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Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s commercial capital, has long been the largest city in the state both in terms of size and population. A new report on drinking water supply by the urban development department (UDD) has sprung a surprise.

While Ahmedabad has a larger area (480 sq km) compared to Surat (462.14 sq km), Surat’s municipal corporation caters to a larger population, 82 lakh, compared to Ahmedabad’s 80 lakh.

Due to a large floating as well as migrant population, the number of people within Surat municipal service limits is higher than Ahmedabad. The estimated population for Surat is calculated based on drinking water supplied every day and its utilisation within municipal limits, said sources from the Surat Municipal Corporation.

Surat supplies more water than set standards considering the water lost during supply. Raw water is sourced from Tapi, the sources added.

In the 2011 census report, Ahmedabad had a population of 55.77 lakh while Surat had 44.66 lakh. The census exercise is expected to be held this year.

The UDD report also highlights disparity in consumption of water, measured in litres per capita per day (lpcd), across eight major municipal corporations in the state. Vadodara, with an area of 220.3 sq km, leads with per capita consumption of 237 lpcd, followed by Bhavnagar at 213 lpcd. On the other hand, Junagadh receives the least amount of water, 57 lpcd, among the eight municipal corporations.

Narmada water

The 1,600 million litres of water per day (MLD) supplied to Ahmedabad amounts to availability of 200 lpcd. In contrast, Surtis receive only 182 litres per head per day. However, all of Surat’s water demand of 1,500 MLD is met by the perennial Tapi instead of the Narmada, said UDD sources.

Unlike Ahmedabad, the other major cities in the state are not entirely dependent on Narmada water. For instance, in Vadodara, only 11% of its 640 MLD water supply is met by the Narmada. Rajkot supplies 375 MLD for which it is 36% dependent on the Narmada and yet supplies more water per capita, 209 lpcd, than Ahmedabad.

Bhavnagar city is running on a deficit of 10 MLD and yet its daily supply of 170 MLD ensures each citizen gets 213 litres a day, the second highest supply in the state. Bhavnagar receives just 45% of Narmada water every day for drinking. The rest is managed from Aji and Shretunji dams.

This data suggests there is a need for a more equitable distribution of water resources across Gujarat’s major cities. The consumption pattern is too high. A lot of water is wasted, said UDD sources.

Also Read: Rahul To Fight From Raebareli, Kishori Lal Sharma From Amethi

The Congress finally announced on Friday that Rahul Gandhi would be its Lok Sabha candidate from Raebareli. The party’s decision came on the last day for nomination filing by candidates for the prestigious seat.

The party has fielded Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi. In a last-minute decision, the Congress fielded Sharma against Union Minister Smriti Irani in Amethi, where Rahul Gandhi suffered defeat in th 2019 elections.

Elections in Amethi and Raebareli will be held on May 20 in the fifth round of the seven-phase poll process.

Rahul Gandhi, who is also seeking re-election from Kerala’s Wayanad, will face BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh in Raebareli. Singh had lost to Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Sonia Gandhi bastion

Raebareli has been represented by Sonia Gandhi for four terms until she was elected to Rajya Sabha this year. Her decision not to contest the election this time, sparked speculation that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might contest from Raebareli.

Earlier this month, Sonia Gandhi took oath as a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan, filling the seat left vacant after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s tenure ended on April 3.

The Congress announcements come after much speculation and anticipation in all circles. There was a heated debate over whether the Congress would field members of the Gandhi family from these two seats.

In 2019, Rahul, the incumbent MP from Amethi back then, lost the seat to Smriti Irani. He, however, got elected to Parliament from Kerala’s Wayanad, a seat that he is contesting this time as well. Amethi was once considered a Congress bastion.

Smriti Irani attack

Irani has been attacking the Congress, asserting that she did in five years what Rahul couldn’t do in 15. BJP leaders have suggested that the Congress was indecisive in picking its candidates for these seats because they feared defeat.

The Amethi parliamentary constituency, created in 1967, was a Congress bastion before 2019. Till then, it was ruled by non-Congress parties only twice, and that too only for four years. First, it was post-Emergency in 1977, when a Janata Party candidate won and remained its representative in the Lok Sabha till 1980. The second time, Sanjay Singh won on a BJP ticket in 1998.

Rahul Gandhi won his first Lok Sabha election from Amethi and went on to win again in 2009. Irani fought against Rahul in 2014, a contest he won, but with a reduced margin. Irani, however, continued to work actively in the constituency, emerging a winner in 2019.

Also Read: Prajwal Fled To Germany On Diplomatic Passport

After allegations of sexual abuse, put Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna in a tight spot, the politician fled to Germany on a diplomatic passport. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that no visa note was issued to Revanna – but to travel to Germany, he did not need one.

Unlike normal passports, which have dark blue covers and are valid for 10 years (for adults), diplomatic passports have maroon covers, and are valid for five years or less. Holders of such passports are entitled to certain privileges and immunities as per the international law, including immunity from arrest, detention, and certain legal proceedings in the host country.

SIT books Prajwal for rape

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has booked Prajwal Revanna for rape following a fresh complaint by a woman from Hassan alleging that he “coerced her into having sex”. Also, a second FIR was registered against his father H D Revanna, who was also named in the sexual harassment case, on charges of kidnap.

The complainant has alleged that Prajwal Revanna coerced her into having sex. Her identity is being kept secret as per norms. Unlike the previous FIR, the rape charges have been filed only against Prajwal Revanna, said police sources.

In another development, the Karnataka government has issued a look out notice against Prajwal and H D Revanna for not appearing before SIT.

A former house help at Prajwal’s residence on Hassan had filed a complaint on April 28 with Holenarasipur police station alleging sexual harassment by Prajwal and H D Revanna, the former state minister and elder son of Deve Gowda.

In the first FIR, Prajwal Revanna was charged under sections 354A, 354D, 506, and 509 of the IPC for offences related to sexual harassment, intimidation, and violation of a woman’s dignity.

Also Read: ‘Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se’, Says Sunita Kejriwal In Gujarat

Serious allegations of fraud and professional misconduct has been levelled against Dr. Hiren Mashru a paediatrician running Nihit Babycare Hospital at Rajkot in Gujarat. Shocking details have emerged wherein the unscrupulous doctor is alleged to have tricked the Government’s Ayushman Scheme to his benefit by willfully misdiagnosing the newborns and extracting huge sum of money.

An ex-employee of Nihit Babvcare Hospital, Ravi Solanki has revealed that as a computer operator, he was made to alter the medical reports to sound negative upon instructions of Dr. Hiren Mashru. It is estimated that with this modus operandi, Dr Mashru earned Rs. 2.53 crores within a short span of 8 months only by subjecting the Newborns to the medical treatment which they didn’t need.

Mr Imran Houthi of Divya Bhaskar brought the scam to the light. He even produced documentary evidence such as alteration of medical report parameters from 3.80 to 43.80 in the case of a newborn. Based of this fake reading, the newborns were made to stay at the hospital with several injections being administered to the babies, apparently without reason.

The scam shows the darker side of the medical field and brings the shame to the medical fraternity. Rajkot is a medical hub for Saurashtra where people from all the surrounding districts reach for treatment. The issue has created huge uproar.

This is not only a case of blatant misappropriation of public funds by misuse of Ayushman Scheme and shameful professional misconduct of worst kind, it is more importatly, unpardonable violation of human rights of the newborns.

Also Read: This Election Is For Modi’s Mission, Not For Ambition: PM In Gujarat

Pleading for votes with the slogan ‘Jail ka jawab vote se’, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal on Thursday joined AAP MLA and Bharuch candidate Chaitar Vasava, in a roadshow in his Assembly constituency of Dediapada.

Sunita reminded the people gathered there that the “unjust and wrongful jailing of Vasava” and his wife, Shakuntala – from December 2023 till February this year – is similar to her husband’s and is a “sign of dictatorship”.

At Dediapada, Sunita took to highlighting the “unfair and unjustified” imprisonment of her husband while raising slogans like ‘Jail ka jawab vote se’ and ‘Our Kejriwal is sher’.

Sunita also accompanied the party’s second candidate from Gujarat – Bhavnagar candidate Umesh Makwana in Botad – in a roadshow.

AAP’s two candidates

Both Makwana and Vasava are sitting AAP MLAs and are contesting as part of the INDIA bloc alliance. With the party only contesting two Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, a win for the party in one of the seats would mark a first for AAP.

The Gujarat AAP leadership divided itself between the two roadshows at Botad and Dediapada – state party chief Isudan Gadhvi was at Botad while national joint secretary Gopal Italia and state general secretary Manoj Sorathiya accompanied Vasava.

As the roadshow took off from the Birsa Munda statue towards Limda chowk ending at Pitha ground, a sea of blue and yellow flags, with AAP emblem, flashed past in the heart of the town.

Three trucks were part of the AAP roadshow, including one with Vasava, Sunita, and Rajya Sabha MP and in charge of Gujarat AAP, Sandeep Pathak. Sunita and Pathak, left the roadshow midway “owing to police permission and helicopter-related considerations”, said AAP sources.

In April, the Gujarat High Court, in an interim relief, permitted Vasava to enter the Narmada district since contesting an election is a statutory right.

Also Read: BJP’s Decision To Field Brij Bhushan’s Son Upsets Wrestlers

Gujarat News, Gujarati News, Latest Gujarati News, Gujarat Breaking News, Gujarat Samachar.

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