Kochi: The High Court has ordered the demolition of two towers in the flat complex built for soldiers in Vyttila. Towers B and C should be demolished and a new one should be built. The High Court has ordered the eviction of the residents and the demolition of the towers. The court order was issued on a petition filed by the residents stating that the flats are unsafe.

The apartment has three towers. The flats were built in 2018 for military officers and retired military officers. Observing that it is not safe for residents to continue living in the two towers of the dilapidated flat, the court directed the Army Welfare Housing Organization to demolish the two towers and build a new one.

The court also directed the formation of a committee headed by the District Collector to demolish the flats and build a new one. The court has also ordered that the residents of the flats be paid monthly rent until the demolition work is completed.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress-led Transport Democratic Federation (TDF) will go on strike in KSRTC from midnight today, raising various demands. The one-day strike will begin from midnight today (Feb 3) raising 12 demands. KSRTC CMD Pramoj Shankar had held discussions with the organization leaders to avert the strike. However, the TDF, an alliance of INTUC unions, has announced that it will not withdraw from the strike until the issues are resolved.

The TDF is on strike demanding that salaries and pensions be paid on the first day of every month, DA arrears be fully cleared, government orders be issued for salary revision agreements, expired voter registration be conducted, drivers’ special allowances be paid properly, new buses be purchased for KSRTC, harassment against the mechanical section be stopped, Swift Company be merged with KSRTC, duty surrender be allowed without any category difference, privatization of nationalized routes be stopped, NPS and NDR arrears till date be cleared and the amount withheld be paid every month, and corruption be investigated by vigilance.

Meanwhile, KSRTC CMD has issued a Dias non circular. The government has instructed the management to deal strictly with the strike. Officers must be at work on the day of the strike. Leave should not be granted except on the basis of a medical certificate issued by a medical officer not below the rank of civil surgeon. It has been instructed to use temporary employees to provide maximum services, to keep temporary employees who do not show up for work, and not to resume work without the permission of the chief office.

Thiruvananthapuram: The one-time tax arrears settlement scheme, which aims to pay off motor vehicle tax arrears with concessions and avoid liability and legal proceedings, will end on March 31. Vehicle owners who are unable to pay the tax after paying the tax till March 31, 2020, can use this opportunity.

From April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2024, only 30 percent of the total amount including tax, additional tax and interest can be avoided by paying only 30 percent for transport vehicles and only 40 percent for non-transport vehicles. Tax arrears till March 31, 2020 have been completely waived.

There is a facility to settle the arrears at the RTO/Sub-RT offices where the vehicle is registered. Registration certificate, insurance certificate and receipt of payment of Motor Workers Welfare Fund subscription are not required to pay the tax under the scheme. If the registered owner is unaware of the vehicle, or if the vehicle is stolen, dismantled, or destroyed, the tax liability up to March 31, 2024 can be paid under this scheme.

If the vehicle is found to be operating on the road for any reason, it will be exempted from further tax liability, subject to the condition of paying tax from April 1, 2024. Detailed information is available at the Motor Vehicles Department offices.

New Delhi: Basic customs duty on life-saving drugs has been completely waived. This will reduce the prices of 32 life-saving drugs for serious diseases including cancer.

Moreover, tax on six drugs has been reduced to 5 percent. In addition, 37 drugs and 13 schemes to help patients have been exempted from tax.

Another important budget announcement regarding the health sector is that day care cancer centers will be started in all district hospitals in the country within three years.

The death of a child in Balaramapuram was caused by the child’s uncle Harikumar. The accused Harikumar confessed to the crime. The police also suspect that Harikumar got help from the child’s mother Sreetu.

Devendu (2), the daughter of Sreetu and Sreejith, was found dead. The child’s body was found in a nearby well at around 8 am on Thursday. A complaint was filed that Devendu was missing at around 5.15 am. The complaint was that the child, who was sleeping with his father and mother, went missing.

The police are taking statements from four people – mother, father, mother’s brother and grandmother – at various places. The police said that there was a big contradiction in the initial statements. The police also concluded that one of them may have killed the child.

The father stated that the baby was not sleeping with him. The father stated that the baby was sleeping with his uncle. However, the uncle denied this. The uncle said that the baby was sleeping with his parents. The uncle said that he woke up when the bed caught fire and that he did not know how the bed caught fire. Meanwhile, the grandmother stated that the baby was sleeping with her father, mother and brother.

Meanwhile, Kovalam MLA M. Vincent said that there was a smell of kerosene in the room. The family had filed a complaint with the police two days ago that Rs 30 lakh was missing from their house. There are indications that there is a financial problem in the house. There are also indications that there were disagreements between the father and mother.

Thiruvananthapuram: By-elections in 30 local body wards in the state will be held on February 24, said State Election Commissioner A. Shahjahan. The by-elections will be held in one corporation ward, two block panchayat wards, three municipality wards and 24 gram panchayat wards in 13 districts, excluding Wayanad. The notification will be issued on Thursday. Nomination papers can be submitted till February 6.

Scrutiny will be held at various centres on the 7th. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is the 10th. Polling will be held on the 24th from 7 am to 6 pm. Counting of votes will be held on February 25 at 10 am. The model code of conduct has come into force. The code of conduct is applicable in the entire area of municipalities, corporations, respective wards and gram panchayats.

The code of conduct is in place in the gram panchayat areas that fall under the wards where by-elections are held in block panchayats. 80 polling booths will be set up for voting. The final voter list for the by-elections was published on the 28th. There are a total of 60617 voters in the list.