THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABADWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 20174 TIMES CITY

Ahmedabad: From theIron Man of India to wea-pons used by Indian armedforces, everything of pridewas showcased at the Vi-brant Gujarat Global Tradeshow, being organized inGandhinagar. The stallwith a helicopter simulatorand one with an immersivereality show on wildlifedrew huge crowds.

But the centre of attrac-tion was a stall on SardarVallabhbhai Patel. Thestall had a kiosk, which onrotation, gave a completeglimpse of the KaramsadHouse of Patel. Anotherkiosk gives an inside viewof the 182-feet Statue ofUnity.

Rajesh Modi, who camefrom Rajkot to see the tradefair, said, “In my 50 years, Ionly read about Sardar Pa-tel in books, but of late, theBJP government has givengreater prominence to theIron Man.

The best part was thatthe wall of the stall was in-scribed with details of pla-ces associated with Sar-dar,” he said.

Apart from Sardar therewere statues of Buddha andalso Swami Vivekananda,but there was no statue onthe father of the nation,Mahatma Gandhi. In the to-urism stall of Gujarat, asmall screen was put upshowing places associated

with Gandhiji.Apart from the Sardar

Ka Safar stall, stalls of theministryof defenceand andthat of theIndian AirForce alsodrew visi-tors. Peo-ple wereseen taking photographs ofvarious missiles and mo-dels of the fighter aircraft

which were on display. The-se models also displayed in-formation on the fighter

planesand theweaponson dis-play. TheAkash, amedium-rangesurface-

to-air missile developed bythe Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation

(DRDO) was put on show.People queued up to try

their hands on the helicop-ter simulator. KarishmaShah, an executive of a pri-vate company, said that shehad to wait for nearly 20 mi-nutes to try taking off andlanding using the simula-tor. “But it was difficult andI crash-landed on a buil-ding and fell on ground,”she said.

The immersive realityshow at the Gujarat forest

department stall also drewmany visitors.

People were seen takingtheir photographs and wai-ted for the lion, tiger or leo-pard to come on screen.

Visitors at the ISRO stallwere seen watching vario-us satellites and also thedisplay on the Mars mis-sion. The ISRO also display-ed prototypes of the came-ra and equipment whichhad been sent on the mis-sion.

HelicopterSimulator,

Wildlife StallPulled Crowds

Sardar stands tall, Bapu stalled

Ahmedabad: Greatness be-ing tuned to its finest voice —rasikas witnessed that onSaptak Day 9, Monday. Sarodtitan Ustad Amjad Ali Khanneeded adjustments to theelectronic tanpura, and Ban-aras Gharana legend PanditRajan Mishra helped. Sittingon the stage’s edge, Panditjiworked the knobs till thesound accorded with the ca-dence of purity valued byboth.

Khan-sahab began bybuilding a grand curvature ofnotes that enveloped all inwarmth and consolation. As-piring rasikas were stirredby a familiar rhythm. Khan-sahab was playing Khamaaj,the raga on which “Vaishna-va jana toh” is based. For afi-cionados, Khan-sahab’s ex-position had a savant’s powerto find meaning hidden by en-chantments. That powercomes from Khan-sahab’stechnical mastery, which isas infallible as a yogi’s capaci-

ty to control thoughts. Thesegifts have been honoured bythe world. “The first encour-agement I received came inthe form of the Sarod Samrattitle, given by the reputedPrayag Sangit Samiti, Alla-habad,” Khan-sahab toldTOI. “I was 15 or 16 then.”

Khan-sahab holds peo-ple’s affection as his mostcherished award. Therefore,he generously shares pro-gramme notes for lay listen-ers’ benefit. “Khamaaj wasfollowed by a composition inTelang and taraana,” he toldTOI. “Then I played Atal Ran-jini, a new raga I have dedi-

cated to former PM Atal Biha-ri Vajpayee.” The baithakconcluded with Rabindra-nath Tagore’s “Ekla chalo re”and an Assamese folk tune.

The new raga shows thatKhan-sahab’s innovative-ness is stoked by pristineclassical intuitions. His sons,Amaan Ali Bangash andAyaan Ali Bangash, closedtheir own recital on Mondayby conquering the mightyMalkauns. Connoisseursnoted that their flaming pa-nache and command of theclassical cannon made themthe ideal heralds of their fa-ther.

Ustad Amjad AliKhan Shows

Genius,Generosity

Kannan.Somasundaram@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad: The DistrictPrimary Education Officer(DPEO) slapped a fine ofRs1.10 lakh on Memnagar-ba-sed Divyapath School for tea-ching subjects from a privatepublication despite being affi-liated with Gujarat Seconda-ry and Higher SecondaryEducation Board (GSHSEB).The violation was discoveredwhen the DPEO conducted arandom check across schools.The school had asked stu-dents of class I to VIII to referto books of the private publi-cation, apart from the text bo-oks of GSHSEB.

The DEO issued a notice tothe school, in addition to thefine, granting a time of five da-ys to pay the penalty amount,failing which, the affiliation

of the school would have beencancelled. Sources in the stateeducation board said that affi-liation was given on conditionthat subjects of the syllabusbe taught from books prescri-bed by Gujarat State SchoolText Book Board (GSTBB).

To ensure that studentsdon’t suffer owing to a suddenchange in the syllabus taught,GSHSEB officials asked theschool authorities to comple-te the ongoing term with wha-tever syllabus they were tea-ching. From the next acade-mic year itself, the school will

have to compulsorily followstate board syllabus.

The total penalty amoun-ted to Rs 2.35 lakh, because theschool was affiliated with theboard since 2007-08. First-ti-me offenders are penalizedwith Rs10,000 while repeat of-fenders are fined Rs 25,000.Since the school violated thenorms from the first year ofaffiliation and then continu-ed doing so, the total penaltyamounted to Rs2.35 lakh. Ho-wever, since the Right to Edu-cation Act was implementedin 2013, the repeat offence pe-nalty was sought for four ye-ars.

The DPEO issued similarnotices to other schools in thecity as well. After the schoolssubmit necessary documents,DPEO will further decide onthe course of action.

DPEO slaps `̀1.10 lakh fineon Memnagar school

Ahmedabad: Ahead of theofficial inauguration ofthe Vibrant Gujarat GlobalSummit (VGGS), on Mon-day evening, city cops deta-ined dalit leader JigneshMevani, farmer rights ac-tivist Sagar Desai and PA-AS leader Atul Patel fromUsmanpura - where theyhad gathered along withtheir supporters. Mevaniwas scheduled to hold a me-dia briefing over grievan-ces about land allotment todalits. Mevani was relea-sed later on Tuesday.

Mevani had made head-lines when he led the dalitprotests in Gujarat, afterfour dalits were brutallyflogged by cow vigilantes inUna sparking natio-nal outrage. “Wewere not allowed tohold peaceful de-monstrations. If wequestion why ferti-le land is being han-ded over to indust-rialists, we are dubbed an-ti-development. We get noanswers when we ask themhow many jobs will VGGScreate,” said Mevani.

According to police so-urces, Mevani and other le-aders were planning tohold protests against VGGSand had raised slogans aga-inst education ministerBhupendrasinh Chudasa-

ma. Mevani said police hadarrested them as he hadthreatened to disruptVGGS.

The police complaintlodged against theleaders mentionsthey didn’t have poli-ce permission tohold a protest, andthus they were detai-ned and brought toGujarat University

police station.Around noon, on Tues-

day, OBC leader AlpeshThakor and one his suppor-ters rushed to Gujarat Uni-versity police station to me-et Mevani. “We met Thakorand assured him about rele-asing Mevani and twoothers detained for viola-ting Section 144,” said a po-lice official.

Jignesh Mevani, Sagar Desaiand Atul Patel detained

Mevani Said HeWanted To

Disrupt VGGS

Ahmedabad:The central government isconsidering stringent norms for petshops which not only sell but also housepets. The Union government is thinkingof making it compulsory for pet shop ow-ners to register themselveswith the local body. The rulesalso make it mandatory forthe state government to forma state board or society forprevention of cruelty to ani-mals. The new rules have be-en proposed by the Union Ministry of En-vironment, Forest and Climate Change.

The new rules framed under section38 of Prevention of Cruelty to AnimalsAct-1960 state that if any pet shop wants toprovide grooming services, it will have tomention in the application for registra-tion. Such grooming services would alsorequire a license. The new rules also statethat no person shall be allowed to operateapet shop in a shanty, shack, pavement orany temporary or makeshift arrange-ment. However, no pet shop will be gran-ted a license by the local authority unlessthe shop had obtained a certificate of re-gistration from the State Board in accor-dance with these rules. The new rules sta-

te that every puppy shall be micro-chip-ped by a veterinary practitioner, and eachpet shop shall have a functional micro-chip reader within the premises. Underthe new rules, each puppy will be soldwith a micro-chip.

The pet shop will be required to haveseparate areas for different species andmaintain the temperature according tothe requirement of the specific species.The new rules state that the pet animalshoused in the shop should have adequatespace to make other normal postural ad-justments without obstruction. Similar-

ly, aviaries should be dif-ferent for different speci-es to give adequate spaceto the birds to move aboutfreely by spreading theirwings and perch in thenormal position. The ru-

les state that water birds shall be provi-ded water troughs in which they canswim or wallow. Officials said that accor-ding to the new rules, each pet shop willhave to get a medical certificate from acertified veterinary doctor if the pet hou-sed in the shop is not adopted or gets anew home.

The pet shop or the society for preven-tion of cruelty would have power to in-spect and enter the pet shop at any reaso-nable time and have access to all areaswithin the establishment and all animals,and records, to ascertain whether the ru-les are being complied with. The state bo-ard or the society will have to inspect eachregistered pet shop at least once a year.

All puppies to be soldwith microchips

New Central Norms For Pet Shops Focus On

Animals’ ComfortHimanshu.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Khan-sahab began by building a grand curvature of notes thatenveloped all in warmth and consolation

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Flight to classical summit

2 0 1 7

The stall with a helicopter simulator and one with an immersive reality show on wildlife drew huge crowds

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Ahmedabad: The anti-terro-rist squad, probing the Rs 270crore ephedrine seizure case,has found striking evidence lin-king Ahmedabad boy turned

internationaldrug mafiaVicky Goswa-mi to a drugtraffickingracket runwith help fromKishoresinh

Rathod, the son of formerMLA Bhavsinh Rathod. Kisho-resinh was nabbed from Borovillage on the Rajasthan-MPborder recently.

It also came to light that thedrug processed at the Ahmed-abad factory was to be transpor-

ted to Kenya concealed in gun-ny sacks of bajra (pearl millet).Goswami is married to formerBollywood actress Mamta Kul-karni and his now based in Ke-nya.

ATS sources said Manoj Ja-in, who owned Avon ChemicalFactory in Solapur had run upimmense losses, forcing him toshut operations.

“Jain who knew Jay Mukhiof Ahmedabad, who had an im-port license, told Mukhi abouthis problems. Mukhi lent himsome part of the money butthen told him that he couldemerge from his losses if thehuge stock of ephedrine in wasmade into narcotic drugs,” saidasenior ATS official.

Mukhi then told his friendRathod about the deal. “Rathodin turn decided to take the helpof his childhood friend and in-ternational drug mafia VickyGoswami,” added an ATS offici-al. ATS sources said the three ofthem then went to Kenya and

met Goswami at Hotel Blitz inMombasa. “Goswami assuredJain that he would pay him Rs60 crore, but demanded the ep-hedrine stock in his factory inreturn. Goswami also told Jainthat he would also get a share ofthe profit from the sale of met-hamphetamine, made from theephedrine in Kenya. Jain agre-ed to the deal and on returningsent ephedrine worth Rs 270crore, which was to be proces-sed at the Ahmedabad factoryowned by Narendra Kacha,” ad-ded an ATS official.

ATS sources said the ephed-rine was transported by a truckin July 2016 to the factory on theoutskirts of Ahmedabad. “He-re Kacha, a chemical engineer,was to process the ephedrine.The drug was then to be trans-ported to Kenya through a Guja-rat port, hidden in gunny sackscontaining bajra. Before thatcould happen, crime branch ra-ided that factory and seized thedrug,” said an ATS official.

Ephedrine was to be shippedto Kenya in bajra sacks

Was To BeConverted Into

Methamphetamine TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Idaresay, that India aloneoffers the opportunitiesthat could rival those of

an entire continent. It of-fers today, the possibilitiesof a full century. And wewant to do all this in acleaner, greener and sus-tainable way,” Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi said.

If Modi’s began his dayby skipping yoga to meethis mother, Hiraba, it end-ed with a closed door meet-ing with leading 50 CEOsfrom across the world.Prominent among those

who joined in include Boe-ing International presi-dent Bertrand Marc Allen,president of EmersonElectric Company EdwardL Monser, Suzuki MotorCorporation presidentToshihiro Suzuki, and ex-ecutive chairman of CIS-CO John Chambers amongothers. Indian honchospresent in the conclavewere Mukesh Ambani,Arundhati Bhattacharya,Anil Ambani, Anand Ma-hindra, Gautam Adani, Di-lip Shanghvi, Adi Godrejand Ajay Piramal to name afew.

India alone offersopportunities: PM

Ahmedabad: Gujarat highcourt pulled up authorities forunnecessarily sticking to ru-les and guidelines of quota sy-stem, and depriving studentsof Marathi and Urdu mediumfrom proper education.

The high court has direc-ted Gujarat Municipal SchoolBoard to appoint 14 persons ha-ving PTC certificates from So-cially and EducationallyBackward Class (SEBC) inMarathi medium as vidyasa-hayaks in six weeks. Thesecandidates were fighting a le-gal battle for last seven yearsafter they were denied jobs bynot de-reserving quota for theScheduled Tribe candidates.

In this case, the board issu-ed an advertisements in 2009for recruitment of PTC of STcategory and SEBC categorycandidates in Marathi medi-um for the posts of vidyasahy-ak in primary schools. Therewas no ST category candidateavailable. The state govern-ment did not de-reserve the qu-ota and kept the posts vacant.

As the hearing took placebefore the HC, the petitionercandidates highlighted thatthere are 124 vacant posts forMarathi medium primary tea-chers, but the government ma-nages with 51 pravasi siks-haks, who are not even qualifi-

ed to teach in primary schools.Though there are vacanciesand candidates from ST cate-gory are not available, the go-vernment does not de-reservethe posts for the benefit of thestudents and candidates.

The petitioners also high-lighted a precedent, when theboard did not appoint Urdumedium teachers only becau-se the posts were reserved forST candidates. The high courthad then ordered to de-reservethe posts and appoint teacherswho could teach in Urdu medi-um.

While ordering to de-reser-ve posts and appoint Marathimedium teachers, Justice JBPardiwala said, “It is very un-fortunate to note that the aut-horities are playing with thecareer of the students, who arepursuing their studies in theMarathi and Urdu Medium.”

“I am at pains to note thatdespite availability of the tea-chers with the expertise in Ma-rathi and Urdu Medium, thestudents are being taught orimparted education by tea-chers, who have no expertisein Marathi or Urdu Medium.Despite the availability of theteachers in Marathi as well asthe Urdu Medium, if such isthe position, then the courtshould intervene and set rightthe position,” Justice Pardi-wala said.

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HC raps govt for nothiring Marathi, Urdu

medium teachers

Ahmedabad: Gandhina-gar-based Gujarat ForensicSciences University(GFSU) signed an MoUwith the government ofRwanda on the first day ofVGGIS at Mahatma Man-dir. The MoU was signed inpresence of PM NarendraModi and Rwanda presi-dent Paul Kagame.

GFSU officials said thataccording to the MoU, ex-perts from the universitywill help strengthen foren-sic science laboratory(FSL) at Kigali with upgra-de.

The university will alsotrain police officers, foren-sic experts and judges fromRwanda in crime detectionmethods.

Rwanda is the secondAfrican country afterUganda where GFSU is hel-ping local law enforcementagencies strengthen exis-ting infrastructure.

GFSU also signed fiveother MoUs on Tuesday, in-cluding ones for researchand development for ballis-tics, cyber security and fo-rensic services with natio-nal and international com-panies.

GFSU tostrengthen

FSL in Rwanda

Portuguese minister for science, technology, andhigher education, Manuel Heitor visited IndianInstitute of Technology-Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn) onTuesday. The minister’s visit was aimed atstrengthening the scientific and technologicalcooperation between the universities in Portugaland IITs. The Portuguese delegates and IIT-Gn

faculty members discussed joint researches,exchange of faculty and students and possibiliti-es of promoting collaborative research projects.

Amaethon held at IIM-A: Amaethon, IndianInstitute of Management-Ahmedabad’s (IIM-A)annual food, agri-business and rural summit washeld from January 6 to 8 on the institute’s cam-pus. The 12th edition of the summit, Amaethon2017, focused on “Agri-business: The way for-ward.”

CITY DIGEST

Portuguese minister visitsIIT-Gandhinagar

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Pics: Yogesh Chawda

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