Flights from Surat to Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata soon

The diamond city Surat, will soon have direct air connectivity to Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. In a meeting held between officials of Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SGCCI) and Kingfisher Airlines at Surat on Tuesday, the country’s only five star domestic airline has agreed to operate flights from Surat to these cities.

Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Ajoy Bhattacharya said, "We had a meeting of Kingfisher vice president Elsa D'Silva and vice president (sales) Bhanu Kaila and almost 40 representatives from corporate houses and industries. At the end of the meeting, Kingfisher Airlines have expressed their readiness to start flights to Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata from the city."

Bhanu Kaila said that the Vijay Mallya led company is thinking of starting flights from Surat. "We have received good inputs about city and the airline is thinking of starting to launch flights from here," she said adding the company may take two to three months before taking a final decision.

Elsa D'Silva said that they will be ready to start operations from Surat even if they get less than 60 passengers per flight. Bhattacharya added that the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries is going to hold an important exhibition in January next year. It will be a huge benefit to the city if these flights start before that, he said.

Surti saris to cost 30% more

SURAT: This may not be music to the ears of women across the country. An unprecedented hike in the prices of polyester filament yarn (PFY) may mean more expensive saris, polyester fabric and dress material as the textile manufacturers in the country's biggest man-made fabric industry of Surat are set to pass on the increased costs to the customers.

Market observers believe saris, polyester fabric and dress material manufactured in the textile city would be costlier by almost 30 per cent from their original price at present. Reason: The front and the second line spinners have increased the prices of PFY by Rs12 to Rs 14 per kg in the last two days.

"This is the highest ever increase in polyester yarn price," said Nilesh Mandlewala, immediate past president of Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( SGCCI) and a powerloom unit owner. "We have no option but to extend the Diwali vacation by another five to six days," he said.

Arun Jariwala, chairman of Federation of Indian Art Silk Weaving Industry (FIASWI), said, "Polyester yarn is the main raw material for polyester fabrics like sari, dress material etc. manufactured by the weavers. The unprecedented price hike will increase the production cost for the powerloom units and it will have a chain effect on the entire man-made fabric industry."

Robust demand, partly driven by speculations in the global market, has sent prices of Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) - main raw material for the polyester yarn - soaring at an unprecedented pace and is feared to create a bubble in the entire polyester industry chain including that in India and China.

Sources said the PTA prices climbed to a record high of $1,280-$1,320 per tonne from $920-$950 per tonne a week ago in the international market including China.

"The PTA and MEG prices have soared by more than 26 per cent as supply crisis in cotton markets has spurred substitution demand for polyester in the international market. This has resulted in a price bubble in polyester yarn," said a yarn producer.

The increased cost of polyester fabric is likely to boost the retail price of saris and dress material by about 30 per cent on all the ranges starting from Rs 150 to Rs 10,000 and above.

"This is the highest ever increase in PFY prices and it is going to have an impact on the entire polyester chain. The production cost would go up because of escalating PFY prices and we would be forced to increase the prices of sari, fabrics and dress material," said Pramod Chaudhary, chairman of Pratibha Industries, a leading manufacturer and exporter of sari and dress material.

Devkishan Manghani, president of Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA), said, "It is the worst nightmare for the traders and retailers to up the prices in the festive season. Retail stores would be reluctant to raise prices because consumers will cut back on spending as the festive season is coming to an end."

Source: Times of India

BJP romps home to power in city for 3rd time

SURAT: Putting all doubts to rest about its victory in the civic elections, BJP swept to power once again on Tuesday by winning 98 of the total 114 seats of Surat Municipal Corporation. The Congress came a poor second with 14 seats and MahaGujarat Janata Party (MJP) failed to open its account. One independent and one NCP candidate though registered their victories.

However, neither the BJP nor the Congress have been able to significantly increase their vote percentage despite nearly 3.5 per cent higher voting in this elections than in 2005. The BJP, which had secured 54.03 per cent votes last time, got about 52 per cent this time. The Congress, which secured 30.19 per cent votes last time, got about 32 per cent this time.

The MJP despite not winning any seat secured about 5 per cent votes same as that got by the independents. Over all, other parties including the independents have increased their vote share from 15.78 per cent to nearly 20 per cent this time.

CR Patil, BJP MP from Navsari, the man who directed the BJP's campaign in the city, said, "We don't have to say anything now. People of Surat have said everything. Now it is our duty to fulfill all the promises that we have made and take Surat to No. 1 position in the country."

Shambhu Prajapati, city unit Congress president, said, "We accept people's verdict but believe they ignored the issues of corruption and development to vote sentimentally. We will play the role of a constructive opposition."

A look at the over all result of the city shows that Congress has managed to capture four wards of Mughal Sarai, Salabatpura, Bamroli and Bhestan. Apart from that it won single seats in ward no. 26 of Anjana and ward no. 29 of Limbayat. The NCP, which opened its account this time, has won from Ward No. 27 of Dumbhal where as the independent Prakash Desai won from Ward no. 30. All other seats were captured by the BJP

Source: Times of india

45% polling in diamond city

Diamond city, which has the dubious distinction of recording low voter turnouts, has once again lived up to its reputation on Sunday in the elections to Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC). When the 2,525 EVMS were locked at 5 pm, approximately 40 to 45 per cent of the total 24.2 lakh voters had exercised their right to franchise. The final figures are likely to be known by Sunday night.

District collectorate sources said that by 3 pm an average of 30 to 32 per cent votes were cast in the city. "There is a trend of rush in the final two hours and this happened on Sunday too. Our reports from various areas in the city suggest that we will record about 40 to 45 per cent voting in this election," they said.

Women especially came out to vote after 3 pm when the heat had subsided. At many places long queues were witnessed in the last couple of hours.

A political party worker said, "We were a bit worried looking at the low turnout in the morning session. However, the afternoon rush may take the city average to about 40 per cent."

Some wards in the city like Dumbhal, Rander and Pandesara witnessed more than average voting. In wall city area, wards and Athwa and Icchanath, the voting percentage may well be below the city average, sources said.

Surat had recorded 39.73 per cent turnout in 2005 civic elections. Before that in Lok Sabha elections, the city had even recorded as low as 33 per cent voting. However, these elections were won by BJP with a thumping margin. The BJP has 102 corporators at present in the 114-member corporation.

Source: Times of india

Surat girl wins mental maths world cup

An eleven-year-old girl from Surat Gujarat has set a world record by winning the Mental Mathematical Calculation World Cup 2010 held in Germany.

Priyanshi Somani was the overall winner for the fastest calculations and was awarded a medal and a trophy with a certificate.

The competition was held from June 5 to 7 in Germany.

Priyanshi, who is the youngest contestant in the event, won the competition and managed to make difficult calculations faster than the calculator.

"I was very happy when I came to know that I won the competition and it was a wonderful experience to be in the competition," said Priyanshi.

Around 37 contestants from 16 countries across the world participated.

The competition had different categories of exams like addition, subtraction, multiplication, extraction of square roots and even calculating the day of the week for a given date.

"I am very proud that at eleven she has won the competition. It is a very big achievement for her to be in the competition with such big mathematicians from all over the world and her representing India. I am happy that she has won the contest," said Anju Somani, Priyanshi's mother.

Priyanshi was followed by Spaniards Marc Jornet Sanz (16) and Alberto Coto (40) at second and third position.

Source: ANI

5.68 kg baby born in Surat

Her parents want her to become a famous tennis star when she grows up. However, the new born baby has already hit the headlines for being amongst the heaviest babies in the world. The 5.680 kg baby girl was born on Friday to a mother with no health complications.

The baby was born to Priti and Ketan Mehta, who live in Adajan. It was brought to her residence on Monday and was a star attraction for many in the neighbourhood. The baby's length is 57 cm.

Priti did undergo a caesarean, but she is happy to become a mother of a healthy baby. "Till the last moment we were not aware that a caesarean is required. The doctors decided on caesarean for safe delivery. I am happy to have such a healthy baby without having to face any complications," says Priti, who wishes her daughters to become a tennis stars like William sisters.

"Our elder daughter is Ashka (9) and she is a good tennis player. We wish to see both sisters become tennis legends. It is good to see that even before becoming a tennis star, the baby is already famous," says Ketan, a tax consultant. The couple had got married in 1991. After nine years of birth of their first child, the couple decided to have one more child.

"It is a unique case in many ways as the baby is of more than normal weight and has no complications. In the past, a few diabetic women had delivered heavy babies. Priti does not have any complication and the delivery was safe," says Dr Darpana Trivedi, gynaecologist at Matrutva Hospital, where the baby was born. "Normally the babies weigh around 2.5 to 3.5 kg. We have heard of babies weighing up to 5 kg, but this is the heaviest baby born in my hospital," Trivedi adds.

Source: Times of india

Surat win excellence in solid waste management award

SURAT: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has added yet another feather in its cap by winning excellence in solid waste management award. The award was declared at a two-day national symposium in Hyderabad that began on June 11.

This symposium was organised jointly by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Andhra Pradesh Technology Development and Promotion Centre (APTDC).

In all, 96 nominations were received for the award from urban local bodies and private industries. The award committee had shortlisted eight local bodies and 12 industries. The civic bodies were from Nashik, Pune, New Delhi, Mysore, Manali, municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai, Tenali and SMC. SMC won the award beating Tenali municipality of Andhra Pradesh and New Delhi Municipal Corporation, which were declared first and second runners-up respectively.

A SMC representative received the award at the hands of Andhra Pradesh minister of commerce and industry.

Source: Times of india

British Council to organise Education exhibition

SURAT: Aspiring students wanting to study in the world's top universities in UK will have a big opportunity to meet the UK academicians in the city. The British Council has organised Education UK exhibition in the city at TIFAC Hall at Sarvajanik Education Society (SEC) campus on June 15.

This is for the first time that British Council is organising the exhibition here. Surat is among the six cities across the country selected for the exhibition, including Bhubaneshwar, Jalandhar, Guntur, Vijayawada and Lucknow.

Some of the leading UK universities participating in the exhibition are: University of Bedfordshire, Birmingham City University, Cavendish College, University For Creative Arts, University Of Glamorgan, University of Gloucestershire, Liverpool John Moores University, Middlesex University, University of Northampton, Queen's University Belfast and University of Sussex.

Sources said UK is among the most popular study destinations that Indian students choose for international education. More than 44,000 Indian students are currently studying in UK. Drawn to the one year master's degree and three-year undergraduate course (except in Scotland), Indian students form second largest international student population in UK.

Source: Times of India

Surtis awaiting Tapi's makeover

Suryaputri Tapi river is awaiting a major makeover in the coming weeks. With shifting of more than 25,000 slum dwellers from the banks of Tapi river and 50,000 more likely to be relocated to EWS at Kosad, the landscape along the river is set to completely change.

Many slum colonies had come up on the banks of the river at Adajan, Rander, Chowk, Katargam and Varachha. As per Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) estimate, there existed 15,000 huts located in different slum localities. The SMC has till now re-located about 8,500. Of these, 5,000 huts were on the riverbed in Subhashnagar and Nehrunagar. The inhabitants of about 3,500 huts in Bapunagar in Adajan will be re-located in 15 days' time. The SMC plans to complete total relocation of the slum dwellers from the river banks within a month.

"We have built 19,440 EWS quarters at Kosad for these people. In all about one lakh people will be re-located to Kosad," said DM Patel, executive engineer, SMC.

"These were flood-prone areas and every year we had to shift people. It will save the SMC a lot of money and man hours," an official said.

The landscape in the vicinity of the river bank will change once all the hutments are cleared. This will allow the civic body to develop walk ways and recreational facilities.

"The banks on both sides of the river looked so filthy due to the slums. It is a different feeling to see the area neat and clean," said Danish Noorani, a textile businessman residing in a society close to the slums.

Raja Sheikh, another resident in Adajan, said, "When I used to open my window facing the river, all I used to see was the filthy slums. Half of them have gone and others will be removed in the next few days. Now, I will be able to see the river in its natural avatar."

However, shifting of the slums to one facility could raise some socio-economic issues.

"The slum dwellers were living together in Subhashnagar and Nehrunagar. Now, they will live in Kosad. The only difference is that the blocks are separated on the basis of caste and religious belief as demanded by them," an SMC official said.

Source: Times of India

SMC on inauguration spree

Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) inaugurated 10 completed projects and held foundation stone laying ceremonies of 16 schemes worth Rs 165 crore to mark Swarnim Gujarat celebrations here on Saturday. It held two foundation stone laying ceremonies and inaugurated two completed projects on Friday.

The spate of ceremonies started off with the inauguration of Swarnim traffic circle at Falsawadi by Nilesh Mandlewala, president of Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI).

Official sources said of the total 29 projects inaugurated in the last two days, nine are in Varachha zone, three in Central zone, five in Katargam, six in Limbayat and two each in Rander, Athwa and Udhna zones.

The projects inaugurated on Saturday include a school and community hall at Dindoli constructed at the cost of Rs 2.31 crore and BRTS route works between Simada and Sarthana costing Rs 34.72 crore and another between Dumas Resort and Kharwarnagar worth Rs 86.70 crore.

Apart from these major projects, many small schemes of public utility like schools, garden and intake well and bridges were inaugurated or the stone laying ceremonies were conducted.

Source: Times of india

City clip

This is small clip of our green city. Enjoy.

Holidays for the Year 2010

No.	Name of the General Holidays	Date	Day
1	Makar Sankranti	14/01/2010	Thusday
2	Republic Day	26/01/2010	Tuesday
3	Mahashivratri	12/02/2010	Friday
4	Id-e-Milad-Un-Nabi (Prophet Mohammad's Birthday)	27/02/2010	Saturday
5	Dhuleti (Day after Holi)	01/03/2010	Monday
6	Chetichand	17/03/2010	Wednesday
7	Shree Ram Navmi	24/03/2010	Wednesday
8	Good Friday	02/04/2010	Friday
9	Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar's Birthday	14/04/2010	Wednesday
10	Parsi New Year Day (Parsi Shahenshahi)	19/08/2010	Thusday
11	Raksha Bandhan	24/08/2010	Tuesday
12	Janamashtami	02/09/2010	Thusday
13	Ramzan-Id (Id-Ul-Fitra)(1st Shawwal) (Muslim Shiya and Sunni)	10/09/2010	Friday
14	Samvatsari	11/09/2010	Saturday
15	Anand Chaudas	22/09/2010	Wednesday
16	Mahatma Gandhi's Jayanti	02/10/2010	Saturday
17	Diwali	05/11/2010	Friday
18	Bakri - Id (Id - Ul - Aza)	17/11/2010	Wednesday
19	Muharram	17/12/2010	Friday
20	Christmas	25/12/2010	Saturday

Surat city to have digital map, pilot project finalised

SURAT: The city of diamonds and textile is soon going to join other metropolitan cities in having a digital map. The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has finalised a pilot project for digital map using the Geographic Information System (GIS) for Rander zone in order to keep a tab on the illegal construction and encroachments.

Official sources said the SMC's standing committee has approved the GIS mapping of Rander zone at the cost of Rs 11 lakh. The work has been given to Gandhinagar-based Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Application Geo-Informatics (BISAG).

The project will start with the identification of landmarks and then a geographical survey to cover various aspects including property and land details, drainage system, and roads. The digitised map would assist the civic planners to keep a tab on the illegal construction and encroachments.

Sources said the pilot project would be launched for Rander zone. Soon the entire city and each of the seven municipal zones would be covered.

"It would be a multi-utility digital map based on the vital data of a particular area like roads, trees, slum settlements, canals and houses. It will have information on households in each of the census blocks," said Mukesh Dalal, chairman, SMC's standing committee.

The main objective of digital mapping is to divide the section into Enumeration Area (EA) containing on an average 130 to 150 households, developing a database of geographic boundaries in digitised form with real coordinates, to reduce under coverage and over counts in census operation, to ensure the optimum use of database for digital maps which will helpful in conducting future census and sample surveys and to facilitate in dissemination of census and survey results in a thematic form.

Source: Times of india

Surat kite festival Photo Gallery - 2010

About Surat

Surat (Gujarati: સુરત) formerly known as Suryapur, is the eighth largest city in India. The city proper is the one of the populous cities in the world. Surat is the administrative capital of Surat district.

The city is situated on the left bank of the Tapti River, 14 miles from its mouth. The Population of Surat with its twin city Navsari is above 6.3 million as of 2009. A moat divides the older parts of the city, with its narrow streets and handsome houses, and the newer suburbs. The city is largely recognized for its textile and diamond businesses. It is also known as the diamond capital of the world and the textile capital of India. 92% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. Surat is also the Second cleanest city in India after Chandigarh. Surat was once the largest city in India. It has one of the highest GDP growth rates in India at 11.5% as of 2008. Surat was the primary port of India during the Mughal period, a distinction it lost to Bombay during the British Raj.