Gujarat Confidential

Model change

Some of the babus associated with the UPA-II government seem to be keen on a change of guard in the corridors of power in Delhi after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. One of the top officials,working with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission,said during his recent visit to Gandhinagar: “These days everybody is talking and appreciating the Gujarat model. We too hope that the Gujarat model comes to Delhi soon.” Interestingly,Gujarat is one of the top states as far as solar power generation capacity is concerned. The bureaucrat also had a word of appreciation for solar parks in the state and power evacuation network provided by a private firm here.

Home truth

At a high level meeting of disaster management chaired by Chief Secretary Varesh Sinha,bureaucrats were taking stock of the situation in the wake of the rising water level of Ukai dam in Surat. Sinha had asked all departments to remain alert in case rains do not stop in south Gujarat. He had an interesting suggestion for control rooms to be set up by local bodies,which made those attending the meeting realise that the senior-most bureaucrat has an eye for detail. Sinha said,“Keep emergency lights,candles,matchsticks nearby in case of power failure in the control room.”

Spoiling party

The brunt of miscalculation by organisers of first Navchintan Shibir on teachers’ education at Gandhinagar was borne by invitees who gathered at the venue from across the state. Huge crowd of teachers,students,educationists and others related to the field of education led to a major chaos at the entrance gates that forced the organisers to close them. Despite being pushed away,the invitees tried their best to enter the hall. The fortunate ones sneaked inside,an equal number was seen jostling outside. At the end,they had to be content with the live telecast on screens in the adjoining halls. After the main function,a similar chaos was witnessed at the venue of the lunch,which became worse with the heavy downpour.

New Meaning

Chief Minister Narendra Modi,who is known to give new spins to everyday stuff,gave a new twist to the word ‘master’ at the inauguration of Navchintan Shibir organised by the Indian Institute of Teachers Education at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on Tuesday. “Master woh hai jiski maa ka star hota hai (Master is the one whose mother has set high standards). He added,“Often people do not like the word master. But this what master means.”

More rains in Saurashtra region on Wednesday: Met

AHMEDABAD: While heavy rains continued to lash south Gujarat and Saurashtra on Tuesday,the Met Department issued a warning for very heavy rainfall on Wednesday. It is also predicted that the rainfall zone is likely to shift towards Saurashtra from Wednesday,leading to more concentration of rainfall over this area. “With the upper air cyclonic circulation extending to mid-tropospheric level,the department has issued heavy rainfall warning for Gujarat. Further,with wind velocity ranging between 35-40 km per hour,a warning for fishermen has also been issued for the next 24 hours,” said Jayanta Sarkar,the regional director of Ahmedabad centre of Meteorological department. Ahmedabad received an average 27.96 mm rainfall with maximum of 42.38 mm in the New West zone followed by East zone that received 35.83 mm rainfall. While several low lying residential and commercial areas,including underpasses,across the city were flooded leading to traffic snarls,nine complaints of tree felling were received by the municipal corporation’s control room. Also,after heavy rainfall,three gates of Vasna barrage were opened on Tuesday.

16 trains cancelled

AHMEDABAD: The Railway authorities on Tuesday cancelled 16 trains on the Bharuch-Vadodara section due to water logging,said an official release. Six trains were also short-terminated and 10 trains diverted. Cancelled trains includes 12931 Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Double Decker,19143 Bandra (T)-Ahmedabad,12010 Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Shatabdi Express,12928 Vadodara-Mumbai Central Express,19110 Ahmedabad-Valsad Gujarat Queen,and 59442 Ahmedabad Passenger,69109. 69111 Surat-Vadodara MEMU,29060 Surat Intercity Express,19113 Bhilad-Vadodara Express,59050 Viramgam-Valsad Passenger,12930 Dahod-Valsad Express,59162 and 59162 Vadtal Swaminarayan-Bharuch Express,12268 Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central and 59440 Ahmedabad-Borivali.