Cochin Discussions

[Malayaali]

Training for Kochi Metro Engineers begin

6 assistant Engr. and 17 Jr. Engr. selected for training. The engineers will be sent to Delhi for On-site training.


cc: Mathrubhumi

[Malayaali]

[Malayaali]

SBI cash depositing machine at Marine Drive branch


cc: Manorama

[Malayaali]

Aamir Khan visits Mohanalal


cc: Manorama

[e_arunsid]

KOCHI, May 5, 2012 Kochi to host meet on coconut

Cocotech, a meeting of the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), will be held in Kochi from July 2 to 6. The meeting is being organised by the Coconut Development Board.

The APCC, headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, is an inter-governmental organisation, established with the objective of promoting coconut development activities of the region. A permanent panel on coconut technology will discuss issues pertaining to farming, processing and export of the commodity. The APCC has 16 regular members including Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

The theme of the meeting is ‘Inclusive growth and sustainable development of the coconut industry'. A meeting on the conduct of the international event was held at Thiruvanathapuram on Wednesday. K.Jayakumar, Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala; Sanjeev Chopra, Joint Secretary, Government of India; T.K.Jose, Chairman, Coconut Development Board; K.R. Jyothilal, Secretary, Agriculture; participated in the discussions, according to a press release issued by the CDB.

[Malayaali]

Harley-Davidson to go full throttle for Kochi

It's the widest thing on two wheels but its porky shape belies the way it can turn a bend at six-speed transmission. Come August, the iconic Harley-Davidson is opening a showroom in Kochi and our normally staid thoroughfares will be treated to bikers - in fingerless gloves, bandannas and tasseled leather - burning the asphalt.In a few months, Kochi will see bikers thundering down the streets on Harley-Davidson bikes, burning the asphalt in their leather jackets, boots and bandannas. Harley-Davidson, the iconic American marque among two-wheeled brands, is opening a showroom in Kochi come August this year.

"We will have an 18,000-sq ft showroom at Maradu on the Vyttila-Aroor bypass road," revealed Mitesh K Patel, director of KP Cars Pvt Ltd, which also owns the Audi dealership in Kochi. Apart from the bikes, the showroom will also feature apparel and bike accessories riding on the Harley-Davidson brand.

"Unlike other Harley dealerships in the country, ours will have sales, service and spares under a single roof featuring a wide range of merchandise. Lifestyle merchandise like branded apparel, eyewear, key chains, mugs and wallets will be available here. We will also have the Screamin' Eagle brand of original Harley-Davidson performance products in the showroom," Patel said.

Harley-Davidson offers 15 of its models in the country ranging from Superlow which comes at a price tag of Rs 5.6 lakh to the Ultra Classic Electra Glide which costs Rs 34.5 lakh. "We will have models priced up to Rs 25 lakh in our Kochi showroom," Patel said. The best known brand among superbikes, Harley-Davidson currently has seven dealerships in India - Chandigarh, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai - which sell bike parts and accessories showcasing the Harley-Davidson brand. Approximately, 6% of Milwaukee, Winsconsin-based Harley- Davidson Inc's worldwide revenues are derived from accessory sales. "Our eighth showroom is coming up in Kolkata soon. Kochi will be our ninth," said Sanjay Tripathi, director of marketing with Harley Davidson India. "Since July 2010, when we started our India operations, we have sold more than 1,000 Harleys in the country," Tripathy said.

[mohdshanil]

Originally Posted by Malayaali

Harley-Davidson to go full throttle for Kochi

Great news for Bike lovers of Kochi ....

[Malayaali]

cc: Manorama

[Malayaali]

Aamir effect: Fishermen on cloud nine

A group of fishermen in Fort Kochi is on cloud nine. They will be seen along with actor Aamir Khan in the latter's television debut 'Satayamev Jayate' which will be aired from Sunday.

The title song of the programme to be aired in 100 countries and eight languages has the visuals of these fishermen pulling Chinese net along with the Bollywood superstar.


The fishermen are eagerly waiting for Sunday when the programme will hit the mini-screen. "We will surely watch the programme. We are proud to appear on the screen along with such a great actor," says Zacharia of Valiyakath, Fort Kochi.

"It's the most memorable moment in my life. Aamir Khan spoke to us, drawing us close to him. We have seen many actors. But Aamir is so loving and down-to-earth," Sandyav, another fisherman in the team says.

"He asked us our names. Then we staged a demo of how the Chinese net functions. When we got a catch, of some tiger fish, he was wonderstruck," Sandyav said.

It was Nawas Cochin of Crowd Media who helped Aamir arrange the facilities for shooting at Fort Kochi.

"Even his arrival was unexpected. Nawas Cochin told us about the shooting only half-an-hour before the event. When he reached the beach around 5.30pm, we couldn't believe it. It took a few minutes to sink in," Sandyav says. Manaf, James and Shaiju are the other fishermen who participated in the programme.

When Aamir arrived at Fort Kochi, children shouted slogans in support of the actor. "Soon after arriving in Fort Kochi, he joined us for a coffee. Only then did he go to the location," said Nawas Cochin.

In February this year, Aamir and his crew had visited Kerala for filming parts of the title song of 'Satyamev Jayate' a television programme depicting real life incidents across the country.

[Malayaali]

More eve-teasers on the prowl

Beware, the good looking girl will be in Mufti

A group of girls goes past staring eyes near Fort Kochi beach on Sunday.

In a shocking revelation, the Kochi special branch said that the wing had held 322 eve-teasers from the city since January.

The police also confirmed that eve-teasing was one of the most frequently committed crimes in Kochi.

According to the police, the special branch catches at least two eve-teasers a day and between 60 and 100 a month. The nature of teasing varies from attempt to get phone numbers to exhibitionism.

After witnessing the rise in the number of eve-teasing incidents, the city police commissioner, Mr. M.R. Ajith Kumar, directed the special branch to form a women's wing to nab the teasers. Women's squad in mufti is already operating in the crowded areas in the city.

The aim, said police officials, is to stamp out eve-teasing and hooliganism. "Our priority is to ensure that Kochi leads a smooth life without any untoward incidents," said Tomy Sebastian, assistant commissioner of the special branch.

Women's squad members said the walkway at Marine Drive, Subhash Park, South KSRTC bus stand and theatre premises were places where most eve-teasing cases occurred.

A woman cop, who is a member of the special squad, told Deccan Chronicle that teasers often approached school girls with indecent notions.

“A few days ago, we were standing on the MG road, when two school girls ran up to us and told us about some eve-teasers. They said a gang showed them currency notes and asked them to accompany them in a car. We immediately informed our male police officers, who arrived at the scene and took the miscreants into custody,” she added.

[Malayaali]

Kochi on the radar of terrorists

More than a decade after terrorism found its way into God’s Own Country, one of the questions is whether the city has adequate security mechanism to counter any possible terrorist attack on its major hotspots.
Intelligence reports say the presence of sensitive establishments like Naval Armament Depot, Southern Naval Command headquarters, Special Economic Zone and LNG terminal has put Kochi on the radar of terrorists.

With lots of metro-related development projects in its kitty, there are big possibilities of terrorist threat in Kochi, police said.
In the wake of Delhi blast last year, a high alert was sounded in southern cities including Kochi. For the first time terrorists struck Kerala by blasting bombs in two bus stations in Kozhikode. Later a meeting of SIMI, the banned terrorist outfit was held in Aluva on Independence Day.

Naval Armament Depot

The Naval Armament Depot (NAD), Aluva, one of the six NADs in the country, which is keeping the arms and ammunition for the Southern Navy is the major target in the city.
The International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, the only transshipment port in India, and Cochin Port, one of the largest in India, may also be at risk.

Ernakulam Junction

Ernakulam Junction is the largest railway station in the city. The station, with six platforms and two terminals, is one of the busiest in the state. Ernakulam Town is one of the three main railway stations in the city. Unlike several major cities in the country, Kochi does not have a metal detector or baggage scanner. These devices are used only when bomb blasts occur in other parts of the country.

Cochin International Airport

The Cochin International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Kerala. The airport handles approximately around 800 aircraft per week, with thousands of passengers each day. As many as eight domestic airlines and 16 international airlines connect Kochi with nearly 40 destinations nationally and internationally.

Marine Drive

Marine Drive, a picturesque promenade in the city and a popular hangout for the local populace, also lacks securtiy cover. Hundreds of people throng the walkway during the evenings.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility. It is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port city. India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier is being built in the shipyard.

Kochi Refineries

Another sensitive area is the Kochi Refineries Ltd (KRL).

Fort Kochi

Fort Kochi is the historical part of the city and home to many tourist spots, such as the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, the Mattanchery Palace and the Santa Cruz Basilica. Mattanchery Palace, also known as the Dutch Palace, and Jewish Synagogue are also facing security threat.

The LNG terminal

The LNG terminal is another sensitive spot of the city. Natural gas is stocked and supplied to other parts of the country from Kochi.

With such a high number of developing and existing projects, the current security system will be enhanced, police said. As Kochi has is the industrial capital of the state, the current security system lacks the edge and police are planning to step up the surveillance system.

[Malayaali]

Police to secure Kochi

In the coming days, the security system in the city will be intensified.

The high-level security analysis meeting of the police to be convened in the last week of this month will look into the drawbacks of the current security system and measures to enhance policing. According to sources, Kochi has become one of the prime industrial cities in the country and has several sensitive points.

“It is one of the fast developing cities and a prime tourist spot. Sea coasts provide an entry point for terrorists, and this puts Kochi in a vulnerable spot. The meeting gains significance in the wake of the recently-concluded annual security drill ‘Triton’ which dealt with the security of coastal cities,” sources told City Express.

“The security system at key spots like Cochin Port, Vallarpadam and High Court will be enhanced. Same is the case with tourist places like Fort Kochi and Mattanchery. We will soon chalk out precautionary measures to counter any possible terrorist attack,” sources said.

Representatives of security agencies will also take part in the meeting.
“We will also discuss issues like disaster management. The Fire Force and disaster management agencies have to enhance their activities in the time of natural calamities. The lack of coordination of agencies during the earthquake last month indicates the poor disaster management system in the state. We plan to include the Navy, CISF, Fire and Rescue Department in the meeting. The official at the level of ADGP will also take part in the meeting,” sources said.

However, police officials ruled out any threat to law and order prevailing in the city.
“The meeting is being carried out to assess the entire security system of the city. There is no threat to law and order as of now. But precautions will be taken to make Kochi a peaceful and safe place for the people,” police said.

[Malayaali]

[Malayaali]

SBI Kochi - First Bank in the state


cc: Mathrubhumi

[Malayaali]

Techies held for hacking server

Two technical supervisors of a leading data bank here were arrested on Sunday after they hacked into the company server and accessed data before blackmailing the organisation for the sum of Rs 4 lakh.

In what is described as a “new age crime” by the cops, the duo Pradeep (32), a native of Amayoor in Palakkad, and Jibin Abraham Mathew (22), of Pathanamthitta, first won the confidence of the company owner, who in turn assigned them charge of the online activities.

The accused, both IT experts, slowly learnt the password and access code to the secret data files of leading clients.

“Then one day they vanished with the data and directly contacted the clients offering them services at a smaller sum than the company was asking,” a police official said.

The data bank company, based in Palarivattom, stores crucial data of high-profile people as secondary storage. It is only one of the two such organisations functioning in Kochi.

The data ranges from information regarding business activities, details of clients and investments.

The duo, who was working in the Rs 2.5 crore worth company for the last one year, also hacked into its server and rendered it non-functional for a week. One of the accused Pradeep is a B.Tech holder while the other had passed a hacker’s course.

“They then called the owner asking for a ransom of `4 lakh to get the server to again.

The owner filed a case and after a detailed probe, the duo was held in Kaloor on Monday morning,” the official said.

They were lured into a trap by the cops who asked the owner to offer them the cash after asking the duo to come to Kaloor.

[keralite]

Kairali Ford is opening up a new dealership(Full-Fledged showroom-service) at Muvattupuzha. it is at Kadathi,NH49.

[NeeRaj_Chand]

Our old railway station premises











What happened to this station's renovation? A vast area in the heart of the city is being wasted.....Now an underworld is in making here ...

[mohammedirshad06]

Its really insult to our own history and legacy..... Each stone of this bldg has several stories to tell, the intense pains taken by one determined King to change his city and state to new levels, that too within 3 years and without even sufficient penny in his pocket.......

If railways is not interested, atleast the Govt of Kerala must take over and make it a living museum to tell Kochinites, what role H.H Maharaja Rama Varma played in reshaping the destiny of Kochi with this single line and his dream station, even on verge of losing his crown.......

[mohammedirshad06]

Originally Posted by Mohamed Kabeer

O K , H H M Rama Varma might have contributed wonderfully to the railway expansion of previous Cochin state ; but that does not mean that present Kochi would not be linked to major cities of India. Further , sometimes may be best ever than the present state of affairs ; in case of railways ; considering IT hub , DP World ICTT and a major port .
If Indian railways is not interested in developing the present dead vast area , better hand over it to DMRC\ KMRL . But a BIG 'NO' TO museum by any authority including GOK , coz me share your thoughts of being in the heart of the city .

All of Kochinites, and our MPs are dreaming and working for seeing Ernakulam Central back in this station.... Even several rounds of agitations have happened and will continue......

As we all share, the best is to make this station as Ernakulam Central Terminus, where all long distance trains originating/terminating at Kochi starts. This would considerably reduce pressure on ERS.

This bldg needs to be converted into museum, after restoring back to its glory, while a new terminal needs to be developed probably on PPP basis......

I don't personally feel, the current bldg will be spacious or accomodating enough to handle major trains, as its not so huge..... So the focus should be making into a heritage museum, with a new station in the plot. After all Railways has more than 30 acres of land here.

They have to do something, rather than contributing to make another mosquito breeding ground in name of imaginary bird sanctuary........

[NeeRaj_Chand]

I have no hope on railways converting this land into a new station....Even for the CIAL station, their attitude was not satisfactory...they said it is not included in their list of priority...so they may not consider a new station here, since another station is situated within few kilometers...moreover for constructing a station railways need to start from ' A, B,C' ..all buildings need to reconstructed, new rail tracks needs to affixed as the current tracks runs underneath the soil....so a new station is a far dream...
I won't support real estate activities here, as it will completely ruin nearby mangalavanam...I support either museum or a park or both...We all know kochi badly need open spaces ....