Jaipur - Medical students protesting the central governments decision on caste-based quotas in higher education met Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat here Friday to explain their stand on the move.n

nWe met the vice president in the morning and our meeting lasted for over 30 minutes. We apprised him of the demerits of reservation and asked him to intervene in the matter, president of the Jaipur chapter of the Youth for Equality Rashim Kataria said.

nThough Bhairon Singh Shekhawat refused to comment on the reservation policy - as he holds a Constitutional post - he assured us that he would discuss the matter with the president, Kataria added.

nThe vice president also requested all the agitating medical practitioners to think about the poor patients who were the worst sufferers in the ongoing anti-reservation protests, he said.

nMeanwhile, the strike by resident doctors in all five medical colleges of Rajasthan continued, affecting medical and health care services.

Jaipur : Auto-rickshaw drivers in the capital city have threatened to hold statewide agitation if the state government did not revoke the ban on the use of auto-rickshaws for ferrying schoolchildren.

The Pink City U5 Auto Taxi Union will meet Wednesday in Bhrampuri to formulate a strategy for holding the protests, president of the union Rajesh Saraswat said.

The ban is silly. It will not only create problems for the parents but also make numerous auto-rickshaw drivers lose their means of livelihood, he added.

Saraswat added that several schools were unable to afford buses. Even otherwise these heavy vehicles cannot pick up and drop children door-to-door.

Jaipur : Medical students protesting the central governments decision on caste-based quotas in higher education met Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat here Friday to explain their stand on the move.

We met the vice president in the morning and our meeting lasted for over 30 minutes. We apprised him of the demerits of reservation and asked him to intervene in the matter, president of the Jaipur chapter of the Youth for Equality Rashim Kataria said.

Though Bhairon Singh Shekhawat refused to comment on the reservation policy - as he holds a Constitutional post - he assured us that he would discuss the matter with the president, Kataria added.

New Delhi - Anti-quota protests continued in several cities of the country Friday even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured protesting medicos that all their demands will be considered and promised massive expansion in the institutions of higher education.n

nDoctors, interns and students opposing the governments decision to reserve 27 percent seats in higher educational institutes for the other backward classes (OBCs), continued their strike in Jaipur, Bhopal, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Muzaffarpur and other cities.

nAfter a delegation of resident doctors met Manmohan Singh at his residence, the prime ministers media advisor Sanjay Baru said: The prime minister has assured them (the striking medicos) that the roadmap laid down in the decision of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) coordination committee addresses the concerns of all categories of students.

Jaipur - Over 5,000 medical and non-medical students took out a rally here Tuesday protesting proposed caste-based quotas in educational institutions.

Resident doctors and students of medical colleges from various parts of the state attended the rally, organised under the aegis of Youth for Equality. Members of several caste-based organisations also took part.

The rally was a big success, said Rashim Kataria, president of the Jaipur chapter of the Youth for Equality.

Jaipur : In a major administrative reshuffle, Rajasthan government today transferred 18 IAS officers including the high profile Commissioner of Jaipur Development Authority Jagdish Chandra.

Chandra was transferred as Chairman cum Managing Director of Rajasthan Laghu Udyog Nigam, Jaipur. Another senior IAS officer D B Gupta will replace Chandra as JDA Commissioner.

The 17 others who were transferred included 7 district collectors, an official release said here.

The District Magistrate of Bikaner, Alok was transferred to Kota as District Magistrate while District Collector, Kota, Niranjan Kumar Arya was transeferred as Commissioner, Employment Guarantee Scheme.

The collectors of Bharatpur, Naguar, Banswara and Baran were also transferred. Praveen Gupta, Collector, Bharatpur would take up the job of Project Manager.

Jaipur : State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ) today reported a 29.47 per cent decline in the net profit to Rs 145.03 crore for the financial year ended March 2006 as compared to Rs 205.65 crore in the previous year.

The decline in net profit is primarily on account of lower income from treasury operations, reduction in government commission, increase in provision for staff, introduction of fringe benefit tax and increase in provision for standard assets, said chairman State Bank Group A K Purwar while addressing annual general meeting here.

Purwar said, the total business increased to Rs 6,496 crore to reach to the level of Rs 21,694 crore, the all time highest growth in business.

Jaipur - Protests have intensified in Rajasthan following the central governments decision to implement a controversial proposal to reserve 27 percent for other backward classes in institutions of higher education from next year.

Organisations like Youth for Equality, Bharatiya Yuva Morcha, Nurses Association and Anti-Reservation Advocate Forum have given a joint call for Jaipur closedown Thursday.

Medical students were busy Wednesday undertaking a door-to-door campaign, requesting people to participate in their protests against reservations.

We have been doing door-to-door canvassing to urge people to support our cause, said Rashim Kataria, president of Jaipur chapter of Youth for Equality.

JAIPUR: Residents as well as tourists in the city will be able to hire auto rickshaws with a phone call from Wednesday, a facility so far available for taxis.

Pink City Radio Taxi and Lal Jhanda Auto Union, an association of rickshaw drivers, have joined hands to provide this new service in the city.

Pink City Rado Taxi has been offering a similar facility for taxicabs in the city for the last couple of years.

Rickshaw drivers who join this initiative will be given special phone sets, and a landline phone number would be displayed on the rear of their rickshaws, Lal Jhanda Auto Union president Babubhai told.

By Anil Sharma, Jaipur: The exotic locations of Rajasthan have attracted yet another Hollywood unit to shoot a childrens film in the desert state.

The film, titled Travels of Shaka Muni, is produced by Mako Kamitsuna under the aegis of Hollywood production house Buddha Baby Entertainment.

Actress Rebecca Prince plays protagonist Shaka Muni in the film directed by Natalie Wills. While in India, the unit is being assisted by Exotique Productions, an Indian production house run by V. Jayaraman and Gautam Kurup.