Diamond gallery for public to come up at Surat

Feb 29 201

The venture is an initiative of the Surat Municipal Corporation

Surat, India’s hub for diamond cutting and polishing is soon going to also be the country’s first city to have a dedicated diamond gallery for the public, reports say. This venture is the endeavour of the Surat Municipal Corporation. The gallery will inform the public about the aspects of diamond cutting and polishing, across five audio-visual centres set up at the gallery, which will explain the process to visitors through a documentary, reports suggest.

The gallery will be opened city’s Science Centre and is expected to be completed within three months. The gallery will also be a platform to narrate the key role of Surat in the global diamond industry. The project is being set up with the assistance of IDI and is expected to be set up at an estimated cost of around Rs.20 crore, reports say.

Indian shuttlers Arvind Bhat and Anand Pawar Advance

New Delhi, February 29, 2012

 

Indian shuttlers Arvind Bhat and Anand Pawar crossed the first round hurdle but it was curtains for their compatriots P Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram in the men's singles competition of the German Open Grand Prix Gold in Mulheim an der Ruhr.

Former National champion Arvind reached the second round after Scott Evans retired midway at 21-9, while Anand defeated Eetu Heino of Finland 21-12, 21-16.

However, Commonwealth Games Bronze medallist P Kashyap lost a grim battle against Singapore's Zi Liang Derek Wong 15-21, 21-23, while Ajay Jayaram suffered a 9-21, 19-21 defeat against fifth seed Simon Santoso of Indonesia.

Arvind will now take on fourth seed Korean Hyun Il Lee in the second round, while Anand will be up against Santoso.

India's mixed doubles pair of V Diju and Jwala Gutta also failed to cross the first round hurdle and suffered a 21-18, 9-21, 19-21 defeat to Wai Hong Wong and Hoi Wah Chau of Hong Kong in a 51-minute hard-fought match.

US Mormon Church ‘baptises’ Mahatma Gandhi, Hindus shocked

Hindus in the US have been shocked by reports of proxy baptism of Mahatma Gandhi by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In a statement from Nevada, USA, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed said on Wednesday it was appalling to note that

 

Gandhi had been reportedly baptized by proxy by LDS. “It is insensitive and hurtful to the feelings of about one billion Hindus spread worldwide,” he said.

The matter came to light after Salt Lake City-based independent researcher Helen Radkey emailed Zed, also president of Universal Society of Hinduism, some pages from FamilySearch, an LDS service that showed Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Person Identifier LHTR-62Z; born 2 October 1869 in Porbandar and died 30 January 1948 in New Delhi) as baptized on 27 March 1996 at Salt Lake City Utah Temple.

The subsequent procedure of ‘Confirmation’ of the baptism was completed 17 November 2007 at Sao Paulo Brazil Temple and “Initiatory” completed 4 February 2009 at Sao Paulo Brazil Temple. It also listed names of Gandhi’s siblings, parents and children.

Radkey said she looked up this record on February 16 but it had since disappeared and was no longer available in the database. Person Identifier LHTR-62Z pulled up as “Unknown Name”. It was unusual for a record to vanish, she added.

Emails sent by Zed to LDS officials carrying short letter addressed to LDS President Thomas S. Monson on February 24 have remained unanswered till now. In this “information request”, Zed asked whether it was a fact that Gandhi had been baptized by proxy by LDS; how many other deceased Hindus had been baptized by proxy without the will/request of their living relatives; was it the current/past LDS policy to baptize Hindu ancestors without the will/request of the living relatives and would this policy continue in future also.

“After the recent news of posthumous baptizing of Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal's parents, prominent Jewish victim Anne Frank (Diary of a Young Girl) and now Mahatma Gandhi reports, we are highly concerned and wonder how many of our ancestors had been baptized by LDS without our will,” Zed said.

Zed further said Monson should apologize for this and explain how this happened. “Monson should also come out with detailed report on how many Hindus had been baptized without the will or request of their living relatives. Proxy baptism of our ancestors, who lived and died as Hindus, is simply not acceptable,” he added.

Catholics too have objected such baptism of their members and even Republican American presidential front-runner Mitt Romney’s atheist father-in-law Edward Davies was posthumously baptized. FamilySearch claims to be the largest genealogy organization in the world and runs a Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Official LDS website says that the foundation of the doctrine of baptism for the dead comes from latter-day revelation through Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-44). “By standing in as proxy for someone who has died — often one of his or her own ancestors — a Church member may be baptized on behalf of that deceased person… Lord does not damn those people who, through no fault of their own, never had the opportunity for baptism. He has therefore authorized baptisms to be performed by proxy for them... The validity of a baptism for the dead depends on the deceased person accepting it and choosing to accept and follow the Savior while residing in the spirit world”.

Baptisms for the dead are performed only in temples because of sacredness involved and the ceremony reportedly involves immersion in water while dressed in white clothing.

Jesus Christ is the head of LDS that was restored by God through Smith. One of the fastest growing churches, LDS is led by 15 apostles including president Monson, also considered a prophet, first and second counsellors Henry B Eyring and Dieter F Uchtdorf and president of the Quorum of the Twelve Boyd K Packer.

LDS, also known as Mormon Church that claims to be a Christian denomination, has 134 temples and a membership of more than 14 million. Republican Romney is a Mormon and so is US Senate majority leader Harry Reid.

ATM stolen in Bhuj city

Ahmedabad, Wed Feb 29 2012

An ATM machine of a private bank was stolen in Bhuj city of Kutch district on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, police said.

Preliminary investigation showed there were no security guards posted or CCTV cameras installed for this ICICI ATM machine in RTO Renovation Site area. Police said the machine was just put on a table like a television set. “The matter came to light only this morning,” said police inspector J J Dharnga of the Bhuj Rural police station who is investigating the matter.

A sadbhavana tale for 'king'

Feb 29, 2012

2002 riots and Sadbhavana fasts rocked the state assembly on Tuesday. GPCC president Arjun Modhwadia called upon chief minister Narendra Modi to show some Sadbhavana to the riots victims. Modhwadia said the Maharaja of Bhavnagar had once conquered Savarkundla. After this incident, the dethroned ruler of Savarkundla revolted against the Maharaja of Bhavnagar. However, in case of a death of a family member at the Maharaja's place, the dethroned ruler went to pay homage. He said: "Our present king does not have time to share the grief of the victims including Dara Mody and Rupa Mody who lost their son in the riots.".  Rupa Mody and Dara Mody whose son is missing since 2002, had asked the 'king' to offer condolence for the incident. But our present king has no time to show Sadbhavana towards these riots victims."

Quoting an incident of the erstwhile rulers of Bhavnagar, he said in the past, even enemies used to pay homage in case of death.

Idol theft: Cong to take out rally

Feb 26, 2012,

PALANPUR: The failure of police to recover the 1,500-year-old marble idol of 'Chakreshwari' Mataji', stolen from Digambar Jain temple at Umta village in Visnagar taluka of Mehsana distinct on Sunday last by some miscreants, has assumed political overtones.

Congress has decided to take out a rally on Tuesday in Mehsana to demand the resignation of minister of state for home Praful Patel over the failure of police to recover the Rs one crore worth idol even after so many days.

Congress MP from Patan Jadish Thakore told TOI that though eight days have passed since the theft took place, but there has been no progress in the case.

He said it was regrettable more for the fact that the minister belonged to Umta village yet he has so far not visited the place once.

"Congress has the habit of adding fuel to fire. It was trying to make political capital out of the issue," Mehsana district Bharatiya Janata Party president, Rishikesh Patel, who is also an MLA from Visnagar, said.

Meanwhile, Moniji Nirbhay Sagar, who is on a fast unto death for the past eight day, said, "Chief minister Narendra Modi has assured me of early recovery of the stolen idol. Until the idol is recovered and restored to its place, I will not take food. I have given up milk and juice already. I will now stop taking water too." A large number of devotees are arriving from Kalol, Ahmedabad, Palanpur and other places to the village to express their solidarity with Moniji.

Kid tests HIV positive in Rajkot now

Feb 29, 2012

Rajkot Months after 24 thalassemic children were tested HIV positive after undergoing blood transfusion at the Junagadh Civil Hospital , another eight-year-old thalassemic boy, this time from Rajkot, has met with the same fate.

However, unlike the last case in which parents of the affected children claimed to have procured blood only from Junagadh Civil Hospital, the child in Rajkot was supplied blood for regular transfusion from various blood banks run by the government, Red Cross and private clinics.

Thalassemia Jagruti Manch (TJM), a voluntary group, has promised to arrange for the best possible medical treatment for this class III student, besides running a drive to conduct tests for all thalassemic patients in the district.

“Since the blood was procured from different blood banks over the years, it will be very difficult to find the exact source of infection in this case,” said Mital Khetani of TJM. “However, our priority is to provide the best treatment to the child who comes from a very modest background,” he said.

The child was diagnosed with thalassemia when he was six-months-old. He lost his father three years ago.

His uncle, who runs an auto-rickshaw, was not sure whether to file a complaint against any blood bank or not. “I have the responsibility of two families and parents on me. I do not have time and money for the legal battle,” he said.

The man said that in the wake of the tragedy in Junagadh, a few relatives had asked him to get HIV tests done on his nephew. The first test, done three months ago, turned out to be positive. A second test for verification was conducted on February 16, which too was positive. The child’s mother’s tests have been negative.

Khetani said that in September last year, free HIV test camp was organised by his organisation in Rajkot, where patients from all over Saurashtra were asked to participate. “But the turnout was very low and nobody was tested positive. We soon held a second camp,” he said.

Of the 23 children who were tested HIV positive between January to August 2011 in Junagadh, two have died so far. Another boy was HIV tested positive last month.

While the state government had given a clean chit to the Junagadh Civil Hospital, the High Court had ordered an inquiry by the police into the matter.

Bhuj's Maninagar Gadi Sansthan to celebrate 50 years

 Feb 27, 2012,

The Maninagar Gadi Sansthan, a swaminaryan sect which has its roots in Kutch has decided to celebrate the golden jubilee of its Darbargadh temple in Bhuj in a big way this April. The temple organisers expect huge participation from lakhs of its devotees in the Patel community (locally known as Kanbi) and other non-Patel communities like Lohana and Bhatia from home and abroad.

''Our Bhuj-based temple is also a big educational institute which houses modern facilities along with hostels for students. Since this institute is also completing 50 years of existence, it will therefore be a huge double celebration. The institute was set up five decades ago by great visionary saint Mukatjivan bapa who had himself studied in English medium and whose father, was a British government servant, disclosed Mahant Bhagwatipriyadasji, second in command at the Gadi Sansthan.

"The April celebrations would comprise a big yagna as well as plans to give school buses worth Rs50 lakh to various schools in the district. The celebrations would be attended by our devotees in UK and East Africa. Top Kenyan politicians and social leaders including key ministers from the Kenyan government are likely to attend the celebrations, he said.

Incidentally it was Muktjivan Bapa who had advised the Indian communities to leave Uganda for UK when he sensed trouble for the community there and other African countries. He had also asked Kutchis to settle in Karachi in undivided India and as a result there was huge Swaminaryan temple opposite the Karachi municipal corporation building having hundreds of devotees flocking to the temple every day.

Saurashtra lose in Vijay Hazare league

 Feb 29, 2012

Mumbai: Despite Cheteshwar Pujara's fine knock of 80, Saurashtra got bundled out for a mere 173, which Gujarat achieved comfortably to register a four-wicket victory in an inconsequential West Zone Vijay Hazare one-day league tie here on Tuesday.

Electing to bat first here at the Wankhede Stadium, Saurashtra scored 173 all out in 47.5 overs and in reply Gujarat reached the target, making 175 for six in 39.3 overs.

Saurashtra got off to a poor start with three of their batsmen out for ducks, even as the scorecard read 14 for four.

Pujara then coupled with Chirag Jani (42) to consolidate the innings.

The duo managed to take the score past the 100-run mark but once the 22-year-old Jani was dismissed, it was left to Pujara, who hit three sixes and as many fours in his 126-ball 80, to single-handedly guide Saurashtra to 173.

For Gujarat, debutant opening bowler Rush Kalaria took 4 for 21.

In reply to Saurashtra's modest total, Gujarat got off to a good start with the openers, Avi Barot and Priyank Panchal putting up a half-century stand together to lay a solid platform.

Thereafter, Sunny Patel (43) helped the team win easily.

Both sides were already out of the contention for a berth in the inter-zonals before today's final league game.

Meanwhile in Delhi, left-arm spinner Rajwinder Singh Golu returned with career-best figures of five for 20 as Punjab crushed Himachal Pradesh by 84 runs at the Palam ground, to comfortably make it to the knock-out stages.

Punjab scored 217 for eight in 50 overs and then Rajwinder ripped through the HP middle-order to dismiss them for 133 runs in 41.5 overs. Punjab thus finished second in the group with four victories having lost one match against Delhi.

Skipper Harbhajan Singh was again at his economical best as he had figures of one for 31 in eight overs.

For Punjab, in-from Gurkirat Singh Ahluwalia scored 59 while Taruwar Kohli (31) and Mandeep Singh (34) made some useful contributions.

Himachal Pradesh's Rishi Dhawan put up an all-round show which went in-vain. Rishi grabbed two for 44 while bowling and then hit 43 off 51 deliveries with the help of seven fours and a six.

In another match in Delhi, India pacer Ishant Sharma was back playing competitive cricket after a month's lay-off but looked gingerly during Delhi's comfortable 62-run victory over Services at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.

Incidentally, chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth had especially dropped in at the Kotla to watch Ishant bowl as he wanted to get an update on the erratic speedster's fitness. Ishant sent down six overs getting one for 29 in the process.

Ishant last played at Adelaide during the fourth Test match between India and Australia. He had a disastrous tour where he got only six wickets in four Test matches and the general notion has been that he is not hundred percent fit.

On the day, Ishant bowled in two spells of four and two overs respectively. He got a wicket with his very second delivery when he bowled Jasvir Singh. However, he didn't look very threatening after that and wasn't seen exerting himself too much.

While another left-arm seamer Pawan Suyal who has made comeback after major knee surgery bowled his full quota of 10 overs, Ishant bowled lesser number of overs than skipper Rajat Bhatia who sent down nine overs of military medium stuff.

It is highly unlikely that Ishant who has never been an automatic choice in the limited overs version would be preferred even though senior-pro Zaheer Khan is likely to be rested for the Asia Cup.

Stampede: Guj govt passes blames Junagadh civic body

Gandhinagar, Feb 28  2012

Already in the dock over a stampede in which seven devotees were killed at a Mahashivratri fair at Bhavnath temple in Junagadh earlier this month, the Gujarat government today sought to pass on the blame to the civic body for the tragedy. Narendra Modi government has been under attack from the opposition Congress for not making adequate arrangements for the fair where tens of thousands of pilgrims had gathered on Mahashivratri day. "We had released a grant of Rs 5 crore to Junagadh Municipal Corporation around two years ago for widening the bridge there...It is unfortunate that the work was not completed," Minister of Urban Development Nitin Patel told the state assembly. "Had the width of the bridge been increased the tragedy could had been averted," he said while replying to a question from a Congress MLA. Seven persons, including three women and two children, were trampled to death in the stampede that took place on night of February 19. However, the Opposition Leader Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that it was mis-management on part of the state government which led to the tragedy in which precious lives were lost. Following the incident, the state government had constituted an inquiry panel headed by the additional chief secretary Varun Mayra. The state government had also announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for the family of the deceased.

Companies which owe more than Rs1 crore in VAT

Feb 28, 2012

Close to 350 firms, including some of the leading corporates, owe in excess of Rs12,500 crore as outstanding Value Added Tax (VAT) dues to the state government, figures provided in the state assembly show.

The amount includes the pending sales tax dues of Rs8,277 crore which Essar Oil Limited owes to the state government. Essar Oil has approached Supreme Court in the matter.

In a written reply to a question by Porbandar MLA Arjun Modhwadia, finance minister Vaju Vala said there were 344 firms each of which owed more than Rs1 crore in VAT dues to the state government. “The total amount for these 344 firms works out to the tune of Rs12,520 crore,” Vala said. Modhwadia had sought details of firms and units that owe VAT dues of Rs1 crore or more.

Besides Essar Oil, the companies which owe more than Rs1 crore in VAT dues include Reliance Industries, Adani Enterprises, ONGC, ABB Limited, Biotor, Essar Steel, Welspun India, Dishman Pharma, Pepsico India (Holdings), Saurashtra Cement and Asian Paints. Vala informed that steps had been initiated under Gujarat Sales Tax Act, Gujarat VAT Act and Land Revenue Act to recover the outstanding dues.

Ahmedabad is home to 103 of these firms, followed by Valsad with 47, Kutch with 30, Vadodara 28, Surat 22, Bhavnagar 20 and Rajkot 15. Vala also said that the recovery was not being made on account of various reasons due to stay orders, proceedings before Debt Recovery Tribunal, BIFR, or companies going into liquidation, among others.

Saurashtra-Kutch rattled by 22 tremors in 3 days

Feb 28, 2012,

RAJKOT: There seems to be no respite for people in Saurashtra and Kutch from the low-intensity earthquakes rattling the region since long. In the last three days since February 25, 22 tremors have left people scared in several parts of these regions.

According to Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) officials, on February 26, as many as 16 earthquake tremors were reported in the state. Out of the 16 tremors, 12 were reported in Saurashtra region alone.

Moreover, a tremor measuring 3.3 on Richter scale was experienced in Talala in Junagadh district on February 26. On February 27, four low-intensity earthquake tremors were reported in Saurashtra and Kutch region.

According to ISR officials since February, 176 earthquake tremors have occurred in the state, most of them were low-intensity earthquake tremors.

Ten days ago, an earthquake tremor measured 1.3 on Richter scale was reported 30 km north-east from Sardar Sarovar dam on river Narmada in Bharuch. However, no casualty has been reported so far from any corners of the state, but frequency of the earthquake tremors have left

Godhra train carnage victim's bust to be erected

PALANPUR: A remote village of Sabarkantha district has decided to pay tributes to a kar sevak who died in the Godhra train carnage 10 years ago, in a unique way.

This February 27, villagers of Kubadharol near Vadali will install a bust of Lakhubhai Makani, 50, who died in the Sabarmati Express train carnage in 2002, in Godhra along with 58 Hindus including women and children.

Makani was a farmer in the village and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Besides Makani, Bhimjibhai Patel, 48 of Derol village in Khedbrahma taluka had also died in the carnage.

The village has been decking up for the function. The bust made of marble from Ambaji has been made at a cost of Rs 50,000, said Jayanti Patel, Makani's nephew and activist of Vishwa Hindu Parishad

Mahendra Patel, who is organizing the programme said, nearly 2,000 people including Dharm Narayan Sharma, the secretary of VHP and several sadhus are expected to participate in the ceremony.

CSMCRI to set up TFC RO membrane mfg plant

BHAVNAGAR: Safe and clean water would be much cheaper now as Bhavnagar's Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) is going to set up a plant in Bhavnagar.

The 2,000 sqm/day thin film composite (TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) membrane and spiral modules manufacturing plant will come up in Chitra Industrial Estate here in Bhavnagar.

New Delhi-based Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) sanctioned the project to CSMCRI, which is one of the constituent laboratories of CSIR.

According to Dr P K Ghosh, director, CSMCRI, "Rs 24 crore will be spent for the project. It will be first of its kind in the country.''

"The desalination plants that are installed in the country so far are based on imported RO membrane. But CSMCRI has developed a world-class technology for desalination of brackish and sea water for producing clean water with the help of thin film composite (TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) membrane manufacturing technology in the country. The membranes made from this facility will be utilized for CSIR-800 programme, societal mission activities and other government-funded projects for meeting the drinking water demand. The facility can showcase the indigenous membrane technology and will facilitate transfer of the technology to prospective entrepreneurs for large-scale production. Commercialization of the indigenously developed TFC RO membrane technology will have a great impact in meeting the demand of water in the country in future for both human consumption as well as for industry,'' Ghosh added.

He said that they expect utilization of the indigenously made membranes to reduce overall production cost and have high socio-economic relevance in terms of environmental safety, water treatment and reclamation and other industrial applications.

"The technology that we have developed will not only desalinate sea water but also all others impurities in the water making it safer and cleaner for drinking. Moreover, in a country, where the population is on a rise everyday and which depends on rain water, we need to have this kind of technology to solve our drinking water problems which are going to be serious in the coming years. Based on indigenous membrane technology, CSIR-CSMCRI has set up about 80 RO desalination plants in the country as well as overseas," Ghosh added.

According to A V R Reddy, principal scientist, (reverse osmosis membrane), CSMCRI, TFC membrane preparation is a complex process that requires sound understanding of the influence of different process variables on performance and a high degree of precision-based technology. There are only a few companies in the US and Japan which have so far been able to master this type of technology for desalination''.

Shaky win for Mumbai against Saurashtra

Feb 26, 2012

MUMBAI: Chasing 252 on a supportive track and seaming conditions was never going to be easy for Mumbai, against Saurashtra in their West Zone one-day league match for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, at the Wankhede stadium on Saturday.

And their task was further compounded by four early wickets. Struggling at 40/4 by the 10th over, even the die-hard fan would have ruled out a Mumbai win.

But there was a debutante who had other plans. Shoaib Shaikh walked out to bat when Suryakumar Yadav ran himself out while stealing a cheeky single.

Shaikh had made it to Mumbai's one-day team by the sheer burden of his runs on the domestic circuit - he had only recently scored two hundreds in the KC Mahindra Invitational Shield.

Shaikh knew if he could stay at the wicket, he could seal it for Mumbai. Sure, he took his time to settle down, but once he got in, he never looked back. Shaikh, along with Anup Revandkar, added 63 runs for the fifth wicket. The partnership was zero flash and all patience and finesse.

The duo kept their heads down and started accumulating runs for Mumbai. An occasional boundary was welcome, even acknowledged by the other, but the task at hand was never forgotten.

By the time Revandkar left, run out for 45 in the 30over, Mumbai had reached 114. To be able to chase the target, Mumbai had to go slightly over five an over. But at the 30-over mark, they were going just above four an over. "We did play a bit slow," admitted Shaikh.

"We had lost four wickets and one more wicket would have been extremely dangerous. We didn't want to take that chance and throw away another one cheaply."

For a 25-year-old, Shaikh exercised tremendous refrain from playing his strokes. Skipper Ajit Agarkar joined Shaikh after Revandkar departed. This time the duo added 43. Agarkar, of course, was the more dominating partner in this sixth-wicket alliance.

Agarkar scored a 21-ball 28 before being dismissed by Kamlesh Makwana. Ankit Chavan (7) followed his skipper next. His dismissal brought to the crease Shaikh's roommate at the Garware Club (the Mumbai team is put up there), Iqbal Abdulla. The roomies put on 53 runs.

Earlier, Agarkar won the toss and put Saurashtra in. Sagar Jogiyani chipped in with 67 at the top, but the hero for the visitors was once again Chirag Jani, who scored a 71-ball 79.

Gujarati actress Dimple Hingu commits suicide

Feb 25, 2012

SURAT: A Gujarati film actress and model from the city Dimple Hingu (25) committed suicide by consuming poison at her house on Lambe Hanuman Road in Varachha on Friday night.

The exact reasons for taking extreme step are not known.

She was shifted to a private hospital in a serious condition where she died on Saturday. Her body was sent for postmortem at Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research ( SMIMER).

Hingu started modeling in 2004 and featured in some video advertisements of local products. She also did modelling for sari and dress material products manufactured by city-based groups. She made her film debut in Gujarati movie 'Rangilo Ratnakalakar' in 2006 as lead actress. After that she did 'Mota Ghare Tenu Sasariyu' in lead role again. The movie is scheduled to be released in March.

Her father is a tailor and her mother a housewife.

Bollywood movie shot at Saurashtra

Manthan & Mirch Masala : Dusky and talented beauty Smita Patil's two fantastic movies. Former told story behind the biggest milk revolution called - Amul. Movie was directed by Shyam Benegal. While Ketan Mehta's Mirch Masala told story of fierce lady Sonbai. Rural Gujarat was captured beautifully in both movies.

Guide : yet another legend. Most of the parts were shot in Rajasthan, but the village where Raju comes after jail, was in Gujarat. The drought scenes were actually shot in Limdi, Saurashtra, Gujarat. There was a drought in the state at that time. And when the movie got released, it was advertised as 'Guide prays for rain' and it went on to become a huge success.

Teja's zero-budget film.

Hindi film industry is ready with its first ever zero-budget film. The film titled ‘Lo Ho Gayi Party’ is directed by debutant director Tejas R Padia from Gujarat. The film has Satish Kaushik, Manoj Joshi and five newcomers in the lead roles.

“I hail from Saurashtra, Gujarat and have been in the industry since nine years. After struggling all these years, I decided to make a film free of cost. One and all associated with the film be it actors or technicians have worked for free as a good will gesture,” informs Tejas.

He goes on to shed light on the storyline and says, “The story revolves around five strugglers who have a dream to make it big in Bollywood. Amid this, one of them buys a second hand Santro car and throws a party for others at his place. And how this party turns into real mess is something interesting to watch.”

‘Lo Ho Gayi Party’ was completed in 13 to 14 months despite all constraints reveals, the director. The film will hit the screens soon and before that Tejas wants to market it properly again without spending a penny. Way to go dude!

Saurashtra-Kutch Water Grid programme

Mumbai/Ahmedabad: Leading construction firm HCC today said that it has bagged a contract worth Rs 289 crore to construct a bulk water transmission system for Gujarat Water Infrastructure.

The order involves construction of a 57-km long water transmission pipeline between Dhanki and Maliya villages under the Swarnim Gujarat Saurashtra-Kutch Water Grid programme, HCC said in a statement here.

HCC has so far constructed seven irrigation dams, 18 barrages, 35 water treatment plants, 70 sewage treatment plants and has also executed more than 25 km of tunneling at depths of up to 80 m in Mumbai.

Dirty Picture Among Top 10 Openers - Bollywood

After a string of hits, another film has made its mark at the ticket counter in 2011, this one being Milan Luthria’s The Dirty Picture. The film, which took a flying start on Friday and grossed around Rs 10 crore on its second day, is now among the top ten domestic openers of the year, a first for actress Vidya Balan.

The Dirty Picture also took a fabulous opening on Sunday, and tradewallahs are looking forward to a splendid first weekend.

In Mumbai, Rajesh Thadani of Multimedia Combines says, “The film had an excellent second day at the box office. The Dirty Picture wrapped up its second day at around Rs 3.5 crore in the Mumbai circuit and Rs 10 crore domestically. Sunday is expected to be bigger and better and hopes are high.”

In Gujarat, Ajay Bagbai of Rajvi Trade Link says the film collected around Rs 75 lakh in Gujarat and Rs 20 lakh in Saurashtra. The all-India, second day collections were around RS 10-11 crore. “The film has opened at a very positive note today.”

Castorseed production Record output likely

Chennai, Feb. 21: 

Castorseed production this year's season to October is likely to be 36 per cent higher, thanks to a 34 per cent rise in crop acreage. But a 3 per cent drop in the yield has capped further gains in production, according to a study conducted by Nielsen for the Solvent Extractors Association of India.

According to the study, with area under castor increasing to 11.5 lakh hectares (lh) from 8.6 lh, production is seen rising to a record 16.19 lakh tonnes (lt) from 12.5 lt a year ago.

Gujarat, which accounts for over half of the area under castor and nearly three-fourths of the crop produced in the country, will see its production increase 36 per cent to 12.26 lt (9 lt). However, yield is seen dropping by 6 per cent this season.

Area under the crop this season has increased to 6.97 lh from 4.83 lh a year ago.

The solvent extractors' body said area under the crop rose by over 50 per cent in Kutch, Surendranagar, Vadodra and Patan districts.

Lower yield in Gandhinagar and Sabarkantha districts has capped production gains.

According to the Solvent Extractors Association, the projections have been made after three rounds of pickings.

Two more pickings will take place in April and May before a final figure on the crop can be arrived at, a statement issued by it said.

Limited gains

Another major factor for this year's improved production is the performance of Rajasthan where output is likely to top 2 lakh tonnes. In fact, the study has estimated a production of 2.07 lt from 1.69 lh against 1.8 lt produced from 1.27 lh last year.

Things could have been far better in the north-western State but for a 14 per cent drop in yield to 1,222 kg a hectare.

The association said area under castor has increased in all growing districts — Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Pali, Sirohi. The yield is lower this season due to inadequate rainfall during growth state of the crop coupled with dew and water shortage, it said.

Though the area under castor has increased by 16 per cent to 2.3 lh in Andhra Pradesh this season, a poor yield of 677 kg a hectare is capping the production gain to 11 per cent at 1.56 lt. An indifferent monsoon is one of the reasons for the poor yield in the southern State, where other crops such as cotton and pulses have also suffered.

“This year, all castor-growing districts received rain that was 25 per cent lower than the average rainfall. Last year, it was 36 per cent higher than average,” the Solvent Extractors Association said.

Castor is grown in Anantapur, Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Prakasam and Rangareddy districts mainly.

Contribution from the rest of the country is seen almost unchanged in terms of area, production and yield.

Shipments

India's castorseed production makes up 65 per cent of the global output, while it makes up 51 per cent of the castor oil production. At least 75 per cent of the castor oil produced in the country is exported, mainly to the US, Europe and Japan.

Castor oil is an important raw material for industries manufacturing soap, surface coatings, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, perfumes, greases and lubricants.

During the April-January period of the current fiscal, 3.24 lt castor oil have been exported worth Rs 3,204.48 crore. During the entire fiscal last year, exports were 3.43 lt valued at Rs 2,362.46 crore.

Five hog deers arrive in Rajkot zoo

 Feb 21, 2012

RAJKOT: Visitors at Rajkot zoological park will soon get to see one more specie of deers. Five hog deers, two males and three females, were brought to the city zoo from Punjab.

"In March last year, Rajkot zoo had given one pair of lion to the Punjab zoo and we had an agreement to get other animals in exchange. So, we have brought five Hog deers. Currently, they are kept in captivity and will be on display for public viewing at the zoo," superintendent, Rajkot zoological park, R K Hirpara said.

According to officials, the city zoo has a tiger, leopards, crocodiles and black bucks among others. Lion constitute the highest numbers in the zoo. Rajkot Zoological Park covers 55.37 hectares area which is undulating with ridges and valleys, rocky outcrops and well drained, surrounded by two big lakes Lalpari and Randarda.

"Within the next four months new species like sloth bear, four-horned antelope and chinkara will be brought from Punjab zoo to the city," Hirpara added.

In order to attract visitors, battery-operated vehicles have been introduced at the zoo to take visitors around.

5 Sri Lankan fishermen held off Veraval coast

Feb 21, 2012

GANDHINAGAR: An Indian Coast Guard ship C-149 apprehended five Sri Lankan fishermen and seized their boat Muthukumari in Indian waters 55 nautical miles southwest of Veraval on Sunday midnight.

The vessel was investigated in adverse sea condition for violation of the provisions under the Maritime Zone of India Act, 1981. A fish catch of 1,000 kg was found in the boat.

The apprehended Sri lankan fishing boat along with crew is being brought to Porbandar for further interrogation by security agencies, an official release said.

Meanwhile, Indian Coast Guard director general vice-admiral MP Muralidharan will be on a three-day visit to Gujarat from Monday. He will call on governor and chief minister of the state to apprise them about the Indian Coast Guard activities and security scenario off Gujarat coast. The Indian Coast Guard chief will also be visiting the coast guard stations in Porbandar and Okha.

Porbandar flyover collapse: Two booked

Rajkot, Wed Feb 22 2012

Police have booked two persons on Tuesday after a police case was registered against a supervisor and labourers in connection with collapse of under-construction split-flyover in Porbandar. One person was killed and four were injured in the incident.

Based on a complaint by a labourer, Dharmendrasingh Ravidas, the Porbandar police have booked supervisor Nazir Shiekh and labourer Rajesh Rai Ekka for negligence on duty.

The complainant claimed that not due to poor construction quality but the flyover collapsed due to human error.

On Friday, a labourer, Gopikumar, on site of the flyover connecting Porbandar-Rajkot to Porbandar-Dwarka highway, died and four others were injured when a slab collapsed. The State Road and Building Department has been carrying out construction at cost of Rs 64 crore.

It was second incident of collapse for the same flyover in less than 30 days. However, in the first instance nobody was injured.

The project has been funded under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. Though it is not a corporation, Porbandar, being birthplace of Mahatma Gadhi, has been selected as Mission City for which total grant to the tune of Rs 800 crore for various infrastructure development projects will be sanctioned in 10 years.

Saurashtra Quresh Jamat vows to end cow slaughter

Rajkot, Thu Feb 23 2012

To avoid alleged harassment and financial losses, the Quresh Jamat (butchers) in Saurashtra has pledged not to slaughter cows. The jamat has threatened social boycott of those community members found violating its order.

This comes close on the heels of enactment of an Act banning cow slaughter in the state.

 

The announcement by the community, which dominates retail meat business in the region, came during its first-ever mass marriage ceremony held in Jamnagar on Sunday. Among others, the jamat had invited the district superintendent of police, local mayor and a few MPs to the event.

“We have pledged on Godarshah Wali, our saint and a figure of strong faith for our community... This underlines how serious the community is to completely ban cow slaughter,” said Quresh Jamat president Maksud Osman Sherji.

 

Sherji maintained that they would punish those caught slaughtering or selling cow meat. Besides social boycott, the punishments include heavy monetary fine.

 

He said said the community has always avoided cow slaughtering to respect public sentiments, particularly after campaigns by the Jiv Daya Group. And, he said, the decision was taken in the wake of increasing clashes with this group and several police complaints, which they said are baseless.

 

“We are under attack from several quarters — religious groups, Jiv Daya Group, political parties and the police. Frequency of attacks by the groups and police raids has increased after the state Assembly passed a Bill for cow protection last year,” said Sherji.

 

He said clashes with activists and police raid mean financial losses to the tune of Rs 1 to 2 lakh. Also, he said, a butcher often failed to prove that it was not cow meat. Besides, some clashes with the Jiv Daya Group had turned violent and left many people injured.

 

“The community is not in a position to incur further losses,” Sherji said, adding that by their “pledge”, they want to assure the law enforcing agencies as well as public at large that there would be no slaughtering by their community in the future.

 

The community has a significant presence in this part of the state, particularly in Jamnagar city, Khambhalia and Lalpur.

Modi orders probe into Junagadh stampede

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked Additional Chief Secretary Varun Mayera to set up a high-level committee to probe the stampede near the Bhavnath Shiva temple in Junagadh on Sunday. Seven persons were killed and over 40 injured in the incident.

A spokesman of the Chief Minister's Office said here that the committee would also suggest measures to prevent such incidents.

Mr. Modi announced an immediate relief of Rs. 1 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed and Rs. 25,000 to each of the injured. Inspector-General of Police (Rajkot Range) Pravin Sinha rushed to Junagadh to maintain law and order in view of the Mahashivratri festival on Monday. “The situation on Monday is totally under control,” the spokesman said.

Agriculture and Co-operative Minister Dillip Sanghani visited the tragedy site and called on the injured in hospitals and family members of the deceased.

Various “Akhadas” of sadhus and saints assembled in the ancient temple decided to celebrate Mahashivratri with simplicity and not to take out the traditional procession through the town in view of the tragedy. Only a token procession was taken out from the Bhavnath temple.

The head priests of various “Akhadas” also called on the injured in various hospitals in Junagadh.

The Akhil Bharatiya Sadhu Samaj, the main organiser of the five-day fair at the temple for Mahashivratri, also announced a token assistance of Rs. 11,000 each to the deceased and Rs. 5,000 to the injured.

On Monday, one more person succumbed to the injuries at a Junagadh hospital taking the death toll in the stampede to seven. Six people were declared “brought dead” on Sunday.

The police believe the cause of the stampede to be a rumour that the brakes of a four-wheeler had failed in the jam-packed narrow Panj Naka bridge, the lone entrance to the temple with over 1.50 lakh pilgrims jostling with each other.

State Congress president Arjun Moadhwadia held the “inadequate security arrangements” at the traditional temple, where lakhs of devotees turn up for Mahashivratri, responsible for the incident. He also demanded a judicial probe and urged the State government to raise the immediate relief to the family members of the deceased to at least Rs. five lakh each and to the injured to Rs 50,000.

Temple head threatens fast unto death

PALANPUR: Moni Nirbhay Sagar Maharaj, the head of Umta Digambar Jain temple, some 8 km from Visnagar in Mehsana district, has threatened to go on fast unto death if the stolen ancient idol of Chakreshwari Mata is not found.

Talking to TOI, Moni said, "I have abandoned food since the time I came to know of the theft. I would give up even liquids and go on fast till the idol is recovered."

Around 250-300 devotees from across the state will also join Moni in his fast. Devotees from other parts of the country have also expressed their solidarity with Moni.

Meanwhile, director of State Archeological Survey Y S Rawat said, "The lost idol was indeed unique for its sculptural prettiness. It was a priceless piece. The idol belongs to 1200-1300 CE during the Solanki dynasty."

Small town boys make big news

Saturday, Feb 11, 2012


Students from small towns in Gujarat outshone their counterparts from cities in the Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC) and Professional Competence Course (PCC) — part of Chartered Accountant (CA) — results announced on Saturday. Surendranagar's Akshat Sanghvi, ranked 6th in India, in the exam, which was conducted in November 2011.
According to an office-bearer of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Ahmedabad chapter, the IPCC results this year for both the groups is 17.18% while group I results is 35% and group II, 29.19%. PCC result for both the groups is 16.34%. The result in Group 1 is 35.65%. In Group II, it is 32.73%.
Other small town boys in the merit list include Nikhilkumar Vekaria from Una (rank 32, IPCC); Ashwin Gajjar from Thara (18, PCC) and Nitin Ramani from Junagadh (ranked 36). While Akshat's father is a doctor, Ashwin and Nitin's fathers are small time farmers. They are the first ones of their family who have opted not to take up the ancestral occupation and, instead, pursue their dream of becoming chartered accountants. All those who have cleared these exams will now appear for the CA final.

Reliance Industries shuts distillation unit at Jamnagar facility for 3 weeks

NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries on Friday said it has shut a crude distillation unit at its only-for-export refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat for about three weeks to do maintenance work.

In a regulatory filing, the company said the planned maintenance and inspection shutdown would be used for "replacement of catalyst and implementation of productivity improvement measures in some of the secondary processing units".

The shutdown is expected to be completed in the first week of March.
Three other crude distillation units at the Jamnagar refining complex are expected to maintain normal operations, it said.

Government employee shoots contractor

Surendranagar: A state government employee at road and housing department office near collectorate here opened fire from his license revolver at a contractor on Thursday. The victim survived the attack with bullets in his leg and was shifted to an Ahmedabad hospital on Friday.

According to Surendranagar police, accused O P Meena, chief accountant with road and housing department, fired two rounds from his revolver at Dipak Aswani. Aswani was injured in his leg and was rushed to C U Shah Medical College, from where he was later shifted to Ahmedabad for treatment.

"Our preliminary investigation revealed that Aswani had apparently run into dispute with Meena over billing of his contractual work. Aswani had even threatened to file an RTI application, which incensed Meena, provoking him to launch the attack," a Surendranagar police official said.

Police have arrested Meena and started investigation in the case.

Kutch, Saurashtra continue to shiver

BHUJ/RAJKOT: Kutch and Saurashtra continued to reel under the cold wave with Naliya in Kutch being the coldest in the state at 4.2 degrees Celsius and Jamnagar in Saurashtra recording 7 degrees on Friday.

Friday was coldest day for Bhuj this winter till now as mercury dipped below 6.5 degrees Celsius for the first time. Most people were forced to remain indoors. People squatting around bonfires and wrapped in woollens in the afternoons, too, was a common sight in the region.

Naliya, where mercury had dropped to a record low of 0.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday night, recorded 4.2 degrees on Friday. A 48-year-old sadhu was said to have died due to cold and his body was found from Atmaram Circle on Bhuj-Madhapar Road.

People coming to Kutch from other parts of Gujarat had difficulty landing in the region early in the morning. Rickshaw stands that are generally crowded in the wee hours to get passengers coming in private luxury buses were empty, leaving the visitors stranded in biting cold.

"Reaching my home after landing from a bus was very difficult," said Vruntank, a student who arrived home from Ahmedabad in a private luxury coach at 5 am on Friday.

Alapnagadh, Khengar Park and Rajendra Park, some of the favourite places thronged by people in the evenings in Bhuj, wore a completely deserted look.

In Saurashtra, Jamnagar shivered at 7 degrees, while Rajkot recorded the minimum temperature of 9.4 degrees. Porbandar recorded 10.4 degrees Celsius, while Surendranagar and Amreli shivered at 10.8 degrees.

Saurashtra farmers start destroying onion crop

RAJKOT: Onion growers in Saurashtra are crying foul over not getting enough prices for their produce. Months after potato farmers in Deesa destroyed potatoes worth crores, farmers in Saurashtra are doing the same.

Onion growers in villages of Mahuva in Bhavnagar, one the highest producers of the vegetable in the state and Talaja in Rajkot are either not harvesting it or are destroying it for fear of not getting enough prices in the market.

Pravin Kathiriya, a board member in Mahuva Marketing Yard, said, "This is the worst ever scenario for onion growers as they are not even able to recover the minimum production cost of their crops. At present, farmers are getting Rs 40 to Rs 60 per 20 kg for red onion and Rs 100 to Rs 120 for white onion."

Mahuva Marketing Yard receives 1 lakh bag (one bag contains 50 kg) onion daily.

"Farmers have started destroying crops in the fields and avoiding harvest. They have already spent a lot of money on production. Now, they do not have money to take the onions to the market," said Bharatsinh Wala, a farmer in Taredi village of Mahuva taluka.

A major chunk of the total red onions produced in this region was consumed in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. "However, onions from Rajashtan and Maharashtra which are less expensive have made inroads in these regions due to which farmers of Saurashtra have lost ground and are seeing the onions pile up," said Pravin Gajera, an onion trader in Mahuva, reasoning the decline in the prices.

According to Babubhai Wala, a farmer from Dudhala village in Mahuva, "on an average farmers spend Rs 40,000 per bigha to produce onions. As against it, farmers reap 100 bags of 20 kg each per bigha. Large number farmers have opted not to harvest the crop." Moreover, Saurashtra produces around 60% of total onion production of the state.

Big B performs `shradh` in Patan

Banaskantha: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is shooting in Gujarat for an ad campaign on tourism, Monday performed `shradh` (ritual performed after death of one`s parents) at famous Bindu Sarovar in Siddhpur town of Patan district, officials said.

Bindu Sarovar is a well known place for `matru tarpan` (shradh for one`s mother) and Big B performed the ritual before leaving for Vadnagar in Mehsana district. Over a dozen priests participated in the act, they said.

"He (Bachchan) spent nearly five hours at the place and then left for Vadnagar in Mehsana district in the afternoon," said Patan Collector J G Hingrajiya.

"Bindu sarovar in Siddhpur is only place in India where `matru-shradh` can be performed. Thousands of people come here annually to perform the ritual," he added.

The actor later in the evening began shooting for the promotional campaign `Khushboo Gujarat Ki`(Essence of Gujarat) for Gujarat tourism at famous Toran or the ancient pillars of Vadnagar in Mehsana.

According to sources, Bachchan was surprised when he was told that the magnificent pillars were built in red and yellow sand stones without lime or any cementing material and each pillar occupied more than 2.25 sq metre which gives massive stability to the pillars that resembles closely with those at Modhera sun temple, located 25 km away from Mehsana.

Late in the evening, Bachchan left for Balaram Resort Palace in Banaskantha where he will make a night halt before leaving for temple town of Ambaji tomorrow to continue the shooting.