Yogesh Avasthi

In a unique service, a private firm collects waste from homes at a time convenient to residents and offers money in return Yogesh Avasthi, Hemington James Posted On Friday, December 24, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Latest&sectid=2&contentid=201012242010122419471773291576123 ) Garbage: Don’t throw it, sell it. A firm that recycles paper has now started a service wherein it will collect dry waste — used paper, bottles, scrap metal, plastic bags and even clunkers (rusty vehicles) — from your house and offer you cash in return. The company, Kothari Waspap, has introduced 35 vans under the name ‘Wealth Out of Waste’ (WOW) for this purpose. What is more interesting is that unlike pastiwallahs, who come on their own sweet time, these garbage vans will visit your locality or building at a time that is convenient to you. You have to only make a phone call to earn cash from trash. The firm claims this is first of its kind do...

About 65 lakh students are likely to participate in ‘Gujarat Quiz’, winners may walk away with scholarships Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, December 23, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=20101223201012230254202444c8d5547 Schools in the state will get into the quiz mode on December 28 as the Education Department launches its “Gujarat Quiz”. The winners stand to walk away with scholarships and other awards. With the possibility of 65 lakh students from class V to class XII participating in the quiz, it could well be one of the biggest quiz events conducted in the world. The 90-minute-long quiz will be conducted progressively from the class level within schools to state level. Class level test winners will go for school level contest. The winners will then take the district level test to get selected for the state level competition, said District Education Officer R I Patel. A boy and a girl from ea...

Come January, visitors will have to shell out Rs 10 to park two-wheelers and Rs 20 for four-wheelers; the tariff was Rs 3 and Rs 10 earlier Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, December 20, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Latest&sectid=2&contentid=2010122020101220024037563d71a11ff ) Parking charges at Ahmedabad railway station are likely to hit visitors hard with officials considering up to five-fold hike. The move, say the authorities, will deter unauthorised parking and raise the income of the station significantly. To introduce the new charges at the earliest, the commercial department of the railways has already initiated a tender process. Currently, the vehicle owners pay Rs 3 for 12 hours. But once the new rates are implemented, people will have to shell out Rs 15 for 12 hours. The minimum charge for parking for four hours at the station will be Rs 10. The fee for four-wheelers will also see a two-fold increase, fro...

Gujarat University plans to set up School of Sports to be named after Tendulkar who has shown ‘keen interest’ Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, December 17, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Latest&sectid=2&contentid=2010121720101217030549102b332edc0 Sachin Tendulkar, the god of cricket, could be directing a sports academy in the city by next year if things move as Gujarat University has planned. Vice Chancellor Parimal Trivedi has proposed to Tendulkar, whom his peers describe the game’s best ambassador, to head a sports academy that is likely to come up in about 10 months. The academy, to be formally named School of Sports, will bear Tendulkar’s name. The university intends to pay him an honorarium and the institute will function as a self-financed entity. Initial talks have already been conducted and the project is likely to be finalised by next month, Trivedi said. Tendulkar’s initial response has been very positive tho...

Directorate of Technical Education wants 5 pc management quota seats reserved Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, December 16, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Latest&sectid=2&contentid=2010121620101216031943544fec9853 ) There is little to worry if you miss out on writing or decide to skip the common entrance test for admission to professional colleges in the state. You can still get into an engineering or pharmacy college if a proposal of the Directorate of Technical Education is accepted by the state government. Indications are, it will be. The proposal that is likely to be implemented for admissions next year will also come as a breather for most of the self-financed professional colleges that have failed to attract students to their capacity and are suffering a huge financial strain. Said a highly placed official in the directorate, the government is likely to allocate 5 per cent of the seats from those reserved as “m...

Youths turning 18 on January 1 can get enrolled on voters’ list by filling in a form at their colleges Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, December 14, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=20101214201012140313271303183af4e ) The students will have to fill in a form and submit relevant documents to the official concerned at their institute. The institution’s head will attest the forms after checking them (L), GTU has designated an official who will coordinate with the officials concerned in colleges affiliated to it about the forms (R) Students turning 18 can get registered as a voter at their college now. The State Election Commission has asked educational institutes to nominate a staff member who would take the details of such students and coordinate with the collector’s office to ensure students’ inclusion in the electoral roll. The official at the college will be assisted by student volunteers. Tho...

Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, December 11, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Latest&sectid=2&contentid=2010121120101211033529626cd2d70 ) » The fake fractures’ scam, which involved children of influential families, was exposed in 2008 » Since then, every witness, arrested accused and inquiry panel has named former GSHSEB secretary H N Chavda as the mastermind of the scandal. Even courts have denied him bail » Despite such a strong case against this administrator, he has never been punished or arrested » Worse, the crime branch and his own department cannot locate Chavda, who only on Thursday attended his office in Anand to participate in the state govt’s Gunotsav programme Former education board secretary H N Chavda, an accused in the fake fractures’ scam who has been denied anticipatory bail and declared an absconder, attended the government’s Gunotsav programme in Anand district for the second consecutive day on Fr...

The technological university will establish 20 Navsarjan Sankuls where industries can directly approach students for research projects Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, December 11, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=20101211201012110306598464cd28266 ) In a first of its kind of endeavour, Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has come up with a project that will directly link curriculum to the industries and train students according to the industries’ need. The project, Navsarjan Sankul, will promote industry-based research programmes to make students aware of the prevalent technical trends in the industrial sector and will also give impetus to industrial growth. Brainchild of Professor Anil Gupta and GTU think tank, the project proposes 20 Navsarjan Sankul across the state for which the locations have been identified. These premises will bring together colleges, technical institutes and industry ...

Open ATMs help banks cut down on cost of building shelters and paying guards. But how safe are they for you and your money? Yogesh Avasthi and Hemington James Posted On Thursday, December 09, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Latest&sectid=2&contentid=201012092010120920002132cb58dbff ) Unguarded automated teller machines are an open invitation for conmen. And Ahmedabad has not one or two, but at least 10 such ATMs in the city. Exposed ATMs helps banks cut down on cost of constructing a shelter and installing a guard, but what about the safety of customers’ money? Most of the ATMs belong to the State Bank of India. A senior SBI official, seeking anonymity, said, “There are 600 ATM machines in Ahmedabad and half of them belong to the SBI. We do have some ATMs installed in the open. But it is up to the people whether they want to carry out a transaction here. Those who have a problem should stop going to such ATMs.” He adde...

Take khadi to malls, display it professionally, sell it proactively. These are some of the conclusions Ahmedabad University students draw from their project, ‘Study of the challenges faced by the khadi industry and its marketing’ Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, December 06, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2010120620101206033412885f381dba1 ) Perceived association with politics and ‘outdated’ ideals, limited outlets, and lack of proactive sale are holding khadi back. Also, lack of awareness among the youth is balking the industry’s growth. These are some of the findings of a survey by a group of students of Ahmedabad University. Conducted as part of the bachelor’s study, the study gives some solutions, too, to push the hand-spun cloth up on popularity chart. Loosening government control over the design and sale, upgrading the artisans, bringing them in tune with fashion trends and making sales perso...

An NGO is training a new breed of English-speaking domestic helpers who will cook, clean, run errands, drop your kids to school and even type a mail for you Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Sunday, December 05, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Latest&sectid=2&contentid=20101205201012050335369209ed94199 ) Well-groomed and well-behaved domestic helps are unheard of in India. But, now an NGO plans to put such housekeepers in Amdavadi homes next year. Nirmal Foundation, through its programme Nirmal Umeed, is preparing a new breed of helpers whom it calls ‘home managers’. These people will cook, clean, drop your children to school, run errands, look after infants and the elderly and if required to, they will even type an e-mail for you. NEW AVATAR The move to introduce multi-skilled ‘home managers’ is part of the organisation’s initiative to bring domestic helpers in the organised sector. “We want to give a new identity to servant...

The rlys built a special vehicle that could run on road as well as rail to reach a crisis spot quickly, but it just slips off when put on track Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, December 04, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Latest&sectid=2&contentid=2010120420101204034509106ca0feb02 ) The much hyped road-cum-rail emergency van commissioned by the Indian Railways for emergency relief and rescue just refuses to get going despite several trial runs over more than a year and a half. As many as eight trial runs by the railways have failed with the van shooting off the track just metres from the start line. The road-cum-rail emergency van, designed and produced by the Diesel Loco Modernisation Workshop, Patiala, touted as the mother of all innovations, was meant to take advantage of roads that run parallel to railway tracks to avoid clogged railway tracks during accidents. However, while the van runs smoothly on roads but goes...

DRM Ashok Garud contends this is the highest collection ever in the city division of Indian Railways Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, December 04, 2010 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2010120420101204031839871b1cc9502 ) It wasn’t Amdavadis alone who had a blast this Diwali in November. Even the Ahmedabad Railway Division had a busy month, with its ticket checkers managing to collect a record breaking amount of Rs 69.47 lakh in fines. The travelling ticket checkers (TTCs) collected fines for offences like ticketless travelling, journeying on other’s ticket, irregular travel (travelling in first class with a ticket for second class) etc. “This is the highest collection ever by the Ahmedabad division,” said Ahmedabad Divisional Railway Manager Ashok Garud said. Ticket checkers Sailesh Kumar, V M Vania, Rajiv Mishra, Saji Philip, Neeraj Mehta and B S Shekhavat collected the highest fine. The reason fo...