In Brief

The popularity of the Lok Darbars conducted in various zones of the municipal corporation here is on the decline.

Lok Darbars decline on popularity chart
The popularity of the Lok Darbars conducted in various zones of the municipal corporation here is on the decline. Authorities say the poor response may be due to the reduction in the number of complaints going down over the years. The ones held last week were a damp squib,especially in the west zone,said officials. A senior official in the Tax Department said,people have almost stopped coming to the Lok Darbars because solution is offered only for problems of a primary nature. We do not take up complex,long pending problems on this forum, he said.
An official said there is no advance submission of applications unlike the Lok Darbar held in the district collectors office where applications are sorted,provided with reference numbers and the applicants are intimated to appear with the reference numbers,sent by post.
People attend the Lok Darbar without prior intimation and their grievances are addressed on the spot,the official said.
Municipal Commissioner I P Gautam,however,said that people still find it convenient to approach senior officials up to the rank of Dy Commissioner,which helps in making an on-the-spot solution possible.
He said property tax matters dominate Lok Darbar proceedings and therefore,the Lok Darbar may be continued.
Lower rung officials,however,opined that Lok Darbars have become less effective.

GNLU and GFSU start diploma course in criminology,forensic management
The Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) and Gujarat Forensic Sciences University (GFSU) have decided to jointly start a diploma course in Criminology and Forensic Management.
GNLU said in a release: The objective of the course is to curb the elements involved in the highly technical crimes and anti-social activities by providing the required combined knowledge of law and forensic sciences. This course is useful for the professionals in law enforcement agencies,advocates,judges and others.

Man kills brother after spat over a goat
VADODARA: A farmer killed his elder brother after a spat with him over a goat near Khund Peer Durgah in Halol in Panchmahals district on Wednesday evening. The accused,Bharat Baria,arrested on Thursday by Halol police said his brother had thrown stones at his goat after it had entered his farm. The incident occurred around 6.30 in the evening,after the accused quarrelled with his elder brother Lalsinh Baria and his wife.
Lalsinh died on the spot after Baria beat him up with an iron rod. The victims wife Sharda who was injured in the attack was rushed to the Sir Sayajirao Hospital, said Police Inspector,RM Zala,who is investigating into the case.
Police said the brothers were involved in a dispute over a plot situated behind the dargah. Recently,Baria was in financial trouble after his crop failed in November. Villagers said both the brothers were rivals for long, said a police officer. Baria was on Thursday morning arrested from the hills behind the Dargah,where he was hiding.

Paa now tax free in Gujarat
The Gujarat government on Thursday declared Amitabh Bachchan’s movie Paa tax free in the state. The governments decision came after Bachchans AB Corp organised a special screening of the film for Chief Minister Narendra Modi at a a multiplex in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. Bachchan was also present on the occassion.
He had flown down from Mumbai for the screening and had requested Modi to exempt the film from entertainment tax in Gujarat.
“We have organised the screening of Paa so that the film,which is based on the socially relevant subject of physically-challenged gets tax exemption, Bachchan had said on Wednesday.
Sources in the government said that a three-member committee consisting of Principal Secretary,Finance Secretary,Youth and Culture and State Information Commissioner recommended exemption of the movie from entertainment tax for all cinema houses in the state.

Swine flu claims 3 more in state
The Swine flu infection claimed three more lives in Gujarat in the last two days,taking the total toll in the state to 141,Health officials said on Thursday.
Two women Dariyaben Vaghri (25) and Musramben Salat (21) died of the H1N1 virus at the Civil Hospital in the city,while one Gunjan Shinghala (12) died on January 5 at a hospital in Rajkot. Her death was,however,reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile,25 new cases of swine flu infections have been reported from Ahmedabad,Rajkot,Surat,Vadodara,Bhuj and Amreli.
So far,843 H1N1 infected cases have been reported from the state while 141 have succumbed to the infection.

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