Ahmedabad: Early birds among BT cotton farmers in Surendranagar and Bhavnagar districts have been bit by the millibug. Those farmers who had sown BT cotton just 20 to 25 days ago in their farms are the worst affected in Surendranagar and Bhavnagar districts. There are several cases where farmers have lost all their BT cotton crops. "I had sown the crop just 24 days ago. But today, I lost hope that it could survive after millibug attack on my farm. Now, I have to sow again,'' says a farmer, Sankar Golani of Sayla in Surendrangar district.

Writes To Centre To Sanction City Railway Network Rajiv Shah | TNN Gandhinagar: A realization has dawned on Gujarat government that the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) is not enough to fulfil the mobility plans of mega-city Ahmedabad. A dormant plan for a Regional Rail System (RRS) is now being revived to provide additional transportation infrastructure for the city which is growing by leaps and bounds. The RRS plan was shelved after Delhi Rail Metro Corporation Ltd prepared a feasibility report for Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) in August 2005.

A group of teenagers from USA has come visiting the state. And no, they are not sight-seeing or partying, they are giving lessons on hygiene to Amdavadis, villagers of Gujarat and building toilets for them too. And, how! Back home, the teenagers washed cars, mowed lawns and cleaned windows for their "service tour" to India. They are a group of nine enterprising students and three staff members of Yes Preparatory Schools, from Houston, USA.

Saeed Khan | TNN Ahmedabad: Gujarat government might have got a reprimand from Centre for not implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in a proper manner, but residents in a distant Naroda village of the Panchamahals district found a new pressure tactic to get the scheme implemented systematically.

When most of their fellow classmates are drowned in heavy books, this bunch of some 20 future medicos of BJ Medical college decided to get out their closet. Their aim was to make those spots and areas that they see every day more

Himanshu Kaushik | TNN Viramgam: Residents of Kajipura village of Viramgam taluka are a scared lot since the last 10 days. Ever since they came to know how the swirling waters of Narmada flooded Sujatpura village near Kadi on June 12 due to a breach in the main canal, they are reminded of several breakage in the Saurashtra main canal that passes near their village.

Paul John | TNN Ahmedabad: The ambitious task of strengthening 11,933 km of rural roads by the State Roads and Building Department (R&B) was fraught with many procedural and technical glitches that caused the tax payers to cough up an extra Rs 94.31 crore. This was observed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its latest report. Apart from procuring asphalt at higher prices for

Breakfast with an orangutan. Close encounter with a panda. No, you aren't on a jungle safari. It could all happen in apnu Amdavad, with plans afoot for a new zoo that would have animals not bound in cramped enclosures. The Ahmedabd Municipal Corporation (AMC) has already begun frantic search for land for the new zoo in the city, to be spread over 100 acres. At present, the areas

The metro rail dream was revived once again for Ahmedabad on Wednesday, when a high-level delegation, led by Singapore minister of state for foreign affairs Balaji Sadasivan, told top Gujarat officials that it was interested in investing in the project in a big way. A senior state official, who participated in the meeting, told TOI: "The metro rapid transport system (MRTS) in Singapore is perhaps the best in the world. There is a need to clinch the opportunity.'

As fuel prices skyrocket, a motley group of doctors in Surat has got together to circumvent the hike by forming a 'Bicycle Club'. The motto is not just 'burn rubber to stop burning a hole in your pocket'. They are hoping to spread the virtues of good health and encourage others to take to cycling. As a start, 50 members, including 25 doctors, will leave behind their gas-guzzling cars and cycle to work every day.