First India-Ahmedabad Edition-8 July 2021

SON-IN-LAW OF NCP LEADER HELD BY ED

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Girish Chaudhri, son-in-law of NCP leader Eknath Khadse, in connection with a case pertaining to a 2016 land deal in Pune. He was sent to ED custody till July 12.

CORONA CATASTROPHE INDIA

43,733 AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 222

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PM’s MODIFIED CABINET

GUJARAT

65

new cases

new cases

930

new fatalities

new fatalities

00

I congratulate all the colleagues who have taken oath today and wish them the very best for their ministerial tenure. We will continue working to fulfil aspirations of the people and build a strong and prosperous India, tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

In a major overhaul of Cabinet Sonowal, Scindia brought in as 12 ministers exit

1

This is the first reshuffle in the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Modi since he assumed charge for a second term in May 2019

2

Kiren Rijiju, R K Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya, Parshottam Rupala, G Kishan Reddy and Anurag Thakur were elevated to the Cabinet level

3

As many as 28 Ministers of State took oath including seven from Uttar Pradesh which goes to polls next year with the BJP seeking a second term there

4 5

At least 16 entrants to the Council of Ministers are first time MPs

With this reset, Modi has brought in young faces and has also given representation to various social groups and regions in the reshuffle

6

43 ministers take oath in a bid to revamp administration

New Delhi: In a major overhaul, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday brought in Sarbananda Sonowal, Narayan Rane and Jyotiraditya Scindia in the Cabinet while dropping as many as 12 ministers including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar.

Fifteen Cabinet ministers and 28 Ministers of State, comprising new faces and those elevated, were sworn in at a ceremony held in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

FIRST MEET TODAY

New Delhi: The first meeting of the renewed Union Cabinet will be held at 5 pm on Thursday. This will be followed by a meeting of the Council of Ministers (ministers and MoS) at 7 pm.

While most of the members took oath in Hindi, a few of them took it in English.

An extensive and protracted review was carried out by Modi and the BJP top brass through a series of meetings with ministers ahead of Wednesday’s big exercise.

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D E C E M B E R 1 1 , 1 9 2 2 - J U LY 0 7 , 2 0 2 1 The 98-year-old screen legend, who passed away following prolonged illness, was laid to rest around 4:45 PM in Mumbai in the presence of family, including actor wife Saira Banu

LIGHTS CAMERA PACK UP

Dilip Kumar — The Kohinoor of Indian cinema no more Hazaaron saal nargis apni be-nuri pe roti hai Badi mushqil se hota hai chaman mein dida-var paida —Allama Iqbal Mumbai: Dilip Kumar aka Yousuf Khan on Wednesday was buried with full state honours, marking the end of an illustrious career as one of Indian cinema’s most loved icons. Kumar was given a gun salute, following which the police band paid him a tribute at the Juhu Qabrastan in Santacruz Mumbai.

Pakistan’s top leadership and people showed their adulation for Dilip Kumar who was born here and awarded the country’s highest civilian award Nishan-e-Imtiaz. Kumar was born at his ancestral home in Qissa Khawani Bazaar area of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Narendra Modi @narendramodi Dilip Kumar Ji will be remembered as a cinematic legend. He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled. His passing away is a loss to our cultural world. Condolences to his family, friends and innumerable admirers. RIP. Amit Shah @AmitShah Shri Dilip Kumar Ji was a veritable legend of the silver screen, in him, Indian Cinema has lost one of the greatest actors. He has entertained generations of cinema lovers with his incredible acting and iconic roles. My sincerest condolences to Dilip Ji’s family and followers.

TRIBUTES FROM ACROSS BORDER From top: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar and actor Shahrukh Khan console legendary actor Dilip Kumar’s wife Saira Banu on his demise in Mumbai.

AMIT SHAH MADE MINISTER OF CO-OPERATION, MANSUKH MANDAVIYA IS HEALTH MIN

Police personnel salute during the guard of honour on Wednesday.

Judge recuses self from hearing Nandigram poll plea, Mamata fined `5 lakh Kolkata: Justice Kausik Chanda of the Calcutta High Court Wednesday recused himself from hearing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s petition challenging the election of Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram, while imposing a cost of Rs 5 lakh on her.

Seeking his recusal, it was claimed that Justice Chanda was an active member of the BJP till his appointment as the Additional Solicitor General of India in 2015 and since the election of a BJP candidate was challenged, there were apprehensions of bias.

In the new rejig of Cabinet, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has got the charge of the newly-created Ministry of Cooperation. Meanwhile, Mansukh Mandaviya has been given the challenge of leading the containment efforts as the head of the crucial health ministry.

His junior minister will be Dr Bharati Pawar. In addition, he would retain the Ministry of Chemical Fertilizers. P5

FAB 4 & MORE THAT WENT DOWN

Ahead of the oath-taking ceremony of new inductees into the Union cabinet, a total of 12 ministers submitted their resignation, including Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Law and Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad and Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. Environment and I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar also quit. A gentleman Javadekar’s casualty came as a surprise. It seems PM must have thought for a more relevant role for the outstanding performer, who was also the spokesperson for the government.

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JUST ONE FROM RAJASTHAN All speculations regarding Rajasthan getting a fair share in the expansion of the Union cabinet came cropper as only a Modi-Shah confidant and performer Bhupendra Yadav was sworn-in as a Cabinet minister.

Yadav has been serving in the BJP organisation as a general secretary.

Guj govt grants financial aid to 776 kids orphaned due to nCoV First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government on Wednesday disbursed a monthly financial assistance of Rs4,000 each to more than 700 children who have lost both their parents to COVID-19 infection in the state, an official said on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani attended a virtual function of depositing Rs4,000 each in the bank accounts of 776 children, who have been identified as beneficiaries, a release stated, adding that a total sum of Rs31.04 lakh was deposited during the day.

The children, who have lost both parents to the disease, received the first monthly install-

CM Vijay Rupani.

ment of Rs4,000 each under the Bal Seva Yojna, a state government scheme of providing monthly assistance to ‘COVID Orphans’.

The state government had announced the scheme on May 31 with an aim to provide monthly financial assistance to children under the age of

—FILE PHOTO

18 years, who have lost both their parents to novel coronavirus. As per the release, Rajkot district has registered 58 such children, the highest in the state, followed

by Ahmedabad (42), Sabarkantha (36), Vadodara (32) and 30 each in Panchmahal and Navsari districts.

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A’bad could see 144th Jagannath Rath Yatra Police commissioner finalizes route, amid weeks of uncertainty & speculation

ROAD WORK

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Police Commissioner Sanjay Srivastav has given the temple authorities permission to hold the 144th annual Rath Yatra procession of Lord Jagannath, ending weeks of speculation.

The procession was

Mayor Kirit parmar, Deputy mayor Geeta Ben Patel, and members of the AMC standing committee met with Headpriest Dilip Dasji and Trustee Mahendra Jha of the Jagannath Yatra ahead of the upcoming Rath Yatra, on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

limited to the temple premises last year due to COVID-19. However, it is expected to return

to at least some of its usual glory this year, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah slated

A road near the Jagannath temple was left battered a matter of hours after it was resurfaced. An AMC official said that the road had been resurfaced using bitumen around 5am. “Traffic should have been halted for a few hours after that, but that did not happen. As a result, the road was left in a bad state. It will be rectified by this evening,” he said on Wednesday. to arrive in the city to participate in the Mangala Aarti on July 12.

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NEWS

IS THE STATE FUDGING SOWING FIGURES?

Farmers question the latest data released by agriculture department First India Bureau Ahmedabad/Rajkot/ Surendranagar: According to sowing data released by the state’s agriculture department, farmers in Gujarat have sown seeds of various crops across 15 lakh hectares between June 25 and July 05, taking the total to 40 lakh hectares this Kharif season.

However, these numbers have left farmers unconvinced and analysts raising questions on the veracity of the data--especially since the state has not received any rainfall in the past 10-15 days.

“Not a single taluka has received even two inches or rain in the past week. Why would farmers sow more seeds without any rain, when even the previously cultivated fields are at risk because of the paucity of rainfall?,” asked analyst and senior agriculture journalist Ramesh Bhoraniya, adding “Does the government farmers will waste money by sowing seeds in dry land?”

He says he is confident that the agriculture department is fudging data to show that sowing has increased in the state, but asks: “Why are they doing this? What purpose does it serve?”

Surprisingly, he says,

the data shows that pulses have witnessed a 75% year-on-year jump in sowing for the period unlike cash crops like cotton and groundnut, which are showing a negative sowing trend.

Farmer Ramji Patel of Bhandariya village in Rajkot’s Gondal taluka tries to rationalize.

“The state government is well aware that the delayed monsoon could well cause a huge loss to farmers who decided to sow their fields early.

That is why it has decided to give agricultural consumers two more hours of power supply. The Rajkot MP had assured us of Narmada water for irrigation; and Banaskantha farmers are demanding

water in Sujalam Sufalam canal to save sown fields. So, it is puzzling that farmers are even thinking of sowing fresh seeds in such a situation,” he said.

Questions are also being raised about the department’s data collection system.

According to Ratansinh Dodiya of Ratanpar village, “Such sowing or harvesting data is normally collected either by Gram Sevak or by the ‘Vistaran Adhikari’ (Extension Officer). One Gram Sevak is in charge of eight villages and visits each village once every 15 days. And we have not seen the Vistaran Adhikari in any village collecting any sort of

02

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data. So, how can the state update the data every week?”

Citing his village of Ratanpar and the adjacent Kondh as examples, Dodiya said, “Between May 15 and June 15, sowing had been completed on 1,200 hectares in Ratanpar and on 8,000 hectares in Kondh since the two villages fall in the Narmada canal command area. However, if you look at state and district sowing data, the figures are far less than the ground reality. Given that this is my personal experience, I am confident that the sowing data released by the department is either inaccurate or fudged.”

KHARIF SOWING

AS ON JULY 05, 2021 (IN HECTARES) Crop

Average of last 3 years

2020

2021

Changes in percent (+/-)

Paddy

8,31,592

56,753

65,589

15.57

Millet

1,71,240

44,802

43,690

-2.48

Jowar

36,765

4,847

5,801

19.68

Corn

3,00,494

1,63,545

1,20,721

-26.18

Tuvar

2,32,333

53,604

93,537

74.49

Mung

83,529

13,271

18,451

39.03

Math

12,630

1,392

1,832

31.61

Udad

98,328

20,309

42,470

109.12

Total pulses

4,30,585

89,022

1,56,672

75.99

Groundnut

16,95,077

16,36,995

14,50,597

-11.39

Til (Sesame)

1,14,571

44,126

32,424

-26.52

Castor

6,37,431

300

3,606

1102

Soybean

1,28,723

78,923

1,26,073

59.74

Cotton

25,53,236

15,71,889

16,50,463

5

Tobacco

50,848

40

11

-72.5

Gavar seeds

1,33,902

13,358

10,167

-23.89

Total Kharif

85,54,813

40,88,768

40,53,982

-0.85

HC pulls up state for failing to abide by pension order CM chair should be above caste It also issued notice to forest dept, govt over ropeway permission at Chotila politics: Hardik First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: A division bench of the Gujarat High Court pulled up the state government for not abiding by its order and releasing the pensions of retired professors as per the 7th Pay Commission. In its order, the court stated that it was granting one last opportunity for fulfillment of the direction before the next hearing scheduled for August 02.

Comprising Justice AJ Desai and Justice Dr AP Thaker, the division bench noted in the order that the state finance department

should clear pending files as per the 7th Pay Commission, at the earliest.

Akhil Gujarat University and College Pensioners Samaj have moved a petition in the court complaining that the pension has been paid as per the 6th Pay Commission, but files regarding the 7th Pay Commission are pending and petitioners have been deprived of their rights. As far as the interest on pending payment is concerned, the state government has already moved a petition for clarification and review.

Meanwhile, the court

10-day series of events aimed at ‘voicing people’s concerns’ against govt First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Congress party’s 10day 'Jan Chetna' campaign in protest against the rising prices of auto fuel, gas cylinders, milk and various other commodities encountered a hitch even as it kicked off on Wednesday, with several leaders detained while protesting.

On Day 1, party members took to the streets across the state to make tea without milk on the roadside to protest the rise in the

prices of gas and milk.

In Savarkundla, MLA Pratap Dudhat was part of the protest.

He said, “The Congress has come on the road to awaken the people. The party will give voice to the issues of the people who are suffering due to the rising prices.”

After the hike in petrol and diesel prices, cooking gas prices have started disrupting the budgets of the households. Former Gujarat Congress president Arjun Modhwadia has taken up the issue with the Union government.

“The

has issued notices to the state forest department, the government over the public interest petition (PIL) filed challenging the permission

of the ropeway at Chotila Hill. Shree Chamunda Mataji Dungar Trust of Chotila has challenged the state’s decision to issue notifi-

cation to preliminary investigation in favour of M/S MARS Entertainment Limited and Usha Breco Limited. In the year 2008-09, the

state had proposed to construct an aerial ropeway for the benefit of pilgrims and visitors to the Chotila temple.

The court on Wednesday also directed the state election commission (SEC) to file a First Information Report (FIR) against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and six other candidates for filing false affidavits while contesting elections from the Bodakdev ward of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in the local body polls held earlier this year. Independent candidate Nilesh Mistry has moved the petition.

Several Cong leaders detained on Day 1 of Jan Chetna protests 2020-21 Union Budget provided Rs40,915 crore for LPG cylinders, while this year’s

Budget has only set aside Rs14,000 crore for LPG cylinder subsidy.

That Rs26,915 crore

Congress workers carry signs as part of the protest on Wednesday.

deficit will directly hit the people where it hurts,” he said.

Gujarat Pradesh

Congress Committee chief Amit Chavda had previously announced that “through this campaign, the Congress will try to connect with the people. Various rallies and events will be carried out in 33 districts, 243 Tehsils, and each of the eight municipal corporations to express the public outcry over price hikes.

Bicycle rallies will also be organized against rising fuel prices. Signed petitions/memorandums will be submitted at the petrol pumps.”

Comment comes at a time when many communities have demanded the next CM be one of their own First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Taking a strong stand on the issue of caste politics, working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee Hardik Patel has said that the chief minister of Gujarat should be “of all peoples and of all castes”.

Writing in a blog posted on social media, Patel said: “Caste politics is a reality in every state of India, including Gujarat. We cannot run away from it. But it is not a good sign for the people of the region or for Indian democracy if caste is given more importance than individual merit. Caste politics is currently at its peak in Gujarat. If the BJP thinks a caste or com-

Hardik Patel

munity will go against it, it raises other communities against the perceived threat. In Gujarat, BJP has raised other castes against Patidars in some areas.

The unfortunate thing here is that the BJP is also achieving electoral success by doing so.” He added: “In Gujarat, a senior minister of the BJP government is plum postings to the people of his caste.

Many people tell me that the Chief Minister of Gujarat should be from Patidar Samaj. I have always believed that the chief minister should be of all peoples and of all castes. Only someone who does not discriminate against any caste or community should hold such a high position.”

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Sub-inspector run over by minor succumbs to injuries

Cop had been on patrol when he was hit by a speeding i-20 car; suspect is son of a city developer First India Bureau Junagadh: A police sub-inspector was grievously injured in a hit-and-run incident late on Tuesday evening. He later succumbed to his injuries, while undergoing treatment at a private hospital. The car involved in the accident was driven by a minor boy, who is the son of a leading real estate developer of the city.

In his complaint lodged at the Bhavnath police station, Vanrajsinh Jethva has stated that he along with deputy superintendent of police (DySP) PG Jadeja, police sub-inspector (PSI) DK Singhrakhiya and his friend Chirag Parmar were

Vigyan Jatha says Fefar aka ‘Kalki’ is ‘mentally ill’

CONSEQUENCES

PSI DK Singhrakhiya was just four months away from retirement.

patrolling near Damodar Kund on foot at around 7.30 pm, when an i-20 car came barrelling towards them at a very high speed.

When they realized

that it was going to run over them, they tried to avoid getting hit.

And yet, the car hit PSI Singhrakhiya and sped away. The complainant categorically

—FILE PHOTO

tal in Parmar’s vehicle. He was later shifted to a private hospital for treatment.

There, he succumbed to the injuries sustained in the accident.

mentioned that the car was driven by a minor.

The PSI suffered severe injuries in the head and elsewhere.

So he was rushed to Junagadh Civil Hospi-

First week of July sees least rainfall in 6 years

Rajkot court calls for repair of overbridge First India Bureau Rajkot: A Rajkot court has directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and local authorities to repair an overbridge. Two people were killed when a wall of the overbridge on the Jetpur-Gondal Rajkot national highway in Rajkot collapsed on June 8 last year.

In its order, the court of additional sessions judge Hetal Pavar said that neither the NHAI nor any other concerned authority or the government had repaired the portion of the collapsed wall on the busy highway.

The order, which granted anticipatory bail to the team leader of an independent consultant involved in the construction of the wall, was made available on Wednesday.

The court in its order noted that by not repairing the damaged portion

COVID-19 8,24,029

UPDATE

A wall of the overbridge collapsed in June 2020. —FILE PHOTO

of the collapsed wall, the state is putting the public at risk.

“Safeguards of the public at large are the prime duty of the state.

Thus, it is quite necessary to make immediate proper repairs on the damaged portions to avoid such fatal incidents in future,” it said.

It was the court’s duty to draw the attention of the NHAI as well as the collector and district magistrate to urgently repair the damage “to avoid another fatal inci-

10,072

dent and casualties of such nature”, the judge said in the order.

Based on the report of a magisterial inquiry into the incident ordered by the state government, an FIR was lodged against three entities—West Gujarat Express Limited, MSI Consulting Engineers Pvt. Ltd and MS Vadia Techno Engineer Service Ltd—under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and other relevant provisions of the IPC.

8,11,988

1,969

TOTAL CASES

TOTAL DEATHS

TOTAL RECOVERED

ACTIVE CASES

65 CASES IN A DAY

00 DEATHS IN A DAY

289 RECOVERED IN A DAY

13 MAX CASES IN A’BAD

NO NEW NCOV DEATHS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE MARCH 11

First India Bureau Rajkot: A team from Vigyan Jatha, an organization working to spread awareness about superstitions, on We d n e s d ay reached the residence of Ramesh Fefar, a retired state irrigation department official to “expose” him. Fefar, who considers himself to be Kalki, the 10th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, locked himself inside his home on spotting the team.

“Ramesh is mentally ill. Whatever he is saying is all superstitions and he is spreading it among people. He will be presented to the police commissioner, the district collector and then will be taken into custody before being taken to a mental hospital for treatment later on,” said Vigyan Jatha chairman Jayant Pandya.

Earlier this week, Fefar had boasted that he could destroy all the demons on Earth, proclaiming that he was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He claimed to be a “weapon” that could kill the “demons” of COVID-19.

The retired official lives alone as his family members have left. His wife had lodged a police complaint against him alleging mental harassment.

03

First India Bureau

The setting sun shone bright over Ahmedabad on Wednesday, as workers continued their labours on the new foot overbridge across the Sabarmati river.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Southwest Monsoon, which arrived in the state at the beginning of June, seems to have taken a break, leaving most of Gujarat literally high and dry.

The past 24 hours brought just 4mm of rain and that too just to Sagbara in Narmada district. This has been the driest first week of July in six years, with Gujarat seeing just 2.59mm of rainfall through the week—against the 60mm minimum average of the past six years.

Not a single taluka in the state has received more than 500mm of rainfall this season so far; while 55 have seen less than 55mm of rain In 2020, the first week of July brought 90.47mm rain, and 2019 saw 76.80mm in the same period, while Gujarat received 60.53mm in 2018, 82.28mm in 2017, and 61.96mm in 2016.

The state so far has received 122.97mm of rainfall—14.64% of its annual long-period average of the last 30 years.

According to information released by the State Emergency Operations Centre, all the talukas in the state have received monsoon showers this season.

However, not a single taluka in the state has received more than 500mm of rainfall this season so far, with as many as 55 talukas having received between 0mm and 55 mm of rain.

A total of 103 talukas have seen 56-125mm rain, 63 talukas in the state have received 126250mm and 27 talukas have received 251500mm of rainfall.

Gandhinagar: Gujarat saw no new deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, for the first time since March 11, officials said adding that 65 more persons tested positive for infection, taking the total tally to 8,24,029. The death toll remains steady at 10,072.

No COVID-19 vaccination was carried out in the state on Wednesday in view of Mamata Diwas, which is observed as part of the ongoing universal immunisation programme for pregnant women, children and infants, an official said.

The government has halted the vaccination drive on Thursday and Friday as well, the department said in a release, without giving a reason.

It is to be noted that the state has conducted

People arriving for their jab at Ahmedabad’s Tagore Hall were met with a sign announcing that the inoculation drive was temporarily on hold.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

vaccinations on a daily basis since January 16, despite facing a shortage of vaccines with a huge turnout of beneficiaries at inoculation centres.

Ahmedabad district reported 13 new COVID-19 cases, Surat 11,

and Vadodara and Rajkot seven each, among others.

With 289 patients getting discharged during the day, the number of recovered cases in Gujarat rose to 8,11,988, the department said.

There are now 1,969

active cases in the state, out of which 10 patients are critical, it said.

The adjoining Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu reported three new COVID-19 cases and four recoveries, officials in the UT said.

CELEBRATING NATURE

Van Mahotsav: 61K saplings planted in rural Gujarat NGOs, village institutions and govt departments came together for the tree-plantation drive this year First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Celebrated each year in the first week of July, the Van Mahotsav (Forest Festival) is a tree-planting festival.

Non-government organizations (NGOs), village institutions and government departments have worked together to

plant more than 61,000 saplings in Gujarat this year. The main objective of the festival was restoration of common lands that have been affected by erosion, as well as degraded forest lands of the central Gujarat.

One of the NGOs involved in the plantation drive was the Founda-

tion for Ecological Security (FES), which facilitates re-vegetation measures in different districts of the state in coordination of concerned government departments and village level institutions. Under the Mahotsav, hundreds of saplings of native tree species were planted on common lands with active par-

Children also pitched in to plant saplings during the Mahotsav.

ticipation of village institutions such as gram panchayats and habitation-level committees.

Various NGOs, like FES, build the capacity of the local rural youth, community leaders and para workers on the technical aspects of tree planting. Village institutions like gram panchayats joined the Forest Management committee to prepare and plan various revegetation activities including seed and sapling collection, seedball

making, sapling planting as well as build capacities of rural communities for long-term protection of the plants through training on soil and plant health.

The nationwide drive to plant saplings was initiated in 1950 by KM Munshi, the then Union Minister for Agriculture and Food, to promote conservation of forests along with maintenance of the ecological balance and keeping the carbon footprint low.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021

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JAYA, VIJAYA, BHARAT AND

MAHABHARAT!

04

IN-DEPTH

FATHER SWAMY’S DEATH THROWS UP QUESTIONS

T

DR SANJEEV CHOPRA

The writer is a historian, public policy analyst, and Festival Director of Valley of Words, a literature and arts festival based out of Dehradun. Till very recently, he was a member of the IAS and posted as the Director of LBS National Academy of Administration

A Sanjaya spends quite some time in describing the armies on the side of the Kauravas and Pandavas and giving a description on the events leading to the war. It is notbecause essentially it is about understanding Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha “dharma arthe ca kame ca mokse ca”. So, the longest epic poem ever written is so many things to different people

s Manpreet Sodhi Someshwar, the award-winning author of ‘The Radiance of a Thousand Suns’ puts it: no story can exist in the world if it has not already been told in the Mahabharata. But the Mahabharata is much more than all the stories it puts together. Is it then a treatise on war? Yes, and No. Sanjaya spends quite some time in describing the armies on the side of the Kauravas and Pandavas and giving a description on the events leading to the war. It is not- because essentially it is about understanding Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha “dharma arthe ca kame ca mokse ca”. So, the longest epic poem ever written is so many things to different people. Starting with the Jaya – spiritual victory, which is the core message, it then covers Vijaya – the physical victory, or victory of armies over territories. It is Bharat

BJP GEARS UP FOR MISSION UP 2021

when Sanjaya gives a description of the various continents of the Earth, the other planets, and focuses on the Indian Subcontinent, then gives an elaborate list of hundreds of kingdoms, tribes, provinces, cities, towns, villages, rivers, mountains, forests, etc. of the (ancient) Indian Subcontinent (Bharata Varsha). He tells Dhritrashtra of all the kings and confederations which had been lined up for the War, and finally, the longest epic poem of all times is the Mahabharata – which places everything in context.

Over the next few weeks, the focus of this column will be on understanding the geographical construct of the battle, and how armies from across the country, and beyond were arrayed in the battlefield. For beginners, it is important to note that there were twenty eight armies on the side of the Pandavas , and fifty one on the side of Kauravas , five remained neutral for a variety of reasons, and the King of Udupi was in charge of food related logistics for an army of five hundred thousand, who initially agreed on the terms of the Dharam Yudha – righteous

I

n a major shakeup of his council of ministers Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed the door to some key members of his cabinet. Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan and his deputy Ashwani Choubey, Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Human Resource and Development Minister Prakash Javdekar and Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal submitted their resignations before the new inductees were administered oath of office. One can understand why the health ministry has been purged after Covid-19 fiasco, but the axing of Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javdekar has taken everyone by surprise. It is

This time we will focus on the neutrals in the Mahabharata war, and the reasons thereof. The kingdom of Bhojakata, with its King Rukmi, Vidura, the ex-prime minister of Hastinapur and younger brother to Dhritarashtra, and Balarama, the king of Kashmir, Kichaka, Mahishakha and Videh war – which included the timings for the battle (sunrise to sunset) rules for individual combat, non-injury to a person who has surrendered , is unarmed, or wounded , noninjury to animals which is not a direct threat etcetera).

This time we will focus on the neutrals in the Mahabharata war, and the reasons thereof. The kingdom of Bhojakata, with its King Rukmi, Vidura, the ex-prime minister of Hastinapur and younger brother to Dhritrashtra, and Balarama, the king of Kashmir, Kichaka, Mahishakha and Videha. Rukmi

One can understand why the health ministry has been purged after Covid-19 fiasco, but the axing of Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javdekar has taken everyone by surprise natural to wonder about the future role the Bharatiya Janata Party plans to assign to the likes of Prasad, Javdekar and Harsh Vardhan.

From Uttar Pradesh, there is a preponderance of Kurmis---Anupriya Patel, Pankaj Chaudhary, Bhanu Pratap Verma and BL Verma---in the refurbished Union ministry.

Obviously, in poll-bound

wanted to join the war, but Arjuna refused to allow him because he had lost to Krishna during Rukmini’s swayamvar, yet he boasted about his war strength and army, whereas Duryodhana did not want Arjuna’s rejection. Vidura did not want to see the bloodshed of the war and was insulted extremely by Duryodhana, although he was the embodiment of Dharma himself and would have won the war for the Kauravas. The powerful Balarama refused to fight at Kurukshetra because he was both Bhima’s and Duryodhana’s coach in gadayudh (fighting with maces) and his brother Krishna was on the other side. The King of Kashmir was a minor, Kichak was under the control of the Matsya, and the Videha and Mahishakha armies were too small to make a difference to either side. But they had their troops on stand-by and offered to help either side.

One must also realize that a major dilemma for all the participants was that they were all related to each other – by blood or marriage or common teachers!

he death of Father Stan Swamy in custody has stirred the conscience of all those who believe in human rights and fair trial. The National Investigative Agency and those who framed him are probably devoid of any conscience else they wouldn’t have denied the 84-year-old tribal rights activist, who died on Monday, even a sipper. His death invited strong criticism from the Europe Union and United Nations’ human rights bodies which said that the Jesuit was “falsely imprisoned” and the news of his passing away was “devastating”.

The Jesuit priest’s death raised questions over the legality of NIA’s functioning and the judicial process of our country.

Father Swamy was kept in custody without having been arrested. Nor was the independent inquiry report into the hacking of his computer looked at. Shockingly, the agency described his plea for bail on health grounds as “a ruse”. And the court accepted the agency’s contention.

Think of the fate that awaits others implicated in the same case.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

—Proverbs 24:14

TOP TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

A welcome step by Calcutta High Court. It must be ensured that the fine amount comes from the personal account of @MamataOfficial. Not a single penny from the West Bengal state exchequer should be spent to pay for the misdeeds of looters and destroyers of the state.

Nirmala Sitharaman @nsitharaman

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

states the BJP’s thrust is more on OBCs and less on Brahmins who are unhappy at being sidelined by Yogi Adityanath government. Ajai Mishra, an MP from Lakhimpur Kheri, is the lone Brahmin to have found a place in the Union ministry. Kaushal Kishore, the Mohanlalganj MP, is a Pasi. The UP chief minister would be relieved at Kishore’s moving to the Centre as he was critical of Covid-19 mismanagement. He and Santosh Gangwar, who is among those dropped from the Union ministry, wrote letters to Yogi pointing out shortcomings in Covid-19 care.

With five MPs from UP, including Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, already in ministerial roles, the BJP is all set for Mission UP.

“PM WANI has created a framework… anyone can set up a public Wi-Fi or a public data office…(PM WANI) which aims to make internet affordable and easily accessible by all…will help in the proliferation of public Wi-Fi networks throughout the country.”

Vol 2 Issue No. 222 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208.

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MODI 2.0: ALL THE PM’S MEN

NEWS DIGEST EX-MINISTER GRANTED BAIL IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE

PM MODI WILL BE ACTIVELY MONITORING MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECH; HOME MINISTER AMIT SHAH GETS ADDL CHARGE OF NEW MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted bail to former AIADMK Minister M Manikandan, arrested in a sexual assault case. Justice M Nirmal Kumar, who granted conditional bail, pointed out that Manikandan, having deep social roots apart from being a doctor, after losing his ministership, was carrying on his profession at Madurai.

He has got a family. Manikandan shall be released on bail on executing a personal bond for Rs 10,000 before the Superintendent of the prison concerned, in which he is confined.

of Panchayati Raj

NARENDRA MODI

Prime Minister and also incharge of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space; All important policy issues; and All other portfolios not allocated to any Minister CABINET MINISTERS

z Raj Nath Singh Minister of Defence

z Amit Shah Minister of Home

Affairs; and Minister of Cooperation z Nitin Jairam Gadkari Minister of Road Transport and Highways z Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs z Narendra Singh Tomar Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare z Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar Minister of External Affairs z Arjun Munda Minister of Tribal Affairs z Smriti Zubin Irani Minister of Women and Child Development z Piyush Goyal Minister of Commerce and Industry; Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of Textiles z Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Education; and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship z Pralhad Joshi Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Coal; and Minister of Mines z Narayan Tatu Rane Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises z Sarbananda Sonowal Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; and Minister of AYUSH z Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Minister of Minority Affairs z Dr. Virendra Kumar Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment z Giriraj Singh Minister of Rural Development; and Minister

PAGD CONDEMNS SUMMONING OF MEHBOOBA’S MOTHER BY ED Srinagar: The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Wednesday condemned the summoning of the mother of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti

by ED. The ED on Tuesday had served a notice on Mehbooba’s mother Gulshan Nazir asking her to appear at the agency’s office in Srinagar on July 14 in connection with a money laundering case. “The summoning of widow of former Union HM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed by the ED is highly humiliating,” PAGD spokesman M Y Tarigami said.

HAITI PRESIDENT JOVENEL MO SE ASSASSINATED AT HOME: OFFICIAL Port-au-Prince: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in an attack on his private residence early Wednesday, according to a statement from the country’’s interim prime minister, who called the killing a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act.”

First Lady Martine Moise was shot in the overnight attack and hospitalised, interim Premier Claude Joseph said. Even before the assassination, Haiti had grown increasingly unstable and disgruntled under Moïse.

z Jyotiraditya M Scindia Minister of Civil Aviation

z Ramchandra Prasad Singh Minister of Steel

z Ashwini Vaishnaw Minister

of Railways; Minister of Communications; and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology z Pashu Pati Kumar Paras Minister of Food Processing Industries z Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Minister of Jal Shakti z Kiren Rijiju Minister of Law and Justice z Raj Kumar Singh Minister of Power; and Minister of New and Renewable Energy z Hardeep Singh Puri Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs z Mansukh Mandaviya Minister of Health and Family Welfare; and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers z Bhupender Yadav Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Minister of Labour and Employment z Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey Minister of Heavy Industries z Parshottam Rupala Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying z G. Kishan Reddy Minister of Culture; Minister of Tourism; and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region z Anurag Singh Thakur Minister of Information and Broadcasting; and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)

z Rao Inderjit Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs z Dr. Jitendra Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State

Central govt runs on tax extortion: Rahul

CIRCULATION OF FILM BASED ON SSR’S LIFE WON’T BE STOPPED New Delhi: The Delhi HC on Wednesday refused to pass any direction to restrain further circulation of film ‘Nyay: The Justice’ which is purportedly based on the life of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and has been released on a website. “We will have it on 14th (July). I am not inclined at this stage,” said a Bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Talwant Singh while hearing the application of Rajput’s father Krishna K Singh.

OLYMPIC GOLD-WINNING HOCKEY LEGEND KESHAV DATT DIES AT 95 New Delhi: Two-time Olympic gold medal-winning hockey legend Keshav Datt died on Wednesday due to age-related ailments, marking the end of a glorious era in the sport. Datt was 95 and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter, all of whom are settled abroad.

The former centre halfback died around 12.30 am at his residence in Santoshpur, Kolkata where he was living alone. Born on December 29, 1925 in Lahore, Datt was a part of India’s golden era in hockey after making Kolkata his home following the partition.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at the Centre as the petrol prices crossed Rs 100mark in the national capital and alleged that the Modi government runs on “tax extortion”.

“Your car may run on petrol or diesel, Modi government runs on tax extortion,” the Congress MP tweeted in Hindi, using hashtag ‘’TaxExtortion’’.

The price of petrol crossed Rs 100-mark in Delhi today and stood at Rs 100.21 per litre while the price of diesel was at Rs 89.53 per litre.

Rates have been increased across the country and differ from state to state depending on the incidence of value-added tax. The fuel prices continue to soar across the country and have crossed Rs 100 in many states. The petrol

price is at Rs 108.63 per litre in Bhopal and in Kolkata, it is at Rs 100.23 per litre. Meanwhile, Congress has decided to launch a 10-day nationwide agitation against inflation from July 7.

Meanwhile amid talks of change in party organization in the state, Congress leaders and MLAs from Bihar were called to Delhi to meet Rahul on Wednesday. The Congress is contemplating a change in leadership in the state after party fared badly in the last year’s assembly elections.

New portfolios were allocated late on Wednesday night to the ministers who were inducted into the Union Cabinet and Council of Ministers.

According top priority to the Ministry of Science & Technology, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to actively monitor the ministry himself. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been given charge of the newlycreated Ministry of Cooperation.

(Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; and Minister of State in the Department of Space MINISTERS OF STATE

z Shripad Yesso Naik Minister

of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism z Faggansingh Kulaste Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development z Prahalad Singh Patel Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries z Ashwini Kumar Choubey Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change z Arjun Ram Meghwal Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture z General (Retd.) VK Singh Minister of State in the Min-

File report regarding appointment of IC in CIC: SC New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Centre and State governments to file the latest compliance report within a period of four weeks regarding timely and transparent appointment of Information Commissioners (IC) in the Central Information Commission (CIC) under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

“The Union of India and all the other state governments are directed to file the latest compliance report within a period of four weeks.

Petitioner is also permitted to file an additional affidavit,” the Bench stated in its order while posting the matter for hearing after four weeks A bench headed by Justice Abdul Nazeer granted 4 weeks to governments.

DIDI KI MANN KI BAAT

Mamata asks PM to do ‘Petrol ki baat’ lll

Noting that petrol and diesel prices were hiked eight times since early May, Mamata said PM should hold petrol, diesel and vaccine ki baat

05

New Delhi: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “making a mess of the country’s economy” and urged him to hold ‘petrol and vaccine ki baat’ instead of ‘Mann ki baat’.

Referring to the proposed Union Cabinet reshuffle, the chief minister, during a press meet here, said the removal of Babul Supriyo from the council of

ministers shows that “they (BJP government) have also lost it even before the arrival of their end” in 2024.

Noting that none of the letters she wrote to the PM evoked any response, Banerjee said despite appeals for

Jagdeep Dhankhar’s removal as governor, nothing was done about it.

“The entire economy is in doldrums. Fuel prices are increasing everyday and the Union government is sitting idle. Our prime minister is only busy with his Mann ki Baat. He should instead hold petrol ki baat, diesel ki baat and vaccine ki baat,” she insisted.

Asked about cabinet reshuffle, she said, “I won’t comment.”

istry of Road Transport and Highways; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation z Krishan Pal Minister of State in the Ministry of Power; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries z Danve Raosaheb Dadarao Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways; Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines z Ramdas Athawale Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment z Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development z Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying z Nityanand Rai Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs z Pankaj Chaowdhary Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance z Anupriya Singh Patel Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry z Prof. SP Singh Baghel Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice z Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology z Shobha Karandlaje Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare z Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises z Darshana Vikram Jardosh Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways z V. Muraleedharan Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs z Meenakashi Lekhi Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture z Som Parkash Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry z Renuka Singh Saruta Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs z Rameswar Teli Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment z Kailash Choudhary Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare z Annpurna Devi Minister of State in the Ministry of Education z A. Narayanaswamy Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment z Kaushal Kishore Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs z Ajay Bhatt Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism z BL Verma Minister of State in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; and Minister of State in the

Ministry of Cooperation

z Ajay Kumar Minister of State

in the Ministry of Home Affairs z Devusinh Chauhan Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications z Bhagwanth Khuba Minister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers z Kapil Moreshwar Patil Minister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj z Sushri Pratima Bhoumik Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment z Dr. Subhas Sarkar Minister of State in the Ministry of Education z Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance z Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education z Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare z Bishweswar Tudu Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti z Shantanu Thakur Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways z Munjapara Mahendrabhai Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development; and Minister of State in the Ministry of AYUSH z John Barla Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs z Dr. L. Murugan Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting z Nisith Pramanik Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

VARDHAN THE SCAPEGOAT FOR PM’S FAILURES: CONG New Delhi: After Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and his deputy resigned on Wednesday, the Congress said it is a candid submission of the government’s “monumental failure” in managing pandemic.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram took a swipe at PM Modi, saying if things go right, the credit will go to him and if they do not, it will fall on the minister concerned.

Another senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Vardhan has been made a scapegoat for the failures at the highest level.

“The resignations of the Union Health Minister and the MoS Health is a candid confession that Modi government has utterly failed in managing the pandemic,” Chidambaram tweeted. “There is a lesson for ministers in these resignations. If

things go right the credit will go to the PM, if things go wrong the Minister will be the fall guy. That is the price a Minister pays for implicit obedience and unquestioning subservience,” Chidu said.

Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Covid management in the country is headed by the PM and asked why was Vardhan being made the scapegoat. —ANI

IN THE COURTYARD DELHI HC REFUSES TO GRANT INTERIM PROTECTION TO DIGITAL NEWS PLATFORMS CHALLENGING NEW IT RULES New Delhi: Delhi HC on Wednesday refused to grant interim protection to the digital news platforms that challenged The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The bench of Justices DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh heard a batch of petitions including the petitions filed by digital news portals like The Quint, The Wire and others. Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan representing the digital news portals sought the court’s direction for respondents not to take any coercive action against the petitioners and grant them interim protection.

Responding to the prayer, Justice DN Patel, refused interim protection.

GIVE REPORT ON INFO PANELS VACANCIES: SC

TRUECALLER BREACHING LEGAL NORMS OF INDIA

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 7 July, directed the Centre and state governments to file the latest status report on the filling up of vacancies in the Central Information Commission (CIC) and the State Information Commissions (SICs). A Bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari gave four weeks to the Centre and state governments to file the latest status report in the matter.

Mumbai: The Bombay HC on Wednesday issued notices to the Union and Maha governments, among others, over a PIL claiming that the Truecaller mobile application “shared” user data breaching legal norms of the country. A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni was hearing a PIL. “The Truecaller app collects data of users. It shares such data with some of its partners without the consent,” said petitioner.

CBI SHOULD WIDEN PROBE INTO FIR AGAINST ANIL DESHMUKH: BOMBAY HIGH COURT Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said it expects the CBI to widen its investigation into the FIR filed against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, and added that the head of the administration cannot claim innocence and was equally responsible. A division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar said if true meaning has to be given to the April 5 order of the high court, directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to hold a preliminary inquiry against the allegations of corruption levelled against Deshmukh, then the role of every person has to be looked into.

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CRUCIAL READ EX-UNION MINISTER’S WIFE FOUND MURDERED IN DELHI HOUSE New Delhi: Kitty Kumaramangalam, the 68-year-old wife of former union minister P. Rangarajan Kumaramangalam and a lawyer by profession, was allegedly smothered to death by her washerman and his two associates on Tuesday night in South-West Delhi’s Vasant Vihar area.

CENTRE RUSHES TEAMS TO 6 STATES WITH RISING CASES

NHRC DIRECTS ODISHA CHIEF SECY TO COMPENSATE FOR NEGLIGENCE

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Odisha Chief Secretary to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the victim of medical negligence whose urinary tract has been cut while conducting family planning operation and to submit compliance report along with proof of payment within six weeks.

ED ATTACHES 3 LAND PARCELS WORTH `106 CR OF GURUGRAM BASED FIRM New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has attached a clutch of land parcels in Haryana worth over Rs 106 crore in connection with its money laundering probe against realty firm Unitech Group and its promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra.

CHINA URGES USA TO REVIEW CHINESE STUDENTS’ VISA Beijing: China has lodged stern representations to the US over the rejection of visa applications from Chinese students, under rules of former President Donald Trump’s administration. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, “China expresses grave concern over this and has lodged solemn representations with the US side.”

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday deputed multi-disciplinary teams to Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Manipur in view of the high number of COVID-19 cases being reported by these states.

Teams will be supporting the states in their efforts to carry out a targeted Covid response and management, and effectively tackling the pandemic, a Union Health Ministry statement said.

The two-member high level team to these states comprises a clinician and a public health expert, the statement

CENTRAL TEAM VISITS KERALA TO INSPECT COVID SITUATION

ith surge in W COVID-19 cases in Kerala, a team de-

puted by Union Health Ministry on Wednesday visited Kollam to evaluate the COVID prevention activities and health measures taken for COVID management in the district. The central team met the District Collector B. Abdul Nasar at the Collectorate and assessed the COVID management plan. The

Collector informed the members of activities being carried out in the district. The visit comes at a time when other states are showing a declining trend in the number of Covid, but in Kerala, cases remained high with the state recording 14,373 new cases on Tuesday, the highest in 26 days. The active cases crossed one lakh mark with 1,04,105 people.

said. The teams will visit the states immediately and monitor the

overall implementation of COVID-19 management, especially in test-

‘Hizbul terrorist Halwai killed in encounter’

Prashant gets charge of ED western region

Srinagar: Top Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Mehrazuddin Halwai, who was killed on Wednesday in an encounter with security forces used to recruit and raise funds for terror organisations, a senior Jammu and Kashmir police official said.

Kashmir's Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said that Halwai, alias Ubaid who was killed in the encounter in Handwara district, was involved

ARMY FOILED FIRST INFILTRATION BID ACROSS LOC SINCE CEASEFIRE: GOVT

The Centre on Wednesday said first infiltration attempt made by Pakistani terrorists across Line of Control since a ceasefire came into effect in February was successfully foiled. It added that Army exchanged fire with the infiltrators, after which body of a terrorist was recovered and a cache of arms found. A group of Pak terrorists made an attempt to infiltrate across LoC in Naoshera Sectoron Wednesday, Army said. in several terror crimes, including killing of civilians. "Mehrazuddin Halwai is an old militant and was

Former Cong Min Kripashankar joins BJP, rattles Sena

Kripashankar Singh joined BJP in Mumbai in the presence of Devendra Fadnavis and Chandrakant Patil. —PHOTO BY ANI

Mumbai: Former Congress Minister Kripashankar Singh joined the BJP in Mumbai on Wednesday. Singh joined the BJP in presence of former CM Devendra Fadnavis and party state president Chandrakant Patil at state party headquarters in Mumbai.

Maharashtra BJP leader Madhav Bhandari said on Tuesday said, “Kripashankar Singh has been a big leader and has a relevance in Mumbai politics. He has been in touch since last few months.” However, with Singh’s entry in

the saffron party, it is being believed that the party’s chances at performing better in BMC election has increased exponentially.

After he left the Congress, Singh did not head to any other party & allegations were levelled at him that he wanted to win an election and head to BJP or Shiv Sena, however the man did not contest election as well.

His entry in BJP could spell trouble for Shiv Sena since BJP is trailing by a handful of seats in the BMC. Singh could be BJP’s trump card at hitting back at Shiv Sena.

New Delhi: Prashant Kumar has been given the additional charge of Special Director of Enforcement (SDE), Western Region in the Enforcement Directorate.

As per an ED administrative order, this follows the repatriation of Sushil Kumar, IRS (IT1993), Special Director, Western Region from the post of Special Director of Enforcement to parent cadre in CBDT.

involved in the killing of civilians, sarpanch, police and security personnel. He was involved in many IED

and grenade blasts. He used to recruit and raise funds for terrorist organizations," IG Kumar said.

—ANI

TMC likely to conduct org reshuffle soon

Govt brings dept of public enterprises under Fin Min

New Delhi: The ruling TMC in WB is likely to carry out a major organisational reshuffle next week, probably before its annual Martyrs Day rally on July 21, with poll performance of various leaders and the theory of “one person, one post” to be the deciding factor in the exercise, sources said.

The rejig is likely to take place at district levels with several district presidents.

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has been expanded with the addition of the Department of Public Enterprises, the nodal entity for policy formulation for all central public sector units, informed the gazette notification issued by Union Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday.

"Subsequently, as a result of the reorganization of Ministries/ Departments of the Union Government in Sep-

tember 1985, BPE was made part of the Ministry of Industry. In 1990, BPE was made a fullfledged Department known as Department of Public Enterprises," the website of department said.

—PTI

will have a separate police presence from the way police are provided every year.

The final call on the actual route to be taken by the customary three chariots bearing Lord Jagannath and his siblings was expected to be taken when Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and state Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja met Home Department officials on Wednesday evening. However, the state did not make any official statement on the issue until late at night.

Meanwhile, more

than 15,000 police personnel have arrived in Ahmedabad for Rath Yatra duty, Commissioner Srivastava said.

He led a meeting of the police contingent on Wednesday evening, to discuss and finalize preparations for the procession.

“All roads and points along the Rath Yatra route will be blocked and barricaded, and people living along the route will be instructed to watch the procession from their homes.

Personnel who have been deployed on Rath Yatra duty have received their sentry

ing, including surveillance and containment operations; Covid Appropriate Behaviour and its enforcement; availability of hospital beds, sufficient logistics including ambulances, ventilators, medical oxygen etc., and COVID-19 vaccination progress.

The teams will monitor the situation and also suggest remedial actions, the statement said.

The Central teams will assess the situation and suggest remedial actions on public health activities to the respective state governments.

—PTI

06

Upset over uncle’s induction, Paswan moves Delhi HC New Delhi: Lok Janshakti Party MP Chirag Paswan has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the order of speaker of Lok Sabha by which Pashupati Kumar Paras, who has been designated as the floor leader of the LJP, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Arvind Kumar Bajpai, advocate for Chirag Paswan said that a writ has been filed before Delhi High Court challenging Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s order to designate Paras as the leader of LJP in Lok Sabha.

“Although Paras was expelled from the party, the decision taken in haste is contrary to rules, practice, and procedure and opposes the party Constitution,” he added.

The petitioner said that because the circular dated June 14, 2021, issued by the re-

Chirag Paswan

spondent was never communicated to the petitioners.

Last month, Pashupati Kumar Paras, the younger brother of LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan along with five other MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and handed over a letter to him seeking removal of Chirag Paswan as party chief and as the Lok Sabha Parliamentary party leader.

The Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted Paras as the floor leader of the LJP in the lower house. In a revised list of floor leaders of parties, Paras was listed as the Lok Sabha LJP leader. —PTI

‘Over 1.67 cr vax doses still available with states, UTs’ New Delhi: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday said that more than 1.67 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states, union territories, and private hospitals to be administered.

"More than 1.67 Crore (1,67,26,613) balance and unutilized COVID vaccine doses are still available with the States and UTs and private hospitals to be administered," the health ministry said.

The ministry further said that 37,43,25,560 vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far, through all sources and a further 48,65,110 doses are in the pipeline.

The Centre is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country. The new phase of universalization of vaccination commenced from June 21, 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through the

VISTARA FLIGHTS FOR DELHI-TOKYO New Delhi: Vistara started operating direct flights between Delhi and Tokyo using its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, as per statement. The inaugural flight departed from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi & landed at the Haneda airport in Tokyo, the carrier’s press statement noted. The airline’s flight on Delhi-Tokyo route would be operating under the air bubble arrangement formed between India and Japan. Scheduled international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

‘MISLEADING REPORTS ON GILOY’ New Delhi: The Ministry of Ayush has noticed a media report based on a study published in Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology, a peer reviewed journal of the Indian National Association for the study of the liver. This study mentions that use of herb TinosporaCordifolia (TC), commonly known as Giloy or Guduchi, resulted in liver failure in six patients in Mumbai. The Ministry feels that the authors of the study failed in placing all needful details of the cases in a systematic format. Apart from this, relating Giloy or TC to liver damage would be misleading and disastrous to the Traditional Medicine system of India as herb Guduchi or Giloy has been used in Ayurveda since long. availability of more vaccines, advanced visibility of vaccine availability to States and

UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.

ananda Gowda, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Rattan Lal Kataria, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, and Debasree Chaudhuri.

Cong ress-tur nedBJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, also took oath as a Cabinet minister. The 50-year-old leader was Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and Union Minister of State for Commerce & Communications in the earlier UPA government.

As many as 28 MoS took oath including 7 from UP which goes to polls next year. At least 16 entrants to Council of Ministers are first time MPs.

FROM PG 1 Guj govt grants...

If these children continue their studies after the age of 18 years, they will receive an assistance of Rs6,000 per month till they turn 21, and the assistance will continue till they attain the age of 24 years, if they opt for higher studies.

A’bad could see...

Police officials say the procession will likely have additional security this year, and that access roads along the route will be blocked to isolate the rath.

According to police sources, the Rath Yatra

points and will be patrolling every morning and evening. All police arrangements will be finalized today,” Srivastava said on Wednesday evening.

Around 3,000 policemen were briefed at the Dariyapur police station in connection with the Rath Yatra, an official release stated.

Fab 4...

Vardhan had been at the helm of the coronavirus crisis in India.

Among other high-profile resignations are of Ravi Shankar Prasad, Thawarchand Gehlot, Babul Supriyo, DV Sad-

PM’s Modified...

These meetings were also held in the wake of widespread criticism of the Central government’s handling of the COVID crisis.

Rane, 69, a Rajya Sabha MP and a former Maharashtra chief minister, was the first to take oath. After Rane, Sonowal, former Assam chief minister, took oath in English.

—With Agency inputs

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021

07

—CARL KNOX, OZGRAV - SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR PROVIDED (NO REUSE)

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What happens when black holes collide with the most dense stars in the universe fects of general relativity.

When a neutron star becomes even more massive, for example when some interstellar gas falls on it, the nuclear forces can no longer resist gravity and the star collapses to a black hole, an object so compact that not even light can resist its gravitational pull.

Neutron stars and black holes are not that rare in the Milky Way. They are a common outcome from the evolution of stars significantly more massive than the Sun. Such massive stars often occur in binary systems, with two stars orbiting each other.

It’s not surprising to find neutron stars and black holes in binary systems, where they are locked in a gravitational dance.

Such binaries emit gravitational waves for their entire lifetime.

MARTIN KRAUSE Senior Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire

F

or the first time, a faint signal caused by the merging of two almost equally mysterious objects – a black hole and a neutron star – has been recorded on Earth.

On January 5, 2020, when the world was first learning of the COVID-19 outbreak, gravitational waves from this merging reached the Livingston detector of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (Ligo) gravitational wave observatory in Louisiana, US. On January 15, the second gravitational wave event from a merger between a black hole and a neutron star, the densest stars in the universe, was discovered.

These two recordings are the first mergers between a black hole and a neutron star to have been detected on Earth. Black hole-neutron star binary systems, where a black hole and a neutron star orbit each other, had been predicted but never observed – until now.

Gravitational waves are distortions in space-time, predicted by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

In a gravitational wave observatory, the distance between two suspended mirrors is measured with a laser. The measurement technique relies on the overlap of reflected laser light within the experiment. Two light waves are arranged so that the signals cancel each other out exactly. Changing the distance between the mirrors by even a tiny fraction of a wavelength produces a measurable light signal.

The basic idea behind the theory of relativity is that space itself possesses a kind of elastic structure, even in the absence of any matter. Similar to an inflated balloon, you can squeeze it one way and it expands in the perpendicular direction.

Relativity predicts that matter warps space (and time) and a collision between two compact objects like a black hole and a neutron star rapidly changes the compression and relaxation of the space in the vicinity of

The masses of neutron stars and black holes seen through gravitational waves. --LIGO-Virgo / Frank Elavsky, Aaron Geller / Northwestern, Author provided (no reuse)

the objects. Waves of periodic compression and expansion are emitted. The way to measure these waves is to monitor the distance between two otherwise fixed objects, because the gravitational wave will periodically change the extent of the space between these objects, as it passes.

During the first ever detected gravitational wave event in 2015, for which three physicists were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2017, the distances between the mirrors in the two stations of the LIGO observatory, which are 4km (2.5 miles) apart, changed by about a thousandth of a trillionth of a millimetre.

The merger detected in 2015 was between two comparatively massive black holes, each around 30 times the mass of the Sun. Since then, the sensitivity of the instrument has been improved.

Now also a smaller, less sensitive, gravitational wave observatory in Italy, called the Virgo experiment, is frequently used as part of the telescope network.

In the new discoveries, the merging objects each had less than ten times the mass of the Sun. The event on January 5 involved objects with respective masses of 8.9 and 1.9 times the mass of the Sun, and the merger on January 15 was between objects with 5.7 and 1.5 times the mass of the Sun.

SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM

NEUTRON STARS

I

t’s important that the smaller masses were below 2.2 times the mass of the Sun, because this suggests these objects were neutron stars. Neutron stars are so dense that an amount of matter comparable to the solar

system is compressed to a diameter of about 20km.

The matter in a neutron star is so dense that atoms get crushed, resulting in the formation of neutrons. The strong gravity on their surface makes them, in their own right, interesting laboratories to study ef-

BINARY SYSTEMS

T

he energy for the gravitational waves comes from the motion of the objects around each other. As the system emits gravitational waves, the objects get closer together. This makes the gravitational wave emission increase and, finally, the two merge into a new, bigger black hole, with a burst of gravita-

tional wave emission. This is what is detectable on Earth.

While it was expected that neutron star-black hole systems existed, we’d never been able to spot them before. Neutron stars emit radio and X-ray emissions, which can now be routinely detected. Other than looking for gravitational waves, black holes can only be observed when something falls on them – a star or interstellar gas, for example.

If a black hole has a normal star companion, it can capture mass from the companion which emits X-rays before it disappears into the black hole. Binary black holes have no obvious source of gas, and they’re known only from gravitational wave experiments.

A neutron star-black hole system could in principle be discovered with radio telescopes, but – so far – the search has not been successful. This new discovery provides important information about the astrophysics of such systems.

More discoveries will surely be made, which will help to improve our understanding of what is inside neutron stars and black holes – and quite possibly also provide new tests, or proofs, of the theory of relativity.

Neutron stars are so dense that an amount of matter comparable to the solar system is compressed to a diameter of around 20 km

“Difficulties are a part of life, the person who takes the challenge head on and looks for out of the box solutions is the one who will conquer life.“

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India

AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021

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08

PM strengthens Gujarat’s stamp on his Cabinet Narendra Modi elevates two ministers to Cabinet rank & inducts three new faces as MoS; Shah & Jaishankar already there First India Bureau Ahmedabad: In the much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the weightage of his home state Gujarat with as many as seven ministers in his ministry.

This includes Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and two ministers of state who promoted to the Cabinet rank. Three new faces from the State have been inducted as junior ministers.

Minister of State for Chemical, Fertilizer, Shipping and Waterways (Independent

President Ram Nath Kovind administering oath of office to union minister Mansukh Mandaviya (from Gujarat) who was promoted to the Cabinet rank on Wednesday.

Charge) Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala

have been elevated as Cabinet Ministers.

The three Members of Parliament included

Police inspector to undergo narco and polygraph tests

Missing woman Sweety’s son from her first husband Rythm Pandya expressing concern for his mother on social media; and (right) Vadodara police inspector A A Desai.

First India Bureau Vadodara: The Vadodara Police Inspector, whose wife has gone missing for over a month, may have to undergo a Narco as well as Polygraphic test with the investigating officers suspecting that he is hiding key information.

The police department has already initiated legal procedure to seek permission for this test.

Police Inspector AA Desai’s wife Sweety Patel, 35, is untraceable and he is under scanner.

District Superintendent of Police Sudhirkumar Desai told mediapersons that the officer had undergone the Suspect

Detection System (SDS) test at FSL Gandhinagar. In his first statement, the inspector stated that due to social reasons he had not lodged a complaint about his missing wife.

The DSP said a legal procedure for the officer’s Narco and polygraphic test has been initiated, while he has been relieved from duty and sent on leave. Five teams have been formed to search for Sweety.

This was her second marriage. Earlier, she was married to Hetash Pandya and they had two children, before they separated seven years ago, and Hetash has settled down in Australia with the two chil-

dren. He does not believe that Sweety will abandon her (present) two-year-old child and walk away since he had found her to be a caring person through 13 years with her.

Her first son Rhythm has launched a campaign on social media to look for her mother and suspects that something terribly wrong has happened with her. Hetash has learnt Sweety didn’t officially marry inspector Desai, and this is the latter’s second or third marriage.

Vadodara rural police first learnt that Sweety was seen in Ahmedabad, later in Banaskantha and even in Abu. The police are collecting CCTV footage on this.

in the council of ministers are Darshana Jardosh (Surat), Devusinh Chauhan (Kheda) and

CELL PHONES, SCOOTER THEFT ACCUSED HELD First India Bureau Rajkot: Rajkot Taluka Police on Tuesday nabbed an 18-year-old person involved in a scooter and mobile phone theft from Vavdi area near Falcon factory.

The accused, identified as Alfaz alias Altaf Husain Saiyad residing near Gondal Chowkdi, is alleged to have been involved in mobile phone snatching for the past one month.

Speaking to First India, Taluka Police SubInspector N K Rajpurohit said, “In the past one month, he has confessed to snatching over 15 mobile phones and has stolen one Activa scooter.

Police have recovered 11 mobiles and the stolen scooter which he used to commit the crime.” The seized goods are estimated to be worth around Rs 1.10 lakh.

“He conducted the crime between 7 and 9 pm in areas of Shapar Veraval and Gulab nagar areas near Kothariya Solvent. These are factory areas. He mainly targeted factory workers, “ Rajpurohit added.

He would target people talking over phone while walking on the road and would come from behind on full throttle on the stolen scooter, he said.

Parshottam Rupala (Cabinet rank)

Devusinh Chauhan (MoS)

Mahendra Munjapara (MoS)

Darshana Jardosh (MoS)

Dr Mahendrabhai Munjapara (Surendranagar). All three have taken oath as Ministers of State.

Political analysts say this exercise has been carried out in view of the State Assembly elections next year. “There

is no doubt that Gujarat’s weightage in the central cabinet has increased, but unfortunately caste equations and regional balance have taken priority over performance,” observes senior journalist and political analyst Naresh Dave.

Dave strongly believes that including OBC leaders in the central cabinet and elevating two Patidar leaders is directly linked with the 2022 assembly elections.

While balancing caste equations, the Prime Minister has also tried to accommodate new and young professional faces. Kheda MP Devusinh Chauhan is a Diploma Electrical Engineer, young, commit-

ted and influential leader from central Gujarat, while Surendranagar MP Mahendrabhai Munjapara is an MBBS from NHL College Ahmedabad. Though being a medical doctor, he is also into social and community services.

Party leaders had advocated for him as the candidate in 2019 Lok Sabha elections for this reason also, says political analyst Dilip Gohil.

Both are of the view that elevation of two MoS Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala will help the party influence Patidar votes. At the same time, both are of the opinion that it is equally important to see what portfolios are assigned to them.

Woman jumps into well with three kids; rescued but children die First India Bureau Jamnagar: In a tragic incident in Jamnagar district on Wednesday morning, a woman jumped into a well with her three children. Fire Brigade personnel rescued the woman but could not save the children whose bodies were fished out.

The incident was reported from Khambhelida village of Dhrol Taluka, where Mesudiben plunged into a well with her three children with the intention to end their lives.

When villagers learnt about the inci-

Fire Brigade personnel rescued a woman who jumped in a well with her 3 children, who could not be rescued.

dent they called a fire brigade team, which was successful in rescuing Mesudiben, but the children aged under five were drowned.

Mesudiben and her husband Naresh Bhuriya belong to Madhya

Pradesh and are daily wage earners. They were hired by local farmers as agriculture labourers.

Naresh’s parents too were living with them at Khambhalida village.

Naresh had gone to his village in Madhya

Pradesh three months ago and had not returned to work. This aroused suspicion in the mind of Mesudiben, who decided to take the extreme step.

Dhrol Police have registered a case of murder against Mesudiben. Her children Dishuben (4 years), Madhuri (2 years) and one year old Tanesh have died.

After she was rescued, she initially claimed that her children fell in the well and she had jumped to rescue them. But later, she accepted that she jumped with the children in the well.

TRIBUTES TO THE THESPIAN Members of the Third Eye yoga centre pay their tributes to Bollywood veteran Dilip Kumar, who died on Wednesday morning in Mumbai, at Maninagar area in Ahmedabad.

—PHOTO BY

HANIF SINDHI

BETTER GOVERNANCE

Rupani asks babus to step up efficiency levels in urban areas CM has instructed them to ensure that he gets requests to stop transfers and not complaints First India Bureau Gandhinagar: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has asked the officials to increase the levels of efficiency to ensure he gets more public requests to stop their transfers and not complaints against them.

The Chief Minister, who was chairing a daylong workshop of Chief Officers of Municipalities on Tuesday, asked them to focus more proactively on issues faced by the people.

Addressing the officials, Rupani said the reputation of Gujarat as a model of good gov-

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani taking stock of public works and interacting with officials.

ernance should be maintained and the

state should be at the forefront of urban de-

velopment.

“People from other

—FILE PHOTO

states visit and stay in towns and villages for

their bread and butter.

In such circumstances, it has become the need of the hour that eyecatching work related to urban development is carried out in the municipalities,” Rupani said in a statement by the State Government.

The Chief Minister pointed out that 50 per cent of the total population lives in urban areas. “We want to develop a work culture in towns, where there is no scope for grievances

and pro-active development works are carried out in public interest,” he said.

Asking officials to visit public work sites in cities to check the quality of work, Rupani urged them to work with efficiency. “Your complaints should not come.

Instead of requests for your transfer, the government should receive requests to stop your transfer. Such welfare activities should be carried out,” Rupani said.

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09

AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY JULY 8, 2021

What a Tragedy!

King no more

Wednesday morning brought us sad news as we mourned the loss of a legendary actor Dilip Kumar aka Yusuf Khan, whose journey in the world of Bollywood has been an inspiring one, City First salutes the gem for his contribution to Indian Cinema!

SUSHMITA AIND

sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in

B

orn in the city of Peshawar, Province of Pakistan on December 11, 1922, the legendary actor earlier known as Mohammed Yusuf Khan was the son of a well-todo fruit merchant. As a teenager, he had been an introvert and a curious observer of life. He could speak fluently in Urdu and later polished his skills of speaking in Hindi as well English. He shifted to Bombay (now Mumbai) with his family as the tensions of war became prominent and Bombay was a

centre of exports. Yusuf attended Khalsa College at Matunga where he was introduced to his lifelong friend, Raj Kapoor. His first film was, Jwar Bhata, after which the identity of a 22-yearold shy boy was changed forever and he was reborn as ‘Dilip Kumar’. The name was suggested

by Devika Rani.

After this, his journey as a struggling actor began until he starred in Jugnu which became his first major hit.

He was later featured in many hits such as Andaz, Haathi Mere Saathi, Ganga Jamuna among others.

Although his career took a U-turn in 1970, after which he took a break from acting from 1976-1981.

His major comeback was the star-studded film Kranti, followed by Shakti, Mashaal and Saudagar among others. He is known to introduce method acting in the world of Indian Cinema when it wasn’t a known concept back then.

A recipient of many awards, he won the Filmfare Lifetime Achieve-

ment Award for his contribution to the industry for five decades.

He is the first actor ever to receive a Filmfare Best Actor Award. He holds the Guinness World Record for winning the maximum number of awards by an Indian actor. The Government of India honoured Kumar with the Padma Bhushan in 1991, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015.

Dilip was once madly in love with Madhubala but the relationship ended, he later met Saira Banu whom he married and has remained close with until now. He also married Asma Sahiba, but, the marriage didn’t work out. Dilip has no children but is satisfied with his relationship and family.

Dilip Kumar died after a prolonged illness on Wednesday. The 98-year-old actor was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Hinduja Hospital, a nonCOVID-19 facility, last Tuesday.

The entire nation is mourning the loss of the actor par excellence, many Bollywood celebrities have come forward grieving the loss of the legend.

ETC AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021

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Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

Aries

MARCH 21 - APRIL 20 Physical fitness is the key to preventing minor ailments. You are set to enjoy a great time with family. Weather can play spoilsport in a long journey, but you will enjoy yourself no matter what! Your property is likely to give excellent returns. You are likely to imporve academically.

Taurus

APRIL 21 - MAY 21 A lifestyle change is possible for some, just to live healthily. Parents’ advice will come in handy in making an important decision. Timely action will be required to make an out of town journey possible. A piece of good news can brighten your day. Romance comes back into your life.

Gemini

MAY 22 - JUNE 21 You may get busy organising something on the social front. You may need to put your ideas into action, if you want to prove yourself. A party may be thrown in your honour at work. Your good performance is likely to be noticed by higher ups. You will have to be more focused.

Cancer

JUNE 22 - JULY 22 A celebration can find you in your element today.

Praise and honour are likely to greet you in something that you have managed to achieve. You will be a pillar of strength to a friend or associate. A good day at work is foreseen as you make your mark in front of those who matter.

Leo

JULY 23 - AUGUST 22 A change of job is likely to give you better salary and perks. Those in business will soon get a chance to make profits. A new deal is likely to come through and give you a taste of success. Spending time with lover proves most fulfilling. This is the time when you enjoy yourself.

CITY FIRST

H

ops n Taters, a Resto-Loung e where the food menu is panned across European, Indian and Oriental cuisines, came into being after a beautiful journey spent by the owner, Niti Kasliwal and her husband in a quaint little city of Ulm, the birthplace of Albert Einstein, in South Germany for about a decade. The Menu curated at Hops n Taters has quite a few delicacies that were picked up by them from their travels and trying out local cuisines all across Europe. A very special dish called the Flammkuchen is one such culinary delight!

Now, what exactly is it? It is a German-French thin crust crispy and smoky Pizza that they tasted in the fairy tale city of Ulm. Sitting at the Danube riverside restaurant ‘Wildermann’, the first bite into this heavenly pizza was a taste that they had never experienced before. Flammkuchen (pronounced flam- KOOK-en) comes from South Germany and the Alsace region of France. Rather than a tomato sauce, the dough for Flammkuchen is spread with Creme fraiche, a thick French soured cream. The crust is incredibly thin, crisp and blistered. While you can use any toppings that you like for your Flammkuchen, the most traditional combination includes bacon and caramelized onions. These are seasoned only with a bit of nutmeg and black pepper. Nowadays, vegetarian options are also very popular because of the increasing vegetarianism.

At Hops n Taters, the Flammkuchen is topped with bell peppers, onions, olives and Feta Cheese. This tastes absolutely heavenly, especially with a dash of chilly flakes. It goes well with a chilled glass of Beer or Wine. Flammkuchen is quite a hit among the customers of Hops n Taters! Niti Kasliwal, a bigtime foodie herself, stated that her passion for good food and hospitality made her venture into

Multi-cultural

CUISINES

the little towns of Europe. Jaipur has recently undergone a radical change in its culinary skills and expectations.

Jaipurites are very welltravelled and exposed to different cuisines nowadays and are very eager to try out new dishes contrary to the earlier comfort food like Paneer Butter Masala or Dal Makhni. Fusion food has also shown a drastic increase along with exotic authentic foreign cuisines. People are looking forward to enjoying their favourite dishes which they enjoy on their vacations right here in their own Pink City. Hops n Taters has an upbeat ambience and they make sure to give you an unforgettable experience with the best of

RECIPE FOR FLAMMKUCHEN PREP TIME: 15 mins

COOKING TIME: 25 mins

EQUIPMENT

METHOD





Preheat the oven to 250°C or 428°F



In a bowl mix the crème Fraiche and sour cream with a spoon until combined.

Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.



Spread the crème Fraichesour cream mixture on the base with the back of the spoon. Leave around 0.5 cm space for the edge.



Slice the onions very finely.

Place them in a bowl and cover them with a little water. Steam them in the microwave for around 1 minute at 600 Watt. This will prevent the onions from burning too quickly.



Spread the onions and bacon on top.



Place in the flammkuchen in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Every oven is different so keep an eye on it so it does not crisp too much. There is no definite sign when the flammkuchen is ready. When the edges turn crisp and golden brown, remove the bread from the oven and check if the middle is done well.



Serve straight away!



Vegetarian Flammkuchen with goats cheese and apple or figs is also a popular option.

baking tray 40 x 36 cm  baking parchment  Rolling Pin

INGREDIENTS  

     

Virgo

AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 22 Appreciation is in store for some homemakers. A professional victory is yours if you play your cards well today. Those in business will be able to maintain good earning. You are likely to enjoy good health. Young lovers are likely to enjoy total bliss. you might get a good property deal.

Niti Kasliwal

  

2 tbsp olive oil 125 ml water 4.2 fl oz or 0.5 cup 1 pinch salt 250 g flour 8.8 oz or 2 cups For the topping 2 onions about 150 gr (7 oz) 100 gr bacon 3.5 oz - cubed 50 gr creme fraiche 1.7 oz - if not available use greek yoghurt 50 gr sour cream 1.7 oz black pepper salt



Whisk the water, olive oil, salt and flour together in the bowl with a hand or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment.



Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

Divide the dough into two portions.



With a rolling pin, stretch the dough to a thin, around

3 mm thickness. Place the dough on a sheet of baking parchment.

this industry to introduce fellow Jaipurites to some different and not so known delicacies, like Hungarian Langos, Mushroom Pate with Pita, Artichoke Dip, Goats’ Cheese Galette, Ladybird Croquettes, Parmesan Crisps with Garlic Feta dip, etc. from

food curated to match the tastes of fellow Jaipurites set in an atmosphere where one can just chill for hours, drink to your heart’s content with the amazing live music weekends to spend some fascinating moments with your friends and family.

FA CE OF TH ED AY

YOUR DAY

10

Libra

SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 22 Your strategy to promote yourself on the professional front will bear fruits.

You may need to speed up things on the academic front to remain ahead. On the social front, the day finds you in your element. Something special awaits you on the romantic front today.

Someone is likely to make you proud.

Scorpio

OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22 Professionals will be able to give their best in a new situation. Financially, this day may prove lucky for you, so go ask for the raise that is keeping you on tenterhooks. Don’t take any chances with your health today. You will succeed in putting your stagnant love life back on the track.

AMBIKA G KRISHNAN, Beauty Expert

Sagittarius

NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 21 Your own happiness is in your hands today. This is a favourable day for completing pending jobs. Financially, no problems are foreseen. It is best to avoid outside food. Much fun is in store on the social front. Those in love with the adventures are likely to chase the excitement very soon.

Capricorn

DECEMBER 22 - JANUARY 20 Some positive changes can be expected on the home front. This seems a good day for job seekers. Good luck promises to brighten your day.

New avenues for earning open up as you get more determined. Getting into a favourable situation on the academic front is possible.

Aquarius

JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 18 Your professionalism in handling problem areas will be appreciated. Tenant troubles are foreseen for some house owners. You will find family life more than fulfilling. A senior is likely to put in a good word for you to the higher ups. Financially, you will be able to consolidate your position.

Pisces

FEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 20 Some favourable developments on the social front are foreseen. Good performance on the academic front will help enhance your reputation at work. Buying new furniture or a major appliance is possible. Those trying to get back their money will succeed. A healthy phase of life begins.

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ETC AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021

11

A TRIBUTE TO THE

TRUE LEGEND Dilip Kumar breathed his last on Wednesday morning after battling advanced prostate cancer. His absence has left a void in the world of Indian cinema. As I remember the legendary actor, I am also taken back to the time when I could hear his songs and enter into a world of my own. Remembering the good old days with some of my favourite songs!

ANITA HADA

anita.hada@firstindianews.com

M

y Dad would often sing Shaam-egam ki kasam when he was in one of his ‘moods’ and that was my introduction to Dilip Kumar, the song focusing on a young devastatingly handsome Dilip Kumar’s face remains a favourite to date.

His numbers with Vijyanthimala are a breed apart.

What a couple they made onscreen. I think I have already confessed once that they are among my favourite. The first song I remember is Dil tadap tadap ke keh raha hai ki aa bhi aaja from Madhumati. I found it endearing how they sang it around trees, moving all the time, never touching and no physical contact it all, it had a quality of expression of love no longer found on the screen. Then of course Maang ke saath tum-

hara on the tonga with hair pushed back in the wind, he and his leading lady were both beautiful. Udein jab jab Zulfein teri- is a conversation of love with expressions and emotions flowing freely. I loved the romance of Dilip and Vijyathimala in the idyllic setting of fountains, a wooden bridge as sings to her “tere husn ki kya tareef karun”… with cute loving actions of pulling each other by invisible strings!

How can I forget, Madhuban mein radhika naache re… the typical hand movements of Dilip Kumar wooed me in this movie, one of his best with wonderful comic scenes. What a roller coaster!

Mere pairon meinn ghunghru bandha de where a ‘high’ Dilip Kumar wows among a bevy of women in a perfect dhoti-kurta is a personal favourite for all times it has been enacted in family weddings! Reminds me of another favourite from GungaJaman- Nain Lad jayi hain, the steps executed by the young Dilip Kumar are nothing short of a marvel. It’s one of his best performances.

Koi sagar dil ko behlata nahin and aaj purani raahon se are songs seeped in sadness, perfectly brought to screen by our tragedy king Dilip! My alltime favourites are his two bhajansSukh ke sab saathi and ram chandra ke gaye siya se.

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AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021

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BENEATH THE FACADE

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CAPTURED!

SUSHMITA AIND

A

multi-talented phenomenon, Dr Mahaveer Nathawat shared insights about his journey as he looks forward to his future goals. Dr Nathwat is a renowned radiologist.

Initially, he was taught at home by his mother and he took admission in school in the sixth standard. His father was a police officer who instilled the values of hard work and discipline in him. He displayed interests in sports and extra curriculum activities. He had been the Captain of the Rajasthan Hand-

Spotting the Great Indian bustard in the Thar Desert

Receiving trophy for the best athlete

ball team. After pursuing his education in MBBS, he was selected in the Army, although his mother couldn’t see

him pursuing a career in the Army, but, that didn’t stop him from moving forward.

Dr Mahaveer has worked on making

medicines available for lesser costs, he also started a diagnostic lab back in the year 1982. Meanwhile, he also pursued his hob-

bies such as traveling.

He was fond of clicking pictures of birds and spotting them. To date, he has explored over 750+ variety of birds from different sanctuaries in India.

Currently, he is focusing on reducing the cost of medicine and making it available to the general public as people have been suffering in the ongoing post-pandemic era.

The very sight of the peacock is a heavenly experience altogether. CS Niranjan Arya couldn’t help but capture the moment as the pretty being wandered around in his premises, creating a beautiful display of colours.

NOT JUST FEEDING THE HUNGRY Dr Mahaveer Nathawat

sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in

RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS

EVENT!

—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

During the food distribution drive CITY FIRST

T Dr Subhash Garg addressing the online audience during DBM

Students of Seedling International Academy celebrated their IB Diplomas by thanking the school and their teachers for playing a pivotal role in their success on Wednesday. Divvya Ghiya, celebrating his superlative dream score of 43 in IB, said, “the IB Board has given me a sense of purpose and passion that is immeasurable and notable.”CEO & Director of Seedling Schools, Dr Sandeep Bakshi, congratulate his entire team, Parents and Students for helping students aspire for success.

D

r Subhash Garg, Minister of State for Health, in a session with Digital Baal Mela children said that the Rajasthan government has started a survey to identify orphan children. He came

Khadi Prakritik Paint

to the creative platform ‘Digital Baal Mela-2021’, sponsored by Future Society and LIC and held a special discussion with the children on the third wave of corona today.

Dr Subhash Garg exposed that there is no need for the chil-

dren to worry. The Rajasthan government has started preparations to secure it from the third wave. He said that the survey has also been started to provide all facilities to the orphan children, so that the future of any

child should not be affected due to Corona.

The leader of today’s dialogue was chosen as Lalita Babal of Nagaur, who sought suggestions from Health Minister Dr Subhash Garg for the rumours about the vaccine in her area. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

CITY FIRST

Dr Subhash Garg

he zero fund organisation, Robin Hood Army (RHA) has been constantly striving to fight hunger in over 200 cities of India.

The food distribution drives across Jaipur are an example of what this organisation has achieved since its inception in 2014. A group of volunteers, also known as ‘Robins’ come forward and contribute towards making society a better place to live in

for each and all. During the Covid times, RHA Jaipur took the responsibility of distributing food to the hungry and made sure that no one slept hungry. The entire mission is being led by Robins who make sure to distribute food packets be it noon, evening or during the night.

Apart from food, RHA also focuses on providing education to the children, donate blood to the ones in need and reaching out to as many people as they can.

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

CAUGHT IN THE CLAWS A fish was caught in the claws of a kite on Wednesday in Gujarat. This heart-throbbing incident was captured into a beautiful photograph.

Nitin Gadkari inaugurating the unit of Khadi Prakritik Paints CITY FIRST

BATTLE OF BUSINESSES

T

he formal inauguration of the ‘Renovated Automatic Manufacturing Unit of Khadi Prakritik Paint’ established in Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute Jaipur was done by Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME through a video conference on Wednesday. Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairman, Khadi & Village Industries Commission graced the program as guest of honour.

The Khadi Prakritik paint has been developed by scientists on optimal utilization of cow dung components for making

CITY FIRST, GUJARAT

environmentally friendly and cost-effective Prakritik Distemper and Emulsion paint. The Prakritik Distemper and emulsion paint have been tested from reputed laboratories of the country and all the properties were found satisfactory as per standards. The ‘khadi India online’ por-

tal has also added this paint to their portal through which the Institute is getting orders from various parts of the country. The developed technology shall open new avenues for micro, small and medium enterprises. A total of 418 candidates have been trained by the institute country. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

D

uring the last 2 years, when the Whole world was battling with the Covid-19 pandemic and the morale of businesses was at an all-time low, a strong networking forum called BIZ TREEZ was launched

by Riddhi Rawal on December 12 to revive small businesses and help entrepreneurs.

Talking about the concept of a monthlong battle of KURUKSHETRA - 21, Rawal introduced a concept of Battle of Business ‘KURUKSHETRA -21.’

“The whole Biz Treez family was divided into 7 teams with their individual captains and there were rounds of power play, semi finals and finals to add to the spice. Every week teams were eliminated

The team of entreprenuers

and finally we are happy to give away these awards to the 18 most deserving and passion-

ate warriors of BIZ TREEZ family,” Rawal mentioned. The award ceremony was held in

Apical Banquets, near H L Commerce College, Navrangpura on Tuesday. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in