First India-Ahmedabad Edition-20 October 2020

AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

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NITISH KUMAR’S BEHAVIOUR HAS BEEN UNFAIR TOWARDS PASWAN: TEJASHWI

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RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 325

CENTRE AND STATE ARE MAKING EFFORTS TO PROVIDE RELIEF: MODI

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SAFETY All Puja pandals in WB FIRST! no-entry zones: HC

NADDA IN WB: CAA TO BE IMPLEMENTED SOON Siliguri: BJP national president JP Nadda Monday said the execution of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has been delayed due to the pandemic and asserted that the law will be implemented soon.

Nadda, who was speaking at a meeting of social groups of north Bengal, accused the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal of indulging in “divide and rule politics” in the state to serve the political interests of her party - the TMC, unlike BJP which works for the development of all.

All of you will get the benefits of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. It has been passed in Parliament. We are committed to it,” he said at the meeting.

“Due to COVID-19 pandemic, implementation of CAA got delayed. But as the situation is slowing improving, Turn to P6

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JP Nadda reached Siliguri on Monday on a day-long tour of West Bengal where he and Kailash Vijayvargiya communicated with party workers.

NADDA TO ADDRESS 4 RALLIES, NDA MEETING IN BIHAR ON OCT 20, 21 New Delhi: BJP president JP Nadda will address four public rallies in poll-bound Bihar on Tuesday and Wednesday and also speak at a meeting of leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance during a two-day visit to the state. Nadda will address election rallies in Buxar and Arrah on Tuesday afternoon, party spokesperson Sanjay Mayukh said. The BJP president will then address the NDA meeting in Arrah. District heads, MPs, district in-charges, assembly constituency in-charges, assembly convenors and candidates besides other important leaders from the region will participate in the meeting, he said. On Wednesday, Nadda will address election rallies in Bettiah and Motihari, Mayukh said.

Kolkata: In view of the COVID-19 situation in West Bengal and to contain the spread of the virus, the Calcutta High Court on Monday said Durga Puja pandals would be no-entry zones for visitors. Court also ordered that people would not be allowed within a five-metre distance for small pandals and 10 metre for big pandals.

The HC also asked each puja committee to submit a blueprint on crowd management and only the organisers can enter the pandal and for that names have to be put up outside the pandals beforehand. Only those people would be allowed to enter whose names will be mentioned outside the pandal.

Maximum 25 members are allowed in the pandal premises and the number of visitors is to be fixed, which will remain the same during the Durga puja celeberations. The court’s order will apply to all 34,000 registered Durga Puja pandals in the state. Last week, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had urged Durga Puja Committees not to allow people without masks in pandal.

This year, Durga Puja be celebrated from October 23 to October 26.

—ANI

Issue summons to Arnab before arraignment: HC Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday said if the Mumbai police crime branch proposes to arraign Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami in the TRP case, it should first issue summons to him as was done for eight others in the case.

A division bench of justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik said if such a summons is issued then Goswami shall ap-

pear before police and cooperate with probe.

The court also directed police to submit for its perusal investiga-

tion papers pertaining to the case in a sealed cover by November 5 when it would hear the matter. “The FIR is not an encyclopedia. We would like to peruse the investigation papers and see what probe has been done from today till the next date of hearing,” the court said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd, Turn to P6

Farooq grilled for 6 hrs by ED Srinagar: Enforcement Directorate on Monday questioned National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah for over 6 hrs in connection with a multicrore scam in Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association, prompting accusations of “political vendetta” by newly-formed People’s Alliance comprising several mainstream parties.

CBI has already filed a chargesheet against him.

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Chinese soldier ‘strays’ into Ladakh, held October 2020 after he had strayed across the LAC.” “A request has also been received from the PLA about the whereabouts of the missing soldier,” the Army said, adding that, “as per established protocols, he will be returned back to Chinese officials at the Chushul – Moldo meeting point after completion of formalities”.

Turn to P6

Ladakh: Indian Army on Monday apprehended a Chinese soldier in eastern Ladakh. The Army said that the soldier had “strayed across LAC” and will be handed over to PLA soon.

In a statement, the Army said, “a PLA soldier identified as Corporal Wang Ya Long was apprehended in the Demchok sector of Eastern Ladakh on 19

PIL seeking action against politicians for nCoV SOP violations filed The petitioner wishes to ensure that norms are followed during campaigning for state assembly by-elections First India Bureau Ahmedabad: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to initiate action against state political leaders for violation of the COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been filed in the Gujarat High Court.

With the state assembly bypolls for eight constituencies slated to be held in November, candidates contesting the elections have already initiated their campaign. The petition mentions breaches of the SOP by workers and leaders of political parties. It is likely to come

Gujarat High Court

up for hearing this week before first division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice JB Pardiwala. The High Court has initiated suo motu on novel coronavirus and other PILs related to the pandemic are being heard together.

The petitioner raised a few major issues before the court, with the first and foremost being the lack of social distancing at political gatherings, in a blatant violation of the nCoV

protocol. “If a common man violates the COVID-19 SOP they are required to pay fines, then why are the politicians not being fined for it?” mentioned the petition.

It added, “There is a need to monitor political meetings. Even though the Election Commission of India has issued norms for such gatherings, yet no heed is being paid to them by politicians.”

The petitioner also drew the court’s attention to the new

SOP rule for social and religious events, according to which, 100 people or 50% of the community hall capacity are allowed.

But no upper limit has been stated in the SOP and that needs to be clarified by the state.

Earlier, in its interim order, the High Court had made note of the SOP violation by political leaders. On October 05, the court had directly instructed the government pleader that the government must take action Turn to P6

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The festive season has taken a dive in the state this year, with the ban on public garba events and weddings having limited guests.

Workers at firecracker factories say the slash in demand has hit the industry particularly hard. Naim, a factory owner, said the rush of orders that his factory, located in Vanch village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city, usually sees around this time, is sorely missing. “I usually employ around 24 workers for the manufacture of crackers but because the demand is so low, I have kept only seven workers on the payroll. Usually, we are engaged in making crackers around the year because people buy them for any and every special occasion.

However, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, people have had little to celebrate so our sales have suffered.”

Luckily, Naim still has a few out-of-state orders from places such as New Delhi, Jaipur and Kolkata to keep his business afloat.

AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020

02

MISSING THE ‘FIRE’ IN FIREWORKS THIS DIWALI

—PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI

BJP’s Govind Parmar had threatened to resign over the rise of other leaders

PLACATED, UMRETH MLA TAKES U-TURN BARELY 24 HOURS LATER First India Bureau

Gandhinagar: Govind Parmar, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s MLA from Umreth has decided that he will not be resigning on Tuesday after all. The decision, which came barely 24 hours after he had threatened to quit his position in the Assembly, follows the party’s efforts to sort out his grievances.

Parmar has been unhappy with the local leaders in Anand, particularly Anand Lok Sabha member Mitesh Patel. His anger is directly linked with the recent cooperative election at Amul Dairy, in which he lost to Congress MLA Kanti Sodha Parmar.

In addition, the state government recently appointed two direc-

THE CRUX OF IT

Govind Parmar

tors on the Amul board.

Parmar has alleged that the state had nominated people who had worked against him and the party’s interest in the Amul elections.

He has also accused Lok Sabha MP Patel of

—FILE PHOTO

controlling the party organization and taking all the decisions, and claimed that Patel had once subjected him to a casteist slur.

A source within the BJP has claimed that Patel community lead-

ers are angry with Parmar, who they say went against their wishes to field a Patel candidate for the Umreth seat in the cooperative elections by contesting himself. As a result, Bharat Patel contested

the election independently, damaging Parmar’s prospects—and his own in the process.

The BJP leadership swung into action on Monday, before Parmar’s grievances caused any major harm to the party.

Chief whip Pankaj Desai set up a meeting between MLA Parmar and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday morning, before the situation spun out of control. He reportedly complained to the Rupani that he was being sidelined and targeted by the district leadership, making it a point to reference MP Mitesh Patel by name.

After getting assurance from the Chief Minister, Parmar told the media that his grievances are being addressed and that he would now not be resigning as MLA.

Crop insurance is ‘Farmer Fasaja’ scheme: Congress  Opposition claims state has allowed private firms to charge farmers Rs2,822 cr in premiums First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The Congress party has accused the BJP of working at the behest of the corporate sector. Manish Doshi, the party’s chief spokesperson had alleged that the BJP government has given private companies a free hand to “loot farmers”.

Doshi alleged that private companies have collected more than Rs2,822 crore from farmers as insurance premiums.

“Private companies collect hefty sums as insurance premiums from farmers.

Yet, hardly 40% of this amount is given back after crop damage.

Farmers are yet to receive money for dam-

Manish Doshi

age to their crops caused by this year’s rains,” he said.

He said that the government had promised to pay compensation to the farmers within 15 days. “Now, even after two months, farmers have not received a single penny. On top of that, the government is making laws that are against the farmers. With the new laws, the day is not far when the farmers have to work as labourers in the factories con-

—FILE PHOTO

structed by businessmen on their fields,” he said.

Currently on the campaign trail, Doshi addressed the media at Surendranagar on Monday, where he pointed out that the BJP government has shut 56 schools in the district.

“There is no law and order in the district. In the past two years alone, 47 incidents of rape and 71 cases of attempt to murder have been reported in the district,” he added.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020

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Four held in clash, private firing incident in Vadodara

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New cases fall below 1K mark, 1st time since July

Five to six persons were injured as six rounds were fired during the clash at Dumad Chokdi First India Bureau

HIGH IMPACT

Vadodara: The city’s Dumad Chokdi on National Highway 48 witnessed a dramatic sequence straight out of a Bollywood film on Monday, when a daylight car chase ended with a group of people jumping out of a car and opened fire on another group.

Five to six persons were injured in the clash which saw six shots fired. One person is said to be critical. They are all being treated at the Sayaji Hospital in Vadodara.

By evening, the police had picked up four persons, who will be officially arrested once their test for COVID-19 comes back negative.

According to an eyewitness, three cars chased a fourth, and proceeded to attack its occupants when they caught up with it. One person opened fire. Of the six shots fired, three missed and two hit two

Going by state data, medics might be able to take more breaks from COVID-19 soon. —FILE PHOTO

First India Bureau

Three of the men who were involved in the incident.

persons. A total of six people were rushed to the Sayaji Hospital after the melee that ensued.

As news of the incident began to spread, senior police officers and their teams rushed to the spot. They first controlled the situation and later started collecting evidence, during which they found two empty bullet shells.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Bharat Rathod told the media that the clash was about a missing cache of cash amounting to Rs1 lakh, which was to have been disbursed to brick kiln workers. He said a Savli trader was chased by a group in three different cars.

They blocked his car at Dumad Chokdi and at-

tacked the persons occupying the lead car.

He added that the police have identified one Ayub Pathan as the person who opened fire, using CCTV footage. Pathan is among the injured receiving treatment at the hospital.

Ayub later told media that he has a licence for the weapon from Uttar Pradesh and that he had

used it in self-defence as he and four of his other associates had been under attack.

Four persons involved in the incident have been picked up by the police. However, an officer at the Sama police station told First India that First Information Report is yet to be filed as all teams are still recording statements.

Farmer burns groundnut crop damaged by rain

A farmer in his field.

—FILE PHOTO

First India Bureau

32374 square metres), after it was left rotten by unseasonal rain.

Junagadh district has received more than 100% of its average annual rainfall this year, which has led to the failure of cotton and groundnut crops. Now, farmers are facing a double whammy, with crops that survived the monsoon falling prey to the unseasonal rain.

On Sunday, 43 talukas of the state received a spell of rain.

Of these, Dhrol in Jamnagar received 109mm of rainfall. On Monday, till the evening, 11 talukas had received rains. Tharad of Banaskantha received 22mm which was the highest across the state.

Junagadh: Unseasonal rains are worsening the lot of farmers across the state, who have already lost about 30% of their crops to the monsoon. Now, with crops rotting, farmers are being left no choice but to cut their losses.

A video featuring a heartbroken farmer in Shahpur in Vanthali of Junagadh who had to set fire to his groundnut crop gained traction on social media, on Monday.

In the video, the farmer, Hasambhai, said that he had to destroy his crop, sown over an area of 20 bighas (approximately

Gandhinagar: Bolstering hope that the tide might indeed be turning, the state has—in the past 24 hours—recorded less than 1,000 fresh cases of COVID-19 for the first time since July 21, when Gujarat saw its first four-digit jump in new cases of Sars-CoV-2 infection.

On Monday, the Health and Family Welfare department said that the state had recorded 996 new cases and eight fatalities. With this, the state has now seen a total of 1,59, 631 cases of COVID-19 and 3,637 deaths

NEED FOR SPEED Officials from the aviation department and the fire department held drills at the Sabarmati River Front on Monday to check the landing and take-off zone of the upcoming seaplane service between Ahmedabad and the Statue of Unity.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

996 cases, eight deaths state tally to 1,59,631 cases, death toll to 3,637 related to the disease.

The department claims to have discharged 1,147 patients, taking the state’s recovery rate to 88.85%. In the last 24 hours, the state has tested conducted 52,192 samples, bring the total so far to 54,26,621 tests. At present, there are 14,277 active cases in the state, with 71 patients on ventilator support.

Surat remains at the top of the list in new in-

fections with 227, followed by Ahmedabad with 178. Cases also emerged in Vadodara (112), Rajkot (83), Jamnagar (66), Gandhinagar (50), Mehsana (32), Patan (26), Junagadh (23), Kutch (21), Amreli (18), Banaskantha (16), Surendranagar (15), Sabarkantha (14), Morbi (13), Gir Somnath (12), Bharuch (11), Panchmahal (10), Narmada (9), Kheda, Mahisagar and Navsari (8 each), Anand (7), Bhavnagar, Dahod and Valsad (6 each), Devbhumi Dwarka and Tapi (five each), Botad and Chhota Udepur (four each) and Aravalli (three).

Car accident in Surat leaves two youth injured First India Bureau Surat: Two youths were injured late on Sunday night after a speeding car slammed into the moped on which they were riding. The car driver left his vehicle at the scene of the accident, which occurred around 10.30 pm near SVNIT road, and fled.

The two injured men were taken to a private

hospital where they are said to be in a serious condition.

This is the second such accident involving a speeding car, which the city is witnessing in a span of less than 10 days. On October 11, a speeding car killed two men when it rammed into them. Police arrested the accused in that case and have launched an investigation into Sunday’s accident.

AMC LOP QUITS 2 MONTHS BEFORE HIS TERM ENDS First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Leader of the Opposition in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Dinesh Sharma has resigned from his just two months before the end of his tenure.

While he stated that he was stepping down for personal reasons, insiders say the move follows several complaints against him by both councillors and local MLAs.

Two weeks ago, two Congress MLAs—Himmatsinh Patel and Shailesh Parmar—had approached state party in-charge Rajiv Satav requesting that he change the leadership at the civic body. Satav took no action at the time since the local body elections were still expected to be held in November. The MLAs had reportedly insisted on the change in leadership, even if it was to have been just

BACK STORY

—FILE PHOTO

Dinesh Sharma.

for a month.

“He has been accused of corruption, and there

have been complaints that he was not raising pertinent issues in the

civic body. Even during the time of COVID-19, he was never critical of

the inaction of the BJPrun civic body. Moreover, he was always interested in the contractual work of the AMC,” said a source privy to the development.

“If he hadn’t resigned today, he would have been expelled from the post in the next week or two. This way, he got to save a little of his dignity,” the person added.

It is to be noted that Sharma has had issues with his colleagues for at least three to four years.

NO HURRIED DECISIONS

‘Schools will not be reopened until all stakeholders are consulted’ 

State education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama’s clarification comes after several schools said they might resume on-campus classes after Diwali

First India Bureau Gandhinagar: Wary of taking any hasty decisions about sending children back to school campuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government plans to consult all stakeholders before it comes to a final call. In addition, the issue will also be discussed in the next cabinet meeting, according to education minister Bhupen-

drasinh Chudasama.

Addressing the media on Monday, Chudasama said, “The health department’s opinion will be very important in this regard.

However, we will take a decision on when to reopen schools and for which classes only when there is close consensus among all stakeholders.”

The minister’s announcement came after a meeting of the health and education depart-

Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.

—FILE PHOTO

ments in Gandhinagar on Monday, where the issues related to Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for COVID-19 were discussed in detail. They also discussed how the health department would ensure that the SOP is following in schools once they reopen, and which age-group of students to send back to campuses first.

The state education department will also consider the Centre’s

SOP for Unlock 6.0, which is expected to be announced by the end of the month, before announcing a decision.

Sources say it is still likely that schools might reopen in a phased manner after Diwali, with Classes IX and XI returning to campus first, followed

by Classes X and XII. If this goes off without any hitches, the state might decide to send secondary students back next. Primary

schools will be the last to reopen.

The Gujarat chapter of the Paediatric Association of India has suggested that primary students be kept out of school campuses until the city/district they in which they are located goes at least without recording a single case of COVID-19. They say that unless SOPs are strictly enforced, reopening schools could lead to a high number of infections.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

MISOGYNY IS NOT CONFINED TO CONG

M

isogynist remarks by politicians do not shock top leaders of any party anymore.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s derogatory remark against Imarti Devi, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, should be unequivocally condemned and the party is justified in attacking the Congress. On its part, Congress needs to chastise its senior leader for the remark and warn others against disrespecting women. But BJP’s Jyotiraditya Scindia, Smriti Irani, and other leaders certainly can’t take high moral ground on the issue. Before sermonizing the Congress, these leaders would do well to recall Kailash Vijayvargeey’s “chocolatey face” remark against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. They should also recall the highly objectionable and casteist remark which Daya Shankar Singh, its leader in UP, made against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. The party did expel Daya Shankar but only until the elections. After the elections, he was made a vicepresident in the state unit.

At a rally in Meerut BJP’s Jayakaran Gupta referred to Priyanka Gandhi as “skirt waali bai has now started wearing sari and visiting temples, those who hate Ganga jal are now visiting the Ganga”. He got away by saying that the remark was not intended against anyone in particular.

Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan’s remark against actress Jaya Prada besides being sexist was the cheapest of them all. He said it took him only 17 days to recognize that she wears khaki underwear.

Over the years sexist remarks have become part of politicians’ lexicon. Criticism of one political party by another is only a political gimmick. Politicians’ tongues can’t be leashed.

CAN BALANCED LIFE BE ACHIEVED? REKHA KUMAR The writer is a personal development trainer working with corporate sector and government departments

I

AUSTRALIA TO JOIN QUAD EXERCISE

G

iven China’s intransigence on resolving the LAC issue and President Xi Jinping’s asking the People’s Liberation Army to be prepared for war, it became imperative for India to demonstrate its strengths and preparedness on all fronts. It is in this context that the Malabar Exercise of Quad navies has to be viewed. India, which was initially reluctant to invite Australia to the Malabar Exercise for fear of annoying Beijing, has thumbed its nose at the expansionist Communist giant. At the second ministerial-level Quadrilateral Security Dialogue held in Tokyo recently the member countries - India, US, Japan, and Australia - it was decided that navies of all the four nations will take part in the Malabar Exercise. The Malabar Exercise was earlier planned to be bilateral between India and the US. China’s hackles were raised when India invited Japan to take part in the naval exercises. Reacting sharply to the move, China said that it was hopeful that Tokyo will not “provoke confrontation and heighten tensions” in the region. By inviting Tokyo, India took the naval exercise to a trilateral level. India was hesitant to invite Australia to join the important naval exercise because of its economic relations with China. Canberra, which had earlier wanted Quad to be focused on trade and culture, described the Malabar Exercise 2020 as “a milestone”. Australia’s Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds even said that the “high-end military exercises like Malabar Exercise are key to enhancing Australia’s maritime capabilities…”

Balance means a state in which no one part, factor, or influence overweighs another or is out of proportion to the other. It is a state of mental and emotional steadiness and calm behaviour.

A balanced person strives to be orderly and systematic in daily activities.

Such a person plans ahead and shows self-control in all areas

magine a mother’s eyes beaming as she waits with open arms for her daughter to take her first steps. When the daughter suddenly topples, the mother supports her to try again.

She knows that her daughter will soon gain her balance and strength.

Similarly, a new job or business may need time and support before it attains the balance needed to succeed. A person requires constant effort to keep pace. Some are thrown off balance by unexpected changes in their circumstances due to poor health, financial needs, or various other demands.

Balance means a state in which no one part, factor, or influence overweighs another or is out of proportion to the other. It is a state of mental and emotional steadiness and calm behaviour. A balanced person strives to be orderly and systematic in daily activities.

Such a person plans ahead and shows self-control in all areas.

It is a challenge to sort out priorities, juggle responsibilities, and devote time and energy to the more important aspects of life. It is like walking on a thin wire; loss of balance can be disastrous. Those lacking good organising skills tend to procrastinate thus complicating their lives. By not doing things in haste, they accomplish more without severe stress. Setting realistic goals contributes to stability.

Modestly acknowledging that we cannot accomplish everything ourselves, keeps one from being opinionated, and shows the balance on our part.

Learning the balance will help us not to push ourselves beyond our limits but budget our energies.

Our body does not have flashing red lights and alarms that tell us to stop or slow down. But it does give us warning signals, like tiredness or mood changes, and a tendency to get infected by viruses. If one has these

symptoms, it is time to re-examine one’s lifestyle and reserve some personal time for oneself.

Everybody everywhere seems to be busy. They find it hard to meet the demands of both, their work life and their home life. When we constantly try to do more than what time may allow, we become stressed and victims of ‘time pressure.’

Continuous overexertion leads to exhaustion and undermines our determination to carry on.

A balanced person establishes a practical schedule for all activities. A frantic pace may set records but cannot be maintained for long. Moving ahead steadily in a routine protects us from losing control. Reasonableness would require that we take care of our health, with enough sleep and exercise.

An enquiring mind makes us eager to find out about things.

We are driven to explore the world around us. Like many other things in life, curiosity can be a blessing or a curse, if properly directed, it can uncover gems of knowledge.

Unbalanced thinking can make one arrogant thus damaging relationships with others. A distorted view of selfimportance will prevent us from having a fair and accurate perspective of people and

LIKE SPICES IN APPETIZING FOOD, VACATIONS ACHIEVE THE BEST RESULTS WHEN USED SPARINGLY. EXTREME INDULGENCE IN WORK AND ENTERTAINMENT CAN LEAVE US DISSATISFIED

events. Not taking ourselves too seriously, allows for reconciliation and mutual respect.

Like spices in appetizing food, vacations achieve the best results when used sparingly.

Extreme indulgence in work and entertainment can leave us dissatisfied. People, in their normal lives, have jobs and routines to diffuse emotions.

Vacations can be a pleasant experience only when the interests of everyone are balanced out.

Hobbies prevent boredom during leisure time and help to develop skills. By determining how much spare time can be “hobby time”, we can handle family responsibilities effec-

HOW AI CAN AFFECT OUR DECISIONS

H

ave you ever used Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, or Amazon Alexa to make decisions for you? Perhaps you asked it what new movies have good reviews, or to recommend a cool restaurant in your neighbourhood.

Artificial intelligence and virtual assistants are constantly being refined, and may soon be making appointments for you, offering medical advice, or trying to sell you a bottle of wine.

Although AI technology has miles to go to develop social skills on par with ours, some AI has shown impressive language understanding and can complete relatively complex interactive tasks.

In several 2018 demonstrations, Google’s AI made haircut and restaurant reservations without receptionists realising they were

04

talking with a non-human.

It’s likely the AI capabilities developed by tech giants such as Amazon and Google will only grow more capable of influencing us in the future.

BUT WHAT DO WE ACTUALLY FIND PERSUASIVE? My colleague Adam Duhachek and I found AI messages are more persuasive when they highlight “how” an action should be performed, rather than “why”.

For example, people were more willing to put on sunscreen when an AI explained how to apply sunscreen before going out, rather than why they should use sunscreen.

We found people generally don’t believe a machine can understand human goals and desires. Take Google’s AlphaGo, an algorithm designed to play the

board game Go. Few people would say the algorithm can understand why playing Go is fun, or why it’s meaningful to become a Go champion. Rather, it just follows a pre-programmed algorithm telling it how to move on the game board.

Our research suggests people find AI’s recommendations more persuasive in situations where AI shows easy steps on how to build personalised health insurance, how to avoid a lemon car, or how to choose the right tennis racket for you,

rather than why any of these are important to do in a human sense.

DOES AI HAVE FREE WILL? Most of us believe humans have free will. We compliment someone who helps

others because we think they do it freely, and we penalise those who harm others. What’s more, we are willing to lessen the criminal penalty if the person was deprived of free will, for instance, if they were in the grip of a schizophrenic delusion.

But do people think AI has free will? We did an experiment to find out.

The fact people could accept unfair offers from AI concerns me, because it might mean this phenomenon could be used maliciously. For example, a mortgage loan company might try to charge unfairly highinterest rates by framing the decision as being calculated by an algorithm. Or a manufacturing company might manipulate workers into accepting unfair wages by saying it was a decision made by a computer.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

tively. All family members can cooperate and support each other.

Many of us are prone to extremes. Following the middle course, helps us to achieve more. Carrying out our duties diligently helps us to gain experience and acquire skills that may be useful in other areas of life. Many mature persons accept that it took them time to achieve balance in fulfilling their responsibilities in an outstanding way. They became an asset to their organisation and an example for everyone. Their impression can be profound and long-lasting.

Having much to do does not mean that we cannot be happy.

The busiest people are amongst the happiest if they are reasonable, maintain a fine outlook, and use good judgment to remain well-balanced.

To sum up, being organized, having realistic goals, a practical schedule with quality “me time”, and following moderation in everything, are stepping stones towards leading a balanced life.

Living life in a balanced way is good for our mental, physical, and emotional health. It would be wise to ask ourselves, ‘what do I want out of life?’

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

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Spiritual SPEAK

A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

—Proverbs 16:28

Vol 1 Issue No. 325 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.

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

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NITISH’S BEHAVIOUR UNFAIR TOWARDS PASWAN

Tejashwi sympathises with Chirag Patna: Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav expressed sympathy towards LJP president Chirag Paswan and said that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s behaviour has been unfair towards Paswan when he needed his father the most. “What Nitish Kumar Ji did with Chirag Paswan is not good. Chirag Paswan needs his father today more than ever before but Ram Vilas Paswan Ji is not among us and we are sad about it. Nitish Kumar did injustice with Chirag Paswan, his behaviour is unfair,” Tejashwi said.

Yadav scion also threw a challenge to Nitish Kumar for a debate on any achievement by the JD(U) government in the past 15 years.

“I would request Nitish Kumar to debate on any of his achievements in past 15 years.

We can debate on his

BJP to telecast PM Modi’s election rallies digitally Bodh Gaya: In an effort to reach out to the maximum possible people amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, (BJP) will telecast Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rallies digitally in Bihar.

Devendra Fadnavis, for mer Maharashtra

Tejashwi Yadav

achievement and we should start a new debating trend. There should be a Chief Minister candidates’ debate. Nitish Ji should accept my challenge,” he added.

Tejashwi spoke about feedback from his rallies, “People are angry with incumbent govt & we will be voted to power comfortably.

Many people are coming to my rally.” —ANI

Chief Minister and Bihar Assembly election in-charge leading a strategy meet in Bodh Gaya on Sunday, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally will be telecast through a digital medium in the view of COVID-19 pandemic. —ANI

Even single vote to JD(U) can spoil future of Bihar: Chirag targets Nitish Patna: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) President Chirag Paswan said that even a single vote for the Janata Dal (United) can spoil the future of the entire state.

Criticising Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the LJP leader

further said, “We can actually imagine the upcoming five years by looking at the Nitish Kumar’s tenure of the last five years.

We have to take urgent measures to bring Bihar out of this state of helplessness. —ANI

KAMAL NATH’S ‘ITEM’ REMARK

IN THE

05

‘Several IIMs, IITs & other institutes opened in last few yrs’ New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday highlighted that the Central government has established a number of higher education institutes, including IITs, IIMS, IIITs and AIIMS across the country.

“A total of seven new IIMs have been established in the last five to six years. Before this, there were only 13 IIMs in the country. Similarly, for seven decades only seven All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) were serving the country. After the year 2014, more than double i,e, 15 AIIMS have been established in the country or are in the process of starting,” the Prime Minister said, while virtually addressing the centenary convocation of the University of Mysore.

He said that there were 16 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the country till 2014, even

PM MODI SPEAK

after so many years of independence.

“In the last 6 years, on average, a new IIT has been opened every year. One of these is also open in Dharwad, Karnataka. As of 2014, there were 9 IIITs in India. In the subsequent 5 years, 16 Indian Institutes of Information

Technology (IIITs) have been established,” he added.

Prime Minister Modi further said that a lot of focus has been put into the development of infrastructure and structural reforms in higher education.

“In the last 5-6 years, we have continuously tried to help our students to go forward in the 21st century by changing our education system. Efforts in higher education aimed not only towards opening new institutes but also to ensure governance reforms and gender, social participation. At every level of education, gross enrolment ratio of girls is higher than boys across the country. Even in higher education, and in relation to technology, the participation of girls has increased. NEP will change the education setup of the country,” he said. —ANI

COURTYARD

CM Chouhan, Mishra, Don’t arrest M Sivasankar till Oct 23: Kerala HC Scindia, observe silent protest Bhopal/Indore: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Home Minister Narottam Mishra are observing a two-hour silent protest in Bhopal against former Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s alleged remarks, referring to BJP leader Imarti Devi as an “item”.

Another BJP leader, Jyotiraditya Scindia, is leading a silent protest in Indore, where several ministers of the state, are also present.

The two-hour silent protest started at 10 am on Monday.

Earlier on Sunday also, Chouhan had expressed his objections over the choice of words by the Congress leaders for a “daughter who served the Congress for so long”.

“It is an insult not only to Imarti Devi, but also to Madhya Pradesh’s daughters and sisters. Kamal Nath is using objectionable words for a daughter who served the Congress for so long. It is a country where Mahabharat took place when Draupadi was disrespected. People won’t tolerate it. Shame on him,” Chouhan told ANI, while speaking

Shivraj Chouhan along with senior BJP leaders, sits on a silent protest against Kamal Nath’s remarks, in Bhopal on Monday.

about the incident.

On Sunday, former chief minister Nath had allegedly referred to BJP leader Imarti Devi as an “item”, sparking a controversy.

“Suresh Raje ji hamare ummeedvar hai...yeh uske jaise nah hai...kya hai uska naam ... main kya uska naam lun? ...apko toh mujhe pehle savdhan karna chahiye tha ...yeh kya item hai...

(Our candidate is not like her... what’s her name? You should have warned me earlier...

What an item!),” Kamal Nath had said in Hindi, while the crowd called out Imarti Devi’s name.

Twenty-eight assembly seats will go to bypolls in Madhya Pradesh on November 3. —ANI

MAHA: AFTER MURDER OF 4 SIBLINGS, POLICE SUSPECTS RAPE Mumbai: There is massive anger in north Maharashtra’s Jalgaon over the murder and alleged rape of four young siblings two girls aged 13 and 6 years and two boys aged 11 and 8 years old. The children, who belonged to a tribal community, were allegedly hacked to death with an axe by unidentified accused, the police said. Four days

after the incident, the police are yet to make any arrests. However, they have added rape charges to murder case, based on circumstantial and scientific evidence, sources said. “We are verifying the evidence. Our probe is progressing well. We should be able to make arrests soon,” IG of Police Pratap Dighavkar told reporters.

‘Gandhis won’t act against Kamal Nath’

New Delhi: Smirti Irani said, “I find absolutely no justification that Kamal Nath ji can give for using such derogatory word against a female political activist. For the life of me, I cannot understand why Gandhi family chooses to be absolutely silent on this issue.”—ANI

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has ordered the Customs Department not to arrest the former Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister, M Sivasankar, till October 23, on the day when it will consider his anticipatory bail applications in cases registered by the Customs as well as by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Justice Ashok Menon, who heard the plea, also directed the Customs to file a counter affidavit in this case before October 23. Senior Advocate P Vijayabhanu, who appeared for the former Principal Secretary, sub-

mitted that “He is willing to appear before any investigating authority and has also done so in the past. 600 hours of travelling for the purpose of investigation has taken a toll on the health of M Sivasankar (IAS). Every attempt is being made to overreach the order passed by the court in the ED case. IAS officer being prosecuted like a com-

mon criminal.”

Counsel who appeared for the Customs, opposed this plea and sought time to get instructions in the matter.

“He (Sivasankar) is playing politics, he is now contradicting Chief Minister’s statement, as stated by him,” the Counsel said.

Sivasankar, had today moved a petition seeking anticipatory bail in the case registered by the Customs in relation to the gold smuggling case. Earlier, the High Court had granted him interim protection from arrest till October 23 in the case registered by

the ED. The case, which is currently being probed by the ED, National Investigation Agency and the Customs department, pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels.

The matter had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crores smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the Customs in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5.—ANI

Kerala HC rejects state govt’s plea against airport lease to Adani group

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala high court on Monday rejected the state government’s plea questioning the Centre’s decision to lease out Thiruvananthapuram international airport to the Adani Enterprises.

While rejecting plea of state govt and five others, the court said it did not want to interfere with what it called a policy decision of the Centre. Bench also observed that government had participated in bidding earlier & lost & it was not proper on its part to question the decision now.—ANI

ED questions Farooq in JKCA scam Srinagar: The ED questioned National Conference (NC) president and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar in connection with his alleged involvement in the J-K Cricket Association scam.

The questioning is in connection with alleged misappropriation of Rs 43 crores when Farooq Abdullah was the chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. Omar Abdul-

‘DON’T INTERFERE’: NADDA’S TOUGH WARNING FOR MLA New Delhi: An UP BJP MLA who has been staunchly defending an aide accused of shooting dead a man in public in Ballia last week has been asked by the party chief for an explanation.

Sources say BJP president JP Nadda has also warned the party’s UP chief over the conduct of BJP MLA Surendra Singh. The BJP’s notice to MLA comes four days after his aide, former army man Dhirendra Singh, allegedly shot a villager dead during a Panchayat meeting in presence of officials & police. Dhirendra Singh, missing since shooting on Thursday, was arrested on Sunday.

lah, son of Farooq Abdullah said that the National Conference (NC) will be responding to ED summons.

“The party will be responding to this ED summons shortly. This is nothing less than political vendetta coming

SOME PEOPLE MALIGN POLICE FOR POLITICAL GAINS, SAYS DIDI Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, without taking names, said that the state police and the administration, despite toiling hard day in and day out to overcome crises, were being maligned by some people for political gains.

Banerjee, who inaugurated several Durga puja pandals in Kolkata during the day, was apparently

referring to BJP leaders, who had said that the police, in collusion with the government, were trying to suppress evidence i recent cases of unnatural death of BJP camp leaders. Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has also expressed concern over the law& order situation in frequent tweets, citing incidents of murder, kidnapping, rape.

days after the formation of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration. To set the record straight no raids are being conducted at Dr Sahib’s residence,” tweeted Omar Abdullah.

On October 15, Farooq Abdullah convened an all-party meeting at his home to chalk out future course of action on “Gupkar Declaration” with regard to the special status of J&K which was revoked by the Centre last year.—ANI

POLITICAL VENDETTA: NC

HEAVY RAINS LIKELY TO LASH PARTS OF SOUTH KARNATAKA Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) predicted heavy rains likely over south interior Karnataka (SIK), Malnad and parts of north interior Karnataka regions, and light to moderate rains over coastal regions. In a detailed prediction valid till 8.30 am on October 20, the KSNDMC said that there will be widespread light to moderate rains with isolated heavy to very heavy rains over Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru, Chikkaballapura, Chamrajanagara, Tumakuru and Chitradurga districts of SIK like Kolar, Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural.

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‘Centre & state are making efforts to provide relief’ New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi on Monday expressed his sympathies to flood-affected families in Karnataka and assured that Central government and state government are making efforts to provide relief.

“There might be restrictions due to COVID-19 but enthusiasm for celebration (of the festival) is still the same. Heavy rains have dampened the spirit of

festivities. I express my sympathies to affected families. Centre and state are making efforts to provide relief,” PM said. Several parts of Karnataka have been severely affected by incessant rain in the last week. As per the Karnataka Disaster Management Authority, a total of 20,269 people, including 15,078 in badly hit Kalaburgi, have been evacuated so far by the personnel of

PM Modi lauds Mysore Varsity for its rich edu & future aspirations

PM Narendra Modi greets as he addresses during the convocation of Mysore University via VC on Monday.

— PHOTO BY ANI

the Army, the NDRF and the SDRF besides

local police and district authorities.—ANI

New Delhi: Addressing the centenary convocation of the University of Mysore on Monday, PM asserted that the institution was an amalgamation of the rich education system of ancient India and the aspirations of the future.

Addressing the stu-

dents, PM Modi said, “Now you are moving from a formal university campus to big campus of real life. This will be such a campus where, along with degree, your applicability of knowledge that you have acquired will work,” he added. —ANI

By Feb, 50% of Indians may India invites Australia to join Malabar naval exercises have had coronavirus: Panel IN QUAD SNUB TO CHINA

New Delhi: In a significant move that comes amid a Sino-India border row, India on Monday announced Australia’s participation in the upcoming Malabar exercise along with the US and Japan, effectively making it the first military-level engagement between the four member nations grouping the Quad.

The invitation by India to the Australian Navy for the exercise next month came two weeks after the foreign ministers of the Quad held extensive talks in Tokyo with a focus on enhancing their cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, a region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese mili-

A file photo of the Malabar Exercise in 2015.

tary assertiveness.

It also said the participants of the exercise collectively support free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, remarks which reflecteda subtle change in India’s approach towards the drill as well as larger messaging. The exercise is expected to be held in the Bay of Bengal and

the Arabian Sea. Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds CSC termed the participation of her country as a “milestone opportunity” and said it will showcase the “deep trust” between 4 major Indo-Pacific democracies, their will to work together on common security interests.

Assessing impact of pandemic on economy: Nirmala Sitharaman New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the Centre has not closed the option for another stimulus package and has started doing ‘some kind of ’ assessment on gross domestic product contraction.

Speaking at the launch of a book by NK Singh, Chairperson of the 15th Finance Commission, the Finance Minister said, “We have not closed the option for another stimulus package. We have now started doing some kind of assessment on GDP contraction. We

TO MONITOR

Nirmala Sitharaman

will have to come up with the assessment, whether in parliament or in public.”

Earlier today, Sitharaman held a VC with Secretaries of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Ministry of Coal, along with the chairman and managing direc-

tors of 14 central public sector enterprises belonging to these Ministries, to review the capital expenditure in this financial year. “The meeting is to accelerate the economic growth in the background of COVID-19 pandemic,” she added.—ANI

New Delhi: At least half of India’s 1.3 billion people are likely to have been infected with the new coronavirus by next February, helping slow the spread of the disease, a member of a federal government committee tasked with providing projections said on Monday.

India has so far reported 7.55 million cases of the coronavirus and is second only to the United States in terms of total infections.

But Covid-19 infections are decreasing in India after a peak in mid-September, with 61,390 new cases reported on average each day, according to a Reuters tally. “Our mathematical model estimates

Twitter team calls ‘technical issue’ on showing J&K as Chinese area New Delhi: Microblogging site Twitter on Monday called it ‘technical issue’, said that teams have worked swiftly to investigate and resolve geotag issue, a day after it landed in a controversy as the location tag in live broadcast showed J&K as a part of China.

The microblogging site’s lapse was brought to attention by a national security analyst, Nitin Gokhale, who went live from Leh’s popular war memorial, Hall of Fame.

“Twitter folks, I just did a live from Hall of Fame, guess what it is saying J&K, People’s Republic of China! Are you guys nuts?,” Gokhale said in a tweet.—ANI

Don’t arrest M Sivasankar till Oct 23, Kerala HC tells Customs Kochi: The Kerala High Court has ordered the Customs Department not to arrest the former Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister, M Sivasankar, till October 23, on the day when it will consider his anticipatory bail applications in cases registered by the Customs as well as by the ED. Justice Ashok Menon, who heard the plea, also directed the Customs to file a counter affidavit in this case before October 23. Senior Advocate P Vijayabhanu, who ap-

peared for the former Principal Secretary, submitted that “He is willing to appear before any investigating authority and has also done so in the past. 600 hours of travelling for the purpose of investigation

has taken a toll on the health of M Sivasankar (IAS). Every attempt is being made to overreach the order passed by the court in the ED case. IAS officer being prosecuted like a common criminal.”

Counsel who appeared for the Customs, opposed this plea and sought time to get instructions in the matter.

“He (Sivasankar) is playing politics, he is now contradicting Chief Minister’s statement, as stated by him,” the Counsel said. —ANI

Kerala HC rejects state govt’s plea against airport lease to Adani group Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala HC on Monday rejected state government’s plea questioning Centre’s decision to lease out Thiruvananthapuram international airport to the Adani Ent. While rejecting plea of state govt and five others, the court said it did not want to interfere with what it called a policy decision of Centre. —ANI

India’s covid tally breaches 75 lakh mark

that around 30% of the population is currently infected and it could go up to 50% by February,” Manindra Agrawal, a professor at the IIT in Kanpur and a committee member, said.

The committee warned that their projections would not hold up if precautions were not followed, and cases could spike by up to 2.6 million infections in a single month.

New Delhi: Coronavirus cases in India crossed 75-lakh mark on Monday as new cases dropped below 60,000 for the second time this month. In the last 24 hours, India recorded 55,722 new COVID-19 cases and 579 new deaths as per the Ministry of Health data.

There are 7,72,055 active cases, recoveries have surged to 66,63,608 and case fatality rate due COVID-19 stands at 1.52 per cent.

Equity benchmarks makes a winning start to the week Mumbai: Equity benchmarks made a winning start to the week on Monday as banking and financial counters saw robust buying amid largely positive cues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 448.62 points or 1.12 per cent higher at 40,431.60. The broader NSE Nifty surged 110.60 points or 0.94 per cent to finish at 11,873.05.

ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping 5.33 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Nestle India, SBI, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, ONGC and Kotak Bank.

On the other hand,

06

POWER Gallery POSTING OF 1988 BATCH IAS OFFICERS THIS MONTH END ?

Posting of a couple of 1988 batch IAS officers as Secretary in the Government of India is expected October end. Half a dozen Empanelled IAS officers of this batch in the GoI are currently waiting in the wings for posting.

WILL BARUA BE NEW CHIEF SECRETARY OF ASSAM ?

Jishnu Barua is likely to be appointed new Chief Secretary of Assam. He is 1988 batch IAS officer.

TWO INDIAN POSTAL SERVICE OFFICERS QUIT TO JOIN IAS

Two officers of Indian Postal Service, Katta Ravi Teja and Abhinav Kumar Singh, have resigned from the service after their selection in Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER TO RETIRE THIS MONTH

Vigilance Commissioner in the CVC Sharat Kumar is retiring on October 28. He is 1979 batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre.

TENURE OF AJAY KUMAR BHALLA AS HOME SECRETARY EXTENDED

The tenure of Ajay Kumar Bhalla as Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has been extended from November 30, 2020 to August 22, 2021. He is a 1984 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

DR. TIWARI LIKELY TO RETURN TO PARENT CADRE

Dr. Brahma Deo Ram Tiwari, serving with the Uttar Pradesh Government on inter cadre deputation (ICD), is expected to return to parent cadre in November this year. He is a 2006 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

TWO MORE ITS OFFICERS GET EXTENSION

DoT has given extension to two more ITS officers who are on deutation to different departments.

Accordingly, Anshuman Gupta to continue as DD, AIIMs, Rishikesh till Oct 5, 2022 while Rajev Sharma has been given extension till Oct 9 next year. He is presently Dy Secretary in the MEA. D S DHESI APPOINTED AS CHIEF PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO CM, HARYANA

Former Haryana Chief Secretary D S Dhesi, has been appointed as Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Haryana, against a newly created post. He is a former 1982 batch IAS officer.

PRAVEEN ADHITHYA APPOINTED PROJECT OFFICER, ITDA

Praveen Adhithya has been appointed as Project Officer, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Rampachodavaram, Andhra Pradesh. He is an IAS officer of 2017 batch.

ADDITIONAL CHARGE FOR 3 IFS OFFICERS IN MOEF & CC

Bajaj Auto, TCS, M&M, Bharti Airtel and Maruti were among the laggards, shedding up to 2.12 per cent.

In the Sensex pack, 23 constituents logged gains while seven closed in the red. The domestic market opened on a positive note tracking largely positive cues from global markets, traders said.—PTI

Three IFS officers of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) have been handed over additional charge. Accordingly, Pankaj Asthana, IGF (NAEB), was given additional charge of CEO, National Authority, CAMPA, while Ms Bharti, IGF (SU/IFS), will hold additional charge of IGF (FC) and MS VL Roul Kullai, DIGF (FP) of DIGF (RT).

MS NIRUPMA CHADHA PROMOTED TO CHIEF ARCHITECT GRADE IN CPWD

Ms Nirupma Chadha has been promoted to the grade of Chief Architect in the Central Public Works Department.

By arrangement with: http:// whispersinthecorridors.com

FROM PG 1 CAA to... work has started and rules are now being framed. It (CAA) will be implemented very soon.

Nadda added.

He exuded confidence that the BJP will form the next government in West Bengal after the state assembly polls in 2021 as the people of the state are fed up with the violence and cut-money culture of the TMC government.

Nadda, who is on a day-long visit to take stock of organisational matters ahead of 2021 assembly elections, held separate meetings with BJP leaders of north Bengal region

and social and religious groups.

Issue summons... which owns Republic TV, and Goswami seeking to quash the FIR lodged on October 6.

The petition has also sought a direction to transfer the case to CBI to ensure transparent probe.

The plea said the HC should restrain police from taking any coercive action.

Appearing for petitioners, senior counsel Harish Salve sought the court to grant Goswami protection from arrest.

“The police have been targeting Goswami and there is apprehension

that he may be arrested,” Salve said.

Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for Maharashtra government and police, said since Goswami has not been named as accused in the case as of now.

Sibal said till now police have issued summons to eight persons in connection with the TRP case and questioned them. —PTI

Chinese soldier...

The soldier, the Indian Army said, “has been provided medical assistance including oxygen, food and warm clothes to protect him from the vagaries of extreme al-

titude and harsh climatic conditions”.

The incident comes as around 50,000 soldiers from each side are stationed in eastern Ladakh as part of the military standoff that began in early May. —Agencies

PIL seeking... against such leaders and recover suitable fines for violating the COVID-19 protocol.

On September 16, the court had observed, “The political leaders of the state are expected to lead their masses, not flout rules and regulations prescribed to combat the pandemic.”

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020

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THE CHANGING

NEW MODELLING FINDS INVESTING IN CHILDCARE AND AGED CARE ALMOST PAYS FOR ITSELF

SHAPE OF CHILD CARE

despite the Royal Commission into Aged Care and the Disability Royal Commission highlighting shortcomings in the current system.

Childcare workers were among the first to lose JobKeeper. The extra funding injected into the aged care following tragic impacts of COVID was insufficient to bring the sector to a four star quality rating. The experts believe the budget is a lost opportunity to maximise employment growth, to invest in the (social) infrastructure that will most boost the economy and to address the problems with femaledominated paid and unpaid work exposed by COVID-19.

CARE BOOSTS EMPLOYMENT

P

ublished with the National Foundation for Australian Women’s analysis is new modelling by the Victoria University Centre of Policy Studies on government investment in the care sector.

It examines what would happen if the government increased funding enough to boost the wages of personal and child care workers and to lift capacity to the point where it met unmet demand.

More than 900,000 Australians who provide unpaid care to the elderly, disabled, and children aged under five say they would like more hours in paid employment.

The modelling finds that the investment in the care

A BOOST WOULD ALMOST PAY FOR ITSELF

T

he budgetary cost of the policy would be largely offset by increased economic growth which would underpin greater revenue collection from income taxes and the goods and services tax.

When fully running, the net cost to the budget would be less than one fifth of the direct cost.

Government investment in physical infrastructure helps in two ways – it provides construction jobs and a useful piece of infrastructure to support future economic activity.

INVESTMENT IN CARE HELPS IN THREE WAYS

labour supply by 2%.

By 2030 the extra labour supply would be fully absorbed into employment. Annual GDP per person would be $1,270 higher, or more than $30 billion in aggregate.

Women’s paid employment would be 3.75% greater than it would have been if no action had been taken. Men’s employment would be more than 0.75% above the no-action base case.

The average incomes of both women and men would be higher, although women’s incomes would be higher by a greater margin.

W

I

t stimulates jobs and better conditions in the care sector, a worthy outcome in itself. It provides economic stimulus to all sectors by freeing people up to participate in the labour market, an impact that cannot be achieved by providing stimulus to other sectors, such as manufacturing, for example. And it addresses female economic disadvantage by reducing the wage gap and changing the circumstances that often set limits on what women can achieve in their careers.

economy needed to enable each of these unpaid carers to work an extra 10 hours a week in paid employment has a significant economic payoff, increasing

THERE’S A NEW BUDGET AROUND THE CORNER

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION CONCEPT: MONI SHARMA DESIGN: CP SHARMA

I

n the absence of an official analysis of the impact of the budget by gender the National Foundation for Australian Women has this morning published its own gender analysis of the budget, across multiple dimensions.

It finds the gover nment has invested heavily in things that will mainly benefit men, including apprenticeships and traineeships (two-thirds of which are taken by males), the construction of physical infrastructure, and tax breaks for the purchase of assets that will primarily assist the male-dominated industries of mining and manufacturing. The female-dominated care sector was largely overlooked,

07

hile the analysis shows the population on average would be better off with an expanded care sector, it says nothing about how to reform access to subsidised or government-funded care. The system is complicated, as are the (dis) incentives to work resulting from the present tax and charging arrangements.

However charged for, extra spending on childcare, aged care and disability care would produce an bigger bang for the buck than most of the extra spending announced in the budget, as well as producing better outcomes for women.

There’s a budget update around the corner, in December, and a new budget due in May. If extra spending is needed, there’s an opportunity to do it in a way that would really help and almost pay for itself.

The man who can balance the realms of fantasy and reality can achieve any degree of success! Dreams to fuel reality and reality to curb dreams is the perfect combination.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020

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COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

INDIA

08

GUJARAT

11,21,231 4,05,20,685 1,15,232 75,93,886 3,646 1,60,722 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 42,240 DEATHS 16,01,365 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 10,694 DEATHS 6,90,936 CASES

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

KARNATAKA 10,542 DEATHS 7,70,604 CASES

DEATHS

DELHI 6,040 DEATHS 3,33,171 CASES

COVID-19: ‘GUJ BETTER, BUT CAUTION MUST NEXT 3 MONTHS’

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 1,760 DEATHS 1,75,226 CASES

Cops enter housing colony, collect no-masks fine

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan holds meeting with DyCM but asks direct posers to Collectors Darshan Desai

Gandhinagar: When a high-profile central health team, led by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, last visited Gujarat in midJuly the State Government was conducting an apologetically low daily Covid-19 tests -- in 4 digits -- while several other States were doing so in the thousands.

When the team left, official press releases claimed they were satisfied with Gujarat’s handling of the pandemic and appreciated it. But, suddenly, the State Government immediately stepped up corona testing to an aggressive level. This, after telling the Gujarat High Court that the tests were according to the ICMR guidelines as well as that more cases could create a scare among the population.

And now, 3 months later, when Gujarat has

BETTER DAYS?

Complaint against cops for barging into residential colony and penalising people.

First India Bureau

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and MoS (Health) Ashwini Kumar Choubey interacting with Gujarat DyCM Nitin Patel and State health officials on Monday.

over 1.6 lakh positive cases after increased testing, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday held a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Nitinbhai Patel not only in the presence of senior bureaucrats but also the Collectors of districts that have shown a spike in the cases.

He interacted direct-

ly with the district collectors of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat, which were the most affected districts. And he also took stock of the preventive steps taken in Junagadh and Jamnagar districts, which have been reporting a surge in positivity during the last few weeks.

He also said, “We should all be vigilant

during the next 3 months. The Prime Minister’s message of wearing a mask/face cover, maintaining social distance and frequent handwashing should reach the last citizen. Steps should be taken to monitor their non-compliance.”

Exactly like the central team in July, he also said the State was doing well,

though tacitly indicating that things could have been better earlier. “From being one of the top affected States earlier, Gujarat has made remarkable strides to have a recovery rate of 90.57%. against the national average of 88.26%. And the number of tests at 77,785 per million against the couutry’s 68,901.”

Ahmedabad: Angry residents in Asarwa area have dashed off a complaint to Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Sanjay Srivastava against the high-handed behaviour of policemen who entered their housing colony and started asking for fine for not wearing masks.

In their complaint moved through Sanjay Patel of Asarwa Youth Circle, the residents alleged that some policemen, led by ASI SS

Chavda of the Shahibaug Police Station, entered the colony and fined people at the common plot of the society for not wearing masks.

Not only this, the policemen collected Rs 100 from a youth in the verandah of his home who was hanging decorative lights and was not wearing a mask.

They alleged that one person was fined Rs 1,000 and in both cases, they did not give any receipt.

The complaint to the Police Commis-

sioner also gave details like the Shahibaug police team reached Mahaprabhuji Society in Asarwa in a Bolero SUV and rudely started collecting fines.

The Asarwa Youth Circle said strict implementation of the mask rule was fine, but randomly penalising people in their own premises was going a bit too far. The complaint also wondered that the police were turning a blind eye to illicit liquor sales in that area, while “harassing others.”

Nigeria blacklists Guj pharma Gandhinagar Police ‘BJP’s RMC rule spent Rs firm for ‘substandard’ drugs seize `7 lakh worth 3,888 cr in 5 years for city’ —FILE PHOTO

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the drug regulator of west African country Nigeria, is learnt to have blacklisted Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company Mars Remedies for manufacturing “substandard and falsified” antibiotic tablets.

In a letter written to the firm on October 9 with a copy to Dr V.G. Somani, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the NAFDAC said the company manufactured “falsified” Ciprofloxacin 500mg tablets.

“We wish to formally bring to your notice the

MDMA drugs

First India Bureau

recent incident of pharmaceutical products inspection violation by your company with respect to the manufacture of 8 batches of falsified Pinnacle Ciprofloxacin 500mg film coated tablets for export to Nigeria,” the letter said.

Ciprofloxacin is a common antibiotic and India is among the world’s largest export-

ers of antibiotics, while Nigeria is the 5th largest export importer of pharma products from India. The letter says, “In fulfilment of this regulatory obligation of safeguarding the health of the nation, the agency has taken a position of zero tolerance for substandard and falsified medicines preponderance in Nigeria.”

Gandhinagar: The Gandhinagar Police on Sunday arrested a person with Rs 7.47 lakh worth MDMA drugs. Further investigations are on as to the source of the material after primary questioning of the accused yielded the name of an Ahmedabad-based person as the supplier.

This was following a specific intelligence received by Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Gandhinagar Police. While searching a car owned

by Rushik Dave on

Sunday night between G-0 and Gh-0, the team recovered 151 tablets MDMA drugs weighing 151 gram.

Dave lives in Sector 2-C in Gandhinagar.

Police seized his 2 cell phones and the car used to carry the drugs. Mobile and car value stands to be around Rs. 3.5 lakh.

The informed the SOG’s Police Sub-Inspector R B Parmar that the drug supplier was Piyush Salve who lives in Ahmedabad’s Motera area. He would be produced before a court late Monday evening with a ple for remand.

—FILE PHOTO

First India Bureau Rajkot: The ruling BJP in the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has claimed that the incidence of Covid-19 in the city is much less than Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat, thanks to the efficient working of the RMC’s health department.

This was stated by RMC’s Standing Committee chairman Uday Kangad at the last General Board meeting held on Monday, while givng a report of its performance during the last 5 years. He said Rs 3,888.18 crore spent for the development work in Rajkot between 2015 and 2020.

Kangad said, “The PM and the CM have given everything that Congress could not give to Rajkot in 60 years.

The chief minister has not only provided what was asked for, but also what was not asked for.”

He said 19,933 houses were given and 12 more town planning schemes sanctioned. “In the past

5 years, 7 new villages have been merged in the civic limits, but development work has not suffered,” Knagad said, adding that the water problem was now history.

“Every single penny paid by the citizens has been efficiently utilised” Kangad added.

RARE FEAT

Marathon dual surgery leads chronic sugar patient to recovery Doctors at Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) perform dual kidney-pancreas transplant First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Life was a veritable abyss for 35-year-old Chetna, who was on a regular dialysis thrice a week for the last 5 years.

And to add to her agony was frequent checks to maintain

sugar levels every single day due to Type-1 diabetes.

A school teacher from Morbi district, Chetna had Type-1 diabetes since childhood which led to kidney failure 5 years ago. Since then she was on external insulin dose and dialysis.

All that became history after a team of doctors at Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) performed dual kidneypancreas transplant on her last month.

The rare dual kidney-pancreas transplant at one go was performed by Dr Jamal Rizvi and Dr Devanshu Patel in a surgery that lasted for 7 hours. Chetna is now

35-year-old Chetna got a new lease of life after her dual transplant at the IKDRC, Ahmedabad.

recuperating and may be ready for discharge anytime in a fortnight.

“She is doing extremely well after the transplant. Her sugar levels are maintained and kidney functions are normal,” said Dr Rizvi from Urology Department-IKDRC. He added the dual kidneypancreas transplant had not only improved quality of her life but

ensured long term survival of the transplanted kidney.

Despite a successful dual transplant, IKDRC delayed her discharge to ward off any chances to pick infection due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Kidney-pancreas dual transplant is a rarity in India as it requires young and nonobese cadaver donor.

IKDRC has performed only 8 dual transplant

surgeries in the last 3 years since it takes long to find a perfect cadaver match.

According to Dr Rizvi, Type-1 diabetes aided kidney-pancreas malfunction occurs 1 in 10,000 persons.

The prevalence of diabetes among transplant patients admitted at IKDRC is around 20% while patients with Type-1 diabetes are 0.5%.

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Everyone has their own sense of style as per the occasion, let’s take a glance at the B’Town actresses and how they pull off the traditional and Mod-look effortlessly!

EAST OR WEST KANGANA RANAUT:

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

P

laying ‘dress-up’ is probably the favourite memory of almost every grown-up woman, and choosing between Indian and Western outfits has always been the biggest point of confusion.

There are women who slay equally in both Indian and western attires, whereas, there are a few who can carry only one of them and pull it off in the best way possible.

Talking about the Bollywood industry, there are various versatile actresses, who have pulled off the look in both the attires and a few of them are mentioned below.

Starting off with the ‘Queen’ herself, it is safe to say that may it be an Indian or a Western attire, this woman can pull off anything that comes her way. But after seeing her in movies like ‘Manikarnika’ and ‘Queen’, we would say that Indian is something that suits her the most. But not to forget her outstanding fashion sense in the movie ‘Fashion’- she absolutely nailed it in western outfits too.

DEEPIKA PADUKONE:

In her debut film ‘Om Shanti Om’, Deepika had slayed in the Indian attire, as well as western- the double role had its benefits of course. But later in the movies like ‘Ram-Leela’, ‘Badjirao Mastani’ and ‘Padmavat’, she looked as royal as ever in Indian outfits. But in movies like ‘Cocktail’, her western outfits had become a major fashion statement of the year.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA JONAS:

Having her feet in both Bollywood and Hollywood indus-

tries, Priyanka is as versatile as ever, and can rock any look that comes her way. But not to forget the fact that she is going to be the ‘Desi Girl’ forever.

KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN:

Bebo, as people call her, is known for pulling off every look that is styled on her. May it be doing her pregnancy, a film promotion or a film itself, there is nothing this one cannot carry.

ALIA BHATT:

Last but not the least, this bubbly one slays both the looks extremely effortlessly and looks adorable in everything she wears. But yes, one has to accept the fact that she looks much more elegant and graceful when she puts on Indian attire.

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AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020

10

MARIAM ABUHAIDERI thepersianladki@gmail.com

D

An APPEAL who love us are. We are not the beneficiaries of PM Cares, but you can help us in kind. How about you show you care by changing the archaic laws, followed by proper implementation, and recognize our rights officially in your speeches and through your people in different states? We cannot express our pain, but we are as sentient as you are. I swear.

On October 1st, one of my fellow brothers was beaten to death by farmers

FA CE OF TH ED AY

ear PM, we have tried knocking on many doors. They remained shut.

Yours is now the only one left. I hope it opens and you let us in.

Most humans believe that it’s so easy to be an animal, to be one of us.

But it isn’t all hunky-dory.

You do not want our life for it is far from cool. I hear so from my peers in other developing countries too, perhaps because their government too has other priorities. But I live in India and you are my PM, and I haven’t lost faith.

Dear PM, no one takes us seriously. My peers are attacked every day and brutally at that. We are tortured and killed. The police refuse to file reports of my peers being abused. We are trafficked and sold. We are subjected to innumerable and unimaginable brutality. We are made to entertain your vote bank at the expense of our mental and physical wellbeing. We are locked down for life.

We are not your vote bank. But the people

in West Bengal’s Malda district. His only crime was trespassing in search of food. I didn’t realize that we have to be issued with passes too? I thought that was for humans only.

I ask if this was right? I ask if humans have lost their minds during the COVID pandemic? I ask why the nation does not rally for our beating hearts just as they do when a horrendous crime like rape takes place? If you ask me, in my opinion, both should be tried as harshly as harsh can be!

I say rape the rapists and beat the beaters. I say hang those who hang us, and slaughter in cold blood those who slice my friends. But who am I to speak?

Many even consider us voiceless. But we are n o t .

This letter is proof of it.

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

Just yesterday the lady I have come to adopt as my guardian angel during the lockdown, received a call about a momma dog and her pups being poisoned.

She receives such calls every day. It breaks my heart to see her cry after every call. And she is your vote bank. Does that count?

Dear human PM, please hear our voices. Feel our pain. And do something substantial about it. If you are unable to come up with a solution for mitigating our suffering, I can help. In 1960, there was an act authored by an acclaimed dancer and animal lover, Rukmini Devi Arundale (God bless her soul) for the Parliament of our country. Its main aim was to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on us. She understood that animals, similar to human beings, have the capability of comprehending physical and mental pain. It is true that we can understand the severity of any physical or mental harm that is

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

If Somebody try to intentionally target you at your workplace, just ignore as karma will reveal this person’s true self sooner or later. You do not need to necessarily voice out your opinions. It would be better for you to avoid giving any unsolicited advices. Please be kind.

Your finances will be easily managed and you need not worry at all. You can expect some changes as far as your office is concerned. It would be easy for you if you adapt faster. It may be difficult for you to spare time to socialize today at home but you must not be upset.

You will be catapulted into a position of eminence.

You must continue with a fixed routine and a balanced diet for a healthy body.

“Ask and you shall receive” , well you will get what you want or what you may attract in your life. Your kid will make you proud on academic front.

You will accomplish all that you want just give some time to it and never lose hope because its just about time. You will spend your day productively during office hours today. Professionally your capabilities will be put to best use as no one can beat you.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

If you want any relationship to grow, you need to talk more and meet more often.

So do not quit making efforts half way no matter what. You feel interested in changing so many things at home all at once but others may not be on the same radar. Give time to your close ones.

Enjoy each moment of your life with you near and dear ones. You may find yourself in a big mess if you don’t stop making fake promises. You may experience the burden of domestic chores on due to lack of any help. Some of you may choose to renovate your house.

You must increasing your tolerance power when it comes to your new office or else you may likely experience a little more discomfort.

Some of you may go for a new side business with specific purpose of more income. You can expect relatives’ call who will cheer you up.

You will crack a deal that will change your life forever. You have become more calm and tolerant in life and your opinion towards other people have really changed a lot. You may focus on getting short term profits in professional life. You may not necessarily get what you want.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Don’t be a Jack of all trades and master of none, too much work on your platter may prevent you from doing justice to all, do one thing at a time and give your best to it. If you do not find new ways to promote yourself, your fame will start to dwindle. Academically do not leave any stone unturned.

If you decide to choose sides, not only it will bring more harm but will also take away those whom you didn’t support so best thing to do is to remain neutral. Your boss is impressed with you and will put your ideas to implementation. You must not take little things to your heart.

Forget about your personal plans for today as you need to deal with work related matters on priority. On academic front, read everything without skipping anything at all.

Financially your good times are here and you will make more money than you use to. Maintain peace at home.

Covid has injected so much fear in people’s heart, don’t let it play with your mind as there isn’t much to worry if you are doing your best to keep safe by taking precautions . Forgive and forget about those who have hurt you in the past. You mustn’t ignore your family.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

MRUNAL PANCHAL, Content Creator

inflicted on us. This earth belongs to us as much as it belongs to you, sir.

But the act is not preventing crimes from happening. I have no understanding of law and politics. But I bet I know the reason why. How can a 50 rupees fine deter anyone from committing a crime?

We are not a favorite and we become the first line of attack of any frustration well just because we are an easy target for reasons I have explained above and crimes against us carry the least severe penalty.

I am aware that you have more pressing issues like COVID, but trust me this is not rocket science. And we are not party to any political party. So you can be assured that what you do for us won’t upset your supporters or favour your opponents.

How about I make you an offer? You make the penalty stricter and preventive, and I guarantee the votes of animal lovers.

Deal?

I want you to be the PM that leaves a positive legacy within the animal kingdom and the people who endorse it!

Yours Truly, Jasmine (I am the pup who survived a hit and run. Now healing in the home of Mariam Abuhaideri)

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020

New in the squad S

uicide Squad actress Margot Robbie recently welcomed a new puppy into her home and she just shared the cutest photo of the little pup! The 30-year-old two-time Oscarnominated actress took to Instagram on Saturday (October 17) to share a pho-

to of her holding the dog, who was wrapped in a white sweater.

Margot captioned the post with the dog emoji and the heart emoji. Margot‘s longtime hairstylist Bryce Scarlett was one of the first commenters, leaving a few heart emojis. Actress Kate Bosworth also commented, “OMG.” —Agency

Margot Robbie

AAMIR RESUMES SHOOTING

...poster of the film

...her po

Coming together for

A

amir Khan is currently shooting in Delhi for his much awaited movie ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. It was on Sunday when Kareena took to her social media announcing that she has wrapped up the shooting of the movie. A source said, “While shooting for some action sequences, Aamir khan suffered a rib injury. However this did not stall the shoot of the film. The actor just took stock of his condition and in no time resumed shoot by popping some pain killers.” All necessary precautions and safety measures have been followed by LSC team to have a smooth shooting experience. Even in the past, the actor suffered exertion due to constant running.

—Agency

H

ollywood veteran Johnny Depp has been ordered to attend a deposition in his defamation lawsuit involving ex-wife Amber Heard.

Deadline recently reported that the order states the 57-year-old actor to “appear for three successive days in counsel for Defendant’s offices in Virginia …or at such other place in Northern Virginia designated by counsel for Defendant, from November 10-12, 2020, beginning at 10:00 a.m. each day.”

The lawsuit was filed in 2019

by Johnny, who is seeking damages after Amber wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence.

—Agency

Eva Mendes

GREAT T

he makers of the much-anticipated film ‘Ludo’ on Monday dropped an action-packed trailer of the film, that featured an ensemble star cast. The interesting visuals and an impressive cast are the two things that stand out in Ludo’s trailer dropped by Netflix India on Twitter. The two-minute-fortyeight-second trailer revolves around the lives of four people who cross paths with each other due to some twist of fate. The trailer is a blend of visuals - including gunshots, kidnapping, and a lot of action, which indicates that something is up with our protagonists.

—ANI

Team ‘Cirkus’

Defamation lawsuit update

TRAILER OUT

...poster of the film

INKED!

CIRKUS A

fter the great success of Simmba and Sooryavanshi, actor Ranveer Singh and director Rohit Shetty team up for another project titled ‘Cirkus’.

The shooting will begin next month, that is, November, and is expected to be released in Winter 2021, confirmed film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh on Monday.

“Cirkus starts next month in Mumbai... Winter 2021 release,” tweeted Adarsh.

The primary cast of the upcoming film includes Ranveer Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Pooja Hegde and Varun Sharma. —ANI

...her post

H

ailey Bieber and Justin Bieber are as madly in love with each other as they were when they first began dating. Now, Hailey has inked her love for the international singer on

her finger. The model has gone under the needle to tattoo a J in the honour of the Lonely crooner. The new finger tattoo was revealed by tattoo artist Mr K on his Instagram account a few hours ago.

—Agency

Amber Heard & Johnny Depp

Sunny turns 64

O

Comeback

E

va Mendes recently opened up about her life at home with partner Ryan Gosling and their two daughters--Esmeralda, 6, and Amada, 4. “Sometimes it feels like we are running some kind of bed-and-breakfast with very drunk and aggressive guests,” Eva said with a laugh.

“We really do feel like we are working in a hotel, and the guests are angry and bossy and demand food brought to them.

And by the time they go to sleep, we’re left to just clean up and talk about how they’ve treated us that day,” she added. —Agency

st

Sunny Deol

n the occasion of actor and Member of Parliament Sunny Deol’s 64th birthday, his father Dharmendra Deol and brother Bobby Deol extended their best wishes to him on Monday. Taking it to Twitter, veteran actor Dharmendra in a tweet (translated), wrote, “ Love you Jelly, live on.

You are the voice of my soul.” Whereas brother Bobby attributed the ‘Ghayal’ actor as father and a friend. The fatherSon trio has shared the screen together in movies like ‘Apne’ and ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’.

—ANI

Justin & Hailey Bieber

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

AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020

CINEMA THEATRE OR THREAT? MITALI DUSAD

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

C

inema halls have been closed since the lockdown was announced in March. On Wednesday, the Centre announced that cinemas, multiplexes and theatres would be permitted to open with 50% capacity from October 15. However, the State government has decided to keep recreational public places shut till October 31 despite Centre’s nod to open them as part of the phased resumption of economic activities under its Unlock 5 guidelines.

“Swimming pools, Cinema halls, theatres, multiplexes, entertainment parks and similar places will remain closed for activities till October 31,” the state guidelines state.

My submission is that we can return to normalcy only with certain precautions.

We have started our routine in other walks of life. Not only the people but even the owners of the theatres are well aware of this pandemic and of course, they are going to take all precautions required for this. So I feel that reopening theatre is a well come gesture by the government.

— PROF. SHIVANI D DESAI

It’s good that the state government decided to keep theatres shut for a little long. Though I and my husband, Pradeep Khandelwal are fond of watching movies on big screens in the first week of their release still we are scared of visiting movie theatres for a couple of months due to safety reasons. Also, I have started to enjoy watching movies with my family at home.

— KAVITA KHANDELWAL

12

Our preparations on the hygiene and disinfection front will set new benchmarks for any public premises, whether inside the auditorium or in our lobbies and F&B counters. In addition to the government’s guidelines, we will keep PPE kits available for purchases, which would include a mask, a pair of gloves and sanitizer.” He adds, “There will be pedal operated touch-free hand sanitizers placed at important locations across the cinema. Our shows will be programmed in such a manner that there are no simultaneous entries, intermissions and exits. We will completely rely on e-tickets instead of paper tickets. We are also looking to innovate with private screenings.

—ALOK TANDON, CEO - INOX Leisure

DURING THE DAY!

DIGITALLY YOURS NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

A

Lokesh Sharma

s the global pandemic continues, people have more or less accepted the fact that they have to live with the coronavirus, with all the precautionary measures, of course. As everything is slowly getting back to normal, with a few twists and turns, India’s biggest Fashion Week by the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) was organised dig-

RAJ: Congress Youth leader Sagar Sharma visited the Gram Panchayats of Kushayta, Baad ka jhoopda, & gram panchayat Sadariin in Kekri assembly area to congratulate the newly elected panchs and sarpanchs. He has been visiting the gram panchayats across and also spreading the message of safety in Corona times.

Accepting the ‘New Normal’, the Fashion Design Council of India organised a virtual fashion show recently, and here are a few glimpses of the same!

itally from 14-18 October.

Talking to the Show Director Lokesh Sharma, who directed shows of designers like Neeta Lulla and Samant Chauhan, City First got to know a few insights on the show.

“Before getting everyone on board, we got all the crew member’s COVID tests done, just to be sure about everything we were doing. To be more cautious, we had allotted separate makeup kits for all the models who were walking the ramp,” said Lokesh. He added,

Sanjay Dutt was being treated in Mumbai hospital for cancer past few months.

On Monday evening, Sanjay Dutt’s close friend Raj Bansal posted a picture of Dutt on Facebook and wrote, “So happy for you my friend, Sanju is finally cancer-free.”

“Since everything was going digital, we had the advantage of taking re-shoots, to make sure the outcome of the show turns out to be just perfect.”

Lokesh also stated that one drawback of going digital was that no one could connect to the live audience, and find out their views about the collection, which is something that gives the team a great boost. There were set-ups made for each designer, according to their designs, to make it look more magical and appealing.

EDUCATION TO

UNDERPRIVILEGED CITY FIRST

V

imukti Girls School (VGS), Jaipur distributed nearly 400 tablets to its students for free. The tablets will enable the girls to continue with their studies, which had been disrupted by the Covid pandemic. VGS has made arrangements to equip its students with tablets that are loaded with NCERT’s Diksha educational app, and other relevant software. The tablets

have been secured with Mobile Device Management software as well, so students can access only permitted content.

Vimukti Girls School is run by Vimukti Sanstha, an NGO devoted to providing free education to underprivileged girls from the slums of Jaipur. Starting with 20 students in 2004, it now serves over 600 students. “We are thankful to Edu-Girls of the USA, who have been our major supporter over the past several years. We share a common vision of seeing our girls gain financial independence. This initiative would not have been possible without the support of Edu-Girls,” said Lavalina Sogani, founder of Vimukti Sanstha. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

GUJ: Garba enthusiastic women were seen in traditional attire, playing Garba inside their home on the third day of nine-day long Navratri Festival near Bilkeshwar Mahadev road in Ahmedabad on Monday.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

ELECTION TIME

CITY FIRST

T

he election of the Shooting Ball Federation (SBF) of India was successfully held at Hotel Fortune Plaza Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, unopposed by President Anjul Aggarwal; General Secretary, Ravindra Singh Tomar; Treasurer JP Kadayan and Technical Chairman Rafiq Mohammad.

In the election, Rajasthan Shooting Ball Association got two posts in which Rafiq Mohammed was appointed as the Technical Chairman, OP

Machra as Executive Member.

OP Machra is the General Secretary of Rajasthan Shooting Ball Association. The elections were held in the presence of two former judges, RK Singh and NK Modi. An observer of Asian Shooting ball Federation, Dharmapal Singh was also present. Representatives of 24 states of SBF of India participated in this election. Officials and players of Rajasthan Shooting Ball Association have expressed happiness over the appointment of OP Machra from Rajasthan as an executive member. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

HAPPY B’DAY!

RAJ: A Navratri special photoshoot was organised at the Destination of Pictures in Vaishali Nagar, Jaipur, where model Bidya Shukla, Anoop Choudhary and Himanshu Kumawat shared that shoot focused on the traditional theme.

IAS Dr Ravikumar Supyar and IAS Shilpa Singh celebrated their birthdays on 19 October, Monday.

We wish them all the best!