Thursday, June 28, 2012

Houseboat business struggles to stay afloat

A houseboat trip on the backwaters of Alappuzha or Kumarakom is billed as one of Kerala's exotic tourism products. But the future may not be bright for the 'product'.
For five days, nearly 650 houseboats did not ply due to a tiff between owners and employees over payments. The impasse ended Friday evening after the two parties had conciliatory talks with Tourism Minister A.P. Anilkumar, and the employees were given pay hikes.
'We do not see a bright future for this exquisite tourism product,' said Tomy Pulikattil, owner of 12 houseboats in Alappuzha.
'For obvious reasons, many of us are looking for other avenues. We are leaving for China early next week to look for other lines of business,' said Pulikattil, who has tried several innovations to rev up business -- from conference houseboats that can seat 100 people to ayurveda clinic houseboats.
The impasse began after CITU-backed Kerala House Boat and Resort Workers Union sought higher pay and perks before the annual review of wages.
'Normally, once every two years, we do a review and increase the pay package of our employees. This time it was due in August,' said Pulikattil.
'But much before that, they demanded a wage hike from Rs.4,500 to Rs.10,000 a month and an increase in the daily allowance from Rs.125 to Rs.300. We refused and decided not to ply the boats.'
Each houseboat usually has three full-time employees.
However, following Friday's talks, the salary of the employees was hiked to Rs.6,850 and daily allowance to Rs.170.
Jacob Samuel, president of All Kerala House Boat Owners Association, told IANS that the situation were not rosy.
'This was a product, which, for some years, was unique to Kerala. But things changed. Sri Lanka and Kashmir are now competing with us,' said Samuel.
'Moreover, air fares to Kerala has sky-rocketed. Now, the increase in wages is going to be a big burden.'
The new wages will be effected from July.
Currently, the rates for an overnight houseboat ride for a couple, inclusive of three full meals and tea and snacks, starts at Rs.4,000 on an average. This may go up.
'We have no other but to hike the daily rates. To break even, we have to charge at least Rs.5,500,' said Samuel. 'The annual maintenance charges has also gone up and we have to shell out a minimum of Rs.two lakh. Things are going from bad to worse.'
Members of the association said that during off season, they do not get more than 10 bookings a month while during the season (August to February), there are 22 bookings a month.
However, houseboat employees rue that since the cost of living was going up, they had no other option but to demand a pay hike.

Friday, June 8, 2012

CPM ordered release of Jayakrishnan Master murderer

2010 Kannur: The only murderer convicted in the brutal murder of BJYM State secretary Jayakrishnan Master inside the school classroom at Mokeri is to be freed in connection with the Independence Day celebration. The decision has been taken by the council of Jail board advisor's consisting of CPM district secretary P Sasi, P Jayarajan and others. The Home Minister is also a member of this board. By threatening the witnesses CPM were able to acquit all other accused and now the sole convict will be released .This is Kannur were rule of the land is dictated from party offices. If P Sasi , Jayarajan and Kodiyeri says to release a murderer from jail then no one has any right to question it. Prison officers are mere stamp pads to sign the orders from CPM party office. The convict Pradeepan of Panur has completed only 10 years of his life term. He along with three others were sentenced to death for the killing of Jayakrishnan Master. The death sentence of the lower court was upheld by the Kerala High court citing that the killing ranked among the rarest of rare cases. However Supreme Court reduced the sentence to life and freed all the other accused except for Pradeepan. Jayakrishnan Master was murdered in Dec 1, 1999 in a classroom of Mokeri High school in front of his students. Unprecedented brutality : Jayakrishnan Master`s murder was an act of unprecedented brutality which has no parallels even in this land of brutal political murders. On 1st December 1999 at around 10.35am, the class teacher of Mokeri East U.P. School in Koothuparambu near Panur in Kannur district and vice- president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Kerala State K.T. Jayakrishnan was conducting class for his 6th standard students. Suddenly, his bodyguard (provided by the state government to protect his life due to threats from communist criminals) disappeared and seven CPM activists entered the class room, shouted slogans and warned the students not to move, blocked the class room's entrance, took sword-sticks and razors in their hands, came near Jayakrishnan Master and stabbed him several times. Jayakrishnan Master fell on the floor, but the heartless communist criminals did not stop and continued to stab him. After more than 48 ante-mortem injuries all over the body, Jayakrishnan Master breathed his last within five minutes. After confirming his death, a CPM man wrote a warning to the witnesses -- children and other teachers -- on the blackboard that if anyone gave evidence to the police or the court, they would be killed. They left the place in procession, walking along the public road brandishing the blood-stained weapons as if they were celebrating a victory. The most horrible murder was committed in front of students less than 11 years old. The young children were shocked as their most respected class teacher was brutally murdered in front of them. The incident created psychological problems for many children who had to undergo counseling. Yes, this is exactly what happened in broad daylight in a school classroom seven years ago on 1st December 1999. The CPM once again proved they are ''professionals'' in murdering any person at any time at any place. The only ''sin'' committed by the Jayakrishnan Master was that he believed in an ideology (Hindutva) which the CPM could not tolerate. It was in 1996 that BJP's Kannur district secretary Panniyan Chandran was killed by CPM criminals in front of his wife. BJP suffered a major setback after the murder of Panniyan Chandran. But Jayakrishnan Master undertook the responsibility and lead the organization with the support of another 14 full-time committed party activists in Kannur. The tireless and committed work of Jayakrishnan Master boosted party activities in Kannur. He conducted a series of public meetings which attracted massive crowds. He informed the public about the criminalization of CPM in Kannur district. The increasing public support and the dedicated work of Jayakrishnan Master worried the CPM's district leaders which led them to plan to ''liquidate'' him. On various occasions the CPM's local leaders warned openly that ‘we will get our next target very soon’. K.T Jayakrishnan Master was a most respected person among the local people. He was a very soft spoken person loved by all. There were massive crowds to listen his speeches anywhere in Kerala, specially in Kannur district. He was not in the habit of insulting or ridiculing his political opponents. The CPM murdered Jayakrishnan Master only because of the growing popularity of the deceased and the fact that he was propagating an ideology (Hindutva) which they could not tolerate. The CPM goons did not even considered the mental trauma that the children would have to suffer on seeing such a terrible murder in front of their eyes. The brutal murder left an indelible scar on the minds of the students who witnessed it and this could affect their personality development. Many have joined other schools. Most of the students had to undergo counseling. News Archives

Jayakrishnan Master Lives in the Hearts of Thousands

13 th Jayakrishan Master Balidan Divas was on December 1, 2012 On 1st December 1999 at around 10.35am, the class teacher of Mokeri East U.P. School in Koothuparambu near Panur in Kannur district and vice- president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Kerala State K.T. Jayakrishnan was conducting class for his 6th standard students. Suddenly, his bodyguard (provided by the state government to protect his life due to threats from communist criminals) disappeared and seven CPM activists entered the class room, shouted slogans and warned the students not to move, blocked the class room's entrance, took sword-sticks and razors in their hands, came near Jayakrishnan Master and stabbed him several times. Jayakrishnan Master fell on the floor, but the heartless communist criminals did not stop and continued to stab him. After more than 48 ante-mortem injuries all over the body, Jayakrishnan Master breathed his last within five minutes. After confirming his death, a CPM man wrote a warning to the witnesses -- children and other teachers -- on the blackboard that if anyone gave evidence to the police or the court, they would be killed. They left the place in procession, walking along the public road brandishing the blood-stained weapons as if they were celebrating a victory. The most horrible murder was committed in front of students less than 11 years old. The young children were shocked as their most respected class teacher was brutally murdered in front of them. The incident created psychological problems for many children who had to undergo counseling. Yes, this is exactly what happened in broad daylight in a school classroom years ago on 1st December 1999. The CPM once again proved they are ''professionals'' in murdering any person at any time at any place. The only ''sin'' committed by the Jayakrishnan Master was that he believed in an ideology which the CPM could not tolerate. It was in 1996 that BJP's Kannur district secretary Panniyan Chandran was killed by CPM criminals in front of his wife. BJP suffered a major setback after the murder of Panniyan Chandran. But Jayakrishnan Master undertook the responsibility and lead the organization with the support of another 14 full-time committed party activists in Kannur. The tireless and committed work of Jayakrishnan Master boosted party activities in Kannur. He conducted a series of public meetings which attracted massive crowds. He informed the public about the criminalization of CPM in Kannur district. The increasing public support and the dedicated work of Jayakrishnan Master worried the CPM's district leaders which led them to plan to ''liquidate'' him. On various occasions the CPM's local leaders warned openly that ‘we will get our next target very soon’. K.T Jayakrishnan Master was a most respected person among the local people. He was a very soft spoken person loved by all. There were massive crowds to listen his speeches anywhere in Kerala, specially in Kannur district. He was not in the habit of insulting or ridiculing his political opponents. The CPM murdered Jayakrishnan Master only because of the growing popularity of the deceased and the fact that he was propagating an ideology (Hindutva) which they could not tolerate. The CPM goons did not even considered the mental trauma that the children would have to suffer on seeing such a terrible murder in front of their eyes. The brutal murder left an indelible scar on the minds of the students who witnessed it and this could affect their personality development. Many have joined other schools. Most of the students had to undergo counseling. More than 400 dedicated Hindu activists have been killed by CPM goons in Kerala and West Bangal during the past several years. The manner in which the crime was committed by CPM shocked not only Jayakrishnan Master's relatives but also the entire community. He was mercilessly butchered when he was unarmed and engaged in the noble act of imparting knowledge to his beloved students. The time and venue of the crime had been calculatedly chosen by the blood-thirsty assailants. They knew they could not kill him at his house or on his way to school. So the CPM selected the temple of learning as the place to execute the murder. After five years of investigations, the additional District Sessions Court and later Kerala High Court served death sentences on five of the seven accused after convicting them under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Out of seven accused, the sixth accused had been acquitted by the Sessions Judge. The seventh accused died after being hit by a train. The court confirmed the sentences and observed that the murder was committed inside a classroom in front of the students. The accused had not made any attempt to conceal their identities. The Kerala High Court judge said “the accused trespassed into the classroom and translated their evil design into action by committing the murder of K.T. Jayakrishnan in an extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical, revolting and dastardly manner”. CPM activists demonstrated in front of the Sessions Court and High Court after the verdict. They shouted slogans against the judges and even threatened to kill them. A whopping sum of more than twenty million rupees was mobilized in no time by the CPM to fight the legal battle. As advised by the CPM state secretariat, all the five convicts have submitted their appeal to the Supreme Court against the death penalty. But, in a sudden development, the present CPM-led Kerala government replaced the public prosecutor with a weak person while arranging top criminal lawyers of the country headed by Ram Jethmalani for the murder convicts. There are reports that the CPM has already paid millions as advocate fee to Jethmalani to defend the convicts and some backdoor negotiations are also under way with the help of the CPM's central leadership to ensure that the murder convicts do not get the death sentence at any cost. As expected in one of it's black day in Indian Judiciary the supreme court itself aquitted the daylight murderers of Jayakrishnan master inspite of so many witnesses! News Archives

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Pinarayi Vijayan's C.P.M is now International

Read the following news item appeared in B.B.C 28th May 2012 India Kerala Communist leader says party kills rivals Police in India's Kerala state have registered murder charges against a local Communist leader who recently told a rally that his party had killed political rivals in the past. MM Mani said they would continue to do the same in the future. His comments related to political killings in the state's Idukki district in the 1980s. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), of which Mr Mani is a member, has distanced itself from the statement. The party's state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said Mr Mani's speech was a "mistake and against the political line of the party". Mr Mani has been charged with "murder, conspiracy and destroying evidence", Idukki police superintendent George Verghese told the BBC on Monday. The state's Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the government would allow the "law to take its own course". Mr Mani later said he was only narrating the history of resistance put up by the party in the past during adverse political situations. Correspondents say his comments have come as a major embarrassment to the state CPI(M) whose activists are under arrest in connection with the recent murder of a party rebel, TP Chandrasekharan.

Coconut plucking could be monkey business in Kerala

Coconut plucking could be monkey business in Kerala Can a monkey do a man's job? Yes, when it comes to climbing tall coconut trees and plucking its fruits - a skill that has been hit by labour shortage, say the Kerala authorities. With fewer people in the state willing to take up the arduous and risky job, the coconut business has taken a beating. To keep up the supply of the fruit, trained monkeys seem to be the best alternative, feels the state's agriculture department. 'Coconuts are essential to the traditional lifestyle and livelihood of the people of Kerala. However, the coconut business has dropped drastically due a shortage of tree climbers,' K.R. Vijayakumar, deputy director of the Kerala agriculture department, told IANS here. 'So we have a proposal where monkeys can be trained to carry out the task of plucking coconuts. The animals can be better than humans in coconut plucking. And it will also be cost effective.' The proposal is not new since monkeys are being used for plucking coconuts in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, he said. But if implemented in India, he foresees animal activists protesting against the move. 'Due to animal cruelty laws, animal rights groups may protest against the move. So we have not been able to pursue the proposal,' Vijayakumar said. However, he said like elephants are trained to pick up logs and ox trained to plough, monkeys too can be trained to pluck coconuts. 'Monkeys are smart animals and can get nuts from even tall and slender trees. Plucking coconuts is not a simple task,' he said. Kerala has more than 15 million coconut trees and requires at least 40,000 climbers to pick the fruits, according to data from Coconut Development Board in Kochi. However, with rising literacy rate and immigration to the Gulf, few people in Kerala are interested making a living by climbing coconut trees all day, he said. 'A trained monkey can climb 500 coconut trees a day. A human cannot climb more than 50 trees a day since it takes a person over 10 minutes to climb. This also involves a lot of risk,' he said. He said a training centre for monkeys could be set up where trainers from Indonesia and Thailand teach some monkeys on a trial basis and make them pick coconuts. However, others differ. 'A coconut tree produce about 60 nuts every 45 days and as it flowers continuously, the nuts ripen at different times. Monkeys being monkeys cannot decide whether a nut is ready to be plucked or not,' said a member of the Coconut Development Board who did not want to named. The member, instead, favoured robots over animals when it came to picking climbing trees and picking coconuts. However, an agriculture department official countered the objection, saying that the board's efforts to use climbing equipments, including robots, for the job, and setting up a coconut climbing training institute had not worked out. 'We are facing an acute shortage of coconut tree climbers and we need to address the issue as since sale of coconut is one of our important industries,' said Biju Mathew, a coconut farmer. 'When the government can start a USD 20,000 competition to develop three coconut-picking machines, why can't it accept the idea of monkeys climbing coconut trees?'