Kochi: The meteorological department has warned that the rains will strengthen in the next five days. The torrential rain in Kerala and Tamil Nadu has caused severe thunderstorms in the northeast of India. The Met Office said there is a possibility of lightning in the state.
Northeast monsoon was gaining strength in the state. With this, the southern districts of Kerala have received good rainfall in the past few days. The meteorological department forecasted heavy showers in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh due to the cyclone in the atmosphere.
The meteorological department said that heavy snowfall and thunderstorm is expected in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
Thiruvananthapuram: In an aggressive bid to make deeper inroads in Europe, Kerala Tourism conducted a string of high-energy roadshows by participating in the World Travel Market (WTM) London 2019 in November and showcasing its formidable eyeball-grabbing products in the emerging markets of Scandinavian countries Denmark and Finland.
Kerala Tourism Director Mr. P Bala Kiran led a high-profile official delegation, comprising prominent trade partners like hoteliers, resort owners, tour operators and service providers from the state, to WTM London and roadshows in Copenhagen (Denmark) and Helsinki (Finland).
At WTM London, Kerala Tourism set up a spectacular pavilion over 120 sq.mt area with the theme of ‘Human by Nature’, it’s latest innovative marketing campaign that creates a beautiful symmetry between the state’s people and nature’s beauty. The three-minute destination campaign film, part of a marketing blitzkrieg to refurbish Kerala’s touristy appeal beyond the Indian shores, triggered huge interest among the Londoners.
A large number of meetings were scheduled with various stakeholders like tour operators, leading travel publications and Outbound Tour Operators at the London Pavilion. Alongside, the delegation held B2B meetings with the trade partners from Kerala.
Mr. Bala Kiran was also invited as an eminent speaker at the WTM Inspiration Zone panel discussion, where he presented the various initiatives of Kerala Tourism that enabled it to bounce back from the devastating floods within just six months.
Tourism Minister Shri Kadakampally Surendran said, “These roadshows will strengthen the credentials of Kerala as a renowned destination in the product catalogue of London-based operators.”
The minister noted that it would also help the state get a firm toehold in the Scandinavian region, which is a key travel source market in Europe. “It has a mature outbound-travel market, comprising those with a high propensity to travel and some of the highest per capita incomes in Europe. Roadshows at Copenhagen and Helsinki will help us to tap Denmark and Finland market where citizens enjoy high standards of living and high disposable incomes.”
Incidentally, the UK ranks number one among the markets for Kerala in terms of tourist arrivals with 201,258 visitors coming to the state in 2018.
“It has been our conscious strategy to hold roadshows not only in our traditional strongholds like the UK but also in the new and emerging markets to drive up the tourist footfalls. It will help us present the heritage and traditions of Kerala to a wider number of travellers,” Tourism Secretary Smt. Rani George said.
Mr. Bala Kiran said the roadshows had given an opportunity to Kerala to display an array of new tourism products and untapped destinations in the state. “Western Europe is our main market but we are expanding to Eastern Europe and Scandinavian countries also.” At the roadshow in Helsinki, the Tourism Director made a presentation before the traders from Finland, providing the Kerala trade partners a chance to interact with the tour operators and travel publications of that country. Mr. Nirmal Kumar Chawdhary, First Secretary/Head of Chancery, Embassy of India, Finland attended the event as the chief guest.
The roadshow in Copenhagen was attended by Indian Ambassador to Denmark Mr. Ajit Gupte as the chief guest. Air India was the airline partner of the event.
Both the roadshows concluded with the ‘Go Kerala’ contest. The winners were awarded the ‘Go Kerala Certificate’ in which they can avail an 8 day-long holiday in Kerala. Finland is an emerging market for Kerala with a tourist arrival of 2,488 in 2018. Denmark is also an emerging market for the state with 7,851 tourists from that country visiting the state in 2018.
Roadshows were also held in Warsaw (Poland) and Budapest (Hungary) last month.
Thiruvananthapuram: Jolly Johnson, founder and CEO of Thiruvananthapuram-based Helping Hands Organisation (H2O) that works for under privileged children with autism, has been awarded the prestigious Commonwealth’s 90th ‘Points of Light’ Award by Prince Charles of Britain for her exceptional work.
The award was presented to Ms Johnson when she met The Prince of Wales at the British High Commission in New Delhi during his visit to India this month.
H2O is a not for profit organization having the support of over 12,000 youth volunteers across the world.
The Points of Light award is given to specific individuals who have been working towards the betterment of the community around them and creating impact.
The award was presented by Prince Charles on behalf of his mother and British Queen Elizabeth II. The citation of the award read: “In recognition of your exceptional service supporting youth social action, you are presented with the Commonwealth’s 90th Points of Light award.”
During the award ceremony, Ms Johnson had the opportunity to speak to the Prince and Sir Dominic Asquith, the British High Commissioner to India.
“It feels very good to be recognised for the effort my team and I have put in, away from the limelight for most part. It allows us to spread more awareness about autism as well as get more youth involved in helping us make societies accepting of children with disabilities,” she said, expressing her gratitude and happiness at being selected for the award.
With regard to the large youth volunteers she has been able to mobilise for the cause, the founder of H2O said, “Our volunteers are our strength. This generation has the inherent ambition to do good and be impactful – all they need is a nudge. Our volunteers have worked day and night to help our children. This award is a big boost for them.”
The British High Commissioner was particularly impressed by H2O’s efforts in trying to make the beneficiaries employable. Prince Charles was both happy and curious to know more about H2O’s initiatives in addressing the climate crisis by raising awareness and planting Oxy-bamboo trees across Idukki and Thiruvananthapuram.
A Science and MBA graduate with an immense interest in Social and Developmental work, Social Entrepreneurship and Social Psychology, Ms Johnson also dabbles in writing on issues pertinent to her area of work.
Mumbai: Vodafone, Idea and Airtel are set to hike rates next month. The hike comes after three years. The move is meant to raise awareness for loss-making companies.
In a press release issued by the company point out that these companies lost many of their customers when they came to Jio for free. Besides, the government has increased the payment of spectrum usage and license fees. This too was a setback for the companies.
Call and data rates are expected to rise. However, it has not been revealed how much the increase will be. Experts estimate it will increase by thirty to forty-five percent. It is expected to triple in the next two years.
Beijing: At least 15 labors killed in an explosion in a coal mine Shanxi province in China. The accident occurred on Monday evening. At least 35 labors were working in the coal mine during the blast. According to the reports, 11 people rescued from the mine. Nine people went missing in the explosion. The search for the missing is in progress.
Actor Srinivasan has been admitted to a private hospital in Kochi. Srinivasan was admitted to the hospital after suffering from shortness of breath. Srinivasan was on his way to Nedumbassery airport to go to Chennai.
The difficulty was felt at the airport. He was rushed to a hospital in Angamaly and later to a private hospital in Kochi. Hospital officials said they were not concerned about the health condition. Earlier, Srinivasan had sought treatment for a lung ailment.
Chennai: Madras IIT student’s hunger strike after Fatima Lateef’s suicide was ended. The strike came to an end after two of the demands of the students were accepted. The students said the strike would be called off after the dean had promised to discuss Fatima Latif’s mysterious death in detail.
Dean assured the student representatives that an internal inquiry into Fatima’s death could be taken soon after the IIT director returned from Delhi. Both the demands of the students were agreed upon, including the establishment of a Complaint Cell in all departments to provide expert services to alleviate stress.
Thiruvananthapuram: Robotic scavenger maker Genrobotic Innovations, promoted by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TATA Brabo for bulk production of the sewer cleaning robot, Bandicoot.
The pact will help the startup to ensure high production standards and meet the rising demand for Bandicoot, to phase out manual sewer cleaning across the country.
Genrobotics is the pioneer in the development of manhole-cleaning robot in the world.
Established in 2015, the firm aims at finding solutions for the most pressing social issues through robotics, and it also targets to stamp out the obnoxious practice of manual scavenging from India by 2020.
The firm has embarked on a movement called #mission robohole, which is about changing manholes to roboholes; replacing men from the manholes with robots. This world’s first manhole cleaning robot has already been leveraged by more than six states in the country.
BRABO Robotics and Automation Limited, owned by TATA Brabo, is India’s first indigenous robot manufacturing company, which is a 100 percent Subsidiary of TATA Motors Limited.
Recently, Genrobotics was conferred with the coveted Anjani Mashelkar Inclusive Innovation Award, instituted by Anjani Mashelkar Foundation.
KSUM is the nodal agency of Kerala Government to promote entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.
The price of movie tickets has been increased in the state. Tickets for various classes are priced from Rs 10 to Rs 30. Now it is Rs.130 for a ticket. The theater organizations have decided to give in to the government’s decision to impose GST and entertainment tax in addition to the welfare fund.
Although the organizations have filed a complaint in this regard, the proceedings are ongoing. In the event of a court ruling in favor of the government, theaters will have to pay entertainment tax with retrospective effect. At the same time, some theaters have been charging new rates from Saturday itself. The standard ticket price in the state is Rs.95. With the addition of 12 percent, GST and 1 percent flood charges, the ticket price went up to Rs 113.
New Delhi: Sharad Aravind Bobde has been sworn in as the 47th Chief Justice of India. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Bobde’s term of office is April 23, 2021. The President has approved the appointment of Bobde, who succeeded Ranjan Gogoi on October 29.
Bobde was a member of the bench that heard many important cases, including the Ayodhya dispute case and the BCCI case. Further proceedings in the case will be under Bobde as the Muslim Personal Law Board decides to go ahead with the review petition in the Ayodhya case. The Constitutional Bench headed by Bobde will also hear the petition for reconsideration of the Sabarimala women entering.
