Saurashtra and Kutch regions parched, people battling odds to get even a pot of drinking water

Narendra Modi may be on a campaign selling his model of governance but Gujarat is reeling under severe drought that has left Saurashtra and Kutch regions parched and people battling odds to get even a pot of drinking water. An estimated 10 to 15 per cent of the cash crops may have failed because of the drought this year that has come on the back of 11 normal monsoons.

Gandhinagar: The Narendra Modi government had formed the Gujarat Water Regulatory Authority (GWRA) on February 14, 2012 — Valentine’s Day — hoping to streamline water usage in the state.

Ahmedabad: Complaining about environmental pollution and difficulty faced due to the very dirty Chandrabhaga river, residents of Ranip area have moved Gujarat high court by filing a public interest

Ahmedabad: The milk capital Anand may figure in chief minister Narendra Modi’s speeches in Delhi for the success of Amul, but the district could be a case study for its poor human development index

It is “water politics” in Gujarat now.

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat lacks proper health infrastructure to contain deaths by swine flu - which has claimed over 180 lives across the state this season - according to the India representative of Global Hygiene Council.

"Lack of both awareness and facilities like isolation wards and ventilators, are likely responsible for the high death toll from swine flu in Gujarat," said India representative of Global Hygiene Council, Dr Narendra Saini, at an interaction with the media here.

GANDHINAGAR: Gujarat government has decided to increase water supply through the Narmada canal-based pipelines, from 80-crorelitres to 120-crorelitres per day, in the wake of water scarcity in Saurashtra and Kutch.

This was decided by the state cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday which was chaired by chief minister Narendra Modi. A government spokesperson said water is being supplied through tankers to 523 villages even as a Rs 133.74-crore contingency masterplan has been prepared for implementation in villages likely to face shortages in the coming days.

Citizens Must Not Lower Guard Yet, Maintain Caution: Experts

Ahmedabad: The death toll due to swine flu in the state reached a staggering 180 on Tuesday, with the maximum casualties recorded in Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Kutch, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar.
Officials claimed the deaths and number of swineflucaseshave gradually gone down in the past few weeks, raising hopes that the worst might be over with the onset of summer. However, Tuesday’s unseasonal rains have brought back fear in the hearts of the citizens.

One Dead, 10 Kids From AMC Schools Hospitalized

Ahmedabad: A seven-year old girl died on Monday night after suspected food poisoning at a municipal school on Saturday. Ten other students of two schools that got the same food and water have been admitted to Civil Hospital and private hospit a l s i n A s a r w a . Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has begun a probe into the incident.

AHMEDABAD: Seemingly unimpressed with the state government's measures to curb swine flu menace, justice A S Dave of Gujarat high court on Tuesday commented, "Everything is perfect on paper, the difficulty comes at the time of implementation."

In response to various queries posed by the high court to meet the requirement in the epidemic-like situation, the state government submitted a report stating that the administration has achieved all targets set to tackle the situation.