After the Covid-19 pandemic that derailed the economy since 2019, the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal is back with an estimated 20-30 per cent jump in festive spending. Retail sector is the key contributor to the state's Durga Puja economy which was Rs 32,377 crore in 2019, according to a British Council study conducted for the state government. Retail accounts for 85 per cent of the total puja economy and the rest is shared among pandal making, decoration, illumination, entertainment, advertisement, food & beverage and others.
A Red alert, indicating heavy to very heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, has been sounded for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathnamthitta and Alappuzha districts on December 3, while Orange alert (6 cm to 20 cm rains)for Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki districts the same day.
A Students Federation of India (SFI) activist was stabbed to death at the Idukki Engineering College here on Monday, allegedly by Youth Congress activists, police said.
In a strongly worded letter, the governor has informed Vijayan that the former was ready to sign immediately if the latter brings an ordinance to amend the Acts empowering the chief minister to become the chancellor of universities.
Vijayan met Ghosh at Kerala House in New Delhi, expressed solidarity with their protest and also gifted her a book, 'Halla Bol: The Death and Life of Safdar Hashmi' by Sudhanva Deshpande. Ghosh had suffered head injuries during the January 5 attack on JNU students in the campus by a group of masked assailants.
Key accused in the sensational gold smuggling in diplomatic bags case, Swapna Suresh, on Wednesday claimed a co-accused in the case was allegedly forcibly taken away from her residence on Wednesday morning, after she claimed there was a threat to her life and that is why she gave a statement to a court about the alleged involvement of others, including the Kerala chief minister.
Leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist gathered last week in Kerala, the only state the CPI-M still rules today.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Zika has been reported in Kerala and it was not unexpected as it is spread by the Aedes Aegypte mosquitoes, which causes dengue and Chickungunya.
'If Pinarayi Vijayan gets another term, Kerala will be a state where everybody has a house.'
The magisterial court had on Wednesday cancelled the bail granted to George after the police alleged that the veteran politician, released on bail earlier on May 1 after being arrested for making a hate speech against Muslims in the State on April 29, violated the bail conditions.
Besides vice president N A Harris, treasurer Ajay Kipa, all other newly elected executive committee members, and the six eminent footballers co-opted in the committee, except Bhutia, were present in the meeting.
The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the Kerala high court order granting anticipatory bail to four people, including a former director general of police (DGP), in a case of alleged frame-up of scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage matter.
After seven days, he has tested negative and was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, said hospital officials.
The Kerala government on Friday decided to recommend a judicial inquiry against central probe agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, which are investigating the gold and dollar smuggling cases.
The Supreme Court said on Monday it will ask the Kerala high court to consider afresh the anticipatory bail pleas of four people, including a former director general of police (DGP), in a case of alleged frame-up of scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage matter.
The House preserves the hiding place at the rear of the 17th century canal house, known as the Secret Annex, where Anne Frank hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people during World War II.
Away from the distraction of its new high-profile politics, Wayanad's worries seemed very down to earth, discovers Shyam G Menon.
As the low-pressure area in the south-eastern Arabian Sea intensified into a severe depression on Friday, heavy rains lashed many parts of Kerala and huge tidal waves started hitting low-lying coastal areas.
The direction to Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL), or K-Rail as it is popularly known, was welcomed by Congress-led United Democratic Front opposition as they termed it a victory of the first phase of the struggle against the semi-high speed rail corridor.
'Metroman' E Sreedharan's decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party has given a boost to the saffron's hopes to make huge electoral inroads in Kerala, one of the toughest political terrains for the party, in the assembly polls likely to be held in April.
The Kerala Police on Monday registered a case against Catholic Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt on the basis of a complaint that the priest through his "love and narcotic jihad" remarks, committed the offence of promoting feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion.
The marriage was held at Cliff House, the official residence of the chief minister, with less than 50 people, comprising close relatives and friends, participating in the function.
Amidst the heightened social media campaign to induct K K Shailaja into the new cabinet, the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Wednesday said the dropping of the popular health minister was a 'political and organisational' decision of the party and there would not be any re-look into it.
The Bharatiya Janata Party lined up several promises, including a legislation to protect traditions of the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala and a law against "love jihad", while assuring employment for at least one person from each family and free laptops to high school students, in its manifesto for the assembly polls unveiled in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
'Our views are different on fundamental matters right from the question of citizenship, all the way up to what the character of the Government should be, how a democracy should function and whether investigation agencies should be allowed to function independently.'
"To make sure there isn't a Covid surge in the country, PM Modi has asked us to be careful. The government is also preparing if at the Covid cases increase. Today, mock drills are conducted across Covid hospitals in the country to make sure people get proper treatment," Mandaviya said.
The senior politician's arrest was formally recorded after he was brought to Thiruvananthapuram via road from his residence and thereafter, he was produced before a duty magistrate who granted him bail.
The World Nature Photography Awards announced the winners of their 2020 competition, showcasing an array of talented photographers from around the world. The grand prize winner award went to Thomas Vijayan for his image of the endangered Bornean orangutan. Vijayan spent hours up a tree, waiting to see if one of the local orangutans would use it to cross over to a nearby island. Take a look at some of the jaw-dropping images.
As results pour in for the four states -- West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam -- and one Union Territory -- Puducherry - here's a glimpse at the leaders who are trailing and those who are leading.
A day after Suresh, a prime accused who was recently released on bail gave a series of interviews to television channels, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan accused Chief Minister Pinarayi's office of intervening to get the illegal baggage released and helping the accused to leave the state.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the decision was undertaken to avoid the illicit flow of liquor in the state amid a partial lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus after 67 confirmed cases were reported.
The Kerala government imposed fresh restrictions in the state as a preventive measure to contain the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
After a marathon discussion lasting nine hours, the motion was defeated with 87 members opposing it and 40 supporting in the 140-member house with two vacancies.
Personnel of Kerala police and the forest department's Crime Investigation Team, probing the incident which triggered widespread outrage especially on social media, visited the spot and collected evidence, he said, assuring that all concerns raised will not go in vain and justice will prevail and the culprits brought to book.
Moving the resolution, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Centre should re-examine its decision and the operation and management of the airportbe handed over to the Special Purpose Vehicle in which the state government has stake.
'In the past, our movement was against the colonisers, but presently our struggle against communalism is a movement against those who stood with the colonisers'
Distancing himself from the comments, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the LDF's stand is not to personally attack Gandhi.
In a statement, it said 198 properties in the state were partially damaged and 30 houses completely destroyed in the rains from July 31 to till date.
Officials at the UAE embassy in New Delhi on Friday said the UAE had not officially announced any financial aid for Kerala flood relief. However, Vijayan claimed there was no lack of clarity on UAE aid for the flood-ravaged state.
Vijayan, who filed his nomination on Monday, submitted he has immovable assets worth Rs 51.95 lakh, including two plots with a house. He has movable assets valued at Rs 2.04 lakh including Rs 78,048.51 in his bank account in the SBI, Thalassery Branch, 1000 shares worth Rs 10,000 in Malayalam Communication Ltd and shares worth Rs one lakh at KIAL. According to the affidavit, his total income is shown as Rs 2,87,860 for 2020-21.
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