Kochi Metro Rail - A reality!!

 

 

It is indeed a great feeling that a project which one followed since years is going to be a reality in few days. All the approvals are in place; now it is matter of inauguration of the phase 1A of Kochi metro rail by our PM Narendra Modi on 17-Jun-2017.

 

There would be many who argue that Kochi really needed more flyovers than a metro or those who say the patronage in metro would be less as it does not have parking place or also those who say it is just a stretch of 13.4 KM which is being opened. I think everyone has their own reason and rationale to support their views but no denial that the Queen is getting a metro of international standards and 7th Metro in our country after Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Jaipur & Chennai.

 

The interesting fact is that Kochi metro will be the fastest metro (in India) to be inaugurated when we consider time from initiation of construction to inauguration (within 4 years).

 

This is absolutely tremendous when we see that a state like Kerala with varied challenges like availability of materials and disruption in work got there in record time. Can you guess the reason for above two points? Well, it is easy since it is Kerala - Hartal (Strike). But we still managed to have metro on track in 4 years with great work from the best contractors & of course with personal touch by DMRC, especially from E. Sreedharan.

 

Extra benefits from Kochi metro:

 

We should not forget the benefits which Kochi metro gave to us before even it is inaugurated. The works done by metro team were to build bridges, widening roads and resurfacing many stretches which our corporation could not have done even in 15 or 20 years. We must congratulate metro for this. They are as follows:

• Railway over bridge over the Salim rajan road called AL Jacob RoB
• Road widening from Town hall to Madhava pharmacy junction
• Series of roads which were resurfaced
• Edapally flyover (though many say it should have been aligned in better way)
• Pachalam railway over bridge

7 lady loco pilot for Kochi metro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Future of Kochi metro - Lines

 

So the first stretch to be opened to public will be from Aluva to Palarivattom.

 

 We all know that land acquisition and related works are too slow from Vytilla to Pettah stretch and we would only see full phase being completed in 3 years (somewhere at the end of 2019).

 

But the stretch from Palarivattom to MG Road (5KM) is expected to be over in few months from now by at least August.

 

There is also a proposal for extension of metro to Kakkanad and with new metro policy it looks difficult to get funds from central government. But still let us wait for more clarity as this rule may not be applicable for the currently approved metro.

 

 We all wait now for 17^th June for Modi to inaugurate Kochi metro from Kaloor stadium.

 

PM Modi to inaugurate Kochi metro on 17th June 2017

 

 

 

Kochi Metro Rail - Impressive Progress

Kochi Metro Rail - Impressive Progress

Dear Friends,

I am back to blogging activities after 6 years in exile :-). 

This short story here is to express my happiness & gratitude to the city. I was really impressive about the progress made in the work of Kochi metro rail considering that this is happening in the state of Kerala.

This will really trigger the forward growth of the city as well the state. What makes it even more impressive is when I heard about 'Make in India' campaign for Kochi metro rail. Most of the components are manufactured in India especially at Sri city in Andhra Pradesh.

लोका समास्था सुखिनो बवन्थु 

Courtesy:

1. Skyscraper city blog on Kochi metro updates for the above picture

New Kochi City Mayor

Mr. Tony Chammini elected as new Kochi mayor.



Mr. Badra Satheesh will be new deputy mayor.

Hence Tony Chammini becomes 1st UDF mayor after Mr. K S N Menon, who was mayor of Cochin during 02 Oct 1981 to 03 Oct 1982.

K S N Menon - Last UDF Mayor of Cochin



After winning votes Mr. Tony affirmed that his first focus will be the roads of Cochin, which is currently in a disastrous condition.

Mr. Tony is also the youngest Kochi mayor.

Let us all hope the best for a much better Kochi city...



Source 1

Source 2

Cochin Harbour Terminus - A Tribute

Commemorating Cochin Harbour Terminus:


The Railway Station Which Hopes For The Best -




Let us first thank Sir Robert Bristow, who surveyed Cochin and made master plan for Wellington Island, which is currently the safest harbour in our peninsula.

Wellington Island had an airport, Seaport, Railway station and bus station within 3 kilometers radius, the only one of its kind in the whole world.

Cochin Harbour Terminus became functional in 1940’s with passenger train Shornur – Cochin. Later on it served lot of prestigious train services. Those days a movie was released named Cochin Express starring Prem Nasir. The word Cochin became famous all around travelers.

Some of the prestigious train services from CHTS were:

• 935/936 CHTS - Netravati express (now 6345/6346 TVC- Netravati exp)
• 957/958 CHTS - Dadar express (now discontinued)
• 929/930 Hyderabad - Cochin express (now 7029/7030 TVC - HYB Sabari express)
• 903/904 Cochin - Rajkot express (now 6337/6338 ERS - HAPA exp)
• 909/910 CHTS - Patna express (Now ERS - Patna 6309/6310 exp)
• 937/938 CHTS - HAPA express (now 6337/6338 ERS - HAPA exp)
• 911/912 CHTS - GKP Raptisagar express (now 5011/5012 TVC - GKP Raptisagar exp)
• CHTS - Indore, CHTS - Bilaspur (now TVC - Indore, TVC - Bilaspur)
• 923/924 CHTS - HWH (now 6323/6324 TVC - HWH)
• Cochin - Varanasi (now 6359/6360 ERS - Rajendra Nagar exp)

Ride Across Venduruthy Bridge from CHTS



Just check the link below to see how freight movement was going on in Cochin station in the past.

cochin station

Sad End of Cochin Terminus:

In 1978, railways short listed two stations, Cochin Harbour Terminus and Trivandrum Central to base the new division at. Ultimately, TVC won the race.

There was a huge uproar in the newspapers and the parliament due to the selection. Trivandrum was a much smaller station then. It was mere political interference which gave TVC, the divisional status.

Another reason for sad end of CHTS was delay in granting permission for electrification from ERS to CHTS by INDIAN NAVY. Hence all trains were moved to ERS and subsequently to Alleppey and TVC. Navy gave permission only in 2002.

article by jimmy jose

There were plans by authorities to transform CHTS to a rail museum. Nobody knows what happened. Probably Kochi will rank first if we consider the mammoth amount of projects proposed!!!

express article on rail museum

Now Rail Bridge is under construction parallel to the existing bridge. After it completes, the 6 km line from ERS to CHTS will be electrified and we could expect city service from Ernakulam to real Kochi.

new rail bridge

As a matter of fact, the 17th chapter of Arundhathi Roy’s famous book The God of Small Things is based on events at CHTS named Cochin Harbour Terminus.

The current Dilapidated Condition of CHTS -

>


Even today railway stations in Ernakulam are deprived of development, because majority of amount allotted to Trivandrum division under southern railway is spent in Trivandrum station. As a result Ernakulam South, which is busiest railway station in Kerala, has a unique distinction of being the rare first class station which doesn’t have even an A/C waiting hall or a modern reservation hall.

Lot has to happen from scratch level. Currently ERS faces a lot of issues with regard to passgenger comforts. The modernisation of ERS and ERN are nowhere. There is no scope of expansion of ERS and ERN.

(note: I would be called a plagiarist if I don't thank Jimmy Jose sir, who has the most authentic information about rail systems especially in and around Kerala and to be specific Cochin. He is well known for his staunch love towards Cochin Harbour Terminus.)


You all can suggest what best could be done to expand the rail system in Ernakulam / Kochi.

Shenoy

Beautiful Beaches in Cochin

Cherai Beach - It is considered to be one the busiest beach in Kerala. It is of course the most popular beach in Kerala, with a trade mark attached to it called Cherai Beach Resorts.



Dutch Cemetery - The laid out evidence for the existence of Dutch colonies in the past. It was built in 1757.


Munambam Beach: An envy to Cherai, Munambam beach soon wil become a must see beach for people visiting Cherai beach. The recreational facilities needs to be strenghtened in the beach. They have a vast area for it.


Munambam Beach is a natural beauty that you have a walkway there; on one side it is sea beach and on the other side it has lake area with Chinese nets!!!Indeed a great place to spend your evening. But for Kochiites it is 35 kms from Ernakulam.


Pallathankulangara Beach: Yet another unexplored beach in Ernakulam. This is just 3 kms from Pallathankulangara Devi temple near Kuzhupilly. To be specific it is 16 kms from Vypeen and 19 kms from High Court area!It is absolutely a great place to watch out.


PuthuVype Light House: The only Light House in Kochi. It was supposed to come in FortKochi, but lack of proper space to build it forced authorities to build it on opposite shore making it less popular. Had it been in FortKochi, it would have attracted 100 times more tourists.


Puthuvype Beach: Once an unexplored beach in Kochi, is now visited by many. It is clean (as less tourists!!!)


I feel that Kochi has a great potential to promote beach areas, as we have FortKochi beach, Puthuvype, Kuzhuppilly beach, Pallathankulangara beach, Chrai and Munamban beach, all on same island excpet for FortCochin. The proposed Vypeen - Moothakunnam road through sea side could make Kochi a great place.

Shenoy!

Gujarati Community in Kochi and neighbourhood.

Culture of Cochin is something which is unique.

In various towns and cities across India, there are various communities who form part of that city, but they would be there just for business or such related activities. But Kochi is far away from these.

Kochi had earlier attracted business men and later allured them to make Kochi as their second home.

The best example for this is the Gujarati community in Kochi.

Muslim ruler attacked Gujarat, they fled to various parts of India. One group travelled south to reach Calicut, Cochin, Allepey and Thiruvananthapuram. The terror of Muhammed Gaazni was so dreadful in their minds that they wanted to settle down in a place where the arms of the Muslim invaders could not reach them. They considered Cochin as their choicest abode as it provided both peaceful atmosphere and plenty of opportunity for trade. They obtained grants of land from his Highness Raja of Cochin and along with it all the security was assured to them for whatever trade they conducted there.


While Cochin and Calicut Gujarati's maintained their culture, the Gujarati's aroung Sri Padbanabaswamy temple got much mixed with the locals that they don't speak Gujarati, eventhough they remember their grandfathers having spoken Gujarati.

Gujarati's were and are great traders. Since the Gujarati traders were the Chief exporting agents their quantum of trade had to be increased beyond all their expectations. Cochin became the center of activities where adequate facilities were available for the storage of goods and their exportation.

A copper plate issued by the Raja of Cochin Veera Kerala Varma in the year 1929 speaks about the special favours granted to them.

In the year 1887 there was a flow of Gujarati families to Cochin. 72 families reached Cochin during the year. They were provided with necessary facilities for settlement and they could live in exclusive area where they could preserve all their traditions and practices without any local interference. In Cochin, the Gujarati communities preserved all their culture and traditions.

Currently there are around 800 families of Gujarati's with a population of around 4000 in Cochin. Most of them live in Mattancherry area of Cochin. As a matter of fact Mattancherry is considered to be the most densly populated town in Kerala.

population of gujaratis

Today Mattancherry has changed its face from the old phrase as a Goonda area to an area with real communal harmony. We could see numerous commuinities living together in harmony, which was thought to be imposssible.

Any one (from other parts of India) will find difference betweenm other parts of Kerala when they reach Mattancherry and FortKochi area, as they could sew a diiferent type of living. People are jovial, busy are so on.

Our ministers should do their best to maintain the heritage of Mattancherry which has many houses are localities which are seen to be under poor condition.

Mattancherry is in itself a mini India.


With Regards,

Vivek

POPULAR HANGOUTS IN COCHIN

KOCHI MAY be a happening place, but it was yet to imbibe the hangout culture that had caught up in a big way in similar cities across India. The restrictions put by the police after fall of dusk and the nuisance created by flashers, way-side Romeos, drug addicts are just some of the issues that people face. But things are changing abruptly. The mushrooming of ice-cream parlous, eat-outs, the Hill Palace Museum, Horticultural, and Internet kiosks with cabins are increasingly becoming the hangouts for the young crowd. The scenario is on a change mode as big malls are going to open soon. Bay Pride mall was the only real small mall, but now the Oberon mall supposed to be launched by August 2008 will be a big boost. Also other malls will be launched by 2009 such as Lulu mall (suppossed to be biggest mall in India), Forum Mall in Maradu, Gold Souk in Vytilla, Abad mall in MG road etc. (still a lot I dont remember).

Going by the metro meter there's good reason to believe that Kochiites are under the spell of fast foods.

The increasing crowds at the fast food joint like Pizza Hut, Chic King, Hot Breads et al are a testimony to this fact. Natty and neat, Chick King has literally revolutionised the fried chicken industry in the city! The crunchy chicken, the French fries, the bun and the coleslaw salad truly makes it the divine combination. Forget about what the health freaks tell you. (0)

KR Bakers is popular for its sweets and its fast version of slow food. In spite of being a bakery, it serves all the dishes that would constitute a full meal. Their USP is that since the food is always ready, it is served quickly and therefore is ‘fast food’. Its menu features parathas, chapatis, various vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, fresh juices and aerated drinks. You can also check out the pastries and confectionary items here.

Tandav is more a nightclub than a bar and has a dance floor. It's become quite a popular hang-out in Cochin. Tandav is a place to chill out. Some will call it a fun place; some may call it a pub. For others it can be a nightclub and for some a discotheque. It is basically a place for people to have fun. The DJ and the bouncers are the final authority at the place and there are two types of membership, one by invitation and the other though open will be thoroughly scrutinised

The other pubs or kind of place for night life are Formula 1 DJ pub - First and Best Dj pub of Kerala featuring the resident Djs, Experience the House, rave, Hip-Hop and all... The one and only real Hang-out of Kerala. It is located at MG road sputh end near Medical Trust. It is owned by swedish nationals. Its part of True wealth Hotels (P) Ltd.

Youth feel that the potential offered by the romantic backwaters, the shimmering beaches and the public parks should be better utilized. Kochi lacks a lovers' enclosure, a place where couples and pairs can spend some time together. There are whole lot of places to hangout in Kochi, but we have to provide an environment for people to come out.

At Fort Kochi, there is Kashi Art Café, where couples can chat amidst a good ambience, savoring snacks and lunch, while taking a look at the exhibition of paintings. Some hotels there serve food in the jetties jutting into the backwaters.

Hmm so far we never talked about the most popular hangout in Kerala - The Marine Drive.

Major fast food joints, including Marrybrown, DiMark, Barista, Coffee Bar are present along the walkway. The view of the setting and rising sun over the sea mouth, and the gentle breeze from the Vembanad Lake has made Marine Drive an important tourist destination in Kochi.Hundreds of people (both natives, and tourists) throng the walkway during the evenings. The walkway starts from the High Court Junction and continues until the Rajendra Maidan. There are also several boat jetties along the walkway.

Here are the list of popular hangout in city -

1) Marine Drive

2) Subhash Bose park

3) Durbar Hall grounds

4) Pizza hut

5) Chick King, Baskin Robbins

6) Bimbis

7) Avenue Regent

8) FortKochi beach, Chinese fishing nets, walkway

9) Mattancherry - synagogue, art galleries

10) Wellington Island park

11) Bolghatty island

Also areas like Vpeen walkway, Cherai beach, Hill palace in Tripunithura with deer park, Childrens park near subhash bose park, Veega land for whole day fun, Puthuvype beach and light house, Boat ride in Vembanad lake near Marine drive, also parks in Maradu. Then the suburban areas like Ezhattumukham etc. But by the launch of malls all life style is going to change.

When you consider the other cities in Kerala or south India, Kochi stands out. Trivandrum doesn't even have a great hangout other than Kovalam beach. Now a days Shanghumugham beach is also on upfront. The city of Trivandrum does not have a reputation for being a place that is youth friendly. It is also the only capital city in South India that has not taken to the mall, multiplex and Mocha (a Coffee shop chain) concept. Youngsters don’t have many choices when it comes to places where they can hangout with their friends. (no hangouts in Trivandrum)

SEE IT OUT ALL.

Again at last finishing of with another snap of marine drive.

Awaiting you comments.

Regards,

Vivek Shenoy P

07.45 PM

05-07-08

VOLVO OCEAN RACE IN COCHIN

The Indian stopover will come at the end of the second leg of the race from Cape Town, South Africa. Kochi will be the first of three new ports in Asia.

The seven yachts participating in the race will arrive in Kochi in December 2008 and will stay for 10 days, before starting leg three to Sentosa Island in Singapore. A race village spread over 2.5 acres will be set up near the BTP berth at Willingdon Island.

The booming shipping port on the Malabar Coast is one of India’s foremost tourist destinations and the race stopover is expected to bring thousands of additional visitors to both Kochi and the State of Kerala. The Kerala State Tourism Department envisages the event will bring significant visibility as well as economic benefit to the region.

Kochi’s selection was confirmed at an official ceremony at the Abad Plaza. Andy Hindley, Race Director, signed the port agreement along with Mr. N. Ramachandran, Chairman, Cochin Port Trust and Mr. KG Mohanlal, Managing Director, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation.

Kochi certainly holds the key to the Asian leg. It is best located for the race route. As Mr. Ramachandran points out, “Choosing any other Indian port would mean a major deviation in the whole route that has now been planned.” The organisers expect the event to draw approximately 250,000 people to Kochi and generate around 50 million dollars in economic impact. There will be a lot of activity while the boats are in. The boats will be taken out of the water, be given full checks and an extensive maintenance and repair programme will be undertaken. The race sailors will do official media conferences and interviews when they arrive.

The Yachting Association of India (YAI), an active advocate of the race coming to India, sees the hosting of a stopover as a key component in India’s ongoing campaign to establish itself as a venue for hosting major sporting events following its successful bid to stage the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.

“Hosting one of the world's top three sailing events will obviously boost any future bid to host major sailing as well as other sports events in India," said Commander Ajay Narang, Honorary Joint Secretary-General, YAI. “It will also be a tremendous fillip for local sailing,” he added.

In underlining the importance of the Indian stopover to the evolution of the race, Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, said: “It has always been part of our vision to take the race to different and wider audiences and we are delighted that Kochi has become part of that vision.

100 FLOORED INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE AND DEVELOPMENTS NEAR AIRPORT

Kochi, the Queen of Arabian Sea, which has been a shadow of its past for a long time, is now in the limelight as one of the most actively emerging cities not only in India but in South Asia.

Way back in 1999, Cochin International Airport was the first airport project in the country implemented under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model. Currently, it ranks as the 4th largest airport in India in terms of international passenger traffic—after Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai—and the 7th largest airport in terms of domestic passenger traffic. Cochin International Airport Ltd, the airport developer and operator, is now looking at replicating the successful model in other states and countries. It also wants to develop an Aerotropolis around the airport.(Read the interview)

Area in and around the International Airport is developing at a fast rate. The projects coming up and under various stages are Aerotropolis, which means an Airport city that includes 18 holed Golf Course of International standards, Two Five star hotels and few budget hotels, trde and cultural village, exhibition and convention centres, amusement parks, food courts, multiplexes, shopping malls. Also it will include an IT park, BPO park and Biotech park.

Airport authorities held talks with Cochin University of Science and Technology for establishing an aviation academy and also in talks with IIMs for a programme in aviation management.

Interestingly Airport is planning is to have a flying school. Flying School would like to use the old Cochin airport runway for a few hours a day and offer revenue share to the Indian Navy. Old Cochin airport is situated in Naval Enclave in Wellington Island area opposite to Vathuruthy.

Airport is setting up a Rs 60-crore centre for perishable cargo with a Rs 15-crore grant from the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, which will handle 30,000 mt of export-import cargo a year and held talks with airlines like Etihad and Emirates to start a dedicated cargo service from Cochin. They have started constructing an exclusive cargo bay for this centre.

The local panchayat, Nedumbassery is one of the highest revenue earners in the State in terms of collection local taxes / other taxes levied by the State and Central Govts. It is developing at fast rate to become perhaps into a town.

Two Four star hotels are coming up in MC road, One at Kalady and the other near Airport.

These developments are coming up only in Airport area alone even making Kochi city to feel shy. The mammoth developments in Airport vicinity is unimaginable for any other airport in the world, as Kochi has strong base in Tourism. No other airport in Kerala has even a percent of the majesty that this airport has! The passenger traffic has heavily declined in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode airport once the International airport started functioning.

100 FLOORED INTERNATIONL TRADE CENTRE:

The Board of Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) has appointed Mumbai-based Zoom Developers to provide full design consultancy services for the proposed International Exhibition and Trade Centre at Kalamasserry near Kochi. The trade centre is planned in the prestigious Kinfra Hi-tech Park cluster and is expected to be operational in three years.

The project is coming up on 40 acres of Kinfra land at Kalamasserry, 25 km from Cochin International Airport and 26 km from the seaport. The trade centre is to have world-class facilities and will be built in Kerala style of architecture, according to Kinfra officials. The exhibition hall and the convention centre are expected to have an area of 5.6 million sq. ft. The convention centre will be designed to be used as a theatre, if required.
The project will also include a 5-star hotel of 31 floors providing 400 rooms, a 100-storey office tower which will be one of its kind in India, and a shopping mall spread on six floors. The trade centre is coming up in a five-storey building. Other amenities include a club house, service apartments, restaurants, ATM centres, a post office, Internet café and multilevel car parking.

It is great to see that all these developments are coming up in Kochi. Now what Kochi needs is basic infrastructure developments. Projects are going ahead to cope up during monsoon. Usually in the past years during the rainy seasons Ernakulam used to drown! But now its level is low and conditions improved. Recently East Fort in Thiruvananthapuram was in news as the area get fully drenched even if it rains for few minutes. Ernakulam doesn't have to face such shame now.

The Kochi area also needs to be expended from the present meagre area. It should be expanded up to Kodungaloor, Cherthala etc and should comprise of many other areas like Perumbavur, Chalakuddy, Pallipuram(Cherai area) etc.

HOPING FOR A BRIGHTER KOCHI!!

BEST WISHES

VIVEK SHENOY P
14.15 HOURS

RADIO MANGO IN KOCHI

Radio mango will be functional by May 10 as per reports. They consider the launch of Kochi station as a challenge.(again there are all chances for delay)

As Kochi is been considered as a Metro city, there shouldn't be any discrepancies and the programs must be the best. They are reviewing how it works in smaller cities like Calicut, kannur etc.

From all these they will take out points to be cared for and then launch....

KOCHI RADIO MANGO FM WILL THE BEST FM IN KERALA....

WATCH OUT FOR IT...

QUEEN VICTORIA IN KOCHI

March 26, 2008:
The Cruise Liner "QUEEN VICTORIA" which is the most luxurious liner in the world called at KOCHI Port on 26th March, 2008 in the morning. The luxury cruise liner arrived on schedule at 7 a.m from Chennai with 1,798 tourists and 1,008 crew . It was the 40the cruise liner to arrive at Kochi Port since April 2007. Kochi port is Number 1 in India in terms of arrival of Cuise Ships. The tourists were given traditional welcome at the port with a rousing reception complete with caparisoned elephants, kavadiyattam and traditional chendamelam.
They visited places of interest in and around the city, in buses and boats.

Captain Subash Kumar, Deputy Chairman and senior officers of Cochin Port Trust greeted the Captain of the ship, Christopher Rynd and exchanged plaques to mark the maiden visit of Queen Victoria to Kochi.

During the ceremony the Captain said that Kochi was the most beautiful port in this part of the world and appreciated the efforts made by the Port Trust for a hassle-free visit by the vessel and its tourists. (Picture on right: ship arrives FortKochi as people gathered in mass)

Queen Victoria Left Kochi at 6 pm on the same day to Mumbai. Tw more Cruise ships will arrive in Kochi this month.

Scores of people assembled at FortKochi to view the majestic ships leaving the city. It was indeed a memorable site to see QUEEN VICTORIA leaving Kochi.

Kochi expects 8 cruise ships in April.

VIVEK SHENOY P
7.30 PM

RANKING OF KOCHI?

Here is an assortment of some of the solid facts regarding the City of Kochi which have come recently in news. Many of us neglect these facts and thus stand way back in knowledge about our city and state as a whole.

1) HVS International is an Indian hospitality industry. HVS conducted a survey to find out top eight markets in South Asia. Managing director of HVS released the survey results according to which the following are the top eight emerging markets in India:

1) Lahore

2) Islamabad

3) Ahmedabad

4) Pune

5) Vizag (Vishakapattanam)

6)KOCHI(COCHIN/ ERNAKULAM)

7) Chandigarh

8) Bhubaneswar and Mysore

The rating was done on the following basis such as rate potential, demand growth, product orientation, infrastructure, site availability, replacement costs, induced demand and new supply risks.

Among the top eight markets in India included Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Bangalore and Kolkata.

It is really great news as far as Kochi is considered where state government does little to improve infrastructure though it is the most developed and biggest of the cities in Kerala.

2) Knight Frank studies on emerging cities were released in June 2007. It rates Goa highest in terms of infrastructure.

The study rates KOCHI as an important transport and investment hub.

Also Kochi gets benefits due to its location. It rates Kochi as the major tourist destination in Kerala due to presence of top tourist locales in and around Kochi. The study drew attention as it was published in The Times of India.

3) Many of us aware of the fact the Kochi was chosen as the best place to live in India. The parameters used were health, education, environment, safety, public facilities and entertainment. Kozhikodewas placed second after Kochi and then the Capital city Thiruvananthapuram in number 4 spot. Interestingly Thrissur and Kannur were in 7^th and 9^th position. It was a boost to overall tourism sector in Kerala.

4) Air Ticket sale: Around 40% of airline ticket sales on the internet in India come from the four main South markets of Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi according to latest reports from online travel portal cleartrip.com published in The Times of India(Jan 21, 2008). Of the 40% of share from South these are the % from the following cities:

1) Bangalore 40.42 %

2) Chennai 24%

3) Hyderabad 24%

4) KOCHI 10%

The main advantage of Bangalore is that it has highest percentage of techies in India. Look at Kochi where it is coming up only and still ranks among the top cities in India. The techies are less in Kochi even when compared to Thiruvananthapuram or probably Coimbatore.

IT boom in Kochi is not fallacious, it is really happening in Kochi. Infopark is undergoing expansion. Recently the CM of Kerala inaugurated Tejomaya building at Infopark. He also laid foundation stone of Signature tower which will be completed in 2009. It will have twin towers of 21 floors. It will become new landmark in IT industry in Kerala. Unlike in Thiruvananthapuram where only state government IT Park is expanding, in Kochi the scenario is different where private players are investing for IT parks. Smart City project which is in limbo now when materialized will turn Kochi into IT hub of Kerala and in turn India.

5) As a matter of fact Ernakulam division of LIC retained its top slot among 105 divisions in India.

5) The below given are the words of Kerala IT secretary Ajay Kumar:

“We may not have big cities except for Kochi, but the State as a whole has superior facilities than other smaller towns in the country. That is where our opportunity lies”.

He was presenting the vision of the State in providing impetus to the growth of the IT industry at a meeting organized by the Kerala Information Technology Alliance (KITA), a non-profit, non-political global organization formed to bring Malayali IT professionals across the globe on a common platform, at Infopark on January 07, 2008.

6) Cochin International Airport is FOURTH in India in terms of International flight operations.

7) Cochin International Airport Limited(CIAL) is ranked third in the world in terms of balance between investment and profit, Cochin International Airport Ltd. is regarded as the most successful investment venture of the State and has the biggest duty free shop of the country.

Kochi is been thoroughly spotted and it is a strong contender to be a metro. Today Kochi is the only Metro City of Kerala. The government needs to concentrate more on Kochi. It doesn’t mean that the government should focus only on Kochi.

Kochi is the arguably the ideal starting point for exploring the unfathomable diversity and beauty of Kerala, rated in the top three tourist destinations by the World Travel & Tourism Council and featured in National Geographic Traveler's '50 greatest places of a lifetime'.

The beauty of Kochi lies in its backwaters. Although it locks the city, it adds to the glamour of this bustling city. The skyline of Kochi across the Marine Drive is famous and not to forget the WORLD FAMOUS CHINESE FISHING NETS AT FORTKOCHI, which is shown as sign of Kerala abroad.

All efforts should be taken to enhance the developments in Kochi. Not to mention about the vital developments going to take place in Thiruvananthapuram.

While Thiruvananthapuram is a step ahead of Kochi in terms of number of research based institutes, Kochi is far ahead of the capital city Thiruvananthapuram in terms of industries, shopping, night life, tourism, entertainment, sports etc, while both the cities are competing in terms of IT.

But reports make it clear that Kochi is their favorite IT destination. So government needs to expand the present facilities in IT sector in Kochi so that the IT companies can settle in their desired destination rather than the given place by the government of Kerala.

ALL THE BEST WISHES TO KOCHI, THE QUEEN OF ARABIAN SEA…

VIVEK SHENOY P

MARCH 20, 2008

9.25 PM