KOZHIKODE, 25 August 2007 — India’s Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed has proposed an Indo-Arab League Forum to strengthen relations between India and the Arab world. He said Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa would visit India soon to discuss the proposal. “Our country had strong relations with the Arabs in the past. We also have a rich tradition of religious harmony,” the minister said while inaugurating a three-day international Arabic seminar at Rouzathul Uloom Arabic College attached to Farook College near here last week. Calicut University Vice-Chancellor professor Anwar Jahan Suberi presided over the seminar organized by the Calicut University Arabic Department and Rouzathul Uloom Arabic College. Former Qatar Minister Sheikh Ahmad ibn Faizal Al-Thani was the chief guest.
Cochin Airport to Accept e-Tickets
KOCHI, 25 August 2007 — The Cochin International Airport has reached an agreement with Air-India and SITA to set up a Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) system for accepting e-tickets. The initiative will come into force from May 2008. Currently, Air-India possesses the ground handling contract for Cochin Airport till 2009, while telecommunications service provider SITA has a contract till 2012. The idea is to do away with the paper ticket altogether. The CUTE system is expected to be implemented this month and Ground Handling Agents will be trained to operate it. An e-ticket costs $1 to process as against $10 per paper ticket. It would make handling of itinerary changes easy and the airline industry will save at least $3 billion a year.
Kerala Initiative in Responsible Tourism
KOTTAYAM, 25 August 2007 — India’s first Responsible Tourism working model will be made operational in the Kumarakom Lake resort where former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee holidayed in 2001. The village council will create a bazaar, the centralized collection point and sales outlet of all items produced and manufactured by the 200-odd Kudumbasree units of women entrepreneurs, from where local resorts can source a major part of their raw materials. Kerala’s Left Democratic Front (LDF) government launched the Responsible Tourism initiative to spread the gains of tourism growth to the local community. Representatives of resorts in Kumarakom signed a memorandum of understanding with the village council in May to purchase raw materials from the locals.
Fire and Rescue Go Ultramodern
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 25 August 2007 — The Trivandrum International Airport here has imported two most modern fire engines from Austria to reinforce the Fire and Emergency Service of the airport. The new Airfield Fire Fighting and Rescue Vehicles (AFFRVs) manufactured by Rosenbauer International have the power to discharge 5,000 liters of water in one minute to a range of 90m through its roof turret, the airport authorities said. The Airports Authority of India has acquired 15 AFFRVs, each costing around Rs.35 million, of which four have been allotted to the airport here, Airport Director K. Natarajan said. The fire-engine is fully computer-controlled and fitted with self-protection nozzles for driving over fire-spilled ground.
Atlantic Care to Set Up Shop in Kochi
KOCHI, 25 August 2007 — Dubai-headquartered Atlantic Care Chemicals, which produces and distributes cleaning chemicals, has announced a Rs.15 million manufacturing unit in Kochi. The Kochi facility, which will be functional in a month’s time, will have the capacity to produce 10 metric tons of chemicals per day. Atlantic Care’s entry into the Indian market is through the company’s joint venture with Gulf India Trade, a subsidiary of Emirate National Chemicals.
KMCC to Charter Flight for Amnesty Seekers
KOZHIKODE, 25 August 2007 — The Kerala Muslim Cultural Center (KMCC), a feeder organization of Indian Union Muslim League (UAE) with chapters in the major Gulf cities, has chartered a flight to bring back Keralite illegal migrants who have been given amnesty by the UAE government. The Air-India Express flight with 166 amnesty seekers will take off from the Dubai International Airport for Calicut Airport here on Sept. 1. “We have given priority to the aged, the sick and those who are facing financial problems, irrespective of caste and religion,” the Dubai unit KMCC President Ibrahim Elettil said. The amnesty seekers, among them an estimated 40,000 Keralites, have been allowed to stay back till Sept. 2.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar Receives Award
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 25 August 2007 — Rajeev Chandrasekhar, entrepreneur and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), has been selected for the P.V. Swami Memorial Award for this year. Chandrasekhar, who is part of the team that built the first Pentium processors at Intel and the mentor of cellular major BPL Mobile, is currently chairman of Asianet Communications, which runs television channels in Malayalam and Kannada. P.V. Swami Trust Chairman P.V. Gangadharan, who announced the award, said he was chosen for the annual honor considering his contributions in the sphere of business, social services and culture. Chandrasekhar was one of the first investors in the early 90s to develop India’s first and largest greenfield telecom infrastructure.
Demand for Foreign Airline Services
KOZHIKODE, 25 August 2007 — The All India Airport Users Forum (AIAUF) has decided to intensify agitation demanding introduction of foreign airline services from the Calicut International Airport. AIAUF Kerala Chapter Chairman K.P. Abdul Razak said many foreign airlines, including Air Arabia, had expressed their willingness to launch services from the airport but the government had denied permission to favor state-owned airlines. He said the organization was also contemplating legal action against the state-owned airline companies, which charge exorbitant airfare on the Kerala-Gulf sector. The AIAUF urged the lawmakers from the state to demand the Civil Aviation Ministry to take immediate decision on the issue. Meanwhile, the Calicut Airport Committee and the Malabar Chamber of Commerce requested the authorities to recommend to the ministry to grant permission for foreign and private Indian air carriers to fly from the Calicut airport. The memorandumwas presented to K. Ramalingam, chairman, Airport Authority of India, by P.V. Chandran, chairman, Calicut Airport Committee and P. Zakeer, president, Malabar Chamber of Commerce .
