Page 10 - Kerala Govt

Happy Kerala Piravi 2023: History, importance, celebration and more

Kerala Day or Kerala Piravi, also called Kerala Formation Day, is a significant annual occasion to celebrate the unification of Malayalam-speaking areas to form 'Kerala'

Deve Gowda's comment about Kerala's LDF-BJP coalition stirs state politics

A political row has erupted in Kerala over a statement by JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda a day ago that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had greenlit his party's alliance with the BJP in Karnataka to protect its interests. Kerala JD(S) leader, K Krishnankutty on Friday, firmly refuted Gowda's statement. Opposing the national leadership's association with the BJP, Krishnankutty also emphasised the state unit's commitment to maintaining its alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF). "I met him (Deve Gowda) along with our state president, Mathew T Thomas, MLA, and informed him about our objection in joining the BJP. The state party unit stands by the earlier decision to stand firm with the Left party in Kerala," Krishnankutty, who is also a minister in the LDF government in Kerala, said. The opposition Congress alleged that the JD(S) revelation had established an undercurrent between the ruling CPI(M) and the BJP in Kerala. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala today

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan flags-in first ever ship into Vizhinjam port

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday flagged-in the first ever ship at the Rs 7,700 crore deep-water international Vizhinjam port here. Vijayan, joined by Leader of Opposition in the assembly V D Satheesan, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and various state ministers, waved a green flag signalling the tugboats to push the huge Chinese ship -- Zhen Hua 15 -- from the wharf to the docking yard. The tugboats pushing the vessel, which carries huge ship-to-shore and yard cranes, also gave it a water salute. As the vessel touched the dock, firecrackers were burst and balloons released to welcome it. Hundreds of people, across all age groups, arrived at the port area to see the ship arrive at the dock. Zhen Hua 15 -- which began its journey from China at the end of August, was scheduled to dock at Vizhinjam on October 4, but its journey got delayed due to bad weather conditions along its route. On reaching Indian coastal wate

First ship berths carrying cranes from China arrive at Vizhinjam port

The first ship that arrived at Vizhinjam port here carrying cranes from China was given a water salute by the tug boats which pulled the vessel into the Rs 7,700 crore deep-water international port on Thursday, official sources said. The mammoth container handling cranes onboard the vessel would be transferred to the port on Sunday, October 15, in an official event that would be attended by Union Minister for Ports Sarbananda Sonowal and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the sources said. The vessel -- Zhen Hua 15 -- which began its journey from China at the end of August was scheduled to dock at Vizhinjam on October 4, but its journey got delayed due to bad weather conditions along its route. On reaching Indian coastal waters, it first went to Mundra port in Gujarat to offload some cranes there and then proceeded towards Vizhinjam, the sources said. It docked at Vizhinjam port at around 11.20 am, they said. The Kerala government last month had said that three more ships wou

Kerala govt urges CERC to reinstate cancelled contracts in power sector

In a bid to meet the electricity requirements of Kerala, the state government on Wednesday decided to urge the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to reinstate contracts in the power sector that it previously denied permission to. The decision was taken at a state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The state government said it would give this direction to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission under Section 108 of the Electricity Act. State Power Minister K Krishnankutty said that the key regulator is legally bound to follow the direction of the state government. "If the direction is being given invoking Section 108 of the Electricity Act, then they are legally bound to accept the direction. We also have the provision for an appeal," Krishnankutty told PTI. In a statement, the CMO said the decision was taken considering public interest and to ensure that the state would not experience a power crisis. Meanwhile, the Kerala State Electricity Bo

Kerala govt announces cash rewards for 2018 Asian Games medalists

The Kerala government on Wednesday announced Rs 10 lakh cash incentive for state athlete Anu R, who was recently declared to have won a bronze medal in the 18th Asian Games held in Jakarta in 2018. Anu received the bronze medal in the hurdles after a Bahraini athlete, who had earlier won the medal, was banned after failing the dope test, a CMO statement said here. The Kerala government had announced Rs 20 lakh cash award for the gold medal winners, Rs 15 lakh for silver and Rs 10 lakh for bronze medalists during the 2018 Asian Games. Similarly, Muhammad Anas, who was declared as the winner of the gold medal by the organisers in the mixed relay competition in the same event, would also be given the remaining amount of Rs five lakh, it said. Anas's silver medal turned into gold as the person who had earlier come in first place was banned after finding out he used drugs, the statement added.

Despite recent heavy rains Kerala still deficient in monsoon rainfall: IMD

Despite heavy rains lashing several parts of Kerala in the last few days, the state is still deficient in monsoon rainfall, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. Kerala received 34 per cent deficient rainfall during the south-west monsoon this year while the country as a whole got six per cent deficit rains. As the south-west monsoon is now in the withdrawal phase, the rains are expected to reduce from Wednesday, October 4, onwards, IMD sources said. The heavy rains which lashed many parts of Kerala on Tuesday were due to the low pressure system over Jharkhand, they said and added that the withdrawal of the monsoon was complete in three to four states of north-west India. "The conditions are favourable for the withdrawal of the south-west monsoons. The rains will reduce from tomorrow," K Santhosh, director of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Trivandrum told PTI. He said Lakshadweep received a 15 per cent deficit rainfall but that is considered normal. "Upto 19 pe

'Early detection, effective treatment helped control Nipah mortality rate'

Kerala Health Minister Veena George has said that the effective and timely intervention of the state health system brought down the Nipah fatality rate to 33 per cent in its fourth outbreak. She made the statement in the wake of all four Nipah-infected persons recovering from the zoonotic illness. The government on Friday announced that a nine-year-old boy, who was among those under treatment for Nipah in Kozhikode, had recovered. The virus strain seen in Kerala was the Bangladesh variant, which generally has a high mortality rate, George said in a Facebook post on Friday night. This variant can cause death among 70-90 per cent of the infected people. "However, we have lost the lives of two out of the total six affected persons in Kozhikode, which means we have a relatively low death rate of 33.3 per cent," the minister said. The relatively early identification of patients and treatment using antiviral drugs may be the reasons for the low mortality rate, she said. Another signifi

Kerala CM protecting culprits behind Karuvannur bank scam: Cong-led UDF

A day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that the state government had taken action against those involved in the Karuvannur bank scam case, the Congress-led UDF opposition on Thursday reiterated its allegation that he was protecting the culprits behind the fraud. Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the assembly V D Satheesan alleged that the chief minister was defending and protecting those who looted over Rs 500 crore from cooperative banks in Thrissur. Vijayan on Wednesday had said that if one bad grain was found in a bowl of rice, the entire bowl cannot be thrown away. In response to this, Satheesan contended that the chief minister needs to realise that the entire bowl was full of bad grains. The LoP further contended that the stand taken by Vijayan amounts to discrediting the cooperative sector in the state and turning a blind eye to the suffering of the investors. He said that even the opposition does not want the cooperative sector to be harmed and urged the ..

Bribery charges steam against Kerala's health min, Cong calls it 'shocking'

Allegations of bribery have cropped up against a personal staff of Kerala Health Minister Veena George following which the opposition Congress demanded a probe into it. Haridasan, a resident of Malappuram district on Wednesday, alleged that a personal staff member of the minister accepted Rs 1 lakh as bribe for the appointment of his daughter-in-law as a government medical officer. He alleged that a middleman approached him, saying such appointments were being made through the minister's office, and asked him to pay a huge amount as bribe in instalments. A former office secretary of CITU, the trade union wing of the CPI(M), in Pathanamthitta, who allegedly acted as a middleman, also accepted a bribe for the said appointment, he claimed and added his daughter-in-law, however, didn't get the job. Haridasan also released through the media some purported evidence of money transactions between him and the minister's personal staff member. Later in the day, he said officers of the speci

Kerala's left govt starts regional review meetings to assess performance

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet colleagues started their state-wide regional review meeting here on Tuesday in order to assess the public mood and review the performance of the state government. Vijayan chaired the south regional review meeting that would discuss various programmes of the government and would also seek the opinion of the public regarding the implementation of the same, official sources said here. The South regional review meeting includes the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta. All senior officials of government departments, apart from district collectors from the three districts and ministers from these districts were present at the review meeting. NGOs and prominent social workers were also invited to the meeting. The media was not allowed to cover the details of the review meeting. After the meeting of government department officials, a review meeting with senior police officials of these districts will be held i

Kerala to conduct seroprevalence survey on Nipah outbreaks in Kozhikode

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the state will conduct a seroprevalence study on the Nipah virus being repeatedly found in Kozhikode district

Nipah virus update: No positive cases since Sept 16, says Kerala govt

The total number of Nipah infections confirmed in the state is six, of which two persons have died, and four persons are being treated

Centre, ICMR in talks with Serum Institute of India over Nipah antibody

Kerala has so far confirmed a total of six cases of Nipah infection since the latest outbreak in the Kozhikode district

Amid Nipah outbreak, Kerala govt launches OPD under telemedicine system

In the wake of the Nipah outbreak in this north Kerala district, the state government has launched an OPD service under its e-Sanjeevini telemedicine system. The launch of the special out patient department (OPD) service in connection with Nipah was highlighted by Kozhikode District Collector (DC) A Geetha. In a Facebook post, the DC said the new service would help address doubts related to Nipah and those showing symptoms of infection can seek medical assistance without having to go to a doctor. Geetha said that the e-Sanjeevani Nipah OPD service will be available from 8 am to 5 pm. E-Sanjeevani platform is a system where you can seek treatment from the comfort of your home without visiting the hospital. Apart from the regular OP, the services of specialist doctors are also assured every day, the DC's post said. The Collector, in another post, said that while caution has to be exercised, there was no need to fear bats or attack them. She cited reports of attacks on bats in the

Nipah virus: Kerala announces number of measures to prevent contagion

Nipah virus: Two people have died in Kerala due to the virus and two others are undergoing treatment in a private hospital after testing positive

Kerala on alert after 2 suspected Nipah deaths in Kozhikode district

The state experienced its first outbreak in June 2018 in the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, claiming 17 lives

Bypolls: BJP wins 3 seats, Oppn parties get four with SP retaining Ghosi

Dealing a crushing blow to Kerala's ruling LDF, Congress candidate Chandy Oommen on Friday retained for the party-led UDF, the Puthuppally assembly seat, which his father and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy held for over half-a-century. Chandy Oommen trounced his main rival Jaick C Thomas of CPI(M) by a huge and historic margin in the bypoll. The 37-year-old Oommen defeated Thomas by a margin of 37,719 votes in the bypoll battle that saw a nearly month-long vigorous campaigning by leaders of the Congress, CPI(M), and BJP for their respective party candidates. While Oommen gathered 80,144 votes, Thomas could get only 42,425 votes. Though the BJP leadership exuded confidence of a good show in the politically significant bypoll, the saffron party could not feature prominently in the contest. BJP candidate Lijin Lal finished a distant third, falling behind the LDF contestant by gathering a total of 6,558 votes. Analysts agreed that the outcome was on expected lines, with the sympa

Kerala govt releases additional books to include portions deleted by NCERT

The chief minister said that in class 11 and 12, 12 subjects with 44 textbooks are from NCERT. Naturally, students of 11 and 12 are getting textbooks prepared by NCERT with vested interests

ED raid at my house pre-planned: Kerala's Moideen on bank fraud case

: Senior CPI (M) leader A C Moideen MLA on Wednesday termed the raid carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at his residence here as "pre-planned," and said he would co-operate with any investigation. The central agency conducted a 22-hour-long search at his house in connection with the money laundering probe linked to an alleged Rs 100 crore fraud in the party-controlled Karuvannur cooperative bank here. The search began on Tuesday morning, and continued till early today. The ED sleuths left at 5.15 am. Addressing the media, the former minister of Cooperation and Industries said the investigators verified his bank account details and that of his family members besides checking other property documents kept at the residence. "The ED officials searched the entire premises. My bank account details, as well as those of my wife and daughter, were examined. The property documents kept at the house were also examined," he said. He said he was told by the investigators that one