OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
CORONA
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ALERT AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00
COVID-19 UPDATE
WORLD
8,48,715 2,53,04,741 DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA 24,399 DEATHS 7,80,689 CASES
CONFIRMED CASES
TAMIL NADU 7,231 DEATHS 4,22,085 CASES
RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 275
INDIA
GUJARAT
64,547 36,13,922 3,008 DEATHS
CONFIRMED CASES
KARNATAKA 5,589 DEATHS 3,35,928 CASES
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DEATHS
DELHI 4,426 DEATHS 1,73,390 CASES
95,155
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN 1,043 DEATHS 80,227 CASES
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE! An aerial view of Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh, which is battered by flood, following incessant rainfall on Sunday. More on P5 —PHOTO BY PTI
CBDT to banks: Refund charges on e-transactions New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Finance has advised all the banks not to collect any charges on transactions or payments made through electronic mode, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement on Sunday. According to the CBDT, some representations were made that some banks are imposing and collecting charges on transactions carried out through UPI. A certain number of transactions were allowed free by these banks beyond which every transaction bears a charge, the CBDT noted. “This is in violation of the Circular no 32/2019 dated December 30, 20219, which was issued by CBDT to clarify that based on section 10A of (Payment and Settlement System (PSS) Act, any charge including MDR (Merchant Turn to P6
Post Galwan, Navy deploys
warships to S China Sea
The immediate deployment had a desired effect on Chinese Navy as they complained to the Indian side about Indian warship’s presence New Delhi: Acting swiftly after the Galwan valley clash on June 15 in Eastern Ladakh, the Indian Navy sailed out its frontline warship for deployment in the South China Sea much to the displeasure of the Chinese who raised objections over the move during the talks between the two sides. The Chinese have been objecting to the presence of Indian Navy ships in the region where it has significantly expanded its presence since 2009 through artificial islands and military presence. “Soon after the Galwan clash broke out in which 20 of our soldiers were killed, the Indian Navy deployed one of its frontline warship to the South China Sea where the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy
Census, NPR unlikely in 2020 New Delhi: The first phase of the Census and the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR), scheduled for this year but deferred due to the coronavirus outbreak, may be delayed by a year as there is no sign of slowdown of the pandemic. The Indian census is one of the largest administrative and statistical exercises in the world, with the involve-
ment of more than 30 lakh officials who would visit each household across the length and breadth of the country. “Census is not an es-
Police officer, 3 terrorists killed in gunfight in J&K
objects to the presence of any other force claiming the majority of the waters as part of its territory,” government sources told ANI. The immediate deployment of the Indian Navy warship in the South China Sea had a desired effect on the
Chinese Navy and security establishment as they complained to the Indian side about the Indian warship’s presence there during the diplomatic level talks with the Indian side, the sources said. During the deployment in the South China
Sea where the American Navy had also deployed its destroyers and frigates, the Indian warship was continuously maintaining contact with their American counterparts over secure communication systems, the sources informed. Turn to P6
Srinagar: A counterinsurgency police officer and three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists including a commander were killed in an overnight encounter in Srinagar that ended Sunday morning, police said. Officials said that Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) of Special Operations Group of Police, Babu Ram was killed during the encounter with the terrorists which erupted on Sat-
urday night at PanthaChokh area of Srinagar. “During the exchange of fire we lost a brave and daring officer of our lead SOG team Babu Ram,” said J&K Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh. “He was an experienced member of our SOG team and had been involved in operations for a long time. We pay our tributes to this brave jawan,” he said. Turn to P6
sential exercise for now. Even if it is delayed by a year, there would be no harm,” a senior official told PTI. Turn to P6
Pak wanted Davinder to find contact inside MEA: NIA New Delhi: Suspended Deputy Superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police Devender Singh, who has been chargesheeted by the NIA for providing support to banned terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, was tasked by his Pakistani handler with establishing a “contact” in the Ministry of External Affairs for carrying out espionage activities. Turn to P6
nCov has killed 3K people in Guj in past 5.5 months FRESH 1,272 CASES, 1,095 DISCHARGED AND 17 DEATHS TOTAL 95,155 CASES, 76,757 DISCHARGED First India Bureau Gandhinagar: Counting the 17 COVID-19 patients that succumbed to the virus on Sunday, the total death tally of the state has reached 3,008 since March 17, when the first confirmed case of novel coronavirus was reported in the state. The highest number of deaths were reported in Surat (268), fol-
lowed by Ahmedabad (169), Vadodara (128), Rajkot (119) and Bhavnagar (68). On the contrary, the Dangs and Narmada are two districts in the state with a zero mortality rate so far. Around 11 districts have recorded COVID-19 patient deaths in single digits. The 17 deaths reported in the state on Sunday included five from Surat, four from Ahmedabad, two
A health worker sanitizes a dead body van outside a crematorium in Ahmedabad
each from Vadodara and Bhavnagar and one each from Amreli, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and
Jamnagar. The state conducted 69,488 tests in the past 24 hours. There are
—FILE PHOTO
15,390 active cases, of which, 84 are on ventilator support and 15,308 patients are in
stable condition. The highest number of COVID-19 cases emerged from Surat (257), of which 174 were from the city and 83 from rural areas. Ahmedabad district recorded a total of 197 cases with Vadodara coming in third at 157 cases. There are 1,596 active cases in Vadodara, of which 154 are on oxygen support and 52 patients are either on BiPAP or on ventilator support. Vadodara’s SSG Hospital advisor Dr Minu Patel told the media on Sunday that the hospital’s pathology laboratory lacked
equipment due to which COVID-19 tests as well as other tests were being outsourced to private laboratories. “Hiring private labs for tests has cost the state Rs80 lakh, which if continued, will cross Rs5 crore by December,” she said. Rajkot reported 119 new cases on Sunday, of which, 83 were from the city and 36 from rural areas. As per the state health bulletin, over 119 patients have died in Rajkot, including local residents and patients from other districts. But, according to a report by a Rajkot local daily, 446 patients have
died of the virus, but local authorities have confirmed 329 COVID-19 deaths so far. Another Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Rajkot (East) Arvind Rayani has been tested for novel coronavirus. He is the fourth leader who has undergone a COVID-19 test after participating in the Saurashtra tour of state unit president CR Patil. Other districts also recorded new cases such as Jamnagar (106), Bhavnagar (68), Gandhinagar (49), Panchmahal (35), Junagadh and Bharuch (30 each), Kutch (26) and Morbi (23).