First look: The new AMTS bus

The bright-red buses have built-in features like GPS system, LED screens, passenger information system and pneumatic ticketing doors]]

The Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service services has procured the first 10 hi-tech buses of its new fleet comprising 400 buses. These are painted red and have a saffron stripe. AMTS Chairman Pravin Patel said: “We have placed orders for 400 CNG-run, non AC buses and expect to get the first hundred by month-end.”

Initially the vehicles will be put on the routes on which few buses ply. Some of these routes are 58, 151, 151/3 and 50. Patel said: “By April, AMTS will get all the buses. This will enable us to enhance our coverage and complement BRTS in a better manner.”

The buses have built-in facilities like GPS system, pneumatic ticketing doors, LED screens, passenger information system and power steering. It has a seating capacity of 35. As many as 50 people can stand in the bus.

The cost of one such bus is nearly Rs 23 lakh. AMTS received funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission(JNNURM) for the new buses. The AMTS has a fleet of 900 buses, 400 of which are owned by it. Deputy Municipal Commissioner M S Patel said: “With the arrival of new buses we will gradually replace our diesel buses with the environment-friendly CNG-run vehicles.”

According to sources, the AMTS will also stop depending on private operators to run the new buses. At present the public transport has to rely on private operators to cover 466 square kilometre area of the city. Nearly 300 buses are run by private operators.

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Coming soon: Double-decker buses to be back on Ahmedabad roads

Ahmedabad: Remember those red-coloured double-decker buses ferrying passengers between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar a few years back? Yes, these buses which are an integralpart of the Mumbai and London traffic scenario, will be back on the city's roads very soon, if the plans of the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) go through. The transport body of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation wants to introduce double decker buses as part of its schemes to attract more tourists on its coaches.

Very few people are aware of the AMTS's tourist coach service. Though this facility attracted more visitors in 2009 compared to 2008, the figure is only marginal. Only 7,689 persons used the tourist package in 2009 and AMC earned just Rs4.61 lakh as revenue from it. The figures for 2008 were 6,447 and Rs3.86 lakh.
"Not many people in the city know that such a service is available and that too at an affordable cost for sight seeing in the city," an AMTS official said. He added that the tourist coach is run even if there are only a couple of passengers in it — which is the case most of the time.

The major reason for the failure of this coach could be lack of interesting places covered on the route. The course of the tourist coach is Sidi Saiyad Ni Jali, Balvatika, Gandhi Ashram, Sardar Patel Smarak, Hutheesing Temples, Shreyas Foundation and LD Museum.

AMTS chairman Praveen Patel agreed that the route needs to be revamped.

"We are planning to introduce double-decker coaches like the ones seen in European countries," he said. Patel also said that new places such as Sarkhej Na Roja, Tri-Mandir and the Adalaj step-well will be included on the route. Later, the Sabarmati Riverfront could also be one of the stops, he added.

The transport body obviously needs to focus on the marketing strategy of the coach to attract more tourists. If the state government is planning to boost tourism in the state, the tourist coach needs to be popularised. An AMTS official said, large number of hotels are coming up in the city. So AMTS could have a tie-up with them to get more passengers for the tourist coach. In that way, the coaches will be a source of revenue and not suffer losses, as is the case right now.

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Unveiled Kankaria's Red Ride

Atal Express is almost black, but the second mini-train at the lakefront will be blood-red. The new train will arrive in the city from UK in September

Red  That’s going to be the colour of the second mini-train at Kankaria lakefront. The train will arrive in Ahmedabad from the UK in September and is likely to be christened ‘Swarnim Express’.

Mirror, on April 21, reported that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had placed an order for another mini-train following the popularity of Atal Express, which has made the civic body richer by Rs 2.5 crore.

A senior civic official said that Atal Express and the second train would chug on the same track. “Once the new train arrives, we will try to begin rides as quickly as possible,” he said.

UK-based firm Severn & Lamb, which manufactured Atal Express, will also deliver the second train. The civic body will pay Rs 2.25 crore for this train, about Rs 11 lakh more than it did for the first one.

Like the first one, the new model is also a Lincoln Locomotive. It has the look of the bygone era, but it’s efficiency matches modern-day machines. One can steer and control its speed with the same lever.

While the AMC will not lay another track for Swarnim Express, it will provide it a separate shelter. In fact, it is in the process of issuing a tender for construction of the shelter.

Atal Express, which makes 22 trips every day, began its journey at Kankaria lakefront on December 25, 2008. It has contributed Rs 2.5 crore to the civic administration’s coffers. 

New ride, same fare

It won’t cost you more to take a ride on the red mini-train that is expected to arrive at Kankaria lakefront in September. Tickets for children aged between 3 and 12 will cost Rs 10 each. Students above 12 years will get a discount of Rs 5. They, however, will have produce their ID card to be avail the discount. People of other age groups will have to pay Rs 25.

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‘I thought of suicide for a whole night’

Bruised and broken PTC lecturer, who was allegedly raped by 3 male teachers, tells Hemington James she sat under a tree on Saturday night thinking of killing self

It was Mukesh Patel, a teacher at Narsinpura primary school in Kadi, who got me my first job. He was pretty friendly with me. But when Mukesh asked me to sleep with him, I refused. He called me up several times, asking me to meet him near a deserted canal in Kadi.

He kept insisting, and I thought there was no harm in meeting him. However, when I met him at the said spot, he tried to force himself on me. When I pushed him back, he got violent and started beating me up. He kept hitting me till I fell unconscious. Mukesh then clicked my nude pictures on his cellphone and left the place. After gaining consciousness, I wore my clothes and went back home.

He again called me up twice asking me to meet him. When I refused, he said he had my nude pictures and that he will show it to my parents and relatives if I ignored him. He also threatened to shame my father in front of our community members and said he will see to it that I don’t get married.



Mukesh had shown the nude pictures to his friends Ketan and Dinesh, who are also government school teachers. All three of them started harassing me. Not only Mukesh, even his two friends raped me near the canal several times in the past eight months.

Scared they will show my nude pictures to my parents, I kept mum and kept meeting them whenever they summoned me. Every time they raped me and hurled abuses at me. Once, Mukesh hit me so hard that my left ear started bleeding. I went to a doctor who said that my ear drum was damaged.




I stopped talking to the three men last month. I felt it was better to die than surrendering to those devils.

On Saturday [June 19], Mukesh called me up in the morning on my cellphone and started abusing me. I was in the college at that time. He threatened me with dire consequences if I dared to open my mouth. I shot back saying I will inform his school principal about his misdoings. He laughed at me and told me that he and his friends will easily prove me a liar if I went against them. I got scared and started crying.

My colleagues sensed something was wrong and asked me whether I was in trouble. I told them I had fever and left the college. A lady teacher dropped me home.

At home, I kept thinking how to deal with this and finally made up my mind. I left for Mukesh’s school in Kalyanpur to register a complaint against him with his principal. But Mukesh saw me entering the school and started screaming at me, asking me to leave.

Sensing trouble for himself, he said that he and Dinesh were from the same community and she won’t be able to do anything against them. Fearing a scene, I left the place, went home and told everything to my parents.

That day, around 2 pm, I and my parents went to meet Mukesh, Dinesh and Ketan at Kalyanpur. My father scolded Mukesh for troubling me. But he was unrepentant and felt humiliated in front of his friends. He told my father that he would come to our village and break his bones.

As soon as we came back home, my father started getting calls from my relatives who asked him whether I was being a bother to him. Mukesh had called them up and spoken ill about me. My father broke down and said: ‘My reputation is gone’.

I couldn’t take that and decided to leave home. Around 10 pm on Saturday, I left my house with a purse in hand. I walked 10 kilometres and reached Chhatral. Tired, I sat under a tree, thinking what to do. Images of the three men who had made life hell for me conjured up in front of my eyes. Till 5 in the morning, I did not move from that spot. At dawn, I hired a chhakda that had two other passengers in it. After dropping both of them, the driver asked me where was it I wanted to go. I asked him to take me to Ahmedabad. He dropped me at Rakhial. It was 7 am. I called my father to inform him I will never come back. I even called up Mukesh and told him he had tortured me a lot and I will never forgive him.

I hired another auto and left for ST bus depot at Geeta Mandir. I got into a bus to Kalol at 8.45 am. I bought a pesticide from a medical store.  Next, I checked into a hotel named Amrit, hired a room and consumed poison. Worried, the hotel staff may have to face tough questions from cops if I collapse there, I checked out. I reached Kalol ST stand. I was thinking of getting into a bus to Kadi when I began feeling dizzy and collapsed unconscious. Onlookers managed to contact my parents since I had an identity card and my father’s phone number in my cellphone contacts list.
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Cops get 6-day remand of the two accused
The two accused in the Kadi rape case — Dinesh Patel and Ketan Thakar — who were arrested by the cops, were sent to six days police custody by the district magistrate of Mehsana on Wednesday. Kadi police are on the lookout for Mukesh Patel, the key accused in the Kadi gangrape case. He is the only person who is still at large in this case.

“My men are on a lookout for Mukesh. He will be caught anytime. The remand of the two accused will give us some vital clues in this case. We are hopeful of solving the case soon,” said G V Barot, police inspector, Kadi police station.

Meanwhile the victim, who is undergoing medical treatment at a private hospital in Kalol, will be shifted to Mehsana Civil Hospital on Thursday morning. She has been given police protection. The victim has alleged that she was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by three teachers of government school.

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Episode 9 – Ahmedabad Auditions – Star Anchor Hunt.

Star Anchor Hunt – Episode 9th June 2010. Ahmedabad auditions round of Star News’ reality show Star Anchor Hunt.

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Tata Nano model prices could go up by Rs 15,000 from August onwards

Tata Motors, which has recently affirmed that Nano will be readily available by August-September this year, is reportedly looking to jack up the price of the said model by that time. It is widely believed that the primary reason for the company to hike Nano’s price would be surging input costs and technology upgradation for BS-IV emission norms.

When Debabsis Ray, the official spokesperson of Tata Motors was contacted nearly a month back, he didn’t confirm or deny the possible price revision of Nano. He said, “Now that emission norms in the country include BS-IV for 13 cities and BS-III for the rest of the country, the Tata Nano will be available in both BS-IV and BS-III, as is applicable. The delivery of BS-IV Nanos is yet to begin, and is on the anvil. He stated, “As announced at launch, the first 100,000 chosen consumers are price protected and that Tata Motors has not arrived at any decision on pricing for the future. There is not hint of any decision either way. Should there be a price change for BS-IV Nanos; the company will intimate respective owners.”

It may be recalled that Tata Motors’ brand new plant for the Tata Nano at Sanand, in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat, was by the Honourable Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, in the presence of the Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, Ratan N. Tata, ministers of the Gujarat Government, top officials, vendor and supplier partners, dealers and associates of the company. The plant’s inauguration marks the culmination of the company’s goal of making the Tata Nano freely available to hundreds of thousands of families, desirous of the car. The capacity of the plant, to begin with, will be 250,000 cars per year to be achieved in phases, and with some balancing is expandable up to 350,000 cars per year. Further capacity expansion has also been provided for in this location.

Read more: Tata Nano model prices could go up by Rs 15,000 from August onwards - WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News
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Visa Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad

Hanuman Temples at Khadia and Neb Sarai in Ahmedabad in Gujarat is believed to help in getting Visas. So how does Hindu Temples get the Visa tag? A few devotees pray for a particular wish at a temple and when those wishes are fulfilled; word spreads and devotees throng these temples. Annually, thousands of Indians apply for migration Visas and then proceed to temples which they believe will help in an early Visa approval. 400-year-old Visa Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad is one such temple and another new temple that is receiving lot of Visa devotees is the seven-month old Chamatakarik Shree Hanuman Ji Ka Mandir in Neb Sarai.

The famous 400-year-old Visa Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad is located at Desai Ni Pol in Khadia

    Hindustan Times reports about the New Visa  Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad

    In the serpentine, narrow lanes of Neb Sarai, the god resides especially to aid the visa applicants: or so the devotees believe. Supposedly modelled on the 400-year-old ‘Visa Hanuman’ temple in Ahmedabad, the Chamatakarik Shree Hanuman Ji Ka Mandir in Neb Sarai was established seven months ago.

    The temple gets hordes of people coming every day for their ‘visa difficulties’.

    “I heard about this temple from a friend, who is now settled in New Zealand. He said that going there and praying helps. So I have come to this temple as for me going abroad is very important,” said Harvinder Singh Sekhon, who was at the temple with a sheaf of documents in hand.

    Rekha Jain, an astrologer who runs her consultation from the temple, said: “Hanumanji helps everyone in need. Here, we just tell people to pray to him and ask them to chant a specific mantra. That is all. If going abroad in their destiny they will definitely go. It is all about believing in God.”

    The entire thing is done free of cost, she said. “We do not ask for anything or charge anything. If they want they can offer laddoos and bananas to him.”

    But the ‘visa’ tag has its disadvantages. “People think it is us who help getting visa which is not true. It is just a temple where they can pray and ask for God’s help,” Jain said.

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