First India-Ahmedabad Edition-13 June 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

26°C - 38°C

ALERT AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

4,25,917 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 3,717 DEATHS 1,01,141 CASES

76,70,288 CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 367 DEATHS 40,698 CASES

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RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 198

8,890

INDIA

DEATHS

DELHI 1,214 DEATHS 36,824 CASES

3,09,389

CONFIRMED CASES

GUJARAT

1,416 DEATHS

RAJASTHAN 272 DEATHS 12,068 CASES

22,562

CONFIRMED CASES

UTTAR PRADESH 365 DEATHS 12,616 CASES

AWAITING NEW DAWN...

Over two-and-a-half months after the Coronavirus-induced lockdown, markets, including non-essential business establishments, will finally open in Srinagar on Saturday. The number of Covid-19 cases in J&K has crossed 4,500 mark with 497 of them in Srinagar.

A fisherman rows his boat across Dal Lake during sunset, in Srinagar on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI

‘ALLOW BUS, TRUCKS TO PLY ALL NIGHT ON HIGHWAYS’

Individuals’ movement to remain strictly prohibited between 9 pm & 5 am New Delhi: Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Friday wrote to states and union territories advising them not to hinder the smooth passage of buses and trucks plying on highways between 9 pm and 5 am and noting that the restrictions only aim at preventing congregation of persons and ensuring social distancing.

He said that `Unlock 1’ guidelines state that movement of individuals shall remain strictly prohibited between 9 pm and 5 am throughout the country except for essential activities.

Bhalla said it has come to notice that some states and UTs are also restricting the movement of persons and

INDIA’S CASES CROSS 3-L MARK

vehicles plying on highways between 9 pm and 5 am which is hindering their smooth passage.

“The purpose of restricting the movement of individuals, except for essential activities, between 9 pm and 5 am is primarily intended to prevent congregation of persons and to ensure social distancing,” the letter said.

It said that the restriction doesn’t apply to loading/unloading of goods (as part of supply chains and logistics), buses carrying persons and trucks and goods carriers plying on state and national highways or persons travelling to their destinations after disembarking from buses, trains and flights.

New Delhi: India crossed 3 lakh coronavirus cases Friday after at least 2,900 cases were reported from across the country. Cases rose by over 10,950 on Friday, the steepest increase so far, with the total number of reported cases crossing 3,09,389. The death toll due to the disease increased to 8,890 with 396 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. According to Health Ministry, 10,956 more cases were reported in the last 24 hours and the total count of cases was 3,09,389.

1 killed, 2 hurt in firing by Nepal cops along IB in Bihar Patna/Kathmandu: The Nepalese border guarding force on Friday opened fire on a crowd killing a 22-year-old Indian man and injuring two others following an altercation, sparking tension on the Indo-Nepal Border along Bihar’s Sitamarhi district.

The border guarding force - Nepalese Armed Police Force - has also detained a person identified as 45-year-old Lagan Yadav after the incident, Indian officials said.

Turn on P6

An injured villager is shifted to a hospital after indiscriminate firing by the Nepal police at the Lalbandi-Janki Nagar border, near Saitmarhi district of Bihar on Friday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

SC calls situation in Delhi horrific New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday took cognizance on its own of reports of improper handling of COVID-19 patients and undignified disposal of the victims’

bodies in the country.

Coronavirus patients are being treated “worse than animals”, the Supreme Court said on Friday as it pulled up the Delhi government over the

“horrendous, horrific and pathetic” situation in the national capital amid a spurt in cases.

The situation is also “grim” in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu Turn on P6

—ANI

Corona relief: GST rate cut for small taxpayers New Delhi: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday decided to waive off fees for late filing returns between July 2017 to January this year in a bid to minimise the impact of COVID-19 crisis on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Due to the countrywide lockdown stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of return filing has been pending and revenue collections have been depressed. “For all those who have no tax liabilities but who have not filed their returns between July 2017 to January 2020 there will be zero late fees,” said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after the 40th GST Council meeting held through video conference.

Turn on P6

Self-regulatory system will drive the economy: Adhia Committee EXPERT COMMITTEE HAS 231 SHORT- AND LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS TO REVIVE THE STATE ECONOMY First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The Adhia Committee has recommended that the government trust entrepreneurs, remove all control systems and introduce a selfregulatory system if it wants to revive the

economy. The committee says such measures will not only feed entrepreneur confidence but will also encourage them to invest more, which in turn will generate employment and revive the economy faster.

Chief Minister Vijay

HIGHLIGHTS

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani with the Adhia Committee’s final report. He is flanked on the left by Hasmukh Adhia, Mukesh Patel, Kirit Shelat and Ravindra Dholakia, and on the right by Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Revenue Minister Kaushik Patel.

Rupani had constituted an expert committee to suggest short- and longterm measures to revive

the state economy, especially in the wake of the lockdown put in place to control the Sars-CoV-2

outbreak. The Committee was headed by former Union Finance Secretary Turn on P6

NEWS

COP CONSPIRACY AGAINST CONGRESS ACCUSES CHAVDA First India Bureau Ahmedabad: In a startling development, Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda on Friday accused the police of fabricating a case against senior MLA Punja Vansh just to pre-

vent him from voting in the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled for June 19. Chavda alleged that the police are acting on direction from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He also said that a party delegation will make a representation to Chief Electoral Officer for Gujarat, S Murali Krishna, highlighting the issue of “horsetrading and intimidation” on Saturday and added that, if needed, the party will go to the judici-

Amit Chavda

ary and to people for justice.

According to Chavda, local police are “hellbent” on framing Vansh, a six-time MLA from Una and current chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Assembly.

“An FIR was registered in Una last month in connection with a clash between two rival groups.

Vansh was not mentioned in the FIR as he had nothing to do with it. Yet, Una police summoned Vansh

twice this month to record his statement.

Though Vansh honoured both summonses, the police called him once again on June 11,” Chavda told reporters.

“When Vansh requested the police to give him time till the Rajya Sabha elections get over, the police did not listen and insisted that he appear before them on the given date.

We fear that the police plan to arrest our MLA to prevent him from voting. The BJP and its

Says police are ‘hell-bent’ on framing six-time Una MLA Punja Vansh to keep him from voting in RS polls

government are applying every trick to win the elections,” said the GPCC president.

Rubbishing Chavda’s allegations, Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja said that the police are acting on the technical aspects of the case. “The police are doing their work. In this situation, one has to support the investigation if called by the cops,” Jadeja said, adding, “I want to tell Chavda that all three candidates of BJP will win.”

CHEATING CASE AGAINST JASABHAI BARAD AND SON cheating case has been filed against former A state cabinet minister Jasabhai Barad and his son Dilip Barad, chairman of Sutrapada

marketing yard. A local of Bhatali village has filed a complaint with the Prabhas Patan police for illegally acquiring land spanning more than a hundred acres in the village and mining limestone worth Rs30 crore. The complainant also mentioned that the duo had illegally grabbed gauchar land and sold limestone worth crores mined from it. According to him, the fatherson duo forged documents claiming to provide employment opportunities to locals. Meanwhile, Dilip Barad has filed a complaint against the complainant for defaming his family and demanding Rs30 crore bribe.

We fear that the police plan to arrest our MLA to prevent him from voting. The BJP and its government are applying every trick to win the elections.

The police are acting on the technical aspects of the case. They are doing their work. In this situation, one has to support the investigation. I want to tell Chavda that all three candidates of BJP will win.

—Amit Chavda, GPCC president

—Pradipsinh Jadeja, Minister of State for Home

Alpesh Thakor faces ire for AAP UNPLUGGED: meet, says all norms obeyed Will contest all civic polls First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: In a fresh controversy, BJP leader Alpesh Thakor has been accused of allegedly calling a public meeting and violating social distancing protocol. Thakor can be seen on a stage without a mask in violation of health guidelines in a video that was popularly shared on social media on Friday.

Ironically, the meeting, which was organized by the Thakor community, was aimed at creating social awareness. It was held at Bhatamal village in Banaskantha district.

Even after Unlock 1.0, public meetings are still prohibited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The essential health guidelines were allegedly ignored by the senior leader of BJP with the call for gathering.

Condemning the

violation, Congress president Amit Chavda asserted that rules never seem to be applicable to BJP leaders. “If people venture outside their homes without masks, they would be fined for it. But, when it comes to BJP leaders, they seem to be immune from all regulations. The party had also held a gathering in Halvad, but

no action was taken.

They preach rules to the public, but never follow them,” opined Chavda.

Defending his actions, Thakor said, “I had invited only a select few people. Others joined the gathering when they came to know about it. We maintained all social protocols, that is why I was seated at a distance.”

Rajkot: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday announced that it will contest all forthcoming municipal and taluka-level elections in the state of Gujarat.

The party also revealed the names of the Rajkot city sangathan, whose command has been handed over to Rajbha Zala, a former close associate of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Zala was also the standing committee chairman at the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) when he was affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Shivlal Barasiya, former president of Rajkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry has been appointed as the vice president and Ajit Lokat is the city in-charge while Julie Soni will head the

DISTRICT

Gandhinagar: A virtual meeting was held between Saurashtra and Central Zone under the Jan Samvad programme, Union Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar and State Unit President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Jitu Vaghani on Friday.

Interestingly, the concept behind the virtual Jan Samvad

programme is to educate party workers and leaders about the programmes undertaken by the state and central government.

The idea is to provide them with information about all developmental work thereby ensuring that it reaches the public in different corners of the state.

The use of word-ofmouth as an effective communication tool is an ingenious way of reaching to the

voters and fetching adequate votes for the party.

With seven municipal corporations and more than 20 district panchayats due for elections, the party leaders have been kept ready to go for polls.

Addressing them via video conferencing, Javadekar told state leaders about the developmental programmes not only approved but successfully commissioned by Prime Min-

ister Narendra Modi.

He also praised the prime minister’s decision to announce the Rs20 lakh crore worth economic revival package as part of relief efforts amid the COVID-19 outbreak and to get the economy back on track.

Meanwhile, Vaghani asked party leaders and local workers to go into the field and help people get back on their feet, especially those affected by novel coronavirus.

TOTAL CASES

AAP Gujarat President Kishore Desai addressing a press conference.

women’s wing. The party has also appointed a ward in-charge for all the 18 wards of the city.

Addressing the media, Gujarat Pradesh President Kishore Desai said, “The main agenda is to have a corruption-free government. We might not have money and muscle power but, we do have a team of youths who are educated and have a clean reputation. Delhi is an example of our modus operandi and we aim to set the same example across the state by fight-

ing in local elections.”

Zala, who was also in the good books of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claims to have left the BJP after uncovering massive corruption during his tenure as the RMC standing committee chairman.

“Corruption is what has happened in the 25 years of BJP rule at RMC. Even the opposition is a part of it. We will not speak about it but prove everything in black and white,” Zala promised.

— FILE PHOTO

SAMPLE RECEIVED SAMPLE NEGATIVE

0

22 0 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 31

2,78,137 2,55,575

UNDER EXAMINATION

BJP state unit president Jitu Vaghani addressing party leaders at Kamalam.

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

15962 1139 VADODARA 1471 43 SURAT 2444 99 RAJKOT 145 5 BHAVNAGAR 159 12 ANAND 124 12 BHARUCH 69 5 GANDHINAGAR 450 21 PATAN 109 9 PANCHMANHAL 115 13 BANASKANTHA 148 8 NARMADA 25 0 CHOTA UDEPUR 39 0 KUTCH 99 5 MAHESANA 177 8 BOTAD 64 2 DAHOD 48 0 PORBANDAR 14 2 JAMNAGAR 73 3 MORBI 6 1 SABARKANTHA 135 5 ARAVALLI 133 12 MAHISAGAR 116 2 KHEDA 102 5 GIR SOMNATH 49 0 VALSAD 57 3 TAPI 6 0 NAVSARI 39 1 DANG 4 0 SURENDRANAGAR 65 3 DWARKA 15 0 JUNAGADH 42 2 AMRELI 21 2 OTHER STATES 31 1 TOTAL 22562 1416 AHMEDABAD

BJP’S VIRTUAL MODE TO BAG VOTES First India Bureau

CORONA IN GUJARAT

Masuma Bharmal Jariwala

BJP leader Alpesh Thakor

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AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020

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GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020

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26.6% of state’s total deaths AMC still undecided on VS Hospital status reported in 12 days of June First India Bureau

This month accounts for 378 of the 1,416 deaths since COVID-19 hit Guj in March First India Bureau

A’BAD STATS

Gandhinagar: The state appears confident that people will learn to live with COVID-19. If the numbers are any indication, we might not have a choice. What should give the government pause, however, is the fact that 378 of the state’s 1,416 novel coronavirus-related deaths have occurred in the past 12 days. This means that June accounts for 26.6% of COVID-19 deaths since the first case was reported in Gujarat at the end of March.

Economic hub Ahmedabad has had 1,139 deaths in the past 87 days, 297 of which occurred this month, meaning June accounts for 26% of the city’s death toll as well.

There are now concerns that Unlock 1.0 may prove costly be-

People wait in line to get their phones fixed in Ahmedabad. There are now concerns that Unlock 1.0 has given rise to a new breed of super spreaders, including mobile shop owners.

—FILE PHOTO

cause it has given way to a new class of super spreaders: mobile shop owners, grocery shop owners, computer repairs and LIC agents.

According to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, the city has 3,159 active cases as on Friday morning.

Of these, the North zone accounts for 787,

‘Delay in treatment’ costs woman her life

the West zone for 570, the East zone for 374 and the Central zone for 366, with the rest coming in from other zones. Twenty-three new deaths were reported in the city overnight.

Surat—the second worst-hit district after Ahmedabad—is not in great shape either, with an increas-

ing number of frontline warriors against COVID-19 testing positive for the disease. On Friday, a private practitioner doctor and civil hospital nurse tested positive.

The disease is also tightening its grip on Vadodara’s rural areas, which are showing a rapid rise in the

number of cases. Contrary to general theory that the virus spreads slowly in rural areas, the cases here are higher than in the much denser urban pockets. The area, which had 38 cases until March 21, now has as many as 90 cases after a whopping 52 cases were reported in the first 11 days of June.

Ahmedabad: The standing committee chairman of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) Amul Bhatt on Thursday said that no decision has been taken yet to commit VS Hospital as a designated COVID-19 hospital.

Bhatt clarified that there had been a misunderstanding regarding the reopening of VS Hospital. He stated that the hospital had never been closed down in the first place. Supporting Bhatt’s statement Ahmedabad mayor Bijal Patel took to her Twitter handle and posted a tweet with data that showed a decrease in patient inflow in OPDs over the past few months.

“VS Hospital was never closed. The OPD (out-patient department) has been functional the entire time so, there is no question of reopening the hospital. However, no decision has been made regarding

EFFECTIVE SYSTEMS

VS Hospital’s status as a dedicated COVID-19 hospital. Such decisions come through from the state government,” he stated.

On the mandatory requirement of the Aadhar card for COVID-19 testing, Bhatt added, “It came up in discussion during meeting. But, the Centre’s application

First India Bureau

A GSRTC staffer checks the temperature of a bus driver at the Nehrunagar bus stand in Ahmedabad before the latter departs for Dwarka on Friday.

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE Poonam Rathod

cumbed to the virus.

Rathod’s family members have stated that could have survived had she been put on a ventilator without waiting for the test report.

In April, the state government had designated 31 private hospitals as dedicated COVID-19 hospitals but complaints about poor infrastructure and dismal medical services in rural areas have steadily poured in from across the state.

Railway stn gets thermal cameras First India Bureau Surat: A new screening system has been installed at the Surat railway station to screen the temperature of passengers through thermal cameras. The authorities have done away with the manual thermal screening and intro-

—FILE PHOTO

has it as a requirement for COVID-19 testing.

Therefore, AMC will be unable to allow any other alternatives.”

He added that the AMC is in talks with the Ahmedabad Medical Association and Ahmedabad Hospitals & Nursing Homes Association for an online system for monitoring availability of beds.

10-day spike in cases in VarachhaKatargam zone

FINAL CHECK

First India Bureau Himmatnagar: A 30-year-old woman died just two hours after her COVID-19 test was confirmed positive at the Himmatnagar Civil Hospital on Tuesday. According to the family members and relatives of the deceased, she died because of medical negligence and delay in treatment.

Poonam Rathod of Khedbrahma developed symptoms similar to Sars-CoV-2 and consulted a private doctor.

Rathod was referred to undergo treatment at the government hospital by the doctor. She was then told to approach the Himmatnagar Civil Hospital by the government hospital authorities.

Rathod’s sample was collected for COVID-19 testing on Monday at the Civil Hospital and her report came back positive the next day. Her condition worsened and she was put on ventilator support. However, two hours later she suc-

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation office.

duced the new technology at the station.

The new screens at the railway station will be able to read the body temperature of the passenger passing through the camera. A total of 15 people can be monitored on a screen at a time.

One of the main functions of this sys-

tem is that when the thermal screening of a passenger’s body happens, the temperature statistics are displayed on the screen. If a passenger’s body temperature is found to be above 98.6 degrees, a buzzer goes off immediately. This allows railway authorities to receive instructions to

separate the passenger from others and send him/her for a medical examination. Around 600 passengers have been screened so far.

According to Surat railway station director CR Garuda, the new system has been operational since Thursday and has been working smoothly until now.

Surat: After entering the local transmission stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a surge in the number of cases reported in Varachha and Katargam areas of Surat in a span of 10 days. The local civic body Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) had adopted an island strategy for the Katargam zone to contain the number of Sars-CoV-2 cases.

According to records, as of June 1, there were a total of 501 cases reported in Varachha and Katargam in the first 60 days of the lockdown.

By June 11, that number rose to 774. In a short period of 10 days, there has been an increase of 273 cases in these areas.

Post Unlock 1.0, people have ceased adhering to practicing social distancing or even wearing masks in public. The reopening of street food joints, vegetable ven-

RAPID RISE

dors, diamond units, malls and food joints may have acted as a catalyst to the sudden rapid transition of the virus.

Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani said, “The government expected people to follow social protocols such as maintaining social distance, wearing masks and avoid gathering in groups. People based in the KatargamVarachha zone need to be more careful. All efforts put in by the government and health workers will be ruined, if people do not follow guidelines and stay selfaware.”

MISMANAGEMENT?

Empty beds galore, but patients run pillar to post for hosp admission 

Private hospitals have been told to disclose availability of beds, even as state- and cityrun facilities hold cards close to the chest

Haresh Jhala Ahmedabad: As of Friday, the city has about 3,500 beds available for COVID-19 patients. Yet, patients and their relatives are being forced to run around seeking admission in hospitals.

Moreover, private hospitals have been told to disclose the number of available beds, even as hospitals run by the state and the Ahmedabad Municipal

Corporation (AMC) refuse to do so.

According to a state government press release on May 21, Medicity—as the campus of the Civil Hospital in Asarwa is formally known—has 1,901 dedicated beds. Similarly, GCS Hospital has about 250 dedicated beds, Sola Civil has 250, and the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Hospital has 1,000.

This means that between the state and the AMC, authorities have

COVID-19 facility at Ahmedabad’s Medicity.

—FILE PHOTO

at least 3,400 beds set aside for COVID-19 patients in the city.

Now, the AMC website says the city has 3,159 active cases. Not all of these are in hospital. Some are in COVIDcare centres and some, with mild or no symptoms, have been homequarantined.

In addition, according to a website launched on Friday by the Ahmedabad Hospitals & Nursing Homes Association,

the 38 private hospitals that have signed MoUs with the AMC have a capacity of 2,952 beds for COVID-19 patients. With 522 patients admitted in these facilities, 2,450 beds are vacant.

According to the MoUs, these hospitals will treat patients at rates fixed by the AMC. However, the catch is that the patient needs to have a letter of recommendation from the civic body. If not, stand-

ard market rates apply.

This is forcing patients and their relatives to call in favours and use any and all political, bureaucratic connections to get an affordable hospital bed.

It is difficult to understand why—in today’s digital era— there isn’t a singlepoint online registration system, from where patients could be directed to hospitals and even be allocated beds.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020

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COVID-19 PANDEMIC

IN-DEPTH

REVISITING URBAN AREA PLANNING

WITH BJP ON THE PROWL, CONG GUARDS FLOCK

A

s Rajya Sabha elections draw near, Congress party has become wary of poachers. In the present scenario, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party which is on the prowl. Three Congress legislators resigned ahead of June 19 elections giving a jolt to the party. A senior Congress leader is reported to have said, “It was expected. It is Gujarat. If they (BJP) can do this sort of thing in other states…

Gujarat is their home ground.”

The resignation by Karjan MLA Akshay Patel, Kaprada MLA Jitu Chaudhary, and Brajesh Meja spoiled their party’s chances of winning two Rajya Sabha seats as the party’s tally has come down to 65. The party’s strength had come down to 68 when five of its legislators resigned in March. With 103 members BJP was certain of winning two seats and by causing defections it is now hoping to win the third seat. The third BJP candidate in fray is Congress turncoat Narhari Amin. The party is resorting to these tactics probably to get even with Congress over Ahmed Patel’s victory in 2017.

The total strength of the House is 182 but the actual strength is 180 as two seats are caught in litigation. After resignation by eight Congress MLAs the effective strength of the assembly now is 172. A party will need 35 first preference votes to win a seat.

A cautious Congress has shifted its flock to three resorts at Ambaji, Rajkot, and Vadodara after dividing the MLAs into three groups to prevent further poaching.

The fear of losing legislators to the saffron party is not confined to Gujarat alone. On Friday Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tore into the BJP top leadership accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of trying to destroy democracy when the country is battling the pandemic. The chief minister alleged that instead of focusing on fighting the coronavirus they are trying to topple the Rajasthan government.

“The Rajya Sabha elections could have been held two months back but were postponed for no reason because BJP’s horsetrading was not complete,” charged Gehlot.

With poaching in mind, the Congress MLAs have been moved to a safe location.

Earlier this week, Congress chief whip in the assembly Mahesh Joshi wrote to the director-general of state’s anti-corruption bureau, Alok Tripathi, alleging the “dirty attempts were being made to lure our MLAs and Independent MLAs supporting us along the lines of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to destabilize a democratically-elected government”.

That the BJP, which has 72 MLAs and support of six independents in the state assembly, is calculating on causing an upset is apparent from the fact that it has fielded two candidates - Rajendra Gehlot and Onkar Singh - for the Rajya Sabha. As each candidate requires 51 first preference votes to win, the BJP is assured of only one seat.

That explains its game-plan.

DR GS SANDHU The author is a retired IAS, Rajasthan

T

As per the 2011 census, the urban share of the population in India rose from 23 to 32 percent.

However, the Agglomeration Index of the World Bank —a globally comparable measure of urbanization, shows India to be 52 percent urbanised

he coronavirus pandemic has given a wake-up call to all governments in India and elsewhere. They were caught off guard resulting in the collapse of various facets of urban life - be it hospitals, businesses, transport, services, markets et all.

INDIAN SCENARIO In India, as elsewhere, the worst affected have been the large densely populated cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pune, Indore, and Surat. As per the 2011 census, the urban share of the population in India rose from 23 to 32 percent. However, the Agglomeration Index of the World Bank —a globally comparable measure of urbanization, shows India to be 52 percent urbanized.

Since Covid19 has hit mainly the urban areas hard it can be considered primarily an urban health crisis rather than a national health crisis. The urban slum population which got devastated constitutes 5.4% of the country’s total population and 17.4% of the urban population (2011 census) Along with the health crisis, the urban economy has been shattered with tremendous job losses. As the lockdown gets withdrawn the priority is to bring normalcy by restoring services, businesses, and public spaces and maintaining law and order. Safeguarding our cities against such future shocks and ensuring early economic recovery becomes the top priority.

The condition of housing, drinking water, sanitation, drains, sewerage, and toilets in most cities and particularly in the slums and informal housing is far from satisfactory. The high density of the population adds to the problem. The density of population per sq km in major cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Delhi is 32,874; 24,165; 26,553 and 19,909 respectively.

Mumbai’s biggest slum, Dhar-

avi has a population of 8.5 lakhs in an area of 2.50 sq km- it gives a density of 3.50 lakhs per sq km.

A large number of migrant workers live and work here in cramped areas with 7-8 persons sharing one room and using community toilets. Such places are now Covid19 hotspots.

Under such unhygienic and crowded conditions, it becomes extremely difficult to enforce the norms of social distancing and personal hygiene.

Healthier Cities -More open and green spaces There is a need to give a relook to our city planning, zoning, and building regulations to prepare them better to face such crises in the future. First and foremost is to focus on redevelopment/relocation of slums by providing adequate space to slum-dwellers both for work and living on moderate rental charges along with public amenities. A dedicated body like the Slum Redevelopment Board should be given this responsibility. It can best be achieved with private sector participation using land as the resource. Secondly, our health infrastructure needs a major revamp to deal with such contingencies. Thirdly, urban planning should allow more breathing spaces in the form of open areas, parks, and urban forests.

The USA incentivizes greening of cities by declaring them as

THERE IS A NEED TO GIVE A RELOOK TO OUR CITY PLANNING, ZONING, AND BUILDING REGULATIONS TO PREPARE THEM BETTER TO FACE SUCH CRISES IN THE FUTURE

‘Tree city’-over 3000 declared so far. China too encourages urban forestry as ‘National Garden Cities’- over 100 declared so far.

Breathing area is also required indoors in the form of balconies for which FSI norms need to be amended. Fourthly congested areas like old Abadi areas with narrow lanes need a serious relook- they need revitalization and should be decongested by shifting wholesale markets and industry to outside areas.

Rezoning and ‘15 minute cities’ Long commutes in cities have aggravated the crisis. Following the WHO advisory, some cities like Melbourne, Ottawa, Detroit, and Paris are adopting an urban planning concept called “15-minute city.” The idea is to move in shorter commutes with

How COVID-19 exposes insecurity of the cultural workforce

T

here’s a longrunning adage about working for free in the performing arts. “The problem with working for exposure,” it goes, “is you can die from exposure”.

Only partly a joke, the saying is also a sober warning to performers.

Work in the cultural industries is precarious, and performers rely on a combination of short-term gigs, casual contracts, and “day jobs” to make ends meet. Unpaid work is a common feature of the market, and performers often find themselves working without remuneration in order to make connections or add a line to their resume.

COVID-19 has exposed the true insecurity of the cultural workforce, and now we’re seeing the dou

04

ble-edged sword of “exposure” also extending to arts organisations.

ALL THE WEB’S A STAGE Since March 2020, there has been a worldwide influx of digital arts content. Forced to shutter live seasons, performing arts organisations collectively jumped on the digital bandwagon. From livestreaming events to archival production footage, audiences are inundated with virtual performance events. In most cases, this content has been offered for free.

At the beginning of the shutdown, digital platforms were a critical tool for audience engagement.

Arts organisations could communicate the importance of the arts as a source of comfort and inspiration during a time of crisis,

while simultaneously reaching a far wider audience than their physical spaces could ever hold.

But it’s increasingly clear the return to live performance may be a matter of months or even years.

For starters, safety is a major concern. A number of genres, including opera and musical theatre, pose particular risks to both

performers and audience members due to singers’ potential role as superspreaders. The risks posed by, and to, dancers, instrumentalists, and spoken theatre artists remains uncertain.

From a business perspective, financial viability is also of grave concern.

Under social distancing guidelines, performing

arts venues will be limited to a fraction of their standard audience capacity. In a sector reliant on box office sales to maintain the bottom line, theatres may find it cheaper to simply stay closed.

To survive, arts organisations must establish a monetised business strategy for online performances and presentations. But this shift must be navigated carefully, particularly by companies that began with an open-access model and now risk alienating audience members.

BOTTOM LINE While involvement in promotional activities is standard practice for contracted artists, it’s impossible to ignore the problematic power dynamic now at play. Companies are asking unemployed artists to provide free labour to

support organisations that may or may not employ them in the future. And because performers love what they do and want to support the struggling sector, they agree.

While there are reports the government is working on an arts rescue package, the message being sent is one the sector has heard time and again. The arts are important, and artists should be compensated … but only when it’s financially convenient.

Arts organisations cannot survive from digital exposure and goodwill alone. They must develop new business models for online platforms. But companies must also tread carefully to ensure they don’t ultimately undermine the value of the arts – or their artists.

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the residents meeting all their needs within 15-20 minutes of their home. This reduces the carbon footprint and proves useful in checking the spread of the virus. New areas can be developed using this concept.

Smart Cities and Greater Use of Digital Technology Covid19 has thrown open vast possibilities for creating smart cities and using technology in the delivery of services. This needs to be institutionalized in the local bodies as it will help in providing public convenience and prevent overcrowding in offices.

Replanning cities is a huge challenge for a populous and resource-starved country like India. It needs imaginative planning to create more green areas and to improve living conditions in congested areas and slums. This will make cities pandemic resilient in the future. We have had some successes in the 1960s and 1970s by creating cities like Chandigarh and Gandhinagar with large open green areas. We can replicate such models.

While there is a strong case for smartly planned urbanisation, there is no case for unplanned urban sprawls. Covid-19 has provided the challenge and the opportunity. Governments and citizens need to act now.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Ahmed Patel @ahmedpatel Two pertinent points that Gujarat govt must consider: 1) If 60% of Gir lions are outside protected area,it is a cause for grave concern?

2) A scientific method for lion census similar to that for tigers, so we can know the accurate numbers Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp Under PM Shri @narendramodi ji’s leadership, the govt. has worked to build a more inclusive and developed India. Efforts have been put in place to bridge the gap and ensure wider protection of civil and human rights of workers, women, children and transgenders.#SamajikSamarasta

Spiritual SPEAK

It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.

—Buddha

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‘DNA of tolerance disappearing from India’ During the conversation, the US diplomat said the US & India had the advantage to correct themselves unlike ‘an authoritarian country’ like China New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in an interaction with US diplomat Nicholas Burns, said he was saddened to see India’s tolerance to be open and accept new ideas ‘disappearing.’ Gandhi added that the ‘division of people was weakening the structure of the country.’

“We are a very tolerant nation. Our DNA is supposed to be tolerant.

We’re supposed to accept new ideas. We’re supposed to be open, but the surprising thing is that that DNA, that open DNA, is sort of disappearing. I say this with sadness that I don’t see that level of tolerance that I used to see. I don’t see it in the United States and I don’t see it in India,” Gandhi said.

RIL’s rights issue to debut on BSE, NSE

Mumbai: Following an overwhelming response for the mega rights issue of Mukesh Ambaniowned Reliance Industries, the partly paid-up rights shares are set to debut on stock exchanges on June 15.

The biggest ever Rs 53,124 crore rights issue was subscribed 1.59 times and received bids worth Rs 84,000 crore on June 3. Reliance said the rights issue saw a huge investor interest, including from lakhs of small investors and thousands of institutional investors, both Indian and foreign.

“With a strong visibility to these equity infusions, Reliance is set to achieve net zero debt status ahead of its own aggressive timeline. We believe rights issue was a part of the company’s strategy of deleveraging its balance sheet,” said Ambani. —ANI

“When you divide African Americans, Mexicans and other people in the US, so you divide Hindus and Muslims and Sikhs in India, you’re weakening the structure of the country. But, the same people who weaken the structure of the country say they are nationalists,” Gandhi added.

During the conversation, Burns, Professor of Diplomacy and International Relations at Harvard, said the US and India had the advantage to correct themselves unlike “an authoritarian country” like China.

“In many ways, India and the US share many traits. We were both subjects of the British empire, we both liberated ourselves from that empire in different centu-

Nicholas Burns

We are a very tolerant nation. Our DNA is supposed to be tolerant.

We’re supposed to accept new ideas.

We’re supposed to be open, but the surprising thing is that that DNA, that open DNA, is sort of disappearing. I say this with sadness that I don’t see that level of tolerance that I used to see. I don’t see it in the United States and I don’t see it in India.

—Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leader

ries… Countries sometimes have to go through a discussion

and a political debate about who are we at the core? What kind of

President Trump is in many ways an authoritarian personality. But in our country, you’re seeing the institutions remain strong,” he said.

On the pandemic, Burns expressed disappointment at lack of coordination between countries. “This crisis was made for the G20. It was made for PM Narendra Modi & President Xi Jinping & Donald Trump to work together for the common global good,” he said.

Gandhi noted that people were becoming ‘insular,’ a behaviour that was accelerated by Covid crisis. “I do see new ideas emerging after Covid. I can already see people cooperating much more than they were before.

Now, they realise that there are advantages to being unified.” —Agencies

IN THE COURTYARD

Decide ondeferred loan ‘COVID-19 cases in Delhi 40 payments: SC to RBI times more than that of Noida’ New Delhi: The SC on Friday asked the officials of the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to convene a joint meeting within three days to decide whether interest on EMIs during the six month moratorium period can be charged by banks or not.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said that the query posed by the apex court is limited and slated the matter for further hearing on Wednesday. “The thing we are concerned about in these proceedings is only whether the interest

HC’s interim stay on IOA Prez’s order

New Delhi: Delhi HC imposed an interim stay on an order issued

by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narender Dhruv Batra, which removed its V- P Sudhanshu Mittal and others from the post of Ethics Officers.

Batra had, through an order dated May 19, dissolved the Ethics Commission formed in 2017 and removed all the members. —ANI

NHAI IS FIRST CONSTRUCTION SECTOR TO GO FULLY DIGITAL New Delhi: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has become the first of its kind in construction sector to go fully digital.With the launch of cloud-based and artificial intelligence-powered big data analytics platform Data Lake and Project Management Software, the entire project management workflow of

Rahul Gandhi

nation are we? We are an immigrant nation, a tolerant nation,” Burns said.

Of the US’s ‘deep political & existential crisis,’ he added, “I do see strengths that democracies go through trials.

We play out our differences, in political campaigns or in street protests, but at least we can do that. You can authoritarianism coming back in China and Russia. We democracies, we sometimes go through painful episodes because of our freedoms, but we’re so much stronger because of them.”

Burns described Trump as having an “authoritarian personality”. “He (Trump) wraps himself in a flag.

He declares that he alone can fix the problems. I must say, I think

NHAI has been transformed from manual to online portal based.”The complete project execution ops including ‘workflow with timelines’ & ‘alert mechanism’ have been configured. All project documentation, contractual decisions and approvals are now being done through portal only,” an source from NHAI said.

that has been deferred for three months will be added to charges payable later and whether there will be interest on the interest,” the court said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that he has sought a meeting with the RBI. Court said that the question is limited to interest on interest.The RBI had recently filed an affidavit regarding the same. —ANI

New Delhi: The UP government submitted before the SC that it will have to continue travel restrictions at Delhi border as there are 40 times more COVID-19 cases in the national capital as compared to Noida and Ghaziabad.

Travel will be allowed through passes only for essential services including, doctors, media, and advocates, the counsel appearing for Uttar Pradesh submitted before the apex court.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan sought the minutes of the meeting between Home Secretary, chief secretaries of the states in the National Capital Region to be filed before the court by today evening.

The apex court observed that there are some issues with reopening the Noida/ Ghaziabad border with Delhi and slated the matter for further hearing on June 17.

The travel restric-

tions from Noida and Ghaziabad to Delhi will have to continue since coronavirus cases in Delhi are 40 times that of Noida and Ghaziabad, UP said.

Meanwhile, Haryana said that it will allow travel for all to and from Delhi without restrictions.

The top court was hearing a petition filed by one Rohit Bhalla seeking appropriate orders on lifting border restrictions. —ANI

PRIYANKA GANDHI’S SECRETARY SEEKS ANTICIPATORY BAIL Lucknow: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s personal secretary, Sandeep Singh, approached the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday, seeking anticipatory bail in a case filed against him by the Uttar Pradesh government. State Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, who is a co-accused in the same case for alleged cheating and forgery in a list of 1,000 buses sent to the state government Sandeep Singh to ferry migrant workers home, is already in jail.

Singh, Lallu and “others’’ were booked by the Hazratganj Police on May 19 for cheating and forging documents, after the Uttar Pradesh government said about 100 vehicles on the Congress list were not buses and majority of them lacked either a fitness certificate or valid insurance papers. The Congress rejected the claim. On Friday, Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan of the Lucknow bench asked the police to submit the case diary and fixed the next date of hearing for June 17.

Chart out methods to sell liquor: SC to TN govt New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Tamil Nadu government to find out ways and means to sell liquor, whether online or at physical outlets in the state.

A bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, said it is not for a court to lay down how liquor can be sold. “These are for the State governments to decide what to do,” the bench said. The court was hearing a petition seeking directions to not open Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) shops in the state. The top court had

SC ON NON-PAYMENT OF DOCTORS’ SALARIES

‘In war, you don’t make soldiers unhappy’ New Delhi: ‘In war, you do not make soldiers unhappy. Travel extra mile and channel some extra money to address their grievances.’ This is what SC said. Court took serious note of non-payment of salaries and lack of accommodation to doctors fighting against COVID-19. The courts should not be involved in the issue of non-payment of salary to healthcare workers. The government should settle the issue, it said.

The top court was hearing a plea by a doctor. He alleged that front line healthcare workers

last month stayed a Madras High Court order, which had directed the closure of all state-run liquor shops and allowed only the online sale of liquor in the state during the coronavirusinduced nationwide lockdown. Tamil Nadu government had filed a petition before the Apex Court challenging the Madras High Court order on the matter. —ANI

‘Work out ways to refund tickets’

HC directs release of pending salaries of docs

engaged in fight against COVID-19 are not being paid salaries. At times salaries are also being cut or delayed. ‘In war, you do not make soldiers unhappy. Travel extra mile and channel some extra money to address

THE CURIOUS CASE OF ‘MISSING’ SCINDIA IN BJP’S POSTER IN MP New Delhi: Posters often play a key role in signalling which way is the political wind blowing. Now, as 24 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh goes to bypoll, Jyoiraditya Scindia’s ardent follower who switched side to BJP - Tulsi Silawat, has put up BJP posters sans Scindia’s face, sparking off speculations about “the Maharaja’s role”, if any, in this election that the Congress so desperately wanted to make it look like ‘‘Scindia Vs Kamal Nath’’ battle.

grievances. Country cannot afford to have dissatisfied soldiers in this war which is being fought against Corona. The matter has to be looked into,’ said a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, SK Kaul and MR Shah. —ANI

New Delhi: Delhi HC issued an interim order directing the release of pending salaries of the doctors at Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) hospitals.

A division bench of CJ DN Patel & Justice Prateek Jalan also issued notices to Centre, Delhi government on a suo motu plea over reports related to nonpayment of salaries to MCD doctors for last three months. The HC

GOVT EXTENDS DELIVERY PERIOD FOR DEFENCE ACQUISITIONS BY 4 MONTHS New Delhi: The Defence Ministry has extended the delivery period for existing capital acquisition contracts with Indian vendors by four months due to supply chain disruptions arising out of COVID-19 preventive measures. An order to this effect was issued today by the acquisition wing of the ministry,

approved by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

It states that the “Force Majeure shall be applicable for a period of four months - March 25 to July 24”. The Ministry of Defence has extended delivery period for all existing capital acquisition contracts with Indian vendors by four months,” a spokesperson said.

asked the Centre, Delhi government and its health department, North MCD, Kasturba Gandhi hospital, and others to file a reply on matter and listed it for further hearing in July.

According to media reports, North MCD hospital doctors had threatened mass resignation or to observe a “pen-down” strike if their salaries for the past three months were not paid. —ANI

New Delhi: SC asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation and airlines to work on modalities for ways to refund the money of passengers for cancellation of their tickets during the COVID-19 lockdown.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan told the Centre to take a stand & asked the ministry, airlines to discuss the modalities & apprise court in three weeks. —ANI

MHA TWEAKS NORMS FOR OCI CARD HOLDERS TO ENTER INDIA New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs tweaked the guidelines for Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders & permitted certain categories of foreigners to enter India. According to new norms, minors who hold OCI cards and whose parents are Indian nationals, OCI cardholders who wish to come to India on account of family medical emergencies/death will be allowed to enter the country. The MHA has also permitted married couples where one spouse is OCI cardholder and other is Indian national to come to India.

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COVID-19 UPDATE

Won’t extend lockdown: Maha, Delhi ‘Urge CM Mamata to be responsive in humane manner’

A commuter tries to cross the barricades placed at a containment zone after the detection of positive cases in Noida, Sector 8.

New Delhi/ Mumbai: Even as India sees a steep rise in the coronavirus cases with consequent jump in the number of deaths, Maharashtra and Delhi, two of the worst-hit states, have rejected the possibilities of extending the lockdown.

Quelling rumours about a probable reintroduction of a total shutdown in Maharashtra, where the total number of positive cases is nearing 1 lakh, CM Uddhav Thackeray’s of-

7 states demand 63 Shramik Special trains

New Delhi: Seven state governments have listed their demand for a total of 63 Shramik Special trains from the railways, days after the Railway Board chairman wrote to the chief secretaries to give their “residual demand” for such trains to ferry migrant workers back home. Of the total, a maximum of 32 trains will depart from Kerala while the destinations of most trains will be West Bengal (23), the railways said.

The UP government is yet to give its requirement of trains, the railways said. —PTI

Artists paint a wall to honour Corona Warriors at Mahim in Mumbai.

fice tweeted on Friday: “The lockdown has not been reimposed. CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray has appealed to the people to

refrain from crowding.

He has earnestly requested them to follow the Govt’s instructions and take necessary precautions to stay safe

and take care.”

In spite of SC terming the situation “horrific”, the Delhi government too made it clear that the lockdown, imposed as a measure to arrest the spread of the virus, would not be extended in the state.

No, the lockdown will not be extended,” Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on the possibility of the capital returning to a state of total lockdown to check the spiraling COVID-19 cases. —ANI

Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said that he has sought an urgent briefing from KMC Chairperson and Municipal Commissioner over a viral video showing decomposed bodies being dragged into a vehicle and urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to be “responsive in humane manner”.

“Anguished! Share public outrage and deep concern at most unconscionable heart rendering callous dragging of dead bodies reflected in videos. Shocked at state of affairs Mamata Banerjee. Have sought urgent briefing today from KMC Chairperson and Municipal Commissioner,” Dhankhar tweeted.

“Given sensitivities of people and wider ramifications it may have, urge Mamata Banerjee to be responsive in humane manner. A

Heavy rains in Konkan, Goa, Telangana in 24 hrs: IMD

New Delhi: The IMDpredicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Konkan, Goa and Telangana in the next 24 hours.

Madhya Maharashtra, Marathawada, coastal Andhra and Yanam, north interior Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Vidarbha, Assam and Meghalaya are likely to get “isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall”.

“Under the influence of low pressure, scattered heavy to very

The monsoon has reached Solapur on Thursday via Goa. An orange alert has been issued in the Konkan district.

Whereas Goa and Madhya Maharashtra are expected to get widespread rain and heavy to very heavy rainfall for the next 2-3 days.

heavy with isolated extremely heavy rainfall likely over Konkan and Goa. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over madhya Maharashtra, Marathawada, coastal Andhra and

Yanam, north interior Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Vidarbha, Assam and Meghalaya in next 24 hours,” the IMD said.

The weather agency further informed that

subjects from urban-ports infrastructure to agricultural land reforms. It has also made recommendations for smart villages and has suggested tax reforms and lower utility charges.

“This is possible only if there is qualitative, qualified and skilled manpower for which we have suggested reforms in education and how to make a more effective single-window system for industries,” Patel said.

He added that the committee has recommended that the government nurture invest-

ment and revive passenger transportation, and has suggested ways to attract FDI for existing and new projects.

there to even attend to them,” the Supreme Court said. It also asked the Arvind Kejriwal government to explain the fall in coronavirus testing in the city.

An apex court official said Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde took note of the situation relating to the handling of COVID-19 patients and bodies of the victims and assigned the case to a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan. —ANI

— Anupam Kashyapi, Head, Weather Department, IMD Pune

POWER Gallery VISHWAS KUMAR POSTED AS ADRM, HUBLI

Vishwas Kumar, presently posted with South Western Railways, has been transferred and posted as ADRM, Hubli.He is an IRSE officer.

S BALAJI ARUN KUMAR GETS PREMATURE REPATRIATION FROM KOLKATA PORT TRUST

S Balaji Arun Kumar on his premature repatriation from Kolkata Port Trust, has been posted in Southern Railway in the cadre. He is an IRTS officer.

DRV SUBBARAYUDU GETS CLINICAL POST AS SR CONSULTANT

On attaining the age of 62 years and exercising option for clinical post, Dr V Subbarayudu has been given a clinical post as a Senior Consultant in South Central Railways. He is an IRHS officer.

TWO IAS OFFICERS GET NEW ASSIGNMENTS IN KARNATAKA

Jagdeep Dhankhar @jdhankhar1

Had sought urgent briefing from KMC Chairperson and Municipal Commissioner. kMC Commissioner has intimated that he’ll brief today at 11 am. Communicated that Chairman Board be also there. police action to repress would be hurtful. In our culture dead bodies have to be accorded highest respect. Scars of Dhapa and now this SHAME,” he added. —ANI

Gowda, Kharge, 2 BJP men elected to RS unopposed

conditions are becoming favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of Central Arabian Sea, remaining parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Odisha and WB, some parts of Chhattisgarh and south Gujarat, south MP, Jharkhand and Bihar during the next 48 hours. An orange alert is issued for heavy to very heavy rainfall. —ANI

Bengaluru: Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and ruling BJP’s grassroot cadres Ashok Gasti and Iranna Kadadi have been declared elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed, a poll official said on Friday.

Though the biennial elections were scheduled on June 19 in the event of a contest, the returning officer declared the results after the end of the last date of withdrawal of nomination, which was Friday, as there were no other candidates.

Former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, 87, got elected to the Upper House with the support of the opposition Congress as his regional party has only 34 legislators, 10 short of the required 44 votes. —Agencies

per return. The reduced rate of late fee will apply for all the GSTR-3B returns furnished between July 1 to September 30 this year.

Sitharaman said that for small taxpayers whose turnover is up to Rs 5 crore, for the supplies effected in the month of February, March and April 2020, the rate of interest for late furnishing of return for the said months beyond specified dates (staggered upto July 6) is reduced from 18 per cent to 9 per cent per annum till September 30.

In other words, for these months, small

taxpayers will not be charged any interest till the notified dates for relief (staggered upto July 6) and thereafter 9 per cent interest will be charged till September 30.

To facilitate taxpayers who could not get their cancelled GST registrations restored in time, an opportunity is being provided for filing of an application for revocation of cancellation of registration up to September 30 in all cases where registrations have been cancelled till June 12.

According to an official statement, certain

A fisherman throws a net in river Hooghly to catch fish at Santipur.

06

Dr Ravi Kumar Surpur has been appointed as Commissioner for Social Welfare with additional charge of Social Commissioner Projects, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and Peddappaiah is posted as Director, Atal Janasnehi Kendra, Bengaluru in Karnataka.

11 IRS-CUSTOMS OFFICERS GET POSTINGS

As many as 11 IRS-Customs officers, who have been repatriated from deputation, were given postings. Accordingly, Sanjay Lawania has been posted as ADC CC (AR), CESTAT, Delhi while Rohti Singla was made JC, DC Audit Mumbai ZU and S A Uma Shankar Gaud is ADC, Hyderabad CGST & CX zone. Similarly, Md shahreyar Iqbal Faisal has been appointed as ADC, Ranchi, CGST & CX zone; Meenal Bhosale as ADC DG ARM, Delhi; Shailendra Kumar Deshmukh as JC, Chennai CUS zone; Vishal M Sanap as Mumbai zone-III Cus; Ashish Mishra as Ranchi CGST & CX zone; Sachin Balasahab Sawant as JC Visakhapatnam CGST & CX zone; Md Salik Paraiz as JC Delhi and V Ramanadha Reddy was made JC Mumbai Zone-I, Cus. VV SATYA SREENIVAS IS ALSO CVO, RINL

VV Satya Sreenivas, CVO, NMDC, has been assigned an additional charge of CVO, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), Visakhapatnam for a period of three months. He is a 1995 batch IRSME officer.

DR J RADHAKRISHNAN IS NEW HEALTH SECRETARY IN TAMIL NADU

Dr J Radhakrishnan has been appointed as Health Secretary in Tamil Nadu. He is a 1992 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

RESHUFFLE OF IAS OFFICERS IN MP

Around one dozen IAS officers have been given new assignments in Madhya Pradesh, informed a few reliable departmental sources from the region. Accordingly, Dr Shrikant Pandey has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Revenue, while Shrikant Banoth has been appointed as the Managing Director, Agricultural Industrial Development Corporation and Jagdish Chandra Jatia is Deputy Secretary, Women and Child Development. Similarly, Bhaskar Lakshkar has been appointed as MD, Small Scale Industries and MSME; Chhote Singh as Deputy Secretary, Labour; Deepak Kumar Saxena as MD, Solar Development Corporation; Basant Kurre as Director, Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation and Deputy Secretary, Public Health and Family Welfare; Chandra Shekhar Walimbe as Additional Commissioner, Higher Education; B Vijay Datta as Deputy Secretary, Industrial Police and Investment Promotion and Girish Sharma was made Director, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis, Bhopal and Virendra Kumar has been appointed as Secretary, Revenue Board, Gwalior.

FROM PG 1 Self-regulatory... and Chairman of Bank of Baroda Hasmukh Adhia and included tax consultant Mukesh Patel, former IAS officer Kirit Shelat, economist Ravindra Dholakia, and M Thennarsan, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of GIDC. The committee--which conducted 37 meetings--has made 231 suggestions in its final report submitted on Friday. Committee member Mukesh Patel told First India that the committee has aimed for inclusive growth and so has included a variety of

SC calls... and West Bengal, the top court said, seeking response from the four states and the central government as it took note of reports of improper handling of COVID-19 patients and disposal of bodies in the country.

“COVID-19 patients are treated worse than animals. In one case, a body was found in the garbage. Patients are dying and nobody is

Corona relief:...

If there is a tax liability, the maximum late fee will be capped at Rs 500

clauses of the Finance Act 2020 amending CGST Act 2017 and IGST Act 2017 will be brought into force from June 30. —ANI

1 killed, 2 hurt...

The incident comes in the midst of a raging boundary row between the two countries with India sternly asking Nepal not to resort to any “artificial enlargement” of territorial claims after Kathmandu released a new political map laying claim over Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura.

New Delhi maintains that these were part of

Uttarakhand while Kathmandu, in its recent map, had shown them as part of Western Nepal.

Giving details about the incident at Sitamarhi district, 134 kms from Patna, Kumar Rajesh Chandra, Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal, a force looking after the 1,751 km India-Nepal frontier, said the incident took place around 8:40 AM “deep inside Nepalese territory”. The situation is normal now and local commanders of both sides got in touch immediately, Chandra told PTI in New Delhi. —PTI

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020

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T

he COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the Internet is a critical – and uniquely global – part of our infrastructure. As challenging as the publichealth lockdowns have been, their social and economic costs would be far greater in the absence of smoothly functioning digital networks.

Moreover, containing the pandemic itself will likely require better and more innovative uses of our collective data, all of which is generated online. Home offices, home schooling, and home life increasingly depend on our ability to use the Internet. Protecting cyberspace is therefore an increasingly urgent task, not least because it is facing a “pandemic” of its own.

Since early March, there has been an unprecedented global increase in malicious cyber activity. Phishing attacks seeking to steal money or secrets from home-office workers have more than doubled compared to last year, and in some places they are up sixfold. There have also been a number of attempted cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, including airports, power grids, ports, and water and sewage facilities. Even hospitals treating COVID-19 patients have been targeted, and the World Health Organization itself has reported a fivefold increase in attacks on its networks.

In a recent communiqué to a United Nations working group on cyber issues, the Dutch government spoke for many when it said it was “appalled” by this belligerent behavior, much of which is directed, supported, or at least tolerated by only a few governments, with Russia and China being the most reported examples.

Likewise, Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has condemned these attacks as “unacceptable.” Issuing a thinly veiled threat of sanctions, he has called on all governments to abide by international law and existing political agreements governing cyberspace, the most pertinent of which involve so-called “norms of responsible state behavior.”

Despite all the current mayhem, cyberspace is not a lawless domain. Like the seas, outer space, and other shared domains, it is subject to international law. The question is how exactly international law should apply. Countries like Russia and China have long advocated a new treaty-based approach, whereas liberal democracies have, for the most part, insisted that the entire body of existing international law should be the point of departure.

Since 2010, the com-

promise between these two camps has been to establish certain norms of behavior and rules of the road on how states should conduct themselves in cyberspace.

These norms – which include an injunction against interfering with critical infrastructure in peacetime – have often been violated soon after having been agreed. Yet they represent the only international consensus on what constitutes responsible behavior in cyberspace, which means they are the only standard by which the global community can call out malicious state activity.

In these uncertain times, we clearly need more standards of this kind. Academic research has shown that while it can take years for agreed norms to be routinely upheld, new norms can help reinforce existing ones.

Fortunately, there are already two negotiation tracks within the UN dedicated to debating and finalizing new norms for cyberspace.

Both the Open-Ended Working Group and the Group of Governmental Experts are now considering several proposed norms that originated from the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, which we lead. One of the most prominent is also the most urgent: a prohibition on attacking the basic “ p u bl i c core” infrastructure of c y b e r s p a c e, including the equipment, organizations, and processes that provide for a globally accessible, properly functioning Internet.

As the international community struggles to come together to fight COVID-19, political leaders and publics must recognize that the Internet has become the manifestation of our connectedness. It is what unites us as a global community, and it is the medium on which our economic, civic, and family lives all now depend.

We therefore call on all governments to adopt the norm against attacking “public core infrastructure,” not only to protect this essential global domain, but also to signal a clear commitment to our shared human future.

As our dependence on digital technologies deepens, success or failure in protecting the Internet – a true global public good – will determine not only how fast and effectively we can contain the pandemic, but also what kind of world we will live in afterwards.

07

FACING THE

CYBER PANDEMIC THE DAYS WHEN CYBERSPACE COULD BE REGARDED AS A LAWLESS WILD WEST ARE LONG OVER. THE INTERNET HAS BECOME A CRITICAL PART OF OUR GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE, AND ATTACKS AGAINST ITS CORE FUNCTIONS, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS, SHOULD BE TREATED AS THE EXISTENTIAL THREATS THAT THEY ARE

5 PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE CYBERSECURITY LEADERSHIP IN A POST-COVID WORLD

OVID-19 is forcing business leaders C to adapt operating models faster than ever before to ensure existential survival. The large-scale adoption of work-from-home technologies, exponentially greater use of cloud services and explosion of connectivity allow companies to continue operations even with social distancing and “stay

at home” orders.

However, the paradigm shift is putting immense pressure on cybersecurity operations. As organizations are making extraordinary efforts to protect their workers and serve their customers during the pandemic, exposure to cyberthreats is increasing significantly.

CYBERSECURITY OPERATIONS ARE FACING TREMENDOUS CHALLENGES  Working from home has

opened multiple vectors for cyberattacks through the heightened dependency on personal devices and home networks.  Social engineering tactics are even more effective on a distracted and vulnerable workforce.  Security Operations Centers (SOCs) have been designed to look for anomalous behaviors; today, SOCs are operating with impaired visibility because everything looks anomalous.  Critical business assets and functions are significantly more exposed to opportunistic and targeted cyberattacks by criminal organizations and nation

states seeking to exploit vulnerabilities and plant seeds for future attacks.  Public-sector services such as hospitals and healthcare services are under acute pressure and have been hit particularly hard by new types of ransomware aimed at disrupting connectivity

and denial-of-service attacks.

The security and privacy flaws discovered on the popular Zoom video conferencing application are a reminder that innovative entrepreneurs and businesses both have a role to play in reducing exposure to cyberattacks.

Security bugs and privacy-abusing practices are not new, but have been exacerbated by the growing demand for cost-effective and just-in-time solutions, along with the pressure to digitize and innovate quickly to keep ahead of competition, increase operational efficiencies,

SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE

CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI

improve customer experience and improve business decisions with enhanced analytics.

In the COVID-19 context, cybersecurity leaders must strike a critical balance between security and privacy, time to operations and market, cost and convenience.

Within organizations, cybersecurity leaders need to take a stronger and more strategic leadership role.

They need to move beyond being compliance monitors and enforcers to better integrate with the business, manage information risks more strategically and work toward a culture of shared cyber-risk ownership across the enterprise.

DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

Do not differentiate on the basis of efforts to be made for minor or major work to be accomplished. Efforts for each work should be 100%. Do the minor things well, the major will take care of themselves.

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

2ND FRONT AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020

Ahmed Bhai writes to CM asking to protect farmers

08

Ambulance charges `20K to move a patient

Patel asks Rupani to intervene for detained farmers who were protesting in Ankleshwar’s old Diva village Dr. Anita

their detention, staff officials took possession of the disputed land, causing insignificant damage to their standing crops. This has compounded their economic hardship caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has placed the farmers in a particularly tough situation,” the letter says.

It goes on to say, “The farmers of Old Diva village have consented to give their land for the Vadodara-Mumbai Express High-

Ahmedabad: Congress party’s national treasurer and veteran leader Ahmed Patel wrote a letter to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday asking him to protect the farmers in the ongoing farmer’s land acquisition issue.

In the letter, Patel mentions the 35 farmers who were detained by the police on Thursday, during a peaceful protest in Ankleshwar’s Old Diva village.

“The farmers were exercising their democratic right to peacefully protest against the acquisition of their land without adequate compensation.

Fo l l o w i n g Ahmed Patel

way project. Their only demand is that they be given adequate and market-value compensation, as is their legal right. In this regard, it must be noted that farmers from Surat district, whose lands have also been acquired of

the same project, have been paid their dues.”

Patel alleged that the farmers from Bharuch district are being unfairly denied their rights. “In the absence of adequate compensation, the acquisition of their land

amounts to daylight robbery and is a gross injustice to the hardworking farmers of the state.”He further alleged that, rather than providing support to the farmers, the state govt is providing police protection to the private contractors seeking possession of the land.

“The use of such tactics of the police high handedness, intimidation, and violence to subjugate and silence farmer is the hallmark of a dictatorial society and a blot on ‘Gujarati Asmita’,” the letter states.

Vijay Rupani

Copy of the ambulance bill.

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: In Ahmedabad, An ambulance service provider charges displeasing rates from COVID patient for transferring.

After a patient was referred to another hospital from Saraswati Hospital, the patient family inquired for an ambulance, and the hospital authorities gave a contact of One Gems ambulance.

The ambulance reported after two hours

of waiting, and after transferring the patient from 25 km away, they produced a bill of 20,000rs from the family members.

Shocked at the invoice provided, the family complained to Saraswati Hospital regarding the charges.

On which the hospital authorities refused any implication in the matter. On contacting Kaplesh Goklani, the owner of Gems Ambulance seemed to be absconding as there was no response, and

Docs pull out stuck LIONS ON THE PROWL IN BROAD DAYLIGHT cooker from 1-yearold child’s head climbed the roof of the cattle shed in a farm, broke the tin shed, jumped inside and preyed on the tied ox.

The lions then feasted on the prey while others kept sauntering outside the house. The incident that happened on the farm of Kanu

First India Bureau

Rajkot: The residents of Monvel Village of Dhari Taluka were astounded when they came across the activity of lion pride in their area.

In broad daylight at around 11 am, some lions somehow

Lion roaming in Monvel village.

HEALTH IS WEALTH First India Bureau Bhavnagar: In a rigorous operation of 45-minutes, a team of doctors from Sir T. Hospital pulled out the pressure cooker stuck on the head of the one-year-old daughter of Dharmik Vala resides at Pirchalla street of Bhavnagar.

The little girl Priyanshi was playing with the pressure cooker on her head and stuck her head in the cooker. The fami-

ly then rushed to the emergency department of the hospital, where the team of doctors and the nursing staff managed to remove the cooker from the Priyanshi’s head without any injury. After the operation, the pulse and oxygen level of the girl was monitored by the team, and with the special care of the doctors, the girl is now in a healthy condition.

@ahmedpatel On #WorldDayAgainstChildLabour I urge the Central Govt to announce a comprehensive scheme to protect children of displaced migrant families.

This ill planned lockdown has disrupted the lives of lakhs of poor children who now risk being pushed back into abject poverty.

A private firm installed a vending machine at the Kalupur station in Ahmedabad on Friday, to dispense masks and sanitizers to passengers. The masks cost between Rs10 and Rs100, while the sanitizers have been priced at Rs50-Rs150.

— PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

GUJARAT WAITS TO WELCOME THE MONSOON: HEAVY RAINS EXPECTED First India Bureau

Two cyclists enjoying the weather on Friday as dark clouds hover over Ahmedabad sky.

Kotadiya was videographed by the villagers, who were scared too. The village Monvel is on the border of Gir east and Gir west division of the forest department near Visavadar.

The pride of seven lions have their territory in both the divisions of the woods.

Gandhinagar: The Southwest Monsoon is about to reach South Gujarat and cover many parts of Saurashtra and central regions by 15th June. Heavy rains on areas of South Gujarat will arrive with a peak on nearby 13th June. Also, the southern half of Saurashtra and Central Gujarat will be poised for

a spell of heavy rains between 13th and 15th June.

Saurashtra has significant rain excess by 308% and Gujarat by 40% from 01st to 10th June. Stations like Ahmedabad and Bhuj have far exceeded their monthly normal by recording 115mm and 42mm against the normal of 80mm and 35mm respectively. A lesserknown weather system ‘Mid Tropospheric Cy-

clone’ (MTC), a cyclonic circulation in the medium levels of the atmosphere is marked over Gujarat and South Saurashtra. This cyclonic circulation is likely to shift over South Gujarat and to adjoin the Northeast Arabian Sea. Accordingly, a strong surge is expected to set in over Konkan and South Gujarat, resulting in heavy rainfall for the next few days.

all their numbers were disconnected.

The family has complained with the Municipal Corporation awaiting their action.

Since the family did not have money, they collected Rs 20,000 from relative and paid the amount.

Shailesh of Khokhra has made a video of himself giving his life due to the hospital money laundering case, and it has been circulating on social media for public information.

Closure notice issued to Hemani Industries First India Bureau Gandhinagar: After the incident of fire broke out in a plant where one worker was killed and five got injured. The Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) issued a closure notice to Hemani Industries in Ankleshwar, Bharuch. Plant number 4 of the agrochemical, pesticides, and herbicides manufacture followed a blast in a reactor owing to an exothermic, the reaction during the processing of raw material, preliminary investigation by DISH showed.

ACS (Labour and Employment), Vipul Mittal informed that “A closure notice to the plant has been issued, and it will remain closed till we are satisfied with the safety of workers, till the time appropriate compensation will be paid to the affected workers.

FDCA collects 362 hand sanitizer samples for quality check First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) has collected a total of 362 samples from hospitals, pharmacy stores and manufacturers’ sites and sent them to its laboratory for a quality check.

To ensure the quality of manufactured and marketed hand sanitizers in the State, FDCA will likely announce the outcome

of these analysed samples by the end of the month.

Dr Hemant Koshia, Commissioner, Gujarat FDCA, said, “By looking at the increasing demand for hand sanitisers, we want to be extra ensured about the quality of these firstline defences. At the Gujarat FDCA, we are checking the quality, particularly in the AYUSH category. We have analysed around 60-70 samples, and so far, 14 samples have

failed to meet the necessary quality requirements.

We are updating the quality results of the collected samples on the XLN India platform, which also helps the masses to have an update about the failed analysed samples. Reportedly, since March 2020, the Gujarat FDCA has issued a total of 2600 product licenses, and around 75 new firms have started manufacturing hand sanitizers.

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY JUNE 13, 2020

DOTTEDLY YOURS! Bringing in a ‘retro feel’, polka dots never get old to bring an extra spark in your fashion quotient!

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

H

aving a polka-dot item in your closet is an absolute must, as it not just adds charm to the overall attire, but is also an all-time throwback essential.

This pattern has a totally different vibe altogether and is considered to be a very happypattern. But its history was absolutely different- it wasn’t considered fun at all.

In Medieval Europe, polka dots were considered to be really unpleasant, and represented impurity and disease, while in the NonWestern cultures, these dots were viewed as a symbol of magic.

Talking about polka dots in today’s time, the pattern is seen literally everywhere- co-ord sets, skirts, shirts, shoes, eye-wear, nail art, bikini, and looking at the present scenario of the global pandemic, even the face masks.

Disney’s Minnie Mouse was the first famous protagonist of polka dots back in 1928, and that’s where the trend really picked up. Later, the Hollywood royalties fell for the print, with the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Lucille Ball forming an amazing fanbase.

If you notice closely, the polka dot pattern is not seen on formal clothing, ever. The reason can be because it probably is inclined more towards the ‘playful’ side.

The polka dot has made a comeback with designers catching on to this growing trend while producing their Spring 2020 collections.

During New

York Fashion Week, a number of spotty creations were spotted on the runway. So, if you like to experiment with your clothing you can go the polka dot way- teeming up big and small dots in various patterns and layers. Some daring ones have been known to carry off Stripes and Polkas too, but that requires a level of panache that is missing in the majority.

Men, however, have limited space in the polka scenarios being limited to minute dots in shirt patterns or boxers!

Keep your polka dots ready, they are a fashion boomerang that always come back!

09

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AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020

10

WHY OUTLANDER IS THE BEST T

here’s no denying that we’ve been experiencing an era of peak TV for a few years now, but I believe there’s one show that stands above the rest when it comes to offering viewers everything they could want.

And that show, my friends, is the Starz epic, Outlander. The time-traveling drama, which will enter into its fourth season this fall, hasn’t really made a misstep yet.

While some of that success is certainly due to the jam-packed and endlessly intriguing source material, which is Diana Gabaldon’s novel series of the same

name, it’s also true that the show has been able to modify the events of those books in ways that manage to satisfy book fans and newcomers to the story alike, something that’s incredibly hard to do. So, here for you, are the five reasons why Outlander is the best damn show on television right now.

Frequently, one single episode will see so much big stuff happen that, upon re-watching it, you will have forgotten how much actually went on during the hour. One early episode of Season 3 features a whopping 12 major and semi-major reveals/ events. You cannot pay attention to other things when Outlander is on, people!

OUTLANDER HAS INTRIGUING CHARACTERS ON EVERY LEVEL

You see that little lady in the above photo who’s giving someone a whole lotta hell as Claire looks on, shocked?

That, my friends, is Jamie’s spitfire sister Jenny (Laura Donnelly), who just might be my favorite secondary ch a r a c t e r on Out-

lander. And, lucky for us, she’s an excellent example of the how this show populates its world with characters on every level who feel like they have real lives, personalities, hopes and troubles. In Outlander’s three seasons so far, we haven’t seen a ton of Jenny, but she’s a standout every time she’s on screen. I mean, she laughed in the face of a dude who was about to rape her when he pulled his cock out, guys. You just don’t get more baller and badass than that.

OUTLANDER IS 100% BINGEABLE Alright, I know that, especially in this day and age where streaming

is (basically) king, a lot of TV shows are bingeable. But, I have never seen a show take two things into account quite as well as Outlander does. First of all, every episode is absolutely packed to the rafters with important events. And this is true even if the episode is a bit quieter and doesn’t even feature any fight scenes. Sometimes it’s just about the characters traveling great distances and finding out major information that they need now or that will be necessary for them l a t e r.

FA CE OF TH ED AY

Source: https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2437490/5-reasons-why-outlander-is-the-best-show-on-tv

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

On professional front, you will find yourself busy helping others today. Your monetary conditions have improved for good. Your sibling may do something incredible and will become famous. Don’t be reluctant when it comes to career choices rather think with calm mind.

It takes time for a business to start giving profits so kindly remain patient. You have become serious in life and you take your responsibilities seriously. Your actions will decide what will happen tomorrow therefore make sure that you make right causes. You will find your life partner.

Improved earnings will help you buy things that you wanted for a long time.

You will spend quality time with your parents today after a long time. Don’t get involved in others’s affairs. Be wise with your responsibilities. A new vehicle is on the cards.

Life will take a beautiful turn.

You will get a lot of encouragement from family. You are in right frame of mind today to take any financial decisions today.

You have a nature to appreciate people for all the goodness that lies in them. You are people’s person.

You will soon acquire a property.

MAR 21 - APR 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

It is very important that you start understanding and respecting all the individuals, remember you can never control others. You are a confident persona and you don’t fail to impress your boss on professional front with your work. Your spouse loves you with whole heart.

You just try to maintain healthy relationships with people on social front. You have to make efforts to get what you really desire. Your lover will do something special for you that will make you very emotional. Your boss will really treat you special today because of your working abilities.

YYou are mentally very clear about your plans to settle abroad also about the country where you want to settle. You are financially secure but you still want more, always remember there is no end to wealth so start feeling content no matter what and keep forging ahead.

You are very close to your pets and you adore them like your own child. You will be there for your spouse no matter what. Scorpio women are fearless and you will stand for your respect at all costs if someone tries to harm it. You have learned in life.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You must try and spend more time with people who are positive and motivating as the wrong guidance from the friends can effect your life so make wise choices. You will remain in good health as you follow discipline in life.

You will give some quality time to your friends after long time.

On social front, you will find yourself very busy catering to the needs of others. You may start a new business and an angel investor will approach you soon. Today you will enjoy a lot with your family as you all may go out together for some family bonding time.

You may land up helping someone in need of monetary help without thinking twice. You are a healer and people get healed by merely talking with you.You will help your two mutual friends resolve their personal issues. There will be a temporary change of place.

You will earn money from many sources along with being in a full time job.

When it comes to money put your fears to rest. On professional front, you will be assigned with many responsibilities.

You must be very tactful while dealing with a family youngster.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

RISHINA TALREJA, Influencer

APR 21 - MAY 20

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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

AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020

11

Something is better than nothing GULABO SITABO DIRECTOR Shoojit Sircar

KAVITA CHAUHAN

CAST & CREW Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Vijay Raaz, Brijendra Kala, Shrishti Shrivastava, Farrukh Jafar

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

G

ulabo Sitabo is the first mainstream Bollywood movie to be released exclusively on a digital platform.

The film has a terrific combo of two powerhouse actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana in the film which has been directed by a critically acclaimed director Shoojit Sircar. The film revolves around two quirky, warring men. While the senior Bachchan plays a landlord

RATING:

Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana in ‘Gulabo Sitabo’

(Mirza), Ayushmann plays the role of his tenant (Baankey).

The film portrays human inclining towards extreme

greed and losing out on everything, the climax stands out and the humour infused in the film is dark and wacky, the film

could have been a bit shorter as the current runtime is a bit overstretched and feels boring and off-track at times. The per-

formances are top-notch by both our talented actors and their jodi is truly priceless.

The movie has a great message put up by its end.

Altogether the film is slowpaced and doesn’t live up to its expectation. You can watch it for its amazing climax and performances by the lead pairs.

PC’S VERSION OF

‘BAND BAAJA BARAAT’

A

c t o r Parineeti Chopra on Thursday treated her fans with a stunning picture from one of her photoshoots where the ‘Ishaqzaade’ actor is seen slaying in an allblack ensemble.

She posted the picture of the look that she termed as her version of ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ on Instagram. In the picture, the 32-yearold actor is seen wearing a camisole styled sheer top which had intricate lacework on it.

Exuding elegance, the ‘Ishaqzaade’ actor tucked the top in matching skin-fit jeggings and paired it with a black coloured knoted belt, accentuating her waist.

To p p i n g off the ‘ B a n d B a a j a Baraat’

look, Chopra wore a black studded hat and is seen partially wearing a matching leather jacket.

“Band Baaja Baraat (my version),” she wrote in the caption.

The post soon the post was flooded with scores of comments from the actor’s fans.

Chopra will next be seen opposite Arjun Kapoor in Dibakar Banerjee’s ‘Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar.’

—ANI

A

ctor Sonam Kapoor has always mentioned her love for reading books. On Friday she shared a childhood picture which shows that she was a ‘bookworm’ even then.

The ‘Delhi 6’ actor shared a post on Instagram, reminiscing about the old days and her love for books. In the picture, a young Sonam is seen lying on the bed, holding a book in her hand, flashing a smile for the camera. In the captions, she wrote: “Nothing has changed since then once a bookworm, always a bookworm.”

WEB-SERIES DEBUT

A

bhishek Bachchan’s debut web series ‘Breathe Into The Shadows’ will release online on Amazon Prime Video on July 10. He shared the information on Twitter, revealing an intriguing poster of his upcoming series. “She lies into the shadows, waiting to be found.

Here is the First Look of #BreatheIntoTheShadows. New Series, July 10 on @primevideoin,” he wrote.

—ANI

...her post

Within minutes, sister Rhea Kapoor commented: “I remember this duvet.”

Sonam is currently

spending time with her fashion designer husband Anand Ahuja in their South-Delhi based house.

—ANI

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND

Y

Parineeti Chopra’s Look

Always a ‘Bookworm’

Sonam Kapoor Ahuja

ou go out with a bunch of friends for a night out. Everybody places their order, mostly alcoholic drinks. Turns out, you’re the only one in the group who’s probably not in the mood for it or doesn’t drink alcohol at all.

What do you do? Spend the night with just French fries? Luckily, we’ve some suggestions to make your night equally fun (in continuation of the article last week), and magical!

And nope, soft drinks and usual fruit juices don’t even count here.

When it comes to non-alcoholic drinks, the choices can be limited. So, here’s a quick list of interesting mocktails, punches, lemonades, and other summer-favourite beverages that are 100% alcohol-free a.k.a virgin.

WATERMELON BELLINI:

Swap champagne for sparkling cider 1 cup watermelon, cubed Champagne or sparkling cider Put watermelon in a blender and make a puree.

Now put this puree in your serving glasses and start pouring sparkling cider in them.

Add ice if you like it cold and enjoy the drink.

CUCUMBER SMOOTHIE:

2 cups plain yogurt 2 1/2 cups chopped cucumbers 2 1/2 tbsp chopped Dill herb (optional) 2 1/2 tbsp chopped basil 2 1/2 tbsp chopped mint leaves 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 3/4 tbsp salt 1/2 cups cold club soda or sparkling water Take a blender and mix yogurt, chopped cucumbers, dill, mint leaves, basil, and lemon juice.

Add salt and mix well again. the cucumber purée is ready.

Now, pour this into the serving glasses and start pouring club soda in it.

Mix well and serve!

ABOUT CAULDRON SISTERS

Ratika & Richa Khetan, two Sisters, started Cauldron Sisters in 2015. It started as an exotic food gift hamper business, but their love for food encouraged them to start culinary workshops, food deliveries, and slowly and gradually it turned huge as restaurants and cafes started approaching them for consultancy.

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

CITY FIRST

T

he efforts of Foreign Secretary Harsh V a r d h a n Shringla combined with Prem Bhandari from NYC have come to fruition as the MHA has tweaked the norms for Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders which permits certain categories of foreigners to enter INDIA amidst COVID-19 international travel regulations. Prem Bhandari thanked Prime Minister and Home Minister for listening to the people and allowing them to travel home.

Bhandari, who has been flooded with thank you notes and congratulatory messages on twitter from the troubled OCIs and their family members, speaks about the amendments MHA made in favour of particular cases on his behest. “The new norms allow minors who are OCI cardholders and whose parents are Indian nationals to come to India, OCI cardholders who want to visit

HOMECOMING

12

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

for the stuck OCIs

Avinash Pande at JW Marriott on Friday

Rajasthan: Amid the Rajya Sabha elections political scenario going on presently in Jaipur where the senior Congress leaders have gathered, the ‘image makeover’ of Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande is also being talked about, his colleagues are not only complimenting him on his ‘smarter look’ after shedding 15 kgs but are also asking him to give tips. During the Lockdown which he spent in Nagpur, Pande followed a strict schedule of exercise, walk and yoga along with the daily work of the party and some quality family time. The young cadre is saying that they are motivated by the lesson Pande has given for utilisation of time and physical fitness.

HAPPY B’DAY! Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Prem Bhandari

India on the account of any family medical emergency or on the reason of the death of a family member shall be allowed to enter India, Married couples whose partner is an Indian national and the spouse an OCI cardholder will be allowed to come to India as well,” Bhandari said. This brings a big relaxation to these aforesaid people who were facing issues on

the base of different situations such as, the newborns of H1b visa holders who by default become US citizens on birth to Indian nationals living in the US, the minors who are dependent on their parents to make ends meet and also the adult individuals who lost jobs to Corona times.

Also, the Indian nationals living in India will benefit from the

Prem Bhandari thanking the Air India crew at NYC

new norms as OCIs on whom the Indian parents are dependent will be much relieved by the union with their kids in such dire times Bhandari has been

Successful Implant

CITY FIRST

he Surgeons of JNU hospital succeeded in a critical surgery of implanting accidentally amputated claw of Vikas, a resident of Chomu, Rajasthan. His claw accidentally got stuck in the cutting machine and was cut off from his wrist. After the complete clinical investigation, the amputated claw was successfully implanted by Plastic Surgeon Dr Satyabrath Mohanty after conducting 8 hours long surgery. Dr Arun Saxena, Anaesthetist and staff Pawan and Kamlesh were there in the surgery team. Veins and arteries of patient are working normal and he is recuperating in Intensive care.

JNU Chancellor Dr Sandeep Bakshi has appreciated the efforts of the team of Surgeons and encouraged them for this kind of public health care in future also, even during the odd conditions as it’s now. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

working unceasingly throughout the Corona crisis to provide solace and solve the problems of Indians living abroad. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

BEREAVED

Team at JNU Hospital

T

AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020

CITY FIRST

N

and Lal Sachdev, beloved father of Sudhir-Mani Sachdev, SanjivKanupriya Sachdev (sons and daughters-inlaw) and SushmaKishore Gogar (daughter and son-in-law), left for his heavenly abode on 11 June. The family requested all friends to kindly send in condolences via telephone rather than come physically in view of the Co-

Gujarat: Samasta Microfinance Ltd. from Vadodara distributed 500 PPE kits for the protection of the Corona Warriors on Friday. The organization works with the aim of helping the nation as much as possible in the Corona crisis, taking into account the role of doctors, police, para-medical staff, etc.

rona Protocol.

Dr Sudhir Sachdeva, Pro President, Mahatma Gandhi Medical University Jaipur, said his father was a man who lived a life with multiple dimensions, who got involved in different noble aspects of life and would arguably be most noted for his intellectual side, his love for words.

Author of ‘Aao Bun Le Ek Chandni’, Sachdev (born on 25 May 1937) received praises from veterans including Dr Gopal Das ‘Neeraj’, had his life-boat sailed through many tides, starting with the struggle of relocation during partition. From his birthplace of Zila Dera Ismail Khan via Multan to Lahore and Delhi, he

finally settled in Jaipur were earning the bread became his first challenge.

His daughter Sushma remembers that she always thought that his life wasn’t destined to just earn a living, he was here to conquer hearts.

From selling balloons and biscuits, distributing papers he later in his life formed ‘Kavyalok’.

He was the president of Jaipur housing co-operative society, organised Raam-Leela for 40 years, was actively involved in performing arts from a young age and witnessed a company of notable names like Nirala, Mahadevi Verma, Sumitranandan Pant, Harivanshamray Bacchan, Prithviraj Kapoor, etc. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Rajasthan: Sangeeta Arya, wife of Niranjan Arya has also come out in support of Rajasthani culture and tweeted a photo of Niranjan Arya in a Safa joining the #SafaWithTwitter campaign.

Rajasthan: First India Columnist Isha Swarup celebrated her birthday on 12 June, Friday. We wish her all the best!

Bhanwar Jitendra Singh’s 49th birthday was on Friday, and he spent it quietly with his family in Delhi. He did not celebrate it in the ongoing Corona situation. Congress cadre at Alwar planted trees and distributed Parindas for birds on the occasion.

Rajasthan: IIHMR University, Jaipur, has been one of the top management institutes in India, reveals the Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank while announcing NIRF (National Institute Ranking Framework) in New Delhi.

IIHMR University is now the first private institute from Rajasthan in this category to achieve this milestone.

Gujarat: The Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara was in the rank band of 151-200 in the overall Educational Institutions’ rankings published by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, while the Gujarat University was ranked 44th.

Gujarat: Tarak Thakkar, a resident of the VIP Society in Diwalipura, Vadodara, saved an Owl hanging on a thread.

Rajasthan: Bishop Oswald Cardinal Gracias of Mumbai appreciated Ex-Vice President Catholic Council Of India and Social Worker Michael Castellino for his good work. Castellino from Jaipur has Michael Castellino dedicated his life to social work and has conducted various camps under his organisation- Castellino Eye Foundation. He also owns an event company by the name Landmark Event Company.

Gujarat: Tulsidas Patel, an art teacher from Pathakwadi Village in Tapi district, has done a wonderful painting about corona through the tribal style ‘Warli Painting’ at his home during the lockdown. He has created a wonderful panaroma, from the public curfew to the lockdown, with all the guidelines of the government in the artistic picture.

Rajasthan: Two brothers from Sikar, Shakir and Rehan, have been selected in the second round of the American reality show ‘America’s Got Talent’. When the managers and judges saw their video in the audition round which was done through video conferencing, they called both of them to America at their expense.

The duo was also seen in the recent Indian dance reality show ‘Dance Plus’.

Rajasthan: Human Rights Protection Organization on the instructions of National President of India Shivaji Singh Rathore, National General Geeta Rawal Secretary Chhatrapal Singh has appointed Geeta Rawal to the post of Rajasthan State Secretary (Female) in the organisation. It is expected that she will monitor the heinous incidents like corruption, oppression, fear, terrorism and human rights abuses prevailing in the society and by informing the administration of all these incidents, with the help of the government justice will have prevailed.

It was Lal Chand Kataria’s birthday on Friday, he did not celebrate due to the death of his Uncle on Tuesday. City First wishes him good health.

HAPPY B’DAY!

IAS Rukmani Riar celebrated her birthday on 12 June, Friday. We wish her all the best!

Rajasthan: As a part of Jawahar Kala Kendra’s (JKK) ongoing ‘Online Learning – Children’s Summer Festival’, a performing arts session on ‘Theatre’ was held on Friday.

The session was conducted by mime artiste, Kunal Motling, and the session focused on breathing exercises, mime activities, creating basic illusions, as well as using mime in theatre.