27022022 first india ahmedabad

Govt sends 2 buses to bring students home
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The Gu-
jarat government has
sent two buses to bring
back 56 students who
would be landing in
Mumbai on Saturday
night upon evacuation
from Ukraine, an offi-
cial said.
The students, along
with other stranded In-
dian nationals, are ex-
pected to arrive at the
Mumbai airport from
Romania’s capital Bu-
charestaround9pm,the
official added.
The first evacuation
flight from Bucharest
took off on Saturday af-
ternoon for Mumbai
with 219 Indian nation-
als on board, the Exter-
nal Affairs Ministry an-
nounced earlier.
These passengers in-
clude 56 students from
Gujarat who had gone to
Ukraine for higher stud-
ies and got stuck due to
the ongoing Russian in-
vasion.
“We are informed
that Indians, including
Gujarati students, will
be brought by two
flights. One will land in
Mumbai today at 9 pm.
To bring 56 students
back to Gujarat, we have
already sent two Volvo
buses, each capable of
accommodating 45 per-
sons. These buses have
already reached Mum-
bai,” said MA Gandhi,
managing director of
the Gujarat State Road
Transport Corporation
(GSRTC).
“Another flight with
Gujarati students on
board may land in Delhi
afterwards. But since
the distance by road is
greater, we have not sent
anybusesthere.Instead,
we have tied up with the
Uttar Pradesh transport
department which has
agreed to deploy its bus-
es and ferry our stu-
dents here,” he added.
Gujarat education
minister Jitu Vaghani
had said earlier that
around 2,500 students
from the state were
stranded in Ukraine.
—For more, see page 3
HOMECOMING
CM BHUPENDRA PATEL
One of two flights bringing Guj
students from Ukraine set to
arrive in Mumbai Sat night
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi carries offerings as he arrives
at the Dwarkadhish Temple in Dwarka, Gujarat.
Dwarka: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
on Saturday asked his
party leaders in Guja-
rat to prepare a list of
“Kauravas” in the
party, who just “sit in
their AC offices, do
nothing but talk and
disturb others”, add-
ing that such people
eventually cross over
to the BJP.
He also hit out at
the Modi government
over the use of central
agencies, saying it has
“CBI, ED, media, po-
lice and goons”, and
said ultimately it is
the truth that matters.
Alleging that Guja-
rat is suffering be-
cause of “BJP’s poli-
tics”, he said Congress
has an opportunity to
win the next Assem-
bly polls in the state,
but it fails to convey a
clear vision to the peo-
ple about what it in-
tends to do after it
comes to power.
Rahul was in Guja-
rat to attend party’s
Chintan Shivir.
RAHUL AT CHINTAN SHIVIR
‘Cong‘Kauravas’
sittinginACoffices,
makelistofthem’
UTTAR PRADESH VOTES
IN FIFTH PHASE TODAY
UTTAR PRADESH PHASE-5
61
Constituencies
12
Districts
2.24
crore voters
692
Candidates
in the fray
7
AM
Polling
begins
With the completion
of polling on Sunday,
Uttar Pradesh will
have voted on 292 of
the total 403 seats in
the Assembly
UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad
Maurya (Sirathu) against Apna
Dal (Kamerawa-
di) candidate
Pallavi Patel,
Siddharth Nath
Singh (Al-
lahabad West),
Moti Singh
(Patti), Nand Gopal Gupta
(Allahabad South), Ramapati
Shastri ( Mankapur), Raghuraj
Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya
(Kunda) Aradhana Mishra
Mona (Rampur Khas)
KEY CANDIDATES
In 2017, BJP won 38 seats
out of 55, while the SP had
retained 15 and the
Congress had
won two
seats
AHMEDABAD l SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 93
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RELIANCE TAKES OVER
FUTURE RETAIL STORES
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s
Reliance Industries Ltd. has
taken over the operations of
at least 200 stores of Future
Retail and has offered jobs to
its employees after the Kishore
Biyani-led group failed to make
lease payments to landlords.
GOVT CLEARS UP TO
20 PERCENT FDI IN LIC
Centre cleared an amendment
to allow up to 20 foreign direct
investment (FDI) under the “auto-
matic route” in Life Insurance Cor-
poration. This comes ahead of the
proposed initial public offer of LIC,
which is expected to be the largest
in the Indian capital markets.
R
ussian troops
pressed toward
Ukraine’s capi-
tal on Saturday after a
night of explosions and
street fighting sent Kyiv
residentsseekingshelter
underground.
Ukraine’s President
Ukraine’s President Vo-
lodymyr Zelensky re-
fused an American offer
of air evacuation.
Ukrainian officials re-
ported some success in
fending off assaults, but
fighting persisted. Rus-
sia claims its assault on
Ukraine is aimed only at
military targets, but ci-
vilians have been killed
and injured during Eu-
rope’s largest ground
war since World War II.
The conflict has al-
ready driven hundreds
of thousands of Ukrain-
ians from their homes.
Afterdaysof massiveair
and missile strikes, Rus-
siansoldierswerejust30
kilometers from Kyiv
city centre.
K
KNEES
NEES
YIV
YIVON ITS
RUSSIAN MISSILES STRIKE HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS
IN UKRAINE AS DEATH TOLL MOUNTS TO 198
UKRAINE SOLDIER BLOWS HIMSELF UP
Vitaly Skakun Volodymyrovych, A
Ukrainian soldier sacrificed his life
by blowing himself up to stop a
tank. The soldier was standing on
a bridge connecting the mainland
of Ukraine and Russia-Occupied
Crimea. As he blew himself and the
bridge, the tank was thwarted.
RUSSIAN ARMY ORDERED TO BROADEN
UKRAINE ASSAULT “FROM ALL DIRECTIONS”
The Russian army has been
ordered to broaden its Ukraine
advance “from all directions” af-
ter Ukraine said it had repulsed
an attack on Kyiv but “sabotage
groups” were in the city. Oc-
casional blasts of what soldiers
said were artillery and Grad mis-
siles being fired near area close
to city centre in Kyiv.
UKRAINE PRESIDENT SPEAKS TO PM MODI
Ukraine’s President
Volodymyr Zelen-
sky on Saturday
tweeted that he had
spoken to Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, seeking
“political support”.
The President said
he briefed PM Modi about the course of the Russian
assault with more than 1 lakh invaders.
“OP GANGA” FLIGHT WITH INDIANS
FROM UKRAINE LANDS IN MUMBAI
India on Saturday evacuated 219 people as part of its mis-
sion to bring Indians from war-hit Ukraine. The flight took
off from neighbouring Romania, as the Ukrainian airspace
has been closed for civil aircraft operations, and landed in
Mumbai at 7:50 pm. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
and Minister Piyush Goyal (who was present at the Mum-
bai airport) tweeted to welcome students home. Jaishankar
said this is the first step in the evacuation mission titled
“Operation Ganga”, which he is monitoring personally.
WHY INDIA ABSTAINED ON UN
VOTE AGAINST RUSSIAN INVASION
India’s abstention from the vote on the draft resolution
with “deploring in strongest terms” Russia’s operations
inside Ukraine was no surprise, given the fine balance
Delhi has sought to strike between its crucial partnership
with Moscow and its Western allies over the last month.
Earlier, Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolu-
tion. China, India and the UAE abstained from voting on
the US-drafted text. The remaining eleven council mem-
bers voted in favour.
Russia vetoes UN Security Council
action on Ukraine, India abstains
1 Germany approves rocket-launcher
deliveries to Ukraine: Govt sources
2 Ukraine says discussing place and time for talks;
Russia alleges Ukraine refusing negotiations
3
HOLDING A
KALASHNIKOV
GIVES ME HOPE
...Ukrainian Member of
Parliament Kira Rudik
said on Saturday. Rudik,
who is also the leader of
Ukraine’s Voice Party, is
among Ukrainians who
have decided to take
matters into their own
hands in the face of the
Russian invasion.
Need Ammo,
Not A Ride.
—Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
Ukraine President rejects
evacuation offer by US
A dejected woman
looks from an
apartment building
damaged by a
Russian missile
strike in Kyiv.

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The High
Court in an interim or-
der has directed the
state cooperative regis-
trar to take action
against SUMUL chair-
manwithintwomonths.
Sitting chairman
Mansinh Patel has been
accused of irregulari-
ties in selling scrap of
the Surat District Coop-
erative Milk Producers
Union Ltd (SUMUL
dairy) in 2020.
Thecooperativeregis-
trar has been directed to
submit a report before
the court within three
months after an inquiry
under section 76-B of
the State Cooperative
Societies Act.
The department had
earlier found substance
in the allegations but, as
there was no follow-up
action, Patel’s political
opponents had knocked
the doors of the High
Court,whichfeltthatac-
tion should be taken
against Mansinh Patel
after hearing all sides.
This is not the first
time SUMUL dairy is in
the news for the wrong
reasons. As recently as
last month, the coopera-
tive registrar had initi-
ated an inquiry against
former chairman
Rajesh Pathak on in-
structions from the
Prime Minister’s Office.
At the time, Patel had
led the charge against
Pathak and other direc-
tors.
Mansinh Patel is a
formerMPfromMandvi
constituency
. In his ca-
pacity as a senior BJP,
he had written to Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi in June 2020 stat-
ing: “Chairman Rajesh
Pathak has used crores
of rupees deposited by
SUMUL dairy members,
and then borrowed
Rs1000 crore loan from
banks. Now, the cooper-
ative’s members have to
repay the interest.”
He had also accused
Pathak of misusing his
power to silence those
questioning his unau-
thorized expenditure.
“Pathak has also started
setting up new plants
just to build his person-
al image, but it is at a
heavy cost to members
of the cooperative un-
ion,” he had said, add-
ing that Pathak had
used SUMUL dairy
funds for state govern-
ment functions and
“film star events” that
were “neither for mem-
bers nor for their
needs”.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: The state
health department has
allotted 15 health servic-
esvansundertheNation-
al Child Health Program
for strengthening health
services in Vadodara ur-
banarea.TheMinisterof
State for Women and
Child Development,
Manisha Vakil, handed
over the vans to the Mu-
nicipal Corporation
Health System during
the Garib Kalyan Mela
on Saturday in the pres-
ence of MP
, Mayor and
other dignitaries.
These vehicles will
provide health services
fromnewbornto18years
of age. It will coordinate
for health services relat-
ed to congenital defects,
deficiencies,diseasesand
delayed development.
The vans will periodi-
cally visit schools, kin-
dergartens, Anganwadi
centres and check, pro-
videnecessarytreatment
and coordinate referral
treatment in appropriate
cases. In the case of an
emergency
, the patients
will be taken, to Sayaji
and Gotri hospitals.
These services will be
provided free of charge.
Attheinaugurationof
the 12th Garib Kalyan
Mela of Vadodara urban
area at Sayaji Nagar
Gruh, Manisha Vakil
said, “Under the leader-
ship of CM Bhupendra
Patel, the state govern-
menthasprovidedsourc-
es of income under the
schemetothepoor,while
also helping their chil-
dren take up pilot train-
ing programs.”
HC orders action against SUMUL chairman
Directed cooperative registrar to
submit report within 3 months
BANASKANTHA POLICE
NAB 4 FROM UP WITH
COUNTERFEIT NOTES
First India Bureau
Palanpur: Palanpur
Police have arrested
four persons under var-
ious sections of the In-
dian Penal Code for
knowingly possessing
counterfeit currency
notes, using them as
genuine and conspira-
cy
. After they test nega-
tive for nCoV
, they will
be officially arrested
and produced before the
court. Police have
sought their remand to
investigate the inter-
state fake currency
racket.
Palanpur East Head
Constable Chandraku-
mar Babulal in the
criminal complaint
said the Assistant Su-
perintendent of Police
had received informa-
tion that some people
had come to town to sell
currency notes of Rs100
denomination. On this
basis, the head consta-
ble and team searched
baggage of four men
from Uttar Pradesh
who had checked in at
the Lakshsudha Shanti
lodge.
During their search,
police found 457 fake
notes of Rs100 denomi-
nation. The State Bank
of India’s branch man-
ager certified these
were counterfeit notes.
Accused Mohammed
Samir Saiyed, Moham-
med Atif Saiyed, Abdul
Karim Pathan, and Mo-
hammed Inzamam Sai-
yed, from Meerut, told
police that 10 days ago,
they had bought Rs1
lakh worth of fake
notes from a Delhi-
based person against
the payment of Rs28,000
real notes of Rs100.
They travelled from
Delhi to Gujarat,
stopped at Bhuj and
bought clothes and oth-
er items by paying fake
notes worth Rs54,300.
Cops recovered `45.7K worth of fake money from the accused.
FIR AGAINST
SURAT TIK TOK
STAR KIRTI PATEL
‘SON OF RAJ CM’
NABBED FOR 60
CHEATING CASES
Surat: The Dumas police
have registered a com-
plaint against Tik Tok star
Kirti Patel on Friday, for
assaulting and threaten-
ing an air hostess. She
quarrelled with the air
hostess for not wearing
a mask on a flight from
Goa to Surat. Patel was
in news a few days ago
when a woman from
Ahmedabad complained
to the Satellite Police sta-
tion for hitting her with
an iron pipe. The police
are investigating.
Surat: The crime branch
arrested Bheriya Bhan-
war Lal Ghanchi (33)
alias Suresh for cheating
traders by posing as the
aide of prominent people
or as the son of Rajasthan
CM. The man, who was
caught after Surat jewel-
lery trader Deepak Choksi
who grew suspicious of
his request for Rs5 lakh
for a “health emergen-
cy” while buying gold
jewellery in bulk. Suresh
is wanted in 60 cheating
cases across 21 cities.
Surat: The Union Minister of State for Railways Dar-
shana Jardosh inaugurated several railway facilities
including, foot-over-bridge,
platform, cover shed, new
parcel terminal at Udhana and
Palsana railway stations. The
foot-over-bridge construct-
ed at Rs20 crore at Udhana
railway station with the second
phase of the circuit house was inaugurated on Satur-
day. Accompanying the minister was MP CR Patil and
Prabhu Vasava at the event. CR Patil said passengers
will now benefit from the increased round of trains.
Darshana Jardosh said, post-independence the
railways have received a maximum of Rs1.40 lakh
crore in the budget. Several stations are undergoing
redevelopment under the guidance of PM Modi.
MINISTER DARSHANA JARDOSH
INAUGURATES `20 CR FOB AT UDHANA
CRUCIAL READ
FOCUS ON CHILDREN
15 health vans to ensure quick & timely treatment
The new vans—
allotted under
Garib Kalyan
Mela—boosts
the health
infrastructure in
Vadodara city
Launch of 15 health services vans that was allotted during the 12
Garib Kalyan Mela to Vadodara urban area.
A student beneficiary who received a cycle during the Garib
Kalyan Mela.
Rahul Gandhi offers prayers at
DWARKADHISH TEMPLE
First stop after arriving in Dwarka around noon en route to Chintan Shibir
First India Bureau
Dwarka: Congresslead-
er Rahul Gandhi on Sat-
urday offered prayers at
theDwarkadhishtemple
here following his ar-
rival in Gujarat for his
party's brainstorming
session to chalk out a
strategy for the state As-
sembly elections due in
December this year.
Gandhi is here to take
part in the Chintan Shi-
bir, a brainstorming ses-
sion organised by the
GujaratCongress,which
began on Friday and
will end on Sunday
. The
visit is being seen as the
start of the Congress'
election campaign for
the Assembly polls in a
state that for long has
been a BJP fortress.
Gandhi landed at
Jamnagar airport in a
special plane, before ar-
riving at Dwarka in a
helicopter around noon.
He was welcomed at
thehelipadnearDwarka
town by several senior
party leaders, including
Gujarat Congress presi-
dent Jagdish Thakor,
former state president
Amit Chavda and Lead-
er of Opposition in the
Assembly Sukhram
Rathva, among others.
After that, he reached
the famous Dwarka-
dhish temple, dedicated
to Lord Krishna, where
a traditional folk dance
was presented to wel-
come him. After being
applied 'tilak' on fore-
head, Gandhi went into
thetemplewitha'dhaja',
a large religious flag to
be offered to the temple
after performing puja,
said Gujarat Congress'
KisanCellpresident,Pal
Ambalia.
Inside the temple,
Gandhi offered prayers
to Lord Dwarkadhish
and took part in a reli-
gious ritual or puja. The
religious flag offered by
Gandhi will be hoisted
on top of the temple as
per the tradition, Am-
balia said.
After paying obei-
sance to Lord Krishna,
Gandhi ate snacks with
local party leaders at a
dininghallnearthetem-
ple. After that, he left for
the venue of the party's
Chintan Shibir. Gandhi
is expected to address
the party leaders at the
brainstorming session.
Notably, Gandhi had
visitedtheDwarkadhish
temple in 2017 as well
ahead of the state As-
sembly polls.
GIVE YOUTH THE CHANCE
TO LEAD: RAGHU SHARMA
Dwarka: Gujarat in-charge for the Congress party,
Dr Raghu Sharma made a proposal before national-
level leader Rahul Gandhi that young leaders should
be given the responsibility to lead the party, rather
than engage them in contesting organizational
elections. He also addressed the recent exodus of
Gujarat Congress leaders, saying the party did not
need people who do not respect it. “Those who are
switching parties are weak. All the leaders, irrespec-
tive of their stature must obey the orders of the
party president. Whichever tasks they have been
assigned, they should accept it,” said Sharma.
Left: Congress veteran Arjun Modhwadia greets Gandhi on arrival, Bharatisinh Solanki and Raghu Sharma are seen in the background;
Right:The national leader shared a meal with local leaders including Raghu Sharma, Hardik Patel, Jagdish Thakor, Sukhram Rathva,Arjun
Modhwadia and others after visiting the famous Dwarkadhish temple on Saturday, before joining the party’s pre-poll brainstorming session.
Gandhi is seen exiting the temple in the company of Raghu
Sharma, Jagdish Thakor, Amit Chavda and others.
The national Cong leader was welcomed with a folk dance.
Rahul Gandhi addressing Congress workers at the Chintan Shibir.

First India Bureau
Navsari: The Directo-
rate of Forensic Sci-
ences and the Dak-
shin Gujarat Vij Com-
pany Ltd are looking
into a fire that led to
the death of a by-
stander in Navsari’s
Bilimora town in the
wee hours of Satur-
day morning.
A fire broke out at
Kalpna Flower Shop in
the town’s Gauhar
Baug area at around 1
am on Saturday
.
Shashikant Patel, a
residentof theAntaliya
GIDC estate area had
been passing by on his
wayhomeaftermeeting
a friend. Like many oth-
ers who had gathered to
watch the fire play out,
Patel too took a break to
join the crowd. Some-
timelater,anLPGcylin-
der exploded, sending a
piece of metal straight
atPatel.Ithithiminthe
head, killing him in-
stantly
, officials said,
citing eyewitness re-
ports.
The authorities say it
is too early to assign a
reason for the blaze—
and the subsequent ex-
plosion that proved fa-
tal to Patel. However, a
local resident told the
media that an employee
of the florist unit had
cooked his dinner, eat-
en there, and then
locked up the shop
around 11.30 pm on Fri-
day, before retiring to
his nighttime shelter.
Local fire officials
maintain that the
cause of the fire will
only be known after a
proper investigation
is concluded. In the
meantime, a com-
plaint of negligence
will be lodged against
the flower business,
since the fire has
caused the death of an
innocent person, a po-
lice officer said.
GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad : Rakhial
police have booked a
teenager under vari-
ous sections of the
Indian Penal Code for
unnatural sex, crimi-
nal intimidation and
varied sections of the
Protection of Chil-
dren from Sexual Of-
fences (POSCO) Act.
On Friday evening,
32-year-old man Rauf
(name changed) com-
plained to the Rakhial
police station that his
son, seven-year-old Na-
deem (name changed)
studying with the Urdu
school in the Rakhial
area, Thursday even-
ing returned home cry-
ing. On inquiry, he
complained about pain
in his posterior area.
Nadeem told his fa-
ther that during the
school break, when he
was playing, a senior
Shehzad Shaikh took
him to a secluded area
behind the school
building, sodomized
him and left him in
pain. On Friday, Rauf
complained to the
school principal about
the incident. The
school principal asked
the father to complain
to the police. The inves-
tigation into the case is
being led by Assistant
Police Sub-Inspector
BR Rajput.
When the victim was
screaming out of pain
and shouting for help,
the accused threatened
to kill him if he told any-
one, said Rauf. Police
have sent the victim to
the hospital for medical
tests and treatment.
The January
2017-December 2020 pe-
riod saw 6,908 cases
registered under
POSCO, with
chargesheets filed in
6,598 cases. During
this period 172 persons
were convicted in 145
cases.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: The Gujarat
government on Satur-
day evening an-
nounced that it had
sent two buses to pick
up the 56 students ar-
riving in Mumbai
from Ukraine later in
the day
. However, it is
unclear if Rajkot’s
Kranj Gosai will be
among those 56.
The MBBS student
studying at Ternopil in
the western part of the
crisis-hit Ukraine was
amongabout50students
from Gujarat who
trekked 23km to the
Ukraine-Poland border,
onlytobestrandedthere.
In a video clip shared
widely on Saturday
, Go-
sai is seen pleading for
the government to help.
“We walked 23km and
reached the Polish bor-
der. There are no vehi-
cles to return to Terno-
pil. Based on what you
(Indian Embassy) said,
those who could, took
private taxis and buses
toreachPoland.Wehave
reached.Please,nowitis
your (Indian Embassy)
responsibility take care
of us,” she implored.
Her father, Ashwinb-
hai, too posted a video
message asking both au-
thorities to intervene.
“There are about 50
students in the group.
TheyfollowedtheIndian
Embassy advisory and
walked 23km to the bor-
der in 3 °C temperature
but have not been al-
lowed to cross into Po-
land. Neither are they
able to get visas there.
The situation is very
bad; their feet are bleed-
ing. Please take them in,
Poland, treat them and
send them back to In-
dia,” he said.
RakjotgirlstrandedatUkraine-Polandborderpleadstocomehome
VIDEO APPEAL

Kranj Gosai
is among 50
Guj students
who trekked
23km in 3 °C
temperature
but got stuck
at the Polish
border
A video shared by Kranj Gosai (above) in
which she pleads for help for herself and
other students (right) was widely shared.
A’badteenaccusedof
raping,threatening
7-yr-oldboyatschool
BYSTANDER AT FIRE
KILLED BY SHRAPNEL
Warned the younger
he’d kill him if he told
anyone of the attack
during school break
The deceased, Shashikant
Patel, had merely wanted to
see what was happening.
Man dies after
being hit in the
head by a piece
of scrap from an
LPG cylinder
that exploded
HC petition challenges state decision to end offline classes
First India Bureau
G a n d h i n a g a r /
Ahmedabad: With
the government de-
ciding to cancel on-
line classes for all
students in the wake
of falling case num-
bers, a petition chal-
lenging the decision
has been filed in the
state High Court.
“We are worried for
the safety of our chil-
dren and have chal-
lenged the Gujarat gov-
ernment’s decision to
effectively force stu-
dents to attend in-per-
son classes. While the
third wave of infections
may be petering out, the
pandemic has not gone
anywhere. What is the
need for students of
Classes I through IX to
attend school in per-
son?” one parent asked,
asking not to be named.
The move comes on a
day when the state re-
ported 230 new cases,
taking the total tally to
12,22,349 cases since
COVID-19 first hit in
March 2020. The 24-
hour period ended 5 pm
on Friday also brought
two more fatalities,
which took the total
death toll to 10,926.
With at least 491 pa-
tients discharged dur-
ing the day, the total
number of recoveries
has reached 12,09,148.
Gujarat now has 2,275
active cases left.
Ahmedabad led the
district-wise list again,
having reported 102
cases on Friday, the
health department said.
12,09,148
TOTALRECOVERED
491 MORE
IN A DAY
12,22,349
TOTAL CASES
230 CASES
IN A DAY
102 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD
ACTIVE CASES
10,926
TOTAL DEATHS
2,275
02 DEATHS
IN A DAY
COVID-19 UPDATE
Students of pre-school and Classes I through IX returned to
campuses on Monday. —FILE PHOTO
ASLICEOFHISTORY
To mark Ahmedabad’s 611th Foundation Day, we bring you a
glimpse of a relatively hidden gem and one of the city’s oldest
monuments—Qutub-e-Alam’s mosque and tomb—which was
constructed in stages beginning in the mid-1400s. The
Vatva Dargah complex, as it is known locally, con-
tains examples of both the Hindu and Islamic
styles of architecture.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

PERSPECTIVE
04
lVol3lIssueNo.93
l RNINO.GUJENG/2019/79050.
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: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Lust, anger and greed are
the three gates to
self-destructive hell.
—The Bhagwad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Smriti Z Irani
@smritiirani
The contribution of Veer Savarkar ji as
a revolutionary freedom fighter and
his struggle for equality in society,
is unforgettable. He always strongly
expressed his views in favor of the
integrity of India. Humble tributes
to such a great patriot on his death
anniversary.
Ashwini Vaishnaw
@AshwiniVaishnaw
Now we are bringing fiber network
to every village of the country, 5G
technology will also arrive soon: PM @
narendramodi #HealthInBudget
TOP TWEETS
PRISON REFORMS
ARE NEED OF THE
HOUR, AND SC
SHOWS THE WAY
he Supreme Court
has taken a big step
towards the much-
needed prison re-
forms in the country
.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kis-
han Kaul and MM Sundresh em-
phasised on government and
courts adopting a reformative
approach by allowing bail to
those who have spent 10-14 years
in jail while serving a life term.
Remittingtheirsentencecanalso
be considered, the bench said.
The approach will help reform a
prisonerandalsoreducethehigh
number of pendency of cases.
The Supreme Court observed
that the poor and underprivi-
leged languish in jail, while the
rich and influential can secure
bail and also escape the law by
fleeing the country
.
While the government has to
take the call on remission of sen-
tence, High Courts have to be
more responsive towards the
plight of prisoners whose cases
often don’t come up for hearing
for months and that skews the
disposal rate. The order will go a
long way in alleviating the plight
of prisoners.
T
ermany is getting
all the flak for be-
ing Europe’s weak
link in its re-
sponse to Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine. Former
defence minister A. Kramp-
Karrenbauer tweeted, “I’m so
angry at ourselves for our
historical failure. After Geor-
gia, Crimea, and Donbas, we
have not prepared anything
that would have really de-
terred Putin.” On the contra-
ry, Germany’s navy chief
Vice-Admiral Kay-Achim
Schonbach while visiting In-
dia spoke in favour of Rus-
sian President Vladimir Pu-
tin “should be given the re-
spect he deserves”. He also
said that Crimea may not go
back to Ukraine. Schonbach
had to resign after making
that statement.
Some hesitancy on the part
of Germany is being felt in its
response to the Ukraine crisis
and that, as Latvia’s defence
minister Artis Pabrik said,
“Europeansecuritycannotbe
done without a leading Ger-
man role”. German Chancel-
lor Olaf Scholz recently ruled
out providing lethal weapons
to Ukraine while aligning
himself with other EU poli-
cies. Instead of weapons, Ber-
lin reportedly offered to send
5,000helmetsandmedicalaid.
It is not known if the helmets
are going to be bullet proof.
Germany is being guided
by a feeling of guilt and its
“historicalresponsibility”for
World War II and its cata-
strophic effect on Russia.
Lakhsof Russianswerekilled
in the War which was started
by the Third Reich. If, howev-
er, Germany longs for “his-
toric reconciliation” with
Russia, it has to do the same
withUkrainewhichremained
under the occupation of the
Third Reich from 1941-42.
Berlin’s passive response
to the Ukraine crisis makes
it a weak link in the Europe-
an Union.
GERMANY CHARTS ITS
OWN COURSE ON RUSSIA
Germany is being guided
by a feeling of guilt & its
“historic
responsibility” for
World War II and its
catastrophic effect on
Russia.Lakhs of Russians
were killed in the War
started by Third Reich
G
TREASURED EPISTLES
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India
Naroji Road
Kilpauk,
Madras-10
24 November 1966
My dear Natwar,
I was so glad to read your letter of 22 November.
I shall indeed be very glad if you can get me the N.Y.T review of your
anthology
. I have not yet received the copy of the book from the publish-
ers. Sea mail takes more time.
I am not surprised you so much like the service
under Smt. Indira Gandhi. She is splendidly endowed
with all the graces of a good civilized lady
. She grew
up under the example of her gracious father.
I can never forget the moving gesture of her affec-
tion when she came and received my daughter at the
Delhi railway station (Mrs. Devadas Gandhi), when
I took her to Delhi from Bombay after she unexpect-
edly and cruelly lost her husband. Indira Gandhi whom I did not expect
was at the station and led my daughter to the car like a sister. The touch
was a consolation both to her and to me. This was August 1957, when I
had already begun openly and severely to criticise Jawaharlalji.
Yours Sincerely
(C. Rajagopalachari)
Shri Natwar Singh
New Delhi
Broadlands,
Romsey,
Hampshire, SO5 9ZD
14th February 1978
My dear Natwar,
Thank you so much for your letter of the 3rd February
.
How nice of you to have talked to President Kaunda about the Unit-
ed World College. In your letter you say, “Sir Ian’s
material arrived just in time. KK was interested in
the project. As I did not wish to add to his paper work
I took the liberty of telling him that you would be
writing to him. He was delighted.”
This is slightly ambiguous to me because I am not
sure whether you left behind the material which Ian
Gourlay had given you, with the President, or wheth-
er you want me to send a new lot of material to the
President. In any case, I imagine it is best not to worry him about this
until shortly before his visit in the summer, as then I can ask for an
interview to discuss it all with him.
I can also discuss all this with the Prince of Wales, who really is now
in charge.
With best wishes to you and Hem.
Yours ever,
[Mountbatten of Burma]
PS
Since dictating the above I have had your second letter and have
seen John Baratt and he tells me that he has already spoken to you
over telephone and is arranging for us to meet at my little house in
London, 2 Kinnerton Street, SW1, on my return from
Germany, either on the evening of 6th or the morning
of 7th September.
I look forward very much to seeing you then
13, Akbar Road,
New Delhi
24 January 1966
My dear Natwar,
So the world’s largest democracy has chosen a woman to lead! Indu’s
election has made history- I hope and pray she may be given the wis-
dom. At present the nation is jubilant but when the first excitement
wears off, the usual criticism and fault finding will
begin. It is then that she must be tolerant and have
safe counsel.
The air is thick with rumour about the new cabi-
net and the names will be known to you long before
you receive this letter. I do not know who Indu’s con-
fidants are, except of course, Uma Shankar Dikshit
who has been ‘Eminence Grise’ for many years. But
whoever advises, I hope for the sake of the country
the advice is just and sound.
We are facing a crisis of great magnitude, not only matters like food,
Tashkent etc., but the physiological crisis which has us in its grip and
needs the full hand and far seeing vision of a read leader____________
26th. I was interrupted and now the new Government is in power. A
definitely right-wing government and one over which the establishment
will have some control. I hope Indu gets cooperation and support.
The manner in which the world has hailed the election has been most
heart-warming.
This is the stranger letter- do forgive me. I am now in Bombay help-
ing Tara to move into her flat. I shall return in time for parliament.
Write when opportunity offers.
Love and good wishes
(Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit)
Yadavagiri,
Mysore-2
10 April 1972
My dear Natwar,
What a joy it was being with you in Delhi. I miss you badly, I tell you.
Have you no business which can bring you to Mysore?
I used to be hopeless letter writer before, but now I promise improve-
ment. I am going to write to you as often as I hear from you, and if I
don’t hear from you I will always leave one at credit.
I want some more copies of the photo with the
P.M., preferably some that include Indira, and the
negative of my picture. Could you manage all this?
Iwouldhesitatetobotheranyoneaboutphotographs,
but the occasion is special and I feel I can take this
liberty with you. Thank you.
Did you manage that piece for The Hindustan
Times? How did it go?
I am in torment about the choice of a theme for my next novel. I am
thinking of a new subject each day and rejecting it after a few hours
of enthusiastic speculation. The most acceptable seems to be Woman-
eater of Malgudi!
Please give my remembrance to Deep (An intimate friend of mine.
She was one of the most beautiful women of her generation)
Affectionately
(R.K. Narayan)
The air is thick with rumour about the new cabinet and the names will be known
to you long before you receive this letter. I do not know who Indu’s confidants
are, except of course, Uma Shankar Dikshit who has been ‘Eminence Grise’ for
many years. But whoever advises, I hope for the sake of the country, the advice
is just and sound. (wrote Vijay Lakshmi Pandit)

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INDIA
05
Bengaluru (PTI): The
murder of a 27-year-old
Bajrang Dal activist
Harsha Hindu in the
city of Shivamogga in
Karnataka by a gang of
armed men on Febru-
ary 20 is being current-
ly viewed by police as a
localised crime stem-
ming from a long-stand-
ing communal rivalry,
even as investigations
are looking closely at
how the gang of 10 peo-
ple who have been ar-
rested so far assembled
to carry out the murder.
All the arrested indi-
viduals have been sent
to police custody till
March 7 by a local court.
The timing of the
murder of the right-
wing activist, who has
antagonised Muslims
in the region in the past
with derogatory re-
marks against Islam on
social media, amid the
ongoing protests over
restrictions on wearing
the hijab by Muslim
girls in schools and col-
leges is also under po-
lice scrutiny
.
“There is no immedi-
ate motive that has
emerged from the inves-
tigations into the mur-
der. It seems to be part
of a long rivalry be-
tween Hindutva gangs
and Muslim gangs in
the area,” a senior po-
lice official said while
indicating that further
investigations are on.
Harsha Nagaraj alias
Harsha Hindu was
murdered on the night
of February 20 in the
Doddapet police station
limits of Shivamogga
after he left home to
have dinner at a restau-
rant with a couple of
friends. A gang that
was lying in wait in a
car and an auto rick-
shaw hacked the Ba-
jrang Dal worker to
death with swords
when he got separated
from his associates for
a while. Shivamogga
witnessed a brief spell
of violence the next
morning when Har-
sha’s funeral proces-
sion was taken out.
The investigation so
far has allegedly re-
vealed that the main
accused Mohammed
Kashif (30), who was
reportedly identified
by witnesses at the
crime scene and was
detained a few hours
after the murder,
brought together the
gang that was involved
in the murder.
K’taka: Investigation bespeaks local gang rivalries
BAJRANG DAL ACTIVIST MURDER
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: The
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty is worried about
Maharashtra. It seems
that it has not being
able to digest the joint
government of Shiv
Sena, NCP and Con-
gress, termed the
Maha Vikas Agadi
(MVA) in Maharash-
tra. At first the BJP
tried to form the gov-
ernment in some way
and when it did not get
success, and MVA gov-
ernment was formed,
thereafter, from day
one, the Maharashtra
BJP leaders have been
giving deadlines by
which, according to
them, the MVA gov-
ernment will fall. That
is why it seems that
along with the politi-
cal efforts of the BJP,
the efforts of some
other ‘power centres’
have also intensified.
First Home Minister
Anil Deshmukh was
arrested and now
Nawab Malik has been
arrested by the ED.
Apart from these, the
sword is hanging on
about a dozen minis-
ters, MLAs, MPs in-
cluding Shiv Sena MP
Sanjay Raut.
Three days ago, BJP
leader and senior cen-
tral government min-
ister Narayan Rane
had said that the ED’s
notice is ready against
four leaders of Maha-
vikas Aghadi. Think,
he said and in three
days the ED team
reached the place of a
senior minister with a
notice and arrested
him too. The question
is, how did Narayan
Rane know about the
preparations of the
ED? Maybe his ‘extra
knowledge’ of the
functioning of central
agencies in Mumbai
region. Notably, Shiv
Sena’s powerful MP
Sanjay Raut had ac-
cused only a few days
back those central
agencies are being
misused against the
state government!
However, on one
hand the central agen-
cies are after the min-
isters and leaders of
the state and on the
other hand the state
government agencies
are taking action
against the central
government ministers
and BJP leaders. BMC
officials have also
probed the alleged il-
legal construction of
Narayan Rane’s bun-
galow in Juhu. Sanjay
Raut has said that sep-
arate rooms is being
prepared in the jail for
four big leaders of BJP.
Word is that the state’s
Anti-Corruption Bu-
reau (ACB), state po-
lice and Brihanmum-
bai Municipal Corpo-
ration (BMC) officials
are preparing the files
of BJP leaders.
The way the state
agencies harassed the
BJP leaders in West
Bengal against the ac-
tion of the central
agencies, similarly
preparations are being
made in Maharashtra
to take action. In this
way, it may be the be-
ginning of another un-
fortunate chapter in
the relationship of the
Centre and the Maha-
rashtra government.
YOU HIT ME, I HIT YOU: THE NEW AGE POLITICAL
MANTRA OF CENTRE AND MAHA GOVERNMENT!
Balrampur (PTI): Con-
gress general secretary
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
on Saturday blamed the
politics of caste and reli-
gion for the ‘dismal’
state of affairs in Uttar
Pradesh and said the
non-Congress govern-
ments for three decades
haddonenothingexcept
tall claims of develop-
ment.
The Congress leader
also took a swipe at
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi saying how he
could remain ignorant
to the raging stray cattle
menace faced by the
farmers of the state.
“UP could have pro-
gressed but there are
only advertisements on
which the BJP is spend-
ing crores of rupees.
The CM, PM all are of
the BJP but nothing is
here in the name of de-
velopment, why has
such a situation
emerged, and its direct
answer is that since the
past 30 years, it has been
politics in the name of
caste and religion,” Pri-
yanka said at an elec-
tion meeting in Pani-
yara.
She said the BSP, SP
and the BJP were able to
form governments only
by “exploiting the emo-
tions” of the people over
caste and religion, and
hence, the state did not
see development.
“Forsuchastateof af-
fairs, you all are also at
faultasyouhavemadeit
their(leaders)habitthat
there is no need to work.
You will vote by closing
your eyes on emotional
issues even if your chil-
dren remain unem-
ployed,” Priyanka said
addressing the voters.
UP not developed because you vote for
caste, religion: Priyanka tells voters
In poll-bound
States, cash,
drugs worth
`1K cr seized
Make Akhilesh sit at home
to end mafia raj: JP Nadda
Manipur: BJP clarifies
stand on repeal of AFSPA
Students must be guided
by school uniform: Naidu
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
If you are
working hard
to get your son
educated and giving
him everything he wants
without him working for
it, he turn out to be ‘ni-
kamma’ (useless)...you
have turned the leaders
into something similar.
—Priyanka Gandhi Vadra,
Congress leader
Kushinagar (ANI):
Taking a dig at Sama-
jwadiPartychief Akh-
ilesh Yadav, Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) na-
tionalpresidentJPNa-
dda on Saturday said
that to end mafia raj
and eliminate terror-
ists in Uttar Pradesh
and maintain law and
order in the state it is
necessary “to make
Akhilesh sit at home”.
Addressing a public
meeting in Uttar
Pradesh’s Kushinagar,
theBJPnationalpresi-
dent asked the people
to end the mafia raj or
not? Do they want to
eliminate terrorists in
Uttar Pradesh or not?
“If all this is to end
and rule of law is to be
maintained in the
state then it is neces-
sary to make Akhilesh
sit at home,” said Na-
dda. Nadda said under
PrimeMinisterNaren-
dra Modi and state
chief minister Yogi
Adityanath’s policies,
BJP has played a spe-
cialroleinthedevelop-
ment of UP state.
“Under the leader-
ship of PM Modi and
due to the policies of
Yogi Adityanath, BJP
has played a special
role in the develop-
mentof UttarPradesh.
No other party has the
power to keep the re-
port card of its work
done in front of the
public, only BJP has
this power,” he noted.
Balrampur (PTI):
Samajwadi Party
president Akhilesh
Yadav on Saturday
said the Uttar Pradesh
Assembly polls are for
saving democracy and
the country’s Consti-
tution, which will be
“destroyed” by the
BJP if it returns to
power in the State.
In an apparent jibe
at Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Mr.
Yadav said though the
BJP government talks
about sabka saath,
sabka vikas, its people
are backward only in
documents and not by
birth. “These elec-
tions are for saving
democracy and the
Constitution,” he said.
“If the BJP comes to
power, it will destroy
both,” Mr. Yadav al-
leged in an election
rally in Balrampur.
Attacking the rul-
ing party over law and
order, Mr. Yadav said
the maximum custo-
dial deaths have taken
place under their gov-
ernment. “Even an
IPS officer is abscond-
ing in a case of illegal
recovery and his ar-
rest is yet to be made,”
he said.
Attacking Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath, Mr. Yadav said
he calls him a “rioter”
but doesn’t see his
own face in the mir-
ror. The BJP govern-
ment is making tall
claims about giving
free ration to the poor
but the scheme will be
stopped after March,
Mr. Yadav said.
Guwahati (Agencies):
Ahead of the first phase
of assembly polls in Ma-
nipur, Chief Minister N
Biren Singh has said
that five years of his
government in the state
has ensured peace
which has laid the foun-
dation for the repeal of
the Armed Forces (Spe-
cial Powers) Act (AFS-
PA) in the future. This
statement comes at a
time when the BJP has
been criticised for its
silence over AFSPA in
its campaign and mani-
festo. All other leading
political parties in the
fray have pitched the re-
peal of AFSPA as a key
poll promise in Ma-
nipur.
“We have a sensitive
border with Myanmar.
So, the Centre has to be
convinced before lift-
ing AFSPA. The peace
talks process with re-
bel groups will pave the
way for this. The state
government will have
to create the ground
situation, and for the
last five years, we have
been working towards
it,” the CM said.
Bengaluru (PTI): Amid
the raging Hijab contro-
versy in Karnataka,
VicePresidentVenkaiah
Naidu on Saturday said
unnecessary controver-
sies should not be en-
couraged and students
should be guided by the
school uniform.
“Unnecessary contro-
versies should not be
encouraged like the con-
troversy going on in
Karnataka. In a school,
you are all guided by the
school uniform, what-
ever uniform it is,” Vice
President Naidu said af-
ter inaugurating the in-
door sports arena and
L’atelier at a private
school in Bengaluru.
Underlining the need
to realise the beauty of
diverse Indian culture,
the Vice President said,
“Vividhata mein Ekta,
Bharat Ki Visheshta
(Unity in Diversity,
that’s India’s specialty).
Alag Bhasha, Alag Vesh
- Phir Bhi Apna Ek Desh
(Different languages,
different costumes - yet
we are one nation).
New Delhi (PTI): The
ElectionCommissionto-
daysaidtheenforcement
agencies had seized
cash, liquor and drugs
worthoverRs1,000crore
during the ongoing As-
sembly elections in five
poll-bound states.
Punjab tops the list
with total seizures
worth over Rs 510 crore,
followed by Uttar
Pradesh (Rs 307 crore).
While UP topped in
liquor seizures (worth
Rs 54 crore), Punjab
topped in case of drugs
(Rs 376 crore). Seizures
worth Rs 300 crore
were made in these
states during the 2017
Assembly elections.
IND BEAT SL, GO 2-1 UP
Shreyas Iyer (74* off 44) and cameos from Sanju Samson (39 off 25) and Ravindra Jadeja
(45 off 18) saw India chase down target of 186 to beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets in the
second T20I at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Saturday.
UP polls for saving democracy,
Constitution: Akhilesh Yadav
JP Nadda addressing a public meeting.
Manipur CM N Biren Singh
interacts with a woman during
a door-to-door campaign.
Various pro-Hindu organisations stage a protest march over the
alleged murder of Bajrang Dal activist. —FILE PHOTO
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray and others. —FILE PHOTO
HIJAB ROW
Anti-terror-
ism squads
will be
formed in Bahraich,
Rampur, Meerut,
Kanpur and Deogarh.
—JP Nadda,
BJP national president

INDIA
06
Sharat K Verma
Kolkata: Trinamool
Congress president and
West Bengal Chief Min-
ister Mamata Banerjee
will hold the second
meeting of her party’s
newly formed National
Working Committee in
Delhi. She had recently
constituted a working
committee of 20 mem-
bers after being elected
the party president for
the third time in a row.
This working commit-
teeissimilartotheCWC
of the Congress. Mama-
ta has included most of
the senior leaders of the
party in this. Although
many MPs of the party
like Derek O’Brien, Sau-
gata Roy
, Mohua Moitra,
Sushmita Deb etc. are
not included in the
working committee.
State officials and state
government ministers
have also been given a
place in this.
Mamata is coming to
Delhi with all of them
and has called a meet-
ing of the working
committee on March
10. After that she will
stay in Delhi for two-
three days.
Keep in mind that
from March 14, the sec-
ond part of the budget
session of Parliament
is starting. Before that,
she would sit in Delhi
and try to engage in
the politics of forming
a federal front against
the central govern-
ment. It will be her ef-
fort that she should
meet the Chief Minis-
ters of other regional
parties at the same
time. Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister MK
Stalin had talked about
meeting all the Chief
Ministers in Delhi,
therefore, perhaps
Mamata is coming to
Delhi only for that
meeting.
Mamata's 'Dilli Chalo' slogan to forge Oppn alliance
under the garb of Working Committee meeting
New Delhi (PTI): The
Union Cabinet chaired
by Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi on Saturday
approved the national
rolloutof CentralSector
Scheme, Ayushman
Bharat Digital Mission
(ABDM) of health min-
istry with a budget of Rs
1,600 crore for five years.
The National Health
Authority (NHA) will
be the implementing
agency of Ayushman
(ABDM).
The digital health so-
lutions across health-
care ecosystem have
proventobeof immense
benefit over the years,
with CoWIN, Arogya
Setu and eSanjeevani
further demonstrating
the role technology can
play in enabling access
to healthcare.
Based on the founda-
tions laid down in the
form of Jan Dhan, Aad-
haar and Mobile (JAM)
trinity and other digital
initiatives of the gov-
ernment, Ayushman
(ABDM) is creating an
online platform
through the provision
of a wide-range of data,
information and infra-
structure services, duly
leveraging open, inter-
operable, standard-
based digital systems,
while ensuring the se-
curity, confidentiality
and privacy of health-
related personal infor-
mation.
Under the ABDM,
citizens will be able to
create their Ayushman
Bharat Health Account
numbers, to which
their digital health re-
cords can be linked.
The mission is expect-
ed to improve equitable
access to quality
healthcare by encour-
aging use of technolo-
gies such as telemedi-
cine and enabling na-
tional portability of
health services.
New Delhi (ANI):Chief
Justice of India NV Ra-
mana on Saturday said
that provisions for
stronger enforcement
and action against in-
fringement are the need
of the hour and with
start-ups
c o m -
ing up in a big way
across the country IPR
(intellectual property
rights) field of law has
become more relevant
than ever before.
Provisions for
stronger enforcement
and action against in-
fringement are the
need of the hour.
Awareness campaigns,
especially in rural ar-
eas, are required to be
undertaken. There
have been a few suc-
cess stories like
Darjeeling tea
and Chanderi
silk. These
success sto-
ries need to
be stud-
ied and
re p l i -
cated
i n
other GIs (Geographi-
cal Indications) as
well. With the start-
ups coming up in a big
way across the country
driven by innovative
youth, this field of law
has become more rele-
vant than ever before,
the CJI said at the Na-
tional Seminar on the
adjudication of IPR
disputes in India in
New Delhi.
The CJI said when-
ever entrepreneurs and
hosts around the world
ask him as to how in-
vestor-friendly the In-
dian judicial system is,
his answer has always
remained the same;
that the Indian judici-
ary is absolutely inde-
pendent and it always
treats all the parties
equally and equitably.
Kupwara (PTI): Kup-
wara Police along with
28 Rashtriya Rifles in a
joint operation on Fri-
day apprehended two
overground workers
(OGWs) who were plan-
ningtojointerrorranks.
As per the statement
of a senior police offi-
cial from Sogam police
station, “Two individu-
als namely Rashid Ah-
mad Peer and Adil Hus-
sain Shah came under
the observation of the
security forces when
they were found suspi-
cious in their move-
ment and pro-terrorism
activity on the social
media platform.”
Police apprehended
them in a joint opera-
tion at Lolab and re-
covered incriminating
material. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. —FILE PHOTO
AMID RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS
PM CALLS UPON PRIVATE FIRMS TO
ENTER MEDICAL SECTOR IN BIG WAY
New Delhi (PTI): Not-
ing that Indian students
have been going to
many small countries
for medical education
despite the language
barrier, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Sat-
urday urged the private
sector to make a big
presence in the field.
Speaking after inau-
gurating a webinar on
the Union budget an-
nouncements on the
health sector, Modi sug-
gested that state govern-
ments should also for-
mulate good policies for
land allotment for medi-
cal education so that In-
dia could produce a
large number of doctors
and paramedics to fulfil
even global demand.
His remarks assume
significance at a time
when a large number of
Indian students, many
of them studying medi-
cine, have been stuck in
Ukraine following the
Russian attack on that
country
.
Modi made no direct
mention of the crisis
though. The prime min-
ister said Indian stu-
dents going abroad for
study, especially in
medical education, also
result in hundreds of
billions of rupees exit-
ing the country as well.
Our children today
are going to small coun-
tries for study, especial-
ly in medical education.
Language is a problem
there. They are still go-
ing...Can our private
sector not enter this
field in a big way? Can
our state governments
not frame good policies
for land allotment re-
garding this, he asked.
India can benefit a lot
from its demographic
dividend in this field,
he said, adding Indian
doctors have enhanced
the country's prestige
across the world in the
last many decades with
their work.
In the webinar, Modi
also highlighted his
government's efforts to
provide quality health
as well as wellness ser-
vices to people with its
holistic approach to the
healthcare system.
188 people from Uttarakhand
stranded in Ukraine: State DGP
Dehradun (PTI):
Amid the ongoing
Ukraine crisis, Uttara-
khand DGP Ashok Ku-
mar on Saturday said
the police have re-
ceived information
that about 188 people
from Uttarakhand are
The Ministry of Ex-
ternal Affairs (MEA)
is constantly working
out necessary ar-
rangements to bring
back Indian people
“We have got infor-
mation that 188 people
from Uttarakhand are
MEA is working on
necessary arrange-
ments to get them out.
The helpline number
of Uttarakhand is
112,” Kumar said.
A number of explo-
sions were heard in
the capital city of
Ukraine as the Rus-
sian special military
operation entered the
second day, local me-
diareportedonFriday
.
On Monday, Rus-
sian President
Vladimir Putin rec-
ognised Ukraine’s
breakaway regions
— Donetsk Lu-
hansk — as inde-
pendent entities.
Later, Putin ordered
special military op-
erations “to protect”
the people in the
Donbas region.
Several countries
including the UK, the
US, Canada, and the
EU have condemned
Russia and imposed
sanctions on Moscow.
Kerala to bear airfare
of students from Delhi,
and Mumbai to state
WILL STRENGTHEN
DIGITAL HEALTH
ECOSYSTEM: MIN
T h i r u v a n a n -
thapuram (ANI):
The Kerala govern-
ment will bear the
cost of flight tickets
forthestudentsarriv-
ing in Delhi and
Mumbai on evacua-
tion flights arranged
by the Union Govern-
ment from Ukraine
which is under attack
from Russian forces,
state Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan said
on Saturday
.
Vijayan said steps
havebeentakenbythe
state government to
collect the details of
Keralitesreachingthe
countryfromUkraine.
The Kerala Resident
Commissioner in Del-
hi and the NORKA of-
ficials will ensure fa-
cilities for the smooth
travel of students to
thestatefromairports
of DelhiandMumbai,
VijayansaidinaFace-
book post.
“Ayushman Bharat
Health Count Num-
ber (ABHA Number)
will strengthen
the digital health
ecosystem in the
country. Now the cit-
izens will be able to
access their health
records anywhere
in a digital way,”
Mandaviya said.
Ayushman Bharat
Digital Mission
rolled out for 5 yrs
Action against infringement
need of hour: CJI Ramana
JK: TWO MEN PLANNING
TO JOIN TERROR RANKS
ARRESTED IN KUPWARA
Mumbai (PTI): The
Bombay High Court on
Saturday extended till
March 3 the 'medical
bail' granted to poet
and activist Varavara
Rao, an accused in the
Elgar Parishad-Maoist
links case.
Rao, 82, was first
granted bail on health
grounds by the high
court in February 2021
for a period of six
months. He was also
asked not to leave
Mumbai.
He then filed an ap-
plication seeking ex-
tension of the bail and
subsequently filed an-
other plea seeking per-
manent bail on the
ground of ill-health.
Nalgonda (PTI): A
trainer aircraft crashed
in Telangana's Nalgon-
da on Saturday. The
trainee pilot, identified
as 28-year-old G Mahi-
ma from Tamil Nadu,
died in the crash.
The aircraft - a Fly-
techAviationCessna152
- had taken off from
Macherla in Guntur dis-
trictof AndhraPradesh.
It is believed that it hit
an electric pole before
crashing to the ground.
It was flying across the
Andhra Pradesh-Telan-
ganaborderandcrashed
in an field in Tungatur-
thi village of Telanga-
na’s Nalgonda district.
The aircraft belonged
to a private aviation
academy called Flytech
Aviation. The victim, G
Mahima, was pursuing
a commercial pilot
course at the institute.
Srinagar (PTI): The
Jammu-Srinagar Na-
tional Highway was
closed for vehicular
traffic on Saturday fol-
lowing fresh snowfall
and multiple landslides
at different places.
The national high-
way is the only all-
weather road linking
Kashmir with the rest
of the country
.
The Banihal-Qazi-
gund sector of the high-
way experienced over-
night snowfall while
landslides and shooting
of stones from the hill-
ocks were triggered by
heavy rains at Rompa-
di-Banihal, Shalgardh-
Wagan, Moumpassi-
Ramsu, Panthiyal, Dig-
dole, Maroog, Monkey
Morh, Cafeteria Morh
and Mehar in Raman
district.
The closure of the
highway left dozens of
trucks stranded at dif-
ferent places.
Jammu-Srinagar NH shut after snow, landslides
MEN, MACHINE AT WORK TO
CLEAR DEBRIS OFF HIGHWAY
Srinagar: With the improvement in
the weather, the road-clearance agen-
cies have pressed men and machinery
to clear the debris off the highway. The
Marwah region of Kishtwar district
received six inches of snowfall.
TRAINEE PILOT KILLED AS TRAINER
AIRCRAFT CRASHES IN TELANGANA
Elgar Parishad case accused
Varavara Rao's bail extended
Huge boulders triggered by landslide block
Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Our children today
are going to small
countries for study,
especially in medi-
cal education. Can
our private sector
not enter this field
in a big way?
—Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister

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COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
5,959,362
TOTAL DEATHS
363,695,182
TOTAL RECOVERED
64,253,653
ACTIVE CASES
433,908,197
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
513,512
TOTAL DEATHS
42,270,482
TOTAL RECOVERED
121,850
ACTIVE CASES
42,905,844
TOTAL CASES
JAVADEKAR,
PRASAD
GANGWAR MAY GET
GOVERNORSHIP!
Union Minister San-
tosh Gangwar’s
spirit was broken be-
cause he couldn’t get
ticket for his daughter
evenaftertoilinghardin
theUPpolls.Disappoint-
ment grew to such an
extent that Gangwar di-
rectly called BJP’s num-
ber two Amit Shah say-
ing, “I am an eight-time
MP
,butcouldn’tevenget
mydaughteraticket.”If
sources are to be be-
lieved, Shah consoled
him saying, “don’t lose
yourheart,wearethink-
ing of something big for
you, you start preparing
to head to Raj Bhavan.”
At once, all the sadness
wasremovedfromGang-
war’s face. After UP
, let’s
go to Patna. Ex- Union
Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad after losing his
chair, was active in
Sangh’s various pro-
grammes. He was ad-
vised to distance him-
self from political fo-
rums, because he could
getanimportantrespon-
sibility
, which may be
non-political, but consti-
tutional. Speculations
are rife that the soft-spo-
ken ex- Union Minister,
Prakash Javadekar has
also got a hint that he
can be made Governor
of an important state.
WILL THE
COMMAND OF BJP
BE IN SHAH’S
HANDS AGAIN?
After March 10, the
BJP intends to
change CMs of three
states i.e. Karnataka,
Himachal and Tripu-
ra. According to
sources, Amit Shah
himself,inaconver-
sationwithSangh’s
top leaders, ad-
mitted that
only JP
N a -
dda can save BJP in
Himachal. If Nadda does
indeed move to Shimla,
Shah may once again be-
come BJP’s National
President. However, Kar-
nataka CM Bommai has
pleaded with PM and
Shah that ‘Super CM of
K’taka i.e. BL Santosh
sits in Delhi and takes all
important decisions so
Bommai has nothing
muchlefttodo.Afterthis
the PM sarcastically told
Santosh, “We changed 3
CMs in Uttarakhand
its fate is for everyone to
see. So now don’t convert
Karnataka into Uttara-
khand. As for Tripura,
young CM Biplab Deb is
facing opposition from
his MLAs.
WHY IS DIDI SO
ANGRY WITH
PK?
It is believed
that these
days Mamta
Banerjee is not
even happy
w i t h
Prashant
Kishor.
The rift
between these two has
grownsobig thaton Ab-
hishek Banerjee’s ad-
vice, PK has left Kolkata
and is focusing on Delhi.
It is said that this rift
started with municipal
polls in Bengal. Mamta
had entrusted this work
to PK. When PK visited
Bagdogra, he met
Gorkha leaders of Dar-
jeeling there and with-
out asking Didi, he
promised them that
TMC would leave some
seats of Siliguri Munici-
palCorporationforthem
and will not field its can-
didates on these seats.
Mamata went furious on
this. In view of Kolkata
civic polls, WB’s Local
Intelligence Unit com-
plainedMamtathatthey
havebeenaskedformon-
ey in lieu of tickets.
Mamata immediately
cancelled list issued a
newone.PKwasalsoan-
noyed by this and sent
an SMS to Mamta that it
would be difficult for
him to work in these cir-
cumstances, to which
Mamata replied, ‘Ok’.
PK’s OVERWHELMING
AMBITIONS!
Prashant Kishor, the
country’s famous
election strategist,
called upon Telangana
CM K Chandrashekhar
Rao recently
. The meet-
ing lasted for a long
time that led to specula-
tions that the work of
TRS poll campaign was
given to PK’s company
‘IPAC’. After this, when
Chandrashekhar Rao
met Maharashtra
CM Uddhav
Thackeray, Ud-
dhav asked,
“These days you
have started
making state-
m e n t s
ag ainst
M o d i ,
h a v e
y o u
hired PK? Rao replied
sarcastically, “Our ship
is very small, how will
he (PK) fit in it? He is
considering himself as
PM contender in 2029.”
An uneasy silence pre-
vailed thereafter.
AAP’S AKALI LOVE!
Reliablesourcesclose
to AAP reveal that
the day when polls were
to be conducted in Pun-
jab, Raghav Chaddha,
Arvind Kejriwal’s close
aid, called up Akali lead-
erBikramSinghMajith-
ia and told him that he
was doing very well in
theelections.“Yourelec-
tion has picked up a lot
in last five days. Our
thought process lead-
ership are almost the
same. AAP can nei-
thergowithCon-
gress nor with
BJP
, but we can
talk with Akali
Dal. If such a
situation arises
on March 10,
t h e n
b o t h
t h e
par-
ties can work on the for-
mula of two-and-a-half
years.” However, AAP’s
CM face Bhagwant
Mann has claimed that
even if Akali Dal, BJP
Captainjoinhands,then
alsotheycan’tform gov-
ernment in Punjab.
PRIYANKA’S
FRANKNESS!
Ajournalist in Luc-
know recently
asked her saying, ‘Is the
Congress’ own informa-
tion system so shabby
that party’s big leaders
leave it and join the BJP
,
but the high command
doesn’t even know about
it?’ Priyanka replied,
“This is politics, people
will come and go. But
she is very angry with
two people, one the son
of Madhav Rao ji who
toppled Congress gov-
ernmentinMPtoswitch
to the BJP
. About RPN,
shealreadyknewthathe
wasplayinginthehands
of the BJP
, in collabora-
tion with Banna Gupta,
a minister in the Soren
government, he was
trying to destabi-
lize the Congress-
backed govern-
ment in
Jharkhand.Bothof
them contacted
some dozen Con-
g r e s s
MLAs
a n d
asked them to join the
BJP
. When I came to
know about this, I spoke
toRPNmyself,andasked
him ‘Does he want to
join BJP?’ but RPN flatly
refused.Threedayslater,
he called the AICC office
four times and said that
heowedthepartyRs1.10
lakh on account of air-
fare, etc. So, it should be
cleared immediately
.
When this matter came
to my notice, I asked the
accounts people to clear
his accounts immedi-
ately
. Because I knew
that now he is not going
to stop.”
...AND FINALLY
If sources are to be be-
lieved, Amit Shah
called up Harsimrat
Kaur on the day of vot-
ing in Punjab at around
8 am. It is said that Shah
told ex- Union Minister
HarsimratKaur“Iknow
thatyoudo‘Paath’inthe
morning, that’s why I
have called you now. I
daily drink the juice of
the Kinnus that you had
sent from your
farm. This
time the Kin-
nu are sweet-
er than last
time.” The
conversation
ended with a
talk on
‘meet-
ing.’
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB
RAMAN
The author is a journalist
and political commentator
and views expressed are
his personal
PRASHANT KISHOR
PRIYANKA GANDHI
BIKRAM SINGH MAJITHIA
RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD AMIT SHAH
Disappointments are a part of
daily life, but let them fall like dry
leaves, don’t weigh down the ‘tree
of life’ with them.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Karan-
deep Kochhar carrying
forward his rich vein of
form from last season,
lifted the title on a dra-
matic final day at the
Gujarat Open Golf
Championship2022held
here at the Kalhaar
Blues Greens Golf
Club.
Chandigarh-based
Karandeep (64-75-69-70),
who was overnight tied
fourth and two off the
lead, came from behind
with a steady two-under
70 on day four to sign off
with a 10-under 278 total
and wrap up his fourth
title at the Rs40 lakh
event.
Arjun Prasad (73-65-
70-71), who like his good
friend Kochhar was also
overnight tied fourth,
came within striking
range of his maiden ti-
tle before narrowly
missing out. The Delhi
golfer totalled nine-un-
der 279 following a final
round of 71 to secure his
second runner-up finish
on the PGTI.
Ranjit Singh of Chan-
digarh, the joint over-
night leader, submitted
a card of 74 to claim
third place at eight-un-
der 280.
Twenty-two-year-old
Karandeep Kochhar,
who secured second
place on the PGTI Order
of Merit last year cour-
tesy of his two wins,
made a slow start with
two birdies and two bo-
geys on the front-nine as
his approach shot on the
eighth was the highlight
having landed within
six feet to set up a birdie.
The six-feet tall
Karandeepkepthimself
in contention with bird-
ies from tough spots on
the 12th and 14th, both
par-5s. The 15th was
probably the turning
point for Kochhar as he
again got out of trouble
with a chip-in for birdie
even as his nearest rival
and playing partner Ar-
jun Prasad, fresh from a
run of four birdies be-
tween the 10th and 14th,
missed a 12-footer for
birdie.
Gurugram-basedKar-
tik Sharma produced
the day’s best score of 68
to finish tied 10th at two-
under 286. Among the
Gujarat-based golfers,
both Varun Parikh and
Anshul Patel finished
tied 21st at one-over 289.
Shravan Desai took 41st
place at 13-over 301.
Karandeep Kochhar wins Guj Open Golf Championship 2022 title
GOOD FORM

22-year-old
Chandigarh
golfer signed
off with a
10-under
278 total at
the `40
lakh event
Lalit K Jha
Washington (PTI): The
founder of cryptocur-
rency investment plat-
form BitConnect, Satish
Kumbhani (36) of He-
mal in Gujarat, has been
indicted on charges of
orchestrating a global
Ponzi scheme worth $2.4
billion, federal prosecu-
tors said.
According to court
documents, Kumbhani
misled investors about
BitConnect's “Lending
Program”. BitConnect
reached a peak market
capitalisation of $3.4 bil-
lion, the Department of
Justice said.
“This indictment al-
leges a massive crypto-
currency scheme that
defrauded investors of
more than $2 billion,”
US Attorney Randy
Grossman for the South-
ern District of Califor-
nia said on Friday
.
Kumbhani is charged
with conspiracy to com-
mit wire fraud and price
manipulation, opera-
tion of an unlicensed
money transmitting
business and conspira-
cy to commit interna-
tional money launder-
ing. If convicted of all
counts, he faces a maxi-
mum total penalty of 70
years in prison.
Under the “Lending
Program”, Kumbhani,
who is at large, and his
co-conspirators touted
BitConnect's purported
proprietary technology
,
“BitConnect Trading
Bot” and “Volatility
Software”, as being able
to generate substantial
profits. They guaran-
teed returns by using
investors' money to
trade on the volatility of
cryptocurrency ex-
change markets.
As alleged in the in-
dictment, BitConnect
operated as a Ponzi
scheme by paying earli-
er BitConnect investors
with money from later
investors. In total,
Kumbhani and his co-
conspirators obtained
approximately $2.4 bil-
lion from investors.
The indictment,
which was returned by
a federal grand jury in
San Diego, alleges that
after operating for ap-
proximately one year,
Kumbhani abruptly
shut down the “Lending
Program”. He then di-
rected his network of
promoters to fraudu-
lently manipulate and
prop up the price of Bit-
Connect's digital cur-
rency, BitConnect Coin
(BCC), to create the false
appearance of legiti-
mate market demand
for it.
Kumbhani and his
conspirators also con-
cealed the location and
control of the fraud pro-
ceeds obtained from in-
vestorsbycommingling,
cycling, and exchanging
the funds through Bit-
Connect's cluster of
cryptocurrency wallets
and various interna-
tionally based crypto-
currency exchanges. He
further evaded US regu-
lations governing the
financial industry, in-
cluding those enforced
by the Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network
(FinCEN).
For example, al-
though BitConnect op-
erated a money trans-
mitting business
through its digital cur-
rency exchange, BitCon-
nect never registered
with FinCEN, as re-
quired under the Bank
Secrecy Act.
Caption: Karandeep Kochhar with his prize money cheque.
Guj man indicted in US for $2.4 billion fraud
Founder of cryptocurrency
company accused of organizing
global Ponzi scheme
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS
Kumbhani is charged with conspiracy to commit wire
fraud and price manipulation, operation of an unlicensed
money transmitting business and conspiracy to commit in-
ternational money laundering. If convicted of all counts, he
faces a maximum total penalty of 70 years in prison. Under
the “Lending Program”, Kumbhani, who is at large, and his
co-conspirators touted BitConnect's purported proprietary
technology, “BitConnect Trading Bot” and “Volatility Soft-
ware”, as being able to generate substantial profits. They
guaranteed returns by using investors' money to trade on
the volatility of cryptocurrency exchange markets. BitCon-
nect operated as a Ponzi scheme by paying earlier BitCon-
nect investors with money from later investors.

AHMEDABAD, SUNDAY,
FEBRUARY 27, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
ueen of pageantry,
Vasudha shared her
journey, from talent
rounds to workshops.
She glammed the
stage with her beauti-
ful looks and bold per-
sonality
. Vasudha is also work-
ing with her mother in the
child development centre Vid-
hya Aditi Foundation and re-
cently won many hearts with
the title for the First Runner
Up in Elite Miss Rajasthan.
When asked about her jour-
ney
, the diva said, “My journey
has been a roller coaster. My
parents were opposed to the
glamour industry, and con-
vincing them of my modelling
profession was the most diffi-
cult challenge I faced. Model-
ling, in their opinion, is not a
long-term job, but I was able to
persuade them by accepting
their terms. They had asked
me to join the family business
to pursue modelling.”
“But this is not the end of
the struggles. I was completely
new to this fashion world;
learning it from the scratch
was very difficult, but that did
not stop me from following my
dreams,” she added. On her
inspiration, she said, “I look
up to my mom as she is one of
the most hardworking and dis-
ciplined people I have ever
known. At the age of 25, I was
reluctant and scared to start
my modelling career, but she
guided me through this rough
time. She always taught me
one thing ‘if you have the
spark and the confidence no
one can stop you from achiev-
ing your desired goals”.
The diva shared that “In the
future, I want to pursue model-
ling and make a career out of
it. Participating and winning
Elite Miss Rajasthan was a
dream come true. It was a
breakthrough in my model-
ling career. It is my dream to
always work in front of the
camera. I am grateful to my
mentor Gaurav Gaur for his
supportandguidancethrough-
out the Miss Rajasthan Jour-
ney
. I would also like to express
my gratitude to Akansha Bhal-
la ma’am for always motivat-
ing us to work hard and to
push our limits”.
Q
BOLD AND
BOLD AND
BEAUTIFUL
BEAUTIFUL
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Gorgeous model, nimble
psychology student Vasudha
glammed the stage with her
beautiful looks and bold
personality. In an exclusive
interview with City First,
Vasudha Tiwari reveals all
about her journey,
aspirations and vision board

10-11
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
As the summer
tiptoes in, we rush to
embrace the colours
of spring and the sun-
kissed flowers find an
echo in our very own
hearts. City First
brings to you colours,
fashion and hues to
celebrate the incoming
Spring so that the
amazing flowers
which are in bloom
everywhere are in your
heart and soul too!
If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze
that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house
and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,
a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies
seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking
a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,
releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage
so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting
into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.
—Today by Billy Collins
—Today by Billy Collins
Embrace the desi
look with a boldly
patterned flower
lehenga. The
browns are muted
due to the large and
bold bright magenta
flowers and the
dupatta, add silver
jhumkis and a braid
to complete the
aesthetic desi look.
Blue and white
are not colours
normally
associated with
spring but can
there be anything
more spring-like
than these artful
flowers and
leaves? Put a
sprig in your hair
and be ready to
usher in the
season!
Team up a long floral
open kurta with
‘forever’ blue jeans
and you are ready to
rock the world.
Capture the perfect spring
look, white with scattered
coloured patterns, bow-ties
spaghetti with loose flowing
summery palazzo pants.
Off shoulder floral dresses
and crop tops with flare
pants are totally a Spring
look and the printed tribal
border aces the look!
A plain pastel saree
with embroidered
flower motifs,
teamed with a
bralette and you are
more than ready for
a formal dinner to
welcome the spring!
A peach lehenga
with a focus on
green gives it a
bold look and
green dupatta
highlights it,
making it both a
day evening wear.
Celebrate the
power of red as
you ‘spring’ it
with white
flowers. The
spaghetti start
with side slit
and open
sandals make it
perfect.
If you have time,
then ace a special
occasion by
‘Twinning-it’ with
your beloved, carry
it off with panache.
You simply can’t go wrong in
a pastel georgette saree with
lightly coloured flowers
sprinkled all over with fine
gold border and the backless
blouse, hold the look!
Grace your simple green
kurta with a coloured flowery
scarf to add a summerish
spring look to your outfit!
Go for it with a
cream formal
dress with
English grey
and yellow
leaf-flower
print, with cut
sleeves and a
faux side bow.
Men carry off spring flowery
designs as well as women!
Add the oomph factor for an
occasion and go all out with
flowery Indian ensemble and
the plain jackets.

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
show that’s not
only giving en-
trepreneurs a
lifetime oppor-
tunity to pitch
their ideas to
the leading entrepre-
neurs but also giving
an immense knowl-
edge about business to
everyone around and
especially the young
generation to boost
their understanding of
the Indian market and
value everything
around them. The
show helped the young-
sters to understand the
importance of confi-
dence, and education.
Each factor contrib-
utes to becoming a bet-
ter investor and an
amazing team. We be-
lieve, instead of watch-
ing TV shows where
you don’t learn any-
thing beneficial, you
need to watch shows
that adds value to your
life. Also, there are no
gender biases in this
show, you will see an
almost equal number
of female sharks as
males which also en-
courages young ladies
to build their ideas
into business.
After spending two years
in lockdown and fear of Corona,
Delhiites are now thronging the parks
in the captial city to enjoy the fresh air,
practice yoga routines, spend some quality
time with family and witness the beauty of
nature in all it’s glory.
The Twitter handle
of the Police Welfare
Society shared glimpses
of a cultural program
organized at Mata Sundari
Mahavidyalaya, Central
District. Anu Asthana
attended the event to
motivate the students of
the Mahavidyalaya, who
performed several dance
performances and also
showed yoga and self
defence techniques.
FASHION
FADES,
STYLEIS
ETERNAL!
Growing India!
anggana,who
hails from
Delhi, opens
up to City
First about
her life and
journey as a
model.
Although the glam
world and life of su-
permodels may have
been revered for their
desirable fashion and
proclivity for luxury
,
they also tussled with
unsettled upbringings
and challenges
throughout their life-
times. But Kanggana,
an 18-years old pas-
sionate and strong
model from Delhi who
thrives on challenge
and constantly sets
goalsforherself.When
asked about her early
life,thestunningbeau-
ty said, I am current-
ly pursuing my diplo-
ma in fashion commu-
nication and want to
perform wonders in
the near future. She
further added, I am a
social being and
love interacting
with new people
and learning
about their lives
and the hardships
they have gone
through.
When asked
about her likes
and dislikes, she
shared that one
quality
, she ad-
mires the most
about herself is
that she is an op-
timistic and fear-
less person, even
when disaster is at her
doorstep she is ready
to face it with a smile.
This gorgeous diva
started her journey in
the glamour industry
in September 2021 and
over the few months,I
have been fortunate to
complete around 6 de-
signer shoots, compet-
ed in First Miss India
Teen' 21 and was
crowned as the run-
ners up, walked the
ramp for more than 8
designers in Delhi
Runway Week
'21 and not
only this
an arti-
c l e
about
m y
journey
was pub-
lished in December' 21
Edition of Spotless
Fashion Magazine,
she added.
K
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
I must say, it’s an
incredibly interesting
show mainly because one
discovers the
ingenuity, the
creativity and
entrepreneurial
spirit in this
country through
this show and
It is really
helping to understand that
how will your investors
and customers think on
your idea or work. It is
also helping ground level
people to understand
basic financial terms.
“Nobody has a
monopoly on good
ideas.- Kevin O’Leary”
Shark Tank
has helped
me aspire
to dream,
to be an
entrepreneur
one day
because what
I learned here is that if
you have a plan to reach
that specific goal that
separates the successful
ones from the millions
that fail then no one can
stop you.
SAMRIDHI
DOBHAL, DELHI
URVASHI
GARG, DELHI
NATURE AT YOUR SERVICE!
TWITTER UPDATES!
A
LORCA’S COMPOSITIONS RENDERED BY BAKSHI
Kanggana
Minu Bakshi, Meenakshi Lekhi and H E Jose Maria Ridao
Kammi Bakshi
Minu Bakshi
Chetan Seth, Minu Bakshi
Hajindra Talwar, Sunita Kohli,
Minu Bakshi
Sheeba, Dilshad Sheikh and
Benu Gupta
Indu N Singh, Minu Bakshi
Pinki Soni
Mariana Pacheco
Chetan Seth
Bina Ramani
Bunty Aggarwal and Tutu
Reynu Tandon
Minu bakshi
Muzaffar Ali, Minu Bakshi
—PHOTOS BY MANOJ KESHARWANI
Kamna
Prasad
and
Bahar
Shubhanshi Pathak
o mark India’s 75 years
of Independence, the
nationwide celebrations
will also witness the
Embassy of Spain
presenting their Indo-Spanish
cultural events from 21st-27th
February 2022 in the Capital.
“This year marks a significant
date for India since we are
celebrating the 75 years of its
Independence. On this special
occasion, the Embassy of
Spain in India is working on
an event based on one of the
most appreciated Spanish
poet, Federico García Lorca.To
honour AKAM, the Indian artist,
Minu Bakshi, will interpret ten
celebrated Spanish songs. Minu
Bakshi has dedicated her life
to the study of the Spanish
language and culture.“I am
delighted to have Minu Bakshi
sing popular Spanish songs of
Federico García Lorca, which
symbolizes the cultural sangam
of both Spain and India”, says H.E
José Maria Ridao,Ambassador
of Spain in India. Minu Bakshi
has been conferred with the 2nd
Highest Order given to a foreigner
by the King of Spain in 2014,‘The
Order of Isabella la Catolica’ by
the Spanish Government for her
contribution towards promotion
of Spain and its culture. Minu, a
professor of Spanish language
at JNU, Delhi is an accredited
Spanish language interpreter for
the Indian Govt and Chairperson
of the NGO Savera (a society
forunderprivileged women and
children).
AZADI KA AMRIT
MAHOTSAV
T

27022022 first india ahmedabad

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