First india ahmedabad edition-31 july 2020

CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 246
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
2,418
DEATHS
60,285
CONFIRMED CASES
KARNATAKA
2,230 DEATHS 1,18,632 CASES
RAJASTHAN
667 DEATHS 40,936 CASES
INDIA
16,39,184
CONFIRMED CASES
35,786
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
14,729 DEATHS 4,11,798 CASES
DELHI
TAMIL NADU
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: On av-
erage, Surat has been
reporting 200-250 cas-
es of COVID-19 a day
for the past two
months. Now, with an-
other 217 cases com-
ing in from Surat city,
the municipal corpo-
ration there—which
has already spent
Rs37 crore to fight the
outbreak—has asked
the state government
for more funds.
Surat district’s 271
new cases reported on
Thursday (including
54 from rural areas)
form a major chunk of
the state’s 1,159 fresh
cases, which were re-
ported in 33 districts
and eight corporation
areas—another all-
time in daily spikes.
With the health de-
partment testing 25,067
samples on Thursday,
there are now 13,793 ac-
tive cases in the state,
including 84 patients
who are on ventilator
support.
On June 01, Surat
had 1,659 positive cas-
es and 71 deaths due
to the novel coronavi-
rus. As on July 30,
those numbers have
rocketed to 12,785
and 406, respectively.
In the past four
months, the Surat
Municipal Corpora-
tion (SMC) has spent
Rs37 crore. Now, Com-
missioner Banchhani-
dhi Pani has written
to the state govern-
ment asking for more
funds. Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani had re-
leased Rs10 crore
from the CM relief
fund for Surat earlier
this week, but this
amount does not ap-
pear to be enough, es-
pecially with sources
of income drying up.
Commissioner Pani
is apprehensive that, if
the situation persists,
the SMC will have spent
Rs170 crore by the end
of December.
Apart from Surat,
Ahmedabad had 157
cases, Vadodara had
96, Rajkot, 86, Jamna-
gar, 40, Bhavnagar, 46,
Gandhinagar, 37,
Bharuch, 35, Juna-
gadh and Surendrana-
gar had 34 each, Da-
hod had 31, Banas-
kantha had 28, Amre-
li, 24, Panchmahal, 23,
and Patan and Valsad
reported 22 each.
Turn on P6
Surat Municipal Corporation asks for more funds to fight corona
Staff at AMC’s 104 COVID-19 Helpline call centre are seen at their work stations at Paldi area in
Ahmedabad on Thursday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
24 HOURS: 1,159 CASES, 24 DEAD,
879 DISCHARGED
TOTAL: 60,285 CASES, 2,418
DEAD, 44,074 DISCHARGED
WORLD
6,72,967
DEATHS
1,73,33,835
CONFIRMED CASES
As BSP threat abates, Gehlot relaxes!
Aditi Nagar &
Nizam Kantaliya
Jaipur: The Rajasthan
High Court on Thurs-
day issued notices to
the Speaker of the
state Assembly, secre-
tary of Assembly Sec-
retariat and six MLAs
who contested elec-
tions on Bahujan Sa-
maj Party tickets and
then merged with the
Congress last year.
The court issued the
notices while hearing
two separate petitions
filed by the BSP and BJP
MLA Madan Dilawar,
respectively, against the
merger of the MLAs
into the Congress. They
have to submit their re-
plies by August 11 which
is the next date of hear-
ing. However, political
observers believe that it
is a major breather for
those in power since the
Assembly has been
called from August 14
onwards and it is un-
likely that the entire
hearing will be complet-
ed before the session is
convened.
The single-judge
bench of justice Ma-
hendra Kumar Goyal
issued notices after
two days of hearing.
The six erstwhile BSP
MLAs who were issued
notices are Sandeep
Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deep-
chand Kheria, Lakhan
Meena, and Rajendra
Gudha while notice to
the Speaker was not is-
sued in his name.
For the BSP, its na-
tional general secretary
Satish Mishra argued
the case while Madan
Dilawar was represent-
ed by senior lawyer Har-
ish Salve and Satpal
Jain. Both the BSP and
Dilawar had challenged
the Speaker’s decision
regarding merger of the
BSPMLAswiththeCon-
gress in September 2019.
Mishra said that the
merger was completely
unconstitutional while
requesting the court to
declare it invalid.
“The BSP is a nation-
al party; it cannot be
merged into another
party at state level. Leg-
islators of national par-
ty cannot merge with-
out its national presi-
dent. Until, the MLAs
are re-elected, they will
be considered MLAs of
the party on which sym-
bol they had been elect-
ed,” he said.
The BSP general
secretary also cited
Supreme Court judg-
ment in Rajendra Sin-
gh Rana case in 2007,
Jagjit Singh case in
2006 and the Haryana
High Court’s judg-
ment in Kuldeep Vish-
noi versus Haryana
Government case of
2014, to claim that the
BSP MLAs merger in
the Congress was un-
constitutional.
While Dilawar’s law-
yers Salve and Jain also
termed the merger un-
constitutional. Dilawar
had filed a complaint to
the Speaker against this
merger in March 2020,
which was rejected on
July 24. Dilawar chal-
lenged the Speaker’s de-
cision Turn on P6
New Delhi: Congress
president Sonia Gandhi
on Thursday met with
Rajya Sabha MPs of the
party via video confer-
encing and discussed
various issues includ-
ing, the current political
crisis in Rajasthan,
COVID-19pandemicand
“government’s misman-
agement and incursion
of China in Ladakh.”
Speaking to ANI,
Congress Rajya Sabha
MP Akhilesh Prasad
Singh said that there
are several burning is-
sues in the country that
were discussed in the
meeting. “We have dis-
cussed the way the
Modi government has
failed to handle COV-
ID-19 pandemic. The
political crisis of Ra-
jasthan was also dis-
cussed in the meeting
and how constitutional
norms are being violat-
ed there openly. The in-
cursion of China was
also discussed. Sonia
Gandhi said how Prime
Minister Modi has lied
on this issue by stating
that even not a 1 inch of
land has been grabbed
by China,” Singh said.
“We discussed how
Rajya Sabha MPs can
help people during this
pandemic. Sonia Gan-
dhi also suggested that
everyone should help
people as much as help
possible. She said that
the strength of the or-
ganisation can serve
the people in a better
way,” the former Union
minister Akhilesh
Prasad Singh added.
Sonia virtually met
Congress RS MPs and
discussed various is-
sues. —ANI
Raj impasse discussed in
Sonia RS MPs virtual meet
CM Ashok Gehlot speaking to media persons on Thursday.
Six BSP MLAs giving letter to Assembly Speaker CP Joshi to merge the legislative party with
the Congress in September 2019. —FILE PHOTO
Aditi Nagar
Jaipur: Even as Ra-
jasthan Chief Minister
AshokGehlothasmade
several claims that he
has a majority, amid
the ongoing political
tusslebetweenhimand
former deputy CM
Sachin Pilot, on Thurs-
day,heassertedthatthe
‘rate of horse trading’
has gone up substan-
tially, since Governor
Kalraj Mishra gave his
approval for Assembly
session.
Gehlot’s words
spread like wildfire
across Rajasthan, at a
time when former
ministers are being
hounded, by state
agencies like SOG and
ACB, on alleged horse-
trading attempts.
“After the Assembly
session was an-
nounced on Wednes-
day night, the rates of
horse trading have
increased. Earlier, the
first instalment was
of Rs 10 crore and sec-
ond was of Rs 15 crore.
Now it has become un-
limited and all know
who is doing horse
trading,” Gehlot told
reporters and stressed
that horse-trading
will never be success-
ful in the desert state.
However, the senior
Congress leader also
appealed that the dis-
sidents should come
back to the party fold.
“Thedissidentsshould
come back. If you are
miffed, you should sit
atAICC,butallof them
are guests of BJP. The
entire game has been
played by BJP and peo-
plewillnotsparethem.
TheirleadersinCentre
are conspiring and Ga-
jendra Singh’s name
has come to the fore
too,” a visibly charged
Gehlot said while add-
ing, “Now we have
called Assembly ses-
sion and if they have
won on Congress’s
ticket, then it is their
first duty that they
should appear to be
standing with the gov-
ernment. Turn on P6
Hike in ‘Derby’ rates after
House session announced!
CONG MLAs TO BE FLOWN OUT
FROM JAIPUR TODAY!
Jaipur: Even as word spread on Thursday
that Congress MLAs will be kept securely in
Fairmont Hotel at Jaipur for a fortnight till the
run up to the Assembly session on August
14, a sudden change was made in the plans
when late in the night it was decided that
MLAs will be flown to a resort at Jaisalmer
via chartered flights. It is believed that around
95 MLAs would be taken there and ‘housed’
till Assembly session starts, while a few
ministers are going to stay behind in Jaipur
for effective functioning of the government.
According to sources, at the 11th hour, Gehlot
camp may even spark a surprise by diverting
Jaipur-Jaisalmer chartered flight to a luxury
resort at Lavasa in Maharashtra, where a
Gehlot friend, Sharad Pawar wields some
considerable influence. Turn on P6
First India Bureau
Jaipur: After being
closed for 163 days, all
religious places in
Rajasthan will be
opened from Septem-
ber 1 onwards. Chief
Minister Ashok Ge-
hlot instructed all
district collectors to
start preparations in
this regard on Thurs-
day late evening,
while chairing a re-
view meeting on Co-
rona crisis in the
state.
In view of the Cov-
id-19 infection, the
Home Department
will issue a separate
guideline for this,
however, Gehlot has
already directed Col-
lectors that following
social distancing
norms and health
protocol amid the
pandemic would be
the core need. It is be-
lieved that large con-
gregation of authori-
ties will not be al-
lowed at religious
sites and strict moni-
toring of peoples’
movements, so that
health protocols are
followed, will be con-
ducted.
Gehlot stressed
that increasing the
recovery rate from
Corona has been a
top priority of his
government. “The
death rate in July has
been less than one
percent. It is our en-
deavor to continu-
ously increase the
recovery rate and
bring the death rate
to negligible level,”
he said.
Raj religious places
to open from Sept 1
Does not admit, but Raj HC issues notice to Speaker, Assembly Secy, BSP MLAs over Cong merger
Earlier, first instalment was of `10 cr & second
`15 cr, which is now unlimited: Gehlot
SONIA ADMITTED TO HOSP
New Delhi: Congress
President Sonia Gandhi
was admitted to Sir
Ganga Ram Hospital on
Thursday for “routine
tests and investigations”
and her condition is cur-
rently stable, said Dr DS
Rana, Chairman (Board of
Management), Sir Ganga
Ram Hospital, Delhi.

NEWSAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020
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First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Un-
der Unlock 3.0,
the state gov-
ernment on
Thursday took
a decision to
extend the op-
eration time
limit of shops
till 8 pm and
restaur ants
till 10 pm.
Also, in ad-
herence to
the Union
Home Minis-
try guidelines,
there will be no
night curfew en-
forced from August 1.
A meeting chaired
by Chief Minister Vi-
jay Rupani, Deputy
Chief Minister Nitin
Patel and other senior
officers, came to a con-
sensus that by permit-
ting more relaxation
amid the COVID-19 out-
break, the trade and
hospitality sector may
help revive the state’s
economy.
Other guidelines is-
sued by the Union
Home Ministry will be
enforced in the state
but, gymnasiums and
yoga centres will be
permitted to resume
operations under Un-
lock 3.0.
CM Rupani also de-
cided to go ahead with
the Prime Minister’s
‘Nal Se Jal’ programme
and make the state free
of highly fluoridated
water and handpumps.
Over 75% homes in the
state will be covered
under the programme
and soon the entire
state will receive pota-
ble water through taps,
thereby eliminating
the need for hand-
pumps all together.
In the meeting, the
state government
also dedicated the es-
tablishment of homes
for the economically
weaker sections of
the society. It allocat-
ed funds to the tune
of crores for the ren-
ovation of the histor-
ical Bhujia Fort in
Kutch district and
laying drainage pipe-
lines in Jamnagar
city. State Minister of
Agriculture RC Faldu
was also present dur-
ing the e-lokarpan
(launch) of the initia-
tive.
Elaborating on the
government’s plans for
the state, Rupani said,
“Our target is to ensure
that each and every vil-
lage and town receives
all the basic amenities.
It is important that peo-
ple do not have to be
deprived of basic ser-
vices and infrastruc-
ture.”
Under another ini-
tiative, the chief min-
ister announced a
flyover project to be
built on the seven
crossroads near Sub-
hash Bridge in the
city of Jamnagar.
The government has
sanctioned Rs155
crore for the flyover,
which will help ease
traffic congestion in
the city. The develop-
ment of such projects
may soon catapult
Jamnagar into a
megacity. The Chief
Minister also dedi-
cated the taluka ad-
ministration office
of Dhrol town in
Jamnagar district
via video conferenc-
ing.
As the time for mu-
nicipal corporation
and district panchayats
elections in the state
nears, the state has
sprung into action. De-
velopment projects
have been put on fast-
track, probably to en-
sure a win in upcoming
elections.
GEARING UP FOR THE NEXT LEVEL
LIMPING BACK: Restos, shops to get
extended biz hours, no night curfew
CM Rupani & other top brass
meet to discuss Unlock 3.0, seek
to revive state’s economy
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: The Na-
tional Education Pol-
icy 2020, passed by
the Union cabinet on
Wednesday, aims to
bring a sea change in
the current education
system by making it
contemporary and
skill-oriented, like
those found in devel-
oped countries.
The ambitious NEP
2020—India’s first such
policy in at least 28
years—recommends
primary education in
local languages, creat-
ing a single higher-edu-
cation regulator, and
easier board examina-
tions. It also advocates
that multidisciplinary
studies be made acces-
sible to all students.
While experts have
welcomed parts of the
policy, many are wor-
ried that actually imple-
menting these changes
could prove an insur-
mountable task, given
the glaring inadequa-
cies in terms of infra-
structure and skills
training.
Educational activist
Sukhdev Patel said that
theonegoodthingabout
this policy is that it
would decrease the bur-
den on young adults. “At
present, there is an ex-
treme burden on adoles-
cent students due to
board exams. This is
their most creative
years. Now there will be
less burden,” he said,
adding,“However,sofar,
in my experience, poli-
cies aren’t converted
into reality that easily.”
Author and educa-
tionist Bhadrayu Vach-
charajani points out
that the idea of multi-
disciplinary studies, in
which students can
choose courses across
disciplines, is not new.
He also says it “has
failed miserably”.
As he told First India,
“The UGC (University
Grants Commission)
has put forth the con-
cept on paper many
times in the past. Medi-
cal students can get
credit for art classes,
etc… but this has failed
miserably.”
He explains fur-
ther: “The choice-
based credit system is
like going to a restau-
rant and selecting
items from the menu.
However, in reality, it
is more like a cafete-
ria. If you ask for a
paratha from the
menu, they will tell
you they don’t have it.
This will happen
again when you
choose something else
from the menu until,
eventually, you end up
eating what the eat-
ery is offering and not
what you want.”
He went on: “An insti-
tution may put all the
courses on paper, but do
we have enough teach-
ers for that? Do we have
enough music teachers,
art and drawing teach-
ers, or even physical
training teachers? Who
will teach all these
courses? This idea is ab-
solutelyfinebutisthere
any provision for teach-
ers? There are vacan-
ciesbutnorecruitment.
Even for the research,
there is no space for in-
ter-disciplinary re-
search.”
Patel points out
that some universities
have introduced mul-
tidisciplinary studies.
“Here in Gujarat,
PDPU (Pandit Deen-
dayal Petroleum Uni-
versity) offers such
courses. It is a wel-
come step but is lim-
ited as the content is
going to remain the
same. It needs to be
updated and en-
hanced to tackle new
challenges,” he said,
adding, “For me, this
is structural change. I
was talking with an
expert and he told me
the policy—despite
coming amid calls to
be ‘vocal for local’—is
60% copy-pasted from
that of other coun-
tries.” He also points
out that the commit-
tee that came up with
NEP 2020 did not take
the opinion of “any-
one in the field of edu-
cation”.
Mujahid Nafees, the
founder of the Right to
Education Forum, says,
“NEP 2020 deals with
education and skills as
synonyms which will
affect the quest for
knowledge. Too much
emphasis on culture
may be a tool against
diversity. Moreover, the
government is escaping
from its responsibility
and giving more space
for private partners to
operate schools. Cur-
rently, schools have a
deficit of teachers even
10 years after the RTE
Act was implemented.
The government is
chargingeducationcess
but not investing that in
education. This is just a
name change and a few
patches but it’s not a
new road.”
Vachcharajani, while
alsosceptical,advocates
a wait and watch policy.
“Policymaking and
dreamingarenotwrong
butonemustconsiderif
the government can im-
plement these changes
and turn the policy into
areality.Thereareafew
milestones in this poli-
cy: 2023, 2025, 2030, and
2035. In my personal
opinion, the BJP has a
habit of taking big
while ignoring reality.
The result of this policy
can only be discussed in
2036,” he said.
A GOOD CHAPTERNEW EDU POLICY AT PAR WITH GLOBAL STANDARDS
Do we have
enough
infrastructure
& skills to take
on the changes
needed to
make NEP
2020 a
reality?
Too much emphasis on
culture may be a tool
against diversity.
Moreover, the govern-
ment is escaping from
its responsibility and
giving more space for
private partners to op-
erate schools. Currently, schools have a
deficit of teachers even 10 years after the
RTE Act was implemented.
—Mujahid Nafees, founder, RTE Forum
This idea (of multidis-
ciplinary studies) is ab-
solutely fine but is there
any provision for teach-
ers? There are vacancies
but no recruitment.
Even for the research,
there is no space for in-
ter-disciplinary research.
— Bhadrayu Vachcharajani, author & educationist
For me, this is structur-
al change. I was talking
with an expert and he
told me the policy—de-
spite coming amid calls
to be ‘vocal for local’—is
60% copy-pasted from
that of other countries.
— Sukhdev Patel, educational activist
CM Vijay Rupani

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) on Thursday
announced 15 more
private hospitals in
the city as designated
COVID-19 hospitals,
in view of a signifi-
cant flow of patients
coming to the city for
treatment from other
districts.
The decision was tak-
en during a high-level
meeting attended by
Municipal Commis-
sioner Mukesh Kumar
and officer on special
duty Rajiv Kumar Gup-
ta, among others.
“To accommodate
these outside patients,
the AMC has decided to
designate 15 more pri-
vate hospital for COV-
ID-19 care. Since the
AMCdoesnotneedmore
beds right now, these
hospitals can utilise 100
per cent of their beds to
admitpatientsunderpri-
vate quota,” Gupta said.
This means that AMC
has the option of using
50% of the beds in these
15 hospitals, should the
need arise in the future.
Until then, the hospitals
can use all their beds for
their own privately ad-
mitted patients. So,
AMC will not need to
pay charges for vacant
beds or advance grants.
The 59 private hospi-
tals already designated
for COVID-19 treatment
will continue to have
the provision of 50%
beds reserved for AMC-
referred patients.
This new arrange-
ment would add 500
more beds and ensure
availability of more
critical beds (with HDU,
ICU, and Ventilator fa-
cilities) for COVID-19
patients in the city.
Gupta clarified that
patients from the city
can also be admitted by
these hospitals. The
AMC will need to be in-
formed when patients
from outside the city are
admitted to private des-
ignated COVID-19 hospi-
tals. The newly desig-
nated hospitals have
been directed to charge
private-quotapatientsas
per the order dated June
01, 2020.
Meanwhile, the civic
body issued show-cause
notice to 126 intern doc-
tors who did not remain
present during training
to deal with the Sars-
CoV-2 outbreak, despite
a reminder. The civic
body has warned that if
the interns will repeat
this, they will have to
face dire consequences.
AMCdesignates15morehospitalsforpatientsfromotherdistricts
COVID-19 CARE

Since these
hospitals can
continue to
admit patients
until pressed
into service,
AMC does not
need to pay for
vacant beds or
advance grants
Concernedbystate’srole
inschoolfeeexemption:HCGujarat government asked to explain its stance on the issue at the hearing today
Haresh Jhala
Ahmedabad: While
hearing the petition
filed challenging the
online classes being
conducted by schools
in the state and the
fees row, the state
high court on Thurs-
day questioned the
state government’s
intention and logic
behind the exemp-
tion of school fees
until resumption of
the academic session.
The court will hear
the state’s response
on Friday.
Since another peti-
tion had also been filed
last week against the
circular of fees exemp-
tion issued by the gov-
ernment by the Self-
Financed School Man-
agement Association
of Gujarat, the court
has decided to club
both petitions and hear
them together.
Upon the court’s in-
quiry, the state re-
sponded that parents
were not in a position
to pay school fees of
their kids for the lock-
down period, since
their income has been
affected.
The court asked if
the state was asking
private (self -financed)
schools to make the fee
exemption. It also in-
quired as to how the
government planned to
repay the difference
amount to private
schools. The state re-
plied, “We have assured
all self-financed schools
that whatever expendi-
ture occurs in this aca-
demic year, it will be
taken into considera-
tion when the fee regu-
lation committee de-
cides on the school fee
hike for the next aca-
demic year.”
Countering the re-
sponse, the court fur-
ther questioned the
logic behind the fee
hike supposition, by
stating, ‘If the govern-
ment plans to hike the
fees of schools in the
next academic year,
how will the parents of
students be able to pay
the fees then?’ The
state did not reply to
this counter-query.
Over the course of
the hearing, the court
orally observed that it
suspected the state
government’s role in
the issue.
“If the government
genuinely believes
that parents are facing
a financial crunch,
then why hasn’t it lent
financial help to them?
The state government
needs to create a short
structural system to
resolve the issue,” it
stated.
SELF-SUFFICIENT
The Gujarat High Court. —FILE PHOTO
Court rejects Hardik
Patel’s plea to travelHaresh Jhala
Ahmedabad: A city
civil and sessions
court on Thursday
rejected state acting
president of Con-
gress and Patidar
Anamat Andolan
Samiti (PAAS) lead-
er Hardik Patel’s ap-
plication seeking
permission to travel
to other states. The
state government
had opposed Patel’s
petition stating that
wherever he travels,
it will create law
and order unrest.
Additional City
Civil and Sessions
judge Bharat Ganatra
while rejecting Patel’s
application observed,
“After going through
the sedition case file,
it is clear that the pe-
titioner is intention-
ally delaying trial.
The court has to exer-
cise its power judi-
ciously and has to be
careful while deciding
on citizens’ rights.
Public interest is
more important than
a particular individu-
al’s rights, and in this
situation the court
feels that the plea of
the applicant should
be rejected.”
Patel had moved an
application pleading
to delete condition
number five from his
regular bail order. Ac-
cording to the bail or-
der, under condition
number five, Patel is
restricted from travel-
ling to other states,
and may only do so
with the court’s per-
mission.
The petitioner’s
submission was that
even when the high
court granted his reg-
ular bail, no such
condition was put
forth by it. He further
termed the condition
against the law and
pleaded that it be
scrapped. The peti-
tioner also argued
that the rights en-
shrined in the Consti-
tution cannot be
withdrawn or made
ineffective by the
court, which includes
the right to move free-
ly across the nation.
However, public
prosecutor MV
Dhruv opposed the
application on
grounds that since
the beginning the ap-
plicant has not been
cooperating with the
trial, by being absent
frequently from court
proceedings. He ar-
gued that since Patel
has not been abiding
by the law or respect-
ing court orders, he
can be denied indi-
vidual rights.
Hardik Patel. —FILE PHOTO
GTU student data
leaked after mock test
After Congress, AAP
protests against RMC
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Students
of the Gujarat Tech-
nological University
have complained that
their personal data,
including ID proofs
were leaked onto the
university website
during an online
mock test held on
Tuesday.
“Around 28,000 stu-
dents took the pre-trial
online MCQ (multiple
choice question) test
held on July 28. The
data breach has cap-
tured all the students’
IDs—not just college
IDs, but also govern-
ment-issued identifica-
tion like PAN or Aadhar
cards, which are linked
to our bank accounts,”
one student said.
The data of thou-
sands of students re-
mained exposed on the
university’s website for
quite some time before
being brought down.
Students took to
Twitter to voice their
concerns, and strongly
protested against the
university and demand-
ed answers.
General secretary of
the National Student
Union of India, Bhavik
Solanki questioned
GTU’s silence on the is-
sue, and said, “GTU has
a course on cybersecu-
rity and yet the institu-
tion and its administra-
tors have failed to pro-
vide security to their
own students. They are
charging hefty fees
from the students and
can’t even secure their
data. If any student of
GTU becomes a victim
due to the data leak,
then NSUI will launch a
movement.”
First India Bureau
Rajkot: The decision
of the Rajkot Munici-
pal Corporation
(RMC) not to release
the names of COV-
ID-19 positive pa-
tients has witnessed
backlash from vari-
ous political parties.
After members of the
Congress party
staged a protest and
submitted a memo-
randum to the RMC
commissioner Udit
Agrawal on Wednes-
day, the youth wing of
the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) protested
RMC’s move by carry-
ing banners near
Trikon Baug Chowk
on Thursday.
Demanding that the
local civic body release
the names of COVID-19
positive patients, AAP
members said that it
would help people
equip themselves with
the information to stay
safe and take necessary
precautions if they
come in contact with a
person who has been
infected with the virus.
The AAP members
were seen carrying
banners with slogans
such as, ‘What is RMC
hiding? Names of pa-
tients or its failure?’,
‘Release the names of
corona patients, save
people’s lives.’
The RMC ceased re-
leasing names of COV-
ID-19 patients and
their addresses three
days ago, a practice it
had kept at ever since
the outbreak reached
Rajkot.
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
A man immerses a statue of Goddess Dashama in the Sabarmati river near Ahmedabad’s Indira Bridge on the last day of the
10-day Dashama Vrat, which is celebrated every year in the Hindu holy month of Shravan. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
For Surtis, gold-silver rakhis have lost their shine
First India Bureau
Surat: The novel cor-
onavirus pandemic
has affected the
economy as well as
the health of people
adversely. It seems
that the festival of
Rakshabandhan has
not been spared too.
The demand for gold,
silver and diamond
rakhis, which usual-
ly have many takers
in the diamond city,
has decreased this
year.
Owing to the finan-
cial crunch brought on
by the ongoing COV-
ID-19 outbreak and the
rise in the prices of
gold and silver, the de-
mand for fancy rakhis
has fallen this season.
With local jewellers
coming up with
such“precious” rakhis
every year, they are
seen as an investment
by Surtis, which can be
worn for special occa-
sions. The price of
such rakhis ranges
from Rs500 to Rs1 lakh.
If the government genuinely believes
that parents are facing a financial
crunch, then why hasn’t it lent finan-
cial help to them? The state government needs
to create a short structural system to resolve
the issue. —High Court of Gujarat
The protesters carried banners
near Trikon Baug Chowk.
AMC building. —FILE PHOTO

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 246 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 | FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020
n India, many
people blame
the communi-
ties living in
and around the
forests for exploiting natu-
ral resources. They are
held responsible for forest
degradation and deforesta-
tion. Communities who
live in the Himalayas are
no exception. Today, the
once-pristine Himalayan
mountains are littered
with plastic. Even remote
villages with age-old tradi-
tions have not escaped the
plastic menace. As a result,
we are witnessing one of
the biggest environmental
tragedies in the world.
TOURISM AND
POLLUTION
About two decades ago, I
visited the Kedarnath
Wildlife Sanctuary in Utta-
rakhand in India. As the
bus climbed the mountain
at a steady speed, we would
occasionally stop for tea
and snacks as well to en-
gage in photography. At
one point, the bus stopped
at a cluster of roadside tea
shops near a small village.
We decided to enjoy the
view with chai and pakora.
We were not alone at the
spot. Some tourists were
also enjoying the spectacu-
lar view of mountain land-
scapes while quenching
their thirst and slaking
their appetite. As we were
sitting on the benches, we
observed that some of the
tourists were drinking soft
drinks and eating potato
chips. A senior colleague
in our group quipped: “See,
here also, they are selling
soft drinks and chips. They
should not sell these items
here. The shops should
keep local products only.
See, the empty plastic bot-
tles and packets are strewn
all around, polluting the
beautiful mountain forest
and environment.”
My colleague’s words set
me thinking. Empathizing
with the poor tea shop own-
ers, I instinctively respond-
ed, “They are selling soft
drinks and chips because
tourists are buying.” Al-
though I did not articulate
it at that moment, I saw the
poor tea shop owner mere-
ly supplying what his cus-
tomers demanded. Not do-
ing so could have meant
not making enough money
to feed his family.
Suffice to say, my senior
colleague differed with me.
He offered the supply-side
argument. If tea shop own-
ers did not sell soft drinks
and plastics, the tourists
would not have been able to
buy them. These owners
were at fault. They had to
be stopped.
Beingamanof themoun-
tains myself, I know how
hard life can be for my peo-
ple. This argument did not
wash with my senior who
retorted: “Poverty, poverty,
poverty … what is poverty?
I do not see them starving.
In any case, they are de-
stroying the environment
everywhere selling these
city products.”
Like my colleague, I too
am appalled by the pollu-
tion. It is disgusting to see
the beautiful Himalayan
mountainside ruined by
plastic. Yet my senior’s con-
demnation of the tea shop
owners does not quite sit
easilywithme.Theoldways
of lifeinHimalayanvillages
are dead. Subsistence farm-
ing no longer meets local
needs.Moneytalks. So,why
blamethesemountainfolks?
Just as mountain folks
have their needs, so do
tourists. They escape to
cool and green mountains
from hot and dusty cities.
They have developed a
taste for soft drinks and
chips. Lest we forget, these
are advertised incessantly
on their television sets or
computer screens. They
want to soak in the scenery
while partaking something
they enjoy. Surely that is a
natural human instinct.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM
Plastics threat on Himalayas: Who’s to blame?
I
Even remote
villages have not
escaped the
plastic menace.
Thus, we witness
one of the biggest
environmental
tragedies
...And do not mix the
truth with falsehood or
conceal the truth while
you know. —Ayat 42
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
One year ago on 30th July, 2019
@narendramodi government
abolished #TripleTalaq. It
has contributed to women
empowerment and given them
the dignity they deserve in our
society. Now, #TripleTalaq Cases
have dropped by 82% since the
law was enacted.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Delighted to note that a Made-
in-India cycle helped kickstart a
healthy UK campaign and was
used by PM @BorisJohnson
Indian products are without doubt
the best recipe for nursing back
the health of the World.
ive Rafale fighter jets of the
IAF that took off from Merig-
nac in France on 27 July 2020
travelling about 7,000 km with
a night stopover in the UAE
touched down at Ambala on
Wednesday in the middle of the
ongoing military confrontation
with China which could extend
to the winters, or even beyond.
Gp Capt Harkirat Singh of
the “17 Golden Arrows
team” comprising of Wing
Commanders MK Singh, R
Kataria, Sidhu and Arun
were given traditional wel-
come with water cannons at
Ambala airbase on 29 Jul
2020. Bharat had bought 36
twin-engine fighter planes
from Dassault Rafale for 3.7
Billion $ (`58,000 crore)
through an intergovernmen-
tal agreement signed in
2016. These are first imported
jets being inducted into the IAF
after gap of 23 years since 1977
when the Russian Sukhoi-30
jets were inducted.
Of the ten delivered so far,
five are in France for training.
Pilots and support personnel of
the Indian Air Force have been
given complete training about
the aircraft and the weapon sys-
tems by France. IAF batches
will continue to be trained in
France for the next nine
months. The delivery of all 36
aircraftwillbecompletedbythe
end of 2021. Thirty will be fight-
er jets and six will be twin-seat-
er trainers with similar fea-
tures of the fighter jets.
It is being dubbed as
“game-changers” by many
thinkers around the globe
and Is indeed going to be one
as this has both strategic and
national ramifications for
Bharat. Early delivery of Ra-
fale is a clear signal of trust
in Bharat enjoys in the inter-
national community and at
the same time withholding
of supply of S-400 missile
system by Russia to China is
one of lack of trust in China.
Rafales are extremely swift,
versatile, 4.5 Generation and
deadly “Smart Aerial Machine
with Smart Weapons”.
Equipped with a wide range of
weaponsdesignedforOmnirole
with four mission capability in
single sortie. It’s capable of per-
forming interdiction, aerial re-
connaissance, ground support
role and beyond visual range
precision strike including
ground and sea targets with nu-
clear deterrence. The deadly
weapon systems, advanced avi-
onics, sophisticated radars and
state of art electronic warfare
systems makes it currently an
invincible platform in sky.
The aircraft is capable of
carrying a wide range of po-
tent missile systems like Me-
teor, MICA, Scalp and HEM-
MER. Each Rafale can carry
maximum of six missiles in-
cluding two fire-and-forget
Scalp cruise missiles for
high-value fortified targets
well over 250 km of range.
The Meteor missiles with 150
km range are one of the best
air to air missiles in the world
for air combat with no-escape
zone for hostile fighters.
The upgrades like Israeli
helmet-mounted displays and
low-band jammers to towed de-
coy systems, 10-hour flight data
recording and engine capabili-
ty for “cold start” in sub-Zero &
high-altitude regions make it
the best all-terrain /all-weath-
er aerial platform in IAF com-
bat inventory.
Its unique Stealth capabil-
ity with Solid-state transmit-
ter system makes it almost
invisible on any radar
screen, electronic scanning
radar with capability to scan
multiple targets with lock
and engage eight targets at
any given time, mid fighter
to fighter mid-air refuelling
ability and holographic
cockpit makes it first of its
kind in the world. With prov-
en operational track record in
Iraq/Libya/Afganistan, higher
range of engagement for a tar-
get as far as 300 km of distance,
High altitude sub-zero capabil-
ity, speed of 2 Mac and combat
range of 1600 km gives it higher
survivability in combat Zone.
The Rafale jets has various
Bharat specific modifications,
includingIsraelihelmet-mount-
ed displays, radar warning re-
ceivers, low-band jammers, 10-
hour flight data recording, in-
fra-red search and tracking
systems. Rafale has unique HO-
TAS(handsonthrottleandstick
system). This means the pilot
can use the throttle and stick to
control the entire spectrum of
the operations. Rafale’s throttle
and stick have 36 switches on
them.“Eachswitchhasfourdis-
tinct movements that are meant
for specific operations.
Pakistan and China cur-
rently do not have any aerial
platform with weaponry of
this class in their combat in-
ventories. Closest to raffles is
Chinas J-20 so claimed to be 5
Generation aircraft which is
devoid of any combat experi-
ence and certification. In
spite of China’s claims of its
J-20 being a 5th generation
aircraft, Rafale is a far supe-
riorinweaponsystem,stealth
technology and avionics.
If the J-20 was the best,
why would the Chinese go
for the Russian Su-35.
The second squadron of Ra-
fale will be stationed at Hasi-
mara base in West Bengal. The
IAF has created adequate re-
quired infrastructure like shel-
ters, hangars and maintenance
facilities at the two bases.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
RAFALE A GAME
CHANGER. YES, IT IS.....
F
The aircraft is
capable of
carrying a wide
range of potent
missile systems
like Meteor,
MICA, Scalp
and HEMMER.
Each Rafale can
carrymaximum
of six missiles
including two
fire-and-forget
Scalp cruise
missiles
Pakistan and China
currently do not have
any aerial platform
with weaponry of this
class in their combat
inventories. Closest
to raffles is Chinas
J-20 so claimed to be
5 Generation aircraft
which is devoid of any
combat experience
COL DEVANAND
LOHAMAROD
IN-DEPTH
TRANSFORMING THE
EDUCATION SYSTEM
fter 34 years the 10 plus 2 system of edu-
cation is set to make way for the new
5+3+3+4 system under the ground-break-
ing New Education Policy passed by the
Union government. The first five years
will include foundational education. The NEP in-
corporates sweeping reforms like four-year bache-
lor’s programme with the flexibility of exiting and
rejoining the course, no firm dividing line between
arts and science streams, one-year MA programme,
opening the doors for foreign universities. Four-
year degree course allowing students to choose one
major subject, say physics, along with any other
subject, like music is a new laudable element.
K Kasturirangan, who was chairman of the
drafting panel called it a seminal moment and said
that will transform education in the country in the
next 20 years.
The much-needed reforms will touch all levels
of education starting from preschool and bring
about a qualitative improvement. The various
state educational boards, multiple examinations,
buying of university affiliations by private univer-
sities and colleges will all be a thing of the past. So
will be the University Grants Commission and the
AICTE, which will be merged. Students will no
longer be required to worry about their percent-
ages in class XII, which will become part of gradu-
ation course and Delhi University cut-offs as there
will be a common SAT-like entrance test.
The reforms bring India’s education system at
par with the global practices and will be especially
helpful for students planning to go abroad for high-
er education. However, with the presence of for-
eign universities in the country they may not feel
the need to do so.
A
GEHLOT GOVT FACES
‘MERGER’ TEST
ajasthan political crisis got a new twist
when Rajasthan HC issued notices to As-
sembly Speaker and secretary in the
merger of six BSP MLAs with Congress.
The notices have been issued on a peti-
tion filed by the BSP challenging the merger. The six
BSP MLAs–Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand
Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajen-
draGudhana–defectedtoCongressinSeptember2019
giving the Gehlot government a comfortable major-
ity of 107 in the 200-member House. The MLAs had
contestedandwonelectionsontheBSPpartysymbol.
With odds seemingly against Gehlot the BSP de-
cided to strike, baring Mayawati’s growing en-
chantment for the BJP. The party issued a whip to
the six defectors asking them to vote against Ge-
hlot government during a floor test. BSP general-
secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, who represent-
ed his party in HC, said that the merger announced
by the Speaker was illegal and unconstitutional as
per the provisions of para 4 of the Xth Schedule.
The HC’s notices are returnable by August 11,
three days prior to the date of floor test fixed by
the Governor. There is a possibility that the BSP
MLAs might defy the party whip and help Gehlot
to tide over the political crisis. The Chief Minister
remained closeted with his party legislators for a
meeting in a hotel, which will be their abode till
the D-Day. But the danger is not yet over.
R

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020
DEHRADUN-GAUCHAR CONNECTING
HELICOPTER SERVICE BEGINS
New Delhi: A helicopter
service on the Deh-
radun-New Tehri-Sri-
nagar-Gauchar route in
Uttarakhand under the
Central government’s
regional connectivity
scheme UDAN has been
inaugurated.Union Civil
Aviation Minister Hardeep
Singh Puri and CM of
Uttarakhand, Trivendra
Singh Rawat jointly
flagged off the helicop-
ter routes virtually.The
helicopter routes are to be
operated by Pawan Hans
Limited. Civil Aviation
Minister congratulated
the people for being able
to avail of these services
under the RCS. these
helicopter services will
be available for three
days a week on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday.
ECI TO CONDUCT BY-ELECTIONS
FOR 2 RS SEATS ON AUGUST 24
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India
(ECI) will conduct by-elections for two vacant
Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and Kerala on
August 24. “There are two casual vacancies in the
Rajya Sabha, one each from Uttar Pradesh and
Kerala. The seats got vacated due to the deaths of
former MPs Beni Prasad Verma and MP Veer-
endra Kumar,” the ECI said in a press note. “The
Commission has decided to hold by-elections to
the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh and Kerala to
fill up the said vacancies,” it added.
SENSEX TUMBLES 335 PTS;
NIFTY GIVES UP 11,150
Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmark Sensex
slumped 335 points on Thursday, dragged by
losses in financial stocks amid negative cues
from global markets. The 30-share BSE bench-
mark ended 335.06 pts or 0.88% lower at
37,736.07; while the NSE Nifty tumbled 100.70
points to 11,102.15. IndusInd Bank was the top
laggard in the Sensex pack, falling over 5% fol-
lowed by HDFC, Axis Bank, PowerGrid, SBI, Bajaj
Finserv and Bharti Airtel. Whereas, Sun Pharma,
Maruti, Infosys & RIL were among the gainers.
VAT ON DIESEL REDUCED
TO 16.75 PERCENT IN NEW DELHI
New Delhi: The Value
Added Tax (VAT) on diesel
in Delhi has been reduced
to 16.75 per cent from
30 per cent, the Arvind
Kejriwal-led government
decided on Thursday.
“Delhi Cabinet has
decided to reduce VAT on
diesel from 30 per cent to
16.75 per cent. This will
reduce the price of diesel
in Delhi from Rs 82 to Rs
73.64, i.e., by Rs 8.36 per
litre,” Kejriwal said while
addressing a press con-
ference here. “Many peo-
ple including traders were
demanding a reduction in
prices of diesel. This was
affecting the budgets of
industries and other es-
tablishments,” he added.
Job portal opened by his
government has received
a positive response.
OFFERING PRAYERS IN TIMES OF CORONA
Muslim pilgrims circumambulate around the Kaaba as they maintain social distancing.
India’s partnerships marked
by respect, diversity, says PMSpeaking at the inauguration of Supreme Court building in Mauritius, PM Narendra
Modi said the country’s approach to development is mainly human-centric
New Delhi: Asserting
that India’s develop-
ment partnerships are
marked by respect, di-
versity, care for the fu-
ture and sustainable
development, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday said
the fundamental prin-
ciple in development
cooperation for India
is “respecting our part-
ners.”
Speaking at the inau-
guration of Supreme
Court building in Mau-
ritius, PM Modi said
India’s development co-
operation does not
come with any condi-
tions. PM Modi said,
“India is making devel-
opment partnerships
that are marked by re-
spect, diversity, care for
the future and sustain-
able development. For
India, the most funda-
mental principle in de-
velopment cooperation
in respecting our part-
ners. This sharing of
development lessons is
our only motivation.
That is why our devel-
opment cooperation
does not come with any
conditions. It is not in-
fluenced by political or
commercial considera-
tions.”
“We want to work for
the welfare of humani-
ty. History has taught us
that in the name of de-
velopment partner-
ships, nations were
forced into dependence
partnerships. It gave
rise to colonial and im-
perial rule. It gave rise
to global power blocks.
And, humanity suf-
fered,” he added.
Prime Minister Modi
said the two countries’
friendship draws
strength from the past
and also and looks to-
ward the future. He also
said the new SCbuild-
ing is a symbol of coop-
eration and shared val-
ues between the two
countries. “Today we
celebrate yet another
landmark in the special
friendship between In-
dia and Mauritius. The
new Supreme Court
building in Port Louis is
a symbol of our cooper-
ation & our shared val-
ues,” the PM said.—ANI
With Mauritius, we share not only
the waters of the Indian Ocean but
also a common heritage of kinship,
culture and language. Our friendship
draws strength from the past and also looks
towards the future. India takes pride in the
achievements of the people of Mauritius.
Mauritius has built its success through
hard work and innovation.
—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
‘Need passenger trains on
Haridaspur-Paradip route’
Vaishali
Bhubaneswar: Union
Minister Dharmendra
Pradhan urged Rail-
way Minister Piyush
Goyal for introduction
of passenger train ser-
vice on Haridaspur-
Paradip rail line that is
ready for movement of
goods trains.
In a letter to Goyal,
Pradhan said the 82-km
rail link between
Paradip & Haridaspur
passing through Jagat-
singhpur, Kendrapara
and Jajpur districts is
the widely anticipated
railway line in the
State since sanctioning
of the project in 1996.
Passenger train ser-
vice is a long-standing
demand of the people
of Kendrapara.
“I request your per-
sonal intervention in
starting of passenger
train service through
this line which will
provide much-needed
connectivity to Kendra-
para and facilitate eco-
nomic development in
the region,” the letter
said.
Expressing his grati-
tude to Goyal for taking
personal interest for
swift completion of the
long-pending project
and thanking Odisha
government for prompt
resolution of various
issues, Pradhan said
the project will unlock
massive potential for
development in East-
ern India envisioned
under PM’s Purvodaya
vision.
He said the comple-
tion of project that has
been sanctioned in 1996
was possible due to PM
Modi’s commitment to
realise the vision of
Purvodaya & constant
monitoring on imple-
mentation of key infra-
structure projects lan-
guishing for years.
“I would request you
to solicit the presence
of PM Narendra Modi
and Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik for a
grand inauguration of
the project,” Pradhan
said.
ARMY’S BIG EDGE OVER CHINA IN EASTERN LADAKH
SSR’s father
files caveat in
SC on Rhea’s
transfer plea
Mumbai: The family of
Sushant Singh Rajput
filed a caveat in SC on
Rhea Chakraborty’s pe-
tition seeking transfer
of investigation in the
actor’s death case to
Mumbai Police. A cave-
at is a legal process, in
which the party, which
had filed it before the
concerned court, shall
have to be heard defi-
nitely before the court
concerned will pass any
order in future.
‘Let nothing to be
done in the above men-
tioned matter without
prior notice to the un-
dersigned,’ said the ca-
veat, filed by Rajput’s
father KK Singh in the
apex court.
This comes a day af-
ter actor Rhea moved a
petition in top court
seeking directions to
transfer probe in the
FIR filed by Rajput’s
family in Bihar to Mum-
bai Police.An FIR had
been registered against
Chakraborty by Ra-
jput’s father at Rajiv Na-
gar police station in
Patna under various
sections. —ANI
35,000 troops deployed at LAC
Islamabad HC forms special
bench to hear Jadhav’s case
New Delhi: Preparing
for a long haul in the
Eastern Ladakh sector
in extreme winters, the
Indian Army has an
edge over the Chinese
as it has deployed 35,000
troops there who have
already done tenures in
high altitude and cold
conditions.
The Indian troops de-
ployed there are men-
tally prepared for tack-
ling the weather and
terrain. In contrast, the
Chinese troops de-
ployed along the LAC-
are not used to these
conditions as they have
been brought from
mainland China and
are not accustomed to
high altitude extreme
cold weather condi-
tions. “We are prepar-
ing to provide extreme
cold weather portable
cabins for around 35,000
troops that have been
deployed in the Eastern
Ladakh sector,” govern-
ment sources told ANI.
“Our soldiers de-
ployed there have al-
ready done a tenure or
two in Siachen, Eastern
Ladakh or Northeast
and they are physically
and mentally prepared
for a longer deployment
there,” they said.
The Chinese soldiers
deployed on Indian
front include mainly
conscripts who join the
PLA for a period of 2-3
years and then return
to their normal lives,
sources said.—ANI
Islamabad: The Islam-
abad HC has formed a
special bench to hear
the case of former In-
dian navy commander
Kulbushan Jadhav
from next week. Jadhav,
a former Indian navy
commander, has been
sentenced to death for
alleged involvement in
a spying case
Islamabad HC Chief
Justice Athar Minallah
will be heading the
bench. A lawyer will
also be appointed for
Jadhav on Monday.
Earlier this week, the
Pakistan government
presented the Interna-
tional Court of Justice
Ordinance, 2020, in Par-
liament for approval.
This legislation will
pave the way for Jadhav
to appeal his death sen-
tence handed to him by
a military court in 2017.
The ordinance will
have an overriding ef-
fect as its provisions
shall have effect not-
withstanding anything
to the contrary con-
tained in any law for the
time being in force, in-
cluding the Pakistan
Army Act 1952.
On July 22, the Paki-
stan government had
approached the Islama-
bad HC to appoint a le-
gal representative for
the Indian spy.
The move was made
in the light of the Inter-
national Court of Jus-
tice’s July 17, 2019 deci-
sion, following which
the International Court
of Justice Ordinance,
2020 was enacted to im-
plement the court’s ver-
dict.According to the
government’s petition,
Jadhav refused to file a
petition against his sen-
tence. —Agencies
Priyanka Vadra writes to CM Yogi,
demands release of Kafeel Khan
New Delhi: Congress
general secretary Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra
has written to UP Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath demanding the
release of Dr Kafeel
Khan who is in jail after
the NSA was invoked
against him by the gov-
ernment.
In her letter to UP
Chief Minister, she said
that she wanted to raise
the issue of Kafeel
Khan who has spent
around 450 days in jail.
Khan has selflessly
served the people in
tough times. “I hope
that you will look into
the matter in a sensitive
way and ensure that Dr
Khan gets justice,” said
Priyanka Gandhi. The
Allahabad HC is set to
hear the matter on Au-
gust 5. —Agencies
CONG GEN SECY VACATES GOVT
BUNGALOW IN DELHI’S LUTYENS’ ZONE
New Delhi: Congress General-Secretary Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra vacated her central government allotted accom-
modation at Delhi’s Lodhi Estate, sources said. Priyanka
Gandhi will return to Delhi to her permanent address
after staying in Gurugram for a few days. She has kept all
her belongings in 10, Janpath for time being.
PM Modi speaks during the inauguration of the new SC building
of Mauritius through video conferencing. —PHOTO BY ANI
Dharmendra Pradhan

Surat Municipal...
Of the 24 deaths report-
edinthepast24hours,10
occurredinSurat,fivein
Ahmedabad, two each
from Patan, Vadodara
and Gandhinagar, and
one from Kutch.
Meanwhile, in Va-
dodara, 96 of the 807
samples tested back pos-
itive. There are 1,029 ac-
tive cases there, with 143
patients on oxygen sup-
port and 50 on ventila-
tors and BiPAP ma-
chines. Vadodara health
department has decided
to conduct door-to-door
healthsurveillancefrom
August 04 to August 08.
In Surat, two more
doctors of civil hospi-
tal, and four private
practitioners have test-
ed positive. Three nurs-
es from SMIMER are
also undergoing treat-
ment for COVID-19.
Hike in...
They do not know what
the people in their area
must be thinking and
only when they go there
they will know that in-
stead of getting works
done through the gov-
ernment, they have sid-
ed with the BJP.”
Gehlot went on to say
that he called up the
Prime Minister and in-
formed him of the en-
tire episode.
“I am happy the Gov-
ernor accepted my re-
quest and now we will
talk on issues like Coro-
na and floor test among
others. Rajasthan will
become turning point
of nation’s politics.
BJP’s leaders rush to
Delhi in secrecy, it is not
wrong to go to Delhi but
the BJP should let go of
its plans to topple the
state government,” he
said. Interestingly, Ge-
hlot said that he has
been ‘God-gifted’ in
staying tension free.
Targeting BSP chief
Mayawati for her state-
ments against him, Ge-
hlot accused the former
UP CM of acting at the
behest of the BJP.
As BSP...
in the HC claiming that
the Speaker decided the
matter without hearing
him.Totalninepetitions
havebeenfiledrelatedto
this political tussle in-
cluding four by MLA
Bhanwarlal Sharma
from Pilot group. He has
soughtdismissalof ACB
and SOG cases. Two
PILs pertain to conduct
of the Governor.
Cong MLAs...
The MLAs are likely to
leave for their destina-
tion by 11.45 AM on
Friday prior to which
they will have break-
fast and hold a CLP at
Firmont hotel. Such
was the secrecy on the
entire ‘travelogue’ that
the MLAs were not told
the final destination
and on enquiry they
were informed that
their destination
would be revealed at
the time of boarding
the plane. Sources say
two charter flights, if
the MLAs are finally
taken to Jaisalmer,
will make two trips
wherein the planes will
leave around 11.45 AM
with 37 and 11 MLAs
respectively. Then
planes will return to
Jaipur and at 3 PM, 47
MLAs in two planes (37
in one and 10 in other)
will head for Jaisalmer.
FROM PG 1
INDIAAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020
Lucknow: A priest and
15 policemen on duty at
the Ram temple site in
Ayodhya, where the
‘Bhoomi Pujan’ will
take place next week,
have tested positive for
coronavirus.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi is sched-
uled to attend the cere-
mony on August 5.
The Shri Ram Janma-
bhoomi Teertha Kshet-
ra Trust has issued an
appeal to all saints
across the country to
perform puja in their
respective temples and
Maths from 11.30 am to
12.30 pm on August 5.
Champat Rai, the gen-
eral secretary of the
Trust, requested people
to watch the live tele-
cast of bhoomi pujan on
television and light
earthen lamps at home
in the evening.
Last week, Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath had
visited the Ram Janma-
bhoomi complex to re-
view preparations for
the mega event.
For the ceremony on
August 5, 11 priests
from Varanasi and Ayo-
dhya will perform the
puja. Pradeep Das,
priest who tested posi-
tive, is not part of this
group of 11.
“There is nothing to
worry about. One of the
priests who performs
daily rituals at the tem-
ple site has tested posi-
tive. The entire campus
will be sanitised on a
routine basis,” said Ma-
hant Kamal Nayan Das,
successor designate to
Mahant Nritya Gopal
Das, chairman of the
Trust.
Some 200 people have
been invited, the list in-
cludes veteran BJP
leader LK Advani,
chief ministers from
different states etc.
The rituals will be-
gin on August 3 and
end with a bhoomi pu-
jan on August 5, said
sources. —Agencies
A hoarding of PM Narendra Modi and other leaders put up beside a statue of Lord Hanuman, ahead of the foundation laying ceremony
of Ram Temple, in Ayodhya on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
The structure was de-
molished, my govern-
ment was dismissed
on that day, I have no regrets
for it. My aspirations along
with millions of Hindus is be-
ing fulfilled now.
—Kalyan Singh, Former UP CM
Billboards at the iconic New York’s Times Square to
display Lord Ram’s images, temple model on Aug 5
New York: Images of
Lord Ram and 3D
portraits of the
grand Ram Temple in
Ayodhya will be
beamed across the gi-
ant billboards in the
iconic Times Square
in New York on Au-
gust 5 to celebrate
the temple’s ground-
breaking ceremony.
President of the
American India Pub-
lic Affairs Committee
Jagdish Sewhani on
Wednesday said that
arrangements are be-
ing made to celebrate
the historic moment
in New York on Au-
gust 5. Prominent bill-
boards like giant Nas-
daq screen along with
high-res LED screens
are being leased for
the occasion.
Members of the In-
dian community will
also gather to mark
the celebration. This
is a dream come true
event for Hindus
across the globe.
High resolution LED screens are being leased for the event.
Ayodhya priest, 15 cops test Covid
+ve ahead of Ram Temple eventPriests from Varanasi and Ayodhya will perform the puja on Aug 5
New Delhi: After
failing to target Jam-
mu and Kashmir on
Eid-ul-Fitr in May,
Taliban terrorists
are now planning at-
tacks in India on the
anniversary of abro-
gation of Article 370.
According to the
intelligence input,
Pakistan Army
would facilitate the
infiltration of 20-25
cadres through Inter-
national borders.
Terrorists are plan-
ning to carry out at-
tacks on August 5 or
15, 2020, all necessary
safety measures are
being taken.
Intel input warns of attack in J-K,
Ram Mandir also under threat
Am ambulance carries the mortal remains of West Bengal Pradesh Congress President
Somen Mitra during his funeral procession in Kolkata on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
WB Cong chief dies, Sonia
RaGa condole demise
Kolkata: West Bengal
Congress President
Somen Mitra died of
kidney and heart ail-
ment at a private hos-
pital in the early
hours of Thursday.
Mitra was 78 and
is survived by his
son Rohan Mitra,
state youth Congress
leader, and wife
Sikha Mitra, a for-
mer legislator.
Congress President
Sonia Gandhi said,
“Bengal Congress
Party has lost a pillar
of strength, his con-
tributions and servic-
es to the people will
always be remem-
bered.
“My deepest condo-
lences to his family,
followers and well-
wishers,” tweeted
Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee.
“All my love and
support to family and
friends of Somen Mi-
tra at this difficult
time. We will remem-
ber him with love,
fondness and respect,”
tweetedRahulGandhi.
Mitra was elected
legislator from the
Sealdah constituency
in central Kolkata sev-
en times. He was also
elected to the Lok Sab-
haasaTrinamoolCon-
gresscandidatein2009.
Leaderof theCongress
in the Lok Sabha Ran-
jan Chowdhury said,
he has lost a guardian.
BJP state president
Dilip Ghosh said, “Mi-
tra was the face of the
old political culture.”
CPI(M) Md Salim
said, “He knew con-
stituencies like the
palmof hishand.”—PTI
‘Soon10Ltestswillbedoneperday’
New Delhi: Johnson
& Johnson on Thurs-
day, kicked off US hu-
man safety trials for
its COVID-19 vaccine
after releasing details
of a study in monkeys
that showed its best-
performing vaccine
candidate offered
strong protection in a
single dose. “This
gives us confidence
that we can test a sin-
gle-shot vaccine in
this epidemic and
learn whether it has a
protective effect in
humans,” Dr Paul
Stoffels, J&J’s chief
scientific officer. The
drugmaker said it had
started early-stage hu-
man trials over 1,000
healthy adults. Govt is
backing vaccine effort
with $456 million in
funding as part of
pandemic.
J&J starts safety trial for vaccine
‘More than 1 mn patients
recovered yet’
India’s tally reaches 15,83,792AIIA starts free
testings &
treatments
New Delhi: Rajesh
Bhushan, Secretary,
Ministry of Health,
here on Thursday.
“More than 1 million
people have recov-
ered from COVID-19
in the country. The
recovery rate was
7.85 per cent in April
and now it is 64.4 per
cent, which is a
heartening news.”
He added, three vac-
cine candidates, are
in phase 3 clinical
trial. —ANI
New Delhi: India
witnessed a single-
day spike of 52,123
COVID-19 cases as
the total cases
reached 15,83,792,
the Union Ministry
of Health and Fam-
ily Welfare said on
Thursday. A total
of 775 deaths were
reported in the last
24 hours taking the
death toll to 34,968.
Maharashtra con-
tinues to be the
w o r s t - a f f e c t e d
state. —ANI
New Delhi: The All
India Institute of
Ayurveda (AIIA) has
started providing
free testing and treat-
ment to patients in
its COVID-19 Health
Centre (CHC), an-
nounced the Shripad
Yesso Naik, Union
AYUSH Minister. He
also inaugurated the
IntensiveCareUnitof
CHC. A COVID Call
Centrehasbeenestab-
lished at AIIA. The
minister praised pro-
phylactic program
‘AYURAKSHA’ going
on for 80,000 Delhi Po-
lice personnel under
the directions of the
ministry. —ANI
New Delhi: India is
currently conducting
around five lakh COV-
ID-19 tests every day
and the plan is to double
the number in next one-
two months, Union Sci-
ence and Technology
Minister Harsh Vard-
han said on Thursday.
During the launch of
a compendium on
‘Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research
(CSIR) Technologies for
COVID-19 Mitigation’,
Vardhan, who is also
the Union Health Min-
ister, said the country’s
recovery rate of over 64
per cent is the best in
the world while the fa-
tality rate is nearly 2.2
per cent.
The first COVID-19
case in India was de-
tected on January 30
and since then the
fight against the virus
is still on.
About ramping up
health infrastructure in
the country, the minis-
ter said, “India has now
developed a capacity to
manufacture three lakh
ventilators.”
“Our plan is to take it
to 10 lakh tests daily in
1-2 months,” Vardhan
said.
However, soon we
shall discuss on what
can be reopened up for
the exports.
Referring to human
trials of vaccine candi-
dates being conducted
by Bharat Biotech and
Zydus Cadila. —PTI
A medic takes samples from a man at a free COVID-19 rapid
antigen testing camp during Unlock 2 in Thane on Thursday.
Harsh Vardhan
Suspension of flights to Kolkata
from 6 cities extended till Aug 15
Kolkata (West Ben-
gal): Suspension of
flights to Kolkata from
six cities ---Delhi, Mum-
bai, Pune, Chennai,
NagpurandAhmedabad
--- has been extended till
August 15, Alapan Ban-
dyopadhyay, the West
Bengal Additional
Chief Secretary (Home)
informed P S Kharola,
the Secretary of the
Ministry of Civil Avia-
tion in a letter on Thurs-
day. "I am directed to
inform you that that the
suspension of flight
from Delhi, Mumbai,
Pune, Chennai, Nagpur
and Ahmedabad to Kol-
kata will continue till
August 15, 2020," the let-
ter stated. Earlier this
month, Kolkata Airport
had extended the tem-
porary restriction on
the arrival of flights to
Kolkata Airport from
six cities till July 31 in
the view of the rising
COVID-19 cases in the
city. Kolkata Airport
authority said, "The
temporary restriction
on the arrival of flights
to Kolkata Airport from
six cities -- Delhi, Mum-
bai, Pune, Chennai,
NagpurandAhmedabad
has been extended up to
31st July."

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020
T
heCOVID-19pan-
demic has
wreaked havoc
across the globe
affecting mil-
lions. The fact that no
cure has yet been discov-
ered for the coronavirus
has led to the spread of
several myths related to
the spread.
The World Health Or-
ganization (WHO) keeps
putting out information
on its website and social
media pages, cautioning
people against myths and
debunking them.
Here are some of its lat-
est myth busters.
Studies show hydroxy-
chloroquine does not have
clinical benefits in treating
COVID-19
Hydroxychloroquine or
chloroquine, a treatment
for malaria, lupus erythe-
matosus, and rheumatoid
arthritis, has been under
study as a possible treat-
ment for COVID-19.
Current data shows
that this drug does not
reduce deaths among hos-
pitalised COVID-19 pa-
tients, nor help people
with mild or moderate
disease. The use of hy-
doxychloroquine and
chloroquine is accepted
as generally safe for pa-
tients with malaria and
autoimmune diseases,
but its use where not indi-
cated and without medi-
cal supervision can cause
serious side effects and
should be avoided.
People should NOT wear
masks while exercising
People should NOT wear
masks when exercising,
as masks may reduce the
ability to breathe com-
fortably. Sweat can make
the mask become wet
more quickly which
makes it difficult to
breathe and promotes the
growth of microor-
ganisms.
The important preventive
measure during exercise
is to maintain physical
distance of at least one
meter from others.
The likelihood of shoes
spreading COVID-19 is
very low
The likelihood of COV-
ID-19 being spread on
shoes and infecting indi-
viduals is very low. As a
precautionary measure,
particularly in homes
where infants and small
children crawl or play on
floors, consider leaving
your shoes at the en-
trance of your home.
This will help prevent
contact with dirt or any
waste that could be car-
ried on the soles of shoes.
The coronavirus disease is
caused by a virus, NOT by
bacteria
The virus that causes
COVID-19 is in a family of
viruses called Coronavir-
idae. Antibiotics do not
work against viruses.
Some people who become
ill with COVID-19 can
also develop a bacterial
infection as a complica-
tion. In this case, antibi-
otics may be recommend-
ed by a health care pro-
vider. There is currently
no licensed medication to
cure COVID-19. If you
have symptoms, call your
health care provider or
COVID-19 hotline
for as-
sistance.
Most people who get
COVID-19 recover from it
Most people who get COV-
ID-19 have mild or moder-
ate symptoms and can
recover thanks to sup-
portive care. If you have
a cough, fever and diffi-
culty breathing seek med-
ical care early - call your
health facility by tele-
phone first. If you have
fever and live in an area
with malaria or dengue
seek medical care imme-
diately.
Drinking alcohol does
not protect you against
COVID-19 and can be
dangerous
The harmful use of
alcohol increases
your risk of
health problems.
There are cur-
rently no drugs
licensed for
the treatment
or preven-
tion of
COVID-19
While sev-
eral drug
trials are
ongoing, there is current-
ly no proof that hydroxy-
chloroquine or any oth-
er drug can cure or pre-
vent COVID-19. The
misuse of hydrox-
ychloroquine can cause
serious side effects and
illness and even lead to
death. WHO is coordinat-
ing efforts to develop and
evaluate medicines to
treat COVID-19.
Adding pepper to your
soup or other meals
DOES NOT prevent or cure
COVID-19
Hot peppers in your food,
though very tasty, cannot
prevent or cure COV-
ID-19. The best way to
protect yourself against
the new coronavirus is to
keep at least 1 metre away
from others and to wash
your hands frequently
and thoroughly. It is also
beneficial for your gen-
eral health to maintain a
balanced diet, stay well
hydrated, exercise regu-
larly and sleep well.
COVID-19 is NOT transmit-
ted through houseflies
To date, there is no evi-
dence or information to
suggest that the
COVID-19 virus
t r a n s m i t t e d
through house-
flies. The virus
that cause
C O V I D - 1 9
spreads pri-
m a r i l y
t h r o u g h
d r o p l e t s
generated
when an in-
fected person
coughs, sneezes
or speaks. You can also
become in-
fected by touching a con-
taminated surface and
then touching your eyes,
nose or mouth before
washing your hands. To
protect yourself, keep at
least 1-metre distance
from others and disinfect
frequently-touched sur-
faces. Clean your hands
thoroughly and often and
avoid touching your eyes,
mouth and nose.
Being able to hold your
breath for 10 seconds or
more without coughing or
feeling discomfort DOES
NOT mean you are free
from COVID-19
The most common symp-
toms of COVID-19 are dry
cough, tiredness and fe-
ver. Some people may de-
velop more severe forms
of the disease, such as
pneumonia. The best way
to confirm if you have
the virus producing COV-
ID-19 disease is with a
laboratory test. You can-
not confirm it with this
breathing exercise, which
can even be dangerous.
Vaccines against pneumo-
nia DO NOT protect against
the COVID-19 virus
Vaccines against pneu-
monia, such as pneumo-
coccal vaccine and Hae-
mophilus influenza
type B (Hib) vaccine, do
not provide protection
against the new corona-
virus.
The virus is so new and
different that it needs its
own vaccine. Researchers
are trying to develop a
vaccine against COV-
ID-19, and WHO is sup-
porting their efforts.
Although these vac-
cines are not effective
against COVID-19, vacci-
nation against respirato-
ry illnesses is highly rec-
ommended to protect
your health.
Exposing yourself to the
sun DOES NOT protect you
from COVID-19
You can catch COVID-19,
no matter how sunny or
hot the weather is. Coun-
tries with hot weather
have reported cases of
COVID-19. To protect
yourself, make sure you
clean your hands fre-
quently and thoroughly
and avoid touching your
eyes, mouth, and nose.
Eating garlic does NOT
prevent COVID-19
Garlic is a healthy food
that may have some
antimicrobial proper-
ties. However, there is no
evidence from the cur-
rent outbreak that eat-
ing garlic has protected
people from the new
coronavirus.
The World Health Organization keeps putting out information regarding Coronavirus
for the public on its website, cautioning people against myths and debunking them
culty breathing seek med-
ical care early - call your
health facility by tele-health facility by tele-
phone first. If you havephone first. If you havephone first. If you havephone first. If you have
fever and live in an areafever and live in an area
with malaria or denguewith malaria or denguewith malaria or dengue
seek medical care imme-
Drinking alcohol does
not protect you against
COVID-19 and can be
The harmful use of
alcohol increases
your risk of
health problems.
There are cur-
rently no drugs
licensed for
the treatment
eral drug
trials are
ongoing, there is current-
ly no proof that hydroxy-
chloroquine or any oth-
er drug can cure or pre-
vent COVID-19. The
misuse of hydrox-
from others and to wash
your hands frequently
and thoroughly. It is also
beneficial for your gen-
eral health to maintain a
balanced diet, stay well
hydrated, exercise regu-
larly and sleep well.
COVID-19 is NOT transmit-COVID-19 is NOT transmit-COVID-19 is NOT transmit-COVID-19 is NOT transmit-COVID-19 is NOT transmit-COVID-19 is NOT transmit-
ted through housefliested through housefliested through housefliested through housefliested through housefliested through housefliested through housefliested through houseflies
To date, there is no evi-To date, there is no evi-To date, there is no evi-To date, there is no evi-To date, there is no evi-To date, there is no evi-To date, there is no evi-To date, there is no evi-
dence or information todence or information todence or information todence or information todence or information todence or information todence or information todence or information todence or information todence or information todence or information todence or information to
suggest that thesuggest that thesuggest that thesuggest that thesuggest that thesuggest that the
COVID-19 virusCOVID-19 virusCOVID-19 virusCOVID-19 virusCOVID-19 virusCOVID-19 virusCOVID-19 virusCOVID-19 virusCOVID-19 virus
t r a n s m i t t e dt r a n s m i t t e dt r a n s m i t t e dt r a n s m i t t e dt r a n s m i t t e dt r a n s m i t t e d
through house-through house-through house-through house-
flies. The virus
that cause
C O V I D - 1 9
spreads pri-
m a r i l y
t h r o u g h
d r o p l e t s
generated
when an in-
fected person
coughs, sneezes
or speaks. You can also
become in-
 SOURCE: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION  CONCEPT: RAKSHITA PAREEK  DESIGN: SITARAM SHARMA

Darshan Desai
Ahmedabad: Senior
Congress leader and
Rajya Sabha member
from Gujarat Ahmed
Patel has extended his
“full support” to
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi in dealing
with the dreaded pan-
demic, but sought his
urgent intervention
in the “worrisome”
handling of the Cov-
id-19 crisis in Gujarat.
“You have my full
support to defeat this
pandemic,” Ahmed Pa-
tel categorically stated
in an SOS letter to the
Prime Minister, but add-
ed that he was con-
strained to bring the
Gujarat situation to his
notice after his earlier
“appeal”toChief Minis-
terVijayRupani“appar-
ently went unnoticed.”
The Congress leader
wrote, “Having served
as Gujarat’s Chief Min-
ister, I am sure you will
understand the gravity
of the situation and is-
sue necessary direc-
tions.”
Citing the instance
of his home district
BharuchinSouthGu-
jarat, Patel asserted
in his letter dated July
29, 2020, that: “If
right steps are not tak-
en, this pandemic will
simply crush the state’s
healthcare infrastruc-
ture and will have a cas-
cading impact on the
lives of people.”
He has listed his key
concerns in the letter.
Patel said first and
foremost, “Gujarat
has to conduct far
more tests, establish
testing centres across
all district headquar-
ters and towns.” The
Congress leader point-
ed out that with the
infection spreading to
rural areas, “It is es-
sential that people do
not have to travel long
distances to get tested,
else there is a high
risk that Covid posi-
tive patients will go
undetected.”
He cited the instance
of Bharuch district to
buttress his point. Patel
said in Bharuch, “Peo-
plearestillfindingitdif-
ficult to undertake a test
near their place of resi-
denceandasaresultless
than9000testshavebeen
conducted.” The situa-
tion is similarly “worri-
some” in several other
districts of Gujarat. Ex-
pressing concern over
the lack of facilities at
Covid-19 hospitals
across Gujarat, he
said they must be
equipped with ade-
quate ventilators and
oxygen. “I have re-
ceived various repre-
sentations from peo-
ple in Bharuch in par-
ticular about the lack
of appropriate infra-
structure in my dis-
trict.”
What you find interesting is not
dependent on the “thing”, it depends
on your perspective. Ants walking in
a queue is interesting to a child
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: The ap-
pointments committee
of theCabinetonThurs-
day approved the post-
ing of Hardik Shah, a
Gujarat cadre IAS of-
ficer, who is currently
serving as Deputy Sec-
retary in the Prime
Minister’s Office as Pri-
vate Secretary to the
Prime Minister on co-
terminus basis, or until
further orders.
Shah, 46, had also
worked as Private Sec-
retary to Prakash Ja-
vadekar, Union Minis-
ter of Environment,
Forests and Climate
Change. Prior to this ap-
pointment, Shah was
the Additional Collec-
tor, Himatnagar (Sabar-
kantha) district.
He has also served
as the Member-Secre-
tary of the Gujarat
Pollution Control
Board and Secretary,
Gujarat State Expert
Appraisal Committee
constituted by the
Government of Guja-
rat for implementa-
tion of EIA Notifica-
tion, 2006 in the State.
Shah was appointed
as a Senior Technical
Officer and Under Sec-
retary, Department of
Forests and Environ-
ment, in the Gujarat
Government after com-
pleting his graduation.
After a bachelors in
law, he studied Mas-
ters in Environmental
Engineering from Gu-
jarat University. He
has also received fel-
lowship from the Ken-
nedy School of Gov-
ernment,HarvardUni-
versity, in “Developing
Design for Applicabil-
ity of US Water Quali-
ty Trading Program in
Indian Scenario.”
Shah has also re-
ceived a post-graduate
certificate in Environ-
ment Impact Assess-
ment from University
of Manchester.
A Giorgio Ruffolo re-
search fellow in the sus-
tainability science pro-
gramme of Harvard
Kennedy School of Har-
vard University and
once a doctoral candi-
date in the chemical en-
gineering department
at Nirma University,
Shah was awarded by
the Ahmedabad Man-
agement Association
(AMA) Outstanding
Manager of the Year
Award 2013. His two pet
projects “Environment
Clinics for Industry”
and “Help Desk” also
got wide recognition.
Shah is also a recipi-
ent of various awards
including “Special Rec-
ognition Award” as a
Member Secretary,
GPCB for e-Governance
under ‘Environment
Category’ by CSI Nihi-
lent e-Governance
Awards 2009-2010.
Gujarat cadre IAS officer is PM Modi's Private Secretary
BIG LEAP
 From Deputy Secretary in the
PMO, 46-year-old Hardik Shah has
now been appointed as the PS to Modi
SHARING COVID TIMES
Two men chat at the otherwise deserted Lal Darwaja AMTS bus terminal in Ahmedabad, which has been shut since
COVID-19 first emerged in the city in March. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Patel’s ‘full support’ to PM in Covid
fight, but wants action in Gujarat
Man stopped
from flying after
testing Covid+ve
GUJ TO GET NEW
POLICE MANUAL
Somnath faces tremor
at 2.9 on Richter scale
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A per-
son was detected
Covid-19 positive
just before he could
reach the airport to
catch a flight for
America. He ar-
gued and escaped
an AMC check-
post, but was
caught by AMC and
SVPI airport teams
and sent to Asarwa
Civil hospital.
The Ahmedabad
Municipal Corpora-
tion has set up coro-
na checkposts at Ex-
pressway toll plaza
and entry/exit
points of the SP Ring
Road of the city.
Those entering
Ahmedabad city
have to undergo a
rapid antigen Cov-
id-19 test.
At 4 pm on
Thursday, a Tavera
car with registra-
tion number GJ-23
AN 3547 entered
the SP Ring Road
from Himmatna-
gar side. During
rapid antigen test,
one of the inmates
of the car was de-
tected Covid-19
positive.
The medical team
present there asked
that person to stop
traveling further and
immediately go for
medical treatment.
However, he argued
that he had to take a
flight to America
and escaped the
checkpoint.
A medical officer
in Ramol immedi-
ately relayed a
message to AMC
officials, who con-
tacted SVPI air-
port manager
Navin Yadav. The
person was imme-
diately identified,
stopped and taken
to Asarwa Civil
hospital at 6.45 pm.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar : After 45
long years, the Gujarat
Police will have a new
manual in sync with
contemporary challeng-
es like cyber crimes,
multi-level marketing
frauds, fake currency
and human trafficking,
besidesnewcrimedetec-
tiontechniquesinforen-
sics and information
technology.
Gujarat DGP Shi-
vanand Jha on Thurs-
day handed over the
draft of the new police
manual to Chief Minis-
ter Vijay Rupani.
The manual in force
currently was prepared
in 1975. Now, with this
latest version of ‘’Guja-
rat Police Manual 2020’’,
it has become the sec-
ond state after Andhra
Pradesh to prepare a
new police manual in
recent times.
The need to prepare a
new police manual was
felt because the present
one had become outdat-
ed and was out of sync
with latest policing
practices, procedures
and technological ad-
vancements, an official
release said. The will be
available in English and
Gujarati languages, so
that policemen can un-
derstand it. It will be
uploaded on the ‘’Pocket
Cop’’ mobile application
in the form of an e-book
to maximise its reach
among the force.
First India Bureau
Somnath: Gir Som-
nath district in Guja-
rat’s Saurashtra re-
gion on Thursday ex-
perienced tremors
measuring 2.9 on the
Richter Scale. No
damage was reported
butmanypeoplecame
running out of their
homes in panic, offi-
cials said.
According to an of-
ficial of the Gandhi-
nagar-based Institute
of Seismological Re-
search,themildearth-
quake measured 2.9
on the Richter scale.
TheSaurashtraand
Kutch regions experi-
ence such tremors on
a regular basis. Only
last week, people in
Rajkot felt tremors
and an earlier earth-
quake, on July 16
measured 4.5 on the
Richter scale.
The epicentre of
this quake was in the
north-north east, 14
km from Bhachau
towninKutchdistrict.
It may be recalled that
Gujarat reported its
worst earthquake on
January 26, 2001,
measuring 6.9 on the
Richter scale.
One held for duping retired teacher of `1 lakh
First India Bureau
Surat: The Delhi Po-
lice have arrested a
Surat-based man for
allegedly posing as a
Paytm employee and
duping a retired Del-
hi government school
employee of over Rs 1
lakh.
Abdur Rehman, 32,
had duped former gov-
ernment school vice-
principal MS Siddique,
70, last year. According
to Siddique, he received
a phone call from an un-
known mobile number
on November 14, 2019
and the caller intro-
duced himself as an ex-
ecutive officer of Pay-
tm. He got him to
download an applica-
tion to complete his
Paytm KYC and
talked him into shar-
ing his debit card
number and CVV.
Within minutes, Rs 1
lakh was debited
from his pension ac-
count. Deputy Com-
missioner of Police
(Southeast) RP Meena
said the bank and Pay-
tm account details, and
the IP address of the
transaction were col-
lected during the inves-
tigation. The money
was restored in the vice-
principal’s account.
It is my humble
submission that
you (PM Modi)
may consider sending a
team of the Union Health
Ministry to Bharuch dis-
trict and other vulnerable
districts of Gujarat to as-
sess the ground situation.
Gujarat’s mortality rate is
still high and needs to be
brought under control.
—Ahmed Patel, Congress Rajya
Sabha member and AICC Treasurer
Hardik Shah is the new Private Secretary to PM Narendra Modi.
DGP Shivanand Jha presented a draft of the new "Gujarat Police
Manual-2020" to CM Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar on Thursday.
Seeking Modi’s directives to the State Govt, Congress leader calls for urgent steps

GONE TOO SOON
Actor Divvya Chouksey was suffering from
cancer and passed away on 12 July.
She had been battling the illness for
the past 1.5 years. Just hours before
passing away, the actor made a post
on her social media about her being
on the ‘deathbed’.
COVID ATTACK
Starting with the Bachchan family,
various celebrities in the industry
were tested positive during the
month of July, like Amitabh,
Abhishek, Aishwarya and
Aaradhya Bachchan, Anupam
Kher’s mother and his brother’s
family, SS Rajamouli and his
family, Parth Samthaan and
Shrenu Parikh, among
various others.
RESIGNED
After the heated arguments
and discussions on the insider-
outsider debate post-Sushant Singh
Rajput’s demise, filmmaker Anubhav
Sinha resigned from Bollywood
on 21 July. He was later backed
with Sudhir Mishra and
Hansal Mehta.
FULL STOP
Sonakshi Sinha launched a campaign
‘FULL STOP TO CYBERBULLYING’
to end cyberbullying on 25 July,
collaborating with Team Josh. The
campaign aims to educate people
about online harassment, trolls, impact
on the mental health of victims who have
faced trolling.
TRIBUTE TO SSR
Dil Bechara was
released on 24 July. The
protagonist roles were
played by late Sushant
Singh Rajput and Sanjana
Sanghi. It was a debut
for Sanjana and was
released on Disney Plus
Star for subscribers and
non-subscribers to pay a
tribute to the late actor.
AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY
JULY 31, 2020
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facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
THE MONTH THAT WAS...
DP’S ON DEMAND
Deepika Padukone launched a campaign ‘DOBARA
POOCHO’ on 2 July to highlight the importance
of trying to understand if their loved ones are
suffering from mental health issues after the death
of Sushant Singh Rajput due to depression. A
vocal advocate of mental health issues, Padukone
has tried to spread nationwide awareness around
mental health and also launched de-stigmatization
campaigns. Later on 19 July, the news broke out on
all social media platforms that Deepika Padukone
will be seen next to Prabhas for a new Nag Ashwin
film ‘Prabhas 21’ as the female lead. After Mumbai
Police started tracking down social media pages
of high-profile personalities concerning fake and
paid followers, they are likely to question various
celebrities including Deepika Padukone.
LEGEND, NO MORE
Bollywood’s legendary choreographer late Saroj Khan passed away at the
age of 71, on 3 July due to cardiac arrest in Mumbai. She had severe
diabetes and related illness.
CITY FIRST BRUSHES UP THE HAPPENINGS OF THE MONTH OF JULY IN
BOLLYWOOD, COME WHAT MAY... LIFE GOES ON!
DP’S ON DEMAND
SUPERHERO
On 27 July, Sonu Sood gifted
a tractor to help a farmer
from Chittoor district after
recognising their poverty and
immediately helped them. He
took to Twitter and said that the
girls should be allowed to focus
on their education. Later on 30
July on his birthday, the actor
announced 3 lakh jobs on his
‘Pravasi Rojgar’ portal.
DIGITAL DEBUT
Abhishek Bachchan made his digital debut in a web
series ‘Breathe: Into The Shadows’ which was
released on 10 July on OTT platform Amazon.
The psychological crime thriller, created and
produced by Abundantia Entertainment, mark’s
Abhishek’s digital debut along with Southern
star Nithya Menen.
AMBASSADOR
Priyanka Chopra
Jonas was appointed
as the ambassador
of the Toronto
International Film
Festival on 8 July.
Priyanka has
joined the list of 50
celebrated filmmakers
and actors who
are invited as the
ambassadors of the
TIFF. After Mumbai
Police started tracking
down social media
pages of high-
profile personalities
concerning fake and
paid followers, they
are likely to question
various celebrities
including Priyanka
Chopra Jonas.
LASHING OUT
Kangana’s team lashed back at filmmaker Pooja Bhatt’s tweet
on 9 July, in which she attempted to prove that Kangana owes
her career to Mahesh Bhatt. Right before that, there were
conversations between the two parties about whether or not
Kangana should be grateful to the Bhatt family for launching her.

FACEOFTHEDAY
SHAURYA SANADHYA, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You have plenty of reason
to be happy so don’t worry
about single issue. Exciting
times is on the cards, after
a long break you can expect some
fun. You live a rich lifestyle and you
have earned it so flaunt it if you want.
Always remember to count your
blessings and not your problems.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You don’t get bored in
family’s company ever. Its
true to stay prepared for
the bad times but that
doesn’t mean you should not enjoy
your present therefore treat yourself
special even if its at home. Take right
actions at right time when it comes
to your ancestral property.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You love your spouse and
he/she is the most
important person in your
life. You should only expect
great returns from the property
dealing if you are honest. All the
tensions will disappear in the coming
time, just remain positive and never
give up on hope.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You love something related
to arts and you want to
make you career in the
same. Good performance is
always appreciated therefore give your
best in whatever field you are. You
really take care of hygiene. You may
soon buy a new property, keeping your
kids in mind
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You are beautiful inside
and out. You are fit and
fine and life has been
treating you really well but
you want more and your ambitions
doesn’t let you sleep in night. Your
financial status will help you get the
desired loan for some big invest-
ments whenever you apply for it.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Charity is important if you
are blessed with power. You
earn more than enough and
you are very satisfied with
life only the restrictions imposed
because of pandemic may effect you.
Those in food business must
remember to always try and make
something innovative to get the results.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Life is full of lessons but it
depends on us if we learn
something to we don’t.
After the pandemic
situation you have learned to manage
things within a set budget. You
practice yoga everyday for healthy
body and mind and suggest the same
to others.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You may be trying for
government competitive
exams and you will surely
get the success but you
have to make sure you leave no
stone unturned. You may have to
share the work load of your colleague
because of his leave from work but at
least you have the comfort of home.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You are always connected
with the nature. Time has
taught the importance of
health and you do
everything to remain perfectly fine,
this can also become your profession
if you like. Your wealth will only
increase so never take too much
tension about it.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Don’t run away from
problems, face them head
strong. Bargaining is your
speciality so use it to the
fullest whether in shopping or in
business matters. Invest some time
and money in real estate business if
you wish to, your stars favour this
field.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Respect and value what
you have as these are the
times of self reflection.
Money may seem a
troublesome issue right now but
believe it or not its very very
temporary as tomorrow will be
beautiful for you. Worry less and
work more on work front specially.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You are not scared of
anyone or anything as long
as you know you are right.
You are a positive influence
on those around you and for many
you are an inspiration. You love rich
lifestyle and you like to comfort
people to make them happy because
you have a big heart.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
ilip’s versa-
tility, the
subtle nu-
ances, and
s h i f t i n g
moods, he
so brilliant-
ly enacted on the
screen with
such effortless
ease that the
acting seems
like child’s play.
But we all know
how hard Dilip al-
ways worked to get under the
skin of the character he was
portraying. His most invalu-
able gift as an actor was his
incredible dialogue deliv-
ery. It was Kumar who
alone developed the blueprint
that all Hindi film he-
roes have borrowed. Ku-
mar did serious, tragic &
weepy roles, even played the
role of a lover who has to un-
leash multiple pranks to win
his lady-love, He was a propo-
nent of the understated and
naturalistic style of act-
ing. The Tragedy King, as Ku-
mar came to be known devel-
oped method acting, Javed
Akhtar once claimed that Ku-
mar was the first method ac-
tor in the world. He was doing
method acting much before
Marlon Brando, the monarch
of the method, redefined Hol-
lywood histrionics and even
before the term itself was
coined by a Russian acting
teacher. Kumar debuted as an
actor in the film Jwar Bha-
ta (1944). In a career spanning
over five decades, Kumar
worked in over 65 films. In-
dia’s greatest actor delivered
“Ameero ko lootneywala, aur
garibo ko bachaneywala,
mera naam hei Azaad!”,
the heartwarming Babul,
the impassioned Deedar, the
flamboyant Aan, social dra-
ma Daag, the dramatic Dev-
das, Yahudi, Madhumati, Ko-
hinoor, the epic histori-
cal Mughal-e-Azam, the so-
cial dacoit crime drama Gun-
ga Jamuna, and the come-
dy Ram Aur Shyam. In 1976,
Kumar took a five-year break
from film performances and
again returned as the un-
matched giant in
the film Kranti (1981) and con-
tinued his career playing
leading roles in films such
as Shakti, Mashaal, Kar-
ma, and Saudagar. He has
also won eight Filmfare
Awards and is the first recipi-
ent of the Filmfare Best Actor
Award (1954) He also gave
memorable songs and melt-
ing melodies like ‘’Sare
Shaher Mein Aap Sa Koi
Nahi, Dheere Dheere Bol
Koi Sun Na Le, Peete Peete
Kabhi Kabhi, Mere Mitwa
Mere Meet Re that are still
playing on the loop of his die-
heart- fans.
GURMAN SINGH
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
10
ETCAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020
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INDIAN CINEMA - DILIP KUMAR
KOHINOOR OF
D

O
n his 47th birthday on Thursday, actor
Sonu Sood announced three lakh jobs
for migrant labourers on the job portal
‘Pravasi Rojgar’ that he had launched
earlier this month.
The ‘Dabangg’ actor who has launched sev-
eral initiatives for helping migrant labourers
of the country made the announcement about
the additional three lakh jobs on his Instagram
account. Sood posted two flyers of the employ-
ment application
and shared that
the jobs came
with additional
benefits like PF
and ESI.
“On my
birthday a
small initia-
tive from my
side...3 lakh
jobs tied up for
Pravasirojgar.
com. All these
will provide good
wages, PF, ESI,
and other
benefits,”
he wrote in
the cap-
tion.
—ANI
K
ate Beckinsale Re-
ceived a very pecu-
liar gift post her
47th birthday. The
British actress received a
pet rabbit, the model has
no idea on who it’s from or
why a rabbit. The
47-year-old Un-
derworld ac-
tress docu-
mented the
strange oc-
currence on
July 28 on
her Insta-
gram sto-
ries. “What
the f–k is go-
ing on?”
Kate ques-
tions dur-
ing the vid-
eo, looking
puzzled as
she greets
the rabbit,
w h i c h
t h e y ’ v e
named Mar-
vel.
“ P L E A S E
P L E A S E
PLEASE how-
ever much
someone loves
animals please
never send an
unsolicited pet
to someone’s
house, especial-
ly anonymously
and especially
on a boiling hot
day where it
could have been
left outside to
roast to death.
We have found a
loving home for
Marvel without
cats but it was
quite a shock
and I think pret-
ty unsettling for
Marvel too.
Appreciate so
much the good
wishes but please
please don’t send
anyone an ani-
mal as a present
or a joke or re-
ally at all,” she
cautioned in the
caption of the
post.
—Agency
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020
11
I
ndian cricketer Hardik Pan-
dya was blessed with a baby
boy on Thursday; he took to
his social media handles to
share a photo of the baby boy to let
his fans know about the news. He
wrote, “We are blessed with our
baby boy.”
Pandya and Natasa Stankovic
announced their pregnancy in
May on Instagram. —Agency
F
ilmmaker and choreogra-
pher Farah Khan on Thurs-
day happy birthday to musi-
cian Sonu Nigam, as he
turned 46. Farah took to Insta-
gram to share a picture of herself
with the ‘Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin’
singer and penned a short birth-
day wish for her in the caption.
“Aaj all the Sonus that i love ka
birthday hain, happy birthday my
talented friend @sonunigamoffi-
cial .. keep making the world hap-
py with ur voice,” she wrote in the
caption. —ANI
M
alayalam actor Anil Mu-
rali passed away on
Thursday at a private
hospital in Kochi, where
he was undergoing treatment for
liver-related ailments. The actor
was 56 years old and his sudden
demise was a huge shock to every-
one in the industry. —Agency
ANNOUNCING
3 LAKH JOBS
A
mber Heard spoke to members of
the press outside the Royal
Courts of Justice at The Strand
in London, England on Wednes-
day. The 34-year-old actress made a state-
ment after the libel case hearing against
News Group Newspapers and The Sun‘s
executive editor, Dan Wootton, by her ex-
husband, Johnny Depp. As per reports
Amber said: “I travelled here to the UK to
testify as a witness to assist the court.
After obtaining a restraining order in
2016 and finalizing my divorce, I just
wanted to move on with my life. I did not
file this lawsuit and, despite its signifi-
cance, I would have preferred not to be
here in court.”
During closing arguments earlier on
Wednesday, Johnny‘s lawyer called Am-
ber a liar for her false testimonies about
the abuse she claimed she received from
him during their marriage, which lasted
from 2015 to 2017. “She is the liar, the
abuser–-not Mr. Depp. He is no wife-beat-
er,” his lawyer said. —Agency
PAINFUL
WORD ‘LIAR’
Teaser out!aty Perry has
been a busy bee
quite literally as
she’s not only on
a promotion
spree for her
sixth studio al-
bum ‘Smile’ but she’s
also going to be welcom-
ing her first child with
fiance Orlando Bloom
anytime now. Smile was
originally supposed to
release on August 14, but
“due to unavoidable pro-
duction delays,” the
highly-awaited album
will now drop two weeks
later on August 28. Dur-
ing a recent appearance
on SiriusXM Hits 1 and
The Pulse Virtual Celeb-
rity Session, Katy was
asked to reveal which
song from Smile she’s re-
ally excited for her
daughter to hear.
“The last song on my
record coming out Au-
gust 28th is a song called
What Makes a Woman
and, you know, it’s a song
about how you are going
to have a tough time
measuring what truly
makes a woman because
women are so many
things. And, I’d like to
say not one thing, not
just one thing,” Perry
confessed, and added,
“And such chameleons,
and so adaptable, and so
malleable and trans-
formative and can han-
dle the weight of the
world on their backs and
do it all in heels and
make it look pretty ef-
fortless sometimes.”
—Agency
KANONYMOUS
GIFT
IT’S A BOY!
SWEET WISH
ANIL MURALI,
NO MORE
Katy Perry
...hispost
Farah Khan’s post
Late Anil Murali
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First india ahmedabad edition-31 july 2020

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First india ahmedabad edition-31 july 2020