News from Kerala

‘What did that officer achieve by beating my hopes? Many times I have said that I may not be able to write another PSC test and get into the rank list. Yet he put my life in the balance…’ Nisha Balakrishnan, a resident of Chawara, who was brutalized by the officer of the director of urban affairs who reported the vacancy at 12 midnight on the day of the expiry of the rank list, broke down and cried.

Nisha was ranked 696 in the LD clerk rank list for various departments in Ernakulam district. The rank list which came into force on 31 March 2015 has expired on 31 March 2018. A few days before that, the vacancy in Kochi Corporation (NJD vacancy) is notified to the Director of Urban Affairs on 28th. Nisha and other candidates in the rank list were there when this email came to the office of the director of urban affairs.

The clerk of the establishment section of the office begged Binuraj to report the vacancy to the PSC today. ‘Let’s do it’ was the reply. I returned hoping for that reply. 29th and 30th public holiday. Even when I called him several times on the 31st, he did not say anything else. I mightn’t even imagine that such cruelty was hidden inside. He sent a mail to the Ernakulam District PSC officer reporting the vacancy at exactly 12 midnight that day to settle his grudge. According to the records, it reached the PSC office on 12.04. I lost my hope in that technique…’ Nisha’s words got stuck in her throat.

‘As far as I know I have done nothing wrong. During the previous government, the aspirants went on hunger strike and went on an indefinite strike on the steps of the Secretariat demanding the appointment. Most of the government offices in the capital, I and others used to go up and down from the hunger pandal. I went there at least a hundred times, knowing that the most vacancies were likely to be reported from the office of the Director of Urban Affairs. ‘Is the plan to come to the capital and starve to death..?’ That was the question of some officials when I went there. That struggle was not once morest anyone, it was only for a job to live…’ says Nisha.

The then PSC member R. Parvathi Devi (wife of Minister V. Sivankutty) was met and given all the information. Nisha also says that the application was rejected saying that there was opposition in the PSC meeting.

More evidence to the motor vehicle department for the fault of the tourist bus driver in the bus accident that took the lives of 9 people including five school students in Palakkad Vadakancherry. The excessive speed of the driver was confirmed by checking the lane the vehicle passed with the help of the camera footage of Panchamurthimangalam. The Palakkad Enforcement RTO told Manorama News that there was no fault on the part of the KSRTC driver and Jomon’s excessive speed was the real cause of the accident.

The camera footage at the scene of the accident is more evidence. A KSRTC bus, a tourist bus and a car are also seen. It is clear that the KSRTC bus is coming exactly on the left side followed by the tourist bus at high speed. The tourist bus driver was trying to overtake the car which was going on the right side and reach in front of the KSRTC bus on the left side. This caused him to completely lose control and crash into the bus. The Department of Motor Vehicles collected more scientific evidence by marking the roads. RTO said that the driver’s claim that the KSRTC bus stopped suddenly is not true.

On inspection, it is clear that the KSRTC bus was traveling on the left side at a low speed. The report was prepared by the Department of Motor Vehicles by repeatedly checking the way the vehicles passed with the difference of seconds. A detailed report will be handed over to the Transport Commissioner the next day.

vadakkanchery bus accident update