March 28, 2012 Thiruvananthapuram:
The state government has decided to appoint Additional Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar as the new Chief Secretary of the State.
The post would be left vacant following retirement of present Chief Secretary Dr. P. Prabhakaran on March 31. This was informed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy during the cabinet briefing session here on Wednesday.

Many from different walks of life paid homage to the leader. Union Minister Vayalar Ravi and former minister Kadannapally Ramachandran were among those paid homage early Friday.

C.K CHANDRAPPAN is born in 1936, he also acted as chairman of KTDC and vice chairman of Kerafed. His last rites would be held at Alappuzha Valiya Chudukadu crematorium on Friday at 6 pm. He was a member of the Lok Sabha representing the Thrissur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Kerala from 1977 to 1980 and from 2004 to 2010. Chandrappan served as Member of the Legislative Assembly of Kerala from 1991 to 1996 representing the Chertala Assembly Constituency.


His father, C.K. Kumara Panikker, was a famous leader of CPI and was known as Vayalar Stalin. Chandrappan is married to Bulu Roy Chodhary, a political activist from West Bengal.He was adjudged the top performer by the National Social Watch, an NGO. However he could not be re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha. C K Chandrappan is currently the national president of KISAN SABHA.

March 22, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran CPI leader CK Chandrappan (75) passed away at Thiruvananthapuram KIMS hospital. He was suffering from bone cancer and was undergoing treatment for the same. He was admitted at the hospital on Monday when his condition worsened. Mr Chandrappan was shifted to the intensive care unit on Wednesday night after his condition deteriorated, sources said.

March 19, 2012

Presenting the tenth budget in the assembly, Finance Minister K M Mani said Rs 150 crores has been granted for Kochi Metro Rail Project. Rs 20 crores has been granted for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode Mono Rails, said Mani while presenting the state budget.
highlights

New airports in Idukki, Wayanad 

• 45 crores for Green House project in panchayats
•  224 crores for Vizhinjam project 
• Hi Tech agriculture methods proposed
• Two rice bio parks to be installed in Kuttanad and Palakkad
• 25 crores for Rapid Force Project in Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam
• 50 crores for Fast Track Rail Corridor 

The agriculture sector in the state is looking forward to the state budget to be presented in the state assembly by Finance Minister K.M. Manai Monday.

The sector is expecting many constructive proposals in the budget.

The budget is expected to give many incentives to high-tech farming which uses hight tech devices.

The budget may have proposals that could revolutionise the agriculture sector in the state. The farmers who try out such techniques tested by farmers in Punjab and Haryana may get a subsidy up to 50 per cent.

The aim will be to attract the youth to the agri sector.

Kerala budget 2012

March 17, 2012:
More than 55 per cent of the 1,83,490 voters had exercised their franchise during polling in the Piravom constituency today.
In almost all the 134 polling booths in the constituency in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, brisk voting was reported with polling percentage touching 9.4 per cent within an hour of commencement of the exercise at 7 AM.
LDF candidate M.J. Jacob, who was among the early voters, said he had to wait for nearly an hour at one of the booths to exercise his franchise. He said he was confident of winning with a vast majority considering the huge turnout.
Anoop Jacob is the UDF candidate while the BJP candidate is K.R. Rajagoapal. Women were among the early voters in the constituency with a 1.83 lakh electorate.
Government has declared a public holiday for all Government, quasi-Government and educational institutions in the constituency in view of the polling. Both LDF and UDF had launched a spirited campaign to woo the voters.

The railway budget presented was disappointing for Kerala. There is nothing for the state to be happy. The maiden rail budget presented by Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi has hiked rail fares in order to save the railways fallen into financial crisis.

The state has obtained only two new trains and memu services. The new trains allotted for the state are Bangalore-Kochu Veli daily service and Kochu Veli-Yashwantput weekly services.

Ernakulam-Thrissur, Palakkad-Coimbatore-Erode are the two new memu trains announced in the budget. Chennai-Shornur-Mangalore Express will run daily. Nizamuddin-Kanyakumari Express will run twice in a week. The Mangalore-Palakkad Express has been extended to Coimbatore.

Paravoor in Kollam will be elevated as model station. Five new Adarsh Stations have been granted for the state. A survey will conducted on Kollangode-Thrissur, Balaramapuram-Vizhinjam, Angadippuram-Ottappalam and Chengannur-Thiruvananthapuram rail lines. Permission has been granted for Sabarimala-Chengannur, Kanhangad-Panathur railway lines.

An announcement was made to establish a 72 megawatt windmill plant. The wagon factory in Cherthala will be executed with private participation. A survey will be conducted for new coach terminals in Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam. This was announced in the earlier budget also. Discussions on Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod fast track rail lines will continue. The Palakkad coach factor will be completed with the cooperation of the state government

Cooking Method:
Grind the rice, toor dhal, black pepper and cumin seeds into a course mixture. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the seeds pop add toor dhal, chana dhal and urad dhal. When they turn golden brown, add three cups of water.
When it boils add the salt, asafoetida and curry leaves. To this, add the ground mixture of rice, cumin seeds and black pepper. Stir it continuously until the mixture thickens and the rice is cooked. Close the mixture with a lid on low heat. If using a pressure cooker, allow the mixture to cook until the first whistle.

No wonder, this year too St.Mary’s School, Pattom,Thiruvananthapuram will be on top by making 1478 students to appear the SSLC examination which is scheduled to commence by March 12th. Last year, the number of students appeared in SSLC from this school was 1400 and is expected  1700 students next year,says Rev.Dr.Varkey A.V, the Principal.

Monday, March 12, 2012
4,70,100 students will be appearing for this year’s  Secondary School Leaving Certificate examinations throughout Kerala which will begin today.
 which will conclude on March 26.

Introduction                                    

International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for lokking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.


In 1975, during International Women’s Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Women;s Day on 8 March. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions.


In adopting its resolution, the General Assembly recognized the role of women in peace efforts and development and urged an end to discrimination and an increase of support for women’s full and equal participation.


History                                                             


International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.


1909: The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States on 28 February. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honour of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions.

It is another Interna-tional Women's Day and Nigerian women joined their counter-parts all over the world to celebrate the 2012 Women's Day with theme, Empower Women-End hunger and poverty.

Many women can change everything

March 05, 2012:
Trivandrum: CPM led LDF opposition on Monday staged a walkout in the Assembly protesting against Speaker G Karthikeyan’s refusal to entertain an adjournment motion in connection Italian ship firing case on February 15.
The adjournment motion was moved by Opposition MLA-P.K Gurudasan. As a reply to the adjournment motion, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy informed that the necessary measures taken by the government in connection with the incident are satisfactory.
The government was doing everything possible, Chandy said. CM further added that 10 more police stations would be built to ensure security of fishermen along its coastal belt in the wake of the recent killing of two Indian fishermen off the Kollam coast.
Two fishermen, Ajesh Binki, 25, and Gelastine, 45, were allegedly mistaken as pirates and shot dead by the crew of the Italian cargo vessel, about 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha.

Mar 5, 2012
A mild tremor, which measured 2.1 on Richter scale, occurred in Idukki last night, where the Mullaperiyar dam is located. The tremor was witnessed in Uluppuni seven kilometres away from the Mullaperiyar dam. In the last ten months, as many as 33 quakes had been reported in Idukki.

New Delhi: Drunken driving, jumping red light, over speeding and use of mobile phones behind the wheels among other traffic offences will carry stiffer fine and jail term under new rules approved by the Union Cabinet on Thursday.

	Amendment: stricter rules Driving under the influence of alcohol — Fines ranging from Rs2,000 to Rs10,000 Driving under the influence of narcotic — The first offence will lead to six months in jail or a fine of Rs2,000 or both. A subsequent offence will lead to two years in jail or a fine of Rs5,000 or both.

For drivers found heavily drunk with alcohol levels of over 150 mg per 100 ml of blood, the penalty will be two years imprisonment and/or Rs 5,000 as against existing fine of Rs 2,000 and/or imprisonment for upto six months for those with alcohol level exceeding 30 mg per 100 ml of blood.
The increase in penalties is upto five times for the traffic violations under the proposed amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act likely to be introduced in the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament.

In a bid to tighten the noose around habitual traffic offenders, the Cabinet cleared the manifold increase in penalties by approving the changes to be incorporated in the amendment which also envisages substantial hike in compensation to accident victims.

Dangerous driving, non-use of seat belts as well as driving without helmets for two-wheelers will also attract higher punishment.

Besides increasing the fine for using mobile phones while driving to Rs 500 for first offence and Rs 2,000-5,000 for subsequent instances, it is also proposed to provide clear definition of such instruments.

"Mobile phone is any application which can receive and transmit voice, text and picture...," as per the proposal.

It means that not only talking on phone but sending text messages and using hands free instruments for using mobile phone would be considered an offence.

"The Union Cabinet has approved the amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act for harsher punishments for offences like drunken driving and violation of traffic rules and also increased compensation in accident cases," an official said.

He said the amendments are proposed mainly to deal with offenders who violate traffic rules repeatedly.

"The amendment will act as a deterrent," Delhi Police's Joint Commissioner(Traffic) Satyendra Garg said.

Under one of the proposed amendments, the government has cleared four-fold increase in compensation to Rs 1 lakh in fatal accidents, and Rs 50,000 for grievous hurt in hit and run cases.

Two pickup trucks collided and one carrying six workers caught fire at around 4pm," P.M. Jabir, Welfare Secretary with the Indian Social Club, told Gulf News.

Bodies were kept at Bahla hospital and Nizwa hospital.

"All the deceased worked for a construction company and were travelling in a twin-cabin pick up to go to their work site," he said.

The dead Keralites were identified as Anil Kumar (38), Vishnu Bhargavan Villappil (38), Prasad Balakrishna Pillai (39), Sujikrishnan (29) and Johnson (35). All of them hail from Thiruvananthapuram district.

The Omani company that employed these Indians from Kerala has initiated procedures to repatriate the bodies.

"We will provide whatever help the company may need in completing formalities," the ISC Welfare Secretary said.

March 4, 2012
Kochi: A cargo vessel, M V Prabhu Daya, will arrive at Chennai Monday morning for authorities to carry out examinations on whether it was involved in the collusion.

The ship owned by Tolani Shipping Company in Mumbai, has been identified as the ship involved in the ship-boat collision off Cherthala coast Thursday, killing two fishermen according to reports.

The ship is now anchored in the high seas off Chennai coast for further investigation. The mishap occurred when the ship was on its way to Singapore from Goa. The owner has been directed to sail it back to Kochi and is expected to reach here by Saturday afternoon.

Police on Saturday denied permission for an Italian team led by Deputy Foreign Minister Steffan de Mistura to visit the family members of one of the two fishermen shot dead allegedly by marines of an Italian merchant off the coast in Kollam.

According to police sources, the Italian team was dissuaded from visiting the victim's house on security grounds.

The victim's kin also did not show keen interest to meet the Italians, sources close to the family said.

Mistura and other members of the team, however, visited the two marines, Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, who were kept at the Police club here after the extension of their police custody by the local court on Thursday.

The Italian team, which made a surprise visit to the hometown of the Valentine Jelastine, one of the two deceased fishermen, first interacted with a local Catholic priest who was conversant in Italian. According to sources, the Italians sought to know the local people's reaction to the incident.

Asked what was the purpose of the visit, Mistura said he was sad that two fishermen were killed but declined to go into details of the case.

Meanwhile, Rs two lakh collected by pro-Congress Fish workers union was deposited in the name of Jelastine's sons. Union Minister of state for Food and Civil Supplies KV Thomas presented the documents of the deposit to the family.

The fishermen, Jelastine and Ajesh Binki, were shot dead allegedly by the two Italian marine guards off the Kollam coast on February 15.

Mar 4, 2012
Ship-boat collision
KOCHI: Naval divers Sunday recovered the body of one of the three fishermen who went missing after their boat was hit by a merchant vessel of Alappuzha coast.

The body recovered is that of Santhosh Stephen (33) of Kannanalloor.

Two fishermen-- Xavier (43) and Justin (41) had been killed in the incident.

The body of Stephen, which was found inside the sunken boat, has been handed over to local fishermen, naval sources said here.
 
Search is going on to locate two other bodies of Cleitus (37) and Justin’s brother in law Bernard Babychan (45).
Deep sea clearance divers had found the wreckage of the fishing boat 'Don-I' last night.

A 10-member navy clearance diving team from Southern Naval Command here reached the location and found the wreckage at the bottom of the sea at 47 metres. The boat's cabin were found damaged and fuel leakage seen at the site.

The collision in the wee hours of March 1 had shocked the fishing community of Neendakara in Kollam as it happened within two weeks after two fishermen were shot dead allegedly by marines onboard Italian merchant ship Enrica Lexie.

Two more fishermen was killed when a ship struck in their boat.Two of them killed and one has been hospitalized

However the Election Commission has decided to install CCTV cameras in these sensitive polling booths. The police have also asked the Election commission to tighten the security in these sensitive booths.
The by-poll was necessitated by the death of Kerala Congress (J) leader T.M. Jacob.
Death of Jacob in October had further eroded the elected strength of the UDF in the assembly to 71 including the Speaker against 68 seats held by the CPI(M)-led LDF opposition.
While the UDF has chosen Jaocob’s son Anoop Jacob as its nominee, LDF has decided to fielded M J Jacob, who narrowly lost to T M Jacob in 2011 general elections.
M J Jacob had won the seat in 2006 assembly polls, defeating T M Jacob.