Trivandrum Projects & Infrastructure :News

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Ever tasted jackfruit biriyani? Or jackfruit wine? These and much more would be spread out at the first-ever National Jackfruit Fest to be held in the city from Saturday. At least 68 varieties of jackfruit dishes, right from soups to desserts, await gourmets at the fest, which will be held at Kanakakkunnu.

The three-day-long jackfruit fest is a concerted effort by a group of organisations and local bodies to introduce jackfruit as a means to achieve local food security. Announcing the fest at a press meet here, Mayor K Chandrika said that jackfruit is largely available in our homes, but is hugely neglected. But it can give us some of the tasty dishes, she said. That it grows without the use of fertilizers or manure is its strong point, she said.

To do its bit, the City Corporation has decided to be a part of the national fest and promote the planting of jackfruit throughout the district with the cooperation of the District Panchayat. ‘’Around one lakh jackfruit saplings would be planted in the city as part of the fest and also to mark the World Environment Day, which falls on June 5,’’ said G Happykumar, Deputy Mayor.

On the roadsides, inside open compounds and backyards of houses, the saplings would be planted. There are many varieties of jackfruit; accordingly, the saplings are also of different types.

There are species which do not grow after a certain height, which could be more widely used so that in future the branches do not pose a hurdle to motorists or pedestrians, organisers said at a press meet.

At the fest, more varieties from different parts of India and outside like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would be displayed. There will be a food court, where the jackfruit dishes would be served. Those who would love to watch the dishes in the making could do so at the live demo, which would be held from 5 pm to 8 pm on all three days. Hawaii Fruit Growers’ Association president Kenlev and James P Mathew, a farmer based in Palakkad, would lead the demonstrations.

To showcase the different varieties of the fruit, a photo exhibition has also been planned. A seminar on ‘Jackfruit for local food security’ would be held on Saturday which would be inaugurated by Additional Chief Secretary K Jayakumar. There will be cookery competitions and quiz competitions which will be held on June 6 from 10 am.

The food fest would be inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas.

The valedictory function would be attended by Minister for Panchayats M K Muneer. The fest has the support of State Horticulture Mission, NABARD, National Horticulture Board, Kerala State Biodiversity Board, Kerala Agricultural University, Santhigram, Uravu, CISSA, Sahayi, Mitraniketan, Adike Patrike, Information and Public Relations Department and FRAT.

Source : Expressbuzz

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The district administration has taken steps to ease traffic congestion on the approach roads to the new international terminal building (NITB) of the Thiruvananthapuram international airport and at the busy Thiruvallam and Kovalam junctions along the Kazhakuttom-Inchivila NH 47 bypass.

Vehicles coming through the bypass from Chakka and Pettah to the NITB will not be allowed to turn right near a private hospital there. A meeting of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), chaired by District Collector Dinesh Arora, here recently decided that vehicles will have to move through the gate adjacent to the Chakka bridge to enter the NITB.

The vehicles coming from Kovalam side can enter the NITB through the bypass itself.

The police had been asked to put up barricades to prevent the right turn of the vehicles to the NITB. The Public Works Department and the Airports Authority of India will put up sign boards and lights for the benefit of motorists. The National Highway authorities had been asked to install street lights at various spots.

To ensure smooth flow of traffic, to curb accidents, and ensure the safety of pedestrians, the RSA had asked the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) to design roundabouts in front of the private hospital near Chakka, and at the Thiruvallam and Kovalam junctions.

As many as 10 decibel meters will be procured using the RSA fund to check sound pollution.

Source : The Hindu

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Source : Metro Manorama by Malayala Manorama

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Source : Manorama

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Source : Metro Vaartha

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Source : Kerala Kaumudi

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Source : Malayala Manorama

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Source : Metro Vaartha

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Source : Metro Manorama by Malayala Manorama

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Source : Malayala Manorama

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Source : Kerala Kaumudi

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Business traffic and business class traffic through the Thiruvananthapuram international airport to countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York in the U.S. have increased.

There has been 15 per cent increase in business traffic and 10 per cent increase in business class traffic through the Thiruvananthapuram airport alone on Emirates during the April 2010-May 2011 period, Asha Subramanian, Sales Manager, South Kerala, told reporters here on Friday. “It is an emerging trend and the U.K, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Canada are the preferred destinations of those flying with us.”

The movement of IT and BPO personnel, entrepreneurs to the U.S. and families travelling to destinations in the U.S. are cited as the main reasons for the increase in business traffic and business class traffic from the State capital. Another emerging trend is the increase in traffic from the State capital to destinations in Africa-South Africa, Lagos and Accra.

The overall traffic of the airline from Thiruvananthapuram has gone up by 16 per cent during the last year and the revenue had increased by 34 per cent. The airline, which operates 12 flights a week from Thiruvananthapuram international airport to Dubai using A-330 that can accommodate 27 in the Business class and 251 in the Economy, has now a cabin factor of 80-84 per cent.

Ms. Asha said the airline has a healthy increase in the traffic out of Thiruvananthapuram airport to Europe, U.S., Africa, GCC countries and Dubai. The movement of Keralites on holiday to Europe and Switzerland by flying out of Thiruvananthapuram on Emirates is also on the increase. Many are using the attractive packages offered by the airline and going to Switzerland and then moving to France, Italy and Germany.

The ‘Dubai Stopover” scheme is also a hit among those flying on Emirates as many are opting to stay in Dubai for one night or two nights by paying additional amount. The airline will commence a daily flight from Dubai to St. Petersburg in Russia from November 1.

The uplift of cargo by Emirates has also not been affected in spite of the new facilities that have come up at the Cochin International Airport Ltd. at Nedumbaserry. The airline uplifts 180 tonnes on a weekly basis from Thiruvananthapuram comprising mainly garments, perishables, pharmaceuticals and engineering goods. In addition, the airline also operates freighter services using Boeing 777 from Dubai to Thiruvananthapuram and back to Dubai via Hong Kong. Passenger traffic from Kochi during the period has grown by over 5 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Source : The Hindu

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3 More Prepaid Auto/Taxi Counters For The City

Trivandrum: The district administration is planning to open up new prepaid auto/taxi counters at 3 locations in the city -Medical College, Pettah and General Hospital Junction. The decision was taken during a session of the Road Safety Authority meeting convened at the Collectorate conference hall on Thursday. The proposal for the prepaid counters will be submitted to the newly appointed District Collector P M Francis and is to be made effective immediately.

Apart from this, the topics discussed at the meeting included the setting up of several new traffic signals and bus shelters in the city . The police department has been given the task of finding locations for new bus shelters in the city. The Public Works Department (PWD) and Highway Authority have been given instructions to submit the already received bus shelter proposals (numbering about 20) for the consideration of the Road Safety Authority. The final decision regarding the bus shelters will be taken in a week.


The National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), PWD, Traffic Police, Corporation and Keltron have been given instructions to conduct a joint survey on the implementation of man-operated traffic signals in the city. The task of synchronising the timings of automated traffic signals in the city has been entrusted to Keltron.



The Mayor Adv. K Chandrika, the City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham, the NATPAC Director B G Sreedevi, the N H Division Exec. Engineer. K Rosamma, the Corporation Exec. Engineer. K S Jayachandrakumar, the City Traffic Police Circle Inspector Sudhakaran Pillai and the City Traffic Sub Inspector R Suresh all participated in the meeting. This was the last meeting attended by District Collector Dinesh Arora who was transferred to Alappuzha on Friday.

Source : Yentha.com

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150 Low-Floor Buses To Be Launched

Trivandrum: “150 new low-floor buses will be launched in the city under the JNNURM project,” announced V S Sivakumar, minister for Transport. He said that out of the 150 buses 30 will be air conditioned. While most of these buses will be used within the city, a few of them will be utilised for conducting services outside the city. He also said that new services will be scheduled from the proposed site of KSRTC bus terminal at Enchackal.

“Studies conducted recently indicate that city dwellers prefer AC low-floor to the ordinary low-floor buses,” said the minister. He also said that AC buses are more profitable when compared with the ordinary low-floor buses. He also said that to make KSRTC profitable, parallel services have to be stopped and quick action will be taken to curb this.



AC low floor buses were launched in November 2009 by the then Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, turning a new leaf in urban transport system. Each of the low-floor air-conditioned sleek and ergonomically designed buses, procured at a cost of Rs.80 lakhs with financial assistance from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, have several unique features and have changed to some extent public expectation of local public transportation

These buses also provide facilities for charging mobile phones and laptops, computer-aided onboard diagnostic system for drivers to figure out engine faults, electronically controlled rear view mirror, public address system for drivers to communicate with commuters, GPS-enabled facility to announce and display route/destination are some of the features of these buses.

Source : Yentha.com

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The State Horticulture Mission-Kerala and the Mango Growers' Association are jointly organising a national mango festival on the Kanakakkunnu grounds from June 16 to 26.

The exhibition is an attempt to bring together mango varieties from across the country and help promote mango farming in the State in a big way by giving new insights to farmers.

Several local varieties of mangoes, such as Neelam, Varikka, Kalapady, Sindooram, and Chandrakaran, and those grown in other parts of the country, such as Jahangir, Daseri, Salem, and Banglora, to name a few, will be on show at the festival.

Saplings for sale

Mango saplings will be available for sale. The exhibition aims at giving more information to farmers regarding the marketing potential of mangoes and the available market infrastructure. Agriculture Minister K.P. Mohanan will inaugurate the mango festival.

Source : The Hindu