1. Congress Seeks Alpesh Thakor's Disqualification, Petitions Speaker
Two days after voting for 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the Congress party on Thursday, 25 April, submitted a petition seeking disqualification of dissident MLA Alpesh Thakor from the Assembly for anti-party activities.
Chief whip of Congress party in the state Assembly Ashwin Kotwal, and senior MLA Baldevji Thakor filed the petition before Speaker Rajendra Trivedi.
"Alpesh Thakor was elected as MLA on Congress's symbol. During the elections, he supported independent candidates, and worked against the party's candidates. Our petition to the Speaker demands that Alpesh be disqualified as MLA for indulging in anti-party activities during the elections," Kotwal, who represents Khedbrahma ST seat in the assembly, told DNA.
(Source: DNA Ahmedabad)
2. Temperature to Soar to 43°C Today, Forecasts IMD
Following the Heat Action Plan, the civic body had announced Orange Alert for the day, but surprisingly, the mercury stayed at 42 degree Celsius. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the temperature on Friday, 26 April, could reach 43 degree Celsius.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation had also distributed ORS packets at several public places. The civic body has kept its parks and gardens open for all days and there will be free distribution of buttermilk during the hot and severely hot days.
For Friday, the IMD forecast clear skies with dry weather. The maximum temperature expected for the day is 43 degree Celsius while the minimum temperature could be around 28 degree Celsius.
On Thursday, the weather was dry in all the districts of Gujarat region and Saurashtra. Ahmedabad witnessed another hot day.
(Source: DNA Ahmedabad)
3. Gujarat Lags Behind Tribal Men, Women in Average Voter Turnout
The tribal areas it seems voted with gusto and as usual, surpassed the voting percentage in non-tribal areas of the state. In fact, men came out in large numbers, registering an average male voter turnout of 85.3% in tribal areas, against the average of 67% for the state.
The female voter turnout was also close to 10% higher than the average women voter turnout in the rest of the state. It was 69.50% for women in tribal areas while it was 60.90% for the rest of Gujarat.
The six constituencies that are either reserved for tribals or have substantial population of tribals, saw an overall average voting percentage of 77% against an average turnout of 64.11% for the state.
Amarsinh Z Chaudhary, president of 'Adivasi Samanvay Manch said a lot of factors are at play when one considers the high turnout in tribal areas.
(source: DNA Ahmedabad)
4. Tur Dal Worth Rs 29 Lakh Found Adulterated; Probe Ordered
Tur dal worth Rs 29 lakh has been found adulterated during an inspection at a warehouse in Gujarat's Junagadh district, prompting the state government to order a probe Thursday, said officials.
An FIR has been registered against seven persons in connection with the incident, they said.
This tur dal stock was procured by Gujarat State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd from the farmers of Junagadh on behalf of central government entity National Agriculture Co- operative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), said Managing Director of GSCSCL, Manish Bhardwaj.
While the government claimed the guilty will be brought to justice, Congress leaders alleged it was an "insiders job" and people sitting at "high places" were involved in it.
(Source: Business Standard)
5. No Relief to Gujarat Government in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary Eco-Sensitive Zone Case
The Gujarat High Court has refused to provide any relief to the state government in a public interest litigation (PIL) questioning the intention of the state government in proposing the reduction of the eco-sensitive zone for Gir Wildlife Sanctuary from 3.32 lakh hectares to 1.14 lakh hectare.
Notably, the High Court in April last year had restrained the government from issuing any final notification in this regard.
During the hearing of the PIL on Thursday, the division bench of Acting Chief Justice AS Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav clarified that no case was made out for vacating the interim relief granted to the petitioner.
(Source: DNA Ahmedabad)
6. GERC Cuts Power Tariff for Farmers and Residential Consumers
In a major relief to domestic consumers as well as farmers, the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) Thursday announced reduction in tariff on the electricity provided by four state-owned electricity distribution companies (discoms).
"While no increase has been imposed on any category of consumers, residential units as well as farmers, who are using lift irrigation systems, would get the benefit of reduction of tariff," the GERC said in a statement.
The four discoms are Uttar Gujarat Vij Company, Madhya Gujarat Vij Company, Daxin Gujarat Vij Company and Paschim Gujarat Vij Company. These discoms provides electricity to over 1.15 crore residential units and over 16 lakh farmers across Gujarat, have not sought any increase in tariff from GERC, it said.
(Source: PTI)
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