Kozhikode science fair ends on a sour note

KOZHIKODE: Hundreds of school students and general public who had come to see the 46th state science exhibition at GVHSS Meeenchanda were welcomed by empty classrooms as most of the participants left without waiting for the programme to conclude.

Most of the students left the venue as soon as the results were announced on Wednesday night itself.

The organizing committee convenor A K Unnikrishnan said that the committee could not help as students coming from far off places left as soon as the results of the competitions were announced. "We had given strict instructions to the teams during the registration itself that they should participate in the public exhibition," he said.

Additional Director of Public Instruction (DPI) V K Saralamma who is the general convener of the event said that showcause notices would be issued to district level coordinators who were responsible for the participating teams in the science exhibition.

The Malabar districts emerged champions in all the four events including the science fair, mathematics fair, social science fair and work experience fair.

Palakkad emerged winners of the science fair by winning 171 points.

The district has also won the top spot in the work experience fair. Kozhikode topped the charts in the mathematics fair while Kannur won top honours in the social science fair.

The science fair which had attracted around 10,000 students from across the state had witnessed spirited competitions by young scientists in various competitions. The trophies to the winners will be distributed on Friday.

Kozhikode city to get fire hydrant system

KOZHIKODE: The Kozhikode city will soon get a dedicated underground water pipeline to supply water from the main reservoir at Mananchira to various locations in the city to douse fire in the event of fire accidents.

The fire hydrant system, proposed by the fire and rescue service department, would be the first-of-its-kind in the state. The plan is mooted after observing that the narrow and congested roads have been making rescue and rehabilitation process an uphill task for the fire and rescue service personnel. With the laying of dedicated underground waterline, the fire department staff can ensure availability of water at major points by plugging in hose at the nearest sluice valve from the accident site.

Valves will be installed at 25 locations in the network. At present a fire tender takes 25 to 30 minutes to fill and refill water from the reservoir.

Absence of adequate firefighting mechanism has been compelling the fire and rescue personnel to carry out the work manually, which is a difficult task. Congested roads, proximity of shops and busy streets make fire mishaps intense in the city besides hampering firefighting operations. The people have been demanding an effective firefighting mechanism in the city which has seen several fire mishaps recently.

According to data with fire and rescue service department, the district had registered 585 fire mishaps in 2010. The number was 727 in 2011 and 703 till November 2012.

E B Prasad, Kozhikode divisional officer of fire and rescue service department said through the hydrant system the department aims to reduce the damage caused by fire mishaps. "The highlight of the facility is that water through underground pipelines will used only for extinguishing fire. The department has already submitted locations of hydrant points to the Kerala water authority to prepare a detailed project report (DPR). The KWA is expected to submit the DPR to the district collector soon," he said. "We have also submitted another proposal to set up a pumping station at Mananchira which will help us fill water from Mananchira reservoir within five minutes to three fire tenders at a stretch. The system will be set up before March, 2013 with an estimated sum of Rs 7 lakh allotted from the MP fund of M K Raghavan. The PWD electrical wing has been entrusted with the preparation of project," he said.

Kozhikode Medical College Hospital to implement strict referral system

KOZHIKODE: The Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (KMCH) authorities will impose strict implementation of referral system from next year onwards. According to the hospital authorities, the process of preparing a referral protocol is in the final stage. A protocol for the Thiruvananthapuram medical college hospital has already been completed.

The referral system is being introduced to offer better health services by limiting the number of patients. As per the system only the patients who come with a referral note from the peripheral hospitals will be given advanced treatment at KMCH.

Though the previous government had introduced the system in 2009, it was not effective due to the absence of proper referral protocol.

Medical college principal Dr C Ravindran said the protocol will be distributed among the primary and secondary level health institutions in the district to ensure strict implementation of the system. The district health department here has already taken measures for the infrastructure development at government hospitals to support the referral system.

DMO Dr P K Mohanan said the protocol will cover the 91 health institutions in the district. "The doctors in 73 primary health centres can refer patients to seven taluk hospitals. The doctors in taluk hospitals can refer patients to two district hospitals in case the patient is in need of advanced treatment. The doctors in the district hospitals can then refer the patients to KMCH, if needed."

"We have already submitted a memorandum to the health secretary urging the department to introduce the system only after ensuring adequate facilities at district and taluk hospitals," said state president of KGMOA O Vasudevan

IIM-Kozhikode ties up with Sharjah university

KOZHIKODE: The University of Sharjah and the Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode (IIM-K) have decided to join hands to facilitate bilateral cooperation and international exchange programmes in the academic realm.

The tie up was finalized during discussions held between Samy Mahmoud, chancellor of the University of Sharjah and IIM-K director Debhashis Chatterjee on Sunday.

Explaining the rationale behind the partnership, Mahmoud said the UAE is currently having a good population of Indian students which made them think of a possible tie-up with Indian institutions. "In a globalized educational system, our students should to get more international opportunities through such joint ventures," he added.

Chatterjee said the learning process could never be confined to the boundary of a country alone as it would hardly serve the concepts of global education.

Later presenting a paper on 'Quality and Effectiveness of Higher Education in Recent Times: Challenges and Opportunities' at a seminar organized by IIM-K, Mahmoud said universities should adopt outcome-based learning to improve the quality and effectiveness of university education.

"University education should produce measurable outcome in terms of nurturing students' knowledge, logic, critical approach, autonomous learning skills, interpersonal skills, team spirit, responsibility and self-development," he said.

Mahmoud said the idea of internationalization should be given more priority and varsities should focus on establishing more satellite campuses and launching more continuing education programmes.

Beypore port to get major security upgrade

KOZHIKODE: Beypore port, the second largest port in the state after Kochi, is all set for a major security upgrade.
The move follows the recent audit of port security done at the port to ensure compliance with established security protocols. A high level delegation headed by Vice Admiral Satish Sony, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, had isited the Beypore port on December 13.
Under the first phase of the project, the port premises will have a high end security surveillance system complete with a CCTV network which will be able to record and digitally store the footage of all the activities happening in the port. Surveillance equipment worth Rs 2 crore will be installed at the port.
The project will be implemented under a scheme that aims at boosting security infrastructure at all the minor ports across the country.
Baggage scanning equipment, door frame and hand held metal detectors and vehicle barrier systems will also be installed at the port. Night vision binocular systems will also be procured to closely monitor the movement of ships.
Beypore Port Officer Abraham Kuriakose said that once the project is complete, Beypore will have a world class security cover.
Fencing will be carried out around the port at a cost of Rs 31 lakh. A radar system is also planned to be installed at the port at a later stage.

Kozhikode to get model street to spent late nights

KOZHIKODE: The city will soon get a model street bustling with activities till late night. MLA A Pradeep Kumar has already submitted a proposal to the tourism department to transform a selected stretch of street near the Kozhikode beach into a model street similar to the one in Western countries.
The plan has come after observing that more and more families in the city opt to go out for dinner. Tourism Minister A P Anil Kumar had earlier agreed to provide financial aid for the project and asked the MLA to proceed with the proposal.
"I got the model street idea from a documentary on a night streets in foreign countries. The proposal envisages placing chairs and tables on footpaths and providing space for people to savour dishes with music in the background," said Pradeep Kumar. "We are planning to serve Malabar cuisine on the roadside food courts. The street will be vibrant with activities from 7pm to 12pm. "Kozhikode beach is selected for developing the street as vehicular movement is limited during late hours here," he said.
The MLA is also planning to make the Eranhipalam-Sarovaram biopark a culture hub where people can conduct cultural programmes. This would also help keep anti-socials at bay.

Helmet campaign launched in Tirur

 MALAPPURAM: If everything goes according to the plan, Tirur municipality in the district will become the first municipality in the state to ensure that all two-wheeler riders wear helmets in two months.

The motor vehicles department (MVD), in association with Tirur police, has launched a mission named 'Helmet Upayuktha Tirur'. The initiative was launched after a study conducted by the department found that only 5% of motorcyclists in the district wear helmets.

An average of 150 cases is being registered in Tirur daily by the special inspection team led by joint road transport officer (RTO). The team slaps a fine of Rs100 on violators. In an effort to encourage people to wear helmets, the inspection team distributes gifts and sweets to the bike riders, who follow motor vehicle rules.

The joint RTO of Tirur, Subhash Babu said, as part of the campaign, the vehicle inspection team of MVD is examining all the documents related to the vehicles, including the smoke test papers. "Majority have already started to follow the direction of MVD officials and the initiative is expected to be a big success."

Assistant motor vehicle inspector, Tirur, V K Abdul Jalal said organizations of government employees, trade bodies and autorickshaw drivers have already extended support to the initiative.