Kerala News
Kerala’s vegetarian crocodile dies at 75
The temple priests claim that Babiya never feared anyone.
The 75-year-old vegetarian crocodile Babiya, which was the cynosure of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Kerala’s Kasaragod district, is no more.
The mugger crocodile was found dead in the lake surrounding the temple at Ananthapura village on Sunday night. The Sri Anantha Padmanabha temple, though, was famous for being the only temple in Kerala surrounded by a lake but its main attraction was Babiya, the vegetarian crocodile, which is believed to feed only on Prasadam, an offering made to God.
A veterinary surgeon from Mangaluru’s Pilikula Biological Park was attending Babiya, as her health was deteriorating and a search for her was launched when she did not come up to eat the Prasadam for two consecutive days.
There is little known about when and how Babiya reached the temple. Nevertheless, as per mythology, a British soldier shot a crocodile in the temple in the 1940s, and in a few days, Babiya appeared in the temple pond.
The temple priests claim that Babiya never feared anyone and never ate any fish or harmed any human taking a dip in the pond. The crocodile experts say that the pond inside the temple and the lake surrounding it were full of fish, eels, and snakes, and mugger crocodiles generally feed themselves late at night or in the wee hours of the day.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shobha Karandlaje expressed her condolences on the demise of 75-year-old Babiya. In a tweet she wrote, Babiya, the god’s own crocodile of Sri Anantapura Lake temple has reached Vishnu Padam. The divine crocodile lived in the temple’s lake for over 70 years by eating the rice & jaggery prasadam of Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy & guarded the temple, Karandlaje tweeted.
The temple saw more than 1,000 devotees for the funeral. Babiya was buried in the temple ground with all the honour given to a swami as Delampady Ganesha Tantri performed the last rites, reports said.
Kerala News
Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi visits LS constituency, meets families of elephant attack victims
Before his departure to Allahabad, Gandhi will join district officials for an assessment and review meeting at the PWD rest house in Kalpetta.
Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday visited his Lok Sabha constituency and met the families of the two victims of the recent wild elephant attacks in this high-range district and consoled their family members.
On Saturday night, Gandhi arrived in the neighbouring Kannur district after abandoning his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Varanasi due to intense protests by locals, who were seeking solutions to the human-animal conflicts in his constituency. He then travelled by road to Wayanad, accompanied by AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal and other local leaders.
During his visit, Gandhi spent over 20 minutes at the house of Aji (42), who was trampled to death by a radio-collared elephant in the Mananthavady area of Wayanad district. This incident triggered massive protests also last week.
Subsequently, he paid a visit to Paul’s residence, an eco-tourism guide from the forest department who tragically lost his life to a wild tusker near Kuruva island on Friday, and spent some time there. Additionally, the MP is anticipated to pay a visit to the house of Prajeesh, who tragically lost his life in a tiger attack.
KC Venugopal, a member of the Congress Working Committee, accompanied Gandhi. After the meeting, the bereaved families spoke to news reporters and expressed their concerns about the ineffectual response of the Forest Department to wild animal threats, as well as the lack of facilities for specialised care in State-funded hospitals in the district.
Before his departure to Allahabad, Gandhi will join district officials for an assessment and review meeting at the PWD rest house in Kalpetta.
There have been frequent reports of attacks on both livestock and humans in Wayanad recently. On Saturday, there was a violent escalation during the hartal organised by political parties to protest the rise in wild animal attacks.
India News
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan stages sit-in protest as SFI members wave black flags at him, blams police failure
The Kerala Governor has accused the police of their failure to control the protesters and failing to stop them from waving black flags at his convoy.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan staged a sit-in protest on the roadside in Kollam district as Student Federation of India (SFI) members waved black flags at him. The student wings belong to the ruling party CPI(M).
The Kerala Governor has accused the police of their failure to control the protesters and failing to stop them from waving black flags at his convoy.
In a video, he could be seen angry at law enforcement saying he would not leave the place. Police are giving them protection, he accused police present at the spot as SFI activists held a protest against him.
The Governor further questioned the police for their mismanagement and said if the police itself is breaking the law, who will uphold the law, he asked.
Later, police registered a case against 13 SFI workers under Section 143 unlawful assembly, Section 144 says the power to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger, Section 147 punishment for rioting, Section 353 assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty, Section 124 assaulting Governor of Indian Penal Code.
The SFI workers claimed that the Governor called them bloody criminals and stated that the student body is unwilling to make any compromises.
An employee of SFI alleged that individuals who were recommended by K Surendran from the BJP office were appointed to the senate without any qualifications. As a result, SFI has been organizing state-wide protests against the governor for several months now. Today’s protest was also a part of those ongoing protests.
The governor allegedly called the protestors bloody criminals, which has further triggered SFI. In response, they have decided to demonstrate their power of protest by organizing rallies and marches across the state. SFI wants to send a message that they are not willing to compromise on their demands.
There has been a conflict between the Pinarayi Vijayan government and Arif Khan. SFI activists have been protesting against the Kerala Governor, accusing him of promoting BJP-RSS nominees to the senate of various universities in Kerala using his authority as the Chancellor of universities in the state.
Kerala News
Viral: Kerala groom arrives for wedding riding camel, police register case
Kerala Police registered a case against a groom who arrived for a wedding on a camel.
Kerala Police registered a case against a groom who arrived for a wedding on a camel. According to reports, a groom caused traffic obstruction by riding a camel during the wedding procession.
A video of the groom is going viral on social media platforms where it can be seen that a groom riding a camel surrounded by his companions, creating a ruckus, disturbing fellow citizens and violating traffic rules.
In a strange case, police in Kannur, have also registered a case against 25 companions apart from the groom.
The charges have been, unlawfully gathering as a group, causing disturbance to the public and obstructing traffic.
Rizwan, the groom, is from Valapattanam in Kannur. On January 14, while leading his wedding procession to the bride’s home, he rode a camel. A complaint was filed with the police against the procession, claiming that it caused traffic congestion.
Several vehicles, including ambulances, were stuck in the jam. The complaint also mentioned the use of smoke guns in the procession, which blocked the view of fellow passengers.
Upon facing a traffic jam, an ambulance got stuck, prompting locals to alert the police. The authorities arrived and instructed the groom to dismount from the camel he was riding. Two individuals who accompanied the groom questioned the police, leading to their arrest. The pair were eventually released after receiving a warning.
In 2020, during the CAA protest, an unusual protest was witnessed in Kerala where a groom arrived at his wedding ceremony riding a camel holding an anti-CAA poster in his hands.
The pictures and videos of the incidents were widely shared on the internet. Then, to bring the attention of the government towards the protest, people came up with unique ideas to register their protest against the government.
Delhi’s Shaheen Bhagh, the centre for the protest against the CAA, captured the attention of the global citizens.
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