25072021 first india ahmedabad

Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot: After serving
as the 18th Governor
of Karnataka for seven
years, Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party’s (BJP) vet-
eran leader Vajubhai
Vala is back in his
hometown Rajkot.
With speculations rife
over his political fu-
ture and aspirations,
Vala spoke to First In-
dia on Saturday and
clarified that he will
not be quitting active
politics anytime soon.
“I was, am and will re-
main a party worker of
the BJP,” he said.
Addressing rumours
of his political re-entry
in the state, Vala said,
“
Age is not a criterion of
political activeness. Es-
peciallyforsomeonelike
me, who still has the will
to work like a youngster.
I will always be ready to
work for the BJP
.”
The 84-year-old vet-
eran, who is known for
his sharp administra-
tive skills and
silent political ma-
neuvers also clarified,
“I have no plans to re-
tire. Whatever responsi-
bility is given to me by
the party, I will dedicat-
edly fulfill it.”
Vala also spoke of his
plans to build a temple
for the Rajput commu-
nity
. “We have already
bought 20 acre land at
Vastadi village in Suren-
dranagardistricttounite
different sects Turn to P6
‘No plans to retire from active politics’ headline
ONE DAY AT TIME
Former Karnataka Guv Vajubhai Vala is
back in Rajkot, plans to build temple to
Goddess Bhavani for Rajput community
Vajubhai Vala at his residence in Rajkot.
Faced many challenges from
Day 1, recounts Yediyurappa
New Delhi: Amid
strong indications that
he may resign as Karna-
taka Chief Minister, BS
Yediyurappa on Satur-
day spoke about the
“various challenges” he
faced from the first day
he took office.
Speaking after virtu-
ally inaugurating pro-
jects worth 1,074 million
rupees in Shivamogga,
the 78-year-old strong-
man from Lingayat said
he is pleased to have
made honest efforts to
improve people’s lives.
In recounting his
term as chief minister,
Yediyurappa said his
journey was full of ob-
stacles.
“From the day I took
office as Chief Minister
until now, I had to face
various challenges such
as natural disasters that
the state had Turn to P6
BS Yediyurappa
Eased norms for
fully-jabbed in Maha
Mumbai: The Maha-
rashtra government is
considering granting
exemptions from coro-
navirus-induced re-
strictions to the fully-
vaccinated people, Dep-
uty Chief Minister Ajit
Pawar said on Saturday
.
Speaking to report-
ers, Pawar also said the
government was mull-
ing an extension of the
timings of shops and
restaurants from the
current deadline of 4
pm. He said a decision
on granting relaxations
on the weekends is like-
ly next week. “The state
is thinking of granting
relaxations to those
people who have got
both doses of Covid-19
vaccine. Turn to P6
INDIA
38,119
new cases
515
new fatalities
GUJARAT
39
new cases
00
new fatalities
CORONA CATASTROPHE
KERALA REPORTS
18,531 NEW CASES
Kerala on Saturday
recorded 18,531 fresh
Covid-19 cases pushing
the count to 32,54,064,
with the TPR falling to
below 12 per cent.
HARYANA: LOCKDOWN
EXTENDED TILL AUG 2
Haryana govt on Saturday
issued order to extend
lockdown till August 2,
with some relaxations in
the state amid COVID-19
pandemic outbreak.
COVAXIN FOR KIDS
LIKELY BY SEPT
The trials of Covaxin on
children are underway
and the results are
expected by Septem-
ber, AIIMS director Dr
Randeep Guleria said.
INDIA EXTENDS 02
LIFELINE TO B’DESH
An Oxygen Express
train of the Indian
Railways supplied 200
MT of liquid medical
oxygen to Bangladesh
on Saturday.
CRUCIAL READ
CBI RAIDS
PREMISES OF IAS
OFFICERS IN J&K
Srinagar: CBI on Satur-
day carried out searches
at the offices and homes
of several senior bureau-
crats in nearly 40 loca-
tions. The searches were
carried out in Jammu,
Srinagar, Udhampur,
Rajouri, Anantnag, Bara-
mulla and Delhi. Besides
the bureaucrats, the CBI
also raided close to 20
gun houses/dealers.
BATLA: ARIZ KHAN
CHALLENGES
DEATH PENALTY
New Delhi: Ariz Khan,
who was awarded the
death penalty for the
murder of decorated
Delhi Police Inspector
Mohan Chand Sharma
in Batla House encoun-
ter case, has moved the
Delhi HC challenging his
conviction and sen-
tence. Khan has filed an
appeal against the trial
court verdict.
INDIGO, SPICEJET
AIRLINES STAFF
ARRESTED
New Delhi: Seven per-
sons, including four
staffers of IndiGo and
SpiceJet airlines, were
booked and later ar-
rested by the customs
department at Indira
Gandhi International
Airport (IGI) for alleg-
edly smuggling gold
worth Rs 72 lakh from
Saudi Arabia.
DEATH PENALTY
FOR RAPING,
KILLING MINOR
Sagar: A court here
in Madhya Pradesh
sentenced a 24 yr old
man to death for killing
a 13 yr old girl after
raping her more than
two years ago, pros-
ecution said. The judge
awarded the death
sentence to the convict,
Virendra Adivasi.
Millions sleep
well due to
technologies like
Pegasus: NSO
Jerusalem: Amidst the
raging controversy over
its surveillance soft-
ware Pegasus, Israeli
cybersecurity company
NSO Group has defend-
ed itself by saying,
“Millions of people
around the world are
sleeping well at night,
and safely
walking in
the streets,
thanks to
P e g a s u s
and simi-
lar technologies which
help intelligence agen-
cies and law enforce-
ment agencies around
the world to prevent
and investigate crime,
terrorism, and paedo-
philia rings that are
hiding under the um-
brella of end-to-End en-
cryption apps,”
“NSO, together with
many of the other cyber
intelligence companies
in the world, provides
cyber intelligence tools
for governments be-
cause law Turn to P6
PEGASUS
ROW
ndia’s star weightlifter Mirabai
Chanu created history on Saturday
as she overcame her Rio heart-
break to become the first Indian
weightlifter to win the silver
medal at the Olympic Games.
Chanu also became the first Indian to
win an Olympic medal at the 2020 Tokyo
Games in the Women’s 49kg category.
Chanu managed to lift a total of 202 kg
in the women’s 49kg category to be-
come the second Indian weightlifter
after Karnam Malleswari to win an
Olympic medal. A new Olympic
record was registered by
Mirabai Chanu with a
successful lift of 115kg in
clean and jerk. China’s
Zhihui Hou won the gold
medal in the women’s
49-kg weightlifting
at the Tokyo Olym-
pics, lifting a total
of 210 kg, while
Indonesia’s
Windy Can-
tika Aisah won
the bronze
medal. P7
I
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD
& LUCKNOW
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NO JERK
ACE, AFTER
25 YEARS!
Sumit Nagal wins India’s
first Olympic singles
match after over 2 decades
umit Nagal beat Uzbek-
istan’s Dennis Istomin
6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in his
opening game. The
match lasted 2 hours and 34
mins at the end of which Nagal
set up a second round clash
against Russia’s world No.2
Daniil Medvedev. Nagal is the
first Indian to win a singles
match at the Olympics since
Leander Paes won bronze at
the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Nagal won 1st set but experi-
enced Russian bounced back,
forcing a tie-break in II set and
taking the match into a 3rd.
Nagal, however, held his nerve
& progressed to next round.
S
ONLY CLEAN LIFT!
MIRABAI CHANU WINS SILVER,
INDIA’S FIRST AT TOKYO OLYMPICS
AHMEDABAD l SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 239
BJP’S ‘TOPPLING GAME’ ONGOING IN JHARKHAND?
Conspiring to bring down
J’khand govt, 3 arrested
PTI
Ranchi: Three persons
were arrested from a ho-
tel in Ranchi on Satur-
day for allegedly con-
spiring to topple the coa-
litiongovernmentof the
Jharkhand Mukti Mor-
cha (JMM), Congress
and RJD in Jharkhand.
The JMM claimed that
the BJP was behind the
conspiracy
.
Two of them, named
Abhishek Dubey and
Amit Singh, are govern-
ment employees, as per
sources. While Niwaran
PrasadMahato,thethird
accused,isbelievedtobe
a liquor seller.
Sourcesclaim,thespe-
cialbranchof Jharkhand
Police seized an undis-
closed amount of cash
from the three accused.
Meanwhile, the JMM
alleged that the BJP
was trying to execute
the ‘Madhya Pradesh’
and ‘Karnataka model’
in Jharkhand, a refer-
ence to how non-BJP
governments were top-
pled in the two states.
The tripartite alliance
of the JMM, Congress
and RJD won 47 out of
the 81 seats in the 2019
Jharkhand Assembly
election. Hemant Sor-
en of the Jharkhand
Mukti Morcha (JMM)
was then appointed
CM of the state.The
BJP, had managed to
secure 25 seats in the
Jharkhand Legislative
Assembly.
The BJP is trying
to apply the
Karnataka and
Madhya Pradesh Model
here in Jharkhand.
But we won’t allow BJP
to do the same.
—Supriya Bhattacharya,
JMM General Secretary
THE 3 ACCUSED...
Two of them, named
Abhishek Dubey and
Amit Singh, are govern-
ment employees, as per
sources. While Niwaran
Prasad Mahato, the third
accused, is believed to
be a liquor seller.
Hemant Soren
MUST READ
DEATH TOLL IN
GAS LEAK BLAST
UP TO 9 P3
AAP PROTESTS FUEL
PRICE HIKE ACROSS
GUJARAT P2

First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With po-
litical parties demon-
strating against infla-
tion of fuel prices
across the state, the
Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) organized pro-
tests in various cities
and towns on Saturday
.
But, before protests
could be mounted on a
major scale, demonstra-
tors belonging to the
party were arrested by
police. AAP workers
had staged a protest
equipped with posters
and banners at the
Ahmedabad district
panchayat. They chant-
edsloganssuchas“Have
mercy on the country,
make petrol-diesel
cheaper”.Thepartyalso
alleged that the Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
government had been
raising petrol/diesel
prices to hit people be-
cause of decline in tax
revenue due to the COV-
ID-19 pandemic.
Ironically, fuel prices
have increased over 43
times since the pandem-
ic hit the country
.
According to the
press release issued by
the party
, over 500 work-
ers in Ahmedabad and
Surat, 250 in Rajkot and
200workersinVadodara
were detained while
protesting against price
hike of fuel. Protests
were also held in the dis-
tricts of Gandhinagar,
Mehsana, Dahod, Juna-
gadh, and Jamnagar.
In Vadodara, workers
gathered at Gandhina-
gar House and demon-
strated by sarcastically
questioning, “Petrol is
cheaper? Or is diesel
cheaper?” Party leaders
have made it known
that protests will con-
tinue aggressively
across Gujarat if fuel
prices are not brought
under control soon.
NEWS
AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2021
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Work-
ing president of the
Gujarat Pradesh
Congress Committee
and vocal Patidar
leader Hardik Patel
has written to Sau-
rashtra University
about granting for-
mer chief minister
Keshubhai Patel an
honorary DLitt de-
gree, even if posthu-
mously, in keeping
with its promise
made last year.
The university’s
syndicate had decid-
ed to award honorary
DLitt degrees to
some dignitaries, in-
cluding the former
chief minister, in a
meeting held on No-
vember 5, 2020.
“Since then, the
university senate has
met on December 19,
2020, and March 28,
2021. The formality
of awarding the de-
gree could have been
completed during
these meetings. I am
surprised that they
are yet to give him
the due respect?” Pa-
tel asserted in the let-
ter.
He further said
that the dilly-dally-
ing seems intention-
al injustice to the
later chief minister.
Last month, he
wrote to the presi-
dent seeking posthu-
mous a Bharat Ratna
for Sardar Vallabhb-
hai Patel. It is to be
noted that Keshub-
hai who died on Octo-
ber 29, 2020, was a
popular chief minis-
ter from the Bharati-
ya Janata Party who
had left the party and
created his own after
being marginalized
politically
.
‘Where is the
DLitt for late CM
Keshubhai Patel?’
Hardik Patel
Hardik Patel
reminds Sau
Uni of last
year’s promise
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Three teams
from the Vadodara Mu-
nicipal Corporation's
health department raid-
ed the Sharda Gruh Ud-
yog and the Hathikhana
market, where turmer-
ic, chilli and coriander
powder were being
sold at below-market
prices. Samples have
been sent to a laborato-
ry for analysis.
The team recovered
2,818kg of turmeric and
chillies worth a total of
Rs3.75 lakh from Shar-
da Gruh Udyog and
40.5kg of chilli, turmer-
ic and coriander from
the Hathikhana market
worth Rs8,040 during
the raid, which was con-
tinued from noon to late
into the night on Friday
.
Following the discov-
ery that the spices were
being sold at prices that
were lower than that of
the market, officials
have been conducting a
search operation for the
last six days at the Shar-
da Gruh Udyog godown
run by trader Shahnad
Hussain Ahmed Khan
Pathan at Hujrat Tekra,
behind the Bhutdizam-
pa bus depot. This re-
sulted in Friday’s raid.
Simultaneously three
teams from the health
branch raided two shop-
keepers selling inside
Hathikhana market.
From Ramesh Ashu-
da, who owns a shop
called Varun Traders in
Hathikhana Bazaar, the
teams seized 75kg items
worthRs5,040wasfound,
including 5kg Kumthi
chilli powder worth
Rs1,500.Theyalsoraided
Madhuvan traders run
by Hiranand Motwani
and seized 28kg of Hot
TejaChillipowderworth
Rs5,040. Investigations
are ongoing.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat High Court while
suspending a Preven-
tion of Anti-Social Ac-
tivities (PASA) order
against four persons
from Bharuch, orally
observed, “If the state
can invoke PASA
against citizens for pos-
sessing two remdesivir
injections for a family
member’s treatment,
then will the govern-
ment take the same ac-
tion against a political
leader who distributed
5,000 injections in an-
other city? Should not
this petition be clubbed
with the public interest
litigation (PIL) moved
against the leader?”
Single bench Justice
Paresh Upadhyay was
hearing a petition
moved by four persons,
who have been arrested
under a PASA order is-
sued by the Bharuch
district magistrate un-
der the Prevention of
Black Marketing &
Maintenance of Sup-
plies of Essential Com-
modities Act. They had
challenged the order
pleading to quash and
set it aside.
The court wanted to
know if the govern-
ment or the state civil
supplies department
would answer the ques-
tions raised by it about
the PASA order against
persons in possession
of two remdesivir injec-
tions and public felici-
tation of a leader who
had 1,000 injections.
The high court sus-
pended the PASA order
against the four and
stated that till the mat-
ter is disposed of, no
coercive action can be
taken against them.
Experts see increase in TB cases as nCoV numbers decline
First India Bureau
Surat: A review meet-
ing between the state
health department and
authorities from the
New Civil Hospital was
conducted to look into
the city’s tuberculosis
cases. According to a re-
port presented at the
meeting, around 1,400
persons in the city get
infected with tuberculo-
sis each week.
According to health
experts,theincidenceof
TB cases in the city re-
duced during the second
wave of COVID-19 as the
number of COVID-19 pa-
tients increased. Many
people did not get tested
for tuberculosis because
they were afraid of the
virus, according to the
specialists. However, as
thenumberof COVID-19
cases declines, the num-
ber of TB patients has
been rising.
“The number of TB
patients has increased,
which is a good sign,”
said Arvind Pandey,
head of the tuberculosis
department at SMIMER
hospital. “People with
modest symptoms did
not go to the hospital for
check-ups during the
secondwave.Therewere
a few instances where
COVID-19 patients
showed signs and symp-
toms of tuberculosis.”
He added: “Roughly
1,400 to 1,500 instances
are being found per
week at the moment,
compared to around 700
during the lockdown.
We intend to begin more
and more diagnoses in
order to detect more
cases.”
The review meeting
was attended by Dr Sat-
ish Makwana, State TB
officer; Dr Hritambhara
Mehta, dean of Govt
Medical College; and of-
ficials from New Civil
Hospital and SMIMER
Hospital. “We have to
eradicate tuberculosis
from the state by 2025,”
Dr Makwana remarked.
“We want to do so and
will ensure smooth col-
laborationbetweenstate
and local teams in order
to complete this project
quickly
,” he added.
HEALTH SCREENING
People with modest symptoms
did not go to the hospital for
check-ups during the second
wave, doctors say
New Civil Hospital had seen a massive influx of COVID-19 patients during the second wave of infections.
—FILE
PHOTO
VMC health teams raid
shops of spice sellers
HC suspends PASA order against
four for possession of remdesivir
Seize items worth
`3.75 lakh based
on reports of below-
market prices
It also asked
about the govt’s
willingness to be
held accountable
for a BJP leader’s
distribution of
injections
The raids lasted from noon till
late into the night on Friday.
AAP PROTESTS FUEL
AAP PROTESTS FUEL PRICE
PRICE
HIKE ACROSS GUJARAT
HIKE ACROSS GUJARAT
SEVERALHUNDREDSOFWORKERSWEREDETAINEDBYPOLICEINAHMEDABAD,RAJKOT,SURATANDVADODARA
AAP leaders and workers being detained by police personnel for protesting against
fuel price hike in Ahmedabad city on Saturday. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI

GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: A
15-year-old left
home and travelled
to Delhi on a train
on Friday
, after leav-
ing behind an audio
message for his par-
ents, who lodged a
complaint at Bapu-
nagar police station
late on Friday even-
ing when they could
not trace him.
Vishvas (named
changed) is a Class XI
science stream stu-
dent, and his parents
are a working couple
with father Sudesh
(name changed) em-
ployed at a plastic
manufacturing facto-
ry and mother Su-
lochana (named
changed) at a local
company
. On Friday
morning, after his
parents left home for
some work, Vishvas
and his friend were at
home. When they re-
turned home and did
not find him in the
house, they assumed
that he had gone to at-
tend tuition classes.
After he did not re-
turn home, they
calledhimanddidnot
receive a response.
Theylaterfoundan
audio message on his
mobile phone, where
hesays,“Idon’tliketo
study and don’t want
to continue with it. I
will not return, my
friend is with me.”
Teenager runs away,
takes `60K, leaves
voice note for parents
First India Bureau
Surat: A man from
Odisha was arrested
for alleged possession
of 1.4 tonnes of ganja
worth Rs1.14 crore,
which was stored in an
apartment in Palsana
taluka of Gujarat’s
Surat district, police
said on Saturday
.
Based on a tip-off, a
team of Surat’s Special
OperationsGroup(SOG)
raided a flat on the sec-
ondfloorof aresidential
buildinginSankivillage
and recovered 1.14
tonnes of ganja or can-
nabis, an official said.
TheSOGteamnabbed
Vikas Gowda (19), a na-
tiveof Chetulavillagein
Odisha’s Ganjam dis-
trict, with the contra-
band, while three others
have been declared as
wanted in the case, he
said.
Wanted accused Babu
Nahak and Vikram
Paridha had procured
thecontrabandfromone
Sibram Nahak and were
planningtosellthesame,
the official said, adding
that efforts are on to nab
the three others.
Police added that the
stock of cannabis had
been transported from
Ganjam district of Odi-
shatoSuratbyroad.The
house was used as a go-
down for storing stock
and from here it was dis-
tributedinsmallpackets
around the city
.
It is to be noted that
while cultivation of can-
nabis for industrial pur-
poses such as making
industrial hemp or for
horticulturaluseislegal
in India, it is illegal to
consume ganja, or mari-
juana.
Police officials also
said that an investiga-
tion will reveal the ex-
tent of the drug-smug-
gling operation and the
mastermind behind the
network.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Gujarat
is very likely to witness
an “active wet spell” till
July 27, with the likeli-
hood of light to moder-
ate rainfall at several
places and isolated
heavy to very heavy
rainfall, the India Mete-
orological Department
(IMD) said on Saturday
.
The IMD also issued
a warning for fisher-
men not to venture into
the Arabian Sea, along
and off north and south
coasts, between July 26
and July 28, in view of
strong wind conditions.
According to the
State Emergency Oper-
ation Centre (SEOC),
Gondal taluka of Rajkot
district in Gujarat’s
Saurashtra region re-
ceived 119mm rainfall
in just four hours be-
tween noon and 4 pm on
Saturday, causing wa-
ter-logging at many
places in the town.
Some low-lying areas
of Rajkot city were also
inundated due to a
heavy spell of rains, it
was stated.
Lodhika taluka in the
district received 51mm
rainfall and Kotdasan-
gani 45mm rain, the
SEOC said.
“Gujarat is very
likely to experience an
active wet spell for the
next three days,” the
IMD’s Ahmedabad
centre said. Most plac-
es in all the districts
of Gujarat will receive
light to moderate rain-
fall till July 28, the
forecast said.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar/Surat:
The state has identi-
fied five patients in-
fected with the re-
cently added Kappa
variant of the novel
coronavirus, officials
said on Saturday.
According to the
state government’s
health and family wel-
fare department, three
of these cases have
been found in Jamna-
gar, while Godhara and
Mehsana account for
one each. The cases
were reported in
March and June, and
the samples sent for ge-
nome sequencing.
“As per the ICMR
(Indian Council of
Medical Research)
guidelines, the Kappa
variant is of interest
but not of concern.
Contact tracing was
followed of the pa-
tients and none found
any symptom of COV-
ID-19,” the department
said in a release.
Meanwhile, in Guja-
rat’s first such case, a
three-year-old child is
under treatment at the
Surat Civil Hospital af-
ter contracting mucor-
mycosis. Doctors had
wanted to conduct a
biopsy for further in-
vestigation after the
infection was found in
a CT scan, but parents
have now shifted the
child to a private hos-
pital.
Five new oxygen
plants have been set up
at the Ahmedabad Civ-
il Hospital to cater to
increased needs for
medical oxygen supply
as part of preparations
towards a possible
third wave.
The oxygen plant
prepared by DRDO will
be able to produce oxy-
gen at 1,000 litters per
minute.
First India Bureau
Amedabad: Four chil-
dren and five others
have succumbed to se-
vere burn injuries
they had sustained in
an explosion and fire
triggered by a leaking
LPG cylinder in a
room on the outskirts
of Ahmedabad city, a
police official said on
Saturday
.
The incident oc-
curred on the night of
July 20. While eight vic-
tims died in the last cou-
ple of days during treat-
ment, another one suc-
cumbed on Saturday
. All
of them were from Mad-
hya Pradesh, he said.
“Leakage of gas from
an LPG cylinder had
triggered an explosion
and fire, in which 10 per-
sons, including children
and women, had suf-
fered severe burn inju-
ries. Nine of them suc-
cumbed while undergo-
ing treatment at the
Civil Hospital,” said in-
spector PR Jadeja of
Aslali police station.
The tenth victim, Ra-
jasthan-native Kulsinh
Bhairwa (30), is in a
critical condition.
The labourers and
their family members
were sleeping in the
smallroomwhenthegas
fromtheircylinderstart-
ed leaking. When their
neighbour knocked on
their door to alert them
about it, one of the la-
bourers got up and
switched on the light,
which triggered a spark
and led to the explosion
due to concentration of
gas. The 10 injured per-
sons included the neigh-
bour who had come to
alert them, and all of
them were rushed to the
civil hospital for treat-
ment, he said.
The deceased have
beenidentifiedasRamp-
yari Ahirwar (56), Ra-
jubhai Ahirwar (31),
Sonu Ahirwar (21), See-
ma Ahirwar (25), Sarju
Ahirwar (22), Vaishali
(7), Nitesh (6), Payal (4),
and Akash (2), all na-
tives of Guna district in
Madhya Pradesh.
MP Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
has announced a finan-
cial assistance of Rs4
lakh each to the next kin
of the deceased persons.
Man held with ganja worth over `1 crore in Surat
HIGH CRIMES
Special ops group
seizes 1.14 tonnes of
cannabis from flat
used as godown
Officials raided the house in Sanki village late Friday night.
Man arrested for rape
of paralysed woman
Bhavesh Barot
Himmatnagar: Local
police have arrested
Babu Nanji Damor
(55) for allegedly rap-
ing a woman near the
Vijaynagar town in
the Sabarkantha dis-
trict. Damor had been
absconding for the last
three days. The wom-
an, who is paralysed,
lives with her parents.
The accused, who is
said to be married with
two children, allegedly
barged into the victim’s
home. When the ac-
cused saw the victim
alone in her home and
incapacitated due to her
paralysis, he raped her
and fled the scene.
The Chithoda police
arrested the accused
near the Bhiloda town.
According to police, the
victim’s statement has
not been recorded as
she is mute. The woman
was also taken to a hos-
pital for medical treat-
ment.
IMD predicts ‘active wet spell’ for Gujarat
3-yr-oldhasmucormycosisasGujnotes5Kappacases
Parts of Ahmedabad were waterlogged after a heavy downpour on Saturday evening.
Damor had been absconding.
People wait to get inoculated at Ahmedabad’s Tagore Hall on
Saturday, when 2,96,092 people got the jab.
8,14,265
TOTAL RECOVERED
42
RECOVERED
IN A DAY
8,24,683
TOTAL CASES
39 CASES
IN A DAY
10,076
TOTAL DEATHS
00 DEATHS
IN A DAY
342
10 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD
ACTIVE CASES
COVID-19
UPDATE
8,14,265
DEATH TOLL IN GAS LEAK BLAST UP TO 9
Madhya Pradesh CM Chouhan sanctions `4L ex-gratia aid to families of the deceased, who all belonged to MP’s Guna district
The gas leak that caused the explosion occurred in a small room where the labourers and their families were sleeping.
NDRF TEAMS HEAD TO MAHARASHTRA
3 of family killed in
Amreliroadaccident
First India Bureau
Amreli: A couple
and their two-
year-old son were
killed on Saturday
when their motor-
cycle was hit by a
speeding truck in
Amreli district,
police said.
The incident hap-
pened on the out-
skirts of Rajula
town here when the
man, his wife and
son were on their
way to Chotra vil-
lage, according to
police officials.
“ J a g u b h a i
Vaghela (28), his
wife Jayshree (26)
and son Alpesh
died on the spot af-
ter a truck coming
from the opposite
direction hit their
motorcycle. The
truck driver fled
from the spot and
is absconding. Ef-
forts were on to
nab him,” the Ra-
jula police station
official said.
—PHOTO
BY
HANIF
SINDHI
CONFESSION
—PHOTO
BY
HANIF
SINDHI

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol2IssueNo.239
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
IN-DEPTH
MIRABAI CHANU
CLINCHES SILVER
MEDAL AT
TOKYO OLYMPICS
pening day haul of a
silver medal by the
diminutive Mirabai
Chanu must be wel-
comed with full-
throated cheer. This medal has
helped wipe out the sad memo-
ries of Rio Olympics when the
world’s number two lifter failed
to register even a single lift in
her three lifts and the result
board showed DNF or Did Not
Finish. At that moment Mirabai
wept. So what if she missed out
on gold, it is creditable that Mi-
rabai did not allow the Rio mo-
ment to haunt her in Tokyo. It
showed her determination to
bounce back and her coach’s
faith in her.
Her medal also helped over-
come the setback suffered by
Deepika Kumari in the mixed
team event in which she was a
strong medal contender. There’s
still hope for her in the individu-
al event. There were other disap-
pointments too but their efforts
should also be counted. After all,
no sportsman/woman likes to let
down his or her country at a big
stage like the Olympics.
O
hen Prime Minis-
ter PV Narasimha
Rao and Finance
Minister Dr Man-
mohan Singh
skippered India’s economy
on the path of liberalization
and moved away from placid
waters of socialism, excite-
ment set in. Changes, first
slow, gradually picked up
speed. Consumers were left
spoilt for choice. The old Fi-
ats, Ambassadors and even
some models of Maruti disap-
peared from the market as
new brand names with better
engines and technology
gained popularity. It is hard
to believe how the telecom
sector got revolutionized
making us forget about the
tedious process of making a
trunk call. Air travel became
no longer restricted to a few
as incomes rose and private
airlines entered the market.
Consumersbecamekingwith
the market becoming more
competitive. Wide range of
branded clothes, footwear, re-
frigerators, television sets---
it was mind boggling. As in-
comes were higher than be-
fore and the banking sector
also underwent change, af-
fordability was not an issue.
Then digital technology be-
came the engine to take us
onwards on the journey
.
It is thanks to the continu-
ation of that policy of eco-
nomic reforms that we can
dream big and get what we
want. The flip side of the pro-
gress has been the market in-
fluencingourchoicesthrough
social media like Google,
WhatsApp, Twitter and Face-
book leading to debate over
individual’s privacy
.
Thirty years of reforms
having proved beneficial for
the economy and the people,
there is now demand to usher
in the next set of reforms.
Government moving out of
all businesses and reforming
the agriculture sector are
next on agenda, the latter has
become an irritant already
.
WAITING FOR NEXT
GEN OF REFORMS
30 years of reforms
having proved beneficial
for economy people, the
next set of reforms. Govt
moving out of all
businesses and
reforming agri are next
on agenda, latter has
become an irritant already
W
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
We are shaped by our
thoughts; we become what
we think. When the mind is
pure, joy follows like a
shadow that never leaves.
—Buddha
Smriti Z Irani
@smritiirani
What a great start for @
WeAreTeamIndia at #Tokyo2020!
Heartiest congratulations to @
mirabai_chanu on winning and
doing the Nation proud.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
I spoke to Mira and congratulated
her. Her incredible spirit has
inspired the whole nation!
“Reaching Olympics via revamp
road: India’s Tokyo contingent is
our most diverse ever, with many
firsts”. #TeamIndia #Cheers4India
TOP TWEET
ajaRao’s(1909-2006)firstnovel
“Kanthapura” was published
inLondonin1938byAllanand
Unwin. They published all Dr
Radhakrishnan’s books. Ma-
hatma Gandhi is the inspira-
tion behind the “Kanthapu-
ra”. EM Forster called it, “The
finest novel to come out of In-
dia in recent years.” Raja Rao
spent many years in France.
He studied at Montpellier and
Sorbonne, the most famous
universities of France.
I first met him in New York
in March 1963. Earlier I had
reviewed his “The Serpent
and the Rope” for All India
Radio. Its range is cosmopol-
itan and combines fiction
with philosophy
.
Raja settled in Texas USA
in the 1980’s, taught at the
University till he passed in
2006. I had something to do
with his being awarded the
Padma Bhushan in 1968.
Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira
Gandhi knew him well. In my
book of Tributes to Nehru-
‘The Legacy of Nehru’, Raja
Rao wrote a very long and
complex essay on Nehru.
They met for the first time
in Switzerland in 1936. e My-
robalan in the Palm, was ly-
ing ill in a sanitarian in Laus-
anne. Nehru’s first words
were, “Malraux spoke to me
about you in Paris?” For ten
years he was President de
Gaulle’s minister for culture.
His most famous and widely
read novel is, “Man’s Fate”.
At the age of 76 an ailing Mal-
raux was keen to get to East
Pakistan in 1971 to help the
Awami League in its struggle
against Pakistan. Indira
Gandhi persuaded him to
drop the idea. Raja Rao was
his closest Indian friend be-
sides Jawaharlal Nehru.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
R
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India
Mahatma Gandhi is the
inspiration behind the
“Kanthapura”. EM Forster
called it, “The finest novel to
come out of India in recent
years.” Raja Rao spent
many years in France. He
studied at Montpellier and
Sorbonne, the most famous
universities of France.
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, 78712
1808, Pearl Street,
Austin, Texas, 78701,
USA
Dear Natwar,
You must wonder what is happening to me-no, nothing else than that I have been working very-
very hard on a book, and (you will be happy to hear) it is a novel, the first novel after I wrote The
Serpent and the Rope some twenty years ago. This time, however, the novel has become long,
very long indeed-some sixteen hundred pages long, and it will be in three volumes (1) The Hunt
In Himalayas. (2) In the Tiger’s Mouth (3) The Myrobalan in the Palm of your hand. And there will
be two appendices, as part of the novel. A letter to Andre Malraux, and a final letter from Michel (a
character in the novel) on the presence of good and evil in the world etc. as you see, it is a most
ambitious task, but it has been exciting to write. The main theme is, the ultimate dialogue is not
between the East and West but between the Brahman rabbi, the Brahmin this time happens to
be a mathematician and the rabbi is a Polish Jew, who is a specialist in computer linguistics and
the story moves backwards and forwards between India and Europe (as in The Serpent and the
Rope) but this time America too is in the picture, mainly Princeton. I have worked so hard on this
book for three years that I am well-nigh exhausted, and I will therefore now take a holiday going
to Europe and India, and Europe again. Tell me if you will be in London at the end of December
or in February, for I would so much like to see you again and talk to you, of my book and of so
many other things. I am going to India fo Commonwealth Literary Conference and will be there
for about six weeks- my trip will be short because I am afraid of falling ill with asthma, and you
remember how terrible it was some years ago.
Also, though the book is finished in its first version I have to verify many facts, and add
a few more passages, philosophical or mathematical and again cut a few pages if I can. So
the book will not be ready for publication till January 1978, at the earliest. It has been most
exalting to write, and this time my work is sadder and my themes more difficult than
ever before. However, we might be able to talk about all this when
we meet- and I hope we can.
Yours Affably,
Raja
PHILOSOPHER,
PIONEER, POET:
RAJA RAO

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No plans ...
of the Rajput commu-
nity under one reli-
gious umbrella by
building Bhavani
Mata (Goddess Bhava-
ni) temple, who is our
deity,” stated Vala. A
Karadiya Rajput,
Vala also clarified,
“Our community
power will not be
used for creating po-
litical pressure or
have a say in politics
by any means. The
idea is only to unite
the community and
help solve social is-
sues. This plan has
been in the works for
around 10-12 years
but could not be im-
plemented.”
Millions sleep...
enforcement agen-
cies around the world
are in the dark and
there’s no regulatory
solution that allows
them to monitor ma-
licious acts on in-
stant messaging and
social media”, the
company said.
On the controversy
around its snooping
software that has
rocked the world, the
spokesperson assert-
ed that “NSO does not
operate the technol-
ogy, nor do we have
visibility to the data
collected. We are do-
ing our best to help
creating a safer
world.”
NSO in a written
response to PTI in
October 2019, when
the issue first came
to the limelight with
reports of misuse in
India, had said that it
considers “any other
use of our products
than to prevent seri-
ous crime and terror-
ism a misuse, which
is contractually pro-
hibited”.
Without confirm-
ing, or denying, if
the software was sold
to India, the company
had said that its
“products are li-
censed to govern-
ment intelligence
and law enforcement
agencies for the sole
purpose of prevent-
ing and investigating
terror and serious
crime”. —PTI
Faced many...
never faced in the
past and the Corona
pandemic, which dev-
astated lives. Now
once again, there are
a situation similar to
a flood,” Yediyurappa
pointed out.
Indicating that
Monday could be his
last day in office,
Yediyurappa had re-
cently said that based
on the instructions
that the central lead-
ers will give him on
July 25, he will begin
“his work” from July
26. His government
will serve two years
in office on July 26.
Ye d i y u r a p p a ’ s
emotional comments
almost confirm that
he is on his way to
step down as Chief
minister. The final
announcement is
likely to be made in
the next few days.
Party Sources said
the central leader-
ship has shortlisted a
dozen names taking
into account the 2023
assembly polls. —PTI
Eased norms...
This will encourage
citizens to get inocu-
lated,” he said.
Pawar said de-
mands are raised to
extend the timings of
shops and restau-
rants from 4 pm to 7
pm. “We are thinking
of extending the tim-
ing for shops and res-
taurants, but the fi-
nal decision will be
taken by the CM. We
are meeting with ex-
perts on Monday af-
ter which a decision
will be taken on re-
laxations on week-
ends,” the deputy CM
said.
He said the govern-
ment was aiming to
vaccinate more peo-
ple compared to the
previous month. Pa-
war said the state
government was tak-
ing various measures
like augmenting the
medical infrastruc-
ture anticipating a
third wave of the cor-
onavirus pandemic.
“There are reports
about the possibility
of a third wave.
Based on reports of
the high occupancy
of beds in hospitals,
oxygen beds, ventila-
tor beds, and the de-
mand for medical ox-
ygen and other facili-
ties in the first and
second waves, we are
preparing to brace
for a possible third
wave of the pandem-
ic in the Pune dis-
trict,” he said.
FROM PG 1
INDIA
06
CRUCIAL READ
West Bengal: A health worker was arrested from West
Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on Saturday on
the charge of operat-
ing unauthorised
Covid-19 vaccination
camps in the state,
a police officer said.
The arrest was made a
month after the police
apprehended one per-
son for allegedly posing as an IAS officer and organis-
ing a vaccination camp in Kolkata’s Kasba area.
HEALTH WORKER ARRESTED OVER
FAKE COVID-19 VACCINE CAMPS
Washington: Expanding the US-India cooperation on
security, defence and counterterrorism and matters
like the situation in
Afghanistan, Quad,
COVID-19 and cli-
mate change will be
on top of the agenda
of Secretary of State
Antony Blinken dur-
ing his maiden trip to
India next week, according to a senior American of-
ficial. Antony Blinken is scheduled to arrive in Delhi
late on Tuesday (July 27). He is scheduled to attend
a full slate of engagements the next day.
SAFER WORLD: DEFENCE TIES, AFGHAN
ON US SECY OF STATE’S INDIA VISIT
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh: A court in Madhya
Pradesh’s Sagar on Friday sentenced a 24-year-old
man to death for
killing an underage
girl after raping her
over two years ago,
the prosecution said.
The judge of the
special court set up
under the Protection
of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act
awarded the death sentence to the convict, Virendra
Adivasi, under the relevant Section of the Indian Pe-
nal Code (IPC) for killing the girl, Public Prosecutor
Anil Kumar Katare said Besides, the court awarded a
seven-year rigorous prison sentence to the convict
under the Indian Penal Code for kidnapping the girl
and an additional ten years after finding him guilty
of “procuration of minor girl”, he added.
DEATH PENALTY FOR MP MAN FOR
RAPE, MURDER OF UNDERAGE GIRL
Panna: Five persons were killed and 18 others
injured in four incidents of lightning strikes in
Madhya Pradesh's
Panna district, the
district officials
said on Saturday.
According to
district authorities,
the incidents took
place at Ureha,
Pipariya Daun, Choumukha and Simrakhurd
villages of Panna district on Friday. While Ureha,
Pipariya Daun and Choumukha villages reported
one casualty each, two women were killed in the
lightning strike at Simrakhurd, it was stated.
5 KILLED, 18 INJURED IN LIGHTNING
STRIKES IN MADHYA PRADESH
New Delhi: Roman Catholic priest George Ponniah,
who was booked for making controversial remarks
against the PM was
arrested at Madurai
while he was rush-
ing to Chennai on
Saturday morning.
A special team of
police of Madurai
rural district
intercepted a car in which the parish priest from Pa-
navilai was travelling. The IG said that Ponniah, who
has been booked for promoting enmity between
different religious groups, was then handed over to
the Kanniyakumari police for further investigation.
KANNIYAKUMARI PRIEST BOOKED
FOR REMARKS AGAINST PM MODI
VIRUS MUTATION, SUSCEPTIBLE
POPULATION MAY TRIGGER 3RD
WAVE
Government informed 3rd Covid wave may occur because of mutations
in the virus or due to the available pool of susceptible population
New Delhi: The third
Covid wave may occur
either because of muta-
tions in the virus or due
to the available pool of
susceptible population
Lok Sabha was in-
formed on Friday
.
In a written reply
, Un-
ion Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya
said vaccination pro-
tects from severe mani-
festation of the disease
and improves herd im-
munity, and is accord-
ingly likely to mitigate
the impact COVID-19
may have with any fu-
ture resurgence.
On warnings by
health experts and au-
thorities about a prob-
able advent of a third
wave of the coronavi-
rus in the form of its
Delta variant, which is
likely to affect children,
Mandaviya clarified
there is no scientific
evidence either in India
or globally to show that
children get dispropor-
tionately infected with
COVID-19, including its
Delta variant.
On preparedness to
combat the intensity of
the third wave, he said
the ministry monitors
the trajectory of Covid
as per details provided
by states.
Social distancing goes for a toss as huge crowd seen at Delhi’s market amit Covid-19 crisis.
New Delhi The Centre is purchasing
Covishield and Covaxin doses at the
rate of Rs 205 and Rs 215 per dose,
and there is only a marginal difference
in the price. Minister of State for Health
Bharati Pravin Pawar said that the
government is not facing any difficulty
in procuring and arranging vaccines.
‘NO SHORTAGE OF VAX, ONLY
SLIGHT DIFFERENCE IN PRICE’
New Delhi The Delta variant of
SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to be
more transmissible than other vari-
ants of concern, however, it cannot
be speculated that this variant by
itself can give rise to a third wave of
COVID-19 in the country, Lok Sabha
was informed on Friday.
‘CAN’T SAY IF DELTA VARIANT
CAN GIVE RISE TO 3RD WAVE’
` 15 LAKH TO
KIN OF JOURNOS
New Delhi: The
Odisha government
has sanctioned
compensation of
Rs 2.55 crore to
the family members
of 17 journalists of
the state who died
due to COVID-19.
CM Naveen Patnaik
approved a proposal
in this regard by
the Information and
Public Relations.
New Delhi: President
Ram Nath Kovind while
addressing the annual
Asadha Poornima -
Dharma Chakra Day
organised by the Inter-
national Buddhist Con-
federation (IBC)
through a video mes-
sage, on Saturday said
the world is reeling un-
der the impact of COV-
ID-19 and needs the
healing touch of com-
passion, kindness and
selflessness more than
ever before.
These universal val-
ues propagated by Bud-
dhism need to be adopt-
ed by all in their
thoughts and actions,
he said at the event.
World Needs
Kindness:
President
INX MEDIA
CASE: COURT
NOTICE TO ED
President Ram Nath Kovind
New Delhi: A court in
Delhi on Saturday
sought the response of
the Enforcement Direc-
torate (ED) on an appli-
cation moved by former
Union Minister P Chid-
ambaram seeking vari-
ous documents related
to the INX Media money
laundering case. Spe-
cial Judge M K Nagpal
issued notice to the ED
and sought its response
by August 9.
The court was hear-
ing an application
moved by advocate Ar-
shdeep Singh Khurana
on behalf of Chidam-
baram, seeking a direc-
tion to the ED to supply
various documents
along with the
chargesheet filed in the
case.
It also sought that the
ED rectify the discrep-
ancies in the page num-
bering of the record
and also supply missing
documents.
Chidambaram was
arrested by the Central
Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) in the INX Media
corruption case on Au-
gust21,2019.OnOctober
16 that year, the ED ar-
rested him in a related
money-laundering case.
Six days later, on Oc-
tober 22, the apex court
granted bail to Chidam-
baram in the case
lodged by the CBI.
Farmers know how to
teach a lesson: Tikait
At Sidhu’s party,Jakhar guns
for Rawat for‘forgetting him’
Shilpa denies link
with porn film racket
Hundreds evacuated
in flood-hit Goa
New Delhi: Farmer
leader Rakesh Tikait on
Saturday once again
warned the Centre over
the three legislations
against which the farm-
ers are holding protests.
He said that farmers
know how to teach a les-
son to people who ig-
nore them.
“The Kisan Parlia-
ment has awakened the
deaf and dumb govern-
ment. The farmer also
knows how to run Par-
liament and teach a les-
son to those who neglect
him in the village. No-
body should forget
that,” Tikait, the
spokesperson of
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU), said in a tweet
posted .
He also called on the
farmers to be united “to
save the soul and free-
dom of India”.
Tikait’s comments
came on the third day
of farmers’ protest near
Parliament where mon-
soon session is being
held. The sit-in, which
the protesters call
‘Kisan Sansad’ began at
Jantar Mantar on
Thursday amid heavy
security
.
New Delhi: As Navjot
Singh Sidhu took
charge as the new Pun-
jab Congress chief, the
outgoing state presi-
dent Sunil Jakhar used
his time on stage to
openly express his an-
ger over the way he was
treated by the party’s
Punjab affairs in-
charge Harish Rawat.
Directly addressing
Rawat, Jakhar picked
on him for forgetting to
invite him for the
change of guard in the
state unit. “Rawat sa-
hib, today I am talking
like a worker. And a
worker should always
be forgiven for whatev-
er he may say. You did
not remember Sunil
Jakhar today. Who was
the one supposed to
hand over the keys to
you of this house? Sunil
Jakhar is a dyed-in-
wool Congressman.
Sources close to Jakhar
said that he was irked
by the fact that while
Rawat had personally
asked other senior lead-
ers of the Punjab Con-
gress to come for the
event, he had not invit-
ed the outgoing state
president.
Mumbai: Raj Kundra
made erotica, not porn:
Shilpa Shetty denies
link with porn racket in
a latest development in
the controversial porn
case involving Shilpa
Shetty’s husband Raj
Kundra, the Bollywood
actress has denied her
involvement with the
company or its nature
of content and has
pointed fingers at Kun-
dra’s brother-in-law.
The investigative
team is looking for
money trail and corre-
sponding emails, which
will incriminate the ac-
cused and his alleged
involvement in porno-
graphic content.
According to police
sources, Crime Branch
officials recorded
Shilpa Shetty’s state-
ment in the case. The
actress has denied her
involvement in the com-
pany, claiming she was
not aware of the exact
content of HotShots.
Panaji: One person
died, around 1,000 hous-
es were damaged and
hundreds of people
evacuated from low-ly-
ing parts inundated due
to heavy rains and over-
flowing of rivers as Goa
on Friday reeled under
one of the worst floods
in nearly 40 years, the
state government said.
Chief Minister
Pramod Sawant told re-
porters that the floods
had badly hit talukas of
Sattari, Bicholim, Pon-
da, Dharbandora, Bar-
dez and Pernem, while
other areas also suf-
fered damage.
He said there was a
report of a woman
drowning in Dharban-
dora taluka but a con-
firmation on the exact
cause of the death was
awaited.
The chief minister
visited certain affected
areas in Bicholim talu-
ka in the afternoon to
monitor rescue and re-
lief operations.
Rakesh Tikait during the protest
Navjot Singh Harish Rawat
Raj Kundra Shilpa Shetty
43 PEOPLE HELD

T
he Olympic Games
are often hailed as a
neutral celebration
of athletic achievement.
“The Olympic Games are
not about politics,” wrote
the International Olympic
Committee president,
Thomas Bach, in the
Guardian last year.
In reality, the games
have long been a platform
for soft power: the use of
culture and values to shape
people’s opinions in order
to achieve political out-
comes — particularly in-
ternationally
.
Regardless of how many
medals are won or lost, this
is the real game of the
Olympics.
And for the host coun-
try, the opening ceremony
offers an unparalleled
platform for building soft
power.
The biggest artistic
event in the world
Included in the Olympic
Games since 1906, the
opening ceremony com-
bines pageantry
, ritual and
performance. With key
components mandated by
the Olympic Charter, in-
cluding an artistic pro-
gram and a parade of na-
tions, the ceremony offers
a unique opportunity for
the host country to frame a
cultural narrative about
itself.
No other artistic event
in the world offers immedi-
ate access to such a large
audience of global view-
ers. In 2016, 3.6 billion
viewers watched Rio de
Janeiro’s opening ceremo-
ny on television.
Accordingly, the open-
ing ceremony has in-
creased in size, scope and
expense in recent years.
Demonstrations of dance,
music and theatre are ex-
plicitly designed to dazzle
spectators while also pre-
senting a politically strate-
gic image to the world.
Beijing’s opening cere-
mony in 2008 framed Chi-
na as a model of spectacle
and national collabora-
tion. Directed by filmmak-
er Zhang Yimou at a cost
of US$100 million (A$135
million), the event lasted
over four hours and fea-
tured 15,000 performers. In
one jaw-dropping se-
quence, 2,008 Chinese
drummers performed in
perfect unison.
For the 2004 opening cer-
emony in Athens, Greece
endeavoured to highlight
its heritage and connec-
tion to the Olympic Games
of antiquity
. The program
included projections of the
stadium used in the origi-
nal games, a blazing comet
that outlined the Olympic
rings in fire, and an ab-
stract reenactment of the
progression of Greek civi-
lization.
At the opening of the
2012 London Games, Brit-
ain elected to emphasise
its national musical lega-
cy, with performances by
Paul McCartney, the Sex
Pistols and Arctic Mon-
keys. In a further nod to
British popular culture,
Queen Elizabeth II and
James Bond actor Daniel
Craig appeared to jump
from a helicopter.
Broadcasting the
perfect image
The last time Japan hosted
the Summer Olympics was
in 1964, and the stakes
were unusually high. After
the shame of the second
world war and Japan’s sub-
sequent exclusion from the
1948 games, Tokyo 1964
was key to its efforts to re-
establish a positive inter-
national reputation.
With the development of
satellite technology, the
1964 games were also the
first to be live broadcast.
The opening ceremony
was suddenly a chance to
showcase Japan at its best
to a worldwide audience.
SymbolisingJapan’snew
era, the Olympic torch was
carried into the ceremony
by Yoshinori Sakai, born in
Hiroshima on the day the
city was bombed in 1945.
Because of the opportu-
nity to access millions of
international viewers at
once, opening ceremonies
have become a powerful
tool of cultural diplomacy
.
But such a public plat-
form also has its risks,
and the diplomatic cost of
any incident that contra-
dicts a country’s carefully
curated image can be ex-
treme.
Consider the dove deba-
cle of Seoul’s opening cer-
emony in 1988, when doz-
ens of doves were acciden-
tally incinerated by the
Olympic flame on live tel-
evision.
Counting losses
Japanhasalreadyfaceddif-
ficulties that threaten to
tarnish its Olympic image.
After a one-year postpone-
ment, the costs of this
year’s games may exceed
US$26billion(A$35billion).
With significant restric-
tions on spectators, Japan
will not benefit from the
typical boost from interna-
tional tourists. This makes
the country’s potential soft
power gains from the tele-
vised opening ceremony
all the more crucial in or-
der to justify the financial
investment.
But even the televised
spectacle will be taking
place amid controversy.
Only a day before the
Opening Ceremony, the
event’s director Kentaro
Kobayashi was fired over
a 1998 video in which he
joked about the Holo-
caust.
Kobayashi is the
third high-profile artist
associated with the
Ceremony to leave. Cre-
ative Director Hiroshi
Sasaki resigned in
March after calling a
plus-sized celebrity an
“Olympig,” while com-
poser Keigo Oyamada
left on Monday over
historic bullying.
Japan’s success at build-
ing soft power will also be
unavoidably lessened by
the pandemic. The Open-
ing Ceremony’s artistic
program will take place in
a largely empty arena — a
reminder of the cost of the
pandemic in terms of both
lives and our ability to
come together.
Each smiling team of
internationally competi-
tive athletes during the
Parade of Nations will
similarly be viewed
against their nation’s ef-
forts (and failures) to man-
age COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the Olympic
Committee is maintaining
a running list of athletes
and staff who have been
infected while in Japan.
Even before the Opening
Ceremony, the list stands
at over 100.
CAITLIN VINCENT
Lecturer in Creative Industries,
The University of Melbourne
KATYA JOHANSON
Professor of Audience Research,
Deakin University
REAL GAME OF THE OLYMPICS IS SOFT POWER
REAL GAME OF THE OLYMPICS IS SOFT POWER
THE OPENING CEREMONY IS KEY
THE OPENING CEREMONY IS KEY
TALKING POINT
07
Beijing’s opening ceremony in 2008 framed China as a model of spectacle and national
collaboration. In one jaw-dropping sequence, 2,008 Chinese drummers performed in
perfect unison. —TIM HIPPS, FMWRC PUBLIC AFFAIRS
The opening ceremony of the 1964 Olympic Games was the first to
be live-broadcast around the world. —KYODO VIA AP IMAGES1
Dancers at the opening ceremony of the 2021 Tokyo
Olympics. —KYODO VIA AP IMAGES
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM

08
2NDFRONT
3LNFSA-CARDHOLDERSHAVENOT
TAKENFREERATIONSIN3MONTHS
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In May
and June this year,
the state government
stated that it had pro-
vided free rations to
3.41 crore people of
71 lakh families reg-
istered under the Na-
tional Food Security
Act. However, three
lakh cardholder fami-
lies have not taken
advantage of the free-
ration scheme in the
past three months,
while 2.75 lakh card-
holders have not re-
ceived free rations for
the past six months.
“The government in-
sulted the people of Gu-
jarat lied when it said
3.41 crore people--i.e.,
half of the state--ate
free food during the
pandemic,” former
leader of the opposition
Arjun Modhwadia said,
taking a swing at the
Bharatiya Janata Party
.
“It is a matter of pride
that NFSA families did
not ask for their rations
when they were de-
prived of them.”
The BJP govern-
ment has stated that it
distributed 2.39 lakh
metric tons of wheat
and 1.03 lakh metric
tons of rice--worth a
cumulative Rs1,176
crore market price--to
71 lakh cardholders in
May and June this
year.
“If three lakh (4.22%)
of 71 lakh NFSA-card-
holders have not availed
free rations, to whom
did the government
give unclaimed wheat
and rice worth more
than Rs50 crore?” Mod-
hwadia asked.
Demanding that the
BJP-led government
apologize for “insulting
the identity of Gujara-
tis”, he also called for
an investigation into
the whereabouts of the
unclaimed food grain.
Ration cards that
have not been used in
the past six months
or year will have been
converted to silent ra-
tion cards in the on-
line PDS system by
now. This means that
these cards have been
blocked and these
families cannot ac-
cess their share of ra-
tions even if they
need them, he further
said.
Gujarat has 71 lakh beneficiaries registered under the National Food Security Act. —FILE PHOTO
CALL FOR
ENQUIRY
Bhavesh Barot
Himmatnagar: Based
on a tip-off, Sabarkan-
tha police on Saturday
seized 4,380 litres of
illegal biodiesel from
an industrial unit on
the outskirts of Vakta-
pur village.
Police confiscated
Rs3.56 lakh of biodiesel
and arrested Narendra
Parmar, Bhagvati Chaw-
la, Shakti Shukla and
Pravin Chawla during
the raid, which was led
by police sub inspector
KK Rathod.
The accused persons
were allegedly in-
volved in the illicit
production and selling
of biodiesel. They did
not obtain clearance
from the appropriate
authorities and did not
adhere to any fire safe-
ty regulations, police
said.
The state recently
banned the unlicensed
saleof substancesmixed
in biodiesel.
4 booked for
illegal sale
of biodiesel
First India Bureau
Vadodara: You can
take a big cat out of
the jungle, but you
can’t take the jungle
out of the cat--some-
thing that became
evident when a lion
hunted down a pea-
cock that had the mis-
fortune of flying into
the latter’s enclosure
at the Sayaji Baug
Zoo here in Vadodara.
Clips of the unusual-
in-captivity scene
emerged on social me-
dia on Saturday after
visitors shared phone
footage of the incident
once they had gotten
over their shock and
awe.
The Kamatibaug
garden, where the zoo
is located, is known for
its greenery; peacocks
are a common sight
there. According to
those who were pre-
sent, one of these col-
ourful visitors had
climbed onto a tree in-
side the lion enclosure
on Friday. The lion
first stalked the bird,
which attempted to get
away. Unfortunately
for the panicked bird,
it ended going deeper
into the enclosure,
where the lion pounced
on it and began to feed
on it in the presence of
shocked zoo visitors.
The largest zoo in
central Gujarat, Saya-
ji Baug Zoo is popular
among both locals and
visitors from nearby
districts of all ages
across the socioeco-
nomic divide. It reo-
pened to visitors just
last week after being
shut for months in an
effort to curb the
spread of COVID-19.
Hungry lion hunts down stray peacock at Vadodara zoo
JUNGLE RULES
Visitors were shocked at the
spectacle of the big cat stalking
and killing the bird that had
wandered into his enclosure
Many zoo visitors caught the incident on camera.
Surat riverfront
project gets
green light
from Centre
First India Bureau
Surat: The ambi-
tious riverfront
development pro-
ject of the Surat
Municipal Corpo-
ration and the rul-
ing Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party has re-
ceived a green sig-
nal from the Union
government, offi-
cials said on Sat-
urday.
On Friday, ap-
proval for the devel-
opment work along
the Tapi river came
from the NITI Ayog
department, after
which different de-
partments of eco-
nomic affairs held a
meeting with the
SMC commissioner
Banchhanidhi Pani.
The officials of
SMC along with
c o m m i s s i o n e r
Banchhanidhi Pani
gave a presentation
about the project
and expenses.
According to
Commissioner Pani,
“Rs1,991 crore will
be spent in the first
phase, on the stretch
between Bhatha to
Singanpore. This
will cover about
10km of river bank
and include the con-
ventional barrage,
which will be made
between Rundh-
Bhata.”
He added, “In
the near future,
the Centre will
send its review re-
port and then we
will start making
a DPR for the pro-
ject. Then the
Central govern-
ment will begin
the process of
seeking a loan
from the World
Bank. The whole
project will be
funded 70% by the
Central govern-
ment, 15% by the
state and 15% by
the city.”
Surat Municipal Corporation with foot 15% of the total bill.
—FILE PHOTO
Visitors were shocked at the spectacle of the big cat stalking and killing the bird that had wandered into his enclosure
Humans, inspite of best efforts,
are made to be judgemental
about almost everything they
speak about.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
HOW ARE MINISTERS
OF MODI
GOVERNMENT
RANKED?
Don’t make the mis-
take of treating for-
mer IT Minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad’s rhe-
torical arguments and
incoherent speeches as
a lost chapter. Keeping
that tradition of Prasad
alive,manyministersof
the Modi government
are following the . In the
ongoing Monsoon Ses-
sion of Parliament, one
would have seen a fierce
form of Hardeep Puri, a
senior minister of the
Modi government, who,
like the ‘fire’ in petrole-
um prices, was also seen
raging on the Trina-
mool MPs in the House.
You must have also
heard the
Minister of
State for
External Affairs and
BJP ‘leadership’s fa-
vourite’ Meenakshi Le-
khi calling the agitating
farmers ‘Mawali’. That
is, it is decided that any
minister of the govern-
ment who defends the
government ferociously
and with deep aggres-
sion, their numbers will
increase in ‘M Darbar’.
When the PM was evalu-
ating the performance
of all his ministers be-
fore the major reshuffle
of his Cabinet, a presen-
tation was also made by
Giriraj Singh, even
though that presenta-
tion may have got low
numbers on the PM’s
mark sheet, the PM
gavehimaministry
.The
minister may not have
been able to answer two
or three questions in a
satisfactory manner,
and wheneveryonebe-
lieved that Giriraj
Singh was going to be
dropped from the
Cabinet, he
was promot-
ed and an
i m p o r -
tant ministry like Rural
Development was hand-
ed over to him. There-
fore, the ‘exam paper’ is
out, for the MP or min-
ister who knows how to
cross the limits in the
defence of the govern-
ment and for them, the
possibilities are limit-
less in this government.
TMC MPs
IMPLEMENTING
MAMATA’s ADVICE
Trinamool leader
Mamata Banerjee
has given clear instruc-
tions to her party MPs in
Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha that they have to
cover a large ‘vacant
space’ of opposition in
both the Houses. It was
only after their leader’s
input that the TMC MPs
were so dominant inside
and outside the House
that they overshadowed
the main opposition , the
Congress as well. The
question is whether it
was the result of these
instructions that when
the new Railway and IT
Minister Ashwini
Vaishnaw was going to
give his statement in the
Upper House in the
Pegasus espionage case,
TrinamoolMPShantanu
Sen snatched the copy of
the statement from his
hands, tore it into pieces
andthrewitinair.Atthe
same time, Mamata has
also started her na-
tional mission from
past Wednesday on
the occasion of
Martyr’sDay
.Apart
from Bengal,
through her
virtual
r a l l y,
she also addressed states
likeUttarPradesh,Delhi
and Gujarat, wherein,
Mamatagavemostof her
speech in Hindi and said
thattilltheBJPiscleared
from the whole country
,
till then ‘Khela hobe’ in
allthestates.Thismeans
itwas,inaway
,adeclara-
tion of Mamata’s nation-
al ambition.
MUSLIM VOTERS’
VOTE ON SP
Recently
, when SP su-
premo Akhilesh Ya-
dav arrived in Lucknow
to attend a big gathering
of Muslims, the organis-
ers requested him with
foldedhandsthatheneed
not attend such
events, be-
cause the
o u t r i g h t
votes of
M u s l i m s
will go to
the SP this
time.
Instead, he should devote
his time to other voters.
So now, Akhilesh is con-
vinced that the votes of
about21percentMuslims
and 9-10 percent Yadavs
of thestatecanfallinSP’s
quota. Akhilesh has al-
mostconvincedhisuncle
Shivpaltofightwithhim,
and ‘Chhote Chaudhary’
Jayant is also with him.
Apart from this, his talks
are also going on with
Aam Aadmi Party which
is asking for 25 seats, but
Akhilesh is adamant on
five seats. He is also talk-
ing to Anupriya Patel’s
mother Krishna Patel
and sister Pallavi Patel to
break the Kurmi votes.
Akhilesh is constantly in
touch with small parties
of UP
, as he knows that 1
and 1 together make ‘11.’
CAN ‘CAPTAIN’ BE
CHANGED BEFORE
THE ELECTION?
It has always been a
tradition of the Con-
gressinPunjabthatif its
Chief Minister is a Sikh
during the Congress
rule, then a Hindu is
placed on the post of the
state president, as till
now even under Cap-
tain’s rule, the responsi-
bility of the state presi-
dent before Sidhu took
charge, was fulfilled by
SunilJakhar,anon-Sikh.
So, now the speculations
are rife in Punjab that in
the next few days, Cap-
tain Amarinder Singh
may be retired citing his
old age and Navjot Singh
Sidhu may be made the
new Chief Minister of
Punjab in his place. In
such a situation, a non-
Sikh, that is, a Hindu,
can be made to sit on the
chair of the state presi-
dent vacated by Sidhu,
so that a balance can be
reached in the ratio of
Sikh and Hindu votes of
the state. Anyway
, when
Sidhu took charge on
Friday, he made it clear
to Captain, in a way
, that
they are not going to get
along with each other.
Sidhu and Captain sat
together for one and a
half hour during the
programme, but the re-
lationship was so tense
that even after sitting
togetherforsolong,they
did not talk to each oth-
er. When Sidhu stood up
to speak at the Punjab
Congress Bhawan, re-
membering WaheGuru,
followed by a cricket
shot-hitting action, he
ignored Captain and
Harish Rawat sitting to
his right, and took the
blessings by touching
the feet of senior leader
Lal Singh and former
Chief Minister of the
state Rajinder Kaur
Bhattal. Therefore, in a
way, Sidhu challenged
Captain and said - ‘My
heart is not like the
heart of an irritable per-
son, those who oppose
me, they will make me
stronger’ i.e. in a way
Sidhu Has declared war
with the Captain.
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB
RAMAN
The author is a journalist
and political commentator
and views expressed are
his personal
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Captain Amarinder Singh
Akhilesh Yadav
Mamata Banerjee
PM Narendra Modi

09
ll of us have
been through
this journey
when the lock-
down was an-
nounced last
year on March
24. None of us could an-
ticipate what began
with mere rumours
would actually take the
shape of a pandemic.
Even after the unlock
phase, there was a full
stop to our regular ac-
tivities. Coronavirus
changed our lives for
real, it affected our
mental as well as physi-
cal health. Adjusting
with our new lifestyles
has affected our pos-
ture, schedule
and the level
of stress.
We have
been adapat-
ing to the
new nor-
mal, wear-
ing masks at public
places, practising social
distancing, carrying
santizers, etc. We are
also once again heading
back to our workout
space rather than just
excersizing at home,
with the re-opening of
gyms.
Our health
determines us
an an individu-
al, adding an
excercise regime
adds benefit to our
overall structure.
As we sweat dur-
ing our work-
out sessions,
we allow our
body to elimi-
nate chemi-
cals. Our
body re-
leases en-
d o r -
p h i n s ,
which is
a chemi-
cal responsible for
uplifting our
mood. Our
mental health
r e j u v i n a t e s
with the intro-
duction of physi-
cal activities. Our
muscles and bones be-
gin to strengthen. Stud-
ies have proven that it
also lowers the risk of
heart diseases. It isn’t
just helpful at keeping
our weight in check
but also promotes a
sound sleep. Not just
that, our faces glow nat-
urally with a new
change introduced in
our lives. We must al-
ways listen to our bod-
ies, workout on a regu-
lar basis, but, also allow
it to heal by taking prop-
er rests in between.
PRIORITIZING HEALTH
The pandemic has hit our
lives adversely, being
inside the four walls
affected our physical as
well as mental health. Here
is to putting ourselves as a
priority as we move ahead
in the unlock phase!
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
A
Radhika Choudhary
Isha Agarwal
(From left): Sumitra Godara,
Tanu Choudhary and Sahkshi Jain
AHMEDABAD, SUNDAY
JULY 25, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

WEEKLY
WEEKLY
WEEKLY
WEEKLY
WEEKLY
WEEKLY
WEEKLY
25 JULY – 1 AUGUST
AS KRITI SANON TURNS 31 THIS WEEK ON JULY 27, IT
IS PREDICTED THAT SHE IS GOING TO MAKE SOME
MASSIVE FINANCIAL GAINS. JUST LIKE HER, WHOEVER
CELEBRATES THEIR BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK, HAVE A
SPECIAL HOROSCOPE WHICH IS SAID TO ACHIEVE
GREAT HEIGHTS AND BRING BETTER ROUTINES. YOU
CAN WARD OFF YOUR INTERNAL BLOCKS AND
SUCCEED WITH FLYING COLOURS. CHANGE YOUR
LIMITNG BELIEFS AND YOU ARE GOOD TO GO!
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
This week, a big, bold idea leads to a plan of attack.
Aries, get ready to jump. The week begins on Sunday,
July 25, with Mercury in Cancer, in your house of
home and family, making an opposition to powerful
Pluto in Capricorn. Today, you may be embroiled in a
family problem. This is a Gordian knot that defies all
attempts of unravelling. You may feel divided loyalties
as you can see clearly the points on both sides (which
may involve land rates or division of an inheritance).
Communication could go wrong today despite your
good intentions. Double check texts before sending.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
This week, you may shift from a traditional thought
to embrace a new idea. Taurus, you’re on a new path.
The week begins on Sunday, July 25, with Mercury in
Cancer, in your house of communication, making an
opposition to willful Pluto in Capricorn in your house
of legal matters. You may be reviewing an important
contract, unravelling the legalese, and looking up
terms only a lawyer would know. This could be a
contract for employment or to buy a business. Today,
read any contract you would sign, including the
terms of service.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Gemini, negotiations come to a happy conclusion.
This week, you begin a new phase. The week begins
on Sunday, July 25, with Mercury in Cancer, in your
house of money, making an opposition to pragmatic
Pluto in Capricorn in your house of resources. Today,
you could be looking to disentangle yourself from
debt and obligations. Gemini, this is a good day to
consider a government-backed loan for your small
business. Today you can get your finances under
control. Use caution today, as answering an email too
quickly could send you scrambling.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
This week, your focus becomes
financial. Leo, you can make some gains
The week begins on Sunday, July 25, with
Mercury in Cancer, in your house of hidden issues, in
opposition to investigative Pluto in Capricorn in your
house of routines. Today, you are empowered to rid
yourself of internal blocks and beliefs that stop you
from achieving what you want. Your daily routines
describe how your life wilwl be a year from now.
Change your routines and your life will be different
before you know it.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
This week, you move from the background to center
stage. Virgo, you’re energized.The week begins
on Sunday, July 25, with Mercury in Cancer, in
your house of friendships, making an opposition
to empowering Pluto in Capricorn in your house
of pleasure. Today, you are moving forward on an
important decision in your life. You might be asking
for advice about a love relationship, pregnancy, or
adoption. You may take a friend over to the animal
shelter to help you pick out a puppy. Virgo, you could
be smiling ear to ear because of a friend.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Cancer, you get a spiritual helping hand this week.
Something magical can occur. The week begins
on Sunday, July 25, when Mercury, in your
own sign of Cancer, makes an opposition to
powerhouse Pluto in Capricorn in your house
of relationships. Today, you have access
to powerful people. Visualize who you
would like to meet and what you could do
together. Consider doing a goal board
with pictures and names of individuals
you admire.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
After collecting the information you need this week,
you benefit from working behind the scenes. The week
begins on Sunday, July 25, with Mercury in Cancer, in
your house of status, making an opposition to Pluto in
Capricorn in your house of foundations. Like a structural
engineer, you can build a strong foundation for creating
success. Now plan to start a business or launch your
career. You could create a resume, business plan, or
website to announce to the world your new venture. Be
flexible with plans involving friends. Libra, today there
are challenges with timetables.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Scorpio, a monetary windfall is possible. This week,
you could have a big payday. The week begins on
Sunday, July 25, with Mercury in Cancer, in your
house of knowledge, making an opposition to
resolute Pluto in your house of communication.
You love to know the truth, and this combination
can reveal whatever you want to know. People
could confess their secrets to you. You can also see
meaning in your own actions. Today, your inner life
is revealed in what you are drawn to. This is a good
time to talk to your supervisor about new projects.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
This week, you move from being the student to the
teacher. Sagittarius, someone needs your wisdom.
The week begins on Sunday, July 25, with Mercury
in Cancer, in your house of resources, making an
opposition to profit-motivated Pluto in your house
of money. Today, you could have a breakthrough, a
visceral understanding of how to reach your financial
goal. You may suddenly rework your finances from
top to bottom. You might take a vow of frugality
until debts are paid. You could focus your energy on
achieving the biggest sale in your career.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
This week, completing the necessary paperwork brings
an opportunity. Capricorn, don’t let perfectionism hold
you back. The week begins on Sunday, July 25, with
Mercury in Cancer, in your house of relationships,
making an opposition to Pluto in your house of
confidence. A love relationship is available, but it can
feel overwhelming to take the first step. This is a great
day to connect, and yet it feels like you would rather
do anything else. Get some advice from a friend about
relationships or even let them fix you up on a date.
There are opportunities today.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
A chance partnership could lead to great
benefits. This week, you can strike a deal. The
week begins on Sunday, July 25, with Mercury
in Cancer, in your house of work, making
an opposition to Pluto in Capricorn in your
house of hidden talents. Success comes from
small building blocks. Intentional practice
compounds to bring you expertise. Work
behind the scenes on something that moves
you, such as your music, art, or writing, even
if it’s just for a few minutes.
PISCES
FEB 20 - MARCH 20
Pisces, romantic intentions can be revealed. This
week, you’re the object of someone’s admiration.
The week begins on Sunday, July 25, with Mercury
in Cancer, in your house of pleasure, making an
opposition to intense Pluto in Capricorn in your
house of friendships. Today a friend could become
much more. This could start innocently with a hug
and progress rapidly out of the friend zone. If you’re
looking for love, this is an excellent day to post your
online profile. Find ways to delegate, streamline, or
eliminate work that no longer interests you.
10
ETC

ETC
11
Hello, my à la mode brides! Are
Hello, my à la mode brides! Are
you someone to pick out the most
you someone to pick out the most
extravagant pieces off the racks and
extravagant pieces off the racks and
slay them with utmost panache? Well, I
slay them with utmost panache? Well, I
suggest you keep up the fashion quotient
suggest you keep up the fashion quotient
for your wedding celebrations too! Here are the top 5 brands
for your wedding celebrations too! Here are the top 5 brands
you can rely on to look bold, sharp, and beautiful.
you can rely on to look bold, sharp, and beautiful.
5 LABELS FOR
5 LABELS FOR
THE OTT BRIDE
THE OTT BRIDE
SABYASACHI
Well, this one’s a no-brainer.
You can pick up a statement,
vermillion lehenga like ‘Dil Guldas-
ta’ for the D-day and shimmer saree
or neon lehenga for Cocktail and Re-
ception ceremonies. Don’t forget to
style these beauties with Fine Herit-
age jewellery from Sabyasachi
and trust me, you are all set to
woo everyone with your
extravagance.
SUNEET
VARMA
COUTURE
Be all glitzy and glamorous for
your Sangeet celebrations with SV
Couture’s most idiosyncratic pieces.
Their ruffled blouses, tulle and tiered
lehengas, breathtaking colour pal-
ate and exaggerated silhouettes
add just the right amount of
drama to your big, fat,
grand affair.
AMIT
AGGARWAL
Are you a big fan of metallic
hues, structured silhouettes, and
fanciful fabrics? Well, I’ve got you
covered. Browse through Amit Aggarw-
al’s stellar pieces with metallic, polymer
details, and 3-D blouses for the perfect
Cocktail outfit. Go all out
with prismat- ic hues and
rustic golds.
PAPA
DON’T PREACH
BY SHUBHIKA
For a playful outfit for one of your
daytime events, pick out something
peppy, trendy, sassy, and multi-
coloured. Be the belle of the ball with
easy-breezy jumpsuits, co-ord sets,
and half lehengas with fun 3-D pearl,
metallic and acrylic details. With
colours that pop out, you are
sure to charm your
guests.
FALGUNI
SHANE
PEACOCK
Indulge in luxury with exquisite
gowns and lehengas in ‘white verity’
from Falguni Shane Peacock. Sophis-
ticated in appeal, this label will jazz
you up. Their statement feather
detail will amp up your look in no
time and make you the crowd
stunner for your Recep-
tion ceremony.
POORVI SINGHAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
EVENTS!
On the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Adha on Wednesday, an
Eid Milan Samaroh was organised by Councilor Sharif Khan
Maniyar. Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas was
the chief guest on the occasion. Special guest, Arshad Ali Khan
also graced the occasion with his presence. Senior Congress
leader Tanveer Khan, Karni Singh, Khaleel, Zulfikar Ali were
also present. A warm welcome was given to the guests. Pratap
Singh Khachariyawas expressed his gratitude and love for the
country and all festivals on the occasion.
MLA Kalicharan Saraf paid homage to the great freedom fighter
of the country, late Bal Gangadhar Tilak, by garlanding his idol
in Tilak Park, Ward No. 148, Jaipur on Friday. He also planted
five peepal saplings in the memory of Tilak. A large number of
BJP workers including Ghanshyam Saini, Devaram Gurjar were
present. Vinay Mathur conducted the function.
On the occasion of Guru Purnima, Fusion Dance Academy
celebrated by expressing gratitude to director, producer and
choreographer, Yogesh Mishra.
The Pink City blushes with pride as a beautiful sky spans over the majestic Albert Hall Museum. With colourful lights and evening vibes, this
celebrated monument is a sight to behold. —PHOTO BY NAIM KHAN
PINK OF PERFECTION!
MISS RAJASTHAN2021
uditions for the
state’s most-await-
ed beauty pageant,
Miss Rajasthan
2021 are going to
start on July 25.
The auditions will
be done using the ‘Zoom’ ap-
plication i.e. on an online
mode taking care of the
Covid-19 safety protocols.
According to show director
Yogesh Mishra,
more than 5,300
girls have regis-
tered for the pageant
till now and have also
started booking their audi-
tion slots. The girls can
book their slot by calling on
the official number of Miss
Rajasthan which is given on
all their social media han-
dles. It is not only Ra-
jasthan’s biggest beauty
pageant but also a plat-
form that prepares the
girls for national and
international plat-
forms. Nimisha
Mishra, organiser
and the previous year
winners like Simran
Sharma, Kanchan Kha-
tana, Aruna Beniwal,
MittaliKaurandKhushi
Ajwani will be a part of
the jury panel to select
the top 28 finalists for
Miss Rajasthan 2021.
These finalists will get
1 month of grooming
from the experts of
the fashion industry.
The grand finale is
scheduled to take
place in the month of
October, keeping in
mind the pandemic
situation.
MANSI BACHANI
A
The Art of Storytelling
T
he trailer and
poster launch
event of Hindi
short film
‘Lathi’ and horror
film ‘Kiara’ was held
at Hotel Decor Inn,
Sitapura, Jaipur on
Saturday. Bollywood
film Pataakha fame
writer Charan Singh
Pathik, National
Award Winning Di-
rector Gajendra Shro-
triya, Director Manoj
Phogat, Lyricist S L
Indeliya, Ish Madhu
Talwar, producer
Manmohan Gujar, Ac-
tor Harshit Ma-
thur, Rajat Shar-
ma and Actor Raj
Kesot were pre-
sent during the
event among other
dignitaries.
The short film
‘Lathi’ directed by Ga-
jendra Shrotriya fea-
tures the story of a
family that struggles
to keep their dreams
alive. As we move fur-
ther in the story, the
pace moves slowly fo-
cusing on some in-
tense emotions which
promise to develop a
connection with
the audience.
While Manoj
Phogat directori-
al, ‘Kiara’ would be
full of surprises as
very few details have
been revealed about
the same. The story
demands patience
and awaits its audi-
ences.
SUSHMITA
AIND
sushmita.aind@
firstindia.co.in
—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO
CITY FIRST
A
press confer-
ence was organ-
ised by address-
ing the national
journalists of the Na-
tion Navnirman Sena
lead by Sanatan organi-
sations at Pink City
Press Club on Saturday
.
National President of
Navnirman Sena, Vijay
Kaushik while address-
ingthesaid,“Thosewho
defame the Dharma
flag will not be
spared under any
circumstances.Peo-
ple who ruin the in-
tegrity of the country
and the unity of the so-
ciety are a canker for
the country and society
,
such people should be
arrested immediately
after taking action ac-
cording to the constitu-
tion.” In the end, Vijay
Kaushik and all the dig-
nitaries present re-
quested the state gov-
ernment to make ar-
rangements for the holy
water of Galta pilgrim-
age and other pilgrim-
age sites in the Ganges
for the month of Sawan
so that all the devotees
can seek blessings espe-
cially amid such diffi-
cult times of pandemic.
Integrity Unity
R
ajasthan’s largest running group, Pinkcity
Runners started 100 days running challenge
at Jawahar Circle on Saturday
, July
24. Dr Namit Sharma and World
Record Holder Vishnu Tak participated
in this challenge for the fourth time. All
the runners including Anand Gupta, An-
kit Tiwari participating in the challenge had to
run a minimum of 2 km. —CITY FIRST
Pink City- 100 days
running challenge
TOWARDS A
BETTERFUTURE
D
igital Baal Mela season 2
sponsored by Future So-
ciety and LIC and co-
sponsored by IDBI Bank.
An active participaton of chil-
dren is being seen everyday.
Children from every district of
the country are getting a
chance to put of questions and
get empowered. Digital Baal
Mela is the first innovation in
the country which has become
the voice of every child in eve-
ry field. On Saturday, Gajendra
Lega of Nagaur gave his sug-
gestions on various aspects re-
lated to growth and prosperity
of the country
. —CITY FIRST
Actor Vivek Oberoi
was spotted at Jaipur
International Airport on
Saturday. The actor is here
for a music video shoot.
SPOTTED!
—PHOTO
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
Yogesh Nimisha Mishra with (L-R) Ruchi Jha, Sushmita Thukran,
Khushi Ajwani, Garima Wadhwa and Arushi Singh
Yogesh Mishra during the announcement of
Miss Rajasthan 2019 with Aruna Beniwal
and Kanchan Khatana
Khushi Ajwani
Yogesh Mishra, Khushi Ajwani
and Nimisha Mishra
(L-R) Gajendra Shrotriya, SL Indeliya, Charan Singh Pathik, Ish Madhu Talwar,
Manoj Fogat, Manmohan Gujar, Harshit Mathur, Rajat Sharma and Raj Kesot
(L-R) Yogesh Sharma, Vijay Kaushik, Anil Chaturvedi
and Vikas Sharma
—PHOTO
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA

25072021 first india ahmedabad

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