jay garvi gujarat

how to book tent in rann of kutch

2022-01-06T00:09:00.007-08:00

Kutch or Rannutsav, a unique expression of the region's diverse cultural ethos, is noted for its ethnic flavour and celebratory exuberance.

This year celebrate the colours of Kutch with Rann Utsav The Tent City. Book your experience now.

When

1st November 2021 to 20th February 2022

Where

The celebratory festival begins in the Bhuj city and goes around the district with a grand finale again being held at the preliminary destination. For tent booking please visit https://www.rannutsav.net/ or https://whiterannresort.com/

Nearby destinations

Bhuj, Mandvi, Dholavira, Narayan Sarovar, Lakhpat

Event calendar for the next five years

1st November 2021 to 20th February 2022

1st November 2022 to 20th February 2023

1st November 2023 to 20th February 2024

Rann Utsav 2021-2022 - Tent Booking Packages

coming soon.

COVID-19: Centre gives permission to Gujarat for solidarity trial in BJ Medical collage

2020-05-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

The trials will be held at Ahmedabad's B.J. Medical College

The central government of India has permitted Ahmadabad based B.J. Medical college for solidarity trials related to Covid19 virus.

Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said on Monday that the trials will be held at Ahmedabad's B.J. Medical College.

Jayanti said that during the trials effects of medicines like Remdesivir, Lopinavir, Interferon (beta 1 a) and Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine will be studied.

After permission, trials will also start at SVP College in Ahmedabad, GMERs, Vadodara; New Civil Hospital, Surat, and PDU Medical College, Rajkot.

how to reach statue of unity location, kevadiya colony

2018-11-01T00:19:00.002-07:00

The Statue of Unity has been thrown open to tourists from 9 am today. Located in Gujarat’s Narmada district, the world’s tallest statue (about 600 feet), is just 3.5 km away from Kevadia town and about 200 km from Ahmedabad. For Gujarat tourism, which already has the Great Rann of Kutch and the Gandhi circuit as big attractions, the Statue of Unity is on its way to being added to the list.

rajpipla

Although lying in a remote corner, the Gujarat government has already started promoting the Rs 3,000 crore statue as a major tourism destination. On an average, 15,000 visitors are expected daily to the site. Since it is double the height of New York’s world famous Statue of Liberty, the Statue of Unity is also likely to draw a decent number of foreign tourists besides domestic visitors from all over India.

How to book your ticket to the Statue of Unity

If you are planning a visit to the Statue of Unity, then there are two ways to book your ticket — online and on the spot. The entry gates are already open officially from today 9 am.

Online ticket booking for the Statue of Unity has already started but tickets are being sold only for dates beginning this Saturday, November 3-2018. You can book tickets here.

To get the best view of the picturesque environs of the Statue of Unity, you will have to shell out Rs 350 per person. The observation deck ticket takes you to a height of about 400 feet close to the chest of the Sardar Patel statue using high-speed elevators. This gives you a panoramic view of the entire Narmada river, surrounding hills and dam.

Barring the observation deck, a regular entry ticket costs you about Rs 120 for adults and Rs 60 for kids between 3-15 years. For toddlers under 3, entry is free.

Gujarat for the nature lover, how to travelling in gujarat

2018-07-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

Gujarat caters to a diverse set of interests. For those who want to immerse themselves in nature, it offers some of the most fascinating and intriguing sights. From the natural habitat of the lion, to the marshy marine life submerged below the Arabian sea – we tell you the five places that will lure you in, charm you and keep you coming back for more. Explore these sanctuaries with their unique geological landscapes and immerse yourself in all they have to offer.

MARINE NATIONAL PARK

India’s first Marine Wildlife Sanctuary and Marine National Park were created in 1980 and 1982 respectively, in the the Gulf of Kutch.

SAPUTARA HILL STATION

Located atop a thickly forested plateau in the Sahyadri range, Saputara is the only hill station in the Dang district in the south of Gujarat.

GIR NATIONAL PARK

No trip to Gujarat is complete without a visit to the Gir National Park. Sprawling across a vast expanse of 1412 square kilometres of dense forest, it is the natural abode of the lion – the only place outside of Africa where you get to experience the wild cats in their natural habitat. Take in the experience in its entirety by exploring everything, from the 250 species of chirping birds darting out of the thick canopy of trees overhead, to the crocs in the marsh waters.

LITTLE RANN OF KUTCH

Currently under consideration as a biosphere reserve, this salt wetland is abundant in biodiversity, and shrimp farming is one of the chief means of a livelihood in the area. With a host of wildlife sanctuaries, and rich presence of rare animals, this is one of Gujarat’s major tourist draws.

Gujarat: 12 government school kids to participate in Swedish football event

2018-07-07T01:09:00.003-07:00

It's a dream come true for ten girls and two boys, who were studying in a government primary school until a month ago. Later this week, they will be travelling to Sweden to take part in the world's largest youth football tournament. These children studied in government primary schools in Thaltej and Jodhpur till Class 8, and were admitted in Class 9 in Vishwabharti school at Thaltej from this academic year. They were among the 30 children, who were selected from the two schools each in 2015, and provided training in a phased manner. The training was sponsored by Swedish bearing technology company SKF.

"When we started training them, many of them did not even know how to run properly, and now they will be taking part in an international football event," Dr Manisha of Kahaani Sports, which has trained the children, said. Though being selected to play in an international tournament was a dream come true for the children, it was not a smooth ride. "The children are from poor backgrounds. Some of them did not have the necessary documents, while some had incomplete documents. But we could arrange the papers with help from senior government officials," Mahesh Thakkar, the students' coach, said.

Incidentally, a situation where the children may not have been playing together had arisen a few months ago. "After these children passed Class 8 exams, a number of private schools were keen to admit them due to their sports background, but I wanted that all of them to study in the same school so that they could continue playing together. We had to work hard, but we managed to secure admission for all of them in the same school," said Thakkar. Incidentally, a couple of these players had also taken part in the same tournament in 2016 and 2017. Their team was the runners-up in 2016, while one of the players was given the 'Best Player' award in 2017.

Veteran Gujarat Congress leader Kunvarji Bavaliya quits party, joins BJP

2018-07-04T00:17:00.000-07:00

Senior Congress leader and five-time MLA from Gujarat's Jasdan constituency Kunvarji Bavaliya today resigned from the party. Gujarat legislative assembly speaker Rajendra Trivedi confirmed the same saying that Bavaliya's resignation has been accepted. Kunvarji Bavalia (R) hands over his resignation to Gujarat legislative assembly speaker Rajendra Trivedi in Gandhinagar. Soon after tendering his resignation, Bavaliya joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, Bavaliya was unhappy with the Congress.

Sources said that Balaviya was unhappy with the Congress' decision of making his junior Paresh Dhanani the leader of opposition.

"Bavaliya sent his resignation to Congress president Rahul Gandhi as well. His supporters will also join BJP," said Nitin Patel.

According to Patel, Bavaliya- who represents the Koli community- will soon be made a minister as cabinet expansion is likely soon. According to reports of some local channels, Bavaliya might take oath as a minister today itself.

Gujarat Forest Dept. Finds Awesome Eco-Alternative to Plastic Pots – Coconut Shells!

2018-07-03T00:17:00.005-07:00

The need to increase greenery in cities and villages is at an all-time high, and more and more concerned people are advocating for large-scale tree plantations. The forest department of Chhota Udepur in Gujarat, for example, has undertaken plantation drives in the Chhota Udepur city as well as the forested areas. However, even with a large scale pursuit of forestation, a persistent problem continues—that of the plastic bags in which small saplings are planted. You either need to bury the plastic bags along with the saplings while replanting them, or throw them away. Either way, the bags contribute towards the damage of the environment since they are neither biodegradable nor a healthy element for the soil.

So, the Gujarat forest department came up with a simple solution to plant saplings temporarily before they settle in the soil for good. While collecting garbage from the towns, the department observed that it primarily consisted of coconut shells—presumably thrown away by people after consuming coconut water at roadside stalls. District Collector, Sujal Mayatra, then proposed the idea that saplings be placed in coconut shells so that they can be planted in soil as is. SK Puwar, the deputy conservator of forest in Chhota Udepur, Gujarat, told the Times of India, “The shells have been chopped from the bottom so that when the saplings are planted in the ground (along with the shells), there is enough room for roots to grow.

In the first phase of the project, the forest department has planted about 1500 saplings in coconut shells. The advantage of using biodegradable waste as a carrier of plants is obvious—and it works both ways by helping in waste disposal and adding to the nutrient value of soil.

Gujarat to restore ownership of acquired land to 286 farmers

2018-07-02T02:15:00.001-07:00

The government’s decision comes at a time when protests over land acquisition have become frequent. Interestingly, farmers in several villages of Valsad district are at present protesting against the acquisition of land for the high-profile bullet train project. More than 30 years after 118 hectare of land was acquired from 286 farmers, mainly tribals, of three villages in Valsad district for setting up an industrial estate, the Gujarat government has decided to return the land to the farmers and restore their ownership in land records. A notification in this regard is likely to be published by the state Revenue Department soon. The government’s decision comes at a time when protests over land acquisition have become frequent. Interestingly, farmers in several villages of Valsad district are at present protesting against the acquisition of land for the high-profile bullet train project.

According to sources in the government, land belonging to 286 farmers in three villages of Sarigam, Fansa and Manda of Valsad district were acquired between 1984 and 1988 by then Congress-led government under then prevailing 1894 Land Acquisition Act for setting up an industrial estate of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). The land acquisition notifications were met with tough resistance and protests by farmers who challenged it in the court. The government had to deposit the compensation amount to the court as the farmers were not ready to accept it. While the GIDC estate was established, land belonging to these 286 farmers fell on the border of the proposed project and was not a part of the industrial estate. All this while, the physical possession of the land remained with the farmers, who continued to grow their crops. But the ownership of the land in the records continued to be with the GIDC.

Welcoming the government’s decision to withdraw the land acquisition, the sarpanch of Manda village, Prabhu Thakariya, who is among the 286 farmers whose land was acquired, said the move will help them to sell or mortgage the land. “Though we continued cultivating the land for all these years, the sword of acquisition kept swinging over our head since the legal ownership had shifted to the GIDC. Because of this, we were not able to sell, mortgage or do any financial deal with our land… We have been protesting, but he government was not paying heed to our demand,” said Thakariya.

“We are happy that the government is now going to legally return the land to us,” he added. For the past 15 years, the farmers of the three villages were being supported by BJP MLA from Umargaon Ramanlal Patkar. “I had been pressing for this withdrawal of land acquisition for the past 15 years. And now feel happy that Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has taken a final decision on it,” Patkar said, adding that the market value of the land is nearly Rs 200 crore.

Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani arrives in Israel on 6-day visit

2018-06-26T22:03:00.002-07:00

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today arrived here on a six-day trip to Israel to strengthen cooperation in the fields of internal security, water management and agriculture. Rupani's visit to Israel comes months after he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his state in January. "We are happy to continue our strong partnership with Gujarat. It is a proud moment for us to host the Chief Minister of Gujarat and his delegation," Israeli ambassador to India Daniel Carmon said. "We look forward to working with the Indian federal government, the government of Gujarat and other states to integrate relevant Israeli technology and innovation in the Indian agricultural ecosystem," he said.

Israel's Consul General in Mumbai will also accompany the chief minister. It is Rupani's first visit abroad as chief minister and he will be accompanied by a delegation of top officials from the security, agriculture and water treatment related departments, besides several businessmen from the state. During his visit, Rupani will meet members of the Gujarati business community who have been living in Israel since the 1980s. Most of these businessmen are active in the diamond trade which constitutes more than fifty per cent of the total bilateral trade between India and Israel.

He will also visit the diamond bourse. Israel has already assisted the Gujarat government in developing two centres of excellence for agriculture in Banaskantha and Kutch districts. Several MoUs are likely to be signed during the visit to further strengthen cooperation in the field of water management and agriculture. He is likely to call upon Netanyahu and Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel during his visit.

GUJARAT ANNOUNCES SKY SCHEME FOR FARMERS

2018-06-25T01:28:00.000-07:00

In lines with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to double farmers’ income by 2022, Gujarat Government has announced a dedicated Solar Power Scheme— ‘Suryashakti Kisan Yojana’ (SKY)—to encourage farmers to generate electricity by installing solar panels in their farms. As per the first-of-its-kind scheme, farmers will have to shell out only 5 per cent of the total cost of solar panels. Central and State government will give 60 per cent subsidy and the Gujarat Government would take loan for remaining 35 per cent for seven years on behalf of farmers. “SKY is aimed at leading peasants towards prosperity. Now farmers would be able to generate electricity in their own farms for their requirements and they would be allowed to sale excess electricity to the State Government at Rs 7 per unit for first seven years and Rs 18 per unit for next 18 years,” said Chief Minister Vijay Rupani adding that farmers investment would come back within eight to 18 months.

According to Gujarat’s energy minister Saurabh Patel the scheme would be officially launched on July 2 and in the pilot project 137 feeders in all 33 districts across the State included. As part of the pilot project 12400 farmers would be eligible to get solar panel through these 137 feeders where 1.42 lakh HP power is being consumed. Cost of the pilot project would be Rs 870 crore. SKY would create win-win situation for farmers as well as the state government as additional generation of electricity would be purchased by the state owned Electricity Companies and in exchange peasants would get extra income, said Patel. With the generation of solar power in farms, the farmers of Gujarat would get electricity during the day time for almost 12 hours, claimed the minister adding that all the farmers who are availing electricity through feeders would be eligible for the scheme. Per 1 Horse Power (HP), farmers would be given 1.25 HP worth solar penal. For 10 HP connections, farmers would get 12.5 HP solar panels. In case farmers would apply for more HP, permission would be entitled as per the rules. 10 sq feet space require for 1 KW solar panel. The farmers can take crop under solar panels also, hence there would be no wastage of land.

NPAs of banks in Gujarat balloon to Rs 35,220 crore

2018-06-15T23:35:00.001-07:00

According to the latest report of the SLBC, Gujarat, the increasing bad loans in priority sectors, like those extended to the MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises, has contributed to the jump in the overall NPAs of the banks. With a 15 per cent jump in the non-performing assets (NPAs) in the last financial year (2017-18), the quantum of bad loans in both private and public sector banks of Gujarat has ballooned to a phenomenal Rs 35,220 crore. According to the latest report of the State Level Banker’s Committee (SLBC), Gujarat, which was released here on Thursday evening in the presence of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, the increasing bad loans in priority sectors, like those extended to the MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises , has contributed to the jump in the overall NPAs of the banks. This is the second time during the 2017-18 fiscal year when the NPAs of the banks in the state have crossed the Rs 35000-crore mark. By the end of September 2017, the NPAs in Gujarat stood at Rs 35,342 crore. However by the end of March 2018, the gross NPAs of the banks in Gujarat stood a shade lower at Rs 35,220 crore, which is 6.53 per cent of the total loans extended by the banks. In comparison, the NPAs at the end of March 2014 stood at Rs 15,171 crore, which was just 4.43 per cent of the advances. The NPAs in the MSME sector stood at Rs 2,018 crore in March 2014. But it has jumped three-fold to Rs 6,726 crore by March 2018. However, banks have continued to lend to this sector. A total of Rs 50,521 crore was loaned to the MSMEs during 2017-18 — 179% of the target fixed for all banks under the annual credit plan (ACP) for priority sectors.

In the ACP for 2018-19, a target for disbursing an additional Rs 39,080 crore to the MSME sector has been fixed for banks in the state. If the performance of individual banks is taken into account, then for the 2017-18 fiscal year, Allahabad Bank had the highest percentage of gross NPA — Rs 1987 crore, 34.58 per cent of its total advances of Rs 5,746 crore — followed by Dhanlaxmi Bank (33.83 per cent), Indian Overseas Bank (31.56 per cent) and UCO Bank (21.29 per cent).

Gujarat tops Niti Aayog's composite water management index

2018-06-14T23:13:00.001-07:00

Government has ranked Gujarat as the top state in composite water management in the country followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. While Tripura has emerged as top performer in north-east, Rajasthan has emerged as the best performer in the incremental progress over last two years. Gujarat has emerged as the best state on Niti Aayog’s composite water management index (CWMI) in the country followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In northeastern and Himalayan states, Tripura has been adjudged as the top state in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam.

Niti Aayog has ranked all states through first of its kind index on the composite water management, comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators covering various aspects of groundwater, restoration of water bodies, irrigation, farm practices, drinking water, policy and governance. The Aayog proposes to publish these ranks on an annual basis in future. In pursuit of cooperative and competitive federalism, Niti Aayog has been laying emphasis on developing indicators on various social sectors. In February 2018, the Aayog had released a report on ‘Healthy States, Progressive India’ which covered the ranking of states/ UTs on various health parameters. As a step further in direction and keeping in view the criticality of water for life, Niti Aayog has prepared a report on composite water management index (CWMI).

According to an official statement, the CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of states/ Union Territories inefficient management of water resources. This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation and all the states/ Union Territories, it added. It also said the index will provide useful information for the states and also for the concerned Central ministries /departments, enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.

Gujarat plans cooperative model for Narmada project

2018-06-14T02:52:00.001-07:00

Faced with shortage of water for irrigation, Gujarat has decided to strengthen a cooperative model that could see farmers manage, levy charges and ensure proper distribution of the irrigation water released by the Narmada river damThe dam, managed by the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), is in Gujarat but three other states Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra—also benefit from the waters from the Narmada that are carried by an extensive network of canals. The Gujarat government, through a notification dated 2 June, has decided to form a 12-member committee for strengthening what officials call Participatory Irrigation Management or PIM, which will lay the foundations for a cooperative-like structure. The committee will be chaired by B.N. Navalawala, former secretary in ministry of water resources in the Central government and currently an adviser to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani.

While the concept of PIM is yet to become a success in India, Gujarat, which introduced a PIM Act in 2007, aims to have 4,467 ‘irrigation cooperatives’ up and running by 2020 under the Sardar Sarovar Project, an inter-state project being implemented by SSNNL.

Although called cooperatives colloquially, these are really Water Users Associations (WUAs). Till May 2018, SSNNL had registered 2,539 of these associations and handed over the management of about 1011 these to farmers’ cooperatives, according to official data. However, only about 55 WUAs formed under Sardar Sarovar Project were functional till May.

In a normal year, the Gujarat government supplies Narmada water for irrigation from July to March before the onset of the monsoon. There is no provision to provide Narmada water for irrigation during the summer— from April to June—however the government has been giving water in this period for the past few years due to good rainfall.

Some farmers group in the state have been protesting, accusing the government of mismanaging the Narmada waters. While Gujarat received adequate rainfall in 2017, less inflow of water from the upstream catchment area of the Narmada basin in Madhya Pradesh, which accounts for 97.5% of the total catchment area, has led to a situation where the water allocation to all four states has been reduced drastically this year The Gujarat government announced earlier this year that it won’t be able to provide irrigation water to farmers this summer. Experts feel the situation could have been better handled by farmers’ associations or cooperatives. They would run the entire system, appointing officials, distributing the water in an equitable way, maintaining canals and collecting charges—whereas currently, the farmer with the biggest farms get to corner most of the water and pilferage is rampant. “When farmers get ownership of irrigation, they will not try to misuse, overuse water or damage the resources. A farmer would not overuse water in Rabi season and instead save the water for summer by building storage infrastructure and improving water use efficiency,” said Apoorva Oza, CEO, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, India, which works with SSNNL for establishing WUAs in Gujarat. One reason the WUAs have not been successful in many areas is that work on smaller canals is not complete yet, which means water is yet to reach many villages, said an industry expert who did not wish to be named.

Gujarat to become 1st State with 100% piped gas network in India

2018-06-13T22:23:00.003-07:00

Gujarat will become the first Indian state to get completely covered under the piped gas distribution network after the ninth round of bidding, which will see a quarter of the country brought under the network. The western Indian state already has 84.31 percent of its area under the city gas distribution (CGD) network, and will see the remaining area covered after the ninth round of bidding which opened last month, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Chairperson D K Sarraf said here today. Following this, the country's overall penetration will go up in terms of geographical areas, from existing 11 percent to 24 percent, covering 29 percent population from existing 19 percent, he said.

"In Gujarat, today 84.31 percent area, and 87.37 percent of population residing in the area are already covered under the CGD network. After the ninth round of bidding (which is underway), 100 percent of geographical area and population in Gujarat will be covered under the network," Sarraf told reporters on the sidelines of the investors' meet organised on the ninth CGD bidding round. Gujarat has also decided to offer a subsidy to households belonging to weaker economic sections of society to avail cooking gas through CGD network in order to raise household penetration, he said. CGD sector is currently consuming 20 million cubic metre natural gas per day, with the demand expected to multiply as penetration grows, he said. In the latest bidding round, 14 additional districts, 6 complete and 8 part, will be covered under the CGD network in the state, including Gir Somnath, Morbi, Mahisagar, Narmada, Kheda, Junagadh, and Tapi.

"Kuch Din To Gujaro GUJARAT Me"- Gujarat Tourism

2018-06-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

Aao, Kuch Din to Gujaro GUJARAT Me Amitabh Bachchan Gujarat add campaign. Amitabh Bachchan is a Gujarat state brand ambassador.

Amitabh Bachchan is Bollywood super star and many successful films completed. Amitabh Bachchan is Gujarat tourism very popular sentence Kuch Din to Gujaro Gujarat Mein. Bollywood icon and Gujarat brand Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, who has promoted areas best places in Gujarat state. Amitabh Bachchan IS Gujarat tourism ad campaign to best promote on Chakda Rickshaw best Gujarati scene to promote this campaign.

The ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’ ad campaign featuring the state’s brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan will now go global from January 2012. Big B’s Gujarat tourism so many places to ad in different famous places.

To PM Modi's Fitness Challenge, HD Kumaraswamy Says "Thanks, But..."

2018-06-13T02:42:00.004-07:00

The choice of Mr Kumaraswamy, who recently stymied the BJPs attempts to form a government in fractured Karnataka by forming an alliance with the Congress, may generate some political buzz. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tagged by Virat Kohli in his Fitness Challenge video, today tweeted a video of his morning exercises and passed on the challenge to Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Commonwealth medalist Manika Batra and 40-plus Indian Police Service (IPS) officers. The choice of Mr Kumaraswamy, who recently stymied the BJP’s attempts to form a government in fractured Karnataka by forming an alliance with the Congress, may generate some political buzz. The Janata Dal Secular-Congress tie-up has inspired opposition parties to attempt a joint fight to take on the BJP in the 2019 national elections.

Less than a month after accepting Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli's fitness challenge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday posted a video which shows him doing a number of exercises in the morning to 'refresh and rejuvenate' himself. PM Modi, known to practice yoga regularly, is seen performing a number of asanas which appeared to vary in degrees of difficulty. Additionally, he also is seen practicing breathing exercises which are known to improve the body's immunity - among several other benefits.

Gandhi's 150th delivery anniversary : Ministers from 70 nations to be taken on a 'Gandhi Trail' in Gujarat

2018-06-12T22:48:00.002-07:00

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the 150th anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi at a first-of-its-kind Worldwide Sanitation Conference named after him, the place ministers from over 70 international locations can be invited and brought on a ‘Gandhi Path’ in Gujarat. The perform, named as ‘Mahatma Gandhi Worldwide Sanitation Conference’ can be held in Delhi from September 29 to October 2, with the PM addressing the conference on the delivery anniversary of Gandhi with sanitation ministers of 70 to 80 international locations in attendance. The federal government will use the event to “showcase its efficiency” and “success story” within the Swachh Bharat program prior to now 4 years, which was launched on October 2, 2014, and have a face-to-face dialogue with the world leaders to share their experiences on sanitation programmes, officers stated.

Seaplane services to start from Sabarmati and Tapi riverfronts in Gujarat

2018-06-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has informed the Gujarat government it has chosen the Sabarmati Riverfront here and the Tapi Riverfront in Surat to start seaplane operations in the state, said officials.

A high-level team, comprising officials from the AAI, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and a private airliner, would visit these locations in coming days as part of preparations for the project, said Gujarat Chief Secretary J N Singh. The announcement came hours after the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) claimed there is no proposal as yet to start seaplane services from the Sabarmati Riverfront. In December last, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew in a seaplane from the Sabarmati river here to Dharoi Dam in Mehsana district on the last day of campaigning for the Gujarat assembly polls. PM Modi's widely publicised ride generated a lot of talk about this mode of air transportation. Citing a letter sent by AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra, Mr Singh said the seaplane project is very much on the cards.

"Just today, I received a letter from Mohapatra, informing us that the AAI has planned to set up water aerodromes in India for seaplane service. "The AAI had selected Sabarmati and Tapi riverfronts for starting the service in Gujarat," Mr Singh told PTI. Citing the letter, Mr Singh said the AAI has shortlisted three routes from where the seaplane service can be started after conducting a pre-feasibility study.

These routes are - Sabarmati Riverfront to Dharoi Dam connecting Ambaji (a temple town in Banaskantha district), Sabarmati Riverfront to the Statue of Unity near Narmada dam (in Narmada district) and Tapi Riverfront in Surat to the Statue of Unity.

Surat has got international airport status

2018-06-12T06:04:00.001-07:00

Finally, Surtis will be able to take flights for international destinations from the city airport in the next couple of months. The central government has granted customs notification for the Surat airport. According to the notification issued on June 8, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has notified it as customs airport through its notification under Section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Recently, deputy chief minister Nitin Patel had earmarked Rs 1 crore for setting up immigration facilities at Surat airport in his budget speech. It was on September 20, 2017, the state home department had asked the DGP to allot 68 immigration staff for the airport in the financial year 2018-19.

It was more than 18 months that the customs notified status for Surat airport was put on the back burner. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) had proposed the CBEC to approve customs at the airport in November 2016.

RTI activist Rajesh Modi, who was pursuing the issue for a long time, said, “We have been hearing from the elected representatives in the city for the last several months about the international airport operations. But, I have obtained copies of the official notification from the Central Board Of Indirect Taxes and Customs about the customs notification for the Surat airport.” Earlier, Air India Express had shown its willingness to operate direct flights between Surat and Dubai, provided the airport gets the requisite customs and immigration facilities.

Air India Express CEO, K Shyam Sundar, had visited the Surat airport to inspect the runway, terminal building and other infrastructure last year and met members of the social groups crusading for increased air-connectivity. Sundar had said that the company is keen to launch Surat-Dubai services, provided the infrastructure in the form of extended runway at 2,905 meters and the customs notified airport status are in place. Air India Express operates around 550 flights per week to 29 destinations including the Middle East and South-East Asia.

According to a rough estimate provided by tour and travel associations, around five lakh people from Surat and south Gujarat travelled to international destinations during 2017-18. The passenger traffic from the region is increasing by almost 20-25 per cent every year.

Railway Plans to set up 7.5 MW solar plant in gujarat, Vadnagar to get Broad-Gauge

2018-06-12T02:28:00.000-07:00

Western Railway (WR) announced that it will set up a 7.5MW-peak solar power plant in the state. “Even when the Rajdhani was introduced in India there were protests,” Go

yal said. WR also announced that the station at Vadnagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home town, will be connected with a broad-gauge track by December 2018.A booklet by the Indian Railways, “Gearing Gujarat”, was released by Railway minister Piyush Goyal via video conference. The 33km stretch will likely see trains this December.Railway minister Goyal said the railways have not received a proposal to shift the headquarters of Western Railway to Gujarat. The booklet states that the railways plans to set up a 14MW-peak(MWp) solar power plant.

Gujarat: PAAS leader Alpesh Kathiriya attacked

2018-06-11T23:55:00.001-07:00

Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) Alpesh Kathiriya was allegedly attacked through round five persons outside his home in Nana Varachha area of town. Kathiriya sustained minor accidents and he later went to Kapodra police station to resort a police compliant.
Kathiriya was at his home at round 7pm when he was requested to return out of home over telephone to talk about some factor. Kathirya went out where a group of fellows who've are available in a Duster automobile have been looking forward to him. During dialogue the accused first punched Kathiriya on his face the use of some weapon and later when Kathirya attempted to escape from the spot he was attacked with a knife. “The accused are known to us. They had some dispute with Kathiriya’s younger brother. We are giving the details to police,” PAAS convener Dharmik Malaviya told TOI.

Meanwhile, a group of PAAS supporters gathered outside Kapodra police station when Kathiriya reached there to register his complaint. The group of supporters blocked the road outside the police station for a while. Some supporters also allegedly pelted stones on a GSRTC bus and damaged its windows.

In Gujarat Monsoon’s entry likely this week

2018-06-11T04:51:00.002-07:00

Maharashtra received seasonal rains last week and now Gujarat is eagerly waiting for monsoon after a short spell of pre-monsoon showers. Satellite images show monsoon clouds inching northwards. The meteorological department has predicted light to moderate showers in parts of South Gujarat and Saurashtra this week. According to the website of India Meteorological Department, from June 11 to 13, light to moderate rain or thundershowers are very likely at isolated places in Gujarat along with Union Territories of Diu, Daman, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Dry weather will continue in Kutch district though, adds the forecast. Met officials said that with the early start of monsoon in Kerala, it was expected that the rains will arrive in the state around June 10. Officials added that monsoon is still on time as Gujarat traditionally reports the first showers in the third week of June. Temperatures remained high in the state with Bhavnagar topping the heat chart with 41.5°C. Ahmedabad(41.2°C) and Surendranagar (41°C) followed closely.

Gujarat: Under-debt, farmer commits suicide over ‘crop failure’

2018-06-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

A 52-year-old farmer at Arsodia village in Sabarkantha district has committed suicide by consuming pesticide allegedly over crop failure. His family said that Bharat Govind Parmar had taken a farm loan of Rs 3.5 lakh from Union Bank of India and was finding it difficult to repay it due to “repeated failure of crops for the last three years”. Parmar was shifted to Apollo Hospital in Ahmedabad where he died late Friday. “In their initial statements, the family members Bharat Govind Parmar have said that crop failure and financial crisis was the reason for committing suicide. But a proper investigation is yet to be conducted to know the exact cause of suicide,” said Sub-Inspector Vijaysinh Gadaria of Himmatnagar B-division police station, who recorded the statement of Parmar’s family members.

Sabarkantha Superintendent of Police Saurabh Singh also said that “exact reason behind the suicide could be known only after proper investigation when the family is over from the shock of suicide’’. However, speaking to The Sunday Express, the deceased farmer’s cousin said that Parmar, who used to grow cotton, castor, tobacco on his 5 bigha land and another 5 bigha on rent, was facing severe financial crisis due to “repeated crop failure”. “I discussed the matter with other family members and we had decided to buy 10 cows and buffaloes for him in the next two to three months to supplement his income through animal husbandry. I had communicated about it to Bharatbhai. However, he took the extreme step and ended his life, shocking every one in the family,” said Vipul, who runs a security agency in Himmatnagar, about 40 km from Arsodia village.

Parmar’s two sons are married and work with private companies in Himmatnagar, earning Rs 10,000-15,000 per month. “Though they saved some money to support their parents, but that was not enough to meet the requirements. Bharatbhai recently told me that agriculture was no more profitable with increasing cost of labour, seeds, fertiliser and pesticides. Moreover, the minimum support price (MSP) for agriculture produce like cotton has not been increased in proportion to the hike in increase in input cost of production. This has made agriculture non-profitable,” Vipul said, adding that Parmar had recently asked him to look some jobs for him in Himmatnagar. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, when questioned by mediapersons about the incident, ruled out financial crisis due to failure of crop as the the reason for the suicide. “When incidents of farmers’ accidental deaths come and we go to its root causes, we get different details. No cases of small farmers committing suicide due to crop failure have taken place in Gujarat. But people do so (commit suicide) for some other reasons like loss in business, some big expenditure, or debt-related to non-agriculture purpose. Situation in Gujarat is not such that farmers have to commit suicide. Gujarat’s agriculture production is increasing every year due to Narmada related irrigation,” Patel said. Meanwhile, farm activist Bharatsinh Jhala said that 11,000 farmers had committed suicide in Gujarat between 1998 and 2014 and another 2,500 farmers between 2014 and 2018, “quoting figures from National Crime Records Bureau”.

Gujarat Narmada Valley plant resumes operation

2018-06-09T05:51:00.002-07:00

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals (GNVFC) today said the technical problem at its plant near Bharuch has been fixed and production has resumed.

A week ago, a minor gas leak was noticed from the plant’s absorption tower circulation pump, following which the equipment was safely shut down.

The changeover has been smooth and the company met the customers' requirement from its existing inventory and now will further fresh production in the normal course, it added.

“Now the plant has been started after fixing the technical issues with full safety precautions and normal production has been achieved today at 7 am,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

Gujarat govt vows contract farming in villages

2018-06-09T03:49:00.004-07:00

Gujarat government has accepted 'Contract Farming' as one of the solutions to increase the income of farmers in rural parts of the state. The chief secretary Dr JN Singh put stress over the contract farming so that farmers can receive direct income from the corporates who purchase their produces without any middleman or dependence on market. The government representatives including council of ministers and all IAS officials discussed on managing agrarian crisis in state during 9th edition of Chintan Shibir.

"The farmers should be made aware on contract farming because this will not only increase quality and quantity of agricultural produces of farmers but will also give them good returns. The government has been making effort to double the income of farmers and help them provide market of their agricultural and dairy produces," said the chief secretary. In this brainstorming session, the deputy chief minister Nitin Patel insisted that the efforts to make water available in farms should be made after the Narmada Irrigation project finished almost. The Dy CM also put stress over Gauchar( grazing land) development schemes and said that the aerial spray of seeds of high quality grass should be done in Gauchar lands so that it could be supplied to cattle rearing people. The additional chief secretary in home department MS Dagur insisted that the restructuring of Narmada Nigam is required to achieve the targets and efficient water management. Ministers RC Faldu, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Saurabh Patel, et al were also part in of the debate.

In this brainstorming session, the deputy chief minister Nitin Patel insisted that the efforts to make water available in farms should be made after the Narmada Irrigation project finished almost.