Cool Ahmedabad

"We are in talks with public transport systems including Ahmedabad BRTS for content acquisition for Google Maps. The maps section already features DMRC routes and schedules and we intend to tap other public transports across the country," said Jagjit Chawla, product manager, Google India.


Currently, Google's Internet Bus is touring in and around Ahmedabad wherein internet content in both English and Gujarati languages will be showcased. "The Internet is a strong medium of knowledge. Our attempt through the Internet Bus is to spread the awareness of this medium and its relevance in our daily life. Google aspires to improve livelihoods, lifestyle and productivity for Indian users by generating and preserving income, leading to improved livelihoods and better lifestyles, by overcoming language and literacy barriers," said Chawla.

The Google Internet Bus attempts to educate people about what the Internet is, and how it may be beneficial to their lives, by taking the Internet experience to them through a customized Internet-enabled bus, which will travel to several towns and cities across India. In Gujarat, Google intends to take the bus to at least 15 tier-II and tier-III cities.

In addition, Google has organised a school outreach program where a team of two people with laptops will branch out from the bus and visit schools that the bus will not been able to reach in order to teach children the benefits of the internet.

Shrushti Pandya, a student at an Ahmedabad college is standing for elections for a post in her college students’ union this year. “Being a part of a students’ body not only develops our skills, but gives us a first-hand experience of team work. I plan on being a part of the student body so that I can interact more with the students,” she says.


While some are new to the leadership scene, many students have prior experience in holding such posts from their school days. Shaira Paul, union member of a college in Chennai says, “Being the school captain gave me a sense of responsibility in my early years. I was inspired by my seniors in college to stand for the council elections.”

The election process to a student body is no easy task and a range of screening processes are held before the team is finally elected. “We are interviewed by previous council members, the college faculty, after which we have to present our agenda to the Principal,” explains Shaira.

S.Esaivanan, the General Secretary of a students’ union in Mumbai, explains, “We follow the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and it is a weeklong process. We have to follow a code of conduct and have a systematic way of campaigning. Students are required to present plans they wish to initiate and they can campaign in the college.”

These student bodies are great ways of interacting with the students. “Being a student leader has given me the chance to interact with students from diverse backgrounds. It has been an enriching experience and it has honed my skills,” adds Esaivanan.

Gujarat will gift a new state-of-the-art super specialty cancer hospital to the world, very soon. The Gujarat Cancer Society will extend its operations to the New Swadeshi mill campus near Chamunda bridge on Naroda Road, beginning from November 11, the auspicious Labh Pancham day.

This new hospital will not be limited to cancer care alone. It will also serve as a multi-specialty hospital. A medical college will also be included as part of the campus.

Speaking about the development plan for the hospital and the medical college, state health minister Jaynarayan Vyas said, "While the general OPD will start from November 11 at the new campus, the hospital will formally commence on January 1, 2011.
The new medical college, named GCS Medical College, will start operations from the academic session in 2011." Vyas was speaking to the media on Tuesday at the site of the upcoming hospital and college, whose buildings are under construction.
Pankaj Patel, chairman and managing director of Zydus Cadila as also the chairman of the Gujarat Cancer Society, was present at the occasion, as were Dr Pankaj Shah, director of the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute and Dr Shilin Shukla.

"The hospital will have 350 beds in the first phase, and more than 650 will be added in the second. Hence, once the new hospital is completed, it will have a collective capacity of 1,000 beds," said Vyas, adding that the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute already has a capacity of 650 beds. "Hence, by the time the new hospital is ready, the institutions run by the Gujarat Cancer Society will have a total capacity of 1,700 beds," he said.

It seems the state government has learnt a lesson from its recent hiccups, those experienced in getting MCI's approval for the medical colleges at Sola and Vadodara, due to non-compliance of the norms regarding necessary staff and infrastructure.