Latest news with #M.K.Raghavan
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Air India Express mulls more domestic services from Calicut airport
Air India Express will positively consider the demand to increase the number of domestic services from Calicut International Airport. Air India Express Managing Director Aloke Singh told MPs M.K. Raghavan and E.T. Mohammed Basheer in Delhi recently that the airline would no longer charge extra fares for Haj services from Calicut. He added that a new service from Calicut to Mumbai would be launched once the new airport at Navi Mumbai begins operations, while another service from Calicut to Goa is also under consideration. The MPs demanded that services from Calicut to Thiruvananthapuram and Kolkata, as well as international routes such as Kuwait, Bahrain, and Al Ain, be operated daily. They also sought new services to Fujairah, Madinah, and Singapore.
The Hindu
02-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Centre's green signal for Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road upgrade as single stretch
The green signal from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has cleared the air over the development of the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road in Kozhikode city as a single stretch. The State government's plan to develop only the Mananchira–Malaparamba stretch, as the remaining part of the road came under National Highway 766, had led to many protests and allegations recently. A meeting between Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan and Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari recently, combined with the efforts of the State government, resulted in the decision. Mr. Gadkari has directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to speed up the process. The project to develop the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road into eight lanes was proposed over 15 years ago. It took several protests and pressure tactics by the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee, led by the late historian M.G.S. Narayanan, to make the project a reality even though the funds had been sanctioned much earlier. When the work began in mid-June this year under the Kozhikode City Roads Improvement Project, it drew flak from the committee as well as the public as the plan included only the development of the stretch from Mananchira to Malaparamba. The Public Works department explained that the State did not have the authority to develop the remaining part of the road, as it came under NH 766 (Kozhikode–Kollegal) and required the permission of the NHAI. At present, the work on the Mananchira–Malaparamba stretch is progressing fast. The drainage work has been completed from Mananchira to the civil station. Levelling of the acquired land is in progress from Fathima Hospital to East Nadakkavu. Meanwhile, the potholes formed on the existing Wayanad Road due to rain have been filled. The work on this stretch is expected to be completed by December this year, after which the Malaparamba–Vellimadukunnu stretch will be taken up.
The Hindu
15-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road work to begin today amid row over second stretch
With the inauguration of the work on the first phase of the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road scheduled for Monday (June 16, 2025), a controversy has erupted over the project being developed in two parts, one by the State and the other by the Centre. The Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road project has a history spanning over 15 years, marked by several protests led by the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee. The estimated cost of the project is ₹481.94 crore, of which the State has sanctioned ₹344.5 crore in various phases. However, the current development under the City Roads Improvement Project covers only the 5.32 km stretch from Mananchira to Vellimadukunnu, while no action has been taken on the remaining 3 km from Malaparamba to Vellimadukunnu, which forms part of National Highway 766. The estimated cost of the 5.32-km stretch is ₹80 crore. The Opposition has alleged that the government has misled the public by failing to develop the second part of the road as promised earlier. District Congress Committee (DCC) president K. Praveen on Saturday demanded an explanation from the Public Works department on the issue and questioned the exclusion of Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan from the inauguration function scheduled for Monday morning. He pointed out that it was Mr. Raghavan who had taken the initiative for the project and that it was former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who had first allocated funds for the road development. On the other hand, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district committee defended Minister for Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas, claiming that the development of the second stretch of the road could not be carried out as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had not granted the State government permission to proceed. CPI(M) district secretary M. Mehaboob on Sunday (June 15, 2025) appreciated the State government for proceeding with the development of the first reach instead of waiting for the Centre's approval for the second. He termed the allegations made by the Congress as politically motivated. The CPI(M) claimed that the stretch from Malaparamba to Vellimadukunnu was planned to be developed as part of the NH-766 project, which runs from Kollegal in Karnataka to Kozhikode. However, since the work had not been scheduled yet, the State government would request that the second stretch be handed over to it.
The Hindu
05-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Fire breaks out at Kozhikode MCH again, patients evacuated
Patients were evacuated once again when another fire broke out on the sixth floor of the PMSSY block that houses the casualty ward of the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode, on Monday afternoon. On May 2, 151 patients were shifted following after a minor explosion in the UPS room attached to the MRI scanning unit on the ground floor of the same building, causing thick smoke to spread to other parts of the seven-storey structure. Some of the 114 people shifted to other wards in the same hospital were brought back to the building on Monday morning. The latest round of fire and smoke emanating from the vicinity of an operating theatre on the sixth floor is reported to have happened when officials from the State Electrical Inspectorate were checking the electrical connections there. The panic-stricken patients admitted on the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors were rushed on wheelchairs and stretchers to other wards in adjacent buildings of the hospital through the skywalk facility. According to some sources, there were at least 35 patients on the fourth floor. Fire and Rescue Services personnel brought the situation under control in two hours. Possible reason Meanwhile, questions have been raised about the hurry to readmit patients to the building without enforcing proper security measures after the May 2 incident. Health Minister Veena George had said during a visit on May 3 that the patients would be readmitted only after ensuring proper precautions. Sources said that glitches in the electrical wiring could be a reason for the latest mishap. When the news of the fire breakout spread, M.K. Raghavan, Kozhikode MP, K.P. Prakash Babu, BJP leader, and Youth Congress leaders staged protests on the hospital premises. Mr. Raghavan later told the media that the services would be resumed only after thorough checking. Fire auditing ordered Ms. George told the media in Thiruvananthapuram that a short circuit had happened in the electrical wiring on the ceiling during a checking on the fifth and sixth floors. An order had been issued to conduct a comprehensive fire auditing of the building. The Minister admitted that there had been lapses in readmitting the patients before taking security precautions. A committee of experts had been set up to inquire into the technical safety of the building in the wake of recurring fire accidents, she added.
