First India-Ahmedabad Edition-28 November 2020

AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

PDP LEADER MEHBOOBA MUFTI HAS ALLEGED THAT SHE HAS BEEN “ILLEGALLY DETAINED YET AGAIN” AND THAT HER DAUGHTER ILTIJA HAS BEEN “PLACED UNDER HOUSE ARREST” OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW 17°C - 31°C

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 4

THREE PERSONS WERE KILLED AND 10 OTHERS INJURED WHEN A PRIVATE BUS TRAVELLING FROM DELHI TO JAIPUR CAUGHT FIRE AFTER COMING IN CONTACT WITH A HIGH-TENSION POWER LINE www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

DELHI OPENS DOORS FOR FARMERS

DILLI CHALO REQUEST DENIED The Delhi government denied request of police to convert stadiums into temporary jails for agitating farmers marching towards national capital.

Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain said, “The demands of the farmers are genuine. The Central government should accept the demands of farmers immediately.”

BKU (Ugrahan) activists break police barricades as they arrive at the Dabwali border of Punjab and Haryana border during their Delhi Chalo protest against Centres new farm laws, in Sirsa district on Friday.

—PHOTOS BY PTI

New Delhi: Thousands of farmers were allowed to enter Delhi today for a planned protest against new farm laws after a morning of clashes with the police at the border with Haryana. Even after the Delhi Police announced that they could enter, escorted by cops, teargassing and water sprays continued, apparently to control

crowds. Some farmers were reportedly injured in the action.

Groups of farmers, walking with tractors carrying food and essential supplies, had been trying to enter Delhi from multiple points, defying barricades, many wrapped in barbed wire, and trenches dug up near key roads. Farmers’ organisations said they

had been “given safe passage” into Delhi and allowed to protest at a ground in Burari near the capital’s outskirts.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal said that the farmers were headed to the Burari ground after their demand to hold their protest at the Ramlila Ground was rejected by the Delhi Police.

PM Modi on 3-city visit today to

review Covid vaccine development PM will visit the Zydus Biotech in Ahmedabad, Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and Serum Institute of India in Pune New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a threecity visit on Saturday to “personally review the (coronavirus) vaccine development & manufacturing process”, said Prime Minister’s Office

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

on Friday.

He will visit the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad, Bharat Bi-

otech in Hyderabad and Serum Institute of India in Pune, PMO said.

“As India enters a de-

cisive phase of the fight against COVID-19, PM Modi’s visit to these facilities & discussions with the scientists will help him get a first hand perspective of the preparations, challenges & roadmap in India’s endeavour to vaccinate its citizens,” said PMO in an official statement.

Zydus Cadila’s plant is situated at Changodar industrial area near Ahmedabad city.

The drug maker had earlier announced that the phase-I clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Turn to P6

Thanking the authorities for granting permission for the protest, a farmer told ANI, “We’ve crossed about 10 barriers on our way.

We’re thankful to the administration for giving us permission to protest. We’re happy and only want a peaceful resolution to the issue.”

Earlier, Police fired several rounds of tear gas at some places on

GDP contracts 7.5 per cent New Delhi: India’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 7.5 per cent in the July-September period, as the economy rebounded from a record slump of 23.9 per cent in the previous quarter due to slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Friday’s data confirms the economy’s first technical recession - which is two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction - since 1996, when the country began quarterly records.

A security person and a farmer clash as protestors attempt to cross Singhu Border during Delhi Chalo march, in New Delhi on Friday.

the outskirts of Delhi and used water cannons. Some protesters were seen throwing stones as large groups pressed against barricades, waving flags and sticks. Several farmers were injured and taken to hospitals at a border point called Singhu.

A confrontation between farmers and Delhi police went on for more than five hours at

various points of entry from Haryana. Sandladen trucks and barbed wire barricades were placed to stop farmers from entering the capital for their “Delhi Chalo” protest.

Meanwhile Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said, “Though the central government has allowed the farmers to enter Turn to P6

‘END PROTEST, COME AND TALK’ Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday requested farmers to end protest. “The government has always been ready to discuss issues with farmers. We have invited farmers’ organisations for another round of talks on 3rd December,” said the Agriculture Minister.

HC: Kangana’s bungalow razed in

“malice”, she will get damages Mumbai: In a setback to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the Bombay High Court on Friday held that the demolition at the office of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut was with malafide intent.

A division bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and RI Chagla set aside the BMC notices dated September 7 and 9 issued to Kangana Ranaut and directed that a valuer be appointed to ascertain the damages caused due to the demolition.

“The valuer will submit a report to the court after which it will pass an order Turn to P6

MUM MAYOR TO MEET BMC LEGAL TEAM Mumbai: Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Friday said that she will hold a meeting with the legal team of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to assess the Bombay High Court’s order in Kangana Ranaut case. “What we did was according to municipal rules. I haven’t seen the court order, will go through it,” Pednekar told reporters here.

FIRE IN RAJKOT HOSP CLAIMS 5 COVID-19 PATIENTS CM Rupani orders probe, to be led by ACS AK Rakesh, into tragedy that comes months after Shrey Hospital fire killed 8 in Ahmedabad First India Bureau Rajkot: Five COVID-19 patients died after a fire broke out in the ICU ward of a designated COVID-19 hospital here in Rajkot on Friday. The Supreme Court took note of the incident and national leaders including President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and for-

mer president of the Indian National Congress Rahul Gandhi condoled the deaths. However, city mayor Bina Acharya chose to term it a “natural disaster” and focused her efforts on lauding the fire brigade for “preventing the incident from taking a bigger shape.”

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who is also the state’s health

minister, said that 26 patients had been rescued from the Uday Shivanand Hospital, and shifted to other facilities. Eleven patients had been admitted at the ICU ward, located on the first floor of the four-storey hospital in the Anand Bungalow Chowk area, where the fire broke out around 12.30 am on Friday.

Turn to P6

PMO India @PMOIndia Extremely pained by the loss of lives due to a hospital fire in Rajkot. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones in this unfortunate tragedy. Praying for a quick recovery of the injured.

The administration is ensuring all possible assistance to those affected: PM

‘COMPELLED TO START NCOV TREATMENT’

Firetenders put out the ‘intense’ blaze within 30 minutes and managed to rescue about 26 patients.

—PHOTO BY CHIRAG CHOTALIYA

Speaking to First India, Satyajeet Khachar, managing trustee of the Shivanand Mission Trust which owns the building in which the hospital is located, said, “We were not keen on starting COVID-19 treatment here. Initially, we were approached by a couple of private people to give the building for Covid-19 patients, but we turned them down. However, when the government approached us, we felt compelled to give space to COVID-19 patients since the numbers were rising.”

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AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

02

SHOCK AND ANGER OVERLAY DESPAIR

AMONG GRIEVING RELATIVES FAMILIES SAY THE HOSPITAL DID NOT EVEN ‘BOTHER TO INFORM’ THEM OF THE TRAGEDY THE VICTIMS

First India Bureau

Congress blames state and RMC for nCoV hospital fire First India Bureau Rajkot: The city unit of the Congress party has blamed the state government and local civic body Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) for the deaths of five COVID-19 patients in the fire that broke out at Shivanand Hospital in the wee hours of Friday.

Addressing the media Congress Rajkot city president Ashok Dangar said, “Despite past occurrences of such incidents at COVID-19 hospitals across Gujarat, the state government does not seem to be interested in learning from its mistakes. This incident is an example of sheer carelessness in part of the government, district collector, RMC and the hospital in question.”

He added, “Even if the hospital had fire safety equipment, it is important to investi-

Rajkot: According to the Gujarat government, the state has achieved a discharge rate of 90.90%. However, the five COVID-19 patients who perished in Friday’s fire at the Uday Shivanand Covid Hospital here in Rajkot will never be among those who walk out of the hospital. Their families are distraught, with many still in shock over the fact that they will never get to speak to their loved ones ever again.

Many had spoken on Thursday night, with promises of speaking again in the morning-a promise that will now remain unfulfilled for all time.

Keshubhai Akbari was to have been discharged from the hospital in two days’ time, his son Vivek told First India, “But now he will

Sanjay Amrutlal Rathod

never come home again.”

Overlaying the shock and despair is a sense of palpable rage.

“The hospital did not even bother to inform us. We received a call from the Malviya Nagar Police Station at 2.20 in the morning, telling us my father was no more.

We rushed to the hospital as soon as we heard, but there was nothing we could do.”

Another relative said, “We suspect that there are no fire safety facilities. We were waiting eagerly for Keshubhai to recover, and all we got was death.”

Sandhyaben, the sis-

Rasik Santilal Agravat

Keshubhai Akbari

Nitin Manilal Badani

Ramsinh Moti Loh

ter of another victim, Sanjaybhai Rathore cannot stop crying.

“Even Rs400 crore cannot justify the loss of my brother,” she said, on the topic of the Rs4 lakh ex-gratia announced by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

The lack of any clarity on what caused the fire is only making things worse.

Ankitbhai, who

lost his father Nitin Manilal Badani in the fire, said the two had talked around 9 pm on Thursday. “Just before we hung up, he said, ‘Now, go to sleep.

We’ll talk again in the morning….' I never even got the chance to say goodbye properly. All we know is that he went to sleep and will never wake up.”

—PHOTOS BY CHIRAG CHOTALIYA

gate whether it was in working condition or not. If yes, did anyone use it to douse the fire?

Before converting the place into a COVID-19 hospital did the collector check whether the place had entry, exit and emergency gates? Such hospitals have become minting machines for doctors in the name of COVID-19. And all of this is done at the behest of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who are their partners. Almost 90% of all nCoV hospitals in Rajkot do not have emergency exits.”

RMC Leader of Opposition Vashram Sagathiya alleged, “The government is being run by IAS officers. Ever since the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has never sought help from specialists. This is a man-made disaster which has worsened because the government has failed in performing its duty.”

250 A’bad hospitals do not have a fire NOC: Fire Dept As part of fire safety training, 240 staffers participated in mock drills First India Bureau Ahmedabad: With two fire incidents reported at private hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in the city this year, the lack of fire safety measures in place at hospitals have been highlighted recently. The Fire and Emergency Services Department of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation admitted that a total of 250 hospitals in the city do not have fire safety licences and No Objection Certificates (NOCs). This means that hospitals either do not have proper fire safety equipment or they have faulty ones.

“After the fire incident at Shrey Hospital, the fire department had conducted four training sessions in different pockets of the city for the medical staff serving in different hospitals. A total of 240 hospital staffers were trained using different mock drills,” said a senior fire official.

He went on to add that despite several fire incidents, city hospital authorities have not been adhering to fire safety standards and protocols. “Despite the oc-

currence of such tragic incidents, there are 250 hospitals that do not possess a fire licence. It is their responsibility to ensure the safety of patients on their premises,” asserted the officer.

Meanwhile, the fire department of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) held a meeting on fire safety of hospitals in the city. Prior to the meeting Chief Fire Officer BK Pareek stated that so far 111 hospitals have been granted NOC in the city and 888 hospitals have been issued notices for not seeking a fire safety NOC. Notably, there are more than 3,000 hospitals in the city.

The fire department also held a mock drill in Piplod area and trained its team to rescue patients from hospitals in case of a fire. Surat has witnessed two major fire incidents in the last couple of years.

The first one was reported in Vesu area where the premises of a tuition bureau caught fire due to a short circuit, which took the life of one student. The other incident also occurred in a tuition class, where 21 people were killed.

“V’dara nCoV hosps can handle fire emergencies: Fire Chief

—FILE PHOTO

First India Bureau Vadodara: The dust hasn’t settled at Rajkot’s Shivanand Hospital, where a fire claimed the lives of five COVID-19 patients, but fire department officials in Vadodara have a found a reason to stay sanguine--at least when it comes to their own preparedness for a similar emergency.

Shortly after Ahmedabad lost eight patients to a fire at Shrey Hospital on Sep-

COMMITTEE YET TO SUBMIT REPORT ON SAYAJI HOSPITAL FIRE

tember 04, Vadodara’s Sayaji (SSG) Hospital also witnessed a fire.

However, there were no casualties there.

“The staff at SSG Hospital had participated in mock drills and had been trained to handle this kind of a

situation. So they were able to douse the fire,” said PG Brahmbhatt, Chief Fire Officer of Vadodara.

He added, “Our team has trained over 2,000 medical, paramedical, and other staffers at hospitals on dousing

fires, and rescue patients. I can state with pride that our training was such that any hospital team will be able to hold down the fort until we reach the scene.”

The fire department successfully organized

mock drills at four major COVID-19 hospitals in the city with the cooperation of respective hospital teams. “Whatever shortcomings came to our notice, they were addressed and rectified,” explained Brahmbhatt.

Sharing details about fire safety No Objection Certificates (NOCs), Brahmbhatt said that there were around 90 to 100 hospitals in the city and majority of them had provisional fire NOCs.

Patients being carried out the building at Sayaji Hospital, after a fire broke out in September.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

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`2K fine for going maskless in A’bad, V’dara, Surat & Rajkot High Court asks state govt to file action report on second wave of COVID-19 First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Expressing concern over the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Gujarat High Court on Friday asked the state government to submit an action report on the steps taken to curtail the second wave of the pandemic in the state. It also recommended one of the citations in a petitioner submission on levying penalty of Rs2,000 for not wearing masks in public in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat and Rs1,000 in other cities.

The first division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice JB Pardiwala is hearing suo motu and has clubbed other nCoV public interest litigations with it. The court questioned the government on its plan to curb

PAY BACK

—FILE PHOTO

High Court of Gujarat.

the spread of the virus, when it has permitted 100 people to attend social events. The bench expressed concern over adherence to COVID-19 protocol at such events and asked if it were possible for all weddings to be postponed for a year.

Advocate General Kamal Trivedi in-

formed the court that the government had not decided whether to impose a curfew this weekend yet. For now, the state will be continuing with a night curfew from 9 pm to 6 am.

He had also submitted that the state government had cut down on the number of peo-

ple allowed to attend social events from 200 to 100 people or 50% capacity of the venue.

Trivedi added that all venues have been asked to check the temperature of guests with a thermal gun and keep sanitizer stations.

Meanwhile, the court rejected a petitioner’s request to

direct the state to conduct RT-PCR tests in case the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) comes back negative.

It instructed the government to continue conducting tests of COVID-19 suspect patients as per Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines.

03

State sees 1.6K cases in yet another record jump First India Bureau Gandhinagar: In the last 24 hours, Gujarat has seen 1,607 new cases and 16 deaths related to the novel coronavirus. With this, the state’s death toll has risen to 3,938.

In addition, the state has now seen a total of 2,15,116 cases of the disease since the outbreak began in March. Of these, 14,732 are still considered to be active cases after 1,388 patients were discharged from hospital on Friday. A total of 96 patients are currently on ventilator support.

According to information provided by the health department, 325 new cases emerged in Ahmedabad city, while the district’s rural areas saw 28. In Surat, the city saw 238 cases while rural

COVID-19 testing in Ahmedabad. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

1,607 cases, 16 fatalities take state tally to 2,05,116 cases, toll to 3,938 areas saw 61. Vadodara city had 127 cases and the rest of the district had 40.

Rajkot city had 95 new cases, while rural Rajkot had 44;

Gandhinagar city had 35 and rural had 31. Meanwhile, Patan witnessed a jump of 51 new cases on Friday, Jamnagar saw 49, Mehsana had 43, Anand had 37, and Kheda had 35.

Of the 16 patients who died on Friday, Ahmedabad accounted for 11 deaths, while Surat accounted for four, and Gandhinagar, for one.

IRMA celebrates National Milk Day with lecture Mayor does not have answers for AMC LoP First India Bureau

Anand: Dr Krishnamurthy V Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Government of India delivered the Ninth Dr Verghese Kurien Memorial Lecture via video conferencing on November 26, as the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) marked National Milk Day. Speaking on the topic, “The Indian Banking

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The final general board meeting with elected members of the current body of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation was held on Friday. Owing to the surge in COVID-19 cases, it was held virtually.

Over the course of the meet, Mayor Bijal Patel was posed questions by the newly inducted Leader of Opposition Kamla Chavda but could not respond to any of her queries adequately.

Chavda asked Patel to declare details about the total number of beds available to COVID-19 patients but Patel chose silence. Attending her first board meeting as a representative of the Congress party, Chavda also sought a report on the Piplaj-Pirana factory fire incident. “The practice to seal a few units after fire incidents is wrong.

No steps are being taken to ensure that such incidents do not happen

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation

Bijal Patel kept mum at the final general board meeting of the AMC, which was held on Friday again. Moreover, the administration only leapt into action only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the incident on Twitter,” stated Chavda.

The leader of opposition also expressed her concern regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

“AMC claims that the city has more than 1,000 beds vacant for

Institute of Rural Management Anand —FILE PHOTO

Sector: An Opportunity to Contribute to the Economy”, Dr Subrama-

nian expressed his optimism that the Indian banking sector would

grow by leaps and bounds in proportion to the Indian economy, especially in the next five decades.

He added that learning from the past would be imperative for future growth and that this has become even more critical in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The banking sector, he said, needs to seize opportunities in order to complement the vision of making India a $5 trillion economy.

Dilip Rath, Chairman, IRMA, said that over the last four decades, IRMA has striven to live up to the ideals of its Founding Father Dr Kurien and today more than 60% of the 3,000odd IRMA alumni are working in organizations that serve rural and allied sectors. Calling Dr Kurien a visionary and innovator, Rath emphasized how the institutions built by Dr Kurien have stood the test of time.

—FILE PHOTO

COVID-19 patients. Despite that, patients are being admitted at hospitals located outside of city limits. I firmly believe that all beds in the city are full,” she remarked. She even asked the mayor to tag along with her to each hospital and take stock of the situation.

Despite being questioned repeatedly, Patel asked Chavda to ‘finish her speech’ and that she would respond later. Chavda challenged the mayor to reveal the actual numbers of COVID-19 patients, but the latter could not respond to the query.

FREEDOM OF FLIGHT Fledgling Rosy Pelicans attempt to fly in their cage at the Kamla Nehru Zoo in Ahmedabad's Kankaria area on Friday. These are among almost 50 pelicans that have been born in captivity in the past decade.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

TIMELY DECISIONS

Fire NOC compulsory for all factories seeking licences: Guj Govt Exemption from labour laws announced to attract industries to the state; daytime weddings no longer need police permission but processions not allowed

First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has made it mandatory for all factories to seek a fire safety No Objection Certificate (NOC). Chief Minister Vijay Rupani participated in a national renewable energy conference held by the Union Energy Minister Raj Kumar Singh on Friday.

He announced an exemption for business-

es from most of the labour laws owing to the pandemic in order to attract industries to the state and create more employment opportunities. The government also clarified that no police permission will be required for daytime weddings.

On Thursday, the Gujarat Labour and Employment department issued a resolution which stated, “Factories will now be re-

The move to make fire safety NOC mandatory comes after a spate of incidents such as the boiler blast at Sahil Enterprise in Ahmedabad’s Pirana-Piplaj area.

—FILE PHOTO

quired to seek NOCs from respective fire departments under the Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2013, prior to applying for a factory licence under the Factories Act, 1948.

Existing factories without fire NOCs will also be required to seek a fire NOC from the competent authority and inform their respective districts and Ahmedabad Director of Industrial Safety and

Health (DISH) office.

Before issuing a fire safety NOC, factories must comply with all safety measures.”

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja stated that police permission will not be required for daytime weddings. He also stipulated that no weddings were to take place later in the day and no marriage processions with DJs or bands were allowed.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

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DYING PEACEFULLY

IN-DEPTH

CENTRE READY FOR TALKS BUT MAY NOT YIELD

F

armers are on a warpath. Braving water cannons and teargas shells hundreds of them marched towards Delhi, carrying foodstuff in habitable carts to last them for six months. On the way, they were joined by their counterparts from Haryana where the government tried its best to thwart them. As the number of marching farmers swelled, the Central government allowed them to assemble at Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari for peaceful protests. Farmers were insisting on permission to protest at Jantar Mantar but Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar urged them to defer their agitation in view of Covid-19 and the cold weather and also because talks with farmers unions are scheduled for December 3. Farmers are unwilling to wait and the Centre is in no mood to either retract or amend the three farm laws that have riled farmers, mainly in Punjab, over the absence of any legal provision in the new laws guaranteeing minimum support price for their produce.

There is therefore a trust deficit between the agitators and the government. The latter sees the new laws as reformist and progressive as they do away with the traditional mandi Samiti. Farmers argue that the law will allow a corporate takeover of assets of poor and small farmers. Farmers cite the example of Bihar where the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees were abolished in 2006 to liberalise agriculture marketing but failed to benefit farmers.

As a showdown between farmers and the government looks imminent, the Centre could look at playing arbiter to resolve any future disputes between farmers and private buyers over product pricing.

SADHGURU, ISHA FOUNDATION

Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and a New York Times bestselling author Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017, the highest annual civilian award, accorded for exceptional and distinguished service

E

BJP DEPLOYS TOP GUNS FOR GHMC ELECTIONS

W

hen was the last time that all the star campaigners led by the prime minister of any political party were out campaigning for a municipal corporation election? None, that easily comes to mind. It is in this respect that the December 1 elections to the 150 wards of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) are special. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda, Union minister Smriti Irani, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and BJP Yuva Morcha president Tejasvi Surya, in short, all the top guns of the party have been deployed for taking control of the GHMC. The issues that the party’s leaders are raising have nothing civic about them but the usual Hindu, Muslim, Rohingyas, and illegal Pakistanis.

Their aim is to somehow dislodge Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao first from the GHMC and later from power in Telangana where the BJP has four Lok Sabha seats and recently won the Dubbaka assembly by-election.

With the Congress almost non-existent in Telangana the BJP is all set to occupy that space. It is now the main adversary of TRS which has 80 seats in the corporation. A victory will pave the way for the party’s future electoral gains.

The BJP’s seriousness fits its larger objective of conquering three southern states - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. It has Karnataka in its kitty.

Little wonder that Bhupender Yadav, who helped the BJP win 72 seats in Bihar, has been stationed in Hyderabad as a master strategist for the civic body polls.

Death happens slowly. You may already know that after a person dies, the hair and fingernails continue to grow for up to at least 11 days, and most of the time up to 14 days. This is because death is happening slowly; it is not complete yet. The withdrawal of the life process from this body happens step by step

verywhere in the world, people talk about dying peacefully; they want to recede gently. One simple thing that can be done is to have a lamp – preferably with ghee but you can also use butter – burning constantly, 24 hours of the day next to that person. This creates a certain aura so that the choppy nature of withdrawal can be regulated to some extent.

Another thing you can do, if the person is willing, you can set up some kind of a universal chant on a CD at a very mild volume. A consecrated sound like this in the background will also make sure that the choppy withdrawal can be avoided.

These arrangements should continue up to 14 days after one has been certified dead, because he may be medically dead but not existentially dead; he is not completely dead. Death happens slowly. You may already know that after a person dies, the hair and fingernails continue to grow for up to at least 11 days, and most of the time up to 14 days. This is because death is happening slowly; it is not complete yet. The withdrawal of the life process from this body happens step by step. For all practical purposes, the lungs, heart, and brain activity has stopped, so medically they are declared dead, but it is not yet so. Even if the person’s body is burnt, he is still not dead because his movement into the other realm has not started.

It is based on this that up to 14 days after somebody dies there are various kinds of rituals in India, the knowledge and power behind which have unfortunately been mostly lost and very few people truly understand the significance of what it is. The first thing that is done when somebody dies is, anything that has been intimately in touch with their body, such as underclothes, is burnt. Other

clothes, jewelry, and such things are distributed within the first three days, as quickly as possible – not just to one person – but among many people. If you were to give a bundle of their belongings to someone, they would go there because they are still attached to the energy of their own body which exists in the clothes.

These things were done not only to settle the dead but also to settle the family and relatives – so that they understand that the business is done, it is over. It doesn’t matter how involved and attached you were to somebody, when it is done, it is done – the game is up.

Another thing that can be done is, depending upon who the dying person is, if you know what their essential quality is if you apply vibhuthi on just that one chakra, you will facilitate that he focuses around that.

As life is withdrawing from the physical system, let us say somebody was a very loving person, vibhuthi mixed with a little water and made pasty so that it sticks can be applied on his anaha-

ANOTHER THING THAT CAN BE DONE IS, DEPENDING UPON WHO THE DYING PERSON IS, IF YOU KNOW WHAT THEIR ESSENTIAL QUALITY IS IF YOU APPLY VIBHUTHI ON JUST THAT ONE CHAKRA, YOU WILL FACILITATE THAT HE FOCUSES AROUND THAT

tha. Now his energies tend to gather there. If it all gathers there, there is a possibility that he will leave through that chakra which is very good for him.

Generally, everywhere in the world irrespective of which culture, it is said, “even if it is your enemy who is dying right now, you must create a slightly peaceful atmosphere for him, you don’t do ugly things.” This awareness is there in every culture, isn’t it? Maybe you shot

Diego Maradona, the perfect celebrity athlete

D

iego Maradona was an imperfect athlete, but a perfect celebrity athlete. His faults, inconsistencies, contradictions, and oddities were clear in his playing years but became even clearer as he grew older.

That’s why the media loved him and made him the most dazzling and fascinating footballer of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

The Argentinian star, who died on November 25 aged 60, personified a new age in which football, like many other sports, was being transformed into globally televised entertainment.

He also embodied a new spirit in professional sport.

Fair play was no longer sacrosanct — the new spirit was one of winning at all cost. But, most importantly, he was dangerous: Wherever Maradona

04

strayed, there was risk and peril of some kind. Combined, they elevated from mere mortal to a stupendous emblem of a new age.

UNREPENTANT Maradona seethed with volatility, the anarchy of his nature frequently subordinating nurture, or at least augmenting it. No incident better illustrates this than his belief-beggaring “Hand of God” goal of 1986. In a vicious payback for Argentina’s humiliation in the Falklands conflict four years before, Maradona forced the ball into the net in a World Cup game against England using foul, rather than fair, means. It was a move that, today, would be instantly invalidated and punished after video review.

In the mid-1980s, as Maradona later shamelessly admitted, “It was a nice

feeling, like some sort of symbolic revenge against the English.” And the goal stood. An accident? No. “I knew it was my hand,” revealed the player, not in confession but in celebration. He was unrepentant for the rest of his life.

His public image in England will always be compromised by the foul, but else-

where, he is acknowledged as one of the best, if not the best, football players of all time. Maradona will always be compared with his nearcontemporary Pelé, 20 years his elder (now 80), also South American (Brazilian, in his case) and a far, far less perplexing character, who avoided playing in the European leagues.

Maradona, by contrast, earned his spurs in Italy’s Serie A and Spain’s La Liga, two of the most competitive environments in football.

The comparison of the two players brings into relief the global media: association football, more than any other sport, was enthusiastically broadcast around the world in 1982

when 21-year-old Maradona arrived in Barcelona.

Pelé had retired five years before, having spent his final years in the relatively undemanding and largely unseen US league. He was beige to Maradona’s explosion in a paint factory.

With Mike Tyson, Ben Johnson, and Magic Johnson, Maradona became one of the preeminent athletes of the 1980s. Notice the similarities? Boxer Tyson was convicted of rape in 1992.

Sprinter Ben Johnson was stripped of his Olympic gold medal in 1988 after testing positive for drugs. Basketball player Magic Johnson, in 1991, announced he was HIV positive. All were virtuosos in their chosen sports; all were arguably better known for matters either unrelated to sports or, in Ben Johnson’s case, transgressions.

SOURCE: FAIR OBSERVER

him, but you take off your hat when he is leaving or you say, “Ram Ram,” or whatever you know. When somebody is dying, at that moment the whistle has already been blown and the game is over. There is no point kicking now. Whether people are exercising it or not, that much awareness is there everywhere in the world.

That is the reason why, when you see that even the dead are not treated with respect, something within you shakes. Not because you have to treat a body with respect but because he is exiting slowly– it doesn’t matter how he lived – at least that must happen well. Every human being must have that much intention. If even that is missing, then you do not even qualify to be a brute.

Even a brute, once something is dead, if it has to eat, it will eat but otherwise, it will leave the body and go, isn’t it? But if such intentions come up in human beings because of their anger and hatred, it is the lowest level of mind.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Dr Harsh Vardhan @drharshvardhan We have made significant strides in the field of organ donation in the past few years. Massive awareness drives have helped sensitise society. Therapeutics & care is being provided to many poor patients suffering from brainstem diseases through public healthcare facilities.

Ravi Shankar Prasad @rsprasad Production Linked Incentive Scheme was introduced in India in the month of April 2020 and major global and Indian mobile phone manufacturers will set up their operations in India & will manufacture phones over worth Rs. 10.50 lakh crore over next 5 years.

Spiritual SPEAK

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.

—Buddha

Vol 2 Issue No. 4 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.

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05

CENTRE HAS TO ACCEPT Pradhan lays foundation stone for CBG plant in K’taka FARMERS’ DEMANDS: RAGA

No government in world can stop farmers fighting “Battle Of Truth’’: Rahul Gandhi IMPLEMENT ONE NATION, ONE BEHAVIOUR: PRIYANKA New Delhi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at Centre over farmers’ protest & said PM Modi should implement “one nation, one behaviour”, taking a jibe his suggestion for “one nation, one election”. “To suppress the voice of farmers- they are being drenched in water, roads are being dug up to stop them. But government is not ready to show them and tell them where it is written that they have the legal right of MSP. The PM, who is concerned about one country, one election, should implement one nation, one behaviour,” she tweeted.

Heavy security deployment as farmers headed for ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest against farm laws, at Singhu Border in New Delhi on Friday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing farmers’ agitation against farm laws, which witnessed several clashes between the police & protesters, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Centre and said that no government in the world can stop them from fighting the ‘battle of truth’. “The

PM should have remembered that whenever the ego hits the truth, it is defeated. No government in the world can stop the farmers fighting the battle for truth. The Modi government has to accept the demands of the farmers and black laws will have to be withdrawn.

This is only the begin-

ning!” Gandhi’s tweet roughly translated from Hindi read. Since Thursday, thousands of farmers from Punjab & Haryana have been marching towards national capital as a part of ‘Dilli Challo’ march to protest against the three farm laws passed by the Centre in September. —ANI

SIDDARAMAIAH, HOODA BACK ‘DILLI CHALO’ MARCH Bengaluru: Karnataka LoP Siddaramaiah and former CM of Haryana Bhupinder S Hooda came out in support of ongoing protest march near Delhi border areas against the farm laws. “Farmers are being stopped from entering the Capital!! What if farmers also decide to block their produce from entering Delhi? Will BJP leaders in Delhi starve?”

Siddaramaiah tweeted.”I appeal to people of Haryana that every effort should be made to provide shelter, food& drink, treatment, medical help to farmers who are protesting peacefully.We are with the farmers, Hooda tweeted in Hindi.

New Delhi: Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan laid the foundation stone for the Leafiniti Bioenergy’s CBG plant in Bagalkot district of Karnataka, through video conference. This plant will utilise 200 TPD of press mud and will be commissioned at the estimated cost of about 42 crores. This will generate about 10.2 TPD of CBG and also bio-manure. Praj Industries and DVO Inc. have provided the technology for the proposed plant.

Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said that the Government is working to provide cleaner and sustainable energy. India is not a polluting country, but still, PM Modi as a responsible global leader has underlined India’s commitment to sustainability and climate change mitigation. How can we achieve a cleaner path in each activity, is what we are striving for?

He said that the SATAT was launched in

SATAT was launched in 2018 as part of the PM’s vision to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, Dharmendra Pradhan said.

DHARMENDRA PRADHAN @DPRADHANBJP This is the beginning of a new chapter in sustainable energy journey of the country. I invite our young entrepreneurs to come forward and help create a vibrant ecosystem in India based on #WastetoWealth model and play a role in boosting India’s CBG economy.

2018 as part of the PM’s vision to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and have an alternative source of clean fuel for transport. Over the last two years, it has grown into one of the flagship programs of MoPNG. SATAT will establish an ecosystem for the production of Compressed Bio Gas from various waste and biomass

IN THE COURTYARD TMC’s heavyweight DUMKA TREASURY CASE STAN SWAMY CASE minister Suvendu ‘Never recovered straw, Adhikari quits cabinet Jharkhand HC defers to Dec 11 or sought 20 days’ time’ hearing on Lalu Yadav’s bail plea Kolkata: Dealing a heavy

blow to the Trinamool Congress and Mamata Banerjee in the run-up to the assembly polls, West Bengal transport minister and heavyweight leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday afternoon resigned from the state cabinet.

He sent his resignation letter to Banerjee and emailed a copy to governor Jagdeeep Dhankhar at 1.05pm, fanning speculations that the rebel leader may quit the party.

Adhikari, the legislator from Nandigram in East Midnapore district, had resigned from the post of chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commission on Thursday night. There were reports that he also resigned from the Haldia Development Authority where he was the chairman.

“I do hereby tender my resignation from my office as Minister.

Steps may be taken for its immediate acceptance,” Adhikari wrote to Banerjee.

—Agencies

BJP DOOR OPEN FOR SUVENDU: DILIP GHOSH Kolkata: Hours after senior Trinamool Congress leader Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the West Bengal cabinet, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Friday said the saffron party has its doors open for the heavyweight leader and many others. Adhikari’s resignation heralds the “end of Trinamool Congress”, he claimed and added that the party will “cease to exist”. “The exit of Suvendu Adhikari from TMC is only a matter of time. There are several leaders of the ruling party who are disgruntled with its way of functioning.

We have kept our doors open,” Ghosh told reporters here.

BJP GIVES RESPONSIBILITY TO SIX LEADERS IN DIFFERENT STATES New Delhi: The BJP gave responsibilities to six leaders in different states.

BJP President JP Nadda approved the appointments of the six leaders for their new roles in various states. Ravindra Raju has been given the charge of State general secretary (organisation) for Haryana, Ratnakar has been appointed as State As-

sociate General Secretary in Bihar, Bhawani Singh and Karmveer Singh were given charge of Associate State General Secretary in UP. Abhay Kumar Giri has been given the charge of State general secretary for Manipur, Nagaland & Pradyuman has been appointed as Organiser at Central office in New Delhi.

Ranchi: The Jharkhand HC on Friday deferred to December 11 hearing on the bail plea of former Bihar CM Lalu Yadav in connection with a fodder scam case related to fraudulent withdrawal from Dumka Treasury.

“The next date of the bail plea hearing is December 11. We have been instructed to bring records related to Lalu Prasad ji’s half-sentence from the lower court and get it verified

before further arguments,” advocate Prabhat Kumar, Lalu Yadav’s lawyer, told reporters here.

Notably, Yadav was shifted back to Rajen-

dra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) from Kelly bungalow.

Yadav was shifted to Kelly bungalow in Ranchi on August 6, after RIMS authorities had written to Birsa Munda Jail authority seeking his shifting, as the ward where he was receiving treatment was converted into COVID ward. He was admitted to RIMS on Aug, 2018, after he surrendered at Birsa Munda Central Jail. —ANI

New Delhi: National Investigation Agency disparaged reports claiming that it sought 20 days’ time from court to respond to Father Stan Swamy’s plea to allow him a straw and sipper in Taloja Central Jail as he cannot hold a glass because he has Parkinson’s disease.

The agency also said that it never recovered any straw and sipper from him, so there was no question of the agency holding onto it. It

ABETMENT TO SUICIDE CASE

MONEY LAUNDERING CASE

New Delhi: SC said the interim bail to journalist Arnab Goswami and two others in an abetment to suicide case will continue till the Bombay HC disposes of their plea, and stated that the judiciary should ensure criminal law does not become a weapon for selective harassment. The apex

Group promoter Peter Kerkar, who was arrested by the agency in an alleged money laundering case, to a hospital for his medical examination. ED had arrested Peter Kerkar under various sections of the PMLA in a money laundering case linked to alleged loan default at the Yes Bank. —ANI

termed all such claims as “false, incorrect and mischievous”.

Swamy, 83, was arrested in first week of October by the agency in Bhima-Koregaon conspiracy case of 2018.

Supreme Court extends Arnab ED takes CKG promoter for medical exam Mumbai: The ED on Goswami’s interim bail took Cox and Kings

court had granted interim bail to Goswami on November 11. —PTI

SENSEX DROPS 110 PTS; RIL, IT STOCKS WEIGH SAY EXPERTS Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex ended 110 points lower after a choppy session on Friday, dragged by losses in index majors Reliance Industries, Infosys and TCS despite a positive trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE index closed 110.02 points or 0.25% lower at 44,149.72. The broader NSE Nifty slipped 18.05 points or 0.14 per cent to 12,968.95. PowerGrid was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, ONGC, M&M, Axis Bank, TCS, Reliance Industries and Infosys.

NAGARJUNA BESHA RITUAL AT JAGANNATH TEMPLE AFTER 26 YRS Bhubaneswar: The Nagarjuna Besha of Lord Jagannath and his siblings at Puri Jagannath temple is underway after over 25 years with the deities taking the form of warriors. It is being held sans devotees amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Nagarjuna Besha is taking place after a gap of 26 years. The

Nagarjuna Besha ritual happens only in the years where the ‘Panchuka’, the last five days of the holy month of Kartika, is observed for six days. As per the ritual, the deities are dressed in golden attire and adorned with 16 types of traditional weapons to commemorates the slaying of Shahasrajuna

by Parasurama.

sources in the country leading to multiple benefits. He exhorted young entrepreneurs to invest in the initiative for creating a vibrant bio-gas system. By augmenting domestic gas availability to domestic and industrial sectors, this initiative shall promote AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan of the Government , he said.

Rajiv Gandhi assasination: Convict’s parole extended New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday further extended by one week parole granted to AG Perarivalan, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, for medical checkup and made it clear that no further extension will be granted. A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao extended the parole of Perarivalan to go to the hospital for a medical check-up and said the State of Tamil Nadu shall provide necessary escort to him to go to the hospital.

“Any medical facility that Perarivalan needs, he would be taken to CMC Vellore. State of Tamil Nadu shall provide necessary escort.

After one week he shall be taken to jail,” the bench said. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Perarivalan, sought a further extension for four weeks saying there is a 25 per cent blockage of the kidney. —ANI

2 JAWANS KILLED IN PAK FIRING ALONG LOC IN J-K’S RAJOURI Jammu: Two jawans of the Indian Army were killed in ceasefire violation by the Pakistani Army along the Line of Control in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district. Prem Bahadur Khatri and Sukhbir Singh got critically injured in the firing and later succumbed to their injuries, informed Lt Col Devender Anand, PRO (Defence). “Pakistani Army resorted to unprovoked CFV (ceasefire violation) on the (LoC) in Sunderbani Sector of District Rajouri (J&K) on 27 November 2020. Own troops responded immediately to the enemy fire.

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06

India officially in recession as Q2 GDP contracts 7.5% POWER Gallery New Delhi: India's economy recovered faster than expected in the September quarter as a pick-up in manufacturing helped GDP clock a lower contraction of 7.5 per cent and held out hopes for further improvement on better consumer demand.

The gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted by a record 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of the 2020-21 fiscal (April 2020 to March 2021) as the coronavirus

lockdown pummelled economic activity.

With the gradual opening up from June, the economy has picked up, according to official data released on Friday.

Manufacturing clocked a surprise 0.6 per cent growth in JulySeptember after it had shrunk by a massive 39 per cent in the preceding quarter.

Continuing its good showing, the agriculture sector grew by 3.4 per cent, while the trade

and services sector showed lower-than-expected contraction at 15.6 per cent.

Public spending was down 12 per cent.

The GDP contraction

of 7.5 per cent in JulySeptember compares with a growth of 4.4 per cent in the same quarter last year.

China''s economy grew by 4.9 per cent in

Centre blames Delhi govt for rise in Covid-19 cases —PHOTO BY ANI

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday blamed Delhi government for rising COVID-19 cases in the national capital and said that despite "repeated exhortations" it did not take steps to enhance testing capacity, particularly for RTPCR, which remained static at around 20,000 tests for a long time.

The Centre pointed out that to deal with the shortcomings, which lead to a massive increase in the COVID infection and the increasing strain on the capacity of medical infrastructure in the hospitals of Delhi, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah was constrained to call another meeting on November 15 to review the situation in the national capital. —PTI

A health worker collects a sample for Covid test at Delhi-Noida Border amid the spread of the disease, in New Delhi on Friday.

THE SHORTCOMINGS

July-September this year, faster than the 3.2 per cent growth in April-June 2020.

Though the contraction in July-September pushed India into its first technical recession, based on records going back to 1996, a sharp recovery held out hopes for the economy turning around before the end of the fiscal year.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das had on Thursday stated that

the recovery from the lockdown has been stronger than expected and the economy could show growth in the fourth quarter.

The improvement in the economy came ahead of next week''s interest rate decision by the RBI and coincides with a drop in India''s daily virus cases, which have tapered off to half of its peak of more than 97,000 infections a day in mid-September. —PTI

80K CRPF personnel & their family pledge to donate organs

Dr Harsh Vardhan lauded the efforts of CRPF, ORBO, and AIIMS Delhi that had led to such significant increase in number of organ donations in a brief period.

New Delhi: More than 80,000 Central Reserve Police force (CPRF) personnel & their family members have pledged to donate their organs.

Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan graced the webinar that marked the occasion.

The minister lauded the efforts of CRPF, ORBO, & AIIMS Delhi that had led to such a significant increase in the number

People cross a waterlogged street after heavy rainfall of Cyclone Nivar in Chennai on Friday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

A view of the snow-covered area in Manali on Friday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Four IRS officers who joined the Government of Andhra Pradesh on deputation have been given assignments. M Ramana Reddy has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, AP Towers Ltd while M. Ramana Reddy full additional charge of Chief Executive Officer, Concept Cities and Raieswara Reddy will serve as Managing Director, AP Education & Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation. Besides, S B R Kumar Laqhimsettv has been appointed as Director, Insurance Medical Services.

MS RUBY SRIVASTAVA PROMOTED TO PR CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX GRADE

of organ donations. The country observed the 11th Indian organ donation day on Friday. Vardhan urged people to come together for this noble cause, saying it was time for everyone to "bust the myths" and realise that the act of donating organs is not against "religion or religious customs". "There cannot be a bigger godly work than organ donation," Vardhan said. —PTI

Paswan seat

Amaravati: As many as 3 died and over 10,000 people were shifted to relief shelters in the Chittoor, Kadapa, Nellore and Prakasam districts of Andhra Pradesh after cyclone Nivar caused widespread devastation in the state & nearby areas.

Andhra Pradesh Minister Kurasala Kan-

FOUR IRS OFFICERS ON DEPUTATION TO AP GOVT GET ASSIGNMENTS

Dr Molishree has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs. Dr Molishree is a 2011 batch IES officer.

Cyclone Nivar: 3 dead, Sushil is BJP’s 10K shifted to shelters RS choice for

WHITE CARPET

As many as nine IPS officers of various cadres and batches are retiring in November, 2020.

The officers are: A S Khan of Andhra Pradesh; Lungrinding of Assam-Meghalaya; Rajesh Ranjan and Sekhar Kumar of Bihar; Pritam Singh Uikey of MP; Shambhu Nath Singh of Manipur; Vinoy Kumar Singh of Telangana; Anil Kumar Raturi of Uttarakhand; Dip Sankar Rudra of West Bengal and D Kanakratnam of Maharashtra cadre.

DR MOLISHREE APPOINTED AS DEPUTY SECRETARY, ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

AROUND 70 % OF ACTIVE CASELOAD CONTRIBUTED BY EIGHT STATES, UTS

New Delhi: About 70 per cent of India's active COVID-19 caseload is contributed by 8 states including Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, & Chhattisgarh, according to a release by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday.

There are 4,55,555 active infections, & at present, the contribution of active caseload to total positive cases is 4.89%.

Maharashtra leads the tally with 87,014 total active cases.

Kerala recorded 64,615 active cases, while Delhi follows with 38,734 active infections. —PTI

NINE IPS OFFICERS RETIRING IN NOVEMBER

nababu informed that about 283 centimeters of rainfall has been recorded in the districts, devastating 30,000 hectares of agricultural crops and 1,300 hectares of horticultural crops.

"CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy has ordered for Rs 500 to be given to all the affected people in relief shelters. —ANI

New Delhi: The BJP has nominated Sushil Modi, former deputy chief minister of Bihar, as its Rajya S a b h a candidate for the De- Sushil Modi cember 14 by-poll to fill the vacancy that arose from the state. It signals Sushil Modi’s move to the Centre. The vacancy arose after the passing away of former LJP chief and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has got two new deputies this time: Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi. —PTI

Ms Ruby Srivastava has been promoted to the grade of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr CCIT). She is an IRS-IT officer.

ATUL PRANAY PROMOTED TO PR CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX GRADE

Atul Pranay has been promoted to the grade of Principal Chief Commissioner of IT (Pr CCIT).

KAUSHALENDRA PROMOTED TO PR CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF IT GRADE

Kaushalendra Kumar Singh has been promoted to the grade of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr CCIT). He is an IRS-IT officer.

S K VERMA CONFIRMED IN IPS FROM NOV 9, 2016 IN MP

Suraj Kumar Verma has been confirmed in the Indian Police Service from MP State Police Service with effect from November 9, 2016.

RAHUL NAVIN APPOINTED AS SPECIAL DIRECTOR, ED

Rahul Navin has been appointed as Special Director of Enforcement in Enforcement Directorate on deputation basis.

SUBHASH AGGARWAL AS SPECIAL DIRECTOR, ED, KOLKATA

Subhash Aggarwal has been appointed as Special Director of Enforcement in Enforcement Directorate, Kolkata on deputation basis.

S RAVICHANDRAN APPOINTED AS SPECIAL DIRECTOR, ED, CHANDIGARH

S Ravichandran has been appointed as Special Director of Enforcement in Enforcement Directorate, Chandigarh on deputation basis.

PRASHANT KUMAR APPOINTED AS SPECIAL DIRECTOR, ED, CHENNAI

Prashant Kumar has been appointed as Special Director of Enforcement in Enforcement Directorate, Chennai on deputation basis.

SUSHIL KUMAR TRANSFERRED AS SPECIAL DIRECTOR, ED, MUMBAI

Sushil Kumar has been transferred from Chennai to Mumbai as Special Director of Enforcement in Enforcement Directorate.

By arrangement with: http:// whispersinthecorridors.com

FROM PG 1 Delhi opens... the national capital to exercise their democratic right to protest, the Haryana government is engaged in a confrontationist approach against the farmers moving towards Delhi.”

PM Modi...

ZyCoV-D, has been completed and it has commenced phase-II clinical trials from August.

Modi will then proceed to Pune, where he will visit the Serum Institute of India, which has partnered with global pharma gi-

ant AstraZeneca and the Oxford University for the vaccine, a senior official said.

The prime minister’s next stop will be Hyderabad where he is scheduled to visit vaccine maker Bharat Biotech’s facility, an official said.

HC: Kangana’s... on compensation to Kangana Ranaut,” the bench said and asked the actress to exercise restraint while commenting on other people on social media and otherwise.

The court, while holding that the peti-

tion filed by Ranaut against the demolition was maintainable, noted that the demolition was not good in law and malafide.

The Bombay High Court had last month reserved its order on a plea filed by Kangana Ranaut against the demolition of her property in Bandra by the BMC after hearing submissions from all the parties in the matter.

The corporation had earlier filed an affidavit in the High Court stating that Ranaut has unlawfully made substantial alterations

and additions to the property, contrary to the sanctioned building plan, and termed her allegations against it as “baseless”.

Fire in...

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani expressed grief over the incident and has ordered an inquiry--which will be led by Additional Chief Secretary (panchayat rural housing) AK Rakesh.

He also announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each deceased.

“We managed to rescue about 30 patients after we received a call

about the fire. Three patients died inside the ICU, while two died shortly thereafter,” a fire brigade official said.

The Malviya Nagar police have registered a case, and Rajkot Police Commissioner Manoj Agarwal has instituted a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to oversee the investigation.

The SIT will be headed by deputy police commissioner of Zone 2 Manoharsinh Jadeja, and include Joint Police Commissioner (North) JS Gedam and Police Inspector of

Special Operations Group RY Raval.

“Of the 11 coronavirus patients admitted to the ICU ward, five lost their lives in the fire, which was quickly brought under control before it could spread to other floors,” Agarwal said.

Speaking to First India, Dr Tejas Karmata, consultant intensivist at the hospital, said “The intense blast that occurred in the ICU unit charred the entire unit in around eight minutes due to the high concentration of oxygen.”

He added: “There

were a total of 33 patients, 25 staff including housekeeping and nursing, four medical officers and one consultant doctor on the premises at the time of the fire. The staff used the fire extinguishers and other equipment, but the fire was intense and the billowing smoke reached the third floor. The staff broke all the glass windows and took patients to the terrace.

A preliminary probe revealed that the fire was the result of a short-circuit in a ventilator.

Doval meets Lankan PM, Def Secy Colombo: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Friday met Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Maj Gen (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne, during fourth NSA Level Meeting on Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation hosted by Sri Lanka.

Doval had arrived in Colombo for trilateral India, Sri Lanka and Maldives consultations on maritime and security cooperation.

—ANI

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

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07

Into the Wild

Empathy in conservation is hotly debated, but the world needs more stories like My Octopus Teacher

W

ith three hearts, blue blood, no bones and eight limbs attached to a bulbous head, octopuses seem like they’re from another planet.

But in My Octopus Teacher, the hugely popular nature documentary on Netflix, these cephalopods as not only presented as remarkable — but relatable. The documentary seeks to evoke empathy by telling a story about the bond between a human and a wild octopus off the coast of Cape

Town, South Africa.Burnt out film maker Craig Foster seeks solace in the ocean. He gains the trust of an octopus through daily visits to her world, and presents an engrossing story of her short life and its impact on him.

As a g roup of conservation social scientists researching how people relate to the natural world, we are curious about what this type of storytelling might mean for wildlife conservation. Let’s look at what the research says.

Empathy with non-humans S A

From empathy to action

cientific literature is increasingly recognising the importance of storytelling in science, including to help people empathise with the natural world and build support for conservation.Stories encourage empathy by helping people experience events from the perspective of others.

One feels and responds to the world through anothers’ “eyes” — or tentacles — and this shift of viewpoint is linked to the feeling of being transported to “another world”.

My Octopus Teacher transports viewers to the world of an amazing kelp forest, where one may sense trust and intimacy as the octopus wraps her tentacles around the narrator’s finger. Or distress as the octopus is hunted by a shark. And joy as she cleverly evades the threat.

In fact, research shows empathizing with other animals or plants can promote positive relationships between humans and wildlife.

Th e diver, Craig Foster, has a special relationship with the female octopus.

A 2007 experiment, for example, asked people to view photographs of an injured bird or felled tree and to either imagine how the bird or tree felt or to view the photographs objectively.

At the end of the experiment, people who empathized were more likely to express concern for the bird or tree and donate to an environmental charity.

Portraying an octo-

pus as ‘human-like’ can be tricky But stories that engage empathy can still bring challenges for conservation. One reason relates to concerns about anthropomorphism — ascribing human characteristics to things other than humans.

Some viewers may see this in, for instance, the narrator’s suggestion the octopus “dies

for her offspring” or “suffers” from losing an arm.

The relationship between anthropomorphism and conservation is hotly debated.

Some scientists say anthropomor phism distorts scientific knowledge.

For marine biologist Zoë Doubleday in an interview with Australian Geographic, the suggestion the octopus

— IMDb

“dies for her offspring” implies a moral decision rather than a biological imperative, which was among the parts of the film she sees as anthropomorphic.

Others warn against imposing human ways of seeing the world onto nature. Human ideas of social interaction may cloud the way viewers interpret scenes of the octopus resting on Fos-

ter’s chest, leaving what the octopus actually seeks with such behaviour unexplored.

On the other hand, there are arguments that “appropriate anthropomorphism” can promote conservation.

Showing an octopus is intelligent or feels pain would be considered appropriate as it’s consistent with scientific understanding, and could raise awareness of an animal that rarely features in conservation campaigns.

Research from the US earlier this year suggests people who attribute “human-like” qualities of free will and emotions to animals are more likely to place value on humans and wildlife co-existing — a key conservation goal.

The slippery boundary between humans and non-humans is at the heart of My Octopus Teacher. But as viewers respond in different ways to how animals are depicted in stories, where we “draw the line in the sand” depends on individual values and cultural norms.

nother challenge in using stories to promote c o n - servation relates to whether empathy actually promotes action.

Empathy can cause distress if there’s no clear way to act in response to those feelings. So it’s worth reflecting on the lack of any obvious “call to action” in My Octopus Teacher — the film doesn’t explicitly ask us to donate money or change our behaviour such as what we eat.

We do learn from the epilogue that Craig Foster went on to establish The Sea Change Project to raise awareness of South Africa’s kelp forest. But the viewer is largely left to draw their own conclusions about how to respond to the empathy evoked.

Empathy can also lead to people backing the welfare of familiar species over less relatable

— but still important — ones. For example, viewers may be less concerned for the welfare of the many pyjama sharks that hunt the octopus.

Some conservation scientists argue empathy should not be a moral code for conservation since it could undermine support for some actions that protect ecosystems, such as killing invasive, but charismatic, species like feral horses and cats.

This isn’t much of a risk in My Octopus Teacher, which actually says a lot about the importance of ocean ecosystems as a whole.

The narrator talks about his re-found love for the ocean, its wildness, and the connections he observes between animals and plants.

Even so, these connections to the wider system may be outshone by the compelling story of one human and one octopus.

BY KATHRYN WILLIAMS

Professor in environmental psychology, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne

CHRISTOPHER MCCORMACK

Managing Director (Remember The Wild). PhD Student, University of Melbourne

DEBBIE GONZALEZ CANADA

W

Stories for conservation

e conclude the emotive approach to storytelling used in My Octopus Teacher could be positive for wildlife conservation. There is certainly evidence that empathy can drive concern for wildlife as well as positive action.

The impact on conserva-

tion will, however, depend on how viewers respond to the emotive qualities of the story. Do they dismiss it as overly sentimental, feel empathy for just one octopus, or concern for the ocean ecosystem she inhabits? It will also depend on whether viewers can imagine positive ways to act on their feelings.We think the world

needs more stories like My Octopus Teacher. We encourage conservationists to communicate through stories, making sure these stories evoke empathy not only for individual animals and plants but for whole communities of living beings, and that they suggest multiple pathways for conservation action.

And we hope many more people will watch and discuss this wonderful film, that viewers might “slowly start to care about all the animals” as Craig Foster did, and consider acting on their empathy‚ for example, by donating to marine conservation organisations or buying certified sustainable seafood.

PhD Candidate researching digital citizen science, University of Melbourne

KATE LEE

Research fellow, University of Melbourne

MADDY SBEGHEN

University of Melbourne

ROSE MACAULAY

PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne

STEPHANIE LAVAU

Senior Lecturer - Interdisciplinary Environmental Practice, University of Melbournew

Source: THECONVERSATION. COMWW

Always remember leadership is to guide people how to shine and polish not to bruise, to guide holding a hand not to push!

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

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COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

INDIA

08

GUJARAT

14,43,318 6,16,00,928 1,36,103 93,43,019 3,938 2,05,116 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 46,898 DEATHS 18,08,550 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

UTTAR PRADESH 7,697 DEATHS 5,37,747 CASES

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

KARNATAKA 11,738 DEATHS 8,81,086 CASES

DEATHS

DELHI 8,909 DEATHS 5,56,744 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 2,255 DEATHS 2,60,040 CASES

This is shocking, not the first such fire: SC Taking suo moto cognizance of fire at Rajkot Covid-19 hospital, the Supreme Court stated no proper steps are being taken Shishir Awasthi New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief over the death of 5 people in the tragic fire at a Rajkot Covid-19 hospital, but the Supreme Court lashed out at the Gujarat Government on Friday taking suo moto cognizance of it and reminding that this was not the first such instance.

“This is shocking. Let me say this is not the first incident. We are taking suo motu cognizance of this incident,” a three-judge bench of the apex court, headed

by Justice Ashok Bhushan and comprising Justices R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah, told the counsel appearing for Gujarat.

The bench observed that no proper steps had been taken by the State Government despite the fact that this was not the first fire incident at a Covid-19 designated hospital.

Reprimanding Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Government, the apex court asked him to submit a report on what steps were taken in this regard and also sought a report

Some committee or commission always takes up and then closes the proceedings. Why no fire prevention mechanism is present? Someone has to do 24x7 monitoring of the situation.

There needs to be an inspection of whether electrical lines are proper or not. How does this short circuit happen?

—Justice MR Shah, Supreme Court of India

A huge fire broke at the Uday Shivanand Covid Hospital in Rajkot.

IRMA fondly recalls Kurien as pioneer of rural change First India Bureau Anand: Dr Krishnamurthy V Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Union Ministry of Finance, has claimed that the Indian banking sector is poised to grow leaps and bounds and it needs to seize new opportunities to make India a $5 trillion economy.

He was delivering the 9th Dr Verghese Kurien Memorial Lecture on National Milk Day on Thursday. Subramanian spoke on the theme “The Indian Banking Sector: An Opportunity to Contribute to the Economy”.

He stressed on the importance of the next 5 decades for the Indian economy and how learning from the past was imperative for growth in the future.

This had become even

Wedding season seems less promising for textile traders First India Bureau

Father of India’s white revolution late Dr Verghese Kurien.

more critical with the impact of the pandemic still being felt across the world.

Dilip Rath, Chairman, IRMA, said over the last 4 decades, IRMA has strived to live up to the ideals of its founding father Dr Verghese Kurien and “today more than 60 per cent of the 3,000odd IRMA alumni are working in organisations serving rural and allied sectors.”

from the Gujarat Government on the Rajkot fire incident.

Mehta said the Centre would take steps to ensure such incidents were not repeated. Justice Shah asserted that, “Some committee or commission always takes up and then closes the proceedings. Why no fire prevention mecha-

He said institutions were known to be synonymous with the people who had built them and nowhere is this more apparent than in IRMA. Calling Dr Kurien a visionary and innovator, Rath explained how the institutions built by Dr Kurien, like IRMA, National Dairy Development Board and Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation have stood the test of time.

Surat: Textile traders in Surat are saddened that the upcoming wedding season seems less promising for their business as night curfew is imposed due to the surge in Covid-19 cases.

According to the director of Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA), Rangnath Sarda, “Night curfew and rumours about lockdown scared people. Business in the last one and

a half months was exceptionally good. So we prepared for wedding, Pongal and Christmas.”

“But night curfew and rumours about lockdown on social media has scared the traders. Mandatory Covid tests for those coming from outside the city have also deterred people,” Sarda added.

Gujarat has reported more than 2 lakh cases till now and has seen a sharp spike in the past few days with 1,607 cases as on November 27.

nism is present? Someone has to do 24x7 monitoring of the situation.

There needs to be an inspection of whether electrical lines are proper or not. How does this short circuit happen?”

Mehta conceded that it was a serious incident and some measures need to be taken to prevent fires in hos-

pitals and added that he will ensure a meeting takes place today itself and that a decision is taken in the matter. ”Joint meeting between the electricity and fire department will take place. I will ensure a meeting takes place today and immediate steps are taken,” Mehta said.

ED nabs ex-Surat BJP VP in money laundering case First India Bureau Surat: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested PVS Sarma, a former vicepresident of Surat unit of BJP and director of Sanket Media, in connection with a m o n ey - l a u n d e r i n g case.

The ED initiated the probe based on an FIR registered by the Surat police under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, pursuant to the findings of the Income-Tax Department against Sarma and his company.

Sanket Media prints and publishes the newspaper Satyam Times in Gujarati and English.

Sarma has been accused of laundering the proceeds generated out of criminal offences through the company.

The ED stated on Friday that circulations of

Former Surat BJP vice-president PVS Sarma.

the English and Gujarati editions of the newspaper were shown as 23,500 and 6,000-6,300 copies daily, while the actual figures were only around 300-600 and 0-290, respectively.

“Inflated figures of circulation were shown to attract more advertising agencies, including the Directorate of Advertisement and Visual Publicity and other private advertising companies, to publish their advertisements in the said newspaper,” said the ED.

Sarma allegedly gathered `2.70 crore through Sanket Media by cheating the government and private advertising companies. For this purpose, bogus purchase of raw materials was shown by making false entries in the books of accounts from non-existent companies and by creating fake documents.

Sarma was produced before a Special Court in Ahmedabad, which granted his custody to the ED till December 2.

CONDOLENCES Jagdeesh Chandra went down to Piraman village in Bharuch district, Gujarat to share the grief of the family on the tragic demise of Stalwart Congress Leader Ahmed Patel. He paid his condolences in person to Memoona Ahmed Patel (Wife), Faisal Patel (son) and Mumtaz & Irfan Siddiqui (Daughter and Son-in-law). He was accompanied by Haresh Jhala, Bureau Chief, First India, Gujarat.

Irfan Siddiqui takes a look at First India.

Faisal and Jagdeesh Chandra reminisce about Ahmed bhai.

Jagdeesh Chandra pays his respects to Memoona Patel, also seen with them are Faisal’s daughter Esra and Santosh KS.

Mumtaz clicks a photograph as keepsake of First India’s tribute to her father.

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28, 2020

DREAMING BIG

City First presents the top 3 finalists of the Kota audition of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020- Priyanka. Vanshika and Shivani!

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

T

he people in Kota, Rajasthan are as beautiful as the city itself, and there is absolutely no doubt about it.

Recently, Rajasthan’s renowned beauty pageant, Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020 hosted its auditions in Kota and shortlisted 3 participants to be a part of the final auditions, that is going to be held in the Pink City.

Priyanka Mathur, Vanshika Bajaj and Shivani Pancholi are the top 3 finalists of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020 Kota auditions and were selected on the basis of their talent, skills, personality and walk. The auditions were held keeping in mind the current situation, and all safety protocols were followed by the team. Talking about her dream, one of the finalists from the Kota auditions of the pageant, Priyanka Mathur stated, “Start now from where you are, use what you have, your passion will lead you to success with the armor of hard work. My

Shivani Pancholi; (Top) Priyanka Mathur

dream of being a model is on the way because of Elite Miss Rajasthan, which will surely make everyone proud.”

Vanshika Bajaj, another finalist mentioned, “Just be yourself and never give up.

Embrace all the odds of life and turn them into the stepping stone of your dream. Thanks to Elite Miss Rajasthan for giving such platform to young ladies.”

“Dreams don’t work unless you do and All the dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. I want to thank the entire team of Elite for giving me this opportunity,” said the third finalist, Shivani Pancholi.

Safety and sanitization is the need of the hour, and talking about the same, Ayush Vijay, Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020 Kota Director stated, “As Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020 has begun battling with a global pandemic, we are focusing greatly on safety and sanitation. All the safety measures were followed, keeping everyone’s safety in mind.”

Gaurav Gaur, Director of Elite Miss Rajasthan said, “Hosting this event during the pandemic has been a challenge for all of us, but we also understand the dreams of the girls who are aspiring to achieve big in their life. By providing this platform, we are giving them a chance to prove themselves, keeping all the safety measures in mind.”

Vanshika Bajaj

09

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AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

ETC

10

THE MISSING ROSE

DEEPAK’S CORNER

What if we live a life others have chosen for us rather than the one we would choose for ourselves? Is it normal?

BY SERDAR OZKAN

DEEPAK

deepaklifemusings@gmail.com

S

You’ll never regain the minute you lost. We don’t have to spend a life time to realise our dreams. One day you WILL hear the roses.

When this happens, don’t think of it as a miracle. That’d make you forget that every moment of life is a miracle. ALWAYS remember not just the roses, but everything speaks.”

The Beggar- freely offers guidance, but the moment he is ques-

FA CE OF TH ED AY

erdar Ozkan’s beguiling debut novel ‘The Missing Rose’ contains elements of a fable, an allegory.

This book is so masterfully crafted so as not to reveal the brilliant conclusion until the very last page. It is like a modern day shamanic journey. The writer explores the thought process and emotional turmoil of a young woman in such a deep meaningful and realistic manner that you are actually surprised the author is not a woman.

This is the story of Diana, young, beautiful, wealthy girl, who has everything that life could offer, along with the deep void of missing something fundamental in life.

She is shattered by her mother’s demise. Even more so by her dying confession that she has a twin sister Maria, who was taken away by her father 24 years earlier. Diana sets out to find her sister. She travels from Rio-de-Janeiro to Istanbul, Turkey. Her search leads her to a mysterious place- The Rose Garden. Under the tutelage of Zeynep Hanim, an extra ordinary mystique she learns lessons that change her life forever.

In a very subtle manner, the few characters here, teach important lessons with their limited words.

It’s the ‘Roses’ who do most of the speaking. Maria- the nonexistent twin, makes Diana aware of her artificial goddess status. “The only thing you need in order to feel special is yourself.”

Zeynep Hanim- besides all else, teaches her the value of time, the importance of every second.

“Every moment holds a power.

tioned, he reminds the seeker that his advise has a price attached.

Mathias- the artist, loves Diana and wants to be accepted ‘as he presents himself ’. He hides his actual qualifications and worth.

“Every wave faces the turbulence of being savagely dashed against the cliffs. But what each must understand is you are not a wave. You are part of the ocean.”

Her Mother- even without her

YOUR DAY Horoscope by

Saurabbh Sachdeva

presence, makes Diana open up to her worldly facade and encourages her to live up to her dreams.

“Rain, clouds, water- all are sensational, free, wild. But to quench our thirst- ultimately we need a confining glass. Others have faith in you only when you have faith in yourself.”

‘The Missing Rose’’ has a “Two are One” theme. Each of us has a dual personality-to some extent, a

eternal youth and beauty of artificial flowers, gradually lost their basic essence. The more they strived to compete- their external glory magnified and the inner vacuum consumed their very existence.

Zeynep introduces the Garden of Roses to Diana. She opens her heart to be empathic towards the fragrant blossoms & be open to her own potential. “I felt like a dry river, a wingless bird, a scentless rose. Yet- I am still a river, a bird, a rose.” Artemis and Miriam are two rose bushes- entwined, inseperable, growing together in one pot. One is haughty-to be worshipped as a goddess, Other- humble, down-to-earth, happy to be a rose. The Goddess living off the admiration of masses- forgets her own worth. The Roses give meaning to Diana’s life, and ultimately make her realise her true self.

It all sums up to ‘GNOTI SEAVTON’- the words engraved on the Apollo Temple. KNOW THYSELF. Seek your true self. “Be responsible for your rose!”

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Scintillating personality is loved by everyone and thats how you are wanted everywhere you go. Your senior at work admires and look upto you secretly. Life may seem tough to you right now but these tough times are making you strong. Its easy to drift apart in relationships.

Frolicsome friend is needed by everyone and this quality of yours make people crave for your company. Stocks will give you profits and its good for you to invest in long term stocks as well. Take correct decisions on career front as your every move will impact your future.

Reclusive tendency if becomes permanent than its a problem, seek help if you continue to feel that same way. You are a bright minded person and often people come to you for guidance. You may face challenges from in laws. You love to study and read books.

Fallacious practices on business front shall be avoided. Success is guaranteed but you have to be very patient and keep yourself positive at all times. If someone trust you than make sure to respect that and never take it for granted. Your spouse will give you some surprise.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

Multifaceted business will give you the opportunity to make big money no matter what the circumstances are. Meeting friends outside is not feasible but getting in touch on phone shouldn’t be a problem. You will be whole day entertained with some or the other things at home.

Swagger is good if its in a confident manner and negative if there is arrogance involved. Trust your spouse in money related matters and let them take the charge also you derive luck from your spouse. Have faith in something or someone, its very important.

Altercations on professional front must be avoided and try to ease things out. You need to keep a check on your health and make sure to devote some time to exercises. You are in search of your path and the only way you can find is by truly self introspecting.

Bolster someone today and they will be thankful to you in the future. Create a peaceful environment at home. You have financial stability and there is nothing to panic. Take timely actions in business. Some of you get enthusiastic about things at first and loose it later.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Diligence and confidence will take you far in life. The art of making life beautiful can be learnt from you. You have a big heart for friends and they can anytime reply on you. You love your freedom and you don’t let anyone or anything mess with it. You are perplexed with someone’s behaviour.

Exacerbating any matter on business front should be avoided rest everything is fine. Professional life is really good inspite of the current changes due to pandemic. You have a lovely life partner and you should thank god for him/her everyday. You love your family more than anything.

Invoking a demon in someone is not a right thing to do and let people be as they want to be. You are a lovely human being adored by everyone. Money is flowing into your life by your kid’s fortune. You are a good son/daughter to your parents and you earn many blessings.

Viability in business is very important. Life teaches you many lesson but it makes sense only if we learn those lessons. Your spouse will help you in your business or may open her new business of her own. All travelling plans are cancelled so work things around.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

JANNAT ZUBAIR, Actress

private self, and a public image.

Diana comes to Ephesus, an ancient city, home to Temple of Artemis and House of Mother Mary.

It’s a conglomeration of the dualities- Ego & Soul, Vanity & Humility, Enslavement & Freedom. It is for us to decide- to fulfill our inner desires or to succumb to the false persona of society. The fragrant Venus and Yellow Rose, in their endeavour to compete with the

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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LICENSED SCUBA DIVER

AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

11

ALL HAIL FOR TURKEY

ALIA TURNS Entrepreneur

B

ollywood actor Alia Bhatt has launched her own startup venture in the kidswear category called Ed-a-mamma.

The brand sets itself apart from existing players by offering a range of naturally sourced and sustainable apparel for children in the age group of 2-14 years.

Bhatt, who has investments in beauty e-tailer Nykaa and fashion

Sonakshi’s post

S

onakshi Sinha who is on a dreamy vacation in the Maldives, on Friday announced that she is a licensed scuba driver, and flaunted her 100 per cent score in the open water diver course test.

She penned a note explaining her fascinating experience, alongside the post. She noted, “Knighted by the holy fins!!! I am now a licensed scuba diver... something i have been wanting to do for years, and finally got down to it!”

—ANI

... her post

styling platform StyleCracker, has fully funded Ed-a-mamma which is being run by a small in-house design, marketing and operations team.

“Unlike the saturated fashion market for women, we have realised there’s a big gap when it comes to a world-class clothing brand for children which is made in India,” she said in an interview.

—Agency

REMEMBERING

DAD

... his tweet

A

mitabh Bachchan on Friday paid tribute to his late father and one the most famous poets, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, on his 113th birth anniversary. “Mai Mahaan Kavye likhna chahta hu, mahakavye nahi! Par unhone mahaan kavye nahi likha aatmkatha ke roop me ‘mahakavye’ bhi racha hai. Gadhyatmak mahaakavye...

Mahakavye me par- charit hota hai, isme svacharit hai. Bharat ke sarvaadhik lokpriye kaviyo me Bachchan ji ka sthaan surakshit ~” —ANI

Alia wearing outfit from her new brand

A

merican model Hailey Bieber, on Friday shared a glimpse of her special Thanksgiving this year.

The 24-year-old star shared a picture of her with a wide smile flaunting the turkey dish that she made for the first time. Hailey is seen celebrating the festival at her home while wearing

Bhumi standing up

CHECKING UP ON SANJU

W

ith most filmmakers deciding to release their movies digitally amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar’s ‘Durgavati’ is also taking the digital route.

With the movie being released digitally, Bhumi is hopeful that all the top film awards of the country will consider including films that are releasing on digital platforms, given the

... her tweet

A

‘HEELEIN TOOT GAYI’

Hailey Bieber

Amitabh Bachchan

ctress Kangana Ranaut on Friday met megastar Sanjay Dutt after she realised that they were staying in the same hotel.

The ‘Queen’ actor later shared an image of them with a sweet note on her social media handle. Kangana, who is currently filming in Hyderabad for ‘Thalaivi’, put out an image on her Twitter handle with the caption, “When I got to know we were staying in the same hotel in Hyderabad, I went to see Sanju sir this morning to check on his health and was pleasantly surprised to see him look even more handsome and healthy.

We pray for your long life and good health.”

—ANI Kangana Ranaut

a yellow and black check coat teamed up with black trousers and red lipstick adding more glow to her face. She is captured smiling at the camera in front of her delicious dish.

1st-time turkey maker (no it’s not burnt) Happy Thanksgiving,” Bieber wrote in the caption with a heart emoticon, telling everyone that her dish is not burnt. —ANI

coronavirus pandemic that has kept people away from theatres.

Talking about her film taking a digital route, the ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ star “When we started out to make Durgamati, we wanted the entertain audiences in cinemas. Then, the pandemic happened and is now making us realign as an industry. The fact that movie releases have become digital first, is a unique scenario that we are all living with today.”

—ANI

Poster of the song

K

iara Advani on Friday dropped the much-awaited party number ‘Heelein Toot Gayi’ from her upcoming film ‘Indoo Ki Jawaani’.

The ‘Kabir Singh’ star posted s short clip from the song on Instagram, in which the actor dances along with co-star Aditya Seal.

Along with the video she noted, “Drop the beat and break some heels! Here’s a new song from my movie # I n d o o K i J aw a n i . #HeeleinTootGayi, song out now. Tune in!.” The two minuteforty second song is a peppy dance track with vocals by Badshah a n d Aastha Gill.— ANI

Bhumi Pednekar

CONNECTING, WITH LOVE! City First in an exclusive interview with Vishal Mishra, music composer and singer from Bollywood, about his journey in the industry!

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

E

veryone has big dreams, but very few work hard to achieve them.

Vishal Mishra from B’town is a great example of being passionate about work and eventually reaching great heights.

He recently released his

latest song ‘Woh Chaand Kahan Se Laogi’ featuring Urvashi Rautela and Mohsin Khan, and it is already a super hit.

In an exclusive interview with City First, Vishal shared his journey in the industry, and what is planned for his fans in the coming months.

Talking about being a part of the industry, Vishal stated, “Being a part of Bollywood is like a dream come true. I have never really focussed on getting recognition and

fame, and have always wanted people to listen to my music and connect with it. Even if it is two thousand people or twenty crore people, all that matters to me is that they connect to my musicthat’s my biggest victory.”

“I have been a part of various songs, but that one song that gave me a major boost was ‘Kaise Hua’ from ‘Kabir Singh’, and I’m extremely grateful for the fact that the audience loved it and connected to it instantly.”

Vishal has been extremely active during the lockdown and has successfully released various songs. Talking about his upcoming projects, he mentioned, “I am working on an entire album at the moment, which will be released in January, most probably. After that, there are a few movies lined up, and an international project too.”

Vishal Mishra

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12

AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

—FILE PHOTOS

43 BLISSFUL YEARS

CM Ashok Gehlot and Sunita Gehlot completed 43 years of marriage on 27 November, Friday. Sunita Gehlot has been a pillar of support for the CM ever since their wedding in 1977. They did not celebrate their anniversary this year due to a recent demise in the family. As they complete 43 blissful successful years, First India shares some beautiful memories and wishes them all the best.

CM Ashok Gehlot and Sunita Gehlot with Sonia and Vaibhav.

CM Ashok and Sunita Gehlot on a vacation.

The PDKF Store

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

T

he Schwabb Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Jubiliant Bhartia Foundation announced Ashraf Patel of Pravah and ComMutiny – The Youth Collective as the winner of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award – India 2020.

Ashraf Patel has been bringing revolutionary change by nurturing spaces that enable a generation of empathetic, sensitive youth changemakers in India to develop and thrive. Through pyscho-social interventions that help young people to build more inclusive identities and just societies, Pravah and ComMutiny have successfully impacted issues like education, sexual and reproductive health, environmental sustainability, constitutional literacy, social inclusion gender-based violence and

T

HAPPY B’DAY!

the reach of the foundation. The women of PDKF are making exquisite products, which is a true reflection of Rajasthan, its culture and heritage crafts. I have used what I have learned, over the past years while at university and travel-

MEET & GREET!

CITY FIRST

CITY FIRST

he Princess Diya Kumari Foundation (PDKF) will soon be launching the ‘PDKF Store’ at the City Palace, Jaipur. The PDKF outlet and online store will showcase the work of the women artisans trained at the foundation, to a global audience. It is a contemporary adaptation of the traditional crafts of Rajasthan. The collection has been designed by the daughter of Princess Diya Kumari of Jaipur, Princess Gauravi Kumari and French designer, Claire Deroo.

Gauravi Kumari mentioned, “PDKF was started by my mother in 2013. I grew up being inspired by her working towards women empowerment. The PDKF store will not only enhance the brand of PDKF but also engage and help more women in Rajasthan and across the country by expanding

Sunita Gehlot puts a traditional tika on the forehead of Ashok Gehlot.

ling, to nurture their design sensibilities. The brand is an elegant and beautiful adaptation of traditional Rajasthani heritage motifs mixed with contemporary design sensibilities, on a global level.” cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

employability.

They have also contributed to strengthening key Government policies and programmes for adolescents and young people.

On receiving the award, Ashraf Patel said, “This recognition for youth leadership has come at a moment when it was needed the most, the world right now is beset with ine-

Ashraf Patel

quality, conflict and environmental issues.

Never before have we needed more collaboration and shared leadership with young people to create a better world.”

Together Pravah and ComMutiny- The Youth Collective (CYC) have developed 6,80,000 empathetic, sensitive youth change-makers worked, with over 1200 youth-centric organisations, 100 civil society groups across 17 States in the country. Through a psycho-social approach to interventions, the organizations have helped build inclusive identities and societies bringing about revolutionary changes. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Jagdeesh Chandra with Shalini Agrawal, Collector Vadodara, Gujarat during his one-day trip to Gujarat. The dynamic collector of Vadodara, Shalini is a native of Rajasthan and has her parental house in Jaipur.

WEDDING BELLS!

FROM UTTAR PRADESH…

Allahabad Museum celebrated constitution day on Thursday, with inauguration of Preamble wall and exhibition on Indian Constitution.

IIT (BHU) and IITG have signed a MoUon Thursday to offer Joint PhD Degrees under this mechanism to enhance and strengthen research ecosystems at both the places.

RAJ: Swati Jangid and Akanksha Bhalla at the wedding ceremony of Ranu and Viren at Siyaram Banquet in Jaipur on Thursday.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

IAS Suchi Tyagi (from top), IPS Dr Prashakha Mathur and IPS Deepak Bhargav celebrated their birthdays on 27 November, Friday. We wish them all the best!

GUJ: COVID-19 awareness flex outside a garden in Ahmedabad on Friday. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is taking strict actions for the same, and spreading awareness to —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI as many people as possible.

GUJ: Bouncers spotted checking the temperature of people at a vegetable market in Ahmedabad on Friday.

GUJ: To commemorate the Golden Jubilee Victory Celebrations and to pay homage to the sacrifices made by the soldiers during the 1971 war, a 1971 Kilometres ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh Cyclothon’ across Gujarat and Rajasthan, was steered under the aegis of The Konark Corps of Indian Army on Thursday.

Sneh, a 13-year old student participated under the ‘Drawing’ category in the Digital Baal Mela by LIC, on Friday.