The Rubber Board will launch a digital platform called ‘INR Konnect’ on a pilot scale soon to document all details of untapped rubber plantations.

Executive Director of the Board M. Vasanthagesan said at the annual conference of the United Planters Association of Southern India in Coonoor on Wednesday (September 23) that growers have plantations in which the rubber is not tapped regularly for multiple reasons.

The adopting agencies should know details about such plantations, and the plantation owners need to know the credible agencies that they can approach for tapping. “The platform has the potential to increase production by 20%,” he told The Hindu. The pilot stage of the project is likely to be rolled out in a month.

Further, with increase in rubber imports, the Rubber Board has taken up with the Bureau of Indian Standards the need to come up with standards for compounded rubber. “There is no monitoring mechanism now for rubber imports. We need standards first to monitor the imports,” he said.

The Kerala High Court has asked the State Chief Secretary to file a statement on the action taken regarding the alleged violations of court directives concerning unauthorised flex hoardings in the State. 

The court cautioned the Joint Directors of Urban Affairs and Secretaries of the Local Self-Government Institutions against strict action if violations continued. The Bench remarked that it would be a ‘sheer mockery’ of the court if the authorities vested with jurisdiction over this matter ‘slumbered’ over their duties. It ordered all the Secretaries of the Local Self-Government Institutions to ensure that the territories under them are cleared out and that no further installations are allowed by ‘any class of persons.’

Justice Devan Ramachandran was considering a report by the Amicus Curiae regarding the installation of unauthorised flex boards, banners, posters and flags in public places across various parts of the State. 

FIFA World Cup

It was reported that as part of the widespread celebrations of the FIFA World Cup 2026, several unauthorised hoardings, posters and national flags of participating countries were erected in public spaces. These displays were found fastened to pedestrian railings, lamp posts and other public infrastructure using plastic ropes and similar materials. Oversized flex boards were also seen on public land without permission. 

In Thiruvananthapuram, boards and flags were observed in a continuous row along the road leading to the Forest Headquarters, Vazhuthacaud, attached to handrails and blocking pedestrian pathways. It was noted that the displays were in connection with an election to a merchants’ association, and that the candidates were the major violators.

Hundreds of flags and flex boards erected by the Forest Protective Staff Association in the Chinnakkada roundabout in Kollam were brought to the court’s notice. The board erected by the Indian Youth Congress in Ponmundam, Malappuram, for the Standing Counsel of the Kerala Pollution Control Board was also reported to the court, and the irony of the violation was not lost on the Bench. 

The court stated that it was aware of the protocols issued in Tamil Nadu regarding the unauthorised fixation of flex boards to curb visual pollution.

The Kerala High Court has directed the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee (GDMC) to implement urgent measures to ensure the welfare of the captive elephants housed at Punnathur Anakkotta under the Guruvayur Devaswom Board.

The GDMC was directed to strictly adhere to the Kerala Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012, in all aspects of management and provide a progress report by September 2. They should ensure the elephants are maintained in a clean, hygienic and healthy environment. The tethering areas should consist of level earthen flooring, should not be continuously damp, and the tethering locations must be periodically changed.

The committee was instructed to implement the model feeding schedule issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden and ensure that the RO water purification system installed at Punnathur Kotta is maintained in proper working condition to provide all elephants with an uninterrupted supply of safe and adequate drinking water.

Maintain hygiene

GDMC must discontinue the existing practice of bathing elephants adjacent to their tethering places using water hoses to avoid persistent dampness of the tethering areas and ensure that every elephant is provided with an opportunity to bathe in running water at least once every week. Directions were also issued to improve waste management at the Anakkotta to maintain hygienic conditions at the camp.

Environmental enrichment measures must be adopted to improve the physical and psychological conditions of the elephants, and the chains used to tether the elephants must have suitable cushioning material to avoid hurting the animals. 

The court further directed GDMC to upgrade the veterinary facilities and appoint additional doctors as needed. CCTV cameras must be installed covering all areas within the Anakotta to ensure transparency in elephant management, prevent cruelty and facilitate compliance with the court’s orders. Detailed data books must be maintained covering all aspects of the camp management. The GDMC was also asked to acquire additional land to provide adequate space for the elephants.

Camp inspection

The Chief Wildlife Warden was instructed to inspect the camp and file a report detailing the measures taken by the GDMC to implement the court’s directions and the recommendations by expert and statutory authorities. 

The Division Bench of Justice V. Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K.V. Jayakumar issued the directives while considering a petition filed by Indo-Canadian wildlife filmmaker and biologist Sangita Iyer, alleging ‘gross inadequacy’ in facilities provided for the captive elephants.

The petitioner stated that the entire facility was 11 acres, housing 35 elephants, averaging around 35 cents per elephant. She informed the court that as per the governing rules and guidelines, each elephant should have at least 1.2 acres. Ms. Iyer further alleged that the elephants did not get enough exercise, and that the board was not meeting their dietary conditions. 

The court observed that the Animal Welfare Board of India had sent a two-member team to evaluate the conditions of the captive elephants in 2014 and had made several recommendations to improve their welfare and management. After the petition was initiated, the court had appointed an Advocate Commissioner to report on the welfare of the elephants in 2023, and a special team was constituted in 2024 for similar purposes. 

The special team had inspected the housing conditions, the tethering practices, veterinary care, drinking water and bathing facilities, the dietary conditions followed by the board, and the overall management of the Anakkotta and made several recommendations for improvement. The court issued its directions after considering all recommendations.

On the heels of the crisis in the Congress in Kerala over the selection of the Chief Minister has come an equally intense battle for the post of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president.  According to party insiders, the KPCC president Sunny Joseph, MLA-designate, is likely to relinquish the organisational post to take up a significant role in the next United Democratic Front (UDF) government, leaving the KPCC president’s post up for grabs. 

A senior leader said a restructuring of the KPCC leadership was inevitable, and that age, social demographics, and political merit would guide the All India Congress Committee (AICC)’s choice for the post. 

According to sources, the frontrunners for the post include Benny Behanan, Kodikunnil Suresh, Anto Antony, and Shafi Parambil — all Lok Sabha MPs. Sources said Mr. Behanan wasn’t keen to lobby for the post if the decision was guided by caste and religious considerations. He is said to be miffed about being passed over for the post in the past despite his “experience and organisational standing.”

Meanwhile, media reports suggested that Mr. Kodikunnil Suresh has once again advanced his claim for the post and had met Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, in Delhi. Mr. Suresh told the Hindu that it was too early for the AICC to weigh which leader was optimal as KPCC president. “I had met Mr Kharge. It was a routine goodwill visit, and we did not dwell on any organisational matter. The high command is now preoccupied with discussions concerning Kerala’s prospective Chief Minister. The question of who will assume charge as the next KPCC president would come later”, he added. Neither Mr. Shafi nor Mr. Antony was immediately available for comment. 

INTUC steps in

Meanwhile, the question of who among V.D. Satheesan, K.C. Venugopal, and Ramesh Chennithala would be Congress’s Chief Minister in Kerala continued to roil the party’s State unit on Monday. The ongoing tussle over Congress’s Chief Minister choice appeared unabated, with the party’s trade union, the INTUC, wading into the dispute. INTUC leader R. Chandrasekharan appeared to object to Mr Venugopal’s candidature, stating that an MLA-designate should be the party’s candidate for the top post.

Meanwhile, the party high command has begun consulting senior leaders on the issue. It has summoned former KPCC presidents, K. Sudhakaran, Mullapally Ramachandran, and K. Muraleedharan to Delhi for consultation. A KPCC insider said the high command will likely seek the opinion of party veterans, including A.K. Antony and V.M. Sudheeran, before taking a final call.

The decision on Congress’ Chief Minister in Kerala seemed to assume the contours of a political cliff-hanger on Friday (May 8, 2026). The question of who among the purported three Chief Minister probables – Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal, and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala – would make the cut appeared set to go down to the wire, with party High Command reportedly scheduled to make the pivotal announcement on Sunday. 

Mr. Satheesan, Mr. Chennithala and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph were bound for Delhi, reportedly for a penultimate round of discussions with the party’s High Command on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, the accidental disclosure of a part of a document purportedly showing a list of “yes” votes from elected Congress MLAs supposedly backing Mr Venugopal, published in a newspaper on Friday, caused political embarrassment, prompting AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken to deny the “record’s legitimacy”. 

Notably, Mr. Joseph, who, as per the “questionable” document surreptitiously captured by a lensman, appeared to back Mr. Venugopal, stated somewhat enigmatically to reporters that “numbers meant everything in parliamentary politics”. His statement assumed some significance against the backdrop of reports that a majority of Congress’ MLA designates had backed Mr Venugopal for the “top post”. Notably, Sandeep Varier, another MLA designate whose name was on the “yes sayer’s list”, did not deny that he had backed Mr Venugopal. The “list” seemed to hold a mirror up to the allegedly raging power struggles and turmoil in Congress over the Chief Minister’s post. 

For one, the party’s MLA-designate from Uduma in Kasaragod, N. Neelakantan, emailed AICC’s observers that they had “erroneously” recorded his “definite choice” for the Chief Minister’s post as “neutral” in the “list”. Mr Neelakantan’s complaint triggered social media insinuations by Congress’ “faction fighters” that attempts were afoot to stack the odds in Mr. Venugopal’s favour by disregarding “naysayers”. 

Allies express apprehension

Notably, UDF allies have repeatedly expressed apprehensions that the “vexatious” selection process would carve up the Congress and, by extension, the alliance, rendering the tight-knit leadership team that delivered the historical electoral win divided profoundly. 

Mr. Satheesan, Mr. Venugopal and Mr. Chennithala are at different points in their long political career. A KPCC insider said that the High Command had reportedly summoned the three leaders to Delhi, possibly to “work out a deal to avert an acrimonious leadership race that might have implications for the next UDF government”. 

Meanwhile, the poster war between the supporters of the three leaders seemed to be spiralling out of control, with scores of new, competing hoardings appearing across Kerala.