The Hindu : Briefly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 28, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Briefly

Electricity bill payment

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM FEB.27 . The offices of the Electricity Board will accept payments on electricity bills on Sunday, February 29, as there have been nine public holidays during the current month.

Trains rescheduled

Two Nizamuddin-bound trains from Kerala would be rescheduled owing to the non-interlock signalling work being done between Renigunta and Gudur section. They are the Ernakulam-Nizamuddin Millenium Express, scheduled to leave at 6.30 p.m. on February 28, and the Thiruvananthapuram-Nizamuddin Express, scheduled to leave at 2.15 p.m. on March 2. The former will leave only at 10 p.m. on February 28 and the latter at 5 p.m. on March 2.

PSU heads warned of action

The Government has directed the administrative departments concerned in the Secretariat to take stringent action against the heads and staff of the public sector undertakings (PSUs) that do not submit annual accounts, statutory audit reports and accounts relating to profit or loss on time. An official press note said today that there were PSUs that had not updated their accounts for the last 13 years. The Government was resorting to this step as the response was not satisfactory even after it had given special permission to make use of the services of chartered accountants to update the annual accounts and had sent several reminders.

AEC chief's visit

The chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Anil Kakodkar, will be in Thiruvananthapuram on February 29. Dr. Kakodkar who is coming from Koodamkulam will leave for Mumbai later.

Permission to visit dams

Public would be permitted to visit the Idukki and Cheruthoni dams till February 29. The Government has given the permit in view of the national south zone volleyball championship being held in Idukki.

KSEB employees' plea

The KSEB Workers Association has urged the Government not to abandon the Karappara-Kuriarkutty project. In a statement issued today in the wake of the Electricity Minister's reported statement that it would not be possible to implement the project without the Irrigation Department's participation, the general secretary of the association, K.O.Habib said that the main purpose of the project was to provide water for cultivation in Palakkad district, which was the granary of the State. Electricity was envisaged only as a byproduct of the project. He wanted water to be supplied to Palakkad irrespective of the cost involved. The investment for the project would bring more indirect returns by way of development of agriculture in Palakkad, which, in turn, would benefit the entire State. He therefore called for the implementation of the project as a multipurpose project with the participation of both the departments.

Coir workers to launch campaign

The CITU-led Coir Workers' Centre has decided to submit a mass memorandum to the Government urging it to end its "neglect and discrimination" of the coir sector. The centre president, Thomas Isaac, and the secretary, Anathalavattom Anandan, said in a statement here today that a signature campaign for the purpose would be launched at the dharnas to be staged in front of the Coir Inspectorates on March 5. They blamed the UDF Government for the "crisis" in the coir sector and said that no provision had been made in the budget for 2004-05 to mitigate the difficulties of the coir workers.

Cashew workers plan stir

KOLLAM FEB. 27. The RSP leader and president of the pro-UTUC All Kerala Cashew Factory Workers Federation, N. K. Premachandran, has said that the problems in the cashew sector will have its influence in the coming Lok Sabha elections. At a press conference here today, he said that the cashew workers were in dire straits and that the RSP intended to highlight the problems as a political issue during the campaign for the elections. He said that the federation would be launching a series of agitations pressing for the reopening of the public sector cashew factories, payment of pension dues to the retired cashew workers and for the initiation of strict measures to stop the trend of commission processing.He alleged that commission processing had become rampant and through it the private sector employers were denying the cashew workers of their rights and benefits. The Federation general secretary, A. A. Aziz, MLA, said that the agitation would be formally launched here on February 29 at a convention. On March 9, a day-long dharna would be organised at the Press Club maidan. The dharna will be inaugurated by the RSP general secretary, K. Pankajakshan. On March 15, the federation would lead the retired cashew workers to lay siege to the office of the Cashew Workers Relief and Welfare Fund Board demanding clearance of all pension dues, he said.

Ganja seized; two held

The Kollam East Police seized 2 kilograms of ganja from a house at Pattathanam in the city today. Yesudas (23) and Meherinussa (42) who lived in the house have been arrested. The police said that the ganja had been kept concealed in a heap of firewood in the kitchen. The arrested will be produced before a court here tomorrow.

Anti-dowry awareness drive

THRISSUR FEB. 27. The Kerala State Women's Commission has no political leaning, its chairperson, M. Kamalam, has said. Inaugurating an `Anti-dowry awareness programme' here today, Ms. Kamalam said that the Commission had never showed favouritism towards anyone. She said that the public should be aware of the Supreme Court's guidelines to prevent dowry. "Steps should be taken to prevent female foeticide, which is causing an imbalance in Kerala society,'' she added.

Traders' conference

PALAKKAD FEB. 27. A three-day State conference of the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithy will be inaugurated at the Indira Gandhi Stadium by the Finance Minister, K. Sankaranarayanan, here on Saturday. The meeting will begin with a public rally of traders from the Kanikkamatha High School. As part of the inauguration, the shops would remain closed on Saturday in the State, the Samithy leaders said.

VHP delegates' meet

A four-day State delegates' meet of the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) will begin at the Aswathy Kalyana Mandapam here from February 28.

The meeting will be inaugurated by C. Udaybhaskar, industrialist. The keynote addressed will be delivered by R. S. Narayanaswamy, former Editor of The New Indian Express.

Collection centres

PATHANAMTHITTA Feb. 27. The cash collection centres attached to all section offices in the Pathanamthitta Electrical Circle of the Kerala State Electricity Board will remain open on February 29, according to the Deputy Chief Engineer, R.Ramachandran.

DDC meet

The meeting of the District Development Committee (DDC) chaired by the District Collector, Rabeendra Kumar Agarwal, will be held at the Collectorate Conference Hall here tomorrow forenoon.

Gospel meet

KOZHIKODE FEB. 27. The Kozhikode unit of the Christian Revival Fellowship will organise a special gospel convention at the CSI English Church Parish Hall from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on February 29. M.Y. Yohannan, TV-radio evangelist and former principal of St. Peter's College, Kolenchery, will deliver the message. The Amruthadhara Choir will present a music concert on the occasion, the Fellowship convener, K.C. Thampi, said in a press release here today.

Contests

As part of a mass education programme, the Nehru Yuvak Kendra and the Khadi Grama Vyavasaya Commission will conduct essay and elocution contests for youth on March 31. The theme is `Globalisation and employment opportunities through Gandhian principles'. Those who would like to participate in the contests are requested to register their names at the office of the Nehru Yuvak Kendra at the Collectorate by March 1. Telephone: 2371891.

Adalat

The State Women's Commission will hold an adalat at the Collectorate Conference Hall here on March 10, according to an official release.

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