Ramesh Babu is HT’s bureau chief in Kerala, with about three decades of experience in journalism.
Articles by Ramesh Babu
Rahul in Wayanad: Taking away MP ‘tag’ won’t stop me
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that taking away his Member of Parliament (MP) “tag” will not stop him from representing the people of Wayanad.
Updated on Apr 12, 2023 01:12 AM IST
BJP leaders haven’t understood me, won’t back down: Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad
“My MP tag has been taken away but nobody can prevent my association with the people of Wayanad. It is home-coming for me...,” Rahul Gandhi said
Updated on Apr 11, 2023 07:17 PM IST
Rahul Gandhi to visit Wayanad 1st time since disqualification from Parliament
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi won the Wayanad Lok Saba seat in Kerala by a margin of over 400000 votes in 2019
Updated on Apr 11, 2023 09:48 AM IST
Kerala: Man who set co-passengers on fire charged with murder
The 27-year-old accused who, according to police, confessed to the crime, was also remanded in police custody for 11 days by a local court.
Updated on Apr 08, 2023 04:52 AM IST
Ramesh Babu, Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala train fire accused Shahrukh Saifi charged with murder
The 27-year-old accused sustained burn injuries after he allegedly sprayed petrol at the co-passengers on Sunday inside the train. According to the police, the incident happened in the D1 compartment of Alappuzha-Kannur Express, also known as Executive Express, at 9.45pm on Sunday between Elathur and Koyilandi railway stations
Updated on Apr 07, 2023 04:31 PM IST
Man who set co-passengers on fire inside Kerala train arrested
Saifi, a resident of Shaheen Bagh in south Delhi, appeared to have been injured either while trying to set his co-passengers on fire.
Updated on Apr 06, 2023 05:10 AM IST
Ramesh BabuManish K Pathak, Thiruvananthapuram/mumbai
14 held guilty of thrashing Kerala man to death in 2018
Madhu’s mother Malli, who faced threats and prompted the Kerala high court to supervise the trial in the case, said she was not satisfied with the verdict
Updated on Apr 04, 2023 04:12 PM IST
3 die as man sets co-passengers on fire in Kerala train: Police
According to the police, the incident happened in the D1 compartment of Alappuzha-Kannur Express, also known as Executive Express, at 9.45 pm on Sunday between Elathur and Koyilandi railway stations.
Updated on Apr 03, 2023 11:20 PM IST
3 killed as man pours petrol on passengers, sets them afire on Kerala train
The bodies of Sahramath, her aunt M Rehmat and M Noufeeq, a fish merchant, were recovered from the railway tracks
Updated on Apr 03, 2023 04:59 PM IST
Kerala train fire: 3 killed, including child; terror angle not ruled out
The police did not rule out a terror angle as they recovered a bag from the tracks that had another bottle of petrol and two mobile phones
Updated on Apr 03, 2023 09:45 AM IST
Idukki villagers intensify stir
The HC had stayed the “Operation Arikomban” after People for Animals and Walking Eye Foundation for Animal Advocacy approached the court saying the move to capture the elephant and making it kumki through rigorous training was unscientific and cruel
Updated on Apr 03, 2023 12:35 AM IST
Kerala, TN CMs to jointly inaugurate centenary celebrations of Vaikom Satyagraha
It was a nonviolent protest that took place from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925 in the Kingdom of Travancore, now part of Kerala. The movement got a leg up in 1924 after Mahatma Gandhi sent his disciple Vinoba Bhave to Vaikom to help the agitation and in 1925, Gandhiji himself came to Vaikom to participate.
Updated on Mar 26, 2023 01:55 PM IST
Classical dance form ‘Kathakali’ gets its own village in Kerala
Nearly 30 years after first raising their demand for the change, a little-known village called Ayroor (South) on the banks of Pamba river in Pathanamthitta district will finally be renamed ‘Kathakali Gramam’
Updated on Mar 24, 2023 09:10 AM IST
Bishop’s remarks spark political slugfest in Kerala
Thalassery (north Kerala) Arch Bishop of Mar Joseph Pamplani had given an open offering on Sunday that if the Union government raises the natural rubber’s price to ₹300 per kilogram believers will help the Bharatiya Janata Party to elect its first MP from the state. It stirred a hornet’s nest after the Congress and CPI(M) joined hands to list out recent attacks on minority institutions and fate meted out to Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest, who died in judicial custody two years ago.
Published on Mar 21, 2023 12:36 AM IST
Ramesh Babu, Thiruvananthapuram
Kochi civic body plans to file appeal against NGT’s ₹100 crore fine
The NGT on Saturday pulled up the corporation and the state government for violating the statutory sold waste management rules and orders of the apex court repeatedly
Updated on Mar 20, 2023 01:07 AM IST
Ramesh Babu, Thiruvananthapuram:
Kochi Corp to file appeal against NGT’s ₹100 cr fine over Brahmapuram fire
The massive fire and billowing smoke which started on March 2 was finally controlled by March 14 but filled the city with toxic fumes and gas which spread across 30 km and forced over 1,400 people to seek medical aid while dozens fled
Published on Mar 19, 2023 04:36 PM IST
Fire issue rocks Kerala assembly proceedings, CM maintains silence
During the proceedings, even though the Congress-led opposition raised serious allegations against the government and the Kochi corporation, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan did not respond.
Published on Mar 14, 2023 12:26 AM IST
Ramesh Babu, Thiruvananthapuram
With elderly population increasing, demand for care homes grows in Kerala
High migration rate, increased life expectancy and proliferating micro-family pattern leave many elders high and dry and for many, such homes are turning a boon -- those who can afford can live gracefully till the last
Published on Mar 13, 2023 12:04 PM IST
Protests erupt in Kochi as toxic fumes from garbage fire shroud city for 11th straight day
On Sunday morning, the AQI was above 200 and officials in the pollution control board said it may cross 300 by evening.
Published on Mar 13, 2023 05:17 AM IST
Kochi fire: People deserting city as toxic smoke, fumes wear them down
Stating that the government’s main objective is to avert a pandemic, health minister Veena George on Saturday said 800 people have sought medical aid so far, and the state will begin a door-to-door health survey from Tuesday
Published on Mar 12, 2023 04:00 PM IST
Kochi fire: A week on, smoke yet to settle
The fire that broke out at the solid waste dump yard last Thursday was controlled by Sunday but there was no let up in smoke emanating from it that had spread over 30km radius.
Updated on Mar 10, 2023 12:52 AM IST
Ramesh Babu, Thiruvananthapuram
Brahmapuram fire: Residents gasp for air as Kochi reels amid inferno aftermath
The fire that broke out at the solid waste dump yard in Brahmapuram last Thursday was controlled by Sunday but there was no let up in smoke emanating from it that had spread over 30km radius
Updated on Mar 09, 2023 05:17 PM IST
Kerala drops move to tax vacant houses
Many NRIs said the proposal to impose additional tax on vacant houses was a rude jolt and welcomed government’s rollback decision. But people who supported the move said it was necessary to check the fragile environment and people who build big houses as status symbols should be penalised
Published on Mar 02, 2023 01:16 AM IST
Ramesh Babu, Thiruvananthapuram
State will not impose tax on vacant houses: Kerala finance minister
In its 2023-24 state budget, the state had said that it would revise the tax rates on properties and also levy additional tax on its huge number of vacant houses. The proposed tax on vacant houses had invited widespread criticism, especially from the non-residents
Published on Mar 01, 2023 06:55 PM IST
As number of vacant houses mounts in Kerala
With high migration rate and ageing population, the repercussion is quite visible in the state.
Published on Feb 26, 2023 12:17 AM IST
Kerala CM’s relief fund misuse case: Probe agency seeks action against officials
As the VACB intensified its investigation more irregularities came to light. In Kollam district ₹4 lakh was given to an applicant whose house was “severely damaged” in a natural disaster but officials found his house was in good condition, another senior official said
Published on Feb 25, 2023 01:16 AM IST
Ramesh Babu, Thiruvananthapuram
ED backs up claim of larger nexus in Kerala case with WhatsApp chats
The chats, allegedly retrieved by investigators from Swapna Suresh’s phone, were reproduced by ED in its remand application to a Kochi court
Published on Feb 16, 2023 07:11 PM IST
Kerala CM’s former secretary M Sivasankar in ED custody for 5 days
M Sivasankar, former principal secretary to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, was arrested on Tuesday in a case related to the alleged kickbacks in the state government’s Life Mission project
Published on Feb 15, 2023 06:16 PM IST
Rahul attacks PM Modi over Parliament ruckus, Adani
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over allegations of fraud by the Adani Group, asking how references at the embattled tycoon made in a parliamentary speech could be seen as an insult to the prime minister.
Published on Feb 14, 2023 02:02 AM IST
Ramesh Babu, Thiruvananthapuram
Fuel cess imposed to help poor, will stay: Kerala CM
Talking to the media in the state capital, the CM said cess was introduced to meet the welfare pension of 60 lakh people in the “backdrop of the Union government’s attempts to stifle the state by cutting down its plan allocation and putting a cap on borrowing limit”.
Updated on Feb 10, 2023 05:08 AM IST
Ramesh Babu, Thiruvananthapuram