First India-Ahmedabad Edition-25 May 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

28°C - 44°C

ALERT AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 179

INDIA

WORLD

3,45,409 54,62,859 4,024 1,38,229 858 DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

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DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

GUJARAT

14,063

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

HEAT IMD issues ‘red alert’ for Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan COULD SOAR UP TO 47° CELSIUS; RED WARNING ISSUED BY IMD TO CAUTION WAVE TEMPERATURES PEOPLE NOT TO STEP OUT FROM 1 PM TO 5 PM WHEN INTENSITY OF THE HEAT IS THE MOST New Delhi: With temperatures surpassing the 45 degrees Celsiusmark across several parts in north India, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued a “red” warning for Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Rajasthan for the next two days.

The IMD has also issued an orange warning for a heatwave for east Uttar Pradesh, said Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of IMD’s Regional Meteorological Centre.

He cautioned that temperatures could

soar up to 47 degrees Celsius in some parts over the next 2-3 days.

This is also for the first time this summer season that a red warning has been issued for a heatwave, Srivastava said. This season, the temperatures did not rise the way it usually does in the north and central India because of significant rainfall activity during April that continued till mid-May. “Heatwave conditions over some parts with a severe heatwave over isolated pockets are very likely Turn on P6

Jaipur: Heat wave swept parts of Rajasthan on Sunday, with day temperature soaring to 47.4 degrees Celsius in Churu, the MeT department said. Kota and Bikaner recorded their respective highs at 45.9 and 45.8 degrees Celsius, it said. The day temperature in Barmer, Ganganagar, Jaipur and Jodhpur was 44.9, 44.7, 44.5, 43.6 degrees Celsius respectively, the meteorological department said. It said the maximum temperature in Ajmer and Dabok (Udaipur) was 43 and 41.9 degrees Celsius respectively.

IMD’S COLOUR-CODED WARNINGS The IMD issues colour-coded warnings depending on the intensity of any weather system in ascending order – green, yellow, orange and red.Srivastava said the red warning has been issued to caution people not to step out from 1 pm to 5 pm when the intensity of the heat is the most.

DOMESTIC AIR TRAFFIC OPENS TODAY WITH 1,050 FLIGHTS

Workers spray disinfectant at Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport, on the resumption of flight services from May 25, in Patna on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

THINGS TO REMEMBER  Do’s and Don’ts shall

be provided along with tickets by agencies concerned.  All passengers advised to download Aarogya Setu app.  States/UTs shall

ensure that all passengers shall undergo

thermal screening at the point of departure and only asymptomatic passengers are allowed to board the flight/train/ bus.  During boarding and

travel, all passengers shall use face covers/ mask. They will also follow hand hygiene.

 At airports/railway

stations/ bus terminals required measures to ensure social distancing shall be taken.  Airports/railway stations/bus terminals should be regularly sanitised/disinfected and availability of soaps and sanitisers shall be ensured.

CHURU

46° C DELHI

46.2° C NAGPUR

46.7° C PILANI

44° C AGRA

India’s Corona tally nears 1.3L; 2,600-plus deaths since May 1 New Delhi: The nationwide tally of COVID-19 cases neared 1.3 lakh on Saturday with over 6,000 new cases getting detected. More than one lakh people have tested positive for the deadly virus infection and over 3,000 have lost their lives in past one month.

The spike in numbers has been sharp this week with nearly 5,500 new cases and 160 deaths getting reported

Preparation for 380 domestic flights from Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi, operation will be from Terminal 3, thermal screening mandatory First India Bureau ‘14-day New Delhi: Indian skies quarantine will open up for domestic passenger flights from must for Int’l Monday after a gap of two months but there is arrivals’ confusion following the imposition of own set of conditions and rules by several states which are at odds with each other.

According to Civil Aviation ministry, 1050 flights will operate on May 25. Conditions regarding flights, quarantine periods and standard operating procedures of passengers between many states is still not clear.

Many states like Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were opposed to opening up of their airports in view of rising cases of the coronavirus infection, making it difficult for the airlines as well as the civil aviation authorities to resume services.

However, Maharashtra government has now agreed to allow 25 take-offs Turn on P6

47° C

CHURU HOTTEST IN RAJASTHAN

New Delhi: The Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare has come up with guidelines for international arrivals into India through air, sea and land routes, whereby it has said that every person entering India will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine of 14 days.

The quarantine period would include seven days of paid institutional quarantine at their own expense, followed by seven days of isolation at home with selfmonitoring of health.

All travellers will have to give an undertaking for the 14-day quarantine before boarding a ship or a flight.

The ministry, however said that only for exceptional and compelling reasons Turn on P6

on an average every day, according to data of different states and union territories, many of whom have found a large number of new cases among people having returned from other states in special trains and buses being run for taking migrant and students to their places.

Sikkim reported its first COVID-19 case as a 25-year-old student who recently returned from

Delhi tested positive for the virus, a senior official said. The first case was detected in India on January 30, but Sikkim had managed to stay free of it so far.

States have also reported positive cases among people who have returned from abroad in special flights being operated to bring back stranded Indians and expatriates from various countries.

—ANI

SAI RELEASES RS8.25 CR AS OUT OF POCKET ALLOWANCE FOR 2,749 KHELO INDIA ATHLETES New Delhi: The Sports Authority of India

(SAI) on Sunday informed that it has released over Rs 8,24,70,000 as Out of Pocket Allowance (OPA) for 2749 Khelo India athletes for the first quarter of 202021. “The money has been transferred to the bank accounts of the athletes on May 22. A total of 2893 athletes will be given the OPA for the period, with the funds to the remaining 144 athletes to be transferred by the end of May 2020,” SAI said in a release.

CHINA ACCUSES US OF SPREADING ‘CONSPIRACIES’

‘NO DELAY IN SUPPLY OF RAFALE JETS TO INDIA’

Beijing: China on Sunday accused the US of pushing the bilateral ties to the brink of a “new Cold War” by spreading “lies” about the coronavirus and said it was open to international efforts to identify the source of the deadly virus.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said the lawsuits filed against China in the US demanding compensation for COVID-19 is an attempt to blackmail a victim with fabricated evidence.

New Delhi: There will be no delay in delivery of 36 Rafale jets to India as the timeline finalised for the supply of the fighter jets will be strictly respected, French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain has said. India had signed an intergovernmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around 58,000 crore. France is reeling under swelling cases of coronavirus.

G’nagar ‘given’ 8 new cases between 5 pm and 7.30 pm on Sunday —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

 24 hours: 394 cases, 29

deaths, 243 discharged  Total: 14,603 cases, 858 deaths, 6,412 discharged First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The state capital saw as many as eight new cases between 5 pm and 7.30 pm on Sunday evening.

At least, that’s what the state health department told reporters who questioned the disparity be-

tween the figure reported by the local civic bodies and the state.

The state health bulletin--announced at 7.30 pm--had put the overnight tally in the state capital at 11 new cases, while the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation and Dis-

A man crosses a street in Ahmedabad’s Saraspur, one of the city’s newest cluster-quarantined areas.

COLLEGES FINAL EXAMS FROM JUNE 25, FIRST SEMESTER FROM AUGUST 25 The state government has decided that if the situation is under control, college exams will now be held from June 25. Usually held in March and April, these exams had been postponed due to the lockdown. However, the government said that universities will have to see that social distancing is maintained while conducting tests. In addition, each exam will be limited to a two-hour paper. The new academic year is set to begin a month later. trict Panchayat had together said there had only been three new cases as of 5 pm. It is unclear where these additional eight cases

may have originated.

The last 24 hours also brought reports of 14 cases from Sabarkantha, 35 from Surat and 30 from Vadodara. As many

as 279 fresh cases were recorded on Sunday in Ahmedabad, which still has 5,532 active cases and a death toll of 28 despite 4,051 being discharged.

The state now has 14,603 cases, with 858 deaths and 6,412 discharged.

Even taking the discharge rate as the recovery rate, as the government has been doing, Gujarat still lags far behind states like Punjab (89.69%), Kerala (73.91%) and Haryana (66.05%) with a 44% recovery rate.

Turn on P6

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AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020

Pandemic-hit economy will take time to recover,

02

GLOBAL STATE OF AFFAIRS

SLOW GROWTH WILL HAVE SEVERE IMPACT ON REVENUE

COUNTRY TOTAL CASES

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

1,675,880 BRAZIL 352,744 RUSSIA 344,481 SPAIN 282,852 UK 259,559 ITALY 229,858 FRANCE 182,469 GERMANY 180,153 TURKEY 156,827 IRAN 135,701 CANADA 84,655 S ARABIA 72,560 CHILE 69,102 MEXICO 65,856 BELGIUM 57,092

99,003 22,291 3,541 28,752 36,793 32,785 28,332 8,371 4,340 7,417 6,424 390 718 7,179 9,280

USA

Customers already limiting purchases to items in the lowest-end bracket; pay cuts and unemployment could lead to social unrest

+320 +278 +153 +74 +118 +50 — +5 +32 +58 +69 +11 +45 +190 +43

WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO LAST UPDATED: MAY 24, 2020, 11:30 PM

IN GUJARAT

—Pic for representational purpose only

Haresh Jhala Ahmedabad: The state’s economy is struggling to get back on its feet after the COVID-19 pandemic left industries paralyzed and workers jobless for two months.

However, the longer it takes for trade and industry to bounce back, the harder it is going to be. The next few months are likely to bring more retrenchment, pay cuts and even some units may not live to see another day.

A month after lockdown norms began to be relaxed in the state, industrial units in Central Gujarat and the rest of the state are functioning only at 40% capacity.

Their supply and distribution chains are blocked because interstate transportation is still prohibited. Units cannot function at full capacity until the lockdown is relaxed in the entire nation, observed Nitesh Patel, Secretary-General, Federation of Gujarat Industries (FGI), from Vadodara.

Demand trends are going to change drastically in the post-relaxation period for two major reasons: unemployment and pay cuts. Brands and highend products will take

ESTIMATED TIME NEEDED FOR INDUSTRIES TO RECOVER Sector

Time

Pharma

Growth to continue

Transport

3-4 months

Automobile

4-5 months

Food sector

6 months

Retail

6 months

Hospitality, travel, tours

6-8 months

Capital goods

1 year or more

Major projects

Depends on the availability of funds

Major movement

Depends on lockdown relaxation

a backseat, while consumption of local labels will increase. The market has started feeling the hit. “Consumers have stopped purchasing Good Day biscuits, while regular

Three lakh industrial units have resumed operations, giving job opportunities to 25 lakh workers; power consumption is at 82% of normal; 11 lakh workers have reached their home states.

biscuits are in demand. Even among the more expensive products such as sports bikes and sports utility vehicles, only the lowest-end ones are in demand,” observed an

economist who wished to remain anonymous since he is not authorized to speak to the press.

“To announce a package is one thing but the bigger issue is of morale,

Let us see how the society and nation can digest retrenchment and pay cuts. If unemployment increases on a very large scale, it can lead to social unrest.

—Sunil Damania, Chief Investment Officer, Marketsmojo

—Ashwani Kumar, Information and Broadcasting Secretary, GoG

First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The state High Court on Friday singled out Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel who is also Health Minister and Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi while pulling up the state government on its handling of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. On Sunday, Patel announced that he had visited the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad as many as five times.

The court had also asked the government for a detailed report on some subjects, Patel said, adding that the state will file its reply later this week.

“The High Court has

which is very low among bankers and industrialists.Neither the state nor the nation’s economy can bounce back without these two sets of people,” this person also said.

FGI’s Patel adds that “non-tariff taxes” like social distancing, running operations with 33-50% staff, ensuring no worker gets infected will put an added burden on industries.

“With these excess financial burdens, it is going to be next to impossible to maintain the low costs needed to survive and thrive in competition,” he said.

The ongoing labour migration might prove to be a blessing in disguise

for industry, feels Mahendra Kajiwala, former president, Southern Gujarat Chambers of Commerce and Industries.

“They are going to take at least two to three months to completely recover, so 10 lakh workers returning to their home state will not directly affect production,” he said.

Another big questions is whether these these workers will get jobs if and when return to the state. Marketsmojo Chief Investment Officer Sunil Damania and Prabodh Patel, former president, Federation of Industries Association (FIA) are of opinion that units will not operate at 100% capacity until domestic and international demand increases. Until then, they will not require as many workers as they did prior to the lockdown.

With all these equations put together, the next few months do not bode well for the economy. Not only can unemployment lead to social unrest, but low production means low revenue for the state and Central governments, a cascading effect of which will likely be lower expenditure on development projects, at least in the current year.

Nation should give return gift in the form of financial assistance to industrialists and entrepreneur who have paid taxes honestly for 20-30 years.

—Prabodh Patel, former president, FIA

DISTRICT

SAMPLE RECEIVED SAMPLE NEGATIVE

(Right to left) CM Vijay Rupani and Dy CM Nitin Patel taking a meeting.

—FILE PHOTO

697 35 61 2 8 9 3 10 4 6 4 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 2 0 3 3 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 858

28 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 29

1,82,869 1,68,806

UNDER EXAMINATION

0

Says state acts on guidelines from ICMR and Centre; Gujarat to file reply before HC this week Hospital and if he was aware of what was going on there. Replying to this, Patel said he had been to the Civil Hospital, and taken meetings with senior doctors too.

He also said that he and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani have closely monitored the situation, and that the state cannot act on its own in such a crisis but in accordance with the guidelines from the Indian Council of Medical Re-

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

10280 836 SURAT 1320 RAJKOT 92 BHAVNAGAR 115 ANAND 91 BHARUCH 37 GANDHINAGAR 221 PATAN 71 PANCHMANHAL 71 BANASKANTHA 99 NARMADA 13 CHOTA UDEPUR 22 KUTCH 64 MAHESANA 101 BOTAD 53 DAHOD 36 PORBANDAR 6 JAMNAGAR 47 MORBI 3 SABARKANTHA 77 ARAVALLI 99 MAHISAGAR 79 KHEDA 62 GIR SOMNATH 44 VALSAD 19 TAPI 6 NAVSARI 15 DANG 2 SURENDRANAGAR 23 DWARKA 12 JUNAGADH 26 AMRELI 2 OTHER STATES 7 TOTAL 14063 AHMEDABAD

VADODARA

After HC pulls up Rupani govt, defensive Dy CM says he has visited Civil Hospital five times many observations about the government’s actions in handling the coronavirus crisis. It has also given direction to the state government and has also asked for a detailed report on some subjects. The state will file a reply before the high court this week,” he said.

The High Court had put specific questions to the health minister including how many times he had visited the Civil

TOTAL CASES

search (ICMR) and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

In a very short period, the state has created facilities for 22,000 beds in 26 districts to meet the needs during the COVID-19 outbreak. Also, there is enough stock of PPE kits, masks and medicines, he said.

Meanwhile, the state’s farmers have traded 67 lakh quintal of agro products in market yards since

lockdown norms were relaxed on April 20, Information and Broadcasting Secretary and Secretary to the Chief Minister Ashwani Kumar said here.

This includes 19.37 lakh quintal wheat, 14.66 lakh quintal castor, 3.53 lakh quintal cotton, 1.83 lakh quintal tobacco and 2.85 lakh quintal chana. As per its promise to procure wheat and tuvar from farmers through Gujarat State Civil Supplies Corporation (GSCSC), the state government has bought 23,437 metric tonnes (MT) wheat and 11,583 MT tuvar from farmers. On behalf of the state government, GUJCOMASOL has procured 73,574 MT wheat and 12,213 MT chana.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020

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03

READY, SET, FLY

fter a two-month lockdown, the state government A has allowed domestic flights to resume operations from today amid the COVID-19 outbreak. In preparation

for the arrival of passengers, staffers at the airport sanitized all corners. Airline staffers received briefings about the importance of social distancing and sanitizing.

Social distancing stickers dot the airport floor to ensure that norms are followed by passengers at all times.

—PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE

Just how many ventilators does the city really need?

Civil Hosp’s Dr MM Prabhakar in hot water for demanding more than needed Gargi Raval Ahmedabad: Amid the state government’s claims of a COVID-19 recovery rate of 45%, it is curious as to why there seems to be a lot of hue and cry over an alleged shortage of ventilators at dedicated COVID-19 hospitals. The question which arises is that who has a vested interest in using taxpayers’ money for ventilators when, according to First India’s investigation, there is no dearth of the machines.

Civil Hospital incharge superintendent MM Prabhakar in his letter to the state government on May 15 had asked for 100 high-end ventilators for COVID-19 hospitals on a priority basis. According to official data, until Saturday, there were

ASKING FOR IT

Staff at the Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Hospital set up equipment in the COVID-19 ward. —FILE PHOTO

only 73 corona positive patients on ventilator support across the state.

Currently, the state has 6,671 active patients.

When the demand for more ventilators was made by Prabhakar, there were 29 positive patients on ventilator support at Civil Hospital.

The number of patients on ventilators at Sardar

Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Hospital stood at 17.

Prabhakar insisted that the machines had been needed at the time.

“We demanded the machines at a time when the patient inflow at the hospital was high. Also, the demand was not solely for the Civil Hospital but others too. We do have enough number

of ventilators at Civil,” he stated.

Dr Prabhakar had questioned the effectiveness of Dhaman-1 ventilators, and had put forth a demand for 50 ventilators for Civil Hospital and 50 ventilators for Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) but now claims that there are

enough ventilators on the Medicity campus.

“We have enough ventilators, I was demanding it for other hospitals,” he said.

Interestingly, in his letter, Prabhakar had categorically said that the demand was being made for Civil Hospital and IKDRC not others.

AHNHA queries state’s lab testing regulations First India Bureau Ahmedabad: After First India questioned the state department’s directive to private laboratories to seek permission before conducting COVID-19 tests, the Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association has now sought an explanation from the state health department regarding the directive.

In a letter addressed to state principal secretary (health) Jayanti Ravi, Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association president Dr Bharat Gadhvi has questioned the conviction of the decision to regulate COVID-19 tests by private laboratories.

Dr Gadhvi also raised doubt over the credibility of the order and asked if any health or medical expert was consulted before the implementation of the order. The association president also called

into question the logic behind not conducting more number of tests.

In his letter, Dr Gadhvi also stated, “If there is any kind of

IMPACT medical emergency and a patient is required to undergo a COVID-19 test, the permission will take time. This can put the patient’s life at risk.

Who will ensure that the patient is safe or claim responsibility if things go sideways?”

Drawing attention

toward factual data, the letter also underlined the time it took to receive test results initially, which was within six to eight hours.

But, now it takes up to three days for the test results to come back.

On Friday, the state high court too directed the state government to allow private laboratories approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct tests on patients. The court also said that everyone has the right to undergo COVID-19 tests.

‘Escaped’ patient gets Probe into sale of seized 15-hr break from SVP IMFL has cops on the run

EID MUBARAK!

First India Bureau

People are seen watching the crescent moon that marks the arrival of Eid and the end of the holy month of Ramzan, at Ashram Road in Ahmedabad. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Ahmedabad: Security arrangements at the city-based Sardar Vallabhbhai Hospital have come under the scanner after a COVID-19 patient ‘escaped’. The hospital did file a police complaint, but not until the 30-year-old male had been missing for 15 hours.

The patient, a resident of Sarkhej had been admitted to the hospital on Friday after showing symptoms of COVID-19. He disappeared shortly thereafter but his absence was

only discovered when his report came back on Saturday. RMO Kuldip Joshi then filed a missing persons complaint at the Ellisbridge police station.

While the patient, who had wanted to spend Eid at home, was later brought back to the hospital, the incident has raised the question of how a patient could leave the COVID-19 ward without anyone noticing.

More importantly, if medical staff is on duty 24/7, how did it take 15 hours for the man’s absence to be noticed?

First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) has landed two police officers of Mehsana district in hot water. They went underground on learning that the Gandhinagar range I n s p e c t o r- G e n e r a l (IG) ordered an investigation into the illegal sale of IMFL in the state.

When Gandhinagar range IG Mayanksinh Chavda had received information that Kadi police station officers

TOUGH BREAK

T

were involved in the illegal sale of seized liquor, he ordered Gandhinagar district superintendent of police (SP) Mayursinh Chavda to initiate a probe.

However, sources say, Kadi police inspector OM Desai and sub inspector KN Patel threw

all the remaining seized liquor in the Narmada canal before fleeing before the Gandhinagar SP reached their police station.

This was done to ensure that the SP didn’t get an account of the exact amount of stock in their possession.

No visible spikes in May as new cases in state, A’bad stay steady Gargi Raval Ahmedabad: Taking into account the number of fresh cases of novel coronavirus in the city as well as the state, it seems that the system has managed to keep the figures below the 300 and 400 mark respectively, this month.

Barring May 5, the state (441) and city (336) witnessed highest number of cases reported in

Case numbers are likely to see a sharp uptick in the coming days, officials say. a single day. It was the same day when the former Ahmedabad municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra went on leave for two weeks after coming in contact with two COVID-19 positive people.

Officer on special duty Rajiv Gupta presented a comparison of tests per million and a rise in the discharge rate before May 5 and afterwards.

They showed drastic improvement after May 5.

However, one thing that has remained constant is that, the number of fresh SarsCoV-2 cases in the city has not crossed the 300-mark while, the number has not

With more people on the streets after the government announced relaxations in the lockdown, the numbers are likely to rise in the near future.

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

touched the 400-mark in the state. Even the lowest number of cases reported in the state was 324 on May 14. The number stood at 223 for Ahmedabad on May 2.

According to the data of the entire month until May 23, an average of 267 cases for the city of Ahmedabad and 372 cases for Gujarat have been recorded every day.

Sources at the Ahmedabad Municipal

Corporation (AMC) believe that the number of cases will rise in the coming days.

“There will be more tests conducted in the city in the immediate future. Health survey has been gathering data on high-risk people and a few of them have been completed already. The number of positive cases is expected to shoot up in the first week of June,” said an officer.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020

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THE GREAT GAME AND THE FRONTIER STATES OF PAK

IN-DEPTH

PASSENGERS IN A QUANDARY OVER AIR TRAVEL

British govt in India signed an alliance with Kashmir & Chiral to thwart any Afghan aggression

D

omestic flights seem to have run into air turbulence even before their scheduled take-off on Monday. Reason being, states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are not yet ready to make their airports operational. Tamil Nadu was the first to request the Centre to delay opening of airports till May 31. West Bengal has very genuine reason to seek postponement of air travel after it was left bruised and battered by Cyclone Amphan. Pictures of the flooded Kolkata airport are still fresh in everyone’s memory.

It therefore wants flights to Kolkata and Bagdogra to be put on hold for a few more days.

Maharashtra’s Covid is getting out of hand, or so it appears, with Mumbai being the epicenter of the disease. It also wants to delay resumption of flights till the end of May. Maharashtra’s home minister Anil Deshmukh said that resuming air traffic will add to stress on Red Zone. “It’s extremely ill-advised to reopen airports in red zone. Mere thermal scanning of passengers inadequate w/o swabs.

Impossible to have autos/cabs/buses ply in current circumstances. Adding positive passenger will add Covid stress to red zone,” he said in a tweet. In another tweet Deshmukh said that “keeping a busy airport up and running with all Covid safety measures will need huge staff presence and compound risk in the red zone”, Delhi-Mumbai is an important and busy sector the airlines were looking at to get back into business. With Kolkata and Chennai also blocking the move, domestic airlines will have to wait till May 31, hope that the lockdown curbs are further relaxed and then pray that the three state capitals are able to contain the infection. These developments and the health ministry’s guidelines released on Sunday have, however, left flyers in a quandary.

While prescribing Do’s and Don’ts, the guidelines allow states to develop their own protocol for quarantining and isolation of passengers reaching their respective states.

This would require all passengers to acquaint themselves with the standard operating passengers they’d be required to follow on reaching their destination. For someone landing at Jaipur but planning to go to Jodhpur any other district it will be important to know if s/he will be quarantined/isolated in Jaipur or at the final destination.

Arogya Setu app is also going to be a nagging issue. “All passengers are advised to download the Arogya Setu app on their mobile devices,” the guideline says. Although civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri has said that it is not mandatory, doubts persists in the minds of flyers over privacy issues. The app is supposed to inform authorities if one is coming from a highly infected zone. Puri announced the resumption of flights days after refusing to start them apparently to keep the bleeding airlines airborne. Now it looks as if fixing anomalies in the sector will take time.

DR SANJEEV CHOPRA The author is an IAS & Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Mussoorie and Honorary Curator, Valley of Words: Literature and Arts Festival, Dehradun

T

In 1914, Chiral had signed yet another agreement with Kashmir on similar lines, called the Mastunj Agreement, but from the late (nineteen) thirties, it had stopped sending the nazrana

he story of Chitral is intertwined with the Great Game: the political and diplomatic confrontation that existed for most of the 19th century between the British and the Russian Empires over Afghanistan and territories in Central Asia.

Russia was fearful of British commercial and military inroads right up to Bukhara, while on the other hand, Britain was fearful of Russia adding “the jewel in the crown”, to the Tsar’s portfolio. As such, in 1878, the British government in India signed an alliance with Kashmir and Chiral to thwart any Afghan aggression.

Through this agreement, Chiral, in itself an eleven gun salute state ,accepted the suzerainty of Kashmir, a twenty one gun salute state, in return of heavy subsidies from both Kashmir Durbar and the Government of India. In 1914, Chiral had signed yet another agreement with Kashmir on similar lines, called the Mastunj Agreement, but from the late (nineteen) thirties, it had stopped sending the nazrana.

After the lapse of paramountcy, Kashmir held the view that Chitral could not decide the future course of action by itself, and even when the Ruler, His Highness Mehtar Muzaffar-ul –Mulk wanted to join Pakistan, Jinnah, with his sharp legal mind and acumen, delayed the accession as he did not want to jeopardize in any way the larger question of accession of Kashmir. He felt when Kashmir acceded to Pakistan, it would imply, ipso facto the inclusion of Chitral in the boundaries of Pakistan.

We now come to Dir, a small state with just 3000 square miles of territory and a population of 250,000 in 1931, the ruling family of Yususzai Pathans traced their origins to Kahuna

Baba, a mystic from the seventeenth century. Dir was also the only tribal Pakhtun state to have emerged in the Indian Empire and also explains the permanent confrontation between the Pakhtun warlords and the centralized state of Chitral.

The current ruler Sir Shah Jahan Khan was always thought that as a buffer state, it also had the option of joining Afghanistan. To prevent such an eventuality Jinnah accepted that ‘his relations with Pakistan should remain the same as those with the British government previously’. Thereafter, the Instrument of Accession was signed in November 1947, and accepted in February 1948.

The origins of the Amb state are quite similar to those of Dir: here too a prince from the Tanawali tribe was propped up as a hereditary ruler. However he was also a Jagirdar of Haripur in Hazara and subject to the laws of British India in areas outside of his little kingdom. As such, he was ‘at once an Independent Ruler, a feudal chief and a British subject’. The Ruler in 1947 was Nawab Sir Mohammad Khan held a territory of 225 square miles and a population of just 36,000 and hardly had any option but to join Pakistan most willingly. In fact, Jinnah did not even respond to his personal letters for quite a few

The legal position with respect to these states was that while Hunza and Nagar were under the suzerainty of Kashmir, they were not part of Kashmir, but separate states

weeks. The Instrument of accession was signed and accepted on 31 December 1947.

Colonel Durand, the Political Agent for the Gilgit Agency, and the person on whom the infamous AF Pak boundary line is often called Durand’s curse entered into an agreement with these tinny states in 1889 that in lieu of not conducting caravan raids, they would receive an annual subsidy of Rs 2000 from the British government in India. From 1992, after a series of bloody confrontations, these were laced under the suzerainty of Kashmir Durbar with guarantees from the British Government

Coronavirus: China is its own worst enemy

T

he global backlash against China over its culpability for the international spread of the deadly coronavirus from Wuhan has gained momentum in recent weeks. And China itself has added fuel to the fire, as exemplified by its recent legal crackdown on Hong Kong. From implicitly seeking a political quid pro quo for supplying other countries with protective medical gear, to rejecting calls for an independent international inquiry into the virus’s origins until a majority of countries backed such a probe, the bullying tactics of President Xi Jinping’s government have damaged and isolated China’s communist regime.

The backlash could take the form of Western sanc

04

tions as Xi’s regime seeks to overturn Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” framework with its proposed new national-security laws for the territory, which has been wracked by widespread pro-democracy protests for over a year.

Xi’s overreach is inviting increasing hostility among China’s neighbors and around the world.

Had Xi been wise, China would have sought to repair the pandemic-inflicted damage to its image by showing empathy and compassion, such as by granting debt relief to nearbankrupt Belt and Road Initiative partner countries and providing medical aid to poorer countries without seeking their support for its handling of the outbreak. Instead, China has acted in ways that undermine its long-term in-

Chinese military has provoked border flare-ups with India and attempted to police the waters off the Japanese-Senkaku Islands

terests. Whether through its aggressive “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy – named after two Chinese films in which special-operations forces rout US-led mercenaries – or military-backed expansionist moves in China’s neighborhood, Xi’s regime has caused international alarm. In fact, Xi, the self-styled indispensable leader, views the cur-

rent global crisis as an opportunity to tighten his grip on power and advance his neo-imperialist agenda, recently telling a Chinese university audience that, “The great steps in history were all taken after major disasters.”

China has certainly sought to make the most of the pandemic. After buying up much of the world’s available supply of protective medical equipment in January, it has engaged in price-gouging and apparent profiteering. And Chinese exports of substandard or defective medical gear have only added to the international anger. While the world grapples with COVID-19, the Chinese military has provoked border flareups with India and attempted to police the waters off the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands.

Meanwhile, China has made good on its threat of economic reprisals against Australia for initiating the idea of an international coronavirus inquiry.

Through trade actions, the Chinese government has effectively cut off imports of Australian barley and blocked more than onethird of Australia’s regular beef exports to China.

Whereas Japan readily allowed the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct a full investigation into the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster – a probe that helped the country to improve safety governance – China strongly opposed any coronavirus inquiry, as if it had something to hide.

In fact, some Chinese commentators denounced calls for an inquiry as racist.

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of India. It should be acknowledged that the inaccessibility of these states made control over these areas difficult for any foreign force, and neither the Sikhs nor the Dogras could actually hold them for a considerable stretch. The titles used by them was Sore, closer to Sri, and though they were notionally Muslims (Ismailis in Hunza and Shias in Nagar), the ruling family of Hunza also used the name Ayeshe (heavenly), the use of this nomenclature gave them a sense of being apart, with perhaps even a divine mandate to rule.

The legal position with respect to these states was that while Hunza and Nagar were under the suzerainty of Kashmir, they were not part of Kashmir, but separate states. As such there was a confusion on whether after the lapse of paramountcy, they had the right to exercise their option of joining any Dominion, or whether they went with the decision of the Ruler of Kashmir. Of course, given the fact that both these states were nearly cent per cent Muslim, and their relations with the Kashmir Durbar had been quite strained, they acceded to Pakistan even before receiving the format of the Instrument of Accession. This was perhaps the smoothest accession to Pakistan !

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TWEET Ahmed Patel @ahmedpatel We condemn the arrest of the UP Congress President. All legal assistance is being provided to ensure his early release but this arrest underlines the grim situation in Uttar Pradesh- where a weak government has resorted to anti democratic tendencies to hide its failures.

Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal There is more public acceptance of our reform steps. The world is looking at India as a trusted & reliable partner. India will be one of the 1st countries to recover from COVID-19 because we have 130 crore aspirational Indians.

Spiritual SPEAK

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06

‘Fight against COVID-19 tougher now’

CDS to donate `50,000 monthly to PMMaha CM Uddhav Thackeray held an online briefing on the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state CARES Fund Mumbai: Maharashtra

Medics conduct a health check-up of residents of Vile Parle slum area for COVID-19 detection.

‘CBPACS’s treatment for patients satisfying’

New Delhi: Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare today visited the Dedicated COVID-19 Health Centre (DCHC) at Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Ayurved Charak Sansthan (CBPACS), Najafgarh, New Delhi.

He reviewed the arrangements at the Centre for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

While in the COVID-19 Health center, the Minister also interacted with the team of Doctors and enquired about the wellbeing of COVID-19 patients.

He sought their feedback about the facilities available at the COVID-19 Health Centre and the results of treatment

by Ayurvedic medicines. After inspection of the various facilities of the Centre, Dr Harsh Vardhan expressed satisfaction with the working of the CBPACS DCHC. —ANI

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held an online briefing on the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state and said that the fight against Covid-19 is going to be a “tougher one” but the administration is prepared with extra medical facilities.

Thackeray said that it was wrong to impose lockdown suddenly. On the lockdown deadline of May 31, he said that “we can’t end it all at once” Thackeray thanked the people of Maharashtra for showing their discipline and following the lockdown. He said that the Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra were projected to be around 1.15 lakh by May end but currently, “we have 33,786 Covid-19 cases, around 13,404 have recovered,” he said.

“This is due to the

EX- MAHA CM CHAVAN TESTS+VE

Mumbai: Maharashtra cabinet minister and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has tested positive for coronavirus in Mumbai. Congress leader Ashok Chavan is the current PWD minister of Maharashtra. Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra crossed the 50,000-mark on Sunday on account of 3,041 new detections, the highest in the single day.The overall death toll in the state has gone up by 58, including 39 from Mumbai, to 1,635.

87 MORE POLICEMEN TEST POSITIVE

Mumbai: “87 police personnel of state found COVID-19 positive in last 24 hours taking the total number of affected personnel to 1,758,” the police said.Out of the total, 18 have died due to the infection. —ANI

lockdown and discipline maintained by you all,” the chief minister said.

Thackeray cautioned against rise in Covid-19 in state & said that the

BJP, Cong equally responsible for labourers’ plight:Mayawati New Delhi: BSP supremo Mayawati held both the BJP & Congress responsible for the poor condition of migrant workers in the country amid the COVID-19 lockdown. “Neither the Centre nor state governments focused on migrants. When migrant labourers started dying of hunger and were not given wages by their companies, they started moving towards their states in desperation as they had no option. The BJP and Congress kept blaming each other and playing disgusting politics over the issue. However, these two parties

MIGRANTS WALK DOWN TO THEIR HOMES

are equally responsible for the plight of migrant workers amid the lockdown,” Mayawati said. “Congress was against the implementation of the SC/ST Act. This was the reason Dr BR Ambedkar resigned from Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet,” she

Cops who thrashed man in MP, suspended as video goes viral Bhopal: Two constables of MP Police were suspended & an inquiry ordered after a video clip showed them mercilessly beating a man in Chhindwara.

The man alleged to be in an intoxicated state.

Head constable Krishna Dingre & constable Ashish

posted at Piplyanarayanwar police outpost under Lodhikheda police station in Chhindwara. The man who was beaten up is fine, said police.The video triggered massive reaction on social media with many users demanding harsher punishment for cops.

said.

She further lambasted Congress saying, “Congress says BSP wants to join hands with BJP. We condemn this. I want to clear that we will never contest any election in alliance with BJP or Congress,” Mayawati said. —ANI

Kanpur: Migrant workers seem to be unaffected in Kanpur even when temperature rises to 45-degree Celsius. Sharing the ordeal of his journey braving scorching heat, Avlal Kumar, a migrant worker who started his journey from Chennai & has reached Kanpur, said: “I don't have a single penny in my pocket.

We didn't have any other option but to reach home.”

administration is preparing hospital infrastructure for an increase in load of Covid-19 cases.

“By the end of May, we will make 14,000

warrior, an Assistant Police Inspector with the Krishnanagar police station of Ahmedabad died while fighting the Corona. He was confirmed as being infected with Sars-CoV-2 just four days ago. In another incident, a head constable with the Vadodara police has been infected with the virus. City police will quarantine all personnel who had come into contact with the head constable.

IMD issues... over Punjab, Haryana,

Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Telangana during the next five days,” the IMD said in its daily bulletin. —PTI

‘14-day quarantine... such as cases of human distress, pregnancy, death in family, serious illness and parents accompanied by children below 10 years, as per assessment by the receiving states, home quarantine may be permitted for 14 days. In such an exceptional case, the use of the Aar-

New Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday said that the Delhi government has barricaded the containment zones and no relaxation has been given in these areas.

“Whatever containment zones are there, we are barricading it and no relaxation from the government has been given in these zones,” the Health Minister said.

beds available, currently we have already created around 7,000 beds including 3,000 in our field hospitals,” he said. —PTI

New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat has started donating Rs 50,000 from his monthly salary to the PM-CARES fund, news agency ANI reported on Sunday. The amount will be deducted from his salary and deposited in the Centre’s COVID-19 relief fund for the next twelve months, defence sources told ANI. The former Army Chief wrote a letter in March requesting the concerned authorities to transfer the amount from his monthly salary, as per reports. The first deduction of Rs 50,000 was made in April. —ANI

Mayawati a ‘Twitter behanji’ ‘undeclared speaker of BJP’ Lucknow: The Congress described BSP chief Mayawati as a “Twitter behanji” and “undeclared spokesperson of BJP”, “angry with” the grand old party’s “proactive” efforts to mitigate migrant workers’ miseries.

Congress leader PL Punia hit back at Mayawati a day after BSP described Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with migrant workers a “drama”.

“The language & tweets, which the ‘Twitter behanji’ is using clearly indicates that she makes

Migrants not adhering to social distancing norm as they arrive at Danapur railway station to board a train in Patna.

the press note for the BJP and sends it,” Punia said. “She feels angry over the proactive efforts of the Congress and its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra,” he added. Punia also ac-

cused the BSP of having a “tacit understanding” with the BJP while the Congress’ SC cell chairman Brijlal Khabri said, “Mayawati is the undeclared spokesperson of the BJP.” —PTI

Nepal deploys Army unit to construct Maharashtra: Darchula-Tinkar Road Project Sadhu among two Kathmandu: Nepal Army has deployed a ‘section plus’ unit near Ghantibagar of Darchula district for construction of 87 kilometres section of road under Mahakali corridor or the Darchula-Tinkar Road Project.

The government had decided to entrust Nepal Army with construction project. “The ministers

during a meeting on April 26 had decided to deploy a section plus force of Nepal Army with required equip-

ment to build 87 kilometres section of the road.

A mule track which falls under road section will have a width of 2 meters & 450 meters length,” Nepal Army said. The Govt of Nepal in 2008 had sanctioned various contractors to build on-road which would run parallel with India border on Dharchula side, separated

by Mahakali River. —ANI

Many states have so far made it mandatory for travelers to go on quarantine and these are Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Assam , Uttarakhand, Goa, Jammu Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar, Kerala, Odisha, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

In the midst of uncertainty and confusion, representatives of airlines and several states held multiple meetings with top officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry on Sunday covering a range of contentious

issues like quarantine rules for flyers and standard operating procedures for leading airports, officials said.

Officials said the first flight on Monday is scheduled to depart from Mumbai for Patna at 4.20 am. Similarly, the first flight from Delhi airport would depart for Kolkata at 4.30 am.

Both flights are from IndiGo airline. At the same time, they did not rule out a change in the schedule if the West Bengal government unilaterally decides not to allow flight operations. —Agency inputs

FROM PG 1 G’nagar ‘given’...

The situation has become such that Jayanti Ravi, the principal secretary (health), has stopped briefing the media in person. Instead, the department sends out a press release. The change came after the Gujarat high court pulled up Ravi over the situation in Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital. Some eight cases have been reported from Yadunath Lane and Piru Singh Lane of the Army cantonment area. Authorities have quarantined jawans and their families living in these areas.

One more front line

‘NO RELAXATION IN CONTAINMENT ZONES’

ogya Setu app will be mandatory. Further, all inbound passengers shall be advised to download Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices, and at the time of boarding the flight or ship, only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board after thermal screening. —PTI

Domestic air... and 25 landings per day for domestic flights from Mumbai. This number will be increased gradually. State govt will issue details and guidelines in this regard soon.

killed in Nanded Mumbai: Two persons, including a sadhu, were found murdered in Nanded district of Maharashtra Saturday night. Sadhu Shivacharya Rudra of Pashupati Math was found murdered inside his ashram, while the body of Bhagwan Shinde was found near a school in the area.

The Nanded police said a local villager and follower of sadhu, identified as Sainath Langote, was behind the two murders and, prima facie, the motive seemed to be robbery.

The accused has a case of murder and molestation registered against him. SP, Nanded, Vijaykumar Magar said that the incident took place on Saturday when Langote went to the Pashupati Math. He went inside the private room where the sadhu was taking rest and threw chilli powder on him before a fight broke out between the two, Magar said.

“Langote throttled

Incident of the brutal murder of a Sadhu and other Sevekari in Nanded district is shocking and painful.

My heartfelt tributes.

—Devendra Fadnavis, Former Maharashtra CM

him to death. He then took laptop, money of sadhu. He also dragged sadhu’s body to latter’s four-wheeler in order to dispose it off. However, the vehicle got stuck at entrance of ashram & some followers saw this. They suspected that Langote was stealing four-wheeler and rushed down,” Magar said. —Agencies

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020

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07

PLANE CABINS ARE HAVENS FOR GERMS

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS FORCING AIRLINES TO LOOK CLOSELY AT THEIR HYGIENE PRACTICES. BUT AIRCRAFT CABINS WERE HAVENS FOR GERMS LONG BEFORE THE CORONAVIRUS CAME ALONG

Q

a n t a s has unveiled a range of p re c a u tions to guard passengers against COVID-19. The safety measures expected to be rolled out on June 12 include contactless check-in, hand sanitiser at departure gates, and optional masks and sanitising wipes on board.

Controversially, however, there will

FOOD AND THE KITCHEN

be no physical distancing on board, because Qantas claims it is too expensive to run half-empty flights.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing airlines to look closely at their hygiene practices. But aircraft cabins were havens for germs long before the coronavirus came along. The good news is there are some simple ways on-board hygiene can be improved.

ircraft kitchen areas A should be as far as possible from toilets.

Male and female toilets should be separated because, due to the way men and women use the bathroom, male bathrooms are more likely to have droplets of urine splash outside the toilet bowl. Child toilets and change rooms should be separate as well.

Food trolleys should be covered with a sterile plastic sheet during service as they come close

COMMON SENSE PRECAUTIONS s an environmental A microbiologist I have observed, in general, a

gradual loss of quality in hygiene globally.

Airports and aircrafts have crammed ever larger numbers of passengers into ever smaller economy-class seats.

Although social distancing can’t do much in a confined cabin space – as the virus is reported to be able to travel eight metres — wearing face masks (viral ones in particular) and practising hand hygiene remain crucial.

Since microorganisms are invisible, it is hard to

combat such a powerful enemy. During flights, I have observed a vast array of unwitting mistakes made by flight crew and passengers.

Some crew staff would go to the bathroom to push overflowing paper towels down into the bins, exit without washing their hands and continue to serve food and drinks.

We have the technology for manufacturers to install waste bins where paper towels can be shredded, disinfected and disposed of via suction, as is used in the toilets.

Moreover, all aircraft

to seated passengers who could be infected.

And to allow traffic flow in the corridor, trolleys should not be placed near toilets. At times I have seen bread rolls in a basket with a nice white napkin, with the napkin touching the toilet door.

Also, blankets should not be used if the bags have been opened, and pillows should have their own sterile bags.

Use gloves when handling non-disposable food service items.

waste bins should operate with pedals to prevent hand contamination.

Also, pilots should not share bathrooms with passengers, as is often the case. Imagine the consequences if pilots became infected and severely ill during a long flight, to the point of not being able to fly. Who would land the plane?

For instance, the highly transmissible norovirus, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, can manifest within 12 hours of exposure. So for everyone’s safety, pilots should have their own bathroom.

I

n March, luggage handlers were infected with COVID-19 at Adelaide Airport.

As a passenger, you should avoid placing your hand luggage on the seats while reaching into overhead lockers. There’s a chance your luggage was placed on a contaminated surface before you

MIND YOUR LUGGAGE entered the plane, such as on a public bathroom floor.

Be wary of using the seat pocket in front of you. Previous passengers may have placed dirty (or infected) tissues there. So keep this in mind when using one to

hold items such as your passport, or glasses, which come close to your eyes (through which SARS-CoV-2 can enter the body).

Also, safety cards in seat pockets should be disposable and should be replaced after each flight.

In facing the COVID-19 crisis, it’s important to remember that unless an antiviral drug or a vaccine is found, this virus could come back every year.

On many occasions, microbiologists have warned of the need for more microbiology litera-

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

cy among the public. Yet, too often their calls are dismissed as paranoia, or being overly cautious.

But now’s the time to listen, and to start taking precaution. For all we know, there may be even more dangerous superbugs breeding around us – ones we’ve simply yet to encounter.

CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI

DESIGN: ABHISHEK SHARMA

Greetings on the pious occasion of Eid Al-Fitr. Eid is a day of sharing what we have and caring for others. Joy and happiness to all!

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020

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08

Pradhan gets Patnaik to ‘cosy-up’ to union government Union Petroleum Minister Pradhan was instrumental in bringing PM to Bhubaneshwar and to announce `500 cr relief package Vaishali New Delhi: Two days back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the cyclone-affected areas of Odisha and announced a Rs 500 crore relief package for the state.

To the common man, it could appear as the ‘cause and effect’ principle. There was a cyclone (cause)

that rained havoc on the people of the tribal state and in its effect, PM Modi travelled there. However, what people do not know is the background of the visit i.e. who made a recommendation to Modi to carry the serial survey.

Highly placed sources in the union government inform that it was

—FILE PHOTO

Dharmendra Pradhan with Naveen Patnaik

none other than the CM contender from Odisha,

current Petroleum Minister Dharmen-

dra Pradhan who recommended to PM. Political observers believe that Pradhan was the ‘architect’ of PM’s visit, giving further impetus to the established fact that he is extremely close to both PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

But how did he gain the trust of probably the most active political

A MONTH BEFORE MONSOONS, DENGUE FEAR LOOMS LARGE Gujarat reported the highest over 16,000 dengue cases in the country in 2019 First India Bureau

STRICT REMINDER

Cases Deaths

CITY

DENGUE 2019

804/01

Total :4,331/13 351/02

332

24

18

72

April

May

June

July

115

Oct

30

Aug

26

Sept

42

March

May

June

34

Feb

April

Total :3,135/04 Jan

March

Dec

Feb

125

Oct

12

Nov

13

Sept

08

Aug

07

July

18

DENGUE 2018

309

137 11

899/04

Dec

CITY

1234

Nov

1436/08

1409/02

Jan

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has not only pulled up the State Government for various aspects of its handling of the corona crisis, but in a 142-page interim judgment in a bunch of PILs it has also asked the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to ensure early preparations for the monsoons.

The high court’s directives are not out of sync with the situation, given that monsoon diseases like dengue and malaria had created a scare in Ahmedabad city in particular and the rest of the State in general during the last two years with numbers crossing four digits.

A division bench of the Gujarat High

Cases Deaths

—INFOGRAPHIC : MURLIDHAR SHARMA

Court comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice IJ Vora reminded the Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner that since monsoon may set in by June 21, the AMC should not ignore or fail to initiate pre-monsoon measures that may include prevent water-logging. This is to ensure, the judges said, diseases like dengue and malaria

do not spread, along with the coronavirus.

The apprehensions raised by the high court have basis in the fact that Ahmedabad city already accounts for as many as 75 per cent of the total nearly 14,000 Covid-19 cases in Gujarat and any other health calamity could lead to serious consequences.

There was a threefold rise in dengue deaths in Ahmedabad

in 2019 as against 2018, even when these cases were on the higher side.

The number of dengue cases in Ahmedabad city alone last year recorded an increase of 38 per cent over 2018. AMC figures show that from January 1 to December 7, 2019, 4,331 cases of dengue were reported against 3,135 in the whole of 2018.

What is more, Guja-

rat topped the list of total dengue cases at 16,565 between January 1 and December 7 last year, followed by Karnataka with 15,929 cases.

minds of our nation.

One word: ‘Hardwork’.

Apart from being an effective party worker, what outshone him among the horde of ministers, was his success in taking the petroleum ministry to each and every rural household. Sounds bizarre?

Well, the ministry, that was like a ‘honeycomb’ for big corporate ‘bees’, bolstered its image

First India Bureau

As many as 132 people on Sunday landed at the Ahmedabad international airport from UK. They have been flied home under the Vande Bharat Missions. In all, the flight carried 323 Indians.

Latur: A man and his relative were killed in the early hours of Sunday in Latur in Maharashtra in a mob attack after they asked a Gujarat-returnee truck driver to get quarantined.

Police said the incident happened around 2.30 a.m. in Bolegaon village in Nilanga tehsil, over 275 kilometres from here.

“Driver Vidyaman Baramde, who lives in Mumbai, returned to Bolegaon from Gujarat and deceased Shahaji

accompanied PM Modi for the aerial tour. While the Prime Minister took Pradhan along in the flight, it is his local politics and charisma that has ultimately resulted in BJD leader and CM Patnaik tweeting his thanks and stressing that BJD and BJP will work together for the people of Odisha.

Shramik train meant for Bihar reaches Odisha!

First India Bureau Surat: The challenge for migrant workers stuck in different parts of the country after the lockdown is not just to get a transport, the hardship continues even after getting a train to go home. This is one such case.

A Shramik Special train that started from Surat for Sivan in Bihar at 4 a.m. on May 22, instead reached Rourkela in Odisha. The labourers realised it later.

Also, during the 30-hour journey to Rourkela, the passengers did not even get water or anything to eat. The train was expected to reach Sivan in Bihar at 12 noon on Sunday.

The train ran smoothly till

2 killed for asking Gujarat driver to get quarantined

HOME SWEET HOME

among the rural lot through PM Ujjawala Yojna. Effective implementation of the scheme providing free cylinder to over six crore people, according to BJP’s ‘think tank’, proved immensely beneficial for the party in the 2019 general elections.

Cut to two days back, when Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik

Patil asked him to get home quarantined.

However, Baramde went to his sister’s place in Chandori village and returned with a mob which thrashed Patil (50) and his relative Vaibhav (24), both of whom died in the attack,” a police officer said.

The official said a murder case had been registered and eight people have been detained.

A Shramik Special train headed for Bihar left the passengers zapped when it reached Rourkela in Odisha instead

Bhusaval in Maharashtra and then took the passengers to Chhattisgarh before reaching them to Rourkela in Odisha. The destination, Sivan in Bihar, is a good 600 km from Rourkela.

Besides this, the Railways may be praised for the special trains it runs for the workers but the condition of the passengers is said to be pathetic.

A passenger on the train said that, “We carried 20 litres of water, which finished within a few hours. After that, we did not have enough water to drink and anything to eat on the way.”

Thus, the passengers had to travel more than 500 km and suffer with 10 hours of hassle which has caused a great deal of resentment against the railway officials.

@ahmedpatel The observations of the Hon’ble Gujarat High Court on the conduct of the state government & present situation in public hospitals are extremely worrisome. It should serve as an eye opener for the government Eid Mubarak! I convey my heartiest greetings on the occasion of Id-ul-Fitr Compassion & Solidarity is the true spirt of Eid Let us dedicate this Eid to assist all those who have endured grave suffering due to this pandemic.

Knowledge is gained from books, experience...from life : Justice RS Chauhan Nizam Kantaliya Jaipur : With the lockdown in effect and social distancing being the order of the day, the Rajasthan Bar Council held the ninth session of webinar on Sunday during which Chief Justice of Telangana High Court - Justice RS Chauhan address the seminar on criminal appeals and the art of argument in court. Addressing advocates, Justice Chauhan said that there is always a difference in knowledge and

experience. “We can take knowledge from books and life is what gives us experiences,” Justice Chauhan said.

“There are a few principals of criminal law of which the first principal is of common law, which states that every person is innocent. “To prove him guilty is the responsibility of state government. Every person is responsible for their action but sometimes there are circumstances where one person can be termed responsible for others’ action. IPC’s sec-

Telangana HC Chief Justice RS Chauhan during the webinar.

tion 34 and 35 mention this and thus advocates should know about it,” the Telangana Chief Justice, who started his career in 1983 as an advocate, said.

Justice Chauhan stressed that before any action can be termed criminal, two facts related to it need to be studied. First, what is the action that

has been taken for example a theft or rape.

And second, what is the mindset or psychology of the accused which we also term as intention, rationale or knowledge, he said.

“However, there are some actions which are devoid of mindset or intention for example kidnapping, rape, socioeconomic offence.

Crimes are of several types like some are related to property like theft and dacoity, some are associated with per-

son like rape and harassment and murder, some are against the country like treason.

There are some crimes against judiciary as well like giving false statement while under oath. CRPC also also details crimes as bailable or non-bailable, cognizable or non-cognizable and then there are special laws like POCSO and others,” Justice Chauhan said.

The former judge of Rajasthan and Karnataka High Courts also said that an advocate, new to

the field, faces most difficulty in preparation of criminal appeal. He suggested that start should be from FIR because that is the base for the prosecution and they can not deviate from it. After reading the FIR, find out which sections does the crime fall in and then study the ingredients of this section, go through the facts of the case and read the judgement after reading the FIR and facts. “when you go through these points, the ambit

og appeal becomes large. Focus on contradictory statements.

Study the post-mortem report, narcotics report and keep in mind the FSL report. Corroborate how much help you can gather from prosecution. A Fauzdari advocate is master of facts and if he does not know the facts of the case, his arguments become weak.

Even personal appearance also matters of any advocate,” CJ Justice Chauhan told advocates.

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD, MONDAY MAY 25, 2020

MUBARAK

Regardless of the lockdown, dressing up is a definite must in Eid, and City First briefs you about the looks you can go for this year, and look your best on the special day!

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

T

oday is the occasion of Eid, and there are many people who have been eagerly waiting for this day. Being a grand occasion every year, things have slowed down a bit this time, due to the unfortunate events that lead to a two-month lockdown.

But that won’t stop the spread of love and positivity, and Eid is going to be celebrated today between the families, in full swing.

The three main elements because of which Eid is looked forward to are dressing up, food, and of course being together with the loved ones. Everyone is going to dress up in the best way possible and looking their best, the households are going to have Sheer Khurma and Biryani among other things, ready to be hogged on to, and everyone is going to be with their loved ones- some being physically together, and some virtually.

City First spoke to a few of its readers in Rajasthan and Gujarat regarding the Eid looks to go for this year!

“Eid is incomplete without the festive wears like Sharara, Lehengas, Kurtas, Sarees and amazing Hijabs.

Life is short and we should make every outfit count,” said Ekta Thirani from Jaipur. Samreen Khan from Jodhpur shared, “Dressing up for a change can brighten up the day and we feel can feel festive all day long. I did not forget to dress up this Eid. I personally loved to wear my garara suit, which is in trend from years and till the day with colourful glass bangles.”

“No new clothes this year, but maybe I can mix and match to create a cool ensemble that will probably include a mask,” stated Arwa Taksali from Ahmedabad. Khushboo Nadaf from the same city shared, “Unfortunately, the lockdown means no shopping. So I’ll be

reusing the stuff I already have in the closet. I am planning to wear a plain white kurta and add a bright coloured scarf. Full glam make-up with some elegant jewellery will complete the look.”

09

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AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020

10

BHAR DO JHOLI MERI

SONGS DEPICTING THE FESTIVE SPIRIT OF EID HAVE BEEN POPULAR SINCE LONG IN BOLLYWOOD. CITY FIRST SHARES A FEW SONGS YOU CAN PUT AND LISTEN TO TODAY AS WE IMMERSE OURSELVES IN THE CELEBRATION OF EID AL-FITR!

Song: Kun Faya Kun Movie: Rockstar

Song: Jumme Ki Raat Movie: Kick

Song: Bhar Do Jholi Meri Movie: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Song: Aaj Ki Party Movie: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Salman Khan

Song: Khwaja Mere Khwaja Movie: Jodhaa Akbar Song: Allah Hi Reham Movie: My Name Is Khan

Song: Yoon Shabnami Movie: Saawariya

FA CE OF TH ED AY

Song: Mubarak Eid Mubarak Movie: Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge

Aamir Khan

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Professionally all the hard work that you have done in the past will pay you now and that will give a boost to your career. You may try other options to make money and create your strong financial standing.

Please take care of your health. Be careful while negotiating.

Before taking up any other work in hands, focus and prioritise getting things in order at your workplace. In social life, the initiative that you took in the past with give fruitful results.

You can expect a result at home who will fill your environment with positivity. It is a celebration time.

You are very innovative and full of ideas at your workplace. Be prudent by starting to save right from now because too many expenses at hand may leave you with hardly any money in your bank account. The member of your family may be need of medical help.

You may not be brave enough to see eye to eye with a senior but you will surely handle the situation tactfully. Academically your hard work and persistence will pay you.

There will be peace at home as you have a positive outlook now. You will spend quality time with someone.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You will work towards something that is not easily doable but with consistent efforts you will keep moving ahead. Do not take your work for granted thinking it to be a cakewalk as any negligence will make you put in triple efforts. You family member may expect you to join them.

You will stop poking your nose in other people’s business. You may not be in the mood today to take up a responsibility as you know you may not be able to fulfil it. Academically your hard work will pay and you will get what you want. Rejoice as family outing is on the cards.

If you are self employed then you may plan to get into an allied field for better results. Academically you may need to try very hard for your chances to increase. In social life someone may target you and make you the subject of their gossip, so be careful.

Please show support to a younger in your family to increase their performance level on academic front.

You may get time for leisure pursuits totally supported by your firm. You may get your receivables from someone to whom you loaned the money.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Do not allow any one’s intervention if you are assigned a duty to organise any event or function.

Government employees can to be subjected to the scrutiny by those in authority. It can be extremely difficult for you to forgive the one who has done wrong to you in the past.

Do not be bias towards who needs to be pulled up for the sake of improvement. You find a friend and a guide in your family elder so listen to their wise words. You may throw a party for the closed ones at your place. Relatives may brighten up your environment.

To avoid any humiliation please take your tasks seriously. Adopt a helping attitude and assist people who are in need. On academic front you will achieve all your desired goals.

You may travel abroad to meet your close ones. You will get good results if you are planning to buy or sell.

Try your give your best at work if you want to impress yours seniors. You may get the opportunity to travel abroad. If you are thinking of buying a house or property then go ahead you will surely get the loan or the resources you are looking for.

Tensions at home will be perceptible.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

ANMOL BHATIA, Influencer

Song: Wallah Re Wallah Movie: Tees Maar Khan

Shah Rukh Khan

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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I

ndian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s latest post on social media draws a funny comparison between “expectation vs. reality”. Priyanka took to Instagram, where she shared two photographs of herself, in which she quipped about how expectation looked like and how it was in real life. In the first image, ‘The Sky Is Pink’ actress is seen sporting a glamorous blush pink monokini paired with sunglasses.

In the second image, Priyanka is seen in a white crochet skirt and crop top, with her face covered with a white cloth.

She captioned it: “Expectation vs. Reality @divya_jyoti.

—IANS

AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020

11

Expectation vs

REALITY

Priyanka Chopra Jonas; (inset) Her posts

Uncertain

TIMES!

T

Jennifer Lopez

Safety FIRST

A

ctress-singer Jennifer Lopez is thinking about safety first, instead of going back to working on sets. The Hollywood star says a lot of people are contemplating ways to go back to work safely after the pandemic, but she has no clue how that would play out. “We all have to think about safety first. You don’t want to create a situation where a bunch of people could get sick or die,” Lopez said, asked when she would feel safe to go back to working on set. “I think there are just going to have to be big procedures in place, whether it’s testing everybody before they get on a project and then tests throughout production. I think crews for a while will be much smaller than they usually are. But this is just me speculating because I have no idea. I know studios are working hard, TV and movies, on how to get back to work because so many people are out of work,” she added.

—IANS

he fear of uncertainty has hit everyone hard as the world has come to a standstill due to the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Actress Yami Gautam says she doesn’t know when film shoots will resume because even after the lockdown is lifted, it doesn’t look like COVID-19 will be contained. How does she see the future of the entertainment industry post-pandemic and in what ways will the industry change? “Budgets are going to be reworked. Already the proposed films that most of us were to be part of, are looking at reworked budgets and mediums, with theatres being shut and with no idea when they’ll open. Of course, the mid-budget films have an opportunity to opt for digital platforms,” Yami said. She says she is only being offered work that is set for the web space.

“Films are coming my way with the proposal that it’s for the digital platform.

This shift is already happening. We don’t know when we’re going to resume shooting because even after the lockdown is lifted, it doesn’t look like the coronavirus will be contained,” she said.

—IANS Yami Gautam

MOST

Difficult

SHOT!

S

inger Ellie Goulding says her parents’ divorce made her cynical about marriage for a long time. During the ‘Table Manners’ podcast, the singer opened up about how her parents’ divorce affected her. The ‘Love me like you do’ hitmaker got married to art dealer Caspar Jopling last year. She admitted that she became disillusioned with the idea of wedding because of her parents’ break-up. “I had quite a few outfits because I was really shameless for my wedding. Since I was a girl, I would draw pictures of girls in wedding dresses, in ball gowns. I always said to myself, ‘if I ever get married’ which I was really cynical about for a long time because my parents divorced.

A lot of my childhood friends’ parents divorced also, so I was never really a big fan of it,” she said.

—IANS

Cynical about MARRIAGE!

Ellie Goulding

Urvashi Rautela

A

ctress and former beauty queen Urvashi Rautela has shared that she was once shouted at for not knowing how to smoke a cigar. Urvashi took to Instagram, where she shared a video of herself from a shoot.

In the clip, she is seen struggling to smoke a cigar. Calling it the most difficult shot, Urvashi captioned the video: “#BTS#mostdifficultshot #cig ar#selflearntin5seconds#nons mokerforlife P.S. I was shouted

... her post

at for not knowing how to smoke a cigar SMOKING IS INJURIOUS FOR HEALTH.” On the work front, Urvashi’s next is ‘Virgin Bhanupriya’, which is the latest Bollywood film to confirm a release on an OTT platform, bypassing a traditional theatre opening. ‘Virgin Bhanupriya’ also stars Gautam Gulati, Archana Puran Singh, Delnaaz Irani, Rajiv Gupta and Brijendra Kala, Niki Aneja Walia and Rumana Molla.

—IANS

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

AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020

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Adapting the Change!

A young rider’s perspective on disbandment proposal of 61 Cavalry

MYRA SETHI

I

am sad to know and share with you that one of the oldest and most prestigious units in the Indian Army, the 61st Cavalry Regiment, is being disbanded and now they are to pose as an armoured regiment with tanks. Indian Cavalry, represented by a two-headed eagle, is most noted for its victory in the battle of Haifa, a place in modernday Israel, where many other up-to-date armies had failed to smash some artillery guns and that is the reason why September 23 is celebrated as Haifa Day in the Indian Army every year. This step has been taken by the Government and Army Headquarters to

reduce taxpayers’ money on the feeding and caretaking of horses in the middle of this situation that we’re going through. Though it is disheartening that the 61 Cavalry is no more the world’s only non-traditional working horsed unit, the government’s decision was sensible. It is not practical to spend the taxpayers’ money to make horses affordable with the promise of medals in international events, which the regiment has moderately procured despite these years. Though I hate to admit it, this was bound to happen someday.

This event is concrete proof that our society is overcoming the urge to preserve traditions and memories. It sends a warning to the rest of the eques-

Horse Statue outside the training ground

Myra Sethi, a Colonel’s daughter and a rider

trian world that everything must keep up with the changing times. The notvery-progressive methods of training horses that still prevail in the horse indus-

try including the cavalry could pose a danger against the call of change. If equestrians all over the world fail to evolve their methods of training and manage-

CROONS CORONA

CITY FIRST

AWARENESS

T

he fire brigade of Surat city has made a five-minute video on the precautionary measures to be taken in order to prevent spread of COVID-19 infection. The video, which was re-

corded on a mobile phone, was aimed at creating awareness about the deadly virus and staying safe in these perilous times. A song titled ‘Phir Se Shehro Mein Ronak Aayegi, Ganvo Mein Hansi Lotegi’ is also a part of the video which expresses opti-

FACEBOOK POST!

HAPPY B’DAY!

IPS Hemant Priyadarshi (top) and IPS Devendra Kumar Bishnoi celebrated their birthdays on 24 May, Sunday. We wish them all the best!

ment of horses, it could very well lead to the sport itself being banned forever. It is not yet known what will happen to the 200+ horses, stables, round pens,

horse pools, cross-country courses, polo grounds, jumping and dressage arenas which the cavalry used for a century. I assume that the privately owned horses

It’s all about comfort!

A

Surat fire brigade

CITY FIRST GUJARAT

Myra on Volvo when she won her first medal

will be boarded elsewhere and the land be used for the new purposes.

It is also possible that the rest of the horses will be shifted to Delhi and the whole thing will be reinstated as a horse riding node. I hope they will turn all this existing infrastructure into a node in Jaipur itself, that would mean I can still ride here. If not...

I’ll have to find a way to buy my favourite horse, Shivraj.

Let’s pay a tribute to this eminent Regiment and help it rest in peace by ensuring that its old glory will never be forgotten.

mism that order will be restored in cities and villages.

Talking about the video, chief fire officer Parikh said, “Around 18 employees and six officers of the fire brigade department of the Surat Municipal Cor-

poration have made this public awareness video. Not a single penny has been spent to make this video that underlines the precautions to be taken during this health crisis.

We appeal to people not to spit on public roads, throw used hand gloves in the trash, and use hand sanitizers liberally.”

The video has been made at different fire stations in the city including the Surat Municipal Corporation headquarters. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com

team of researchers at Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bangalore, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, have developed a cup-shaped design (patent filed) of the mask that helps to create enough space in front of the mouth while speaking. It has been transferred to a Bangalore based company for mass production.

This snug fit mask causes no speech distortion, no fogging on glasses, and indeed, packs well all around, leaving practically no room for leakage while

Comfortable face mask designed

by CeNS could encourage the public to use it for long hours

good design should minimize the feeling of intrusion and leakage around the edges, but maximize the ease of breathing and talking while holding its place,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST. With the increase of active COVID cases in India and other countries, usage of face masks has been advised for the general public.

While the healthcare professionals can use the special and high technical quality medical masks, for the general public, a mask with moderate filtering efficiency should suffice. It should be comfortable to wear to encourage the public to wear it for long hours.

breathing. Another important advantage is its high breathability allowing one to wear it without any discomfort. Further, the researchers have chosen the fabric layers such that there is a possibility of deactivating pathogens sheerly by the electric charges that may prevail under mild

friction due to the triboelectric nature of the fabric. These advancedlevel tests are being carried out.

“While an ergonomic design for COVID-19 protection mask is essential for its ease of use for long hours, it is often not paid much attention beyond a few standard designs. A

Rajasthan: Health Minister Dr. Raghu Sharma and Sagar Sharma accepted the ration products donated by Akshay Patra Foundation for 350 families of Kekri, Ajmer.

Dr Raghu Sharma has been closely monitoring the situation in his constituency and ensuring that all help is given to the needy in his constituency, Sagar has also been coordinating with the local administration and NGO’s for this too.

Rajasthan: During the ongoing 3-day online learning series, ‘The Show Must Go On’, organised by Jairangam Theatre Lab, an interaction was held on Sunday with renowned artists Actor Puneet Issar, who is known for playing the character of Duryodhan on-screen, and Director Atul Satya Koushik, who has Directed plays like Ramayan, The Legend of Ram and more.

During the session, the artists discussed their love for theatre and their takings from the theatre world.

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

Rajasthan: On the occasion of the Martyr’s Day of the 5th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Arjan Dev, the 40th day ‘virtual’ prayers were held on ‘Google Duo’ on Sunday.

All the devotees of Sri Sukhmani Seva Society, Gurudwara Nehru Nagar, wore white as a mark of respect. Although, for the past forty days, such ‘virtual’ prayers are being held every afternoon by the society members.

‘Virtual’ Ardaas was also held after the ‘Sukhmani Sahib path’. In each household the traditional ‘prasad’ of ‘Kalaa channa’ and ‘meetha sherbet’ was made and distributed today among the family members and neighbours.

Gujarat: Social distancing stickers line the floor at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport terminal against the backdrop of a replica of the Teen Darwaza, as part of preparations for the resumption of domestic flight services after a twomonth standstill.

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

Gujarat: A man dries rows of sevaiyya (vermicelli), ahead of Eid celebrations, in Kalupur area of Ahmedabad on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Rajasthan: To spread awareness about menstrual hygiene among the women living in the Jawahar Nagar slum area, Shilp Srijan Foundation distributed 5000 sanitary napkins on Sunday.