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Briefly

Injured in blast

PATHANAMTHITTA: A 55-year-old worker, identified as Sivarajan of Pandalam, sustained minor burns when a gunpowder canister caught fire while he was trying to burst canisters at the firecracker `vazhipadu' unit at Sabaripeetom on the Pampa-Sannidhanam trekking path on Friday afternoon. Mr. Sivarajan was admitted to the Sabarimala Ward at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital later. — Staff Reporter

District meet of cooperative bank staff

KOLLAM: The district conference of the Kollam District Cooperative Bank Staff Union will be held here on December 11. The conference will be inaugurated by CPI(M) district secretary K. Rajagopal. — Staff Reporter

Liturgical Year observance

KOLLAM: The observance of the Liturgical Year (from October 2004 to December 2005) by Roman Catholics all over the world as per a decree by the late Pope John Paul II comes to a close at the Kollam diocese on Sunday.

The main event of the concluding ritual is the Liturgical Congress to be held at the Vady parish church at 9 a.m. on December 11, said the parish priest K.J. Yesudas. A high mass with Kollam Bishop Stanley Roman as the chief celebrant will mark the commencement of the rituals. All the parishes under the diocese will be represented at the Vady church on the occasion. — Staff Reporter

Gita Jayanthi

KOLLAM: Gita Jayanthi will be observed here on December 11 under the auspices of the Gita Jayanthi Celebration Committee. General convener of the event R. Rajendran said at a press conference here that awareness classes on Gita would be held for students.

The highlight of the event would be a Gita recital by school students. A group of 1,000 students would recite the twelfth chapter of the Gita.— Staff Reporter

Seminar begins

PATHANAMTHITTA: The two-day national seminar on `Emerging trends in software technology,' organised by Mar Athanaseus College For Advanced Studies, Thiruvalla (MACFAST) and the Computer Society of India, began at the college auditorium on Friday.

State Bank of Travancore assistant general manager K.T. Surendran inaugurated the seminar. — Staff Reporter

Lions Club award

Kottayam: The Medal of Merit awarded to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy by the International Association of Lions Clubs will be presented here on Saturday by its international president Ashok V. Mehta. Mr. Mehta will also declare a series of new projects for the clubs in Kerala as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the club's activities in India. He will also inaugurate the new offset printing facility being set up at the Rs.-1 crore rehabilitation centre for physically challenged persons at Changanasserry. — Staff Reporter

Ayyappa Vilakku

KOZHIKODE: The 43rd Mananchira Ayyappa Vilakku, organised by the Ayyappa Bhajana Sangham Mananchira Ayyappanvilakku Committee, will be held on the Sri Annapoorneswari Temple premises in Muthalakulam here on December 10. The main highlight of the vilakku will be a `Palakkom ezhunellippu' from the Tali Temple premises at 5 p.m.

Government orders probe into land deal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government has ordered a high-level inquiry into the alleged land deals by Harrison Malayalam Plantations. The company is alleged to have transferred land leased from the Government for plantation purposes to others in contravention of terms of lease. Revenue Minister K. M. Mani said here on Friday that all aspects of the allegations against the company would be inquired into in detail. The Additional Chief Secretary John Mathai will head the probe. Land Revenue Commissioner K.J. Alphons Kannanthanam, Secretary (Forests) L. Radhakrishnan, Principal Conservator of Forests and collectors of six districts where the land transactions were reported to have taken place will be members of the inquiry team. - Special Correspondent

Public Expenditure Review panel formed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government has issued a gazette notification constituting a three-member Public Expenditure Review Committee to enforce fiscal responsibility in the Government. Indira Rajaraman, who is a senior fellow at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi, will chair the committee. The other two members are N. J. Kurien, the director of Council for Social Development, New Delhi, and K.P. Kannan, member, National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector, New Delhi. — Special Correspondent

150 more MBBS seats to be sanctioned

Thrissur: Health Minister K.K. Ramachandran on Friday said the State Government would sanction 150 new MBBS seats in the next financial year. Reviewing the relocation of the Government Medical College Hospital to Mulankunnathukavu here, on Friday, the Minister said 50 new seats each would be allotted to the Government Medical Colleges in Thrissur, Kottayam and Alappuzha. — Staff Reporter

Haj flights delayed

KARIPUR: The Haj schedule from Kerala went haywire as Air-India's flight to Medina from the airport here was delayed indefinitely on Friday.

The flight, scheduled to leave here at 6.40 p.m., was delayed by a snag in Sharjah. Haj authorities here said the flight would now leave at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The flight scheduled to leave at 11.15 a.m. on Saturday too has been postponed indefinitely. Confusion prevailed at the Haj camp on Friday evening as Air-India officials could not confirm the revised schedule. "We can't say anything," they replied at regular intervals — Staff Reporter

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