Thiruvananthapuram: Health Minister Veena George said that a special State Tax Force will be formed for inspections at the state level. This tax force can conduct inspections in any part of the state. The minister said that the food safety officials of the respective area will also be a part of this team. The minister was speaking at a meeting of food safety enforcement officers.
Officials ranging from Food Safety Officers to Commissioners attended the meeting. The meeting assessed that the measures of the food safety department have been strengthened after the Covid. The Department of Food Safety has done a lot of work in the last year compared to the previous years.

18,845 tests were conducted in 2019, 23,892 tests in 2020, and 21,225 tests in 2021 between July and December. But within the last six months, about half a lakh tests have been conducted. 45 shops were closed in 2019, 39 shops in 2020, and 61 shops in 2021 while 149 establishments were closed in the last six months.

Instructions

Unlicensed firms will not be allowed to operate in the state. If the license is revoked, it can be restored only by the Commissioner. Checks should be done at regular intervals. Check-posts and shops should be checked thoroughly at night. Let’s move forward stronger together. Investigations and prosecutions should be carried out without fear.
Inspections should be extended to more establishments. All citizens who work properly will be covered by the government. Appropriate action should be taken when receiving a complaint. Don’t abuse the law. Unannounced inspections should be ensured. Seek police protection if necessary.

Enforcement reviews should be conducted on a fortnightly basis. Assessment should be done once a month at the state level and follow-up action should be taken. The online system will be strengthened. Henceforth, the establishments conducting the inspection should upload the food safety officials properly online. This should be assessed at the state level. A hygiene rating system for hotels and a public information portal will be set up soon.

Tiruvalla: Tiruvalla Court dismissed the stay petition against Minister Saji Cheriyan. The court rejected the requirement that the police report should not be considered now. The proceedings are in the Court of First Class Magistrate, Thiruvalla. The petition was filed by High Court lawyer Baiju Noyal.

Police had given Cheriyan a clean chit stating that his comments on the Constitution were not abusive. Police sought to close the case.

A case was registered as per the direction of the Thiruvalla court in the incident where he made a speech criticizing the constitution. The petitioner demanded that the reference report submitted by the police should not be accepted. The petitioner requested that no decision be taken on the report and no judgment is given in the case until the High Court’s decision.

Wayanad: KSRTC in collaboration with local bodies, the Gramavandi service is now also in Wayanad. The Grama Vandi project aims to solve the travel problems in the hinterland. Minister Antony Raju will inaugurate the first bus in the district, which will be started in collaboration with Mananthavady Block Panchayat, on the morning of January 6.

Wayanad is one of the districts suffering from travel problems in the state. The service of Gramavandi will be through the routes where travel difficulties are severe and there are no buses. Due to this very reason, Gramavandi has a huge potential in Wayanad district. The service will be given priority to the routes which are included in Mananthavady Block Panchayat and currently have less vehicle facilities.

The Gramavandi service is arranged in such a way that it starts from Mananthavady in the morning and reaches Mananthavady itself in the evening. The Gramavandi travels about one hundred and fifty kilometers daily.

Thiruvananthapuram: The crime branch will investigate the death of young director Nayana Surya. The crime Branch will form a special investigation team for this. The decision followed the conclusion that there was a lapse in the first phase of the investigation. The mystery of Naina Surya’s death is increasing with the release of the post-mortem report.

Thiruvananthapuram City Crime Records Bureau Assistant Commissioner Dinil has been tasked to submit a report on the progress of the current case investigation. It was during this inspection that it was discovered that there was a lapse in the investigation in the first phase. It was also found that there was a failure in the proceedings including the inquest. With this, it was decided to conduct further investigation.

A detailed report will be handed over to the City Police Commissioner tomorrow. The commissioner’s office said that the investigation team will be decided after this. The police questioned Nayana’s friends again. The police have decided to conduct a detailed investigation including scientific aspects.