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Sunday, Jan 09, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Briefly

CPI(M) warning

ALAPPUZHA JAN. 8. The police are trying to wrongly implicate the CPI (M) district committee member, K.D. Mahindran, and other senior party leaders in connection with an attack on BJP workers at Aryad in the district, the party's Alappuzha district secretary, G. Sudhakaran, has said.

In a statement here today, Mr. Sudhakaran warned that the party would face the police action legally and politically.

Photography contest

Thrissur Jan. 8. The Butterfly Art Foundation will conduct an international competition in art and photography in April. The entries should reach the Foundation before January 30. An exhibition of photographs, paintings, digital works of art and graphic prints will also be held. For more details, contact the director (Pady P.O., Thrissur; e-mail: director@baf-art.org) or visit the foundation's website (www.baf-art.org) , says a press release.

Ballet on Jnanappana

The Devi Kalamandalam will stage the ballet `Gandhari Vilapam', based on the Jnanappana, at the Melpathur Auditorium in Guruvayur on January 11. It will be led by Kalamandalam Hemalatha. She will be accompanied by Aravi (violin), O. Sreenath (mridangam) and Anoop (edakka). The lyrics have been set to tune by O.K. Ambika, says a press release.

Donated to relief fund

KOZHIKODE JAN. 8. The Indian Cultural and Arts Society (Incas), an organisation of Indian Overseas Congress in Qatar, has donated Rs.8.5 lakhs to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. A draft for the amount was handed over to the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, by Incas president, K.K. Usman, in Kochi recently.

Inaugurated

The local unit of the Indian Society of Technical Education (ISTE) was inaugurated at the KMCT College of Engineering, Manassery, by the Executive Director of Centre for Water Resources and Development (CWRDM), Dr. E.J. James today. Dr. V. George, Principal, KMCT College presided over the programme.

SETO's call to defer stir plan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Jan. 8. The State Employees and Teachers Organisation (SETO) has called upon the service and teachers' organisations to defer the decision to go on a token strike on January 18 in view of the tsunami disaster and the need for a stronger agitation. In a statement today, the SETO convener, K. Sudevan, said a major demand such as wage revision could be achieved only through a prolonged strike. He said if the Government did not take a decision wage revision, which was overdue by 34 months, organisations affiliated to SETO would go in for an indefinite strike.

Tourism staff threaten stir

The Tourism Department Employees' Action Council today threatened to launch an agitation to protest against the distorted policies of the authorities, including `import' of staff from other departments, absence of measures to save District Tourism Promotion Councils (DTPCs), failure to revise the special rules applicable to the department and `outsourcing' of departmental work to private agencies.

Kerala Feeds' gesture

The State public sector Kerala Feeds Limited, Thrissur, has contributed Rs. 25 lakhs to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. The cheque for the amount was handed over to the Agriculture Minister, K. R. Gouri, by the company chairman, V. K. Vasudevan, today. The funds raised by the Kerala Feeds Workers' Welfare Society was also handed over to the Minister on the occasion.

Workshop on housing

The Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra is organising a two-day workshop on housing technologies capable of withstanding impact of natural calamities at the Nirmithi Kendram campus here beginning January 13. The workshop, to be inaugurated by the Revenue Minister, K. M. Mani, would be attended by scientists from various research institutions in the State, engineeers, architects and experts from various other related fields.

Malayali family untraced

ALAPPUZHA JAN. 8. The four-member Malayali family, who were reported missing after the tsunami fury in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is yet to be traced. V.K. Oommen (46) of Vettikkizhakkathil House, Kodukulanji near Chengannur, who is an officer with the Rubber Board, was missing along with his wife Susan (44) and his children Sonu (13) and Soni (6) after the tsunami. Susan was a native of Vettuveni near Haripad. An area in Katchar island in the Andamans where Mr. Oommen was staying was still under water and nobody in the area had escaped, according to sources.

Two killed in accident

KOLLAM Jan. 8. In an accident involving an autorickshaw, a Tata Indica car and a truck, two persons were killed and three others were injured. The injured have been admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital (MCH) in a serious condition. The accident took place at Chengamanad near Kottarakara at 7 p.m. All those killed and injured were travelling in the autorickshaw. The police said that the driver of the autorickshaw, Micheal, was declared dead at the MCH. The identity of the second deceased is yet to be identified. The autorickshaw first hit the car and the truck which was coming from behind crashed into the two vehicles. The Kottarakara police have registered a case.

Pilgrim dies of heart attack

PATHANAMTHITTA JAN. 8. A 29-year-old pilgrim, Velmurugan, son of Arumughom, 25/17, Balakrishna East Street, Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, died of heart attack at the Government dispensary at Pampa today. The body was taken to Tirunelveli in an Ayyappa Seva Sanghom ambulance, the hospital sources said.

Chandy to

head taskforce

KOCHI JAN. 8. The Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, will head a taskforce on development of Small Scale Industries (SSIs) in the State. The taskforce was formed following a request by the Kerala State Small Industries Association, a press release said on Saturday. The taskforce was formed to review the effectiveness of the single window system for supporting small industries in the State. The Minister for Industries will be the vice-chairman of the taskforce. The Ministers of Finance, Revenue, Forests, Coir, Health and Power will be part of the taskforce, the release said. The president of the association, Xavier Thomas Kondody, welcomed the formation of a taskforce.

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