Daily News Dose: Kerala's new liquor policy to facilitate nightlife for techies | Mar 30, 2022

Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Vishnu, and these are the major news stories of the day:

1) Kerala's new liquor policy to set up more liquor outlets and provide nightlife infrastructure for techies

2) Survivor to appeal against Franco Mulakkal's acquittal in nun rape case in High Court

3) Kerala to extend Lokayukta ordinance, CPI expresses diapproval

4) SilverLine protests continue in Kollam, Cpm replants uprooted survey stones in Malappuram

5) Dominant Australia cruise to Women's World Cup finals, beat West Indies by 157 runs

Let’s get into the details.

1) The LDF government's new liquor policy, which was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, despite not using the word 'pub', will facilitate serving liquor in “specially designated areas within IT parks”. The policy also seeks to drastically augment the local production of liquor and will promote the manufacturing of liquor with low alcohol content. Further, retail outlets that were shut down earlier will be reopened as premium outlets. For serving liquor, “special licenses will be granted with strict conditions”. “It is important to provide such licenses if Kerala is to be made investor-friendly,” an official statement released after the Cabinet meeting read. The official statement also notes that there is a complaint that Kerala does not provide enough avenues for the leisure of techies.

2) The recent acquittal of former Bishop of Jalandhar Diocese Franco Mulakkal of all charges in a nun rape case has been challenged by the survivor, who has filed an appeal in the Kerala High Court against the January 2022 verdict. She wrote in her appeal that the trial court failed to examine all the evidence related to the case. The development came shortly after the Kerala government too said that it would appeal against the Session's Court single line verdict that acquitted Franco. The government had also received legal advice from the Advocate General. An appeal against a lower court verdict should be made within 90 days. The verdict was pronounced on January 14.

3) A meeting of the Kerala cabinet has recommended the re-promulgation of the controversial ordinance that amended the Kerala Lokayukta Act, 1999. In a significant move, ministers belonging to the CPI opposed the provisions of the ordinance during the cabinet meet on Wednesday. The validity of the initial ordinance, which aimed at curbing the powers of the government ombudsman, is expiring on Friday. The ordinance will now be sent to the Governor for assent again. 

4) The people's protest against the Kerala government's SilverLine semi high speed corridor project continued in different parts of the state on Wednesday as officials set out to resume survey procedures after a three-day break. Thazhuthala village in Kollam witnessed tense moments as locals came out to the street challenging the officials' move to plant marker stones on their plots as part of the survey procedure. The government has repeatedly claimed that the survey is only part of conducting a socio impact study of the project. The opposition parties, however, have been alleging that the govt is trying to acquire land for the project in the name of the study. Women were at the forefront of the protest in Kollam, where a family threatened to immolate themselves by opening a LPG cylinder if the officials went ahead with the survey. At Tanur in Malappuram, local CPM activists reinstated the survey poles uprooted by the opposition UDF recently. Meanwhile, the CPM-led government has strengthened its campaign to sensitise people about the need to implement the SilverLine project and the lucrative compensation packages for those who may have to surrender their land.

5) Australia booked their place in the ICC Women's World Cup final with a dominant 157-run victory over the West Indies after Alyssa Healy's belligerent century was complemented by the bowlers here on Wednesday. Australia posted a mammoth 305 for three from 45 overs in a rain-curtailed semifinal. The West Indies never once looked like getting close in their chase. Captain Stafanie Taylor was her side's top scorer with 48 in a total of 148.

Now, let’s check out the covid update:

6) India logged 1,233 new Covid cases on Wednesday, pushing the overall tally to 4,30,23,215, while the active cases dipped to 14,704.

The death toll climbed to  5,21,101 with 31 more fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry.

While the daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.20%, the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.25%.

That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose.