Swine flu deaths

Thiruvananthapuram:Kerala Government has stepped up preventive measures following the death of two women due to swine flu and reports of spread of various types of fever, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said today.


District medical officers have been instructed to take all necessary steps to check spread of diseases, he told reporters


Local body authorities have also been alerted on the matter and had been asked to convene meetings to prepare programmes to tackle the situation, Achuthanandan said.


A woman each from Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram succumbed to the swine flu virus since last night and the state now had 19 confirmed cases, health department sources had said yesterday.


Official sources said some more H1N1 cases and fever of various types have been reported across the state.


Sources said Sundaran, official driver of Chief Minister Achuthanandan, has been admitted to the General Hospital with swine flu.

Kerala in grip of viral outbreak, 25 dead

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At least 25 people have died and hundreds more hospitalised with dengue, H1N1 and rat fever since pre-monsoon showers hit Kerala over a month ago. The outbreak hasn't even spared CM V S Achuthanandan's office with his driver testing positive for H1N1.

Thursday's causalities included two girls with swine flu and an HR manager of a reputed private hospital in the state capital, who succumbed to dengue fever. Fifteen new H1N1 cases, 6 Chikungunya, 12 Dengue and a rat fever case were also established during the day. Eight fever-related deaths were reported on Wednesday including four cases of dengue and one H1N1.

This is in addition to the thousands, who are turning up at the government hospitals every day with symptoms of various kinds of fever. About 13,000 people took the treatment on Wednesday alone.

Achutanandan's driver Sundaram was identified with Swine Flu earlier this week. Ironically, it came a day after state health minister P K Sreemathi denied that the situation was alarming and blamed the media for spreading panic.  

Kerala’s snake boat make it to Thames river

Thiruvananthapuram:  Kerala has sought the central government’s financial help to showcase its famous snake boat before the British queen on London’s Thames river next month.Speaking here Tuesday, state Sports Minister M. Vijayakumar said: "The state government has earmarked a sum of money but that is not enough. We have requested the central government to help us but we are yet to hear from them. The oarsmen, who have to power the boat forward, are ready but money is an issue."

The proposal to this effect came from an organisation Keralyeem, which has its roots in Britain, that is interested in showcasing the race as part of a trial run of the inaugural ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Queen Elizabeth II is expected to watch the July 8 event. The organisers of the event have roped in actor Suresh Gopi as the brand ambassador for the event.

Speaking here, Gopi said that the commitment that he has made stands and he will foot the bill to transport the boat to London. "My fans’ association has agreed to pool in Rs.20 lakhs required to be paid to the Shipping Corporation of India for transporting the snake boat to London. Other things like arranging for the remaining funds and visa for close to 120 oarsmen are still to fall in line," said Gopi. The state government has already sanctioned Rs.one crore for the event but this is not going to be enough. "The air fares for the oarsmen is also going to cost a hefty amount. The organisers were supposed to get back to me two days back.

"But we are not disheartened because we have been able to do this much in such a short span of time and if for some reason it (its participation in London) does not happen this time, we will do it next year," said Gopi.

The length of a snake boat made out of ’anjili wood’ varies from 120 to 140 feet. In view of the high cost of transportation, if the snake boat finally makes it to London, then after the event it would be gifted to be placed in a museum there.

The origin of the race dates back to 1952 when an impromptu event was conducted in honour of the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was visiting the state. Nehru was so thrilled by the performance that he himself jumped into a snake boat.

On returning to Delhi, Nehru donated a silver trophy -- a replica of a snake boat placed on a wooden abacus with an inscription and his signature.

This trophy is given away every year to the winner of the boat race held at Alappuzha.

Malayalam novelist Kovilan dies

THRISSUR: Noted Malayalam novelist Kovilan died at a private hospital atKunnamkulam near here early today.
He was suffering from some respiratory problems, his family said.
Kovilan (87) is survived by two daughters and a son.A freedom fighter, Kovilan, whose real name was V V Ayyappan, worked in the Royal Indian Navy from 1943 to 1946 and from 1948 to 1968 in the Corps of Signals.Born on July 9, 1923 at Kandanassery in Guruvayur, Thrissur, Kovilan was a recipient of the state government’s highest literary honour Ezhuthachan Puraskarom in 2006 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Malaylam literature.

Petrol, diesel prices...............

Ahead of the empowered group of ministers’ (eGOM) meeting Monday to consider pricing policy on petrol and diesel, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) opposed any move by the government to hike prices of petroleum products. The BJP said any hike in prices of petrol and diesel will further increase prices of essential commodities. The CPI-M politburo in a statement Sunday described the likely hike in the petroleum products as “unwarranted”. “It will have a direct impact on purchasing power of common citizens,” BJP spokesman Tarun Vijay told IANS. He said the exercise to consider hike in prices of petrol and diesel should be “deemed as a failure of the United Progressive Alliance government on economic front, ironically run by an economist prime minister”. Asked about the decisions taken for decontrol of diesel and petrol prices by the previous BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government, he said “those decisions were taken in different circumstances when prices were under control”. The eGOM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss pricing policy of petrol and diesel, including pricing decontrol. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday to discuss fuel price issue and decontrol of petroleum products. The CPI-M too, like the BJP, came out against any hike in petrol and diesel prices. In a statement issues at the end of two-day politburo meeting here Sunday, the party said any hike in prices of petroleum products will be unwarranted. “There are reports that the government is considering a further increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products. This will be totally unwarranted and impose a crushing burden on the people in view of the continuing increase in food prices and inflation,” the statement said. The Congress, however, said that the government had always taken a carefully considered decision on prices of petroleum products. “The prices have been increased only when there is no other option. The hike has been minimum and what is necessary,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

Health Minister P K Sreemathy said......

Health Minister P K Sreemathy had said that the media was trying to create a fuss by saying that viral fever was haunting the state. The Health department conducted a study on this issue and the reports reveal that the mosquito density inThiruvananthapuram district was fast increasing when compared to other dis

Bangalore blast

 PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani, who was recently questioned in connection with the 2008 Bangalore blasts case, today denied having any role in the serial attacks that claimed the life of a woman. While admitting that Bangalore Police had elicited some information from him and his wife Soofiya at Kochi, he said it was not a lengthy interrogation as made out by a section of media. Madani, undergoing treatment in a hospital here for ortho-related complaints, told a television channel that Bangalore Police had questioned him for about 15 minutes and sought details of some district leaders of his party.
According to reports, Madani and his wife were questioned based on statements given to police by T Nazeer, an accused in the Bangalore blast.