March, 2002

22-03-02

Curfew Relaxed For 11 Hours: The curfew has been relaxed for all persons in Wadi, City, Panigate, Navapura, Raopura and Karelibaug police station areas from 8.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. on Friday, 22nd March.

Madhubani Paintings Exhibition: March 22 to 31. An exhibition of original Madhubani paintings made on paper with vegetable dyes. At Nazar Art Gallery. The paintings are made by Manorama Devi and Indrakant Jha and his family who are traditional Madhubani artists from Bihar.

21-03-02

9-Hour Curfew Relaxation: As the situation improves, the curfew has been relaxed for all persons in Wadi, City, Panigate, Navapura, Raopura and Karelibaug police station areas from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on Thursday, 21st March.

20-03-02

Curfew Relaxed For 5 Hours: As the situation again returns slowly to normal, the curfew has been relaxed for everyone in Wadi, City, Panigate, Navapura, Raopura and Karelibaug police station areas from 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. on Wednesday, 20th March.

14-03-02

Tense Mood: There was a little tension in the city once again on Wednesday evening following the Supreme Court verdict. Rioters indulged in stone pelting and arson in the Bavamanpura area. Police fired 21 rounds to disperse a mob in the Panigate area around 7.30 p.m. However, there were no reports of injuries. The rumour mills were busy throughout the day and shops in some localities closed early. Even some offices in the relatively more peaceful areas chose to wind up quickly for the day. Traffic on the roads was noticeably thin. To add to the gloom, the skies were overcast and there was a little rain. The wariness is evident in the fact that many societies (there are over 3,000) are contemplating private security arrangements. The slow return to normalcy seems to have been slowed further. The police remain on high alert.

MS University Exams: Except for the Fine Arts, Technology and Engineering faculties and Polytechnic College, the final examinations in the rest of the faculties of MS University have been postponed by a week due to the prevailing uncertainty.

12-03-02

City Moving Towards Normalcy: Though there is an underlying unease, Vadodara is returning slowly to normalcy. The curfew has been lifted in all areas of the city, schools and colleges have reopened, banks and commercial establishments are functioning normally, shops are back in business and factories are limping back to action. Restaurants are seeing a slow return of their customers and movie halls report thin attendance, especially at night. Of course, it will take a long time, a very long time, for the wounds to heal.

Baroda Lose Ranji Final: Railways defeated defending champions Baroda by 277 runs in the Ranji Trophy Final at the Karnail Singh Stadium, New Delhi, on 9th March. This was the only national title that had so far eluded Railways. The scores: Railways (253 and 306); Baroda (169 and 113). Railways had lost the final to the same opponents at Baroda by a narrow margin of 21 runs last year.

09-03-02

Curfew Relaxed Further: Curfew has been lifted completely in Vadodara, except for the Wadi, Panigate and City police station areas where it has been relaxed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

08-03-02

Curfew Timings: Curfew has been relaxed from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on 8th March in the Panigate, City and Wadi police station areas. In the Raopura, Navapura, Karelibaug, Sayajigunj, J.P. Road, Gorwa, Chhani, Fatehgunj and Makarpura police station areas, the relaxation is from 6 a.m. to 12 midnight.

Schools May Postpone Exams: Most city schools are likely to postpone the examinations scheduled in April. MS University officials are waiting till March 12 before deciding to change the examination schedule. Schools and MSU resumed teaching from 7th March, but attendance was poor.

07-03-02

Vadodara Calm: No untoward incident was reported from Vadodara city during the curfew relaxation hours on 6th March. Shops opened in all the curfew-free areas and banks and commercial establishments functioned normally. The State Bank of India resumed clearing operations from its main branch in curfew-bound Mandvi after a week. The bank cleared as many as 38,900 banking instruments worth Rs. 560 million. The volume is expected to go up three-fold on 7th March.

Curfew Relaxed Further: In the Raopura, Navapura, Karelibaug, Sayajigunj, J.P. Road, Gorwa, Chhani, Fatehgunj and Makarpura police station areas the curfew has been relaxed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on 7th March. In the Wadi, Panigate and City police station areas, the curfew has been relaxed for women from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and for men from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. No curfew has been clamped in the precincts of Jawaharnagar police station.

Schools Reopen Slowly: Academic institutions in the city are gradually resuming their regular activities. Some schools reopened on 6th March, but only for a few hours. Attendance was thin due to the unavailability of autorickshaws and also because many students stay in curfew-bound areas. MS University plans to conduct classes from Thursday, 7th March.

06-03-02

Normalcy Returning Slowly: Barring some stray incidents of stabbing and assault by mobs in Ajwa Road, Chhani and Karelibaug areas, the situation in Vadodara was largely peaceful on Tuesday (5th March). The number of persons arrested in connection with the weeklong violence rose to 1,309, including 481 persons who were arrested for serious offences like arson, attempt to murder and murder. The police have so far fired 294 rounds of bullets and lobbed 679 tear-gas shells to control mobs in different areas of the city. The official death toll in the Vadodara police commissionerate area has been put at 30 and injuries at 57. Four persons died in police firing, 16 were burnt to death, one died in private firing, nine died due to stabbing, 27 have received stab wounds and 12 were injured in firing.

Curfew Timings: Curfew has been relaxed on 6th March for all people in the Raopura, Navapura, Karelibaug, Sayajigunj, Makarpura, Gorwa, Chhani and Fatehgunj police stations from 7.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. However, in the areas falling under the City, Wadi and Panigate police station areas, the curfew has been relaxed only for women and children from 7.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. Teaching work in MS University remains suspended.

SSC & HSC Exams Postponed: In view of the ongoing disturbances, the Gujarat government has postponed the SSC and HSC examinations to March 18 from March 11. The new examination dates will be announced shortly. Also, the annual examinations in high schools will now be conducted from April 15 instead of April 8. The summer vacation will be from May 13 to June 11.

Marathi Vangmay Parishad: The 59th convention of Marathi Vangmay Parishad will be held on March 9 and 10 at Jumma Dada Vyayam Mandir at Dandia Bazaar. Former editor of Marathi daily ‘Dainik Sakaal’, lyricist and actor Vijay Kuvlekar will preside over the convention.

Barbecue Food Festival: At Havmor restaurant. Till March 12.

Great Indian Food Festival: At Early Bird Café, Holiday Inn. Till March 31. The first fortnight will feature delicacies from north and south India. The second half will feature food from the eastern and western parts of the country.