Governor to open India for Kerala conclave today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day-long conclave on rebuilding Kerala will be held here on Wednesday as part of the India for Kerala campaign launched by the Times Network, in association with the Times Foundation. Governor Justice P Sathasivam will formally inaugurate the conclave at 10am at Hotel Vivanta by Taj, Vazhuthacaud.
The governor will present his wish list for rebuilding Kerala after the flood fury. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is away in the US for treatment, will also join India for Kerala conclave with a video message in which he is expected to outline the road map for rebuilding Kerala. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley will also join the conclave through a video link from New Delhi. Jaitley is expected to make some announcements regarding the central aid to flood-ravaged Kerala. The Union government has already announced Rs 600 crore as aid to state.

After the inauguration and addresses by the CM and Union finance minister, six panel discussions will be held, where experts from different sectors will share their thoughts. At the session titled ‘celebrating heroes’, air marshal B Suresh, air officer commanding-in-chief of Southern Air Command, major general Sanjeev Narain, general officer commanding, Karnataka and Kerala sub area, Silvadasan Antony, coastal warrior, Loknath Behara, state police chief, M G Rajamanickam food safety commissioner and actor Tovino Thomas will attend.

State finance minister Thomas Isaac, BJP leader and MP V Muraleedharan, Muslim League leader M K Muneer and RSP leader Shibu Baby John will share their thoughts on the session ‘Rebuilding Kerala: What will it take’. Environmental challenges for rebuilding Kerala will be discussed by a panel comprising architect G Shankar, environmentalist Harish Vasudevan, former biodiversity board chairman Oommen V Oommen and Rahul Easwar.

There will be two sessions to deliberate on the role of social media in rebuilding Kerala. MP Shashi Tharoor will deliver his thoughts on the issue first, followed by a panel discussion to be attended by Randeep Rana, DIG OPS NDRF, Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief, The News Minute, IAS officer Prasanth Nair and television host Raj Kalesh.

Jose Dominic, CEO CGH Earth, George Lamannil, executive director and general counsel, Muthoot Group, Salim Yusuf, south head, Taj Hotels and Jose Joseph, executive vice president, Federal Bank will be part of the panel that will discuss Kerala Economy recast. The day’s deliberations will conclude with a session on ‘Citizens for Kerala’ which will be addressed by Oscar award winner Resul Pookutty, actor Rima Kallingal, director Major Ravi, Telugu actor Rana Daggubatti, singer Usha Uthup and actor Samyuktha Menon.

Times Network has initiated ‘India For Kerala’ campaign on the national level to create awareness and to raise funds for the relief efforts in Kerala. Through this initiative, Times Network strives to give the cause a unified voice and encourage the nation to join hands and contribute to support Kerala.