My Name Is Khan Rajkot Jamnagar City Cinema News Gujarat India

Saffron brigade's threats of disrupting the screening of My Name Is Khan (MNIK), protests and appeals against viewing it through SMSes, did not deter people from thronging cinemas in all major cities of the state where the Shahrukh Khan Starrer movie ran to packed houses on Friday.

The movie got a mixed response in Ahmedabad City where VHP workers protested in the morning and burnt posters of Shahrukh Khan near a multiplex on Ashram Road.

The first two shows were cancelled at all multiplexes in the city owing to the threat by various groups. However, with good response from audience and assurance from police, multiplex and film hall owners went ahead with screening.

Heavy police bandobust at cinema halls in Surat City, Vadodara City, Rajkot City and other major towns and cities ensured that nothing untoward happened.

However, in north Gujarat cinema halls in some towns, including Himmatnagar, Deesa and Patan, did not screen the movie fearing violence.

At least 40 VHP workers were rounded up in Navsari City, 22 protesters, including some from Bajrang Dal, were detained in Sabarkantha and Banaskantha districts and 50 were arrested in Bharuch City and Ankleshwar City.

In Himmatnagar, protesters entered Neelam cinema hall during the interval and manhandled some viewers forcing the management to cancel the show and shut down the theatre for the day. Fans in Mehsana had not trouble in viewing the film.

In Rajkot and Jamnagar City, after initial protest Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and VHP activists chose to let SRK fans enjoy the movie.

However, in Bhavnagar City theatre owners chose not to release the film despite police assurance.

Protesters' bid to burn a Pakistani flag in Rajkot was foiled by the police. In a pre-emptive move the VHP city office near Bombay Market in Surat was surrounded by the police from morning to prevent the workers from carrying out any violent activity to protest against the screening of the movie.

On Thursday, VHP had circulated SMSes requesting people to avoid watching MNIK, according to Utkarsh Patel, joint secretary south Gujarat, VHP. On Friday, VHP workers called up theaters and multiplexes and requested not to screen the movie. However, the theater and multiplex owners did not pay any heed to this. Bharuch town was the sole exception in south Gujarat where the movie was not screened.

Elaborate police security was maintained at all theaters and multiplexes in Vadodara where the movie was screened released in five multiplexes and four cinema halls.

Jamnagar Rajkot Kutch District Industries News Samachar Gujarat India

50% of Gujarat power will come from green technologies.

In an exclusive interview with DNA, Gujarat power and industries minister Saurabh Patel discussed the state's future plans for energy.

What do the ongoing Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, world energy conservation day celebrations, and Gujarat have in common?

They are all concerned about the future requirements of energy and the impact of power generation on global warming. Even as there is a debate underway on India's commitment to reduction in carbon emissions, the Modi government already has several ambitious plans for energy generation.

The future is gas-based power generation. In the next few years, Gujarat aims to switch to clean mechanisms -- such as solar, hydro, wind and tidal power -- for as much as 50 per cent of its total power generation. A tidal power project will be launched either in the Gulf of Kutch or Khambhat.

This will be achieved at a huge initial cost. But the extra cash will be well spent as it will lead to savings on recurring expenses. It will ensure that state's carbon emission does not shoot up in the next decade because of its power generation projects.

What are your thoughts on Climate Change and how high is it on Gujarat government's agenda?

Climate Change is an issue that is being debated world over and needs to be tackled seriously. Gujarat has already started doing its bit by promoting clean energy. In fact, Gujarat is the first state in the country to set up a separate Climate Change department. The state government has been encouraging the use of clean fuels to generate energy. Unfortunately, the amounts of such clean fuel (such as gas) needed in Gujarat is very high but we do not have adequate supplies.

How is the state government promoting green energy?

We are promoting power generation through renewable sources such as wind and solar power. We are also focusing on nuclear power generation. The state government is working on a biomass policy for electricity generation, the draft of which is being readied and will be soon placed in the assembly.

How are things shaping up as far as wind power generation is concerned?

As far as wind energy is concerned, Gujarat, with an installed power generation capacity of over 1,500 MW, is second only to Tamil Nadu. We are promoting this sector in a big way and aim to expand capacity by a further 500 MW this year. We are utilizing state PSUs such as GACL, GNFC, GSFC, GMDC and GSPC to generate wind power.

The cost of tapping solar power for energy is very high. How does the government plan to overcome this problem?

The Gujarat government is taking the lead in promoting solar energy generation. We realize that as solar energy is costlier than power from other sources, it will never pick up if it is not taken seriously. We have, therefore, decided to offer Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited Rs 1, 000 crore as subsidy for solar power generation for the next 10 years.

It is a huge sum, but it will ensure that solar energy is properly tapped. Moreover, once new technologies are produced, the cost of power will come down and the subsidy burden will ease. The government is even planning to promote hybrid power generation through plants that run on sunlight during daytime and gas at night.

What is the status of the work on expanding the gas grid in the state?

Gujarat was the first state to encourage use of gas as fuel and continues to do so. We already have gas grid in 15 districts and plan to cover the remaining areas soon. We also want to include the smaller towns in North Gujarat and Saurashtra. The grid will be expanded to Pipavav, Jamnagar, and Rajkot, Mundra, Mehsana, Vapi and other places.
Around 150 CNG stations will be set up across the state in the next 15 months.

These include mother stations which will be directly connected to the main pipeline, and daughter stations which will be supplied gas by tankers. We are even asking all government vehicles to switch to CNG.

What is the status of the work on expanding the gas grid in the state?

Gujarat was the first state to encourage use of gas as fuel and continues to do so. We already have gas grid in 15 districts and plan to cover the remaining areas soon. We also want to include the smaller towns in North Gujarat and Saurashtra. The grid will be expanded to Pipavav, Jamnagar, and Rajkot, Mundra, Mehsana, Vapi and other places.