First india ahmedabad edition-30 july 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

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ALERT AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

WORLD

COVID-19 UPDATE

MAHARASHTRA 14,463 DEATHS 4,00,651 CASES

35,000 15,84,299

CONFIRMED CASES

DEATHS

DELHI 3,907 DEATHS 1,33,310 CASES

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 245

INDIA

6,66,172 1,70,38,177

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DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 3,741 DEATHS 2,34,114 CASES

GUJARAT

2,396 DEATHS

ANDHRA PRADESH 1,213 DEATHS 1,20,390 CASES

59,126

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 654 DEATHS 39,780 CASES

GUV BLINKS, GIVES GEHLOT AUG 14 DATE GEHLOT CAMP CLAIMS A MORAL VICTORY

DISQUALIFICATION PROCEEDINGS

CP files fresh plea in SC against HC order

Aditi Nagar

Jaipur: Wednesday finally brought with it a culmination of the ongoing tussle between the top two constitutional positions in Rajasthan, i.e. Governor Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, since late in the evening the Governor gave his in-principal assent to calling the state Assembly from August 14.

The development, which rendered excitement and elation in the Gehlot camp, also stamped the moral victory of CM Gehlot.

The development occurred hours after Governor rejected Gehlot’s request for an Assembly session for the third time, citing short notice, after which CM Gehlot, who made untiring efforts to get Governor’s approval, proposed a new date.

Earlier in the day, the Governor had said that there seemed to be no convincing reason to call a session as early as Friday without a 21-day notice in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. A

CM Ashok Gehlot with Governor Kalraj Mishra at Raj Bhawan on Wednesday.

floor test could be one reason to call a session at short notice, Mishra suggested, and a short session could be held with social distancing measures. An interesting development occurred when the Governor rejected the proposal.

CM Gehlot was at PCC for Govind Singh Dotasara’s assuming office as new PCC Chief.

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UNLOCK 3.0

Gyms to open, no night curfew from August 5 New Delhi: MHA on Wednesday issued `Unlock 3’ guidelines removing restrictions on the movement of individuals during the night (night curfew) and allowing Yoga institutes and gymnasiums to open from August 5 while schools, metro and cinema halls will continue to remain closed.

The ministry said that lockdown shall continue to be implemented strictly in the containment zones till August 31 and schools, colleges, coaching institutions and cinema halls will remain closed till the end of August. According to the new guidelines, metro rail, cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly

Jaipur/New Delhi: Speaker CP Joshi has filed a fresh petition in the Supreme Court challenging the July 24 order of the High Court staying proceedings on disqualification petitions against former deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 Congress MLAs. Rajasthan HC on Friday had ordered status quo on the disqualification notices sent by the Speaker, effectively barring the Speaker to proceed further on the notices under Tenth Schedule of the Constitution to disqualify the dissident MLAs, even if they do not submit their replies to it.

“The impugned or-

halls, social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions and other large congregations will continue to remain prohibited.

Dates for the opening of these will be decided separately based on the assessment of the situation, the ministry said in a release.

States and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain activities outside the containment zones, or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary.

“Restrictions on the movement of individuals during the night (night curfew) have been removed,” the release said.

The ministry said that the new guidelines are based on feedback received Turn on P6

WHAT WERE MISHRA’S 3 CONDITIONS?  The assembly session should be called by giving a 21-day clear notice, so that all members of the assembly can decide to get equal time and opportunity to come for the session.  Under any circumstances, if action is taken to obtain a vote of confidence, then it should

be as per the order of the Supreme Court. It should be decided that all members join at their will.  Looking at the guidelines of Corona, it should also be clarified how social distancing will be maintained during the Assembly session.

der restraining the Speaker from performing his constitutional duties under the Tenth Schedule is a direct intrusion by the High Court into the domain exclusively reserved for the Speaker under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution,” read Joshi’s plea.

It added the July 24 order is “completely non reasoned” and does not reveal any reasons for passing the status quo order.

“The High Court has no jurisdiction to decide the validity of para 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule on the anvil of the basic structure doctrine.

The basic structure doctrine Turn on P6

MLAs’ merger with Cong: BSP moves HC Jaipur: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Wednesday filed a writ petition in the Rajasthan High Court challenging the merger of six BSP MLAs with the ruling Congress in state.

According to highly placed sources BSP Supremo Mayawati might opt for heading to the ED as well, in addition to fighting a legal battle.

Sources reveal that Mayawati wants to get the ‘inclusion’ of 6 BSP MLAs into Congress, allegedly by providing them money, investigated by the ED and if the ED accepts Maya’s allegations, then the BSP MLAs from Rajasthan might face difficult times ahead. Although the matter is nearly ten months old, yet ED would not shy away from digging old graves.

—Agencies

PM SAYS SWAGATAM AS RAFALE LANDS @ AMBALA Ambala: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed the landing of Rafale fighter jets in Ambala with a tweet in Sanskrit which refers to the obligation of protecting one’s nation being supreme. The PM’s tweet came moments after the first batch of five Rafale Jets touched down in Ambala on Wednesday afternoon after covering 7,000 km in flight since its take off from France on Tuesday. The jets were given a customary water salute upon their arrival at the airbase, some 220-km from the India-Pakistan border. The formal induction ceremony of the aircraft would be held later. The aircraft would move out soon to another operational base for operational sorties. P6

Narendra Modi @narendramodi There is no greater blessing than protecting the nation, protecting the nation is a virtuous deed and protecting the nation is the best Yagna. There is nothing beyond this. Touch the sky with glory. Welcome.

The first batch of five Rafale combat jets enter the Indian air space on its way to Ambala airbase from France on Wednesday.

Amit Shah @AmitShah From speed to weapon capabilities, Rafale is way ahead! I am sure these world class fighter jets will prove to be a game changer.

Congratulations to PM @narendramodi ji, DM @rajnathsingh ji, Indian Air Force and the entire country on this momentous day. #RafaleInIndia Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh I would like to add, if it is anyone who should be worried about or critical about this new capability of the Indian Air Force, it should be those who want to threaten our territorial integrity.

Rural Guj accounts for 52.91% of cases, major cities for 47.09% Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: Another 1,144 cases of COVID-19 were reported on Wednesday, taking the state’s total tally to 59,126 cases. Of these, 10 were from other states. Rural parts of

Gujarat now account for 52.91% of cases, while the share of the eight major cities has fallen to 47.09%. On the day that Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel visited Rajkot and Vadodara, the

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

24 HOURS: 1,144 FRESH CASES, 24 DEATHS, 783 DISCHARGED TOTAL: 59,126 CASES, 2,396 DEAD, 43,195 DISCHARGED

Medics take a break to discuss the situation at a COVID-19 checkpost in Ahmedabad’s Sanathal area.

NO FESTIVITIES IN AUGUST, CAN’T GUARANTEE NAVRATRI: CM Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has made it clear that there will be no festivities in August. He said that since the situation is not under control, there will be no Janmashtmi celebrations, no Tajia procession, and no Bhadarvi Poonam congregation at the Ambaji temple. He also said, “If the situation remains the same in August, September and the first 15 days of October, then we can’t celebrate Navratri.” two districts reported 80 and 95 new cases, respectively. These are the highest numbers to emerge from these dis-

tricts to date.

The eight major cities--Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Junagadh, Jamnagar,

Bhavnagar, and Gandhinagar--have reported 534 cases, whereas 32 districts have reported 600 cases. Again, Surat reported the highest number at 291: 207 cases in the city and 84 from rural areas.

Ahmedabad had 152 cases, Gandhinagar, 60, Mehsana, 36, Bharuch and Dahod each reported 33, Bhavnagar had 31, as did Junagadh and Surendranagar, while Morbi had 28, and Amreil, 24.

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NEWS AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020

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02

Congress blames BJP for situation in Surat

GPCC chief Amit Chavda visited two hospitals in Surat on Wednesday.

Rising nCoV numbers draw CM, Dy CM to

RAJKOT, VADODARA

More than 130 days since its first case, state still isn’t prepared for the COVID-19 outbreak Haresh Jhala Ahmedabad: On July 04, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel visited Surat, spurred by a spike in COVID-19 numbers there. Barely 25 days later, they’re on a flying visit to Rajkot and Vadodara to take stock of the situation in these two districts.

Simply put, the “situation” in Rajkot and Vadodara is that these districts are seeing a spurt in both case numbers and deaths.

Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Udit Agrawal on Monday attributed this to Unlock 1.0. He told the media that a lot of people from other districts and areas arrived in the city after Unlock 1.0 was implemented, leading to a rise in COVID-19 cases there.

There is some substance to this.

On April 01, there were nine positive cases in and 10 in Rajkot.

A month later, on May 01, Vadodara had 308 and Rajkot had just 58 cases. On June 01, Rajkot had 115 positive cases and Vadodara, 1,074.

Under Unlock 1.0, Rajkot witnessed a jump of 154 cases, taking its tally to 269 on July 01. Vadodara’s

ACTIVE CASES IN THREE DISTRICTS District

April 1

May 1

June 1

July 1

July 28

Ahmedabad

23

2,729

3,922

3,586

3,329

Rajkot

10

39

42

147

753

Vadodara

08

185

419

669

861

SAMPLE TESTING IN THREE DISTRICTS District

May 28

June 21

July 28

Ahmedabad

11,097

1,76,792

2,26,750

Rajkot

4,568

15,182

18,385

Vadodara

9,002

34,880

41,611

(Source: Gujarat Health Department COVID-19 dashboard)

more than doubled to 2,267. As on July 28, Rajkot district had 1,559 positive cases, while Vadodara had 4,367.

Deaths have spiked, too. At the beginning of July, Rajkot had witnessed seven deaths related to the novel coronavirus, while Vadodara had seen 49. By July 28, Rajkot’s num-

ber had almost quadrupled to 25 and Vadodara’s had swelled 1.48 times to 73.

Back in April, the state government had claimed it was prepared for the outbreak, with 31 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in 26 districts. Then Patel, who is also the state’s health minister, had

stated that 20,000 beds are ready to treat patients infected with the novel coronavirus.

Yet, now, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Chief Secretary Anil Mukim, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister K Kailashnathan and Principal Secretary

(Health) Jayanti Ravi are “taking stock of the situation”.

The situation, then, is that Rajkot and Vadodara districts, and their respective district headquarters, are soon likely to require additional beds to accommodate more COVID-19 patients.

Vadodara has started preparing for this at the trauma centre building at Shree Sir Sayaji General (SSG) Hospital and is also planning to convert the dome at the Gotri hospital into an ICU unit with 150 beds.

On Wednesday, Rupani told the media in Rajkot that, even though half the beds in the district are available, another 3,500 beds will be added to increase the capacity. This indicates the district administration’s apprehension that it will need more beds if the spike continues.

Rupani also said that about 40% of the COVID-19 patients being treated in Rajkot are from other districts. This indicates that even if the other districts have hospitals and beds ready, they might be facing a shortfall of staff or, perhaps worse, public faith.

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: During his visit to Surat on Wednesday, Amit Chavda, the president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) blamed the BJP and its administration for the “turning the city into Wuhan”. Surat is the second worst-hit city in the state after Ahmedabad in terms of COVID-19 cases.

Chavda also taunted the BJP government who once said it was working towards making a city like Shanghai.

“They couldn’t make it like Shanghai but, due to mismanagement, they have turned the city into Wuhan. It is the fault of BJP that even medicines are being sold on the black market,” Chavda said.

The GPCC chief visited two hospitals— SMIMER and the Civil

Hospital—where he held discussions with the staff. “I am not complaining against the doctors or medical staff.

They are treating patients around the clock.

I have learned that there are some issues being faced by hospitals, too. Some private hospitals have been taking hefty charges from the patients, who go there since government hospitals lack proper infrastructure and sufficient doctors,” asserted Chavda.

Even as he lauded the medical staff for their dedication, he accused the government of not stocking enough medication. “There is a shortfall of injections.

The government has failed to see the severity of the disease and is busy fudging data to give a glossy picture,” he said.

“The BJP government has failed to control the

spread of the novel coronavirus. This is why they are manipulating the data,” he added.

While in Surat, Chavda also met with representatives of around 1,500 people living in 416 flats in the Anjana area of the city, who asked him to raise the issue of the slow redevelopment of their area on the Assembly floor.

Last year, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) began work on the Anjana tenement redevelopment project, under which all the old tenements in the area were to be redeveloped by private players. The private firms were supposed to have paid the flat owners rent until the new buildings were ready. However, not only have the flat owners not been paid for three months, not even half the work on the redevelopment has been completed.

Activists want hearings on environmental impact delayed First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Environmental activists are opposing the public hearing of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of seven companies due to the COVID-19 protocol. They have said it may not be the right time to organize public hearings for fear of violation of the health guidelines in place.

Ahmedabad-based NGO Paryavaran Mitra activist Mahesh Pandya

has written a letter to the State Chief Secretary Anil Mukim to draw his attention to the fact that the COVID-19 protocol prohibits a gathering of more than 50 people in one place.

Expressing his concern, the activist states that the local administration cannot restrict

the number of participants in a public hearing, since it may affect hundreds or even thousands of people in the area.

Further, Pandya also cited the state and central government’s appeal ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’. Since the hearings would compel people to venture out of their homes to attend it in large numbers, it can lead to community transmission of COVID-19. In his appeal to the GPCB, the activist stated that all such public hearings should be postponed.

INADEQUATE KNOWLEDGE

Once infected with nCov, cannot be reinfected, says CM Rupani l The chief minister was on a visit to

his hometown Rajkot to review the COVID-19 situation there

Masuma Bharmal Jariwala Rajkot: While there seems to be no evidence supporting the supposition that COVID-19 patients who have recovered from the virus cannot be infected again, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, while addressing the media in Rajkot on Wednesday, claimed, “A person who has been infected with novel coronavirus cannot con-

tract it again. Such people should come forward and serve as COVID-19 warriors in various capacities.”

Rupani was visiting his hometown with a team comprising Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, State Chief Secretary Anil Mukim, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister K Kailashnathan and State Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti

Ravi, to take the stock of the situation there.

Rupani conducted a series of meetings with Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials, Rajkot District Collector Remya Mohan, medical teams and doctors of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Rajkot branch and other elected representatives to evaluate preparedness for the health crisis at the city and district level.

“Since the past five months, the state government has been working on combating the COVID-19 pandemic

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, with Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on his right and on CM’s left Chief Secretary Anil Mukim on his left, in Rajkot on Wednesday,

with an aim to ensure that less number of people get infected with the

virus. I am happy that the situation in Gujarat is far better than other

states. Our state, which was in the second position in terms of COV-

ID-19 cases, is now placed at the 12th position. Also, the death rate which was recorded to be 7%, the highest in India, is now at 4% with a recovery rate of 74%,” stated Rupani.

He added, “At first, it was Ahmedabad and then Surat, which reported the highest numbers of nCov cases but now, the situation in these two cities is stable and under control. Cities such as Rajkot and Vadodara are now reporting a rise in cases.

After taking stock of the situation here (in Rajkot), we have decid-

ed to double sample testing numbers from Thursday onwards. If the resident of a particular area or building tests positive for SarsCov-2, other people residing in the entire area will have to be tested.

Like Ahmedabad, the screening and tests of superspreaders such as vegetable vendors will be conducted and each of them will be issued passes with provision for a review every two months.”

The CM also donated Rs5 crore to the district from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020

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FDCA busts drug smuggling and black marketeering op, two held

Complaint lodged with the A’bad Crime Branch against eight; drugs manufactured in Bangladesh Haresh Jhala

FAKE CURRENCY

Ahmedabad: The Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) has lodged a criminal complaint with the Ahmedabad Crime Branch, against eight people for smuggling lifesaving drugs into the country and selling them on the black market in Gujarat. A week ago, the FDCA had busted a smuggling racket, wherein injectable drugs such as Remdesivir were smuggled from Bangladesh and sold on the black market.

According to the complaint, Vastrapur-based prime accused Sandeep Mathukiya in collusion with his cousin Yash were selling the Remde-

—FILE PHOTO

sivir injection manufactured in Bangladesh here at escalated prices.

In order to nab the Mathukiyas, FDCA Inspector Ashish Baseta laid a trap for and showed interest in buying two Remdesivir in-

jections for Rs36,000.

When Sandeep’s brother Yash approached the officer to deliver the injection, he was detained by the team accompanying him.

During primary investigation it was re-

vealed that Sandeep had been buying these injections from Parth Goyani, a partner at Nilkanth Elixir, a wholesale pharmaceutical company based at Makarba in Ahmedabad. Since the company did not have

the license to import pharmaceuticals, they were illegally importing the Remdesivir injection from Bangladesh. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, they were selling the drug to relatives and family

members of patients at escalated prices.

The complaint has been lodged against cousins Sandeep and Yash Mathukiya, Parth Goyani, his company partner Darshan Soni, Vaishali Goyani, Shaikhar Adroja and Sabbir Ahmad from Bangladesh and another unidentified person.

It covers various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and underlines and act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention, conspiracy, culpable homicide, cheating with knowledge, Drugs Price Control Order section 26, Drugs and Cosmetics act’s section 18(A), 18 (C), 18(B) and other sections.

03

Girl hangs herself after being asked to avoid online studies First India Bureau Surat: A 16-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a fan after her parents attempted to restrict the time she spent looking at electronic screens. Katargam police have registered a case of accidental death and are investigating.

According to information shared by police sources, the teenager was studying in Class 10 in the Katargam area of Surat city.

She had been suffering with a headache for the past 20 days, and had recently also developed a cough and cold. When her parents took her to the SMIMER (Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research) Hospital, doctors there attributed the illness to her having spent too much

EXTREME STEP

time looking at the TV and her mobile phone, which she had been using to study online.

They also prescribed some medication. This was a few days ago.

Staying away from her studies for four to five days reportedly made the girl depressed.

She allegedly hanged herself from a fan hook while her parents went out to the market.

Prepare for heavy rains over the next five days, says weatherman

IKDRC conducts 2 sets of kidney swaps

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: After resuming its normal operations after a break of almost four months, the city-based Institute of Kidney Diseases & Research Centre (IKDRC) has already completed two sets of kidney swap transplants and has scheduled a third one this week.

The two sets of swap transplants conducted last week had donor rel-

Ahmedabad: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in the state for the rest of this week. In its press bulletin, the IMD mentioned that there was a cyclonic circulation over Southwest Rajasthan and adjoining North Gujarat between 2.1 km and 3 km above mean

sea level. Therefore, due to this prevalent system, the state is likely to receive good spells of rain.

On Wednesday, very heavy rainfall occurred at isolated places in various districts of the South Gujarat region.

Jalalpore in Navsari district received 133mm of rainfall, followed by Navsari town which received 86mm of rainfall.

A few other places in

the South Gujarat and North Gujarat regions and Saurashtra witnessed heavy showers.

The weatherman predicts that over the next five days, heavy to very heavy rainfall may occur at isolated places in the Navsari district of the South Gujarat region. A good spell of rains is also likely at isolated places in Dang and Valsad districts of South Gujarat region.

First India Bureau

Surat NSUI asks VNSGU vice-chancellor to start PG centres in colleges of Tapi district First India Bureau Surat: The Surat chapter of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) on Wednesday submitted an application to Dr Shivendra Gupta, Vice-Chancellor of the Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU), asking that he launch postgraduate (PG) centres in colleges in Tapi district.

The application states, “More than 800 students graduate from Tapi district every year

NSUI members outside the office of Dr Shivendra Gupta.

and these students have to take admission in other cities such as Surat, Jambusar and Dharampur for their postgraduate studies,

since the district’s colleges do not have PG facilities. Due to the poor economic condition and the high expense involved in stud-

ying in other cities, many aspirants drop out Those who do continue have to face many difficulties.”

It adds, “Just like students in other districts, students in Tapi also have the right to an education. Hence, VNSGU should set up PG centres in Tapi district to enable more students to educate themselves.”

The application said that students would be forced to also conduct an “andolan” or protest if the PG centres are not launched.

—FILE PHOTO

IKDRC.

ative-patient pairs from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu. The set of swap transplants planned this week has a pair from Rajasthan and

Gujarat.

Swap transplants are scheduled when the ABO blood group or Human Lymphocyte Antigen (HLA) of a live donor—usually a blood

relative—does not match with that of the patient they are related to, but does match that of another unrelated patient. Once these donor relative-patient pairs are located, and the two pairs consent to the procedure, crossmatching is done before the transplant is carried out.

“The donor-patient pairs can meet in person, talk to each other, exchange their medical reports and weigh their

EXTRA PROTECTION

health parameters before agreeing to the swap transplant,” said IKDRC director Dr Vineet Mishra.

To find a perfect match, IKDRC feeds 50 characteristics of prospective matches into a software, and offers the service free to its patients. “We do not charge a single penny from patients but the cost of such matchmaking hovers around Rs3 lakh per swap match in the US,” informed Dr Mishra.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

In Ahmedabad, Ikbalbhai’s rakhis come with messages on staying safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, offering an additional layer of safety ahead of the festival of Raksha Bandhan, where brothers promise to keep their sisters safe.

IN A BAD PLACE

Lockdown hit people’s work efficiency, income & psyche: Survey 

Researchers from Sankalchand Patel University, in Mehsana, and the GMERS Medical College in Vadnagar conducted the study

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The nationwide lockdown phase enforced due to the novel coronavirus pandemic has had various psychological effects on people affecting work efficiency, family income, cognitive thoughts due to stress, anxiety and anger, a recent survey by researchers at the Sankalchand Patel University, Mehsana and GMERS Medical College of Vadnagar, has revealed.

According to the results of the survey, over 64.2% of the sample considered stated their family income had been affected or may be affected in the future. The crosssectional survey was conducted during March- April 2020 using a qualitative research approach and surveying demographics, symptoms, knowledge, concerns, and precautionary measures regarding psychological effects during the COVID-19 lockdown. All responses were collected online.

More than 1,000 respondents were included in the study from Guja-

rat and over 60.89% showcased anger. Of these, 40.22% were males

and 20.67% were females.

In the sample taken, 1.49% respondents re-

ported anger toward their family members.

A whopping 73.7% respondents believed that their work efficiency had decreased due to the lockdown, which impacted the family income. Of the total number of respondents, 39.5% stated that their family income had reduced during the lockdown and 25.2% feared that their income may see a cutback.

More than half of the respondents (54.9%) reported harbouring negative thoughts during

the lockdown, which forced people to stay indoors, with no provision to venture out except for emergencies.

With time on their hands, and nothing to keep them busy, over 49.6% respondents admitted to spending more time on the internet and on digital media. On the other hand, around 43.2% respondents spent their time reading and engaging in their favourite hobbies, which acted as a mitigating factor against negative psychological effects.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020

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MEN BEHIND MEAN MACHINE

IN-DEPTH

THE ‘BEAST’ LANDS, AIR FORCE GETS SIGNIFICANT BOOST

THE

F

ive Dassault Aviation-built Rafale fighter jets landed at the air force base in Ambala where a traditional water cannon salute welcomed them. The fleet brought with them a heavy payload of a confidence booster for the country engaged in a tense border situation with China.

These are the first western combat aircraft to join the Indian Air Force in 23 years. The last imported fighter was from Russia ---the Sukhoi MKI which escorted the Rafales once they entered the Indian skies on Wednesday. Part of 36 aircraft purchased at a cost of Rs 59,000-crore deal signed between India and France, these Rafales will join Golden Arrows, the No. 17 Squadron of the IAF which was disbanded in 2016 after the phasing out of MiG 21s.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the new battle-ready aircraft. Welcoming the arrival of “birds”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, “The touchdown of Rafale combat aircraft in marks the beginning of a new era in our Military History. These multirole aircraft will revolutionalise the capabilities of the IAF.” With the IAF having got a lethal combat capability, Rajnath Singh said that those wanting to “threaten our territorial integrity” should now be worried about India’s latest acquisitions.

It is the multi-role combat aircraft’s armoury and its capability to use its weapons simultaneously which makes it so special. First, it comes equipped with 190kg Meteor air-to-air missiles which have a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) of 100 km and a Mach speed of 4. The missiles with Pakistan’s F16s have a BVR of 75-km. Rafales are also better than F16s in dogfights.

Making Rafale more potent is its air-toground deep strike cruise missile SCALP which has a range of 300-km. Its MICA missiles and HAMMER, the air-to-ground precision-guided missiles, which can hit a target to a range of 70 km, add to its lethality. Compared to Rafales, which have been tested in Syria, Afghanistan, Mali and Iraq, China’s Chengdu J20 jets have no combat experience.

Once all the 36 Rafales are delivered, the IAF will have 32 squadrons, still ten short of its sanctioned strength of 42. Given this fact, the euphoria over the induction of five combat aircraft which will raise the squadron to 31 ought to be tempered.

There is a strong case for India to shop for more fighter jets to bolster the IAF. The proposed purchase of MiG29s and Sukhoi MKI will help narrow down the gap between sanctioned and actual strength.

Like the air force, the Indian Navy’s requirement of three aircraft carriers has also to be addressed. Army also urgently needs sniper rifles, machine guns, and other weapon systems.

These inductions send a strong message to Pakistan. However, will they succeed in neutralising China’s aggression? It is too early to say as the northern neighbour only grabs land through cunning.

T Seen as a hard task master, Rather ensured that the Rafale project rolls on time with all required weaponisation and other contract parameters being met

KASHMIRI ‘RAFALE MAN’ WAS PART OF SURGICAL STRIKE AGAINST PAK he highly decorated Kashmiri officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF), who has been training pilots for Rafale fighter jets in Paris, was part of the 2016 surgical strike against terror launch pads in Pakistan following the attack in Uri. Defence Air Attache in France, Air Commodore Hilal Ahmad Rather, who is being called as the ‘Rafale Man’ of Kashmir and is seen as a role model among a large number of Kashmiri youth, became part of the surgical strike because of his vast experience with flying fighter jets, sources told.

Officials who know Commodore Rather and fondly call him ‘Hally’, as he is known in the Air Force circles, said that he spent four two-year tenures on the Mirage aircraft. He has more than 3,000 hours of accident-free flying record on jet fighter aircraft like Mirage-2000, MIG-21 and the Kiran aircraft to his credit.

A fighter combat leader and a qualified flying instructor, he was the director of fighter operations in the active Western Command of the Indian Air Force from 2013 and 2016, where he was directly involved in the preparedness and training of all fighter aircrew and also op-

erational planning in the sector, sources in the IAF said.

Rather commanded the sensitive Gwalior Mirage airbase which has remained a key element of literally all surgical air strikes by the IAF, an official said.

Seen as a hard task master, Rather ensured that the Rafale project rolls on time with all required weaponisation and other contract parameters being met. Hally’s precise planning and the flawless flight that took place across more than 7000 km with only one stop enroute has enabled the timely arrival of the combat ready Rafales in India amid tensions with China, his service seniors, now retired, said.

Interestingly, years earlier, it was another Kashmiri — Squadron leader Rattan Lal Bamzai who retired as Group Captain — who was also credited with flying the first Mirages to India.

A meritorious topper from Sainik School Nagrota, Rather comes from Anantnag town in south Kashmir. From topping CBSE exams in Sainik School to getting the Sword of Honour at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, for being the best pilot of his course, Rather has excelled throughout his professional career.

Air Commodore Rather has also been trained at the prestigious Defence Services

AS THE THEN DEPUTY CHIEF, IAF CHIEF RKS BHADAURIA WAS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE INDIAN NEGOTIATING TEAM FOR THE 36 RAFALE COMBAT AIRCRAFT DEAL WITH FRANCE

Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington, where apart from officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), candidates from foreign militaries also queue up for admission. He was later assigned as an Instructor at the same DSSC, Wellington.

WHO IS AIR MARSHAL RAKESH BHADAURIA The central government has appointed Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria as the chief of the India Air Force (IAF). Bhadauria, who took over as Vice-Chief of Air Staff in

Preventing a global education disaster “T

he beautiful thing about learning,” the great blues guitarist B.B. King once wrote, “is that no one can take it away from you.”

Born and raised in poverty, King understood the value of education as a force for change. If only political leaders responding to the COVID-19 pandemic had an ounce of his insight. COVID-19 is now mutating into a global education emergency. Millions of children, especially the poorest and young girls, stand to lose the learning opportunities that could transform their lives. Because education is so closely tied to future prosperity, job creation, and improved health, a setback on this scale would undermine countries’ progress, reinforcing already extreme inequalities. Yet

04

this emergency has yet to register on the pandemic response agenda.

Lockdowns have shut more than one billion children out of school. For an estimated 500 million, that means receiving no education at all. A Save the Children survey in India found that two-thirds of children stopped all educational activity during lockdown.

The danger now is that a perfect storm of lost schooling, increased child poverty, and deep budget cuts will lead to unprecedented reversals in education.

This is an emergency layered on a pre-existing crisis. Even before the pandemic, 258 million children were out of school, and progress toward universal education had stalled. Pathbreaking research on the impact of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, Pakistan

captures the risk to learning. Schools were closed for three months. When they reopened, attendance quickly recovered. But four years later, children aged between three and 15 who lived closest to the fault line had lost the equivalent of 1.5 years of learning.

Imagining that outcome on a global scale gives a sense of what is at stake.

Education empowers peo-

ple, reduces poverty, and improves health, and the human capital that it generates shapes the destiny of countries. Lost education will erode that capital, effectively placing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals beyond reach.

The first priority is to keep learning alive during lockdowns. Governments should do all they can to reach children through ra-

dio, TV, and remote-learning initiatives. Countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda, and Burkina Faso have developed ambitious national distance-learning programs. They and others need more donor support to implement them at scale.

Second, the pandemic creates an opportunity to address the wider learning crisis. Too many children are being taught at the

wrong level, owing to schools’ rigid application of poorly designed curricula. Every child returning to school should undergo a learning assessment aimed at identifying those in need of support. Remedial teaching programs such as those pioneered by organizations like BRAC and Pratham can then prevent these children from falling further behind, thereby reducing the risk of future dropout.

Third, increased international financing is critical. Most of the world’s poorest countries, especially in Africa, entered the economic downturn with limited fiscal space. That room for maneuver is now shrinking further as recession bites and externaldebt problems intensify.

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM

May 2019, will take charge from the incumbent IAF Chief B S Dhanoa upon the latter’s superannuation on September 30.

Before being appointed the Vice-Chief of Air Staff, Bhadauria was heading IAF’s Bengaluru-based Training Command.

As the Deputy Chief, he was the chairman of the Indian negotiating team for the 36 Rafale combat aircraft deal with France. He was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Air Force on June 15, 1980, with the ‘Sword of Honour’ for standing first in the overall order of merit.

During his career of nearly four decades, Bhadauria commanded a Jaguar squadron and a premier Air Force Station.

IAF CHIEF WAS THE LEAD NEGOTIATOR Escorted by two Sukhoi 30 MKIs after they entered the Indian air space, the Rafale fighter jets were given a water salute in the presence of top brass of the Indian Air Force including Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria, who had played a key role as lead negotiator in the procurement of the jets, when they landed in Ambala Air Force base at around 3:10 pm.

The planes covered a distance of 7,000 km from the Merignac airbase in French port city of Bordeaux —Agencies

Top

TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp Far-reaching reforms prescribed in #NEP2020 will help renew the foundations of Indian education system with a multidisciplinary, holistic education model that represents India’s rich cultural ethos and imbibes the fruits of modern technology and digital innovations.

Shashi Tharoor @ShashiTharoor As #Rafale joins @IAF_MCC, a few reminders: 1. UPA selected #Rafale &inked the first deal for 126 aircraft. 2. Modi govt cut down 126 to 36, depleting the fighting strength originally planned, &cancelled domestic manufacture. 3. There are serious qsns re cost of these 36 aircraft.

Spiritual SPEAK

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best —Buddha one knows.

Vol 1 Issue No. 245 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.

Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

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Board exams go easier, MPhil discontinued!

A GAME CHANGER: Cabinet approves new Nat’l Education Policy

NEP will transform India into vibrant knowledge hub: Modi

Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank talks about the new education policy in New Delhi on Wednesday.

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the new National Education Policy (NEP) and renamed the HRD Ministry as Education Ministry, officials said.

A panel led by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan had submitted the draft of the new NEP to Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ when he took charge last year.

The significant changes to the policy, which has been overhauled after 34 years, includes discontinuing Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

courses, making board examinations for Class 10 and 12 students easier, establish a single regulator for higher education, flexible undergraduate courses with multiple exit options and appropriate certification, and intiatives to bring back 2 crore out-of-school children, among others. The new education policy also envisions increasing public investment in education sector to 6 per cent of the GDP. Teaching up to at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue or regional languages. No language will be imposed on any student. —Agencies

New Delhi: Prime Minister Nare ndra Modi on Wednesday said that National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a long due and much-awaited reform in the education sector and the new policy is based on pillars of access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability which will transform India into a vibrant knowledge hub.

In a series of tweets, he said NEP gives utmost importance towards ensuring universal access to school education and replacing 10+2 structure of school curricula with a 5+3+3+4 curricular structure will benefit younger children. “I wholeheartedly welcome the approval of the National Education Policy 2020! This was a long due and much-awaited re-

form in the education sector, which will transform millions of lives in the times to come!,” the PM said.

“NEP 2020 is based on the pillars of: Access. Equity. Quality.

Affordability.

Accountability. In this era of knowledge, where learning, research and innovation are important, the NEP will transform India into a vibrant knowledge hub,” he added.

“NEP 2020 gives utmost importance towards ensuring universal access to school education.

There is emphasis on aspects such as better infrastructure, innovative education centres to bring back dropouts into the mainstream, facilitating multiple pathways to learning among others,” he said.

BJP slams Owaisi’s remark on PM attending ‘bhoomi-pujan’

Nadda inaugurates six district BJP offices

Hyderabad: BJP condemns the statements made by A I M I M chief Asaduddin Owaisi on PM Modi attending the 'bhoomi-pujan' at Ram temple construction site in Ayodhya, as people who are in constitutional positions have every right to follow their faith and beliefs, said the party spokesperson from Telangana, NV Subhash, on Wednesday.

“BJP condemns the remarks made by Asaduddin Owaisi on PM Modi attending the 'bhoomi-pujan' at Ram temple, Ayodhya scheduled to be held on August 5,” Subhash told.

New Delhi: BJP president JP Nadda inaugurated six district-level party offices in Haryana, through video conferencing, on Wednesday.

Nadda said that the setting up of party offices at the state and district level was being done to strengthen the organisation from the grassroots level.

Party workers from Rewari, Nuh, Palwal, Sonipat, Fatehabad, took part in the video conference held on Wednesday.

“In 2014, after getting elected, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the BJP party offices should be set up at both the state and district levels. The then BJP chief Amit Shah

Dhemaji:Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday visited and flood and erosion hit areas in the State. He visited the Jiadhal river site, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, where floods have caused huge damage.

The Chief Minister also visited Bhujgaon in Dhemaji district and distributed relief materials among the

Ensure equitable distribution of drugs: Ministry to DCGI 1,77,43,740 SAMPLES TESTED FOR COVID-19

COVID-19: 15LAKH MARK While India’s total tally for covid-19 cases breached 15 lakh mark on Tuesday, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi remained worst hit despite some decline in fresh coronavirus cases in these states. Maharashtra that has so far recorded 3,83,723.

rected to say that apart from availability, the geographical distribution/reach of the drugs included as part of investigational therapies in clinical management protocol for COVID-19, namely, Remdesivir and Tocilizumab, may also be monitored.”

MUMBAI POLICE SUMMONS GAURAV KAPUR, ROUSHAN ABBAS Mumbai: Former IPL commentator cum host Gaurav Kapur and radio jockey Roshan Abbas have been summoned by a special investigation team (SIT) of the Mumbai Police to in connection with the alleged fake followers’ case, sources said on Wednesday. According to sources in the Mumbai

Police, the two have been summoned to record their statement in the case. The SIT had earlier informed the media that 25 people have been verified in the fake social media followers case, but refused to disclose the names of people involved, saying that it may hamper the investigation in the matter.

“The Ministry may kindly be apprised as to how many States/UTs have been covered and which of the States/ UTs, if any, are left as far as the availability/distribution of these drugs by the respective companies is concerned,” read the letter. —ANI

Municipal workers wearing protective suits carry the body of a person who died of COVID-19 for burial, in Karad, Wednesday.

Follow RT-PCR test guidelines, Arvind Kejriwal to officials New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday directed city officials to strictly follow the government’s guideline about doing a RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) test on patients whose COVID-19 reports are negative despite showing symptoms.

“Existing guidelines say that if any patient’s

MEA HOLDS MEETING ON INT’L MARRIAGE RIGHTS New Delhi: The Parliamentary standing committee for the MEA has called a meeting on Wednesday over the issue of international marriage rights. The two earlier meetings had been postponed due to quorum not being fulfilled, and members of the committee demanding discussions on the border issues with China, and Nepal.

The members had also flagged the issue of holding virtual meetings. Earlier this week, job losses due to COVID-19 and the need to boost startups were among the issues that figured in a meeting.

Nadda addresses during virtual inauguration of newly constructed Haryana BJP offices from BJP HQ , in New Delhi, Wednesday.

had included it in his list of programmes. He decided that both district and state offices will be made. We have made party offices in 500 places and work on the remaining 400 is in progress and will be completed soon,” Nadda said.

“The BJP will have a

party office soon in all 22 districts. One district level office is already functional and six have been inaugurated today.

The foundation stone of seven more districts will be laid down in the coming month, and the sole remaining Sirsa district too will have an office soon,” he added.

Assam CM visits flood & erosion-hit areas

CORONAVIRUS India on Tuesday reported 47,704 more COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours

New Delhi: The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has directed the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to ensure equitable distribution of drugs across the country included as part of “investigational therapies” in clinical management protocol for COVID-19. The move comes when Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu informed the ministry of the requirement of investigational therapy drugs.

“With the intervention of DCGI, smaller States and UTs were provided with adequate quantities of drugs under the investigational therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 patients,” said the official.

A letter written by the senior Health Ministry official to the DCGI stated, “I am di-

05

antigen test is negative but he or she has symptoms, RT-PCR test must be done. I directed the officers today to ensure strict compliance with these guidelines,” tweeted Kejriwal.

RT-PCR is one of the most common tests for detection of COVID-19.

India follows the method of nasopharyngeal swabs collection for COVID-19 test.

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal inspecting Charikoria river bank erosion site at Dhakuakhana in Lakhimpur district on Wednesday.

affected people.

“The Jiadhal river, a tributary of Brahmapu-

K’taka Congress hits back at ex-ally Kumaraswamy New Delhi: A day after Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy said that Congress is another name for horse-trading, Karnataka Congress rebutted the same and brought up their erstwhile coalition government in Karnataka.

“Was Kumaraswamy himself so innocent to know the difference between the other party legislators joining the ruling party and abusing the constitutional institutions and dismantling the elected government through Operation Lotus?” Karnataka Congress tweeted. The 14-month-old Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka had fallen after it was defeated on the floor of the Karnataka Assembly with about 20 MLAs of the ruling coalition defying their party whips and absenting from voting on the confidence mo-

NAVY EXPANDS DEPLOYMENT IN INDIAN OCEAN: REPORT New Delhi: The Indian Navy has deployed a large number of front-line warships and submarines in the IOR in the wake of the standoff in eastern Ladakh to send out a clear message to China, according to top defence sources on Wednesday.

The defence sources told that the government adopted a multi-pronged

tra has caused huge damage during the present spate of floods. Vis-

ited Bhujgaon in Dhemaji district distributed relief materials among the affected people with colleagues,” the CM tweeted on Wednesday morning.

One person died at Bokakhat in Golaghat district, taking the toll to 104 in the flood till July 28, this year.

SDRF has also been positioned in 40 different locations in Assam.

approach involving the Army, the IAF and the Navy as well as diplomacy and economic measures to send out a firm and clear message to China. Asked whether China has responded to India’s deployment, the sources told that there was no visible increase in forays by Chinese ships in the IOR.

SONIA GANDHI APPOINTS 17 CITY, DISTRICT CONG PREZ IN UP Uttar Pradesh: Interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday appointed district and city party presidents for 17 districts in UP. The Cong president has appointed heads of party units in Lucknow, Bahraich, Gonda, Gonda city, Badaun , Badaun city, Pilibhit, Kasganj, Mirzapur, Gorakhpur, Sonbhadra, Jalaun, Azamgarh, Unnao, Lakhimpur, Modinagar (Ghaziabad) and Mughalsarai (Chandauli). In February this year, Sonia Gandhi had approved the proposal for creating new city Congress Committees in Azamgarh, Sultanpur, Robertsganj (Sonbhadra) districts in Uttar Pradesh. In October last year, the Cong had revamped the party’s UP unit, appointing party MLA Ajay Kumar Lallu as its chief and Aradhana Mishra as the leader of the legislative party. tion. Kumaraswamy had yesterday attacked the Congress party over the merger of six BSP MLAs in Rajasthan with the party and said that Congress is an expert in dividing political parties and purchas-

ing MLAs. His remarks had come in the light of the Congress party’s nationwide ‘Save Democracy’ protest against the BJP for allegedly trying to “topple a democratically elected government” in Rajasthan.

DEVASWOM BOARD SHOULDN’T APPOINT ARABIC TEACHERS New Delhi: The VHP lashed out at the Kerala govt on Wednesday over the alleged appointments of Arabic teachers in schools. “The Travancore Devaswom Board is constituted under the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950. This Board has three members, two of whom are elected

by Hindu members of the Council of Ministers of Kerala & the third member by the Hindu members of the Legislative Assembly of Kerala. All the three members are thus, the nominees of the ruling party,” said VHP working President Alok Kumar.

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Rafales cross 7,000 km to join ‘Golden Arrows’ The fleet, comprising three single seater and two twin seater aircraft, from Merignac airbase in France landed at Ambala Air Force base

Water cannon salute being given to one of the five Rafale fighter jets on its arrival at Ambala air base from France.

New Delhi: The five Rafales are scheduled to be inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday, though a formal induction ceremony would be held later. Nearly 23 years after Sukhoi aircraft were imported, a fleet of five French-manufactured Rafale multirole combat jets touched down in India, giving the country’s air power a strategic edge over its adversaries in neighbourhood.

The aircraft, having an undisputed track record and considered one of the most potent

PROHIBITORY ORDERS

A

combat jets globally, landed at the Ambala Air Force base after covering a distance of 7,000 km from the Merignac airbase in French port city of Bordeaux.

The Rafales were escorted by two Sukhoi 30

MKIs after they entered the Indian air space.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said "the touch down of Rafale combat aircrafts in India marks the beginning of a new era in our Military History. These mul-

IN THE COURTYARD

SC dismisses plea to conduct CLAT offline New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking direction to conduct the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) through offline mode in view of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases across the country.

A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao refused to hear the plea filed by advocate Mitul Jain. The advocate appearing for the petition contended that the CLAT committee had initially decided to hold the exam offline but now it is going ahead with the online test. The lawyer argued that the move will prevent students who do not have access to computers to sit for the test. CLAT committee should have come out with a foolproof solution and given a month's time to the aspiring candidates, the advocate added. —ANI

Parl house clearance: SC allows filing of plea

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the filing of a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution challenging the Environmental Clearance granted on June 17 for the construction of a new Parliament building as part of Union Government's ambitious Central Vista Project, legal news website LiveLaw. in has reported.

A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar told Senior Advocate Shyam Divan that his clients will be given a week's time to file the writ petition.

The Centre has to file a reply to the plea within a week of receiving the same. The matter will be considered next on August 17.

In March, the Supreme Court had transferred to itself the petitions pending in Delhi High Court challenging the Central Vista Project.

On Wednesday, a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari & Sanjiv Khanna took up pleas filed by Rajeev Suri and Lt Col (retd) Anuj Srivastava against the Central Vista redevelopment project. —ANI

ment employee in Mangrol are also being treated for the infection.

In the past 24 hours, 24 patients died in the state: 11 from Surat, five from Ahmedabad city, three from Vadodara, two each from Patan and Rajkot, and one from Mehsana.

The state has tested 22,914 samples and it claims to have achieved 352.52 Per Million Per day tests.

Active cases in the state now total 13,535, of which 89 are on ventilator support.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has

added 22 new micro-containment zones, taking the tally to 246. Twelve of these are in the eastern part of the city, while 10 are in its western part.

The Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Associations has asked hospitals to not take admission of any COVID-19 patients recommended by critical-care specialist Dr Vipul Patel, who is accused of charging patients exorbitant amounts. A committee is constituted to inquire into allegations against him of charging exorbitantly.

tirole aircrafts will revolutionise the capabilities of the IAF".

Chief of Air Staff RKS Bhadauria will receive the jets when the fleet arrives at the strategically key airbase, officials said.

The fleet, comprising three single seater and two twin seater aircraft, will be inducted into the IAF as part of its No 17 Squadron, also known as the ‘Golden Arrows’.

However, a formal induction ceremony will be held around mid-August which is expected to be attended by the Defence Minister and top

military brass of the country.

Haryana Police has set up several check barricades and police officers were seen patrolling residential localities near the air base, making announcements over loudspeakers warning people not to stand on the rooftop of their houses to click pictures or shoot videos.

Violators would face punishment as per the law, they warned.

Hoardings have been erected in many places in Ambala to welcome the arrival of the fighter jets. —Agencies

Birds have entered Indian airspace: Rajnath

Roaring bird: Pradhan hails PM, ex Def Min

New Delhi: The five Rafale fighter jets have entered the Indian airspace, informed the Office of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday.

"The Birds have entered the Indian airspace..Happy Landing in Ambala!" tweeted the Defence Minister's Office. "The five Rafales escorted by 02 SU30 MKIs as they enter the Indian air space," read another tweet from Defence Minister's Office.

Water salute will be given to the five Rafale fighter aircraft after their landing at Ambala airbase in Haryana on Wednesday.

India's new multirole foreign fighter aircraft will join its

First India Bureau

Air Force fleet today in Ambala. The last foreign fighters inducted into the Air Force were the Sukhoi-30s from Russia which have now become the mainstay of the Air Force after multiple orders in view of delays in placing orders for new western aircraft. —ANI

New Delhi: Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan w e l comes a r r iv a l of Rafale jets in the country. Calling it the "roaring bird", and a formidable protector of Indian skies, he congratulated the Indian Air Force for this powerful addition.

He congratulated the decisive leadership of PM Narendra Modi and also remembered Former Defence Minister Late Manohar Parrikar for their farsightedness.

Today, the king of fighter planes will arrive in Ambala. The people are awaiting the arrival of Rafale fighter jets. If there was no COVID19, they would have welcomed the fighters jets with celebrations.

—Anil Vij, Haryana Home Minister

‘Don’t visit Ayodhya All named by Sushant Singh Rajput’s father booked: Cops for bhumi pujan’ Ayodhya: Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has appealed to followers of Lord Ram not to rush to Ayodhya for the 'bhumi pujan' ceremony of Ram temple construction, scheduled to be held on August 5. The trust has appealed to followers to watch the ceremony on television and light a lamp in the evening to mark the

occasion. According to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust members, PM Narendra Modi will be visiting Ayodhya on August 5 for the 'bhumi pujan' ceremony to begin the construction of the Ram temple. The trust said huge gatherings and participation in massive numbers would not be possible during the pandemic. —Agencies

Patna: All those named by the father of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, in connection with his death, have been booked and investigations have begun, said Superintendent of Police (SP), Patna (Central) City, Vinay Tiwari on Wednesday.

"An FIR has been registered. Preliminary investigation has begun," Tiwari said. He, however, said that it was too early in the investigation phase to

predict who all would be questioned in connection with the case.

"It is not correct to say at this point of time that who will be ques-

tioned. All those who were named by Sushant Singh Rajput's father in the FIR, have been booked," he added.

Former Additional Solicitor General and lawyer of the father of the late actor, Vikas Singh, had said that the Patna police should investigate the case of actor Rajput's death, and FIR was registered there as part of the cause of action lies in the place where his family lived. —ANI

UP Sunni Waqf Board forms panel to build mosque New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board created an 'Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation', a 15-member trust for building a mosque and other facilities on the land allotted in Ayodhya by the Uttar Pradesh Government on the Supreme Court's instructions.

In the Ayodhya-Babri

Masjid land dispute case, the Supreme Court had, on November 9 last year, directed the Central government to hand over the disputed site at Ayodhya for the construction of a temple and set up a trust for the same. The apex court had further directed the government to allocate an al-

ternative five acres of land at a prominent location in Ayodhya for the construction of a mosque to the Sunni Waqf Board.

According to a press release, "In compliance of the Judgment and order of the Supreme Court of India, in Babri Masjid case, the Government of Uttar Pradesh

had allotted 5 Acres of land in village Dhannipur, Ayodhya and the Board had accepted it in February 2020. The Board has created a Trust named, Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation, for building the Mosque and other facilities for the benefit of general public."

The Trust will have a

maximum of 15 trustees, the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board being its founder trustee, while Zufar Ahmad Faruqi will be chief trustee/president.

"The Trust will co-opt the remaining 6 Trustees. The secretary of the Trust will also be its official spokesperson," the Board said. —ANI

Vadodara city tested 641 samples on Wednesday, of which 95 came back positive. There are now 967 active cases, with 142 patients on oxygen support and 43 on BiPAP machines.

court in Kihoto,” the plea stated. —ANI

said. Independence Day functions will be allowed with social distancing and by following other health protocols like wearing masks, the release said. —ANI

bly session, we will be victorious,” Gehlot said then. This was the fourth meeting between Governor and CM since the Congress crisis broke out, and like all the other meets, this meeting too occurred in a cordial environment.

Meanwhile, after a short meeting with the constitutional head of Rajasthan government, Gehlot decided to call his Cabinet yet again, eighth time in five days, signaling that he wanted the unending backand-forth with the Governor to end, and decided to ask for a session

exactly 21 days from when the first request was made.

This marked a significant concession from the Gehlot Cabinet’s earlier stance that the Governor was blocking proposals using questions that were not in his jurisdiction. Maintaining his previous stand to either disclose the reason for convening session on short notice or give prior notice of 21 days as per rules, the Governor said in a three page note while returning the Gehlot government’s proposal for the third time.

FROM PG 1 Rural Guj...

Former treasurer of the Gujarat chapter of the Indian Medical Association, Dr Pankaj Sheth succumbed to COVID-19 on Tuesday night. An officer from the Surat Municipal Corporation also lost his life to the novel coronavirus.

Meanwhile, in Surat, two more doctors serving at the Civil hospital and one doctor each from SMIMER and Maskati Hospitals have tested positive. Two nurses from SMIMER, one pharmacist working at the Olpad Health Centre and a health depart-

CP files... is a judicially evolved doctrine evolved by this court on what is the soul and spirit of the Constitution. Such a determination of the basic structure ought not to be carried out by the High Court more so when the challenge to para 2(1) (a) has already been upheld by this

Gyms to... from states and UTs and extensive consultations held with related central ministries and departments.

“Yoga institutes and gymnasiums will be allowed to open from August 5, 2020. In this regard, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of COVID-19,” the release

Guv blinks...

It was then that he learnt about Governor’s rejection to the proposal and immediately quipped that it is yet again time for him to meet the Governor since he has received his ‘love letter’.

“I am going to meet him to find out what he wants. Whether he seeks a notice of 21 days or 31 days to call Assem-

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M

emes might seem like they emerge “naturally”, circulated by like-minded social media users and independently generating momentum. But successful memes often don’t happen by accident.

I’ve spent the past two years studying the history and culture of “meme factories”, especially in Singapore and Malaysia.

Meme factories are a coordinated network of creators or accounts who produce and host memes.

Meme reacting to the extension of mco posted.

They can take the form of a single creator managing a network of accounts and platforms, or creators who collaborate informally in hobby groups, or groups working as a commercial business.

These factories will use strategic calculations to “go viral”, and at times seek to maximise commercial potential for sponsors.

Through this, they can have a huge influence in shaping social media. And – using the language of internet visual pop culture – meme factories can shift public opinion.

WHEN MEME FACTORIES WERE BORN The first mention of meme factories seems to have been a slide in a 2010 TED talk by Christopher Poole, the founder of the controversial uncensored internet forum 4chan.

4chan, said Poole, was “completely raw, completely unfiltered”. He introduced his audience to the new internet phenomenon of “memes” coming out of the forum, including LOLcats and Rickrolling – the largest memes to have emerged in the 2000s. Today, corporate meme factories systematically churn out posts to hundreds of millions of followers.

They commissioned artists to “live-GIF” the 2012 US Presidential Election debates in an assembly line of soft political content. They congregated on a closed Facebook group to decide who could “take credit” for a school shooting. On reddit’s gaming communities, activating a meme factory (sincerely or in jest) requires willing mem-

Meme comic depicting effective hand sanitis ing techniques.

HOW MEME FACTORIES ARE CRAFTING PUBLIC HEALTH MESSAGING Meme factories are a coordinated network of creators or accounts who produce & host memes

Comic meme depicting hygienic hand washing techniques.

bers to react with coordinated (and at times, inauthentic) action by flooding social media threads.

Amid K-pop fandoms on Twitter, meanwhile, K-pop idols who are prone to making awkward or funny expressions are also affectionately called meme factories, with their faces used as reaction images.

THREE TYPES OF FACTORIES In my research, I studied how memes can be weaponised to disseminate political and public service messages.

I have identified three types of factories: Commercial meme factories are digital and news media companies whose core business is to incorporate advertising into original content.

For instance SGAG, owned

by Singaporean parent company HEPMIL Media Group, has commissioned memes for various business partners, including promotions of radio stations, groceries and COVID-19 recovery initiatives.

Hobbyish niche meme factories, in contrast, are social media accounts curating content produced by a single person or small group of admins, based

07

on specific vernaculars and aesthetics to interest their target group.

One example is the illustration collective highnunchicken, which creates original comics that are a critical — and at times cynical. STcomments, meanwhile, collates screengrabs of “ridiculous” comments from the Facebook page of The Straits Times, calling out inane humour, racism, xenophobia and classism, and providing space for Singaporeans to push back against these sentiments.

The third type of meme factory is meme generator and aggregator chat groups – networks of volunteer members who collate, brainstorm and seed meme contents across platforms.

Meme depicting a low-waged migrant worker receiving treatment in a luxury hospital.

Meme comic remixing the wu-tang clan logo into a ‘wuhan coronavirus poster.

FACTORIES DURING CORONAVIRUS Meme factories work quickly to respond to the world around them, so it is no surprise in 2020 they have pivoted to providing relief or promoting public health messages around COVID-19.

Some factories launched new initiatives to harness their large follower base to promote and sustain small local businesses; others took to intentionally politicising their memes to challenge censorship laws in Singapore and Malaysia.

Factories turned memes into public service announcements to educate viewers on

topics including hand hygiene and navigating misinformation.

Memes are highly contextual, and often require insider knowledge to decode.

Many memes that have gone viral during COVID-19 started out as satire and were shared by Millenials on Instagram or Facebook. As they spread, they evolved into misinformed folklore and misinformation, shared on WhatsApp by older generations who didn’t understand their satirical roots.

An early Facebook meme about how rubbing chilli

fruits over your hands prevent COVID-19 (because the sting from the spice would burn and you would stop touching your face) very quickly evolved into a WhatsApp hoax saying the heat from chilli powder would kill COVID-19 viruses.

Memes can be orchestrated by savvy meme factories who operate behind the scenes; or by ordinary people engaging in democratic citizen feedback. Beyond the joy, laughs (and misinformation), memes are a crucial medium of public communication and persuasion.

 SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION  CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI

 DESIGN: SITARAM SHARMA

Imagination is critical to the lives of not just children and adults but also humanity as a whole.

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

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2ND FRONT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020

Gujarat to crack down on cruel chick killing by egg industry

Ministers to hold only online public interactions

State initiates action after alarming revelations by an investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

First India Bureau

Darshan Desai

Gandhinagar: A day after a personal staff of a State minister was tested positive for Covid-19, Gujarat ministers on Wednesday decided to go completely online in their interactions with MLAs, party workers and citizens to avoid physical meeting.

Official sources said the decision had been taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the government employees did not contract the infection.

A staff in the office of Minister of State for Agriculture and Panchayat Jaydrathsinh Parmar has been found infected by the virus.

Except the minister’s personal secretary

CRUEL METHODS

Gandhinagar: Alarmed by the shocking revelations from an independent investigation by PETA, India, about the illegal and gruesome ways of killing male chicks and other unwanted birds by the poultry industry, the Gujarat Government has asked all the District Collectors to initiate urgent measures to stop the practice.

Following its investigation into this common practice in the egg industry, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India, had appealed to the State Animal Welfare Board to initiate urgent action. Gujarat is one of the major egg-producing states in the country. The Animal Welfare Board on July 16, 2020, dashed off an ur-

Guj Government has initiated action against illegal killing of male chicks by the poultry industry in the State.

gent letter to all the District Collectors, who are also the honorary Chairman of Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in their respective regions, to ensure “necessary action for destruction of birds in poultry hatcheries as recommended by the Animal Welfare Board of India.”

The letter has asked them to ensure that the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, and not violated as found by PETA. According to PETA India CEO and veterinarian Dr Manilal Valliyate, the egg industry commonly kills male chicks because they

can’t lay eggs, while both the meat and egg industries routinely destroy other unwanted chicks as well, including those who are weak or deformed.

What is alarming are the methods of doing this. “The common killing methods include grinding, crushing, burning, drowning or

even feeding them alive to fish,” Valliyate said, revealing their findings.

And this is not only cruel, but also illegal.

Besides immediately stopping this practice, the group has requested the government to ask the egg industry to use “ovo sex-deter mination technology” as soon as

it becomes available.

Developed abroad, this new technology is likely to be commercially available soon and would help destroy eggs with male embryos at an early stage and spare “live chicks a horrific death.”

“The gruesome killing of countless male chicks simply because they can’t lay eggs is cruel and should be stopped,” says Dr Valliyate. PETA has thanked the Gujarat Government for initiating action.

Meanwhile, after PETA India’s appeals, the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir have also issued orders directing an end to illegal and cruel practices for killing chicks.

08

and personal assistant, everyone in his office has been home quarantined.

In any case, official sources said the State Secretariat’s doors have not been opened for visitors even after Unlock 1.0.

So barring MLAs or select leaders, neither party workers nor citizens were being able to approach the ministers with their grievances. Now, the ministers will also hold virtual meetings with MLAs as well as citizens and party workers.

Lockdown:Except Jio, Guj Govt opposes Hardik plea to drop bail condition telcos lose 11 lakh users First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: The State Government has stoutly opposed an application by the newly-appointed working president of the Gujarat Congress Hardik Patel seeking to drop his bail condition that prohibits him from travelling outside the State

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: The corona-induced lockdown saw major telecom companies losing a whopping 11 lakh subscribers in Gujarat, even as Reliance Jio witnessed a heavy demand for new connections.

Going by the data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Jio added over 68,000 users by the end of April in Gujarat circle. With this, Jio’s base in the State increased to 2.38 crore in the month.

However, the telecom industry with active four operators witnessed overall loss of over 11 lakh subscribers in April in the State.

Gujarat, where the real-time population is believed to be over 7 crore, had 6.79 crore mobile users in March and this fell to 6.68

without the court’s permission.

Opposing his application filed on June 30 in the Sessions Court in Ahmedabad, the State Government broadly reiterated on his “criminal antecedents” and instances where he skipped trial appearances in relation to a sedition case.

Hardik Patel.

FEELING THE PULSE

MARGINAL EFFECT

crore the next month.

Airtel witnessed its largest fall in April with loss of 6.81 lakh subscribers and now has 1.03 crore users in the State. Vodafone Idea seemed to have been the worst hit

Represented by advocates Anand Yagnik and Rafik Lokhandwala, Hardik Patel submitted that his “political adversaries” were taking advantage of the restriction imposed on him owing to his bail condition and that no such condition had been imposed on the co-ac-

New Gujarat BJP President CR Patil on Wednesday held one-to-one meetings with top state-level organisation leaders in Gandhinagar ahead of organisational reshuffle. Here, he is seen with Gujarat’s chief party spokesperson Bharat Pandya (on his left).

with its users coming down to 2.65 crore with a loss of 4.96 lakh of them.

The fall in BSNL numbers was marginal -- it lost 7,000 users and has a base of 61 lakh now.

GOOD SAMARITAN

Hefty bills prompt Surat man to convert office into hospital First India Bureau



Having paid huge bills for Covid-19 treatment in private hospitals, this man offers free service at his officeturnedhospital

Surat: The Covid-19 crisis has spawned many a good samaritans and brought out human compassion in the people. After recovering from the dreaded infection, a businessman in Surat couldn’t but feel the pain of the victims of the coronavirus.

So, after recovering from Covid-19, he has converted his sprawling office into an 85-bed facility to provide free treatment for the poor.

With public hospitals struggling to cope, Kadar Shaikh spent 20

A businessman has converted his office into Covid hospital of sorts.

days in a private clinic last month in Surat.

What prompted him to convert his office into a hospital

was the hefty bill he was handed out at the private clinic. “The cost of treatment at the private hospital

was huge. How could poor people afford such treatment?”

Shaikh, who is a property developer,

said.

“So I decided to do something and contribute in the fight against the deadly virus.” Once full recovered, Shaikh secured approval from the local authorities to convert his 30,000-square-feet (2,800-square-metre) office premises.

The government provides and pays for the staff, medical equipment and medicines, while Shaikh bought the beds and bears the cost of bed linen and electricity. Anyone can be admitted, he said, regardless of “caste, creed or religion”.

The coronavirus epidemic is still raging in Gujarat, with Surat city and district reporting the highest number of cases everyday since the beginning of July.

Till Wednesday evening, the State had reported 58,126 positive cases with as many as 2,396 deaths. The single day toll of 1,144 on Wednesday was the highest so far.

Cases are increasing alarmingly across the country too, with the number of infections passing 15 lakh on Wednesday, and almost 35,000 deaths.

cused in the case.

The Patidar leader was granted protection from arrest by the Supreme Court in March this year pertaining to a 2015 First Information Report (FIR) registered against him following the Patidar agitation across the state.

The FIR was filed at the Ahmedabad Crime Branch.

2K Covid-19 patients cured at A’bad GCS First India Bureau Ahmedabad: When many Gujarat hospitals remained closed during the lockdown, Ahmedabad’s GCS Hospital was open and treated non-Covid patients when they had fewer options.

After it was declared a designated Covid hospital, GCS has treated over 2,000 suspected as well as positive corona patients successfully.

“The hospital has allotted a separate entry, separate staff and wards for treating these patients,” Dr. Kirti Patel, Director of the hospital said.

“We are ensuring that all patients get new clothes, bed-sheets, timely medication and treatment as well as books for reading to make them comfortable,” he added.

Patients’ diet is being taken care of by the Diet and Nutrition Department of the hospital. They get healthy meals, breakfasts, snacks, hot water, milk, etc. throughout the day.

And GCS is treating them for free, as per the AMC guidelines.

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09

AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY JULY 30, 2020

Gayatri Devi’s beloved Amber Fort in Jaipur

QUEEN OF

HEARTS I

t’s really an emotional thing for me and not easy to talk about my association with Rajmata Gayatri Devi that went back to the early 1980s. She passed away on 29 July 2009, it’s been 11 years but for me the pain and the loss is still the same. I miss her almost every day of my life.

As students of her Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls Public School in Jaipur, the highlight of those days was when this extraordinarily attractive Maharani visited the school in her soft French chiffons.

One left school and went on to other things but somehow the links were never severed and there was always some activity that took us back to school. Several years later I edited her cookbook titled Gourmet’s Gateway that surprised all of us by doing well. The idea of doing a biography

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dharmendar Kanwar, official biographer of late Rajmata Gayatri Devi. Also, a travel writer, heritage conservationist and photographer who was associated with the Rajmata for almost 30 years.

The author with Rajmata

happened during one of our frequent meetings. That gave me an opportunity to meet her on a more regular basis and also all the people who had been in close contact with her. She was quick to anger and equally quick to cool down.

A very old member of her staff recalled the time when she had gone to a hotel in Delhi to drop somebody. The darban, unaware that she was not getting down, opened the car door for her resulting in her hand being painfully

DHARMENDAR KANWAR

pulled with the door. The poor man received a proper, royal firing. Once home, she kept thinking about the incident and asked her ADC if he thought that the darban was upset about the whole thing. The ADC assured her that the darban must be quite used to it. But she could not get the incident out of her mind and within an hour drove back to the hotel, called the nervous man and apologised to him and explained that she had not meant to shout at him but had lost her temper because her arm had been hurt. The poor man was too embarrassed to

say anything more than “Huzur, what are you doing? Why are you saying sorry? It is all right.”

Her sense of humour and her love to gossip made her seem more humane. She could pull one’s leg so subtly that it took most people a while to realise that they’d been had! One had to know her well enough to see through her jokes.

Once she was invited for dinner.

Among the guests were some nonJaipur people who did not know who she was. The lady asked for an introduction. Without batting an eyelid Rajmata Sahiba said, “Oh I’m a doctor from a nearby hospital and this gentleman here is my assistant. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to go for an operation.”

The ‘assistant’ nearly choked on his drink but quickly regained his composure and accompanied the ‘lady doctor’ to assist her in the operation. She can say the most unexpected thing with such a straight face that one doesn’t know if one should laugh or be shocked.

Rajmata put me in a tight spot several times. Once she introduced me to a publisher saying, “Oh, this is Dharmendar and she doesn’t like you. She thinks you’re not an honest person!” The man, who I was meeting for the first time, looked quite confused and suitably hurt. The next few minutes were embarrassing as I tried to extract myself from the awkward situation while Rajmata Sahiba looked on, very pleased with herself and enjoyed every minute of my discomfiture.

What a legend she was! There is so much to share yet there seem to be no suitable words to sum up the amazing grace and charisma of this original embodiment of style.

My enduring memory of Rajmata is of her bold spirit. In 2002 I invited her to be patron of my ‘Keep Amber Clean’ Campaign. I thought it polite to tell her that I was trying to save a 300 year old Bavri; that threats had been made on my life so government had given me armed bodyguards; that over 40 enquiries were looking into me. Rajmata Sa brushed my concerns aside. This display of courage and solidarity meant the world to me.

—RASHMI DICKINSON, Conservationist

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AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020

10

The Ethan Hunt

GURMAN SINGH cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

T

FA CE OF TH ED AY

om Cruise, American actor who emerged in the 1980s as one of Hollywood’s most popular leading men, known for his clean-cut good looks and versatility. Cruise made his film debut in Endless Love (1981). The movie was a major success, earning Cruise widespread recognition. His star status was cemented with Top Gun (1986), the highestgrossing film of that year. In 1986 Cruise appeared in The Color of Money, For his portrayal of a Vietnam War veteran turned activist in Born on the Fourth of July (1989).

He went on to exhibit a broad depth and range of characters in his films, playing such diverse roles as a navy lawyer in A Few Good Men (1992) and His performance as a sports agent in Jerry Maguire (1996) earned Cruise an Oscar nomination. The actor also earned acclaim as a misogynistic self-help guru in Magnolia. Cruise is most popularly known as ‘Ethan Hunt’ a secret agent in Mission: Impossible (1996); he gained immense popularity by the later sequels of the film as he has things changed since the first “Mission: Impossible. the movie had its action but after that in every sequel the action has only gotten bigger (and the story as well), Cruise has always been fantastic as Hunt. Cruise subsequently starred in the action thrillers Knight and Day (2010) and Jack Reacher (2012). In the latter, he played a former army investigator, a role he reprised in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016).

Cruise’s personal life often attract as much attention as his acting, he is also known to be a social worker. He took part in ‘America: A Tribute to Heroes charity telethon for victims of 9/11’. Later he also became a founding Board Member for the Hollywood Education and Literacy Project, helping students learn how to read and succeed. He has also stopped a hit and run accident in Santa Monica. In London première of Mission, Impossible Cruise pulled two children out of the way of an onrushing crowd. In the same year, while sailing near Capri, Cruise saved people from a burning sailboat.

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Teach your kids the right values right from the beginning because whatever they are learning today that is what they will become tomorrow. Your partner is your mirror who is always introducing you to your true self and help you improve on everyday basis.

Value your parents in life.

You are a fit and strong person who keeps challenging yourself to do better. Financial status appears to be good so nothing to worry. You will channelise your energy in the right direction and spirituality will play a major role in all of it.

Paint if you wish to, write if you like to, sing if thats makes you happy but just don’t stop. Lazy attitude is the thing of the past, you are fully motivated to write your success story. On professional front, someone will try his/her best to help you out if you’ll be stuck somewhere.

Learn to make others smile. You may take a lot of interest in products made from herbs because of their natural properties. You will do really well in academics and your parents will be really proud of you.

Learn to differentiate between whats good and whats bad.

MAR 21 - APR 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You should always speak the truth no matter how harsh it is also that ways you will never have a heavy heart. Excess of anything is not good so make sure you eat moderately and healthy. You may shift to a bigger house soon with your whole family once the pandemic situation will ease.

You have a bright future only if you decide to plant seeds today. You are really into fitness and you are leaving no stone unturned to reach your fitness goal in no time you will see miracles. You may take interest in politics. Sometimes you need to check your temperament.

You are very rigid and stubborn when it comes to what you want. No one can easily pursue you for anything. You are person of strong resolve and you don’t stop until you have accomplished whats in your mind. You will meet someone who shares same ideologies like you.

You will teach a lesson to your kid or to someone younger to which he/she will never forget. You will feel on the top of the of the world today and you will spread happiness wherever you will go. Your spouse will give you special treatment today for all your love and sincerity.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You have to fight for your right and never let anyone take advantage of you. You are a tough, strong person by heart but you don’t forgive people who play with your sentiments. You usually don’t sit at peace until your work is done. For you work is worship and nothing comes before that.

You sometimes get easily influences by external factors and you loose control, keep that in check.

You have a good family life and you are very emotional about them. You need to wait until you find a good life partner and refrain from falling in love because of being impulsive.

You are very happy for someone close and yes you derive happiness from making others happy.

Romance is in the air for you and you will spend some amazing time with your love today. You must learn to maintain good relationships as you cannot be blunt with people at work.

You love your elders and if given a choice, you will always give them the priority . Homemakers will spend the whole day in resetting and arranging things in the house.On professional front, you colleagues/ your boss may give you some time for your sincere effort in project.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

ANKITA GUPTA, Model

APR 21 - MAY 20

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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T

aapsee Pannu addressed the ongoing feud with Kangana Ranaut in a recent interview. The Thappad star spoke about several incidents, including being name called and being deemed B-grade actress by the Manikarnika actress.

During the interview, Taapsee was asked if she would be open to working with Kangana in the future. She recalled the incident when she had the opportunity to work with Kangana on Saand Ki Aankh, which the former eventually did with Bhumi Pednekar, but said Kangana turned the opportunity down.

Although things did not work out in their favor at the time, Taapsee said she is hopeful things will get better. “I would love to work with brilliant co-stars, I have done so in Pink and Saand Ki Aankh. I am positive of things becoming better,” she said. The actress’s statements come days after Anurag said Kangana was approached with script.

—Agency

11

TAAPSEE SPEAKS OUT ON KANGANA

Taapsee Pannu

Teaser out

Nomination SPREE...

E ven during a global pandemic, the Emmys are still happening this year in September. Ahead of the show, the nominees for the TV industry’s most prominent awards have been announced by the Television Academy. The 2020 Emmy Awards will air on September 20, and Jimmy Kimmel will host a virtual edition of the annual awards show. HBO’s ‘Watchmen’ leads the list with 26 nominations, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ bagged 20 nominations, and ‘Ozark’ and ‘Succession’ got 18 nominations each. As the world celebrated watching their favourite series and actors receiving a nod, Priyanka Chopra Jonas had an extra reason to celebrate. Nick Jonas ‘The Voice’ has been nominated for an Emmy Award this year. The reality music show has been nominated for the Reality Competition Program category.

The ‘Sky Is Pink’ star took to Instagram and shared a picture featuring Nick and his co-judges John Legend, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton. “Yay Nick Jonas,” she wrote with a red heart emoji. The actress went ahead and congratulated the other nominees as well.

“Congrats to all of this year’s nominees for the incredible work. Excited to see my friends on the list,” she shared a post before showering other nominees with love and support. —Agency

A

s Drew Barrymore previously announced, she will be launching her upcoming daytime talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show this fall. But before that, the Blended actress has some fun games in store for fans. The actress and entrepreneur has announced a digital lineup as a lead-up to the show’s broadcast premiere on Monday. The digital lineup includes the docuseries ‘The Making Of The Drew Barrymore Show’, The Art of the Interview, Drew’s Cookbook Club and Drew’s Movie Nite.

While announcing this news via YouTube, Drew said “I’m really looking forward to this digital world we are about to bring you into,” in a statement. “A series that’s very near and dear to me is called, The Making Of The Drew Barrymore Show, I have been on this show journey for a year. We started in 2019, it is now 2020, a very different year. And what that year-long journey has been like, where were we, where are we now and how did we get to where we are going. I’m really looking forward to telling you that, in a storytelling way,” she added.

—Agency

Nick and Priyanka Chopra Jonas

BIRTHDAY

SONU’S WAY OF

“T

A

CELEBRATION

STATEMENT

Sanjay Dutt

AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020

his year has been a year of great learning for me.

It’s a different feeling since I’m celebrating my birthday away from my family but in the time of social media, we are not so away, thankfully just like how we recently celebrated Maanayata’s birthday. I was shooting back to back earlier and then, the lockdown came into place so, I really miss them all. I wish I could have spent all these months with them but their safety is of utmost importance right now.

I’m sure once we all reunite, we will have a celebration like never before. I, thank everyone for their wishes and hope that we all pass this time, safe together. My best and warm wishes to everyone,” said Sanjay Dutt on Wednesday.

—Agency

Sonu Sood

ctor Sonu Sood, after working tirelessly for the welfare of migrant laborers over the past three months, isn’t going to take a day off on his birthday too. For the day, he has planned to organise medical camps across the country, which he expects around 50,000 people to attend.

This event is Sonu Sood’s way of celebrating his 47th birthday. He has also been helping thousands of migrant workers return to their homes during the pandemic. During the three months, he has been busy with the welfare work, has the actor’s family ever complained that he doesn’t spend time with them?

Sood says, “They understand and know that I am trying to help people.

I spoke to my son and asked ‘beta, are you not happy that I am not spending time with you?’ He said ‘Nahi daddy, logon ko help Karna zaroori hai’. That gives you more power, that you are doing right. I feel sorry about it, but at least I am able to bring some change in the lives of people.”

—Agency

Drew Barrymore

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ANITA HADA

D

r CP Joshi, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Speaker and MLA from Nathdwara celebrated his birthday with simplicity, following social distancing norms at his official residence on Wednesday. Joshi met Governor Kalraj Mishra in the evening, the Governor conveyed his wishes personally.

Many dignitaries met CP Joshi at his residence to personally convey their best wishes.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and members of the cabinet conveyed their wishes to him via telephone and on Social Media.

Dr Joshi and his wife Hemlata planted a sapling at the residence. Rajasthan assembly officials also wished Joshi, under the leadership of Secretary Pramil Kumar Mathur. Various social events were held at his constituency on this special day.

AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS! —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Governor Kalraj Mishra with Dr CP Joshi at Governor House on Wednesday evening

Dr CP Joshi with (from left) Bhajan Lal Jatav, Pratap Singh,Tika Ram Jully, Bhawar Singh Bhati

—PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

ROYAL INNOCENCE

J

agdeesh Chandra graced Zarpar, the well known Kashmiri Cuisine restaurant in Jaipur and congratulated them for treating Jaipurities

World Hepatitis Day

O KAVITA CHAUHAN

na, Shakir, Anil Nomrot, Prashant Sharma, DIG RAC Battalion Kishan Sahay and Nishant Sharma, Chair man, Hariganga Infotech. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Dr CP Joshi being greeted by Vaibhav Gehlot

CITY FIRST

Arvind Singh Mewar’s grandson

to authentic Kashmiri food. The owner Anil Nomrot felicitated and honoured Jagdeesh Chandra with a traditional winter kaftan. Seen here are (from left) Chuttan Mee-

Dr CP Joshi and his wife Hemlata plant a sapling

Jagdeesh Chandra greets Dr CP Joshi; seen with them is Ravindra Pareek

Dr CP Joshi with PCC President Govind Singh Dotasara

Dr CP Joshi garlanded by his well-wishers

FEELING KASHMIRI

CITY FIRST

12

R

ajasthan’s erstwhile Udaipur royal family has a reason to rejoice and celebrate as Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar and Nivritti Kumari Mewar became proud parents to a baby boy on 21 July in New Delhi.

On Wednesday,

Arvind Singh Mewar took to Instagram to share a super cute photo of the baby Prince wearing pink which immediately garnered thousands of likes. The baby is the grandson of Arvind Singh Mewar and Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, senior BJP leader from Orissa. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

n the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, a webinar was organised at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Jaipur on Tuesday, where Associate Professor, Dr Rajat Bhargav and Assistant Professor Gastroenterology Department, Dr Akash Rajender addressed the Webinar.

During the webinar, the doctors said that pre-

vention is always a better policy. We have prevented hepatitis B infection through vaccination, use of disposable needles and safe physical

AWARDED!

DURING THE DAY! Rajasthan: Following the re-opening of monuments like Jaigarh, Gaitore, and Maharani ki Chhatris, the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum at the City Palace, Jaipur is going to re-open for visitors on 1 August. Director of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, Dr Rima Hooja, shared that the museum will be open from 10 am to 6 pm. All health and safety protocols are in place to ensure a safe and enjoyable museum experience for visitors.

RAJASTHAN: The Shok Sabha of Late Lekhraj Sharma, brother-in-law of Dr Mahesh Joshi, Government Chief Whip Rajasthan Assembly, was held in Ajmer on Wednesday. Ajmer Municipal Corporation Councilor Sameer Sharma shared that his father, Late Lekhraj Sharma, breathed his last on Monday. All the COVID-19 protocol and guidelines including social distancing were followed.

relations. Over 23 crore world population is under the reach of hepatitis and approximately 1 million people die every year due to this disease. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Taj Rambagh Palace, Jaipur RAJASTHAN: Nitin Sharma Son of Ashok & Saroj Sharma secured 93.17% in the Rajasthan board examination of class 10th.

He shared that “At the starting of the academic year, I used to study for only 2-3 hours but as exams came near, it increased up to 12 hours a day. I used to make short goals daily for myself and achieve them. But in this schedule also, I never stopped my outdoor games or exercise.”

RAJASTHAN: Alwarbased Ronit Sharma Son of Hariom & Mamta Sharma achieved 98.17% in the Rajasthan Board Examination of class 10.

Taj Hotels have been awarded at the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2020 in ‘25 Luxury Hotels’, with Rambagh Palace Jaipur being on the 4th rank. Taj Lake Palace Udaipur was ranked #7, Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur was ranked #15 and Taj Exotica Resort & Spa Goa was ranked #23.

WORLD EMBROIDERY DAY CITY FIRST

W

orld Embroidery Day was set up in 2011 in Sweden by a passionate group of stitchers who felt that this won-

derful art should be acknowledged and celebrated. Since then, people around the world have come up with all sorts of ways to celebrate on 30 July, today.

Although things are slightly different

this year, and not everyone is able to get together in a group or head out to stitch in public, we can still mark 30th July in our calendar and do something embroidery related. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in