162058943710052021 first india ahmedabad

First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: While
addressing residents
of Chekhla village in
Sanand taluka of
Ahmedabad district
on Sunday
, Chief Min-
ister Vijay Rupani as-
sured them that Guja-
rat will be the first
state that flattens the
second wave curve of
the COVID-19 pan-
demic in the country.
He visited the newly
established COVID-19
Care Centre set up un-
der the ‘Maru Gam,
Corona Mukt Gam’
campaign initiated by
the government. “The
state is moving in the
right direction. We are
addressing the health
crisis and with sup-
port of our citizens,
the state will soon wit-
ness a drastic fall in
the number of nCoV
cases. Gujarat will be
the first state to defeat
the second wave of the
pandemic,” he said.
Elaborating on the
‘Maru Gam, Corona
Mukt Gam’ programme,
the CM stated, “Gram
Yodhha Committees
have been formed in
over 16,000 villages
across the state. Youth
workers will create
awareness among peo-
ple about the virus and
also assist with treat-
ment of patients with
mild viral load at local
centres.”
On the government’s
actions to curtail the
pandemic, Rupani as-
sured, “The state gov-
ernment is conducting
1.40 lakh nCoV tests on
a daily basis. Our oxy-
gen consumption re-
corded every day is over
1,000 metric ton (MT),
which is being allocated
by the central govern-
ment as per the require-
ments of the state. Even
if thedemandincreases,
the government is com-
petent to meet the re-
quirements.”
With a rise in mucor-
mycosis cases in Guja-
rat, the state govern-
ment has decided to buy
5,000 amphotericin B
injections for patients
who develop the fungal
infection. Special wards
will also be set up for pa-
tients infected with mu-
cormycosis in
Ahmedabad, Rajkot,
Jamnagar, Bhavnagar,
Vadodara and Surat.
Later in the day
, the
chief minister virtu-
ally dedicated four
oxygen plants being
established at SSG
Hospital and Gotri
Hospital in Vadodara
by the NGO Vallabh
Youth Organization.
The organization will
set up 18 oxygen
plants with a dona-
tion of Rs1.28 crore.
GUJ WILL BE FIRST TO DEFEAT NCOV 2ND WAVE: CM RUPANI
CM Rupani interacting with residents of Chekhla village on
Sunday morning.
Assures govt putting in efforts to
meet meds, O2, testing
requirements; dedicates 4 oxygen
plants in Vadodara virtually
AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, MAY 10, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 163
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD LUCKNOW
NEPAL’S
NEPAL’S
Nearly half of the Nepalese
testpositiveinfewweeksas
covid cases rise by 1200%
Nepalese army personnel in PPE suits salute to pay tributes to the COVID-19 victims before
cremating their bodies near Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu. —PHOTO BY PTI
Kathmandu: Health
workers and authori-
ties in Nepal are strug-
gling to contain a mas-
sive surge of Covid-19
cases as infections
spill over from neigh-
bouring India’s deadly
second wave.
In the last three
weeks, Nepal’s daily
case trajectory has
shot up with two out
of five people tested
now returning posi-
tive. On Thursday
, Ne-
pal reported 9,023 cas-
es, the highest single
day increase.
More than 3,500 peo-
ple have died since the
pandemic began, 400
of them in the last two
weeks alone, accord-
ing to official figures.
“Health facilities
have been flooded with
symptomatic cases …
Thesituationcouldbe-
come worse in the
coming days,” said He-
manta Chandra Ojha
at Nepal’s Epidemiol-
ogy and Disease Con-
trol Division.
“We can manage
the oxygen supplies
but ventilators and
ICU facilities required
for the treatment of
severe cases are in
short supply
.”
Thecountry’shealth
system has been over-
whelmed by the sud-
den spike, with hospi-
tals filling fast. Rela-
tives of patients are
scrambling for medi-
cineandintensivecare
beds. Turn to P6
Guwahati: Himanta
Biswa Sarma will suc-
ceedSarbanandaSonow-
al as the 15th Chief Min-
isterof Assam--hiselec-
tion at the Legislature
Partymeetingtodayend-
ingweeksof speculation
on the subject. At the
meeting held in Guwa-
hationSunday
,Sonowal
hadproposedhisname
after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi gave
his approval for Sar-
ma’s elevation. It was
seconded by the MLAs.
Sarma,52,latermetGov-
ernor Jagdish Mukhi to
stake claim to form gov-
ernment. The oath cere-
mony will be held on
Monday
.
Sonowal had submit-
ted his resignation to
the Governor earlier
this afternoon.
The BJP won a sec-
ond straight term in the
recently concluded as-
sembly polls in the
state. The party won 60
seats in the 126-member
Turn to P6
Himanta clinches Assam,
to take oath as CM today
Sarma has been
BJP’s key man and
troubleshooter in
Northeast region
PASSING THE BATON: Assam’s CM designate Himanta Biswa
with BJP leader Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati on Sunday.
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
INDIA
4,03,738
4,092
new cases
new fatalities
DEPRESSING NUMBERS

z Last month, the
little Himalayan nation
that has around 31
million people was
reporting just about
100 cases a day.
Now, that figure is
slowly nearing the
10,000-mark

z Nepal is reporting
about 20 cases
per 100,000 people
a day

z There are hospital
bed shortages in 22
of the country’s 77
districts

z Health workers
on long-term leave
are being called back
to help manage the
crisis, while the Nepal
Army directed retired
medical staff to stand
ready to be recalled
to combat the crisis
How enor-
mously bless-
ed I feel by
PM Narendra Modi’s
faith in me. I assure
you we shall leave no
stone unturned to
carry forward your
vision of taking
Assam, Northeast
to greater heights
Himanta Biswa Sarma,
Assam’s next Chief Minister
DARK
ABYSS
ABYSS
Did Chinese
scientists plan
weaponising
corona in 2015?
Report says so
Beijing: A document
written by Chinese sci-
entists and health offi-
cials before the pan-
demic in 2015 states that
SARS coronaviruses
were a “new era of ge-
netic weapons” that
could be “artificially
manipulated into an
emerging human dis-
ease virus, then weap-
onised and unleashed,
reported Weekend Aus-
tralian.
The paper titled The
Unnatural Origin of
SARS and New Species
of Man-Made Viruses
as Genetic Bioweapons
suggested that World
War Three would be
fought with biological
weapons. The docu-
ment revealed that Chi-
nese military scientists
were discussing the
weaponisation of SARS
coronaviruses five
years before the COV-
ID-19 pandemic. The
report by Weekend Aus-
tralian was published
in news.com.au.
Turn to P6
Covid virus airborne, can spread
beyond6ft:TopUSmedicalbody
New Delhi: The prin-
cipal mode by which
people are infected with
SARS-CoV-2, the virus
that causes COVID-19,
is through very fine
aerosolised particles re-
leased during respira-
tion, the US Centers for
Disease Control and
Prevention said in new
guidelines, almost a
month after the Lancet
found the virus is trans-
mitted through the air.
The top US medical
body said the risk of
transmission is great-
est within three to six
feet of an infectious
source where the con-
centration of these very
fine droplets and parti-
cles is greatest.
Modes of SARS-
CoV-2 transmission are
now categorized as in-
halation of virus, depo-
sition of virus on ex-
posed mucous mem-
branes, and touching
mucous membranes
with soiled hands con-
taminated with virus.
“People release res-
piratory fluids during
exhalation (quiet
breathing, speaking,
singing,exercise,cough-
ing, sneezing) in the
form of droplets across
a spectrum of sizes.1-9
These droplets carry vi-
rus and transmit infec-
tion,” said the top US
medical body
. Turn to P6
PM MODI CONTINUES HIS DIALOGUE WITH CHIEF
MINISTERS ON SUNDAY TOO ON COVID SITUATION
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sun-
day called up with the chief ministers of Punjab, Kar-
nataka, Bihar and Uttarakhand to discuss the covid
situation. In the last few days, PM Modi interacted
with chief ministers of several states and lieutenant
governors of union territories on the pandemic situ-
ation there and assured Centre’s assistance in their
fight against the disease. CMs also apprised him
about the measures being taken by them to tackle
the raging second wave of the pandemic. PM had on
Saturday also held talks with CMs of Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
SEVERAL STATES EXTEND LOCKDOWNS, CURFEWS
New Delhi: Citing the capital’s high positivity rate,
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday
extended Delhi’s lockdown for another week. The
lockdown will now be in place till 5 am on May 17.
During this period, metro services will also remain
suspended. Haryana and UP too extended state-
wide lockdown till May 17. In JK, the already-
imposed corona curfew was extended by a week.
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
NEPAL
India
China
Sikh community
offering
prayer during
inauguration
of Free Oxygen
Langar Sewa for
covid patients
at a gurdwara
in Kolkata on
Sunday.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman on Sunday said that a 5 per
cent tax on vaccines and 12 per cent on
medicines and oxygen concentrators was
necessary to keep costs low, after a new
appeal by West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee to waive these fees
given India’s coronavirus crisis. “If full
exemption from GST were given, the do-
mestic producers of these items would be
unable to offset taxes paid on their inputs
and input services and would pass these
on to the end consumers by increasing
their price,” she explained in a string of
16 tweets. Input tax credit refers to the re-
fund that manufacturers can claim on tax
paid on raw materials and services used
to make products, thus making it cheaper.
Things with zero tax are not allowed to
use this relief, as per current rules.
WHY TAX VACCINES,
SITHARAMAN EXPLAINS
AFTER MAMATA’S NOTE
GUJARAT
11,778
121
new cases
new fatalities

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MAY 10, 2021
02
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS ADVERSELY AFFECTED THE MENTAL HEALTH OF HUMANS,
OFTEN DRIVING THEM TO TAKE EXTREME STEPS. FIRST INDIA SPOKE TO PSYCHOLOGISTS,
PSYCHIATRISTS, ACADEMICIANS TO PRESENT THEIR TAKE ON THE CRISIS
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: While the
COVID-19 pandemic has
affected the lives of citi-
zens, it has also taken a
huge toll on the mental
health of patients, their
family members, medi-
cal personnel, those liv-
ing in fear of contract-
ing the virus, among
others. Novel coronavi-
rus has forced people to
remain behind closed
doors and exercise pre-
cautions to stay healthy
.
As a result, the stress
and fear of being infect-
ed with Sars-CoV-2 has
had a negative impact
on the mental wellbeing
of people and in some
cases, driven them to
end their lives.
For instance, Ganesh
Patel from Pardi town
in Valsad district re-
cently jumped before a
train and committed
suicide because he did
not secure a hospital
bed after testing posi-
tive for COVID-19. On
May 04, Sarlaben Gohel
hanged herself from a
ceiling fan after her
husband tested positive
for the virus. A day pri-
or to the suicide, Sarla-
ben’s sister-in-law had
succumbed to COV-
ID-19. Two days ago, a
mother and her two
sons committed suicide
in Dwarka, after the
family patriarch died of
nCoV
. Neighbours spec-
ulated that financial dif-
ficulties drove the fam-
ily to take the extreme
step.
 A government officer was assigned a very im-
portant role of handling remdesivir and oxygen
distribution in Ahmedabad, when everything
was in short supply owing to surge in cases.
Attending hundreds of calls for medicines and
oxygen on a daily basis affected the officer’s
mental health. He developed gastric and hyper-
tension issues, which is when he was referred
to consult with a psychologist. During counsel-
ling sessions, it was discovered that he had
been suffering from anxiety due to his high-
pressure job. He sought the help he needed
and overcame his anxiety.
 A family of four tested positive for the virus
and the three female members of the family
recovered from it. Unfortunately, the family
patriarch had to be hospitalized, but he too
gradually recovered from the virus. The day
he was supposed to be discharged from the
hospital, he died. According to doctors on call,
it was a case of suicide and not death due to
COVID-19. They also confirmed that the patient
had attempted to end his life twice before dur-
ing his stay at the hospital. However, timely
intervention from the staff had saved his life.
According to a recent-
ly conducted survey,
every second or third
person is suffering
from severe stress,
fear and anxiety due
to the COVID-19 pan-
demic. Speaking
about the mental
health concerns
prominently wit-
nessed in citizens
amid the pandemic,
Dr Keyur Panchal,
senior psychiatrist
from Ahmedabad,
said, “Some people
are either financially
or economically inse-
cure, battling various
health concerns, or
scared of losing their
loved ones. Mental ill-
ness is on the rise in
the state. Until last
year, people assumed
that the pandemic
would last a few
months. But, it has
lasted more than a
year; financial re-
sources are hanging
by a thread, liabilities
are very high. All
these burdens have
led some to commit
suicide. People realize
that they are stressed
but shy away from get-
ting help. Now, all that
is changing as they
are coming forward to
seek counselling and
treatment.”
There has been a
jump in cases by man-
ifold in the second
wave, as compared to
the first wave last
year. Doctors who
have been serving in
COVID-19 wards have
contracted the infec-
tion multiple times,
and nurse anxiety
that they can get in-
fected yet again at any
given point in time.
They can be assisted
in becoming free of
such anxiety through
medication and coun-
selling, he added.
Commenting on the
surge in mental
health cases amid the
pandemic, city-based
psychologist Jigar
Parikh, stated, “Psy-
chological issues are
not limited to adults,
the elderly or profes-
sional workers any-
more. Even school-
going teens and colle-
gians have taken to
seeking counselling.
With teenagers, the
problem is that they
have been cooped up
in their homes for
more than a year; al-
most like being under
house arrest, As a re-
sult, their social life is
almost non-existent.
Youngsters apart
from their partners or
battling addiction(s)
are stressed and frus-
trated. Domestic vio-
lence cases have
surged because ad-
justing to the new re-
ality has become an
issue for most people.
Last year, we received
70-75 calls in 10 days’
time but now the fig-
ures touch 3,500 calls
in the same period.
We are a group of 80
doctors, counsellors
and professors, who
lend a sympathetic
ear to people’s prob-
lems and try to calm
them down. Staying
isolated has also
wrecked havoc on peo-
ple’s mental health
often developing into
suicidal tendencies.”
A service called
‘Talk it Out’ has been
started by a group of
activists in the city.
Parthviraj Kathwa-
dia, member of the
group, explained, “In
such trying times,
people need someone
to lend an ear to their
problems. In order to
help with that, a
group of psychia-
trists, clinical ex-
perts, psychologists,
professors and social
workers have
launched a service
called ‘Talk it Out’.
We have been receiv-
ing calls from all sec-
tions of the society,
from remote places of
Surendranagar dis-
trict, Madhya Pradesh
and even Thailand. A
few of us have even
taken up counselling
to help counsel people
and rid them of the
COVID-19 fear.”
The pandemic has test-
ed the will-power of
patients and their loved
ones alike. “Other than
the virus ending my
life, I fear that I will
never get another job.
The company I was em-
ployed at laid off many
people due to retrench-
ment. I have a family
and loans to pay off
and I keep entertaining
suicidal thoughts,”
said a patient undergo-
ing counselling at a
psychologist.
A group of profes-
sionals in psychology
have started free coun-
selling for people strug-
gling with mental
health under the ban-
ner of Psychological
Development and Men-
tal Health Foundation.
Falgini Patel, associate
professor at Uma Arts
and Natubhai Com-
merce colleges told
First India, “I have
been witnessing so
many cases of psycho-
logical fear. And that is
why we decided to help
people. People are fear-
ful, insecure and de-
pressed due to the un-
certainty surrounding
the pandemic. Our
main objective is to
help him heal and rid
them of the fear that
drives them.”
Echoing a similar
sentiment, Hetal Patel
of Another associate
professor, Hetal Patel
of FD Arts and Com-
merce College,
Ahmedabad said, “Peo-
ple have given too much
power to the fear in
them. They see only
this one thing but there
are other things around
them apart from the vi-
rus. Financial, emo-
tional and social issues
have shattered fami-
lies. We are working to
grant them the courage
to face the tough situa-
tion they are in and as-
sure them that it is only
a phase.”
Elaborating on the
need for mental health
counselling, Dr Yogesh
Jogsan of Saurashtra
University stated, “The
pandemic has changed
the mental state and
stamina of people. It is
a sign that after effects
of the crisis may be-
come a matter of con-
cern if appropriate and
timely steps are not
taken. Therefore, it is
most critical that peo-
ple seek adequate so-
cial support and con-
nection with others.
They must maintain
strong communication
with others and work
to focus their energies
on things that interest
them such as yoga,
meditation, any hobby.
Dedicating 100% in the
work they do to divest
themselves off nega-
tive thoughts is also
imperative now.”
On the social media effects of the pandemic, Dr Dhara Doshi, assistant
professor in the psychology department of Saurashtra University gave
her take, “Two main reasons that have affected people mentally are
social media and internal conflicts. There are people who ‘create’ a
psychological disorder in their minds even if they do not suffer from
it. Helplessness, interpersonal crisis, self-evolution, maladaptive behav-
iour, sleep disturbances, emotional instability and loneliness have also
contributed towards people being driven to suicidal tendencies.”
Mental
Mental
(Health)
Hai Kya?/
CRY FOR HELP?
TESTING TIMES MENTAL HEALTH
CASE STUDIES
SOCIAL MEDIA CONUNDRUM
Dr Keyur Panchal, psychiatrist
Jigar Parikh, psychologist
Hai Kya?/
Hai Kya?/
?
?

First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: As the
state’sCOVID-19casefig-
ure has continued to fall,
it lowered below the 12K
mark as it recorded
11,778 fresh cases, taking
the total tally to 6,81,012.
According to a bulletin
by the state health and
family welfare depart-
ment, over 121 deaths oc-
curred in a span of 24
hours as on 5 pm on Sun-
day
. The death toll of the
state currently stands at
8,394.
The nCoV patient
deathswereaccountedin
Ahmedabad (19), Va-
dodara (12), Rajkot (13),
Jamnagar (14), Surat
(12),Bhavnagar(4),Juna-
gadh (11), Kutch (4)
Mehsana (4), three each
inAravalli,GirSomnath
and Sabakantha, two
each in Bharuch, Panch-
mahal, Banaskantha,
Chhota Udepur, Devb-
humi Dwarka and Ma-
hisagar, one each in
Anand, Dahod, Kheda,
Patan, Amreli, Gandhi-
nagar, Surendranagar
and Tapi. Despite a
slight decline in daily
case surge, no district re-
ported new cases in the
single digit. With 14 cas-
es, Botad reported the
lowest number of cases.
On the other hand, the
districts of Ahmedabad
(2,955), Surat (1,113) and
Vadodara (1,161) record-
ed cases in thousands.
Currently
, a total of
1,39,614 cases have been
considered as active cas-
esand786patientsareon
ventilator support. The
state has so far vaccinat-
ed 1.35 crore people, of
which, 1.03 crore people
were administered the
first dose and 32.14 lakh
people have been given
the second jab as well.
GUJARAT
03
COVID-19 UPDATE
TOTAL CASES
RECOVERED
ACTIVE CASES
TOTAL DEATHS
6,81,012
5,33,004
1,39,614
8,394
+11,778
+121
A’BAD 2,955
SURAT 1,113
V’DARA 1,161
RAJKOT 746
JAMNAGAR 586
MEHSANA 483
B’NAGAR 375
G’NAGAR 270
Teachers against assigned
ration distribution task
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Teachers’ Associ-
ation on Sunday op-
posed the distribu-
tion of ration to par-
ents of students en-
rolled in municipal
schools. After the
COVID-19 pandemic
hit, teachers of the
municipal school
board have been con-
sistently assigned dif-
ferent tasks such as
managing nCoV help
desk duty, conducting
surveys on novel cor-
onavirus symptoms,
vaccination, among
others. Now, they
have been ordered to
remain present at ra-
tion shops during dis-
tribution of
foodgrains.
As the pandemic rag-
es on, schools have been
closed for the past year.
As a result, no midday
meals are being served
to children. Therefore,
the government has
granted food grain cou-
pons to the beneficiar-
ies, wherein one teach-
er has to be present at
each ration shop to
oversee the distribution
of grains to parents of
students.
Manoj Patel, presi-
dent of the teachers’
union of the municipal
school board, demand-
ed that the distribution
of foodgrains be con-
ducted after the sum-
mer vacation. “Cur-
rently, teachers have
been deputed a lot of
work, as they are sur-
veying parents of stu-
dents on whether they
have been vaccinated or
not or if they have de-
veloped fever or any
other symptom of the
virus,” he said. The
teachers have also been
granted vacation so
that the foodgrains can
be distributed after it
ends.
3 HELD FOR BLACK-MARKETEERING
TOCILIZUMAB DRUG
Decline continues as Gujarat
records 11,778 cases, 121 deaths
SMC ramps up
prep for 3rd
COVID-19 wave
First India Bureau
Surat: The Surat Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(SMC) has geared up to
continue testing for
COVID-19 at a high rate
in order to prepare for
a possible third wave
of infections. Al-
though, the number of
positive cases has been
decreasing in recent
days, in part due to clo-
sure of the textile and
diamond markets, mu-
nicipal commissioner
Banchhanidhi Pani
stated that prepara-
tions were already un-
derway to control the
virus in the event of a
third wave.
“I have briefed all of
the staff on the work
that needs to be done in
the coming days. We in-
tend to use mobile am-
bulance vans to get to
people’s homes. Those
who have been infected
will be kept in constant
contact with medical
personnel. In addition,
work will be done to in-
crease testing and treat-
ment in containment
zones,” said Pani.
Following the second
wave of infections, the
SMC has been conduct-
ing 30,000 COVID-19
tests per day, officials
said.
Local admin has stepped up testing in Surat .
A ration shop in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO
Notestingkitsin102Jamnagarvillages:Sarpanchs
Gargi Raval
Jamnagar: With Jam-
nagar reporting over
600 COVID-19 cases in
the past 24 hours, vil-
lage heads have claimed
that testing kits are
lacking in as many as
102 villages across the
district. The district au-
thorities opposed the
state government’s
‘Maru Gam, Corona
Mukt Gam’ (My nCoV-
free village) campaign
last week, citing a short-
age of hospital beds,
medical-grade oxygen,
and other critical medi-
cines required for COV-
ID-19 patients in Jam-
nagar.
According to Jam
Khambhaliya Congress
MLA Vikram Madam,
villages in the district
have been hit the hard-
est by a rise in number
of cases. “In the last five
days, the sarpanchs of
102 villages have ex-
pressed concern about
the dearth of testing
kits. We do not even
have the basic tools
needed to diagnose or
detect the virus,” Mad-
am explained.
He went on to say,
“Surprisingly, in the
most recent local body
elections, the Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
won 75% of the seats in
Jamnagar. Thus, what
the sarpanchs con-
veyed was not a politi-
cal statement, but sim-
ply the truth. The
harsh reality is that the
government is ignor-
ing villages.”
On the condition of
anonymity, the sar-
panch of Banga village
told First India that the
villagers were facing
severe problems.
“We don’t have hospi-
tals, doctors in our com-
munity health centres,
or even ambulances.
And now the villages
are doing without test-
ing kits. How can we tell
who is COVID-19 posi-
tive? In the absence of
kits, the virus will con-
tinue to spread,” he la-
mented.
“Our district does not
have RT-PCR ma-
chines,” said Devu Gad-
hvi, a village leader.
“Because there are no
RT-PCR testing facili-
ties, test results take
five to seven days to ar-
rive. In the meantime,
patients here are not
receiving adequate
care. Furthermore, de-
spite the fact that it is
run entirely by volun-
teers, the vaccination
drive is not progressing
at the required rate,” he
added.
IN SHORT SUPPLY
An empty COVID-19 testing centre in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO
According to Cong MLA
Vikram Madam, villages in
the district have been hit the
hardest by surge in cases
One of the accused included a nurse allegedly selling each vial for upto Rs3 lakh
First India Bureau
Surat: The city’s Spe-
cial Operations Group
(SOG) arrested three
people, including a
nurse employed at a pri-
vate hospital, for alleg-
edly black-marketeer-
ing tocilizumab injec-
tions used to treat COV-
ID-19 patients.
SOG apprehended
Hetal Kathiria, a nurse
at the city’s Tristar Hos-
pital, for selling the in-
jection at an exorbitant
price. The nurse was
allegedly selling one
vial of the injection for
a sum of Rs3 lakh, ac-
cording to sources. Po-
lice officials said that
Hetal allegedly sent her
father Rasik Kathiria,
to deliver the injections
to a customer at a pri-
vate hospital on the
Udhana-Magdalla road.
After receiving a tip-
off, the police set up a
trap at the hospital.
Rasik and his associate
Vrajesh Mehta were
nabbed by officials
when they reached the
spot to make the deliv-
ery
.
The police also in-
formed that the accused
nurse is absconding.
Upon further investiga-
tion, officials discov-
ered that the seized toci-
lizumab injections were
fake. The three accused
have been booked under
the Essential Commodi-
ties Act, the Drugs and
Cosmetics Act, the Dis-
aster Management Act
and Section 420 (cheat-
ing) of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC).
According to police
sources, Hetal would
ask people for their
Aadhar Card details be-
fore selling them tocili-
zumab injections at ex-
orbitant prices. The ac-
cused had also sold the
injectable drug to a pa-
tient at the hospital at
Rs2.30 lakh per vial.
But, the patient suc-
cumbed to the virus as
the drug had been fake.
Hetal Kathiria had been running the operation with her father Rasik and another associate Vrajesh Mehta.
Lab techie files
complaint
against 3 BJP
workers
First India Bureau
Kheda: Three
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) work-
ers have been
booked for ob-
structing a public
servant from per-
forming his duties
at a vaccination
centre. According
to a complaint filed
by a lab technician
at the Pij Primary
Health Centre
(PHC) in Pij village
of Kheda district,
the political work-
ers were sum-
moned by locals to
ensure that outsid-
ers were not given
preferential treat-
ment when it came
to vaccinations.
Nimisha Barot,
the complainant,
stated that the BJP
workers demanded
that the village’s res-
idents be given prior-
ity at the vaccination
centre.
Barot stated that
the accused, Bhavin-
bhai, contacted other
BJP leaders, includ-
ing Rajesh Patel and
Maulesh Jani, in or-
der to halt vaccina-
tions at the centre.
The complainant,
who has worked at
the PHC for 17 years,
claimed that the
three accused also
threatened her with
a transfer.
In response to the
allegations, Rajesh
Patel of the BJP stat-
ed that he went to the
centre because the
villagers had sum-
moned him. When
contacted for com-
ment, Arjunsinh
Chauhan, president
of Kheda BJP, said
that local leaders and
party workers were
working together to
ensure that all citi-
zens get vaccinated.
“There is no ques-
tion that our party
workers are ob-
structing or bother-
ing frontline work-
ers. But, I shall in-
quire about the inci-
dent and if there is
any substance to the
allegations levelled
against party work-
ers, appropriate ac-
tion will be taken,”
he said.
Pij Primary Health Centre. —FILE PHOTO
Nimisha Barot
alleged that
they tried to
influence
personnel at the
health centre to
stop vaccinations
Health workers disposing of medical waste from the COVID-19 ward at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

l Vol 2 l Issue No. 163 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
FOCUS ON VACCINES,
AND BRINGING THE
COVID CURVE DOWN
nce again the new Covid cases
in the country crossed the four
lakh mark while deaths also
crossed the 4000 mark for the
second consecutive day. Uttar
Pradesh, where the number of new cases
and fatalities were going haywire until re-
cently, seems to have taken control of the
situation. In UP villages, where the story
was said to be different, hopefully an im-
provement is expected soon with the eas-
ing of oxygen supply, availability of beds
and ramping up of tests. Once in a while
news of Covid’s deadly blow jolts one out
of reverie, like 17 professors of Aligarh
Muslim University (AMU) passing away in
18 days. While other universities of the
state also lost their academics to the virus,
AMU’s toll of one professor a day has been
the highest. There is obviously a pall of
gloom as the peers have been unable to bid
a final goodbye to their departed col-
leagues. This obviously compels one to in-
fer that arrangements in Aligarh must be
poor.
In the midst of the pandemic if the un-
scrupulous elements sell or hoard oxygen
cylinders concentrators, oximeters, life
saving drugs and private hospitals fleece
hapless patients, people robbing Covid vic-
tims of their shrouds goes to show how low
one can stoop to make profit out of human
misery. Such rogues ought to be firmly
dealt with. In order to avoid profiteering
in a catastrophe the best way is to prevent
a calamity from happening. As the prestig-
ious journal The Lancet said that “in early
March…The impression from the govern-
ment was that India had beaten Covid-19
after several months of low case counts…
and was in the “endgame of the epidemic”.
This, the journal said, “was despite warn-
ings of the dangers of a second wave and
the emergence of new strains”. What is
done is done. Religious congregations like
Kumbh and elections aren’t due soon. The
need of the hour is to ensure that fresh
cases and daily toll must come down fast
in the worst-affected states. The Lancet
has suggested, “India must now pursue a
two-pronged strategy. First, the botched
vaccination campaign must be rational-
ized and implemented with all due speed.
There are two immediate bottlenecks to
overcome: increasing vaccine supply
(some of which should come from abroad)
and setting up a distribution campaign
that can cover not just urban but also rural
and poorer citizens, who constitute more
than 65 % of the population…
“Second, India must reduce SARS-Cov-2
transmission as much as possible while
the vaccine is rolled out…”
The Lancet’s roadmap emphasizes uni-
versal vaccination, especially covering
rural areas and the poor. Foreign countries
like the US and Europe sitting over piles
of vaccines lying with them must take note
of the journal’s suggestion. India helped
them in their crisis. Now it’s their turn.
IN-DEPTH
O
he dictionary defines responsi-
bilityasa“stateof beingrespon-
sible: a trust or charge for which
one is responsible.” It’s much
more than that. It’s about choos-
ing. It’s a corollary of freedom:
of freedom that succeeds as a
socialprinciple.Theinferenceis
obvious. It’s only when govern-
ments and citizens, from every
walk of life, accept responsibil-
ity for the consequences of their
action, can freedom realise its
purpose — not otherwise. Else,
freedom would be reduced to a
licence — of freedom where self-
interest ‘rules.’
Mahatma Gandhi recognised
the chaos that follows when we
deny our responsibility and pro-
ceed in pursuit of other ‘goals.’
The flouting of rules that has
now led to a monstrous surge, a
tsunami — of COVID-19 infec-
tions, also deaths, in the country
— being a classical case in point.
The Mahatma summarised
our responsibility for each other
in his ‘Seven Social Sins,’ a key-
note on how depravity can run
asunder, viz., 1. politics without
principle; 2. wealth without
work; 3. commerce without mo-
rality; 4. pleasure without con-
science; 5. education without
character; 6. science without
humanity; and, 7. worship with-
out sacrifice. We’d imperatively
connect the blatant attitude and
recklessness of the powers-that-
be, religious leaders and sundry
,
not to speak of millions of our
fellow citizens, more so ‘partici-
pants’ in Kumbh Mela, among
others,fortheCOVID-19volcano
that has erupted and brought us
to our knees.
Gandhi’s credo is nothing
short of a classical paradigm: a
paradigm of values and cour-
age, one that reads like a mod-
ern roster, or aphorism. It re-
flectshisintellectandvision—a
powerful reminder of the times
we now live in today and also
tomorrow. Responsibility, for
Gandhi, meant disciplining one-
self — to live responsibly ac-
cording to a clear, ‘accountable’
code and setting a good example
for others in doing so. On a
broad preamble, one could think
of Gandhian responsibility as a
three-legged stool — responsi-
bility for self, including self-dis-
cipline; for others, including
kindness for all living beings on
this planet, aside from leader-
ship. The inference is obvious.
Responsibility ‘propels’ us to
move towards industrious inde-
pendence and towards each
other — to a perception that we
are all together in an interde-
pendent world, and worthy no
matter what we own, or who we
are by way of colour, religion,
race, career, status etc.,
It isn’t an easy equation, all
right, for all of us to feel com-
fortable. But, for a responsible
individual the whole thing is
celestial drama, or the will of
the Supreme Entity
. Call it god,
or what you may
. It also relates
to adopting an altruistic and tol-
erant attitude and acting unself-
ishly and sympathetically to-
wards others, while taking re-
sponsibility for one’s impres-
sion of them. It broadens the
spaces we share; it makes us
more comfortable to be with oth-
ers just as well and vice versa.
The onus, therefore, is on us
and us alone, no matter our di-
vergent perceptions. We have to
foster the notion of thought at
theheartof ourresponsibilityto
each other. It is something that
begins early in life and becomes
eroded, at times, when we grow
up — like how it has now
emerged in the current COV-
ID-19 ‘horribilis’ scenario. Re-
sponsibility is also something
that we learned from our par-
ents, teachers, and others — par-
ents who may never have resort-
ed to intimidation. It relates to
taking responsibility for our
own welfare while keeping in
touch with the four — fire, air,
earth, and water — elements of
lifetoo.AsDavidAbramputitso
perceptivelyinhisbook,Spellof
the Sensuous: “To listen to the
forest(or,nature)isalso,primor-
dially
, to feel oneself listened to
bytheforest,justastogazeatthe
surrounding forest is to feel one-
self exposed and visible, to feel
oneself watched by the forest.”
In other words, it’s all of us,
and also parts of us. Of how we
face our own preferences and
make our own choices. This will
determine our position and our
future, long after COVID-19 gets
undercontrolwithscience,med-
icine and other paraphernalia
— with or without popular man-
date. Well, it’s not just ‘politics’
thathasletusdown,butitisalso
we, the common citizens of this
country, that ought to take the
blameequallyforhavingthrown
caution to the winds, simply be-
cause a ‘motley’ of god men and
their ilk pontificated that noth-
ing would affect us, provided we
placed our faith in ‘their’ belief,
not science. The woeful part is
how well we all know, as wiser
counsel prevails, that we were
chasing a mirage.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
A CASE OF BOTCHED
RESPONSIBILITY
T
In other words, it’s all
of us, and also parts
of us. Of how we face
our own preferences
and make our own
choices. This will
determine our
position and our
future, long after
COVID-19 gets under
control with science,
medicine and other
paraphernalia — with
or without popular
mandate
RAJGOPAL
NIDAMBOOR
WELLNESS PHYSICIAN,
INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER
AND AUTHOR
he Biden ad-
ministration’s
decision to stop
opposing a pro-
posed COVID-19
waiver of certain intellec-
tual-property rights under
World Trade Organization
rules is a welcome move.
The US Trade Representa-
tive acknowledges that
“the extraordinary cir-
cumstances of the COV-
ID-19 pandemic call for ex-
traordinary measures.”
While affirming that it “be-
lieves strongly in intellec-
tual property protections,”
the Biden administration,
“in service of ending this
pandemic, supports the
waiver of those protec-
tions for COVID-19 vac-
cines.” Already, the US de-
cision may be persuading
other rich-country hold-
outs in Europe and else-
where to follow suit.
While the rapid develop-
ment of COVID-19 vaccines
was a truly impressive
achievement, it has been
tarnished by constraints
on global vaccine supply
and the related inequities
in distribution. As of May
4, less than 8% of the
world’s population had re-
ceived even one dose of
any COVID-19 vaccine,
while just ten rich coun-
tries accounted for 80% of
all vaccinations. The rea-
son is not just that rich
countries have been buy-
ing up all available doses;
it is also that there simply
have not been enough dos-
es to go around.
But this scarcity itself is
largely artificial. Vaccine
production has been limit-
ed by pharmaceutical com-
panies’ refusal to share
knowledge and technology
.
Though the companies pro-
ducing the approved vac-
cines have benefited from
public subsidies and pub-
licly funded research, they
nonetheless have taken ad-
vantage of patent protec-
tions to maintain a monop-
oly, limiting production to
their own factories and a
select few other companies
to whom they have granted
licenses.
These patents are en-
shrined and enforced in-
ternationally through the
WTO’s Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPS), which al-
lows for action to be taken
against countries that pro-
vide compulsory licenses
allowing “someone else to
produce a patented prod-
uct or process without the
consent of the patent own-
er.” It is this threat of legal
action that led a majority
of WTO members to pro-
pose a temporary waiver
for COVID-19 drugs, vac-
cines, diagnostics, and
other technologies needed
to fight the pandemic. And
yet, even this minor step
has been blocked in the
WTO TRIPS Council, be-
cause (mostly) rich coun-
tries have been prioritizing
big pharmaceutical com-
panies’ interests over glob-
al health.
A waiver has become all
the more urgent with the
coronavirus on the ram-
page across South America
and India, where a near-
complete breakdown of
overstretched health ser-
vices is resulting in a cata-
strophic loss of life. Worse,
the rapid spread of the vi-
rus has already given rise
to dangerous new variants.
We absolutely must vacci-
nate as many people as pos-
sible before vaccine-resist-
ant variants emerge.
Temporarily waiving IP
rights is essential, but it is
only the first step. A waiver
agreement would address
the previously insur-
mountable legal side of the
problem. But much more
will need to be done to
make a “People’s Vaccine”
universally available as
soon as possible.
The next step is to push
for concrete measures to
facilitate the transfer of
knowledge and technology
.
From Canada to Bangla-
desh, many potential vac-
cine producers with the
required facilities have so
far been denied the licens-
es and technical know-how
to proceed. Not a single
pharmaceutical company
has joined the World
Health Organization’s vol-
untary facility for sharing
technology, the COVID-19
Technology Access Pool (C-
TAP).
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE
NEXT STEPS FOR A PEOPLE’S VACCINE
T
Follow the way of love and
eagerly desire spiritual
gifts, especially the gift of
prophecy.
—Corinthians 14:1
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
MOIL will also provide a total
of 350 oxygen concentrators at
these centres for the treatment of
#Covid19 patients. The oil and steel
fraternity is committed to save lives
and help the country, including
Madhya Pradesh fight back better
and stronger. #IndiaFightsCorona.
Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
@DrRPNishank
#DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure
for Knowledge Sharing) is an
#NCERT initiative that offers
a national platform for school
education. Students can access
#CBSE course books for all
classes on this platform.
Gandhi’s credo is nothing short of a
classical paradigm: a paradigm of
values and courage, one that reads like
a modern roster, or aphorism. It
reflects his intellect and vision — a powerful
reminder of the times we now live in today and
also tomorrow. Responsibility, for Gandhi,
meant disciplining oneself — to live responsibly
according to a clear, ‘accountable’ code and
setting a good example for others in doing so

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INDIA
05
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi has expressed
grief over the demise
of Indian National
Army (INA) veteran
Lalti Ram and said his
courage and contribu-
tion to India’s freedom
struggle will never be
forgotten.
“Saddened by the de-
mise of INA veteran
Lalti Ram Ji. His cour-
age and contributions
to India’s freedom
struggle will never be
forgotten. I recall my
interactions with him.
Greats like him have
left an indelible mark
on India’s history,” PM
Modi said in a tweet.
Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah also
condoled his demise
and tweeted: “Lalati
Ram ji will always be
remembered for his
service and dedica-
tion. He fought for In-
dia’s independence as
a strong pillar of the
INA along with Netaji
Subhash Chandra
Bose,” Shah tweeted.
“His life struggle
will always inspire us.
May God grant salva-
tion to the departed
soul. Om Shanti Shan-
ti!,” he added.
The Late INA veter-
an, who passed away at
the age of 98 on Sunday
morning. —ANI
Modi condoles demise of INA veteran Lalti Ram
The Late INA veteran, who passed away at the age of 98 on Sunday morning, was part of the artillery of the INA and had worked with Netaji
This is a photo for representation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while holding virtually meeting
with experts in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: The Trina-
mool Congress has
written to Rajya Sabha
Chairman M Venkaiah
Naidu and Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla, urg-
ing them to let parlia-
mentary committee
meetings be held virtu-
ally to enable them to
address issues of public
interest amidst the on-
going coronavirus pan-
demic.
This is the TMC's
third letter on the issue,
the party said, adding
that the first letter was
written in July
, 2020 and
the second letter in Au-
gust, 2020. India has
reported more than 3
lakh new cases per day
for the past two weeks.
In light of the prevail-
ing circumstances, I
urge your good offices
to reconsider our re-
quest for conducting
virtual meetings of par-
liamentary committees,
including departmen-
tally related standing
committees, consulta-
tive committees and se-
lect committees, the
letter from Derek
O'Brien said.
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Sunday paid tributes to
Nobel laureate Ra-
bindranath Tagore on
his 160th birth anniver-
sary. Tagore was born
on May 7 but his birth-
day is celebrated in
West Bengal, where he
was born and is re-
vered, according to the
traditional Bengali cal-
endar, and this year, it
falls on Sunday. On
Tagore Jayanti, I bow to
the great Gurudev
Tagore. May his exem-
plary ideals keep giving
us strength and inspira-
tion to build the India
he dreamt of, he said,
paying tributes to the
man of many talents.
Tagore was a play-
wright, philosopher,
composer and poet. He
had won the Nobel prize
for literature. The
prime minister also
paid tributes to freedom
fighter Gopal Krishna
Gokhale and celebrated
warrior king Maharana
Pratap, both of whom
were born on this day
.
TMC requests
virtual parl panel
meetings amid covid
PM Modi pays tributes to Tagore,
Gokhale, and Maharana Pratap
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court will on
Monday will hear the
Public Interest Litiga-
tion filed by Noida-
based Advocate-on-Re-
cord (AOR), Sanjai Ku-
mar Pathak, seeking
directions for strict en-
forcement of COVID-19
pandemic guidelines
and for action against
all those who had alleg-
edly violated protocols
during Assembly elec-
tions in several states
and the Kumbh Mela.
A three-judge bench
of the top court, headed
by Justice Dr Dhanan-
jaya Y Chandrachud,
and also comprising
Justices Nageshwar
Rao and Ravindra
Bhat will hear the peti-
tion filed by the
advocate Pathak who
filed the plea on
April 16. —ANI
Supreme Court To Hear Plea
For COVID Norms Violation
Sadhus and devotees take a holy dip in river Ganga at Har Ki
Pauri in Haridwar.
New Delhi: Fugitive
diamond merchant
Nirav Modi, whose ex-
tradition to India was
ordered last month by
UK Home Secretary
Priti Patel in the esti-
mated USD 2-billion
Punjab National Bank
(PNB) scam case, has
filed an application for
permission to appeal
against the order in the
High Court in London.
The Crown Prosecu-
tion Service (CPS) con-
firmed an appeal
has been lodged but a
High Court judge who
will make a decision on
the matter is yet to be
assigned. —Agencies
Nirav Modi’s
appeal against
extradition awaits
UK High Court
judge decision
Mumbai: The Maha
govt has delegated pow-
ers of a civil courtto
Justice Chandiwal com-
mittee, set up to con-
duct a probe into the
corruption allegations
levelled by former
Mumbai commissioner
Param Bir Singh
against ex-state home
minister Anil Desh-
mukh. The one-member
committee comprising
high court’s retired
judge Kailash Uttam-
chand Chandiwal was
set up on March 30 to
conduct a judicial in-
quiry into Singh’s alle-
gations made in a letter
to CM Uddhav Thack-
eray on March 20.
Singh wrote the letter
after he was shunted
from the post of the
Mumbai police commis-
sioner and appointed as
the DG, state Home
Guards. In a notifica-
tion issued on May 3,
the state government
delegated powers of a
civil court to the probe
committee. Singh al-
leged that Deshmukh
had given a target to
some police officers.
Chandiwalpanelgetscivilcourtpowers
PROBE AGAINST DESHMUKH
NIA takes over probe into seizure of
natural uranium worth `21 crore
New Delhi: The Na-
tional Investigation
Agency (NIA) has
taken over the probe
into the recovery of
natural uranium in
Mumbai. A fresh case
was registered in this
regard by the anti-
terror agency in pur-
suance of an order
from the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA).
According to the NIA’s
spokesperson, the
case has been regis-
tered under Section
24(1)(a) of the Atomic
Energy Act, 1962. Ma-
harashtra ATS arrest-
ed two men on May 5
in possession of the
radioactive metal. A
total of 7.1 kg of natu-
ral uranium worth Rs
21.3 crore was seized
from the duo identi-
fied as Jigar Jayesh
Pandya (27) and Abu
Tahir Afzal.
2 FOREST OFFICIALS HELD BY ACB
IN ANDHRA FOR ACCEPTING BRIBE
Chittoor (Andhra
Pradesh): Andhra
Pradesh Anti-Corruption
Bureau (ACB) on Saturday
arrested two officers at
the state Forest Develop-
ment Corporation while
allegedly taking bribes of
Rs 1.5 lakhs at their office
in Satyavedu town of Chit-
toor district. According to
ACB DSP Janardan Naidu
and Allabaksh, in order
to issue a no-objection
certificate to a contractor
Mastanaiah, the officials
demanded Rs 5 lakh bribe
which was later adjusted
to 4.5 lakh, and 1.5 lakh
was being paid as the first
installment of the bribe.
Andhra Pradesh Forest
Development Corpora-
tion (APFDC) divisional
manager and plantation
manager were held.
EARTHQUAKE OF MAGNITUDE
3.7 HITS MIZORAM’S THENZAWL
Thenzawl (Mizoram): An earthquake of mag-
nitude 3.7 on the Richter scale hit Mizoram’s
Thenzawl on Sunday morning, as per the National
Centre for Seismology (NCS). The quake was felt
in Thenzawl town of Mizoram’s Serchhip district,
according to NCS. The quake was felt in Thenza-
wl town of Mizoram’s Serchhip district, according
to NCS. The earthquake struck at around 9.03
am. Mizoram is going for a seven-day-long total
Lockdown from May 10. The lockdown is going
to be clamped from 4 O’clock in the morning.
ODISHA GOVT ALLOCATES RS 60
LAKH TO FEED STRAY ANIMALS
Bhubaneshwar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik on Sunday sanctioned Rs 60 lakh from
Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF) to feed stray
animals during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown
in five municipal corporations, 48 municipalities
and 61 Notified Area Councils (NACs). Earlier in
the day, the Odisha government decided to prior-
itise the vaccination of 18 to 44 age group people
in the five municipal corporations of the state
where the positivity rate of COVID-19 infection is
relatively high.
PUNJAB CM ANNOUNCES AID FOR
10-YEAR-OLD SEEN SELLING SOCKS
Ludhiana: After a video
went viral featuring a
10-year-old boy selling
socks on roads in Ludhi-
ana to support his family,
Punjab Chief Minister
Captain Amarinder Singh
on Saturday made a video
call to the child and also
announced assistance of
Rs 2 lakh for his family.
The CM has also directed
the Deputy Commissioner
of Ludhiana district to
ensure Vansh, a drop-out,
rejoins school. “Spoke
on phone to young Vansh
Singh, aged 10, a Class
II drop out whose video
I saw selling socks at a
traffic crossing in Ludhi-
ana. Have asked the DC
to ensure he rejoins his
school. Also announced
financial assistance of Rs
2 lakh,” Singh.
New Delhi: Debris
from a large Chinese
rocket landed in the
Indian Ocean near the
Maldives early Sunday,
China’s space admin-
istration announced.
It said most of the de-
bris had burned up on
re-entry. It was not im-
mediately clear wheth-
er any of what re-
mained had had land-
ed on any of the Mal-
dives’ 1,192 islands.
The rocket, a Long
March 5B, launched
the main module
of China’s next space
station, Tiangong,
on April 29. Usually,
the large booster stag-
es of rockets immedi-
ately drop back to
Earth after they are
jettisoned, but the
23-ton core stage of
the Long March 5B
accompanied the
space station segment
to orbit. —Agencies
Chinese Rocket
Disintegrates
Over Indian
Ocean: State TV
IN THE COURTYARD
FLAMES OF SMOKE
Flames of smoke after a major fire broke out at Tezpur Chowk Bazaar, at Tezpur, Assam on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Thane: Maratha
quota activists on
Sunday staged a
protest at Diva in
Thane district of
M a h a r a s h t r a
against the Su-
preme Court's deci-
sion to strike down
the law granting
them reservation in
admissions and
jobs.
At least a dozen
office-bearers and
activists of the
Bharatiya Maratha
Sangh (BMS) ton-
sured their heads
and displayed ban-
ners opposing the
SC verdict.
Speaking on the
occasion, BMS lead-
ers lashed out at po-
litical leaders be-
longing to the Maha
Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) government.
Maratha
activists hold
protest against
SC’s verdict
Nirav Modi
Mamta Banerjee
Anil Deshmukh

INDIA
06
Covid virus...
The smallest very fine
droplets, and aerosol
particles formed when
these fine droplets rap-
idly dry, are small
enough that they can
remain suspended in
the air for minutes to
hours, it said.
“The risk for infec-
tion decreases with in-
creasing distance from
the source and increas-
ing time after exhala-
tion,” it said.
Although infections
through inhalation at
distances greater than
six feet from an infec-
tious source are less
likely than at closer
distances, the health
body added.
“These transmission
events have involved
the presence of an in-
fectious person exhal-
ing virus indoors for an
extended time (more
than 15 minutes and in
some cases hours) lead-
ing to virus concentra-
tions in the air space
sufficient to transmit
infections to people
more than 6 feet away,
and in some cases to
people who have passed
through that space
soon after the infec-
tious person left,” it
said.
The body said that
existing recommenda-
tions like physical dis-
tancing, use of well-
fitting masks, adequate
ventilation and avoid-
ance of crowded indoor
spaces remain effective
against the virus.
“These methods will
reduce transmission
both from inhalation of
virus and deposition of
virus on exposed mu-
cous membranes.
Transmission through
soiled hands and sur-
faces can be prevented
by practicing good
hand hygiene and by
environmental clean-
ing,” it cautioned.
Hemanta
clinches...
Assam assembly while
its alliance partners
AGP got nine seats and
UPPL six seats.
In the 2016 Assembly
polls, the BJP had pro-
jected Sonowal as its
chief ministerial can-
didate and won, form-
ing its first government
in the northeast. This
time, the party had
maintained that it
would decide who
would be the next chief
minister after the elec-
tions.
Later, Sarma tweet-
ed: “How enormously
blessed I feel Hon PM
Sri @narendramodi for
your faith in me. This
is the biggest day in my
life, and I so fondly
cherish your generous
affection. I assure you
we shall leave no stone
unturned to carry for-
ward your vision of
taking Assam, NE to
greater heights.”
NEPAL’S DARK...
Nepal shut down al-
most all flights this
week and has imposed
lockdowns or partial
lockdowns in 80 per
cent of its districts to
curb infections.
Budhi Setiawan,
head of health at
Unicef Nepal said that
the impact has been
“devastating”.
“The sheer number
of cases striking the
health system [is] mak-
ing it more vulnerable
for people now if they
are infected with Cov-
id-19, there have been
limitations with get-
ting the appropriate
care,” he said.
Earlier this week
Prime Minister KP
Sharma Oli, who has
been criticised for his
handling of the pan-
demic, appealed to the
international commu-
nity to ensure supply of
vaccinations and medi-
cal supplies to help Ne-
pal fight the virus.
Did Chinese...
Peter Jennings, the ex-
ecutive director of the
Australian Strategic
Policy Institute (ASPI),
told news.com.au that
the document is as
close to a “smoking
gun” as we’ve got.
“I think this is sig-
nificant because it
clearly shows that Chi-
nese scientists were
thinking about mili-
tary application for dif-
ferent strains of the
coronavirus and think-
ing about how it could
be deployed,” Jennings
said.
“It begins to firm up
the possibility that
what we have here is
the accidental release
of a pathogen for mili-
tary use,” Jennings
added.
He also said that the
document may explain
why China has been so
reluctant for outside
investigations into the
origins of COVID-19.
“If this was a case of
transmission from a
wet market it would be
in China’s interest to
co-operate ... we’ve had
the opposite of that.”
Robert Potter, a cy-
ber security specialist
who analyses leaked
Chinese government
documents, was asked
by The Australian to
verify the paper. He
says the document defi-
nitely isn’t fake, report-
ed news.com.au.
FROM PG 1
4.03 lakh fresh cases, 4,092 deaths in 24 hr
New Delhi: India re-
corded 4,03,738 fresh
COVID-19 cases in a day
,
which pushed the tally
to 2,22,96,414, according
to the Union health
ministry data updated
on Sunday. The death
toll climbed to 2,42,362
with 4,092 daily deaths,
the data updated at 8 am
showed.
Registering a steady
increase, the active cas-
es have increased to
37,36,648, comprising
16.76 per cent of the to-
tal infections, while the
national COVID-19 re-
covery rate was record-
ed at 82.15 per cent. The
number of people who
have recuperated from
the disease surged to
1,83,17,404 with 3,86,444
patients recovering in
a day, while the case fa-
tality rate was record-
ed at 1.09 per cent, the
data stated.
India’s COVID-19 tal-
ly had crossed the 20-
lakh mark on August 7,
40 lakh on Sep 5 and 50
lakh on September 16.
It went past 60 lakh
on September 28, and
surpassed the 1-crore
mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim
milestone of 2 cr on
May 4. —ANI
New Delhi: The Centre
continues to provide
less supply of oxygen to
the national capital de-
spite warnings from the
Supreme Court. AAP
MLA Raghav Chadha
said on Saturday even-
ing that the city re-
ceived 29 per cent lesser
than its quota on May 8.
“Delhi received 499 Met-
ric Tonnes (MT) of med-
ical oxygen on Friday
against the Supreme
Court-mandated supply
700 MT per day,” he in-
formed. Meanwhile,
four hospitals and med-
ical facilities in Delhi –
with 1,271 beds between
them – sent out oxygen
red flag on Saturday;
the state government
supplied them with 15.5
MT, he added. The data
shared by the Delhi gov-
ernment showed that
the weekly average of
the oxygen supply by
the centre to Delhi has
been 24 per cent less
than the SC’s direction.
Delhi received 499
MT oxygen instead
of 700 from Centre
New Delhi: As the second wave of the COVID-19
pandemic is now spreading fast in rural areas, Rahul
Gandhi said that not only cities, villages too are also
left at the mercy of God. Taking to Twitter, the Congress
leader also cited a media report about the rapid surge
in COVID-19 cases in Indian villages. After cities, vil-
lages are also dependent on God now, tweeted Gandhi.
He has repeatedly criticised the centre and PM Modi
for the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
AFTER CITIES,NOW VILLAGES TOO
AT THE MERCY OF GOD: RAHUL
New Delhi: As many as
6,738 oxygen concentra-
tors, 3,856 oxygen cylin-
ders, 16 oxygen genera-
tion Plants, 4,668 venti-
lators/Bi-PAP and
about 3 lakh Remdesiv-
ir vials have been deliv-
ered/ dispatched as in-
ternational donations
and aid since April 27 to
May 8, the Union Health
Ministry informed. Ac-
cording to a statement
issued by the Ministry
of Health and Family
Welfare, the Govt of In-
dia has been receiving
international dona-
tions and aid of COV-
ID-19 relief medical
supplies and equipment
since April 27 from dif-
ferent countries and
organisations. Cumu-
latively, 6738 Oxygen
Concentrators, 3856
Oxygen Cylinders, 16
Oxygen Generation
Plants, 4668 ventila-
tors/Bi-PAP and about
3L Remdesivir vials
have been delivered/
dispatched, from April
27 to May 8, the minis-
try said.
As on May 8, major
items received from
Canada, Thailand,
Netherland, Austria,
Czech Republic, Israel,
USA, Japan, Malaysia.
INTERNATIONAL AID: 6,738 O2
CONCENTRATORS,16PLANTS
Shimla: Himachal
Pradesh Chief Minister
Jai Ram Thakur on
Sunday virtually inau-
gurated two Pressure
Swing Adsorption
(PSA) oxygen plants at
Dr Radhakrishanan
Government Medical
College, Hamirpur and
Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru
Government Medical
College, Chamba.
The plant at Hamir-
pur has a capacity of
300 PLM while Chamba
plant has a capacity of
400 PLM.
The Chief Minister
said, Both these oxy-
gen plants would en-
sure uninterrupted oxy-
gen supply to the pa-
tients admitted in both
these medical colleges.
He also said that the
state government has
taken up the matter of
increasing the oxygen
quota for the state.
HP CM
inaugurates
two oxygen
plants
Johannesburg: South
African Health Minis-
ter Zweli Mkhize has
said that four cases of
the Indian variant of
coronavirus have been
detected in the country,
but there was no cause
for panic as all such
cases were quaran-
tined. “The four cases
of B.1.617.2 (Indian var-
iant of coronavirus)
have been detected in
Gauteng (2) and KwaZu-
lu-Natal (2) and all have
a history of a recent ar-
rival from India. All
cases have been isolated
and managed according
to guidelines.
SA detects four
cases of the
Indian variant
New Delhi: Maharash-
tra, Karnataka and Del-
hi are among 10 states
that account for 71.75
per cent of the 4,03,738
new COVID-19 cases
registered in a day, the
Union Health Ministry
said on Sunday
.
Theotherstatesinthe
list of 10 are Kerala, Ta-
milNadu,UttarPradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, West
Bengal, Rajasthan, and
Haryana.
Maharashtra has re-
ported the highest dai-
ly new cases at 56,578.
It is followed by Karna-
taka with 47,563 while
Kerala reported 41,971
new cases. A total of
more than 30.22 crore
tests have been conduct-
ed so far across the
country while the daily
COVID-19 positivity
rate stands at 21.64 per
cent, the ministry said.
India's total active
caseload has reached
37,36,648 and now com-
prises 16.76 per cent of
the country's total in-
fections. —ANI
10 STATES ACCOUNT FOR OVER
71% OF NEW COVID-19 CASES
New Delhi: Delhi Dep-
utyChief MinisterMan-
ish Sisodia Sunday at-
tacked the Centre over
the export of coronavi-
rus vaccines,
saying a large number
of lives could have been
saved in India if the
doses were given to peo-
ple in the country first.
“It’s a heinous crime
committed by the Cen-
tral government to sell
vaccines to other
countries only
for its image
management
at a time when
people were dy-
ing in our own
country,” he told
an online brief-
ing.
Citing a
newspaper
report, Sisodia said the
Centre sold coronavi-
rus vaccines to 93
countries of
which 60 percent
had COVID-19
under control,
a n d
also where there was no
threat of loss of life due
to the virus. A large
number of youths in the
country perished to the
coronavirus in the sec-
ond wave of the pan-
demic, he said, adding
their lives could have
been saved if the vac-
cinesweregiventothem
instead of exporting the
doses. —PTI
Sisodia on Center exporting vaccines
Health worker in PPE kit treats covid-19 patients at Shehnai banquet hall which converted into COVID care center, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
International collaboration continues! Consignment of 100 oxygen concentrators arrives.
COVID-19 POSITIVITY RATE DOWN TO 21.67 PC
New Delhi: As the city
remained under lock-
down for nearly three
straight weeks, Delhi
witnessed a slight dip
in COVID-19 cases and
positivity rate with only
13,336 fresh infections
were recorded in the
last 24 hours, according
to the health bulletin by
the Delhi government
released on Sunday.
However, the decrease
in fresh coronavirus
cases can be attributed
to low testing during
the period. Only 61,552
tests including 49,787
RT-PCR, CBNAAT, True
Nat tests and 11,765
Rapid Antigen tests
were conducted in Del-
hi in the last 24 hours.
The COVID-19 positivity
rate also dropped to
21.67 per cent.
OXYGEN EXPRESS
FIRST BATCH OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE

TALKING POINT
07
SITTING IN
SITTING IN
UNCERTAINTY
UNCERTAINTY
JohnKeats’concept
of‘negativecapability’
isneedednowmore
thanever
W
hen John Keats died more
than 200 years ago, on Feb.
23, 1821, he was just 25 years
old. Despite his short life, he’s still con-
sidered one of the finest poets in the
English language.
Yet in addition to masterpieces such
as “Ode to a Nightingale” and “To Au-
tumn,” Keats’ legacy includes a re-
markable concept: what he called
“negative capability
.”
The idea—which centres on sus-
pending judgement about something
in order to learn more about it—re-
mains as vital today as when he first
wrote about it.
Keats lost most
of his family members to an infectious
disease, tuberculosis, that would take
his own life. In the same way the COV-
ID-19 pandemic turned the worlds of
many people upside down, the poet
had developed a deep sense of life’s
uncertainties.
KeatswasborninLondonin1795.His
father died in a horse-riding accident
when Keats was eight years old, and his
mother died of tuberculosis when he
was 14. As a teenager, he commenced
medical studies, first as an apprentice
to a local surgeon and later as a medical
student at Guy’s Hospital, where he as-
sisted with surgeries and cared for all
kindsof people.
After completing his studies, howev-
er, Keats decided to pursue poetry. In
1819, he composed many of his great-
est poems, though they didn’t receive
widespread acclaim during his life-
time. By 1820, he had contracted tu-
berculosis and relocated to Rome,
where he hoped the warmer climate
would help him recover. He ended up
dying a year later.
Keats coined the term negative ca-
pability in a letter he wrote to his
brothers George and Tom in 1817. In-
spired by Shakespeare’s work, he de-
scribes it as “being in uncertainties,
mysteries, doubts, without any irrita-
ble reaching after fact and reason.”
Negative here is not pejo-
rative. Instead, it im-
plies the ability to
resist explain-
ing away
what we
do not
u n d e r -
stand.
R a t h e r
than com-
ing to an im-
mediate conclu-
sion about an event,
idea or person, Keats
advises resting in doubt
and continuing to
pay attention and probe in order to
understand it more completely. In
this, he anticipates the work of Nobel
laureate economist Daniel Kahne-
man, who cautions against the naïve
view that “What you see is all there
is.”
It is also a good idea to take the time
to look at matters from multiple per-
spectives. Shakespeare’s comedies
are full of mistaken identities and
misconceptions, including mixed-up
genders. Keats reminds us that we are
most likely to gain new insights if we
can stop assuming that we know eve-
rything we need to know about people
by neatly shoehorning them into pre-
conceived boxes.
Negative capability also testifies to
the importance of humility, which
Keats described as a “capability of
submission.” As Socrates indicates in
Plato’s “Apology,” the people least
likely to learn anything new are the
ones who think they already know it
all. By contrast, those who are willing
to question their own assumptions
and adopt new perspectives are in the
best position to arrive at new insights.
Keats believed that the world could
never be fully understood, let alone
controlled. In his view, pride and ar-
rogance must be avoided at all costs,
an especially apt warning as the world
confronts challenges such as climate
change and COVID-19.
At the same time, information tech-
nology seems to give everyone instant
access to all human knowledge. To be
sure, the internet is one gateway to
knowledge. But it also indiscrimi-
nately spreads misinformation and
propaganda, often fueled by algo-
rithms that profit off division.
This, it goes without saying, can
cloud understanding with false cer-
tainty.
And so our age is often described as
polarized: women versus men, Blacks
versus whites, liberals versus con-
servatives, religion versus science—
and it’s easy to automatically lapse
into the facile assumption that all hu-
man beings can be divided into two
camps. The underlying view seems to
be that if only it can be determined
which side of an issue a person lines
up on, there’s no need to look any fur-
ther.
Against this tendency, Keats sug-
gests that human beings are always
more complex than any demographic
category or party affiliation. He an-
ticipates another Nobel laureate,
writer and philosopher Alexander
Solzhenitsyn, who wrote that instead
of good guys and bad guys, the world
is made up of wonderfully complex
and sometimes even self-contradicto-
ry people, each capable of both good
and bad:
If only it were all so simple! If only
there were evil people somewhere in-
sidiously committing evil deeds, and
it were necessary only to separate
them from the rest of us and destroy
them. But the line dividing good and
evil cuts through the heart of every
human being. And who is willing to
destroy a piece of his own heart?
Uncertainty can be uncomfortable.
It is often quite tempting to stop pon-
dering complex questions and jump
to conclusions. But Keats counsels
otherwise. By resisting the tempta-
tion to dismiss and despise others, it’s
possible to open the door to discover-
ing traits in people that are worthy of
sympathy or admiration.
They may, with time, even come to
be regarded as friends.
RICHARD GUNDERMAN
Chancellor’s Professor of Medicine, Liberal
Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University
SOURCE : THECONVERSATION.COM
The gravestone of John Keats in
Rome’s ‘non-Catholic’ cemetery.
—DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES
John Keats on his deathbed.
—THE PRINT COLLECTOR VIA GETTY IMAGES
John Keats —GETTY IMAGES/HULTON ARCHIVE

Nothing energises a person more
than a new passion, a novelty in
thought or action; so strive to add
new dimensions to life regularly!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Rajkot: In a case of
consuming mass poi-
son on the pretext of a
coronavirus medicine,
a girl died on Sunday
soon after her brother
and father. The Rajkot
taluka police nabbed
Dilip Korat on Satur-
day night who has been
made an accused after
a suicide note recov-
ered by the police.
On May 3, Kamlesh
Labadiya, 40, a resi-
dent of of Shastrina-
gar area near Nana
Mava main road gave
poison to their 22-year-
old son Ankit and
daughter Rupali, 20,
claiming it to be a Cov-
id preventive medicine
and consumed it him-
self.
Police came into ac-
tion after Ankit died on
May 3 and on the next
day Kamlesh also died
at the hospital during
treatment.
The suicide note re-
covered by the police
stated names of Dilip
Korat and advocate RD
Vora. Kamlesh had ad-
vertised to sell his
house to get their chil-
dren married. Advo-
cate Vora organised
the sale to his relative
Korat for Rs 1.20 crore
and Rs 20 lakh of this
was paid in cash.
First India Bureau
Amreli (Gujarat): An
8-year-old girl was
mauled to death by a
leopard in Gir East for-
est division in Gujarat’s
Amreli district on Sun-
day, an official said.
The incident took
place in Nesadi village
in Savarkundla taluka
around 1am when the
girl, identified as Payal
Devka, was sleeping
with her parents on the
terrace of their home
on a farm, Chief Con-
servator of Forests
(Wildlife) Dushyant
Vasavada said.
“The leopard caught
her by the neck and
dragged her.
The child’s body was
found some 80 metres
away. Cages have been
set up in the area to res-
cue the leopard,” he
added. (PTI)
Girl dies, after
dad, brother in
Rajkot mass
suicide case
—FILE PHOTO
Accused Dilip Korat nabbed by
the taluka police on Saturday.
COURTESY COVID-19!!
The usually busy Ashram Road in Ahmedabad wears a deserted look on Sunday afternoon with the second wave of Covid-19
creating a fear among people in the city. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Guj DyCM recovers, Hardik’s
father dies at same hospital
8-YEAR-OLD GIRL MAULED TO DEATH BY LEOPARD
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In a
mixed bag of news
for politicos in Guja-
rat, Deputy Chief
Minister Nitin Patel
onSundayannounced
that he had recovered
from Covid-19, while
State Congress work-
ing president Hardik
Patel’s father Bharat
Patel succumbed to
the virus -- both at the
same Ahmedabad’s
UN Mehta Institute
of Cardiology and Re-
search Centre.
Nitin Patel, 64, was
discharged from the
hospital after two
weeks of treatment.
He was admitted to
the hospital on April
24 after he was found
positive for coronavi-
rus.
“After 15 days of
treatment at UN Me-
hta Hospital, I have
been discharged to-
day. With the bless-
ings of God and your
best wishes, I am re-
covering fast,” Pa-
tel, who is also the
state Health Minis-
ter, said in a post on
Twitter.
“I need more rest as
per the advice of the
doctors, and hence I
request your kind sup-
port,” Patel added.
Meanwhile, Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani
spoke to Hardik Patel
over phone and con-
veyed his condolences.
“Hardik Patel’s fa-
ther Bharat Patel
died on Sunday morn-
ing at the city’s UN
MehtaHospitalwhere
he was getting treat-
ed for coronavirus,”
the Indian Youth Con-
gress’ state unit vice
president Nikhil Sa-
vani said.
Hardik Patel in a PPE suit with the body of his father who died
of Covid-19.
Guj’s Zydus set to launch 3-dose
vaccine, is finishing phase-III trials
THE FIRM SAYS ITS NO-NEEDLE ANTIDOTE WILL ‘PROVIDE WIDER, LONGER ANTIBODY RESPONSE’
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Guja-
rat’s homegrown Zy-
dus Cadila is all
poised to launch In-
dia’s second indige-
nously manufactured
ZyCov-D, a three-dose
plasmid DNA vaccine,
which the firm claims
is expected to give
sustained immunity
with longer antibody
response.
The firm’s key direc-
tors have reportedly
told a section of the na-
tional media that the
company expects to
launch the antidote in
the near future while it
completes the advanced
phase-III clinical trials
and submit the data to
the drug regulator for
approval.
While the Covid-19
vaccines in the country
are two-dose ones and
Zydus did face ques-
tions on the economics
and possible logistical
complications in a
three-dose vaccine, the
company has stuck to
its plan.
It has even indicated
that it would be among
the most affordable
ones and will be admin-
istered without a nee-
dle, intra-dermally
.
As against most,
which use a needle to
inject the vaccine into
the tissue, ZyCov-D
will be administered
without a needle, but
using intra-dermal
injection that will
push the substance
into the dermis.
Zydus Cadila’s Man-
aging Director Sharvil
Patel has been quoted
by The Hindu Busi-
nessLine as saying that,
“Currently, we are a
three-dose regimen
which we believe is
more suitable for our
vaccine and which will
give a wider immune
response and longer an-
tibody response which
we have seen in our
data.”
He went on to say that
Zydus was also conduct-
ing trials on a two-dose
vaccine. “If the data are
equally good, we will
look at it,” Patel told the
paper. He ruled out any
delay in the first project
due to the trials on the
two-shot vaccine.
As of now, the com-
pany’s focus is on com-
pleting the Phase-III
clinical trials and sub-
mitting the outcomes.
“We will decide the
pricing of the vaccine
closer to the launch,”
said Patel.
Earlier, Cadila
Healthcare founder
Pankaj Patel had told
a section of the media
that his company
would have an afford-
able price for the vac-
cine without a profit
motive. “It is a trying
time for the world. We
have to ensure that
we help people, more
than looking at some
quick bucks,” Patel
had said.
—FILE PHOTO
VACCINE BATTLE
Man held 14 days
ahead of marriage
for killing bride
First India Bureau
Godhra: The Godhra
Police on Sunday morn-
ing arrested a man for
murdering his fiancee
on Saturday night only
because he could not al-
legedly submit to her
demands for jewellery
and a smart cell phone.
Godhra’s Raisingpu-
ra village’s Bhumika
Rathod (19) had been
engaged to Janak a few
months ago and both
were to get married on
May 23.
When Bhumika’s
brother Prithviraj re-
turned home from work
and went into the bath-
room, he noticed his
sister in a phone con-
versation. When he
came back, he found his
sister was not at home.
On reaching the field
nearby, he found her
phone cover and battery
.
Eventually, he lodged a
missing complaint. The
Godhra rural police,
district police and Local
Crime Branch team lat-
er found her dead body
in a pool of blood. Fol-
lowing some technical
research, the cops found
that Janak was in the
field.
They soon picked up
Janak from his village
and he alleged that Bhu-
mika was demanding
gold ornaments, a mo-
bile phone and other
things. He was stressed
because of this and on
Saturday night, made
sexual demands which
the girl refused. This
led him to allegedly kill
her with a knife he had
and fled the scene im-
mediately
.
Janak —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Bhavnagar: Senior
Gujarat-based environ-
mentalists Rohit Praja-
pati and Krishnakant
of the Paryavaran
Suraksha Samiti (PSS)
have once again raised
the issue of “illegal”
sand mining in Bhavna-
gar coastal district,
which is “contaminat-
ing and degrading the
groundwater, rivers,
lakes, other water re-
sources and check
dams.”
They have raised this
issue yet again in a let-
ter to the Secretary, the
Union Ministry of En-
vironment, Forests and
Climate Change, and
cited specific instances
of pollution.
Seeking the immedi-
ate intervention of the
Union Environment
Ministry, the letter, a
copy of which has also
been sent to Gujarat
Chief Secretary Anil
Mukim and the State
Environment Depart-
ment officials, says, “In
addition to adverse envi-
ronmental impacts on
groundwater quality
and quantity, illegal
sand and lignite mining
also cause adverse im-
pactsonagricultureand
animal husbandry de-
pendent livelihoods in
more than 30 villages.”
The letter goes on to
say that, “Having bat-
tled salinity ingress,
due to proximity to sea,
after decades of inter-
ventions by various
government and non-
governmental agencies,
the region has im-
proved its groundwater
table and fertility of the
land. Now we can see
mango, chiku and other
tree plantations. All
this now stands at risk
due to an increase in
sand mining activities,
probably with the bless-
ings with one or the
other official with the
mining department.”
They pointed out that
their and the villagers’
earlier representations
regarding lignite min-
ing and lignite based
thermal power plants to
the local authorities
had led to some inter-
vention and some ini-
tial action.
“But sand mining
continues unabated de-
spite the villagers’ and
our letters to the au-
thorities concerned.
When authorities visit-
ed some illegal sites on
April 20, 2021, they
could not notice any
mining activities
though they found the
required machinery for
mining,” the letter said.
Green activists want a stop to ‘illegal’ sand mining
MINING DAMAGES
—FILE PHOTO
The activists and villagers in
Bhavnagar have red-flagged activities
damaging groundwater resources

K
angana Ranaut who was
recently suspended from
Twitter, took to Instagram
to wish her mum on the
occasion of Mother’s Day. Writ-
ing a love letter of sorts, Kan-
gana recalled how her mum’s
question, when she was away
from home, used to often leave
her in tears. Kangana began her
post by saying, “Dear Mother
When I left home did not expect
the world to go dark suddenly
, oc-
casionally called home papa
asked so many questions sib-
lings had their own doubts but
whenever you spoke, you anx-
iously asked only one thing,”
What did you eat beta? Who is
cooking for you? Where you get
your food from?” —Agency
K
atrina Kaif marked Mother’s
Day a little differently this year.
Instead of sharing the annual
photo with her mother on so-
cial media and wishing her, Katrina
highlighted stories of mum’s who
are working selflessly during
the pandemic. Taking to social
media, Katrina shared the
stories of five such women,
from different professions,
who are risking their lives
to help and protect Indians
amidst this deadly Covid 19
second wave. The series
featured a doctor, pilot,
police, homechef
and mental health
doctor. The ac-
tress’ series was a
heartfeltoneasitshone
the light on mothers who
have stepped up and are
doing their best as In-
dia continues to bat-
tle. —Agency
AHMEDABAD, MONDAY
MAY 10, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
THE
NEW
onakshi Sinha on Saturday added a dash of wit on Instagram saying she
has reached the point when staying home has become a hobby. She urged
all to get vaccinated and drive Covid away
. “Reached that point where stay-
ing home has become a hobby
. #coronabhagao #getvaccinated,” she wrote.
Sonakshi recently announced her upcoming project ‘Bulbul Tarang’, which
will have an OTT release. She will also be seen in ‘Bhuj: The Pride Of India’,
co-starring Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt and Nora Fatehi, and is gearing up for
her web series debut in ‘Fallen’, which casts her as a cop. —Agency
S
FIRST PHOTO
REVEALED
K
areena Kapoor Khan dropped the
first photo of her younger son on the
occasion of Mother’s Day
. The ac-
tress who welcomed her second son
with husband Saif Ali Khan weeks ago,
shared his first photo on Sunday
. The photo
not just featured their little bundle of joy
but also their older son Taimur Ali Khan
adorably holding him. Wishing other moth-
ers on this special day
, Kareena remarked
how her sons give her hope in these bleak
times. Kareena wrote, “
Aaj umeed pe puri
duniya kayam hai..And these two give me
hope... for a better tomorrow..Happy Moth-
er’s Day to all you beautiful, strong moth-
ers out there... Keep the faith..” —Agency
B
ollywood celebri-
ties are taking up
their social media
handles and shar-
ing some old memories
with their mothers. Janh-
vi and Khushi Kapoor,
daughters of late actress
Sridevi shared throwback
pictures on their social
handles as a wish to their
mother. The Roohi actress
shares a series of pictures
and captioned it as ‘My
mumma’. In the pictures,
she is seen very little with
her mother and father
Boney Kapoor. In the other
picture, she is seen sitting
with her mother. Sridevi is
looking very beautiful in
all the pictures. On the
other hand, Khushi also
shared two pictures of her
childhood. Both were very
close to their mother and
often share her pictures.
The late actress passed
away in 2018. She died in
UAE. —Agency
Emotional Moment
True warriors
BABYBEAR,
MUMMABEAR
I
t’s a special day for all the moth-
ers today
. A day May 9 is marked
for them especially
. On this day
peopletrytomaketheirmothers
feel good by treating them. Celebri-
ties are sharing pictures and vide-
os of their mothers. Sara Ali Khan,
who shares a strong bond with her
mother and veteran actress Amrita
Singh, also shared a picture of
them on her Instagram handle and
captioned it as ‘Baby Bear, Mumma
Bear.. We together are the perfect
pair…My love for her will never
compare…To any love or any care..
And therefore today this hug I
share. #happymothersday
.” Her
feed is already filled with mother-
daughter moments and we have
often heard her saying how much
she loved her mother. —Agency
STRENGTH
TO FIGHT
Sonakshi Sinha
Janhvi Kapoor
Katrina Kaif
Kangana Ranaut
Kareena Kapoor Khan
Sara Ali Khan
...her post

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
DAISY, Photographer
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Regular exercise and
moderation in diet will help
in improving fitness and
health. Long-pending
arrears and dues are likely to be
recovered. Senior management will
be appreciative of your creative inputs
on professional front. A youngster
may not fit well in your expectation.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Dedication to stick to
regular exercise and
healthy diet will enable you
to attain your desired
physique. You will be greatly
benefited by investing in companies
of repute. Develop a good
adaptability to handle pressurized
situation on professional front.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Health tips from an expert
will enable you to get
closer to your fitness
goals. Past investment
may start yielding handsome returns
from today. Chances of being misled
by competitors in business are high,
so remain alert. Enjoy some lovely
moments with family.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Those pursing extreme
fitness may get an
opportunity to compete
professionally. Don’t give a
firm commitment in financial matters
before considering the viability of the
project. You succeed in completing an
important project well before deadline.
Disagreements are foreseen.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Those suffering from
chronic ailments may find
remarkable improvement
in their health with home
remedies. It’s a very good day to take
calculated risks in financial matters.
Today you will enjoy the trust of
senior management. Minor domestic
disputes may upset you.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
A sound financial health of
businessmen would enable
to give monetary benefits to
employees. Problems on
professional front could force to
compromise on your principles.
Roadblock in the matrimonial alliance
of kin gets cleared bringing happiness
for entire family.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Seek help of health experts
before undertaking a new
fitness regimen.
Investment and jewellery
would bring handsome financial
gains. On professional front,
recognition for good work would
motivate to work harder. Relatives
may drop in for a surprise visit.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Yoga would help in raising
energy levels and improve
your metabolism. Past
investments in conserva-
tive schemes are likely to fill your
coffers to the brim. Unilateral
decisions on professional front
would invite the ire of colleagues.
Place emphasis on domestic affairs.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Seek opinion of expert
before opting for a health
supplement. Your gullible
nature would allow people
to take advantage of you, so remain
alert. The day is not likely to pose
any major problems at workplace.
You will succeed in resolving
misunderstanding with family.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Avoid ignoring minor
ailments as they may
compound later on. Better
to consult an expert in
financial matters before making an
investment. Your hard work and
dedication are likely to be noticed by
seniors, paving way for promotion or
increment.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
A sound monetary position
would enable you to keep
pace with changing times.
Successful implementation
of new ideas and projects would add
to your prestige on the professional
front. Avoid raising controversial
issues at home to maintain harmony.
Be cautious with your health.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
There is an urgent need to
remain on guard against
seasonal aliments. Avoid
being indulgent in your
spending to balance budget.
Continue to put in efforts at work and
you will see promising opportunities
coming your way. You will get a good
price for your property.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
1
What is your gener-
al advice in these
times for heart pa-
tients?
In any case, do not leave
your existing medica-
tions. Keep in touch
with your doctor with a
physical or teleconsul-
tation. Despite lock-
down continue your
physical activity in any
form. Avoid going to
the hospital for non-
emergency but don’t be
afraid to show up in
case of chest pain or
breathing difficulty.
Fear of catching a Co-
rona at the hospital can
kill a patient at home
with a heart attack.
2
Is a heart patient
at more risk of get-
ting COVID-19
than somebody who
doesn’t have a heart
condition?
Of course. Heart patients
have less immunity
and less heart and
lung reserve to fight
any illness. These pa-
tients also have diabe-
tes and high BP more
frequently than the
normal population.
The heart is the next
favourite organ for
Coronavirus after the
lungs. During Corona,
infection patient can
present with a heart at-
tack or heart failure.
3
What special care
should a heart pa-
tient take in these
times?
Regular medication,
taking extra care of dia-
betes and hypertension
and reporting any abnor-
mal symptoms to your
physician as soon as pos-
sible. Keep the regular
physical activities on.
4
If a heart patient
is infected with Co-
rona, should he
take the medicines as
prescribed by the gen-
eral physician or seek
advice from a Cardiolo-
gist?
Treatment for covid in-
fection shall be done by
a physician or a chest
spe-
cialist
only but
this combina-
tion of heart pa-
tient with covid being
so common a combined
treatment strategy
should be coined by a
physician and a cardi-
ologist. Special atten-
tion should be given
that with the treatment
of covid the existing
cardiac treatment
should not be ignored.
5
Is the vaccine safe
for a person who
has cardiac is-
sues?
Yes absolutely. Most of
the cardiac patients
are candidates for vac-
cination except those
who are recovering
from acute cardiac ill-
ness like a heart attack
or a recent deteriora-
tion of heart failure or
recovering after a pro-
cedure like that of bye-
pass surgery or angio-
plasty. In these cases,
vaccination can be
done after 4 weeks of
stabilization with the
advice of the treating
doctor.
6
Can a person who
has had a by-pass
be vaccinated?
Yes, can be vaccinated but
not immediately after
it. Should be done at
least 4 weeks after it.
8
Can a person who
has had a valve re-
placement be vac-
cinated?
Yes, they can and they
should be vaccinated.
Most of such patients
are on blood thinners
named action or warfa-
rin. This patient should
get a routine test for
blood thinning ( pro-
thrombin time or PT )
and get advice from a
doctor. The vaccine can
be given if blood is not
too thin.
8
As far as vaccines
are concerned
which is safest for
heart patients- Cov-
ishield, Covaxin or
Sputnik?
Now the data of safety for
heart patients is avail-
able for all these vac-
cines. No head to head
comparison can be
done. There are a few
reports of clotting is-
sues from all over the
world but the inci-
dence of the side ef-
fects are very low. In
present scenario, the
benefit of vaccination
is any day more than
hazard so everyone
must be vaccinated
when possible.
and less heart and
lung reserve to fight
any illness. These pa-
tients also have diabe-
tes and high BP more
frequently than the
normal population.
The heart is the next
favourite organ for
Coronavirus after the
lungs. During Corona,
infection patient can
present with a heart at-
spe-
cialist
only but
this combina-
tion of heart pa-
tient with covid being
so common a combined
plasty. In these cases,
vaccination can be
done after 4 weeks of
stabilization with the
advice of the treating
doctor.
6
Yes, can be vaccinated but
not immediately after
it. Should be done at
least 4 weeks after it.
Anita Hada in conversation
with Dr Jitendra Singh Makkar,
Senior interventionist and
electrophysiologist. Director of
Cardiology, Eternal Hospital
touches upon the care that patients
with heart problems need to take
during these times of Corona!
DIL
DIL HI
HI
TO HAI
TO HAI
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
Dr Jitendra Singh Makkar

ETC 11
C
oldplay frontman Chris Martin said
he misses playing live for people but
he is trying to come to terms with that
situation. “I mean my whole being is
built around playing to people but I’m also
tryingtobeacceptingof thesituationandnot
rely on that to be happy with each day but as
soon as we can, are you kidding!” Martin told
the Australian radio show ‘Fitzy Wippa’.
Coldplay came out with a new single “Higher
Power” on Friday
, and Martin said it is influ-
enced by Frank Sinatra’s style. —Agency
A
merican rapper and music producer
Jay-Z appears to be ramping up his
own production company as his
company had filed a trademark ap-
plication for the same. Hova’s Company, S
Carter Enterprises, filed to trademark ‘2/J’
on May 3 for “entertainment services in the
nature of creation, development and produc-
tion” of television programming, TV series,
movies and similar projects. —ANI
A
c t o r
M a r k
W a h l -
b e r g ’ s
current food in-
take is over 7,000
calories daily, to
gain weight for
his role in the
upcoming film,
Stu. According
to his personal
chef Lawrence
Duran, the star,
49, is making a
big commitment
to weight gain.
“Morning usu-
ally starts at
about 3 am. His first breakfast is four eggs
— that’s the pre-breakfast. Then, he does his
workout, after which he eats eight eggs, six
strips of bacon, a cup of rice, two table-
spoons of olive oil and a protein shake,” said
Duran. —Agency
A
merican ac-
tor and talk
show host
Kelly Ripa
recently showed off
her new ink that she
got in honour of her
25th wedding anni-
versary with hus-
band Mark Consue-
los. The host revealed on her Instagram
Stories she got “5.1.96” on the inside of her
elbow. “Clean mani and fine lines” she cap-
tioned the image in reference to her new
manicure. —ANI
H
ollywood singer-actor Lady Gaga on Sunday
announced the wrap-up for her upcoming
biographical crime drama ‘House of Gucci’.
The Grammy-winning star took to her
Instagram handle and shared a snap from the
sets of ‘House of Gucci’ that sees her pound-
ing fists from the film’s director Ridley
Scott. The film is based on the popular
book on the same name written by Sara
Gay Forden. —ANI
B
ritish actor Chiwe-
tel Ejiofor, shares
the screen with
Anne Hathaway in
the heist comedy “Locked
Down”. Asked who would
be able to steal a diamond,
he said that Anne would do
a better job. “My instinct is
to say Anne, I don’t know
why! I feel like she would cer-
tainly be the brains behind
it,” said Ejiofor in an inter-
view. “It was just fantastic to
make a film with her,” he
added. The film has been
directed by Doug Liman,
known for helming “The
Bourne Identity”, “Mr
Mrs Smith”, “Edge Of To-
morrow” and “American
Made” in the past. The
story focuses on a couple
who are separated but
forced to live. —Agency
ollywood star Drew Barry-
more has urged everyone to
help India amid the Cov-
id-19 second wave. The ac-
tress addressed the issue
on her popular talk show,
‘The Drew Barrymore
Show’. “Hello everyone and Na-
maste India! This one’s a special
message to the people of India. A
lot of you guys already
know of my deep-rooted
connection with the
country and how I’ve
alwayslovedIndiafor
itsculture,itspeople
andsomuchmore!”
she said. She urged
her viewers to do-
nate for cause say-
ing, “A small con-
tribution could re-
allyhelpandmake
a giant differ-
ence!”
—Agency
Namaste
Namaste
INDIA!
INDIA!
H
Missing Playing Live
Production Company “2/J”
Prepping up
Inked
Good diamond
THIEF
A
ctress Anna
K e n d r i c k
feels she may
have saved
lives by staying home
and sticking to lock-
down rules. “It’s a
question we’ve all been
dealing with this
year, what are we
willing to sacri-
fice for the sake
of our commu-
nities. I know
we’re all kind of
going insane, but
I think a lot of people
are going to come
out of this going,
‘Damn, I didn’t ac-
complish anything,
a whole year just sto-
len from me. I didn’t
achieve anything,”
she mentioned. “You
have to refrain that, I
accomplished the most
important thing there
is which is I may have
saved lives by sitting
on my butt inside,”
she added. The
35-year-old actress
had a “sense” at the
beginning of the pan-
demic that it was go-
ing to go on for a
longer time than
was being said.
—Agency
Saving
Lives
A
s the
fall-
o u t
from
the pandemic
c o n t i n u e s ,
James Corden’s
“ C i n d r e l l a ”
starring Cami-
la Cabello will
bypass its initial
theatre release
and instead head
to Amazon Prime, a
release planned
for later this year.
Thefilmthrough
which Camila
was slated to
make her Holly-
wood debut
was sched-
uled to re-
lease on the
big screen in
June 2021
which is postponed fur-
ther. —ANI
A
merican actor Megan
Fox’s recently imper-
sonated singer Britney
Spears on Kelly Clark-
son’s show. She sang in signa-
ture high pitched tone Brit-
ney is known for, “I’m not a
girl, not yet a woman.” Per-
haps the actor’s boyfriend
Machine Gun Kelly may
have given her some vocal
lessons. As for what in-
spired the mosical moment,
Megan was explaining why
Britney is her go to artist on
plane rides. She recalled the
days when she was flying
once a week for work, even
though she was afraid of
travelling in the air.
—ANI
PERFECT
PERFECT
Impersonation
Impersonation
IT’S A WRAP
Postponed
Postponed
further
further
Coldplay
Jay-Z
Mark Wahlberg
Kelly Ripa
...her post
Megan Fox Camila Cabello
...her post
Lady Gaga
Anna Kendrick
Drew Barrymore
Anne Hathaway

162058943710052021 first india ahmedabad

162058943710052021 first india ahmedabad

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