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December 2002
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Rs 810-cr Central aid for government hospitals
PATHANAMTHITTA: Health Minister P Sankaran said on Monday that the Union Government had sanctioned Rs 810 crore for modernising the Government hopsitals in the State. He was inaugurating the children’s block attached to the Mallappally taluk hospital funded by IFFCO. The minister said that an additional Central Government grant amounting to Rs 121 crore would be spent for the improvement of Government medical colleges. Both these schemes would be implemented after discussions with the World Bank during 2003-2004 financial year. Sankaran said that with the compeletion of the projects the problems being faced by Government hospitals would be solved The State Government has cleared Rs 91 crore debt incurred by the Left Democratic Front Government for the purchase of medicines. The Government had already given sanction to the in-patient facility at the taluk hospital, he said.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
CM to open PMS College of Dental Science on Tuesday
CM to open PMS College of Dental Science on Tuesday THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister A K Antony will inaugurate PMS College of Dental Science and Research at a function at Vattapara near here on Tuesday. The college is being promoted by NRI Service and Educational Trust formed by a group of specialists in Dental and Medical Science. Dr Thaha, managing trustee of the NRI Service and Educational Trust, in a statement said that the college would be upgraded into a post-graduate institution within a period of four years. The college had signed a MoU with Dimensions a company in Technopark for complete campus automation, he said. The college was the first self-financing dental college in the State, he said. The college has signed an MOU for ISO certificate, he said. The faculty consisted of renowned and well-qualified professors who have exposure in the latest developments in dental sciences. The facilities in the college include lecture hall with modern amenities, a well-stocked library, a computer centre, laboratories and hostel for boys and girls, he said. The annual intake of students and curriculum will be according to the stipulation by Dental Council of India.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
NIT-C national technical fest from March 6
KOZHIKODE: Tathva-2003, an all-India technical festival being conducted by the National Institute of Technology - Calicut, would begin at the NIT-C campus on March 6. The major highlight of the three-day event will be paper presentation contents. The competitions would be held in disciplines such as Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Agricultural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Communication Engineering and Computer Science. The papers to be presented for the contests would be selected after a screening. Besides, designing contests, technical quizzes and debates would form part of the programme. NIT-C Students Union general secretary K K Rajesh Kumar said around 500 students from across the country are expected to participate in the annual festival. Winners will get their share from Rs 1.5 lakh set apart for the purpose. Eminent scientists, technocrats, industrialists, researchers and teachers would attend the festival. A technical exhibition for the public would be another feature. For further details, log in: www.tathva.nitc.ac.in.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Left should apologise; divestment began under Gowda rule: BJP
KOZHIKODE: BJP national executive committee member and state vice-president Adv P S Sreedharan Pillai on Monday demanded an apology from the Left parties for having campaigned against the economic policies of the BJP-led Central Government. ‘‘The Left, including the CPM, had done the ground work for the disinvestment of public sector units. It was the Deve Gowda Government at the Centre, in which the Left parties had been allies, that initiated steps for disinvestment and privatisation,’’ Sreedharan Pillai told a news conference here. Hence, they (Left) have no right to unleash agitation against the economic policies of the present Government, he added. He also said the Left parties have no right to raise voice for the farming community as they, during the Gowda regime, had lowered the import duty on agricultural produce. He said the Communist parties and the Congress are going ahead with anti-disinvestment campaign even though the Centre had expressed its willingness for negotiations on public sector units ticked for privatising.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Waste disposal on war footing at MCH
Waste disposal on war footing at MCH KOZHIKODE: Hectic efforts are on to safely dispose off the piled up solid waste at the Medical College premises here, with just one day left to meet the deadline set by the Pollution Control Board for clearing the waste material. The Hospital Development Society’s plan is to remove the garbage into a 3-metre deep pit dug up for the purpose near the Medical College ground. The HDS has hired three JCBs, including two from the PWD for the work which began from the morning under the supervision of the District Collector and the ADM. ADM P S Muhammed Sageer said that the work was expected to be complete by midnight itself. ‘‘Everything is being done as per the instructions of the Pollution Control Board,’’ he said. The waste would be covered by lime in one-metre thickness, before covering it up with soil. Instead of concreting the base of the pit, as suggested earlier, it will be covered with plastic sheets. The piled up waste is being removed from the hospital premises after a gap of about one-and-a-half years. The public had raised a hue and cry over the environmental and health problems caused by the piling up of solid waste at the hospital compound, forcing the Pollution Control Board to step in and set a deadline to goad the HDS into action. A portion of the heaped up waste matter had caught fire recently, aggravating the public wrath against the negligence on the part of the HDS.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
KPCC to back efforts to develop state: Muraleedharan
KOCHI: KPCC President K Muraleedharan, MP, on Sunday said that the KPCC fully supported the government's efforts to make Kerala a developed state. Briefing reporters at the conclusion of the two day KPCC leadership camp, which he termed as a success, he said the government should take into account all factors before implementing any new reforms. He said an economic resolution at the meet had criticised the LDF for creating obstructions for development. It was ironic that the CPI(M) had welcomed the ADB loan availed of by the West Bengal government, while coming down heavily on the UDF for the move. Another resolution emphasized the need for the party and the government to move jointly and to ensure that development activitites reached the masses, he said. He said the CPI(M), despite Chief Minister A K Antony's denial,was going to town about the government's proposed moves to 'sell' the waters of the Periyar and Malampuzha rivers. Among the other issues which figured at the meet were the police policy and the demand to not close down profitable public sector companies. It was also decided that talks would be held before a final decision was taken on any matter. The media was not allowed in during the close of the meet, addressed by the Chief Minister.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Kerala won't sell Periyar water: Antony
Kerala,Thiruvananthapuram:Kerala chief Minister A.K. Antony on Monday asserted that the State will not sell waters of Periyar and Malampuzha rivers. The Kerala Chief Minister put at rest the conflicting opinions voiced by Industries Minister P K KunhaliKutty and Irrigation Minister T M Jacob over the proposals to invite multinationals to set up Industrial Water Supply Ventures. ''Since Kerala does not have surplus water to spare we will not sell waters of the two rivers', he said, while inaugurating the Watershed Development Project to be implemented by the Perambra block panchayat at Cheruvanoor. He said the government would not take any decision which was detrimental to the interests of the people and would provide maximum financial assistance to the Watershed project by including it under the 'Western Ghat Development Scheme.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Five killed, 53 injured in bus mishap
Idukki, Dec. 29. : Five persons, including two women, were killed and 53 others injured when a private bus in which they were travelling plunged into a gorge at Randammile in the Adimali police station limits in the district today. The ill-fated bus was going to Kothamangalam from Mamalakandam in the high range Idukki district when it met with the accident near Neriyamangalm. According to the police, the bus hit a barrier and slipped off the road when it took the left turn. Eye witnesses said some passengers were thrown off the bus before it went down and hit a tree in a semi-overturned position. The injured were rushed to three private hospitals in the area. The condition of none of them was stated to be critical. The State Government announced ex-gratia of Rs 10,000 each for the families of those killed.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Prem Nazir award for Sethumadhavan
Thiruvananthapuram: The noted director, Sethumadhavan, has been selected for the 12th Prem Nazir award instituted by the Prem Nazir Foundation in memory of the late Prem Nazir. The foundation chairman, Thalekunnil Basheer, the KSFDC chairman, P.V.Gangadharan, and the director, Rajivnath, said here today thatthe award comprising Rs.30,000, a statuette designed by B.D. Dattan and a citation would be presented to Mr. Sethumadhavan by the noted actor, Kamal Hassan, at a function to be held at the Tagore Theatre on January 16.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Bahrain delegation to attend GIM
Dubai: A 25-member delegation from Bahrain would be attending the Global Investors Meet (GIM) organised by the Kerala Government to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Cochin on January 18. Managing Director of Mohammed Salahuddin Consulting Engineering Bureau (MSCEB) and the co-ordinator of FDI in Kerala, Mr Mohammed Salahuddin said, ''more than 25 people from Bahrain, a majority of them Bahraini nationals, had confirmed their participation for the Kerala meeting.'' The participants will include, apart from Salahuddin leading businessmen from Bahrain Shaikh Ebrahim bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Dr Abdul Latif Al Khaja, Hamad Abul, Abdulla Juma, Wael Sayyar, Abdul Latif Al Aujan, Khalil Zaman, Mohammed Yateem, Aziz Hussain, Khamis Al Muqla, Anayat Jabri, Abdul Rahman Shirawi, Adel Mattar and Ali K Hassan. Among the Indian delegates from Bahrain will be Varghese Kurien, M T Mathews, Sushil Kher, S K Ghosh, M N Satish and Sunny Kulathakal. According to the ''Daily News,'' newspaper, the agreement for the visit of the delegation from Bahrain was signed during the visit of principal secretary (industries) Government of Kerala, John Mathai and KSIDC managing director Jiji Thomson to Bahrain last month. Salahuddin's MSCEB are designers and project planners of Mahnami Hotels and Resorts, the first project under GIM. The Indian Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the project, financed by the Bahrain-based investors, during the conference.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
PCC leadership fails to end wrangles
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 30. : Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee's (KPCC) two-day state-level leadership camp which concluded at Kochi on Saturday appears to have widened the rift between the two main poles of the party's state unit - pro and anti-Karunakaran factions. The offensive mounted by Karunakaran on Chief Minister A K Antony yesterday showed that Kochi meet, organised at KPCC chief K Muraleedharan's initiative to create functional unity in the party, had only helped trigger yet another round of slanging match. Karunakaran, whose speech at the camp was replete with digs and barbs at his arch rival and at the style of functioning of the UDF Government, held no party worker, who attended the meet, had given a "clean chit to the Antony Government". The crux of the senior leader's criticism at the meet was that the `party workers' failed to get due recognition and respect under the UDF rule, especially due to Antony's police policy. Karunakaran also disputed the contention of some KPCC office- bearers that all the resolutions that came up before the camp was passed without any participant challenging them.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
State Mini Games from Jan. 10
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. The inaugural State Mini Games, involving school children from the different streams of syllabi recognised by the Education Department, will be held here under the auspices of the Kerala Sports Council from January 10 to 12. Disclosing details of the three-day event, the KSC president C.Mohanachandran told a press conference on Monday that the Games would include competitions in nine disciplines. Of the nine disciplines, competitions will be conducted for both boys and girls in athletics, basketball, handball, swimming and volleyball while those in kho-kho will be restricted to girls only. The competitions in football, kabaddi and wrestling will be open only to boys. He said a general criteria had been laid down for the participation in the Games and that prize-money would be awarded to the winners of both the team and individual events. Besides a specially-designed Trophy, the best school would also be awarded Rs. 50,000. Mr. Mohanachandran expressed the hope that the Games would attract the best of talent in the State and witness some keen competitions in the various events. This, in turn, would be helpful for the KSC to identify talent for its various coaching schemes, he added.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Kerala slam Kelkar proposal on NRI remittances
Kerala,Thiruvananthapuram:Kerala on Monday expressed strong reservation to the Kelkar Committee's recommendation to tax NRI income. In letters to Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, state Minister for Non-Resident Keralites Affairs M M Hassan said "this proposal would break Kerala's economy which relies heavily on NRK remittances." "Kerala cannot accept this move. Taxing NRIs would also be a gross injustice to the NRIs," he added.
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Kamal pleads for screening of his film 'Nammal'
KOCHI: Noted film maker Kamal on Saturday called upon the Film Distributors Association, Kerala and other organisations connected with the film industry to lift the ban on the screening of his latest Malayalam film 'Nammal'. The ban was imposed following a financial dispute between association president Siad Kokker and producer David Kachapilly. Kamal told a media conference in the presence of Kachapilly that Nammal was produced with a casting of ten new faces and their dreams would be shattered if the ban continued. He said that the Malayalam film industry was passing through a crisis and such a ban would have an adverse effect dissuading prospective producers from taking films. The dispute centres round the returns from 'Ishtam' produced by Kachapilly before the present production
Saturday, December 28, 2002
Water Wars Brewing In Kerala
This lullaby in Garcia Lorca’s famous play Blood Wedding (which inspired Picasso’s renowned painting Guernica - a wounded horse by a poisoned river, refusing to drink) etches the image of drying and polluted Kerala rivers. Suddenly some of these are up for sale, and thereby hangs a tale. Water‘wars appear to be in the nascent stage in Kerala. The proposed Global Investor Meet (GIM) in January is expected to showcase a host of water-based projects. The contract for the sale of a dam is being readied. A Rs 333-crore industrial-cum-drinking water supply scheme on the Periyar is in the final stages of being tendered. Yet another commercial water supply scheme is being planned for the temple town of Guruvayur. These schemes are enough to make Keralites worry that water is no longer a social resource. A UK-based company has pitched for the industrial water supply scheme from Malampuzha dam in Kerala’s rice granary Palakkad district. While the government has claimed that no agreement has been signed, it is learnt that the UK company would get the Rs 40-crore contract for supply of water to the industrial belt of Kanjikode, leaving the already drying paddy fields further parched. The agitation against the Coco-Cola factory at Plachimada, which is alleged to be drying up water resources through indiscriminate tapping of ground water, is growing with the Opposition pitching in. The government has succeeded in keeping the source for the Guruvayur water project a top secret. The growing opposition to these schemes has forced industry minister to concede discussions with all concerned before a final decision is taken. But he also asserts that these projects will be showcased at the GIM. Like the 43 rivers criss-crossing Kerala, the 245-km-long Periyar has been the lifeline of several industries and has now only saline and waste flowing through it, forcing several companies in the industrial belt of Kochi to close down, FACT and Travancore Cochin Chemicals being the first among the several to follow. The Periyar with its 17 tributaries accounts for two-thirds of the water flow in Kerala. The others, of which 10 are over 100 kms long, discharge over 15,300 million cubic metres of water. A flurry of dams across the Periyar which include 14 impoundments, indiscriminate sand mining, flushing of effluents from industries, waste disposal and felling of trees have rendered this river dry and dirty. The water discharge rate during summer comes down to as low as 700-800 mld (million litres per day). As per the Cochin Industrial Water Supply Project, in the initial stage 250 mld of water will be pumped out. The beneficiaries of the scheme include marine processing factories, units in the Cochin Special Economic Zone, Kinfra Park, Southern Naval Command, major industries like FACT, TCC, IRE, Indal, etc and the Cochin Port. As it will be potable water that is being pumped to these industries, the government plans to include drinking water supply to the nearby areas as the people there should not be denied drinking water when pipes are laid to take water to industries, says Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation managing director Jiji Thomson. He flatly denies that drinking water is being commodified. Four companies have been shortlisted in the pre-qualification bid which include a Malaysian firm and the Mahindras. By December 31, a final draft would be readied and discussions on financial bids would be held across the table, he adds. According to Prof CM Joy of the Association for Environmental Protection, around 800 mld is drawn from the river for various purposes, including lift irrigation projects. How then does the government expect to pump 250 mld through the project, he asks, adding that with the salinity incursion and pollution, the project would only add to problems. Sand miners take away more than 50,000 tonnes of sand daily from quarries along the Periyar. As a result, the level of the river bed goes down and there is little sand left which acts as a sponge that absorbs and holds water and cleans it through the natural filtering process. Mining has affected not just the river’s water level but also the ground water level. The Periyar receives almost all the waste output from towns and industries on its banks. Kochi’s industrial hub, Udyogamandal, the factory area which has 13 giant units and several small-scale ones, is believed to spit out 40 million litres of pollutants into the river, some of them deadly, for the 60 million litres of water it takes in, says a study by Central Pollution Control Board. In terms of total pollution load (driven into Periyar) from all the major industries, the values of biochemical oxygen demand, fluoride, sulphate, phosphate and suspended solids are 4,600-5100, 7500, 9500 and 8000 per day, respectively, says a study. A host of cultural leaders including writers, artists and poets have teamed up to oppose this ‘privatisation’ of the Periyar and other water resources. Given the state’s history of agitations, there is likely to be strong protests which could have a bearing on GIM.
Saturday, December 28, 2002
ADB using Kerala as testing ground: Achuthanandan
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM Politburo member and leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V S Achuthanandan on Friday alleged that the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) was planning to convert the state into a testing ground to see how far an aiding agency could control an under-developed economy. Talking to newspersons, he alleged that the Antony government was silently approving all the conditions of the ADB. The conditions of the ADB loan were so minute, destructive and dangerous as they touched all sectors, ranging from power to budget making, he said, adding that the UDF government had virtually pledged the state to the ADB. Mr Achuthanandan wondered how the state was going to generate the resources to repay the loan amount. From the details available, it was clear that the loan amount was not going to be channelised into production sectors, he said. When pointed out that it was the previous Marxist-led Left Democratic Front government that had begun the talks with the ADB, he said the Left government would not have, under any circumstance, agreed to conditions harmful to the state. However, towards the fag end of the previous LDF government, certain senior officials had succeeded in creating a wrong impression that the state was in the grip of a grim fiscal crisis, he added.
Saturday, December 28, 2002
Whale shark dies in aquarium
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 27. : A rare whale shark kept in an aquarium here died "due to difficulty in surviving in artificial conditions," after attracting sizeable visitors since it was brought ashore by local fishermen yesterday. The 95 cm long white-dotted "juvenile" belonging to "rhincodon typus" species, netted off the Vizhinjam coast near here, was the smallest of the type recorded so far from the Indian coast, a scientist at the Marine Aquarium at Vizhinjam said. The largest living fish species, the smallest of this type recorded earlier was 3.15 metres long, the Aquarium Principal Scientist Gopakumar said. "The species which can grow upto 20 metre long and weigh up to 20 tonnes when full-grown normally scan 2500 metres depth in the sea. At birth, it is on an average 50 cm long. The one we kept here must have found it difficult to survive for long in the aquarium tank," he said. It is called whale shark because its head-region resembles that of a whale, he said. International Union for Conservation of Natural Resources (IUCNR) has listed it as "vulnerable" due to its fast dwindling population.
Saturday, December 28, 2002
Karunakaran taunts Congress leadership
Two-day PCC leaders' training camp begins Kochi, Dec 27 Senior Congress leader K. Karunkaran, MP, said that Congress could not be strengthened by wielding the sword of discipline against the workers. Inaugurating a State-level leaders' training camp of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) at Kochi , he said discipline was in the blood of workers and there was no need to remind them about it. Apparently referring to the disciplinary action taken by the PCC leadership against some of the functionaries, he said Congress workers were forced to air their grievances openly as the leadership turned a deaf ear to their problems. They get frustrated when their contributions went unnoticed by the leadership. A former Chief Minister, Mr. Karunakaran called upon the leadership to strive to build up the party by gaining the confidence of ordinary Congressmen. Welcoming the delegates, PCC President K. Muraleedharan, MP, said violation of party discipline would not be tolerated whoever may be the person. Congressmen are welcome to air their grievances in party fora and not in public. If they have any complaint against party functionaries and the Government led by it, they could petition the PCC President or the High Command. He said it was not his practice to take unilateral decisions on matters concerning the party and its Government. Whatever decisions he had taken in the past were only after proper consultations with senior leaders and discussions at various fora of the party. Chief Minister A.K. Antony, Congress Ministers, AICC General Secretary Vayalar Ravi, Secretary Ramesh Chennithala, MP, and United Democratic Front (UDF) Convener Oommen Chandy are among the 560 delegates attending the two-day conclave. AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni is expected to address the meet later in the evening.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Biju menon - The Newly Married Malayalam Hero
He started this conversation with the most shocking revelation. "I had never told Samyuktha that I loved her". Shock!!! So, when did you realize that you were in love with each other? We never fell in love with each other. We did a film together. Till now, I haven't told her that I lover her. Neither has she. People around us began spinning tales. The stories went out of control… How did you react to those gossips? We didn't bother to react. But, many took those gossips seriously. Did 'Mazha's shooting bring you closer? When we are doing Lenin Rajendran's 'Mazha', we were very professional in our approach. Your father supported this relationship, didn't he? My father is a very practical man. When gossips began appearing, my father enquired about the girl. My father & brother wanted us to get married. How important was telecommunication in you love story? Telephone plays a crucial role in real life love stories. We used to call up each other frequently. Didn't I tell you we were not in love. The magazines make it out like that. Everybody wanted to know why Samyuktha's phone line was cut. How did you fans react when they came to know about the news that you were getting married? People who knew about our relationship called up and confirmed. Our fans had seen Samyuktha and I act as wife and husband in films. They were the ones who wanted us to get married. Will you let your wife continue acting? There's no doubt about it. Samyuktha is a good actress. She still has great potentials. Just because she got married, why should she stop acting? What are your films after marriage? There is one called 'Kissan', directed by Sibi Malayil. I have been approached by directors like Shaji Kailash, K.Madhu, Lal Jose, Shyam Prasad, K.B.Madhu, etc.
Friday, December 27, 2002
"Yeep! A rape scene everyday!?!" - Jayasurya
Jayasurya is very jubilant these days. His 'Oomapenninu' has been remade in three languages and he stars in all of them. He had allotted 35 days for completing Kannada version. His co-star in Kannada was newcomer Nisha. Kannada director Charan used to discuss everyday about shooting the rape sequences. Jayasurya used to get shocked each time he heard him talk about it. There was only one rape sequence shot in Tamil & Malayalam. Shooting rape scenes everyday in Kannada! It was then that someone decided to explain what 'rape-a' in Kannada meant. Jayasurya was relieved and burst out laughing. It meant "tomorrow's work".
Friday, December 27, 2002
Kaala Varkey
His entry on screen is greeted with whistles and claps with as many hoots and catcalls, as any leading hero would get. Jagathy Sreekumar rules the roost on the comedy front in Malayalam cinema and at a time when comedy is hot and is the most essential ingredient of commercial cinema, he is doing a serious role of the central character in Kaala Varkey directed by Rajesh Narayanan. In the film, the actor is trying for an image change as an aggressive, crude and brazen man who breeds and deals in bulls. The locals call him ‘kaala’ Varkey, as he is a man who cares more for his bulls than his wife Annamma (Pallavi) and three daughters Alice (Suvarna Mathew), Sophia (Meenakshi) and Lisy (Krishnendu). But in an accident Varkey becomes bedridden and a guy from another village, Jose (Vijayaraghavan) comes to look after the bulls. This man arrives with some purpose and his aim is to see the downfall of Varkey. The cast also has Edavela Babu, Indrans, Mithun, Najeeb, Swapna, Lisy and Jeeja. Pravin Panickkar is the cinematographer and is produced by R.S.K Manikandan. Rajesh directs the film.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Kalyana Raman
After the superhit Tenkasipattanam Lal creations is producing another film titled Kalyana Raman. Lal of the famous Siddique-Lal director duo is today more famous as a shrewd producer-distributor under his own banner. It is an all out comedy caper directed by Shafi where Thekkadath Raman Kutty (Dileep) is a wedding planner - the man who looks after all the behind the scene preparations that go into a wedding. Ramankutty erects the Pandal, does all the decorations like arranging musicians, generator, cars and he even cooks for the wedding party! Raman becomes indispensable for every wedding and thus people starts calling him Kalyana Raman. Ramankutty does not smoke, drink alcohol or even chew pan. He believes that a good cook should avoid such bad habits, otherwise he cannot get the taste of food. Boban is a pop singer from Bangalore and he is engaged to Gowri (Navya Nair) and our kalyana Raman is their wedding planner. Since Lal Creations are the producers of the film, exhibitors in Kerala are eager to screen it for Christmas. The film is shot entirely in Ernakulam by P.Sukumar. Benny P.Nair has written the script and Shafi directs the film. The cast also has Lalu Alex, Innocent, Salim Kumar, Jyothirmayi and Kalaranjini.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Tenali Raman
Gokula Krishnan (Mukesh) is an officer in an advertisement agency in Palakkad. His wife Kamalakshi (Aishwarya) is an obedient and devoted lady who adores her husband. Gokulakrishnan is not a romantic type, as he got married when he was in his late thirties. He gets transferred to Thiruvananthapuram and his aim is to get the post of Assistant Manager. But when he reaches the office he realizes that there are six other officers waiting to get that post. There is one Madalagopalan (Baiju) who is desperately trying to get the promotion. Soon Gokula Krishnan realizes that only by pleasing Vikram Simha Varma (Jagathy Sreekumar) who is hen-pecked, he can get the post and that too by making his wife happy. How he goes about this forms the rest of this comedy film. The others in the cast are Vijayaraghavan, Janardhanan, Ranjitha and Indrans. Story, Screenplay and dialogues are by Rajan Kiriyath. P.C.Mohanan is the editor and K.P.Nambiathiri is the cameraman. P.M.Basheer produces the film.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Yatrakkarude Sraddhakku
Satyan Anthikkad has finally managed to give Jayaram the long elusive hit, with a bold and innovative Yatrakkarude Sraddakku. Satyan, known for his light-hearted family entertainers, has this time teamed with scriptwriter Srinivasan and has churned out a rather unusual love story. Jyothi ( Soundarya) a software engineer gets a job in Chennai. On her way to join work, she meets Ramanujam (Jayaram) in the train. Ramanujam is an engineer working in the same city and soon they become friends. They part at the railway station but meet occasionally. Jyothi finds it difficult to get a rented house and on insistence of their common friend Paul (Innocent) she starts sharing an apartment with Ramanujam. She treats Ramanujam as her close friend, but he has a silent admiration for her. One day she shocks Ramanujam by inviting him for her engagement with Pradeep, and he goes for it along with Paul. But after getting drunk at the function, Paul blurts out to the invitees and Pradeep that Jyothi shared an apartment with Ramanujam in Chennai and soon the marriage is dropped. On the rebound Ramanujam ties the knot with Jyothi at the same muhurtham and they come to Chennai. But Jyothi takes her sweet revenge on Ramanujam by not talking to him or accepting him as her husband. And Ramanujam finally decides to tell all the truth to Pradeep and sent her with him. Will Jyothi go with Pradeep in the climax? Jayaram works and reworks all his tried-and tested comic antics all over again. Soundarya who is new to Malayalam steals the show, as the matured Jyothi and has come out with an excellent performance. Innocent, Siddique and Srinivasan have all excelled in their roles. Verdict: Good Entertainer
Friday, December 27, 2002
Vaalkannadi
Which film has captured the life of a man condemned by the society at large, better than the cult classic by M.T.Vasudevan Nair, Iruttinte Aatmavu and later Thaniavarthanam by Lohithadas’? What Prem Nazir and Mammootty did with ease is now being tried out by Kalabhavan Mani in Vaalkannadi. The director duo Anil-Babu has approached the subject with a certain amount of sensitivity and restraint, but the film appears as an overdose of sentiments and pathos. A lot of settlers live in Meloor, a hilly village. Appunni (Kalabhavan Mani) is a blacksmith who has a history of periodic bouts of mental depression during which he is chained and sent to an ayurvedic asylum. After a few weeks of treatment he gets back to normal life and is the sole breadwinner of the house. His mother Kuttiamma (K.P.A.C.Lalitha) and uncle’s daughter Devoo (Geetu Mohandas) are his biggest pillars of strength. In one of his fiendish moods he even attacks his bedridden uncle Thilakan. Devoo’s mother does not like the idea of her daughter getting married to a mentally unstable person like Appunni. Meanwhile Thampan (Anil Murali), a childhood friend of Appunni comes back to the village. He starts eyeing Devoo and expresses his desire to marry her. Appunni favours the proposal, but Devoo rejects him. When Thampan tries to molest her, she dies and the blame is put on Appunni. How Appunni takes revenge on Thampan forms the rest of the story. The film is too morbid and sentimental. Kalabhavan Mani as Appunni is first class but is a little loud at times. Geetu Mohandas as Devoo and K.P.A.C.Lalitha are good. Anil-Babu and writer Razzak despite some glitches and hiccups do succeed to a certain extent to tell a poignant story.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Navya Nair
Young Navya Nair wooed film lovers of Kerala with her performance in her debut film Ishtam. Though her second film Nandanam hasn't yet been released, Navya's performance in the film has already become talk-of-the-town after the preview screenings. Mazhathullikilukkam and Kunjikoonan, her other releases so far, have also established her as an excellent performer. She has also finished two other films Gramophone and Chathurangam, the latter opposite Mohanlal. Navya is at present doing Shafi's film Kalyanaraman, after which she will be doing a film by noted director Bhadran and also the Tamil remake of Nandanam. Gradually, this young actress hailing from the Alleppey district, is establishing herself as one of the most promising of the new-generation actresses in Malayalam. Here's Navya Nair in a quick chat with Hansazone.com... Q: How did you come into films? A: I had never thought of becoming an actress. Of course I took part in the school youth festivals and was even the overall champion. But coming to films was accidental. My photograph appeared on the cover page of a leading weekly and that was noticed by director Sibi Malayil and his associates. That's how Ishtam happened. Q: How was it, doing Ishtam? A: An unforgettable experience. I was always an ardent fan of Dilip. But during Ishtam we became good friends and he helped me in doing my role very well. Director Sibi Malayil is, of course, one of the best directors in Malayalam and he is the one who deserves full credit for my performance in the film. Q: How was your experience doing Nandanam? A: Balamani, the character I did in Nandanam, will always remain in my heart. It is so lovable a character. Balamani is a girl who is very efficient but quiet. Working with director Renjith too was great. I hope the film is released soon. Q: How was it acting with Mohanlal in Chathurangam? A: At first I was scared because he is one of the most reputed actors of India. But he dispelled all my nervousness and encouraged me in a friendly manner. It was great, working with him. Q: What's your concept of acting? A: Hmmwhat shall I say? As for me, I do what the directors want me to do with all sincerity and devotion. And ultimately my sincerity pays. So I view acting as a thoroughly involved performance with the maximum of sincerity and devotion. Q: Are you doing any other Tamil film besides the remake of Nandanam? A: I've been getting a lot of offers. But since I am busy over here and since I have to take care of my studies, I cannot take up too many films. Q: Are you studying too? A: Yes, I am a Plus Two Student. Q: Are you as serious about your studies as you are, about your acting career? A: Yes. Of course I am serious. I may not be able to attend classes at school, but I attend tuition classes and make it up. Q: What are you hobbies? A: Watching TV, films, listening to music and so on.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Dilip makes it to question papers
Malayalam star Dilip's popularity has even inspired educators. A question on him has been included in the 8th standard exam papers in the Alwaye district of Kerala. Dilip's photo alongside a question was in the paper. This out of syllabus question has angered a Salahudin of the same district who like a spoil sport has filed a complaint with human rights commission as well as the education authorities. Meanwhile Alwaye was again in the news because a film producer was attacked by anti social elements Sadasivan producer of Leader (said to be loosely based on political supremo K Karunakaran) was attacked by a gang carrying swords. Investigation is on.
Friday, December 27, 2002
The 'Chathurangam' team
Director K Madhu... K.Madhu has always been rated as one of the top-ranking directors of mainstream Malayalam cinema. He has delivered great hits like Irupathaam Noottandu and Oru C.B.I Diary Kurippu plus may films like Malarum Kiliyum, Moonnam Mura, Adikurippu, Jagratha etc. He has also directed Mammootty's first Tamil film Mounam Sammatham. It is after long twelve years that K.Madhu and Mohanlal are teaming up for Chathurangam. Here's the director of Chathurangam in a quick chat with Hansazone.com... Q: Could this be called a political movie? A: No. it is not at all a political film. It is a social-cum-family subject with politics as a supporting theme. Q: Do you feel that such a theme would appeal to the audience in the present context? A: I am very confident about it. I have made many successful films with politics as the theme. Of course many films with political subjects do flop. If we take up a subject that doesn't lose relevance even after five or ten years, the audience is sure to accept it whole-heartedly. This is exactly what I am trying to do in 'Chathurangam', like in my other films. The theme of 'Chathurangam', I believe, holds universal significance. Q: You are doing a film with Mohanlal after over a decade. How do you feel about it? A: The presence of Mohanlal is undoubtedly a highlight of 'Chathurangam'. He has his own sway over the masses. Film lovers of Kerala love his films immensely. If at all there has been any difference of opinion regarding any of the recent Mohanlal-starrers, it is not because the people don't like Mohanlal, but because the films were not up to the mark. Q: What are the other highlights of 'Chathurangam'? A: A good story and a well-constructed script by Babu Janardhanan, well-etched characters, especially that played by Mohanlal, these could be pointed out as the main highlights. Q: Do you hope to repeat the success of 'Irupathaam Noottandu'? A: That's what my prayer is. Let's hope for the best. Producer Firoz... Firoz, hailing from Thrissur, is a businessman, but he is not new to films and filmdom. His last production venture 'Aakaashathile Paravakal' was released last year. He produces 'Chathurangam' under the banner of Niya Productions and also takes up the distribution aspect of the film. Over to producer Firoz... Q: What, in your opinion, are the highlights of 'Chathurangam'? A: 'Chathurangam', in my opinion is going to be a family entertainer with some political references. Q: Is it a big budget film? A: It can be called a big budget film. It would incur the costs that a Mohanlal film demands. Q: 'Chathurangam' is undoubtedly is a bigger film compared to 'Aakaashathile Paravakal'. Don't you feel you are taking some sort of risk? A: I don't think so. Film lovers of Kerala have always been encouraging good cinema. 'Chathurangam', I believe, has a very good subject as the base. We have also got a very good team. So, in totality, I am very confident about the film's success. Q: Any other projects in the near future? A: Sure, there are. But details are yet to be worked out. Writer Babu Janardhanan... Babu Janardhanan, who has done the script for hit films like 'Varnapakittu' and 'Thachchiledathu Chundan', does the story and script for K.Madhu's 'Chathurangam'. Here's the writer in a quick chat with Hansazone.com... Q: Could you brief us on the theme of 'Chathurangam'? A: Here, in this story, we have five prominent families from Kottayam District in focus. We discuss in general the relationship that these families have with the political developments. To be more specific, we take up for discussion the impact of political developments on an individual and on the family that he represents. Q: So, it's a very serious thing. Is it? A: Of course, it's a very serious subject that has to be viewed seriously in the present context. Anyhow we are presenting it in a lighter vein. With Kottayam as the backdrop, we are presenting caricatures on screen. Q: 'Chathurangam' is a sort of political satire. Isn't it? A: Not at all. Let me make it clear. It's not a political movie. There's no politics in it. We're focussing more on the family aspect. The protagonist of the story, Aattiprackal Jimmy and his family form the focus of the story. We are discussing the impact of the political developments on Jimmy and his family. So it's a family subject in the fullest sense. Q: Are you trying to convey any message? A: Yes, very strong ones.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Mohanlal-Dilip: Is it a cold war?
When they said that superstar Mohanlal and current teen sensation Dilip were at loggerheads, the two were quick to smile and deny the entire thing. However recent buzz seems to re-affirm the news. Actor Augustin, who wanted to turn producer, is said to have requested Mohanlal to help him out by giving him dates. Mohanlal apparently agreed, but when it came to payment, Augustin is believed to have said that he would pay him (Mohanlal) as per his market. This remark, they say, angered Mohanlal, who walked out of the project. However, Augustin promptly re-shaped his film, with Indrajith and Kavya doing the lead roles now. Director Renjith was retained. What was surprising was that, Dilip, agreed to do a guest role in the film. Maybe to spite Lal? While on Mohanlal, not all producers are like Augustin. Johny Sagarika, the reputed producer who, during the making of his film Thandavam ( Mohanlal-Shaji Kailas team) had said that if the film bombed he would quit filmdom but who's still in filmdom despite the film bombing, is onto his next venture. He has once again signed Mohanlal for a film to be directed by Venu Nagavalli with Cherian Kalpakavadi (of Lal Salaa-fame) penning the story. This also signals the shift of Lal from the action genre to family/social dramas. After the out-and-out comedy film Mr Brahmachari, Lal will start work on Priyadarshan's film in Pollachi which is again a comedy. After that, he is to shift to Venu Nagavalli for a serious film. Meanwhile Dilip is doing a new role - as a mentally-challenged youth in the Jayraj film Thilakam. It is the story of a youth who runs away from his parents during his childhood. He comes back to the village and recognizes his parents. Later on, they realize that Dilip has a mental disorder. An ayurvedic doctor and a priest start curing him.The result is that, he does not recognize his parents and instead goes back to the place where he grew up. How the parents reunite with their son... forms the rest of the story. With both Lal and Dilip vying for great roles, guess only the box-office can really decide their fate... and fight!
Friday, December 27, 2002
Siddique planning to come back.
After a long break Siddique is starring in a Malayalam movie directed by Naaser Asees.The story development is based on the seashore and Siddique portrays a character called Bharathan.After the lapse of several years,Siddique is taking the role of Hero in Malayalam.Siddique was an accepted hero in many humorous movies that gave birth to a new generation of Comedy movies in Malayalam Cinema Industry.His way of acting and styles are well accepted by Malayali audience.But however he couldn't continue in the same track of Malluwood. TV Serails were the only way that he found to sustain himself in the filmdom.His fabalous performance in Mega Serial 'Sthree' brought him again back to the minds of Malayali audience.Followed by this, several offers approached him which had prominent roles for his acting nature.His reappear proves that his carrier is flexible for the roles of Sentiments, Comedy and even as Villain.The Villain role in Movie 'Sathyameva Jayatha' itself was a turning point in his carrier.Thereafter his carrier went down with co-stars and Villain roles, nobody expected that he will resume his original position.In 'Kannaki' along with Lal he did a remarkable role,but it was also not noticed much.In a critical situation where super stars are losing their grip,it is not an easy joke to see a back sliding actor coming back to his position.So according to Siddique his leading role in 'Kaliyodam' is a fortune for him.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Christmas treat in Malayalam!
With Meesha Madhavan and Kunjikoonan turning out to be hits, hopes have been re-kindled as far as Malayalam Cinema is concerned. The film fraternity of Kerala seems to take this as a very good sign. And hence all eyes are set on this year's Christmas releases, all of which are in the final stages of production. The Christmas mood has already set in with the release of the K.Madhu-directed Mohanlal-starrer Chathurangam on November 30th, almost a month before Christmas. The film, with a mix of action, dialogues, drama, sentiments etc has been given a warm welcome and there are indications that though not a Christmas release, Chathurangam could go on doing brisk business during Christmas and even well past the season. As for the films slated to be released during the Christmas season this year, the major ones include Shafi's Kalyaana Raman, Kamal's Nammal and Vaalkannaadi by Anil-Babu. Shafi, whose maiden directional venture One Man Show was released during Christmas last year, is getting ready to release his second film Kalyaana Raman this Christmas. Kalyaana Raman, produced by Lal under the banner of Lal Creations, tells the story of a young man named Ramankutty, who arranges everything from A to Z wherever there is a marriage or any other function. He is basically a cook, one who can judge dishes just by their smell. Since he concerns himself with marriage ceremonies, people lovingly call him Kalyaana Raman. Dileep plays the title role while Navya Nair plays the female lead. Teenage sensation Kunchacko Boban does a guest role, while the cast also includes Lal, Boban Alummoodan, Thilakan, Siddique, Laloo Aalex, Innocent. Salim Kumar, T.P.Madhavan, Kalaranjini, Jyothirmayi etc. Scripted by Benny.P.Nayarambalam, Kalyaana Raman features lyrics by Kaithapram, music by Bernie-Ignatious, cinematography by P.Sukumar, art-direction by Boban and editing by Hariharaputhran. Vaalkannaadi, produced by Santhosh Damodaran under the banner of Damor Cinema, is the latest offering by the director duo Anil-Babu. Set in a village background, the film tells the story of Appunni of Meloorkunnu village. Appunni, a blacksmith, is good at heart but he suffers bouts of madness from time to time. Appunni is in love with Devutty, the daughter of Raghavan, who was a friend of Appunni's father. When Thampaan, who is a friend of Appunni and who was in Mumbai, returns home, things take a totally different turn for Appunni and Devutty. Thampaan wishes to marry Devutty and goes on with plans for the marriage even after realizing that Appunni and Devutty love each other. Kalabhavan Mani is Appunni while Geethu Mohandas is Devutty and Anil Murali is Thampaan. Also in the cast are Thilakan, Babu Namboothiri, Maathu, Indrans, KPAC Lalitha, Sreeja Chandran, Salim Kumar etc. Scripted by T.A.Razack, Vaalkannaadi features lyrics by S.Rameshan Nair set to tune by M.Jayachandran. Shaji does the cinematography. The film will be brought to the theatres by Carlton Release. Nammal, produced by David Kaachipilly under the banner of Chinku Achchu Cinemas, is director Kamal's offering this Christmas. A campus movie, Nammal features in its cast, debutantes Siddharth, Jishnu and Renuka Menon. While Siddharth is the son of noted director - the late Bharathan and actress KPAC Lalitha, Jishnu is the son of popular actor Raghavan. The film revolves around two friends Shyam and Sivan, who study in the same college and lead a gang. When Aparna a young girl, joins the college, they tease her and create problems for her. And as a result Aparna joins a rival group led by Reji. Siddharth is Shyam and Jishnu is Sivan. Renuka Menon does the role of Aparna while Mithun, who had earlier acted in films like Thaandavam, Life is Beautiful etc is Reji. Also in the cast are Balachandra Menon, Suhasini, Innocent, Salu Koottanaadu, Yamuna, Ramesh, Prashanth etc. The script is by Ishtam-fame Kalavoor Ravikumar. Kaitharpram's lyrics are set to tune by Mohan Sithara. Cinematography is by P.Sukumar and Venugopal. The film will be released by Swargachitra. There are of course some films like Nandanam (which was supposed to be released on December 6th), Gramophone, Sahodaran Sahadevan etc, which have been awaiting release for a long time now. Some of these could be released before Christmas. However, with the Christmas releases finding their way to the theatres, plus the presence of films like Meesha Madhavan, Kunjikoonan and Chathurangam, which are already doing brisk business, this year's Christmas is going to be a great time for film lovers in Kerala.
Friday, December 27, 2002
The stork visits Chitra!
'Chinnakuyil' Chitra has a wonderful reason to croon with joy. Recently, the National Award winning singer became the proud mother of a baby girl. After over 16 years of marriage, the singer has now been blessed with her own little melody. The new mother has now cut down on her singing assigments to look after her little one. Congratulations to the proud parents!
Friday, December 27, 2002
Milma, Mother Dairy form joint venture marketing company
Thiruvananthapuram: Mother Dairy, under the National Dairy Development Board, and Milma have decided to form a new joint venture company to find greener pastures for their products. Krishnaswami, Managing Director of Milma, and Arjun Utpal, Managing Director of Mother Dairy, signed the memorandum of understanding in this regard. P.T. Gopala Kurup, Chairman of Milma, said that the marketing division of Milma will be under this new company. Mother Dairy holds 51 per cent stake in the company. The NDDB will issue a grant of Rs 1 crore as the working capital for the company that will begin its operations within a month. Employees in the marketing division of Milma will work under the new company. The company will also select Milma agents. The best agents will be retained and the rest will be exempted from service. The company also plans to have new agents. It will consult Milma before any move to hike prices of milk. Products will be marketed under Milma brand name in Kerala and Mother Dairy brand name in other states. Milma will collect, process and hand over milk to the company. In case of non-availability of milk from Kerala, Milma will collect milk from cooperative societies in other states. The company will assure the quality of milk made available by Milma. The company has the power to sell unique products of Mother Dairy through Milma booths in Kerala. Mother Dairy will also market Milma products in other states.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Kerala's tryst with ADB dominates 2002
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 26 A cash-strapped Kerala's tryst with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) took both political and economic centrestage in the state during the year 2002. Apart from a few juicy political controversies, the three letters -- 'A,' 'D' and 'B' -- dominated all discussions. When the year that began with the Congress-led A K Antony government announcing a series of austerity measures to curtail its administrative expenditure draws to a close, Kerala has received the first instalment of the Rs 3,600 crore loan from the ADB, amid Opposition criticism that the government has surrendered its interest before the multi-national bank. On the political front, faction feuds within the Congress involving veteran leader K Karunakaran and Chief Minister A K Antony provided several embarrassing moments for the Congress-led United Democratic Front Government. A 'forged intelligence document' linking Kerala Tourism Minister K V Thomas to the Rs 336 crore inter-state hawala racket created a flutter, leading to the suspension of Congress MLA and ardent Karunakaran supporter Shobhana George from the party for five years.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Tension in prison as Mahdani's wife, relatives spark row
Coimbatore, Dec 26 Tension prevailed in the Coimbatore Central Prison today after the wife of jailed People's Democratic Party Chairman Abdul Nasser Mahdani, Ms Sofia, got into a heated argument with the police, alongwith three of her relatives, when their four cellphones and five SIM cards were seized during customary frisking. City Police Commissioner Sanjai Arora said the four mobile phones and SIM cards were hidden by Sophia's relatives, allegedly to be handed over to Mr Mahdani -- a main accused in the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts case which killed 62 people and left 250-odd injured. Later, Ms Sofia Mahdani filed a police complaint at the Race Course station, stating that a police official had abused her while frisking at the prison gates. She demanded action against the official and wanted back the cellphones. As the news spread inside the jail, Mr Mahdani, alongwith all the accused belonging to banned Al-Umma, assembled and started shouting slogans. The situation prompted the jail authorities to begin talks with Ms Sophia and step up security arrangements inside the prison. Mr Madhani, who has been ailing of late, is yet to be chargesheeted after almost four years in the cell. Several human rights organisations and activists have demanded his release.
Friday, December 27, 2002
KPCC leadership camp commences at Kochi
A two-day leadership camp of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee to be held at Kochi from today, would evaluate the functioning of the one-and-half year old Congress-led United Democratic Front government and the party in the state. The camp would discuss government's achievements and shortcomings and the state unit's organisational programmes in the coming days, Muralidharan told reporters here. AICC general secretary, incharge of Kerala, Ambika Soni, AICC general secretary Vayalar Ravi, Janardhana Reddy, MP, AICC secretary Ramesh Chennithala and UDF convenor Oomen Chandy would attend the camp, in which nearly 560 delegates, including KPCC, AICC members, MPs and MLAs would participate. Chief Minister A K Antony would address the concluding session of the camp which is being held after over 22 years, Muralidharan said.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Police seize Rs 5.8 million at Valayar.
Unaccounted currency of Rs 58 lakhs was seized from a jeep by the police at the Valayar check post. The driver and another occupant of the jeep were taken into custody. The jeep was proceeding to Malappuram from Coimbatore.
Friday, December 27, 2002
Musthafa, Ramachandran lambast Muraleedharan
Congress Legislators K K Ramachandran and T H Musthafa today questioned the propriety of KPCC President K Muraleedharan in issuing show cause notices to them. Talking to mediapersons , they asserted that they had not" wilfully violated party constitution", but only asked Muraleedharan's father and senior Congress leader K Karunakaran to make an introspection before criticising Chief Minister A K Antony and Party President Sonia Gandhi. How could this be termed as anti-party activity, they asked. Asked why they were being "haunted" by Muraleedharan, they said it was a "calculated attempt by Karunakaran to nip in the bud itself opposition to the consolidation of his family hegemony in the party". They, however, said the show cause notices would be replied to as "decency demanded it". They declined to reveal whether the issue would be raised at the two-day party leadership camp.
Friday, December 27, 2002
"I am not aware of any move to sell river water to MNCs", says Antony
Kerala Chief Minister A.K.Antony said the cabinet has not taken any decision on the move to sell water of Malampuzha dam and Periyar to multi-nationals. In his routine press briefing after the cabinet meeting, Antony said that he is in the dark about reports in this connection which appeared in a section of the press. "No proposals about these sales has come for the consideration of the cabinet", said Antony. Regarding the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)with an England based company about the proposed sale of water from Malampuzha dam, the chief minister said that it has not come for the consideration of the cabinet. "Signing of MOU and Cabinet Approval are entirely different. It is the Cabinet which takes decision on policy matters and this government will not take any step which will hurt the people," said Antony to repeated questions on the report. The chief minister also said that the move to privatise river was initiated by the previous LDF government and his government has not deviated from the LDF policy on privatisation. Antony informed that two estates belonging to the Plantation Corporation hs been earmarked for distribution among the tribals of the state. A sub-committee of the cabinet has also been formed to oversee the distribution of the land. Antony refused to comment on the opposition raised by his Tamil Nadu counterpart J Jayalalithaa over the alleged move to divert water from Bhavani, a tributary of river Cauvery. "My office received the fax from the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister yesterday and I could make a comment on the issue only after studying the issue," he told newspersons here after a meeting of the State Cabinet. Asked whether the state would take up the issue of denial of water from the Shirvani dam to Kerala, Antony said the Government would take a stand only after studying all the aspects. "Kerala's interests will be protected at any cost," he added. "There may be disputes between neighbours, but the issues should be sorted out amicably," he added. Jayalalithaa had written to Antony saying that the move would adversely affect the irrigation and drinking water needs of Coimbatore, already a drought-prone district.
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Govt proposal to set up Aqua Park
Kerala: Kochi, To tap the huge potential of ornamental fishery export, Kerala government proposes to set up a Rs 35-crore aqua park with foreign investment, State Fisheries Minister K V Thomas said. Two sites have been identified at nearby Puthuvypeen and Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, Thomas told reporters here last night. The blueprint of the project was ready and it would be showcased at the Global Investors Meet here next month. In India, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai are the export centres of ornamental fishes. Seventy varieties of exportable fishes had been identified by a fisheries college attached to the Kerala Agricultural University, he said, adding the college had also developed technologies to breed 30 varieties. The minister said an eight-day international exhibition on ornamental fishes would be held here from December 29 and varieties from abroad including Germany and Sri Lanka would be exhibited.
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Special trains to clear Kerala rush
To clear the extra rush of passengers, Southern Railway will be running additional special trains between Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram. Train No 0618 Trivandrum Central-Chennai Egmore special train will leave here on December 26 and 27. This train will leave here at 1345 hrs and reach Chennai Egmore at 0630 hrs. Train No 0617 will leave from Chennai Egmore on December 27 at 2200 hrs and arrive here at 1415 hrs. Another special train (Train no 0618 M) will leave from here on January four at 1600 hrs and reach Chennai Central the next day at 1015 hrs. From Chennai Central Train No 0617 M will leave on December 31 and January two at 1700 hrs and reach here at 1130 hrs.
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Ayyappa pilgrim falls to death
Kottayam, Dec. 25. : An Ayyappa pilgrim was killed, when he fell off from the rear door of the jeep in which he was travelling, near Pamba today. Police said the jeep was carrying pilgrims from Chennai and when the vehicle was near Pamba, the rear door suddenly opened and the pilgrim fell from it. The deceased was identified as Pushparaj (22).
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Kerala to do away with 697 legislations
Forty-six years after the formation of the state, legislators in Kerala will soon be undertaking an exercise that goes diametrically opposite to their normal job undoing hundreds of legislations, some of which came into being even before the state’s formation in ’56. The Kerala Assembly will try and repeal as many as 697 laws that have become obsolete. The list comprises of 102 Acts that include many from Travancore, Cochin, Madras and Malabar vintage, and 595 amendment Acts. These range from the Metals and Minerals Proclamation issued by the Maharajah of Travancore in 1881, which notified mining rights of government and individuals, to the Prevention of Juvenile Smoking Act passed by the Maharaja of Cochin in 1920, which laid down a punishment of six stripes to juvenile smokers. Incidentally, a High Court directive a few years ago has supposedly ended public smoking in the state, though smokers can be spotted in public places in Kerala without too much effort. Another law that will go out of the books is the Madras Coffee Stealing Prevention Act of 1878.
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Jackie Chan to be Kerala Tourism Dept's brand ambassador?
26-December-2002 The tourism department of Kerala is trying to rope in celebrity actor Jackie Chan Chang Kong Sang as its brand ambassador. Jackie Chan who has acted in several Hollywood movies is the heartthrob of youngsters around the globe. Jackie Chan is one of the finest exponent of martial arts and the State has been practising martial arts for quite some time. Recently, London-based Travel Associations have marked Keral among the best 10 tourist destinations around the globe. Many Hollywood celebrities have been visited in Kerala in the past, and thus giving a boost to tourism in Kerala. Kerala is one of the nature's most gifted places with its greenery and backwaters. Tourism Minister K V Thomas said, "We are considering the matter. Jackie Chan can be considered to be a brand ambassador during the final round of discussions with the department's officials."
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Jaya wants Kerala to stop Bhavani weir
Jaya wants Kerala to stop Bhavani weir Chennai, Dec 25. : Tamil Nadu government has asked Kerala to "reconsider" its plan and desist from taking further action on construction of a weir across Bhavani river for diverting the water to the west outside the basin, till the Cauvery Water dispute was settled by the Cauvery Tribunal. In a letter to Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony, state Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said river Bhavani, a tributary of the Cauvery, was an inter-state river. The sharing of waters in the Cauvery basin including that of the Bhavani was now under adjudicatory process before the Tribunal. Pointing out that Kerala had told the Tribunal that the irrigation in the Attapadi valley had been extended to utilise 4.5 TMC ft of water, she said: "while this is so, we are seriously concerned on hearing that Kerala government is now proposing to launch another new scheme of constructing a weir across Bhavani near Mukkali village to divert water to the west outside the basin." If this scheme was taken up by Kerala, the farmers of Bhavani valley downstream would be badly affected and practically "no water will flow down below the Kerala border in the Bhavani valley," she said.
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Gaiety marks X'mas in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Christians in Kerala on Wednesday joined their brethren the world over in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with gaiety and traditional fervour. People in large numbers congregated at churches across the state to attend the mid-night mass to celebrate the birth of Christ in a manger in Bethlehem over two millennium back. Churches of various denominations were illuminated and tastefully decorated cribs and Christmas trees put up depicting the infant Jesus in swaddling clothes with Virgin Mary, Joseph and shepherds looking on with folded hands. Christmas stars heralding the nativity had begun to twinkle days before. Festivities reached its crescendo on Tuesday evening with people thronging to the streets of major towns for their last-minute shopping. The shadow cast by internal convulsions in the Malankara Church, one of country's ancient Christian segments, did not dampen the Christmas mood. In a message, Catholic Bishops Conference Of India (CBCI) president Cyril Mar Baselios said, 'let this Christmas bring peace to all mankind'. Governor Sikander Bakht, Chief Minister A K Antony and heads of various church denominations greeted the people on the occasion.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Sunita Rani's to get back her medals
NEW DELHI: Middle distance runner Sunita Rani will get back the Busan Asian Games medals following her clearance in the doping charge by the International Olympic Committee, Olympic Council of Asia secretary-general Randhir Singh announced here on Tuesday. Sunita Rani had won the gold medal in women's 1500m race in a new Games record time and also a bronze in the 5,000m. She was stripped of her medals following a positive dope test for banned substance 'nandrolone'. Randhir Singh said OCA had received the report of IOC's medical commission which had found certain discrepancies in the testing procedures at the dope laboratory in Seoul. Following the findings of the commission, IOC had advised OCA not to pursue the matter any further. The report had been referred to a five-member task-force of OCA which will study it before returning the medals to Sunita Rani in the next one or two days, Singh said. He said this was the first time in the history of Asian Games that medals were being returned to an athlete after being taken away on doping charges. The athlete, who had cleared the dope tests here before leaving for Busan, and the Indian officials questioned the testing procedures in the South Korean laboratory, claiming they were not fool-proof. An internal inquiry ordered by the Amateur Athletic Federation of India had concluded that on the evidence available, Sunita Rani could not be found guilty of doping.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
I am back-Chackochan
Chocolate boy of Malayalam films, Kunchakko Boban is back again with new looks and new roles going on in for more selective & serious characters. Chackochan, some time back, seem to be the next superstar of the Malayalam tinseldom. But, almost inexplicably, he faltered and was without any great offers. For the last few years, he was doing campus lone-films. Now, he has decided to concentrate on character roles having more scope and has managed to catch a few good roles, and that too some interesting ones. Snehithan, Kalyanaraman (with Dileep), Swapnamkondoru Thulabaram (with Suresh Gopi), Kasthuriman (a film by Lohithadas) and also a movie with Kamal have come calling. The variety and sweep are something that even reigning star Dileep would be envious of. How did the turnaround come about? What was it that clinched things for the smart Kunchacko? The actor's camp itself isn't so sure about it. Sources close to Boban suggest that it should not surprise anybody that he has so many prestigious offers. ''He has always been very promising. The slump in between was surprising,'' they say. Kunchacko Boban has never come across as being in the dumps when things were not going in his favour. Now, when things have started looking up, he has not lost his essential poise either. Rather than looking at numbers, he is said to be now concentrating on quality. Perhaps, that was his shortcoming in the first innings. He made a few sorry choices then. He is now wiser with the experience. Hence, the films with serious film-makers like Lohitadas, Kamal and Sivaprasad.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Christmas attractions
Christmas attractions: Come Christmas, a spate of Malayalam films are ready for release. The coming New Year-Christmas season is shaping up to be one of the most crucial periods for the Malayalam film industry. At a time when films are flopping left and right, only two Dilip's films like Meesha Madhavan and Kunjikoonan have made profit. Four films are being released for Christmas-Yathrakkarude Shraddhakku, Vaalkannadi, Nammal and Kalyanaraman. Yathrakkarude Shraddhakku directed by Sathyan Anthicaud, is a family entertainer. Jayaram and Soundarya, who are employed in a big city meet as strangers and are forced by circumstances to share an apartment, which leads to a piquant situation. The strength of the film is Srinivasan's innovative script with a simple storyline blended well by Satyan Anthicaud. The film's commercial success is very crucial for Jayaram's survival as a top line hero. Vaalkannadi written by Razak and directed by Anil-Babu tells the story of mentally challenged Appunni, played by Kalabhavan Mani. Appunni lives in a remote hilly hamlet with his mother KPAC Lalitha and lover Geetu Mohandas. These are the only ones who make an effort to understand Appunni, the rest of the village people turns hostile towards him. The film is touted as the surprise package among the Christmas releases. Nammal is a campus caper from Kamal with newcomers playing lead. The film is a sequence of campus moments woven into a beautiful story. This is the story of a friendship between Shyam and Sivan. They are student leaders who are well accepted. The director has brought together Siddharth, son of KPAC Lalitha and Jishnu, son of actor Raghavan along with a new girl Renuka Mohan. Suhasini plays the role of the college principal. Kamal has mastered the art of making campus stories, Niram is just an instance. Kalyanaraman will be the last release of this year. After the superhit Thenkasipattanam, Lal creations is producing another film titled Kalyanaraman. Lal of the famous Siddique-Lal director duo is today more famous as a shrewd producer-distributor under his own banner. The film has Dileep, Kunchacko Boban and Navya Nair in the lead roles. It is an all out comedy caper directed by Shafi where Thekkadath Raman Kutty (Dileep) is a wedding planner - the man who looks after all the behind the scene preparations that go into a wedding. The film is shot entirely in Ernakulam Soundarya replaces Richa: The latest we hear about Kilichundan Mambazham, a film directed by Priyadarshan is that Richa Pallod has been dropped and Soundarya has been signed to play the heroine. Priyadarshan-Mohanlal team have given many hits like Chithram, Kilukkam and many others. The shooting of this film will begin at the end of this month in Nilambur. The film is scripted by Sreenivasan under the banner of Aashirwad Films and produced by Antony Perumbavoor. Sreenivasan at present is busy with the script. Film to complete in 20 days: After completing Thulasidas' Mr Brahmachari and Priyadarshan's Kilichundan Mambazham, Mohanlal will act in Venu Nagavally's new film. He has given dates for twenty days. After that he will act in Hariharan's and Sibi Malayil's films. Crest of success: Prithviraj is at the crest of the popular wave in Malayalam films. He has got many films in hand and the directors are willing to pay Rs 6 lakhs to get his dates. He is at present working in Bhadran's Vellithira. After the hit of Stop Violence, Prithvirja is in great demand and has proved that that he is an actor who can play character roles as well as villain roles with ease. Suresh Gopi's Sarkar Gumasthan: The film to be produced by Revathy Kalamandir after Katha and Seethakalyanam has been named Sarkar Gumasthan. The film will have Suresh Gopi in the lead role. Balan Menon directs the film and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy will be the heroine of this film. Dilip in Puliankam: Dilip will be acting in Padma Kumar's new film Puliankam. Padma Kumar was an assistant of Shaji Kailas. After completingThilakkom and Sadanandante Samayam, Dilip will join this unit. After the success of Meesha Madhavan and Kunjikoonan, Dilip has become the hot property of the mainstream segment. Not even superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty have pulled off a hit, like Dileep has in recent times. A short form for pop carnival: The Tamil actor and director Nassar had made offbeat films like Devathai, Avatharam and a commercial crass like Mayan in the past. But none of these films have done well in the box-office. So now Nassar is all set to woo the box-office Gods once again with Popcarn, a short form for pop carnival. Mohanlal is singing a song for the film, in which he plays the hero. He plays the role of a singer-producer and the director of the film, Nassar, felt if Mohanlal sang in his own voice, it would be natural. The song, Amma Inge Vaa, is written by lyricist, Vaali and tuned by Yuvan Shankar Raja. Simran, who plays the role of Mohanlal's wife, is a fusion dancer in the film and the story is about the ego clashes in the lives of celebrities. The cast also includes Vivek, Alphonsa, and a Mumbai model Sakthi. The camera is by Sridhar and Vikram Dharma is the stunt master. Kameela Nassar produces the film. Kiran in great demand: The Gemini fame, Kiran is the most accepted heroine of the Tamil films nowadays. She is the talk of the town now, as she has appeared in a very glamorous role in Villain. After acting with Ajith in Villain, her name is suggested to Tamil producers by the actor itself. The Tamil audience very well appreciated her sexy dance number with Ajith in the film. The two heroines of the film Meena and Kiran justify their addition into the movie through their scintillating dances in the song sequences. Kiran is a visual treat to all youngsters.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
No deal with London firm for sale of water: Minister
THIRUVANATHAPURAM: The Government on Tuesday denied reports that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a London-based multinational firm for the sale of water in Malampuzha dam in Palakkad district. ''We haven't signed any MoU for the Industrial Water Supply Project in Malampuzha,'' Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty told newspersons. He claimed that the government had not even conducted preliminary discussions with anyone as the last date for submission of expression of interest for the project was December 31. The Government would showcase the project along with another Rs 330 crore Kochi Industrial Water Supply Scheme at the Global Investors' Meet to be held on January 18 and 19 next. However, these projects would not be finalised during the meet. Kunhalikutty said the Kochi project would be crucial for the overall industrial development of the region. As per the project report, potable quality water would be supplied to hospitals, hotels, restaurants, educational institutions, seafood industry, Vallarpadam Terminal, a number of industrial parks and other commercial establishments in and around Kochi. Periyar river water would be used for the project which would be implemented on BOT basis. The agreement would be for 23 years, including the three-year construction period. Referring to the ongoing controversy over the subject, the Minister said though the project would be implemented in tie-up with multinational companies, they were not going to take away the water resources from the country. The water from these projects would be supplied to domestic units only, he added.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
UDF govt convenes all-party meeting on Dec 30 to discuss GIM
Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony will convene an all-party meeting here on December 30 to iron-out differences on attracting foreign investment in connection with the coming Global Investors' Meet. UDF convener Oommen Chandy said after a meeting of UDF GIM monitoring sub-committee which discussed preparations being made for the GIM that the government wanted to go ahead with the GIM after taking into confidence all political parties. He said Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty would also hold discussions with leaders of all the Opposition parties on various projects which would be showcased at the GIM. Public Sector Units would not be put up for sale at the GIM as alleged by the Opposition parties. Stating that the GIM would be a major milestone in the development of the state, he said 70,000 to 100,000 job opportunities would be created within the next two to three years in the Information Technology sector alone. Referring to the call made by certain youth organisations to disrupt the GIM, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K Muraleedharan said those who were blindly criticising the government on the issue should understand the reality. The government would implement various projects only after studying all aspects, he added.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Tearful farewll to Rathish
The mortal remains of noted Malayalam film actor Rathish who died in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday was consigned to flames at his ancestral residence in Alappuzha. Many personalities from Malayalam film industry were present tp pay their last respects to the departed actor. A memorial meeting was held at Kalavoor near Alappuzha where rich tributes were paid to the late actor by people in various walks of life.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
BJP High Command drop charges against CKP
The Bharathiya Janatha Party leadership decided to absolve C.K Padmanabhan, the Kerala BJP chief, of all charges levelled against him by some sections of the party. This followed a series of meetings the Party President Venkiah Naidu had with Padmanabhacharya, who is in charge of Kerala affairs of the party,Union Minister O.Rajagopal and the state secretary P.P Mukundan at New Delhi. The controversy errupted when Padmanabhan made some comments against the RSS in an interview he gave to a Malayalam weekly. This infuriated the RSS faction of the BJP and led to the party High Command asking Padmanabhacharya to take stock of the situation and inform the Party President the ground realities.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
MUSCAT: NRK Cell devising plans to lure investments to Kerala
MUSCAT The Non-Resident Keralite (NRK) Cell, which was recently set up, is devising major plans to formulate programmes to bring capital and technology to Kerala, V. T. Saileswaran, who is in charge of the cell here, has told the Times of Oman. At present, entrepreneurs are shying away from investing in Kerala as it has been proven earlier that they would be left high and dry because of the political turmoil and the lackadaisical approach to foreign investors/investment, he said. Saileswaran had recently visited Kerala to apprise top ministers about the great need to protect investors. Among others, he met NRK Minister M.M. Hassan, where he presented a memorandum, impressing upon the need for changing the image of Kerala and protecting it as an environment friendly investment and tourism destination. The government cannot change the culture as politicians never speak their mind. But, it is high time this was changed. Today, the NRK is a formidable strength. Since we are all employed abroad, the sheer experience, the knowledge that we have gained is far better than what an educational institution or university can give. For me, Oman, and the whole of Gulf, has been my universities and I have gained great knowledge. What I am saying is that we can greatly improve the GDP of not just Kerala, but the whole of India. We must join hands and create a conducive environment back home, he said. Of course, Kerala needs investment in many areas. From the basic infrastructure like roads, electricity, to employment providing profitable business opportunities, we really need it all. Look, how many factories do we have? A Keralite graduate is forced to seek government employment or try his luck abroad. But, how long can this happen? The government cannot provide employment for long, and the prospects for the NRKs abroad is diminishing. What shall we do for our children and for our country? These are the areas that we want to tackle with the full support of all such bodies and our government. Saileswaran noted the great need to have better schools in Kerala. We need better hospitals; international training facilities for sports-oriented children and those with other talents. We can always have better banks. In short, the needs are many. But, the resources are spread elsewhere. I would like to jog the memory of all concerned about the advice from late Morarji Desai, who wanted all Indians to invest their gold and use that for the betterment of the country. It was a grand idea, but he couldn’t sell it. Why? Because, the government proposed it. If an independent, non-political body like ours promotes it, we can realise it. We cannot expect Kerala government to create employment and subsidise food. We need to come up with frameworks so as to solve issues and support each other. We pledge here that we will take up this cause. There seems to be no other way to save Kerala today, he said. Earlier, responding to a query as to why their cell was being called the ‘e’-pravasi, Saileswaran said: We believe that all good attempts are misunderstood at first and even criticised. Time will solve these apprehensions. Frankly, we don’t mind if we are called the ‘e’-pravasi. We are proud of our tradition, and it is a foregone conclusion that for the successful functioning of any idea or ideology, there must be a leading light. And we are blessed with one. As we have stated earlier, this is an NRK cell that crosses all caste, religious and party barriers. We are open to all and we are confident that we will be accepted by all when they realise that we mean what we say.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Heavy rush at Sabarimala
Kerala: Pathanamthitta, The Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala today witnessed heavy rush and the police had to block the pilgrims at Pampa for some time in the evening to ease the congestion on the trekking path. According to the police, the holy hillock had been witnessing unprecedented rush since the past two days and the pilgrims had to wait in queues that extended beyond the Sabaripeetom on the trekking path. The TDB public relations officer, Mohan Perinad said the devotees had to wait for more than seven hours in the queue for the holy darshan today due to the heavy rush. Meanwhile, there were allegations of fleecing of pilgrims at the eateries and teashops at Nilackal. The shopkeepers have been reportedly charging Rs. 5 to 7 for a small glass of tea and not to speak of the soaring price of other items at these shops. There were also reports of brisk trade in illicit liquor at the Nilackal parking lots.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Escotel launches SMS Edge
NEW DELHI: Escotel Mobile Communications, which offers cellular services in circles of UP (West), Haryana and Kerala, on Tuesday launched its SMS Edge branded product for offering a direct marketing medium to advertisers, synchronising it with the Cricket World Cup 2003. "The SMS Edge is designed so that it can be sponsored by various corporate entities. They can advertise their brand to a premium Escotel customer base in three states most economically, while these ever popular alerts on Cricket World Cup 2003 go out in a constant stream simultaneously," Rajan Swaroop, CEO of Escotel told reporters here. With this launch, the company claimed to have become the first cellular service provider in the non-metro circles to update its subscriber base on all major happenings at the World Cup 2003. These would include the toss update, the 10 overs and 25 overs update, wickets, century and half century, man-of-the-match and other such alerts. The SMS updates would come in different categories -- IndiaPlus which gives information on all the matches played by India, including the super six, the semi-finals and the finals In another catergory, regular updates would be provided on all the matches played by India and other nations, while in the last catergory the customers would be updated on all matches played during the World Cup.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Ratheesh passes away
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 23. : Popular Malayalam film and television actor, Ratheesh, died at a private hospital here this morning, following a heart attack. Ratheesh, 40, is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters. The actor had shot into stardom during the eighties, acting in the early films of I V Sasi, which included the blockbuster `Thusharam.' He also played significant roles in the popular political thrillers dished out by Sasi, besides playing the romantic hero in movies by other leading directors. With his diminishing career graph in films, Ratheesh began acting in tele-serials. `Venal Mazha,' a serial with the actor in the lead role, was a recent hit on a private television channel.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
KPCC to be inaugurated by K Karunakaran
Kerala: Kochi, About 560 delegates are expected to attend a two day leadership camp of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee to be inaugurated by senior party leader K Karunakaran here on Friday. Disclosing this to mediapersons, KPCC president K Muraleedharan said AICC and KPCC members and DCC presidents would be among those attending the camp, being held after a long gap. To be attended by all the party ministers, including Chief Minister A K Antony on both the days, the camp would review the performance of the party and the government during the past one and a half years of the Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) rule, he said. The meeting would also help evaluate the weaknesses of the government and the party, if any, and chalk out their future programmes, Muraleedharan said. To a question, he said the UDF government had succeeded in making an investment worth Rs 1023 crore, including Rs 606 crore in the health and educational sectors in the state.
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Kerala to have metro rail
NEW DELHI: Kerala has submitted a proposal to introduce a metro rail between Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, 250 km away, and a study is under way, Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar said on Tuesday. Though metro services operate in cities, in Kerala there is hardly any difference between urban and rural areas because of the population density, he told reporters here after the Delhi Metro was flagged off here. "Where the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram end, those of Kochi begin," he said. Kumar said Bangalore would be the third Indian city after Kolkata and New Delhi to have a metro rail service, and that 90 percent of the work had been completed in the city. Hyderabad is also keen for a metro, he added.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
Kerala to create India's largest ITES initiative
New Delhi, Dec 22 Kerala is set to roll out a major initiative that will see the largest workforce being trained for IT-enabled services (ITES) in India. "The initiative will be launched in January that will enable Kerala to position itself as an ideal IT hub, taking advantage of fibre optic connectivity," Kerala IT secretary Aruna Sundararajan told here. "Kerala is one of the only two locations in India where both optic fibre submarine cables SEA-ME-WE-3 and SAT-3/WASC/SAFE converge, giving superb global connectivity," said Sundararajan. The Kerala State IT Mission is fine-tuning a programme to create around 9,000 multipurpose community information centres through private initiative. Known as Akshaya, this will see community information centres coming up within a two-km distance and serving around 600-700 families. Akshaya's pilot project will commence in Malappuram in northern Kerala and Thiruvananthapuram in January. The entire state will be covered by May 2004. All centres would Internet connections in order to form a robust network to guide and support people on e-governance initiatives, e-commerce and information dissemination. "One person from each family will be trained to enable them to use a computer for day-to-day communication and information needs, including downloading information from the Internet," said Roy Mathew, head of the technology services and business development of the IT mission. To ensure reliable services, Kerala is planning to set up a neutral carrier service and data processing centre in the commercial hub of Kochi. "The centre would provide an aggregate bandwidth of different carriers and make available the required bandwidth to companies," said Shiv Shankar, director of the Kerala State IT Mission. The project is being offered on a build-operate-transfer basis. In August, Kerala signed a memorandum of association with US DataPort, a Silicon Valley-based global IT infrastructure development major, to set up a world-class carrier neutral facility at the Kinfra Information Technology Park at Kakkanad, Kochi. US DataPort is to undertake modular development of a world class IT and ITES facility at Kochi to help companies in this field have access to high quality networking, computing and storage facilities. Work on a 1.2-million-square-feet IT park at the Kinfra export promotion park in Kakkanad has commenced. The first phase is to be completed by August 2003. Together with the community IT centres, Kerala is preparing a training module in collaboration with leading institutions to offer courses as part of the university curriculum. "This will enable universities to train and attract graduate aspirants to fill the need for trained manpower requirement for Kerala to tap the business process outsourcing (BPO) potential," contended Shankar. Kerala has the highest tele-density and penetration of optic fibre cable in the country. An alliance with the British Council is being proposed to help students acquaint themselves with the finer nuances of the English language. Said Sundararajan: "Focused training would be offered on various verticals like insurance, finance and retail among others. Additions will be made to the base training modules when required." Kerala has meanwhile entrusted international consultants Ernst and Young with preparing the master plan and funding pattern of the second phase of the Thiruvananthapuram Technopark.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
Kerala to get Rs 14.17 cr to build houses for slum-dwellers
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Urban Development Ministry has sanctioned Rs 14.17 crore for Kerala to construct houses for people living in slums in cities. The amount was sanctioned under Vatmiki Ambedkar Awaz Yojana for the current financial year, an official release here said. Though the state was eligible to get only Rs 6.83 crore under the scheme, more amount was allotted with the special efforts of the Union Minister of State for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation O Rajagopal, the release said.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
Crime magazine files suit against Sobhana George
KOZHIKODE: A weekly in Kerala has filed a defamation suit, seeking Rs 1 crore as compensation, against Congress MLA Sobhana George for her reported remarks involving the magazine in fabricating a controversial document in a recent hawala case. "The defamation has been filed before the Kochi I Class Judicial Magistrate seeking Rs 1 crore as compensation from Sobhana for involving the weekly in forging the intelligence document," Chief Editor of Crime T.P. Nandakumar told reporters here. Addressing reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on September 26, Sobhana reportedly said that the weekly, along with a Surya TV reporter, was behind fabricating the document against Kerala Tourism Minister K.V. Thomas. Although Crime sent a legal notice to her seeking public apology and withdrawal of the statement, Sobhana, did not respond to it Nandakumar said.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
Cyber crime institute to be started in Kerala
Cyber crime institute to be started in Kerala 22-December-2002 Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram, A national institute of cyber crime was proposed to be set up in the state Capital, Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau director Hormis Tharakan said here. Talking to newspersons here, he said the institute was proposed to be set up jointly by the National Police Academy, National Informatics Centre and the National Crime Records Bureau. He said the State Vigilance Bureau had submitted a proposal to the government for a Rs 30-crore modernisation programme to check corruption.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
NRK Cell devising plans to lure investments to Kerala
MUSCAT The Non-Resident Keralite (NRK) Cell, which was recently set up, is devising major plans to formulate programmes to bring capital and technology to Kerala, V. T. Saileswaran, who is in charge of the cell here, has told the Times of Oman. At present, entrepreneurs are shying away from investing in Kerala as it has been proven earlier that they would be left high and dry because of the political turmoil and the lackadaisical approach to foreign investors/investment, he said. Saileswaran had recently visited Kerala to apprise top ministers about the great need to protect investors. Among others, he met NRK Minister M.M. Hassan, where he presented a memorandum, impressing upon the need for changing the image of Kerala and protecting it as an environment friendly investment and tourism destination. The government cannot change the culture as politicians never speak their mind. But, it is high time this was changed. Today, the NRK is a formidable strength. Since we are all employed abroad, the sheer experience, the knowledge that we have gained is far better than what an educational institution or university can give. For me, Oman, and the whole of Gulf, has been my universities and I have gained great knowledge. What I am saying is that we can greatly improve the GDP of not just Kerala, but the whole of India. We must join hands and create a conducive environment back home, he said. Of course, Kerala needs investment in many areas. From the basic infrastructure like roads, electricity, to employment providing profitable business opportunities, we really need it all. Look, how many factories do we have? A Keralite graduate is forced to seek government employment or try his luck abroad. But, how long can this happen? The government cannot provide employment for long, and the prospects for the NRKs abroad is diminishing. What shall we do for our children and for our country? These are the areas that we want to tackle with the full support of all such bodies and our government. Saileswaran noted the great need to have better schools in Kerala. We need better hospitals; international training facilities for sports-oriented children and those with other talents. We can always have better banks. In short, the needs are many. But, the resources are spread elsewhere. I would like to jog the memory of all concerned about the advice from late Morarji Desai, who wanted all Indians to invest their gold and use that for the betterment of the country. It was a grand idea, but he couldn’t sell it. Why? Because, the government proposed it. If an independent, non-political body like ours promotes it, we can realise it. We cannot expect Kerala government to create employment and subsidise food. We need to come up with frameworks so as to solve issues and support each other. We pledge here that we will take up this cause. There seems to be no other way to save Kerala today, he said. Earlier, responding to a query as to why their cell was being called the ‘e’-pravasi, Saileswaran said: We believe that all good attempts are misunderstood at first and even criticised. Time will solve these apprehensions. Frankly, we don’t mind if we are called the ‘e’-pravasi. We are proud of our tradition, and it is a foregone conclusion that for the successful functioning of any idea or ideology, there must be a leading light. And we are blessed with one. As we have stated earlier, this is an NRK cell that crosses all caste, religious and party barriers. We are open to all and we are confident that we will be accepted by all when they realise that we mean what we say.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
Kerala Opposition Leader takes on his detractors
Kerala; Thiruvananthapuram, The Opposition Leader, V.S. Achuthanandan, has accused the UDF Government of surrendering the pride and autonomy of the State to the imperialist forces by consenting to abide by all the dictates of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In a statement here today, he predicted that the loan sanctioned by the ADB for Kerala and the conditions attached to it would be discussed everywhere in the days to come as one of the most notorious incursions on a Third World Government by the international lending agencies. Until very recently, the World Bank and its sister organisations had been adopting the strategy of using only the vulnerability of Third World Governments in the areas of budgetary deficits, interest rates and foreign exchange rates in squeezing them. Now these lending agencies were intent on taking over direct control of even the minute aspects of governance. ``The Antony Government has allowed the ADB to turn Kerala into a laboratory to test the effectiveness of the newly evolved strategy of the international lending agencies to bring the economy of Third World regions under their direct control by turning the Governments into their virtual slaves,'' Mr. Achuthanandan said. ``There was a time when the British Resident used to tell the rulers here how and how not to govern. The Antony Government has now allowed a new breed of Resident saabs to take over the State's administration. Mr. Antony is pledged to pay obeisance to these masters. But, only the dim-witted will believe that the future Governments too will be servile like Mr. Antony's,'' he said. Terming the UDF Government's submission to the ADB conditions as a betrayal of the people, Mr. Achuthanandan wanted to know whether Mr. Antony had the mandate to lower his position as the Chief Minister of the State to that of a mere "agent of imperialist forces''. For well over a month now, the Opposition has been demanding the convening of a special session of the State Assembly to discuss the issue of the ADB loan. But the Government did not relent, preferring instead to dismiss with derision the democratic rights of the Opposition and the people. Referring to the `scorn' with which several UDF leaders had reacted to his recent remark that the LDF, if voted to power, would review the conditions attached to the ADB loan, Mr. Achuthanandan said they were doing a very bad job of masking their guilt over mortgaging the State's pride by giggling meaninglessly with simulated derision. ``I think I have sent out the strong message that the ADB loan, its repayment and its conditions are not merely matters falling under the domain of Mr. Antony, UDF leaders and certain top officials. These are not their family matters for them to decide on their own. The issue concerns not only the future Governments, but also generations to come. My question is, whether Mr. Antony has placed the full facts before the people and the legislative Assembly before signing the agreement with the ADB,'' he said. ``The UDF leaders are trying to teach me that any deal entered into by this Government will be binding on all future Governments in the State. They should have, in the first place, taken this as a good reason to take the Opposition and the people into confidence before signing the agreement with the ADB. I cannot accept the disdain with which they expect the Opposition to agree to what they had done unilaterally,'' he said. He reminded the UDF leaders that there had been several instances of agreements signed by one Government being rejected by subsequent ones. The fate of the destructive agreement the Maharashtra Government had signed with Enron is but one example. The Government at the Centre too could change its character, he added.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
AP, Kerala win gold in Canoeing
AP, Kerala win gold in Canoeing Hyderabad, Dec. 21. : M Sanjit Singh clinched the gold for Andhra Pradesh in the 200m canoeing while Kerala men once again proved their mettle in the event winning the doubles in the 32nd National Games here today. Sanjit covered the distance in 41.25 secs to pick the yellow metal. Services Vagaram Bishnol (41.45 secs) won the silver while Rathi Kumar of Karnataka had to settle for bronze with a timing of 42.19. In the doubles event, Kerala pair of Baby Chacko and Manoj M P won the gold making it in 38.06 secs, while Punjab duo of Mahesan K and Anand Singh (38.53) got the silver. Services team of Ajit Kumar and Daleep Baniwal picked the bronze with a timing of 38.77 secs.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
Antony criticises Tenth Plan document
Antony criticises Tenth Plan document New Delhi, Dec 21 Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony today came down heavily on the Centre for ignoring the centralised planning, reducing reforms to mere disinvestment and shifting commitment from priority areas such as health, education and poverty reduction. A large number of plans are just continuation of old schemes with new names and most of them do not address the development problems in their complexity, he said while addressing the 50th meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) here. The Tenth Plan document is severely wanting in a passionate commitment to the priorty areas of health, education and poverty reduction, he said, adding the Plan document is replete with market oriented phraseology. In the last one year, there has not been any evidence of serious reform at the level of the Centre to reduce the fiscal problems or to improve governance or to address the core issues of development facing the country. Unfortunately, reforms have been taken in the narrow sense of disinvesting public sector units, he said. ''We are taken in only by the slogan of withdrawal of Government from certain areas while ignoring the critical fact that this withdarawl is justified on the ground of freeing resources and energies to concentrate on more important functions such as reduction of poverty and bringing about human development with social justice,'' he said. Mr Antony said the Centre is continuing to take up development projects in areas earmarked for states. The Centre should concern itself more with being a proactive facilitator rather than a direct doer of things with which it is not functionally related, he said. Complaining that local Governments have been given the short-drift in the Plan document, he said these local Governments especially Panchayats have been degraded to the level of community based organisations. District Committees and the Panchayat Raj instituitions do not figure in the document, he said.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
Kerala regrets direct Central intervention in state projects
NEW DELHI: Kerala on Saturday took exception to Centre's direct intervention in development projects in states and said Tenth Plan document had totally left out the role of decentralised planning. Moreover, the state also demanded reduction in interest rates on loans from Centre and lending institutions including Housing and Urban Development Corporation and the National Cooperative Development Corporation, in view of soft interest regime. "In spite of our strong pleas, the Central government is continuing to take up development programmes in the functional areas, which are earmarked for states and even for local bodies," Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony said here addressing National Development Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The Centre should concern itself more as a proactive facilitator rather than a direct doer of thing with which it was not functionally related. Maintaining that the Tenth Plan document had been "oblivious" of decentralised planning, Antony said, "Nowhere in the Plan document does district planning committee figure. In no sector is there any clarity about the role of three-tier Panchayati Raj institutions; there are only general statements." On the need for re-aligning interest rates, he said the interest rate of 11.5 per cent on the loan component of the central assistance should be "substantially" reduced.
Sunday, December 22, 2002
Hudco sanctions Rs 100 crore to KSRTC
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hudco has sanctioned Rs 100 crore loan to Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to augment its bus fleet. A decision to this effect was taken at Hudco board of directors meeting at New Delhi , an official release said here on Saturday. KSRTC to purchase 550 buses and 350 mini-buses. The purchase of buses would start from January at the rate of 75 buses per month. KSRTC would repay the loan within four years by making a payment of Rs 1000 per bus every day. Buses would be purchased from Ashok Leyland and Tata Engineering, the release added.
Saturday, December 21, 2002
CHATHURANGAM
The main picture currently running with three shows daily is CHATURANGAM an action packed film that features Mohanlal in the lead. But the exhibitor displayed a large Dileep starred poster KUNHIKKOONAN still on the vantage point. KUNHIKKOONAN is listed for the noon show only. CHATHURANGAM poster was up in the front. A five feet cut out Mohanlal was hiding behind a tall tree in the theatre compound. Signs! Signs of a transformation. Time takes its toll ruthlessly. No Mohanlal film was released with out police closely watching the huge gatherings of box office queues earlier. Now tickets were available on a phone call. CHATHURANGAM had been released towards the end of holy month in the Islamic calendar. They expected a good turn out. People accepted it alright but the enthusiasm for a Mohanlal film was a thing of past. Surely the magic of Mohanlal was there in the film. His is a Superb and fine performer. His dialogue presentation in the Kottayam slang was scoring. But it was a null and insignificant role. A name does not give you every thing. Jimmy Aattiprakkal was not refreshing at all. The conflict within the man, the drama, the dialogues all were missing in Jimmy Attiprakkal. Jimmy was bit hurry on the storyboard. It was fast enough but there was no pace. It is a story of a young man with muscles, turning soft at the end, who churned fire in local politics for quite some time. Mr Kora, a scheming political leader draws Jimmy to the power politics. He was only a wrestler. He has been shown all the ways of practical politics like the moves on a chessboard. Jimmy is subjected to his unscrupulous ways in carrying out the agendas (of the leader). He dares the Superintendent of police who is a determined lady herself. He even kidnapped the home minister! He practically runs the town and creates its interests. But Jimmy always had shown certain directness in dealing with others. That was his strength. The group rivalry in the party changes its colors and Jimmy is pushed to the brink. The back stabbings follow. Jimmy is made a victim. He loses everything. He realizes his aberrations. He starts the final fight to recapture his lost reputation. This is the gist of 'CHATHURANGAM' directed by K Madhu. Madhu is one director who cut a clear path for the kind of political action films in the eighties. It seems he is nailing the coffin of that genre himself with this film. The performance of the actor could not help lift the wrestler Jimmy to the heights of a fine character he was really intended to. The disorderly duel in the wrestling square is reflected in the conceiving of the entire film. What was it? Wrestling or street fight? It was neither the WWF style nor our traditional wrestling. Whatever you call it by, it did not entertain the viewers. Nagma the actress who captivated a whole generation of filmgoers in the south till recent times, had left no charm whatsoever for the viewers in this film. Her lips and eyebrows twisted while talking prompted to one look away. Her role of superintendent of police in this film felt like an undecided IPS officer in front of Jimmy often. She was miserable in the uniform and we wondered why she has been cast at all in this role! The opening song was well received by the audience applauding along with it for the entire length. One thought the film is going to be a good crowd puller. The feeling lasted only for a short period. It took the viewers along the beaten path and their interest declined soon. Jagathy was the lone actor who created interest in the audience once they have lost the interest in the film. The fact that Jagathy was introduced first at the fourth minute clearly shows the value he holds in the Malayalam film scene today. Lalu Alex was the other artist who made the viewers wait for the last scenes. The execution of the scenes was just ordinary and no innovations were found any where in the footage that is necessary for a political action film. The dialogues were flat. This is a genre of films that carried the Malayalam cinema forward for almost a decade and half, and one sees the end of it. Could this be the last of a series of films that Mohanlal made legendary?
Saturday, December 21, 2002
Thilakkam
Jayaraj attempts humor Ottappalam has become a second house for Dileep, Kavya Madhavan and cameraman Azhzkappan for they were continuously shooting in that location. Dileep could not attend the wedding of Samyuktha Varma and Biju Menon. He did not attend either the wedding of Poornima Mohan and Indrajith. He was busy. He sent Manju Warrier as his envoy. Manju who never goes out without Dileep attended both the marriages. After completing work in 'KALAYANA RAMAN' and a guest role in 'MIZHI RANDILUM' Dileep has joined 'THILAKKAM'. The shooting of 'MIZHI RANDILUM' was at Ottappalam. When Ranjith finished shooting Jayaraj arrived with his unit for shooting his 'THILAKKAM'. Dileep spent almost a month in Ottappalam shuttling between the location and Alwaye, his hometown, in weekends. Another important person who is camping in Ottappalam for the last three months is Cinematographer Azhakzppan. He did camera work for 'MIZHI RANDILUM' and now is working for 'THILAKKAM'. Kavya Madhavan was also in Ottappalam for long. She did a double role as Bhadra and Bhama, the twin sisters in 'MIZHI RANDILUM'. Dileep did a double role in KUNHIKKOONAN and Kavya his heroine in the super hit MEESA MADHAVAN followed suit. When Ranjith finished his film Kavya shifted to the sets of THILAKKAM. Jayaraj is tells a story of a village not changed a bit from its olden days in 'THILAKKAM'. With age-old village shops and country roads and raw characters the story takes off with humor and small rivalries. Jayaraj has deviated from his 'KARUNAM', 'SANTHAM' kind of films this time to a commercial venture with Dileep in the lead. He badly wants to get back to the commercial circuit. "This was planned a couple of years ago.' Jayaraj informs. It is not the star value of dileep that he now decided to cast him. He had thought about casting Dileep as early as 2000 at the time of planning the project. Dileep became a hot property only after the success of MEESA MADHAVAN. But Jayaraj did not get the dates of Dileep for he was committed to a number of small time producers then. He was just coming up and Mohanlal and Mammootty were not available to small budget filmmakers. Any way Jayaraj did get Dileep at the right time. The part of Dileep is not revealed by any in the set. Once the story is discussed it was hijacked and turned into a quickie by smart directors and scriptwriters. So everybody makes it a point not to disclose it till the end of shooting schedule. One can see Dileep in a Bermuda and loitering around the sets. He plays the robinhood of the village. Harisree Asokan and Cochin Haneefa are the other actors present in the location for the shooting. Haneefa wants to rush back to Silent valley from where he came. The shooting of VELLITHIRA by Bhadran is continuing there. Cochin Haneefa has an important role in VELLITHIRA. Haneefa is playing a role of local thug in THILAKKAM. He has done |
