Page 6 - Gujarat

University of San Diego pauses plan to set up campus at Gujarat's GIFT city

San Diego varsity cites regulatory and cost barriers for pausing its GIFT City campus and will now expand in India through hybrid degrees, MoUs and online Master's programmes

Gujarat HC imposes ₹1.4 cr cost on 7 unscrupulous petitioners over PIL

The Gujarat High Court has imposed a collective cost of Rs 1.4 crore on a group of seven unscrupulous litigants for filing a PIL seeking to cancel the development permission granted to a builder out of personal vendetta without disclosing their credentials. The division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray dismissed the writ petition with exemplary cost of Rs 20,00,000, which is to be paid by each of the (seven) petitioners. The amount will go to the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority, which shall be utilised for the benefit of orphan children, it said in its order uploaded on its website on Monday. During the hearing of the matter last Friday, the court orally observed that there is no place for such unscrupulous litigants who have not disclosed their credentials in the writ petition. Who are these people, nobody knows. What business they are doing, what their occupation is, nothing. They are all independent persons, so (a cost of) Rs 20 lakh each, the cour

Two drown, one missing as car gets swept away in Gujarat's Botad district

A child and an elderly man drowned and another person was missing after their car was swept away in an overflowing causeway near Godhawata village in Gujarat's Botad district, officials said Monday. The incident took place at around midnight when the car was on way from Bochasan to Salangpur in the district, they said. The car carrying seven passengers was passing through the overflowing causeway when it got away due to the strong water current, Barwala's Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sanjay Chaudhari said. After being alerted, police and local taluka level officials reached the spot. Rescue operation was initially carried out by the local people and Botad fire team. While four persons managed to swim to safety, bodies of two persons were recovered and sent for postmortem, the SDM said. One person was missing, and a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached the spot to trace him, Chaudhari said. The deceased have been identified as Krishnakant Pandya (60) and

Gujarat govt sanctions new bridge parallel to collapsed bridge in Vadodara

Days after the Mahisagar river bridge collapse tragedy in Vadodara district, the Gujarat government has approved the construction of a parallel two-lane bridge and approved Rs 212 crore for the project-related work. Several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar river after a segment of the 40-year-old bridge near Gambhira village, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts, collapsed on July 9. The death toll rose to 20 on Friday, while the search for a missing person continues, officials said on Sunday. The old bridge near Gambhira village was a key link between central Gujarat and Saurashtra. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday granted administrative approval to the Roads and Buildings Department for the construction of a new bridge near Mujpur connecting Vadodara and Anand districts. The government has set a target to build the new structure in 18 months and the tendering process has been initiated, an official release stated. A detailed project report was recently prepared by

Gujarat reports 34% drop in TB cases, 37% fall in mortality rate in 2023

The Gujarat government on Friday said the state witnessed 34 per cent reduction in the number of new tuberculosis patients and 37 per cent reduction in mortality rate in 2023 when compared to 2015. A release said Governor Acharya Devvrat held a meeting with senior officials of the Health and Family Welfare Department at Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and conducted a comprehensive review of the work being done under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan. "In Gujarat, the number of new TB patients in 2023 has decreased by 34 per cent and deaths by 37 per cent compared to 2015. For this, the Union government has given Gujarat first place in the 'States with Most Improvement' category" officials told the governor," the release said. "The governor requested the officials to work as a movement to make Gujarat completely TB free. He said officials should not be lax in the work of TB control. He asked them to work seriously to achieve the target and to spread more ...

Datanomics: Gujarat bridge collapse highlights infrastructure faultlines

Among India's 150,746 railway bridges, 25.8 per cent are over a century old

Search operation resumes at Gujarat bridge tragedy site, two still missing

The search-and-rescue operation resumed in the Mahisagar river on Friday morning on the third day, as two persons are still missing following the Gambhira bridge tragedy in Gujarat's Vadodara district, officials said. Several vehicles plunged into the river after a segment of the four-decade-old bridge, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts, collapsed near Gambhira village close to Padra town on Wednesday morning. The operation resumed on the third day of the Gambhira bridge tragedy, with 18 bodies recovered by Thursday night. Efforts are still underway to trace two more persons, who are missing, Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya said. The primary objective of our operation today is to recover a body trapped under a slab in the river, and the missing driver of a truck stuck in the water, he told mediapersons. A list of eight missing persons was compiled on Thursday, and the bodies of six of them were recovered, he said. The operation is being carried out by the National Disaster

Gujarat bridge collapse: Toll rises to 18, four engineers suspended

The death toll in the Mahisagar river bridge collapse in Gujarat's Vadodara district reached 18, officials said on Thursday while adding that the search-and-rescue operation at the site has been halted for the night. It will resume on Friday morning as two persons are still missing, they informed. Several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar river after a segment of the four-decade-old bridge, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts, collapsed near Gambhira village close to Padra town on Wednesday morning. The incident had taken place at 7am. "The death toll in the bridge collapse incident has reached 18 with the recovery of one more dead body on Thursday night. Two persons are still missing. The rescue operation has been stopped due to high tide and will resume on Friday morning," said Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya. The search-and-rescue operation was carried out through the day by at least 10 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force .

Death toll reaches 15 in bridge collapse over Mahisagar river in Gujarat

The death toll in the collapse of a bridge over a river in Gujarat's Vadodara district has gone up to 13 with the recovery of two more bodies, officials said on Thursday. Several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar river after a portion of the four-decade-old bridge collapsed near Gambhira village close to Padra town on Wednesday morning, "With the recovery of two more bodies from the river on Wednesday night, the death toll in the bridge collapse incident has reached 13. Five persons, who were injured in the incident, are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital," Vadodara district Superintendent of Police Rohan Anand said. The two victims, whose bodies were found at night, have been identified as Mehram Hathiya (51) and Vishnu Raval (27). A slab of the Gambhira-Mujpur bridge, which connects central Gujarat to the Saurashtra region of the state, collapsed at around 7 am on Wednesday, as per officials. This caused the vehicles passing through the bridge to plunge into the ...

Cong slams BJP over Gujarat bridge collapse, says party busy in speeches

The Congress on Thursday slammed the BJP over the bridge collapse in Gujarat, saying the party's leadership and government have crossed all limits of indifference as they remain busy in making speeches and issuing advertisements in the name of "governance". The opposition party also alleged that there was a leadership crisis, corruption all around and incompetence prevailing under the BJP rule, and asserted that the people would give a befitting reply when the time comes. Thirteen people were killed as several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar river after a portion of a four-decade-old bridge collapsed in Gujarat's Vadodara district on Wednesday morning, officials said. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Accidents have become a common thing in the country. Sometimes a train accident, sometimes a bridge developing cracks soon after inauguration. The country has not yet recovered from the plane crash and yesterday the news of a bridge collapse came from Gujarat," he said

Ajmer's ₹243 cr Ramsetu bridge shut after rain damage, court orders probe

Ajmer court orders immediate closure of newly built Ramsetu bridge after it developed cracks post first rainfall; asks Ajmer civic bodies to respond to safety concerns by July 11

Gujarat bridge collapse: CM announces ₹4 lakh aid for families of victims

At least nine people were killed after a portion of the Gambhira bridge collapsed in the Padra area of Gujarat's Vadodara district on Wednesday

Gujarat bridge collapse: At least 9 dead, PM announces ₹2 lakh ex-gratia

Vadodara bridge collapse: The Prime Minister's Office announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 to those injured

AERB grants operational license to two home-built 700 MW PHWRS in Gujarat

India's nuclear regulator AERB has granted operation license for two indigenously developed 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat. The KAPS-3 reactor was commissioned at full power in August 2023, while the KAPS-4 unit followed the same month a year later. "The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has concluded the Design and Commissioning Safety Reviews and issued the License for Operation of Units 3 and 4 of KAPS-3&4, the country's first 700 MWe indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs)," a statement from the regulator said. Since the 700 MW reactor was the first of its kind, the licensing process involved rigorous multi-tiered safety reviews and assessment of the reactor design, covering the entire life cycle in multiple stages from siting, construction to commissioning at full-power. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) received the License for Operation for KAPS 3&4 from the AERB for a ..

A lover's relationship: Kejriwal alleges secret nexus between Cong and BJP

During a party membership drive in Gujarat, Kejriwal drew a provocative analogy alleging that the two major national parties are secretly working in tandem

Full-scale mock drill simulates aircraft fire at Jamnagar airport

A full-scale emergency mock drill was conducted at the Jamnagar airport on Tuesday to test the coordination and efficiency of responders by simulating a plane engine fire scenario with 30 passengers on board, officials said. The mock drill involving the Indian Air Force, fire brigade, airport staff, civil defence, and police was conducted weeks after the devastating Ahmedabad plane crash tragedy that killed 241 persons on board and several others on the ground. One passenger miraculously survived. The main objective of this mock drill was to test the preparedness of various agencies to conduct swift rescue operations, identify challenges, and control the situation through coordination in the least possible time, the district administration stated. "This is the first time a full-scale mock emergency exercise was conducted at the Jamnagar airport," said airport director DK Singh. He said a scenario of a plane carrying 9,000-litre fuel catching fire was simulated. "There were 30 ...

Kejriwal to launch 'Gujarat Jodo' campaign during three-day state visit

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday embarked on a three-day visit to Gujarat following the party's bypoll victory in the Visavadar Assembly constituency, amid efforts by AAP to expand its organisational footprint in the western state. According to a statement from AAP, Kejriwal will be in Ahmedabad from July 1 to 3 to attend organisational meetings and galvanise support for the party's newly launched 'Gujarat Jodo' membership campaign, which begins in Ahmedabad on July 2 and will be expanded statewide. I am going to Gujarat today to meet the workers after the victory in Visavadar, Kejriwal posted on X before leaving for Ahmedabad. The campaign marks a renewed push by the party to establish a deeper grassroots presence in Gujarat, where the BJP has maintained a dominant political hold for over two decades. Kejriwal also lauded his party's performance in the recent bypolls held in Gujarat and Punjab, where it retained one seat each. There will be a big

Watch: Elephant runs amok during Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad

Watch: Elephant runs amok during Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad

Bypoll wins were semifinals for 2027 polls in Punjab, Gujarat: Kejriwal

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday termed the Aam Aadmi Party's victories in the Punjab and Gujarat bypolls as a "semifinal" for the 2027 assembly elections, asserting that the party is on track to form the next governments in both states. Kejriwal was speaking at an event to celebrate the party's twin victories in assembly bypolls held in Visavadar in Gujarat and Ludhiana West in Punjab. "The bypolls in Gujarat and Punjab were a semifinal and in 2027 assembly polls, we will cross 100 seats in Punjab and form the government," he said. Kejriwal congratulated Gopal Italia, who won in Gujarat and Sanjeev Arora who emerged victorious from Ludhiana West, and thanked the people for ensuring party's win. "We have been in power in Punjab for the last three years. Leave anti-incumbency, there is pro-incumbency there. We had won 92 seats in 2022 assembly polls and it looks like we will cross 100 seats in 2027," he added. The AAP chief said the Congress top leadership i

ED raids in Gujarat, Maharashtra in cyber fraud probe over ₹100 cr scam

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches in Gujarat and Maharashtra as part of a money laundering investigation linked to fraudsters who allegedly committed cyber crimes like digital arrests and transferred funds of more than Rs 100 crore abroad, official sources said. The raids were conducted in Surat and Ahmedabad in Gujarat and in Mumbai by the Surat sub-zonal office of the federal probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The money laundering case stems from a Gujarat Police FIR against Makbul Doctor, Kaashif Doctor, Bassam Doctor, Mahesh Mafatlal Desai, Maaz Abdul Raheem Nada and some others, the sources said. The accused are alleged to have been involved in cheating general public through various cyber frauds such as fake USDT trading (crypto currency), digital arrests, threatening innocent individuals by sending fake notices of law enforcement agencies etc., they said. The money obtained from gullible persons through this cyber frau