Carry your ID proof on board: Rly mandate

According to a new norm which is set to come into effect from Feb 15, passengers

Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, January 18, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2012011820120118024255326b5f46e4d/Carry-your-ID-proof-on-board-Rly-mandate.html)
If you have a train journey on the cards after February 14, don’t forget to take your ID proof along with your tickets. Because if you fail to furnish the ID proof, according to the railway’s new norm, you will be held guilty of travelling without ticket and will be penalised. Set to come into force from February 15, the newly introduced rule will be initially applicable to people travelling in AC and executive classes.
“Earlier, the condition was applicable to passengers who book their tickets through internet or under Tatkal scheme. But now it is mandatory for AC and executive class travellers to keep their ID proof on board. The move is aimed at checking the practice of journey on transferred tickets,” said Sanjay Manocha, deputy director traffic commercial (G)-II Railway Board. In case of group bookings, ID proof of any passenger of the group will be considered valid during the check.
“Genuine passengers will reap the benefit of this rule because it will check tout’s practice of booking tickets in bulk,” Rakesh Behal, Divisional railway manager.
According to senior railway officials, agents always buy tickets in bulk under fictitious common names which are sold to people on higher prices later on. “Common people have been suffering due to this unfair and illegal practice. They stand in queue but do not get reservation as most tickets are bought by agents within minutes the ticket windows are open,” said a senior railway official.
“Passengers travelling in sleeper classes will also be brought under this norm soon,” said the official.
Your ID proof can be...
Any of the followings can be furnished as identity proof during the journey.
1. Voters’ ID card
2. passport
3. PAN card
4. Driving licence
5. Central/State govt’s ID card with serial number
6. Students’ ID card with photograph issued by recognised university or school
7. Nationalised Bank’s passbook with photograph
8. Credit cards with laminated photograph
9. Unique Identification Card “Aadhar”

Passengers wash dirty linen in open

Travellers of Duronto make a hue and cry over supply of unclean, unironed bedsheets and pillows; train stopped thrice as passengers, attendants fight; rlys orders inquiry
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, January 17, 2012 (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOINEW/navigator.asp?Daily=AMIR&showST=true&login=default&pub=MM&AW=1326900408469)

Anon-stop train from Ahmedabad to Mumbai became a moving spectacle after passengers clashed with attendants over dirty linen.
The incident happened on the Duronto train that left Ahmedabad railway station on Sunday night. Duronto runs thrice-a-week (on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday). It leaves the city at 11.45 pm and reaches Mumbai at 6.15 am. According to a passenger, by the time the train reached Nadiad, people started making their beds. As the attendants started distributing the bedsheets, the pillows and covers, napkins and water bottles, the murmurs of discontent began. Soon the noises became loud and clear as more and more people started complaining about the wet, unclean and unironed bedsheets.
The tension had clearly picked up momentum soon after the train passed Vadodara station. The verbal fight turned intense when someone pulled the chain and the train came to an abrupt halt. After abuses flew thick and fast, the Railway Protection Force had to intervene and the train restarted.
However, things worsened as the train neared Bharuch station, when attendants alleged some passengers had thrown linen out of the train. This resulted in another stoppage.
At this point, the attendants set out to lodge a complaint alleging the passengers threatened to throw them out of the moving train.
The passengers countered by stating that the attendants misbehaved with the female passengers. After the Government Railway Police brought about a compromise, the train again chugged off.
The third chain-pulling happened at Surat, where all the attendants, numbering eight, left the train.

PASSENGER WOES
Swati Soni, one of the passengers who lives near VT in Mumbai, said, “The bedsheets were stinking and wet, pillows were without covers, while napkins were not provided. Even the water bottles were of local make.”
Soni complained that of the 64 passengers in her compartment, only 20 were provided with napkins. “The attendants also misbehaved,” she said.
Vishang Deri, another resident of Mumbai, was equally vociferous in his complaint, “The pillow was without a cover and it stinked like hell, making it impossible to sleep on it. The water bottle also did not have the ISI mark.”
Deri was dead sure the attendants had pulled the chain at Bharuch and Surat to stop the train.
Amid the allegations and counter allegations, Divisional Railway Manager Rakesh Bahel assured Mirror, “We’ve intitiated a probe into the entire incident. The contractor has given us his version. He said the bedsheets were not dirty, but passengers had soiled it themselves and the water provided has been recognised by Western Railway.”
The attendants also told the DRM that some passengers had threatened to throw them from the moving train, hence they alighted at Surat station.
Additional Divisonal Railway Manager Yagnik has been entrusted with the responsibility of probing the incident.
Regarding the wet sheets, Bahel said, “Mechanised cleaning is used for the bedsheets, which automatically washes, irons and folds the sheets. However, when the numbers are large, they are ironed manually. Since the laundry person sprinkles water on the clothes, the moisture is retained due to the cold weather.”

DEFENCE VERSION
In his defence, Bhupeshbhai, owner of Cap-a-Pie laundry, which cleans the railway linen, said, “We changed some bedsheets that were dirty. However, some passengers who were drunk created a ruckus.”
When asked if they don’t check the dirty laundry, he said, “Since it is festival season, some linen might not have been checked.”
According to a top official in Western Railway, “Responsibility will fixed at the official level and strict action will be taken against those found guilty.”
Railway officials admit that despite having hired 12 to 15 officers and supervisors to check the quality and supply of linen in all AC coaches in long-distance trains, the problem prevails.
Under the Right To Information (RTI), Mirror had found that in 2010-11 railways had received 261 complaints of dirty linen being supplied to passengers; 279 complaints were registered in 2009-10. Railways had imposed a penalty of around Rs 30 lakh on the contractor who was supplying the linen.

Kolaveri gets chemistry right

Anand Niketan children re-write lyrics, setting 30 elements of chemistry to the hit song

Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, January 16, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2012011620120116013036890c9bbf7e2/Kolaveri--gets-chemistry-right.html)

                                          Madhav Joshi, Vrajesh Parikh and Hrushikesh Shah
A Shilaj school has come up with a foot-tapping way of keeping students interested in science. As Kolaveri Di busts charts everywhere, students of Anand Niketan have tweaked its lyrics to include the 30 elements of chemistry.
Said Class 8 student Madhav Joshi, “Seven students and teachers were going to a function in Gandhinagar when our jeep driver turned on the Kolaveri song. Its catchy tune caught our attention and we churned out some chemistry-inspired lines in an impromptu jam session. We realised we could develop the song to help students memorise the chemistry elements. It took us 2-3 days to set names of the elements to the music.”
Class 8 student Hrushikesh Shah said, “The song looks silly but is effective in helping students memorise the names. We temporarily recorded it in school but plan to bring out a professional version. We have also prepared a video which we will upload on YouTube so students from other schools can use it.” Vice Principal and chemistry teacher Vrajesh Parikh said, “We are looking at other songs for other scientific processes. We will clear the basics so that the student will remember it even after he enters IIT.”
Yo guys, the tweaked song
Why this chemistry, always interesting,
Why this chemistry, always amazing, Am I correct
Why this chemistry, always interesting, elements please.
Why this chemistry me elements....
sulphur, chlorine, argon, potassium;
calcium, scandium, titanium, vanadium,
chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt,
nickel, copper, zinc; elements, elements, 30elements
my future bright....

School shows way to honest GenNext

A Bodakdev school wants to create a system whereby students of classes 6 to 8 take exams without the presence of a teacher in class

Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, January 10, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/20120110201201100242353429efb4d2f/School-shows-way-to-honest-GenNext.html)
Inspired by Anna Hazare’s slogan, “If you want to end corruption, it should begin with you”, a city school has initiated steps to inculcate honesty among its students. Prakash School in Bodakdev has set in motion a novel idea, which if it clicks can set an example for other schools to follow suit.
As part of their pilot project, the school management wants to introduce a system whereby students take the school examinations without the presence of a teacher in class. The school, which follows the CBSE pattern, wants to introduce this system for classes 6 to 8 from the new academic year.
Teachers will take a roll call of the students appearing for the examination and after distributing the question papers will leave the class. After the time duration is over, they will collect the answer sheets.
The purpose of the entire exercise is to make the students feel responsible and not cheat.
The school has no closed circuit television cameras in the classes, though they have cameras on the premises.
To discuss this issue threadbare and invite suggestions, the school will hold an open discussion with parents on Saturday and Sunday. “Their suggestions will be taken into account and an action plan will be initiated,” one of the brains behind this unique initiative said.
The action plan is expected to be put in place before March. In April, before the new academic year starts, parents will be informed about this venture.
Some of the teachers in the school want to take this one step ahead. They are of the view that children themselves should set the paper, though this is just an idea at the moment.
They say that there will be problems, some students might cheat, but if a majority of students are honest, the others will be forced to mend their ways. In the long run an environment of honesty will prevail.
A teacher who did not wished to be named said, “We believe in our students and have full faith in them that they will not break the trust reposed on them. We need support from the parents. We are hopeful that we will be able to explain to them our sincere endeavour and convince them.”
A school trustee said, “We hope to start this project on an experimental basis from June 2012. We want to take the parents along in this entire effort. In a small way we want to begin this and if we are successful, we will take it forward.”
A parent who is looking forward to this meeting, but does not want to be named, said, “I feel this will remove the fear of examinations among students. If other schools also take this up, we can create a system whereby we create a honest generation next.”
Another parent said, “Since childhood we create fear among children that if he/she does any wrong, we will call the police. We should stop this policing and create self-disciplined students who have integrity. This will create a strong and non-corrupt society.”
Inspired by Anna Hazare’s slogan, “If you want to end corruption, it should begin with you”, a city school has initiated steps to inculcate honesty among its students. Prakash School in Bodakdev has set in motion a novel idea, which if it clicks can set an example for other schools to follow suit.
As part of their pilot project, the school management wants to introduce a system whereby students take the school examinations without the presence of a teacher in class. The school, which follows the CBSE pattern, wants to introduce this system for classes 6 to 8 from the new academic year.
Teachers will take a roll call of the students appearing for the examination and after distributing the question papers will leave the class. After the time duration is over, they will collect the answer sheets.
The purpose of the entire exercise is to make the students feel responsible and not cheat.
The school has no closed circuit television cameras in the classes, though they have cameras on the premises.
To discuss this issue threadbare and invite suggestions, the school will hold an open discussion with parents on Saturday and Sunday. “Their suggestions will be taken into account and an action plan will be initiated,” one of the brains behind this unique initiative said.
The action plan is expected to be put in place before March. In April, before the new academic year starts, parents will be informed about this venture.
Some of the teachers in the school want to take this one step ahead. They are of the view that children themselves should set the paper, though this is just an idea at the moment.
They say that there will be problems, some students might cheat, but if a majority of students are honest, the others will be forced to mend their ways. In the long run an environment of honesty will prevail.
A teacher who did not wished to be named said, “We believe in our students and have full faith in them that they will not break the trust reposed on them. We need support from the parents. We are hopeful that we will be able to explain to them our sincere endeavour and convince them.”
A school trustee said, “We hope to start this project on an experimental basis from June 2012. We want to take the parents along in this entire effort. In a small way we want to begin this and if we are successful, we will take it forward.”
A parent who is looking forward to this meeting, but does not want to be named, said, “I feel this will remove the fear of examinations among students. If other schools also take this up, we can create a system whereby we create a honest generation next.”
Another parent said, “Since childhood we create fear among children that if he/she does any wrong, we will call the police. We should stop this policing and create self-disciplined students who have integrity. This will create a strong and non-corrupt society.”

GTU to conduct energy, pollution audit in state

Third year students of the varsity will conduct the audit for small units and suggest changes for optimum utilisation of energy as part of their academic project

Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, January 09, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20120109201201090133154844ebd6140/GTU-to-conduct-energy-pollution-audit-in-state.html)
Students of colleges affiliated to Gujarat Technological University will conduct energy and pollution audit for small industries of the state as part of their academic project. The third year students from all branches of engineering, will work on Saturdays and Sundays, auditing and giving these industries alternatives to make optimum utilisation of energy and minimise pollution.
GTU Vice Chancellor Akshai Aggarwal said, “Most of the small scale industries are not aware of the scarcity of energy. Neither are they aware of how a few small changes can help them in cutting down the consumption of energy and also help them financially. Our students will conduct this audit as part of their academic project. This will give them the exposure and experience.”
The students will measure energy consumption by the small units and also the level of pollution they cause in the environment. “After collecting the data, students will analyse it in the laboratories built for this purpose. They will then suggest ways and changes, by which these units can make optimum utilisation of the resources,” added Aggarwal. GTU has divided the state in five zones and will build a lab in each of these zones.
According to the vice chancellor, the small units will benefit from this project, while the students will get the benefit of having some on-field experience. “Most of the small scale units are hard-pressed for money. This audit will help them saving money,” Aggarwal said.
Recently, some colleges of Vallabh Vidhyanagar in Anand conducted a similar audit of industries in the district and suggested changes. This had helped the industries to save Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 every year.
A training session has been organised by the varsity at Baroda and Vallabh Vidhyanagar on January 28 so that teachers and students get acquainted with the methods that will be used for the audit.
The university is also planning to collaborate with agencies like the Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) and Gujarat Pollution Board so that the students can avail the benefits of the hi-tech equipment. “It will be mutually beneficial as the data collected by the students will help these agencies to make better environment and energy policies. It will save the agency money and man-power. Also students will benefit from working with them,” said Aggarwal.

GTU students shown answer sheets under RTI

After two months of waiting ten students of GTU, who had applied under RTI, were invited to view the answer sheets they had requested for

Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Thursday, January 05, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20120105201201050223092647d8736e7/GTU-students-shown-answer-sheets-under-RTI.html
Finally, Gujarat Technological University has taken the necessary steps to make answer sheets available to the students. Ten students, who had appealed under Right to Information Act, were called by the university to check their answer sheets on Wednesday.
Five of the students were of Bachelor of Engineering, one of Diploma Engineering, two of MBA and two students of Bachelor of Pharmacy. Overall, the university had to distribute 15 answer sheets among these students.
A GTU source said, “Ten students had applied to see their answer sheets between September and October under RTI Act. But, we had declined the offer at that time. The applicants appealed and following the supreme court order, we sent out letters for them to be present on Wednesday. We had opted for the open method system were they could check their original answer sheets.”
The students and parents were pleased by GTU’s move. One of the parents Rohit Desai said, “Often due to small mistakes by evaluators, the career path of the student changes entirely. This system could ensure that evaluators remain alert while grading. If they grade unfairly, they would be caught eventually.”
Saloni Dhawal, one of the students present on Wednesday, said, “I thought I had written the exam well but I ended up scoring very low. I wanted to know if I had made mistakes or the evaluator had. I am glad I can spot the mistakes and learn from them.”
Vice Chancellor Akshai Aggarwal said, “This facility is great for both the students and faculty. But the problem is that it requires manpower to stay active. For universities that have lakhs of students, this system is difficult to implement. For universities with few students, the system can be put into practice easily. The number of students applying is bound to increase as awareness of the system grows.”

Setbacks
Sources in GTU said, “The university has a student body of more than 5 lakh students. If even a mere 5 per cent of the students applied for the system, the time needed to retrieve their papers will be phenomenal. A multi-storeyed building and an extensive number of people will be needed to run the system in the future years.”

SC ruled pro RTI
The Supreme Court ruled in August that students unhappy with their examination scores — class X and XII, entrance exam for professional courses as well as job recruitment tests — can take a look at their answer-sheets by moving an application under the Right to Information Act. So far, only re-tabulation of marks was possible. Now, the court has provided for re-evaluation of answersheets, which will factor in whether the examiner missed out on awarding marks for some answers.

GU rap for docs helping wards in exams

Vice Chancellor Parimal Trivedi promises to crack down on doctors helping their children in medical examinations to ensure ‘free and fair’ results

Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, January 03, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20120103201201030200245933d13db76/GU-rap-for-docs-helping-wards-in-exams.html)
It is finally out in the open. Gujarat University Vice Chancellor Parimal Trivedi has admitted there are indeed some doctors and parents who try to help out their children and wards in their medical examinations and that it is a challenge for the varsity to ensure “free and fair” examinations for medical and dental courses.
Parimal Trivedi on Monday said Gujarat University has now taken special steps to check this menace. As many as 1,500 students are appearing for the MBBS, dental and super specialisation examinations this year.
Malpractices have been reported in the practical examinations in the past, which the vice chancellor said are being closely monitored. There have been allegations of some examiners favouring a select few by posing easy questions in the viva voce while targeting others. This will be strictly dealt with, Trivedi said.
In the past there have been rampant allegations that an active syndicate member of Gujarat University ran an ‘organised’ racket to ‘help’ children of some prominent doctors appearing for the medical examinations.
The member is also alleged to have ensured that only selected examiners were given duty to conduct the viva voce. An oral complaint was even reportedly made to the then education minister.
A case even reached the high court. In May last year, Gujarat High Court had ruled in favour of Manoj Bansal who had topped the super speciality course of DM cardiology in 2009 but was denied the gold medal by Gujarat University, that refused to award him the medal because he had passed at second attempt. A division bench concluded that “number of attempts was not a constraint at all” in awarding the medal. The bench sent the issue back to the vice chancellor and registrar for reconsideration.

No cellphones for examiners
While students have been barred from taking mobile phones in the examination hall, examiners, too, have now been barred from carrying cellphones. Observers will be the custodian of all the mobile phones.
The vice-chancellor has also set up a three-member committee to look into complaints of students indulging in wrong practices to get more marks. Students using different coloured pens, making signs of swastika or Om in the paper, using coloured staples or coloured threads to tie the papers to differentiate their answer paper from the others will be strictly dealt with, Trivedi said. The panel will scrutinise these papers, and if any student is found to have indulged in any illegal activity, he/she will be barred from appearing in the examinations for two years, he said.
The university will also increase flying squads to keep an eye on any wrongdoing. “We will also analyse the results to check if a particular centre has got unusually high marks and another centre has got comparatively low marks,” Trivedi said.