NEW INTERNATIONAL STADIUM CONFIRMED TO COME IN ERNAKULAM (COCHIN)

Now it is all confirmed that the New International Stadium will come up in kochi which will be owned by Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). It was confirmed by KCA Secretary T.C Mathew. KCA decided to have a stadium of its own as a part of BCCI decision not to conduct cricket matches after 2010 in those states which do not have stadium of its own. At present only Kerala, Tripura and Goa don't have a stadium of its own.

The stadium will be functional by 2010, after which Kochi will be a test venue;and it will be a dream come true for Kerala.

Earlier BCCI had decided to give Rs.25 crores as grant to construct stadium. But now the grant have been raised to Rs.50 crores considering the skyrocketing of prices in Kochi and its suburbs.
KCA can use up to Rs 25 crores to buy land. A land area of 40 acres is planned for the stadium so that the seating capacity can be up to 50,000. The stadium will have other most modern facilities like the Cricket Clubs and other recreational facilities matching with other international stadias abroad.

Earlier the cricket stadium was planned to build in Wayanad district. Then the plan was changed to build stadium in Thiruvananthapuram either in Kazhakuttam or in Kudapanakunnu considering Trivandrum's history of hosting international matches in 1980's in the University stadium.

University stadium was a regular venue for Ranji Trophy matches from 1953 onwards. The stadium which was constructed in 1952 was considered as the domestic ground of Kerala Cricket. By the end of 80’s cricket was shifted to other grounds. Now Fort Maidan in Palakkad is a regular venue for first class matches.

At some point of time it was thought that Kochi will lose the race for the stadium also to Trivandrum, like Kochi lost railway division in 1992 under political pressure to Trivandrum; Trivandrum Central was chosen over Cochin Harbour Terminus for the railway division under the political game, even when Trivandrum was much smaller station than the Cochin Harbour Terminus from where the most of the trains used to start. Now Cochin Harbour Terminus(picture shown) is a nostalgic event in the minds of keralites as here now only Goods Carriers arrive due to the presence of Cochin Port.

But considering the fact that Kochi has the best chance to attract Cricket due to past success had probably lead KCA to have their stadium in Ernakulam District.

A Glimpse of Cricketing History in Kerala:

Lord Arthur Wellesley is believed to have introduced this game in Kerala in the 18th century for the British Soldiers in the Tellichery Fort. It is recorded in the history that the first Cricket Club was formed in 1860 at Tellichery, which was later renamed as Town Cricket Club. During 1950s Foot ball took over the minds of north Keralites and cricket became an active game in Thiruvananthapuram and Thripoonithura. In Thripoonithura the royal family patronized the game very actively and formed a club - The Thripoonithura Cricket club in 1935. The Club started organizing a Cricket tournament as part of the Navarathri festival (Pooja festival, as it is locally known). The tournament continues un-interruptedly even on these days and still it is conducted during the Pooja holidays. It is popularly known as the Pooja Cricket Tournament and arguably one of the best organized all India tournaments in Kerala. They are probably the only Cricket Club in Kerala having their own stadium and turf Pitch. K V Kelappan Thampuran was the livewire behind the great achievements of TCC.


The International Matches held in Trivandrum(stadium shown here):

Two Matches held-
1) India vs Australia on Oct 1, 1984 - No Result
2) India vs west Indies 0n Jan 25,1988 - WI won by 9 wickets.

International Cricket Matches held in Kochi:

1) April 1, 1998 - India v/s Australia
2) March 3, 2000 - India v/s South Africa
3) March 13, 2002 - India v/s Zimbabwe, India lost
4) April 2, 2005 - India v/s Pakistan
5) April 6, 2006 - India v/s England
6) October 2, 2007 - India v/s Australia, India lost

Some Facts on Kochi Stadium:

Highest attendance for Match: India vs Iran football match of One Lakh!
Highest Money Grosser was : India vs Pakistan on April 2005.
An attendance of 85,000 reported in the last match held versus Australia in 2007.

Kochi Stadium is the Forth largest stadium in India:

1) Salt lake stadium, Kolkata - 120,000.
2) Eden Gardens, Kolkata - 120,000.
3) Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, New Delhi - 100,000.
4) Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, Kochi - 60,000.
5) Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore - 55,000.

KOCHI STADIUM IS THE THIRD LARGEST CRICKET STADIUM IN INDIA(from the above list, Salt lake is not a cricketing venue). (link)
(also this link)

Tit Bits:

As a matter of fact Kochi stadium is 157th largest stadium in the world and the chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore is 200th largest. (see the link)



The Maharaja's stadium in Ernakulam is the only stadium with synthetic track in Kerala. Although the stadium in Trivandrum was the first synthetic track stadium, it has been damaged now due to poor maintenance and it is not 8 lane as that of Kochi.

The KCA is on a hunt to get appropriate land of its own in Kochi for setting up a stadium.
Kochi is again proving that it is not only the Commercial, Industrial, Tourism and Trade capital of kerala but also the Cricket Capital of Kerala.(link)

Along with the major projects happening in Kochi, this stadium will also boost the importance of kochi.


In Him

SHENOY!!
Dec 29,2007
1230 hrs.

NIGHT SHOPPING AND NIGHT LIFE IN KOCHI

NIGHT SHOPPING IN KOCHI

Who said Kochi is conservative or that the city goes to bed early?? The word ‘night life’ immediately brings to mind visions of people rocking to the music at various discotheques. After the entire days’ hustle and bustle, relaxation becomes important.

The City of Kochi has given an elite status by the Government of Kerala to have Night Shopping, going the way of other cities with Metro rank. With the successful conduct of the Night Shopping for 10 days during Onam, the City Administration has started Night Shopping from December 15, which will continue up to January 15, 2008 i.e. for One month!!

Earlier in 80’s and 90’s Kochi had late night life, where the shops were kept open up to midnight. But later on due to electricity shortage, the Government brought a rule according to which the lights and others electric equipments must be switched off by 7 PM. It brought down the life in Kochi. After few years the Government withdrew the orders, but Alas! By then the shop owners had made it a habit to close down the shops early. Now Kochi is going back to its old sweet reminiscence.(Ship Berthed at Kochi Port)

All agencies agree that Cochin cannot do without night shopping as it is emerging as a key destination for mega investments. The techies, mostly the youngsters, look for relaxation during night after a hard day’s work. In fact, the traders have mooted the night life after the Smart City project took off the ground. The traders feel that the Smart City being set up by Dubai-based TECOM would attract techies from all over the world, who are used to vibrant night life!!!

The Government knew that Kochi is perhaps the only city in Kerala, which

can accept such kind of an environment as it has some of the largest s

hops in India.

Various Massive shops in Kochi are:

Jayalakhsmi, Alukkas Wedding center(shown at right), Maharajas, Seemati, Parthas, Jos Brothers, Vettukattil, Kalyan Silks, My Kingdom, GCDA Complex, Penta Menaka Shopping complex. Also there are oulets of all the major brands like Raymonds, Peter England, Allen Solly, Jeanz world etc etc.

Not to forget the mammoth Gold jewelry shops like:

Alappat Gold, Alappat

Heritage, Alukkas, Joy Alukkas, Jos Alukkas, Geeripai, Vanitha Jewelry, Tanishq(Exclusive diamond shop). The Registered Office of the Joy Alukkas is in Kochi near Marine Drive in a huge complex.(Kalyan Silks shown here right)

ONLY MALL OF KERALA!!

Also the city has the only Mall of Kerala – The Bay Pride Mall (without a cine complex).

Other Specialities!!!

1)The city al

so has the only “PIZZA HUT” in the state which was earlier familiar for only metro cities.

2)The other famous hangouts are Chick King (again the only one in the state). “

3)Avenue Reagent” has given

Kochi a different outlook among the western community, which has modern coffee shops.

4) Apart from the routine coffee shops like “COFFEÉ DAY” which are in South Ernakulam, Near Shenoy’s Theatre, there are other cool and swanky coffee shops such as the famous “Coffee Beanz”. One new Coffee Day shop is coming up in the historic place FortKochi.

Areas such as Marine Drive, Subhash Bose Park(see picture here) and Durbar Hall

can provide appropriate place to sit and spend time during night time.

The city officials and the big shop owners were sure of the purchasing power of the Kochiites which led them to implement Night Shopping in Kochi! The best instance for this is The Grand

Kerala Shopping Festival- A shopping festival from Dec1 to Jan 15, 2008 which has started in all the 14 districts of Kerala, aims to collect revenue of about Rs.250 crores, of which a whopping amount of Rs.125 Crores is expected to be collected from Kochi alone!!! This is why Kochi is regarded as the “SHOPPING CITY”.

Moreover, people can shun the unimaginable city traffic a

nd go for shopping at night in serene and pretty environs. The beauty of Kochi city can really be tasted at night time. The gratification that you get at night time is utterly different.

Other wise also, there is a wide range of recreational spots in Kochi which include pubs, bars, discotheques, coffee joints where the ‘night life starts after 9’. Till a few years ago, there were not many pubs in Kerala.

There were no clubs available here in the Western meaning of the word where tourists can visit and hang out and have fun. The only clubs in Kochi

were the exclusive ‘members only’ clubs like The Lotus Club and the Rama Varma Club where you can go only as a guest of an existing member.

But now The Queen of the Arabian Sea awa

kens after dusk. Now one can see long lines of vibrant youngsters

waiting to groove to a DJ’s music. Kochi seems to be emerging as a hotspot for several youngsters. The serene and peac

eful atmosphere of the city coupled wit

h the latest hangouts and discos whip up the perfect ambience for those people who love to come down to the city for a blast after a hard time at work.

Nightclubs in metros have the liberty of being open till 6 am or even 7 am. But Kochi has a decent timing too. 1.30 am is not bad at all. One can finish one’s work and still find time to hit the night

club. The nightlife in Kochi has lots to offer to its visitors, you must know the right place to go, and once you are there, there’s nothing stopping you, drink, dance and make merry to your heart’s content! Kochi has a thriving club culture with couples gyrating to Western or Indi-pop till late hours. Entry price is usually per coupl

e. A few bars and discos that young westerners and Kochities like are usually part of swanky hotels.

And it is a hell of a lot better than Thiruvananthapuram for starters. It’s quite interesting to be out in Thiruvananthapuram only till 9 pm, after that police… curfew… checking….lack of buses eeks!!!

In few years from now (may

be by 2011 or so) Kochi can expect to get a metro city status, as Kochi is going to witness an unprecedented and unique development in all the fields. With the implementation of Smart city, Vallarpadam International container terminal, LNG terminal, Golf Course near airport, new international cricket stadium, new airport at Chowara(near Aluva) for Coast Guard, Metro Rail project, IT parks by pri

vate firms like Shobha group(already started consruction), CIAL’s IT park, IT park by Parsvnath Developers at SEZ(received the much awaited approval from Government), Muthoot IT park, Ocenarium at Puthuvypee

n Island(got approval and land transferred to fisheries department by the Government), Marine Institute, Cruise Termainal at Wellington Island, 100 Floored Trade tower(yet to get clearance from Government)Aqua Park, and

not to mention dozens of MALL’s set to come up in Kochi,
which are all under construction and also huge apartments coming up in various parts of city and suburbs will surely transform Kochi into a mega city.(may be some projects are missing here).

So Kochi is waiting for the year 2009 which is going to change the face of Kochi.

PROPOSAL FOR ELECTRONICS CITY IN KOCHI

Electronics City, Kochi

A major electronics group named Amer Asia Ventures Corporation headed by Michael Chan from Taiwan came to Kerala on 17^th December for studying the feasibility of setting up a Multi billion venture “Electronics City” in Kochi. The Group has asked for 2000 acres of land within 25 to 35 km diameter of the International Airport.

The Taiwan group of 7 headed by M. Chang held primary talks with the Industrial Secretary T. Balakrishnan, IT Secretary Dr. Ajaykumar, Ernakulam District Collector Mr. A.P.M Mohammed Hanish, along with KSEB, Pollution Control Board and Inforpark Officials.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs.3000 crores.

The group is planning to build the LARGEST ELECTRONICS CITY IN INDIA having hardware industries, including semi-conductor and allied industries. The group visited various places in Kochi and has shown keen interest in some of the places, but the officials have not yet disclosed about the locations.

The team will hold discussions with the government officials in Thiruvananthapuram and New Delhi later. The group was so ardent that they needed the endeavor to come up in Kochi itself. With the Taiwan group showing such a curiosity, the key stumbling block for the Government is to arrange such a mammoth area. But the positive approach by the Thai group is boosting factor for the Government.

Once the discussion are held and given a nod to go ahead, the Taiwan group Amer Asia is ready to start the work. For Kerala it will be another mega project through Kochi, like the TECOM’s Smart City, which is going to change the face of IT industry in Kerala.

NOTE: At present the largest “Electronics City” is in the IT capital of India – BENGALOORU (Bangalore) in an area of around 332 acres. This grandiose area is thus pertinently called as the Outsourcing capital of the world. Now Kochi is expected to join the league of the IT city of Bengalooru!!

All is seen to go well for Kochi and Kerala!!

In Him!!

Shenoy, Dec 20, 2000 hrs

International Golf Course to be Ready by April 2008!

The Golf Course near to the Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery is getting ready very fast on the western side of the runway at an area of 126 acres. It will be an 18 holed Golf Course, of course the first one in the state with 18 holes. The Tourism Department, New Delhi has granted Rs.10 crores for the course. (Picture on the right side is Cochin Golf Course)

Review:

The Central Planning board member Mr. Anwar Hooda visited the process of development of the Golf Course.

Estimated cost and clearance and time limit:

The Golf Course is set to cost Rs.64 crores including the land value! The Cochin International Airport Limited(CIAL) obatained the mandatory clearance from the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
M.D of CIAL Mr. Sreeram Bharath said that the golf course will be ready by April 2008 and a Country club having facilities for games such as badminton, Basketball, tennis would also be set up. So would a convention centre, retail centre and five-star and budget hotels.

The Golf Course here is mainly set to attract the foreign tourists!!

Golf Course grounds in Kerala:

There are five golf courses in Kerala, all of which are nine holed:

1) Trivandrum Golf Course laid out in 1850 is one of the smallest in the country, but one of the prettiest.
2) Cochin Golf course made in 1922 at Bolghatty Island, besides the Dutch Palace;it has over 450 members.
3) Naval Golf Course at the Headqarters of Southern Naval Command, Kochi.
4th & 5th at Munnar Hill Station 130 kms off Kochi!

The Golf Course at Kochi and Triavndrum are only allowed for the public, while entry to the golf course at the Naval Base and two others at Munnar is restricted.

Crazy Politicians!!?

Some politicians raise the demand that the golf club grounds at Trivandrum, be converted into housing quarters for Government staff. See how crazy!
SOME FACTS RELATED TO GOLF:

Kerala is the only State in the country that does not have an 18-hole course.

Mission Hills Golf Club in Guanlan, Shenzhen, China(see the picture on the right side) is recognized as the largest golf facility in the world by the Guinness World Records with 180 holes and stretches over 50 miles across a piece of property twice the size of Manhattan. (yes!! one hundred and eighty)!

Korea plans World's biggest golf complex with as many as 540 holes will be built in South Korea's western coas,t in the Saemangeum area, about 280 kilometers south of Seoul, built in stages on a 26.4-million-square-meter area comparable to the size of 2,444 football fields!!

With Love

SHENOY!!!

Dec 18, 2020 hrs IST

Mega Oceanarium Coming Up in PuthuVypeen, Kochi

Latest on Oceanarium

A Mega Oceanarium is coming up at PuthuVypeen, Kochi at an areaof 65 acres with an investment of Rs.300 crores.

District Collector A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, said the survey of 65 acres of land identified to set up an oceanarium on the Puthuvype Island has been completed. When complete it will be the largest oceanarium in Asia!

Specialties of Oceanarium:

The Oceanarium will give a magical view of aquatic life in the Arabian sea through a glass tunnel beneath the sea. The Centrally-aided project will be implemented by the Fisheries Department. There will be an array of marine life including coral reefs, stringrays, turtles, sharks, and other fishes. Also the major attraction will be the Dolphin lagoon or pool!!

What Else??

Above the Oceanarium International Biological Research Centre will come up along with cafeteria and with amusement features. Also Centre for Marine Living Resource and Ecology, an Central Institute will come up besides the Oceanarium.

Advantage of Kochi?

Oceanarium is one of the major attraction of the Singapore tourism. Oceanarium coming up at Kochi, will be with much more facilities than that of Singapore. Formerly the venture to set up Oceanarium were failures in Mumbai and Goa, but since Kochi has got cenral clearance the Oceanarium will definitely be a reality in a few years.
According to Government reports Kochi will become the Number 1 Tourist Destination in India once the Oceanarium becomes a reality!!!

Also Aqua Park!!

Also Kerala Fisheries Minister S Sarma said on Aug 7,2007 that work on the country's first aqua-technology park, aimed at tapping the huge potential in ornamental fish production and marketing, would be completed by November 2008. Talking to the media, Mr Sarma said the aqua farms at Neyyar in Thiruvananthapuram, Parappanagadi in Malappuram and Pannivelichira in Pattanamtitta would be upgraded as satellite farms under the upcoming park.


RESULT

As a result of all these Kochi will get a status as "The Fisheries Capital of INDIA" .


In Him!!

Shenoy!!Dec 18,1335 hrs.

Metro Rail Kochi - Latest News

LATEST ON METRO RAIL KOCHI!
The land acquisition process for the Metro Rail Kochi will start soon probably next week. The district Collector of Ernakulam is waiting for the orders from the Government of Kerala for freezing the land buying and selling proceedings around the areas through which the Metro will pass through!

This system of transport is absolutely inevitable for the growth of ever expanding city like Kochi! The city has seen such a kind of growth, that it never thought of! Hence, it was not prepared for the battle. But that is not an excuse and along with a metro rail what Kochi needs is to have Sub-Urban services up to Calicut. The feasibility of such system of suburban service is been studied in Kochi and also in the Capital City of Thiruvananthapuram.

The Metro rail planned for Kochi is unlike that of Delhi Metro Rail, as in Kochi it will be Light Mass Rail Transit System(given for cities with population of less than 4 Million) which will start from Aluva and pass through National Highway across Kalamassery, Edapally, Palarivattom, Kaloor, Kacherripady, M.G Road, S.A Road(considered to be one of the busiest arterial roads in Asia), Vytilla, and end at Pettah covering a total of around 26 kms for Phase I.

It has taken around 3 years for the Government to take a decision until which the project was in limbo. The construction work for Bangalore Metro has already started which was of course planned long after that of Kochi Metro. Anyway the kochi Metro will surely be a reality as the Government is showing keen interest in the Mega project of estimated Rs. 3000 crores.

Let us wait and see how fast all the things related to metro works!

In Him!!

Shenoys!!!
Dec15,Friday,12.05 Pm!

I s Kochi Worth Living!!

The Most Favorite Marine Drive at Ernakulam
Status of Kochi!!

In a recent survey conducted by Indicus Analytics across 100 cities in India ranks KOCHI as the best place to live in(though it does not mean it is the best city to earn in) followed by our own Kozhikode at Number 2 and the capital city Trivandrum at Number 4! So that is the reality these days!!Kochi is considered as the safest city in South India, followed by Thiruvananthapuram!

Then this is the article which enunciates about the rankings! http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2606004,prtpage-1.cms

What I feel is that Kochi is undergoing a mass change and with inauguration of work of International Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam, kochi and Smart City project at Kochi which placed Kerala in International Cyber map! When Smart City comes to a reality in 2009,the pace and lifestyle of kochi is not going to be the same! Also the IT export from Kochi is expected to be around Rs.10,000 Crores;compared to a dismal Rs.750 Crores from total Kerala,of which 75 % of export is from Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram!! Now the scenario is going to be different!

See this what the New York Times have to say about Kochi!!
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/travel/07next.html?pagewanted=1

Kochi is already the Commercial Capital Of Kerala and far ahead of any city in the state due to unbelievable developments which had occurred! It is usually said "If anything is happening in Kerala it is in Kochi"! The high rises in Kochi is enough to answer it! In 2009 come to kochi for sure, as it is going to see a dozen of Malls at least as the work is in progress for all of those! Already there is one mall in Kochi called the Bay Pride Mall (But without a cine complex)! Although Kochi is not familiar with Mall set up, it has seen many shopping complexes like the most famous GCDA shopping complex, Penta menaka in Shanmugham road and such other complexes in Kaloor and MG road!!

A new International Cricket stadium has been proposed to come up in Kochi which will be owned by Kerala Cricket Association!Also Kochi can boast of having the only stadium with synthetic track at Maharaja's Stadium!

Apart from the IT parks at smart city many others are there to come up like by CIAL, Shobha Group, Muthoot Group etc! So the private players are into it!!

All these factors have lead Kochi to be called as sought in destination! The foreign tourists flowing to kochi is an example of how famous Kochi is across the globe and the cruise ships arriving at Kochi strengthens the fact! KOCHI PORT IS THE NUMBER 1 PORT IN INDIA IN TERMS OF CRUISE SHIPS ARRIVAL SURPASSING THE DOYEN MUMBAI!!

About the City of Kochi(Cochin)

The Skyline of Kochi


The City of Cochin which was a calm town in 1990's, focussed on Tourism and few industries would never have thought about the developments which it was going to face! Today the city has grown beyond the leaps and bound!!Earlier the city was restricted between Thevara Junction to Palarivattom!

But today the Metropolitan Area of Kochi includes the municipalities of North Paravur, Kalamassery, Aluva, Fort Kochi, Angamali and the adjoining villages including Kumbalangi and Maradu. Today the famous towns which makes the city of Kochi are FortKochi, Mattancherry, Edappally, Palarivattom, Tripunithura, Ernakulam, Thoppumpady, Palluruthy, Kalamasserry, Aluva, Angamaly, N.Paravur, Kakkanad etc!

Today Kochi has transformed into the Commercial Capital of Kerala, which provides almost 50% of the revenue that the state gets! The city can boast of having a major Port, Largest Ship building yard, 4th Busiest airport in India (after Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai), Kochi Refineries, many major industries like FACT, TCS, One of the largest International stadium in India(4th Biggest in India)etc and unmatched natural beauty with Chinese Fishing Nets which is World Famous and Marine Drive.

Kochi has been rated as one of the 10 Best Fun Cities in India by 'The week' on October 25, 2003!




Above shown is the Kochi International Stadium which can accommodate over 80,000 spectators