Thirteen is considered inauspicious by many. But not actor Innocent, who mulls quitting his post as the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) after completing 13 years of service.
The veteran actor is not being forced out, but is stepping down voluntarily to better discharge his new responsibilities as a Member of Parliament from Chalakudy.
The grapevine has it that Innocent is looking for a successor and will resign from the post at the forthcoming general body meeting of the association.
Hectic parleys are already on with various hopefuls working hard to gain support from all quarters. But those hoping to witness another filmy fight close on the heels of the one between the Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation and Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) over the release of B. Unnikrishnan’s film, may be disappointed. For, the new incumbent would definitely keep the who-is-who in the organisation in good humour to have a smooth sailing.
Thumbs-up from hoteliers
Hoteliers and restaurant owners have a special reason to look up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their role model and offer him their best wishes. This was evidenced by the Kerala Hotel and Restaurants’ Association greeting the Prime Minister at their State level executive committee meeting here last week. A statement issued by the hoteliers said the association congratulated Mr. Modi, who began his life as a tea seller and reached the office of the Prime Minister of India.
A constant supply of woes
The District Supply Office (DSO) is in quite a quandary. While renewal of ration cards has been creating quite a bit of confusion for the APL/BPL and other intermediate categories, the office now has to deal with a different problem.
Imposters have been duping people on the pretext of being agents appointed by the DSO to help people renew their ration cards. As a complaint came up, the office even put out an advertisement that said they had not appointed any person or institution as their agents.
The imposters are well dressed and carry lists of all the people in the locality making the people believe that it could be a person from the city ration office. The ration-card holders who were duped were initially impressed with the incredible service offered by the supply office — reaching out to people at homes, especially the elderly and those who have little time to run errands such as these. The sum charged by the imposters for the service was between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 2,000.
A share of the pie to buy some peace
The easiest way for the Kochi Mayor to buy peace in the Corporation Council, as observed by some Congress councillors, is to be generous to his fiercest critics.
It was the “liberal allocation” of plan fund to a select few for implementing various projects in the next fiscal that infuriated some of the party colleagues of Mayor Tony Chammany at the Corporation Council meeting on Wednesday.
While majority of the women councillors of the ruling front were given a pittance, according to a Congress councillor, the Mayor was generous to two prominent leaders of the Opposition front. It appeared that the Mayor was trying to appease the Opposition councillors , said the councillor who chose to air his protest at the top of his lungs at the meeting.
Another civic administrator, who was at loggerheads with the Mayor, too walked away with an enviable share much to the surprise of her colleagues.
