Reliance World Plaza opens as RIL's ISCON mega mall in Ahmedabad is on verge of collapse!

I was much amused to read the "visual story" about Reliance World Plaza put open in Mumbai. Top celebrities of Bollywood participated in the event. Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani, others must be feeling great about it.

The event ironically took place a day after I visited ISCON mega mall in Ahmedabad. The mall, to put it mildly, is in tatters. Yes, it too is part of Reliance framework. It used to have some of the big names quoted in the Reliance World Plaza Mall visual story.

Once a throbbing attraction of Amdavadis, the ISCON mall's 70% shops are closed. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has sealed several of the high profile shops of the Ahmedabad mall for failing to deposit tax. Even elevators and lifts are not working, hence senior citizens have to climb up on stairs, which are dirty. Its passages are dark, as there are no lights there.

ISCON mall used to have an excellent food court, a bakery shop. Nothing of it exists now. Do Mukesh Ambani and other businessmen think that there is no point in investing in Gujarat, where only politically driven investment (under pressure, like in GIFT city) is possible? Let them have the last word!

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DigiLocker's 'mismatch' problem: When technology defies government policy

DigiLocker has been functioning in rather strange ways, at least in my experience over the past year. For quite some time now, I have been trying to retrieve various documents from the Government of India's official app, but every attempt ends with an inexplicable "mismatch" error. I even lodged a complaint through its official email ID, explaining that I was unable to retrieve or download essential documents such as my PAN card , driving licence, and the registration certificates of my car and scooter. The response has remained the same: the system refuses access on the grounds of a so-called mismatch.

Caste, class, and Patidar agitation: Veteran academic 'unearths' Gujarat’s social history

Recently, I was talking with a veteran Gujarat-based academic who is the author of several books, including "Social Movements in India: A Review of Literature", "Untouchability in Rural India", "Public Health and Urban Development: The Study of Surat Plague", and "Dalit Identity and Politics", apart from many erudite articles and papers in research and popular journals.

'Rethink' Kalpasar, 'end civil engineering mindset' in Gujarat's water strategy

Prof. Vidyut Joshi, a prominent sociologist and one of the leading protagonists of the mega Narmada dam project, has raised critical questions regarding the viability of Gujarat’s ambitious Kalpasar project. Writing in the Gujarati daily Sandesh under the headline "Let us consider alternatives scientifically for the Kalpasar project," Joshi argues that rather than remaining trapped in a "civil engineering mindset" focused solely on constructing massive dams, the state must pivot to modern, sustainable, and technologically viable alternatives to quench the thirst of the arid Saurashtra region.

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