Communication week organised by Kheda telecom dist Monday, October 15, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
NADIAD: The Kheda Telecom District celebrated 'Sanchar week' by arranging different programmes here and at Anand town recently.
In the first programme on October 1, telephone exchanges were opened for students' demonstration and demonstration of ISDN/Internec.
Intelligent network services was also organised for college students by local officers at Nadiad and Anand. Total 950 students visited these exchanges.
On October 2, a drawing and essay competition was organised in which 87 children of the staff participated. On October 4, a quiz competition was organised for STD/PCO franchises at Anand.
On October 5, commercial important customers' meet was held at Anand town where the general manager of Kheda telecom district Y P Kataria said that this year, 25,000 lines capacity is being added and 30,000 new telephone connections is targeted.
ISDN facility is provided in Anand, Nadiad, V V Nagar, Mehmedabad, Dakor and Khambhat and soon will be provided at Kapadwanj and Petlad also.
He added the services provided at Nadiad, Anand will be provided at Borsad, Petlad, Khambhat and Dakor also.
New exchanges have been commissioned at Rani and Vagroli village, and are being opened shortly at Kevadia and Mahlel.
He also informed that cellular telephone services is being opened in the district in this financial year and in the first phase, citizens of Anand, V V Nagar, Nadiad, Kheda, Borsad, Petlad, Cambhay and Dakor will be benefited.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Police medals given away Monday, October 15, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Police inspector D B Barvaniya of Surat city was among the 55 policemen who received the President's medal for gallantry for the year 1999-2000 from Governor Sundar Singh Bhandari at Raj Bhavan on Friday.
The other officers decorated by the Vishisht Seva medals were Director General of Police S Banerjee, Surat Police Commissioner V K Gupta, home secretary K Nityanandam, prohibition commissioner S K Saikia, Assistant Police Commissioner A I Bunet and police inspector D D Chauhan.
Forty-eight medals were presented for meritorious services which include Special Inspector General of Police A I Saiyed, P P Pandey, Vipul Vijoy and DIGs G K Parmar, Ashish Bhatia, A K Surolia, and superintendents of police Manoj Antani, B D Vaghela, J L Rana and M R Rajput.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
CM seeks passport offices in Rajkot, Surat Sunday, October 14, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Chief Minister Narendra Modi met Union ministers Jaswant Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Ram Naik in New Delhi on Friday evening and took up issues concerning the state.
He spoke to Singh about the opening of passport offices in Surat and Rajkot. With Naik he took up the matter of higher allocation of gas and more royalty for crude oil.
And with Swaraj, about more coverage to developmental activities in Gujarat in the national media.
Union information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj said an FM radio station would become operational in Ahmedabad and Rajkot by December 2001.
An official press release said the two leaders discussed the issue of more coverage in the national news to developmental stories about Gujarat, and the issue of effectively countering misinformation being spread from across the border.
Modi discussed pending issue relating to increase in royalty on crude oil and allocation of more gas to Gujarat with Union petroleum minister Ram Naik.
Naik told the chief minister that the central government was aware of the stand of Gujarat on both the issues.
He said at present there was increase in the royalty on crude on ad hoc basis. He said the Mauskar committee recommendations would be implemented in the matter at the earliest.
The minister said his ministry was actively looking into the Gujarat government demand for the higher allocation of natural gas.
Admitting that both issues of royalty on crude oil and allocation of natural gas were vital problems concerning the development of Gujarat, the minister said both the issues would be resolved expeditiously.
In his meeting with Union external affairs and defence minister Jaswant Singh, the chief minister stressed the need for early release of the south Gujarat fishermen languishing in Pakistani prisons so that they could reunite with their families.
Modi thanked Jaswant Singh for measures taken so far by the external affairs ministry in the matter.
Singh informed the chief minister that a team of officials from India had already reached Pakistan to ensure early release of the fishermen.
The external affairs minister said damaged boats of the fishermen were being repaired and the fishermen would soon re-unite with their families in Gujarat.
Modi suggested to the external affairs minister to simplify, enlarge and expedite the process of getting passports.
He demanded that passport offices should be opened at Surat and Rajkot. To this, Jaswant Singh said the ministry would look into the matter too.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Palanpur :: Villages alerted in Banaskantha Sunday, October 14, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
PALANPUR: As many as 22 villages, coming under Mavasari and Suigam police stations, in the border district of Banaskantha have been kept on an alert in the wake of developments in neighbouring Pakistan, according to district superintendent of police R B Brahmbhatt.
Besides intensive checking on the border areas, all important public places like hotels, cinema houses, bus stops, railway stations, hospitals and other public places would be checked including three important centres of Palanpur, Deesa, Vav and Tharad.
Disaster mitigation plan set rolling Sunday, October 14, 2001
BY SOURAV MUKHERJEE, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat may soon have a director-general of fire services as part of the state's disaster management plan. An official of police commissioner's rank will also be posted to co-ordinate disaster mitigation in the state.
Putting its right foot forward -- albeit after nine months since the earthquake -- the state government's disaster management authority has also sanctioned Rs 1.2 crore each to Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot municipal corporations.
The financial grant is meant for acquiring a complete set of disaster mitigation equipment, and for training of corporation and State Reserve Police Force personnel in the use of these state-of-the-art machinery.
State relief commissioner P Pannervel, who is also the additional chief executive officer of the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA), told TNN: "We are looking into the possibility of posting a DG fire services in Gujarat. While working on upgradation of fire-fighting capabilities, with special emphasis on urban conglomerates, a senior official like a DG will be better placed to co-ordinate fire services in the state. For the success of any disaster mitigation programme, efficient fire-fighting capabilities, coupled with rescue operations, is an absolute must. Thus this emphasis."
Pannervel added: "Progress and expenditure on Gujarat's disaster mitigation project will be need-based. We will keep a watch on how the three corporations perform in the training programme, and purchase sophisticated tools for disaster mitigation with the grant of Rs 1.2 crore. By the end of this programme, we hope to have 60 to 100 personnel trained for quick rescue missions and response to natural calamities and disasters. The disaster mitigation programme has been devised after consulting experts in this field who poured into Ahmedabad after January 26."
Sources in Gandhinagar added that in view of the volatile global scenario after terrorist attacks in the US, an added facet of the disaster mitigation project is handling chemical and biological disasters.
Rusty civil defence mechanisms in all districts of Gujarat are being activated, old sirens are being put back into working order and what-if plans are under preparation. An official disclosed: "We need to be prepared for any calamity, natural or war-generated."
Using its Rs 1.2-crore grant, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, along with the Ahmedabad Fire Brigade (AFB), has decided to put together a disaster mitigation vehicle which would be ready to handle any challenge.
The vehicle will be equipped with a motorboat, a high-powered water pump, sophisticated hydraulic concrete cutters and saws, separators and inflators and life-detector units for quick rescue in case of building collapse.
Chemical and ammonia suits and breathing apparatus, life jackets, lifebouys, diving jackets and pneumatic high-pressure lifting bags with weight-bearing capacity of 12 tonnes to 132 tonnes are the other features of the first-ever disaster mitigation vehicle of Ahmedabad.
Sources in AMC disclosed most of the highly-specialised equipment are to be imported, and will only mark the beginning of disaster preparedness activities.
AMC officials said, "While civil defence has already begun working in this direction, in Ahmedabad itself there is need for another 10 fire stations (in addition to the existing nine). That apart, a proposal for Rs 50-crore worth of equipment meant for efficient fire-fighting and handling of emergent situations has also been submitted to the state government. Though we are far from achieving our goal, the ball has been set rolling in the right direction with this initial sanction of Rs 1.2 crore."
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
