161998492203052021 first india ahmedabad

‘I LOST PATIENTS AND TWO FRIENDS NEEDLESSLY’
First India Bureau
Bharuch: Just after
midnight on Friday, a
short circuit in a ven-
tilator located in the
ICU ward of the Patel
Welfare Hospital in
Bharuch led to a
blaze that left 17 pa-
tients and two nurs-
ing staff dead. Char-
mi Gohil, the only
nurse on duty in the
ICU to have survived,
shared her experi-
ence on that fateful
night.
Charmi, a paramedi-
cal student, told local
media, “I was on duty
at the ICU ward along
with two other stu-
dents. Around 12.30
am, there was a spark
in the ventilator at-
tached to Bed 05. Nurse
Farida Khatun had
been standing nearby.
Her PPE suit caught
fire immediately
. I tried
to help her but my PPE
gear also caught fire.
Our colleague Madhavi
saw this and rushed to
help. She took Farida to
the washroom. Seconds
after the spark, the
power went out and
smoke started billow-
ing, making it difficult
to see, let alone save
our patients or our-
selves.”
Somehow, Charmi
found her way out
through the smoke.
“The first thing I
did was to remove my
PPE kit and throw it
away. Then I called
my superior, told him
what had happened
and sought help. I
will never forget that
night, not because I
survived, but because
I lost patients and
two friends needless-
ly,” she said.
Within minutes,
hundreds of people had
joined the rescue oper-
ation, alongside the
fire brigade and the po-
lice. About 11 patients
were shifted to other
hospitals for further
treatment.
Through all of this,
Charmi said, one im-
age is seared into her
brain.
“Amid all the chaos, I
watched as a bottle of
santizer fell to the floor.
Disinfectant leaked out
and immediately fed
the fire even further.”
Survivor of Bharuch Hospital fire
says short circuit caused spark,
PPE kits, disinfectant helped it
spread First India Bureau
The ICU ward in the aftermath of the blaze. —FILE PHOTO
AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 156
 Mamata loses: A saving grace for BJP
 Bangla culture dominates Delhi politics
 Several hotshot candidates bite the dust
 Bengal saved the country, says Mamata
‘POWER HOUSE’
Didi
...GOES DOWN IN NANDIGRAM,
WHILE CRUSHING SAFFRON DREAM!
West Bengal
TMC+ 216
BJP+ 74
DMK+ 157
ADMK+ 76
OTH+ 1
BJP+ 75
CONG+ 49
AJP+ 1
OTH 1
NRC+ 16
CONG+ 9
AMMK+ 0
OTH 5
LDF+ 99
CONG+ 41
BJP+ 0
LEFT+ 0
OTH+ 2
292 / 294
Target: 148
This is a victory for the people of
Bengal. I am proud to say that
Bengal saved the country. The
Election Commission behaved
badly with us. BJP played dirty
politics and lost the election
Mamata Banerjee,
West Bengal Chief Minister
Tamil Nadu Assam Puducherry
Kerala
234 / 234 126 / 126 30 / 30
140 / 140
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD
& LUCKNOW
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Top
TWEETS
Cochin: The Left re-
wrote history in Kerala
on Sunday by becoming
the first government to
get a second term in
four decades but its for-
tunes fell to a historic
low in West Bengal
where it failed to bag
even one seat, resulting
in its complete decima-
tion in a state it once
ruled for over three
decades.
Blank for Left in Ben-
gal: The Left’s fall in
Bengal was a sharp one.
It not only drew a blank
in the 2019 national
elections but lost its tra-
ditional supporters to
the BJP, as conceded by
its own leaders. Matters
came to such a pass that
the 2021 assembly polls
became a bipolar con-
test between the BJP
and the TMC, with the
CPI(M), CPI and the
Congress playing in the
background. Turn to P6
Historic day for
Left in Kerala,
with 2nd term
Stalin-led DMK bags
big win in Tamil Nadu
Chennai: The opposi-
tion DMK-Congress al-
liance is heading for a
big win in the 234-mem-
ber Tamil Nadu assem-
bly. The DMK and its
allies were leading in
150-plus seats. The rul-
ing AIDMK – which
started the day with a
lead on 95 seats -- was
leading in just 70-plus
seats. The majority
mark stands at 118. The
DMK has not been in
power in the state for a
decade, Turn to P6
NDA TO FORM GOVT IN PUDUCHERRY
NDA TO RETAIN POWER IN ASSAM
Puducherry: The AINRC-led NDA looked
all set to capture power in Puducherry by
winning 16 assembly seats and leading
in two when the results for 22 out of
the total 30 segments were declared on
Sunday. The Congress-led front emerged
victorious in five constituencies.
Guwahati: The ruling BJP-led NDA in
Assam is all set to retain power and won
48 seats and was leading in 24 assembly
seats. The BJP alone has won 35 and
was leading in 22. Asom Gana Parishad
won eight seat. The Grand Alliance led
by the Congress has won 24 seats.
Mohd Fahad/Aditi Nagar
he Mamata
Banerjee-led
TMC pulled
off a spectac-
ular victory
in a high-
stakes electoral battle,
trouncing BJP to form
the government for a
third consecutive term
in West Bengal.
As per the latest data
from the Election Com-
mission, TMC is on its
course to win over 210
seats in a 294-member
Assembly, while BJP is
likely to win 74 seats.
In Tamil Nadu, MK
Stalin is set to become
the state Chief Minister
with the DMK-led alli-
ance leading in at least
157 seats. In Kerala, the
Pinarayi Vijayan-led
LDF government script-
ed history by retaining
power, the first time in
four decades that the
same grouping will
form the government
for the second consecu-
tive time. For the BJP,
Assam emerged as the
lone bright spot with
the ruling NDA pro-
jected to win 75 of 126
seats to retain power in
the state.
However, Mamata
lost the Nandigram
seat to BJP leader Su-
vendu Adhikari by
1,736 votes.
Mamata said, “I
will go to the court
because I have heard
there were some mal-
practices”. Turn to P6
T
PRASHANT KISHOR
CALL IT QUITS
New Delhi: Even as
trends indicate that
Trinamool Congress is
likely to win big in the
West Bengal Assem-
bly elections, with the
party leading in more
than 200 seats, poll
strategist Prashant
Kishor said on Sunday
that he is quitting as
an election strategist.
“I do not want to con-
tinue what I am doing.
I have done enough,”
Kishor said.
Narendra Modi
@Narendramodi
Congratulations to
Mamata Didi for win
in West Bengal. The
Centre will continue
to extend all possible
support to the West
Bengal govt to fulfil
people’s aspirations.
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Congratulations on
this grand victory @
JPNadda, @Ranjeet
KrDass, @sarbanand
sonwal, @himantabiswa
and all the activists I
am confident that under
the leadership of Modi
ji, all the workers of the
Assam, and our allies
will continue to strive for
development of Assam.
Rahul Gandhi
@rahulgandhi
Congratulations to
Shri MK Stalin for the
victory. People of Tamil
Nadu have voted for
change and we will,
under your leadership,
prove to be a confident
step in that direction.
Best wishes
Ashok Gehlot
@ashokgehlot51
Congratulations to
TMC president &
#WestBengal CM
Mamata Banerjee ji, @
Mamata Official for a
resounding victory in
the state. It was a very
tough battle, fighting
collective central forces.
Every tactic was used
by BJP.
Congratulations to NDA
for winning polls in
#Puducherry. My best
wishes to the people of
Puducherry and to the
new government that
will be formed.

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: At the
onset of the COVID-19
pandemic, the Union
Health Ministry and
the Indian Council of
Medical Research
framed a set of guide-
lines for the states to
follow. One of these
was quarantine--con-
tact tracing and isola-
tion--on which the two
bodies issued a 41-
page booklet.
Under these guide-
lines, if a state has
one lakh active cases,
it would have at least
six lakh people under
quarantine. However,
as of Sunday, there
are 4,36,285 people un-
der quarantine in Gu-
jarat, against 1,45,139
active cases.
In some districts,
there are fewer people
under quarantine
than there are active
cases. For example,
Ahmedabad has 66,551
active cases but just
63,517 people under
quarantine. Similarly,
Mehsana has quaran-
tined 2,085 people but
more than twice as
many active cases
(4,761). In Gir Som-
nath, the number of
quarantined people
(582) is about half
that of active cases
(1,029).
On the other hand,
there are many dis-
tricts with five or six
times as many quar-
antined people as
there are active cases.
Rajkot, for instance,
has 4,269 cases and
42,819 people under
quarantine. Suren-
dranagar has 1,683 ac-
tive cases and 8,575
quarantined people.
THE GUIDELINE
BOOKLET STATES:
The purpose of this
document is to provide
guidelines for setting
up of quarantine facili-
ties during the current
COVID-19 outbreak.
The recommended du-
ration of quarantine for
COVID-19 based on
available information
is up to 14 days from the
time of exposure.
IT ADDS:
The purpose of quar-
antine during the cur-
rent outbreak is to re-
duce transmission by
• Separating contacts
of COVID-19 patients
from the community
• Monitoring con-
tacts for develop-
ment of sign and
symptoms of COV-
ID-19, and
• Segregation of
COVID-19 suspects,
as early as possible
from among other
quarantined persons
In Gujarat, the govern-
mentusestheterm“quar-
antined” for close con-
tacts of those who have
tested positive or those
under home-isolation.
However, the state
government seems to
have forgotten this
since district-wise data
shows that there seems
to be no uniform policy
on the issue.
For instance, accord-
ing to state govern-
ment data, Devbhumi
Dwarka has 698 active
cases but no one under
quarantine.
Devbhumi Dwarka
Collector Narander
Meena told First India
that his district has
been following the IC-
MR-prescribed COV-
ID-19 guidelines for
more than a year.
“We have several
teams doing contact
tracing work. Earlier,
only the health depart-
ment was engaged in
this but, since cases
have increased, we have
roped in schoolteachers
as well. We are tracing
50 people per positive
patient. So, even I am
wondering why the
state portal shows zero
people under quaran-
tine,” he said.
In Gandhinagar dis-
trict, there are roughly
five times more quaran-
tined people than there
are active cases.
Gandhinagar Collec-
tor Kuldeep Arya as-
serted that they are fol-
lowing quarantine and
containment as per the
government’s guide-
lines. “We are restrict-
ing the movement of
entire families in which
there are one more
COVID-19 patients. We
have also set up micro-
containment areas in
some pockets. Further,
for the past three to four
days, we have started
isolating people in com-
munity halls. We have
reserved 2,300 beds
where healthy people as
well as those suspected
to have been infected, or
who have infected fam-
ily members can be iso-
lated. There are some
centres where we have
quarantined COVID-19
patientswhoareasymp-
tomatic or those who do
not need hospitaliza-
tion,” Arya explained.
According to Dr Yo-
gesh Gupta of Sterling
Hospital, the rules have
remainedthesamesince
Day 01 of the pandemic.
“Home isolated,
quarantined people are
separated from the soci-
ety/community to pre-
vent the virus from
spreading further. Last
year, an entire house-
hold was quarantined
in order to keep the
family of a COVID-
19-infected person iso-
lated. At present,
around 60-65% of peo-
ple who test positive re-
main isolated at home.”
Former president of
the Ahmedabad Medi-
cal Association, Dr
Mona Desai rubbished
the government’s data.
“I don’t believe the
data. Despite being a
paediatrician, I am con-
sulted by about 200 peo-
ple a day on COVID-19.
If an entire family is
infected, imagine how
many calls are being
made to physicians and
other doctors seeking
advice. For every posi-
tive patient, at least
four or five more people
should be kept under
quarantine. There are
so many people who are
home-isolated. There
are much more cases
than what we are seeing
on paper,” said Dr De-
sai, adding, “In the first
wave individuals were
being infected. Now,
whole families are get-
ting infected.”
FOR GUJ, QUARANTINE GUIDELINES ARE
MERE SUGGESTIONS
WITH NO
UNIFORM
POLICY ON THE
ISSUE, SOME
DISTRICTS
HAVE LOWER
QUARANTINE
NUMBERS THAN
ACTIVE CASES
DISTRICTS WHERE QUARANTINE NUMBERS ARE HIGHER THAN ACTIVE CASES
District Active Quarantined
cases people
Amreli 1,044 11,7817
Anand 905 2,306
Banaskantha 1,156 15,072
Bharuch 2,170 6,756
Bhavnagar 4,326 51,359
Botad 328 1,331
Dahod 1,414 5,593
Dang 167 941
cases people
Gandhinagar 2,707 12,503
Jamnagar 4,765 25,685
Junagadh 1,507 4,060
Kheda 1,086 2,630
Morbi 775 838
Navsari 1,300 5,166
Panchmahal 1,173 3,589
Patan 1,915 4,277
cases people
Porbandar 263 950
Rajkot 4,269 42,819
Sabarkantha 1,343 2,349
Surat 21,827 30,564
Surendranagar 1,683 8,575
Vadodara 7,475 10,843
Valsad 1,221 8,938
DISTRICTSWHEREQUARANTINENUMBERS
ARE LOWER THAN ACTIVE CASES
cases people
Ahmedabad 66,551 63,517
Aravalli 914 745
Chhota Udepur 408 320
Devbhumi Dwarka 1,414 0
Gir Somnath 1,029 582
Kutch 2,434 1,930
Mahisagar 1,421 874
Mehsana 4,761 2,085
Narmada 831 618
Tapi 1,234 644
A sticker pasted outside the home of a patient under
home quarantine in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO
A sign outside a micro-containment zone in Ahmedabad ‘s Ghatlodiya announces
it as an area with a high number of COVID-19 cases. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

GUJARAT
03
BJP’s Nimisha Suthar wins Morva Hadaf Assembly bypoll
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: BJP’s
Nimisha Suthar won
the by-election to
Morva Hadaf (ST) As-
sembly constituency
in Gujarat’s Panch-
mahal district on
Sunday by defeating
her nearest Congress
rival by 45,649 votes,
an official said.
Congress candidate
Suresh Katara conced-
ed defeat but attributed
the loss to a low turn-
out in the poll that was
held on April 17.
Out of the total 93,179
votes polled, Suthar
bagged 67,457 votes,
while Congress nomi-
nee Suresh Katara re-
ceived 21,808 votes in
the 24 rounds of count-
ing of EVM votes held
at Government Vinay-
an College, Panchma-
hal Collector Amit
Arora said.
Supporters of both
major political parties
were not allowed to
gather during the
counting, which was
held in keeping with
COVID-19 guidelines.
Suthar was not pre-
sent at the counting
since she is infected
with COVID-19.
Another candidate
Sushilaben Maida, who
contested as an Inde-
pendent, received 2,371
votes.
A total of 1,527 voters
chose the NOTA (None
of the Above) option,
while 16 votes were de-
clared invalid, the col-
lector said.
The bypoll to Morva
Hadaf Assembly seat,
reserved for Scheduled
Tribe (ST) candidates,
was necessitated after
Independent MLA
Bhupendrasinh Khant
was disqualified in
May 2019 for submit-
ting an invalid caste
certificate.
He eventually lost an
appeal in the Gujarat
High Court on the is-
sue. Khant died due to
health issues in Janu-
ary this year.
Suthar, who is a for-
mer legislator, had won
the 2013 bypoll from the
same seat after the de-
mise of the then sitting
MLA Savitaben Khant.
With this victory, the
BJP’s tally in the
182-member state As-
sembly has gone up to
112.
BJP state president
CR Patil and Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani
expressed their grati-
tude to the voters and
party workers for en-
suring a huge victory
for the BJP candidate.
Patil said the public
has shown an over-
whelming trust and
support to Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi’s
leadership at the Cen-
tre, the leadership of
CM Rupani and Deputy
CM Nitin Patel in Guja-
rat, and public-orient-
ed decisions taken by
them during the COV-
ID-19 pandemic.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat State Pharma-
cy Council will deli-
cense pharmaceuti-
cal distributors and
suppliers if they are
discovered engaging
in any illegal activi-
ty that endangers
people’s lives. The
Council issued a pub-
lic notice in response
to an increase in the
illegal sale of criti-
cal medicines and in-
jections in the state.
The council’s presi-
dent, Montukumar Pa-
tel, informed the me-
dia that a pandemic
presents an opportu-
nity to help people in
need. He said the pub-
lic notice had been
served on all member
pharmaceutical dis-
tributors and whole-
salers.
“It is our moral re-
sponsibility as mem-
bers registered under
the Gujarat State Phar-
macy Act and the Phar-
macy Practice Regula-
tory Act to ensure that
medicines and injec-
tions are not sold at
prices higher than the
MRP (maximum retail
price). No member
shall engage in the
trade of duplicate
pharmaceutical prod-
ucts,” the notice stated.
Patel also appealed
to pharmaceutical
companies not to en-
gage in medicine
hoarding at a time
when there is a short-
age of critical medi-
cines and medical oxy-
gen due to the rapidly
increasing COVID-19
cases.
He also stated that it
is the council’s respon-
sibility to assist in the
identification and ar-
rest of those involved
in illegal activities.
In the notice, the
council also threat-
ened to take strict ac-
tion against anyone
caught selling medi-
cines and injections at
exorbitant prices.
They are also cracking
down on the sale of du-
plicate products.
Nimisha Suthar
Engage in illegal activities, risk
losing licence: Pharma council
There has been a recent spate of black marketeering of vital medication. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Botad: In trying to de-
fend himself after this
gaffe at the inaugura-
tion at the RT-PCR
testing laboratory
in Botad last Friday
,
Gujarat’s energy min-
ister Saurabh Patel
has once again high-
lighted gaps in the
healthcare system.
Responding to criti-
cism from the Aam Aad-
miParty
,Patelattempted
tosalvagehisreputation
as an elected representa-
tive. “Medical treatment
was not properly availa-
ble at the government
hospital in Botad, so I
immediatelygota70-bed
COVID-care facility set
up at the Aradhana Col-
lege, and a 40-bed care
centreestablishedatBal-
vala,” he said by way of
clarification.
Perhaps,inhisrushto
defend himself, the min-
ister failed to recognize
that he—a member of
the state government—
had just further high-
lightedthegapinhealth-
care services in Gujarat.
Tone-deaf to the sit-
uation, he had said
that he had facilitated
the establishment of
home isolation centres
and provided oxygen
cylinders to home-
quarantined.
Last Friday
, he proud-
ly announced the new
RT-PCR testing capacity
at a private laboratory
.
“Till recently
, samples
collected in Botad dis-
trictweresentfortesting
to Bhavnagar or other
districts,” he had said in
contradictiontothestate
government’s affidavit
submitted before the
High Court, which had
stated that all districts
had their own RT-PCR
testing facilities.
Minister’s clarification further
exposes lacuna in health sector
Guj sees marginal improvement
as daily jump falls below 13K
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
state recorded
12,978 cases of
COVID-19 and 153
deaths in the 24
hours ended 5 pm
on Sunday, the
health and family
welfare department
of Gujarat said in a
statement. Sun-
day’s numbers are
marginally lower
than Saturday’s
jump of 13,847 cas-
es and 172 deaths.
However, this still
means that the state
has now seen a total
of 5,94,602 COV-
ID-19 cases and lost
7,508 people to the
novel coronavirus
since March 2020.
The day’s deaths
occurred in
Ahmedabad (27), Va-
dodara (19), Rajkot
(15), Jamnagar (13),
Surat (13), Junagadh
(9), Surendranagar
(7), Bharuch (6), Sa-
barkantha (4), Amre-
li, Banaskantha, and
Kutch (three each),
Mehsana, Patan,
Panchmahal, Chhota
Udepur, Dahod, Devb-
humi Dwarka, and
Botad (two each), and
Mahisagar, Valsad,
Navsari, Morbi and
Aravalli (one each).
After a gap of more
than three weeks,
Dang recorded zero
new cases through
the day.
M e a n w h i l e ,
Ahmedabad and Su-
rat recorded cases in
the quadruple digits,
at 4,744 and 1,833, re-
spectively. A total of
18 districts recorded
fresh cases in the tri-
ple digits, while 10
districts reported
cases in the double
digits.
There are now
1,46,818 active cases in
Gujarat, with 722 pa-
tients on ventilator
support. The state has
so far vaccinated 1.24
crore people, includ-
ing 25.57 lakh who
have been given both
doses of the vaccine.
A’bad man held with
remdesivir smuggled
in from Bangladesh
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: City po-
lice have arrested
one person for alleg-
edly selling remdesi-
vir injections smug-
gled in from Bangla-
desh. Police have
identified the ac-
cused as Rahul Patel,
who was apprehend-
ed near the Tapovan
circle in the city with
58 vials of the antivi-
ral injection and
Rs66,000 in cash.
According to the po-
lice, they received in-
formation that the ac-
cused planned to de-
liver the injections to a
location near Tapovan
Circle. The accused
was apprehended on
the spot by a police
team. Patel has been
charged under several
sections of the Indian
Penal Code, including
the Essential Commod-
ities Act and the Disas-
ter Management Act.
During the investi-
gation, the accused
told police that he pur-
chased the injections
from a man named Ra-
hul Zaveri, who lived
in Paldi. He also
claimed that Zaveri
bought the injections
in Hyderabad. The in-
jections were smuggled
into the country from
Bangladesh, police of-
ficials added.
The genuineness of
the vials seized from
Petal was confirmed by
Drugs Inspector AR Pa-
tel. Out of 58 injec-
tions, 40 were packed
and handed over to the
drugs inspector while
the police kept 18 injec-
tions as evidence. The
case is registered
against Rahul Patel
with Chandkheda Po-
lice station.
The bust comes a day
after state police un-
earthed a racket involv-
ing the production and
saleof fake‘remdesivir’.
Two Rajkot villages remain untouched by nCoV
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot: While the
rest of the world is
fighting the pandem-
ic, the villages of
Jaswantpur and Tar-
vada in the Rajkot
district have yet to
report a single case.
According to a vil-
lage leader, there are
no cases due to the
implementation of
strict social distanc-
ing rules and the
people’s strict adher-
ence to them.
Bhikhabhai Parmar,
leader of the Tarvada
village, which has a
population of 600 peo-
ple, told First India:
“Since the beginning
of the pandemic last
year, we implemented
certain rules such as
wearing masks, not al-
lowing outsiders to
visit our villages, and
no one is permitted to
move out of the village
unless required. Sani-
tizer use and manda-
tory vaccination have
also helped.”
The situation is simi-
lar in the village of Jas-
wantpur, which has a
population of around
300 people. “The fact
that the village has not
reported a single case
of COVID is due to the
strict adherence to the
rules by the residents.
Our villagers have also
been fully immunized,”
said Babubhai Hirani,
deputy sarpanch of
Jaswantpur village.
ASHA worker Laxmiben Sojitra, seen here in front of a sign announcing nCoV protocols, played a key
role in raising awareness in the two villages. .
Only a few pharma firms are licensed to produce remdesivir.
UNIQUE ACHIEVEMENT
With strict adherence to COVID-19
guidelines, Jaswantpur & Tarvada are
yet to report a single case of infection
COVID-19 UPDATE
TOTAL CASES
RECOVERED
ACTIVE CASES
TOTAL DEATHS
5,94,602
4,40,276
1,46,818
7,508
+12,978
+153
A’BAD 4,744
SURAT 1,833
V’DARA 735
JAMNAGAR 707
B’NAGAR 658
MEHSANA 565
RAJKOT 528
G’NAGAR 325
Council president
Montukumar
Patel issues note
to wholesalers,
distributors
—FILE
PHOTO
Sunday saw another long queue of ambulances outside the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.
—PHOTO
BY
HANIF
SINDHI

l Vol 2 l Issue No. 156 l 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-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
04
ontact lenses
are the result of
an accidental
discovery made
during the Sec-
ond World War. Ophthal-
mologist Harold Ridley
noticed that despite acrylic
plastic shrapnel shards be-
coming embedded in the
eyes of fighter pilots, it did
not appear to cause any
harm. This finding eventu-
ally led to the creation of
hard intraocular lenses for
the treatment of cataracts.
Over the years, new sci-
entific discoveries have led
to softer and more comfort-
able contact lenses. And
now, research bringing to-
gether chemistry, biology
and microelectronics is
resulting in contact lenses
that are straight out of sci-
ence fiction.
CURRENT RESEARCH
Researchers at the Hong
Kong University of Sci-
ence and Technology have
developed a prototype of a
contact lens that continu-
ously monitors changes in
intraocular pressure, the
pressure within the eye-
ball. The prototype is based
on the fact that the shape
of the eyeball varies in re-
sponse to changes in in-
traocular pressure. As this
happens, the contact lens
undergoes a commensu-
rate change in shape. A
thin capacitor embedded
within the contact lens cor-
relates changes in shape to
variations in intraocular
pressure.
The continuous monitor-
ing provided by the contact
lens could come in handy
for people suffering from
glaucoma. This lens can
monitorchangesinintraoc-
ular pressure throughout
the day and can responsive-
ly release drugs to alleviate
glaucoma. A similar lens,
called Sensimed Trigger-
fish, has received regulato-
ry approval in the United
States and Japan.
Thanks to the ubiquity
of electronic devices, we
are currently living in a
world constantly bathed in
electromagnetic radiation.
Although a clear consen-
sus is absent, studies have
pointed out that exposure
to electromagnetic radia-
tion could possibly induce
some effects in human tis-
sue. Engineers in South
Korea have applied a layer
of graphene to contact lens
to help shield the eyes from
electromagnetic radiation.
The thin graphene layer
also reduces dehydration.
BEYOND VISION
Developments in microe-
lectronics and chemistry
have contributed to the
surge in projects and proto-
types involving smart con-
tact lenses. For example,
there are already lenses
that function as in-eye sun-
glasses, darkening and
lightening in response to
changes in light intensity
.
California-based tech
start-up Mojo Vision is
working on contact lenses
with an inbuilt LCD dis-
play, which opens up enor-
mous possibilities. Similar
to a head-up display pro-
jected on a car’s wind-
shield, the contact lens can
provide a wide range of
information, from phone
notifications, map direc-
tions and more.
It is not too far-fetched to
imaginethatwewillsoonbe
able to use contact lenses to
zoom in on distant objects.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
High-tech contact lenses may one day replace smartphones
C
Just as a snake sheds its skin,
we must shed our past over
and over again. —Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
Retaining power in Assam despite
Cong-AIUDF alliance, a big jump
from 3 MLAs to about 80 MLAs in
Bengal, wresting Puducherry from
Congress this is what @BJP4India
has done in this election.
Congrats @JPNadda his team
under the leadership of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
Anand Sharma
@AnandSharmaINC
This victory is a win against
the BJP misuse of State power,
unprecedented money and
muscle power and a blatantly
partisan election Commission is a
triumph for India’s Constitutional
democracy. BJP has violated
every COVID protocol and put
crores of Indians at risk.
oe Biden has ultimately an-
nounced September 11 as the
final cut-off date for the com-
plete pullout of the US and
other allies’ troops from war-
torn Afghanistan. Earlier he
had denounced the decision
of his predecessor Donald
Trump of complete draw-
down by 01 May as “impracti-
cal.” As per the new blue-
print the pullout would begin
on 01 May and terminate by
11 September. 11 September
2022 will mark the comple-
tion of two decades of inva-
sion of Afghanistan code-
named ‘Operation Enduring
Freedom’ till 2014 (when the
twin objective of overthrow-
ing the ruling Taliban re-
gime and decimating Osama
bin Laden’s Al Qaeda was
partially achieved) and ‘Op-
eration Freedom’s Sentinel’
thereafter, the longest-run-
ning war in US history
. At the
time when the US is leaving,
Afghanistan is in turmoil
due to the internal war for
“who will control Afghani-
stan” continuing between
the elected government of
President Ashraf Gani and
the insurgents led by the Tal-
iban, who already control
more than 40% of the coun-
try. A Pakistan brokered a
peace agreement between the
US and the Taliban reached
last year in February suc-
ceeded only to the extent that
the Taliban stopped attack-
ing the foreign troops but
failed to achieve the main
purpose of a negotiated set-
tlement and permanent
ceasefire with the Afghan
government. The Taliban
had also agreed to ensure
that its soil would not be used
as a ‘launchpad’ for the glob-
al jihadi terror, which also
has been violated many
times. In fact, the violence
has surged in Afghanistan
ever since the beginning of
peace talks in September last
year with the civilian and se-
curity force deaths recording
an upward trend and even
deadly terror attacks have
increased. In nutshell, Af-
ghanistan continues to be in
a quagmire and the melting
pot for global jihadi terror.
The question arises what
did the US achieve even after
spending a whopping $2tn
plus and losing 2216 precious
lives? Billions in “aid” is said
to have gone down the drain
with the bulk invested in the
Dubai property market. The
cost to Afghan civilians has
been equally appalling, put at
between 50,000 and 100,000
deaths over the two decades.
Many analysts believe that
the present regime in Kabul
is unlikely to hold for long
after the Americans leave. It
could hardly govern with
American help and is unlike-
ly to succeed without them.
Come September, Afghani-
stan is likely to be back with
the Taliban, a scenario
dreaded not only by the Af-
ghans, particularly the wom-
en, but India as well. Afghan-
istan has once again lived up
to its reputation of “the
graveyard of the Empires”.
Yet another power is leaving
Afghanistan leaving the
country in ruin and without
ushering peace in the war-
torn nation. This is straight-
forward abandonment. Af-
ghanistan faces threats not
only from the Taliban but
from the Islamic State as well
which is reported to have
formed an affiliate Islamic
State in Khorasan Province.
Afghanistan has witnessed
sea-change with regards to
infrastructure development
under the Reconstruction
Program with India being a
major contributor. Will it
have any value for the radical
Islamists for whom the rule
of Sharia is the ultimate
even if it means a return to
the medieval era? The Tali-
ban have already announced
themselves as the ‘Winner’.
“We have won the war, Amer-
ica has lost,” says Taliban.
The Taliban see them-
selves as a government in
waiting, speaks volumes of
their confidence to over-
throw the current regime af-
ter the Americans leave.
They have already decided to
rename the country as “Is-
lamic Emirate of Afghani-
stan.” “This is jihad, it is
worship. We don’t do it for
power but for Allah and His
law. To bring Sharia to this
country. Whoever stands
against us we will fight
against them,” says Haji
Hekmat, Taliban’s shadow
Mayor in Balkh District, vir-
tually under its control. The
statement mirror images the
mind-set of the Taliban lead-
ership, some elements feel
that with the passing of time
and changed thinking among
many Muslim countries, a
group of moderates has also
emerged among the Taliban.
How much they would be
able to influence the new gov-
ernment or how the new Is-
lamic government when
formed will accommodate
them will be the actual lit-
mus test of the Taliban?
Indiahasbothstrategicand
internal security issues with
the American abandonment
of Afghanistan. While India’s
arch-rival in the region Paki-
stan seems to be in a win-win
situation, India will have to
facemanychallenges.Though
Indiahasbeenincluded,atthe
American insistence, in UN-
supervised talks for ensuring
intra-Afghan peace, it is not
going to make much differ-
ence as any positive outcome
of the talks is almost ruled
out. As and when the Taliban
assume power, Pakistan
wouldemergeasamajorplay-
er. While Pakistan will not
like any type of Indian influ-
ence in Afghanistan, India
can ill-afford to lose all the
goodwill and strategic lever-
age it has gained through
huge investments in its eco-
nomic uplift. Afghanistan is
as strategically important to
India as it is to Pakistan.
The major threat that
would emerge to India, is the
likelihood of the situation as
it prevailed in the 1990s and
early 2000 with relation to ji-
hadi terror. A pliant govern-
ment in Afghanistan will al-
low Pakistan to continue to
adhere to its policy of using
terror as an instrument of
the state policy. To avoid in-
ternational pressure and the
fear of watchdogs, it is likely
to shift the terror infrastruc-
ture to the badlands of Af-
ghanistan. Jihadi terrorists
who would become surplus
to the internal need in Af-
ghanistan may well be divert-
ed across the border by Paki-
stan as in the past. The secu-
rity of the infrastructure
built by India including the
alternate road route via the
Sistan Baluchistan of Iran
and the Indian personnel de-
ployed there would be anoth-
er major concern.
To ensure that the gains
made by India are not buried
to the ground along with the
anticipated change in regime
post-September this year, it
needs to formulate and put in
place a robust response based
on a long- term strategy. To
begin with without losing
any time the government
must appoint a special repre-
sentative for Afghanistan rec-
onciliation with the mandate
to open communication chan-
nels and negotiations with all
stakeholders including the
Taliban and the Islamic State.
To put the boots on the
ground has been opposed by
India till now and hopefully
will stick to its stance even
hereafter. A greater outreach
to strengthen the Afghan
forces including training and
equipping them must con-
tinue with increased empha-
sis on capacity building.
India would need to lever-
age its good relations with
Iran and Russia to keep Pak
and Turkey away from harm-
ing our interests. The emerg-
ing threat from radical Islam-
istswillhavetobehighlighted
to China since it is very sensi-
tive to such a threat in its
Xinxiang province. The good-
willof theAfghanisearnedby
us should also be exploited by
us to soften the Taliban ap-
proachtoIndia.Theemerging
situation in Afghanistan
would definitely test our po-
litical and diplomatic mettle
in the coming days.
While the Afghans will
have to prepare themselves
for a possible civil war, the
global community must get
ready for a renewed and more
vigorous threat from extrem-
ist Islam. The epicenter of
the new global Great Game
may be shifting to the Indo-
Pacific or South Caucasus,
but Afghanistan will contin-
ue to be the epicenter of glob-
al jihadi terror, rejuvenated
and resurrected. The US may
abandon Afghanistan; it
would not be able to abandon
the war on terror.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
AFGHANISTAN: DRAWDOWN OR
ABANDONMENT-ITS CONSEQUENCES
J
Afghanistan has
witnessed sea-
change with
regards to
infrastructure
development
under the
Reconstruction
Program with
India being a
major
contributor. Will
it have any value
for the radical
Islamists for
whom the rule of
Sharia is the
ultimate even if it
means a return to
the medieval era?
The Taliban have
already
announced
themselves as the
‘Winner’. “We
have won the war,
America has lost,”
says Taliban
THE MAJOR THREAT THAT WOULD EMERGE TO
INDIA, IS THE LIKELIHOOD OF THE SITUATION AS IT
PREVAILED IN THE 1990S AND EARLY 2000 WITH
RELATION TO JIHADI TERROR. A PLIANT
GOVERNMENT IN AFGHANISTAN WILL ALLOW
PAKISTAN TO CONTINUE TO ADHERE TO ITS POLICY
OF USING TERROR AS AN INSTRUMENT OF THE
STATE POLICY. TO AVOID INTERNATIONAL
PRESSURE AND THE FEAR OF WATCHDOGS, IT IS
LIKELY TO SHIFT THE TERROR INFRASTRUCTURE
TO THE BADLANDS OF AFGHANISTAN
BRIG VETERAN
ANIL GUPTA
The author is a Jammu
based veteran, political
commentator, columnist, security
and strategic analyst

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INDIA
05
TIME TO QUIT THIS SPACE,
SAYS PRASHANT KISHOR
“I do not want to continue what I am doing. I have done enough. Time for me to take a break and
do something else in life. I want to quit this space,” poll strategist Prashant Kishor said on Sunday
Kolkata: Even as
trends indicate that Tri-
namool Congress is
likely to win big in the
West Bengal Assembly
elections with the party
leading in more than
200 seats, poll strategist
Prashant Kishor said
on Sunday that he is
quitting as an election
strategist.
“I do not want to con-
tinue what I am doing. I
have done enough.
Time for me to take a
break and do something
else in life. I want to
quit this space,” Kishor
told. He added, “In this
victory, I am saying, I
am quitting and I don’t
want to do this any-
more. I have had
enough.”
On being asked
whether he would re-
join politics, he told, “I
am a failed politician. I
have to go back and see
what I have to do.”
Kishor also told that he
was “quitting this
space” and would not
strategise for parties
any more. Kishor also
alleged that the Elec-
tion Commission “has
been working like an
extension of BJP”.
“From allowing use of
religion by BJP to
scheduling poll and
bending rules, EC did
everything to aid the
saffron party,” he said.
Back in December last
year, Kishor had said
that the BJP tally would
struggle to cross double
digits and he would quit
if he was proven wrong.
Senior BJP leader
Kailash Vijayvargiya
had then sneered: “With
the ongoing BJP tsuna-
mi in Bengal, after
forming the govt we
will see the country lose
a poll strategist.”On
Sunday, Kishor’s old
tweet was trending with
trends suggesting that
the saffron party may
not cross 100 seats. —PTI
New Delhi: The
Trinamool Con-
gress’s Victory is
a message to all
opposition parties
that “they too can
stand up to the
BJP and give them
a contest”, poll
strategist Prashant
Kishor, who crafted
the party’s cam-
paign, told NDTV.
About the Congress,
which has been
carrying the mantle
of the main opposi-
tion party, he said it
is a “100-year-old
political party and
they have their ways
of functioning”.
“They are not open
to working on the
ways suggested by
people like Prashant
Kishor or others”.
‘CONGRESS
MUST REALISE
IT HAS A
PROBLEM’
Kolkata: BJP na-
tional general secre-
tary Kailash Vijay-
vargiya on Sunday
credited Mamata Ba-
nerjee for the TMC’s
astounding perfor-
mance in Bengal
elections, and said
his party would in-
trospect the poll re-
sults.
Earlier in the day,
he had claimed that
initial trends were
not the real indica-
tors of the final out-
come, and exuded
confidence that his
party will win the
elections.
“The TMC won be-
cause of Mamata Ba-
nerjee. It seems peo-
ple have chosen Didi.
We will introspect
what went wrong,
whether it was or-
ganisational issues,
lack of face, insider-
outsider debate,” he
said. —PTI
‘Mamata behind
TMC’s astounding
performance’
Kolkata: Union minis-
ter Babul Supriyo who
lost from Tollygunge
against Trinamool’s
Aroop Biswas posted a
rant against Mamata
Banerjee saying that he
will not congratulate
her as Bengal people did
a ‘historic mistake’ by
not giving Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party a chance.
However, the post was
deleted, and his Twitter
account also became re-
stricted.
“Neither will I con-
gratulate Mamata Ba-
nerjee for her win in
Bengal nor do I wish to
say that I ‘respect’ the
people’s verdict be-
cause I sincerely
think that peo-
ple of Bengal
made a his-
toric mis-
take by not
g i v i n g
Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party a
chance and by
electing this
c o r -
rupt, incapable, dishon-
est government and the
cruel lady back to pow-
er!! Yes, as a law-abiding
citizen, I shall ‘obey’ the
decision taken by
the people in a
democratic
c o u n t r y.
That’s it!!
N o t h i n g
more-Noth-
ing less!!,”
the now-de-
leted post
said.
Babul Supriyo was
one of the heavyweight
candidates BJP fielded
in the state. Babul Su-
priyo and Locket Chat-
terjee were the two Cen-
tral BJP leaders who
were fielded in the West
Bengal state assembly
election, hoping they
would guarantee victo-
ry for the party, though
both of them lost to Tri-
namool candidates.
Baul Supriyo lost to
Aroop Biswas by over
50,000 votes. —Agencies
Babul Supriyo loses Tollygunge to TMC
Kolakata: BJP has lost from Chunchura,
where it had fielded its Lok Sabha MP Locket
Chatterjee. TMC’s Asit Majumdar has defeated
Chatterjee. Born in WB’s Dakshineswar, actor-
turned-politician Locket has been instrumen-
tal in building BJP’s election machinery from
ground up in TMC bastion. However, she, too,
forayed into politics with TMC before severing
ties in 2015 and joining the BJP.
Kolakata: TMC leader
Firhad Hakim said he
has always been telling
that Mamata Banerjee
will be the Chief Minis-
ter for the third time in
a row. He also said that
the Left has vanished
from the state due
to its wrong policies.
Speaking to ANI,
Hakim said, “I was
always telling the press
that Mamata Banerjee
will be CM for the 3rd
time. BJP tried their
best to crack but they
didn’t succeed. The
Left has now vanished
from West Bengal due
to their wrong policy
of taking a communal
force against a com-
munal force.”
LOCKET CHATTERJEE LOSES
CHUNCHURA SEAT TO TMC
HAVE ALWAYS SAID MAMATA WILL BE
CM FOR 3RD TIME IN ROW: HAKIM
ASSEMBLY ELECTION RESULTS 2021
TMC supporters hold party flags and celebrate the victory during the election result day for the West Bengal Assembly election, in
Kolkata on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI PHOTO
New Delhi: Despite the
BJP’s landslide win in
Assam, it seems the
party is not going to
have an easy time decid-
ing its chief minister
nominee. Usually, the
BJP projects an incum-
bent chief minister in
places where it is trying
to retain power, but it
has not announced Sar-
banand Sonowal as its
chief ministerial candi-
date in Assam. All que-
ries to the leadership
usually end up with the
reply that the party par-
liamentary board will
take a call.
On Sunday, as the
party managed a clear
lead in the counting,
Jay Panda, BJP vice-
president and in
charge of Assam, re-
peated it when asked
who would be the chief
minister: “Our Parlia-
mentary Board will
take a decision” While
Sonowal managed to
beat the so-called fa-
tigue against his in-
cumbent govt.
—ANI
New Delhi: The Left
rewrote history in Ker-
ala on Sunday by be-
coming the first gov-
ernment to get a second
term in four decades
but its fortunes fell to a
historic low in West
Bengal where it failed
to bag even one seat, re-
sulting in its complete
decimation in a state it
once ruled for over
three decades.
The Left’s fall in Ben-
gal was a sharp one. It
not only drew a blank in
the 2019 national elec-
tions but lost its tradi-
tional supporters to the
BJP, as conceded by its
own leaders.
The CPM in a polit-
buro statement said the
results of 5 assembly
polls were a resounding
defeat for the BJP, but
shed very little light on
its own losses. “The BJP
suffered a severe set-
back despite its money
power and manipula-
tions in West Bengal.
The people of Bengal
have very clearly reject-
ed the ideology of com-
munal polarisation.
In Kerala though,
well laid out plans
worked seamlessly.
Pinarayi Vijayan, the
76-year-old CPI(M) lead-
er, became the third CM
in Kerala’s history to be
re-elected and the first
to continue in office af-
ter completing a full
term. LDF’s win is just
the second instance of a
ruling front receiving
consecutive terms. —PTI
Assammakesitschoice,BJPhasto
choosebetweenSonowalSarma
In Kerala, Left gets 2nd term,
fails to bag even 1 seat in WB
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal hugs senior BJP
leader Himanta Biswa Sarma during an election rally.
Puducherry: When
the Puducherry as-
sembly election re-
sults are declared on
Sunday evening, for-
mer CM of the Union
Territory and All In-
dia NR Congress
(AINRC) party chief,
N Rangaswamy ex-
pects to win and be-
come the CM.
NR Congress chief
N Rangaswamy, who
contested from That-
tanchavady and Yan-
am constituencies,
voted at Govt Boys
Middle School in
Thilaspet on April
6.On March 9, Pu-
ducherry BJP in
charge, Nirmal Ku-
mar Surana had an-
nounced that the
party has finalised its
seat-sharing deal
withtheNRCongress
and AIADMK for the
legislative assembly
elections in the Un-
ion Territory
.
“NR Congress will
contest on 16 seats
and BJP-AIADMK
will contest on 14
seats. We will face
elections in Puduch-
erry under the lead-
ership of N Rangas-
wamy,” Surana had
said adding that the
alliance will contest
polls under the lead-
ership of NR Con-
gress chief and for-
mer CM N Rangas-
wamy
. —PTI
Will NR Cong chief
N Rangaswamy
become CM again?
‘Cong to be people’s voice in tough times’
Chennai: As early trends showed Opposition
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam taking a lead in
Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections, scores of DMK
supporters thronged the streets to celebrate,
flouting Election Commission’s order that pro-
hibits victory procession owing to COVID-19.
A large number of mask-less DMK workers
and supporters were seen celebrating outside
Anna Arivalayam, the party headquarters in
Chennai without maintaining social distancing.
They cheered for DMK candidates and raised
the party slogans with joy as counting went un-
derway in Tamil Nadu. Some of the supporters
were also seen outside MK Stalin’s residence,
raising party flags and chanting slogans. —PTI
New Delhi: Former General Secretary of CPI
(M) and senior party leader Prakash Karat on
Sunday appreciate CM of Kerala Pinyari Vijay-
an for his “grand” victory of party-led alliance
Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala Assem-
bly election. However, the counting of votes
still underway in the state and the Communist
Party of India is leading on 57 seats out of 140
Assembly constituencies. Karat in an exclusive
interview with ANI said: “I extend greetings to
the people of Kerala who have created history
by electing LDF govt once again to power.”
The CPI-M leader also said that this victory is
significant because no other government has
been re-formed for 40 years. —ANI
DMK SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE
DESPITE EC BAN
KERALA CREATED HISTORY BY RE-
ELECTING LDF: CPI LEADER KARAT
New Delhi: Congress
on Sunday said it has
“lost” elections in As-
sam, Kerala, Puducher-
ry and West Bengal but
has not “lost its morale
or resolve” to continue
to be people’s voice in
these tough times.
Congress chief
spokesperson Randeep
Surjewala said the par-
ty would deliberate on
its failures and do
course correction after
internal deliberations.
“We have lost the elec-
tion in Assam, Kerala,
Puducherry and West
Bengal but we have nei-
ther lost our morale nor
our resolve or determi-
nation to continuously
become people’s voice
in these times of un-
precedented calamity
.
“The Congress Party
will definitely study the
results and all the rea-
sons diligently and we
are committed to cor-
rect our mistakes and
do appropriate course
correction,” he told re-
porters at a virtual
press conference.
His remarks come af-
ter the Congress failed
to make its mark in the
states of Assam, Kerala
and West Bengal, but its
alliance with DMK won
in Tamil Nadu.
Surjewala said the
party has accepted the
verdict with humility
and a sense of responsi-
bility. “People’s man-
date is the final word in
democracy. People of
West Bengal, Assam,
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and
Puducherry have given
their democratic man-
date for next five years.
We accept verdict with
humility and a sense of
responsibility. We rec-
ognise that the election
results are not as per
our expectations, par-
ticularly those of As-
sam and Kerala,” he
said. —PTI
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who is contesting from Dharmadam,
watches the election trends along with party members, in
Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI PHOTO
Kailash Vijayvargiya

INDIA
06
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Sunday held a crucial
meet to review the COV-
ID-19 situation in the
country and announced
that the central govern-
ment will set up tempo-
rary hospitals with
10,000 oxygenated beds
near industrial units.
During his meeting,
PM Modi also explored
the feasibility of con-
version of existing ni-
trogen plants to pro-
duce oxygen and vari-
ous such potential in-
dustries where the ex-
isting nitrogen plants
may be spared for pro-
duction of oxygen were
identified.
After a meeting on
the usage of gaseous
oxygen, the govern-
ment noted that many
industries like steel
plants, refineries with
petrochemical units, in-
dustries using rich
combustion processes
and power plants
among others have oxy-
gen plants that produce
gaseous oxygen.
The strategy being
used is to identify in-
dustrial units which
produce gaseous oxy-
gen of requisite purity,
shortlist those which
are closer to cities,
dense areas and de-
mand centres and estab-
lish temporary COVID
care establishments
with oxygenated beds
near that source.
PM Modi also held a
meeting with experts to
discuss ways to aug-
ment the human re-
source situation for ef-
fective management of
the raging COVID-19
pandemic. In the meet-
ing, it was decided that
steps would be taken to
incentivize students
and graduates of medi-
cal and nursing courses
to join COVID-19 duty,
the government sources
said. A detailed plan
will be revealed on
Monday (May 3). Some
of these steps are likely
to include deferring Na-
tional Eligibility cum
Entrance Test and in-
centivizing MBBS pass-
outs to join COVID-19
duty to help in tackling
the virus. —ANI
TEMPORARY HOSPITALS NEAR OXYGEN PLANTS
Govt to set up 10,000 beds in temporary hospitals, decision was taken following multiple meetings held by PM
New Delhi: A flight
carrying the largest
consignment of medi-
cal supplies from
France arrived in India
early on Sunday morn-
ing as part of its soli-
darity mission to help
the country in its fight
against a devastating
second wave of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
France has pledged to
assist India with 28
tonnes of medical sup-
plies, including eight
large oxygen genera-
tion plants, liquid oxy-
gen containers, ventila-
tors, etc. French Am-
bassador to India Em-
manuel Lenain said the
plants will be able to
make eight hospitals
oxygen autonomous
for over 10 years. He
added that it is the larg-
est package France has
provided to any country
since the beginning of
the crisis. We've been
working with the Union
Ministries and compa-
nies to provide assis-
tance to the country.
India helped us last
year. We want to show
solidarity now that
your country is experi-
encing difficulty
. It's the
largest package France
has provided since
COVID-19 crisis,” En-
voy said. —PTI
France US deliver oxygen supplies
Patna: Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar
on Sunday said journal-
ists will be given the
COVID-19 vaccine on
priority in the state.
Taking to Twitter,
Kumar said that jour-
nalists have been prop-
erly performing their
duties during the pan-
demic by spreading
awareness about the
virus among people.
“Journalists have been
performing their roles
in a good way during
the pandemic. They are
making people aware of
the dangers of corona
infection,” he tweeted.
Vax on priority
to scribes in
Bihar: Nitish
New Delhi: A PIL has
been moved in Delhi
High Court seeking is-
suance of direction to
the Government of In-
dia to frame guidelines
in a time-bound manner
for an airing of news ar-
ticles of sensitive na-
ture such as reporting
of mass-scale deaths
and sufferings by the
people by the broadcast-
ers/TV channels and
restraining them from
spreading negativity
.
The plea is likely to be
heard today
. —ANI
Restrain news channels
from spreading negativity
Bombay HC directs centre
on allocation of Remdesivir
New Delhi: The ECI
has moved the Supreme
Court (SC) over the Ma-
dras HC's remarks
against the polling body
.
The Election Commis-
sion, in its appeal to the
apexcourt,saidthehigh
court's remarks were
uncalled for, blatantly
disparaging and deroga-
tory
. The Madras HC
had, on April 26, criti-
cised the Election Com-
mission for the surge in
COVID-19 cases. —ANI
EC moves SC over
Madras HC’s
derogatory remark Nagpur: The Bombay
HC on Sunday asked the
Central govt to increase
the supply of Remdesiv-
ir injections to Maha
observing the current
reduction in the alloca-
tion of the crucial drug
is not consistent with
the number of active
COVID-19cases.Inaspe-
cial hearing, the bench
of Justices SB Shukre
and Avinash Gharote
heard a bunch of peti-
tions on the shortage of
medical oxygen and
Remdesivir, which is in
high demand for treat-
ing COVID-19 patients.
The bench said the HC
came to know about the
reduction in the alloca-
tion of Remdesivir to
Maharastra. —ANI
A COVID-19 patient breathes with a support of an oxygen mask sits inside a car outside LNJP
hospital, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
INDIA REPORTS OVER 3.92 LAKH
NEW COVID-19 INFECTIONS
NEW DELHI
REPORTS 412
DEATHS
New Delhi: India recorded 3,92,488 new COVID-19
cases in the last 24 hours as the country continues
to grapple with the alarming rise in daily counts.
As per the Union Health Ministry data, while 3,689
deaths were registered, 3,07,865 patients were
discharged in the past 24 hours. The total caseload
mounted to over 1.95 crore (1,95,57,457) in which
33,49,644 are active cases. More than 2.15 lakh
patients have succumbed
to infection.
J-K extends
COVID-19 curfew
in four districts
till May 6
Two held for
black marketing
of oxygen
concentrator in
Delhi
BJP
leader Sushil
Modi’s younger
brother Ashok Kumar
Modi passed away
due to Covid-19
in Patna
14-DAY
LOCKDOWN IN
ODISHA FROM
MAY 5
Delhi Health
Min Satyendar
Jain lost his father to
Covid-19,
CM Kejriwal
expresses grief
KEY
Highlights
New Delhi: Delhi on
Saturday reported
412 COVID-related
deaths, the biggest
ever single-day surge
in fatalities in the
national capital since
the pandemic broke
out last year.
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: India be-
gan the third phase of
the nationwide vaccina-
tion drive against COV-
ID-19 on May 1 for the
agegroupof 18-44years.
On the first day of it,
more than 86 thousand
beneficiaries in that
age group received
their first dose. As per
Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare data,
86,023 beneficiaries
were administered
their first dose of COV-
ID-19 vaccine across 11
states, including Chhat-
tisgarh (987), Delhi
(1,472), Gujarat (51,622),
Jammu and Kashmir
(201), Karnataka (649),
Maharashtra (12,525),
Odisha (97), Punjab
(298), Rajasthan (1853),
Tamil Nadu (527) and
Uttar Pradesh (15,792).
Meanwhile, India's
Cumulative Vaccina-
tion Coverage has ex-
ceeded 15.68 Crore as
Phase-3 of Nationwide
Vaccination Drive com-
mences.
The cumulative
number of doses ad-
ministered in the coun-
try has crossed 15.68 Cr
today as the Phase-3 of
the nationwide Vacci-
nation Drive com-
menced yesterday, the
ministry said. —PTI
Over 86,000 received
first dose on May 1
A medic in Jammu inoculates the dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to
a beneficiary for the age group of 18-45 years. —PHOTO BY ANI
PHASE-3 VACCINATION
TOTAL COVID-19 JABS ADMINISTERED
IN INDIA RISES TO 15.68 CRORES
New Delhi: India’s
Cumulative Vaccination
Coverage has exceeded
15.68 Crore as Phase-3
of Nationwide Vaccina-
tion Drive commences
and more than 86
thousand beneficiar-
ies of age group 18-44
Vaccinated on Day 1
of Vaccination Drive
Phase-3. According to
an official release by
the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare, The
Liberalized and Acceler-
ated Phase-3 Strategy
of Covid-19 Vaccination
has come into force
from yesterday (1st
May 2021). Registration
for the newly eligible
population groups had
commenced on 28th
April. “The cumulative
number of COVID19
vaccine doses adminis-
tered in the country has
crossed 15.68 Cr,” the
ministry said in a state-
ment. —ANI
IF YOU HAD FIRST
DOSE BEFORE
APRIL 30, THEN
SECOND IS FREE
COVID VACCINA-
TION CENTRES TO
BE SET UP AT 77
GOVT SCHOOLS
A consignment of medical supplies from France being unloaded
after it arrives, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
US SENDS 1,000
OXY CYLINDERS
‘POWER HOUSE’...
Speaking to the press in
Kolkata, Mamata said,
“Covid is my first prior-
ity
. We will work on this
immediately
.Wewillnot
do a big oath-taking cer-
emony
. We will weather
this storm. We will dis-
tribute free vaccines to
everyone. Also request
the Centre to distribute
free vaccines to all. If
this does not happen, I
will sit on a dharna in
front of the Gandhi
Murti in Kolkata. We ap-
peal to everyone not to
do a victory rally now.
We will do a big victory
rally at the Brigade Pa-
rade Ground later after
thesituationisnormal.”
Stalin-led DMK...
and this time the party
and the AIADMK are
contesting without
their towering leaders,
J Jayalalithaa and M
Karunanidhi whose
deaths have brought a
huge change in the po-
litical landscape.
Tamil Nadu’s most
iconic leaders J Jay-
alalithaa died in 2016,
and M Karunanidhi in
2018. Their absence has
left a huge political vac-
uum that many have
raced to fill. Actor Ka-
mal Haasan and his
Makkal Needhi Maiam
or MNM, made a rather
drab electoral debut in
the 2019 general elec-
tion, failing to win a
single seat. Haasan was
himself trailing.
“This has been an un-
precedented election
because of the pandem-
ic. We are watching
closely and frankly ex-
pected to perform bet-
ter than what we are
seeing so far,” said
DMK’s Manu Sundar-
am. “The people saw
this election as a choice
between the BJP and
BJP-controlled allianc-
es and that of the DMK,
which stands to oppose
the BJP and its ideolo-
gy,” he added.
The senior leader
also said they expect the
numbers to rise further
as the counting of votes
continues. “Though we
have the overall lead at
the moment, we were
hoping to do much bet-
ter,” he said.
Historic day...
The CPI(M) in a polit-
buro statement said the
results of the five as-
sembly polls were a re-
sounding defeat for the
BJP, but shed very little
light on its own losses.
“The BJP suffered a
severe setback despite
its money power and
manipulations in West
Bengal. The people of
Bengalhaveveryclearly
rejected the ideology of
communal polarisation.
“The performance of
the Sanjukta Morcha
and the Left has been
very disappointing.
People’s urge to defeat
the BJP led to a sharp
polarisation squeezing
out the Sanjukta Mor-
cha. A self-critical re-
view of these results
will be undertaken by
the party to draw need-
ed lessons,” it said.
In the run-up to the
assembly polls, the Left
continued to cut a sorry
figure in Bengal. Its
vote share fell to 40 per
cent in 2011 from 50 per
cent in 2006. It plunged
further to 26 per cent in
the 2016 assembly polls.
While questions and
murmurs within the
party remained about
partnering with the
Congress, which had lit-
tle or no presence on
the ground in the state,
senior leaders of the
party weighed in and
chose to ally with them.
Many even questioned
the logic of partnering
with the party which
fails to even transfer
votes to its allies.
“In Bengal, the Left
will have to do a serious
review of its political
line and assessment of
its situation, on how
and why the bipolar
situation was allowed to
emerge. Why did we
lose our grip and why
was BJP allowed a foot-
hold,” said CPI general
secretary D Raja.
When asked if their
choice of ally in Bengal
let them down, Raja
said that the post- elec-
tion introspection will
lead to a “churning”
where all these ques-
tions would be ad-
dressed. However, a
cause of concern is that
despite the Left’s ef-
forts to change -- shed-
ding its sombre image
by releasing videos on
social media, putting
up young candidates
and even stitching an
alliance with the Fur-
fura Sharif cleric Ab-
bas Siddiqui’s Indian
Secular Front (ISF) to
dent the TMC’s Muslim
votebank -- nothing
seems to have worked.
In Kerala though,
well laid out plans
worked seamlessly.
Pinarayi Vijayan, the
76-year-old CPI(M) lead-
er, became the third
chief minister in Kera-
la’s history to be re-
elected and the first to
continue in office after
completing a full term.
The LDF’s win is just
the second instance of a
ruling front receiving
consecutive terms.
The LDF is expected
to finish between 95 and
100 seats, eclipsing its
2016 tally of 91 seats.
FROM PG 1

TALKING POINT
07
ecades of re-
search shows
how negative
c h i l d h o o d
events—such as
abuse or neglect—
can have a detri-
mental impact on a person’s
long-term physical and mental
health. It has been linked to ac-
celerated ageing, chronic dis-
ease and even premature death.
Stress experienced in child-
hood may also influence our
genes and be passed on to off-
spring. So unless the cycle is bro-
ken, it may continue from genera-
tion to generation.
When we talk about childhood
adversity, it can cover specific expe-
riences, such as neglect, abuse, or
trauma. It can also cover unfavour-
able socioeconomic conditions such
as poverty, low education or unem-
ployment. In a recent study
, we wanted
to investigate two types of adversity
.
We looked at the impact of serious
conflict in the home—for example, ten-
sion, verbal arguments or physical
violence. We also looked at se-
vere financial difficulties ex-
perienced during childhood.
We analysed a large representa-
tive survey of European re-
spondents and found that these
two types of adversity signifi-
cantly predicted various health
problems in adulthood: physical,
mental, and social. The impact
was exacerbated if people had ex-
perienced both conflict and finan-
cial difficulties in childhood.
Financial strain
Experiencing severe financial strain
in childhood can mean uncontrolla-
ble, chronic stress. This pattern of
stress in a child’s body can become an
obstacle to healthy development and
effective learning later on. Financial
strain can mean a child will lack basic
necessities such as food, clothing and
school books. And it means children
are more likely to grow up in deprived
and unsafe neighbourhoods.
Research shows this level of stress
can inhibit a person’s ability to make
decisions, which can have long-term
implications. It also makes it less like-
ly a person will achieve positive out-
comes later in life.
Financial stress can directly affect
biological and physiological systems
thatareimportantforstayinghealthyin
adulthood. And these changes may per-
sist even if a person escapes disadvan-
tage later on, which
in turn can compromise their
health and behaviour in adulthood.
Conflict
Growing up in an environment char-
acterised by serious conflict can also
have a marked affect on psychological
and neuro-
logical development.
One reason is that a pattern of unpre-
dictable, uncontrollable and chronic
stress creates an overactive stress-re-
sponse system that readily triggers a
person into alert or aggression. Alto-
gether, it limits a person’s ability to
regulate emotions and behaviour.
Such experiences predispose people
to unhealthy lifestyles like substance
misuse or comfort eating. It also dis-
rupts
the immune,
metabolic and autonomic nerv-
ous systems, meaning it has a direct,
biological and enduring effect on a per-
son’s ability to stay healthy
.
Accumulating
health problems
In our study, we found that being
exposed to financial strain or con-
flict during childhood is associated
with heightened risk for a wide
range of health and social problems
in adulthood.
In terms of general health, we
found that people who grow up in
such environments are at increased
risk of cancer, obesity or being ham-
pered by physical health problems—
such as cardiovascular diseases,
breathing problems, physical pain,
along with stomach or digestive
problems.
We found that people who had
difficult childhoods are more like-
ly to binge drink, smoke, have a
poor diet and tend to be less ac-
tive—often engaging in seden-
tary behaviour.
Our results show a higher
risk of depression, unhappi-
ness, dissatisfaction with life,
loneliness and feeling unsafe
in one’s local area. We also
found that childhood adver-
sity puts people at increased
risk of social isolation. They
are less likely to interact
with others and have general
distrust towards other peo-
ple—and those who get married are
more likely to get a divorce.
Damaging effects
All these health and social prob-
lems are likely to accumulate and
intensify over time, ultimately re-
ducing people’s quality of life,
while creating multiple, complex,
costly care needs.
Our data revealed that 25% of
the survey respondents had ex-
perienced financial strain or
conflict during their childhood.
This means that one in four
adults in Europe could be at
increased risk of developing
health problems due to these
types of adversity. Apart
from the damage to people’s
lives, the economic burden
of childhood adversity in
terms of excess healthcare
costs can take a huge toll on govern-
ment spending. Investing appropriate-
ly to combat childhood adversity would
ultimately save societal costs.
Part of the solution needs to involve
working with children and families af-
fected by adversity. But there also
needs to be more awareness and un-
derstanding about the damaging ef-
fects of conflict and financial strain in
the home. This is important because
ultimately this will affect children
who grow up in these circumstances
for the rest of their lives.
SOURCE : THECONVERSATION.COM
D
Stress experienced in child-
hood may also influence our
genes and be passed on to off-
spring. So unless the cycle is bro-
ken, it may continue from genera-
When we talk about childhood
adversity, it can cover specific expe-
riences, such as neglect, abuse, or
trauma. It can also cover unfavour-
able socioeconomic conditions such
, we wanted
.
sion, verbal arguments or physical
range of health and social problems
in adulthood.
In terms of general health, we
found that people who grow up in
such environments are at increased
risk of cancer, obesity or being ham-
pered by physical health problems—
such as cardiovascular diseases,
breathing problems, physical pain,
along with stomach or digestive
problems.
difficult childhoods are more like-
ly to binge drink, smoke, have a
Experiencing severe financial strain
in childhood can mean uncontrolla-
ble, chronic stress. This pattern of
stress in a child’s body can become an
obstacle to healthy development and
effective learning later on. Financial
strain can mean a child will lack basic
necessities such as food, clothing and
school books. And it means children
are more likely to grow up in deprived
Research shows this level of stress
can inhibit a person’s ability to make
and neuro-
logical development.
One reason is that a pattern of unpre-
rupts
the immune,
metabolic and autonomic nerv-
ous systems, meaning it has a direct,
biological and enduring effect on a per-
son’s ability to stay healthy
.
ple—and those who get married are
Damaging effects
lems are likely to accumulate and
intensify over time, ultimately re-
ducing people’s quality of life,
while creating multiple, complex,
costs can take a huge toll on govern-
ment spending. Investing appropriate-
ly to combat childhood adversity would
ultimately save societal costs.
Part of the solution needs to involve
working with children and families af-
, we wanted
.
sion, verbal arguments or physical ple—and those who get married are
Damaging effects
GROWING
GROWING
PAINS
PAINS
A DIFFICULT
A DIFFICULT
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
MAKES IT
MAKES IT
MORE LIKELY
MORE LIKELY
YOU’LL HAVE
YOU’LL HAVE
MENTAL AND
MENTAL AND
PHYSICAL
PHYSICAL
HEALTH
HEALTH
PROBLEMS AS
PROBLEMS AS
AN ADULT
AN ADULT
ZIGGI IVAN SANTINI
Mental Health Researcher,
University of Southern Denmark
MICHAEL MARMOT
Director,Institute of Health Equity;
Professor,Dept of Epidemiology
and Public Health,UCL
BRUCE PERRY
Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry,
Feinberg School of Medicine,
Northwestern University,
Northwestern University
SARAH STEWART-BROWN
Chair of Public Health,
University of Warwick
VIBEKE JENNY KOUSHEDE
Professor and Head of the
Department of Psychology,
University of Copenhagen
Childhood
trauma and
chronic illness—
research shows
there is a link.
—FIZKES/
SHUTTERSTOCK
Our childhood
experiences shape our
belief about ourselves,
others and the world.
—PEXELS/ALEX GREEN

The unpredictability of life is
what makes it a challenge and
also beautiful and precious... we
must savour every minute of it!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
At71,shegoesbeyondcallofduty,
reachesouttoCovidpatients
Over 12 years after retirement, this nurse is dedicated to patients
First India Bureau
Dahod (Gujarat):
When Gujarat —and
the country — gasps for
every single bottle of
oxygen, for every single
bed, for every single
ambulance van, for eve-
ry Remdesivir injec-
tion, there are many,
not some, who put their
life on the line for the
Covid-19 victims.
Take Gemini Joshi,
71, who continues to
work as a matron at a
public-private partner-
ship Zydus hospital in
Dahod, a backward trib-
al district in Gujarat.
As many as 12 years af-
ter retirment, her du-
ties include hiring and
administrative supervi-
sion of the 275 nursing
staff at the hospital.
But Gemini, who re-
tired as a nurse from a
government hospital
way back in 2009,
doesn’t think much
about her brief and can
be seen administering
medicines and oxygen,
taking samples for test-
ing and holding pa-
tients’ hands as they lie
in prone position to im-
prove their breathing.
She says, “I wish to
nurse the ailing people
till the end of my life.”
At 71, she’s healthy
, una-
fraid and indefatigable.
Zydus Medical Col-
lege and Hospital is a
brownfield project un-
der a public-private
partnership with the
Gujarat Government.
As India fights coro-
na, nurses are taking
care of patients in ICUs,
Covid wards, nursing
homes and makeshift
facilities. But they are
also reporting back on
what works and what
doesn’t to make patients
feel better.
The world over, the
scientific community
has lauded nurses for
helping to bring home
realizations like the
usefulness of proning
for patients who are out
of breath and the bene-
fits of fluid therapy to
improve patient health.
Nurses are also the
main source of comfort
to hospitalised patients
who are separated from
friends and families
during the pandemic.
National Health Por-
tal data show that there
were just over 20 lakh
registered nurses and
midwives in India at the
end of 2017. An addi-
tional 56,469 women
were registered as “lady
health visitors” and
8,60,927 as auxiliary
nurse midwives.
First India Bureau
Surat: During the pre-
sent terrible times
when even relatives
and close friends
think twice before
helping out Covid-19
victims, 65-year old
Himmat Mavani who
lives near Sudama
Chowk in Surat’s
Mota Varachha, is a
friend, philosopher
and guide to many a
patient.
Himmatbhai helps
install oxygen bottles in
the isolation center in
Mota Varachha Com-
munity Hall and for the
last 22 days has been
checking on every pa-
tient’s health and moni-
toring their oxygen
needs, including refill
of the cylinders.
He is a textile busi-
nessman and his son is
a jeweler and have
combined income of Rs
2 lakh a month. But
that doesn’t make him
complacent. He helps
out free.
He says, “Turning
the oxygen bottle is a
very responsible job
and has to be done with
expertise. A small mis-
take can cause the death
of a patient.” He re-
mains in constant touch
with the patients and
ensures their oxygen
needs. Himmatbhai
also manages to check
the level of oxygen of
patients waiting in am-
bulance vans.
Mawani says many
patients from Saurash-
tra come all the way to
Surat for treatment.
Some patients at Mota
Varachha Center said
the ambulance driver
charged Rs 50,000 from
them to come to Surat
from Saurashtra.
Mawani calls such
people as criminals who
fleece people during
such critical times.
65-year-old businessman
spends 8 hrs at hospital
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Royal
Challengers Bangalore
(RCB) skipper Virat
Kohli on Sunday said
the franchise would be
making a financial con-
tribution to help the
healthcare infrastruc-
ture related to oxygen
support in Bengaluru
and other cities of the
country
.
Kohli also said in the
ongoing Indian Premier
League (IPL) 2021, RCB
will be sporting a spe-
cial “blue jersey” in one
of the upcoming games
to pay respect and show
solidarity to all the
frontline heroes who
have led the fight
against coronavirus
pandemic.
“RCB has identified
key areas where much
needed help is required
immediately in health-
care infrastructure re-
lated to oxygen support
in Bangalore and other
cities, and will be mak-
ing a financial contri-
bution towards this,”
said Kohli in a video
posted on RCB’s Twit-
ter.
Meanwhile, IPL fran-
chise Punjab Kings on
Sunday informed that
their skipper KL Rahul
had been diagnosed
with acute appendicitis.
The Punjab skipper
had complained of se-
vere abdomen pain on
Saturday night and as a
result, he was taken to
the hospital for scans.
“KL Rahul complained
of a severe abdomen
pain last night and after
not responding to medi-
cation, he was taken to
the emergency room for
further tests which re-
vealed that he was diag-
nosed with acute appen-
dicitis,” Punjab Kings
said in an official state-
ment.
“It will be resolved
surgically and for safe-
ty measures, he has
been transferred to the
hospital for the same,”
he added.
KL Rahul currently
holds the Orange Cap in
the ongoing season as
he has scored 331 runs
from seven matches.
Kohli’s RCB to donate for oxygen support to Covid
NEW INITIATIVE
The IPL team Royal
Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
has announced financial
contribution for oxygen supplies
Virat Kohli in a symbolic blue T-shirt.
4-year-old girl raped,killed
in Surat; culprit nabbed
Doctor arrested for forging HC letter
First India Bureau
Surat: The Hazira
Police on Sunday
arrested a 27-year
old man on the
charges of rape and
murder. He was ar-
rested after the lo-
cals found the mur-
dered body of a
four-and-a-half-
year-old girl and in-
formed the police.
The body was tak-
en in custody and was
sent for post mortem,
where it was revealed
that the girl was sodo-
mized and raped be-
fore being strangled
to death. The police
have found as many
as 15 wound marks on
the infant’s body. The
accused person was
arrested fr0m his
home after a search
for two days.
Two days ago, the
girl was found dead
near Singotar Mata
temple at Hazira vil-
lage, police officials
said. Investigations
for two days led to the
arrest of 27-year-old
Sujit Kumar.
According to DCP
Vidhi Chaudhary, ac-
cused Sujit is a resi-
dent of Rewa in Mad-
hya Pradesh and lived
near the girl’s house.
He confessed to the
crime while the po-
lice took Sujit along
with other suspects
for questioning.
Sujit was work-
ing as a labourer in
a privatey company
at Hazira. The pri-
mary presumption
was that the ac-
cused killed the girl
by squeezing her
mouth. Police had
found 15 wounds
marks on the girl’s
body.
First India Bureau
Surat: The Surat po-
lice on Sunday arrest-
ed a 38-year-old doctor
for forging a letter in
the name of the Guja-
rat High Court in order
to cremate his father
according to Parsi con-
ventions.
The letter was sent
to Parsi Panchayat,
which suspected foul
play and called the
police. The police
later nabbed the man
who delivered the let-
ter and the writer.
The accused, Dr Ma-
hiyar Ratansha Patel,
lives in Nikunj Society,
Timliyawad, Nanpura.
His father died of Cov-
id-19 and had to be cre-
mated by fire instead
of Parsi rituals.
The doctor got upset
about this, he made a
bogus letter from the
Gujarat High Court
and posted it at the of-
fice of Surat Parsi Pan-
chayat in Shahpore. He
circulated the bogus
letters on social media.
This discredited the
Surat Parsi Panchayat
and Rohinton Bejanji
Mehta, chief executive
officer of Parsi Pan-
chayat, had lodged a
complaint with the cy-
ber crime unit. Based
on which, the police
investigated the CCTV
footage at the Mahid-
harpura post office.
The police traced
the bike number of
the man who deliv-
ered the letter and
through it they
reached the accused.
Mahiyar Patel is a
member of Parsi
Panchayat and holds
an LLM, PhD, and a
DHMS degree in
medicine.
Police are investigating.
SELFLESS GOOD SAMARITANS AT SERVICE!
Nurses helping out Covid-19 patients. —FILE PHOTO
Himmat Mawani ensures oxygen supply to patients.
LEFT TO GOD!!
Citizens and priests at Narmadeshwar Mahadev Temple have been performing ''maha mrutunjay
jap'' through the entire day to pray for a Covid-free Gujarat at Khokhra in Ahmedabad. .
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Gujarat extends
farm loan repayment
date up to June 30
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Consid-
ering the unprecedent-
ed Covid-19 crisis, the
Vijay Rupani Govern-
ment on Sunday decid-
ed to extend farm loan
repayment date to June
30.
The government also
announced that the in-
terest of 7% on farm
loans would be borne by
the State. As of now, 3%
interest is on the State
and 4% on the Centre.
The State Government
would take this burden.
According to the
State Government, this
will be an overall relief
of Rs 16.30 crore for the
farmers.
In another important
decision, the State has
allocated Rs 40 lakh for
the construction of Gu-
jarati Bhavan at
Vishakhapatnam. Min-
ister for State for Non-
Resident Gujaratis
Pradipsinh Jadeja has
said the State has re-
leased Rs 1.69 crore for
construction of 16 Guja-
rati Bhavans in various
parts of the country
.
Jadeja says Gujarati
Bhavans are of great
benefit to Gujaratis re-
siding in different
states and also Gujara-
tis traveling to other
states. Non-Resident
Gujaratis are using
these infrastructure for
social functions and
events and Gujaratis
get guest houses while
travelling.
If the Gujarati Samaj
is buying a property or
renovating an old prop-
erty, the State allocates
Rs 40 lakh or 40% of the
cost whichever is less,
for renovation if the bill
comes to Rs 10 lakh or
40%, whichever is lower.
—FILE PHOTO

AHMEDABAD, MONDAY
MAY 3, 2021
arzoo Choudhary, a
strong independent
woman, grew up in a
middle-class joint
family. Aarzoo who
is buxom, beautiful
and confident has
the personality of a
true supermodel.
When asked
about her jour-
ney, she
shared. “I was
born in a
small town
Sangaria,
H a n u -
mangarh
district
of Ra-
jasthan and completed my
primary education with my
maternal grandparents. Af-
ter finishing my secondary
education from Sangaria, I
moved to Jaipur.” She fur-
ther added, “I was always a
bright student. Coming from
a conservative family, it was
inconceivable for me to think
of fashion and modelling as
my career. I have 52 members
in my family which is a lot to
deal with. Everyone opposed
and didn’t believe that one
can have a career in the fash-
ion industry. They still have
an orthodox mentality of
women meant to get married
and deal with household
chores. But I am a competi-
tive individual who is driven
and likes to win. My real
struggle began from there.
To my surprise, my father
was the first person to take a
stand for me. He believed in
me and gave me wings to fly
and follow my passion. Later
not just my parents but oth-
ers supported too. “
“When I came to Jaipur,
little did I know about fash-
ion and modelling industry. I
always used to question my-
self, What is this going to
look like? How am I going
to make it different?
Will I be able to do it?
Until in 2018, I
came across the
beauty pageants be-
ing held in Jaipur. I
met Gaurav Gaur, Direc-
tor Elite Miss Rajasthan and
after meeting him all my
questions got answered.
Gaurav Sir is my mentor
who not only believed in me
but helped me tap my poten-
tial. He showed me the right
path and guided me at every
step of my journey so far. I
can’t be more grateful to
him”, Aarzoo said.
When asked what advice
would she give someone
starting, the alluring beauty
replied, “To the girls who
want to come into this in-
dustry should be mature
enough to tackle every situ-
ation with a positive atti-
tude and immense patience.
Well, Aarzoo was very fortu-
nate to have learned so
much at a young age and
she’s now using those expe-
riences as a platform to
speak truth to others.
AARZOO CHOUDHARY STEPPED INTO THE FIELD OF FASHION AND MODELLING OUT OF
SHEER PASSION. IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CITY FIRST, AARZOO TALKS
ABOUT CHANGING PERCEPTIONS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY, HER JOURNEY SO
FAR AND THE BARRIERS THAT STILL NEED TO BE BROKEN!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
BREAKING
BREAKING
the Stereotypes
the Stereotypes
A

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
MARY LANE, Writer
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
A senior will repose full
faith in you for tackling a
man management situation
at work. Situation on the
financial front will remain satisfactory,
despite rising expenditure. A property
issue may create tension on the home
front. Reminiscing about first love
with partner will draw you closer.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
A profitable day is also
indicated for professionals.
There is much that needs
to be done, so tighten your
belt. Good health is likely to provide
you with oodles of energy and enable
you to finish your work in a jiffy.
Budgetary planning will be required
for those going in for a renovation.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Good diet and regular
exercise will keep you both
physically and mentally
robust. At work, you are
likely to remain in control and see a
project to completion. Financially,
you remain in a comfortable
situation. Travelling long distance is
not recommended today.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Your efforts on the
professional front will be
noted by those who matter.
A child or younger sibling
can make you proud by his or her
achievements. Good health keeps you
energetic all throughout. A get together
can prove expensive and pinch your
pocket.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A new exercise regime may
need to be dovetailed to
your requirements to
benefit. Your professional
rivals are likely to punch holes in
your cost-cutting ideas for a project.
Disagreements with a family member
is possible. Those proceeding out of
town are likely to make good speed.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
An alternative to your staple
diet may prove immensely
enjoyable. An argument with
senior can make you feel
insecure. You may find the atmosphere
on the home front serene and most
welcoming. Places of tourist attraction
may be on the agenda of those
travelling on a pilgrimage.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Self-discipline and not
succumbing to temptations
will help in maintaining
good health. Some of you
may get tied up in office and reach
home late today. It may become
difficult to find time for family today,
but you will be able to make up for it
later.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Time has arrived to reap
rich rewards of your hard
work. Parents or elders
may nag you into doing
something you don’t want to, but you
will manage to wriggle out of it!
Accompanying a family member
overseas or out of town cannot be
ruled out for some.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
A profitable venture is
likely to fill up the coffers
of some businesspersons.
You may be held responsi-
ble for a deed that you have not
committed at work. Fitness classes
will prove immensely beneficial,
especially for those in the middle age
group.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
On the financial front, a
new source of income is
likely to be tapped soon
that may get your coffers
brimming! Health counselling will do
wonders for those longing to come
back in shape. You are likely to win
much appreciation by completing a
task in record time.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
This is a very positive day,
in which you get to achieve
much. It is important to get
back into the thick of
things on the work front. Family
grapevine can be abuzz with the
latest gossip about you. Ensure
adequate security in a long journey,
as stars for travel are not bright.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Taking up a good health
scheme will prove
beneficial. A practical
solution may be found for
a complex problem on the profes-
sional front. Support of family
members is assured in whatever you
undertake. Some builders may start
thinking in terms of a township soon.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
have been doing a lot
of thinking. I have
been wondering why
this whole pandemic
has not scared the
c**p out of me like it
has other people.
It is all such an enigma.
No one can explain what is
happening. I bet you have
wondered if the corona is a
zoonotic virus or simply a
bigger government conspir-
acy
. No one predicted that
human beings would die in
large numbers. Or did they?
Is this nature getting back at
us?
And as a result of such
confusion, the government
and various other segments
have helped themselves to
our fear.
One such segment is the
Vegan movement, which
had almost hit a jackpot un-
til it didn’t. Initially, they
claimedthatweshouldclose
wet markets because corona
allegedly started in the wet
markets of China. Then
they claimed you must give
up animal products because
bats spread Covid. I want
you to read that again. Does
that perplex you as much as
it confuses me? Who in the
world eats bats? I don’t get
the connection. What I
haven’t told you yet, is that
behind it all is a business
empire booming. The NGOs
getbigbuckstoaggressively
push the vegan agenda and
many use animals to strike
a chord with our animal-
loving hearts. But some
things are amiss.
Iamavegetarian,butthat
post about the link between
bats and COVID does little if
anything at all to convince
me to be vegan. I under-
stand their motivation but
not the messaging. Instead,
they should focus on why
consuming animal products
is in the interest of human-
kind. Like everything else
that revolves around our
wellbeing, including the
One Health policy of the
WHO that claims human
health is directly inter-
linked to animal health (as-
sumingly related to con-
sumption only). See it is all
about us- our health and
wellbeing! Do you get the
sarcasm? If not let me break
it down for you.
Nowhere does the wellbe-
ing of animals and nature
come first except in the
heart of animal lovers. And
wait I feel the urge to define
this label. You do not classi-
fy as an “Animal Lover” be-
cause you purchased an ani-
mal, or discriminate
amongst breeds, or dictate
the terms on which your
home pet or your neigh-
bourhoodpethastolive.You
are an “animal lover” when
you love, care, and give un-
conditionally
, and when you
put them first! And I have
met quite a few animal lov-
ers during my time in
Jaipur and Pune.
Humans have coerced na-
ture to adapt to them when
it should be the other way
around. Man-un-kind has
brought nature to its knees.
Animals continue to suffer
unimaginable suffering at
the hands of human beings
for no fault of theirs. They
have been quite welcoming
of us in their habitat. And
what do we do, we become
occupiers much like the Is-
raeloccupationof Palestine.
Animals have been re-
duced to “nuisance” and
“vermin”and“man-eaters”.
I am very curious to know
what the animals think of
us. I hope I will be able to
find out when I complete my
animal communication and
energy healing training.
What a beautiful world it
would be if we could all
communicate with each
other and express how we-
creations of God-feel.
Wait, I am not done yet. I
also have had a lot of time to
imagine the post-corona
world, more like a utopia for
animals.
In my perfect world, Ani-
mal Birth Control (ABC)
will be decided by the ani-
mals themselves. Since they
will be free from fear of
harm at our hands, there
will be no need to coercively
spay or neuter them. Yes, I
am personally not in favour
of ABC, but I realize its im-
portance in the cruel socie-
ty that we live in and that
for their safety we must
“humanely” manage their
population. If humans hat-
ed the initiative taken by
our former PM Indira Gan-
dhi, where 6.2 million men
were sterilized in 1976
alone, what gives us the
right to sterilize animals?
How humane is forced Hu-
man Birth Control?
In my profession, I also
deal with a lot of vets and
veterinary students. It is
heartbreaking to hear from
so many of them that they
became a vet because they
did not score well for medi-
cal school. Read that again.
They did not become vets to
help animals or because
they love animals. Their
heart was in medical
school. How do you then ex-
pect them to save suffering
animals when they cannot
even feel for them? Animals
cannot speak a language we
understand. And so the role
of a veterinary doctor is far
more challenging than that
of a doctor treating hu-
mans. I salute vets who be-
came vets because that was
their first and only choice.
It is quite a twisted educa-
tional system in India that
allows you to pick medicine
as a profession but offers
veterinary medicine as an
option that is shoved down
your throat if you don’t
score well on the entrance
exam of the medical school.
This is such a disservice to
animals. In my utopia,
more vets will be compas-
sionate and will have the
welfare of the animal at
heart! In my utopia vets just
as human doctors will have
a choice.
And what is this about
cows being sacred in India?
Since when does something
sacred eat out of a garbage
dump? If I were a cow, I
wouldhatetobeworshipped
if it means I have to be a
scavenger. The vegans
would like what I am about
to say now- Ever witnessed
a cow’s postmortem? I have,
and I have seen its stomach
full of plastic, metal, broken
glass, and other sharp ob-
jects. In short, these are
things you throw out into
your garbage every day
which then find their way
on the street and into the
tummy of the cow. And wait
for it- into your chai and pa-
neer and ghee. Yes, this is
right, what do you expect of
the quality of milk from a
cow that feeds off your gar-
bage? The blood of this cow
that died and the thousands
of cows that die is on your
hands. In my utopia, gar-
bage will be segregated and
the streets will be clear and
the cows all happy like in
the Swiss Alps and the
LaughingCowinfocommer-
cials. In my utopia, nature
will prevail.
But I don’t live in Utopia.
I live in a man-made world.
If COVID is a way for nature
to catch up, then I hope it
does what it is here for. If
not, then I shall pray for my
nature-led utopia to take
root soon! Inshallah!
help animals or because if it means I have to be a
Have we earned
COVID?
MARIAM ABUHAIDERI
thepersianladki@gmail.com
I

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021
11
New Poster Out
R
a n d e e p
H o o d a
has been
making
the headlines
ever since he
has been roped
in for Salman
Khan star-
rer Radhe:
Your Most
W a n t e d
Bhai. The
actor will
be seen
p l a y i n g
the role of
the lead an-
tagonist in
the cop dra-
ma. The mak-
ers released a new poster of the movie featuring Randeep
and it has added to the audience’s excitement on Sunday
.
Randeep also shared the poster on his social media account
and introduced his character as Rana. —Agency
IMPACTFUL
performance
H
ollywood star Angelina Jolie recently
revealed that her latest role in ‘Those
Who Wish Me Dead’ allowed her to tap
into her own emotions and experiences to
createamoreimpactfulperformance.According
to People magazine, during an on-set interview,
the actor revealed that in the upcoming thrill-
er ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’, her character
Hannah, a smokejumper still reeling from the
lossof threelivesshefailed to savefrom a fire
is “a very broken person who carries a great
deal of guilt.” —Agency
I
nternational celebs are now joining hands to help
support India in this time of crisis and after actress
Priyanka Chopra set up a fundraiser to help India,
author Jay Shetty is also raising USD 1 million
with Give India. Singer Camila Cabello has come in
support of Shetty’s fundraiser and recently shared
a video appealing to her fans to donate. Resse With-
erspoon also shared the post urging fans to raise
money
. —Agency
A
head of their ‘Saturday Night
Live’ episode on May 8, Ameri-
can singer-songwriter Miley
Cyrus faced criticism on social
media after bantering with Elon
Musk via Twitter. After a fan tweet-
ed on Wednesday a Photoshopped
image of Musk on a wrecking ball
in a nod to Cyrus’ infamous 2013
music video, the controversial Te-
sla CEO, “Might be something there
haha.” The 28-year-old singer then
chimed in, “@elonmusk I’m down if
you are! #MileyAndMusk to the
moon!” —Agency
Sonu Sood
APPEALS
F
or days on end, Sonu
Sood has been working
nonstoptohelpfamilies
of thoseaffectedduring
thedeadlysecondwaveof Cov-
id-19 in India. On Saturday
,
Sonu Sood took to social me-
dia to make another im-
portant appeal to the In-
dian government. In a
video, Sonu Sood
appealed for free
cremation be-
causeof those
deaths due
to Cov-
id-19.
—Agency
V
eteran actor Dilip Kumar was recent-
ly hospitalised in Mumbai after he
faced some health issues. It has been
a few days since he has been in a city
hospital. However, wife Saira Banu con-
firmed that he is ‘recovering well’. The
98-year-old actor has had quite a few health
scares in the past. Amid the Covid-19 pan-
demic, Dilip Kumar also lost two siblings to
coronavirus last year. —Agency
Importance
Importance
of emotional
of emotional
well being
well being
mid the deadly sec-
ond wave Covid-19
crisis, several Bol-
lywood celebs have
come forward to do
their bit. From set-
ting up fundraisers
to donating medical equip-
ment and oxygen, actors and
actresses are making sure
they do their bit. On Sunday,
Deepika Padukone joined
this list as the actress took to
social media to share a list
of verified mental health
helplines. With almost all of
India being forced to stay in-
doors once more due to lock-
down, Deepika highlighted
the importance of emotional
well being.
—Agency
A
FACING
FACING
BACKLASH
BACKLASH
Dilip Kumar hospitalised
Shooting commences
B
ridgerton fans, rejoice! Filming of
the second season of the popular ro-
mantic Netflix series revolving
around the new love story of Antho-
ny Bridgerton and Kate Sharma has offi-
cially started. People Magazine captured
Jonathan Bailey, who is respiring his role as
Anthony Bridgerton with new costar Si-
mone Ashley
, who is playing the leading lady
and Anthony’s on-screen love interest Kate
Sharma on the set of the series’ forthcoming
season. —ANI
O
s c a r -
winning
a c t o r
Olympia
Dukakis known
for her role in
‘Mr. Holland’s
Opus,’ ‘Steel
M a g n o l i a s , ’
‘Moonstruck’
has died at the
age of 89 years
at her home in
New York City.
Dukakis’ broth-
er Apollo Duka-
kis confirmed
her demise on
Facebook, say-
ing “My beloved
sister, Olympia
Dukakis, passed
away this morn-
ing in New York
City
. After many
months of fail-
ing health she is
finally at peace
and with her
[husband] Lou-
is.”
—Agency
Lost a gem
Joining hands
B
ollywood actress Kanga-
na Ranaut always grabs
headlines for her tweets.
The Queen actress gave a
sneak peek into her daily healthy
diet. And it looks like that she en-
sures that she is eating right while
shedding the calories at the gym.
Like any other Indian where peo-
ple love to start their day with the
most popular beverage ‘Tea’, the
actress also starts with the same.
The actress further shared anoth-
er diet set and it includes a lot of
nuts. —Agency
Diet plan
Diet plan
revealed
revealed
I
t’s been a while since Aamir
Khan was last seen on the
silver screen and fans have
been undoubtedly missing
his magic on the big screen.
Fans were eagerly waiting for
Laal Singh Chaddha release, the
COVID 19 pandemic turned out
to be a roadblock in the shooting
which led to a delay in the re-
lease. —Agency
War scenes
in Ladakh
Miley Cyrus
Deepika Padukone
Camila Cabello
Kangana Ranaut
Angelina Jolie Aamir Khan
Late Olympia Dukakis
Sonu Sood
A still from the series: Bridgerton
Saira Banu Dilip Kumar
Poster of the film: Radhe

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