NEW DELHI: The civil aviation ministry on Monday night stepped in to avert the possibility of a suspension of operations by Air India, after the
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national carrier decided not to accept fresh bookings for the next 15 days.

The decision to stop bookings was taken after two rounds of talks failed to end a strike by pilots that disrupted services for the third day on Monday. The airline cancelled 40 flights on Monday. The ministry asked the airline management to enter into dialogue with all sections of employees to end the impasse.

“Bookings will not be taken for the next 15 days,” said an official in Air India’s corporate communications department. However, the airline continued to accept bookings through its website.

The situation was aggravated with pilots of Air India, who were spared the cut in perks that sparked the agitation, too joining the strike on Monday by reporting sick. In a late night statement, Air India said the management was deliberating various options to deal with the strike. Civil aviation secretary MM Nambiar ruled out the possibility of a lock-out at the national carrier.

Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav met pilots here on Monday to discuss their concerns on the proposed PLI cut.
The first round of talks happened in a tense environment, said an official familiar with the negotiations. “While pilots insisted on a roll-back of productivity linked incentives of 7,000 employees including executive pilots with erstwhile Indian Airlines and payment of arrears, the management remained non-committal on reinstating part of the salary,” he said, requesting anonymity.

Executive pilots, with more than 15 years of service, in the airline have been reporting sick to protest the cut in incentives by up to 50%. “The CMD had on Sunday asked all executive directors to prepare a contingency plan and submit a preparedness report in case other sections of employees such as engineers go on strike,” said an executive director who was part of the meeting.

AHMEDABAD: In a show of solidarity, Gujarat University (GU) has decided to take a token amount of Rs 1 lakh from state government for using its
ground for 20 days during Vibrant Gujarat Navratri festivities this year.
The daily rent of university ground comes to around Rs 51,000, amounting to Rs 10 lakh for the duration of the event. This move is likely to prompt protest from syndicate members who had opposed last year as well when GU had acted in similar manner.

“The event is not being organized for generating charity for the poor. It is a platform of interaction for rich and affluent industrialists and NRIs,” said a syndicate member. Students are also irked over the fact that invitation cards of this event mention GU ground as that of Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC). “I’ve registered strong protest with the government, urging it to mention the name of university in the invitation and asked government not to make this mistake again next year,” said GU vice-chancellor Parimal Trivedi.

About the issue of token fee, Trivedi cited cooperative attitude towards the government. “Had the function belonged to any NGO or private organization, GU would have charged it Rs 51,000 per day. But as this event belongs to the government, we have to be reasonable,” he said.

AHMEDABAD: A super hero of our own, zipping through the dark aisle of Manek chowk or Raikhad to fight the evil or help needy. This might soon
become a reality as the animation film making department of the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad prepares for ‘Chitrakatha’ - the three-day animation festival hosted by the institute.
This year the theme for the festival is - Ahmedabad. “Across the world festivals of all sorts are known from the city they are hosted in. We plan to make this animation festival a festival of the city where work from the city and about the city is brought out. Be it illustration, animation films or comic books, artists taking inspirations from the stories of the city can create world class animations,” said Shekhar Mukherjee, the coordinator of the animation film making department.

Chitrakatha, will start from October 29. “The Ahmedabad Heritage Cell and other private and public bodies are being roped in so that the city reaps most from the event. The festival includes exhibitions, workshops, panel discussions and screening of select animation films from across the world,” said Mukherjee.

“This year there will be three categories - national students, international students and teachers’ work and under which various competitions will be held. From what we have seen in the last event, we feel Indian students and international students have different criteria for them. We have also introduced a category for teachers’ work so that this also becomes a part of their self development process,” added Mukherjee.

Ahmedabad: Connectivity will not be a problem for commuters on the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Ahmedabad.
The Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd (AJL) has ensured quick connections with buses of the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport System (AMTC), while there will be autorickshaws and feeder buses just outside the BRTS stations.

The AJL has ordered around 480 buses to provide a feeder service and also the revamp of the AMTS bus service. For smart connectivity, it has planned autorickshaw stands near the BRTS stations.

The commuters will be able to catch buses of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) from Nehrunagar, for AMTS buses from nearby stands as well as autorickshaws from the special parking and feeder buses.

This plan is being worked out considering the fact that the BRTS will run on a 12.5-km main trunk line from the RTO to Pirana. For example, those intending to travel from Ranip to Shyamal crossroads can take a BRTS bus to Shivranjini and then a connecting AMTS bus to Shyamal crossroads, this making such intra-city journeys cheaper and swifter than a comparable journey in an autorickshaw.

The AJL has also planned to increase the number of internal routes of the AMTS buses, while withdrawing their service along the main trunk line of the BRTS.

“AMTS buses will cross the BRTS at crossroads, but they will not meet on the same line,” a senior AJL official said. This move will leave commuters with two options, of taking an autorickshaw on the trunk line or opting for the BRTS. The officials believe that the economical and swifter journey on the BRTS will appeal to the commuters.
The feeder buses, apart from the AMTS buses, will cover the interior areas of the city for the commuters’ convenience.

Bus stands from RTO to Pirana
Ranip crossroads
Vyaswadi
Akhbarnagar
Pragatinagar
Shastrinagar
Jaimangal
Sola crossroads
Shree Valinath chowk
Memnagar
Gujarat University
Andhjan Mandal
Himmatlal Park
Shivranjini
Jhansi ki Rani
Nehrunagar
Manekbaug
Dharnidhar Derasar
Anjali crossroads
Chandranagar

BRTS timings for the first month
7 am to 10 pm BRTS hours
7 am to 8.30 am Bus every 10 minutes
8.30 am to 11.30 am Bus every five minutes
11.30 am to 5 pm Bus every 10 minutes
5 pm to 8 pm Bus every five minutes
8 pm to 10 pm Bus every 10 minutes

New Delhi: An oil spill off the coast of Gujarat that no one’s taking responsibility for is causing a big worry for fishermen. The black oily sludge has now spread more than 100 kms across the coastline of south Gujarat, right from Navasari to Tithal and even up to Daman. Locals as well as tourists are wondering where the foul-smelling chemical comes from.

Location: Western India
Founded In: 1411 AD
Founded By: Sultan Ahmed Shah
Tourist Attractions: Sabarmati Ashram, Adalaj Vav, Teen Darwaza and Bhadra Fort
Best Time to Visit: October to March

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hmedabad is the major commercial center of Gujarat. It is also the sixth largest city in India, with a population of more than 5 million. The city was founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1411 AD. The Sultan decided to make the city its capital because of a strange incident he witnessed here. According to a legend, he once saw a rabbit attacking one of his hunter dogs. This made him realize that if the rabbits of this region were so brave, then the people must be braver. Thus, he established Ahemdabd on the banks of River Sabarmati.

He graced his kingdom with a number of magnificent monuments, mosques, pavilions and mausoleums. The Indo-Saracenic style of architecture was started and employed by him in the various monuments that he built. This has contributed immensely to the historical heritage of the city. Today, Ahmedabad is a hustling and bustling city, with a flourishing textile industry. It is often termed as the ‘Manchester of the East’, owing to the fact that it is the largest denim producer in the world. Many buildings in the city are designed by world-renowned architects, like Le Corbusier, Louis Khan, Doshi and Correa.

Ahmedabad is the land where the Father of the Nation, Gandhiji, fought the battle of national freedom, based on the principle of non violence. Apart from this, the city is a major educational and learning center. Many world renowned educational institutes are located here, which are producing world class professionals. As a result, a huge influx of students, throng the campus of institutes every year. It is also the nerve center of cultural activities in the state. Ahmedabad is famous for its age old traditional folk art. There are also a number of important political buildings in the city.