1. Surat Metro Rail Project: Land Surveyed, ‘Shopping Complex Likely to Make Way for Station’
Officials of the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) and engineers of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Thursday carried out a survey of land for the Surat Metro project for the route Nanpura Kadarshah Naal to Dream city at Khajod, and construction work is set to begin soon.
A few days ago, SMC Commissioner M Thennarasan had been appointed executive director of Surat Metro Railway Corporation, to execute the Rs 12,000 crore metro rail project.
Thennarasan said, “We are speeding up the project. Officials of GMRC also visited Surat city and today they have identified the locations where the metro stations will be built. Now we are moving ahead to start the work.”
(Source: Indian Express)
2. Dredging for Ro-Ro Ferry Service — ‘Rs 111 Crores Spent’
In the past two years, more than Rs 111 crore has been spent on dredging the seabed for the Ro-Ro (roll-on roll-off) ferry service being operated across the Gulf of Khambhat between Dahej and Ghogha in Gujarat, the state government told the Gujarat legislative assembly on Thursday, 18 July.
A total of Rs 48.40 crore was spent for dredging the channels near both the terminals in year 2017-18 and Rs 63.04 crore was spent during 2018-19, the state government stated in a written reply to a question from Congress MLA Kanubhai Baraiya who represents Talaja. The ferry service linking Bhavnagar district in Saurashtra region with Bharuch district in South Gujarat region was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2017.
The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) had given the dredging contracts to two firms, Ahmedabad-based Adani Port and SEZ Limited (APSEZ) and Hyderabad-based Dharti Dredging and Infrastructure Limited, the government said in response to supplementary questions by the MLA.
(Source: Indian Express)
3. BJP MLA Seeks Agriculture Status for Shrimp Farming, Lower Power Rates
BJP MLA from Olpad constituency in Surat district Mukesh Patel on Thursday, 17 uly, sought lower rates for power supplied for shrimp farming in the state. Making a representation in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly while speaking on the budgetary demands of the fisheries department, Patel also sought increased land allocation for the purpose.
The MLA also said illegal shrimp ponds should be regularised by recovering fines from those running it.
Stating that the coastal area of Gujarat is spread across 3.76 lakh hectares of land, he said salt factories used 1.30 lakh hectare of land. And that it was viable to do shrimp farming in brackish water in 1.95 lakh hectare land. “Currently, 16,660 hectare land has been allocated for this (shrimp farming)…only five per cent land has been allocated,” Patel said, seeking more land for shrimp farming.
(Source: Indian Express)
4. Thakor Leader Prefers Infanticide Over Girls Marrying Outside Caste
The president of the Akhil Thakor Ekta Samiti, Navghanji Thakor, has said the old practice of female infanticide was better than letting a girl marry outside the community. Thakor's Facebook post, that was eventually taken down by him, generated widespread criticism in a state that is battling dwindling sex ratio.
Thakor belongs to the same community as that of former Congress leader Alpesh Thakor, who on Thursday, 17 July, had announced his new stint with the BJP.
Navghanji's post on Facebook read: "If a daughter of the Kshatriya Thakor community were to marry into another community then we need to implement the old tradition of doodh peeti." Doodh peeti refers to female infanticide by drowning a newborn girl child in a vessel of milk. The practice is outlawed. Thakor did not take calls from DNA.
(Source: DNA)
5. Exodus Because Congress Not in Power: Hardik Patel
Lawmakers in the state who are exiting Congress is because they are eyeing power, said Patidar leader and Congressman Hardik Patel. BJP is in power and Congress is not, he said in an interview to Zee 24 Kalak in the aftermath of former Congress MLA and Thakor leader Alpesh Thakor and Dhavalsinh Zala exiting Congress to join BJP on Thursday, 17 July.
Hardik dismissed the notion that opposition leaders who are joining BJP are facing a threat under BJP rule and "the danger is not for those people (turncoats) but on the people who trusted them," said Patel.
"What if they are disillusioned by BJP in the next six months? Will they return to Congress? No one is questioning them," he said, lashing out at BJP for trying to buy MLAs instead of trying to free the people of the state from hardships they are facing.So
(Source: DNA)
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