Mangaluru: Cops seize 5 kg ganja, nab youths at Thokkottu

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 20: The Kerala government announced the relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in two zones, allowing among other private vehicles movement in an odd-even basis and dine-in services at hotels from Monday.

State police chief Loknath Behera said the relaxations of restrictions imposed would come into effect in the Green and Orange-B zones in the state from Monday,an official release said.

Earlier, the Left government had colour-coded 14 districts of the state into four zones-- Red, Green, Orange-A and Orange-B, for containing the Covid-19 pandemic. Red zone comprises Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. In this zone, a complete lockdown will be in place until May 3 while two entry and exit points are allowed for carrying essential commodities to coronavirus hotspots. Orange-A zone comprises Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam and Kollam while orange-B zone comprises Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Wayanad.

The lockdown will be in effect until April 24 in this zone and then partial relaxation will be allowed. Kottayam and Idukki come under the Green zone, in which lockdown will be in effect until April 20 and then regulations will be eased. However, large gatherings, the functioning of educational institutions, religious functions, celebrations and travel outside the district will not be allowed in this zone.

Not more than 20 people are allowed to take part in weddings and funerals, according to government instructions. On the functioning of courts, the release said, "Courts in the Green and Orange-B zones will re-open on April 21 while that in Orange-A zone will start functioning from April 25. The courts will function with 33 per cent of staff. The cases will be heard via video conferencing."

Meanwhile, the Bankers' Council has announced that banks will function as per the usual timings from Monday in the state except four districts falling under the Red zone. The Transport Ministry has clarifiedthat public transport won't be allowed to ply in the state during the lockdown period. "Inter-district travel will not be allowed despite relaxations in the state, but essential services such as medical services, food supplies will not be stopped. However, in case of emergency, inter-district travel will be allowed with an affidavit prepared by the traveller," Behra said in a release.

On the implementation of the odd-even scheme for private vehicles, the police said, "Vehicles with odd numbers will be permitted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Those with even numbers will be allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays." Woman drivers travelling solo or with dependants are also exempted from it, police said. On Sundays, only those working for essential services are allowed to use their vehicles.

All education institutions, cinema halls, shopping malls, public parks, bars, places of worship will remain closed in all zones of the state. The health department and local administration, which carry out sanitation work before the monsoon, are allowed to operate. Four-wheelers are permitted to carry two passengers besides the driver and in case of a two-wheeler, only the driver will be allowed while the pillion rider is allowed in case the person is a family member.

On Dine-in services, a government order said it is allowed at hotels and restaurants until 7 PM in Green and Orange-B zone from Monday and in Orange-A zone from April 24. However, take-away counters can function until 8 PM, it said. Kerala on Sunday reported two positive cases of Covid-19 in the state taking the total number of affected to 401 while the health department announced that 13 people were cured.

Mangaluru, Jan 23: With the results of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Main) out, it is celebration time at CFAL (Centre for Advanced Learning), Mangalore’s top training institute as 12 of its students have secured above 99 percentile, out of 120 students who appeared at the prestigious national examination held in January this year. The students are: Kaustubh Rao (99.79), Ujwal Kumar (99.77), Dheeraj Kamath (99.74), Pramod Rao (99.68), Santhosh M (99.59), Mohan Nayak (99.49), Rihan D’silva (99.43), Rishan D’silva (99.41), Pranav Rao (99.41), Aamod BK (99.29), Anmol J Shetty (99.22) and Madhura Sabhahit (99.083).

Apart from the above students, 8 students have scored above 98 percentile, the details of the students are: D.K. Goutham (98.67), Tejah S.S. (98.49), Akash Shetty (98.4), Tejas Bhat K (98.34), Ninaad PS (98.31), Shreepoorna Rao (98.3), K. Annapoorna Prabhu (98.3) and Rakshith Sajjan (98.2). The results of many more students are awaited.

A total of 8,69,010 students had appeared in the said exam from across India. The students who have attempted the JEE Main exam in January can attempt the exams again in April to better their percentile. Students who clear JEE Main qualify for JEE Advanced and are eligible for seats at the NIT’s and other top institutions of the country.

JEE – The most challenging undergraduate admission test

Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) conducted this year by National Testing Agency (NTA) is a national level examination for students to qualify and pursue engineering degree at under graduate level. Paper 1 is held for BE/B.Tech admissions and Paper 2 for B. Arch/B. Planning. JEE Main is a critical criterion for admission in India’s most prestigious and elite universities like IITs and NIT’s.

Those students who clear JEE Main can take the JEE advanced – which is a pre-requisite requirement for admission in the Indian Institute of Technology and Indian School of Mines (Dhanbad)

CFAL – The first name in training

The training at CFAL consists of defined hours of classes, tests and mock exams, unique course material, experienced professors and hence is the first choice for students appearing for STEM examinations including JEE, NTSE, KYPY, OLYMPIADS etc.  The centre was established with the intention of giving students of Mangalore information, guidance and tools required to qualify the competitive exams. However, the main aim of CFAL is to inculcate passion for Math and Science learning among students and to encourage research and innovation in the subjects.