First India-Ahmedabad Edition-02 October 2020

AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

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RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 307

ASSEMBLY POLLS: SHAH TO LEAD BJP’S CHARGE IN BENGAL

REMEMBERING GANDHIJI IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

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HIGH RAHUL PUSHED IN COP SCUFFLE

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD 25°C - 35°C

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HATHRAS

DRAMA

In dramatic scenes on highway between Delhi & UP, as Cong leaders Rahul & Priyanka marched to meet family of gang-rape victim cremated in the dead of the night

Aditi Nagar

Noida: High drama prevailed on Thursday after Uttar Pradesh Police personnel pushed former Congress President Rahul Gandhi to the ground on the Yamuna Expressway and detained him while he was walking towards Hathras to meet the family of the rape victim. Gandhi, along with his sister Priyanka and other senior leaders, had left Delhi in the morning to meet the family of the victim.

Later both Rahul and Priyanka were detained

by UP police. Sources said they were taken away in a police jeep and kept in a guest house for sometime after which they were release. They are now headed back towards Delhi escorted by the UP police, they said.

Turn on P6

Cong leader Ahmed Patel tests Corona positive

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said he has tested positive for Covid-19 and has gone into self-isolation at his New Delhi residence on Thursday. Taking to Twitter, Patel urged those who had come in contact with him recently to self-isolate.

Meanwhile, CM Ashok Gehlot took to twitter and wished the senior Congress leader a speedy recovery.

Rahul Gandhi being roughed up by UP Police at Yamuna Expressway while he was on his way to Hathras, on Thursday; Rahul fell down as he is manhandled; Priyanka Gandhi Vadra takes a look at Rahul’s hand.

—Photos by ANI

HATHRAS WOMAN NOT RAPED: UP POLICE

OPPN FLAYS COPS

Lucknow: Forensic report of Hathras victim, who succumbed to her injuries following an alleged gang rape, shows that she was not raped, Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said on Thursday. “The forensic science laboratory report clearly says that sperm was not found in the samples collected from the woman... The report has made it clear that the woman was not raped,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile taking suo motu cognisance of the death, Lucknow bench of Allahabad HC issued notices to UP govt on Thursday. Victim’s family has demanded CBI probe.

The Opposition leaders also came down hard on the UP government. While NCP chief Pawar called the “reckless behaviour” of Uttar Pradesh Police towards Rahul Gandhi “extremely condemnable”, DMK president M K Stalin demanded that UP CM Yogi Adityanath apologise for the “inhumane treatment” meted out to Gandhi.

Committed to hold safe & secure polls in Bihar: CEC

ASHOK GEHLOT @ASHOKGEHLOT51 I condemn strongly the way UP police has detained Congress leader Rahul Gandhi ji & Priyanka Gandhi ji illegally.

They misbehaved with Rahul ji. This is undemocratic & brutal use of force. UP BJP Govt’s attempt to harass opposition leaders like this is reprehensible.

VVIP PLANE AIR INDIA ONE ARRIVES

Dr Anita Patna: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Thursday said the election panel is committed to safe and secure election in Bihar amid Covid-19 pandemic. Arora was briefing media persons in Patna at the end of three day Bihar visit for review of poll preparedness in the state.

The CEC said the commission will ensure conducive atmosphere for polls in Corona period and Bihar elections will be a step towards leap of faith.

He said the number of polling stations have been increased to over 1.06 lakh to manage the crowd. Only 1,000 voters will be allowed at one

CEC Sunil Arora addressing a press conference for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, in Patna on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

polling booth. The CEC said nodal medical officers have been appointed at three levels to oversee the Covid-19 preventive arrangements.

Chief Electoral Officer and all District Election Officers have been asked to ensure preventive measures to curb Covid cases. He said the

voter’s awareness programme SVEEP will focus on such preventive measures.

Arora added that free, fair and peaceful election will be ensured and those who will try to incite communal and caste violence using social media will be dealt with stringent law.

Custom-made B777 aircraft will be used to fly the President, Vice President and Prime Minister, arrived in Delhi from the US on Thursday. Air India One, which is the call sign of the aircraft, has state-of-the-art missile defence systems called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS).

During the travel of the VVIPs, the two B777 aircraft will be operated by pilots of the Indian Air Force.

Pak violates ceasefire in J&K, 2 soldiers killed Srinagar: Three soldiers of the Indian army were killed and five injured in separate incidents during heavy shelling by Pakistan along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The troops responded

strongly to the enemy fire, said the army, alleging that Pakistan used mortars to target Indian positions.

“A befitting response is being given,” the army said. The ceasefire violation started

last night as Pakistan launched unprovoked firing in the Mankote and Krishna Ghati sectors, a defense spokesperson said today.

Two soldiers were killed in firing by Pakistan in the Nowgam sec-

tor of Kupwara district in North Kashmir early this morning.

A third soldier was killed in overnight firing in Poonch. The injured soldiers were evacuated, the spokesman said.

—ANI

NO UPGRADE NEEDED

Revival of hope: Gandhi Ashram inmates could get to stay longer Residents have been protesting the government’s plan to “modernize” the Mahatma’s Sabarmati Ashram First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Usually, delays in a government project are cause for complaint.

Not this time, though, and not for the 200 families who have been protesting the proposed “upgradation” to the Gandhi

Ashram.

Last year, the Centre and the state government had announced that Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram would be converted into a “World Class Complex

by October 2, 2020”. The activists and families who live in the Ashram had opposed the move

vehemently.

However, the government’s plan is yet

to take off, at least partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This has brought a glimmer of hope to Ashram residents such as

Dhimant Badhiya. He is one of about 2,500 people who call the Harijan Ashram their home-many of their forefathers were brought here from different parts of the country by the Mahatma Gandhi between 1917 and 1930. They have been the most vocal opponents of the plan to “modernize” the 32-acres Ashram complex, and now hope to be allowed to stay on the premises for some more time.

Badhiya claims the government is trying to buy people out of their traditional homes. “The government is reaching out via influential people to the families who live here and trying to lure them with the offer of a new residence--a flat--and some money to vacate the place. And they are doing all this quietly so as to avoid any mass protests,” he said.

He added, “Not a single family wants any change to the existing structure. We want the government to reveal its idea. We want to see their plan. Our families have been staying here for more than 100 years.

We have a special attachment to this place.

We want to keep Bapu’s memory alive. But the government is content to keep us in the dark instead of meeting with us and sharing its vision,” he said.

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AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020

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WITH 1,300 VILLAGE COMPUTER ENTREPRENEURS ON AN INDEFINITE STRIKE, MANY FARMERS WERE FORCED TO GO HOME EMPTY-HANDED Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: Groundnut procurement in Gujarat hit a speed bump on Day 1, as farmers lined up at their village panchayat offices, only to find that Village Computer Entrepreneurs (VCEs) were on strike, meaning they could not fill online forms for registering their harvests. Still, the farmers are hopeful that they will be spared from further such trouble when actual procurement begins on October 21.

With as many as 13,000 VCEs across the state set to continue their strike until the government regularizes their services and releases the dues owed to them, disappointed farmers complain that there is no surety of when the registration process will resume.

However, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel has assured farmers that the VCE strike will be addressed soon and that the registration process will begin again. He also assured farmers that registration for crop-damage compensation would also continue in a timely manner.

The government is procuring groundnut through the state-run Gujarat State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. It will set up a procurement centre at 130 APMC across the state, said Sanjay Modi, General Manager of the corporation.

Speaking on the VCE strike, Modi said, “The corporation has paid VCEs Rs24 lakh for the last round of registration. If there are any pending dues, they will be cleared at the earliest.”

FARMERS’ REGISTRATION

HITS SNAG ON DAY 1

—FILE PHOTOS

Groundnut harvests arrive at the Rajkot Market yard.

As of Thursday afternoon, as many as 2,300 farmers managed to register their harvests despite the glitches. Modi added that since a number of documents need

to be uploaded, the registration is being kept open from 6 am to late evening. “Each VCE has his limitation so we don’t expect a very high number of registrations

from each centre on a daily basis,” he said.

Since the agriculture department wants to procure 25% of the production, the corporation has planned to pro-

cure 13.60 lakh tonnes of groundnut from farmers. The state warehousing corporation has tied up with 2,000 godowns where the procured ground-

PLAYING IT SAFE

NOW, BIANNUAL FIRE NOC MANDATORY FOR HIGH-RISE, COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS l Rupani govt says engineers to be trained as third-party inspectors for fire safety First India Bureau Gandhinagar: A day after it was pulled up by the state High Court for its lax implementation of fire safety norms, the state government has now announced that high-rise and commercial buildings will have to update their fire NOCs (noobjection certificates) every six months.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also said that youth with Bachelors degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering will be trained in fire safety norms and regulations and will be hired as fire safety officers. They will then be employed to inspect high-rise buildings, as well as commercial ones such as hotels, hospitals, colleges and industrial units.

Gujarat has more

than five lakh buildings that require fire safety certification.

Until recently, these buildings were required to procure an NOC from the fire department. However, under Thursday’s directive, which comes into immediate effect, they will need to get the document renewed every six months.

Also on Thursday, Rupani e-launched various projects of the sports, youth and cultural department through video conference from Gandhinagar. These development works include a mobile to sports platform, Employment Guidance Centres for athletes, and projects to develop sports grounds in 500 villages.

On the occasion, Rupani reiterated the state’s commitment

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also launched sports and youth cultural programmes through a video conference on Thursday.

to providing intensive training to Gujarat’s enthusiastic and talented sportspersons oat the national and international level and to ensure their employment.

He added, “Just like Gujarat is Number One in start-up rankings, innovation and in the establishment of various universities, now we have to become a leader in sports activities in the future.”

To this end, the government has taken an innovative initiative to develop sports fields in 500 villages in an effort to develop sports at the rural level in order to motivate the youth towards sports.

Rupani also said that the state government has set up a vast network of sports training centres through the Sports Authority of Gujarat and developed

the infrastructure to provide intensive training to the youth through sports complexes in every district up to the level of the Olympic Games.

In addition, a budget of Rs500 crore has been allocated for the development of sports activities. Khel Mahakumbh and Kala Mahakumbh are platforms for the youth to show their skills and passion.

nut will be stocked.

The corporation expects farmers to follow the prescribed quality standards and so they don’t face rejection. It is planning

to depute professors and assistant professors from Agriculture Universities to ensure that there is no complaint from farmers.

Deputy

mamlatdars and talatis will also be deputed from district collectorates to supervise the procurement process that is slated to begin October 21.

Minority Committee asks Gov to withdraw Goonda Bill 2020 First India Bureau Ahmedabad: In the last week of September, the state Assembly passed the Goonda and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Bill, 2020, amid opposition from the Congress party, who alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was using the Bill to hide its failure in curbing crime in Gujarat.

Now, Mujahid Nafees—the convenor of the Minority Coordination Committee— has written to Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, requesting that he not sign the Bill that would create the new Goonda Act. The law is meant to target people indulging in anti-social activities, such as gambling, drug trafficking, human and immoral trafficking, kidnapping, land grabbing, loan sharking, bootlegging, etc. However, Nafees points out that the Bill does not clearly define the term “goonda” and hence could be used to target minorities and other marginalized groups.

“The passed Bill is totally unconstitution-

Gujarat Assembly.

al. The definition of ‘goonda’ is unclear. It allows the police to arrest as any individual as a goonda—even if he or she is advocating about the rights of a group, caste or community. This also means that the owner or officer of any factory or industrial unit can label a labourer as a goonda if they talk about justice or demand any rights,” he stated.

He added that many provisions in the Bill which are in conflict with existing laws/acts.

“The PASA (Prevention of Anti-Social Activities) Act has been in existence since 1985. Yet, the govern-

—FILE PHOTOS

ment wants to introduce a new Act on the pretext that PASA does not deal with matters like gambling, land grabbing, illegal trade and the sale of liquor. So, I want to know who has failed to implement the existing acts and laws? What steps have been taken against them?” he asked.

Nafees also alleged that the Goonda Act is merely a means to stop political protests and mute the voices of human rights activists. “I have appealed to the governor not to sign the Bill and make it an Act. I requested him to withdraw this bill,” Nafees said.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020

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Dang only district with zero nCov deaths 1,351 fresh cases and 10 more fatalities in the past 24 hours take the state’s total tally up to 1,38,745 cases and death toll to 3,463 —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Haresh Jhala Ahmedabad: Its low population density should have made Dang district more or less bulletproof against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Yet, COVID-19 has found its way even here. The district has so far reported a total of 105 confirmed cases. The only saving grace is that Dang district—despite not having the best health infrastructure—has not reported any fatalities resulting from the Sars-CoV-2 virus, making it an exception among the state’s districts.

Surat lies at the other end of the spectrum with a death toll of 288, followed by Ahmedabad (193), Rajkot (155), Vadodara (134), and Jamnagar (92) till date. In the past 24 hours, the state has conducted

Panchmahal, Vadodara and Sabarkantha.

On the first day of the fourth month, Surat still tops the list of single-day

jumps, having reported 288 new cases on Thursday. Of these, 176 came from the city and 112 came from rural areas.

There are now 2,516 active cases in the district.

Ahmedabad witnessed 193 cases, 172 were from the city and 21 from rural areas. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has declared eight new microcontainment zones, bringing the total of such zones up to 197.

Vadodara city tested 4,381 samples, of which 117 came back sero-positive. There are now 1,661 active cases there. An Assistant Sub-Inspector succumbed to the virus.

Other cases have come from Rajkot (155), Vadodara (158), Jamnagar (92), Bhavnagar (46), Gandhinagar (37), Banaskantha (34), Amreli (31), Patan (28), Junagadh (27), Kutch (26), Panchmahal (24) and Bharuch (22).

38 Surat police officers donate blood

NDDB to launch ‘companion’ helpline for dairy farmers

People maintain social distancing as they wait to get tested for COVID-19 in Ahmedabad.

QUICK OVERVIEW OF NEW CASES

56,738 tests, and thus detected 1,351 new cases.

There are now 16,717 active cases in the state, with 89 patients on ven-

tilator support. Ten patients died in the past 24 hours—four from Surat, three from Ahmedabad, and one each from

GHCAA calls for justice for murdered advocate

First India Bureau

High Court of Gujarat.

Dalit advocate Devjibhai Maheshwari was stabbed to death last Friday had also alleged that the murder was politically motivated.

The police arrested Bharat Rawal, the prime accused who had been caught redhanded on CCTV cameras, in Mumbai within 24 hours of the murder. Border Range Inspector-General JR Mothaliya had constituted and headed a Special Investigation Team to handle the manhunt.

—FILE PHOTO

The Dalit community in Rapar had staged protests for three consecutive days following the murder.

Advocate Maheshwari’s relatives had also refused to take possession of his body for final rites. They had said that they would accept the body only after all the eleven persons accused by Meenakshiben were arrested. However, the police intervened and the relatives finally took possession of the deceased’s body on Monday. He was later cremated at his native village in Abdasa taluka.

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Having been was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, Congress leader and former Union Minister Bharatsinh Solanki has said he is unsure of when he will return to active politics. He had been hospitalized for 101 days, 51 of which he spent on ventilator support.

“I am very grateful to the doctors and nursing staff for this opportunity. Millions of Congress workers prayed for my health,” he said, adding, “I have received a new lease on life but I am

Bharatsinh Solanki leaves the hospital in the company of party leaders and medical staff. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

not sure when I will be able to return to active politics.”

Solanki had tested positive for the novel coronavirus in June.

In addition to COVID-19, he was also treated for issues including high blood pressure, kidney problems, and asthma.

First India Bureau

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court Advocate Association (GHCAA) has condemned the murder of Dalit advocate and activist Devjibhai Maheshwari in Rapar town of Kutch district.

The association has also written to the state government demanding justice for the family of the deceased.

In a letter to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, GHCAA has demanded that strict action be taken against all those accused in the stabbing of the advocate in accordance with the law. They have also asked that the trial be handed over to a special court.

Advocate Maheshwari was stabbed to death when he was entering his office last Friday evening. In her statement to the police, Maheshwari’s wife Meenakshiben alleged that 11 persons conspired to murder her husband over disputed community hall property. She

Out of hosp, Cong’s Solanki to take break from politics

Surat: As many as 38 police officers including the city police commissioner, DCP and ACP donated blood on Thursday to mark National Voluntary Blood Donation Day, and to send a unique message to society to come forward and donate blood.

Various programmes, campaigns and blood donation camps are held each year on October 1 to create awareness about blood donation in the city. This year, the donation drive was held at Ambika Niketan Temple.

Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Tomar said, “It came to my notice that there is a shortage of blood in the city.

So the Surat police decided to donate blood first and then create awareness. We hope other people also come forward to donate blood.”

Anand: The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has launched a helpline number to help dairy farmers achieve higher productivity. The helpline number will be launched on Gandhi Jayanti on Friday.

Dilip Rath, chairman of NDDB, said, “From guiding the farmers to providing crucial information for enhancing animal productivity, NDDB’s call centre will prove to be a true companion of farmers. This

Centuries-old rath procession usually sees thousands of devotees pour tonnes of ghee over the idol of Goddess Vardayini to seek her blessings

First India Bureau Gandhinagar: For centuries, the village of Rupal in Gandhinagar district has played host to Palli, an annual procession organized on the ninth night of Navratri, in which hundreds of tonnes of ghee are offered to the Goddess Vardayini. This year, however, Palli is likely to be severely scaled down—assuming it is held at all—and may

be reduced to just a symbolic procession due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the Palli procession, a rath of Goddess Vardayini taken out from the middle of the village.

Thousands of devotees join the procession on its way to the main temple, and pour ghee on the idol to seek blessings from the goddess.

There are two legends associated with the annual event.

First, the village is

Traditional Palli celebrations.

exclusive call centre’s aim is to further strengthen dairy farming and help farmers emerge as an empowered community.”

Pashu Mitra is aimed at providing substantial relief to dairy farmers and facilitating awareness creation of scientific dairying. The facility can be used by dairy farmers for their queries related to animal

health, animal nutrition and animal breeding.

Farmers can dial 7574835051 and their questions will be answered by concerned experts from NDDB. The call centre will operate on weekdays from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm. Farmers can leave a recorded message on holidays and will be contacted on the next working day.

IN THE AIR, ON THE GROUND

Major General Roy Joseph, Additional Director General, NCC Directorate Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu (seen here alongside Group Captain Jignashu Mankad, Commanding Officer 2 Gujarat Air Squadron NCC, Ahmedabad in the blue uniform) inaugurated the first Zen Air Microlight Flight Simulator at Ahmedabad on Thursday. The simulator is expected to be a boon to beginners, who can now be trained in risky procedures while on the ground.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

believed to have provided shelter to the

—FILE PHOTO

Pandavas—who hid their weapons in Ru-

Unemployed youth turns robber to repay debts First India Bureau

Historic annual Rupal Palli on hold this Navratri? 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inquired about Solanki’s health over a phone call. The PM said Solanki has shown remarkable courage during his 101-day ordeal, and wished him good health in the future.

pal—at some point during their exile. They then stopped here again on their way home to collect their weapons, and offered ghee to the goddess.

Similarly, Maharaja Siddhraj Jaysinh of the Solanki dynasty is also believed to have sought the goddess’s blessing before going to war—a war which he then won.

These two instances have led to the belief that one’s wishes are granted if prayers are offered here.

This year, to avoid a further spread of COVID-19, leaders from various social and cultural groups as well as the village panchayat have decided to meet the Gandhinagar district collector with a request to allow a symbolic procession of the rath or Palli. Local sources say that only limited villagers will be allowed in this year’s procession, which will be closed to outsiders.

Ahmedabad: Sola police were surprised to learn that a youth they arrested on Thursday in connection with a robbery earlier this week had a master’s degree in Information Technology. According to police, the accused had lost his job due to the lockdown and was under pressure to repay a debt.

Sola police were investigating a burglary at Somvilla Bungalows.

The accused, Nirav Patel, was working with a leading insurance company, but he lost his job during the lockdown. To repay his debt, he planned out his robbery and reached Somvilla Bungalows, where he tied up a doctor’s family and robbed them of Rs52,000. Police nabbed the accused after checking CCTV footage of the residence.

Police say the accused had even stolen a bike to commit the offence.

The lockdown had brought deep financial problems to the youth, who was otherwise living a normal life.

According to police sources, the accused took lessons in robbery from crime serials. But what he missed was that at the end of every show, justice prevails, more often than not.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

WHAT IS UP GOVT TRYING TO HIDE IN HATHRAS CASE

REMEMBERING GANDHIJI IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 DINESH SINGH

A

s opposition parties took to the streets, some obvious questions were hurled at the government of Uttar Pradesh which is being accused of concealing the truth about the Dalit girl who was raped and strangled in the state’s Hathras district on September 14. What is it that the district police and administration are trying to hide by furtively burning the victim’s body at 3 a.m. against the tenets of Sanatan dharma of which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is a strong proponent? As per Hindu customs, a body should not be cremated at night. Second, what was the hurry to dispose of the body in the absence of the victim’s parents and siblings and then lie about the presence of relatives? What was the need to keep the media away from the victim’s home and why did the Hathras district magistrate threaten the family members from depending too much on the media? Why is the administration not taking any cognizance of the girl’s dying statement in which she said she was gang-raped and dismisses the rape charge outright? And why did the chief minister wait for the girl to die and a nudge from the prime minister himself to talk to her family even though his promise of making UP safe for women went up in flames with the rape victim’s body?

These are the questions that the opposition parties are asking of the government which is riding high on its communal plank and low on the promise of law and order as the government is doing its best to ensure that let the sound bytes die out to prevent the opposition parties, especially the Congress, from running away with the issue.

Already the media focus was on Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who led a march to share the bereaved family’s grief. They were stopped on the way and detained under Section 188, defying official orders, before being sent back to Delhi by policemen. In a scuffle with policemen, Rahul Gandhi fell on the ground. The Congress leader alleged that he was hit by a lathi blow and pushed to the ground. The Bharatiya Janata Party called it a drama for optics.

But that is what political parties, including the BJP do whenever such a tragedy happens. Women, however, continue to remain soft targets for rapists in UP and many other states.

As two more rapes were reported from the state on Thursday, the Opposition demanded the chief minister’s resignation. It is a demand that will remain unfulfilled as Yogi Adityanath has risen quite a few notches in the eyes of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh for the way he has handled Ayodhya, Muslims, and other pro-Hindu issues. He will come in useful in case the Gyanvapi mosque at Varanasi is to be targeted.

Former Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi

A

Gandhiji is also on record as having said that the only technology that he did not like was the kind that exploited humans. In fact, he has stated that h

s the world reels under the unrelenting onslaught of the Corona pandemic and as we await the launch of an effective vaccine it may be worth its while to learn some lessons from the life and actions of Mahatma Gandhi on the ways and means of tackling the problems that have arisen due to the pandemic. The advantage of such an exercise is that Gandhiji used to desist from verbosity and would consistently render practical, useful advice based on his own experiments and personal learning. Hence his prescriptions are easy to follow and quite simple to implement.

As we are well aware, the economic damage caused by the Corona virus is phenomenal across the globe. India has also been affected rather badly. One of the most badly affected segments of society is closely connected to the rural sector. I speak of the innumerable numbers of migrants situated largely from two of India’s most populous states-Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The situation in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh is also rather worrying. As things stand, lakhs of migrant workers from these states who had been gainfully employed in other parts of India have largely returned to their home states. They have added to the already existing large numbers of unemployed youth.

It is thus evident that devising ways and means for reviving the economy in the states of India in such a manner that the rural sector generates employment and derives benefit is of paramount importance. For states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, tourism was a major player in keeping the economy moving. The pandemic has affected the rural sector of these states the most. The moot point on this day of Gandhi Jayanti is to ponder on what the Mahatma would have done to alleviate the distress that is so evident due to the economy having en-

tered a nosedive. The first lesson that we must derive from Gandhiji’s life is that he was always a highly innovative thinker. All of Gandhiji’s actions were very much out of the box. The other point that I wish to mention is that Gandhiji was never against the use of technology. There has been a very misleading impression and even propaganda which has been perpetuated that Gandhiji was opposed to the use of technology. How can we ignore the facts that Gandhi was forever using the telegraph and the railways for his activities.

At Wardha, he had also installed a telephone booth so that he could communicate with the world at large. In addition, he had also set up a polytechnic for women at Wardha on whose governing body Gandhiji had nominated leading scientists such as C.V. Raman and J. C. Bose. Gandhiji is also on record as having said that the only technology that he did not like was the kind that exploited humans. In fact, he has stated that he was a great admirer of the Singer sewing machine because it helped make the task of sewing that much

The pandemic has affected the rural sector of these states the most. The moot point on this day of Gandhi Jayanti is to ponder on what the Mahatma would have done to alleviate the distress that is so evident due to the economy having entered a nosedive

easier. Hence, it is my contention that Gandhiji would have been happy to use technology to advantage in devising ways and means that would help revive the economy. Then the question arises that Gandhi being Gandhi, would have made some clear and practical suggestions. For instance, when he saw the economic distress of India’s starving millions-especially in the rural areas-he

A man of integrity: Lal Bahadur Shastri A

man with high self-esteem and morals who didn’t even own a car after becoming a Prime Minister and hailed a popular slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” is none other but Lal Bahadur Shastri who played a pivotal role in shaping India’s future. It is an astonishing fact that the student-teacher was born on the same date of October 2nd. Lal Bahadur Shastri was deeply impressed and influenced

by Mahatma Gandhi which led him to join the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. Along with this, he served as a present in Lala Lajpat Rai’s Lok Sevak Mandal and also held a prominent position in Indian National Congress.

After India’s independence, he became one of the important cabinet mem

04

bers, first railway and transport minister in 1952, Commerce and Industry minister in 1959, and a home minister in 1961. He was elected second Primeminister of India in 1964.

Lal Bahadur Shastri advocated the White and Green revolution and created the National Dairy Development Board. He dropped his caste-identified surname, ‘Srivastava’ while working for the betterment of the Harijans at Muzaffarpur.

He was imprisoned for more than two years in participating in Salt Satyagraha. During the Quit India movement, he was imprisoned from 1942 until 1946. In total, he spent 9 years in jail where he utilized his stay by acquainting with the works of western philosophers, revolutionaries, and social reformers. Lal Bahadur Shastri was appointed

General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee with Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister in 1951. He played a significant role in the successes of the Congress Party in the Indian General Elections of 1952, 1957, and 1962.

After the death of the

first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, K. Kamraj [President of Congress Party] was instrumental in making Shastri as a Prime Minister. Shastri’s first broadcast as Prime Minister stated, “There comes a time in the life of every nation when it stands at the

crossroads of history and must choose which way to go. But for us, there need be no difficulty or hesitation, no looking to right or left.

Our way is straight and clear—the building up of a socialist democracy at home with freedom and prosperity for all, and the

maintenance of world peace and friendship with all nations.” His tenure witnessed anti-Hindi agitation in South India. He promoted the White Revolution by supporting the Amul co-operative of Anand, Gujarat, and created the National Dairy Development Board in 1965.

During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, he hailed a slogan, “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” [Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer].

He continued non-alignment and built close relations with the Soviet Union.

He signed the Sirima-Shastri Pact under which 6, 00,000 Indian Tamils were to be repatriated, while 3, 75,000 were to be granted Sri Lankan citizenship.Lal Bahadur Shastri was awarded the Bharat Ratna and a memorial was built for him in Delhi called Vijay Ghat.

came up with the suggestion of popularizing the use of the spinning wheel or the charkha.

Lest anyone get the impression that this was a utopian and impractical idea that could not help bring-about economic emancipation they are mistaken. The charkha is a good and valuable starting point. State governments through their local arms at the block level must straightaway ensure the best possible Internet connections and access of networks for villages and the availability of tablets or even cell phones to selected groups of people. A whole self-employment and economic empowerment programme can then be generated by mentoring by experts through a largely online process for several activities starting with the charkha and leading up to textile and garment production through indigenous designs that when done in creative ways can generate a huge market. E. F. Schumacher’s ideas on Gandhian economics through his book ‘Small Is Beautiful’ would also be most suited in this context.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal Railway Emerges Victorious From COVID-19! Rail Coach Factory manufactured 601 LHB coaches in current financial year as against 366 last year in same period. Railways is taking the vision of Make in India to newer heights to ensure safer & faster travel for passengers.

Mukul Wasnik @MukulWasnik Strongly condemn assault & arrest of @RahulGandhi Ji, while enroute to Hathras. @INCIndia Leaders are wanting to go meet the family of the victim amidst this great tragedy, share their grief and extend support in their fight for justice. Is that a crime now in UP? Shameful.

Spiritual SPEAK

As the heat of a fire reduces wood to ashes, the fire of knowledge burns to ashes all karma. —Bhagavad Gita

SOURCE: MINTAGE WORLD

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Forensic report reveals Hathras PM Modi to inaugurate Atal Tunnel on Oct 3 victim wasn’t raped: UP Police The forensic report of the victim, who succumbed to her injuries following an alleged gang rape, shows that she wasn’t raped, UP ADG of Police Prashant Kumar said Lucknow: The forensic ‘Prez rule report of the Hathras victim, who succumbed should be to her injuries following an alleged gang imposed in UP’ rape, shows that the woman was not raped, Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said on Thursday. “The forensic science laboratory report clearly says that sperm was not found in the samples collected from the woman... The report has made it clear that the woman was not raped,” Kumar said in a press conference here.

The senior police official said that postmortem, which was conducted by a team of doctors in Delhi, has established that the death was caused by trauma of her neck injury. —ANI

According to the postmortem report, the victim died due to the trauma of her neck injury. FSL report also clearly shows that sperm was not found in the collected samples. It suggests that some people twisted the matter to stir caste-based tensio. Police had taken timely action in the matter from the beginning. Further actions will be taken now.

—Prashant Kumar, UP ADG of Police (Law and Order)

Will PM hold another ‘Namaste Trump’ rally? PC New Delhi: Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over US President Donald Trump’’s remarks questioning the credibility of India’’s COVID numbers, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram asked whether the PM will hold another ‘’Namaste Trump’’ rally to honour his “dear friend”.

During the first presidential debate ahead of the US polls, President Trump raised questions over the credibility of India’’s COVID-19 tally, claiming that it was among the countries that do not accurately disclose the number of deaths due to the pandemic.

Reacting to the remarks, Chidambaram said, “Mr Donald Trump clubs India with China

New Delhi: Criminals, mafias and rapists are having a free run under the BJP led UP government said BSP chief Mayawati after a gangrape case was reported from Balrampur, following closely on the heels of the Hathras incident.

“After Hathras incident, I hoped the UP government will take action against people committing crimes against women. But a similar crime has been committed against a Dalit student in Balrampur. Under BJP’s UP government, criminals, mafias and rapists are having a free run,”she said. —ANI

and Russia and accused the three countries of hiding the number of COVID deaths. He also accused the three countries for causing the most air pollution.”

“Will Mr Modi hold another ‘’Namaste Trump!’’ rally to honour his dear friend?” he said, taking a dig at Modi over the grand event held in Ahmedabad during the US president’’s India vis-

it in February this year. “’’In 47 months I have done more than you have in 47 years’’ said Mr Donald Trump in the Presidential debate on Wednesday. If the statement reminds you of someone in India, that’’s your imagination!” PC tweeted. The remarks

by Trump came during his first presidential debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Shimla: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the longest highway tunnel in the world, Atal Tunnel, in Rohtang on October 3, at 10 am.

Atal Tunnel is the longest highway tunnel in the World. The 9.02 Km long tunnel connects Manali to LahaulSpiti valley throughout the year. Earlier the valley was cut off for about 6 months each year owing to heavy snowfall.

The Tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) from the Mean Sea Level. The tunnel reduces the road distance by 46 Kms between Manali and Leh and the time by about five to six hours.

The South Portal of Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 Km from Manali at an altitude of 3,060 meters, while the North Portal of tunnel is located

NARENDRA MODI @NARENDRAMODI Birthday wishes to Rashtrapati Ji. His rich insights and wise understanding of policy matters are great assets for our nation. He is extremely compassionate towards serving the vulnerable. I pray for his good health and long life. @rashtrapatibhvn near village Teling, Sissu, in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3,071 meters.

It is horseshoeshaped, single tube double lane tunnel with a roadway of 8 meters. It is 10.5-metre wide and has a 3.6 x 2.25 meters fireproof emergency egress tunnel built into the main tunnel itself.

IN THE COURTYARD

Refund full air fare of tickets booked in lockdown: SC New Delhi: Airlines will have to refund money collected from tickets that were cancelled following the coronavirus induced lockdown without any cancellation charge, the Supreme Court said on Thursday. The three-judge Bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, passed the order after taking into account the recommendations of the DGCA to refund ticket fares and also approved a credit shell scheme which will be valid till March 31.

The judgement applies for bookings made for both domestic and international tickets during the period. Those who have

purchased tickets through travel agents can collect the refund amount from them once the money is credited back to their account, the court said.

The airlines have been given time to refund the amount to the passengers by March 31 next year, the Supreme Court said.

CONTEMPT CASE

PRASHANT BHUSHAN MOVES SC SEEKING REVIEW OF FINE IMPOSED ON HIM New Delhi: Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Thursday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking review of its August 31 judgement imposing a fine of Re 1 on him in connection with criminal contempt of court case over his tweets.

Notably, Bhushan has already paid the fine of Re 1 but has decided to challenge his conviction in the matter. While paying the fine, Bhushan had made it clear that paying the fine in the registry did not mean that he accepted the Supreme Court’s

judgement.

Bhushan had, on September 14, filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against its judgement convicting him and imposing a fine of Re 1 on him for criminal contempt of court in the suo motu contempt case over his tweets. —ANI

Pak court to hear Jadhav case on October 6 Agri reforms will increase farmers’ income, says Goyal Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed the hearing of the case related to the appointment of defence counsel for Kulbhushan Jadhav on October 6, ARY News reported.

The hearing will be held by a larger bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justice

Amir Farooq, and Justice Mian Gull Hassan Aurangzeb. This comes

JAISHANKAR GREETS CHINESE GOVT ON 71ST ANNIV OF PRC New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday extended his felicitation to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi as well as the Chinese government and the people of China on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the founding of the country. “Extend my felicitations to State Councilor & FM Wang Yi

and the Government and People of PRC on the 71st anniversary of the founding of People’s Republic of China.” Jaishankar tweeted. China’s State Council on Wednesday held a reception in Beijing at The Great Hall of The People to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

after Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson had earlier rejected India’s demand for an Indian lawyer or a Queen’s counsel.

In September, the Islamabad High Court in Pakistan had directed the federal government to give India another chance to appoint a lawyer to represent Jadhav

and adjourned hearing for a month.

Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said that Pakistan has not been able to fulfil its obligations on implementation of ICJ judgment in Kulbhushan Jadhav case and has not yet addressed core issues. —ANI

‘INDIA HAS CULTURE OF LIVING IN HARMONY WITH NATURE’ New York/ New Delhi: Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar while speaking at the Biodiversity Summit at United Nations, said, “the emergence of COVID-19 has emphasized the fact that unregulated exploitation of natural resources coupled with unsustainable food habits and consumption patterns lead to destruction system that supports human life.” “As enshrined in our Vedic scripts ‘’Prakriti Rakshati Rakshita’’ that is if you protect nature, nature will protect you,” he added.

come of our farmers.

By unshackling the agriculture sector, opening it for greater participation of the private sector and new avenues will empower the farmers. Our farmers will have the option of MSP and sell in mandi(s)”, he said. —PTI

New Delhi: Union Minister Piyush Goyal while addressing Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s programme on “New World Order - Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, said “Agri reforms will increase the productivity and in-

SAI APPROVES SHOOTING CAMP FOR CORE OLYMPIC PROBABLES New Delhi: The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has approved the request for training facilities at the Karni Singh Shooting Range for national squad shooters with effect from October 5, 2020. With this 64 additional shooters would be provided ammunition and target on government expense. The SAI had already opened

up the Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi for NRAI core group , developmental group& Khelo India shooters. “SAI also understands requirement of a dedicated camp for shooters preparing for the Olympics & has agreed to coaching camp for the NRAI core group who have been selected as Olympic probable.”

Atal Tunnel has been designed for traffic density of 3,000 cars per day and 1,500 trucks per day with a max speed of 80 km per hour. It has the state of the art electromechanical system including semi transverse ventilation system, SCADA controlled firefighting, illumination and monitoring system.—ANI

Bulls on top of bourses, pvt banks & finances jump Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices closed 1.6 per cent higher on Thursday with across-the-board buying in all sectors as investors hoped for another stimulus package from the government to offset Q1 losses stemming from COVID-19 lockdown.

The BSE S&P Sensex closed 629 points or 1.65 per cent higher at 38,697 while the Nifty 50 gained by 169 points or 1.51 per cent at 11,417.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the postive terrain with Nifty private bank moving up by 3.9 per cent, financial service by 3 per cent and media by 2.9 per cent.

Among stocks, PVR jumped by 8 per cent to Rs 1,310 per share after the government allowed cinemas, theatres, and multiplexes to operate with up to 50 per cent of their seating capacity.

Inox Leisure was up by 6.3 per cent to Rs 287.75 per share. IndusInd Bank witnessed a dramatic jump of 12.4 per cent to close at Rs 593 per share on the back of heavy volumes.

Axis Bank moved up by 4.1 per cent. —ANI

INDIAN AMBASSADOR CALLS ON THAILAND SENATE SPEAKER Bangkok: Indian Ambassador Suchitra Durai on Thursday, called on President of the Senate of Thailand, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai. The Indian Embassy in Thailand said that New Delhi and Bangkok have a long history of parliamentary cooperation. “Ambassador Suchitra Durai called on the President of the Senate of Thailand H.E Mr Pornpetch Wichitcholchai. India and Thailand have a long history of parliamentary cooperation,” India in Thailand tweeted while informing about the recent development.

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RAGA TO HOLD TRACTOR RALLIES IN PB The tractor rallies are scheduled to begin at around 11 am from October 3 to 5 Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will lead tractor rallies across the state from October 3 to 5 in protest against the Centre’s newly enacted agriculture laws.

According to a press release, all Punjab ministers and Congress MLAs will participate in the protest rallies, along with Harish Rawat, All India Congress Committee General Secretary in-charge of Punjab, and PPCC president Sunil Jakhar.

“The tractor rallies, expected to be supported by farmer organisations across the state, will cover more than 50 km, spread over three days in various districts. The tractor rallies, to start around 11 am on each of the three days, will be conducted amid strict COVID-19 protocols,” the release quoted a Punjab Congress spokesperson.

On the first day on October 3 (Saturday), the protest rally will

Long struggle against the black laws: Badal

New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah will be leading the BJP’s charge in West Bengal and will be headed to the State just ahead of Durga Puja, later this month, to address a workers meeting there.

Senior leaders in Delhi and West Bengal met at party president JP Nadda’s residence on Thursday for nearly four hours to hammer out some of the programmes to play up the political activity in the State. West Bengal is scheduled to go to Assembly polls early next year. However, the pertinent issue right now for Bengal, sources said, is to establish coordina-

RAJENDRA PRASAD GOYAL JOINS DIRECTOR (FIN), NHPC

(UPDATED) Rajendra Prasad Goyal, CGM, NHPC Ltd, has taken over the charge as Director (Finance), NHPC Limited.

APURVA CHANDRA JOINS AS SECRETARY, LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT

EC HOLDS VIRTUAL BRIEFING OF EXPENDITURE OBSERVERS

Due to COVID pandemic the Election Commission has organised a virtual briefing of expenditure observers on October 5, 2020.

Captain Amarinder Singh

Rahul Gandhi

RALLIES TO SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS

cover a total distance of 22 km, starting with a public meeting at Badni Kalan in Nihal Singh Wala (district Moga), before crossing Lopon. The rally will

then reach Jagraon (district Ludhiana), covering Chakar, Lakha and Manoke, culminating in a public meeting at Jattpura in Raikot.

Kashyap appears before police in sexual assault case

tion among the power centres in the state.

“There are differences in the state leadership. It needs to be resolved sooner or later.

The sentiment in Bengal is against Mamata and we should be able to deliver on people’s hope,” said a senior BJP leader.

Mumbai: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap arrived at the Versova Police Station in Mumbai on Thursday to appear before the police in connection with the alleged sexual assault case registered against him by actress Payal Ghosh.

The police had yesterday issued a summon to Anurag Kashyap to appear before it today for questioning in the matter. Meanwhile, a team of Versova Police Station took Payal Ghosh to a government hospital in Mumbai’s Andheri for a medical test in the case. The actress had last month filed an FIR against Anurag Kashyap accusing him of sexually assaulting her.

Speaking to ANI, she said, “Five years ago I met Anurag Kashyap regarding work. He called me to his house.

When I went there, he took me to a separate room and tried to sexually assault me.”

many of them were injured.

Rahul earlier questioned senior UP cops saying, “Can you tell me under which law can you stop me from marching towards Hathras,” he asked the police personnel. “I want to go alone to Hathras and on what basis can you arrest me,” he added, to which the cops told him that he had violated Section 188 of the IPC of disobeying orders promulgated by the government during the pandemic.

“In today’s India, only Modi can walk or travel by air. No one

else can,” the former party president added.

In a tweet in Hindi, he earlier said, “In times of sorrow, loved ones are not left alone.

It is Jungle Raj in UP that meeting a family in mourning also scares the government.

Do not be so afraid chief minister.” Priyanka said they were repeatedly stopped from going to Hathras.

“When we all started our march on foot with Rahul ji, we were repeatedly stopped and lathis were rained on us in a barbaric manner. Many workers were injured. But our intention is clear.

Amit Shah

EXPRESSED WRATH

On Day Two, October 4 (Sunday), a total of 20 km would be covered, starting from Barnala Chowk in Sangrur district, from where Rahul and his team will travel by car to Bhawanigarh for a public meeting, before embarking on tractors to Samana (district Patiala). He will be received at Fatehgarh Chhana and Bahman, before ending the day with a public meeting at Grain Market, Samana.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal leading Kisan March on its way to Chandigarh.

Bathinda: Shiromani Akali Dal is beginning a long struggle today to make the government roll back the black laws, said former Union Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal referring to the Farm Laws recently passed intheParliament.“The party left behind everything - alliance, post, government, relations - to become the voice of farmers, who

have lost everything due to these Laws,” said Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

Ahead of the march, the SAD leader visited Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo of Bathinda to seek blessings. She is leading Kisan March of the party from Talwani Sabo, in protest against Farm Laws. The march will culminate at Raj Bhawan.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

Sep accounted for 41.53 per cent of total cases in India Unique patterns in COVID-19 transmission

New Delhi:In the eight months since the first case of coronavirus infection was detected on January 30, September alone recorded 26,21,418 infections, accounting for 41.53 per cent of the over 63 lakh COVID-19 cases reported in the country so far.

The past month also saw 33,390 deaths due to the disease, which is around 33.84 per cent of the total 98,678 deaths recorded so far.

September witnessed 24,33,319 people recuperating from coronavirus infection contributing to around 46.15 per cent of the total 52,73,201 recoveries registered so far in the country. India is at number one position in terms of the number of recovered coronavirus cases followed by Brazil and the US, according to the Johns Hopkins University,.

India is the second worst hit nation in terms of COVID-19 cases after the US, while it

is in the third spot in terms of fatalities globally after the US and Brazil, according to the JHU data. The first positive case of the coronavirus was reported in Kerala on January 30.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and 40 lakh on September 5. It went past 50 lakh on September 16 and crossed 60 lakh on September 28.

“The sticks of an egotistical government cannot stop us. I wish these lathis were used by this police while standing in defence of Hathras’s Dalit daughter,” she said in a tweet in Hindi. She alleged that an “arrogant power” is demonstrating its power “over the dead bodies of innocent girls” and it is indulging in injustice, instead of preventing it.

“Our struggle for women will continue for a safe society and state, where they can live freely and progress,” Priyanka Gandhi tweeted.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala put out a video along with a tweet showing Rahul Gandhi allegedly being roughed. “Lala Lajpat Rai had said that every blow of a stick on my body would prove to be the last nail in the coffin of the British Raj. “The sticks on Rahul ji and Priyanka ji’s convoy will also prove to be the last nail in the coffin of the Yogi government,” Surjewala said in a tweet in Hindi.

The Gandhis were seeking to walk down from Greater Noida to Hathras after their vehicles were stopped by the police. —PTI

A health worker collects sample from a woman in Srinagar.

FROM PG 1 Rahul pushed...

Rahul also fell down in the scuffle after police tried to stop him and his supporters near the Jewar toll plaza. Pictures of the incident were shared by the party. The Congress had said that the Gandhis were arrested by the police. “Shri Rahul Gandhi, Smt Priyanka Gandhi and senior Congress leaders have been arrested by the UP police,” the Congress said on Twitter, using the hashtag “JusticeForIndiasDaughters”.

Priyanka also alleged that the police used lathis on the Congress workers and

POWER Gallery

Apurva Chandra has taken over the charge as Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment in Government of India. He is a 1988 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.

Assembly polls: Shah to lead BJP’s charge in Bengal

JP Nadda

06

New Delhi: Researchers, including those from the Govt of TN, and AP, have conducted one of the largest analysis of COVID-19 epidemiology to date, and have found that both cases and deaths due to the disease have been more heavily concentrated in the 40-69 year age group in India.

The study, published in the journal Science, assessed the disease transmission patterns in 5,75,071 individuals exposed to 84,965 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the two states based on data collected.

Based on the data, the scientists said both cases and deaths in the two Indian states were concentrated in younger cohorts than expected from observations in higherincome countries.

97 IRS OFFICERS APPOINTED EXPENDITURE OBSERVERS

The Election Commission of India has appointed 97 IRS(C&CE) officers of different batches as Expenditure Observers for the Bihar Assembly and bye- elections. The officers belong to 2007 and 2016 batches.

DR. DEVYANI UTTAM KHOBRAGADE APPOINTED AMBASSADOR TO CAMBODIA

Dr. Devyani Uttam Khobragade (IFS:1999), presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

THREE DANIPS OFFICERS AWARDED IPS CADRE

Three DANIPS officers: Md Irshad Hyder, Kumar Gyanesh and Sanjeev Kumar Yadav have been awarded Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre.

108 SSS OFFICERS AWARDED INDIAN STATISTICAL SERVICE CADRE

As many as 108 officers of Subordinate Statistical Service (SSS) have been awarded Indian Statistical Service (ISS) in Junior Time Scale.

TWO SENIOR OFFICERS GET NEW JOBS IN AP

1993 batch IAS officer Anil Kumar Singhal has been posted as Principal Secretary, Health, Medical & Family Welfare Department, Andhra Pradesh, while 1991 batch Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officer AV Dharma Reddy is placed in full additional charge of the post of Executive Officer, Tirumala Tirupati Devesthanams.

MS S APARNA TAKES OVER AS PHARMA SECRETARY

Ms S Aparna has assumed the charge as Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

She is a 1988 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.

LT GEN HARINDER SINGH IS NEW CHIEF OF IMA

Lieutenant General Harinder Singh has been appointed as head of the prestigious Indian Military Academy. He will take over by mid-October to train young cadets to become officers.

LT GEN MENON TO SUCCEED LT GEN HARINDER SINGH

Lt Gen PGK Menon will succeed Lt Gen Harinder Singh as head of the 14 Corps which is also known as the Fire and Fury Corps.

By arrangement with: http:// whispersinthecorridors.com

Continue efforts to implement Jal Jeevan Mission: PM New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to all Village Sarpanchs and Gram Pradhans to continue their efforts towards effective implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in villages to provide tap water to every home, especially poor communities.

“Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi reached out to all Sarpanchs/ Gram Pradhans of the country through a letter dated September 29, 2020 for more effective implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission

(JJM). The goal of the Mission - Har Ghar Jal can be fully realized with the help of all Sarpanch/ Pradhan/ village community leaders as they play a pivotal role in its implementation,” read a press statement from the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Prime Minister mentioned how the contribution made by people for this missions’ success is creating history.

Through this mission, the issue of water supply will not only be addressed, but will also help in tackling water-

borne diseases like cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, encephalitis, typhoid, etc. Also, when the livestock is provided with safe and clean water, it not only improves their health but plays a critical role in improving their productivity, thus enhancing income of families.

PM appealed to people and Gram Panchayats to make Jal Jeevan Mission a people’s movement. The timing of the letter is crucial as the country is in the midst of fighting Corona. —ANI

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AFTER THE

VACCINE

FOR SOME CHILDHOOD DISEASES, THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VACCINE WAS BY ITSELF DECISIVE. BUT THIS MAY NOT BE TRUE OF COVID-19, BECAUSE ADOPTION WILL BE SLOW, EFFECTIVENESS WILL WANE OVER TIME, OR BOTH, IMPLYING THAT THE NEED FOR TESTING WILL BE ONGOING.

T

here is a growing consensus that one or more COVID-19 vaccines will become available at some point in early 2021. Within a year, many people in the United States, and some other countries, will be vaccinated. For some childhood diseases, the development of a vaccine was by itself decisive. But this may not be true of COVID-19, because adoption could be slow or effectiveness wane over time – or both.

In that case, the need to test people both for individual safety and to prevent outbreaks will be ongoing. The long-term problem with testing is already evident: the cost per test is high. In health-care systems where scare medical resources are allocated on a fee-for-service basis, such as in the US, this means that many people cannot afford to get tested. In addition to progress toward a vaccine, we need to make virus testing at scale much cheaper, so that it becomes available to everyone, whatever their income level.

Currently, the untested in the US include most children attending public primary and secondary schools, as well as the teachers and others who work in those schools. They also include millions of older people, including those living in low-income housing (known as Section 202 housing). This lack of access to testing is a major economic and moral issue that will not go away.

The economic problem is centered around schools. If families and teachers are worried about what happens when children go to school, it is hard to get the economy – including jobs and incomes – back on track.

Education disparities, which are already stark, will continue to widen. Some children will never attain the reading and math skills they are missing now. This will likely lower their lifetime incomes.

There are roughly 57 million children in primary and secondary schools in the US, living in 34 million households (of which nearly 24 million have two parents and ten million have one).

There are close to four million teachers and more than one million childcare workers. The continuing failure to provide virus testing in schools thus directly affects about one-third of the population.

SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: CP SHARMA

If an effective vaccine becomes widely available, schools are likely to require children to be vaccinated. But there may be exemptions for religious or

health reasons, as there is now for other vaccines. Health information is confidential, so you do not know who around you has had which vaccines. Tests for

live virus are now non-intrusive (saliva or nasal swab) and can provide considerable reassurance – as well as the ability to detect and stop outbreaks.

Owing to a legacy of official neglect and inaction, 40% of the COVID-related deaths in the US so far have occurred in longterm care facilities, where

many residents are seriously ill and most are over the age of 60.

Now, these facilities have more infection-control resources, testing is available, and the discussion is shifting toward preventing anything like this from happening again.

But we must not forget other vulnerable people, including in minority communities and those living in “congregate” facilities such as apartment buildings.

Many elderly people have been in some form of self-imposed isolation since March, avoiding others as much as possible. By all accounts, the resulting isolation and loneliness is taking an awful toll, including by accelerating aging and potentially pushing more people toward dementia.

New testing technology, including disposable at-home kits, could become part of the solution. There are still questions about how precise these tests will be – how many false negatives and false positives we should expect – when deployed at massive scale. But the main question is how long it will take to establish and run the supply chains necessary to support production and distribution of hundreds of millions of such tests per month.

The other promising development is pooled testing. COVID-19 lab tests typically cost between $25 and $125, depending on the regional market. But the numbers look very different if you build the costs from the bottom up: a couple of dollars for the tube (with or without a swab) to collect samples, a small amount for the logistics of specimen collection at scale (mostly shipping), and whatever it costs to operate the relevant information technology system (including bar codes for the tubes and reporting requirements). Pooling ten or 20 samples in one tube can lower the costs significantly, because it economizes on the expensive reagents needed to run the lab tests.

What do we need to get the cost per person tested down to $5 or even lower? In a single word: competition. As more labs figure out and offer pooled testing, prices will fall. For once, capitalism and market competition can help the people most in need of help.

Ensuring that they receive it will enable all of us get past the scourge of COVID-19.

Knowledge can be gained from the knowledge handed down over generation and but to be wise we need to apply this knowledge to our own life.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

10,21,360 3,43,44,645 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 36,662 DEATHS 13,84,446 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 9,586 DEATHS 6,03,290 CASES

INDIA

08

GUJARAT

99,369 63,72,162 3,463 1,38,744 DEATHS

KARNATAKA 8,994 DEATHS 6,11,837 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

DEATHS

DELHI 5,401 DEATHS 2,82,752 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 1,500 DEATHS 1,37,485 CASES

SC pours cold water on Gujarat’s decision to dilute labour laws

@ahmedpatel

STATE’S APRIL 17 ORDER DILUTED KEY SECTIONS OF THE FACTORIES ACT TO HELP INDUSTRIES Shishir Awasthi New Delhi: In a major setback to the Gujarat Government’s efforts to facilitate Covid19-hit industries, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the April 17 notification of the State Labour and Employment Department granting exemptions to units from provisions of the Factories Act, 1948.

The relaxations related to daily working hours, weekly working hours, intervals for rest and spread-overs of adult workers and even from payment of overtime wages at double rates as fixed under Section 59 of the Act. A bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and K M Joseph

GROSS VIOLATIONS

In a major relief to workers, the Supreme Court has struck down relaxations in Factories Act given by Gujarat.

—FILE PHOTO

passed the order on a petition by Gujarat Mazdoor Sabha, a registered trade union, which contended that the impugned notification invoked the

powers conferred by Section 5 of the Factories Act granting these exemptions from April 20 to July 19, 2020.

The court also direct-

ed that overtime wages should be paid to all eligible workers in Gujarat between April 20 and July 19, the period of the notification.

The union argued

that the Gujarat Government had acted ultra vires its powers under Section 5 that allows the exemptions “in a case of public emergency” for maximum 3 months.

The same section provides that a “public emergency means a grave emergency whereby the security of India or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened, whether by war or external aggression or internal disturbance.”

The petitioner submitted that the notification exempted factories from 4 Sections of the Act and so workers could be made to work 12 hours in a day, 72 hours in a week with 30 minutes break after 6 hours. “The Factories Act, 1948, otherwise provides that workers can only be made to work 9 hours in a day, but 48 hours in a week, with 1 weekly off- thus coming to 8 hours in a day, with 30 minutes break after 5 hours,” the union said.

The President of the United States has made a serious charge that India is concealing Covid19 deaths. We wish to remind him that Gujarat is still paying a price for hosting him in the midst of a pandemic. We hope our Government answers to his allegations.

Former Gujarat Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki-ji has recovered after a long battle with corona. My best wishes are with him and let us hope he returns to public life and continues to work for the party and people.

State ATS nabs arms supplier to mafia don Jayesh Patel

‘Guj tops in arrests of cops HC gets 3 new judges, in custodial death cases’ total strength 30 now First India Bureau

First India Bureau New Delhi: The National Crime Records Bureau has found that Gujarat had the country’s highest number of police personnel arrested in custodial death cases and ranked second to Tamil Nadu in most custodial deaths in 2019.

Not only this, Gujarat was second to Maharashtra in terms of the total number of criminal cases registered against police officers with 201 arrests of police officers. Maharashtra had 288. From the 210 police officers arrested in Gujarat, 196 were chargesheeted with two acquittals.

Released by the Union Home Ministry on

Gujarat reported the most number of arrests of cops in custodial death cases.

—FILE PHOTO

September 29, NCRB’s report, “Crimes in India 2019” , states that 11 people died in police custody in Tamil Nadu in 2019, while Gujarat saw 10 such deaths. The NCRB has prepared the report compiling the data sent by the states and union territories.

The Gujarat Police

have informed the NCRB that a majority of those who died in police custody were not on remand and died either by suicide, illness or road accidents. Judicial inquiry was ordered in 4 cases and magisterial inquiry in 5 of the 10 custodial deaths, while only 3 criminal cases were registered.

Ahmedabad: The Union Ministry of Law and Justice has appointed 3 judges in the Gujarat High Court, taking the total to 30 against the approved strength of 52 judges.

Advocates Vaibhavi Devang Nanavati, Nirzarkumar Desai and Nikhil Kariel are the new judges. Earlier in February, 4 judges were appointed.

Vaibhavi Nanavati is on the panel of various institutions with a strong background. Her father S N Shelat is senior advocate and a former Advocate-General of Gujarat, while her father-in-law Sudhir Nanavati is an eminent Senior Advocate in the

Guj ATS and Jamnagar SOG have arrested an arms supplier from MP.

First India Bureau

Nikhil Kariel

Vaibhavi Nanavati

State. Her husband Devang Nanavati too has built a formidable reputation in the legal fraternity.

Advocate Nikhil Kariel has done his law graduation from the Vaikunta Baliga College of Law from Udupi in Karnataka. He practiced in criminal and civil laws. He had earned a good reputa-

tion among advocates as well as among judges for his style of case presentation and arguments.

Nirzarkumar Desai is a standing counsel for the Central Government and has a wide experience of 2 decades appearing in criminal, civil and tax and constitutional matters.

Ahmedabad: The AntiTerrorists Squad (ATS) of the Gujarat Police, jointly with Jamnagar’s Special Operations Group (SOG), has picked up Madhya Pradesh native Balvirsinh Patva alias Balwant alias Ballu.

Ballu is the key supplier of fire-arms to dreaded extortionist with international links, Jayesh Patel alias Jaysukh Ranpariya, and his organised gang. Patel belongs to Jamnagar.

Ballu, who has been arrested late Wednesday night from Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh,

confessed before the ATS officials that he had supplied over 100 small firearms in Gujarat, mainly to Jayesh Patel.

Jayesh Patel is an Interpol Red Corner tagged criminal with as many as 41 criminal cases of serious nature against his him and wanted by India.

He is learnt to have given a contract to Iqbal alias Bhathiya to bump off one Prof Parshottam Rajani to extort a ransom of Rs 1 crore. Ballu had supplied a pistol and 5 rounds to kill Rajani. Iqbal has been already arrested while Jayesh is still on the run.

OF HUMAN BONDAGE

SURAT’S BRAIN-DEAD WOMAN’S ORGANS GIVE LIFE TO 7 PERSONS Ilaben’s sons said, “We are an ordinary family.

When we learnt she was brain-dead and that her death was certain, we donated her organs.”

First India Bureau Surat: What would be common to these 7 patients in Anand, Surat, Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai?

Organs of braindead Ilaben Nitinbhai Patel of Surat, thanks to the compassion and sense of empathy of her family towards

the suffering of others.

Ilaben fainted after dizziness and convulsions on September 27.

The family immediately admitted her to Venus Hospital where she was declared braindead on September 29 and chances of her revival were remote.

Later, a team of

city-based NGO, Donate Life, reached the hospital and impressed upon her sons Tanveer and Aryan about how organ donation could give a new life to people.

“And they immediately agreed,” Nilesh Mandlewala, the founder of Donate Life, said.

Family of Ilaben, who was declared brain-dead, donated her organs to 7 patients.

Ilaben’s kidneys and liver were given to the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO), which allotted it to the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) in Ahmedabad.

Her one kidney was transplanted in an 18-year-old boy from Surat and another to a girl of the same age from Anand.

Ilaben’s liver was transplanted in a 54-year-old person from Surat by Dr. Pranjal

Modi and his team at the IKDRC. Her heart and lungs were donated to MGM Hospital and Apollo Hospital respectively in Chennai. The heart was transplanted in a 15-year-old girl from Delhi admitted at MGM hospital, while the lungs were transplanted in a 61-yearold woman from Mumbai admitted at Apollo, Chennai. Her eyes were donated to Lok Drashti Eye Bank, Surat.

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY OCTOBER 2, 2020

Cinema is easy literature - many a youth has learnt about Bapu Gandhi through the films made on him, today we walk the path with Bapu!

Sabarmati ka Sant

ANITA HADA

anita.hada@firstindianews.com

T

here have been a lot of movies which have been made on Gandhi, as we can see splashed across this page, but Gandhi by Attenborough tops the list. Many a person has commented that it’s sad that the best movie made on Bapu Gandhi was by a Britisher; earlier, I used to partly agree but now, with time I reject this notion.

Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi is by far the best film made on Bapu’s life and its perfectly okay that it was a British filmmaker who made it. For one thing Gandhi and Gandhian philosophy does not belong to Indians alone and secondly Richard gave 20 years of his life to the making of Gandhi from meeting Motilal Kothari, an Indian who wanted someone to make a film on Bapu till the release of the film. The film not only won accolades and awards around the world and also introduced Mahatma Gandhi and his principles to the world at large.

Richard has made a film on what is his version of Gandhi’s life, leaving out the troublesome and controversial parts. For instance, he does not touch upon the thought process of Godse at all.

For me, nobody could have played Gandhi better

Still from the movie ‘Gandhi’

than Ben Kingsley, he seemed to actually become Gandhi and made Bapu comes alive for us on screen. It is said that Naseeruddin Shah, who had gone to London to give the audition, came to know that Ben Kingsley was already selected to play the role and the auditions were just held to calm things down back in India. If the people knew that a white man was playing the role of Gandhi, it could have c a u s e d anger among the Indians. But Naseeruddin says that the day he saw Ben Kingsley, he knew only Ben could pull it off.

‘Lage Raho Munna bhai’ is not exactly a film on Gandhi but I have featured it here because it brought the Gandhian philosophy to the present generation and taught a powerful Bombaiyya lesson about the relevance of Gandhi and his principles in the rough and tumble of the modern life.

‘Gandhi-My father’ ex-

plores the troubled relationship between Bapu and his son Harilal Gandhi. ‘The Making of the Mahatma’ a joint Indian - South African directed by Shyam Benegal, is exactly about that – how Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became Mahatama Gandhi – his life during his 21 years in South Africa.

‘Hey Ram’ is what Kamal Haasan called his apology to Gandhi. ‘Nine Hours to Rama’ is a British film, that follows a fictionalised Nathuram Godse in the hours before he assassinated Gandhi, it is based on a 1962 novel of the same name by Stanley Wolpert.

The Gandhi Murder is a British-Indian historical political thriller film directed by Karim Traïdia and Pankaj Sehgal. It examines the events leading to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Solar Eclipse- Depth of Darkness is a conspiracy feature based on true events leading to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948, demonstrating a violent, communally charged India at the backdrop of nonviolent Gandhi.

09

ETC www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

ANUBHA JAIN

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

M

icro calligraphy painting on rice grains is an old Indian tradition.

In the olden days, the craft was often used by the kings and emperors to send secret messages. In today’s time, Niru Chhabra is a well-known face among art lovers and connoisseurs who made a niche for herself in the field of miniature calligraphy. Niru has written an exceptional 108 letters of the alphabet on one single rice grain with an ordinary painting brush. On the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Niru has designed 6 different art pieces on 550 rice grains showcasing Bapu’s famous sayings like Ahinsa, Satyagrah, vital happenings from the period of 1869 to 1900.

She has written on more than 75000 rice grains so far. Writing with an ordinary brush makes Niru different from other artists who practice micro calligraphy with fine-pointed pens or pencils. The skill needs immense concentration and dedication. Niru had presented the beautifully designed rice grain

10

Astonishing art of

micro calligraphy on a delicate rice grain!

Niru with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

Niru with PM Modi

art pieces to the former President Shri Shankar Dayal Sharma and Prime Minister Narendra Modi too.

Her outstanding portrayal of designs and calligraphy on the grain is always based on historical, religious, or any patriotic theme. She crafted her art pieces in various languages, viz., Hindi, Urdu, Prakrit, and Sanskrit on different interesting themes like India is a Great Nation, National Anthem, Gayatri Mantra, Terrorism, Vandematram, Jain’s famous Bhaktambar Starot and Namokar Mantra, Gee-

ta Saar, etc. Just with a diploma in Drawing and Painting and without much professional training, Niru has transformed her hobby of painting into such extraordinary skill.

In a candid interview with me, she reminisced, “It has been a long journey when I started all this in 1984. For any art-piece, I work for 8 to 10 hours every day. It is a painstaking task writing on a tiny grain. I took almost four months to write 72 letters on a rice grain which I gifted to the then Prime Minister of India Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1984.” When asked about

YOUR DAY

FA CE OF TH ED AY

Niru Chhabra

AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

any hurdles in practicing this art form, she laughed and said, “The only obstacle is the size of the art piece which is so small and always requires a magnifying glass to see the content written on it.”

Niru had presented a rice grain with “Long Live Indo-US friendship” written on it to President Bill Clinton, when he visited Jaipur on 23 March 2000.

Later, on 22 May 2000, Niru received Clinton’s handwritten note of appreciation for her craft. Niru showed her craftsmanship to President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayeva as well. She presented the rice grain art piece to the President Nazarbayeva with Inspirational messages written on it -Live and Let Live: Lord Mahaveer; Stop Terrorism. After seeing such marvelous skill, the Presi-

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Look for long term benefits rather than concentrating on the short ones. An outing with family isn’t possible at current time but making memories at home is definitely possible so enjoy and make a deep bond with each other. Life is too short to keep resentments.

Family is your one big strength and they will always stand by you. For students, you must give your everything to your assignment to not only excel in it but also completing your assignment within the time frame. You have to make sure that you don’t hurt anyone.

You have a good health and there is nothing to worry as such. To prevent any monetary loss, you should care to read your business proposal twice before taking any decision. In office, you may need to persuade someone to stand in your favour but it will be worth it.

Your professional life is good as not only its full of fun but there are also some challenges from which you get to learn something new everyday. On academic front, your time has come to shine bright.

Charity is important specially if God has given you some power.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

Your spouse will surprise you with good food today and will pamper you in every other sense.

Sometimes its hard for you to keep friends with people because of your introvert nature. Your patience will pay on academic front. You will spend a very comfortable relaxing day today.

You like to serve people and do the best you can for them. You will be a part of a big project which will be very famous and so will you be alongside. On family front, due to tiredness you not be willing to do anything a such today. Your property related queries will get answered.

You will deliver all the work expected from you on time and you can expect magical results. Never see yourself with doubt, have faith in yourself and be confident that you can do anything till you are willing to pay the cost. You are a brave soul.

Let go of your worries for sometime.

Your efforts on business front won’t go waste. Make sure to do whatever it takes to keep your relationships straight with people who matters. You will spend a romantic time with your spouse. You are very understanding. Be clear with terms and conditions in business.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Keep your ego in check on professional front to avoid any unnecessary problems.

On academic front, don’t spoon feed anyone rather help them in a way that you don’t spoil their habits.

You have the luck by your side in terms of hiring the best team for your business with absolute brilliant minds.

You must introduce yourself to new fitness programs if the current ones have stop challenging you. Family is your strength as well as your weakness and remember as long as you have each other, nothing can go wrong. You have to give purpose to your life.

Seeing the current situation travelling outside your city for business related things should be avoided as nothing comes before your health. Life will bring many exciting opportunities to your life but its you who needs to understand which one to accept and which one to let go.

You may take help from your father as far as career advice is concerned as he always tends to give you the right advice. You will achieve all your goals as long as you continue to remain focus and you have unwavering faith. Its ok to own your mistake, it won’t make you small.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

TANYA SAIFI, Model

dent felt so amazed that he took out his beautiful pocket watch from his attire and gifted it to Niru.

Her tremendous artwork has been admired by many national and international dignitaries such as His Excellency Prince Charles, Prime Ministers of India Late Rajeev Gandhi, Former Presidents of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Late Vice President of India Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Jain Aacharya Shri Vidyanandji Muni Maharaj, BJP Leader & Former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Music Director Naushad Ali, and many more. She participated in the International Trade Fair in Germany in 2012 and also conferred with many national and state-level awards.

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

ETC www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020

11

ANUSHKA EXPRESSES SHOCK R

aising questions over the power of society to instill “fear” in the minds of “such monsters”, actor-producer Anushka Sharma on Thursday expressed shock over Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur ‘rape’ incident, which followed close on heels of Hathras ‘gang-rape’.

The ‘Paatal Lok’ producer took to Instagram and said: “Barely any time has passed and we are hearing of another brutal rape!?! In which world do such monsters think they can do this to a young

life,” she wrote in her stories.

“This is beyond comprehension, so distressing! Is there any fear in the minds of such men? How do we as a society put fear in them and protect our women? #NoMercyForRapists #Balrampur,” she added.

In Balrampur, a 22-year-old woman, who was allegedly gang-raped, died on the way to hospital on Wednesday.

Dev Ranjan, Balrampur Superintendent of Police, said her family had lodged a complaint of rape against two men. “Both have been arrested”.

—ANI

Anushka Sharma

Concerned about children

THE

B

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

rad Pitt recently took a trip to France. The actor was in the European destination with his reported girlfriend Nicole Poturalski. It was previously reported that Angelina Jolie was furious with Brad for taking the model to the couple’s marital home. Now, a new report suggests that Angelina urged Brad to stay away from the Jolie-Pitt children for two weeks following his return from the French trip. The actress recommended Brad quarantines for two weeks for the sake of their children.

The insider claimed that the Eternals star is extremely concerned about her children possibly contracting the virus after their father’s trip to France. Hence she “insisted” Brad to quarantine. “She didn’t want to take chance the kids getting it,” the source said.

—Agency

POSTER OUT

WONDER

T

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello

Happy Birthday, Asha Parekh

H

onored by Padma Shri, Asha Parekh is one of the best actresses that Indian cinema has ever seen. From ‘Teesri Manzil’ to ‘Kati Patang’, she has given many hits and won various awards for her performance. But it’s not acting that we need to learn from her, rather how to slay at life. Today, the legendary actress celebrates her 78th birthday..

he quarantine period was put to good use by Shawn Mendes as the singer revealed recently that his new album titled ‘Wonder’ was coming out on December 4. Before that, we will be treated with a new single also titled Wonder which will be out on October 2. “I’ve missed you all so much! I know it’s been a really scary year for everyone so I’m sending buckets of love to all of you x,” Shawn began in his handwritten letter to his fans.

“I wrote an album.

It’s called Wonder. It really feels like a piece of me has been written down on paper and recorded into song. I tried to be as real and as honest as I’ve ever been,” Mendes added. Offering her support to her lovely boyfriend is Camila Cabello, who shared a snippet of the 22-year-old singer’s new single along with a heartwarming message on Instagram. “The world could use some magic, beauty, and Wonder always, but especially right now. @shawnmendes what a gorgeous gift to the world.

He’s crafted this album with every last bit of his soul, his spirit, and his essence with the purest of intentions,” Cabello wrote.

—Agency

A

fter piquing the curiosity of fans on by releasing a grim poster of ‘Mirzapur Season 2’, the makers of the web series dropped a new intriguing poster featuring Ali Fazal and Shweta Tripathi. “They’re back, but from this point, there’s no looking back,” wrote Amazon Prime Video on Instagram. The new poster highlights Golu (Shweta Tripathi) and Guddu (Ali Fazal), ready to take on the battlefield. The poster features the duo looking at each other while they hold guns in their hands. In the front is the poster also features the iconic Haveli (castle) of Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi).

—ANI

THEATRICAL RELEASE

A

kshay Kumar fans in the overseas have a reason to rejoice as the actor’s upcoming horror-drama ‘Laxxmi Bomb’ will be released in theatres in - Australia, New Zealand and UAE - on November 9. In India, the movie is set for a directto-digital release on the same day on Disney+ Hotstar. Film critic and movie trade analyst Taran Adarsh announced the same on social media on Wednesday. “BIGGG NEWS... #LaxmmiBomb - which premieres 9 Nov 2020 on #DisneyPlusHotstar - will also release across *cinemas* in #Australia, #NewZealand and #UAE simultaneously, on 9 Nov 2020. #Diwali #Diwali2020,” wrote Taran.

—ANI

FIRST IN THE WORLD

‘SURAJ PE MANGAL BHAARI’ A

F Fatima Sana Shaikh

ollowing all necessary norms, actor Fatima Sana Shaikh resumed work amidst the new normal. She shared a glimpse of her dubbing session for the upcoming project ‘Suraj Pe Mangal Bhaari’.

Fatima shared an image of her dubbing studio on her Instagram

story and wrote, “Dubbing #surajpemangalbhari.”

She will be essaying the role of a typical ‘Marathi’ girl, donning a traditional attire. It will be the first time the audience is going to see her in Indian attire and she looks very convincing in the look.

The ‘Dangal’ actor also gave fans a sneak peek of her look and posted a rail of pictures wearing a red saree that garnered her appreciation from fans.

For the first time, Fatima will be seen sharing the screen space with Manoj Bajpayee in ‘Suraj Pe Mangal Bhaari’.

—ANI

kshay Kumar’s spy-thriller ‘Bell Bottom,’ has become the first film in the world to start and finish its shooting during the pandemic. The 53-year-old actor dubbed the success as “teamwork,” and said that he is grateful to each and every member of the cast and crew. “It’s teamwork and I am grateful to each and every member of the cast and crew from the spot dadas to the light dadas to the technicians to the make-up dadas to my lovely heroines Vaani, Lara, Huma, my director Ranjit and to Vashuji and the production team who believed in our audacious plan,” he said.

—ANI

CITY BUZZ www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

Govind Singh Dotasra

2

4

5

CM Ashok Gehlot and Govind Singh Dotasra

of Panchayati Raj department on Thursday.

The Congress leader ap-

PERILOUS PLIGHT OF ELEPHANTS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

1

Looking at the enthusiasm of the party workers on his birthday, the first birthday in position as the PCC President, Dotasra had already asked the party workers to avoid organising any celebration due to the corona spread and appealed to distribute masks among needy people.

Dotasra attended meetings related to the problems of contractual employees

—FILE PHOTO

P

CC Chief and Education Minister, Govind Singh Dotasra celebrated his birthday on Thursday with simplicity in view of the corona pandemic.

Governor Kalraj Mishra and CM Ashok Gehlot called up Govind Singh Dotasra on the telephone to greet him on this special day. Speaker Dr CP Joshi, AICC Gen. Sec. Avinash Pande and Rajasthan Incharge & AICC Gen. Sec. Ajay Maken sent across the greetings to the PCC president. Former PCC President Sachin Pilot also tweeted wishes. BJP Stalwarts and senior leaders

pealed to people to wear masks and to participate in the mass awareness

1. Advocate Poonam Chand Bhandari 2. IPS Alok Tripathi 3. IAS Aparna Arora 4. IAS Kunj Bihari Pandya and 5.

IAS Alok Gupta celebrated their birthdays on 1 October, Thursday. We wish them all the best!

By Brijminder Kaur

October 2nd was the day Mahatma Enlighted one was born, Strikingly different were the expressions in his eyes, Held our hand and taught the values of simple and pure life, God is truth and truth is god were the principles for which he fought, Conquered the heart of people and fought without sword and gun, Gifted us the dawn of freedom, Maybe that is why we say he is the man of the millennium.

TALKING JOURNALISM!

CITY FIRST

A

fter the news of 4 elephants that died in Hathi Gaon, Jaipur came to light, activists and local organisations lead by Help in Suffering and Angel Eyes organised a nationwide digital movement for the plight of the elephants on Thursday.

The movement witnessed a peaceful protest at Albert Hall at 4 pm, followed by a candlelight vigil and gathering at Amer Fort which was featured on the ‘Hathikadi’ Instagram page. The protest also took form digitally as a day-long tweet-a-thon and live interviews. The organisers also requested the supporters to light a candle in their homes and observe a 2-minute silence for the fallen elephants and upload a video of the same on their social media pages.

A series of live interviews were held on the Instagram page of ‘Hathikadi’.

Animal rights activists, lawyers and elephant lovers came together to discuss the concerning condition of the elephants in Hathi Gaon. The interviews were moderated by Co-organiser, Help in Suffering, Mariam Abuhaideri.

Managing Trustee, Help in Suffering, Timmie Kumar said that elephants should be living in the wild.

JEWELLERY GAME, ON POINT!

Jagdeesh Chandra was gifted a copy of the book ‘Media Sansaar’ by the authors Akhtar Khan and KD Abbasi at Kota Circuit House on Thursday evening during his one-day visit to Kota. They also discussed the challenges before journalism. The book is co-authored

by Akhtar Khan, KD Abbasi and Dr Prabhat Kumar.

THE SUCCESS STORIES CITY FIRST

A

virtual live interactive session will be organized on 3 October, Saturday by Young Indians and CII. During the session, Anupam Gupta and Saurabh Mukherjea, the well-known author of ‘The Victory Project’ and ‘The Unusual Billainers’, will share experiences related to their book.

Jaipur Book Lovers can participate in the event by registering at Insider. com, curated by the Association of Penguin India and the Rajat

Book Corner.

During the event, the authors will discuss the stories of successful industries and startups included in the book as well as give more information about the ‘6 Steps to Achieve Goals’ written

CONDOLENCES...

KANIKA RANA

Jewellery Designer & Manufacturer cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

well can become damaged over time or lost.

Fashion Jewellery rust and rough up in time, unlike jewellery with intrinsic value.

That’s the awful truth about it, no matter how beautiful our jewellery is, it’s very important to take care about it.

3.KEEP YOURSELF DRY

Following are some of the steps that you can implement as a rule for your fashion jewellery.

Anything that is considered wet is something you need to avoid when you wear your jewellery.

Moisture can cause oxidation and since the substances mentioned are used for moisturizing, you must let it sit on your skin first.

Save the Children

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udarshan Suchi has been appointed as the new CEO of leading child rights organization ‘Save the Children International’ on 1 October, registered as Bal Raksha Bharat in India. He takes on the mandate from Bidisha Pillai, who takes up the global role of Director – Campaigns, Advocacy, and Communication at Save the Children International. The 101-year-old organization works across 12 states in India and aims to serve 4 million children in India during 2019-21 directly. Save the Children’s ambition in India is to be the catalyst for the change and be among the top 5 countries achieving the greatest improvement for children by 2030.

2.THEY ARE NOT MEANT FOR EVERYDAY WEAR

The more you wear your costume jewellery, the shorter their life span. fashion jewellery is not meant for everyday use, so you should wear it occasionally.

in the book. The authors shall be in conversation with Praveen Agarwal CII-Yi (albeit Investors) and Mohit Batra.

Saurabh Mukherjea is the Chief Investment Officer at Marcellus Investment Managers. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

City First

Since fashion jewellery has iron on it, oxidation can occur anytime when it’s exposed to an area where there’s a certain amount of oxygen and they easily corrode if mixed with other jewellery. So, to avoid the two culprits, you have to store your jewellery by type and place it in an air tight or has least oxygen exposure on it.

H av -

Saurabh Mukherjea

Anupam Gupta

1.STORE YOUR JEWELLERY PROPERLY

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movement to contain the spread of coronavirus.

A ‘Deerghayu Yagna’ was performed at Sewa Dal headquarters. The state president of Sewa dal Hem Singh Shekhawat and other leaders and workers attended the event and wished for long life and good health of Dotasra.

Hoardings and banners were put up at several places on road from PCC headquarters to his official residence in Jaipur and also in Sikar, his hometown. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

3

EMPEROR, CROWNED WITH PEACE

ing a collection of beautiful high quality jewellery is a point of pride and joy. Your jewellery will have wonderful sentimental meaning to you as well as exquisite beauty.

If you want your precious jewellery to stay safe and in good condition for many years, it is very important to make sure that it is stored properly.

Jewellery that is not stored

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TUM JIYO HAZARO SAAL!

Vasundhara Raje, Satish Poonia, Gulab Chand Kataria, Rajendra Rathore and others sent across their greetings.

His colleagues Dr Raghu Sharma, BD Kalla, Pratap Singh Khachiryawas, Pramod Jain Bhaya, Mamta Bhupesh, Ashok Chandana wished him all the best as did many other leaders and workers at large. RCA President Vaibhav Gehlot tweeted his best wishes for the President who maintained a normal working day schedule with meetings and other work.

Mahendra Choudhary also greeted him.

YOGESH SHARMA

AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020

Arjuman Banu, born in May 1940, in an influential Tehsildar family from Ahmedabad, took her last breath on Thursday at the age of 80. She was married to Fakir Mohammad Khan of the Indian Air Force, who fought in the 1962 and 1965 wars. She is survived by her three children with Col Idris Khan of Scinde Horse and two daughters Shahnaz Khan and Gulnaaz Khan both of whom are married into the Indian Air Force.

Sudarshan Suchi