Gujarat’s 1st Nano owner owns ’48 Morris

Good morning friends. It’s a beautiful morning.  Hope that your morning will be beautiful too for the whole day.  I was reading an article about Gujarat’s first Nano owner who owns  ’48 morris.  It’s not just about the owning of the car here, its that I want to give emphasis of the gladness of one person when he gets what he wants. 

When Chandrasinh Parmar, a Surendranagar-based entrepreneur wanted to buy a car in 1976, he went for a Morris. Parmar, 60, who runs a cooking gas agency, had got the vintage car cheaper than an Ambassador or a Fiat then. “I bought a 1948 model for Rs 5,500 as a new car would have cost much more,” he said.

On Tuesday, he accompanied his son Umangsinh, 30, who became the first buyer of Tata’s Nano in Gujarat, much before Gujarat itself starts rolling out the small car from the Sanand plant later this year. “We own four cars, including the vintage Morris. But, I feel really special today with a Nano,” said the younger Parmar, who drove down from Surendranagar with his father to take delivery.

“I was eager to buy this car ever since Ratan Tata made an announcement. Today, my dream has come true,” said Parmar, who drove back to Surendranagar where his arrival was eagerly awaited late in the evening. “My family is dying to take a Nano ride,” he told TOI, flashing the car keys.

Four cars were delivered in Ahmedabad on Tuesday as the dealer coped with a big rush. Vipul Thakkar, a Gandhinagar-based doctor, came along with 25 relatives to take the small car delivery. The Thakkars, who already own a Santro, celebrated the buy with an ice-cream party at their Sector-3 residence which was crowded by curious onlookers. Ahmedabad-based doctor, Mahendra Goswami, who drives a Maruti Esteem, also became a proud Nano owner.

“I decided to buy this car when Tata chose Gujarat over other states to set up the Nano plant,” he said. The fourth owner, a retired Air Force official, too owns three cars. Charanjeet Singh Walia, 68, drove down from Gandhidham in Kutch to pick up the car. “I wanted to become a part of this revolution,” said Walia, who was accompanied by his twin daughters. Tata Motors is likely to deliver nine more cars in next four days in the city. – The Times of India

Beware! Monsoon diseases are on the prowl

Good morning friends.  We should be careful now a days as there is a monsoon diseases, that cause by more rains.  Everywhere it may occur in you place.  So its better that we keep our place clean all the time.  It’s good that we be prepare in advance before we experience really heavy rain. 

Rains are here and temperatures down. Freaking out and savoring pani-puris and hot dalwadas amid the splashes can be real fun. But are you prepared to face the dangers that go with it. Hidden in these treats’ are nasty micro-organisms that are waiting to attack and throw a spanner on your joys.

Threat of mosquitos’ carriers of deadly diseases is looming large over the city. Already patients are lining up at clinics and hospitals complaining of monsoon diseases’.

Dengue and malaria are spreading tentacles. In a recent survey, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials found that one out of every 140 houses was breeding mosquitoes in new west zone alone. Khadia, situated in the walled city, has the highest mosquito density, the survey revealed.

City-based consultant pediatrician Dr Raju Shah says, “Cases of diarrhea, dengue and malaria are on the rise, especially after showers in the city. These are all water-borne diseases. Kids are most vulnerable to these diseases. Those belonging to the lower-middle class are the hardest hit.”

Fever, body ache and mild cold, accompanied by diarrhea, are some of the common ailments that people are complaining about. Dr Rajesh Rajpal, a general physician, said, “In the last three to four days, the number of patients complaining of viral fever and diarrhea have almost doubled. More than 80 per cent of cases are of viral infection and it spreads very fast as it is air borne.”

And what about AMC’s preparedness to tackle the situation. Medical officer, AMC, Suhas Kulkarni said, “The delayed monsoon in the city has given us ample time to carry out our anti-mosquito drive in all the municipal zones of AMC. The corporation has been conducting health awareness camps and focusing on source reduction of mosquitoes breeding areas. We collect blood samples from 19 primary health centers of AMC when a patient comes complaining about high fever.”  - The Times of India

 

Learning to see from my eyes

 

 

When I arrived home, I go straight to my youngest son Dhyaan.  He is always happy when I’m at home specially when I play with him.  Me and Dhan had given there a good smile.  Shivam is taking a shot of that.  Dhyaan knows when to pose for a good smile.  He is a little aware of it.  He is a happy kid.

   

 

 

 

This is our another good smile for me and Dhyaan.  This time he wears the shade.  The sun glass.  And look at his face.  He is so cute. He loves to wear my sun glasses.  After that shot he posed again but I said to him that it’s finish. 

Coal price hike led to fuel surcharge in power bill

Good morning friends.  There was an increased in coal price that led to fuel surcharge in power bill.  This may mean another hardship for daily life of people.  I wish the government will make some solution to it.  With this only people who have good status in life can afford with this but they may also complain with that as it.  So can you image how will the low average people can cope with that.

An additional burden of Rs 3,656 crore has been levied on the consumer in past three years as fuel adjustment cost (FAC) or fuel surcharge in electricity bill. However, of this, around Rs 346 crore has been borne by state government.

This was stated by energy and petrochemicals department in reply to a question from Porbandar MLA Arjun Modhwadia. The department said the reason for rise in FAC was increase in coal price by Central government.

The department also said the Centre had allocated less coal to the state from local sources forcing it to purchase imported coal. Further, it had increased price of gas and cut its supply to the state’s gas-based power plant.

Because of pooling, gas which was available through Petronet LNG from Dahej has been given to Maharashtra for its project. Also, gas available from Panna has been given to GAIL India. As a result, the state is forced to buy expensive gas.

The government said the fuel surcharge was borne by the state as far as farmers were concerned but passed on to general consumers. In the financial year 2006-07, a burden of Rs 234 crore was passed to the consumer as FAC, while this amount was Rs 468 crore in 2007-08. There was a sharp increase in 2008-09 to Rs 2,514 crore. The FAC in April-May 2009 was Rs 440 crore.

The department further said in two quarters, April-September 2008, the government decided to share some burden even for general consumers. It picked up a burden amounting to Rs 346 crore.

When asked why FAC didn’t fall when petroleum prices did, the department said that there was no decrease in coal price. In reply to a question from Gyasuddin Shaikh, the government said there was power shortfall of 1,127 MW. The government is targeting to have 9,396 MW in the 11th five-year plan. – The Times of India

 

Ahmedabad city cops to get Rs 51L reward

Good morning friends. It’s a good thing to know that Ahmedabad city cops will have  Rs 51L as a reward. This kind of thing will sure give more inspiration for all cops to search for any information on the series of bombing blasts. 

The suspense over who would get the Rs 51-lakh reward announced by the state government for giving information on the serial bomb blasts that claimed 59 lives in the city last year, will soon be over. The state government has settled to give the reward to Ahmedabad city police, particularly the crime branch, finding it the most deserving one for the coveted prize.

The office of the director general of police has asked the city police to send a proposal for the same. Last year after the bomb blasts, the government had announced the reward because the nature of the terror operation and similar serial blasts in Jaipur and Bangalore had remained undetected.

After the reward announcement, within days, the Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Bharuch police, in a joint operation started making arrests in the 26/7 serial bombings. One of the firsts to be nabbed was Abu Bashar. At that time, the then DGP PC Pande was asked in a press conference as to who would get the reward and he had jokingly said the reward money should go to him for heading the team which cracked the case.

After this, different agencies claimed that it was because of them that the blast case was solved, but nobody had sent any official proposal.

Six months back, senior city police officers met Chief Minister Narendra Modi and raised the pitch for Ahmedabad city crime branch.

Sources in Gandhinagar told TOI that the only reason for keeping the reward was kept a secret as it would have hampered the ongoing probe. Those who did not get it would have sulked and the investigations would have suffered, they said.

Now that it has been a year since the blasts, and most of the probe is over, it has been decided to give the reward to Ahmedabad police. The DGP office has sent two reminders to the city commissionerate to send the formal proposal. A senior officer said, “Because of the hooch tragedy, the proposal was put on hold. In a few days, a detailed report of those who contributed to the probe will be sent to Police Bhavan.”  - The Times of India

 

CAT belled digitally held for 10 days

Good morning friends. Common Admission Test (CAT) will be made available from end of August.  It has been given a notice on their website.  So it will be easy for someone who have FAQs when it comes to CAT 2009 when queries arises.

Indian Institute of Managements’ Common Admission Test (CAT) will be the longest when it is held in November this year. The most popular entrance test for management schools will be held for 10 days in over 25 cities in the country. Over three lakh students are expected to take the test this year in its latest avatar.

CAT, which was conducted through Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) will now become a Computer Based Test (CBT). Instead of reading questions in a paper booklet and darkening the ovals on the answer-sheet, students will read questions on a computer terminal and choose an answer by clicking on the correct option.

The seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) that conduct CAT, have recently issued a notice on their websites where there are FAQs answered about CAT 2009.

Rohit Shah, an aspirant of CAT 2009 said, “Most international entrance exams are conducted on-line and CAT being upgraded is good. But there are apprehensions, especially because we will be the first batch of students who will be going through the process. Technical problems, power cuts, giving the first exam on-line, all are issues that bother me”.

CAT 2009 applications will be available from end of August. Other unique aspects include an e-admit card, which will be sent to the candidate as soon as he registers himself. The process of registration will be given to the candidates in the voucher that will come along the CAT 2009 prospectus. Candidates will have to carry a photo ID card with their admit card.

The notice, on the question of extra calculations says, “At the test venue, each candidate will be seated at a desk with a computer terminal and he will be provided with a writing pad with numbered pages for calculations. After the test, candidate must leave the pad including all the pages in it at the desk. Rough- work can’t be done on any other paper/sheet as nothing will be allowed to be taken inside the test hall.” – The Times of India

Rains expected in city today: Met

Good morning friends.  There will be an expected rain today.  So if you don’t have any important to do outside your house.  Just stay there and do some other important things.  Or if not really can’t stop to go somewhere, just bring all the precautions so that you will not be sick.

The weather department has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall in south Gujarat and parts of Gujarat on Thursday. Officials said they were hopeful that Ahmedabad will get its maiden showers. “The monsoon activity is expected to give good rainfall in south Gujarat and region including parts of north Gujarat. We are also hopeful that city will get rains on Thursday,” said Kamaljit Ray, director of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gujarat said.

Ray said that the low pressure system that had formed over Jharkhand has now become a circulation but it is still expected to give rainfall over the state for the next three days. On Wednesday, heavy rains lashed numerous parts of south Gujarat. In Vadodara, 10 cm rainfall was recorded. –The Times of India

Garbage collection trucks to go hi-tech with GPS

Good morning friends.  There is this saying that cleanliness comes within us.  Some of us were not giving importance to it. That is wrong.  As like in our garbage,  we should make sure that it will be In a proper place to put it.  Some people just throw their garbage anywhere or just even leave it in one corner of the road.  Not only will ourselves be affected on that kind of doings, but also with the environment.  We should always be responsible in our daily life even if it is in small way.

Garbage collection is all set to go hi-tech. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) plans to install Global Positioning System (GPS) in at least 35 hydraulic dumper trucks to be bought at a price of Rs 4.67 crore from Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) funds.

The GPS-installed trucks will operate in the new west zone as pilot project, besides a private contractor will be given responsibility of collecting door-to-door trash. The contractor will be paid Rs 950 per ton of garbage collected.

After buying the GPS trucks, the AMC plans to tender out the operation and maintenance of the vehicles to another private contractor.

Every day, the AMC collects 2,100 metric ton of garbage. In the first phase, the AMC plans to buy 400 hydraulic trucks as per plans under JNNURM but will first run a pilot project in the new west zone with 35 trucks before implementing the scheme throughout the city.

“The GPS will help us pinpoint the exact location of a dumper vehicle and the number of trips it has conducted. There are two contractors who collect door-to-door garbage, which would soon be operated by one contractor called Jigar Transport. The contractor does the same job for Surat and Vadodara municipal corporations,” said a senior AMC official. – The Times of India

 

Bridge Across the Sea

Good morning friends.  This will be a great news. Just imagine you will be enjoying through passing the first bridge that built over the sea in India.  As I love to drive, I’m sure I will be having a good ride while passing there. This is great.

There is Bandra Worli Sea Link Project has been one of the most highly recommended project of all the transport studies done for the metropolitan region during the last forty years.

At present, Mahim causeway is the only link connecting western suburbs to island city of Mumbai. The existing north south western corridor is highly congested and during the peak hours results in a bottleneck at Mahim Causeway.

Vehicular traffic admeasuring about 1,20,000 PCU travels on the Mahim causeway everyday and during peak hours and it takes about forty minutes to travel from Mahim causeway to Worli, a distance of about 8 km.

Construction of the project link will provide an additional fast moving outlet from the island city to the western suburbs & thereby providing much needed relief to the congested Mahim Causeway. This link will also form a part of the western freeway.

 MSRDC, as a part of this project has appointed M/s Dar Consultants (U.K) Ltd. & M/s Dar Consultants (India) Pvt. Ltd. to design, proof check and supervise the various components of the project.

     Project Location

• Express Highway and Swami Vivekanand road at Bandra and connects to Worli at Worli end with overall length of 5.6 kms for the entire project.
• A cloverleaf interchange at Mahim intersection and a flyover at the Lovegrove intersection have been proposed as part of this project to enhance the faster and safe traffic dispersal. – bandraworlisealink

Photo courtesy:  gulf-times