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Vadodara gets a new mayor

Saturday, 15 June 2013 10:53 administrator
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The Indian Express            15.06.2013 

Vadodara gets a new mayor

Bharat Shah has been elected the new mayor of Vadodara and Seemaben Mohile the new deputy mayor, replacing Jyotiben Pandya and Harjivan Parbadia, respectively, as per an announcement made on Friday.

Shah, who served as the chairman of the standing committee of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) two times in the past, will be the mayor for the next two-and-a-half year term. He has been serving as the city corporator for the third time in a row.

Shah was serving as the member of the VMC's standing committee before he resigned on Thursday, along with chairman Vijay Shah and four others, prior to the election. Shah also served as the general-secretary of the BJP's Vadodara unit in the past.

Seemaben Mohile, who is a corporator and chairman of the recreational and cultural committee of the VMC, was elected as the deputy mayor for the duration of one year. Hitendra Patel was elected as the new chairman of the VMC's standing committee after Shah resigned from the post. Nilesh Rathod will serve as the leader of the BJP in the VMC.

"Shah is a sincere party worker who has served the party in different capacities. His clean image and dedication to the party has worked in his favour," a senior party worker said. The names of the new members were declared by city BJP president Bharat Dangar at a function in the city.

Speaking to the media after the declaration of his name, Shah said he will carry forward the development works that were undertaken by the past mayors and will try to finish ventures like Vishwamitri projects that were planned in the past, but was left half-way.

"All projects that are for the good of the city will be pursued in all earnest. The challenge begins with the start of the monsoon. We will try our best to ensure that people's woes are reduced as monsoon begins," he said.

Raksha Boliya is new Rajkot mayor

Rajkot: Raksha Boliya, the BJP corporator from ward no.15, was on Friday elected the new mayor of Rajkot city while Vinu Dhava, BJP corporator from ward 22, was elected as her deputy. They replaced Janak Kotak and Deepa Chikani, respectively, both of whom had completed their 2.5-year-long tenures. Rajendrasinh alias Rajbha Jhala was elected the chairman of the standing committee to replace Jayman Upadhyay. While Boliya represents Rabari community, Dhava is a Leuva Patel. Jhala belongs to the Kshatriya community. 
 

Worried NDMC rehearsed 13-sec drill to paste riot memorial notice

Saturday, 15 June 2013 10:43 administrator
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The Indian Express            15.06.2013 

Worried NDMC rehearsed 13-sec drill to paste riot memorial notice

Pasting a notice on a structure considered illegal by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) proved to be a daunting task for the civic body.

The notice had to be pasted at the site where the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) proposed to build a memorial to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. But NDMC officials were scared of stirring a row with the guards at the site inside Gurdwara Rakabganj. At the same time, they felt it would be unwise to take police cover before entering the gurdwara to paste a warning, asking the DSGMC not to build without permission.

After long and detailed deliberations, senior officials of the NDMC came up with an ingenious plan. A team of four members were selected to paste the notice. These men were then made to practice how the job could be done in the least possible time and without any friction with the guards.

An NDMC official said he, along with a driver and two staff members, rehearsed the whole procedure - of running to the structure, quickly pasting the notice, clicking a photograph for proof and then sprinting back to an already moving car to avoid any clash - for hours at a stretch.

"It sounds funny now, but then, we were worried of the likely consequences. So we rehearsed. A staffer would hold the notice which would already have glue on it. Another would carry the day's newspaper to provide proof that the notice was pasted on that date. The driver and I would wait in the car and keep the engine running. After pasting the notice and taking a photograph, the other two would sprint back and jump into the car. With rigorous practice, we managed to pull off the entire exercise in 13 seconds," the official said.

The officials were worried that the DSGMC had probably got a whiff of their plan to slap a notice. "So they had deployed guards at the site. But it was all too sudden for them, so we managed to pull it off," the official said.

NDMC had planned to put up another notice –— one that ordered stoppage of construction being done without its approval — in a similar manner.

But an official said when a staffer carried out a reconnaissance of the gurdwara, he found guards with swords manning the area. Petrified, the NDMC abandoned their sprint-paste-escape plan and simply posted the notice to the DSGMC.

 

BMC on save energy mode for street light

Saturday, 15 June 2013 10:17 administrator
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The New Indian Express            15.06.2013  

BMC on save energy mode for street light

With an aim to reduce power consumption and cut down the electricity bill by at least 35 per cent every month, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to opt for energy efficient street lighting. The project will be executed in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode. BMC stipulates that company should have capacity to reduce the power bill by 35 per cent.

Four private firms have applied for the technical bid, out of which two were disqualified. The proposal offered by the remaining two bidders will be forwarded. BMC officials said the two firms have offered bill reduction higher than 35 per cent. The firm that will offer maximum reduction in the electricity bill will be awarded the project.

“The roped in firm will first evaluate the street lighting of the City and then before stepping up, illumination requirements of a particular area will be studied properly,” said BMC City Engineer TBK Shroff.

Over 30,000 street lights are in the city for which the BMC is currently shelling out ` 70 lakhs as electricity bill every month. BMC is targeting to make 20,000 street lights energy efficient in first phase.  Under the project, dimmers will be installed which will reduce the intensity of illumination according to the availability of lights. Timers will be set up so that the lights will be switched off automatically at a specific time. Replacement of transformers and reworking of cable wires will also be undertaken.

If 20,000 street lights are successfully converted for energy efficient lighting, the work for rest 10,000 lights will be taken up.

 
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