After a gap of 15 days, the number of tourists visiting the famed Hogenakkal waterfalls had increased considerably today.

The district administration had put in place certainrestricutions on November considering the copious rainfall in the catchment areas and release of excess water from Karnataka water reservoirs and resultant increased water flow at the broad stream of river Cauvery at Hogenekkal Tourists from several districts of Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry visited the falls on Saturday.
Ayyappa Devotees also visited Hogenakkal and took a dip in river Cauvery.

Satheesh Neptune

Sabarimala pilgrim must be made aware of the importance of good health which could drastically bring down the cardiac causalities in the pilgrim centre contends Sonia Suresh renowned diabetologist and physician.
Though the health department had provided ample health care facilities at Sabarimala, 35 pilgrims had died of cardiac problem during the last Mandalam  Makara vilakku season.

Under taking the ardous trek of Neelimala and Appachimedu hills at one go would only increase risk and spoil the very spirit of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims having diabetes, kidney and liver ailments should climb slowly and restate regular intervals, she stated.

Pilgrims above the age of 45 years especially those with a family history of cardiac ailments should undergo a medical checkup before undertaking the pilgrimage.

Dr. Sonia said it is better to eat light before the trek. Persons in the high risk category should not compromise on sleep or carry weight during the pilgrimage she said pilgrims should not abruptly stop taking medicines in the name of penance. They should also take the advantage of oxygen parlours set up by the health department of Kerala along the trekking path when requires.

Satheesh Neptune

International Horti Expo 2010 will be held at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium here at Thiruvananthapuram from December 2 to 6 organised under the aegis of the state government and the state Horticulture Mission Kerala the expo is meant to spread awareness about the new trends in horticulture.

The expo will include sections on horticulture, medicinal plants, spices and tuber crops. Several central and state government instiutions, including the union agriculture ministry, National Horticulture Mission, State Agriculture Department and the National Medicinal Plant Board are associating with the expo.

More than 200 instituions Indian and foreign, are expected to set up stalls at the 75 oosgfeet expo.

Satheesh Neptune

By 2070 archaeologists will be busy digging up the remains of Kochi city from the deep blue sea.

According to a United Nations backed report, Kochi city is one among the major cities in the world that will get submerged due to global warming by 2070.
The UN backed reports say that some of the big cities in the world including Kochi, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam of the Indian subcontinent are likely to be flooded by the end of this century.

The report says the sea levels will life more rapidly than predicted. Submerging the coastal cities. Stressing the need for formulating new economic models that give importance to the conservation of mangroves and coral reefs, the study pointed out that the sea levels could rise by up to 20 feet by the end of the century pulling life of millions at risk. The threat comes from melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. The study by a professional agency says eight of the worlds 10 most populous cities situated near rivers or seas are in danger. The report calls on the governments to take urgent steps to protect their cities from adverse effects of climate change. Preserving the balance of our eco system should be given utmost priority.

Satheesh Neptune

The next time you scowl at a Moringa dish at the dining table remember these facts dished out by the National Moringa Mission. Moringa Oleifera (popular as drumstick tree) has nine essential amino acids that humans should get from food. Moringa has vitamin C seven times more than that in oranges and calcium four times more than that in milk. Is vitamin a content is four times that in carrots protein thrice more than in milk, potassium thrice more than in banana, and iron thrice that in spinach.

Moringa is a power house of nutrients and id described as wonder herb. In India juice of Moringa leaves is believed to control blood pressure. In Senegal an infusion of the juice is used to stabilize glucose level. In Nicaragua, Guatemala and Senegal, Moringa leaves are applied as poultice on sores and skin infection. In the Philippines eating leaves is believed it increases milk supply in lactating women while in Puertorico, advection made of Moringa flowers is a medicine for Hysteria. In Senegal, Moringa gum is used to treat fevers, dysentery and asthma.

Satheesh Neptune

Kochi will soon be on the monsoon-monitoring map of the world when a stratosphere Troposphere (ST) radar will be set up by the Ministry of Science and Technology on the Cochin University campus in Kalamassery.
With the University getting the official sanction from the centre the Rs. 20 crore Doppler radar will set the course for new findings on climate change and monsoon variability in the country.

The radar will be the second of its kind in the country and the seventh of such in the world.

Kochis location is geographically unique and there is no such radar in the tropical belt which could give useful data for the entire Asian region.

As far as the monsoons are concerned we can study the intensity velocity and orientation of the jet stream and also about cloud formations and vertical wind activity stratosphere up to 25-30 kilometres project head Prof. Mohan kumar, Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences said.
When the south west monsoon hits Kerala it rains the most in Anamudi in the Western Ghats and Kochi is located in the same altitude. Hence it would be much easier to study the tropical activity in the region. Mohan kumar said the radar could help in studying climate change as the stratosphere is an ozone enriched region.

Satheesh Neptune

It might be in correct to call China a closed society because it has a very large and vibrant public sphere on the internet says Perry Anderson Professor of history and Sociology at the University of California Los Angeles USA.
Replying to questions after a lecture on the theme the concept of intellectuals. A comparative history at the centre for Development studies at Trivandrum in Kerala, Prof. Anderson said it may not also be correct to call China a totally regimented society commenting on the role of intellectuals in the regime changes in eastern Europe, Prof. Anderson noted that while intellectuals did play a major role in overthrow of communism in some of the East Europe on countries they were pushed aside rapidly and conventional species of politicians brought in to replace them.

Prof Anderson said the period of economic liberalization has not been conducive for academic freedom and cited marketisation of Universities as the biggest constraint to academic freedom.
Market does not bring freedom to universities. It is quite the opposite he said and added that not many societies have matched democratization of education with democratization of resources.

Satheesh Neptune

Noted German film maker Werner Herzog has been selected for the life time achievement award instituted by the Kerala state Chalachitra Academy in connection with the 15th international film festival of Kerala.

Minister of Culture M.A., Baby and the Jury told reporters that Mr. Herzog was selected in view of his contributions to world cinema. The award comprsing $10000 and a memento would be presented to Mr. Herog at the inaugural of the festival at Nishagandhi auditorium here on December 2010. Mr. Baby said that 14 films from Asian African and Latin American countries would compete for the awards. The academy council has decided to increase the prize money for various sections. The director and producer of the film which were the Goldne Cro pleasant would get 15 lakh best director Rs. 4 lakh debut director Rs. 3 lakh and the film winning the audience award Rs. 2 lakh.

In order to promote Malayalam films the director and producer of the films the director and producer of the films selected for the festival would get a grant of Rs. 1 lakh. Eight Malayalam films have been selected for the festival this year.
The films of German film maker Rainer Fass binder will be shown on the retrospective section. The films of T.V. Chandran, middle Asian, black American directors and aprichat pong will be screened at the festival.

A package of Latin American films has been envisaged in connection with the 200th anniversary of the Latin American independence.  A section to pay homage to Masters of Malayalam cinema too has been planned as part of the festival.

Satheesh Neptune