Get ready to flag down the Chinese autos on Kochi roads
After petrol, diesel and CNG autorickshaws, it is the turn of the Chinese electric autos to hit Kerala roads for the first time. The Chinese Romai Electric Vehicles based in Shanghai, China has test driven tricycles that are well suited for Kerala roads. The launch of products in Cochin, the maiden market for this range of products is expected to be within two months. As electric bicycles are already available in Kerala, the company plans to concentrate on the tri cycle segment according to the International Trade Department official of the Romai Electric Vehicle.
The biggest attraction of the electric tricycles will be its low price tag at the range of Rs. 40,000 to Rs.50,000. The electric tricycle gives a mileage of 80 km once charged and the tricycles are available in 60 volt–1000 watts for carrying passengers. The tricycles can be altered with roof to be operated like auto rickshaws. The company has plans to launch vehicles of 200 watts and more in the state. The necessary spare parts will also be made available for the customers.
Auto rickshaw, fondly called tuk tuk, is not only a rage among tourists but also among the local travelers as a handy and cheap travel option over short distances. A handy transportation for daily errands, autos are way cheaper than taxis and a great option to navigate through the narrow and crowded streets of Cochin. So, for all those in Kerala who are accustomed to the noisy and polluting vehicles of conventional autos, these sleeks and silent vehicles will be a pleasant change for sure!
Monkeys to don the role of coconut pluckers in Kerala
You can soon see monkeys plucking coconuts in Kerala as they do in Sri Lanka or South East Asia. This innovative proposal will be presented to the government by Agriculture deputy director K. R. Vijayakumar and principal agriculture officer V.K. Raju . Though the coconut development board had initiated many novel ideals like mechanised coconut climbing and collective workforce to ensure the timely harvest of coconuts, the severe dearth of pluckers still remains a cause of concern for the coconut farmers all over the state. Measures like the introduction of mechanised climbing equipments including robots for plucking coconuts and setting up a college for training coconut climbers have not been of much effect in solving the manpower shortage.
In the recent past, many exceptional crops of Kerala like coconut and paddy have declined drastically mainly due to escalating costs of cultivation and the shortage of farm hands, which prompted the farmers to turn to less labour intensive crops like banana and rubber.
As the state continues to reel under severe shortage of coconut tree climbers, only innovative plans like these can help the farmers in the profitable cultivation of coconut. As per this proposal monkeys will be trained to carry out the task of plucking coconuts. There is also a proposal to set up a training centre for monkeys where these smart animals will be trained by trainers from Indonesia and Thailand.
The training will make the monkeys competent enough in plucking the ripe ones and collecting these from the ground and loading them to the trucks thus eliminating the need of manual intervention. A trained monkey can climb up to 500 coconut trees a day, while a human can do no more than 40-50, which makes it a better option. So from now on to get the coconuts plucked on time , all you need to do is to call in these smart monkeys for whom tree climbing is just part of monkey business!
Savour homely food in 5 star hotel menus
It might sound paradoxical that home cooked menu is drawing huge crowds in five star hotels although most of the diners go to hotels to sample something different from the ordinary homely meals! Grandma’s recipes and some of the traditional delicacies that were on the verge of extinction are making a glorious comeback through these star hotel menu books.
Home cooked food have become a big trend these days among health watchers as these are low in fat, free from additives and artificial colors and above all are easy to cook . Many star hotels like the ITC group of hotels have included home-cooked food in their signature ‘Welcome Meal’ menu where the guests can choose from dal, rotis, rice, salad, vegetarian or vegetarian curry, salad and dessert.
Homemakers who are experts in cooking are on the payroll of many star hotels like the Taj Gateway Hotels. They are recruited on a monthly contract and work for 4-5 hours a day and would contribute 6-8 varieties of home-cooked dishes, which are included into a special menu known as Home-Style Regional Food. The menu that keeps changing every month has already turned out to be a big hit. The home style menu is more in demand during dinner and hence homemakers work on a late afternoon to evening shift.
In Taj Gateway, Ernakulam, Kerala there are three homemakers who cook every day including an exclusive cook to handle the breakfast menu. These homemakers are not familiar with the state of the art cooking technologies and gadgets and hence are provided regular utensils that are in use in any ordinary home kitchen. Home cooked menu is particularly preferred by high-paying guests at 5-star hotels who want to try out the simple and lip smacking flavors and the goodness of home cooked menu. On the other hand, homemakers prefer 5-star gourmet food at home and to cater to their needs, the Taj Group of hotels also plan to start a 10-week cooking and baking course for homemakers who fancy a star hotel fare at home. So, pamper your taste buds with the natural goodness of these home cooked delicacies and you will surely complement the ladies at your home, whose efforts were never recognized all these days!
‘Thattukadas’ to get a green and hygienic makeover
Thattukadas in cities like Cochin have always been the favorite eateries of not only budget diners or bachelors who live far way from their homes but also for those who love to savour the exceptional delicacies of Kerala. Families in cars and mobikes, back from work stop by for take aways or find a cozy corner near these make shift eateries to savour the piping hot food.
These nondescript ‘thattukadas’ in ramshackle sheds offer a lip smacking menu including fried beef, chicken and some of the local delicacies like paruppu vada and paratta. Anyone who has sampled the freshly-made thattu dosa or chiratta puttu with the fiery meat curry, well complemented by a cup of frothy, piping hot tea, would vouch for its lingering taste and easy prices. These food joints perched long the dusty roads or leaking drains often compromise on hygiene, triggering health concerns.
However, thattukadas are all set to have a stylish makeover in a few months time as Kochi corporation is planning to distribute over 100 modern thattukadas to the food vendors. Each food joint will cost around 70,000 rupees and will have solar heaters, purified water, stoves for cooking, and stainless steel platform. These neat and gleaming tattukadas will be a welcome change for the residents who can now enjoy their favorite food items without having to be put off by the stink, filth and dirt around!
This project is being carried out as part of an elaborate scheme to rehabilitate street food vendors with financial assistance from Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project. So the die hard fans of the Kerals’s own eateries of thattukadas can continue to satiate their palates with local flavors of Kerala, cooked and served in a hygienic setting.
Indian missionaries head to the West
Christianity came to the Indian shores due to the missionary activities of the Europeans. Many decades down the line, now India sees itself on the other side of the table and is sending the largest contingent of Catholic nuns and priests to the West to carry out missionary activities there.
India, which has been traditionally considered as a country which received missionaries from the West, is now sending the largest number of missionaries abroad,” said Fr Mani Mekkunnel of CRI.This interesting information came up at the recently held National Consultation on Indian missionaries to other countries, which was organised by Catholic Bishops Council of India and Conference of Religious India.
At present Indian clergy is active in around 166 nations as the rest of the world copes with a severe shortage of missionaries. There are over 6,543 religious sisters, 226 diocesan priests, 1,940 religious priests and 159 religious brothers from different parts of the country including Kerala working in various foreign countries. Apart from missionary activities, they serve as priests in local churches while others run charitable institutions and hospitals.
Kerala to get a high speed railway corridor
Kerala is well poised to get India’s first high-speed railway corridor project, which will extend all through the length of the State linking the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasargode in the North extending right up to Mangalore in the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
The proposed project is being taken up with the Central government financial aid with Japanese funding. The high speed rail corridor spanning a distance of 580 km will reduce the running time by over 3 hours. The proposed project that is expected to cost Rs. One lakh crore will be a boon for tourists and business travelers by being a convenient interstate transit option.
The green signal to this ambitious high speed rail project that has come soon after the Metro rail has indeed brought cheers to the State of Kerala as it will have a positive impact in the state economy and infrastructure .