First india ahmedabad edition-04 january 2021

Only residents can fly kites from home terraces: Dy CM Nitin Patel
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad/Gir Som-
nath: The state does
not plan to further
relax COVID-19 guide-
lines for the Uttaray-
an festival. Only resi-
dents can fly kites
from home terraces,
Deputy Chief Minis-
ter Nitin Patel said on
Sunday. During the
day, Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani on Sun-
day inaugurated the
second phase of
“Kisan Suryodaya Yo-
jana” (KSY) in Una.
Patel told the media
that the final decision
regarding Uttarayan
will be taken by the core
committee, but empha-
sized that the state had
no plan to be liberal for
Uttarayan, which is cel-
ebrated annually on
January 14. He said that
only those residing
within a house can go to
the terrace to fly kites,
and that the entire soci-
ety cannot gather on
the terrace.
Meanwhile, Sunday
also saw the launch
of Phase 2 of the
Kisan Suryodaya Yo-
jana, which was first
launched in October
2019.
Whilethefirstphase
of this yojana covered
1,055 villages of four
districts, including
143 in Gir Somnath,
the second phase will
benefit 1,146 villages
of 12 districts, includ-
ing 109 villages in Una
taluka, CM Rupani
said on Sunday.
“Gujarathasemerged
as a role model state of
the nation. Over the last
two decades, we have
proved to be synony-
mous with various de-
velopment projects,”
CM Rupani said, adding
that the Kisan Suryo-
daya Yojana marks an
auspicious beginning
for farmers in the be-
ginning of the new year.
“The state govern-
ment is always con-
cerned about the wa-
ter and electricity for
farmers. In the com-
ing days, farmers
will double their in-
come through the
Kisan Suryodaya Yo-
jana. Farmers will
now install solar
power projects and
will produce excess
electricity,” he said.
CM inaugurated the
second phase of KSY
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani addressing the gathering at Una after inaugurating the second phase of KSY.
Vishal Srivastav
In a traumatising inci-
dent at least 23 people
(allmen)diedand15peo-
ple were injured after a
concrete roof fell over
them in Uttar Pradesh’s
Ghaziabaddistrict’sMu-
radnagarregiononSun-
dayafternoon.Whilethe
news was being written,
a few people were said to
be still trapped under
the debris.
The excruciating in-
cident took place when
around 50 people were
attending a funeral of a
man who had died on
Sunday. An FIR was
registered against un-
known persons under
sections 304, 337, 338, 427
and 409 of the IPC with
local police station.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
and Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath expressed
grief over the deaths.
Since it was raining
quite heavily on Sunday
afternoon, people at-
tending funeral had
taken shelter under the
concrete structure built
at the site.
The dead, all of them
men, were mostly rela-
tives or neighbours of
Jai Ram, who was being
cremated at that time,
officials said. Given the
heavy spell of rain, the
relief and rescue teams
had a harrowing time
clearing the rubble and
siftingforthosetrapped.
During the incident,
thefirstresponderswere
the locals who rushed to
help people trapped un-
der the debris.
An eye witness of the
incident said that since
the rain was heavy eve-
ryone had taken shelter
undertheroof andwhen
itfell,theyhadnochance
of escaping. “I saw that
the roof came down
crashing within a blink
of an eye and no one got
a chance to escape at all.
I was shocked and when
I gathered courage, I ran
to help them,” said a per-
son who was standing
nearby the shed when it
came down. Various Po-
lice teams followed by a
National Disaster Re-
sponse Force (NDRF)
unit also then reached
the spot, pulling out the
dead and the injured
from the pile. Turn to P6
Rescue operations on after the roof of a crematorium collapsed
due to heavy rain, in Ghaziabad on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: India’s
drugs regulator on
Sunday approved Ox-
ford COVID-19 vac-
cine Covishield, man-
ufactured by the Se-
rum Institute, and in-
digenously developed
Covaxin of Bharat
Biotech for restricted
emergency use in the
country, paving the
way for a massive in-
oculation drive.
The Drugs Con-
troller General of In-
dia (DCGI) granted
the approval on the
basis of recommen-
dations by a COV-
ID-19 Subject Expert
Committee (SEC) of
the Central Drugs
Standard Control Or-
ganisation (CDSCO).
“After adequate ex-
amination, CDSCO
has decided to accept
the recommenda-
tions of the Expert
Committee and, ac-
cordingly, vaccines
of M/s Serum and
M/s Bharat Biotech
are being approved
for restricted use in
emergency situa-
tions,” DCGI Dr V G
Somani told the me-
dia here. Turn to P6
Leavearrogance,
withdrawfarm
laws:SoniatoPM
New Delhi: In a scath-
ing attack on the Centre
over the farmers’ pro-
tests, Congress presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi on
Sunday said that for the
first time since inde-
pendence such an “ar-
rogant” government
has come to power that
cannot see the suffer-
ings of ‘annadatas’, and
demanded that the new
farm laws be immedi-
ately withdrawn uncon-
ditionally.
Sonia said that gov-
ernments and their
leaders who ignore pub-
lic sentiments in a de-
mocracy cannot govern
for long and it is now
quite clear that the pro-
testing farmers will not
bow in the face of the
Centre’s policy of “tire
and pushover”.
“There is still time,
the Modi government
should leave the arro-
gance of power and im-
mediately withdraw the
three black laws uncon-
ditionally to end the
agitation of the farmers
who are dying in the
cold and rain. This is
Rajdharma and a true
tribute to the farmers
who have lost their
lives,” Gandhi said.
Turn to P6
HEAVY RAINS IN
DELHI NCR FAIL TO
DENT PROTESTING
FARMERS’ SPIRITS
New Delhi: A sudden drop
in temperature coupled
with heavy rains on Sun-
day added to the miseries
of farmers protesting
against the contentious
farm laws at the gates
of Delhi. Meanwhile, the
Haryana Police on Sunday
evening fired teargas can-
isters to thwart a march
of a group of agitating
farmers towards Delhi at
Masani barrage in Rewari
district. Farmers first broke
police barricades put up
near Bhudla Sangwari
village and then started
moving towards Delhi in
the evening. Turn to P6
Modi: Approval for vaccines
a decisive turning point
New Delhi: Hailing the
approval given to two
coronavirus vaccines
as a “decisive turning
point” in the spirited
fight against the pan-
demic, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said on
Sunday that this will ac-
celerate the process for
India to become a COV-
ID-free nation.
In a series of tweets,
Modi said it will make
every Indian proud that
both the vaccines are
made in India. “This
shows the eagerness of
our scientific commu-
nity to fulfil the dream
of an Aatmanirbhar
Bharat, at the root of
which is care and com-
passion,” he said, con-
gratulating the nation,
scientists and innova-
tors. He once again ex-
tended his gratitude to
doctors, medical staff,
scientists, police per-
sonnel, sanitation
workers and all ‘Corona
warriors’ for the out-
standing work they
have done in adverse
circumstances, and
said the nation will re-
main eternally grateful
to them for saving many
lives. Turn to P6
23 KILLED IN ROOF COLLAPSE IN UP23 people
died as they
got trapped
after roof of a
crematorium
caved in; Modi
& Yogi express
sorrow, UP
announces
`2 L to next
of kin
GAME ON: INDIA GETS
2 VACCINES IN A DAYCovaxin & Covishield to
shield Indians against Covid
DCGI nod paves way for
massive inoculation drive
Vax approval sparks
battle between
Cong and BJP
New Delhi: Congress leaders on Sunday
raised serious concern over the grant of ap-
proval to Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vac-
cine for restricted use, saying it is “prema-
ture” and can prove dangerous. However,
there were different voices within the party
as its chief spokesperson Randeep Surjew-
ala lauded scientists and researchers of
Bharat Biotech for the indigenous vaccine.
Leaders like Anand Sharma, Jairam
Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor asked the
health minister to explain why mandatory
protocols and verification of data “had been
dispensed with”, prompting a sharp retort
from Union Minister Hardeep Puri who said
the Congress leaders were behaving “true to
their form” and were on a “quest for perma-
nent political marginalisation”.
Sharma, who heads the Parliamentary
panel on Home Affairs which dealt with the
issue at length, said the matter of granting
authorisation for vaccine Turn to P6
WATERSHED MOMENT IN
CORONA BATTLE: VARDHAN
WHO WELCOMES INDIA’S
COVID-19 VACCINE APPROVAL
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also
welcomed the emergency use approval for
Oxford-AstraZeneca’s and Bharat Biotech’s
vaccines against coronavirus and termed it a
“watershed moment” in India’s battle against
COVID-19. Vardhan said the country’s wait for
a COVID-19 vaccine is over with these ap-
provals. A watershed moment in India’s famed
battle against #COVID19 Turn to P6
New Delhi: The World Health Organisation
on Sunday welcomed India’s decision giving
emergency use authorisation to COVID-19
vaccines, saying it will help “intensify” and
“strengthen” its fight against the ongoing pan-
demic. “WHO welcomes the first emergency
use authorisation given to COVID-19 vaccine in
the WHO South-East Asia Region. P6
DCGI Dr V G Somani along with Principal Director General of PIB KS Dhatwalia (R) announce approval
of Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat
Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI
PROBE AGENCIES CARRYING OUT
AN ‘AUDIT’ OF MY FATHER’S GRAVE,
SAYS MEHBOOBA MUFTI
STERN ACTION, LAW NEEDED
AGAINST STONE-PELTERS:
SHIVRAJ SINGH
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AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 41
10°C - 28°COUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
P6P5

NEWSAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021
02www.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: An-
nouncing that it
would contest all
seats in the upcoming
local body elections
in Gujarat, the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)
on Sunday released
its first list of 504
candidates.
The party also ex-
pressed confidence
that it would emerge
as a strong alterna-
tive to the ruling BJP
in Gujarat. AAP’s
Delhi MLA and party
spokesperson Atishi
released the candi-
dates for the elec-
tions, which are ex-
pected to be held in
February.
The elections to six
municipal corpora-
tions, 55 municipali-
ties, 31 district pan-
chayats, and 231 talu-
ka panchayats were
originally slated for
November last year, a
month before their
five-year terms came
to end, but were post-
poned by three months
in view of the COV-
ID-19 pandemic.
AAP’s newly-elect-
ed Gujarat unit chief
Gopal Italia highlight-
ed the fact that 31% of
the party’s 504 candi-
dates are women can-
didates. “We will fight
the elections on key
issues of education,
corruption and health.
The anti-corruption
bureau in Ahmedabad
recently registered
one of its largest cas-
es of corruption. We
will revamp the sys-
tem and eliminate
such corruption,” he
said.
“This is our first
list, and we will an-
nounce the second list
soon. We will contest
the polls on all the
seats. Our issues are
related to education,
health, and corrup-
tion. We want corrup-
tion to end completely
in Gujarat,” he added.
Atishi said that
AAP is entering elec-
toral politics in the
state on the demand of
the state’s people. “Not
just local body polls,
but AAP will also con-
test the Vidhan Sabha
elections in Gujarat as
well as other polls.
People of Gujarat
want an alternative,”
she stated, adding,
“AAP will contest elec-
tions on all seats in
the local bodies polls
in the state for the
first time. With this,
the party will enter
the electoral politics
of Gujarat as a strong
alternative to the BJP.
AAP will work to re-
move the BJP from
power.”
She also said that
the list was being an-
nounced weeks in ad-
vance to enable candi-
dates to conduct door-
to-door campaigns,
adding that the party
has also created an
email address for the
people to register
their complaints
against the candi-
dates, if any.
“We talked about
3Cs: corruption, crim-
inality, and character.
If any candidate is
found wanting in any
of these three, then
the party will change
the candidate. We will
leave the seat empty,
but not let a corrupt
person contest the
election as our candi-
date,” Atishi asserted.
AAP’s Delhi MLA and party spokesperson Atishi received a warm welcome in Ahmedabad’s Naranpura area on Sunday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
AAP declares ‘first’ list of 504
candidates for local body polls
Spokesperson Atishi, in Ahmedabad on Sunday, promised to provide an alternative
to BJP as her party enters electoral politics in Guj First India Bureau
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Pok-
ing holes in the
state’s rhetoric of
“transparent govern-
ance,” the Congress
party has claimed
that the ruling BJP
has made changes to
the tender process,
which could prove
beneficial for their
allies.
“Far from curbing
corruption, the Ru-
pani government’s
changes to the tender
process will give
matchmakers a mo-
nopoly on tenders,”
Gujarat Pradesh
Congress Committee
chief spokesperson
Manish Doshi said
on Sunday, alleging
that the process en-
sured that the gov-
ernment “got tenders
even before tenders
are made”.
According to the
letters of the Com-
merce Secretary of
the Government of
India—as well as the
resolutions of the In-
dustry and Mines De-
partment of the Gov-
ernment of Gujarat
dated October 01,
2 0 1 8 — p u rch a s e s
made by all the de-
partments of the
state government,
board corporations,
taluka-district pan-
chayats or any gov-
ernment institutions
etc., compulsorily
need to be uploaded
on to the e-govern-
ment market. This is
despite the fact that
Gujarat Informatics
Limited(GIL)already
has a five-year tender
(No. HWI101219596)
for the maintenance
of various district
and taluka offices
and operation and
management servic-
es, supply, installa-
tion, commissioning
and software-based
video conferencing
facilities issued on
behalf of the depart-
ment of panchayat,
rural housing and ru-
ral development in
Gandhinagar.
“Only State Gov-
ernment depart-
ments can make ar-
rangements by issu-
ing tenders in GIL
instead of the GeM
portal against the let-
ters and resolutions
of the Department of
Industry and Mines
of the Government
of India and the Gov-
ernment of Gujarat.
It is doubtful that the
state government
will adopt the policy
and procedure of the
Central government,
rather than the pro-
posed system of the
portal, and adopt the
policy and procedure
of the central govern-
ment through GIL,”
Doshi alleged.
He further said,
“The arrangement
is that the bidder
should have received
and executed at least
three work orders
for the above-men-
tioned work, worth
at least Rs10 lakhs in
the past three years,
as well as have a Rs3
lakh EMD in this
tender. The rule is to
charge 5% of the
EMD amount, which
means the cost of
this tender is Rs5
crore.”
Congress pulls up
state govt for not
following rules for
tendering process
First India Bureau
Surat: The family of
Tanvi Bhadani, the
22-year-old who was
found dead at the Oyo
Hotel in Piplod has do-
nated her eyes, as a
means of keeping her
memory alive.
The police say they
have not found any-
thing suspicious about
the young woman’s
death. Neither has the
family made any allega-
tions. However, the doc-
tor who performed the
autopsy said that the
blood in Tanvi’s heart
was found to be frozen,
and there was water in
her stomach. Samples
have been sent to the
laboratory to ascertain
the cause of death.
Meanwhile, the
city’s first cadaver for
the year came from the
family of Vishnu Patel.
As many as five of or-
gans have been donat-
ed in association with
the Donate Life organi-
zation. While his heart
and lungs went to pa-
tients in Chennai, his
liver was handed over
to Ahmedabad’s Insti-
tute of Kidney Disease
and Research Centre.
Patel, a 57-year-old
businessman who
owned a weaving fac-
tory, had sustained se-
vere injuries after his
motorcycle skidded at
the Pramukh Park
Bridge, while trying to
avoid hitting a cow on
December 30. While he
was rushed to a nearby
hospital after the acci-
dent, doctors soon de-
clared him brain dead.
Woman found dead at Surat Oyo Hotel becomes eye donor
GPCC chief spokesperson Manish Doshi. —FILE PHOTO
Tanvi Bhadani during happier times.
YEAR’S FIRST CADAVER ORGAN DONOR
LIVING ON IN OTHERS

While the cause
of her death is
still unclear,
Tanvi’s family
decided to do-
nate her eyes to
keep her memo-
ry alive and give
hope to others;
family of busi-
nessman who
died recently
donated five of
his organs

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021
4kidnappersnabbed,
`40Lransomrecovered
Farmer hangs
himself in
office of taluka
panchayat
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Crack-
ing the kidnapping
of two persons from
Surendranagar, the
Crime Branch on
Sunday arrested four
persons and recov-
ered Rs40 lakh in
ransom money.
Special Commission-
er (Crime) Amit Vish-
wakarma told the me-
dia that Surendranagar
trader Azadbhai Hud-
da’s son Samir alias
Pintoo (20) and his
neighbour Samir Vadh-
vaniya (19) had been
kidnapped by a relative
and his friends on De-
cember 31 in
Ahmedabad.
Police officials say
that the kidnappers Si-
kander alias Salim,
Nilesh Baar, Vipul alias
Pintoo, and Dharmen-
dra alias Bhimo had al-
legedly conspired to
kidnap the youths for
ransom, which they
hoped to use to pay off
some debts.
The four accused had
first demanded Rs1
crore from Azadbhai
but reduced their de-
mand to Rs40 lakh
when he sought time to
arrange the money. On
Saturday, Azadbhai
was called to the
Anand-Borsad road
with the cash.
A police press state-
ment stated that for the
safety of the two people,
they allowed Azadbhai
to hand over Rs40 lakh
in cash to the kidnap-
pers. Police later traced
the accused to
Ahmedabad.
The accused had al-
legedly kept the vic-
tims at a farm house
one night and moved
them to a hotel the
next night. They had
even changed cars
when driving out of
the city.
First India News
Mahisagar: A farmer
from Bakor village al-
legedly hanged him-
self at the Khanpur
taluka panchayat of-
fice on Saturday, after
complaining that his
village had not been
receiving government
grants.
The farmer, Balvant-
sinhCharan,hadearlier
contacted the emergen-
cy helpline 112 and said
he would take the ex-
treme step as he had not
been getting aid. Sourc-
es said he had not pro-
videdadequatedetailsto
support his claim.
Charan’s son, Rajen-
drasinh, told the police
that his father had made
representations to vari-
ous departments and of-
ficers. He also said he
had evidence sufficient
to support his father’s
claim and for the police
to begin an investiga-
tion. The farmer had left
his village for the taluka
panchayatofficeearlyon
Saturday. When he did
not return by noon, his
son attempted to contact
him on the phone but re-
ceived no response till
the police answered the
phoneandinformedhim
about his father’s death.
Ofﬁcials and the four men arrested for kidnapping two youths. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Kite-seller Nasir Shaikh holds up tiny kites, the smallest of which is as big has his ﬁngernail, in Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur kite
market in the run up to Uttarayan, on Sunday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Guj sees 715 new cases as downward trend continues
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
number of fresh cases
of COVID-19 continues
to decline in Gujarat,
with the state register-
ing 715 new cases on
Sunday--a far cry from
the high numbers seen
at the beginning of De-
cember.
While the latest cases
takethestate’stotalcase-
load to 2,47,228 since
March, 938 patients were
also discharged from
hospitals through the
day, meaning 2,33,660 pa-
tients have recovered
from the infection so far.
On Sunday, four pa-
tients succumbed to the
virus: two from
Ahmedabad city, and
one each from Botad
and Rajkot city. The to-
tal toll due to the virus
in the state stands at
4,318.
At 151, Ahmedabad
also reported the high-
est number of cases in
the 24-hour span ending
5pm. As many as 146 of
these cases were report-
ed from urban areas
and only five from the
rural parts.
Vadodara, too, re-
corded a high number
of cases at 134—104
from the city and 30
from rural areas. Surat
reported 127 cases and
Rajkot reported 76 cas-
es. Among other dis-
tricts, Kutch reported
32 new cases of COV-
ID-19 infection.
There are currently
9,250 active cases across
the state, with 61 pa-
tients on ventilators.
Gujarathassofartested98.10lakhsamplesforCOVID-19.—FILEPHOTO
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Em-
ployees of the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation who
are engaged in writ-
ing any kind of offi-
cial communication
are asked to learn
letter writing. The
civic body chief
Mukesh Kumar is-
sued a circular ask-
ing the employees,
including the deputy
municipal commis-
sioner to learn how
to write correspond-
ence of any kind.
It’s like the commis-
sioner’s given a crash
course on letter writ-
ing to the employees
who had irked the top
bosses in Gandhina-
gar.
“Two weeks ago,
deputy chief minister
Nitin Patel was miffed
with special duty of-
ficer Rajiv Gupta. He
had scolded Gupta
over a circular he is-
sued without consult-
ing the government.
Also, in some of the
correspondence, AMC
needed to tone down
the language, which
was not correct. Even
a letter written by the
clerk asked secretaries
to look into the mat-
ter,” said a source
privy to the develop-
ment. After that, the
state government has
asked all the offices,
municipal corpora-
tions, boards, corpora-
tions, and grant-in-aid
institutions to learn
the basics of letter
writing.
The circular was is-
sued on the eve of the
New Year, asking all
employees to use their
respective languages
and to write in Guja-
rati mostly. The circu-
lar also mentioned
how to write saluta-
tions, addresses, signa-
tures, etc.
“Special care should
be taken while writing
a letter to elected rep-
resentatives, or with
any citizens,” stated
the circular.
A’bad civic employees to learn the ABCs of letter writing
BACK TO BASICS

AMC issued a
circular asking
staff to write in
Gujarati mostly
and also said
how to write
salutations,
addresses and
signatures
Rajkot registers first land-grabbing
case, against Nikhil Donga’s cronies
First India Bureau
Rajkot: The rural po-
lice here have booked
four people under Ra-
jkot’s first complaint
under the Gujarat
Land Grabbing (Pro-
hibition) Act, includ-
ing two members of
the Nikhil Donga
gang, and an employ-
ee of the Gondal Na-
garpalika.
District Superinten-
dent of Police, Balram
Meena announced the
development to the
media on Sunday. Don-
ga and his associates
had bought 37 acres of
land from a farmer
and a sale deed was
registered with the
sub-registrar’s office.
However, they never
paid the farmer the
amount due to him. As
a result, the farmer
has lodged a criminal
complaint against
Nikhil Donga and his
associates.
Farmer Gangend-
ra Sangani’s com-
plaint Kamlesh
Sindhav, Naresh
Sindhav, Ramesh
Sindhav and Dhiru
(Bachu) Gamara has
been registered un-
der various sections
of the Indian Penal
Code.
While Donga asso-
ciate Naresh Sind-
hav and Kamlesh are
already in jail,
Ramesh and Dhiru
(Bachu) have been
arrested, the officer
added. Gamara is a
contract employee at
the nagarpalika in
Gondal.
According to farmer
Gangendra’s com-
plaint, he and his joint
family own 45 acres of
agricultural land in
Virpur in Rajkot dis-
trict.
“The land survey
number is 560. Nikhil
Donga’s associate got
me to sign document
for 37 acres and the ac-
cused Ramesh Sindhav
had beaten and humili-
ated me at his farm
house,” the complaint
said, adding that the
accused had also “tak-
en illegal possession
of seven acres”.
Deputy Superinten-
dent of Police Jetpur is
inquiring into the al-
legations.
Earlier, the rural po-
lice had invoked the
Gujarat Control of Or-
ganized Crime (Guj-
coc) Act against Nikhil
Donga and his gang
members. Later, their
jailer, DK Parmar ar-
rested for providing
special facilities to
Donga and his associ-
ates in jail. The GUJ-
COC Act was invoked
against jailer Parmar
as well.
`130 cr tax evasion
case filed against
Morbi coal company
First India Bureau
Morbi: The State
Goods and Service Tax
and Commerce Tax
wing has filed crimi-
nal complaints against
a Morbi-based coal
firm. They alleged
that the firm has in-
dulged in tax evasion
for seven years, be-
cause of which the
state has suffered rev-
enue losses amounting
to Rs130 crore.
State commerce offic-
er Pujabne Vashnani in
the police complaint has
alleged that a firm
named Kyori Oremin
has not paid value-add-
ed taxes or other taxes
in their coal trading op-
erations from 2009-10 to
2016-17.
The firm, registered
with the Value Added
Tax and later with the
GST wing, has traded
with companies in Hy-
derabad and Bengaluru.
The complaint has been
registered against four
persons: VS Narang
(Hydradabad), Chandu-
lal Patel (Hyderabad),
Rudraraj Shah (Hy-
derabad) and Yunus
Sharif (Bangalore) with
the B division Police
station of Morbi town.
The complaint is be-
ing investigated by Mor-
bi Police under the Gu-
jarat Value Added Tax
-2003 act. The complaint
states that Rs130 crore
in tax has been evaded
by the accused, who
cheated the state gov-
ernment.
Joint Commissioner
(Commerce Tax) DV
Trivedi confirmed the
criminal complaint but
refused to divulge fur-
ther information stat-
ing that he has not re-
ceived the First Infor-
mation Report.
The accused, two of whom are already in jail, allegedly grabbed land worth `37 lakh from a farmer in Virpur
Rajkot District Superintendent of Police Balram Meena. —FILE PHOTO
The kidnappers had
originally asked for Rs1
crore, but later reduced
the ransom demand
715 new cases, four
fatalities take state
tally to 2,47,228
cases, toll to 4,318
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
THE CASE
OF BIG JOYS IN SMALL PACKAGES

G Vol 2 G Issue No. 41 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021
s per the Seventh Schedule
of the Constitution, ‘Agricul-
ture’ is the subject of the
State List. It means that the
state legislature is empow-
ered to enact a law in respect
of agriculture for the benefit
of the farmers of the state.
The Rajasthan State Legisla-
ture enacted Agricultural Act
2020 and placed it before the
Governor in view of the man-
date of Article 200 of the Con-
stitution two months back but
no decision is taken by the Gov-
ernor yet. According to Article
200 when a Bill is passed by the
Legislature of a state is pre-
sented to the Governor, he has
four options, namely
z He assents to the bill,
z He withholds assent,
z He reserves the Bill for the con-
sideration of the President, or
z He returns the bill to the Leg-
islature.
Today the situation is dif-
ferent as political parties are
in different states. One party
does not control Parliament
and the State Legislature.
Since the Governor owes his
appointment and his contin-
uation in the office to the
Union council of ministers,
in matters where the central
government and the state
government do not see eye to
eye, there is the apprehen-
sion that he is likely to act in
accordance with the instruc-
tions, if any, received from
the Union Council of Minis-
ters rather than act on the
advice of his council of min-
isters. Indeed, Governors,
today are pejoratively called
the ‘agents of the centre’.
It is true that the central gov-
ernment is not expected to give
any instructions which com-
promise the status and position
of the Governor. As Seervai
has pointed out in his commen-
tary- “As the President acts on
the advice of his Ministry, it
may be contended that if the
Governor takes action contra-
ry to the policy of Union Min-
istry, he would risk being re-
moved from his post as Gover-
nor and therefore he is likely to
follow the advice of the Union
Ministry.
The First provision ap-
pended to Article 200 says
that as soon as the bill is pre-
sented to him, he may re-
turn the bill to the Legisla-
ture (if it is not a Money
Bill) together with a mes-
sage requesting the Legisla-
ture to reconsider the bill.
He can suggest the desirabil-
ity of introducing such
amendments or changes as
he thinks appropriate. If on
such reconsideration the bill
is passéd again, with or
without amendments and
presented to the Governor
for assent, he has to accord
his assent.
The second provision says
that if the bill presented to him
derogates, in the opinion of
Governor, from the powers of
the High Court so as to endan-
ger the position which the High
Court is designed to fill by the
Constitution, he is bound to re-
serve the bill for the considera-
tion of the President.
In regard to the powers of
Governor under Article 200,
there are two conflicting views.
The first view is that the
papers of the Governor un-
der Article 200 are discre-
tionary powers. It is con-
tended that when a bill is
presented to a Governor, it is
his discretionary power in
exercise when he decides
which of the four options he
is to employ for the bill in
question.
The other view is that ex-
cepting in the case of bills fall-
ing under the second provi-
sion, the Governor has no dis-
cretion in the performance of
his functions under Article 200.
The first view says that
discretionary powers of the
Governor are restricted and
come to the fore only when
it is required expressly or
by necessary implication by
the Constitution. In all cas-
es where the bill that has
been passed by the state leg-
islature is in patent viola-
tion of any provisions of
the law, the Governor can
exercise his discretionary
powers to reserve the bill
for the consideration of the
President.
The point that needs to be re-
emphasised is that Governor
should act at his discretion in
rare and exceptional cases,
where he is compelled by his
good conscience and felt a duty
to uphold the Constitution. In
so acting he should bear in
mind that the Constitution is
founded on the fundamental
principles of parliamentary
democracy and division of
powers.
Thus the Governor can at
his best defend and uphold
the Constitution by accept-
ing as his Constitutional
function what his ‘responsi-
ble’ ministers have decided.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
APPLY ARTICLE 200 OF THE
CONSTITUTION IN LETTER AND SPIRIT
A
It is true that the
central government
is not expected to
give any
instructions which
compromise the
status and position
of the Governor. As
Seervai has
pointed out in his
commentary- “As
the President acts
on the advice of his
Ministry, it may
be contended that
if the Governor
takes action
contrary to the
policy of Union
Ministry, he would
risk being removed
from his post as
Governor and
therefore he is
likely to follow the
advice of the
Union Ministry”
THE POINT THAT
NEEDS TO BE RE-
EMPHASISED IS THAT
GOVERNOR SHOULD
ACT AT HIS
DISCRETION IN RARE
AND EXCEPTIONAL
CASES, WHERE HE IS
COMPELLED BY HIS
GOOD CONSCIENCE
AND FELT A DUTY TO
UPHOLD THE
CONSTITUTION
efore the reces-
sion we were on a
collision course
withenvironmen-
tal disaster.
The recovery provides a
rare opportunity to do
things differently; to re-
build a better economy that
can support living stand-
ards without irretrievably
damagingtheenvironment.
The closer we get to irre-
versibleclimatechange,the
harder that will become.
Doughnut economics, a
concept principally devel-
oped by UK economist Kate
Raworth, provides an in-
tuitive way of thinking
about it.
The ideas outlined in her
book, subtitled Seven Ways
to Think Like a 21st-Centu-
ry Economist, are increas-
ingly being used around
the world, including by a
new collaboration Regen
Melbourne, that’s looking
at ways to making Mel-
bourne a better, more so-
cially-just and environ-
mentally-responsible city.
The image to keep in
mind is that of a doughnut,
on the inside of which is
economicandsocialfreefall.
We need a certain
amount of economic and
social/political develop-
ment to ensure everybody
can live a good, healthy life
with full social and politi-
cal participation.
On the outside of the
doughnut is an unsustain-
able impact on the environ-
ment.
The sweet spot, the “safe
and just space for human-
ity” is, of course, in the
doughnut itself. Mmm…
doughnuts.
Conceptually it’s pretty
straightforward. Practi-
cally, it is challenging.
Economics is tradition-
ally defined as the study of
the way societies allocate
scarce resources. But in
the modern world the real-
ity is that, for rich coun-
tries such as Australia,
there is no overall scarcity.
The challenge is to re-
main within the doughnut
Such countries have
homeless and hungry peo-
ple, for sure. But the also
have enough resources,
homes and food to provide
for them. That they don’t is
a question of distribution
rather than scarcity.
In terms of the diagram,
we already use enough re-
sources to ensure nobody
needbeleftintheholeonthe
inside of the doughnut. The
danger is that we use too
many resources and move
beyondtheouteredgeof the
doughnut into climate and
ecological breakdown.
For quite some time
amongsteconomiststhere’s
been faith in what’s called
theEnvironmentalKuznets
Curve, where increasing
consumption is said to lead
to increased environmental
degradation up to a point.
Beyond that point, as a
society becomes post-in-
dustrial, extra consump-
tion is said to lead to less
environmental degrada-
tion as people become more
environmentally conscious
and use their wealth to buy
different things – more ser-
vices (such as yoga classes)
and fewer goods (such as
hamburgers).
While the Environmen-
tal Kuznets Curve does in-
deedappeartobereal,there
is every indication that the
global peak in environmen-
talimpactisfarhigherthan
the biosphere can with-
stand, which means a dia-
gram like this:
We will need to bring the
peak down, and that will be
difficult for precisely the
same reasons that people
remain poor amid extraor-
dinary wealth.
One is the capacity of
deep-pocketed interests to
influence regulators and
governments to maximise
profits. The other is the ex-
tent to which neoliberal
economic thinking perme-
ates social and political
structures.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
STAY IN THE DOUGHNUT, NOT THE HOLE
B
If one speaks or acts with a
pure mind, happiness follows
him like a shadow that
never leaves him. —Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dr Harsh Vardhan @
drharshvardhan
A watershed moment in India’s
famed battle against #COVID19
under the charismatic leadership
of Hon’ble PM Sh @narendramodi
Ji ! Our wait for #COVID19vaccine
is over with COVISHIELD from @
SerumInstIndia & COVAXIN from
@BharatBiotech approved for
emergency use in India @PMOIndia
Anand Sharma
@AnandSharmaINC
India’s Farmers have been ﬁghting for
their rights & justice for the last 38
days. Tens of thousands have been
camping on the borders of Delhi in
bitter cold & rain. Dozens have died
but the government remains adamant
and unmoved by their plight. A sad
reﬂection on democracy.
JUSTICE
SHIV KUMAR SHARMA
Former Judge Rajasthan High
Court and Ex-Member of Law
Commission of India
POLITICS OVER
UNFINISHED TRIALS,
UNVERIFIED DATA
he Congress on Sunday raised
the red flag over the emergency
use nod given to the indigenously
developed Bharat Biotech and
ICMR’s Covaxin even before it
could complete its third phase of clinical
trial and its data for efficacy and safety ver-
ified. The Drugs Controller-General of In-
dia (DCGI) on Sunday put its stamp of ap-
proval for “restricted use” of both Covaxin
and Serum Institute’s Covishield, which has
over 70 percent efficacy. The two vaccines
were earlier cleared by an expert panel for
emergency use.
It is the clearance given to Covaxin which
has raised doubts about the integrity of the
process followed. No other vaccine in the
world skipped the mandatory protocols be-
fore being allowed to be administered. Con-
gress leaders Anand Sharma, Jairam
Ramesh, and Shashi Tharoor asked the gov-
ernment as to why mandatory protocols and
verification of data had been done away
with. Sharma pointed out that no country
had disregarded the mandatory phase 3 tri-
als and data verification. He wanted the
health ministry to give “cogent reasons” for
dropping the mandatory protocol as the
move could endanger public health. Doubts
were raised over the integrity of the approv-
al process as the emergency use was allowed
even before the vaccine’s data on safety and
efficacy could be verified. Also, in the case
of Bharat Biotech’s vaccine, few details are
available about its phase 1 and phase 2 trials.
It is believed that Covaxin “which has been
granted permission for restricted use in
emergency situations in the public interest
as an abundant precaution” could be a fall-
back option.
In defence of Covaxin Dr VK Paul of Niti
Ayog said that the vaccine will be adminis-
tered in clinical trial mode after taking con-
sent of the people with regular follow-up.
Telling words came from Adar Poonawalla of
SII. “Everything else has proven to be safe,
just like water is safe. But the efficacy, to
know how well a vaccine works---70%, 90%,
80% --- has only been proven in Pfizer, Mod-
erna and Oxford-AstraZeneca”, whose vac-
cine the SII is producing under the brand
name of Covishield. Although the third phase
trial of Covishield is also not yet over, its ef-
ficacy has at least been proven and trial data
analysed in the UK.
Whatever the doubting Thomases may now
say, the final word came from Prime Minister
Narendra Modi who called it a proud moment
as both the vaccines were made in the coun-
try. He tweeted that the vaccines were the
outcome of “the eagerness of our scientific
community to fulfill the dream of an At-
manirbhar Bharat, at the root of which is
care and compassion”.
The question which will still bother people
is whether adverse effects of either is report-
ed honestly without the complainant being
sued for crores or suppressed to protect the
vaccine manufacturers?
IN-DEPTH
T

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021
BJP LEADER & ASSOCIATE KILLED BY
MISCREANTS IN ODISHA’S CUTTACK
Bhubaneswar: A BJP
leader and his associate
were killed by miscre-
ants in Odisha’s Cuttack
district, police said on
Sunday. Kulamani Baral,
BJP’s Salipur in-charge
and former Mahanga
Block chairman, and his
associate Dibya Singh
Baral were hacked to
death by miscreants when
they were returning to
their village Nrutang on
Saturday night, police
said. While Kulamani died
at Mahanga government
hospital, his associate
succumbed to injuries at
SCB Medical College Hos-
pital in Cuttack. Kulama-
ni’s son Ramakanta Baral
lodged an FIR following
which an accused has
been arrested, IIC Ranjan
Kumar Parida informed.
IIT GOA PROJECT TO COME UP,
WILL DISCUSS PROTESTS: CM
Panaji: The proposed Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy campus in Sattari taluka in Goa will come up
despite protests from local residents and all their
demands will be discussed, Chief Minister Pramod
Sawant said on Sunday. He said he had toured
the site in Shel-Maulim where the IIT is proposed
to come up. “We are ready to discuss demands
of the locals. The project has not been scrapped.
Formalities for construction are going on,” the CM
said, who also added a police outpost was coming
up in the village as part of the IIT project.
‘UDYOG MANTHAN’ TO BE
ORGANISED FROM JAN 4 TO MAR 2
New Delhi: Depart-
ment for Promotion of
Industry and Internal
Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of
Commerce and Industry
in association with Quality
Council of India (QCI),
National Productivity
Council (NPC), Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS)
and Industry Chambers
is organising Udyog
Manthan - a marathon of
focused sector-specific
webinars for promoting
Quality and Productivity
in Indian Industry. The
webinars will commence
from January 4 and con-
clude on March 2, 2021.
Minister of Commerce &
Industry, Piyush Goyal
will address the partici-
pants on January 6, 2021.
Each webinar will be a
two-hour long session.
CYLINDER EXPLOSION AFTER
FIRE IN HUT, NONE HURT
Thane: A fire in a hut on a hillock in Thane
district’s Dombivali on Sunday afternoon led to
a cylinder explosion but no one was injured as
the occupants of the house were out, police said.
The incident took place at 12:30pm in Netivali
and the hut was completely destroyed by the
time fire brigade personnel reached the spot,
said Dombivali MIDC fire officer Maruti Khilare.
“The fire caused a cylinder explosion but since
there was no one in the house, fortunately there
were no injuries,” he added.
CONG FLAYS GOVT FOR
‘APATHY’ TOWARDS FARMERS
CHILLA, GAZIPUR
BORDERS CLOSED
New Delhi: On Sunday, the Congress acccused
Union government of showing ‘apathy’ towards
‘annadatas’ braving cold & rain to save their
dignity. “The one word the BJP-led government
has justified in the last 39 days is ‘apathy’. One
one hand, there is complete lack of sensitivity
towards the plight of protesting farmers & their
demands &, on the other hand, close friends of
this government are receiving complete empathy
& blessings for expanding their dominance in all
spheres of business, “ Congress spokesperson
Gourav Vallabh said. —ANI
New Delhi: In view of the ongoing farmers’ agita-
tion at the gates of the national capital, the Delhi
Traffic Police appealed to citizens to take alterna-
tive routes as Chilla and Gazipur borders re-
mained closed due to the protests. “Traffic Alert
The Chilla & Ghazipur Borders are closed for
traffic coming from Noida & Ghaziabad to Delhi
because of farmer protests. Please take alternate
route for coming to Delhi via Anand Vihar, DND,
Apsara, Bhopra & Loni Borders,” Delhi Traffic
Police wrote on Twitter. The police said that the
following borders are open to Haryana. —ANI
FARMERS BEING MARTYRED WHILE
‘MODI’S FRIENDS’ BENEFIT: RAGA
TMC should reflect on
its setback, BJP’s rise in
West Bengal: Owaisi
Kolkata: AIMIM chief
Asaduddin Owaisi on
Sunday, said TMC su-
premo Mamata Baner-
jee, instead of pointing
accusatory fingers at
his outfit, should intro-
spect and ascertain how
the BJP managed to
clinch 18 Lok Sabha
seats in the state.
Owaisi, who was
here to hold a meeting
with Muslim cleric Ab-
basuddin Sidiqqui, re-
jected TMC’s claims
that his party was a “B-
team of the BJP”, and
would eat into anti- saf-
fron camp votes.
“We are a political
party; we will establish
our presence and fight
the elections (in West
Bengal). “... Bharat ke
siyasat ka mai Laila hu,
aur mere Majnu bahut
hai, usse koi faraq nehi
parta (I am like Laila
from the popular folk-
lore who has many ad-
mirers, but that doesn’t
matter),” Owaisi told
reporters, hinting that
many parties wish to
benefit from his politi-
cal endeavours.
Later, while talking to
a news channel, he said
his party was yet to de-
cide if it would contest
the elections on its own
or forge an alliance with
another outfit.
The AIMIM chief,
however,stressedthathe
has the support of ‘peer-
zada’ Siddiqui of Furfu-
ra Sharif -- a much- re-
vered shrine in Bengal’s
Hooghly district.
Rubbishing the
TMC’s claim that the
AIMIM helped the BJP-
led NDA win the Bihar
assembly elections, he
said his party had con-
tested 20 seats in the
neighbouring state, of
which it won five and
the Mahagathbandhan
nine, while the NDA
managed to bag six con-
stituencies.
“The TMC should in-
trospect and find out
what worked in BJP’s
favour during LS elec-
tions. The party should
analyse why its mem-
bers were leaving...”
Owaisi said. —PTI
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi
Rahul Gandhi’s comments come in the backdrop of Central ministers holding
the sixth round of talks with the protesting farmer leaders on Wednesday
New Delhi: Congress
accused the Central gov-
ernment of being apa-
thetic towards farmers
and being empathetic to
its “suit-boot friends”.
Former Congress par-
ty president Rahul Gan-
dhi tweeted that the coun-
try is witnessing a mo-
ment akin to the Cham-
paran struggle, a farmers
uprising led by Mahatma
Gandhi against the Colo-
nial rule in 1917. “The
country is facing a situa-
tionlikeChamparanonce
again,” Gandhi said.
“Back then, collaborators
supported the British
company, now the friends
of Modi are in-cahoots.
But every agitating farm-
er-worker is a satyagrahi,
who will secure his
rights,” Rahul’s tweet
said. Gandhi’s comments
come in the backdrop of
Central ministers hold-
ing sixth round of talks
with the protesting farm-
er leaders on Wednesday.
MP CM expands cabinet, two
Scindia loyalists return as Mins
Bhopal: The Shivraj
Singh Chouhan-led
Madhya Pradesh cabi-
net was expanded on
Sunday with the induc-
tion of two loyalists of
BJP leader Jyotiraditya
Scindia, whose exit
from the Congress in
March last year led to
the fall of the 15-month-
old Kamal Nath-led
Congress dispensation
in the state.
Governor Anandiben
Patel administered the
oath of office to Tulsir-
am Silawat and Govind
Rajput.
CM Shivraj Singh,
Protem Speaker
Rameshwar Sharma
and several ministers
of the state cabinet
were present during the
brief ceremony held at
the Raj Bhawan. This is
the third expansion of
the state cabinet ever
since Chouhan took
over as CM for the
fourth term in March
2020 after the collapse
of the Congress govern-
ment. —Agencies
CDS Rawat visits forward areas of Arunachal
Guwahati: On the sec-
ond day of his visit to
operational areas of
Arunachal Pradesh af-
ter completion of one
year as Chief of De-
fence Staff (CDS), Gen-
eral Bipin Rawat visited
Army and Indo-Tibetan
Border Police person-
nel deployed along the
Subansiri valley in
Arunachal Pradesh.
As per a statement,
Rawat complimented
soldiers for adopting in-
novative surveillance
measures for locally de-
veloped technology.
He also lauded the de-
fence preparedness of
the personnel to face
any challenge.
“The CDS said that
he was satisfied by the
high morale and moti-
vation of all ranks who
will ensure certain vic-
tory if challenged or
given the opportunity,”
the statement added.
He is scheduled to re-
turn to New Delhi later
in the day. While visit-
ing forward air bases in
Eastern Sector includ-
ing Arunachal Pradesh
Assam, Rawat said he
was confident that
those fighting the Indi-
an defence forces would
be destroyed.—ANI
Jagannath
Temple
reopens for
public
Puri: Jagannath Tem-
ple in Odisha’s Puri
opened for everyone to-
day, but with strict Cov-
id guidelines. The tem-
ple was closed on Janu-
ary 1 and 2 to avoid any
kind of rush in the
wake of New Year. Peo-
ple from other parts of
the state are also al-
lowed to offer prayers at
the Temple.
The authorities have
released guidelines for
those visiting the tem-
ple. The devotees have
to mandatorily wear
masks, sanitize their
hands, and maintain so-
cial distancing.
“We get tested for
Covid-19 three days be-
fore. The system is very
good. Only those people
are allowed who have
negative Covid re-
ports,” Riya Shah from
Kolkata said. They also
have to carry negative
Covid-19 reports and
Aadhaar cards along
with them to the tem-
ple. Their thermal tem-
peratures are being
checked at the entrance.
“A SOP has been re-
leased and everyone is
following it. We have
deployed 15 platoon po-
lice force and 50 officers
to control the rush,” Dr
Kanwar Vishal
Singh,SP of Puri said.
Probe agencies carrying out‘audit’
of my father’s grave,says Mufti
Srinagar: “Let them
prove a single case, I am
ready to face the conse-
quences,” said PDP
chief Mehbooba Mufti
about the cases being
probed by various inves-
tigating agencies, in-
cluding the NIA which
has arrested a senior
leader of her party on
terror funding charges.
The former Jammu &
Kashmir CM also said it
is mortifying that the
probe agencies are run-
ning an “audit” on the
mausoleum of her fa-
ther Mufti Mohammed
Sayeed.
In an interview with
PTI, she said, “It’s mor-
tifying and disgusting
that they are now run-
ning an audit on the
mausoleum of my late
father. How much lower
will they stoop?” Say-
eed died in 2016 and was
laid to rest in his ances-
tral graveyard at Bijbe-
hara in south Kashmir.
There was no reac-
tion either from the
NIA or the Enforcement
Directorate to the PDP
chief’s claims. —PTI
SNOW- LADEN...
A pedestrian holding an umbrella walks on a snow-covered pavement during snowfall in Srinagar on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI
RAHUL GANDHI @RAHULGANDHI
The country is going to face a Champaran like tragedy
once again. Then there was with British company the
farmers had to fight with, now it is with Modi’s friends’
companies. But every farmer of the movement is a
Satyagrahi who will continue to fight for his rights.
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat during his visit to
forward most air maintained post along Subansiri valley in
Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI
MP Governor Anandiben Patel along with CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan
poses for a group photograph with newly inducted Cabinet
Ministers Tulsiram Silawat (L) & Govind Rajput (R), at Raj Bhawan.
Farmers walk in rain during their ongoing protest against the new
farm laws at Ghazipur Border, in New Delhi on Sunday.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti
—PHOTOBYPTI

New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi termed the ap-
proval a decisive turn-
ing point in the coun-
try’s fight against coro-
navirus.
The World Health
Organisation on Sun-
day welcomed India’s
decision giving emer-
gency use authorisa-
tion to COVID-19 vac-
cines, saying it will
help “intensify” and
“strengthen” its fight
against the ongoing
pandemic.
India’s drugs regula-
tor has approved Ox-
ford COVID-19 vaccine
Covishield, manufac-
tured by the Serum In-
stitute, and indige-
nously developed Cov-
axin of Bharat Biotech
for restricted emergen-
cy use in the country.
It paves the way for
the roll out of at least
two vaccines in the
country in the coming
days.
“WHO welcomes the
first emergency use
authorization given to
COVID-19 vaccine in
the WHO South-East
Asia Region. This deci-
sion taken today by In-
dia will help intensify
and strengthen the
fight against COVID-19
pandemic in the Re-
gion,” said Dr Poonam
Khetrapal Singh, the
regional director,
WHO South-East Asia
Region. According to
Dr. Khetrapal, the use
of vaccine in “prior-
tised population” as
well as implementa-
tion of other public
health measures will
be important in reduc-
ing the impact of the
pandemic.
“The use of vaccine
in prioritised popula-
tions, along with con-
tinued implementa-
tion of other public
health measures and
community participa-
tion will be important
in reducing the im-
pact of COVID-19,”
she added.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi termed the
approval a decisive
turning point in the
country’s fight against
coronavirus.
India’s COVID-19
tally of cases climbed
to 1,03,23,965 with
18,177 new cases in a
day, while 99,27,310
people have recuper-
ated so far pushing the
national recovery rate
to 96.15% on Sunday,
according to the Union
Health Ministry data.
There are 2,47,220 ac-
tive cases of coronavi-
rus in the country
which comprise 2.39%
of the total caseload,
the data stated. —PTI
INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021
‘DECISIONWILLHELPSTRENGTHENFIGHT’
WHO WELCOMES COVID VACCINE APPROVAL
New Delhi: All India
Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) di-
rector Dr Randeep
Singh Guleria today
lauded the work done
by Indian laboratories
in making indigenous
vaccines. “The re-
search has been done
here and it’s truly
from the scratch and it
is Indian vaccine. It’s
a great moment, espe-
cially because unlike
past where we had to
rely on importing var-
ious products like
PPE or N95; now we
have vaccines which
are being manufac-
tured in India itself.
We do not have to rely
on vaccines coming
from outside. They are
cost-effective and easy
to administer between
2 to 8 degrees Centi-
grade,” he said. He
also said that a vac-
cine has to go through
various stages of
study to make sure
that it is safe for use.
“It is important to un-
derstand that when
we look at any vac-
cine, safety is para-
mount and therefore a
vaccine goes through
various stages of stud-
ying to make sure that
it is safe,” Dr Guleria
stated in an interview
with ANI. There are
questions being raised
on Covaxin of Bharat
Biotech which is yet to
go for Phase III trials.
Dr Guleria responded,
“Even as far as Bharat
Biotech vaccine is a
concern, it is on a tra-
ditional platform
which has been used
for other vaccines
also. It is shown to be
safe and they have ro-
bust data from Phase I
and Phase II trials to
show that it’s a safe
vaccine.” —ANI
Covaxin of Bharat Biotech is
yet to go for Phase 3: Guleria
‘HEALTH WORKERS, COPS TO GET VACCINE ON PRIORITY’
Bhopal: Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minis-
ter Shivraj Singh
Chouhan has said that
stern action and a law
were needed against
those who indulge in
stone pelting.
His statement comes
in the wake of recent
incidents of stone pelt-
ing on vehicle rallies
taken out in western
Madhya Pradesh by
some groups to raise
awareness about the
construction of Ram
temple in Ayodhya.
“Stern action and a
law are needed against
stone- pelters. At times,
stone pelting poses dan-
ger to life,” Mr Chou-
han told top bureau-
crats in the state during
an online meeting on
Saturday.
Vehicle rallies are be-
ing taken out in villages
in the state by certain
groups to raise aware-
ness on the construc-
tion of the Ram temple
in Ayodhya ahead of
the launch of a nation-
wide public campaign
by the Shri Ram Janmb-
hoomi Teerth Kshetra
Trust from January 15
to mobilise funds for
the temple project.
Stern action, law needed against
stone-pelters: Shivraj Singh
MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan
100 MAOISTS SNEAKED IN MP: COPS
New Delhi: North In-
dia is likely to witness
an intense wet spell till
Tuesday, with a fairly
widespread precipita-
tion accompanied with
thunderstorm, light-
ning and hailstorm at
isolated places, the In-
dia Meteorological De-
partment (IMD) said on
Sunday. The activities
will peak on Sunday
and Monday over the
plains (Punjab, Hary-
ana, Chandigarh, Delhi,
west Uttar Pradesh and
north Rajasthan) and
on Monday over the
western Himalayan re-
gion (Jammu and Kash-
mir, Ladakh, it added.
Intense wet spell to continue over
north states till January 5: IMD
Tourists wade through snow-covered road in Lahaul-Spiti on Sunday.
SEVERE COLD WAVE CONDITIONS
Darberia: Mocking
ruling TMC for its post-
ers and banners in re-
cent years carrying
pictures of its supremo
proclaiming projects
and programmes, BJP
leader Suvendu Adhi-
kari Saturday said he
looks forward to a Ben-
gal where only pictures
of icons will feature on
them. Mr Adhikari,
who did not name any
person, was alluding to
posters and banners
having pictures of
West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Ba-
nerjee proclaiming the
state's various develop-
ment projects or ongo-
ing state-organised fes-
tivals put up in the city
and other parts of state
in which she is de-
scribed as the "Pride of
Bengal". He told a
meeting in Purbo
Medinipur district,
"We will usher in a
Bengal where banners
before schools, colleg-
es and other places
will only have pictures
of icons like Swami
Vivekananda, Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose
and Ranindranath
Tagore and others de-
scribing them as
Prides of Bengal". —PTI
Erode (Tamil Nadu):
The DMK would waive
education loan taken by
students for higher
studies once the party
comes to power.
The DMK president
and Leader of the Op-
position in the Tamil
Nadu Assembly M K
Stalin made this state-
ment on Sunday while
addressing a gathering
at V Mettupalayam vil-
lage in Erode west con-
stituency where a peo-
ple’s grama sabha
meeting was held. The
DMK leader further
said unemployment
problem has been in-
creasing in the state
and the standard of
education declining.
Also, he alleged that
were misappropriation
in granting of 100-day
work for the rural peo-
ple, which would be set
right once the DMK
forms the government
in the state. —PTI
Patna: Education-
al institutions in-
cluding schools,
colleges, universi-
ties, coaching in-
stitutes will reo-
pen in Bihar from
Monday after a
gap of over nine
months since the
outbreak of Covid
pandemic.
Slide in number
of coronavirus
cases and high re-
covery rate of
97.61 per cent in
the state seem to
have boosted the
confidence to re-
sume studies
physically in the
educational insti-
tutions.
However, classes
willoperateonlyat
half the strength
of the total stu-
dents and other
protocols of coro-
navirus have to be
followed strictly,
Education Depart-
ment Principal
Secretary Sanjay
Kumar said on
Sunday. —PTI
Schools,
colleges to
reopen in
Bihar: Govt
Suvendu Adhikari mocks Trinamool's
posters calling Mamata "Pride of Bengal"
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari
M K Stalin
DMK WILL WAIVE EDUCATION LOANS
IF VOTED TO POWER: MK STALIN
—PHOTOBYANI
Game on...
This clears the way for
the roll out of at least
two vaccines in India in
the coming days. “Se-
rum and Bharat Bio-
tech vaccines have to be
administered in two
doses. All the three vac-
cines have to be stored
at 2-8 C,” Somani said.
Modi: Approval...
“A decisive turning
point to strengthen a
spirited fight! DCGI
granting approval to
vaccines of @SerumIn-
stIndia and @Bharat-
Biotech accelerates the
road to a healthier and
COVID-free nation.
Congratulations India.
Congratulations to our
hardworking scientists
and innovators,” he
tweeted.
Vax approval...
use needs to be taken up
carefully as no country
has dispensed with the
mandatory phase 3 tri-
als and verification of
data. As per submis-
sions made before the
expert panel, phase 3
trials have not been
completed and there-
fore, the data on safety
and efficacy has not
been reviewed, which is
a mandatory require-
ment, Sharma said re-
ferring to Covaxin.
Watershed
moment...
under the charismatic
leadership of Hon’ble
PM @narendramodi Ji !
Our wait for #COVID19
vaccine is over with
COVISHIELD from @
SerumInstIndia and
COVAXIN from @
BharatBiotech ap-
proved for emergency
use in India, Vardhan
tweeted.
Leave arrogance...
“Along with the people
of the country, I am also
disturbed seeing the
condition of the ‘anna-
datas’ who have been
agitating for 39 days at
the borders of Delhi in
the bitter cold and rain
in support of their de-
mands but neither the
heartless Modi govern-
ment relented nor the
Prime Minister or any
other minister uttered a
word of consolation till
today,” the Congress
president said.
Heavy rains...
Undeterred by harsh
weather, s protesting
farmer said, “Rain has
spoilt our food, all our
clothes and tents have
got wet, that is a prob-
lem. But, we are deter-
mined for our fight. We
can bear these small
problems but if farm
laws are applied then
our generations will
suffer. We will go back
to our homes only when
these laws are re-
pealed.”
23 killed...
Apart from the 23 dead,
15 others were admitted
at different hospitals,
Ghaziabad (Rural) Su-
perintendent of Police
Iraj Raja said.
At least 18 of them
had been identified by
the evening.
I express my condo-
lences to the near and
dear ones of those who
lost their lives in this
accident, and also hope
for a quick recovery of
the injured, Modi tweet-
ed in Hindi.Adityanath
announced Rs 2 lakh as
financial relief for the
families of each man
killed.
The chief minister
also directed Meerut’s
Divisional Commis-
sioner and Additional
Director General of the
police zone to submit a
report on the incident.
Union minister V K
Singh, who is a Member
of Parliament from
Ghaziabad, and several
senior police and ad-
ministration officials
visited the accident
site. Uttar Pradesh
Health Minister Atul
Garg, who is the local
BJP MLA, met some of
the injured at the gov-
ernment hospital here.
Expressing grief
over the incident, UP
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath said that he
was appalled by the
shocking incident. “It is
a very painful incident
and I pray for all those
who have gravely suf-
fered in this. I have di-
rected the senior offi-
cials to be present at the
site and extend help in
every way possible to
those in need. I pray for
all of them,” CM said as
he also announced an
ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh
each to the next of kin
of those who died in the
mishap.
“I have been deeply
saddened by the news
of the deaths of many
people as the roof of the
crematorium in Murad-
nagar, Ghaziabad col-
lapsed. In this hour of
grief, I express my con-
dolences to the families
of the dead, as well as
wish for the speedy re-
covery of those injured
in the accident,” reads
defence minister’s
tweet.
FROM PG 1

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021
for India’s
Farmers
A case for
Universal Basic Income
I
n September, India
passed three bills
that immediately
led to protests by farm-
ers demanding to re-
peal the legislation.
The new laws seek to
remove the govern-
ment’s minimum sup-
port price for produce
that shielded India’s
farmers from free-mar-
ket forces for decades.
In allowing the farm-
ers to set prices and
sell directly to busi-
nesses, the reforms are
pro-market and reflect
the changing times. In
a globalized era where
the free market is king,
India has to open its
agricultural sector to
the world sooner or
later in order to take
advantage of global de-
mand for produce.
In these transitional
times, ensuring farm-
ers’ incomes through
price policy is not prac-
tical. It will only lead
to inefficiency, causing
India to lose the com-
petitive advantage in
an ever-expanding
global economy. How-
ever, with over 40% of
the country’s work-
force employed in the
agriculture sector, it is
the government’s re-
sponsibility to ensure
farmers’ livelihoods.
Most of the countries
are shifting from price
policies to income poli-
cies to ensure farmers’
incomes by adopting
universal basic income
(UBI) schemes.
As a first step in
shifting from price pol-
icy to income policy,
PM-KISAN must cover
basic input costs like
fertilizer irrigation
and pesticides, as well
as cover periodic losses
due to floods, droughts
and price fluctuations.
However, the scheme
should not become an
excessive burden on
the exchequer. It seems
that the benefits under
some of the state
schemes like the Rythu
Bandhu in Telangana
achieve much better
results by transferring
10,000 rupees per acre
to each farmer.
If all of India’s 28
states were to imple-
ment a Rythu Bandhu-
type scheme in its cur-
rent form, it would cost
1.85% of the GDP. If
these schemes are to
remain sustainable in
the long run, they need
to be targeted well.
Small farmers should
get at least equal if not
more benefits than big-
ger farmers, whereas
Rythu Bandu is pro-
gressive in benefits,
with bigger landown-
ers getting more mon-
ey than the small farm-
ers. The means for
verification needs to be
standardized, with no
opportunity to inflate
the beneficiaries by lo-
cal officials.
Some farmers’ or-
ganizations complain
that PM-KISAN or sim-
ilar schemes are bene-
fiting absentee land-
lords rather than real
farmers. These
schemes are prone to
errors. The inclusion
error means that a pro-
portion of those select-
ed under a scheme are
not really farmers, like
absentee landlords
with 40 acres of land
getting benefits of
400,000 rupees per an-
num under Rythu
Bandhu. The exclusion
error occurs when a
proportion of those in-
tended to benefit are
excluded from the
scheme as a result of
improper design. For
instance, under Rythu
Bandhu, tenant farm-
ers, whose share of
land is around 25% in
the state, are not eligi-
ble despite being the
actual cultivators who
bear all the risks.
These inclusion and
exclusion errors can be
effectively reduced by
proper design of the
scheme and by using
means-verification
tools like online land
records or validated
bank accounts, tenan-
cy certificates, etc.
Shifting Policy
Universal Basic In-
come is a regular, un-
conditional cash pay-
ment given to every
household in the
country. The idea of
UBI originated in the
West, dating back to
as far back as the 16th
century, to ensure a
minimum guaran-
teed income to every
citizen. Most of the
developing countries
are also using a modi-
fied form of UBI to
ensure farmers’ in-
come to protect them
from the looming
threat of fluctuating
and declining prices.
The main advan-
tage of the scheme is
that it does not inter-
vene in the function-
ing of agricultural
markets and allows
free trade. Unlike
loan weavers, it does
not impair credit cul-
ture and, unlike min-
imum support prices
for crops, it does not
encourage the culti-
vation of one crop at
the expense of anoth-
er. It also avoids com-
plex and costly ad-
ministrative proce-
dures and lethargy in
i m p l e m e n t i n g
schemes like procure-
ment of grains under
India’s Public Distri-
bution System.
International expe-
rience shows that
UBI makes people
happier and healthi-
er, meaning that eve-
ryone benefits. A
modified version of
the UBI scheme, a tar-
geted PM Kisan Sam-
man Nidhi (PM-
KISAN) scheme, was
already in place in
India. Under PM-
KISAN, every season,
a specified sum of
money is directly
transferred to farm-
ers’ bank accounts
based on land re-
cords. Many state
governments are im-
plementing similar
targeted basic in-
come schemes, in-
cluding Telangana,
Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and
Odhisa.
PM-KISAN covers
all of India. It is ben-
efiting over 120 mil-
lion farmers who
own less than 5 acres
of land with a total
budget of $9.8 billion
per year on the as-
sumption that land
records can be used
as a means for verifi-
cation to identify
farmers. The main
opposition party, In-
dian National Con-
gress, has promised a
similar scheme in its
2019 election mani-
festo. The Minimum
Income Guarantee
Scheme, formally the
Nyuntam Aay Yoja-
na, was designed to
help 50 million
“‘poorest families’ by
assuring them a guar-
anteeing minimum
income of 6,000 per
month or 72,000 a
year.” All households
with a monthly in-
come below 12,000 ru-
pees ($163) would be
eligible, taking the
total budget to an es-
timated to be $48.9
billion, or 1.9% of the
GDP.
Targeted Basic Income
To implement any form
of PM-KISAN-type of
incomesupporttofarm-
ers, India’s government
has to identify farmers
correctly without any
scope for errors. For ex-
ample, the digitization
of land records is still a
work in progress and
needs to be accelerated.
Computerization of
land records has been
completed only in 87%
of the villages in India.
Only three states—Kar-
nataka, Telangana and
Odisha—have complet-
ed 100% computeriza-
tion of land records,
while the remaining
states have computer-
ized between 80% and
90% of the records.
Particularly, records
in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh
and other northeastern
states are not updated.
With the initiation of
the Pradhan Mantri
Jan Dhan Yojana (PM-
JDY), almost every
farmer now has a bank
accountassociatedwith
A a d -
h a r —
India’s national identi-
fication number. Under
PMJDY, about 355 mil-
lion Aadhar-linked
bankaccountswerecre-
ated as against 248 mil-
lion households in In-
dia, which can be used
for direct money trans-
fers to farmers.
Budget allocation to
anenhancedUBIscheme
intheformof amodified
PM-KISANmodelshould
not come at the cost of
reducingpublicexpendi-
ture on agricul-
ture and other
subsidies.Thehighfiscal
costs of UBI may force
the government to roll
backsomesubsidieslike
freeelectricity,fertilizers
and food. If the state re-
treats from public provi-
sions like the Public Dis-
tribution System, it is
doubtful how far the pri-
vate sector will go to fill
thisgapevenif incentiv-
ized by profits.
It is possible that the
prices of some of the
inputs will go up on the
open market and move
out of reach for small
farmers. In the past, a
government retreat
fromprimaryeducation
and health care led to
the proliferation of pri-
vate schools and hospi-
tals that charged extor-
tionate fees unafforda-
ble for the poor. State
provision of agricultur-
al and rural infrastruc-
ture is a more cost-effec-
tive, socially just, redis-
tributive and sustaina-
ble way of meeting the
farmers’ needs than
leaving them to depend
on the free market.
Backbone Infrastructure
SOURCE : FAIROBSERVER.COM
Instead of
guaranteeing
minimum
support prices
across India, it
may be time to
consider a
minimum basic
income instead
A AMARENDER REDDY

Walk through the rooms of your
life; not to search for flaws but to
see the changes accomplished.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Surat/Ahmedabad :
At least 2 Gujarat-based
youngsters have
emerged toppers in the
Common Admission
Test (CAT) prelims for
admissions to the coun-
try’s top management
institutes.
Surat’s Rushi Patel
has scored a mind-bog-
gling 99.99 percentile
marks and is ranked
among the top 25 in In-
dia. Among the others is
Ahmedabad-based Pras-
ad Joshi who scored
99.97 percentile.
RushiDilipbhaiPatel,
21, lives with his family
in the Sanskar Park So-
ciety in Surat’s Piplod
area and is currently in
the final year of IIT-Del-
hi BTech course.
Doshi, a student of
IMS coaching center,
said he used to prepare
for CAT while being in a
job.
“To prepare for the
test, one of the most im-
portant things to do is to
identify your weakness.
Andtodothis,oneneeds
to appear for as many
mock tests as possible,”
said Doshi.
“Initially I scored low
in verbal English in the
mock tests and so start-
ed working more on it.
Today when the CAT re-
sults were announced I
scored 98.5 percentile in
the verbal English sec-
tion,” he said.
The CAT exam was
held on November 29
and 2.27 lakh students
appeared for the exam
and 9,000 from them
were from Gujarat.
Another student Ab-
hinav Gupta who scored
99.58 percentile in the
CAT 2020 results has al-
ready got admission for
the MBA course in RICE
JONESGraduateSchool
of Business with an
Rs70 lakh scholarship
but he says he wants to
study in India.
Some other toppers
from Ahmedabad in-
clude Vishal Badlani
(99.44 percentile), Pulkit
Pandey (99.84 percen-
tile), and Lansu Kedia
(99.88 percentile), and
Yashwardan Panwar
(99.94 percentile).
Around 2.27 lakh can-
didates had registered
for the CAT-2020 exams
of which 1.90 lakh ap-
peared for the same. Of
the total candidates who
appeared for the exams,
1.47 lakh were male can-
didates.
Several Gujarat boys crack the tough CAT exam
Youngsters from Surat and
Ahmedabad have brought laurels to
the State by their CAT performance
GPSC successfully
holds police
inspectors’ exams
Guj’s Zydus Cadila
vaccine’s phase-3
trial approved
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar : The
Gujarat Public Ser-
vice Commission
(GPSC) on Sunday
successfully organ-
ised examinations
for the post of police
inspectors in 32 dis-
tricts of the State. As
many as 1.46 lakh as-
piring candidates
had filled exam
forms for 40 posts, ac-
cording to official
sources.
GPSC Chairman
Dinesh Dasa told me-
diapersons on Sun-
day that the exams
were successfully
conducted at all the
centres with the help
of local police and
district administra-
tions.
The examinations
were held at 556 cen-
tres. After the prelim
exams, the GPSC
would hold physical
tests, main written
tests and interviews.
This exam was to be
held on March 29,
2020, but due to the
lockdown, exams
were postponed.
Now the Commis-
sion is gearing up to
hold exams for Class
I and II and the new
dates will be an-
nounced in next two
to three days.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Guja-
rat’s first indige-
nously developed
Covid-19 vaccine
candidate, ZyCoV-
D, by Ahmedabad-
based Zydus Cadila
has been approved
by Drugs Controller
General of India
(DCGI), to conduct
the Phase III clini-
cal trials. The can-
didate has been sup-
ported by the Na-
tional Biopharma
Mission (NBM) un-
der the aegis of BI-
RAC and the De-
partment of Bio-
technology, Govern-
ment of India.
Zydus Cadila com-
pleted Phase-I/II clin-
icaltrialsof thisDNA
Vaccine candidate, in
India, in more than
1,000participantsand
interim data indicat-
ed that the vaccine is
safe and immunogen-
ic when three doses
were administered
intradermally.
Based on the rec-
ommendations of the
Subject Expert Com-
mittee, which re-
viewed the interim
data, the DCGI has
accorded permission
for conducting Phase-
III clinical trial in
26,000 Indian partici-
pants. Dr. Renu
Swarup, Secretary,
DBT and Chairper-
son, BIRAC, hoped
that the candidate
vaccine continues to
show positive out-
comes. She said, “The
Department of Bio-
technology, Govern-
ment of India has
partnered withZydus
Cadila, to address the
need for accelerated
development of an in-
digenous vaccine.”
“The partnership
exemplifies that such
research endeavours
demonstrate the gov-
ernment’s focus on
creating an ecosys-
temthatnurturesand
encouragesnewprod-
uct innovation with
societal relevance”.
Guj-Jharkhand cops nab
‘Naxal suspect’ from Surat
First India Bureau
Surat: A suspected
Naxal, wanted in
Jharkhand for several
offences, has been ar-
rested from Kosamba in
Surat district where he
worked as a machine
mechanic at a factory
for the last 3 years.
Guddu Singh was ar-
rested on Saturday in a
joint operation carried
out by Kosamba police
in Surat and Nawdiha
Bazar police in
Jharkhand’s Palamu
district, VK Patel, in-
spector of Kosamba po-
lice station, said.
Singh was wanted in
6 cases, including mur-
der, kidnapping and at-
tempt to murder, as well
as for the offences re-
lated to the Arms Act
and the Explosive Sub-
stances Act, all dating
back to 2011 and 2013, he
said.
“The accused, a resi-
dent of Korami village
in Jharkhand’s Palamu
district, had been living
in Surat for the last sev-
eral years and worked
at a factory in Kosam-
ba,” he said.
“As part of the joint
operation, the police
from the two States kept
a watch on him over the
last 3 days before appre-
hending him on Satur-
day,” Patel said.
Surat’s Rushi Patel scored a huge 99.99% in CAT exams.
—FILE PHOTO
BANSAL HAS BEEN GIVEN A CHALLENGING TASK TO FORM STRONG TEAM IN TMC BASTION
Mukesh Sharma
Lucknow/Kolkata:
Home minister Amit
Shah, who is considered
the Chanakya of poli-
tics, assigned a young
RSS Pracharak to
strengthentheorganisa-
tion in Uttar Pradesh 6
years ago.
This Pracharak ful-
filled Shah’s expecta-
tions and soon formed
such a strong organisa-
tional structure in Uttar
Pradesh that BJP got a
historic victory in the
LokSabhaelections-2014
— and the party went on
to win the UP assembly
polls in 2017, defying all
opinion polls.
This pracharak is
Sunil Bansal, State Gen-
eral Secretary (Organi-
sation)of UttarPradesh,
BJP.
Now, Shah has given
Bansal another chal-
lenging mission to win
the West Bengal Assem-
bly elections. Bansal is
micro-managing the or-
ganisation in West Ben-
gal. The BJP has en-
gagedmanyof itssenior
leaders, MPs and minis-
ters in West Bengal, but
Bansal has been given
the toughest task.
According to sources,
Bansal has been made
the organisation in-
charge of Kolkata Zone
of West Bengal. Kolkata
zone is the biggest chal-
lenge for BJP. This zone
consists of 51 assembly
constituencies of West
Bengal. It is the strong-
hold of TMC, and all the
MPs and MLAs of TMC
have a good base here.
Bansal, who has been
given the responsibility
to penetrate this fort of
TMC, has been visiting
the State continuously
for the last two months.
Recently, he spent
fourdaysinWestBengal
and took meetings of
office-bearers of the
booth, Mandal, district,
assembly constituency
units, Vistaraks and
other frontal organisa-
tions.
Bansal’s main focus is
micro-management. Ac-
cording to sources, in
the last two months,
Bansal has made a
strong organisational
team at polling booth
level in Kolkata zone.
Like other states, he has
also prepared the team
in Mandals, Districts
and Assembly constitu-
encies in Bengal.
The Panna Pramukh
(page in charge) and
Vistarak formula has
also been implemented
in the State. “I have the
charge of Kolkata Zone.
Working here is chal-
lenging, but there is a
wave of change all over
Bengal. I am visiting
here regularly and tak-
ing meetings with party
workers. The atmos-
phere is in favour of
BJP. The result of the
upcoming election will
be in favour of the par-
ty”, Bansal told First
India.
AMIT SHAH'S MAN FRIDAY SUNIL
BANSAL ON MISSION BENGAL
UP BJP General Secretary (Organization) Sunil Bansal took a meeting of the convenor, co-convenor
and all the Mandal chiefs of Jadhavpur and Kasba assembly area in South Kolkata during his recent
visit to West Bengal.
WHO IS SUNIL BANSAL?
FORLORN FORESTS
A pair of horses feeds on weeds at Polo Forests in Vijaynagar in North Gujarat.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
TOUGH NUTS!
—FILE PHOTO
Students emerging from GPSC exam centre in Ahmedabad
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
4,318
DEATHS
2,47,228
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
2,710 DEATHS 3,09,821 CASES
DELHI
10,585 DEATHS 6,26,872 CASES
WORLD
18,47,252
DEATHS
8,52,14,000
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
1,03,39,726
CONFIRMED CASES
1,49,659
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
49,666 DEATHS 19,42,136 CASES
UTTAR PRADESH
8,387 DEATHS 5,87,434 CASES
KARNATAKA
12,107 DEATHS 9,21,938 CASES

AHMEDABAD, MONDAY
JANUARY 4, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
ASOU
RCE OF CO
M
FORT
f you
share
y o u r
b e d
with a
fur ry
friend
into adulthood, don’t be
ashamed, sleeping with soft
toys is more normal than you
might think. Ample of my
friends or siblings still sleep
with teddies. Well, the question
arises, why are we hanging on to
our cuddly toys? My hunch is
that it’s to do with sleeping prac-
tices. Nowadays, following west-
ern culture, children sleep sepa-
rately from their parents, on
their own and self-soothe using
blankets and soft toys. These
have become part of our sleep
ritual. Well, if we love them so
much, let’s learn to take care
of them.
1
Use the gentle
cycle and cold
water, though
if a child has been
sick and the toy
can tolerate it (for
example, it
does not
have glued-in parts), warm or hot
water can be used.
2
A mild detergent, like a free
and clear formula, is ideal, but
regular detergent is fine — no
need to purchase a separate deter-
gent for washing stuffed animals.
Follow the instructions on the
bottle and don’t use
too much de
tergent,
as soap resi-
due left behind
can irritate sensitive
skin.
3
If the size and shape
of the stuffed animal
allow for it, put the toy
in a mesh washing bag to help
protect parts like eyes and hair.
You can also pad the load with
towels to help protect toys.
It is not unusual for your at-
tachment to soft toys as a sleep
aid to persist into adulthood.
Cuddling a soft toy can have a
beneficial effect for people with
low self-esteem, helping to al-
leviate their anxieties
around death. It’s about
having a sentimental
attachment to
things. It’s com-
pletely normal
for adults to con-
tinue to have
these child-
ish attach-
ments.”
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
A stuffed toy is more
than just – well- a
stuffed toy! It is a
childhood memory, a
token of love, a source
of comfort and cannot
be replaced! City First
brings you some tips
to take care of your
beloved furry friend!
I

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
RADHA CHOUDHARY, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Maintaining good health
becomes your priority and
sets you on a fitness trail. A
senior will repose full faith
in you for tackling a man management
situation at work. Situation on the
financial front will remain satisfactory,
despite rising expenditure. A property
issue may create tension at the home.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Businesspersons are likely
to find a new venture
progressing satisfactorily.
A profitable day is for
professionals. There is much that
needs to be done, so tighten your
belt. Good health is likely to provide
you with oodles of energy and enable
you to finish your work in a jiffy.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Some more avenues for
earning promise to open
up. Good diet and regular
exercise will keep you both
physically and mentally robust. At
work, you are likely to remain in
control and see a project to
completion. Financially, you remain
in a comfortable situation.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Realising a handsome
amount from someone is
possible on the financial
front. Your efforts on the
professional front will be noted by
those who matter. A child or younger
sibling can make you proud by his or
her achievements. Good health keeps
you energetic all throughout.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Returns from previous
investments are likely to
make your financial
worries disappear. A new
exercise regime may need to be
dovetailed to your requirements to
benefit. Your professional rivals are
likely to punch holes in your
cost-cutting ideas for a project.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Salary enhancement cannot
be ruled out for some. An
alternative to your staple
diet may prove immensely
enjoyable. An argument with senior can
make you feel insecure. You may find
the atmosphere at home serene and
most welcoming. Places of tourist
attraction may be on the agenda.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Money comes in a steady
stream and promises to
make you financially
comfortable. Self-discipline
and not succumbing to temptations
will help in maintaining good health.
Some of you may get tied up in office
and reach home late today. It may
become difficult to find family time.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Money multiplies, as you
get an opportunity to add
to your wealth. Time has
arrived to reap rich
rewards of your hard work. Parents
or elders may nag you into doing
something you don’t want to, but you
will manage to wriggle out of it! You
will follow an exercise regime.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
A profitable venture is
likely to fill up the coffers
of some businesspersons.
You may be held responsi-
ble for a deed that you have not
committed at work. Fitness classes
will prove immensely beneficial and
soothing, especially for those in the
middle age group.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
On the financial front, a
new source of income is
likely to be tapped soon
that may get your coffers
brimming! Health counselling will do
wonders for those longing to come
back in shape. You are likely to win
much appreciation by completing a
task in record time.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Increased expenditure can
be expected and may get
you worried. It is important
to get back into the thick of
things on the work front. Family
grapevine can be abuzz with the
latest gossip about you. Ensure
adequate security in a long journey,
as stars for travel are not too bright.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Some of you can end up
paying more than intended
for a product or service,
but it will be worth it.
Taking up a good health scheme will
prove beneficial. A practical solution
may be found for a complex problem
on the professional front. Support of
family members is assured.
arsi Kularia con-
tributed 2 crores
25 lakh in the con-
struction of Ram
temple. Narsi Ku-
laria, known as
the Icon of the
Interior, contributed 2
crores 25 lakh for the con-
structionof RamTemplein
Ayodhya. Sant Dularam
Kularia, from the begin-
ning, has lived his entire
life in the service of Sisa-
maj Seva, Goseva and Sad-
hu Saints, whose path is
being followed by the CMD
of Narsi Group, son of Sant
Dularam Kularia.
From the beginning,
Narsi Kularia donated to
the Gaushalas for the ser-
vice of the cows and their
families, always ahead for
social service and always
helped the poor families.
Bhamashah Narsi Kularia
came forward to contribute
a huge amount of 2.25 crore
rupees in the construction
of the long-awaited Ram
temple in Ayodhya.
Expressing appreciation
on this contribution, Narsi
Kularia said that it is his
good fortune that we get the
opportunity to cooperate in
the construction of Ram
temple, due to the grace of
Lord Ram, we get such a
wonderful opportunity.
Narsi Kularia said that Fa-
ther Sant Dularam Kularia
had inspired them to do
good deeds from the begin-
ning, today we are walking
on his path.
Director of Narsi group,
Jagdish Kularia also said
that it is the responsibility
of every Hindu to cooper-
ate in the construction of
Ram temple, with the coop-
eration of all, a grand tem-
ple of Lord Ram will be
built. Narsi groups are be-
ing supported by the villag-
ers of the area to get the
benefit of it. In the newly
announced state executive
of Rajasthan, the icon of
the interior and industrial-
ist Narsi Kularia has been
made the vice president for
the Shri Ram Temple Fund
Collection Committee, con-
stituted under the chair-
manship of industrialist
Tarachand Goyal, for the
under-construction Ram
temple in Ayodhya. There
was a wave of happiness in
becoming the vice-presi-
dentof NarsiKularia,CMD
of Narsi Group.
Happiness on receipt of
the grandson
On receiving the son of
Narsi Kularia’s son Jag-
dish Kularia, there was a
happy atmosphere in the
village and family. Narsi
Kularia expressed happi-
ness over the grandson’s
attainment and said that
along with devotion to
Ram, social service, service
of saints and public will al-
ways be ahead for the poor.
Narsi Kularia, CMD of
the Narsi Group, which has
created its own distinct
identity in the field of the
interior in the country, has
been engaged in realizing
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s Skill India scheme
since the beginning.
Narsi Group has so far
organized training camps
under the India Scheme for
this in many cities and
towns including Sanchore,
Sirohi, Dhorimana,
Chohtan, Mumbai, Delhi,
Bangalore, Chennai Pune,
Hyderabad, Faridabad,
Goa under the Skill India
Scheme. Recently, a train-
ingprogramwasorganized
under the Skill India
Scheme by the Nursery
Group in Chohtan, Barmer,
in which more than 200
youth trained in the train-
ing camp of the Narsi
GroupundertheSkillIndia
Scheme.
Carpenter Training
Camp was launched by the
participating Narsi Group
at Skill India in Chohtan,
Barmer. In the camp organ-
ized under the chairman-
ship of the chief guest of
the ceremony held at Vish-
wakarma Suthar Samaj,
Ranaram Kularia, 200
youth participated in the
Corona pandemic follow-
ing the guidelines. Cer-
tificates will now be
distributed after
training. At the
function, Nar-
see Group
Skill India
h e a d s
Anil Ma-
thur and
Priyan-
ka Bha-
tia said
t h a t
the country will have to be
strengthened, this can only
be possible from the Skill
India program, Anil Ma-
thur said that Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi’s Skill
India program to enhance
the carpenter craft in the
country Narsi Kularia,
CMD of Narsi Group, who
has participated in the
meeting, is truly realizing
the skill India Kaushal
Bharat dream of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
Since 2017, the youth
icon Narsi Kularia has
been playing an active part
in this program, providing
employment opportunities
to the youth of the country
by connecting them with
skills and advancing their
Carpentry skills through
their group. Rajasthan pro-
gram in-charge Balwant H
Suthar Chaura said that
the Narsee Group is work-
ing to extend the Skill India
scheme to village Dhani-
Dhani to promote carpen-
ter crafts.
NARSI KULARIA:
THE BIG CONTRIBUTION
LUNARAM DARJI
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
N
Narsi Kularia on India plan since 2017
Launched a campaign to realize the
Skill India Scheme of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on the ground, so far
thousands of youth have been given
a new identity by looking at training
under Skill India scheme.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
started the Skill India scheme to
give a new identity to the youth, but
the biggest task of realizing the plan
on the ground and connecting the
youth with the scheme was done
by the Narsee Group, Narsi Kularia,
CMD of the Narsee Group, came
forward from 2017. Started training
programs under the India scheme,
in which thousands of youth have
been trained so far and linked with
employment and have given a new
identity.
Narsi Kularia, CMD Narsi Group
Jagdish Kularia
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva

ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021
11
AN EVENING TO REMEMBER...THE LAUNCH OF THE BOOK ‘ENCHANTED BY CHEF TARUNA BIRLA’ WAS ORGANISED
AT TAJ JAI MAHAL PALACE ON SATURDAY EVENING, WHERE VARIOUS RENOWNED
PERSONALITIES FROM THE PINK CITY WERE WITNESSED HAVING A LOT OF FUN.
CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT IT WAS THE VERY FIRST EVENT OF 2021 IN JAIPUR,
THE ENTIRE VIBE OF THE EVENT WAS FILLED WITH EXCITEMENT. CITY FIRST SHARES
A FEW GLIMPSES OF THE GATHERING HAVING FUN DURING THE EVENT!
Lokesh, Ashima, Taruna, Anita and Rishee
Vishal and Mandakini
Pallavi, Taruna and Lokesh
Dushyant, Hemant and Apra Dr Rajiv Ahuja and Dr Geeta Ahuja Sujata with a guest Lokesh, JD Maheshwari and Rishee
Richa, Ratika and Doorva
Karan, Deepak and Anjali
Manoj, Naveen, Sandeep, Meera and Taruna
Suman, Lalit, Pankaj, Reema and Neeru
Neha, Manish, Dushyant, Minal, Parul, Shaini, Doorva and Meeraya
hameless has less than a
dozen episodes left before it
comes to an end, with Sea-
son 11 set to be the show’s
last ever. This means that
time is running out
f o r
Emmy Rossum to make one last ap-
pearance as Fiona Gallagher after
she exited the Showtime show in
March 2019.
So far, her appearance has not
been confirmed, and Shameless
creator John Wells has repeatedly
been asked in interviews whether
she would manage to return.
Most recently, he was asked by
TVLine and Rossum’s return. He
said: “She’s shooting this big
limited series for Peacock,
and they haven’t yet gone
back into production.
—Agency
Emmy Rossum
returns
S
T
hefirstweekend
of the year
seemed to be an
exciting one for
Ananya Panday as she
welcomed 2021 amidst
clearbluewatersandin
themiddleof anisland.
Taking to Instagram,
Ananya dropped an-
other beach-inspired
look from her Maldives
vacation and it’s all
things stunning.
In the photo, Ananya
canbeseenposingwith
crystalclearbluewater
in the background. The
actress notched up her
style in a pair of white
andbluetie-dyepants,a
white crop tube top and
heart-shaped earrings.
Rocking her tan lines,
Ananya probably felt
like a mermaid as she
used that emoji to cap-
tion her photos —Agency
Mermaid in Maldives
T
he handsome hunk
Akshay Kumar is
known for his fit-
ness and acting
prowess in Bollywood. Be-
sides this, Khiladi Kumar
has always extended his
support to Mumbai Police
in their initiatives. Speak-
ing of this, the Rowdy
Rathore star recently
graced the event of seg-
ways. The Mumbai Police
has organised an event to
launch Segways for Police
Patrolling at Worli Seaface.
Maharashtra Home Minis-
ter Anil Deshmukh and
Minister of Tourism Aadi-
tya Thackeray have inaugu-
rated this project in the
presence of other promi-
nent ministers. Akshay at-
tended the event as a spe-
cial guest for the evening
and also delivered a speech
wherein he expressed his
gratitude to everyone for
making it possible.
—Agency
T
apsee Pannu who
has won hearts for
herperformancein
films like Pink and
Thappadrecentlywrapped
up the Ranchi schedule of
her next sports drama
Rashmi Rocket. She
shared another stunning
picture on her Instagram
which left her fans in awe
and especially her ru-
moured boyfriend Mathi-
as Boe on Sunday. Sharing
the picture on her Insta-
gram, Taapsee Pannu
wrote, “Confidence is not
walkingintoaroomthink-
ing you are better than
everyone else. It’s walking
intoaroomandnothaving
to compare yourself to
anyone else in the first
place. #HappySunday.” As
soon as she posted the pic-
ture, fans started shower-
ing love on the post. But
what caught our attention
was her rumoured boy-
friend Mathias Boe’s com-
ment. He dropped a heart-
eyedemojiinthecomment
section. —Agency
ALL SET TO SHOOT
P
roducer Sajid Nadi-
adwala recently
roped in Jacqueline
Fernandez, Arshad
Warsi and Pankaj Tripathi
for his upcoming action-
comedy Bachchan Pan-
dey and this new addition
has elevated the excite-
ment for the film.
The new year has started
on an exciting note for the
producer as he is all
set to shoot in Jais-
almer with the en-
tire cast. Nadiad-
wala Grandson re-
cently shared a post
on raising a toast to
the new beginnings
and captioned it
as,”New Year! New
Beginnings!
The GANG is all set to
shoot #SajidNadiadwala’s
#BachchanPandey from
6th Jan in Jaisalmer @ak-
shaykumar @farhad_sam-
ji @kritisanon @Arshad-
Warsi @prateikbabbar @
WardaNadiadwala @
Skhannadiadwala @Sufy-
anNadiadwa4 @NGEMov-
ies” —Agency
LOVESTRUCK
Akshay rides the Segway
Ananya Panday’s post
Akshay Kumar during the event
Taapsee Pannu
Emmy Rossum
—PHOTOSBYSANTOSHSHARMA

12AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY BUZZ
MEET, GREET
AND EAT!
CITY FIRST
A
get-together ceremo-
ny was organised for
the winners, runner-
ups and top 10 par-
ticipants of both the cat-
egories of the three-day
National Beauty Contest
Miss and Mrs India Glam
season 2 in collaboration
with RK Events and The Her-
itage Village Resort on Satur-
day. Miss category winner,
Rishika Mudgal and Mrs cat-
egorywinner,SnehaRathore,
along with other runner-ups
and finalists were present for
a lunch in Vaishali Nagar fol-
lowed by a glamorous photo
session. Show organisers
Pawan Tank, Vishnu Shar-
ma and Managing Direc-
tor Anoop Chaudhary
said that everyone en-
joyed the three-day event
very much and gave their
best performance. The ener-
gy level of all the contestants
from the beginning to the
end of the show was worth
watching. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Jagdeesh Chandra with Dr Sandeep Sharma and Ken on the
occasion of New Year on Saturday.
GREETINGS!
EVENTS!
Guj: Citizens were captured enjoying a pleasant evening
with their families at a new boating site near AMC House,
Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
—PHOTOSBYHANIFSINDHI
Guj: South Western Air Command (SWAC) headquarters
organised a cycle rally at Air Force Station Deesa on Saturday.
The rally was flagged off by Air Vice Marshal Umesh Kumar.
The cyclists interacted with the local crowd at Deesa to spread
awareness about the Indian Air Force and also to promote the
initiative of ‘Fit India’ movement. The event was conducted to
commemorate “Swarnim Jayanti” of the Indo-Pak 1971 war
with the slogan ‘Har Kaam Desh ke Naam’.
Raj: Shades family of Vaishali Nagar celebrated the birthday
of the owner, Sneha Sharma with a feeling of joy and
togetherness on Saturday.
Hritisha
Rewadia, in a
freewheeling
chat with
City First,
opened up
about her
journey as
Opera
singer, a
rarity in
India!
ithout any doubt, it is
safetosaythatthede-
sert state is filled
with immense talent.
To prove this right,
Hritisha Rewadia
from the Pink City
recently won the title of the
‘Opera Queen of India’, and it
isdefinitelyaverybigachieve-
mentforRajasthanasawhole.
In an exclusive interview
with City First, Hritisha
opened up about her journey
andwhatsheplanstodointhe
future.
Talking about the title she
recently received, Hritisha
mentioned, “I feel over-
whelmed by this title given to
me by the respected and hon-
ourablepersonalitiesbecause
my dream for bringing opera
as a mainstream singing cul-
ture in India is becoming
true. In 2020 I was welcomed
by many opera shows con-
ducted online due to Covid in
USA & UK, and people and
other celebrities there hon-
oured me with the title of ‘Op-
era Queen of India’.”
“In school, I never thought
of becoming a singer instead I
waspursuingdoctoratecareer
but suddenly I changed my
plans by discussing this field
with family and planned to
move forward with singing as
I always stood 1st in inter-
schoolandinter-housesinging
competitions.
Then I met Shaiphali Sax-
ena the Founder of Angel’s
Music Academy and decided
to learn music at her Acade-
my. It is Shaiphali who intro-
duced & taught me opera cul-
ture and helped me through
my career in music. We both
became like sisters and in
fact consider her as a family
member,” she added.
On asking about
who is her role mod-
el, Hritisha said,
“My role model
and my inspira-
tion for my
singingcomes
from my
mother, Dar-
shana Rewa-
dia;andonher
name only I’ve
put my stage
name as ‘Hriti-
shaDarshanaRewa- dia’.”
Going further, Hritisha’s
goal is to invent some
things in music that have
never been discovered,
and become a Musicolo-
gist.
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
W
OPERA QUEEN OF INDIA
Raj: Greenland, an NGO celebrated the new year by
distributing food packets, clothes and woollens to the children
of the slum. The members of the Samiti distributed sanitary
napkins to the women of the slum and made them aware
of menstrual hygiene. Himanshu Singh Chauhan focuses on
reaching out to those who are living in ignominious darkness
of period poverty.
Raj: Muskaan Foundation for Road Safety recently organised
15 webinars on road safety specifically for School and college
teachers. The objective was to transfer the knowledge of safe
behaviour on the roads to the students through them. The
webinars covered 500 teachers in 15 educational institutes in 20
days in December 2020.
Raj: The famous singing duo, Gaurav & Deepshikha Jain performed
live on the Facebook Page of Bollywood Singer Ravindra Upadhyay on
Saturday. Both sang some melodious golden oldies & ghazals.
Raj: Three hundred children of one to three years old in
ten villages, located about fifty kilometres from the capital
were given the drops of Swarnprashan, an ayurvedic
medicine on Friday.This will be included in the world
record. It was all done by the ayurvedic, homoeopathic,
naturopathy and yoga students of the university.
Raj: Vishnu Tak, the star of Jaipur’s running
community, has won the title of Master Blaster
Runner of the Year, a title by Shakti Helping Hand
and Shakti Film Production on Saturday after years
of hard work and relentless efforts. He ran about
5500 km within 1 year.
WHAT’S HAPPENING!
FELICITATIONS!
A
New Year get-togeth-
er was organised by
Dr BR Ambedkar
Jayanti Committee
in Jaipur on Sunday. The
newly elected public repre-
sentativesalongwithCorona
warriors were honoured.
A large number of people
were present on the occa-
sion.
During this, Dr BR
Ambedkar Jayanti celebra-
tion committee Chairman,
Lalchand Aswal told
that on this occasion more
than 100 Corona warriors
were honoured with cita-
tion letters and shawls along
with scholarships to the
poor students. —City First
IPS Anil Kumar Tank
celebrated his birthday
on Sunday, 3 January. We
wish him all the best!
HAPPY B’DAY!
C
hief Minister, Ashok
Gehlot sent across a
noble message to help
and distribute food
grains and blankets to the
needy people on the occasion
of New Year. Heritage Mayor,
Munesh Gurjar visited Ram-
rajpura Colony on Wednes-
day and met Banwari Lal where he told about his daughter,
Ishita who is suffering from a rare disease. The Mayor inspired
by the Chief Minister took complete responsibility of the child
including her education and other expenses. —City First
KIND GESTURE
COLOURS OF DRAMA
P
olice and Prayer, a dra-
ma based on the fa-
mous story of Henry,
“The Cop and the An-
them”, was successfully
staged on Net-Theat on
Saturday. The play
shows what kind of irony
happens to humans. Rajen-
dra Sharma Raju of Net-
Theat said that the drama
and adaptation of the police
and prayer was done by Sand-
eep Lele, a colourist. This
drama, staged under the ban-
ner of Dimension organi-
sation, is the story of
Raju, a vagabond who
spends his life on a park
bench. Raju’s main charac-
ter showcased a very strong
acting. —City First
Hritisha Rewadia
Lalchand Aswal
Munesh Gurjar with Ishita
During the reunion
Still from the play

First india ahmedabad edition-04 january 2021

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