Yogesh Avasthi

A new token system has failed to speed up issuance of tickets at Kalupur station because slack rly staff call out numbers of people seated in the waiting area at a leisurely pace By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, December 24, 2009 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20091224200912240312292422843e71 ) Under the new system, a person has to submit his reservation form, obtain a token and wait for his number to be either called out or flashed on a screen A new token system introduced by the railways to speed up issuance of tickets at the Kalupur station is working wonders — not for travellers, but for slack ticket attendants, who have found a new way to avoid work. An RTI query has revealed that such attendants have been giving out fewer tickets in a day than they did when the new system, which ironically is aimed at infusing efficiency among railway staff, was not in place. Under the new system, informally known ...

Preeti Patil forgot her purse on her seat in a bid to quickly alight from train at Maninagar By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, December 22, 2009  ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009122220091222025132188a97b3afa ) Preeti Patil cannot stop praising the honesty of Rajiv Mishra, a Travelling Ticket Examiner on Navjeevan Express. He found her bag containing gold jewellery on the train and returned it to the station master at Kalupur railway station on Monday. The train was coming from Chennai to Ahmedabad. Mishra got on the train from Surat. He was checking the ticket of passengers in Act first class coach number A1. The train had just crossed Maninagar when he spotted a small bag in a corner seat. Mishra said, “I asked passengers sitting in nearby seats if the bag belonged to them. They answered in the negative.” The TTE slid open the chain a bit. One glance revealed the bag contained gold jewellery. “Without...

Facility in Vadaj will also house a research centre; the Rs 7-cr project is being funded by corporate houses By Yogesh Avasthi and Vijay Zala Posted On Monday, December 21, 2009 at 02:40:54 AM ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009122120091221024054424cadf6e8 ) What may the its first in the country, the Indian Red Cross Society (Gujarat) is setting up an old age home in Ahmedabad. Spread over a sprawling area in a prime location in Vadaj, the campus will also have a training and research centre. IRCS officials are calling it the Senior Citizen Home Training and Research Centre and say that the project will cost Rs 7 crore which is being funded by major corporate houses. Officials say that Rs 4 crore has been set aside for the old age home. IS THERE A NEED? “Yes, there is a need for old age homes in Ahmedabad. We decided to build one based on our findings,” said Dr Anilbhai Khatri,a member of the project committe...

By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, December 16, 2009 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009121620091216030006534ebf32450 ) Over ambitious and educated youth are more suicide-prone than poverty-stricken people in India. Reason: Cut-throat competition in professional life. This startling fact came to the fore on Tuesday at a seminar on suicide at Kanoria Centre for Medical Education. It also revealed that tendency of self-annihilation is maximum among professionals and businessmen between 30 and 44 years. Students are most susceptible to suicide between 15 and 24. Making a presentation, Dr Karshan Chothani, a professor of Psychology at CU Shah Arts College in Ahmedabad, said: “The structure of the society and lifestyle have changed with better education. Enlightened people face stiff competition in professional life. They often feel ashamed to share their problems with colleagues or buddies. Neither they can de-stre...

Of the 96 pictures in Gujarat University’s 2010 diary, 73 have VC Parimal Trivedi in the frame By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, December 15, 2009 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=20091215200912150328202143c27cab5 ) CONGRATULATIONS, Dr TRIVEDI! That makes YOU this university’s vainest VC ever The vice-chancellor of Gujarat University (GU), Parimal Trivedi, is 47 years old, but it seems he still hasn’t gotten over the fascination, seen mostly among people half his age, for getting photographed. How else can one explain publication of his 73 pictures in the varsity’s annual diary. The GU diary for 2009-10 contains a total of 96 pictures. Majority of these show Trivedi glad-handing dignitaries; giving or receiving awards and certificates; gazing aimlessly and engaged in ceremonial niceties. The most galling thing about the controversial vice-chancellor’s self-lionisation exercise is that it has come at the co...

Claimant can register their plaint online with Railway Claims Tribunal from January 30 By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, December 14, 2009 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009121420091214195601201bb2c2d62 ) Come 2010, seeking compensation from Railway Claims Tribunal would be a cakewalk. From January 30, complainants will not have to visit any of its 19 centres across the country physically to lodge their complaints. They will be able to do so online. Web CLAIMS, the newly developed computer system for the tribu-nal, will maintain database of all the claims, court and accident cases. It will generate various documents and letters that are currently prepared manually. The new e-system will help do away with the complex file maintenance procedure. Besides, it will give complainants the precise status of their registered cases in chief claims office. The user-friendly system will have five sections — computer...

After looking at the syllabus and teaching methods of prominent schools in the city, experts will formulate English syllabus for class 2 municipal school students By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, December 14, 2009 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009121420091214025434416996f2b87 ) As part of its campaign to bring English literacy to municipal schools, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation plans to introduce a customised English syllabus in class 2. The civic body had introduced teaching of the English alphabet and numbers in class 1 last year. Now the civic body is working to formulate English syllabus for the same batch, which will be in class 2 by June 2010. At present, AMC officials with the help of NGOs, are doing a survey of prominent private schools in the city to observe what is taught in English classes. “After gathering information about the syllabus, teaching methods and level of understanding of class 2 s...