The state seems to have gone into political hibernation after the BJPs poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. There is little activity in both the BJP and Congress camps. Neither Congress nor BJP ranks talk about change of guard in the state leadership,usual after a poll debacle. The Gujarat BJP is a chastened outfit,with the party winning only one more seat than it did in 2004. The Congress is also keeping mum about the defeat of two of its Union ministers ,but takes solace from the fact that three of its 11 MPs from Gujarat have a berth in the Central ministry. Its raining seats in universities While there is a lull in political circles,the state Education Department has gone into overdrive. Determined to reverse the trend of Gujarat students flocking to states like Maharashtra,Karnataka and even abroad for college admissions,the department announced an increase of 36,197 seats in engineering and pharmacy degree and diploma courses. Similarly,400 seats have been added to the existing 1,475 medical seats for undergraduates. Education officials say a public-private partnership model would ensure admission for all within the state and also help Gujarat to retain income earned within the state. However,little is being said about where the teachers and infrastructure will come from. Shifts in existing college buildings and retired teachers will do for a start,say officials. Narmada breach: Govt treads water For the second time in a year,the Narmada canal network has witnessed yet another breach. Though the breach is larger than that of June 11,2008,the authorities are playing it down,saying it happened only because agricultural waste clogged a siphon canal. Unlike the previous incident near Mehsana,when a 20-ft breach occurred in the Narmada subcanal,neither the Chief Minister nor top officials have shown much concern about the 25-metre breach that has affected water supply in Saurashtra villages. The state Water Resources Minister,Nitin Patel,meanwhile,is vacationing in Europe.
