First India-Ahmedabad Edition-03 May 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

26°C - 42°C

ALERT AHMEDABAD l SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

INDIA

2,42,861 34,49,884 1,322 39,695 CONFIRMED CASES

GLOBAL STATE OF AFFAIRS COUNTRY TOTAL CASES

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

1,142,688 SPAIN 245,567 ITALY 209,328 UK 182,260 GERMANY 164,478 TURKEY 124,375 RUSSIA 124,054 IRAN 96,448 BRAZIL 92,630 CHINA 82,875 CANADA 55,572 BELGIUM 49,517

66,620 25,100 28,710 28,131 6,736 3,336 1,222 6,156 6,434 4,633 3,446 7,765

USA

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 157

WORLD

DEATHS

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

IN GUJARAT AHMEDABAD VADODARA SURAT RAJKOT BHAVNAGAR ANAND BHARUCH GANDHINAGAR PATAN PANCHMAHAL BANASKANTHA NARMADA CHHOTA UDEPUR KUTCH MAHESANA BOTAD DAHOD PORBANDAR JAMNAGAR MORBI SABARKANTHA ARAVALLI MAHISAGAR KHEDA GIR SOMNATH VALSAD TAPI NAVSARI DANG SURENDRANAGAR

3543 325 661 58 53 74 31 67 21 38 29 12 14 7 11 27 6 3 2 1 3 19 23 9 3 6 2 8 2 1 5054

185 24 28 1 5 5 2 2 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 262

TOTAL

SAMPLES TESTED NEGATIVE CASES UNDER EXAMINATION

0

20 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26

74,116 69,602

CONFIRMED CASES

Living in colonies, in the southern hemisphere, with populations larger than some cities and surviving the harshest of conditions, it is no wonder that penguins are seen as the emblem of survival. In these tough times when the world is reeling under Coronavirus pandemic, there are very few birds that induce a warmer feeling than these cold-water birds that cannot fly!

LAST UPDATED: MAY 2, 2020, 11:00 PM

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

DEATHS

5,054

FEET!

WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO

TOTAL CASES

262

GUJARAT

HAPPY

+867 +276 +474 +621 +12 +78 +53 +65 +24 +4 +55 +62

DISTRICT

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MODI’S NUTRITIOUS DIET FOR FARMERS! PM STRESSED ON ‘BRAND INDIA’ & MAKING FARMERS COMPETITIVE IN GLOBAL VALUE CHAIN

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday deliberated on reforms required in the agriculture sector and stressed the need for making strategic interventions in the existing marketing eco-system.

“Special emphasis was given on reforms in agriculture marketing, management of marketable surplus, access of farmers to institutional credit and freeing agriculture sector of various restric-

SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON REFORMS IN AGRI MARKETING, MANAGEMENT OF MARKETABLE SURPLUS ETC

A farmer busy harvesting wheat crop in Patna.

tions with appropriate backing of the statute,” said the Prime Minister’s

Office (PMO) in a statement. Concessional credit flow to Turn on P6

INDIA: COVID-19 TOLL RISES TO 1,322; NUMBER OF CASES CLIMB TO 39,695 New Delhi: The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,322 and the number of cases climbed to 39,695 in the country on Saturday, registering an increase of 71 deaths and a record jump of 2,411 cases in 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 26,565, while 10,017 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said. “Thus, around 26.52 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said.

Govt adds fizz to liquor biz, salons with rider New Delhi: Barber shops and salons located in green and orange zones will be allowed to open from Monday besides sale of non-essential items by e-commerce platforms during the third phase of the lockdown which will be in force till May 17.

Sale of liquor will be allowed with certain conditions in all zones—green, orange and red—barring containment areas.

These exemptions were given by the Ministry of Home Affairs

ARMED FORCES TO SALUTE CORONA WARRIORS TODAY New Delhi: Armed forces have made elaborate arrangements to conduct aerial fly-pasts, light up ships at sea and shower flower petals on several hospitals across the country on Sunday to express gratitude to lakhs of corona warriors.

on Friday, while extending the lockdown for two more weeks.

There are no restrictions on sale of non-essential items by e-commerce platforms in green and orange zones, a home ministry spokesperson clarified on Saturday, adding barber shops and salons are also allowed to open in these areas.

In red zones, the ecommerce companies are allowed to sell only essential commodities.

Barber shops and salons are not Turn on P6

Arogya Setu, sophisticated surveillance system: RaGa

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Arogya Setu mobile application is a “sophisticated surveillance system” outsourced to a private operator, raising serious data security and privacy concerns.

Technology can help keep us safe, Turn on P6

N KOREA’S KIM MAKES FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE IN WEEKS North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days, ending an absence that sparked global speculation about his health.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday that Kim attended a ceremony marking the completion of a fertiliser factory in Suncheon, near the capital Pyongyang, with other senior officials, including his sister, Kim Yo Jong.

How bad is the COVID-19 situation in A’bad? No one knows for sure DATA FROM CITY’S CIVIC BODY AND STATE HEALTH DEPT AT ODDS WITH EACH OTHER First India News Ahmedabad: There’s something rotten in the city of Ahmedabad. The complete lack of coordination between the state and city administrations—on which First India has already reported multiple times—seems to only be getting worse.

The two bodies cannot even keep their numbers in order, leading to confusion as to how widespread the COVID-19 situation really

is, in the city.

For instance, a press bulletin issued on April 28 by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) stated that there were 64 positive cases from the field survey sample collection. That evening, the state health department announced a whopping 164 cases for the day. Meanwhile, the AMC revised its number to 67.

On April 29, the state declared 234 fresh cases while the AMC said 110 cases,

with the results of 25 samples pending.

On April 30, the state declared 249 positive cases, while the civic body’s press release said 67, with 89 samples awaiting results. That evening, the AMC issued a list of 379 cases, which was later revised to 249.

The very next day, the civic body claimed to have collected 685 samples, of which 635 samples were supposedly waiting for results. The state declared 267 cases for the day.

Even if one were to assume that the state’s figures include those from both the city and the district, the num-

A medic uses a swab to collect a saliva sample from inside a mobile testing van.

bers still do not make sense, since the district has only 37 positive cas-

es so far.

Dr Bhavin Solanki, in-charge medical of-

ficer of city’s health department, explained that the city’s

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

data is based on active surveillance.

“While there are

many suspects who directly approach hospitals and laboratories, they have not been added in the document,” he said.

This could be translated that a larger number of people have directly approached hospitals and labs than have been approached by the civic body.

Interestingly, according to data shared with the press on Saturday, the civic body had collected 685 samples, of which just 32 had been tested—two came back positive and 30 were negative.

A whopping 653 samples are still waiting to be tested.

NEWS AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

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COVID COOPERATION: Rooted in history, Delhi ensures Bangkok of post-Corona rebuild DURING THE CALL, PM MODI ASSURED HIS THAILAND COUNTERPART TO SUPPORT THE PHARMACEUTICAL REQUIREMENTS TO FIGHT THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

P

rime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday discussed issues related to coronavirus pandemic with his Thailand counterpart Prayut Chan-o-Cha and said that New Delhi and Bangkok will work together to deal with the multifarious challenges posed by the current crisis.

"Discussed issues related to COVID-19 pandemic with good friend @prayutofficial. As neighbours with deep-rooted historical and cultural links, India and Thailand will work together to deal with the multifarious challenges posed by this present crisis," the Prime Minister tweeted.

With 2,293 new cases in the last 24 hours, the highest number of cases in a single day, India's COVID-19 tally reached 37,336 on Saturday, including 1,218 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. On the other hand, Thailand has reported 2,966 coronavirus cases and 54 deaths so far.

—ANI

Shandar: Shah lauds Air Force salute to ‘warriors’ New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday lauded the Armed Forces for their decision to show gratitude to those fighting on the frontline against Covid-19.

Discussed issues related to COVID-19 pandemic with good friend @prayutofficial. As neighbours with deep-rooted historical and cultural links, India and Thailand will work together to deal with the multifarious challenges posed by this present crisis.

—Prime Minister Narendra Modi

sation staff, security and media personnel. We as a nation stand united to thank our Corona warriors in these testing times,” Shah said in a tweet.

The Indian armed forces announced on Friday that they will conduct fly-pasts, light up ships at sea, display military bands and shower flower petals on hospitals on Sunday in a display of gratitude

“Who else can understand the importance of keeping our motherland safe than our Armed forces,” the Home Minister said on Twitter.

“I am sure this decision of Armed forces will greatly boost the morale and confidence of our doctors, healthworkers, saniti-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-Cha in New Delhi. —FILE PHOTO

to lakhs of ‘corona warriors’ like doctors, paramedics and police personnel.

The announcement was made by CDS Gen Bipin Rawat at a press con in presence of Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria. “The nation stood together and showed resilience in dealing with the pandemic. On behalf of the forces, we want to thank all corona warriors -- doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police, home guards, & media,” Gen Rawat said.

—Agencies

Village panels pillars of strength for Junagadh status ‘Vadodara armed to fight Haresh Jhala

close surveillance was conducted throughout Junagadh: It is said the district.

IAS Dr Sourabh Parthat preparing for the worst always helps in dhi, Junagadh district tackling any situation. collector, told First InThis phrase was imple- dia, “In the third week mented by the local ad- of March, we started pre-emptive ministration of Juna- taking gadh district in their measures such as closstrategy to combat ing down Gir Sanctuary COVID-19. Even before for tourists, sealing Girnar and the lockdown CORONA Bhavnath for was imposed tourists, as across the well as, local country, Junagadh officials took a residents. After the few proactive steps to lockdown was declared, ensure that the novel we deployed medical coronavirus does not teams at all checkpoints and every person enterspread in the district.

To that end, pilgrim- ing the district was age places, sanctuaries screened. People exhibwere shut down before iting symptoms similar the lockdown, a health to COVID-19 were sent team was activated and to institutional quaran-

WARRIOR

Dr Sourabh Pardhi, Junagadh Collector

tine, others were ordered to remain under home quarantine.”

He added, “We have heard about sample testing being done in cities and other districts, but decided to collect more samples from densely populated areas. It was because of this move that we were

able to ascertain if any particular section of the society was exhibiting even slight symptoms of COVID-19. We have tested over 500 samples till now.”

“The other major task Junagadh administration had was to keep the city and villages safe, so Pardhi with the

help of district development officer and health officer formed village committees and gave them two responsibilities- ensure no outsider gains entry and aggressive surveillance in the villages. The committees reported activity and information on suspect cases to the district control room on a daily basis,” explained the collector.

“When door-to-door health survey was carried out by paramedical staffers in the rest of the state, Junagadh assigned the task to intern doctors, who helped identify people with suspect symptoms such as fever, cold and cough,” he added.

Corona till May-end’

First India News Vadodara: With third highest number of COVID-19 positive cases in the state, Vadodara has become one of the hotspots of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

But, according to local authorities, the city is prepared to fight the deadly virus till the end of this month.

In a briefing on Friday evening, the state education secretary Dr Vinod Rao, who has been specially deputed to Vadodara to supervise and monitor the corona crisis there, told the media, “We were ex-

Edu Secy & OSD Dr Vinod Rao

pecting the extension of the lockdown and had prepared a plan to tackle the health crisis accordingly. We have the facility to accommodate a total of 2,500 patients in a month and

handle their medical treatment.”

According to the local health team’s assessment, the first phase of the lockdown extension will last until May 10. The second phase will start from May 10 and end on May 31, with a possible third phase in the month of June.

Talking about the city preparedness for the crisis, Rao said, “We are prepared for all scenarios. As per our understanding of the virus infection, it is more likely that patients will require more care than medicines.”

Miscommunication, lack of clarity causes chaos at the border Videos show migrant workers complaining about long queues and not being allowed to cross the border First India News Ahmedabad: While the state had announced that stranded migrant workers would be allowed to go home, there is still no clarity on who can leave the state, and how. Neither is there proper coordination between states.

All this means a large group of tired and homesick people is also now confused and angry.

A number of videos

have surfaced on social media showing migrant workers complaining about not being allowed to cross the border.

Those who are being allowed to cross, have been complaining about long queues. These videos include ones from Karjan Chowk in Vadodara, the Halol checkpoint, Panchmahal district, Dahod on the Madhya Pradesh border and the Amirgadh checkpoint on the Rajasthan border.

There were three

incidents of stonepelting on Saturday, including one at the Halol checkpost. Similarly, when buses and commercial vehicles carrying workers were stopped at the Karjan Chowk, workers showed their displeasure by blocking traffic on the national highway for some time. However, the issue was later resolved and workers were allowed to go, Karjan Police Station Officer told First India.

Panchmahal (Godhra) control room officer said that buses with workers from Surat were not asked to return to Surat,

Migrant workers blocked traffic on the Vadodara-Halol highway on Saturday, after they were not allowed to proceed towards UP.

but admits they were asked to wait by the roadside because of the heavy traffic at the Madhya Pradesh border in Dahod district. Due to a coordination issue be-

tween MP and UP, MP police are not allowing vehicles heading to UP to enter the state.

This comes barely 48 hours after the Gujarat government as-

signed 16 IAS and IPS officers to coordinate with other states for smooth transportation of stranded migrant workers and visitors.

In addition, about 48

hours after the announcement that people can return to their home states, there is still no clarity on which states are ready to accept their returning people.

To make things worse, Surat collector Dhaval Patel has now stated that passes will not be issued for states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Delhi. He also said that all passes will be issued online and not at checkposts. These announcements came mere hours after a police van went around Surat city announcing that there is no need

for any passes to return to one’s native state.

Moreover, with the government announcing that private vehicles would be allowed to the carry the workers home, they have been arriving at the state’s borders in hired trucks, containers trucks, and buses in droves, with no concern for social distancing.

Now, the government says trains will be arranged. Surat Police Commissioner R B Brahmbhatt said trains would be arranged by the Central and state government. However, migrant workers will have to continue to be patient.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

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03

State’s tally leapfrogs past 5K mark 333 new cases reported in the past 24 hours even as 160 patients were discharged, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 896 First India News Gandhinagar: A record 160 recovered COVID-19 patients were discharged in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 896. However, the last 24 hours also saw the state’s total number of cases leapfrog to 5,054—333 more than they were on Friday. Similarly, with 26 fresh fatalities, the death toll is now 262.

The state government is taking it as a positive sign that recoveries are increasing faster than fatalities.

Again, Ahmedabad topped the list of both fresh cases, with 250, and deaths, with 20. The city also saw 63 patients being discharged.

Worryingly, 10 of Ahmedabad’s 48 wards had more than 100 patients each. Only two— Chandlodiya and Sarkhej—have singledigit case numbers. Of the 3,278 cases the city had on Friday, 1,389 came from the Central zone. Jodhpur area alone has registered 14 new cases of COVID-19.

Of the 26 deaths, nine were caused by SarsCoV-2 and the remaining 17 patients succumbed to co-morbidities.

Districts such as Anand, Gandhinagar, Botad, Banaskantha, Mahisagar, Aravalli and

City’s civic body to add more COVID hospitals to its arsenal

UNDER SIEGE

First India News

Patan now have the administration on their toes, with a sudden rise in numbers.

There is some confusion over the situation in Navsari. While Ravi announced two fresh cases, the District Officer said there were no new cases there.

Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said that, till date, 74,116 samples have been tested, with 5,342—another record high—tested in the past 24 hours. She said the hike is due to the increase in the state’s sample testing capacity.

Moreover, the Indian Council of Medical Research has also allowed pool testing now.

She also said that, with private clinics given permission to restart out-patient services, as many as 3,994 private clinics have resumed operations as of Saturday.

Jawans wear protective gear as they patrol a quarantined cluster in Ahmedabad’s Kalupur area.

First India News Ahmedabad: Since the last few days, private clinics in the red zone areas of the city have been granted permission to operate by local authorities.

These clinics have been dispensing medical check-ups and medicines to hundreds of patients daily in Behrampura and Ja-

Masuma Bharmal Jariwala

Around 50 students were seen inside the campus of Swami Vivekananda Prathmik Shala on Saturday.

the school principal Mittal Pathak, taluka primary education officer Pankaj Mabel and the district primary educa-

Vijay Nehra

facility, as a COVID Health Centre. The hospital’s existing patients will be discharged and transferred to other facilities. And the hospital will start catering to novel coronavirus patients from Sunday onwards. Another hospital named Ameen Garib Nawaz Hospital in Gomtipur area has been

Patients make a beeline for private clinics in the walled city malpur areas. Most of these clinics operate in the evenings and that is when patients show up for health check-ups.

According to a doctor in Jamalpur, most of the patients he has checked on do showcase symptoms such as cough, cold, and fever.

“My advice to the patients running a fever is to call 104 helpline

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

People line up outside a clinic in Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur area.

What lockdown? Govt school opens in Rajkot Rajkot: While the state government has been trying hard to enforce lockdown guidelines, a government school in Pardi village of Lodhika taluka in Rajkot district seems to play by its own rules.

On Saturday, around 50 students were seen inside the campus of Swami Vivekananda Prathmik Shala. While the actual reason for the students’ arrival in school remains unclear, First India investigated the matter by speaking

Ahmedabad: With more than a hundred new cases being reported in the city daily, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has actively started looking for alternative places where COVID-19 positive patients can stay in isolation and provided treatment. On Saturday, municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra visited a few places in Jamalpur area to ascertain where the new COVID hospitals can be set up.

The civic body has declared Behrampura’s Infectious Disease Hospital, which is a 100-bed

designated as a COVID hospital and will treat patients free of cost.

Nehra also stated that the Jamalpurbased Chhipa Community Centre will also function as a 100-bed COVID Care Centre from Sunday, in his video bulletin on Saturday.

The municipal commissioner also listed the number of patients undergoing treatment at various hospitals in the city. Moreover, he also announced that any frontline workers of the civic body infected with the virus will be treated in 4 or 5-star hotels and the civic body will foot their bills.

tion officer (DPEO) MG Vyas. However, instead of one explanation for the gaffe, all their versions differed.

School principal Pathak said, “It was the last day of the school vacation. Since we are supposed to hand over the leaving certificate to Class VIII students

by May 2, we asked the students to collect their certificates. But, out of the total of 39 students, only 25 came.”

When asked about the reason for not requesting the kids’ parents to collect the certificates, Pathak stated, “We give the certificates to the children. There were around 15 other students who came to

collect kits distributed under the midday meal scheme. In all, there were around 50 students in attendance.”

According to Lodhika taluka primary education officer Pankaj Mabel, “Around 50 children came, few arrived to collect their leaving certificates, there were a few who came to collect the midday meal kit and others came to collect their exam answersheets,” he said.

DPEO MG Vyas stated, “We acknowledge that this is a lapse and are investigating.”

but, they fear contracting the infection and do not call. Most of them don’t even come back to the clinic for a follow-up,” said the doctor, on condition of anonymity.

He also said that most of the community leaders and doctors have been rendered helpless.

“We are helpless to the situation since many people are not ready to

take the COVID-19 test.

Even officials from local civic body Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) have not initiated any awareness programme about novel coronavirus. What is needed is awareness among communities, and increasing sample collection to contain the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases.”

No unauthorized persons in orange, green zones: DGP First India News Gandhinagar: To break the chain of the spread of COVID-19, people have to be vigilant and see that unauthorized persons do not enter green or orange zones without a prior medical check-up, Director-General of Police Shivanand Jha said on Saturday.

“This is the best way to maintain green and orange zones and check the spread of infection,

Shivanand Jha, DGP, Gujarat

he said.

He also said that Valsad police have lodged a case against three more Sura Jamaatis for entering the state after the nationwide lockdown

was imposed last month.

“They have been home-quarantined. A case has been registered against them under the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act,” he said, adding that, with this, 22 cases have been registered against Sura Jamaatis.

Till date 608 cases have been and 1,282 persons arrested for spreading hatred on social media; 19 more accounts have also been blocked.

—PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI

Migrants arrive at the Ahmedabad station on Saturday.

Migrants queued up at the Ahmedabad station to board the train that would take them home to Agra.

Navsari MP CR Patil at the Surat station before flagging off the train to Puri.

It’s All Aboard! on Shramik Exp First India News

A man carries his polio-stricken older brother to the train.

Ahmedabad/Surat: Three trains declared ‘Shramik Express’ carrying migrant workers and their families belonging to Uttar Pradesh and Odisha were flagged off from Ahmedabad

and Surat on Saturday.

The train from Surat to Odisha’s Puri was flagged off by Navsari Member of Parliament CR Patil using a Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) flag and Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja flagged

off two trains bound for UP from the Sabarmati railway station in Ahmedabad.

In all, 1,100 migrants took the train to Puri, while 1,200 went to Agra.

Kaushal Kumar, migrant worker on board the UP train said, “I

bought our tickets in the afternoon and am happy that my family and I will reach our hometown in the next 24 to 36 hours. If we had not boarded the train today then, we would have been in dire financial trouble.”

Passengers appreciate finally being able to leave the city.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

IS LOCKDOWN ENDING ANY TIME SOON?

US’s GLOBAL REPUTATION

HITS ROCK-BOTTOM

Mishandling of the Corona pandemic by President Trump has lead to a loss of many more lives

T

hanks to the special trains, jobless migrant workers started returning from different states to the cities and villages they came from. Not wanting to starve or die of Covid-19 in a different city, they had been desperate to go back to their familiar surroundings. Until the novel coronavirus appeared like a Frankenstein monster, these migrant workers had nothing to despair. With a job in hand, food and shelter were assured.

Not so after the lockdown. Ironically, they would not have left their native places had the state governments been able to provide them with jobs and social security. At present services of many of these migrants can be utilized for harvesting rabi crop in their respective villages, but states like Punjab would rue their departure.

What after harvesting? Lakhs of jobs cannot be created overnight despite the tall promises being made by some states.

Nor will it be easy for the entire migrant population to go back to the cities of their work when the virus will continue to lurk.

That brings us to the question of whether the lockdown will be extended beyond May 17? With 130 Red zones in the country, where the total number of cases and a fast doubling rate, the challenge is to convert them into Orange and then Green zones. Green zone is one with zero confirmed cases or none reported in the last 21 days. Orange zones will have a low incidence of cases.

That’s unlikely to happen soon as testing is low. Therefore, chances are that the shutdown will remain in force till June and these workers will remain trapped between hope and hopelessness.

Notwithstanding the grim scenario, at least worshippers of Bacchus can raise a toast. Liquor shops in Green, Orange, and Red zones can now be opened. The permission is for standalone outlets only but with restrictions. Buyers, not more than five at a time, have to stay six feet apart.

But there’s a catch. Howsoever short of revenue the states may be due to the total shutdown, they may be reticent to cheer the move for fear of the consequences it might entail. Kerala, which has been able to contain the spread of virus remarkably well, has already refused to open liquor vends. It is estimated that in six months of 2019 liquor worth Rs 45,000 crore was sold in the state. Maharashtra, which too will desist from allowing booze sale, stands to lose over Rs 1250 crore per month. Rajasthan also is losing heavily from the ban on liquor which fetches the state Rs 15,000 crore annually yet it may not allow its sale. Punjab, whose earlier request for opening the liquor shops was rejected by the Union home ministry, may also wait for some more time before allowing the sale of liquor.

It also is losing badly on revenue.

So, hold your horses.

K NATWAR SINGH The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

T

The mishandling of the Corona pandemic by President Trump has to lead to a loss of many more lives due to his pretending to be a doctor who had no hesitation in suggesting weird cures, including injecting household bleach into Covid-19 patients

he other day an American doctor said on CNN that Coronavirus could last two years in the USA and it could infect up to 70% of the population.

He also warned that the virus would not disappear. A second wave could come at any time.

The mishandling of the Corona pandemic by President Trump has to lead to a loss of many more lives due to his pretending to be a doctor who had no hesitation in suggesting weird cures, including injecting household bleach into Covid-19 patients. Then came his cutting of US annual contribution to the World Health Organisation - WHO China immediately made good the loss the WHO had suffered.

Day after day the US President continues to blame China for the origin of the Virus in a laboratory in Wuhan. China has brushed off the allegation.

These thoughtless pronouncements made at his daily press conference. The result is that he has seriously damaged America’s long-standing role as a global leader.

China is now all over the globe, dispatching medicines, doctor’s uniforms, gloves, and disinfectants. China claims that life in Wuhan is now normal. The Pandemic has been overcome. President Xi Jin Ping’s prestige has gone up, not only in China but the world over. In the beginning, he faltered but that memory faded.

Now I come to our beloved country. A vital constitutional change has gone almost unnoticed. The parent-client relationship between the centre and the states have undergone a dramatic transformation. Prime Minister Modi has become acutely aware of the authority and power of the States. Lockdown three was promulgated because a majority of states wanted it and pressed for it.

The Home Ministry yester-

PRIME MINISTER MODI HAS BECOME ACUTELY AWARE OF THE AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THE STATES. LOCKDOWN THREE WAS PROMULGATED BECAUSE A MAJORITY OF STATES WANTED IT AND PRESSED FOR IT

day produced a complex, at places incomprehensible and very complex notification that even reasonably educated people would find bewildering. The editorial in the Economic Times of Saturday, May 2nd was headed, ‘Wrong all to Extend Lockdown’. It then pitched into the authors of this perplexing Katha. ‘The government’s decision to extend the lockdown by two weeks is wrong and will do Indians more harm than good.

The notification extending the Lockdown has the kernel of what needs to be done but then proceeds to envelop it in layer after layer of impractical, unenforceable conditions that make sense to a bureaucrat sitting in his office but no one else’. There is much more of the same.

This notification is no doubt meant to help the poor, the unemployed, and the needy. Even member of my household staff is illiter-

ate and so are their families.

How do I explain to them the intricacies of Red, Orange, and Green Zones?

The Economic Times also writes, “However, a maze of regulations, restrictions on the movement of people and unbridled powers to local administration mean a vast segment of the economy will still be locked down exacerbating economic stress.’

Why can’t four people sit in a car? Why is the movement of individuals for nonessentials between 7 pm and 7 am prohibited? What are they supposed to do between 7 am and 7 pm The hope that China’s difficulty is India’s opportunity is misplaced. Many foreign companies and industries have moved to Japan and Vietnam.

The dream of India having a five trillion dollar economy by 2024 is unlikely to materialize.

A new acronym- WFH is

Saudi Arabia grapples with the oil price rout

W

hile the extraordinary crash of the WTI price of crude into negative territory — the first in history — can be viewed as something of an anomaly, the 25% drop in the price of Brent to $20 a barrel as of April 27 is a stark statement about the vulnerability of the Saudi economy and of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030.

Let us briefly recall in broad brushstroke the bold outlines of Vision 2030 when it was released on April 25, 2016. It called for a radical restructuring of the Saudi economy and with it a social and cultural revolution — economic diversification with the banner headline of increasing the share of non-oil GDP from 16% to 50%; the empower

04

ment of women into the private-sector workforce together with a call to increase the sector’s GDP contribution to 65%; the listing of private and governmentowned companies, including Aramco, on the Saudi stock market, Tadawul; commitments to realize jobs for young Saudis through the creation of entertainment, hospitality and non-religious tourism industries; the provision of affordable housing for those same young Saudis struggling to get on the property ladder; and the ramping up of religious tourism.

Just one statistic should suffice to illustrate the scope of that particular ambition: By 2020, the plan was for the number of Muslims performing the umrah to nearly double to 15 million a year, and then to double again to 30 mil-

lion by 2030. But the umrah this year has been indefinitely postponed, and COVID-19 in Mecca — where authorities are racing to try and contain the outbreak — could well force the cancellation of the hajj. No one, of course, could have anticipated a coronavirus pandemic. But it has been clear for two months or more that in a slowing global economy, the virus would impact

in a significant way on the oil market.

THE GLUT OF OIL The Saudi response was to launch a price war with Russia in early March that was only partially resolved on 12 April with the intercession of US President Donald Trump. All the while the glut of oil has grown and grown — hence the ongoing collapse of prices. While lockdowns are being eased in some countries, the time

when the world was consuming 100 million barrels a day are gone for now, with some analysts suggesting those days may be gone forever. Prior to COVID-19, most assumptions were that peak demand — the point at which the world’s appetite for oil begins its permanent decline — would hit around 2030. That scenario dovetailed rather nicely with Vision 2030. What if, however, peak demand has already arrived?

If such is the case, the breathing space that Mohammed bin Salman could reasonably have expected in order to achieve his revolution has evaporated literally overnight. A crown prince and a kingdom that had sought to move in double quick time to liberate itself from oil dependency through economic diversification now has no time whatsoever.

WHERE TO CUT? With oil falling to $20 a barrel and no sign that it will get much better — indeed suggestions are that it could well slide even lower to as little as $5 to $10 — those emergency plans are very likely to come into play. That means deep spending cuts. The question is where will Mohammed bin Salman, having already saddled the kingdom with a war in Yemen that has consumed hundreds of billions of dollars, make those cuts?

In order to avoid the dreaded L — a flatline where the economy does not over time trend upward — Mohammed bin Salman will need to do more than use the country’s sovereign wealth fund to snap up bargain-basement deals as the world economy crashes..

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM

doing the rounds. It stands for Work From Home. In India, many ministers are doing WFH but no Secretary will follow WFH in our setup. His Joint Secretaries and the section officers, office assistants, and clerks will sit in North and South blocks.

Till we go completely digital files will go from the Secretary’s home to North and South blocks and back. Not a time-saving exercise.

There are many plus and constructive elements in the MHA’s notification. The process to implement them should start without delay.

On February 27th, 1967 I sent a note to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi concerning what a German member of Parliament, Felix Von Eckardt had said about the Nuclear Powers. I thought it would amuse her. It did.

“Non-proliferation is like a club of notorious boozers who demand a written agreement from the teetotalers that they never take alcohol and won’t even touch a drop when a glass is offered to them. And then after the pact is signed, these drinkers not only sit together and booze it up again but throw the empty bottles at the teetotalers.”

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp I commend the CDS and personnel of our Armed forces for their decision to honour those battling #Covid19 on the frontlines. Our Armed forces have kept this nation safe through thick and thin, their support will boost the morale of countless #CoronaWarriors.

Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal The unique Kashmir Saffron, known for its deep red colour, strong flavour and high aroma gets a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Possessing medicinal characteristics, the aromatic spice will now gain more prominence in the export market.

Spiritual SPEAK

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.

—Buddha

Vol 1 Issue No. 157 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.

Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

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05

‘India can attract investments post-COVID-19 period’ Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said India has a huge domestic market with sound macro-economic indicators New Delhi: India has strong economic fundamentals and is likely to attract multinational corporations which are keen to shift manufacturing bases from China in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar.

“There is tremendous opportunity for India and we have to make efforts to seize that opportunity,” he said. “All big companies are welcome to India.

The country has 150 mobile phone manufacturing units now as compared to two about six

Corona warriors medical team rushes to Hindpiri Corona ‘containment zone’ in Ranchi to collect swab samples.

years ago.” Even personal protective equipment and ventilators are being made within the country. Javadekar said India has a huge domestic market with

Zonal rlys to run ‘Shramik special trains’

A health worker sanitizes the belongings of migrants in Patna.

New Delhi: The Indian Railways said that a policy decision has been taken to run 'Shramik special trains' amid the nationwide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19. The Zonal railways will run these trains as per the demand of state administrations.

“We have taken a policy decision to run 'Sh-

ramik special trains'.

Zonal railways to run these trains as per the demand of state administrations. Local DMs and DRMs are coordinating. Specific details can be obtained from the zonal CPROs,” an Indian Railways official said. Cancellation of all passenger train services shall be extended till May 17, he said. —ANI

sound macro-economic indicators.

“All the industries will start after the lockdown ends. The foundation of Indian economy is strong. Secondly,

there is a lot of internal demand,” said the minister a day after the Ministry of Home Affairs extended the COVID-19 lockdown for two weeks till May 17.

Javadekar stated that the central government has made elaborate arrangements for migrant workers, including availability of buses and trains. He said there will not be any major job losses due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Centre had announced a relief package for poor and migrant workers besides free cylinders under the Ujwala Scheme, he said. —ANI

AAROGYA SETU APPLICATION

'WORST OF COVID-19 IS OVER, BUT FOLLOWING PRECAUTIONS IS MUST'

ON OPPN’S ALLEGATIONS

New Delhi: Prakash Javadekar said on Saturday that Aarogya Setu app is the best scientific instrument to alert people if some COVID-19 infected person is nearby and there should be no concern over privacyrelated issues. He was responding to AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s statement in which he raised the possibility of privacyrelated information being collected by the use of app.

New Delhi: I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the worst phase of coronavirus epidemic in India appears to be over, but people should continue to follow all precautions. “I think the worst is over. But till the time the disease is not completely contained, we should continue to follow all precautions and guidelines.”

India took various timely initiatives, including a countrywide lockdown, and its management of COVID-19 has been better than other countries. “That is why it (lockdown) has been extended for two weeks. The various zones are well-defined. Following the social distancing norm of ‘do gaz ki doori’ will be a new normal till the time a vaccine is developed.” —ANI

I think Opposition are rudderless. They have no agenda. They have not said a single good thing. Now they are blaming the government on points on which they earlier agreed. They were demanding for buses for migrants earlier.

When the buses were given, they started demanding trains.

When six trains started yesterday, they demanded 600 trains. They do not want to do anything, Javadekar said.

‘Lockdown is an exam we have to pass’ New Delhi: The “pressing need” to trigger resumption of economic activities has been addressed in ''lockdown 3.0'' in a manner that fits with the prevailing situation on the ground, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday.

He also said that the announcement of extension of coronavirusinduced lockdown by two more weeks from May 4, with attendant relaxations driven by economic concerns, “marks a landmark” in the nation''s collective fight against COVID-19.

“In my view, this decision puts the onus of taking forward the fight against the virus more in the hands of stake-

the option to fail,” he asserted.

So far, the central government has been at the forefront of formulating the battle strategy in consultation with the states with focus on lives of the people, he said.

“It has yielded positive results...,” he said.

The modalities of'' lockdown 3.0'', Naidu said, are a clear acknowledgment of the need to balance the twin concerns of lives and livelihoods by kickstarting the economy.

“The pressing need to trigger resumption of economic activities has been addressed in a manner that fits with the prevailing situation on the ground,” the vicepresident wrote. —ANI

holders, including the people, state governments and concerned agencies, commercial and industrial establishments,” he said in a Facebook post.

The way all of us conduct during lockdown 3.0, Naidu opined, will lay the ground for further

course of action aimed at returning to total pre-corona normalcy.

“This window of two weeks will decide the time frame for it. This is a kind of preliminary examination and as a nation, we need to pass in it. I have reasons to believe that we would, as we don''t have

Centre orders 11.45 cr HCQ tablets with 2 Indian firms

COVID toll-free number recorded 50k calls in a day during March end

‘10,000 patients recovered so far’

New Delhi: India has placed urgent orders for at least 11.45 crore tablets of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). This drug is being directly procured by HLL Lifecare, on behalf of the Union Health Ministry. Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL) Lifecare is a government-owned healthcare manufacturing company.

HCQ is an anti-malarial drug and has only been recommended as prophylaxis of COVID-19 as per the national taskforce for COVID-19.

It is not a cure but this protocol has been recommended by the national task force for mostly frontline health care workers and has been approved by the Drug Controller Gen-

Mumbai: Health Ministry in mid-march launched the 24x7 tollfree national helpline when India started to report cases of COVID-19. All phone calls on '1075' are managed by the National Health Authority's call centre based in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Delhi. “We have received up to 50,000 phone calls as the highest spike in a day in the last week of March, but on average, we are answering at least 30,000 phone calls every day.

At NHA, We also have beneficiary empowered mechanism to handle query related to COVID-19”, Praveen Gedam, Additional CEO at NHA, informed. —ANI

New Delhi: Over 10,000 people out of 37,776 suffering from the coronavirus infection have recovered in the country so far, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

However, 2,411 new cases of coronavirus and 71 deaths have been reported from different States/Union Territories in the last 24 hours.

According to the Ministry’s latest update, India’s count of COVID-19 cases has reached 37,776, of which 26,535 are active cases. 10,018 patients have recovered/migrated and 1,223 deaths have been reported so far.

Maharashtra has the most number of COV-

MED UPDATE

eral of India (DCGI) for restricted use in an emergency situation.

A senior official at the Health Ministry told: “For HCQ, we have placed orders for about 11.45 crore tablets to two Indian firms--IPCA laboratories and Zydus Cadila. So far, we have received 6.64 crore HCQ drugs and remaining will arrive by May 16.”

As per revised guide-

‘PILGRIMS FROM U’KHAND CAN VISIT KEDARNATH FROM MAY 4’ Dehradun: Pilgrims from Uttarakhand can visit Kedarnath and other Himalayan temples in the state from May 4, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said. As inter-district movement of people is being allowed with certain restrictions from May 4 especially in districts which fall in the green zone, pilgrims from the

state can visit Kedarnath, Rawat said.However, the chief minister appealed to the people to maintain social distancing while paying obeisance at the temples as their safety is of utmost importance.

The portals of Kedarnath were opened on April 29 in the absence of pilgrims due to the extended lockdown.

lines on clinical management of COVID-19, the HCQ tablets are only for prophylaxis use of COVID-19 in selected eligible persons, the official said.

“Out of 6.64 cr HCQ drugs, Centre has distributed 4.3 crore HCQ tablets to the states and remaining is kept in the Centre-State buffer stock,” official from the Ministry added. —ANI

DGCA SUSPENDS COMMERCIAL FLIGHT OPS TILL MAY 17 New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday, issued a circular suspending domestic and international commercial flight operations till May 17 after the Home Ministry extended the ongoing lockdown for two more weeks beyond May 3.However, the restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA. The ongoing lockdown was scheduled to end on May 3. Domestic air passenger traffic in March fell by 33.06 per cent to 77.62 lakh.

ID-19 cases with 11,506 patients of which, 1,879 have been cured/discharged while 485 patients have succumbed to the virus. Gujarat has the second-highest number of coronavirus positive cases in the country with 4,721 cases including 735 patients cured/discharged & 236 deaths. Delhi’s count stands at 3,738 of which, 1,167 patients have recovered. —ANI

KERALA’S ERNAKULAM DISTRICT BECOMES CORONA-FREE Ernakulam: Ernakulam district in Kerala became corona-free after tests of a Covid-19 patient came out negative, informed S Suhas, Ernakulam District Collector. The patient identified as Vishnu (23) was discharged from the Kalamassery Medical college. “The one and only Covid-19 patient in Ernakulam district has

been discharged from Kalamassery Medical college. He tested negative.

With this, currently the district has no Covid-19 patients,” said the Ernakulam District Collector.

Vishnu had traveled to UAE and returned to Kochi on March 22. He was admitted to the hospital on April 4 after developing COVID-19 symptoms.

IN THE COURTYARD

Nitish Katara murder : No parole to Vishal Yadav New Delhi: While disposing off the parole plea of Vishal Yadav, serving life term for the murder of Nitish Katara, Delhi HC issued direction to the competent authority to treat the instant writ petition as a representation of the petitioner and decide it within 15 days.

The petitioner Vishal Yadav had sought parole, for eight weeks, in view of COVID-19 pandemic on the ground that he could get infected or tuberculosis as he

had earlier suffered from TB in view of poor sanitation facilities in the prison.

Police opposed his application and stated that the prison records indicate the convict's medical condition to be stable and he is not suffering from TB currently and there is no risk of COVID-19 infection to him in jail.

SC had awarded 25year jail term to Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal for their role in the kidnapping and killing of Katara. —ANI

Cops move Justice Gaur HC over bail is claims commissioner to Chawla New Delhi: Delhi Police approached Delhi HC, challenging trial court’s order of granting bail to cricket bookie Sanjeev Chawala. In its plea before HC, the police said: “The accused Sanjeev Chawla is a British national. It took 20 years to bring him to justice in India.

Investigation agency worked hard to get the accused extradited from the UK and succeeded in the matter as the case is very strong on law and facts. There is likelihood of the accused fleeing away from justice.” —ANI

New Delhi: The Delhi HC has appointed a claims commissioner to look into the extent of damage done to public property by mobs during the anti-Hindu Delhi riots in north-east Delhi.

The High Court appointed the Claims Commissioner after the Delhi government had written a letter seeking approval for the appointment.

This was done in reference to the judgment of the SC. —ANI

TWO TERRORISTS KILLED IN PULWAMA: JAMMU POLICE Pulwama: Two unidentified terrorists were neutralised in the encounter with security forces in Dangerpora area of Pulwama on Saturday, informed some officials from department of police on Saturday. A search operation is underway, Jammu and Kashmir Police said.

Earlier this week, three terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces at Zainapora in Shopian district. The joint operation was conducted by Army’s 55 RR (Rashtriya Rifles), Shopian Police and CRPF.

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CM Mamata Banerjee’s sharp rebuttal came after the Governor shot off two letters to the CM last week

‘DON’T TRY TO USURP

power in time of crisis’ Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee hit out at Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, accusing him of trying to “usurp powers” amid the coronavirus crisis, and asked him to desist from using official communications and logos on social media.

Banerjee’s sharp rebuttal came after the governor shot off two letters to the chief minister last week amid the clash between the Raj Bhavan and Nabanna, the state secretariat, in the wake of West Bengal’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Such words & com-

Such words and communications of such content, tenor and tone from a Governor to an elected CM are unprecedented in the annals of Indian constitutional and political history. Your words against me and my ministers and officers can be described as vituperative, intemperate, intimidating and abusive.

—Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM

munications of such content, tenor and tone from a Governor to an elected CM are unprecedented in the annals of Indian constitutional and political history.

Your words against me and my ministers and officers can be described as vitupera-

tive, intemperate, intimidating and abusive,” Banerjee said in her 14-page reply to Dhankhar.

Accusing him of preaching constitutional norms ‘without practising it&violating it.’

The Bengal Chief Minister further added

saying, “I beseech you to desist from intensifying your efforts to usurp powers, especially at the time of crisis....

You should desist from using official communications/logos for your continuous tweets on social media,” the chief minister said. —PTI

Give up COVID-19 data cover up ops: Guv to Didi Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar slammed CM Mamata Banerjee and asked her to give up ‘COVID-19 data cover up operation’.

He said that the COVID-19 cases shown in state health bulletin and national health bulletin vary and they are not reconcilable even if recovered/dead were considered. “Give up ‘Covid-19 data cover up operation’ Mamata Banerjee and share it transparently. Health bulletin 30/4 No of Active Covid cases 572. No health bulletin on May 1 !!” the Governor said in a tweet.

“Gap between 572 and 931 not reconcilable even if recovered/dead

Suspended AAP leader Hussain’’s bail plea rejected New Delhi: A Delhi court refused bail to suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in a case of attempt to murder pertaining to violence in northeast Delhi in February.

District and Sessions Judge Tyagita Singh dismissed his bail application on the ground that police probe was still at an initial stage.

Tahir’s counsel Javed Ali pleaded that his client had been falsely implicated in the case.

SALUTATION

At INS Angre in Mumbai, we’ve had a total of 38 Covid-19 positive cases. Of these, 12 have already been discharged from hospital while 26 are undergoing treatment.There have been no positive case on any of our warships and submarines.

—G Ashok Kumar,

Indian Navy vice-chief Vice Admiral

Admiral G Ashok Kumar told ANI in an interview. “whenever we are tasked, we are ready to sail,” he said. —ANI

New Delhi: The Indian Railways is utilising the lockdown to complete several long-pending overdue maintenance works, which required a traffic block of long durations.

With passenger services being suspended during the lockdown, the Railways had time to complete what they thought was a crucial maintenance requirement without the worry to start the track for passenger trains.

A Railway Ministry note issued on Saturday informed that the department has used the lockdown period as ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ to wipe out these maintenance arrears and take up the execution of work without affecting the train service.” —Agencies

Raju Bhargava, a 1995 IPS officer, has been repatriated to his parent Gujarat cadre. He was IG in CRPF HQ.

r considered Coordination lack awful when people r suffering untold miseries For way forward withdraw ‘political parties r vultures in wait of dead bodies’ and take all on board” he added.

Earlier Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sought detailed data on the number of people infected with COVID-19 in the state so far. —ANI

GAUTAM SEN TO BE INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL MONITOR FOR BHARAT COKING COAL LTD

The name of Gautam Sen, IDAS (1976)(Retd.), ExAddl. Controller General of Defence, Accounts and former Adviser to Nagaland and Arunachal Governments, has been approved by CVC for appointment as Independent External Monitor for Bharat Coking Coal Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd. MINOR RESHUFFLE OF IAS OFFICERS IN MP

Kavindra Kiyawat has been appointed as Commissioner, Bhopal division, while Kalpana Shrivastava was posted as Principal Secretary, Secretariat and Saurabh Suman is now Collector, Chhindwara. Besides, Praveen Singh Adhayach has been appointed as Collector, Burhanpur & Fating Rahul Haridas is Collector, Seoni in Madhya Pradesh.

TENURE OF JS REDDY, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER, ITAT, ENDS IN JUNE

The tenure of Accountant Member, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, J Sudhakar Reddy is ending on June 30, 2020.

Arvind Vadnerkar, Director (HR), BSNL, has been given additional charge of Director (EB), BSNL till July 25, 2020 or till further orders.

SANJAY RANA IS NEW DG, LOKAYUKTA IN MP

‘RUN 28 TRAINS TO BRING BACK MIGRANTS’ Raipur: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has requested the Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal in a letter to run as many as 28 trains to bring back migrants from other states. In letter, Baghel welcomed the Centre’s move to run special trains to bring back migrants. He also requested the government to run trains free of cost for migrant workers.

TRAIN DEPARTS FROM SABARMATI FOR AGRA Ahmedabad: A special train carrying migrant workers has left from Sabarmati in Ahmedabad for Agra.

A special train from Ernakulam in Kerala to Odisha’s Bhubaneswar carrying migrant labourers reached Renigunta railway station in Chittoor dist, On May 1, a special train carrying 1140 migrant labourers from Kerala bound for Bhubaneshwar, left from Ernakulam.

bring the battered economy back on track. He believes only dialogue can solve problems.

According to a top official of the MSME

ministry, Gadkari makes a point in all meetings that there is a need to convert this crisis into an opportunity.

“He tries to instil a

sense of hope amidst all the gloom. It has positive impact on the stakeholders as it is coming from none other than a minister,” the official said.

He held a talk ‘’Response to global pandemic, Roadmap for India’’ with students of Indian origin living in 43 countries including Britain, Canada, Singapore and Australia recently. During the talk he appealed to them to play an active part in the fight against the coronavirus. —PTI

vacy regarding Aarogya Setu app.

“We are looking at the privacy issues, as also the compulsory deduction of amount and hopefully within next 24 hours we will come with a more comprehensive and a calibrated response on the issue. But, these are areas of concern, we have noted,” he said at a press conference. —PTI

sale is allowed in green, orange and red zones if it is a standalone shop and not located in markets or malls. In liquor shops, customers will have to maintain minimum six feet distance (2 gaz ki doori) from each other, and also ensure that not more than five persons are present at one time at the shop.

These exemptions will be effective from May 4 when the third phase of the lockdown will begin. On allowing domestic helps to work in red zones, a home

ministry official said resident welfare associations should take a call regarding allowing the movement of outsiders.

But health protocols have to be maintained by domestic helps as well as employers, and the responsibility lies with the person who employs maids in case of any mishappening.

According to the health ministry, as on Friday, there were 130 ‘Red’ zones in the country with maximum of 19 in Uttar Pradesh, followed by 14 in Maha-

VIEWPOINT

KERALA CHIEF SECRETARY TO RETIRE

Kerala Chief Secretary, Tom Jose, is superannuating by this month end. He is a1984 batch IAS officer.

VADNERKAR GETS ADDITIONAL CHARGE

Turn crisis into opportunity: Gadkari New Delhi: In order to boost the morale of the entrepreneurs who have been suffering due to the lockdown, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has been talking to various stakeholders and telling them not to lose hope. Gadkari has been using social media and other means like video conferencing to reach out to people, entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

Gadkari is even reaching out to foreign students, seeking their suggestions on how to

POWER Gallery GUJARAT CADRE IPS OFFICER REPATRIATED

‘14 warships readied for Rlys completes pending evacuating Indians from Gulf’ construction, other works New Delhi: The Indian Navy has readied 14 of its warships for carrying out an extensive evacuation operation of Indian citizens who want to return to the country from the Gulf countries for which it has prepared a detailed procedure to prevent any spread of COVID-19 among its personnel during the operation, a top Navy officer said on Saturday.

“We have kept around 14 ships ready. Four in the Western Naval Command, four in Eastern Naval Command, three in South and couple of them in the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

So, we have got a number of ships ready to (carry out the evacuation of Indian citizens from Gulf countries),” Navy Vice Chief Vice

06

‘Spell out plans on lockdown exit, economic revival’ New Delhi Congress questioned Centre on a host of issues and demanded that PM Modi come forward to inform the countrymen on his government’s plans to deal with the ongoing coronavirus crisis and economic revival.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “Will we see another lockdown?

When will the lockdown finally end? What is the ‘exit strategy’ from lockdown 3.0?” —ANI

Sanjay Rana has been appointed as DG, Lokayukta while Ashok Awasthy, DG, Grievances, was given an additional charge of OSD to Home Minister in Madhya Pradesh.

DEEPAK KUMAR APPOINTED CRO OF RBL BANK

The Board of Directors of RBL Bank have appointed Deepak Kumar as the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) of the Bank for a period of two years.

RAJIV CHAUDHARY TO CONTINUE HOLDING ADDL CHARGE AS GM, NR

Rajiv Chaudhary, General Manager, North Central Railway has been asked to continue to hold additional charge of General Manager, Northern Railway for a period of three months beyond April 30, 2020. He is an IRSE officer.

SC COLLEGIUM RECOMMENDS TRANSFER OF JUSTICE AM BADAR TO KERALA HC

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended transfer of Justice A M Badar from Bombay High Court to Kerala High Court.

LK JOSHI IS NO MORE FORMER SECRETARY PERSONNEL IN THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

LK Joshi has passed away in Delhi on Saturday morning. 74 year old Joshi was former 1970 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer.

LT GEN KJS DHILLION ASSUMES CHARGE AS DG, DIA

Lt Gen K JS Dhillion has assumed charge as Director General, Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Intelligence).

NEERAJ DHAWAN APPOINTED CRO OF YES BANK

YES Bank has appointed Neeraj Dhawan as the Chief Risk Officer of the Bank for a period of three years.

FROM PG 1 Arogya Setu,... but fear must not be used to track citizens without their consent, he said.

The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at risk of the COVID-19 infection. It also provides people with important information, including ways to avoid coronavirus and its symptoms. “The Arogya Setu app, is a sophisticated surveillance system, outsourced to a pvt operator, with no institutional oversight

- raising serious data security & privacy concerns. Technology can help keep us safe; but fear must not be leveraged to track citizens without their consent,” he said on Twitter.

The central government has made it compulsory for all its employees to download the app and urged private entitles to also ask their employees to use it.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said various experts have raised multiple issues of pri-

Govt adds... allowed to open in red zones as these are services not goods. Liquor

rashtra. The number of ‘Orange’ Zones was 284 and ‘Green’ was 319.

All the districts of the national capital have been put under ‘Red’ zone. Travel by road (inter-state), rail and air and metro are banned across the country during the third leg of the lockdown.

The home ministry may give permission in special cases depending on the urgency.

Modi’s nutritious... strengthen agriculture infrastructure, special

Kisan Credit Card saturation drive for PM-Kisan beneficiaries, and facilitating inter and intra-state trade of agriculture produce to ensure the fairest return to farmer were some of the important areas covered during the meeting. Developing e-NAM into a platform of platforms to enable e-commerce was also one of the important topics of discussion.

“The discussion also emanated on the possibilities of the uniform statutory framework in

the country to facilitate new ways for farming, which will infuse capital and technology in the agrarian economy.

The pros and cons of biotechnological developments in crops or enhancement of productivity and reduction in input costs were also deliberated,” added the statement. Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar among others attended the meeting. —ANI

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07

IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEDY NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL CLIMATES WITH STRATEGIES TO RECONNECT COMMUNITIES, ALLAY FEARS AND BETTER PREPARE US FOR ANY FUTURE SHUTDOWNS

IN A POST-COVID-19 WORLD, CITIES MUST BE REDESIGNED

BUILD WITH DIFFERENT NEEDS AND STIGMA IN MIND

he impacts of Covid-19 TPost-Covid-19 will not be felt equally. cities should

take this into account.

The disease has exposed the vulnerability of people experiencing homelessness.

It has also greatly increased the risk of loneliness for those who live alone. This applies particularly to older citizens with a mobility impairment.

The pandemic has also highlighted the safety risks of centralised living arrangements like nursing homes.

We must prioritise the creation of housing that reduces isolation and promotes social connection.

Recent positive public conversations on social media and within the arts community on previously stigmatised emotions like loneliness and anxiety will help keep these concerns on the public agenda.

C

ovid-19 has forced us into social distancing, isolation and quarantine. These conditions are likely fostering widespread anxiety and loneliness in our cities. However, they’ve also made the need for socially connected, vibrant public spaces obvious to all.

We offer four strategies for rebuilding social connectivity and emotional wellbeing in our cities, once restrictions are lifted.

Enforced distancing measures are probably changing not just our work, travel and family routines, but how we interact with others and how we feel about ourselves and our communities.

Loneliness is bad for your health and is likely on the rise. There is no guarantee the pandemic-driven shift towards more digital communication will compensate for the lost emotional closeness of in-person contact.

As loneliness becomes more common, it creates a change in what sociologists refer to as “emotional climates” – the collective feelings experienced and shared by most people within a given city or society. A “mass emotional event” like Covid-19 can dramatically alter the emotional climate.

It’s so disruptive that it leads to a permanent change in everyday emotional states, expressions and social interactions.

Covid-19 has strong potential to make us not only lonelier, but more distrustful, fearful, anxious and angry.

The emerging evidence of this includes: panic buying of goods; abuse and stigma of “risky” carers such as health workers; and potential increases in domestic violence and animal cruelty.

It has even been suggested we are collectively processing and moving through the stages of mass grief.

It’s important to remedy negative emotional climates with strategies to reconnect communities, allay fears and better prepare us for any future shutdowns. We can even aim to promote positive emotional climates and “kindness pandemics”.

INTEGRATE PUBLIC AND ONLINE SPACES ur new online communication skills can help O us develop a better physical-digital interface for bringing people together. Video conferencing

is flexible and can enable long-distance connection and “work from home” hubs. However, social media platforms, such as Facebook, Meetup, WhatsApp or art-based apps like Somebody, are useful for organising physical meetings too. These can can help with community volunteering, socialising,

or simply sharing guerrilla-garden herbs for local cooking.

A better physical-digital interface could help new jobs flourish in “interactive” creative industries that virtually connect isolated individuals. New art spaces could be established, putting connective digital infrastructure, such as audio-visual platforms, within physical spaces to help face-to-face and virtual audiences interact.

REBUILDING COMMUNITIES ovid-19 is an opportunity C to build on what we know and to learn from this situation.

It’s possible to promote social

and emotional well-being. We suggest four key approaches for building better communities that do this.

DESIGN WALKABLE, SOCIAL, FLEXIBLE PUBLIC SPACES ecent work-from-home pracR tices have reduced car traffic by up to 50% on arterial roads.

However, they have also prompted cabin fever and a craving for exercise and social contact. Cities and suburbs should be redesigned to support physical and social activity and mental health. We need a greater emphasis on cycle- and pedestrian-friendly spaces. There should also be renewed focus on

building walkable town centres and neighbourhood high streets, rather than continuing with car-dependent suburban sprawl.

Recent examples of innovative and flexible use of space by business are inspiring. Whether cafes become corner stores, pubs sell takeaway cocktails, parks become gyms, or car parks become pop-up businesses, flexible use of space should become commonplace.

PROVIDE QUALITY HOUSING ovid-19 has exposed C the vast variability in the quality of urban

housing. Many homes lack the space to accommodate work, study, relaxation, exercise and socialising, or spaces where people can seek privacy and quiet. Housing also varies in its access to fresh air, light, temperature control and healthy green spaces.

Designing future homes with these needs and features in mind should be a priority.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI

DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

These are difficult times for all, we must stand by each other and strive to find ‘the silver lining’ daily. Be kind and compassionate towards humans and animals alike.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

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PM MODI SAVES CM UDDHAV here is more to politics than meets the eye. Uddhav Thackeray, who, not so long ago, had chosen Pawar and Congress over Modi, is now a sitting CM and the courtesy goes to Modi. Uddhav had acceded to the CM throne without getting elected and his temporary arrangement was about to expire on May 28. Any by-election in coronahit Maharashtra was out of the question, so his advisors told him to get nominated to one of the two such seats for Legislative Council lying vacant. State cabinet duly sent its recommendation to this effect to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, the one who had his doors open for Devendra Fadnavis at midnight. Koshyari kept sitting on the file much to the increasing discomfort of Uddhav Thackeray with each passing day. State cabinet again sent its nomination proposal on April 27 but Koshyari looked elsewhere. Uddhav had cozied up to his rapport with PM Modi by paying him a

T

FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL

courtesy call with his son Aditya after assuming the post of CM so he decided to fire a direct shot and he called PM Modi and pleaded his case. PM not only assured him during the phone call but the results were to be seen, sooner than expected, by all. The Election Commission of India came into action and took cognizance of elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

A relieved Uddhav didn’t waste in thanking PM Modi for his generosity.

WHO WILL BE THE SUCCESSOR TO TIWARI?

D

elhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari’s tenure of 3 years is about to end and search for his successor is on.

The BJP high command needs a pro-active president who can reign in Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal effectively. There are many names like Vijay Goel, Pravesh Varma, Dushyant Gautam and Satish Upadhyay floating around, but Manoj Tiwari is yet to hang his boots. He claims that as party

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

Narendra Modi

Uddhav Thackeray

Rahul Gandhi

S. Jaishankar

chief in Delhi, he has not only helped it with more seats, increased vote share but has also contributed to the party’s popularity.

tisement has become a rare commodity denting the industry revenue in a big way. As per the Indian Newspaper Society, the industry has already suffered a heavy loss of Rs 15,500 crore. Big names who published 32 pagers are struggling to survive by publishing eight pager sheets. The whole focus now is on the digital editions. One big regional newspaper group had 54 corona positive cases in its office and it somehow managed to publish its

editions after sanitizing its office. Industry sources claim that the industry leader Times group is facing a daily deficit of Rs 6-7 crore.

Even regional player like Amar Ujala is in deep red with daily losses reaching Rs 1.5 crore. The newspaper industry, real brand ambassadors of the democracy, fails to understand scissors on its payouts when on the other hand the same govt is mulling on a relief package of Rs 8-10 lakh crore for the cor-

porate sector.

CORONA TIMES NEWSPAPER

T

he deep stings of coronavirus have almost defied the proverb ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’. Covid-19 has virtually pushed the newspaper industry below the ground. The govt advertisement is trickling in and corporate adver-

IFSC HUB SHIFT TO GUJ RATTLES MAHA COALITION Upset leaders rubbish attempts to rob the rightfully earned ’Financial Hub’ title from Mumbai First India News Mumbai/Ahmedabad: Modi government’s notification on 27 April that declared Gandhinagar as the headquarters of the International Financial Services (IFSC) Authority has obviously upset Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) govt in Maharashtra.

“It’s disappointing and a move against Mumbai’s established status as the nation’s financial capital,” NCP President Sharad Pawar said.

Maharashtra Industries Minister Subhash Desai, a close aide of Thackeray, said that it is natural

The Centre should reconsider its decision, after all Mumbai is the financial hub of the country as it is disappointing and is an ateempt to reduce Mumbai’s stature.

—Balasahab Thorat,, Maharshtra Revenue Minister

In 2007, the Percy Mistry committee submitted a report on this issue. Till 2014, the then government at Centre (UPA) and state (Democratic Front) did nothing. The then Gujarat CM (Narendra Modi) started working on it. In 2014, they submitted the proposal and so as we (BJP-Sena).

—Devendra fadnavis,, Former Maharshtra CM

to have IFSC in Mumbai. “Just giving a name does not make a financial capital.

The world knows Mumbai and its financial might,” he said. The senior Shiv

Sena leader said Mumbai had the BSE, NSE, RBI, SEBI, headquarters of banks and financial companies, offices of top international companies and Mumbai was an International Financial Centre.

Maharashtra’s Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said the Central government’s decision to locate the IFSC to Gujarat is disappointing and is being done to reduce Mumbai’s stature.

Maharashtra’s School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad tweeted “Rest In Peace” IFSC dream of Mumbai. Mumbai is again robbed of its opportunity to become an IFSC destination due to special biased love of our Prime minister for Gujarat. PM is for the country or just for one state?”.

Home-bound migrant worker dies in bus

TRANSFORMING RAHUL

F

ormer Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is busy learning new lessons of politics during the abnormal corona era. Despite lockdown, Rahul is successfully finding ways to get inputs from experts from fields ranging from education to the economy. He is refining and polishing his knowledge in every sphere. Rahul has a battery of subject experts

who are providing him insight into understanding & solving the Indian political paradox. Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan is merging as his true Alma mater for economic matters. If the sources are to be believed then Raghuram Rajan is to Rahul what Manmohan Singh was to Sonia Gandhi. Rahul’s deep meaning discussion with Raghuram on YouTube is being watched by a large number of people. This and such other videos that the party proposes to release in the coming days are aimed at people to see the transformation of Rahul Gandhi into a mature and settled leader. All the people who Rahul is closely interacting with are mostly intellectuals. The only problem is that all these renowned names belong to the elite English world will be confronting a pure son of the soil in Narendra Modi. Further, the majority of Indians neither understand English. It is commonly believed that Sonia Gandhi will hand over the party baton to Rahul

Cough syrup doses keep Corona at bay!

08

after the lockdown is lifted and even Rahul is preparing for the same but the only bottleneck is the language.

ISRAEL THANKS INDIAN BUREAUCRATS

T

he Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz has written a thanks letter to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. Through his letter, Katz has surpassed the routine protocol and walked the extra mile by thanking the bureaucrats who took pains to evacuate citizens of Israel during Covid-19 scare. Katz has particularly thanked Joint Secretary, MEA Nikhilesh Giri and 1995 batch IAS Pradeep Singh Kharola who is serving Civil Aviation ministry. But sources say that Katz forgot to thank 2012 batch IAS S Rakhi Mayuri posted in MEA and looking after Western Asia and North African desk who played a pivotal role in the evacuation.

The author is a journalist and political commentator and views expressed are his personal

Migrant couple flees with six mth-old kid

First India News

First India News

Surat: A migrant worker, finally heading for his home in Ganjam district in Odisha died in the bus while he was still in the way. The deceased has been identified as a resident of Narayanpur village in Suroda area of Odisha’s Ganjam district. The reason of his death was not ascertained.

Chhattisgarh police detained the bus and started investigation into the matter.

According to reports, over 170 persons were returning to the state from Surat in three buses after taking permission from Surat district administration. Sources said, as many as eight lakh Odia migrants have been staying in Surat. Majority of them were working in textile mills in the coastal city of Gujarat. Earlier on 30 April 217 migrant workers reached Seragarh and Dharakote in Ganjam district from Surat.

Vadodara: A migrant couple on the way to Uttar Pradesh were arrested by crime branch for abducting a six month old baby from Sachin area of the city.

The accused identified as Amit Ghadhiya (25) and his wife Anita (25), originally from Kharsola village in Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh, told the police that they intended to raise the baby as their own after losing two of their children previously.

The accused couple decided to kidnap the six month old boy from a neighboring family of migrant workers before fleeing with a group of migrant labourers that had began walking home, police said.

The police said that both families were neighbors and working as factory labourers in Sachin GIDC area of Surat.

Jubilant little Mahira after defeating mighty Corona.

First India News Surat: It would be quite astonishing for the people to know, specially with Covid-19 scare all around, that a 4 year old girl defeated simply by taking two 5 ml doses of a syrup for 17 days in hospital.

Little Mahira is back home after defeating mighty coronavirus.

She is among the 26 patients who have been discharged from the hospital after fully recovering with the message loud & clear that one shouldn’t

fear corona but just be positive in your approach. Similar is the story of 70 year old Chandrika Ben Jariwala. She had the crucial comorbidity of high blood pressure yet she simply followed the instructions given by her doctors to come out fully recovered in 17 days.

Chandrika Ben only consumed two chapties a day and consumed a lot of liquids along with the dose of cough syrup prescribed by her doctors. Both give a big hope to the rest.

Pandemic forces jobless & penniless tribals to barter system First India News Narmada: 60 years ago when Gujarat became a state the fore fathers never would have aspired a foundation day where the tribals of the state had to go back in history and resort to primitive mde of payments in the digital age.

With no job to earn from and no savings to bank on, Covid-19 pandemic has forved the tribls of the area to adopt the age old ‘Sata

Pata’ system I,e, the primitive barter system where gods were & services were exchanged for each other due to no or less currency circulation.

The residents exchange grains for lentils and so on. “When the country was not independent, these tribals used to grow sorghum on their land and other crops.

That’s how they exchanged goods and grains through ‘sata

Today, when the tribals are unable to get out due to the covid-19 epidemic, the practice has resumed in the villages of the district.”

—Mahesh Vasava, Tribals forced to adopt barter system due to nation wide lockdown due to Covid-19.

pata’ system and followed this method of

trade. Today, when the tribals are unable to get

President of the tribal association AMU

out due to the covid-19 epidemic, the practice

has resumed in the villages of the district,” said Mahesh Vasava, president of the tribal association AMU. The border areas of Narmada district are considered as a tribal region of the state with residents having limited resources to by essentials. A lockdown in their situation has left them with neither job nor money as the locals cannot even go out in hunt for work. Hence, they have now decided

to exchange goods for their survival.

In 200-300 villages, these tribes do farming, and when it rains, they go out in different cities to take up other jobs during the season. As it is difficult for them to meet their means with the food grains provided by the government, these tribals are exchanging goods for other agricultural products and grains.

@ahmedpatel If Government of India can spend Rs 20,000 crs to construct a new parliament building why is it collecting money from poor migrants who need to go back home?

Is this how you will fund a new Parliament?

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09

AHMEDABAD, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2020

YOGA SE HI HOGA

Shilpa Shetty Kundra

Since it’s the third phase of the National Lockdown, City First brings its readers the benefits of practising yoga, during Lockdown 3.0 to stay fit

SWATI JANGID

swati.jangid@cityfirst.co.in

—PHOTO BY JATIN BHALLA

D

(Clockwise) Akanksha Bhalla, Jacqueline Fernandez and Swati Jangid

uring the COVID-19 pandemic, we all have to stay at our homes and be fit and maintain our immunity to fight this virus. Our movements are restricted and people of all ages have to be as active as possible keeping oneself positive. Regular physical activities can benefit both the body and mind. Activities can also help us plan our whole day routine and be a way of staying in contact with family and friends. People have engaged themselves in yoga and Zumba workout sessions by taking online classes and watching YouTube videos. Experts are also posting pictures and videos about how one can stay fit without the gym.

There are some simple yoga asanas like Surya Namaskar, Plank pose which can be easily done at our home, and repeating them regularly will give us the result. Some games like badminton and skipping are also helpful. This lockdown has taken us closer to nature, thereby making

I have been doing Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and yoga since the past few years. While MMA drives the fighting spirit alive within me, yoga has helped keep me sane and at peace during these difficult times.

—JUHI KATEJA, Ahmedabad us realise our physical health and stamina. These days we are avoiding the helpers at our place following social distancing and doing our work on our own which exactly gave us the report about our fitness and stamina.

Everybody is becoming more and more creative by using whatever is available at their place and creating wonders from the waste material also.

Yoga and meditation help us to access our inner selves in this time of crises and it be-

comes a useful tool to deal with anxiety and depression. Yoga is the technique to control the body and mind. The beauty of yoga is that you don’t have to be an expert to attain the desired benefits. Whether you are old or young, fit or unfit, in-shape or out-shape yoga has the power to calm and strengthen you.

We all should plan our day and try to give some time for yoga and meditation in this Lockdown 3.0, and make it successful and healthy throughout.

Malaika Arora

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AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

10

Finding your

‘True Self’

ANUBHA JAIN

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

I

FA CE OF TH ED AY

t’s a famous saying that everything happens for a reason. And that reason causes change.

Sometimes the change is hard but in the end its all for the best. Out of the blue, in March 2020 the World Health Organisation announced COVID-19 as the pandemic for the entire world. Life has come to a halt, total shut down; people caged inside their houses. In this time of lockdown and social distancing, some people with an optimistic approach took it as a time of rejuvenation and on the other hand, a few of them got depressed seeing the scenario. We are not able to go out for social gatherings though the time has given us an opportunity to connect not only with our neighbors but as we are so much dependent on digital gadgets so virtually we are joining with people whom we never would have really known

in any other circumstance. So the entire world has united in this time of emergency.

While this time, ‘I’ also met myself, the real me. Yes, I came to know the actual ‘Me’ who otherwise I left somewhere during the chasing journey of my life’s primary goals. This hard time of lockdown has taught all of us the actual meaning of ‘LIFE’. With advancement of technology I realized that we have come so far and forgotten the real sense of life. There comes a time in life where you have to face the reality.

Through this pandemic the almighty has shown us that every worldly thing we run after all over our lives is entirely meaningless. Our all desires are of no use. We are mere puppets of the super power ‘GOD’. This superpower has once again demonstrated that ‘I’ am just a soul who is playing various roles in this life journey as Mother, daughter, wife, and many more with great solemnity like other souls in this world. This is a bit philosophical but it is the truth of life. I also wonder sometimes that if ‘I’ have no connection to the body-mindpersonality at the moment, it’s merely a Pious Soul without any feeling of anger, love or hatred. I have found my true self. And indeed, the greatest and most mysterious journey of our lives is to discover who we really are?

I believe, in this journey of self searching one should not be self-centered, but to be the most valuable human being and should lead a life of hu-

manity or as the purest soul one has to serve others.

So, self realization is actually knowing yourself and living a life with a certain ease. When there is no ease, joy is out of question. When there is no ease and joy in your life, questions will come up, “To be or not to be?”

Hence, selfrealization is not a choice; it is a requisite.

C o n c i s e l y, this lockdown period has not only shown the real essence of life to me but also united the entire world and helped us to know our inner self closely!

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Things are getting easy for you on academic front as you have starting exerting more than you ever have.

Love life is secure for you. All your worries will vanish once you get the promotion and hike which will happen soon. You may feel very emotional about your parents.

A fun trip with family is on cards for some. On academic front, you will be very busy in doing your preparations that you will have no spare time for leisure. You will keep your promises as far as helping someone with money is concerned.

You will complete a project.

You colleagues or your boss may give you a surprise party for your sincere effort in some project. Always be optimistic when it come to love. Homemakers will spend the whole day in resetting and arranging things in the house. A dear friend will surprise you.

You must learn to maintain good relationships on work front as you cannot be blunt with people at work.

Romance is in the air for you and you will spend some amazing time with you love today. You may think of buying a property but the only problem is the area.

MAR 21 - APR 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You have a good family life and you are very emotional about them. You need to wait until you find a good life partner. You are good at managing your expenses and savings as much as possible. You will come across every kind of person but it depends on you how you deal with them.

On social front, you will go out of your way to help someone with their personal problems. You will meet someone who shares same ideologies like you. You are person of strong resolve and you don’t stop until you have accomplished whats in your mind.

You will benefit from buying or selling the property about which you have been thinking for quite some time. Look for the strengths rather than the weakness.

You are very serious about your career and you don’t tolerate any mistake in your work.

You need to not only understand what your partner wants but also make sure to deliver it. On professional front, you will meet the expectations of your boss. In financial matter, you know hat needs to be done and you tend to make no mistakes.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You may excel in some or the other sports an there is no harm in taking it seriously for once. Some of you have really started earning well and you are professionally growing day by day. A good news is waiting for you on professional front. You are about to achieve something great.

Your spouse will give you special treatment today for all your love and sincerity.

You will feel on the top of the of the world today and you will spread happiness wherever you will go. You will be mentally very relaxed, as you have managed to finish your work in advance.

You are soon moving abroad to your place of desire for permanent settlement. You usually don’t sit at peace until your work is done. You are a tough, strong person by heart but you don’t forgive people who play with your sentiments. You are a one man army and you don’t need anyone.

People will not only notice your hard work but will also appreciate you for it.

You will be able to successfully negotiate. Exercises alone won’t help you, you have to careful consider what you put in your belly. Many opportunities will knock at your door.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

VARSHA YADAV, Actress

APR 21 - MAY 20

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

11

CHOOSY & PICKY!

A

dah Sharma says she is picky when it comes to signing films and that she tries to pick something that is different from what she has done before.

“Yes, I am picky when it comes to choosing films. I try to be part of films that I would want to watch.

I also try to pick different roles from what I have done. I started with ‘1920’. I am very fortunate, the actresses in our industry for years don’t get a chance to do what I got to do in my debut,” said Adah.

Adah made her Bollywood debut 2008 with the film ‘1920’. She was later seen in films like ‘Hum

Adah Sharma

Hai Raahi Car Ke’, the ‘Commando’ franchise, ‘Bypass Road’ and ‘Phhir’. She also worked in the southern film industry.

Adah says she likes to surprise the audience.

“I try with each film to do something different because the audience also waits to see ‘what different is Adah Sharma going to do’ and if I do the same then they are like ‘anyone can do that!’. So nowadays even if it is a short film like I just did ‘Tindey’, ‘moh’ or a music video... I try to pick something that is different from what I have done and others have done as well,” she said.

She will next be seen in ‘Man To Man’.

The film revolves around actor Naveen Kasturia’s character falling in love with and marrying Sharma’s character, only to realise she was biologically a man who became a woman after surgery.

—IANS

S

Rishi Kapoor in Neetu Kapoor’s Instagram post

‘End of our story’

N

Katy Perry

Soon to be parents!

M

odel Gigi Hadid has confirmed that she is pregnant with her first child with singer boyfriend Zayn Malik, and

TOUGH TIMES!

inger Katy Perry says she will never forget being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that she is trying not to be stressed about her delivery. The 35-year-old star is expecting her first child with her fiance, actor Orlando Bloom. During a conversation with ‘American Idol’ host Ryan Seacrest, she admitted that she is facing some tough challenges due to the isolation. Perry told Seacrest that dealing with a pregnancy in a pandemic is something she will never forget. —IANS

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid

eetu Kapoor has penned an emotional post remembering husband Rishi Kapoor, who passed away on Thursday morning. The actress shared a photo on Instagram where Rishi Kapoor can be seen sitting with a glass of Scotch whiskey.

“End of our story,” she captioned the frame.

Commenting on her post, Anupam Kher shared: “Some stories never end.” Raveena Tandon, who worked with Rishi Kapoor in 1995 movie ‘Saajan Ki Baahon Mein’, commented: “Eternal and forever.”

Sonu Sood commented: “It’s a story that inspired many stories on this planet mam. Some stories never end, in fact, they will remain in our hearts forever. Rishi sir will always be a guiding angel.”

Richa Chadha shared: “It is but a comma, not a full stop.

He’s right there, beside you, regaling you with stories, making you laugh.”

—IANS

TOGETHER FOREVER!

tagged the COVID-19 lockdown as a “nice silver lining” to enjoy her pregnancy. “Obviously, we wish we could have announced it on our own terms.

We’re very excited and happy and grateful for everyone’s well

wishes and support,” Gigi said on ‘The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon’. “Especially during this time, it’s a nice silver lining to be home and be together, and really experience it day by day,” Gigi said.

—IANS

It’s Auction!

R

eality TV star Kim Kardashian’s beach house in Malibu is up for auction. Olympic gold medallist Bruce Jenner, now Caitlyn Jenner, had called the beach house his home on ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ season 10.

Kim’s mother Kris Jenner, had suggested the gold medallist, with whom she was formerly married, to move out from the estate. Before his transition to Caitlyn, Bruce lodged in the beach house till he found a new residence.

—IANS

O

Dharmendra and Hema Malini

n the occasion of their 38th wedding anniversary, evergreen actor Hema Malini and Dharmendra thanked fans for sending their warm wishes to them.

Malini (71) took to Twitter on Saturday and shared a picture with her husband on the occasion. She tweeted, “Dharam ji & I thank all those who have wished us on our wedding anniversary today. It is your blessings & good wishes that have always been with us all through these years.”

Daughter Esha Deol also showered anniversary wishes on her parents by sharing a picture of them on Instagram. Wishing for infinite years of togetherness of her parents, she wrote, “Happy wedding anniversary my darling parents! My mamma & papa, I love u both soooooooo much & pray to God to bless you both with infinite years of togetherness, love, happiness & the best of health! @ dreamgirlhemamalini @aapkadharam. Love you, Esha, Bharat, Radhya & Miu.” —ANI

Kim Kardashian

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AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

Connected! Dil Se…

12

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

Now, more than ever, it is important for you to stay connected to your family!

CITY FIRST JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

W

ith much of the world in lockdown, staying connected with our loved ones has never been more important.

With the Lockdown Whether we’re checking in with a call, keeping ourselves entertained by taking part in online conferences, or updating the family WhatsApp with our latest baking attempts, we have a burning desire to keep in touch. Our home broadband has gone from “nice to have” to the lifeline between us and the outside world. For many of us, our parents and siblings are far away and families are finding new innovative ways to keep in regular touch. A family actually does a video conference across the word in eight locations every night, others are sharing books, recipes, and music. As the lockdown goes on, families are finding new creative ways to remain in touch and connected emotionally. Remember, the distance is just physical, not dil se! cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Gujarat: Mounted police personnel patrols a street during the nationwide lockdown in Ahmedabad.

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

I wouldn’t be able to hold myself on passing this fact along to my children on how their dad and his cousins made through this pandemic by playing PubG almost all day long! Tiwari family was saving lives by group video calling and discussing what dish was made here in Jaipur and in Delhi!

—ABHIRATH TIWARI

Since I live in another city due to work, the lockdown has not really changed anything as far as connecting with my family goes.

I have always stayed in touch with them through daily phone, WhatsApp, and video calls. The lockdown has compelled me to work from home.

In this era of social media, it is much easier to connect with family and friends who are afar from us, but as cases are increasing day by day I am very much worried about my dear ones who are living in the red zone or hotspot area. I stay connected with my friends via social media, video calls, and phone calls.

—SANDEEP CHHANGANI

—DIPALI JOSHI

PHOTOGENIC KIDS!

Rajasthan: Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas was handed over a cheque of Rs 15 lakh by DN Sakkarwal, who is the chief regional manager at the Oriental Insurance Company Limited, Jaipur. The staff and management of the Oriental Insurance Company Limited, across the state, have come forward in the battle against coronavirus and donated their one-day salary to contribute to CM’s COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Gujarat: With traffic at a minimum with the nationwide lockdown in place, an antelope was seen sauntering down Ahmedabad’s CG Road on Saturday.

CITY FIRST

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o keep the kids engaged amid the corona outbreak, Infinity Takeovers organised an online photo contest ‘India’s Little Fashion Hunters (ILFH) Kids Photo Contest’ for the kids up to 15 years. The results of the contest were announced on Friday, where Soumya Soni won the contest, wherein Shashwat Singh and Ranveer Singh bagged the second and third positions, respectively. During the contest, more than 8000 kids made their entry to participate in the contest and the winners were decided based on their post’s reach, likes, and ranking. Director of ILFH Anup Choudhary informed that the top winners will get gift hampers up to 5 lakh and

Soumya, Shashwat and Ranveer

the top ten kids will receive People’s Choice Award. Apart from this, selected kids will also get the opportunity to participate in ILFH upcoming fashion shows. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

GULAB JI, NO MORE

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eaving behind his 50-years-old legacy, Gulab Singh Dhiravat, the famous tea seller of Jaipur, passed away on Saturday at the age of 95, due to a week-long illness. Even in the time without Coronavirus, he had provided morn-

HAPPY B’DAY!

IAS Babulal Kothari (top) and IAS Deshal Dan celebrated their birthdays on 2 May, Saturday. We wish them all the best!

Gulab Singh Dhiravat

ing tea and breakfast to approximately 200 poor people every day. From various renowned personalities to the people of Pink City, everyone

CITY FIRST JAIPUR

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ahatma Gandhi Hospital’s Corona Critical Care team has successfully treated three corona positive patients and after discharged them on Saturday, after keeping them in isolation for 15 days.

The Corona Wing in charge at the hospital, Dr. Ashish Jain, informed that the Jaipur CMHO has referred three corona positive patients on 18 April. Patients were having common corona symptoms like cold, cough, fever, and breathing discomfort and so they were treated as per guidelines of ICMR.

loved ‘Gulab Ji Chai’ and precisely that’s the reason why a tea shop at MI Road has become a brand of Jaipur now.

—City First

BEING THANKFUL CITY FIRST JAIPUR

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anavaditya, son of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the emerging young player of the country in international shooting, thanked the central government on Saturday for ensuring the safety of doctors and paramedical staff in the country by enacting laws against the ones harming and assaulting them, and said, “in this difficult time the youth of the country is with Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. He also said, “Today the country is going through unusual circumstances due to the outbreak of the pandemic Coronavirus (Covid-19), and in this difficult time, the doctors and paramedical staff of the country are continuously working to save our lives day and night by risking their own lives. Yet they are attacked by some anti-social elements which is very sad and is a state of worrying”. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Positive Efforts!

Rajasthan: The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), after due consideration of the prevalent situation and subsequent lockdown due to COVID-19, has decided to postpone its examination (June - 2020 session). ICSI, Jaipur Chapter Chairman, Nitin Hotchandani informed that the Foundation, Executive and Professional programme, and Post Membership Qualification (PMQ) exams is now scheduled to be held from 1 June to 10 June. The Examination of the above session will now commence from 6 July, for which the revised schedule will be announced later.

Rajasthan: The Catholic Diocese of Jaipur along with its religious and educational institutions donated a sum of Rs 20 lakhs to strengthen the fight against the Corona pandemic. A donation of Rs.15 lakhs was made to the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s COVID-19 Relief Fund and Rs. 5 lakhs to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

Bishop Oswald Lewis shared that Catholic institutions are actively involved in charity work involving the landless and migrant labourers in several places in the Jaipur and Dausa districts.

Gujarat: Officials of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Ahmedabad division, distributed hand sanitizers, hand gloves, masks, and safety kit to police personnel at Navrangpura police station in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

RECEIVING DADASAHEB PHALKE SPECIAL MENTION

‘Kem Chho’ CITY FIRST AHMEDABAD

I After their recovery, the patients were gone though RT-PCR tests to diagnose coronavirus, which tested negative.

Later, after completion of their 15 days

quarantine period, all three patients were sent to home back in healthy condition. While the patients were leaving, the team at the hospital applaud for them to win

the battle against COVID-19. Also, they have been asked to keep in isolation at the home for the next 14 days and maintain social distancing.

t was a proud moment for the Gujarati film industry when Gujarati film ‘Kem Chho’ received a Special Mention Award at the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Festival 2020. The superhit Gujarati film follows the story of Mayur, a middle-class man who encounters many prob-

lems and tries to come up with wacky solutions for them. The movie has been produced by Shailesh Dhameliya, written and directed by Vipul Sharma and its cast includes Tushar Sadhu, Kinjal Rajpriya and Heena Akolkar. The team of ‘Kem Chho’ chose to dedicate the award to legendary performers Irrfan Khan

and Rishi Kapoor, who both passed away within a day of each other recently. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com