Yogesh Avasthi

Answersheets of engg, pharmacy students lie in a shambles on staircase of APM Mall near Sattadhar crossroads By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, July 30, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100730201007300236129274a1429cc ) Bundles of checked answer papers of Gujarat Technological University dumped on the staircase of a city mall is metaphorical of the importance given to education in the state. It is ironical that GTU, that can be credited with a foolproof system to make online GCET exams a success, had no check in place to prevent such a grave error. On Thursday, curious visitors at APM Mall near Sattadhar crossroads were seen turning the packets lined up on the stairs to see what they contained. Those who found out these were corrected answer papers of engineering and pharmacy exams called up their friends and acquaintances and informed them about it. The packet covers bore details like the name of the examine...

More than 50% of seats in most arts colleges in the city are vacant as fewer students are opting for the stream By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, July 29, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=201007292010072902560119e99ed781 ) After science, arts is losing favour among students. According to an estimate, more than 50 per cent of seats in most arts colleges in the city are vacant. Even leading colleges are struggling to draw students to various under-graduate and post-graduate courses, especially the ones related to languages. Academicians say interest in arts among students is waning because the number of professional courses has increased. They also say that job opportunities in the field are few and far between and this is proving to be a major turn-off for those considering to take up arts. Arts colleges fear that the situation may worsen in the next two to three years unless efforts are made to attract stud...

GTU plans to introduce a monthly exam system for engineering, pharmacy, MBA and MCA students By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, July 28, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010072820100728034718487ed4a2a61 ) The Gujarat Technological University (GTU), which introduced an online GCET for MBA and MCA aspirants last year, is now preparing for another major step. The varsity intends to conduct monthly online tests for students of engineering, pharmacy, MBA and MCA colleges. GTU V-C Akshai Aggarwal told Mirror that the tests, which will contain multiple-choice questions, would be introduced in 2011. The move, he said, would enable colleges to shift from one-time assessment model to continuous and credit-based assessment model. "Students stand to gain the most as they will be able to track their progress every month,” he said. Like in online version of GCET, students of engineering, pharmacy, MBA and MCA co...

By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, July 27, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010072720100727030302621f3b64f06 ) The Ahmedabad Divisional Railway office in Amdupura has bagged the honour of being the “best energy efficient” building in a hot and dry region. The building got a five star rating on a 1-5 scale for being the most efficient by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Ministry of Power. The DRM office building, spanning 13,377 sq m, consumed just 10,42,923 units this year — 20 per cent less than consumption recorded the previous year. The commercial load was 704 KW on the building which has 55 per cent air-conditioning. The programme to rate buildings was started by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in 2009 to create a demand for “energy-efficient public buildings in terms of specific energy usage and the rating was done on a scale of 1-5 with five star being the best”. Lighting the way Seni...

This year students who want to upgrade their admission will have to fill in a form to be considered for reshuffling process. They also lose the seat alloted to them earlier, once the process begins By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, July 22, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100722201007220241559331f55854d ) The first allotment list for engineering and pharmacy courses will be declared today by Admission Committee for Professional Courses (Technical). This year, the reshuffling process will be different from what it has been in all these years. Only those students who formally apply for reshuffling will be considered for the second allotment list. Earlier, reshuffling used to take place automatically depending on the number of seats left vacant after declaration of first allotment list. So the names of even those students who had taken admission elsewhere would keep figuring in the lists declared after reshu...

Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Board has divided curriculum into two parts; the first semester portion won’t be repeated in second term exams By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, July 21, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100721201007210301299167ec936d5 ) Sixty schools of Ahmedabad district have begun implementation of semester system on trial basis in their class 9, as was recommended by Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB). The GSHSEB had decided on introduction of semester system in class 9 and 10 and in the science stream in class 11 and 12 at a meeting held on July 4. Accordingly, it was introduced in class 9 in 60 schools including CN Vidyalaya, Vidyanagar School, Usmanpura, Sharda School, Sola, Lotus School and Chipa Welfare, Jamalpur. The semester system involves dividing the syllabus into two parts. Students will only have to prepare for one semester at a time. The ...

AICTE approves 2nd shift in four B Pharm colleges in the state, PCI says it won’t register 2nd-shift students as pharmacists By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, July 19, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010071920100719005303107436e862c ) A policy clash between All India Institute of Technical Education (AICTE) and Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) could land students in a soup, particularly if they are not reading this. While AICTE recently granted four state colleges permission to start second shift for BPharm course from 2010 onwards, the PCI has refused to register as pharmacists those enrolling in the second shifts. The AICTE had introduced a new concept of second shift classes wherein institutes with more than six years of operations can offer under-graduate and post-graduate programmes in engineering, management and pharmacy to additional students. The second shift classes, AICTE said, can run at timings ...

The petrol pump owners have sent a letter to the company for refund of their money and to get the infrastructure built on the land dismantled By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, July 16, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010071620100716032059370eede63a5 ) Around 75 petrol pump dealers, who were attached to Reliance Industries Limited, have sent a letter to RIL seeking return of their deposit money. Asking for a clean exit policy, almost half of the 160 members of the Gujarat Reliance Petrol Pump Dealers Association have sought return of their money and decided not to do any more business with RIL. The association’s secretary Amreesh Choksi said, “We have 160 members in our association. Of these, 75 dealers have asked for a clean exit policy seeking the refund of their deposit. In the letter to RIL, we have also referred to our talks with Parimal Nathwani. We had told him of our decision to exit from the deal. Ac...

Nirman schools reschedule timetable so children have to study just 3 or 4 subjects a day. Fewer subjects mean lesser weight to carry to school By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, July 15, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=201007152010071502574333825953552 ) Students of Nirman Group of Schools have a load taken off their backs, literally. In a welcome move, the school, which has branches in Panchvati and Vastrapur, has reduced the number of subjects taught each day. Fewer subjects mean fewer books to lug to school. More than 2,500 children study in the two schools. The change has been implemented in all classes from 1 to 12. Students here have to attend eight periods in a day. Till last year, a different subject was taught in each period. Ushering in change, authorities of Nirman School have redrawn the timetables so children have to study just 3 or 4 subjects a day. Students will now carry fewer textbooks, n...

Construction of Parimal rly underpass leaves a 10-foot strip for residents. With vendors and a builder blocking their access to this narrow stretch, people raise voice for connectivity By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, July 12, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010071220100712025016790dcfdca18 ) The area around the under-construction Parimal underpass woke up to sloganeering on Sunday morning. People, living on the side connecting Doctor House to Karnavati Pagarkha Bazaar, had come out on to the streets. Work on the railway underpass had made their life hell. Their walls and balconies had developed cracks. Sludge on the road had led to accidents. To make matters worse, residents now found that the service road linking them to Mahalaxmi Crossroads would soon be closed. Several petitions to Ravi Builders, in charge of the construction, and the AMC went ignored. Finally, on Sunday, over 100 residents of Janki, H...

Over 3 lakh passengers travel each day between Sabarmati and Kalupur railway stations. New track on this 4-km stretch means smoother passage, fewer delays in reaching destination for them By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, July 10, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=201007102010071003010976f867cb5c ) The Western Railway commissioned a new broad gauge on Friday. This brings good news for lakhs of passengers who get stuck between Sabarmati and Kalupur railway stations, waiting for a green signal. The first train to travel along the track was Okha-Guwahati Express which left Kalupur station at 9.15 pm. Several railway officials were present at the commissioning. The four-km stretch from Kalupur to Sabarmati had two broad gauge tracks and one metre gauge track. WR added a broad gauge track for smoother flow of rail traffic. Over 120 trains from Delhi, Rajasthan, Kandla Port and Saurashtra runs along this stretc...

Vice Chancellor Parimal Trivedi has chosen to fortify his office after last week’s ‘attack’ by students. He has installed security grills on ground floor and first floor of GU building By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, July 09, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=20100709201007090317085794f26eaf ) Gujarat University Vice Chancellor Parimal Trivedi has found a new obsession: Security grills. In order to avoid getting ‘grilled’ by student leaders, perhaps, Trivedi is now busy fitting grills at the university building. In less than a week after being ‘attacked’ by ABVP student leaders, the VC has fitted a new security grill at the entrance of the corridor leading to his chamber. This, when there is a grill in place already. Even at the entrance of the university building on the ground floor, a sliding security grill has been installed to prevent protestors from reaching the yellow-coloured grill inside. The yellow...

Devotees who cannot go to old city for security reasons can have a darshan of Lord Jagannath here By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, July 09, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010070920100709031249865e695390b ) As city gears up for its 133rd rathyatra, Sabarmati residents, too, are decking up for their 25th Rathyatra. The neighbourhood has been organising Rathyatra since 1986. “This year, we will be celebrating silver jubilee of Rathyatra in Sabarmati. The route of Jagannath Yatra is considered to be sensitive so many people prefer to stay indoor and get deprived of Lord’s darshan. In 1986, my father Pandit Parshottam Dubey and other people in the locality decided to organise Rathyatra in Sabaramti for the devotees here,” said Om Prakash Dubey, managing trustee of Shree Dharmeshwar Mahadev Vishwa Mandir Trust. What began as a modest yatra 24 years ago has now developed into a mammoth procession. The yatra get...

‘Donation is absolutely voluntary and even my daughter paid the same amount,’ says the principal By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, July 08, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100708201007080332558514eb55ba8 ) scientist with Plasma Research Institute in Gandhinagar has accused LD College of Engineering of forcibly taking from him a “donation” of Rs 20,000 when he was pursuing master’s programme there, a charge the college vehemently denies. According to Nareshchandra Gupta who pursued ME in cryogenics in 2005-7, a lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department asked him to donate money to Golden Jubilee Trust run by the college. “The teacher and his colleagues developed an environment of terror and harassment when I resisted payment... I was forced to pay them Rs 20,000,” Gupta alleged, adding that if a student did not pay the amount or delayed the payment, they would either fail him or award very low ma...

For the safety and security of passengers, 103 cameras will be installed across the Ahmedabad Railway Station premises; authorities adhere to ATS’s suggestions By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, July 07, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100707201007070326199743ee4d2c6 ) Once smitten, the Railways doesn’t want to take any more chances. An early morning blast in the Karnavati Express on platform number 2 in 2004 shook the authorities into installing 17 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras on platforms 1 to 5 of the Ahmedabad Railway Station. However, the situation has drastically changed since then following the serial blasts in the city. Taking into account the constant terror threat, the railway authorities have decided to install more than a hundred CCTV cameras in the entire railway premises in Kalupur. Installation will be completed in five months. Tenders have already been floated for these cameras...

The lone cart meant for ferrying senior citizens and people with disability has been lying unused for three days for want of repair By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, July 06, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010070620100706031525606dd16c886 ) The popular cart service started at the railway station amid fanfare a few weeks back stands suspended as the vehicle conked out three days ago. Senior citizens and physically challenged people to whom the golfcart had come as a big relief are once again put to great inconvenience. According to senior railway officials, the brake of the cart started malfunctioning three days ago following which the service was stopped. “We accept, senior citizens and physically challenged people are suffering because of the suspension of the service. We have ordered immediate repair of the vehicle, but it will take a few days before the service could be resumed. The maintenance persons ...

By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, July 03, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010070320100703020107585ac054bcd ) To root out corruption, avoid partiality in recruitments and ensure that qualified persons get recruited in government and grant-in aid secondary and higher secondary schools, the state government has decided to set up a recruitment board. The state government has given approval for the filling up of around 5,000 vacancies for teachers, principals, clerks and peons in these schools. The Commissioner of Schools will be the Chairman of the recruitment board. District education officers (DEO) will collect data of vacancies in their jurisdiction and send it to the chairman. The board will create a website that will display all the vacancies. And applicants can file their applications for any post online.Vacancies as per the subject, school, area will be put up online, which will make it easier for an app...

Installation of mosaics in the main hall begins; two LCD screens planned for providing rail information By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, June 24, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010062420100624033312140fb2b30f ) The plan of giving the Ahmedabad railway station a facelift has picked up pace, with installation of a mosaic on a wall of the main concourse. The mosaic, one of the three planned by railway authorities, depicts the shaking minarets, Sidi Saiyad Jali and Akshardham. The other two mosaics will depict Mahatma Gandhi and Nal Sarovar. Work on installing aluminum composite panels at the entrance of the concourse is also nearing completion. Interestingly, two LCD screens will come up in the main hall of the station. They will flash a range of information, including details of train arrivals and departures. Each screen will be 1.8 metres tall and 3.6 metres wide. The decision to put up the screens, ...

Gujarat State Primary Teachers Association is forming the cell to end harassment of female members By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, June 24, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010062420100624033305922faa127f1 ) Talking serious note of the Kadi rape incident, the state primary teachers association has decided to form a cell for female teachers, where the teachers will be able to express their problems. The complainant’s identity will not be revealed while investigation is on or even after it is completed. “We deeply regret the Kadi incident. Society treats teachers with respect. But due to a few, the entire community suffers,” said Chandubhai Joshi, president of Gujarat State Primary Teachers Association. “We will form a cell to protect women who face blackmailing and sexual harassment under the pretext of job transfers. This cell will have three women and two men as its members.” The cell will give the com...

Another way for you to keep fit. A specially-designed bench helps you exercise while sitting, stretching or lying down on it, says Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, June 23, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100623201006230349591438ecfaacc ) Visitors to the Parimal Garden are now a fitter lot after specially-designed benches were installed at the park a couple of months ago. This turnabout came after a regular visitor to the garden, Rajnikant Chokshi, thought of a way to keep bench warmers find a way to exercise even while sitting. Chokshi, president of the Jai Shree Ram Seva Trust that provided most of the 12 benches at Parimal Garden, got this special bench designed. The bench is around 7 inches higher than the usual one-and-half-feet high bench, has a handle on one side while the other side is open, plus two footrests attached on both sides. Chokshi says, “Our motto, ‘Pag halao, rog bhagao’ (shake your legs...

Suresh Prajapati, a former train attendant, was caught on a Patan-Mehsana train By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Sunday, June 20, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100620201006200238047631ecf611 ) A man posing as a ticket examiner on a Patan-Mehsana train was arrested on Friday afternoon. Suresh Prajapati, a former train attendant, was arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Mehsana railway station after passengers exposed him. According to railway officials, the train was between Patan and Mehsana when passengers of one of the compartments were asked to produce their tickets by Prajapati, who wanted to illegally extract money from them. After he left the compartment, the real ticket examiner entered. This raised passengers’ suspicion. They enquired with the examiner why tickets were being checked twice. The ticket examiner said that there was no extra checking and that he had just entered the compartme...

More than 150 students turn up at Saurabh School, however, only 45 fit into the criteria By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, June 16, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-% 20City§id=3&contentid=20100616201006160408459727edae615 ) Tata’s first attempt to lap up talented professionals from Gujarat failed to evoke overwhelming response from aspirants. But the scene was different at Saurabh High School in Nava Wadaj on Tuesday. More than 150 job seekers queued up at the school to take the test, held to fill up 4000 vacancies at Tata Motors’ Sanand plant. However, of the 150 candidates, only 45 could fulfill the company’s criteria. Most of the students, who appeared for the test, are class XII pass-out, awaiting engineering admissions to begin in the state. “It will be great if I get selected. You get training and get paid too. Isn’t it exciting?” said Kajal Patel who cleared her class XII board examination this year. She has applied for...