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.

Beypore port fails to attract investors, works affected

KOZHIKODE: Unavailability of land for further development has become a major hurdle in attracting investors to take up the developmental work of Beypore port. While the tenders floated by the ports department to develop Azhikkal and Ponnani port have already succeeded in attracting number of bidders from across the globe, the e-tenders floated for completing the development work of Beypore has not attracted even one bidder.

Port development, operation, maintenance and transferring are planned under public-private-participation model. The project aims at developing berths, wharves and other facilities to handle general cargo, container and passenger ships. Dredging of the sea to accommodate bigger vessels to the port also comes under the project.

According to officials with the ports department land identification for developmental works will be a difficult task. Beypore is a thickly populated region and it would be almost impossible to identify land by evacuating the populace, they said.

Besides, the presence of Coast Guard, who depend on Beypore port for their operations, is considered a hurdle in attracting bidders. Any bidder who takes up the project will have to consider the opinion of the Coast Guard officials before commencing the construction work, officials said. The department is forced to put forward certain conditions before the bidders as other departments are also operating from Beypore port, they added.

As Beypore is an all-weather operational port unlike other ports under development in the state, it is difficult for both the government and the investors to come in terms with the conditions for the bid, said the officials. Being the second largest port in the state, the state government has already invested a huge amount for the development of Beypore port, official sources said.

Nirdesh, a project of the Union ministry of defence, also acts as a hurdle for the port development works as the commencement of Nirdesh project works would make Beypore a high security area making it difficult for the investors to carry out work.

Though the port department had convened a meeting of the investors in July to consider the suggestions and proposals of the investors, the investors had expressed unwillingness to take up the work.

Meantime, port officer Abraham V Kuriakose said the department would consider the development of Beypore port after opening the tender for Azhikkal port development works, on January 4. "Various works, including dredging, security system installation and construction of wharf allotted for Lakshadweep, are progressing at Beypore and a detailed development plan will be prepared before floating another tender."

Calicut to host south zone inter-varsity kho-kho tourney

Kozhikode: Forty nine universities would be seen in action in the South Zone Inter-Varsity Women Kho-Kho Championship, scheduled to be held here from December 19 to 23.

The top four placed universities would qualify for the All India Inter-zone Kho Kho Championship scheduled at Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar in February 2013, Dr V P Sakir Hussain, Organising Secretary and Calicut University Deputy Director, Physical Education, said here today.

The matches will be played in a knockout-cum-league basis in the floodlit courts prepared for the event, he said.

Hussain said they planned to modernise an indoor stadium in the varsity with the facilities for conducting volleyball, basketball, handball and badminton tournaments.

The University had also approached the State Government for financial aid for construction of a 400 metre Synthetic track, estimated to cost Rs 5.5 crore, he said.

Calicut University are defending champions. Calicut had won All India inter-zone championship five times and South zone title on eight occasions, he said.

Kannur stun Ernakulam in Kerala State Volleyball Championship

SULTHAN BATHERY: They looked kids on the court against Ernakulam but the young turks from Kannur believed in themselves and stunned the defending champions in a five-set thriller in their Pool A match in the 42nd Kerala State Senior Volleyball Championship at Sulthan Bathery floodlit stadium on Tuesday.

Eranakulam, with four Indian international players in their squad, were hot favourites against Kannur but lazy start and lack of co-ordination saw them surrendering the match 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 11-15.

With two back-to-back wins over Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam, Kannur became the first team to enter the quarters from Pool A. Now Ernakulam will have to beat Pathanamthitta on Wednesday to make it to the quarters.

Kannur skipper Subeesh led from the front and their lef-hander Rijeesh was a delight to watch. Rijeesh was brilliant in blocking former Indian skipper Tom Joseph and Vipin M George's heavy smashes and upset Ernakulam's defence with frequent hits to the opponents' front court.

Kannur's number 10-player Vivek Kamalakshan was the playmaker for the winning side with strong back court shots and brilliant placing. Kannur never looked tensed and had the upper hand throughout the match.

Earlier, Kollam women,mostly comprising of Kerala Police stars, survived a scare before outplaying Thrissur in a five-set affair, in their final Pool C match.

Thrissur, comparatively a young team with mainly Calicut University players in their squad, fought till the last moment but finally went down to the experienced Kollam team 19-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-13, 15-17.

Both teams have qualified for the quarters as Idukki bowed out of the event from Pool C.

The first set in which Kollam rested their key players Shajina NK and setter Akhila KK was a smooth ride for them. Though Thrissur played fought hard till 19-19, Kollam came back and bagged the first set at 25-19.

Thrissur started superbly in the second set and took the early lead when Anju Balakrishnan held her serve to make it 9-2.

It seemed that Thrissur was winning it easily but the timely substitution of Akhila made it 18-21 for Kollam. Akhila was brilliant with her all-round skills and earned crucial points for her side but saw Thrissur clinching the second set.

The third set was a thriller. Thriisur was well ahead when the score was 4-0 but Kollam's Shajina came up with outstanding counter-attack and levelled the score at 5-5.

Thrissur's Anju Balakrishnan was equally good and at 24-24 it was anybody's game but Thrissur held their nerves to make it 2-1.

But Kollam women were not ready to give up and the experience of Shajina, Akhila and Anjana EP made the difference for them as they stunned Thrissur in the fourth set (25-13) in less than 20 minutes.

Though Thrissur displayed nice teamwork to upset Kollam in the decider, Kollam captain Anumol Philip joined the party with hefty smashes and helped her side pick up the set and match.

Project to make value-added products from coconut

An ambitious project being showcased at the ongoing Emerging Kerala meet at Le Meridien International Convention Centre in Kochi is the Rs.5-crore Coconut-based Food Processing Plant at the Industrial Growth Centre of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) at Kinalur here.

According to a report prepared by the KSIDC officials, the proposed plant will be an integrated one delivering multiple products, including virgin coconut oil, spray-dried coconut milk powder, desiccated coconut powder, coconut vinegar and nata-de-coco, which has great commercial potential both in the domestic and export market.

Besides, the plant will be capable of processing coconut-based food products such as coconut milk cream, packaged tender coconut water and coconut oil with no additional machinery. The project is expected to provide employment to 40 people. The revenue at optimum utilisation, 80 per cent from third year onwards, will be around Rs.15.41 crore.

At present about 40,000 tonnes of desiccated coconut is manufactured annually for use in confectionary and biscuit industry. Virgin coconut oil has a large global market in numerous sectors such as food industry, health care and cosmetics. Coconut vinegar is a widely preferred table seasoning apart from being used as an ingredient in food processing.

Officials say that nata-de-coco is commonly made as sweetened candy or dessert. But it could also be used to make pickles, drinks, ice cream, puddings and fruit mixes. It is a cellulosic white to creamy yellow substance formed by the bacteria on the surface of sugar-enriched coconut water. The jelly is formed from a mixture of coconut water, sugar and glacial acetic acid after the solution is left undisturbed in a jar for two to three weeks.

Spray-dried coconut milk powder is a premium product in the global market.

It is used in the place of fresh coconut milk for food preparation, beverages in household and food industries.

50,000 nuts a day

The processing capacity of the plant will be 50,000 nuts and 200 litres of tender coconut water a day.

This would be 1.5 crore coconuts annually. An extent of around one acre of dry land is required for the purpose. The raw materials are coconut and coconut water. Since coconut water will be available from the nuts itself there is no need to source it separately, they say.

The total cost of machinery for a plant processing 1.5 crore nuts a year is around Rs.2.12 crore. Besides, technology support and details of machinery manufacturers are available from the Coconut Development Board, Kochi. The project implementation period would be one year.

The KSIDC has also proposed means of finance for the project, including equity participation and term loan. Subsidy from different government and quasi- government agencies have also been mooted.

Officials say that the coconut industry has not been able to unleash its true potential for various reasons especially its oil-driven market. But now the industry is undergoing modernisation, product diversification and by-product utilisation. Besides, consumer demands for varied high-value coconut products have also tremendously increased.

Kudumbasree eyes 100% enrolment of women

The district unit of Kudumbasree is all set to launch ‘Nanma,’ its programme to ensure 100 per cent enrolment of women from all families.

The programme, organised as part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission, will be inaugurated by Minister for Social Welfare M.K. Muneer on November 24.

Kudumbasree will conduct a survey in all wards to ascertain the number of families left out of the mission at present. Such families will be marked in a ward-wise map. They will be brought under the Kudumbasree umbrella, either as part of the existing units or by forming new neighbourhood groups. The plan is to start at least 3,000 new groups in the district. Through this, nearly 42,000 families can be provided membership. Resource groups will be formed at the district and the Community Development Society level. A special project will be formulated to involve coastal people and those from the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Kudumbasree activities.

Indecent behaviour: Teacher to face music

MALAPPURAM: Authorities of the Government Girls' Higher Secondary School, Vengara in Malappuram said on Thursday that strict action will be taken against the Arabic teacher of the school, who allegedly misbehaved with girl students.

A group of parents had staged protest in front of the school on Thursday demanding disciplinary action against the teacher. In the discussion following the protest, school authorities promised the PTA that department-level action would be taken against the teacher by Monday.

Meanwhile, Childline authorities collected statements from the students regarding the incident. Childline authorities said they will take up the issue if officials of the school fail to take action.

Police have not received any complaint regarding the incident so far.

In a similar incident happened in the school two months ago, a teacher was suspended for sexually abusing students.

Kadalundi to restart Jhankar service

CHAaLIYAM: The Kadalundi grama panchayat will soon float tender to entrust a new contractor to resume jhankar service which was stopped after the port department had expressed apprehension over the safe ferry of people across river Chaliyar.

An inspection conducted by the port department had found that the jhankar service operated by a private party based in Ponnani lacked enough security measures. Though the service was resumed in October on conditional consent it was discontinued in November. The jhankar, which used to ferry thousands of commuters and vehicles weighing up to 150 tonnes daily between Beypore and Chaliyam, was made joining three country boats.

The decision to float tender to resume the service was taken at an emergency meeting of the Kadalundi grama panchayat held two days ago. People have been finding it difficult to reach Kozhikode city after the stalling of the service. They need to travel more than 10km to reach the city after the cancellation of the service. The meeting also decided to terminate the service of the existing contractor.

"The grama panchayat is planning to resume the jhankar service at the earliest. The service will be resumed after ensuring that it has met all the safety conditions stipulated by the port department," said Kadalundi grama panchayat secretary P K Rajashekaran. The grama panchayat is also considering a proposal to purchase own jhankar to ensure round-the-clock service.

മലപ്പുറം ജില്ലയിലെ പരപ്പനങ്ങാടി പഞ്ചായത്തിലെ ഒരു ചെറിയ ഗ്രാമം.