The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Coastal areas to be plugged to cyber world

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Thursday, May 29, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Coastal areas to be plugged to cyber world

Special Correspondent

20 IT kiosks to be set up in capital city
The kiosks will be self-sustaining

Thiruvananthapuram: Residents in the coastal belt of the district will soon have access to computer education and web-enabled services in their neighbourhood. A government-sponsored project to establish a network of information technology (IT) kiosks in coastal areas took off here on Wednesday.

Taken up under the Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project (TEAP) with support from the Kerala State IT Mission, the scheme is expected to provide a boost for the computer literacy programme in the coastal areas. As many as 20 IT kiosks will be set up in Thiruvananthapuram district and 18 in Alappuzha.

“The IT kiosks will be self-sustaining. They will be equipped for income-generating activities like printing ID cards and DTP and project works, apart from imparting computer education,” says N.K. Sasidharan Pillai, team leader, TEAP.

Broadband connectivity

The kiosks will be equipped with five computer terminals each. “We are providing broadband connectivity wherever available. Besides, each centre will have a laminating machine, printer, scanner and spiral binding machine,” Mr. Pillai said.

Each kiosk will be manned and maintained by an activity group comprising local people with IT skills. “In due course, the kiosks will be upgraded into Akshaya centres offering a whole gamut of IT services,” he said.

The kiosks costing Rs.2.7 lakh each have been set up with 85 per cent grant from the Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme. While the beneficiary share is five per cent, the rest will be mobilised as bank loan.

The respective panchayats will support the kiosks in the initial stage before they become self-sufficient.

The IT kiosks will also provide value-added services to the fishermen community which constitutes the primary beneficiary of the project. Fisheries Minister S. Sarma on Wednesday inaugurated the project at Poovar, near here. Kovalam MLA George Mercier presided over the function.

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