First India-Ahmedabad Edition-21 May 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

26°C - 45°C

ALERT AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 175

INDIA

WORLD

3,27,119 50,42,065 3,434 1,12,002 749 DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

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DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

DEATHS

GUJARAT

12,539

CONFIRMED CASES

Soaring high: Domestic flights to resume from May 25 All airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from Monday; no word yet on the resumption of international flights; many new rules and regulations are expected to be put into place that will change the flying experience New Delhi: Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Puri announced on Twitter that India will start domestic flight operations in a “calibrated manner” from May 25. This announcement comes exactly two months after the government imposed a nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus. “All airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from May 25,” he added.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation will soon be announcing the standard

operating procedure for domestic air travel. According to the minister, special operating procedures (SOPs) for passenger movement are being separately issued.

The announcement came amid the fourth phase of the lockdown which was imposed by the government on 25 March in order to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Puri had on Tuesday said that the domestic flight operations in India will resume once

HOW WILL AIR TRAVEL CHANGE? Filling up of a detailed questionnaire related to Covid-19, carrying no cabin baggage, using Aarogya Setu app and reaching the airport at least two hours before a flight departure might well be among requirements for air passengers during the initial phase after the resumption of commercial flights.

the state governments are ready to open airports. The Centre alone

can not make a decision in this regard, he said.

Airports across vari-

ous parts in the country including have started introducing fresh meas-

ures to keep travellers protected from the deadly coronavirus.

Earlier this month, in a communication to airport managers across the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had asked all airports to be prepared to handle flight operations.

AAI’s directorate of operations said, “Once the lockdown period is declared to be over, airports shall be facilitating limited domestic/international scheduled flights in phases, to start with, maybe at 30 per cent capacity to facilitate required social distancing.” It added initially,

‘Cabinet decisions will #CycloneAmphan help several citizens’ wreaks havoc Stimulus a

Extremely severe cyclone Amphan, packing winds of up to 190 kmph, made landfall between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, on Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction in coastal Odisha and parts of Bengal. Atleast 10 to 12 people have died and various districts of South Bengal has been devastated by Amphan. At least 6.58 lakh people were evacuated in West Bengal and Odisha before the cyclone struck. Dark clouds seen hovering over Victoria Memorial before the cyclone made a landfall in Kolkata. P6

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that important decisions were taken in the Cabinet meeting today which are focused on the welfare of migrants, senior citizens, easier availability of credit and harnessing opportunities in the fisheries sector.

“During Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, important decisions were taken which are focused on the welfare of migrants, senior citizens, easier availability of credit, harnessing opportunities in the fisheries sector. They will benefit several citizens,” tweeted Modi. He said the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) will revolutionise the fisheries sec-

multiplier effect: FM

PM Narendra Modi

tor. “It will invigorate it with the latest technology, infrastructure and ensure financial assistance. Our hardworking fishermen will gain immensely,” he said.

The Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for allocation of foodgrains from Central Pool to approximately 8 crore migrants / stranded migrants at 5 kg per person per month Turn on P6

New Delhi: As industrial and economic activities resume with easing of restrictions amid the Covid-19 countrywide lockdown, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday that the government will make plans for migrant workers to return to cities and towns.

“We will have to see how best we are going to work this out with the companies and also with migrants who may want to return,” she said in an interview with ANI Editor Smita Prakash.

Turn on P6

airline operations may be limited to Tier-l cities and major Tier-ll cities.

Puri had previously outlined some of the changes that will be witnessed in air travel keeping in mind Covid-19 precautions. “Now we won’t be able to permit queues at airports.

Maybe you will have to print your boarding pass from home and passengers may have to arrive at the airport before the scheduled time.

Even several airport procedures may have to be reduced.

Turn on P6

Can send new list if needed, says Priyanka New Delhi: Stating that this is not the time for politics, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday said she doesn’t want to question UP govt over the bus row and said that her party can provide a new list of buses to transport migrant workers if needed.

“I do not want to raise a question over State govt. If previous list provided by us consists of wrong registration nos, we can provide a new list,” said Gandhi in online address.

P5

Undeclared emergency fraud on Constitution: Patel Kartikey Dev Singh Jaipur: With each passing day the ‘word battle’ between BJP and Congress is gaining a new height. On Wednesday, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel hit out at BJP President JP Nadda as well as the Uttar

JP Nadda

Ahmed Patel

Pradesh government claiming that the ‘ state administration were opposing party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra just because she wants to help the migrant labourers’.

Patel replied to a tweet by JP Nadda wherein the BJP President mentioned quashing of FIRs Turn on P6

A’bad crosses 9K mark as state tally hits 12,539 with 749 deaths  Gujarat cases surge by 398 in 24 hrs, with 30 fatalities; total 5,219 discharged First India Bureau Gandhinagar: In an effort to support the embattled Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, the state health department on Wednesday shared a hospital-wise break-up of COVID-19 deaths. Unfortunately, even according to this data, Civil Hospital

still accounts for 11 of the 30 deaths reported in the past 24 hours.

Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Hospital (SVP) had three deaths and LG Hospital had one. The remaining 15 took place at other facilities.

In the second such incident in recent times, 12 pregnant women

SCHOOL TEACHER SUCCUMBS TO COVID-19

Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services personnel fly a drone in a quarantined cluster in Khadia, after residents requested their area be sanitized.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

have contracted COVID-19 while in hospital for childbirth, this time in LG Hospital. The previous case occurred at Shardaben Hospital.

There have been 398 new cases in the past 24 hours, three more than the 395 on

Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases up to 12, 539. The 30 fatalities took the death toll to 749. With 176 patients being discharged, this number is now up to 5,219.

Mahisagar and Patan district each accounted

for 15 new cases on Wednesday.

Navsari and Valsad have also reported more cases: three in Navsari and two in Valsad.

Even after appointing two committees and getting scientific studies done on the spread of the novel coronavirus in Ahmedabad city, neither the state nor local civic body, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, have been able to control the virus in the city.

Turn on P6

NEWS AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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STIMULUS PACKAGE MERE REPACKAGING OF BUDGET PROPOSALS

MOODY, FITCH JOIN CHORUS TO BLAST

STIMULUS PACKAGE AS EYE WASH First India Bureau

New Delhi: Even as financial and economic experts as well as groups have already pointed out that the Rs 20,00,000 crore stimulus package delineated by the Narendra Modi Government is just about one per cent of the GDP as against the avowed 10 per cent, global rating agencies Fitch Solutions and Moody’s have also joined in with similar pointers.

Financial experts have publicly expressed their reservations with the Covid-19 stimulus package and criticised it as a sheer “repackaging and appropriation of liquidity measures announced by the RBI.” Many have pointed out that the actual Covid-19 package is about 1 per cent of the GDP and not 10 per cent as claimed by the central government.

Now, Fitch Solutions has echoed this view to assert that the special package lacks measures to address the immediate concerns of Indian economy. The

Rajkot citizens to receive AYUSH homeopathy meds

Gargi Raval

Door-to-door distribution of homeopathy medicines and masks.

meopathy College Association, the medicine will be prepared by staff and students of seven homeopathy colleges of Rajkot at the pharmacy department of Saurashtra University.

A team comprising of BJP party members, students, interns and a homeopathy doctor have started supplying three-day doses to citizens in their homes. Along with the medicine they also dis-

This is primarily due to fall in crude oil prices and curtailed imports.

Under the impact of coronavirus lockdown, most experts have predicted a contraction in India’s GDP. This means the gross value added - this roughly the money that we earn through the year from services, industry and agriculture sectors will also decline.

Low income means cut in expenditure by millions of households - more in rural areas and little less in the cities. This is what translates into decline in demands that economists often talk about.

Decline in demand stalls fresh investment proposals of the businesses. They are the ones in India with additional money for investment. If they curtail investment, fresh jobs would not come. This is a huge challenge especially when the top contributors to India’s GDP - Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi -- are also the worst affected states by Covid-19 with no definite sign of relent in its spread.

Polls of 6 dist bodies may be delayed, review in June

Masuma Bharmal Jariwala Rajkot: The hometown of state CM Vijay Rupani has always been called out for favoritism shown by the state government. And now, critics will have yet another reason to pull up the government regarding it because the city is all set to receive Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) recommended homeopathy ‘Arsenicum Album 30’, an immunity booster to help fight novel coronavirus.

This is the first time since COVID-19 outbreak that efforts are being put in to provide door-todoor medication to citizens. Under collaboration between the BJP, Rajkot General Practitioner Association and Rajkot self- financed Ho-

more than liquidity it is the demand which is the Achilles Heel of Indian economy at this point.

Reuters quoted Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw as saying, “Demand is going to play a very big part in economic revival, and if we cannot kick-start demand I fear then we cannot have economic revival. I think we have lost a big opportunity.”

What has happened with the special Covid-19 package is that it draws from already provisioned money in the Budget, the RBI measures or other announcements by the government. They were or most of them -- already in place even without Covid-19, when economy was going down the hill.

With coronavirus lockdown, the economic activities in the final week of March, whole month of April and half of May had come to a halt practically. Exports were going on. In fact, a Barclays report says India will have a record surplus of about $20 billion (around 1 per cent of the GDP) - a major departure from usual current account deficit.

tributed face masks and leaflets carrying PM Modi’s call to be vocal about using local products and instructions on how to take the medicine.

“The medicine is being prepared locally as per AYUSH guidelines.

We have a target to cover 1.60 million people living in the city,” said Dr Arvind Bhatt, principal, LR Shah Homeopathy college run by Gardi Vidhyapith.

Ahmedabad: Apart from the economy and health of citizens, another thing affected by the COVID-19 outbreak is elections. The elections of six local bodies had been scheduled for November-December this year. But, due to the ongoing health crisis, state top brass will hold a review of the novel coronavirus situation in June and take a call on the impending elections then.

A few weeks prior to the advent of Sars-CoV-2 into the state, the political wing was confident of its preparations to tackle the virus. However, all their claims fell flat when the state reported the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country within a month.

—FILE PHOTO

Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister. —FILE PHOTO

prestigious rating agency has stated that the actual stimulus package is about 1 per cent and that “every delay to effective govt stimulus will only deepen the downturn”.

Similarly, Moody’s Investors Service said the Covid-19 package is likely to ease asset risk but is “not enough” to offset the negative impact of coronavirus lockdown.

Earlier, Japanese firm Nomura found “no silver bullets” in the Covid-19 package.

The brokerage firm said the measures announced in five tranches by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were an attempt by the government to have “maximum bang with minimum buck”.

The analysts at the Bank of America too thought that the Rs 20,00,000 cr Covid-19 package was more beneficial in medium term over 3 years than the short term requirements. Industry leaders have also raised their objection with the package saying it is too liquidity-centric & misses the vital point that

A policeman walks past a board announcing a containment zone in Ahmedabad's Kalupur area. With the number of cases still on the rise, it is unclear when the area will come out of containment.

Keeping in mind the upcoming election, the BJP has made several changes in its executive wings and roped in almost a dozen senior officers for COVID-19 related work. “Initially, only the officers were working on the forefront in Ahmedabad, but not postholders.

Nearly two months later, the mayor start-

ed holding video conferences, after new teams were deployed,” said a senior BJP leader.

He added, “If the team succeeds in controlling the cases by June, then the election will go ahead as per schedule. If not, then it will be delayed by six months at least. Everything depends on the cases in Ahmedabad and Surat.”

02

GLOBAL STATE OF AFFAIRS COUNTRY TOTAL CASES

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

1,577,936 RUSSIA 308,705 SPAIN 279,524 BRAZIL 275,382 UK 248,818 ITALY 227,364 FRANCE 179,927 GERMANY 178,170 TURKEY 152,587 IRAN 126,949 CANADA 80,081 S ARABIA 62,545 BELGIUM 55,983 MEXICO 54,346 CHILE 53,617

93,894 2,972 27,888 18,130 35,704 32,330 28,264 8,213 4,222 7,183 6,027 339 9,150 5,666 544

USA

+361 +135 +110 +147 +363 +161 +125 +20 +23 +64 +115 +10 +42 +334 +35

WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO LAST UPDATED: MAY 20, 2020, 11:30 PM

IN GUJARAT DISTRICT

TOTAL CASES

9216 726 SURAT 1193 RAJKOT 82 BHAVNAGAR 114 ANAND 85 BHARUCH 37 GANDHINAGAR 193 PATAN 68 PANCHMANHAL 71 BANASKANTHA 88 NARMADA 13 CHOTA UDEPUR 22 KUTCH 57 MAHESANA 80 BOTAD 53 DAHOD 29 PORBANDAR 5 JAMNAGAR 43 MORBI 2 SABARKANTHA 49 ARAVALLI 86 MAHISAGAR 68 KHEDA 53 GIR SOMNATH 28 VALSAD 17 TAPI 3 NAVSARI 11 DANG 2 SURENDRANAGAR 13 DWARKA 12 JUNAGADH 13 AMRELI 2 OTHER STATES 2 TOTAL 12539 AHMEDABAD VADODARA

SAMPLE RECEIVED SAMPLE NEGATIVE

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

602 32 56 2 8 8 3 8 4 6 4 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 749

26 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30

1,60,772 1,48,233

UNDER EXAMINATION

0

Pro-poor CM spells more relief for daily wage labourers Relaxation in lockdown is for the bottom of the pyramid, says Chief Minister Vijay Rupani First India Bureau Gandhinagar: Chairing his eighth cabinet meeting through video conference since the beginning of the lockdown, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday said that the recent relaxations were given for the benefit of low-income groups and daily-wage earners.

Rupani also instructed the administrators of the various districts to see that the relaxation is used for the purpose it was granted and that there is no compromise in following the social distancing norms. People venturing out must wear masks, he added.

“If daily wagers start getting work,

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani (far right) with (anti-clockwise) Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Energy Minister Saurabh Patel and Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja in the eighth cabinet meeting held through video conference.

their personal finances and the state’s economy will

be soon back on track. This relaxation will also provide

a great relief to selfemployed persons such as plumbers,

electricians and carpenters,” he said.

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel came down heavily on the Congress for targeting the indigenous ventilator developed by a Rajkot-based company, alleging that the Congress is defaming domestic companies to discourage them so that multinationals get more benefit.

Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Secretary and Secretary to the Chief Minister Ashwani Kumar said

that forms for loans under the Atma Nirbhar Gujarat Relief package would be distributed from Thursday to small businesses to meet their working capital needs. The state government has announced the package with an intention to provide financial help to small businessmen like barbers, dry-cleaners and vegetable vendors. Under the package, the state will pay 6% annual interest on loans taken by

small businesses from the cooperative banks, while the borrower will pay 2% annual interest. The loan is to be repaid in three years.

As of Tuesday night, 562 Shramik trains had left the state carrying 8.08 lakh migrant workers to their home states including UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and TN. On Wednesday, 72 more trains left with 1.10 lakh workers. With this, a total of 9 lakh workers have left for their home states, Kumar said.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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Guj elated over relaxation, but AMC is still in trauma

SMC, RMC standing committees, general boards meet regularly, unlike at AMC Gargi Raval

‘SURRENDERED’

Ahmedabad: Everyone seems to be excited about the relaxations that have been in place for the past two days. Everyone, that is, except for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Ahmedabad city has been hard hit by the Sars-CoV-2 virus, but does that excuse the largest civic body in the state from its duty to hold weekly standing committee meetings or the general board meeting?

The AMC has not held either since March, even while the local civic bodies in Rajkot and Surat have managed to conduct most, if not all, of theirs.

The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) is making optimum use of technology and has not missed a monthly general board meeting.

“We have our general

—FILE PHOTO

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

board meetings with video communications app Zoom. The standing committee also meets once a week, and members of other committees have meetings as and when the need arises. For instance, this week, there was a drainage committee meeting.

No work has been stalled. We are taking care of public welfare

works even amid the novel coronavirus crisis,” said Anil Goplani, the standing committee chairman, SMC. Vasram Sagathiya, leader of opposition at the Rajkot Municipal Corporation told First India, “Just today, there was a standing committee meeting. There were three items on the agenda that needed to be

brought to the attention of the members. However, the general board has not met so far.”

Meanwhile, at the AMC, standing committee chairman Amul Bhatt acknowledged that there has not been a single committee meeting since March. “We have not held any meetings or general board meet-

ing after the coronavirus infection outbreak in the city. According to the Gujarat Municipal Provincial Act, there is a provision to suspend these meetings under such circumstances.

However, now we are discussing the issue of resuming the standing committee meetings,” he said.

03

‘Efforts put in so far will be wasted,’ say medics Masuma Bharmal Jariwala Rajkot: The state government’s announcement of relaxations in the lockdown brought relief to the general public but, the news has not gone down well with medical officials in the state government. They say, “The efforts put in so far by medical teams across the state will go down the drain.”

Speaking to First India, a few top medical officials with the state government believes that, “the situation will be extremely difficult to tackle now. There will be a rise in positive cases and the most crucial part of combating COVID-19- contact tracingwill become an impossible challenge.”

Moreover, district health departments were not provided with any guidelines after the announcement of the relaxation until Wednesday.

“There are no clear guidelines from the state government. Monitoring will become a

Representational picture shared by Bhavnagar-based Dr Tejas Doshi. He says everything is now in the hands of the people.

major issue due to inter-district movements.

Now, a positive case will only come to light if people approach us. The worst-affected places will be cities and nagarpalikas, while villages and closed societies will still be safe because of recognizable outsiders,” said a top-level medical officer.

He added, “Then

again, there are people who travel to another city or town for work and leave when they are done for the day. Things like these will also make it difficult to keep surveillance. With the situation reversed, we will come to know about cases only if people approach us.

There are chances that some cases never reach the system.”

Eastern A’bad ind City limit expansion: No resolution likely this year units to restart ops Gargi Raval

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Small businesses such as auto garages, which have reopened in the western part, will stay shut in the eastern part of the city.

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Factories and industrial units in the eastern part of the city can resume operations, according to a clarification issued on Wednesday by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Officer on special duty Rajiv Gupta said units in containment zones will not be permitted to function.

On Tuesday, First India had reported that businesses in the eastern part of the city would be allowed to open as long they were not in containment zones. But, AMC officials had shut down a few units, causing confusion.

The new notification

reads: “All industrial activities have been permitted to resume in the eastern part of the city, except those in containment zones.”

Unlike in the western part, however, shops and businesses excluding vegetable and fruit vendors, pharmacies, and medical clinics have not been allowed to reopen in the eastern part of the city.

“This is discrimination for the people living in the eastern part of the city. Why is there a restriction for other shops and offices to operate unlike the western part? The rules should be limited to only containment zones and not the entire pocket,” said Dinesh Sharma, leader of the opposition, AMC.

Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar: As part of its strategy to turn the tide in their favour, the ruling party BJP had introduced a resolution to expand city limits.

However, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the resolution seems to have been put on the backburner by the government for now.

Local bodies in Ahmedabad, Surat, Ra-

jkot and Vadodara had already passed a resolution to incorporate nearby villages or municipalities in their city limits. The delimitation was to be published in the state gazette post the budget session. However, the budget session has been adjourned sine die amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier, the urban development department had written to the concerned local bodies asking them to merge vil-

The delimitation was to be published post the budget session, which got interrupted by the pandemic

Gujarat’s four major cities are unlikely to grow in terms of area at least until the current COVID-19 crisis is over.

—FILE PHOTO

lage panchayats under their jurisdiction by May or June. The entire

AMC puts +ve Asha worker in COVID-19 super spreader list First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) committed a blunder when it included the name of a COVID-19 positive Asha worker and her husband in the list of vegetable vendor super spreaders. It rectified the error after it was noticed by social activists and other Asha workers.

Social activist Chandrikaben Solanki told

First India, “Asha worker Artiben Dave and her husband Praful were confirmed as COVID-19 positive patients on May 13 and were asked to home quarantine instead of getting hospitalized. Their names were not in AMC’s list of positive cases that day but appeared in the super spreaders’ list three days later. They were removed from the list after we opposed the gaffe made.”

She added, “Not only that, Artiben was hospi-

talized only on May 18, almost five days after the test results came back positive. The corporation should keep its promise of treating corona warriors at fivestar hotels, as promised by then commissioner Vijay Nehra.”

Solanki also alleged that negligence on part of AMC and the Vasna Urban Health Centre caused two other health workers Dipika Rana and Rakesh Rathod to be infected as well.

process was aimed at registering a big win in the upcoming elections.

But with most civic bodies focused on eliminating COVID-19, elections are the last thing on their agendas.

Dinesh Sharma, leader of opposition at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said,

“Despite the opposition of local villagers, the BJP-run government wanted to merge villages within city limits. The BJP now fears losing the election after the coronavirus crisis and is trying to delay things. And that is why no announcement or even mention has been made of the impending elections.”

All municipal corporations in the state other than Junagadh, have elections scheduled for November.

THIS SIDE, THAT SIDE

Bamboo barricades ensure social distancing is maintained between vegetable and fruit vendors and their customers in Ahmedabad’s Danapith area. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

State on wrong side of the fence when it comes to welfare of citizens 

Saving face seems to have become more important to the govt than controlling the spread of SarsCoV-2, which is no longer its first priority

Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: Coming to the defence of a Rajkot-based manufacturing company which produced an indigenous ventilator for COVID-19 patients, the state government seems to be giving the impression that controlling the spread of novel coronavirus infection is its second priority.

After reports of the ventilator’s ineffective-

ness for COVID-19 patients, principal secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi and other senior officers on Wednesday addressed the media to talk about Dhaman-1 ventilator. Ravi even refused to answer questioning pertaining to the health crisis or super spreaders.

In her haste to defend Dhaman-1, the secretary forgot that the whole controversy became the talk of the town only after

SAMPLES TESTED PER POSITIVE CASES District

Tests on Total no. Total no. Tests per May 19 Of tests of cases +ve case

Junagadh

462

3,216

12

268

Jamnagar

197

4,319

42

102

Surendranagar 22

907

10

90.7

Rajkot

140

4,116

82

50.19

Kutch

180

2,037

52

39

Banaskantha

147

1,582

86

19

Surat

554

25,921

1,156

22

Vadodara

216

7,453

700

10.64

Ahmedabad

1,482

63,813

8,945

7.13

internal communication from the state health department went public.

The superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital had raised questions about the indigenous ventilator’s quality and compatibility issues. He had also demanded high-end Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ventilators for patients.

While the administration defends a ventilator manufacturer, COVID-19 continues to spread fast

in districts across the state. The reduced sample testing numbers have only spurred the critics on, which compelled the government to increase the sample testing rate.

It remains to be seen whether this will be adequate.

Inter-district movement was allowed in a string of hasty decisions, which may worsen the existing situation.

Kutch, Amreli, Junagadh, Banaskantha are a few districts where the infection spread due to

inter-district travel.

Meanwhile, per positive case sample testing remains as low as 11.5, 14 and 19 respectively in Mehsana, Anand and Banaskantha. The state health department also accepted the fact that 90% Sars-CoV-2 cases have been reported from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat. But, a closer look at the sample testing per positive cases reveals that these numbers stand at 7.13, 10.6 and 22 respectively.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

DOUBLE WHAMMY FOR ODISHA & WEST BENGAL

CORONAVIRUS WREAKS HAVOC ON SPORTS

A

s Cyclone Amphan made its landfall causing widespread destruction in West Bengal and Odisha migrant workers elsewhere continued their weary march towards home, notwithstanding tall claims of various governments. While Odisha and West Bengal governments scurried to save lives and properties from the strongest cyclone to ravage West Bengal, Bharatiya Janata Party was more worried about losing political turf to Congress than about the migrants’ travails. It was a double blow for the two eastern states, especially West Bengal, as coronavirus was also on the rampage. For West Bengal, in particular, the situation was tricky as it has faced accusations of inept handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Because of the sheer size of the cyclone, the focus remained on its intensity, wind speed, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Migrant workers were relegated to the second spot on national news channels. Not surprising, given the fact that UP government chose to bicker over how many buses were unfit and how many in the Congress list were not buses instead of allowing the fit vehicles to carry the stranded labourers.

Hundreds of migrants queued up at a screening centre in Delhi before being allowed to board a train. They had applied for their journey through a web link and were told to assemble at the spot for screening.

With a limited number of seats available on the trains, many of them were forced to spend the night on the streets. The influx of migrant workers in Delhi was so high that they were first taken to Karnail Singh stadium from where a lot of them had to be shifted elsewhere as the place was full to capacity. They had to wait for their turn to board a train. Migrant workers’ problem of cash remained unresolved.

That BJP governments in UP and Haryana were playing politics over pandemic and the migrant crisis is obvious. Haryana, for instance, has been criticised for not allowing professionals to enter the state from Delhi although their offices are located in Gurgaon to keep the people safe from Covid-19. Uttar Pradesh plays dirty. As most of the Noida and Greater Noida residents have their offices in Delhi they are either not allowed to go the national capital or are prevented from returning home. Either the administration works on whims and fancy or the purpose is to show Arvind Kejriwal in poor light.

The wail of migrant workers was, however, drowned out in Amphan’s roaring winds of up to 190 kmph which lashed West Bengal, flattening dwellings and uprooting trees and electric poles. Intense rainfall was recorded in Puri, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore, and other districts of Odisha. With National Disaster Response Force alert to the unusual situation, over six lakh people have been evacuated to safer places in West Bengal and Odisha, which is familiar with battering from cyclonic storms.

ANANT VYAS The writer is a Senior sports administrator and sports media expert

N

Whether it is Olympic, IPL, Wimbledon, or the British Premier League, the postponement of all the small and major sports events also have an impact on the players’ earnings. They are paid only when the competitions are organised and they play in the competitions

ot only the world’s largest sports festival Olympics or the world’s highest-paid cricket league IPL has become a victim of the corona, but also all other districts to international level sports events have been canceled or postponed in the past few weeks. The pandemic has caused a great disaster in the sports world.

The games are directly related to the crowd. The crowd here means the audience. All types of sports competitions, be it big or small, attract a large number of spectators and since the crowd has contributed a lot to the spreading of the corona, it was decided that there would be no games to prevent the spread.

The sponsoring companies and players of the games also don’t want to conduct contests without the audience. Even the audience doesn’t want to be a part of any such crowd where there is a possibility of becoming a victim of the corona epidemic. Now the question here arises what difference does cancellation or postponement of sports events due to corona makes?

Olympics is considered to be the most prestigious competition in the world of sports. The players selected to represent their nation in these games, start preparing for it at least four years in advance. After the postponement of these games for a year, some players have got time and most of them are disappointed. Barring a few exceptions, most players remain in the prime of their performance only for a few years. In such a situation, a year of moving ahead of the competition has a direct impact on their performance because all players have their own physical limitations which put their performances on prime of their career for a very short period. When I spoke to a former Olympian about this step of postponement of the Olympics, he welcomed the decision. He

said that it is good that Indian players are getting extra time, but when asked if getting a year’s extra time guarantees the player a medal? he responded by saying that only a few players will be able to take advantage of this extra time.

There is one more thing that the selection of the players for the upcoming Olympics has already been confirmed, whereas the games will take place next year. These players were selected to represent their nation in Olympics this year on the basis of their performance in different international tournaments last year, but now they will participate in the Olympics next year. In such a situation, what would happen to the players who will do well in the competition to be held earlier in the Olympics next year, because the selection of the players has already been done for next year’s Olympics?

If we talk about IPL, except for some players in this competition, most of the players, especially young players, are selected on the basis of their performance in the domestic cricket tournaments. The players who were selected for IPL,

Thousands of people are directly and indirectly connected to sports events.

Cancellation or postponement of competition means a crisis in their employment. This group includes owners of the team to the canteen staff at the stadium

which was scheduled to be held in April-May this year, will be at a great loss if they do not perform well again in domestic tournaments this year, because the players for postponed IPL will be selected on the basis of their performance in the domestic competitions of the session 2020-2021.

Whether it is Olympic, IPL, Wimbledon, or the British Premier League, the postponement of all the small

Why poetry matters during a pandemic W

hy do we have the arts? Why do they seem to matter so much?

It is all very well muttering something vague about eternal truths and spiritual values. Or even gesturing toward Bach and Leonardo da Vinci, along with our own Patrick White.

But what can the poets make of, and for, our busy, present lives? What do they have to say during grave crises?

Well, they can speak eloquently to their readers for life, in writing from the very base of their own experiences. Every generation has laid claim, afresh, to its vital modernity. In the 17th century, Andrew Marvell did so with witty lyrical elegance in his verse To a Coy Mistress.

Three centuries later, the French poet René Char

04

thought of us as weaving tapestries against the threat of extinction. Accordingly, he wrote: The poet is not angry at the hideous extinction of death, but confident of his own particular touch, he transforms everything into long wools.

In short, the poet will, at best, weave lasting, memorable, salvific tapestries out of words. The poems in question will come out live, if the poet is lucky, and possibly as disparate as the sleepy, furred animals caged in Melbourne Zoo. What is truly touching or intimate need not be tapped by elegies, for all that they can fill a mortal need. Yet the great modern poet W. H. Auden wrote in memory of poet, writer and broadcaster John Betjeman: There is one, only one object in his world which is at

In the brief age of a national pandemic, poetry’s role and its duties may come to seem all the more important: all the more civil and politically sane

once sacred and hated, but it is far too formidable to be satirizable: namely Death.

As William Wordsworth and Judith Wright both well knew, in their separate generations – and quite polar cultures – the best poetry grasps moments of our ordinary lives, and renders them memorable.

Poetry can give us back our dailiness in musical technicolour: in a thousand yarns or snapshots. Poems

sing to us that life really matters, now. That can emerge as songs or satires, laments, landscapes or even somebody’s portrait done in imaginative words.

Yes, verse at its finest is living truth “done” in verbal art. The great Russian playwright Anton Chekhov once insisted “nothing ever happens later”, and the point of poetry in our own time – as always, at its best – is surely to shine the light of language on what is happening now. The devil is in the detail, yes. But so is the redemptive beauty, along with “the prophetess Deborah under her palm-tree” in the words of the Australian poet, Peter Steele.

Poetry sees the palm tree, and the prophetess herself, vividly, even in the middle of a widespread epidemic.

Modern poetry is an art made out of living language.

In these times, at least, it tends to be concise, barely spilling over the end of the page: too tidy for that, unlike the vast memorised narratives of the Israelites, the Greeks or even the Icelanders. But what it shares with the ancient, oral cultures is its connection with wisdom, crystallising nodes of value, fables of the tribe, moments or decades that made us all.

In the brief age of a national pandemic, poetry’s role and its duties may come to seem all the more important: all the more civil and politically sane. The poem – even in the case when it is quite a short lyric, even if comic – carries the message of moral responsibility in its saddle bag. Perhaps all poets do, even when they are also charming the pants off their willing readers.

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM

and major sports events also have an impact on the players’ earnings. They are paid only when the competitions are organized and they play in the competitions.

Thousands of people are directly and indirectly connected to sports events. Cancellation or postponement of competition means a crisis in their employment. This group includes owners of the team to the canteen staff at the stadium. It also has a direct impact on the country’s economy because sports events are now no more just sports events, they have become a commercial activity.

Millions of sports lovers, who revitalized the playing field with their presence, are currently imprisoned in their homes. Stadiums are empty, swimming pools are dry and tracks are waiting for runners.

There is silence everywhere in sports campuses. The organizers are waiting for the audience. Why not? After all, the audience spends money and contributes to the livelihood of thousands of people. But the only purpose of the audience is to entertain themselves and increase the morale of their favorite team.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

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TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp Welcome PM @narendramodiji’s approval for the allocation of foodgrains to migrants for another 2 months under the #AtmaNirbharBharat package.

This will help ease the hardships arising out of #Covid19 and ensure the poor don’t go hungry.

Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal Govt. led by PM @NarendraModi ji approves Scheme for Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises for unorganised sector with outlay of `10,000 crore. Benefitting 8 lakh micro-enterprises, this will create off-farm job opportunities & aid in growth.

Spiritual SPEAK

Old things are passed away; behold, all things become new.

—Corinthians 5:17

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MIGRANT CRISIS Congress Gen Secy said that the Congress wants to help in a positive way and doesn’t want to indulge in politics

No time for politics: Priyanka targets CM Yogi New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra targeted the Uttar Pradesh government for not allowing the buses arranged by the party to ferry migrants enter the state.

She said that the Yogi Adityath government insisted on producing the papers of the vehicles, and delayed the initiative by wasting time in communication.

“If you had allowed these buses to run, around 72,000 people would have been home by now. But they were engaged in politics. The buses were are standing at the Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh border since yesterday and are not being of any help,” Gandhi said at a digital press conference.

She said that the Congress wants to help in a positive way and doesn’t want to indulge in politics.”I request you to let these buses enter Uttar Pradesh,” she said addressing the chief minister.

“This is not a time to play politics, all parties should set aside politics and help people.”

She also said that the buses will remain at

‘Will remain at Agra border with buses’ I request you to let these buses enter Uttar Pradesh.This is not a time to play politics, all parties should set aside politics and help people.

—Priyanka Ganhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary

the UP border till 4 pm on Wednesday. Priyanka Gandhi and the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh are at loggerheads over her plan to send 1,000 buses to help transport migrants in UP. The offer was made on Saturday, & accepted on Monday. But by Tuesday evening, the state government said only 879 of the 1,000 vehicles were buses, and the rest threewheelers and other vehicles, triggering angry reactions from the Congress. —Agencies

Agra: The Congress asserted that party members along with the fleet of buses will remain at the Uttar Pradesh border till 4 pm on May 20 to wait for the state government’s nod on further movement.

“We are at UP border along with buses since the morning of May 19 and have not received any response

‘Yogi govt indulging in cheap politics’ New Delhi: Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi lashed out at the UP government for not letting the buses arranged by the Congress, enter the state to ferry migrants. He stated that the Yogi Adityanath government is indulging in “cheap politics”.

“It is surprising that Ajay Bisht government is doing cheap politics.

They are making us do rounds since the last five to six days. Women and children are walking barefoot with blisters on feet, in the

JNU violence: Plea seeking early hearing dismissed

New Delhi: A Delhi court has dismissed a plea filed by a JNU professor seeking early hearing of a petition for registration of FIR in a case relating to the attack on students and teachers in university campus on January 5.

Dy Magistrate Vasundhra Chhaunkar, while dismissing the application, said that it is worth reiterating that the probe regarding the mob violence is in progress and Delhi HC has directed the probe agency to expedite the matter.

This court abstains itself from making any

STATUS REPORT

observations upon arguments nor the registration of separate FIR as the same may affect the final disposal of an application under Section 156 (3) of the (CrPC), the court said .

NAXALS TORCH 3 TRUCKS IN MAHARASHTRA’s GADCHIROLI Gadchiroli: Naxals torched three trucks involved in road construction work in Dhanora area of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. This comes days after two security personnel lost their lives and three others sustained injuries in an encounter with Naxals in Poyarkothi-Koparshi forest in Bhamragarh.

SI Dhanaji Honmane & constable Kishor Atram were killed in an ambush

by Naxals. The clash took place in the forest near Aldandi-Gundurwahi village.

Police put barricades on the Agra-Bharatpur (Rajasthan) border to restrict the movement of migrants, in Agra.

from you. When we tried to move towards Noida and Ghaziabad then Police stopped us at Agra border. We will remain here till 4 pm on May 20,” Sandeep Singh, Personal Secretary to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday wrote to Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi. —ANI

The court was hearing a petition filed by Suchitra Sen, a professor in the JNU, seeking an early hearing of the plea filed in January for registration of FIR against the mob. The petitioner had also received grievous injuries during the violence.

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police had recently filed a status report on JNU violence stating that the investigation of the case is in progress and all efforts are being made to identify the attackers/assailants and conclude investigation in a timebound manner.” —ANI

You (CM Yogi) are not letting the people of UP and Bihar come. Why are you hesitating to get help from Priyanka Gandhi? If you have a little shame, then stop this kind of behaviour. The whole country is witnessing such poor politics, we are saying this with folded hands. Priyanka ji has also said that if you want to flutter BJP’s flag for this, then you can do that.

—Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Congress Leader

scorching heat of May. We will keep standing at the border till 4 pm,” said Singhvi.

“You (CM Yogi) are not letting people of UP & Bihar come. Why are

you hesitating to get help from Priyanka Gandhi? If you have a little shame, then stop this kind of behaviour.

The whole country is witnessing such poor

politics, we are saying this with folded hands.

Priyanka ji has also said that if you want to flutter BJP’s flag for this, then you can do that,” he added. —ANI

UP Police personnel stop migrants from walking towards UttaPradesh at Delhi-UP border in New Delhi.

Buses unfit for ferrying migrants: UP Dy CM Lucknow: UP Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma on Wednesday lashed out at Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over the issue of buses arranged by the Congress for stranded migrant workers, saying it is for a “political stunt.”

He further claimed that the condition of the buses provided by the Congress was “unfit” for ferrying people from one state to another.

“Whatever Congress is

doing is a political stunt. The condition of buses is so bad that they are unfit for the labourers to even sit in them,” he said “There are many buses of Rajasthan government in the list of 1,000 buses which Congress claims to have arranged for migrant workers. 297 buses do not have fitness certificate, 98 are three-wheelers, cars and ambulances and 68 vehicles do not have any papers,” Sharma added. —ANI

‘1,08,121 samples tested in last 24 hrs’ New Delhi: A total of 1,08,121 samples were tested for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in the country, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday.

“As many as 1,08,121 samples were tested for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in India. The total number of samples tested till 9 am today is at 25,12,388,” ICMR said.

Earlier, ICMR also released revised guidelines for TrueNat, a comprehensive assay for screening for positive cases for COVID-19.

A circular published by the apex medical body also elaborated on the steps to be followed for new testing. —ANI

ICMR’S REVISED GUIDELINES FOR TESTING

A health worker navigates a coronavirus model disinfectant sprayer robot at a slum in Chennai.

Yesterday, the Railways promised to run 200 special trains for migrant workers; beyond that we have run a record 204 trains in the service of passengers.

—Piyush Goyal, Railway and Commerce Minister

New Delhi: ICMR has released revised guidelines for TrueNat, a comprehensive assay for screening and testing for positive cases for COVID-19. As per the guidelines, all samples of COVID-19 suspect should be first tested by this assay, and later be subjected to confirmation by step 2. Step 2 is called RdRp gene confirmation assay, & if the sample tests positive through this it must be considered as true positive. —ANI

‘2.56 L FERRIED IN 204 SHRAMIK TRAINS’ New Delhi: The Indian Railways said that it transported 2.56 lakh passengers on 204 Shramik Special trains on Tuesday across the country, the maximum on a single day since May 1. Railway and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted: “Yesterday,

SENSEX BUILDS ON GAINS, JUMPS 622 POINTS Mumbai: Benchmark indices marched higher for the second straight day on Wednesday as robust gains in market heavyweights HDFC twins and RIL offset lacklustre global cues.The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 622.44 points or 2.06 per cent to settle at 30,818.61, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 187.45 points, or 2.11 cent, to 9,066.55. The encouraging corporate results bolstered investor confidence, though rising COVID-19 cases in India capped the gains, the market experts or traders further indicated.

the Railways promised to run 200 special trains for migrant workers; beyond that we have run a record 204 trains in the service of passengers.

“So far, 1,773 Shramik trains have been operated by the Railways to send migrant workers to their home states,”

Goyal added.

The railways started Shramik trains from May 1, transporting over 23 lakh migrant workers to their native places till date. It suspended passenger, mail and express train services from March 25 amid the novel cornavirus outbreak. —ANI

NEED TO ACCEPT CORONA AS PART OF LIFE, SAYS PAWAR Mumbai: NCP president Sharad Pawar said, Covid-19 would not be wiped out soon and it was imperative “to accept it as a part of life” while returning to normalcy.

“The corona disease will not be eradicated shortly.

It’’s necessary to accept it as a part of life. Beware of it and create awareness among the masses about

health care. In Japan, people wear masks, look after personal hygiene as part of their routine social life,” Pawar said.The NCP chief said he had discussed with CM Uddhav Thackeray the prevailing situation in the state and challenges faced by the administration and preventive measures required to provide relief to people.

Migrants wait to board a train at Danapur Rly Station in Patna.

NADDA LAUDS MEDS IN MAKING AYUSHMAN BHARAT A SUCCESS New Delhi: BJP national President JP Nadda said that Ayushman Bharat crossed 1 crore beneficiaries in less than 2 years and lauded PM Modi for his leadership towards making a “healthy India”. BJP chief. “We are grateful to the endless effort and dedication of doctors, nurses, health workers, and paramedical staff for making this programme a success. Their commitment has helped us to make affordable, accessible healthcare a reality for all,” the BJP National President said, while lauding the efforts of health workers.

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AMPHAN LANDFALL: ODISHA & BENGAL

‘Over 6.5 L evacuated in West Bengal’ New Delhi: Kolkata and nearby areas are witnessing winds of over 100 kmph and pounding rain after Cyclone Amphan, one of the worst storms over the Bay of Bengal in years, made landfall this evening in West Bengal towards Sunderbans, a marshy region famous for its mangroves.

The eye of the cyclone, 30 km in diameter, has touched land, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said.

Over five lakh people have been taken to shelters in West Bengal and over one lakh in Odisha, the National Disaster Response Force (NRDF) chief said today in a press briefing.

The storm had weakened from a super cyclone to an extremely severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday and triggered strong winds and rain in parts of Odisha and Bengal. This is the second pre-monsoon cyclone to hit India in two years and has been anticipated as one of the worst storm over Bay of Bengal in decades. —Agencies

INDIAN NAVY ON HIGH ALERT Visakhapatnam: Acc to Indian Navy, the ships are embarked with additional divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats and relief material including food, tentage, clothes, medicines, blankets. Additionally, 20 rescue teams with Gemini boats and medical teams are also kept ready for rescue works in WB & Odisha.

A tree falls on power lines during strong winds due to Cyclone Amphan at Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

Landfall has started. We are keeping a close watch because the situation is fast changing. After the landfall, our work in the actual sense starts like recovery and restoration. Commandments of NDRF are camping in Balasore and South 24 Paraganas. 20 teams in Odisha and 19 teams in West Bengal have been deployed. Two teams are on standby. All teams have wireless and satellite communications. —SN Pradhan, NDRF Chief

The Kachuberia jetty collapses due to cyclonic storm at Bakkhali in South 24 Parganas district.

‘7.9L affected by COVID-19’ New Delhi: Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Wednesday said that 7.9 people per lakh population of India has got affected due to COVID-19 and the recovery rate is 39.62 per cent.

“If the total population of the world is taken into account, then 62 people per lakh population have been affected due to COVID-19. In India, 7.9 people per lakh population have got affected due to COVID,” said Lav Agarwal, Joint

If the total population of the world is taken into account, then 62 people per lakh population have been affected due to COVID-19. In India, 7.9 people per lakh population have got affected due to COVID. —Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry

Secretary, Health Ministry, at a press conference here on Wednesday.

Agarwal said that at present about 40 per cent of people have recovered from COV-

ID-19. Out of active cases, 2.94 per cent are on the oxygen support, 3 per cent at ICU related support, and 0.45 per cent on ventilators, he added. —ANI

2 BSF men killed in terror attack Srinagar: Two BSF troopers were killed when terrorists fired upon them in Pandach area of Srinagar.

M o t o rcycl e - b o r n e terrorists attacked the BSF jawans at a picket in Pandach area, 17 km from Srinagar in the outskirts of the city.

The injured jawans were shifted to SKIMS hospital in Soura.One of the jawans was de-

clared brought dead by doctors while the other succumbed to injuries. A search opera-

tion has been launched to track the attackers and the area has been cordoned off. —PTI

relatives are not able to establish contact with patients. Taking such complaints seriously, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue and overseeing health) Pankaj Kumar has launched a command control centre in the Civil Hospital campus, where 40 employees have been tasked with keeping relatives updated.

Between April 14 and May 18, a total of 32 employees of the Surat Municipal Corporation have been affected by COVID-19.

So Surat Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani has also

appealed to the frontline workers to be more careful.

1-day wages to poor on Rajiv death anniversary

Villagers shift to safe place.

WB: CYCLONE CLAIMS 2 LIVES Kolkata: Cyclone Amphan, the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal, barrelled into India's eastern coastline on Wednesday. As the powerful storm made landfall in India, West Bengal reported two deaths due to heavy rain and wind.

Reportedly, South 24 Parganas have been the worst affected.

Flight operations have been suspended at Kolkata Airport.

1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS

HC directs to take convict to hospital

New Delhi: The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) will distribute one-day wages to the underprivileged on the death anniversary of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on Thursday.

“The lockdown has badly affected the migrant and the poor. To extend a helping hand and get them justice they deserve, the Congress will provide financial assistance to the underprivileged people and their families,” said IYC president BV Srinivas.

As per the NYAY, the Indian Youth Congress is demanding Rs 6,000 assistance per person for six months, along with doubling of MANREGA benefits to the worst-hit. —Agencies

New Delhi: Delhi HC has directed the Tihar Jail authorities to take one of the convicts in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case to ILBS Hospital within three days for medical check up.

Naresh Sehrawat, who is serving sentence for life in the riots case, is slated to undergo kidney and liver transplant.

After hearing both the sides, the court said, “The Jail authority is directed to ensure that the appellant (Sehrawat) is taken to ILBS hospital within next three days for medical check up and treatment.”

“The respondents are directed to file their status reports on or before 25th May, 2020. The status report shall be emailed to the concerned Court Masters as well as to the petitioner,” said a division bench of the High Court presided by Justices Manmohan and San-

jeev Narula.

The directions came while the court was hearing an application filed by Naresh Sherawat seeking interim suspension of sentence for three months on the ground that he needs to undergo liver and kidney transplant simultaneously.

The application states that though Sherawat''s appointment with doctor at ILBS hospital was fixed for March 11, yet he was not taken to the hospital as his transportation was considered highly risky due to COVID-19 pandemic. The court will now hear the matter on May 26.

The case against Sehrawat & Yashpal Singh was lodged on a complaint filed by Hardev Singh''s brother Santokh. It was the first conviction in the cases reopened by SIT set up in 2015. —Agencies

gress veteran said that the Uttar Pradesh government and state administration were opposing party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra just because she wants to help the migrant labourers.

“The Uttar Pradesh government, its administration and few media channels are opposing Priyanka Gandhi and Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh only because they want to help troubled and helpless labourers,” Patel tweeted.

meal service also might be restricted. We have developed a strategy and will finalise this soon,” he had explained.

Cabin crew members of Indian airlines will have personal protective equipment (PPE) like face shields, gowns and masks as part of their attire on commercial passenger flights when they resume operations, industry sources said.

A detailed set of standard operating procedures is being worked on by the government in consultation with the aviation industry and going by the initial feedback, a number of new

rules and regulations are expected to be put into place that will change the flying experience.

These new guidelines include mandatory social distancing at airports, revisions in the way security procedures are conducted to ensure minimal contact, use of face masks and personal protective equipment by passengers and employees, among others. A variety of new health checks may also be instituted that could result in longer queues at airports and increased wait times. Agencies

06

POWER Gallery TENURE OF VAIDYA RAJESH KOTECHA AS SECRETARY, AYUSH, EXTENDED

The tenure of Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha as Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, has been extended for a period of two years beyond June 28, 2020.

GOVINDA RAJULU CHINTALA APPOINTED CHAIRMAN, NABARD

Govinda Rajulu Chintala, CGM, NABARD, has been appointed Chairman, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

SHAJI KV APPOINTED DMD, NABARD

Shaji KV, GM, Canara Bank, has been appointed DMD, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

PVS SURYAKUMAR APPOINTED DMD NABARD

PVS Suryakumar, CGM, NABARD, has been appointed as DMD, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

TENURE OF SEVERAL DRMs COULD SEE SHORT TERM EXTENSION

There are whispers that the Railway Board could provide short term extension in posting tenure of several DRMs due to COVID-19 situation.

DEPUTATION TENURE OF SMITA CHAUDHRI EXTENDED

The deputation tenure of Smita S Chaudhri working as Joint Secrtary, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has been extended for a period of one year beyond May 15, 2020. She is a 1990 batch IA & AS officer.

DEPUTATION TENURE OF NANDINI PALIWAL EXTENDED

The deputation tenure of Nandini Paliwal, Deputy Director, Lal Bahadur Shashtri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie has been extended for a period of two years beyond May 31, 2020.

She is a 2003 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre.

DEPUTATION OF MALHOTRA IN PRASAR BHARTI EXTENDED FOR ONE YEAR

The deputation of Rajeev Malhotra, DD(Admn) in Prasar Bharati, has been extended for one year w.e.f. May 19, 2020. He has come on deputation from the department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

JUSTICE AM BADAR TRANSFERRED AS KERALA HC JUDGE

Justice Ananta Manohar Badar, Judge of the Bombay High Court, has been transferred as Judge of the Kerala High Court.

FORMER IAS OFFICER, ARUNA SUNDARARAJAN JOINS L&T INFOTECH BOARD

Aruna Sundararajan, the 1982 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer, who superannuated on July 31, 2019 as Chairperson of the Digital Communications Commission, and the Secretary (Telecom), Government of India, has been appointed as Independent Director of Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd for a period of five years effective from May 19, 2020 till May 18, 2025.

DEPUTATION TENURE OF SUNIL SHARMA EXTENDED

Central deputation tenure of Sunil Sharma working as Joint Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, has been extended upto May 18, 2021. He is a 1985 batch IRPS officer.

DEPUTATION TENURE OF RAJE EXTENDED FOR TWO YEARS

Inter Cadre Deputation tenure of Jitendra Singh Raje, lAS (SK:07) from Sikkim cadre to Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been extended for a period of two years beyond 01.06.2020. He is presently Collector of Neemuch district in Madhya Pradesh.

FROM PG 1 A’bad crosses...

In a live session on Facebook, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched the corona warrior movement and appealed to the people to be “corona warriors” and join hands in fighting the virus.

On Monday, another abandoned body was found in the Civil Hospital campus, and three complaints were lodged at the Shahibaug police station alleging that jewellery had been stolen from the bodies of COVID-19 patients. In addition, there have been constant complaints that patients’

Undeclared emergency... against Arnab Goswami by SC, to which Patel tweeted, “They have forgotten how Hardik Patel was hounded?

Dhaval Patel - a reporter - arrested by them? In UP and Kashmir, how their govt arrested journalists? But rich for them to sermonise and invoke freedom of press selectively. Undeclared emergency is a fraud on the constitution.”

Meanwhile in yet another tweet the Con-

Soaring high...

We may allow just one bag per person. The

‘Cabinet decisions...

(May and June 2020) for two months free of cost.

It has also given approval for the extension of Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a social security scheme for senior citizens intended to give an assured minimum pension to them based on an assured return on the purchase price/subscription amount, up to March 31, 2023, for a further period of three years beyond March 31, 2020. —ANI Stimulus a...

“So there is a lot of work to be done by the Centre, the states and compa-

nies.” Sitharaman said a lot of companies have had queries from the workers to check if the lockdown is going to be lifted soon and when the production is likely to commence.

The Finance Minister said the government’s Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package to absorb the negative impact of coronavirus crisis will have a great multiplier effect. At the same time, she said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat is aimed at making Indian companies globally competitive. —ANI

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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WILD CREATURES

07

WITH THE TERROR OF THE CORONAVIRUS UNLEASHED ON THE WORLD, WE MAY NOW PERHAPS DEVELOP A BETTER APPRECIATION AND SYMPATHY FOR THE SUFFERING OF THE WILD CREATURES FACING THEIR OWN RECURRENT EPIDEMICS

FACE LURKING THREAT FROM VIRUS

is not a Bandabesiosis contagious disease may not be fatal

MAHENDRA SINGH

DG Income Tax Investigation, Rajasthan

I

n the natural world, infectious disease outbreaks occur quite often but receive no more than a passing mention amidst our otherwise busy lives. However, with the terror of the coronavirus unleashed on the world, we may now perhaps develop a better appreciation and sympathy for the suffering of the wild creatures facing their own recurrent epidemics.

These are becoming more acute in their impact on the remaining wildlife populations because of the adverse human-induced changes to our environment.

Over the last three months, 23 lions in an eastern segment of the Gir National Park of Gujarat have succumbed to babesiosis, a tick-borne protozoan infection. Another 18 infected lions are currently undergoing treatment at the nearby Animal Rescue Centre. This localised outbreak of babesiosis was possibly due to these lions consuming an infected animal. The Forest Department has swung into action to control the spread of the disease by deworming the village cattle and buffalo that form a substantial part of the food of the local lions. Disinfecting the cattle sheds and burning of the grass around waterholes that that may harbour the disease-causing ticks is also in progress. A proliferation of ticks, possibly because of a preceding phase of intense drought, caused the current eruption of this disease. The outbreak appears to have been contained for the moment. We can all take a collective sigh of relief – till the next epidemic strikes.

by itself. However, as it attacks the red blood cells leading to anaemia, it makes the weakened animal susceptible to other illnesses. Earlier, in September and October 2018 another two-dozen lion were reported to have died under similar circumstances. Serologic tests for diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum samples taken from 27 lions showed that 23 of them were at that time, or had been earlier, also infected with canine distemper virus or CDV. That disease causes respiratory and gastrointestinal stress and can also result in central nervous system impairment. CDV is highly infectious, can easily jump across species, is usually asymptomatic but not typically fatal on its own. It is the double

WHAT ARE BABESIOSIS & CDV

whammy of co-infection of babesiosis and CDV, simultaneously, that often leads to the outbreak of an epidemic and the and death of the infected animals. A particularly devastating one had

struck the Serengeti lions in 1994 resulting in the loss of a thousand lions, a third of the total local population.

In an interesting parallel, Covid-19 is also often asymptomatic and

has a low mortality rate on its own. However, combined with the comorbidities of diabetes, a heart condition, respiratory problems, suppressed immunity or advanced age, the

fatality rate climbs up steeply. CDV has been the underlying cause of many recent epidemics among animals across the world. Besides the lions in Africa and India already mentioned, it was the cause of a severe decimation of the population of wild dogs in east Africa, Red Fox of Europe, Ethiopian wolves, Amur tigers of north-eastern Siberia, seals in North America.

In each of these cases, the affected population was considered to be too small and sparsely distributed to be able to sustain the virus over time within the local population. The scientists studying these outbreaks are unanimous in their conclusion that the needle of suspicion invariably comes to rest on the single largest population of carnivores in the world – the domestic dog.

STRAY DOGS REPRESENT A HEALTH HAZARD FOR WILDLIFE ohabiting with C humans across the globe and at least partly

supported by them, almost three-quarters of the global population of 900 million domestic dogs are free-ranging, being either loosely owned, unowned or completely feral with no experience of socialisation with humans.

These stray dogs represent a health hazard for humans as vectors for rabies and for wildlife conservation as the natural reservoirs of CDV. Domestic dogs that live near protected forests enter the core conservation areas frequently with their human masters, or on their own. Wildlife also approaches these adjoining villages, for instance, leopards stalking dogs as prey.

Thus, the dogs residing in and around the periphery of the wildlife sanctuaries have the potential to come in close contact with the wild creatures as predators, prey and coscavengers of natural

kills. Indirect contamination of wildlife by the stray dogs through

their saliva, urine spray and faeces are also possible.

A scientific analysis of blood samples of domestic dogs taken

from villages within a periphery of four kilometres from the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan showed that around 86 per cent of them infected with CDV at some stage in their lives. Further confirming this finding are the similar results obtained from other studies carried out near the Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and the Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary in Maharashtra. In these studies of the stray dog population, the bulk of the older adult dogs, by way of getting infected and then successfully recovering from CDV, were found to develop antibodies and acquire immunity over time.

It was the pups and juveniles that were particularly susceptible to contracting CDV. Their large number and close social interaction with other dogs created an adequate reservoir for the virus to persist in the stray dog population in the long run.

GIR LIONS HAVE BEEN LARGELY VACCINATED AGAINST CDV sing some 300 vacU cines imported from the USA, the Gir lions

after the 2018 outbreak have been largely vaccinated against CDV. However, it remains a tough task to immunise an adequate number of wild animals in the Gir forest, and elsewhere in other protected areas, to create conditions for acquiring herd immunity by them. The difficulty of accessing much of the terrain inhabited by wildlife, their wide dispersal and unrestrained movement constitute insurmountable barriers to a large-scale vaccination programme. Thus, the susceptibility of wild animals to the CDV very much remains.

Therefore, the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Forest Department have, instead, initiated vaccination programmes for the free-ranging domestic dogs against CDV. It is these stray dogs that form the primary potential threat for the spread of CDV to the wildlife population present in the areas accessed by the dogs. However, such vaccinations programmes are expensive and infrastructurally challenging to sustain because of the uncer-

tain ownership status of these dogs, their wandering habits and their rapid population turnover. The number of free-ranging dogs must be curbed through suitable birth control measures, if culling is not ethically desirable, to prevent them from contaminating wildlife that is of conservation value. Responsible dog-ownership must include the avoidance of the abandonment of domestic dogs to discourage the tendency of them from becoming strays.

Our wildlife is precariously confined to a few isolated islands in a human-dominated landscape. As against a carrying capacity estimated at around 300 lions in the Gir landscape, the 2015 wildlife census found their population to be 523. This kind of unsustainable density in their fragmented and shrinking habitats, coupled with the degradation of the connecting forest corridors preventing a natural dispersal of the excess population, makes wildlife vulnerable to a proliferation of harmful pathogens. We are mainly responsible for their current plight.

They will need our help to survive.

DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

Families are inspiration and comfort. They motivate us to strive harder and reach our potential and are a source of comfort when we need one.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS ‘IN CAPTIVITY’ IN HAZIRA, MORA

Several bodies allege workers in Surat’s high profile industrial belt being prevented from leaving First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Government may be waxing eloquent about the several hundred trains it has been running for migrant workers, but this is only half the picture. The other half is that lakhs of others are stranded and there are fresh allegations that many are being prevented from leaving to enable industrial units to start production.

This has been brought out by a recent report by nongovernment organisations and social workers.

Several prominent rights organisations and activists have brought out the plight of some 70,000 migrant workers “being held captive” in the high-profile Mora and Hazira industrial belt near Surat to ensure the mega units here could resume production.

The workers, who mainly belong to Bihar,

Instead of ensuring timely payment of wages and adequate ration to the migrants, we (the State administration) have been responsible for keeping them poor, hungry and desperate to go home.

—Jignesh Mevani, Independent Gujarat MLA

Migrants prevented from leaving in industrial belts of Hazira and Mora.

Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha work as contract labour linked to highly reputed companies, including several oil and natural gas giants. Organisations like the Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN), People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal (GSM) have raised this issue.

Independent legislator from Vadgam in

Guj says Dhaman-1 ventilators fit to use

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: In view of doubts about their efficiency, the Gujarat Government has asserted that the quality of the ventilators developed by a private firm for COVID-19 patients in the State are certified by an accredited laboratory and fit to use.

The ‘’Dhaman-1’’ ventilators were developed

by Rajkot- based firm Jyoti CNC which had “donated” 866 of them to the state government

last month in view of the acute shortage of such equipment, (Health) Jayanti Ravi said. However, a controversy erupted recently when the Ahemedabad civil hospital wrote to the government stating that the ‘’Dhaman-1’’ ventilators were not up to the mark, and sought sophisticated machines.

Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda had accused the government of “playing with the lives” of COVID-19 patients.

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday extended the bail period of an accused for 30 days so that he can undergo treatment for oral cancer.

Accused Nikung Donga had moved a bail application before the high court that came up for hearing before the single bench Justice R P Dholaria. After considering the merits, the court has extended his bail for 30 more days.

The petitioner was on a 30-day temporary bail for oral cancer treatment. During the temporary bail, he was put under home quarantine suspecting corona infection and so he could not visit cancer hospital for treatment.

The petitioner has submitted in the court a certificate of the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute. Based on this document, the court granted an extension of his temporary bail for a month.

Guj may allow sale of permit liquor to start

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Gujarat’s Department of Prohibition and Excise is considering allowing sale of liquor to permit-holders through the licensed stores in the State, following a representation by permit-holders and the stores. The shops have been closed since the lockdown in March.

Though the lockdown was considerably eased, the licensed liquor vends have not been allowed to open, causing inconvenience to those who hold health permits for liquor.

There are already complaints that unavailability of alcohol is causing health problems, including insomnia, to those who have been medically recommended a certain quota.

Sources said the

North Gujarat Jignesh Mevani, who is a human rights activist, has also taken up cudgels on behalf of the migrants. He says several workers have not received food or wages during the extended lockdown. Worse, Mevani claims, some of them have not received wages for work done before the lockdown. Now they are desperate to return to their homes.

In a strongly-word-

ed letter to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Mevani asserted, “It seems that all these workers are caged and confined so that their cheap labour can be used by the companies, the state of Gujarat is in connivance with.”

He added, “I would urge you to take immediate action to send these workers back home and take care of their food and medical

Parts of Surat’s textile markets open

Abducted Gujarati tycoon released

First India Bureau

Dhaman-1 ventilator made by a private Rajkot company.

needs until they are in our State. We have a responsibility to take care of them and facilitate their travel during this very difficult lockdown.”

His letter said: “The administration has stalled the returning process for over 10 days. In addition to that workers are saying that they are being charged Rs.700 per head to go back home.

HC extends bail of cancer patient for 30 days

Surat: In keeping with the odds-evens system of opening commercial establishments, Saroli Road textile market in Surat started work on Wednesday with five out of eight complexes resuming business.

However, at least 85 per cent of the city’s textile hub, Ring Road, still remained closed since it fell under the containment zone, while some parts opened.

The markets that resumed work have sanitizing booths and thermal screening facilities have been installed in the markets. Since people from containment zones are not allowed to enter, everyone’s name and address are also being registered.

First India Bureau Porbandar: Porbandarborn and Africa-based businessman Rizwan Aditya was finally released from captivity after 19 days. His family breathed a sigh of relief

when he was found safe.

He was abducted from Maputo, Mozambique in Africa. Aditya’s car, originally from Porbandar, was found in a forest-like area. Neither the driver nor was anyone else ac-

companying him because of corona virus.

A film on his life has also been made in Bollywood. Rizwan Aditya, originally from Porbandar, settled in Africa. He was also born in Porbandar. His COGEF

08

group has a turnover of over Rs 2,000 crore. He is also known as a philanthropist in Porbandar.

The Rizwan Aditya Foundation is active in Asia and Africa and helps many needy people.

THREE VOWS People associated with Dr Kalam Innovative Work, Amreli, made paintings on the road to salute corona warriors and eulogised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of "Atma Nirbhar Bharat".

Youngsters took three vows, one, to maintain social distancing, to wear masks and to make others aware of this.

Prohibition and Excise Department chiefs are seeking guidance from various district collectors and commissioners on the issue of starting liquor shops. Liquor store managers have also approached the government to allow them to re-start their shops.

Meanwhile, veteran political leader Shankarsinh Vaghela, now with Nationalist Congress Party, has reiterated that, “If my government is formed, the ban on alcohol will be removed.” He said in a TV interview that, “When our government is formed, I will lift the ban on alcohol in Gujarat in 100 days. People will get freedom from drinking secretly and will be able to enjoy a decent healthy drink.”

Biz group’s video to salute Covid warriors First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The Chiripal Group of companies has launched a videobased theme song “Muskurayega India” to boost the morale of the people in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Employees associated with the company, including the directors of Chiripal Group, have also taken part in the video to inspire the people of the country in these adverse circumstances. During the lockdown, thousands of food packets, surgical masks, sanitizers, napkins were distributed by the Chiripal Group, while some areas were also sanitized and thousands of food kits distributed. At the same time, the group is providing accommodation, meals and health facilities to its workers.

LIFETIME GIFT

Covid-19 warrior mom gets victor’s welcome from 6-yr-old daughter First India Bureau Surat: People engaged in public welfare often forget their personal lives. And medical corona warriors have come to become idols of sacrifice. But their families don’t mind the distances and love them even more.

Now, when Dharaben drove down 35 km from Surat Covid-19 Hospital, where she serves as a nurse, to her home in Navsari on Wednesday,

she was in for a pleasant heart-warming surprise.

Her six-year-old daughter Jharana, watching her from the first floor of the house, shouted at her to wait at the home entrance till she came. And Jharana appeared with an ‘Aarti thali’ and greeted, “Mama, happy birthday.”

Dharaben says this is one gift she won’t forget for life. The aarti was one gift, another was

UNFORGETTABLE GIFT

Dharaben with her six-year-old daugher Jharana in Navsari.

the cake which Jharana had got by withdrawing

money from her piggy bank. “I had just forgot-

ten that it was my birthday,” says Dharaben,

her voice choked with emotion.

Dharaben has been working as a nurse at the Surat Civil Hospital for the last 13 years and used to commute 35 km everyday from her home in Navsari. Subsequently, she was posted in the Covid-19 facility where she had no luxury of returning home after work in view of the increasing number of cases.

She had to stay put at the staff nursing quarters for 12 days before

she could get a day’s leave on the 13th day to visit home. And that’s how she reached home, to this emotional welcome.

Says Dharaben, “Such moments come very rarely in life.

Little did I know that such memorable moments will come in my life through my daughter. My mother was also a nurse. She is still alive and continues to attend to her granddaughter.”

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09

AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY MAY 21, 2020

Date@Home

SPEAK UP

Chitrangi’s setup

So it was our anniversary during lockdown and a regular celebration at a fancy place was so out of bounds.

Then it struck me, why don’t I convert my home into a fancy restaurant and surprise my better half with a romantic evening from the comfort of my own home. I curated the whole romantic sundowner date setup on my terrace on white bohemian theme.

Prepared his favourite dinner and viola!

He went crazy over it. As he quoted “It was the best amongst any of the celebrations we had over years.”

—Chitrangi Sharma An ideal date at home for me would be when all the chores are done, there is no pending office work or client calls to attend to, the house is clean and sorted. Then, my wife and I cook our favourite delicacies together, sit down to have dinner accompanied with some fine scotch and good conversation. Or we end up watching something on Netflix or Prime Video and ending our date by indulging our sweet tooth with some sinfully delicious dessert. Spending time together is all we need.

—Girish Valecha The lockdown has been hard on me and my partner. But, technology and the internet have saved the day for us. Since, we both love playing video games that is what we end up doing most of the time. We also prepared each other’s favourite dishes and video-called each other for a dinner date.

From calling each other when we wake up to ending the day by wishing each other good night via Instagram, we have done it all! I’m just waiting for the lockdown to end, to meet him in person.

—Ritu Maddewad INPUTS BY TANVI SHARMA

The Lockdown may have eased a bit but it is mostly for work, for entertainment and leisure the lockdown is very much in place with restaurants, cafes, and cinema halls all still shut.

But you can plan the perfect dinner date at home. City First brings you some tips and also talks to a few of its readers for the perfect ‘Date@Home’ plan!

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

T

he first step is naturally a simple meal that does not need too much last-minute preparation. Get it ready to serve then chill or heat it as the case may be. Pasta with garlic bread, a salad on the side with some wine or virgin mojito, and if you are planning a traditional meal, make small parathas in advance and rice is a must. The important thing is to take out all the nice crockery and cutlery, table mats, etc. Set up the table formally, you can also set it up on a small table in the balcony or terrace if you have the necessary privacy. Candles and flowers are simply a must, the flowers can be paper or even a small green pot. You can also use floating candles, they look lovely.

Another must is that one must dress up! At your very best, with make-up and hair all done up. Also, try to get ready separately (if you are staying together, use different rooms). Ready and all, meet at the designated time and greet each other. All this might make you laugh and feel theatrical but that is part of the charm, isn’t it?

The idea is to spend a quality romantic time together, the meal is secondary so don’t

fuss over the meal too much.

Put on some soft romantic music, sip the wine or juice whatever you prefer, and enjoy the evening.

You can dance to soft music or maybe croon romantic songs if any of you is a good singer. Savour the moment and please keep the dishes for the morning, we don’t really want to spend a romantic evening scrubbing pots and pans. Once the meal is done, cuddle up together on the swing or sofa in the balcony and look at the star-studded sky. With pollution at the lowest level in decades, you will definitely see the stars clearer than ever before.

Lockdown or not, keep the romance alive in your relationship!

ETC AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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10

POWER OF WORDS!

MOTHER

FA CE OF TH ED AY

I always aspire to feel her benign touch, mitigating all my fear.

Nothing more I wish, but two arms to wipe her priceless tear Bestowed on me all her adoration, she never felt languishing.

Allaying my anguish n holding me up, all through my suffering.

Whispering softly in my little ear, placating my dreary cry.

Ensuring my sleep in a tranquil singing lullaby.

Always on her toes, and never to feel tired.

Good or bad, I do whatever, she always admired.

Guiding me through every stride, without any fumble.

Condoning her own troubles, during this struggle.

Always dreaming for me, becoming a shining star.

She perhaps overlooked her woe, like an old scar.

Working relentlessly, for my attainments sky high.

Shrouding her apprehension, in an inaudible sigh.

Always giggling me,

I’M A DOCTOR

DR AKHILESH JAIN cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

with her wit n wisdom.

Remarkably she would let her, pain revealed seldom.

Occupied with whammy obsession, n concern for me enormous.

Safeguarding from evildoers, with a heart so courageous.

Still yearning to my delight, Frailed with growing age, I owe her every bit of my life, so is my pledge.

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr Akhilesh Jain, HOD Psychiatry in ESI Model Hospital has been consistently encouraging and motivating public en masse during this lockdown period with his poems. His recent addition is dedicated to all mothers for their eternal devotion and has widely been praised on social media.

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

You will aim to tone your body today but do not over exert as excess of everything is bad. You have lot of money but a little guidance is needed as to where and when to spend. Try to stay happy and smiling whole day long as your mood could be really helpful for many.

No matter how touch the situations appears to be right now, with patience and focus your will easily find your way out. You will get many innovative ideas today, share them with the right person and you will soon get successful. Someone talkative will keep you entertained.

Those of you who don’t get defeated, will soon rise as victorious in your individual endeavours. You will love all the attention that you will get today specially from opposite sex person. You will go on a journey and the results will be fruitful. All your tensions will disappear today.

You will easily manage to raise finances for the project in which you have invested your many years for it to get worked out. You will get good news from a family youngsters and he/she will make you proud. You may utilise your ancestral property for commercial purpose.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You can really benefit from the meditation classes so without any delay indulge yourself in some or the other spiritual activity. You may be expecting a child and this baby will change your fate for good. Realise your dreams and work towards it thats the only way of life.

To remain fit the most important factor is your diet so mind the food that you eat and half of your problems will be already solved. Your relatives might need your help. You are fully satisfied with your career and you give lot of attention to always keep moving forward.

You have enough money to help anyone you want to.

Your family members are really helpful when it comes to fulfilling your dream. Your seniors at work really trust you so always make sure to deliver nothing but the best. Putting your money in property would be the right decision.

You will get the expected price for your property today. You have managed to create a stability in life in both emotional and financial matters and this really helps you to live life fully. You must always live in a nuclear family for your peace and happiness.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You are deep person from inside and sometime you don’t express your pain and happiness, specially when you need to. Today is the best day to invest in stocks, do your calculations and study in advance. You are earnings big time from renting your properties.

You are sincere by heart.

You love to get close to nature thats why some rejuvenating trips are must for you in every few months. You will spend the day today in paying the bills and clearing everything else up. On professional front, your performance will take everyone by surprise, in a good way.

You love your family and you really tae good care of everyone. Focus on your work and never poke your nose in other people’s matter as negativities only slows one down. You have positive effect on people so keep it up as not everyone is capable of doing that. Your lover really loves you.

Good returns are expected today from business. You have a balanced approach when it comes to work and family. Your better half will spend some good money in making your house beautiful and you will not be disappointed. Some positive changed are going to take place in your life.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

NAMRATA PUROHIT, Fitness Expert

You don’t need to scare, As I’m still there.

Absolving you from fear, And Wiping your tear.

I shall fight till eternity, Holding heart with audacity.

Whatever be, the nature of the disease, I won’t rest unless find you at ease.

I miss my loved one, would never be revealed, Until I get every infirm soul completely healed.

Spending nights, while staying awake, Defying the threat, without any break.

I will survive until, you start walking again, I’m a doctor, born to relieve all your pain.

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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11

AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

Dinosaur in the house!

Lighting the ‘Candle’ this weekend!

Madhuri Dixit Nene

... her post

M

adhuri Dixit Nene on Wednesday announced that her debut single ‘Candle’ will release on Saturday. She took to Twitter to post the news.

“All of us are in this together and we will definitely come out of this stronger. All we need is a little hope and positivity. #Candle releasing in 3 days. Stay tuned!,” she tweeted.

Speaking about her decision of making her singing debut, the actress said: “When I was growing up, music was something that played an integral part in our household. It gave

BAD!

A

mid lockdown due to the global COVID-19 outbreak, Hollywood star Nicole Kidman has suffered a broken ankle. The news was shared by her husband, singer Kieth Urban. Pictures of Kidman sporting a walking cast at Keith’s drive-in-concert emerged on May 15.

Urban told Entertainment Tonight: “She broke her ankle, but she’s a trooper. There she was last night among all of the folks, hobbling around on her boot with her mask on.”

The country singer did not share any other details about how Kidman injured herself. The actress had posted a photograph from the concert, but cropped it to avoid showing the injury.

—IANS

HOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD

Breaking

me the inspiration to be a part of so many amazing things in life. So on my birthday, I decided to release the teaser and share the sneak peek of the song with my fans.”

“I thought it was time to give my fans a gift for all the love and support they have showered upon me over the years. We all are going through a difficult time. Hence, we decided that it would be a nice idea to release the song now. The music and its lyrics bring so much positivity and define hope for me. I really wish everybody gets the same vibe from it,” she added. —IANS

A

nushka Sharma on Wednesday shared a ribtickling video featuring her cricketer husband Virat Kohli, who is seen enacting the moves of a dinosaur. The ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ actor shared the hilarious video on Instagram, where the actor is seen recording, and Kohli enters the room making the dinosaur walk in the funniest way.

The India skipper walks across the room with his funny antics and mimics the voice of the dinosaur towards the end of the clip. The 32-yearold actor wrote as caption: “I spotted .... A Dinosaur on the loose,” followed by dinosaur and smiling emoticons.

Celebrity followers were quick to comment on the amusing video, including ‘Gully Boy’ star Siddhant Chaturvedi who left a teary eyes emoji on the post. Meanwhile, actor Kajal Aggarwal couldn’t stop laughing and wrote: “Hahahaha” The video also garnered more than one lakh views within minutes of being posted on the photo-sharing platform.

The celebrity couple has been sharing regular updates of their lockdown activities from their home. During the lockdown phase, the ‘PK’ actor posted some goofy pictures and videos with hubby and also a heart-warming picture that was clicked in the middle of a monopoly game with Virat and family.

—ANI

... her post

An annoying ACCESSORY!

S

howcasing her temporary tattoo and reminiscing the first day of shoot on her 2019 flick ‘Game Over,’ actor Taapsee Pannu on Wednesday shared yet another throwback picture featuring a gaming console that she made especially for the film. The 32-year-old star put out the picture on Instagram of the tattoo that shows a gaming console within a black heart. The ‘Sand Ki Aankh’ star also penned the memories associated with the inked art and the first day of the shoot. She wrote, “First day on the set of #GameOver and this tattoo became the annoying take away for me n for everyone who saw the film.”

The ‘Naam Shabana’ star also noted her love for tattoos and talked about maintaining the temporary ones. She said, “I love tattoos personally so I get really excited about getting tattoos done for films but since they r the temporary ones maintaining them becomes a pain especially in the humid Chennai weather.” Pannu shared that the tattoo became an accessory for her in the film as her character Swapna didn’t ever wear one, and she remember handling it with ‘a lot of care’.

—ANI

HOLLYWOOD

BUZZ Back in Biz!

K Taapsee Pannu

HOLLYWOOD

ehne Ko Humsafar Hain, one of the most-loved shows on OTT is back with its third season. ALTBalaji and ZEE5 announced the new season on Wednesday by revealing a motion poster of the series. Launching on 6 June, the show launch announcement brings an end to more than a year of anticipation amongst viewers. The show will see stalwarts of the Indian television industry including Ronit Roy, Gurdip Kohli Punjj, Mona Singh, and Apurva Agnihotri, much to the excitement amongst fans around the country.

—Agency

HOLLYWOOD

HOLLYWOOD

PARTING WAYS!

Nicole Kidman

HOLLYWOOD

HOLLYWOOD

HOLLYWOOD

HOLLYWOOD

Going Green

A

fter many speculations about Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox’s marriage on the rocks, Green has finally addressed the split rumours and confirmed that they have indeed been spending time apart. On Monday, Green in his podcast titled ‘With Brian Austin Green’ addressed the news surrounding his marriage and admitted that he and Megan are “trying to sort of be apart.” However, the couple’s split is not fresh and they have been separated since end of 2019.

“I wanted it coming from my mouth. I wanted people to hear everything from me and then this is it. I don’t want to have to talk about this anymore,” Brian said. He revealed that Megan was away for five weeks last year for a shoot project during which he had a dream that they had gone their separate ways.

—IANS

Anushka Sharma

‘M

Megan Fox and Austin Green

oney Heist’ actress Alba Flores says meat-free meals have helped her health and conscience. She decided to stop eating meat when she saw how much food was thrown away after her family’s Christmas Eve celebration. “I started to think about where that food came from and how much food will be thrown away … and (wondered) how necessary the deaths of those animals really were,” she said. “I started to look into it, and I realised that this wasn’t the only big problem.

The entire animal agriculture industry poses a very serious problem for the planet,” she added. And now, she feels “so much better eating vegetables and legumes and grains”.

—IANS

Alba Flores

CITY BUZZ AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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

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BELIEVE IN

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

YOURSELF! Gujarat: A group of volunteers distributed cold water to migrants outside the Kalupur Railway Station in Ahmedabad. Passengers are being taken inside the station by bus and have to wait outside until it is time for their train.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Gujarat: Children play near the historic Teen Darwaja in Ahmedabad’s old city. The area is still a containment zone.

—PHOTO

BY HANIF SINDHI

Gujarat: While most food joints continue to stay shut despite the relaxation this dalwada shop in Ahmedabad’s Anandnagar is a welcome sight for streetfood deprived Amdavadis.

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

Rajasthan: Poornima College of Engineering organised a webinar on ‘COVID 19 Pandemic: An Uninvited Guest’ on Wednesday, where Professor and Head of Department of Community Medicine and Family Medicine (CMFM), AIIMS Jodhpur, Dr Pankaja Raghav, along with her team deliberated the two-hour session interactively. Dr Pankaja Raghav began with a history of outbreaks and eventually explained the epidemiology of COVID-19, with key points on transmission and the importance of prevention.

A GESTURE OF PROUD

GRATITUDE!

CITY FIRST

J

aipur Foot USA Chairman Prem Bhandari has described the ‘Vande Bharat’ exercise to repatriate Indians stranded abroad as a ‘historic humanitarian mission’ by the Indian government as he along with other members of the IndianAmerican community accorded a warm welcome to an Air India crew.

The Air India flight arrived from India into the J F K International Airport in New York on Tuesday and in a special gesture of gratitude for their service, Bhandari welcomed them as guests in the Stay Bridge hotel in New York’s iconic Times Square.

“The pilots and

crew members of Air India are warriors for us who have put their lives at risk by coming to New York, the epicenter of COVID-19, to fly their stranded countrymen back home,” said Bhandari.

He said the Air India crew is guests of the Indian-American community and people of Indian-origin in the US as he welcomed them at the hotel owned by Chandra and KK Mehta in Times Square.

He also expressed gratitude to Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal for the opportunity to be of service to the Air India team.

Mehta announced a donation of one million dollars for COVID-19 relief efforts in Rajasthan. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

MOMENT!

R

eeva Bohra, daughter of Vishal Bohra made her school, state and country proud by scoring 100/100 in additional mathematics in IGSCE board.

Reeva is a student of Jayshree Periwal International School, Mahapura.

She made the phenomenal record in grade 10 of IGSCE boards announced on Tuesday. JPIS students consistently perform well with plenty of top scorers every year. Jayshree said that she is very proud of Reeva and each one of her students.

She thanked the teachers also for their hard work.

—City First

Gurpreet Sudan

City First gets in touch with Gurpreet Sudan from Chandigarh, an aspiring makeup enthusiast, to know her journey in following her passion, and inspire people!

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

G

irls’ love for makeup has no boundaries, and they go hand in hand, quite literally.

There are many makeup artists here and there, and the ones with extreme dedication and passion create milestones for the others. One such example is Gurpreet Sudan from Chandigarh, who is a makeup

enthusiast and a model, and wants to follow her dreams and passion, and take it to the next level. In a conversation with City First, she said, “I have always been inclined towards beauty, but never really got time to work things out with it. But it’s not only makeup that I want to pursue; I want to inspire people in the best way possible since everyone is consumed by social media.”

She added, “People always bring out the best side of themselves on social media, and I want to let them know that it’s fine to not be okay sometimes.

AN ACT OF CHARITY!

O

n the occasion of the 31st death anniversary of Supyar Devi Tanwar, W/O Radheshyam Tanwar, masks and sanitizers were donated to various departments and areas on Tuesday, under the aegis of Supyar Devi Tanwar Foundation. They handed over masks and sanitizers for the Housing Board staff members to the RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora and also to Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi for distributing the items in his constituency. IG Jail Malini Agarwal distributed the safety products donated by the Supyar Devi Tanwar Foundation among the prisoners. In the evening, food packets were also distributed to 1,000 needy people in the city by keeping all social distancing norms in mind by Radheshyam Tanwar, Bhramdatt Sharma, Vinod Yadav and Chandra Prakash Sharma among other foundation members.—City First

Get educated online!

CITY FIRST

U

nder the threat of COVID-19, the administration of many institutions was hit hard when they were faced with immediate closure and the need to transform hundreds of their classrooms, to online virtual classrooms. At this time, the University of Engineering & Management (UEM), Jaipur immediately made plans to continue teaching through innovative online methods.

Prof (Dr) Biswajoy Chatterjee, Vice Chancellor, UEM Jaipur in-

formed that hence QS – the global rankings and ratings agency, through its India office QS IGAUGE, immediately deployed its best teams to create a document for global best practices and methodology.

The methodology, data collection and validation, audit process, quality check and delivery mechanism have been thoroughly reviewed by experts from the higher education domain and UEM Jaipur became the first institute in Rajasthan to get ‘E-LEAD’ certificate of ‘Excellence for Academic Digitisation’. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

I also want to make them mentally and spiritually strong.”

Asking if she has any role model whom she followed, she stated, “My role model has been Oprah Winfrey- what she does in her life, and in media is just amazing. As far as beauty is concerned, I would choose Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez.