22082021 first india ahmedabad

DY CM ANNOUNCES ROLL-BACK
OF COST-CUTTING MEASURES
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Having
decided to roll back cost-
cutting measures, the
state has begun to re-
lease grants for develop-
ment work this fiscal,
Deputy Chief Minister
Nitin Patel, who is also
the finance minister
said. This is possible
since the economy is re-
covering and revenue
collection is improving,
he added.
Gujarat had tabled a
budget of Rs2,14,133
crorefor2020-21,butrev-
enue receipts were low
due to the pandemic
and, hence, the state had
to go in for cost-cutting,
Patel said. The state had
revised its budget by
10% to Rs1,91,897 crore.
However, now, with the
economy recovering,
the state is Turn to P6
Dy CM Nitin Patel inaugurated the GST Bhavan at Ashram Road in
Ahmedabad on Saturday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
CM’S PACKAGE
BENEFITED 31K
INDUSTRIAL UNITS
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani had announced an
‘Atma Nirbhar package’
worth Rs14,000 crore
to help industries during
the COVID-19 crises.
GIDC had rolled out 14
schemes under which
31,166 industrial units
got benefits.
Economy recovering
and revenue
increasing: Patel
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 266
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
Srinagar: PDP chief Mehbooba
Mufti asked Centre to take les-
son out of Afghanistan and urged
to hold dialogue in J&K to return
special status and statehood.
New Delhi: CBDT issued refunds of
over Rs 49,696 crore to more than
22.75 lakh taxpayers between 1st
April, 2021 to 16th August, 2021, it
Informed on Saturday in a tweet. P6
Dehradun: While addressing soldiers
at the Sainik Samman programme in
Uttarakhand during his two-day visit,
BJP chief JP Nadda said the nation is
safe under PM Narendra Modi. P5
Mumbai: Pradeep Guha, a well-
known media expert and producer of
the movie “Fiza,” died on Saturday.
He was admitted to Kokilaben Hospi-
tal after diagnosed with liver cancer.
MEHBOOBA
REFERS TO
AF OVER J&K
STATEHOOD
CBDT
REFUNDS
MORE THAN
`49,696 CR
NATION IS
SAFE UNDER
PM MODI:
JP NADDA
MEDIA ICON
PRADEEP
GUHA NO
MORE
CRUCIAL READ
THREE JeM TERRORISTS KILLED IN
ENCOUNTER IN J&K’S PULWAMA
Pulwama: Three JeM terrorists, including one who was
behind the killing of BJP worker Rakesh Pandita in June,
were gunned down in an encounter with security forces
in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Saturday,
officials said. Meanwhile, One Army jawan died and four
in critical condition after more than 30 soldiers collapsed
due to heat and exhaustion during training in Pathankot.
1 MORE EXTORTION
CASE AGAINST SINGH
ASSAM: 14 HELD FOR
SUPPORTING TALIBAN
Mumbai: Mumbai police
have registered one more
case of extortion against
former city police commis-
sioner Param Bir Singh on
the basis of a complaint
lodged by a builder-cum-
hotelier, an official said on
Saturday.
Guwahati: 14 people have
been arrested from 11
districts of Assam for al-
legedly putting up posts on
social media and support-
ing the Taliban’s takeover
of Afghanistan and their
return to power after 20
years, officials have said.
TRIPURA CONG
CHIEF BISWAS
QUITS, RETRACTS
Agartala: Hours after
announcing to quit
the party on Saturday,
Tripura Pradesh
Congress president
Pijush Kanti Biswas
withdrew his resignation
letter after speaking
with All India Congress
Committee Working
Committee member and
the party’s in-charge
for Tripura Dr Ajoy
Kumar. Dr Kumar stated
that he had a talk with
Biswas during which
he assured to meet the
Tripura party president
on August 29.
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
GUJARAT
INDIA
34,457
new cases
375
new fatalities
15
new cases
01
new fatalities
Hope to produce
1 crore doses
by Oct: Zydus
New Delhi: Drug firm
Zydus Cadila on Satur-
day said they hope to
produce 1 crore doses of
its Covid-19 vaccine Zy-
CoV-D by October, news
agency PTI reported.
It further said that
the company is hoping
to start supplying vac-
cine doses by the middle
to end of September,
adding that the pricing
of the dose will be an-
nounced in the next one
or two weeks.
Nitish, Tejashwi
to meet PM with
common demand
Patna: Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar
will on Monday lead an
all-party delegation
from his state to meet
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi to demand a
caste-based Census.
The team will in-
clude opposition leader
Tejashwi Yadav of the
Rashtriya Janata Dal, a
strong critic of the
state government, and
the state Mines and Ge-
ology Minister Janak
Ram, a BJP legislator
and a relative light-
weight.
CHILDREN OF
HELL!
ays after vowing to respect
women’s rights in Afghani-
stan, Taliban officials in the
restive Herat province have
banned co-education in govern-
ment and private schools and uni-
versities, describing it as the ‘root
of all evils in society’. The decision
was taken after a meeting between
varsity professors, owners of
private institutions, and Taliban
authorities, Khaama Press News
Agency reported on Saturday. This
is the first ‘fatwa’ issued by the
Taliban after its swift takeover of
Afghanistan last week.
D
BLEAK FUTURE: Afghan boys walk near a damaged house after airstrikes
two weeks ago during a fight between government forces and the Taliban in
Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, southwestern Afghanistan on Saturday.
72 Afghan Sikhs, Hindus
from boarding IAF plane
Kabul: The Taliban are
learnt to have stopped a
batch of 72 Afghan
Sikhs and Hindus, in-
cluding two minority
members of Afghani-
stan parliament, from
boarding an Indian Air
Force (IAF) plane on
Saturday
. They were
sent back from the Ka-
bul airport.
Seeking evacuation to
India, this first batch of
Afghan Sikhs and Hin-
dus had been waiting
outside the airport for
over 12 hours since Fri-
day, president of World
Punjabi Organisation
(WPO) Vikramjit Singh
Sahney said.
“Taliban fighters
stopped them from
boarding the IAF plane
and said that since they
are Afghans, they must
go back. Now the group
has safely returned to
Gurdwara Dashmesh
Pita Guru Gobind Sin-
gh ji Karte Parwan in
Kabul,” said Sahney,
adding that minority
MPs Narinder Singh
Khalsa and Anarkali
Kaur Honoryar were a
part of the group.
Since Taliban takeo-
ver,280AfghanSikhsand
30-40 Hindus have taken
shelter at Karte Parwan
Gurdwara in Kabul.
A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, front, and Taliban fighters stand
guard on their respective sides while a truck moves to cross at
a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in
Torkham, in Khyber district of Pakistan on Saturday.
150 INDIANS GRILLED
ON WAY TO KABUL
AIRPORT,RELEASED
Kabul: Apart from a batch
of Sikhs and Hindus, 150
Indians were detained
on way to Kabul airport,
released subsequently:
reports. A group of Indian
nationals is learnt to have
been stopped and taken
to an unknown location
near the Kabul airport on
Saturday for questioning
and verification of travel
documents, triggering
some confusion and
concerns in India.
‘NO FOREIGNERS
KIDNAPPED, BUT
SOME QUIZZED’
Kabul: The Taliban have
not kidnapped any for-
eigner, although some of
them are being questioned
before being allowed to
leave Afghanistan, an offi-
cial of the Islamist militant
group said on Saturday.
“Our fighters will continue
to demonstrate restraint,”
the Taliban official said.
“We are questioning some
of them before they exit
the country, but no one is
kidnapped,” official added.
TALIBAN
STOP
JANUARY 5, 1932 - AUGUST 21, 2021
Ex-UP CM & Raj Guv
Kalyan Singh no more
ormer Uttar
Pradesh Chief
Minister and
former Ra-
jasthan Governor
Kalyan Singh passed
away at Sanjay Gan-
dhi Postgraduate In-
stitute of Medical Sci-
ences (SGPGI) in Luc-
know on Saturday af-
ter suffering from
sepsis and multiorgan
failure. The 89-year-
old BJP veteran was
admitted to the ICU of
the hospital on the
evening of July 4 due
to an infection and re-
duced consciousness
level. On Friday, his
health condition had
deteriorated and he
wasplacedondialysis.
Ashok Gehlot
@ashokgehlot51
Deeply saddened by the
passing away of former
Governor of Rajasthan
and former CM of UP,
Sh. Kalyan Singh ji. My
heartfelt condolences to
his family members. May
God give them strength in
this difficult time. May the
departed soul rest in peace.
F

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2021
02
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: After a
1995 policy resolution,
the government of Gu-
jarat adopted PIM (par-
ticipatory irrigation
management) pro-
gramme and 13 pilot
projects were commis-
sioned in the state by
the development sup-
port centre (DSC) and
Aga Khan Rural Sup-
port Programme India
(AKRSP) (I). Agricul-
tural practices adopted
by the tribal communi-
ties were used to bring
in farmers under one
umbrella and 1,27,168
hectare land under ir-
rigation.
Based on the experi-
ence gained by these
pilot projects, the gov-
ernment issued several
administrative orders
to facilitate the imple-
mentation of PIM in
other projects of the
state. This was followed
by the introduction of
the PIM Act in 2003.
Cumulatively both
organizations –DSC
and AKRSP—having
implemented PIM pro-
jects in Gujarat for
more than two decades,
brought 1,27,168 hectare
of agricultural land un-
der irrigation by collec-
tivizing 1,23,665 farm-
ers from 529 villages
into 403 water use asso-
ciations.
With a predominant-
ly tribal population,
66% of all residents in
Narmada district live
in rural areas and are
dependent upon agri-
culture as the primary
source of livelihood. It
receives an annual av-
erage of 1,178 mm rain-
fall, which means that
tribal farmers in the
programme area culti-
vated rain-fed paddy
crop during the Kharif
season with intercrop-
ping of tuvar and jowar.
The AKRSP(I) initiat-
ed work on PIM in the
Narmada district in the
early 1990s. The first
tribal canal irrigation
society set up was Pin-
got’s Jeevan Deep Co-
operative Irrigation So-
ciety
. Community mobi-
lization was a very diffi-
cult task in the begin-
ning. The farmers in the
command were reluc-
tanttobelievethatwater
would flow down a canal
that had been left un-
used for several years.
But, over the years they
were educated about the
benefits of adapting to
the new programme.
1.27 lakh hectare land given ‘irrigation’ under PIM
Over 1,23L farmers were collectivized from
529 villages into 403 water use associations
Crops such as paddy were grown during the Kharif season. —FILE PHOTO
CRUCIAL READ
DDO KUTCH INVITES SUGGESTION
FOR DEVELOPMENT
VADODARA DCP TAKES 24KM
CYCLE RIDE
DDO SURENDRANAGAR REVIEWS
WORK IN MULI TALUKA
CR PATIL FLAGS OFF BJYM
SANKALP YATRA
Kutch: District Development Officer Bhavya Verma
has invited suggestions from the Kutchhi people on
development works
that can be carried
out throughout the
district. Those inter-
ested may share their
ideas by correspond-
ence, in person or in
an email addressed to
ddo.kachchh@gmail.com. Any suggestions that can
be taken up as per the state government list, will be
implemented by the panchayat, Verma said.
Vadodara: Vadodara's
Deputy Commissioner
of Police Deepak
Meghani along with
his colleagues and
friends took a 24km
bicycle ride on Satur-
day morning. Meghani
tweeted: “Did cycling
on muddy roads and
in misty weather”.
Surendranagar: District Development Officer
Navnath Gavhhane visited Muli taluka’s Liya
village and reviewed works under progress with
funds from the 14th finance commission. Earlier,
he also paid a visit to the Gram Hat development
work, which is being undertaken under the self-
help group programme.
Navsari: BJP state unit president CR Patil on
Saturday morning flagged off a Sankalp Yatra or-
ganized by the Navsari District BJ Yuva Morcha,
in the Jalalpore assembly constitution, which
falls under the Navsari Lok Sabha constituency.
Deputy Chief Whip RC Patel, Navsari District BJP
president Bhurabhai Shah and other leaders were
also present at the event.
Haresh Jhala
Bhuj: The district of
Kutch is known for
inhabiting more live-
stock than humans.
According to the 2012
census, the resident
numbers in the dis-
trict were recorded at
20 lakh and the live-
stock were counted to
be 19 lakh. However,
being a rain depend-
ent region, it has very
limited water reser-
voirs, resulting in
fodder scarcity. To
remedy that, under
the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Em-
ployment Guarantee
Act (MGNREGA), lo-
cals have been roped
in to grow fodder. It
has not only ensured
adequate stock but
also generated em-
ployment.
The District Rural
Development Agency
(DRDA) found the solu-
tion to the crisis said
Hanumantsinh Jadeja,
director of DRDA
Kutch. “Under MGN-
REGA, more jobs cards
have been issued and
the task assigned to
workers was to develop
fodder plots. It will
serve dual purposes--
provide employment to
rural families engaged
in animal husbandry
and also feed the live-
stock with the fodder
produced, thereby mak-
ing the district less de-
pendent on imports,” he
said.
He added, “In the
year 2020-21, employ-
ment was generated for
17,19,742 people. Under
the MGNREGA scheme,
the DRDA planned to
develop 18 fodder plots
across the district on 85
acres of land. One fod-
der plot was developed
on five acres of land in
Bhimasar gram pan-
chayat area in Anjar
taluka. The gram pan-
chayat passed a resolu-
tion to develop fodder
plots on wastelands.
Around 147 job cards
were issued and there
were 365 unskilled
workers in the village
who came aboard as
well.”
Napier grass was se-
lected for these fodder
plots due to its very
high production of bio-
mass at 45 tonne per
hectare per year. It can
be harvested four times
a year, which is usually
done when they reach a
height of three metres,
added the director.
MGNREGA enabled jobs & fodder production in Kutch district
INGENIOUS
With few water resources at its disposal, authori-
ties hired locals to grow fodder for livestock
Local labourers planting napier grass in a field.
CONNECT
DISTRICT
AFTER 4 CR JABS, GUJARAT
AFTER 4 CR JABS, GUJARAT
ONLY 15% FULLY VACCINATED
ONLY 15% FULLY VACCINATED
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: With
the government pre-
paring for the antici-
pated third wave of
the COVID-19 pan-
demic, only 15% of
the population in
Gujarat is fully vac-
cinated, as per offi-
cial data. Out of the
6.5 crore population,
only 1.02 crore have
received both the pri-
mary as well as the
booster shots of the
COVID-19 vaccine.
The government
had announced that it
administered more
than 4 crore doses last
week. However, the
state’s data catego-
rized both the prima-
ry and booster doses
under the total.
While the govern-
ment has hinted at
commencing inocula-
tion for children by
next month, it is to be
noted that the current
vaccination drive is
going at a snail’s pace.
First India spoke
with Dr Yogesh
Gupta of Sterling
Hospital, regarding
the urgency of in-
oculation. “In order
to achieve herd im-
munity without a
vaccine is very
tough. On the other
hand, if we think
that it can immu-
nize the entire pop-
ulation then, we
must look to the
situation in the USA
and the UK. Despite
extensive vaccina-
tion campaigns by
both countries, they
have not been suc-
cessful in extermi-
nating the virus,”
he asserted.
Elaborating on the
mutation cycle of vi-
ruses, he said, “We
have to bring out a
time when the virus
weakens after several
mutations. But we do
not know how much
time that may take.
Therefore, the only
option left is to get
vaccinated.”
Countering the
notion of a slow in-
oculation campaign
in the state, Dr Gup-
ta stated, “The man-
ner in which the
vaccination drive is
moving is based on
supply and not de-
mand. There are
some issues such as
p h a r m a c e u t i c a l
companies not sup-
plying the doses,
even after securing
approval, logistics,
among others. The
onus is on the gov-
ernment to come
clean about them.
The vaccination
drive seems to have
become a routine
process, although a
few countries are
now advocating for
a third dose as well.”
The government plans to begin inoculation
drive of kids from next month. —FILE PHOTO
OUT OF 6.5 CRORE PEOPLE, ONLY 1.02 CRORE HAVE RECEIVED
BOTH THE PRIMARY AND BOOSTER COVID-19 VACCINE DOSES
DOSES
COVISHIELD
3,76,04,862
COVAXIN
45,60,063
SPUTNIK
16,018
DOSE 1
3,18,83,994
TOTAL DOSES ADMINISTERED
4,21,80,943
JABS TO POPULATION
MALE
2,30,34,491
FEMALE
1,91,39,760
OTHER
6,692
DOSE 2
1,02,96,949

GUJARAT
03
CRUCIAL READ
SEAPLANE TO RESUME
OPERATIONS IN SEPTEMBER
Ahmedabad: Seaplane services between
Ahmedabad and Kevadia, which have been closed
for some time,
will now resume
in the first half of
September,
officials said on
Saturday. The
aircraft is
currently in the
Maldives, where
it has been sent
for servicing. The service has been dogged by
controversy ever since it was launched last
November. Officially, the spotty service has been
attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and low
demand. An employee of SpiceJet, which
operates the flights, said that it is difficult to land
a seaplane in a mountainous region like Kevadia
in rainy and foggy weather.
KIN OF KARJAN RAPE VICTIM
GET `27L COMPENSATION
Vadodara: The city’s Legal Service Authority will
hand over Rs27 lakh compensation to family
members of the woman who was gang-raped and
murdered in Vadodara district’s Dethan village on
Wednesday. She is survived by two children. This
compensation will be informed of a fixed deposit.
The six men employed as labourers for a rail
project were arrested within hours after the
woman’s body was found in a field, with help
from a sniffer dog named Java. On Friday, a First-
Class Judicial Magistrate court sent all six to five
days’ police remand.
EARTHQUAKE OF 4.1
MAGNITUDE HITS KUTCH
Gandhinagar: An earthquake of 4.1 magnitude
was recorded in Gujarat’s Kutch district on
Saturday with its
epicentre located
near Dholavira,
the Institute of
Seismological
Research (ISR)
said. No damage
to property or
casualty was
reported due to
the moderate-
intensity earthquake, officials of the district
administration said. “A 4.1-magnitude earthquake
was recorded at 12.08 pm on Saturday with its
epicentre 23 km East-Southeast (ESE) of
Dholavira in Kutch. It was recorded at a depth of
6.1km,” officials at the Gandhinagar-based
institute said.
10-YR SENTENCE FOR
KIDNAPPING, RAPING MINOR
Himmatnagar: A special POCSO court in
Sabarkantha has sentenced a man to 10 years of
rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs10,000
for kidnapping and raping a minor in 2019.
According to the prosecution, Naresh Becharbhai
Khant a resident of Talod’s Deriya village had
lured a minor of the same village with the
promise of marriage and kidnapped her in
January 2019. He then repeatedly raped her. The
girl’s father filed a complaint in the case at Talod
police station. Additional sessions Judge EM
Shaikh pronounced the sentence on Thursday.
CAUSEWAY BRIDGE CLOSED
AS TAPI WATER LEVEL RISES
Surat: Farmers in the district finally breathed a
sigh of relief as the Tapi River’s water level rose
following the
recent rains.
However, due to
an increase in the
water level to 6
metres, the weir-
cum-causeway
bridge over the
river was closed
to vehicular
traffic and pedestrians. The water level at Ukai
Dam was 325 feet, compared to the rule level of
335 feet. This is because of the heavy rainfall in
the Ukai Dam catchment areas. There has also
been a partial increase in the surface of the dam,
sources said on Saturday.
TOY TRAIN SERVICES TO
RESUME AT SAYAJI BAUG
Vadodara: The toy train at Sayaji Baug is set to
resume operations after being closed for over a
year due to the
COVID-19
pandemic. The
resumption of
the train will
bring much-
needed joy to the
locals as the
festival season
approaches. The Sayaji Baug zoo and museum,
in addition to the toy train, were closed during
the lockdown. However, as the number of cases
has decreased, they have all been made available
to the public. According to the local
administration, all safety protocols will be
followed, including hand sanitizing and social
distancing for visitors.
First India Bureau
Surat: Students of the
city’s Gajera Global
School celebrated
Raksha Bandhan in a
unique way by taking
a pledge to protect
Mother Nature by re-
ducing the use of plas-
tic and promoting the
use of organic materi-
als to contribute their
bit to the global ef-
forts to reverse envi-
ronmental damage.
Learners reiterated
their commitment to a
greener and more beau-
tiful earth where weeds
are as vital as flowers
and fruits for the sur-
vival of the earth.
The pledge was taken
in the special assembly
which was held for the
occasion as part of the
Gajera Trust Policy of
integrating green edu-
cation to its curriculum
and pedagogy. In an ef-
fort to instil respect for
nature in the minds of
young learners, the
school has created a
green ecology around
its compound thereby
giving shelter to a vari-
ety of flora and fauna in
the vicinity. The gar-
dens on the terrace and
the butterfly garden
along the compound of
the school have become
a bio-diverse commu-
nity of plants and small
insects.
Apart from looking
after the gardens, learn-
ers take part in a pro-
gramme called Seed to
Table in which they
plant seeds, nurture
them and finally make
a dish out of the vegeta-
ble grown in the gar-
den. This programme
has been running con-
tinuously for the past
two years with great
success.
Individual efforts
such as this can incul-
cate the much-needed
sense of responsibility
in children conse-
quently creating a gen-
eration more consider-
ate to the earth and the
environment.
Surat students pledge to protect Mother Nature
THEY SOLEMNLY SWEAR
Unique vow was
taken part of
Gajera Global
School’s Raksha
Bandhan event
Students of Gajera Global School in Surat make a promise.
CHILD TRAFFICKING RACKET HAS
BEEN OPERATIONAL SINCE 2015
All four women arrested in Nadiad on Friday have been remanded to police custody for 5 days
First India Bureau
Nadiad: In a stun-
ning revelation, the
main accused in the
child trafficking case
busted in Nadiad on
Friday has admitted
that the ring has
been operational
since 2015.
The police on Friday
arrested the mother of
a newborn and three
other women for alleg-
edly trying to sell the
infant. According to
the police, a gang of
three women allegedly
lured a pregnant wom-
an belonging to a poor
family in Nagpur of
neighbouring Maha-
rashtra to sell her
baby to them for Rs1.5
lakh. They then de-
manded Rs6 lakh in
payment from an un-
dercover officer to sell
her the baby.
All four women are
on five days’ police re-
mand.
The prime accused
in the case, Maya Dab-
la has now admitted to
the police that she is
the brain behind the
operation, which has
been in place for the
past six years, offi-
cials said.
The three women in
the gang—Dabla, Mon-
ika Shah and Pushpa
Pateliya—each had a
specific role to play,
they said. Dabla was
responsible for luring
expectant divorcees,
widows and poor wom-
en into giving up their
babies, Pateliya han-
dled delivery and
Shah’s job was to find
buyers. Dabla is said to
have made a “commis-
sion” of Rs1.5-2.5 lakh
on each deal, in addi-
tion to expenses.
The three women are
believed to have met
while working at an
IVF clinic, where Dab-
la, a medical-college
drop-out was serving
as a nurse. It is also be-
lieved that Maya had
stolen data of surro-
gate mothers as well as
of couples wanting
children from the same
IVF centre.
In-charge Superin-
tendent of Police Arpi-
ta Patel has stated that,
during primary ques-
tioning, the accused
have shared details of
four other child traf-
ficking cases, in which
three were from surro-
gate mothers and one
more woman. The gang
has reportedly sold
children in Goa, Jaipur,
Raipur, and elsewhere.
Prime accused Maya Dabla.
NEFARIOUS
Two injured as truck, tanker collide
First India Bureau
Vadodara: A milk
tanker collided with a
truck on the Va-
dodara-Ahmedabad
Express Highway on
Saturday morning, in-
juring two people. The
tanker’s driver was
seriously injured and
taken to SSG Hospital
for treatment. The ac-
cident also resulted in
minor injuries to a
cleaning worker.
Officials said the
tanker collided with the
truck,whichwasparked
near a petrol pump. Due
to the impact of the col-
lision, the driver be-
came trapped in the ve-
hicle and was rescued
by a Vadodara Fire Bri-
gade team. They used a
hydraulic cutter to res-
cue the injured person.
The milk tanker was
transporting it from
Amreli to Surat.
The accident occurred on the A’bad-V’dara Express Highway.
Gujarat sees 15 new
cases of COVID-19;
active infections at 184
LAST-MINUTE SCRAMBLE
Shoppers thronged local markets to buy rakhis on the
eve of Raksha Bandhan in Ahmedabad, even as cops
patrol the Sabarmati Riverfront ahead of the festivities.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat on Saturday re-
corded 15 new cases
of coronavirus that
took its tally of infec-
tions to 8,25,287, an
official from the state
health department
said.
With the addition of
one fatality reported in
Rajkot, the COVID-19
toll in the state stands at
10,079, the official said.
There are currently
184 active cases in the
state, of which five pa-
tients are in a critical
condition, he said.
Vadodara district re-
ported the highest
number of five new
cases, followed by
Ahmedabad with four,
Surat with three, and
Anand, Bhavnagar and
Rajkot with one case
each, the official said.
The Union Territory
of Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Daman and Diu
reported two new COV-
ID-19 cases and one re-
covery during the day,
it was stated.
With this, the re-
gion’s COVID-19 tally
stands at 10,631, which
includes four casual-
ties and four active
cases.
DAILY ROUND-UP
COVID-19 testing in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO

PERSPECTIVE
04
lVol2lIssueNo.266
l RNINO.GUJENG/2019/16208.
Printed and published by Anita
Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Ex-
press Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar
Printing Planet Survey No.148P,
Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. San-
and, Dist. Ahmedabad. Publishedat
D/3023rdFloorPlotNo.35Titanium
Square,SchemeNo.2,ThaltejTaluka,
Ghatlodiya,Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief:JagdeeshChandra.
Editor:AnitaHadaSangwanresponsible
forselectionofnewsunderthePRBAct
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Hallmarking scheme for jewellery
becomes a big success. Over one
crore pieces of jewellery hallmarked
so far since 1st July, 2021. More than
90,000 jewellers registered, bringing
transparency in business & protecting
consumer rights.
Ashwini Vaishnaw
@AshwiniVaishnaw
Deeply saddened by the demise of
Kalyan Singh Ji. He was a great leader
and a veteran administrator.
Om Shanti.
TOP TWEETS
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Lust, anger and greed
are the three gates to
self-destructive hell.
—Bhagwad Gita
IN-DEPTH
OPPOSITION
UNITY FACES TWO
HURDLES: PEOPLE’S
CONFIDENCE AND
LEADERSHIP
consensus seems to
be emerging on Op-
position unity before
the 2024 elections.
Congress president
Sonia Gandhi drew a stark pic-
ture of the future if the Opposi-
tion parties do not agree to come
together. There is no alternative,
she is learnt to have said. That
indeed is the reality. The one
hurdle in Opposition unity is
identifying a leader. Given the
Congress party’s dismal state,
no party will be willing to assign
a leadership role to the GOP. A
consensus may not be easy on
either Mamata, Sharad Pawar.
Not even Nitish Kumar, in case
he is opportunist enough and
joins the present grouping of 19
parties which attended the meet-
ing called by Sonia Gandhi.
Mamata Banerjee was candid.
Parties should not focus on who
is going to be the leader, she said
at the meeting. A more impor-
tant point of winning people’s
trust was made by Shiv Sena
chief Uddhav Thackeray
. People
must believe in Opposition uni-
ty, he was quoted as saying.
A
he Wrestling Fed-
eration of India
(WFI) is as upset
with some top In-
dian wrestlers as
it is with their not-for-profit
sponsors JSW Sports and
Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ)
who allegedly “spoilt three
wrestlers”.
Although he did name the
three wrestlers, Vinesh Pho-
gat could be one of them. She
was suspended by the WFI
for not staying and training
with her Indian teammates.
She also chose to wear her
personal sponsor’s name on
her singlet instead of official
sponsors. Vinesh has apolo-
gized but the WFI may still
not allow her to participate
in the Wrestling World Cham-
pionships to be held at Oslo
in October.
The WFI is unhappy “with
the way they are interfering.
If they want to help the
wrestlers they are welcome,
but let them work at the
grassroots level. It’s the Ca-
dets who need support”, Brij
Bhushan Sharan Singh, a
BJP MP, who heads the wres-
tling federation said. Most
of the charges, barring that
of wearing a different sin-
glet, were dismissed by
Vinesh. Even OGQ has de-
nied Singh’s allegations.
Overall, the controversy
doesn’t augur well for Indian
wrestling.
The spat between wrestlers
and the WFI brings the focus
back on having politicians to
head sports bodies. And it
makes it worse if they are
tainted. Preference should be
given to an experienced
sportsperson to run a sports
body
. Or there can be a combo
like Saurav Ganguly and Jay
Shah, as it is in the BCCI.
The other criteria could be
fixing a minimum 10-year di-
rect experience for any of-
fice-bearer of a sports body.
Government should look at
WFI working.
KEEP POLITICIANS
OUT OF SPORTS BODIES
Although he did name
the three wrestlers,
Vinesh Phogat could be
one of them. She was
suspended by the WFI for
not staying and training
with her Indian
teammates. Vinesh
has apologized
T
HOPE TALIBAN TWO ARE
MORE REASONABLE, MORE
TOLERANT THAN TALIBAN ONE
t is my hope that Taliban Two
are a more reasonable and
more tolerant lot then Tali-
ban One. At the press confer-
ence held by the Taliban, the
first of its kind, the contents
and tone were reassuring. A
large number of media per-
sons asked questions. These
were answered without rav-
ingandrating.Butthespokes-
person made it clear that Sha-
ria law would be enforced.
India is naturally very con-
cerned at developments in
Kabul in particular and Af-
ghanistan in general. The
Taliban are openly anti-In-
dia, virulently anti-Hindu,
anti-Buddhist. Islamic funda-
mentalists blew up two, over
a thousand years old statues
of Buddha in Bamiyan prov-
ince. I had gone to Bamiyan
in 1969 with Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi. The status
were over thirty feet tall. I
climbed the steps leading up
to head of Buddha. The sta-
tus were listed by UNESCO
as part of World heritage.
The U.S.A had a huge pres-
ence in Afghanistan for twen-
ty years. Thousands of U.S
troops were stationed in the
country
. Aeroplanes, helicop-
tersandtankswerealltoovis-
ible. At least two U.S Presi-
dents had visited Kabul to
meet the troops. The U.S spent
trillions of dollars in Afghan-
istan, but failed to eliminate
the Taliban. (The C.I.A kept
contact with the Taliban in-
telligence agencies).
President Biden decided to
pull out 20,000 U.S troops
from Afghanistan was in a
hurry. He, unwisely predict-
ed that it will take the Tali-
ban ninety days to reach Ka-
bul. They arrive in four days.
What were the C.I.A doing?
What is the future of Af-
ghanistan? It is bleak. The
Taliban have not yet formed
their government. Who is ad-
ministering the country?
Who will be prime minister,
foreign minister? The other
very serious impediment the
Taliban are likely to face is
how to govern. They have no
experience of governance.
Who will ensure peace, sta-
bility, security
. All these vital
issues effect the whole re-
gion, including India.
Tens of thousands of Af-
ghans want to leave the coun-
try. So far only seven thou-
sand have flown out in U.S
Planes leaving their families
behind. This is inhuman.
Afghanistanisalmostbank-
rupt. The I.M.F have decided
not to give 450 million dollars
in aid to the Taliban govern-
ment, whenever it is estab-
lished. There is talk of form-
ing a composite government.
Who will run it? Parliament
has been abolished. What
aboutforeignaffairsanddiplo-
macy
.AsfarasIknow,nocoun-
tryhasrecognizedtheTaliban
as representing the people of
Afghanistan.Newsistrickling
out that the Shia Hazaras will
not co-operate with the Tali-
ban. Thus, there is a possibili-
ty of an armed conflict.
Why did the well trained
and well equipped Afghan
army not fight, resist the
Taliban’s march to Kabul.
The Ashraf Ghani govern-
ment was a spectacular ex-
ample of corruption with
Capital C. the President and
his family ran away to Dubai
taking 169 million dollars
with them. The army offic-
ers, soldiers were not paid
their salaries for months.
One welcome step has been
takenbytheTaliban.Theyare
talking to former Presidents
Hamid Karzai and Abdulla
Abdulla. Both are well dis-
posed towards India. Unfortu-
nately the Taliban are not.
In the last several decades
India has invested three and a
half billion dollars in Afghan-
istan. We have two large in-
dustrial plants in the country
,
we run schools, hospitals,
technical institutions, pro-
vide scholarships to Afghan
students to study in India. We
havegivenseveralhelicopters
to that country
. Indian doc-
tors and teachers live in hos-
pitals and teachers in schools.
What can and should India
do? The Taliban have already
annoumced that bilateral
trade with India has already
ceased. This will ruin busi-
nesshousesinbothcountries.
On Thursday evening I had
a meeting with former Vice-
President Hamid Ansari. He
served as Ambassador to Af-
ghanistan. We were col-
leagues in the I.F.S. He said
Indian should wait and
watch. Sound advice.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
I
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India
President Biden
decided to pull out
20,000 U.S troops from
Afghanistan was in a
hurry. He, unwisely
predicted that it will
take the Taliban ninety
days to reach Kabul.
They arrive in four
days. What were the
C.I.A doing?
What is the future of
Afghanistan? It is bleak.
The Taliban have not yet
formed their government.
Who is administering the
country? Who will be
prime minister, foreign
minister? The other very
serious impediment the
Taliban are likely to face
is how to govern

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INDIA
05
ED’s Rajeshwar Singh seeks VRS on way to joining politics
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: Senior En-
forcement Directorate
(ED) cadre officer
Rajeshwar Singh, who
has been a nemesis of
former Finance Minis-
ter P Chidambaram
and his son in particu-
lar and of a number of
otherpoliticiansingen-
eral, is learned to have
applied for the VRS.
Currently working
with the ED’s Lucknow
office, Singh is said to
have been thinking for
some time and testing
waters before seeking a
voluntary retirement
(VRS) to bring to an
end his ten years of
service as an officer of
the UP Provincial Po-
lice Service culminat-
ing in his thirteen
years long stormy in-
nings at the ED.
He is said to be head-
ed towards the BJP.
Onedoesn’tknowwhen
and how he sneaked
into the hearts of BJP
leaders after he fell foul
with the national top
leaders by accusing
their blue-eyed officer
and former Revenue
Secretary Hasmukh
Adhia of blocking his
absorption in the ED
and for his alleged role
in the famous battle of
egos of former top CBI
officials.
Maybe he has uti-
lized his Lucknow post-
ing to get close to CM
Adityanath. Since Sin-
gh is known for his in-
vestigative skills, the
UP CM, who is seen to
have become desperate
to project himself as a
Mafia hunter, might
have informally sought
his services in lieu of a
‘politicalarrangement.’
Singh’s political
journey, when it be-
gins, would be seen
with interest in view of
his track record as a
corruption buster. In
the state police, he
earned the reputation
of an encounter spe-
cialist and in the ED he
was often at cross pur-
poses with his political
bosses. But for the Su-
preme Court and re-
doubtable Subramani-
an Swamy coming to
his rescue, his career
in the ED was all but
finished during the pe-
riod Chidambaram
helmed the FinMin.
Further, Singh was
part of the investigat-
ing teams that since
2009 probed every cor-
ruption case that
rocked the UPA govern-
ment and demolished
the credibility of Con-
gress and its allies.
They included the 2G
spectrum allocation
case, the Common-
wealth Games scam,
and the coal mines al-
location scam. In each
of these cases, top lead-
ers of Congress or its
allies emerged as key
accused. He was also
part of the team that
probed the Aircel-Max-
is deal that involved ex-
finance minister P Chi-
dambaram and his son
Karti Chidambaram.
Yet, he was seen
more as an impediment
in the NDA design of
things. So much so that
he had to knock at the
doors of the SC to get
his absorption in the
ED effected. The NDA’s
suspicion of him might
be rooted in his alleged
proximity to his close-
ness to the Gandhi fam-
ily loyalist and gate-
keeper Ahmad Patel.
He is credited with
the attachment of
₹3,000 crores worth as-
sets of various politi-
cal and money ped-
dlers. Under the Pre-
vention of Money
Laundering Act or
PMLA, his investiga-
tions resulted in the at-
tachment of ₹ 223 crores
worth assets of the ac-
cused in 2G spectrum
allocation case, ₹1000
crores in the Jahan
Reddy case, ₹750 crores
in Aircel-Maxis case,
₹600 crores in Ponzi
scam and ₹300 crores in
the Madhu Koda case.
An engineering
graduate from Indian
School of Mines (Dhan-
bad) by academics, top
cop and investigation
adventurist by profes-
sion turned law gradu-
ate in human rights
possesses many things
to offer to his political
career. Reportedly, in
addition to politics, he
has plans to join the
battery of legal practi-
tioners in the Apex
Court. By virtue of ca-
reer with ED he is ex-
posed to the top corpo-
rate world as well as
senior judiciary. In
power corridors his ac-
cess to the members of
higher judiciary is of-
ten whispered.
When many top bu-
reaucrats cover extra
miles to earn three to
six months or a year-
long extension or a
post-retirement as-
signment seeking VRS
amid 12 years of
service left is some-
thing seen as a coura-
geous move especially
from the organization
like ED.
Rajeshwar Singh
CRUCIAL READ
WORLD ATHLETICS C’SHIP: INDIA’S AMIT
KHATRI WINS SILVER IN RACE WALK
Kenya: Indian athlete Amit Khatri on Saturday won
the silver medal in 10,000m race walking event at
the ongoing World Athletics U20 Championship in
Nairobi. Amit clocked 42 minutes 17.94 seconds to
achieve the feat while Heristone Wanyonyi of Kenya
clinched the gold after recording a time of 42.10.84.
This was India’s second medal in the event having
already won bronze in the 4x400m mixed relay.
TRIPURA CONGRESS UNIT CHIEF QUITS
PARTY CITING ‘PERSONAL REASONS’
Agartala: Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee
(TPCC) acting president Pijush Kanti Biswas on
Saturday quit the party and announced his re-
tirement from politics. He said personal reasons
prompted him to tender his resignation. Taking to
Twitter, he wrote, “With sincere gratitude I thank
all Congress Leaders, supporters for your cooper-
ation during my tenure as TPCC president (acting).
Today I have resigned from the post of president
and retired from politics as well..”
NHRC ASKS BENGAL GOVT FOR FRESH
SURVEY ON SONAGACHI SEX WORKERS
New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commis-
sion (NHRC) has issued a reminder to the West
Bengal’s Secretary of Department of Women and
Child Development and Social Welfare to expedite
the work of conducting a survey along with Indian
Institute of Science over the conditions of victims
of Sonagachi from social, legal and health point of
view and submit the report within 10 weeks. The
commission was adjudicating a petition filed by
noted civil liberties activist Radhakanta Tripathy.
Assam Police detains 14
for Taliban-related posts
New Delhi: Assam
Police has arrested 14
persons for posting on
social media sites re-
garding the activities
of the terrorist group
Taliban.
Special Director
General of Assam Po-
lice, GP Singh on Sat-
urday advised people
to be conscious on so-
cial media platforms
and be cautious while
posting or liking any
post. “@assampolice
has arrested 14 per-
sons for social media
posts regarding Tali-
ban activities that
have attracted provi-
sions of law of the
land..,” Singh tweeted.
—ANI
No place for terrorists in the valley:
Army officer after Tral encounter
Srinagar: After three
terrorists including
one of Jaish-e-Moham-
med’s (JeM) involved
in the gunning down of
BJP leader Rakesh
Pandita were killed in
today’s encounter at
Tral, Major General
Rashim Bali of GOC
Victor force on Satur-
day said there is no
place for terrorists in
the valley
.
Addressing a press
conference in Srinagar,
Bali said, “We came to
know that the three ter-
rorists were operating
in the area for a long
time. Their elimina-
tion has sent a strong
message that there is
no place for them in the
Valley.” JeM terrorist
Wakeel Shah who was
involved in the gun-
ning down of BJP lead-
er Rakesh Pandita this
June was among three
terrorists killed at Nag-
baeran Tral area on
Saturday, police said.
Kashmir Inspector
General of Police
(IGP), Vijay Kumar,
said, “JeM terrorist
Wakeel Shah, involved
in the killing of BJP
leader Rakesh Pandita
killed in today’s en-
counter at Tral.”
Two AK-47 rifles, one
SLR and other warlike
stores were recovered
from the three terror-
ists killed in the Tral
encounter, according
to the Defence PRO.
—ANI
Major General Rashim Bali (right) and Kashmir Inspector General
of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar at a press meet. —PHOTO BY ANI
Caste census:
BJP govt follows
other regimes
Bengaluru: Like previ-
ous governtments, the
current BJP govern-
ment in Karnataka is
dragging its feet on re-
leasing the report of a
caste-based socio-eco-
nomic census that was
carried out in the state
in 2015 by then govern-
ment headed by ex-CM
Siddaramaiah.
India is safe under PM Modi: Nadda
Dehradun: The nation
is safe under Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi’s leadership, said
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) National Presi-
dent JP Nadda on Sat-
urday.
He was addressing
the soldiers of the In-
dian Army at the
Sainik Samman pro-
gramme in Uttara-
khand’s Raiwala dur-
ing his two-day visit.
“Under the leader-
ship of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, the
country is safe, strong
and ready to move for-
ward at a fast pace,” Na-
dda said.
He criticised the UPA
government for “lack of
effort” in improving the
defence sector. —ANI
BJP National President JP Nadda in Raiwala. —PHOTO BY ANI
OPPN UNITY IS TO
PROMOTE DYNASTY
POLITICS: NAQVI
New Delhi: A day
after Congress interim
president Sonia Gandhi
convened a meeting of
the Opposition parties,
Union Minister Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi on Saturday
said, “This unity of Oppo-
sition is actually a unity to
promote dynasty. This is
family promoted project,
which actually means to
promote the agenda of
single-family...” —ANI
PM initiated steps to empower
women: Nirmala Sitharaman
Lucknow: Union Fi-
nance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman on Saturday
lauded the efforts of
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi for launching
several women-centric
schemes and giving
women priority in
several other schemes.
Sitharaman also appre-
ciated PM Modi’s move
of introducing several
women as ministers
during the recent Union
Cabinet expansion.
Nirmala Sitharaman felicitates
a woman in Lucknow.
Lokpal receives 30 complaints
against govt officials from Apr-Jul
New Delhi: Anti-cor-
ruption ombudsman
Lokpal received 30
complaints against
senior central govern-
ment officials between
April and July this
year, according to the
latest official data.
. Out of the 30 com-
plaints,18 wereagainst
group A or B officials
and 12 against “chair-
person/ member/ of-
ficer/ employee in any
body/ board/ corpora-
tion/ authority/ com-
pany/ society/ trust/
autonomous body”
wholly or partially fi-
nanced by the central
government or con-
trolled by it, according
to the Lokpal data.
11 complaints were
closed after prelimi-
nary examination. —PTI
Of the total
complaints made
in this fiscal, 18
were received in
July and 12 in
April and June

INDIA
06
Vishal Srivastav
The Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) has decid-
ed that the issue of
Other Backward
Castes (OBCs) has to be
maintained in some
way or the other till the
next year’s Uttar
Pradesh Assembly
elections. That is why a
huge rhetoric was cre-
ated around the OBC
ministers who were in-
cluded in the govern-
ment of Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi.
Recently, functions
were held to pay re-
gards to these minis-
ters and now OBC min-
isters will be given ‘aa-
shirwaad’ in different
districts in the states.
Additionally, a ‘Modi
Samarthan Sammelan’
will be organized, in
which the people of
OBC group will ex-
press their gratitude to
Prime Minister Modi
for making their com-
munity member a Un-
ion Minister.
It is being said that
the entire focus of the
Modi Samarthan Sam-
melan will be Uttar
Pradesh. and BJP’s
OBC Morcha President
K Laxman is preparing
for this conference
which will be organ-
ized in 70 districts of
Uttar Pradesh for the
next three months.
Party’s national presi-
dent JP Nadda himself
has reiterated this
point many times that
35 percent of the minis-
ters in Modi’s govern-
ment belong to the
OBC community
.
Keep in mind that
after the expansion, 27
of the ministers of the
central government be-
long to the OBC com-
munity. Seven new
ministers were made
from Uttar Pradesh,
out of which six belong
to the OBC community
.
All these ministers are
non-Yadav OBCs,
whose vote the BJP has
focused on. All those
who were sworn in on
July 7 are currently
taking out ‘Jan
Ashirwad Yatra’ and in
the meantime there
will be a separate pro-
gram for OBC minis-
ters. The BJP is expect-
ing big gains from this
move in Uttar Pradesh
though it may also lead
to a different reaction
in the BJP’s core vote
of Brahmin-Vaishya in
the state.
Separate “aashirwad yatra’ for Modi’s OBC ministers on cards!
Mamata to send
Sushmita Deb to
Rajya Sabha?
Anita Hada
Former Mahila Con-
gress National Presi-
dent Sushmita Deb can
get an immediate re-
ward for leaving Con-
gress and joining Trina-
mool Congress (TMC).
However, Sushmita has
said that she is a huge
fan of Mamata Banerjee
and has joined Trina-
mool Congress uncondi-
tionally stressing that
whatever work Mamata
Banerjee asks, she is
ready to do it. But on the
other hand, informed
sources in the party say
that Sushmita Deb has
joined the Trinamool
only on assurance of a
Rajya Sabha seat. It is
also reported that to
stop her from leaving, at
the last moment, Con-
gress had also offered
her a Rajya Sabha seat,
but by then it was too
late. Sources reveal that
she was hurt more on
the issue of Rahul Gan-
dhi and his team pro-
moting Gaurav Gogoi.
According to in-
formed sources, Mamta
Banerjee can reward
Sushmita Deb very
soon. One Rajya Sabha
seat is vacant in Bengal.
Manas Ranjan Bhuyan
has resigned from the
Rajya Sabha seat after
becoming a minister in
the state government
and by-elections can be
announced for this seat
at any time. It is being
said that Mamta can
send Sushmita to Rajya
Sabha from this seat
which still has a term
of two years left. Al-
though earlier there
was talk of sending
Mukul Roy from this
seat and the name of
veteran BJP leader
Yashwant Sinha, who
joined Trinamool at the
time of elections, was
also being discussed,
but now Sushmita Deb
is considered to be the
strongest contender.
Mamata Banerjee Sushmita Deb
Farmers’ protest hits train
movement, road traffic in Punjab
Chandigarh: Farmers
seeking hike in sugar-
cane prices blocked rail
tracks and a national
highway in Jalandhar
on Saturday, impacting
movement of trains and
vehicular traffic. Ac-
cording to railway offi-
cials of Ferozepur divi-
sion, 50 trains have been
cancelled, while 54 have
either been diverted or
s h o r t - t e r m i n a t e d .
Scores of farmers had
on Friday launched an
agitation for an indefi-
nite period to press the
Punjab govt to accept
their demands related to
pending dues of sugar-
cane and hike in cane
prices. They refused to
lift the blockade.Emer-
gency vehicles had,
however, been allowed
to ply, they added. Pro-
testers have blocked the
Jalandhar-Phagwara
stretch of the national
highway.The blockade
affected traffic to and
from Jalandhar, Amrit-
sar and Pathankot,
though the administra-
tion diverted traffic
through alternative
routes. Farmers sitting
on the Jalandhar-
Chaheru section have
blocked the Ludhiana-
Amritsar and the Ludhi-
ana-Jammu rail tracks.
They are demanding
that the Punjab govt
raise SAP of sugarcane
and clear payment of Rs
200 crore-250 crore.
SEVERAL STRANDED IN JAMMU
AS 40 TRAINS CANCELLED
Jammu: Thousands
of passengers are
stranded in JK as
railway authorities
have cancelled over
40 trains since Fri-
day due to an ongo-
ing agitation by
farmers in neigh-
bouring Punjab, offi-
cials said. Scores of
farmers on Friday
launched an indefi-
nite agitation in Ja-
landhar and blocked
train movement on
the Ludhiana-Amrit-
sar and the Ludhi-
ana-Jammu railway
routes to press the
Punjab government
to accept their de-
mand to increase
sugarcane prices and
clear issues related
to pending dues. He
said only a few trains
left the Jammu rail-
way station on a dif-
ferent route on Fri-
day, while early Sat-
urday morning rains
in Delhi forced can-
cellation of some
more trains bound
for Jammu. “Twenty
trains were cancelled
on Saturday. Some
trains scheduled lat-
er in the day are like-
ly to leave the Jam-
mu station for their
destinations,” the of-
ficial said.
Farmers’ protest hits train movement road traffic in Jalandhar for second day.
According to rail
officials of
Ferozepur
division, 50
trains have been
cancelled
MAN WHO SET HIMSELF ON FIRE
OUTSIDE SC PASSES AWAY
TAMIL NADU SCHOOLS, COLLEGES
TO REOPEN FROM SEPT 1
New Delhi: The 27-year-old man, who had set
himself on fire along with his friend outside the
Supreme Court, succumbed to the burn injuries
on Saturday morning. The deceased, a Delhi
University graduate, had come to Delhi with a
24-year-old rape victim on Monday morning. The
two allegedly poured kerosene and set themselves
on fire outside Supreme Court Gate No. 4. They
had also recorded a Facebook Live video.
Chennai: Announcing extension of the Covid
lockdown in the state for two more weeks, Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said Saturday that
the government has decided to resume physical
classes in schools and colleges from September
1. Schools will reopen on a rotational basis for
students in classes IX-XII after a gap of nearly 18
months. Classes will be held following Standard
Operating Procedures (SOPs). Govt will take a
decision on resuming lower classes after Septem-
ber 15 based on how reopening pans out.
New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Gover-
nor Manoj Sinha on Saturday urged Union Minister
of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan
again for the immediate evacuation of professors
from JK employed in an Afghanistan university.
These professors from J-K’s Kulgam were teaching
at Bakhtar University in Kabul. “I have discussed
the matter with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar
ji and MoS External Affairs Muraleedharan ji. The
Central government is looking into the matter. —ANI
New Delhi: Assam Police has arrested 14 persons
for posting on social media sites regarding the activ-
ities of the terrorist group Taliban. Special Director
General of Assam Police, GP Singh on Sat advised
people to be conscious on social media platforms
and be cautious while posting or liking any post.
People are advised to be careful in posts/likes etc on
social media platforms to avoid penal action,” Singh
tweeted. Taliban took over Afghanistan on August
15, seizing the presidential palace and taking control
of Kabul after President Ashraf Ghani escaped from
the country.
J-K LT GUV TO CENTER : EVACUATE
KULGAM PROFESSORS FROM KABUL
ASSAM POLICE DETAINS 14 FOR
SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ON TALIBAN
CRUCIAL READ Jewellers to go on strike against gold hallmarking
New Delhi: Asserting
that the mandatory hall-
marking of gold jewel-
lery in 50 days of its first
phase of implementa-
tion has been a “grand
success”, the govern-
ment on Saturday urged
jewellery body GJC to
reconsider its decision
togoonstrikeonAugust
23. The All India Gem
and Jewellery Domestic
Council has called a na-
tionwide ‘token strike’
on August 23, against
the government’s arbi-
trary implementation
of mandatory hallmark-
ing of gold jewellery
with (hallmark unique
identification number).
Mandatory gold hall-
marking has come into
force from June 16 in a
phased manner. Purity
certification of the pre-
cious metal, was volun-
tary in nature prior to
June 16. Tiwari asked
the jewellery body GJC
to reconsider its deci-
sion and take back the
call for strike.
21 AUGUST 1949- 25 NOVEMBER 2020
Indian children at high risk
of climate crisis: UNICEF
New Delhi: India is
among four South Asian
countries where children
are most at risk of the im-
pacts of climate change
threatening their health,
education,andprotection,
according to a new
UNICEF report. The Cli-
mate Crisis Is a Child
RightsCrisis:Introducing
the Children’s Climate
Risk Index’ (CCRI) is
UNICEF’s first focussed
onchildren.Itrankscoun-
tries based on children’s
exposure to climate and
environmental shocks
suchascyclonesandheat-
waves,aswellastheirvul-
nerabilityto those shocks
based on their access to
essential services. Paki-
stan, Bangladesh, Af-
ghanistan and India are
among four South Asian
countries where children
areatextremelyhighrisk
of the impacts of the cli-
mate crisis. —ANI
Finance Minister gets a new lot of Chief
Commissioners (IT); 46 IRS officers on the list
New Delhi : CCITs func-
tion under the Central
Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) which is part of
Department of Revenue
in the Ministry of Fi-
nance. CBDT provides
essential inputs for poli-
cyandplanningof direct
taxes in India, at same
timeitisalsoresponsible
for administration of di-
rect tax laws through the
IncomeTaxDepartment.
CCIT rank officers to-
gether form the top level
field formations in the
Direct-tax administra-
tion across the country
.
The Appointments Com-
mittee of the Cabinet
(ACC) headed by Prime
Minister on Saturday en-
dorsedtheproposalof the
Department of Revenue
recommending the em-
panelment of forty six of-
ficersforpromotiontothe
grade of Chief Commis-
sioner of Income Tax
(CCIT) in the Indian Rev-
enue Service (Income
Tax). Unfortunately one
of the officers on the pro-
motion list (Manoranjan
Panigrahy) had expired
in May this year whereas
Romita Arora took VRS
in March 2021.
Having been empan-
elled the list of officers
whomaybegivenposting
as Chief Commissioner
of Income Tax (CCIT) in
coming weeks include;
P
.B. Sekaran, T. Venkata
Reddy
,NavneetSoni,Nee-
na Singh Pandey
, V
.
Anandarajan, Vinod Ku-
mar Goel , Shyama S.
Bansia,K.P
.C.Rao,Devin-
der Singh Chaudhry
,
Rameshwar Singh, San-
jayKumar,AshokKumar
Pandey
, Jayanthi
Krishnan, Mirdula Baj-
pai, Ravinder Sai, Deben-
draNarayanKar,Haresh-
war Sharma, Gurijala R.
Reddy
, Avdhesh Kumar
Mishra, Rajiv Ranjan
Singh, Bijayananda
Pruseth, Rajeev Mehro-
tra, Stephen George,
SimanchalaDash,Naren-
dra Kumar, Seema Raj,
Shelly Jindal, B. Senthil
Kumar, Kaushal Kr. Sriv-
astava , Hemant Jawahar
Lal, Yogendra Kumar
Singh,GovindLal,Simmi
Gupta, Fateh Singh
Sirowa, Parminder,
NiranjanKouli,SugarLal
Meena, Veer Birsa Ekka.
Aspertheprovisionof
Extended Panel as many
as seven IRS (IT) officers
will be promoted to CCIT
rank in case officers in-
cluded in the regular
panel would not be avail-
able for promotion due to
deputation/retirement/
VRS/demise during the
vacancy year 2021. This
list of officers on the ex-
tendedpanelareBanwari
Lal Meena, Ramesh
Chand, Ramavatu Bala
Naik, Sanjay Misra, Jay-
ant Misra, Romita Arora
(who took VRS in March
2021) and M Jagdish
Babu.
Faisal Patel son of Congress leader Ahmed Patel tweeted, “Miss you my dearest father”,
along with some photos, on the birth anniversary of the late leader on Saturday.
Dy CM...
confident that reve-
nuecollectionwillim-
prove and that devel-
opment projects will
get an impetus. Chief
Commissioner (Com-
mercialTax)JPGupta
echoed the sentiment,
highlighting an up-
wardtrendinrevenue
collection since Janu-
ary
.Forexample,Gup-
ta said, Gujarat’s GST
collection in July 2021
was Rs3,892
crore--55% higher
than July 2020’s
Rs2,500 crore. There
has also been an im-
provementinVATcol-
lection, he said.
FROM PG 1

It’s obvious that sugar can
have a powerful effect on
us. So that’s why it’s not
surprising to see negative
effects when we eat less
sugar or remove it from
our diet completely
. It’s
during this early “sugar
withdrawal” stage that
both mental and physical
symptoms have been re-
ported—including depres-
sion, anxiety
, brain fog and
cravings, alongside head-
aches, fatigue and dizzi-
ness. This means giving up
sugar can feel unpleasant,
both mentally and physi-
cally, which may make it
difficult for some to stick
with the diet change.
The basis for these
symptoms has not been ex-
tensively studied, but it’s
likelythey’realsolinkedto
the reward pathways in
the brain. Although the
idea of “sugar addiction”
is controversial, evidence
in rats has shown that like
other addictive substanc-
es, sugar is able to induce
bingeing, craving and
withdrawal anxiety
. Other
research in animals has
demonstrated that the ef-
fects of sugar addiction,
withdrawal and relapse
are similar to those of
drugs. But most of
the research that
exists in this area
is on animals, so
it’s currently
difficult to say
whether it’s
the same for
humans.
The re-
ward path-
ways in
the hu-
m a n
b r a i n
have re-
m a i n e d
u n -
changed
by evo-
lution—and it’s likely
many other organisms
have similar reward path-
ways in their brains. This
means that the biological
impacts of sugar with-
drawal seen in animals are
likely to occur to some de-
gree in humans too be-
cause our brains have
similar reward pathways.
A change in the brain’s
chemical balance is al-
most certainly behind the
symptoms reported in hu-
mans who remove or re-
duce dietary sugar. As
well as being involved in
reward, dopamine also
regulates hormonal con-
trol, nausea and vomiting
and anxiety. As sugar is
removed from the diet, the
rapid reduction in dopa-
mine’s effects in the brain
would likely interfere in
the normal function of
many different brain
pathways, explaining why
people report these symp-
toms. Although research
on sugar withdrawal in
humans is limited, one
study has provided evi-
dence of withdrawal
symptoms and increased
sugar cravings after sugar
was removed from the di-
ets of overweight and
obese adolescents.
As with any dietary
change, sticking to it is
key. So if you want to re-
duce sugar from your diet
long term, being able to
get through the first few
difficult weeks is crucial.
It’s important to acknowl-
edge, however, that sugar
isn’t “bad” per se—but
that it should be eaten in
moderation alongside a
healthy diet and exercise.
WHY SOME
WHY SOME
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
SIDE EFFECTS
SIDE EFFECTS
WHEN THEY
WHEN THEY
QUIT SUGAR
QUIT SUGAR
TALKING POINT
07
Sugar
is
added
to
many
different
foods.
—ILONA.SHOROKHOVA/
SHUTTERSTOCKEL
As well as being involved in reward, dopamine also regulates hormonal control, nausea
and vomiting and anxiety.
I
t might surprise
you to learn that
sugar consumption
has actually been
steadily decreasing since
2008. This could be hap-
pening for any number of
reasons, including a shift
in tastes and lifestyles,
with the popularity of
low-carbohydrate diets,
like keto, increasing in
the past decade. A greater
understanding of the dan-
gers of eating excess sug-
ar on our health may also
be driving this drop.
Reducing sugar intake
has clear health benefits,
including reduced calorie
intake, which can help
with weight loss, and im-
proved dental health. But
people sometimes report
side-effects when they try
eating less sugar—includ-
ing headaches, fatigue or
mood changes, which are
usually temporary. The
reason for these side-ef-
fects is poorly understood.
But it’s likely these symp-
toms relate to how the
brain reacts when ex-
posed to sugary foods—
and the biology of “re-
ward”.
Carbohydrates come in
several forms—including
as sugars, which can nat-
urally occur in many
foods, such as fructose in
fruits and lactose in milk.
Table sugar—known as
sucrose—is found in sug-
ar cane and sugar beet,
maple syrup and even
honey.
As mass production of
food has become the
norm, sucrose and other
sugars are now added to
foods to make them more
palatable. Beyond the im-
proved taste and “mouth-
feel” of foods with high
sugar content, sugar has
profound biological ef-
fects in the brain. These
effects are so significant
it’s even led to a debate as
to whether you can be
“addicted” to sugar—
though this is still being
studied.
Sucrose activates sweet
taste receptors in the
mouth which ultimately
leads to the release of a
chemical called dopamine
in the brain. Dopamine is
a neurotransmitter,
meaning it’s a chemical
that passes messages be-
tween nerves in the brain.
When we’re exposed to a
rewarding stimulus, the
brain responds by releas-
ing dopamine—which is
why it’s often called the
“reward” chemical.
The rewarding effects
of dopamine are largely
seen in the part of the
brain involved in pleas-
ure and reward. Reward
governs our behaviour—
meaning we’re driven to
repeat the behaviours
which caused dopamine
to be released in the first
place. Dopamine can
drive us to seek food (such
as junk food).
Experiments in both
animals and people have
shown how profoundly
sugar activates these re-
ward pathways. Intense
sweetness surpasses even
cocaine in terms of the
internal reward it trig-
gers. Interestingly, sugar
is able to activate these
reward pathways in the
brain whether it’s tast-
ed in the mouth or
injected into the
bloodstream, as
shown in studies
on mice. This
means its effects
are independent
of the sweet
taste.
In rats, there’s
strong evidence to
suggest that su-
crose consumption
can actually
change the struc-
tures in the brain
that dopamine acti-
vates as well as al-
tering emotional
processing and
modifying behav-
iour in both ani-
mals and humans.
JAMES BROWN
Associate Professor in Biology
and Biomedical Science, Aston
University
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
QUITTING
SUGAR
SYMPTOMS LIKELY
RELATE TO THE
BIOLOGY OF “REWARD”
Sugar isn’t“bad”per se—but it
should be eaten in moderation
alongside a healthy diet and exercise.
Headaches are one negative effect
people report after quitting sugar.
—FIZKES/ SHUTTERSTOCK

‘VISTARAK’ WILL
EXPAND SAFFRON
ASPIRATIONS
Uttar Pradesh is cru-
cial to BJP’s politi-
cal fortunes and the
party has already start-
ed working on its strat-
egy with old mantras of
victory
. The Saffron
Partyisgoingtoappoint
‘Vistaraks’ in all 403 as-
sembly seats of UP
.
In the seats, which
will be left for smaller
parties under alliance
like Apna Dal (Sonew-
al), the Vistaraks will be
appointed with mutual
consent of allies. The
party has also made it
clear that the candi-
dates, who want to be-
come Vistaraks, will not
contest the elections.
Moreorlessonthesame
lines, the BJP had
contested the 2017-
UP assembly elec-
tions. The credit
for the ‘Vistarak’
method goes to
RSS, which has
been adopting this
process for
the past
several decades to
strengthen the BJP in
the LS elections. It is the
Vistarak who keeps in
direct contact from Pan-
na Pramukhs to polling
booth agents.
When the Modi- era
emerged in 2014, the
party, under the leader-
ship of Amit Shah, had
decided that the BJP
would appoint its vista-
raks for some 4,500 as-
sembly constituencies
across the country, but
probably the idea did
not go well with RSS as
it had already adopted
this method. However,
after Dattatreya Hosab-
ole has taken over num-
ber two position of
Sangh, he has opened
the doors of Sangh for
new ideas. After getting
the green signal from
the Sangh, the BJP has
started giving edge to its
‘Vistarak Abhiyan’.
CONGRESS OFFERS
RAJYA SABHA SEAT
TO GHULAM
NABI AZAD
TheCongress
High Com-
mand has found
a way to pacify
G-23 leader
Ghulam Nabi
Azad, who has
been as-
sured by Party Presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi to
sendhimtoRajyaSabha
from Tamil Nadu. Gan-
dhi herself held a long
conversation with Azad
recently, assuring that
he will be brought to Ra-
jya Sabha from Tamil
Nadu. The seat from Ta-
mil Nadu fell vacant af-
ter the demise of AIAD-
MK leader A Moham-
mad Jan, who had four
years left to serve. Now
this seat has come to the
account of DMK and
DMK chief MK Stalin
offered the seat to the
Congress. The EC has
also announced the date
of elections on Septem-
ber 13.
WHY IS DIDI ANGRY
WITH YASHWANT
SINHA?
Trinamool Congress
leader and Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee seem to
be somewhat up-
set with
Yashwant Sin-
ha these days.
She had prom-
ised Sinha that
she would send
him to
t h e
upper house but when
the occasion came,
Jawahar Sirkar was, un-
expectedly
, given that
seat. The seat was va-
cated by Dinesh Trivedi,
who resigned and joined
the BJP
. The main rea-
son for Mamata’s dis-
pleasure with Sinha is
that he had called a
meeting of opposition
leaders under the ban-
ner of his ‘Rashtra
Manch’ at Sharad Pa-
war’sresidenceinDelhi.
While he is a member
of TMC officially, he
should have used the
TMC banner. At the
same time, Mamata
feels somewhere that
since the assembly elec-
tions are over in the
state, Sinha has no spe-
cial utility for her. He is
also above 80 years of
age, so it cannot be ex-
pected that he would
keep involved much in
active politics.
WILL ED
OFFICER JOIN
BJP?
The opposition
may still be
making an issue
of Pegasus
s p y -
ware, but on behalf of
the government, Solici-
tor General Tushar Me-
hta has made it clear in
the Supreme Court that
the government has in-
formation about the use
of Pegasus spyware but
it is related to national
security and because of
this, it cannot be made
public. Now former
home minister and Con-
gress leader P Chidam-
baram are making this
an issue.
At the same time, the
telephone number of
ED officer Rajeshwar
Singh is also said to be
included in the list of
those who were spied
on. If sources are to be
believed, Rajeshwar
Singh was about to join
BJP in the coming days.
Singh investigated the
2G case, Jagan Mohan
Reddy’s disproportion-
ate assets case, Aircel
Maxis deal involving
Chidambaram and
his son Karti. In
such a situation,
his joining BJP
indicates many
far-reaching
signs.
ATS COMMANDO
CENTRE IN
DEOBAND
Look at the coinci-
dence of time,
where barbaric Taliban
fighters were declaring
their occupation in Ka-
bul, at the same time the
UP government an-
nounced to open ATS
Commando Centre in
Deoband with immedi-
ate effect. Not only will
ATS commandos be
trained in the Com-
mand Centre spread
over a large area of
more than 20 acres, but
more than a dozen ATS
officers will also be
posted here.
It should be noted
that there are more than
300 madrasas in
Deoband and due to be-
ing Darul Uloom, stu-
dents from far and wide
come here to get Islamic
education. Perhaps that
is why it is also
called the city of
knowledge. Al-
though its name
has been associ-
ated with funda-
mentalism and
giving shelter to
people associ-
ated with
terrorist activities for a
long time, the opposi-
tion is considering the
decision of the Yogi gov-
ernment as an exercise
of polarization of votes
on communal lines.
Apart from Deoband,
12 different centres will
be set up in other places
like Meerut, Aligarh,
Azamgarh, Kanpur,
Bahraich, Greater Noi-
da, Mirzapur etc.
Yogiispromotingitas
the government’s zero-
tolerance policy on ter-
rorism, but questions
may be raised about the
timing of this plan.
OPPOSITION
PARTIES GETTING
UNITING ON
SONIA’S INITIATIVE
Realising the seri-
ousness of objec-
tions of the satraps of
some opposition parties
in the name of Rahul,
Sonia Gandhi has now
taken the command of
awakening the opposi-
tion unity in her hands.
The BSP and AAP were
not invited to the virtu-
al meeting of Sonia
Gandhi convened just
now while Akhilesh Ya-
dav did not attend the
meeting of 19
opposition
parties.
However,
Sonia has
proved so
much that
Congress
is the only
‘ u m -
brella body’ that can
keeptheoppositionvoic-
es together and united.
Sonia called upon the
oppositionpartiestofor-
get all their differences
and come together in
2024 against the BJP
. Si-
taram Yechury of the
CPI(M) said that his
party is ready to align
withtheTrinamoolCon-
gress,barringstateslike
West Bengal and Tripu-
ra. However, Sonia feels
that the handshake of
friendship cannot be
done with such a ‘selec-
tive’ approach.
...AND FINALLY
Mother’s beloved is
badly spoiled on
Twitter, his anger is
such that on August 14,
when Twitter has un-
locked his account, yet
Rahul Gandhi has not
tweeted a single tweet
from his handle. His
one 1.90 crore followers
are still waiting for Ra-
hul to say something
from his Twitter han-
dle. He extended Inde-
pendence Day wishes to
the country on Insta-
gram.
It is said that for the
sudden suspension of
Rahul’s account, Twit-
ter has summoned its
India head Manish
Maheshwari to
America as a pun-
ishment, but it
seems that even
thiswasnotenough
to heal Rahul’s
wound.
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB
RAMAN
The author is a journalist
and political commentator
and views expressed are
his personal
Ghulam Nabi Azad Yogi Adityanath Sonia Gandhi
Mamata Banerjee
08
2NDFRONT
nCoV claims 5-month-old in Rajkot
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Even as the
COVID-19 situation in
the state continues to
show a marked im-
provement, a five-
month-old baby lost
his battle against the
disease at the city’s
civil hospital around
5am Saturday morn-
ing, barely two days
after he was trans-
ferred from a private
hospital.
Rajkot Municipal
Commissioner Amit
Arora said that the de-
ceased was from the
city’s Kotharia area,
and had travelled to
Dhoraji recently.
“The child’s family
will undergo RTPCR
tests, and we will follow
contact tracing in the
area. A door-to-door
survey will also be con-
ducted when and if re-
quired,” Arora said.
It is to be noted that
at present, 3 children
are still in the ward of
Korona in Rajkot Civil
Hospital.
Delhi HC restrains kitchenware
firm from infringing Amul name
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court has re-
strained a company
from using the name
“
Amul” on its kitchen-
ware products as it is
deceptively similar to
the trademark of the
Gujarat Cooperative
Milk Marketing Fed-
eration (GCMMF) Ltd.
The mark used by the
defendant company is
not registered and is be-
ing illegally shown as a
registered mark, the
high court said. This is
a clear case where the
grant of ad-interim re-
lief exists, it said and
added that such repre-
sentation also amounts
to fraud on the public.
The suit said the Gu-
jarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation
Ltd is the registered
holder of the well-
known Amul trade-
mark used for milk and
dairy products.
Justice C Hari
Shankar issued sum-
mons to Maruti Metals
on the suit filed by GC-
MMF, which alleged in-
fringement by the de-
fendant company by
using its trademark in
context of kitchenware
and utensils.
The court said the
word “Amul” is distinc-
tive and has no etymo-
logical meaning, and it
is indelibly associated
in the minds of the con-
suming public with the
products of the plain-
tiff — Gujarat Coopera-
tive Milk Marketing
Federation Ltd.
“Prima facie, any use
of the word ‘
Amul’ as a
trademark by any other
entity may tantamount
toinfringement,”itsaid.
GCMMF’s senior ad-
vocate Sunil Dalal con-
tended that Maruti Met-
als has illegally reflect-
ed its trademark as
registered when it is
not registered and said
this is also misleading.
“As the impugned
mark is not registered
and is being illegally
shown as a registered
mark, a clear case for
grant of ad-interim re-
lief, in my view, exists.
Such misrepresenta-
tion also amounts to a
fraud on the consuming
public, additionally jus-
tifying interlocutory
interdiction as sought,”
Judge Shankar said.
The court asked the
defendant to file its
written statement in re-
sponse to the suit with-
in four weeks.
The court said the trademark
Amul is ‘indelibly associated’
with GCMMF’s products
First India Bureau
Vadodara: A non-
profit organization
Kamdhenu Gau Am-
rita (KGA) has taken
up the onus to mak-
ing eco-friendly ra-
khis (sacred threads)
called Vedic/Gomay
rakhis made out of
cow dung for Raksha
Bandhan this year.
With most of India’s
supply of rakhis made
from synthetic materi-
als such as plastic, ny-
lon, coming from China,
it has proven to be a
toxic option for the envi-
ronment.
In order to provide a
more sustainable choice
of rakhis, Mukesh Gup-
ta, director of KGA, has
been promoting the Ve-
dic rakhis made out of
organic materials. “We
all celebrate the festival
of Raksha Bandhan
every year. However,
most of the rakhis in
India come from China
and the money also goes
there. By switching to
Gomay rakhis, we can
help boost India’s econ-
omy and also protect
cows. The rakhi is made
completely of cow dung
and also acts as an anti-
radiation tool as well as
destroyer of negative
energy. Seeds of differ-
ent vegetables, fruits
and flowers are also
used to decorate them,
which can also be plant-
ed in pots in homes,”
said Gupta.
Vedice rakhis are
available in different
designs with several
kinds of decorations
painted on them with
herbal colours. “Kamd-
henu Gau Amrita has
provided employment
to around 460 women
belonging to underpriv-
ileged backgrounds in
Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Odisha
and Gujarat. Such fami-
lies were struggling to
make ends meet amid
the COVID-19 pandem-
ic. This entrepreneurial
scheme has also assist-
ed gaushalas, as pur-
chase of cow dung has
been made from around
350 gaushalas,” added
Gupta.
Non-profitpromotesVedic/GomayrakhisthisRakshaBandhan
SUSTAINABLE
In a bid to come up with an eco-friendly
option, Kamdhenu Gau Amrita has been
selling rakhis made out of cow dung
The sale of Gomay rakhis has helped 460 women earn money.
Amul Dairy. —FILE PHOTO
FREEDOM
TO RIDE
As many as 200
women and girls
participated in a cycle
rally organized by
the Vadodara District
Sports Training Center
in collaboration
with the Vadodara
Cycling Association
as part of the Azadi
Ka Amrut Mahotsav
celebrations on
Saturday. A similar
rally held previously
saw 80 boys
participate.
Greetings on Rakshabandhan,
the most beautiful bond between
a brother and a sister is to be
celebrated on a daily basis too!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

AHMEDABAD, SUNDAY
AUGUST 22, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Raksha Bandhan is a
bond of love, of
reaffirming the special
connection that siblings share,
it is a proclamation that amid
the storm of life- a sibling is a
safe harbour- always…
Greetings from First India
on this special day!
Rajveer and Gauravi —PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO

ETC
10
a k s h a
means pro-
tection, and
in some
places in me-
dieval India, where women
felt unsafe, they tie Rakhi
on the wrist of men, regard-
ing them as brothers. In this
way, Rakhi strengthens the
bond of love between broth-
ers and sisters and revives
the emotional bonding. And
the beauty of the festival
lies in the idea that sisters
pray for the success and
prosperity of their broth-
ers, while brothers take a
vow to protect their sisters.
Every festival observed
in India is a sum-up of spe-
cial elements. In Diwali, it
is the oil lamps, crackers,
sweets, new attires, etc.
whereas Holi is a festival
composed of colours. Along
with sacred thread, Rakhi
thali also holds a special
significance on this festival
which includes a number of
basic puja items decorated
beautifully. It includes a
diya, roli, rice, sweets, and
Rakhi. These thalis are
adorned wonderfully con-
veying a sister’s respect and
honour for her brother. City
First brings to you the sig-
nificance of these elements!
The Pooja Thali is deco-
rated with pearls and or-
nated with the colourful
and designer Rakhis and
other ingredients to ward
off negativity and bad
omen. Nowadays, either
you can make your own
Pooja Ki Thali or shop on-
line Rakhi with Pooja thali;
there are plenty of websites
that offer beautiful and al-
luring Thali under an af-
fordable price range. But if
you are keen to prepare the
Thali on your
own, then these are
the essential compo-
nents a Raksha Bandhan
thali must have:
AKSHATA (RICE)
Akshata is a Sanskrit word
that means “Something
which is not broken,” an-
other name of Lord Shiva.
Akshata is uncooked, un-
broken rice mixed with tur-
meric and is considered one
of the most important in-
gredients known to bring
prosperity and fertility.
KUMKUM AND KESAR
Kumkum has a unique role
in all Indian holy events; in
the Vaishnava, Tilaka is the
symbol of the Lotus feet of
Param-aatma (Divine God),
and the Kumkum symbol-
izes the Bhakta( devotee).
Kumkum is one of the best
remedies, can be used in
headaches; it relaxes the
muscles and gives instant
relief.
DIYA OR INCENSE STICK
Diya is very important and
has a special place in Hin-
duism. It is the significance
of purity, good omen, and
power. It is said that light
means the non-existence of
d a rk ( E v i l ) .
And Diya
was first
l i g h t e n e d
when Sri
Rama vis-
ited Ayod-
hya after
14 years of
exile, a
symbol
of joy
a n d
happi-
ness.
SWEETS
Sweets are called “Mithai,”
it is a symbol of happiness
and sweetness that we
spread among family,
friends, and relatives. First-
ly the sweets are offered
to the Goddess Lak-
shmi with pure de-
votion. And lat-
er, it is distrib-
uted among all
the members
as Prasad in
the form of
b l e s s i n g s
from the
Goddess.
FRUITS OR NARIYAL:
The three dots on the Nari-
yal symbolize the three eyes
of Lord Shiva, and thus co-
conut is termed as auspi-
cious in the Puja cer-
emony. Also, the
d e v o t e e s
p a y
s p e c i a l
tribute to
God to get a
child by offering Nari-
yal to Lord Rudra. You can
also use bananas and offer
them to the Lord to get
blessings.
MOLI DHAGA
Moli dhaga, also termed as
Kalawa, is a holy Hindu
thread tied by the priest on
the wrists of all the attend-
ees of the Puja ceremony to
get the blessings of God. It
is also believed that the
wrist vein controls our
body, so if you tie
Moli on the wrist, it
helps us regulate our
blood circulation.
KALASH WITH WATER:
The Kalasha is believed
to have Amrita, the elixir
of life. Also, the Kalasha
or metal pot represents
material things that con-
tain fertility- the earth
and the womb, which
nourish our life. And as
per Hindu tradition
Goddess, Lakshmi
holds Kalasha in her
hand shows wisdom and
abundance.
BETEL-NUT (PAAN-
SUPARI)
Betel nut helps us in-
voke the blessings of
Lord Ganapati and
Goddess Laksh-
mi. It is said
that keep-
ing a cop-
per ves-
sel filled
w i t h
G a n g a
w a t e r ,
a l o n g
with the
MITALI DUSAD
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
R
R
betel nut and some coins, as an offering in a
temple, helps get all our wishes fulfilled soon.
The holy Nut is encapsulated by the Moli dha-
ga and placed on Betel-leaf.
RAKHIS FOR BOTH BHAIYA AND BHABHI:
Rakhi is not just a thread; the sacred thread
showsanunbreakablelong-lastingsiblingbond.
Why just a Rakhi for brother, we have beautiful
chooda (Bangle) rakhi for our dear bhabhis too.
Customised Gifts: Nowadays people love exper-
imenting with gifts. Not just brothers gift some-
thing to their sisters but the other way round
too is happening quite a lot. After all, it’s about
cherishing moments forever!
—PHOTO
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
Bhavkriti decked up for Rakhi
Rajveer and Gauravi
A moment of love
Riddhiman Singh Rathore and Bhavkriti Rathore
Rakshabandhan,
the festival of
celebrating the bond
of love between
brothers and sisters
isn’t just about the
sacred thread Rakhi
but the thali also
holds a special
significance which
includes a number of
basic puja items
decorated beautifully.
City First brings to
you the significance of
these elements!
THE BOND OF LOVE
THE BOND OF LOVE
FOREVER
FOREVER

Being a four sibling group,
we tend to quarrel a lot but
we’re also the ones who
always have each others’
back through thick and thin.
Rakshabandhan is the symbol
of my sisters’ love and affec-
tion for me as well as a sign
of me being a supportive and
somewhat a very protective
brother. It’s a ritual of mere
four steps but the bond it
forms last an eternity.
—AKARSHAN JAISWAL
Rakshabandhan is a festival that celebrates the
bond of brothers and sisters. The love and care that
I share with my sisters are beyond comparison.
They help me grow as a person and support me
no matter what. This day is just another reason to
show them that they carry a special place in my
heart. —ANUGRAH BHARGAVA
ETC
11
Ek Hazaaro
Ek Hazaaro
Mein Meri
Mein Meri
Behna Hai
Behna Hai
This
Raksha
Bandhan, City First
brings to you some of
the snippets of siblings who
cannot live with each other
and yet would do anything
to protect each other from
any harm, whatsoever!
Such is the love shared
between them...
ne such festival which is
loved by all, Raksha Band-
han, which is when we get to
display love towards our sib-
lings, surprise them with our
innovative idea of gifts (or not
in some cases, because sometimes
gifts are overrated). But, nonetheless, the
hustle of buying Rakhi, decorating the
thaalis, saving money to buy presents ac-
counts for one thing at least, the world is a
much better place with the existence of our
irritating siblings. Happy Raksha Bandhan
to everyone out there, may your day be filled
with love!
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
O
O
Being
the young-
est one in the
family, I always
showed up with empty
pockets on Rakhi and
my parents would al-
ways help me out mon-
etarily. But, as I grew
up my sisters, Neetu
and Prity, were always
the ones who guided
me through my career
and I have always been
grateful to them, they
are my pillar of support
and I love them with all
my heart.
—ABHISHEK
KHANDELWAL
Lapu is the one I
look forward to for
anything. But, that’s
not always the case.
Being a human, and,
being a terrible one
at that comes with
a consequence. I
suppose we are
the perfect pair of
siblings, he is full of
qualities that I lack
and vice-versa.
-POORTI PUROHIT
My younger brother
is sometimes, a pain
in the ***! Having
said that, he is always
the one who has my
back whenever I get
back home late from
somewhere or have
to discuss something
indiscreetly. He is
the friend whom I
had wished for since
forever.
—POOJA SOLANKI
I had always been
the one who fought
with him at each step
and I’ve enjoyed that
thoroughly. Both of us
are married now and
we miss being around
each other and yet this
day we get to be to-
gether and cherish our
fond memories. We
also cherish our lives
now, being away and
yet somehow together
in our memories.
—SHREEYA SHARMA
We never
celebrate
Rakhi in
the most
traditional
way, but, I
have always
enjoyed be-
ing a part of
this festival.
Merly is the
youngest one
in the family
so naturally,
she was al-
ways picked
on, but, she’s
got an amaz-
ing sense of
humour and
a heart that is
so sensitive,
I feel very
protective
about her.
—ALBIN
ANTONY
I have
always been a
part of a big clan of which
I am proud because everyone
is there for everyone. We celebrate
together, cry together, sometimes
even lurk out of the house together. It
surely gets irritating sometimes, but we
always have the time of our lives. We
are there for each other as guides,
entertainers, therapists as well as
fight club members.
—VRATIKA TIJARIA
The relationship between
brother and sister is a deep-
rooted connection. Sometimes
it is very awkward to tell your
annoying brothers that you love
them. Like every sibling, we
love to hate and still love each
other. Raksha Bandhan is the
festival that shows affection be-
tween us. On the auspicious oc-
casion, the rituals we perform is
applying a Tilak on the brother’s
forehead and lightning a diya for
performing the aarti. Finally, the
rakhi is tied around the wrist of
the brother with the sweets fed
and gifts shared.
—DEEPIKA PAL
It’s a blessing in
disguise to be
surrounded by two
brothers. I very
often have to pro-
tect them, become
their ATM whenever
required, listen to
scoldings for them,
but, the thing is it is
often well rewarded
whenever they sur-
prise me with their
little gestures and
tokens of love.
—JASBEER KAUR
The bond of a brother and sister is
like the threads of Rakhi each thread
has its own uniqueness. From
having huge fights to moments of
happiness to sharing things, we
grew up loving each other tying
Rakhi as a symbol to remember all
the memories.
—NIKHIL TIWARI
My brother has always been the protec-
tive one. No matter what the problem,
he was always there to help me out.
Without his support, I wouldn’t have
gone far. He gave me the space to
grow while protecting me, always. It’s
not just
Rakhi when
I appreci-
ate his
efforts and
support, I
always let
him know
when he is
being a true
gentleman.
—SWARNA
POUNDRIK
It isn’t always important to celebrate the
festival in order to display love to your
brother, but, Raksha Bandhan gives us
an opportunity to let them know that
their presence adds value to our lives.
My brother has been a pillar of support
in my life.
I am mar-
ried now
and yet he
seems like
just one
call away. It
is good to
have him as
my guide
and friend.
—NAGMA
AGWAN
The Tijaria Clan: Vardhman, Ridhi, Vratika, Arihant, Shrishti,
Shreyansh, Aishna, Aadi and Aarsh
Abhishek and Neetu
Lakshya and Poorti
Jai and Pooja
Kuljeet, Jasbeer and Param
Anugrah and Ishita
Deepika, Yash and Akash Deep
(Clockwise) Akarshan, Ayushi, Kabeer
and Lovey Jaiswal Shreeya and Umang
Nikhil and Neha
Nagma and Mohd Sameer
Rajat and Swarna
Albin and Merlin

GO
GREEN!
CITY FIRST
U
niversity of En-
gineering
M a n a g e m e n t
Jaipur was se-
lected in the first batch of
50 best institutions from all
over India, under the AI-
CTE LITE program. In the
launching program on Au-
gust 20, 2021, AICTE Chair-
man, Prof Anil Sahsrabud-
dhi and AICTE Vice-Chair-
man, Prof M P Poonia an-
nounced the names of se-
lected institutions under
this program.
Prof Dr Biswajoy Chat-
terjee, Vice-Chancellor,
UEM Jaipur told that Skill-
based education and pre-
placement training ses-
sions give an extra edge to
students aspiring for jobs
in multinational compa-
nies or going for higher
education. International
conferences and regular in-
teractions with scientists
and researchers from the
world’s renowned institu-
tions make our students
ready for global competi-
tiveness and enable them to
acquire foreign jobs and
internships.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
ON A SPIRITUAL QUEST BEYOND
r Ashok Panagariya
was a man who was an
inspiration to lakhs,
today even as he is
missed daily by his
family, colleagues, pa-
tients and students he
has become an icon and deserv-
edly so.
On the eve of his birth anni-
versary on Saturday
, family and
friends go together to pay
homage and tribute and re-
member the visionary
through the launch of his
book ‘Monk in a Merc’ at
Hotel Rambagh Palace, Jaipur.
CM Ashok Gehlot while convey-
ing his best wishes on the occa-
sion virtually paid tribute to Dr
Panagariya, “A visionary and a
highly knowledgeable person, I
respect him for his contribution
and hard work that he employed
at each step.” Sunita Gehlot,
wife of CM Ashok Gehlot was
present in person to be with the
family
.
Late Dr Ashok Panagariya’s
wife Meena, his children as well
as extended family were all
there to honour the memory of
Dr Panagariya’s last legacy
.
The book launch was fol-
lowed by a virtual panel discus-
sion between Prof Arvind Pa-
nagariya and Arihant Pana-
gariya, moderated by Narayani
Ganesh. Prof Arvind shared,
“My brother had a way of con-
necting with the world, he
wasn’t just a man who could
engage himself in multi-task-
ing, he was also happy being in
a position that he was.”
Arihant expressing his grati-
tude on this day shared, “My fa-
ther, for many
, was a serious
figure but he also had a sense of
humour which could bright-
en up the room, he was also a
verycuriousmanwhowould
never miss an opportunity to
learn about something new.”
The book, ‘Monk in a Merc’
focuses on rewiring the brain so
that one may enjoy life to the
fullest by not just focusing upon
the work but also on deriving
the best essence out of life
through new learnings, happi-
ness and discipline.
As we celebrate Late Dr
Ashok Pangariya’s birth anni-
versary today, we know that he
will continue to live in our lives
through his wisdom and words.
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
D
D
r Ashok Pana-
gariya - friend,
mentor, doctor,
healer and phi-
losopher. Not only is it
difficult to slot him into
any one of these or many
other roles he played in
numerous lives,
but just
l i k e
t h e
neurons he studied in de-
tail while becoming a Neu-
rologist, his amazing abil-
ity to connect and trans-
mit made him the special
person that he was. “Monk
in a Merc” is Dr Panagari-
ya’s last offering to the
world before he passed
away on 11th June 2021.
Written through the lens
of thinking and emoting
medical practitioner, hon-
est impactful and real, this
book walks us through his
life experiences as a well-
known doctor and his
learnings and beliefs from
a highly logical yet spirit-
ual standpoint. Dr Pana-
gariya seamlessly and or-
ganically weaves into his
narrative the different
other aspects of what af-
fects our brain, mind and
thought. His personal
experiences as a doc-
tor and his deeper in-
sights into the work-
ings of the human mind
allow readers to reflect on
their own journey and
choices. He encourages
readers to open the doors
of thought and reasoning,
to allow the coexistence of
both science and philoso-
phy to lead more fulfilling
lives.
Having had the privi-
lege of knowing Dr Pana-
gariya, it was always
amazing to see his
ability to put anyone
he met, including pa-
tients immediately at
ease with his relaxed and
pleasant demeanour. His
ability to understand the
person before the cause, to
treat the ailment with the
mildest of interventions
and to reassure with com-
plete authenticity was in-
strumental in enabling
thousands to lead happy
and productive lives.
As he very beautifully
puts it in his book “Mok-
sha’s attainment is not de-
pendent on venturing out
of the material world, but
on looking within”. The
book is a must-read for all
those who believe in going
beyond the obvious.
Happy Birthday, Dr
Ashok Panagariya!
This Monk in a Merc would have turned 71 today
GOURAN DHAWAN LAL
Media and Communication professional
—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA
Dr Ashok Panagariya
Sunita Gehlot and Meena Panagariya An old snippet of Late Dr Ashok Panagariya (L-R) Abhay Chordia, Paras Kuhad and Satish Mehta
CM Ashok Gehlot addresing the gathering virtually
(L-R) Trisha Jain, Shree Agnihotri, Arushi Panagariya Jain, Taksh Jain, Aditi Tandon Panagariya,
Meena Pangariya, Sunita Gehlot, Arihant Panagariya, Amit Tandon and Tanvi Tandon
MEET GREET!
Vipra Foundation’s State President Advocate Rajesh Karnal
greeted Jagdeesh Chandra during a courtesy visit at the
latter’s residence on Saturday, August 21.
Navika Kumar,
Group Editor,
Times Network,
Editor-in-Chief,
Times Now
Navbharat
celebrated her
birthday on
Saturday, August
21. Greetings and
birthday wishes
poured in from
colleagues, various
political leaders
and friends and
family across the
spectrum.
GREETINGS!
The birthday of (L-R)
IAS Abhay Kumar,
IAS Inderjeet Yadav,
IAS Abhishek Surana
and IPS Priti Chandra
was on Saturday,
August 21. We wish
them all the best!
Ace model and actor Swati
Jangid looks pretty in pink clad
in a breathtaking sharara outfit.
Rounding off her look with
statement earrings and a prrings
andrrings andair of juttis, Jangid
looks like a true diva.
HAPPY
B’DAY!
PROUDMOMENTFORUEMJAIPUR
A plantation program
was done by the Faspro
team with Anayaye Soch
Seva Sansthan at the
Regal Club located in
Vaishali Nagar. During
this, the models of Miss
Iconic Rajasthan planted
different species of plants
in the club premises.
Models walked the ramp
with posters of different
types of environmental
protection logos on the
occasion.
RAKHI
LOOK!

22082021 first india ahmedabad

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