THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy on Saturday alleged that the Kerala government had betrayed farmers by failing to release Rs. 60 crore it owed them due to paddy procurement.

Sanjeev Ramachandran The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), which had kicked off measures to encourage manufacturing and service organisations to make sustained efforts to protect environment and control all types of pollution, recently picked the Palakkad plant of United Breweries (UB) Ltd for its State Pollution Control Award for year 2007.

R. Madhavan Nair Kerala Reforms Mission wants it restructured A group of farmers of Thiruvambadi, an agricultural belt in Kozhikode, Kerala, have appealed to President Pratibha Patil to prevail upon the government to restructure the debt waiver scheme in a way that it benefited more farmers. The group, registered as Kerala Reforms Mission, feels that the scheme, which will cost the exchequer Rs.71,000 crore, will not benefit all farmers for whose welfare it is meant.

"Price rise' is not just an urban, big city phenomenon as some sections of the political class would like to claim. Inflation is burning a hole in pockets of residents of smaller towns across the country from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh to Ernakulum in Kerala.

Ignatius Pereira An acute power shortage gripped the State on Wednesday. Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) sources told The Hindu that austerity measures in distribution may become inevitable. The KSEB has issued a statement asking consumers to cut down on consumption. Cause of crisis

P. Venugopal Rainfall 40 p.c. deficient so far in southern districts A big concern is power generation THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seventeen days after the monsoon had set in over Kerala, almost right on schedule on May 31, the State is still waiting for the kind of rains that will drench its fields for the seasonal crops and fill its reservoirs to drive its power generating stations.

To increase genetic diversity of cattle Regulatory authority planned THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State cattle breeding policy, announced by Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan here on Monday, proposes more attention to improvement of the genetic stock of cattle in Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Malappuram, Idukki and Palakkad districts. This is in view of the backwardness of these districts in artificial insemination and other breeding activities.

Bad timing, shocking scale

Upset that most of its proposals have been ignored by the government, Left reacted to the price hike of petroleum products calling it unjustified and gearing for a "powerful protest movement'.