Technical snag forces Doha-bound AIE flight to return to Mangaluru 

Wayanad/Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 24: Amid the strict lockdown, a school teacher travelled from Thiruvananthapuram to Muthanga in Wayanad -- a distance of about 465 km -- on her way to neighbouring Karnataka en route to Delhi following which cases have been registered against her and an excise official.

The woman, Kamna Sharma, said to be working in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom, undertook the journey on April 21 along with her two year-old daughter, police sources told news agency PTI.

An Excise Circle Inspector, Shahjahan, had provided his vehicle to travel allegedly on the instructions of Malappuram excise officer, in whose private vehicle, the woman and the child had reached Wayanad border from Thiruvananthapuram, the sources said.

The two were charged under the Kerala Epidemic Act and various sections of the IPC including sect 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection) and 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule).

Because of the lockdown even inter-district travel is not allowed by police and district administration, unless there is an extremely genuine reason.

A senior police official in Thiruvananthapuram said he does not remember issuing any such pass.

The woman may have "misused" government machinery as private vehicles would have been stopped somewhere during the long journey, he said.

She came to Kalpetta in Wayanad allegedly in an official car of the excise department.

Wayanad District police chief R Elango said that an FIR has been filed based on preliminary information and investigations have begun.

"We will check if she has followed procedures in obtaining a pass and if she made any false claim to get the pass."

As per preliminary information the woman came in an excise official's car from Thamarassery (Kozhikode) to Muthunga(Wayanad), he said. Her mode of transport before that--from Thiruvananthapuram to Wayanad--will also be investigated, he said, adding they have no information if she has reached Delhi.

"We will track down her movement," he said Meanwhile, theWayanad district administration has intensified the lockdown protocol from Thursday to prevent people's movement within and from outside the district/state.

Interception at all the check posts on district an state borders of the district, bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, will also be intensified. No one would be allowed to travel frequently to and fro the district under the pretext of official duty.

Wayanad collector Adhila Abdulla said officials from outside the district will no longer be allowed to commute daily.

"Elderly people above the age of 65 should confine to their homes unless it is extremely urgent or unavoidable. Cases will be registered against family members who allow elderly people to go out for buying medicines and other essentials," she said.

Senior citizens, who live alone, can call either the Fire (101) or Police (100) departments for any help and to get things they need, the collector said.

Whatever relaxations were in place have also been withdrawn with effect from Thursday, she added.

Wayanad and Thiruvananthapuram come under the "Orange B" zone where there are some relaxations.

However, Thiruvananthapuram city limits falls under the hotspot area.

Police said a case was also registered against a doctor and her husband who entered Kerala from Tamil Nadu border.

Kochi, Mar 9: A three-year old child has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said in Kochi on Monday.

The child and its parents who had reached the Cochin International Airport Limited at 6 AM on March 7 from Italy were subjected to thermal screening at the universal surveillance system established, officials said.

Detecting symptoms of coronavirus in the child, they were immediately referred to the isolation ward of the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital, they said. The samples of the child sent for examination at the NiV lab at Alappuzha have tested positive for Coronavirus, they said.

The samples of the parents have also been sent for lab test, the officials added.

Five fresh coronavirus cases, including three who evaded screening on return from Italy, were reported in Kerala, prompting the government on Sunday to sound a renewed alert and warn action against those hiding travel history to affected nations.

Bengaluru, Feb 25: Opteamix LLC (Opteamix), a digital technology firm, announced today that they have been awarded as a 'Dream Company to Work For' by the World HRD Congress.

Opteamix was ranked 11th in this category which had companies from multiple industries across the globe vying for the title.

In addition to the Dream Company ranking, Opteamix was also recognized for its innovative HR practices and Corporate Social Responsibility practices. The event took place at Taj Land's End in Mumbai on February 16.

Opteamix presented their concept 'Happiness at Work - When Culture drives Performance' that elaborated upon the methodology behind the enhancement of employee happiness.

"We have taken a holistic approach to help our people stay happy at work. While we knew that EQ and IQ were critical to the growth of people, we also believed that it is the Spiritual Quotient (SQ) which our in-house NGO - Right To Live caters to, that helps our people experience next-level career growth," said Varsha Dubey, Lead - Happiness and Learning Activator, while explaining the theory behind the happiness at work during the 30-min presentation before delegates from 65 countries.

"We have empowered our people by equipping them with the right set of tools to help them excel in their performance based on OKR (Objectives and Key Results), CFR (Communication, Feedback, and Review) and Competency Mapping. The optimum blend of these performance management tools has resulted in making a significant impact on the careers of our people and therefore, happy people and 100 per cent innovation and efficiency at work," added Shalu Priya - Director, People Experience.

Now in its 28th year, the World HRD Congress presents awards to organizations that promote innovative human resources practices. The award categories include leadership, talent management, employer branding, training and development, employee engagement, and more.

In the recent past, Opteamix had been recognized for its commitment to employee excellence with numerous awards and recognitions including 'Dream Companies to Work for' in 2017 and 2018.

World HRD Congress is billed as South Asia's largest HR event, featuring an eminent panel on international and local speakers from across public and private sectors.

The conference serves as a platform for the HR fraternity to deliberate on the insights, initiatives and implications of people management practices. The theme this year 'Happiness at work', recognized individuals and companies for their exceptional people management practices.

"We strongly believe in creating a culture of happiness at Opteamix. To us, happiness is as important as revenue and profits. The culture of happiness has been the Opteamix way of life since inception, which has led us to achieve our ultimate goals - higher career growth for all members and richer customer experience," said Raghurama Kote - Founder and COO of Opteamix, on being asked what a happy organization meant to him.