First India-Ahmedabad Edition-08 June 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

22°C - 37°C

ALERT AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

4,03,400 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 3060 DEATHS 85,975 CASES

70,38,621 CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 272 DEATHS 31,687 CASES

RAMBAGH PALACE REOPENS TODAY!

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 193

7,206 DEATHS

DELHI 812 DEATHS 28,963 CASES

INDIA

2,57,157

CONFIRMED CASES

GUJARAT

1,249 DEATHS

GUJARAT 1,249 DEATHS 20,097 CASES

20,097

CONFIRMED CASES

UTTAR PRADESH 275 DEATHS 10,536 CASES

Rambagh Palace, Jaipur opens its doors today, after remaining closed for 76 days, the first time in its history that it was ever closed to its patrons and elite clientele. The Rambagh Palace is not just a symbol of the rich heritage and culture of Rajasthan but also a byword in the world of hospitality and luxury across India and abroad. It has been featured amongst the 101 Best Hotels of the World in the prestigious Tatler Travel Guide 2020 and ranked at #07 as Top 100 Hotels Worldwide.

—PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Record single-day spike 820 ASI monuments, religious of 10,535 cases; toll 7,206 places to open today, sans Maha New Delhi: India registered its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, with 10,535 new infections taking the country’s tally to 2,57,157, while the death toll rose to 7,206, according to the Union Health Ministry.

India registered 287 deaths in the 24 hours since Saturday morning.

India had raced past Spain on Saturday to become the fifth worsthit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, only the US, Brazil, Russia and the UK are ahead of it.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 1,26,153, according to the Health Ministry.

A total of 1,23,785 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the Ministry said.

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GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS DEATH TOLL CROSSES 40,00,000 London: The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 400,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University that health experts say is still an undercount because many who died were not tested for the virus. The milestone was reached Sunday, a day after the Brazilian government stopped publishing a running total of coronavirus deaths and infections. Critics called the move an extraordinary attempt to hide the true toll of the disease rampaging through Latin America’s largest nation. Brazil’s last official numbers recorded over 34,000 virus-related deaths, the third-highest toll in the world behind the US and Britain. Worldwide, at least 6.9 million people have been infected by the virus, according to Johns Hopkins.

New Delhi: The Union Culture Ministry on Sunday approved opening of 820 Archeological Survey of India-protected monuments which have places of worship from June 8, Minister Prahlad Patel said.

However, sources said around 65 such monuments in Maharashtra are unlikely to be opened in view of the large number of corona-

virus cases in the state.

The culture ministry has decided to open only those monuments among the over 3,000

ASI-maintained sites where religious events take place, such as Nila Mosque at Hauz Khas enclave, the Qutub archaeological area and Lal Gumbad in Delhi.

As many as 3,691 Centrally-protected monuments and archaeological sites maintained by the ASI were shut from March 17 in view of the coronavirus crisis.

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Five militants killed in encounter with security forces in J-K’s Shopian Srinagar: Five militants were on Sunday killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence official said.

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Security personnel take positions during an encounter with terrorists in Shopian on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

‘Under Nitish, NDA to retain power in Bihar’

Union Home Minister & BJP leader Amit Shah addresses ‘Bihar Jansamvad Rally’, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Aditi Nagar Patna: NDA will retain power in Bihar with a two-third majority under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Sunday while addressing ‘Bihar Jansamvad Rally’ through video conferencing.

Shah added that crucial issues which no earlier government had dared to touch in the last 70 years had been resolved in the first year

of the Modi government’s second term, making a reference to CAA, abolition of triple talaaq and scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

“There are elections in Bihar in the coming days. I believe that under Nitish Kumarji’s leadership NDA will form the government with a two-third majority but this isn’t the time for politics. We all should fight COVID-19 under Modiji’s leadership,” said Shah.

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A’bad death toll crosses 1K mark as state case tally crosses 20,000 24 HOURS: 480 CASES, 30 DEAD, 319 DISCHARGED TOTAL: 20097 CASES, 1,249 DEAD, 13,643 DISCHARGED First India Bureau Gandhinagar: On Sunday, 21 patients in Ahmedabad lost the war against COVID-19, taking the district’s (city and rural) death toll to 1,015, or 81% of the state’s 1,249 fatalities. The dishearten-

ing development comes even as the state’s tally of positive cases crossed the 20kmark, to reach 20097.

Apart from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, which continue to be the worst hit in the state, an increasing number of cases are

being reported from districts such as Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Banaskantha, Patan, Kheda and Surendranagar.

Nine districts have more than 100 cases each, with Gandhinagar nearing the 500-mark.

In Ahmedabad city, 28.8% of cases are in the North zone, followed by 18.7% in the East zone, 14.4% in the West and 12.6% in the Central zone, which previously accounted for the most number of cases in

the city. Of the total positive cases, 20.8% are still active.

In the past 24 hours, 28 new cases have come from rural Ahmedabad: 13 from Sanand, five each from Daskroi and Dholka, three from Bavla and two from Viramgam.

With this, the area has 384 total positive cases now. One patient died during treatment on Sunday, taking the death toll of rural to 24.

District Panchayat Authorities have issued health certificates to

1,73,391 migrant workers.

Meanwhile, in Vadodara, 456 patients are under treatment.

Of these, 94 are critical, with 43 on oxygen and 26 on ventilators.

Surat has reported 68 cases: 62 in the city and six in rural areas. With this, the total tally here is 2,262, according to a statement from the Surat Municipal Corporation.

Katargam zone accounted for 17 cases, while Limbayat had 12, Varachha-A zone, 11 and Central zone, 9.

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NEWS AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020

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‘BOLSHE GUJARAT’ Cong targets BJP Govt via digital route

Social media platforms to be used to put forth grievances of people during COVID-19 outbreak Gargi Raval

02

GLOBAL STATE OF AFFAIRS COUNTRY TOTAL CASES USA BRAZIL RUSSIA SPAIN UK

1,996,922 678,360 467,673 288,630 286,194

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

112,205 36,078 5,859 27,136 40,542

+109 +121 +134 +1 +77

WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO LAST UPDATED: JUNE 7, 2020, 11:35 PM

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) on Sunday launched a digital agitation against the state government with the aim to shed light on the grievances of people amid the COVID-19 outbreak, under its ‘Bolshe Gujarat’ campaign.

Party leaders and supporters discussed the Gujarat model from different angles and put forth their issues on the different social media platforms.

Veteran congress leader Ahmed Patel lamented that the country as well as the state were going through a very difficult phase.

“Those who are in power have made plenty promises, but not kept any of them. The state is in debt and the Gujarat model has failed. The current situation in Gujarat is due to the failure of the administration.

The state government is not conducting tests, hospitals are full and people have been left to suffer. Governance has become limited to manipulation and gimmicks,” said Patel.

He added, “The people of Gujarat need exemption from school fees of the first semester for their children. Those belonging to the middleclass should be given Rs10,000 in cash. The property and water taxes must be waived off this year. I believe that all these demands are valid and should

IN GUJARAT DISTRICT

Congress MLAs, including Leader of the Opposition Paresh Dhanani participated in a protest on Sunday.

People have suffered a lot during the lockdown. There have been job losses, so the government should waiver the taxes, electricity bills and provide relief for school fees.”

The middle-class has suffered a lot during the lockdown which was imposed without any planning or consultation of experts.

Quality education has not been provided in government schools therefore, people are sending their kids to private schools. The schools are demanding their fee payments.

I request the government to intervene in this matter and bring some relief to the people.”

—Rajiv Satav, State In-charge (Congress)

—Amit Chavda, GPCC President

Those who are in power have made plenty promises, but not kept any of them. The state is in debt and the Gujarat model has failed. The current situation in Gujarat is due to the failure of the administration. The state government is not conducting tests, hospitals are full and people have been left to suffer.

Governance has become limited to manipulation and gimmicks.”

—Ahmed Patel, Member of Parliament, Congress

be met.”

While, GPCC president Amit Chavda expressed his concern at the hardships ebing faced by the middleclass. “The middle-

class has suffered a lot during the lockdown which was imposed without any planning or consultation of experts. Quality education has not

been provided in government schools therefore, people are sending their kids to private schools. The schools are demanding their fee pay-

ments. I request the government to intervene in this matter and bring some relief to the people,” asserted Chavda.

He further stated that

the government must find a solution for the taxes to be paid to municipal corporations.

“The package of Rs14,000 crore has been announced, but it seems to be a gimmick. Rather than announcing such packages, the government should waiver taxes and electricity bills.

They should find alternative ways to help people,” he said.

Echoing the same sentiment, Gujarat state incharge Rajiv Satav also demanded that the electricity bills be waived for people. “People have suffered a lot during the lockdown. There have been job losses, so the government should waiver the taxes, electricity bills and provide relief for school fees,” he opined.

TOTAL CASES

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

14285 1293 2098 131 140 111 56 420 103 101 142 23 37 89 159 60 46 12 61 4 117 121 116 90 47 55 6 32 4 50 DWARKA 15 JUNAGADH 32 AMRELI 15 OTHER STATES 25 TOTAL 20097 AHMEDABAD VADODARA SURAT RAJKOT BHAVNAGAR ANAND BHARUCH GANDHINAGAR PATAN PANCHMAHAL BANASKANTHA NARMADA CHOTA UDEPUR KUTCH MEHSANA BOTAD DAHOD PORBANDAR JAMNAGAR MORBI SABARKANTHA ARAVALLI MAHISAGAR KHEDA GIR SOMNATH VALSAD TAPI NAVSARI DANG SURENDRANAGAR

SAMPLE RECEIVED SAMPLE NEGATIVE

1015 43 86 04 10 11 4 16 7 11 6 0 0 5 7 2 0 2 3 0 3 7 2 4 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 2 1 0 1249

21 00 2 1 0 0 1 01 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30

2,51,686 2,31,589

UNDER EXAMINATION

0

THE MILKMAN

He kept all of us utterly-butterly during 70 days of solitude!

Lockdown or no lockdown, corona or otherwise, there is one constant in the lives of most Indians—utterly, butterly—Amul. Even in the toughest of the Covid curfew, there was one shop which never closed, there was one supplier whom no residential society stopped, the doodhwala. And could it be anything else but Amul? Among lakhs of people who ensured you never missed your morning cuppa, your Bournvita, your paneer, your cheese, stood out this unassuming softspokenman, RS Sodhi, the Managing Director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the mover and shaker of good old Amul, who has beaten the lockdown more than Corona. Darshan Desai caught up with him.  Despite such a huge crisis, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), and so Amul, has maintained the supply of milk and milk products. How

did you meet this huge challenge?

Milk is an important ingredient of Indian diet and this is why when the lockdown was announced, it was considered an essential commodity. In rest of the other industries, a supply chain means going from factory to the market. But in our industry, the supply chain means (C to C) Cow to Consumer and (B to C) Buffalo to Consumer. This is why we had a double duty one, to ensure the livelihood of our 36 lakh cattle-breeder farmers and two, to ensure our milk supply to 1,000 cities is maintained.

So, when the lockdown was announced on March 25, we immediately communicated to all stakeholders in our supply chain, from the farmers, to transporters and distributors. We told them clearly that it was not only a question of their survival but also a national duty in this crisis. We got encouragement when Union Ministry of Home Affairs and chief ministers of different states called us

The post-Covid lockdown may have broken all chains, but Amul milk supply is one chain that remained intact through the 70 days of partial curfew across the country!

RS Sodhi, MD, GCMMF

to inform that milk supplies must continue. Our supply chain never stopped even for a day, in all circumstances.

This is the reason there was no panic buying, which was our biggest challenge. People had faith in us.  How did you ensure this, right from the village to the ultimate consumer, in this strict lockdown period?

There was a clear communication, right from the cattle-breeders in 19,000 villages to trans-

porters, loaders and to distributors. We had been following the necessary protocol from at least a week before the lockdown was announced. At the village level, where they supplied milk to the mandlis (cooperatives) and through the chain, social distancing, sanitisation and other measures were strictly followed.  And what about protection of the workers at the Amul plants?

At the factory too, there was daily thermal

screening, a sanitisation channel, gloves and masks were all mandatory. Usually, there are more workers at our packaging line. We ensured this strictly there too and in fact, we slowed down the mechanical speed too. Our warehouses and tankers too are being sanitised.  How about the production of milk and its products? It must have been affected?

There was obviously no increase in the production as such, but we procured some 45 lakh li-

tres extra milk and ensured the farmers and supplies don’t suffer any losses. There was extra milk because the “mithai-walas and icecream-walas” and small dairies were closed and could not procure anything. But we had a demand from other states like Maharashtra, UP and Rajasthan and we ensured 100 per cent procurement from the farmers there.

But, we found that household consumption of milk and milk products increased during the lockdown - just imagine, there was an increase of 30% to 40% in consumption of cheese.

Other dairy products too like paneer and butter were used more and there was an increase of around 30% there too.

Yes, ice-cream was initially hit by 80 per cent to 90 per cent, but now it

has recovered to 30 to 40 per cent.  Was there any impact on the income of cattle-breeders or dairy farmers?

Not at all. In fact, we paid Rs 9,000 crore in cash to farmers for their milk supplies-- in fact, we paid extra Rs 900 crore for the milk, we ourselves bought.  How did you as the MD of a brand like Amul cope with the 70-day lockdown?

At Amul, we are a team, where everyone is on an equal-footing. My job was to ensure the supply chain was not broken and there were no hiccups. It was more of problem solving and coordination as well as ensuring everyone is safe. For instance, our tankers were not allowed in Goa, so con-

tacting the Chief Secretary there, drivers was a problem in West Bengal -- to sort it out.

At a personal level, it was not much of an issue, since Anand is a small town, home and office are very close, so I continued attending office. However, other office staff worked from home; there was remote billing and invoicing.  Any future plans?

How do you plan to deal with competition from the increasing number of private players?

The market share of the cooperative sector has and is bound to increase.

We saw the trust of the cattle farmers and the consumers in the cooperative sector during the lockdown and this will only strengthen going forward. Our other items like butter cookies are getting a fabulous response -- we will ensure that our butter cookies will be butter cookies only and not use vegetable oils as many others are doing. And our cookies taste good, try it and you will know.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020

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03

forecasts two days Situation may worsen before IMD of heavy rains in state it gets better: Expert panel

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

First India Bureau

State committee suggests herd immunity, which needs 70% of the population to be hit First India Bureau Gandhinagar: At a media interaction on Sunday, health experts confirmed that the state had entered the community transmission stage of the COVID-19 pandemic which was why the number of positive novel coronavirus cases had seen a rapid surge.

They say that once 70% of the community is infected and recovers from the virus, herd immunity will kick in and the numbers will start falling.

This means that roughly 4.37 crore people in Gujarat need to be infected— and recover—from COVID-19 before the numbers start dropping steadily.

The state government has formed a health and medical expert committee to guide the state health depart-

HIGHLIGHTS

The dedicated COVID-19 facility at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital.

ment to come up with short, medium and long-term strategies to fight novel coronavirus and develop a sound public health policy.

The committee includes experts such as Dr Tejas Patel, Dr Pankaj Shah, Dr Dilip Mavlankar, Dr Atul Patel, Dr Mahershi Desai and Dr Amiben Parikh.

The unanimous message that the doctors wanted to give to the people was that they had to learn to live with the virus.

They also urged the media to share positive news and not only focus on the issues and other negative aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Cong MLA demands better hosp conditions

—FILE PHOTO

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Congress MLA Gyasuddin Shaikh expressed concern regarding private hospitals turning away COVID-19 patients and lack of ventilators and ICU beds in government hospitals in a letter to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Sunday. The Dariyapur MLA sought the CM’s intervention to deal with the problem.

In the letter, Shaikh alleged that government-run hospitals such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) and Civil are facing a scarcity of ventilators and ICU beds. “Due to this scarcity, many patients have been referred to private hospitals in the city that have been designated for treating COVID-19 patients by the local civic body. But these private hospitals are refusing to provide ICU beds and ventilators to patients,” asserted Shaikh.

“The government needs to create infrastructure on a war

—FILE PHOTO

Dr Tejas Patel stated, “We too can be corona positive, but, since we do not have the symptoms, we haven’t undergone the COVID-19 test.

What we need to do is be careful and not be fearful of the virus.”

Dr Dilip Mavlankar said, “Herd immunity has worked in Ahmedabad’s Central

Decision on physical hearings soon: CJ

Zone. Earlier, the highest number of COVID-19 cases was reported in this zone, but now the numbers have dropped.

This means that more than 60-70% people living here were infected and have now gained resistance to the virus.

Therefore, there are very few people left who could get infected with the virus in this zone.”

Ahmedabad/Surat: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted that a low-pressure area is likely to form over the East-Central part of Bay of Bengal in the next 48 hours.

As a result, heavy rainfall is expected in the state on June 10 and 11.

The IMD added that the low-pressure area will become more marked in the next 24 hours and, in all likelihood, move west-northwestwards.

It said an upper air cyclonic circulation is currently prevalent over the North Gujarat region and South Rajasthan between 2.1 and 3.1 km above the mean sea level.

Jayanta Sarkar, Director, IMD Ahmedabad said, “Moderate thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and moderate rain with maximum surface wind speed reaching 40- 60 kmph are very likely to occur at isolated places

Saturday night’s rain caused enough road damage to trap this city bus near Malav Talav in Ahmedabad’s Jivraj Park area.

A warning of highvelocity winds and heavy rains was issued on Sunday on Sunday evening.

These places include Amreli, Bhavnagar, Botad, Rajkot, Dwarka, Jamnagar, Morbi, Surendranagar, Kutch, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Kheda, Dang, Tapi and Dahod.”

A warning of highvelocity winds and heavy rains in many parts of Gujarat was announced on Sunday.

PANIPURI ANYONE?

M e a n w h i l e , Ahmedabad received 1.5-inch rainfall on Saturday night which was enough to damage several roads in parts of the city. In Jivraj Park area near Malav Talav, a bus got stuck in a cave-in.

A similar incident was also reported in Surat’s Umarpada area, which received 232 mm rainfall which means it got 9-inches of rainfall overnight. On Sunday, the city received light to heavy rainfall. The North Zone received the highest rainfall at 89 mm followed by the West Zone at 73 mm.

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

First India Bureau

SVP Hospital is allegedly taking fewer patients now.

“Due to scarcity, many patients have been referred to private hospitals in the city that have been designated for treating COVID-19 patients by the local civic body.

But, private hospitals are refusing to provide ICU beds and ventilators to patients.

—Gyasuddin Shaikh, MLA Dariyapur

footing. Earlier, SVP used to admit around 1,000 patients but, over the past 10 days, they have admitted only 500 patients.

Whereas, at the Civil Hospital there is a waiting list of 15 to 20 patients who are in a critical condition,” added the lawmaker.

“It has also come to my attention that most of the private desig-

nated COVID-19 hospitals do not have any specialist doctors and patients are being left in the charge of assistant doctors. The government must ask doctors with specialized education and experience to do their bit in combating the COVID-19 pandemic or face legal action under The Epidemic Diseases Act,” Shaikh also pointed out.

Ahmedabad: The state high court assured the Bar Council of Gujarat (BCG) that it will soon make a decision regarding the re-opening of courts in the state.

The office bearers of the BCG conducted a virtual meeting with Chief Justice Vikram Nath on Sunday.

The council put forth a request to resume physical hearings in courts across the state at the earliest. CJ Nath, in turn, assured the council that the decision will be processed soon. The BCG had submitted that the livelihood of over 75,000 advocates had been affected because of the lockdown. The council is hoping that all courts in the state may start functioning normally by June 15.

A couple fry puris a day before vendors of panipuri and other street food return to their posts on Monday.

Shahibaug councillor’s purse stolen from two-wheeler as crime ‘unlocks’ First India Bureau Ahmedabad: It seems that after Unlock 1.0, thieves of the city are back in action. On Saturday evening, a woman councillor of the ruling party Pratibha Jain became the victim of theft, when her purse was stolen while buying essen-

tial supplies. A case has been lodged at Shahibaug police station and is under investigation.

The councillor of the Shahibaug ward said that she had gone to purchase milk and on her way back home, she stopped to buy watermelon from a street vendor. She made to cross

The purse that was stolen had contained `200 in cash and a mobile phone the road when she was approached by two men on a bike asking for directions to Shahibaug.

Before she could an-

swer the query, the pillion-rider snatched her purse which was on her vehicle’s footrest and the two fled the spot.

A police officer said that the councillor had lodged a theft complaint with the police station.

According to the complainant, her purse contained Rs200 cash and her mobile phone.

Rajya Sabha elections: Will Congress turn the tables on BJP? A few ‘unhappy’ ruling party MLAs may be seeking better opportunities with the Oppn 

Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: After multiple resignations from the party, the state Congress party has taken several hits, ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls. It has sent a negative message to the party members and its sup-

porters. On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might be a disciplined one but that does not mean that it does not have unhappy members looking for better opportunities.

But, time will only tell if and how the Congress party will

seek out this group of members in its opposition and turn the tables on the BJP. According to sources, at least half a dozen BJP MLAs are not satisfied with the government and party’s machinery. Such MLAs can be used against the ruling party but, sources said that it is possible only if someone from Congress showcases the strength to openly stand with them. The MLAs also

FOUNDATION

Gujarat Vidhan Sabha.

need assurance from the leader to protect their political careers and business interests.

—FILE PHOTO

Why? Because leaders who have revolted in the past have had their political careers

crushed and paid heavily for going against the party. They also did not receive any sup-

port from Congress when they rebelled and bore the brunt of rebellion when the ruling party went after them.

It remains a mystery whether it is purely a bluff or reality, if the Congress has any plans to change the rules of the game. But, two Congress MLAs have hinted that the party is in touch with a few BJP dissident MLAs. Becharaji MLA Bharat Thakor and Sidhpur MLA Chandanji Tha-

kor claimed, “Wait for the D-Day (Rajya Sabha elections voting), you will see a few wickets fall from the BJP as well.”

According to highly placed sources, BJP MLAs from Central and North Gujarat are in touch with Congress leaders. This includes two to three OBC MLAs from North Gujarat and even MLAs from Central Gujarat, who are unhappy with the party.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

COVID PATIENTS AT MERCY OF HOSPITALS & GOD

SUSPENSION OF THE IB CODE UNDERSTANDING THE LAW DHRUV GUPTA Advocate, Supreme Court of India

I

n April this year, the railways announced with much fanfare that it has converted 5000 coaches across the country into isolation wards and Level-1 Covid-19 Care Centre facilities. These coaches were to be deployed in rural areas in consultation with the health ministry. Railways planned to convert 20,000 coaches into COVID wards to meet any exigency arising out of a sudden spurt in cases.

It was also claimed that “5,000 coaches with 80,000 beds were ready to be deployed.”

One official was quoted as saying that “the idea to convert these coaches was to ensure that in rural areas, in regions where medical facilities were not available, care for Covid-19 patients could be provided”.

The ministry of railways also claimed that the department will “deploy more than 2500 doctors and 35,000 paramedic staff to meet the Covid-19 challenge”.

Luckily the pandemic has not yet infested rural areas. The real chaos is in Delhi where the Central government and Aam Admi Party-led state government seem to be working at cross-purposes. The real shortage of beds is there, and in Mumbai, due to private hospital’s reluctance to admit Covid-19 patients and treat them at minimal charges. Some hospitals were quoting a rate of Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per bed. Others included the price of PPE kits in their rate lists.

One doesn’t know how much of the demand for isolation beds in villages or if any or all of those 80,000 beds promised by the Indian Railways are in use. What one can certainly ask is if any of these beds can be redeployed from rural areas to somewhere near Delhi and Mumbai to meet their acute shortages at these two places.

The situation turned worse in Mumbai in the week after Unlock 1 with a surge in new cases. In the country’s financial capital, 90 percent of all Covid-19 beds were reported to be occupied. Data showed that 8,570 of the total 9,092 beds in dedicated units were occupied, while 98 percent of the 1097 ICU beds were also full. What is particularly disturbing is the unresponsive Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation helpline doesn’t work and patients have to go on a merry go round looking for beds.

Delhi’s situation turned more complicated after the Arvind Kejriwal government lodged an FIR against Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and passed a decree that Delhi hospital facilities will be accessible to Delhi patients only. With the spat turning ugly, Delhi’s top hospitals said they didn’t have beds even as a smartphone app showed the availability of beds.

Kejriwal said these hospitals were blackmarketing beds.

The blame game is not what we need in this hour of crisis. After seeing the plight of migrants the Centre and states should ensure that their concerns for Covid-19 patients are not as superficial as they were for migrant workers.

A

The IB Code is an Act of Parliament that allows creditors such as banks, financial institutions, and suppliers of goods and services, to take companies that default on their installments or other payments, to the National Company Law Tribunal. The Act also empowers a company to itself make an application before the Tribunal where it is unable to pay its existing obligations

fter months of speculation surrounding COVID-19 induced suspension of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, the Government has finally notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, and its text is finally available in the public domain.

For the uninitiated, the IB Code is an Act of Parliament that allows creditors such as banks, financial institutions, and suppliers of goods and services, to take companies that default on their installments or other payments, to the National Company Law Tribunal. The Act also empowers a company to itself make an application before the Tribunal where it is unable to pay its existing obligations. Once the default is established before the Tribunal, the management of the defaulting company is taken over by an Insolvency Professional, who then invites bids to sell the company to a third party and use the consideration for payment of the Company’s existing obligations. The law is widely considered to be a very punitive piece of legislation and therefore, companies fight tooth and nail to prevent its invocation.

Because of the widespread disruption of business operations across the country, it was apprehended that many businesses, especially MSMEs, would most certainly default in payment of their existing obligations and consequently, go down the insolvency road.

However, as a relief to several thousands of companies across the country, the IB Code, 2016 will now be suspended for at least six months, extending up to a year, if need be. Meaning thereby, that many companies will now be protected from the clutches of insolvency thanks to the amendment Ordinance.

The Ordinance begins by identifying that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted businesses, financial markets, and economies all over the world, including India, and created uncertainty and stress for busi-

nesses for reasons beyond their control. It then notes that the nation-wide lockdown has been in force since March 25th, 2020 which has added to the disruption. Given the same, amendments are being made to the existing legislation to prevent creditors from invoking this legislation against companies that are experiencing distress on account of the pandemic.

Now, according to the Ordinance, no creditor will be able to take a defaulting company to the Tribunal, under IBC, for any default arising on or after March 25th, 2020, at least for a period of six months, which may even be extended to a year.

As if that was not enough, the Ordinance further prohibits any application from ever being filed for the said default occurring on or after the said date. It is further clarified that such protection will not be accorded to companies for defaults that arose before the said date.

To explain, the amendment protects all companies from being pushed into insolvency, even where the financial health of the company may have been wavering before the lockdown, for failure to make payment of the obligation that falls due during the period of insulation noted above. Further, in a situation where a company defaulted on obligations both before and during the lockdown, the

The Ordinance begins by identifying that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted businesses, financial markets, and economies all over the world, including India, and created uncertainty and stress for businesses for reasons beyond their control

default arising on or after 25th March 2020 will now be protected from the clutches of insolvency while for the former, the default would entitle the creditor to take the company to NCLT under the IB Code.

Coronavirus has changed our sense of place

I

s it time to reimagine our fundamental relationship with cities?

People bring cities to life. They interact, work, socialise and travel. Without this, cities are just collections of buildings and infrastructure.

This relationship is now on hiatus all over the world. The COVID-19 pandemic left thousands of cities empty, eerie and listless.

We connect to cities by developing a “sense of place”. The concept describes how we perceive and attach to places through use. Our connection with cities changes over time but is always grounded in sense of place.

COVID-19 is fundamentally disrupting sense of place. It is causing trans

04

risk of city life.

What was a distant worry becomes an immediate threat when a transformative stressor hits a city.

Things that were once reliable and comfortable no longer are. Our behaviour changes in response, causing us to reconsider our sense of place over time.

formative change in cities all over the world. Daily parts of city life, like shared seating, busy trains and eating out, have suddenly become threatening.

TRANSFORMING THE PRESENT It is useful to consider what exactly the COVID-19 pandemic represents for cities and why it can change people’s sense of place so profoundly.

The pandemic impacts are so severe it can be classified as a “transformative stressor”. These rare events cause severe and intense social, environmental and economic impacts.

They are felt at every level of society and throughout social institutions.

Profound shocks are felt all at once in economic activity, human health and social order. Impacts occur

CO-CREATING THE FUTURE

COVID-19 is fundamentally disrupting sense of place. It is causing transformative change in cities all over the world

at all scales. Almost everybody endures multiple forms of disruption.

COVID-19 also fits the transformative stressor model because it might not be possible to fully manage it. Recovery planning needs to account for the possibility COVID-19 might never disappear. It could become an ongoing

The transformative impacts of this pandemic are upending established norms. But policy innovation can flourish at times like this. Transformative stressors give policymakers unique opportunities to work outside their normal methods.

People have stoically endured lockdowns in many countries. Working from home with limited mobility will further prompt

many to re-evaluate their sense of place. Many people will want a big say in the fundamental deci As they seek innovative ways to help cities recover, planners can learn important lessons by consulting urban residents. Online cocreation processes and workshops are excellent tools for gathering the people’s thoughts and aspirations at this unique time.

Participating in workshops can also help residents redefine their sense of place in cities disrupted by COVID-19. They can describe how the crisis changed their perceptions and use of space. This allows them to redefine their sense of place by considering the future with full acknowledgement of the past.

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM

It is also very pertinent to note that as per the law before the present Ordinance, where, in the face of an imminent insolvency resolution process, a director of a defaulting company had failed to act with diligence to minimize the potential loss to the creditors of the company, upon initiation of the insolvency resolution process, such a director could be called upon by the Tribunal, on an application of the Insolvency Professional, to contribute such assets to the company as deemed fit. However, with the present amendment, directors have been protected from such a course of action, in as much as, through the present ordinance, any such application to the Tribunal is barred for defaults that are protected as noted above.

Finally, it may be concluded that while protection from insolvency has been accorded to defaults where the due date falls on a date after the period of lockdown first began, such protection has not been accorded to any default where the due date fell before 25th March 2020. Consequently, for such insulated defaults, creditors will now have to turn to other forums and mechanisms for their realization, such as by approaching the commercial courts under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.

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TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp Food is thae starting point of our energy, our health and well-being.

From farm to the table,food safety is a shared responsibility.

On #WorldFoodSafetyDay, let us pledge to strengthen food safety management systems and prevent food-borne diseases for human health and prosperity.

Smriti Z Irani @smritiirani Don’t be a mute spectator to child abuse. Speak up & initiate action. Dial 1098 #Childline.

Let our children know there is a system that seeks to protect, rescue & rehabilitate them.

Spiritual SPEAK

Calmness, gentleness, silence, self-restraint, and purity: these are the disciplines of the mind. —Bhagavad Gita

Vol 1 Issue No. 193 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.

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‘Hospitals open for residents only’ Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also announced that restaurants, malls and religious places will open from today along with the opening of Delhi borders New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that hospitals in Delhi, except those run by the Centre, will only be available for people from the national capital in the view of rising COVID-19 cases here.

He said that private hospitals in Delhi will also only treat patients from national capital except for those hospitals which provide treatment that is not available anywhere in the country. The Chief Minister also announced that restaurants, malls and religious places will open from today along with the opening of Delhi borders. He said that hotels and banquets will remain closed as the government might need to convert them into hospitals in coming time.

Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said: “In the cabinet meeting, a decision has taken regarding healthcare facilities. There are 10,000 beds in hospitals of Delhi government and the same number of beds are available in those hospitals run by Centre.

We are opening borders from today. Delhi hospitals will be available for the people of Delhi only, while hospitals run by the Central government will remain open for all.”

“Anyone can get treatment in hospitals run by the Central government. Private hospitals in Delhi will also be reserved for people of

A worker sanitizes Smart Bharat Mall ahead of its re-opening during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown in Noida on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

A worker sprays disinfectant inside a Hanuman temple on the eve of its re-opening for the devotees during the COVID-19 induced nationwide lockdown in New Delhi on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

DMA SLAMS KEJRI FOR ‘WARNING’ DOCS

KASHMIRI WOMAN HELD FOR PLANNING TERROR ACTS TESTS +VE New Delhi: A Kashmiri woman, who was arrested earlier this year for allegedly planning a terror attack in the country during anti-CAA protests here, has tested positive for COVID-19 while in the custody of NIA. The judge directed the NIA to admit Hina Bashir Beigh to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital with immediate effect. The court sent her husband Jahanzaib Sami and another accused Abdul Basith to judicial custody. —PTI Delhi BJP Prez Adesh Kumar Gupta holds a placard as he is detained by police for violation of COVID-19 lockdown at Rajghat.

Delhi. But there are some hospitals which offer surgeries/treatment like neurosurgery which is not available in other parts of the country. Those hospitals will remain open for everyone. I think this is a fine balance to protect the interest of people of Delhi and people from outside Delhi,” he said.

The Chief Minister

said that a majority of people and the fivemember committee which was constituted to look into healthcare facilities in the national capital suggested that hospitals of Delhi should be reserved of its people only.

“We are opening Delhi borders from today.

We thought that if we open our borders then many people will come

for treatment in hospitals in Delhi. Will hospitals treating COVID-19 patients be able to take a load of those patients as well?

We have asked suggestions from people on this. Around 90 per cent people said that hospitals of Delhi should be reserved of its people only,” he added.

Kejriwal said that restaurants, malls

and religious places will open from June 8 but necessary precautions should be followed there.

“Delhi government will allow the opening of restaurants, malls and religious places from June 8 according to Central government’s directions. Precautionary measures need to be taken in those places. A guide-

line will be issued by the Delhi government regarding this. Hotels and banquets halls will not be opened as of now.

Keeping in view of rising coronavirus cases, Delhi government might convert hotels & banquet halls into hospitals,” he said. He appealed to senior citizens to take all precautions as they are most vulnerable to COVID-19.” —ANI

ONE MORE MAHA COP COVID-19 INFECTED Mumbai: One more police personnel has tested positive for COVID-19 in last 24 hours, informed Maharashtra Police. The total number of Maharashtra Police personnel who have tested positive for COVID-19 so far stands at 2,562.

So far, 33 policemen have died in state due to infection. —ANI

Rabri Devi, Tejashwi clang utensils to protest Amit Shah’s virtual rally

HOMECOMING...

INS Jalashwa reached Tuticorin Port bringing back 700 stranded Indians from Maldives, in Tuticorin on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

New Delhi: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress launched a protest against BJP chief Amit Shah over his scheduled virtual rally to sound the poll bugle in Bihar.

While the RJD, led by former Bihar CM Rabri Devi and party chief Tejashwi Yadav, observed ‘Garib Adhikaar Diwas’ by beating utensils, the Congress took to posters to urge citizens to mark ‘Shraddhanjali Diwas’. The posters read ‘virtual se actual muddon ka en-

RJD leaders Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, and others beat dishes and other utensils while observing Garib Adhikar Diwas in Patna.

counter’.

Senior RJD leaders Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav were also spotted at the party’s

protest.The ruling Janata Dal (United), which is in alliance with the saffron party, opposed the RJD pro-

test by clapping their hands.Speaking to news agency ANI, a JD(U) leader said: “People of Bihar have come to know about 15 years of misrule. The citizens here know very well about the RJD. Everyone is clapping their hands while they’re beating the utensils.

That’s all they know, they haven’t done anything to respect anyone till date.” BJP chief Amit Shah addressed party workers at 72,000 booths to reach out to its cadres. —ANI

‘SPECIAL CORONA FEE’ ON LIQUOR WITHDRAWN

New Delhi: The Delhi government decided to withdraw the ‘70% special corona fee’ on liquor sale in national capital from June 10 onwards, PTI reported.

However, the AAP government raised the Value Added Tax (VAT) on all categories of liquor from 20 per cent to 25 per cent, an official said. —PTI

K’taka: Hunt on to find BSY’s heir Bengaluru: BJP top brass has a tough task on handhunting for an “acceptabl e ” successor to 78-yearold Lingayat strongman & CM BS Yediyurappa whenever he decides to hang up his boots.

It’s a challenge for the party leadership in New Delhi, with none of the second-rung leaders showing enough promise to fill the old warhorse’s shoes.

GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH

White House, Pentagon tensions near breaking point over Trump remarks Washington: Tensions between the White House and Pentagon have stretched to near a breaking point over President Donald Trump’s threat to use military force against street protests triggered by George Floyd’s death.

Friction in this relationship, historically, is not unusual. But in recent days, and for the second time in Trump’s term, it has raised a prospect of

high-level resignations and the risk of lasting damage to the military’s reputation.

Calm may return, both in the crisis over Floyd’s death and in Pentagon leaders’ angst over Trump’s threats to use federal troops to put down protesters.

But it could leave a residue of resentment and unease about this president’s approach to the military, whose leaders welcome his push for bigger budgets

BEING REGRETFUL

A man waves an upside-down American flag defaced with the letters ‘BLM’ at the ‘Black Lives Matter Plaza’, near the White House in Washington, DC.

but chafe at being seen as political tools.

The nub of the problem is that Trump sees no constraint on his authority to use what he calls the unlimited power of the military even against US citizens if he believes it necessary.

Military leaders generally take a far different view. They believe that active-duty troops, trained to hunt and kill an enemy, should be used to enforce the law only in the most

extreme emergency, such as an attempted actual rebellion. That limit exists, they argue, to keep the public’s trust.

Vincent K Brooks, a recently retired Army four-star general, says this sacred trust has been breached by Trump’s threat to commit active-duty troops for law enforcement in states where he deems a governor has not not tough enough against protesters. —Agencies

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New Delhi: The national capital witnessed another bout of rain on Sunday morning as strong and cold winds swept across the city.

The rains and cloudy weather are expected to restrict the maximum temperature around 36 degrees Celsius.

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, has been recording a below normal maximum temperature for the last few days, owing to light rains. On Saturday, it recorded a high of 36.8 degrees Celsius, which was three notches below the normal.

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of regional forecasting center of IMD, said the region is not likely to witness a heat wave till June 15.The maximum temperature will rise by two to three degrees Celsius but it is expected to remain below the 40 degrees Celsius-mark till June 10, he said. —ANI

—PHOTO BY PTI

WINDS, RAIN BRING DOWN MERCURY IN DELHI The rains and cloudy weather are expected to restrict the maximum temperature around 36 degrees Celsius

People run for cover as it rains in New Delhi on Sunday. According to IMD, the region is not likely to witness a heat wave till June 15 & maximum temperature will rise by two to three degree celcius.

‘Low-pressure area over Bay of Bengal by June 9’

A man carries his daughter as he wades through a flooded area to reach a safer place at flood-affected Pramila village in Guwahati.

New Delhi: A low-pressure area likely to form over the east-central Bay of Bengal during next 48 hours, by 9 June, said the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday.

It is likely to move west northwestwards and become more marked during the subsequent 24 hours,

by June 10, the weather agency said. “Conditions are becoming favourable for further advance of Southwest Monsoon into more

parts of central Arabian Sea, Goa, Konkan, Karnataka, Rayalaseema, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Central and North Bay of Bengal, Northeast and the remaining parts of Tamil Nadu in the next two to three days,” said Rajendra Kumar Jenamani, Head, Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre at IMD. The south-west monsoon has advanced into some parts of certain areas in the country. —ANI

Yogi meets with ‘COVID-19 mgmt team-11’

Yogi Adityanath holds a meeting with the officers of the management team-11 in Lucknow.

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with officers of ‘COVID-19 management team-11’ and directed them to inspect all hospitals regularly.

“All the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 hospitals must be regularly

inspected,” Adityanath said in the meeting. He added that specific schemes would be worked upon from June 15 to empower the labourers and provide them with job opportunities.

“Once the development projects of ex-

pressways, medical colleges, universities, roads, etc begin, the low-wage workers could be paid,” he added.

While reviewing the lockdown measures, he instructed that effective police patrolling should be maintained to prevent accidents. —ANI

during the operation.

A police official said the security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Reban area of Shopian, in South Kashmir, this morning after receiving specific information about the presence of militants in the area.

He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened fired at a search party of the forces, who retaliated. The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants is being ascertained.

in the organisation. I request all workers of the party that Modiji has urged all to continue serving the people till the fight against corona goes on,” he said.

Shah lauded Nitish Kumar, also JDU president, for developing the State and targeted the dynastic opposition parties, accusing them of withholding Bihar’s development during their rule.

“I want to tell the dynasts to look at Bihar’s development today.

From 1990-2005 under their rule, Bihar’s development rate was 3.19 per cent. Today under Nit-

A vehicle plies on a waterlogged road during rains in Kolkata on Sunday.

1ST QUARANTINE CENTRE

Chargesheet filed by ED in Manesar scam

Raipur: A quarantine centre exclusively for pregnant women, among the groups most vulnerable due to coronavirus outbreak, has been set up in Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh.

The facility has come up at a community health centre which is 120 kilometres from Raipur, and presently houses eight pregnant women, all migrant workers who had returned from different states amid the lockdown, an official said.

New Delhi: ED has filed 2nd supplementary prosecution complaint against Private builders/entities in Manesar land scam case under the provisions of PMLA, 2002. This prosecution complaint involves the attachment of properties worth Rs 108.79 crore, said ED. ED initiated money-laundering probe on the basis of FIR registered at Manesar, police station.

ishji led NDA government, it has reached 11.3 per cent,” said Shah.

Taking a jibe at the RJD, Bihar’s principal opposition party, Shah that Bihar has moved into the LED era from that of the lantern.

“We have covered the journey from loot and order to law and order.

From the Jungle Raj, we have reached ‘Janata’ raj.

We have travelled from muscle politics to developmental politics. From fodder scam, we have reached the milestone of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under Modiji’s leadership,” he said.

The Home Minister

lauded the contribution of the State’s workers in building the nation’s most developed regions and said that Modi-led government at the Centre is focused on developing the eastern region including Bihar of the country.

“Modiji had said in 2014 that there is a vast gap between development in western and eastern India. The eastern part had a huge contribution to the country’s GDP during independence, but the governments which came to power later turned their face away from the eastern region, which

‘CYCLONE AMPHAN CAUSED DAMAGE OF OVER RS 1LAKH CRORE’ Kolkata: The West Bengal government gave an estimate of more than Rs one lakh crore for damages caused by Cyclone Amphan to the visiting inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) after its twoday survey of the devastation.

As per the list submitted to IMCT by the state, the total estimated damage in the May 20 cyclone is Rs 1,02,442 crore with the maximum of Rs 28.56 crore being quoted for destruction caused to dwelling houses.

The second maximum loss of Rs 26,790 crore was in the industries sector, including the MSME, while the assessment for the agriculture sector was Rs 15,860 crore, a government release said.

The list of damages was given to the seven-member central team during its hour-long meeting with state CS Rajiva Sinha and other senior officers of departments like home, finance, agriculture, power, PWD. The IMCT, headed by Anuj Sharma, the joint secretary, had visited the two mostly affected districts of North and South 24 Parganas to assess the damage caused by the cyclone. —PTI

—PHOTO BY PTI

Odisha govt arranges spl flights for stranded

NCW seeks action report in gangrape

Jammu: Nearly 350 stranded people from Odisha are being sent back from Jammu Airport in three special flights with all arrangements for their return being made by the Odisha Government. , Dr Tahir Firdous Additional Deputy Commissioner Jammu said, “Government of Odisha has arranged for their plane tickets, they’ll be going via Air Asia chartered flight with passengers’ capacity of 122 per flight. These people were stranded in different parts of Jammu

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women sought an action taken report from Kerala Police on the rape of a woman by her husband & his friends in front of their fiveyear-old child.

The 25-year-old woman was sexually assaulted after being forced to consume liquor. The NCW has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and expressed concern about the safety of women in the state, which it said, ‘cannot be overlooked & needs attention.’

during the lockdown, we provided all the facilities to them. Today nearly 366 passengers are to board the flights to Odisha from here.”

Passengers here expressed their satisfaction on being sent back to their state. —ANI

FROM PG 1 Ahmedabad death...

One more Corona warrior, a doctor from the Surat Civil Hospital, has tested positive; as have a dairy owner, a grocer and an engineer who works with a leading corporate house.

A total of 419 patients are being treated in the Civil Hospital, of which 174 are critical, with six on ventilators, 24 on Bipap, 144 on oxygen.

Five militants...

Reban in Shopian,” defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said. He said good drills ensured no collateral damage took place

‘Under Nitish...

“The BJP’s strength lies

resulted in the development going downhill in this part of the country,” Shah said.

He said that PM in these six years has tried bringing light in the lives of the crores of poor people in the country. —ANI

Record single-day...

During the last 24 hours, a total of 5,220 COVID-19 patients have been cured, the ministry said.

“Thus, around 48.37 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior ministry official said.

The tally of confirmed cases includes foreigners.

The Indian Council

of Medical Research has further ramped up the testing capacity for detecting the novel coronavirus in infected persons. The number of government labs has been increased to 531 and private labs to 228, taking the total number of labs to 759.

As many as 1,42,069 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of samples tested till now to 46,66,386. —ANI

820 ASI...

The minister said all coronavir us-related protocols issued by the Union health ministry

would be followed by the monument authorities. According to sources, wearing of masks might be made the norm for visitors at such sites. In a tweet, Patel said, “Today, the culture ministry has approved the opening of 820 of its living monuments under the ASI from June 8. All protocols issued by the MHA and the health ministry will be followed.”

The guidelines released by MHA state that hand hygiene and thermal screening provisions are to be made compulsory at the entrance.

—ANI

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THE UN CELEBRATES WORLD OCEANS DAY EVERY YEAR ON JUNE 8. MANY COUNTRIES HAVE CELEBRATED THIS SPECIAL DAY SINCE 1992, FOLLOWING THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT & DEVELOPMENT, HELD IN RIO DE JANEIRO STAY THE COURSE ON OCEAN PARKS nly 7.4% of our O ocean is currently protected. These ocean

parks benefit marine biodiversity and help boost breeding fish populations that spillover to enhance regional fisheries, create jobs in tourism, and potentially sequester more carbon. Some have suggested, however, that because of COVID-19 we must open up these ocean parks to industrial fishing. This would be folly. These

parks are long-term ocean investments that take decades to mature, but only days to erase. In addition to short-changing future fishers, dissolving ocean parks would be a blow to sustainable blue tourism. Such actions would be akin to dismantling and selling off all the rides in Disneyland during COVID-19 - a shortsighted disservice to local jobs and economies.

HOW TO REBUILD A STRONGER OCEAN ECONOMY AFTER COVID-19 A

AVOID SQUANDERING A POST-COVID-19 FISH BOUNTY nlike other investU ments, living ocean resources literally grow

during downturns. During World War II, many fishing vessels were forced to stop fishing.

This reprieve allowed fish populations, such as cod, to increase. Should any such gains be accruing during COVID-19, we must resist the urge to immediately over-harvest

them. Instead, we should use fisheries science to design intelligent harvestyield protocols that maximize the long-term benefit of any possible COVID-19 gains.

BLUER BLUE TOURISM cean tourism, before O COVID-19, was directly valued at $390

billion globally and comprises a significant portion of the GDP of many nations. The millions of people that depend on ocean tourism, and consequently have a stake in ocean health, cannot be abandoned during the pandemic. Recovery funds could prevent fur-

loughs by hiring people to restore coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs and mangroves, given the massive return on investment that such ecosystems deliver to blue tourism. Similar nature-based job creation programmes were developed during the Great Depression, such as the Civilian Conserva-

tion Corps in the US. Stimulus funds could also keep workforces active installing sustainability upgrades in now empty hotels - drinking water stations to reduce plastic pollution and water treatment systems, for example - and training staff to diversify their sustainability skillset.

REDUCING SHIPPING EMISSIONS aritime shipping M carries an estimated 90% of the planet’s

cargo. This ocean traffic contributes significantly to global emissions of carbon and other air pollutants. The International Maritime Organization

has mandated that shipping emissions be reduced by 50% by 2050. A reduction in shipping activity during COVID-19 provides a valuable opportunity to move towards this goal.

Quiescent vessels can be

fitted with upgrades to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

Quieter shipyards can retool and secure political support to prepare for future demand to be met with zero-emission vessels. Such opportunities are greatest in Asia, where China, together with South Korea and Japan, represent more than 95% of the world’s shipbuilding by tonnage. Any aid directed to accelerate progress towards decarbonizing shipping should also include opportunities to electrify ports and prepare them to provide zero-emissions fuels.

lmost no facet of our global economy has been immune to the COVID-19 crisis.

Much has been said about the disruption in more familiar sectors such as airlines, restaurants, and sports but the long arm of COVID-19 has also reached out to sea, and is affecting our “blue economy”.

This collection of formal and informal marine jobs, products, and services has been valued at $2.5 trillion a year. If the ocean were a nation, it would rank as the 7th largest economy in the world.

Maritime shipping has seen COVID19-associated drops in activity of up to 30% in some regions.

Lockdowns and reduced demand for seafood have seen fishing activity fall by as much as 80% in

China and West Africa. Entire nations dependent on ocean and beach associated tourism have shut their borders. Globally, COVID-19’s impact on tourism may amount to a $7.4 billion loss and could put 75 million jobs at risk.

Some of the COVID-19 stimulus packages that are being designed to recover land-based industries and communities are also exploring ways to leapfrog forwards into greener modes of operation. However, little is being considered for bluer modes of operations.

Similar opportunities, however, await us in our ocean and on our coasts.

Here are eight pathways for rebuilding an ocean economy that is both stronger and more sustainable after COVID-19.

SUPPORTING OUR MARINERS - DELIVERY TRUCK DRIVERS OF THE SEA hips are arguS ably the world’s most challenging work

environment in which to confront a pandemic.

Vulnerable mariners, such as those in the shipping and fishing industry, are vital to the

S

functioning of society.

Ramping back up these sectors will require that crews be provided with viral and antibody testing and that they be extended dignified, safe transit home after being at sea for one month or more.

Crews should also be given access to secure communication channels linking them to home.

In the fishing industry, enhanced communications would confer the added benefit of combating slavery at sea.

FARMING THE SEA TO FEED BILLIONS

cientists estimate that around 845 million people worldwide are nutritionally vulnerable to any decline in seafood.

COVID-19 could exacerbate these challenges via disruptions

to blue food trade and labour networks. We can avoid some of this trauma to food security systems by using stimulus funds to bolster smart aquaculture, or ocean farming which can provide nutritional

support to vulnerable local populations, while minimizing environmental impact. Such investments could be patterned after environmentally and nutritionally aware investments in agriculture.

DIGITIZING OUR OCEAN nother way to fastA track the reopening of our blue economy is to direct stimulus investing towards marine technologies that can help us more efficiently and effectively observe and understand our ocean.

For example, fisheries observer programmes that help the industry collect vital data to enhance catch, enforce laws and protect endangered species have been suspended because of COVID-19. New AI-pow-

ered electronic monitoring systems can play a role in maintaining these data pipelines. Myriad other opportunities exist from expanding machine learning-powered interpretation of satellite data and enhanced drones that can curtail illegal fishing in regions where COVID-19 has reduced conventional marine patrols to connecting sustainable fishers to local consumers via apps when restaurants and markets are closed.

DON’T PREY ON THE MOMENT e must be intolerant W of efforts to misuse COVID-19 to advance

agendas of self-interest.

For example, much positive progress has been made transitioning us away from single-use plastics, a major source of ocean pollution. Since COVID-19, however, interest groups have successfully reversed or suspended these regulations for products like plastic bags. There are many things that we must do together to slow the spread of COVID-19 - but using single use plastic bags, instead of paper or reusable bags, is not

one of them. Similarly, while external investment in hard-hit nations, like ocean-dependent small island states, can be positive, we must not allow the attachment of predatory terms that take advantage of these nations’ financial vulnerability. COVID-19 has exposed

SOURCE: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

just how profoundly linked our economies and wellbeing are to the ocean. These actions illustrate the need to inject more blue into COVID-19 discussions of ‘green recovery’. We cannot miss a chance in the times ahead to benefit both people and our ocean.

CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI

DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

If one has a supportive loving family to go home to, to be there in time of happiness and sadness, then one has found heaven on Earth!

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

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2ND FRONT AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020

08

Cong ‘resorts’ to Raj resorts for safety, again!

In a continued effort to protect them from poaching, 22 Gujarat Congress MLAs to be shifted from Mount Abu to Jaipur today Gargi Raval Ahmedabad: Resorts are quickly turning into the Gujarat Congress’ preferred method of protecting its MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) from horsetrading ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls slated to be held on June 19. On Sunday, as many as 22 MLAs were taken to Mount Abu, from where they will head to Jaipur on Monday, sources said.

With this development, all 65 MLAs of the Congress party in Gujarat have been sequestered. Most are in one of three resorts, while some have been placed at different bungalows.

However, even this

Nationalist Congress Party issues whip to its sole MLA, Kandhal Jadeja, to vote for a candidate from the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha elections.

The mandate is given as per the instruction from NCP national generalsecretary and Gujarat in-charge Praful Patel.

—Amrish Der,

—Virji Thummar,

—Vikram Madam,

Congress MLA, Khambhaliya

—Jayant Patel,

has not kept the party out of trouble. A police complaint has been lodged against the owner and manager of Neel’s City Resort in Rajkot-where some lawmakers from Saurashtra

A shop selling traditional Gujarati snacks.

Gandhinagar/Delhi: Gujarat State tops in terms of food safety index, while Chandigarh tops among UTs. Goa leads smaller States .Gujarat is followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra,Goa is followed by Manipur and Meghalaya, Among UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have secured top ranks.

FSSAI released the results of the second ‘State Food Safety Index’ to celebrate the World Food Safety Day during a webinar today.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said “ Food Safety is everyone’s business and a shared responsibility”.

He emphasized Food Safety is: Ensuring it’s

Given the current health crisis, Congress MLAs should stay back in their respective constituencies and work for the people. No one can say what tomorrow will bring.

To allege that party is doing injustice when it has given you Legislative Assembly tickets for four consecutive terms is nothing but a mere excuse to quit the party. Such people have little respect for the party or for the voters.

NCP state unit president

Paresh Dhanani, Arjun Modhvadia and Hardik Patel along with other MLAs are seen having a conversation while secluded at Neel’s City Resort in Rajkot.

GUJARAT TOPS IN FOOD SAFTEY INDEX: FSSAI

First India Bureau

It is too much to expect MLAs to be loyal to the party. In today’s times, even married sons do not live with their parents.

—FILE PHOTO

safe, Grow it safe, Keep it safe, Eat it safe and Team up for safety.” FSSAI released an e-book on ‘Eat Right during Covid-19’ for citizens, A guidance note ‘Food Hygiene and Safety Guidelines for Food Businesses during the Pandemic’ was also released on the occasion.

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey said: “Children can be taught importance of food safety , this will not only ensure good health but will also transform our habits.”

We need to ensure precautions are taken in restaurants and the food service establishments said Preeti Sudan, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

were kept. The first incident report was filed under Indian Penal Code Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) for opening the resort for Congress MLAs, in an

alleged violation of the lockdown notification which does not allow hotels and restaurants to open until Monday.

“We have lodged the first information report (FIR) against the owner

and manager of Neel’s City Resort where the Congress MLAs are staying. They have been booked for flouting the lockdown notification by opening the resort,” University Road police station inspector RS

Congress MLA (Rajula)

Thakar said.

Similarly, the BJP district head of Sirohi had reached the police station to file a complaint against the Congress MLAs and the owner of the resort for violating Section 144.

Treasurer of Indian National Congress, and veteran leader, Ahmed Patel said, “Rather than battling against COVID-19, the BJP is using its time to poach Congress MLAs. The BJP

Congress MLA (Lathi)

is not interested in doing public welfare work, but they want to remain in power.

They have thick skin and they have taken people for granted.

They are using people just for votes.”

CRISIS: Lack of COVID-19 beds in A’bad!

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Dariyapur Congress MLA Gyasuddin Sheikh today in a letter to the Chief Minister raised the issue of unavailability of hospital beds for COVID patients. He has alleged that for the last one week, patients are struggling for ICU beds and ventilators.

He said, “New patients are not admitted to SVP hospital for the last 20 days with the excuse of lack of availa-

bility of ICU beds and ventilators. Instead of 800-1000 patients, SVP is keeping only 500 patients during the last 20 days. Private hospitals have 50% of beds reserved for patients referred to by AMC. The same way 50% ICU beds and 50% ventilators should also be kept reserved for patients shifted by AMC. For the last four days, there’s been a shortage of ventilators in the civil hospital. 15-20 patients are on the waiting list to get

—FILE PHOTO

Medics treat a patient.

a ventilator bed, though their condition is critical. 42 private designated hospitals of AMC also refuse admission to

ALL SET TO OPEN TODAY

patients with the excuse of lack of ICU beds and ventilators.”

Meanwhile, Gujarat government’s revised

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

testing policy, which makes it mandatory for COVID suspects to get hospitalised if they want to get tested, is putting tremendous strain on private hospitals that are forced to turn patients away or keep them waiting Gujarat continues to stand tall in the ignominious list of states with high Covid-19 mortality.

The government had revised the testing policy on June 2 making it impossible for Covid-19 suspects to get tested

Gotri College contractor puts lives at risk!

First India Bureau

Social distancing marks and stickers pasted on tables and floor inside a cafe in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

without being hospitalised. Four days later, several private hospitals in Ahmedabad complained that their Covid-19 wards have run out of beds and they are forced to refuse patients or ask them to wait for admission.

In such a situation, there is no way that common citizens can get themselves tested for coronavirus. Doctors warn that the revised testing rules will only worsen the Covid-19 situation in Gujarat.

Vadodara: The Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS) Gotri hospital lodged a complaint with the Vadodara police against negligence on the part of the Bhavnagar based contractor supplying housekeeping services at the hospital.

After several complaints were made about the alleged highheaded behaviour of the housekeeping and sanitation staff of the GMERS run Gotri Medical College, a designated government Covid-19 hospital in Vadodara, the administration on

Sunday decided to press charges against the contractor for violating the terms of the contract.

In a police complaint, Medical Superintendent Dr Vishala Pandya has said that “gross negligence by the firm in terms of provision of manpower and irregularities in housekeeping services has been observed”, Especially in the pandemic situation putting several lives at risk.

The firm owners, M J Solanki and Dipak Nakrani were absent for the meeting despite timely intimation.This shows their irresponsible behaviour towards their services.

Prayers in shifts, token system for devotees at Guj religious places First India Bureau Gandhinagar: Temples, mosques, churches and other places of worship outside COVID-19 containment zones in Gujarat are planning to open their doors for devotees from Monday after over two months, while taking all precautions to check the spread of COVID-19.

To maintain social distancing and avoid

crowding, some of the religious places have decided to organise prayers in shifts and even start a token system to specify time slots to devotees for visits.

The famous Somnath temple in Gir Somnath district will open for local devotees from Monday, but visitors from other districts will have to first register themselves online, starting June 12, an official of the temple trust said.

Devotees have been asked to mandatorily wear face masks, get sanitised before entering the temple premises, and not bring elderly people (those above 65 years of age) and children (below to 10 years) with them, he said.

The temple will only allow priests to conduct the ’aarti’ with no presence of devotees, the official said.

The Ambaji temple in Banaskantha dis-

PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN

trict, a major pilgrimage in north Gujarat, will open from June

12 and allow devotees to visit the place in three shifts every day,

starting at 7.30 am and ending at 10.15 pm, the temple trust said in a statement.

It will not allow ‘aarti’ or special prayers, and visitors will be giv-

en a token specifying the time for visit, to ensure they enter and leave the temple premises without crowding the place, it said.

The district adminis-

tration and the temple trust have made arrangements for sanitisers and to ensure social distancing during visits by devotees, it said.

On Saturday, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held a video conference with religious leaders from different communities and urged them to ensure adherence to lockdown guidelines while opening the places of worship for devotees.

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD, MONDAY JUNE 8, 2020

SHAPE IT UP

FITNESS ENTHUSIASTS ARE WAITING KEENLY FOR THE GYMS TO OPEN, BUT ARE WORRIED ABOUT HOW TO KEEP SAFE. CITY FIRST TELLS YOU HOW!

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

F

itness is an essential part of everyone’s lives, and with the gyms and other fitness centers being shut down due to the pandemic, it has become a bit difficult for people to keep track of their health. While there are a few fitness enthusiasts, there are still many of them who have always been dependent on these centers, in order to stay fit.

Even after the gyms open, precautions will have to become a daily part of life, City First suggests a few ways by which you can be safe, and at the same time, be fit. There are strict physical distancing and sanitization protocols that would be taken up, and you must know what they are!

what they had to say: “There are a few precautionary measures that we will take such as, allowing only a limited number of members in the gym at a time, reserving time on equipment and have cleaning staff sanitize everything each time it is used, screening all members and demand a doctor’s health certificate. Other precautions include discontinuation of towels and closed steam bath/shower facilities, disinfection of the gym every hour, social distancing and asking members to bring their own towels, mats, foam rollers,” said Sheshang Lakdawala from Ahmedabad.

Ajay Singh from Jaipur said, “I have planned to

SPACING OUT

Social distancing is the most important thing that is to be taken care of. Make sure you maintain distance with the people working out with you, in order to be safe and secure.

BYOB

No, it’s not booze- ‘Bring Your Own Bottle’. Make sure to take your own bottle of water to the gym, which would prevent you to get in contact with anyone else.

SANITIZATION

Make sure you sanitize your hands before and after using the equipment; try to use gloves as and when you can, to be a bit more protective.

City First got in touch with a few gym owners from Rajasthan and Gujarat about what precautions they would be taking up once their gyms open, and this is

keep 5-7 sanitizers on every corner of the gym, and outside shoes are strictly not going to be allowed. Since mine is more of a personal training gym, I won’t have more than 4-5 people at the gym at the same time. I’ll also have the machines sanitized every 2 hours.

I’m also keeping useand-throw masks, in case they’re required.

We’ll also be checking everyone’s temperature before they enter the premises.”

09

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AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020

10

‘MYSTERY SPOT’ ANUBHA JAIN

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

A

FA CE OF TH ED AY

ll laws of science fail inside this 17-degree angle ‘tilted wooden hut’ that is North America’s most notable and oldest vortexes. Challenging gravity the ‘Mystery Spot’ is based in the dense redwood forest, on the outskirts of Santa Cruz, California. My tour guide of this place through a narrow steep five minutes uphill walk took me to the gravity hill where this mysterious wooden hut is sited.

I felt somewhat dizzy and off-balance as I entered inside the circular area of effect with a diameter of around 150 feet (46 meters). Geographers and surveyors are surprised to see that in this radius any compass fails to give absolute correct results. They are still finding the actual cause of creating such vortex in the specific diameter. Related to this, there are many speculations formed like there is a possibility that any spacecraft or metal cones might be hidden deep beneath the redwood forest or in the hills that are causing specific current here. Other theories include carbon dioxide permeating from the earth, a hole in the ozone layer, a magma vortex or any sort of dielectric bio-cosmic radiation. But the real cause is still unidentified.

Talking about history my guide informed me that an electrician and mechanic by profession George Prather first discovered this odd place in the year 1939. The very next year in 1940 Prather with a few

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

Mystery spot is a major tourist attraction today. The site is what is known as a gravity hill and was the first of its kind to be built in California. It was officially declared as California Historical Landmark in August 2014. In the end, seeing a series of strange things inside this crazy house has made me completely puzzled and many unanswered questions are still crossing in my mind.

I still want to know that is the place really suspicious or things are fabricated here through our intelligence. But with fun and amusement, I left the place with the “Mystery Spot” yellow-black coloured rectangular sticker that one can see on cars rear window very often all over America and in India as well.

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

A time for feeling the excitement of wanting to pursue a goal or ambition.

You feel most appreciated and motivated. You may be in a position to shine. With today’s enthusiasm, it can be tempting to overdo or take on a little too much, but with this tendency kept in check.

You might focus on a cause that inspires you or an activity that expands your mind. There is some tendency to overshoot with this transit, but with this inclination under watch, it can be a good time to enjoy yourself. Your performance and responsibilities are in the spotlight.

You may be feeling especially motivated to improve and learn. Watch for taking a good thing and pushing it a bit too far. It’s a fine time to gain insights into a partner, a relationship, or your own behavior.

You’re thinking in terms of possibilities, and you feel purposeful.

You may be finding special joy in a partnership or your relationships, although you might struggle with a matter of responsibility. A relationship problem reaches a happy resolution. While you’re open to others today, you’re not interested in restrictive or limiting connections.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You might take pride in your usefulness and enjoy working on a particular project or your work/duties.

You’re generous with your time and support. Taking care of business can be especially satisfying now. You may be tempted to overdo, but while stretching yourself a little is good.

You feel especially fulfilled when you bring something special to the world. You could have the opportunity to express yourself uniquely, spiritedly, and creatively. People recognize and appreciate your unique vision, and emotionally engaging activities are a huge draw.

Feeling good about your home life is a desire now, and if you’re feeling discontented, you’re especially motivated to make changes. You recognize the qualities and habits that support or delay your growth. You’re seeking a stronger sense of belonging.

You’re in terrific shape for guiding, connecting, and learning and warmth can figure strongly in your interactions. You have a fabulous ability to show others where there’s common ground. You’re likely to focus on the practical side of your domestic world or personal life.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

It’s a time for enjoying yourself and settling in, as well as for connecting with the practical affairs of your life. A bit of indulgence may be what you need now but avoid excess. Seek a happy place where you have a strong sense of abundance. A bit of self-discipline can go a long way.

Expressing yourself through spontaneous and engaging activities can be especially rewarding. It’s not a time for dwelling on the past–you’re focused on what you can accomplish.You radiate natural confidence. A step-by-step approach to resolving problems makes sense.

It’s a good time to put something behind you, such as a frustrating issue or an attitude. Enjoy benefits from working behind the scenes or making preparations.You could very well have additional obligations to attend to now.

A moderate approach to your goals is best at the moment.

There can be a stronger desire to connect, mingle, interact, or focus on inspiring ideas and plans.

Enjoy feeling stronger and happier without going overboard for best results. You’re in a good position to identify those things that may be undermining your happiness.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

AASHNA SHROFF, Blogger

INSIGHT!

other surveyors while walking on that 3 acres land they purchased on the gravity hill felt somewhat dizzy or heavyheaded as if something trying to force them right off the hill.

Their compass too started fluctuating and giving wrong results in that specific area. At last, Prather constructed this crazy house there and opened the place for the public in the same year.

Situated on a slope and the slant of the wooden hut too form a false impression or misperceptions of the height along with the orientation of objects.

This misapprehension makes people strongly believe that all illusory things they are observing inside the house are real like ball rolls uphill, water flows in the reverse direction and people can even walk on the walls or can bend onwards at different angles without falling.

In this vein, because of the tilted floor, I also misinterpreted and laughed to see that the person standing next to me was looking shorter and the next moment he was taller than me. For creating a more the realistic look of the house distorted objects are placed in a manner that forms the illusion of normalcy and makes people believe that they are on perfectly level ground.

But they are not. Geographers have theories to explain this illusion and they say that the house is slanted at a 17 to 20-degree angle from the ground and hence a person is also bending on a certain angle that creates the distorting impact on vision. Another point they feel is that distorted orientation causes other senses to fall back while one’s visual senses become heightened.

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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AGAINST

MARK

B

illie Eilish opened up about her body image issues by delivering a powerful message against body-shaming in the arena tour video earlier this year. In the moving video that was posted on YouTube on May 26, the 18-year-old songstress can be seen slowly stripping off her clothes while addresses body shamers in the background. In Billie Eilish her latest interview, the ‘No Time To Die’ singer revealed that her body image issues are the result of not feeling physically desired by anybody in her past relationships.

She stated that he wears baggy clothes because she does not feel desired. Speaking about her past boyfriends, the singer said, “Here’s a bomb for you: I have never felt desired,” she said.

—Agency

A

ctor Sushmita Sen, who has made a striking comeback to the industry with her debut web series -- Aarya -- has thanked her fans for the overwhelming 10 million views for the trailer within a day of its release.

The enthralling trailer, which was officially dropped on Friday, has managed to grab the attention of 10 million-plus people by now. Sharing the good news with her followers, Sen during the late hours of Saturday wrote on Instagram: “I need to sleep but I CAN’T ....10 MILLION VIEWS IN ONE DAY!!!!”

“You guys know just HOW to show your love!!

Ufffff !!! Sooooo happy!!!

On behalf of the entire #aaryafamily THANK YOU!!!! #duggadugga I love you guys!!!,” the ‘Main Hoon Na’ actor added.

The web series ‘Aarya’ to be premiered in Disney

Deadly Accident

A

STORY OF ‘DIVINITY’

THE SWEET

EQUATION

A

fter Manikarnika, actor Kangana Ranaut has now turned director for her ambitious project ‘Aparajitha Ayodhya.’

“The plan wasn’t for me to direct the film. I started it as a project that I worked on from the concept level. I wanted to produce it and rope in another director for it,” said the ‘Queen’ actor. The upcoming movie, written by the ‘Baahubali’ scriptwriter KV Vijayendra Prasad, and bankrolled by her production house, revolves around the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid case.

“I was quite busy at that time to even think of direction. However, the script that KV Vijayendra Prasad shared was that of a film set on a large canvas, somewhat on the lines of the historical that I have directed before,” Ranaut said in a statement.

She noted: “My collaborating partners were also keen that I direct it. Eventually, even I felt that maybe it’s best if I helm this film.

So, it all happened organically.”

The 33-year-old actor says that she is not ‘nervous’ about it.

“It does not make me nervous. It’s tougher when you have to carry forward someone else’s vision and find your own vision somewhere in it,” she said.

—ANI

Ekta Kapoor and Karan Johar

E

Vulnerable and CHALLENGED

A

Plus Hotstar, from June 19 onwards, marks the return of the ‘Dastak’ actor to the acting industry after a gap of five years.

In the series, the 44-yearold actor plays the protagonist, a powerful and strong character, who goes beyond boundaries to protect her family from the world of crime.

The trailer shows the strength and determination of Aarya (Sen’s character), who transforms from a good wife and dutiful mother to a fierce woman.

The plot takes a U-turn when her husband, essayed by actor Chandrachur Singh, is shot in broad daylight by some unknown. Aarya further takes up her husband’s business to discover if there are any dark secrets.

The story gradually unfolds several twists and turns with a mother putting her all efforts to save her children.

—ANI

Sushmita Sen

Reese Witherspoon

ctress Reese Witherspoon says she moved to Los Angeles to escape the very conservative society she grew up in. The actress was raised in Tennessee. In an interview, she revealed that she always challenged the belief systems that surrounded her.

“When I would go back home I was always the person who comes from Los Angeles with all the crazy ideas.

11

10 MILLION

Body-shaming!

ustralian actress Cate Blanchett revealed that she recently suffered a head injury due to a potentially deadly accident during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.

The 51-year-old actor casually shared a few details from her near-death experience in a podcast interview with former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The actress mentioned that she took a ‘little nick to the head’ while using a mechanical saw but Cate Blanchett thankfully it did not turn into anything serious. She even asserted that the incident was very exciting.

“I’m fine. I had a bit of a chainsaw accident, which sounds very, very exciting, but it wasn’t. Apart from the little nick to the head, I’m fine,” she told Gillard Reacting to her shocking revelation, Gillard said “Be very careful with that c h a i n s a w.

You’ve got a very famous head, I don’t think people would like to see any nicks taken out of it.”

—Agency

AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020

I grew up in a very conservative family and a very conservative society, so I have always challenged the ideas and the belief systems that I grew up with. That’s probably why I moved so far away to meet people who have similar ideas to my own,” she said.

The actress said she felt like she could do anything after becoming a mother.

“After you have a child, you

h a v e t h i s amazing feeling that you can accomplish anything because it is so challenging on your body and your mind. It changes your entire life. I feel like if you can adapt to that, and do it to the best of your ability, it’s a great achievement in life,” she said.

—IANS

Kangana Ranaut

xplaining the equation that he shares with Ekta Kapoor, filmmaker Karan Johar on Sunday extended warm birthday wishes to the TV film producer on her special day.

Johar hopped on to Instagram to share a throwback picture of the two, which the filmmaker dubbed as his “favourite.” The ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ filmmaker wrote how special Ekta Kapoor is to him and noted they have a ‘Karmic cosmic connection.’

“I love love our one on one dinners and our conversations! We have a karmic cosmic connection and I know you will always have my back .... can’t wait to come and have dinner with Shobha aunty and you!!!! Hugest hug and kiss from Roohi Yash mom and me!!! We love you!!!,” Johar further wrote.

Daughter of veteran actor Jeetendra and producer Shobhaa Kapoor, the creative head of Balaji Telefilms Limited has been a mentor to many stars, including actor Sushant Singh Rajput, by giving their first break in TV soaps.

Television shows like ‘Ye Hai Mohabbatein,’ ‘Bade Achhe Lagte Hain,’ ‘Pavitra Rishta’, to name a few, are all under her credits.

Kapoor has also entertained moviegoers by giving films like ‘Kya Kool Hai Hum,’ ‘Love Sex aur Dhoka’, ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai’, and more.

On January 27, 2019, Ekta Kapoor welcomed a baby boy via surrogacy.

—ANI

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AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020

LIFE OF A

In a candid, Tina Ahuja opened up about her journey in the film industry and what she has planned for the future

12

GLAM GIRL

NEHAL NAYAR

L

IVE sessions have become a statement since the lockdown, and this is the best way to interact with people you cannot personally meet. In a candid Instagram LIVE session, Tina Ahuja opened up about her journey in the industry, and how it is to be superstar Govinda’s daughter. Her debut film as an actor ‘Second Hand Husband’ released back in 2015, and her music video ‘Milo Na Tum’ alongside singer Gajendra Verma was a huge success.

Initially, Tina aspired to become a Fashion Designer, but that’s not what she pursued. Talking about this, she stated, “My Dad didn’t want me to get into this line, be-

Nehal (above) and Tina during the LIVE session

cause he thinks there’s a lot of running around, and he didn’t want me doing all of that. That’s how I decided to give it up; if he wasn’t happy about it, I chose not to take it up.”

A fun fact about Tina Ahuja is that her real name isn’t Tina- it’s Nar-

mada- Tina happens to be her ‘nickname’.

“Right before my debut film, one of my friends suggested to go with the name ‘Tina’ since it is short and crisp; Narmada happens to be a comparatively longer name.”

Tina is a huge fan of Jaipur, as she feels this city gives are really warm vibes. “The colours of the city, the people, the food, the vibe- everything is so great!

I just can’t wait to be back in the city once everything gets over.”

During the lockdown, Tina has shot for something exciting, which will be out soon.

hat was your claim to fame as an eight-yearold? Meher Kumar has just released her first original song, and with a video to go with it!

Musician dad Arnav Kumar says, “She’s been singing since she learnt to talk. And since she’s musical, we came up with a plan to create a single and music video. She wrote about 60% of the song and even had a tune in mind, which we built on together.”

Meher says she likes singing, and sings whenever she wants to.

Her mom Dhaara encourages her

CITY FIRST, JAIPUR

to embrace her musicality.

“Right now, I want to become a pilot but maybe I could do both singing and be a pilot!” she told City First.

Only time will tell if Meher earns her pilot’s wings, but she’s certainly soaring with her singing. ‘I Wish I Were a Bird’--with video credit to “Papa and Mamma”--has already witnessed nearly 1,000 views since it was uploaded to YouTube on Friday.

“Since I cannot teach music, I wanted her to get professional training. She’s been learning Hindustani classical singing for about two years now,” her dad says. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com

FACEBOOK POST!

Tina Ahuja

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

LITTLE WINGS W CITY FIRST, AHMEDABAD

A

A

Arnav and Meher Kumar

n International webinar on ‘Endgame of Tobacco: Protecting Next Generation’ was organised by Poornima University, Jaipur and Jodhpur School of Public Health (JSPH), where health experts and academics from across the globe discussed the possible ways of protecting the young generation from Tobacco. CEO and Founder of JSPH, Anil Purohit and Co-Founder of Poornima University, Rahul Singhi were also present during the panel

discussion, moderated

by Deputy Director of Centre for Cancer Epidemiology, Pankaj Chaturvedi and Executive Council Member, Rati Godrej.

The panellists for the

Barmer MLA Mewaram Jain (left) and IPS Malini Agarwal celebrated their birthdays on 7 June, Sunday. We wish them all the best!

times becoming a norm, togetherness with loved ones a priority, acceptance of this overall change...

The law of evolution is that the strongest survives!’ ‘Yes, and the strongest, in the existence of

any social species, are those who are most social. In human terms, most ethical...There is no strength to be gained from hurting one another.

Only weakness.

We are strong and we will survive!!”

—Vaishali

discussion include Additional Professor of radiation oncology from AIIMS, Jodhpur, Puneet Pareek; Additional Professor of PHFI, Manu Mathur; Founder of Dr Roy’s Health Solutions

Multispecialty Clinics, Sitesh Roy; CEO of Solutions 4 Health, Kishore Sankhla; Director of Harvard Chan India Research Center, K ‘Vish’ Vishwanath; Director, Asian Center for Medical Education, Research and Innovation India, Arvind Mathur; Director, Healis Sekhsaria Institute of Public Health, Prakash Gupta; Founder, Mobiloitte Group of Companies, Jagdish Harsh; and Chairperson of JSPH, Jodhpur, Bhawna Sati.

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

Uttar Pradesh: Congressmen led by National Secretary, AICC, Vivek Bansal protested at Dharmpur Courtyard, Aligarh, demanding the release of Pandit Subodh Nandan Sharma, a veteran environmentalist from Aligarh district, who has been detained in prison for nearly 3 months.

HAPPY B’DAY!

We Will Survive

Protecting Next-Gen

Vaibhav Gehlot

Rajasthan: A leadership webinar was organised by Manipal University, Jaipur, on Saturday, where prominent personalities discussed the changes in the education system due to the current challenges caused by COVID 19.

During the webinar, the Chairman of AICTE Prof. Anil Sahasrabuddhe hinted at doubling the role of digital studies in higher education. The program was hosted by DD news anchor Punit Sarma and MUJ Deputy Registrar (Academics) Dr Neetu Bhatnagar.

midst our f i g h t against the pandemic, Robert Vadra posted a strong message through his Facebook account, on Sunday, that reads, “A forced correction, a change for the better, a reality check, but a time to adhere and protect.... a time to test our endurance, with tough

Rajasthan: Looking towards the rising temperature in the city, two residents of Jaipur, Ishan and Kapil Sharma have started an initiative of distributing Earthen Pots (matkas) and fruits to the needy people of the city.

New Delhi: Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology set up in 1991 with the objective of promoting the Software Exports from the country, celebrated its 29th Foundation Day on 5 June. For this, a daylong online session was organised with the participation of eminent speakers from across the country. STPI broadly provides services like Statutory, HighSpeed Data Communication (HSDC), State-of-the-art Incubation services, and project Management & Consultancy services among others.

Rajasthan: As a part of Jawahar Kala Kendra’s (JKK) ongoing ‘Online Learning – Children’s Summer Festival’, a 3-day Folk Dance session by dancer, Anita Pradhan concluded on Saturday, where viewers learned about the varying styles of the folk dances of Rajasthan. During the session, the artiste demonstrated a step-by-step choreography of one of the most popular folk dances of Rajasthan ‘Ghoomar’.

Rajasthan: A Rajasthan based magician, Aanchal, has won the Senior category (Illusion) award in an online competition organised by Magicians Association, in various categories of magic art of the year 2020.

Rajasthan: In an ongoing series on Facebook, initiated by Rajasthan Progressive Writers Association (RPWA) every Sunday, Film writer Ramkumar Singh expressed his view on the current scenario of films in the Bollywood. He also shared that the whole new world of entertainment will see a shift to the screens of cell phones, tablets, TV and i-pads.

Rajasthan: Shooter Manavaditya Singh Rathore, son of former Union Minister Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, spoke to Union Minister of State for Environment, Babul Supriyo, about the case of the murder of Elephant in Mallapuram, Kerala. The discussion took place during his live episode of ‘Collabonation’ on Instagram.