OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
CORONA
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ALERT AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 270
COVID-19 UPDATE
WORLD
8,19,523 2,39,24,225 DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA 22,794 DEATHS 7,03,823 CASES
CONFIRMED CASES
TAMIL NADU 6,721 DEATHS 3,91,303 CASES
INDIA
GUJARAT
59,608 32,31,522 2,930 DEATHS
KARNATAKA 4,958 DEATHS 2,91,826 CASES
CONFIRMED CASES
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DEATHS
DELHI 4,330 DEATHS 1,64,071 CASES
88,942
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN 980 DEATHS 73,325 CASES
PUBLIC’S AGAINST COVID
The alert citizens of the holy town of Pushkar have stepped forward to voluntarily impose a three-day lockdown from Tuesday onwards in a move to break the chain of coronavirus infection. Only essential services like medical, grocery and milk will be allowed. Seen here is a deserted view of holy Pushkar Sarovar on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY HIMANSHU SHARMA
India deploys missiles near LAC in Ladakh New Delhi: Against the backdrop of the activities of the Chinese helicopters close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, Indian forces have deployed troops equipped with shoulder-fired air defence missiles on the crucial heights there. “Indian troops armed with the Russian-origin Igla air defence system have been deployed on the crucial heights along the border to take care of any enemy aircraft trying to violate the Indian air space there,” sources told ANI here. The Russian-origin air defence systems are used by both the Indian Army and the Air Force and are supposed to be used when the enemy fighter jets or choppers come close to own loca-
India is keeping a close watch on Hotan, Gar Gunsa, Kashghar, Hopping, Dkonka Dzong, Linzhi and Pangat airbases of PLAAF.
Indian troops armed with the Russianorigin Igla air defence system have been deployed on the crucial heights along the border to take care of any enemy aircraft trying to violate the Indian air space there —Sources tions or deployments during hostilities. The India side has also enhanced its surveillance through the de-
ployment of radars and surface to air missile systems to keep track of the enemy air movement there. Turn to P6
Pilot Project: Cong panel meets sans decision
PULWAMA TERROR ATTACK
Aditi Nagar
Jammu: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday filed a charge sheet against Masood Azhar Alvi and 18 others in an NIA court in Jammu in connection with the Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. According to NIA sources, the 13,500 page chargesheet has named several Pakistani nationals as accused in the case. Those named as accused include Pakistani nationals Masood Azhar Alvi, Rouf Asgar Alvi, Ammar Alvi, Mohd Ismail, Muhammad Umar Farooq, Mohd Kamran Ali, and Qari Yasir. Notably, the chargesheet named six accused who have already been killed. Others named in the FIR
New Delhi: With several ‘challenges’ facing the grand old party, it appears that party leadership has started an exercise to address the issue and in this connection the three member committee on Rajasthan issues that included Ahmed Patel, Venugopal and Ajay Maken conducted its first meet on the subject on Tuesday evening. Although the meeting lasted for a good time, no concrete decision has been taken and further action now depends on Ajay Maken’s 3-4 day tour of Jaipur in this respect.
NIA chargesheet against Masood Azhar, 18 others
include Shakir Bashir, Insha Jan, Peer Tariq Ahmed Shah, Mohd Abbas Rather, Bilal Ahmed Kuchhey, Mudasir Ahmad Khan, Sameer Ahmad Dar, Ashaq Ahmed Nengroo, and Adil Ahmed Dar, all residents of Pulwama district. Srinagar resident Waiz-ul-Islam, Budgam resident Mohd Iqbal Rather and Sajjad
Ahmed Bhat from Anantnag district were also named in the chargesheet. In July, the NIA had informed that it has arrested the seventh accused named, Bilal Ahmed Kuchey, whom the agency has termed as “a terror associate” on July 5. According to the agency, Kuchey a resident of Hajibal, Kakapora, Jammu and Kashmir, runs a sawmill at his place and harboured and extended logistic support to the Jaish-eMohammad (JeM) terrorists involved in the Pulwama attack. The main perpetrators in the case stayed in his house and Kuchey further introduced them Turn to P6
Unlock 4: Metro, single screen halls may open New Delhi: To increase economic activities and employment opportunities, Centre is considering to give a breather to various sectors in Unlock 4. According to sources, government may give some more relaxations but its implementation in the respective states or UT will be done on the basis of assessment conducted by state governments. So far, the government has received various suggestions for allowing local rail/metro, allowing single theatre cinema halls, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places. But, the final decision of allowing these activities is yet to be taken. Turn to P6
‘GSDMA not updated since July 21 in attempt to hide crop damage’ Heavy rains dents kharif crops in Saurashtra, northern Gujarat, and central Gujarat Gargi Raval Gandhinagar: The state, which has been experiencing heavy rains, is staring down the barrel of another kharif crop failure. While the consensus is that most parts of the state have received excessive rains, farmers are not aware of exactly how much
it has rained since the official website has not been updated in over a month. According to farmers’ leaders, the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority has not updated its rain figures since July 21 intentionally, so that government does not have to pay them compensation for their losses.
A screengrab from the GSDMA website, showing that rain data has not been updated in more than a month.
According to Gujarat’s directorate of agriculture, 97.74%
sowing has been done across the state in 82,98,371 hectares as
kharif crop. In Saurashtra and north Gujarat, sowing for
the main crops of groundnut and cotton has reached 134% and 85.14%, respectively. The farmer leaders alleged that in Saurashtra, north Gujarat, and central Gujarat there is heavy damage to crops. “As a farmer, I know most of the crops have been washed away in the deluge. There is no hope to harvest groundnut and cotton in most parts of Saurashtra. The state has announced a relief package for farmers, but this is nothing but
eyewash,” said Pal Ambaliya, chief of Congress Kisan Cell. He further said that, for the last five years, there was an issue of getting crop insurance money. “Last year, we exposed a huge scam: the nexus between the insurance party and the BJP government regarding payment. So, this year, they have abolished the insurance scheme,” Ambaliya told First India. Under the Gujarat Kisan Sahay Scheme
(which replaced all previous insurance schemes), benefits provided to the farmers if there crop loss 30% to 60%. Mukhyamantri Kisan Sahay Yojana (MKSY) provides Rs20,000 rupees to the beneficiaries per hectare. And farmers will get protection against natural calamities like droughts, and excessive or un-seasonal rain during the kharif season. “The benefits under the MKSY depend on how much rain falls in a particular amount of time. Turn to P6