Friday, July 27, 2012

SmartCity Cochin



Smart city Kochi is an infrastructure project which will provide facilities specifically for IT/ ITES based ventures to work efficiently and cost effectively with adequate supply of required resources for IT industry. It has been proved that Cochin has adequate human resource with technical knowledge. This is the main encouraging factor for starting a big project like Smart City in Cochin. Smart city Kochi is a joint venture company formed by The Kerala Government and TECOM Investments. In this venture Kerala Government owns 16% share while TECOM Investments is to own 84% of the share. Smart City Kochi is expected to create over 90000 direct job opportunities.


SmartCity Logo






The Smart City project is built in the city of Cochin in Kerala state near Kakkanadu. This is near by the Info Park campus area. In this there will be Sets of Building or group of buildings. These buildings will be lend out to companies mainly doing IT/ITES based jobs. All the facilities and arrangements required for the operation of these companies will be provided here by the Smart City Kochi Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. There will be Special arrangements made for Power, Internet and data communication facilities, Transportation, Security, Food etc in this area.


Event History

  • 2004-Concept of SmartCity presented before public
  • 2005-MOU signed between Kerala government and Dubai Internet City
  • 13 May 2007-Kerala Government and Teecom signed the an updated framework agreement
  • February 2 2011-Disputes between Kerala government and Teecom where resolved
  • October 8 2011-Construction of SmartCity was launched




Similar Projects around the world





First phase of the project is expected to be completed within 18 months after the works have started. It is sure that by the arrival of this project, the face of Cochin as well as Kerala will definitely be changed. The changes that will be created by such a big project are unimaginable. People of Cochin are enthusiastic about this project coming into a reality.






Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Tourism in Cochin









Situated in the center of Kerala the city of Cochin shall be called the heart of Kerala. A lovable place for people from different parts of the world, the city of cochin stands as one of the greatest tourist attractions of India. From centuries back onwards Kochi is the tourist destinations for people from different parts of the world.


Known by the name QUEEN OF ARABIAN SEA Cochin is a dream land for the tourists all around the world. Lying beside the Arabian Sea, city of Cochin possess an extraordinary beauty that astonish travelers all around the world. Since it lies along the sea shore it became a trading route centuries back itself and the route became famous among the foreigners especially the Europeans.  This was one of the main reasons for the city becoming popular as a tourist center.  As years passed by the place became more and more popular. Now Cochin is ranked top among the best tourist centers in India.




Starting from Fort Kochi there are the great heritage plazas which take us back to the colonial era. It gives a nostalgic feeling when one visits these places. The Mattanchery Palace is one of them, which was originally built by the Portuguese and later it was home to the Rajas of Cochin. Today, it is a portrait gallery of the Cochin Rajas and notable for some of the best mythological murals in India. Kochi Marine drive was set up in the in the 1980s by the GCDA (Greater Cochin Development Authority).This is a walkway along the Vembanad Lake starting from High Court Junction till the Rajendra Maidan. Marine drive serves a leisure area and the shopping establishments near by the marine drive gives a great shopping experience For both tourists as well as the local people. Bolgatty Palace is a Heritage hotel situated on the Bolgatty Island in Kochi which was originally built by the Dutch traders. After 1949 the palace became the property of Government. The Bolgatty palace faces toward the awesome backwaters by which tourists are attracted. To the eastern coast of the Bolgatty Island is situated the Kochi International marina. This is the only marina in India.


Main attractions

  • Fort Kochi Beach
  • Mattanchery Place
  • Jewish Sybagogue and Jew Town Mattanchery
  • Willingdon Island
  •  Marine Drive
  •  Bolgatty Palace
  •  Kochi International Marina
  •  Jawaharlal Nehru Interntional Stadium
  •  Cherai Beach
  • Museum of Kerala History
  •  Hill Palace Tripunithura




Fort Kochi Beach




Mattanchery Palace





Marine Drive Cochin


Rainbow Bridge-Marine Drive


Marine Drive Walkway



Bolgatty PalaceCochin







International Marina




Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium


Cherai Beach






Museum of Kerala History






All these destinations in kochi makes it the queen of arabian sea. With efforts put in by the government and the Tourism Department it is sure that the Queen of Arabian Sea will attract more and more tourists in the coming years.




Friday, June 15, 2012

Cochinconnects

Welcome to Queen of Arabian Sea



Cochin Known by its pet name The Queen of Arabian Sea is one of the most growing cities in India. Cochin is situated on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Cochin is in the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. City of Cochin is the second largest city of Kerala and the most populated city. The district of Ernakulam is often referred to as Cochin. Though the name "Cochin" is replaced by the name "Kochi" both the names are used frequently. The city lies about 220 kilometers (137 mi) north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram and about 180 kilometers (112 mi) south of Kozhikode, the third largest city in Kerala. Cochin has its significance since decades and centuries ago. As the city is situated along the Arabian Sea sailors got attracted to this city. Cochin was an important spice trading centre on the Arabian Sea coast from the 14th century. Thus the Portuguese Empire came in to being in the year 1503. Cochin became the first European colonies in India. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state.

The current metropolitan limits of Kochi include the mainland Ernakulam, Fort Kochi, the suburbs of Edapally, Kalamassery and Kakkanad to the northeast; Tripunithura to the southeast; and a group of islands closely scattered in the Vembanad Lake. The civic administration of the major parts of the city including Fort Kochi, Mattanchery and Ernakulam are maintained and headed by the COCHIN CORPORATION. The Corporation has its headquarters in Ernakulam, and zonal offices at Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Palluruthy, Edappally, Vaduthala and Vyttila. The general administration of the city is handled by the Personnel Department and the Council Standing committee Section. Other departments include that of town planning, health, engineering, revenue and accounts. Drinking water for the city is provided by the Kerala Water Authority and electricity is provided by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).

Peolple of Cochin

The city of Cochin has a vast variety of communities. People from different parts of the India as well as different parts of world have immigrated to Kochi. As a result of this now Kochi have a lot of communities. this was also one of the main reasons why the city became more popular amoung different parts of the country. These include Malayalis, Konkanis, Gujaratis, Bengalis, Marathis, Punjabis, Tamilians, Biharis and a few families of Jews. This is one of the main reason to attract tourism in cochin.


Tastes of Cochin


Fish Fry

The people of Cochin likes typical Keralite cuisine, which is generally characterised by an abundance of coconut and spices. Other South Indian cuisines, as well as Chinese and North Indian cuisines are popular. Fast food culture is also very prominent. Being a tourist hotspot, Fort Kochi have a number of restaurants that offer international cuisine, like Italian, French, Mexican etc. Being close to the ocean and the backwaters, Kochi has an abundance of seafood, which reflects in the cuisine. "Nadan food" adds taste to the food of Cochin. "Nadan Food" is a group of traditional cuisines which include fish items, traditional break fast items like "Appam" "Dosa" "Poott" "Kappa"(Tappioca) etc which the people of Cochin will never avoid. Hotels supllying these traditional food are often called as "Nadan Tahtt Kada". A service known as You Buy, We Cook is available at the waterfront of Fort Kochi, where the fresh seafood purchased from the nets is cooked as per the customers needs. Arabian food joints that serve Shawarma and roasted chicken are a new addition to the fast food scene in the city.



Traditional food of Cochin




Style of Cochin

The traditional clothing of people of Cochin "Mundu" for men and "Saree" for women.
Traditional wear



Modern trends









People of cochin are showing a great trend in western dressing style with the most number Branded dress showrooms in cochin. All the major brands have their showrooms in the heart of the city.With the arrival of huge shopping malls and shopping centres in the city the style has now changed. In Cochin, all the major clothing brands are having their showrooms making it easy for the people of Cochin to exhibit their clothing trends.









The Industrial Capital Of Kerala

Cochin is known to be the commercial capital of Kerala. From ancient time itself Cochin has been a very important trading centre on the west coast of India, paving way for trade with the Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and British. Today, Cochin is a booming industrial centre with industries ranging from ship building to IT and petrochemical refining to spice trading.




There has been a significant growth for the city since 2000. After 2000 growth of the city was very rapid and amazing. Cochin is one of the best places in kerala to run successful business. Understatnding the potential of the city a lot business groups and business personals have started thier business and planing big projects in future. In order to support this the government of Kerala have also started planning for the infrastructure development of the city because development always starts from good infrastructure facilities. A city growing so fast, will need a good system of infrastructre like transportation, housing, electricity, education and various other factors.

The factors that made Kochi the industrial capital of Kerala:


  • Info Park
  • Cochon Special economic zone kakkanad
  • Vallarpadam Container Terminal
  • Industrial Estate Kalmassery
  • Industrial estate Eloor
  • Civil Station Kakkanad
  • Cochin Internation Airport Nedumbassery
  • Jawaharlal Nehru International Statdium Kaloor
  • Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT)
  • Cochin Shipyard
  • Southern Naval Office


Upcoming projects for Kochi

  • Kochi Metro
  • Smart City Kochi
  • Lulu International Shopping Mall (India's Largest Shoppping Mall)
  • High Speed Trains
  

The city of Cochin is has witnessed significant growth in its infrastructure facilities. Understatanding its potential Government is concentrating on introducing new and modern techniques to improve its facilities.


A picture dipicting the upcoming infrastructure plans:



Upcoming facilities in Kochi

Lulu International Shopping Mall
















Marine Drive Cochin







Transportation facilities for Cochin






JnNurm Low floor A/C bus

Shopping at Cochin