Schemes for NoRKs on the cards

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 5 (PTI) The UDF government in
Kerala has drawn up a set of welfare initiatives for
Non-Resident Keralites(NRKs).
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told the Assembly that
the government proposed to enhance the accident insurance
cover from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh and for provision of up to
Rs 1 lakh as assistance for those who sustained major
injuries.
Job-seekers cheated by recruiting agents or forced to
work in a state of virtual captivity or had been lodged in
jail for want of appropriate documents, would be helped by
measure already taken to avoid such incidents.
Steps would be taken to recognise various organisations
in the Gulf, he said.
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Petrol pumps to close on November 1,2
Kochi, Oct 5 (PTI) Petrol pumps across Kerala, affiliated
to the All Kerala Federation of Petroleum Traders, will be
shut down on November 1 and 2 in protest against the the
decision taken by oil companies to allot new pumps.
M Radhakrishnan, state general secretary of the
federation, said here on Tuesday that the oil companies plan
to start 1,400 new pumps in the state.
He said that 800 outlets out of the proposed 1,400 will
be set up in close proximity to the existing pumps.
Radhakrishnan alleged that the oil companies were moving
ahead with its decision to start new pumps without studying
their economic viability.
Sukumar Azhikode chosen for Mathrubhumi Award
Kozhikode, Oct 5 (PTI) Renowned literary critic and
orator Dr Sukumar Azhikode has been chosen for the Mathrubhumi
Literary Award instituted by Kerala's leading media group
'Mathrubhumi'.
The award carries Rs two lakh prize money, a statuette
and a citation, the daily's Chairman and Managing Director M P
Veerendrakumar said in a release here on Tuesday.
Azhikode was selected for the honour by a three-member
panel headed by eminent poet Vishnunarayanan Namboodiri.
Azhikode could be considered as the 'conscience of Kerala
culture', who, as a writer and orator, acted as a stimulant
for change in society in the last seven decades, the jury
noted.
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Glamour means elegance: Karthika
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 5 (PTI) Karthika, up and coming
actor and daughter of yesteryear south Indian heroine Radha,
said her role of Urvashi in Lenin Rajendran's Malyalam film
"Makaramanju" (Mist of Capricorn) was intense and
challenging.
Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, she said the style
of film-making by Lenin Rajendran made all the difference.
Asked about her shifting to glamorous roles after the
off-track film by Rajendran, she said glamour "meant elegance
and nothing else. In Makaramanju also I had a glamorous role,"
Karthika said.
Karthika said her role in `Makaramanju', which is an
exploration into the psyche of a painter, was a dream
character.
Kochi SmartCity office to be opened this week-end
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 5 (PTI) The headquarters complex
of the Kochi SmartCity IT park will be opened on October 8,
putting one of Kerala's dream projects on the firm track.
The opening of the office would end uncertainties about
the joint venture project to be implemented with Dubai-based
TECOM as the promoter, which has dragged on since it was
originally initiated in 2004.
Disclosing this in the Kerala Assembly during question
hour on Tuesday, Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty said the
office complex itself would cover 1.5 lakh square feet area.
Of the total project area, 236 acres would be declared as
a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the minister said.
The Mega IT park project envisages development of 8.8
million built-up area for housing a string of IT and ITES
units with all required connectivities and allied facilities.
The project was originally mooted in 2004 when the
Congress-led UDF ministry was in power. Right from the start
it faced trouble with the then opposition LDF picking holes in
the agreement between the state and TECOM.
When LDF came to power in 2006, the project was
renegotiated but failed to strike a firm agreement on the
issue of free-hold right over the portion of land acquired by
the government for the scheme.
With UDF returning to power in May this year, SmartCity
was resumed as a priority project and differences between the
two sides had been ironed out on most contentious issues.
The project is expected to generate thousands of direct
jobs in software and allied professions.