Air Kerala take off on April 14: Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram : Air Kerala, the state government's airline, would be launched April 14, 2013, to coincide with Vishu, new year's day in the Malayalam calendar, says Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

'It (Air Kerala) will be airborne April 14. The only question is whether the first flight will be an international or domestic one. Next month, we will be applying to the director general of civil aviation with the preliminary capital of Rs. 100 crore, which we will raise by then,' Chandy, who is convalescing after a leg injury, told IANS during an exclusive chat.

The chief minister explained that under the rules, an airline can only fly international routes after completing five years of domestic service; there is also a stipulation about the number of aircraft that an airline operating internationally should have.

'But Air India Express was given a relaxation in rules when it started international operations. They said it was because it was a subsidiary of Air India. So, when the state government put up the application, we also sought similar exemption. Moreover, at the moment, we are given to understand that one foreign airline is allowed to fly in here, without observing these stipulations,' Chandy said.

Chandy first took up the project in 2004. After he stepped down in 2006, the project lay in cold storage, during the tenure of the Left government.

On returning as chief minister last May, one of the first decisions Chandy took was to revive this project. He has received support from Malayalee businessmen in the Middle East.

'We have, in principle, decided to float shares of Rs.10,000 each and we were surprised when our own Malayalee businessmen there (in the Middle East) who employ thousands of employees agreed to take shares in their employees' names. Each of them employ more than 20,000 employees, so the issue of raising money of Rs.500 crore is not at all a problem. We are confident our dream will soon take flight,' Chandy said.

Chandy has drawn out a schedule, and fixed April 14 as the target date for launch of the new airline.

And if Air Kerala is unable to fly international, it will at least take to domestic skies.

With Air India having opened a brand new hangar facility in the Thiruvananthapuram airport, Air Kerala, on entering into a contract with Air India and paying the maintenance charges, can use the hangar here, the chief minister said.

Air Kerala will also have access to the engineering department of Air India, so it will not need to recruit engineers, he added.

Air India was given the land for setting up the hangar free of cost by the Kerala government. What this means, though, is that Air Kerala can only lease B 737-800 aircraft; these are what the hangar here is equipped to service.

Air Kerala take off on April 14: Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram : Air Kerala, the state government's airline, would be launched April 14, 2013, to coincide with Vishu, new year's day in the Malayalam calendar, says Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

'It (Air Kerala) will be airborne April 14. The only question is whether the first flight will be an international or domestic one. Next month, we will be applying to the director general of civil aviation with the preliminary capital of Rs. 100 crore, which we will raise by then,' Chandy, who is convalescing after a leg injury, told IANS during an exclusive chat.

The chief minister explained that under the rules, an airline can only fly international routes after completing five years of domestic service; there is also a stipulation about the number of aircraft that an airline operating internationally should have.

'But Air India Express was given a relaxation in rules when it started international operations. They said it was because it was a subsidiary of Air India. So, when the state government put up the application, we also sought similar exemption. Moreover, at the moment, we are given to understand that one foreign airline is allowed to fly in here, without observing these stipulations,' Chandy said.

Chandy first took up the project in 2004. After he stepped down in 2006, the project lay in cold storage, during the tenure of the Left government.

On returning as chief minister last May, one of the first decisions Chandy took was to revive this project. He has received support from Malayalee businessmen in the Middle East.

'We have, in principle, decided to float shares of Rs.10,000 each and we were surprised when our own Malayalee businessmen there (in the Middle East) who employ thousands of employees agreed to take shares in their employees' names. Each of them employ more than 20,000 employees, so the issue of raising money of Rs.500 crore is not at all a problem. We are confident our dream will soon take flight,' Chandy said.

Chandy has drawn out a schedule, and fixed April 14 as the target date for launch of the new airline.

And if Air Kerala is unable to fly international, it will at least take to domestic skies.

With Air India having opened a brand new hangar facility in the Thiruvananthapuram airport, Air Kerala, on entering into a contract with Air India and paying the maintenance charges, can use the hangar here, the chief minister said.

Air Kerala will also have access to the engineering department of Air India, so it will not need to recruit engineers, he added.

Air India was given the land for setting up the hangar free of cost by the Kerala government. What this means, though, is that Air Kerala can only lease B 737-800 aircraft; these are what the hangar here is equipped to service.

Malayali airman electrocuted in Assam

Kottayam: A Malayali airman died in Assam after he was electrocuted from an electric line while trying to douse fire. He is identified as M. Kannan (24), the son of late C.P. Murali of Araykkal in Kumaranalloor. Kannan is airman at Assam digjam unit of Airforce. His body will be brought to Nedumbassery airport today. The incident happened on Saturday night at 11. A fire broke out near Kannan's camp. He went there to douse it and the baton he held in his hand accidentally hit the electric line. Kannan died on the spot. 

Four-member team held for smuggling ganja to Gulf

Irinjalakkuda: Irinjalakkuda police on Sunday held a four-member team which used to smuggle ganja via people who return to Gulf after vacation under the pretext of ayurvedic medicines. 

The arrested are Shameer, 29, from Karuvanoor, Sasi, 44, from Cheloor, Raju, 35 from Nadavarampa and Vipin, 21 from Karivanoor. They were held on the basis of a tip off received by the Thrissur rural police chief PH Ashraf. The team was led by Irinjalakkuda SI T Mepulli. 

Shameer is the king pin and those who carry the smuggled stuff reach Gulf, Shameer's relative collects the materiel from them. The people who take the smuggled goods have no knowledge about this. They used to transfer mostly to Dubai. 

The team held them near an oil mill close to the Christ college and seized 1.75 kgs of ganja. Team member Vipin, Raju and Sasi used to bring ganja from Tamil Nadu and Andhra. When a kg of ganja reaches Gulf, they get lakhs from agents. In Gulf countries such offence calls for death sentence.

Four-member team held for smuggling ganja to Gulf

Irinjalakkuda: Irinjalakkuda police on Sunday held a four-member team which used to smuggle ganja via people who return to Gulf after vacation under the pretext of ayurvedic medicines. 

The arrested are Shameer, 29, from Karuvanoor, Sasi, 44, from Cheloor, Raju, 35 from Nadavarampa and Vipin, 21 from Karivanoor. They were held on the basis of a tip off received by the Thrissur rural police chief PH Ashraf. The team was led by Irinjalakkuda SI T Mepulli. 

Shameer is the king pin and those who carry the smuggled stuff reach Gulf, Shameer's relative collects the materiel from them. The people who take the smuggled goods have no knowledge about this. They used to transfer mostly to Dubai. 

The team held them near an oil mill close to the Christ college and seized 1.75 kgs of ganja. Team member Vipin, Raju and Sasi used to bring ganja from Tamil Nadu and Andhra. When a kg of ganja reaches Gulf, they get lakhs from agents. In Gulf countries such offence calls for death sentence.

Malayali airman electrocuted in Assam

Kottayam: A Malayali airman died in Assam after he was electrocuted from an electric line while trying to douse fire. He is identified as M. Kannan (24), the son of late C.P. Murali of Araykkal in Kumaranalloor. Kannan is airman at Assam digjam unit of Airforce. His body will be brought to Nedumbassery airport today. The incident happened on Saturday night at 11. A fire broke out near Kannan's camp. He went there to douse it and the baton he held in his hand accidentally hit the electric line. Kannan died on the spot. 

Gurdon, Yamanaka win Nobel medicine prize

Shinya Yamanaka

Stockholm: British researcher John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka of Japan won this year's Nobel Prize in medicine today for the discovery that mature, specialized cells of the body can be reprogrammed into blank slates that can become any kind of cell. The prize committee at Stockholm's Karonlinska institute said the discovery has 'revolutionized our understanding of how cells and organisms develop.' 'The discoveries of Gurdon and Yamanaka have shown that specialized cells can turn back the developmental clock under certain circumstances,' the committee said.



'These discoveries have also provided new tools for scientists around the world and led to remarkable progress in many areas of medicine.' The medicine award was the first Nobel Prize to be announced this year. The physics award will be announced tomorrow, followed by chemistry on Wednesday, literature on Thursday and the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

The economics prize, which was not among the original awards, but was established by the Swedish central bank in 1968, will be announced on October 15. All prizes will be handed out on December 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896. Last year's medicine award to Canadian-born Ralph Steinman, American Bruce Beutler and French scientist Jules Hoffmann briefly created some confusion when it was announced that Steinman had died a few days earlier. Posthumous prizes
are normally not allowed, but the award was left unchanged since the judges were not aware of Steinman's death when they selected him as a winner. (AP)

Gurdon, Yamanaka win Nobel medicine prize

Shinya Yamanaka

Stockholm: British researcher John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka of Japan won this year's Nobel Prize in medicine today for the discovery that mature, specialized cells of the body can be reprogrammed into blank slates that can become any kind of cell. The prize committee at Stockholm's Karonlinska institute said the discovery has 'revolutionized our understanding of how cells and organisms develop.' 'The discoveries of Gurdon and Yamanaka have shown that specialized cells can turn back the developmental clock under certain circumstances,' the committee said.



'These discoveries have also provided new tools for scientists around the world and led to remarkable progress in many areas of medicine.' The medicine award was the first Nobel Prize to be announced this year. The physics award will be announced tomorrow, followed by chemistry on Wednesday, literature on Thursday and the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

The economics prize, which was not among the original awards, but was established by the Swedish central bank in 1968, will be announced on October 15. All prizes will be handed out on December 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896. Last year's medicine award to Canadian-born Ralph Steinman, American Bruce Beutler and French scientist Jules Hoffmann briefly created some confusion when it was announced that Steinman had died a few days earlier. Posthumous prizes
are normally not allowed, but the award was left unchanged since the judges were not aware of Steinman's death when they selected him as a winner. (AP)

Paryavaranmithra national award for AUP School, Pothavur

Kasargod: Pothavur AUP School has bagged this year's Paryavaranmithra award instituted by the Union Forest and Environment ministry. The school has bagged the award with the support of SEED activities, which the school has been undertaking actively for the last three years. The award is being given for their model conduct in biodiversity conservations, water and power conservation, waste management and heritage conservation. It is the first school in south India to bag this prestigious award. 

The SEED green army is engaged in roadside shadow project on the 18 km stretch road with the help of forest ministry, green activities in Cheemeni town with help of PWD department, preservation of Kavu in Pothavur, comprehensive power conservation activities in Cheiryakakra with the help of Kudumbasree units and Ayurveda and vegetables farming. The award would be presented on October 13 at a convention to be held in Hyderabad. Representatives from 106 countries will attend. SEED coordinator KM Anil Kumar will accept the award.

Paryavaranmithra national award for AUP School, Pothavur

Kasargod: Pothavur AUP School has bagged this year's Paryavaranmithra award instituted by the Union Forest and Environment ministry. The school has bagged the award with the support of SEED activities, which the school has been undertaking actively for the last three years. The award is being given for their model conduct in biodiversity conservations, water and power conservation, waste management and heritage conservation. It is the first school in south India to bag this prestigious award. 

The SEED green army is engaged in roadside shadow project on the 18 km stretch road with the help of forest ministry, green activities in Cheemeni town with help of PWD department, preservation of Kavu in Pothavur, comprehensive power conservation activities in Cheiryakakra with the help of Kudumbasree units and Ayurveda and vegetables farming. The award would be presented on October 13 at a convention to be held in Hyderabad. Representatives from 106 countries will attend. SEED coordinator KM Anil Kumar will accept the award.