1. City Gets Sophisticated Road Traffic Surveillance System
In the next few months, Ahmedabad will see one of the most sophisticated camera surveillance systems operational in the country. Some 1,086 locations within municipal limits and 20 locations outside the city in Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority have been brought under the surveillance network.
The city police have identified some 90-odd sensitive locations where a total of 300 cameras will be installed. In the upcoming installation phase, the city police has identified an additional 100 locations outside the city limits to ensure a surveillance perimeter.
"We have installed special Starlight cameras with infra-red illumination that makes it possible for the AI engine to cut off sky reflections on your car's windscreen during day and during night suppress headlights to reveal the person's face in colour without any motion blur," said a senior AMC official.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Rs 8 Lakh Income Cap Only Requirement for EWS Quota in Gujarat
The Gujarat government said on Wednesday, 23 January, it will only consider Rs 8 lakh annual income cap and not take into account land and house ownership criteria for providing 10 percent reservation to candidates from the economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category.
This was decided by the state cabinet at its meeting in Ahmedabad.
The state government will not consider aspects like how much agricultural land or how big a house a beneficiary's family holds for the qualification for the 10 percent reservation as long as the beneficiary's family income is less than Rs 8 lakh a year, an official statement said.
However, the family of the beneficiary should be residing in the state from before 1978 to qualify for the quota benefits in government jobs and educational institutions, it said.
(Source: PTI)
3. AMC Has Spent Just 39% of Its Budget for 2018-19
The AMC’s revised budget for the year March 2018-April 2019 has been scaled down by 61 percent. On capital projects for roads, bridges, water supply and drainage among others, the AMC had planned to spend Rs 1,400 crore. The revised budget reveals that just Rs 556 crore will be spent.
The revised estimates and actual spending for the year 2017-18 also shows a shortfall of 34 percent. Against the revised estimates of Rs 553.49 crore for 2017-18, the AMC could spend just Rs 366.31 crore.
A senior AMC officer said the commissioner submits a projection but the standing committee or elected wing may later not pursue the project, as it would not be in an area favourable to them. Also, on the majority of occasions, projects are dropped for lack of funds.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. GSRTC Launches Buses to Haridwar, Goa, Varanasi; Discounts on Online Bookings
The Gujarat state transport has extended its bus services to destinations in six other states of the country, to places such as Hardiwar, Varanasi, Goa, Nathdwara and Haryana.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday, 23 January, flagged off 30 premium buses from Ahmedabad to these destinations. He also announced a 6 percent discount on online bookings for tickets on premium, Volvo or AC buses, and a 4 percent discount on non-premium, non-AC sleeper and Gurjar Nagri Express buses.
"We are extending our bus service to cater the demands of our citizens. Poorer people can't afford to travel by private buses, so we want to provide them with cheaper alternatives to visit pilgrimage and tourism centres. These buses provide best quality comfort at inexpensive rates," Rupani said.
(Source: DNA)
5. CA Exam Results: 6 From City in India’s Top 50
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or ICAI on Wednesday, 23 January, declared the results of the Chartered Accountants Final exam (old course and new course), Foundation exam and Common Proficiency Test (CPT).
Students from Gujarat did well in both. In the new course category Pulkit Arora was ranked 3, Ankit Jain ranked 22, Rohit Rangwani ranked 37, and Reepal Patel ranked 49. In the old course, Ahmedabad’s Pooja Shah was ranked 26 and Meet Lakhani ranked 30.
A total of 666 students from ICAI Ahmedabad branch had taken the exam for old course, of which 284 passed. Of those who took the ‘new course’ exams, a total of 86 students had appeared of which 39 passed.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. SC Grants Bail to 4 Convicts in 2002 Naroda Patiya Case
The Supreme Court has granted bail to four convicts in the Naroda Patiya massacre case in Gujarat in which 97 people were killed by a mob during the 2002 riots in the state.
A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar on Tuesday, 22 January, granted bail to the four convicts - Umeshbhai Surabhai Bharwad, Rajkumar, Padmendrasinh Jaswantsinh Rajput and Harshad alias Mungda Jila Govind Chhara Parmar.
The riots started on 28 February 2002, in the Naroda Patiaya area of Ahmedabad where a mob had killed 97 people, most of them from a minority community. The massacre had taken place a day after the torching of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra, which had triggered state-wide riots.
(Source: PTI)
7. 397 Swine Flu Cases, 8 Deaths in January in Gujarat
The Gujarat government announced on Wednesday, 23 November, that 397 cases of swine flu had been reported in the state in the month of January so far, while eight people lost their lives. The highest number of cases were reported in Ahmedabad, the government said.
"397 positive cases of seasonal flu have been detected in the state between 1 and 22 January. Eight patients died during treatment," the state health department said.
Twenty-two percent of the total swine flu cases were reported from Ahmedabad city, followed by 20 per cent from Kutch district. Vadodara and Rajkot municipal corporations accounted for nine and seven percent of the cases respectively, it said, without providing a detailed break-up of the number of cases.
(Source: DNA)
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