First India-Ahmedabad Edition-19 July 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

26°C - 34°C

ALERT AHMEDABAD l SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

6,01,285 1,42,81,774 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 11,596 DEATHS 3,00,937 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

DELHI 3,597 DEATHS 1,21,582 CASES

STATE

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

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 234

INDIA

26,826 10,76,535 DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 2,403 DEATHS 1,65,714 CASES

GUJARAT

2,127 DEATHS

KARNATAKA 1,245 DEATHS 59,652 CASES

47,476

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 553 DEATHS 28,500 CASES

CENTRE

CBI LIKELY TO REGISTER FIR IN RAJ PHONE TAPPING CASE

UNION HOME MINISTRY ASKS RAJ CS TO FURNISH A FACTUAL REPORT Aditi Nagar New Delhi: While the Congress was seemingly on the front foot for the past few days in the alleged poaching by BJP, the entire matter took a sudden turn on Saturday late evening, when sources in the know claimed, the Union Home Ministry asked Rajasthan Chief Secretary Rajeeva Swarup to furnish a factual status report on the phone tapping issue. The BJP had, in the morning, demanded a CBI enquiry raising six points, which it believed were the unexplained issues in the allegations levied by Congress party on Union Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

According to highly placed sources, the Union Home Ministry is all

set to announce a CBI enquiry into Rajasthan Phone tapping issue in a day or two, after receiving a formal factual report from the Rajasthan Government. There are unconfirmed reports that accordingly, CBI may register an FIR directly against the Chief Minister and some senior government officers involved in this entire phone tapping exercise.

On the political front, the top BJP leadership is understood to have conveyed its serious displeasure to the Union Minister Gajendra Singh and a few other Rajasthan BJP leaders on the ‘immature handling’ of the entire phone tapping issue. It may also amount to some ‘collateral damage’ to someone in the next cabinet reshuffle.

‘BJP’S DEMAND FOR CBI PROBE AMOUNTS TO ADMISSION OF GUILT’

Pawan Khera

There is little to say about Mayawati ji because she is a ‘majboor neta’.

She has certain compulsions, fears and helplessness, which force her to come out with such comments to help the BJP. —Pawan Khera

Sambit Patra addresses a press conference at BJP HQ.

Ayodhya: Ram temple foundation stone laying ceremony on Aug 3 or 5, PM invited Ayodhya: The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya either on August 3 or 5, both auspicious dates, a spokesperson said on Saturday. The Prime Minister had announced the formation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust on February 5.

Mahant Kamal Nay-

The second meeting of Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust was organised at Circuit House in Ayodhya on Saturday.

an Das, the spokesperson of Trust’s president Nritya Gopal Das said, “We have suggested two

layer comes out exposing the direct links of the BJP in creating some kind of a crisis in Rajasthan.... Their (BJP’s) only grievance is that when they were murdering democracy, why were they being recorded and if...it was legal,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told in a virtual press conference in Delhi.

Earlier in the day, BJP’s Patra asked at a press conference if the Congress government in Rajasthan resorted to ‘unconstitutional’ methods to tap phones of politicians and demanded a CBI probe into what it called a ‘saga of illegalities and concocted lies’. —PTI

‘Raj govt resorted to ‘unconstitutional’ methods’

BJP LEADERS IN GURUGRAM Raj BJP leaders, Satish Poonia and Rajendra Rathore reached Gurugram on Saturday and met the rebel MLAs at Manesar for about one and a half hour, said sources. The MLAs might be shifted to an another hotel in Manesar.

New Delhi/Jaipur: The BJP’s demand for a CBI probe into the audio tapes that showed a conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan ‘amounted to admission of guilt’ and it was now clear that the party was behind the rebellion by Sachin Pilot and others, the Congress said on Saturday. The Congress also cited Pilot and other rebel MLAs taking shelter in a hotel in the BJPruled Haryana to allege the saffron party’s involvement in ‘horse-trading’. “We all witnessed over the last week the daylight murder of democracy being attempted by the BJP...everyday a new

auspicious dates – August 3 and 5 – for the Prime Minister’s visit based on calculations

of movements of stars and planets.”

After a protracted legal tussle, the Supreme Court had on November 9 last year paved the way for the construction of a Ram Temple by a Trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a “prominent” place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh.

Turn on P6

party leaders, including Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, of conspiring to topple Gehlot government.

Patra said senior Congress leaders, including CM Gehlot, have been claiming that these audio clips are authentic even Turn on P6

Raj guv should recommend President's Rule: Mayawati Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Saturday said Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra should take cognisance of the instability in the state and recommend President’s Rule.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, she said, had openly violated the Anti-Defection law and cheated the BSP for a second time by getting its MLAs included in the Congress.

“And it is also evident he did an illegal and unconstitutional thing by phone tapping,” Mayawati said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

“The governor (of Rajasthan) must take cognisance of the political deadlock and instability prevailing in Rajasthan, and should recommend imposition of President’s Rule in the state, so that the condition of democracy in the state does not deteriorate,” she said.

—PTI

New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday asked if the Congress government in Rajasthan resorted to “unconstitutional” methods to tap phones of politicians and demanded a CBI probe into what it called a ‘saga of illegalities and concocted lies’.

BJP spokesperson

Did Congress govt in Raj use unconstitutional ways to save themselves when they found themselves cornered?

Centre issues notice to Twitter over recent hack

AIIMS ethics panel nod to start human clinical trial of Covaxin

New Delhi: India’s cybersecurity nodal agency CERT-In has issued a notice to Twitter asking for full details of the recent global hack targeting high-profile users, as it sought complete information on number of Indian users affected as well as impact on data, a source said.

The source privy to the development told that CERT-In has also asked Twitter for information on number of users from Turn on P6

New Delhi: AIIMS Ethics Committee gave its nod for a human clinical trial of indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate ‘Covaxin’ following which the hospital is likely to begin the exercise by enrolling healthy volunteers from Monday.

“The AIIMS Ethics Committee gave its approval for starting the human clinical trial of the indigenously developed Covaxin. Healthy volunteers having no

SAMBIT PATRA

Sambit Patra hit back at the Congress a day after it cited some audio clips to accuse some saffron

comorbid conditions and without a history of COVID-19, aged more than 18 years and less than 55 years, would be eligible to participate in the trial,” Dr Sanjay Rai, Professor, AIIMS said.

Turn on P6

Mayawati

Dr Harsh Vardhan @drharshvardhan #Humantrials of indigenous corona #Vaccine Start! The fight against #COVID19 is now in a decisive phase. For the past several months, there have been positive signs of ongoing efforts for the development of the corona vaccine. We will soon be able to win over the epidemic completely.

At SMIMER hosp, vacant bed comes at the cost of a life 70-year-old woman admitted for nCov treatment dies hours after she was discharged Haresh Jhala Surat: The Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research (SMIMER) Hospital is in hot water after a senior citizen died hours after she was discharged from the hospital, where she had been receiving treatment for COVID-19.

Even worse, the hospital allegedly refused to take the corpse to its morgue until Surat Municipal Corporation’s leader of opposition Praful Togadia and councillors Dinesh Savaliya and Dhirubhai Lathiya intervened.

Shailesh Chovatia had received a call from the hospital on Friday

evening stating that his mother Hemaben had recoved from COVID-19 and was being discharged. She had been admitted to SMIMER

on July 13, with a 65% viral load as per the city report.

“Shailesh was told to pick her up at the society’s main gate,

where the bus would drop her. Hours later, around 8 pm, he received another call asking him to pick up his mother from near

the Kapodara Fire Station.

Shailesh reached the spot to find his mother lying on the divider. When he tried to pick her up, someone from the bus took a photo of the two of them and left immediately,” Savaliya told First India.

When Shailesh took his 70-year-old mother home, he realized she was still critical. He tested her oxygen level and found to be just 80%. Hemaben collapsed and died before her son could call the general

physician.

Shailesh then contacted Lathiya and Savaliya, who say they rushed to the deceased’s residence.

Lathiya told First India that he tried to speak to Commissioner Bachhanidhi Pani and the Officer on Special Duty but could not reach them. He even called Kapodra Police but said they were helpless.The Resident Medical Officer at SMIMER too washed his hands off the case saying he had no role in it.

Councillor Lathiya

has also alleged that, when he spoke to Incharge Dean Dr RK Bansal, the latter said, “Where will the hospital put new patients if it doesn’t discharge other patients?”

Lathiya says that--as of Saturday morning-the hospital has not been able to produce any discharge papers either.

“When we demanded a postmortem, SMIMER doctors refused, saying that autopsies are not done on COVID-19 patients,” Lathiya also said. Turn on P6

NEWS AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

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

02

IS THE GOVT HIDING MORTALITY DATA?

CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN STATE AND DISTRICT DATA IN JUST FOUR DISTRICTS THROW UP A DIFFERENCE OF 30 Gargi Raval Gandhinagar: Apparently, the state government has trouble with maths. Either that, or it has been trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes when it comes to the number of deaths brought on

by COVID-19 in the state.

A quick comparison between data available on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard at gujcovid19.gujarat.gov.in and that given out in press releases from various district authorities shows a mismatch in mortality data.

For instance, in Junagadh, the state figure is six deaths, less than half of the 13 reported by the office of District Collector Sourabh Pardhi in a press release on

LOCAL NUMBERS

INCONSISTENCIES AT A GLANCE District

State

Local body

Junagadh

6

13

Gir-Somnath

1

5

Amreli

9

16

Jamnagar

9

21

TOTAL

25

55

Amreli

Gir Somnath

The BJP wants to maintain the illusion of Gujarat as a ‘model state’. As a result, the government is keeping the real picture hidden so as to not affect the state’s ‘reputation’.

—Amit Chavda, President, GPCC

Friday.

In yet another case of contradictory data, a tweet from the official account of Amreli collector Ayush Oak-sent out just after noon on

Saturday--says the novel coronavirus has cost 16 people their lives in the district. The state government’s dashboard puts the number of deaths here at nine.

The government dashboard says Gir Somnath has had one death. On the other hand, a tweet posted by collector Ajay Prakash 7.47 pm on Thursday

wevening clearly states the district has had five deaths.

The tweet has since been deleted.

The difference between state and dis-

trict data is perhaps most stark in Jamnagar, where local MLA Vikram Madam said that there have been 21 deaths in Khambhalia due to the novel

coronavirus. However, the official state government data shows only nine deaths so far--less than a third of the locally reported figure.

Unsurprisingly, the opposition party has noted these discrepancies as well. Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Amit Chavda told First India, “The BJP wants to maintain the illusion of Gujarat as a ‘model state’. As a result, the government is keeping the real picture hidden so as to not affect the state’s ‘reputation’. The tragedy is that the state government is hiding data from its own people.”

He added, “These politicians are hiding details; the officers are working at their whims and the people are suffering in the midst of all this. The virus, which was limited to Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, and Vadodara earlier has now spread to all the districts.”

OIL’S NOT WELL: MILLS’ ASSN WANTS Rajkot gets Platinum GOVT TO PROMOTE PEANUT CROP rating for green moves Masuma Bharmal Jariwala

First India Bureau Rajkot: The Saurashtra Oil Mills Association (SOMA) has asked that the state promote the consumption of groundnut oil and products, in order to make the peanut crop more profitable for farmers.

In a letter to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, SOMA president Samir Shah pointed out that groundnut and groundnut oil from the Saurashtra region are mainly exported to China. The letter added, “This year, the global COVID-19 pandemic and our souring relations with China could have an adverse impact on our export.

At that point, we will need to explore other markets as well as increase domestic consumption, or else face a glut.”

SOMA has raised the issue of export incentives with the Centre but is yet to get a response from there.

At the heart of its

Saurashtra is the peanut capital of the state.

case is the fact that peanuts and products made from them do not benefit from the 6-10% incentives on all other agricultural exports.

With Saurashtra being the capital of the groundnut crop, the state should extend facilities and financial incentives to boost investment in this sector in this region, the letter said.

There is a huge op-

SCOPE FOR MORE

portunity for value addition in peanut-based products such as peanut butter, peanut flour, and peanut-

based chocolates. Peanut powder is also extensively used as a source of energy in beverages targeted at

children.

This year, Gujarat produced 10 lakh tonnes of groundnut oil, far exceeding its usual production of 7-8 lakh tonnes.

A glut of groundnut oil would adversely affect the monsoon crop, where farmers have already sown peanuts across 19,70,399 hectares of land-the highest in the last three years.

Rajkot: The plan for Rajkot Smart City, set to come up at the 907acre Raiya Town Planning 32 plot, has been awarded the ‘Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Green Cities - Platinum’ rating for green initiatives in terms of design and implementation. With this recognition, the project becomes the first smart city in India to receive a rating from an IGBC Green Cities rating.

The project achieved 81 points under IGBC Green Cities rating programme for initiatives including master planning and improvements in systems for water supply, energy efficiency, waste management, egovernance and green cover, in addition to several other initiatives and policy interventions.

Speaking to First India, Bhavesh Joshi, General Manager of Rajkot Smart City, “We’re very pleased to receive this recognition for our planning for the 907-acre Raiya Town Planning 32 project. No one has got this platinum level rating so far.”

The project is expected to come up over 907 acres.

Based on the current plan, Rajkot Smart City is expected to have 25% more green cover than any existing project tree preservation and plantation. The master plan includes a comprehensive hazard and risk analysis based on zonation maps (earthquake, cyclone, drought & flood) with integrated prevention and mitigation measures.

In addition, the project got props from IGBC for its plan for efficient water management and improvement in the water table, provision for housing for all, efficient

planning for health and hygiene, sufficient space for footpaths, cycle lanes and parking stations, energy management solution, and air-quality monitoring stations.

IGBC, a part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), was formed in 2001 to enable a sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in the sustainable built environment by 2025.

It is claimed that once all the features are implemented, ‘Rajkot Smart City’ will emerge as a model Smart Green city in the country.

CM hands over Aadesh Patra to 9,147 tribal families With this, govt has given 1,49,540 ha of forest land to indivduals and 11.60 lakh ha to groups

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani

Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday released Aadesh Patra documents to 9,147 tribal people in Kaprada, Dharampur and Umargam, three remote tribal talukas of Valsad, through videoconferencing from here.

As many as 1,147 Adivasis received hard copies of the document and titles to 299 hectares (ha) of land in a function presided

by Tribal Development Minister

Ganpat Vasava in Kaprada, while the remaining 8,000 received digital copies of their charter of rights.

Rupani said that, till date, the BJP government has handed over Aadesh Patra documents to 91,400 tribal families in 14 districts spread from Danta in the north to Umargam in the south, giving 1,49,540 ha of forest land to individuals and 11.60 lakh ha to 4,569 groups that filed joint applications.

Rupani said, “The forest wealth is safe in

the hands of forestdwellers because of their close relationship with the forest through several generations, habituated to farming and living in the forest.”

He further said that the BJP has consistently worked for the upliftment of tribal communities ever since it came into power in the state. Earlier, the government introduced Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana, and also implemented the PESA act to protect their rights to minor minerals.

The aim is to bring development and growth in rural areas dominated by Adivasis, he said.

To this end, the state government has opened schools, colleges, medical colleges and boys/girls residential schools in tribal pockets, so they get an education and join the mainstream at the earliest. The state government has allotted Rs 1 lakh crore towards the Vanbandhu scheme to provide employment to tribal youth.

Pointing out that the BJP regime set up the Birsa Munda University at Rajpipla with an investment of Rs350 crore, Vasava alleged that the Congress regime did not give a single acre of land.

Interestingly, even as the tribal development minister accused the opposition party of having used tribal communities “only as vote banks”, he did so at an event at Kaprada, where Assembly by-elections are likely to be held in the near future.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

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

Guj tally closer to 50K with record 960 cases in 24 hrs

Total now at 47,476 with 2,127 dead; fake Tocilizumab manufacturer busted in Surat Haresh Jhala Ganhinagar: The state witnessed new highs in terms of single-day fresh cases—960—and patients discharg ed—1061—on Saturday, even as the Food and Drug Control department busted a man for manufacturing a fake version of the Tocilizumab injectable drug in Surat.

The accused, Sohel Ismail, had allegedly been making the fake drug at his residence, from where authorities seized Rs8 lakh worth of goods.

Meanwhile, Surat reported 268 cases: 205 from the city and 63 from rural areas. With this, the district now has 9,409 cases.

After Surat, other affected districts are Ahmedabad, with 199 cases, Vadodara, with

ALSO IN RAJKOT

Medics test AMTS staff for COVID-19 in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

There are 736 active cases there 128 patients on ventilator support and 36 on Bipap machines. As many as 96 societies have been reclassified as orange zones from red zones, after no new cases were reported from there in the last few weeks.

The Rajkot district administration has con-

stituted a committee headed by the Chief District Health Officer to make surprise visits to private hospitals where COVID-19 patients are being treated. If any of these hospitals are found to be charging patients exorbitant amounts, stern action will be taken against hospital management, said district collector

78, Rajkot and Junagadh, with 57 cases each, Bhavnagar, with 36 cases and Mehsana, with 24.

The state saw 19 fatalities related to the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

The Vadodara Health department on Saturday collected 542 samples, of which 78 came back positive.

Remya Mohan.

With cases on the rise, traders in Rajkot city’s Danapith bazaar have decided to operate only from 8 am to 5 pm. Three more private hospitals are being designated COVID-19 facilities.

Diu, of the Union Territory Daman and Diu, has reported 18 cases in a day.

03

After teachers, cops run campaign for salary hike First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Police personnel in the state have launched an online campaign demanding that the state government revise their pay. The development comes a day after the government rolled back a circular that would have cut the salary of primary schoolteachers from Rs4,200 to Rs2,800.

In the online campaign, the police personnel say they want more pay to compensate them fairly for the hours they put in. They specially mention the fact that the job costs them time with their families, especially during festivals.

“We don’t take any holidays all through the year. When festivals come, we are at work while others get to spend time with their families.

For all this, we get Rs1,800. The government bowed before the teachers’ demands because they have a union, which we don’t,” the cops say in a message

—FILE PHOTO

CLARION CALL

that has been doing the rounds on social media.

The police personnel are asking for a Rs1,000 hike to Rs2,800 as their grade pay.

“The police do not looking after their own families when the nation needs them. We are on the job round the clock. We deserve better remuneration,” one police officer said, asking

not to be named.

Prior to the rollback, schoolteachers across the state had been protesting for more than a week, and had called for a “Black Friday” protest and had staged sitins and strikes in their respective schools.

Some teachers of Surat Municipal Corporation continued the strike on Saturday as well.

First India Bureau

Civic workers conduct fogging to stave off mosquitoes after a shower in Ahmedabad.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The India Meteorological Department has forecast rainfall for some pockets of the state.

However, these will not be heavy rains.

At present, there are two systems that are active over the state which will give good rains. A cyclonic circulation over south Gujarat and its neighbourhood now lies over coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch, extending up to 7.6km above mean sea level tilting southwestwards with height.

Another system is a trough line from the above cyclonic circulation over coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch,

As many as 15 roads in S’rashtra were rendered unusable by heavy rains last week which now runs up to north Rajasthan at 1.5 km above mean sea level.

South Gujarat and Saurashtra have been receiving good rains and a total of 52 talukas received rains on Saturday. The highest rainfall was recorded in Nizar of Tapi, where 17mm rainfall occurred.

Due to heavy rains of the last week, some roads were damaged in Saurashtra. According to the government, a total of 15 roads have been rendered unusable.

Ahmedabad: The Congress party, which saw as many as eight of its Members of the Legislative Assembly resign in the run-up to the Rajya Sabha election on June 19, is looking to claw its way back in the upcoming bypolls for the eight vacant Assembly seats.

As a first step, the party appointed Hardik

Patel as its working president in the state, hoping to draw in both younger voters and Patidar ones.

In its next step, the party is now looking for suitable leaders to nominate to the eight vacant seats in the Assembly.

Congress observers have already visited the constituencies—Abdasa, Dhari, Lathi, Gadhda, Kaprada, Karjan, Morbi, and Limdi—where elections are expected to be

—FILE PHOTO

More rain coming, Cong submits internal report ahead of bypolls but won’t be heavy

A man inspects electronic voting machines in Ahmedabad.

held in September.

“Primary meetings are over and the observ-

NHSRCL makes way for bullet train corridor work in Surat First India Bureau Surat: The National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) has begun work on the bullet train corridor. To this end, NHSRCL is relocating more than 1600 electrical transmission lines, including 164 overhead extra high-tension (EHT) lines under the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Ltd.

The body is relocating more than 1600 electrical transmission lines Normally, transmission lines are 6m to 9m above the ground. In the case of national highway crossings, it is in the range of 8-11m and for railway crossings, it is around 1419m to ensure adequate electrical clearances.

ON THE GROUND

However, the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) alignment will be on a viaduct with a height of 8-12m from the ground level. Due to these requirements, transmission lines crossing the MAHSR corridor are required to be raised at a height of more than 30m.

NHRSCL is also in the process of moving 131 overhead EHT lines that infringe with the MAHSR corridor.

ers have submitted their report to the high command. It is sad that the

power-hungry BJP resorted to horsetrading amid the COVID-19 pan-

demic, creating the need for these elections. This is a wasteful expenditure at a time when the state health infrastructure needs an overhaul,” said Amit Chavda, president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee.

The party is confident of winning all the seats, he also said, adding that the newly appointed working president Hardik Patel will start campaigning from next week.

LOOKING SKYWARDS

A pigeon takes a break from flying to alight on the roof of a building as the sun sets in a kaleidoscopic sky in Ahmedabad.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

STAYING PRODUCTIVE

Lockdown ‘Live’wire: J’nagar banker sings his way into record book Kamlesh Oza has performed 105 ‘concerts’ on social media since April 

Masuma Bharmal Jariwala Jamnagar: While others were binging on memes, learning to make Dalgona coffee or wondering how to pass the time at home during the lockdown, one 58-year-old in Jamnagar was inadvertently planning to create records.

Kamlesh Oza, a bank-

er who is also a professional singer, started doing two-hour-long Live sessions on Facebook everyday beginning on April 5. Saturday marked his 105th such live show—a feat that has found him a place in the World Records of India book. He will be felicitated with the award in Sunday at Ahmedabad.

Kamlesh Oza says he intends to continue his live sessions for a long time.

A die-hard fan of singer Mohammed Rafi, Oza says most of the songs he sang during his Live sessions, which go from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm, were covers of those first sung by the Bollywood singer.

Speaking to First India, Oza said, “I have been singing since when I was in class 9 and am a Sangeet Visharad from Gandharv Sangeet Vidhyalay. Rafi Sa’ab is my favourite singer, hence even as a professional

singer I have preferred his songs. Due to lockdown, I initially started doing Facebook live for two hours for my own fun. But the love and support extended by people has helped me continue singing till date. I plan to continue these live performances for a long time.”

Oza’s four-year-old grandson Navyukt Sheth also joins him every day to sing his favourite song, Jane Man Jane Man There Do

Nayan. He is also receiving a certificate from the Records team for supporting his grandfather.

Record books notwithstanding, Oza says the best recognition he received came from a COVID-19 patient. “This patient told me that my sessions helped him get rid of negativity when he was admitted in the hospital,” Oza says, adding that he is grateful for the love he has received online.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

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

PM OLI’S KNOWLEDGE OF HINDU MYTHOLOGY IS ERRATIC

IN-DEPTH

PINNING ALL HOPES ON COVID VACCINE

A

fter setting all doubts at rest about rushing with its novel coronavirus vaccine, the first phase of human trials of Covaxin, one of the two potential vaccines, have begun on 375 volunteers or study participants who were recently administered the first dose of the vaccine. They will be given the second dose after an interval of 14 days. The inactivated vaccine has been developed by Bharat Biotech from a strain isolated by the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

Covaxin is to be tested on 1100 volunteers in two phases depending on the results of the first trials for which the Indian Council of Medical Research has selected 12 institutes including the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi and Patna.

Covid-19 cases have crossed the 10 lakh mark in the country and there are no signs of the graph falling or plateauing despite the 63 per cent recovery rate. The ICMR is therefore pinning all its hopes on Covaxine to check the spread of Covid-19.

There are other candidates like the one being developed by Oxford University in collaboration with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and

by Moderna in the US. If all goes well the Oxford vaccine is likely to be ready by September.

India, which is a “huge supplier” of vaccines to the world, too wanted its vaccine to be ready by August 15. Now the ICMR wants Covaxine’s clinical trials, which started on July 15, to be fasttracked. The ICMR D-G Balram Bhargava has warned that not even a day’s delay will be tolerated for regulatory clearances for the vaccine.

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

J

HORSE-TRADING ERODES INDIAN DEMOCRACY

C

oined to describe the dishonest horse dealers of the 19th century, the term horse-trading became an integral part of Indian political lexicon after the infamous incident of Aaya Ram-Gaya Ram in Haryana in 1967 when a series of defections and counter defections by legislators, all within a few weeks, led to the dissolution of the state assembly.

Fresh elections had to be held in the following year.

Since then legislators have been switching loyalties for money or for remaining in power thus destabilising duly elected governments and breeding corruption. The term is unheard of in western democracies while it is widely rampant in India.

Before the Rajya Sabha elections Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot accused the BJP of attempting to buy MLAs for cross-voting in its favour. The spectre has again come to haunt the state as Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs turned dissident.

The dreaded term has been used quite frequently in the recent past. Before Rajasthan it was MP when Jyotiraditya Scindia deserted Congress to join the BJP with his team of his loyal legislators. Once the Kamal Nath government was toppled, some of these MLAs had to be given portfolios of their choice.

Before MP, it was Karnataka where the BJP engineered defections in the Congress to help reinstall BS Yedyurappa as Chief Minister. The list is long.

A new feature has been added to horse-trading--resort politics. Every time there’s fear of poaching, parties send their flock to resorts for safekeeping. All this, when an Anti-Defection Law is firmly in place.

PM Oli’s knowledge of Hindu mythology, history, and geography of India and Nepal is, to put it politely, somewhat erratic. The other day he pronounced that Lord Rama was born in Nepal and Ayodhya was located in Nepal

awaharlal Nehru had two sisters. Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (1900-1990) and Krishna Hutheesing (1907-1967). The latter’s sons Harsh and Ajit were in Scindia school with me. I got to know Krishna Masi, that is what she asked me to call her. The letter below highlights our affectionate and enduring intimate relations.

(See letter) Two countries in the world still have active communist parties. Cuba and Nepal. There has never been a Nepalese Fidel Castro. The Present Prime Minister of Nepal is a non-Castro like head of government. It would be necessary to invent him, if he did not exist. He constantly provides comic political relief. His knowledge of Hindu mythology, history, and geography of India and Nepal is, to put it politely, somewhat erratic. The other day he pronounced that Lord Rama was born in Nepal and Ayodhya was located in Nepal. It is folly to be wise when ignorance is bliss.

The Chief Minister of Pakistani Punjab, Janab Usman Buzdar, has approved plans for creating a new “Dubai-like” modern city near Lahore, to reduce congestion, water storage and environmental pollution in Lahore. It will be called the Ravi Riverfront project. The cost Pakistani Rs – 5 trillion.

No time frame is given.

For a near-bankrupt country, this is an imaginative undertaking. We wish the Buzdar government luck, success, and long tenure in office. He will need all three.

Anand Bhuvan Carmichael Road Bombay-26 30 March 1958 My dear Natwar, I thank you for your letter of the 22 March and also the one you wrote on hearing of Maulana’s death. I was in Delhi for nearly a month where I went to recoup and I rested a great deal and came back feeling much better. I was there during the exciting days of TTK’s resignation and I attended Parliament regularly throughout the three days of debate.

I met the RK Nehrus at a lunch Bhai gave for Ho-Chi-Minh to which they invited themselves by repeatedly saying that they were leaving for their son’s wedding and might not get a chance of seeing Bhai, so at the last moment he invited them! Mrs R.K. tried to show off her Chinese, and when I mentioned to her that you spoke rather well she shrugged her shoulders and said that it wasn’t correct Chinese that you spoke and that you had to take a lot of lessons in Peking. Anyhow her Chinese did not seem to go down with Ho-Chi-Minh and his party. So, just to be difficult I started talking to them in French which I know she did not understand. This upset her quite a lot. I do not think either of them are happy to go to Cairo.

I shall be in Bombay round about the 10th of May and so you can certainly come and stay with us. I do not know why you are under the impression that Harsha and Ajit will be here then. Ajit has to do three months’ work in some factory in Germany as part of his Course, and Harsha is going to do six weeks or more of work in some newspaper office in Minneapolis. He is not willing to stay on in America. So, after that he may return to England and continue doing his Law. Harsha has been begging me for several months to go to him and hence I want to do so. I have not quite planned when to leave, but it might either be at the end of May or the beginning of June. In case I am not able to get passage then, I might go a little earlier. But, I should be here around the 10th when you are expected to arrive.

I wonder if you could do me a favor. A friend of mine, who returned recently from Hong Kong, bought a short coat there, which had black Chinese silk or satin on one side and white fur, something like Astrakhan, on the inside.

Actually it was reversible. You could wear it both ways, with the white fur outside and the black silk lining inside or the other way round. It was very smart and light, and not too expensive. I am giving you below the address of a friend of mine in Hong Kong – she is a Chinese married to a Parsi – to whom I am also writing and I will tell her to try and get this and give it to you. But in case she cannot or if you can find something like it in Peking and bring it to me, I shall be very grateful. The coat length was about 29” long, maybe 27” or less. But it was very light and as I have said very smart looking, yet very warm and it would help a lot to carry a thing like that instead of a thing which is heavy and hefty.

Yes. I have seen Tara’s book and read bits and pieces of it only, because she gave a copy to Bhai and being an American publication it is not sold here. I see now that it is going to be serialized in the Illustrated Weekly. I did not see mandy’s3 review, but I was told that it was a very flattering one. The little I read I couldn’t make out a story of what the story was about or what exactly it meant to depict.

More when we meet and do try and find out about the coat. I shall look forward to having a long chat with you here.

With love, (Krishna Hutheesing)

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

The fastest way out of the pandemic E

very day, the COVID-19 pandemic costs the world thousands more lives and billions more dollars. The most efficient way to bring this crisis to an end – possibly as early as next year – is with a safe and effective vaccine, manufactured in large quantities and distributed globally. To avoid any unnecessary delays, governments should take this moment, while researchers work to develop the right formula, to prepare the ground for rapid production and broad, equitable deployment.

This is the principle on which the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility is based. Created by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization, and the Coalition for Epidemic Prepar

04

edness Innovations, this innovative platform aims to distribute at least two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021.

That many doses – which will be divided equitably among participating countries, regardless of their ability to pay – would cover some 20% of populations in participating countries. It would thus be sufficient to protect high-risk and vulnerable people and frontline health-care workers worldwide.

(Additional doses would also be stockpiled, so that any future outbreak could be tackled before it spun out of control.)

As it stands, over 160 vaccine candidates are in preclinical or clinical development. There is no way to know which will pass clinical trials and be licensed (failure rates of vaccines in early develop-

BY COLLABORATING WITH GLOBAL HEALTH AGENCIES THROUGH COVAX, GOVERNMENTS CAN ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS EQUAL ACCESS TO COVID-19 VACCINES

ment are high). But we can ensure that, by the time one does, an effective framework for manufacture and deployment is in place. To that end, governments must invest in COVAX as soon as possible.

The problem is that governments may feel compelled to eschew cooperation, in favor of negotiating directly with vaccine

manufacturers to claim the doses they need. Yes, governments are duty-bound to protect their own citizens above all. But this national approach carries serious risks, beginning with the possibility that a government may back the wrong vaccines.

Even if a government secures enough doses of an effective vaccine for its own population, some of its people – such as those who are immunocompromised and may not be able to be vaccinated – would be left exposed if other countries are unable to obtain enough vaccine. And this leaves aside the moral imperative of ensuring that people are not cut off from lifesaving drugs.

During the 2009 swine flu pandemic, a few countries cornered the vaccine market, leaving the vast major-

ity of the global population with no vaccine at all until the outbreak was effectively over. This scenario must be avoided at all costs during the current crisis, not least because COVID-19 has a much higher infection and mortality rate.

By collaborating with global health agencies through COVAX, governments can ensure that everyone has equal access to COVID-19 vaccines. For countries that have secured bilateral deals with manufacturers, COVAX amounts to an insurance policy, in case they bet on the wrong candidates. For countries that haven’t secured any deals – the vast majority of the world – COVAX is the only way to avoid being pushed to the back of the line.

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM

Top

TWEET Ravi Shankar Prasad @rsprasad More digital payments than ATM cash withdrawals. Digital payments continue to grow in the 1st quarter of 2020 while ATM cash withdrawals decline. More and more people are adopting digital payments over cash. #DigitalIndia Tarun Gogoi @tarun_gogoi When Assam is going under worst condition of flood, erosion affecting about 40lakh people, died more than 70 people, damaged thousands houses, lost wildlife, neither PM nor Union Home Min has visited Assam till date exposes BJP Govt lip sympathy for people of Assam in distressed.

Spiritual SPEAK

A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

—Proverbs 19:11

Vol 1 Issue No. 234 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.

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

To Receive Free Newspaper PDF Daily Whatsapp: http://bit.ly/whatsappahm

Telegram: https://t.me/firstindiaahmedabad Click the above link� & subscribe us on your preferred platform.

INDIA AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

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

05

Eye on China: Modi-Abe Summit could be held in Oct It is not certain yet if PM Abe would travel to India for the summit as had been planned earlier or hold the summit meetings over VC

India’s firm message to China: Pullback of troops is non-negotiable New Delhi: The last round of talks between Indian and Chinese military commanders saw the Indian side resolutely and firmly convey that Chinese troops need to vacate intrusions in the Pangong Tso area and nothing short of restoration of pre-May 5 status quo will do.

The lengthy discussions on Tuesday were held, as previous exchanges, in a cordial

manner but the Indian messaging was insistent in underlining that a Chinese pullback from areas where the People’s Liberation Army has intruded is simply non-negotiable.

The tonality of the conversation would not leave any doubt on this score, said a source.

While official statements point to the complicated and time-consuming verification process for disengage-

Indian Army truck crossing Chang la pass near Pangong Lake in Ladakh region. —FILE PHOTO

ment, Indian commanders made the bottomline unambiguously clear in the course of the talks with the Chinese brass.

The discussion on Depsang, where also China claims to be within its side of the LAC, was on similar lines. The Indian position was that the Chinese must sit down and discuss where the LAC lies and avoid provocative acts.

PM Narendra Modi with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. —FILE PHOTO

New Delhi:India and Japan have restarted discussions to firm up dates for the annual summit between prime ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe, possibly around October. The summit is expected to focus on an expansionist China that has been attempting to change the status quo on its borders with India, and in the East China Sea around the Senkaku Islands, people familiar with the development informed. During the summit, India and Japan are also expected to formalise a logistics sharing pact, Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement, that would give militaries of the two countries access to

Rahul Gandhi @RahulGandhi China has taken our land and the Government Of India is behaving like Chamberlain. This will further embolden China. India is going to pay a huge price because of GOI’s cowardly actions. each other’s bases.

The summit could be held in October. It is not certain yet if PM Abe would travel to India for the summit as had been planned earlier or hold the summit meetings over video conference, a govt official said.

Jaishankar hails PM’s Defence Minister visits forward post, message in ECOSOC offers prayers at Amarnath cave shrine New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent out a strong message to the international community on shaping the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agenda, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said.

“A strong message to the international community of India’s role and contribution: PM @ narendramodi on shaping the ECOSOC agenda. ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas, Sabka Vishwas’ - resonating with the core SDG commitment

of leaving no one behind,” Jaishankar tweeted.

He also underlined Modi’s call for reforming the global multilateral system to enhance the UN’s relevance & effectiveness. “Making the fight against the COVID-19 a people’s movement. Economic package of over 300 billion dollars. Vision of a self-reliant & Resilient India, integrated with the global economy. Call for reformed multilateralism with a reformed UN at its center,” Jaishankar wrote.

New Delhi: A day after a trip to Ladakh, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday visited a forward post near LoC in J&K’s Kupwara district. He was accompanied by chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat and army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.

“Visited a forward post near LoC in Kupwara District of Jammu-Kashmir today and interacted with the soldiers deployed there.

We are extremely proud of these brave and courageous soldiers who

SINGH’S STATEMENT ‘RHETORIC’

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh offering prayers at Amarnath temple on Saturday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

are defending our country in every situation,” the defence minister tweeted.Before that, he visited the holy cave of

Amarnath, considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism, and spent about an hour at the temple complex.

In a veiled attack onDefence Minister, Rajnath Singh, Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said, “All talk of ‘no one had intruded into Indian territory and no one is inside Indian territory’ was empty rhetoric.

Defence Minister’s statement that “no one can touch an inch of India’s territory is just more rhetoric,” the Congress leader stated in a tweet.

Six terrorists shot India and US sign MoU to develop SIT focusing on 9 dead in 24 hrs in points in Kanpur strategic petroleum reserve Jammu and Kashmir encounter case Vaishali

Army jawans stand guard near the encounter site in the Amshipora area of Shopian on Saturday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Jammu: Three terrorists were killed in an anti-terror operation in Amshipora village of Shopian district.

Security forces carried the pre-dawn operation in Amshipora village after they received specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area.

The search operation turned into an encounter after the terrorists opened fire at the forces. —ANI

PAK SHELLING

SUSHANT SINGH DEATH: ADITYA CHOPRA RECORDS HIS STATEMENT Mumbai: Filmmaker and Yash Raj Films (YRF) chairman Aditya Chopra recorded his statement with the Mumbai Police in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case, an official said. Police have sought information about a contract signed between Rajput and YRF from Chopra who visited

Versova police station and left after four hours, the official said. The “Chhichore” actor, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai on June 14. No suicide note was found from the spot by the police.Cops are probing allegations that professional rivalry, besides clinical depression, drove the actor to suicide.

New Delhi: India and the US have signed an MoU to develop a strategic petroleum reserve and the two countries are in advanced stage of discussion to store crude oil in America to increase India’s stockpile, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said.

Pradhan co-chaired with his American counterpart Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette a virtual US-India Strategic Energy Partnership Ministerial. “We have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to begin co-operation on strategic petroleum reserve. We are also in advanced phase of discussing of storing crude oil in US strate-

Dharmendra Pradhan

gic reserve to increase India’s strategic oil stockpile,” Pradhan told reporters in a joint telephonic press conference. India and the United States have announced new areas of research on transformational power generation based on supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power cycles and advanced coal technologies, including carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).

Besides, the US Secretary of Energy and

9 INTER-STATE ARMS TRAFFICKER ARRESTED IN UP Muzaffarnagar: The UP Police busted an inter-state arms racket and arrested nine persons in Muzaffarnagar’s Jaula village on Saturday. A large quantity of finished and unfinished weapons was recovered from the accused. According to the police, 75 finished and 45 unfinished illegal weapons, along with a large number of materials and equipment used in making weapons have been recovered from them.In an official statement, the police said that 45 country-made pistols, six muskets, among others were recovered.

India’s Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas & Steel, the virtual meeting was attended

by US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster, Indian Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Secretary, DST, Prof Ashutosh Sharma along with other concerned officials.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Ashutosh Sharma stated that the collaboration between India and United States has grown over the years under the

Programme for Accelerating Clean EnergyResearch (PACE-R).

The ongoing collaboration on smart grids and energy storage is being implemented by consortium comprising of 30 Indian and US entities with investment of US $ 7.5 million each by India DST and US DoE (US Department of Energy) with matching amount provided by the consortium.

Pradhan said that during the meeting, he expressed his keenness to work closely with US government to realise the ‘full potential’ of our Strategic Energy Partnership & also invited US Govt & companies to join our initiatives under the ‘Atmanirbhar Mission’ to further strengthen the strategic energy partnership.

YUVA SENA MOVES SC FOR CANCELLATION OF FINAL YR EXAMS Mumbai: The Shiv Sena’s youth wing Yuva Sena has moved SC seeking cancellation of final year exams of universities across states in view of COVID-19 crisis. Yuva Sena secretary Varun Sardesai told the petition filed by him was admitted on Saturday. The Yuva Sena has demanded all states be given the right

to take an appropriate decision based on the situation in their respective areas. The youth wing is headed by Aaditya Thackeray who holds environment & tourism portfolios in the Shiv Sena-led state government. state government has already cancelled the final year/final semester examinations for professional and non- professional courses.

STF & Forensic teams re-enact the events of the encounter as part of ongoing investigation of the case, in Kanpur district.

Kanpur: The special investigation team (SIT), headed by Addl CS Sanjay Bhoosreddy, in-charge of probing the Kanpur encounter case is focusing on nine points at the start of the investigation process.

The SIT will submit the report to the administration by July 31 in connection with the case.

The SIT is taking note of the actions tak-

en against Dubey till date in connection with various cases registered against him, it is also taking into account complaints by the residents of Chaubepur and the actions taken in this regard by the officials. It is also seeking evidence of any lapses which occurred in taking action against the deceased Dubey & his aides under the Gangster Act, NSA etc. —ANI

WOMEN ATTEMPT SELF-IMMOLATION OUTSIDE CM YOGI’S OFFICE Lucknow: A woman and her daughter set themselves on fire in front of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office over police inaction in a land dispute case in Amethi. The mother-daughter duo sustained burn injuries and were admitted to the civil hospital where their condition was said to be critical, police said. The incident took place at around 5.40 pm on Friday in the state capital’s high-security zone as it houses the assembly as well as the Lok Bhawan -- the office of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

INDIA AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

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

COVID-19

Maharashtra, the worst-affected state from the deadly virus, has a total of 3,00,937 cases

India’s count reaches 10,76,576 New Delhi: With a spike of 34,884 cases and 671 deaths reported in India in the last 24 hours, the total number of positive cases reached 10,76,576 on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of cases include 3,58,692 active cases, 6,53,751 cured/discharged/migrated and 26,826 deaths, the Health Ministry informed. As per the Ministry, Maharashtra- the worst-affected state from the deadly virus - has a total of 3,00,937 coronavirus cases and 11,452 fatalities.

While Tamil Nadu has a tally of 1,60,907 cases and 2,315 deaths due to COVID-19, Delhi has reported a total of 1,20,107 cases and 3,571

Recoveries exceed active cases by 2,95,000 in India

A medic hands over a patient’s data to a doctor at CWG village COVID-19 Care Centre, near Akshardham in New Delhi.

deaths due to the virus.

Meanwhile, the ICMR said that 1,34,33,742 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till July 17, of these 3,61,024 samples were tested yesterday. —ANI

BREAKING TRANSMISSION CHAIN Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said, “We are trying to break the chain of transmission from one cluster to another. We are thoroughly locking the clusters. We need to give more attention to coastal areas.”

‘Corona cases peak in India by mid-Sept’ New Delhi: Covid-19 cases may peak in India as early as mid-September provided strong public health measures are in place and people behave in a responsible manner to contain the virus, President of Pub-

lic Health Foundation of India, Professor K Srinath Reddy, said.

Speaking to PTI, he expressed concern over the microbe spreading with renewed vigor, as confirmed infections and deaths crossed one

96 animals die at Kaziranga Nat’l Park in Golaghat Golaghat: A total of 96 animals have died in the Kaziranga National Park in Golaghat district of Assam due to floods, the state government informed on Saturday.

“So far, 96 animals have died in the park including eight rhinos, seven wild boars, two swamp deers, 74 hog deer and two porcupines,” park officials said. A report from the government of Assam stated that a total of 132 animals had been rescued from the Kaziranga National Park. The park is currently 85 per cent submerged under floodwaters.

“The Water level at Pasighar and Dibrugarh are below the prescribed danger level.

The floodwater in Numaligarh, Dhansirimukh and Tezpur are still above danger

million and 25,000, respectively, in India earlier this week.

“Ideally we could have and should have prevented it reaching this level, but even now we should try our best and contain it as quick-

ly as possible”, the public health expert said.

“Different places would peak at different times”, Reddy said on the rising Covid-19 cases. India may see cases peaking as early as in two months. —PTI

New Delhi: India’s actual COVID-19 caseload is 3,58,692, while close to 18,000 people have recuperated from the disease in 24 hours taking the the number of recoveries to 6,53,750 which exceed active cases by 2,95,058, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.

With inputs from various States the number of recoveries stand at 6,54,200 which exceed active cases 2,92,194.

Medical attention is being provided to all active cases, either in home isolation or in hospitals for severe cases, it said.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry, “The last 24 hours saw 17,994 COVID-19 patients recovering. The recovery rate is now 63 per cent.”

About 1,34,33,742 swab samples have been tested till now.” —Agencies

‘UP GOVT DIDN’T PAY ATTENTION TO TESTING’ New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra BJP government in UP over the rapid rise in corona cases, alleging that the disease has taken a ‘gigantic form’ as the Yogi Adityanath dispensation did not pay attention to key containment measures such as testing and contact tracing.

The Congress general secretary has been criticising the state government’s response to the crisis, alleging that it is indulging in propaganda, instead of dealing withit. “There has been a jump of 200% in COVID-19 cases in three districts of UP, 400% in three districts & above 1,000% in one district, she said.—ANI

‘Entire nation is with Assam’

06

POWER Gallery KAUN BANEGA SBI CHIEF?

Interview to select new Chairman of the SBI is expected to take place in a month or two. Four contenders from the Bank viz. Dinesh Kumar Khara, Arjit Basu, C S Setty and Ashwani Bhatia are sure to be called for the= interview.

DR S JAISHANKAR WAS LONGEST SERVING INDIAN AMBASSADOR TO CHINA

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar knows China very well as he was the longest serving Indian diplomat in that country from 2009 to 2013.

ANSHUL BHARGAVA SELECTED FOR DIRECTOR (HR), POSOCO

Anshul Bhargava, Chief People Officer/Head HR, Administration and CSR, PNB Housing Finance Limited, has been selected for the post of Director (Human Resources), Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO), at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on July 17, 2020. As many as eight persons were interviewed for the same.

SEVEN CSS OFFICERS GET NEW JOBS AT DEPUTY SECRETARY LEVEL IN GOI

As many as seven officers of Central Secretariat Service (CSS) have been shifted at Deputy Secretary level in Government of India. Accordingly, Mary Jacob has been appointed as Deputy Secretary, Labour & Employment, while vijay Kumar Balayan was posted as Deputy Secretary, DONER and Mrs Sarojini Rawat is Deputy Secretary, Food & Public Distribution. Similarly, Ravi Kumar Verma has been appointed as Deputy Secretary, Corporate Affairs; Rajesh Kumar as Deputy Secretary, Heavy Industries; Karam Chand as Deputy Secretary, Rural Development and Naresh Bharadwaj was posted as Deputy Secretary, Pensions & PW. REORGANISATION OF FOBS & BOCS

MIB has reorganised 10 regional and field units of Regional Outreach Bureaus (ROB) and Field Outreach Bureaus (FOB) for smooth function and administrative reasons. Accordingly four posts of IIS officers -Salem, Jorhat, Mumbai and Puri have also been relocated to Vellore, Tezpur,Pune and Bhubaneswar.

SENIOR IRPS OFFICER SANJAY SURI RETIRING IN JULY

Sanjay Suri, Principal Chief Personnel Officer, Western Railways, is due to retire in July, 2020.

He is a 1983 batch IRPS officer.

DEATH TOLL @ 79

B VEERA REDDY IN RACE FOR CMD, WCL

B Veera Reddy, Director Technical, Eastern Coalfields Limited (WCL), is in the race for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Western Coalfields Limited (WCL).

TWO P&TBWS OFFICERS GET NEW POSTINGS

Two SAG level P&TBWS officers have been transferred. While Rama Rani has been posted at DGT hq, AK Midha has been moved to Delhi LSA. Forest officials stop a rhino crossing NH-37, at Deopani village in Nagaon on Friday.

level,” the report released by the ASDMA officials stated.

At least 76 people have died and nearly 54 lakh people have been affected in 30 districts of Assam due to floods caused by rains and the rise in water levels of the Brahmaputra river, informed the Assam State Disaster Management Authority. —ANI

New Delhi: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hailed the people of Assam for their self determination in fight against the floods, saying entire nation is with them.

“The entire nation is with Assam. The people of Assam are facing this problem with all their grit and their self-determination nature and they will recover from this disaster. I appeal entire Congress workers to

The entire nation is with Assam.

The people of Assam are facing this problem with all their grit and their self-determination nature and they will recover from this disaster. I appeal entire Congress workers to extend all possible help.

—Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leader

extend all possible help,” the Congress leader said in a tweet.

On Friday, the flood situation in Assam continued to remain grim,

Vasudevanand Saraswati and Swami Vishwa Prasanjeet attended the meeting via video links.

General Secretary of the Trust Champat Rai said, soon after the monsoon, the Ram temple trust will contact 10 crore families across the country for financial help and it will take three to three-and-half years after the finalisation of the temple’s design to complete its construction.

At the meeting, the issue of the height of the Ram Mandir was discussed. The temple’s height would be 161 feet and have five

domes, said Kameshwar Chaupal, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust.

The meeting of the Trust was also attended

by Nripendra Mishra, the former principal secretary to Prime Minister Modi and the chairman of the construction committee of Ram Mandir, and Avaneesh Awasthi, the principal secretary to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aadityanath.

—PHOTO BY ANI

as five more deaths were reported, taking the death toll due to the monsoon deluge to 76, while around 36 lakh people in 28 of the state’s 33 districts have been affected.

According to the officials of ASDMA, of the 36 lakh flood-affected people, around 22 lakh are in four districts Dhubri (8,92,109), Goalpara (4,43,768), Barpeta (4,29,708) and Morigaon (4,24,541). —ANI

IAS CHANGES IN MAHARASHTRA

Chief Protocol Officer Manisha Mhaiskar has been appointed as Maharashtra’s new Environment Secretary. She is a 1992 batch IAS officer. Ashutosh Salil (2010 batch) has been made Managing Director of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC).

Panchal (2016 batch) was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Yavatmal Zilla Parishad.

GOPAL MEENA AND RANJITA APPOINTED ADDITIONAL CEOS IN BIHAR

Gopal Meena and Ranjita have been appointed as Additional Chief Electoral Officers in Bihar.

Meena is a 2007 batch IAS officer while Ranjita is of the 2013 batch.

FROM PG 1 At SMIMER...

It was only after Surat Municipal Corporation’s leader of opposition Praful Togadia intervened that Mayor Dr Jagdish Patel entertained the case and the body was shifted back to the SMIMER morgue.

‘Raj govt... though the FIR registered by police does not say so.

“These are serious questions that we want to ask the Congress high command and Ashok Gehlot. Was phone tapping done?

Assuming that you’ve

tapped phones, was the SOP followed? Did the Congress government in Rajasthan use unconstitutional ways to save themselves when they found themselves cornered?” Patra asked at a press conference.

People of Rajasthan want to know whether their privacy has been compromised, he said, asking if phones of people related to politics are being tapped?

“Is it not a case of veiled emergency in Rajasthan?” he asked.

Patra demanded an immediate reaction from the state government and called for a

CBI investigation into this ‘saga of illegalities and concocted lies’.

He cited regulations governing phone tapping to say that it can only be done by authorised agencies as per due process of law and subject to approved safeguards and a standard operating procedure (SOP). —PTI

Ayodhya: Ram...

The decision about the tentative date for laying the foundation stone of the temple was taken at a meeting of the Trust members held in Ayodhya on Saturday. Senior advocate K Parasaran,

Centre issues...

India who have visited the malicious tweets

and links, and whether the affected users have been informed by the platform about unauthorised access to their Twitter accounts.

The government has also demanded information of vulnerability exploited by attackers and modus operandi of the attack and sought details of remedial actions taken by Twitter to mitigate the impact of the hacking incident.

Twitter was not immediately available for comments.

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) swung into action after reports

that hackers gained access to Twitter’s systems to hack accounts of many global corporate leaders, politicians, celebrities and businesses.

Cyber attackers had hacked into the Twitter accounts of global high profile users - including former US President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden as well as many corporate leaders including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla CEO Elon Musk - on Wednesday in a purported Bitcoin

scam.—PTI

AIIMS ethics...

“Few volunteers have already registered for the trial. We would start the screening of the individuals & evaluate their health condition from Monday onwards before vaccinating them,” Rai, who is also the principal investigator of the study, said.

Anybody willing to participate in trial can send an email to Ctaiims. covid19@gmail.com or an SMS to or call on 7428847499, he said. The institute may also put up these contact details on its website.

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

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

07

HOW BUSINESSES CAN TURN COVID-19 UNCERTAINTY TO THEIR ADVANTAGE New opportunities and business models are emerging in the wake of COVID-19 for those that are ready. Adopting a serendipity mindset can help leaders & businesses take advantage of unpredictable time

COVID-19 and the re-

lated economic turmoil has put a strain on businesses around the world and poses an existential threat for many enterprises. How can companies navigate this uncertainty and turn unpredictability into resourceful innovation and “smart luck”?

Against the backdrop of a pandemic that has changed the course of daily life and exacerbated inequalities, we are witnessing people and businesses embrace the unexpected in creative ways. Instead of shutting down, some distilleries started producing alcohol-based hand sanitizer at an affordable price; snow cannon businesses began producing disinfection cannons for large open spaces; and swimsuit businesses started selling healthy food via e-commerce. New opportunities and business models are emerging for those that are ready.

My decade-long research on leading companies and CEOs, incubators and social enterprises has shown that the world’s most inspiring leaders have developed – often subconsciously – a muscle for the unexpected that helps them to unleash creativity and resourcefulness and drive impact especially in times of uncertainty.

They create their own “smart luck” by spotting and connecting the dots.

What steps can we take to benefit from this serendipity mindset in our own business?

Effective leaders in times of crisis

Place and elevate bets

Why are we here and why should people care? Effective leaders, especially in times of crisis, often combine a sense of direction with a deep awareness that they cannot control, let alone predict, the future. Companies often identify this sense of direction by reconnecting with and modernizing their legacy and/or linking their capabilities to the current crisis or broader frameworks such as the SDGs. Recent research on incubators has shown that this openness to the unexpected is particularly important for early stage enterprises.

Enlightened leaders increasingly “place bets” in a number of ways, including by developing “micro-enterprise” models in which employees are being encouraged to leverage company resources to spot and develop new ideas. Investment committees then bet on the most promising ones. At Chinese company Haier this included a potato washing machine, which emerged out of the unexpected observation that farmers used washing machines to wash their potatoes. Innovation then is not something that is limited to a small number of people – it is the job of everyone in the company to identify potential opportunities that help the company survive.

Reframe

Cultivate serendipity-spotting

Reframing is about looking at a situation – and our capabilities – differently. A designer brand might realize that it can produce and sell stylish masks and gowns, while artists who had their performances cancelled due to COVID-19 can start capturing new audiences by teaching an instrument online.

For larger companies, spotting these emerging opportunities often requires structural change. Take the example of a multinational company organized in business units around particular solutions or technologies like tomography. This limits our thinking to everything related to improving tomography. If we instead broaden the business unit to be about precision diagnostics, it’s not about a particular product or technology anymore but about a broader problem that needs to be solved and real innovation becomes more likely.

Alertness is crucial to notice unexpected events and turn them into innovation. Some companies have integrated practices such as asking team members in the weekly meeting if they came across something surprising last week and, if so, did it change their assumptions? But if we want our employees to come up with new insights or ideas, we need to “de-risk” the process of voicing them. We can learn from companies such as Pixar, where, in meetings, executives highlight that most ideas are bad at the beginning. Then, “imperfect” ideas, solutions or processes are used as ways of continuous learning.

Take advantage of the unexpected to shape operations

Provide a sense of belonging

In a fast-changing world, often unexpected solutions to challenges emerge of which we need to make sense. IKEA producing wind farms or Mahindra & Mahindra operating effective waste-to-energy projects was not pre-planned – these solutions emerged unexpectedly.

These companies’ leaders realized that the unexpected can be an opportunity rather than a threat and it helped them shape their companies’ operations and culture. This is particularly pertinent in moments of crisis: in the case of Best Buy, its response to a hurricane – when the company treated employees as a family, organizing food, water and private planes – ultimately led to a substantial increase in customer loyalty and employee productivity.

Companies are often the most important place for people to socialize. In a physically-distanced, COVID-19 world, this needs to be emulated virtually.

This can include “random lunches”, in which strangers within the organization are randomly matched and prompted to discuss inspiring questions. This can also lead to new insights and perspectives.

Our reaction to the unexpected and crises such as COVID-19 often defines who we are. In the spirit of Viktor Frankl, there is a space between stimulus and response and, in this space, is our power to choose. How we choose can be the difference between innovation and demise.

n SOURCE: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM n CONCEPT: DIVYA HAMNANI n DESIGN: SITARAM SHARMA

Half the beauty of life is the unpredictability of it, a favourite movie also loses the fun when watched again and again.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

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

WILL SACHIN WALK THE PATH OF RAMESH achin Pilot has been repeating his claim that he is with Congress party. His statement is reminiscent of Karnataka’s rebel Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was the main reason for the fall of Kumaraswamy and Congress coalition government in Karnataka. Ramesh was rebel and stayed in a hotel in Mumbai, where, at that time, BJP’s Fadnavis government was in power in Maharashtra.

Karnataka Congress veteran D Sivakumar reached Mumbai to convince Ramesh, but he was not allowed to enter the hotel. Ramesh kept saying repeatedly from

S

Sachin Pilot

outside that he would not go to BJP and would not leave Congress, which, incidentally, is being repeated by Pilot as well, however, Ramesh joined BJP after a few days. And after this, Kumaraswamy-Cong government fell in Karnataka. Meanwhile, Pilot’s 18 supporting MLAs have also gathered at a hotel in Gurugram. But the command of this entire matter was not in the hands of Sachin alone. It is believed that BJP is also getting support from BSP supremo Mayawati and AAP. Mayawati is angry with Gehlot and Congress over the fact that Gehlot broke 6 BSP MLAs who joined Congress in September 2019.

Just last month, Mayawati came out with a report in the EC to disqualify membership of these MLAs who have gone to Congress. It is now being heard that Maya is going to knock the doors of court on the issue that the voting rights of these MLAs should be revoked.

This means that BJP still intends to beat Gehlot govt in floor test. At the same time, AAP is acting like BJP’s ‘B

FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

Team’. A close look at tweet of AAP leader Raghav Chadha reveals that he is directly attacking Rahul. At the same time, Congress has always avoided targeting AAP directly. So, Pilot is not only one to take a decision on this whole issue, he will also have to grapple with the circumstantial panic and knowingly-unknowingly would have to fall for the ‘saffron’ instructions.

WILL RAHUL BE CROWNED AGAIN? onia Gandhi’s term of interim president of Congress is coming to an end on August 10, since according to party constitution, term of interim president is one year. Now speculation has intensified whether Sonia Gandhi will once again become the Executive President or pave the way for Rahul to become party’s National

S

President. As it is, Sonia Gandhi goes out of 10 Janpath in a limited fashion these days, due to her health reasons and her political message to the partymen is reflected only in her tweets. There was a strong demand in the party that Priyanka should be made national president, but perhaps Sonia did not like this opinion and thus asked Priyanka to remain active in UP. Now Priyanka is going to leave Delhi and set up her camp in Lucknow so that

Rahul Gandhi

there is no problem of leadership in front of Rahul. But for Rahul too, his new presidential innings is not going to be easy. Congress governments of Karnataka and MP have gone, while Rajasthan is already in a state of turmoil. After this, Congress coalition governments of Maharashtra and Jharkhand may also fall. The senior Congress leaders of Jharkhand are miffed with their high command. In his last presidential tenure, Rahul had led party’s younger leaders, but by coincidence, leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Randeep Surjewala, Dipendra Hooda, Jitin Prasad, Milind Deora, Priya Dutt, Sushmita

Central team warns : Don’t use Tocilizumab sans doc’s advice

Guj Govt assures the injection would be available to ‘those who need’ but it should be rationally used Shishir Awasthi Ahmedabad: Even as there is a veritable scramble for the seemingly elusive Tocilizumab injection to treat COVID-19 patients, a high-level Central team visiting Gujarat on Saturday cautioned against its indiscriminate use without the advice of an expert.

Simultaneously, State Health Commissioner Jaiprakash Shivhare stated that Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who also holds the health portfolio, were continuously monitoring the injection’s availability.

This, when the State Food and Drugs Control Administration on Saturday once again unearthed a racket in sale of fake or spurious injections

KEY DISCUSSIONS

in Ahmedabad and Surat at exorbitant prices, anywhere from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1.35 lakh.

The Central team, which discussed the treatment protocol with government and private doctors, included AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, ICMR Director-General Dr Bal-

ram Bhargav, NITI Aayog member Dr Vinod Paul and Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Arti Ahuja.

Shivhare informed that Dr Guleria and other experts provided guidance about the use of Tocilizumab injection. “They said

it should be administered only on the recommendation of doctors who can decide it on the basis of test indicators,” he said.

The injection would be made available to all the patients who need it, the state government has decided, he said, adding that “Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and

his deputy Nitin Patel were monitoring its availability daily.”

The Health Commissioner quoted the experts to say that, “Availability of the injection will increase, but it should be used rationally. The decision on who should be given the injection should be left to the expert doctors.”

Dev, Gaurav Gogoi, Ravneet Singh Bittu etc came ahead due to hereditary politics. Now the old Congress workers are beginning to feel that in their new innings, Rahul will have to bidadieu to hereditary politics and give preference to the grassroots leaders.

clude his son Chirag in the Union Cabinet however, Shah made it clear that given Chirag’s age and his experience, right now it will not be possible to give him a cabinet rank and questioned how can both father and son stay in the cabinet?

The elder Paswan then expressed his desire to quit his ministerial post on health grounds, it is understood that BJP top has bluntly told him that no such possibility of reshuffle is possible before Bihar elections. Nitish is constantly pushing his opponents in Bihar, in order to reduce influence of Paswan in NDA, he wants to bring Jitan Ram Manjhi into JDU fold. Besides this, Nitish is in constant contact

WHY IS CHIRAG ATTACKING NITISH hirag Paswan is vowing to get out of the shadows of his father Ram Vilas Paswan, and his recent statements also reveal his eagerness on the issue. Sources reveal that Ram Vilas Paswan had come to meet Amit Shah recently.

While the elder Paswan had expressed concern about Nitish’s stance in Bihar, he had also requested Shah to inNitish Kumar

C

Cops nab 5, foil attempt to loot businessman

08

with more than a dozen RJD and Congress MLAs, who they want to bring in JDU. Efforts are also being made by BJP to keep pace with JDU and LJP for seat sharing.

Sources reveal that LJP has received a proposal under which JDU can get 107 seats, BJP 98 and LJP 38 seats in upcoming polls. LJP is said to have agreed to this, but Nitish has not agreed yet, and sources say that Nitish is not ready to give more than 20 seats to LJP, which is probably the reason why Chirag has opened a ‘front’ on Nitish these days.

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

Chirag Paswan

4 workers suffocated to death in textile firm

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has picked up five people, who were leaving the city allegedly to commit loot and extortion in Vapi town.

The Crime Branch had received a tip-off that Sarkhej’s Arif Shaikh and Vapibased Altaf Mansuri had planned to loot the office of a businessman in Vapi and extort money.

They were to pass through an underpass near Balaji Agora Mall and the police also had details of their vehicle registration numbers.

When checked, country-made pistols, live cartridges, six mobile phones and Rs 12.000 cash were found from their two cars.

They told the police that Vapi-based Mohammed Altaf Aziz Ansari had informed them about a huge cash with his boss, following which they hatched the conspiracy.

Workers met with tragic death while cleaning safety tank in A’bad.

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Four workers were asphyxiated to death while cleaning the safety tank of the Vishal Fabrics company near Simaj village under the Dholka taluka on Saturday.

Vishal Fabrics is a subsidiary of the Chiripal Group, a leading textile group in Ahmedabad.

Dholka mamlatdar HM Damor told First India that the incident took place in the afternoon. The company management had hired a contractor to clean the safety tank of its fabric plant.

Four workers, who hail from Ahmedabad district, entered the tank but never came out. The contractor called for fire services, but by the time they could be rescued they had died of suffocation.

Their bodies have been sent to Koth hospital for post mortem.

Koth PSI HR Patel is investigating the case. Sources said a criminal complaint may be filed against the contractor and the factory management. None of the workers was given any protective gear to clean the tank.

UTTERLY BUTTERLY: Amul clocks `52,000cr turnover First India Bureau Anand: Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which has kept the Amul flag flying through the thick of the Covid-19 crisis and maintained seamless supplies of milk and dairy products, has clocked a turnover of Rs 38,542 crore for FY ‘20, which is 17% higher than the previous financial year. Informing this at the 46th Annual General Meeting on Satur-

day, GCMMF Managing Director RS Sodhi stated that, “In fact the consolidated turnover of GCMMF and its constituent member unions, representing all products sold under Amul brand exceeds Rs 52,000 crore.”

The Federation aims to scale this up to Rs 1 lakh crore by 2024-25.

From being the 18th largest dairy organisation in the world in 2011, Amul is today the 9th and aspires to enter the top-three league, Sodhi

From being the 18th largest dairy organisation in the world in 2011, Amul is today the 9th and aspires to enter the top three league.

—RS Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)

added.

He was upbeat about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement of Rs. 15,000 crore dairy infrastructure fund, “with which Indian dairy industry can build around 4 to 5 crore litres of extra capacity.”

GCMMF Chairman Ramsinh Parmar said that during the last 10 years, “Our milk procurement has witnessed a phenomenal increase

of 138% from 90.93 lakh litres per day (LLPD) in 2009-10 to 215.96 LLPD in 2019-20. This is because of the high milk procurement price paid to our farmer-members which has increased by 127%.”

He added that during this global pandemic, Amul cooperatives procured an additional 35 lakh litre of milk per day, “which means we have given around Rs. 800 crore extra to the rural milk producers.”

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

09

AHMEDABAD, SUNDAY JULY 19, 2020

THE POLE DANCE FITNESS TREND IS ABOUT FOCUSING ON APPRECIATING AND RESPECTING WHAT YOUR BODY CAN DO

YES I CAN IT CAN BE FUN TO TWIST, TWIRL, AND (OH YES!) BE SEXY, ALL WHILE GETTING A FANTASTIC WORKOUT. CITY FIRST REVEALS THE PROCESS TO PERFECT NEW MOVES KARISHMA GWALANI

karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

S

tereotypes around pole dancing have existed for far too long. It’s often considered to be something that strippers do in

nightclubs. Like many female forms of dance, pole dancing has had a fraught history of seedy clubs and leering men-a reputation that often chases would-be dancers away. But Pole dancing is so much more than that. Not only is it an incredible core and upperbody strength builder, but it is also sexually liberating, emotionally cathartic, a form of expression, and an exploration of self.

With Jacqueline Fernandez in ‘A Gentleman’ and Jennifer Lopez in ‘Hustlers’, pole dance is picking up steam. In the latest trend pole dancing is being recognised as an effective form of fitness.

The pole dance fitness trend is often associated with women only, though more and more mixed classes are popping up and most competitions now even include men’s categories. Highlighting themes of empowerment and body positivity in an era of self-care, it’s no surprise that we’re seeing the rise of pole dancing as the new fitness trend.

In order to escape the stigma associated with pole dance fitness, more and more fearless woman from all around the world are being unreservedly open about why they love it and how it makes them feel. Pole requires an immense amount of skill, training and athleticism, and is an

uplifting form of exercise that we should be able to discover, own and enjoy without any judgment whatsoever.

The pole dance fitness trend is about focusing on appreciating and respecting what your body can do. Many of us are especially shy when it comes to our bodies. Sure, you may feel a little silly in your first couple of classes, but once you gain an understanding of how it works and you start to master the basics.

Once you start to devel-

op these skills, it’ll have a deeply positive impact on you, both emotionally and physically. You’ll start to walk taller, and you’ll become super proud of yourself and your newfound abilities. Plus, you’ll feel sexier, a whole lot sexier.

But perhaps the best part of pole dancing as a workout is that women of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels are encouraged to mix workout time and sexy time. So go on girl, give it a try! Love what your body reveals to you.

Trust yourself. Be wild!

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

ARIES

MAR 21 - APR 20 Whether you’ve been wanting to find more time to dedicate to connecting with loved ones or to redecorate your home office, coming up with a step-by-step action plan now can be a wonderful, productive first step to seeing your vision become a reality. from July 22 to August 22, the Sun will travel through your fifth house of romance and selfexpression making it easier to get in touch with your inner child and enjoy playful, spontaneous time with loved ones and friends. You’ll feel even more selfassured in leaning into fiery, passionate, playful.

TAURUS

APR 21 - MAY 20 You might gain a burst of confidence that you can apply toward infusing your day-to-day with an improved work-life balance from July 22 to August 22 while the confident sun moves through your fourth house of home life. If having a challenging conversation with a higher-up feels like a smart move, to take care of business, assuredly. Sudden shifts or surprises could crop up in your closest relationships on July 23 when the emotional moon in your fifth house of romance forms a harmonizing trine to game-changer Uranus in your sign.

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUNE 21 Make sure to tune into any musings or daydreams you e been having related to your daily work and moneymaking strategy around July 20 when the new moon is in your second house of income.

There is much to be learned from your deepest intuitive thoughts. If it suddenly feels tougher to bond with loved ones, or a social plan, you might find yourself feeling aggravated on July 24. You might feel less like putting yourself out there the next time, but know that this is a passing, brief phase, and you l feel connected once more soon.

CANCER

JUNE 22 - JULY 23 You could feel compelled dive into an exciting, ambitious personal goal-getting game plan around July 20 when the new moon is in your sign.

You’ll do well to be incredibly intentional as you lock in your vision and take steps that reflect your true emotions. This can make it easier to navigate any head-butting with a partner, as a result of the confident sun in your sign opposing taskmaster Saturn in your seventh house of partnership. And from July 22 to August 22, the buoyant sun moves through your second house of income.

WEEKLY JULY 19 TO JULY 25

FOR KATE BECKINSALE, THIS YEAR IS STRONG FOR PROFESSIONAL AS WELL AS PERSONAL OPPORTUNITIES. HER FAITH IN THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE AND TO WIN WILL TAKE HER PLACES. SHE IS ABLE TO SEE THE “BIG PICTURE”, WHICH HELPS HER TO PLAN EFFECTIVELY. THE ENERGIES OF THIS INFLUENCE FAVOUR NEGOTIATIONS, DEALS, LEGAL MATTERS, REASONABLE SPECULATION, AND TRAVEL. THIS ASPECT ALSO FAVOURS POSITIVE OUTCOMES IN COMPETITIVE ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING SPORTS AND BUSINESS, FOR EXAMPLE.

AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

10

LIBRA

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22 You might feel torn between your intuition and what seems to be the right thing to do on paper on July 25 when the emotional moon in your sign forms a tense square to communicator Mercury in your tenth house of career. You’ll do well to get clear on exactly what you want to say before delivering your message. And the same day, the moon in your sign opposes action-oriented Mars in your seventh house of partnership so watch out for impulsive actions and sudden conflict with a friend, colleague, or significant other.

SCORPIO

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22 Chances are you’ve been nudged in the direction of honing your skill-set or planning future travel already, around July 20, you l have another opportunity to get clear and set intentions related to learning through eye-opening experiences.

And from July 22 to August 22, the buoyant sun moves through your tenth house, urging you step into the spotlight. Higher-ups will appreciate your razor focus and confidence, but bringing a slightly lighter, more playful, optimistic point of view to the table could make for even more accolades.

SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 - DEC 22

If you’ve been wanting to be even more direct and confident in your closest relationship and give voice to your deepest desires, you’ll get a green light to do that again around July 20 when the new moon falls in your eighth house of emotional bonds and sexual intimacy. This could also be a fruitful time to talk about shared assets with a significant other. Either way, spending time meditating on what you want now allows you to gain clarity around your tightest bonds, giving you even more focus as you navigate the road ahead.

CAPRICORN DEC 23 - JAN 20

You e been on a journey, figuring out what you want to give and receive from your closest one-on-one relationships, you’ll have your second opportunity this year to speak your truth in this area of your life. If reciprocity hasn’t been a factor in a long-term love relationship or friendship, its time to get in balance in a way that feels fulfilling. The same day, the confident sun in your seventh house opposes taskmaster Saturn in your sign, and clashing with someone special might be part of doing the work to expedite.

LEO

AQUARIUS

Around July 20, the new moon falls in your twelfth house of spirituality for the second time this year, urging you to spend time meditating on your deeprooted desires and emotions. Then, be prepared to get your roar on, because it Leo season from July 22 to August 22, as the buoyant sun, your ruler, comes home. If you e been wanting to shore up an ambitious project, find a way to squeeze in a vacation that entails in the brilliant bright warm rays, the sky the limit during this confidence-bolstering period of time.

You might be inspired to turn over a new leaf related to your diet, fitness, or mind-body wellness routine around July 20 when the new moon falls in your sixth house of health and daily routine. Lay the groundwork for vitality and balance in the days. From July 22 to August 22, the buoyant sun moves your seventh house of partnership, making it a brilliant time to connect one-on-one with your significant other or a dear friend. By working together, and leaning on one another strengths, you’re sure to be unstoppable.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

VIRGO

JAN 21 - FEB 19

PISCES

AUG 24 - SEP 23

FEB20 - MARCH 20

Feeling you’re a part of your greater community and that you’re giving back could feel extra important to you around July 20 when the new moon falls in your eleventh house of networking.

Consider taking bold steps to join a local political activism group, start a fund raiser, something long term. And from July 22 to August 22, the confident sun moves through your twelfth house of spirituality, urging you to turn inwards, perhaps being even more diligent than usual about your favorite mind-body practices, such as yoga.

If you e been wanting your daily schedule to be more balanced, because you’ve been feeling spread too thin, you’ll have a sweet opportunity to take productive steps from July 22 to August 22 while the confident sun moves through your sixth house of wellness and daily routine. Even if your ideal scenario feels out of reach, there merit to setting bold intentions and taking baby steps now.

And on July 26, it is a good time for connecting with your significant other or loved ones (perhaps beautiful home-cooked meal comes easily.

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

AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

AISHWARYA AND AARADHYA

BHUMI@31

B

SHIFTED TO HOSPITAL

T

he Bachchan family is currently undergoing a tough situation as four members have tested positive for COVID-19. Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek, daughter-in-law Aishwarya, and granddaughter Aaradhya have been diagnosed with it.

Jaya Bachchan, however, had tested negative for COVID-19.

While Big B and Junior Bachchan have already been receiving treatment at the Nanavati hospital in Mumbai, Aishwarya, and Aaradhya, on the other hand, were under self-quarantine as suggested by the concerned authorities. But the case is not so now.

P

Aaradhya and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

As per the latest reports, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya have also been moved to the Nanavati hospital for further treatment. This has left the fans worried for the motherdaughter duo who were earlier under

riyanka Chopra does not need any introduction. The former Miss World and Btown’s most gorgeous diva is now considered a global icon too and has proved her mettle in acting not only in Bollywood but also in Hollywood. The stunning actress is known not only for proving her acting prowess in movies but also because of her impeccable fashion sense. We cannot

self-quarantine.

Talking about Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek, the two of them have already been receiving treatment at the same hospital over the weekend. Big B has also been active on social media and has posted several tweets in the

PeeCee turns 38!

help but mention her stylish and grand appearances at mega-events like Cannes and the Met Gala. As the Quantico actress turns a year older, fans have been already flooding social media with birthday wishes for her. Moreover, #HappyBirthdayPriyanka is currently trending on Twit-

11

humi Pednekar – a name that speaks for itself. The promising actress made her debut with the movie Dum Laga Ke Haisha back in 2015 and post that there was no looking back for her. Bhumi has proved her acting prowess in almost every movie she has appeared in till date and we don’t need any proof for that, isn’t it?

Moreover, her story from being an assistant film director to one of the most bankable actresses in Bollywood is truly inspiring.

Bhumi has been able to carve a niche for herself in the Bollywood film industry with her very first movie itself. The actress has experimented with myriad characters in the course of her fiveyear-old acting career in Bollywood and still has miles to go and achieve with some more interesting projects that are now lined up in her kitty.

Moreover, the characters which Bhumi has played till date are totally relatable to everyone, courtesy her realistic acting skills.

—Agency

past few days. Earlier Abhishek Bachchan had confirmed that his wife and daughter were diagnosed with C o r o n av i r u s through the medium of a tweet.

H e wrote, “A i s h warya a n d Aaradhya have also tested C OV I D - 1 9 positive.

They will be selfly quarantining at home.

The BMC has been updated on their situation. The rest of the family including my Mother have tested negative. Thank you all for your prayers.”

—Agency Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

ter too. ‘Happy birthday to Padma Shri and three-time national award-winning actress and producer,’ writes one user while another one writes, ‘Happy Birthday Priyanka, Thank you for being so ambitious, fierce, loving and most importantly kind. You’ve inspired millions like me to be the same. Wishing you happiness & peace of mind. Hope you soar greater heights this year.

Love you.’ Most of the fans have shared some pictures of the actress.

—Agency

Behind the scenes

B

ryce Dallas Howard is back on Jurassic World: Dominion sets and shooting tirelessly. In a Twitter post on Thursday, the actress, 39, showed off several massive bruises from doing stunt work for the upcoming movie in the franchise reboot. Alongside shots of large contusions on the back of both her arms and thigh, Howard captioned, “Raise your hands if you’re happy to be doing stunts again!!”

The star shared the behindthe-scenes images after some prompting from co-star Chris Pratt, who tweeted that Howard “got some crazy sick bruises from doing stunt work” after she posted a photo of the two of them sharing a laugh on set.

“Show them the pictures of the bruises!!!” the actor, 41, wrote on Twitter. “Show them!!!”

—Agency

Bryce Dallas

...her post

MANGO SALSA

M

ango salsa originated in North America. It is a well-balanced combination of sweet, salty, sour and spicy flavours.

It’s colors are very appealing and it forces us to eat it.

INGREDIENTS

 Lemon juice- 1/4cup

 Diced mango- 1 cup

 Mango juice with water- 4 to 5

 Chopped onion - 1 cup  Chopped tomatoes- 1/2 cup  Chopped green coriander - 1/4 cup

PROCEDURE

 Raw cumin -1spoon

 In a serving bowl combine the pre-

 Chopped red bell pepper- 1cup  Chopped cilantro leaves- 1/4cup

VRTIKA JAIN Priyanka Chopra

TV ARTIST AND COOKERY EXPERT

spoons

 And 2 tea spoon-refined oil

 Jalapeno, seeded and minced-1  Salt- according to taste  Red chilli powder-1 spoon

pared ingredients. In the end add refined oil for enhancing its beauty and life Use a large spoon to stir.

 For best flavour let the salsa rest

for 10 mins. Can serve with chips, nachos, crisped rotis, bread and with golguppas. Enjoy.

Bhumi Pednekar

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

City First pops the question to a few of It’s conscious’ readers and asks how are they managing their ‘wellgroomed’ habits and sense nowadays!

SWATI JANGID

O

ne thing was clear as Lockdown progressed beyond a monthhow we look is critical to our well being! The selfies and photos on Social media dropped to zero and throwback trends surfaced, not to mention memes, as grooming took a backseat with saloons shut down during the period.

Looking good and feeling good go hand in hand for most of us. And grooming is also a part of looking good nowadays for both men and women.

Now, that Unlock 2 is in the process many of the parlours are functional with full precautions.

Still, there are mixed reactions and low footfall.

Some have started their regular beauty parlour visits while others are only getting the so-called essentials done for now.

Quite a few have decided to forsake this personal ‘luxury’ for self-care and Do-it-Yourself regimes.

City First pops the question to a few of it’s conscious’ readers and asks how are they managing their ‘well-groomed’ habits and sense nowadays. swati.jangid@firstindia.co.in

AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

12

LOOKING GOOD

AND HOW! I am not the person who spends too much money on the parlour.

According to me, in this situation, I don’t think going outside is safe so I have already stocked up stuff like a hair spa and clean up. With the help of my sister, I can do everything easily. If I can do myself then why to go parlour.

—SHIVANI AGARWAL

This pandemic COVID situation, I am avoiding Human contact as much as possible. That’s why I have been avoiding beauty Saloons... But, Yes, it didn’t stop me from pampering myself! I am using app-based service experts to come home and serve. It’s comfort at home as well as precaution led styling. Stay Home, Stay Safe.

—CHAITALI SAURIN BASU

I have recently visited a Salon for my hair treatment and I have ensured that the salon I choose is following all the safety standards that can help any adverse impact of COVID. At a personal front am following the mask, sanitising and washing hands protocol. I am a huge fan of home pampering routines so face masks, body scrubs and regular pedicures are an ongoing process.

—VANITAA RAWAT

Swati Jangid

A CONVERSATION CHANNELIZE

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

TO REMEMBER… Your Energy

CITY FIRST

P

rabha Khaitan Foundation organised an online event ‘Kalam’ on Saturday, where well-known Theatre and film actor, playback singer and writer of the Hindi film industry, Piyush Mishra was seen as the guest author in conversation with Vinod Bhardwaj.

The event went live in 4 cities of Rajasthan and was watched by a large number of selected viewers. This was a special KALAM Rajasthan for Ajmer, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur.

During the conversation, Piyush

spoke about poetry, songs and aspects related to his life. Sharing about his childhood, he said that he spent his childhood in Gwalior. He then shared the days of the National School of Drama in Delhi. He shared that he has also started a musical band Balimaran in memory of Delhi and Mirza Ghalib. Talking about the film Makubal, he said that he was fortunate to work with all the senior actors in that film. Talking about his characters, he said that “I understand the character first, then write and then act.

I get so close to the character while writing about it that I start feeling it.

Kalam is an initiative of Prabha Khaitan Foundation presented by Shree Cement in association with We CARE and Jaipur Marriott Hotel. Before Jaipur, Kalam Online Series programs have been held in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Raipur, Patna, Ajmer, Udaipur, Agra, Delhi, Amritsar, Faridabad, Chandigarh, Pune, Lucknow, Jodhpur etc. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Gender Equality and Woman Rights

CITY FIRST

A

webinar was organised

by Rajasthan Technical University (RTU) and Poornima College of Engineering (PCE) on the topic of ‘Gender Equality and Woman Rights’, on Saturday, where women’s rights and laws were discussed by the experts’ HOD, School of Law (JECRC University), Dr Namita Jain and Director, Law College (University of Rajasthan), Dr Sanjula Thanvi. During the occasion, Vice-Chancellor, RTU, Kota, Prof. R. A. Gupta was present as a chief guest of the event, while Direc-

tor, Poornima College of Engineering, Dr Mahesh Bundele, threw light on the objectives of the webinar. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

CITY FIRST

Y

oung Indians (Yi) – Kota Chapter, an integral part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), organised a virtual interactive session titled ‘Untold Stories of Dr A Velumani’, on Saturday, to create a platform for young Indians to realize the dream of a developed nation. Yi was formed in the year 2002 and has around 3200 direct members in 49 chapters which engage around 29500 students under the brand ‘Yuva’. Chairman, CII Rajasthan, Vishal Baid briefed about constructive role and activities of CII during the COVID -19.

Chair – Yi Kota Chapter & Vice President, Pack Plast Industries, Saurabh Shourie welcomed all the guests and briefed about Young Indian’s activities. He encouraged the participants and said that if you are an Indian and age below 40, you have a great advantage, so channelize your energy and skilled yourself to create milestones.

Addressing the gathering of Yi Members, Founder & Managing Director, Thyrocare, Dr A Velumani, shared how his humble beginning made him a successful entrepreneur. Sharing his examples and learning he said, “Villages are true universities as there is no theory only practical, you learn every day. I am fortunate that I was born poor, several problems you solve in your life will make your life more meaningful. That is why I believe Poverty is also a form of luxury.”

In the end, Co-Chair - Yi Kota Chapter and Director & Vice Principal, Lawrence and Mayo Public School, Bhuvan Gaur thanked all the participants and guests, where Director & Head, CII Rajasthan, Nitin Gupta was also present. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

RAJASTHAN: The poster of a two-minute short film ‘THE MASK’ was launched by SHO, Vikram Singh Charan (Jalupura Police Station) on Saturday. The film aims to create awareness about wearing the mask. During this launch, Mohsin Khan, director Zafar Aizaz, along with Manzoor Khan, and Asif Khan were present.

RAJASTHAN: Gunjan Pareek, a student of Angel Public School, scored 96.2 per cent marks in the 10th CBSE board examination. She believes that hard work can improve life. So we should never stop working.

She said that she achieved this success through regular studies at home. Gunjan is the daughter of Journalist Mukesh Pareek.

HAPPY B’DAY! Kathak artist and choreographer Shivani Bhandari shared her creative interpretation of Muzaffar Ali’s iconic film Umrao Jaan in a short dance piece as a part of Baithak ‘UK My Life, My Art’ series, featuring Muzaffar Ali and Meera in conversation with Sangeeta Datta. The series was introduced by Director, Nehru Centre London, Amish Tripathi.

Arti Dogra celebrated her birthday on 18 July, Saturday.

We wish her all the best!