First India-Ahmedabad Edition-06 July 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

27°C - 36°C

ALERT AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

5,35,139 1,14,75,480 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 8,822 DEATHS 2,06,619 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 1,510 DEATHS 1,11,151 CASES

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RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 221

INDIA

19,699 6,97,069 DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

DELHI 3,067 DEATHS 99,444 CASES

GUJARAT

1,944 DEATHS

UTTAR PRADESH 785 DEATHS 27,707 CASES

6,97,069 CASES

INDIA 3RD WORST-HIT NATION

36,123

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 456 DEATHS 20,164 CASES

J&K LG PERFORMS AARTI; AMARNATH YATRA LIKELY TO BEGIN ON JULY 23

Corona blast: India overtakes Russia; now preceded only by Brazil & the US —PHOTO BY ANI

New Delhi: India on Sunday surpassed Russia to become the third worst-hit nation, with the number of cases standing at 6,97,069, according to to covid19india.org. Russia has reported 6,80,283 cases, as per the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) tracker. India is now preceded only by Brazil and the US, who have recorded 2,841,124 and 1,577,004 cases respectively. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, however, said 21 states and UTs, including Delhi, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, have a Covid-19 recovery rate higher than the national average of 60.77%.

Meanwhile, in a bid to cut the chain of transmission of the novel coronavirus and to minimise the potential of its spread, Kerala on Sunday amended the state Epidemic Disease Ordinance, Turn on P6

@narendramodi ji is fully committed to helping the people of Delhi in these challenging times and this Covid hospital, yet again, highlights the resolve.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visits DRDO-built 1000 bedded Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel COVID-19 Hospital at Delhi Cantonment on Sunday.

I thank DRDO, Tatas and our Armed Forces Medical personnel who have risen to the occasion and helped tackle the emergency.

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir LG Girish Chandra Murmu attended the first ‘Aarti’ at the Amarnath Cave temple on Sunday.

The Amarnath Shrine Board on Sunday made special arrangements, and for the first time live telecasted the aarti and darshan of Lord Amarnath. Locals and devotees, who were unable to go to Amarnath cave in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, were glued to televisions in order to get darshans.

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Delhi gets world’s largest COVID-19 care facility New Delhi: World’s largest, 10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital (SPCCCH) at Radha Soami Satsang Beas in Chhatarpur area of the national capital has made operational on Sunday.

Inaugurated by Lieu-

tenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal, the facility has been created on an emergency basis by the South Delhi District Administration with support of the Ministry of Home Affairs in a record time of 10 days. Notably, this coronavirus treatment

centre which is set up in Chhatarpur area of the national capital is said to be the “largest” of its kind in the world.

Most of the basic infrastructure such as beds, mattresses and linen has been donated by various civil society organisations and non-

Per positive case sample testing rate decreases in 1 month in Guj Was 12.56 on June 1, down to 11.42 on July 4; Dang is only district in green zone Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: The government is adamant in its decision to refrain from imposing lockdown again but the focus on the economy is likely to come at a great cost to the state’s health.

On Saturday, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani told the media in Surat that there was no question of imposing the

Amit Shah @AmitShah

lockdown again. That same evening, the state announced that it had witnessed 712 positive cases--its highest yet--in the preceding 24 hours.

To deflect from these unfortunate numbers, the government also shared data from other

states, a ploy it has used in the past to hide its own faults.

However, a deep dive into data available on the government website throws up a tale of its own. Gujarat’s four major districts-Ahmedabad, Rajkot,

Vadodara and Surat-account for 77.8% of all active cases in the state.

What is more worrying is that districts, where the outbreak was well under control a month ago, have now begun to record alarming numbers.

COVID-19 had not spread much in rural areas and at least three districts in Saurashtra, namely, Devbhumi Dwarka, Junagadh and Amreli had zero cases till the middle of May. These districts, like many others, have witnessed a manifold increase in the number of cases in the past month.

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governmental organisations. A recreational centre has been made available to the patients along with a library, board games and skipping ropes. People admitted to the facility will be provided five healthy meals a day, the statement added.

—ANI

PM Modi meets Prez Kovind, talk issues of nat’l & int’l importance

8 killed in fire at candle factory in UP

Ladakh and was briefed by senior officers at Nimmoo amid ongoing border tension with China. He was accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.

—ANI

Ghaziabad: Eight people, including six women, were killed Sunday when a fire ripped through a candle-manufacturing factory in Ghaziabad where they worked, officials said.

One of the dead worker was a 16-year-old boy.

At least three other workers were injured in the blaze at the Modi Nagar unit which stocked highly inflammable material. They have been hospitalised.

The police said more than a dozen workers were inside the factory in Ghaziabad in National Capital Region when an explosion brought down the roof and gutted the building.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called on President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan and briefed him on the issues of national and international importance.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on

President Ram Nath Kovind and briefed him on the issues of national and international importance at Rashtrapati Bhavan today,” read a post on the official Twitter handle of President of India. The Prime Minister on Friday made a surprise visit to

#BLACKLIVESMATTER

Running for US President tweets Rapper Kanye West!

Washington DC: Rapper Kanye West, in an Independence Day tweet, announced that he is running for the president of the United States. The 43-year-old musician said used the hashtag “2020 vision,” appearing to indicate he plans to toss his hat in the ring for this fall’s election, The Hill reported. “We must now realise the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future.

I am running for president of the United States!” West wrote.

West, who has repeatedly floated running for president in the past, had recently posted a photo of himself with Musk with the caption: “When you go to your boys’ house and you are both wearing orange.”

The rapper has frequently supported President Donald Trump and said in April that he was going to vote for him this fall.

Kanye West with President Donald Trump at the Oval Office in 2018.

—FILE PIC

“I am not going to be told by the people around me and the people that have their agenda that my career is going to be over. Because guess what: I am still here!” he said.

West famously visited the Oval Office in October 2018, sporting a red “Make America Great Again” hat and saying, “I love this guy right here,” while posing with Trump. His wife and reality TV star Kim Kardashian also visited the

White House as an activist pushing for criminal justice reform.

If West is to launch a bid, it would come late in the game, as the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, where each party will formally announce its respective candidates, are set for next month. It is unclear if West seriously plans to run this year and whether any official paperwork for an election bid has been filed.

—ANI

ye @kanyewest We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States Flag of United States! #2020VISION

Elon Musk @elonmusk @kanyewest You have my full support!

NEWS AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020

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02

GURU PURNIMA

Today is a special day to honour the gurus who make life meaningful: PM New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings on “Guru Purnima” on Sunday, saying it is the day to honour the “gurus” who make our lives meaningful.

“Many wishes on Guru Purnima. Today is a special day to honour the gurus who make life meaningful,” the prime minister said in a tweet.

He paid his respect to all the gurus on the occa-

sion. Home Minister Amit Shah also extended his greetings to the nation on the occasion of Guru Purnima.

“Guru’s place in Indian culture is very revered.

Guru is a bridge that combines knowledge and disciple. A Guru, with his nectar of knowledge, provides the right direction and meaning to the life of a disciple by nurturing valuable qualities like religion and character.”

Modi paid his respect to all the gurus and Home Minister Amit Shah also extended his greetings to the nation on the occasion of Guru Purnima Union Minister Prakash Javadekar and Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti also conveyed their wishes on

Twitter on this occasion.

Guru Purnima in India has always been very special for the guru-shishya parampara or the unique relationship between teachers and their students.

Guru Purnima this year is on July 5. It is also known as Vyasa Purnima after Veda Vyasa, who wrote the epic Mahabharata. On Guru Purnima, students pay respect and remember

their teachers.

It is a full moon day in the month of Ashadh, the third month in the Hindu calendar. Guru Purnima also marks the beginning of Chaturmas or the four auspicious months dotted with festivals across the country.

IS STATE POLITICS DRIVEN

BY THE CASTE FACTOR?

—FILE PHOTO

With Assembly by-elections looming, the BJP looks to choosing the ‘right’ candidates with voter credibility Haresh Jhala

Gandhinagar: In a democracy, political parties usually lay claim to certain key issues and ideologies to fight elections. But, an underlying criteria taken into consideration while choosing candidates for any election, is the caste of the contender as well as the bank of constituents where polls are to be conducted.

This holds especially true for the state due to its vast voter bank comprising a myriad of castes and communities.

With the Rajya Sabha polls in the rearview mirror, the political machinery in the state has now been gearing up for the impending State Legislative Assembly by-elections, wherein candidates will contest for eight seats in the Assembly.

Despite receiving no official word on the dates of the by-elections, the political parties in the

(L-R) Former Congress MLAs Pradhyumansinh Jadeja, JV Kakadiya, Brijesh Merja, State BJP Chief Jitu Vaghani, former Congress MLAs Akshay Patel and Jitu Chaudhary.

state seem to be in no mood to leave any stone unturned to ensure their representative gets elected in the House this year. All preparations have already been commenced by parties under the watchful eye of their leaders and on- ground work of party workers.

But, the caste criterion has not lost its sheen and is being considered as one of the top requisites in the choosing of a candidate to run for any given constituency.

For instance, in a party such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

where the Kshatriyas and the Patel enjoy equal domination, it has appointed observers of each community for all constituencies in the fray. For Abdasa, where the Patel and Rajput communities share equal numbers of voters, the BJP has appointed one Kshatriya (Bhupendrasinh Chudasama) and a Patel (KC Patel) as in-charges. For the Morbi constituency, the party has appointed a Kshatriya (IK Jadeja) and a Patel (Saurabh Patel).

Tharad was considered to be the weakest

seat for the ruling party, and that was the reason why the charge of the constituency was handed over to Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja in 2019.

Unfortunately, Jadeja could not bring luck to defector Dhavalsinh Jadeja, and he lost the election.

For polls this year, the party has given Jadeja the charge of the Karjan seat, which has good numbers of Kshatriya voters in the constituency, but is dominated by the Patel community.

But, the worrying fac-

tor for the ruling party in the by-elections is the dissent of former MLA and cooperative leader Satish Patel and his supporters. As per reports, Patel is staunchly against the idea of giving a ticket to turncoat Akshay Patel, who recently resigned from Congress. The voice of dissent may have stemmed from the fact that Akshay had levied corruption allegations against Satish Patel in the sugar cooperative.

With the former MLA already conducting meetings to ascertain how many sup-

porters were with him and ready to work against the party mandate, it remains to be seen who gets the ticket eventually.

Congress, on the other hand, has appointed senior leaders as incharges of each of the constituencies up for election. The task that lies with them is the induction of their party candidates into the Assembly, which will be a value addition to their profile in the party. But, if they fail, these leaders stand to lose ground within the party.

‘PM’s visit to Ladakh boosted morale of security forces’ New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ladakh has boosted the morale of all forces at the border and the troops are ready to sacrifice their lives for the nation like in the past, said SS Deswal, DG, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on Sunday.

During the inauguration of DRDObuilt Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel COVID-19 Hospital in Delhi Cantonment here on Sunday, Deswal said, “Prime Minister’s visit to Ladakh and his address to troops in Nimu have boosted the morale of all forces at the border.

Our jawans are dedicated to the nation.

The morale of our Army, Air Force and ITBP is very high.

We are ready to dedicate our lives to the nation.” Deswal said that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel COVID-19 Hospital has been developed to help out citizens of Delhi and NCR who are affected by the coronavirus.

“Our team of doctors and medical staff will take care of this facility.

Our medical teams were earlier deployed to treat the Indian citizens

evacuated from Wuhan in China in our COVID-19 facility in Chhawla camp. We are running 200 bedded COVID hospital in Noida for all the police forces in Delhi and NCR,” he said.

“This hospital has 10 per cent of beds with oxygen facility.

We have counsellors for mentally trau-

Modi’s surprise visit to the Himalayan region comes in the wake of ongoing tensions with China matic patients. We have a team of good psychiatrists and specialists in medicine.” he added.

The DRDO-built Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel COVID-19 Hospital in Delhi Cantonment, the temporary hospital structure that has been erected in 11 days and has 1,000 beds including 250 ICU beds, informed DRDO officials.

Delhi has a total of 97,200 COVID-19 cases, including 68,256 recoveries and 25,940 active cases, as per the last bulletin of the Delhi Health Department. —ANI

Congress to contest by-polls under new state in-charge lll

The party seeks to repeat its performance in the 2017 Assembly election, after Satav fails to keep the flock together for RS polls

Gargi Raval Ahmedabad: After blundering in the Rajya Sabha elections consecutively in 2017 and the polls held last month, the Congress party has slowly started gearing up for the upcoming byelections. After the state unit of the party performed its best in over two decades in the 2017 Assembly election, under the leadership of incumbent Rajasthan Chief

Minister Ashok Gehlot, the upcoming by-election is likely to be contested under a new state in-charge.

After Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Rajiv Satav was handed over the charge of the state for the RS polls, the party has lost 14 MLAs, most of who defected to the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

Now, the Congress state unit is seeking to avoid any further embarrassment to the party’s reputation and

Paresh Dhanani

Rajiv Satav

Amit Chavda

has already commenced preparations for the upcoming bypolls.

Eight leaders have

been appointed as incharges for the same number of constituencies in the fray for the by-elections.

“The party is conducting a thorough survey of the seats on the line and their local leaders. By the

time the election is announced, it is likely that the state unit will have a new incharge. The performance in the Rajya Sabha polls under the leadership of Rajiv Satav was miserable. Despite repeated warnings from many leaders, Satav failed to keep the flock together,” said a senior leader from the party.

He added that even the State Unit President Amit Chavda and

Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani had failed to prevent the debacle.

“Our leaders had time and they were aware of the weak links in the party.

There were even media reports, which were ignored by them. Why didn’t they act when it was needed the most?” he questioned. The unnamed leader also indicated that there may be a change of guard soon in the party state unit soon.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020

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AMC mystery: Cases fall but micro-containment zones rise

03

Surat inches close to 6K-mark with 254 fresh cases

City has been declaring its lowest numbers since the nCov outbreak began, but has 110 ‘hot’ pockets Gargi Raval Ahmedabad: It’s not called “data management” for nothing. The city has been reporting its lowest number of new cases over the past few days. Yet, inexplicably, the local civic body has also been increasing the number of micro-containment zones here.

With another 11 added on Sunday, Ahmedabad now has 110 of these hotspots. Nevertheless, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) continues to remain pleased with itself.

“In the last two months, the city has seen a drastic improvement in the COVID-19 situation. The number of fa-

People are scared and are hence not going out of their homes much. Yet, infection is rising. Earlier the cases were concentrated only in the Central zone but now each zone and ward have been affected.

Why is the AMC saying it has any control over the virus spread?

—Imran Khedawala, Kalupur was one of the first containment zones in Ahmedabad.

talities has gone down, as has the mortality rate.

However, there is no herd immunity. The number of the cases are have been brought under control due to the multipronged strategies put in

‘Virtual HC’ gives 320 judgements, 13K orders First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The state high court has been functioning virtually a nationwide lockdown was announced

by Prime Minister Modi on March 24.

Most the hearings have been conducted through video conferences, with urgent matters being heard on priority even on holidays and late into the night. In the last three months, the state high court has passed 320 judgments and 13,339 orders through video conferencing.

Chief Justice Vikram Nath had ordered that hearings would be held via video conferencing from March 24, in wake of the lockdown. The court also heard regular criminal applications, petitions, Public Interest Litigation(s) (PILs) over the summer.

According to a statement by the court, around 8,138 matters were filed before it from March 24 to June 30. Of these, 5,966 were important matters and 2,172 were interim applications. During this period, a total of 15,943 matters were listed for hearing.

place by the AMC. We’re doing better than Mumbai and Delhi. The intensity of the cases have not gone even down in countries like the US and Brazil,” said Dr Bhavin Solanki, in-charge medi-

Jamalpur MLA

—FILE PHOTO

cal officer, AMC. What the health officer did not say, was that Mumbai and Delhi both are testing much more aggressively than Ahmedabad. Home Minister Amit Shah recently

announced that Delhi would conduct 20,000 tests every day. Gujarat tested 7,770 on Sunday.

Not everyone is convinced. “Things are far from normal. We are receiving cases from differ-

ent areas daily. Despite the decrease in the fresh cases for the last few days, the city still has about 3,200 active cases, which is nearly 40% of the state’s total number of active cases,” one AMC health official told First India, asking not to be named for fear of professional blowback.

Jamalpur MLA Imran Khedawala said that the virus has affected daily life in the city. “There is a fear among the people, hence they are not going out. Yet, infection is rising. Earlier the cases were concentrated only in the central zone but now each zone and ward have been affected. Why is the AMC saying it has any control over the virus spread?” the lawmaker asked.

Moderate to heavy rainfall likely across wide swathes of Guj today First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The torrential rain witnessed across the state in the past few days is likely to continue with Indian Meteorology Department (IMD) predicting that some pockets of the state are likely to receive moderate to heavy rainfall on Monday.

On Sunday evening, IMD issued a warning for the night saying light thunderstorms accompanied with lightning, moderate rain and maximum surface winds of speeds less

Rainfall across Gujarat on Sunday

No Data Deficient [-59% to 20%] Large Excess [60% or more] No Rain [100%] Normal [-19% to 19%] Unlisted Large Deficient [-99% to -60%] Excess [20 to 59%]

than 40 kmph (in gusts) were very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Sabar-

kantha, Aravalli, Mahisagar, Dwarka, Jamnagar, and Kutch.

The State Emergency

Operation Centre has issued some guidelines as well. The concerned authorities have been asked to control the traffic, especially on the small river bridges.

“The concerned departments have been asked to maintain continuous electricity supply to ensure timely water supply to citizens. Road and building department has been asked to repair the roads as soon as they get damaged,” stated an official release.

Fishermen have been advised not out to sea in the July 5-9 period.

Protest plan rumours bring cops out in droves First India Bureau Gandhinagar: About three-fourths of the Gandhinagar Range police force was deployed in and round the state capital on Sunday after authorities received intelligence that a large number of youth were set to descend on the city on Monday to protest against the rate of unemployment. The police have already started detaining anyone who

Police say they received info about impending agitation by unemployed youth

A large number of police personnel were deployed in Gandhinagar.

led any agitation in the recent past.

The development comes at a time when authorities are watch-

ing keenly for virtual protests, many of which have taken place in the state since Unlock 1.0 was implemented.

Last week, selected Lok Rakshak Dal (LRD) candidates had lodged virtual protests demanding their appointment orders. Yuvrajsinh Jadeja, a leader of the LRD aspirant movement, was detained by Gandhinagar police on Sunday.

On Saturday, primary school teachers appointed in 2010 protested the government’s call to cut their salaries from Rs4,200 to Rs2,800.

On Sunday, social media was rife with messages that unemployed youth would march towards the Secretariat on Monday. Gandhinagar Range Inspector General Mayanksinh Chavda confirmed that the police had been deployed based on intelligence received about the protest planned for Monday.

Ahmedabad is returning to normal with Sunday Market witnessing large crowds again. —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

First India Bureau Gandhinagar: It’s a gloomy situation in Surat district, with 218 new cases emerging in the city and 36 emerging in rural areas.

And while the rising tally—which now stands at 5,968—might indicate that social distancing is not being practised in densely populated areas and workplaces, local authorities and trade bodies have left it to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to take a call on how to handle the situation. He will now decide on operating norms for the diamond and textile industries.

The Surat Municipal Commissioner on Sunday increased the fine amount to Rs5,000 for shopkeepers found without a mask. They will also be fined if they entertain customers without masks.

After Surat, there is also a spike in cases in Vadodara, with the city reporting 56 new cases and rural areas reporting eight cases

bringing the district’s tally to 2,568. Rajkot rural reported 32 new cases and the city reported 10.

Ahmedabad is offering the state a sliver of relief with its falling numbers.

Still, the city saw 162 fresh cases and rural areas saw 15.

In the past 24 hours, the state tested 7,770 samples. There are 8,278 active cases—the highest in a month—with 72 patients on ventilators.

Although the state and the district administrations are not taking calls on a lockdown, traders continue to take calls to down shutters where and when needed.

For instance, the Nadiad Wholesale Vegetable Market Association has decided to keep the market closed for a week since the spread of COVID-19 has increased in the town and the district.

Daily case numbers have touched the double digits in districts like Patan, Valsad, Bharuch, Kheda, Junagadh and Jamnagar.

BACK ON TRACK

While the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad is still closed to visitors, regular maintenance work has resumed on the premises.

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

PANDEMIC WOES

Displeased with price cut, dairy farmers dump milk on road Sabar Dairy reduced procurement prices, from `730 to `710 per kilo fat

ECONOMIC PRESSURES



First India Bureau Himmatnagar: Dairy farmers in Talod chose to dump their product on the road, rather than take lower payments from the Shree Sabarkantha District Cooperative Milk Producer Union (SSDCMPU).

SSDCMPU’s Sabar brand chairman Sha-

malbhai Patel told First India that the milk contributors were angry that the Union had decreased milk procurement prices Rs730 to Rs710 per kilo fat (lowest), and had staged their protest as a result, on Saturday.

The dairy’s Managing Director BM Patel said that the demand for products such as

T

Sabar Dairy.

—FILE PHOTO

butter, cheese, paneer, ghee and ice cream had fallen 30% in the two and a half months of lockdown. As a result, the dairy was forced to make more milk powder, especially since the

demand for milk had also fallen. The dairy has an additional inventory of 25%, he said.

“Even the reduced rates are still higher than some other dairies but dairy farmers

are unhappy” Shamalbhai said, adding, “We understand their sentiments but this is a temporary action.

Once the market bounces back, and the demand for milk products increase, the earning of the dairy will increase and we will revive the prices.”

He also said the dairy is trying to adjust the loss of milk contributors by planning to reduce cattle feed rates.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020

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04

One look at Allahabad University will tell you how inbreeding is ruining India’s academics PANJAB UNIVERSITY, MS UNIVERSITY OF BARODA, ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALL SHOWED GREAT POTENTIAL IN THE 1960s. THEN THEY STARTED RECRUITING MORE OF THEIR OWN DINESH SINGH Former Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi

T

In the decades of the 1940s and the 1960s, there were several universities in India that had begun to display great promise.

From the Aligarh Muslim University to the Rajasthan University.

However and eventually almost all have fallen by the wayside. The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), during the time that Dr Zakir Husain was its ViceChancellor in the 1950s, saw a great flowering

he story of the University of Allahabad shows both the early promise of what Indian universities could have been and its tragic decline.

In the decades after Independence, the Allahabad University boasted of luminaries like Meghnad Saha and K.S. Krishnan in the Department of Physics, Firaq Gorakhpuri and Harivansh Rai Bachchan in the Department of English Literature and B.N. Prasad and Gorakh Prasad in the Department of Mathematics. And not one of them had obtained their doctoral or advanced academic degrees at the Allahabad University.

But today, the Allahabad University is an example of what a university should not be known for — the malaise of severe academic inbreeding. And it is not just the University of Allahabad, most older Indian universities — such as the Aligarh Muslim University, M.S. University of Baroda, Panjab University and Rajasthan University — suffer from it.

The scourge of academic inbreeding strikes when the faculty of a university mostly have degrees from that very university. It is, perhaps, not a coincidence that the decline of the Allahabad University through the 1960s and beyond also saw a marked change in the academic profiles of its faculty. Most of them had obtained their doctoral degrees from the same university and had no academic experience outside of it.

This academic inbreeding affects ranking, quality of research, variety in faculty, and stagnates ideas while creating a nepotistic ‘ingroup’. It’s one of the reasons why Indian universities never make it to the top in global rankings.

THE GLORIOUS ’60S The tale of the decline of India’s universities is as tragic as it is alarming, and the reasons behind it almost always include the story of them succumbing to the lure of academic inbreeding.

In the decades of the 1940s and the 1960s, there were several universities in India that had begun to display great promise.

From the Aligarh Muslim University to the Rajasthan University. However and eventually almost all have fallen by the wayside. The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), during the time that Dr Zakir Husain was its Vice-Chancellor in the 1950s, saw a great flowering. It had, on its rolls, three of India’s most promising young mathematicians who were products of the Sorbonne and London University.

The Department of History was also distinguished by similar characteristics.

The M.S. University of Baroda (MSU) had been given a great head start by Hansa Jivraj Mehta who, in the 1950s, recruited outstanding faculty from all corners of

THE SCOURGE OF ACADEMIC INBREEDING STRIKES WHEN THE FACULTY OF A UNIVERSITY MOSTLY HAVE DEGREES FROM THAT VERY UNIVERSITY. IT IS, PERHAPS, NOT A COINCIDENCE THAT THE DECLINE OF THE ALLAHABAD UNIVERSITY THROUGH THE 1960S AND BEYOND ALSO SAW A MARKED CHANGE IN THE ACADEMIC PROFILES OF ITS FACULTY l l l THE SAME STORY REPEATS ITSELF IN THE 1960S IN RAJASTHAN UNIVERSITY IN JAIPUR

India and even abroad. The Mathematics Department of the MSU was headed in the 1960s by a distinguished young mathematician who had obtained his doctoral degree at Sorbonne, Professor U.N. Singh. He managed to attract young scholars from outside the university and the department’s research was noted internationally.

Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who obtained his undergraduate degree from MSU, has acknowledged the role his mathematical training at

Baroda played in his life. Several other disciplines at the MSU stood out for their high standards and achievements such as the Faculty of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Home Science. A large number of the academic staff at MSU had studied at institutions outside the MSU. In the 1960s, the Mathematics Department of the Panjab University at Chandigarh was easily one of the finest centres of research in India and comparable to very good institutions abroad. It was, at

that point of time, being helmed by Professor R. P. Bambah was a distinguished mathematician who had studied at the University of Cambridge. A large part of its faculty had studied outside India. The Panjab University had similar stories in other disciplines as well.

The same story repeats itself in the 1960s in Rajasthan University in Jaipur. The Department of History had outstanding scholars, as did several other departments. The university had attracted a bright young faculty in several disciplines.

It can be easily inferred that the 1960s held potential and good cheer for our institutions of higher education.

A SLOW POISON India’s universities have, however, failed to live up to the promise they offered so long ago. Their journey is marred by an all-round decline. One measure of this decline is the low rankings that our universities obtain consistently in almost all global lists. And one of the chief reasons for such low rankings is the rather indifferent quality of research

COVID-19 pandemic creates tidal wave of plastic waste

T

here is no denying that singleuse plastic has been a lifesaver in the fight against COVID-19, especially for frontline health workers. It has also facilitated adherence to social-distancing rules, by enabling home delivery of basic goods, especially food. And it may have helped to curb transmission, by replacing reusable coffee cups and shopping bags in many cities over fears that the virus could stick to them.

But widely circulated images of plastic sacks of medical waste piling up outside hospitals, and used personal protective equipment floating in coastal waters and washing up on the world’s beaches, illustrate yet again the dark side of single-use plastics. If we are not careful, short-term

thinking during the pandemic could lead to an even larger environmental and public-health calamity in the future.

Of course, the proliferation of plastic waste – and its pollution of the world’s waterways – already was a major concern for a growing share of the world population before the COVID-19 pandemic, with policymakers, companies, and international organizations like the United Nations urged to take action.

Some national and local governments implemented taxes and bans on single-use plastics (though not all have followed through on their pledges).

Major companies invested in more environmentally friendly packaging.

Now, however, the COVID-19 crisis threatens to stall and even reverse progress.

Though it will take time to learn precisely how much additional plastic waste has been generated during the crisis, preliminary data are staggering.

In China, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment estimates that hospitals in Wuhan produced more than 240 tons of waste daily at the height of the outbreak, compared with 40 tons during normal times.

Based on these data, the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan predicts that the United States could generate an entire year’s worth of medical waste in just two months because of COVID-19.

A similar uptick in waste can be seen among ordinary citizens. In China, daily production of face masks soared to 116 million in February, 12

times higher than the previous month. Hundreds of tons of discarded masks were being collected daily from public bins alone during the outbreak’s peak; there is no telling how many more were being discarded in household waste systems. According to the Thailand Environment Institute, plastic waste has increased from 1,500 tons to 6,300 tons per day, owing to soaring home deliveries of food.

Compounding the problem, many waste-management services have not been operating at full capacity, owing to social-distancing rules and stay-athome orders. In the US, curbside recycling pickup has been suspended in many places, including parts of Miami-Dade and Los Angeles counties.

During the COVID-19

crisis, it is essential to protect the vulnerable, ensure that health workers have the tools and support they need to do their jobs safely, prevent health-care systems from becoming overwhelmed, and avoid additional waves of infection.

But, in meeting these imperatives, we cannot lose sight of the other – perhaps greater – long-term challenges facing humanity, including the environmental and public-health risks generated by excessive plastic waste.

For starters, companies all along the plastic value chain, from manufacturers to retailers, should show their commitment to public health and welfare by expanding and accelerating their efforts to end plastic waste.

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output and teaching standards. The correlation between academic inbreeding and these poor standards is overwhelming. That inbreeding happens at brazen levels can be easily gauged by simply visiting the websites of these institutions to examine the academic lineages of the faculty. The websites tell a very disappointing story. A huge number of academic staff has been consistently recruited from within the rolls of these universities.

But academic activity is all about new ideas and fresh insights. If an institution recruits largely its own students who have been indoctrinated with the same ideas as all others, then fresh viewpoints are lost. The other problem is that junior faculty are generally overawed by their mentors, more so in India, and they do not display the boldness that is so vital to break out of older academic moulds. Also, during the time of recruitment, an institution, as has been consistently observed, tends to favour its own alumni regardless of merit for so many obvious reasons. This is slow poison and the sooner India wakes up to the issue at hand the better. I advocate no laws and regulations.

None of the leading institutions of the world indulge in such a practice. When I was a graduate student at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, it was an unwritten rule understood by all that every successful doctoral student shall have to seek jobs far and away from his or her alma mater.

No one even remotely explored or discussed the possibility of seeking a job at the home university. I have a simple prescription for the well being of India’s universities.

Identify and put in place good academic leaders of a calibre identical to that of Dr Zakir Husain or Hansa Jivraj Mehta and give them a little freedom and some time to set examples and minimise such academic inbreeding.

VIEWS ARE PERSONAL

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TWEET Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh Visited newly created, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel COVID Hospital in New Delhi today along with HM Shri @AmitShah, Delhi CM Shri @ ArvindKejriwal & Health Minister @ drharshvardhan. This facility has been created by @DRDO_India in collaboration with MHA & Tata Sons in a record time.

Mukul Wasnik @MukulWasnik Why are the airlines allowed to carry passengers at full capacity when the government wants social distancing to control further spread of the coronavirus pandemic? Will someone bother to address this issue? #civil aviation #PMOIndia

Spiritual SPEAK

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

—Buddha

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No scarcity of hospital beds in national capital, says Kejriwal

15,000 BEDS ARE AVAILABLE OF WHICH 5,300 ARE OCCUPIED, THE CM INFORMED New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, said that as of now there is no scarcity of hospital beds in the national capital, over 15,000 beds are available of which 5,300 are occupied.

However, there is a shortage of ICU beds here, he added.

“For now, there is no scarcity of hospital beds, we have over 15,000 beds out of which 5,300 are occupied. There is a paucity of ICU beds. If there is any spike in COVID cases, these ICU beds are very critical for us,” the Chief Minister said at DRDO-built Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel COVID-19 Hospital.

Speaking about the hospital he said, “This 1,000-bed facility was very much needed at this time. So many people are being treated under home isolation in Delhi currently, a person if goes in a serious condition starts searching for a hospital so the hospital beds are needed at this time...this 1,000-bed hospital will be helpful in such a situation.”

He further said that there was a spike in cases in the national capital when the lockdown was lifted around one month ago but gradually the situation was controlled. “It was projected that Delhi would have around 65,000 COVID-19 active

With 24,850 new cases, India’s tally at 6,73,165

Beds at DRDO-built Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel COVID19 Hospital in New Delhi.

‘Big events can be held while adhering to COVID-19 protocol’ Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday, said big events can be held while adhering to the protocol pertaining to COVID-19 and the ‘Van Mahotsav’ will be a witness to this.

“Pre-COVID, during COVID and postCOVID are three categories, which the world will be able to clearly see. These will say what was the situation of the world cases so we together controlled this situation and today there are only 25,000 active cases here,” he added.

HC notice to SC Bar Association over suspended Secy’s plea New Delhi: Delhi HC has issued notice to SC Bar Association on plea filed by its suspended Secretary Ashok Arora, challenging his suspension.

Justice Mukta Gupta asked SCBA & Bar Council of India to file reply on Arora’s plea and listed the matter for August 6. The court was hearing a plea filed

by Arora challenging resolution dated May 8 passed by the Executive Committee of SC Bar Association suspending Arora.

Arora has urged the court to quash the resolution. He has also sought permanent in-

—PHOTO BY ANI

junction in favour of plaintiff & to restraining the SCBA, its office bearers and employees from interfering in the functioning of plaintiff to perform his duties as duly elected Secretary of Supreme Court Bar Association for the remaining term for which he was elected. —ANI

IED BLAST IN J&K’S PULWAMA LEAVES CRPF PERSONNEL INJURED

Srinagar: A CRPF personnel was injured in a low-intensity IED blast in Pulwama district, police said. The CRPF personnel suffered injuries in his hands due to the blast, but his condition is stated to be stable. The security forces fired few shots in the air after the blast.

before the COVID-19 outbreak, what was the condition during the outbreak and what will be the changes in the world after COVID,” he said at the commencement of the ‘Van MaHome Minister Amit Shah & Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also visited DRDO-built Sardar Vallabh Bhai Pa-

hotsav’ here on Sunday. UP government has set a target of planting 25 crore saplings during the ‘Van Mahotsav.’ “At the same time, we have to fight the global pandemic as well. During this plantation programme, adherence to social distancing can be clearly seen. This is a good effort & all of us can organise big events while adhering to social distancing, the CM said. —ANI tel COVID-19 Hospital in Delhi Cantonment.

Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan was also present. —ANI

New Delhi: India has reported its highest-ever single-day spike of 24,850 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

With these new cases, India’s coronavirus count now stands at 6,73,165 cases of which 2,44,814 patients are active cases.

India’s cured/discharged patients crossed the 4 lakh mark with 4,09,082 patients cured/discharged and while one patient has migrated.

613 deaths due to coronavirus were reported in the country in the last 24 hours taking the death toll in the country to 19,268.

As per the Health Ministry, coronavirus cases in Maharashtra -the worst affected state from the infection -- has breached the 2 lakh mark with 2,00,064 cases including 8,671 deaths. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu has a total of 1,07,001 cases and 1,450 fatalities.

Delhi’s coronavirus tally nears the 1L mark with 97,200 cases and number of people succumbing to the virus stands at 3,004 in the national capital. —ANI

Centre is pro-industry, pro-development: Gadkari Nagpur: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at the Atmanirbhar Bharat web dialogue on Saturday said that India’s government is pro-development and pro-industry and wants to create more employment potential and eradicate poverty.

“India has got a huge market, skilled manpower, availability of raw materials and the government too is prodevelopment and proindustry because we want to create more employment potential and eradicate poverty,” said Gadkari. “Four days ago, Phillip Capital organised a programme for investors in the US. About 10,000 investors were with me in that webinar. They want to invest in India

Four days ago, Phillip Capital organised aprogramme for investors in the US. About 10,000 investors jwere with me in thate webinar.

They want to invest in India as returns are good.

—Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister

as returns are good & it’s now a safe destination for investment,” he added. The Minister

Dubey was tipped off about police raid, says the gangster’s aide Kanpur: An aide of Vikas Dubey has told the Uttar Pradesh police that the gangster behind the killings of eight policemen in Kanpur district was informed about the raid at his house by a policeman, a senior official said on Sunday.

Daya Shankar Agnihotri, one of the accused in the killings, was arrested earlier on Sunday after a gunfight in Kalyanpur area near Kanpur. Agnihotri told the police Vikas Dubey got a call

Daya Shankar Agnihotri

from the Chaubeypur police station, informing him that a team from three police stations led by Devendra Mishra, the circle officer of Bilhaur, would come to his village past midnight.—Agencies

Atmanirbhar Bharat call to help country capitalise on its inherent strengths: Naidu New Delhi: The call for a self-reliant India is not aimed at encouraging ‘protectionism or isolationism,’ but for adopting a pragmatic development strategy to enable the country recognise and capitalise on its inherent strengths, Vice- President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday.

Speaking at virtual launch of ‘Elyments’ mobile app, Naidu said the “atmanirbhar Bharat” campaign was aimed at giving a new boost to economic potential of the country by strengthening infrastructure, using modern technologies, enriching human re-

VIEWPOINT

V-P Venkaiah Naidu virtually releases the ‘Elyments’ mobile app.

source, & creating robust supply chains.

“It is not a call for protectionism or isolationism, but for adopting a pragmatic development strategy that would enable the country to rec-

CAB CLOSES FOR 7 DAYS AS EDEN STAFF TESTS POSITIVE Kolkata: The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) HQs was shut down for seven days after a non-permanent staff of iconic Eden Gardens ground tested positive for COVID-19. “Chandan Das, who works in civil engineering department on a temporary basis, has tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, CAB president Avishek Dalmiya said in a statement. “He is at present admitted at Charnock Hospital. Even though he had not come to CAB for a week, we have asked all to refrain from visiting the office for next 7 days.”

ognise and capitalise on its inherent strengths,” Naidu observed.

India has come to be known as one of the IT superpowers of the world because of its talented scientists and

technology experts who are occupying leadership positions across the globe, he said.

Naidu said it was quite appropriate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the

MP BYPOLLS: CONG STATE IN CHARGE WASNIK MEETS NATH Bhopal: Congress general secretary in- charge of MP Mukul Wasnik arrived in state on a two-day visit to chalk out a strategy for bypolls to 24 Assembly seats and help choose anLoP. Twenty-two seats are lying vacant as Congress MLAs resigned from the 230-member House and joined the BJP, and two due to deaths of legisla-

05

tors. No date has been announced as yet for the bypolls. The Congress government under Kamal Nath fell in March, paving way for Shivraj Singh Chouhan to become chief minister again. After arriving here, Wasnik held meetings with MP Congress chief Kamal Nath, veteran leader Digvijaya Singh and others.

‘Atmanirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge’ on Saturday as it would encourage Indian IT specialists to prepare apps for various uses to enhance quality of life.

The vice president noted that more than a thousand IT professionals, who are also volunteers of the Art of Living, have together created the ‘Elyments’ app.

Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was also part of the virtual launch.

On the YouTube link of the launch event, the developers said on Elyments, ‘People will be able to connect globally and shop locally.’—PTI

said that foreign direct investments in micro, small and medium enterprises is being encouraged as well. “We are trying to take in more investment for MSMEs and we are also trying to change the definition of MSMEs as well. The manufacturing sector & service sector were classified separately but now they have been merged and we name it ‘Manufacturing and Services’ sector,” he said.

For micro-industry, limit of investment in plant, machinery & equipment was of Rs 25L, now has been amped up to Rs 1 crore.

“The turnover was previously 10 lakh, now we have taken it to Rs 5 crore,” he said. —ANI

`574Cr nod for J&K NH annual plan Jammu: The Central Government has approved an annual plan worth Rs 574.16 crore for national highway works in Jammu and Kashmir for 2020-21, an official spokesperson said.

The major works incorporated in the approved annual plan included construction of 3.23 km three fly-overs in Srinagar on NH44 (Jammu-Srinagar highway) at Bemina, Sanatnagar and Nowgam with Rs 220.68 crore, the spokesman said.

Quoting a communication from the centre, he said the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has asked for preparation of estimates for the proposed works in the approved annual plan, incorporating the technical parameters and designs as per IRC codal provisions or latest circulars of the ministry, and submission to it for consideration. other works incorporated in the approved plan included expressway, four laning, construction of 6 km 3rd bypass on NH444 Shopian bypass with Rs 120 crore.

4 MAOISTS KILLED IN AN ENCOUNTER AT ODISHA Bhubaneswar: At least four Maoists were gunned down during an exchange of fire with security forces in a dense forest in Odisha’s Kandhamal district. Some rebels have also suffered injuries in the operation, DGP Abhay said. Acting on a tip-off, a team of SOG personnel & DVF officers had launched a raid in forest in Tumudibandha area of Kandhamal district, he said. As the security personnel approached their hideout, Maoists opened fire & a gun battle ensued, leading to death of four rebels.

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06

East, Centre to receive thundershower A red alert was again issued for heavy rains in Mumbai in the next 24 hours. Also, high tide is expected at 12.23 pm of 4.63 meters, IMD said New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that rainfall and thundershower activity is expected over east and adjoining parts of central India during the next 4-5 days.

“It is most likely to cause fairly widespread to widespread rainfall/ thundershower activity along with isolated heavy to very heavy falls over east and adjoining parts of central India during the next 4-5 days,” said IMD. “A cyclonic circulation lies over Westcentral and adjoining the northwest Bay of Bengal off north Coastal Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coast and extends up to 7.6 km above mean sea level,” the weather agency added.

Meanwhile, severe waterlogging was witnessed in several parts of Maharashtra’s Mumbai, following heavy rainfall in the city. Sion Flyover witnessed traffic jam followed by heavy rainfall in the city.

Moreover, a red alert was again issued for heavy rains in Mumbai in the next 24 hours.

Also, high tide is expected at 12.23 pm of 4.63 meters, it said. The IMD has also issued a warning of isolated extremely heavy falls over Konkan during the next 24 hours. —Agencies

10.75L AFFECTED

BY ASSAM FLOOD Guwahati: Two more persons lost their lives in the flood which has affected 10.75 lakh people in 18 districts of Assam, a government report said. One person died in Morigaon and another in Tinsukia district, taking the number of deaths to 61 across the state, of which 37 people were killed in the flood and 24 died due to landslides triggered by incessant rainfall, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said in its daily report.

LIGHTNING CLAIMS 23 LIVES IN UP

Vehicles ply on a waterlogged street during monsoon rain at Chembur in Mumbai on Sunday. Moreover, a red alert was again issued for heavy rains in Mumbai in next 24 hours.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Rains drench Delhi, more expected New Delhi: A fresh bout of rain and highvelocity winds lashed the national capital on Sunday night, bringing the mercury down by several notches.

The Met department has predicted more rain, thunderstorm and strong sur-

face winds during the day. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for Delhi, recorded 33.6 mm rainfall till 8:30 am.

The Palam station gauged 48.6 mm precipitation, the weatherman said.

The

weather stations at Lodhi Road, Ayanagar and Ridge got 38.2 mm, 35.2 mm and 46.6 mm rainfall respectively.

More rain is expected over the next three to four days, Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of IMD’s regional forecasting centre, said. —PTI

Lucknow/Bhadohi: At least 23 people were killed and 29 others injured after being struck by lightning in various districts ofUP. Eight people died in Allahabad, six in Mirzapur, two in Kaushambi and one in Jaunpur. 9 others in Prayagraj, 10 in Mirzapur suffered serious burns. CM Yogi Adityanath has expressed deep anguish over the loss of lives and directed respective district magistrates to extend compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the family of those killed.

Nepal’s ruling party in grave crisis: Oli ‘No rift in NDA, will fight Kathmandu: Facing growing demand for his resignation, Nepal’s embattled PM KP Sharma Oli has said that the ruling communist party is facing a grave crisis, indicating that it may split soon.

Oli, at an emergency meeting of the Cabinet at his official residence, told the Cabinet ministers that some of our party members are also trying to remove President Bidya Devi Bhandari from the power, My Republica newspaper quoted a senior leader as saying.

“Now, conspiracies are being hatched to remove me from the post of PM and party chairman, the PM said on Saturday, adding that he will not let it happen. The ruling

party is facing a grave crisis, Oli said.

After Oli’s remarks about the conspiracy to impeach the president, three former PMs, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’, Madhav Nepal and Jhanalanth Khanal -- met Bhandari and clarified that the rumour about the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leaders trying to

remove her from office were untrue, The Kathmandu Post reported.

On Saturday, a crucial meeting of the NCP’s 45-member powerful Standing Committee to decide the political future of Oli was postponed until Monday to allow more time for the top leadership to iron out their differences over his

style of functioning and anti-India statements.

During the Cabinet meeting, a defiant Oli said that he will not be forced to accept the party’s Standing Committee decision.

He also urged the ministers to make their position clear whether they support him or not.

“I had to make a quick decision to prorogue the budget session of Parliament last week after coming to know that some of our party members were hatching conspiracy to register an impeachment motion against the President at Parliament,” Oli told the ministers.

Oli’s statement comes at a time when the intra-party rift in the NCP is at its peak after majority of the party’s Standing Committee members and Central Secretariat members demanded his immediate resignation from the post of Prime Minister and party chairman, accusing the government of failing to live up to the people’s expectations. —Agencies

masks, maintain social distancing and avoid large gatherings till July 2021.

The District Collectors have been instructed to ensure due compliance of the regulations.

The regulations that will remain in place till July 2021.

Meanwhile with all protective measures in place, Delhi monuments are all set to welcome the visitors from tomorrow amid relaxations in the COVID-19 lockdown.

The monuments closed their gates in March due to the outbreak of coronavirus

infection. ANI visited historical sites like Qutub Minar, Safdarjung Tomb, Hauz Khas complex, Humayun’s Tomb, Old Fort to understand how the visit would be amid pandemic and a much-relaxed scenario under unlock phase 2.

The timing of the monuments till now has been kept the same starting from around 7 am till sunset. Few primary safety measures such as social distancing circles, thermal scanning of visitors and setting up of sanitiser dispensers are to be followed. —ANI

J&K LG...

Even though an official date of the Amarnath yatra has not been announced yet, the state government is trying to organise the yatra this year for which special arrangements are being made.

“Given the constraints, a maximum of 500 yatris only could be allowed per day by road from Jammu. It was informed that Baba Amarnath Aarti this year will be telecast live on Doordarshan,” Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam said earlier. —ANI

Per positive...

For example, in Amreli cases have increased 9.7 times, Bharuch, 7.3 times, Junagadh, 5, Valsad 4.95, Jamnagar, 4.88, and Surendranagar cases have increased by 4.7 times. Case numbers have doubled in Kutch as well.

Looking at testing, we find that, as of June 1, the state had tested 2,16,258 samples, when there were just 17,217 positive cases. On July 04, the state had tested 4,04,354 samples, of which 35,398 were positive cases. On June 01, the per positive case sample testing rate was

STORY SO FAR

Bihar Assembly polls together’ New Delhi: Union Minister for Home affairs Nityanand Rai, while addressing a virtual rally in Purnea, Bihar, hit out at Congress & RJD for spreading rumours that all is not well within the NDA and stated that the ruling alliance was in order and “will fight the forthcoming Assembly elections in Bihar together”.

Rai’s reaction came after Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh, during a VC meeting with party leader Rahul Gandhi, stated that Ram Vilas Paswan was in touch with him and the high command was not giving time to meet and

discuss the possible alliance. After this claim, the political atmosphere in Bihar heated up and it was rumoured

that LJP may quit NDA before the Assembly poll in Bihar.

Union Minister Rai said, “I want to tell leaders of RJD & Congress that they should not spread rumours & should worry about their grand alliance.

There is no split in NDA, we are one and we will jointly contest elections and repeat the performance of 2010 Assembly election again in 2020.” “We will not only perform well in upcoming Assembly elections but also, we will win more than 220 seats & once again, the NDA govt will be formed in Bihar under the leadership of Nitish Kumar,” Rai added. —ANI

fire was reported around 4 pm.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath has expressed condolences on the deaths and sought a report from Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani, who reached the spot after the fire was reported.

The factory was being run in a rented house. The SSP said the factory was operating illegally. “Candles generally used in birthday cakes were being manufactured at the factory. These candles gen-

erally have very small amount of explosives in them since they are to be used at homes and functions,” he added.

The in-charge of police post in the area was suspended for alleged dereliction of duty.

An FIR has been registered against the owner of the building and a magisterial inquiry ordered, officials said.

The factory owner is on the run and efforts are being made to nab him, they added. The administration has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the dead. —ANI

Bihar Assembly polls are likely to be held in November

FROM PG 1 6,97,069 cases.. putting the Covid-control regulations in the state in place for the next one year.

With coronavirus cases gradually increasing in Kerala, the state government has issued new guidelines to act as preventive measures against the pandemic.

The new regulations known as ‘Kerala Epidemic Disease Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) Additional Regulations, 2020’, will be in force for a year i.e till July 2021, or till further government direction.

This means, people will have to wear

12.56. This has decreased to 11.42 as of July 04, when numbers and spread have increased in the state.

8 killed...

The police did not rule out the possibility of some people still being trapped under the debris. The death toll now stands at eight, a senior police officer said.

Officials said the exact counts of the injured and the dead would be known after the removal of debris.

Two fire tenders and policemen rushed to Bakhrwa village in Modi Nagar when the

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ANITA HADA

anita.hada@firstindianews.com

V

i dyava ch a s p at i Gulab Kothari, editor-in-chief of Rajasthan Patrika is renowned across for his contributions to Vedic Studies. He was conferred with the Moortidevi Award in 2011, for his book Mein Hi Radha, Mein Hi Krishna.

Another feather in his cap is the latest publication,’ Samvaad Upanishad’ which has been dedicated to his father Kapoor Chandra Kulish who, as Gulab Kothari says, “taught him to write, who motivated him to write, who wrote himself and one who lives on in me’ my ‘pitra praan’ who is like the Almighty to me.”

He earned his Ph.D. Degree from the Intercultural Open University, the Netherlands in 1995. His thesis entitled ‘Newspaper Management’ has already been published and is being used as a reference work by the students of journalism in various universities of India. He was awarded D.Litt. in Philosophy by the same University in 2002 and his thesis has already been published with the title : ‘Body Mind Intellect’.

In his regular editorial Gulab Kothari promotes an awareness of secularism, in fact his works are focused on the regeneration of moral, social, cultural and spiritual values and are an excellent example of positive outlook and holistic thinking. They reflect agony of change and transfor-

mation and provide new insights for a balanced life.

Widely known for his classic MANAS, an analytical study of human mind from a Vedic perspective, he is a sensitive writer and profound scholar of Ved Vigyan. He has authored more than a dozen books in Hindi and English on various aspects of human life which reveal their subtleties.

One significant aspect of the special editorials that he contributes to his paper from time to time is that they inspire individuals and communities to change their outlook on life and create communal harmony.

Taking this entire aspect further he has written the “Samvaad Upanishad” in May 2020, which focuses on ‘communication’ which forms the core of life. Kothari brings forth the many types of communication which we deal with in our lives, the role of communication with ourselves, the world and also with the universe and Almightly, drawing upon his vast knowledge of the historical texts and religious granths.

Gulab Kothari quotes exten-

sively from the Bhagwad Gita, the most important communication for humanity till date.

The Samvaad Upanishad comprising of 30 chapters with 750 pages is a long read but every word is a learning and it is a life changing book. Kothari reminds us that life is a cycle of birth, karma, death and rebirth and the humans’ close relation to nature and trees as part of life.

The communication of the mother with her unborn child is critical to the development of the child, much as the potter moulds the clay into a pot and hands it over to the c u s t o m e r, which cannot be changed; in the same way the mother moulds the child and hands him to the society. It is this said and unsaid communication from a mother that moulds the child.

Kothari gives another example communication within the natural environment by giving examples of ants and their excellent communication and discipline.

Kothari touches upon the principles of communication as puts forth that each communication has only one goal to convince the listener , so that he may accept the communication in exactly the same meaning that it has been transmitted.

He says that emotional touch is critical to effective communication and cites that the strongest wordless communication

ONE SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF THE SPECIAL EDITORIALS THAT HE CONTRIBUTES TO HIS PAPER FROM TIME TO TIME IS THAT THEY INSPIRE INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES TO CHANGE THEIR OUTLOOK ON LIFE AND CREATE COMMUNAL HARMONY is between a mother-child and a guru-disciple.

Gulab Kothari says he brought these very principles to his journalism and his newspaper also and he always tries that his words should touch the reader’s heart and stay with him for times to come. He says, “ Pathakon ko bhagwaan kehte hain, meri Jeevan mein ek hi chinta rehti hai ki mera bhagwan (paathak) mujhse rooth nahin jaaye, varna main mit jaunga. Jo l i k h u n , wahi paathak ki pooja ka phool bane, shabdon par sawaar ho kar in phoolon ke saath main subah subah uske

dwar pahonchun, vah mujhe dekh kar prasann ho uthe ….. purn aastha ke saath ekakaar ho jaayen hum dono, jo vah hain wahi main hun” … this quote gives a deep insight into the ethics of journalism by Kothari.

The mammoth work deals with all aspects of communication and is a virtual Bible on the subject. The chapters deal with inter and intra communication of the individual touching upon the seen and unseen aspects of this medium. He has discussed mass communication, both written and verbal in great details. With his vast experience he touches upon the various differences in communication between

07

man and women, husband and wife, man and nature and within family.

Spirituality is communication with the self and Almighty and works on four platforms- body, mind, intelligence and soul. The connection between knowledge and action is also explored as is ‘teacher and disciple’ learning ethos.

Kothari puts forth the essence of the vices in a human being’s life and has devoted one complete chapter to Ego, Fear, Anger and Violence. Sacrifice and Sensitivity with their importance in our lives even as we are drawn into the modern day ethos is one of the best chapters. In the last chapter titled Agni, Yam, Som evam Pitr, Kothari has held forth his opinion on the ethos of the world today and after death and our relation to it.

For me, one of the most critical thought espoused by Gulab Kothari is on page 699 wherein he says that, “ A person’s thought process dictates his aura and his aura changes as per his thoughts”, (Manushya ka jaisa bhaavmandal hota hai waisa hi uska aabha mandal hota hai. Bhaavmandal ke anusar uska aabhamandal parivartiti hota rehta hai).

Our Aura is affected with positivity when we are in the company of ‘Saints and Good people’ so Aura is also a means of communication affected by others.

VEDAS & PURANAS

T

A treasure trove of ancient history and culture

he Vedas and the Puranas are the most precious and ancient treasure of the cultural heritage of India. They not only discuss the origin of the universe, its cosmology, its creator and the creation but they also deal at length with the philosophical questions relating to life and death that baffle human beings. The Vedic wisdom shows us the way to steer clear of the difficult situations in life and live a balanced life.

The Vedas are generally considered to have two portions viz., Karma-Kanda (portion dealing with action or rituals) and Jnana-Kanda (portion

dealing with knowledge).

The Samhita and the Brahmanas represent mainly theKarma-Kanda or the ritual portion, while the Upanishads chiefly represent the Jnana-Kanda or the knowledge portion.

The Upanishads, however, are included in the Shruti.

They are at present, the most popular and extensively read Vedic texts.

The Upanishads are often called ‘Vedanta‘. Literally, Vedanta means the end of Veda, Vedasya antah, the conclusion (Anta) as well as the goal (Anta) of the Vedas. Chronologically they came at the end of the Vedic period. As Upanishads contain difficult discussions of ultimate philo-

sophical problems, they were taught to the pupils at about the end of their course. The chief reason why the Upanishads are called the ‘end of the Veda’ is that they represent the central aim of the Veda and contain the highest and ultimate goal of the Veda as they deal with Moksha or Supreme Bliss.

MEANING OF THE WORD ‘UPANISHAD’ The word ‘Upanishad’ has been derived from the root Sad (to sit), to which are added two prefixes: Upa and Ni. The prefix Upa denotes nearness and Ni totality. Thus, this word means ‘sitting near by devotedly’. This no doubt

refers to the pupil’s sitting down near his teacher at the time of instruction.

The word in course of time gathered round it the sense of secret teaching or secret doctrine (Rahasya) which was imparted at such sittings. Upanishads are frequently spoken of as Rahasya (secret) or Guhya (mystery) also. We find in Upanishads, that due to secrecy and mystery of the teachings, a teacher refuses to impart instruction to a pupil who has not proved his worthiness to receive the instruction. Through another definition, the word primarily signifies knowledge, yet by implication it also refers to the book that

contains that knowledge.

NUMBER OF THE UPANISHADS There is a good deal of speculation concerning the number of Upanishads. Traditionally, the old Upanishads had their place in the Brahmanas and Aranyakas. There is only one instance of a Samhita containing Upanishad – the Vajasaneyi Samhita comprises the Ishavasya Upanishad forming the 40th Book.

In later times, the Upanishads obtained a more independent position but still they professed to belong more particularly to one or the other of the four Vedas.

It is difficult to ascertain the exact number that should be regarded as authentic Upanishads. A religious system is considered valid in India only when it is supported by Shruti, hence the founders of religious sects have sometimes written books and called them Upanishads in order to give their views scriptural authority. The AllahUpanishad, for instance was composed in the sixteenth century, at the time of emperor Akbar.

Different estimates of their number have been given by scholars and they have been put by some scholars at as many as 200.

One hundred and eight

Upanishads are enumerated in the Muktikopanishad and a popular edition contains them. However, among these Upanishads, ten Upanishads, the names of which have been mentioned in the Muktikopanishad, are considered the most important Upanishads from the point of view of Vedantic Philosophy.

Ten Principal Upanishads known as ‘Dashopanishad’ are :Isha, Kena, Katha , Prashna , Munda, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka.

Besides, Shvetashvatara, Kaushitaki and Maitrayaniya Upanishads are often listed in old Upanishads.

DESIGN: SITARAM SHARMA

It’s good to love the spring or autumn season but it’s far better to be keenly interested in all changing seasons.

2ND FRONT Diamond artisans packing bags again!

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020

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Caught between several ifs and buts, hundreds of diamond workers in Surat have returned to their native villages Shishir Awasthi Surat: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel visited Gujarat’s new corona hotspot, Surat, on Saturday, blamed the key diamond and textile industries for the surge in cases in the city and left, promising special hospitals worth Rs 100 crore.

Around the very same time, hundreds of diamond artisans were once again packing their bags for their native villages in Saurashtra and North Gujarat -- most of them were expecting some assistance package from the Chief Minister when he came calling.

The workers, who left for their native places during the extended lockdown had recently returned to Surat as factories started whirring, are going back yet again with the scores of diamond units closed for a week since last Tuesday. They also

Hundreds of diamond workers have left Surat again as their units are closed.

More than 200 families have returned to their homelands. At least, 800 to 1,000 diamond workers have gone back to Saurashtra and Central Gujarat.

—Jaisukh Gajera, President, Surat Ratnakalakar Sangh

carry the stamp of super-spreaders, given that in their desperation to re-start work, most gave social distancing and other pre-

Earthquake of 4.2 intensity strikes Kutch dist again

A man measuring intensity of earthquake on Richter scale.

First India Bureau Gandhinagar: An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale was recorded in Kutch district, with its epicentre around 14 km from Bhachau, on Sunday evening. It was preceded by four minor quakes of 1.8, 1.6, 1.7 and 2.1 magnitudes between 1.50 am and 4.32 pm, an official said. “A 4.2 magnitude earthquake was felt in Kutch district with its epicentre 14 km northnorth-east of Bhachau at 5.11 pm on Sunday,” the official of the Gan-

CM Vijay Rupani should announce an economic package for us. We are unable to meet our expenses since we live in rented houses. The government must help us.

dhinagar-based Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said.

The same region had on June 14 recorded an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude that was felt across several parts of Saurashtra region and even Ahmedabad. Kutch district is located in a “very high risk” seismic zone and low-intensity earthquakes regularly occur there. The 2001 earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, was the third largest and second most destructive in India over the last two centuries.

—Bhavesh Tank, Vice-President, Diamond Workers’ Union, Surat

cautionary protocols a go-by once the lockdown was lifted.

On an average, 20 diamond workers have been testing pos-

itive for the virus for the past several days.

As a result, units in Varachha, Katargam, Mahidharpura were ordered shut. Though

this closure was supposed to be for a week, there is no certainty till when it might be extended. The Chief Minister categorically stated that this would be decided only on Monday.

Jaisukh Gajera, president of Surat Ratnakalakar Sangh, said, “So far, more than 200 families have returned to their homelands. At least, 800 to 1,000 diamond workers have gone back to Saurashtra and Central Gujarat.”

Demanding that “Chief Minister Vijay Rupani should announce an economic package for us,” Bhavesh Tank, vicepresident of the Diamond Workers’ Union, said with the closure of diamond units and the market the “artisans are in a crisis again.”

He added, “They are unable to meet the basic expenses since they live in rented houses. In such circumstances, the government must help the artisans.”

‘Shoe-hurling activist’ is AAP Guj vice-prez First India Bureau Ahmedabad: A former government employee, Gopal Italia, 31, who had once hurled a shoe at a state minister Pradipsinh Jadeja on charges of corruption, and a vocal social media critic of the BJP, has been appointed vice-president of Aam Aadmi Party’s Gujarat unit.

Italia, who was earlier associated with Hardik Patel’s Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), joined the AAP in the virtual presence of senior leader and minister in the Delhi government, Gopal Rai. “I joined the AAP because it is a party of educated leaders.

Only an educated leadership can give a new direction to

Former govt employee Gopal Italia has been made Aam Aadmi Party’s Gujarat Vice-President

the political system.

I want the AAP’s vision of governance that has been implemented in Delhi, to be implemented in Gujarat. It is a vision where quality education and health amenities are available to people free of cost. I also have a vision of a corruption-free system. I want people to elect a government on the basis of such basic is-

sues. And to achieve those goals, I have joined the AAP,” said Italia.

A native of Bhavnagar district, Italia came to limelight in 2017 when as a government employee, he had called up Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, complaining about the ineffective prohibition law.

He was then a clerk in the revenue department, posted in Dhandhuka.

Don’t send trains from Gujarat: WB, Odisha, CG First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The governments of West Bengal, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have taken fright at the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Gujarat and have dashed off representations to the railways to either stop or drastically reduce the train frequency from Ahmedabad and Surat to their states.

Ahmedabad has reported nearly 22,000 and Surat 6,000 corona positive cases.

After a letter from the West Bengal Government, the railways have changed the Ahmedabad-Howrah Express schedule to just a day a week instead of daily. This is the only

train that reached Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal.

Since June 1, 230 regular trains across the country have been converted as special trains.

The Mamata Banerjee Government wrote to the Railway Board and Western Railways, pointing at an increasing number of cases in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The Mumbai to Howrah train runs via Ahmedabad and Surat and a large number of

people travelled to West Bengal in it. The government fears the infection will spread in their state too.

There are similar requests from the Chhattisgarh and Odisha Governments too.

The Howrah Express between Mumbai and Howrah also covers Raipur and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, Rourkela and Jharsuguda in Odisha. With these requests, Howrah Express will run only once a week.

Acceding to the requests by the three states, the Railways have now decided that the train will depart from Howrah every Friday and every Monday from Ahmedabad. The authorities have fixed the day, but the date is yet to be finalised.

Fake cop held for extorting money

‘Make digital games meaningful for kids’

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: Ramol Police on Saturday detained one Ayubsa Diwan, 26, of Bapunagar for posing as a policeman and extorting money from people.

Inspector KS Dave said Diwan confessed before them that he and his two other accomplices, Yasin Qureshi and Salim Rajput, both from Rakhial, used to be with him while extorting money.

He said Diwan had been sent for Covid-19 test. “We are hunting for his two accomplice and very soon will get them too”, Dave added.

Police said a 35-year-old youth had lodged a complaint that he was last week intercepted by two m o t o r c yc l e - b o r n e persons when he was returning after meeting his girlfriend near CTM Cross Road.

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama on Sunday said the cartoons and games children watch and play for hours on mobile phones and other gadgets must be made “meaningful” to impart lessons in “culture, discipline and religion.”

He was responding to a query on online teaching for children of primary schools in view of the extended lockdown.

Chudasama, along with Minister of State for Primary and Higher Education Vibhavari Dave, and education department officials had on Saturday held a “digital conversation” with pediatricians, psychologists and educators to get views on online education for primary schoolchildren.

Bhupendrasinh Chudasama

“Participating in the discussion, I said it is a matter of concern at home that a child watches cartoons and plays games for hours on a phone, tablet or laptop from morning till evening, which does not impart lessons in culture, discipline or religion,” the education minister said, when asked about his digital conference with pediatricians, psychologists and educators.

GOOD SAMARITANS

Scorned Gujarat Muslims are also corona warriors lll

Ignoring allegations on them, Muslims in Gujarat —doctors, businessmen, executives and even rickshawdrivers turned good samaritans in Covid crisis

Darshan Desai Ahmedabad: The Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin indeed became a major vector of coronavirus and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani often blames people who attended it for the spread of the disease in the State. Such irresponsible actions by a handful people and subsequent statements by politicians have often

come to demonise an entire community for several ills.

But seemingly oblivious to the allegations, there are umpteen instances of several Muslims in Gujarat -both leaders and ordinary people—going out of their way to help people all through the Covid crisis.

Take the example of autorickshaw drivers, Mazhar Rangwala and his friend Mustafa, who

Autorickshaw driver Mazhar Rangwala ferried Covid patients to hospitals free of cost.

volunteered to ferry Hindu and Muslim Covid-19 patients free between their homes and hospitals even as Ahmedabad sizzled at 44 degrees Celsius.

In the process, they themselves contracted the dreaded virus but it was their luck that they recovered after 10 days — and returned to render the same service again.

They even devoted several hours to help an

NGO, Janvikas, in packing, carrying and distributing ration kits to the needy during the lockdown -- all gratis.

They are not the only ones. In Dahod, when all doctors kept their clinics shut for fear of the virus, Dr Mohammed Dohadwala, a diabetologist, was continuously available. He and his 67-year-old father Dr Kaizar, a senior consultant physician, never stopped their services

while putting in place a strategy for the safety of staff and patients. They even devised a video consultation platform in their well-equipped centre for their outstation patients.

The Dohadwalas also took the help of a local NGO to distribute special kits of daily essentials among migrating labourers, penniless workers and other needy families in the city.

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AHMEDABAD, MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

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BARSE RE SAAWAN It’s the beginning of monsoon and here is a chance to upgrade your wardrobe with City First!

POORVIKA AGRAWAL cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

I

t’s monsoon time and of course, it’s also time to upgrade your wardrobe for this season. While the muddy streets can make dressing up tricky during the monsoon months, City First’s tips will help you keep your looks up-to-date.

This is the messiest season of the year and everyone finds it difficult to commute.

That’s exactly why you should avoid wearing jeans, trousers, palazzos, or maxi dresses; instead, you should go for short dresses and kneelength dresses so that they are not drenched in running or muddy water. If you want to experiment with your style, then wear a solid jumpsuit, which is currently in fashion.

Always wear light coloured clothes which are breathable, like cotton. Synthetic clothes should be avoided. A stylish raincoat is a must to turn heads this season. Try printed clothes this weather, which will also add more dazzle to your wardrobe on rainy days.

You can add a variety of colourful gumboots to look stylish and upgrade your wardrobe. Wear comfortable flip flops and jelly flats to get vibrant feet.

If you feel like wearing closed footwear, make sure to wear waterproof socks which will keep your feet dry and safe from bacterial infection. The good thing is that these waterproof socks come with moisture-wicking, as well as anti-microbial properties.

Last but not the least, a nice and vibrant collection of umbrellas is a must in monsoon. Gone are the days when umbrellas were only used to protect against rains.

A fun, bright-coloured um-

brella can make your outfit look cool. Carrying a different coloured umbrella in the sea of black umbrellas will surely turn some heads. You can further experiment by picking an umbrella with quirky prints that brings out the kid in you. However, if you want to settle on something more sophisticated, you can go for umbrellas in pastel colours or try the classic combination of blackand-white.

So to look different this monsoon, you have to adopt a different lifestyle and upgrade your wardrobe. Ensure to take raincoat and umbrella along with you. Stop wearing long clothes this monsoon to stop ruining your cloth.

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harlie Brooker’s dystopian series returns more confident than ever, offering up an ambitious tale of sexual and gender fluidity and a barnstorming performance from Miley Cyrus.

The Bandersnatch boy is back. After the innovativeif-not-wholly-unprecedented interactive standalone episode under the Black Mirror umbrella, Charlie Brooker’s anthology series (created with co-producer Annabel Jones) has returned for a proper run.

Season five comprises three episodes – each a discrete story set five minutes from now – that continue in Black Mirror’s lightly terrifying dystopian tradition of asking not what is the worst thing that could happen but what is the worst of the most likely possibilities. Like a sweetly sadistic scientist, it delights in shaving off slices of our collective psyche and sliding them under an unforgiving microscope to examine our most current concerns.

The first episode, Striking Vipers, is – lightly, obliquely – a meditation on sexual and gender fluidity, via the story of old college friends Danny and Karl.

The pair meet up together again a decade on and find out that, as online avatars

in a wholly immersive video game (discs are stuck to temples and the players zombie out on their respective sofas, their minds literally in the alternative world), they have – despite Danny’s happy marriage to a woman and Karl’s string of young girlfriends – an overwhelming attraction to each other. Mind-blowing online sex between them , ensues and suddenly every boundary is porous: real and online life; fidelity and infidelity; heterosexuality and homosexuality; and lust, love and friendship.

It’s one of the most tender episodes of Black Mirror, whose reputation for bleak nihilism is overstated but not entirely undeserved given how often it prefers the pursuit of a good idea to its extreme end rather than following up on its emotional impact.

The second episode, Smithereens, is the slightest and perhaps least successful of the trio. The story questions our powerlessness in the face of tech developed to keep us addicted, but doesn’t twist and turn as much as the best of them. It is largely held together by Andrew Scott’s uniquely potent and peculiar energy (whether he’s hot priesting or Moriartying it), perfectly channelled into the role of a

BLACK MIRROR

AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020

Sweet, sadistic and hugely impressive

grief-stricken, increasingly desperate taxi driver who kidnaps an employee of an Apple-esque company in order to force its CEO to speak to him. Things, inevitably, spiral out of control.

Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too is the barnstorming finale – fast and perfectlypaced, a mass of ideas entwining with masses of action, and still with enough heart to keep you watching in more than awe. It is the one that has grabbed most of the advance headlines because it stars Miley Cyrus, the singer and former child star who became famous playing the character Miley Stewart, ordinary schoolgirl by day and recording sensation Hannah Montana by night in the Disney show Hannah Montana. What attracted her to the part of Ashley O – a denatured recording sensation controlled in every aspect by her manageraunt, and whose real personality is eventually unveiled to one of her adoring fans via a malfunctioning robot intended as an anodyne piece of merch – we may never know.

It’s a grand caper, involving a daring break-in to a celebrity mansion, anaesthetising syringes stabbed

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in necks, a mouse-brain laboratory in a basement and a disastrous talent contest, but it also provides plenty of mental meat to chew on. It ruminates on the power of celebrity and AI to fill in the cracks of lonely lives, seeming to mend them but ultimately only alienating us further from each other. But it’s also about the endless differences between the sanitised images we see everywhere and the brutal realities behind them, and the drive towards homogeneity in all things – from insecure adolescent teenagers seeking safety in the crowd until they figure themselves out, to the people who just want to make the biggest buck from the widest possible demographic.

Miley Cyrus gives a great performance as a star hovering on the border between depression and rebellion. But a shout-out too for the quieter but equally sterling work from Angourie Rice – absolutely convincing as a shy, awkward teen for whom no Hollywood transformation beckons. The three instalments vary in mood, genre and just about everything else (as anthologies are designed to do) but they share a new air of calm authority.

FA CE OF TH ED AY

Source: https://www.theguardian.com

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Windfall can be expected that will change your financial position forever for good. You will be in limelight after you get the professional opportunity which is not easy. You may go for a new diet which may not taste good but will be extremely beneficial for you.

TAcquisition of some firm or some kind of small business is on the cards for some. You have a strong desire for fame and power and you can get it with patience and diligence. Professionally you are doing alright for now and definitely you have a secure job.

Brevity of human life is well known therefore one should make the most of it.

Monetary benefits are on the cards and the same money can be used for your business expansion.

Professionally you leave no chance to impress tour boss. Those unwell can expect a quick recovery.

Dominion over a certain segment of business in the market is what makes you a known personality. You may require some serious persuasive skills to make your spouse agree for something. You have a great bond with your kids and you are both their mentor and a friend.

MAR 21 - APR 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

TGeriatric care may be needed by house’s old people. A new and more paying job is indicated.

Only spend money on important things. You will spend your day in repairing some thing Marketing personnel may be pressurised for selling their products.

Postulating the right ideas to run the business is whats need right now also focus on being selective with your staff. For startups you need a good publicity program to see profits coming your way. You need to workout regularly if you occasionally indulge in eating junk food.

Lamenting over what has been lost is not a trait of warriors, always look forward and march ahead.

Right now all your stars is supporting a big change in life for good. You kid have big dreams and you will play a very important role in making them come true.

Surmount challenges is something no one can know better than you.

Make peace with whom you haven’t talked with in a while.

Anyone undergoing any training will do it successfully. You must sort your matter on home at priority so that things are under control.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Yielding big profits must be your priority at this moment.

Business will thrive,just needs a little push. Don’t give up so easily you never know your little more efforts may change someone’s life. There are always ups and down in life doesn’t mean we stop having hope in tough times.

Solidarity is must seeing the current times, do not forget that. You will save money today by using your bargaining skills. Those not feeling well will have instant recovery.

Cooperate with your wife at home and give them the opportunity to rest.

Reproaching in domestic matters must not happen rather sit and discuss whatever it may be. Your family is your strength and don’t let anything shake it. You are blessed to have a great mother from whom you have inculcated all the best values and virtues.

Tramify your business and you shall see how successful you will become. Sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward. Your achievements speaks for you. You are a good parents and always try to understand your child’s emotions.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

NICOLE CONCESSAO, Dancer

APR 21 - MAY 20

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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lia Bhatt introduced her fans to a new family member in the house, her pet cat Juniper.

The ‘Highway’ actor put out a post on Instagram in which she is seen posing with Juniper. In the picture, Alia is seen flaunting a no make-up look with her hair tied in a neat bun. Also, the snap captures Alia’s sister Shaheen Bhatt posing into camera in a blurred background.

“This girl duo just became a girl trio. Meet our new baby Juniper. Her skills include biting, selfie-taking and being generally adorable,” Alia wrote in the caption.

While Dia Mirza put out three heart emojis in comments, mom Soni Razdan wrote, “Totally one of the family I can see !” (with a lovestruck and two heart emojis). Lately, Alia has been keeping her fans updated on her activities by posting pictures and videos on social media.

—ANI

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DIL BECHARA TRAILER

New Family

TO BE OUT

MEMBER

Late Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi

L ...her post

Tough CALL

O

AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020

scar winner Brie Larson recently made her debut on YouTube and posted her first video. The video captioned: “So, I made a decision...” featured fellow YouTube stars and content creators, as well as her mom and grandma, who give her advice on starting her channel. The actor opened the video with, “Hi, I’m Brie Larson, I’m an actor, you might know me from Captain Marvel, or maybe you me from nothing.

Maybe you just randomly, from the algorithm clicked on Brie Larson this. But regardless, hello! I’m starting a YouTube channel.”

Explaining why she decided to start her channel, Larson shared, “This is like the place to talk about things that are important and that matter. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t also silly content, that there’s ways for me to express myself personally,” Larson, 30, continued. “But, there will also be deep conversations, anti-racist rhetoric, inclusive content.”

In the video, Larson also opened up about social anxiety and being introverted. “For me, my baseline has been, I’m an introvert with asthma. Like, that’s been my story for myself...I’m introverted. I’m scared. I have social anxiety,” Larson professed in the video. “And though, in particular, playing Captain Marvel, that kind of wiped clean those titles I had for myself and made me go, ‘Woah, I’m not really that anymore.’ And so, from there I found that speaking out, telling my story, talking about things that I’m scared of, has just helped me so much,” she added.

—Agency

Alia Bhatt

TWINNING TALES

S

ara Ali Khan spent Saturday with her mother and senior actor Amrita Singh and documented the day out on Instagram with a picture.

In the pictures posted by the ‘Kedarnath’ actor, the mother-daughter duo are twinning in multi-coloured Anarkali suits. In one of the pictures, the two are seen sitting on a couch

posing while the other one is a selfie featuring the two wearing attractive designer masks.

“Mommy’s Day Out #twinning #winning,” Khan wrote in the caption. The ‘Love Aaj Kal’ actor is quite close to her mother and brother Ibrahim Khan. She keeps posting pictures from the family outings to keep her fans entertained.

—ANI

Sara Ali Khan; (inset) Her post

ate actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film opposite Sanjana Sanghi, Dil Bechara, was set for a digital release. The announcement was made by the makers’ film last month, a few days after his demise.

After releasing a new poster, the makers have now announced that Dil Bechara’s trailer will be out on Monday, 6 July. Sharing a happy poster of Sushant and Sanjana, the caption read, ‘Every love story is beautiful, but this one is our favourite The trailer of #DilBechara will be out tomorrow.

Stay tuned!’

Fans who rallied for the actor’s last film to be released in theatres, were disappointed with the news that film was going to release on a web streaming platform. Dil Bechara will be releasing on Disney Plus Hotstar. The film marks Sanjana Sanghi’s debut as a female lead.

Just a few days ago, Sanjana shared a fun and heartwarming photo with Sushant from the sets of their film.

She wrote, ‘Oye? I need to laugh till my stomach hurts at all your bad jokes. I need to compete with you on who can eat more ham & cheese omelettes and drink more chai. Fight with you over who’s script looks more tattered and worn out because we worked on it endlessly.’

—Agency

...her post

HULK HOGAN BIOPIC

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Chris Hemsworth

he Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth revealed some interesting details about his character in the upcoming Todd Phillips directorial. The film was announced last year is reportedly stated to be a biopic on the WWE icon, Hulk Hogan.

The actor firstly says that the role of Hulk Hogan will require him to train very hard to build a strong physique.

The ‘Avengers: Endgame’ actor further adds that he will need to build a stronger body than what he had to do for his role of ‘Thor’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

Chris Hemsworth also reportedly stated that he preparation for the film in more for the physical aspect in order to match up to the physicality of the WWE icon. Chris does not fail to mention that the film is going to be a fun venture and he is looking forward to work alongside the Joker director. During an interview, the Hollywood actor also revealed that he has to work on the character’s accent along with the physical attributes and attitude of the character, of the WWE legend, Hulk Hogan. The actor goes on to mention that he wants to get into the skin of the character, by diving deep into the world of wresting.

—Agency

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

AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020

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FACEBOOK POST!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Robert Vadra

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Robert Vadra regularly shares motivating posts on his social media, especially concerning physical fitness. This time he has shared breath-taking photographs clicked during his early morning run, around New Delhi. The captivating photos show a different Delhi captured beautifully on cam.

Jagdeesh Chandra met and congratulated the newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Neeraj Dangi at Jaipur, on Sunday. Mahipal Singh was also present.

He wrote, “Life is beautiful! Running early morning, I am able to capture some awesome pictures of historical sites, and areas around our everyday life. Wishing all my friends a happy Sunday and a healthy life. Keep smiling it’s contagious.”

—Vaishali

NAAM KYA HAI?

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

City First gets in touch with its readers from Rajasthan & Gujarat about the relation with their name and if they ever wanted to change it

RAJASTHAN: Rajendra Nagar Colony Vikas Samiti honoured the Safai Karamcharis Mahesh Kumar and Anil Kumar for their services throughout the lockdown period, Wg. Cdr. SS Dhankhar President along with Brig. BS Shekhawat and Rao Ranjit Singh garlanded them and conveyed gratitude on behalf of all.

ANITA HADA

anita.hada@firstindianews.com

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RAJASTHAN: Jaipur based Bollywood singer, composer, lyricist, Gajendra Verma visited Junction 14 Restaurant, Jaipur on Saturday, where he talked about his lockdown period activities and upcoming projects. He also attended the meet and greet session with the children models of the city.

RAJASTHAN: Neha Lal is one of the winners of Mrs India Legacy 2019 Pageant. She bagged the Most Active Participant in the same pageant through her vivacious and attractive personality. Her unique signature is her remarkable professionalism and her ability to multi-task myriad roles right from endorsements for prestigious brands to photoshoots and philanthropy.

HAPPY B’DAY!

Nohar MLA Amit Chachan (left) and Niwai MLA Niwai Prashant Bairwa celebrated their birthdays on 5 July, Sunday. We wish them all the best!

he problem is I have never owned my name. Frankly, I don’t think it cares either. My name exists a little separate from me.

In fact, whenever I introduce myself, I hesitate over my own name as if unsure; like we do when introducing a rarely met ‘friend’ we bump into at a wedding. And my ‘name’ also does not stay close to me. When I say it aloud it hovers to one side as if wondering whether to adopt or reject any association with me, and it jeers at me I tell you.

Many a time it finds a more fitting person and leaves me and rushes off nestling below the nose of the ‘suitable’ person leaving me berefit and ‘nameless’.

I threaten it with change- of casting it to the winds, but it knows me – it’s an ineffective threat. Like an old wife who threatens to leave her husband of many years the next time, he gets drunk. But she doesn’t leave- she stays- out of habit, laziness and not knowing where to go.

So, I don’t change my name either- I keep this one out of habit, laziness and not sure which name I would keep.

We co-exist, not compatible but in a compromise. Just a request- when I meet you give me a few seconds for me to introduce myself and overlook my hesitation.

RAJASTHAN: Vipasha Bhatnagar, a girl from Jaipur found a solution to Plastic Waste by converting the waste into DIY Handmade products such as plastic glasses, ice cream sticks, jute, water bottles, small gifts, wall hangings, among others. She calls it the ‘Art of Sustainability’.

RAJASTHAN: The Grande Finale of Khandelwalas Got Talent (KGT) Season 2 was organised on Sunday, where 12 participants won the title in 3 different age categories. Dhruvi Khandelwal and Neeta Gupta won in the age group of 4-9 years; in the age group of 10-15 years, Priyansha Khandelwaldi and Naina Sambharia won in Dancing while Sandhya Udish Methi won in singing. In the age group of 16 years and above, Natasha Gupta and Calcutta’s Shreya Shah won in dance, and Himanshu from Alwar and Srinidhi of Maharashtra won in Singing. In instrumental music, Sakam Gupta and Khuman Patodia won the finals.

I am Simmi and I’m totally in love with my name as it has all positive meanings. A name with power and authority, ‘Simmi’. My name has fortunate luck for earning money and yes, I do save. I really like my name and have never wanted to change it.

—SIMMI BACHKANIWALA

My name is Komal, but I’m not a delicate person. This name holds answers to many questions and it says a lot about my personality.

As my name is Komal so people often judge me as a gentle woman, which I’m proud to be.

My name always reminds me of a kind-hearted girl with a lot of potentials.

—KOMAL BACHKANIWALA

My relation to my name is a bit tricky. I have two names: Sunny- the birth name and Manishthe one that I changed later on. I like both the names.

While Sunny is more like a family or pet name; Manish sounds more sophisticated and I like to associate myself with this name when I am outside.

—MANISH KUMAR

RANG MALHAR

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he 11th season of Rang Malhar was organised by various artists to wish good rain in the state. In this festival of colours, more than 1000 artists from all over the country and abroad called for good rain. The

theme of ‘Rang Malhar 2020’ was handbags. All the artists wooed Indradev by releasing their fantasies through colours on handbags with the purpose of spreading awareness about nature and the environment.