29-06-04

Naturopathy College Inaugurated: The Morarji Desai Institute of Naturopathy and Yogic Science was inaugurated at Baroda on 27th June. Administered by Lok Sevak Mandal, a trust founded by Lala Lajpat Rai, it will offer a Bachelor's degree (equivalent to an MBBS) in Naturopathy and Yogic Science. The 54-month course will cover pathology, anatomy, hydrotherapy, mud-therapy, magneto-therapy, yoga and other alternative methods of medication. Students will also undergo a one-year internship programme at a naturopathy hospital. Forty students will be admitted to the first batch. All 12th standard students are eligible to apply. CCRYN and the Jamnagar Ayurvedic University will formulate most of the course modules. The Chief Medical Officer of Balwant Rai Mehta Naturopathy Hospital, Dr. Prabhakar Rao, will take charge as the principal of the college. Though this college is the first of its kind in Gujarat, there are six other such colleges in India. It is awaiting a no-objection certificate from the Gujarat government and is expected to start functioning from July. The college was inaugurated by former prime minister I.K. Gujral.

Fashion Designing Course: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has cleared MS University's proposal for a three-year vocational degree course in fashion designing. The course will be conducted from this year by the Department of Clothing and Textiles in the Faculty of Home Science. MS University will thus be the first university in the state to offer a degree course in this field. The UGC has cleared a grant of Rs. 700,000 annually to begin the course. Twenty students will be admitted.

26-06-04

'Barodaiana' At Hansa Mehta Library: MS University's Hansa Mehta Library is ambitiously proposing to put together a local history section to extensively document the development of Baroda. To be called 'Barodaiana', it will be a part of the existing library. Material will be sourced from the Mandvi Central Library, the state archives, Jaysinhrao Library at Kothi and several departments within the university itself. The section will cover natural resources, topography, industries, politics, voluntary organizations, biographies of prominent persons from the city, etc.

Photograph Exhibition: June 26-28. 18th solo exhibition of photographs by Hariom Gurjar, titled 'Children of Nature'. At Exhibition Hall, Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University. 11 a.m. onwards.

Bengali Collection: Baroda art collector Rakesh Agrawal's 'Bengali' collection is on display at Bayer Gallery. The original works of artists like K.G. Subramanyan, Nandalal Bose, Binode Bihari Mukherjee, Paritosh Sen, Pradosh Dasgupta, Ram Kinkar Baij, Somnath Hore, Meera Mukherjee, Sankho Chaudhuri and Sarbari Roy Chowdhury are being exhibited. Till July 4. 4 to 8 p.m.

Crepe & Sizzler Festival: At Azure, Hotel Surya Palace. July 1 to September 30. 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Vegetarian Food Festival: Multicuisine vegetarian food festival incorporating the 'Munnabhai'. Anjoy Restaurant, Jetalpur Road. Till June 30. 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

24-06-04

Check-Dams On The Vishwamitri: Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is planning to build two check-dams on the Vishwamitri river in order to fill the stretch that passes through Sayajibaug with rainwater. One dam is proposed on the Buddhdev Colony side and the other on the Kalaghoda side. The idea is to store rainwater at the two check-dams when water levels in the river rise above the level of 10 metres. It is hoped that the Vishwamitri water can thus be made available for use in Sayajibaug. Before beginning this project VMC will study how the earthen dam at Sama withstands water pressure during the monsoon. In the Sama check-dam bags filled with earth have been used for the embankment. A Baroda based NGO, Engineering Seva Trust, is actively advocating this low-cost option.

Barodians Below The Poverty Rekha: The central government has asked the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) to conduct a survey and determine the number of families that can be considered to be below the poverty line (BPL). The last such survey was conducted in 2001, when the BPL line was drawn at a monthly income of Rs. 373.16 per head. The economic benchmark for the latest survey in Gujarat has been revised to a monthly income of Rs. 501.14 per head. This time it will not be just the economic indicators that will be considered. Non-economic indicators will also be taken into account, among them: housing condition, education standards, type of employment, status of children, availability of water and toilet facilities, access to community lavatories, open defecation, private dry toilets, etc. The 2001 survey had identified 93,946 households as urban poor, based on the Rs. 373.16 monthly income per head. Considering the new benchmark of Rs. 501.14, that figure would be 70,524 (in 2001). In 2001 Ward 3 (Wadi) had the highest number of BPL families, followed by Ward 4 (GIDC Manjalpur). Ward 5 (Babajipura) had the lowest number of BPL families.

Special Education For Teachers: A foundation course in special education for working teachers of primary and secondary schools will begin at the K.G. Patel Children's Hospital in July. The programme is recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Interested persons can obtain the application forms from the hospital before June 28.

23-06-04

City Railway Station: The Vadodara Division of Western Railways has drafted a proposal to build another entrance – this one from the Alkapuri side – to the Vadodara Railway Station. The plan consists of waiting rooms and parking facilities and several other basic amenities for passengers. Over 40,000 passengers use the Vadodara railway station daily.

Indian Music Workshop: Planet M has organised AAROHI – an Indian music workshop – on 27th June (11 a.m.) at TNW, Old Padra Road. The theme of the workshop is 'Spirituality In Music'. It will be hosted by musician and singer Achal Mehta.

22-06-04

Glass House For Baby Whale: The skeleton of the baby blue whale at the Baroda Museum has been a major attraction for visitors over the years. The museum is now spending Rs. 180,000 to make a glass case to house the skeleton and protect it from the weather and over-enthusiastic visitors. Earlier, it was protected by iron railings. The skeleton of the blue whale measures 71 feet and two inches, and it is the only one of its kind in India. On November 28, 1944, the baby blue whale (a full-grown blue whale is over 100 feet long) entered the Mahi river during high tide. When the water receded the whale was stranded and died near Gajna Ara, which is 20 kms from the mouth of the river in the Gulf of Khambhat. Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III asked the Fisheries Department to preserve the skeleton in the museum. Incidentally, the Baroda Museum was started in 1894 and it has since then played host to over 35 million visitors.

18-06-04

Petrol Price Increased: The government has raised the prices of cooking gas (by Rs. 20 per cylinder), petrol (by Rs. 2 per litre) and diesel (by Re. 1 per litre). Kerosene prices remain unchanged. In Baroda a cooking gas cylinder now costs Rs. 298.85, petrol is Rs. 38.85 per litre and diesel Rs. 25.79 per litre.

14-06-04

SSC Results: Baroda's students more or less monopolised the top positions in the Gujarat SSC examinations, results for which were declared on 12th June. City girls and boys secured eight positions in the Gujarat 'Top 10' merit list. Local girl Himani Patel of Nutan Vidyalaya came first in the state with 97.14 per cent marks. Of the 21 toppers in the merit list, eight are from Vadodara (all from Gujarati medium schools), four from Surat, three from Junagadh, two each from Bhavnagar and Gandhinagar and one each from Anand and Gandhidham. Out of 634,120 students who appeared for the examinations from 433 centres across the state, 334,099 passed, resulting in an overall pass percentage of 52.69 per cent. The success rate of girls was 58.60 per cent and of boys 49.08 per cent. English medium schools performed better than Gujarati medium schools. The success rate of English medium students was 91.05 per cent, followed by Hindi medium (70.42 per cent), Marathi medium (69.08 per cent) and Gujarati medium (50.88 per cent). Gujarati medium students form the major chunk.

Gujarat Toppers:
1. Himani Patel, Nutan Vidyalaya, Vadodara
2. Parth Desai, S.V. Vidyalaya, Vadodara
3. Sanket Vakil, Swaninarayan High School, Bhavnagar
4. Paridhi Trivedi, Swaminarayan High School, Gandhinagar
5. Saumya Mehta, R.S.M. Poonawala Sarv Experimental School, Surat
6. Kruti Patel, Swaminarayan High School, Gandhinagar
7. Hetvi Desai, Smt. V.D. Desai Shala, Surat
7. Yesha Choxi, Utkarsh Vidyalaya, Vadodara
7. Manan Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri Vidyalaya, Vadodara
7. Dhaval Dave, Lal Bahadur Shastri Vidyalaya, Vadodara
8. Margi Bhatt, Kasturba Vidyalaya, Anand
8. Abhijeet Vaidya, Alembic Vidyalaya, Vadodara
8. Natasha Tipnis, Fatima Convent, Bhavnagar
8. Ridham Bhadja, N.P. Bhalodiya High School, Junagadh
9. Shalin Rabadia, P.P. Savani Vidyabhavan, Surat
10. Niket Shah, R.S.M. Experimental School, Surat
10. Manali Shah, Maharani Kanya Vidyalaya, Vadodara
10. Devang Patel, S.V. Vidyalaya, Vadodara
10. Charmy Parekh, Alpha School, Junagadh
10. Milan Kantesariya, Alpha School, Junagadh
10. Arti Sharma, Mt. Carmel High School, Gandhidham

Baroda City Toppers:
1. Himani Patel, Nutan Vidyalaya
2. Parth Desai, Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyalaya
3. Yesha Choxi, Utkarsh Vidyalaya
3. Dhaval Dave, Lal Bahadur Shastri Vidyalaya
3. Manan Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri Vidyalaya
4. Abhijeet Vaidya, Alembic Vidyalaya
5. Manali Shah, Maharani Kanya Vidyalaya
5. Devang Patel, Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyalaya
6. Ankit Patel, Shri Narayan Vidyalaya
6. Jalpan Parikh, Jeevan Sadhana High School
6. Siddharth Bhesania, Sardar Vinay Mandir
7. Pinank Pandya, Nutan Vidyalaya
7. Prakash Rana, Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyalaya
8. Kinjal Yagnik, Vidya Vihar High School
8. Jigar Shah, Lal Bahadur Shastri Vidyalaya
9. Malay Desai, Alembic Vidyalaya
9. Dhruv Patel, Fertilizernagar School
10. Aarohi Prajapati, Alembic Vidyalaya
10. Chaitanya Shah, Vidyut Board Vidyalaya
10. Avani Pandya, Baroda High School, Alkapuri
10. Sitanshu Joshi, Jeevan Sadhana High School
10. Ashish Gupta, Vidyakunj High School

12-06-04

Monsoon Launched In City: On Friday, 11th June, Baroda got its first dose of rain, and the city's roads could not cope with the four-hour downpour. The heavy rain was welcome nonetheless, and it certainly helped to lower the temperature a bit. The downpour began at about 5.30 in the evening, preceded by the customary power failure in some areas. About two mm of rainfall was recorded. As in the past, waterlogging was witnessed in many localities, including the recently renovated underbridge near the railway station. Power failures were reported in Karelibaug, Sayajigunj, Akota, Ajwa Road and several other areas. Children generally had a grand time playing in the instant mini lakes.

10-06-04

Teacher Shortage At MSU: According to the 2002-2003 Annual Report of MS University, its 16 faculties and institutions have 36,204 students but only 1,150 teachers. The student strength is increasing at the rate of 10 per cent each year, but staff recruitment is not keeping pace. For instance, at the faculty of Technology and Engineering (FTE), out of the sanctioned 342 teaching posts 45 per cent are vacant. Incidentally, 60 per cent of MSU's budget is spent on the 15 departments of the FTE alone. At the Faculty of Commerce, which has 16,955 students, the staff-student ratio is a pathetic 1:130; of course, the scene appears to be not so gloomy because 50 % of the students just do not attend classes.

09-06-04

Factory Blaze Kills Four: The factory of Vasudev Chemicals in the Nandesari Industrial Estate near Baroda was gutted on Monday, 7th June. Four persons, including the company's owner, were killed in the unfortunate accident and four others were injured in the blaze. The blaze gutted the factory within just 10 minutes, and it took more then an hour for the fire tenders from IPCL, GSFC and the Nandesari Industrial Estate to douse the fire. Sodium picramic acid, used as a raw material to make dyes, was manufactured at the factory.

Marathi Play: Bhola Dambis at Gandhinagar Gruh on June 22 at 8.45 p.m. The play is directed by Milind Pendanekar and written by Gangaram Gavankar.

07-06-04

Jogging Tracks: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) wants to make nine new parks in the city with facilities for jogging tracks. The selected areas include Vasna Road, Old Padra Road, Sama, Gotri, Manjalpur, Gorwa, Diwalipura and Ellora Park. The work will be done in co-ordination with city-based trusts and senior citizens clubs (the Dada Dadi park in the Race Course area was developed by the senior citizens club of the area and the Rs. 2 million spent on the park was collected by club members).

Postal Stationery Guide: Prashant Pandya, president of the Baroda Philatelic Society, has released a publication titled 'A Guide to Modern Indian Postal Stationery, Vol-I'. The book is a reference guide for envelopes used by the Indian postal department between 1947 and 2003. The book documents 35 varieties of ordinary envelopes, 35 varieties of registered post envelopes, seven varieties of airmail envelopes and four envelopes published by the department for express delivery. A complete collection of the 256 varieties of postal greeting envelopes is also documented.

05-06-04

Baroda Station's AC Waiting Rooms: The Vadodara division of Western Railways has now installed airconditioners in the upper-class waiting rooms at the Vadodara railway station. The step is a part of the upgradation project of the exiting passenger amenities at the railway station. The authorities claim that this is the first time that such a facility has been provided anywhere in India.

FSSI Seminar: The Federation of Small Scale Industries (FSSI), the Trade and Commerce Commissionerate and Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) will organise a two-day seminar on 'How To Export & Import' at Hotel Yuvraj, Baroda, on June 7-8. The programme is designed to help those who want to start their own business ventures.

29-05-04

Course In Genetic Engineering: MS University's Department of Microbiology and the Biotechnology Centre at its Faculty of Science are introducing a one-year post M.Sc diploma course in Genetic Engineering & Bio-Process Development from the current academic year. Application forms and brochures will be available at the Biotechnology Centre from June 1 to 30 on payment of Rs. 200. The minimum eligibility is M.Sc in Microbiology, Biotechnology, Biochemistry or allied areas of biological science with 50 per cent marks. Of the ten students that will be admitted five will be sponsored candidates from industries and institutions. Further information is available on www.bcmsu.ac.in.

28-05-04

Kids Carnival: All In Development (AID), a non-profit organisation working for environmental issues and sustainable development has organised May Fair-2004, Green Educative Kids Carnival, at Akota Stadium. The fair will on till 30th May, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Among the attractions are displays by Ahmedabad based Centre for Environment Education, games and display of night vision devices by the EME and Air Force. AID promotes economical, efficient environment friendly best practices, through research, seminars, publications and awareness drives. It also promotes sustainable technology solutions by networking between public, government, corporate and technology sectors.

Art In Ahmedabad: Pratyayana, Ahmedabad, and Baroda's Sarjan Art Gallery have organised 'Art in Ahmedabad' – an exhibition of paintings by prominent painters of Ahmedabad like Haku Shah and Amit Ambalal. Several other artists are displaying their creations. Till June 10. 12 noon to 8 p.m.

NRI Parents' Meet: The monthly meeting of NRI Parents' Association will be held on 30th May at 'Anjoy Restaurant', Jetalpur Road, at 6.30 p.m. Interested NRI parents can phone 2331846 or 2488849.

25-05-04

Tribute To Pratibha Pandit: Ghargharika and Kedar Art and Research Centre organised a cultural programme on May 22 at the C.C. Mehta Auditorium to pay tribute to the noted danseuse Kumari Pratibha Pandit who passed away on April 22 at the age of 73. The programme featured performances that Pandit had choreographed herself. Daughter of Pandit Anandpriyaji who was founder of Aryakanya Mahavidyalaya, Pratibha Pandit was a noted Bharatnatyam exponent and a disciple of Guru Kubernath Tanjorekar. She was a student as well as a teacher at MS University's Faculty of Performing Arts, and she had made her mark as a proponent of folk dance forms, particularly of Gujarat and Rajasthan. She was a member of Gujarat Sangeet Natak Academy.

HSC General Stream Results: In the recently declared HSC General Stream examination results for Gujarat the pass percentage for girls was 74.39, compared to 55.27 for boys. The overall pass percentage was 63.16 per cent. Of the 2 88,141 students registered, 283,261 appeared, and 178,900 passed. The result for English medium students was 81.79 per cent, and for Gujarati medium it was 62.06 per cent. In Baroda girls secured 11 of the 14 positions in the city's top-10 merit list. City topper Mitali Kamdar ranked fourth in the Gujarat. Overall, 13,307 students took the exam from the city and 8,575 students passed. The pass percentage of students in the city was 64 per cent, while that of Vadodara district was 42 per cent.

HSC General Stream Results (Gujarat Toppers):
1. Sweta Shah, K.G. Trivedi Sadhna Vinay Mandir, Ahmedabad
2. Ankit Srivastava, Shree Vidyanagar High School, Ahmedabad
3. Punit Jhamtani, Dr. C.G. Higher Secondary School, Ahmedabad
4. Ankita Katwala, Smt. Indiraben T. Tekrawala High School, Surat
4. Mitali Kamdar, IPCL School, Vadodara
4. Naishal Shah, Shree Vidyanagar High School, Ahmedabad
5. Mosam Shah, Best Higher Secondary School, Ahmedabad
6. Sapan Sheth, Amrut Higher Secondary School, Ahmedabad
6. Vinay Sharma, Rajasthan Hindi High School, Ahmedabad
7. Ishita Shah, S.P. and Swami Vivekanand High School, Ahmedabad
8. Priyadarshana Shah, Shri Sabarmati Kanya Vidyalaya, Ahmedabad
9. Tejaskumar Shah, Tapovan Sanskarpith Vidyalaya, Gandhinagar
9. Nitesh Shah, Tapovan Sanskarpith Vidyalaya, Gandhinagar
9. Darshan Bagadia, Vishvaniketan Vidyavihar H S School, Ahmedabad
9. Akash Modi, Nelson's Higher Secondary School, Ahmedabad
9. Vishakha Thakkar, H.B. Kapadia New High School, Ahmedabad
9. Priyesha Shah, H.B. Kapadia New High School, Ahmedabad
9. Pratik Shah, H.B. Kapadia New High School, Ahmedabad
10. Sona Vadecha, Lourdes Convent High School, Surat

HSC General Stream Results (Baroda City Toppers):
1. Mitali Kamdar, IPCL School
2. Heena Patel, Gayatri Vidyalaya
3. Bhumika Patel, Maharani Kanya Vidyalaya
3. Heny Shah, Baroda High School
4. Manish Wadhwani, Ladharam High School
5. Sheetal Jain, Swami V.V. Gitamandir
6. Kaushambi Vaishnav, Tejas Vidyalaya
7. Kinjal Dhamecha, New Era Girls High School
8. Anuj Tiwari, Alembic Vidyalaya
8. Elma Mcckuskie, Convent of Jesus & Mary High School
9. Asha Zala, Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyalaya
10. Hiral Khatau, Basil High School
10. Gulab Haseja, Ladharam Sind Hindu High School
10. Poonam Santwani, Hari Shewa Girls Vidyalaya

22-05-04

Former Test Cricketers Felicitated: The Baroda Cricket Association (BCA), on behalf of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), recently felicitated former Indian Test cricketers Vijay Hazare, Dattajirao K. Gaekwad, Anshuman Gaekwad, Kiran More and Rashid Patel at a function at Baroda. The felicitation programme was a part of the pension scheme announced by the BCCI recently for former cricketers. The players were given a bouquet and a cheque of Rs. 5,000 on behalf of the board. Vijay Hazare, who could not attend the function for health reasons, was felicitated at his home.

21-05-04

Post Offices To Collect Electricity Bills: The vast network of post offices in Vadodara district will soon start accepting electricity bills as part of a special project to simplify bill payment. The Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) and the postal department are launching a pilot project in the region and will replicate it elsewhere if it succeeds here. There are around 700 post offices in Vadodara district. GEB will pay the postal department Rs. 5 per bill, thus also creating extra revenue for it.

Pokemania Festival: Festival of fun and food for children. At Sayaji Hotel's Rooftop Restaurant. Till May 31.

Summer Bonanza: Special deal of free ice-cream with a meal. At Hotel Yuvaraj. Till 15th June.

20-05-04

Mumbai-Vadodara Flight: Indian Airlines has restored its morning flight, Mumbai-Vadodara-Mumbai, with effect from May 14. The flight timings are 7.15 a.m. for Vadodara-Mumbai and 5.50 a.m. for Mumbai-Vadodara. The one-way promotional fare is Rs. 2,000 till September 30.

Course In Hospital Administration: The Baroda chapter of the Indian Hospital Association (IHA) will start the fifth batch of its one-year diploma course in Hospital Administration from June at Narhari Arogya Kendra, Fatehgunj. The course has been recognised by the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) and New Delhi-based IHA. Interested persons should ring up 2327737 or 98243-66843.

19-05-04

HSC General Result On May 22: GSHSEB will declare the result of the HSC General Stream examinations on Saturday, May 22.

13-05-04

Ranjitsinh Gaekwad Exhibition: An exhibition of drawings by Ranjitsinh Gaekwad. At the Aakruti, near Kirti Mandir. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 10 to May 18.

Stress Management Course: Ambalal Sarabhai Foundation will conduct a five-day stress management programme starting May 27. The programme will be held between 12.30 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. Those who are interested may contact the foundation office at 1st Floor, Bombay Shopping Centre, Race Course, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

08-05-04

HSC Science Stream Results: Of the 16 students who made it to the list of top 10 in Gujarat, 12 were boys. However, compared to the 49.09 pass percentage for boys, 56.16 per cent of the girls passed. The overall result for the state was 51.16 per cent. Twenty-seven students in the state scored zero marks in all the subjects. Of the total 74,430 students who were registered, 70,036 had appeared for the exams that were held in March. Of these, 4,259 students scored distinction, 4,763 got a first class, 10,881 scored second class and 15,928 pass class. Of the 49,495 boys who appeared for the exams, 24,296 (49.09 per cent) passed while of the 20,541 girls who appeared, 11,535 (56.16 per cent) passed. The result of English medium students was recorded at 61.99 per cent while it was a bit low – 49.46 per cent – for Gujarati medium students. Ahmedabad city recorded the best result at 66.92 per cent. In Baroda, 60.92 per cent of students passed, surpassing the state average of 51.16 per cent. Of the top ten schools in the state in terms of pass percentage, five were from the city. On the other hand, three Baroda district schools found mention in the list of ten schools in which the pass percentage was less than 10. Two city schools that showed a 100 per cent result – Basil High School and Rosary High School – were ranked one and two in the state, respectively. In both schools, all students who appeared in the exams passed the exam. The three other top schools were Baroda High School (Bagikhana), Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyalaya and MS University Experimental School; in each one of them, only one student out of those who had appeared had failed.

HSC Science Stream Results (Gujarat Toppers):
1. Nisarg Gandhi, Swastik Shishuvihar Higher Secondary School, Ahmedabad
2. Neeraj Shah, St. Xavier's High School, Loyola Hall, Ahmedabad
3. Malhar Mehta, St. Xavier's High School, Loyola Hall, Ahmedabad
4. Rohan Shah, Swastik Shishuvihar Higher Secondary School, Ahmedabad
5. Chintan Dholakia, Shri S. V. Virani Multipurpose High School, Rajkot
5. Kadambari Jethwani, Udgam School for Children, Ahmedabad
6. Mohit Shah, Udgam School for Children, Ahmedabad
7. Dhara Gajera, Swami Vivekanand Vinay Mandir, Junagadh
7. Pratik Shah, Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyalaya, Vadodara
7. Krunal Sheth, Shri Saurashtra High School, Rajkot
7. Nishit Shah, Asia English School, Ahmedabad
8. Himal Shah, Sharda Mandir Vinay Mandir, Ahmedabad
9. Hardik Vora, Shreyas Vidyalaya, Vadodara
9. Nidhi Pancholi, Asia English School, Ahmedabad
10.Lavanya Iyer, M.K. Higher Secondary School, Ahmedabad
10.Vivek Vishwanathan, Don Bosco High School, Vadodara

HSC Science Stream Results (Baroda City Toppers):
1. Pratik Shah, Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyalaya
2. Hardik Vora, Shreyas Vidyalaya
3. Vivek Viswanathan, Don Bosco High School
4. Dhaval Patel, Alembic Vidyalaya
5. Umang Barvalia, IPCL School
6. Aditi Trivedi, Alembic Vidyalaya
7. Priyank Katwala, Baroda High School Sr.
8. Shachi Patel, Alembic Vidyalaya
9. Hitesh Meghani, Bright English Medium School
9. Sadchit Rajapurkar, Baroda High School Sr.
10. Arpan Mehta, Baroda High School
10. Archana Asher, Baroda High School Junior-2

05-05-04

Baroda's Hottest Day: Gujarat reeled under severe heat wave conditions on Tuesday (4th May). The temperature in Baroda touched 46.3 degrees Celsius. People stay indoors to the extent possible. Ahmedabad recorded 45.2 degrees, Rajkot 44.6 degrees, Surat 42.6 degrees and Bhuj 43.1 degrees.

04-05-04

Pay 'N' Park Facility: The standing committee of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has passed a proposal to earmark specific areas between Bhootdijhapa and Salatwada and between Kala Ghoda, Rajashri Cinema and Hotel Surya Palace for pay-and-park schemes. The schemes will be run on a trial basis for a year, and 28 more areas will be added subsequently based on the experiment. The possible areas are being identified by the city's traffic police department, which has been studying vehicular movements on different days in various areas.

HSC Science Results On May 7: The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) will declare the results of HSC Science Stream exams on 7th May. The results will be available on the websites www.gseb.org and www.enfinet.net. Students who want to get their results on email may register their email addresses on these websites on 6th May.

Bar Association Elections: The incumbent president of the Baroda Bar Association (BBA), Narendra Tiwari has retained his seat in the recent association elections by defeating advocate Nalin Patel by 173 votes. He has retained control for the twelfth time in a row. Of the 1,482 votes polled, Tiwari got 816 votes and Patel 643. Jagdish Choksi was elected vice-president and Sanjeev Misra and Suhagini Shah were elected. Malini Ravat and Smruti Bhave were elected to the women's reserved category of the managing committee.

MSU's E-Journal Project: MS University's Hansa Mehta Library has embarked upon an e-journal project. Teachers and students of the university will soon be able to access several academic journals online. The library has been selected for the Infonet project of India's University Grants Commission (UGC). The project has been initiated in select universities in the country to facilitate quality research in higher education.

Award For Baroda Schoolgirl: Fifteen-year-old badminton player Vaidehi Dave of Baroda has been ranked No. 1 in Gujarat in the Uder-16, Under-19 and women category since the last two years. The Jaideepsinh Baria award for excellence was given to her by the Gujarat government on the occasion of Gujarat Day on 1st May. The five feet eight inches tall girl weighs 43 kg and studies in Baroda High School. Her father, Ketan Dave, works at Bank of Baroda.

Key Chain Collection: Barodian Firoz Saudagar has been collecting key chains for over 40 years. He now has an impressive collection of over 2500 key chains. He has recently donated his collection to Rosary School for the benefit of children.

Highway Junction: Dhaba Food Festival. At Taj Residency. 30th April to 9th May. 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

01-05-04

Vipassana Course: Vadodara Vipassana Samiti has announced a 10-day Vipassana course (residential, for persons over 18) from 23rd May to 3rd June at New Era Senior Secondary School, Nizampura. Vipassana is a simple, scientific and practical method of mental purification that makes it possible to face the tensions and problems of daily life in a calm and balanced way. For registration ring up 2343302, 2343304, 2788889, 2333442, 2333965 or 2662296. E-mail: tml@wilnetonline.net

Mahesh Padia's Exhibition Of Photographs: Well-known photographer Mahesh Padia is exhibiting his photographs, titled 'Nature', at Akruti Gallery, Abhivyakti Sankrutik Sthal, Kirti Mandir. Till May 9.

Cricket Camps: As many as 2,500 youngsters have registered at the four cricket camps going on in Baroda right now at Kiran More Cricket Academy, Youth Sports Club, Hindu Gymkhana and Baroda Sports Club. About 25 to 35 promising players will be picked from each of these camps for further training.

29-04-04

Biometric Attendance System: Following the successful implementation of the biometric attendance system in the Ahmedabad and Surat municipal corporations, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) may introduce it at its head office at Khanderao Market. The biometric system uses the finger scan method. The finger scan is unique to every person, and this method should eliminate proxy attendance or 'buddy punching' from the work place. In the first phase, the system may be started for 1,000 employees in the VMC's main building. In the second phase, it will be extended to all ward offices. The last phase will involve the major task of dealing with the 3,300 'safai sevaks', a group in which proxy attendance seems to be quite prevalent.

26-04-04

Multi-Speciality Hospital: A multi-speciality hospital, Sangam, was inaugurated on 25th April at the Sangam crossroads in Karelibaug. The 50-bed hospital has several specialised sections including cardiology, critical care and pulmonology, diabetology and endocrinology, dentistry, gastroenterology and psychiatry. It also intends to provide cosmetic and plastic surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, ortho joint replacements and spine surgery. It has a trauma center. It is equipped with three operation theatres and has its own ambulance.

Hospital Receptionists' Course: Ambalal Sarabhai Foundation and Indian Hospital Association will conduct a three-week course to Train Hospital Receptionists from May 3. Classes will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Interested persons can contact the Foundation office at Bombay Shopping Centre between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Dhruv Waghela Exhibits In London: An exhibition of glass mosaic paintings by Baroda's Dhruv Waghela will be on till April 30 at the Nehru Centre Art Gallery in London.

24-04-04

Computerisation At Central Library: The Central Library at Mandvi in Baroda has received funds from Kolkata-based Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation (RRLF) for computerisation. The library has identified about 10,000 rare books and 500 photographs that need to be preserved. The Gujarat government will also give Rs. 246,000 for this purpose. Established by Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1910, the library has over 300,000 books in six languages – Gujarati, Hindi, English, Marathi, Sindhi and Urdu. It also supports 3,000 village libraries spread across 11 districts. The state government will shortly open a district public library in Alkapuri and it will be under the jurisdiction of the Central Library.

Small Arms Training Centre: The Director General and Senior Col Commandant of the Corps of EME, Lt Gen V.K. Dhir, inaugurated a state-of –the-art small arms training centre, Dronacharya, on 22nd April at the Faculty of Weapon Technology of EME School, Baroda. The EME wing is the single largest component of the Indian Army comprising about 10 per cent of its strength. Its primary role is to provide technical and engineering support to the complete array of equipment of the army, right from the forward zones to the bases in the rear.

Personality Development Camp: Ambalal Sarabhai Foundation will conduct a four-week summer personality development camp starting on May 4 for children between 6 and 16 years. The camp will impart training through play-way method to enhance abilities such as conversational English, creative thinking and writing, acting and scripting. Interested parents may contact the foundation office at 1st Floor, Bombay Shopping Centre, Race Course.

Chess Championship: Baroda Chess Academy will organise an Open Baroda Chess Championship on April 2004 at Baroda High School (ONGC). Interested persons can enroll their names at the Baroda Chess Academy, 29 Arihant Society, Ajwa Road or ring up 2510796.