First India-Jaipur Edition-02 July 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

29°C - 40°C

ALERT JAIPUR l THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

5,16,394 1,06,91,004 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 8,053 DEATHS 1,80,298 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 1,264 DEATHS 94,049 CASES

RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 26

INDIA

17,848 6,04,808 DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

DELHI 2,803 DEATHS 89,802 CASES

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RAJASTHAN

421

18,312

DEATHS

GUJARAT 1,869 DEATHS 33,318 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

UTTAR PRADESH 718 DEATHS 24,056 CASES

UGLY FACE OF TERRORISM J&K POLICE RESCUED A 3-YEAR-OLD BOY AFTER HIS GRAND FATHER WAS KILLED WHEN AN ENCOUNTER BROKE OUT BETWEEN MILITANTS & SECURITY FORCES IN J-K’S SOPORE

HEART-WRENCHING

The 3-yr-old child sits & cries on the blood-splattered body of his grand father who died due to bullet injuries in cross-firing during the encounter on Wednesday morning.

Sopore: A three-year-old boy survived as his grandfather was killed in a terror attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore town on Wednesday morning. A CRPF jawan was also killed in the line of duty as terrorists opened fire on a patrol team.

In heart-wrenching images, the child is seen sitting on the blood-splattered body of his grandfather, a civilian caught in the crossfire. The boy was

numb with fear when he was picked up by policemen. A video shows him sobbing in a police van as biscuits and chocolates are offered to him.

“When we reached the site, what we saw was disturbing.

Our priority was to evacuate the child. It was very challenging as terrorists were firing upon us. The child was going to Handwara with his grandfather,” Azim Khan, SHO Sopore said while speaking to media.

HELP @ HAND

HEY, WE GOT YOU!

The clueless toddler, numb with fear, walks away from his grand father’s body towards a soldier crouching behind a structure after the man called him to run for shelter.

J&K police party reached the spot and rescued the child from the encounter site. Later J&K police retweeted a pic of a personnel carrying the baby on his arms to safety.

Ashok Gehlot @ashokgehlot51

for naka/patrolling duties.

As the troops were de-bussing from the vehicles to occupy their respective spots of deployment, terrorists hiding in the attic of a nearby mosque started firing indiscriminately on the troops, in which CRPF jawans constable Bhoya Rajesh, Head Constable Deep Chand Verma, Nilesh Chawde and Constable Deepak Patil got injured.

Later Deep Chand succumbed to his injuries.

Turn on P6

Condemn the terror attack on a #CRPF party in #Sopore, Kashmir in which a jawan was martyred, a civilian lost his life & 3 jawans have been injured. My heartfelt condolences to bereaved families, we stand with them & pray that they remain strong.

Wish speedy recovery to injured.

The Kashmir police also tweeted a photo of the child being carried to safety by a

policeman. “Jammu and Kashmir police rescued a three-year-old boy from getting hit by bullets during the terrorist attack in Sopore,” said the tweet.

Two of the injured CRPF jawans are known to be in critical condition. Three CRPF personnel were also injured in the attack, CRPF added. According to the CRPF, at around 7:30 am today, 179 Battalion of CRPF reached Model Town Chowk Sopore

STORY SO FAR  The child was travelling in a car with his grandfather from Srinagar to Handwara when it was hit by a spray of bullets in Sopore. The man came out from his vehicle and tried to hide, taking cover of his vehicle. But, the terrorists who were in front of him fired at security forces and the man was caught in the firing of terrorists.

INDIA CHINA STAND-OFF

@ashokgehlot51 First the govt withdrew SPG cover of #PriyankaGandhi ji & granted Z+ security to her and now they say, this security cover doesn’t have provision for allotment of Govt accommodation. It is clear, everything was pre planned with the sole purpose of harassing her.

My way or the highway! Gadkari says India to ban Chinese cos from projects New Delhi: India will not allow Chinese companies to participate in highway projects, including those through joint ventures, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday amid border standoff with China. Gadakri also said the government will ensure that Chinese investors are not entertained in various sectors like Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The senior minister’s assertions assume significance against the

SINGH TO VISIT LEH

India will not give permission to joint ventures that have Chinese partners for road construction.

backdrop of border standoff between India and China in Ladakh that also saw the death of 20 Indian Army personnel last month.

“We will not give permission to joint ventures that have Chinese partners for road construction. We have taken a firm

stand that if they (Chinese companies) come via joint venture in our country, we will not allow it,” Gadkari told PTI. The Road

Transport, Highways and MSME minister said a policy will be out soon banning Chinese firms and relaxing norms for Indian companies to expand their eligibility criteria for participation in highway projects.

Currently only a few projects which were undertaken much earlier involve some Chinese partners. When asked about this, the Minister said that the new decision will be implemented in current and future tenders.

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BUNGALOW ROW: PRIYANKA CLEARS DUES New Delhi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi cleared her pending dues hours after the government announced it has cancelled the accommodations at 35 Lodhi Estate stating that

she is no longer protected by the Special Protection Group (SPG) and hence not eligible anymore. “Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has made online payment of balance amount due on her.

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PM hits delete, signs out make Raj a pioneer in medical sciences: CM from Chinese site Weibo Will Strong public health infra proved Doctor’s Day: Inauguration & foundation stone laying of 108 medical buildings in state

New Delhi: With the government deciding to disallow 59 Chinese apps in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to quit Chinese microblogging website Sina Weibo, which he had joined a few years ago.

On Wednesday the prime minister’s account went blank after his profile photo, posts and comments were re-

moved from the handle.

The Twitter-like account Weibo, the largest Chinese microblogging site, has a more com-

plex procedure to quit for VIP accounts, which is why the official process was initiated. For reasons best known to the Chinese, there was a great delay in granting this basic permission. Prime Minister Modi had 115 posts on Weibo. It was decided to manually delete them and after much effort 113 posts were removed.

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beneficial during Corona: Gehlot Naresh Sharma Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said that to make Rajasthan a pioneer in the field of medical science, the government is constantly strengthening the infrastructure of health facilities.

“As a result of this, Rajasthan is successfully fighting a pandemic like Corona. Whether it is recovery from corona infection, controlling mortality or screening facilities, Rajasthan stands first in t h e

country on all parameters,” Gehlot said while addressing the inauguration and foundation laying ceremony of buildings of 108 medical institutes o n Wednesday through a video conference at the Chief Minister’s residence on

Doctor’s Day. On this occasion, the Chief Minister inaugurated 94 works at a cost of Rs171 crore and laid the foundation stone for 14 works with a cost of Rs20 crore.

The Chief Minister said that for the first time after independence, we have faced a challenge like Corona.

“This pandemic has changed our lifestyle

and food habits as well as the attitude towards life. Now our priority is how to get economic activities back on track, because along with life, livelihood is also very important,” he said.

Gehlot said that we have transformed the challenge posed by Corona into an opportunity. “We are trying to make model CHC at various places in the state Turn on P6

RAJASTHAN JAIPUR | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

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MONSOON READY!

02

With the arrival of monsoon in the state, the authorities are gearing up and leaving no stone unturned to save the civilians from problems faced due to water logging. Workers were seen preparing sand bags opposite the JMC’s Firs Department office in Bani Park on Wednesday.

—PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

Raj HC notice to Dhariwal, others Court seeks clarification from him regarding appointment of ex-officer in JMC as law director Nizam Kantalia

Cultural body objects to mention of Jayasi’s Padmavat in textbooks Jaipur: A cultural organisation in Rajasthan has objected to the mention of queen Padmini in a Class 10 textbook as the reason behind the attack on Chittorgarh by Alauddin Khilji.

The reference in the general knowledge book which led to the objection by the Chittorgarh’s Johar Smriti Sansthan (JSS) is Awadhi poet Malik Mohammed Jayasi’s (1540 AD) poem “Padmavat”, according to which Alauddin Khilji attacked erstwhile Chittorgarh Rawal Ratan Singh for his wife Padmini.

The organisation said the authorities

have attempted to connect two historical episodes divided by over two centuries and two different regions in the textbook, Rajasthan ka Itihas Evam Sanskriti.

“The difference between periods of Rawal Ratan Singh (1303 AD) and Malik Mohammed Jayasi (1540 AD) is about 237 years.

During this period, none of the historical books say Alauddin Khilji attacked Chittorgarh for Padmini. It is a historical blunder being repeated again and again to play with sentiments of the Rajputs,” said 84-year-old head of the JSS, Takhat Singh Solanki.

The JSS identifies itself as a social-cumresearch body, which holds yearly Johar Mela to mark the selfimmolation of women after Rawal Ratan Singh lost Chittorgarh to Alauddin Khilji.

The organisation came to limelight after it banned the entry of tourists at the Chittorgarh fort and hung effigies of “Padmavat” movie director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, actor Ranveer Kapoor and Salman Khan for the supporting the movie.

JSS treasurer Narpat Singh Bhati said it seems the present government has done this to appease their vote bank.

—PTI

sor on august 5, 2019.

On the same day, as the law minister, Shanti Dhariwal approved his appointment on Rs 50000 per month salary to be paid by the JMC. The very next day order for Swami’s appointment as a law advisor in the LSG directorate was issued. In less than a month, Swami was given additional charge of the law director in the JMC. The petitioner claimed that Rajasthan civil services pension rules 151 and 164 A were violated in giving a 66-year-old retired person additional charge of the law director. A person above 65 years of age cannot be reappoint-

ed. A high court lawyer Chitranjan Meena had given notice to the government for giving additional charge to a 66-year-old retired officer, however, the government did not respond.

The petitioner also cited rules to say that appointment as an advisor in any department can be done only after the chief minister’s approval, which was not taken in case of Swami. The department also did not advertise the post.

In wake of these arguments, the petitioner sought the cancellation of Swami’s appointment as a law advisor and additional charge as the law director.

Corona effect: State election body fails to get new EVMs

101 people pledge to donate eyes

Anjana stresses on expediting the process of filling 300 vacancies of loan inspectors

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

Bikaner: In Bikaner, on the occasion of birthday of former opposition leader Rameshwar Dudi, 101 people filled the pledge form of eye donation at a program organized by Youth Congress leader Bishanram Siyag. Several dignitaries were present in the program, including Sri Dungargarh MLA Girdhari Mahia, Congress leader Shashi Sharma, senior journalist Madhu Acharya, and Gajendra Sankhla.

Jaipur: Minister for Cooperatives Uday Lal Anjana chaired a departmental meeting which took up many serious issues like filling up of vacant positions, action under section 55 and agricultural produce mortgage loans. Principal Secretary Nareshpal Gangwar was also present in the meeting.

Minister Anjana expressed his concerns for the delay caused in matters related to section 55

Jaipur: Rajasthan High Court has sought clarification from law minister Shanti Dhariwal regarding the appointment of a retired officer as a law director in Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC).

The division bench of Chief Justice Indrajeet Mohanty and Justice Prakash Gupta issued notices to Dhariwal, principal secretary of local self-government (LSG), director LSG, JMC Commissioner and law director Mahaveer Prasad Swami on a PIL filed by Ganesh Chaturvedi.

Challenging appointment of Mahaveer Pras-

Jaipur: State election commission would not receive EVMs because of the corona. The state election commission had even released a budget of Rs 19 crore to procure 7000 EVMs. However, the budget lapsed as the EVMs were not delivered by March.

The state election commission had ordered 7000 EVMs to ECIL so that for panchayat and municipal elections, it won’t have

Shanti Dhariwal

ad Swam as the law director in JMC, the petitioner claimed that without the chief minister’s approval, the appointment was illegal and invalid.

Lawyer for the petitioner Sunil Samdaria

to borrow them from the election commission of India. The company was supposed to deliver EVMs by the month of February. The state election commission sent several reminders to the company but to no avail.

Later, the company

told the court that Swami was working as a joint law officer in the LSG department from where he retired in 2013.

Six years later, Swami applied to the LSG department for an appointment as a law advi-

could not procure necessary parts from China due to corona because of which I could no supply the voting machines in March also.

Now, the SEC has refused to accept these EVMs. Secretary of the state election commission Shyam Singh Rajpurohit said that the budget lapsed in March.

Therefore, the state election commission would get only 3100 EVMs against the advance payment made to the company.

Uday Lal Anjana

of the Cooperatives Act. He said that a fixed tenure for the investigations should be there and if still delay happens then an extension should be taken from

Vaibhav gets daughter to inaugurate RCA’s new office Naresh Sharma Jaipur: The new office of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) was inaugurated by Kashvini, daughter of its chief Vaibhav Gehlot, after rituals. RCA has its own office after eight months of the new governing body was elected as the old one was considered inauspicious by the new office bearers.

It was commonly believed that the old office wasn’t harmonious for the mutual relationship

of the office-bearers.

The new office on the third floor of the RCA was to be inaugurated

by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly but the ongoing corona crisis didn’t let that happen.

The inauguration ceremony was attended

by RCA chief Vaibhav Gehlot, secretary Mahendra Sharma, VP Amin Pathan, Jt Secretary Mahendra Nahar, Treasurer KK Nimawat, council member Devram Chodhary, Minister Lalchand Kataria, MLA Baljeet Ya-

RCA president Vaibhav Gehlot and daughter Kashvini perform hawan of the new office along with officials.

—SANTOSH SHARMA

dav, Congress leader Dharmendra Rathore, and RSCPCR chairman Sangeeta Beniwal

along with secretaries of various district associations.

Vaibhav Gehlot went

to Vidhan Sabha speaker CP Joshi’s residence to seek his blessings before he came to the new RCA office. The new premises has separate chambers for each office-bearer.

RCA chief Vaibhav Gehlot said that corona had stalled the inauguration for three months but now with a new place open all office bearers will come to the office regularly and start working to give pace to the sporting activity and the new stadium project.

The whole elected body of RCA will meet on July 3 and decide on the selection committee.

An excited VP Ameen Pathan after taking charge said that now again the time has arrived that the whole team got together and worked for the progress of cricket.

RCA chief Gehlot remained in the new office with his team for five hours. His resolve is to fulfill his dream project of the new RCA stadium.

the empowered officers.

Minister said that even the new farmers should get the benefit of zero percent crop loans.

Anjana instructed officers to register farmers for the next MSP purchase as per the targets given by the central government. He emphasized on proper monitoring of the agricultural produce mortgage loans. Minister stressed on expediting the process of filling 300 vacant positions of the loan inspectors through Cooperatives

Selection Board taking reference from the process adopted by the central cooperative banks.

PS Nareshpal Gangwar informed that 1800 farmers have availed mortgage loans worth Rs 18 crore at a 3% rate.

He said soon the guidelines for cases under section 55 will be released. Gangwar said that farmers are getting payments for MSP crops in 3-4 days and so far 2,92,879 farmers have received Rs 3450 crore as payments.

Kota: 4-year-old girl electrocuted First India Bureau Kota: A 4-year-old girl lost her life due to a current running in the cooler in Talab village of the Anantpura police station area.

The girl was playing near her neighbour’s house at the time of the incident. When the locals saw the girl, they informed her parents and switched off the cooler, but the minor was dead by then.

After the unfortunate incident, the family of

the deceased has expressed anger and registered a complaint against the neighbours in the police station. It is being said that there was a current running in the cooler for the last two months, but it was not repaired.

RAJASTHAN JAIPUR | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

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03

8 DEATHS ON WED TAKE TOLL TO 421 IN STATE

292 new cases surfaced in last 24 hours, max were from Alwar with 47 cases, followed by Jaipur with 42 cases

SMS doctors set an example in defeating corona Vikas Sharma Jaipur: Despite several incidents of strike and assault with doctors reported recently, a new form of doctors has emerged in the corona period. Our doctors are not only fighting a batA health worker collects swab sample of a child for COVID-19 test in Bikaner.

—PHOTO BY ANI tle with corona, but have also been able to Pratapgarh, 16 from Siro- 1633, Bhilwara 256, Bi- defeat the deadly virus First India Bureau hi, 13 from Bikaner, 12 kaner 347, Bundi 14, to a great extent in RaJaipur: The state re- from Rajsamand, 10 each Chittorgarh 211, Churu jasthan.

These doctors of SMS ported 8 deaths in pre- from Ajmer, Dholpur, Si- 327, Dausa 143, Dholpur ceding 24 hours taking kar & Udaipur, 8 each 691, Dungarpur 443, Hospital have set an exthe death toll to 421 so from Jhunjhunu & Kota, Ganganagar 59, Hanufar. Wednesday saw 7 from Churu, 5 each from mangarh 63, Jaipur INTERACTION WITH maximum 3 deaths from Barmer & Sri Gangana- 3360, Jaisalmer 112, Jaz Dr. Sudhir Bhandari: Jaipur, 2 from Jodhpur gar, 3 each from Bharat- lore 300, Jhalawar 375, Principal, SMS Medical Coland one each from Bar- pur & Jaisalmer, 2 each Jhunjhunu 370, Jodhlege - Medical leader mer & Sawai Madhopur from Dausa & Nagaur, 1 pur 2819, Karauli 98, z Dr. Ajit Singh: Addialong with one patient each from Dungarpur, Ja- Kota 676, Nagaur 641, tional Superintendent, SMS from other state. In last lore & Karauli along with Pali 1120, Pratapgarh 42, Hospital - Nodal Officer Rajsamand 257, Sawai 24 hours 298 new cases 3 from other states. of corona and seasonal The cumulative dis- Madhopur 105, Sikar of corona surfaced takdiseases ing the state toll to 18197. trict wise tally of the 566, Sirohi 507, Tonk 201 z Dr. Vishal Gupta: Nodal Maximum 47 cases corona positives on and Udaipur 713.

Officer, RUHS - Coordinator 13 from the 42 new were reported from Al- Wednesday is as follows between SMS and RUHS war followed by 42 from – Ajmer 532, Alwar 572, cases in Jaipur were z Dr. Manish Sharma: Jaipur, 27 from Pali, 26 Banswara 99, Baran 65, from arious quarantine Member, COVID-19 Task each from Jodhpur & Barmer 358, Bharatpur centers.

‘State govt behind fuel price hike’

Hanuman Beniwal

First India Bureau Nagaur: Lok Sabha MP from Nagaur and convener of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) Hanuman Beniwal held state government responsible for high diesel and petrol prices.

Beniwal pointed out huge differences in petrol and diesel prices in Rajashan and its neighbouring states. He said that state government should take initiative to reduce VAT and cess to send a message across.

“I have also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reduce petrol and diesel prices,” he claimed.

The RLP leader also demanded that locust problem be declared as national calamity.

‘Today’s India is different from ’62’ First India Bureau Jaipur: Jaipur Rural MP Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore discussed drinking water and locust attack problems with district administraton officials on Wednesday. He said that he also discussed with officials of army recruitment in Jaipur, hoping it would be held in Jaipur this year.

Rathore said that with advance preparation, lo-

Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore with Jogaram and army officials in Jaipur on Wednesday.

cust can be controlled.

Reacting to Indo-China clashes, he said that today’s India is not the In-

Son of Sikar martyred in terror attack in J&K First India Bureau Sikar: Deep Chand Verma, resident of Sikar district, was martyred in a terrorist attack on Wednesday morning in Sopore of Baramulla district of Kashmir.

Martyr Deep Chand has his ancestral village in Bawdi village, it was here that he started dreaming of serving in the Indian army and

making his nation proud.

His wife and three children reside in the army quarters based in Ajmer. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also paid his tributes to martyred Deep Chand Verma.

The mortal remains of the martyr may be brought to his ancestral village on Thursday for last rites with full state honours.

dia of 1962. Even if China and Pakistan join hands, many countries are friendly to India.

Colleague rapes woman First India Bureau Jaipur: A rape case of an intoxicated woman has been registered in Bagru police station area. SHO Brij Bhushan Agarwal said, according to the victim informed that Vikas Sharma, her colleague, took her to a flat in lieu of work,and mixed drugs in tea and raped her, and made obscene videos.

Later he blackmailed took money from her.

ample for all the doctors in the world. They also got infected with the virus but fought hard to recover from it and treat others as well. About 79% of the COVID-19 patients in the state have recovered successfully.

On Doctor’s Day, celebrated in the memory of the second Chief Minister of Bengal Dr. Bidhan Chandra Rai, First India interacted with various doctors of SMS Hospital.

DOCTORS Force and Rapid Response Team - Treatment of corona infected kids in JK Lon Hospital

z Dr. Rajendra Karadia

- Coordinator for corona sampling and transport

z Dr. Ram Meena - ICU

arrangements and monitoring of critical care patients

z Dr. Govind: Resident, Medicine Department 24x7 duty

Jaipur: HC summoned Police Commissioner on July 4 in cases related to issuing double lease deeds by housing societies. Court also asked ACS (Home) to file an action taken report by his department on court orders dated 18 October 2019. CJ Indrajit Mohanty and Justice Prakash Gupta issued the orders.

Jaipur: Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma said that the U turn by Baba Ramdev on his wonder drug is a shameless & cruel joke with the people of the country and he should publicly apologize for it.

Dr Sharma said that if Baba Ramdev really wanted to serve the people during the Coronavirus crisis then he should distribute its immunity booster free

Dr Raghu Sharma

to cure a corona patient in 7 days.

Later the Baba had to

confess that his drug was a simply an immunity booster which the

First India Bureau Jaipur. On the occasion of Doctor’s Day, the story of corona warriors who not only saved others from the pandemic but also defeated it is inspiring the morale of the people in the state.

In the fight against

coronavirus, 32 corona warriors of the SMS Hospital also got infected with while treating the patients. Despite this, they did not lose hope, due to which maximum doctors recovered from COVID-19 within a week.

Now, these doctors

Jaisalmer: Minority Affairs Minister Shale Mohd. has charged the central govt of waking up to the locust menace when they reached Delhi while they ignored all the pleas by the state govt for a year.

He said that WHO had warned a month ago about the locust attack from Pakistan but

required. Now when the locusts attacked 6 districts of the state, the state killed them using drones to the best of its capacity. Shale Mohd said that the central govt didn’t take warnings resulting in huge losses to the farmers in Rajasthan. He demanded for requisite serious measures against the locust menace.

ACB arrests patwari receiving `2,000 as bribe in Jaipur First India Bureau Jaipur: Jaipur ACB arrested a Patwari Devendra while accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000 from complainant Sita Ram Chaudhary near Kohinoor Cinema in Sanganer on Wednesday.

According to DSP Sachin Sharma, the complainant had applied online for six months to open the nomination of her

Baba Ramdev’s drug a cruel joke: Health Min of cost.

Dr Ragu Sharma said that it is real unfortunate that when the whole humanity is facing the biggest pandemic of the century and international organizations like World Health Organisation (WHO) and ICMR don’t have any cure for the Covid-19, Baba Ramdev mocked people’s suffering by criminally projecting his wonder drug Coronil, claiming that it has the potential

Under Speaker CP Joshi’s orders, Vidhan Sabha was illuminated on the occasion of Doctor’s Day.

have rejoined their duties and are serving the patients as before.

The First India team went to visit these corona warriors to thank them for their selfless work in this hour of need and know their experience during the pandemic.

HC summons Locust menace: Centre Bride, groom Commissioner neglected state, says Min hurt, 3 dead First India Bureau in mishap the center didn’t do the First India Bureau

‘WONDER DRUG’ NOT WONDERFUL

First India Bureau

Corona infected frontline workers recover, rejoin

state goverment was already distributing free of cost to lakhs of people in the state. Dr Sharma said that Baba Ramdev sells many products under the brand name of Patanjali and he has no objection to that.

Similarly, If Baba wants to sell his immunity booster, again the state government has no objection in the matter, but if he tries to sell it as a drug then it would be a criminal act and will be dealt accordingly.

mother Kaili Devi. For this, the complainant visited Sanganer Tehsil and contacted Patwari Devendra, who asked Chaudhary for a bribe of Rs 2,000 for the work.

Following the incident, Chaudhary filed the complaint at the ACB headquarters on June 24. A couple of days later, the ACB verified the entire case, which was found to be correct. As per the trap, the team of ACB caught Patwari Devendra redhanded near Kohinoor Cinema while he was taking the bribe. The ACB team is interrogating Patwari.

First India Bureau

Jaisalmer: A bus returning from a wedding, overturned due to a tyre burst, killing three passengers of the marriage party on the spot, while injuring the bridegroom Omprakash and bride Sushila.

The injured have been referred to Jodhpur after they were provided with first aid. The fatal accident occurred just eight kilometers short of its destination, Boha, in which Chamaram (27), Togaram (18) and Govind (25) were killed. Jitendra (22) and Omprakash (23) were also injured and are being provided with necessary medical treatment at the Jawahar hospital.

According to eyewitnesses, the cause of the accident was the high speed at which the bus was travelling, which didn’t let the driver control it after the spontaneous tyre burst.

Lockdown blues: RSRTC MD issues circular to curb expenses Shivendra Parmar Jaipur: RSRTC was already in red when lockdown further pushed it into a financial abyss, and now even after resumption of services, no light can be seen at the end of the tunnel.

Roadways MD Naveen Jain has issued a circular to rein in unnecessary expenses.

The circular bans any kind of seminars, entertainment refreshments and lunch/dinner get together. It also

asks officers to give up the use of staff cars and use Roadways buses to the extent possible even on tour. It also recommends austerity while using the official phones along with electricity usage in office premises. It directs zero electricity usage before & after office hours and during lunch time, asks for regular monitoring of diesel usage in buses on their scheduled routes.

The circular asks officers to dispose of ac-

cidental cases by drivers within a month. The onus of any breakdown en route would be of the group incharge as no bus should be allowed to leave without his signature on the log sheet. In order to take maximum passenger load the circular asks strict adherence to time tables. The routes in loss should be analysed to make them profitable. HQ should be briefed about surplus staff at any location and should use the staff efficiently else where.

PERSPECTIVE JAIPUR | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

INDIA-CHINA TRADE WAR

W

ith China continuing to be intransigent on pulling back from the Indian side of Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh, India has started hurting the untrustworthy neighbour’s economic interests. The tough stand was adopted after violent clashes in the region resulted in the martyrdom of 20 soldiers.

On Wednesday, Union minister Nitin Gadkari announced that Chinese companies won’t be allowed to take part in infrastructure projects. The road transport, highways, and MSME minister also said the government will ensure that Chinese companies are not allowed to venture into the MSME sector. Any joint venture in which Chinese companies are partners will go in for rebidding, he said.

At the same time, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) informed the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Home Affairs that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) won’t be buying equipment from Chinese firms. The tender for the fourth generation (4G) network up-gradation has been cancelled, DoT said. The bid for network expansion was invited in March this year.

The move followed a ban on 59 Chinese applications like TikTok and UC Browser.

Last month DoT decided to direct BSNL and MTNL from sourcing equipment from Huawei and ZTE of China. The tender worth around 7,000-8000 crore will now be reissued.

These are sure-footed moves to hit China economically. With the prevailing anti-China sentiment, India’s economic offensive against China has begun.

FOR OUR MIGRANT WORKERS PLACE OF WORK AND A ‘HOME’ MEENAKSHI HOOJA The writer is a Retd IAS officer and former Member, Central Administrative Tribunal

T

LALBAUGCHA RAJA CALLED OFF

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n a way, Ganesh Chaturthi is to Mumbai and Maharashtra what Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra is to Puri and Odisha.

In the case of Puri Rath Yatra, the Supreme Court reversed its ban order to allow pulling of chariots with no public participation in view of Covid-19.

About 1,700 kms away from Puri, the 14-foot high idol of Lord Ganesh will be missing from Mumbai’s Lalbaugh for the first time in the puja’s 93year history. Famous as Lalbaugcha Raja, he will now make an appearance in September 2021.

The decision to cancel the festivities was taken

by Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal due to the pandemic. Other puja mandals also decided not to hold Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations this year. Unlike the Lalbaugh Mandal which cancelled idol installation, other puja organising bodies said they were postponing it till February next year. Ganesh Chaturthi is an iconic festival of Mumbai which witnesses the participation of lakhs of people with almost every household installing an idol of Lord Ganesh before taking them for submersion.

The laudable part of the decision is that it has been taken by the people and has not faced any litigation. Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal’s secretary Sudhir Sitaram Salvi said that they will organise an 11-day blood donation and plasma donation camp instead. With novel corona virus on the rampage, the decision must be welcomed by one and all.

India is territorially divided into States and Union Territories. It is further divided into Divisions, Districts, cities, Tehsils, and villages. These administrative divisions have evolved

he COVID 19 pandemic has hit us in more ways than one and has forced us all to think. For ourselves and others, there is a strong linkage. Already there is debate about the post-corona world - social, economic, political, and individual.

One issue that came up like an unexpected and challenging problem was what we call the migrant problem. Many don’t like this phrase. India has single citizenship, so can you be a migrant in your own home? But migrant is the commonly understood term for people who have moved from their family home.

People often leave their homes for education, jobs, employment, and livelihoods. The reasons can be a lack of opportunities and a quest for a better life. Generally, it’s a mix.

India is territorially divided into States and Union Territories. It is further divided into Divisions, Districts, cities, Tehsils, and villages. These administrative divisions have evolved. Many have common socio-cultural, linguistic groupings amongst the populace, apart from shared geographical and natural resources. They too have become a source of identity.

This gets recognised in official ways too. Qualification of residency is important for Government jobs. Where you vote depends on where you are ordinarily resident.

In admissions for education, the requirements of residency also apply. Add to this the feelings of claiming preference for the son of the soil; and a complex situation arises for the individual.

India was a land of villages but after Independence, it moved towards modernisation, which meant industrialisation, growth of educational institutions, medical facilities, aviation, and travel, etc. All this resulted in urbanisation and people shifting to towns. The pattern continues until today.

With opportunities for income and employment getting limited in rural areas, especially agriculture, the way out for the youngsters was to move to cities.

Seek a job in the organised sector, else in an unorganised sector, be it building and construction, tourism and hospitality, restaurants and food shops, transport, marketing and vending, opening businesses, or working as domestic help, etc.

The working conditions and payments were a mixed picture. Even for those on daily wages, generally, there were enough savings to send money home - to the village.

If the co-workers were from his/her home area, a reasonably good social life, and the circle was possible. This somewhat made up for the lack of amenities like proper shelter, bathrooms, etc.

The city life had its glamour and entertainment quotient.

It also freed one from the stranglehold of caste prevalent back home. The usefulness of the skills and work ethos of the person made up for being an outsider and, some would say, promoted national integration.

Yet things never became fully rosy. Cities began to bulge.

Housing, traffic, commuting, air, and water pollution all began to tell. The glamour quo-

WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT GETTING LIMITED IN RURAL AREAS, ESPECIALLY AGRICULTURE, THE WAY OUT FOR THE YOUNGSTERS WAS TO MOVE TO CITIES

tient began to lose its glamour.

Yet even then few were willing to go back. Lack of income opportunities in villages kept people in the cities.

The COVID Pandemic caught everyone unawares.

There was no proactive reference in the planning about the plight of these workers after the lockdown. Without work or pay, or even with them, they did not feel safe in their existing shelters.

‘Stay safe stay home’ was the slogan. So they chose to go ‘home’ by whatever means, including walking or cycling

How social media amplifies political activism

T

he lower-thanexpected attendance at President Trump’s rally in Tulsa on June 20 was attributed, at least in part, to an online army of K-pop fans who used the social network TikTok to organize and reserve tickets for the rally as a means of pranking the campaign.

Similarly, the historically unprecedented scale of the George Floyd protests can be attributed in part to social media. By some estimates 25 million Americans participated at protests.

Social media has proven itself as a tool for political activism, from online boycotts to offline gatherings. It also has implications for how political campaigns operate. Social media can aid campaigns with voter targeting efforts, but it can also

04

make the electoral process vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation, including from foreign actors.

HIJACKING HASHTAGS Social media has enabled protests and meaningful political action by capturing public attention, and by its decentralized nature, which makes it easier for activists to evade censorship and coordinate actions. K-pop fans’ action through TikTok spanned more than a week and stayed off the radar of mainstream media.

TikTok teens and K-pop fans took over anti-Black Lives Matter hashtags such as #WhiteLivesMatter and drowned out the anti-Black Lives Matter messages with GIFs and memes. When people on social media platforms look for these

hashtags, they’re met with seemingly unending images and fan videos of popular K-pop groups such as Twice and EXO. This, in turn, leads algorithms on social media platforms to classify such trending hashtags as K-pop trends rather than political trends,

thwarting the anti-Black Lives Matter activists who tried to use the hashtags to promote their messages.

K-pop fans likewise responded to a call from the Dallas Police Department, who were trying to collect information about Black Lives Matter protesters

from social media, and bombarded them with images and videos of their favorite K-pop stars.

INFLUENCERS AND LIKE-MINDED CONNECTIONS My own research shows that there are two mechanisms

that make social media influential in digital activism.

First, social media gives an opinion-making role to a few influencers – people who have extensive social media networks. The furor companies such as Uber and United Airlines aroused on social media for misbehaving was initiated by a handful of individuals.

Second, on social media people engage with likeminded people, a phenomenon called homophily.

Together, these mechanisms provide a wide audience to both influencers and their followers who are enmeshed in densely connected online networks. As my research shows, once a meme, hashtag or video goes viral, passive sharing can turn into active broadcasting of the trending idea.

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM

across the country. Many suffered, some did not make it. Only later did the system come into action.

It has been the most debated shortcomings of the lockdown.

But what will happen as the unlock starts? Employers need trained workers. Though he/ she may design less labour oriented procedures. This will add to job losses. The workers may think twice before going back.

But what are their alternatives?

Villages have few jobs of choice.

The push of the COVID pandemic to ‘home’ may not last, notwithstanding schemes like NREGA. What seems likely is that there may be better bargaining between both sides. Better living conditions rather than take or leave offers may enhance productivity. The analysis shows that workers are keen to return to their jobs. This may reduce the negativity towards the migrant outsider. But what about the restrictions on admissions and employment. They may take time but there may be beginnings of change. We are a Union of States and flexibility is required at this time.

A person may migrate and yet feel safe and at ‘home’ in both worlds. This is another challenge that the virus has given us.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

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TWEET Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal Railways invites Request for Qualifications for private participation for passenger train operations on 109 pairs of routes through 151 modern trains. This initiative will boost job creation, reduce transit time, provide enhanced safety & world-class facilities to passengers.

Adhir Chowdhury @adhirrcinc Modi Ji, there is a place in India, called #Ladakh, it is not a Terra Incognita. You may likely forget it, we are confronting twin peril #Corona & #China, one is Pandemic and the other is Endemic, it seems that you are still under influence of the infectious smile of Xi Zinping

Spiritual SPEAK

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.

—1 Corinthians 16:13-14

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WITH 17,400 FATALITIES, 59.43 PC RECOVERY RATE

Doctor’s Day: Focus on less COVID-19 mortality New Delhi: This year’s doctor’s day theme focuses on lessening mortality of COVID-19 following worldwide coronavirus pandemic. As per the Union Health Ministry, there have been 17,400 deaths reported till date while recovery rate shoots to 59.43 per cent countrywide.

Doctors, who are working on the frontline during the ongoing pandemic spoke to ANI and shared how they are striving to keep the mortality rate at the minimal with much higher recovery percentage. Dr Rajeev Ranjan, MD in Lab Medicine, All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences said, “Definitely our aim is to lessen the mortality by every means that has affected people’s livelihood massively. But in order to do this, the goals are the same such as maintaining social distancing, using masks, proper personal hygiene has to be maintained. This is primarily because this virus is behaving erratically.”

“Doctors and healthcare workers are also getting infected as we come close to patients suffering from the virus. Since Unlock 1, many have flouted the rules. We need to maintain social distancing and adhere to other health measures in order to flatten the curve,” said Dr Ranjan.

Dr Ashiya Malek, Sr Resident Doctor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Spring Meadows Hospital said, “it has been months since I met my parents. Our personal ordeal is defi-

Assam to set up plasma bank in Guwahati

Health workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) conduct a door-to-door check-up of residents of Shivaji Nagar Slum for the detection of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Made in India ventilators have BiPAP mode: Health Ministry New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday said that ‘Made in India’ ventilators supplied to the states and UTs comply with specified requirements and have Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) mode.

“Cost effective, Made in India ventilator models BEL and AgVa supplied to the States and UTs have BiPAP mode and other such modes as have been prescribed in the technical specifications,” the ministry said in a statement. nitely there but right now all are looking up to us and we cannot let down people and their faith on us.”

“Wearing PPE kit becomes a challenge, especially when you are a woman but presently we do overlook things.

Guwahati: Assam government has decided to set up a plasma bank in Guwahati in the next four-five days, said state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday.

“We have decided to set up a plasma bank in Guwahati in the next four-five days. We have already installed a plasma separator at Guwahati Medical College. I think by next week we will be able to start plasma treatment,” he said at a press conference here.

The minister said that the government will launch the new testing model named COVID-19 AG test in the next two-three days.

—ANI

Delhi HC seeks govt’s reply on pleas against conversion of banquet halls NO RESTRICTION ON CORONIL, WILL BE AVAILABLE ACROSS COUNTRY: RAMDEV

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi government to file its reply on three pleas challenging its decision to convert petitioners’ banquet halls into temporary COVID-19 treatment hospitals.

A bench of Justice Jayant Nath asked Delhi government to file its response on the matter and listed it for further hearing on July 8.

Meanwhile, advocate Satyakam appearing for the Delhi govern-

Haridwar: Yog guru Ramdev on Wednesday claimed that there is no restriction on Patanjali Ayurved’s Swasari Coronil kit for “COVID management” and now it will be available across the country. Addressing a press conference here, he said: “AYUSH Ministry said that Patanjali has done appropriate work for COVID management. It said that Patanjali has started working in the right direction. We have procured a license for these medicines from the state department which is connected with AYUSH Ministry,” he said. ment said that the decision was taken in view of the rise in COVID-19 cases in the capital.

The court was hearing three petitions filed

by Chintpurni Overseas Private Limited, Ready

Number of COVID-19 cases reducing in Delhi: CM Kejriwal BiPAP is a device that helps in breathing without intubation.

The ministry’s statement comes in the wake of media reports that BiPAP mode is not available in the ‘Made in India’ ventilators.

We are happy that along with all these hardships, India’s recovery rate is soaring,” Dr Malek added.

Dr (Col) R Ranga Rao, Chairman, Paras Cancer Centre, Paras Hospitals, Gurugram said it is a tough time for the

“It has come to the notice of Ministry of Health through some media reports that the issue of BiPAP mode not being available in the ventilators supplied by GoI has been raised,” the ministry said in a statement. frontline healthcare professionals.

“Long working hours, excessive mental and physical stress and the need to stay updated all the time are the few consequences of the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

—ANI

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that the number of COVID-19 patients is reducing in the national capital.

“We have arranged for 15,000 beds for the treatment of COVID-19 which is inclusive of ICU beds, ventilator beds, and normal beds but there only 5,800 patients,” said Kejriwal. “Instead of the number of patients constantly increasing in Delhi, the number is reducing. The number of patients recovering -- on a daily basis -- is constantly increasing. One month from now, 38 per

RECOVERED PATIENTS CAN DONATE PLASMA: SISODIA Arvind Kejriwal

cent patients were recovering, but now 64 percent of patients have recovered,” CM said.

“There are a total of 87,000 cases in Delhi, out of which 58,000 patients have already recovered.

In the last one week, the number of daily cases is also being halved as well,” he added.

—ANI

New Delhi: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said that recovered COVID-19 patients can donate plasma, irrespective of residence and subject to doctors clearance. He said that the Delhi government will launch a number and SOPs regarding the issue by tomorrow. The Deputy CM said, “Anybody who is recovered from COVID-19 and subject to doctors clearance can donate plasma, irrespective of residence.”

—Agencies

Mint Private Limited, and a Community Welfare Banquet challenging the decision to convert the banquet halls owned by them into temporary treatment hospitals.

—ANI

‘Height of cruelty, insult to humanity’ Lucknow: After a video showing health workers allegedly tossing bodies of coronav i r u s victims in a large pit in Karnataka, BSP Mayawati President Mayawati on Wednesday stated that the incident is the “height of cruelty and insult to humanity”.

The former UP Chief Minister demanded that the guilty must be punished.

—Agencies

UPSC Prelims: Aspirants Petroleum products demand MP: CM Shivraj Singh to expand cabinet on Thursday allowed to change centre returning to near normal Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh cabinet expansion will take place on Thursday, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

Chouhan flew to New Delhi on Sunday to hold consultations with the central BJP leadership over the much- talked about cabinet expansion. Asked about the delay in cabinet expansion, Chouhan said, “Only amrit (elixir) comes out of manthan (churning), vish (poison) is consumed by (Lord) Shiva.”

ANANDIBEN TAKES OATH AS MP GUV

Around 20 to 25 new members, including some former Congress MLAs who had joined the BJP in March, are likely to be inducted into the cabinet, sources in the BJP earlier said.

—Agencies

FUEL PRICES REMAIN UNCHANGED FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE DAY New Delhi: Fuel prices remain unchanged for the second consecutive day in Delhi on Wednesday, with diesel remaining costlier than petrol. The price of petrol stood at Rs 80.43 per litre in the national capital and that of diesel at Rs 80.53.

Notably, domestic fuel prices are determined broadly by crude oil and

forex rates and vary from state to state due to value-added tax.

New Delhi: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has allowed candidates to change their centres for the civil services preliminary examination, scheduled on October 4.

Keeping in view the large number of candidates of civil services (preliminary) exam, 2020 (including the Indian Forest Service (preliminary) exam, 2020) and requests received from candidates for changing their centers, the Commission has decided to give an

INDIAN NAVY REPATRIATES OVER 600 INDIANS FROM IRAN Tuticorin: The Indian Navy on Wednesday repatriated over 600 Indians from Iran as part of the Centre’s “Samudra Setu” mission to evacuate stranded Indian citizens from abroad.

Indian Navy Ship Jalashwa repatriated 687 Indian nationals, most of them fishermen, from Iran and arrived at the VOC Port here today.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said of the 687 persons who arrived here today, 651 were fishermen from Tamil Nadu, while 36 others hailed from Kerala.

opportunity to them to submit their revised choice of centre, the UPSC said in a statement on Wednesday. Besides this, the option to change the centers for the civil services (main) exam, 2020, and the Indian Forest Service (main) examination, 2020, is also being made available, it said. —PTI

New Delhi: India’s overall petroleum products consumption, which had nosedived in last week of March and April, is now steadily getting to its pre-lockdown levels in June as emanating from the PSUs’ (IOC, BPC and HPC) sales figures. The sales of petroleum products in India had fallen to the lowest since 2007 due to the nationwide lockdowns necessitated to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

With the gradual lift-

1 TERRORIST KILLED, INFILTRATION BID FOILED BY FORCES IN RAJOURI Rajouri (J &K): An infiltration bid by terrorists has been foiled in the Keri area of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir on early Wednesday morning. One terrorist has been killed, sources said.

Terrorists opened fire after coming 400 metres inside the Indian side of Line of Control (LoC). The infiltration bid was foiled

at 5:55 am, the sources added. One AK-47 and magazines have been recovered.

Dharmendra Pradhan

ing of lockdown and beginning of unlocking of the economy in a phased manner allowing resumption of Industrial activity and movement of people, total petroleum products consump-

tion has reached to 88% in June (11.8 MMT) compared to last year (13.4 MMT), indicating the increase in production activity across all segment of economic spectrum, informed Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Improving the availability of Natural gas at an affordable cost across the country, providing level playing field to gas consumers and industries and ushering a gas based economy.

RUPEE DROPS 9 PAISE TO 75.60 ON WEAK ECONOMIC DATA Mumbai: The rupee on Wednesday settled 9 paise lower at 75.60 against the US currency due to dollar buying by oil importers and concerns over rising COVID-19 cases. Foreign fund outflows and firming crude oil prices weighed on the local unit, forex traders said. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened higher at 75.49 against the US dollar. The unit later lost ground to end at the day’s low level of 75.60 against the US dollar, down 9 paise over its last close. It had settled at 75.51 against the US dollar on Tuesday.

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Make trade policies with China public: ‘Govt’s TikTok ban impulsive, Plea in SC seeks direction to Centre people will suffer’ New Delhi: A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to make public its trade policies with China amid the bitter standoff between the two armies at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last seven weeks.

The Indian and the Chinese armies are engaged in a standoff in various areas in eastern Ladakh and the tension escalated after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details.

The border standoff at LAC triggered wave of protest around the nation against Chinese goods.

Following the Galwan Valley incident, the government has given the armed forces “full freedom” to give a “befitting” response to any Chinese misadventure

along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the 3,500km de-facto border.

The petition filed in the apex court has referred to media reports and alleged that a state

and a private firm had signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) for business with China-based firms.

The plea filed by Jammu-based lawyer Supri-

ya Pandita has said that after the June 15 incident at the LAC, the citizens and trade associations in India are calling for boycott of Chinese goods in the country.

“While the ban on these mobile apps may be a welcome step but on the other hand allowing few select business house or few select state government to enter in to MOU with Chinese business house or stakeholders from China sends a wrong message to the people of India,” said the plea, filed through advocates Om Prakash Parihar and Dushyant Tiwari. —PTI

SC denies bail plea of corona Will not represent Chinese apps: Rohatgi +ve convict in 1984 riots New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to entertain a plea for interim bail of convict and former MLA Mahender Yadav, serving 10 years jail term in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, on the ground that he has been admitted to the ICU after being tested positive for COVID-19.

A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and B R Gavai, in the hearing conducted through video-conferencing, said the interim

bail application cannot be entertained as the family has no grievance related to Yadav’s treatment and moreover, no relatives can visit him in the ICU where he has been treated for the novel coronavirus or COV-

6 dead in NLC India’s boiler blast in Neyveli Neyveli: A boiler exploded at NLC India’s thermal plant here killing six people and leaving 17 others injured on Wednesday and it has been shut for safety audit, the company said.

An official has been suspended and a high level inquiry and an internal probe has been ordered, the company, a ‘navratna’ public enterprise, said.

Home Minister Amit Shah, expressing anguish over the loss of lives, spoke to Chief Minister K Palaniswami and assured him of all possible help.

Governor Banwarilal Purhoit and Chief Minister K Palaniswami condoled the deaths and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

The six deceased men were aged between 25 and 42, and at least seven

injured men have sustained over 50 per cent burns according to an initial assessment, an official said. Palaniswami announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh to the families of each of the six workers who were killed and an assistance of Rs one lakh and Rs 50,000 to those who suffered serious and mild injuries respectively.

The mishap occurred at the fifth unit of the thermal power station-II when workers were in the process of resuming operations which includes maintenance work following a shutdown, the official said.

A fire broke out in the boiler area subsequent to the explosion resulting in injuries to a maintenance team, NLC India, formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited, said in a statement.

—PTI

ID-19. Besides Yadav, former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar are serving life imprisonment in the case after the Delhi HC had convicted them on December 17, 2018.

The counsel for Yadav said the convict was above 70 years of age and has tested positive for COVID-19 on June 26 in Mandoli jail where another convict, sharing the barrack with him, has recently died of the deadly disease.

—PTI

New Delhi: Two days after 59 Chinese apps were banned in India, former Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi on Wednesday expressed his unwillingness to represent TikTok or any Chinese app in court against the Central government.

Rohatgi said that he will not appear for TikTok, a popular short video-sharing app, or other Chinese apps in cases against the Government of India. TikTok, one of the 59 apps banned by the Central

Mukul Rohatgi

government, had on Tuesday said that it complies with all data privacy and security requirements under the Indian law and has not shared any information of its users in India with any foreign government, including China. —ANI

Coronil ban: U’khand HC notice to Centre, state

Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre, state government and yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurveda on a PIL seeking a ban on Ayurvedic medicine Coronil, which was claimed to be a cure for COVID-19. A division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Ramesh Chandra Khulbe also issued notices to Divya Pharmacy and NIMS University on the plea. The High Court had on Tuesday asked the counsel for the Central government to appear before it during the hearing on the public interest litigation (PIL) against Patanjali Ayurveda for claiming their medicine Coronil is a cure for COVID-19 without seeking permission from authorities concerned for manufacturing the same. The PIL, filed by advocate Mani Kumar, alleged that Patanjali Ayurveda did not follow the guidelines issued by the ICMR in the —ANI matter.

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Nusrat Jahan termed the ban on TikTok by the Centre as “impulsive” decision and said that people will suffer like demonetisation as many will lose their jobs.

“TikTok is an entertainment app. It’s an impulsive decision. What’s the strategic plan? What about the people who will be unemployed?

People will suffer like demonetisation. I don’t have any problem with the ban as it is for national security but who will answer these questions,” Jahan told reporters here after taking part in Ulta Rath Yatra celebration by ISKCON in Kolkata today. Amid border tensions with China in

Nusrat Jahan

‘GOA CALLING! DOMESTIC TOURISTS ALLOWED FROM JULY 2’ Panaji: Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Wednesday announced that the coastal state will be open to tourists starting July 2, as 250 hotels have been granted permission to resume operations. The decision to restart tourism activities was taken during a state cabinet meeting, the minister said.

The tourism department has so far granted permission to 250 hotels, which can operate in keeping with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) put

Eastern Ladakh, the government on Monday banned 59 mobile apps including Tik Tok, UC Browser and other Chinese apps “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity and defence” of the country.

The Ministry of Information Technology said in a release that it has decided to block 59 apps in view of the information available that “they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order”.

Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government has banned apps for “safety, security, defence, sovereignty and integrity of India”.

—ANI

in place by the state government.

“We have decided to allow domestic travellers to enter Goa from July 2 onwards provided they comply with certain norms,” the minister said.

It will be mandatory for tourists to pre-book their stay at hotels, he said.

Moreover, tourists will either have to carry COVID-19 negative certificates to enter the state, or will have to get tested at the border and undergo quarantine at a state-run facility till their results arrive, he said.

—PTI

Modi, Shah greet Naidu on his b’day New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah greeted Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on his 71st birthday.

“Birthday wishes to our energetic Vice President, @ MVenkaiahNaidu Garu.

May he lead a long and healthy life. Venkaiah Ji is admired across the political spectrum for his warm nature, intelligence and wit,” Modi tweeted. “Warm greetings to Vice President, Shri @MVenkaiahNaidu Ji on his birthday. A vastly experienced leader who is respected across political line for his simplicity and deep knowledge of Parliamentary affairs,” Shah tweeted.

FROM PG 1 Will make... so that people do not have to go to the district hospital for treatment. They should get better medical facilities at their nearest community health center. Rajasthan is the only state in the country which has strengthened the health infrastructure on such a wide scale during the Corona period. When the first Corona case was reported in the month of March, our test capacity was zero, which has now increased to forty thou-

sand per day due to our continuous efforts. We have also taken the initiative to get the neighboring states to do 5000 tests per day in Rajasthan,” he said. Meanwhile, on Doctor’s Day, the Chief Minister congratulated the doctors of the state and said that in this hour of crisis, the medical community has given remarkable services as Corona Warriors. Medical and Health Minister Dr. Raghu Sharma said that the work done with micro management in Ra-

jasthan under the leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, is being appreciated throughout the country.

PM hits...

The two posts left were posts where the Prime Minister has photos with President Xi Jinping.

On Weibo, it is difficult to remove posts with the photo of their President which is why two posts still remained. Now, all the posts have gone.

Presently, the Prime Minister’s follower

count stands at 244,000which was roughly the same when the deletion of posts began.

—ANI

Bungalow row...

Hence, now dues as on 30.06.2020 is nil against her,” a spokesperson for the ministry of housing and urban affairs said.

The ministry has also said that she had accumulated dues of RS 3,46,677 till 30th June.

Directorate of estate department of the ministry had issued a notice to her to vacate her house within a month.

A government notice said that her allotment

stands cancelled from today and she owes Rs 3.46 lakh in dues. In the notice, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said Priyanka must exit bungalow 35 on Lodi Estate allotted to her in 1997 as she no longer has SPG security. She is not entitled to a bungalow, said officials, unless the home ministry makes an exception on grounds of security.

—Agencies

Ugly face...

Explaining the circumstances, a senior CRPF official told ANI that when terrorists fired at

the CRPF party, two vehicles immediately moved in and took positions facing the terrorists who were firing from a height using floors of the mosque.

“CRPF troops after taking positions saw a civilian vehicle coming in the range of terrorists firing. The deceased came out from his vehicle and tried to hide, taking cover of his vehicle,” the official said.

—ANI

My way...

With respect to existing tenders and future bids, Gadkari said rebidding

would be done if there are any Chinese joint ventures.

“We have taken a decision to relax norms for our companies to ensure that they qualify in bidding in large projects. I have directed the Highways Secretary (Giridhar Aramane) and NHAI Chairman (SS Sandhu) to hold a meeting for relaxing technical and financial norms so that our companies can qualify to work,” he said.

“Construction norms are not good so I have asked to change it. We are changing it so that

we can encourage Indian companies,” he added. “Even if we have to go for foreign joint venture in the areas of technology, consultancy or design, we will not allow Chinese,” the Minister said. About the MSME sector, Gadkari said the effort is to enhance the capacity of local production but at the same time foreign investment is being promoted. However, he made it clear that despite decision to encourage foreign investment, Chinese investors would not be allowed.

—PTI

NEWS JAIPUR | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

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WILL MODI CABINET REJIG TO GAIN ASSAM, BENGAL GROUND?

Several senior BJP leaders lobbying hard to get a berth in the union government Kartikey Dev Singh Jaipur: A strong buzz emerging from within the power circles of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and even the corridors of the Centre of the expansion of Modi cabinet.

While several senior leaders are lobbying hard to get a berth in the union government, the names of two interesting contenders have been floating around in Lutyens’ Delhi are certainly from the saffron party itself.

The first is health minister of Assam and the ‘man-Friday’ for BJP in North-eastern states, Himanta Biswa Sarma.

While the rumour mills have kicked in high gear about Sarma being one of the strongest contenders for a ministerial berth in the union cabinet, it

BJP’s ‘man Friday’ Himanta Biswa Sarma

is not sure as to when will the expansion actually take place.

Some sources point to the expansion taking place in July itself since the central leadership of BJP wants to give Sarma at least a year to project his influence as a union minister. As assembly elections are

Former TMC heavyweight Mukul Roy

scheduled to take place in Assam next year and giving Sarma a place in the cabinet would send a clear message that the BJP would contest election under Sarbanand Sonowal’s leadership in Assam. Moreover, it also appears that Sarma has also accepted that par-

ty will not make him the chief minister.

The real problem, however, is that Sarma is not an MP and if he is included in the cabinet, he would have to be elected to the Parliament within six months’ time.

Similar is the situation with Mukul Roy who left Trinamool

Congress (TMC) and joined BJP. Although it has been two years since he shifted, yet he has not been given a prime position. It is being said that he could be included in the government prior to the elections scheduled next year in West Bengal. BJP leaders believe that Roy has the power to create divide in the TMC and thus if he has to be made a minister, he will have to be made an MP. The rumour is that both the leaders could be brought in from Uttar Pradesh where Rajya Sabha elections are scheduled for November when ten seats will go vacant of which four will be repeated by BJP and the remaining are up for grabs. If the party deems it fit, they can be brought through UP in the Rajya Sabha.

Gehlot balms agri-traders, extends amnesty scheme Naresh Sharma Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has decided to extend the period of ‘Interest Waiver Scheme 2019’ from June 30 to September 30, 2020, for the recovery of dues towards the committees, giving great relief to the traders associated with agricultural marketing in the state. Gehlot has agreed to the proposals received in this regard from the Department of Agricultural Marketing in view of Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.

According to the proposal, a total amount of Rs 68 crore including mandi fees, allotment fees and other arrears were outstanding by 30 September 2019 towards various agricultural mandi committees of the state.

For the recovery of this amount, 75 percent discount was given on interest on depositing the entire

Kalla unveils ‘Raj ki shaan’ portfolios First India Bureau Jaipur: Minister of Art & Culture and Energy BD Kalla released two portfolios published by Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) at the Urja Bhawan. The first portfolio ‘Master Artists of Rajasthan’ is focused on the Padma Shri awardees and handicrafts of Rajasthan and the second portfolio is focused on ‘Mandana’ art.

On the occasion, Kalla said, “The artists involved in the portfolio have done crucial work for conservation and promotion of regional art. I hope that this pub-

lication will be a meaningful tribute to the Padma Shri personalities and will serve as a reference for students, artists and well-meaning readers.”

He also praised Jawahar Kala Kendra for this work. Director General of JKK Kiran Soni Gupta was also present on the occasion.

“Mandana is a symbol of folk behaviour, culture and religious rituals. I hope that this publication will prove to be very important for the conservation and promotion of this endangered art form,” Kalla added.

principal balance and 25 percent of the interest payable on it under the interest waiver scheme till 31 March 2020.

Earlier, the period of amnesty scheme was extended from 31 March to 30 June due to Covid-19 pandemic, which has now been extended till 30 September 2020.

Similarly, the Duty Waiver Scheme was also introduced for the Mandi Duty on commodities imported from

Yogesh Sharma

Kashiram Chaudhary

(From right) Minister of Art & Culture BD Kalla, DG, JKK Kiran Soni Gupta and Special Assistant to Minister of Art & Culture RR Harsh.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

outside the state, which was till June 30, 2020.

Due to Covid-19 epidemic, the period of this amnesty scheme has also been extended till 30 September 2020.

The duration of both mandi duty waiver schemes has been extended on the demand of various organizations. These decisions will benefit the traders and fruit processing units of fruits and vegetables and agricultural produce markets.

Docs that measure beat of Raj politics

PLETHORA OF WISHES WELCOME GUV ON BIRTHDAY Jaipur: Governor Kalraj Misra celebrated his 79th birthday on Wednesday by planting Fig and Golden Apple saplings on the Raj Bhawan premises. Wife Satywati Mishra, son Amit Mishra and grandson Akshat Mishra watered the saplings thereafter.

Governor Mishra started the day with puja at Shiv temple in Raj Bhavan and feeding cows and peacocks. Mishra was busy attending to birthday wishes on the phone since morning. Prominent among callers were the President of India Ramnath Kovind, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

PM Modi hailed the values Mishra has incorporated in his public life, which serve as an inspiration. The PM also praised the way Mishra has been discharging his constitutional duties. He wished him good health.

CM Gehlot wished the Governor a healthy and long life.

Vidhan Sabha speaker Dr CP Joshi wished Mishra by sharing his old pictures on social media. Health Minister Dr Ragu Sharma, Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh along with many other governors, central ministers, MPs, MLAs and other prominent personalities sent their best wishes.

Chief Justice Indrajit Mohanty too wished the governor by sending a cotton yarn garland along with his wishes.

07

Jaipur: The politics in Rajasthan bonds well with doctors!

On Doctor’s Day, FI looked at the doctors whose stethoscope measured the beat of state politics well. The doc-politicos, who while serving the noble profession, took out time to listen to public grievances and serve them well in dual roles.

There are few who returned to their old profession due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. One doesn’t have to delve deep to see the still white clad sans an apron. In Congress you have a former minister and veteran Dr Hari Singh, who was a famous surgeon until he chose politics. Former Health Minister Dr Jitendra Singh was also a renowned doctor. Former PCC chief Dr Chandrabhan who has also served as a minister in erstwhile Gehlot ministry is another quick recall and former MP & MLA Dr Karan

Governor Kalraj Mishra along with wife Satywati Mishra and son Amit Mishra watering the sapling at Raj Bhavan.

Singh Yadav served as the superintendent of the SMS Hospital in Jaipur. Dr Rajkumar Jaipal, Dr Suresh Chodhary (Bhadra), Dr CS Baid and Dr Ish Munjal are some other names to have carved some space for themselves in politics. Munjal is also the sitting chairman of the pharmacy council.

BJP too doesn’t fall short of this noble talent. Rajya Sabha MP Dr Kirodi Lal Meena couldn’t stop himself from attending patients around him during the lockdown. Interestingly, his thermometer is good at measuring both body and political temperatures. Dr Rampratap from Hanumangarh has served as minister in the Vasundhara Raje cabinet.

There are many doctors serving the political parties and some chose to be rather more active and enter the poll fray, but all of them certainly have contributed positively to the grassroots politics in the country.

NO ROLE TO PLAY

Div commissioners ‘hang out to dry’ in battle against corona Rajendra Chhabra Jaipur: As the corona crisis unfolded in the state and country, the whole administration sprung into action.

From netas to bureaucrats, all burned midnight oil to build strategies to counter the spread of virus. Over the months the condition worsened so much that the whole government machinery seemed dwarf against the deadly virus.

In such a crisis situation it appears to be astonishing as to why was the institution in

the form of Divisional Commissioner (DC) in the administrative set up didn’t have any role to play?

It was district collectors, who as warriors were active all along active on battle fronts.

Whether it was VC with CM or CS, it was always district collectors who took the reigns. Nowhere in he process was any DC visible.

Neither any DC was seen holding meetings with their respective collectors nor did they go out on tours to take stock of the ground realities during the co-

Chhagan Lal Shrimali

Kailash Chand Meena

Madhukar Gupta

rona crisis. On the contrary, the state government had to depute senior officers from the war room to oversee various divisions separately. Divisional Commissioners were completely ignored in

the whole process, to say the least as they weren’t given any responsibility.

It seems the state govt now has no use or need of the divisional commissioners as three posts of DC are

lying vacant, but the state government isn’t worried about posting any senior IAS on these. The situation is such that the charge of the Jaipur and Jodhpur DC hasn’t been allotted to any officer.

In Bikaner, the charge of DC has been given to a much junior 2007 batch IAS Chhagan Lal Shrimali, who is currently posted as Commissioner (Colonisation). Another interesting fact highlighting the point is that when the state govt didn’t find any suitable officer for DC Kota after it went vacant on May 1, it gave a junior IAS Kailash Chand Meena of 2005 batch the charge of DC. The significance of this irony is highlighted by the fact that the 2005 batch IAS Jogaram and Dinesh Kumar Ya-

dav are still serving as collectors. The DCs posted in Udaipur, Jaipur and Bharatpur are from the batch of 1999 and 2002.

There were times when the post of Divisional Commissioner had prestige and was of immense importance.

The post was synonymous with power and high stature given proper importance by the district collectors.

The senior and experienced officers then too readily agreed to be posted as DCs. Dharam Singh Sagar was Divisional Com-

missioner for Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaipur.

Umrao Salodia was DC Jaipur and Ajmer, and Madhukar Gupta was DC for Kota, Bikaner and Jaipur.

The situation is such that now no senior IAS is ready to take posting as DC even for once.

The very existence of this post seems to have finished in the bureaucratic circles.

This is the reason that the state government can’t find senior officers for the three vacant posts of DC and the fourth, DC of Bharatpur too fell vacant on June 30.

Every day can be a beginning, the start of something new and exciting, provided we are willing to feel that way.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21

JAIPUR | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

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08

Govt acting on making Covid mortality negligible: Gehlot Naresh Sharma Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Wednesday that the state government is working with the aim that mortality rate from corona in Rajasthan becomes negligible. “To save people from this disease, we have conducted a massive awareness campaign till villages and dhanis. At the same time, we are going to appoint ‘Swasthya Mitra’ in every village, who will play an important role in making people aware of Corona and preventing this pandemic,” Gehlot said.

The Chief Minister was addressing the Council of Ministers, District Collectors, Superintendents of Police,

CM Ashok Gehlot with (from left) Niranjan Arya, Rohit Kumar Singh, Rajeeva Swarup, Dr Subhash Garg and Dr Raghu Sharma during a video conference on Wednesday.

Sub-Divisional Officers, CMHOs as well as other officers of SubDivisional and Tehsil level through a video conference on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister said that as the number of activities permitted under Unlock 2.0 has increased, the number of infected people is also increasing. “We

have to strictly follow measures such as wearing masks, frequent hand washing, non-spitting in public place and maintaining social distancing to prevent corona.

Only then will we be able to stop this pandemic from spreading. We will have to change the habits of the people by bring-

DOCTOR’S DAY

Pande appreciates frontline ‘warriors’ Aditi Nagar

CM to ensure doing business gets easier First India Bureau Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot would personally monitor the progress on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) parameters in the state.

A meeting under the chairmanship of the CM will soon be convened, informed Chief Secretary DB Gupta while addressing a high-level meeting at the secretariat on Wednesday.

“Ensuring achievement of EoDB goals is more necessary now than before. We need to establish responsibilities, identify focus areas, and set a timebound program to ful-

fil the goals,” CS Gupta said, adding, “there would be monthly meetings with the department secretaries and nodal officers regarding progress in the direction.”

The Central Government, while increasing the parameters of EoDB reforms has also linked implementation with additional borrowing limit of several states. The additional borrowing limit has been established at 2 per cent of the respective GSDP, in the case of Rajasthan, 1 per cent of GDP nears about Rs 10,000- Rs 11,000 crore. The states are expected to comply with the directives till

Avinash Pande

RAJ COORDINATION PANEL MEET SOON

ed while attending to patients because of shortage of PPEs. Modi Govt empathetic attitude towards these frontline workers is deeply regrettable. In this time of crisis, a person wearing a white coat in a hospital is God likely. It is these people who are saving us all from death. They are

TETE

TETE

-A-

Kartikey Dev Singh

he Rajya Sabha election in Rajasthan were a roller coaster ride for the Congress party. The party not only battled its primary opposition party - BJP - but also the alleged threat of decamping by few of its own legislators, who, it was alleged were being ‘poached’ by the saffron party on promises of large sums of money.

While, the senior leadership successfully managed to keep its house in order

putting their lives in danger to do so.”

Pande went on to highlight the fight doctors and health care workers fight everyday and saluted them on Doctors Day “for their incredible courage and selfless commitment in the most challenging test faced by humanity.”

January 2021.

“We observed that several of the district level business reforms proposed under the guidelines cannot be dealt merely at the district level and thus need portals at the state level to deal with all the user-related requirements,” said Dr Subodh Agarwal.

CS Gupta asked the related departments to increase coordination with the Department of IT. Directing for focused approach, he held that compliance of guidelines would be implemented under guidance of Commissioner of Industries, Muktanand Agarwal, who is nodal

officer for implementation of EoDB. “The departments need to sensitize the respective nodal officers and ensure that objectives are met before the Central government deadline by December, while there is still time left for rectification if required,” said Commissioner Industries, Muktanand Agarwal.

Officials from Urban Development, Local Self Governance, Tourism, Excise, Mines, Energy, PWD, PHED, Forest and several other departments were present during the meeting.

RHB recreates history: 7 months on, Board breaks own world record!

SELLS 1,213 PROPERTIES, GENERATES `178 CRORE REVENUE IN JUST 12 DAYS

Shivendra Parmar

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader, AICC General Secretary and Rajasthan Incharge Avinash Pande took to Twitter on Wednesday to laud and show his appreciation to the ‘health heroes’ i.e. doctors who are fighting Covid-19 across the nation. With the trending hashtag #WeSaluteHealthHeroes, Pande tweeted, “Protective protocol to avoid such cluster transmission among the health workers need to be implemented. Any failure in this direction would have a catastrophic impact on our collective fight against the COVID-19 transmission and treatment.”

In a series of tweets, Pande said, “Doctors have been exposed to greater danger during this time of crisis, even as they were dedicating their life for saving ordinary Indians. We have come across instances where Healthcare workers got infect-

T

ing public consciousness and following strict rules,” Gehlot said, further adding, “despite the increase in the number of active cases in the last few days, with good management, we have kept the rate of doubling of corona infected patients and the death rate much better than the national average.

Other states are also adopting our efforts to prevent corona infection.”

Meanwhile, stressing on the role of public representatives, Gehlot said that they have a special role in the awareness campaign. “After the ministers in charge, now MLAs should also participate in making people aware in their respective fields for 5 days,” he said.

Arora takes stock of ongoing works by RHB First India Bureau

Jaipur: They say history repeats itself.

But in the context of the Rajasthan Housing Board, no one knew history would be repeated in a matter of just seven months! It was in November last year that the RHB created history by making a world record by selling 1,010 properties through e-Auction in just 35 days and accruing Rs 162 crore in revenue. But just when it was being though that the Board has reached its zenith, it proved everyone that more was yet to come. And thus, on Wednesday, RHB broke its own world record and created yet another by selling 1,213 properties worth a whopping Rs 178 crore in one third of the time, through e-bid Submission, of the previous record a meagerly 12 days or

RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora visiting the ongoing works with his team of engineers.

four Wednesday!

In the Wednesday Auction, the RHB sold off a total of 254 properties across the state and generated a revenue of little over Rs 40.64 crore.

It is noteworthy that Board launched its scheme ‘housing on instalments’ to all under the Wednesday Auction Festival on June 1. The scheme sold 381 properties on the first Wednesday, generating a revenue of Rs 58.22 crore.

On the second Wednesday it sold 320 properties, generating revenue of Rs 45 crore, on third,

it sold 257 properties, which gave a revenue of Rs 34 crore, and on this Wednesday it sold 255 properties and received revenue of approximately Rs 41 crore.

For its previous world record, World Book of Records had given a citation to RHB as well and surely even its officials would be surprised to learn now that RHB has bested its own previous best! Arora gave credit of this huge success to every member of board posted in every corner of state.

Jaipur: RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora on Wednesday conducted a surprise inspection of the under construction Jaipur Choupati at Pratap Nagar and Mansarovar, Chief Minister Shikshak and Prehari residential scheme, Coaching Hub and Mansarovar City Park Project, all being developed by the Housing Board.

He instructed the concerned officials during the inspection of Jaipur Choupati at Pratap Nagar and Mansarovar to complete the work on time and install a cooling system to facilitate the visitors in summer.

Along with this, he especially directed to plant shady and flowering trees in Pratap Avenue. He instructed to complete this

work in a quality manner at earliest.

After this, the Commissioner reviewed the construction works of the Chief Minister Shikshak and Prehari Residential Scheme. He tested the quality of construction and directed to speed up the work.

The commissioner also oversaw the Jhulelal Market, City Park and Fountain Square projects. He instructed to speed up the work of City Park. Along with this, the quality of the trees planted here was checked and instructions were given to plant different varieties of flowering trees and fruit bearing tress as well. He also visited several private nurseries in Mansarovar to know the diversity and availability of trees.

HOUSE OF CARDS, NO MORE?

Cong cementing the differences, one leader at a time! for the day and save itself from a major defeat, it has learn one thing that the current ‘house’ is divided and a divided house cannot stand together, ultimately crumbling like a house of cards.

Probably with this in mind, it appears that the senior leadership has ushered in ‘winds of change’ on the lower level, so as to negate any repeat of the threat faced during the RS election. And what better way to bring the ‘house’ in order than to start from the peripheries since general-

ly these are the areas weaken the party in where the tussles are noth- Dholpur, and thus, MLA Rajendra Gudha was ing major.

Since the result for sent in from Jaipur to the RS were declared, ef- bring the warring men forts were on to bring to on the table and Congress leaders from Dholpur - Girraj Malinga and Khiladi Lal Bairwa - on one footing. The ‘netaji’ were on a rivalry spree with each trying to settle ‘scores’. it was proving to be easy pickings for the rival party to further Khiladi Lal Bairwa, Rajendra Gudha and Girraj Malinga

provide a pivot around which they can talk and iron out differences.

Gudha, who is known for his abilities to negotiate well - since he has 11 brothers who come to him to

solicit help - removed their doubts and disputes and made the men ‘patch-up’.

The new found brotherly love was displayed before the Chief Minister as well when recently, Gudha, Malinga and Bairwa called on their leader. It believed that Gehlot welcomed the two netas and motivated them to continue working for people and party.

While the Congress leadership is focusing on rebuilding its strength, interestingly, attempts are still being made to lure

independent MLAs. Sources reveal that two independent MLAs, one from Merwara and second from Eastern Rajasthan, have been approached through ‘old contacts’.

All in all, while the under current may not be visible in the public domain, but the Congress’s ‘strengthening exercise’ points at the fact that the danger of horse-trading has not died down as of yet, and could pose as next major challenge to the grand old party in Rajasthan, unless its house stands united.

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09

City First delves into the world of wackiest, most bizarre, and downright weird makeup that rocked and shocked us in this decade including hair art, nose art, and all the spaces in between!

UNLEASHED KARISHMA GWALANI

karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

A

s times change, so do our beauty habits.

Take a walk down makeup memory lane with me for a few minutes and think about it: The way you did your makeup in 2010 versus 2020 is very different.

These are the makeup moves that are turning heads and shaking up the scene. Thank goodness for growth, and cringe-worthy pictures to prove how far you’ve come.

Makeup has never been about following the rules, more so than ever before, it’s about embracing experimentation, and simply doing you.

Thanks to the ever-growing amount of makeup artists on Instagram, we’ve seen a lot of evolution, right from the eyebrows chopped and screwed into museum-worthy works of art, to people putting ‘flower vases’ in their hair. While some of these makeup trends all quite wearable, with many of them being classic looks; others are too unconventional to wear regularly. But

that doesn’t mean we can not experiment with different style right? You can always flaunt your individuality and creativity with your experimental skills because nothing is more beautiful than when you do...YOU! This creative makeup trend is like an envelope with exciting colour and creativity. Let your makeup be as dramatic as the year 2020!

Be it Valentine’s, Galentine’s, or alone time, give a nod to all the pop neons of greens, yellows and oranges into your makeup routine. Why? Because you can.

Bright and Playful Eyes: With primary colours and neon brights adorning eyelids

top and bottom across countless catwalks, the bright-eye trend is making a stand-out statement.

A Dramatic Floating Crease: It’s basically when you use makeup to draw attention to your eyelid crease. It usually involves a base of eyeshadow, after which you would use a darker shadow, or an eyeliner, to draw an arch just above your natural crease.

Metallic smoky eyes: The smoky eye has been given a glamorous update. Whether in pewter, bronze or black, a metallic satin finish feels modern and when paired with a neutral lip and bronzer, it can entirely change your look.

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JAIPUR | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

Mindy Kaling’s new high school comedy takes its time but eventually finds its emotional footing in telling the story of a nerdy Indian American girl

Netflix teen series slowly finds its voice I

ing for arranged marriage; insult-throwing academic rival and rich kid Ben (Jaren Lewison). Checklist in hand, she directs her two best friends, Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez), into cool-adjacent boyfriends and a 10-

three months (teenagers: not forgiving of the concept “psychosomatic”), forcing her to use a wheelchair.

Only the sight of her crush, swim-team boy and said stone-cold hottie Paxton H a l l - Yo s h i d a (Darren Barnet) – a layered mystery or stock jock

character, depending on the scene – and the promise of a “rebrand” in sophomore year, zaps Devi back on her feet.

The first few episodes are clunky, as Devi, in denial-steeled striver mode, directs or antagonizes characters seemingly identified by one joke: her cousin Kamala (Richa Moorjani), the beautiful “good Indian” doctorate student at CalTech, wideeyed with America and prepar-

FA CE OF TH ED AY

t’s the first day of sophomore year, and 15-yearold Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) kneels in front of the Hindu shrine (and her blessed geometry textbook) in her home in Sherman Oaks, California. She has some requests, the profound goals of many high school girls: be cool, get hot, snag a boy. Or, as Devi spins at the start of this uneven but endearing 10-part teen entry from executive producer Mindy Kaling, she wishes her arms no longer “looked like the floor of a frickin’ barber shop”. Most importantly, she craves a boyfriend, but “not some nerd from one of my AP classes,” she says with Booksmart-style conviction. Said boy “can be dumb – I don’t care. I just want him to be a stone-cold hottie who could rock me all night long.”

Devi is, needless to say, a virgin, and also an intelligent firebrand with a seemingly effortless command of power-points, witty barbs and topical-enough pop culture references (“Yeah, but he has a hot face. You’ll be like Zayn and Gigi,” she tells her friend as a boyfriend sales pitch). She’s also a master deflector, reeling, with a John McEnroe-style short fuse, from a massive loss.

(McEnroe, for no reason seemingly beyond the fact they could get him, narrates the series.)

“As you know,” she half-prays, “last year sucked for a number of reasons.” As abruptly revealed in what seems like a first-episode bit but is not, her beloved father – a sunny, unbridled presence in sepia flashbacks and dream sequences, and Devi’s only true best friend – died of a heart attack at her orchestra concert the year prior. The shock paralyzed her for

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

Source;https://www.theguardian.com/

freshingly and conspicuously not just white, cis, able-bodied.

But for most other than Devi, this goes unmentioned; the philosophy for the characters and, it appears, the show, is to attain the long-sought ideal of being “just a normal teenager” and expanding who gets to claim such a distinction.

The main force for this is Devi, who recoils at the stereotypically strict immigrant parenting of her mother (an excellent Poorna Jagannathan), dismisses Indian culture and dreams of running away. In the season’s first half, she seesaws from deeply insecure to fearless – the plot launches as she writes a checklist for her best friends’ “rebrand” and, in a viscerally cringe-y scene, directly approaches Paxton, introduces herself, and asks if he would have sex with her (and, when this works, gushes “We’ll circle back about it!”).

It is refreshing, and exciting, to see someone like Devi given the Fleabag treatment: space to avoid grief by misbehaving, an exploration of the bitter pills of growing up with a darkly comic touch. But in its early episodes Never Have I Ever applies the evidence of Devi’s assholery – soliciting of Paxton, lying repeatedly to her friends, never listening – too thick. It’s welcome to see an insolent Indian American star, which Never Have I Ever shares with Kaling predecessor The Mindy Project, self-sabotage with candor. But like the former show, it can also be grating. It’s not until the show’s later episodes, when it raises the emotional stakes for everyone – depicting Ben’s lonely home life, contextualizing Fabiola and Eleanor’s one-notes as “robot nerd” and “drama geek”, playing with the eternally gutting story that is getting stood up – that the jokes start to pack a punch.

Ramakrishnan, a newcomer discovered through a global casting search, shows her inexperience here and there, but shines in the series’ more emotionally demanding scenes; her rawness in the final episode moved me to tears. Which is evidence that, though not a perfect ride and likely to be overhyped out of starvation mode for any teen comedy resembling the actual diversity, horniness, and profanity of being a teenage girl, Never Have I Ever gets there, eventually. The series’ back half settles into a storyline balancing emotional depth with outbursts, and what emerges is a moving and original portrait of a teenage girl grappling with grief. It’s a bummer that it couldn’t have arrived at this version faster but, as Devi and the show learn, there’s ultimately satisfaction in ditching the attention grabs and finding your stride.

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Anomaly at work is never appreciated, prevent and help anyone from going astray. Bonding with siblings is on the cards, they may open upto you like never before. Your spouse will bring stars to the ground for you, thats the kind of value you hold in his/her life.

Votary mentality is good but remember charity begins at home. Job seekers will get the success in seizing the job opportunity. You may fall in love with your best friend and get married in future. Luck will for sure favour, but you will have to work hard.

Dough is what you need to survive this pandemic so concentrate on searching for ways to earn it. You currently hold a very powerful and important position in your organisation so do not worry about loosing your source of income by bringing profits to the firm.

Steadfast support is required by lots of people around who are suffering because of pandemic and you will play your part in doing what you can. You will be entrusted with an important task at work, it may require a lot of efforts but it will pay you.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

Temporising may seem the right thing to do but the other party may not feel the same when it comes to your business. You child will give you immense happiness today by making you feel special. Health is very important at the current times, so change your routine.

Retrenching is a must need for your business seeing the current times but that shouldn’t depress you as the future is very bright. You are using your time judiciously as far as your studies are concerned. You partner may demand your attention, make sure to not neglect their needs.

Elucidate things if your parents are not able to understand , don’t forget they are your best hope.

There may be delay in professional gains but at the same time there is a lot that you should be grateful. A friends will help on academic front so keep improving and don’t get stuck.

Complacency on work front shall be avoided and rest you are good to go.

You will come across people who will give you reasons to smile. Tough times do not last forever therefore prepare yourself and good time will be here soon. You try to be very active.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Citing someone’s word at wrong place should be avoided. Home environment will make you feel calm and composed. Your kid really respects you and believes in you so never let them down. You may find your dream partner but take it slow in the beginning and give yourself time.

Alienating from the family is not a solution to your problems rather sit with them and discuss, in the end they are the only ones who can help you and who will stick with you no matter what. You will finally make up your mind about your field of career and get complete support.

Cognitive approach in life makes you out stand and it will play an important role in your rising career graph.

Physical exertion income form or the other is really important. Be the ray of hope in someone life. Apply for jobs keeping in mind your eligibility as it’s very important to have expectations.

Elaborate things if you need to, professionally.

Money is in the air even at these trials time but you need to know ways to catch it. You will financially support your sibling in their endeavours without any expectations. You are a great friend and people like to stay connected.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

RADHIKA BHATI, Model

s t e p popularity plan.

The show, which shares an aesthetic (and glittery, Spotify-ready pop soundtrack) with Netflix’s teen staple To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, takes a swift and mostly tacit approach to diversity in its young cast; classmates have designated the trio of Devi, south-east Asian Eleanor and Afro-Latina Fabiola as “the UN”, and the makeup of Sherman Oaks High is re-

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DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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

JAIPUR | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

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Thanking the

WARRIORS A

s Bollywood actors extend thanks to the doctors on National Doctor’s Day, actor Preity Zinta suggested that the best way to thank the doctors is wearing a face mask and keeping safe amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The ‘Kya Kehna’ star put out a post on Instagram sporting a mask. Along with the post Zinta shared the message that one’s actions speak louder than their words, and suggested to keep the face masks on for maintaining own safety. She noted, “Actions always speak louder than words. The best way to THANK and appreciate all the doctors and healthcare workers out there is by wearing Masks and keeping ... her post yourself and everyone around you safe. Spread love and not the virus #nationaldoctorsday #thankyou #Ting.” (along with a folded hands emoji).

With the post hitting Instagram, more than 20k likes were received in just 30 minutes of being posted. Earlier in the day, actors including Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit extended their thanks to the healthcare professionals who are working relentlessly amid the coronavirus pandemic. Like every year, the country is observing the National Doctors Day on July 1 to honour the contributions of the doctors. The first National Doctor’s day was celebrated in July 1991.

—ANI

Black is

KING

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ark your calendars, beyhives as next month Beyoncé is blessing us with a new visual album.

Queen B announced a new album titled ‘Black Is King’. This will be her first proper solo album since Lemonade in 2016. She has written, directed and produced this album executively, and is gearing up to release it through Disney+ on July 31. Black Is King will also feature the song ‘Black Parade’ that she released on Juneteenth. Last year, Beyoncé curated the soundtrack ‘The Lion King: The Gift’, which was released in conjunction with the CGI version of The Lion King that she starred in.

The album reimagines the lessons of The Lion King for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns. It also is a celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience. The film is a story for the ages that informs and rebuilds the present. A reunion of cultures and shared generational beliefs.

—Agency

Beyonce

STUNNING!

Lovey-dovey

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emi Lovato and boyfriend Max Ehrich have been spending lots of quality time during the lockdown. The couple came out in the open about their relationship only a few months ago when Demi was accidentally seen behind Max Ehrich in his Instagram Live video, thus, implying that the two had been quarantining together.

Demi and Max initially kept their romance under the wraps but now the two are giving couple goals to fans with their social media PDA. A couple of days ago, Demi Lovato headed for a weekend getaway with boyfriend Max Ehrich and posted pictures from their vacay on her Instagram handle. Demi and Max’s romantic moments made their fans gush over them and now once again the couple is winning the internet with their new loved up pictures. —Agency

... her post

Demi Lovato

Preity Zinta

Sonam’s post

SONAM IN

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onam Kapoor Ahuja once again stand for her sister, Rhea Kapoor after Instagram failed to block the comment that threatens her life.

Sonam Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor are among the popular Bollywood siblings who always stands for each other. Recently, rhea shared a screenshot of a death threatening comment that she received on Instagram. She reported the comment to Instagram and then she shared a screenshot of what Instagram responded to her report request. Rhea called out Instagram for the same.

Seeing this, Sonam took a stand against it and slammed Instagram for failing to block the comment. Sonam shared the screenshot of the comment as well on Instagram and called out the photo sharing app’s India team for not blocking such threatful comments against Rhea Kapoor.

Sonam shared Instagram’s response to Rhea on her Instagram story along with the threatful comment by a user.

Sonam wrote, ‘Instagram doesn’t think death threats is a violation or their India team can’t read Hindi’. Rhea got the suggestion of blocking the person on Instagram as the response of the report. The comment by the user was, ‘Tu toh kutte ki maut maregi din (You’ll die a dog’s death someday)’. —Agency

nushka Sharma is the celebrity who made headlines for all the right reasons. the actor-producer has given us the bingeworthy content in the last few months when all of us were in lockdown. Her production house, Clean Slate Films, released Paatal Lok and Bulbbul on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and Netflix respectively. While Anushka herself did not star in it and only produced it but she took it to all the social media platforms to promote it.

Anushka was last seen on screen in her film Zero in 2018 which was a hit at box office. Since then, she hasn’t announced her next project.

However. the actress says that her priorities have changed over the last few years. Anushka, who appears on the latest cover of Vogue India, revealed that she has become more introspective.

She said, ‘I’ve been very introspective over the last three years. I don’t want to think that my only value is what I’ve achieved in life. Peace of mind is my priority and I’m happy that I have become more compassionate and less judgmental.’

—Agency

... her post

Anushka Sharma

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

HAPPY B’DAY! 01

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JAIPUR | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

A SECOND LIFE THROUGH DONATION

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SURPRISE!

CITY FIRST

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he miracle of love and life came together at Mahatama Gandhi Hospital when Rajesh Sihag got a second life after his wife Varsha donated her kidney to him.

The team of doctors of the nephrology department of Mahatma Gandhi Hospital has been successful in saving the life of the young advocate suffering from kidney disease for 18 years by kidney transplant. A resident of Sadulshahar Advocate Rajesh Sihag was troubled by respiratory problems, swelling and infections due to the high amount of protein in his urine and increased creatinine. Till now, the basis of Rajesh’s life had been only dialysis and medicine, but the creatinine was not decreasing.

Seeing his condition, Sihag’s family brought him to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, where he consulted Nephrologist

TFC7 Hampers by Brown Sugar

KTP Patient, Rajesh Sihag

Dr Suraj Godara, who planned the kidney transplant after seeing the severity of the disease. Dr Godara told

that more than 950 kidney transplants have taken place in the hospital and the success rate is also world-class.

NIROS REOPENS

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CITY FIRST

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WE CARE! City First reminds you to wear a mask whenever you step out, sanitize regularly, maintain physical distance and stay strong during the Corona time!

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(1-14) MP Ramcharan Bohra, MLA Brajendra Ola, MLA Ashok Bairwa, Rameshwar Dudi, IAS Shweta Chauhan, IAS Dr Rajesh Sharma, IAS UD Khan, IAS Kana Ram, IPS Janga Srinivas Rao, IPS Rajendra Singh, IPS Jai Narayan, IPS Rameshwar Singh, IPS Yogesh Dadhich and Vikram Singh Shekhawat celebrated their birthdays on 1 July, Wednesday.

We wish them all the best!

The kidney transplant of a patient was very challenging during the corona period. But the team of doctors accepted this challenge and successfully completed it. Rajesh’s wife Varsha donated her kidney to him. She said that when there was a need to give a kidney for the survival of my husband, I volunteered for it. At the same time, patient Rajesh said that the doctors of Mahatma Gandhi Hospital have given me a new life. He owed his life to his wife too, he added. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

People in and around Jaipur have been eagerly waiting for the most spectacular fashion event of the season, ‘The Fashion Connect Season 7’ presented by First India. TFC recently sent its guests a lovely hamper made

by Brown Sugar Jaipur, keeping all the precautionary measures in mind.

It was a surprise for the ones who had received the hamper! The hamper consisted of freshly baked loaves of bread, crosswinds and biscuits. Rishee Miglani, the brand ambassador of the show said, “It was just a small way of saying, we love you Jaipur, and we will be back very soon.” Vishal Jhalani from Brown Sugar said, “I have been a part of TFC before and it’s always a pleasure to be a part of such an amazing event of the state. I hope people will cherish the goodies.”

s lockdown eases around the world, some of the most renowned restaurants of the city are reopening but with a very different approach from before the COVID pandemic. One such place is Jaipur’s most beloved and legendary restaurant, ‘Niros’.

As the restaurant reopens in the corona-post economy, masked staff, sanitization throughout the restaurant, thermal checks for all staff mem-

bers and customers, disinfecting tables and deep cleaning washrooms has become the norm. This was informed by the co-owner of Niros, Hamit Pardal.

Talking about the sanitization protocols being following by the restaurant, Pardal further said that, ‘Niros’ is following all safety and sanitization protocols as laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), WHO, and the Government. This includes

Precautionary measures being taken at NIROS, Jaipur

thermal temperature scanning of all staff, sanitization and disinfection of kitchen and supplies as well as placement of sanitizers in spray bottles

throughout the restaurant.

Apart from this, bathrooms are also being deep cleaned using sanitizers carried by the sweepers. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

RAJASTHAN: Dr Sunil and Dr Sunita reiterated their commitment to the needy on Doctors Day. They said that we have to put the needs of the patient above everything else and the medical profession has to be undertaken with a ‘seva bhaav’.

RAJASTHAN: Actress, Big boss fame and ‘Kaanta Laga’ song fame, Shefali Jariwala and actress, Deepshikha Nagpal will be the judges for the forthcoming ‘Queen of India’. The pageant is scheduled to be held in November, in Jaipur and the official poster of the event was launched by Shefali Jariwala on Wednesday.

Founder, Monu Verma shared that the auditions are to be held in four major cities, Jaipur, Indore, Chandigarh and Mumbai.

RAJASTHAN: Nirbhaya Squad Team was honoured by the Mahila Mitra Sansthan at the residence of the President, Sunita Vaishnav, for their commendable work done during the lockdown. During the occasion, Additional Police Supdt. Sunita Meena; and her team of approximately 40 women constables along with the Chairperson of the Shilp Srajan Institution, Shilpi Shah were awarded the citation.

RAJASTHAN: The Universe Writes in partnership with Siyahi, Shree Cement and Prabha Khaitan Foundation organised a virtual session with Diana Chambers in conversation with Mandira Nayar on Tuesday, where they talked about ‘The Star of India’, written by Diana Chambers.

TIMELY SUPPORT: During the ‘CII Session on Strengthening

MSMEs in Rajasthan Post COVID-19’ on Wednesday, Amitava Chatterjee, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India said, “The timely support to the MSME sector will go long way in overcoming challenges posed by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.” He also shared that SBI has a dedicated MSME Vertical with AsstGMs, they are catering MSMEs across Rajasthan with their respective teams. SBI has a total portfolio of registered over 50,000 MSMEs in Rajasthan which are served by a dedicated team of SBI.

RAJASTHAN: The new executive of the Public Relations and Allied Services Association of Rajasthan (PRASAR), an organisation of officers of the Information and Public Relations Department, was formed on Tuesday.

Motilal Verma was elected the new president of the organisation. At the same time, Kumar Ajay has been selected as Senior Vice President, Suman Manatuwal as Vice President, Harishankar Acharya as Vice President (Regional), Veersen as General Secretary, Harishankar Sharma as Secretary, Devendra Singh as Joint Secretary and Sohan Lal as Treasurer.