Page 14 - Kerala

ASHA workers intensify agitation in Kerala laying siege to Secretariat

Hundreds of ASHA workers, who have been staging a protest for over a month pressing various demands, on Monday intensified their agitation by laying a siege to the state's Secretariat here. A section of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers has been protesting here for the last 36 days seeking post-retirement benefits and a hike in their honorarium. As they are yet to get any assurance from the authorities on their demands, the agitators today laid a siege to the Secretariat by blocking its various gates, in the heart of the city. After gathering at the protest venue, they moved towards the state's administrative hub, squatted on the road and raised slogans. Police placed barricades on the premises to block the protesters. Security was intensified in and around the Secretariat and over 800 police personnel were deployed to prevent the protesters from entering Secretariat. Police said the agitation didn't create any hurdle to the normal functioning of the Secretariat.

Kerala CSR scam: 1,343 cases registered, 6 persons nabbed, says CM Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that scamsters collected Rs 281.43 crore from 48,386 people by promising scooters at half the price using CSR funds, but gave vehicles only to 16,348 people as per 386 cases registered into the CSR fund scam in which investigation began. Responding to a query raised by CPI(M) MLA Murali Perunelly on the status of probe into the CSR scam, Vijayan told Assembly that the police have registered 1,343 cases related to the scam till March 12. Of these, 665 cases have been handed over to the Superintendent of Crime Branch, Ernakulam, leading the special investigation team under the supervision of ADGP (Crimes), CM said. The CM was referring to the case where thousands of people were allegedly cheated by falsely promising two-wheelers and laptops at half price using CSR funds. The Chief Minister added that several crucial documents were seized from the prime accused, whose bank accounts have been frozen. The police have arrested six ..

Kerala's central tax share has halved from 10th to 15th FC: Vijayan

He tells that the Centre has double standards in dealing with borrowings of certain agencies in the state and those at the Centre as sovereign debt

Drug menace: Congress demands disbanding of SFI, targets Pinarayi Vijayan

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday alleged that SFI is mainly responsible for the widespread drug distribution and consumption in colleges and hostels in Kerala and CM Vijayan is "encouraging" them. He also demanded the disbanding of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the student organisation of ruling CPI(M). The Congress's sharp reaction came in the wake of police seizing two kilograms of ganja from the men's hostel of a Government Polytechnic College in Kalamassery in Kochi on Thursday night and arresting two students. CPI(M) strongly rejected the charges saying that there is an agenda to eliminate SFI. The incident triggered a blame game among student outfit leaders, including those from the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and the SFI, over the alleged involvement of their activists in the crime. The Congress leadership has been alleging that SFI leaders were involved in the ganja seizure case and the left outfit is playing a key role in the spread of drug

Who is Alexsej Besciokov, Lithuanian crypto kingpin arrested in Kerala?

Alexsej Besciokov faces multiple charges, including money laundering, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business

Meningitis sparks alarm: 5 cases reported in Kerala, 26 dead in Nigeria

Over the course of several weeks, Nigerians confirmed the deaths of at least 26 due to outbreak of meningitis. In Kerala, India, around 5 people have shown signs of the illness

Preserving paddy fields needed for food security, groundwater: Kerala govt

The Kerala government on Wednesday said it intends to protect and preserve the existing paddy lands in the state at any cost and will not allow them to be converted for other purposes. The announcement was made in the state assembly by Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad in response to a query during question hour on whether the government intends to preserve existing paddy fields. The minister stressed the need to preserve the existing paddy fields from the perspective of ensuring food security and recharge the groundwater table. According to Prasad, one acre of paddy land collects around five crore litres of water underground in a year and therefore, it was important to preserve them from the angle of water resources. The minister opined that just like forest reserves, "there should be paddy reserves". However, we cannot tell a farmer that his agricultural land is being declared a reserve paddy field, he added. "That is why we enacted the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and

Kerala Governor backs CM Vijayan in presenting state's demands to Centre

The Governor further emphasised that everyone should work together to achieve their goals 'without politicising' the issues

Kerala has emerged as most investment-friendly state in country: CM Vijayan

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has highlighted the ruling CPI(M)'s policies on attracting investments, saying the party's vision has made Kerala the most investment-friendly state in the country. Speaking at a public meeting as part of the four-day CPI(M) state conference on Sunday, Vijayan emphasised the need for resource mobilisation to drive Kerala's progress. "Some are spreading propaganda that the CPI(M) is planning something detrimental to the state," he said. Clarifying the party's stance, he said, "We welcome any capital that does not harm the interests of the country. However, we will not accept investments with conditions that are harmful to our interests. Kerala should attract such investments." He claimed that Kerala has emerged as the number one state in investment-friendliness, a fact acknowledged across the country. "As part of this, various companies are bringing investments to our state, as witnessed at the recently held Invest Kerala Global Summit. In the first

Kerala ASHA workers live on hope as promised wage hike remains elusive

As women health care workers' protest enters 30th day amid political blame game, ADITI PHADNIS explores the Centre-state funding ratio debate

ED conducts raids on 12 locations linked to SDPI across multiple states

The current raids underscore the ED's ongoing scrutiny of organizations suspected of involvement in activities contravening national laws

Centre, Kerala govt clash over pending ASHA workers' incentive funds

Talking to reporters in Kollam, Balagopal said that the Centre had yet to release Rs 100 crore in pending payments

Kerala govt to be blamed for ASHA workers' situation, not Centre: BJP

The Kerala unit of the BJP on Tuesday backed the ongoing protest by a section of ASHA workers by holding a march by the party's women's wing Mahila Morcha to the Secretariat here and claimed that the Centre was not responsible for the situation. Expressing solidarity with the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, who have been agitating outside the Secretariat for the last 23 days demanding a hike in their honorarium and post-retirement benefits, BJP state president K Surendran said the Centre is being unnecessarily blamed by the Kerala government. "It is the state government's failure and not the Centre's," he contended. Surendran said the union government has not held back any funds meant for Kerala and ASHA workers. He said that he fully supports the ASHA workers demand to hike their honorarium and termed their protest as justified. Along with him, senior BJP leaders Shobha Surendran and P K Krishnadas were also present outside the Secretariat expressing solidarity

Kerala Assembly urges Centre to withdraw deep-sea mining proposal

The Kerala assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the central government to withdraw its move to allow deep-sea mineral mining off the coast of the state. The resolution moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was passed amidst the opposition UDF MLAs protesting in front of the Speaker's dais accusing him of acting as an "agent" of the ruling front. The UDF MLAs were protesting for not allowing the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan to complete his speech before walking out as their demand to adjourn the business of the house to discuss ASHA workers' protest was not accepted. Due to this protest, the deep-sea mining resolution was passed without discussion. The Kerala government has already made it clear that the Centre's move to initiate deep-sea mining along the state's coast cannot be allowed at any cost and the concern of the state's fishermen community in this regard has already been conveyed to the union government. Both the criteria in the

Man from Kerala shot dead while trying to cross Israeli border illegally

The deceased has been identified as 47-year-old Thomas Gabriel, a resident of Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala

Check full list of Ranji Trophy winners and runners-up with their captains

The 66th edition of India's premier red ball domestic tournament, that is Ranji Trophy 2024-25 edition concludes with Vidharbha securing their third title after beating Kerala in the final.

Occurrence of crimes against women in Kerala is concerning: CM Vijayan

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said while crimes against women have come down in the state due to government interventions, their occurrence even now in a progressive society like that of Kerala was a matter of serious concern. Vijayan, after inaugurating the International Women's Day celebrations organised here by the Kerala Women's Commission (KWC), said that everyone needs to work together to ensure there are no crimes against women in the state. He further said that despite the southern state's history of empowering women, many of them were still not confident to come out in public spaces. "As a result, they are unable to make use of the various opportunities that are available to them nowadays. This needs to change," the CM said. He said that the KWC has been able to bring about notable changes in relation to women empowerment in society in the last three decades and expressed hope that its activities will continue to do so in future. The CM also said that Kerala

Higher level of job stress among youth in IT, media sectors: Study

Young employees working in IT sector (84.3 percent) and media (83.5 percent) are experiencing higher levels of work stress in Kerala, according to a survey conducted by the state Youth Commission. Kerala Youth Commission chairman M Shajar presented the survey report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday in the presence of state Minister for Fisheries, Culture and Youth Affairs Saji Cheriyan. According to the survey, about 80.6 per cent employees from banking and insurance sector and 75.5 percent from gig economy have also reported work stress. Employees working in retail and industrial sector related comparatively lower level of work stress, said the report prepared based on a survey conducted among employees in the age group of 18-40 years. As many as 1,548 employees from five sectors-- IT, gig economy, media, retail/industrial, and banking/insurance participated in the survey. The study showed that highest level of work stress among the respondents in the age group 30-3

Ranji Trophy 2025 final: Vidarbha vs Kerala live match time and streaming

This is Vidarbha's fourth final appearance in the last seven years, having triumphed over Tamil Nadu and Mumbai in the knockout stages.

Preity Zinta's loan not in probe: Mumbai Police debunks write-off claim

Mumbai Police has confirmed that Preity Zinta's loan is not under probe and has dismissed loan write-off claims amid an online row with Kerala Congress over fake news allegations