KERALA

British Deputy High Commissioner Chandru Iyer, who is in charge ofKeralaand Karnataka, talks to TOI’s Nijeesh Narayanan on issues of mutual interest for Kerala and his country. He was in the state in connection with the port of call of theBritish Royal Navy warshipHMS Lancaster inKochi.

India-UK relation is centuries old and is very strong. Our Royal Navy ship is now in Cochin port and Indian Air Force personnel are currently in the UK participating in Cobra Warrior’s exercise. Talks on between India and UK is going on smoothly in Delhi.

Kerala is one of the best marketed states for tourism. While planning holidays in India, British people prefer either Goa or Kerala. The Kerala government is doing a great job in promoting the state as a tourism destination.

Mired in loss and under flak for tariff hike,Kerala Water Authority(KWA) is exploring new avenues to shore up revenue, including associating with film shooting. The has given in-principle sanction toKWAto initiate projects for non-water revenue generation (NWR).

The plan is to use the properties of KWA for activities like mobile Network improvement plan, wall painting, parking, guest house room renting, cine shooting, design consultancy, installing solar panel, EV charging stations and ATMs.

During 2021-22, the total revenue of KWA has increased by 9.41% to Rs 1,504.96 crore as compared to Rs 1,375.56 crore during the previous year. The net loss of KWA has increased by 38.75% to Rs 824.34 crore as against a net loss of Rs 594.11 crore during the previous year on account of increased expenses towards employee benefit, fuel and power charges and provision made for prior period adjustments. Accumulated loss at the year-end stood at Rs 4,911.43 crore, as per the document.

The government is considering multiple , including introducing a new licensing system to permit serving liquor exclusively forIT companiesbased in IT parks, since it has been one of the shortcomings listed out by companies for a long time.

The upcoming excise policy of the government is likely to offer a solution to this long-pending demand. The licence for pub beer is available with the government and is legal in the state (FL-13).

But due to the difficulty in transporting draught beer (beer before pasteurization must be maintained between 0-4Celsius to be consumed within 48 hours of manufacture which should be served in the pubs) from the existing three breweries (Cherthala, Palakkad and Chalakudy) there are no takers for this licence.

Moreover, at present, the brewery in Palakkad (United Breweries) is the only company that brews beer in the state while the other two units are dysfunctional.

According to excise department sources, the only way the matter can be resolved is by the government issuing microbrewery licences. The excise department had raised the idea of micro-breweries in 2005, which was then declined. In August 2017, the department once again recommended the government to launch a microbrewery at Mascot Hotel on an experimental basis.

Several and civic organizations, such as the K-Rail SilverLine Viruddha Janakeeya Samiti, have protested “Kerala’s SilverLine project.”

Highlights:

MPs have signed a petition opposing the project, claiming that it is an “astronomical scam in the making” that will add to the state’s debt.

Furthermore, environmentalists believe that the project will have a significant negative impact on the Environment because its route passes through wetlands, paddy fields, and hills.

SilverLine is a project for a semi-high-speed RAILWAY. It envisions trains traveling at 200 km/h between Kerala’s northern and southern ends.

The project’s total cost is estimated to be Rs 63,940 crore. Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod will be connected by a 529.45-kilometer rail link.

Through 11 stations, it will cover 11 districts. Travel time from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram will be reduced from 12 hours to less than four hours at 200 km/hr.

“Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL)” is in charge of the project. Kerala’s government and the Union Ministry of Railways collaborated on the project. The project’s completion date is set for 2025.

Several urban policy experts have expressed concerns that Kerala’s existing railway Infrastructure will not be able to meet future demands.

Because of the curves and bends on the existing stretch, the majority of the trains travel at a 45 km/h Average speed.

This government is working on the SilverLine project, which will relieve congestion on the existing stretch and allow commuters to travel more quickly.

Aside from that, the project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and aid in the expansion of Ro-Ro Services, as well as connect Airports and IT corridors and allow for faster development in the cities it passes through.

Animal husbandry department (AHD) spent over Rs 1.5 crore in six years to purchase around 22 lakh doses of anti-rabies vaccine for dogs and only 35% of the doses were administered, showed figures obtained through RTI.

Going by AHD data, the expenditure for the purchase of anti-rabies vaccine increased by 74% in six years and in the same period, the administration of vaccine dropped from 4.19 lakh doses in 2016 to 60,077 doses in 2021, a dip of 85%.

While officials cite glitches in data collection to justify low vaccine utilization, district-wise data show that some districts recorded abysmal doses in certain years. In 2019, only 10 doses were administered in dogs in Kozhikode. In 2020, the number was 51 for Wayanad. Thrissur, which recorded 39,050 doses in 2016 recorded just 249 doses in 2019. All districts saw a uniform dip in the doses administered in dogs.

Lack of manpower and adequate Resources and an overburdened workforce were cited as reasons for the low utilization of anti-rabies vaccine in dogs. Often a vet is burdened with duties related to two-three panchayats and he/she must take care of many other tasks as well, said officials.

Chief ministerPinarayi Vijayanhas said with theehealth projectbeing implemented in all thegovernment hospitals, a queue management system will be introduced to avoid crowding at the OPs.

He said at present it has been implemented in 311 hospitals where this queue management system has been set up. The people can take the appointments of the doctors through the ehealth portal and it will also be easy for the doctors to refer patients to other hospitals. All the Health records of the patients can be accessed by the treating doctors sitting in any of the government hospital.

The aim is to provide electronic health card to each individual in the state. This card will store the health data of a person right from birth to death. By networking all the hospitals, the details stored in this electronic health card can be assessed by the doctors from any hospital.
Vijayan said the government has given sanction to launch the ehealth programme in 349 more hospitals. In the last five years, Rs 100 crore has been sanctioned by the government for implementing this programme. Of the total 1,284 hospitals, 707 hospitals will have this facility in the near future.