THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Housekeeping workers at the Thiruvananthapuram airport have raised serious concerns over the lack of basic workplace facilities. They also raised allegations of labour rights violation, saying they were forced to work in harsh conditions without access to proper change rooms or adequate toilet facilities. Two days ago, the staff lodged a complaint before Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, seeking his intervention. There are around 123 housekeeping staff, including more tha

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Raj Bhavan marked the 125th birth anniversary of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, with a commemorative event on Monday. J Nandakumar, National Coordinator of Prajna Pravah, delivered the keynote address. He described Mookerjee not merely as a historical figure but as a living embodiment of timeless ideals. Nandakumar highlighted how Mookerjees vision continues to shape the policies of the present government, citing initiatives such as the National

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A pioneering study on cancer patients has found that recovery from cancer is not just about medicines but the social support that holds the key to better treatment outcomes, as nearly half of them experience severe emotional distress and social isolation. The research, led by Dr Boban Thomas, senior medical oncologist at Caritas Hospital, Kottayam, reveals that 49.82% of cancer patients undergoing treatment suffer significant emotional strain, with many feeling socially isola

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ambitious Vizhinjam-Navaikulam Outer Ring Road (ORR) project hangs fire as the validity of the 3(a) notification issued for land acquisition for the project is set to expire next month. Meanwhile, the alignment revision which aims to minimise extensive hill cutting along the 77 km stretch is under way and is expected to be finalised only by December 2025. As many as 6,500 land owners have handed over their property for ORR project and the move to revise the alignment of

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 28-year-old man who demanded Rs 50 lakh from his father to buy a luxury car was seriously injured after his father retaliated during a violent scuffle at Kunnumpuram in Vanchiyoor on Friday morning. The accused, identified as Hridhik, allegedly attacked his father, Vinayanandan, with a knife after the latter refused to give him the money. Police said that as Hridhik continued to threaten his father, following which the enraged parent struck him on the head with an iron rod

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The centuries-old Padmatheertham pond , adjacent to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, that has been facing numerous woes including indiscriminate algal bloom, fish death and foul odour, is set to get a new lease of life. The revival comes through an eco-restoration project proposed by the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST). The institute will implement a nature-based treatment system using floating wetlands and ex-situ purificatio

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Neyyattinkara police will register a case against Thiruvananthapuram district Congress committee general secretary Jose Franklin for sexual harassment as well as abetting the suicide of a 50-year-old woman near Perumbazhuthoor. Jose Franklin, who is also the standing committee chairman for health in Neyyattinkara municipality, was named in the suicide note by the woman. Neyyattinkara police Inspector B S Praveen said the suicide note mentioned that Jose had sexually haras

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bio Connect 3.0, a two-day international conclave that is expected to generate investments of around Rs 200 crore in the life sciences sector, will begin in the capital on Thursday. The event, to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, will be presided over by Industries Minister P Rajeeve. Health Minister Veena George and secretary of the Central Technology Development Board Rajesh Kumar Pathak will be among the guests. Timothy Rowe, founder of the Cambridge Innov

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When Gopakumar (name changed) found himself in a financial crunch, he decided like many people to sell his land in the city for an influx of money. He approached several real estate brokers, but when the efforts proved futile, Gopakumar placed a classified advertisement in the newspaper. This proved helpful. Within days, he received a call from a man who introduced himself as Joshi. The latter expressed interest in purchasing the land Gopakumar owned and requested for a meeti

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Keralas innovative V-Park project, which transforms idle spaces beneath flyovers into vibrant recreational zones, is set for a major expansion. The tourism department has now granted administrative sanction for new V-Park sites across several districts as part of the next phase of the initiative jointly developed with the public works department under the states design policy. Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas informed the Assembly that a list of 77 bridges has been prepared

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Work on the Sreekaryam flyover, a key preparatory civil work part of the ambitious Thiruvananthapuram metro rail project, is gathering pace, with the laying of the service roads set to begin soon. According to sources, around 90% of the stormwater drain construction has been completed. Giving impetus to the much-awaited project, the chief secretary-led high-level committee constituted to examine and finalise the alignment for the project being implemented by the Kochi Metro R

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday accused the Left government in Kerala of abandoning its own ideology and failing to safeguard workers rights. Inaugurating the Headload Workers Leaders Meet organised by the INTUC-led Headload and Loading Workers, Chennithala said the Pinarayi Vijayan government has adopted positions that deny workers even the right to organise and bargain systematically. He alleged that the states labour welfare boards have never been in

Back in 2017, a small group of rappers, including names now familiar, like Thirumali, Rakz Radiant, and Jay Stellar, gathered at Manaveeyam Veedhi, laid down their verses on a single track, and unwittingly kindled Keralas first hip-hop cypher. Since then, Thiruvananthapuram has been dubbed the unofficial hip-hop capital of Kerala. Notably, the states first and only hip-hop protest also took place here in 2019, when rappers, breakers, and poets turned a demonstration outside the Secretariat into

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday reaffirmed the state governments commitment to ensure safe and transparent migration for Malayalis across the world. He was speaking after inaugurating the Global Mobility Conclave organised by Office of the Protector of Emigrants under the Ministry of External Affairs in Thiruvananthapuram. Citing the findings of the Kerala Migration Survey 2023, the chief minister said migration patterns are undergoing a major transformation. Earli

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city corporation is gearing up to introduce a comprehensive plan to regulate street vending through designated vending zones and strict space limits. The operators of fast food trucks had approached the chief ministers office seeking intervention after the recent eviction of as many as 23 unauthorised food stalls along key stretches such as Sasthamangalam, Vellayambalam and Vazhuthacaud. Subsequently, they were directed to resume operations, mandating adherence to traffic

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Surprise inspections by the vigilance wing of the local self-government department (LSGD) found widespread irregularities in granting building permits and occupancy certificates, including unnecessary delays, rule violations and approvals without proper verification. The inspections, held on September 16 and 17, covered the main offices of the Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam corporations, 20 municipalities, and 26 panchayats. A total of 225 officials, organised into 48 teams le

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The two-month deadline set by the High Court to decongest the busy East Fort Junction in the state capital has ended. But the proposal to set up two more foot overbridges, one of the key recommendations to improve pedestrian safety, hangs fire because of a lack of clarity on the agency supposed to implement the project. According to the HC order issued on July 30, the state government had to begin the construction of two additional foot overbridges, one near the Chalai Road a

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Raising allegations of encroachment, former Thampanoor ward councillor R Harikumar has triggered a controversy over a plot of land and a building near the Sree Bala Subramanya Temple in Thampanoor. The Congress leader alleged that it has been encroached upon by the ONV Samskarika Samithi. However, Devaswom officials have denied any encroachment, stating that the land is under a valid rental agreement. According to Harikumar, the approximately five cents of land, which is unde

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Education should be seen as a tool for social transformation and not merely as a tool to secure employment, Governor Rajendra Arlekar said on Monday. He was delivering the convocation address at the Digital University Kerala (DUK) here. Addressing the students, the Governor called upon them to look beyond personal achievements and reflect on their role in nation-building. You will be judged by what you are doing for society, he said. The purpose of education requires re-calib

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A film shoot caused disruptions to public movement on Sunday as the MG Road stretch in front of the Secretariat remained blocked for nearly nine hours. The shoot of a film produced by Unnikrishnan B and starring Nivin Pauly began around 5 am and continued until 2 pm. Over 1,000 people, including crew members, supporting actors, and technicians, were involved in the shoot. With multiple vehicles, filming equipment, and crowd scenes occupying the road, city police diverted traf

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Every three months in Ottur panchayat, a swap shop is set up under the banner of the Vanitha Vedi of Mavinmoodu Navodaya Library. Clothes, utensils, toys, shoes, bags, even small electronics are brought in. Some people arrive to donate items. Others come to take home what they need. No money changes hands. The person behind the initiative is P Beena, former headmistress of Sreenarayanapuram Government UP School and current convenor of the vedi. The Ottur swap shops are a cont

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An Israeli tourist who was attacked on Saturday by a local man in Varkala has been shifted to a mental health facility at Peroorkada after doctors confirmed he was mentally unwell. The man, identified as Zayats Sagi, 46, had been wandering the streets of Varkala for several months without valid travel documents. We dont know when or how he arrived in Varkala. He was not staying at any hotel and had no passport or identity card. He had been living on the streets and carried on

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A special drive by the Thiruvananthapuram rural police identified loan sharks as five cases were registered and many documents were seized from different parts of the capital district. The special drive was carried out to control unreasonable high interest rates and curb illegal money lending activities following the orders of Rural SP K S Sudarshan. The drive, carried out on Friday covered multiple police station limits including Kallambalam, Pangode, Palode, Kilimanoor, and

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram is set to be free of extreme poverty by the end of this month, lifting 94.86 per cent of identified families out of the category. Out of the 6,250 families identified under the extreme poverty eradication programme, 5,929 have been brought out of distress. Among the identified families, 1,219 needed only shelter-related support. Of them, 332 were given new houses, while house renovation works are progressing for 505 families. Another 284 families who lacked

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar has accused the CPM of betraying Hindu beliefs and Ayyappa devotees, calling their actions unforgivable. In a statement on Saturday, Chandrasekhar said, First, in 2018, they tried to destroy the culture of Sabarimala. Then we saw the arrest of Ayyappa devotees protesting against them. Now, they have organised an Ayyappa Sangam to deceive the people. All this has happened while gold is being stolen from the Sabarimala temple. He further

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A major drug trafficking gang has been arrested by the Thiruvananthapuram Rural Dansaf team on Friday. The four-member group was caught with 308 grams of MDMA, worth over `15 lakh in the market. The drugs were seized after two rounds of checking. Initially, 175 grams of MDMA was found hidden on one of the accused, a woman, during a body search. On further inspection, 133 grams more was found. The group had been under secret surveillance for some time. Those arrested are Shami

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department (NORKA) in association with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will host the Global Mobility Conclave 2025 in Thiruvananthapuram on October 7 as it looks to set new benchmarks in ethical and innovative overseas recruitment. The one-day event, organised in collaboration with the Protector of Emigrants (Thiruvananthapuram & Cochin) at Hycinth Hotel, is expected to bring together voices from the government, international migratio

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC have announced their full squad and coaching team for the Super League season 2. The line-up combines experienced international players with young domestic talent. The teams jersey was unveiled and handed over to franchise owner T J Mathew by former state police chief Jacob Punnoose at the event held on Friday. The team will be led by Head Coach James McAloon, supported by Assistant Coach Kali, Goalkeeping Coach Balaji Narasimhan and Strength

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government is planning to open more Eco Banks across Kerala following the positive public response to the initiative launched recently to facilitate proper disposal of inorganic and non-biodegradable waste. Currently, there are 14 Eco Banks, one each in every district. Now, the local self-government department (LSGD) has decided to establish a minimum of four centres in each district to ensure hassle free service to citizens. Since the Eco Banks initiative was rolle

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thiruvananthapuram Additional District and Sessions Pocso court has sentenced Hassan Kutty, 45, also known as Kabeer, to 67 years of rigorous imprisonment in the case where a two-year-old girl was kidnapped and raped. A fine of `12 lakh has also been imposed. Hassan Kutty had been accused in a Pocso case earlier too. The incident happened on February 19, 2024. The girl was sleeping on the roadside near Chackai with her parents, who had come to Kerala from Hyderabad to sel

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A woman suffered injuries after a concrete slab fell from the roof of the Nedumangad District Hospital building on Thursday. The injured, relative of a patient, has been identified as Naufiya Noushad, (21). The incident happened while she was waiting with her relative to consult a doctor at the PMR section. The slab reportedly fell on her left arm and the back of her shoulder. Naufiya was admitted to the hospital soon. When an X-ray was required, the hospitals machine was fou

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The capitals thriving street food culture, which has become a key part of nightlife in areas such as Sasthamangalam, Vellayambalam and Vazhuthacaud, is facing curbs and eviction following intervention by the police. There are over 100 food joints, including trucks and makeshift stalls, operating along these stretches serving budget-friendly meals for the public. Despite repeated demands, the city corporation has failed to designate street vending zones in the capital. Accordi

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thousands of children made their first step into the world of knowledge and arts in the capital city on Vidyarambham day. The Vijayadashami celebrations, held in various parts of Thiruvananthapuram, saw toddlers write their first letters, some with tears, and some with wide smiles. Over 1,000 students participated in the ceremony at the Saraswathi Devi Temple at Poojappura, the most significant Vidyarambham centre in the district. The curious kids were taken to the new world

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar flagged off the sixth edition of the Fit India Freedom Run, organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI LNCPE), Thiruvananthapuram, on Thursday. Marking the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi, the programme celebrated the twin ideals of Swachchhta and Swasthya (cleanliness and health), as over 700 runners, including students, athletes, coaches, officials, and SAI staff, lined up at the Kowdiar Square. The 5-km run concluded at the Central Sta

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Pravasi Federation has urged Air India to immediately withdraw its reported decision to cancel around 50 flight services to Kerala starting October 26. In a statement, the organisations leadership expressed deep concern over the move, warning that it would severely affect connectivity for the Malayali diaspora in the Gulf countries, especially Kuwait. According to the federation, if the decision is implemented, there will be no direct Air India flights from Kuwait to Kera

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Residents of Manickal panchayat in Venjarammoodu and nearby areas are growing anxious as over a dozen homes have been broken into in the past few months. Houses in Aaliyadu, Parakkal, Puthayam, Cheenivila and nearby pockets have been repeatedly targeted, with residents reporting almirahs flung open, clothes scattered, and cash drawers looted. In some cases, stolen items were bizarrely found dumped in other nearby homes. We initially ignored some incidents, thinking they were

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Union Minister V Muraleedharan said that the monastic tradition at Santhigiri Ashram reflects the vision of Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru, who upheld the relevance of sanyasa and Indian spiritual heritage as a path to self-realisation in society. He was speaking at the public meeting held at the ashram in connection with the 41st Sanyasa Deeksha Anniversary. Muraleedharan said that the Indian tradition considers a sanyasi as someone who works for the welfare of the wo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With local body elections fast approaching, Thiruvananthapuram corporation is gearing up to open two major multi-level car parking (MLCP) facilities at Medical College Hospital and East Fort this month. The new MLCPs are expected to ease traffic congestion and parking woes in two of the busiest parts of the capital city. Works standing committee chairperson Medayil Vikraman told TNIE that both MLCPs will be inaugurated before October 20. The new parking facility at MCH has th

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A pillar at Vadakkekotta (North Fort) in Thiruvananthapuram, which stands just before the Government Taluk hospital here, was severely damaged after a vehicle crashed into it on Saturday. Maintained by the archaeological department, the pillar is at least 250 years old. The incident took place around 1.15 am when a trailer crashed into the pillar, said officials working with the archaeology department. They suspect that a possible deviation taken by the trailer due to the ong

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has hit out at a section of aided school managements that accused it of delaying approval of staff appointments citing implementation of a Supreme Court order on reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PwD). In a strongly worded statement, General Education Minister V Sivankutty urged the aided managements not to mislead the public on approval of appointments. The minister said the situation has arisen as aided managements have under-reported the vacan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A challenge to media freedom is a challenge against democracy and critical thinking, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday. He was speaking after the official inauguration of the International Media Festival of Kerala 2025 organised by the Kerala Media Academy at Tagore Theatre in the state capital. Pinarayi highlighted the mounting challenges faced by the media. Once, the media was regarded as a pillar of democracy. Now things have changed a lot. Critics of adminis

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The corporation council meeting held on Monday discussed flooding issues and the delay in opening of Veli breakwater that led to severe waterlogging in low-lying areas in the state capital in the recent rains. UDF councillor P Padmakumar, who raised the issue, said that various corporation wards lying close to the National Highways including Muttathara, Manickavilakam, Puthenpally, Thiruvallam and Vellar areas are facing severe waterlogging. The stormwater drains under NHAI a

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A father-son duo escaped from police custody on Sunday morning. Kulathupuzha natives Syedali, 22, and his father Ayoob Khan, 60, were accused of robbing three shops in Palode. They were caught from Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad on Saturday, and were being brought back to Palode by the police when the duo escaped near Kadakkal, Kollam. The accused said that they wanted to urinate while coming back early on Sunday morning, by around 4 am. The duo immediately escaped when the vehic

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Igniting young professional minds, the Shaping Young Minds Programme (SYMP) 2025, organised by Trivandrum Management Association (TMA), in association with the All India Management Association (AIMA), saw experts from various industries take part. The programme, which saw close to 1000 delegates, including invited guests, students, and young professionals, was held at the Uday Palace Convention Centre here on Sunday. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Air Marshal I P Vipin (

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The District Development Committee meeting held at the collectorate here discussed development programmes and schemes across various segments, including Kovalam, Parassala, Neyyattinkara and Vattiyoorkavu assembly constituencies and the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency. Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth called for steps to repair the street lights in the city. He demanded the effective utilisation of land owned by the Kerala Water Authority in Peroorkada. He also called for more

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will initiate steps to build a comprehensive ecosystem for senior citizens, Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh said in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. The minister was speaking at the Sherpa Senior Conclave organised by the Overseas Keralites Investment and Holding Limited (OKIH) at the Government Guest House. Mentioning the rising share of Keralas elderly population, Kerala State Planning Board member K Ravi Raman said the living conditions of senio