First India-Ahmedabad Edition-21 July 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

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ALERT AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

6,10,816 1,47,48,711 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 12,030 DEATHS 3,18,695 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

DELHI 3,663 DEATHS 1,23,747 CASES

STATE

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 236

INDIA

28,096 11,53,761 DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 2,551 DEATHS 1,75,678 CASES

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GUJARAT

2,167 DEATHS

KARNATAKA 1,408 DEATHS 67,420 CASES

49,439

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 568 DEATHS 30,390 CASES

CENTRE FACEOFF ENTERS 2ND PHASE

Govt shows CBI who’s the Boss in Raj

Says it can’t just walk in, has to seek permission!

Saddened but not surprised: Pilot Rubbishes charges by MLA Malinga of offering `35 cr to change his vote

Aditi Nagar & Amit Chhabra Jaipur: Amid political crisis in Rajasthan, a fierce battle seems to be raging between the Central and State governments, with the state issuing an order that the CBI will first have to seek its permission for any investigation and only then will it be able to take any action in Rajasthan.

Moreover sources add that with suspense rising on the likely developments after the Union Home Ministry demanded a report on the phone tapping incident

by SOG, on Monday, the state government in a calculated move, withdrew its “general consent” to the CBI to conduct raids and investigations by issuing a notification requiring the premier investigation agency to take prior consent of the state for investigation of an offence under section three of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.

As per Section 6 of this act the CBI has powers to investigate a matter anywhere in the country.

Turn on P6

Raj HC to resume hearing today Nizam Kantaliya Jaipur: Rajasthan High Court will on Tuesday resume hearing the petition filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident Congress MLAs, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the assembly Speaker.

The hearing remained inconclusive on Monday and Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty said it will be concluded Tuesday. The order is also likely to be pronounced on Tuesday.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, counsel for the Speaker, argued that the petition was premature as a decision was

yet to be taken on disqualifying the MLAs from the House.

He said there was no scope for interference by a court over the show cause notices issued by the Speaker.

The disssident MLAs had moved court on Friday amid the infighting in the state unit of the Congress, as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his now sacked deputy Sachin Pilot tussled for power.

The petition was taken up a by a bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta. The proceedings resumed on Monday morning and continued till the evening. Turn on P6

ONE MORE

CONTROVERSIAL JIBE AT PILOT Calls ex-PCC chief ‘Nikamma aur Nakara’ Yogesh Sharma Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday termed his former deputy Sachin Pilot as “nikamma” (useless) and “nakara” (incompetent) and accused him of conspiring with the BJP for the past six months to topple the government in the state.

“Pichle saat salon me koi bhi aisa nahi milega jisne maang ki ho ki Pilot sahab ko hatana chahie Pradesh

Congress Committee adhyaksh se. Hume pata tha vo Nikamma hai, Nakara hai. Kuch kaam nahi kar raha hai. Khali logon ko ladwa raha hai (In the past seven years, you won’t find anyone in the party who demanded the removal of Pilot as PCC president even though we knew he was useless, good for nothing and that he wasn’t doing anything except making people fight among themselves),” Gehlot

Taming Corona! Covaxin trials begin, AIIMS expects results in 2-3 months New Delhi: The human trial for the indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin has begun at AIIMS Delhi, institute director Randeep Guleria announced on Monday.

The All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was given the go-ahead by its Ethics Committee and has be-

gun the recruitment process for the trial, Guleria said, which will include a total of 100 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55.

“All trial sites combined will have a total sample size of 1,125 healthy volunteers. Out of this, 375 will be studied in phase one. In AIIMS Delhi, 100 healthy

volunteers will be recruited,” said Guleria, who added that they were looking to conclude the recruitment process as “quickly as possible”.

The 100 subjects will be divided into a placebo arm and vaccine arm. Various departments will closely monitor the trial group for side effects.

Turn on P6

told reporters.

He said Sachin Pilot has a ‘masoom’ (innocent) face and has a strong command on Hindi and English language, with which he had impressed the media across the country.

“The people of the state know his contribution. However, we never questioned him in the interest of the party,” he said while adding, “He was conspiring for the past six months with BJP’s support.

Turn on P6

Naresh Sharma New Delhi/Jaipur: Rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Monday said he was “saddened but not surprised” at the accusations being hurled at him by some people in the Congress.

Maintaining a silence since after he was sacked as deputy CM, Pilot reacted on Monday after CM Ashok Gehlot levelled charges at him of trying to topple the state government and also after a party MLA Giriraj Malinga alleged that Pilot offered him money to switch sides on the eve of Rajya Sabha polls in the state.

ICC postpones T20 WC, decks cleared for IPL Dubai: The ICC on Monday postponed the T20 World Cup in Australia owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, paving the way for the BCCI to organise the Indian Premier League during the October-November window.

“The ICC on Monday confirmed ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia 2020 has been postponed due to the

ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” the ICC said in a statement.

The T20 World Cup was scheduled Down Under Turn on P6

Pilot said in a statement, “I am saddened but not surprised to be at the receiving end of such baseless and vexatious allegations being levelled against me.

This has been done solely to malign me and to stifle the legitimate concerns that I had raised against the party leadership of the state.”

Pilot also asserted that he will be taking “appropriate and strictest possible legal action” against Malinga who “was made to” level these allegations to stifle the “legitimate concerns” that he has raised against the Congress leadership in the state.

—Agencies

WB TO HAVE TWO DAY WEEKLY TOTAL LOCKDOWN Kolkata: The West Bengal government has decided to impose a complete lockdown in the state for two days every week amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. This week, the lockdown will be in place on Thursday and Saturday. The decision has been taken in view of community transmission Turn on P6

CHANGE OF GUARD

BJP rises above caste equations with Patil appointment Aditi Nagar & Haresh Jhala New Delhi/ Gandhinagar: By appointing CR Ptil--a Marathi--to lead its Gujarat state unit, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday set a new tone in Indian politics--one that goes be-

yond deep-rooted castebased politics. It is also a clear message to anyone who may think that a political party cannot survive without the support of a particular caste. If this experiment works, it could also mean a new

era for the Hindutva ideology, where divisions along caste lines could cease to exist.

However, the road ahead is far from smooth for the incoming state unit chief. The first test of his political acumen and organizational skills will be put through the wringer in the upcoming by-poll for eight state assembly seats.

More interestingly, insiders see this

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Herculean task ahead for new state unit chief who faces his first test in by-elections

Party chief CR Patil with Minister of State for Cooperation, Sports and Transport Ishwarsinh Patel

change of guard as portending a reshuffle in the state cabinet as well.

In his very first interaction with the press after being named president of the BJP’s Gujarat unit, Patil said, “I will have to fulfil the party’s aspirations. My goal is to spread the party’s network and boost party workers and take the government’s work to

the people.”

He brushed aside the issue of Hardik Patel being appointed as working president of Congress, saying, “He is too young in politics to be compared with me.”

With Patil’s appointment as party chief, the reorganization of the district and city-level committees can be completed in time to help the party gear up Turn on P6

NEWS AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

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02

Calling the shots

The soft-spoken CR Patil is known for being a good listener and a man of his word

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Haresh Jhala Ahmedabad: Cop turned businessman-politician CR Patil--or Chandrakant Ragunath Patil, to use his formal name--has come a long way from the grassroots to the top of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

With a political career spanning 35 years, it hasn’t been a quick rise. Or even a steady one, for that matter. However, Both friend and foe agree that he is a man of his word, and knows how to plays his cards close to the chest.

He’s also been known to stay neutral in challenging times for the party.

In 1996, when the BJP was facing its worst crisis in history, Patil was on civil terms with all warring factions. He was one of a handful of people who could reach out to Narendra Modi, Shankersinh Vaghela, Keshubhai Patel, and Suresh Mehta, despite being the lieutenant of Kashiram Rana, the only other state unit president to emerge from Surat. Patil’s affability also allowed him to have an easy relationship with Rana’s arch-rival in Surat, Jivraj Dharukawala, one time close to Keshubhai Patel.

This cordiality remains one of his biggest strengths.

Others include the ability to listen and humility. He has been known to trust his team and give them a free hand while also being decisive

enough to pull back sharply when team members take their freedom for granted.

He’s also known to have retained the discipline he picked up during his training as a policeman as well as the 15 years he spent on the force.

Yet, there are many both within the party and without that may still ask why he was chosen to lead the state unit.

For one, he’s not a nativeborn son of the soil. Marathis like him account for barely 1.52% of the population and can hardly influence two assembly seats in Surat and one in Vadodara.

However, detractors fail to take into account his uncanny ability to bounce back and create change.

For instance, he has helped

In the year 1989-90 Patil had joined BJP in presence of national leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

CR Patil and his family.

the state make considerable inroads into the South Gujarat region; even more so than his guru Kashiram Rana. He and Rana launched a Gujarati newspaper called New Surat Times under the guidance of RSS Pracharak Bhaskarrao Damleji to spread the Sangh and BJP’s ideology.

A falling out with Rana in 2002 led to great upheaval for Patil, who nevertheless bounced back shortly thereafter and never looked back.

In 2009, the party fielded him from the Navsari Lok Sabha constituency, from where he has been elected three times so far.

Very few Gujarati leaders must have access to the PMO or 7, Race Course Road now LokManya Marg but Those close to Patil say that he has won the trust of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Patil’s personal philosophy goes a long way in explaining the success he has achieved today.

He once told this reporter, who first met the soft-spoken politician in 1990, “I have read both Aurangzeb and the Bhagavad Gita. And I have learnt lessons from both, which I have implemented in my life.”

It’s clear that Modi has put a crown on his head because he is a result-oriented professional politician.

I congratulate CR Patil on being appointed as state unit president. He has risen from workers post to be Member of Parliament and has got elected to Lok Sabha with the highest margin in 2019. I am confident that Patil will successfully spread the party network and will lead the party to victory in the coming by-elections.

—Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister

I congratulate CR Patil for being appointed as new state unit president. I wish him all success and I am hopeful that under his leadership, the party will achieve new heights.

This is very good news for Surat and for textile traders.

He is an aggressive personality and has always been active in picking up local issues at the Central or state level. With him at the top, now the work will get done quicker.

—Jitu Vaghani, outgoing state unit president, BJP

—Jitu Vakharia, President, Surat Textile Processors Association

He is a dynamic person with good organizational skills. I hope that under his leadership party achieves new goals in the state and the party moves ahead.

This is a very important decision for industrialists and the business community in South Gujarat. He is a true public servant. He has always helped us in putting our demands and suggestions to the Central Government.

—Harsh Sanghvi, MLA, Majura

—Ketan Desai, President, SGCCI

CM e-launches housing projects for economically weaker sections Over 416 houses will be built under Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana in Thangadh, Surendranagar 

First India Bureau Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday announced various development projects to be initiated in Surendranagar district via video conferencing from Gandhinagar. The projects included the construc-

tion of 416 houses under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana to be built by the Thangadh municipality at a cost of Rs18.17 crore and the Patdi-Dasada Taluka Seva Sadan project worth Rs9.96 crore.

On this occasion, the CM stated that the state

government had constructed over 10 lakh houses in the last three years under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana as well as the Mukhya Mantri Aawas Yojana to provide adequate housing to the underprivileged.

He added, “This government has provided not only roofs but also comfortable houses with electricity, toilets, water and roads. It has given priority to providing basic amenities to the poor and Antyodaya

PLAN FOR SHRAVAN

CM Vijay Rupani

families to raise their standard of living.”

Rupani also assured that the state had continued on its developmental journey even during the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis. He appealed to all citizens to cultivate good habits such as wearing masks, practicing social distancing, washing hands frequently, not gathering in a crowd and preventing the spread of the virus. He added that the

recovery rate of SarsCoV-2 infections in Gujarat was more than 72% and the mortality rate had also lowered.

The chief minister also elaborated on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans for a ‘New India’. “It can be achieved by decentralizing the implementation of the schemes to the district, taluka and village levels. This way, the schemes reach the rural level and reach the people,” he asserted.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

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998 & COUNTING: Another ‘high’ for Guj Barely 10 days after it crossed the 40K-mark, the state’s tally of cases is almost at 50K, even as 20 new fatalities puts death toll at 2,167 Gandhinagar: It took Gujarat 15 days to register its first 100 cases of COVID-19.

These days, the state is witnessing almost 10 times that figure on a daily basis. Having crossed the 40,000mark on July 10, the state has seen a regular rise of almost 1,000 cases a day for the past 10 days. Monday saw the highest day-on-day rise yet with 998 cases being reported in 24 hours, bringing the state tally to 49,439.

With cases on the rise

in rural areas as well as urban centres, traders and business communities from around the state are voluntarily limiting hours of operation to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The development comes in the absence of any such action initiated by the state government, which has tested 12,369 samples in a single day.

After Unjha markets, the Jamnagar Traders’ Association, Surendranagar Traders’ Association, Rajpipla market, Botad’s Ranpur market have all decided to business either up to 4 pm or 6 pm. The Jam Jodhpur

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Haresh Jhala

There were a number of empty chairs at the testing drive in Ahmedabad on Monday.

3 held as crime branch seizes meth worth `34L

The cops and the accused, along with the busted drugs and cash.

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Three people were arrested from a hotel in Shah -E-Alam area of the city by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch on Monday.

Officials seized banned drug methamphetamine worth Rs34 lakh from the site.

In a statement, the crime branch said that they had received information that three people had come from Maharashtra to deliver methamphetamine to an Ahmedabad-based drug peddler. A team

then conducted a search operation at the Silver Spring Hotel from where it seized 342 gram and 374 ml of m e t h a m p h e t a m i n e.

The drug was found in the possession of Mumbai-based Barkatali Rehmatali Shaikh, his wife Rubina, and Ali Mohammad Shaikh.

Police Inspector HM Vyas and Police SubInspector BP Desai of the crime branch addressed the media and stated that the market value of the drug was Rs34 lakh. They added that during primary

questioning, the accused have stated that they had come to deliver the drug to peddler Shahnawaz Pathan.

The police then took all three accused to Shahnawaz’s residence, from where it seized four lakh rupees cash and other materials used for weighing and repackaging of drugs.

Shahnawaz was also arrested by the police.

Barkatali is said to have confessed to having been part of the drug trade for a long time and had previously delivered methamphetamine to the city.

Coal info rate is hogwash, says Cong First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The government is misleading the people by claiming to purchase coal at a competitive rate. Due to the collusion of the government and a few selected private companies, the middle and poor class have been suffering and paying high electricity tariffs, said Manish Doshi, Chief Spokesperson of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee.

According to Doshi, the capital model of the BJP-run government has benefited four companies. “Adani, Essar and Tata had received over Rs4,368 crore or more from the pockets of people.

The recent announcement by the energy minister is just to cover up the nexus,” he said.

“The private companies in the state are getting coal from their own subsidiary companies. Hence, the global competitive price does not exist.”

4L isolated at home, but how effective is home quarantine?

Gargi Raval Ahmedabad: With COVID-19 hospitals running at full capacity, home quarantine of the mildly symptomatic patients was hailed as a boon for them. But, in the second week of the month, a man in his 50s who tested positive for novel coronavirus, has infected all his family members.

Based in a society near Udgam School, Thaltej, the patient had been asked to stay under home quarantine.

Four days later, however, an ambulance came to his residence and took three members of his family to the hospital.

“The male patient tested nCov positive

A sign marks a residence as housing a home-quarantined COVID-19 patient in Ahmedabad.

—FILE PHOTO

and was put under home quarantine. Four days later, the remaining members of his family tested positive and all of them were admitted to the hospital,” said a neighbour.

Further, the apartment building or the area pocket has not been declared a microcontainment zone. According to a press release issued by the

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), over 5,745 people have been discharged from home isolation so far.

Across the state, 3,96,393 people are still quarantined at home.

According to doctors, when a positive patient is put under quarantine within his/ her home, the family has to take extra precautions. “The govern-

ment only allows home quarantine when there is a separate room with an attached toilet facility available at the home for the patient.

Also, family members have to keep a distance of at least three feet.

However, it is difficult to predict whether other family members will be infected or not,” said Dr Pragnesh Vachharajani, Joint Secretary, Federation of Family Physicians’ Associations of India.

Vachharajani added that the infection rate had lowered. “Since people are undergoing tests at urban health centres, the transmission has reduced. We do not know how long the virus will stay, so all we can do is ensure that cover our faces and stay safe,” he said.

ANOTHER WARRIOR FALLS

market yard will remain shut until July 31 and the Dabhoi and Navsari Nagarpalikas have been shut after staffers tested positive for the SarsCoV-2 virus.

The 998 cases reported on Monday came in from 32 districts and eight municipal corporations of the state. Of the 20 overnight deaths, 11 occurred in Surat

while Ahmedabad reported three--the lowest in the recent past.

As many as 284 cases emerged from Surat: 209 from the city and 75 from rural areas.

Ahmedabad had 193, Vadodara, 78, Rajkot, 56, Bhavnagar, 42, Mehsana 26, Bharuch 22, and Surendranagar, 20.

Rasmita Patel, the head nurse at the Surat

Civil Hospital, succumbed to the virus on Monday morning. She was under treatment for COVID-19 in the hospital, after she developed fever three days ago.

There are now 11,613 active cases in the state.

This includes 78 patients who are on ventilator support.

With the novel coronavirus spreading faster in Vadodara and surrounding areas, the Vadodara administration has decided to increase the capacity of beds in Sayaji Hospital and Gotri Hospital. In all, these hospitals are expected to get 350 more beds.

Incentivize plasma donation: Dhanani First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani in a letter to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday asked that the process of issuing death certificates of deceased COVID-19 patients be expedited.

Dhanani also suggested that the CM provide an incentive to plasma donors. He said, “Plasma can be helpful to patients who are battling the virus. As compared to other states, there are very few donors in Guja-

Paresh Dhanani.

rat. In order to encourage people to donate plasma, there must be some policy of extending an incentive or cash to them. By doing this, we can create a plasma

—FILE PHOTO

bank and save many lives.”

He also remarked that the families of deceased patients were not receiving the death certificates of their loved ones in a

timely manner. “Without the death certificate, the family has to struggle a lot. I want to know why the issuance of death certificates is getting delayed,” asserted Dhanani.

The leader also stated that the death toll of COVID-19 patients was not being updated daily.

“Most of the hospitals are running short of medical and paramedical staff. But, the online portal suggests that there are a number of vacant beds at designated COVID-19 hospitals,” he said.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

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04

ORDINANCES TO TRANSFORM AGRICULTURE SECTOR KAILASH CHOUDHARY MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE & FARMER’S WELFARE

F

Two landmark Ordinances were recently promulgated by the President of India, which have the potential to fundamentally transform the agriculture sector and facilitate more holistic development of agriculture markets, from farm to fork, furthering the Government’s vision of doubling farmer income by 2022

or a very long time, reforms in agriculture, marketing has been debated, but no decisive action had been taken. It requires leadership to unshackle the farmers from the vicelike grip of intermediaries who take away a large slice of farmer’s income by resorting to cartelization and unfair arbitrage. Two landmark Ordinances were recently promulgated by the President of India, which have the potential to fundamentally transform the agriculture sector and facilitate more holistic development of agriculture markets, from farm to fork, furthering the Government’s vision of doubling farmer income by 2022. The aim is to help the farmer become an entrepreneur rather than being subservient to unholy nexus of regulated markets and intermediaries.

The first of these Ordinances, The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance 2020, provides the freedom to farmers to sell when they want, where they want and in whichever market they want, which was restricted by stringent (and variable) APMC regulations.

There were previously four key restrictions for farmers – location of the market (restricted to the nearest geographic market), number of buyers (limited to licensed traders leading to cartelization, restricting competition and reducing farmer price realization), infrastructure availability (due to lack of private investment outside the mandi) and price transparency (limited visibility of inter-state prices, the potential for intermediaries to gain through arbitrage at the cost of farmers). In addition to these restrictions, farmers face multiple operational challenges including prohibitive transportation costs to the nearest market, long queues at market and

delays in the auction, local mafia raj, etc. Further, the choice of APMC mandi and procurement at MSP will continue uninterrupted. Finally, in order to protect the interest of farmers, the government has mandated an expedient and simple dispute resolution process.

With the new Ordinance in place, a vibrant ecosystem will be created for farmers and traders creating an unrestricted market with 3 key benefits – First, choice of market, allowing a farmer to sell in any state or national market that offers the best prices.

This will limit the high dependence on local traders and enable farmers to realize the best prices for their produce, without having to pay commissions and fees to middlemen. A competitive marketplace will be created with a large number of buyers leading to higher price realization for farmers.

Second, choice of place, allowing farmer to sell from any location – including farmgate, storage points like warehouses or silos, private mandis or the APMC mar-

kets. With the option to sell at farmgate or warehouse, farmers can reduce transportation overheads and improve net realization in addition to sidestepping the challenges faced in current markets.

Third, choice of timing, allowing farmers to store produce and sell post price discovery. Previously, farmers would have to transport their produce to the mandi, incurring significant transportation costs. This would result in a need to sell irrespective of prices, in order to avoid incurring a reverse transportation cost. Under the new Ordinance, a farmer can store and sell, due to choice to market and place.

While historically there has been limited investment in infrastructure along the value chain, in order to support smooth implementation of the Ordinance the Government of India has announced an Agri Infra Fund of Rs. 1 lac crore. The fund will catalyze otherwise stagnant investment from cooperatives, FPOs and private sector to facilitate the creation of physical infrastructure like assaying and grading facilities, cold chain

THE AIM IS TO HELP THE FARMER BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR RATHER THAN BEING SUBSERVIENT TO UNHOLY NEXUS OF REGULATED MARKETS AND INTERMEDIARIES

etc., allowing farmers to store and sell, and reduce wastage or distress sales.

While the first Ordinance facilitates better price realization post-harvest, the second The ordinance, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020, enables market linkages at the sowing stage, thereby limiting both production risk and price risk.

The lack of a legal framework for contracting between

farmer and buyer in India has historically led to limited private sector participation in production. This ordinance provides a uniform framework for private investment in markets, without challenging a farmer’s ownership rights or right to cultivation – which will provide farmers three benefits.

First, risk mitigation and greater predictability of income. Farmers will have the option to enter into agreements with buyers before sowing, securing the price for their sale. Further, they may be able to enter into agreements that protect them from harvest losses as well, thereby insuring against output risk. This provides greater certainty for farmers in scenarios where either the crop output or market prices are highly variable but enables them to grow risky crops and benefit from the upside.

Second, access to market intelligence and hence higher value per acreage. With limited forward linkages, farmers don’t have access to consumer demand trends and hence, are not able to optimize crop and varietal mix.

Why COVID-19 might not change our cities

W

hat will be the normal way of urban living when the COVID-19 crisis passes? What aspects will remain with us and what will disappear?

The coronavirus pandemic has thrust us into a moment of rapid change.

Like all change, it is difficult to predict. But lessons from history provide us with two important insights.

First, temporary change sometimes has remarkably little lasting effect.

Second, what looks like a lasting effect is often the acceleration of existing trends, rather than new, crisis-caused trends.

COVID-19 impacts provide an opportunity for our cities to shift to new ways of urban living. But only if we couple this opportunity

with technology and deliberate collective action will sustained and equitable change happen.

WHAT DOES HISTORY TELL US? Right now, COVID-19 impacts are front of mind. In thinking ahead, we might therefore overemphasise what a crisis will do to how we live in cities. To put it simply, history shows us that the ways we organise our cities are often resistant to abrupt change – even in response to catastrophic events.

In Japan, changes to population distribution as a result of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 had disappeared by the early 1960s.

Almost 40% of Europe’s population died during the Black Death (1347-1352).

Much of Europe’s urban

COVID-19 impacts are front of mind.

In thinking ahead, we might therefore overemphasise what a crisis will do to how we live in cities

hierarchy nevertheless returned to its pre-plague distribution over time.

Even the collapse of the urbanised Roman civilisation had little lasting effect on the urban hierarchy in France. It did lead, though, to a resetting of the urban network in England.

The reason for this urban inertia is that momentary change often

does little to change the fundamentals of our cities. It doesn’t greatly change locational advantages, built environment legacy, property rights and land ownership.

London, for instance, has experienced slum clearance, Spanish flu, wartime bombing and the introduction of greenbelts and planning over the past 100 years. However, the location of the city’s rich and poor continues to be shaped by infrastructure investments in the Victorian era. And the Romanperiod road layout has strongly influenced the street layout of central London today.

At the same time, cities do of course change. In some cases dramatic events – like fires or earthquakes – are the enablers of change that is already

underfoot. That is, business and policy coupling opportunity with technology and determination.

Businesses will not – and should not – be slow to couple opportunity, technology and determination to achieve particular outcomes.

For instance, working from home has overnight (temporarily) become endemic. Higher education institutions (temporarily setting aside the challenges for teaching) switched remarkably quickly to almost exclusively online platforms.

COVID-safe shopping has popularised some automation. Demand for “contactless” service delivery has advanced some smart and robot technology into common use.

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This Ordinance will enable stronger linkage with both domestic and export markets.

Third, access to better technology and know-how for farm management and hence, higher yield. As the private sector will now have a framework to better integrate with farming practices, they can channel expertise to farmers as well as make direct technology investments (e.g. geo monitoring setups, IoT, etc.) driving higher yield and promoting sustainable agriculture over long term.

Beyond the benefits, this Ordinance also safeguards farmers by providing clear guidance and support to enter into fair trade practices, a stringent dispute resolution mechanism, penalties for misconduct by buyers, etc.

Collectively, these reforms will herald a new dawn for agriculture in India, transforming farmers into vibrant producers, integrated with the national and global economy, who have freedom, choice, higher price realization for their produce and security of livelihood.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

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TWEET Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda We saw yet another (failed) edition of ‘Project RG Relaunch’ today. @RahulGandhi Ji was, as usual, weak on facts and strong on mudslinging. Attempts to politicise defence and foreign policy matters shows one dynasty’s desperation to wash their past sins of 1962 and weaken India.

Anand Sharma @AnandSharmaINC Fondly remembering Sheila Dixit ji on her first anniversary. She will always be remembered for her remarkable contribution in the transformation of the national Capital, creation of world-class infrastructure and opportunities for the youth to move forward.

Spiritual SPEAK

The way is not in the sky.

The way is in the heart.

—Buddha

Vol 1 Issue No. 236 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.

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The worry I have is that the Chinese are sitting in our territory & they don’t do anything without thinking, RaGa said

‘PM’s ‘fake strongman image’ is India’s biggest weakness now’ New Delhi: Reiterating that China has still occupied India’s territory, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday, attacked PM Narendra Modi saying that he has fabricated a fake strongman image to come to power which has now become India’s biggest weakness as he has to protect the idea of ‘Chhapan Inch’.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress leader posted a video message and wrote, “PM fabricated a fake strongman image to come to power. It was his biggest strength. It is now India’s biggest weakness.” In the video message, speaking on “China’s Strategic Game Plan” the Congress leader said: “What is China’s strategic and tactical game plan? It is simply not a border issue. The worry I have is that the

They understand that in order for Mr Narendra Modi to be an effective politician; in order for Mr Narendra Modi to survive as a politician, he has to protect the idea of ‘Chhapan Inch’. And this is the real idea, the Chinese are attacking.

—Rahul Gandhi, Cong Leader

Chinese are sitting in our territory today. Chinese don’t do anything without thinking about it strategically.”

“In their mind, they have mapped out the world and they are trying to shape the world.

That’s the scale of what they are doing.

That’s what Gwadar is, that is what belt and road is. It is a restructuring of the planet. So

when you are thinking about the Chinese you have to understand that that is the level at which they are thinking,” he added.

Now at the tactical level, they’re trying to improve their position.

Whether it is Galwan, whether it’s Demchok or whether it is Pangong Lake. The idea is to position themselves, he said.

“They are disturbed

Jagat Prakash Nadda@JPNadda We saw yet another (failed) edition of ‘Project RG Relaunch’ today. Rahul Gandhi Ji was, as usual, weak on facts and strong on mudslinging. Attempts to politicise defence and foreign policy matters shows one dynasty’s desperation to wash their past sins of 1962 and weaken India.

by our highway they want to make our highway redundant and if they are thinking larger scale, they want to do something with Pakistan in Kashmir. So it is not simply a border issue. It is a border issue designed to put pressure on the Prime Minister of India,” the Congress leader said.

“And they are thinking of putting pressure

in a very particular way. And what they are doing, is that they are attacking his image.

They understand that in order for Mr Narendra Modi to be an effective politician; in order for Mr Narendra Modi to survive as a politician, he has to protect the idea of--Chhapan Inch. And this is the real idea, the Chinese are attacking. They are

basically telling Mr Narendra Modi that if you do not do what we say, we will destroy the idea of Mr Narendra Modi as a strong leader,” he said.

Gandhi continued saying, now the question is, how will PM Narendra Modi react.

Will he take them on?

Will he take on the challenge and say absolutely not, I’m the Prime Minister of India. I do not care about my image I’m going to take you on. Or will he succumb to them?

“The worry I have so far is that the PM has succumbed. The worry I have is, the Chinese are sitting in our territory and the PM has said publicly they are not, which to me tells that he is worried about his image and defending it” said Gandhi. —ANI

05

West Bengal Guv Dhankhar meets HM Amit Shah

Jagdeep Dhankhar with Amit Shah in New Delhi on Monday.

New Delhi: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and discussed with him the ‘worrisome situation’ in the state.

During the meeting, the Governor apprised the Home Minister about the prevailing law & order, political & COVID-19 situation in West Bengal, officials said. “Also state of affairs and affairs of State @MamataOfficial. Welfare of people of West Bengal is ever uppermost in my mind.

All my actions are inspired to mitigate woes of WB people,” he tweeted.

The Governor had also said that he would discuss with the Home Minister about his constitutional duties provided under Article 159 that includes to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, and will “devote myself to the service and well-being of the people.” “I PLEDGE TOTAL COMMITMENT FOR WB PEOPLE,” Dhankhar said in another tweet. —PTI

Assam Floods: 85 dead, over Pleas to protect Ram Temple artefacts dismissed ‘Pawar’s jibe is against 70 lakh people affected

A village girl rows a makeshift raft to cross a flood-affected area in Morigaon district of Assam.

Guwahati: Six more people have lost their lives in flood-related incidents in Assam, taking the total death toll to 85, said the state government on Monday.

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal has informed that over 70 lakh people have been affected due to Assam floods. Sonowal said, “On one hand, people are troubled due to COVID-19 and on the other hand, there are challenges arising out of Assam Floods. Still, the people of our state continue to fight the battle. Central and state government are providing all kinds of assistance to the people.”

“Over 70 lakh people have been affected due to Assam floods. People, as well as animals, are being

HEAVY RAINS IN DELHI FOR 3 DAYS: IMD

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra @priyankagandhi Floods in many areas of Assam, Bihar and UP have disrupted life. The crisis has affected lakhs of people. We are ready to help people affected by the floods. I appeal to Congress workers and leaders to do everything possible to help the affected people.”

rescued from the affected areas and being shifted to relief camps and safer locations,” he added.

While the flood situation in Assam remains critical with most of the rivers including the Brahmaputra flowing menacingly above the danger mark, the water

BABRI MOSQUE DEMOLITION CASE: ADVANI TO DEPOSE ON JULY 24 Lucknow: A special CBI court on Monday, set July 24 for recording the statement of former deputy prime minister L K Advani in the Babri mosque demolition case. His statement under section 313 of CrPC will be recorded through video conferencing. In his order, Special Judge SK Yadav also fixed July 23 for recording the

statement of BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi through video conferencing. The court set July 22 for former Shiv Sena MP Satish Pradhan to depose before it through video link. The court is conducting proceedings under Section 313 of CrPC to enable all accused to plead their innocence, if they so want.

level of the Barak river, which flows through Cachar district in the state, too, has been on the rise in recent days.

The overflowing of Brahmaputra river has already damaged crops and triggered mudslides, displacing millions of people. —ANI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court dismissed as frivolous two PILs seeking preservation of artefacts recovered from the Ram Janmabhoomi site at Ayodhya.

The top court also imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh each on the two petitioners and asked them to pay it within one month.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krishan Murari said that a fivejudge bench has already given its verdict and this is an attempt through PIL to overreach the judgement.

The counsel appearing for the petitioners said the Ram Janmab-

IAF to induct five Rafales on July 29 New Delhi: Amid continuing tensions on border with China, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is scheduled to induct the first batch of five Rafale fighter jets from France at the Air Force Station, Ambala, on July 29, subject to weather conditions. The final induction ceremony will take place in the second half of August. Acting on a special request by IAF, France has accelerated the deliveries of Rafale fighters to India.

PANDEMIC IMPACT: INDIGO TO LAY OFF 10% EMPLOYEES New Delhi: IndiGo has decided to lay off 10 %of its workforce due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, its CEO Ronojoy Dutta said,”From where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices, in order to sustain our business operations.

Therefore, after carefully assessing all possible scenarios, it is clear that we will need to bid a painful adieu to 10% of our workforce. It is for the first time that we have undertaken such a painful measure.

YSRCP’S REBEL MP DONATES SALARY

Rather, it is the Shiv Sena which laid the road to the Ram temple. The Shiv Sena removed the main roadblocks in the run up to the construction of the temple at the place where Lord Ram was born. That was not for politics. But the Shiv Sainiks made sacrifices out of faith and Hindutva.

And our relation is intact.

—Sanjay Raut Shiv Sena Leader

hoomi Trust has also accepted that there are many artefacts in the area that need protection. The bench sought

Amravati: YSR Congress Party’s rebel MP K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju on Monday, donated his three months salary for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya.

The member of Lok Sabha from Narsapuram constituency in Andhra Pradesh sent a cheque of Rs 3.96 lakh to Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra. to know as to why the petitioners have come before the SC under Article 32 of the Constitution. —Agencies

Lord Ram, not PM’ Sehore: Reacting on NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s statement that some people think coronavirus can be eradicated by building a temple, BJP leader Uma Bharti on Monday said that this statement is against Lord Ram, not against Prime Minister Modi.

“PM Modi never takes a day off, he sleeps for only four hours.

This statement is against Lord Ram, not

against PM Modi,” Uma Bharti told media.

Recently, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that some people think that the coronavirus would be eradicated by building a temple. His comment comes after the Trust proposed two dates in August for laying the foundation stone of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya & had invited PM Modi for the same either on August 3 or 5. —ANI

Dubey’s bail, an institutional failure: SC New Delhi: It is a failure of the institution that a person like Vikas Dubey got bail despite several cases lodged against him, the Supreme Court said, while asking the UP government to consider having a former apex court judge and a retired police officer in the inquiry committee probing the encounter of the gangster.

This is the failure of the institution and the person, who should have been behind the bars, got bail, a bench

DUBEY’S AIDES VAJPAYEE, SHUKLA HELD

headed by CJI SA Bobde said, adding, We are appalled to the fact that a person like Vikas Dubey got the bail despite so many cases.

The bench, also com-

THIRD MONDAY OF SAWAN CELEBRATED AT MAHAKALESHWAR Ujjain: On the occasion of the third Monday of the Sawan month, the Bhasma Aarti was performed at Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple in the morning.The priests wore masks and ensured social distancing as a preventive measure against COVID-19. However, the usual hustle-bustle was absent from the temple

due to coronavirus outbreak which has affected the lives of people across the globe. Shravan, the fifth month in the Hindu calendar, is considered to be the most auspicious month of the year. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva who, according to Hindu religious beliefs, is the creator, preserver, and destroyer of this universe.

prising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, told the UP government that they have to uphold rule of law. The bench suggested changes in the in-

quiry panel and sought a draft resolution from the state government by July 22. SG Mehta said law has been set in motion and the inquiry has started. —Agencies

SENSEX SOARS 399 PTS; NIFTY TOPS 11,000-LEVEL: SOURCES Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex surged 399 points to settle at 37,419, driven by gains in financial and IT counters, shrugging off concerns over mounting COVID-19 cases. Starting the session on a positive note, the BSE gauge marked the day’s high at 37,479, before closing at 37,418.99, up 398.85 points or 1.08%. Broader NSE Nifty rose 120.50 points or 1.11 % to end at 11,022.20. On Sensex chart, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HDFC Bank ICICI Bank were among the gainers.

INDIA AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

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India’s tally crosses 11Lakh mark The death toll due to the disease rose to 27,497, while 7L have recovered so far, said Health Ministry New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 case tally crossed the 11-lakh mark on Monday, while the total number of recovered patients increased to over seven lakh, according to Union health ministry data. The death toll due to the disease rose to 27,497 with 681 fatalities reported in one day.

The data showed that a record single-day jump of 40,425 COVID-19 cases had taken the total number of cases to 11,18,043.

This is also the first time that the single-day spike in cases has crossed the 40,000-mark.

There are 3,90,459 active cases in the country, while 7,00,086 people have recovered. The recovery rate stands at 62.62 %. —PTI

UNCERTAINTY IN CBDT?

Member CBDT, SK Gupta is scheduled to retire on July 31. Now picture is still not clear that whether he would get extension.If he gets extension, then there is a possibility of his becoming the Chairman next month. If he doesn’t get extension, it means present Chairman PC Modi would get an extension for one year.

The Indian Revenue Service of Income Tax cadre (IRS-IT) officers of 2000 batch are being considered for the empanelment at Joint Secretary level in Government of India.

RAJYA SABHA SECRETARY GENERAL TO RETIRE IN AUGUST

Tenure of Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh Deepak Verma is coming to an end in August.

He is a 1978 batch former IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

VACANCIES IN IT SETTLEMENT COMMISSION

There are presently two vacancies in Mumbai and one vacancy in Delhi in the Income Tax Settlement Commission.

Health workers rest during a COVID-19 medical check-up at a residential area at Malad in Mumbai on Monday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

‘Allow home quarantine ‘Press meets playing like only if protocols followed’ recorder won’t work’

that beds in government hospitals of the two major cities of UP — Lucknow and Gorakhpur — are full. Coronavirus cases are rising and this condition of hospitals is worrying,” Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

“The concerns that were raised before the

government three months ago are turning out to be real. Now, the UP government’s press conferences that play like a tape recorder will not work. Attention will have to be paid to the prevailing situation,” she said.

The tally in UP rose to 49,247 on Sunday.—ANI

Lucknow: Stressing that a large number of asymptomatic coronavirus patients are still hiding their infection, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday asked officials to allow home quarantine only if all protocols related to the disease are followed.

At a meeting with senior officials, the chief minister directed that home quarantine permission should be given only on compliance of the already set protocol for it, an official release said.

Fearing that there may be a spurt in cases as a large number of asymptomatic people are hiding their infection, the CM said it

DEATH TOLL IN UP RISES TO 1,192

will be essential that the patient and his family complies with the protocol. People should be apprised of necessary precautions

ty of their products is good but more expertise is needed in design and packaging.

“I would request you, if it is possible, to find out a solution for MSMEs. With your international exposure, if you can plan product designing and giving new vision, awareness, product development to all entrepreneurs, regarding what global companies want. Its a win-win situation. It

Nitin Gadkari

will increase your turnover and help Indian economy,” the Union

Minister said.He was speaking at the unveiling of Amazon’s Ex-

and Anandiben Patel.

WB to... in a few areas in West Bengal, state home secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said. On Sunday, the COVID-19 death toll in West Bengal reached 1,112 after 36 people succumbed to the disease, the highest so far in a single day.

DEEPAM SETH HEADING ITBP ON LADAKH BORDER

Deepam Seth is presently IG in the ITBP on the Ladakh border. The 1995 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre, has succeeded Arvind Kumar, who is now Special DG in Madhya Pradesh.

VIKRAM SINGH IS NOW JS, SHIPPING

Private Secretary to the President Ram Nath Kovind, Vikram Singh joined as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Shipping on Monday. He is a 1997 batch IRTS officer.

“The way in which COVID-19 pandemic is assuming a horrible shape in UP - the most populous state in the country, which is poor and backward - is a matter of serious concern.

The pandemic will be controlled by making proper arrangements and not by ‘jugaad’.

ELEVATION OF JUDICIAL OFFICERS STILL PENDING IN MP ?

—MAYAWATI, BSP Chief

MEMBER(PERS) IN PRASAR BHARTI WON’T BE RECRUITED?

for which an awareness campaign should also be launched with the help of the print, electronic & social media, the CM said.—ANI

Help Indian MSMEs market products globally: Gadkari to Amazon New Delhi: Union MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday, urged e-commerce major, Amazon to list products from small businesses separately on its platform and help micro entrepreneurs market their goods globally.

Highlighting that the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector is a major job creator and backbone of the Indian economy, Gadkari said the quali-

POWER Gallery

2000 BATCH IRS-IT OFFICERS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR JS EMPANELMENT

PRIYANKA SLAMS UP GOVT OVER CORONA RESPONSE

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government in UP over its handling of COVID-19 crisis, saying the state government’s press conferences that “play like a tape recorder” will not work anymore and attention will have to be paid to the prevailing situation.

The Congress general secretary has been criticising the state government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, alleging that it is indulging in propaganda, instead of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

“There are reports

06

ports Digest 2020.

Gadkari said the MSME sector accounts for 30 per cent of India’s growth and about 48 per cent of the country’’s exports.

Gadkari added the vision is to increase the contribution of MSMEs to 60 per cent of India’’s exports within the next five years.

“The rural, tribal & agri sections of economy need to be developed on a priority ba-

sis. 65 % of our population belongs to these areas. There are 115 aspirational districts where per capita income is very negligible.” “Goods exported from Indian MSMEs via the programme can be classified into micro, small & medium.

My suggestion is to also make a separate category of handloom, handicrafts, particularly agro-MSMEs,” Gadkari added. —PTI

Additional Chief Secretary Home Rohit Kumar Singh said, “Its administrative provisions were already there, it was notified yesterday.”

Officials said that in June 1990 too the Rajasthan government had refused to give such ‘’general consent’’ to the Centre.

He claimed that the MLAs in Pilot’s faction are being held captive.

“Our MLAs are staying without any restrictions but they have held their MLAs captive. They are calling us and crying over the phone while explaining their ordeal.

Their mobile phones have been snatched.

Some of them want to join us,” Gehlot said.

This comes even as Rajasthan Congress continues to remain in turmoil after simmering differences between Pilot and Gehlot came out in the open.

Elevation of Judicial officers in the Madhya Pradesh High Court is reportedly still pending.

The approved three names are said to be the bone of contention.

JUSTICE LALIT IS NEW MEMBER OF SC COLLEGIUM

After the retirement of Justice R Banumathi, Justice UU Lalit is new Member of the Supreme Court Collegium with effect from July 20.

If sources are to be believed, the post of Member(Pers) for Prasar Bharti Board is not to be filled in near future. Reason is, since the MIB has constituted a recruitment board and thus, chances of any such appointment are remote till the Board frames service rules. The post of Member(Pers) is vacant since February 2017.

MANISHA SAXENA APPOINTED AS ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR, INDRAPRASTHA GAS LTD

Manisha Saxena, presently Secretary-cum-Commissioner Transport, Government of NCT, has been appointed as an Additional Director, Indraprastha Gas Limited. She is a 1986 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of AGMUT cadre.

MOHD AHSAN REZA IS ALSO DG, AP STATE DISASTER RESPONSE IN ANDHRA PRADESH

Mohd Ahsan Reza has been assigned an additional charge of Director General, Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response and Fire Services in Andhra Pradesh. He is a 1991 batch IPS officer.

Inputs from : http://whispersinthecorridors.com

FROM PG 1 BJP rises... for the district panchayat and municipal corporation polls, which are due in December.

By appointing Patil, BJP national president JP Nadda--with clearance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)--has sent a clear message to state leaders that not only will infighting and groupism not be entertained anymore, the party is also done tolerating any pressure tactics in terms of caste and community.

Until recently, the

BJP was considered to be a party that owed a large chunk of its support to the Patidars--an image that has caused the party base to take a considerable hit. Patil’s appointment will neutralize some dominant groups and caste equations within the party.

Moreover, while Modi, during his tenure had effectively quashed the old factions--of supports of Keshubhai Patel and Sanjay Joshi--he had failed to notice the growing discord between the two groups headed by Amit Shah

Raj HC...

The notices to the MLAs were served after their party complained to the Speaker that they had defied a whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings last week. The Pilot camp, however, argues that a party whip applies only when the Assembly is in session.

In its complaint to the speaker, the Congress had sought action against Pilot and the other dissidents under paragraph 2(1) (a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Says it...

However, under Section 6, the CBI requires general consent before investigating a matter in a state. According to the officials, now the consent will have to be taken on a case-bycase basis.

One more...

Nobody believed me when I used to say that conspiracy is going on to topple the government. Nobody knew that a person with such an innocent face will do such a thing.”

—With Agency inputs

Taming Corona...

Phase one will also include three variations of the vaccine with two different doses to test the efficacy of each dosage.

Once the safety of the vaccine is established in phase one, phase two of the trial will commence, which will recruit 750 people between the ages of 12 and 65.

“If we find [the vaccine] is safe, immunogenetic (has the ability to provide enough antibodies) and has no issues of side effects, we should be able to have a result in the next two to

three months. But we must follow up with subjects for 28 days and then again at a later stage,” Guleria said.

Covaxin was developed by Bharat Biotech, and is backed by the ICMR and the National Institute of Virology. —Agencies

ICC postpones... from October 18-November 15 but Cricket Australia, in May itself, had intimated ICC that it would be near impossible to stage a closed-door event of this magnitude with quarantine arrangement of 16 international teams. —Agencies

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AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

07

WHY ARE FLOODS NECESSARY IN or the last week, Assam has been reeling from disastrous flooding that, according to the latest reports, has displaced over 34 lakh people over 33 of its districts. The state’s largest river, Brahmaputra, along with eight others, are overflowing at dangerous levels, with the India Meteorological Department forecasting more rain in the coming days.

Flood waters have submerged over 3,300 villages, destroying 1.28 lakh hectares of crop in the process, as per the Assam disaster management authority. Thousands

Why are floods so destructive and unstable in Assam?

have also now been shifted to relief camps, as the northeast state contends with the double threat of flooding, as well as COVID-19.

Assam is no stranger at all to flooding having experienced a flood of similar magnitude at nearly the exact time last year. The state experienced a deluge in mid-July 2019 that, reportedly, affected nearly 60 lakh of its inhabitants.

But why exactly does Assam continue to be so flood-prone despite its familiarity with flooding?

Has the government tried to address the factors that cause floods?

At least 15 teams of the NDRF have been deployed in the state.

Central Water Commission said the water level is rising by 2-3 centimetres per hour.

At the crux is the very nature of the river Brahmaputra —dynamic and unstable. Its 580,000 sq km basin spreads over four countries: China, India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, with diverse environments. In terms of sediment yield, two spots along the Brahmaputra’s course were at second and third places in 2008, behind the Yellow River whose annual sediment yield is 1,403 tonnes per sq km. The Brahmaputra’s annual sediment yield was 1,128 tonnes per sq km at Bahadurabad of Bangladesh, and 804 tonnes per sq km at Pandu of Guwahati.







In its master plan on the river in 1982, the Brahmaputra Board had suggested that dams and reservoirs be built to mitigate floods.

The idea of dams, however, has traditionally been a doubleedged sword. While one of their objectives is to regulate the release of floodwaters, the release when it comes can sometimes be beyond the capacity of the channels downstream.

In the Brahmaputra basin, locals and environmentalists protested against dam-building plans on grounds of displacement.

How do these characteristics of the river relate to flooding? 



 

A herd of wild elephants takes shelter inside the flooded range of Kaziranga National Park.

Over the years, another mitigation measure has been artificial highlands (111 in the Nineties, 33 in 201617) built inside the park for wild animals to take refuge in during the flood.

While these highlands have helped a fair bit in reducing the number of animal casualties during floods,

some feel that it is not a ‘permanent solution’.

“Animals do take refuge there — especially rhino and swamp deer — but it is not viable to build more highlands since such constructions will ruin the natural ecosystem,” said Sarma, terming the highlands a “temporary refuge.”

So what is the solution?

The vast amount of sediment comes from Tibet, where the river originates. “That region is cold, arid, and lacks plantation. Glaciers melt, soil erodes and all of it results in a highly sedimented river.

By the time the river enters Assam — a state comprising primarily floodplains surrounded by hills on all sides — it deposits vast amounts of this silt, leading to erosion and floods.

As the river comes from a high slope to a flat plain, its velocity decreases suddenly and this results in the river unloading the sediment.

Again, because of the earthquake-prone nature of the region, the river has not been able to acquire a stable character.

Following the devastating earthquake of 1950, the level of the Brahmaputra rose by two metres in Dibrugarh area in eastern Assam.

What measures are taken to prepare for the flood?

Seen here are villagers in Katahguri village along the river Brahma -putra, east of Guwahati.

(Image: Reuters)

How helpful are Kaziranga’s artificial highlands?

Preparedness begins a month before floods hit. The authorities keep a track of updates from the Central Water Commission, and monitor water levels of the Brahmaputra tributaries upstream in Arunachal Pradesh.

According to Dr Pandey, the civil administration, park authority, NGOs, and local communities work together to tackle the floods. “To avoid disease outbreaks, a door-to-door vaccination is organised every year pre-floods,” he said.

Moreover, when the floods hit, Section 144 is imposed along NH-37, speed limits are enforced and fines levied. Barricades are also placed to help animals cross over to Karbi Anglong.

The northeastern state of Assam has been ravaged by torrential rainfall and subsequent floods.

Experts believe that emphasis needs to be put on securing animal corridors and ensuring a safe passage to the Karbi hills.

To that end, a 35-km-long flyover constructed over NH-37 was proposed by the Centre in September 2019.

“While this flyover will help, 35 km is a lengthy stretch and might take time to build,” said Sivakumar, “So the focus should be on doing it quickly, using modern technology that will

cause minimal disturbance to the animals during construction.”

In April 2019, the Supreme Court banned all types of mining and related activities along with the park’s southern boundary and in the entire catchment area of the rivers that originate in the Karbi Anglong hill ranges and flow into Kaziranga, as well as new construction activities in private lands on nine animal corridors.

n SOURCE: AGENCIES n CONCEPT: DIVYA HAMNANI n DESIGN: SITARAM SHARMA

Regret is like a dark dark river that sweeps away everything, the good with the bad too.

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

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2ND FRONT AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

331 Deaths And 25 Cr Unspent

TRAGIC TALE OF ASIATIC LIONS

08

Bank manager, three others held for fraud

The figures were shared by the Gujarat forest department via a committee formed by the Centre Shishir Awasthi

TRAGIC END

Ahmedabad: In spite of 331 leonine deaths in 2018-19 the Gujarat government has been sitting on the Rs 26 crore, that was meant for the conservation of the endangered Asiatic lion in the state’s Asiatic Lion Landscape (ALL).

The figures were shared by the Gujarat forest department with a committee created by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on May 29, 2020 to look into the high mortality rate of Asiatic lions in ALL. Of the total of Rs. 38 crore (17 crore in 2018-19 and 21 crore in 2019-20) as the Centre’s contribution for the Asiatic Lion Conservation Project under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme

for Development of Wildlife Habitat , the government could manage to spend only Rs. 7 crore.

The lackadaisical and negligent attitude does not end here, they have failed to fill the va-

GCMMF claims 600 MT ghee worth `40 cr adulterated

First India Bureau Mehsana: Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) in a letter addressed to the Dudhsagar Moti dairy ordered to stall the dispatch of 600 Metric tons of Ghee having a market value of Rs 40cr as the stock failed the standard testing and adulteration was found.

Dudhsagar is a brand of Mehsana District, Director Baldev Chaudhary has demanded to destroy the stock at the earliest. Chaudhary in

a video clip stating that there is no reason not to believe the federation because Rajasthan police have registered a criminal complaint against the contractor, who found to be adulterating the pure ghee.

Chaudhary’s said if anyone has doubts about the sample tested, we are open for the second opinion or getting it tested with a third laboratory. He has appealed the dairy board to take the necessary actions at the earliest in the larger interest of the people’s health.

@ahmedpatel

cant positions also.

Barely half the sanctioned positions of forest guards in the Junagadh Wildlife Circle and Gir (East) Division have been filled and similar vacancies are there in the two forest

done the Sero prevalence of Canine Distemper Virus in Asiatic Lions of Gir and has been asked to develop a canine distemper vaccine.

During 2 weeks in September 2018, the

The accused in custody of Vadodara police.

First India Bureau Vadodara: A manager of a Vadodara-based public sector bank was arrested on Monday along with three others for allegedly withdrawing Rs 1.75 crore from a fixed deposit and transferring the money to two other accounts using forged documents, police said.

The money had been initially deposited by liquidator of a cooperative bank.

‘Amul Mohod, the manager of Diwalipura branch of Punjab National Bank in Vadodara, was arrested by the city crime branch along with three others on charges of cheating,

forgery, and criminal conspiracy,’ said DCP (Crime), Vadodara, Jaydeepsinh Jadeja.

He said the liquidator of Anyonya Cooperative Bank had stated in a complaint that some unidentified persons withdrew Rs 1.75 crore from the bank branch after he deposited it on January 16, 2020.

Jadeja said Rs 1,75,48,544 were withdrawn along with accumulated interest through a demand draft payable at Kolhapur district using bogus documents.

Three other accused are identified as Rahul Shah and Bhupesh Surati, both residents of Mumbai, and Kiran Panchal, a resident of Ahmedabad.

No ADD imposition on powerloom industry

THE NEW ABNORMAL

First India Bureau

The police have registered a case of violating COVID-19 notifications against 21 persons after photos emerged showing a large number of people gathered on the Sabarmati River Front in the Ahmedabad's Shahibaug area, to mark the religious occasion of 'Savan ka Somvar'.

4 dead, 3 others critical in car-truck collision on Amreli-Bagasara road First India Bureau Rajkot: On Monday evening a family of Gavadka village of Amreli taluka was going to Bagasra to attend a social function.

Where the car had a collision with a truck

on Amreli-Bagasara Road in Gujarat. According to police, four fatalities were found and three members of the family were injured in which two of them were in a critical state and have immediately taken to

Amreli civil hospital An ambulance attendant who first reached the spot said, “Three ambulances were sent to the spot where 4 people were found dead while 3 others were injured and have taken to the hospital”.

Surat: The Indian textile ministry recently opposed the final findings of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) recommending the imposition of anti-dumping duty (ADD) on nylon multifilament yarn. In a letter to the deputy secretary of the department of revenue, the textile ministry stated that nylon multifilament yarn is a key raw material for the power loom industry, including knitting and weaving.

There should not be any ADD imposed on the import of yarn from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, the letter said.

Power loom weavers in Gujarat’s Surat, Maharashtra, and other states have been opposing the DGTR’s recommendation of imposing ADD on the nylon mul-

Anti-dumping duty will not be foisted on nylon multifilament yarn.

IN OPPOSITION

ti-filament yarn.

Weavers have stated the quality of nylon yarn manufactured by the domestic yarn spinners were not up to the mark and the weavers are forced to import better quality yarn from other countries to reduce production loss and to supply quality

fabrics in the domestic and international markets. However, there is no harm to the domestic industry and the demand for ADD is not justifiable.

Nylon fabrics are used in the parachute, technical textiles, garments, and knitted garments.

GTU STUDENTS G ‘BAND’OBAST FOR SAFETY First India Bureau

Remember Sheila ji on her first punya tithi. Her demise has left an irreplaceable void for the people of Delhi & the Congress party.

administrative units and the veterinary doctors division too.

The state government has not been able to create a vaccine yet. The Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre has

unusual death of 28 lions of all age groups was reported from Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and 1,300 doses of purevax ferret distemper vaccine (Merial, USA) were procured. Of them, 1,100 were utilised for active immunization of the lion population. However, procurement of another 1,000 doses of this vaccine is in process,” the committee report said.

Eighty-five lions have died between January and May 2020, according to the report and submitted by the committee appointed by the MoEF&CC to the ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office in the first week of June. In 2018 and 2019, a total of 112 and 134 lions died in ALL, the report said.

Of the 85 lions that died in early 2020, almost half (44) died due to diseases.

Ahmedabad: GTU students have come up with the perfect solution to keep hands sanitized and safe during the corona pandemic. Sanitizing / washing hands, physical distancing and wearing a mask are the three critical points of corona protocol and protecting oneself from it. They have made unique hand sanitizer bands- called G Bands using Thermo

plastic elastomers. The band can be used on the go for sanitizing hands just by pressing it, the G Bands offer a convenient option for people to maintain hand hygiene.

“Sarthak Baxi, Kartik Sheladiya, Sagar Thakkar, Karan Patel and Jagrut Dave from the alumni of 2010 batch of GTU thought of a product that can replace a sanitiser spray or bottle while going out. So they came up with refillable and

Students made sanitizer bands using thermo plastic elastomers.

wearable G Bands.

The product is priced at Rs 299 and will soon be available for a larger public. It has also been filed for a patent.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Navin Sheth said apart from the G bands, the innovators from GTU have come with a range of innovative products in the wake of Covid 19 pandemic.

Taking into account the concerns of the people on the quality and effectiveness of the sanitizer

they are using GTU has started testing the samples for the common man. GTU officials said that citizens interested in getting their sanitisers tested can call 079 2326 7537 to register. Varsity officials will collect the samples. They have three laboratories -LD College of Engineering, GTU Chandkheda and Gandhinagar. People can drop the samples to GTU once the lockdown is lifted. The result will be conveyed to them by the varsity officials.

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09

AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY JULY 21, 2020

IN AANKHON KI MASTI KE...

Eyes are said to be the window to the soul and a study has found that both men and women rate a person’s eyes more important than other facial features when seeking for a potential partner!

ANITA HADA

anita.hada@firstindianews.com

F

rom ‘Khuda bachaaye teri mast mast aankhon se... farishta ho to behak jaaye aadmi kya hai’ by Jaan Nisar Akhtar to Ben Jonson’s ‘Drink to me only with thine eyes’ this feature of the face has been the most popular in literature.

Eyes tend to feature in both genres – love and heartbreak!

Some are born with naturally beautiful eyes; in Bollywood, some of the most beautiful eyes belonged to Vijyantimala and Hema Malini, who knew how to use them best and most expressively due to their classical dance training which actually teachers nuances of the eyes. Madhubala with her sparkling eyes conveyed life in all it’s totality. Rakhee and Rekha, both had large soulful eyes which spoke a language of their own.

It is not an easy task to shortlist who has the most beautiful eyes in our film industry as most heroines have been bestowed with gorgeous eyes and if not they have known how to make them beautiful with the use of cosmetics and expressions.

In today’s stars, I love Sonakshi’s eyes, truly almond-shaped they speak about love and hold a deep ocean in their depths, much of the passion unspoken in them. ‘Kajraare kajraare tere kaal kaale naina’, Aishwarya’s eyes never sparkled more than when she won the Miss World in 1994 and for someone as beautiful as she is, her eyes are still her best feature.

Kajol’s eyes are dreamy, they speak of a smalltown love and big dreams and in moments of laughter they are her best point-full of life, they define her!

Kareena has amazing green eyes that are confident and

clear and speak of her strong family that stands tall in the industry. Her sister, Karisma Kapoor also had beautiful blue eyes that wooed an entire generation. Lisa Haydon

is also one of my choices for lovely eyes, she might not have made much of a mark as an actor yet but her eyes are worth a million dollars.

I feel that beautiful eyes if not expressive lose most of their beauty. Wide-open with the miracles of life squeezed shut in laughter or brimming with tears- our eyes show us for who we are!

The most beautiful eyes in the world?

A mother’s eyes when she looks at her child- nothing can beat that!

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AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

10

LOST DREAMS DUE TO DEMONETIZATION

S

arita Pillai (Saiyami Kher), a tired bank cashier, had asked her husband Sushant (Roshan Mathew), unemployed failed musician hopping jobs, to stay away from home for a day.

She had a chai-tambola session planned that afternoon.

But the unavailing, drifting Sushant fails to stay away.

As they go to their bed that night, in their cramped house in a Mumbai Chawl, they scuffle, their 10-yearold son sleeping in between them. He was the only witness to their earlier agreement, and he is the only one to bring an end to the disagreement with his opinion.

It is unsettling, but intimate – two warring spouses trying to find a middle-ground through their only offspring. It’s also telling of the despair in life when there’s little money at disposal and everything looks bleak.

Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai, directed by Anurag Kashyap (story by Nihit Bhave), is about spouses Sarita and Sushant, migrants in Mumbai from Konkan and Karnataka, who are choking under the burden of financially fragile life. The dreams – of becoming a singer and a musician respectively – with which they

had come to Mumbai has faded long back in just an attempt to make a decent living. Love has lost its charm in the absence of money. If Sarita is haunted by the thought of strobe light falling on her in a packed auditorium where she froze during a performance years ago, Sushant’s artistic ego has taken precedence and if anything, he seems disenchanted by the daily chores of life saddling the wife with all the responsibilities.

But then, something unexpected happens. Wads of cash start spewing out of Sarita’s clogged kitchen sink pipe. The everyday dreariness is replaced by new enthusiasm to liven up her life. The penny pincher in her is slowly giving way to a spender, surprising the husband who is still living under the stress of debt. Unexpected strikes again; this time as the demonetization move of the Modi government. Sushant, with frac-

tional money in his pocket, celebrates: “ab maza aayega”. He anticipates hoards of black money to come out from the rich. Sarita gets buried in work – with the insurmountable transactions happening in her bank even as she keeps plotting the way to exchange her old currency notes.

Is it possible to have Kashyap make a film without politics intricately woven into the story? Seems unlikely, even when during

the promotions of the film he has called it his warmest film with shades of Abhimaan and Sai Paranjpye films. Of course, it has those shades. And, maybe that’s why the opening music score (inspired by Federico Fellini’s 8 ½) fits perfectly well too. Like Fellini’s film that focuses on the battles of a creative person blurs the line between creativity and personal struggles, and charts on a territory of finding happiness within a life

struck with intermittent difficulties, Choked, too, primarily explores that.

But the film is as much a critique of the government, of the social structure, and of gender biases that come into play in everyday lives.

The story that unfolds in October of 2016 takes into account the Modi government’s demonetization move that year, two years into power as people wait for ache din. The politics in the film doesn’t reveal itself easily. It is, instead, subtly peppered in smaller moments, more as sub texts. That one scene when a customer in the bank sneers at Kher’s Sarita for counting the notes three times and blaming her femininity for that. Or another scene amid a dinner when the news playing on the TV in the backdrop tells the audience “to be like Modi” and to eat “mushrooms”.

Or the aimless people of the Chawl passing time by playing carom that soon turns into jeering Sushant “for being the wife” in the relationship. At various stages, the film calls out the prevalent corruption and then makes everyone an equal participant in it. But unlike Kashyap’s earlier films, the politics is never overt and maybe that’s why the film

seems too subdued at most times, exposing the holes in the script.

While Kher is surprising as a non-glamorous, lowermiddle-class woman, who is quite a contrast to her image; it is Mathew’s Sushant, who in his portrayal of a flawed, damaged artiste grabs attention – often evoking feelings of disgust.

Then, the neighbours – the interfering and loud Sharvari Tai (Amruta Shubash) and the nosy Neeta (Rajshree Deshpande), add a little spice and flavor to the story.

Sylvester Fonseca’s camerawork that closely captures the claustrophobia of life in tenements and goes deep into capturing little details is commendable.

Through the film, Karsh Kale’s music clubbed with Garima Obrah’s lyrics and Rachita Arora’s arrangement may not have been prominent, but as the end credit rolls and the song, 500-1000, composed on the tunes of nursery rhymes plays along, it does the magic. Echoing the politics of the filmmaker – visible more prominently on Twitter -- it may not be wrong to wonder if the song is going to become a popular protest anthem when the nation is ready for one.

FA CE OF TH ED AY

Source: https://www.theweek.in/review/movies/2020/06/05/choked-review-anrag-kashyap-netflix-film-on-demonetisation-lacks-punch.html

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Do a favour to yourself and let go of your worries for sometime, life has many other things to offer.

You will spend your day in taking care of your spouse and kids and catering to needs. You will deliver work expected from you on time and you can expect magical results.

Be very clear with terms and conditions in your business, let no one take advantage from the loopholes. Life is good for you and you always tends to express gratitude to the almighty. You are brave just like a lion and your capabilities speak for yourself.

You have the luck by your side in terms of hiring the best team for your business with absolute brilliant minds. You need not worry about your finances as they are in safe hands. You must not wait for someone to motivate you, trust yourself and derive motivation within.

You have to give purpose to your life as without it everything is meaningless and there is just no fun.

Keep growing in the business of self improvement as someday you will do something big and will make everyone proud. You must introduce yourself to new fitness programs.

MAR 21 - APR 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You have raised some real ethical, well mannered and cultured kids and these kids will surely help you if there is any financial requirement ever in your life. You will successfully fetch a good price for your property. Seeing the current situation travelling outside your city should be avoided.

Your pocket is full when many are even struggling for one time food therefore use this money judiciously and show some devotion to social causes as well. Its ok to own your mistake, it won’t make you small.

You may take help from your father as far as career advice is concerned.

Life is too short to keep resentments and in the end it will keep troubling you only therefore quit ego and resolved your issues on social front.

On professional front, you networking skills will be really helpful for you. Someone in your environment will boost your morale.

You have to make sure in life that you don’t hurt anyone both intentionally and unintentionally. Your cards indicate a change of job and a higher income. It will be good for your health if you stay miles away from stress or do some exercises that will help you to remain calm.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

On social front, you are sometimes involved in listening to even wrong people because you are a very good listener but you must strictly refrain at all costs from doing that as it can cause damage to your image as well. Don’t lie to your parents in any way which will tear their soul apart.

A Charity is important specially if God has given you some power because with power comes responsibilities. You will outsmart your colleagues in office today. You may feel tempted to do something big for someone but your must also keep in mind your limits.

You will spend a very comfortable relaxing day today. You are not scared of what life will through at you as you deeply believe in karma. Life is good and easy for you though you sometimes struggles with emotions but thats normal. Your spouse will surprise you with good food today.

Your property related queries will get answered today. You can expect good returns from your business but make sure to make a good investment of the same money.

You will soon get a hike in salary.

You like to serve people and do the best you can for them.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

ASHI KHANNA, Content Creator

APR 21 - MAY 20

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

11

CHESS FANATIC

T O O H B PHONE A

ctors Katrina Kaif, Ishaan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi on Monday announced that they are all set to team up for an upcoming horror-comedy film ‘Phone Booth’.

The trio took to Instagram to share the first look of the film with their fans and announced that the film will release in 2021. In the picture, Katrina, Siddhant and Ishaan were seen dressed in black coloured suits with white coloured shirts underneath them.

“The one-stop-shop for all bhoot related problems, #PhoneBhoot ringing in cinemas in 2021,” Katrina wrote in the caption.

While Ishaan, on the other hand, revealed in his caption that the first look of the cast of the film has been “locked” since March due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown and shutdown of the entertainment industry.

Film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh further revealed that the film will be directed by Gurmmeet Singh and bankrolled by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar.

... her post

O

... her post

“IT’S OFFICIAL... #KatrinaKaif, #SiddhantChaturvedi and #IshaanKhatter to head the cast of #PhoneBhoot, a horror-comedy... Directed by Gurmmeet Singh... Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar... Filming will begin later this year... 2021 release,” tweeted Adarsh. The horror-comedy that hosts the trio of Katrina, Siddhant and Ishaan for the first time will go on the floors later this year.

—ANI Katrina Kaif

WISHES FOR THE LEGENDARY ACTOR

‘BLACK IS

KING’

A

s Naseeruddin Shah turned 70 on Monday, several Bollywood celebrities and fans of the legendary actor poured in wishes for the ace actor.

Anil Kapoor, among various other celebrities who had wished, was one of the first Bollywood celebrities to wish his ‘Woh 7 Din’ co-star on his birthday. Kapoor tweeted his monochromatic throwback picture Naseeruddin Shah with Shah

W

eeks after the grand announcement of her song ‘Black is King,’ 24-time Grammy award winner Beyonce’ on Sunday (local time) dropped the trailer of the song on online video streaming platform Disney Plus.

The new album, which is based on the soundtrack of Disney’s ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ has been curated and executive produced by Beyonce’. The trailer of the video song features the musician’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter and several other celebrities like Jay-Z, Childish G a m b i n o , Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar, Tierra Whack, 070 Shake and Jessie Reyez.

According to a press release cited by Variety, ‘Black I s King,’ promises to reimagine the lessons from ‘The Lion King’ for “today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns.”

The trailer further features the 38-year-old musician narrating in the background of the trailer. According to Variety, the visual album has been filmed in South Africa, Los Angeles, New York, London, West Africa and Belgium.

The visual album has a brief appearance of Oscar-winning Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita Nyong’o.

The visual album ‘Black Is King’ pays tribute to voyages of Black families throughout time. It tells the story of a young king’s “transcendent journey through betrayal, love, and self-identity.”

The much-awaited album is all set to drop on the online streaming platform Disney Plus on July 31.

—ANI

n the occasion of International Chess Day, former Miss World and actor Manushi Chhillar enjoyed a game of chess with her father Dr Mitra Basu Chhillar and revealed through an Instagram post that she is a “competitive” board game player.

The 23-year-old actor posted a picture of herself and her dad on Instagram where the two are seen deeply concentrating on the game. “I’m the competitive one, he’s the mind reader. Irrespective of who loses, I know he always wins!#InternationalChessDay.”—ANI

from their younger days, complimenting it with a birthday wish remembering working with him. “Happy B’day to the actor whose contribution to my career is immense #NaseeruddinShah from doing Woh 7 Din to encouraging me to do my first regional Telugu film,” Kapoor tweeted.

“Thanks for making me realise that acting has no language & for being a great influence and inspiration for all actors,” his tweet further read. Naseeruddin Shah is one of the most celebrated actors of the Hindi film industry with several accolades including three national awards to his name.

—ANI

Manushi Chillar

DEDICATING

WITH LOVE

A

Amitabh Bachchan

mitabh Bachchan on Sunday dedicated a poem by his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan to the healthcare workers who are working relentlessly to keep people protected.

“Words from Babuji .. for them that work tirelessly, relentlessly, unselfishly to keep us protected,” he stated.

He noted, “Main hoon unke sath khadi, jo seedhi rakhte apni reedh, Kabhi nahi jo taj sakte hain apna nyayochit adhikar, Kabhi nahi jo she sakte hain sheesh nava kar atyaachar. Ek akele ho, ya unke sath khadi ho bhari bheed, Main hoon unke sath khadi, jo seedhi rakhte apni reedh.” The caption roughly translates to - “I am standing with them, who keep their spine straight, who can never let down their right to justice, even if they are single, or among a crowd of many, I am standing with them who keep their spine straight.”

—ANI

Nicki Minaj’s post

‘PREGGERS’

Nicki Minaj announced her pregnancy on Instagram on Monday evening, with a beautiful picture flaunting her baby bump. She captioned the image, “#Preggers” with a yellow hear emoji.

ROMANCE HEATING UP

A

Beyonce

merican actor Megan Fox and rapper Machine Gun Kelly’s romance appears to be heating up.

According to Page Six, the pair cuddled up in a group photo shared on Friday on Randall Emmett’s Instagram page as the film director celebrated production resuming on his thriller, ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass,’ in Puerto Rico.

“After four months apart! Grateful to be back in #puertorico filming with this amazing cast!

Randall Emmett’s post

Adapting to this new world! All quarantined together!” the 49-yearold director Emmett captioned the shot, which also featured his fiancee, Lala Kent as well as stars Lukas Haas and Emile Hirsch.

Hirsch, who will appear alongside Fox and Kelly, in the forthcoming film also posted the snap on social media.

“Four months later, the gang is quarantined together to resume shooting of Midnight In The Switchgrass in the amazing Puerto Rico. @randallemmettfilms @lukashaas @lalakent @meganfox @machinegunkelly @madisonbigos,” he shared.—ANI

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SURRENDER & CELEBRATE IT

AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

12

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

RAJASTHAN: Newly elected MP of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan Neeraj Dangi was welcomed by the NSUI state secretary and alumni Union President, Ganpat Patel in Jaipur, on Monday.

RAJASTHAN: In the ongoing Facebook Live series organised by Rajasthan Progressive Writers Association, a Palibased poet Hemant Parihar recited various poems on Monday. During the program, Hemant shared that his poetry journey started from his rural background, and through continuous study of Hindi literature in a completely non-literary environment, I made my own path myself.

Nikitaa

KARISHMA GWALANI karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

W

ith Goddess, I wanted the song to be a declaration of the power of the feminine - and how when you accept, surrender and celebrate it, it will celebrate you,” said LA/ Mumbai based Independent singer Nikitaa. The songstress is known for her Pop cultural song. Garnering millions of views on her YouTube channel, fans have gone Gaga over her new song ‘Goddess’ that has released recently. In an exclusive interview with City First, Nikitaa talked about her music journey along with her recent single.

“I’ve always loved classical Indian and Middle Eastern ins t r u ments specifically percussive and string instruments, and I’ve loved finding ways to mix these in with Pop and RnB songwriting. It took a lot of experimentation and

endless writing and recording to dig into the soundscape I have created for myself today because I didn’t have any other creators to look to for any kind of inspiration. No one around me was trying to do what I was doing, and so I had to put all my faith in my ideas

and creativity. It wouldn’t have been possible without my longtime producer Mukund Komanduri - who was there every step of the way - and my mix and mastering engineer Aaron Zepeda who is always incredibly patient with me and very respectful and passionate about the music I bring to him,” Nikitaa said while talking about her journey.

The single ‘Goddess’ has made every person that’s heard it so far feel many emotions.

“It was a new kind of challenge!

This is my third time directing a music video, all three of which I have shot with the help of my family in my home during a lockdown. The first two were very straightforward, but shooting and editing together so many “me”s was extremely tough for someone like me who had only just learned to use editing software and everything that comes with that! But, as with the other two videos, I decided to keep the focus on having fun with the process, rather than stress over it all. I think it’s that attitude that brought

this video together with the way it is,” said the singer about shooting and editing the song amidst the lockdown.

On being asked about the future projects, Nikitaa said, “I’m excited to keep up the steady release of music this year, and hopefully put together a longer project next year for release! I want to focus on carving out space for myself despite the current circumstances of the pandemic and the lockdown. I have also been taking this time to get more involved in the production of my songs - I have always been involved in arrangement and instrumentation, but I have never actually produced the music myself. This is about to change!”

While talking about the difference between the music industry of LA and India, the songstress said, “In some ways, it is radically different and in others, it is not. Of course, we are all aware of how closely the music industry in India can be tied to the film industry. This relationship does not exist (at least not in the same way) in LA. In my personal experience, I have also seen a greater number of women encouraged to get involved in producing, songwriting, composing etc in LA than I have in India. I think women do want to (and are actively attempting to, and even succeeding in many cases) get super involved, and I think the industry is opening up to this but it is a process.”

RAJASTHAN: The birthday of Social Activist and Shakti film production Founder, Ambalika Shastri was celebrated with great enthusiasm on Monday, by distributing dry rations, food and fruits to the needy people at Omkareshwar Mahadev temple.

RAJASTHAN: India Kids Fashion Walk-Go Virtual was organised online by Pink Concepts for young models on Monday, where 31 selected children from all over the country showcased their modelling talent through a video presentation. The fashion show had two sequences, in which the children displayed glimpses of Indian traditions in traditional party wear as well as western party wear. All participants were encouraged by offering trophies, certificates and gift hampers.

NOMINATED IN THE UN JAIPUR DUO IN FORBES 2020

CITY FIRST

T

an NGO headquartered at Jaipur. The BMVSS has a Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Organisation (UNO).

The hearing is in preparation for the high-level meeting (HLM) of the

he United Nations has nominated the producer of the world-famous Jaipur Foot’s parent body Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti’s (BMVSS) IT Consultant, Ruchi Mehta for participating in the multi-stakeholder hearing on Tuesday.

This hearing will be presided over by the UN General Assembly President, Tijjani Muhammed Bande. Ruchi Mehta, who is also the executive member of the BMVSS has been nominated as the representative of the BMVSS, Ruchi Mehta

General Assembly which will be held in New York, on 23 September, with the theme: “Accelerating the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”. The president, with the support of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) will preside over an interactive session which will include representatives States Members of the UN, specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and entities with observer status with the UN Assembly. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

CITY FIRST

T

he talent of Jaipur today is waving the glory of skill in every field. Two young entrepreneurs of the city, Gulshan Sharma and Rahul Shankar Bharadwaj have also been named in this episode. Wherein this successful Jodi has recently been included in ‘Forbes, 30 Under 30 Asia List 2020’. Gulshan and Rahul, the founders of the well-known brand Falhari, have emerged as an example for the new generation.

Entrepreneur duo Gulshan Sharma and

Gulshan and Rahul

Rahul Shankar Bharadwaj, who reached the stage of success with their struggle, said that “many brands have been promoting junk food in the market, but none promote fruit consumption. Given

this, the main objective of our brand started in 2015 was to inspire people for a healthy diet and fruit consumption.

Our vision by 2022 is to set a target of reaching the billion-dollar growth.”

They further added that “All the products of our brand entirely depend on fruits which we will soon be introducing to the corporate and residentials of our home town Jaipur. Under the business model that has covered the journey from Jaipur to Gurugram, we provide monthly fruits subscription for corporates and residents. It is the first brand in the world to be inspired by the Fruit-eating Habit, for which we were honoured by ‘Coco-Cola Golden Spoon Awards for Most Admired Food and Grocery Innovation of the Year’ in 2019. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in