First India-Jaipur Edition-03 May 2020

JAIPUR l SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 326

ASHOK ‘STAMBH’

LEADER OF MASSES! KARTIKEY DEV SINGH

F

Happy

Birthday!

or the past five decades and still going strong, Ashok Gehlot has been associated with RAJneeti. Starting out as a student leader, he graduated into a Congress party worker, whose talent and zeal was noticed by Indira Gandhi especially during his work at refugee camps in West Bengal post Bangladesh War and further nurtured by Rajiv, Sonia and Rahul while being a sound ‘General’ and executor for Gandhis. From being an MP, a Union minister, multiple times legislator to holding the reins of Rajasthan three times as Chief Minister - a record in itself equaling the record set by late ‘Babosa’ Bhairo Singh Shekhawat - Ashok Gehlot has come a long way in public life and surely enough the people address him as Rajasthan’s Gandhi out of love they have for him as the special place Rajasthan has in the Jadugar’s heart is apparent in his policies and politics. Shekhawat had once famously said for a young Gehlot that 24/7 his mind works for the ‘janta’ which is apparent with the proactive handling of the ongoing Corona crisis. On his 69th birthday, we wish him many more years of health and happiness. Happy Birthday Mr CM.

—PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

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JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

02

NEW LIFE IN MAKING

—PHOTO BY SUNIL SHARMA

Fish fingerlings being introduced into the deserted Amber Mawtha in Jaipur at 2.15PM on Saturday amid the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Guv approves implementation of Raj Epidemic Ordinance 2020 State govt to enforce it from Monday First India News Jaipur: Governor Kalraj Mishra has given assent to Rajasthan Epidemic Ordinance 2020.

With this ordnance, the state government has got sweeping powers to control the pandemic.

The ordinance has strict provisions against people spreading the pandemic.

Till now, the state government had been acting under the NDMA act, which was not proving to be effective. However, with this ordinance, Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act, 1957 will stand void.

The government had

Governor Kalraj Mishra

been feeling the need for a strict law to deal with unruly crowds and patients attacking frontline corona warriors.

The state government has now got pow-

ers to acquire any building, seal, or open shops and seal state’s borders.

As per subsection 2 of section 4 of the ordinance, the government takes action to stop

mass gathering, regularize workers in government and private workplaces, ban on opening or closing of offices and shops, and essential services includ-

ing media and health.

For violation, there is a provision of Rs 1000 fine and imprisonment of two years.

Breaking law under this ordinance would be considered a cognizable offense, which means the police can register case suo motu.

The central government has already amended Epidemic disease act 1897 to bring ordinance on April 22.

It has a provision of jail from six months to seven years for an attack on health workers.

It has also been declared a non-bailable offense. The government has also got the right to ban or regularize media along with essential services.

Three held for spreading fake news on FB First India News Jaipur: Rajasthan police’s cyber wing, ATS, and SOG have arrested three persons for Facebook posts that could have to disturb communal harmony.

ADG (ATS & SOG) Anil Paliwal informed that accused Bhawani Shanker Sharma, Irfan Khan and Shahrukh Khan from Sawai Madhopur had uploaded a fake post that could have caused animosity between communities.

The accused are being interrogated, he said.

ADG Paliwal said that social media monitoring cells, ATS, and SOG have been working throughout day and night against people trying to vitiate atmosphere through fake and misleading posts.

State is expecting huge financial help from Centre: Pilot

Sachin Pilot

First India News Jaipur: The lock down has deeply caused a setback in the revenue of Rajasthan government, this is what is said and believed by the Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President Sachin Pilot.

Sachin Pilot said, “The Central and State Governments are being held together in a state of heavy war against the Coronavirus, but

this fight with the pandemic is a big challenge not only for the Central Government but also for the State Governments. In such a situation, the state is expecting a huge financial support from the central government so that Rajasthan can get relief from the situation that arises after Coronavirus, and the need to strengthen the economic structure should be met by the Center”.

Petrol Dealers Assn demands Under CM’s guidance, we have been able to conduct Raj govt to balance VAT rate 10,000 tests per day in just two months: Raghu First India News

First India News Jaipur: Due to the govt imposed lockdown, all the industries and businesses are shut, which has certainly jolted the financial conditions of the state and the nation altogether. Sales of petrol and diesel fall by 90 percent in the country.

Noteworthy, sales of petrol, diesel were just 10% during the lockdown. While the state government has increased VAT on petrol and diesel by 12%, not just that Rajasthan, pet-

rol, diesel rate are higher than the rest of its neighbouring states.

In such a situation, the sale of petrol and diesel may decrease further during the lockdown. Due to this VAT increase by govt, the

state will not be the only one losing the revenues but this will also have a huge impact on the pockets of the people here, and this will make inflation go even higher, Farmers are also suffering from this, as they have to buy petrol and diesel by paying a high price for the agriculture.

Keeping this in mind, the Petroleum Dealers Association demanded from the state government to balance the VAT rate on petrol and diesel in the state.

Jaipur: Medical and Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma said that the state can do 10,000 tests per day. He said that with the help of doctors and health department officials, the government has achieved this target in just a few days.

The health minister said that when the first case was reported on March 2, the state did not have a testing facility for coronavirus and the samples had to be sent to Pune. Now, un-

Medical and Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma

der the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s guidance and leadership, the state in just two months has achieved the goal of 10,000 tests per day.

“This is just one

milestone after COBAS 8800 machines start working in Jaipur and Jodhpur, 4000 tests more can be conducted daily,” he said.

Dr Sharma said that the Chief Minister

HAPPY FACES

Govt runs special trains for students stranded in Kota Bhanwar Charan Kota: During the lockdown, the homecoming phase and the evacuation process of the coaching students stranded in Kota continues. With the buses, now students have started getting safe from the train as well.

The support of the Rajasthan government, with the efforts of the Kota district administration and the Allen Career Institute, is

poised to set a consistent record.

In this sequence, more than one thousand students left for Delhi, Odisha, Tripura and Kerala via buses on Saturday. This included 543 students from 29 buses for Delhi, 236 for Tripura in 10 buses, 27 for one bus for Kerala and 260 from 11 buses for different provinces of Odisha.

Along with this, single trip migrant special train left for Jharkhand

—Pic for representational purposes only

at 9.30 pm on the second day for Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih, Koderma, Dumka, Deoghar, Jamtara, Goda,

Sahebganj, Pakur. In which 955 students were boarded. At the same time, the path has also become accessible

to the students of Bihar waiting to go home for several days. After the prayers of the students who have placed their demands all over the country, now the Bihar government has opened the gates.

Now from May 3 to 6, Bihar students will be sent home by train. It will start from Sunday 3 May for Begusarai and Gaya stations. The train will leave from platform number 1 for Begusarai at 10.30 am

and for Gaya at 9 pm.

The first train will take students from Banka, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Jamui, Khagaria, Lakhisarai, Munger, Sheikhpura at 10.30 am. After this, the second train will leave from platform number-1 for Arwal, Aurangabad, Gaya, Jehanabad, Nawada at 9 pm. There are more than 10 thousand students of Bihar in Kota, who will be sent to different areas in 4 days.

wanted more tests to get to the bottom of the problem so that suspects can be timely isolate and quarantine for controlling the contagion. As per the CM’s wish, corona testing facility will be developed in all districts.

The state has conducted 113934 tests, which is among the highest in the country.

The health minister said that the number of positive to negative cases have been increasing due to the efforts of health workers and the strong will of

patients. He said that till Saturday afternoon 2720 positive cases were reported out of this 1121 have turned negative and 714 have been discharged.

Dr Sharma said that migrant works coming back in large numbers.

It will be a challenge to stop contagion among them. “We have asked district collectors to do the screening of every person and keeping them in-home or government quarantine for two weeks,” he said while seeking the support of the people.

HC, subordinate courts to work for 30 more min First India News Jaipur: The High Court and subordinate courts will work for 30 minutes more from Monday. The courts will now sit from 8.30 AM to 11 AM. The decision was taken during a review meeting headed by Chief Justice Indrajeet Mohanty.

Two committees have also been formed to devise a plan for the regular functioning of the court’s post lock-

down. It was decided that courts will continue to hear only urgent cases.

The meeting was attended by Justice S P Sharma, Justice Ashok Gaur, Justice Indrajeet Singh, Justice Govardhan Badhdar, President of High Court Bar Association Mahendra Shandilya, Jaipur Bar president Anil Choudhary, BCR chairman Shahid Hasan, Justice Sangeet Lodha and other judges from Jodhpur bench.

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

29°C - 42°C

ALERT JAIPUR l SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

INDIA

2,42,861 34,49,884 1,322 39,695

GLOBAL STATE OF AFFAIRS COUNTRY TOTAL CASES

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

1,142,688 SPAIN 245,567 ITALY 209,328 UK 182,260 GERMANY 164,478 TURKEY 124,375 RUSSIA 124,054 IRAN 96,448 BRAZIL 92,630 CHINA 82,875 CANADA 55,572 BELGIUM 49,517

66,620 25,100 28,710 28,131 6,736 3,336 1,222 6,156 6,434 4,633 3,446 7,765

USA

RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 326

WORLD

DEATHS

+867 +276 +474 +621 +12 +78 +53 +65 +24 +4 +55 +62

CONFIRMED CASES

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

SAMPLE RECEIVED SAMPLE NEGATIVE

NEW TOTAL CASES DEATH

+4 +2 — — — +1 — — +1 — — — — — +33 — — — +60 — +3 — +1 — — — — — +1 — +106 — — +106

1 1 — — — 2 2 1 1 — — — — — 38 — — — 9 — 6 2 — — — — 2 1 — 2(UP) 68 — — 68

1,14,411 1,05,182

UNDER EXAMINATION

6,457

CONFIRMED CASES

Living in colonies, in the southern hemisphere, with populations larger than some cities and surviving the harshest of conditions, it is no wonder that penguins are seen as the emblem of survival. In these tough times when the world is reeling under Coronavirus pandemic, there are very few birds that induce a warmer feeling than these cold-water birds that cannot fly!

IN RAJASTHAN AJMER 165 ALWAR 11 BANSWARA 66 BARAN 1 BARMER 2 BHARATPUR 112 BHILWARA 37 BIKANER 37 CHITTORGARH 27 CHURU 14 DAUSA 21 DHOLPUR 12 DUNGARPUR 6 HANUMANGARH 11 JAIPUR 961 JAISALMER 35 JHALAWAR 40 JHUNJHUNU 42 JODHPUR 605 KARAULI 3 KOTA 207 NAGAUR 118 PALI 13 PRATAPGARH 2 RAJSAMAND 2 SWAI MADHOPUR 8 SIKAR 6 TONK 134 UDAIPUR 9 OTHER DIST. 2 2709 TOTAL OTHER (Italy) 2 EVACUEES 61 GRAND TOTAL 2772

DEATHS

2,772

FEET!

LAST UPDATED: MAY 2, 2020, 11:00 PM

TOTAL CASES

68

RAJASTHAN

HAPPY

WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO

DISTRICT

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MODI’S NUTRITIOUS DIET FOR FARMERS! PM STRESSED ON ‘BRAND INDIA’ & MAKING FARMERS COMPETITIVE IN GLOBAL VALUE CHAIN

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday deliberated on reforms required in the agriculture sector and stressed the need for making strategic interventions in the existing marketing eco-system.

“Special emphasis was given on reforms in agriculture marketing, management of marketable surplus, access of farmers to institutional credit and freeing agriculture sector of various restric-

SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON REFORMS IN AGRI MARKETING, MANAGEMENT OF MARKETABLE SURPLUS ETC

A farmer busy harvesting wheat crop in Patna.

tions with appropriate backing of the statute,” said the Prime Minister’s

Office (PMO) in a statement. Concessional credit flow to Turn on P7

INDIA: COVID-19 TOLL RISES TO 1,322; NUMBER OF CASES CLIMB TO 39,695 New Delhi: The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,322 and the number of cases climbed to 39,695 in the country on Saturday, registering an increase of 71 deaths and a record jump of 2,411 cases in 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 26,565, while 10,017 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said. “Thus, around 26.52 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said.

Govt adds fizz to liquor biz, salons with rider New Delhi: Barber shops and salons located in green and orange zones will be allowed to open from Monday besides sale of non-essential items by e-commerce platforms during the third phase of the lockdown which will be in force till May 17.

Sale of liquor will be allowed with certain conditions in all zones—green, orange and red—barring containment areas.

These exemptions were given by the Ministry of Home Affairs

ARMED FORCES TO SALUTE CORONA WARRIORS TODAY New Delhi: Armed forces have made elaborate arrangements to conduct aerial fly-pasts, light up ships at sea and shower flower petals on several hospitals across the country on Sunday to express gratitude to lakhs of corona warriors.

on Friday, while extending the lockdown for two more weeks.

There are no restrictions on sale of non-essential items by e-commerce platforms in green and orange zones, a home ministry spokesperson clarified on Saturday, adding barber shops and salons are also allowed to open in these areas.

In red zones, the ecommerce companies are allowed to sell only essential commodities.

Barber shops and salons are not Turn on P7

Arogya Setu, sophisticated surveillance system: RaGa

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Arogya Setu mobile application is a “sophisticated surveillance system” outsourced to a private operator, raising serious data security and privacy concerns.

Technology can help keep us safe, Turn on P7

N KOREA’S KIM MAKES FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE IN WEEKS North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days, ending an absence that sparked global speculation about his health.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday that Kim attended a ceremony marking the completion of a fertiliser factory in Suncheon, near the capital Pyongyang, with other senior officials, including his sister, Kim Yo Jong.

COME CRISIS & MIRACLE MAN BLOSSOMS Sanjeev Srivastava

Senior political commentator, ex-India Editor, BBC

A

shok Gehlot is amongst the miracles of Indian politics. Especially when one looks at his career graph and the meteoric rise he has had in the Congress in his four decades of public life.

He is a first generation politician and has a surname which does not represent a dominant political caste. His roots were humble and he was

cutting his teeth in the Congress party and gradually carving a niche for himself at a time when the party was dominated by giants like Harideo Joshi, Paras Ram Maderna, Shiv Charan Mathur, Nawal Kishore Sharma, Khet Singh Rathore, Chandan Mal Baid, Heera Lal Deopura and Gulab Singh Shaktawat.

Despite his good looks and winning smile which complimented his friendly and non threatening demeanour, not many would have been able to forecast the glories which awaited him as Gehlot swiftly climbed the ladder of political

success.

He has been a Union minister thrice, party general secretary, PCC president and is now a third time Chief Minister. He is now seen as a colossus in the Congress party next only in stature to the Gandhis.

So what is the secret of his success? His steadfast, unflinching and unwavering loyalty to the Gandhi family is without doubt a key factor. He looked up to Indira Gandhi almost like a Mother Goddess figure. His commitment to Sonia Gandhi is also well known.

But there is much more to his persona than just the loyalty fac-

CM Ashok Gehlot has managed to ensure that access to him always remains easy and unfettered.

tor. He is truly wedded to the philosophy and ideals of the Congress party at a time when politicians — especially

from the Congress— are prone to dump ideology at the first available opportunity. However, it will be too simplistic to

credit Gehlot’s success to just loyalty and commitment to the Congress ideology. Over the last four decades he has

emerged as the quintessential consensus man.

His first Cabinet in 1998 was packed by stalwarts much senior to him in age, experience and—in the odd case—even political standing. But he carried everyone along; almost acrobatic in his balancing skills. He can never be seen as pushing his agenda or throwing his weight around.

He has perfected the art of understatement and makes it a point to come across as someone who is always prepared to walk the extra mile to avoid confrontation and strike a compromise.

Make no mistake though. In the end Gehlot always has his way

if he is really keen on something. His dithering, delay and indecision is also a part of the astute political package that Gehlot is.

Like Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Gehlot has friends across party lines and is able to command both affection and fierce loyalty from his support network which exists in practically every village of the state.

He is a consummate 24x7 politician who thrives on having his ear to the ground which is largely the result of how he has managed to ensure that access to him always remains easy and unfettered.

Turn on P8

RAJASTHAN JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

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in

BRIEF  Jaipur: Shyam

 Tonk: Two girls died due to drowning in a pond in Tonk.

Incident took place in Nimbarana village of Mehandwas police station area. Accident occurred while the accused removing buffaloes from the pond.  Jaipur: MLA

Rajkumar Sharma opposed the sending of laborers, and said, “One way the government is talking about starting factories, on the other hand, migrant laborers are being sent to their homes, giving work to laborers is the solution to the problem, and sending them home will only increase the problems. Laborers should give importance to the work instead of going to home, the country and their home will run from their work”.  Jaipur: Initiative by

Ralsa Executive Chairman Justice Sangeet Lodha. Webinar (Online seminar) organized for advocates amid lock down. Webinar organized on the subject of cybercrime and cyber security.

Cyber Law Expert Nishit Dixit addresses webinar.  Jaipur: Two Indian Army helicopters will be seen in the sky of Jaipur raining flowers on the hospitals, so the Corona warriors will be encouraged.  Jaipur: During the lockdown, police have arrested 209 illegal and traffickers of illegal liquor. These include 180 men and 29 women. Commissioner Anand Srivastava said that 191 lawsuits have been filed against those who have been strictly against lockdown and selling, storing and transporting illegal liquor, to prevent infection of the pandemic Coronavirus. liquor worth 7 lakh rupees was seized from the smugglers who are caught by the police.

First India News

Jaipur: Six corona deaths were reported in last 24 hours taking the total to 68 along with 106 new corona positive cases. Four of the deaths were reported from SMS hospital, Jaipur while one death each was reported from Jodhpur and Ajmer.

The death of a 20 day infant in JK Lon hospital was most shocking.

Maximum 60 new cases came from Jodhpur, 33 from Jodhpur,4 from Ajmer, 2 from Alwar, 3 from Kota and one each from Bharatpur, Chittorgarh, Pali & Udaipur were reported on Saturday. The state total for corona positives stands at 2772. State has tested 114411 samples so far out of which 105182 have reported negative while reports for 6457

—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO

Nagar Police Station has arrested a person supplying illegal drugs during the lockdown.

The arrested accused Mohammad Ali is a resident of Sushilpura near the river Dravati.Two kilograms of illegal hemp and Rs 9,390 have been recovered from the accused.

20-day-old youngest death in Raj due to corona, 5 others die

PIL filed for recovery of `1900 crores from Hindustan Zinc Ltd

TRAGIC END

SK Singh

First India News

Curfew imposed in Sodala after a positive case was reported from there.

samples is awaited.

Jaipur leads with 961 cases followed by Jodhpur 605, Kota 207, Ajmer 165, Tonk 134, Nagaur 118, Bharatpur 112, Banswara 66, Jhunjhunu 42, Jhalawar 40, Bikaner & Bhilwara 37 each, Jaisalmer 35, Chittorgarh 27, Dausa 21, Churu 14, Pali 13, Dholpur 12, Al-

war & Hanumangarh 11 each, Udaiur 9, Sawai Madhopur 8, Dungarpur & Sikar 6 each, Karauli 3, Barmer, Pratapgarh & Rajasamnd with 2 cases each and Baran with one case. Apart from this 2 Italians, two from other states and 61 Indians evacuated from Iran also tested positive.

29 out of 33 districts is officially infected.

So far 1242 cases have recovered. 825 patients have been discharged after full recovery and rest will also be discharged after mandatory quarantine period.

In Jaipur Ramganj continues to be a hotspot with 14 new cases

on Saturday, but the radius of infection is widening. 4 cases surfaced in Johari Bazar, 2 in Bapu Nagar and one each from station Road, Anandpuri, Dudu, Chaura Rasta, Jagatpura, Dadi Ka fatak, Ramgarh Mod, Sardar Patel Marg, Tonk Road, Baou Bazar and MI Road.

Jaipur: Advocate SK Singh has filed a PIL in High Court requesting for the recovery of Rs 1900 crores from Hindustan Zinc. This amount is pending against the royalty for which notice was given by Rajasthan Mining Department.

Hindustan zinc is one of the subsidiary of Vedanta Group and this company had a turnover of around 22,000 crores in the year 201819, even then they are not paying dues to the

Sale of pan, gutkha Lockdown delays Wildlife census, & tobacco banned now to be conducted on June 5 First India News Jaipur: State govt has issued orders that there will be ban on sale of pan, gutkha and tobacco in all districts.

Salon and spa shops will also remain closed for the time being while liquor shops will open keeping social distancing in mind.

Not more than 5 people will be able to gather at one time in the shop.

The Home department has released notification for the Rajasthan Epidemic Act 2020. The act has strict provision for many offences, with fine attached, to discourage flouting of the rules laid.

Act has provision of

fine of Rs 200 for not wearing a mask, Rs 500 for shopkeeper who avoid wearing masks while working at shops, Rs 200 would be fined on those who spit pan, gutkha or masala at public places, Rs 500 for drinking at public places, Rs 500 for not following social distancing while consuming liquor, pan, gutkha etc, Rs 100 for not keeping a distance of 6 feet in public and Rs 5,000 for organizing any public function like wedding etc.

Fine for spitting gutkha has yet not been notified and was added after ratification from Governor but it is just a matter of time and formality.

Nirmal Tiwari Jaipur: Forest department has delayed wildlife census by a month.

It usually starts in May but due to lockdown, this year it will commence from June 5.

The census will be conducted for 24 hours from 8 am on June 5 to 8 am on June 6, and would be conducted through waterhole method.

Apart from that camera trap method and help of volunteers will also be used for counting wild animals in the state’s national parks and reserved forests.

Chief wildlife warden Arindam Tomar has issued directions for the census. This year, the

Jaipur: Former CM Vasundhara Raje has constantly been monitoring the situation in state and taking feedback from different quarters. Raje has been taking stock from former student union presidents and former student leaders with either

Vasundhara Raje

BJP or ABVP background. She sends this

feedback to central party leaders. She spoke to Rajesh Meena and praised him for his services. She also praised relief work under taken

by Akhilesh Pareek.

Raje called Pawan Yadav to get feedback.

Youth leader from Ajmer, Vikas Chodhary also briefed her about relief work done by him.

state. Division Bench of HC comprising Chief Justice and Justice Satish Kumar Sharma will hear this PIL on May 4.

Petitioner has claimed urgent recovery of the royalty so that the State Government can use the amount to fight Corona and for the welfare of the people of Rajasthan. It was further claimed that criminal action for cheating may also be taken against owners of Hindustan Zinc Limited as they have been avoiding the royalty for last 12 years.

Bundi’s first +ve case returnee from Kota First India News

wildlife census would be conducted beat wise.

Each beat will be considered one unit.

Since getting exact number of wild animals is a complex process; therefore, instead

of wildlife census it is now being called wildlife estimation.

The staff and volunteers will be given proper training before roping them into census.

Wildlife expert Anil

Rogers said that forest department should include only sincere volunteers as some only join for fun and if anyone was caught in wrong activity, they must be banned and penalized.

Raje praises relief work done by IAS officer Niraj K Pawan starts community kitchen in his colony youth leaders, takes feedback Aishwarya Pradhan

04

First India News Jaipur: IAS officer Niraj K Pawan has started a community kitchen in his colony amid lockdown in Rajasthan, and on an average, about 1800 food packets are being prepared and sent to the needy ones regularly.

Around 75 to 80000

Niraj K Pawan

food packets have been distributed so far dur-

ing the lockdown.

Niraj and the enlightened people residing in his NRI colony are themselves dedicated to financially supporting this kitchen community.

Apart from this, Pawan says that all the people are making arrangements for the grains to feed the birds.

Kota: Bundi received its first Corona positive case on Saturday. The woman who tested positive was preparing for REET, and had returned to Bundi from Kota at night.

As soon as the information was received, the Administration, Health Department and Police reached Nainwa Road Navjeevan Sangh Colony in Bundi city and isolated everyone.

They then informed the Medical College, Kota about the matter.

The woman’s sample was sent for testing in Kota, after which she travelled to Bundi. It was on Saturday that the results came out and she was declared positive. So far this is the first case of Coronavirus positive in Bundi and that reached the district from Kota.

Under Poonia, Raj contributes ‘Bear travel fares of those who can’t afford it’ `50 crore to PM care fund WORKERS’ HOMECOMING



Rathore said that govt should provide migrant workers coming home with Rs 5000 per family, 50kg wheat, 5 kg pulse and 2 kg oil for next 3 months

First India News Jaipur: Deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore has demanded free ration and free train journey to migrant workers.

In a letter to CM Ashok Gehlot, Rathore said that Rajasthan’s 2025 lakh people have been working in other states. They now want to return and 12 lakh registered for their return but have no money to pay for rail fare.

Rajendra Rathore

Therefore, the state government should bear their train or bus fare.

Rathore said that the

state government should also provide these people Rs 5000 per family, 50kg wheat, 5 kg

pulse and 2 kg oil for the next three months.

He also alleged that state has not paid Rs 1100 crore to private hospitals under Ayushman Mahatma Gandhi Rajasthan Health Insurance Scheme, which is why private hospitals have not been helping the government.

According to him GOI and Insurance regulator and development authority (IRDA) had given orders for the payment in the past.

First India News Jaipur: Rajasthan has contributed Rs 50 crore to PM Care Fund. State BJP President Dr Satish Poonia said that in coming days this figure will cross RS 75 crore.

He has been leading the fund raising campaign for PM Care Fund in which MLAs and MPs have been contributing.

BJP MLA from Chomu, Ramlal Sharma met Poonia with a delegation from his con-

Dr Satish Poonia

stituency and handed over cheque of Rs 1 lakh. Party leader Devnarayan Latala was

also with him.

Poonia appreciated the contribution. He said that BJP workers have been regularly helping labourers and will continue to do so.

He appealed party workers for joint effort to help the poor. He said that there will be greater challenges in coming days but together we will help needy people to overcome this war.

“We should ensure that no one around us is facing problem,” he added.

INDIA JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

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05

‘India can attract investments post-COVID-19 period’ Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said India has a huge domestic market with sound macro-economic indicators New Delhi: India has strong economic fundamentals and is likely to attract multinational corporations which are keen to shift manufacturing bases from China in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar.

“There is tremendous opportunity for India and we have to make efforts to seize that opportunity,” he said. “All big companies are welcome to India.

The country has 150 mobile phone manufacturing units now as compared to two about six

Corona warriors medical team rushes to Hindpiri Corona ‘containment zone’ in Ranchi to collect swab samples.

years ago.” Even personal protective equipment and ventilators are being made within the country. Javadekar said India has a huge domestic market with

Zonal rlys to run ‘Shramik special trains’

A health worker sanitizes the belongings of migrants in Patna.

New Delhi: The Indian Railways said that a policy decision has been taken to run 'Shramik special trains' amid the nationwide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19. The Zonal railways will run these trains as per the demand of state administrations.

“We have taken a policy decision to run 'Sh-

ramik special trains'.

Zonal railways to run these trains as per the demand of state administrations. Local DMs and DRMs are coordinating. Specific details can be obtained from the zonal CPROs,” an Indian Railways official said. Cancellation of all passenger train services shall be extended till May 17, he said. —ANI

sound macro-economic indicators.

“All the industries will start after the lockdown ends. The foundation of Indian economy is strong. Secondly,

MED UPDATE

Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for restricted use in an emergency situation.

‘PILGRIMS FROM U’KHAND CAN VISIT KEDARNATH FROM MAY 4’ Dehradun: Pilgrims from Uttarakhand can visit Kedarnath and other Himalayan temples in the state from May 4, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said. As inter-district movement of people is being allowed with certain restrictions from May 4 especially in districts which fall in the green zone, pilgrims from the

state can visit Kedarnath, Rawat said.However, the chief minister appealed to the people to maintain social distancing while paying obeisance at the temples as their safety is of utmost importance.

The portals of Kedarnath were opened on April 29 in the absence of pilgrims due to the extended lockdown.

AAROGYA SETU APPLICATION

'WORST OF COVID-19 IS OVER, BUT FOLLOWING PRECAUTIONS IS MUST'

ON OPPN’S ALLEGATIONS

New Delhi: Prakash Javadekar said on Saturday that Aarogya Setu app is the best scientific instrument to alert people if some COVID-19 infected person is nearby and there should be no concern over privacyrelated issues. He was responding to AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s statement in which he raised the possibility of privacyrelated information being collected by the use of app.

New Delhi: I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the worst phase of coronavirus epidemic in India appears to be over, but people should continue to follow all precautions. “I think the worst is over. But till the time the disease is not completely contained, we should continue to follow all precautions and guidelines.”

India took various timely initiatives, including a countrywide lockdown, and its management of COVID-19 has been better than other countries. “That is why it (lockdown) has been extended for two weeks. The various zones are well-defined. Following the social distancing norm of ‘do gaz ki doori’ will be a new normal till the time a vaccine is developed.” —ANI

I think Opposition are rudderless. They have no agenda. They have not said a single good thing. Now they are blaming the government on points on which they earlier agreed. They were demanding for buses for migrants earlier.

When the buses were given, they started demanding trains.

When six trains started yesterday, they demanded 600 trains. They do not want to do anything, Javadekar said.

‘Lockdown is an exam we have to pass’ New Delhi: The “pressing need” to trigger resumption of economic activities has been addressed in ''lockdown 3.0'' in a manner that fits with the prevailing situation on the ground, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday.

He also said that the announcement of extension of coronavirusinduced lockdown by two more weeks from May 4, with attendant relaxations driven by economic concerns, “marks a landmark” in the nation''s collective fight against COVID-19.

“In my view, this decision puts the onus of taking forward the fight against the virus more in the hands of stake-

Centre orders 11.45 cr HCQ tablets with 2 Indian firms New Delhi: India has placed urgent orders for at least 11.45 crore tablets of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). This drug is being directly procured by HLL Lifecare, on behalf of the Union Health Ministry. Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL) Lifecare is a government-owned healthcare manufacturing company.

HCQ is an anti-malarial drug and has only been recommended as prophylaxis of COVID-19 as per the national taskforce for COVID-19.

It is not a cure but this protocol has been recommended by the national task force for mostly frontline health care workers and has been approved by the

there is a lot of internal demand,” said the minister a day after the Ministry of Home Affairs extended the COVID-19 lockdown for two weeks till May 17.

Javadekar stated that the central government has made elaborate arrangements for migrant workers, including availability of buses and trains. He said there will not be any major job losses due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Centre had announced a relief package for poor and migrant workers besides free cylinders under the Ujwala Scheme, he said. —ANI

A senior official at the Health Ministry told: “For HCQ, we have placed orders for about 11.45 crore tablets to two Indian firms--IPCA laboratories and Zydus Cadila. So far, we have received 6.64 crore HCQ drugs and remaining will arrive by May 16.”

As per revised guidelines on clinical management of COVID-19, the HCQ tablets are only for prophylaxis use of COVID-19 in selected eligible persons, the official said.

“Out of 6.64 cr HCQ drugs, Centre has distributed 4.3 crore HCQ tablets to the states and remaining is kept in the Centre-State buffer stock,” official from the Ministry added. — ANI

the option to fail,” he asserted.

So far, the central government has been at the forefront of formulating the battle strategy in consultation with the states with focus on lives of the people, he said.

“It has yielded positive results...,” he said.

The modalities of'' lockdown 3.0'', Naidu said, are a clear acknowledgment of the need to balance the twin concerns of lives and livelihoods by kickstarting the economy.

“The pressing need to trigger resumption of economic activities has been addressed in a manner that fits with the prevailing situation on the ground,” the vicepresident wrote. —ANI

holders, including the people, state governments and concerned agencies, commercial and industrial establishments,” he said in a Facebook post.

The way all of us conduct during lockdown 3.0, Naidu opined, will lay the ground for further

course of action aimed at returning to total pre-corona normalcy.

“This window of two weeks will decide the time frame for it. This is a kind of preliminary examination and as a nation, we need to pass in it. I have reasons to believe that we would, as we don''t have

COVID toll-free number recorded 50k calls in a day during March end

‘10,000 patients recovered so far’

Mumbai: Health Ministry in mid-march launched the 24x7 tollfree national helpline when India started to report cases of COVID-19. All phone calls on '1075' are managed by the National Health Authority's call centre based in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Delhi. “We have received up to 50,000 phone calls as the highest spike in a day in the last week of March, but on average, we are answering at least 30,000 phone calls every day.

At NHA, We also have beneficiary empowered mechanism to handle query related to COVID-19”, Praveen Gedam, Additional CEO at NHA, informed. — ANI

New Delhi: Over 10,000 people out of 37,776 suffering from the coronavirus infection have recovered in the country so far, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

However, 2,411 new cases of coronavirus and 71 deaths have been reported from different States/Union Territories in the last 24 hours.

According to the Ministry’s latest update, India’s count of COVID-19 cases has reached 37,776, of which 26,535 are active cases. 10,018 patients have recovered/migrated and 1,223 deaths have been reported so far.

Maharashtra has the most number of COV-

DGCA SUSPENDS COMMERCIAL FLIGHT OPS TILL MAY 17 New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday, issued a circular suspending domestic and international commercial flight operations till May 17 after the Home Ministry extended the ongoing lockdown for two more weeks beyond May 3.However, the restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA. The ongoing lockdown was scheduled to end on May 3. Domestic air passenger traffic in March fell by 33.06 per cent to 77.62 lakh.

ID-19 cases with 11,506 patients of which, 1,879 have been cured/discharged while 485 patients have succumbed to the virus. Gujarat has the second-highest number of coronavirus positive cases in the country with 4,721 cases including 735 patients cured/discharged & 236 deaths. Delhi’s count stands at 3,738 of which, 1,167 patients have recovered.—ANI

KERALA’S ERNAKULAM DISTRICT BECOMES CORONA-FREE Ernakulam: Ernakulam district in Kerala became corona-free after tests of a Covid-19 patient came out negative, informed S Suhas, Ernakulam District Collector. The patient identified as Vishnu (23) was discharged from the Kalamassery Medical college. “The one and only Covid-19 patient in Ernakulam district has

been discharged from Kalamassery Medical college. He tested negative.

With this, currently the district has no Covid-19 patients,” said the Ernakulam District Collector.

Vishnu had traveled to UAE and returned to Kochi on March 22. He was admitted to the hospital on April 4 after developing COVID-19 symptoms.

IN THE COURTYARD

Nitish Katara murder : No parole to Vishal Yadav New Delhi: While disposing off the parole plea of Vishal Yadav, serving life term for the murder of Nitish Katara, Delhi HC issued direction to the competent authority to treat the instant writ petition as a representation of the petitioner and decide it within 15 days.

The petitioner Vishal Yadav had sought parole, for eight weeks, in view of COVID-19 pandemic on the ground that he could get infected or tuberculosis as he

had earlier suffered from TB in view of poor sanitation facilities in the prison.

Police opposed his application and stated that the prison records indicate the convict's medical condition to be stable and he is not suffering from TB currently and there is no risk of COVID-19 infection to him in jail.

SC had awarded 25year jail term to Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal for their role in the kidnapping and killing of Katara. —ANI

Cops move Justice Gaur HC over bail is claims commissioner to Chawla New Delhi: Delhi Police approached Delhi HC, challenging trial court’s order of granting bail to cricket bookie Sanjeev Chawala. In its plea before HC, the police said: “The accused Sanjeev Chawla is a British national. It took 20 years to bring him to justice in India.

Investigation agency worked hard to get the accused extradited from the UK and succeeded in the matter as the case is very strong on law and facts. There is likelihood of the accused fleeing away from justice.”—ANI

New Delhi: The Delhi HC has appointed a claims commissioner to look into the extent of damage done to public property by mobs during the anti-Hindu Delhi riots in north-east Delhi.

The High Court appointed the Claims Commissioner after the Delhi government had written a letter seeking approval for the appointment.

This was done in reference to the judgment of the SC. —ANI

TWO TERRORISTS KILLED IN PULWAMA: JAMMU POLICE Pulwama: Two unidentified terrorists were neutralised in the encounter with security forces in Dangerpora area of Pulwama on Saturday, informed some officials from department of police on Saturday. A search operation is underway, Jammu and Kashmir Police said.

Earlier this week, three terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces at Zainapora in Shopian district. The joint operation was conducted by Army’s 55 RR (Rashtriya Rifles), Shopian Police and CRPF.

PERSPECTIVE JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

IS LOCKDOWN ENDING ANY TIME SOON?

US’s GLOBAL REPUTATION

HITS ROCK-BOTTOM

Mishandling of the Corona pandemic by President Trump has lead to a loss of many more lives

T

hanks to the special trains, jobless migrant workers started returning from different states to the cities and villages they came from. Not wanting to starve or die of Covid-19 in a different city, they had been desperate to go back to their familiar surroundings. Until the novel coronavirus appeared like a Frankenstein monster, these migrant workers had nothing to despair. With a job in hand, food and shelter were assured.

Not so after the lockdown. Ironically, they would not have left their native places had the state governments been able to provide them with jobs and social security. At present services of many of these migrants can be utilized for harvesting rabi crop in their respective villages, but states like Punjab would rue their departure.

What after harvesting? Lakhs of jobs cannot be created overnight despite the tall promises being made by some states.

Nor will it be easy for the entire migrant population to go back to the cities of their work when the virus will continue to lurk.

That brings us to the question of whether the lockdown will be extended beyond May 17? With 130 Red zones in the country, where the total number of cases and a fast doubling rate, the challenge is to convert them into Orange and then Green zones. Green zone is one with zero confirmed cases or none reported in the last 21 days. Orange zones will have a low incidence of cases.

That’s unlikely to happen soon as testing is low. Therefore, chances are that the shutdown will remain in force till June and these workers will remain trapped between hope and hopelessness.

Notwithstanding the grim scenario, at least worshippers of Bacchus can raise a toast. Liquor shops in Green, Orange, and Red zones can now be opened. The permission is for standalone outlets only but with restrictions. Buyers, not more than five at a time, have to stay six feet apart.

But there’s a catch. Howsoever short of revenue the states may be due to the total shutdown, they may be reticent to cheer the move for fear of the consequences it might entail. Kerala, which has been able to contain the spread of virus remarkably well, has already refused to open liquor vends. It is estimated that in six months of 2019 liquor worth Rs 45,000 crore was sold in the state. Maharashtra, which too will desist from allowing booze sale, stands to lose over Rs 1250 crore per month. Rajasthan also is losing heavily from the ban on liquor which fetches the state Rs 15,000 crore annually yet it may not allow its sale. Punjab, whose earlier request for opening the liquor shops was rejected by the Union home ministry, may also wait for some more time before allowing the sale of liquor.

It also is losing badly on revenue.

So, hold your horses.

K NATWAR SINGH The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

T

The mishandling of the Corona pandemic by President Trump has to lead to a loss of many more lives due to his pretending to be a doctor who had no hesitation in suggesting weird cures, including injecting household bleach into Covid-19 patients

he other day an American doctor said on CNN that Coronavirus could last two years in the USA and it could infect up to 70% of the population.

He also warned that the virus would not disappear. A second wave could come at any time.

The mishandling of the Corona pandemic by President Trump has to lead to a loss of many more lives due to his pretending to be a doctor who had no hesitation in suggesting weird cures, including injecting household bleach into Covid-19 patients. Then came his cutting of US annual contribution to the World Health Organisation - WHO China immediately made good the loss the WHO had suffered.

Day after day the US President continues to blame China for the origin of the Virus in a laboratory in Wuhan. China has brushed off the allegation.

These thoughtless pronouncements made at his daily press conference. The result is that he has seriously damaged America’s long-standing role as a global leader.

China is now all over the globe, dispatching medicines, doctor’s uniforms, gloves, and disinfectants. China claims that life in Wuhan is now normal. The Pandemic has been overcome. President Xi Jin Ping’s prestige has gone up, not only in China but the world over. In the beginning, he faltered but that memory faded.

Now I come to our beloved country. A vital constitutional change has gone almost unnoticed. The parent-client relationship between the centre and the states have undergone a dramatic transformation. Prime Minister Modi has become acutely aware of the authority and power of the States. Lockdown three was promulgated because a majority of states wanted it and pressed for it.

The Home Ministry yester-

PRIME MINISTER MODI HAS BECOME ACUTELY AWARE OF THE AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THE STATES. LOCKDOWN THREE WAS PROMULGATED BECAUSE A MAJORITY OF STATES WANTED IT AND PRESSED FOR IT

day produced a complex, at places incomprehensible and very complex notification that even reasonably educated people would find bewildering. The editorial in the Economic Times of Saturday, May 2nd was headed, ‘Wrong all to Extend Lockdown’. It then pitched into the authors of this perplexing Katha. ‘The government’s decision to extend the lockdown by two weeks is wrong and will do Indians more harm than good.

The notification extending the Lockdown has the kernel of what needs to be done but then proceeds to envelop it in layer after layer of impractical, unenforceable conditions that make sense to a bureaucrat sitting in his office but no one else’. There is much more of the same.

This notification is no doubt meant to help the poor, the unemployed, and the needy. Even member of my household staff is illiter-

ate and so are their families.

How do I explain to them the intricacies of Red, Orange, and Green Zones?

The Economic Times also writes, “However, a maze of regulations, restrictions on the movement of people and unbridled powers to local administration mean a vast segment of the economy will still be locked down exacerbating economic stress.’

Why can’t four people sit in a car? Why is the movement of individuals for nonessentials between 7 pm and 7 am prohibited? What are they supposed to do between 7 am and 7 pm The hope that China’s difficulty is India’s opportunity is misplaced. Many foreign companies and industries have moved to Japan and Vietnam.

The dream of India having a five trillion dollar economy by 2024 is unlikely to materialize.

A new acronym- WFH is

Saudi Arabia grapples with the oil price rout

W

hile the extraordinary crash of the WTI price of crude into negative territory — the first in history — can be viewed as something of an anomaly, the 25% drop in the price of Brent to $20 a barrel as of April 27 is a stark statement about the vulnerability of the Saudi economy and of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030.

Let us briefly recall in broad brushstroke the bold outlines of Vision 2030 when it was released on April 25, 2016. It called for a radical restructuring of the Saudi economy and with it a social and cultural revolution — economic diversification with the banner headline of increasing the share of non-oil GDP from 16% to 50%; the empower

06

ment of women into the private-sector workforce together with a call to increase the sector’s GDP contribution to 65%; the listing of private and governmentowned companies, including Aramco, on the Saudi stock market, Tadawul; commitments to realize jobs for young Saudis through the creation of entertainment, hospitality and non-religious tourism industries; the provision of affordable housing for those same young Saudis struggling to get on the property ladder; and the ramping up of religious tourism.

Just one statistic should suffice to illustrate the scope of that particular ambition: By 2020, the plan was for the number of Muslims performing the umrah to nearly double to 15 million a year, and then to double again to 30 mil-

lion by 2030. But the umrah this year has been indefinitely postponed, and COVID-19 in Mecca — where authorities are racing to try and contain the outbreak — could well force the cancellation of the hajj. No one, of course, could have anticipated a coronavirus pandemic. But it has been clear for two months or more that in a slowing global economy, the virus would impact

in a significant way on the oil market.

THE GLUT OF OIL The Saudi response was to launch a price war with Russia in early March that was only partially resolved on 12 April with the intercession of US President Donald Trump. All the while the glut of oil has grown and grown — hence the ongoing collapse of prices. While lockdowns are being eased in some countries, the time

when the world was consuming 100 million barrels a day are gone for now, with some analysts suggesting those days may be gone forever. Prior to COVID-19, most assumptions were that peak demand — the point at which the world’s appetite for oil begins its permanent decline — would hit around 2030. That scenario dovetailed rather nicely with Vision 2030. What if, however, peak demand has already arrived?

If such is the case, the breathing space that Mohammed bin Salman could reasonably have expected in order to achieve his revolution has evaporated literally overnight. A crown prince and a kingdom that had sought to move in double quick time to liberate itself from oil dependency through economic diversification now has no time whatsoever.

Where to Cut? With oil falling to $20 a barrel and no sign that it will get much better — indeed suggestions are that it could well slide even lower to as little as $5 to $10 — those emergency plans are very likely to come into play. That means deep spending cuts. The question is where will Mohammed bin Salman, having already saddled the kingdom with a war in Yemen that has consumed hundreds of billions of dollars, make those cuts?

In order to avoid the dreaded L — a flatline where the economy does not over time trend upward — Mohammed bin Salman will need to do more than use the country’s sovereign wealth fund to snap up bargain-basement deals as the world economy crashes..

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM

doing the rounds. It stands for Work From Home. In India, many ministers are doing WFH but no Secretary will follow WFH in our setup. His Joint Secretaries and the section officers, office assistants, and clerks will sit in North and South blocks.

Till we go completely digital files will go from the Secretary’s home to North and South blocks and back. Not a time-saving exercise.

There are many plus and constructive elements in the MHA’s notification. The process to implement them should start without delay.

On February 27th, 1967 I sent a note to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi concerning what a German member of Parliament, Felix Von Eckardt had said about the Nuclear Powers. I thought it would amuse her. It did.

“Non-proliferation is like a club of notorious boozers who demand a written agreement from the teetotalers that they never take alcohol and won’t even touch a drop when a glass is offered to them. And then after the pact is signed, these drinkers not only sit together and booze it up again but throw the empty bottles at the teetotalers.”

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp I commend the CDS and personnel of our Armed forces for their decision to honour those battling #Covid19 on the frontlines. Our Armed forces have kept this nation safe through thick and thin, their support will boost the morale of countless #CoronaWarriors.

Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal The unique Kashmir Saffron, known for its deep red colour, strong flavour and high aroma gets a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Possessing medicinal characteristics, the aromatic spice will now gain more prominence in the export market.

Spiritual SPEAK

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

—Buddha

Vol 1 Issue No. 326 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur.

Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

INDIA JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

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CM Mamata Banerjee’s sharp rebuttal came after the Governor shot off two letters to the CM last week

‘DON’T TRY TO USURP

power in time of crisis’ Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee hit out at Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, accusing him of trying to “usurp powers” amid the coronavirus crisis, and asked him to desist from using official communications and logos on social media.

Banerjee’s sharp rebuttal came after the governor shot off two letters to the chief minister last week amid the clash between the Raj Bhavan and Nabanna, the state secretariat, in the wake of West Bengal’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Such words & com-

Such words and communications of such content, tenor and tone from a Governor to an elected CM are unprecedented in the annals of Indian constitutional and political history. Your words against me and my ministers and officers can be described as vituperative, intemperate, intimidating and abusive.

—Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM

munications of such content, tenor and tone from a Governor to an elected CM are unprecedented in the annals of Indian constitutional and political history.

Your words against me and my ministers and officers can be described as vitupera-

tive, intemperate, intimidating and abusive,” Banerjee said in her 14-page reply to Dhankhar.

Accusing him of preaching constitutional norms ‘without practising it&violating it.’

The Bengal Chief Minister further added

saying, “I beseech you to desist from intensifying your efforts to usurp powers, especially at the time of crisis....

You should desist from using official communications/logos for your continuous tweets on social media,” the chief minister said. —PTI

Give up COVID-19 data cover up ops: Guv to Didi Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar slammed CM Mamata Banerjee and asked her to give up ‘COVID-19 data cover up operation’.

He said that the COVID-19 cases shown in state health bulletin and national health bulletin vary and they are not reconcilable even if recovered/dead were considered. “Give up ‘Covid-19 data cover up operation’ Mamata Banerjee and share it transparently. Health bulletin 30/4 No of Active Covid cases 572. No health bulletin on May 1 !!” the Governor said in a tweet.

“Gap between 572 and 931 not reconcilable even if recovered/dead

Suspended AAP leader Hussain’’s bail plea rejected New Delhi: A Delhi court refused bail to suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in a case of attempt to murder pertaining to violence in northeast Delhi in February.

District and Sessions Judge Tyagita Singh dismissed his bail application on the ground that police probe was still at an initial stage.

Tahir’s counsel Javed Ali pleaded that his client had been falsely implicated in the case.

SALUTATION

At INS Angre in Mumbai, we’ve had a total of 38 Covid-19 positive cases. Of these, 12 have already been discharged from hospital while 26 are undergoing treatment.There have been no positive case on any of our warships and submarines.

—G Ashok Kumar,

Indian Navy vice-chief Vice Admiral

Admiral G Ashok Kumar told ANI in an interview. “whenever we are tasked, we are ready to sail,” he said. —ANI

New Delhi: The Indian Railways is utilising the lockdown to complete several long-pending overdue maintenance works, which required a traffic block of long durations.

With passenger services being suspended during the lockdown, the Railways had time to complete what they thought was a crucial maintenance requirement without the worry to start the track for passenger trains.

A Railway Ministry note issued on Saturday informed that the department has used the lockdown period as ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ to wipe out these maintenance arrears and take up the execution of work without affecting the train service.” —Agencies

Kerala Chief Secretary, Tom Jose, is superannuating by this month end. He is a1984 batch IAS officer.

Raju Bhargava, a 1995 IPS officer, has been repatriated to his parent Gujarat cadre. He was IG in CRPF HQ.

r considered Coordination lack awful when people r suffering untold miseries For way forward withdraw ‘political parties r vultures in wait of dead bodies’ and take all on board” he added.

Earlier Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sought detailed data on the number of people infected with COVID-19 in the state so far. —ANI

GAUTAM SEN TO BE INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL MONITOR FOR BHARAT COKING COAL LTD

The name of Gautam Sen, IDAS (1976)(Retd.), ExAddl. Controller General of Defence, Accounts and former Adviser to Nagaland and Arunachal Governments, has been approved by CVC for appointment as Independent External Monitor for Bharat Coking Coal Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd. MINOR RESHUFFLE OF IAS OFFICERS IN MP

Kavindra Kiyawat has been appointed as Commissioner, Bhopal division, while Kalpana Shrivastava was posted as Principal Secretary, Secretariat and Saurabh Suman is now Collector, Chhindwara. Besides, Praveen Singh Adhayach has been appointed as Collector, Burhanpur & Fating Rahul Haridas is Collector, Seoni in Madhya Pradesh.

TENURE OF JS REDDY, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER, ITAT, ENDS IN JUNE

The tenure of Accountant Member, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, J Sudhakar Reddy is ending on June 30, 2020.

Arvind Vadnerkar, Director (HR), BSNL, has been given additional charge of Director (EB), BSNL till July 25, 2020 or till further orders.

SANJAY RANA IS NEW DG, LOKAYUKTA IN MP

‘RUN 28 TRAINS TO BRING BACK MIGRANTS’ Raipur: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has requested the Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal in a letter to run as many as 28 trains to bring back migrants from other states. In letter, Baghel welcomed the Centre’s move to run special trains to bring back migrants. He also requested the government to run trains free of cost for migrant workers.

TRAIN DEPARTS FROM SABARMATI FOR AGRA Ahmedabad: A special train carrying migrant workers has left from Sabarmati in Ahmedabad for Agra.

A special train from Ernakulam in Kerala to Odisha’s Bhubaneswar carrying migrant labourers reached Renigunta railway station in Chittoor dist, On May 1, a special train carrying 1140 migrant labourers from Kerala bound for Bhubaneshwar, left from Ernakulam.

bring the battered economy back on track. He believes only dialogue can solve problems.

According to a top official of the MSME

ministry, Gadkari makes a point in all meetings that there is a need to convert this crisis into an opportunity.

“He tries to instil a

sense of hope amidst all the gloom. It has positive impact on the stakeholders as it is coming from none other than a minister,” the official said.

He held a talk ‘’Response to global pandemic, Roadmap for India’’ with students of Indian origin living in 43 countries including Britain, Canada, Singapore and Australia recently. During the talk he appealed to them to play an active part in the fight against the coronavirus. —PTI

vacy regarding Aarogya Setu app.

“We are looking at the privacy issues, as also the compulsory deduction of amount and hopefully within next 24 hours we will come with a more comprehensive and a calibrated response on the issue. But, these are areas of concern, we have noted,” he said at a press conference. —PTI

sale is allowed in green, orange and red zones if it is a standalone shop and not located in markets or malls. In liquor shops, customers will have to maintain minimum six feet distance (2 gaz ki doori) from each other, and also ensure that not more than five persons are present at one time at the shop.

These exemptions will be effective from May 4 when the third phase of the lockdown will begin. On allowing domestic helps to work in red zones, a home

ministry official said resident welfare associations should take a call regarding allowing the movement of outsiders.

But health protocols have to be maintained by domestic helps as well as employers, and the responsibility lies with the person who employs maids in case of any mishappening.

According to the health ministry, as on Friday, there were 130 ‘Red’ zones in the country with maximum of 19 in Uttar Pradesh, followed by 14 in Maha-

VIEWPOINT

KERALA CHIEF SECRETARY TO RETIRE

VADNERKAR GETS ADDITIONAL CHARGE

Turn crisis into opportunity: Gadkari New Delhi: In order to boost the morale of the entrepreneurs who have been suffering due to the lockdown, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has been talking to various stakeholders and telling them not to lose hope. Gadkari has been using social media and other means like video conferencing to reach out to people, entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

Gadkari is even reaching out to foreign students, seeking their suggestions on how to

POWER Gallery GUJARAT CADRE IPS OFFICER REPATRIATED

‘14 warships readied for Rlys completes pending evacuating Indians from Gulf’ construction, other works New Delhi: The Indian Navy has readied 14 of its warships for carrying out an extensive evacuation operation of Indian citizens who want to return to the country from the Gulf countries for which it has prepared a detailed procedure to prevent any spread of COVID-19 among its personnel during the operation, a top Navy officer said on Saturday.

“We have kept around 14 ships ready. Four in the Western Naval Command, four in Eastern Naval Command, three in South and couple of them in the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

So, we have got a number of ships ready to (carry out the evacuation of Indian citizens from Gulf countries),” Navy Vice Chief Vice

07

‘Spell out plans on lockdown exit, economic revival’ New Delhi Congress questioned Centre on a host of issues and demanded that PM Modi come forward to inform the countrymen on his government’s plans to deal with the ongoing coronavirus crisis and economic revival.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “Will we see another lockdown?

When will the lockdown finally end? What is the ‘exit strategy’ from lockdown 3.0?” —ANI

Sanjay Rana has been appointed as DG, Lokayukta while Ashok Awasthy, DG, Grievances, was given an additional charge of OSD to Home Minister in Madhya Pradesh.

DEEPAK KUMAR APPOINTED CRO OF RBL BANK

The Board of Directors of RBL Bank have appointed Deepak Kumar as the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) of the Bank for a period of two years.

RAJIV CHAUDHARY TO CONTINUE HOLDING ADDL CHARGE AS GM, NR

Rajiv Chaudhary, General Manager, North Central Railway has been asked to continue to hold additional charge of General Manager, Northern Railway for a period of three months beyond April 30, 2020. He is an IRSE officer.

SC COLLEGIUM RECOMMENDS TRANSFER OF JUSTICE AM BADAR TO KERALA HC

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended transfer of Justice A M Badar from Bombay High Court to Kerala High Court.

LK JOSHI IS NO MORE FORMER SECRETARY PERSONNEL IN THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

LK Joshi has passed away in Delhi on Saturday morning. 74 year old Joshi was former 1970 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer.

LT GEN KJS DHILLION ASSUMES CHARGE AS DG, DIA

Lt Gen K JS Dhillion has assumed charge as Director General, Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Intelligence).

NEERAJ DHAWAN APPOINTED CRO OF YES BANK

YES Bank has appointed Neeraj Dhawan as the Chief Risk Officer of the Bank for a period of three years.

FROM PG 1 Arogya Setu,... but fear must not be used to track citizens without their consent, he said.

The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at risk of the COVID-19 infection. It also provides people with important information, including ways to avoid coronavirus and its symptoms. “The Arogya Setu app, is a sophisticated surveillance system, outsourced to a pvt operator, with no institutional oversight

- raising serious data security & privacy concerns. Technology can help keep us safe; but fear must not be leveraged to track citizens without their consent,” he said on Twitter.

The central government has made it compulsory for all its employees to download the app and urged private entitles to also ask their employees to use it.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said various experts have raised multiple issues of pri-

Govt adds... allowed to open in red zones as these are services not goods. Liquor

rashtra. The number of ‘Orange’ Zones was 284 and ‘Green’ was 319.

All the districts of the national capital have been put under ‘Red’ zone. Travel by road (inter-state), rail and air and metro are banned across the country during the third leg of the lockdown.

The home ministry may give permission in special cases depending on the urgency.

Modi’s nutritious... strengthen agriculture infrastructure, special

Kisan Credit Card saturation drive for PM-Kisan beneficiaries, and facilitating inter and intra-state trade of agriculture produce to ensure the fairest return to farmer were some of the important areas covered during the meeting. Developing e-NAM into a platform of platforms to enable e-commerce was also one of the important topics of discussion.

“The discussion also emanated on the possibilities of the uniform statutory framework in

the country to facilitate new ways for farming, which will infuse capital and technology in the agrarian economy.

The pros and cons of biotechnological developments in crops or enhancement of productivity and reduction in input costs were also deliberated,” added the statement. Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar among others attended the meeting. —ANI

These are difficult times for all, we must stand by each other and strive to find ‘the silver lining’ daily. Be kind and compassionate towards humans and animals alike.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21

JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

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PM MODI SAVES CM UDDHAV here is more to politics than meets the eye. Uddhav Thackeray, who, not so long ago, had chosen Pawar and Congress over Modi, is now a sitting CM and the courtesy goes to Modi. Uddhav had acceded to the CM throne without getting elected and his temporary arrangement was about to expire on May 28.

Any by-election in corona-hit Maharashtra was out of the question, so his advisors told him to get nominated to one of the two such seats for Legislative Council lying vacant. State cabinet duly sent its recommendation to this effect to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, the one who had his doors open for Devendra Fadnavis at midnight. Koshyari kept sitting on the file much to the increasing discomfort of Uddhav Thackeray with each passing day. State cabinet again sent its nomination proposal on April 27 but Koshyari looked elsewhere. Uddhav had cozied up to his rapport with PM

T

Modi by paying him a courtesy call with his son Aditya after assuming the post of CM so he decided to fire a direct shot and he called PM Modi and pleaded his case. PM not only assured him during the phone call but the results were to be seen, sooner than expected, by all. The Election Commission of India came into action and took cognizance of elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Council. A relieved Uddhav didn’t waste in thanking PM Modi for his generosity.

WHO WILL BE THE SUCCESSOR TO TIWARI? elhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari’s tenure of 3 years is about to end and search for his successor is on.

The BJP high command needs a pro-active president who can reign in Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal effectively. There are many names like Vijay Goel, Pravesh Varma, Dushyant Gautam and Satish Upadhyay floating around, but Manoj Tiwari is yet to hang his boots. He

D

FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

Narendra Modi

Uddhav Thackeray

Rahul Gandhi

S Jaishankar

claims that as party chief in Delhi, he has not only helped it with more seats, increased vote share but has also contributed to the party’s popularity.

and corporate advertisement has become a rare commodity denting the industry revenue in a big way. As per the Indian Newspaper Society, the industry has already suffered a heavy loss of Rs 15,500 crore. Big names who published 32 pagers are struggling to survive by publishing eight pager sheets. The whole focus now is on the digital editions. One big regional newspaper group had 54 corona positive cases in its office and it somehow managed to

publish its editions after sanitizing its office.

Industry sources claim that the industry leader Times group is facing a daily deficit of Rs 6-7 crore. Even regional player like Amar Ujala is in deep red with daily losses reaching Rs 1.5 crore. The newspaper industry, real brand ambassadors of the democracy, fails to understand scissors on its payouts when on the other hand the same govt is mulling on a relief package of Rs 8-10 lakh crore for the corporate sector.

TRANSFORMING RAHUL ormer Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is busy learning new lessons of politics during the abnormal corona era. Despite lockdown, Rahul is successfully finding ways to get inputs from experts from fields ranging from education to the economy. He is refining and polishing his knowledge in every sphere. Rahul has a battery of subject experts who are providing him insight into under-

CORONA TIMES NEWSPAPER he deep stings of coronavirus have almost defied the proverb ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’. Covid-19 has virtually pushed the newspaper industry below the ground. The govt advertisement is trickling in

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F

Man for all seasons: Ashok Gehlot Gehlot’s influence in the Congress has grown beyond Rajasthan

ADITI NAGAR Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, one of the most popular leaders of the independent India and an indispensable leader of Indian Congress, will celebrate his 69th birthday on Sunday.

Hailing from a ‘magician’ family, Gehlot, a man of masses, is known for his political acumen, pro-poor policies and decisions.

The image of Gehlot, aka ‘Marwar ka Gandhi’, as a politician who is impeccably honest, along with his down-to-earth demeanour, has helped him find acceptance over the years. The public perception

that he is accessible has turned him into a mass leader.

Gehlot, a party loyalist, has closely worked with four generation of party leadership from Indira Gandhi to Rajeev, Sonia and Rahul. His influence in the Congress has grown beyond Rajasthan.

Gehlot is the only CM who is being appreciated globally for his initiatives to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic, such as being first state to announce lockdown, the Bhilwara model of ‘ruthless containment’, free ration to the needy, raising stranded migrants issue and financial package for all states.

This is for the first time that his followers, who throng in thousands every year on his birthday, will not be able to greet him due to lockdown.

This year is another milestone marking your success. I wish CM Shri Ashok Gehlot a very happy birthday.

May you continue to work effortlessly for Rajasthan and Congress for years ahead.

—Avinash Pande

CM Ashok Gehlot

Bless my brother with long life: Vimla Devi Rajeev Gaur Jodhpur: The bond between CM Ashok Gehlot and his elder sister Vimla Devi is extremely strong. On Ashok Gehlot’s birthday, Vimla Devi has wished for her brother’s long age and expressed confidence that he shall remain successful towards his work. “CM

CM Ashok Gehlot with sister Vimla Devi

Gehlot has always been dedicated to service of people. He works very hard. People love him a

lot because of his sense and passion towards his service to people. Whenever he comes here, he

takes my blessings.” His nephew Jaswant Singh Kachhwaha, who is 11 years younger to CM, said that his maternal uncle has been dedicated towards vision of clean politics from the beginning. “He witnessed many ups and downs, but always gave first priority to serving people, that is why people love him,” he said.

standing & solving the Indian political paradox. Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan is merging as his true Alma mater for economic matters. If the sources are to be believed then Raghuram Rajan is to Rahul what Manmohan Singh was to Sonia Gandhi. Rahul’s deep meaning discussion with Raghuram on YouTube is being watched by a large number of people. This and such other videos that the party proposes to release in the coming days are aimed at people to see the transformation of Rahul Gandhi into a mature and settled leader. All the people who Rahul is closely interacting with are mostly intellectuals. The only problem is that all these renowned names belong to the elite English world will be confronting a pure son of the soil in Narendra Modi.

Further, the majority of Indians neither understand English. It is commonly believed that Sonia Gandhi will hand over the party baton to Rahul after the lockdown is lifted and

08

even Rahul is preparing for the same but the only bottleneck is the language.

ISRAEL THANKS INDIAN BUREAUCRATS he Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz has written a thanks letter to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. Through his letter, Katz has surpassed the routine protocol and walked the extra mile by thanking the bureaucrats who took pains to evacuate citizens of Israel during Covid-19 scare. Katz has particularly thanked Joint Secretary, MEA Nikhilesh Giri and 1995 batch IAS Pradeep Singh Kharola who is serving Civil Aviation ministry. But sources say that Katz forgot to thank 2012 batch IAS S Rakhi Mayuri posted in MEA and looking after Western Asia and North African desk who played a pivotal role in the evacuation.

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The author is a journalist and political commentator and views expressed are his personal

Come crisis & miracle

man blossoms From P1 Another reason for his success is that he is a great listener and seeks professional advice from those he respects. One charge that his detractors have always levelled against him is that while there can be no debate on Gehlot’s success in political craftsmanship, his record as an administrator is far from stellar. The constant refrain being he lacks vision.

I think this charge is both misplaced and unfair and sometimes even smacks of elitism. The HDI has consistently fared better in Rajasthan when Gehlot has been at the helm.

His welfare oriented policies aimed to help elderly, women and those needing medical help have had best record in

country. Moreover the truly outstanding feature that I find in Gehlot leadership is that he leads from front when it comes to crisis. Whether it was his government’s response to drought and famine in his previous tenures or exemplary manner in which he is presently steering and guiding the state in its fight against Corona, its in these times of crisis that Gehlot shows his mettle.

Working round the clock like a man possessed. Delegation becomes one of the cornerstones of his strategy in such times and he makes sure all stakeholders are suitably empowered , encouraged and recognised. With the team morale high under his able captaincy one looks forward to a decisive victory for team Rajasthan in this battle against Corona.

Ensure guidelines are followed to the hilt: Gehlot on lockdown 3.0 CM foregoes birthday celebration.

Thanks people for all love & blessings Naresh Sharma Jaipur: Now that the migrants and stranded labourers have started returning to Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has appealed to the returnees to observe quarantine protocol strictly.

On Satuday, Gehlot said that thise who do not want to take benefit of quaratine provided by government,

can self-quarantine at home and their entire family should follow social distancing while the family members should avoid going out.

“There should not be any lacunae in this or else our hardwork will go to waste,” Gehlot stressed.

Chairing a high level meeting at CMR over lockdown 3.0 and return of migrants, Gehlot said, “it should be ensured that trains

‘THIS IS MY LIFE EARNING’

CM Ashok Gehlot during the VC on Saturday.

and buses are completely sanitized and there are proper screening of people.

Mask, sanitizer, food and other important

items should also be made available.”

Notably, 14 lakh people have registered themselves for travel.

“It is a challenge to send

such a large number of people to their homes.

Social distncing should be observed in trains for which text messages should be sent to people

informing them of the train schedule and ticket fee. Those interested should be called four or six hours before departure of

train so that there is no overcrowding at railway station. Only those individuals who receive a message should come,” Gehlot stressed.

Meanwhile, the CM also stressed that the third phase of lockdown would start from May 4 and the guidelines provided by the Centre and state should be enforced properly.

“The industries that have been permitted work should be provided all facilities,” Gehlot said.

Ahmed Patel @ahmedpatel If Government of India can spend Rs 20,000 crs to construct a new parliament building why is it collecting money from poor migrants who need to go back home? Is this how you will fund a new Parliament?

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09

JAIPUR, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2020

YOGA SE HI HOGA

Shilpa Shetty Kundra

Since it’s the third phase of the National Lockdown, City First brings its readers the benefits of practising yoga, during Lockdown 3.0 to stay fit

SWATI JANGID

swati.jangid@cityfirst.co.in

—PHOTO BY JATIN BHALLA

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(Clockwise) Akanksha Bhalla, Jacqueline Fernandez and Swati Jangid

uring the COVID-19 pandemic, we all have to stay at our homes and be fit and maintain our immunity to fight this virus. Our movements are restricted and people of all ages have to be as active as possible keeping oneself positive. Regular physical activities can benefit both the body and mind. Activities can also help us plan our whole day routine and be a way of staying in contact with family and friends. People have engaged themselves in yoga and Zumba workout sessions by taking online classes and watching YouTube videos. Experts are also posting pictures and videos about how one can stay fit without the gym.

There are some simple yoga asanas like Surya Namaskar, Plank pose which can be easily done at our home, and repeating them regularly will give us the result. Some games like badminton and skipping are also helpful. This lockdown has taken us closer to nature, thereby making

I have been doing Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and yoga since the past few years. While MMA drives the fighting spirit alive within me, yoga has helped keep me sane and at peace during these difficult times.

—JUHI KATEJA, Ahmedabad us realise our physical health and stamina. These days we are avoiding the helpers at our place following social distancing and doing our work on our own which exactly gave us the report about our fitness and stamina.

Everybody is becoming more and more creative by using whatever is available at their place and creating wonders from the waste material also.

Yoga and meditation help us to access our inner selves in this time of crises and it be-

comes a useful tool to deal with anxiety and depression. Yoga is the technique to control the body and mind. The beauty of yoga is that you don’t have to be an expert to attain the desired benefits. Whether you are old or young, fit or unfit, in-shape or out-shape yoga has the power to calm and strengthen you.

We all should plan our day and try to give some time for yoga and meditation in this Lockdown 3.0, and make it successful and healthy throughout.

Malaika Arora

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JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

10

Finding your

‘True Self’

ANUBHA JAIN

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

I

FA CE OF TH ED AY

t’s a famous saying that everything happens for a reason. And that reason causes change.

Sometimes the change is hard but in the end its all for the best. Out of the blue, in March 2020 the World Health Organisation announced COVID-19 as the pandemic for the entire world. Life has come to a halt, total shut down; people caged inside their houses. In this time of lockdown and social distancing, some people with an optimistic approach took it as a time of rejuvenation and on the other hand, a few of them got depressed seeing the scenario. We are not able to go out for social gatherings though the time has given us an opportunity to connect not only with our neighbors but as we are so much dependent on digital gadgets so virtually we are joining with people whom we never would have really known in any other circumstance. So the entire

world has united in this time of emergency.

While this time, ‘I’ also met myself, the real me. Yes, I came to know the actual ‘Me’ who otherwise I left somewhere during the chasing journey of my life’s primary goals. This hard time of lockdown has taught all of us the actual meaning of ‘LIFE’. With advancement of technology I realized that we have come so far and forgotten the real sense of life. There comes a time in life where you have to face the reality.

Through this pandemic the almighty has shown us that every worldly thing we run after all over our lives is entirely meaningless. Our all desires are of no use. We are mere puppets of the super power ‘GOD’. This superpower has once again demonstrated that ‘I’ am just a soul who is playing various roles in this life journey as Mother, daughter, wife, and many more with great solemnity like other souls in this world. This is a bit philosophical but it is the truth of life. I also wonder sometimes that if ‘I’ have no connection to the body-mindpersonality at the moment, it’s merely a Pious Soul without any feeling of anger, love or hatred. I have found my true self. And indeed, the greatest and most mysterious journey of our lives is to discover who we really are?

I believe, in this journey of self searching one should not be self-centered, but to be the most valuable human being and should lead a life of humanity or as the purest soul one has to serve

others.

So, self realization is actually knowing yourself and living a life with a certain ease. When there is no ease, joy is out of question. When there is no ease and joy in your life, questions will come up, “To be or not to be?”

Hence, selfrealization is not a choice; it is a requisite.

C o n c i s e l y, this lockdown period has not only shown the real essence of life to me but also united the entire world and helped us to know our inner self closely!

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Things are getting easy for you on academic front as you have starting exerting more than you ever have.

Love life is secure for you. All your worries will vanish once you get the promotion and hike which will happen soon. You may feel very emotional about your parents.

A fun trip with family is on cards for some. On academic front, you will be very busy in doing your preparations that you will have no spare time for leisure. You will keep your promises as far as helping someone with money is concerned.

You will complete a project.

You colleagues or your boss may give you a surprise party for your sincere effort in some project. Always be optimistic when it come to love. Homemakers will spend the whole day in resetting and arranging things in the house. A dear friend will surprise you.

You must learn to maintain good relationships on work front as you cannot be blunt with people at work.

Romance is in the air for you and you will spend some amazing time with you love today. You may think of buying a property but the only problem is the area.

MAR 21 - APR 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You have a good family life and you are very emotional about them. You need to wait until you find a good life partner. You are good at managing your expenses and savings as much as possible. You will come across every kind of person but it depends on you how you deal with them.

On social front, you will go out of your way to help someone with their personal problems. You will meet someone who shares same ideologies like you. You are person of strong resolve and you don’t stop until you have accomplished whats in your mind.

You will benefit from buying or selling the property about which you have been thinking for quite some time. Look for the strengths rather than the weakness.

You are very serious about your career and you don’t tolerate any mistake in your work.

You need to not only understand what your partner wants but also make sure to deliver it. On professional front, you will meet the expectations of your boss. In financial matter, you know hat needs to be done and you tend to make no mistakes.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You may excel in some or the other sports an there is no harm in taking it seriously for once. Some of you have really started earning well and you are professionally growing day by day. A good news is waiting for you on professional front. You are about to achieve something great.

Your spouse will give you special treatment today for all your love and sincerity.

You will feel on the top of the of the world today and you will spread happiness wherever you will go. You will be mentally very relaxed, as you have managed to finish your work in advance.

You are soon moving abroad to your place of desire for permanent settlement. You usually don’t sit at peace until your work is done. You are a tough, strong person by heart but you don’t forgive people who play with your sentiments. You are a one man army and you don’t need anyone.

People will not only notice your hard work but will also appreciate you for it.

You will be able to successfully negotiate. Exercises alone won’t help you, you have to careful consider what you put in your belly. Many opportunities will knock at your door.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

VARSHA YADAV, Actress

APR 21 - MAY 20

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

11

CHOOSY & PICKY!

A

dah Sharma says she is picky when it comes to signing films and that she tries to pick something that is different from what she has done before.

“Yes, I am picky when it comes to choosing films. I try to be part of films that I would want to watch.

I also try to pick different roles from what I have done. I started with ‘1920’. I am very fortunate, the actresses in our industry for years don’t get a chance to do what I got to do in my debut,” said Adah.

Adah made her Bollywood debut 2008 with the film ‘1920’. She was later seen in films like ‘Hum

Adah Sharma

Hai Raahi Car Ke’, the ‘Commando’ franchise, ‘Bypass Road’ and ‘Phhir’. She also worked in the southern film industry.

Adah says she likes to surprise the audience.

“I try with each film to do something different because the audience also waits to see ‘what different is Adah Sharma going to do’ and if I do the same then they are like ‘anyone can do that!’. So nowadays even if it is a short film like I just did ‘Tindey’, ‘moh’ or a music video... I try to pick something that is different from what I have done and others have done as well,” she said.

She will next be seen in ‘Man To Man’.

The film revolves around actor Naveen Kasturia’s character falling in love with and marrying Sharma’s character, only to realise she was biologically a man who became a woman after surgery.

—IANS

S

Rishi Kapoor in Neetu Kapoor’s Instagram post

‘End of our story’

N

Katy Perry

Soon to be parents!

M

odel Gigi Hadid has confirmed that she is pregnant with her first child with singer boyfriend Zayn Malik, and

TOUGH TIMES!

inger Katy Perry says she will never forget being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that she is trying not to be stressed about her delivery. The 35-year-old star is expecting her first child with her fiance, actor Orlando Bloom. During a conversation with ‘American Idol’ host Ryan Seacrest, she admitted that she is facing some tough challenges due to the isolation. Perry told Seacrest that dealing with a pregnancy in a pandemic is something she will never forget. —IANS

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid

eetu Kapoor has penned an emotional post remembering husband Rishi Kapoor, who passed away on Thursday morning. The actress shared a photo on Instagram where Rishi Kapoor can be seen sitting with a glass of Scotch whiskey.

“End of our story,” she captioned the frame.

Commenting on her post, Anupam Kher shared: “Some stories never end.” Raveena Tandon, who worked with Rishi Kapoor in 1995 movie ‘Saajan Ki Baahon Mein’, commented: “Eternal and forever.”

Sonu Sood commented: “It’s a story that inspired many stories on this planet mam. Some stories never end, in fact, they will remain in our hearts forever. Rishi sir will always be a guiding angel.”

Richa Chadha shared: “It is but a comma, not a full stop.

He’s right there, beside you, regaling you with stories, making you laugh.”

—IANS

TOGETHER FOREVER!

tagged the COVID-19 lockdown as a “nice silver lining” to enjoy her pregnancy. “Obviously, we wish we could have announced it on our own terms.

We’re very excited and happy and grateful for everyone’s well

wishes and support,” Gigi said on ‘The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon’. “Especially during this time, it’s a nice silver lining to be home and be together, and really experience it day by day,” Gigi said.

—IANS

It’s Auction!

R

eality TV star Kim Kardashian’s beach house in Malibu is up for auction. Olympic gold medallist Bruce Jenner, now Caitlyn Jenner, had called the beach house his home on ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ season 10.

Kim’s mother Kris Jenner, had suggested the gold medallist, with whom she was formerly married, to move out from the estate. Before his transition to Caitlyn, Bruce lodged in the beach house till he found a new residence.

—IANS

O

Dharmendra and Hema Malini

n the occasion of their 38th wedding anniversary, evergreen actor Hema Malini and Dharmendra thanked fans for sending their warm wishes to them.

Malini (71) took to Twitter on Saturday and shared a picture with her husband on the occasion. She tweeted, “Dharam ji & I thank all those who have wished us on our wedding anniversary today. It is your blessings & good wishes that have always been with us all through these years.”

Daughter Esha Deol also showered anniversary wishes on her parents by sharing a picture of them on Instagram. Wishing for infinite years of togetherness of her parents, she wrote, “Happy wedding anniversary my darling parents! My mamma & papa, I love u both soooooooo much & pray to God to bless you both with infinite years of togetherness, love, happiness & the best of health! @ dreamgirlhemamalini @aapkadharam. Love you, Esha, Bharat, Radhya & Miu.” —ANI

Kim Kardashian

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JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020

Connected! Dil Se…

12

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

Now, more than ever, it is important for you to stay connected to your family!

CITY FIRST JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

W

ith much of the world in lockdown, staying connected with our loved ones has never been more important.

With the Lockdown Whether we’re checking in with a call, keeping ourselves entertained by taking part in online conferences, or updating the family WhatsApp with our latest baking attempts, we have a burning desire to keep in touch. Our home broadband has gone from “nice to have” to the lifeline between us and the outside world. For many of us, our parents and siblings are far away and families are finding new innovative ways to keep in regular touch. A family actually does a video conference across the word in eight locations every night, others are sharing books, recipes, and music. As the lockdown goes on, families are finding new creative ways to remain in touch and connected emotionally. Remember, the distance is just physical, not dil se! cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Gujarat: Mounted police personnel patrols a street during the nationwide lockdown in Ahmedabad.

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

I wouldn’t be able to hold myself on passing this fact along to my children on how their dad and his cousins made through this pandemic by playing PubG almost all day long! Tiwari family was saving lives by group video calling and discussing what dish was made here in Jaipur and in Delhi!

—ABHIRATH TIWARI

Since I live in another city due to work, the lockdown has not really changed anything as far as connecting with my family goes.

I have always stayed in touch with them through daily phone, WhatsApp, and video calls. The lockdown has compelled me to work from home.

In this era of social media, it is much easier to connect with family and friends who are afar from us, but as cases are increasing day by day I am very much worried about my dear ones who are living in the red zone or hotspot area. I stay connected with my friends via social media, video calls, and phone calls.

—SANDEEP CHHANGANI

—DIPALI JOSHI

PHOTOGENIC KIDS!

Rajasthan: Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas was handed over a cheque of Rs 15 lakh by DN Sakkarwal, who is the chief regional manager at the Oriental Insurance Company Limited, Jaipur. The staff and management of the Oriental Insurance Company Limited, across the state, have come forward in the battle against coronavirus and donated their one-day salary to contribute to CM’s COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Gujarat: With traffic at a minimum with the nationwide lockdown in place, an antelope was seen sauntering down Ahmedabad’s CG Road on Saturday.

CITY FIRST

T

o keep the kids engaged amid the corona outbreak, Infinity Takeovers organised an online photo contest ‘India’s Little Fashion Hunters (ILFH) Kids Photo Contest’ for the kids up to 15 years. The results of the contest were announced on Friday, where Soumya Soni won the contest, wherein Shashwat Singh and Ranveer Singh bagged the second and third positions, respectively. During the contest, more than 8000 kids made their entry to participate in the contest and the winners were decided based on their post’s reach, likes, and ranking. Director of ILFH Anup Choudhary informed that the top winners will get gift hampers up to 5 lakh and

Soumya, Shashwat and Ranveer

the top ten kids will receive People’s Choice Award. Apart from this, selected kids will also get the opportunity to participate in ILFH upcoming fashion shows. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

GULAB JI, NO MORE

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eaving behind his 50-years-old legacy, Gulab Singh Dhiravat, the famous tea seller of Jaipur, passed away on Saturday at the age of 95, due to a week-long illness. Even in the time without Coronavirus, he had provided morn-

HAPPY B’DAY!

IAS Babulal Kothari (top) and IAS Deshal Dan celebrated their birthdays on 2 May, Saturday. We wish them all the best!

Gulab Singh Dhiravat

ing tea and breakfast to approximately 200 poor people every day. From various renowned personalities to the people of Pink City, everyone

CITY FIRST JAIPUR

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ahatma Gandhi Hospital’s Corona Critical Care team has successfully treated three corona positive patients and after discharged them on Saturday, after keeping them in isolation for 15 days.

The Corona Wing in charge at the hospital, Dr. Ashish Jain, informed that the Jaipur CMHO has referred three corona positive patients on 18 April. Patients were having common corona symptoms like cold, cough, fever, and breathing discomfort and so they were treated as per guidelines of ICMR.

loved ‘Gulab Ji Chai’ and precisely that’s the reason why a tea shop at MI Road has become a brand of Jaipur now.

—City First

BEING THANKFUL CITY FIRST JAIPUR

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anavaditya, son of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the emerging young player of the country in international shooting, thanked the central government on Saturday for ensuring the safety of doctors and paramedical staff in the country by enacting laws against the ones harming and assaulting them, and said, “in this difficult time the youth of the country is with Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. He also said, “Today the country is going through unusual circumstances due to the outbreak of the pandemic Coronavirus (Covid-19), and in this difficult time, the doctors and paramedical staff of the country are continuously working to save our lives day and night by risking their own lives. Yet they are attacked by some anti-social elements which is very sad and is a state of worrying”. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Positive Efforts!

Rajasthan: The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), after due consideration of the prevalent situation and subsequent lockdown due to COVID-19, has decided to postpone its examination (June - 2020 session). ICSI, Jaipur Chapter Chairman, Nitin Hotchandani informed that the Foundation, Executive and Professional programme, and Post Membership Qualification (PMQ) exams is now scheduled to be held from 1 June to 10 June. The Examination of the above session will now commence from 6 July, for which the revised schedule will be announced later.

Rajasthan: The Catholic Diocese of Jaipur along with its religious and educational institutions donated a sum of Rs 20 lakhs to strengthen the fight against the Corona pandemic. A donation of Rs.15 lakhs was made to the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s COVID-19 Relief Fund and Rs. 5 lakhs to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

Bishop Oswald Lewis shared that Catholic institutions are actively involved in charity work involving the landless and migrant labourers in several places in the Jaipur and Dausa districts.

Gujarat: Officials of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Ahmedabad division, distributed hand sanitizers, hand gloves, masks, and safety kit to police personnel at Navrangpura police station in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

RECEIVING DADASAHEB PHALKE SPECIAL MENTION

‘Kem Chho’ CITY FIRST AHMEDABAD

I After their recovery, the patients were gone though RT-PCR tests to diagnose coronavirus, which tested negative.

Later, after completion of their 15 days

quarantine period, all three patients were sent to home back in healthy condition. While the patients were leaving, the team at the hospital applaud for them to win

the battle against COVID-19. Also, they have been asked to keep in isolation at the home for the next 14 days and maintain social distancing.

t was a proud moment for the Gujarati film industry when Gujarati film ‘Kem Chho’ received a Special Mention Award at the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Festival 2020. The superhit Gujarati film follows the story of Mayur, a middle-class man who encounters many prob-

lems and tries to come up with wacky solutions for them. The movie has been produced by Shailesh Dhameliya, written and directed by Vipul Sharma and its cast includes Tushar Sadhu, Kinjal Rajpriya and Heena Akolkar. The team of ‘Kem Chho’ chose to dedicate the award to legendary performers Irrfan Khan

and Rishi Kapoor, who both passed away within a day of each other recently. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com