First India-Ahmedabad Edition-15 October 2020

AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 320

Bird’s-eye view of Durgam Cheruvu Cable Bridge submerged in floodwater following heavy rain. (Inset) AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi supervises rescue work in old city. (Below) A man struggles to stay afloat in gushing floodwater.

Rescue operation being carried out for locals to move them to safer places following heavy rain in Hyderabad on Wednesday. —PHOTOS BY PTI

HYDERABAD MAROONED SUPREME COURT NUDGE FOR LOAN RELIEF BY NOV 2

‘COMMON MAN’S DIWALI IS NOW IN GOVT’S HANDS’ New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow the government a month’s time to implement the interest waiver on loans of up to Rs 2 crore, asking a decision has already been taken, why should it take so long to execute it. The Centre had argued that it needed the time for certain formalities, but the court set a fresh deadline of November 2.

“The Common Man’s Diwali is now in government’s hands,” said Justice MR Shah, who was part of the threejudge bench.

“The common people are worried. We are concerned with people with loan up to 2 crores,” said the bench, which has been pressing the government to figure out a way to give relief to the people who have been unable to repay loans due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Turn to P6

Our view is one month is not required to implement the decision. The delay is not in the interests of common man. It is a welcome decision to give relief for small people. But concrete results needed —The SC bench

comprising justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah

THE MORATORIUM ISSUE IN COURT In March, RBI had granted a threemonth moratorium on loans due to the Covid pandemic. It was later extended till August 31. In September, the Supreme Court, in response to petitions, asked the government to chart out a course to help borrowers.

RBI has said that it is not possible to extend moratorium period as it would affect the banking sector and the economy.

CENTRE SEEKS MORE TIME INSTEAD OF GIVING PLAN  The government was expected to spell out the way ahead on an extension of moratorium, waiving of interest, sector-wise relief and its decision on the recommendations of Mehrishi Committee, which was asked to gauge the impact of interest waiver during the Covid-linked moratorium.  But the government sought more time, saying the outer limit for bringing relief to borrowers is November 15.

Hyderabad: At least 15 persons were reported dead in Hyderabad, as rains brought normal life to a grinding halt. Several others were reported missing in the heavy rain that is expected to last for two more days. Tens of cars were washed away in the neck-deep water on the roads.

PM Narendra Modi spoke to Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao and Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Reddy and assured them of all help.

Hathras case: 3-fold protection for victim’s family, UP govt tells Court

New Delhi: A “three-fold protection mechanism” has been put in place for the security of the family members of the Dalit victim who died after being assaulted and allegedly gangraped by four upper-caste men in Hathras, the Uttar Pradesh government informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Stating that it is committed to provide complete security to the victim’s family and witnesses to ensure a “free and fair investigation”, the state government urged the apex court to direct the CBI to submit fortnightly status reports on the probe to the state government, which can be filed by the UP DGP in the Supreme Court.

“The state government therefore seeks indulgence of this court to be pleased to keep the above petition Turn to P6

Punjab first state to plan bill negating farm laws Chandigarh: Punjab has decided to reject the Centre’s contentious farm laws that have raised a storm across the state and neighbouring Haryana.

A special assembly session will be held for this on October 19, the state cabinet resolved today.

The decision of the cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, makes Punjab the first state to officially reject the farm laws. During the assembly session that ended on August 28, a resolution was passed to this effect.

FARMERS BOYCOTT MEET, TEAR COPIES Farmers’ organisations from Punjab on Wednesday boycotted a meeting called by the Union agriculture ministry to resolve their concerns over new farm laws, and accused the government of playing double standards with no minister present to hear them out. The meeting was convened at the Krishi Bhavan amid police security to avoid

The cabinet’s move is expected to have overwhelming support, with both the ruling Congress and the opposition Akali Dal being on

any protest. After the meeting, agitated farmers’ representatives were seen shouting slogans and tearing copies of new farm laws outside Krishi Bhavan.

the same side for once.

In the state, CM Amarinder Singh has spoken about “waging a war till the new laws are taken back.”

KEY KASHMIR MEET TODAY Srinagar: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has convened a meeting at his residence on Thursday for chalking out the future course of action on ‘Gupkar Declaration’ with regard to the special status of Jammu and

Kashmir which was revoked by the Centre last year.

Former J&K CM and PDP chief Mehbooba

Mufti, who was released from detention after 14 months on Tuesday, will also attend the meeting.

Gupkar Declaration is a resolution issued after an all-party meeting on August 4, 2019 at the Gupkar residence of the NC chief.

State takes a U-turn, allows packaged prasad during Navratri The decision comes after Vishwa Hindu Parishad made noise about the govt’s ban on it First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Four days ago, the state government had announced a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the festival of Navratri, which not only banned commercial or street garba but distribution of prasad (offerings) too. Now, going back

on its decision, the state has allowed dispensation of packaged prasad, after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) expressed discontent with the government’s prior resolution.

Before the VHP could make its case or launch any protest regarding the issue, the state reversed its decision at a

STATE RELAXES NORMS FOR GROUNDNUT PROCUREMENT The state government has eased up on guidelines for acquisition of groundnut from farmers by government agencies. State Civil Supplies Minister Jayesh Radadiya on Tuesday said that farmers can now pack 25 kg of groundnut in a 50 kg jute bag. Earlier, farmers were expected to fill each bag with 30 to 35 kg of groundnuts. While the procedure for procurement commenced from October 01, the acquisition will start from October 21. Over 4.70 lakh farmers have registered online so far.

Only packets of prasad will be permitted for distribution after Navratri aarti

—FILE PHOTO

cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Addressing the media, Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja said, “Packaged prasad (offerings) can be distributed among devotees

during Navratri.”

Jadeja also clarified that the state had not ordered the shutdown of temples but that various trusts that run temples have taken the decision to close their doors for devotees due to a spike

in COVID-19 cases in their respective areas.

According to the new guidelines for prasad distribution, the packets must be kept ready on a table so that handto-hand distribution is not required. Turn to P6

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AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

02

Congress headquarters in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO

CONGRESS: A HOUSE DIVIDED Even as party names candidates for two more seats, not everyone is happy with its choices

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: With bypolls for the eight seats vacant in the state legislative Assembly may be less than three weeks away, the Congress party still hasn’t made up its mind about which candidate to field in Limbdi. Even worse, insiders say senior leaders have approached state unit

chief Amit Chavda asking for changes to the nominees in at least two other constituencies as well.

Last week, the Congress party announced five candidates—Suresh Kotadiya (Dhari), Kiritsinh Jadeja (Karjan), Shantilal Sanghani (Abdasa), Mohan Solanki (Gadhada), and Jayanti Patel (Morbi)—for the by-elections, to be held on November 03. It then

announced Babubhai Vadtha for the Kaprada seat and Suryakant Gamit for Dang late on Wednesday evening. It is to be noted that both these seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates.

However, senior party leaders in Abdasa and Gadhada constituencies have reached out to Chavda, asking for a change of nominees.

Similarly, in Karjan,

local leaders want Dharmesh Patel to stand for the election, in the place of Kiritsinh Jadeja. They have objected to Jadeja on the grounds that he is an “outsider” since he is originally from Kutch, even though he has been living in Karjan for the past two decades. They have also demanded that the candidate from Karjan must be from the Patel community.

Chavda has asked the disgruntled leaders to offer alternatives keeping in mind the various applicable caste equations, which he said would be passed on to the party’s high command.

Earlier on Wednesday, Congress party sources told First India that candidates for the Dang, Kaprada and Limbdi Assembly seats must be local leaders with influ-

ence on many castes.

“Dang district has a mixed population with tribal communities making up a majority.

There is also a considerable Christian community as well. The locals were unhappy when the former MLA Mangal Gavit resigned to help the BJP. Meanwhile, in Karjan, locals wanted veteran leader Siddharth Patel but he is not willing to contest,”

a source said.

In the same vein, senior leader and regional spokesperson Kailashdan Gadhvi resigned after the party gave Shantilal Sanghani a ticket to contest from Abdasa.

Gadhvi has raised questions on Sanghani’s loyalty to the party, and said, “The party should not nominate a person who in the past was involved in anti-party activities.”

Never the twain shall meet? Minority committee asks Opponents play nice when they bump into each other on the campaign trail First India Bureau Amreli: That there are no permanent friends or foes in politics was made abundantly clear on Wednesday, when local residents witnessed the BJP and Congress candidates for the Dhari seat greeting each other cordially in the market square.

BJP candidate JV Kakadia and his supporters were campaigning in the main market area, as was Congress candidate Suresh Kotadia. When the two came into contact accidentally, they reached out and greeted each other, and even chatted for a few minutes.

This left bystanders pleasantly surprised.

However, several supporters on both sides seemed slightly embarrassed as the two leaders took a break from talking trash

KIRITSINH SAYS PEOPLE WILL PUT FAITH IN HIM

about each other to play nice. At this stage of campaigning, it is more common to have leaders attack each other’s political ideology and development works.

Sometimes, these attacks even get personal.

Commenting about the development Kakadia said, “It was an accidental meeting.

There is nothing wrong in greeting each other.”

Similarly, Kotadia also said, “We are con-

testing against each other. We do not have any personal quarrels.”

Kotadia said he has been selected by the Congress party because of his father’s long political career and his own service to the society. He is confident of winning a seat.

Kakadia said he believed his chances were higher due to the anti-Congress sentiments prevalent in the area.

Kiritsinh Rana, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s eventual choice of the candidate from Limbdi, said he is confident of a win since he has already won the seat four times. The four-time MLA has contested elections from this seat seven times since 1998. His father had also won from this seat twice.

Prez to remove Maha Guv

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The minority coordination committee has written a letter to President Ramnath Kovind seeking the removal of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Solanki Koshiyari on the grounds that the latter has disrespected the Constitution.

The letter, written by Mujahid Nafees, comes in the wake of the ongoing tension between Koshiyari and Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. On Tuesday, the Koshiyari had asked Thackeray if had “suddenly turned ‘secular’” for continuing to keep temples closed.

Nafees in his letter has argued that this shows “massive disrespect to the Constitution. “How can a person at the state’s highest post bot follow what is mentioned in the Constitution?” he asked.

In Koshyari’s letter to Thackeray, the governor had stated: “I wonder if you are receiving any divine premonition to keep postponing the reopening of the places of worship time and again or have you suddenly

turned ‘secular’ yourselves, the term you hated?”

Nafees says that this is a violation of Article 51-A. “The word ‘Secular’ is added in the very Preamble of our Constitu-

tion. That equates and shields all religions and hence the Chair of the Chief Minister must uphold such tenets of the Constitution. Unfortunately Hon. Governor’s letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray invokes the Constitution as if written to the leader of a political party,” said Nafees.

He added that Governor Koshiyari must be removed since he has shown himself to be “unwilling to protect and uphold the values of the Constitution.”

The Chair of the Chief Minister must uphold such tenets of the Constitution.

Unfortunately Hon. Governor’s letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray invokes the Constitution as if written to the leader of a political party.

—Mujahid Nafees, Convenor, Minority Coordination Committee

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

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03

PRISONER CLASH

Extortionist killed in Vadodara Central Jail Sahil Parmar had old scores to settle with Ajju Kaniya, which is why he attacked him with a steel sheet on Tuesday morning First India Bureau Vadodara: A clash between two historysheeters resulted in the death of one of them at Vadodara Central Jail on Tuesday evening. An internal inquiry has been initiated by authorities against Sahil Parmar, the accused, after a complaint was lodged at Raopura police station.

As per reports, Parmar, who is in prison awaiting trial for a murder case, had some issues with another history-sheeter named Ajju Kaniya. An extortionist by profession, Kaniya used to extort money from traders and other people in the Panigate and Char Darwaza area. He also

LIFE STORY

History-sheeter Ajju Kaniya, who was murdered by another inmate.

owned illegally acquired properties in the city.

After all inmates were sent back to their barracks on

Tuesday morning, Parmar broke a steel sheet from the roof

and stabbed Kaniya with it. Other inmates sought help from prison guards when they witnessed the incident, who rushed to the spot immediately. Kaniya was taken to SSG Hospital for medical assistance, where doctors on duty declared him dead on arrival.

When the police had arrested Kaniya back in 2018, they had paraded him around Vadodara city to ease the fear he had instilled among citizens. There were over 31 cases registered against him, and he was detained under the Prevention of Anti- Social Activities Act (PASA) four times. He had even escaped from police custody once but was later

AHMEDABAD DOCTOR GETS RS10 LAKH EXTORTION CALL FROM LOCAL GOON A doctor serving as a consultant at more than three private hospitals received a ransom call from a person who identified himself as Karan Rabari on Tuesday morning. After speaking with the caller, Dr Prakash Patel filed an official police complaint. It states that on Wednesday mornarrested by the crime branch from Mehsana and sent back to prison.

It must be noted that this is the sec-

ing, he received a ransom call from Rabari, who demanded a sum of Rs10 lakh from him. He also accused the doctor of looting people and asked him to cough up the money and make the payment.

When Dr Patel threatened him with a police complaint, Ra-

ond prison murder in the state. Around 15 years ago, an inmate named Gova Rabari had stabbed and killed another pris-

bari warned him that failure to pay the ransom amount would lead to ransacking of the hospital he worked at. The doctor has requested the police’s cybercrime cell to look into the matter and nab the culprit by tracing the call record. A probe has been initiated by Ghatlodia police. oner named Chetan Battery in 2005 at the Sabarmati Jail. Since then, Rabari has been sent to Vadodara Central Jail.

‘Farmers can misuse CCE First FIR for violating nCoV SOP in bypoll run-up data for higher claims’ First India Bureau

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: In its response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding non-disclosure of Crop Cutting Estimates (CEE) data to the public, the state government has expressed its fear of information misuse by farmers. Putting little faith in the agricultural workers of the state, the government came up with an excuse to back up its decision to conceal CEE data for the past three years.

The High Court is hearing a petition which has challenged the state’s resolution. A first division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice JB Pardiwala is hearing the petition filed by the Khedut Ekta Manch. The petitioner’s prayer is that the court must direct the state government to release CCE data and revoke the ban on revelation of relevant information to farmers. At the last hearing, the court had asked the state to sub-

A farmer in his field.

Govt blames fear of info exploitation for its ban on disclosure of farming statistics mit a detailed response regarding the issue.

The state mentioned in its reply, “If the results of CCE are disclosed well in advance, then the claimants would be able to calculate the threshold yield even without a formal declaration. This would be in violation to clause 23.2 of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) that specifically prohibits the declaration of threshold yield before the payment of claims for that season are made by the authorities.

Hence,

—FILE PHOTO

there is a possibility that the farmers may manipulate farming practices to alter production in order to show high losses.”

It further stated, “CCEs conducted by field staff are supervised by the officials of the State Agriculture Department, District Panchayat and Revenue Department as well as CCE representatives of insurance companies.

They are required to remain present at the time of harvesting of CCE and record the yield of the selected plot of the crop.”

Insurance claims are determined on the basis of the average yield of a particular insurance unit; it may be a gram panchayat or taluka.

Gandhinagar: Gadhada police station on Wednesday registered the first FIR for the violation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for COVID-19 in the run up to the byelections on November 03. Gadhada head constable Mahendrasinh Dodiya has lodged a complaint against BJP’s Gadhada committee’s general secretary Deepak Soni for violating public order and the SOP during a party meeting held on October 09. The com-

1,175 cases, 11 fatalities take state tally to 1,55,098 cases, toll to 3,598

Gadhada BJP election office.

plaint, registered under IPC Section 188, said party workers had violated social distancing norms.

In the past 24 hours, the state government

has conducted 50,993 tests, of which 1,175 results came back positive.

There are now 14,959 active cases in the state, with 79 patients are on ventilator support. Elev-

Wary of COVID-19, SMC forms zone-wise teams to monitor societies during Navratri First India Bureau Surat: With the city having witnessed as many as 23,945 cases of COVID-19 so far, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) is making special efforts to curb the rising spread. To this end, it has formed a special team in each zone to keep an eye on residential socie-

ties during Navratri, to ensure that social distancing and other norms are not forgotten amid the revelry.

In addition, the civic body here held meeting with the presidents and secretaries of more than 5,500 residential societies and issued a notice directing them not to hold any public gath-

ering during Navratri.

The novel coronavirus has already caused 691 deaths in the city, so local authorities have appealed to the public to perform aarti and puja within their own homes, especially given the threat posed to children and the elderly. SMC has warned that it will take strict action against violators.

en patients died on Wednesday, of which four were from Ahmedabad, three were from Surat; Gandhinagar, Patan, Rajkot, and Vadodara each account-

ed for one death.

Again, Surat accounted for the highest number of cases, with 252, of which 174 were from the city and 78 were from rural areas. Other cases emerged in Ahmedabad district (182), Vadodara (117), Rajkot (105), Jamnagar (85), Gandhinagar (46), Junagadh (41), Mehsana (37), Amreli (28) and Bhavnagar (20).

Man killed by younger brother in argument over food in Surat First India Bureau Surat: After a heated argument over food, a 32-year-old man was killed by his younger brother at a diamond factory in Katargam area, where they were both employed, on Tuesday night.

According to Katargam police, both the accused Jashubhai Thakor and his elder brother Babubhai Thakor were natives of Mehsana who

used to work as artisans.

The duo would sleep on the factory premises itself after finishing their workday. On Tuesday night, Jashubhai and Babubhai got into an argument about the share of food served while having dinner. The accused allegedly attacked his elder brother with a diamond grinding bowl and another sharp weapon.

The victim was said to have died on the spot post the attack.

Sustenance from ashes: How the Dhuldhoyas earn their keep FIRST INDIA PHOTOJOURNALIST HANIF SINDHI CAPTURED THE STRUGGLES OF A COMMUNITY THROUGH HIS LENS

M

embers of the Dhuldhoya community have taken to picking out gold, silver ornaments, teeth fillings and metal rods from ashes of dead bodies cremated at crematoriums across Ahmedabad, for their livelihood. After the Manek Chowk market, known for the sale of gold and silver jewellery, was shut down by authorities for fear of COVID-19 transmission, the earnings of this community was severely affected.

Formerly, they used to strain the dirt outside such shops and make their living by selling the traces of gold or silver they found in there. Now, these people pull in Rs3,000-Rs5,000 daily by selling the things they find in the ash of human remains in the nearby market. They can be spotted hauling sacks of ash and washing it in the Sabarmati River near the Vasna barrage in Ahmedabad on a daily basis.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

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04

RECENT AGRICULTURAL REFORMS

PROMISES AND PITFALLS MAHENDRA SINGH THE AUTHOR IS A RETIRED INDIAN REVENUE SERVICE OFFICER, AN AVID TRAVELLER, AND A PHOTOGRAPHER

I

The duplication of the overall improvement in the economic well being of urban India has remained long overdue for rural Bharat, which the economic liberalisation had mostly bypassed.

Today, almost 60 percent of our total workforce is engaged in agriculture and allied activities, but contribute a mere 23 percent to the GDP. Farmer suicides caused by indebtedness and crop failure are just the visible tip of the iceberg.

Acute distress in rural areas needs no emphasis.

Green Revolution ushered in the mid-1960s did help the country to achieve food security but has by now run its course

f a Walmart or a Reliance Fresh were to formulate the laws governing the procurement and marketing of agricultural products, they would have come up with a commercial environment quite like the one legislated by the Government recently.

That, by itself, is not a terrible thing, I must hasten to add. The IMF, backed by powerful western governments allegedly dictated the economic reforms of 1991. The result, almost three decades down the line, has been the unleashing of the domestic entrepreneurship coupled with a substantial inflow of foreign direct investment that sent the national GDP, in terms of purchasing power parity, soaring from one trillion dollars in 1991 to 12 trillion today. Those impressive numbers, however, hide more than they reveal. The growth was grossly unequal - the top one percent enjoyed a larger quantum of income growth than the bottom 50 percent put together. Fiftyseven billionaires in India between themselves controlled more than 70 percent of the private national wealth in 2017. The middleclass numbers doubled over the last three decades, while the population struggling below the poverty line was halved between 1990 and 2019. It was a mixed bag of outcomes for the ‘1991 moment’ but mostly positive, especially for the workers engaged in the industrial and service sectors.

The duplication of the overall improvement in the economic well being of urban India has remained long overdue for rural Bharat, which the economic liberalisation had mostly bypassed.

Today, almost 60 percent of our total workforce is engaged in agriculture and allied activities, but contribute a mere 23 percent to the GDP. Farmer suicides caused by indebtedness and crop failure are just the visible tip of the iceberg. Acute distress in rural areas needs no emphasis. Green Revolution ushered in the mid-1960s did help the country to achieve food security, but has by now run its course. The incremental improvement in productivity is marginal despite a quantum leap in the use of fertilisers and pesticides.

Letting the status quo remain as it is, was no longer an option. In that context, the Government brought in the three enactments to reinvigorate the agricultural sector of the economy. These reforms, very briefly, envisage the opening of the market beyond the existing APMC mandis that had a monopoly over transactions in farm produce across most of the country. The farmers can now directly sell their products to any buyer at a mutually agreed price with no fees leviable on transactions outside of the mandis.

The enactments seek to improve ease of doing business by enabling contract farming agreements to pre-fix the procurement price payable

for farm goods at the time of the harvest. Disputes are to be resolved at the local level by a committee headed by the Sub Divisional Magistrate and appeal lies with a similar committee under the District Collector. No party to these disputes is permitted to approach the civil courts. Finally, limits on holding stocks of farm produce imposed by the Essential Commodities Act stand removed, except under certain exceptional circumstances specified.

The FCI with other state agencies runs the food grains procurement system through the APMC mandis wherein fees are charged by the state government and commission by middlemen called arhatiyas. For instance, Punjab charges 6 percent fees while the arhatiya commission is 2.5 percent of the transaction value. If transactions in farm products are permitted outside the mandis and with no fees, as mandated by the new statutes, the mandis are likely to be outcompeted and wither away. No mandis may mean no procurement at MSP. In any case, market-determined free pricing of agricultural products being attempted by the reforms is, in principle, incompatible with the concept of a predetermined MSP. Apprehensions over the gradual dismantling of the Minimum Support Price or MSP on food grains has formed the core grievance in the protests against the recent enactments.

Procurement at MSP is mostly restricted to wheat and rice, covers only 35 to 40 percent of the total production of those crops and the bulk of it takes place in a few states like Punjab and Haryana. Punjab Government, commission agents at the mandis, and big farmers who are also the bulk suppliers have the most to lose. No wonder they are at the forefront of the protests against the reform acts. The Central Government has given assurance that MSP would con-

tinue, and yet has made no statutory provision for the same. WTO is against subsidies that distort free trade.

However, if a part of the globally accepted practice is to statutorily fix the minimum wages, then why not an MSP as a welfare measure for the farmers?

Potentially, these reforms could open up the market for agricultural products and bring in private sector investment into this cash-starved segment of the economy, introduce advanced technologies, and improve rural infrastructure, including warehousing and supply chains to ensure efficient movement of farm goods from the field to the table. The reforms envisage a mechanism for price discovery through a pan India e-platform. The supporters project enhanced farm productivity and better price realisation by the farmers.

Unfortunately, in a charged atmosphere and a highly polarised political discourse, it becomes difficult to analyse the potential benefits and pitfalls of these reforms objectively. Shorn of all the sound and fury, the experience of the 1991 economic liberalisation is that though not perfect, free-market remains the most efficient allocator of resources. However, the crucial principle that could make or break the agricultural sector, consequent to these reforms, is that a free market requires a level playing field among the participants to produce a fair outcome.

Eighty-two percent of the farm holdings in India are small, with the average landholding being less than two hectares. The typical marginal farmers are illiterate, short of funds, and farm yields just adequate to keep their body and soul together.

They are in no position to operate on a level playing field when they deal with a multinational or a powerful domestic corporate with deep pockets. They will invariably need support to negotiate a contract that is fair to both

The incremental improvement in productivity is marginal despite a quantum leap in the use of fertilisers and pesticides. Letting the status quo remain as it is, was no longer an option. In that context, the Government brought in the three enactments to reinvigorate the agricultural sector of the economy. These reforms, very briefly, envisage the opening of the market beyond the existing APMC mandis that had a monopoly over transactions in farm produce across most of the country

parties. For the possible shape of such a supportive ecosystem, an enabling structure from our experience over the last few decades comes to mind. In the stock market, the small individual investor has to often deal with giant corporates, both while subscribing to a fresh issue of equity or trading in them subsequently.

The level playing field is ensured by a robust market regulator, SEBI, operating through well-defined rules and regulations and closely monitoring the transactions.

The disparity between the low economic clout of the retail investors and the high net worth corporates stands largely neutralised on the transparent online trading platform. There are even instruments that permit ill-informed and vulnerable individual investors to pool their resources through mutual

funds or portfolio management services. Paid specialists representing their joint interests enable the individual investors to negotiate from a position of strength in an otherwise free market.

The cooperative movement in milk procurement and value addition to it has given a better collective bargaining power to individual farmers to get a reasonable return on their milk supply.

For agriculturists, besides improvement in the productivity of their farm, the lot of the farmers will improve if they can get a better share of the consumer price for the products they supply to the market. In India, the current price realisation by the farmers varies from 10 to 23 percent of the ultimate consumer price depending on the specific product. The comparable share of the farmers in the developed economies typically fluctuates between 64 to 81 per cent of the consumer price.

The Green Revolution in India, in hindsight, is emerging to be an ecological disaster. Focus on a few highyielding varieties of crops has resulted in the gradual loss of genetic diversity represented by the large number of native variants that had evolved and were suited to our local environment.

Multi-cropping and scientifically desirable crop rotation have been ignored for a while now with the market-driven choice of crops. Farmers continuously pump up groundwater using tubewell in Punjab, Haryana, and Western UP to cultivate water-guzzling paddy and sugarcane. That is causing the groundwater table to recede by almost a foot per year. We may have to categorise groundwater as a non-renewable resource soon. Besides air pollution caused by stubble burning, soil, and water degradation on account of accumulated fertiliser and pesticide residues as pollutants are reaching alarming levels.

Corporates, by definition, are structured for the sole purpose of profit. Managers will not adopt mitigation measures to ensure environmental health as such measures add to the cost and depress the potential profits for the shareholders to whom they report. In the industrial sector, appropriate environmental controls are exercised by civil society through the Government. The agricultural fields are no different. Rules on cropping patterns based on the soil condition and water availability need to be evolved and mandated. We need to ensure that our pursuit of immediate financial gains does not irretrievably compromise the future of our food security and the long term viability of the rural economy.

Both the generation and capture of contemporaneous agricultural data and appropriate policy formulation and implementation will be necessary as an obligation to our future generations.

Will the Government rise to the occasion? The recent experience is not too promising. Agricultural reforms of this magnitude required careful consideration. Yet, the Government chose to introduce these reforms in the middle of a pandemic, through the ordinance route.

Even when the bills came up in Parliament, the Government ignored the demand made by the opposition for deliberations in a select committee, and the bills passed through a dubious voice vote. But, neither has the opposition come up with any reasonable alternatives or safeguards to restructure this moribund sector. Perhaps, Plato was right in his critique of democracy as a government-run by professional politicians. They are primarily interested in their own electoral success but often speak of the public good, because it serves their interests to do so.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Vol 1 Issue No. 320 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.

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

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INDIA AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

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BIHAR POLLS

PM MODI LIKELY TO ADDRESS FIRST ELECTION RALLY IN BIHAR ON OCT 22

05

DEENDAYAL ANTYODAYA YOJANA

Cabinet approves Rs 520 cr package for J&K, Ladakh

PM is the biggest star campaigner for the party & BJP hopes to encash his popularity among the masses

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s time on October 22 to address four rallies in support of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates in poll-bound Bihar.

The rallies proposed to the Prime Minister are scheduled to be held in Buxar, Jehanabad, Rohtas and Bhagalpur for the NDA candidates, according to sources in the party.

Once the clearance from the PMO comes, the party would ensure proper logistics at these venues along with the facilities for crowd management and also for the other leaders who are likely to be present in these rallies.

PM Modi is the biggest star campaigner for the party, and BJP hopes to encash his popularity among the masses in garnering votes for the alliance.

Amid COVID-19 pandemic phase, the rallies ahead of the Assembly elections would be conducted with standard operating procedure (SOP) and guidelines for safety.

It is due to PM Modi’s popularity that BJP had to clarify and amplify

Tejashwi Yadav files papers from Raghopur constituency

PM is likely to hold rallies in Buxar, Jehanabad, Rohtas, Bhagalpur.

PM TO RELEASE COMMEMORATIVE COIN OF `75 ON FAO’S 75TH ANNIV New Delhi: On the occasion of 75th Anniversary of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on October 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination to mark the long-standing relation of India with FAO. The Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation 17 recently developed biofortified varieties of eight crops, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press statement. The event marks the highest priority accorded by the government to agriculture and nutrition, and is a testament of the resolve to completely eliminate hunger, undernourishment and malnutrition.

Buxar, Jehanabad, Rohtas and Bhagalpur that the LJP, which is still its ally at the Centre but severed relation with NDA in the state because of JDU, will not be able to use his photographs in banners and hoarding.

As LJP Chief Chirag Paswan continued heaping praises on the PM,

BJP leaders like Bhupendra Yadav reiterated that the LJP cannot cash in on Modi’s popularity as it is not fighting in alliance.

Bihar with 243 Assembly seats will go to polls in 3 phases: October 28, November 3 and 7. The counting of votes will take place on November 10. —ANI

Vaishali: Soon after filing nomination from Raghopur constituency to contest the upcoming Bihar polls, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said that he will share the manifesto in the next two days.

Tejashwi filed his nomination for the Raghopur seat of Vaishali district, where he is pitted against BJP’s Satish Yadav, who was a former MLA. “I have filed the nomination

‘NCP WILL CONTEST POLLS ALONE, NOT IN MAHAGATHBANDHAN’

Samastipur: RJD president Lalu Prasad’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav filed his nomination from the Hasanpur assembly constituency in the Samastipur district which goes to polls in the second phase on November 3. He was accompanied by his younger brother and Grand Alliance chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav. The two brothers reached Samastipur from Patna in a helicopter to submit Tej Pratap’s nomination papers. —ANI

Mumbai: NCP senior leader Praful Patel said that party is not a part of Bihar Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan).He said that NCP wanted to be a part of the alliance but they were not given space. “NCP isn’t a part of Bihar Mahagathbandhan.

We wanted to, but we weren’t given space, so we’ll contest alone.

We’ve not had any discussion with Shiv Sena. Party workers demanded that we contest on our own, so we’ll fight the election alone.”—ANI

SC notice to Punjab Coal scam cases: Govt over bail to Ex- Sentencing of Dilip DGP Sumedh Saini Ray on October 26

Posting the matter for further hearing after four weeks, the Bench asked the Punjab government not to proceed in the case for the time being.

Saini has challenged the Punjab and Haryana HC’s September 7 order, dismissing his anticipatory bail plea in the case. —ANI

UP GOVT MAKING WOMEN’S HELPLINE INEFFECTIVE: AKHILESH Lucknow: Accusing the Uttar Pradesh Government of making the women’s helpline ineffective, former CM and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said that the BJP is hurting the interests of the people over political rivalry. Yadav, in a tweet, said, “The ineffective BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is avoiding

crimes against women by claiming that they are incidents between relatives and due to personal animosity and not done by criminals. Successful at the time of SP, the BJP government is making the 1090 and UP 100 ineffective and hurting the interest of the people over political rivalry,” accused Akhilesh Yadav.

New Delhi: Aspecial CBI court in Delhi reserved its order on the sentencing of former union minister Dilip Ray and others in a coal scam case pertaining to the alleged irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand coal block in 1999.

Special Judge Bharat Parashar, who is hearing the coal scam cases, reserved his order on the quantum of sentence for October 26 after concluding the arguments. The lawyers representing the convicts argued for less punishment and cited

festo in next two days.

We will share blueprint document after discussing it with the left parties and Congress,” he said. —ANI

TEJ PRATAP FILES NOMINATION FROM HASANPUR SEAT

IN THE COURTYARD

New Delhi: SC issued a notice to Punjab government, seeking its response on the anticipatory bail plea of former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in a case related to the alleged abduction and murder of a junior engineer, Balwant Singh Multani, in 1991.

Apart from the Punjab government, a Bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, also sought a response from Multani’s brother who had lodged a complaint of custodial torture against Saini and six other officers earlier this year.

from Raghopur. The people have blessed us. They will elect us.

The people of Bihar are missing Laluji. I will share the mani-

various grounds of health, age and family responsibilities. They also submitted that convicts have no previous criminal background.

Whereas, counsel of CBI submitted that convicts should be awarded maximum punishments.

TRP CASE: 2 TOP REPUBLIC TV EDITORS SUMMONED BY COPS Mumbai: Two top editors of Republic TV, which has been accused of rigging viewership ratings, have been summoned by Mumbai Police as part of its probe into alleged manipulation of ratings by three channels. The channel has called latest summons a “desperate witch-hunt”. Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy & Senior Executive Editor Abhishek Kapoor were summoned

by Mumbai Police. The probe into fake ratings case is based on a complaint by Hansa, a private company involved in assessing viewership.

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a special package worth Rs 520 crore for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission.

Addressing a press conference here, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that Rs 10.58 lakh women will get benefit from the special package Rs 520 crore in the next five years. “The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission is very popular throughout the country. But for technical reasons in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, very few women were identified and were eligible,” he said.

“So, now the criteria has been changed for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and twothirds of the rural population has been covered. Rs 10.58 lakh wom-

BJP’s Rane digs up Raut’s old ‘Hindu Rashtra’ remark Mumbai: BJP leader Nitesh Rane asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to “sort out your own house” amid the latter’s ongoing tiff with Maharashtra Governor over reopening of temples in the State.

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had earlier written to Thackeray expressing concerns over the delay in reopening of temples.

Koshyari had questioned whether the Shiv Sena leader had “turned secular”, a jibe which had been not well received by Thackeray.

Responding to this, Thackeray had said that the delay in reopening of places of worship is being done due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and had added, “As imposing lockdown

Nitesh Rane dug out an old remark by Sanjay Raut, wherein he had said India should be declared a “Hindu Rashtra”.

all of a sudden was not right, revoking it completely at once will also be not a good thing. And yes, I am someone who follows Hindutva, my Hindutva doesn’t need verification from you.”

Meanwhile, the BJP leader Nitesh Rane dug out an old statement from Sena leader Sanjay Raut, in which he had demanded India should be declared a

CHINMAYANAND CASE: LAW STUDENT TURNS HOSTILE IN COURT Lucknow/ New Delhi: A 23-year-old law student, who had last year accused former BJP MP Chinmayanand of rape, turned hostile at a hearing in a special court in Lucknow on Tuesday. Chinmayanand, 72, was arrested last year in the rape case, and he was granted bail in February. As she appeared before the judge of

the special court - set up on the directions of the Allahabad High Court the student refused to accept any of the allegations that she had made earlier.

After she turned hostile, the prosecution made an appeal to file a case under Section 340 of CrPc (false claim and false prosecution in a case) against the student.

“Hindu Rashtra”.

“Don’t u want to reply to this too .. Mr CM ? Or it’s just pure politics as usual ? Sort out ur own house first before blaming others!!!”

Rane’s tweet, which had an image of Raut’s statement embedded, read. BJP had carried out demonstrations across the state demanding reopening of temples, —ANI

STARS PROGRAMME UNDER NEP New Delhi: Addressing a press conference, I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar said; “India has started implementing the New Education Policy. The base is learning with understanding and learning outcome is important. There should be an improvement in learning. Therefore, a new programme called Strengthening Teaching Learning and Results for States (STARS) project was cleared

by Cabinet today.” en will get benefit from the special package of Rs 520 crores in the next five years,” he added.

Javadekar said that there are 66 lakh selfhelp groups & seven cr women are their members in India. —ANI

2 terrorists killed in Shopian encounter Shopian: Two unidentified terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, a police official said.

Security forces launched a cordon-andsearch operation in the Chakura area of Shopian district following information about the presence of terrorists there, he said.He said the search operation turned into an encounter after terrorists opened fire at security forces’ positions.

He said the two terrorists have been killed in the operation. The identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists were being ascertained. —PTI

RAMDEV, MID-YOGA, FALLS OFF ELEPHANT, IS NOT INJURED New Delhi: After a video showing Yoga expert Ramdev falling off an elephant while performing yoga went viral on social media, his spokesperson said the yoga guru is fine and there is nothing to worry about. “I want to inform crores of followers of Ramdev that Swamiji is fine. The elephant incident was an amusing one.

Do not worry. He has done four hours of live yoga yesterday and today,” tweeted Tijarawala SK, Ramdev’s spokesperson. The yoga guru fell off the elephant as the animal lost balance.

INDIA AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

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RAHUL GANDHI ON IMF PROJECTIONS

‘Achievements of BJP, hate filled cultural nationalism’ New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a dig at the government over IMF growth projections showing Bangladesh closing in on India in terms of per capita GDP this year and described it as a ‘solid achievement’ of six years of BJP’s ‘hate-filled cultural nationalism’.

Gandhi also shared a graph citing its source as the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook report which showed Bangladesh closing in

Rahul Gandhi

on India and almost catching up with it in terms of per capita GDP this year.

‘Solid achievement of 6 years of BJP’s hate-

filled cultural nationalism: Bangladesh set to overtake India,’ Gandhi said in a sarcastic tweet accompanied by clapping emojis.

The IMF said on Tuesday that the Indian economy, severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is projected to contract by a massive 10.3 per cent this year.

However, India is likely to bounce back with an impressive 8.8 per cent growth rate in 2021, thus regaining the position of the fastest growing emerging economy, surpassing China’s projected growth rate of 8.2 per cent, the IMF said in its latest ‘World Economic Outlook’ report. —PTI

Rudram to detect, attack enemy radar

Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi-30 aircraft armed with the ‘Rudram’ —ANI Photo Anti-Radiation Missile.

radiation missile launched from an aircraft, it will be able to detect any emitting elements, you can lock on to emitting element and it will be able to go on to act on them,” said DRDO chairman. On Nirbhay Missile, Chief said that it has completed all development trial. It is subsonic cruise missile with ranges of around 1,000 km. —ANI

New Delhi: Rudram -1 anti-radiation missile launched from a fighter aircraft would require a few more tests to be completely proven, will provide IAF with capability to strike enemy radars including surveillance, air defence systems, said DRDO chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy on Wednesday.

“Rudram-I is anti-

AFTER 7 MTHS, CINEMA HALLS TO REOPEN WITH 50 PER CENT CAPACITY FROM TODAY

New Delhi: After 7 months of shut down, cinema halls will reopen on today with 50% capacity and one-seat distance between the viewers, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar. ”In single-screen theatres, ticket counters will be opened. However, we encourage online booking

METRO TO RUN, LIBRARIES OPEN IN MAHA FROM TODAY

for contact-less transactions. Proper ventilation has to be ensured, AC temp should be above 23 degree,” he said. —PTI

Govt to import 1lakh MT of medical oxygen for winters New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry has initiated the process of importing liquid oxygen as part of its preparedness to meet any unforeseen shortage during the winters when the country may witness an increase in COVID-19 cases leading to a rise in demand for oxygen.

HLL Lifecare Limited, a public sector undertaking, has floated a

global tender on Wednesday on behalf of the Health Ministry for procuring one lakh metric tonne of liquid oxygen.

The oxygen is being procured for various central and state government hospitals. The entire exercise of importing and then distributing the medical oxygen is estimated to cost Rs 600-700 crore, official sources said. —PTI

Maharashtra govt on Wednesday decided to allow metro trains in Mumbai to operate from today in a phased manner under its mission ‘begin again’. Government allowed reopening of libraries too from Oct 15 as per guidelines.

PLEA TO STOP PUJA FESTIVAL IN WEST BENGAL Plea filed before Calcutta High Court demanding to stop Durga Puja celebrations, to be taken up this week.

Plea mentions that pandemic is same as earlier. Onam in Kerala, Ganesh Puja & Muharram too were not allowed in Maharashtra. —ANI

CBI again summons father, Hathras gang-rape victim’s brothers.

Hathras: The CBI, which is investigating the Hathras incident has re-summoned the father and the two brothers of the victim for questioning on Wednesday.

“The male members of the victim family will be questioned today in Hathras, they will go to a temporary office set up by the CBI in Hathras. Female members will be questioned at home by CBI officials. We are ensuring that they will not be troubled during the process,” SDM Anjali

Gangwar said. The family members of the victim demanded that the accused should be transferred to another jail from Aligarh.

“The CBI took away the slippers, ashes, and other things of the victim. We demand that the accused should be sent to another jail from Aligarh. They are not afraid. They are living there like they are staying at their home,” said sister-inlaw of the victim. “We are co-operating with CBI,” the victim’s brother said. —ANI

—PHOTO BY PTI

“20 states and UTs have a positivity rate less than the national average. The cumulative positivity rate is 8.04 per cent and is on a continuous decline,” it highlighted.

Fresh PIL in SC seeking action against police, officials, others New Delhi: A fresh PIL has been filed in the SC seeking action against police officials, hospital staff, medical officers and other government officials for their alleged role in destruction of evidence and shielding of the accused in the Hathras case.

The PIL filed by a social activist Chetan Janardhan Kamble said a case should be registered for penal offences as well as offences under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Act against the officials concerned.

Petition also said that government hospital where victim was taken in Aligarh did’nt collect requisite swabs. —ANI

Two lawyers file petition in SC seeking removal of Andhra CM New Delhi: A PIL was moved in SC on Wednesday seeking removal of AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy for his “scandalising” remarks against second senior-most judge of top court.

PIL, filed jointly by 2 advocates, GS Mani & Pradeep K Yadav; contented that Jagan Mo-

NTPC CMD, GURDEEP SINGH GETS EXTENSION TILL JULY 2025

TWO IAS OFFICERS GET NEW ASSIGNMENTS IN WEST BENGAL

NOT ALL STATES ARE REOPENING SCHOOLS TODAY New Delhi: Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, AP, WB, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala are some states that are not opening schools now.

Punjab has decided to reopen schools today in a graded manner, in Gurgaon govt schools will resume for 3 hours.

There is no correlation between reopening schools & covid.

POWER Gallery The tenure of Gurdeep Singh as Chairman-cumManaging Director, NTPC Limited has been extended from February 4, 2021 to July 31, 2025.

India’s Covid-19 testing CBI re-summons father, record crosses 9 cr-mark brothers of Hathras victim New Delhi: The total number of tests for detection of COVID-19 has crossed nine-crore in India, while the cumulative positivity rate is 8.04 per cent and is on a “continuous decline”, Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Very high countrywide testing on a sustained basis has also resulted in bringing down the national Covid-19 positivity rate, the ministry underlined.

han Reddy is facing more than 20 criminal cases including money

laundering and corruption. He should be removed as the CM as in public & media, he had levelled allegations against Justice NV Ramana, senior judge of apex court. It also sought a detailed judicial enquiry, by constituting CBI, on vague allegation made.—ANI

Ajit Ranjan Bardhan has been appointed as Additional Chief Secretary, Labour Department with additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary, North Bengal Development Department and Commissioner Jalpaiguri Division and Sayeed Ahmed Baba was posted as Commissioner Malda Division in West Bengal.

KALYAN REVELLA APPOINTED AS DEPUTY SECRETARY, CGPDTM, MUMBAI

Kalyan Revella has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM), Mumbai. He is a 2010 batch IRS-C&CE officer.

VICE ADMIRALS A B SINGH & VICE ADMIRAL SATISH NAMDEV GHORMADE, AVSM, VM LIKELY TO GET COMMAND POSTINGS

If sources are to be believed, after the superannuation of two Vice Admirals chances are that Vice Admiral A B Singh and Vice Admiral Satish Namdev Ghormade, AVSM, VM likely to be probable incumbents.

WADEKAR GETS ADDITIONAL CHARGE OF SPECIAL DIRECTOR ED KOLKATA

Vivek Wadekar, Special Director (CR) has been given additional charge of ED in Kolkata. He is an IRS officer.

THREE HCS WITHOUT REGULAR CJS; TWO MORE CJS TO RETIRE

While three HCs in the country are functioning under acting CJs, the SC Collegium – which recommends the names of candidates for appointment as HC Judges – has its work cut out with two more HC CJs set to retire this year. The HCs of Gauhati, MP and Uttarakhand are functioning under officiating CJs NK Singh, Sanjay Yadav and RV Malimath. Presently, the Centre is awaiting recommendations from the Collegium for appointments of chief justices in these courts. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladhak HC CJ Gita Mittal and Madras HC CJ Ameshwar Pratap Sahi are set to retire in December. Judicial appointments are considered to be the joint responsibility of the executive and the judiciary requiring consultation from various constitutional authorities.

PRASANAJIT SINGH TO BE ADDITIONAL SECRETARY, LOK SABHA?

In all probability, Prasanjit Singh will be promoted to the rank of Additional Secretary in the Lok Sabha Secretariat. He is an IRS (IT) officer.

MS. SUNITA SANGHI PROMOTED AS PRINCIPAL ADVISER, SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Ms. Sunita Sanghi has been appointed as Principal Advisor, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship after promotion to Apex Scale.

VIVEK KUMAR DAKSH RETURNS TO PARENT CADRE

Vivek Kumar Daksh, Assistant Director General, Unique Identification Authority of India, has been given premature repatriation to his parent cadre in order to avail the benefit of promotion.

LT GEN MENON TAKES CHARGE

Lt Gen P G K Menon has taken over command of Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps of the Indian Army on Tuesday. Manoj Kumar Bharti appointed Ambassador to Indonesia.

By arrangement with: http:// whispersinthecorridors.com

FROM PG 1 ‘Common man’s...

The Centre has already said that it would waive the compound interest on loans, which is expected to bring relief not only to individual borrowers but also banks.

The government’s counsel said it was a “huge burden” but added that they are not “mentioning the figure”.

In March, the Reserve Bank of India had granted a three-month moratorium on loans due to the Covid pandemic. It was later extended till August 31. In September, the Supreme Court, in response to petitions, asked the government to chart out a course to help borrowers. A waiv-

er of interest for the sixmonth moratorium period was also sought by a bunch of petitions.

The government was expected to spell out the way ahead on an extension of moratorium, waiving of interest, sector-wise relief and its decision on the recommendations of Mehrishi Committee, which was asked to gauge the impact of interest waiver during the Covid-linked moratorium.

But the government sought more time, saying the outer limit for bringing relief to borrowers is November 15.

“When you have taken a decision why it is delayed for one month?”

the court responded.

“Our view is one month is not required to implement the decision… The delay is not in the interests of common man… It is a welcome decision to give relief for small people.

But some concrete results needed,” said the bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah.

The Reserve Bank has said that it is not possible to extend moratorium period as it would affect the banking sector and the economy.

The government has told the court it would waive the compound interest on loans up to Rs 2

crore under a COVID-19 support plan.

It, however, asked the court not to permit any further judicial review saying it would not be possible to supplement the existing relief packages.

3-fold... pending allowing the investigation by the CBI to be conducted under the supervision of this court in a time bound manner,” the UP government said.

The bench of Chief Justice of India S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, hearing a writ petition seeking a CBI probe or a court-ap-

06

pointed Special Investigation Team, had said it wanted to hear from the parties on the scope of the proceedings in the matter already before the Allahabad High Court and “how we can make them more relevant”. The matter has now been transferred to the CBI, which has already started its probe.

In a compliance affidavit filed in the top court, the Yogi Adityanath-led government said “in order to ensure the security of victim’s family/witnesses, threefold protection mechanism has been devised” — armed constabulary component, civil police component comprising

of guard, gunners and shadows and installation of CCTV cameras and lights.

It said up to 15 personnel of armed constabulary have been deployed near and outside the victim’s house and eight CCTV cameras have been installed in the outer surrounding of her residence. It further said adequate forces have been deployed to ensure the safety of the victim’s parents, two brothers, one sister-inlaw and her grandmother in Hathras.

State takes...

Also, people responsible for packaging the Prasad have to ensure that

their hands are sanitized. If there is someone given charge of handing out prasad to devotees, he/she must do so while wearing gloves.

Notably, this new decision comes after VHP General Secretary Ashok Raval wrote a letter to the Additional Secretary (Home) and Secretary (Home) of the state. Raval’s argument underlined the fact that the state had allowed hotels and restaurants to function, where food is served and even food packs/parcels are sent out. He had then questioned the logic behind the ban on prasad distribution.

Mulayam Singh tests +ve for Covid Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mulayam Singh Yadav has tested positive for COVID-19.

The 80-year-old leader does not have any symptoms at present, the party said. “Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav’s COVID-19 test has returned positive. He is under the care of doctors. At present, he does not have any symptoms,” Samajwadi Party said in a tweet. The minister and his wife has been admitted to Medanta hospital in Gurgaon. —ANI

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

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07

DAIRY HAS THE BIGGEST ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT, BY FAR AND WE COMPARED DAIRY, NUT, SOY, HEMP AND GRAIN MILKS

M

aking ecoconscious choices at the shops can be tricky when we’re presented with so many options, especially when it comes to milk. Should we buy plant-based milk, or dairy? We’ve looked at the evidence to help you choose.

Any plant-based milk, be it made from beans, nuts or seeds, has a lighter impact than dairy when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the use of water and land. All available studies, including systematic reviews, categorically point this out.

A 2018 study estimates dairy to be around three times more greenhouse gas emission-intensive than plant-based milks.

In the case of cow’s milk, its global warming potential — measured as kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent per litre of milk — varies between 1.14 in Australia and New Zealand to 2.50 in Africa. Compare this to the global warming

MILKS FROM GRAINS

potential of plantbased milks, which, on average, is just 0.42 for almond and coconut milk and 0.75 for soy milk.

What’s more, dairy generally requires nine times more land than any of the plantbased alternatives.

Every litre of cow’s milk uses 8.9 square metres per year, compared to 0.8 for oat, 0.7 for soy, 0.5 for almond and 0.3 for rice milk.

Water use is similarly higher for cow’s milk: 628 litres of water for every litre of dairy, compared to 371 for almond, 270 for rice, 48 for oat and 28 for soy milk.

W

e can produce plant-based milk from almost any grains, but rice and oat are proving popular. However, they require more land compared with nut milks.

❍ RICE

R

ice milk has a big water footprint.

More notably, it’s associated with higher greenhouse gas emissions compared to the other plant-based options because methane-producing bacteria develop in the rice paddies.

In some cases, rice milk may contain un❍ OAT

O

Milks from nuts Milk can be made from almost any nuts, but almond, hazelnut and coconut are proving popular. Not only do nut milks generally require smaller land areas, the trees they grow on absorb carbon and, at the end of their life, produce useful woody biomass.

Still, there are vast differences in the geographical conditions where various nut trees are grown.

acceptable levels of arsenic. And applying fertilisers to boost yields can pollute nearby waterways.

Which ‘MILK’ is best for the

at milk has been becoming increasingly popular around the world because of its overall environmental benefits.

But similar to soy, the bulk of oat production is used for livestock feed and any reduction in the demand for animal-based foods would decrease the pressure on this plant.

Currently grown in Canada and the US, most oat operations are large-scale monoculture, which means

it’s the only type of crop grown in a large area. This practice depletes the soil’s fertility, limits the diversity of insects and increases the risk of diseases and pest infection.

Oats are also typically grown with glyphosate-based pesticides, which tarnishes its environmental credentials because it can cause glyphosateresistant plant, animal and insect pathogens to proliferate.

ENVIRONMENT?

COCONUT

ALMOND

enerally, the enviG ronmental performance of coconut milk

alifornia is the C largest producer of almond milk in the

is good – coconut trees use small amounts of water and absorb carbon dioxide.

Yet as coconuts are grown only in tropical areas, the industrial production of this milk can destroy wildlife habitat. Increasing global demand for coconut milk is likely

to put further pressure on the environment and

HAZELNUT

wildlife, and deepen these conflicts.

SOY oy milk has a very S good environmental performance in

azelnut is a better H option for the environment as the trees

are cross-pollinated by wind which carries airborne dry pollen between neighbouring plants, not bees.

Hazelnuts also grow in areas with higher rainfall around the Black Sea, Southern Europe and in North

America, demanding much less water than almond trees.

Hazelnut milk is already commercially available and although its demand and production are rising, the cultivation of the bush trees is not yet subjected to intensive large-scale operations.

terms of water, global warming potential and land-use.

The US and Brazil are the biggest suppliers of soybeans, and the plant is very versatile when it comes to its commercial uses, with a large share of the beans used as livestock feed.

However, a major environmental concern is the need to clear and convert large swathes of native vegetation to grow soybeans. An overall reduction in the demand for meat and animal-based foods could potentially decrease the need to produce large amounts of soybeans for animal feed, but we’re yet to witness such changes.

world, followed by Australia.

Compared to other plant-based milk options, its water use is much higher and largely depends on freshwater irrigation.

One kernel of California almond requires 12 litres of water, which raises questions about the industrial production of these nuts in water-scarce areas.

However the biggest environmental concern with almond production in the US is the

HEMP high mortality of bees, used for tree cross-pollination. This might be because the bees are exposed to pesticides, including glyphosate, and the intensive industrial agriculture which drastically transforms nature’s fragile ecosystems.

In Australia, where almond orchards are smaller-scale and less industrialised, beekeepers do not experience such problems.

Still, millions of bees are needed, and fires, drought, floods, smoke and heat damage can threaten their health.

environmental Tmilkhebenefits of hemp make it a game-

changer.

Its seeds are processed for oil and milk, but the plant itself is very versatile — all its parts can be used as construction material, textile fibres, pulp and paper or hemp-based plastics.

Its roots grow deep, which improves the soil structure and reduces the presence of fungi.

It’s also resistant to diseases, and it produces a lot of shade, which

supresses the growth of weeds. This, in turn, cuts down the need for herbicides and pesticides.

Hemp requires more water than soy, but less

than almond and dairy.

Despite being one of the oldest crops used, particularly in Europe, hemp is produced in very low quantities.

MILKS FROM LEGUMES oy milk has been used S for millennia in China and has already an established

presence in the West, but the hemp alternative is relatively new.

All legumes are nitrogen fixing. This means the bacteria in plant tissue produce nitrogen, which improves soil fertility and reduces the need for fertilisers. Legumes are also water-efficient, particularly when compared with almonds and dairy.

Finally, time to diversify your choices Organic versions of all these plant-based milks are better for the environment because they use, for example, fewer chemical fertilisers, they’re free from pesticides and herbicides, and they put less pressure on the soils. Any additives, be it for-

tifiers, such as calcium or vitamins, flavours or additional ingredients, such as sugar, coffee or chocolate, should be taken into account separately.

Packaging is also very important to consider. Packaging contributes 45% of the global warming potential of California’s almond milk.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION CONCEPT: MONI SHARMA DESIGN: SHYAM SHONKIYA

And it’s worth keeping in mind that wasting milk has a much bigger environmental footprint, and questions the ethics of how humans exploit the animal world.

If, as a consumer you are trying to reduce the environmental footprint of the milk you drink, the first message is you should avoid dairy and

replace it with plant-based options.

The second message is it’s better to diversify the plantbased milks we use. Shifting to only one option, even if it’s the most environmentally friendly one for the time being, means the market demand may potentially become overexploited.

Life is an experiment. The more creatively you experiment the higher your chances of success.

Chart a new course everyday.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

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COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

INDIA

GUJARAT

10,93,981 3,85,94,617 1,11,272 73,01,870 3,598 1,55,098 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 40,859 DEATHS 15,54,389 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 10,423 DEATHS 6,70,392 CASES

DEATHS

KARNATAKA 10,198 DEATHS 7,35,371 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

A Tanishq showroom in Kutch pasted apology note, but later removed it after police intervention

THE CONTROVERSY

First India Bureau

A Tanishq store in Gandhidham in Kutch pasted a note apologising for the firm’s controversial advertisement.

Then he pasted the note, stating, “We apologise to the Hindu community of Kutch on the shameful advertisement of Tanishq.”

The note was pulled down subsequently while there were rumours that the store was attacked on Wednesday, though

the local police denied it. “No such attack has taken place,” Superintendent of Police, Kutch-East, Mayur Patil, told reporters, adding that the apology noted had been removed. The showroom manager also denied any attack.

In Surat, some activists of Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s women wing, Matrushakti Durga Vahini, staged demonstrations and submitted a memorandum to the District Collector demanding legal action against Tanishq. They claimed the advertisement misrepresented

DEATHS

DELHI 5,898 DEATHS 3,17,548 CASES

SCARED: Tanishq store forced to write apology for ‘Ekatvam’ ad Gandhidham/Surat: Even as the 152-yearold tea-to-telecom Tata Group withdrew the TV advertisement of its jewellery firm Tanishq promoting communal harmony after a social media furore, a showroom in Gandhidham town of Kutch district pasted a note apologising for the ad and later pulled it down on Wednesday.

While tendering the apology, the handwritten note in Gujarati pasted on the Tanishq showroom also condemned the TV commercial. The note was put up on Monday after some people stormed into the Gandhidham showroom and asked the owner the reason for the advertisement.

He explained to them he had nothing to do with the advertisement.

the customs of both the religions and promoted ‘Love Jihad’.

Meanwhile, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) rejected a complaint against the Tanishq advertisement and stated that there was no violation of any code in it.

“The complaint was

not upheld, as the advertisement did not violate the ASCI codes of honesty, truthfulness and decency in advertising,” ASCI said in a statement. “ASCI has no objection to the airing of this advertisement, should the advertiser choose to do so,” it added.

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 1,694 DEATHS 1,65,240 CASES

High Court notices to Junagadh authorities over fire safety First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has issued notices to the Junagadh Municipal Commissioner, the District Collector and the State Government asking them to respond to a petition about fire safety in 109 buildings in the city.

Petitioner Tushar Sojitra has filed a petition seeking a directive to the local authorities that all buildings should have a proper No Objection Certificates (NOC) about fire safety and it must be regularly renewed. He submitted that despite several reminders, the authorities had not acted against the violators.

He says 26 hospitals, 10 different religious marriage halls, five residential premises, 11 restaurants, guest houses and hotels, 43 school, colleges and tuition classes and 14 units in the GIDC are running

Parents ask school fee breakup from govt before they pay up

SCARY BLAZE!

First India Bureau

A major fire broke out at a chemical factory in the Changodar GIDC on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Ahmedabad: Unable to trust the State Government, the Federation of Parents’ Association has urged parents in Gujarat not to pay the fees until the FRC gives the breakup of the fees it had permitted the schools to charge.

It has demanded that details of the fees and the notification allowing for only tuition fees to be charged at 25% discount to be placed on the website and notice board of the respective schools as also on the

School parents association have asked parents not to pay fees without proper details.

—FILE PHOTO

site of the Fee Regulation Committee (FRC).

It was after a prolonged battle that the government asked private schools to give a discount of 25% in tui-

tion fees for the entire year. Also, schools can charge only the tuition fees since education is online.

The association said the government had is-

sued the order that only 75% of the tuition fees were to be paid but parents were not aware how much were the tuition fees.

Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama had on September 30 announced a 25% reduction in school fees of private schools in Gujarat. He also clarified that apart from the school fees no other fees could be charged by schools.

He said parents who had already paid could adjust it with the subsequent quarterly fees.

TORCHBEARERS!

This couple kicked London life to embrace village In a real-life Swades-like story, Ramde & Bharati Khuti have emerged as role models in not only Beran village but also across India First India Bureau Porbandar: Ramde and Bharati Khuti, who created the popular YouTube vlog ‘Live Village Life with Om & Family”, are perfect paragons of leading a sustainable, rural lifestyle. From organic farming to cooking over an earthen hearth, the Khuti family is setting new sustaina-

08

bility goals.

There may be more such couples, but Ramde and Bharati kicked a well-settled life in London to return to their native village Beran in Porbandar district in 2017, with their 5-yearold son, Om. They say the native village always beckoned them amid all London comforts.

Bharati Khuti told

Ramde and Bharati and their five-year-old son left London to settle down in their native village.

Better India, “We moved to the UK in 2010, 6 months after our marriage, which we spent in Beran. In London, I pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Travel & Tourism from Sunderland University while Ramde made a decent career as a retail manager.”

“We were staying in Stratford in East London and leading an enviable life but this was never on par with life back home. We never thought of becoming permanent citizens of the UK.” After their son Om’s birth in 2014, they

started thinking. Ramde’s father was not in good health and he felt it necessary to support them.

“At that time, I was working as a trainee air hostess with British Airways, while Ramde was a successful managerial executive. Returning to India would mean giving up all that,” Bharati said. But, they were firm.

They returned to Beran, a village of 200 families, and adopted organic farming on 7 acres of family land and stopped use of heavy chemicals.

Gujarat High Court.

The Gujarat High Court will remain shut from October 16 to October 19 to enable the municipal corporation to carry out complete disinfection of the premises. without proper fire safety NOCs. He asserted that the Municipal Commissioner should be asked to seal all these buildings and asked the State Government to take action against officers who allowed these institutes and hospitals to run without proper NOCs.

PARKS & GARDENS TO REOPEN IN RAJKOT First India Bureau Rajkot: Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Udit Agarwal has announced that some of the major parks and gardens in the city will be reopened from Thursday but with strict rules and regulations and the violators would face strict action and fine.

Social distancing, wearing masks and selfsanitization are a must.

The gardens to reopen include Race Course, Aji dam, Jubilee and theme park at Bajrangwadi.

He stated that in view of the current Covid-19 situation, citizens above the age of 65 and children would not be permitted in the garden. The timings will be from 6 am to 12 noon and 3 to 7 pm.

The commissioner has appealed to the people to refrain from using benches and other equipment inside the park. Strict restrictions have been imposed on gathering in groups or sitting and walking in groups.

Spitting, chewing tobacco and paan masala, smoking, carrying food, bringing pet animals, littering and vendors have been banned.

R

eplied a chirpy beautiful Hema Malini perched atop a fan in Seeta aur Geeta to Manorma, to the merriment of all. Inspired by Ram aur Shyam, it was a much better film and Hema Malini with her co-stars Sanjeev Kumar and

“Neeche aaja beti” “Upar aaja Moti …”

Dharmendra totally gives a memorable entertainer in her dual role.

Seeta aur Geeta stretches the truth a little (it is a Bollywood movie after all), in the easy acceptance of the families when the twins are switched because the personalities of both are totally opposite. Away from the domineering aunt Manorama, even Seeta blossoms and Geeta is of course hilarious as she starts putting the wrongs to right in her twin sister’s home. The small scenes of how the uneducated street performer Geeta understands values and has depth when she gives the tijori’s keys to the grandmother, forces Roopesh Kumar to apologise for abusing the servant and refusing to count the money from the

This Throwback Thursday, City First brings you- Seeta aur Geeta, one of the best films of the DREAMGIRL Hema Malini, who celebrates her birthday tomorrow, on 16 October!

anita.hada@firstindianews.com

ANITA HADA

trusty lawyer are revealing.

The repartee is excellent between Hema and both Sanjeev and Dharmendra though the movie is about Hema Malini through and through. She is her beautiful graceful self, as beautiful as the sad bedraggled Seeta, the chirpy Geeta with her outrageous dress sense and then as she changes into the well groomed Geeta.

Well, berate me but I loved Manorama too. Next time you watch the movie, pay attention to the gamut of expressions and grimaces she excels at! A total wonder- she added much to the movie by being effortlessly wicked to her niece, husband and mom-in-law.

Her voice, switching between sugary sweet to bitter pills, mannerisms, rolling eyes, the make-up – an absolute treat and a performance of a lifetime!

Sanjeev is the debonair doctor while Dharmendra is the lovable drunk ruffian, though they don’t have much to do and am perfectly fine with that. They provide good back up to our sword-wielding, justice seeking Dream Girl who avenges her sister and Dadi ma. It’s Hema all the way.

Seeta aur Geeta spawned a whole lot of twins lost and found movies but only Sridevi with Chaalbaaz came close to Seeta aur Geeta.

SEETA-GEETA AUR HEMA

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09

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10

Brazen Hussies: Capturing power of Australia’s

women’s liberation movement many of those marriages were built on were illusions as Brazen Hussies highlights. As soon as women were granted the means to get out, many of them did.

When Zelda D’Aprano chained herself to Melbourne’s Commonwealth building in 1971, demanding equal pay for equal work, it was a similar vibe. But in the end the clothes didn’t really matter. These women were warriors.

Later, women started entering male-only watering holes and taking up posts along the bars.

The footage in Brazen Hussies is shockingly violent — men pushing and hitting them and dragging them out by their feet or hair. Cops loading them unceremoniously in paddy wagons as they chant slogans in defiance and kick.

CITY FIRST

T

he moment feminist author Kate Jennings took to the microphone at a moratorium on the front lawn of Sydney University in 1970 is presented as a galvanising catalyst of Australia’s women’s liberation movement in Catherine Dwyer’s documentary film Brazen Hussies.

We learn it was the first time the paragons of the male left had deigned to allow a woman to speak.

Her words and her rage whipped through the gathered crowd like wind. The men erupted, chanting, “You belong on your back. You, ugly bitch.”

Brazen Hussies does an excellent job of condensing and capturing what was a heady and turbulent period of consciousness raising and revolution in Australia.

Many of the women featured in the film describe the sweep of second wave feminism as an awakening, like coming out of a fog, a feeling they’d been hoodwinked into this great con of domesticity, child rearing and menial work. And when those realisations kicked in, they kicked in hard, manifesting in anger, rage and a determined will to shake the cage.

Feminist author Sara Dowse explains: “For three months I didn’t know a single person’s name. Because people couldn’t be bothered with names. We were just women on fire.”

A DOMINO EFFECT

One of the strongest messages in this film is the importance of revisiting history, of telling these stories to new generations not just so they can understand who blazed the trails in this country — who fought for the equal pay, subsidised childcare, legislative policy for women and abortion rights — but so they can continue the fight.

In the last ten minutes the old black and white footage gives way

Source: https://theconversation. com/brazen-hussies-a-new-filmcaptures-the-heady-turbulentpower-of-australias-womens-liberation-movement-147182

cause all us kids felt it.

An already shaky suburban world about to crack right open, teeming with unhappiness.

The introduction of the single mother’s pension in 1973 had a domino effect. Every other day some kid would come to school crying and we understood. Dday. Divorce. Feminism was tearing a hole through the nuclear family at that time because the foundations

FA CE OF TH ED AY

I was a kid in the seventies. I don’t remember seeing anything much about the women’s liberation movement on TV but the hum of it, the discord must have been rippling along be-

TELLING STORIES TO NEW GENERATIONS

to coverage of protests today — LGBTI rainbows in full swing, men marching in solidarity with women, toddlers held aloft on their shoulders — a vision artist Suzanne Bellamy, one of the original 70s campaigners, says she would never have seen in her time. A celebration of how far we’ve come and a warning of just how easily everything these women fought for could be lost.

I’m reminded of the importance of a film like Brazen Hussies walking back to my hotel by the Brisbane river. A nondescript, middle-aged dad coming towards me, two kids barrelling ahead on shiny scooters. I move to the left and when the kids pass me, he slows down and I find that odd. I nod and say “hi”.

He says, “G’day sweetheart,” glazed eyes running the full length of my body — the sweetheart, drawn out and slow — with just the right amount of threat in it. A threat that lodges somewhere deep in my spine. I tell him to f… off, surely, he’s not going to retaliate with two kids in tow. I sigh, and I keep on walking.

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

There may be temporary struggles in terms of paying your loan payments but that something temporary. Your days will change once your loan has been paid.

Prevent yourself from being a part of any gossip to avoid any kind of public embarrassment.

Diet control is a must for you right now to keep diseases at a distance. You will be able to beat your business rivals in the game but remember your focus should be to win and not to see others loosing.

Your partner may propose your for marriage.

Your financial condition is back on tracks and you are doing fairly well. On academic front, refrain from cheating or being a part of cheating when it comes to submitting projects. Your spouse may take your out for shopping after a long break due to covid situation.

You may do business related to fitness. If your boss is mentoring you than you must put your blind trust in him/her as they won’t let your fall even if you will feel that way.

You will be able to open up with your parents about things that you have been hiding.

MAR 21 - APR 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You will feel motivated today and ready to face any challenges. You may feel like doing donation for an NGO or you may involve yourself in some charity work. On work front, you may spend whole day solving project related problems. Your family member may offend you.

If you wish to talk to your boss regarding your concern than make sure to do it when he is in good mood to avoid any misunderstanding. You may think of writing a book which can earn you a decent fame.

Some of you may think of opening a online food business.

Your new venture has started making profits and there is a constant inflow of money. You may be promoted to a higher position today and with that your responsibilities will increase too. Your family supports you but it may get difficult for them sometimes.

Today the goddess of money showers her blessings upon you and you are about to become wealthy. Today is a favourable day for any kind of monetary transactions.

You will pamper your spouse will all the expensive goodies as a surprise.

You may come across and old friend.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

If you continue to manage your funds well than you will sail through tough times at ease. If you have applied for a huge amount of loan than sit assured it will be sanctioned. There may be a family reunion soon after a long covid break, keep safety your priority. Stars seems favourable for you.

The best advice for you will be to switch your job with one that promises a better salary and perks. Keep away from any scandalous affair. You may have to step out more than last few months for business purpose, just keep safe. You may find yourself mentally occupied with stuff.

You will be very cautious today before spending even a single penny. Your decision making skills will earn you a great reputation in office.

Your fast moving social life may come to a halt as you need time to introspect also it will be better for you health. You will be able to share your true feeling.

Today is very lucky for jewellers as you will make the maximum profit. On family front, an out of world opportunity wait in form of a new house, you life is about to change. You may buy a new vehicle for a better mode of conveyance.

Take chances in life.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

SEJAL KUMAR, Content Creator

APR 21 - MAY 20

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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BUZZZ

A

THE LAST SHOW

nupam Kher on Wednesday announced that he has wrapped up shooting for his upcoming film ‘The Last Show,’ with filmmaker and actor Satish Kaushik. Kher posted a monochrome picture of himself and Kaushik on Instagram and termed the shooting experience as “most satisfying, energising and enriching”. Kaushik and Kher can be seen at Bhopal’s famous historical site Gauhar Mahal in the picture. “It is a wrap for me and my friend @satishkaushik2178 for our movie #TheLastShow. It has been the most satisfying, energising and enriching experience to be working in this film. Especially sharing the screen space with the great #KaushikSaab,” he wrote in the caption.

—ANI

S

Satish Kaushik & Anupam Kher

AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

EXCITING PROJECT!

enorita singer Shawn Mendes has an exciting new project!

The Lost in Japan singer-songwriter and longtime manager Andrew Gertler are teaming up with Netflix for a special documentary called In Wonder, set to launch globally on the streaming service on November 23. The debut feature-length documentary, a TIFF special event selection, was directed by acclaimed director Grant Singer and promises to be “a portrait of Mendes‘ life, chronicling the past few years of his rise and journey.”

—Agency

‘I WAS SHOCKED’

I

Shawn Mendes

Thoughts on

11

n 2018, Mirzapur set its foot in the web-series world with Amazon Prime Video. It soon became the only webseries in India to have such a massive wave of fans. Not only did the fans rage over it, they began asking for the release of Season 2. Tripathi shares an interesting incident and says,”I was shooting in Glasgow, UK for 83’ film. During the shoot people gathered around the location and I used to think to myself, maybe it is because they are excited to see an Indian film shoot happening. That crowd was not just Indians even foreigners gathered around and after wrapping up the shoot when I Pankaj Tripathi used to get a chance to meet them, they would only have one question to ask - Kaleen Bhaiya, when will you be back on screen?” “I was shocked to see the massive fandom of Mirzapur that made it’s way to the UK. While I was shooting for other projects too, crew members and people all around still crazed out about Mirzapur.” —Agency

THE NEW TATTOO

CRITICS J

Movies to re-release

A

s movie theatres are all set to throw open their gates for moviegoers this week after a seven-month-long hiatus, some of the previously released films including superhits like ‘Tanhaji,’ and ‘War,’ have been scheduled to rerelease in cinemas.

Film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to Twitter to share a list of Bollywood films that have been scheduled for a re-release.

“As cinemas ready to reopen their doors from this week onwards, the list of #Hindi films scheduled for rerelease this week is OFFICIALLY announced... #Tanhaji #ShubhMangalZyadaSaavdhan #Malang #Kedarnath #Thappad More films will be scheduled in coming days,” tweeted Adarsh.

—ANI

essica Alba recently opened up about her thoughts on critics and that she doesn’t think she’s ever received a good review from a critic throughout her career. The 39-year-old actress and Honest founder was recently a guest on the YouTube series Hot Ones and she was asked where she finds harsher critics, on movie review sites or health and beauty blogs.

“Definitely movie reviews. I feel like a lot of movie reviewers, maybe I’m speaking out of turn, especially now, but even then, they love a good headline,” Jessica said.

“It’s all about the headline, it’s all about a salacious headline. And for some reason scandal seems to prevail over you complimenting someone.

I, for whatever reason, have been on the other side of the burn every time. I don’t actually think I’ve ever had a good review in my entire career, but I’m cool with it! I’m here on Hot Ones,” she said.

—Agency

Sophie Turner & Joe Jonas

J Jessica Alba

BHUMI TURNS

YOUNGER FURIOSA

VEGETARIAN

A

nya Taylor-Joy will play the younger Furiosa in the Mad Max world! The actress is best known for her role in M Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller The Split and Glass. Now, it has been confirmed that she will be headlining the Mad Max spinoff.

Fans of the franchise would be aware that actress Charlize Theron played the OG Furiosa in 2015 film Fury Road. Deadline has confirmed Anya’s casting in the spinoff and also revealed that she’s not the only new face in the Mad Max world.

It has been reported that Thor: Love and Thunder star Chris Hemsworth will ride along with Furiosa in the spinoff. AquaAnya Taylor-Joy man and Watchmen star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has also been roped in for the spinoff.

—Agency

B

eing a vocal citizen for environment protection, actor Bhumi Pednekar has turned vegetarian following the ‘Climate Warrior’ initiative that she had launched to raise awareness about climate conservation.

The ‘Bala’ actor has turned vegetarian and credits her climate-conscious journey for enabling her to make this life choice! “For many years I had the want to go vegetarian but breaking habits are the toughest thing to do. My journey with Climate Warrior taught me a lot of things and I just didn’t feel like eating meat anymore,” she said.

The acclaimed star, who is all set to release her next ‘Durgavati’ on December 11 this year, realised that she wanted to turn vegetarian during the lockdown.

—ANI

Bhumi Pednekar

...her post

oe Jonas has been flaunting a couple of new tattoos. Last week, the Jonas Brothers crooner was seen showing off his arm tattoo in a snap shared by Sophie Turner. Now, the singer has revealed he’s got a new neck tattoo and fans believe it is inspired by the ‘Game of Thrones’ alum. The quirky tattoo comprises of a keyhole with a woman peeping through the hole. The keyhole doesn’t give a complete view of who’s standing on the other side.

The image of Joe’s tattoo was shared on the Instagram page of tattoo artist NAL. Fans took to the comments section to announce that it is Sophie behind the keyhole. —Agency

PRICELESS WISH

Farhan Akhtar’s post

A

ctor-director Farhan Akhtar showered love over his elder sister and filmmaker Zoya Akhtar as she turned 48 on Wednesday. Farhan dug out a priceless throwback picture for wishing his sister on the special occasion and posted it on Instagram. The childhood picture of the siblings sees Farhan sleeping in the lower berth of a trolley while Zoya is seen lying down on the upper birth with her doll.

“Happy birthday to someone who I know is always watching over me. Love you @zoieakhtar .. wish you a great year. #siblinglove Ps: please return the trolley now. Thanks,” the ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,’ actor wrote in the caption. —ANI

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AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

STAY FIT, STAY HEALTHY City First in a conversation with Ankita Valand a Fitness Influencer from Surat, about how one can stay fit for a healthy lifestyle!

PALLAVI JAISWAL cityfirst@firstindia.com

F

itness has become an essential part of one’s life, especially during such tough times.

City First got in touch with Ankita Valand, a Fitness Influencer from Surat to know more about fitness and the importance of the same.

Q1. How has your fitness journey been

12

DURING THE DAY!

till now?

Ans. It has not been easy but has not been impossible either. I began my fitness journey in 2016 with various obstacles that came my way. Later in 2018, I won ‘KG Fitness Roadies’ which was a big boost for me.

Q2. Can you mention a few workout tips?

Ans. One must workout for at least 4-5 days a week to maintain consistency. Watching the calorie intake has a major impact; we are what we eat- remember? In case you have a cheat day, make sure to burn a bit extra the next day.

Q3. How important is nutrition?

Ans. It is extremely important because as we work out, our muscles and the body as a whole requires energy. So to maintain a healthy lifestyle, proper intake of nutrients is a must.

Q4. Can you suggest one tip to

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

RAJASTHAN: Youth Congress leader Sagar Sharma has been camping in Kekri for the past one month among the party workers and people working around the clock to spread awareness in each person to protect themselves against Corona.

Ankita Valand

lose weight quickly?

Ans. Eat according to what your body demands; avoid oily food, sweets and too much salt- all these things have a negative impact on the body.

POST COVID CARE CITY FIRST

A

Chairperson of State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Sangeeta Beniwal celebrated her birthday in Jodhpur on 14 October, Wednesday.

The Chairpersons of other state commissions wished her on her birthday along with many other dignitaries, department officials and workers.

‘LADY PANTHER’

live webinar was hosted by the IAS Literary Society, Rajasthan on Tuesday evening on their Facebook page, where viewers learned about ‘Post Covid Care’ and rehabilitation of recovered patients. The webinar was addressed by Neurorehab Specialist & Director Centre for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Dr Abhishek Srivastava. He was in conversation with Literary Secretary, IAS Association, Rajasthan, Mugdha Sinha. It was presented in collaboration with Kokilaben

Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai. The webinar was held as a part of YASH (Year of Awareness on Science and Health), 2020 Dialogue Series.

Talking about facilities provided by rehabilitation professionals, Dr Srivastava said that specialised rehabilitation professionals can assist in improving oxygenation, clearance of airway secretion and ventilation weaning. Talking about cognitive impairment impacted by Covid, he further said that the disease itself may be multiplied by forced quarantine to combat the virus which can produce acute panic, anxiety obsessive behaviour, hoarding, paranoia and depression.

IIHMR University virtually inaugurated its 8th Cohort of the prestigious international postgraduate degree program, Master of Public Health (MPH), in cooperation with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), Baltimore, USA, on 12 October 2020, for the session 2020-22.

During the inaugural, Dr Ashok Agarwal, Founder trustee, IIHMR, congratulated the people behind establishing the prestigious collaborative program between the JHSPH, USA, and IIHMR University.

RAJASTHAN: The shooting of the short film ‘First Attempt’, which is going to be made under the banner of Shakti Film Production and Help India Online, was started on Tuesday.

The producers of the movie, Ambalika Shastri, Jagdish Pareek and Pawan Pareek shared that the film is being made on the issue of Suicide, which has become fatal for the youth of the country. The director of this film is the famous film director of Jaipur, Mamatesh Kumar and the film’s management is Trinetra Film Production.

Successful Treatment CITY FIRST

Rajeshwari during a safari CITY FIRST

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very day a face-off with the panther, there is a fearless gypsy on the hills, on the river, ravines, bumpy, rough roads. We are not talking about any film story, we are talking about Rajeshwari, the only female gypsy tour operator of Rajasthan.

Her pictures are a sign of women’s empowerment and courage and were captured in the Jawai Leopard Conservation Reserve. Rajeshwari gives tourists a thorough knowledge of Leopard and touring the jungle sitting in her gypsy in an impassioned manner.

Rajeshwari Singh Ranaut

is the only gypsy tour operator in Rajasthan. The Rajeshwari Tour operates a Gypsy Safari on its own at the Jawai Conservation Reserve in Pali.

Along with this, the crocodile safari in Jawai’s backwaters, Bird Safari is also a part of Rajeshwari Safari. Rajeshwari’s father Uday Singh has been a wellknown Leopard tracker from Jawai and continues to track Leopard even today.

She does not refrain from taking Gypsies on inaccessible paths for leopard sighting but makes tourists visit Panther from a reasonable distance, taking care of the entire protocol. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

CITY FIRST

H Late Harish Dangi

arish Dangi, elder brother of Rajya Sabha MP, Neeraj Dangi, passed away on Wednesday morning. Late Harish Dangi had been ailing for a long time and was undergoing treatment at SMS

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n our country, the advanced stage of heart disease is generally considered to be extremely dangerous, but with the help of modern medical techniques and the skills of physicians, even serious patients can be cured. The exact example of this was seen at Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital, where the 71-yearold heart patient was treated with IVL (intravascular lithotripsy) technique by applying a stent while in this case, other private hospital doctors suggested open heart surgery which was risky due to age.

Dr Ramesh Patel, Dr Kapil Bhargava, Dr Danny Mangalani, Dr Shalabh Agarwal, Dr Sandeep were among the team of interventional cardiologists who gave this complex but successful treatment to the patient. Dr Shubham and Dr

RAJASTHAN: Hindustan

Anil Paliwal contributed from the Department of Anesthesia. In Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital, Udaipur, following all the rules related to corona, complex operation and treatment are being done continuously.

IVL (Intravascular Lithotripsy) technology came to India this year and successful treatment using this technique at Geetanjali Hospital is a matter of pride for the entire South Rajasthan. Senior Interventional Cardiologist Dr Ramesh Patel said that given the above age and critical condition of the patient, the expert cardiologist team planned to treat the shockwave lithotripsy technique.

CONDOLENCES...

Hospital Jaipur. As soon as the news spread there was a wave of mourning among his supporters in his native village of Pali district and in Neeraj Dangi’s political are-

na and constituency of Sirohi. His last rituals were carried out from the residence in Jaipur and he was cremated on Wednesday afternoon. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Unilever Limited (HUL), as a part of its global partnership with UNICEF, has donated 4 lakh soaps to health care professionals, caregivers, Anganwadi workers and COVID-19 patients in the state of Rajasthan to support the government’s response to COVID-19.

RAJASTHAN: Gopal Krishna Choudhary is a 71 years old, retired bank employee. He walks regularly for 6 to 7 km early in the morning, ever since he retired. His son Dinesh Chaudhary and daughter-in-law Nitika Chaudhary, who are members of the Pink City Runners, convinced him to join the hundred days run and he felt very good about it and decided to join the Pink City Runners ‘Hundred Days Of Running Challenge 2020’. During these 100 days from June 27th to October 4th, he covered 1006 km by walking and ranked first in Rajasthan and third in the whole of India in the category above 70 years. He paid gratitude to Pinkcity Runners, his family and wife especially, who walked with him, although she did not participate in the challenge.

RAJASTHAN: To celebrate the beginning of the most awaited festival of the year with sweetness and merry, the Festive Fusion Dessert Food Festival has been organised starting from Wednesday in Oven – The Bakery located at C-Scheme. This food festival will run for all nine days of Navratri, and finally, conclude on 24 October.