Latest news with #Gajjar
India Today
4 days ago
- India Today
Gujarat anti-terrorism squad busts fake Luxembourg visa racket, 4 arrested
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested four people for allegedly running a fake visa racket involving the European country Luxembourg, among other nations. The accused have been identified as Mayank Bhardwaj, Tejendra Gajjar, Manish Patel and Tabrez to ATS officials, Inspector PB Desai received information about the scam and began an investigation. Police found that Bhardwaj and his associates had been charging between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh from people, promising to arrange and Gajjar were called in for questioning, during which they admitted to supplying fake Luxembourg visas to five people through Manish Patel, who in turn sourced them from Mumbai-based Tabrez Kashmiri. To verify the documents, the ATS contacted the Luxembourg Embassy, which confirmed that the visas in question were fake and had not been issued by them. It also emerged that the five individuals had previously applied for visas, which were rejected due to false employment investigation revealed that fake visas for 39 other people had been created using the accused's mobile phones. Police said the accused had placed counterfeit visa stickers on passports and collected large sums of money from the ATS has registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and launched a probe to trace others involved in the Gajjar, Patel and Kashmiri have been taken into custody, and the investigation is ongoing.- EndsMust Watch
Indian Express
05-08-2025
- Indian Express
Precision and skill: Expert team retrieves tanker dangling on Vadodara bridge 27 days after collapse
A team of around 60 experts from the Marine Emergency Response Centre (MERC) of Vishwakarma company, Porbandar, successfully retrieved the precariously hanging tanker on the Anand-district end of the broken Mujpur-Gambhira bridge in Vadodara, in a remarkable feat of precision and skill. The operation, which took four days to complete, brought closure to the tragic incident that claimed 21 lives, 27 days ago when a part of the bridge collapsed. From the makeshift control room set up in a prefabricated cabin in Gambira to specialised pneumatic marine airbags, horizontal cantilevers and strand jacks on standby even as multiple drone cameras kept promptly ready to monitor the operations — the task to retrieve the chemical tanker hanging on the broken bridge since July 9, was all about meticulous calculations and probabilities. On Tuesday evening, almost four weeks after the bridge collapsed, killing 21 and leaving the chemical tanker hanging with a drop of about 50 meters on the separated span, MERC Vishwakarma retrieved the tanker, flawlessly executing the operation from 900 meters away without any human presence around the tanker. Not only was it a first for the district administration where usual rescue services involving heavy cranes could not be pressed into action but even the marine emergency team was working on retrieving a road transport vehicle stranded on a collapsed river bridge for the first time instead of the usual salvage operations carried out in waters along the Indian coastline. With the structure of the bridge compromised and the movement of heavy machinery restricted, MERC experts deployed marine technology to retrieve the vehicle. On Tuesday, the fourth day since the experts arrived in Anand district — the truck could now only be accessed from the Gambira end — a team of experts began the deployment of the pneumatic roller bags (marine airbags) in the undercarriage of the truck. After several hours of preparation, including inflating the roller bags, personnel wearing safety harnesses, the physical deployment of the roller bags started. Once fitted to the necessary height aligned with the existing bridge span, the team of workers returned to the end of the bridge, leaving the rest to the remotely operated cantilevers and strand jacks. MERC Director Ketan Gajjar told The Indian Express that the task of raising the tanker to align it to the road surface was the first step in the challenge, especially as the bridge had no strength and was surrounded by water. Gajjar said, 'The process is simple but the deployment of roller bags requires proper methodology and equipment to make the system work effectively and safely. It is a task for an expert as things can go wrong immediately if the placement is not right and the vessel (vehicle) does not lift in the right manner… Once the pneumatic bags were successfully deployed and the vehicle was in an upright position to be safely pulled out, the next step was carried out… The execution was done with a combination of lifting with the marine bags as well as pulling with the strand jacks. We had brought in a payload of 200 tonnes from Mumbai to complete the task of extracting the truck.' The director said that with human safety as the first priority, the deployment of the bags was done manually. 'We could not use any hydraulic machines as the bridge is compromised and human safety is priority. So, the team manually placed the bags. The personnel who worked on the task were from the rigging team, hydraulic jack pulling team as well as engineers… Not damaging the bridge further was also a big challenge.' Gajjar elaborated that meticulous calculations were crucial in determining the sizes of the components to be pushed under the tanker, given its unique bottom structure, which differs significantly from that of a typical sea vessel. To facilitate the operation, a smaller roller was strategically positioned under the bulkhead, where the tanker was most inclined, while a larger roller was pushed under the centre floor frame. 'Given the fact that unlike at sea, this deployment is on a bridge that has a fractured segment precariously holding position, we also needed to fasten the pneumatic bags to the bridge rails while inflating it to ensure that they do not roll away during the process or it could cause a major accident with the vehicle… Our experience of years means that we immediately calculate the necessary combinations to execute the task in a fast, effective and safe manner,' Gajjar added. As per the protocol, the MERC team initially assessed the situation, the position of the truck as well as the strength load required to lift and align the truck to the centreline of the bridge. Gajjar said. 'The first day was spent inspecting the truck's position, the height at which it needs to be lifted to align the wheels to the road surface of the existing portion of the bridge in order to successfully be able to pull it out… The process requires detailed calculation as it is a rare case of a road transport vehicle needing marine emergency response. Since the local authorities had assessed that bringing heavy cranes or equipment close to the tanker is impractical, it can remotely be pulled out only using the marine salvage technique… We had placed all equipment outside the bridge, 900 meters away,' Gajjar said. The company then began setting up its other equipment, in aligned positions, including the strand jack and the horizontal cantilever that will allow the team to complete the process of pulling out the vehicle without human intervention at the spot. An engineered horizontal cantilever was used to steer the vehicle in alignment to the bridge and a horizontal driven strand jack, which utilises a hydraulic grip and pull force, was used for the calibrated pulling of the truck from the spot. 'The horizontal movement is precisely controlled and helps move the vehicle upright as is the need in the present situation as we have to be careful that pulling out of the truck does not damage the existing bridge rails,' Gajjar said. Anand District Collector Praveen Chaudhary told The Indian Express, 'The tanker was successfully retrieved and it has been now placed standing on the existing span of the bridge. The MERC team paid their obeisance to the Mahisagar river after completing the task. They did not charge anything for this service, dedicating their work towards the society… we are grateful for the same.'
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
BBC tells parents: Speak to your child in mother tongue before English
BBC parenting advice tells families to speak to children in their mother tongue before using English. The broadcaster has launched a new service, called CBeebies Parenting, to support families raising young children. It offers advice on subjects such as buying nappies, reading bedtime stories, cooking meals , and accessing child benefit payments. And its advice on developing language skills urges parents to use their preferred language before English. In an instructional video, Monal Gajjar, a speech and language therapist, says: 'Generally, we encourage parents to talk to their child in the language they are most competent in, their social language. 'So if Bengali is your home language, then use that language with your children.' Ms Gajjar explains that this will help the children build a relationship with their family, and provide a solid foundation for 'an additional language, such as English'. The BBC material explains that it 'is increasingly common for one parent to speak one language and another parent to speak another language' and for them to use 'a common language such as English … to interact with each other'. Additional videos offer insights into introducing children to speaking Polish, Urdu, Punjabi and Gujarati. The launch of this material on the CBeebies Parenting website comes after the 2021 census revealed that 8.9 per cent of people in England and Wales speak a language other than English as their main language. It also comes amid concerns that too many migrants do not have a good grasp of English. Last month, Sir Keir Starmer unveiled plans to make sure migrants speak fluent English if they want to remain in Britain. The level of English required is to be raised from the equivalent of GCSE to the equivalent of A Level. The BBC's guidance takes into account increased levels of bilingualism. Case studies are offered in a Parenting Life section that cover 'raising a multicultural, multilingual child' and 'LGBTQ+ adoption'. Advice is offered on how to create meals on a tight budget, and how to manage screen time for young children, noting that 'there can be benefits to your child's screen time'. The BBC will also offer a Cbeebies Parenting WhatsApp service which parents can contact for advice Patricia Hidalgo, the BBC director of children's and education, said: 'We know parents and carers love the support they get from CBeebies as a safe space for their small children to learn through play. 'And we also know becoming a parent can be an overwhelming time when it comes to finding the right advice. 'So, we wanted to help parents and carers to find expert advice and support in one place from when they are parents-to-be, right through to when their little ones are starting school. We have everything they need to build the virtual village it takes to raise a child.' CBeebies Parenting will offer a Parenting Helpline podcast hosted by celebrity parents Holly Hagan-Blyth, known for starring in Geordie Shore, and Charlie Hedges. Videos on the CBeebies Parenting site include a number of testimonials from other celebrities, including Joe Wicks and Dani Dyer, talking through their approach to raising children. In September, Baroness Benjamin, who as Floella Benjamin pioneered BBC children's TV, will guest star in a new title for youngsters, CBeebies House. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Time of India
22-yr-old student accuses nine of extortion, harassment over trading debts
Rajkot: A 22-year-old BBA graduate from Jaipur National University has filed a police complaint against nine prople, accusing them of harassment and extortion related to stock market trading debts that escalated over three years. The complaint, lodged at Rajkot taluka police station, followed the student's suicide attempt in late to police, the complainant, Sagar Gajjar, studied trading online during the pandemic while living with his family in Raviratan Park. Trading through a demat account opened in his mother's name, Gajjar incurred losses of around Rs 3 lakh between 2020 and 2023, which he kept hidden from his two acquaintances, brothers Jaydeep and Janak Boricha, proposed a trading partnership and gave him Rs 5.5 lakh to invest. Gajjar initially returned Rs 2 lakh, but further losses led the brothers to demand repayment of the full amount with manage the debt, Gajjar borrowed Rs 2.5 lakh from Karan alias Deky Mer at a monthly interest rate of 10%, and another Rs 5 lakh from Mer's associate under similar terms. Despite transferring Rs 6.99 lakh to the Boricha brothers, they allegedly demanded Rs 7 lakh continued borrowing at high interest, including Rs 4 lakh from Kuldeep Vadher at 3% monthly interest. According to the complaint, when he failed to repay, some of the accused seized his motorcycle, smartphone, and April 25, under extreme mental stress, Gajjar reportedly attempted suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. After recovering in hospital, he approached the on his complaint, Rajkot police booked nine individuals — Jaydeep Boricha, Janak Boricha, Karan alias Deky Mer, Kuldeep Vadher, Karan Kaneria, Kuldeepsinh Jadeja, Neel Lodhiya, Danish Pabari and Mahavir Dhakhda — under charges of extortion, criminal intimidation, and various sections of the Gujarat Money Lenders Act. Investigations are ongoing. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Mother's Day wishes , messages , and quotes !
