Good news for heart transplant patients
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurated a new state-of-art operation theatre and an attached ICU at the Sawai Man Singh hospital in Jaipur on Friday. The SMS hospital has become the first government-run hospital to develop a heart transplant facility in the state. Earlier, patients in need of heart transplants had to go out of state for surgeries. Now, they will be able to avail the facilities in SMS hospital itself. At the moment, there are 10 patients in the hospital who are in need of heart transplants. The new facility at the SMS hospital has been developed at a cost of Rs 20 crore. in Rajasthan, there are four private hospitals which are approved for carrying out such complex surgeries.
VIP numbers to get costlier
It’s bad news for those wanting VIP numbers for their cars or bikes in Rajasthan. The government plans to increase the price of VIP numbers by almost six times. Recently, the RTO had sent a proposal to the transport department in this regard. The VIP number – 0001 – priced at Rs 1 lakh, will now come at Rs 6 lakh. This is the base price for this number. If there is more than one buyer, the number will be auctioned.
“There has been a lot of demand for VIP car registration numbers. So, we have decided to increase the base price for these numbers. It will boost revenue of transport department. The auction process will be in place,” said a senior RTO officer. In the current series, VIP numbers such as 0001, 0003, 0005, 0007 will cost Rs 1 lakh.
CM Gehlot’s joke fuels Chinese whispers
Amidst rumours of change in the Cabinet, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s joke with UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal during an event has led a buzz in power corridors.
“We should probably make you the Health Minister soon,” Gehlot quipped. Interestingly, Health Minister Dr. Raghu Sharma was also present at the event.
UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal, in his speech just before the CM, spoke many things about the existing medical arrangements across the state and the roadmap to be carried forward. Gehlot looked impressed and made the remark.
Major conference on media in Udaipur
A three-day, ‘All India Media Conference on Digital Communication and Empowerment: Prospects and Challenges’, was held at Mohan Lal Sukhadia University in Udaipur. The conference was attended by participants from across the country, as well as those from abroad. Veteran journalist P Sainath, Pooran Chand Pandey, managing director of Sonnet Group, KG Suresh, former Director-General of Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Vipul Mudgal, Director of Inclusive Media for Change, along with several vice-chancellors and senior media academic professors attended the conference in Udaipur.
Rajesh Asnani
Our correspondent in Jaipur
rajesh.asnani@newindianexpress.com