The Keralam government maintained in the State Legislative Assembly on Thursday (October 15, 2026) that the Forest department action in Chinnakkanal, Idukki district, was restricted to the dismantling of unauthorised and illegal fencing.

Forest Minister Shibu Baby John and Revenue Minister A.P. Anil Kumar explained the government stand after the Opposition CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) moved an adjournment motion to discuss the hardships faced by farmers and other residents of localities, including Chinnakkanal, Panthalikkalam and Shanthampara, on account of a September 23 order issued by the Idukki District Collector authorising the removal of fences, walls and other structures put up by them. Protesting against the government stand on the issue, the LDF staged a walkout after the motion was denied.

The Forest Minister said that the Collector, invoking provisions of the Disaster Management Act, issued the orders for the removal of illegal solar fencing in Chinnakanal after three deaths were reported over a 25-day period from August 27 to September 23. The decision was also based on a demand raised by the tribal residents of the region after a tribal man died in an elephant attack on September 23, the Forest Minister said. “They refused to relinquish the body for postmortem and staged a protest demanding that illegal fences be removed. The Forest officials gave an assurance in writing that the demand would be complied with,” he said. The Forest Department, tasked with the removal, had heard individual cases and decided that legal structures need not be removed.

Chinnakkanal has only a little over 3 hectares of forest land and no designated elephant corridor. Nevertheless, elephants needed pathways to move freely. For a long time now, the region has been home to 30,000 humans and 18 elephants, Mr. Baby John said. He also pointed out that two resorts that have come up in the area hinder elephant movement.

Mr. Anil Kumar said that the government was committed to removing illegal fencing erected by encroachers. The first demand for the removal of the illegal structures had, in fact, come from the president of the CPI(M)-led Chinnakkanal panchayat, the Revenue Minister said. He justified the advisory on after-6 p.m. travel in plantation areas issued by the District Collector on the grounds that it was meant to protect the lives of the people.

Cancellation of orders sought

Meanwhile, K.U. Jenish Kumar of the CPI(M), who moved the adjournment motion, demanded urgent cancellation of the orders issued by the District Collector, alleging that these violated human rights and constitutional principles.

Accusing the Forest Minister of misleading the Assembly, Mr. Jenish Kumar alleged that “a conspiracy was in progress” to redesignate Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR) land as forest land. The Forest Minister was throwing a challenge to the people of the high ranges and questioning the rights that they have enjoyed for three or four generations, he said.

Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan announced the walkout, accusing the government of ignoring the concerns of the farmers.

Kadavumbhagam Synagogue, a little-known Jewish place of worship in Kochi, Keralam, is now in the news after reports of an arson attack outside the over 800-year-old structure. A 32-year-old man, Ebin Paul, was arrested for allegedly setting fire to the boards kept outside the gate of the historic synagogue in Ernakulam market on Monday (October 12, 2026).

Here’s a look at what happened, latest updates on the case and the history of Kadavumbhagam Synagogue, whose original structure is said to date back to the 12th century.

What happened at Kochi synagogue

A fire was set at Blossom Nursery, located in front of Kadavumbhagam synagogue, around 2.40 a.m. on October 12. The police said the accused arrived in a blue car, poured petrol on the premises, and set it ablaze. The 32-year-old man allegedly recorded the incident on his mobile phone before fleeing. The Ernakulam Central police arrested Ebin Paul on Tuesday (October 13) for alleged involvement in the case.

What is the latest update in synagogue arson case

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been set up to probe the suspected extremist links of the accused, a resident of Puthen Cruz in the Ernakulam district.

A preliminary examination of the accused’s mobile phone reportedly uncovered communications with individuals and online groups suspected of having foreign links. The suspect’s communications allegedly contained references to Jewish institutions and other potential targets, according to the police. The probe officers are also examining indications that payments may have been made through cryptocurrency. Police claimed the accused admitted to his role in a similar arson incident that occurred earlier in Muvattupuzha in the district.

Additionally, the Puthencruz Police also seized a cache of suspected narcotic substances from his rented house in Puthencruz.

Another fire incident under scrutiny

Amid the probe into synagogue arson, another recent fire incident at iconic Koder House in Fort Kochi is also under scrutiny. The Kochi City police have decided to intensify the investigation into the fire that partially gutted Koder House on September 29, 2026, causing extensive damage to the historic property.

Built as a Portuguese mansion, the building was bought and renovated by Samuel S. Koder, a member of the Jewish community in Kochi. But there is currently no information directly linking the two incidents, nor have the Fort Kochi police found any evidence of external involvement in the Koder House fire, The Hindu has reported.

What is the history of Kadavumbhagam Synagogue

Kadavumbhagam Synagogue is located inside the Ernakulam Market and is believed to be among the oldest in the Commonwealth. But it is not as well-known as the synagogue located in the famed Jew Town, Mattancherry, Ernakulam.

The Kadavumbhagam synagogue at Broadway in Kochi.
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat

The Ernakulam district has at least six synagogues, standing as a testimony to the region’s cosmopolitan heritage. The bustling Market Road in Ernakulam once had a strong community of Malabari Jews. But much of the Jewish community in Kochi immigrated to Israel, leaving behind their homes, synagogues and cemeteries.

Built in the 1200s, Kadavumbhagam Synagogue had fallen into disuse and dilapidation in the last century. The over 800-year-old structure was rebuilt in the 17th century and was renovated in 2018.

Elias Josephai, who preferred to stay back in Kochi rather than migrate to Israel, is the managing trustee of the synagogue. In 2025, he spoke to The Hindu about how the Jewish congregation at the synagogue dwindled in the 1960s, after most community members in Kochi emigrated to Israel. The synagogue was closed for prayers in 1972, and the first prayer in the renovated synagogue was held only in the last decade.

The Keralam government’s announcement that it will make private health care more “affordable” through consultations with the private health sector, and that a Bill in this regard was in the offing, should be seen against the State’s seven-year legal battle before the Kerala High Court upheld the Kerala Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulations) Act 2018, throwing out all objections raised by private hospitals.

The KCE Act was the first ever attempt made in the State to bring the entire health sector, public and private, under a regulatory framework.

The Kerala High Court recently held that an investigating officer can be appointed as a prosecutor in a court-martial case as per the Navy (Discipline and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations, 1965, and that it would not violate the accused person’s fundamental right to a fair trial. 

The Division Bench of Justices K. Natarajan and Johnson John held that a combined analysis of the Constitution of India, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Navy Act, 1957 and the Navy Regulations would indicate that, in matters of the armed forces, there are restrictions imposed on the fundamental rights of military personnel. In such cases, the prosecutor and the investigating officer in a court-martial case could be competent witnesses. The court inferred that even if the investigating officer is appointed as the prosecutor, he could be examined as a witness.

Petitioner’s claim

The petitioner was a Navy personnel with 31 years of service, undergoing a trial where he was charged with offences, including cheating. He had previously approached a Single Bench of the court, alleging that he was denied the right to a free and fair trial, as the trial was being conducted by the prosecutor, who had also been the investigating officer of the charges levelled against him.

He claimed that he was denied access to material documents and adequate opportunities to defend the case. He sought directions to declare the provision allowing a court-martial prosecutor to testify as a competent witness as unconstitutional, as it allegedly violated the right to a fair trial of the accused person. 

The Single Judge upheld the constitutionality of the challenged regulation. However, it held that the right to a fair trial would be infringed when the same investigating officer assumes the prosecutor role and directed the petitioner to approach the Armed Forces Tribunal for its assessment on whether the trial conducted by the prosecutor was vitiated. 

The petitioner then challenged the regulation before the Division Bench.

Centre’s stance

The Central government countered the petitioner’s arguments, stating that the provisions of the Navy Act stated that fundamental rights could be modified with regard to persons who are subject to the naval law. It stated that the Single judge’s observations regarding the appointment of the investigating officer as prosecutor were unwarranted. 

The Division Bench found that the investigating officer may be a suitable person to prosecute the case in a court-martial proceeding because he “knew the facts” and had filed the chargesheet against the accused. However, it set aside the Single Bench’s decision that appointing the investigating officer as prosecutor violated his right to free trial and the subsequent directions to the petitioner.

Over a decade ago, the Oommen Chandy Cabinet in Keralam approved the recommendations of the Gita N. Potty committee that mainly dealt with the wage disparities among veterinary officers in the Animal Husbandry department in Keralam. One of its other key proposals, setting up a dedicated veterinary public health wing to tackle zoonotic diseases, is yet to become a reality.

Sources in the department say that the veterinary public health section with a food safety unit and animal management and welfare units were proposed as part of an organisational restructuring. The animal management and welfare units were explicitly tasked with animal tranquilisation, animal birth control (ABC) squads, welfare work and the control of zoonotic diseases. The committee had given its report in 2014, which was approved two years later.

Senior officials point out that there has been a marked and repeated escalation in zoonotic disease outbreaks or spillover episodes in Keralam over the years that fall squarely within the professional domain of the veterinary officer. The existing staff are not equipped to handle this, they say.

For the record, the State has recorded outbreaks and spillover cases of Nipah infection since 2018, and case-fatality rates has been as high as 89-91% in the worst cases. Every outbreak has been zoonotic in origin with fruit bats turning out to be the carriers of the virus, and the containment depends on rapid animal-side surveillance, sampling, and coordination that is presently a veterinary officer’s responsibility. Kuttanad and the backwater belt containing Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta districts have faced recurring Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreaks — including culling of over 8,00,000 birds in 2014-16, roughly 2,50,000 more in 2021-22, further outbreaks in 2024, and a fresh outbreak in December 2025 requiring the culling of tens of thousands of birds within days. After each outbreak, the department teams are engaged in culling, disposal, compensation assessment and containment. The other emerging diseases include African/classical swine fever, Anthrax, and Kyasanur Forest Disease.

Along with this, stray dog attacks and rabies cases and deaths are also being frequently reported too. As per government data, stray dog bite cases in the State rose from about 1.35 lakh in 2017 to 3.69 lakh in 2025. Confirmed rabies deaths cases are also on the rise, from eight to 33 during the same period. Child fatalities have continued to be reported despite post-exposure vaccination. Keralam’s stray dog population was estimated at 2.89 lakh in the 2019 livestock census.

T. Kuriakose Mathew, State general secretary, Kerala Government Veterinary Officers Association, says that setting up the veterinary public health wing will go a long way in addressing many of these current problems. “It will ensure timely and quality services in veterinary hospitals. Along with this, an extension wing for imparting education and creating awareness among farmers need to be established as well,” he says.

A senior veterinary official from Kozhikode says that ABC programme, vaccination drives and the State’s Rabies-Free Kerala project are all technically anchored in the department, without a dedicated, adequately staffed structure to run them.

Each of these disease categories, he points out, places statutory, technical responsibility on the Animal Husbandry department’s veterinary workforce — sampling, ring vaccination, culling, disease surveillance at check posts, and coordination with the Department of Health on zoonotic spillover — over and above routine clinical care. For the effective functioning of ABC centres and to handle the euthanasia of stray dogs, the services of project in-charge veterinary doctors is necessary, he adds.

Meta has restricted access in India to a viral AI-generated video showing KeralamChief MinisterV.D. Satheesan dancing with KSEB officials related to the recent power cut issue, its creators said on Monday (September 14, 2026).

The video, which was posted on the Instagram page ‘aikavala’ on Thursday (September 10), had garnered 1.78 crore views by Sunday (September 13), the page’s operator said.

Mr. Satheesan had recently mentioned the video at an event organised by the Kerala High Court, saying he was excited to see it.

He claimed he could dance better than Malayalam actor Mohanlal and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay.

The video shows Mr. Satheesan dancing with Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) officials and was created using artificial intelligence, according to the page.

In a post on Sunday (September 13), ‘aikavala’ said access to the video had been restricted in India after Meta complied with a legal request.

“We have restricted access to your content in India pursuant to notice from the Government of India,” a message from Meta shared by the creators said.

Mr. Abhijith, who runs the Instagram page, told the media that he did not believe the restriction was due to any objection from the Chief Minister’s side.

“We don’t know the reason. But the Chief Minister had appreciated it in a public forum. The video can be viewed from other countries,” he said.

Earlier, Meta had removed news videos critical of the State government and Mr. Satheesan.

Mr. Satheesan then denied any request for removing the posts made from his office.

The Chief Minister’s Office had subsequently written to Meta seeking their reinstatement.

Meta had then cited technical reasons for the removal of those videos.

The Centre has written to Keralam government asking it to take a decision on the PM SHRI scheme at the earliest, General Education Minister N Samsudheen said on Friday (September 11, 2026).

Mr. Samsudheen said the letter from the Union Education Secretary to the State Chief Secretary was received two days ago about the implementation of PM SHRI, and the government would discuss the matter before taking a decision.

“The letter states that a decision must be taken at the earliest so that the remaining schemes can move forward. It has been two or three days since it was received. We will discuss it in this context,” he told reporters.

He said the State’s stance on the scheme would be made clear after the discussions.

“I cannot make a statement on my own. The Chief Minister, along with our UDF leadership, will decide, and the CM will make the announcement,” he said.

Mr. Samsudheen said there were differing views regarding the PM SHRI scheme in Keralam and the government’s reservations remained.

“Our opposition to it on behalf of the entire UDF was stated even before the elections. We still hold reservations about it today. Therefore, its details need to be examined further,” he said.

LDF’s MoU with Centre

The previous LDF government had signed an MoU with the Union government for implementation of the PM SHRI scheme. However, following criticism within the LDF and protests by the UDF, the agreement was kept in abeyance.

After the UDF government came to power, it appointed a Cabinet subcommittee to study the matter and recommend whether the state should proceed with the scheme or withdraw from it.

The Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme targets to upgrade 14,500 schools and is expected to benefit 1.8 million students. It also aims to ensure these schools serve as model institutes and encapsulate the spirit of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

A 56-year-old woman from Ajanur, Kasaragod, Kerala, died of H1N1 influenza, commonly known as swine flu, while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mangaluru on Monday, prompting the Health department to intensify surveillance and preventive measures in the area.

The deceased was identified as Yashoda. She had been undergoing treatment after developing fever and other health complications.

Following the reported H1N1 infection, the Health department collected samples from seven persons who had been in close contact with Yashoda and sent them for laboratory testing. Their health condition is being monitored.

The department has urged people experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat or breathing difficulty to seek treatment without delay at the nearest government health centre.

H1N1 commonly presents with influenza-like symptoms and people with respiratory complaints have been advised to seek timely medical attention.

People showing symptoms have also been advised to wear masks in public places and avoid unnecessary contact with others. Health workers have urged the public to wash their hands frequently with soap and water and to cover their mouth and nose with a cloth or tissue while coughing or sneezing.

Officials said surveillance in the area had been strengthened in view of the possibility of further transmission.