Celebrations, protests mark Kerala's 61st foundation day

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is celebrating its 61st foundation day on Wednesday and the day has been marked with festivity as well as protests.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is scheduled to take part in several programmes, including the launch of a new insurance scheme for the migrant labour community, on Wednesday.

He had earlier announced that Malayalam should be compulsorily taught in all schools and also there should be no punishment for speaking Malayalam in schools.

The women wear the traditional 'Kerala saree' and the men prefer the 'dhothi' (mundu) on this day.

The Technopark IT campus in the state capital that employs close to 45,000 people and the Kochi Infopark campus which has close to 30,000 employees saw many turn up in the traditional Kerala attire.

The state also witnesses the maximum protests on this day. To maintain law and order in the state capital, traffic has been diverted on the roads that pass through the Secretariat - the seat of power - as close to a dozen rallies are being taken out by various organisations to draw the Kerala government's attention.

In Kozhikode, angry residents at Mukkom clashed with the police to protest the laying of the GAIL underground pipes, as they have not got the desired compensation for the land taken from them.

On the political front, former Defence Minister A.K. Antony will flag off the state-wide yatra of Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala in Kasargode to protest against the dismal performance of both the state and central governments.

Kerala was formed on November 1, 1956, following the States Reorganisation Act by combining the Malayalam-speaking regions.

Kerala was formed by the merger of the Travancore-Cochin state with the Malabar district of Madras State and Kasaragod of South Canara (Dakshina Kannada).

Modern Kerala is divided into 14 districts with Thiruvananthapuram as the state capital.