Yogesh Avasthi

Angry Reliance petrol pump owners who have been outpriced by public sector petroleum companies lay siege to RIL’s Paldi office, demanding the company return the money they have invested By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, May 27, 2010  ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010052720100527041038457b546a73d ) Around 100 petrol pump dealers barged into Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) office at Vraj building near Parimal crossing around 2 pm on Wednesday, demanding refund of their investments. Claiming losses worth millions of rupees over the past four years because of the company’s decision to shut many of its retail fuel outlets in view of the variation between its prices and those of government-owned companies, the dealers were at the RIL office till late Wednesday night. They did not budge despite attempts by the police, and threatened to stage a dharna right inside the RIL office with their families if they were

These will become SFIs and be affiliated to Ahmedabad University next year after salaries and post-retirement benefits are decided By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, May 27, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100527201005270407323674e6c507f ) The Ahmedabad Education Society (AES) has decided against converting its five grant-in-aid colleges into self-financed colleges this year. They were planning to bring these colleges under AES-promoted Ahmedabad University (AU). Now that is likely to happen next year as AES wants to first resolve issues raised by the teaching and non-teaching staff of these grant-in-aid colleges. The five colleges in question — L D College of Arts, H L College of Commerce, M G Science College, L M Pharmacy and A G Teachers’ College — are currently affiliated to Gujarat University. The colleges have been opposing AES’s decision to convert them into SFIs and affiliate them to AU. One of

3,000 apprentice jobs at Nano plant in Sanand for students who clear class XII By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, May 26, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010052620100526042645886405b1934 ) Students in the city seeking to gain work experience before joining college can now hitch a lift from the People’s Car. Tata Motors has “rolled out” an opportunity for class XII pass-outs to work at its Nano plant in Sanand as trainees. The company is expected to start manufacturing Nanos from the Sanand unit next month and it is looking for more than 3,000 trainees and 1,000 fresh recruits. For trainees, it has narrowed down its search to Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Sanand and adjoining areas. All those who took HSC science and commerce examinations this year or cleared them with at least 40 per cent marks in 2009 will be eligible for the three-year training programme. However, the ride to the 1,100-acre Nano plant won’t

The research survey can be helpful for HR during recruitments By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, May 26, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010052620100526042238498ac32a586 ) A study carried out among employees of some firms in Ahmedabad states that companies and turn non-accountable employees into productive personnel. Arti Trivedi, a Ph D student of CU Shah Arts College has conducted a survey which acts as an indicator of the percentage of accountable employees in a company. ‘Individual Personality Factors as Predictor of Accountability Behaviour — A Counselling Based Model to Modify Non-Accountability Behaviour of Employee’ also studies the relationship between individual personality and accountability. Arti Trivedi chose organisations in Ahmedabad for the detailed research which concluded with counselling of under-performing or non-accountable employees. The research, Trivedi says, is first of its kind

NEW FEATURES ♦ Centralised air-conditioning ♦ Gilded sanctum sanctorum ♦ Walls and ceiling made of Makrana marble ♦ 54 new idols of the goddess ♦ LCD screens beaming live aarti ♦ CCTV cameras By Yogesh Avasthi and Mehul Jani Posted On Saturday, May 22, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100522201005220313023118452bc68 ) The ceiling of the sanctum sanctorum will be restructured with marble. The walls of the altar (where the goddess is consecrated) will be covered in gold. A gold kalash will be placed on top of the altar The Bhadrakali temple at Lal Darwaza, one of the most popular temples in the city, is undergoing a makeover to beat all makeovers. Believed to be as old as Ahmedabad itself, it was renovated twice — in 1895 and 1936. This year, the temple will receive the most modern facelift, complete with LCD screens beaming live aarti, CCTV cameras and centralised AC. Work is on in full swing at the temple fr

There are enough seats for Class XII science stream passouts to pursue professional courses By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, May 21, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=201005212010052103074783952ccdcd8 ) The Class XII science stream passouts of Gujarat State Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board this year are a fortunate lot. They won’t have to go miles away from home to pursue their career goals, thanks to ample seats in professional courses in the state. Total 68,147 students of science stream passed out this year. They can choose from 52,000 seats in the institutions offering medical, paramedical, engineering and pharmacy courses in the state. Considering a few would opt for general stream and some would fail to clear Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET), there would be ample options for the passouts eligible to pursue professional courses. Education Minister Raman Vora said: “The Plus Two science

24 students from state merit list don’t figure in GUJCET merit list By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, May 21, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010052120100521030745605db4d96e8 ) The disparity between the state merit list and GUJCET merit list cannot be missed. The irony is that both HSC science exams and GUJCET exams are conducted by the state board. The inconsistency in results, however, put a question mark on the quality of science education in the state. There are 32 students cluttering the state’s top 10 list that takes into account not only the scores in science subjects but in other papers as well. And there are 58 lined up in the top 10 positions in the GUJCET list that test a student’s aptitude in science subjects. Still, only eight from the state list figure in the GUJCET list. Worse, only 16 of the 32 in the state merit list for overall performance figure in the state merit list for science subject

The centres, to come up at select schools this year, will conduct classes for external students and provide them study material By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, May 20, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100520201005200317052510c21aa7 ) Here’s good news for teenagers who are not enrolled in schools, but plan to appear for the state board exams next year. The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board will soon be setting up study centres for its external students at select schools in the state. The GHSHEB is opening a Gujarat Open School wing for this purpose. The centres, to cater to students appearing for class 10 and 12 board exams, are likely to start this year itself, sources said. Students need to register at these study centres by paying a nominal amount as registration fee, sources said. These centres will provide the external students with board exam preparation guide, books and require

Fake fractures scam accused Pravin Kotak denies being taken to Crime Branch office for questioning; cops insist he was there By Yogesh Avasthi, Zahid Qureshi and Vijay Zala Posted On Saturday, May 15, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=20100515201005150322331305a752b04 ) On Friday afternoon, the city was abuzz with news of Pravin Kotak, prime accused in the fake fractures, dummy writers scam, being bundled into a police vehicle and taken from his posh Satyagrah Chhavni residence all the way to the Crime Branch office in Gaekwad ni Haveli, Jamalpur. Throughout the day, Kotak, one of the city’s biggest builders, tried his best to remain incommunicado. But when AM finally caught up with him, he was at his nonchalant best and denied the whole thing. “Who says I was taken to the Crime Branch office? It’s all rubbish. In fact, the cops had come to my residence to record my statement, which I had no problem giving. I

Raipur resident would call up railway officials in name of MPs and get tickets confirmed By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, May 13, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100513201005130225482128e3cca79 ) Business ‘acumen’ of an agent has left Western railway officials stunned. For the last four months, the ‘smart’ agent has been befooling railway officials in name of former and current members of Parliament Shankersinh Vaghela, Ramsinh Rathwa and Soma Patel to get his clients’ tickets confirm. It was a few days ago that a commercial officer of Ahmedabad Railway Division detected his fraud. A careful watch on fake calls traced them to the mobile phone of Raipur resident C J Modi. A complaint was lodged against Modi wth Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police. Sources said Modi’s calls caught the attention of the railway official when he started calling in name of Vaghela frequently. After a constan

Rly’s Vatva unit to transform 200 run-down goods carriages; 10 ready to chug into service tomorrow By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, May 12, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010051220100512032649597811e662b ) Goods wagons are getting a new look and a stronger body at Western Railway’s Vatva maintenance unit. Despite not being technically equipped for the work, the unit has successfully overhauled 10 wagons which will roll into service on Thursday. At the unit, old, used wagons are being transformed into stainless steel-bodied ones that are tougher, lighter and roomier and cost-effective. The Vatva unit will ‘body sculpt’ 200 such BOXN wagons in a year beginning this month; 200 more are being worked upon at the Godhra workshop. The unit will upgrade these wagons at a total cost of Rs 20 crore (Rs 1.25 lakh for each wagon). Good wagons are generally built to last 35 years. However, these wagons with mild stee

Learning from last year, ACPC has added a host of convenience features for students and colleges to avoid confusion, goof-ups By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, May 08, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100508201005080230051364f8a8322 ) Online admissions for diploma and degree engineering and pharmacy courses begin on May 20. After introducing a host of convenience features and checklists to the online admission procedure, the Admission Commitee for Professional Courses (ACPC) is keeping its fingers crossed hoping that all goes well unlike last year. The year 2009, when the online procedure was introduced, saw confusion and goof-ups from students and colleges alike due to lack on information about the process. Complaints of irregularities and cancelled admissions were just a few among a host of problems faced. Whose responsibility ? At a committee meeting on Wednesday, college principals have been handed th

Till now, flatbed wagons were sent to Tughlakabad. Servicing would take months, causing shortage of wagons to ferry goods across state By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, May 05, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100505201005050323249082c582159 ) To cut down on maintenance time and ensure that more railway wagons remain on track, a wagon care centre in Sabarmati will be inaugurated on May 6. Currently, bogie low containers (BLC) wagons are sent to Tughlakabad near Delhi for maintenance. “Each wagon can carry 43 containers in each rack. If the wagons are sent to Delhi, it comes back after two or two-and-a-half months. This creates shortage of wagons which affects business in the state,” said a railway official. The wagons are used to transport anything from salt to oil, from cement to minerals. Ports and major industries in the state depend on the wagons to transport goods. Due to shortage of wagons, many tur

Eight-member expert committee is poring over 12,000 questionnaire replies to know preferences and design inclusive curriculum By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, May 05, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100505201005050323018777bffb4cf ) The children’s university in Gandhinagar is close to its first step, that of knowing what children want. The university’s expert committee members are currently poring over, scrutinising and sorting 12,000 questionnaires filled in by students themselves. A study of these questionnaires will reveal the preferences of children and how hobbies and other activities can be incorporated into the university curriculum. The university, the first of its kind in the country, wants to be prepared for the future. The questionnaires were distributed with Shikshan Parikshan magazine of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board to schools about four months ago, requesting a

A survey by two educationists on how personality impacts career choices concludes that students remain tense and don’t choose less-paying careers; and of course, that girls are more intelligent By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, May 04, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100504201005040253184652c92a68 ) Who’s better? Girls or boys? Urban kids or rural children? What is the deciding factor when it comes to choosing a career? How different is a student’s body language from his actual personality? The study ‘Personality and Its Impact On Career Choices at Higher Secondary Level’ by AG High School principal Dr Nirav Thakkar and Baal Prasun School’s educational director Nandan Pandya tries to find out all this and much more. The study has compared girls with boys; urban wit rural students and Science students with Commerce counterparts. Among several conclusions the survey, among 625 students in seven schools in Ah

220 self-financed colleges also decide to propose own fee structure ranging from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, May 03, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010050320100503025528300d988db4f ) In a landmark decision that will send shock waves through the student community, self-financed colleges in Gujarat plan not to refund the fees of students who change their branch or college. This decision was taken at a meeting of representatives of associations covering 220 SFIs held at GLS auditorium on Sunday. The state government has to ratify the decision. Moreover, the colleges are going to propose their own fee structure which will range from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh per year. “Unless we charge such fees we will be unable to pay our faculty and staff salaries as per the Sixth Pay Commission,” said Sudhir Nanavati, managing director of the GLS group. So far, fees have been fixed by a government