1. Govt Sets June 2020 Deadline for Metro Network
The state government has given a deadline of June 2020 to the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited (GMRC) to complete the Metro rail network in Ahmedabad city.
The GMCR has plans to roll out metro rail in the 6km stretch from Vastral to Apparel Park by end of February.
A senior officer said that recently during a meeting, the government asked the metro rail authorities to ensure that the entire project was completed by given deadline. The officials said they were ready to complete the entire project before June 2020, and added that the elevated corridor is likely to be completed by October this year.
Metro officials said around 50 percent of the underground network had been completed.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. School Administrators to Hold Convention on 29 Jan
All Gujarat State School Administrators Union has announced a major convention at Preksha Bharati in Koba near Gandhinagar on 29 January to discuss a number of pending issues.
According to the organisers, state education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama will be present at the event where over 4,000 administrators are expected to participate.
One of the major issues is appointment of principals in 2,100 grant-in-aid schools in Gujarat and allotment of grants on merit and result of the schools over the years.
A memorandum will be prepared from the proceedings and submitted to the state government, sources said.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. Ten Flights Delayed at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport
Some 10 flights were delayed for departure from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport, in Ahmedabad, by more than an hour on Monday, 21 January.
Sources confirmed that these flights were delayed primarily due to bad weather conditions in Bengaluru and New Delhi. "Since connecting flights from Bengaluru and New Delhi were delayed to other destinations as well, the connecting flights from those destinations to Ahmedabad were delayed as well," said a top source.
While incoming flights from Hyderabad, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Chandigarh were delayed by more than an hour; some seven flights headed to Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur and Goa were delayed for departure from the city airport by over an hour.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. City-based Developer to Set Up Granite Export Centre
As many as 977 MoUs in mining and mineral space were signed during the three-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit, deputy CM Nitin Patel said on Sunday, 21 January.
According to a senior official, these 977 MoUs, which involve projects spread over 32 districts, proposed investment of Rs 16,000 crore, and total employment generation of 62,000.
Ahmedabad-based Safal Constructions, which is into development of high-end residential and commercial projects, signed MoU to invest Rs1,600 crore to create an export centre for granite in Mehsana.
"We aim to make Gujarat the leader in granite exports and target major consumers of end products of granite in Europe, Middle East, and North America," the company said.
(Source: DNA)
5. Schools to Face Surprise Food-safety Checks
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will conduct surprise checks in schools in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Junagadh and Bhavnagar. The state education department has written to district DEOs to extend their support.
A senior department official said a number of schools in these districts have in-house canteens for cooking and serving food. "It came to the notice of authorities that the students consume more fatty food with excessive salt and sugar which is detrimental for their health. Thus, the officials will now collect samples during the surprise checks and will later prepare a report on food quality and composition with recommendations," said an official.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Bimal Shah, Anil Patel Join Congress
Blaming the power centric approach and lack of internal democracy in the BJP under its national president Amit Shah, former BJP minister Bimal Shah on Monday, 21 January, said he was compelled to quit the party.
He formally joined the Congress in presence of party's senior leader Ahmed Patel, Gujarat Congress in-charge Rajeev Satav and GPCC president Amit Chavda.
Bimal said only two leaders run the BJP and leaders who worked for the party for several decades are ignored. "I worked for more than 20 years for the BJP youth wing, both at the state and national level, but have been subjected to high-handed behavior."
(Source: Ahmedabad Mirror)
7. City Resident on Holy Pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi Dies in J&K’s Reasi District
A 55-year-old Vaishno Devi pilgrim from Gujarat died after apparently suffering a cardiac arrest in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Monday, 21 January.
Parkash Bhai, a resident of Ahmedabad, fell unconscious on reaching his hotel room at Katra on Sunday evening after paying obeisance at the shrine, a police official said.
He said the pilgrim was rushed to a nearby community health centre where he was declared brought dead by doctors.
(Source: PTI)
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