Kerala Tourism Minister A C Moideen today sought a "relook" on closure of liquor bars in tourist hotspots in the state which has seen a fall in arrivals causing a loss to the tourism industry. 

The previous UDF government had decided to close down 700-odd liquor bars attached to hotels below five star categories in 2014. 

Kerala has seen a severe dip in tourist arrivals and fall in revenues following the closure of bars.

"The present excise policy has dealt a severe blow to the tourism industry in Kerala," Moideen told reporters here.

"There has been a severe fall in the growth of tourist arrivals in the state. With hotels not serving liquor, conferences have come down and the state is losing out," he said, adding, liquor should be made available in bars in tourist hotspots.

Tourism Department's report has been submitted to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he said.

In Kerala, while the domestic arrival of tourists touched 124,65,571 in 2015, a growth of 6.59 per cent, figure for foreign tourist arrival was 9,77,479 (5.86 per cent growth), he said.

In 2014, domestic tourist arrivals stood at 116,95,411 (7.71 per cent) against 9,23,366 (7.60 per cent) of international visitors, while in 2013 it was 108,57,811 (7.75 per cent) and foreign tourists 8,58,143 (8.12 per cent).

During 2014, the state earned Rs 6,398.93 crore in foreign exchange earnings showing a 15 per cent increase, while it was Rs 6,949.88 crore last year with a dip of 8.6 per cent.

The total revenue generated from tourism (direct and indirect) in 2014 was Rs 24,885.44 crore (12.11 per cent) while in 2015 it was Rs 26,689.63 crore (7.25 per cent).

State-owned Co-operative Consumers Federation has decided to sell liquor online for the upcoming Onam festival in Kerala.

"Consumerfed has decided to sell liquor online. The move is to avoid long queues seen outside beverage outlets during Onam day," Federation Chairman M Mehboob told mediapersons at the Press Club in Kozhikode on Thursday.

The apex body of Consumer Co-operatives in the state, plans to sell around 59 brands of liquor to consumers who had registered for the product online, he said.

"Consumerfed, which aims at providing quality goods at low price for the people has been looked at now as the centre for corruption," Mehboob said, adding, it was due to the mismanagement for the past four years and the managing committee of that period was responsible.

"Corruption and mismanagement in the co-operative body, which had been a profit making one till 2010, had caused it to become a loss making unit. Now it has become a profitable public sector enterprise," he said.

"Nobody involved in corruption will be spared. No partiality will be shown in taking steps against corruption in Consumerfed," he said.

Kerala BJP leaders may soon take inspiration from Ram Singh of "Gandhinagar Second Street" and his hai-hai-ing.

After all, the BJP national council is due to be held from September 23 to September 25 in the state. For Kerala BJP leaders who are excitedly looking forward to the event in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah are set to take part, a Hindi-Malayalam dictionary would probably be of great use.

Or so does the recently concluded state-level meeting indicate. 

With volunteers for the event chosen from across the state to make the national leaders’ 3-day-long stay hassle-free, the state committee believes that the members being able to converse well in English and particularly in Hindi is of utmost necessity. Who knows, someone might just ask Narendra Modiji if he'd care for some salt-mango-tree!

Speaking to The News Minute, BJP spokesperson, VV Rajesh, confirmed that there is a directive in place that instructs the members to learn Hindi in whichever manner they choose to, at whatever pace they deem fit. 

Pointing out that a majority of the people participating in the 3-day event are non-Keralites, Rajesh stressed the importance of Kerala leaders knowing at least enough Hindi to make casual conversation.

Though the party has already begun steps to prepare their members for the event, Rajesh makes it clear that it is a completely voluntary activity.

“It is true that the party members in some constituencies have already begun to hold informal groups wherein they discuss and learn from each other. This does not mean that our members would at this point take Hindi speaking classes,” he said.

According to him, the decision is an attempt to make the state leaders self-reliant. “Very few of us can converse in Hindi and we do not want to depend on someone else to convey our messages to the national leaders,” he added.

Toeing the line of the party spokesperson, BJP Wayanad district President Saji Shankar said that there was no compulsion on the part of the members to learn Hindi or English.

“That being adept at speaking in Hindi and English would be an added advantage considering the participation of national leaders did come up at the state committee meeting last week. Particularly because we would be organizing all the facilities including accommodation for the leaders. But there is no pressure on any members to learn the languages on an urgent basis. Neither are we planning to hold any Hindi-speaking classes,” he said, dismissing rumours that BJP members have begun to attend Hindi-speaking classes.

Though the state committee believes that speaking Hindi is an advantage, the members say that nobody will be kept away from the council meeting just for their lack of ability in conversing in Hindi.

For the last few years, Kerala has seen a lot of debate on the influx of pesticide-sprinkled vegetables from neighbouring states. Malayalis saw the media, government institutions, social groups and even political parties carry on a sustained campaign against such tainted veggies.

In parallel, a silent revolution unfolded in the backyards, terraces, poly-houses, road-sides and even in the balconies of Kerala homes, with small scale organic farming undertaken by ordinary housewives and husbands and even school children.

When Malayali’s favourite actress Manju Warrier made a come-back to the film industry in 2014 through a movie which propagated the idea of rooftop farming, she -by default- became the brand ambassador for organic farming in Kerala.

Veteran actor Sreenivasan too joined the organic bandwagon with his highly publicized inroads into paddy-cultivation on leased lands, with the harvest reaped from these garnering even more widespread applause.

Once upon a time, Kerala too was self-sufficient in vegetable-production and paddy cultivation. The passing of years however saw it shift its focus to cash crops, thereby making it eventually dependent on Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for vegetables, and on Andhra Pradesh for rice.

With alarming reports of large-scale use of pesticides and insecticides in Tamil Nadu farms, Kerala was forced to take a relook at the options organic farming held out for a healthy life.

People across the spectrum took to it in a big way, with apartments, flats, houses and even road-sides doubling up as unlikely but suitable venues for cultivation.

Speaking to The News Minute, Kerala Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar was pleased to inform that the state has produced 81,000 metric tons of vegetables in time for Onam -the state festival due in September- that would ensure that Keralites will now not have to depend on vegetables bought from across the state border.

“For this year’s Onam, Kerala will not have to depend much on vegetables from other states. We have made all arrangements to make 81000 metric tons of organic vegetables available for public consumption. Vegetables collected from organic farms will be sold under the brand of Farm Fresh Kerala,” the Minister says.

Sunil Kumar reiterates that the LDF government aims to develop a concept of ‘quality’ as opposed to ‘quantity’ among the masses.

“Every house should have a small cultivable area, be it a terrace, balcony or a backyard. Since most families are nuclear, very less space is actually needed for the same. Kerala has now come to reflect such a trend,” he feels.

He also shares his vision for large-scale commercial farming. “Commercial farmers will be encouraged to indulge in good agricultural practices which include use of organic pesticides and fertilizers, and other healthy alternative solutions to meet their commercial targets,” he avers.

“Organic farming has largely increased in Kerala. Till a few years ago, more than 60% of the vegetables were bought from other states. But now the situation has changed and we produce more than 50% here,” shares Kerala Horticorp Managing Director, Dr Ranjan S Karippai with The News Minute.

“A large number of people are turning to farming in urban and semi-urban areas. That is why the number of grow-bags sold by the department has seen a sudden spike, with many people now approaching us for setting up of poly-houses,” he tells.

According to Ranjan, the department distributes an average of five lakh grow-bags every year. “Kerala may not yet attain 100% self-sufficiency, but people are more aware now. They are deeply concerned about the food they consume, so we could actually usher in a new trend,” he opines.

Studies conducted by the Kerala Agriculture University (KAU) over the years provided the much-needed boost to this changing trend in an average Malayali’s food habits, as these studies conclusively proved the presence of high amounts of pesticides in vegetables from Tamil Nadu.

A recent report published by KAU in June 2016 have certified that the vegetables produced in Kerala organic farms and made available at organic outlets are 100% safe to consume.

Dr Thomas Biju Mathew of the Pesticide Residue Lab at the Agricultural College in Vellayani says that they are on a continuous research mode, so as to ensure that vegetables available in the market even under the ‘Organic’ brand are safe for consumption.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had opened around 200 organic vegetable stalls in the last Onam season. Apart from cultivating on the land the party owns, it also encourages individuals who are into both small and large-scale farming. This year too, the party has announced the opening of more such vegetable stalls during Onam.

Colleges, self-help groups and even a few religious institutions too seem to have been bitten by the organic bug.

Both the Rajagiri Engineering College and the Sacred Heart College in Ernakulam have been cultivating around three acres of land, with their last year’s bumper harvest having even hogged headlines.

Given the nature of this green venture, the involvement of Kudumbasree self-help groups was inevitable, and they now top the list, when it comes to setting up of organic vegetable markets across the state. As per news reports, Kudumbasree alone farms around 50,000 hectares of land in Kerala.

All Photos : Sreekesh Raveendran Nair

On Wednesday afternoon, a man climbed atop a mobile tower located at Vazhuthacaud in Thiruvananthapuram, threatening to jump down. After repeated efforts by the police and fire force, he climbed down and was sent home. Life went on in the capital city as before. No one even seemed interested in wanting to know the reason behind his suicide attempt.

KV Shaji belongs to the Ulladan tribe of Kerala and works as a driver in the State Soil Conservation office in Idukki. Speaking to The News Minute, Shaji admits that his intention was not to die, but rather try and get justice for his dead daughter.

His 19-year-old daughter Shani K Shaji was raped by his senior officer in January 2016. After the women police team who was in charge of the enquiry submitted a report citing the incident a made-up one, Shani committed suicide by hanging herself on January 9.

Shaji sounds distraught when he says he cannot actually consider killing himself because his family of five comprising his wife, two surviving daughters and two sons would be orphaned.

“I was posted at that time in the Kollam office. My daughter used to bring me lunch there. I would mostly be out when she came, so she used to leave the lunch-box at the office and leave. That day -in the first week of January- District Soil Conservation officer Anand Bose and the office peon too were there. Bose is almost always drunk. With the help of the peon, he dragged her to a room in the office. I don’t want to go on,” Shaji sobs.

Three days after the incident, the police in a report to the higher officer termed it a fabricated case. After Shani’s death, the case was handed over to the crime branch, but no further progress was made.

Shaji and his family

What makes it even worse for Shaji is that the accused continues to work in the same office, and has not been asked to offer an explanation even once.

Shaji however was threatened on many occasions, with mounting pressure not to pursue the case. “I lost my daughter. How can I keep quiet? I was not ready to accede to their unjust demand and now they have transferred me to Idukki,” he rues.

Even the office peon who had played the accomplice did not have to face any enquiry. The SC/ST Commission too reportedly turned a blind eye to Shaji’s woes.

“I joined the service in 2000. Since then I have suffered caste discrimination, unequal treatment, apart from mental trauma. All these years, I have been transferred to all districts except my own. There were instances where officers have refused to sit next to me, while I drove the vehicle,” he recalls.

Shaji bore everything for the sake of his kids for whom he dreams of a bright future. The real problem -he says- began after he was allotted a place to stay at the NGO quarters.

“I had met the then PWD Minister VK Ebrahim Kunju and requested for quarter allocation. With the Minister’s intervention, I was given one in the NGO quarters near the Kollam Collectorate. All our neighbours were higher-ranked officers. They did not like me and my family staying there. Since the Minister had directly intervened in my case, they could not do anything. So they resorted to spreading rumours that my wife and three daughters were prostitutes,” Shaji bursts into tears.

Shaji feels that the majority of people want tribals to be restricted to tribal colonies and not aspire for a better life. “They want tribals to live in colonies. For them, tribal girls are only fit to have babies out of wedlock, like what happens in Wayanad and Attapady,” he avers.

Shaji says that he has now got into the habit of keeping a strict tab on his two surviving daughters: “If they are late even by five minutes, I get terribly worried, as I have come to understand that for the majority, tribals are a category to be hunted down,” he sounds distraught.

One of his daughters is a student at the Thiruvananthapuram Civil Service Academy. “Many have helped me, but now I am unable to sleep just thinking about the safety of these two. The daily threats too have become unbearable,” he wails.

Since his salary increments are being blocked by the department, he finds it very difficult to make ends meet. “My six-member family survives with a monthly income of Rs 13,000. I don’t even have a house of my own. Since I have a government job, I am not eligible for one under the SC/ST category. I now only want to ensure that my remaining four kids  have access to proper education, and that my dead child gets justice due to her, as she was forced to die, after losing her dignity,” Shaji has nothing more left to say.

A judicial commission probing the solar panel scam today decided to "recall" and examine former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and 20 other witnesses again "considering the evidences available with the commission".

A commission source said that Justice G Sivarajan Commission probing the scam also decided to examine 28 new witnesses, including UDF convenor P P Thankachan.

Twenty-one witnesses, including Chandy, his former gunman Salim Raj and his former personal staff member Jikkumon have already been examined and they will be recalled "as certain aspects has to be clarified again" following revelations of prime accused Saritha S Nair during her disposition before the panel, as well as "documentary and oral evidences available with the commission".

The Commission has also decided to examine Saritha again, the source said.

Chandy, during his stint as state Chief Minister, had deposed before the Commission in January this year.

During the deposition, he had maintained that the charges against him and his office were 'politically motivated' and denied any wrong-doing.

The then Kochi-based commission had held the sitting in Thiruvananthapuram at the Government Guest house to enable Chandy to depose before it.

Government had appointed retired High Court judge Sivarajan as the one-man commission on October 23, 2013 to probe the scam, pertaining to alleged cheating worth crores of rupees by Saritha and Biju Radhakrishnan by offering solar panel solutions.

The two allegedly canvassed business by using high level names, including that of Chandy.

While Saritha was granted bail after remaining behind bars for some nine months, Radhakrishnan is still in jail in connection with the alleged murder of his wife.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday suggested that the practice of providing special darshan for VIPs in the hill temple of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala should be done away with and that the Tirupati temple model queue system for pilgrims needs to be introduced.

The Chief Minister, who held a review meeting of various facilities at the temple prior to the start of pilgrim season, also wanted the shrine, which sees a heavy rush of pilgrims every year, to be kept open on all days.

He also enquired if Tirupati model darshan tickets of Rs 1,000 and Rs 250 could be introduced for Sabarimala pilgrims.

Prayar Gopalakrishnan, President of Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the world famous shrine, however turned down the three suggestions of the Chief Minister at the meeting, which also saw heated exchanges between both of them.

"The temple cannot be opened on all days as it follows certain rituals and customs," Gopalakrishnan said.

There are no separate queue for VIPs, he said adding only those who offer poojas for over Rs 500 are allowed to have darshan after standing in a special queue.

The Tirupati model tickets also cannot be introduced as it would amount to discriminating devotees, he said.

The TDB president said only women of a particular age group are not allowed inside the temple.

The Chief Minister also suggested that a rope way and airport for pilgrims who come from far off states need to be considered.

"We need to think of an airport as people from different states are coming", he said.

Vijayan said the parking facilities are not enough at Pamba and suggested a multi-level parking facility.

State ministers - K K Shylaja, Kadakkampally Surendran, K Raju, A K Saseendran and K T Jaleel besides TDB officials and members from various departments participated in the meeting.

Kerala Transport Commissioner Tomin Thachankary was on Friday removed from his post, following his controversial sycophantic birthday celebrations on August 10 and 11.

The decision was taken after a cabinet meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, wherein Kerala Transport Minister had reportedly raised the demand for his removal. The unfavourable report of state Chief Secretary SM Vijayanand in this regard too purportedly played a key role in Thachankary’s removal.

ADGP Anantha Krishnan will now take over as the new Transport Commissioner, while Thachankary has been allowed to continue as the Managing Director  of Kerala Books and Publishing Society (KBPS).

The commissioner had drawn severe flak over his controversial birthday celebrations. On Wednesday, the commissioner had expressed regret for the same in a public event that was graced by the Transport Minister. The minister however left the venue while Thachankary was still delivering his speech.

The minister had then dismissed reports of him having approached Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan demanding Thachankary’s removal. It has been a while since Saseendran has been at loggerheads with Thachankary for taking many decisions without consulting him. This includes the recently implemented ‘no-helmet-no-petrol’ rule in the state.

The minister, who had initially sought explanation from the Commissioner had made it clear that the Motor Vehicles Department must not implement any rules that would cause inconvenience to the public.

The subsequent birthday celebrations followed soon after, even as tensions over the helmet rule still persisted between the two.

The celebrations had irked the minister enough to issue  a public statement condemning the Commissioner’s circular to all RTOs in the state to celebrate his birthday.

You think Malayalis all over the world (and those on the moon) would miss a chance to flaunt their Malayaliness? Wrong. 

A Kochi-based design company 'Curiocity' recently launched a one of its kind online photo campaign called ‘Being Malayali’. The campaign saw Malayalis from all over the world narrating what it means for them to be one.

Wearing a t-shirt designed by the company that says ‘Being Malayali’, close to 100 people have already sent their photos to the firm, clicked at prominent landmarks across the world.

While some reminisced about places in Kerala such as Fort Kochi and Vadakkunnathan temple in Thrissur, some others wrote about how they missed puttu-kadala for breakfast.

#BeingMalayali is getting out of ‘Madras Mail’ early morning and searching for Puttu-Kadala at Chennai central railway station.

Malayalis can probably survive without alcohol, but not Mammootty and Mohanlal.

What is it being a Malayali ?
To have endless debates and fights over who is better ?
Lalettan or Mammookka !!!
Lalettan ki jaii !!! 

It is not just naadan kappa-fish curry and beef roast that non-resident Keralites seem to be missing out on, but Kerala-special ‘Kulikki Sarbath’.

That is our local mojito #kulukkisarbath#BeingMalayali is about the variety in cuisine!

Wonder what this special drink is? It’s a chilled lemonade with a twist.  For the uninitiated, watch this video:

Mammotty’s iconic dialogue from the 1995 movie ‘The King’ ‘was what one Malayali loves the most.

Sense Sensibility Sensitivity #BeingMalayali

And how can one not think about the green beauty of God’s Own Country?

#BeingMalayali is about having seas,beaches,rivers,paddy fields,backwaters,mountains,forests all within 100 km radius! 

Yes, that’s right.

It is nothing short of blasphemy to keep banana chips out of a discussion on Malayalis.

Number of banana chips packets you carry = number of friends you have.

Communism, communism and more communism.

#BeingMalayali is about naming your kids, Stalin,Lenin 

Why Curiocity

Though Kerala has much to boast about its culture, when it comes to gifting people something quintessential to the state, there are not too many options.

Unhappy with the fact that banana chips, chammanthi podi and coconut artefacts seemed like the only options for a Malayali to gift someone, 25-year-old Collins Samuel decided to promote local culture by designing a number of other products. 

The firm was officially launched with the #BeingMalayali campaign.

“When it comes to Kerala artefacts, we just don’t seem to have options other than Aranmula Kannadi and exotic coconut products. What we aim to do is to create an affordable collection of articles that have a distinct Kerala touch,” says Collins, who is the founder and principal designer of the company.

A policeman lying on the ground, another trying desperately to protect him even as three to four activists of the Student Federation of India kick him ruthlessly.

A picture from a protest organized by the CPI(M)’s students’ wing SFI in Kerala’s Chavara exposes how the activists assaulted policemen on duty.

SFI activists on Thursday turned violent, after a protest march carried out by them was obstructed by the police.

The Chavara police have registered a case against seven SFI activists for assaulting public servants.

A video of the incident published by Manorama News shows the activists arguing with the policemen, following which, they assault two officers on duty. 

In the scuffle that followed, two officers-ASI Francis Greek and Benedict- sustained minor injuries.

Chavara SI Jayakumar said that no arrests have been made so far.

Reacting to the incident, SFI district secretary Hari Shankar pinned the responsibility solely on the police for the scuffle. 

The students of Government Baby John Memorial College were protesting over the demolition of a compound wall to accommodate road to an individual's plot. 

“The students were carrying out a peaceful protest march under the banner of SFI when the police blocked them. They say that a mock drill by KMML carried out at the time was the reason for blocking the march. The police in fact provoked the activists, without reasoning with them,” Hari said, thereby justifying the attack on the policemen.

Asked whether the SFI's attempt is to justify attacks as a means of self-defense, he instead said that it is the SFI activists who get beaten up by the police. Clarifying that the 7 members against whom cases have been filed will not surrender, he said that the federation would fight the case legally. 

The Railways have ordered a probe into alleged incidents of defacement of coaches with graffiti on trains passing through Kerala.

Special branch of Railway Protection Force (RPF) is investigating the role of international gangs like 'Rail Hoons' behind such actions aimed at destroying the public property, railway sources said.

Rail Hoons is an outfit notorious for displaying their creative skills in public places, they added.

The investigation was launched after graffiti was spotted on trains from Shoranur railway station under Palakkad division, the sources said.

The authorities found Dhanbad-Alappuza train with graffiti at Shoranur station, two days after three coaches of an accident relief train stationed in a yard in the same junction were spotted with such paintings.

The sources said similar incident was reported from the railway yard at Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu last week.

The graffiti on the accident relief train stationed at Shoranur railway station features a name which indicates the activity of "Rail Hoons", they said.

The Railways are concerned about the incident and is probing the matter, they added.

A doctor at the Thiruvananthapuram Nedumangad Taluk hospital is in the dock for alleged negligence, leaving a surgical instrument in a patient’s abdomen on Thursday. A woman Laila Beevi who got admitted to the hospital on Monday had undergone hysterectomy on Thursday morning.

Few hours after the surgery, when hospital staff took a count of the surgical instruments that had been used, they found that a radio opaque clip was missing. It is an instrument used to locate tumour inside human body.

Later the hospital authorities informed the patient’s relative and Beevi was taken to a private laboratory for scanning.

The scan result showed that the instrument had indeed been left inside her.

She later underwent an urgent surgery in Thiruvananthapuram Medical college and the clip was removed.

Though the patient is out of danger, her relatives are protesting against the doctor who allegedly left the instrument inside.

Congress's women leaders on Friday warned the Kerala government, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, that it will face an all-women agitation if free flow of liquor was allowed in the state, a senior woman Congress leader said.

Kerala Mahila Congress President Bindhu Krishna, said it was a shame on the part of Excise Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan to say that it was not good to see people standing in long queues to purchase liquor.

"It's a shame he made such a statement, when he failed to see the big queues in front of ration shops, hospitals and treasuries. The CPI-M -led government is functioning as agents of the liquor lobby and now they speak of liquor super markets and selling liquor online," said Krishna.

"We will lead a women's brigade and take to the streets if the CPI-M government tries to tweak the present liquor policy which will see free flow of liquor," added Krishna.

For the past week, a few state ministers have dropped enough hints that the liquor policy of the previous Oommen Chandy government has caused a serious dent on the money-earner tourism industry of the state.

A 14-year-old girl from Thodupuzha in Idukki district has been sent to a shelter home run by the Child Welfare Committee, after she informed the police that she had allegedly been married off by her parents.

The CWC, however, has a problem at hand – to prove the legality of the marriage itself.

The girl, a native of Malappuram district had been married off a month ago and had been staying with her husband and his family in Thodupuzha.

Speaking to The News Minute, Idukki Women’s Cell SI, Susheela, said that she received a frantic call from the girl on Wednesday evening, requesting the police to help her.

“She managed to call us from a friend’s house and we immediately went and got her. Later that evening, she was handed over to the CWC,” SI Susheela says.

The CWC has now asked the police to investigate the issue and has also directed the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights to look into the case.

CWC Chairperson Gopalakrishnan said that the girl and her mother’s statements were recorded on Friday.

“According to the girl’s statements, no formal wedding ceremony was held. She was made to wear a bangle by the groom’s family, which is a pre-wedding practice in the Muslim community. Though she has been living with the man since then, she confirmed that she was not sexually abused,” he says.

Though the girl has been sent to the shelter home where her basic needs including education and healthcare will be taken care of till the age of 18, Gopalakrishnan is unclear about the legality of the case.

He believes that many people utilize the loopholes in the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act to get away with child marriage.

“In this case, no formal wedding ceremony was held, which makes it difficult to prove the legality of the marriage. Also, the man is the girl’s relative. Her mother told us that she had sent her daughter to stay at the relative’s house,” Gopalakrishnan says.

For the first few days after she was brought to Thodupuzha, the girl, a class 10 student, was allowed by the husband's family to attend school. However, when the girl began to express displeasure at staying in the house, the family stopped sending her to school. On Wednesday, she grabbed the only chance she got in a month’s time to escape. And she reportedly ran out of the house. 

Gopalakrishnan says that since the committee was formed in 2006, they have received as many as 300 cases every year. A legal case is not filed in many cases, he points out. 

"Many cases are solved after the committee intervenes to educate the parents about the illegality of marrying off a minor. Such cases do not go to court," he says. 

Based on a 2011 census report, The Hindu reported in 2015 that Kerala has as many as 23,183 married girls under the age of 15. And these are only officially captured figures, the report adds. 

K Nazeer, member of Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights said that hardly four to five cases get registered with the Commission every year. 

"The complaints we receive are mostly reported by a third party, generally a neighbour. It is always a challenge to track the incidents and intervene," he says. 

What did Kerala learn from the infamous rape and murder of law student Jisha in Perumbavoor? A village at Thanneermukkam Panchayat in Alappuzha now has a Karate and Martial Arts school for Children dedicated to her memory.

The Jisha Memorial Self-defence Martial Arts School was inaugurated on Wednesday in Maruthorvattom village where most residents are Dalits. The school functions in a community hall located near a Dalit colony. The very first day had 70 girls and 30 boys in attendance.

“In the beginning we planned to admit only girls, but it is a sad fact that even boys are not safe in present-day society,” remarks panchayat ward member Advocate Jyothish speaking to The News Minute.

Jyothish says that the school will teach the children to protect themselves and will also help them to be mentally prepared when caught in a dangerous situation.

“They should be able to think fast at such times in order to be able to protect themselves. We also conduct meditation classes and other mental-help programmes, apart from martial art training,” Jyothish adds.

As of now, there are two trainers to teach Karate and Kalari. The training centre was also brought under the patronage of the Kudubasree (women self-help group) unit in the area. This is to ensure that the Kudumbasree members keep an eye on the children who are reluctant to continue with the training.

The whole programme was sponsored by the panchayat ward committee and expenses are taken from the ward member’s fund, so that students do not have to pay fees. Classes are held on all Saturdays.

The organizers also plan to conduct seminars where experts can come and take classes for students on the importance of being safe.

“We plan to hold a programme where ADGP B Sandhya will be the chief guest. Children should be told about what happens in today’s world and how they can keep themselves safe. We will also bring experts to conduct awareness classes for these kids. Only awareness can keep you away from harm,” Jyothish stresses.

He also points out the relevance of such an institution near Dalit colonies. “They are highly vulnerable.  We get to hear about so many young girls being abused in tribal colonies. So it is high time they are made aware of abuse of all kinds and how to make sure of their own safety. Such kids usually feel very insecure even at home. A proper physical training regime coupled with mental-help support tips will help solve this problem to a great extent,” Jyothish believes.

In a gruesome incident, a 65-year-old woman was attacked and partly eaten up by 50 stray dogs on Friday night barely 10 km from the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.

The victim Sheeluamma, died in the Medical College hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. Angry relatives and residents of the area have blamed the city authority for her death. 

"We have lost all our patience as the authorities are hanging on to some obscure law which says dogs cannot be eliminated. Are we inferior to these dogs," asked a group of angry residents in Pulluvilla.

The incident took place around 9 p.m. in the coastal village Pulluvilla about 30 minutes from the state capital when Sheeluamma went to the seafront to use a toilet there.

Her son witnessed her being torn up by the hungry canines when he came searching for her. He had to dive into the sea to save himself from the dogs.

Earlier, another 50-year-old, Daisy was attacked by a group of dogs in a nearby locality on the seafront.

The stray dog menace has been the subject of a fierce debate for the last few years in Kerala. Frequent cases of children being attacked by dogs had caused public outrage in the state.

In the wake of Sheeluamma’s  death, voices calling for the extermination of dangerous stray dogs have risen. A Kerala businessman Kochouseph Chittilappilly, who has been persistently protesting against the government’s perceived lack of action regarding stray dogs, is demanding that all dangerous dogs should be killed at the earliest.

“All stray dogs in the area should be killed at the earliest. The law enables the government to kill dangerous dogs. At least now we should act,” he told the media.

Kerala health Minister KK Shailaja told journalists inThiruvananthapuram that she personally supports extermination of dangerous stray dogs, but the government was facing legal issues over this measure.

“When we carried out killings of dangerous stray dogs, we received many warning notices from the centre. So now we have opted sterilisation as an alternative. As per law those who keep dogs at home should have a license. But nobody follows it. Immediate measures will be taken to
sort out these issues,” Minister said

As the school bell goes off at 3.30pm, the students rush out of their classrooms. Some hurriedly make their way to the school bus parked inside the compound while some others run out of the main gate. 

So does 2-year-old Bianca.

No, Bianca is not one of the 1700 students dressed in the blue and green school uniform at Parikrma Centre for Learning at Jayanagar in Bengaluru. Bianca, the stray dog is responsible for spreading happiness in the school and teaches students many a lesson.

On a typical day, Bianca walks into any of the classrooms, no matter what the subject is being taught. She walks across the class, decides on a convenient spot, and quietly settles down.

A group of students found Bianca abandoned on the streets in 2015 and brought her to the school. She was only two months old at the time. Shukla Bose, the founder of the school for underprivileged students could not refuse the student’s appeals to keep the dog at the school.

A few months after she was administered with the necessary vaccinations, she was brought to the school. Since then she has gained a name, a home and a thousand companions.

Bianca as a teaching tool

For Shukla Bose who started the school in 2003, having a dog at the school was a welcome idea. Since its inception, the foundation runs five schools across Bengaluru.

It was in 2014 that Titania walked into the school compound in Kormangala. She has been a part of the school ever since.

A few months later in 2015, they adopted Portia who was 45-days-old at the time from a shelter home, and then Romeo and Juliet found their way to the school. Isabella is the youngest of all, who was brought to the school earlier this year.

Though the initial idea of having a dog at the school was to inculcate in the students a sense of co-existing, Bianca has taught the children many more lessons of loyalty, compassion and responsibility. 

Shukla soon realized that they can be used as an effective learning method. 

“Learning needn’t happen within four walls, in front of a black board. There are a lot of things a teacher may not be able to teach the children, but Bianca could. We don't want more doctors and engineers, do we? What we need is compassionate human beings, vets and environmentalists,” Shukla says.

And anyone who has read Shakespeare would have recognised the familiar names.

The names of the dogs were decided by the students themselves, as part of a reading exercise. The students were asked to read all of Shakespeare’s plays and come up with names for the dogs.

A group of students are assigned the duty of feeding Bianca on weekends, thereby making them responsible and committed to a cause.

12-year-old Mahia runs up to Bianca to cuddle her, just like her fellow classmates. She says that though some younger students are scared of the dog, Bianca is elated when she pats her on her head. 

Shukla admits that having a dog around in the school is challenging, especially with the younger children. Earlier when Bianca was younger, she would want the kids to play with her all the time, in the process scaring away some children. But not any more. 

"So far we have not had any untoward incidents where the elders had to intervene to ensure the safety of the children. Having said that, it is also important for the children to understand that certain kinds of behaviour is not acceptable and can annoy the dog. We believe it is a learning process, where the children figure it out on their own and adapt to it," Shukla says. 

Bianca has become an integral part of the school, just like all the other dogs in the other centres.

In an article that appeared in the party mouthpiece Deshabhimani, Kerala CPI (M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has written that he strongly supports the entry of women in Sabarimala.

By pointing out how the Supreme Court urged women’s entry to the hill shrine, the CPI (M) leader says that the Devaswom Board and UDF government had an anti-women attitude on the issue.

He writes that the Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan behaves as if the hill would be destroyed, if women from the age group of 10 to 50 years enter Sabarimala.

He also strongly condemned the protest led by the Devaswom board on the issue. Kodiyeri says that the ultimate decision should be taken after the apex court’s verdict on the issue.

“Misguiding believers in the name of religion and tradition is not good. Congress should mention whether their ideology is against women’s equality. Let the women Congress also express their opinion,” Kodiyeri said challenging the Congress on the issue.

“CPI (M) completely supports women’s entry. Sabarimala issue cannot be considered as a mere tradition. Only those who bear the fascist ideologies consider it as a tradition. Feudals believed in male hypocrisy and female slavery. Such kind of people were behind prohibiting lower caste people from entering inside temples in the past when kings used to rule,” he writes.

In the article, he also points that CPI (M) had always protested against the false practices of all religions including Islam and Christianity.

He says that if menstruation was the reason for denying women entry in Sabarimala, then it is absurdity, because it is a woman’s trait and not a drawback.

“Women are capable of competing with men. So it is not good to segregate them from a public place like Sabarimala. Some have claimed that if women are allowed in the shrine, the men believers would lose their spirituality. Such claims are an insult to the believers,” he says.  

Meanwhile, in the wake of this article, Prayar Gopalakrishnan has informed that he would resign from his post if the government asks for it. He also said that Sabarimala is not an issue that anybody passing on the street can criticize or pass a judgement on.  

The Australian police on Saturday revealed that a Kerala man who died on October 2015, was murdered by his wife and her lover by after the former was given cyanide.

Sam Abraham, 33, died on October 13. The police and his relatives believed that he had a cardiac arrest during his sleep. His wife Sofiya also said the same reason to friends and relatives.

An Australian News Paper The Herald Sun reported that Sam had faced another murder attempt three months before his death. Though Sam couldn’t identify the attacker then, police now say that it was Arun Kamalasanan, 34, Sofiya’s male friend, who is also a Keralite.

The report says that some CCTV footage and DNA will be the evidence in the case, while the police have got some evidence by tapping Sofiya’s phone calls.

Police have asked for some more time in the court to get her Malayalam conversations translated.

The Herald reports that after Sam’s death Sofiya had moved to another apartment in the same area. The report says that when she appeared in the court, she was motionless.

“Dressed neatly in a white tank top, a large necklace, and with her shoulder-length dark hair out, Mrs Sam was motionless during a short court appearance. At one time she put her face in her hands. Her family was in court and visibly distressed,” the report states.

A Malayala Manorama report says Sam had given some hint about problems between him and Sofiya when he went to his hometown Kollam before his death. The report says that he had given a warning to his relatives that the next time, he would be brought in a coffin and also told his father that his body should be buried near his grandfather’s grave.

As per the report, he also informed his relatives that after his death, his body should be taken to graveyard in a decorated coffin.

Arun and Sofiya have been remanded till February next year. Sofiya and Sam have a four-year-old child and they had migrated to Australia in 2013. Sam, a native of Punalur in Kollam district was an employee with UAE Exchange.

CPIM-led LDF government and private self-financing medical college managements in Kerala seem to be heading for a confrontation over admission of students in these institutions.

A government order to fill all seats including management and NRI quotas in private medical colleges through NEET merit list have evoked strong protest from the private managements in the state.

Kerala Private Medical College Management Association has decided to challenge the government direction to the state Commissioner of Entrance Examination to start counselling process for admission to private medical colleges and deemed universities

"Private Colleges managements will move the High Court challenging government directive in a day or two," Association President P Krishnadas said.

The government's decision to take over the admission of all seats in private medical colleges cannot be accepted, he said. "We will conduct admission to all seats from the NEET list based on merit. Admission is the right of the management."

Stating that the impugned order was unconstitutional, he said it was infringement on certain rights guaranteed under constitution to private educational institutions in the country.