CPI(M) MLA V. Sivankutty gets into an appalling exchange of words with slum dwellers and threatens them during a public discussion on betterment of living conditions in slums. More of these commie goons needs to be exposed this way, to show the kinds of politicians who run Kerala.
via @KenneyJacob
Many of the roads constructed and maintained by PWD across Kerala are in miserable conditions. Often protests and court orders are required to make the PWD to something about the roads, leaving individuals with very few options. But there is a helpline number people can use to complain about the state of roads in Kerala.
The toll free number to call is: 1800-425-7771 The helpline is open from 9:30am to 5:30pm on all working days.
If no action is taken within 48 hours, then call 0471-251-8124
If you have noticed road related issues in your locality, do call the helpline, and post a comment about your experience.
Today, I ran the Kochi Mini Marathon. Having run 5ks, 10ks and a half marathon before, this was my first time running in Kochi and more than the run the surprises were simply astounding!
I reached Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kallor at around 5:45am so I could register at the venue before the 6:30am start time. After a quick registration, I ran into Akhil, a 15 year old runner my wife and I had met a, few weeks back, at a district level school athletic meet. He was with a friend, and the three of us decided to start the race together.
But, then came the insensitive announcement that the race was rescheduled to 7:30am, all because important people like the Mayor, a justice, and a movie star were running late. And no, they did not run in the race!! Do these people even have any clue what making someone ready to run a 10k even means?!
The race finally took off around 7:40am. The entire run was mostly on main roads, and even though the roads were for the most part kept clear of traffic, that was not the case for the later half of the race. Around 6k mark traffic started flowing around us.
In the end it was a fun run, and even though I did not track my own time, there was no electronic chip based official timing either. They did not even announce the winners timing. The 10k route also seemed to have changed during the run, and it looked more like an 8k, considering that we did not even run on one of the sections on the map.
It was weird that for a 10k, basic things like route, starting time, distance, time tracking etc were either lacking or done with a “This is India” kind of attitude. I did finally mention these issues to a Manorama reporter, and to my surprise, he was defending the way things were done. All I could think of was, people do live in a well here; even a reporter has no idea either about how well a 10k can be organized or why in a run like this the runners needs are important.
But, it’s a start, so this time I am going to give the organizers the benefit of the doubt, and I really hope things improve for the next run.
Nothing like a beautiful poem to bring out the sweetness of a language. Here are a few Malayalam Kavithakal that will both touch and evoke that Malayalee in us.
Here is a view into how Corporation of Cochin makes and spends money. The data is via Corporation of Cochin’s September 2009 Income & Expenditure Report. The stark reality from this 7 month report is that there is very little money at the Corporation of Cochin’s disposal. Even though there might be a lot of rich people in Kochi, the city itself is very poor.
From a total revenue of Rs. 46.58 Crore (~10 Million Dollars) between April 2009 and September 2009, about 57% of the income goes into expenses and the remaining surplus (43%) goes into the Municipal fund. Out of the Rs. 26.63 Crore (~5 Million Dollars) the Corporation has spent this year, more than half goes towards salaries and employee related allowances. Only about Rs. 4 Crore (~ 800,000 Dollar) is spent on city maintenance.
The reality is in the numbers here; this city makes very little reveune, and so has very little to spend. And from the very little it has to spend, half the income is not utilized, and from the rest very little goes towards actual maintenance and improvement of the city.
Fiscally the city is good at saving money, but with the very little revenue the city has right now, it really needs to rethink it’s strategy. It needs to become more efficient at how it utilizes the revenue, put more of it in improving the city, and be willing to spend more on the city.
Image: Full Size
Data Source: Corporation of Cochin
“A Box With A View” a Documentary by Magee Clegg, providing a great snapshot of how Cable TV is changing the lifestyle, culture, and traditions of villages in Kerala through interviews done in a village in the backwaters of Kerala.
Recently Kerala Water Authority(KWA) was in the neighborhood to fix a blocked sewer system, and as a result I got to witness the way KWA does things, which unfortunately has not progressed much over the years.
Firstly, I found it very strange and troubling that the very authority that supplies us clean water, is the one responsible for the sewerage systems in Kerala. It will be well worth an investigation to find out what really goes on behind the scenes. Even more disturbing, KWA started back in 1938 plans to build modern sewer systems in Kerala. It’s 2009 and only two cities, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi have sewer systems, with work progressing in Guruvayoor. So, if you are expecting sewer systems along “modern lines” in Kerala in your lifetime, you can forget about it!
If that has been discerning, the rest of this post is not going make things any better. The KWA workers who lower themselves down into the disgusting sewerage waters are not offered any sort of protective or safety gear. In the land of rubber, these workers don’t even have rubber boots, gloves, or any other sort of protective clothing. Sewage work anywhere is a dirty job, but at least KWA could better equip their workers to make their working conditions bearable.
Utter disregard for basic cleanliness is the next observation. The KWA workers dumped the water from the blocked sewage pipe into the nearby open rain gutters. These rain gutters in Kochi don’t even drain rain water properly, and so the stinking sewage water dumped into the rain gutters, started to quickly overflow in to the neighborhood and stinking up the place.
Lastly, there is no planning, no supervision, or any professionals involved; just poorly equipped and probably poorly paid KWA workers making random decisions on how to fix things. When the water was being dumped into the rain gutters, there was no thought put into the consequences of the action, the potential stench and disease the sewerage water can spread. It was business as usual, and same practices as they have been doing for decades. To make things even more disgusting, the solid waste from the sewage was being transported in plastic waste bags, which obviously ripped and spread more filth in the neighborhood.
“We will provide quality water supply and wastewater services in an environmental friendly and sustainable manner”
That is the vision of Kerala Water Authority, the ideals the KWA needs to stick to are all in that vision. Unfortunately, like most things in Kerala, such statements are either ignored, or even unknown to most. As a first step, KWA needs to not only change its ways but also become a department which sticks to its own vision statement for a change.
KWA is pretty much the soul of cities in Kerala. Without it’s clean water, and collection and treatment of sewage, cities in Kerala will become unlivable, filthy, and disease prone. With a little bit of re-thinking, re-structuring, and a whole lot of action, KWA can change all this and make Kerala a lot more cleaner.
Here is a compilation of video clips shot while at Barcamp Kerala 6.
For those who are not familiar with Barcamps, it’s an informal unconference where people gather to share and learn from each other. Barcamps are great for meeting and getting to know people in your local area with similar interests and passions.
This was my first time at a Barcamp in Kerala, and the first challenge was getting there. Having started to drive in India just a couple of days back was not favorable, but being a Sunday the traffic was less and Google Map directions via iPhone made things easier. Other than a couple of wrong turns, the getting there part was not too bad.
Overall the Barcamp was great to both put faces on some of the tweeple from twitter and to meet some of them. The venue was great, and the event was well organized. Even though I was around only for the morning sessions, I got to see some really good sessions and discussions.
- Barcamp Kerala 6 – A Personal Account by @praseed3point14
- Barcamp 6 – My Experience by @jaysonjc
- Barcamp Kerala 6: A Report by @zeqox
