A major pilgrim centre for Christians, Church of Our Lady of Ransom is one of the oldest European Churches in India built by the Portuguese Missionaries. The church dedicated to the Holy Mary of Vallarpadam popularly known as Vallarapadath Amma, is located in the middle of Vallarpadam, a small idyllic island on the Vembanad lake, 1 km north from the mainland Kochi (Ernakulam), Kerala. Today the church elevated to the status of a Basilica as well as a National shrine attracts more than five lakh people including pilgrims and tourists, annually. One of the three Basilicas in Kochi, the Church is under the diocese of Verapoly (Varappuzha). The church earlier accessible only by boat is now linked to the mainland Ernakulam, and the islands of Bolghatty, Mulavukad and Vypin by three adjacent bridges called the Goshree bridges. Vallarpadam island, about 3.9 km in length and 1.5 km in width is located between the islands of Mulavukad and Vypin, and to the east of Bolghatty island. Vallarpadam container Terminal, a proposed project here could make this small island one of the best hub ports in the world

Vallarpadam is the largest single operator container terminal currently planned in India and the first in the country to operate in a special economic zone. The new terminal will make Cochin a key centre in the shipping world reducing India’s dependence on foreign ports to handle transhipment. Approval for the agreement was given by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs of the Government of India, Ministry of Finance and meanwhile, the DP World will manage and subsequently transfer its operations at the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal’ (RGCT) in Cochin Port to the new terminal upon its completion. The DP World has been granted a 38-year concession for the exclusive operation and management of the site.

The total cost of the project is estimated at US$500 million and will be funded by DP World through non-recourse debt funding. The debt is provided by a consortium of banks led by the Infrastructure Development Fund Company (IDFC), set up to provide growth capital for infrastructure projects in India.

With the finalisation of this agreement, the DP World has taken over the management and operation of the existing container handling facility at the RGCT prior to the transfer of its operations to the new terminal upon its completion. DP World will actively manage and invest in the facility focusing on improving productivity, investing in quayside and yard-handling equipment and implementing state-of-the-art IT systems. DP World has estimated that the total initial investment required will be approximately US$20 million which includes the immediate provision of four RTGs and two Mobile Harbour Cranes to the Terminal – to improve yard handling, truck turnaround time and quayside operations.

Genesis: Kochi is a cosmopolitan city modeling itself on the lines of Bangalore and Mumbai. A few decades back, the commercial centre in Kochi or Ernakulam, as it was then called, was restricted to Broadway and M.G.Road. The city started spreading and far-flung areas like Kakkanad have now become part of Kochi city with residential apartments coming up all over the beautiful hillocks in this area. Business establishments have started relocating their showrooms and outlets on the sides of the Trivandrum bye pass road between Edapally and Vytilla. The construction of the Vypeen bridge has opened up new areas for residential and commercial construction as Kochi has become easily accessible from Kochi.

Why invest in real estate?
People have now realized that investment in the stock market, with its ups and downs has its own related problems whereas bank deposits and mutual funds are restrictive in returns. Investing in real estate is a guarantee that the returns at the time of disposal will definitely be higher making it is a very safe mode of investment.

The Flat culture:
Flats have become popular due to the safety and security available for flat dwellers. There is an element of the historical ‘tharavadu’(the joint family system of yesteryears) in the concept of flats with the role of the ‘karnavar’ (seniormost male member who word is the law in the ‘tharavadu’) whose role has been taken over by the Building society in each flat complex. In addition to security, the tenant need not worry about payment of electricity, water or other maintenance bills which are taken care of by the society. All external maintenance is also done by the society. Many of the builders provide utilities like centralized gas, health club, waste chutes and driver’s rooms which are value additions. The paper work involved during the purchase is also minimal and the biggest boon is that one need not worry about the problems of construction-labour, purchase of material, permits and licenses etc.

Independent houses:
Independent villas and houses are expensive but if one can afford it can make you feel like a king. There are many builders who carry out construction on contract basis and with totally transparent terms and conditions. This helps avoid the headaches one would have to face while building homes.

Agent/multi-agent systems have become an important field within artificial intelligence research. They have found a number of applications, including control processes, mobile robots, air-traffic management and intelligent information retrieval. Container terminal Technology is a very complex system, and traditional solutions decompose the problem into several sub-problems, each representing one particular aspect. While the set of operations to be conducted in the terminal is very extensive, existing approaches share some common features:

• the Marine Side Interface focuses on the loading and unloading of containers. Normally two or three gantry cranes (GC) are used to move containers for each ship
• the Transfer System transfers containers between the apron and the container storage yard. Yard trucks (YT) perform transports within the terminal. Transtainers are used to pick up or to put down a container on the storage area of the yard.
• the Container Storage System allocates and controls containers in the yard.
• the Land Side Interface handles interactions with the land transportation modes.

An ever-growing number of jobs are emerging in the logistics sector across the world. This is a sector which has huge potential to generate a large number of jobs and if students are imparted proper training and guidance, it would go a long way to bridge the growing demand as well as to ease the growing unemployment situation in the country.

Kochi will see a huge boom in CFS-related business once the Vallarpadam terminal becomes operational. If trade unions co-operate, there is a tremendous future for the CFS.
Kochi: When the ongoing works at the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal is completed by November, it is poised to create a substantial number of new jobs, especially in the logistics sector. The priority would then shift to finding suitable candidates for the port-related jobs that the project is likely to throw up, Mr N. Ramachandran, Chairman of the Cochin Port Trust, said.

An ever-growing number of jobs are emerging in the logistics sector across the world. This is a sector which has huge potential to generate a large number of jobs and if students are imparted proper training and guidance, it would go a long way to bridge the growing demand as well as to ease the growing unemployment situation in the country.

Kochi will see a huge boom in CFS-related business once the Vallarpadam terminal becomes operational. If trade unions co-operate, there is a tremendous future for the CFS.

courses
The new courses are being promoted by the Dubai Ports World (Kochi) and Falcon Infrastructures Ltd. The 15-month diploma course and one-year PG diploma course would entail a three-month internship at the Cochin Port Trust, Vallarpadam Transshipment Terminal and Falcon Freight Station in Kochi.
The course, which is slated to commence from July this year, would enroll two batches of 30 students each. Students who have completed plus-two with 50 per cent marks would be eligible for the diploma course while those who have completed graduation would be eligible to join the PG Diploma course, a press release issued here has said.

Pallivasal, the first hydroelectric project of Kerala, situated about 8km from Munnar is of immense scenic beauty.
The highly specialised dairy farm, the Indo Swiss Live stock Project, where the green meadows, the exotic cattle and the rose garden attracts a lot of tourists is at Mattupetty.

15km from Munnar is Rajamala , the natural habitat of the Nilgiri Tahr (a rare mountain goat) which is fast becoming extinct. Nyayamakad near Rajamala is a land of breathtaking waterfalls. On the way to top station there is Echopoint, 15km from Munnar which is a scenic place, gets it’s name from the natural echo phenomenon.

PM to lay stone for Vallarpadam
Saturday August 28 2004: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has agreed to visit Kerala to will lay the foundation stone for the Vallarpadam container terminal project in Kochi.

Vallarpadam is an Onam gift from Centre: Antony Thursday August 26 2004: A.K.Antony has termed the decision of the Union Cabinet to give its nod for the Vallarpadam project as an ‘Onam gift’ to the people of the State by the Centre.

Dubai Port keen on developing Vallarpadam box terminal soon
Thursday August 19 2004: DUBAI Ports International (DPI) is keen to develop international container transhipment terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam in Kochi and shift operations there within four years irrespective of whether it handles the threshold level of 4,00,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for moving out of the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT).

HC seeks explanation from the centre
Monday August 16 2004: The state High Court has sought explanation from the centre for the inordinate delay in implementation of the Vallarpadam Container Terminal Project.

When will Vallarpadam happen?
Thursday, Apr 03, 2003: OVER THE last few months there has been press releases, statements by various State and Union Government leaders and officials and a general thrust in public relations… . all leading to an impression that the Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam is not only a reality but the actual construction and commissioning is just round the corner.

SEZ in Vallarpadam will lure more investment
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2002: DECLARATION of the Vallarpadam and Puthuvypeen areas as special economic zones will reduce the cost of the proposed trans-shipment terminal by at least Rs 300 crore by way of exemption from Customs and Excise duties and income-tax, according to Mr Paul Antony, Development Commissioner (DC) of Cochin Special Economic Zone.

The church was built by Portuguese missionaries in 1524. It is said that the missionaries discovered a painting of the Lady of Ransom, and later in a dream, they were asked to establish a church in Vallarpadam, which they dutifully did. Many miracles have been attributed to the Lady of Ransom and most are of people being saved from accidents at sea. As per tradition the church was earlier known as the church of the Holy Spirit. The original building was destroyed by floods in the 17th century and rebuilt later. The present building is said to have built in 1676.

As per local folklore, a lady and her child from a Hindu family who were shipwrecked, survived for three days, sheltered under a rock. The lady prayed that she would commit her life to serving the Lady of Ransom, and she was saved. Even today, all processions in connection with festivities of the church begin from the ancestral house of the Hindu lady, which is called Paliath. The images of the lady and child are also seen in the picture of the Lady of Ransom inside the Vallarpadom church.

The local fishermen always bring their new boats to be blessed by the Lady of Ransom before they are taken out to sea for the first time. When prayers are answered, the blessed devotees dedicate their lives to the Lady of Ransom, and sweep the church compound to convey their spirit of dedication. The altar of the church is filled with offerings of devotees who had been blessed by the Lady of Ransom.

Pope Leo the XIII had bestowed ‘special status’ to the church in 1888. The Vallarpadam church was declared as a pilgrim center in 1951. The church was given the status of a Basilica in December 2003. The number of pilgrims who visit the church is increasing every year. The major festival of the church falls on the 24th of September and thousands of devotees throng the small island to take part in the feast. The new Goshree bridges which connect Vallapadam with both Vypin and Ernakulam have made it very easy for the believers to come to the church. The church today is not only a major pilgrim center but also an important tourist attraction.

The marina, the first of its kind in the country – and, in the public sector at that – is set up at Bolghatty Island by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC).

Delivering the inaugural address, Antony said Kerala should provide the best infrastructure to retain its supremacy in the tourism sector.

“Good roads and effective waste management can play a key role in attracting tourists to the state. The Kochi Marina is a commendable step towards providing better amenities to adventure tourists,” Antony said. He said the situation prevailing in the national capital was favourable for Kerala. “Apart form ministers, there are many efficient people holding key posts in almost all ministries. The state should make use of this situation, and I assure everything possible to help the state,” Antony said. Antony said he kept away from the State Government functions not because of any political stand-off.

“I have been keeping away from all functions. At present, I attend functions which the protocol demands,” Antony said.

Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who presided over the function, said the KTDC had initiated a number of new projects, including resorts at Muzhappilangad and Bekal, and a Kerala House in Chennai. He said the KTDC had become a profit-making organisation.

A three-storey Marina House and berths for 34 yachts are the major features of the marina. The berthing facility will be enhanced to 50 later. The marina was constructed by Sharjah-based Gulf Marinas on a project prepared by the Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation (KITCO).

The marina will be managed by the private company, Ocean Blue, on a three-year contract. However, the Marina House will be under the direct control of the KTDC.

The marina was set up at a cost of Rs 8.21 crore with a central assistance of Rs 4 crore.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas, P Rajeev MP, MLAs V K Ibrahim Kunju, M K Purushothaman and Dominic Presentation, Kerala Tourism Secretary V Venu, Cochin Port Trust chairman N Ramachandran, Tourism Ministrym Principal Secretary E K Bharat Bhushan and KTDC MD K G Mohanlal were present.