THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 5 May 2007 — Akshaya, a Kerala government initiative to promote computer literacy, has announced a pilot project that envisages establishment of village-level web portals with local Malayalam contents in the northern district of Kannur with financial and technical assistance from UNESCO. The portals would feature local history, information about prominent individuals, organizations, institutions and places of special interest in the area, Akshaya director T.K. Manzoor said. It will also have local advertisements and Yellow Pages. A local level call center facility is also part of the project. UNESCO will be providing technical support to the pilot project. The Akshaya will offer courses besides e-payment and e-krishi, a UNDP-aided project to help farmers source information on agriculture and markets.
National Waterways
The National Waterway-III from Kollam to Kottapuram will be commissioned by August, according to Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran. Work on the renovation of the two extreme reaches is progressing. “The opening of the waterway would bring about a qualitative change in the development of the state,” the minister said. The southern reach from Kollam to Kovalam and the northern reach from Kottapuram to Neeleswaram would be developed and made available for freight traffic. The work is expected to be completed by 2010 and Kerala would become the first state to provide airport to seaport accessibility through inland waterways, he said.
Man Wants Son’s Death Probed
The father of a Kerala man allegedly killed in a fake shootout by Gujarat police three years ago and branded a terrorist asked Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan yesterday to get his son’s death probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Gopinathan Pillai, the father of Pranesh Kumar Pillai alias Javed who was killed allegedly in a fake encounter in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004, said: “My son was never a terrorist. He has been brutally murdered. I seek the intervention of the chief minister to unravel the truth of the shootout in the wake of the arrest of Vanzra (a senior Gujarat police official arrested last week for a staged killing).” Pillai’s son assumed the name Javed after converting to Islam to marry a Muslim woman. He was shot dead along with three others. Police had then alleged the four were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) activists on a mission to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The issue has surfaced now after the arrest of D.G. Vanzara and two other Indian Police Service officers for the November 2005 staged killing of Ahmedabad resident Sohrabuddin Sheikh and branding him a terrorist. Pillai claims Vanzara is involved in the death of his son too.
Shopping Mall
Kochi port is planning to build a public plaza inside the port as it seeks to cash in on cruise-ship passengers. The number of such passengers marked a record increase of 50 percent last year. Thirty-eight cruise ships visited the port between April 2006 and March 2007 bringing 16,018 passengers and 11,239 crew members to the state. Kochi attracted the maximum number of cruise liners among the Indian ports during the year leading up to 31 March, with 38 ships, up from 22 in 2005-06. When the luxury liner Queen Mary 2 called at the port in March carrying 2,431 passengers and 1,259 crew members, the port had put a small stall near the cruise berth with elephants carved out of teakwood and rosewood, and other handicrafts and about Rs.79,000 worth of business was transacted in just a couple of hours. According to port officials, out of the 2,431 passengers on board, about 1,100 bought articles and goods worth Rs.25 million in a day, according to port officials. The proposed public plaza will offer entertainment and recreation as well as shopping facilities. It will have general and specialty malls, restaurants, dining and food courts, conferencing and trade exhibitions and duty-free shops. Authorities plan to build a cruise terminal along with the public plaza to be built over 12 acres on the island’s prime waterfront.
Stars Turn to Filmmaking
Leading film stars have launched a film for the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) to raise funds for its activities. The yet untitled film is being produced by actor Dileep and a major portion of the box office collections would go to AMMA, according to ace comedian Innocent, AMMA’s president. “Never before has any film industry in the country taken up a project like this. We require funds and all the actors will be acting for free in this film, directed by Joshi,” Innocent said. “All leading stars of the Malayalam film industry, who are members of AMMA, will be acting in it,” he added. The glittering launch function in Kochi saw the presence of top actors like Mammootty, Mohanlal, Kavya Madhavan and Dileep.
