First india ahmedabad edition-06 september 2020

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ALERT
AHMEDABAD l SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 281
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
3,094
DEATHS
1,03,006
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
1,122 DEATHS 89,363 CASES
DELHI
4,538 DEATHS 1,88,193 CASES
WORLD
8,81,340
DEATHS
2,69,46,061
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
41,06,586
CONFIRMED CASES
70,640
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
26,276 DEATHS 8,83,862 CASES
TAMIL NADU
KARNATAKA
24 women, 6 minor girls rescued from human trafficking ring
Ruchi Thakar
Surat: In a joint op-
eration, the Surat and
Navsari police un-
earthed a human traf-
ficking ring and
solved a missing-per-
sons case involving 24
women and six minor
girls, who were then
rescued during a raid
at a shrimp process-
ing unit in Makhinga
village in Surat’s Pal-
sana taluka.
The rescued victims
have since been sent to
the Nari Sanrakshan
Gruh in Rander, Surat.
The 30 persons
were brought from
Jharkhand to work in
an apparel park but
were later sent to the
shrimp farm and pro-
cessing unit, where
the seafood is pre-
pared for export.
The police conducted
the raid on Friday after
receiving input from the
state control depart-
ment but announced the
developmenttothepress
only after the women
were safely transferred
from police custody to
the women’s shelter.
Rupal Solanki
(DySP Bardoli) said,
“The State control
unit informed Surat
and Navsari police
about a case lodged in
Ranchi, Jharkhand,
about human traffick-
ing and 30 missing
girls. A team of 12 po-
lice personnel includ-
ing five female cops
were deployed on the
case. The team start-
ed the operation and
detained Manju Devi,
the owner of Mind-
hola Foods, where the
women were illegally
detained. Manju Devi
is the prime accused
in this case.” She will
be charged under the
Immoral Traffic (Pre-
vention) Act.
The situation came to
light after one of the mi-
nor girls forced to work
in the factory Turn to P6Mindhola Foods, where the women were illegally detained.
Jharkhand natives had been forced
to work in a shrimp processing unit
New Delhi: As the situ-
ation in eastern Ladakh
remains tense, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
has conveyed to his Chi-
nese counterpart Gen.
Wei Fenghe that China
must strictly respect
the Line of Actual Con-
trol (LAC) and not make
attempts to unilaterally
change its status quo.
Singh talked tough
with his Chinese coun-
terpart in Moscow and
conveyed that India will
not “cede an inch of its
land” and is determined
to protect integrity and
sovereignty of the
country at all costs,
sources told ANI.
In the first highest
level face-to-face con-
tact between the two
sides after border ten-
sion erupted in eastern
Ladakh in early May,
Singh told Wei during
their talks in Moscow
on Friday that China
must work with the In-
dian side for complete
disengagement of
troops at the earliest
from all friction points
including Pangong
Lake. Asserting that In-
dia is determined to
protect its sovereignty
and territorial integri-
ty, Singh also conveyed
that China’s actions
amassing a large num-
ber of troops, its aggres-
sive behaviour and at-
tempts to alter the sta-
tus quo in Ladakh were
in violation of bilateral
pacts, according to an
official statement re-
leased here on Saturday.
Singh conveyed to
Wei that the current
situation should be han-
dled responsibly and
that neither side take
any further action that
could either complicate
or escalate matters, it
said. Turn to P6
Rlys to run
80 new
special trains
from Sept 12
No ban on hiring
for govt jobs: Centre
after circular row
New Delhi: The Minis-
try of Finance on Satur-
day clarified there is no
restriction or ban on
filling up of posts in the
Government of India, a
day after it issued an
order banning creation
of new posts in central
ministries, with a view
to ease pressure on gov-
ernment resources due
to the current fiscal
situation.
In a new circular, the
ministry said normal
recruitment process
throughvariousgovern-
ment agencies will con-
tinue, adding that Fri-
day’s circular only deals
with internal procedure
for creation of posts.
“There is no restric-
tion or ban on filling up
of posts in the Govern-
ment of India. Normal
recruitmentthroughgov-
ernment agencies like
Staff Selection Commis-
sion (SSC), Union Public
Service Commission
(UPSC),RailwayRecruit-
ment Board (RRB) etc.
will continue as usual
without any curbs”, the
Finance Ministry said.
Turn to P6
New Delhi: Eighty new
special trains will be
operational from Sep-
tember 12, reservations
for which will begin
from September 10,
Railway Board Chair-
man V K Yadav said on
Saturday. He said the
trains will be notified
later in the day.
“Eighty new special
trains or 40 pair of
trains will start opera-
tions from September
12. Reservations will
begin from September
10. This will run in ad-
dition to the 230 trains
already in operation,”
he said. “Wherever
there is a demand for a
particular train, wher-
ever the waiting list is
long, we will run a clone
train ahead of the ac-
tual train, so that pas-
sengers can travel,” he
said. Yadav said Rail-
ways will run trains
whenever there is de-
mand from states for
exams or other similar
purposes. —ANI
New Delhi: For the
first time, the Union
Health Ministry has al-
lowed on-demand COV-
ID-19 testing without a
prescription.
The new advisory
has been made on the
recommendations of
the National Task
Force on the novel coro-
navirus. “For the first
time, along with more
simplified modalities,
the updated guidelines
provide for ‘On-de-
mand’ testing in order
to ensure higher levels
of testing,” read a re-
lease by the Ministry
of Health and Family
Welfare.
Individuals who wish
to get tested and those
undertaking travel to
countries/Indian states
mandating a negative
COVID-19 test at the
point of entry can get
an “on demand” test.
The ministry said
that the new advisory
has further simplified
the testing process and
given more freedom and
flexibilities to the State
authorities to facilitate
enhanced ease of test-
ing for the people.
“A totally new section
has been added in the
advisory on ‘testing on
demand’ which for all
practical purposes does
away with prescription
by a registered medical
practitioner although
state governments have
the freedom to decide
on simplified modali-
ties,” read the release.
There are now 1,647
testing laboratories op-
erational which cover
all states/UTs, the min-
istry said. —ANI
WILL NOT CEDE AN INCH OF OUR
TERRITORY: INDIA TO CHINA
On-demand COVID-19
testing begins in India
Respect LAC, don’t fiddle with status quo: Rajnath to Chinese Defence Minister
AWAITING
STORM BOY?
A health worker performs a rapid antigen coronavirus test from
collected samples, in Srinagar on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Rajnath Singh was in Moscow to attend SCO meet.
Ministry of Finance clarified on Saturday that there is no ban on
filling up of posts in the Government of India.
Probe on: 5 Arunachal
men ‘abducted’ by PLA
Itanagar: Arunachal
Pradesh police has
launched a probe fol-
lowing reports that
five people, who had
gone hunting in a for-
est in Upper Subansi-
ri district on the Si-
no-India border, were
allegedly kidnapped
by the Chinese mili-
tary, a senior official
said on Saturday.
The alleged incident
occurred on Friday
in Nacho area of the
district, their fami-
lies said.
Two others, who
were in the group,
managed to escape
and informed police.
“I have sent the of-
ficer-in-charge of
the Nacho police sta-
tion to the area to
verify the facts and
directed him to re-
port immediately.
However, the report
will be available
only by Sunday
morning,” SP Taru
Gussar said.
Those allegedly kid-
napped were identi-
fied as Toch Sing-
kam, Prasat Ring-
ling, Dongtu Ebiya,
Tanu Baker and
Ngaru Diri, all from
Tagin community.
Pasighat West MLA
Ninong Ering said
that befitting reply
must be given Chi-
na’s PLA.
—Agencies
These Dalmatian Pelicans, splashing in Lake Kerkíni in
Northern Greece, are a protected species as they are critically
endangered. This flock of elegant birds, seems to be waiting
for a Storm Boy—the fiction character of Australian kid’s book
by the same name—to help their tribe grow!
Sushant’s
domestic help
held by NCB
Mumbai: The Narcot-
ics Control Bureau
(NCB) on Saturday ar-
rested Dipesh Sawant,
the domestic help of
late actor Sushant Sin-
gh Rajput, in connec-
tion with the late actor’s
death case, KPS Mal-
hotra, Deputy Director,
NCB said.
Sawant was arrest-
ed for his role in pro-
curing and handling
of drugs. He has been
arrested based on
statements and digital
evidence. P6

NEWSAHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CM Rupani orders expedited appointments of 8,000 aspirants
BJP STATE CHIEF’S TOUR OF
SAURASHTRA POSTPONEDDAY 3 OF CR PATIL’S NORTH GUJARAT TOUR SAW MAJOR CHANGES AS WELL
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: CR Pa-
til, the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party’s Gujarat
unit president, is a
man on a mission.
Having ended a three-
day tour of north Gu-
jarat on Saturday, Pa-
til was meant to have
set off on his next
tour, to Amreli,
Bhavnagar and
Botad, next week.
However, the Sau-
rashtra tour, original-
ly slated for Septem-
ber 09-11 will now
have to wait.
The party insists the
trip has not been can-
celled, or that the
change in plan has
anything to do with
the fracas over Patil’s
recent rallies and
meetings where he and
other have been seen
flouting COVID-19 pro-
tocols.
Rubbishing any ru-
mours, BJP media in-
charge Prashant
Vala pointed out that
Patil addressed party
leaders at two meet-
ings—at Himmatna-
gar and at Aravalli—
on Saturday.
Vala said that bike
rallies and welcome
programmes at district
entry points had been
postponed so that Patil
could meet district lead-
ers for three to four
hours. “The decision
was taken in an effort to
keep the schedule tight
and meetings on time,”
Vala said.
He also said that
Patil’s tour of
Bhavnagar, Amreli
and Botad has been
rearranged since the
dates were clashing
with other pro-
grammes.
Patil has been focus-
ing on strengthening
the roles of page pres-
ident and booth presi-
dent, as a way of en-
suring greater voter
turnout at the election
booths. A high turn-
out improves the
BJP’s chances of win-
ning more seats. This
message has been
well-received within
the party.
General secretary
of the Banaskantha
District BJP Commit-
tee, Bharatsinh
Bhatesariya ob-
served, “Patil’s words
are touching the
hearts of workers. If
he is successful in
winning party work-
ers, the party will do
remarkably well in
the coming elec-
tions,” he said, add-
ing that Patil’s deci-
sion to make minis-
ters sit at the state
unit office and ad-
dress the issues of
party workers is go-
ing to be a game
changer that could
alter the course of
the party.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Ru-
pani has instructed
the Gujarat Public
Services Commission
(GPSC) and other se-
lection boards to ac-
celerate the process
of finalizing candi-
date selections and
issuing them ap-
pointment orders.
The results for about
8,000 posts are pend-
ing. The state is also
planning to recruit
20,000 youth over the
next five months.
Rupani chaired a
high-level meeting of
senior officers of the
state government,
GPSC, Gujarat State
Subordinate Service
Selection Board
(GSSSB), Gujarat Pan-
chayat Service Selec-
tion Board (GPSSB),
Police, General Ad-
ministration Depart-
ment and the Educa-
tion Department. He
clearly stated that the
recruitment process
should be started expe-
ditiously so that youth
in Gujarat get opportu-
nities to join the ser-
vice of the state gov-
ernment.
Office bearers of
the selection com-
mission and boards
informed the chief
minister that the re-
cruitment process
had been completed.
Now, only the results
were left to be an-
nounced—and that
the process would be
completed in the
next three to five
months.
Rupani then directed
the government to im-
mediately complete the
remaining procedures
for the 8,000 vacancies
previously announced
by various recruitment
authorities and to is-
sue appointment let-
ters immediately.
A government
statement highlight-
ed the fact that more
than 20,000 youth in
Gujarat would get
government jobs in
the next five months,
due to Rupani’s em-
ployment-oriented
decisions.
Meanwhile, Gover-
nor Acharya Devvrat
and Chief Minister
Rupani marked Teach-
er’s Day by paying
tribute to former pres-
ident, scholar and phi-
losopher, Dr Sarvepal-
li Radhakrishnan.
They also honoured 44
of the state’s best
teachers with an
award at a function
later in the day. Ad-
dressing the event,
Governor Devvrat said
that nations are built
with civility and hu-
manity taught in
school and not with
buildings, and lauded
the efforts of teachers
who take on the tough
task of nation-build-
ing. He added that, in
today’s times, teachers
do not just teach from
textbooks, but they
also share knowledge
of the latest technolo-
gy and keep students
abreast with what is
happening around the
world.
“Teachers in gov-
ernment-run schools
put in their blood
and sweat to educate
and build the careers
of children from the
lower spectra of soci-
ety. This is the hard-
est task, and they do
it successfully,” said
Chief Minister Ru-
pani while appreciat-
ing the teachers.
Education Minister
Bhupendrasinh Chu-
dasama, Minister of
State for Education
Vibhavari Dave, High-
er Education Secre-
tary Anju Sharma,
and Primary Educa-
tion Secretary Vinod
Rao were also present
at the event.
l State is also planning
to recruit 20,000 youth
over the next five months
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Governor Acharya Devvrat and Education Minister Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama released the Gujarati version of National Education Policy 2020 on Saturday.
BJP state unit president CR Patil addressing party leaders and workers at Himmatnagar on Saturday.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani distributed awards to 44 of the best teachers in the state in honour of
their services.
FILLING VACANCIES
Metro workers sanitized carriages and the station at Amraiwadi
on Saturday, in anticipation of train services resuming under
Unlock 4. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
Fresh crops arrive in the market
yard, initial prices encouraging
First India Bureau
Rajkot: With the mon-
soon-season harvest
having begun in some
pockets of Saurash-
tra, market yards
have started receiv-
ing groundnut crops
for sale.
Traders at the Rajkot
Bedi Market Yard said
that some 100 bags, each
weighing 50kg, had ar-
rived on Saturday.
Farmers seem to be
happy with the initial
price offered—Rs975 for
20kg—and are expect-
ing that the same rates
will continue through-
out the season.
Sources said that,
normally, groundnut
crops generally start
pouring into the mar-
ket around the start
of Navratri. However,
sowing began early
this time, and that
has resulted in an
early harvest as well.
“Traditionally, oil
millers start crushing
groundnut around Di-
wali, but the way the
groundnut crop has
started to come in, even
milling may start ear-
ly,” one trader said. The
groundnut harvest
from Surendranagar is
expected to hit the mar-
ket from next week.
Cotton, too, has
been arriving in the
market over the past
15 days. Those in the
know said the quanti-
ties are exceeding
that of the harvest in
March.
The Cotton Corpora-
tion of India had
wound up procurement
of cotton early this
year, leaving several
farmers disheartened.
However, some farmers
chose to hold on to
their stock rather than
sell at low prices. They
have now begun to
bring their cotton to
the yard and are receiv-
ing good prices.
Babra market yard
secretary Ajay Pan-
dey said, “Some pa-
tient cotton farmers
employed a wait-and-
watch strategy, which
is paying off.”
100 bags of groundnut arrived at the Rajkot Yard on Saturday.
l Groundnut
harvests usually
enter the market
around Navratri
FINALLY UP AND RUNNING AGAIN

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A total
of 410 students in
Group A have placed
in the top 1% with a
rank of more than 99
percentile in the Gu-
jarat Common En-
trance Test (GUJCET),
the results of which
were declared on Sat-
urday. In Group B, 655
students got 99 per-
centile rank. More
than 13,000 students
received ranks of 80
percentile or higher.
GUJCET is the com-
mon entrance exam re-
quired for admission
into diploma and degree
courses in engineering
and pharmacy courses
in the state.
As many as 2,82,961
students took the exam
at 34 centres from Au-
gust 24 to August 27. Of
these, 1,27,230 were
Class X students seek-
ing admission into di-
ploma courses.
The results were
announced online due
to the ongoing health
crisis but the GUJCET
mark sheet will be
distributed soon, the
authorities said in a
statement. The mark
sheets will be posted
to students of boards
other than the Guja-
rat Secondary and
Higher Secondary
Education Board,
which conducted the
examination.
“The examination for
admission to Engineer-
ing and Pharmacy was
earlier postponed three
times, and finally held
with all vigilance,” a
statement from the au-
thorities said. It also
highlighted the fact that
this was the biggest ex-
amination of the Board
to be held amid the
COVID-19 pandemic,
making it a challenge
for both students and
the government.
In addition to GU-
JCET, the Board also
conducted supplemen-
tary examinations for
Classes 10 and 12 (Sci-
ence Stream) from Au-
gust 25 to 27, at all dis-
trict headquarters in
keeping with COVID-19
guidelines from the
Centre and the state
government.
GUJCET: 410 GROUP A STUDENTS GET 99 PERCENTILE
HIGH SCORERS
 As many
as 2,82,961
students took
the common
entrance exam
for admission
into engineer-
ing and phar-
macy courses
1,311 cases, 16 fatalities take Guj tally to 1,02,997 cases, death toll to 3,094; record 16,366 cases active
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: In a
worrying develop-
ment, almost half the
children tested for
COVID-19 at the Ra-
jkot Observation
Home have been in-
fected with the dis-
ease. The 19 cases
were revealed when
43 children were test-
ed as part of the city’s
new testing policy.
These results come on
a day when the state
saw its highest num-
ber of active cases
yet, at 16,366.
Rajkot Social Justice
Officer MN Goswami
told the media that the
19 children infected
with Sars-CoV-2 have
been shifted to a COVID-
care centre, while the
other 24 are being quar-
antined in the observa-
tion home.
On Saturday, Rajkot
district reported 145
new cases: 99 from the
city and 46 from rural
areas. As there is a spike
in cases in the Rajkot
city, a special dome has
been created in the Civil
Hospital campus where
doctors will attend to
outdoor COVID-19 pa-
tients who do not need
to be admitted.
According to local
reports, the health
secretary has asked
local authorities to
refrain from sharing
data with the media.
As in the case of Su-
rat, Rajkot police is
now being deployed
at crematoriums and
graveyards so that
the media cannot
gain access to any in-
formation about COV-
ID-19 deaths.
In the past 24 hours,
the state government
has conducted 72,751
tests, 1,311 of which
came back positive. Of
the 16,366 active cases,
85 patients are on venti-
lator support.
Four of the 16 pa-
tients who died in the
past 24 hours were in
Ahmedabad city.
Again, Surat report-
ed the highest number
of cases, with 277. Of
these, 182 were from the
city, and 92 were from
ruralareas.Ahmedabad
had 167 cases, Jamna-
gar, 111, Vadodara, 119,
Gandhinagar, 35, Pan-
chamahal, 33, Banas-
kantha, 32, and Amreli
and Morbi had 28 each.
19 kids at observation home
in Rajkot test +ve for nCov
A medic takes a swab sample from a woman in Ahmedabad as
part of the AMC’s testing drive. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Statetransportbusesto
resumeopsinvillagessoon
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: In an
important an-
nouncement, the
government on Sat-
urday stated that
buses of the Gujarat
State Road Trans-
port Corporation
would soon resume
services in villages
under Unlock 4.
GSRTC had sus-
pended operations in
villages almost five
months ago, in an ef-
fort to control the
spread of the novel
coronavirus.
While the buses are
expected to finally run
at full capacity, road
damage caused by the
recent spate of heavy
rains means that 22
routes in three dis-
tricts will remain non-
functional.
GSRTC secretary
KD Desai, who made
the announcement,
said that conductors
will be given infrared
thermometers.
“Conductors on all
buses travelling to and
from the villages will
be given a thermal
gun. They will screen
each passenger before
they enter the bus,”
Desaisaid,adding,“80-
85%of buseswilloper-
ate in rural areas.”
At present, there
are 23,500 buses op-
erational in the
state, under the
COVID-19 guidelines
issued by the state
government. GSRTC
had started phase-
wise operations of
buses after Unlock 1
was implemented.
First, the state re-
sumed inter-district
operations and then
resumed buses to
main district head-
quarters buses were
started.
Drivers and conductors of state transport buses sanitize their hands before setting out.
VNSGU’s Chemistry
dept asks students
for nCov declaration
First India Bureau
Surat: The Chemistry
department at the
Veer Narmad South
Gujarat University
(VNSGU) allegedly
asked postgraduate
students appearing
for an examination
sign a declaration ab-
solving the universi-
ty of responsibility if
they were found to be
infected with the nov-
el coronavirus. The
issue came to light
after students com-
plained to a syndi-
cate member.
Sources said stu-
dents received a decla-
ration form along with
their question paper. “I
am giving the Septem-
ber 2020 theory exam
and I don’t have COV-
ID-19 symptoms. If
these symptoms are
found in checking, the
full responsibility will
be mine,” it said.
“The university gave
no such order. We have
asked the Chemistry
department for infor-
mation in this regard,
and will then investi-
gate the matter as need-
ed,” said Dr Hemali
Desai, In-charge Vice-
Chancellor, VNSGU.
Syndicate member
Bhavesh Rabari said,
“How can the depart-
ment act arbitrarily
when the university
has not given any or-
der? It should be inves-
tigated properly.”
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University. —FILE PHOTO
Woman drowns in S’nagar
as floodwaters yet to recede
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
rains may have
stopped for a while
but their effects con-
tinue to be felt across
the state, with many
flooded areas still
submerged. An au-
torickshaw was swept
away by floodwater
along the Hadala-
Balola stretch in
S u r e n d r a n a g a r ’s
Limbdi. Three of the
four people who had
been in the auto at the
time of the incident
were rescued from
the river by villagers.
However, one woman
could not be found
and is now presumed
to be dead.
A video of the inci-
dent has surfaced in
which the autorick-
shaw is seen straining
in the water. Locals say
that official rescue op-
erations were not initi-
ated even 24 hours after
the incident occurred.
Meanwhile, all the
gates of the Sardar Sa-
rovar Dam on the Nar-
mada river, which had
been opened to release
excess water, have now
been closed. The dam
received 70,000 cusecs
of water on Saturday
from Indirasagar Dam
and Omkareshwar
Dam. The riverbed pow-
erhouse is generating
1,200 megawatt electric-
ity with 6 units, an offi-
cial release said.
On Saturday, 14 talu-
kas of Gujarat received
rain. Tarapur in Anand
received the highest
rainfall with 52mm, fol-
lowed by Petlad, also in
Anand, received 24mm.
Despite nominal
rains in the last three
days, a total of 93
roads—including 13
highways—continue to
remain closed to traffic.
The gates of the Narmada dam have been closed, ofﬁcial sources said.
IN MEMORIAM
People
from across
religious and
socioeconomic
divides came
together to pay
tribute to Mother
Teresa on her
23rd death
anniversary, in
Ahmedabad on
Saturday. Born
in Macedonia,
Mother Teresa
spent most of
her adult life in
India, where she
worked with
the poorest of
the poor, thus
earning the
nickname, Saint
of the Gutters.
—PHOTOS BY
HANIF SINDHI
MISMATCH
—FILE PHOTO

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 281 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: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
Calmness, gentleness, silence,
self-restraint, and purity:
these are the disciplines of the
mind. —Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
n the South
Bronx of New
York City, in the
early-to-mid
1970s, block
parties started to incorpo-
rate much of the artistic
elements of hip hop as we
know it today.
On the streets between
their apartment buildings,
young African-American,
Caribbean and Latino peo-
ple would gather at parties
in which graffiti art, break-
ing, DJing and rapping
were taking place.
CONNECTING ONLINE
Ashiphopmusicanddance
artists tend to gather in
public places, the pandemic
and lockdowns have heavi-
ly restricted these kinds of
events. Many hip hop art-
ists - both in Australia and
internationally-havetaken
to social media to voice
their frustration and disap-
pointment with feeling cut
off from this community.
The annual festival takes
place at Birmingham’s
Hippodrome Theatre, but
during the pandemic it
moved online for the first
time – opening up the com-
petition to international
artists like Napalan. He
competed from the comfort
of his own home in Mount
Druitt via Instagram live.
A GLOBAL ARTFORM
Hiphopisever-changing,dy-
namic and globally diverse.
While graffiti art, breaking,
DJing and rapping are often
recognised as being the
forms core artistic elements,
the label is much more ex-
pansive than that. It encom-
passes a wide range of dif-
ferent musical and artistic
practices, all of which are
able to be expressed and
transformed in ways that
are local and unique.
In late July, for instance,
Soundz of the South, a hip
hop music collective based
in Khayelitsha, South Af-
rica, organised an open-
mic event called Rebel Sis-
tah Cypher. Eight South
African hip hop music art-
ists and poets each per-
formed on a Zoom call live-
streamed on the group’s
Facebook page to raise
money for Wave of Hope, a
charity that supports refu-
gees and asylum seekers
living in overcrowded
camps in Lesbos, Greece.
Hip hop is the represent-
ative voice of many young
people, since the culture
was created by and for
them. It is a uniquely mal-
leable, dynamic and em-
powering artform – and its
adaptation to the pandemic
is especially vital given
creative outlets are so im-
portant for well-being.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
I
How hip hop moved online under COVID-19 Top
TWEET
Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal
India is amongst the top 10
performers in the Ease of
Doing Business rankings in
terms of improvement over the
last 2 years. We recognize the
contribution of all states & UTs
for the effort they have put in to
ensure India moves progressively
towards Ease of Doing Business.
Subramanian Swamy
@Swamy39
Is Indian territory-according
mutual agreed LAC- also subject
to “peaceful resolution” ? The
Chinese are sitting on our head in
Ladakh, and we have to negotiate
? To convince the Chinese of
what? That they should be good
boys and go back home?
roadly speaking Indian poli-
ticians avoid intimacy. The
late Pranab Mukherjee was
no exception. I knew him
well for over forty years. I
claim no intimacy.
In 2004 the foreign minister
of Sri Lanka, Lakshman Kadir-
gamar, was shot dead by a
marksman of the LTTE as he
was drying himself after a
swim. The swimming bath was
located in the compound of his
house in Colombo. I had known
him well for several years.
As External Affairs Minis-
ter I represented India at his
state funeral. The late
Pranab Mukherjee, then De-
fence Minister was also
asked to do so. I was a bit
surprised but gave him all
the respect I could.
Many years later he told me
that he was asked at the last
minute to join me. “The consid-
eration with which you treated
me I cannot forget. It showed
character. After all, I was an
intruder.”
He was the only politician
to become, Finance Minister,
Defence Minister and Exter-
nal Affairs Minister. He was
an efficient, exceptionally
competent, and forceful min-
ister. He was the best Parlia-
mentarian of his time. Al-
though he had a short fuse,
he learned to suffer fools
because they are always in a
majority. His fertility of po-
litical strategy and tactics
was inexhaustible.
In cabinet meetings, in the
Cabinet Committee of Security
he was most impressive, excel-
ling in reconciling disparate
views. In the all-important
Cabinet Committee on Securi-
ty, presided over by Prime Min-
ister, the other three members,
Shivraj Patil. P. Chidambaram
and I was no pushovers, but
Pranab Mukherjee was in a
higher league.
He relished power, keep-
ing it under wraps with ex-
pert astuteness. To cross his
path was folly. He never
came to a meeting unpre-
pared. His memory was ele-
phantine. He was seldom
without a book.
In spite of his rare political
abilities, he got scorched at the
Centenary meeting of the
AICC in Bombay in 1985. Rajiv
Gandhi was constantly being
reminded by his inexperi-
enced, youthful advisers that
after Indiraji’s assassination
Pranabji as the senior-most
minister had it, not so discreet-
ly known that he should suc-
ceed Indiraji. Whether this was
true or not, it stuck. He was
expelled from the Congress.
Then he erred even more. He
floated his own party. It got no-
where. By 1989 Rajiv Gandhi
realised that Pranabji was so
great an asset to the party that
he called him back. Thereafter
Pranab Mukherjee did not look
back. In 1991 he joined PV Nar-
asimha Rao’s Cabinet.
In 2004 Pranab Mukherjee
should have, purely on mer-
it and seniority become
Prime Minister. Instead, the
Congress President appoint-
ed Manmohan Singh. One
would have expected Prana-
bji to resign. Manmohan
Singh had been his subordi-
nate for a number of years.
The remarkable manner the
two adjusted to this most
unusual situation does im-
mense credit to both. Man-
mohan is by temperament a
non-ego individual. Prana-
bji was a non-pretentious
person. He conducted him-
self with supreme maturity
and not once did he rock the
boat between 2004-2014. Col-
lusions were avoided. He
never attempted to upstage
the Prime Minister. The two
had a commitment to truth-
fulness and decency. Man-
mohan Singh always treated
his former boss with respect,
even reverence.
Pranab Mukherjee’s three-
volume autobiography is dis-
appointing. He was not a natu-
ral write. I drew his attention
to what Arthur Koestler wrote
in his autobiography, “The vir-
tue of understatement and self-
restraint make social inter-
course civilized and agreeable,
but they have a paralysing ef-
fect on autobiography.”
I frankly told him that he
revealed almost nothing and
concealed the ups and downs
of his career and life. “You
have, for decades been in the
midst of momentous events
in the political arena. It is
your duty to share your un-
rivaled experiences. You
made a policy. You made
sure that it was implement-
ed without prevarication.
Your interventions in the
meetings of the Congress
Working made all of us sit
up. Of now many others can
this be said.”
Thedisarminganduncharis-
matic former Rashtrapati pro-
nounced, “Many truths I can-
not tell. These will be cremated
with me.”
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
PRANAB MUKHERJEE, THE
MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
B
In cabinet
meetings, in the
Cabinet
Committee of
Security, he was
most impressive,
excelling in
reconciling
disparate views.
In the all-
important
Cabinet
Committee on
Security,
presided over by
Prime Minister,
the other three
members,
Shivraj Patil. P.
Chidambaram
and I was no
pushovers, but
Pranab
Mukherjee was
in a higher
league
HE WAS THE ONLY
POLITICIAN TO
BECOME, FINANCE
MINISTER, DEFENCE
MINISTER AND
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
MINISTER. HE WAS
AN EFFICIENT,
EXCEPTIONALLY
COMPETENT, AND
FORCEFUL MINISTER
K NATWAR
SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India
CHINA REFUSES TO
BUDGE ON LADAKH
ike previous efforts to resolve the border
impasse through talks, the Moscow dia-
logue between the defence ministers of
India and China on the process of disen-
gagement failed to make any headway as
the differences between the two countries persist.
After the talks Beijing held India “entirely” respon-
sible for the stand-off in Ladakh and asserted that
it won’t give up even “an inch of its territory”. For-
getting its act of aggression in the Pangong Tso
area in June when 20 Indian soldiers were mar-
tyred, China also blamed India for escalating ten-
sion in the region. In an equally strong response
the Defence Ministry said that India was also “de-
termined to protect (its) sovereignty and territo-
rial integrity” and urged continued discussion for
disengagement and de-escalation along the LAC.
Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart Wei
Fenghe on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation in Moscow at the latter’s request.
Given China’s intransigence, the first defence min-
ister level talks were not expected to make any
significant progress but both the sides did agree
to resolve the border issue peacefully. The problem
lies with China preferring aggression and treach-
ery over peaceful ways. Now that Indian troops
hold key vantage positions, China can be even
more untrustworthy than it has hitherto been.
The border situation in Ladakh has been de-
scribed by US President Donald Trump as “nasty”.
“We would like to get involved and help. And we
are talking to both countries about that,” Trump
said. An expansionist China is unlikely to heed
any advice which Trump might offer. India, there-
fore, has to be prepared for any eventuality.
L
IN-DEPTH
DRUG PROCURERS MAY
OPEN A CAN OF WORMS
he Sushant Singh Rajput case is now fo-
cusingonthedrugangle,whichtheMum-
bai police left completely untouched, to
unravel the mystery. The arrest of Rhea
Chakraborty’s brother Showik and Sush-
ant’s house manager Samuel Miranda and the lat-
ter’s statement before the Narcotics Control Bureau
(NCB) that he supplied weed to the actor from Sep-
tember last year to March 2020 takes the probe into
an unintended direction. In his confession, Samuel
is reported to have given the details of the drugs he
procured, the name of the supplier who delivered it
at Rhea’s, and Sushant’s addresses.
But a more significant statement was that of
Showik who told the NCB that he procured drugs at
the behest of Rhea. What the NCB would now want
to know is who introduced Sushant to drugs and
why. The NCB plans to bring the siblings to face the
questioning. A senior official of the central agency
said, “Normally, this is not part of our mandate but
now that we are getting information…This case has
given us an inkling of the network and the extent of
penetration”. He promised to take the case to its
“logicalconclusion”.BothShowikandSamuelhave
been remanded in NCB’s custody till September 9.
Rhea Chakraborty is the next to be summoned next.
In recent years drugs have become widely prev-
alent in Bollywood. An investigation by the NCB
will definitely open a can of worms, exposing some
biggies in the racket. At this point, the probe looks
innocuous but its possible political fallout could
have a huge impact.
T

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
AYODHYA MOSQUE TO BE OF SAME
SIZE AS BABRI: TRUST STAFF
Lucknow: A mosque that
will come up in Ayodhya
pursuant to SC verdict
in Ram Janmabhoomi
case will be of the same
size as Babri Masjid, said
an office-brearer of the
trust formed for its con-
struction. The five-acre
complex in Ayodhya’s
Dhannipur village will also
house a hospital, a library
and a museum among
others, the office-bearer
said, adding that retired
professor and noted food
critic Pushpesh Pant will
be consultant curator of
the museum. The com-
plex of the mosque, which
will be built in Dhannipur,
will also have facilities like
a hospital, a museum at
the Indo-Islamic Research
Centre. Mosque will be on
15,000 square feet land.
‘22 CREW MEMBERS OF MT NEW
DIAMOND RESCUED, 1 MISSING’
New Delhi: Twenty-two crew members of the
oil MT New Diamond, which caught fire after a
major explosion in its engine room, have been
rescued while one is still missing, Indian Coast
Guard officials said. The rescue operation is on
and tanker has been tugged 40 miles away from
Sri Lanka to safe waters successfully. MT New
Diamond, a greek owned vessel, under charter by
Indian Oil Corporation had a major explosion in
the engine room on Sept 3 when it was transiting
in Sri Lankan exclusive economic zone.
2 ARRESTED WITH 1,727 KG
DRUGS WORTH `8 CR IN MP
Noida: Two men were arrested while alleged-
ly transporting 1,727 kg cannabis in Madhya
Pradesh’s Agar Malwa district on Saturday, the
Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) said. The
action was carried out around 12.30 pm by a
team of the local Madhya Pradesh Police and the
Noida unit of the STF, the agency said. “Two men
were arrested and a container truck impounded
which had a secret cavity in which the contra-
band was stored,” Additional Superintendent of
Police (STF) Raj Kumar Mishra said.
‘BUNDELKHAND TO BE DEVELOPED
AS HUB OF ORGANIC FARMING’
Lucknow: Observing that
Bundelkhand has a lot
of potentials, UP Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath
said his government
was looking to make the
region a hub of organic
farming. He added that
the step will not only help
farmers get rid of harm-
ful chemical fertilisers
but will also help them
get higher prices for
their products. “Bun-
delkhand has immense
potential for develop-
ment. The Uttar Pradesh
government wants to
establish the region as
an innovative standard of
development. We want
to make Bundelkhand a
hub of organic farming,”
the CM said in a VC while
reviewing district-wise
development work.
MAXPRIVATISATION:RAGAON
GOVT’sJOBFREEZETOCUTCOSTSAs Centre announced it would not create or fill govt job posts as a way to cut costs, Rahul
Gandhi said Modi’s govt wanted to use Covid as an excuse to push for privatisation
New Delhi: A day after
sharing a list of “Modi-
made disasters”, includ-
ing the highest unem-
ployment rate in 45
years, Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi contin-
ued his attack on the
BJP-led central govern-
ment , raking up the is-
sue of freeze on recruit-
ment to government
posts.
“The Modi govern-
ment’s thinking is mini-
mum government, max-
imum privatisation.
Covid is just an excuse,
thegovernment’splanis
to free government of-
fices of all permanent
staff, steal the youth’s
future and propel his
own friends forward,”
Gandhi said in a Hindi
tweet.
For reference he
taggedanewspaperarti-
cle on the list of auster-
ity measures adopted by
the central government,
including a freeze on
creation of new posts
and hiring against posts
created after July 1
across ministries and
departments. The arti-
cle states that if it is ab-
solutely essential to fill
any vacant post, a pro-
posal must be sent for
approval to the Depart-
ment of Expenditure.
Gandhi has often led
the Opposition in criti-
cisingthepoliciesadopt-
ed by PM Modi’s govern-
ment. He has sharpened
his attacks on the cen-
tral government, espe-
cially its handling of the
Indian economy, since
the coronavirus pan-
demic necessitated a
countrywide lockdown
in March this year.
Most recently on Au-
gust 30, a day before the
release of the official
economic data which
showed that the coun-
try’sGDPshrunkby23.9
per cent in the April-
June period - highest for
independent India - Mr
Gandhi announced the
start of a video explain-
er series on “how the
Modi government has
destroyed the Indian
economy”.—Agencies
CONG DEMANDS CLARITY OVER
LADAKH, REMINDS OF ‘RAJDHARMA’
New Delhi: The Congress urged Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh to take the nation into confidence on talks
with China on the border row in Ladakh, saying
people want to know about the outcomes of the
repeated conversations with the Chinese side.
The Opposition party’s demand comes a day after
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese
counterpart General Wei Fenghe held an over two-
hour-long meeting in Moscow with a focus on eas-
ing escalating border tension in eastern Ladakh.
Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala
said it was ‘Rajdharma’ of the Prime Minister and
the Defence Minister to take the nation into confi-
dence on the important issue. Listing the various
levels of talks held with the Chinese from the For-
eign Ministers’ level and Corps Commanders’ level
to the Defence Ministers’ discussions, Surjewala
asked what is the outcome of these talks.
RANDEEP SINGH SURJEWALA
@RSSURJEWALA
We hope Prime Minister Modi
and the Defence Minister will
come forward and take the nation
into confidence. That is the true
Rajdharma. We will await an answer.
DHARMENDRA PRADHAN
@DPRADHANBJP
Along with colleagues from
@BJP4Odisha, took part
in the BJP Odisha State
Executive Meeting chaired
by @BJP4India President
Shri @JPNadda. We are
committed to take PM @
narendramodi ji’s pro-poor
initiatives to the people of
the state and work for their
welfare and well-being.
NARENDRA MODI @NARENDRAMODI
Who better than our knowledgeable
teachers to deepen our connect with
our nation’s glorious history. During
the recent #MannKiBaat, I had
shared an idea of teachers teaching
students about lesser known aspects of our great
freedom struggle. #OurTeachersOurHeroes
AMIT SHAH @AMITSHAH
Tributes to an iconic thinker and
erudite scholar, former President
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on his
Jayanti. On #TeachersDay, Greetings
to the entire teaching fraternity who
has been playing an unparalleled role in shaping
the nation by selflessly guiding millions of souls.
DR. RAMESH POKHRIYAL NISHANK
@DRRPNISHANK
I wish all the countrymen on Teacher’s Day and
salute all the gurus.Let us thank our teachers,
counselors and parents on the occasion of Teacher’s
Day, with whose blessings we have learned a lot.
‘Digital technology has
key role in imparting edu’
New Delhi: As schools
and colleges remain
shut or are affected due
to the ongoing COV-
ID-19 pandemic, digital
technology has a key
role in imparting edu-
cation, President Ram
Nath Kovind said on
Saturday.
Kovind, who was con-
ferring National Teach-
ers’ Awards 2020 in a
virtual ceremony in
Delhi on the occasion of
Teachers’ Day, congrat-
ulated all the award-
winning educators and
highlighted that 18 out
of the 47 awardees are
women. “Schools and
colleges are either shut
or affected due to COV-
ID-19. In such a situa-
tion, digital technology
has key role in impart-
ing education. It’s im-
portant that you up-
grade your skills to use
digital technologies so
that your teachings be-
come more effective,”
Kovind said.
He also expressed
gratitude towards all
his teachers and for
their affection and guid-
ance for enabling him
in his journey in reach-
ing where he is today.
“Good buildings, ex-
pensive equipment or
facilities do not make a
school. It is the teach-
ers’ dedication and will
towards their students
that makes a school.
Teachers are the true
nation builders.” —ANI
President Ram Nath Kovind confers National Teachers’ Awards 2020 in a virtual ceremony, in New
Delhi on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
PREZ RAM NATH KOVIND CONFERS
NATIONAL TEACHERS’ AWARDS
New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sat-
urday, conferred the National Teachers’’ Awards
to 47 teachers from across the country for their
contribution in developing innovative methods of
teaching. The national level awards are given on
Teachers’’ Day to celebrate the unique contribution
of some of the finest teachers in the country and
to honour those who, through their commitment,
have not only improved the quality of school edu-
cation but also enriched the lives of their students.
“Good buildings, expensive equipment or facilities
do not make a good school but teachers have a
crucial role in building a good school. They are the
ones who develop foundation of knowledge and
character building in our students,” Kovind said at
the virtual award ceremony.
‘PM Modi took care of economy through
Atmanirbhar Bharat while saving lives’
Bhubaneswar: BJP
president JP Nadda
lauded PM Narendra
Modi for implementing
a lockdown well in time
which acted as a weap-
on to fight against coro-
navirus pandemic thus
saving millions of lives
while simultaneously
taking care of the econ-
omy through Atmanirb-
har Bharat mission.
“PM Modi placed hu-
man lives over the econ-
omy and implemented a
strict lockdown. PM
Modi said that India is
the first country that
completed the respon-
sive system by imple-
menting a lockdown. He
took decisive action of
imposing the lockdown
in order to save the lives
of the people,” Nadda
said while addressing a
meeting of the party’s
Odisha executive com-
mittee viaVC.
“Apart from taking
care of the health issue,
the Centre also ad-
dressed the economic
issues through several
programmes such as
the Garib Kalyan Yojna
and Atmanirbhar
Bharat. The UN Secre-
tary-General said - In-
dia has not only ad-
dressed health issues,
but also economic is-
sues. Director-General
of WHO also echoed the
same opinion,” he said.
The tragedy and chal-
lenges posed by corona-
virus were effectively
turned into an opportu-
nity by the Centre, Na-
dda added. —ANI
‘Submit
proposal to
develop
Mahendragiri’
New Delhi: Union min-
ister Dharmendra Prad-
hanrequestsCMNaveen
Patnaik to direct dept
concerned to submit a
formal proposal for de-
velopment of Mahen-
dragiri, which the Cen-
tre has planned to de-
velopundertheSwadesh
Darshan Scheme.
Pradhan has written
to Odisha CM, seeking
his personal interven-
tion in extending sup-
port to Union Ministry
of Tourism&Culture &
directing the concerned
dept. to submit a pro-
posal for development
of Mahendragiri under
Ramayan Circuit of
Swadesh Darshan
Scheme.
‘India will double gross
enrolment ratio in 10 Years’
New Delhi: Terming
NEP 2020 as a revolu-
tionary reform of 21st
century, Union Minis-
ter Prakash Javadekar
expressed confidence
that India would double
Gross Enrolment Ratio
within the next 10 years
from about 25% at pre-
sent. Wider geographi-
cal spread of higher
education institutions,
especially covering ru-
ral areas, and increased
demand would be the
critical factors that will
help improve Gross En-
rolment Ratio in India,
Javadekar said while
delivering key-note ad-
dress at Centenary
Year Teachers’ Day cel-
ebrations by Parle Tilak
Vidyalay Association of
Mumbai through a vid-
eo link. The I&B Minis-
ter said that students
have become aspira-
tional & economic
growth had pushed pa-
rental earnestness to
provide good education
to their children.—ANI
BJP National President JP Nadda during an Odisha BJP State
Executive Meeting via VC in New Delhi on Saturday.
Prakash Javadekar
MJ AKBAR’S DEFAMATION CASE
Court to resume on Sept 8 final arguments
New Delhi: A Rouse
Avenue court in Delhi
adjourned to Septem-
ber 8 the final argu-
ments on former union
minister MJ Akbar’s
defamationcaseagainst
journalist Priya Rama-
ni in connection with
sexual harassment al-
legations made against
him.
Additional Chief Met-
ropolitan Magistrate
Vishal Pahuja ad-
journed matter as argu-
ments remained incon-
clusive during hearing.
Senior advocate Re-
becca John, who is rep-
resenting Ramani, told
the court that a true im-
putation made in public
good is not defamation
and said that Ramani’s
alleged defamatory
tweets and the Vouge ar-
ticle written by her were
her truth and her case is
an affirmative defence.
John also read the
complaint filed by Ak-
bar,whohadcalledRam-
ani’s allegations as a fig-
mentof herimagination
and fabricated non-
events. Ramani was
summoned in defama-
tion case filed by Akbar.
The defamation charge
was framed against her
on April 10, 2019, which
Ramani pleaded not
guilty and claimed trial.
—ANI
MJ Akbar

New Delhi: The much-
awaited Indian Premier
L e a g u e
(IPL)sched-
ule will be
released on
S u n d a y,
chairman
Brijesh Patel said on
Saturday. All eight
teams are currently
awaiting the release of
fixtures but due to dif-
ferent quarantine rules
in Dubai and Abu Dha-
bi, IPL’s operations
team took time to final-
ise the schedule.
It is expected that de-
fending champions
Mumbai Indians and
runners-up Chennai
Super Kings will be pit-
ted against each other
in the first game of this
edition of the tourna-
ment on September 19.
The upcoming 53-day
edition is by far the
longest in the history of
the league and the num-
ber of double headers is
expected to be reduced
this year. —PTI
INDIAAHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
Will not...
The statement said Sin-
gh advised it was impor-
tant that the Chinese
side strictly respect the
LAC and should not
make attempts to unilat-
erally change the status
quo.
“The two ministers
had frank and in-depth
discussions about the
developments in the In-
dia-China border areas
as well as on India-Chi-
na relations,” said the
statement released by
both the Ministry of Ex-
ternal Affairs and Min-
istry of Defence.
Singh conveyed that
the two sides should con-
tinue their discussions,
including through diplo-
maticand militarychan-
nels, to ensure complete
disengagement and de-
escalation and full resto-
ration of peace and tran-
quility along the LAC at
the earliest, it said. The
statement said the Chi-
nese Defence Minister
alsoconveyedthatChina
too desired to resolve the
issues peacefully.
The talks in the Rus-
sian capital, lasting two
hours and 20 minutes,
took place days after ten-
sions flared up again in
eastern Ladakh after
China unsuccessfully at-
temptedtooccupyIndian
territoryinthesouthern
bank of Pangong lake
when the two sides were
engaged in diplomatic
and military talks to re-
solve the four-month-old
border row.
In Beijing, a statement
released by the Chinese
Defence ministry said
Wei told Singh that re-
cently the relations be-
tween the two countries
and the two militaries
have been seriously af-
fected by the border is-
sue, and it is very impor-
tant for the two defence
ministers to have a face-
to-face and candid ex-
change of views on rele-
vant issues. —ANI
No ban...
“Department of Expend-
iture (DoE) circular dat-
ed 04 September 2020
deals with internal pro-
cedure for creation of
posts and does not in any
way affect or curtail re-
cruitment”, it further
said. The circular issued
by the DoE listed out ad-
ministrativeexpenditure
measures and ban on
creationof posts,inabid
to protect & preserve pri-
ority expenditure.
24 women...
called her parents and
informed them of the
conditions in which she
was working. Her par-
ents then lodged a police
complaint in Ranchi.
Jharkhand police then
informed their counter-
parts in Gujarat and
sought their help.
The Gujarat police
have not lodged a com-
plaint as an FIR had al-
ready been lodged in
Jharkhand. “Arrange-
ments are being made to
send the women and
girls to their home state.
The accused will be
handed over to the
Jharkhand police
through regular chan-
nels,”DySPSolankiadd-
ed. Police are also inves-
tigating the other angles
of the case and are look-
ing into the possibility
thattheremightbemore
women in a similar situ-
ationinotherindustries.
FROM PG 1
EIGHT YEAR DEPUTATION
TENURE OF AJAY KUMAR
NEMA ENDS IN SEPT
An eight-year central deputation of Ajay Kumar
Nema, outside the cadre, is ending on Septem-
ber 11, 2020. Nema, who is presently serving as
Director, NITI Aayog, is a 1994 batch ITS officer.
CAN RBI HAVE JURISDICTION
OVER TRANSFER OF SR EXECS
OF PVT BANKS
Questions are being raised whether RBI has
jurisdiction over transfer of senior executives of
private banks and financial institutions during the
COVID-19 situation? Does it have any guidelines?
FOUR ICS POSTS VACANT
In the Central Information Commission, four posts
of ICs are already vacant. Two more shall be va-
cant by September end . The Commission has the
strength of 10 ICs but they were never filled. This
time the govt has decided to invite applications for
six ICs posts.
PM SHOWERS PRAISE ON KARWAL
While interacting with IPS probationers through
a video conference on Friday during the ‘Dikshant
Parade Event’, PM Narendra Modi showered prais-
es on the Director of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
National Police Academy, Atul Karwal.131 IPS
probationers, including 28 women, of the (2018
batch) graduated from the Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel National Police Academy.
TWO POSTS OF MEMBERS
IN TRAI VACANT
Two posts of Members in TRAI are vacant . Inter-
ested can apply till October 9, 2020. Details are
available at DoT website.
DEEPAK MHAISEKAR IS NOW
ADVISOR TO MAHARASHTRA CM
Deepak Mhaisekar has been appointed as Advisor
to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thakre. He
is former 2003 batch IAS officer.
31 IES OFFICERS PROMOTED TO
SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE GRADE
As many as 31 officers of 1998 batch of IES have
been promoted to the SAG.
IDES OFFICER JOINS LBSNAA
Dr. Anupam Talwar has joined the LBSNAA,
Mussoorie, for a period of one year on ad-hoc
deputation as Asst Director.. He is a 2012 batch
IDES officer and was posted as CEO, Cantonment
Board, Bareilly.
39 IRS-CUSTOMS OFFICERS
PROMOTED TO PRINCIPAL
COMMISSIONER GRADE
As many as 39 IRS-Customs officers have been
promoted to the grade of Principal
Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise
grade. They are: Pradeep Kumar, K M Bandhana
Deori, Valte Vungzamuan, B V V T Prasad Naik,
Amand Shah, chandra prakash Goyal, Prachi
Saroop, A R S Kumar, Rimhim Prasad, K C
Johny, Rajesh Jindal Rajeev Gupta, Simmi Jain,
U Niranjan, Prem Nath Tiwari, Sunil Tated,
Manoj Kumar Srivastava, Atul Gupta-II, Manoj
Kumar Srivastava, Atul Gupta-II, Mayank Kumar,
Alok Chopra, Yogpal Singh, Madan Mohan
Singh, Shrawan Kumar, L Satya Srinivas, Arti A
Srinivas, Charu Baranwal, K V S Singh, M
Subramaniam, Madur Sreedhar Reddy Capt.
Sanjay Gahlot, Sanjay Rathi, Nitish Kumar Sinha,
Balbir Singh Khattra, Milind Gawai, Ganta Gawai,
Ganta Ravindra nath, Gopinath, Prakash Kumar,
Behera, Ganesh Havanur and M Shrihari Rao.
ITS OFFICER GETS
SHORT EXTENSION
Vivek Narain’s loan tenure has been extended till
November 13 this year. He is an ITS officer,
and posted in National Financial Regulatory
Authority(NFRA) in the Ministry of Corporate
Affairs.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
Only country that didn’t reap
the benefit of lockdown: PCPM must explain why India failed when other countries seem to have succeeded
New Delhi: Former
union minister and
Congress leader P Chi-
dambaram on Satur-
day predicted that the
coronavirus cases in
India may touch the 65-
lakh mark by the end
of September and hit
out at the BJP-led cen-
tral government alleg-
ing that the country
has not been able to
reap the benefit of the
lockdown strategy.
“I had predicted that
total number of infec-
tions will reach 55
lakh by September 30.
I am wrong. India will
reach that number by
September 20 By end
September, the num-
ber may touch 65
lakh,” Chidambaram
tweeted.
“The only country
that is not reaping the
benefit of the lock-
down strategy appears
to be India. PM Modi
who promised that we
will defeat coronavirus
in 21 days must explain
why India failed when
other countries seem
to have succeeded,” he
said in another tweet.
India takes
13 days to
cross 40 lakh
COVID cases
New Delhi: India’s
COVID-19 infection
tally sprinted past
40 lakh, just 13 days
after it crossed 30
lakh, with a record
86,432 cases being
reported in a day,
while recoveries
have surged to
31,07,223 on Satur-
day pushing the re-
covery rate to 77.23
per cent, according
to the Union Health
Ministry. The total
coronavirus cases
mounted to
40,23,179, while the
death toll climbed to
69,561. The cases
jumped from 10 lakh
to 20 lakh in 21 days.
It took 16 more days
to race past 30 lakh
and 13 days more to
cross the 40-lakh
mark. —PTI
Parliament’s Monsoon Session:
4-day Covid testing camp begins
New Delhi: Ahead of
the Monsoon Session of
Parliament commenc-
ing on September 14, an
in-house four-day Cov-
id-19 testing camp was
started on Saturday for
officials and other staff
deployed at the complex
to ensure minimum
health risks during the
period. On the first day
of testing, all officials
working in Parliament
were asked to go for
coronavirus or Covid-19
tests. The testing will
continue till Tuesday to
cover other staff and
security personnel.
Parliament officials
told that Real-Time Re-
verse Transcription
Polymerase Chain Re-
action (RT-PCR) tests
and Rapid Tests will be
done. RT-PCR tests have
been prescribed for
those having any Covid-
like symptoms while
the rest will undergo
Rapid Testing. The Lok
Sabha Secretariat has
arranged for seven
counters during the
Covid-19 testing camp.
No symptomatic per-
son will be allowed into
the House during the
session. The members
have been requested to
get their RT-PCR tests
done 72 hours prior to
arrival at Parliament
after September 11.
If the tests are not
done, then it will be
done at the reception
and the members will
have to wait till the re-
sults are out. —PTI
Punjab Chief
Minister tests
negative for
COVID-19
Chandigarh: Punjab
Chief Minister Captain
Amarinder Singh on
Saturday ended his
week-long self-isolation
after testing negative
for coronavirus, in-
formed the Chief Min-
ister’s Office (CMO).
The Chief Minister
had earlier come in con-
tact with two MLAs
who had later tested
positive for the virus.
He came in contact with
the legislators in the
Vidhan Sabha on Au-
gust 28 during a one-day
session of the House.
“Punjab Chief Minister
Captain Amarinder
Singh ends his week-
long self-isolation after
testing negative for
COVID-19. Chief Minis-
ter had self-isolated
himself on August 28
after coming in contact
with 2 MLAs who had
later tested positive for
coronavirus,” said the
CMO. —PTI
Army rescues 3 Chinese
citizens lost in Sikkim
4 IN NCB CUSTODY IN
SUSHANT CASE: JAIN
New Delhi: Three peo-
ple from China - two
men and a woman -
were rescued by the In-
dian Army in North
Sikkim on Friday after
they lost their way. In a
heartening gesture, the
soldiers, who “extended
a helping hand”, also of-
fered them food and
warm clothes to protect
them from the harsh cli-
mate in the area. The
three Chinese citizens
had lost their way “in
Plateau area of North
Sikkim at an altitude of
17,500 feet,” an official
statement said.
“Realising danger to
the lives of the Chinese
citizens which included
two men and one wom-
an in sub-zero tempera-
tures, the soldiers of
Indian Army immedi-
ately reached out and
provided medical assis-
tance,” the Army said
in a statement.
“The Indian troops
also gave them appro-
priate guidance to
reach their destination.
The Chinese citizens
expressed their grati-
tude to India and the
Indian Army for their
prompt assistance,” the
Army said. —PTI
Mumbai: With Narcot-
ics Control Bureau
(NCB) obtaining the
custody of two more
persons, the total num-
ber of persons in the
custody of the central
agency is now four, said
Mutha Ashok Jain, Dy
DG, South-Western Re-
gion, NCB on Saturday.
“Today we have ob-
tained the police re-
mand of two more per-
sons so that makes four
people in our custody
remand,” Jain said.
“We will be asking her
(Rhea) to join the inves-
tigation, and maybe to
some other people as
well,” he added. Earlier,
the Esplanade Court
sent actor Rhea
Chakraborty’s brother
Showik and her associ-
ate Samuel Miranda,
who were arrested yes-
terday under NDPS Act
in a case related to actor
Sushant Singh Rajput’s
death, to the NCB cus-
tody till September 9.
The court also sent
Kaizen Ibrahim, who
was arrested in the
same case to 14-day ju-
dicial custody. NCB
deputy director KPS
Malhotra on Friday
said that Showik and
Miranda have been ar-
rested under sections 20
B, 27 A, 28, and 29 of the
NDPS Act. —ANI
IPL schedule
will be released
on today:
Brijesh Patel
A soldier is seen offering food to one of the men at the India-China Border of North Sikkim.
BORDER TENSION
UP retains 2nd spot
in ‘Ease of Doing
Business’ ranking
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh retaining
the second spot in
‘Ease of Doing
Business’ ranking
is proof of the
state’s push for ful-
filing of At-
manirbhar Bharat,
said Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath on
Saturday.
The State Busi-
ness Reform Action
Plan 2019 Ranking
was released by Un-
ion Finance Minis-
ter Nirmala Sithar-
aman via video con-
ference today. Ac-
cording to the re-
port, Andhra
Pradesh retains
the number
one position
w h i l e
U t t a r
Pradesh stands at
the second posi-
tion, replacing Tel-
angana, which
slipped to third
place from the sec-
ond in 2018. “The
Uttar Pradesh gov-
ernment is contin-
uously striving for-
ward to bring
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s
dream of Atmanirb-
har Bharat to reality.
Uttar Pradesh re-
tained 2nd spot in
‘Ease of Doing Busi-
ness’, while last year
the state was at 12th
position. Congratu-
lations to all the peo-
ple of the
state,” Adity-
a n a t h ’ s
tweet read.
—ANI
I had predicted that to-
tal number of infec-
tions will reach 55 lakh
by September 30. I am
wrong. By end Sep-
tember, the number
may touch 65 lakh,
—P Chidambaram,
Congress leader
Sushant Singh Rajput

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
O
ver the
weekend,
the World
Health Or-
ganisation made an
announcement you
might have missed.
It recommended
children aged
12-year-old and be-
yond should wear
masks, and that
masks should be
considered for those
agedbetween6-year-
old and 11-year-old.
The German Socie-
ty for Virology went
further, recom-
mending masks be
worn by all children
attending school.
This seems at
odds with what we
assumed about kids
and Covid-19 at the
start of the pandem-
ic. Indeed, one posi-
tive in this pandem-
ic so far has been
that children who
contract the virus
typicallyexperience
mild illness. Most
children don’t re-
quire hospitalisa-
tion and very few
die from the disease.
However, some chil-
dren can develop a
severe inflammato-
ry syndrome simi-
lar to Kawasaki dis-
ease, although this
is thankfully rare.
This generally
mild picture has
contributed to cases
in children being
overlooked. But
emerging evidence
suggests children
might play a bigger
role in transmis-
sion than originally
thought. They may
be equally as infec-
tious as adults
basedontheamount
of viral genetic ma-
terial found in
swabs, and we have
seen large school
clusters emerge in
Australia and
around the world.
THEYARETHANKFULLYMUCHLESS
LIKELYTOEXPERIENCESEVEREILLNESS
THANADULTSBUTCOULDPASSONTHE
VIRUSTOPARENTSANDTEACHERS
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: CP SHARMA
CHILDREN MAY PLAY BIGGER ROLE IN
COVID TRANSMISSION
HOW LIKELY ARE CHILDREN TO BE INFECTED?
Working out how
susceptible chil-
dren are has been diffi-
cult. Pre-emptive school
closures occurred in
many countries, remov-
ing opportunities for
the virus to circulate in
younger age groups.
Children have also
missed out on testing
because they typically
have mild symptoms. In
Australia, testing crite-
ria were initially very
restrictive. People had
to have a fever or a
cough to be tested,
which children don’t al-
ways have.
This hindered our
ability to detect cases in
children, and created a
perception that chil-
dren weren’t commonly
infected. One way to ad-
dress this issue is
through antibody test-
ing, which can detect
evidence of past infec-
tion. A study of over
60,000 people in Spain
found 3.4% of children
and teenagers had anti-
bodies to the virus, com-
pared with 4.4% to 6.0%
of adults. But Spain’s
schoolswerealsoclosed,
which likely reduced
children’s exposure.
Another method is to
look at what happens to
people living in the
same household as a
known case. The re-
sults of these studies
are mixed. Some have
suggested a lower risk
for children, while oth-
ers have suggested
children and adults are
at equal risk.
Children might have
some protection com-
pared to adults, because
they have less of the en-
zyme which the virus
uses to enter the body.
So, given the same short
exposure, a child might
be less likely to be in-
fected than an adult.
But prolonged contact
probably makes any
such advantage moot.
The way in which
children and adults in-
teract in the household
might explain the dif-
ferences seen in some
studies. This is support-
ed by a new study con-
ducted by the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention. Children
and partners of a
known case were more
likely to be infected
than other people living
in the same house. This
suggests the amount of
close, prolonged contact
may ultimately be the
deciding factor.
SCHOOLS SHOULD SWITCH TO DISTANCE LEARNING
This evidence means
weneedtotakeapre-
cautionary approach.
When community trans-
mission is low, face-to-
faceteachingisprobably
low-risk. But schools
shouldswitchtodistance
learning during periods
of sustained community
transmission. If we fail
to address the risk of
school outbreaks, they
canspreadintothewider
community.
While most children
won’tbecomeseverelyill
if they contract the vi-
rus, the same cannot be
said for their adult fami-
ly members or their
teachers. In the United
States, 40% of teachers
have risk factors for se-
vere Covid-19, as do 28.6
million adults living
with school-aged chil-
dren.
Recent recommenda-
tions on mask-wearing
by older and younger
children mirror risk-re-
duction guidelines for
schools developed by the
HarvardTHChanSchool
of Public Health. These
guidelines stress the im-
portance of face masks,
improving ventilation,
and the regular disinfec-
tion of shared surfaces.
HOW OFTEN DO
CHILDREN TRANSMIT
THE VIRUS?
Several studies show
children and adults
have similar amounts
of viral RNA in their
nose and throat. This
suggests children and
adults are equally infec-
tious, although it’s pos-
sible children transmit
the virus slightly less
often than adults in
practice. Because chil-
dren are physically
smaller and generally
have more mild symp-
toms, they might re-
lease less of the virus.
In Italy, researchers
looked at what hap-
pened to people who’d
been in contact with in-
fected children and
found the contacts of
children were more
likely to be infected
than the contacts of
adults with the virus.
Teenagers are of
course closer to adults,
and it’s possible young-
erchildrenmightbeless
likely to transmit the
virus than older chil-
dren. However, reports
of outbreaks in child-
care centres and prima-
ry schools suggest
there’s still some risk.
Large clusters have
been reported in
schools around the
world, most notably in
Israel. There, an out-
break in a high school
affected at least 153
students,25staff mem-
bers, and 87 others. In-
terestingly, that par-
ticular outbreak coin-
cided with an extreme
heatwave where stu-
dents were granted an
exemption from hav-
ingtowearfacemasks,
and air conditioning
wasusedcontinuously.
At first glance, the
Australian experience
seems to suggest a
small role for children
in transmission. A
study of Covid-19 in
educationalsettingsin
New South Wales in
the first half of the
year found limited evi-
denceof transmission,
although a large out-
break was noted to
have occurred in a
childcare centre.
This might seem re-
assuring, but it’s im-
portant to remember
the majority of cases
in Australia were ac-
quired overseas at the
time of the study, and
therewaslimitedcom-
munity transmission.
Also, schools switched
to distance learning
during the study, after
which school attend-
ance dropped to 5%.
This suggests school
safety is dependent on
the level of communi-
ty transmission.
Additionally, we
shouldn’tbereassured
by examples where
children have not
transmitted the virus
to others. Approxi-
mately 80% of second-
ary Covid-19 cases are
generated by only 10%
of people. There are
also many examples
where adults haven’t
transmitted the virus.
As community
transmission has
grown in Victoria, so
has the significance of
school clusters. The
Al-Taqwa College out-
break remains one of
Australia’s largest
clusters. Importantly,
the outbreak there has
been linked to other
clustersinMelbourne,
including a major out-
break in the city’s pub-
lic housing towers.
WHAT HAVE WE SEEN IN SCHOOLS?
As the virus has spread more
widely, the demographic pro-
file of cases has changed. The vi-
rus is no longer confined to adult
travellers and their contacts, and
children are now commonly in-
fected.InGermany,theproportion
of children in the number of new
infections is now consistent with
theirshareof thetotalpopulation.
While children are thankfully
much less likely to experience se-
vere illness than adults, we must
consider who children have con-
tact with and how they can con-
tribute to community transmis-
sion. Unless we do, we won’t suc-
ceed in controlling the pandemic.
THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE

One of the best way to overcome
your sadness if to help others
through their pain and grief.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
Darshan Desai
Ahmedabad: Con-
gress’ senior Rajya
Sabha member
Ahmed Patel has as-
serted that it was
“grave mismanage-
ment” by the Sardar
Sarovar dam authori-
ties who released
huge quantities of
water in the down-
stream in a short pe-
riod, leading to floods
and “massive damage
to life and property”
in Bharuch.
Pointing out that
there were “clear ad-
visories by the Cen-
tral Water Commis-
sion of impending
rise in Narmada wa-
ter levels”, Patel on
Saturday stated in a
letter to Chief Minis-
ter Vijay Rupani that
the dam authorities
could have staggered
the discharges in-
stead of releasing
large quantity of wa-
ter between August
29 and September 1.
First India was the
first to report the en-
tire issue on September
4, 2020, quoting expert
studies by the South
Asia Network of Dams,
Rivers and People
(SANDARP), which in
turn based its findings
on official data of the
Central Water Commis-
sion and Narmada Con-
trol Authority.
In his letter, Patel
demanded compensa-
tion for the damage
and relief to “all
those affected by this
artificial flood.” He
called upon Rupani
to “ensure accounta-
bility for this man
made crisis and also
take adequate steps
to bring in transpar-
ency and openness on
how advance warn-
ing and data is han-
dled at the Sardar
Sarovar Narmada
Nigam Ltd.”
Patel said in this
case the SSD operators
“chose to act on an un-
planned and adhoc ba-
sis”. The MP, who hails
from Bharuch, contin-
ued that this was “ex-
tremely worrying as
this extraordinary
surge in water releas-
es was entirely avoid-
able since there was
sufficient advance in-
formation by 26th Au-
gust, 2020, of heavy
rainfall likely to hit
the region.” And add-
ed that this was backed
by the Central Water
Commission’s adviso-
ries.
Patel to CM: Ensure accountability for ‘ad hoc’ SSP water release
FIRST INDIA IMPACT
Nirala is new Addl Secy,
Sagale is A’bad collectorFirst India Bureau
Gandhinagar: K K
Nirala has been ap-
pointed as as Addi-
tional Secretary
(home) while Banas-
kantha Collector Sa-
gale will take charge
as Ahmedabad Col-
lector as per the or-
ders issued on 5 Sep-
tember.
K K Nirala is a 2005
batch IAS officer and
had taken charge as
Ahmedabad Collector
in December 2019 it-
self and in just nine
months he has been
transferred as Addi-
tional Secretary (home
- Law and order). Nira-
la was earlier dis-
charging duty as the
Member Secretary of
the Gujarat Water Sup-
ply and Sewerage
Board, where he had
been appointed in
2018.
Nirala will be re-
placed by Sandip Sa-
gale, a 2007 batch
IAS officer, who is
presently discharg-
ing duty as Banas-
kantha district Col-
lector. Sagale was
appointed as Banas-
kantha collector in
April 2018. He has
been District collec-
tor of Bharuch and
Narmada district
earlier.
State has appointed
IAS Alok Kumar Pan-
dey as Director Em-
ployment & Training.
Pandey has returned
from his inter-cadre
deputation and has re-
placed Supreet Singh
Gulati, a 2008 IAS of-
ficer, who has now
been appointed as Pa-
tan District Collector.
Gulati is a Punjab cad-
re IAS officer and his
cadre was changed to
Gujarat in 2016, on
grounds of marriage
after his wedding to a
Guj Cadre officer.
Patan district col-
lector Anand Patel
will be taking charge
as Banaskantha dis-
trict Collector. The
state government
has also appointed
IAS (rtd) A A Ra-
manuj as Joint Com-
missioner, Office of
the State Election
Commission on con-
tractual basis.
 Congress RS MP
writes to CM
Rupani over the
‘unplanned’ water
releases from
Narmada dam
resulting in floods
in Bharuch
Sandip Sagale K K Nirala
‘Remove PM Modi’s
name from civil suit’
TEACHER
HONOURED
FOR SPECIAL
EFFORTSFirst India Bureau
Sabarkantha: A local
court in Sabarkantha
district in north Guja-
rat on Saturday ordered
the removal of name of
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi from a civil
suit seeking damages in
the case of killing of
four British nationals
during the 2002 post-
Godhra riots.
The order came on an
application moved by
advocate S S Shah on
behalf of Modi praying
to drop the name of the
Prime Minister from
the civil suit as defend-
ant.
“Principal senior
civil judge, Prantij
Suresh Gadhavi pro-
nounced the order on
Saturday ordering to
remove Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s name,
who was the then Chief
Minister along with for-
mer IPS officers includ-
ing K Chakravarty and
Amitabh Pathak and ex
IAS officer Ashok
Narayan.
The court noted that
allegations were “gen-
eral” and “vague” in
nature and no concrete
evidence existed to
show any “direct or in-
direct involvement in
the alleged act or any
specific role from which
reasonable ground for
malice or intentional
acts or omissions can be
found, entitling the
plaintiff to claim any
legal right or relief
against defendant No. 1
(Modi) in his personal
or official capacity in
the suit.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Gujarat’s
SudhaJoshihaswonthis
year’sNationalTeachers
Awardunderthe‘special
category’. Joshi was cho-
sen for
bringing
visually-
impaired
students
to the
m a i n -
s t r e a m
schooling system. Presi-
dent Ramnath Kovind
conferred awards to 47
teachers for their special
efforts on 5 September,
Teachers’ Day. Sudha
Joshi is among the two
teachers who will be
awarded in the special
category , the other is
Sant Jumar Sahni, who
made a once deserted
school in Bihar one of
the best in the state.
DENIAL ON UNSIGNED LETTERHEAD
Gujarat court orders
removal of PM Modi’s
name from suit filed
by British nationals
on 2002 riots
Ahmed Patel
PM Narendra Modi
‘ACT OF GOD’
DILEMMA
Hon’ble Finance
Minister Nirma-
la Saitharaman has
described the slug-
gish economy of the
country as ‘Act of
God’. The Virtuous
Finance Minister has
given two options of
compensation to the
states, first after con-
sulting the Reserve
Bank of India that a
special lending route
can be provided to the
states, and second,
the states can be pro-
vided Rs 97 thousand
crores at a reasonable
interest rate. This
means, the center
has to take debt, but
its outstanding, states
will have to pay.
Sources reveal that in
an important meeting
of the GST Council,
Nandan Nilekani, a
member of the commit-
tee that facilitated the
GST return process, un-
earthed GST fraud
worth Rs 84 thousand
crore and during the
meeting it was also told
that banks still have an
NPA of Rs 7.92 lakh
crore, of which several
lakh crores, the cen-
tral government has
already waived. Now,
even taxpayers would
want some benefit of
‘Act of God’, and they
also would want to be
exempted from tax.
SPARKS OF
SAFFRON
REBELLION IN UP
Issues related to Uttar
Pradesh have started
to concern the saffron
party leadership. Sourc-
es say that in the last
two months, BJP has
conducted three sur-
veys in UP, and in these
three surveys, BJP has
got 125 to 150 seats. The
main reason for this is
considered to be the
government’s stub-
bornness. As happened
recently, when a MLA
annoyed with CM
Yogi wrote on Twit-
ter, “My request to
Chief Minister
Avnish Awasthi to
tell his Chief Sec-
retary Yogi Adity-
anath ...” It is said
that Awasthi (the
Chief Secretary)
spends more time in
Yogi’s hospi-
t a l i t y
and is often seen receiv-
ing and seeing off the
CM. In the relevant
political and bureau-
cratic circles, it is
seen as Awasthi’s de-
sire to get a good post
after retirement. But
Avneesh Awasthi’s
predecessor Anoop
Chandra Pandey also
looked forward to a
good job after retire-
ment, yet he has not
got anything.
AKHILESH’S CYCLE
IS READY
Former Uttar
Pradesh chief
minister and Samajwa-
di Party (SP) supremo
Akhilesh Yadav has
also kept an eye on the
entire situation in UP.
Sources in the SP re-
veal that Akhilesh is
about to start his state-
wide cycle tour in
April or May 2021,
which could last for 6-7
months. It is possible
that on the pretext of
this journey, he will try
to create an atmos-
phere in favor of SP,
and would also
want to
s t r e n g t h e n
the party’s
organization
through this
journey. The
areas from
which this
‘cycling ex-
p e d i t i o n ’
will travel,
Akhilesh will come to
know about the situa-
tion of his party and
also learn as to how
much influence SP has
on the ground level.
Meanwhile, on the oth-
er hand, the BJP is
thinking whether in
the remaining one and
a half years instead of
Yogi, Rajnath Singh
can be sent there as
Chief Minister? With
this, the removal of the
Yogi will not cause re-
sentment among the
Thakurs, because in-
stead of one Thakur
leader, another is being
sent. Rajnath has been
the Chief Minister of
UP even before, and
knows about the ‘well-
being’ of the party and
the organization, and
therefore he can take
everyone along. He can
also ‘cool down’ the re-
cent heartburn in the
party cadre. But it will
not be easy for the BJP
top leadership to take
such a decision, be-
cause even though Yogi
has made critics for
himself in the pass-
ing period, the num-
ber of his followers
has also increased
exponentially.
MODI READY
FOR SHUFFLE
After this Diwa-
li, when the Bi-
har assembly elections
would be over, Prime
Minister Naren-
dra Modi
c a n
make a major reshuffle
in his cabinet. Several
names are discussed to
replace Finance Minis-
ter Nirmala Sithara-
man, one of which is
also the name of former
Maharashtra Chief
Minister Devendra Fad-
navis who is said to be
Modi’s beloved anyway.
Piyush Goyal has dual
responsibilities, and it
is said that he could
hand over his responsi-
bilities of Commerce
Ministry to Nirmala Si-
tharaman again. There
is talk of RCP Singh
being made a minis-
ter from JDU quota.
By the way, there is
talk of Sharad Yadav
going with Nitish
again. While he was
hospitalized in recent
days, sources reveal
that his lungs were
flooded, while Nitish
spoke to Sharad’s
wife, Sharad Yadav
would also be present
as an option for Nit-
ish for the post of
minister. If sources
are to be believed,
some new faces from
UP can also find a
place in the cabinet.
The author is a journal-
ist and political com-
mentator and views ex-
pressed are his personal
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB RAMAN
Akhilesh YadavNarendra Modi Nirmala Sitharaman

AHMEDABAD, SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
KEEP IT MINI-MALCity First talks about the fabulous ways to wear your mini skirts and to get you on board with the evergreen fashion!
ver the decades,
trends come and
go, but the mini
skirt is forever.
Since its breakout
in the 1960s along-
side the women’s
liberation movement, the
style has found popular-
ity across generations.
It’s fair to say: the mini
skirt is a symbol of a
woman’s femininity and
sex appeal. This staple
is extremely popular
during the summer
season when it’s too
hot to wear jeans.
Many designer
brands offer us a
wide variety of mini
skirt styles, offer-
ing A-line, flared, se-
quined, printed, colour-
blocking, knife-pleated
and many other interest-
ing fits and designs. These
pieces come with an amaz-
ing combination of cuts
and colours. It looks great
with modern, casual and
retro-inspired tops. You
can try these bottoms with
long sleeve shirts, classic
pullovers, tanks and cham-
bray button-downs. My
personal favourites of this
model are the ones with A-
cut and asymmetric cut.
But you have to consider a
few combinations if you
want to wear your mini
skirt in the right way.
1. If you want yourself
and edgy look, then try
on black leather mini
embellished with zips.
Try it on with cool ging-
ham shirt and brown
pointy toes.
2. The wrap, the layered
white bottom looks sa-
fari alike with the cool
khaki olive shirt and
pale orange pointed
toes.
3. You can choose a se-
quined mini that looks
great with V-neck casu-
al tee and suede.
4. Black, ruffled mini looks
chic with a printed mon-
ochrome shirt that is
worn underneath field
vest in khaki olive col-
our. Finish the look by
adding cuffed, neon red
heel sandals.
5. Keep it girlish and try
on flared chambray bot-
tom with silk white
blouse and snakeskin
mid heels.
6. The flared denim bottom
looks awesome paired
with star print white
shirt and cool black
handbag.
Trust me, a mini
skirt can stick around
all year long, just
layer it cleverly! I
mean, you definite-
ly should play with
proportions, keep
things monochrome
and choose high-rise
clothes to create slim-
ming effects.
KARISHMA GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
O

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
WEEKLYWEEKLYARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You might be frustrated if it feels like creating
solid momentum on your personal goals
feels more like walking through thick mud
than sprinting ahead. When it feels like the
roadblocks just keep piling up, see this as an
opportunity to reflect, revise, and slow down
to perfect your game plan. You might also take
heart in the fact that not alone! You might find
that any plays for more recognition from higher-
ups might begin to pay off now. Things look up
professionally too now.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
It might feel as though it’s challenging to get ahead
on goals you’ve been working toward with your
significant other, close friend, or business. It’s almost
like no matter what you do, you’ll struggle to get on
the same page in terms of a game plan, and at times,
it could feel like you’re stepping on one another’s toes
or getting in one another’s way. Do your best to see
this as a time to slow down and make sure that the
goals you’ve set are exactly what you want to work
toward—as a team. A perfect time to enthusiastically
express deep-rooted needs to loved ones.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You might feel a bit lost if your current big ideas and
dreams begin to feel unrealistic or as though they
aren’t set up to come to fruition in the way you had
hoped. You might do best to hit pause on definitive
game plans and see where the moment takes
you. Taking a more hands-off, organic approach to
achieving your deepest-rooted aspirations serves
you best right now. Also a time for firing up your
confidence, especially around relationships, fun,
creativity, and making plans to get out of your
comfort zone and broaden your horizons.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You might find it challenging to create momentum
with your fitness or general health plan. Pushing
too hard right now could only serve to set you up
for more aggravating, so you might do best to take
a beat and recall the pragmatic measures that
have worked best for you in the past. Simple moves
like drinking enough water and taking daily walks
could go far to keeping you firing on all cylinders.
Be alert to confusion causing lines to cross with
colleagues and/or your significant other. Breathe
deep, and trust that clarity is around the bend.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
This week it might be difficult to get ahead on
group projects. This challenging moment might
lead you to believe that your colleagues and
friends are at fault for the snail’s pace, but the fact
of the matter is that everyone is being urged to
take more time and ensure that the actions they’re
taking are thoughtful and deliberate as opposed to
hair-trigger. Recognizing this can help everyone
get on the same page. A good time for emotional
bonding, this could serve to magnify your deepest
relationships in a more external, visible way.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You’ll be feeling psyched and self-assured when
it comes to pursuing a major professional goal.
Taking your big ideas to higher-ups could not only
feel empowering right now but help you lay the
groundwork for well-deserved rewards. But also
a time of slowing down your efforts related to art,
pleasure, and fun-loving relationships. Still, this
can be a beneficial time for you to go back to the
drawing board on a creative passion project. You
might also do well to approach loving relationships
with a mellow, go-with-the-flow vibe.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Simmering conflicts with loved ones over old
emotional wounds and a lack of progress on projects
around the house could feel stressful. You’ll do well
to reprioritize and, within your intimate relationships,
keep hashing it out until you see eye-to-eye—or
as close to it as possible. But you might also begin
to see real results as a result of those exciting, big
picture dreams you’ve had floating around in the
back of your head. Don’t hold back from pursuing any
passion project that simply feels right. You have what
it takes to turn it into a concrete, rewarding reality.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
If you’ve been hoping to travel or sign up for
an online course to make progress in some
way professionally or personally, it will take
a little more time. Your best bet is to use this
time to soak up knowledge and potentially
revise, or at least perfect, your game plan, so
that when you do finally get a clear runway,
you’ll have no trouble taking off and knowing
exactly where you’re headed. Though this
week, you might enjoy more work and wellness
opportunities.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Keeping social plans or seeing a brainstorm through
to an actionable plan might prove challenging.
While it might not suit your M.O., finding a way
to embrace and adapt to this more unpredictable
vibe can help you maintain productivity. Then,
finding a way to get on the same page as a loved
one, especially when it comes to money, could feel
particularly challenging. The issue is that facts are
evasive, and confusion is running rampant. For
those reasons, you might do well to wait until the
dust settles before ploughing forward.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Watch out for confusion and misunderstandings,
especially within your closest one-on-one
relationships think with a partner, dear friend,
loved one, or close colleague. Feeling like it’s
nearly impossible to get a handle on all the facts
right now can create insecurity and affect your
morale. Just know that this moment will pass, and
you’ll soon have the info you need to move forward.
You can look forward to enjoying the organically
flowing flirtation and pleasurable moments that
you’ve been dreaming of.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Making major strides in moneymaking endeavours
might feel challenging. Instead of pushing forward
on projects that don’t resonate, try to preserve your
energy and narrow your focus on plans that you truly
feel passionate about. This could ultimately help
you to streamline and get ahead on professional
goals. Then, you might feel like it’s tough to get on
the same page as your significant other, colleague,
or a dear friend, this could cause you to feel nervous
about what the future holds, but you’ll do best to stay
in the present and stick with what you know.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You might feel like it’s a downright slog to get
ahead on the job, get recognized by higher-ups,
or see forward movement related to looking for
new opportunities. This could prove frustrating,
to be sure, but doing your best to avoid getting
extra competitive can help, as can using this
slower time to brush up your resume or hone a
new skill set that will help you get even more
noticed in the long run. Time is also giving you
the green light to create real, tangible results on
one-on-one goals.
WEEKLYWEEKLYWEEKLYWEEKLYWEEKLY
SEPTEMBER 6 – 12 SEPTEMBER
THE YEAR 2020 WILL BE A POSITIVE YEAR RADHIKA APTE WHO
CELEBRATES HER BIRTHDAY ON 7 SEPT. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
YEAR, SHE WILL BE BLESSED BY POSITIVE PLANETS. HER INNER
STRENGTH, SELF-CONFIDENCE WILL BE HIGH AND SHE WILL BE
FOCUSED TOWARDS HER GOALS. SHE WILL PLAN TO CONSTRUCT A
NEW HOUSE, RENOVATE THE CURRENT HOUSE OR WILL PLAN TO
BUY A NEW VEHICLE.

Q
u e e n
Beyonce
is not forget-
ting the Black Lives
Matter movement on her birth-
day! The superstar, who just
turned 39 on Friday, 4 September,
revealed a generous donation via
her official website this week. “Proud
to announce USD 1M in additional
funds from Beyonce to help Black-
owned small businesses. Round two of
funding opens this month with our part-
ner, NAACP,” her official website an-
nounced on Wednesday.
“NAACP Empowerment Programs is
delightedtoadministerameaningfulpro-
gram in partnership with BeyGOOD’s
Black-Owned Small Business Im-
pactFundtoassistoursmallbusi-
ness communities that have
been directly impacted by re-
cent events across the coun-
try. The grants in the
amount of USD 10,000 will
be offered to Black-owned
small businesses in select
cities to help sustain busi-
nesses during this time.
The NAACP is proud to
partner with BeyGOOD to
helpstrengthensmallbusi-
nesses and to ensure eco-
nomic empowerment for
Black businesses,” the
NAACP wrote in response to
Beyonce’s donation. —Agency
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
11
Happy Birthday, PT!
T
he Hindi film industry is full of actors
that often impress a wide section of peo-
ple. However, few actors are adored and
praised for their work the way Pankaj
Tripathiis.Theactor,whoturns44onSaturday,
5 September, has time and again floored the au-
dienceswithhisperformance,styleandabove
all acting. Not just the older generation,
but he has also largely connected with
the millennial movie buffs who have
discovered his talent over the years.
Pankaj was most recently seen in
‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’ as
Janhvi Kapoor’s doting dad. And yet
again, the actor ended up being a
mass favourite and one of the bigger
takeaways from the film.
Over the years, he has
showcased a range
of performanc-
es. From grit-
tyandintense
to comic and
lighthearted
roles,Pankaj
T r i p a t h i
has enter-
tained one
and all.
—Agency
A
few days back,
Sanjay Dutt took
to social media to
inform his fans
that he is taking a break
from work as he will be
undergoing medical
treatment and soon after,
reports started doing the
rounds that the actor was
suffering from lung can-
cer. Soon after, Sanjay
Dutt was snapped at a
hospital in Mumbai and
wife Maanayata Dutt re-
leased an official state-
ment thanking his fans
for their support.
Now Maanayata Dutt
has shared a new Insta-
gram post, in which she
has spoken about being
resilient in the face of dif-
ficulties while husband
and actor Sanjay Dutt
gets treated for cancer.
Alongside a selfie, Maa-
nayata’s caption read,
“Sometimes you just have
to stay silent because no
words can explain what is
going on in your mind
and heart.” Well, we are
sure that these are tough
times for the Dutt family,
and we wish speedy re-
covery for the actor.
—Agency
KAREENA’S
STATEMENTfew days
back, the Pro-
ducers Guild
of India is-
sued a state-
ment in the
light of the
instances that took
place after Sushant
Singh Rajput’s death
and claimed that his
tragic demise has
been used as a ‘tool to
defame, slander the
film industry.’ Back-
ing the Producers
Guild statement, Ka-
reena Kapoor Khan
has now stood up in
solidarity with her in-
dustry. Kareena, who
has been spending
time at home
amid the ongo-
ing pandemic,
shared the
photo of the
statement on her so-
cial media handle.
Along with sharing
the statement on her
Instagram story, Ka-
reena penned, “With
My Industry,” with a
heart emoticon. With
this, Kareena joined
several other stars
like Dia Mirza, Bipa-
sha Basu, Nimrat
Kaur, Hansal Mehta,
Ram Gopal Varma
and more in backing
the guild for releas-
ing a statement keep-
ing in mind the recent
events that took
place. Kareena
shared Zoya Akhtar’s
post featuring the
statement of the guild
and backed up Bolly-
wood in standing up
against their wrong-
ful portrayal. —Agency
A
Ingredients
I 1 Cup - Grinded Sugar
I 1 Cup - Curd
I Baking Powder - 1 & 1/4 TSP
I Baking Soda - 1/2 TSP
I Flour - 1 and 1/2 cup
I Tutti Frutti - 1/2 Half Cup
I Oil - 1/2 cup.
I Pineapple Essence - 1/4 TSP
I Orange Essence - 1/4 TSP
I Vanilla Essence - 1/4 tsp
I Salt - 1/4 TSP
I Yellow Food Colour
I 9-inch Mould
I 1 Cup = 250 ml
VRTIKA JAIN
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Procedure
I Take sugar in a bowl
and add curd, Baking
Powder, Baking Soda
to it.
I Mix for 5mins.
I Keep it aside for 5
mins.
I Take flour in a bowl
and add tutti Frutti to
it.
I Mix well.
I Add oil to the resting
batter and add all the
essence, salt and the
food colour.
I Add flour into the bat-
ter with the help of a
sieve.
I Add the tutti fruit back
to it which had come
up the sieve.
I Mix well.
I Brush oil on the
mould.
I Place a baking paper.
I Add the batter to it.
I Take a pan and keep
a stand on it and heat
it for 5 mins on the
medium flame place
it’s cover on it.
I After 5 mins place the
mould in it.
I Cook it on a me-
dium flame for
40-50 mins or
bake in a pre-
heated oven at
108c for 40 - 50
mins.
Take it out,
your fruit cake
is ready.
‘Bambai
Mein Ka Ba’
H
ailing from Bi-
har, producer-
director Anub-
hav Sinha had
always cherished lis-
tening to Bhojpuri
music during his
growing up years but
the producer-director
feels the culturally-
rich music has lost its
charm over a period
of time. With the aim
of reviving Bhojpuri
music and giving back
to his roots, Anubhav
Sinha has created, di-
rected and produced a
Bhojpuri music video
‘Bambai Mein Ka Ba’
featuring Manoj Baj-
payee under his pro-
duction banner Be-
naras Mediaworks,
during the current
lockdown.
The song ‘Bambai
Mein Ka Ba’ was shot
at a city studio in a
day in the midst of the
coronavirus pandem-
ic. Produced by
Benaras Mediaworks
in collaboration with
T-Series, the song
‘Bambai Mein Ka Ba’
will be launched soon.
—Agency
FRUIT CAKE (EGGLESS) WITHOUT OVEN
GENEROUSDONOR
TOUGH TIMES
Kareena Kapoor Khan
Maanayat and Sanjay Dutt
Beyonce
Pankaj Tripathi
Anubhav Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee
Fruit Cake

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