RULES thrown to winds

CM deadline on student safety passes, without any action... By Faris Arakkal Most private vehicles ferrying students in the city have been found to be neglecting safety norms. Vehicles overcrowded with students are a regular sight. The stipulation that school bus drivers should have a minimum experience of 10 years and of 35 years of age are not followed. And, of course, no vehicle maintains the speed limit (under 40km per hour). "Most drivers haven't submitted their details to the school concerned yet," says the head mistress of a private school in the city. Ironically enough, the deadline set by the chief minister in the Assembly in this regard has already passed (on October 15). He had set the deadline while responding to a call-attention motion on poor safety of school buses. A meeting of headmasters and the district education officer was held in the city on October 18, notifying schools on the various measures to be taken to ensure safety of students. DEO PT George now says there must have been "a communication gap which resulted in the CM's decision being communicated to the authorities here." And nobody in the officialdom here is aware of the directive from the minister concerned to all station house officers to regularly convene meetings of school principals and SHOs of the city on the issue! The last such meeting was held before the schools had opened, says another head mistress. School authorities blame parents for the poor safety "as they force drivers to take maximum number of children in the vehicle". Worse, the drivers plead helplessness as maintaining a speed of less than 40km "is not practical". After the meeting with the DEO, schools have started collecting information on how many students take the buses/school vans. The DEO has asked each school to submit a report as soon as possible. Meanwhile, posters threatening to stage protests against the authorities' negligence on the issue have started appearing on school walls.

Watch out! Shadow police around by Faris Arakkal

You cannot trust your own shadow but you can trust the shadow police. Around 40 cases of robberies, assaults and ganja sales have been registered within four months. The shadow police was an idea conceived by city police commissioner P Vijayan. The commissioner has given complete freedom to the cops and a vehicle has also been provided. They are making it up to the expectations. The arrest of a group of gangsters by the shadow police from the Sathyamangalam forest had made the headlines. The team comprising experienced police officers from different squads is a 24/7 wing. They used to have a weekly meetings to review their operations. They are based in the West police station. Sources said that about 70% of the operations are carried out with the help of informers. Suvratha Kumar, a member of the team, said that the name 'shadow police' is to remind the fact that they will be present in every nook and corner of the city to nab criminals. The shadow police have effectively checked the ganja business in the city. Around 30 ganja cases have been registered by the team. The cops in the battalion are well aware of the modus operandi of robbers and it will help them nab culprits easily. Women are not aliens to the criminal activities. The shadow police have booked a woman who has been charged in connection with around 12 cases of ganja sale in the city. Seizure of 1,502 ampules and 50 packets of ganja from an autorickshaw and cracking gold robbery cases are their best operations ever. The shadow police include special assistant commissioner MK Gopalakrishnan, West CI A Ramachandran, sub-inspectors Shaiju, Ramesh and Philip Varghese, assistant sub-inspector Davis, senior civil police officers Ansar Muhammed Rafi, Suvratha Kumar, Biju, Rafi and Krishnakumar, civil police officers Gopalakrishnan, Ullas and Pazhani.

A project wasted
staff reporter


Wheel barrows dumped at Ayyanthole zonal office of the corporation are getting rust

Around 100 wheel barrows remain unused at Ayyanthole zonal office of the corporation which were bought under Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) for waste disposal.
The wheel barrows were introduced for Kudumbasree units when KSUDP had launched a waste disposal project in 2009 and the Ramky Waste Management Company was entrusted with the work. But the project was dropped following technical problems.
According to the project, waste would be collected from each house using these wheel barrows and segregated at various regional centres. The segregated waste would be sent to respective dumping yards.
Former public works standing committee chairman AM Krishnan admits that lakhs of rupees were spent on buying these wheel barrows alone.
Apart from wheel barrows, there are vehicles, shovels and other equipment left unused at different zonal offices of the corporation.
City Journal had reported of eight Piaggio Apes getting rust in the corporation compound.
Buckets for carrying waste in different size and shape were also found dumped on the terrace of the zonal office.

PEECHI DAM(ned)
Faris Arakkal 


PEECHI DAM, once a favourite tourist hub of the district, is withering fast to oblivion. Lack of basic facilities and increasing number of anti-social activities are now keeping the tourists at bay.

There is no security guard to help the tourists, if needed, and the existing police aid post has been dysfunctional since many days.
This opened up the area for anti-social elements who can walk in after buying a Rs 10 entry ticket. They go into the thickets looking for small hideouts to drink and enjoy.
Absence of police and security guards goad them into do things openly and there are allegations that these anti-social elements use bawdy words and expressions on visiting families.
The areas surrounding the watch tower are extensively used by these anti-socials. Some of them, said to be lovers, indulge in open display of their affection and this is resented by visiting families.
The lone boat meant for use by tourists rests on land, covered with a plastic sheet. Tourists who come dreaming of a boat ride have to continue doing just that: dream.
There is also no provision to meet the basic needs of tourists. A rest room built by District Tourism Council has not yet been opened for use. Women visitors have a hard time.
With warning boards almost rusted, photography is not a matter of concern. That is not a bad thing considering that it is a tourist spot. The staff members do not show up to look after the needs of tourists.
The place also lacks a good restaurant. The only canteen at the entrance has been closed and tourists have to depend on nearby shacks and make do with whatever is available.
When other tourist centres are mended well by the authorities, Peechi suffers from negligence even though it is blessed with verdant hills and meadows and a beautiful water body. Still, it is patronised by hundreds of tourists who love nature.

Churning out

By Faris Arakkal Two hands move in equal pace to carve out a pot from the pure clay coming out of a potter's wheel. The show is being held live at Sangeetha Nataka Akademi as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of Thrissur Doordarshan Kendra. Raman with his magic fingers is making wonders at the Akademi. He moulds a number of patterns in your presence. After a pot is shaped out of clay, he sharpens the edge with a bamboo twig as the wheel continues to rotate. After 10 minutes of artistic demonstration, a pot is born but with no bottom. Raman keeps the pots for drying for a while. It takes a little more skill and utmost concentration thereafter to shape the bottom. Before the moulds are dry, he nurses the sides of the half-shaped pots with finesse. Lo! The bottom is covered. Then, with the help of tools, the pots are polished and given different shapes and designs. In the final phase, he keeps them on the furnace. The process strengthens their holds. Now, the pots are ready to be removed to the kitchen. In between, Thrissur Doordarshan Kendra head officer and controlling officer Dr CK Thomas said, "It's our mission to impart Gandhian ideas of swadesi goods, and such artistic jobs need to be cared for." By now, people have begun gathering around to see pottery, an skilful art under the threat of extinction. Raman left his traditional job of pottery making about two years ago. The reason is scarcity of clay. "It needs pure clay to make pots. Urbanisation is on fast pace, and has left no more fields to dig out pure clay", he said. Raman's parents used to earn their daily bread with the sale of earthern pots. But for Raman finds it difficult to find pure clay. They have to bring the clay from Arangotukara, a far away place and the journey sometimes hazardous too. The natives of Arangotukara do not take lightly of the 'invasion' from outside whether it is for clay or not.

Where are CC cameras?

The much-hyped project to install closed circuit (CC) cameras for surveillance of key junctions in the city is yet to take off. According to the project, with the installation of CC cameras, traffic violators and criminals cannot escape from police. In April, it was reported that 97 PTZ DOME cameras would be installed and eight prime spots were identified for installing them in the first phase of the project. Experts say the cameras are able to pan 90 degrees and can capture each and a very second. The statewide project was initiated three and a half years ago. Government security agencies wanted to implement the project initially in Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode cities, considering heavy traffic and security threats there. Accordingly, the project began in these cities and two phases have already been completed. Keltron is the official partner of the project. Keltron project manager G Gopalakrishnan told City Journal that the project came to a halt as the fund was not released by the authorities. Gopalakrishnan said that a recent theft at a mobile shop in Kozhikode city was easily detected with the help of CC cameras installed at the shop. City police have been entrusted with the implementation of the project using modernisation funds. But Commissioner P Vijayan said that he has to see if the fund has been released. The project is aimed at easing traffic, monitoring and controlling system.

By Faris Arakkal Ravi Raja and Arathy Ravi are back in the city with their canvases at Lalitha Kala Akademi. This time, the father-daughter duo showcased their paintings yesterday, observed as Free Verse Day. A good number of poets turned out with verses to recite at the Akademi. Free Verse Day is an initiative Ravi and his friends have been creating through facebook and now it is being celebrated around the globe. Ravi also released his first book of poetry Jugupsayile Oliporali at a function during the celebrations. While he is not creating poetry through strokes on canvas, Ravi paints with his pen, in the form of poems. Over 30 books were born out of it. His short stories are regularly published in mainstream Malayalam magazines. His graphic novel too made an impression among the readers. Amba Samudhram, and Kuthira are his best works, in his own assay. Arathy, Ravi's daughter is now a geology student at Christ College Irinjalakuda. She is a child prodigy, exhibiting her paintings at the age of 5 at Thrissur and Ernakulum Lalitha Kala Akademi. She had also exhibited her paintings once in Lakshadweep. Arathy took up the brush and started painting abstracts at the age of 2 and the passion grew with her. Now, abstracts are her genre. This time, she has added to the glitter of her father's exhibition by displaying seven paintings by her. While Arathy is fond of abstracts, Ravi's paintings have a presence of green real life. The duo was out of the main stream for some years. Arathy's mother Geethanjali is also into writing. Her book Bitch Goddess was also the attraction of the day.

District Hospital left in the lurch

(Lack of basic facilities, bribery plaguing its

normal functioning)







District Hospital Thrissur in the heart of the city does not have a canteen and a proper toilet for patients but have a lift not always working and a group of corrupt staff)



The lacklustre attitude of the hospital authorities came to light when Varghese TV, a nursing assistant, got his transfer letter from the superintendent for his fight against the neglect.
On September 19, Varghese and a group of his colleagues held a protest making tea in front of the hospital. Soon after the protest was reported in the media, he was transferred to Government Leprosy Hospital Koratty.
When asked about the transfer, DMO of the hospital said that she was not aware of it. However, Varghese told City Journal that the superintendent told him that the transfer letter came from DMO.
There are also allegations of bribery against security staff at the hospital appointed by the hospital management committee.
"Last week, I gave a security guard a hundred rupee note and a half-bottle of liquor. We both consumed the liquor in his office room," said Raju (name changed) whose wife was admitted to the labour ward of the hospital.
Bribery is rampant at the hospital. An old man, who came to the hospital recently, had to spend a night on the veranda for not giving a bribe.
Basic facilities are almost nil at the hospital. For instance, if a patient wants to take urine sample for laboratory test, the patient has to look for a lonely space somewhere on the premises.
Some employees agree that the toilets are in good condition and wonder why it has not been opened for patients?
A canteen still remains a dream for the hospital. People have to go to Swaraj Round for hot water and tea. There was a Milma outlet on the premises, but that too was closed six months ago.
The lift had not been operational. Nursing assistants recently had to carry some patients on their shoulders when the lift went off.
According to the authorities, Rs 80,000 are needed for the lift's repair and the district panchayath office reported insufficient fund for the purpose. But to the su

Thrissurites in Under 22 Kerala Cricket team

Krishna Kumar TV, Jaffar Jamal and Sandheep Warrier are all set to spin and bat for the three practice matches to be played in Sri Lanka. These three cricketers hailing from the Thrissur district have been selected for the Under 22 Kerala Cricket team. They are flying to the emerald island with a kit full of dreams. Two of the three pacers of the Kerala team are from Thrissur. Krishna Kumar is an all-rounder now playing for Apex Cricket Club Thrissur. He was groomed playing at AG's Recreation Club and Thripunithura Cricket Club. His blow with nine wickets in the inter-district matches and also a six-wicket haul in the last inter zone match paved the way to the Kerala team. A second year BCom student at St Thomas College Thrissur, Krishna Kumar had also played for state school cricket tournaments. Jafar Jamal from Kunnamkulam is a hard hitter. He had been to the last season of senior T20 matches. His 15 sixes in 2005 Mathrubhumi Cricket Camp and his fat physique had earned him the name 'Junior Inzamam'. He had played for Octopals Club and Kunnamkulam Cricket Club and currently he is with Swantons Cricket Club Thrissur. He is a student at Sacred Heart's College, Ernakulam. Sandheep Warrier's total 19 wickets in the inter-district and inter zone matches is also another expectation for the state team. His impressive height (6 feet 5 inches) enables him to bowl with maximum pace. He is from Cordiant Cricket Club Ernakulam and pursuing his engineering studies at FISAT Engineering College Angamaly. On Saturday morning, they got a call from the authorities, asking them to prepare for the trip. As there is no cricket association for the district, getting into the state team was not easy. Their efforts and calibre earn them a place in the Kerala team. Cricket lovers of Thrissur are eagerly waiting to see their performance in the island.

Dramatist in khaki

staff reporter

He wrote 28 scripts and directed 128 plays. Two of his plays bagged state school youth festival awards and another a district school youth festival award. These are some of the feather added to the cap of civil police official Vinod Mulankunnathukavu after his body became familiar with the uniform.

Vinod Mulankunnathukavu is now posted at Peramangalam police station. The profile of a civil police official has not deterred him pursuing the bit of the art instilled in him. The passion for theatre was thriving in him from the age of eight. He took the pen for portraying the life as he saw around while he was studying in St Thomas College Thrissur. Soon he found himself entering the world of theatre.
The first recognition for Vinod came in 1994 at the state polytechnic youth festival held in Palakkad. His play Bharathavakyam was selected best of the fest. That was blast-off. Chances began knocking at his door.
Plays written by him bagged prizes at schools and colleges during competitions around the state.
That was the time he started writing plays out of ONV Kurup's poem Amma and Vaikom Muhammad Basheer's Shabdhangal. Both won prizes in different festivals. Many of the private schools in the city brought trophies to their showcases by enacting plays penned by him.
The dual roles of playwright and cop have never caused to raise an eyebrow during the last 14 years. After a hectic night shift when many choose to doze off in the next morning, Vinod would throw himself into the world of theatre.
Vinod has tamed plays in Sanskrit and Hindi too. Santhosh Veerath, Prasanth C Venugopal, Rahulraj, Nitish P Krishna, Praveen Kalarikal and K Kamal lend helping hands for Vinod in his attempt to carve a niche of his own.
Now he is busy grooming students of Vivekodayam Girls Higher

Little angels carry message of charity

NO WAY that they are not to be angels, they are and always will be. 20 kids.no.. 20 angels of the Angels Club, Lourdepuram, had a noble cause to celebrate Onam this year too. They took out a procession Maveliyum Prajayum around the corners of Lourdepuram at East Fort on Thiruvonam day collecting Rs 10,000. They donated the money to the 'Oru Kavil Kanji' programme, an initiative by Jubilee Mission Hospital to feed the poor. Formed in 2006, the club has around 20 members aged between 5 and 15. For five years, they have been fancy dressing as Santaclaus and Maveli during Christmas and Onam for collecting money to poor and bedridden patients. In the last two years, they donated money for kidney patients. This time, they will donate it to the poor. "We follow Devassiatan, who is a mentor and adviser of our club," said club secretary Christin Sunny. A Lourdepuram resident, OK Davassey, currently the treasurer of Thrissur Football Association, fuels up the kids for such a noble cause. They hold meetings at their homes to take decisions on the club activities. Children print and distribute a leaflet before Onam and Christmas. They take out processions in advance to inform the public about their mission. The households are happy to co-operate with them by giving money. "Each family will have at least a hundred rupee note in store for the club," adds Christin. When festivals have been reduced to mere occasions for liquor consumption, the path adopted by these children is praiseworthy. They seem to be the real representatives of the bygone era of Mahabali.

Tigers day out

FACES: The masks of Pulikali put on display by Kottappuram Desam yesterday. (More pictures on P3). Picture by Musthafa MA By Faris Arakkal Today is the day of tigers. They will be let loose and on the prowl in the city even as thousands people, including women and children, will be watching them dancing to the rhythmic drum beats. Dancing colourful pulis at Swaraj Round are a wonderful spectacle every year which is the culmination of the Onam celebrations in the district. The cultural gala is all set to rock the city and people from different parts of the district will throng Swaraj Round to witness the grand event. This year, many well known teams pulled out of the carnival for various reasons, but some new teams turned up after a long gap. In all, eight teams are participating in Pulikali this year with 51 tigers, all set to exhibit the exciting features of their body. Organisers of the event said that pulis will not carry any advertisements during the procession and three vehicles will be allowed for each team to exhibit their tableaux. The corporation this time has increased its grant to Rs 35,000 while the tourism department has offered Rs 50,000 to each team. Strict traffic rules have been imposed in the city prior to pulikali. Yesterday was the day of preparations and exhibitions. Artists and painters were busy giving finishing touches to masks in different shapes and colours. Masks and tiger attires were on display for the public. Pulival Ezhunallipu in which all the eight teams participated took place in the city yesterday marking the proclamation of the event. Yuvajana Sangham Shankarayyar Road is now in the limelight after a gap of 17 years. All the teams were busy erecting tableaux in large lorries yesterday. "We will present a new concept with the tableaux this time," said Sunil, member of Kottapuram Pulikali Club. Stripped, black panther, leopards and pot-bellied are the varieties. An artist paints three-four pulis on an average. "It is the first time that spotlights have been installed at eight places around Swaraj Round. It will brighten the entire event,'' said Pulikali Co-ordination Committee secretary Baby P Antony. Mayilipadam Desam, Poothole Chirakkal Desam, Kaanattukara Desam, Shangaramkulangara Thattakam, Seetharam Mill Lane Pulikali Aghosha Samithi, Kokkalai Desam, Kottapuram Desam and Yuvajana Sangham Shankarayya Road are the participants this year

    WHEN THEY SAID ABOUT ONAM.........................

MY ELSY TEACHER

By Faris Arakkal

When wordless hollowness conquers the mind, when life seems to be a drone monotone, it is a desperate day when you get this sudden notion of a trip. It was one such day. I rode my bike 18 years back to my old school, St Georges Mukkatukara, where I was a kid with all the pranks part of the school bag.Dark clouds were lingering over the sky, but it was not a bother. A few old frames of the school ran in my mind- a noisy mansion, nearby church and frozen classrooms.Like love at first sight, all nostalgia I was. Nothing had changed. The same verandah, same arch, same frozen classrooms. I went inside one of the class rooms; where sudden a teacher stopped me:"Who are you"? Is that a frown or an authoritative query she asked? I answered that I was an old student and was just...just wanted to walk around. She was amused and asked about everything- the year I studied, the division, which teacher and where am I from. But I was lost in thoughts- a boy with shorts and shirts running through the verandah; I was searching for that lost frame in of my old memory disk.The teacher took me to the office. The head mistress scanned me through her bifocal. I told them that I was one of the students of the school years ago and that my father was once the PTA president of the school.She went through the archive and went through the photos. I saw a man wearing a brown Ray-ban. "There is my father!" I exclaimed. As the conversation warmed up, I asked her if there were any old teachers still in the faculty. She asked me to name one, but I could not remember her name who taught me A for Apple, B for Bat. The first hand lessons of my life. All I could remember was her eyes, she had a squint.That helped the head mistress. She instantly answered: "Oh, she is Elsy!"I prayed that my clues do not go wrong. She rang in the peon and enquired if Elsy was there. Yes, Elsy teacher was in the session. As the head mistress nodded in agreement, I almost ran to her class. In-between I was busy trying to reframe her, how she would look now... The attendent took me in to the same class where once I sat with my pals and did all the pranks 18 years ago. LKG B. Some 20-30 kids were having a ball. But my Elsy teacher wasn't there. I heard a kid asking me "are you our new teacher."The peon then searched all around and finally brought the news that Elsy teacher had just left for home. Luckily, she knew where Elsy teacher lived. She told me the name of the place, some 5km apart from the school. The roads in front of me lead to severe confusion. I asked the people I saw on the road for Elsy teacher's home. Finally, a man in a small teashop pointed his hands to a small road diverging to the left. A small house painted yellow with unlined bricks. I called out; but no answer I got. I persisted and then, slowly, an old woman opened the door. She struggled to focus her eyes on me. I asked whether there was someone called Elsy teacher lived there.A lady wearing spectacles came out. "What do you want?" For a second, I was speechless. The frame I was carrying was now filled with an image, my Elsy teacher. I asked her if she could recognise me knowing that she will not. She pondered for a while but as I expected she didn't recognise me.I told her my name, but still could not recollect. I asked if she remembered a naughty rascal in her class, but she did not. Suddenly it came to my mind, my most outrageous prank: breaking her spectacles once. As I narrated it, I could see her eyes brimming with tears...she recognised me, the naughtiest chap of her 18 years back LKG batch. She peered at me, head to toe. In addition, exclaimed to her grandma, "This is my old student faris!" The reel rewound. We discussed almost everything, my score of zeros in every dictation, my parents' worries, peeing in the class, everything. We talked and talked. Then, I asked about her family. She knew what I meant: "I am still alone..."When I was leaving her home with heart that was not quite sure if it wanted to cry or smile, I saw her looking at me with those eyes with the squint that denied her a married life, from inside her house, waving hands. As I turned to the highway, her words haunted me, still resounding in my heart:"I am still alone..." Today, on the Teachers Day, a day reserved for remembering the best teachers we met in our life, here is to you, my Elsy Teacher: thank you for devoting your life for your mother and again moulding me into a disciplined human being.

It's pure honey for money

The shop that sells pure honey in the city. By Faris Arakkal HEARING the word 'honey' is sweet and it is much sweeter to know that a small shop in the city has been selling pure honey for 70 years. The 'beehive' in a small corner of the city is the first outlet under Thrissur District Honey Bee Nurturing Society registered under the Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan. The society has now 513 members in the district assigned to collect honey for the shop. They collect fresh honey from different parts of the state for the shop. Collecting honey is not that easy and processing needs hard work. The temperature of heating up and separating pure honey is labour intensive. "The so-called 'pure honey' is not always pure with a mixture of jaggery in it. We sell bottles of honey after checking twice," says president of the society Rajagopalan. It's easy to check the purity of honey even at homes. Pure honey will settle as a drop when dropped into water. The society also sells artificial wooden honey hive. They will arrange a queen and a swarm of bees in it. Basic lessons for harvesting are also provided. When retail shops charge around Rs 250 for a kg of honey, the society charges Rs 220 a kg. "I have been buying honey from this shop for years and I have never found anything wrong in its content," said a customer at the shop. The shop is also exporting honey to other states. Dehradun is the major hub of apiculture in India and it's interesting to learn that some honey comes in different colours. 'Red honey' and 'white honey' are the names attributed according to its colour. It is a wonder that Kodagu in southern Karnataka has honey with a bitter taste and is highly effective for diabetes treatment. The shop with a smell and sight of an old storehouse still stands amidst the snarling traffic of the city attracting customers with pure honey.