Hamsa Koya- the name behind Indian goal post nets for over two decades
The name of Hamsa koya and Indian football go hand in hand. He is not an yesteryear player nor a referee but he holds the rare distinction of being the maker of goal post nets for over 20 years! Hailing from Malapuram, in North Kerala where football continues to be the passion of the local populace even today, Koya has been making high quality nets to the envy of many international brands.
His goal post nets have been used in many international football tournaments including the SAF cup and the Nehru Cup apart from countless league matches that are held every year in the country including the I-League championships, which are currently on. The special twines made from nylon and rope, traditionally used for making the fishing nets make the nets sturdy and he claims that these last for over a decade.
Koya keeps on his pursuit for excellence though the same level of enthusiasm seems to be to lacking for the Indian football team that has been in the news for its appalling levels of performance!
A medical education city to come up near Malappuram
Kerala has proved its mettle as a happening medical tourist destination that attracts many health watchers from all over the world to experience the bliss of perfect health. Kerala has one of the biggest pools of qualified health professionals to cater to the burgeoning needs of the tourists. Kerala Tourism Department and many other private tour operators provide attractive tour packages that combine medical treatment with an unbeatable vacation in Kerala. The state attracts about 23 per cent of the foreign tourists every year and over 15,000 medical tourists reach Kerala annually, mostly from West Asia, the Maldives, South Africa, UK and the European Union
In order to further promote medical tourism in the State, the Kerala Government has come up with a novel idea of setting up a medical-education city near Malappuram. The proposed unit will come up on 182 acres of land and will be implemented by Inkel-KSIDC Projects Ltd (INKED), a joint venture of Infrastructures Kerala Ltd (Inkel) and the Kerala State Industries Development Corporation (KSIDC), in association with private developers.
Malappuram makes an ideal destination for the medical city as it takes credit to one of the highest foreign remittances in the State and has the highest rate of morbidity and hospitalisation rate in the State. The proposed medical education city will be offering facilities for medical education, technical education and healthcare services, apart from providing residential and commercial infrastructure. Reputed Ayurvedic centres including the well acclaimed Kottakal Aryavydya Sala will be catering to the clientèle comprising of both national and international clients.
The proposed unit will have a super-speciality hospital, diagnostic centre and a wellness centre offering ayurvedic treatment systems. Under the ambitious programme of Vision-2025 of Kerala Govt, special tourism zones also will be set up in the next few years.
Ayodhya Babri Masjid Verdict and God’s own Country!
The Ayodhya-Babri Masjid dispute issue is finally set for verdict tomorrow, on Thursday September 30, 2010. The Allahabad High Court will be making the historic judgement on this issue that has caused agony to our motherland. This issue has its own effect in our little state Kerala.
Kerala by the lakeside
Although a small state in appearance, our state has contributed big in creating terrorists in and around the country. Above all our beautiful state is known for creating a ruckus of even the smallest issues happening at the international level. It’s no wonder that the state government is on alert!
Prevention is better than cure: Kerala government is ensuring tight security throughout the state as a precautionary measure against the background of the verdict on Ayodhya case.
Some of the security measures taken include-
1. Ban orders have been declared in Kasaragod, Kannur, Malappuram, Alappuzha and Kollam districts from midnight on Wednesday.
2. Ban orders came into force in Ernakulam district from this morning.
3. Restrictions on organising of marches, meetings and demonstrations are to be declared in other districts.
4. About 30,000 policemen are proposed to be deployed by midnight to enforce the orders and maintain peace.
5. Preventive arrests are also likely.
6. Special security is being extended to important places of worship, railway stations and bus stands.
7. Armed reserves have positioned in district centres.
8. The media is warned against speculating the outcome of the Ayodhya dispute until they have a copy of the issues of the judgement by the Court and the operational part of the order.
Kerala seems to be ready to face any untoward incident that may crop up post the verdict. The Allahabad High Court announced that there are plans on making the judgment available to the people via the internet.
Let us hope the verdict finally brings peace to all and allow the Gods to rest peacefully in our ‘God’s Own Country’. 
Drinking Kerala-Dying Kerala!
Toddy
“Drinking is a disease in Kerala“, we all know it! One loses one’s kin, respect and money chasing alcohol. Everyone and everything encourages one to have a drink – including friends and even the Government!
With the latest tragic deaths of 25 people in Kerala’s Malappuram district, after consuming poisonous toddy, the state has marked it’s presence in the global level for drinking deaths. (Toddy is a traditional liquor made from either coconut or palm flowers) The reason for the liquor tragedy is said to have happened because it was mixed with chemicals and herbs to give an “extra” kick.
- Kerala in India has the highest number of drinkers and has the highest per capita consumption of over eight litres (1.76 gallons) per person a year.
- These figures overtake traditionally hard-drinking states like Punjab and Haryana.
- Also, in a strange twist of taste, rum and brandy are the preferred drink in Kerala in a country where whisky outsells every other liquor.
Despite all the liquor tragedies happening in Kerala, the people as well as the Government never learn. If one becomes an alocoholic, it is very difficult to lead a normal life. However, Kerala Government is also not ready to stop selling liquor in the state, because the State makes high revenue from this business.
- Shockingly, more than 40% of revenue for its annual budget comes from booze.
- The state-run monopoly, named Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC) runs 337 liquor shops, open seven days a week.
- Each shop caters on average to an astonishing 80,000 clients.
- Similarly, there are over 5,000 toddy shops in the state.
The latest death incidents after consuming the natural wine made from coconut palms is contaminated adding chemicals like Methyl Alcohol and other herbs to give the toddy drinker an extra kick. It is usually the poor section of the state’s population fall prey to such tragic incidents.
- The main reason is that toddy is available at a lesser price compared to beer and other costly drinks, which is otherwise is not affordable to a daily-wage earner.
Alcohol consumption causes numerous social evil in Kerala.
- It kills lots of people exacting a heavy social cost.
- Rising numbers of divorces in Kerala are linked to alcohol abuse.
- The majority of road deaths are due to drink driving.
- Hospitals and rehab centres are packed with patients suffering from alcohol-related diseases.
The thriving black market in liquor trade sometimes transforms into liquor tragedies like this recent one.
A few solutions:
- Prohibition is not the answer but closing the various ways of bringing in illicit liquor into the state could actually work.
- The Government should make sure that the alcohol is distributed reducing high alcoholic contents to lighten the effect.
- Also laws should be made to restrict the amount one can consume a day.
It is high time we Malayalees do some serious re-thinking on our drinking habits. Not only for our own sakes, but also for the sake of our children!
World cup fever grips Kerala as the final draws near
The soccer crazy folks of Kerala is waiting with bated breath for the final match that will be held in a few hours from now. Live TV coverage, hartal induced holidays and heavy monsoon rains that forced people to remain indoors have set the perfect backdrop for the people on Kerala to discuss their favorite topic of football all these days. It goes without saying that the northern districts like Malapuram and Kozhikode follow this game more passionately than their counterparts in other parts of Kerala. It is interesting to note that in Malappuram, the names of certain villages have been re-christened as Brazil Nagar and Argentina Nagar, though these titans had an early exit from the world cup. Though Brazil started off as all-time favourites, they crashed out of the match fairly early resulting in quite a few heart burns among the Brazil soccer fan community.
With a rather unexpected Dutch Vs Spain world cup final on the cards, the equations have changed rapidly and the loyalties shifted! From painting their vehicles in the colors of the national flags of these teams to donning the orange and red jerseys representing the Dutch and the Spain respectively, everything speak of their unconditional love for this sport. World cup finals have boosted the sales of LCD TVs even in smaller towns thanks to the live coverage by the ESPN sports channels. The younger generation could be seen introducing some of their favorite players to the elder members in the family to build up the fun and the excitement in the family living rooms during the telecast of live matches.
It is interesting to note that even IT companies have come up with innovative ideas to keep tab on the latest scores of their favorite teams. Innoz Technologies based at Technopark has created a software, which will let you know live scores through SMS.
Hotels like Udaya Samudra in Kovalam is organising a food festival till the World Cup ends and its staff would be dressed in football jerseys. It is interesting to note that they have added quite a few soccer themed specialties to their menu as well to celebrate the ongoing soccer mood. You can have French grills or Ronaldo Strawberry Margarita while enjoying the game on the big screen TVs in the hotel lobby. The count down has started and the entire Kerala is in the grip of soccer fever that has transcended the barriers of time and space to take the soccer crazy populace of Kerala into a frenzy.
Meanwhile Paul, the octopus has predicted that Spain will win the Fifa world Cup 2010 Final on 11th July! So it is going to be a nail biting finish for sure! Be there to catch it all live on the screens:)
Non Resident Keralites to get welfare scheme identity cards
Thiruvananthapuram: Non resident Keralites who drive the economy of this small state can keep their chins up as a bevy of welfare programmes are being worked out for their benefit. These measures would be implemented by Roots Norka, a state-owned organisation that looks after the welfare of non-resident Keralites (NRKs).
To set the ball rolling, all non residents in Malappuram district would be issued an identity card, which would also double up as an insurance as well as discount card. The scheme will be extended to all other districts in Kerala in a phased manner. The distribution of identity cards in Mankada was completed July 19.
This card will act as an insurance card, where in the case of accident or death of an NRK, the dependent would be entitled for Rs.100,000. NRKs can also use this card as a discount card at selected shops in the state.
As per the available figures, over two million Malayalis are settled abroad, with 90% working in various Middle East countries. Once the distribution of identity cards is completed the exact number of NRKs would come to light.
Malappuram gets the much awaited amusement park
Malappuram: The Malappuram municipality has set a standard by being the first municipal body to have set up an amusement park for the benefit of its citizens. This amusement park at Kottakunnu will be the first amusement park in Malappuram. The website of Kottakunnu Amusement Park also will also be inaugurated on this occasion. A cultural feast in the form of a musical evening will be held at the Kottakunnu open-air auditorium to add flair to the whole celebration.
The amusement park at a cost of Rs.5 crore has come up on 2.02 hectares of land provided by the District Tourism Promotion Council. The park was set up on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis with many user friendly rules and regulations including that the operator should not levy more than Rs.200 a person, excluding tax. The entrance fee for children will be Rs.175 and users below 90 cm in height need not pay any fees. The entrance fee for persons aged above 55 years would be only Rs.100.
This amusement park, the first of its type in Malappuram district was constructed in less than a year. The park will have over twenty four rides that would appeal to children and elders alike. The hot spots of this park would be rides like ball pool, water shooter, water MGR, family slider and multilane ride among others.
The park is expected to boost the revenue of the municipality, which would come handy in completing various ongoing development projects and also to initiate new projects.