Date:02/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/02/stories/2009010250830200.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Over 2750 students hit the stage

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As many as 2,757 students have taken part in various events at the ongoing 49th Kerala School Kalotsavam till Thursday, in Thiruvananthapuram.

The festival also witnessed 28 appeals against the verdict of judges, from the contestants even as nearly 2,000 of them secured ‘A’ grades in the 74 events that had been completed so far. The festival started on Tuesday.

The figures were revealed by Kalotsavam programme committee chairman V. Sivankutty, MLA, at a meeting convened to evaluate the progress of the events.

The event boasts of a total of 8,362 participants. Eranakulam, with 615 contestants, leads the tally. It is followed by Thiruvananthapuram with 527 registrations. The lowest is from Idukki, 412 contestants.

Many students are taking part in the festival based on the directives issued the judiciary and the Education Department. While one candidate was given the green signal by the Kerala High Court, 44 got the consent from lower courts. As many as 22 contestants participated in the festival as per the directive of the Lok Ayukta. The Education Department too granted permission to 123 contestants.

Accomodation

Though accommodation had been arranged at 17 schools across the city, most of them chose to make their own arrangements. This had forced the organisers to whittle down the number of accommodation centres, Mr. Sivankutty said.