1. On Day 1, 10,000 Hop Along for Metro Joy Ride
They came to take a joyride, some extremely poor but spending as much as Rs 20 on an auto ride so that they could be among those who get to ride the Metro in Ahmedabad.
Day one of the commercial operations of Ahmedabad Metro that covered over 6 km from Vastral Gam to Apparel Park in the city saw over 10,000 citizens taking the 20-minute ride between the two stations.
The metro which will be free for the first 10 days began functioning at 10 in the morning until four in the evening on Tuesday, 6 March.
(Source: DNA Ahmedabad)
2. North Guj University VC Removed Over Corruption Charges
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday, 6 March, removed Prof B A Prajapati as the Vice Chancellor of the Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University (HNGU) over charges of corruption and irregularities.
The decision to remove Prajapati from the post of vice chancellor of the Patan-based university was taken by the CM after an inquiry by the state Lokayukta concluded that he had misused his powers and indulged in "serious irregularities and corruption", a statement issued by the state government said.
Based on the inquiry report, Rupani removed Prajapati from the post on Wednesday, it added.
(Source: Business Standard)
3. Pakistani National Held in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch Area
A 30-year-old Pakistani national was nabbed Wednesday by the Border Security Force (BSF) from the Rann of Kutch area along the Indo-Pak border in Gujarat, an official said. He was identified as Manhaar Sota, a resident of Umerkot district of the Sindh province in Pakistan, a BSF official said.
Sota was nabbed at 2.40 am by a BSF patrol party when he was trying to enter India after crossing the Indo-Pak land border near the pillar number 1050, the official said.
"We have not found anything from his possession. He will be handed over to the local police after questioning," said the BSF official. He surrendered immediately when the troops challenged him, the official said.
(Source: PTI)
4. Gujarat First to Use Geothermal Energy to Generate Power
Gujarat is set to become the first state in the country to use Geothermal energy to produce electricity. The power plant being set up at Dholera will become operational in April.
"India's first geothermal power plant will start operating on a pilot scale in April in Dholera, and it will produce 20 KW of electricity. Dholera was chosen for the plant as immense heat has been found under the earth in the form of hot springs," the Centre of Excellence for Geothermal Energy (CEGE), set up by the state government at Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) said.
CEGE head Prof Anirbid Sircar said that not much work has been undertaken in the country on geothermal energy and exploiting hot water. "We are the first to initiate an attempt to generate electricity with the help of geothermal energy," he said.
(Source: DNA Ahmedabad)
5. Cong Stages Protests Across Guj Against MLA's Disqualification
Congress workers staged protests across Gujarat on Wednesday, 6 March against disqualification of party lawmaker Bhagvan Barad as an MLA and demanded revocation of the Assembly Speaker's order against him.
They also threatened to step up their protests in the coming days if their demand was not met.
The opposition party workers shouted slogans against the ruling BJP in various districts, including Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara and Bhavnagar, and submitted memorandum to collectors there demanding revocation of Barad's disqualification.
(Source: Business Standard)
6. Gujarat is 'Fastest Mover State'
Four cities in Gujarat were heralded for their cleanliness and won the state the Fast Mover State in sanitation as the Swachh Survekshan 2019 awards were announced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Wednesday, 6 March.
The big four – Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Gandhinagar – were among the top five cleanest cities in the country and were congratulated on several fronts. Ahmedabad, which ranked 12th in the category last year, received an award for being the 'Cleanest Big City' in the category of a population over 10 lakh, while Surat was crowned the best city for Solid Waste Management across the nation.
(Source: DNA Ahmedabad)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)