First India-Jaipur Edition-09 June 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

26°C - 36°C

ALERT JAIPUR l TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

4,07,511 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 3,169 DEATHS 88,529 CASES

71,49,272 CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 289 DEATHS 33,229 CASES

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RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 3

7,473 DEATHS

INDIA

2,65,828

CONFIRMED CASES

DELHI 874 DEATHS 29,943 CASES

CAUTIOUS EXIT

RAJASTHAN

246

DEATHS

GUJARAT 1,280 DEATHS 20,574 CASES

10,876

CONFIRMED CASES

UTTAR PRADESH 283 DEATHS 10,947 CASES

As Unlock 1.0 rolled out across the country from Monday, many temples and religious places reopened doors to devotees and malls, hotels and restaurants too resumed operations with precautions. But only a few braved the coronavirus scare to venture out. While Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, decided to keep malls and places of worship shut, Rajasthan threw open its malls & hotels but kept places of worship out from unlock.

A worker wearing a face shield sprays disinfectant at Golden Temple while devotees stand in queue while maintaining social distancing, in Amritsar, on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Door-to-door survey in 10 states to rein in Corona

Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, J&K & Madhya Pradesh told to focus on survey & prompt testing New Delhi: In view of the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Union Health Ministry on Monday asked officials of 45 municipalities and municipal corporations across 38 districts in 10 states to focus on house-tohouse surveys and prompt testing to contain the infection.

The 38 districts are from Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan along with senior officers of the Health Ministry held a highlevel review meeting, via video conference,

NEW ZEALAND IS CORONAVIRUS FREE!

with the district collectors, municipal commissioners, superintendent of district hospitals and

principals of medical colleges from 45 municipal corporations.

During the meeting,

Sudan directed all states to make a “district-wise prospective plan” for the coming months.

Meanwhile, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced that the lockdown in the state will be extended till June 30 while Mizoram CM Zoramthanga re-imposed total lockdown in his state for two weeks starting from Monday midnight.

The Health Secretary also directed the states to involve the elected representatives in the rural areas for cooperating with the district health authorities for confidence building and timely accessing of available health services. Turn on P6

Don’t make MNREGA a BJP versus Cong issue, says Sonia New Delhi: Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for using the UPA era flagship scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) to benefit the poor during lockdown while the BJP had earlier derided it for years.

In an article written for a national daily, The Indian Express, Sonia Gandhi stated, the Modi

government has grudgingly come around to the significance of the programme. “My plea to the government is, this is a time of national crisis, not a time to play politics. This is not a BJP versus Congress issue.

You have a powerful mechanism at hand, please use it to help the people of India in their time of need,” she added.

Turn on P6

BJP WORKERS PROVIDED FOOD TO OVER 11 CRORE PEOPLE DURING PANDEMIC: SHAH New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that BJP workers have provided one time meal to more than 11 crore people during the coronavirus pandemic. The Home Minister attended the virtual Odisha Jan Samvad Rally at the BJP headquarters here. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also present. Shah said, “Crore of BJP workers provided one-time meal to more than 11 crore people. I want to thank BJP president JP Naddaji and all party workers. Seeing a party worker helping migrants in this crisis makes me proud.” P6

Jaipur realtor succumbs to injuries after Rs5 cr heist

First India Bureau Jaipur: In a shocking incident some unidentified men stabbed and grievously injured a real estate dealer identified as Naresh Krishniya on late Sunday night in the state capital Jaipur.

Krishniya succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at SMS hospital on Monday.

According to highly placed sources in Jaipur Police, Krishniya was carrying Rs5 crore cash which could be the motive behind the incident, however, his family is tight lipped on the matter. P8

10 DAYS TO CONTROL CORONA

Launch campaign to aware people of Corona’s dangers: Gehlot 

Next few months crucial, increased risk of infection spread during monsoon, CM said

Naresh Sharma Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has directed the state authorities to launch a ten day campaign for spreading awareness regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. The campaign, that will be launched from June 21 to June 30 will target villages, dhanis, wards and mohallas, will focus on making people aware of the threat posed by Coro-

na in the coming months and to negate the spread of the virus through the phased unlocking of businesses, malls and other public activities.

Informative content related to Corona through banners and pamphlets will be provided in homes with the help of Aanganbadi Sahayika, ANM, Asha workers, Gram Sewaks, Patwari and local public representatives.

Chairing a high level

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during a VC where, Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma, DB Gupta, Rajeeva Swarup, Kuldeep Ranka, Rohit K Singh, Subodh Agarwal, Mahendra Soni and others were present.

meeting at the CMR on Monday Gehlot said that as the rainy season is about to begin, the risk of spreading infectious and seasonal diseases may increase. “In the next few months we will have to take special caution regarding Corona.

Any kind of negligence will increase the chances of infection. Most of the activities have started in the first phase of Unlock-1 from today, in which people should take precautions like keeping

social distancing, wearing masks and avoiding crowds, for this it is necessary to spread awareness on a large scale.”

The Chief Minister further said that World Health Organization and many experts believe that corona crisis may become worse in the coming times, in which we have to be fully alert and alert.

He took feedback from the team of expert doctors constituted to combat Turn on P6

NEWS JAIPUR | TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

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DRENCHED

02

—PHOTO BY NADEEM KHAN

A scenic view of Chowpati near Ana Sagar in Ajmer, on Monday, at 4 pm after light showers.

CORONA AND CAUTION: RAJ BEGINS SLOW RETURN TO ‘NORMAL LIFE’

Hotels, restaurants, & clubs along with shopping malls were thrown open after a gap of nearly 3 months Nirmal Tiwari Jaipur: Hotels, restaurants, and clubs along with shopping malls were thrown open after a gap of nearly three months but footfalls were dismal.

Shopping malls got few visitors but hotels and restaurants were waited in vain. Heat, fear of Corona, and offseason were acted as a dampener for the hospitality sector while shopping malls had an advantage as people wanted to buy essential items that are not available elsewhere and the fact that they were opening after two and half months.

NOT MUCH RELIEF

Shopkeeper waiting for customers at a mall in Jaipur on Monday. —Photo By Suman Sarkar

All tourist places had been closed in the state on March 18.

Barely five days later hotel, motel, resort, club, restaurants, and

shopping malls too ordered to close when the nationwide lockdown was announced.

It impacted trade worth Rs 20000 crore

related to travel, tourism, and shopping malls during 75 days of lockdown. With more than 80 shopping malls, 700 star category ho-

tels, and more than 1000 clubs and restaurants closed, an estimated 10 lakh people lost employment.

After more than two

months everything was opened once again beginning with monuments, national parks, and zoo on June 1, followed by Ranthambhore and Sariska tiger parks and finally today shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, and clubs.

However, three tourists reached Sariska and Ranthambhore received just one. Budget hotels received a few bookings but star category hotels got much less than expectations. One reason could be luxury hotels mostly booked by foreign tourists who cannot come because of a travel ban on international flights.

Tourism sector hit in Raj, seeks bailout package First India Bureau Jaipur: The tourism industry had some solace when hotels, restaurants, and wildlife parks opened from Monday but still most of the heads are still bogged down due to widespread joblessness created by the corona epidemic.

Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh, a few days ago, had chaired a meeting with PS Shreya Guha, Tourism Director Dr Bhanwar Lal, present and discussed a bailout package for the industry. The meeting also discusses some events for domestic tourists with safety protocols.

Dr Bhanwar Lal said

‘50L employed under MI, Raj Police nab ISI spies PIL on interests by MGNREGA per day’ selling info on Indian Army banks on housing loans First India Bureau

Jaipur: Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot has claimed that Rajasthan continues to maintain top position in MGNREGA by providing employment to 50 lakh people per day.

Among them, 13 lakh are migrant workers. Pilot said that during corona distress, MGNREGA has been pivotal to rural economy. People have been receiving financial support from MGNREGA work. There were only 62,000 people em-

First India Bureau

Sachin Pilot

ployed in April, which has gone up to 50.20 lakh on June 8. Maximum 4.11 lakh people are employed in Bhilwara district followed by Dungarpur 3.55 lakh, Banswara 3.50 lakh, and Ajmer 2.67 lakh.

New Delhi/Jaipur: In a major crackdown on Pakistani spy network in India, Military Intelligence and Rajasthan police Monday caught two civil defence employees for passing on information about strategic Army installations to the ISI. One of the Indians was honeytrapped by a Pakistani female ISI operative on social media.

Official sources said, Rajasthan police, based on intelligence input provided by Luc-

know based Military Intelligence (MI) arrested Vikas Kumar (29), a civil defence employee at an Army Ammunition Depot and Chiman Lal (22), a civil contractual employee of Army’s Mahajan Field Firing Range (MFFR) for working as spies of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Both the Ammunition Depot in Shri Ganganagar and MMFR in Bikaner are strategically important mili-

tary installations in the Western front of India.

In August, 2019 the MI Lucknow through its sleuths, had learnt about the espionage agent, Vikas Kumar who was passing military information to his handlers in Pakistan.

Kumar was cultivated by a Multan-based female PIO, on Facebook.

The PIO ran a pseudonymous Facebook account, pretending to be a Hindu woman ‘Anoshka Chopra’ based in India.

—Agencies

Raj, a favourite destination for political tourism?

Yogesh Sharma Jaipur: Rajasthan has once again become the center of attraction for the political drama unfolding in Gujarat. After some of its MLAs resigned ahead of Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress has dispatched 22 MLAs to safe heaven of Rajasthan.

Prior to lockdown, these MLAs were in Jaipur. This time they have been kept in Jambodi near Abu Road.

Just three months ago, MLAs from Gujarat and

From Right: Rajendrasinh Parmar, Amit Chavda and Arjun Modhvadia on their return from Jaipur on March 24.

—FILE PHOTO

MP had been brought.

However, Rajasthan’s tryst with political tourism is more than a decade old. This is not the first time when Rajasthan has hosted leg-

islators from other states during political upheaval. Since 2005, MLAs of Congress and BJP have been brought here be it Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Goa, Ma-

harashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh either to save government or to bring it down. And, recently to prevent its MLAs from cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha election.

But, actually, rounding up MLAs and packing them off to an isolated place began way back in 1996. At that time, rebel MLAs of Janata Dal were included in the BJP to form the BJP government led by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Later, this trend picked up every time

there was a political crisis in a state.

When Vasundhara Raje was CM, Jharkhand MLAs were brought to Jaipur to successfully save the Arjun Munda government. They were kept at a resort on Ajmer Road watched by members of the Raje government and were also taken to Ajmer and Pushkar. Again in 2016, when the Harish Rawat government faced challenges, the BJP afraid of poaching by Congress sent its two dozen MLAs to Jaipur.

Jaipur: Advocate SK Singh has filed a PIL for the Employees and Workers working in Rajasthan who have taken housing loan from Nationalised Banks, Private Banks and other Financial Institutions such as non-banking companies.

The Government of India has issued directions for the extension of payment of loan instalment, but the Financial Institutions

are charging interest on Housing loan.

The Financial Institutions are deferring the instalments for three months but are charging interest on the same but the people are suffering due to this lockdown.

The matter came up before the Division Bench of Justice Goverdhan Bardhar and Justice Chandra Kumar Songra, where ASG sought time for a reply. Now the matter will be heard on July 3 2020.

Warehousing zones to be developed around city First India Bureau Jaipur: JDA is coming with a plan to develop warehousing zones around the city periphery. JDC T Ravikant said that in the post-COVID-19 era, most companies were planning online sales for which they would need safe warehousing facilities near the city. JDA has identified places in zone 9, 11, 12, and 14 near Tonk Road, Ajmer Road, and Ring Road.

JDC T Ravikant has

T Ravikant

called a meeting of zone commissioners and DTP along with other officers on Tuesday to take the final call on the issue.

The meeting will finalize zones and the amount of and to be reserved for warehousing facilities.

that since there is a negligible chance of having any foreign tourists, the department is concentrating on domestic tourists.

The economy of the state is tourist-dependent up to a large scale as it is one of the largest employers in the state both directly and indirectly. The tourism department has prepared a bailout package for all these sections providing relief for three months. It might provide them with Rs 1500 per month. Apart from this, the Atma Nirbhar package by the central government also covers a part of the hotel industry with up to Rs 10 crore business under MSME sector relief.

Worker pedals 1,600 km from WB to reach Beawar

Shakruddin during testing.

First India Bureau Beawar: Shakruddin of Lasani village reached his village after cycling for more than 1600 Kms from West Bengal. The first thing which Shakruddin did on reaching Beawar was to go to Amrit Kaur Hospital to get himself checked for corona infection.

The staff at the hospital felicitated him for his awareness and sensitivity. The local lad had gone to West Bengal just after Holi to work as an electrician but soon the lockdown was announced. He bided his time waiting for the lockdown to be over but things changed for worse and finally, when he was hand to mouth he got some of his friends together and decided for the cycle journey to home.

RAJASTHAN JAIPUR | TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

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in

BRIEF

First India Bureau Jaipur: The police have issued about 70,000 challans to the people for not obeying the guidelines from the government regarding coronavirus in the state.

They have also recovered a fine of Rs. 1.31 crore from these challans. On the other hand, challans have been issued to over 4.26 lakh vehicles under the MV Act, out of which, 1.41 lakh vehicles have been seized and the fine of Rs. 7.8 crore has been recovered.

Rajasthan Police continues to take action against the ones not following the lockdown rules and violating orders. They have now started taking action against those who have broken the quarantine rules as well. DG Crime

Man being thermal screened at a mall in Jaipur on Monday.

BL Soni said that 5,234 people have been arrested by registering 2,412 FIRs against 6,912 persons for violating quarantine norms. Out of these, challans have been presented against 1,983 people.

Soni said that 18,500

CHALLAN TALLY

people were arrested in the state under the provisions of CRPC for breach of peace. In the case of misuse of social media also, the Rajasthan Police team is constantly monitoring and 215 cases have been filed so far.

Also, prosecutions have been filed against 297 anti-social elements and 222 people have been arrested. A total of 132 cases have been registered under the Essential Commodities Act against shopkeepers doing black marketing during the lockdown and 85 were arrested.

After the start of Unlock 1.0, Soni has instructed all the SPs not to unnecessarily harass the people. But, at the same time, continue strict actions against the ones not following the rules.

Hopeful, situation BJP begins booth connect campaign, will get normal by Poonia to hold meet on RS polls soon November: JIA dir First India Bureau

First India Bureau Jaipur: Jaipur International Airport (JIA) seems to have overcome its initial pangs of unlocking as it not only is witnessing a surge in domestic passengers but also successfully handling the load of passengers landing via Mission Vande Bharat flights arriving from various international destinations.

The director of JIA Jaideep Singh Balhara has been tirelessly working with patience to bring the old days of the airport back. Balhara says that when JIA resumed operations two weeks ago maintaining social distance and hygiene were paramount challenges. He said that they ensured minimum physical contact happened between the passengers & airlines staff and CISF personnel.

Our success at these three points increased the confidence of the passengers as well. Balhara knows that JIA is a sensitive airport so no compromises were made on the security front.

The number of pas-

‘MIN CONTACT’

sengers had increased two and half times between 25 May and 7 June which makes Balhara hopeful that situation will get normal by November. Balhara is quite happy about using the old arrival hall for Mission Vande Bharat flights, thus successfully handling international flights simultaneously. Balhara says that they are sanitizing all the touch points of the passengers with spray machines to keep the airport safe.

Jaipur: State unit of BJP started with its booth connect campaign to mark the completion of one year of Modi 2.0.

State President Satish Poonia began his day from the Shila Mata temple in his constituency Amer.

He said that 50-100 homes will be reached at every booth during the campaign. He also said that he will convene a party meeting to discuss the strategy for upcoming Rajya Sabha polls within next two days.

Chomu MLA Ram Lal

Man murders wife and son First India Bureau Sriganganagar: On Monday 52-year-old man Satnam Singh alias Lali Bawri, a resident of village Arayan, killed his 50-year-old wife Virpal Kaur and his 23-yearold son Balwinder Singh with an iron rod. He also tried to attack his other son and daughterin-law who were sleeping, but the sound of the rod woke his son Rajvinder, and Satnam fled.

Satish Poonia after distributing PM Modi’s letter in Amer on Monday.

Sharma accompanied him during the door to door campaign.

Party state organising General Secretary Chandrashekhar inaugurated the campaign

from Malviya Nagar in presence of MLA Kalicharan Saraf.

Saraf went door to door distributing the letter from PM Modi and briefing them on

achievements of one year of Modi govt.

Deputy LOP Rajendra Rathore took charge of the Civil lines area and distributed the letter in near his residence.

First India Bureau Jaipur: Tourism department seems to be in disarray right now when it should have pulled its socks earnestly. Principal Secretary Shreya Guha has started an undeclared boycott of Minister Vishwendra Singh’s meetings due to undue interference by his son Aniruddh.

Even on Monday Guha skipped the meeting called by Singh at

Vishwendra Singh

Shreya Guha

his residence in which Tourism Director Dr Bhanwar Lal and officers of the marketing & development wing participated. Sources say that Aniruddh was pre-

sent in the Monday meeting as well. The father-son duo has said to have taken the tourism officers to task during the meeting. The officers came out with

Govt to revive global bidding of Augusta helicopter Jaipur: Chief Secretary DB Gupta chaired a meeting to revive the process of global bidding of non functional Augusta helicopter lying unused in the state hangar since last nine years.

State government has decided to sell off the Augusta helicopter before buying a new jet plane or helicopter. The decision was taken keeping the current fi-

nancial condition of the state in mind.

After taking the decision to reevaluate the helicopter, the revaluation committee estimated the current value to be about Rs 4 to 4.5 crore which is Rs 8 crore less than its 2014 value. On Monday it was decided to revive the global bidding process and complete it in 15 days.

So far there have been 5 attempts to to sell the Augusta helicopter but either the

DB Gupta

high price or the process itself became the obstacle. The finance department too had cer-

Health workers carry the body of a woman who died due to corona for cremation at a crematorium in Ajmer on Mon.

First India Bureau Jaipur: The state reported 277 new cases of corona on Monday taking the total tally to 10876. 6 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours with 3 in Jaipur, 2 in Jodhpur and one in Bharatpur taking the total death tally to 246.

Maximum 67 new cases were reported from Alwar followed by 60 from Bharatpur, 36 from Jodhpur, 34 from Jaipur, 12 from Kota,11 from Pali, 10 from Sirohi, 7 from Sikar, 6 each from Bhilwara & Dungarpur, 4 from Sawai Madhopur, 3 each from Ajmer, Banswara & Chittorgarh, 2 each from Bikaner, Bundi, Jhalawar & Jhunjhunu and one each from Baran, Sri ganganagar & Jalore along with 4 patients from other states.

The cumulative district wise tally of the corona positives on Monday is as follows – Ajmer 368, Alwar 150, Banswara 89, Baran 60, Barmer 106, Bharatpur 732, Bhilwara 176, Bikan-

er 112, Bundi 7, Chittorgarh 198, Churu 154, Dausa 69, Dholpur 69, Dungarpur 380, Ganganagar 9, Hanumangarh 30, Jaipur 2260, Jaisalmer 74, Jalore 170, Jhalawar 329, Jhunjhunu 163, Jodhpur 1879, Karauli 29, Kota 524, Nagaur 503, Pali 602, Pratapgarh 14, Rajsamand 162, Sawai Madhopur 44, Sikar 291, Sirohi 210, Tonk 175 and Udaipur 587.

On Monday Jaipur reported 34 new cases. Maximum 6 cases were from Chandpole, 5 from Ramganj, 4 from Sodala, 3 from Ghatgate District Jail, 2 each from Gandhi Nagar, Jyoti Nagar, Tonk Road and one each from Adarsh Nagar, Jalupura, Jhotwara, Mahesh Nagar, Bajaj Nagar, Chaura Rasta, Sanganer, Shatri Nagar, Sikar Raod & Vidyadhar Nagar. So far 8117 patients have turned negative after t r e a t m e n t and 7714 have been discharged from the hospitals.

There are 2513 active cases under treatment in the hospitals.

Babus miffed over ‘interference’ of tourism min’s son

GOOD RIDDANCE!

Dr Rituraj Sharma

State reports 6 deaths, 277 new cases on Monday —PHOTO BY HIMANSHU SHARMA

 Jaipur: The Jaipur-Agra Air India flight 9I-687 had only one passenger on Monday, but the flight operated at the designated time of 7:45 am. The flights to Agra are going almost vacant, but the 70-seater flight had only one passenger on board on Monday.

RAJ POLICE CONTINUES TO BE STRICT TO CURB THE PANDEMIC —PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

 Bikaner: A truck collided with a camel cart in Khajuwala of Bikaner on Monday killing 2 kids 6 people got injured. The injured were sent to Bikaner PBM Hospital for treatment.

All the people in the camel cart belonged from the same family and were residents of Jaggasar village.

The incident took place at the border of Bajju and Dantor police station areas. After the incident, Dantor SHO Chandrabhan Choria reached the spot.

So far 70,000 challans issued for violating corona guidelines

03

tain objections to the deal. Even this time, the deal can only go through, after the ap-

proval of finance department, which makes a quick sale unlikely.

On the other hand the state government desperately needs an aircraft as it has been incurring huge expenses on hiring planes for 7 years now. The sale of Augusta helicopter now, will save the government from the allegation of wasting money on a luxury item when another is lying idle.

It is worth recalling that the blade of the Au-

gusta helicopter was damaged while Ashok Gehlot was CM in 2011, since then the white elephant has been idle costing maintenance expenses every six months.

The state govt desperately needs either a multi turbine or 10 seater Jet. As of now the govt has two planes which are 6 seaters and it has to very often hire aircraft services for state tours incurring huge expenses.

stooped shoulders and went to Shreya Guha to give her the feedback.

Guha is said to have briefed the CS on the issue. Aniruddh has become a permanent feature in the minister’s meetings leading to the department officers with low morale and frustration to cope with. Everyone in the power gallery is questioning the son of the minister being rude to the senior officers against the set protocol.

Singh admits that his son is with him at his residence due to Covid-19 crisis but was never present in the meetings. On the other end a defiant Vishwendra Singh is mostly in the news for taking a line opposite to the party.

Recently he not only sided with BJP MP Diya Kumari on her tweet alleging irresponsible behaviour by Congress MLA Danish Abrar but also tried to corner Abrar on the issue.

Kirodi launches ‘Ped chipko lipto’ agitation First India Bureau Dausa: BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Dr Kirodi Lal Meena launched an agitation against DelhiMumbai expressway project passing through Dausa and, clinged on to a tree, calling the agitation ‘Ped chipko lipto’.

He said the work would not continue without paying compensation to the farmers, whose lands have been seized for the project. He also demanded plantation of twice the

Dr Kirodi Lal Meena

number of trees that have been uprooted.

District collector had assured him and farmer’s leader Himmat Singh, that the company would not work in areas where compensation for assets and land has not been given.

PERSPECTIVE JAIPUR | TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

DELHI’S DOUBTFUL MEANS TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS

D

elhi and Mumbai are two of India’s Covid-19 hotspots causing concern to the Union government. That these two states are ruled by the opposition parties makes dealing with the pandemic tougher than what it already is. As Delhi seeks a daily surge in its COVID cases - there was a spike of over 1007 cases taking its tally to 29,943 - Arvind Kejriwal government’s order stopping some private laboratories from conducting Covid-19 tests has been questioned not only for its motive but also impracticality. The intention, to put it bluntly, was to conceal the actual number.

Besides accusing the Kejriwal government of flouting Centre’s guidelines, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also doubted the motive for Delhi’s order.

“The labs are being threatened. There is no need to hide numbers as the need is to actively look for infected people. Whether you place them in-home quarantine, in COVID care centres or health centres depends on their condition; but you definitely cannot leave them undiagnosed and untreated as they will then be roaming around freely, then get sick and report to the hospital late. Not to mention how many others they would have infected,” the minister was quoted as saying.

But why would the Delhi government keep private laboratories away from doing Covid-19 tests? To avoid the proverbial axe from falling on their necks, doctors and in-charges in government hospitals and laboratories have to follow the “orders from above” down to a T. That, sadly, is a familiar practice in government hospitals, laboratories, and even offices. Results of Covid-19 tests done in a Sarkari lab or hospital may, therefore, not reflect the true extent of the spread of the virus.

Private labs being comparatively free from government interference are more likely to give the true picture.

The Union health minister’s accusation against the Delhi government could apply to other states which could be concealing the real Covid-19 cases and fatalities to project the image of being an achiever though at a huge cost. As it is, at 12,714 tests per million Delhi’s figures are woefully low and suggest the need for involvement of private labs in the process. Not that India numbers are any better. There is a substantial improvement in the number of tests from 32 per million in March to 3582 per million on June 7 but they are not enough. According to a conservative estimate, India should be carrying out at least 45 lakh tests every day to secure its people from Covid-19 onslaught.

If what Harsh Vardhan says is true then the number of Covid-19 positive cases and consequent deaths in Delhi and elsewhere will have to be accepted with a pinch of salt.

It is a war against the novel coronavirus and casualties cannot be treated as an official secret. That we have a rickety health infrastructure is no secret.

KALAT, BALOCHISTAN AND PAKISTAN DR SANJEEV CHOPRA The author is an IAS & Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Mussoorie and Honorary Curator, Valley of Words: Literature and Arts Festival, Dehradun

I

Interestingly, in 1946 MA Jinnah as the Legal advisor to the Khan of Kalat had submitted a Memorandum to the Cabinet Mission stating that geographically, Kalat did not fall within the territorial limits of India. In any case, Kalat declared its independence on the 12th August, and the Government of Kalat State Act was passed by both Darul- Awam (House of People) and Dar –ul -Umra (House of Nobility)

n the third and concluding part of the series, we take up the most difficult, and still, contested accession of Kalat, Las Bela, Makran and Kharan( all Baloch states to Pakistan, for together they account nearly half the geographical area of Pakistan.

The process of accession and the continuing quest for an independent Balochistan has, in the words of Tilak Deveshar made it a continuing conundrum for Pakistan!

From the smoothest accession of Hunza and Nagar, we move to the most difficult and still contested accession of Kalat, the largest princely state to become part of Pakistan in 1948, almost a year after the Transfer of Power to the Dominions of India and Pakistan. Having been part of the Mughal Empire for a brief period and situated on the periphery of the British Indian Empire, Kalat had few direct links with the government in Calcutta from a hundred years, and though Delhi was closer, a sense of detachment from Indian affairs had gradually developed in the state.

And vice versa. Ahmed Yar Khan, the Khan of Kalat from September 1933 was concerned, first, to consolidate his existing position… secondly, to convert that position of relative superiority into one of absolute supremacy. These aims, together with the recognition of Kalat as a non-Indian state and the retrocession of the leased areas after the lapse of paramountcy, were the major concerns of his reign.

It may also be noted that in terms of its political structure the Khanate of Kalat was the most peculiar of the Indian princely states. With a 19-gun salute, the Khan of Kalat was in second place in the princely table. However, the applicability of the term ‘prince,’

for the Khan of Kalat was tenuous as the head of a Brahui and Baloch confederacy, he only enjoyed the powers delegated to him by the tribal leaders.

Meanwhile, the first stirrings of Baloch Nationalism were felt from 1929 when the urban bourgeoisie, educated youth, and nationalist-minded members of the clergy and tribal aristocracy got together and brought out the Baloch manifesto under the title Faryad –e- Balochistan, and this was published in the Lahore publication Hamdard. From 1935, it was called the Kalat State National party whose aim was to create a constitutional Khanate of Kalat with independent Treaty relations with London, much like Nepal, Butane and Sikkim. Their leaders were closer to the leadership of the INC, especially Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. It should also be mentioned here that the Khan of Kalat never

IN THE WORDS OF MARTIN AXMANN, ‘THE DEATH OF THE STATE WAS THE BIRTH OF THE NATION. THE BALOCH LOST THEIR NATIONAL HOMELAND AND TURNED INTO A MARGINAL ETHNOLINGUISTIC MINORITY OF PAKISTAN

joined the Chamber of Princes in Delhi. He always maintained that Kalat was not part of British India, as Kalat was clubbed with Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim and dealt with, not by the Political, but the External Affairs Department.

Interestingly, in 1946 M.A. Jinnah as the Legal advisor to the Khan of Kalat had

Explaining the pandemic performance differential

W

hat counts as sustainable economic growth?

Several credible indices are on offer, from those produced by the United Nations and the World Bank to reports from privatesector firms such as KPMG and think tanks like the Legatum Institute. Most of these are similar to the reports that I oversaw during my tenure as head of research and chief economist at Goldman Sachs.

Starting in the 2000s, my department developed a Growth Environment Score for around 180 countries, based on around 15 different variables, from inflation and investment rates to technological adoption, educational attainment, and rule of law. The last GES was compiled in 2014. But looking back now, one finds that the coun

04

tries that were higher up the ranking in the past are now reporting the lowest COVID-19 mortality rates.

The top three performers from the 2014 GES report, for example, were Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea, followed by Norway, the Netherlands, Qatar, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Australia.

By and large, these countries stand out for having outperformed most others in responding to COVID-19.

If there is one exception, it is the Netherlands, which has not coped as well as one might have expected.

Likewise, among the more populous Western countries that make up the G7, Germany had a notably higher GES than the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, and it has also fared far better than those countries these past few months. And among the

so-called BRIC countries, China, which quickly moved to flatten and bend down its epidemic curve, had a higher GES than Brazil, Russia, and India.

What is striking about these observations is that the GES index didn’t directly consider national health systems. So, while the strong correlation with pandemic-era performance could simply be a coincidence, a more likely con-

clusion is that the sustainable-growth metrics we used have a strong bearing on the quality of a country’s health system.

For example, technological adoption has proven to be a critical determinant in rolling out fast and effective COVID-19 testing, tracking, and contact tracing protocols. During the early years of compiling the GES, I remember initially being surprised at

how high South Korea ranked in the technology component of the index.

But I soon realized that this was a key factor driving the country’s inclusive growth more broadly.

There are important lessons, here, particularly for policymakers who are now devising plans to rebuild their economies. Obviously, many countries need to catch up to the digital revolution and build more resilience into their health systems. My own country, the UK, seems to be learning this lesson the hard way.

One hopes that the Department of Health and Public Health England (or whatever might replace it) recognize the need for more effective and widely available diagnostics and other technologies.

More broadly, when policymakers look to their infrastructure needs, they

should ask themselves which is more important, grandiose projects like rail systems and new buildings, or less “sexy” investments like broadband and education. After all, the COVID-19 lockdowns may already have changed certain features of our work and lifestyles for good.

There will probably be more telecommuting in the post-pandemic economy, less densely populated urban areas, and so forth.

While we will still need fully modernized transportation systems, we will also need more ways to make opportunities available to people wherever they are.

Otherwise, most countries’ economic performance will remain fragmented and cyclically vulnerable, falling far short of what it could otherwise be.

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM

submitted a Memorandum to the Cabinet Mission stating that geographically, Kalat did not fall within the territorial limits of India.

In any case, Kalat declared its independence on the 12th August, and the Government of Kalat State Act was passed by both Dar-ulAwam (House of People) and Dar –ul -Umra (House of Nobility).

What then explains the volteface on the part of Jinnah? The answer comes from Narendra Singh Sarila’s book ‘The Shadow of the Great Game: the untold story of India’s partition ‘in which he has quoted British documents to show how Britain wanted to bolster Pakistan’s position in this very strategic border with Persia. Thus the UK High Commissioner to the new Dominion was now advising Jinnah against making any agreement with Kalat which would give it international status.

The Khan was however unaware of the change in British thinking and got the shock of this life when he saw the complete transformation in Jinnah’s tone and tenor when he called on him in Karachi in October 1947.

He was no longer a friend, nor Kalat’s lawyer, but a hard-nosed Governor-General who demanded immediate accession. Pakistan first got the feudatories of Kalat: Lasbella, Kharan, and Makran to sign the Instrument of Accession on March 18, 1948, which deprived Kalat of half its territory and access to the sea, and by the end of the month, the troops of Maj. Gen Mohammed Akbar Khan occupied Kalat and escorted the Khan to Karachi, where he signed the Instrument of Accession, without the approval of the Baloch legislature and the Sardars.

The epitaph for Kalat had been written. In the words of Martin Axmann, ‘The death of the state was the birth of the nation. The Baloch lost their national homeland and turned into a marginal ethnolinguistic minority of Pakistan.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp PMUY has made women self-reliant and has contributed in their social and economic upliftment. Clean cooking fuel initiative under the Modi govt. has safeguarded the health of more than 8 crore of our poor mothers and sisters. #SashaktNari Dr Harsh Vardhan @drharshvardhan Happy to announce that a special #COVID19 collaboration has been put into place, following the India-Australia Leaders’ Virtual Bilateral Summit held recently between Hon’ble PM Mr Narendra Modi & Hon’ble PM of Australia Mr Scott Morrison.

Spiritual SPEAK

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. —Buddha

Vol 2 Issue No. 3 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.

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RAHUL TAKES A DIG AT SHAH

‘EVERYONE KNOWS STATUS OF INDIA’S BORDERS’ New Delhi: Seemingly taking a dig at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that after the US and Israel, India is the only other country that could protect its borders, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday used Mirza Ghalib’s verse and said that ‘everyone knows the status of India’s borders but Amit Shah can stay happy in an imaginary world’.

Rahul tweeted in Hindi: “Sabko maaloom hai ‘Seema’ ki haqiqat lekin, Dil ke khush rakhne ko, ‘Shah-Yad’ ye khyaal achha hai.” It roughly translates to ‘everybody knows the border’s reality but to keep oneself happy, Shah’s thought is good’.

Speaking at his first virtual rally, held in view of the Bihar elections scheduled for later this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that India’s defence policy has gained widespread recognition and acceptance.

“India’s defence policy has gained global acceptance. The whole

SANJAY JHA QUESTIONS CONGRESS LEADERSHIP

India’s defence policy has gained global acceptance. The whole world agrees that after USA and Israel if there is any other country that is able to protect its borders, it is India.

—Rahul Gandhi, Cong Leader world agrees that after USA and Israel if there is any other country that is able to protect its borders, it is India,” he said.

“There was a time when anybody used to enter our borders, beheaded our soldiers and Delhi’s darbar remained unaffected. Uri and Pulwama happened during our time,

it was the Modi and BJP govt, we did surgical strikes and airstrike,” he added.

Over the last few days, India & China have been locked in a dispute over heavy military build-up by the PLA,where they have brought in more than 5,000 troops along the Eastern Ladakh sector. —ANI

New Delhi: Even as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is trying to corner Centre on issues related to policies and actions during COVID-19 pandemic, party spokesperson Sanjay Jha has raised questions over internal functioning of the party.

However, other party leaders were quick to contradict his views. The Congress spokesperson said the claim that Congress has an internal robust mechanism was “not correct” and “it doesn’’t listen to its members”.

Contradicting Jha, Senior spokesperson Ajay Maken said, “There is no dearth of internal discussion in the party and I have been able to put forth my view whenever i wanted to.” —ANI

Kejri unwell, may go for covid-19 test New Delhi: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had developed a fever and has a sore throat since Sunday and may take a test for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Tuesday, a spokesperson of his party said. He has isolated himself, the AAP spokesperson said. “He had consulted a doctor over the phone and plans to get himself tested tomorrow if symptoms don’t subside,” the spokesperson added.

When Thakur proved to be a good samaritan Vaishali New Delhi: A tweet and a phone call from good samaritan Union MoS for Finance Anurag Thakur saved a patient’’s life in Delhi. His activeness on social media late Sunday proved to be a boon for the elderly patient. The hospital, which refused to admit the patient, started treating him after the matter reached the Minister. The patient’’s condition is now out of danger. The family has thanked Anurag Thakur, the young minister of the Modi government, for his help in the crisis.

New Delhi: Amid efforts to address the ongoing issues in Eastern Ladakh, the Chinese Army has increased the activities of its helicopters on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The Chinese chopper activity has gone up significantly in the last seven to eight days on their side of the LAC. The reason may be to provide assistance to its troops deployed on various locations along the LAC,

New Delhi: The SC sought the Centre and NDMA’s reply on a plea by an NGO alleging sudden rise in children trafficking cases during the COVID-19 lockdown in the country.

A bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and Hrisheksh Roy, in a hearing through video conferencing, sought the assistance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on the issue and indicated that it may appoint an “experts committee” to look into the child trafficking issue. —PTI

Maulana Saad yet to be probed in Markaz case New Delhi: Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad is the only person yet to be questioned in the Nizamuddin Markaz case, as all other accused named have been questioned and their statements recorded, the Delhi Police said Monday.

The police stated that they have not yet ques-

YES BANK CASE

ED searches five offices of Cox & Kings in Mumbai Mumbai: Five offices of alleged loan defaulter travel firm Cox and Kings in Mumbai were searched by teams of ED in connection with the Yes Bank scam case.

According to sources in the ED, Cox and Kings is one of the defaulters on the radar of the economic offences watchdog in the Yes Bank

‘CHARDHAM YATRA NOT ALLOWED FOR PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE STATE Dehradun: The DGP of Uttarakhand Ashok Kumar said that the Chardham Yatra has not yet been opened for people from outside the state. “The guidelines are awaited from the state government to allow people from outside the state to visit - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri,” Ashok Kumar said. “Peo-

tioned Saad, the organizer of a religious event wherein thousands of people from India and 41 foreign countries gathered amid the COIVD-19 outbreak despite social distancing norms in place.

A case has been regis-

ple from outside the state are requested to wait to visit the aforementioned pilgrimage centres till the state issues guidelines in that respect,” he added.

The DG added that malls, hotels and restaurants will not open in Dehradun’s municipal area. They will be opened in other areas of Uttarakhand except for containment zones.

scam case.

Cox and Kings was one of the biggest borrowers of Yes Bank with an approximate exposure of Rs 2,285cr. ED filed a charge sheet in connection with the Yes Bank scam case against the bank’s ex-COO Rana Kapoor, his wife and daughters before a special PMLA court in Mumbai. —ANI

tered against Saad and five other members of the Tablighi Jamaat for organising the cong re g ation amid the lockdown.

Maulana Saad, Dr Zeeshan, Mufti Shehzad, M Saifi, Younus, Mohammad Salman

and Mohammed Ashraf have been named in the FIR. The case against them has been registered under stringent sections for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. They have also been booked for violation of the Epidemic Act and Disaster Management Act on March 31. —Agencies

SUNANDA PUSHKAR MURDER CASE

HC issues notice to Delhi Police on Tharoor’s plea New Delhi: Delhi HC issued notice to Delhi police on Shashi Tharoor’s plea seeking direction to write to Twitter India to preserve the social media account of his deceased wife Sunanda Pushkar during the pendency of the trial into her death.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has moved the court to preserve the Twitter account of Sunanda Pushkar, sub-

DELHI HIT BY ANOTHER LOWINTENSITY EARTHQUAKE New Delhi: The national capital on Monday was jolted by an earthquake with an epicentre at Gurugram, Haryana. This is the ninth time in two months that Delhi has been hit by a quake. “An earthquake with a magnitude of 2.1 on the Richter Scale hit 13km WNW of Gurugram, Haryana at 1 pm today,” said National Centre for Seismology. Tremors were felt across Delhi and in Noida as well. On June 7, an earthquake measuring 1.3 on the Richter Scale had hit 23 km south of southeast of Rohtak district in Haryana.

In fact, 65-year-old Lalit Gupta from Delhi is a diabetic patient. He had high fever and breathing problems late on Sunday night. Family members took him to Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in Sector 22, Rohini. As the patient’’s condition was critical, the hospital refused to ad-

mit him. The matter somehow came to the knowledge of IPS officer Sandeep Mittal who complained about this attitude of the hospital, by tweeting at around 12.30 a.m.

Thakur saw the tweet at around 2 a.m. and immediately asked for the mobile number of the patient or a family member while retweeting Mittal’’s tweet. The IPS officer provided the necessary information.

Then Thakur, talked to a family member of the patient and assured full help. He directed the hospital administration to admit the patient immediately.

China chopper activities go up along LAC

sources said here. The Chinese chopper fleet operating there includes both the Mi-17s and their local medium-lift choppers, sources said.

In the last few months, China has been exten-

IN THE COURTYARD

Centre’s reply sought on plea alleging rise in child trafficking

05

mitting that the account details were of utmost importance.

The plea claimed that there were threat of the account and tweets getting deleted.

For a fair trial, police should preserve material, it added. —ANI

SC notice to J&K govt over detention of Saifuddin Soz New Delhi: The SC issued a notice to J&K government on a plea filed by the wife of former Union Minister Saifuddin Soz seeking the release of her husband who has been under house arrest since August 2019.

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra sought response from Jammu and Kashmir government and posted the matter for hearing in the second week of July. Challenging detention order passed by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Mumtazunnisa Soz had filed habeas corpus petition in the apex court for the production of her husband before the court. The petition, was filed through advocate Sunil Fernandes. —ANI

GAIRSAIN DECLARED SUMMER CAPITAL OF UTTARAKHAND Dehradun: Gairsain in Chamoli district was declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand on Monday. A notification in this regard was issued

by CS Utpal Kumar Singh after Governor Baby Rani Maurya gave her assent to the move. Expressing happiness on Gairsain being formally declared the summer capital of

U’khand, Pradesh BJP V-P Devendra Bhasin said by doing so the party has fulfilled a major promise made in its poll manifesto. “Governor has granted her assent to declaring Gairsain the summer capital of Uttarakhand.

It fulfills CM Trivendra Singh Rawat’s announcement about Gairsain in Vidhan Sabha.”

sively using choppers to fly around Indian locations in the Eastern Ladakh sector including the Galwan area.

In the Galwan area, their choppers had even come above our locations

and hovered over a road construction site there on one occasion recently, the sources said.

Sources said Chinese have been frequently doing air space violations using their choppers and have been carrying out patrols near the Indian locations on the LAC. Last month, IAF was forced to rush its fighter jet patrols in Ladakh after Chinese military choppers were found to be flying close to the LAC. —ANI

Cong’s Kharge files nomination for RS polls from K’taka

Sr Cong leader M Mallikarjuna Kharge with KPCC President DK Shivakumar, LoP Siddaramaiah at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru: Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge filed his nomination as the party’’s candidate for the June 19 Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka.

The former union minister filed his nomination in the presence of KPCC president D K Shivakumar, the Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah and other senior party leaders at the office of Legislative Assembly Secretary M K Vishalakshi, who is the returning officer for the polls. —PTI

HD DEVE GOWDA

J-K: CONGRESS SARPANCH SHOT DEAD BY TERRORISTS Anantnag: Unidentified terrorists fired upon Congress Sarpanch at Lokbawan, Anantnag who later on succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.

Congress Sarpanch, Ajay Pandit was shot at by terrorists at main road Lokbhawan in Anantnag district, as per information provided by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. “Today at about 6 pm, some unknown terrorists fired upon one Congress Sarpanch identified as Ajay Pandit at Lokbawan, Anantnag who later on succumbed to his injuries at a hospital,” said J&K Police.

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‘BJP fed over 11cr people in pandemic’

Home Minister Amit Shah addresses an ‘Odisha Jan-Samvad Rally’ through vc, at BJP HQs in New Delhi.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Monika K Mohta is new Ambassador to Switzerland

Monika Kapil Mohta

New Delhi: Diplomat Monika Kapil Mohta has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Switzerland, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Monday.

Presently, Mohta, an Indian Foreign Service officer of 1985 batch, is India’s Ambassador to Sweden.

“She is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” said the MEA. Mohta has served as the Ambassador of India to Poland and Lithuania

from July 2011 to January 2015. Prior to that, she served as the Director of The Nehru Centre and Minister (Culture) at the High Commission of India to the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2011. In the MEA, she has served in many different positions including Addl Secretary/Joint Secretary (Southern Division), Director (Pakistan), Director (Gulf), Director (External Publicity) and Deputy Spokesperson, Director (UN). —ANI

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that BJP workers have provided one time meal to more than 11 crore people during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Home Minister attended the virtual Odisha Jan Samvad Rally at the BJP headquarters here. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also present. Shah said, “Crore of BJP workers provided one-time meal to more than 11 crore people. I want to thank BJP president JP Naddaji and all party workers.

Seeing a party worker

J&K: 4 terrorists killed in encounter with security forces Srinagar: Four terrorists were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Pinjora area of Shopian district of J&K on Monday morning, police said.

Security forces had launched a cordon-andsearch operation after receiving specific information about presence of militants in the area, a police official said.

He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants fired upon a search party of the forces, who retaliated.

After the operation ended, the bodies of the terrorists were later recovered and arms and ammunition were also recovered. Pinjora is around 12kms from Reban village.

A joint operation of army, CRPF and police was launched early in the morning after a tip off about the presence of terrorists at Reban village. The militants were killed after a 12 hour encounter. —PTI

“We do Jan Samvad to understand people’s problem. We give our account of work to the people. Coronavirus is a challege for humanity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also advised for social distancing but it can never become a distance between the people and BJP.” —Amit Shah, Home Minister

helping migrants in this crisis makes me proud. I wholeheartedly congratulate the party president, his team and all the party workers for this.”

He said that BJP is not in politics just to get power. “We do Jan Samvad to understand peo-

L-G overrules AAP govt’s order to reserve hospitals for Delhiites New Delhi: Lt Governor Anil Baijal has overruled the AAP government’s order to reserve Delhi government-run and private hospitals in the national capital for Delhiites.

The lieutenant governor is also the Chairman of Delhi Disaster Management Authority.

The move may trigger a confrontation between the AAP dispensation and the LG office.

On Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

Ram temple work to begin from Wednesday Ayodhya: The work on the much-awaited Ram temple in Ayodhya will begin from Wednesday after an elaborate ‘Rudra Abhishek’ ceremony. The ceremony will be attended by a limited number of persons and will be held at the Kuber Tila temple. In view of corona crisis, a grand ‘bhumi pujan’ has been put off for now. —PTI

CDS briefs Singh on Ladakh situation New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and three service chiefs on Monday to review stand-off situation at LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

Singh was also briefed about deliberations that took place during the meet of military commanders of both the countries on June 6.

“The meeting with Defence Minister was called for an assessment on the talks & future strategy as the army

prepares for a long haul,” a source said.

During the meeting, a plan is being drawn out to deal with issues that

among the deaths due to infection, some individuals died even before they could be brought to the hospital and it was later revealed that they suffered heart failure, respiratory tract failure and intestinal infection too. They reported that Covid-19 infection also increases the risk of heart attack and apart from cough and cold, many other symptoms have also been found in infected patients.

Meanwhile, the experts are also conducting a study on the deaths due to Covid-19.

To make an in-depth study of these deaths, a

complete analysis of the case history of the patients, the reasons for the late arrival to the hospital, other chronic diseases, etc. is being done along with the relatives of the deceased.

Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Rohit Kumar Kumar said that the recovery rate of Corona positive in Rajasthan is 73.24 percent, which is higher than the average for the whole country.

So far 241 people have died of corona infection in the state, out of which 70 percent of such patients were already suffering from a

ple’s problem. We give our account of work to the people. Coronavirus is a challege for humanity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also advised for social distancing but it can never become a distance between the people and BJP.”

“Led by National President JP Nadda, we are now getting in touch with people via virtual rallies. I feel that this tradition started by Naddaji is going to show to the world that even in pandemic a party can establish Jan Samvaad through virtual rally with people,” Shah said.

He also said that when pandemic happened, many migrants wanted to meet their relatives. Camps were set up by governments and arrangements were made for people to stay there. All the governments did good work, he further said.

—ANI

continue to be a cause of concern for India. General Bipin Rawat briefed Singh about the further course of action.

India’s External Affairs Ministry stated that India and China have agreed to “peacefully resolve” the standoff situation in Ladakh in accordance with various bilateral agreements. —PTI

Anil Baijal

had announced that the hospitals run by the Delhi government and private entities will

only treat Delhi residents during the coronavirus crisis.

He had cited the report of a panel which stated that Delhi will need 15,000 beds by the end of June and if people of other states are allowed to get treatment, all beds here will be occupied within just three days. The panel had been appointed by government to guide it on healthcare infrastructure augmentation in Delhi. —PTI

‘Elephant may have accidentally consumed cracker-filled fruit’ New Delhi: The pregnant elephant, who died in Kerala’s Palakkad last month triggering widespread outrage, may have accidentally eaten a cracker-stuffed fruit, the Union ministry of environment has said.

The 15-year-old elephant died after chewing on a pineapple stuffed with crackers, according to initial reports, but later an autopsy conducted on her found it was a coconut, and the injuries she suffered were at least two weeks old.

“Primary investigations revealed, the elephant may have accidentally consumed in such fruit. Ministry is in constant touch with Kerala Govt & has sent them detailed advisory for immediate arrest of culprits & stringent action against any erring official that led to ele-

06

POWER Gallery WHO WILL BE NEXT TAMIL NADU CHIEF SECRETARY?

Since Chief Secretary of TamilNadu, K Shanmugam has been given three months’ extension in service w.e.f. Aug 1, talks have already started about his successor. Now tie is said to be between 1985 batch IAS officer, Dr Rajeev Ranjan and 1986 batch IAS officer, Hans Raj Verma. The first choice of the Government - 1987 batch IAS officer Dr TV Somanathan, is unlikely to return from the central government.

KHANNA TO BE CHIEF SECRETARY OF PUNJAB?

Viswajeet Khanna is likely to succeed Karan Avtar Singh in August as Chief Secretary of Punjab. He is a 1987 batch IAS officer. Name of KBS Sidhu is also doing the rounds.

NOW ANOTHER GOPALAKRISHNAN IN PMO

There was one 1979 batch IAS officer of MP Cadre R Gopalakrishnan in the PMO of Manmohan Singh. He was the branchild of number of flagship initiatives of the UPA Government. And now one 1991 batch IAS officer of TamilNadu cadre, S Gopalakrishnan has been posted in the PMO of Narendra Modi.

RISHI KUMAR SHUKLA IS SENIORMOST SERVING IPS OFFICER

It is said that CBI Chief Rishi Kumar Shukla is the senior-most serving IPS officer in the country. He is a 1983 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

LOYALTY AND HARD WORK PAYS IN MODI GOVERNMENT

Plum Foreign postings of two PMO officials, Rajeev Topno and Brajendra Navnit, is an indication that loyal, efficient and hard working officials are rewarded in Modi government.

TENURE OF TRAI CHAIRMAN ENDS IN OCTOBER

Tenure of TRAI Chairman, RS Sharma is coming to an end on October 1. Advertisement has already been issued.

WILL NAGESHWAR RAO RETIRE?

Former acting Chief of the CBI, M Nageshwar Rao is scheduled to superannuate on July 31.Will the 1986 batch IPS officer of Odisha cadre retire?

SPECIAL DIRECTOR IB VERMA TO RETIRE THIS MONTH END

Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, Ashok Kumar Verma is superannuating on June 30. He is 1986 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre.

NIKUNJ SRIVASTAVA TO RETURN TO MADHYA PRADESH

Nikunj Srivastava is returning to the parent Madhya Pradesh cadre in first week of July after completion of central deputation tenure. He is a 1998 batch IAS officer.

SHRIKANT MADHAV TO SUCCEED SANJIV SINGH AS CHAIRMAN, IOCL ON JULY 1 phant’s death,” the ministry has said.

It also noted locals illegally plant explosivefilled fruits to repel wild boars from entering plantation farms.

“As of now, one person has been arrested & efforts are on to nab more individuals who may have participated in this illegal & utterly inhuman act. The @WCCBHQ has also been directed to act on this matter with utmost sense of urgency,” the ministry posted. —PTI

Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Director (Refineries), IOCL, will be taking over the charge as Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) on July 1, 2020. He will succeed incumbent Sanjiv Singh retiring this month.

SUNIL BHAGWAT CHAUDHARI RELIEVED TO JOIN AS DY SECY, ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Sunil Bhagwat Chaudhari has been relieved to join as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs. He is a 2008 batch ICAS officer.

MADHYA PRADESH PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION GETS TWO NEW MEMBERS

Dr Raman Singh Sikarwar, retired IPS officer& Dr Devendra Singh Markam, Medical officer have been appointed as Members of Madhya PradeshPublic Service Commission (MP PSC).

FROM PG 1 Launch campaign...

Corona regarding further strategies to fight the pandemic in the state and also sought information from district authorities on various issues including infection status, investigation system and availability of equipment in various districts.

During the VC, Health Minister Dr. Raghu Sharma took information from officials about the current status of corona infection, availability of ICU bed, ventilators and test kits in hospitals. The expert doctors, part of the special team, informed that

serious illness. At present, the number of active cases in the state is 2,641, he stated.

Don’t make...

The MGNREGA, 2005, is a shining example of a radical and rational systemic change. It is radical because it transferred power to the poorest of the poor and enabled them to escape hunger and deprivation, the article read.

It is rational because it puts money directly in the hands of those who need it most. It has proved its worth in the years it has been in existence, even enduring

six years of a hostile government.

A government that sought to denigrate it, undermine it, has come to reluctantly rely on it.

Along with the Public Distribution System put in place by an earlier Congress government, it is the mainstay for our poorest and most vulnerable citizens in preventing starvation and destitution wherever implemented in letter and spirit, especially in today’s COVID-19 crisis, it added. Let us not forget that the notification of the MGNREGA in September 2005 as an Act of

Parliament came about because of a people’s movement after years of struggle by civil society, Sonia Gandhi stated in the article. —ANI

Door-to-door...

She further discussed main issues such as widespread coronavirus infection in densely populated urban areas; the importance of house-to-house surveys; prompt testing followed by isolation and clinical management of cases and containment strategies.

“Areas that need constant attention included active house-to-house

survey for timely detection; augmentation of the survey teams; efficient ambulance management; efficient triaging of patients at the hospitals and bed management; clinical management of the hospitalised cases through rotational 24x7 teams to ensure reduction in the fatality rates they were also advised to ensure that the testing results were returned by the labs in time for ensuring early identification and timely treatment,” Sudan said.

She directed the states to take in the containment zones for case

management and buffer zones surveillance activities and promotion of COVID appropriate behaviour and reminded to activate the fever clinics for detection of SARI/ILI cases in the buffer zones. In terms of infrastructure and human resource management for containment of COVID-19, the Health Ministry said proper planning for health infrastructure should be taken up, adequate number of surveillance teams should be provided and a system should be put in place for bed availability management. —ANI

To make dreams into reality one needs consistency and hard work. Keep on working hard consistently and all your dreams will come true.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21

JAIPUR | TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

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08

Real estate dealer succumbs to stab injuries after `5 cr heist After an outstanding Corona performance, murder is a fresh challenge before Jaipur Police Commissioner Anand Srivastav First India Bureau Jaipur: A day after unidentified men stabbed and grievously injured real estate dealer Naresh Krishniya, he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at SMS hospital.

Highly placed sources in the Jaipur Police

reveal that the man was carrying Rs 5 crore in cash which could be the motive behind the incident, however, family members are tight lipped over the matter.

Late on Sunday night, Krishniya was crossing Karni Vihar area when he called up his family members to inform that

Naresh Krishniya

he would be reaching in 15 minutes. The man was returning from Delhi alone in his car laden with cash. It was around then that

the unidentified assailants stopped him on the pretext of asking him the direction to Ajmer city, however, as the man stopped

Raj carries out 25k corona tests in a day Vikas Sharma

Jaipur: The health department under the leadership of Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma has achieved the target set by CM Ashok Gehlot of having a installed capacity of 25,000 corona tests per day in the state. Dr Sharma informed of achieving the feat while congratulating the officials of health department.

Dr Sharma said, “soon the state will also boast of having a corona test facility in every district as desired by the Chief Minister.” Health Minister Sharma calls it a long journey from zero

Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma

test facility on day one to 25,150 tests per day now. He said that though the positive patients in state have increased to 10,696 now but we also have a great recovery rate of 73 per cent as 7,814 patients have recovered so far. He informed that the total number of ac-

tive cases including migrant workers is 2,641.

Dr Sharma said the role played by doctors, nursing staff, para medical staff, hygiene workers, administration, police has been exemplary along with the media who were crucial in spreading the awareness among the masses.

He said it is because of all these factors and the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot that the state has low fatality rate, high recovery rate, less active cases and overall the situation is under control.

ACS Health Rohit K Singh said, “it has been a two-pronged strategy for use. First, aggressive testing and smart contact tracing coupled with quality healthcare of those who test positive.

Second, saving lives through Mission LiSa (Life Saving) by focusing on identification of vulnerable through multiple sources and quick referrals to higher-level care when symptoms appear.”

his car, the men quickly overpowered him and used chill powder to incapacitate him. This is when they probably took out the bag carrying cash, and fled before stabbing him with a sharp weapon.

Meanwhile, severely injured, Krishniya called his family members and informed them of the attack after which they rushed to his aid and alerted the cops too.

Jaipur Commissionerate police say they are exploring call details from all relevant mobile towers as well as the footage from CCTV. The dump data and footage is being studied by cyber team. Cops have not ruled out the possibility of involvement of an insider, a family members or a business partner of the deceased. “Anyone who could have had the information of man’s travel is a potential sus-

pect. Also, if the money has been taken away, the origin of the same is being questioned too which could provide a vital clue in the investigation,” sources said, adding, “Naresh was awaited at the farm house by his family and it is learnt that a few outsiders were also present. We are trying to ascertain who these people were and if they have any connection with the incident.”

After an outstand-

ing Corona performance, this shocking murder case has put up a fresh challenge before a hardcore policeman Police Commissionerate Anand Srivastav. The top cop of Jaipur police has had an impeccable run in solving major crimes and with his years of serving in Jaipur, the experience he has garnered is sure to be a shot in the arm for the Jaipur police.

RS Polls: Guj Congress changes strategy from defence to offence Gargi Raval Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar: It looks like Congress is done playing defence in Gujarat.

It now appears to be moving to a position on the offence, with sequestered MLAs expected to be sent back to work in their respective constituencies in a day or two.

The party had hitherto been worried about its lawmakers being poached by its biggest rival, BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls slated for June 19. As a result, as of Monday, 22 Congress MLAs from the state were holed up in Rajasthan, with several more hidden away in Rajkot and Anand.

There had been ru-

2 MLAS GO HOME

Gujarat MLAs having a conversation at Resort in Rajkot on Sunday.

mours that Congress was planning to take all 65 of its remaining MLAs to Rajasthan to keep them out of BJP reach.

“At present, MLAs are being kept in different groups. The high command has asked lawmakers to go to their respective constituencies and start work.

They will be called for a meeting a few days ahead of the election day,” a highly placed

source told First India.

LoP Paresh Dhanani said that MLAs will be with the people as is required during this health emergency. “Gujarat is among the worst-hit states in terms of COVID-19 pandemic. At this time, as public leaders, we have to be with people. We are raising their issues and giving voice to people’s grievances through the ‘Bolshe Gujarat’ programme,” he

said, adding, “We don’t want to blame anyone, we are focusing on our aim to bring a solution to people’s issue.” He was in Rajkot on Monday and will return to Gandhinagar in a day or two.

‘They ruled for 60 yrs, couldn’t open bank accounts for poor’ Is Thakur replacing Javadekar?

Vaishali New Delhi: The young and dynamic Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur has hit back at Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, on their repeated demands from the Central gov-

Aditi Nagar/ Kartikey Dev Singh Jaipur: It appears that the Congress party’ Rajya Sabha dreams will have to weather ‘Grey clouds’.

For the past several days there had been a speculation that the RS polls could be a stage of upsets due to factionalism in the state polity, and on Monday, the proverbial cat was let out of the bag when a Pilot camp confidante finally claimed of doing ‘something big’ right before the Rajya Sabha election!

While the camp may be claiming otherwise, their ‘path’ to this ‘surprise’ is not devoid of fair share of challenges since the party will issue a whip under which neither will the MLAs be able to cross vote, nor 33 MLAs will

ernment to pay cash directly into the accounts of poor, by saying that though the party stayed in power for six decades, it could not open bank accounts for the poor.

The four time MP stressed that it was the Narendra Modi government that

Anurag Thakur

opened bank accounts for the needy and benefited them with direct fund transfer.

Moreover, Thakur has hit back at Congress’s former President and Gandhi-scion - Rahul, over the latter’s regular comments on slowing economy saying that “they have been do-

ing politics on it. We want to serve the nation and will keep doing so.”

The Minister of State for Finance, Thakur, said that the Modi government has transferred Rs 53,000 crore in the accounts of 43 crore people in less than one and a half months. Starting at the beginning of this month, 20.5 crore women who are Jan Dhan ac-

count holders will get Rs 11,000 crore. “The rest are also getting money in their accounts. For traders and businessmen and their 2.88 lakh units, Rs 18,000 crore has been sanctioned in seven days.

We did what we promised and whatever is needed of us, we will do,” he said.

I n t e r e s t i n g l y, Thakur seems to have

been groomed under the mantle of ‘media addressal’ from his senior colleague Prakash Javadekar, as Thakur’s well gelled hair and clean appearance and his command on the subject and vocabulary have rendered him as quite literally the spokesperson for the finance department at least.

Decoding RS Polls mystery

Pilot: The ‘sole’ center of all political curiosities be able to leave the party and join BJP. Moreover, Pilot’s claim that he will never leave Congress for another party has added more confusion than providing a clear line of work to Pilot camp MLAs; if the rumour mill was spewing the right information.

But amongst those treading the double edged political lines, is the curious case of Deputy Chief Minister and PCC Chief Sachin Pilot.

Only a few leaders could have ever concocted such mystery about their travels as done by Pilot, and this has become a major talking point amongst Congress and media circles. For the past few months, Pi-

Sachin Pilot

lot’s frequent and sudden visits to the national capital have raised curiosity but the covert manner in which, without availing protocol and police escort facility, the young turk travels to Delhi, raises eye brows and concerns too.

Why is it that Pilot needs to be so secretive about his frequent visits? But probably the

Mahesh Joshi

more pertinent question is what is he gaining by hiding his visits?

So this brings yet another question: What exactly is the ‘game plan’ of the dissidents? At least Gehlot camp comes across confident that the dissidents could not do much earlier, nor will they be able to do anything now,

and hence there is nothing to worry about.

However, the camp is extremely cautious of its rival party - BJP and finally putting a stamp on the speculations that the saffron party was trying to break few MLAs in its fold, Chief Whip and Gehlot camp spokesperson Mahesh Joshi

said on Monday, “BJP is trying to break the Congress in Rajasthan, but we will not let them succeed. Congress is united and both our candidates will win. The independents are loyal towards CM Gehlot.”

However, the state intelligence bureau and political sources also have alerted the Chief Minister of certain defections in the MLAs. This development has come about after the bureau learnt of the ‘movements’ of around 8-10 MLAs whose ‘big game’ is to furnish resignations right before the RS election, thereby starting the script that is playing in neighbouring Gujarat. During a meeting with CM Gehlot

on Monday, it is reported that a few MLAs also mentioned the same to him, however, another MLA termed it merely a rumour.

Treading cautiously is the mantra in politics and thus while on one hand a close watch is being kept on BJP’s movements and strategies, on the other hand, two day prior to the election, a meeting of the legislative party of Congress and independents has been called. This meeting, will be more of a formal lunch or dinner, where while the senior leaders will keep an eagle-eye on the MLAs to execute their ‘gameplan’, it would also facilitate in ferrying the MLAs to assembly in a bus, so that no legislator

AHMED PATEL @ahmedpatel Wishing @ArvindKejriwal a very speedy recovery

can break away at the crucial last moment.

This development has come about after a MLA, reportedly told CM Gehlot to organise a feast for Rajasthan MLAs too, claiming that MLAs from MP and Gujarat had tested his hospitality and Rajasthanis were devoid of it. CM smiled, and hence the program was formed of the fest on 17th June.

Interestingly, four independent MLAs, who met Gehlot on Monday, have been asked to stay put in Jaipur. It is believed that a few independents will reach Jaipur on Tuesday morning and meet CM around 11 AM to display their integrity towards the party in RS polls.

So at the end of the day, a ‘discreet and mysterious’ Pilot remains the sole center of all political curiosities.

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JAIPUR, TUESDAY JUNE 9, 2020

TWO OF A KIND

EARRINGS ARE A UNISEXUAL PIECE OF JEWELLERY AND ARE WORN ACROSS DIFFERENT CULTURES AND IN A HUGE VARIETY OF STYLES. TAKE A LOOK HERE!

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

E

arrings are one of the most common jewellery accessory worn by almost all age groups, class and community.

Ear piercing is a definite ritual in the East and most of us have worn the ‘neem ka tinka’ followed by the small gold ‘baali’ which remained till one started secondary classes. All of us like to experiment with our look by changing various earrings, and catching up with the trends. A small change from ‘jhumkas’ to ‘bold contemporary jewellery’ can make one look modern rather than traditional, in a jiffy.

There are so many types of earrings that one can choose from, like the studs, hoops, danglers, statement earrings, clip-on / non-pierced earrings, and so much more- the list could just go on and on. City First talks to a few of its

readers on the ‘swinging world of earrings and their preferences’. Kritika Arora from Jaipur said, “Accessories add an exclamation mark to the outfit. I’m more inclined towards Indian wear, but western earrings are so versatile, that they go extremely well with Indian wear as well. So, try and give a modern Indian outfit a western touch, with fancy earrings and fall in love with your look.”

“Western earrings match with all kinds of outfits and one is spoiled for choice when it comes to them. For instance, diamond studs are very popular. Also, hoop earrings go really well with kurtis and formals too. I love them because they look classic yet not too jazzy,” mentioned Shadab Nasir from Ahmedabad.

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JAIPUR | TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

10

TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T COOK DURING THE LOCKDOWN

self in a lockdown took me almost a day and the time invested to prepare was of two regular lunches. Unfortunately, the pooris were a flop, and the rest of the things that were prepared alongside were recycled and fed to him with different names like aloo ki sabzi, Kairi ka Panna, and mini kachori. It was as unjoyfully consumed as prepared. For me, it was a lot of effort gone in vain to prepare something available in abundance otherwise in every corner of Indian streets. Meanwhile, my husband announced three more feeds from people who had accomplished the task.

Being unable to do a task that the whole world could so effortlessly start to make me feel both insecure and ashamed.

After this incident I found myself engaging in painful comparisons with other women who seem to be cooking better than me. I got sucked in the loop of “scroll and compare” for no reason and I felt deeply irritated about this idiosyncrasy. I wanted to shout out loud “Yes, I see you, my social culinary friends, I am jealous of you and perceive you as a threat! The crux of the matter here was my ego. It was not being not able to prove myself at a place where everybody else can.

The whole incident gave me a thought to ponder about my own social media postings that were mostly about my travel, writing, parenting and reading. Perhaps it can be horrifically irritating to many of my friends who were able to barely get through the

SHALBHA SARDA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

T

on social media. Besides the corona statistics posting a picture of food became everyone’s new thing, they chose to focus on, obsess over, and spiral about!

I am mostly immune to food jealousy on social media until people started to make paani puris from scratch. The paani poori virus seemed to be much stronger than the Dalagona coffee virus and its picture flooded the statuses and stories in no time. Now my significant other who rarely asked me to delve into cooking adventure couldn’t resist and dragged me into the competition.

Collecting the ingredient it-

FA CE OF TH ED AY

he lockdown is easing off and many women including myself have started to worry. Before the world changed we were the queens of Zomato and Swiggy. Cooking wasn’t something that had ever excited us and even when the entire world was posting pictures of Michelin 3 star meals prepared at home our statuses remained quo. Needless to say, we will have to face the world without a single post of food on social media.

This particular pandemic was unique in its way. Staying indoors and looking inwards was a hugely speculated propaganda.

And when people looked inwards some found painters, yogis, writers but a majority found a chef within. Not only way more people were capable of cooking fancy meals for themselves but a significant number who barely managed daal roti otherwise started to get influenced by their culinary friends. Soon my secret-chef friends that were lurking sleepily in the shadows came out of the woodwork. They cooked Thai, Lebanese, Mexican, and even bread from scratch.

Before the food was being fed there was often an elaborate and perfect plate display of the meal

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Some of you can expect the promotion at work and for the others work security is guaranteed.

You have started following a discipline routine and this will keep you healthy. Office related tensions will ease down and thing will go in your favour.

You need a change in your diet to make you feel more energetic and healthy. You are in search of financial security and you will get it no matter what the current situations are.

People at work idiocies you for your hard work and professionalism, keep motivating others.

A good day for business and liaison work. You must do all you can to conserve money for the future. You will overcome any discomfort in health and personal issues. You must start trusting others and help them In growing by giving them responsibilities on work front.

You have lot of money in your account to keep you going in future. On professional front this is the time when you need someone’s support for sustainability therefore don’t let go of any help that you can get. Do not take your health for granted specially during these times.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You have a good money in account to start something new so without wasting anytime just keep forging ahead. You must work out everyday for a fit body and mind. Your strategies on business front will bring good profits and no matter how tough the time is, you will only grow.

You have a great health and this is not gifted rather you have worked very hard to get here. Today you can expect an excellent news related to your finances. People appreciate your sincerity and talks good about you even behind your back. You will get close to a friend.

You must not refrain from bargaining as doing so can help you to save a lot.

Efforts never go in waste therefore keep improving and challenging yourself on your fitness regime. Your seniors consider to you to be very important for the company therefore live up to the image.

You may have to showcase your skills in front of many people ( even if digitally ) to succeed in Your endeavours. You have a high level of physical fitness and your challenge yourself everyday to become the best version of yourself. A younger child in family will make you proud.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You are a free bird and you do as you please. You can expect a raise in salary but having a job at these times is also something you must be grateful for. On professional front, you have a promising career ahead of you. And elder in family may come to your rescue, at the time of need.

Money is flowing into your life right now to boost your financial stability, all you need to do is it to invest and save it in the beat way for future benefits. You kids obey you and they value your opinions and suggestions.

A new diet regime can prove to be extremely helpful.

You are famous in your social circle and it is because of the nature of reaching out people. You are someone who hold the hands for both the good and the bad time. On professional work, you may find yourself under burden of work. You love self-improvements.

You are going to make profits in everything today.

You have a budget and you never mess with it and this quality is what made you rich. Health is wealth therefore eat good and keep focusing on getting good results as far as health of concerned.

You will acquire the impossible.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

KRITIKA KHURANA, Blogger

day with other things going on in their life.

Deep down I think we’re all a little insecure. And with talks of enlightenment and reinventing during this lockdown we became desperate to prove it to the world that we are very much on our way. Consequently, we started posting pictures of reading, painting, singing, meditating, and exercising. We had to introduce our newly invented self to the world! But cooking here was a clear winner because it wasn’t an optional activity, to begin with. Moreover, with restaurants and delivery options closed, we had to tweak the meals. And while we are at it some work on the presentation and we are all Insta- set!

Instagram doesn’t let us question the details nor does it show the non-glamorous side of the story. All appears to be all fair and square within that frame.

We all might have different priorities and we chose different ways of showing our self-improved version. As much as I support all my friends on their journey of becoming both influencers on social media and aatmanirbhar in daily life, the ones who are not doing the particular trending activity should not take it too personally. More likely than not you must have found your social passion elsewhere.

There must be numerous posts from your account already to testify it and there are billions of not cooking people you have the viewership of. The world is large enough for everyone after all!

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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JAIPUR | TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

11

NATIONAL CANCER SURVIVORS DAY O

... her post

n ‘National Cancer Survivor Day’, writer-director and cancer survivor, Tahira Kashyap has penned a powerful poem titled ‘Scars’ to encourage cancer survivors to proudly show off their scars, which represent ‘indomitable spirit that can’t be crushed by any fright’.

Kashyap has always been vocal about her fight against cancer and has stood as a strong personality inspiring all the brave souls fighting a battle with cancer. On Sunday, the diva shared her poem on Instagram that sends out the message of

never to hide one’s scars, for it shows the strength, the fight, the power one hold during the battle.

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana’s wife shared a video with the backdrop of her one widely lauded picture, flaunting her scars and read out her poem as the voiceover.

“Some scars are deep, some within, some are seen while some are hidden. The thing about scars is, it reminds you of the past, the moments of suffering that you thought would forever last,” she read out the poem.

She noted that there are more to these scars, for it talks about the

“fight, resilience, and your invincible power.”

Through her poem, Kashyap, motivated people to show and flaunt their scars, which she dubbed as the “badge of honour...your prize.”

“So hear me one last time, fall in love with your self, all with dust, scar, and grime. For that’s what makes you, You, faulty, imperfect, blemished but all true!” the writer concluded.

Many of her fans and actors including Dia Mirza, Yami Gautam, and others showered love and appreciation for her poetry.

Tahira was diagnosed with early signs of breast

cancer in September, 2018 and since then has been significantly putting all her efforts to spread awareness and laud those who have been bravely battling the disease.

—ANI

Tahira Kashyap

‘THALAIVI’ TO RELEASE FIRST

Battle against

SYSTEM

L

ike many other celebrities, Jennifer Aniston has also come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and has donated USD 1 million to several Racial Justice Charities after George Floyd’s death. The ‘Murder Mystery’ actress has stood against police brutality and racial injustice ever since the protests started raging across US after George Floyd died on May 25 in Minneapolis.

As per reports, Jennifer Aniston has quietly donated to several charity organisations including Colors Of Change. A source told the portal that the actress has spread out her charitable donations to several “worthy organizations” dedicated to the battle against systemic racism and discrimination. She has advanced almost USD 1 Million to different charities for the same purpose.

Time and again, Jennifer Aniston has also expressed her disappointment over racial injustice on social media as well.

—Agency

Javed Akhtar

PROUD SON

A

Poster of the film

T

Kangana Ranaut

erming all news reports claiming Kangana Ranaut starrer ‘Thalaivi’ to premiere on OTT platforms as “false,” film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh on Monday said that the film will get a theatrical release first.

The film critic took to social media to put an end to speculations of the online release of the film which is the biopic of the political stalwart J Jayalalithaa. “IMPORTANT...

News that #Thalaivi - #Jayalalithaa biopic - will premiere on #OTT is FALSE...

Will release in theatres first...

Digital release to follow *after* theatrical release... #Thalaivi

stars #KanganaRanaut,” tweeted Adarsh.

News articles stating the film being sold to online video streaming platforms Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have been doing rounds for a couple of days.

‘Thalaivi’ is being helmed by AL Vijay and has been written by ‘Baahubali’ and ‘Manikarnika’ writer KV Vijayendra Prasad and ‘The Dirty Picture’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai’ writer Rajat Arora.

The movie was scheduled to hit theatres on June 26, 2020, but would not be able to see the light of the day owing to the shuttering of movie halls due to coronavirus outbreak in the country.

—ANI

ctor-director Farhan Akhtar is proud of his poet father Javed Akhtar becoming the first Indian to bag the Richard Dawkins Award.

The ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ actor took to Instagram to post his father’s picture and penned a note in the caption. “Congratulations pa.. for being the first Indian to receive the Richard Dawkins Award for critical thinking and advancing humanist values,” Farhan wrote in the caption.

“You absolutely and unequivocally deserve it. So so proud,” his caption further read. Bollywood writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar has become the first Indian to win the award, which is named after English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. It has been presented since 2003. The veteran lyricist and screenwriter also has five National Awards for Best Lyricist to his name as well as the Sahitya Akademi Award.

—ANI

Farhan Akhtar

DISCUSSING SOCIAL THEME

K

Jennifer Aniston

... her post

ourtney Kardashian said she wanted to be a better mother and teach her kids about racism, white privilege and black history. Amid civil unrest that has flared in the US cities after the death of George Floyd, the Keeping up With The Kardashian star shared a lengthy Instagram post discussing her responsibility as a mother and educate her children about racial issues. The mother of three -Mason (10), Penelope (7) and Reign (5) – said she wants to learn more and openly discuss the social theme with her kids.

In the post, the 41-year-old shared a picture with her eldest son Mason and wrote, “As a mother, there is a natural instinct to protect my children from anything that might make them feel sad or unsafe. The pain and suffering inflicted by racism is not a thing of the past and I bare the responsibility to speak with my kids honestly and often about it, even when the truth is uncomfortable.” She also stated she wants her kids to comfortably address this issue with her.

—Agency

Kourtney Kardashian

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JAIPUR | TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

12

CORONA KE SAATH HI HAI JEENA: A FEW PICTURES OF MALLS IN THE CITY TODAY! —PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

SAFETY FIRST!

FACEBOOK POST!

HAPPY B’DAY!

The Fashion Connect Season 7 by First India will take place once everything is normal, and City First brings to you what a few members of the team have to say about it!

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

O

nce the global pandemic starts to settle down and there is a green signal from the government, The Fashion Connect Season 7 by First India will take place with all the necessary precautions. The set-up will be done keeping social distancing in mind, and designer masks will be provided to everyone who would be a part of the event. Since the show was cancelled about just a week before the national lockdown, everything has been kept prepared, and there’s just that one signal that awaits the most happening fashion show in Rajasthan.

City First got in touch with a few of them from the team of The Fashion Connect Season 7’, and this is what they have to say:

I still feel I am dreaming. Never knew something like this would happen to all of us. We postponed the show only a week before its date, and I think it was a very wise step to take. I’m lucky, I have a great team. We are one family, one big team, and the kind of trust and faith people have in us is overwhelming. We will take a call at the end of June, as to when we are planning the Season 7.

—RISHI MIGLANI, Brand Ambassador

Fashion Connect is really close to my heart, and I don’t consider it like just another show I would do on a regular basis. I really hope everything comes back to normal, and I’ve just been planning during this duration on what new and amazing things could be introduced in the coming season of Fashion Connect!

—LOKESH SHARMA, Show Director

We have always been guided by the idea of making every moment precious. On the business front, we had been doing a lot of R&D work, developing new jewellery designs and preparing ourselves for the changing market scenario that would follow post this lockdown. We are focusing on ‘online retail’ as of now, as we think this is the way forward.

—NEERU, LALIT AND SUMAN, House of 64 Facets I believe this pandemic has been a major set back for the designers.

Honestly, it has taught us a lot. I have never been so relaxed and stress-free with no pressure on my mind whatsoever. I have spent some amazing time with the family, but further, the work issues have to be dealt with a lot of commitment and dedication.

—HANEET SINGH, Fashion Designer

IAS Dr Saumya Jha celebrated her birthday on 8 June, Monday. We wish her all the best!

Vaibhav Gehlot

For Better Future!

CITY FIRST

I

t is said that the strong foundation of the country is formed by education. To illustrate this saying, Pankaj Mishra, a lecturer in physics at Jaipur’s government school Manak Chowk, is teaching the government school students

with passion and diligence. He has actively motivated his students for their betterment.

As a result of Mishra’s efforts, 3 students got full marks (100%) in the board examination in physics last year, while 45 students scored more than 75%, 12 students got more than 90%,

and 5 students got 95% marks. Furthering his initiative, Mishra started a YouTube channel with over 3,400 subscribers during the lockdown to teach the students free of cost.

The students are also showing interest and actively participating in online classes. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AHM! This is the hazardous time that we all go through it. In this scenario, we are supporting needy people with money, food, etc. And we are in contact regularly with our employees and workers for asking them their problems. We are also planning on how to overcome the problems of our workers in the future.

—AYUSH & SHIVANI SONI, Fashion Designers

GUJARAT: A new experiment has recently been launched by doctors at Shalby Hospital in Ahmedabad, to help people stay mentally healthy.

Patients are being encouraged to try their hands at doing the Garba, a traditional dance, in order to heal better.

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

UTTAR PRADESH: On the instructions of Priyanka Gandhi, National General Secretary, AICC, a ‘Seva Satyagraha’ program is being conducted all over Uttar Pradesh, for the release of President of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, Ajay Kumar Lallu. During this campaign, National Secretary, AICC, Vivek Bansal, along with party workers organised a mass signature campaign at Dharampur Courtyard on Maris Road, Aligarh, where they addressed the people present on the occasion and encouraged them to sign.

RAJASTHAN: As a part of Jawahar Kala Kendra’s (JKK) ongoing ‘Online Learning – Children’s Summer Festival, art enthusiasts enjoyed a visual arts session on ‘Watercolour Painting’ by artist, Ram Jaiswal.

The session was aimed at artists of all skill levels who wished to explore and learn the various techniques of water colouring. Following this, a visual art online learning session was held on ‘Pichhwai’ by artist, Dinesh Soni.

RAJASTHAN: Amidst the lockdown across the country, the public kitchen ran by the Sanjay Colony Development Committee concluded its 70 days journey of providing food to poor and helpless people. During the program, Cabinet Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyavas, MLA Rafiq Khan, Acharya Balmukundacharya of Hatoj Dham, Chairman of High Court Bar President Mahendra Shandilya and Dr Sunil Sharma honoured Jaipur City District Congress Committee General Secretary, Alok Pareek with an award for his noble cause.