Gujarat confidential: Model Orientation

Around 560 officer trainees of 16 Indian civil services from the 98th Foundation Course of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, who were on a visit to the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar in Narmada on Wednesday, visited the periphery of the statue to study the model of homestays in the area. Fourteen buses with officer trainees fanned out in villages around Ekta Nagar, including Garudeshwar, to study the “boons” of tourism in the area, especially the model village homestays that have come up. They also attended the mandatory Rashtriya Ekta Diwas parade on the occasion of the 148th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on Tuesday, followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to them as part of the fifth edition of ‘Aarambh’.

Taking Credit

AAP MLA Umesh Makwana was quick to take credit for the “quick resolution” of the issues dogging fair price shopowners. Makwana’s office shared a copy of a letter dated November 2, which he had written to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, seeking an “allowance” of Rs 20,000 (per month) for the fair price shopowners. The shopowners, who had gone on strike over the issue from Wednesday, suspended the strike on Thursday after receiving an assurance from the government that their issues would be resolved. “It was because of the successful representation by the Botad MLA that the poor will be able to celebrate Diwali,” Makwana’s office said in a statement on Thursday, almost timed with the government release announcing the suspension of the strike.