THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 21 April 2007 — Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem will lead a high-level official delegation to the Gulf next month to promote Infrastructure Kerala Limited (InKel), the newly incorporated company that seeks to attract investments from NRIs. The team will hold meetings in the Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. John Mathai, managing director of InKel, said the delegation would highlight the steps the government has taken and also hold road shows to promote InKel projects. The government will have 26 percent stake in the company while the rest will be offered to individuals and institutions.
Kerala Tourism’s New Initiative
Kerala Tourism has launched a new initiative, called Dream Season, to attract domestic tourists during the traditional off-season. Kerala Tourism will offer a host of packages at low prices for a period of six months that started this month. Tourism Principal Secretary Dr. V. Venu said the project that comes under Kerala Tourism’s public-private partnership program, was conceived after it was realized that despite impressive growth rates, Kerala remained a seasonal destination. “This will go a long way in sustaining the growth and transforming Kerala into a land for all seasons,” he said in a statement here. The official website www.keralatourism.org will provide an exclusive site featuring details of the packages being offered by hoteliers, tour operators and others associated with the industry and will enable travelers to browse through and take their pick. A new SMS-based response system will also be introduced. Once the initiative starts, information can also be had from the Kerala Tourism toll-free infoline 1-800-425-4747.
Project Gets Cabinet Nod
The state Cabinet has approved the proposed Rs.2.47 billion Pathrakkadavu hydroelectric power project to be constructed outside the limits of the Silent Valley National Park, one of the world’s 20 bio hotspots. The project, opposed by the environmentalists, aims to generate 70 MW of power in the first phase. Kerala Forest Protective Staff Association has announced protests against the project saying if implemented it would destroy 40 acres of the rainforests and River Kunthipuzha. It will also affect the supply of drinking water to the districts of Malappuram, Palakkad and Thrissur, in the core area of the unique Silent Valley National Park, the association’s General Secretary K. Jayakumar said in a statement. Saying that destroying such a major water source to produce 70 MW of power was not ideal, the association urged the Central Environment and Forest Ministry not to sanction the project.
Global Village Complex
Kerala is set to get a Rs.1 billion Global Village complex to bring together Malayalees from around the world. The mega project, an initiative of the World Malayalee Council (WMC), would include a residential complex, educational institutions, resorts and medical facilities built at Kuttikannam in Idukki district. The WMC is a community organization providing a meeting point for Malayalees from across the world. The Global Village plan is to be highlighted at the WMC Global Conference in Kochi from Aug. 1 to 7. Around 500 Malayalees from 40 countries and at least 1,500 from within the country are expected to attend the meet, Sabu Karikkassery, president of WMC, Kochi, said. “We are planning to set aside 25 acres for plantation activities. The Global Village is going to be a project in which all Malayalees would be able to buy shares. The first phase would be ready in three years and the second in seven years from now,” he said.
Cauvery Tribunal Award
The state government has decided to petition the Supreme Court challenging the Cauvery Tribunal Award and file another petition before the tribunal seeking clarifications concerning the award, Water Resources Minister K. Premachandran said. He said a large amount of water meant for the Banasurasagar project, which Kerala had completed at a cost of Rs.3.65 billion before the tribunal was set up, would become unavailable to the state with the announcement of the award because the tribunal had rejected the idea of inter-basin transfer of water, he said. The award was also not clear about how the excess water in the Cauvery basin was to be shared between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and there was no mention in the award about the Mukkali Project being implemented by Kerala, the dispute about which was referred to the tribunal by the Supreme Court following the state’s request, he said.
Bahrain Transit Point for Exports
Bahrain can be used as a transit point for exports to the US as Bahrain is the first country to sign a free trade agreement with the US and has a strategic position, according to India’s Ambassador to Bahrain Balakrishna Shetty. Kerala businessmen finding it difficult to do business with the US can do it through Bahrain, he told a seminar in Kozhikode. Direct flights from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode airports to Bahrain and from Kannur airport in future would be more beneficial. There are nearly 260,000 Indians in Bahrain constituting 35 percent of the total population there. Entrepreneurs in Bahrain see India as the best place to invest and India can team up with Bahrain in getting its bauxite converted into aluminum especially as India needs more aluminum in the future, he said.
Center Criticized for Muslim Woes
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) President Ghulam Mahmood Banatwallah has criticized the federal government for its lukewarm response to the Sachar Committee report that found the condition of Indian Muslims grim. Speaking at the district conference of the Muslim Youth League in Malappuram, he said only 0.04 percent of the federal budget this year had been kept aside for the development of minorities that constituted 18 percent of the country’s population. He urged the government to help the community to develop. He also criticized the Communist Party of India-Marxist for masterminding the Nandigram killings and said it exposed the real character of the Leftists and the Marxists.
