, India, here on Monday said that the allegations raised by people who have led a smear campaign against the company, are completely false and baseless.

KOCHI: Justice V R Krishna Iyer has said that there was a need for preserving human values in the country. Talking at a function in which Onam and Ramadan relief were distributed he said that while celebrating Onam and Ramzan, one should have to do the duties that are entrusted to him or her. The function was organised by Kerala State Hindi Pracharak Samithi. Iyer also said that Onam was a festival of flowers and Ramzan, a festival of spirituality. Hindi Pracharak Samithi general secretary K M Nasser, Hibi Eden MLA, M K Moosakunji and P K P Kartha among others were present at the function.

Durbar hall ground renovation after Onam

KOCHI: The Durbar Hall Ground in the heart of the city will get a facelift soon. The works to renovate the ground will begin after Onam. Out of the Rs 1.35 crore that has been sanctioned for the work, Rs 68 lakh will be sanctioned next week.

KOCHI: The BSNL has come up with ‘Maveli’ prepaid plan for customers of Kerala.

Under the plan, calls can be made to any network at 1 paise per minute. Moreover, 5 numbers can be registered under friends and family scheme at a reduced call rate of 10 paise a minute. 1000 free SMS and 60 MB free data download will also be available. For an initial charge of `54, talk-time worth `50 and a validity of 180 days are also available in this plan. The plan is valid from Aug 30 to Sep 15.

'Red rain' in Kerala again?

PATHANAMTHITTA: When residents of some places in this Kerala district woke up Tuesday morning, they were surprised to see red coloured rain water collected in their vessels lying outside.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011: Sree Ganesh ‘Chundan’ emerged as winners in the first edition of the President’s trophy boat race held today at Ashtamudi Lake here. Devas ‘Chundan’ got the second place.

16 snake boats participated in the event.

Man attempts suicide at KPCC office

Tuesday, August 30, 2011: The police took into custody a man who attempted to commit suicide at the KPCC office in the capital city. The man taken into custody has been identified as Mohandas, native of Aakkulam.

The man who reached the KPCC office in the afternoon entered the room of the KPCC chief and doused kerosene on his body. He made the attempt saying that the KPCC Chief is trying to trap him in a case.

Nano Excel fraud: Prime accused arrested

Hyderabad, Tuesday, August 30, 2011: Harish Maddineni, Managing Director of Nano Excel group and prime accused in the Nano excel fraud case was today arrested in Hyderabad. He will be handed over to the Kerala Police tomorrow.

AI flight makes emergency landing in T’puram airport

Tuesday, August 30, 2011: An Air India flight made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International airport today following a technical snag.

All the passengers are safe, said an Air India official. Airport sources said that the pilot identified the snag mid-air and requested clearance for landing, which was given immediately.

Railway Palakkad Division to modify enquiry system

Thiruvananthapuram : Railway Palakkad Division is going to expand the capacity of Train Enquiry Systems like Touch Screen and Coach Guidance System at stations under this division.

This expansion work will be undertaken for three-days from August 31 to September 2, 2011, a press release said today.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011: 25 persons were injured in a road mishap that occurred near Koyilandy in Kozhikode district on Tuesday. The incident occurred around 7: 30 am.

The mishap occurred when the bus collided head on with a lorry. The bus driver fled the scene after the accident. The injured were shifted to Kozhikode Medical College hospital.

Achuthanandan seeks removal of Vigilance Director

Tuesday, August 30, 2011: Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan today said that he had not recommended the name of Desmond Netto to the post of vigilance director.

“I had stated that the next government can take a decision on his appointment,” VS said.

Desmond Netto is trying to mislead the media on it. VS had alleged that the document leaked to the media was a bogus document created by Netto. He was appointed director as a reward for his undermining the investigation in the palmolein case.

Eid-ul-Fitr: MG university examinations postponed

Tuesday, August 30, 2011: Mahatma Gandhi University has postponed the date of all the examinations including practical examinations scheduled for August 31 in connection with Eid-ul- Fitr.

The new date for the examinations will be announced later, an official spokesman said.

Kochi: DIG EJ Jayaraj, held for misbehaving with woman on train

Tuesday, August 30, 2011: The police on Monday took into custody DIG EJ Jayaraj, of the Legal Metrology Department, allegedly for misbehaving with a woman passenger on the Kozhikode-Thiruvananthapuram Jan Shatabdi Express in Kochi.

Chennai, Tuesday, August 30, 2011: In a major relief for three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed their hanging which was scheduled on September 9. Hearing their mercy petition, the High Court gave interim relief for eight weeks to Murugan alias Sriharan, Santhan and Perarivalan alias Arivu.

Kozhikode: The All India Ration Dealers Association (AIRDA) today criticised the Congress-led United Democratic Front Government in Kerala for 'denying' subsidised rice to lakhs of families under the Below the Poverty Line (BPL) scheme.

Talking to newspersons, AIRDA General Secretary Babychen Mukkadan State Secretary P T Sundaran said about five lakh BPL families were denied rice at Rs 1 a kg and another five lakh, who got ration cards recently, the commodity at Rs 2 a kg arbitrarily by the government.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011: Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Wednesday, said Palayam Imam Maulavi Jamaludeen Mankada and Dakshina Kerala Jamiyathul Ulama secretary Thodiyoor Mohammed Kunju in a statement here.

Centre a ”captive” of corporates, says Brinda Karat

Monday, August 19, 2011: CPM Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat has charged that the Central government is a “captive” in the hands of the corporate sector, and said people must fight against the government’s new economic policies which she said were mainly responsible for corruption.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011: The land of looms, lores and Folklore - Kannur is all set to host a 20,000 square feet ‘Pookalam — likely to be the world’s largest floral carpet.

Twenty tonnes of flowers will be used for the floral carpet, said MK Abdul Salam, one of the organisers of the event, told reporters. He said that the ‘pookalam’ would be set up on September 17 at Kannur Collectorate ground.

, Tuesday, August 30, 2011: The Supreme Court had agreed to examine the validity of the Kerala government’s decision to extend 10 per cent reservation for economically backward class students of the forward community.

A bench of justices D K Jain and Asok Kumar Ganguly, while admitting the petition filed by three organizations, said “let the hearing be expedited.” The bench sought Kerala government’s response on the petition even though the state counsel Ramesh Babu submitted the new Congress-led UDF Ministry supported the reservation extended by the previous LDF Government.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: City police have nabbed seven more people in connection with yet another case of ‘Rice Puller’ fraud. The gang has been operating across Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, police said.

Biju Surendran, 46, of Mulavana, Kollam, the brain behind the operation; his wife Priyanka alias Asitha, 30; Jafar alias Rahim, 42 of Mangode; Sanu Wilfred, 28, of Ernakulam North; Omar Shereef, 42, of Oachira; Ajikumar alias Thoongampara Aji, 43, of Kattakkada; and Jerin Jose, 24, of Bangalore, are the arrested. They were arrested while plotting another fraud, police said.

KPMCMA to complete admissions by August 31

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Following the Supreme Court directive upholding the entrance test conducted by the Kerala Private Medical College Managements Association (KPMCMA), and the agreement reached with the State Government, the managements have began the admission process to the 11 medical colleges under them.

KPMCMA secretary Abdul Jabbar told that the admissions to management quota seats will be completed before August 31. There is time till September 30 for completing government quota admissions, he said.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The schedule for admission to professional colleges after the third allotment of the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) has been announced. The allotment list will be published on Monday.

The candidates who have been allotted seats in the allotment have to join the colleges concerned on September 1 or September 2. The schedule for admissions is given below:

Engineering: September 1- 9 a m: Computer Science Engineering (CS); Applied Electronics (AE); Aeronautical Engineering (AO); Architecture (AR) and Mechanical Production Engineering (MP)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Giving a new twist to the probe into the death of Sister Mary Ancy at Fathima Holy Spirit convent, Poonkulam, the Vizhinjam police on Sunday recorded the statements of three local residents who claimed to have seen two persons, including a policeman, coming out of the compound of the convent barely two hours before Sister Mary Ancy was found dead inside the water tank at the convent.

Saudi Arabia has declared that Ramadan for the year 1432 Hijrah will complete 30 days, and the first day of Eid AL-Fitr will corresponding to Tuesday the 30th of August 2011.

Moonsighting for Shawwal 1432/ ramdan declared/First day of ramdan Wednesday in Kerala

Moonsighting for Shawwal 1432/ ramdan declared/First day of ramdan Wednesday in Kerala.

Security auditing for banks, pilgrim centers and temples.

Thiruvananthapuram: The State police has been framing a project for conducting security auditing for financial institutions including banks, pilgrim centers and temples. DGP directed that police team, led by police superintendent, should visit each temple and financial institution at the district level and create social security auditing projects.

While leading Malayalam producer and megastar Mohanlal's associate Antony Perumbavoor is gearing up to commence the remake of super hit Rajavinte Makan (1986), it is now learned that actress Asin is likely to don the role of Ancy, played by Ambika in the original. Some sources said that Vidya Balan is also being considered for the role.

KOLLAM: The Punalur First Class Magistrate Court today recorded the election complaint against Minister Ganesh Kumar. The complaint alleged that the minister submitted a fake affidavit for contesting the polls.

US: Hurricane Irene death toll rises to 20

New York, August 29,2011: From North Carolina to New Jersey, Hurricane Irene’s winds and storm surge fell short of the doomsday predictions. But the danger is far from over, With rivers still rising, severe flooding is feared across much of the East Coast over the next few days.
More than 4.5 million homes and businesses along the coast lost power, and at least 14 deaths were blamed on the storm.

Monday, August 29, 2011: A mention about an impending petition seeking review of the President’s order rejecting the clemency pleas of three Rajiv Gandhi assassins was made in the Madras High Court today.

Senior counsel V Chandrasekaran made the mention on the subject before Justice Paul Vasanthkumar, who told him to file the petition, which could be heard tomorrow.

The assassins Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan are scheduled to be hanged on September 9.

Anna Hazare’s condition stable: Doctors

Monday, August 29, 2011: Anna Hazare, who was admitted in a hospital here after he ended his 12-day fast for a strong Lokpal Bill, is stable and moving towards normalcy, doctors said on Monday.

“Nobody knows when he will be discharged. His condition is stable. He has to be monitored. Usually, it takes 2-3 days. When his parameters are established and his body starts tolerating and digesting food, only then he can go,” Chairman of Medanta Medicity, Dr Naresh Trehan, who was monitoring Hazare’s health during his fast, said.

Monday, August 29, 2011: The Kerala High Court has today granted bail to sixteen accused in the sensational Paravur sex scandal case in which a minor girl was sexually exploited by many including her own father by promising her role in films.

As many as 83 persons have been arrested so far in connection with the case, crime branch officials told. Those arrested earlier include the girl’s father, a filmmaker, an actor, a police official, politicians, a contractor and several government employees.

Monday, August 29, 2011: The Kerala government will introduce permanent monitoring system to control the prices of essential commodities in the state.

Official sources said that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had given direction to take steps to control prices as efforts to arrest price hike during festival seasons had proved ineffective earlier.

Steps had been initiated to control black marketing of essential commodities by the traders during Onam season, they added.

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