Payyanur Local News

Payyanur: An exhibition of the photos taken by Sri. Madhuraj, photographer of Mathrubhumi will be conducted at Kanhangad on 25th November. The exhibition named"Poison Free Kerala" is jointly conducted by SEEK, Payyanur and Lions Club of Kanhangad. The photos will be on the biological and environmental problems caused by the notorious pesticide, "endosulphan". Sri Devappa Naik, a farmer from Enmakaje Panchayath which is the main area suffering from the after effects of endosulphan will inaugurate the exhibition. The noted press photographer Sri. Madhuraj hails from Payyanur.

Payyanur: A new electronic telephone exchange will be commissioned at Kakkara today. Sri. T.Govindan MP will formally inaugurate the exchange while Sri.E.Karunakaran, president of Eramam-Kuttoor Panchayath will preside over the function.

The Pariyaram Medical College students and House Surgeons have decided to launch indefinite strike following the failure of talks between their leaders and Minister M V Raghavan. The students are demanding Medical Council of India (MCI) approval for the college. Students said that oral assurance by the government would not suffice. This was informed by Sri. TV Murali, the college union chairman at a press conference held at Thiruvananthapuram.

Payyanur: Swami Ananda Theertha's 14th samadhi day was observed with various programmes yesterday. The main venue was Sree Narayana Vidyalaya located on Payyanur-Annur road which was fouded by Swamiji in 1931. The Swamiji Memorial Complex which consists of library, Gandhian study centre, hostel etc is still under construction. The project is delayed due to the unavailablity of funds. The project needs another amount of Rs.!2 lakhs for its completion while Rs.22lakhs has been spent already for the complex.

Payyanur: The Payyanur local conference of the CPI-M asked the Government of Kerala to allot plus two course in Govt.Girls High School, Payyanur. Sri C.Krishnan inaugurated the conference. Sri. T.Govindan MP inaugurated the public meeting. Sri. KK Narayanan was elected as the new secretary of the payyanur local committee of the party.

PAYYANUR: The life of Smt. Lakshmi, the ‘watchwoman’ of Thuruthy isle, one among the several islands on the Kavvayi river near Ezhimala, is turning into a nightmare. She is left all alone but for her pet dog ‘Kuttan’ on this islet ever since her husband Chaladan Damodaran committed suicide four months ago. However, at the time of Lakshmi’s struggle to cope with loneliness, poverty and old age, she has been served with a notice by the bank for repayment of loan which was availed by her late husband for constructing the small house on the six cents of land donated to them by the owner of the isle Shri S A P Mammoonji Haji.

‘‘Left alone and with my poor eye sight I do not know how I will repay the loan,’’ says Lakshmi who had undergone an operation for cataract in her left eye. The right eye also is in trouble and the doctors have advised her to get it operated at the earliest. But poor as she is, she is in no position to go by the advise of the doctors. Lakshmi and her husband Damodaran moved to the Thuruthy isle and with their two daughters some 18 years ago. They were sent there by the owner of the isle who needed someone to take care of his property.

Mammoonji Haji, who donated them six cents of land to build a house, also used to give Damodaran a small amount for guarding the isle. However, things took a bad turn when Damodaran committed suicide on June 25, 2001. It was fear psychosis that led to Damodaran’s death, according to Lakshmi. He used to catch fish from the river and sell it to people living on the nearby Kalikadappuram. One of the residents of Kalikkadappuram had threatened to kill Damodaran which affected his mental equilibrium.

‘‘After that he became terribly afraid that he stopped eating and talking to people. And, one day he poured kerosene over his body and killed himself,’’ says Lakshmi.
Fortunately, Lakshmi’s two daughters Sujatha and Ajitha were married off before Damodarn’s death. And at least one of them comes to her aid occasionally after Damodaran’s death.

Living all by herself, Lakshmi has to get all her household items, and even drinking water from Kavvayi as there is no well on this isle. The only items she get free of cost are crabs, fish and oysters from the Kavvayi river. Kuttan, her pet dog (who incidentally is terribly afraid of water) takes guard of the isle when Lakshmi goes out on her canoe. ‘‘I used to catch fish and crabs during day and night. But with my poor eye-sight this not possible now,’’ says Lakshmi, who is hopeful that some good samaritan would come to her aid one day.

PAYYANUR: The case of K. Narayani, an employee of Payyanur Khadi Centre, can well sketch the plight of the employees at the Payyanur Khadi Centre. K. Narayani, an employee for the past 39 years, was honoured with a lifetime increase of Rs 5 on her daily wage recently in recognition of her ‘outstanding services’ to the Khadi movement!

Caught between anachronistic policies of successive Governments, and the changing dress habits of society at large, the Payyanur Khadi Centre, one of the Sarvodaya weaving initiatives started during the peak of Independence movement in various parts of the country, now fights for its very survival.

Started in 1930 under the leadership of Shri N P Raghava Poduval, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, the Payyanur Khadi Centre (PKC) was instrumental in providing employment opportunities to many a people residing in Kannur and Kasargod districts.

More than 2,000 weavers, working with various sub-centres of PKC, and their families are reeling under severe financial crisis as a result of the heavy losses incurred to the PKC following the failure of the Central and State Governments in clearing the pending arrears of this weaving society.

The State Government is yet to reimburse it 5 crore Rupees, on account of various festival rebates announced during the last few years. The ten per cent festival rebate on all Khadi products announced by Central Khadi Commission also came as a bolt from the blue to the PKC as the central agency decided recently to pay the rebate amount to local societies not in terms of money but as materials. Forcible allocation of unwanted materials and machines resulted ultimately in the piling up of various textile manufacturing devices, not suitable to the requirements of the 106 Khadi weaving units functioning under PKC. In addition to this, bandage cloths worth Rs 1.10 crore remain unsold at the depot of Payyanur Khadi Centre, thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the State Health Department.

The Health Department had earlier promised that it would purchase bandage cloths for the requirements of various public health institutes in the State only from units functioning under Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board (KKVIB), to which the PKC was affiliated. Moreover, yarns worth 2 crore Rupees remain unsold at the central depot of Payyanur Khadi Centre at present.

The centre now finds it difficult to make even monthly payments to more than 120 of its administrative staff. In addition, as many as 16 persons work at the Central office as casual employees. Except for a monthly non-plan fund allocation of Rs 79,000 to meet the salary requirements of top officials, the State Government had stopped all financial assistance to the industry. Almost all the weaving workers of PKC remain on the verge of starvation and poverty death as they get mere Rs 20 as daily wage. They have no other benefits as PF, gratuity or increments.

The female workers of the Centre, comprising 75 per cent of the total work force, are a de-moralised lot as they find it difficult to make ends meet. A large section of male workers, who mastered the craft of handweaving ‘pure desi’ cloth, a leitmotif of the freedom movement, were forced to become coolies at nearby villages in the absence of a proper earning out of Khadi. ‘‘The Government is yet to introduce the Minimum Wages Act in Khadi sector. The workers have no access to Employees State Insurance (ESI) benefits either.

‘‘The Government also failed to remit its contribution to the Khadi Workers’ Welfare Fund, which was started a few years back,’’ as per C Krishnan, general secretary of Khadi Workers’ Association. Failure on part of authorities to change in tune with the times has also contributed to the present condition of the PKC, according to experts. Though the Khadi unit recently launched ‘Payyanur Pattu’, a rare variety of silk saree, the PKC failed to find a proper dealership network in the State.

Though products such as bedspreads, readymade dresses, edible oils, leather items and furniture are also manufactured at the Centre, lack of proper distribution network and sufficient working capital prevent it from being promoted in other parts of the State. With no bailout package by the government in the offing, the Khadi tradition of Payyanur could soon fade into oblivion.

Payyanur: Kunhimangalam GHS along with Tagore Vidyaniketan, Thaliparamaba bagged this years Vidhyarthimitram award in the PT Bhaskara Panikkar Memorial Scinece Conference held at Kannur.

Payyanur: Smt Menaka Gandhi, the Union minister for Forest and Environment, ordered to free the peacock caged in Sree Subrahmanya Swami Temple, Payyanur. The minister issued this order based on a petition submitted by Sri. V.Madhu, an advocated from Payyanur, alleging that the temple authorities are torturing the peacock. A case filed by Sri.KKP Poduval in this regard is already pending with Payyanur Judicial Magistrate Court.

Payyanur: A workshop and public hearing will be conducted to discuss about the threat to the mangrove forests and to plan the protection of mangroves on November 18 at PeerUP Auditorium, Kannur. The workshop is jointly conducted by Kerala Forest Research Institute , Forest Department and SEEK Payyanur.