First india ahmedabad edition-23 july 2020

CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 238
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
2,229
DEATHS
51,485
CONFIRMED CASES
KARNATAKA
1,519 DEATHS 75,833 CASES
RAJASTHAN
583 DEATHS 32,334 CASES
WORLD
6,22,492
DEATHS
1,52,20,439
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
12,38,464
CONFIRMED CASES
29,894
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
12,556 DEATHS 3,37,607 CASES
DELHI
3,719 DEATHS 1,26,323 CASES
TAMIL NADU
3,144 DEATHS 1,86,492 CASES
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot/Gandhinagar:
As many as 8,500 self-
financedschoolswillno
longer conduct “online
teaching, zoom meet-
ings, online tests, etc.”
according to messages
being sent out to par-
ents on social media.
The decision to sus-
pend all educational
activities was taken at
a meeting of the
SwanirbharShalaSan-
chalak Mandal—the
association of self-fi-
nancedschools—hours
after the education de-
partment issued a cir-
cular barring self-fi-
nanced schools from
collecting any fees un-
til they reopen physi-
cally. School authori-
ties said the govern-
ment’s directive made
it practically impossi-
ble to run schools since
they depended on the
income from fees.
There are around
15,000 self-financed
schools in Gujarat, of
which around 8,500
schools have been con-
ducting some form of
online classes or the
other to 30 lakh stu-
dents since schools
were shut in March,
due to the COVID-19
pandemic. Schools and
colleges are expected to
remain closed at least
until mid-August.
Issued by the Under
Secretary of the Edu-
cation Department, S
B Karad, the circular
also pulled up schools
that have cut teach-
ers’ salaries by 40-
50%, calling the move
“unacceptable”.
“This is a time when
everyone should extend
support to each other.
Educationisnotforprof-
it booking but is a ser-
vice to society,” it said.
The Mandal’s knee-
jerk reaction will not
just affect students but
also the state’s eight
lakh teachers and
roughly two lakh non-
teaching staff. Already,
hundreds have been ei-
ther laid off or forced to
take a cut in pay.
Speaking to First In-
dia, Mandal president
Bharat Gajipara, who
also runs Sarvodaya
school in Rajkot, said,
“The notification es-
sentially says online
education is now ille-
gal and that we cannot
charge fees till the
schools physically re-
open. Turn on P6
Not allowed to collect fees, 8.5K schools to stop online classes
CORONAVIRUS IMPACT
Move comes in response to
education department circular
issued on Wednesday
New Delhi: It seems
that the People’s Libera-
tion Army (PLA) is not
in a mood to de-escalate
the situation on the Line
of Actual Control (LAC)
as it has continued de-
ployment of around
40,000 troops in its front
and depth areas for the
Eastern Ladakh sector.
Chinese are also not
honouring their com-
mitment for disengage-
ment at the friction
points in Eastern
Ladakh and not moving
back as per the agreed
terms during the multi-
pleroundsof talksatthe
government and Army
level and intervention at
the senior level like the
onedonebytheNational
Security Advisor couple
of weeks ago would be
required for further pro-
gress, the sources said.
Disengagement pro-
cess has also not made
any progress since the
last round of talks be-
tween two Corps Com-
manders held last week
and ground positions
havealsonotchanged,the
sources said.
Rajiv Gaur
Jodhpur: The Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED)
on Wednesday conduct-
ed raids at the proper-
ties of Agrasen Gehlot,
the elder brother of Ra-
jasthan Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot, in con-
nection with the ferti-
lizer scam.
Agrasen Gehlot is the
owner of a company
named Anupam Krishi,
on which the Customs
department has levied a
penalty of Rs 7 crore for
alleged violations of
rules in exports. The ED
also conducted searches
at six places in Ra-
jasthan, four in Gujarat,
two in West Bengal, and
one in New Delhi in con-
nection with the scam,
sources said.
First India had al-
ready reported on
Wednesday about CM
camp’s apprehensions
regarding his kin be-
ing troubled through
raids.
According to ED
sources, the company
run by Agrasain had
sold the subsidised fer-
tiliser “muriate of pot-
ash” or MoP to compa-
nies, who then exported
it while it is banned for
exports. Indian Potash
Ltd is the authorised
importer of MoP and
the chemical is distrib-
uted to farmers at subsi-
dised rates.
Between 2007 and
2009, Agrasain’s firm
Anupam Krishi, which
was an authorised deal-
er of Indian Potash Ltd,
bought MoP at subsi-
dised rates and instead
of distributing it to
farmers, the company
allegedly sold it to a few
others who in turn ex-
ported it to Malaysia
and Singapore in the
guise of “industrial
salt”, investigators said.
The ED officers were as-
sisted by Central Re-
serve Police Force or
CRPF personnel, who
were seen standing
guard at the farmhouse
and home of the Gehlots
in Jodhpur. Meanwhile
in another develop-
met ED summons Ra-
tan Kant Sharma and
others over IT raids
issue. —PTI
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Wednesday congratu-
lated Indian nuclear
scientists for achieving
criticality of Kakrapar
Atomic Power Plant-3.
Taking to Twitter, the
Prime Minister said
that the indigenously
designed reactor is an
example of “Make in In-
dia”. “Congratulations
to our nuclear scientists
for achieving criticality
of Kakrapar Atomic
Power Plant-3! This in-
digenously designed 700
MWe KAPP-3 reactor is
a shining example of
Make in India. And a
trailblazer for many
such future achieve-
ments!” he tweeted.
Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah too laud-
ed the Indian scientists
as Kakrapar Atomic
Power Plant-3 achieved
criticality. He also said
that a new India is
marching ahead to real-
ise PM Modi’s vision of
Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Taking to Twitter
Shah wrote, “Big Day in
India’s Nuclear history
Turn on P6
‘Kakrapar N Plant a trailblazer
for many future achievements’
FACTFILE
 A nuclear reactor
reaches ‘criticality’,
when it is ready for on-
going nuclear reaction
or fission that gener-
ates energy.
 Kakrapar is part of
India’s pressurized
heavy water reactor
portfolio. Of India’s 22
commercial nuclear
power reactors with
an installed capacity
of 6,780MW, there are
14 units of 220MW
PHWRs each, making
it one of the largest
fleets of such reactors.
CP: MOVING SC TO AVERT
‘CONSTITUTIONALIMPASSE’
l Assembly Speaker CP Joshi moves SC against HC order to defer
disqualification proceedings till Friday l SC to hear plea today
l Pilot files caveat in SC to ensure no orders are passed on CP’s plea
Nizam Kantaliya
Jaipur: The Supreme
Court would on Thurs-
day hear a plea of Ra-
jasthan Assembly
Speaker CP Joshi
against the high court
order restraining him
till July 24 from con-
ducting disqualification
proceedings against 19
dissident Congress
MLAs, including sacked
deputy chief minister
Sachin Pilot.
As per the list of
business uploaded on
the Supreme Court web-
site for July 23, a bench
of Justices Arun
Mishra, B R Gavai and
Krishna Murari would
hear the plea.
A bench headed by
Chief Justice S A Bobde
later told Congress lead-
er and senior advocate
Kapil Sibal, who was ap-
pearing in another mat-
ter, to raise the issue of
urgent listing before the
apex court’s registry.
All eyes on SC as it hears Joshi plea today
ED raid on properties of Gehlot’s
brother, in fertilizer scam
#RAJASTHANPOLITICALCRISIS
Sachin Pilot on Wednesday filed a caveat in SC to ensure that no orders are passed
on Speaker CP Joshi’s petition against HC interim orders without hearing Pilot and his
supporting MLAs. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Pilot Group also filed an application
in the Rajasthan High Court requesting that Government of India be made a party in
the entire matter. Advocates S Hariharan and Divyesh Maheshwari on behalf of the
petitioner PR Meena and others have said in the application that the petition challenged
the constitutionality of 2.1.A of Schedule 10 of the Indian Constitution and so GoI is an
essential party. In such a situation, the Government of India should be made a party via
Secretary, Law and Justice Department.
ED on Wednesday conducted raids at properties of (R) Agrasen
Gehlot, elder brother of CM Ashok Gehlot.
Assembly Speaker CP Joshi speaking to media in Jaipur on Wednesday.
‘China still deploying
troops on Ladakh’
India contributing through call
of Atmanirbhar Bharat: PM
New Delhi: India is
contributing towards a
prosperous and resil-
ient world through its
‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’
programme (self-reli-
ant India) and is keen
on participation by the
United States in the ini-
tiative, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said on
Wednesday.
In his address at the
India Ideas Summit or-
ganised by US-India
Business Council
(USIBC), the Prime Min-
ister said there is global
optimism towards India
asitoffersaperfectcom-
bination of openness,
opportunities and op-
tions. “India is contrib-
uting towards a prosper-
ous and resilient world
through the clarion call
of an ‘Atmanirbhar
Bharat’. And, for that,
we await your partner-
ship,” he said.
“Today, there is glob-
al optimism towards
India. This is because
India offers a perfect
combination of open-
ness, opportunities and
options. Let me elabo-
rate. India celebrates
openness in people and
in governance,” he add-
ed. PM noted that the
approach to the future
must primarily be more
human-centric.
“We all agree that the
world is in need of a bet-
ter future. It is all of us
who have to collectively
give shape to the future.
Turn on P6
PM Narendra Modi & HM Amit Shah
Yogesh Sharma
Jaipur: Rajasthan As-
sembly Speaker Dr CP
Joshi moved the Su-
premeCourtonWednes-
day against the Ra-
jasthan High Court or-
der restraining him till
July 24 from conducting
disqualification pro-
ceedings against 19 dis-
sident Congress MLAs,
includingsackeddeputy
chief minister Sachin
Pilot, saying the “judici-
ary was never expected”
tointerveneinsuchmat-
ters resulting in “consti-
tutional impasse”.
Seeking an interim
stay on the High Court’s
July 21 order, the plea
said it was the duty of
the top court to ensure
that all constitutional
authorities exercise
their jurisdiction with-
in the boundaries and
respect their respective
lakshman rekha as en-
visaged by the Consti-
tution itself. Turn on P6
—PHOTOBYSUMANSARKAR
PILOT FILES CAVEAT IN SC
—FILEPHOTO

NEWSAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: Five
months after the ten-
der for the Bhadbhut
barrage project was
floated in November
2019, the estimated
cost of the embank-
ment has risen 1.5
times than the origi-
nal markup. The in-
vestment needed for
the project was Rs
2,767 crore in Novem-
ber last year. But,
when the Narmada
and Water Resources,
Water Supply and
Kalpsar Department
did not receive any
bids for the tender, it
invited fresh bids in
March 2020, and the
estimated cost was put
at Rs4,245.19 crore.
Bharuch MLA Dushy-
ant Patel announced on
Wednesdaythatthestate
had finalized the bidder
for the project and the
contract had been
awarded to Dilip Build-
con. The company is be-
lieved to have been the
lowest bidder in the ten-
dering process with a
quoteof Rs4,167.70crore,
completion period of 48
months and mainte-
nanceperiodof 10years.
Under this project, the
state plans to construct a
damacrosstheNarmada
River near Bhadbhut vil-
lage. The role of flood
protectionembankments
will also stop high tide
from increasing salinity
in the Narmada bed.
“As per the design
of the project, 90 ver-
tical lift gates of size
15.50m by 10.50m, fish
pass, navigation lock,
bridges and approach
roads across the Nar-
mada River near
Bhadbhut village are
to be constructed by
the bidder,” said an of-
ficer of the Kalpsar
department.
The officer added that
the project holds impor-
tanceastheexcesswater
of the Narmada River’s
flowing into the Gulf of
Cambay (Khambhat)
will be diverted into the
Kalpsar, a proposed
sweet water lake. The
state government plans
to build a dam in the
Gulf of Khambhat be-
tween Bhavnagar and
Bharuch,whichwillcre-
ate a sweet water lake.
The Bhadbhut Dam will
playanimportantrolein
diverting Narmada’s
sweet water into the pro-
posed lake, which will
also have a canal. The
lengthof thedamwillbe
1.663km.
In 2017, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi had laid down
the foundation stone
of the Bhadbhut pro-
ject. A few of the oth-
er benefits of the pro-
ject include reduc-
tion in salinity in-
gress in the Narmada
river bank, since the
salinity ingress has
reached up to 70km
in the river. The in-
gress usually occurs
due to high tide in the
Gulf of Cambay. The
nearest barrages
have been construct-
ed 125km down-
stream at the Sardar
Sarovar Dam.
The barrage will cre-
ate a reservoir of pota-
ble water with a capaci-
ty of around 599 million
cubic metre. This reser-
voir will fulfil the water
requirements of the
Bharuch taluka, indus-
trial units of Dahej, and
other GIDCs of Ankle-
shwar and Bharuch. It
willalsoreducedistance
between Dahej and Haz-
ira, which take hours to
commute through na-
tional and state high-
ways. But, with the de-
velopment of the dam,
distance between the
two towns will be re-
duced to just 18km.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupa-
ni’s visit to Governor
Acharya Devvrat af-
ter Wednesday’s cabi-
net meeting has trig-
gered speculation
that a cabinet reshuf-
fle—and even a
change of guard—
could be in the offing.
A concurrent visit by
Education Minister
Bhupendrasinh Chu-
dasama, Water Re-
source Minister Kun-
varji Bavaliya and
Minister of State for
Home Pradipsinh
Jadeja to Deputy
Chief Minister Nitin
Patel in the latter’s
chambers fuelled
these speculations
even further.
Some sources said
that the ministers had
gone to meet Patel to of-
fer clarifications on cer-
tain issues, others
pointed out that a num-
ber of MLAs have com-
plained to the Chief
Minister against Patel’s
style of functioning.
Even an official clari-
fication from the chief
minister’s office—
which stated that Ru-
pani’s visit was a sched-
uled one, since the gov-
ernor completed one
year in office on
Wednesday—did noth-
ing to quell the ru-
mours.
While it may not
happen tomorrow, a
reshuffle is definitely
coming: either before
the by-elections or af-
ter the results—if for
no other reason than
to accommodate Jitu
Vaghani, who handed
over the reins of the
BJP’s state unit to CR
Patil on Tuesday. As
sources point out, the
precedent in the par-
ty is to either accom-
modate past state
unit presidents in the
state cabinet or ele-
vate them to the na-
tional level of the or-
ganization.
There have been
murmurs within the
party that the state
unit is likely to drop
a few cabinet minis-
ters whose perfor-
mance has not been
satisfactory. Agricul-
ture minister RC
Faldu and social jus-
tice minister Ish-
warbhai Parmar are
on this list. Similarly,
there are those seen
as “good performers”
within the party, in-
cluding Minister of
State for Home Prad-
ipsinh Jadeja, who
would be promoted to
the cabinet. Even one
or two elected MLAs
could be included in
the cabinet if the re-
shuffle takes place
after the by-elections.
The final say on any
reshuffle or change of
guard will have to come
from Prime Minister
Narendra Modi after
consultation with Un-
ion Home Minister
Amit Shah and UP gov-
ernor Anandiben Patel,
sources also said.
CM’s visit to Guv triggers speculation about cabinet reshuffle
WINDS OF CHANGE
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. —FILE PHOTO
BHADBHUT PROJECT
ThedamonNarmadaRiverwillbebuiltbyDilipBuildconatanestimatedinvestmentofRs4,168crore
COST ESCALATES 1.5 TIMES IN 5 MONTHS
Govt employees
being misguided
into agitating for
pay hike: DyCM
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Af-
ter the state gov-
ernment decided to
restore the pay
grade of primary
teachers employed
at government
schools across the
state, following
their footsteps, on-
line agitations de-
manding a pay hike
were initiated by
employees of vari-
ous departments
such as the police,
panchayat health
department and
health workers.
The uproar of gov-
ernment employees
left the state gov-
ernment in a fix,
which was followed
by a response by
Deputy Chief Min-
ister Nitin Patel on
Wednesday. Ad-
dressing the media,
Patel stated that
people with vested
interests and mem-
bers of opposition
parties were trying
to mislead govern-
ment employees to
create an environ-
ment of unrest.
Putting forth a
clarification regard-
ing the status of the
pay grade of primary
school teachers, Pa-
tel said, “There has
been no increase in
the pay grade of the
primary teachers.
The previous pay
grade which had
been reduced has
just been restored by
the government. Pay
grades are not fixed
by the government,
but are subject to rec-
ommendations of
the State Finance
Commission. The
changes made in the
pay grade will come
into force only after
the Eighth Finance
Commission is con-
stituted and makes
its recommenda-
tion.”
Quashing all
misinfor mation
regarding the is-
sue, Patel added,
“People have mis-
interpreted the
state government’s
decision and have
been misleading
other cadres. The
state is currently
facing a very se-
vere COVID-19
health crisis, along
with a major fi-
nancial crunch.
And yet, it has
managed to pay
salaries and pen-
sions to govern-
ment employees on
time. It is a diffi-
cult time for the
economy, with the
state revenue drop-
ping and increased
expenditure in the
health sector. But
the state has been
bearing all expens-
es incurred on pa-
tients in govern-
ment hospitals as
well as private hos-
pitals designated
for COVID-19.”
 Even an official note from the CMO—that the
visit was a scheduled one—did not quell rumours
Plans for the dam, and its location on a map.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. —FILE PHOTO

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: The
newly appointed
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty (BJP) state unit
president CR Patil
conducted a meeting
with party observers
to assess the on-
ground situation of
the eight State Legis-
lative Assembly seats
up for by-elections.
Patil will be looking
to finalize eight vice-
presidents, five gen-
eral secretaries, nine
secretaries, a state co-
ordinator, treasurer
and spokesperson.
However, a simultane-
ous state cabinet meet-
ing meant not all minis-
ters could not partici-
pate in Patil’s meeting.
The party had ap-
pointed two observers,
one from the state cabi-
net and one from the
party, for each constitu-
ency. A few senior lead-
ers had promised turn-
coats Pradhyumansinh
Jadeja from Abdasa,
Brijesh Merja from Mor-
bi, JV Kakadia from
Dhari, Akshay Patel
fromKarjan,JituChaud-
hary from Kaprada and
Mangalbhai Gavit from
Dang that they would be
fielded as party candi-
dates in the impending
by-elections. But, when
it comes to the Gadhada
constituency, the party
seems set on fielding its
own leader Atmaram
Parmar. This is because
former Congress leader
Pravin Maru has not
joined the BJP yet, nei-
ther does he seem to be
interested in contesting
the by-polls. As for the
Limbdi constituency,
turncoat Somabhai Pa-
tel has been persistent
in his efforts to ensure
that either he or his son
is fielded as a BJP can-
didate. But, the party
may play it safe and
field its old guard Kirit-
sinh Rana.
Patil along with other
senior leaders will have
to take a call on the Gad-
hada and Limbdi con-
stituencies, if promises
made on behalf of the
party are to be kept.
It will be interesting
to see how Patil assess-
es the ground report of
district-level party lead-
ers and deals with any
dissent within the party
on the choice of candi-
dates for the by-polls.
But, for now, the bigger
challenge remains the
selection of his team
with guided consulta-
tions of Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
and Uttar Pradesh Gov-
ernor and former Chief
Minister of Gujarat
Anandiben Patel. He
will also have to strike a
balance between re-
gional popularity and
caste while making ap-
pointments.
CR Patil hits the ground running to take stock of by-poll constituencies
FLYING START
 Party needs to finalize 8 VPs, 5
general secretaries, 9 secretaries, a state
coordinator, treasurer & spokesperson
BJP state unit chief CR Patil. —FILE PHOTO
Activecasesnow12Kas
Gujsees‘triple-record’day
Four designated COVID-19
hospitals delisted by AMC
1,020 more cases and 28 deaths bring state’s total tally to 51,485 and death toll to 2,229
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: The
state recorded three
highs in a single day-
reported 1,020 COV-
ID-19 cases for the sec-
ond consecutive day,
tested highest number
of samples (14,024)
and touched the 12K
milestone in active
cases by clocking
12,016 cases on
Wednesday. Since the
state has not been suc-
cessful in breaking
the chain of transmis-
sion, after medical
students, Chief Minis-
ter Vijay Rupani has
now appealed to mem-
bers of the Indian
Medical Association
(IMA) to actively join
treatment efforts of
COVID-19 patients.
In a video conference
with doctors associated
with the IMA, Rupani
personally requested all
memberstoextendtheir
services in attending to
COVID-19 patients.
In all, 30 districts of
the state and eight mu-
nicipal corporations re-
ported 1,020 cases, of
which, 256 were Surat.
Of these, over 201 cases
were from the city while
55 emerged from rural
areas. Over 28 patients
succumbed to the virus
in the district.
With COVID-19 cases
rapidly emerging in the
city, Surat Municipal
Corporation(SMC)Com-
missioner Banchhani-
dhi Pani held a meeting
with chairmen and sec-
retaries of residential
societiesandaskedthem
to ensure that asympto-
matic Sars-CoV-2 pa-
tients under home quar-
antine do not venture
out of their homes. Pani
warned that such care-
lessnessmayprovedead-
ly for others.
Meanwhile, the
transmission of nCov
seems to have picked
up in Vadodara dis-
trict. It reported 80
cases on Wednesday, of
which 62 were from the
city and 18 from rural
areas. Also, the securi-
ty detail of Vadodara
Police Commissioner
Anupam Singh Gahl-
aut and five other po-
lice personnel tested
positive for the virus.
In Ahmedabad, there
was only one death re-
ported but, since sus-
pected COVID-19 and
co-morbid patients are
not counted as nCov
deaths, the actual num-
ber may have been high-
er. Further, local resi-
dents near the Vasna
Crematorium opposed
the cremation of COV-
ID-19 patients.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In the
wake of glaring
transgressions com-
mitted by four desig-
nated COVID-19 hos-
pitals in the city, the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) has decided to
remove them from its
service. After a penal
inquiry report was
submitted to the civic
body, it took swift ac-
tion to withdraw the
designation of the
concerned hospitals
with immediate ef-
fect on Wednesday.
Earlier, AMC had
inked a Memorandum
of Understanding
(MOU) with more than
50 private hospitals
across the city for treat-
ment of COVID-19 pa-
tients. But, the body
was forced to revoke
the MOU after four hos-
pitals were found vio-
lating the norms.
The four hospitals in
the line of fire include
Bodyline Hospital at
Paldi, Savior Annexe
Hospital at Ashram
Road and two branches
of Tapan Hospital at
Paldi and Rakhiyal. All
these hospitals will not
be allowed to take in
any Sars-CoV-2 positive
patient henceforth.
Meanwhile, there has
been no mention of any
penalty levied on the
hospitals as of now.
These hospitals can-
not admit a novel coro-
navirus patient and the
MOU also cannot be
renewed. They only
have to treat existing
COVID-19 patients un-
der their care.
Another hospital
that found guilty of a
transgression was Ra-
jasthan Hospital, which
was slapped with a fine
of Rs77 lakh by the
AMC. A patient in need
of ventilator support
died when the hospital
denied entry to him at
the gate.
Bodyline Hospital
had been collecting
overcharges from pa-
tients despite the cap-
ping of costs by the
civic body. On May 16,
AMC had given the or-
der capping costs for
patients admitted to
these hospitals, under
the Epidemic Diseases
Act. As per the order,
the daily expense of a
patient in a COVID-19
ward is Rs10,000 and
Rs23,000 for isolation
ICU with a ventilator.
A medic takes a sample from a travellers coming into Ahmedabad, as others line up to be tested.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
IN TROUBLE
BACK TO SQUARE ONE
Barely six weeks after industrial units resumed operations under Unlock 1.0, water at the Vasna barrage is back to its usual
colour. Water quality in the Sabarmati river had improved considerably during the lockdown. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Oza ready for
unconditional
apology to HC
Valsad intern doctors go
on strike for safety gear
MPH workers demand improved pay grades
First India Bureau
Valsad/Ahmedabad:
In a bid to draw atten-
tion to their plight, 150
interndoctorswenton
strike at Valsad Dis-
trict Hospital to de-
mand supply of N95
masksandPPEkitson
Wednesday. The in-
terns sat in silent pro-
test on the premises of
the hospital to express
their dissent.
Several interns
complained that with
most of the private
hospitals referring
COVID-19 patients to
government-run hos-
pitals, the lack of
proper infrastructure
has overrun them. An-
other intern lamented
that the elevators in
the hospital were not
functional due to
which patients have to
be carried two or sto-
ries on a stretcher.
Dr Kajal Mishra, an
intern working at the
hospital, said that all
intern doctors have
been working closely
with COVID-19 pa-
tients since April.
“We have never com-
plained because this
is our duty and we
will not shirk them.
But, we haven’t re-
ceived any N95 masks
since April. The PPE
kits do arrive some-
times but most of the
time, we go without
them. As a result, one
resident doctor, an in-
tern, and the brother
of a staff member
have contracted the
virus,” she said.
She added, “The
emergency ward and
the ICU have been
functioning normally
as we sit here silently
protesting for our de-
mands. Once we re-
ceive assurance from
the hospital authori-
ties that our demands
willbefulfilled,wewill
resume our duties.”
Hospital Superin-
tendent BR Makwana
assured the interns
that their complaints
would be heeded by
the authorities soon.
Meanwhile, a group
named Aavkar distrib-
uted free masks to traf-
fic police personnel in
Surat and also spread
awareness about the
importance of wear-
ing masks and follow-
ing traffic rules.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: On the
heels of agitations by
primary school teach-
ers and the state po-
lice personnel regard-
ing pay hike, a strike
concerning the same
issue was launched
by multi-purpose
health (MPH) work-
ers on Wednesday.
This marked the third
such strike by state
government employ-
ees demanding better
pay grade. Much like
the police and teach-
ers, MPH workers
also launched their
agitation on social
media platforms.
MPH workers, who
are frontline COVID-19
warriors, wish to re-
ceive a pay grade of
Rs2,800 for their du-
ties. “Not a single MPH
worker has taken a sin-
gle day’s leave ever
since the novel corona-
virus outbreak hit the
state. We are doing
emergency duties
round-the-clock to save
lives. We need at least
proper compensation
for doing our jobs,”
said one of the work-
ers. The current pay
grade of the MPH
workers stands at
Rs1,900.
“The complaint of the
primary teachers was
heeded and their de-
mands were met, then
why not ours? We are
not against the teachers.
The pay scale in the
state is really low,” add-
ed the protester.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In re-
sponse to the notice
issued by state high
court, president of
the Gujarat High
Court Advocates’ As-
sociation (GHCAA)
Yatin Oza’s advocate
submitted before the
court that he was
ready to deliver an un-
conditional apology.
The state high court
had moved a contempt
of court petition
against Oza after he had
made a few unaccepta-
ble allegations against
the high court registry.
The interns staged a protest at the District Hospital.
—FILE PHOTO
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 238 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
IT’S LEGISLATURE
VS JUDICIARY
ONCE AGAIN
ith Rajasthan Assembly Speaker
CP Joshi deciding to move the
Supreme Court against the Ra-
jasthan High Court’s order ask-
ing him not to act on the disqual-
ification notices issued by him to former
Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18
other dissident legislators until Friday,
another conflict between the legislature
and the judiciary is in the offing. Disap-
pointed with the court’s order the Speaker
contended that he has “the complete au-
thority to send a show-cause notice”. Sen-
ior advocate Mukul Rohatgi who is repre-
senting Pilot maintains that the Speaker’s
order was against the Tenth Schedule of
the Constitution and that it was within the
court’s jurisdiction to adjudicate on the
matter. Once the Apex Court takes up the
matter the point that will obviously be
scrutinized is the power of the Speaker.
With defections defining the country’s
politics, the Anti-Defection Law as pro-
vided under the Tenth Schedule is also
likely to get a close look.
Joshi argues that in 1992 the Supreme Court
ordered that the Speaker has the right to dis-
qualify members to stop the Aya Ram-Gaya
Ram culture of horse-trading. A more recent
judgment of the Supreme Court gives an in-
sight into the judiciary’s line of thinking on
Speaker’s powers which have seen many court
battles over the years. The case pertained to a
Congress MLA defecting to the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party soon after the 2017 elections. Con-
gress sought his disqualification but the Ma-
nipur Speaker kept the matter hanging.
While giving their ruling in the case,
the court made an important suggestion
to Parliament that it was of a strong view
that the disqualification powers vested in
the Speaker should be removed and an in-
dependent tribunal should be formed to
take up these issues. A retired judge of
the Supreme Court or a former Chief Jus-
tice of a high court could head the tribu-
nal to function as a substitute for the
Speaker for swift and impartial resolution
of disputes. These suggestions would re-
quire constitutional amendment. The
moot question is will Parliament agree to
strip the Speaker of Lok Sabha and state
assemblies of power?
Behind this recommendation is the logic
that Speakers belong to the ruling party and
their actions are, therefore, biased. The court
also set a deadline of three months for Speak-
ers to decide on disqualification petitions
The judicial power to review a Speaker’s
decision vests in Article 212 of the Constitu-
tion which states that neither the validity
of any proceedings in the legislature, nor
an officer or member of the House shall be
subject to the jurisdiction of any court in
respect of the exercise by him of the powers
given to him under the Constitution.
TheRajasthancaseisturningintoaminefield.
The Manipur case was decided by a three-judge
Bench. This may require a five-judge Bench.
IN-DEPTH
W
ntheIndiansub-
continent, Eid
al-Adha is
known as
baqreed. It is a
time of feasting, rejoicing
and piety. Unfortunately,
for some, it has become a
festival in which people
compete with each other to
sacrifice fine cattle. Not
onlyisbaqreednowanocca-
sion to show off wealth, but
it is also a time of much ani-
mal cruelty. With 600 mil-
lion Muslims out of nearly 2
billion on the planet living
in South Asia, this festival
assumesglobalimportance.
This year, Eid al-Adha
comes at a poignant time.
Around the world, millions
have sacrificed much dur-
ing the lockdowns caused
by the coronavirus out-
break. The pandemic has
taken and continues to
take a heavy toll on life,
health and the economy.
In South Asia, the term
Muslims use for sacrifice is
qurbani — or udhiya in
Arabic — a word whose tri-
lateral root, q-r-b, is related
primarily to nearness, indi-
cating that “sacrifice” is
understood primarily as a
means of drawing closer to
God. Religions have had a
history of sacrifice. Minoan
andAztectraditionsinclud-
ed human sacrifice. Over
time, religions such as
Christianity and Hinduism
took to animal sacrifice. If
qurbani were to be read as
ametaphor,theevolutionof
religion from the rite of hu-
mansacrificetoanimalsac-
rifice is clearly noticeable.
Thestoryalsodemonstrates
thatsacrificeisanactofiba-
dah (worship), which is the
core of Islam, denoting de-
votion and piety.
WHAT IS SACRIFICE
ALL ABOUT?
Sacrifice is not about the
destruction of property or
taking of lives, but about
giving something personal
and precious for the larger
social good. In a society
where people did not have
enough to eat, slaughter-
ing cattle was a way to feed
the hungry and the desti-
tute. It was not only an act
of devotion but also of
charity.
The Quran makes this
principle clear in one of its
verses: “It is not their meat
nor their blood, that reach-
es Allah: it is your piety
that reaches Him: He has
thus made them subject to
you, that ye may glorify Al-
lah for His Guidance to you
and proclaim the good
news to all who do right
(Quran, 22:37).
Few realize that the rite
of cattle sacrifice is not es-
sential to Islam. What is es-
sential is the ethic of sacri-
fice. There is hardly a verse
in the Quran where the
word for prayer, salah, is
not conjoined with zakah
(alms) or infaq (spending
on the needy). This striking
frequencywithwhichthese
two words are mentioned
has an important implica-
tion. If Muslims were to
heed the call for zakah and
infaq in a practical sense,
the redistribution of wealth
would be continuous and
there would be no poverty
in society.
The idea of sacrifice
rests on the notion that hu-
man beings should be capa-
ble of parting with some-
thing deeply precious to
them. Abraham was will-
ing to part with his son.
When Islam came into be-
ing, cattle were almost like
family. Historically, no-
madic cultures from Mon-
golia to Tanzania relied
completely on animals who
formed the very basis of
life. In these cultures, ani-
mals often shared the same
homesteads with families.
When people were sacrific-
ing cattle, they were almost
parting with a part of one’s
own self.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM
What should Muslims sacrifice this Eid al-Adha?
I
All experiences are preceded
by mind, having mind as
their master, created by mind.
—Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Held a review meeting with senior
ofﬁcials of @PetroleumMin and
captains of our oil and gas PSUs
to create a roadmap for greater
role of the oil and gas sector
in the #AatmaNirbharBharat
initiative and further provide
an enabling ecosystem for
domestic entrepreneurs.
Shashi Tharoor
@ShashiTharoor
It is in our interest to “constrain”
China, not to “contain” it: my
argument for staying engaged
with a belligerent China in
order to limit the damage it
can do to us.
s beauty lies in the eyes of
the beholder, so humor de-
pends on the mind of the
spectator. Humor, as a balm,
can soothe the nerves during
these stressful times. A
hearty laugh reduces muscle
tension and helps the body
get rid of greater amounts of
accumulated carbon dioxide.
Laughter helps trigger the
release of powerful hormones
that energize a person’s im-
mune system. One group of
hormones called cytokines that
promote the activity of white
blood cells, are needed to ward
off viral and bacterial infec-
tions. So, we can call laughter
‘a recipe for a long life.’
Mirth and laughter affect
most physical systems of the
body. It is a good workout for
the heart, circulation im-
proves, and the oxygen level
is raised. Neck, face, scalp
and eye muscles also get a
workout. The muscle activi-
ty involved in laughing is
the same as in exercising.
Laughing can aptly be called
‘internal jogging’ that is
beneficial even when faked.
Laughter normalizes imbal-
ances in the endocrine and
nervous system and sharpens
the mental processes. It’s like
an effective drug with no side
effects. To help put ourselves in
the right mood, we must smile
and laugh at ourselves.
Genuine smiles are conta-
gious. A simple smile is the
best way to win friends. The
first thing most people no-
tice about someone is his or
her smile. We may not like
to work with anyone who
looks unfriendly and gloomy.
Although a smile lasts only a
moment, the memory may stay
with us all our life. Its value is
immense. Nobody is so poor
that he cannot share it or be so
rich that he does not need it.
Smiling has a positive ef-
fect on others. A sincere
smile communicates our
feelings without the need for
words. Receiving a warm
smile can help us feel more
relaxed. It helps us to cope
with frustration and chal-
lenges. When we smile, more
blood reaches our brain, and
this improves our mood.
Recall when someone’s smile
brought you a sense of relief or
when the absence of a smile
made you feel rejected. So, a
smile makes a difference. It af-
fects both, the one who is smil-
ing and the one smiled at.
The key to genuine smile
lies in our thoughts and
emotions. Thinking on the
finer qualities of others will
make it easier for us to smile
at them, and they will know
that we really mean it.
The ability to laugh is a God-
given trait. There is humor all
around us, it can be observed in
pets at home in their antics.
Not all people laugh at the
same things. It depends on
one’s culture, personality
and mood and other factors.
Mostly all laugh at a funny
story, a pleasant surprise, a
joke or a play on words.
Humor is a means of better
relating to others. Laughter
can be called ‘the shortest dis-
tance between two people.’ Hu-
mor is indicative of many
things - our values, interests,
preoccupations, intelligence,
imagination and needs.
Properly used humor has
much value. It can also miti-
gate anger, by turning trou-
blesome words into those that
are reasonable and consider-
ate. Humor makes us more
creative, less rigid and more
willing to embrace new ideas.
A good sense of humor and a
positive disposition can help us
cope with health problems.
However in today’s stressful
world, it seems that humor is
hoarded. We live in the age of
technology where digital bytes
and computer monitors seem to
be supplanting the language of
laughter, gestures and smiles.
A good sense of humor
can help us to have more
positive thoughts, emotions
and behaviour. It lessens
anxiety, relaxes emotional
tension and facilitates good
communication. It is effec-
tive as a healer, as being
cheerful allows us to handle
situations in a positive way,
even in the face of unfavour-
able circumstances.
Good humor can be learned
just like reading and writing. A
change in thinking is needed.
One should stop focusing on
problems and start to look at
the positive side that every mo-
ment gives us.
Even with a full schedule,
many enjoy their social con-
tacts. They value little
things as a chat, a coffee
break, or a few minutes of
good music. By including
laughter in our daily lives,
we maintain our energy lev-
el and alleviate fatigue.
Humor should be used with
discretion, so as not to harm
emotionally. Like a welcome
summer rain, humor may sud-
denly cleanse and cool the
earth, the air and us. So, put
humor into your life. Discover
it, nurture it and cultivate it. It
is bound to do wonders for you
and those around you.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
INTERNAL JOGGING
THERAPY FOR MIND AND BODY
A
Laughter
normalizes
imbalances in
the endocrine
and nervous
system
andsharpens
the mental
processes. It’s
like an effective
drug with
noside effects
Smiling has a positive
effect on others. A
sincere smile
communicates
ourfeelings without
the need for words.
Receiving a warm
smile can helpus feel
more relaxed
REKHA
KUMAR
The writer is a personal development
trainer working with corporate sector
and government departments

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
New Delhi: Rajya Sab-
ha Chairman M Ven-
kaiah Naidu urged 45
newly-elected members
of the House who took
oath on Wednesday to
uphold rules and proce-
dures while discharg-
ing their duties as law-
makers and not fall
prey to disruptions.
The 45 members, in-
cluding 36 first-timers,
took the oath of office in
Rajya Sabha chamber
while following physical
distancing norms.
In total, 61 member
have been elected to the
house of which 43 are
first-timers.
Twelve sitting Rajya
Sabha members who
have been re-elected, in-
cluding Sharad Pawar,
Harivansh, Ramdas
Athawale, Digvijay Sin-
gh, Bhubaneswar Kali-
ta, Prem Chand Gupta
and Biswajit Daimary,
also took oath.
BJP leader Jyotiradi-
tya Scindia and Con-
gress’ Mallikarjun
Kharge are among the
first-time members of
House who took oath.
Scindia, who has
been elected to the Ra-
jya Sabha from Madhya
Pradesh, greeted his
arch-rival Digvijay Sin-
gh, and Kharge before
his oath-taking.
Scindia and Singh
had huge differences
and this was one of the
reasons of Scindia quit-
ting the Congress. Scin-
dia also greeted Leader
of Opposition in Rajya
Sabha Ghulam Nabi
Azad.
Those members who
could not take oath on
Wednesday will do so
during the ensuing
Monsoon Session.
New Delhi: India has
registered highest ever
recoveries in a single
day standing at 28,472.
This is also the highest
number of COVID-19
patients cured or dis-
charged in 24 hours,
said the Union Ministry
of Health and Family
Welfare.
According to a press
release by the Ministry,
with this, the number
of patients that have re-
covered stands at
7,53,049. This has
strongly boosted the re-
covery rate among
COVID-19 patients to
63.13 per cent, the Min-
istry added.
The constantly in-
creasing number of re-
covered patients has
further widened the dif-
ference between active
cases that stand at
4,11,133 today. The dif-
ference now stands at
3,41,916. This difference
is showing a progres-
sively growing upward
trend.
While the national
recovery rate has im-
proved, 19 States and
Union Territories are
posting a recovery rate
higher than the nation-
al average, the ministry
stated.
With a spike of 37,724
cases and 648 deaths re-
ported in the last 24
hours, the total number
of COVID-19 cases in
Indiastandsat11,92,915,
according to the Union
Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare.
The total number of
cases includes 4,11,133
active cases, 7,53,050
cured/discharged/mi-
grated and 28,732
deaths, the Health Min-
istry informed. —ANI
New Delhi: The Indian
Air Force (IAF) sent a
strong message to the
adversaries through
rapid deployment of its
assets at forward loca-
tions in response to the
situation in eastern
Ladakh, Defence Minis-
ter Rajnath Singh said.
“Defence Minister
stated that the profes-
sional manner in which
IAF conducted the air-
strikes in Balakot, as
well as rapid deploy-
ment of IAF assets at
the forward locations in
response to the prevail-
ing situation in Eastern
Ladakh, has sent a
strong message to the
adversaries,” said GOI.
SIX DIE IN LANDSLIDE AT
PITHORAGARH’S TANGA VILLAGE
Pithoragarh: Six died in
the landslide incident in
Tanga village of Pithor-
agarh district here on
Wednesday. Six dead
bodies were recovered
while the State Disaster
Response Force (SDRF)
continues the search op-
eration in which 11 people
are missing, said the Dep-
uty Collector of Dharch-
ula. National Disaster
Response Force (NDRF),
SDRF and district admin-
istration are present at the
spot. “We are also taking
the help of Indo Tibetan
Border Police, Sub District
Officer of Dharchula and
Revenue Team,” he added.
According to the SDRF,
the dog squad team is also
sent for the search. Till late
evening, four bodies were
taken out.
HARYANA GOVT AMENDS RULES
FOR CIVIL SERVICES EXAM
Chandigarh: Haryana Civil Services (Executive
Branch) Rules, 2008 has been amended, the
state government confirmed on Wednesday.“The
new rules will be called Haryana Civil Services
(Executive Branch) Amendment Rules, 2020,” the
Haryana government said in a release. From here-
on, there will be two papers of 100 marks each
(objective type) in the preliminary examination for
recruitment to the state civil services.The changed
pattern is similar to the pattern of Civil Services
preliminary examination conducted by UPSC.
RAWAT INVITES SUNDAR PICHAI
TO EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES
Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra
Singh Rawat in a letter to Sundar Pichai invited
Google to explore opportunity in the state, adding
that the government would ensure “complete
support” to “make it happen”. “Dear Sundar
Pichai I invite Google to explore opportunities,
our state of Uttarakhand offers, especially for set-
ting up of data-centers etc. We promise complete
support of our government to help make it hap-
pen,” tweeted Rawat. He also shared a snapshot
of the letter he wrote to the Google CEO as well.
SOUTH CENTRAL RLY ANNOUNCES
INDIA’S FIRST ‘CARGO EXPRESS’
Hyderabad: South Cen-
tral Railway announced
commencement of first
‘Cargo Express’, a timeta-
bled goods train between
Hyderabad and New Delhi
which will even transport
non-bulk commodities.
As part of the initiative
to increase the market
share of railways, South
Central has come with
a unique concept of start-
ing a ‘Cargo Express’. A
timetabled freight train
is being started from
Sanath Nagar in Hyder-
abad to Adarsh Nagar in
New Delhi starting from
August 5, said PRO. SCR
has taken this as a pilot
project for a period of
six months and would
be running the “Cargo
Express” once a week
every Wednesday.
45 newly-elected Rajya Sabha members take oath
BJP’s Scindia and Congress’ Kharge are among the first-time members of the House who took oath
BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia greets Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Digvijaya Singh
before taking oath as Rajya Sabha member, in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh pose for the photograph during the inaugural session of the Air
Force Commander’s conference in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
A medic collects a sample from a woman for COVID-19 test on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Mallikarjun Kharge Priyanka Chaturvedi
India’s highest recovery rate
Over 28k discharged 24 hours
India’s tally
reaches
11,92,915
New Delhi: With a
spike of 37,724 cases
and 648 deaths re-
ported in last 24
hours, the total
number of COV-
ID-19 cases in India
stands at 11,92,915,
according to Union
Ministry of Health
and Family Wel-
fare. The total num-
ber of cases in-
cludes 4,11,133 ac-
tive cases, 7,53,050
cured/discharged/
migrated and 28,732
deaths.
Maharashtra re-
mains the worst af-
fected state with
3,27,031 cases and
12,276 deaths, fol-
lowed by Tamil
Nadu with 1,80,643
COVID-cases so far.
‘Deployment of IAF assets at
Ladakh sent strong message’
Rajnath addresses Air
Force Commander talks
New Delhi: Defence
Minister Rajnath Sin-
gh on Wednesday ad-
dressed the inaugu-
ral session of Air
Force Commander’s
Conference, where he
said that IAF’s role in
some of the most
challenging circum-
stances is well re-
garded by the nation.
“Addressed inau-
gural session of Air
Force Commander’s
Conference today.
IAF’s role in some of
the most challenging
circumstances is well
regarded by the na-
tion,” the Defence
Minister said. He
said that IAF’s contri-
bution during the na-
tion’s response to
COVID-19 pandemic
has been highly
praiseworthy.
In wake of corona,
IAF has transported
medical supplies to
states and supporting
agencies to combat
the pandemic. —ANI
STRONG RESPONSE
‘Allow NRIs to donate
for Ayodhya temple’
New York: A promi-
nent Indian-American
activist in the US has
appealed to PM Naren-
dra Modi to allow mem-
bers of Indian diaspora
to contribute to the de-
velopment of the Ram
temple in Ayodhya.
Prem Bhandari, a
community activist and
also head of Jaipur
Foot USA, said that
there are nearly 32 mil-
lion Non-Resident Indi-
ans and Persons of In-
dian Origin around the
world and many of
them would like to con-
tribute to the develop-
ment of the temple.
Bhandari appealed to
PMModitoensureasys-
tem that enables the in-
terested to contribute
any amount they deem
fit. He added that all the
money collected should
go directly to the Shri
Ram Janmabhoomi
Teertha Kshetra Trust.
“I am a Bhakt of Ram
Lalla and I too wish to
contribute to the grand
temple that will be con-
structed. There are
many others who may
not be living in India
but would like to donate
to the temple. There
must be provisions in
place to ensure inter-
ested NRIs too are able
to contribute,” he said.
New Delhi: The Cen-
tral government on
Wednesday submitted
before the Delhi High
Court that the declara-
tion of the country of
origin on pre-packaged
commodities used for
e-commerce transac-
tions is required in
case of imported prod-
ucts.
The Centre made the
submission in an affi-
davit filed on a public
interest litigation
(PIL) seeking direc-
tions to mandate dis-
playing the name of
the manufacturing
country on the prod-
ucts at e-commerce
websites. “The declara-
tion of country of ori-
gin on the pre-pack-
aged commodity or on
the digital and elec-
tronic network used
for e-commerce trans-
actions is required in
case of an imported
product and if the
product is manufac-
tured indigenously,
country of origin may
not be mentioned on
the product,” the affi-
davit said.
The Department of
Consumer affairs,
while opposing the
PIL, said that direc-
tions have already
been issued to all e-
commerce entities to
ensure the compliance
of the provisions of
the concerned rules
and acts. —ANI
‘E-commerce entities must display
country of origin on products’
Hearing on
BCCI case
after 2 weeks
New Delhi: SC said it
would hear after two
weeks the applications
which have raised is-
sues relating to BCCI.
The matter came up
for hearing before a
bench comprising
Chief Justice S A Bobde
and Justice L Nag-
eswara Rao. The advo-
cates appearing for
cricket associations of
Tamil Nadu and
Himachal Pradesh told
the bench that they
have filed applications
in the matter and they
should be listed for
hearing. —ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
SC NOD FOR 3-MEMBER JUDICIAL
PANEL TO PROBE DUBEY ENCOUNTER
SC SEEKS RESPONSE FROM LAWYER
ON CONTEMPT CASE ON HIS TWEETS
New Delhi: Supreme
Court on Wednesday
accepted the appoint-
ment of a three-mem-
ber inquiry commis-
sion headed by former
SC judge Justice BS
Chauhan into encoun-
ter of gangster Vikas
Dubey, and asked it to
submit report within
two months to court
and UP government.
A bench headed by
CJI SA Bobde told UP
police not to resort to
encounters to eliminate
dreaded gangsters.
Other two members of
commission are -- retd
judge of Allahabad HC
Justice Shashi Kant
Agarwal and former
DGP KL Gupta.
New Delhi: SC issued a notice to senior lawyer
Prashant Bhushan asking him to file a detailed
response on a suo moto criminal contempt mat-
ter against him over his alleged tweets. A three-
judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra also
asked Twitter India to file its response in the case
and fixed further hearing on August 5.

INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
Not allowed...
On the other hand, we
have been directed to
pay salaries. So far, we
have been paying sala-
ries on humanitarian
grounds. Now, since
we have decided to not
operate any of the
schools, all staff will
be paid when schools
reopen, based on our
income from fees.”
He added, “The high
court had asked the
government to listen to
the parents and school
authorities but what
got instead was a noti-
fication.”
DV Mehta, who runs
the Genius Group of
schools and is a senior
member of the Mandal
said, “This is a notifica-
tion from the govern-
ment and not a high
court order. We will go
to court.”
India contributing...
I firmly believe that our
approach to the future
must primarily be a
more human-centric
one,” he said. —ANI
‘Kakrapar N Plant...
as indigenously de-
signed 700 MWe Ka-
krapar Atomic Power
Plant-3 in Gujarat
achieved criticality. Na-
tion salutes our scien-
tists on this stellar
achievement. New In-
dia is marching ahead
to realise PM Narendra
Modi’s vision of Aat-
manirbhar Bharat.”
Meanwhile, taking
to Twitter, I&B Minis-
ter Prakash Javadekar
tweeted “Big Day in
India’s Nuclear histo-
ry as Kakrapar Atomic
Power Plant-3 achieves
criticality. Many Con-
gratulations to our nu-
clear scientists!! Nu-
clear is a zero-emis-
sion clean energy
source. The 700MWe
plant is another shin-
ing success of
#MakeInIndia. #Aat-
m a N i r b h a r B h a r a t
marches on,” Ja-
vadekar tweeted. —ANI
CP: Moving...
Joshi has challenged
the HC’s July 21 order
which said the verdict
on the petition filed by
the 19 MLAs, challeng-
ing the disqualification
notices, will be pro-
nounced on July 24 and
asked him to defer the
disqualification pro-
ceedings till then.
The proceedings un-
der the Tenth Schedule
(which deals with dis-
qualification of law-
makers) before the
Speaker are proceed-
ings of the Legislature
and as such cannot in-
terfered with as repeat-
edly held by this Court
as envisaged under Ar-
ticle 212 read with para
6(2) of the Tenth Sched-
ule, the plea said.
The impugned order
(of HC) is ex-facie is il-
legal, perverse, and in
derogation of the pow-
ers of the Speaker un-
der the Constitution
and hence deserve to be
set aside, it added.
The petition, which
has been settled by se-
nior advocates Kapil
SibalandVivekTankha,
said that the Speaker
was the designated con-
stitutional person to
deal with the disqualifi-
cation plea against 19
MLAs and the high
court should not have
intervened.
This court as the sen-
tinel on the qui vive (on
the alert) has a duty to
ensure that the all the
authorities under the
Constitution exercise
their jurisdiction with-
in the boundaries and
respective Lakshman
Rekha’ envisaged by the
Constitution itself.
Judiciary was never
expected under the
Tenth Schedule to inter-
fere in the manner it
has done in the instant
case resulting in this
constitutional impasse
warranting the instant
SLP which is being filed
with an urgent request
to take up the matter at
theearliestconvenience
of this court, the plea
filed through lawyer Fe-
ranndes said.
The plea referred to
various judgements of
the top court and said
the High Court’s order
was in effect a stay on
the powers of the
Speaker under the
Tenth Schedule to adju-
dicate on a disqualifica-
tion petition.
Moreover, it is to be
pointed out that the
Speaker is the persona
designata under the
Constitution, who has
exclusive, non-transfer-
able, and non-delegable
powers and authority to
adjudicate on the issues
of disqualification, it
said and referred to
constitutional scheme
under Article 212.
The scheme of 10th
Schedule, para 6(1), and
para 6(2) envisions a
limited interference by
the Courts in matters
concerning the disqual-
ification of Members
even where final orders
of disqualification are
passed.
There was a question
of law whether a court
can interfere in pend-
ing disqualification
proceedings before the
Speaker in view of the
clear bar under Article
212 and the Tenth
Schedule of the Consti-
tution, the plea said.
FROM PG 1
WILL RAMACHARYULU BE
ELEVATED IN RS?
There are reports that Secretary in the Rajya
Sabha, Dr PPK Ramacharyulu may succeed Desh
Deepak Verma as Secretary General.
2006 BATCH IAS OFFICER FROM
BIHAR, SHOBHENDRA KUMAR
CHOUDHARY QUITS IAS
A 2006 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, Shob-
hendra Kumar Choudhary has resigned from the
IAS with effect from July 18, 2020.
ASHOK LAVASA YET TO RESIGN
AS ELECTION COMMISSIONER
Ashok Lavasa, 1980 Batch retired IAS officer who
has been appointed V-P of Asian Development
Bank (ADB) is yet to resign. He has to succeed
Diwakar Gupta, whose term ends on August 31.
WADEKAR TO HEAD PROBE PANEL
ON GANDHI FAMILY TRUSTS
Vivek R. Wadekar will reportedly head the probe
panel against the three trusts of Gandhi family. He is
an IRS-IT officer and posted as Special Director ED.
TIWARI TO BE JS (JK&L)
Manish Tiwari will be the first Joint Secretary of
newly created cell-(J&K&L).
MATAM VENKATA RAO APPOINTED
MD & CEO, CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA
Matam Venkata Rao, ED, Canara Bank has been
appointed Managing Director & CEO in Central
Bank of India.
TWO IRS-IT OFFICERS GET NEW POSTINGS
Anup Singh has been appointed as Additional
CIT(OSD) in the office of Pr CCIT, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Region, while Vivek Sharma was made Additional
CIT(OSD) in the office of Pr CCIT, Delhi Region.
REINSTATE RAMESH KUMAR AS
STATE ELECTION COMMISSIONER,
GOVERNOR ASKS AP GOVT
AP Guv Biswabhusan Harichandan has directed
state government to reinstate N Ramesh Kumar
as the State EC in accordance with the HC order.
He is a retired IAS officer. The AP HC had on May
29 struck down an Ordinance promulgated by YS
Jagan Mohan Reddy govt on April 10 curtailing the
tenure of the State Election Commissioner from five
to three years. The HC also quashed a Government
order appointing retired judge V Kanagaraj as the
new SEC. The state govt lost the battle in SC also.
12 IIS OFFICERS TRANSFERRED
12 officers of Indian Information Service (IIS) have
been given new assignments. Accordingly, Shruti
Patil has been transferred from PIB Delhi to PIB,
Hyderabad as Director with additional charge of
ROB, Hyderabad, while H P Kunnappa Reddy will
join as PRO(Defence), Hyderabad and Gargi Malik
was posted as Dy Director(News) at DDK, Luc-
know; Similarly, Shantanu Pratap Singh has been
posted as PRO Defence), Lucknow; G C Das as Dy
Director(News), AIR, Bhubneshwar; Keshav Murthy
as Deputy Director News, DDK, Bangalore; Shahu
Patole as Deputy Director(News), DDK, Mumbai;
Abdul Hamid Dy Director PIB, Ranchi; Ms Punntha
S to join as Dy Director,at PIB, Bangalore; Pritam
Singh will be new Dy DIrector(News), DDK, Shimla;
Tariq Ahmad Rater is being sent to PIB, Shimla, as
Dy DIrector and Sanjay Pratap Singh is going from
Itanagar to DD(News), Delhi as Asstt Director.
B SATHEESH BALAN APPOINTED
AS DIG, CBI
B Satheesh Balan has been appointed as Deputy
Inspector General in CBI.
ASHWIN SHENVI APPOINTED AS SP, CBI
Ashwin Shenvi has been appointed as Superin-
tendent of Police in CBI.
POWERGallery
Ghaziabad: Journalist
Vikram Joshi, who was
shot at by unknown
miscreants near his
residence in Vijay Na-
gar, Ghaziabad on June
20, passed away on
Wednesday. The doctor
of a private hospital
monitoring Joshi said
that the veins in the
journalist's head had
got badly damaged due
to the bullet injury.
"Yes, he (Vikram
Joshi) is no more. He
passed away at around
4 am during treatment
at the hospital," a fami-
ly member told. The
scribe had suffered a
bullet injury on his
head after assailants
opened fire at him near
his residence in Vijay
Nagar.
The attack is believed
to be the fallout of a
complaint that Joshi
had lodged at Vijay Na-
gar police station on
July 16 stating that
some people were har-
assing his niece.
Locals claimed that
Vikram Joshi was rid-
ing a motorcycle with
his two daughters when
a group of men assault-
ed him and opened fire
at him. Nine people
were arrested in con-
nection with the shoot-
ing incident. —Agencies
Scribe Vikram Joshi who was shot
in Ghaziabad succumbs to injuriesUP CM Yogi Adityanath announced `10 lakh Ex-Gratia; cops arrest nine people in connection
New Delhi: Vice Presi-
dent M Venkaiah Naidu
unveiled a statue of Dr
BR Ambedkar at the
CAG office in New Delhi
onWednesday."TheVice
President, Shri M Ven-
kaiah Naidu unveiling
the statue of Bharat Rat-
na, Dr B R Ambedkar at
CAGoffice,inNewDelhi
today," the Vice Presi-
dent of India tweeted.
"Babasaheb Dr B R
Ambedkar was a multi-
faceted genius and
builder of modern In-
dia. The nation will be
ever grateful to him for
his stellar contribution
in drafting the Constitu-
tion and for guiding the
nation at a critical junc-
ture," he added. —ANI
New Delhi: Union in-
formation and technol-
ogy minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad has
called for digital plat-
forms to be responsive,
accountable and sensi-
tive to the concerns of
sovereign nations as far
as safety, defence and
privacy is concerned.
Prasad raised the issue
on Wednesday during
the G20 Digital Minis-
ter’s Meet hosted by
Saudi Arabia.
Prasad’s comments
come in the backdrop of
India’s ban on 59 Chi-
nese web and mobile ap-
plications including
TikTok and UC browser
due to security con-
cerns.
“In view of these con-
cerns, the digital plat-
forms having presence
in many countries must
become trustworthy,
safe and secure. It is
time to acknowledge
that digital platforms
anywhere in the world
have to be responsive
and accountable to-
wards the sovereign
concerns of countries
including defence, pri-
vacy and security of
citizens,” Prasad said.
China’s digital minis-
ter Miao Wei was also in
attendance at the virtu-
al meeting. Prasad also
raised some other very
important issues being
debated globally related
to data security and said
that data, too, must be-
long to the sovereign na-
tion concerned.
“Digital economy
must go hand in hand
with the Data economy.
We need to acknowl-
edge the sovereignty
over data. Data must
belong to the sovereign
nation concerned, to
protect also the privacy
concern of its people,”
Prasad added. —Agencies
CAG is an enabler of
Babasaheb’s vision:
V-P Venkaiah Naidu
‘Digital platforms need to be
accountable and sensitive’
M Venkaiah Naidu unveiled a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar at the
CAG office on Wednesday.
Ravi Shankar Prasad addressing the G20 Digital Minister’s Meet.
Inputs from : http://whispersinthecorridors.com
Vikram Joshi, who was shot at by unknown miscreants, passed
away on Wednesday.
Kolkata: West Bengal
Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee on
Wednesday expressed
condolences to the
family of journalist
Vikram Joshi who
passed away today
and said that voices
are being muzzled and
even media is not be-
ing spared.
“My heartfelt con-
dolences to the family
of Vikram Joshi, a
fearless journalist
who passed away to-
day. He was shot in UP
for filing an FIR to
book his niece’s mo-
lesters. An atmos-
phere of fear has been
created in the country.
Voices being muzzled.
Media not spared.
Shocking,” the West
Bengal Chief Minis-
ter tweeted.
Journalist Vikram
Joshi, who was shot at
by unknown miscre-
ants near his resi-
dence in Vijay Nagar,
Ghaziabad on July 20,
breathed his last at a
hospital on Wednes-
day. —ANI
Even media is not spared: Didi
New Delhi: Following
the attack on and sub-
sequent death of jour-
nalist Vikram Joshi,
Congress General Sec-
retary Priyanka Gan-
dhiVadrasaidthatlike
its predecessor, BJP
government too has
failed to ensure law
and order in the state.
"After raising his
voice against sexual
harassment,journalist
Vikram Joshi Ji was
shot in front of his
daughter. Today, he
succumbed to his inju-
ries. Jungle Raj in UP
hasincreasedtoapoint
where the common
people fear the goons
after making com-
plaints against them.
The BJP government,
like its predecessors,
hasfailedtoensurelaw
and order in the state"
she tweeted. —ANI
‘BJP failed to ensure law & order’
New Delhi: Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra is
set to vacate the
government bunga-
low in Lodhi Estate
before the end of
this month and shift
to a house in DLF
Aralia, Sector 42,
Gurugram, Haryana.
Sources close to
Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra have stated
that she will stay in
Gurugram for the
next few months.
PRIYANKA ALL
SET TO MOVE
Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader
Sanjay Raut expressed
concern at the
death of jour-
nalist Vikram
Joshi in Gha-
ziabad, saying
that if such
crimes are
committed when victims
protest against harass-
ment, what will they do?
The RS MP hoped that
the UP government would
look into the incident.
SANJAY RAUT
EXPRESSES
CONCERN
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi
termed BJP-led UP
government as 'goonda
raj' hours after Ghaziabad-
based
journalist
Vikram Joshi
succumbed
to injury he
received
from a group
of men. "Journalist Vikram
Jashi was killed after he
protested against the
harassment against his
niece. My condolence to
the family. They promised
Ram Raj, but gave Goonda
raj," Gandhi tweeted.
‘UP PROMISED
RAM RAJ, NOT
GOONDA RAJ’
`10 L EX-GRATIA
ANNOUNCED
Balasore: Trials of
Helicopter-launched
Nag Missile anti-
tank guided missile
(HELINA), now
named 'Dhruvastra',
were conducted on
July15andJuly16at
ITR in Balasore.
Trailswereconduct-
edwithoutahelicop-
ter in direct and top
attack mode. These
come in backdrop of
ongoing disengage-
ment process be-
tween India-China
at the friction points
between two armies
in Ladakh. —ANI
Trials of anti-
tank guided
missile
conducted

HOW DO I STOP
MY GLASSES
FOGGING UP?
Forpeoplewithglasses,
wearing a mask can lead
to their lenses fogging, re-
ducing their vision. As you
breathe out, your warm
breath shoots upwards out
the top of the mask. When it
hits the colder lens, it cools
down, forming condensa-
tion, or fogging.
Having to keep on taking
off your glasses to wipe
them clear, and putting them
back on again, is an infec-
tion risk. So preventing or
minimising fogging is the
key. Here are some tips:
Soap and water: wash
your glasses with soap and
water (such as regular wash-
ing up liquid), then dry them
with a microfibre cloth. This
type of cloth typically comes
free with each pair of glass-
es. You can also buy cheap
microfibre cloths from most
optometrists. Facial tissues
may leave lint, which at-
tracts moisture to the lens-
es. Soap reduces surface ten-
sion, preventing fog from
sticking to the lenses.
Shavingfoam:applyathin
layer of shaving cream to the
inside of your glasses, then
gentlywipeitoff.Theresidual
shavingcreamwillprotectthe
lenses from misting up.
De-misting spray: you
can use a commercial de-
misting spray that dries
clear. But make sure this is
compatible with your lens
type or existing coatings on
your lens. You can buy de-
misting spray online or from
your optometrist.
Close the gap on
surgical masks:
mould the nose
bridge at the top of
your surgical
mask to your face
to reduce the gap
that allows warm
moist air up to
the glasses.
Twist ties and
pipe cleaners: if
you make your
own cloth mask,
add a twist tie
(for instance,
from a loaf of
bread) or pipe
cleaner to the
top seam of
your home-
mademaskandmouldthatto
your nose for the same effect.
Tape: some health profes-
sionals apply a strip of tape
that’s specially designed for
use on skin to the top edge of
the mask to close the gap.
You can buy a roll online or
at the pharmacy.
Damp tissue: slightly
moistening a tissue, folding
it and placing it under the
top edge of the mask also
does the trick.
Nylon stocking: Victo-
ria’s health department says
you can also get a snug fit
across the cheeks and bridge
of the nose by wearing a
layer of nylon stocking over
a face mask.
Sadly, there is no magic
trick, such as putting the
mask or glasses on first that
will stop fogging. Improving
the fit around the curve of
the nose and cheeks is the
best approach.
I FEEL ANXIOUS
ABOUT WEARING A
MASK. WHAT CAN I DO?
Putting on a mask may make
you feel anxious or you may
find it hard to breathe nor-
mally, especially if you’re
new to wearing a mask.
Fortunately, the World
Health Organisation and
others say there is no evi-
dence a face mask will cause
either a drop in blood oxy-
gen or an increase in blood
carbon dioxide levels for
normal everyday activities.
WHAT CAN I DO TO STOP
MY EARS HURTING?
Once you have been wearing
a face mask for several
hours, you may notice dis-
comfort around the ears as
the ear loops can chafe the
skin. Here’s what you can do:
Wear a headband with
buttons…: one solution is to
wear a headband with two
buttons sewn onto it. Sew
the buttons so they sit be-
hind the ears. Rather than
looping the mask around
your ears, loop it around the
buttons instead. This takes
the pressure off the skin, in-
creases comfort and helps
you keep the mask on longer.
…or a paper clip: unfold
two paper clips and wrap
them around a headband,
again positioning them be-
hind the ears.
HOW DO I STOP
MY GLASSES
FOGGING UP?
Forpeoplewithglasses,
wearing a mask can lead
to their lenses fogging, re-
ducing their vision. As you
breathe out, your warm
breath shoots upwards out
mademaskandmouldthatto
your nose for the same effect.
Tape: some health profes-
sionals apply a strip of tape
that’s specially designed for
use on skin to the top edge of
the mask to close the gap.
You can buy a roll online or
at the pharmacy.
TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
fter midnight to-
night, wearing
face masks will
be mandatory
for people in
Melbourne and
Mitchell Shire when they
leave home. It’s also recom-
mended in New South
Wales when physical dis-
tancing isn’t possible.
This means many Aus-
tralians will be wearing a
face mask for the first time.
Yes, wearing a mask can
be uncomfortable or frus-
trating, especially if you’re
not used to it. People who
wear glasses, those anxious
about being able to breathe
properly, or who wear
masks for extended periods
of time face particular
challenges.
But health workers, who
have long used face masks
as part of their everyday
work, have developed a
number of useful worka-
rounds we’d like to share.
A
GLASSESFOGGING
OVERBECAUSEOF
MASK?
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI
DESIGN: VINOD KUMAR SHARMA
Wearing a mask can be uncomfortable or frustrating, especially
if you’re not used to it. People who wear glasses, those anxious
about being able to breathe properly, or who wear masks for
extended periods of time face particular challenges

Belief is critical to life and before
you believe in something, you
have to believe in your own self.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
Once ridiculed, MNREGA
is saviour for migrantsFrom tailors to paani-puri sellers, all are benefiting from UPA’s job scheme
Shishir Awasthi
Ahmedabad: Why are
many migrant work-
ers who left their
dream cities in Guja-
rat not in a hurry to
return from their na-
tive places? The rea-
son: Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Em-
ployment Guarantee
Act (MNREGA), 2005.
Once ridiculed as the
Congress-led UPA Gov-
ernment’s biggest fail-
ure and a scheme de-
scribed by Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi as
one to “dig holes,” it is
this very scheme that is
now proving a saviour
back home for lakhs of
poor migrants.
And it is this very
government’s ma-
chinery that is being
forced to implement
it. And how? New job
cards essential to get
work under MGNRE-
GA are being made on
priority, works are be-
ing sanctioned in a
jiffy without any red
tape, and payments
are being made fast.
Want evidence? Come
to Dhamna village in
Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun,
a district counted
among the most back-
ward in the country.
Ask Surendra Ku-
mar, 48, who was in a
huge dilemma four
months ago as to
which place to call his
home. No longer so.
He spent his child-
hood and his initial
youth in Dhamna and
seems to be re-discov-
ering his native place.
MNREGA is a hope to
survive till things im-
prove.
He spent the last 20
years in a rented room
in Ahmedabad, where
he worked as a tailor in
a garment factory. It
was here that he got
married and became a
father to two girls. But
after the lockdown, he
was left with no option.
On May 25, he started
his return journey to
UP.
Then there is Gulab
Singh, his wife and
four kids, who were
happy in Surat. The
income from selling
paani poori wasn’t
much, but it was
enough to get by. “I
made around Rs 8,000
every month. My wife
used to work as a do-
mestic help in houses
and earn around Rs
3,000 to Rs 4,000. It
was enough for sur-
vival,” he said. But
came lockdown and
he realised he must
go home. So, on May
10, he headed to
Dhamna on a Shra-
mik train.
Most of them who re-
turnedtoDhamnacame
from Gujarat, Maha-
rashtra and Delhi, ac-
cording to Girish Ku-
mar Singh, the Gram
Rozgar Sahayak. Those
who did not have a job
card, like Ramkumar
Singh and Ram Pratap,
were given new cards.
Job cards of a few were
no longer functional,
and were reactivated.
“We added 22 job
cards and reactivated
30. The village has
undertaken 13 MGN-
REGA works since
April, including nine
individual works, one
plantation, two check
dams and one village
pond. At least 1,012
person-days have
been created,” Girish
Kumar said. The
money is not much,
but is enough to sur-
vive on till things get
better.
Adani 1st Indian port to
commit emissions cut
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Adani
Ports and Special Eco-
nomic Zone (APSEZ) on
Wednesday claimed
that it has become the
first Indian port to sign
upfortheScience-Based
Targets initiative
(SBTi), which indepen-
dently assesses corpo-
rate emissions reduc-
tion targets.
Science-based tar-
gets are for reduction
of greenhouse gas
emissions that are in
line with the level of
de-carbonisation re-
quired to meet the
goals of the Paris
Agreement.
Through SBTi, com-
panies are responding
by committing to set
science-based emis-
sions reduction targets
— across their entire
value chain — that are
consistent with keeping
global warming to 1.5°C
above pre-industrial
levels. The companies
have 24 months to have
their targets approved
and published by the
SBTi.
APSEZ has also
signed commitment
as a supporter to the
Task Force on Climate
Related Financial Dis-
closure (TCFD), which
develops voluntary,
consistent climate re-
lated financial risk
disclosures for use by
companies in provid-
ing information to in-
vestors, lenders, in-
surers, and other
stakeholders, the
company said in a
BSE filing. A total of
16 Indian companies
are supporting the
TCFD out of which
two are Adani Group’s
subsidiaries.
MGNREGA is proving to be a boon for migrant workers in their native places.
HC seeks documents related
to Pakistan citizen detention
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat High Court has
sought documents re-
lated to the 2016 arrest
of a Pakistani citizen
allegedly for carrying
fake currency. The po-
lice had later lost the
case in the lower as well
as higher courts and
filed an appeal in the
Supreme Court.
Pakistan High Com-
mission’s officer Mu-
nir Satti has moved a
petition before the
high court seeking di-
rection to the State
police to release Paki-
stani citizen Sajjad
Vora (28), who was ar-
rested by the Surat
Railway police. The
high commission has
submitted that Vora
had been illegally de-
tained.
When the matter
came up for hearing
before a Division
Bench of Justice So-
nia Gokani and Jus-
tice NV Anjaria, the
State replied that
there is no other case
against the Pakistani
citizen and they have
no other objection.
The State is only wait-
ing for the Supreme
Court to decide the
matter.
Meanwhile, the Cen-
tral Government, in its
reply, has stated that if
the Surat Police Com-
missionerate issues a
No Objection Certifi-
cate, it will clear the file
at the earliest. The high
court has asked both to
submit all documents
during the next hearing
on July 31.
Customs seize Ecstasy
pills worth `15 lakh
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Acting
swiftly on suspicion,
the Ahmedabad Cus-
toms on Wednesday in-
tercepted two cargo par-
cels and found MDMA
pills, commonly known
as Ecstasy or Molly,
concealed in books in
one of them and nor-
mally wrapped in an-
other.
The Customs offi-
cials have confiscated
the material and initi-
ated investigations
against the recipients
of parcels.
In two different
cases, the Customs
seized postal import
parcels, booked from
Europe, suspected to
be a psychotropic sub-
stance. Upon exami-
nation, one parcel
was found to contain
pouches with 135 pills
(56 gm) with a market
value of Rs.2.7 lakh.
Another parcel was
found to contain three
books and one book
cover, which hid six
pouches with 504 color-
ful pills (240 gm) having
a market value of
Rs.12.2 lakh. The pills in
both the parcels tested
positive for MDMA and
so it was seized under
the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substanc-
es (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Further investigation is
in progress.
JOB GIVER
Gautam Adani
The shocking assassination of a journalist in UP
is another example of breakdown of law & order
in the state It is also a grim reminder of how
media is being systematically intimidated since
last 6yrs Our condolences to family of Mr Joshi.
We stand behind fearless journalism.
@ahmedpatel
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Call it the
result of lockdown
bluesif youmay.While
sales of most other
thingslikevehiclesand
property have been no-
sediving, those of sex
toys are going up.
Vadodara and Surat
are among the top buy-
ers in Gujarat, with
women customers out-
stripping men in Va-
dodara while larger or-
ders come from Surat.
This has been found in
a nationwide analysis
of trends of sex prod-
ucts in the Indian mar-
ket by ThatsPersonal.
com.
The analysis, under
the theme “India Uncov-
ered: Insightful Analy-
sis of Sex Products
Trends in India”, re-
vealed that the market
has seen a spike of 65%
over the past few
months.
The analysis in the
fourth edition of the
survey was done after
a trend study of over
22 million visitors,
and 3,35,000 products
sold online. Maha-
rashtra emerged on
top in the ranking for
sex products sales,
followed by Karnata-
ka and Tamil Nadu.
Among metro cities,
Mumbai leads with the
highest sale of sex prod-
ucts, followed by Ben-
galuru and New Delhi.
The sale in the Mumbai
Metropolitan Region
(MMR) region was
found nearly 24% more
than the National Capi-
tal Region (NCR). Pune
city also figures among
the top eight.
The survey has found
that “Surat city has the
maximum buying appe-
tite with a staggering Rs
3,900 per order placed.
Whereas, Uttar Pradesh
holds the record for
maximum male buyers
among all states.”
The report also stud-
ied the surfing pattern,
according to which the
favourite shopping time
for women was between
12 noon and 3 pm, while
men preferred to shop
between 9 pm and mid-
night.
Vijayawada, Jam-
shedpur, Belgaum
and Vadodara are
among the cities that
have more female
buyers than males.
Though the buyers of
most sex toys fall be-
tween the age groups of
25 and 34, the maximum
time spent on the prod-
uct suite consists of
people between the age
of 18 to 25.
Side Effects Of Lockdown : Boost In Sex Toys Sale
Online sales of sex toys have increased across India during the last four Covid-19 months.
SHEDDING INHIBITIONS
  
A nationwide
survey has
also found
that Surat city
has the maxi-
mum buying
appetite, while
Uttar Pradesh
had a majority
male buyers of
sex products
'MASKING' THE PRASAD
The Coronavirus pandemic has made wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing
a new normal. Temples also seem to be following the protocol, though they have been
opened. In Ahmedabad, temples are not only giving masks to the devotees after sanitising
them, but these are being given instead of the customary prasad.

AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY
JULY 23, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
PREM KI
LEHAR
eej is an age-old festi-
val of India which is
an example of a liv-
ing tradition that
garners the appreci-
ation of common
people. It refers to all
the monsoon festivals ob-
served particularly in the
western and northern states
of India. The festival rejoices
the bounty of nature and the
arrival of the monsoon in the
country. It symbolizes the
harmony of clouds and rain
along with greenery and
birds as well as the sand and
desert. This represents the
vibrant and multi-coloured
nature of this festival.
The festival is celebrated
grandly by married women
who worship Goddess Parvati
who is also known as ‘Teej
Mata’. It was on this day, she
reunited with her long-sepa-
rated husband, Lord Shiva.
Goddess Parvati declared this
moment an auspicious time
for girls and women in their
lives. It is believed that who-
ever offers their prayers to
Goddess Parvati on Teej will
be blessed with their heart’s
desire. Therefore, married
women worship her on this
day for long and happy mar-
ried lives as well as the health
and wellness of their hus-
bands.
Since Teej is about celebrat-
ing the institution of mar-
riage, women gather to dance,
sing, swing under the trees,
apply henna on hands and
feet, wear brightly coloured
‘Lehariya’ saaris, narrate sto-
ries and cook delicious festive
foods on ‘Hariyali Teej’. Par-
ents also send gifts to their
married daughters called
‘Sindhara’. It usually contains
new clothes, accessories, the
traditional sweet ‘Ghewar’,
‘Mehendi’, and more.
In Jaipur, a Teej procession
is organised jointly by the De-
partment of Tourism, District
Administration and City Pal-
ace. It is carried out over at
least two days in the old city
of Jaipur. The procession
starts from the City Palace,
winding its way through Trip-
olia Bazaar and Chhoti Chau-
par and ends at Talkotra. The
royal procession of ‘Goddess
Teej’ comprises of camels,
dancing folk artistes, royal
palanquins, chariots and bull-
ock carts,
In wake of the Coronavi-
rus pandemic, Teej celebra-
tions are set to take up vir-
tual platforms. Women
dressed in traditional at-
tireandfloralornaments
will be connecting with
their friends online to
host virtual ‘Teej par-
ties’. These parties
will involve food,
games, distribution
of gifts and musi-
cal performances.
Teej is the best
time to witness
the culture, rit-
uals, tradi-
tions, and cus-
toms of Ra-
jasthan.
T
City First wishes its readers a very HAPPY TEEJ and
also gives a little background as to why and how the
festival is celebrated in the country!
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You have in-depth
knowledge of a particular
subject. All that you love is
manifested in your life
somehow. You sometime form
grudges against people in heart and
that is not good, even you must have
made mistakes in life so learn to
forgive and move forward.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Excessively eating from
outside right now could
prove to be a big health
hazard. You are tempted
towards trying you hand in
something creative and its requires
some money initially. You are
someone who gives strength to
people to fight and never give up.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Abstemious behaviour just
to slim down could be a
good idea if tried for
sometime. Your venture
that was all going down will suddenly
start giving you profits beyond
measure. Some of you are not very
much interested in studies and there
is nothing to be ashamed about it.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Impatient nature sometimes
does good for you. You are
always busy in your fantasy
world and you need
someone from outside to wake you up
and get you out. You are working on a
project that will change your life, this is
the beginning of your career and you
shall never look back.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Bumptious youngsters are
a big no for you as you like
obedient kinds. You are
financial stable but not
satisfied and you want to collect
wealth. This is an excellent time to
showcase your talents as not only
you will get the recognition for it but
also you will get rewarded for it.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Brilliant mind leads to
brilliant ideas but thats not
it, you need to put those
ideas to some use for
brilliant outcomes. You are very quick
with your responses and sometimes
you say things that you don’t mean as
you don’t think much before speaking.
You get impressed with people easily.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Barriers are many in life to
state the truth but it surely
depends on each individual
how they manage to cross
it. You are gifted with lots of wealth
in inheritance and you plan to do
something big with it. You are a
devoted person and you dedicate
yourself completely to any task.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Looking out for a friend is
something everyone can
learn from you. You are
special in many ways and
your parents are blessed to have you
in their life. You have a vision and
you will achieve all that you want
someday. You kids are your life and
you can do anything for them.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Eventualities related to
business are something
you should be prepared for
well and in advance. Don’t
stress out and over exert today as
sometimes too much burden of work
can make you sick so take things a
bit easy. You should plan out your
day right so that nothing is missed.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Refinement is important if
you are dealing in good
business as there could be
an inspection. Changes in
behaviour will directly have good
impact on your relationships both
personal and professional. Joining
hands with someone for a social
cause will be the best decision.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Mother’s love is most
important for you and you
can do anything for your
mother. You are recently
feeling restless as you wish to do
something but still couldn’t figure
out what, don’t worry you shall find
the way soon. The things that you
had misplaced will be found.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Haphazard arrangements
only causes trouble
therefore hire some profes-
sion to do the same for
business event. Pending tasks will be
completely on your behalf by
someone, this is how nature will
show its love towards you. You like
challenges and you also like to win.
10
ETCAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
FACEOFTHEDAY
TASHA CHOUDHARY, Model
here’s an entire
genre of main-
stream Hindi film-
making that dis-
guises artistic in-
competence as ‘ode
to campy ‘70s Bol-
lywood’. If we laugh at how
hopelessly awful the movie
is, the makers tend to go,
‘But that’s the point!’. If the
acting is mercilessly grat-
ing and over-the-top, and
the sets are lit more like the
cartoon Dexter’s Laborato-
ry than the TV series Dex-
ter, and the plot is a drunken
joke camouflaged as playful
drama, and the leads have
‘easy paycheck’ written all
over their powdered fore-
heads, and the climax in-
volves an eccentric killer
swan-dancing to classical
music while simultaneous-
ly cutting open the stomach
of a pregnant girl in a disco-
lit basement, the director
points out, ‘Exactly, that’s
my tribute to so-bad-it’s-
good thrillers of yore!’.
If we wonder how exactly
a movie so terrible got
greenlit and wormed its
way onto our streaming
screens during a global pan-
demic, the writers tend to
surmise, ‘But you need the
massy escapism!’. Fourteen
years after testing that thin
kitschy line between parody
and disaster with Jaan-E-
Mann, editor-director
Shirish Kunder turns that
line into a suicidal rope
with his third feature film,
Mrs. Serial Killer.
Mrs. Serial Killer stars
Jacqueline Fernandez as
Sona Mukherjee, a charac-
ter who seems to be perpetu-
ally frustrated with the ac-
tress playing her. The ditzy
premise revolves around a
ditzy and well-dressed Sona
trying to murder a woman
after her genius lawyer
(who lives in a mansion that
looks like a public school
with an affinity for purple
mad-scientist parapher-
nalia) advises her
that the only way to
free her framed
husband from pris-
on is by proving
that a small-town
serial killer who
preys on unmar-
ried pregnant girls
and aborts their
unborn foetuses is
still on the loose.
Naturally, the ‘im-
moral’ victim Sona
chooses is an emo-
punkish student with
tattoos, purple
hair, nose rings, a
foul-mouthed
vocabulary and
a black belt in
taekwondo.
At one point,
the chase culminates in a
surreally moonlit lavender
field with magic dust and
Sona screaming ‘you f*****g
b***h’ while she’s suspend-
ed in mid-air.
In case you’re wonder-
ing, Sona steals the list of
pregnant girls from a fertil-
ity clinic. Any resemblance
to Breathe – an Amazon
series starring R. Mad-
havan as a doting father
who sets out to kill inno-
cent organ recipients so
that his terminally ill son is
bumped up the list – ends as
soon as Manoj Bajpayee is
introduced as the framed
husband, Dr. Mrityunjoy
Mukherjee, a man who acts
like the spirit of Aks is
trapped on the sets of The
Xposé. ‘Stop calling me Joy,
I’m not a f*****g ice cream,
call me Mrityu!’ the Ben-
gali man exclaims, but not
before we notice that his
own fertility clinic has
blown-up portraits of a
scantily-clad Sona all over
the reception walls. And
here I keep wondering how
weird it must feel for shy
husbands to provide their
“samples” in a private
roomful of Penthouse mag-
azines.
Bajpayee, like any great
actor for whom there is a
Satyamev Jayate for every
Aligarh and a Mrs. Serial
Killer for every The Family
Man, seems to have a blast
in bad movies – almost as if
he slyly wants to check how
far he can push the ham-
scales before the mortified
director asks him to tone it
down. But much to his vis-
ible shock, director Shirish
Kunder never stops him. He
looks like he’s always wait-
ing for Kunder to call ‘Cut!’
and burst out into chuck-
les…but that never hap-
pens. As a result, we get a
performance that zooms
past the so-bad-it’s-good
barrier into so-bad-it’s-de-
lusional territory. It cannot
be unseen. Jacqueline,
whose last four acting cred-
its read Drive, Race 3, Baa-
ghi 2, and Judwaa 2, is actu-
ally overpowered by Baj-
payee, who in turn is over-
powered by Kunder’s origi-
nal score that features a
background theme uncan-
nily similar to the tune of
Roshni Se from Asoka.
To sum up this abomina-
ble experience, much of
this Netflix original left me
so stunned with its disdain
for the concept of moving
pictures that it felt like an-
other reality check in a
year full of unsavoury real-
ity checks. A pickup line
such as ‘A male gynecolo-
gist is like a bald hair styl-
ist’ is never a good omen.
CRUELPUNISHMENT
CRUELPUNISHMENT
T
Source: https://www.filmcompanion.in/reviews/bollywood-review/mrs-serial-killer-on-netflix-review-the-worst-hindi-film-of-2020-so-far/

A
yushmannKhur-
rana has extend-
ed his support in
empowering a
group of women rag-
pickers, who have taken
it upon themselves to
make and sell rakhis
this Raksha Bandhan.
Khurrana, along with
Tahira, for years has
been supporting a Del-
hi-based non-profit or-
ganisation, Gulmeher, a
women’s collective of
waste-pickers turned arti-
sans. The actor talking about
the organisation said, “we are
emotionally invested in Gulme-
her.” He noted that the lock-
down, has left these vulnerable
groups at most risk, and their
flow of income has been im-
pacted greatly. However, these
women are all in to make and
sell rakhis, proceeds of
which will go towards their
well-being and suste-
nance. —ANI
S
ara Ali Khan on
Wednesday treated her
fans to an extremely
adorable family pic-
ture from a Holi celebration
during her childhood days.
“Mother,Daughter-IggyPot-
ter. Riot of colours with Water
Slaughter. Mommy so young I
almost forgot her. Gulaal we
threw, off-guard we caught her.
But it was healthy fun with no
totter. After all she’s
mother dearest-
the OG Fautor,”
the ‘Simmba’
star poetically
captioned the
adorable Holi
t h row b a ck
picture on In-
stagram.
In the pic-
ture, Sara was seen coloured in
Gulaal along with her mother
Amrita Singh and broth-
er Ibrahim Ali Khan.
Sara looked loveable
in the childhood
picture as she
wore an endear-
ing smile with
her neatly tied
hair in a pony-
tail. Mom Am-
rita was seen
smiling along
with the kids,
while she
held little
Ibrahim as
he smiled
and posed
for the cam-
era.
—ANI
K
anye West has
taken to Twit-
ter yet again
to make some
explosive revelations
only to delete them soon
after. The rapper, who
made the headlines for
his emotional break-
down during his first
Presidental rally over
the weekend, tweeted
about divorcing his wife
Kim Kardashian. As re-
ported, Kanye flooded
the social media plat-
form with tweets on July
22. The tweets claimed
he has been trying to sepa-
rate from the ‘Keeping Up
With The Kardashian’ star
since she met Meek Mill in
2018 to discuss prison re-
form.
He was referring to the
inaugural Criminal Jus-
tice Reform Summit in Los
Angeles in November 2018.
“They tried to fly in with 2
doctors to 51/50 me. I been
trying to get divorced since
Kim met with Meek at the
Waldorf for “prison re-
form”. I got 200 more to go.
This my lady tweet of the
night … Kris Jong-Un. Lil
Baby my favorite rapper
but won’t do a song wit
me,” one of the deleted
tweets reportedly read.
“Meek is my man and
was respectful That’s my
dog Kim was out of line
I’m worth 5 billion dollars
and more than that
through Christ But ya’ll
ain’t listen to MJ and now
ya’ll believe them???,” the
following tweet read. He
also spoke about his moth-
er-in-law Kris Jenner.
“Kriss and Kim put out a
statement without my ap-
proval … that’s not what a
wife should do White su-
premacy,” he tweeted. His
rant ended with him de-
claring, “Says the future
president.” The tweet
came a few hours after he
claimed he was reconsider-
ing his Presidential race.
—Agency
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
11
riyanka Chopra Jonas, the
girl who dreamt of becom-
ing an aeronautical engi-
neer has made her mark as
a global diva as she com-
pletes 20 years in the en-
tertainment industry ear-
lier this month.
On Wednesday, the ‘Fashion’ ac-
tor made a special announcement,
revealing her plans to celebrate the
milestone mark and have counted
on her legion of followers to join
her in the celebration. Through an
Instagram video post, the ‘Dostana’
actor explained her idea of taking
a trip down the memory lane,
where she will choose and share
“20 of the most monumental mo-
ments” of her life in these 20 years.
“It’s time for a celebration... 2020
marks my 20 years in the enter-
tainment industry! What?! How
did that even happen? You all
have been by my side
throughout this journey
and your loyalty and
support means the
world to me! Join me
as I take this trip
down memory
lane and cele-
b r a t e
#20in2020,” the ‘Gunday’ actor
wrote in captions.
Meanwhile, in a sperate message
on Twitter, Chopra thanked her
fans, and dear ones, for their over-
whelming birthday wishes for the
diva, who just turned 38 last week.
“Just want to take a second to
thank every single person who
took the time to wish me a happy
birthday. Your thoughtfulness was
so heartwarming and truly made
the day that much more special.
Thank you, thank you!
Lots of love to you all,”
she tweeted.
—ANI
#20in2020P
E
njoy-
ing the
p i n k
sunset and a
cool breeze, actor
Alia Bhatt on
Wednesday treat-
ed her fans to an
adorable selfie
with sister
Shaheen Bhatt.
“Pink sunset
and a cool
breeze, thor-
oughly enjoyed
by two sweet
peas,” wrote
the ‘Kalank’
actor as she
shared the
selfie on Ins-
tagram. The
b e a u t i f u l
p i c t u r e
showcased
sheer sister
love as the
duo posed
s m i l i n g l y
for the camera.
In the picture,
Alia was seen
sporting a comfy
round neck-t-shirt
while she letting her
hair loose, in a no-
makeup look, show-
casing her cute dim-
ple. Alongside the
‘Highway’ star Alia
Bhatt was her sister
Shaheen Bhatt. —ANI
Pink Sunset
MUSICAL
TRIBUTE TO SSR!
UNCONDITIONAL
SUPPORT
S
ushant Singh Rajput passed away on
14th June 2020 leaving the entire Bol-
lywood film industry in deep shock
and heartbroken. The promising ac-
tor’s untimely demise came as a shock to the
film fraternity as they were still recuperating
with the loss of the two stars Rishi Kapoor
and Irrfan Khan. In the midst of all this, AR
Rahman along with a few more artists includ-
ing Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, Mohit
Chauhan, Jonita Gandhi, Sashaa Tirupati,
Hriday Gattani, Amitabh Bhattacharya and
others paid a virtual music tribute to the late
MS Dhoni star on Wednesday i.e. 22nd July
2020. This amazing concert was held at noon
as has been confirmed by the music maestro
on social media. —Agency
Adorable Throwback
EXPLOSIVETWEET!
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Poster of the concert
Ayushmann and Tahira
Sara Ali Khan
Alia Bhatt;
(inset) Her post
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West
... her post

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