Efforts on to make Girnar 'parikrama' a smooth affair Tuesday, November 27, 2001
SOURCE - TIMES NEWS NETWORK
RAJKOT: The annual Girnar 'parikrama', which is expected to attract about 15 lakh devotees, began on Monday morning. The district authorities have geared up the machinery to render all possible assistance to the participants.
Even before the 'parikrama' was officially flagged off by firing in the air amidst slogans of "Har, Har Mahadev and Jai Girinari", as many as 30,000 devotees had completed the 'yatra' by Sunday night itself, officials said.
The road on the entire 'parikrama' route has been levelled and with the check-dams filled to the brim due to the heavy rainfall, the 'yatris' will not face any water shortage.
When contacted, district collector Suyana Tomar and DSP Shashikant Trivedi told 'The Times of India' that a special police force had been deployed to ensure the safety of the 'yatris'. As many as 5 deputy superintendent of police, 10 police inspectors, 37 sub-inspectors, 268 police constables 28 woman police constables along with 150 Home Guards have been deployed all along the route.
As many as 85 special bus services have also been started for the benefit of the 'yatris' to reach Bhavnath from where the 'yatra' begins. In addition to the main bus station, 'yatris' can avail of the services beginning from the railway station, Janata Chowk and Majewadi Darwaja. The buses would ply round the clock for the next five days, ST sources said.
Meanwhile, the forest department has taken special care to ensure that there is no damage to the trees caused by the 'yatris' who are known break the branches to be used as walking sticks.
The department has decided to supply walking sticks to the old and the infirm as soon as they arrive at Lal Tekri, where they enter the forest area for the steep climb ahead.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Water holds key to state's development Tuesday, November 27, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
RAJKOT: Governor Bandari said on Monday that if the water problems of Gujarat were taken care of, that would open the doors of development.
Inaugurating a three-day symposium on 'Palaeodrainage and water resources in Gujarat', organised jointly by the Saraswati Shodh Sansthan and Arvindbhai Maniar Jankalyan Trust here, Bhandari said there were definite signs of large quantities of underground water, which could be of the mythological Saraswati river.
Bhandari said research in Rajasthan and Haryana on the mythological river had proved successful and if the findings were adopted by Gujarat, it would yield positive results.
Research by historians, archaeologists and geologists and data provided by satellite pictures had shown that the Saraswati flowed through many areas of the country and one of them was Gujarat.
Well-known geologist and former faculty member of the MS University, S S Mehr, who inaugurated the symposium, said it was important to conserve rain water.
He felt that papers presented at the symposium would be of great help to the state, especially the Saurashtra region, which was facing acute water shortage.
Director of the Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Sansthan, Chennai-based S Kalyanram, claimed there was definite proof of the Saraswati flowing through the Gujarat region.
He said after a tubewell project was commissioned in Jaisalmer, a large quantity of water was found. He said the Centre had also prepared a project to join the main rivers of the country.
President of the Sansthan, Baldev Sahai, said as many as 500 sites related to the Saraswati had been discovered and it was time to conduct research on the subject. He called upon all those connected with water conservation to join hands in the endeavour.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
"Water holds key to state's development" - Governor Tuesday, November 27, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
RAJKOT: Governor Bandari said on Monday that if the water problems of Gujarat were taken care of, that would open the doors of development.
Inaugurating a three-day symposium on 'Palaeodrainage and water resources in Gujarat', organised jointly by the Saraswati Shodh Sansthan and Arvindbhai Maniar Jankalyan Trust here, Bhandari said there were definite signs of large quantities of underground water, which could be of the mythological Saraswati river.
Bhandari said research in Rajasthan and Haryana on the mythological river had proved successful and if the findings were adopted by Gujarat, it would yield positive results.
Research by historians, archaeologists and geologists and data provided by satellite pictures had shown that the Saraswati flowed through many areas of the country and one of them was Gujarat.
Well-known geologist and former faculty member of the MS University, S S Mehr, who inaugurated the symposium, said it was important to conserve rain water.
He felt that papers presented at the symposium would be of great help to the state, especially the Saurashtra region, which was facing acute water shortage.
Director of the Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Sansthan, Chennai-based S Kalyanram, claimed there was definite proof of the Saraswati flowing through the Gujarat region.
He said after a tubewell project was commissioned in Jaisalmer, a large quantity of water was found. He said the Centre had also prepared a project to join the main rivers of the country.
President of the Sansthan, Baldev Sahai, said as many as 500 sites related to the Saraswati had been discovered and it was time to conduct research on the subject. He called upon all those connected with water conservation to join hands in the endeavour.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
AT&T World launched in Surat Tuesday, November 27, 2001
SOURCE - TIMES NEWS NETWORK
SURAT: For more value-added services on par with the global standards, the Birla AT&T Communications Limited launched the AT&T World in Surat on Monday _ the first one in Gujarat.
According to a Himanshu Kapania, chief operating officer, Gujarat Circle, the showroom will provide customers with multiple solutions like handsets, SIM cards, new tariff plans and bill inquiries among others, under a single roof. Customers can now approach the showroom for new AT&T connections _ both pre and post-paid, recharge vouchers, activating new features, changing tariffs or even for paying the monthly bills.
The company has plans for investment of Rs 200 crore in the state, out of which Rs 40 crore have been earmarked for Surat and the surrounding areas, Kapania informed. When asked, Surat with its huge economic potential was the natural choice for launching from here, he said.
Keeping in mind the large customer base that the company targets for, a new switch with a capacity of over 1,50,000 subscribers base has also been started in Surat, he informed. Altogether 25 sites have been identified in whole south Gujarat and 15 more would be added, Kapania said.
The showroom in the city has been opened in partnership with Trans Telecom. There would be several such showrooms in the city in due course, he informed.
When confronted about plans by BSNL to launch cellular services in the state in the near future, Kapania said that being the initial operators they would not have any problems. Moreover, more competition would mean better services, which could be healthy trend in this sector.
About tariffs, he said various calculations are taken into consideration to fix the slabs for the incoming and outgoing calls and the recent measures to rationalise the tariffs was an effort in this direction where subscribers on the whole should get benefited.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
GEB Unions threaten to stall power reforms Bill Tuesday, November 27, 2001
SOURCE - TIMES NEWS NETWORK
VADODARA: A joint action committee of six employees unions and engineers associations of the Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) has decided to launch an agitation to oppose the passage of the power reforms Bill by the assembly.
Nearly 450 representatives who met here on Sunday in four unanimous resolutions opposed reforms in the power sector, based on the 'Himachal Pradesh model', where the SEB has been allowed to carry out reforms for the next five years.
The unions said it was not in the interest of consumers and the nation and would hamper developmental work related to the power sector in the rural areas.
The leaders feared that with the passing of the Bill, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) will be infructuous as MNCs need not get its clearance to set up power projects. This, they alleged, would amount to compromising on the quality and price of power supplied to consumers.
They expressed serious concern over the rising power tariff since the entry of private companies. They feared that the rural sector might be neglected. This could have serious implications for the agricultural sector which gets highly subsidised power.
In the discussions before adopting the resolutions, the leaders warned against MNCs taking over SEBs after adoption of the power reforms Bills in parliament and the assembly. This would amount to privatisation of the power sector by disintegrating state electricity boards.
The leaders sought support for a nation-wide strike announced by the national co-ordination committee of electrical engineers and employees, opposing the power reforms Bill. The committee will launch public awareness campaign to educate people on the impact of the power reforms Bill. It would also organise a rally in each district headquarters from December 10 to 25.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
