Daily Archives: May 14, 2014

Applause for village school in Kozhikode

Education

The students and teachers of Kuttambur High School, the only aided school that secured 100 per cent success from the Balussery educational sub-district in the recent SSLC examination, were accorded a civic reception on the school premises at Kuttambur in Kozhikode on Sunday.

All the 175 students from the school, who had appeared for the SSLC examination, succeeded with 19 of them securing an A+ in all the subjects. “This was achieved without deliberately denying promotion to any students in the lower classes,” said P.K. Prasanna, headmistress of the school, who spoke on the occasion.

The village school, where majority of the students come from economically backward families, were also taking part in the State-level art and sports events for the last several years.

Inaugurating the event, M.K. Raghavan MP hailed the rare fete of the school and lauded the entire team of teachers, parents, and the local people.

Students, who had secured high scores in the examination, were awarded cash prizes and a memento on the occasion. All the students, who passed in the SSLC examination from the school, were also given a memento.

A.K. Saseendran MLA presided over the function. V.M. Ummer MLA, school headmistress P.K. Prasanna, and teachers, among others spoke.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode  / by Staff Reporter / Kozhikode  – May 12th, 2014

Now, hire a cab, go online and track your trip

Business & Economy, Travel
Taxio, the State's first GPS system-driven radio taxi service. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Taxio, the State’s first GPS system-driven radio taxi service. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu

With the formal launch of Taxio, the State’s first GPS system-driven radio taxi service operated using premium sedans, in the city, residents can now avail of end-to-end tracking of cabs.

The system is simple. Hire a taxi through the call centre that functions round the clock, then log on to the website (www.taxio.in), feed the booking number and track the cab from the feed from its GPS system.

Every time a cab stops or deviates from its chosen path, the call centre is alerted and a call is generated to the client. Same is the case whenever the speed crosses 80 km per hour.

SMS alert at the time of pick-up and drop and drivers with clean police record completes the safety network.

There are cabs driven by women and the number is set to increase in the days to come.

Kriserv, the company that operates the service, has formulated a demand pattern using a predictive analysis and learning algorithm based on its 5,000-odd users from its trial run since January.

“We have deployed our fleet at strategic points based on this assessment and this helps us send a cab from the nearest point to the client within 10-15 minutes from the time of booking,” said Vijay Nair, managing director, Kriserv.

Such a deployment helps avoid empty run and enables the company offer city service at affordable rates without charging return fare.

Interestingly, the city limit is not rigid and keeps expanding with the addition to the fleet based on the economy of scale. The tariff starts from Rs. 90 with an additional Rs. 15 for every kilometre.

Work is progressing on a mobile application, which when activated can be downloaded on smartphones and used for booking.

Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram are set to have the service shortly, which, the company claimed, would enable inter-city passengers to travel at half the existing fares due to its unique model whereby cabs would operate under the local hub until return trip is available.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Staff Reporter / Kochi – May 12th, 2014

Bullet enthusiasts in Kochi gear up for a green drive

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Travel

BulletTF15may2014

The thud of Bullets will wake the Kochi city up from its slumber this weekend.

In a unique initiative, as many as 50 motorcycle enthusiasts in the city will take the road to Idukki as part of a tree planting campaign. The ride is being organised by Greenpeople, a Kochi-based environmental organisation in association with Bullethood, a group of Bullet enthusiasts in the city.

Named ‘Ride For Nature’, the event will see bikers starting from Kochi on Saturday to reach Devikulam via Kothamangalam and Thokkupara. The next day, the group members will embark on a 15-km trek to Chokra Mudi peak and return in the evening.

“It aims at giving the riders a chance to rave about their passion and roar about the streets in style while upholding the social message,” said Aseez Kunnapilly, State coordinator, Greenpeople.

The ride will have around 40 stopovers at different locations, during which the members will plant trees around the locations and present a five-minute long programme on the need to conserve nature. “That way, it may take about 10 hours to reach the destination, but only after serving the purpose,” said Mr. Aziz.

Sanoj P.K., a senior member of Bullethood, said the trip would help the group members meet and interact with people and help form an opinion on the subject. “Roads are supposed to connect people and meeting people makes you fall in love with nature,” he said.

Besides biking activities, the group has been actively involved in social issues with members organising rallies to educate the public on road safety.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Hiran UnniKrishnan / Kochi – May 14th, 2014