THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 11 December 2006 — Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat averted a major crisis yesterday in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government that the party leads in Kerala enforcing a temporary truce between warring factions. The crisis erupted after Director General of Police (DGP) Raman Srivastava refused to take orders from Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan reportedly at the instance of Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. In New Delhi Saturday night, Achuthanandan met reporters twice to make a scathing attack against his own government saying it failed to check widespread corruption. He also warned of action as soon as he is back in Kerala if anti-piracy cell Inspector General Rishiraj Singh was not reinstated. Karat reportedly called both Achuthanandan and his rival Pinarayi Vijayan, the powerful state secretary who controls most of the CPI-M ministers including Balakrishnan, and asked for a cease-fire until he visits the state capital Tuesday. Prior to an official function to inaugurate the Kerala House in Mumbai, the two held closed-door discussions and declared truce. “I have asked the DGP to act on the CM’s orders,” Balakrishnan told reporters as he emerged from the meeting. The standoff has given anxious moments to party central leadership and ordinary workers as well.
International Film Fete Opens
The 11th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2006) began here Friday evening with 50 senior film personalities lighting 50 lamps indicating the golden jubilee of the state’s formation. Belgium filmmaker and actress Marion Hansel’s French film “Sounds of Sand” was screened after the inaugural function. Some 220 films, representing Asian, Latin American, African Egyptian, Iranian, French, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Argentinian cinema, have been lined up for the weeklong festival. Three Indian films, three films from Iran, two from Mexico and one film each from Indonesia, Turkey, Argentina, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Japan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are in the competition section.
ADB to Fund Urban Development
The LDF government has signed a $221 million Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan to improve living conditions of city dwellers through upgrading and expanding urban infrastructure under five municipal governments — in Kochi, Kollam, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur — with a combined population of 2.5 million. The population is projected to rise to about 3.6 million by project completion in 2011 and further to 6.2 million by 2021. According to the ADB studies, lingering urban poverty remains a threat to Kerala’s future growth although it has performed considerably better than most Indian states in terms of social development.
Toonz Inks Pact for Animated Feature
India’s leading animation studio Toonz Animation India has signed a contract with Hollywood’s Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) and Commotion Pictures to produce animated feature film Dragonlance. The film, based on Hasbro’s Dungeons and Dragons property, will be distributed theatrically in India by Toonz, and on DVD in the US and internationally (except for Asia) by Paramount Home Entertainment. Commotion Pictures’ veteran producer Steve Stabler and former Paramount Pictures marketing president Arthur Cohen will produce the film, according to a news release issued by the Kerala-based company. “We are thrilled to have entered into an agreement with accomplished producers like Steve Stabler and Arthur Cohen. This is an incredible opportunity to create an exciting film with global appeal and iconic characters,” Toonz Animation India CEO P. Jayakumar said.
Eastern Automates Quality Control
Eastern Condiments, the largest exporter of branded curry powders from India to the Gulf, has installed a fully automated quality control laboratory to check quality in spices and ready-to-eat food products in association with Biomerieux, the global leader in testing and monitoring equipment in food and medicine. “This is one of the most comprehensive systems for checking quality and safety of the spices and ready-to-eat food products,” said Eastern Group Chairman M.E. Meeran. Eastern becomes the first company to have the system. The system enabling constant monitoring at each step of the production process comprised Tempo rated as a breakthrough system in food testing for enumeration of bacteria. “This is a complete system providing assurance that every product from Eastern meets the highest global quality standards,” said Navas Meeran, vice chairman.
