First india ahmedabad edition-07 august 2020

CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 253
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JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
2,584
DEATHS
67,811
CONFIRMED CASES
KARNATAKA
2,897 DEATHS 1,58,254 CASES
RAJASTHAN
757 DEATHS 48,996 CASES
INDIA
20,24,502
CONFIRMED CASES
41,631
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
16,792 DEATHS 4,79,779 CASES
TAMIL NADU
DELHI
WORLD
7,13,895
DEATHS
1,91,15,474
CONFIRMED CASES
IPL 2020 TITLE SPONSORSHIP: BCCI & VIVO PART WAYS!
Mumbai: The Board of
Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) and Vivo
Mobile India Pvt Ltd
have decided to suspend
their partnership for
Indian Premier League
(IPL) in 2020, an IPL me-
dia advisory confirmed.
The BCCI on Thurs-
day suspended the IPL
title sponsorship deal
with Chinese mobile
phone company Vivo
for the event’’s upcom-
ing edition amid soar-
ing Sino-India diplo-
matic tensions.
The BCCI sent out a
one-line statement
without giving any de-
tails to say that Vivo
will not be associated
with the IPL this year.
“The Board of Con-
trol for Cricket in India
(BCCI) and vivo Mobile
India Pvt Ltd have de-
cided to suspend their
partnership for Indian
Premier League in
2020,” the press release
stated.
Vivo won the IPL title
sponsorship rights for
five years from 2018 to
2022 for a reported sum
of Rs 2190 crore, ap-
proximately Rs 440
crore per annum.
The BCCI is likely to
float a tender for the
new title sponsors as
mandated by its consti-
tution.
The IPL scheduled on
September 19-Novem-
ber 10 in UAE, forced
out of India due to the
rising COVID-19 cases.
Vivo had bagged the
title sponsorship for
two years initially in
2015, and retained the
rights signing a five-
year contract (2017-22),
paying about USD 341
million.
It is as yet unclear
what the status of the
contract is for the next
edition of the IPL and
beyond.
The decision is not
likely to significantly
affect the franchises fi-
nancially. It is under-
stood each franchise
gets approximately Rs
20 crore (USD 2.67 mil-
lion approx) per year
from the Vivo contract.
As long as the BCCI can
rope in a replacement
for Vivo, this develop-
ment should not have
any impact on them,
said sources.
The 53-day tourna-
ment will witness 10-af-
ternoon matches start-
ing at 15:30 IST while
the evening matches
will start at 19:30 IST.
—ANI
INDIA-CHINA BORDER ROW
8 KILLED IN AHMEDABAD
HOSP ICU BLAZE; 2 HELD
TRAGEDY
STRIKES
Aditi Nagar &
Nizam Kantaliya
Jaipur: Inspite of Ra-
jasthan High Court’s
exceptional decisive
mood to bring the en-
tire issue of 6 BSP leg-
islators to a logical con-
clusion, according to
legal experts, there is
no possibility of a final
judicial order on the is-
sue of the merger of
BSP MLAs before Au-
gust 14, the day when a
special Assembly ses-
sion begins.
It clearly indicates
that in absence of a fi-
nal judicial judgement
to order a stay on the
voting rights of these
MLAs in the Assembly,
all 6 MLAs will be free
to exercise their vote
on the floor of the
House in favor of Ge-
hlot government, if it
comes to a trust vote.
In this way, division
bench’s Thursday or-
der is being considered
as some sort of a relief
to the Ashok Gehlot
government.
The bench was head-
ed by Chief Justice In-
drajeet Mahanty and
also having Justice
Prakash Gupta as an-
other colleague judge.
The only exception to
this situation can be
when all judicial pro-
ceedings in this case in
HC and even in Su-
preme Court are dis-
posed off before Au-
gust 14 and BSP MLAs
are debarred from par-
ticipating in the trust
vote exercise and Ge-
hlot government is vir-
tually reduced to a mi-
nority, but this looks a
distance possibility
because going by the
principal of natural
justice, no judgement
is likely to be passed
without hearing view-
point or side of 6 BSP
MLAs and this manda-
tory service of notice
will be a very difficult
exercise. According to
sources, all 6 BSP
MLAs, who are camp-
ing at a Jaisalmer hotel
at the moment, are be-
ing shifted to some
other ‘unknown desti-
nation’, where the con-
cerned district and ses-
sions judge (as order by
CJ bench) will not be
able to trace and serve
them the notice even
through a ‘reluctant’
local police. Notably,
the division bench had
specifically asked Jais-
almer and Barmer dis-
trict judges to ensure
the timely delivery of
notices, taking the help
of local SP. Turn on P6
No final judicial order on BSP MLAs likely before Aug 14!
RBI keeps repo rate
unchanged at 4 pc
GDP growth seen negative in Financial Year 2021
Mumbai: The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) on
Thursday kept the key
repo rate unchanged at
4 per cent in view of ris-
ing inflation and faint
signs of economic
growth amid the gradu-
al lifting of coronavirus
(COVID-19) country-
wide lockdown.
The central bank’s
monetary policy com-
mittee (MPC) began its
three-day meeting on
August 4 and main-
tained the stance as ac-
commodative. It also
kept the reverse repo
rate unchanged at 3.35
per cent. Repo is the rate
atwhichRBIlendsfunds
to commercial banks
when needed. It is a tool
that the central bank
uses to control inflation.
While there are some
signs of a pick up in ac-
tivity due to the stag-
gered easing of a lock-
down, there is a large
degree of uncertainty
amid a surge in virus
cases. Turn on P6
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: Eight
COVID-19 patients died
and several others
were injured after a
massive fire broke out
in the Intensive Care
Unit (ICU) of privately
owned Shrey Hospital
in Navrangpura area
of the city around 3.30
am on Thursday. More
than 40 survivors have
been shifted to Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel
(SVP) Hospital.
LB Zala, Assistant
Commissioner of Po-
lice (ACP) (B-Division)
said that the hospital’s
trustee Bharat Mahant
and a ward boy had
been detained by
Navrangpura police.
Rajendra Asari, JCP,
Sector 1, Ahmedabad,
said, “Eight people
have died in the fire in-
cident. Other patients
have been shifted to a
safer place. We are tak-
ing the help of fire and
forensic experts in the
investigation. A thor-
ough investigation will
be conducted.”
Ahmedabad Fire
and Emergency Ser-
vices personnel res-
cued at least 40 patients
and one paramedic
from the fire, which oc-
curred on the fourth
floor of the designated
COVID-19 hospital.
Fire Officer Rajesh
Bhatt said, “When our
team reached the hos-
pital, the ICU had al-
ready been gutted. The
eight patients who died
in the fire included five
male Turn on P6
GC Murmu is new CAG while
Manoj Sinha is J&K’s new LG
New Delhi: Girish
Chandra Murmu, the
former Lt Governor
of Jammu and Kash-
mir, has been appoint-
ed the new Comptrol-
ler and Auditor Gen-
eral of India (CAG).
Murmu will be replac-
ing Rajiv Mehrishi, a
1978 batch IAS officer
of the Rajasthan cad-
re, as the CAG. Mehri-
shi will be turning 65
on August 8.
The 60-year-old for-
mer IAS officer of the
Gujarat cadre, Mur-
mu, had on October 29
last year taken over as
the first LG of the Un-
ion territory after
J&K was made into
two UTs. Murmu has
also served as princi-
pal secretary to Nar-
endra Modi during his
tenure as Gujarat
chief minister.
Earlier, Manoj Sin-
ha replaced Murmu as
the L-G of J&K. P5
PMO INDIA @PMOINDIA
Ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given
to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to
the hospital fire in Ahmedabad. Rs. 50,000 each would be
given to those injured due to the hospital fire. Saddened
by the tragic hospital fire in Ahmedabad. Condolences
to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.
Spoke to CM @vijayrupanibjp Ji and Mayor @ibijalpatel
Ji regarding the situation. Administration is providing all
possible assistance to the affected.
AMIT SHAH
@AMITSHAH
Deeply anguished by
the loss of lives due to a
tragic fire accident at a
hospital in Ahmedabad.
My condolences and
thoughts are with the
affected families in this
hour of grief. Praying for
the speedy recovery of
those injured.
AHMED PATEL
@AHMEDPATEL
Distressed to learn about
the tragic incident at Shrey
Hospital,Ahmedabad My
thoughts & prayers are with
the victims & their families
in this hour of grief The local
administration must provide
necessary assistance and
thoroughly investigate the
cause of this fire
Top: Inside visuals of Shrey Hospital after a major fire broke out
in it, in Ahmedabad on Thursday; Above: Relatives mourn the
death of their near ones. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
CM Vijay Rupani orders IAS officers to probe incident, fire likely caused by short-circuit
COMPENSATION
ANNOUNCED
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi announced an
ex-gratia amount of Rs2
lakh to the families of
all those who lost their
lives in the fire from the
Prime Minister’s Na-
tional Relief Fund. Guja-
rat Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani has announced
an ex gratia amount of
Rs 4 lakhs each to the
families of the eight
victims who died in the
fire at Shrey Hospital in
Ahmedabad, said the
Chief Minister’s Office
(CMO) on Thursday.
The CMO added that Rs
50,000 would be given
to those injured in the
incident.
BSP MLAs MERGER: GEHLOT GOVT GETS A BREATHER FROM RAJ HIGH COURT
CJ led division bench disposes
petitions by BSP and BJP
GC Murmu
CM Ashok Gehlot

NEWSAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
NEW DELHI
UPHAAR CINEMA (JUNE 13, 1997)
BHUBANESWAR: SUM HOSPITAL (OCTOBER 17, 2016) MUMBAI: ESIC KAMGAR HOSPITAL (DECEMBER 18, 2018)
SURAT
TAKSHASHILA ARCADE (MAY 24, 2019)
KOLKATA
AMRI HOSPITAL (DECEMBER 10, 2011)
 59 audience members
died during a screening
of the film ‘Border’
 In 2015, Delhi trial
court convicted 12 ac-
cused including owners
Sushil and Gopal Ansal,
and sentenced them to
two years in prison
 On 19 August 2015,
the Supreme Court
fined the Ansal broth-
ers a total of 60 crore
each and held that
their jail terms will be
reduced to the term
already undergone by
them if they pay the
fine, considering their
old age
 Neelam Krishnamoor-
thy, who lost two
teenage children in the
incident, had described
the SC judgement as a
“travesty of justice”.
 At least 22 stu-
dents were killed
and several others
injured in a fire at a
coaching centre
 Students were
trapped because the
only way to the top
floor was a wooden
staircase which was
destroyed by the
fire.
 Police arrested
11 including four
engineers from the
Surat civic body,
an officer from
Dakshin Gujarat Vij
Company Ltd, three
builders of the com-
plex, the owner of
the coaching class.
 22 patients killed
 Fire broke out around 7.30 pm and
raged until 10.15 pm
 Fire first spotted in dialysis ward,
spread to ICU
 Security personnel allegedly kept
patients from running away
 Superintendent, two electrical engi-
neers and fire safety officer arrested
 Eight patients died and
176 were injured in
major fire accident
 Fire broke out when
sparks from nearby weld-
ing work come in contact
with flammable material
lying around
 Two welders arrested for
negligence
 85 patients and four
staffers killed
 Fire broke out at 3 am
 Fire brigade was in-
formed at 4.10 am.
 Spread of the fire was
aided by the illegal stor-
age of flammable mate-
rial in the basement of
the hospital.
 Kolkata police had
arrested six board
members
 Till 2018, seven years
later trial court had not
passed its judgement.
 The hospital began
admitting patients again
in 2014.
 “Why is there no time
bound period for trial
court?” asked Paromita
Guha Thakurta, who lost
her 64-year-old mother
Mridula Devi in the
tragedy.
MAJOR FIRE TRAGEDIES
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The eye-
witness to the fire inci-
dent at Shrey Hospital
inthecitythattookthe
livesof eightCOVID-19
patients, Chirag Patel
has been detained by
the police for question-
ing. A ward boy at the
hospital, Chirag was
one of the few eyewit-
nesses of the accident
whosawfirsthandhow
the fire engulfed the
Intensive Care Unit
(ICU) on the fourth
floor.
Narrating the whole
incident, Patel said, “It
must have been some-
where between 2.58 am
and 3.12 am, I had just
gone out of the ward to
get a drink of water,
when another staffer
rushed out calling for
help. There had been a
spark near bed number
9 and a female patient’s
hair had caught fire.”
“One of the doctors
and I rushed into the
ward and tried to douse
the fire, when another
ward boy’s PPE kit
caught fire. So, we
started pouring water
on him but then the
doctor suffered burn
injuries. Before anyone
could understand any-
thing, there was a blast
and it engulfed the en-
tire ward. There was
zero visibility and that
was the biggest hurdle
we faced while trying
to rescue people,” he
added.
When asked about
the fire extinguishers,
Chirag claimed that
they had used three
extinguishers, so
there was no question
of not having fire
safety measures in
place. According to
him, after the blast oc-
curred, the fire spread
so quickly that it be-
came difficult to fight
it. Since there was no
visibility in the ward,
none of the patients
in the ICU could be
rescued. Although,
the patients inside the
ward opposite to the
ICU and the ones on
the third and second
floors were all safely
moved to the ground
floor by staffers.
‘Blast escalated fire which gripped the ICU ward’
EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT
 Ward boy Chirag Patel recounts
the horrific details of a day he’ll
never forget
It must have been somewhere be-
tween 2.58 am and 3.12 am, I had
just gone out of the ward to get a
drink of water, when another staffer rushed
out calling for help. There had been a spark
near bed number 9 and a female patient’s
hair had caught fire.
—Chirag Patel,
ward boy at Shrey Hospital
Haresh Jhala
Ahmedabad: Follow-
ing the death of eight
COVID-19 patients at
Ahmedabad’s Shrey
Hospital on Thursday,
local authorities
across the state have
begun to crack down
on hospitals that do
not meet fire safety
norms.
By 10 am on Thurs-
day, fire department
officers had begun to
conduct fire-safety
checks at hospitals,
especially ones des-
ignated as COVID-19
facilities. They
found that an eye-
watering number of
medical facilities
failed these checks.
In Ahmedabad
alone, 1931 hospi-
tals—including des-
ignated COVID-19
facilities like Shrey
Hospital—did not
have a no-objection
certificate (NOC)
from the fire depart-
ment. Unconfirmed
reports say that even
the Civil Hospital in
Rajkot does not have
a fire NOC. The
Bhavnagar Corpora-
tion issued notice to
seven COVID-19 des-
ignated private hos-
pitals for not having
adequate fire safety
measures in place.
However, if past ex-
perience is anything to
go by, this flurry of ac-
tivity and crackdowns
will soon cease, just as
those that followed Su-
rat’s Takshashila Ar-
cade fire did.
Immediately after
the Surat fire, which
took place on May 24,
2019, and left 22 stu-
dents dead, the state
government ordered
the closure of all
coaching classes until
fire safety inspections
were conducted. The
government also or-
dered a fire safety in-
spection of schools,
colleges, coaching cen-
tres, hospitals, shop-
ping malls and other
commercial buildings.
Yet, it wasn’t long
until these ripples died
down and things went
back to normal. Fire
safety was soon back
at its customary low
position on the govern-
ment’s priority list.
This may be dismissed
as merely an opinion.
However, the fact is,
the state government
only enacted Fire Pre-
vention and Life Safe-
ty measures Act 2013
after the High Court of
Gujarat ordered it to
do so at the end of a
22-year-long judicial
battle.
After no action on
this front for six
years, the state gov-
ernment set up the
Fire Services Au-
thority in May 2019.
However, this body
had no power, nor
was it given a work-
force or infrastruc-
ture for another
nine months. In Feb-
ruary 2020, the state
government ap-
proved 672 person-
nel, 100 vehicles and
announced that five
regional offices—
one each in Surat,
Vadodara, Gandhi-
nagar, Rajkot and
Gandhidham—had
been approved. Till
today, this body is
run by its In-charge
Director.
Across the board,
fire departments in na-
garpalika and munici-
pal corporation areas
are short of either
staff or equipment.
An Ahmedabad Fire
and Emergency Ser-
vices officer told
First India that the
civic body-run de-
partment is running
on just 40% of its ap-
proved staff
strength. “In the
past decade, 16 new
fire stations have
been set up in the
city, but we’re short
of staff. There isn’t
enough recruitment
to meet the approved
strength,” this per-
son said.
While Ahmedabad’s
fire chief Mehernosh
Dastoor could not be
reached for comment
for this article, he has,
in the past gone on re-
cord to state that fire-
fighters do not even
have adequate uni-
forms.
Surat Fire depart-
ment has an ap-
proved strength of
1,001, including one
post of Chief Fire
Officer and Addi-
tional Chief Fire Of-
ficer. However, the
entire department is
run by In-charge
Chief Fire Officer
BK Pareek and a
Deputy Chief Fire
Officer. Pareek could
not be reached for
comment for this ar-
ticle, either.
The Vadodara fire
department is also
headedbyanIn-charge
CFO, PG Brahmbhatt,
who told First India
that the department
runs on 45% of its al-
lotted manpower, fire
stations and equip-
ment.
Thus, it becomes
evident that the gov-
ernment—both at
the state and local
level—does not pri-
oritize fire safety,
raising questions on
how long the author-
ities’ current inter-
est in safety proto-
cols at hospitals can
be sustained.
In addition, this at-
titude also moves the
onus of maintaining
fire safety to the gen-
eral public. If people
are concerned about
their safety, they need
to build pressure on lo-
cal authorities and the
state government to
prioritize fire depart-
ments, ensuring them
adequate staff as well
as funding, which
reached them in a
timely manner.
Even 14 months after the Takshashila Arcade fire, the state is yet to prioritize fire safetyEven 14 months after the Takshashila Arcade fire, the state is yet to prioritize fire safety
Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services personnel put out a blaze in Ahmedabad. The city’s fire department is reportedly short on
staff, equipment, and even uniforms. —FILE PHOT

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupa-
ni is set to announce
a new industrial poli-
cy which had been de-
layed since December
last year, today. Ac-
cording to sources,
the state government
is likely to focus more
on next-generation
sectors, renewable
energy, and start-ups.
The state may seek to
strengthen its manu-
facturing sector post
the Indo-China politi-
cal tug-of-war.
Two parks which in-
clude one for medical
equipment in Rajkot
and a Bulk Drug Park in
Dahej have already
been announced by the
government. But, in
view of the current sit-
uation in the state, it
may push hard and to
attract investments
from the pharmaceuti-
cal sector for bulk drug
production to lower its
dependence on Chinese
products. A special em-
phasis on the textile
sector will also be on
the state’s agenda.
CM Rupani said,
“Our state has become
a start-up hub and it ac-
counts for 43% of all
start-ups across the
country. The innovation
by start-ups has given
birth to the spirit of
‘Make in India’, a dream
that is coming true af-
ter more than 70 years
of independence.”
He also outlined the
strategies that the state
government had adopt-
ed for start-ups, includ-
ing the Start-up Policy,
Student Start-up Inno-
vation Policy to pro-
mote new start-ups.
The chief minister ex-
pressedhiscommitment
to encourage young
minds equipped with a
wealth of knowledge
aboutscienceforinnova-
tion. He said that chil-
dren should be encour-
aged to find solutions to
the state’s problems
through new inventive
ideas derived from their
experience from their
educational lives.
Rupani and Deputy
Chief MinisterNitinPa-
tel on Thursday handed
over 360 flats allocated
tocorrespondingbenefi-
ciaries under the Prad-
han Mantri Awas Yojna
in Unjha town of
Mehsana district
through an e-launch.
CM to announce new industrial policy
MOVING FORWARD
 State will aim
to bolster manu-
facturing, seek out
next-gen sectors
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. —FILE PHOTO
Just 4.5% of A’bad hospitals fire safe...
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Thurs-
day’s fire at Shrey Hos-
pital, which claimed
the lives of eight COV-
ID-19 patients, has re-
vealed that as many as
1,931 of the city’s 2,022
hospitals do not have
fire safety certifica-
tion—meaning just
4.5% of them do.
“The hospital where
the incident took place
didn’t have a fire safety
certificate. Even, the
equipment was out of
date. When the fire team
reachedthespot,theICU
was already gutted. The
hospital didn’t review
their fire safety certifi-
cate, which is a no-objec-
tion certificate (NOC),”
said a senior officer of
theAhmedabadFireand
Emergency Services.
As per the latest fig-
ures, there are 1,931 hos-
pitalsthatdon’thavefire
safety NOCs, the certifi-
cation given to institu-
tions which have equip-
ment required for fire
safety in working condi-
tion, this officer added.
Following the inci-
dent, leader of the oppo-
sitionintheAhmedabad
Municipal Corporation,
Dinesh Sharma said,
“The officers are taking
bribes from the hospi-
tals to declare them
COVID-19 designated
facilities. The system
only wakes up when
such type of tragedy oc-
curs. Things will be nor-
mal again for them in a
few days and this epi-
sode will be erased from
their minds.”
DariyapurMLAGyas-
uddin Shaikh lay the
blame squarely with the
top brass. He said: “This
incident is very serious
and the result of crimi-
nal negligence by the
hospitals and the mu-
nicipal corporation. The
priority is to investigate
the matter. Didn’t the of-
ficers check things like
BU permission, staff,
medical equipment, and
fire safety when they
permittedthehospitalto
begin operations? I
strongly believe that Ra-
jiv Gupta, Mukesh Ku-
mar, and mayor Bijal
Patel are all responsible
for this incident.”
Hearses from the local civic body line up outside Shrey Hospital on Thursday.
An outpouring of grief for
loved ones lost too soon
Suddendeath:Silenthypoxia,
fulminantmyocarditisculprits
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: After
news of the fire at
Shrey Hospital in
Navrangpura area of
the city broke out,
family members and
relatives of COVID-19
patients thronged the
hospital premises on
Thursday morning.
Priyanshi Sheth, the
granddaughter of Lila-
vatiben Shah, expressed
her grief at not heeding
to her grandmother’s
plea to return home.
“We learnt about the
fire on the news. My
family had spent Rs6
lakh for the treatment
of my grandmother. On
Wednesday evening, she
had spoken to my father
and said that she wished
to return home,” she la-
mented.
Chirag Shah, relative
of the deceased father-
son duo Navneet Shah
and Narendra Shah,
cried foul over the lack
of adequate fire safety
measures at the hospi-
tal. “We have lost our
loved ones because of
the hospital’s negli-
gence, after paying Rs11
lakh for the treatment
of our relatives,” he
stated.
After learning of Jyo-
ti Sindhi’s demise in the
fire, her family mem-
bers rushed to the hospi-
tal. “Two days ago, Jyo-
ti’s COVID-19 test had
come back negative and
shewasgoingtobeshift-
ed from the ICU to the
general ward. She even
spoke to the family on
Wednesday night. Eight
hours later, we learnt
she was dead. We want
her back!” cried Jyoti’s
sister-in-law.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Losing
a loved one is always
hard, more so if the
death is sudden and
unexpected, as in case
of a COVID-19 patient
in Vadodara recently.
However, doctors say
such sudden deaths
brought on by the
novel coronavirus
could be caused by si-
lent hypoxia—where
the body is deprived
of oxygen at the tis-
sue level—and fulmi-
nant myocarditis—a
sudden and severe
diffuse cardiac in-
flammation.
Gotri hospital’s nod-
al officers Dr. Shital
Mistry explained that
these two conditions
can cause sudden and
unexpected deaths, as
in the case of a patient
who had talked to rela-
tives just two days be-
fore his demise.
In the past 24 hours,
the state has tested
24,569 samples. There
are now 14,905 active
cases in Gujarat, with
82 patients on ventila-
tor support.
The highest number
of fresh cases, 238, were
again reported in Su-
rat; 184 in the city and
54 from rural areas.
Ahmedabad had 151,
Vadodara, 118, Rajkot,
90, Junagadh and
Bhavnagar, 44 each,
Mehsana, 34, Gandhi-
nagar, 32, Kutch, 27,
Kheda, 21, and Amreli
and Patan had 20 each.
Twenty-seven pa-
tients died on Thurs-
day: nine from Surat,
five each from
Ahmedabad and Ra-
jkot, three from Va-
dodara, two from
Kutch, and one each
from Jamnagar,
Mehsana and Valsad.
A medic at Ahmedabad’s designated Shrey Hospital, where eight
nCov patients were killed after a fire broke out on Thursday.
Grief-stricken relatives
gathered outside the hospital.
Our state
accounts
for 43% of
all start-ups
across the country.
The innovation by
start-ups has giv-
en birth to the
spirit of ‘Make in
India’, a dream
that is coming
true after more
than 70 years of
independence.
—CM Vijay Rupani
As many as 1,931 of the city’s 2,022 hospitals do not have fire safety NOCs, which are issued to institutions that have working safety equipment
... situation just
as abysmal in
Rajkot and Surat
First India Bureau
Rajkot/ Surat: In
Rajkot, officials say
just seven of the 19
designated COV-
ID-19 hospitals
have fire NOCs. All
seven of these are
privately run,
meaning the three
government-run fa-
cilities—the PDU
Super-Speciality
COVID-19 Hospital,
Samras Girls Hos-
tel and Rainbasera
COVID-care cen-
tres—are not certi-
fied by the fire de-
partment. Worse,
the government
hospital and Sam-
ras Girls Hostel
don’t even have ba-
sic equipment like
fire extinguishers.
As Rajkot Deputy
Municipal Commis-
sioner (health) B. G.
Prajapati told First
India, “The city has
19 designated COV-
ID-19 hospitals, of
which seven private
hospitals have
NOCs.”
In Surat, in the
wake of the Tak-
shashila fire last
year, the civic body
had had issued no-
tices to around 40
hospitals, asking
that they produce
fire NOCs within
seven days, failing
which the establish-
ments would be
sealed. Now, follow-
ing Thursday’s hos-
pital fire in
Ahmedabad, fire de-
partment officials
have begun to exam-
ine safety equipment
at the city’s 42 COV-
ID-19 designated hos-
pitals. They are also
carrying out rehears-
als on how to rescue
patients in case of
fire at a hospital.
By way of explana-
tion, an official in the
Rajkot Municipal
Corporation said,
“When a particular
hospital or facility is
designated for COV-
ID-19, the rapid re-
sponse team usually
just checks the medi-
cal facilities and
those pertaining to
patient management.
Fire norms are not a
priority and may be
looked at a later
stage.”
1,034 new cases and
27 fatalities bring tally
to 67,811 and death
toll to 2,584
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
—PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
RECENT CASES
THE DECEASED
The death of 8 COVID-19
patients who were on
ventilator support in
the ICU ward of Shrey
Hospital designated as a
COVID-19 hospital by the
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation is very
saddening. My heart
goes out to the families
of the deceased. Action
should be taken against
concerned municipal
officials and the
government should offer
Rs50 lakh to affected
families.
—ARJUN MODHWADIA,
Former GPCC president
The news of 8 people dying
in a fire at a COVID-19
hospital is very sad.
Those injured must be
administered treatment.
Such fire tragedies have
been occurring repeatedly
due to the mismanagement
and corruption of the Vijay
Rupani government and
the Ahmedabad Municpal
Corporation. People are dying
of COVID-19 but, they are
also unfortunately losing their
lives due to negligence of the
system.
—AMIT CHAVDA,
Gujarat Pradesh Congress
Committee President
The fire at the Ahmedabad hospital is extremely tragic. I hope that
God gives strength to the families of those who died in the fire. I
also pray that those who have been injured in the incident heal as
soon as possible.
—CR PATIL, BJP State Unit President
Expressing his condolences to the people who died in the fire
incident at Shrey Hospital in Ahmedabad, Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani extends an ex-gratia of Rs4 lakh to each of the families
of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. All those
injured in the incident will receive an amount of Rs50,000 each.
—CHIEF MINISTER’S OFFICE (CMO)
I express my deepest sympathies to those who lost their lives in
the tragic fire tragedy at Shrey Hospital. My condolences go out
to the bereaved families in this hour of grief. I pray that those
wounded recover soon.
—BIJAL PATEL, Ahmedabad Mayor
TWEETS

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 253 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 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020
In my heart I store up
your words, so I might not
sin against you.
—Psalms 119:11
Spiritual
SPEAK
ilton Rothmar,
an American
Army corporal
stationed in Ita-
ly, got the news
abouttheHiroshimabomb-
ing from the Armed Forces
newspaper Stars and
Stripes. He wrote: “The
headline said ‘Atomic
Bomb.’ To a person who
has been raised on stories
such as The Final War, this
was both a terror and a
hope. Man could use this to
destroy everything.”
But Rothmar couldn’t
suppress his excitement at
the prospect that atomic
energies might be put to
less destructive purposes:
“Goddam but it is thrilling
to hear the words ‘atomic
energy’ used on the radio
like they were talking
about the latest model car.
I feel like shouting to eve-
rybody ‘I told you so!’”
His reaction, written
down the very day he
heard the news, might
seem oddly prescient: how
did he so quickly under-
stand all the implications
and possibilities of what
was supposed to be a top-
secret weapon?
The answer is that he
had been thinking about
them for years – and so
had many other Ameri-
cans. The sudden appear-
ance of a real atomic
bomb was shocking, but
its nature – and the impli-
cations of its use – had
been talked about for dec-
ades. People grappling
with the news of Hiroshi-
ma did so less by learning
new information than by
remembering things they
had long known.
FASCINATED BY
RADIOACTIVITY
American newspapers
were blaring headlines
about Hiroshima within
hours of the attack. They
were based on an an-
nouncement from Presi-
dent Truman that began by
describing the astonishing
magnitude of the explosion
– 2,000 times bigger than
anything that had gone be-
fore – before explaining
that this was possible be-
cause the bomb in question
“is an atomic bomb. It is a
harnessing of the basic
power of the universe.”
The surprisingly effec-
tive secrecy surrounding
the Manhattan Project
meant that few were ex-
pecting an atomic bomb to
appear during the current
war. Many who helped
make “Little Boy” – the
bomb dropped on Hiroshi-
ma – possibly never knew
what they were working
on. But what Truman
meant by “atomic bomb”
was common knowledge.
Long before August 6
1945, the public had a clear
(andsurprisinglyaccurate)
idea of the kind of destruc-
tion that a bomb based on
the liberation of nuclear
energies would be capable
of. So many writers ex-
plored the idea that the
early 20th century is some-
times called the “Radium
Age” of science fiction.
Prominent scientists wrote
popular books on how to
experiment with radioac-
tive substances at home. It
was a concept as widely
known as the Star Trek
warp drive might be today.
The result was an in-
tense public fascination
with nuclear energies.
Crowdsthrongedmuseums
to get a glimpse of a speck
of radium, thrilled by what
newspapers said was a fan-
tastically powerful sub-
stance that “leaked”
through radioactivity only
a tiny fraction of the ener-
gy it stored. The great ques-
tion of the age was whether
scientists could find a way
to tap that remaining en-
ergy, and – if they did –
whether they could control
it. Opinions varied.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM
Even before Hiroshima, people knew atomic bomb
M
Top
TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Health and well-being of our
citizens is a top-most priority
of the #ModiGovt. I am sure
this timely assistance and our
united efforts will soon bear
fruitful results for the country.
P. Chidambaram
@PChidambaram_IN
We must all raise our collective
voice and demand that Ms
Mehbooba Mufti be released
forthwith and all those placed
under house arrest be allowed
the freedom they are entitled
to under the Constitution.
here are two very striking
reasons that compel me to
discuss several features and
recommendations of the re-
cently announced National
Education Policy, or NEP
2020, by the Narendra Modi
government. While one of
them is a personal success
story, the other is an academ-
ic puzzle in the form of agen-
cies like UGC that have for
long been the bane of Indian
universities. Let’s start with
the latter one.
As I understand, nearly all
the features of the NEP 2020
in the context of higher edu-
cation could have easily been
introduced by any central
university without a push
from the government. These
universities have had all the
powers and regulatory band-
widthtoimplementthepolicy
recommendations as suggest-
ed under the NEP ‘umbrella’.
In such a scenario, it’s
worth examining why this
did not happen and what it
portends for India’s educa-
tion system.
THE FAILURE OF UGC
There are two compelling
factors why Indian universi-
ties couldn’t do what a na-
tional policy is now trying to
achieve. The first is the dark
shadow cast by agencies such
as the University Grants
Commission (UGC), which
deter any experimentation.
Over the years, the UGC
has acquired all kinds of
strange and counterproduc-
tive powers that often run
against the grain of the Acts
and Statutes of a university.
These actions hamper free
thinking in universities, and
there is micromanagement
to the extreme. We need not
look any further than the is-
sue of how universities will
handle examinations during
the ongoing coronavirus
pandemic. If our universi-
ties do not have the requisite
wisdom and wherewithal to
deal with such straightfor-
ward situations, how will
they impart any useful
knowledge to their students?
The matter has gone to the
ridiculous length of being
taken up by the Supreme
Court of India.
Contrast this with the
ways adopted by the highly
regarded universities of the
West, which have often been
cited in the debates engen-
dered by the NEP. All promi-
nent universities have taken
decisions within the con-
fines of their own realm and
environment. So why have
Indian universities not been
able to do so?
Of course, the NEP 2020
has warranted the creation
of an overarching and soli-
tary agency — the National
Higher Education Regulato-
ryCouncil(NHERC)—which
carries the spirit with which
the UGC was initially creat-
ed. But it also carries much
more in terms of its ambit as
the new regulatory body. If it
stays the way it has been en-
visioned, a lot of good will
flow through the actions of
the agency. If it falters the
way the UGC has over the
past decades, the NHERC can
cause enormous damage.
Thus, it is incumbent on the
government of the day to en-
sure that institutions do not
degenerate over time. How-
ever, in the current context,
it shall be unfair to lay the
sole blame for the sorry state
of affairs on the doorstep of
the UGC.
THE FAILURE OF
UNIVERSITIES
A great deal of responsibility
also lies with India’s univer-
sities and with those who
head them. I have repeatedly
underscored the need to put
in place processes and meas-
ures that ensure the selection
of only high-quality leader-
ship for our universities. If
we do not do this, then no
amount of policy making
will get us anywhere.
In any case, with policies,
there are other dangers as
well. Sometimes, a policy can
create many pitfalls such as
a ‘one size fits all’ prescrip-
tion. They can also bind us to
a path that may need to be
changed or corrected in the
light of new learning.
None of the much vaunted
institutions of learning —
such as Harvard University,
Stanford University and the
Imperial College of Science,
Technology and Medicine —
have gotten where they have
riding on the back of a cen-
trally crafted policy. In fact,
Harvard University began to
acquireitshallowedauraonly
when the local government —
in1870—relinquishedcontrol
of the now famed university.
A PERSONAL
ACHIEVEMENT
The thing about good policies
is that formulating them is
like winning half the battle
— the only thing left for the
complete victory is to imple-
ment them. This brings me to
the first — personal — reason
why I am also delighted at,
and therefore welcome, the
Modi government’s NEP 2020.
As it so happens, most of
the features that pertain to
higher education in the NEP
areanearverbatimreproduc-
tion of the essential features
of the four-year undergradu-
ate programme (FYUP) envi-
sioned and implemented at
the University of Delhi when
I was its Vice Chancellor. I am
thus quite enthused by the
recommendationsof theNEP.
I say this with much con-
viction because if imple-
mented in the right manner,
they should help bring about
significant all-round im-
provement. The results and
feedback from the time we
ran the FYUP have strength-
ened our belief on its value
and strength. Unfortunately,
after an excellent run for a
year, the FYUP was rolled
back under a UGC directive
that carried no justification.
However, and propitiously,
what has gone largely unno-
ticed is the fact that we ran in
parallel,andwithoutinterrup-
tion, an even more strength-
ened version of the FYUP at
the Cluster Innovation Centre
(CIC). That programme runs
to this day. The CIC was creat-
ed during my time as the Vice
Chancellorunderveryairtight
conditions, and it remained
impervious to the assaults of
the UGC.
CIC, A SUCCESS STORY
The first bunch of graduating
students have now spread
their wings far and wide.
They are not just employed at
top corporate institutions
such as Google but have also
succeeded as entrepreneurs.
There is much evidence from
recent times. A United States
and Delhi-based startup, De-
lightree, founded by two of
our CIC graduates who sowed
its seeds while still studying
with us and who completed
the four-year UG programme
at the CIC, has raised $3 mil-
lion from Accel and some
other venture firms in the US.
Another very thriving
startup is TNine Infotech —
named after the classroom
where it was conceived at the
CIC. Equally heartening is
the highly innovative startup,
Precisely, which is being run
successfully by the current
students of the CIC in coop-
eration with some of its for-
merstudents.Thequalityand
amount of research papers
produced by the undergradu-
ate students has been very
impressive. For instance, a
number of currently enrolled
students at the CIC have pro-
duced a mathematical model
of the manner in which they
expected the coronavirus to
spread in India. Their model
has so far predicted with
more than 95 per cent accu-
racy the spread of the corona-
virus in the country.
WORD OF ADVICE
If implemented properly, we
should expect nothing but
good outcomes from the rec-
ommendations in NEP 2020
that pertain to higher educa-
tion. However, a word of cau-
tion is in order. Not ensuring
the spirit of the NEP vision
can also cause a lot of harm.
One of the most important of
these dangers relates to the
training and orientation of
the teaching faculty.
The teaching staff in Indi-
an universities have largely
been schooled in the tradi-
tional manner and do not
grasp the meaning and im-
portance of trans-discipli-
naryeducation,project-based
learning, and how knowledge
can be linked to entrepre-
neurial activity. The NEP rec-
ommends establishing a Na-
tionalProfessionalStandards
for Teachers by 2022 and their
education, as reported by
Hindustan Times, “will be
gradually moved into multi-
disciplinary colleges and uni-
versities by 2030”.
Clearly, the NEP has all the
ingredients of transforming
India’s education system but
implementation is the key.
And therein lies the danger..
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
INDIAN UNIVERSITIES DIDN’T NEED NEP TO
CHANGE THINGS, BUT FEARED UGC TOO MUCH
T
If implemented
properly, we
should expect
nothing but good
outcomes from the
recommendations
in NEP 2020 that
pertain to higher
education.
However, a word
of caution is in
order. Not
ensuring the spirit
of the NEP vision
can also cause a
lot of harm. One of
the most
important of these
dangers relates to
the training and
orientation of the
teaching faculty
TEACHING STAFF IN INDIAN UNIVERSITIES HAVE
BEEN SCHOOLED IN TRADITIONAL MANNER AND
DO NOT GRASP MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF
TRANS-DISCIPLINARY EDUCATION, PROJECT-
BASED LEARNING, AND HOW KNOWLEDGE CAN
BE LINKED TO ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY
DINESH
SINGH
Former Vice Chancellor,
University of Delhi

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020
New Delhi: DelhiChief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal on Thursday visit-
ed the 12-year-old girl at
AIIMS on Thursday,
two days after she was
allegedly sexually as-
saulted and attacked in
the national capital’s
Paschim Vihar area.
Kejriwal told report-
ers that the government
will make sure that
those found guilty will
get strict punishment.
“I have spoken to the
Police Commissioner.
The police are trying to
nab the accused. The
govt will ensure strict
punishment for the ac-
cused. The govt will
provide Rs 10 lakh to
her family members,”
he told reporters.
Kejriwal said, “The
condition of the girl is
very serious and she
has grave injuries.
She is unconscious.
She was admitted in a
very bad condition
and is very critical. It
will be observed in the
next 24 to 48 hours
whether she comes out
of danger. Hope she
recovers soon.”
Earlier, expressing
his shock over the inci-
dent, the CM said, “The
news of a violent crime
with a 12-year-old girl
has shaken the soul
from inside. Criminals
should not be allowed to
roam around freely. I
am going to AIIMS in a
while to know the con-
dition of the victim.”
Meanwhile, Congress
workers staged a pro-
test at AIIMS against
the Delhi Govt over
crime against women in
the national capital.
Delhi Police had reg-
istered a case under the
relevant sections after
it came to light. —ANI
Kejri visits minor sexual assault victim
New Delhi: Seeking to
keep a closer eye on the
activities of the Chi-
nese military both near
the Indian territory as
well as in its depth are-
as all along the 4,000
kilometre Line of Ac-
tual Control (LAC), the
Indian security agen-
cies feel there is a re-
quirement of four to six
dedicated satellites
which can help them
keep a check on the ad-
versary's moves. The
need has been felt after
the Chinese Army in
the garb of an exercise
in the Xinjiang region
on its side of the LAC
mobilised more than
40,000 troops along with
heavy weaponry and ar-
tillery and started rush-
ing them towards Indi-
an territory and trans-
gressed into Indian ter-
ritory at multiple loca-
tions surprising the In-
dian formations located
in Leh including the 14
Corps headquarters.
"To improve the cov-
erage of the activities
of the Chinese troops
and forces in both near
Indian territory and in
their depth areas, there
is a need for four to six
dedicated satellites
with very high-resolu-
tion sensors and cam-
eras giving ability to
keep a close watch even
on the movement of
small objects and indi-
viduals," defence sourc-
es told ANI.
The capability and
assets would also help
the country to reduce
dependence on foreign
associates to keep a
watch on Chinese and
other adversaries, they
said.
The Indian Armed
Forces already have a
few military satellites
which are used for keep-
ing a close watch on the
adversaries but there is
a need to further
strengthen that capabil-
ity, the sources said.
At the moment, Chi-
nese troops have trans-
ritory in Finger area
along the Panging Tso
lake where they are re-
fusing to disengage
completely and want to
create an observation
post at Finger-5. In Go-
gra area also, they are
maintaining some ele-
ments.
Because of the lack
of clarity about the Chi-
nese activities, the In-
dian side took time to
build up its numbers in
Ladakh and additional
forces had to be pumped
in from adjoining areas
and reserve formations
were also moved there.
The Chinese have
created a similar build
up all along the LAC op-
posite Himachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Sikkim and Arunachal
Pradesh but the Chi-
nese troops there are in
depth areas. In the
Ladakh sector, the De-
fence Ministry has now
admitted that the Chi-
nese troops have trans-
ritory at multiple loca-
tions.
The Chinese had
started the conflict with
India on May 5, when
they marched into the
Galwan valley in very
high numbers and tried
to change the status quo
on the LAC but the In-
dian forces managed to
handle the situation
well. —ANI
New Delhi: After the
Defence Ministry's ac-
knowledgement of Chi-
nese troops transgres-
sions into the Indian
territory in different
parts of Eastern
Ladakh, Congress lead-
er Rahul Gandhi asked
why the PM was lying
over the issue.
"Why is the PM ly-
ing?" a tweet by the
Wayanad MP, which
also had an English
newspaper's article
over Defence Ministry's
acknowledgement em-
bedded, read. Gandhi
has time & again raised
the issue, especially
since Galwan valley
clash which led to 20 In-
dian Army personnel
losing their lives in a
violent face-off with
Chinese troops. Defence
Ministry acknowledged
Chinese transgressions
in Indian territory in
different parts of East-
ern Ladakh —ANI
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Thursday remembered
former Union Minister
Sushma Swaraj on her
first death anniversary.
Sushma Swaraj, who
was External Affairs
Minister in the first
Modi cabinet, had
passed away after a pro-
longed illness on Au-
gust 6, last year.
Sharing the video of
his speech at a prayer
meet in her memory,
PM Modi said that Su-
shma Swaraj served In-
dia selflessly and was
an articulate voice for
India at the world stage.
“Sushma Swaraj was
a multifaceted person-
ality and we, Karyakar-
tas of the BJP have seen
very closely what a
great personality she
was,” the PM had said
in 2019 speech.
‘Why is the PM lying?’
asks Rahul Gandhi
PM shares his speech
from 2019 prayer meet
REMEMBERING SUSHMA SWARAJ
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directo-
rateis conducting
searches at 17 loca-
tions in Punjab, Delhi
and Jammu and Kash-
mir, including inthe
premises of former
J&K Finance Minis-
ter and senior NC
leader Abdul Rahim
Rather's son Hilal
Ahmed Rather.
The searches are in
connection with its
probe into the Rs 177
crore J&K Bank loan
fraud case, a top ED of-
ficial said.
ED has registered a
case of money laun-
dering on the basis of
a CBI FIR and a charge
sheet. The CBI had
registered the case on
March 4. Rather was
arrested by the anti-
corruption branch of
the J&K Police on Jan-
uary 16. —ANI
ED raids 17 places in Rs 177 cr J&K Bank loan fraud case
New Delhi: Former
Union minister Manoj
Sinha has been appoint-
ed as Jammu and Kash-
mir Lt Governor, a day
after GC Murmu
abruptly resigned. A
Rashtrapati Bhawan
communique on Thurs-
day morning said the
outgoing lieutenant
governor's resignation
has been accepted.
Murmu resigned on
Wednesday night, ex-
actly one year after the
state of Jammu and
Kashmir was down-
graded and sliced into
two Union territories,
the other one being
Ladakh. Sinha was a
minister in Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi's
government between
2014 and 2019 and has
handled key ministries
like Telecom. He was
BHU student union
president leader and
has won Lok Sabha
elections twice from
Ghazipur in eastern UP.
He, however, lost the
2019 polls.Union minis-
ter Jitendra Singh,
meanwhile, praised
Sinha and said he car-
ries with him "a rich
combination of both
political as well as ad-
ministrative experi-
ence.” Environment
minister Prakash Ja-
vadekar also congratu-
lated Sinha. —Agencies
Ex-Union Minister Manoj Sinha
appointed new J&K Lt Governor
New Delhi: It is impor-
tant that Japan and In-
dia expand their trade
and business relation-
ships and the current
partnership will ex-
pand through the pro-
posed India-Japan In-
dustrial Competitive-
ness Partnership, said
Piyush Goyal, Union
Minister of Commerce
and Industry.
"Japan is one of our
most trusted trading
partners, fourth-largest
contributor of FDI (for-
eign direct investment).
The current partner-
ship will expand
through proposed In-
dia-Japan Industrial
Competitiveness Part-
nership, which was dis-
cussed during the meet-
ing with Japan Minis-
ter Hiroshi San," said
Goyal while addressing
the Digital Edition of
Make in India, Japan
Roadshow 3.0.
"It is important Ja-
pan and India expand
our trade and business
relationships. Together,
I have the confidence
that we will come out
successful in all mat-
ters," he added.
Goyal said as India is
opening up for busi-
ness, both the Centre
and states are making
strong policy decisions
to help investors take
advantage of growth
opportunities. —ANI
INDIAN SECURITY AGENCIES SEEK SATELLITES FOR
KEEPING CLOSE EYE ON CHINESE MILITARY MOVES
A banner erected by the Indian Army near Pangong Tso lake near the India China border in Ladakh.
New Delhi: China in-
truded into Indian
territory in eastern
Ladakh in early May,
the Defence Ministry
acknowledged in a
document showing on
the news section of its
website since Tues-
day. Two days after it
was put up on the
Ministry of Defence
website, the page is
missing.
"Chinese aggres-
sion has been increas-
ing along the Line of
Actual Control (LAC)
and more particularly
in Galwan valley
since May 5, 2020. The
Chinese side has
transgressed in the
areas of Kungrang
Nala, Gogra and
north bank of Pan-
gong Tso Lake on May
17-18," the ministry
said in the document
under the title "Chi-
nese Aggression on
LAC", in the "What's
New" section on its
website.
The document said
ground level interac-
tions were held be-
tween the armed forc-
es of both sides to de-
fuse the situation. A
Corps commanders'
flag meeting was held
on June 6. "However, a
violent face-off inci-
dent took place be-
tween the two sides on
June 15, resulting in
casualties on both
sides."
Subsequently, said
the document, a sec-
ondcorpscommander
level meeting took
place on June 22 to
discuss the modalities
of de-escalation.
"While engagement
and dialogue at mili-
tary and diplomatic
level is continuing to
arrive at mutually ac-
ceptable consensus,
the present standoff
is likely to be pro-
longed," the ministry
said. —ANI
Document admitting Chinese intrusions
vanishes from Defence Ministry site
Washington/New Delhi:
The government warned
China against attempts
to interfere in India’s
internal affairs after
Beijing unsuccessfully
initiated a discussion in
the UN Security Council
on J&K. In a statement
issued by MEA, the gov-
ernment said that this
was not the first time
that China has sought
to raise a subject that is
solely an internal matter
of India. “As on previ-
ous such occasions,
this attempt too met
with little support from
the international com-
munity. We firmly reject
China’s interference in
our internal affairs and
urge it to draw proper
conclusions from such
unfructuous attempts.”
“The US will remain
steadfast in support of
India’s efforts to defend
its sovereignty and ter-
ritorial integrity,” the let-
ter addressed to EAM,
S Jaishankar said.
BACKED BY US, INDIA WARNS CHINA OVER KASHMIR INTERFERENCE
Priyank Gandhi Vadra
@priyankagandhi
Saifuddin Soj Sahab
has played a big role
in strengthening the
Indian democracy.
By treating him
like a prisoner, the
BJP government is
crushing democracy.
For the past one year
there is tyranny in
J-K. I want to remind
the government that
India is democractic
republic,” Vadra’s tweet,
which has also had a
picture of Soz standing
inside the boundary of
his house with barbed
wire fences on them.
‘NO COUNTRY CAN
RUN ON HATRED’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Sushma Swaraj. —File Photo
NARENDRA MODI
@narendramodi
Remembering Sushma
Ji on her first Punya
Tithi. Her untimely and
unfortunate demise left
many saddened. She
served India selflessly
and was an articulate
voice for India at the
world stage.
AMIT SHAH
@AmitShah
Tributes to Sushma
Swaraj ji on her punyatithi.
Sushma ji was a towering
figure of Indian polity, an
outstanding parliamentar-
ian and a brilliant orator
who dedicated her entire
life in the service of the
nation. Her ideals will
continue to inspire the
generations to come.
It's important Japan, India expand
our trade, business relations: Goyal
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: The SC
adjourned to Au-
gust 20 hearing on a
plea filed by fugi-
tive businessman
Vijay Mallya seek-
ing a review of its
May 2017 order
holding him guilty
of contempt for
transferring USD 40
million to his chil-
dren in violation of
the court's order.
A bench of Jus-
tice UU Lalit and
Justice Ashok
Bhushan adjourned
the matter for Au-
gust 20. —ANI
SC adjourns Vijay Mallya’s plea
seeking review of 2017 order
VICTIM IS CRITICAL, SAYS DELHI CM
Police are try-
ing to nab the
accused. The
govt will ensure strict
punishment for the ac-
cused. Govt will pro-
vide Rs 10 lakh to her
family members.
—Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM
Japan is one of our most trusted trad-
ing partners, fourth-largest contribu-
tor of FDI. The current partnership
will expand through proposed India-Japan
Industrial Competitiveness Partnership,
which was discussed during the meeting with
Japan Minister Hiroshi San.
—Piyush Goel, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry

New Delhi: After get-
ting the notification
from the Government
of India, the Central
Bureau of Investiga-
tion (CBI) on Thurs-
day registered case
against Rhea
Chakraborty and 5
others.
The investigating
agency booked 6 ac-
cused and others in
sections including
criminal conspiracy,
abetment of suicide,
wrongful restrain,
wrongful confine-
ment, theft, criminal
breach of trust, cheat-
ing and criminal in-
timidation. CBI said it
is also in touch with
Bihar Police. “A case
is, therefore, regis-
tered under section
341, 342, 380, 406, 420,
306, 506, 120B IPC
against (I) Rhea
Chakraborty and her
family members (2)
Sh. Indrajit
Chakraborty (3) Sand-
hya Chakraborty, (4)
Showik Chakraborty,
(5) Samuel Miranda,
(6) Shruti Modi & oth-
ers and entrusted to
Anil Kumar Yadav, Ad-
ditional SP, CBI, AC-
VI, SIT, New Delhi for
investigation,” read
from content from FIR
by CBI. In S C, Solici-
tor General Tushar
Mehta, appearing for
the central govt, sub-
mitted before a single-
judge bench of Justice
Hrishikesh Roy that
the Centre has accept-
ed the Bihar govern-
ment’s request recom-
mending a CBI in-
quiry into the Sushant
death case. —ANI
Bihar police submits report to IG
Patna: A team of four
officers of Bihar Po-
lice probing the Sush-
ant Singh Rajput
death case in Mum-
bai, have reached In-
spector General Cen-
tral office to submit a
report on the case on
Thursday. These po-
lice officers have re-
turned to the state
from Mumbai earlier
onThursdaywhilethe
Patna(Central)Super-
intendent of Police
(SP)VinayTiwaristill
continues to be quar-
antined in Mumbai.
The officers refrained
from speaking about
the findings of the
case. One of the police
officers, on arrival at
theBiharairport,said
that BMC never called
to support us but have
receivedgreatsupport
from their seniors.
“Nowwhenthecaseis
with CBI, things
would be confidential,
we will be sharing our
findings with them,”
the other police offic-
er added. —ANI
INDIAAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020
No final...
It had also ordered to
publish these notices in
the local papers of
Barmer and Jaisalmer
districts.
Disposing of a peti-
tion filed by Bahujan
Samaj Party, which was
represented by advo-
cates Satish Mishra,
Satpal Jain, Dinesh
Garg and Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party MLA Madan
Dilawar, represented by
senior advocate Harish
Salve and advocate Ash-
ish Sharma, the divi-
sion bench said that
notice, issued earlier by
a single judge bench of
Justice Mahendra Goy-
al, should be delivered
to all six former BSP
MLAs, by August 8.
Notably, during
Thursday’s hearing, the
Assembly Speaker was
represented by Kapil
Sibbal and Salman
Khurshid and Prateek
Kasliwal. It means that
the single bench may
not be able to take a final
call on the issue of stay-
ing their voting rights
on 11th August, a date
which has been final-
ised by the CJ led bench.
The next two days 12-
13 August are holidays
and the topic itself ends
here. Now, there are two
possibilities ie all BSP
MLAs are allowed to
vote in the session and
Gehlot emerges as a
clear winner and the
second chance may be
that any judicial au-
thority, may be High
Court or Supreme
Court, advises the as-
sembly speaker to post-
pone the date of the
session by a week or so,
so that a final call on the
voting issue could be
taken by the HC or SC
during this period.
So there is a mixed
feeling in both Gehlot
and Pilot camps and no
one really knows which
way the situation will
take a turn. But one this
is certain, that the issue
of voting rights of BSP
MLAs will be a major
deciding factor in the
likely victory of Gehlot
government in the as-
sembly. However, apart
from a keen and curious
Pilot camp, the top lead-
ership of Congress and
BJP in New Delhi, are
keeping their fingers
crossed on the semifinal
outcomeon11thAugust.
8 killed...
and three female pa-
tients. The fire was like-
ly caused by a short-cir-
cuit and a spark blazed
the entire ICU unit in a
couple of minutes.”
Several officials in-
cluding the Additional
Chief Secretary (ACS)
Rajiv Kumar Gupta,
State Principal Secre-
tary (health) Jayanti
Ravi, Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Commissioner
Mukesh Kumar visited
the hospital early on
Thursday morning. Af-
ter the police conducted
a primary inspection of
the fire site, officials of
the Forensic Science
Laboratory(FSL)collect-
ed relevant samples and
the hospital was sealed.
Addressing the me-
dia, Ahmedabad
COVID-19 nodal officer
Rajiv Kumar Gupta,
said, “Eight patients
have unfortunately lost
their lives in the fire
that started at 3.30 am
in Shrey Hospital.
Chief Minister Rupani
has ordered an inquiry
into the incident, to be
led by additional chief
secretaries of the state
home department and
the urban development
department.”
Meanwhile, the Chief
Minister’s Office (CMO)
said that the probe will
be conducted by two In-
dian Administrative
Service (IAS) officers –
Additional Chief Secre-
tary (ACS) of the State
Home Department San-
geeta Singh and the ACS
in the Urban Develop-
ment Department
Mukesh Puri. Both offi-
cials have been asked to
submit a report within
three days. They held a
meetingwithofficialsof
local civic body AMC at
the Riverfront office in
the presence of Chief
Fire Officer Mehrnosh
Dastoor. After conclud-
ing the meeting, the two
senior bureaucrats then
visited Shrey Hospital
on Thursday afternoon.
RBI keeps...
“The MPC voted unani-
mously to leave the pol-
icy repo rate unchanged
at 4 per cent and contin-
ue with the accommo-
dative stance of mone-
tary policy as long as
necessary to revive
growth, mitigate the
impact of COVID-19
while ensuring that in-
flation remains within
the target going for-
ward,” said RBI Gover-
nor Shaktikanta Das.
The headline infla-
tion has breached the 6
per cent level, beyond
the comfort level of the
central bank. The RBI
is tasked with keeping
inflation at 4 per cent in
the medium-term with
a 2 percentage point lee-
way on either side.
On the economic
growth, Das said India’s
real gross domestic
product (GDP) will con-
tract in the first half of
FY21 as well as full fi-
nancial year. He did not
put any number to it.
FROM PG 1
Centre releases Rs 890. 32 Cr COVID-19 package to 22 States & UTs for Emergency Response & Health System
GOVTSTRENGTHENINGCOVID19TESTINGSNew Delhi: The Cen-
tral Government on
Thursday released Rs
890.32 crores as the
second installment of
the COVID-19 Emer-
gency Response and
Health System Prepar-
edness Package to 22
States and Union Ter-
ritories (UTs).
“As part of this pack-
age, States/UTs have
been strengthened with
5,80,342 isolation beds,
1,36,068 oxygen support-
ed beds and 31,255 ICU
beds. Also, 86,88,357
testingkitsand79,88,366
Vial Transport Media
(VTM) have been pro-
cured by them. As many
as 96,557 human re-
sources have been add-
ed in the States/UTs
and incentive has been
given to 6,65,799 human
resource. The package
has aided provision of
mobility support to
11,821 staff,” the health
ministry said.
The first instalment
of Rs 3,000 crores was
released in April 2020 to
all States/UTs to ramp
up testing facilities,
conduct activities with
procurement of essen-
tial supplies. —ANI
New Delhi: The recov-
ery rate has reached a
record high of 67.62 per
cent amongst COVID-19
patients and the Case
Fatality Rate (CFR)
stands at 2.07 per cent ,
said Union Health Min-
istry on Thursday.
“The total recoveries
of COVID-19 patients
have jumped to 13,28,336
with 46,121 COVID-19
patients being dis-
charged in the last 24
hours,” Ministry said
in a statement.
The actual the active
cases of the country is
5,95,501 is 30.31 per cent
of the total positive cas-
es. The active cases
have seen a significant
drop from to 30.31 per
cent . The count in-
cludes 5,95,501 active
cases and 13,28,337
cured patients. —ANI
India ramps up testing labs,
access anywhere within 3 hrs
New Delhi: India has
ramped up its COVID-19
testing facility from one
lab in January this year
to 1,370 labs today and
citizens anywhere can
access a lab within
three hours of travel
time, Union Health
Minister Harsh Vard-
han has said.
Addressing a virtual
meeting of regional di-
rectors of WHO, South-
East Asia on Thursday,
the minister said that
India’s proactive and
graded multi-level insti-
tutional response to
COVID-19 made it pos-
sible to have very low
cases and deaths per
million. The minister
said the daily handling
capacity of COVID-19
cases in hospitals has
increased to almost 35
times. —ANI
Plasma therapy
trial did not show
clinical benefits
New Delhi: The trial
conducted by AIIMS for
convalescent plasma
therapy on COVID-19
patients did not show
much clinical benefit in
reducing fatality risk
caused due to the virus.
“These are initial
analyses. There were
two groups of 15 pa-
tients each on whom a
randomised control tri-
al was done to know the
effectiveness of plasma
therapy. One group re-
ceived standard treat-
ment protocol while the
other group received
convalescent plasma
therapy along with
standard treatment. It
was noted that mortali-
ty was similar with no
much clinical benefits,”
Dr Randeep Guleria, Di-
rector AIIMS. —ANI
Recovery rate reaches a
record high of 67.62% New Delhi: Amit
Shah’s health is con-
stantly improving, in-
formed sources from
Medanta Hospital. He
was admitted to the
hospital after testing
positive for COVID-19
and is undergoing
treatment.Besides,
congratulatory mes-
sages have been pour-
ing in to him for the
Bhumi Pujan ceremo-
ny of the Ram Temple.
A team of doctors too
extended their greet-
ings to Shah on the
occasion. Although,
hecouldn’tbeapartof
the historic moment,
he witnessed the pro-
gramme on television.
Kolkata: Veteran
CPM leader Shyamal
Chakraborty passed
away on Thursday.
76-year-old had tested
corona positive and
was admitted to a pri-
vate hospital.
West Bengal CM
Mamata Banerjee
condoled the death of
veteran leader. “Sad-
dened at the passing
away of the veteran
leader, former Mem-
ber of Parliament and
former Bengal minis-
ter Shyamal
Chakraborty. My con-
dolences to his family,
friends and support-
ers,” Banerjee said in
a statement. —ANI
HOME MIN SHAH RECOVERING
WELL, SAY HOSPITAL SOURCES
CPM LEADER SHYAMAL
CHAKRABORTY DIES OF CORONA
16NDRFteamspre-positionedin
Maharashtra,PMassuressupport
Mumbai: Due to the
evolving situation of
incessant rains, 16
teams of National Dis-
aster Response Force
(NDRF) have been pre-
positioned in Maha-
rashtra, said the NDRF.
“Five teams in Mum-
bai, four teams in Kol-
hapur, two teams in
Sangli, and one team
each in Satara, Thane,
Palghar, Nagpur,
Raigad,” said NDRF.
Meanwhile, different
parts of Maharashtra
are facing severe water-
logging and flood-like
situation following in-
cessant rainfall.
The India Meteoro-
logical Department
(IMD) has predicted
“generally cloudy sky
with Heavy rain” in
Thane on Thursday.
Vipin Sharma, Thane
Municipal Corporation
said, “Thane Municipal
Corporation area has
been receiving very
heavy rainfall since the
pastthreedays,received
149 mm rainfall on Au-
gust 5. We are alert. As-
sistant and Deputy
Commissioners, the fire
brigade are on the field.
I appeal to residents to
not step out of houses
unnecessarily.”
IMD has also predict-
ed intense rainfall over
Mumbai over the next
three hours. Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Wednesday as-
sured all support to
Maharashtra Chief
Minister Uddhav
Thackeray regarding
the situation in Mum-
bai and surrounding
areas due to heavy
rainfall. —ANI
BIHAR FLOODS: NDRF & SDRF
DEPLOYED AS TOLL REACHES 19
Patna:Over30teams,
including those of
the National Disaster
Response Force
(NDRF) and SDRF
have been deployed to
tackle the floods
which have affected
multiple districts in
Bihar, according to
the Disaster Manage-
ment department of
thestategovernment.
According to the data
released by the de-
partment on Wednes-
day, 16 districts in the
state have been af-
fected by the rising
waters. This has re-
sulted in the loss of 19
human lives and af-
fected a combined
population of
66,60,655. A total of
12,202 people have
been shifted to relief
camps. —Agency
SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT DEATH
CBI registers case against Rhea
Chakraborty and five others
A health worker collects swab sample from a child at Ajmeri Gate in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY PTI
A tree falls on a car due to strong winds & heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020
strology is a meme,
and it’s spreading in
that blooming, unfurl-
ing way that memes do.
On social media, as-
trologers and astrology
meme machines amass
tens or hundreds of
thousands of followers, people joke
about Mercury retrograde, and cat-
egorize “the signs as ...” literally
anything: cat breeds, Oscar Wilde
quotes, Stranger Things characters,
types of french fries. In online pub-
lications, daily, weekly, and monthly
horoscopes, and zodiac-themed listi-
cles flourish.
This isn’t the first moment astrol-
ogy’s had and it won’t be the last.
The practice has been around in
various forms for thousands of
years. More recently, the New Age
movement of the 1960s and ’70s came
with a heaping helping of the zodiac.
In the decades between the New
Age boom and now, while astrology
certainly didn’t go away—you could
still regularly find horoscopes in the
back pages of magazines—it “went
back to being a little bit more in the
background,” says Chani Nicholas,
an astrologer based in Los Angeles.
“Then there’s something that’s hap-
pened in the last five years that’s
given it an edginess, a relevance for
this time and place, that it hasn’t
had for a good 35 years. Millennials
have taken it and run with it.”
Many people I spoke to for this
piece said they had a sense that the
stigma attached to astrology, while it
still exists, had receded as the prac-
tice has grabbed a foothold in online
culture, especially for young people.
In some ways, astrology is perfect-
ly suited for the internet age. There’s
alowbarriertoentry,andnearlyend-
less depths to plumb if you feel like
falling down a Google research hole.
The availability of more in-depth in-
formation online has given this cul-
turalwaveof astrologyacertaineru-
dition—more jokes about Saturn re-
turns, fewer “Hey baby, what’s your
sign?” pickup lines.
A QUICK PRIMER
Astrology is not a science; there’s no
evidence that one’s zodiac sign actu-
ally correlates to personality. But
the system has its own sort of logic.
Astrology ascribes meaning to the
placement of the sun, the moon, and
the planets within 12 sections of the
sky—the signs of the zodiac. You
likely know your sun sign, the most
famous zodiac sign, even if you’re
not an astrology buff. It’s based on
where the sun was on your birthday.
But the placement of the moon and
each of the other planets at the time
and location of your birth adds ad-
ditional shades to the picture of you
painted by your “birth chart.”
What horoscopes are supposed to
do is give you information about
what the planets are doing right
now, and in the future, and how all
that affects each sign. “Think of the
planets as a cocktail party,” explains
Susan Miller, the popular astrologer
who founded the Astrology Zone
website. “You might have
three people talking to-
gether, two may be over
in the corner arguing,
Venus and Mars may
A
ASTROLOGY
ASTROLOGY
ASTROLOGY
THENEWAGEOF
be kissing each other. I have to make
sense of those conversations that
are happening each month for you.”
Astrology expresses complex
ideas about personality, life cycles,
and relationship patterns through
the shorthand of the planets and
zodiac symbols. And that shorthand
works well online, where symbols
and shorthand are often baked into
communication.
ASTROLOGY AS
STRESS BUSTER?
People tend to turn to astrology in
times of stress. A small 1982 study by
the psychologist Graham Tyson
found that “people who consult as-
trologers” did so in response to
stressors in their lives—particularly
stress “linked to the individual’s so-
cial roles and to his or her relation-
ships,” Tyson wrote. “Under condi-
tions of high stress, the individual is
preparedtouseastrologyasacoping
device even though under low-stress
conditions he does not believe in it.”
According to American Psycho-
logical Association survey data,
since 2014, Millennials have been the
most stressed generation, and also
the generation most likely to say
their stress has increased in the past
year since 2010. Millennials and Gen
Xers have been significantly more
stressed than older generations
since 2012. If stress makes astrology
look shinier, it’s not surprising that
more seem to be drawn to it now.
Astrology offers those in crisis
the comfort of imagining a better
future, a tangible reminder of that
clichéd truism that is nonetheless
hard to remember when you’re in
the thick of it: This too shall pass.
A combination of stress and un-
certainty about the future is an ail-
ment for which astrology can seem
like the perfect balm.
Humans are narrative creatures,
constantly explaining their lives
and selves by weaving together the
past, present, and future (in the
form of goals and expectations).
PREDICTIONS WORK AS
COMFORTING MAGIC
For some, astrology’s predictions
function like Dumbo’s feather—a
comforting magic to hold onto until
yourealizeyoucouldflyonyourown
all along. But it’s the ineffable mysti-
cal sparkle of the feather—gentler
and less draining than the glow of a
screen—that makes people reach for
it in the first place.
People are starting to get
sick of a life lived so in-
tensely on the grid. They
wish for more anonym-
ity online. They’re ex-
periencing fatigue
with ebooks, with
dating apps, with
social media.
They’re craving
THENEWAGEOF
THENEWAGEOF
THENEWAGEOF
THENEWAGEOF
THENEWAGEOF
IN A STRESSFUL,
DATA-DRIVEN
ERA, MANY YOUNG
PEOPLE FIND
COMFORT AND INSIGHT
IN THE ZODIAC—EVEN
IF THEY DON’T
EXACTLY BELIEVE IN IT
something else in this era of quanti-
fied selves, and tracked locations,
and indexed answers to every pos-
sible question. Except, perhaps the
questions of who you really are, and
what life has in store for you.
BURGEONING
INTEREST IN ASTROLOGY
But a sincere burgeoning interest in
astrology doesn’t mean people are
wholesale abandoning rationality
for more mystical beliefs. Nicholas
Campion, a historian of astrology,
points out that the question of
whether people “believe” in astrol-
ogy is both impossible to answer,
and not really a useful question to
ask. People might say they don’t
“believe” in astrology, but still iden-
tify with their zodiac sign. They
may like to read their horoscope,
but don’t change their behavior
based on what it says. There is more
nuance than this statistic allows for.
Many mainstream examinations
of astrology as a trend are deeply
concerned with debunking. They
like to trot out the National Science
Foundation survey that measures
whether people think astrology is
scientific, and remind readers that
it’s not. Which, it’s not. But that’s
not really the point.
While there are surely some peo-
ple who blindly accept astrology as
fact and view it as on par with a dis-
ciplinelikebiology,thatdoesn’tseem
to be the case among many of the
young adults who are fueling this re-
naissance of the zodiac. The people I
spoke to for this piece often referred
to astrology as a tool, or a kind of
language—one that, for many, is
more metaphorical than literal.
Studies have shown that if you
write a generic personality descrip-
tion and tell someone it applies to
them, they’re likely to perceive it as
accurate—whether that’s in the
form of a description of their zodi-
ac sign or something else.
It might be that Millennials are
morecomfortablelivingintheborder-
lands between skepticism and belief
because they’ve spent so much of
their lives online, in another space
that is real and unreal at the same
time. That so many people find astrol-
ogy meaningful is a reminder that
something doesn’t have to be real to
feeltrue.Don’twefindtruthinfiction?
To understand astrology’s appeal
is to get comfortable with paradox-
es. It feels simultaneously cosmic
and personal; spiritual and logical;
ineffable and concrete; real and un-
real. It can be a relief, in a time of
division, not to have to choose. It
can be freeing, in a time that values
black and white, ones and zeros, to
look for answers in the gray. It can
be meaningful to draw lines in the
space between moments of time, or
the space between pinpricks of light
in the night sky, even if you know
deep down they’re really light-years
apart, and have no connection at all.
SOURCE:WEB
CONCEPT:RAKSHITAPAREEK
DESIGN:ABHISHEKGUPTA

Do not focus on the fears in your
mind. Focus and be led by the
dreams in your heart.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In what
seems to be a real-life
enactment of the Bol-
lywood film ‘Dolly ki
Doli’, where the lead
actress plays a bride
who specialises in
conning men into
marrying her and
then robbing them of
their wealth, a wom-
an from Chhatra in
Jharkhand did the
same with 3 rich
men.
She approached
them, one of them be-
ing from Gujarat,
through matrimonial
site shaadi.com and
talked her ‘victims’
into marrying her.
The woman first
contacted a Giridih-
based man and mar-
ried him to later flee
with Rs 1 crore. Her
next victim was a Gu-
jarat-based man
whom she married
and lived with him
for some time and
then, on finding the
right opportunity, de-
camped with a whop-
ping Rs 45 crore.
Her confidence only
increased after this.
The next, and the third
victim, was a man in
Pune. In this case, she
not only married him
but fled the country
with him to California.
But her game seemed
to be over when the
mother of the Pune
man and the Gujarat-
based person regis-
tered a complaint
against her for duping
them in Rajkot.
The Jharkhand po-
lice are investigating
the woman’s passport
details. According to
investigators, the wom-
an would look for rich
men, she would stay
with them for a while
after marriage and
then flee with all the
valuables.
The police of the
Iteri police station in
Chhatra district in-
vestigated the case of
a fake passport hid-
ing the husband’s
name.
The investigations
have revealed that
the young woman
was first married by
the Hindu customs
on April 27, 2015,
with the Rajdhanwar
resident of Giridih,
Nilaya Kumar. She
got married at the
Hotel Element at Sta-
tion Road in Ranchi.
BOLLYWOOD ‘LIVE’: Real life ‘Dolly Ki Doli’ cons 3 husbands
CRIMINAL GENIUS
l This Jharkhand woman
conned rich men, including a
Gujarati, to marry her and then
decamped with huge money
A complaint has been lodged against a woman for conning men.
As asked by Chief Justice Vikram Nath, the HC prepared a performance report
Shishir Awasthi
Ahmedabad: Work-
ing from home, hold-
ing video hearings
and attending to
hopeful litigants
amid the unprece-
dented Covid-19 cri-
sis, the judges of the
Gujarat High Court
religiously stuck to
their bounden duty
of delivering justice
and disposed of as
many as 73.77% of
cases during July.
According to the high
court’s second monthly
report for July, the judg-
es cleared 3,128 cases,
including 1,799 crimi-
nal matters. (See Box)
The performance re-
port, prepared on the
directions of Chief Jus-
tice Vikram Nath, con-
tains statistics on the
number of matters
filed, registered, and
disposed of in the
month of July. The re-
port also classifies
them by their type and
the nature of relief
sought.
The report also
takes note of the two
occasions when the
Court was suspended,
the first time from
July 8, 2020 to July 12,
and later on July 15.
This was necessitated
by the reports of coro-
navirus infections
among two dozen staff
of the court’s Registry.
Over the month, the
court also organised
two online awareness
sessions for advocates
practising at the high
court. These sessions
were organised to in-
struct advocates
about the modalities
of using the Zoom
video conferencing
application.
Beginning July 30,
each matter is being as-
signed a serial number
to serve as a reference
for the matter being
mentioned. Depending
on when the request for
a mention is made, the
matter is circulated to
the appropriate Bench
on the same day or even
prior.
Around 2,000 civil
and 3,000 criminal cases
were filed over email,
the report states. The
figures are inclusive of
interim applications.
Interestingly, all the 20
civil writ petitions were
public interest litiga-
tions.
Covid or no Covid, Guj HC clears
record 73.77% cases in July
Gujarat High Court. —FILE PHOTO
High Court orders CID probe
in Vadodara custodial death
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Alarmed
by the delay in the inves-
tigations and no arrests
in the sensational Va-
dodara custodial death,
the Gujarat High Court
has transferred the case
to the State CID (Crime)
with a direction that the
probe be handled by a
DSP-level officer.
The court has also
asked the State DGP to
assign a Deputy Inspec-
tor-General level officer
to oversee the investiga-
tions by the CID. Trans-
ferring the case, the
court has observed that
if it remains with the
Vadodara police there
are chances of the ac-
cused cops thwarting
the investigation.
A division bench of
Justice Sonia Gokani
and Justice NV Anjaria
was shocked that none
of the 6 accused police-
men had been arrested
in the alleged custodial
murder of Telangana
resident Shaikh Babu
Nisar after a month of
the filing of FIR.
Nisar mysteriously
went missing after De-
cember 10, 2019, when
he was taken to Fate-
hgunj police station in
Vadodara for interroga-
tion in a theft case. The
high court ordered that
all relevant documents
be sent to CID (Crime)
through a “special mes-
senger” without delay
since a long time had
already elapsed.
BEARDING
THE KING!
Dr Anshuman, Deputy
Conservator of Forests,
East Gir, on Thursday
tweeted a picture of
the lion in his den. He
wrote, “Gir Forest is
considered very sacred
by the local people and
all its inhabitants are The
Blessed Ones. So celebrate
#worldlionday2020 as a
festival.”
—PHOTO CLICKED BY
SAMEER DEVMURARI
Oza tenders
apology, SC asks
HC to consider it
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on
Thursday took note
of an uncondition-
al apology by bar
association presi-
dent Yatin Oza,
whose designation
as a senior advocate
was withdrawn af-
ter his critical com-
ments, and said Gu-
jarat High Court
would consider it in
the pending con-
tempt proceedings
against him.
The high court had
decided to recall its
order conferring des-
ignation of senior
advocate to Oza who
is now the president
of Gujarat High
Court Advocates As-
sociation, taking um-
brage of his alleged
remarks against the
court and its registry
in a Facebook live
press conference.
“The contempt
proceedings are
still pending and in
view of his uncon-
ditional apology be-
fore the full court,
we consider it ap-
propriate that the
contempt court it-
self first applies its
mind to the issue.
The petitioner
(Oza) has no hesita-
tion in saying that
he has apologized
unconditionally
and will apologise
unconditionally in
the contempt pro-
ceedings and pray
for bringing to clo-
sure those proceed-
ings,” a bench
headed by Justice S
K Kaul said in its
order.
“We may note that
the petitioner him-
self has been quite
apologetic before us
and states that he
should not have used
the words he used
and those words were
used in the heat of
the situation where
everybody is trou-
bled by the prevailing
problem of COVID
and the grievances of
the younger mem-
bers of Bar,” the
bench said.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Gujarat
has become the high-
est tax-compliant
State in the assess-
ment year 2018-19 in
terms of the propor-
tion of ‘returns filed
to PAN holders’, while
Bihar saw the lowest
rate of Income Tax
Return (ITR) filing.
In AY19, the state wit-
nessed 22.3 per cent ITR
filers, out of the total
PAN card holders.
Gujarat was followed
by Delhi with 20.5 per
cent population filing
ITR. Next were Punjab
with 16.74 per cent and
Telangana with 16.68
per cent ITR filing.
Bihar received the
lowest rate of ITR fil-
ing at 5 per cent with
Uttar Pradesh report-
ing a slightly higher
rate at 8.11 per cent.
However, it was much
below the national
average of 12 per
cent.
Gujarat is top
tax-compliant
State, next
is Delhi
Man kills daughter for affair with Muslim boy
First India Bureau
Rajkot: A man alleg-
edly clubbed his
20-year-old daughter
to death in a fit of
rage after she insist-
ed on marrying a
Muslim boy in Ra-
jkot’s Gandhigram
area on Thursday.
Police said that Go-
pal Nakum, a casual
labourer, allegedly
hit his daughter Ila
with a club used to
wash clothes at their
home in Shah Nagar-4
in Gandhigram area
around 8 am on
Thursday.
Police said when the
girl refused to have tea
or even water till she
was allowed to marry
the boy she had an af-
fair with, her father lost
his temper. In a fit of
anger, he hit her on the
head with a club 2 to 3
times till she fell uncon-
scious on the floor.
Police said that later
a neighbour dialled the
emergency number to
call an ambulance. The
ambulance van took
her to the PDU Hospital
where she succumbed
to her injuries at 1:50
pm. The girl had eloped
with the 19-year-old boy
earlier but she was sent
back since he is not of
marriageable age.
Gujarat High Court Advocates Association president Yatin Oza.
Cases listed
for hearing
9,408
Civil Criminal
3,715 5,693
Cases disposed of
3,128
Civil Criminal
1,329 1799
GUJARAT HIGH COURT’S ‘VIRTUAL’
PERFORMANCE REPORT
(Source: Gujarat High Court’s Second Monthly
Report for July, 2020)
Number of Judgments/
Orders passed
7,414
Judgments Orders
50 7,364
Number of cases
filed over email
5,000
Civil Criminal
2,000 3,000

iven the current cli-
mate, marriages
might seem like a
thing of the past.
However, the popular-
ity of the Netflix orig-
inal ‘Indian Match-
making,’ has got everyone en-
visioning their special day. It
appears that despite the draw-
backs and the seemingly emo-
tional toll the union takes on
everyone involved, people still
seem intrigued by the idea of
arranged matchmaking.
It makes one wonder
how, despite changing
times and increased ac-
ceptance of love mar-
riage, what is making
adolescents so
drawn to the idea
of an arranged
marriage?
Until a couple of
decades ago, the
words love mar-
riage couldn’t even
be uttered in the
household with-
out warranting a thrashing.
Growing up, children knew
that the person they were go-
ing to marry would be some-
one their parents chose for
them and that they wouldn’t
have a say in the matter. This
made love marriages seem for-
bidden and intriguing and
what in turn gave rise to its
appeal. As a result, young ado-
lescents were drawn to the
concept of love marriage as a
way to rebel against their par-
ents, and the society they grew
up in. On the contrary, in the
21st century, the wide accept-
ance of love and marrying for
it, has made the whole concept
unattractive and vanilla.
If not appeal alone, the pop-
ularity of “no strings at-
tached” relationships and the
distraction that is social me-
dia interfering with normal
communication, a long-last-
ing relationship seems al-
most impossible to achieve.
Teenagers are only inter-
ested in having fun and
view baring their emo-
tions as a sign of weak-
ness. This generation
of commitment-phobic
individuals, unable to
sustain meaningful re-
lationships, has hence
decided to place their
bets on arranged mar-
riage as the only way
of finding a long-last-
ing partner.
The author is a
student at Boston
University,
majoring in
Communications.
AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY
AUGUST 7, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MATCHMAKING!People in India still seem intrigued by the idea of arranged matchmaking- let’s find out why!
G
RASHI CHAUDHARY
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

eteran Actor and Su-
perstar Rajendra Ku-
mar were one of the
most talented actors
of the Hindi cine-
ma. Kumar was not
inclined towards play-
ing hero roles and hence, he
started his film career as an
assistant director to H. S. Raw-
ail in films like Patanga, Sagai,
Pocketmaar. Rajendra Kumar
made his debut with a small
role in Jogan that featured ac-
tors Dilip Kumar and Nar-
gis. Later, he got a break in 1955
film Vachan, the film was a sil-
ver jubilee hit and he was titled
as ‘A Star is Born’. He got fur-
ther success with his support-
ing role in Mehboob Khan’s
blockbuster film Mother In-
dia in 1957 in which he played
Nargis’s character’s son. His
first major success as a roman-
tic leading man was in Amit
Saxena’s musical Goonj Uthi
Shehnai (1959), co-star-
ring Ameeta. Rajendra, was
slowly tiptoeing his way to
stardom, became the next best
option after Dilip Kumar for
the industry that wanted a rea-
sonably priced star with the
same ability to move the view-
ers. He appeared in over 80
movies. Between 1959 and 1966,
Rajendra Kumar had such a
Midas touch that almost any
film he touched turned box of-
fice gold, and especially from
1963 to 1966, when he was un-
beatable with 100 per-
cent box office suc-
cess. Dil Ek Mandir,
Dhool Ka Phool, Ar-
zoo, Sangam, Mere
Mehboob, Suraj, Gan-
waar, and many more
were the addition to his
volley of non-stop block-
busters. Kumar also starred in
Punjabi films like Teri meri ek
Jindari. People crowned him
Jubilee Kumar as his multiple
films completed more than 25
weeks at the box office. Kumar
was awarded a Ph.D. During
his lifetime, he was known for
not taking any medication. He
surrendered before cancer on
July 12, 1999, just 8 days before
his 70th birthday. He received
many awards like National
Honor by Late Pt. Jawaharlal
Nehru, special Shastri Nation-
al Award and the Justice of
Peace honor. He was also hon-
ored with the prestigious Pad-
ma Shri Award in 1969. He was
also a man of sound invest-
ment sense, and rapidly be-
came one of the richest
men in the industry.
10
ETCAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
NAGMA MIRAJKAR, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You are a responsible
professional and people like
you for your optimism. You
are turning into this health
conscious person and people around
you will love this new you.
Investments are under your control
and you have worked very hard to be
at the current position.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You will make profits as far
as earnings are concerned.
You have a good married
life where the foundation is
built from trust and respect.
Managing an organisation is not a
child’s play and you are doing a
commendable job. You will find
yourself free of pain that you had.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
There is a happy
atmosphere at home today
and you will simply relax
and breathe fresh air. You
may be willing to transform your
house by reconstructing but
pandemic situation could become a
hindrance. Your cards shows a
promising health.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Exercise routine has proved
to be very beneficial for
health. You may crave for
something that isn’t good
for you so please resist your
temptations. You are a rising star on
academic front and your hard work is
your biggest asset. Your lover want to
you do decide about your future.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You are craving for a
change as you are bored of
your current routine in life.
You will get in touch with
your lost relatives and things will be
better than ever before. Returns from
property business will help you in
investing in other businesses to cope
up with pandemic losses.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You will pass the interview
but do the job only if that’s
what you want to do in your
life. You are energetic and
always walk the extra mile when you
get your mind onto something. You will
be part of a big social event but via
video call . Exquisite site will catch
your attention for a new house.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Seniors from your family
office will be highly
impressed with your ideas
on the new project and
your strategies on how to go about
it. You will benefit from healthy
eating so try it. You will take some
time off from work to spend quality
time with your children.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Don’t let a simple discuss
with parents become an
argument. You may finally
get the scholarship that
you have been replying on for your
building your future. In social events,
you used to be in spot light for your
fashion sense and confidence but all
that’s is a things of the past for now.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You have taken fitness as
a challenge and you will
shock everyone with your
dedication and results.
Spiritual awakening is on the cards
so follow any path which leads to
your enlightenment.Your work contri-
bution on professional front will give
your image a must needed boost.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Some relative may visit
your house for something
important. Those looking
for suitable accommoda-
tion will surely find one. On academic
front, you mostly like to be friends
with known personalities but
remember a true friendship is not
based on any motive or factors.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You are very happy with
yourself and that’s what
keeps your parents
smiling. You will have a lot
of fun on romantic front. Your
parents will help you in times of
financial crisis be rest assured but
first you must try on your own to get
out of it, remember there is a way.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You will have fun at home
today. You will do
incredibly well in
academics and your
parents couldn’t be more proud. You
have started devoting more time to
your spouse and you both are closer
than ever. Calm and slow music
makes you think deeper.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
V
GURMAN SINGH
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Whenever this song
plays Kaun Hai Jo
Sapnon Mein Aaya, it
always reminds me of
actor Rajendra Kumar
sitting in a car, mesmer-
izing us with his romantic appeal. He
acted in diversified subjects includ-
ing the relationship of poets in the
film Palki, patriotic subject matters
in the film Dharti, the role of dacoits
in Gora Aur Kala. —KUNAL SENANI
‘THE JUBILEE KUMAR’
Rajendra Kumar

M
akers of Alia Bhatt and Aditya
Roy Kapur-starrer love saga
-’Sadak 2’ - on Thursday an-
nounced that the much-awaited
second instalment of the franchise will
premiere on online video streaming
platform Disney+ Hotstar on
August 28.
Alia Bhatt took to Insta-
gram to share a new
poster of the film and
to announce its re-
lease date. The
poster features
Bhatt, and Ka-
pur walking
beside Sanjay
Dutt on a
road leading
to the moun-
tains. The
poster features
the three from
their backs.
While Dutt is seen
walking bare hands, Bhatt
is seen carrying a bag on her
back and Kapur is seen carrying a
guitar on his back. “Sadak 2, the road
to love streaming on @DisneyPlusH-
otstarVIP from 28 August.” Besides
the three actors, the film also features
Pooja Bhatt, who along with Sanjay
Dutt, was in the first installment.
‘Sadak 2’ marks filmmaker Ma-
hesh Bhatt’s comeback as a director
after 21 years. —ANI
SADAK 2’s
DATE OUT
L
eading by an example, actor Pre-
ity Zinta on Wednesday shared
stunning pictures from a glam-
orous photo-shoot where the ac-
tor is seen sporting a face mask.
The ‘Kya Kehna’ actor put out sev-
eral pictures of herself from the
photoshoot on Instagram and urged
people to wear masks and stay pro-
tected amid the coronavirus pan-
demic. In the captures, the ‘Dil
Hai Tumhaara’ actor looks
breathtakingly beautiful as she
sports a pink dress off-shoulder
dress with dangling threads
while she ties her hair in a high
pony, and lets her luscious curly
locks loose. In the snaps, Zinta
is also seen sporting a
matching decorated
mask, as she looks into
the camera while strik-
ing a pose. The ‘Kal Ho
Naa Ho’ actor acces-
sorised her special
look with diamond-
studded dangler ear-
rings, a necklace and a
bracelet.
“Keep calm and
wear a mask #project-
sanity #Fashion
#shoot #ting,” wrote
the actor as a caption
to the post. —ANI
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020
11
TESTED +VE
STAR OF SKY
BEST COLLAB
ctor Vaani Kapoor recently spoke about her interests to
work in a biopic of astronaut Kalpana Chawla.
The ‘Befikre’ actor said, “I would love to do a biopic!
Kalpana Chawla is a huge role model for women around
the world and anyone who has ever dreamt of being an
astronaut. She’s an inspiration and her story is definitely
the one to be celebrated and told. I would really really want
to play her on-screen, it’ll be an absolute honour.” The 31-year-old
star seems to be making her intent clear to do a project that was
once rumoured to be looking for Priyanka Chopra and Deepika
Padukone to helm the affairs. The actor feels she would love to take
the risk as an artist and try her hand at doing the biopic and also
experiment with several genres in her career span.
Talking about the roles she has essayed on the big screen so
far, Kapoor added, “I’ve tried to pick the best from what came
my way and it feels amazing to have worked with some of
the best in the industry. I have been able to get opportunities
for roles so distinctive. From a small-town girl Tara in
Shudh Desi Romance to a girl who’s French in Befikre, to
an independent single mother in War, to a completely
different era in Shamshera, it’s been pretty good.”
The actor added, “However, there are many more
films one desires to be part of, genres like action, com-
edy, romcoms, drama, suspense, thriller, all and
many more versatile roles to discover.” Vani Ka-
poor has got two major projects in the pipe-
line, including ‘Shamshera’ and
‘Bell Bottom’. —ANI
‘ITWILLBEANABSOLUTEHONOUR’
A
B
ollywood actress Disha
Patani’s father and two
other officers of the
vigilance unit of the
Uttar Pradesh power depart-
ment, have tested positive for
the Coronavirus.
Disha’s father, Jagdish Pa-
tani, is a deputy SP in the vig-
ilance unit of the state power
department here. Jagdish Pa-
tani and the two other officers
were investigating a trans-
former scam. They had come
to Bareilly from Lucknow. Fol-
lowing their corona test re-
ports, the zonal chief engi-
neer’s office has been closed
for the next 48 hours. —Agency
S
ameer Sharma, who
has been a part of
many popular shows
including Yeh Rishtey
Hain Pyaar Ke, Geet Hui Sab-
se Parayi, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya
Naam Doon, was found hang-
ing from his kitchen ceiling
on Thursday morning. The
Police suspect that the actor
committed suicide two days
back looking at the condition
of the body and no suicide
note was recovered from the
body, as per the report.
—Agency
I
t’s hard to believe that Se-
lena Gomez and Taylor
Swift have never collabo-
rated on a song together.
The best friends, whose
friendship has lasted for
more than a decade and
counting, have proved time
and again that they’re always
going to be there for each
other through thick and thin.
Moreover, Gomez and Swift
are each other’s hype ma-
chines as evidenced by their
social media love for their
works as well as being the
loudest cheerleaders during
their award show perfor-
mances.
During a surprise appear-
ance on Twitch’s Animal
Talking, Selena was asked
about her dream Moreover,
when it was noted that such a
thick friendship would defi-
nitely lead to future collabo-
ration, Gomez coyly teased,
“You never know.”
—Agency
‘Keep calm and
wear a mask’
A
riana Grande
might be blessing
fans with a Sweet-
ener Tour movie!
The new concert film
willfollowthe27-year-
old on her big 2019
tour, starting
with the re-
lease of her
a l b u m
‘Thank U, Next’. There’s cur-
rently a bidding war for the
rights to the doc, with Netflix
and YouTube being among
the top contenders.
“Ariana’s team are negoti-
ating a huge deal between a
number of big hitters, with
Netflix and YouTube both
showing interest,” a source
told the site. “Netflix has put
forward a starting offer of $5
million to get the rights. The
deal is being negotiated by
Ariana’s closest advis-
ers, led by Scooter
Braun.”
—Agency
‘Thank You, Next’
Vaani Kapoor
Disha Patani with her father
Late Sameer Sharma
Preity ZintaSelena Gomez and Taylor Swift
Ariana Grande
Alia Bhatt
... her post

First india ahmedabad edition-07 august 2020

First india ahmedabad edition-07 august 2020

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First india ahmedabad edition-07 august 2020