Thiruvananthapuram Apr 20 PTI At a time when the Kerala government is going ahead with its ambitious semi-high speed railway project setting aside criticisms a former Indian Railway official part of its feasibility study on Wednesday came out against the mammoth initiative claiming that the people of the state will be burdened by the project which may eventually costs Rs two lakh croreAlok Kumar Verma who had prepared the preliminary feasibility report of the Silver Line alias K-Rail project said the original proposal of the state government was for a broad gauge line and the decision for adopting a standard gauge was taken by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd KRDCLRecalling that the proposal sent to the Railway Board in 2017 was for a broad gauge line and not a standard gauge he said the sanction given by them to prepare a detailed plan was also for the formerThere was no approval for a standard gaugethe standard gauge has been chosen by the KRDCL and this is the main reason why the Centre is not willing to bear any responsibility or any cost of this project Verma told reporters hereBoth the Railway Board and the Ministry of Railways have made it clear that most of the cost may be 100 per cent of the project cost or the liability will be on the shoulder of the Kerala government he saidThe retired officer arrived here to meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and senior government officials to flag concerns regarding the mammoth infrastructure project However he reportedly did not get audience with Vijayan Later he met the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan and discussed various aspects of the projectWhile detailing the economic impact of the semi-high speed rail corridor project he said it is the responsibility of the Railway Board and the Ministry of Railways to provide rail infrastructure everywhere and hence the point is why should Kerala people have to pay for a railway lineThe cost of the railway line should be borne by the Centre So the Kerala people are going to be burdened by a project which may eventually cost Rs two lakh crore It does not make any sense Verma addedAsked about the KRDCLs argument that Verma had only a three-month-long association with the rail corridor project the retired officer charged that the agency knows nothing but to lie and they have spoiled the whole project PTI LGK ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram Feb 24 PTI The Kerala Assembly on Thursday witnessed dramatic scenes as opposition Congress-led UDF staged a banner protest demanding a discussion on the recent controversial disclosure by gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh and later boycotted the proceedings after their plea was rejected by the SpeakerThough they tried to seek notice for an adjournment motion during the zero hour demanding a reply from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Speaker M B Rajesh objected to its presentation saying the issue was pending before various courtsIrked over his stand the UDF members rose from their seats raising slogans and trooped into the well of the House and displayed a banner which read the CM should break his silence over the infamous smuggling caseThough the Speaker repeatedly asked them to go back to their respective seats and not to gather in front of his dais they paid no heed to his directions following which a visibly annoyed Rajesh went out of the hallThe unfazed opposition was not ready to backtrack from their demand even when the House resumed after half and hour and they finally announced their boycottThe UDF legislators later staged a protest sitting at the portal of the Assembly complex and raised slogans against the Speaker and the Chief MinisterBefore leaving the hall Leader of Opposition V D Satheens said though they did not want to stall or boycott the proceeding they were forced to do so as their democratic rights were denied by the Speaker and the ruling front and they could not agree with the undemocratic normsInterestingly Vijayan while taking part in a debate on the motion of thanks to the Governors address later criticised the opposition and said they tried to create controversies raising several issues against the government including the gold smuggling caseHe said even after the investigation by the central agencies with the support of the BJP two questions were still remaining unansweredThe first question was who had smuggled the gold and the second one for whom it was brought here illegallyThere is no answer to these questions even now The Congress is not interested in seeking answers to these questions The UDF is trying to tarnish the image of the government using the issue Vijayan told the assemblyThe recent sensational disclosure by gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh had triggered a political row in Kerala as opposition parties charged that the Chief Ministers office was aware of the alleged smuggling of the yellow metal through the diplomatic channel and even critical intelligence inputs were misused for anti-national activitiesSuresh had told the media that an audio clip by her circulated at a time when she was jailed claiming there was pressure upon her to say the name of the Chief Minister in the smuggling case was a pre-scripted oneShe also said that it was recorded in a mobile phone handed over to her via a woman police constable when she was in the custody of Enforcement Directorate and alleged that M Sivasankar the CMs former principal secretary and an accused in the case was behind the incident PTI LGK ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram Feb 24 PTI The Kerala government on Thursday said it could not reach a consensus with neighbouring Tamil Nadu so far on the construction of a new dam in Mullaperiyar though it was one of its long-term demands and the matter would be raised again during the upcoming Chief Ministers meetingMinister for Water Resources Roshy Augustine told the Assembly that water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala was the proclaimed stand of the state government in the Mullaperiyar issueThough we put forward the topic of the construction of the new dam in the secretary level meetings and the Chief Ministers meeting earlier it failed to reach a consensus The Kerala government has taken initiative to conduct a detailed discussion in this regard in the upcoming meeting of the Chief Ministers of the two states and arrive at an agreement which is acceptable to both parties he saidA detailed project outline was being prepared for constructing a new dam in Mullaperiyar ensuring that there would be no decrease in the existing amount of water drawn by Tamil Nadu and guaranteeing safety of the people of Kerala he said during the question hour sessionBased on the conditional nod given by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for the environmental impact study in 2018 Terms of References had been fixed and a Hyderabad-based company prepared a draft report after collecting detailsAfter making necessary modifications and corrections the company has been directed to submit the final report to obtain environmental clearance he addedBuilt in 1895 the Mullaperiyar dam is a bone of contention between Tamil Nadu which owns and operates it and Kerala where it is located PTI LGK ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram Feb 22 PTI Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday termed his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanaths recent alleged disparaging remarks against the southern state as an inappropriate one made with political interestsWhile referring to the recent episode in the state Assembly he said he has a view that it is not appropriate for a Chief Minister to compare two states and so he does not want to go deep into the details of the issueKerala is far ahead in various sectors and the growth the state has achieved is unparalleled His comments can be viewed only as an inappropriate one made with political interests Vijayan told the state AssemblyIn a video message to the electorate ahead of the UP Assembly polls earlier this month Adityanath had warned them that the north Indian state could soon become a Kashmir Bengal or Kerala if they commit any mistakes in the electionHitting back at Adityanath Vijayan who is also a senior CPIM leader had said if the north Indian state develops like Kerala people will enjoy peace and better living conditionsIf UP turns into Kerala as myogiadityanath fears it will enjoy the best education health services social welfare living standards and have a harmonious society in which people wont be murdered in the name of religion and caste Thats what the people of UP would want the Kerala CM said in a tweet Vijayan also tweeted the same in Hindi and tagged his UP counterpart PTI LGK ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram Jan 27 PTI A delegation of the opposition UDF on Thursday met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan at the Raj Bhavan here and submitted a memorandum requesting him not to give assent to the proposed ordinance amending the state Lok Ayukta Act by the Left government in KeralaThe front leaders led by Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan appraised him about the concerns regarding the amendment and pointed out the legal aspects against itThey also wanted the Governor to send the ordinance for the assent of the President of India even as the state Law Minister P Rajeev made it clear later that the presidential scrutiny was not needed in this connectionIn the memorandum Satheesan alleged that the justifications by the government to bring the amendment appeared to be frivolous politically driven and in stark contravention of the established laws in this country In this ordinance the executive is openly proclaiming a statute that has been in effect for 22 years to be unconstitutional and is proposing an ordinance to change the provision This is ultra vires and goes against the fundamental tenets of the Indian constitution the UDF representation pointed outWith the legislative assembly session slated for next month there seems to be no compelling reason to change the law which has been in existence for over 22 years it allegedIt further charged that the only immediate reason that could be perceived is that the Lok Ayukta is about to take up cases against the Chief Minister in the relief fund misappropriation and the Higher Education Minister in the university issueIt should be understood that the government is expecting an unfavourable verdict in these cases and this ordinance is a shield to guard against any unsavoury decisions from the Lok AyuktaMoreover the proposed amendment would serve as a catalyst for rampant corruption and nepotism it saidIn these compelling circumstances taking into consideration the interest of the State and public at large I request your good self to abstain from providing your assent to the Kerala Lok Ayukta amendment ordinance 2021 Satheesan addedHe later told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan that the memorandum was given as a continuation of his earlier letter to the Governor requesting the same and the present one has detailed references about legal aspects against passing such an ordinanceHe also said the contested provision in the ordinance was part of the original bill of the Lok Ayukta Act 1999 when it was first introduced in the legislative assembly during the tenure of the Marxist party veteran E K Nayanar as Chief MinisterHowever due to widespread objections from members of both the opposition and the ruling party during the debate on February 22 1999 this was withdrawn he recalledActually this government is pushing through legislation that the Kerala Legislative Assembly debated and rejected Besides Satheesan former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Ramesh Chennithala both Congress C P John CMP Mons Joseph Kerala Congress G Devarajan Forward Bloc and others were part of the delegationHowever Rajeev rejected the charges and said Lok Ayukta laws including its amendments are completely under the legislative power of the state The situation is the same in other states also he told reporters when his reaction was sought on the matterThe CPIM-led LDF government in Kerala on Tuesday justified its decision to amend the Lok Ayukta Act saying the move was to ensure natural justice and make it more in accordance with the Constitution Lokpal and similar legislations in other statesState Minister for Law P Rajeev had said the move to promulgate an ordinance was not a sudden decision as alleged by the opposition but the process began last April during the tenure of the previous governmentHe also said the government considered the suggestion for a new legislation in view of two High Court verdicts saying the Lok Ayukta does not have mandatory jurisdiction but only recommendatory jurisdictionThe Advocate General AG also gave legal opinion that Section 14 of the Act was in violation of the Constitutional articles 163164 and suggested to amend it to make it more in accordance with the existing laws in the country he addedDuring the tenure of the previous LDF government the then Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel had to resign from the cabinet days after the state Lokayuktas finding that he had abused his position as a public servant to favour a relative PTI LGK ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram Jan 19 PTI Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said collective efforts of the education department parents teaching community and the society have helped to ensure that the education process of the state continued unhindered during the time of COVID-19 pandemicHe made the remark in the wake of a recent India Case Study on the effects of COVID-19 on education conducted by UNICEF which lavished praise on the southern state in this connectionIn a series of tweets the Chief Minister quoted some excerpts from the study report which mentioned the states achievementKerala is an exception about 70 per cent of parents of both younger adolescent students believe that overall learning progress is the same or better than it would be in school he tweeted quoting the UNICEF surveyKerala has the greatest technology access it has also been among the most proactive states in supporting students it is the only state where nearly everyone who used remote learning reports that the government has provided remote learning resources the study further saidVijayan thanked everyone who stood by the children to overcome hurdles and ensure hassle-free learning during the time of the pandemicWholehearted thanks to everyone who has made this possible Education Dept teachers parents society have stood together with the children to overcome hurdles and ensure that our education process continues unhindered he further tweeted PTI LGK ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram Dec 29 PTI A 19-year-old youth was stabbed to death allegedly by the owner of a house which he broke into early on Wednesday police saidThe accused later surrendered at the nearby police station and admitted that he killed the youth suspecting him to be a thiefAnish George a native of Pettah in the heart of the city was killed by Lalu who also hails from the same placeAccording to the accused the shocking incident took place by around 330 amLalu said he woke up to some noise in one of the rooms on the first floor of the house and found George thereSuspecting him to be a thief he immediately attacked the person using a sharp weaponLater he rushed to the nearby police station and narrated the entire incident and surrenderedThough the youth was admitted to the medical college hospital he succumbed to injuries police saidA police officer said investigation is progressing and all aspects would be probedIt is a murderThe investigation is in preliminary stage We suspect that some personal issues might have led to the crime We can divulge the details only after a thorough inquiry he told reportersAsked about the motive of the murder he said it was too early or premature to confirm any aspect right now he said adding that the accused is under police surveillance PTI LGK ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram Dec 22 PTI Dont be amazed if you find tough space exploration theories and technical jargons relating to rocket science being used in Sanskrit the ancient language of vedas and mantras in a film A science documentary in the classical language considered to be the first such initiative in the world cinema will soon enthrall movie buffs with the success story of Indias historic Mars Orbiter Mission MOM alias Mangalyaan National award-winning filmmaker Vinod Mankara known for his efforts to revive Sanskrit which is generally considered a dead language is coming out with the innovative docu film Titled Yaanam the proposed 45-minute movie is based on My Odyssey Memoirs of the Man Behind the Mangalyaan Mission penned by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan Mankara said it would be a complete Sanskrit docu-film by all means as the entire script and dialogues would be in the ancient languageShooting of the movie is expected to go on floors in February and the world-premier is planned in April next year The directors Priyamanasam the third only Sanskrit feature film in the world had won the national award for the best feature film in that language It was also the opening movie in the feature section of the International Film Festival of India IFFI in the year 2015When Yanam is ready it will be the first of its kind professional documentary film in Sanskrit in the world Science and Sanskrit may sound like an odd combination but I have my own reasons to club them he told PTI An ardent enthusiast of the classical language and Indian thoughts Mankara said the country can boast of its achievements in space exploration as well as its Sanskrit legacy which is regarded as the mother of many languages Majority of the ancient texts of the sub-continent including that of space and astronomy were compiled in Sanskrit and so what is wrong in using that language as medium in a movie which tells about the countrys Mars mission he asked The objective of the movie is to present the nations achievements before the international community through our own language It will be a promotion for both the language and the space achievements the director explained Seeking to prove that astronomy and cosmology are not alien subjects in Sanskrit Mankara mentioned an ancient Indian text named Surya Siddhanta A Sanskrit treatise in Indian astronomy in 14 chapters the Surya Siddhanta describes rules to calculate the motions of various planets and the moon relative to various constellations and calculates the orbits of various astronomical bodies If a text believed to have been written during the second century can describe the exclusive scientific literature in Sanskrit verse without any hurdle why cant we think about a science movie in that language That thought led me to the concept of this docu-film he saidAsked about his choice of the former ISRO chiefs book as the basis for his documentary Mankara said it was an amazing book which can also be taken as a parallel history of the space agency itself The book documents the over four-decades-long career of Radhakrishnan in ISRO My film is based on one of its chapters named Martian Odyssey It has all the ingredients of a thrilling detective novel the filmmaker said The narrative text of the movie is yet to be completed and one of the major challenges in writing the script is to find out Sanskrit equivalents for technical words in space science he said Not just the narration but the dialogues of all characters appearing in the movie would be in SanskritNoting that it wont be in a traditional documentary format Mankara said advanced visual technology and augmented reality techniques would be explored in the film Beyond the technical aspects of the Mars Mission I want to showcase the relentless effort of a group of hardworking scientists who made the feat a reality for the country that too at an incredibly lower budget he said Besides screening it for the scientists community and at the universities and colleges in the country the director also plans a global premier of his documentary I would like to screen Yaanam for the space scientists of NASA SpaceX the European Union space agency the UAE space agency and so on If everything goes as planned the global scientists will watch the successful space saga of India through the ancient language of the sub-continent he said adding that it would have subtitles in English The 4K digital DTS movie is produced by A V Anoop under the banner AVA Productions Several well-known technical experts are expected to join this first science movie in sanskrit which is slated for released on April 12 the anniversary of the worlds first space shuttle mission Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel in space on April 12 1961 PTI LGK ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram Nov 20 PTI Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said his government has come up with reservation for the Economically Weaker Section EWS among forward communities not to subvert the existing one but to ensure better living condition for everyone in the societyA section of people in the unreserved category are extremely poor and they do not avail any benefits of the reservation which has led the government to consider the demand of 10 per cent reservation for such people in government jobs he saidCautioning against those trying to create unwanted controversy over the quota for EWS the CM said those who are trying to create division by flaring it up as an emotional issue were actually diverting attention from the real concernsHe was speaking after inaugurating a state-wide survey to collect the details of the economically backward sections in the forward communitiesA section of people argue that the government is implementing the reservation for EWS by subverting the existing reservation system But there is nothing like that This is implemented not sabotaging the reservation of any other section who are already enjoying the benefits he saidThe poorest in the unreserved category would get the new reservation benefits and this was not part of any anti-reservation stance of the governmentNoting that the government considered social realities to come up with the new reservation norms Vijayan also said what is more important is to ensure a good living condition for everyone in the society and there was no such environment in the state right now PTI LGK ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram Nov 20 PTI Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said high quality human resources and the basic infrastructure to effectively implement their service are inevitable to improve the administrative machinery in a state and his governments focus is to ensure bothSpeaking during the passing out parade of the new batch of the fire and rescue personnel here he said a total of 49 new personnel are inducted into the force and they are educationally qualified and well-trained to deliver their best performance to the societyOver 1000 civil volunteers would also be part of the Fireforce on Saturday under the recently constituted Civil Defence Force to strengthen the disaster management initiatives of the southern state he saidThirty per cent of the civil volunteers would be women who could play a key role in rehabilitating affected families during the time of emergencies he saidThe objective of the LDF government was to prepare and equip the state Fire force to deal with any emergency situation the chief minister addedHigh quality human resources and the basic infrastructure to effectively implement their service are inevitable to improve the administrative machinery in a state My government is trying to ensure both these he saidLauding the committed service of the state Fire force especially during the time of deadly floods and other natural disasters and also during the COVID times Vijayan wished the new members could make more effective interventions according to the interests and demands of the societyUnfortunately Kerala has become a place where natural disasters recur in frequent intervals and an effective rescue operation has to be showcased during the time of emergenciesInsisting that modernisation of the fire force was essential to meet the frequent natural disasters he also flagged off a set of advanced vehicles including 27 fire rescue vehicles and 14 fiber boats to be inducted into the force PTI LGK ROH ROH