First india ahmedabad edition-07 july 2020

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ALERT
AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 222
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
1,961
DEATHS
36,858
CONFIRMED CASES
UTTAR PRADESH
809 DEATHS 28,636 CASES
RAJASTHAN
461 DEATHS 20,688 CASES
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
& Gargi Raval
Gandhinagar: The
state was gripped in
torrentialdownpouras
some parts of the Sau-
rashtra region were
flooded on Monday.
With a well-marked
low-pressure area over
Kutch and its sur-
rounding areas, an as-
sociatedcycloniccircu-
lation now extends up
to 7.6 km above mean
sea level tilting south-
wards with height.
According to the
weatherman, there is a
monsoon trough at
mean sea level which is
currently passing
through the centre of a
well-marked low-pres-
sure area over Saurash-
tra. Another offshore
trough at mean sea level
persists from the Guja-
rat coast to North Kera-
la which is likely to fa-
cilitate heavy showers
in the state over the
next two days.
According to the State
Emergency Operation
Centre (SEOC), few cities
inthestatereceivedmore
than 10 inches of rainfall
in 12 hours on Sunday.
Thetownof JamKhamb-
haliya in the district of
Devbhoomi Dwarka re-
ceived 19 inches of rain-
fall in just 20 hours and
recorded 460mm rainfall
on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Dwarka
broke an 87-year-old re-
cord of highest rainfall
intheregiononMonday.
Jayanta Sarkar of the
Indian Meteorological
Department (IMD) said,
“The highest rainfall to
be recorded in Dwarka
inadaywas273.8mmon
July 17, 1933. It was hit
by a downpour of 275.8
mm which is the new re-
cord for the district.”
Rains also wrecked
havoc with flood-like
situations occurring in
a few areas of the Sau-
rashtra region. Turn on P6
Saurashtra inundated, Guj likely to receive heavy rains
MONSOON FURY
Dwarka breaks 87-year-old record,
gets 276 mm rainfall; NDRF
deployed by govt for rescue missions
The collapsed bridge over Sabdi River in Keshod taluka of
Junagadh district
New Delhi: NationalSe-
curity Advisor Ajit Dov-
al and Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi held a
telephonic conversation
onSundayduringwhich
they agreed on disen-
gagement of troops
along the Line of Actual
Control (LAC) at the ear-
liest, the Ministry of Ex-
ternal Affairs said.
Doval and Wang are
special representatives
for border talks between
the two countries. In a
statement, the MEA de-
scribed the talks as
“frank and in-depth ex-
change of views” and
said they agreed that
both sides should com-
plete the ongoing disen-
gagement process along
theLAC“expeditiously”.
The troops of India
and China are engaged
in an eight-week stand-
off in several areas in
eastern Ladakh includ-
ing Pangong Tso, Gal-
wan Valley and Gogra
Hot Spring.
The Chinese military
on Monday began with-
drawing troops from
Galwan Valley and Go-
gra Hot Spring.
The MEA said both
sides agreed that it was
necessary to “ensure at
the earliest complete
disengagement of the
troops along the LAC
and de-escalation from
India-China border are-
as for full restoration of
peace and tranquillity.”
“In this regard they
further agreed that
both sides should com-
plete the ongoing disen-
gagement process along
the LAC expeditiously.
The two sides should
also ensure a phased
Turn on P6
Doval knocks some sense into China
l NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese FM Wang agree on expeditious disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh
l The standoff began 60 days ago with violent faceoff at the Pangong Tso bank l Chinese troops have reportedly
pulled back a kilometre from the clash site, creating a buffer zone between the two armies
China criticises US
drills in S China Sea
NSA Ajit Doval spoke to Chinese FM Wang Yi a day before India and China showed first sign of
de-escalation in Galwan, Ladakh. —FILE PHOTO
CHINA
WITHDRAWS
TROOPS
New expat bill may
force 8L Indians
out of Kuwait
Kuwait: The legal and
legislative committee
of Kuwait’s National
Assembly has approved
the draft expat quota
bill which could result
in 8 lakh Indians leav-
ing the country.
The National Assem-
bly’s legal and legisla-
tive committee has de-
termined that the draft
expat quota bill is con-
stitutional, Gulf News
reported citing local
media report. The Bill,
according to which Indi-
ans should not exceed 15
per cent of the popula-
tion, is to be transferred
to the respective com-
mittee so that a compre-
hensive plan is created.
The outlet reported
that ‘this could result in
800,000 Indians leaving
Kuwait, as the Indian
community constitutes
the largest expat com-
munity in Kuwait, total-
ling 1.45 million’.
Of the 4.3 million
population of Kuwait,
expats account for 3
million.
The anti-expat rheto-
ric have spiked since
the beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic
with lawmakers and
governmental officials
call for reducing the
number of foreigners in
Kuwait. Turn on P6
INDIA’S COVID-19 TALLY
CROSSES 7 LAKH MARK
New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 tally neared the 7
lakh mark with 7,19,448 cases after 24,248 new
cases were reported in the last 24 hours, said
the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
There are 2,59,046 active cases in the country
while 4,40,099 patients have been cured or
discharged. While one patient has migrated. 472
new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours in
the country due to COVID-19, taking the number
of patients succumbing to the deadly virus to
20,173. As per the Health Ministry, Maharashtra
continues to be the most impacted state from the
infection with 2,06,619 cases and 8,822 fatalities
due to the virus. Tamil Nadu in second place has a
total of 1,11,151 cases and 1,510 fatalities.
SC dismisses plea, fines
lawyer for wasting time
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Monday
imposed a fine of Rs 100
onlawyerReepakKansal
and dismissed his peti-
tion seeking directions
totheapexcourt’sSecre-
tary-General, Registrar,
and officers to not give
preference to cases filed
by influential lawyers
and petitioners.
The order was pro-
nounced by SC over a
phone call. The top
court asked the peti-
tioner that he being a
member of the bar,
should not make such
allegation against the
registry. “We are impos-
ing a minimum cost of
Rs100 on you,” SC said
in its judgment.
A bench headed by
Justice Arun Mishra
had on June 19 reserved
its order Turn on P6
BIAS IN LISTING OF CASES
Beijing: China on
Monday accused the
US of flexing its mil-
itary muscles in the
South China Sea by
conducting joint ex-
ercises with two US
aircraft carrier
groups in the strate-
gic waterway.
Foreign ministry
spokespersonZhaoLi-
jian said the exercises
were performed total-
ly out of ulterior mo-
tives and undermined
stability in the area.
Againstsuchaback-
drop, the US deliber-
ately dispatched mas-
sive forces to conduct
large-scale military
exercises in the rele-
vant waters of the
SouthChinaSeatoflex
its military muscle,”
Zhao said at a daily
briefing. Turn on P6
New Delhi: Final-year
examinations in uni-
versities will have to be
conducted by Septem-
ber-end, HRD Ministry
announced on Monday,
deferring the
schedule from
July in view of
a spike in COV-
ID-19 cases.
However, stu-
dentsunabletoap-
pear in final-year ex-
ams in September will
get another chance and
universitieswillconduct
special exams “as and
when feasible”, accord-
ing to a revised guide-
lines issued by the UGC.
The decision by HRD
Ministrycamefollowing
a nod from MHA to con-
duct exams as per the
SOPapprovedbyit.
Theannounce-
ment has put to
rest specula-
tions that the
exams for final-
year students may
be cancelled.
The students having
backlog will compulso-
rily be evaluated by con-
ducting examinations
in offline Turn on P6
Varsities to hold final
yr exams by Sept end
WORLD
5,38,552
DEATHS
1,16,54,557
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
7,19,448
CONFIRMED CASES
20,174
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
9,026 DEATHS 2,11,987 CASES
TAMIL NADU
DELHI
China started pulling back
troops and dismantling tents
and structures on Monday,
from the standoff points in the
Galwan area. The move comes
after NSA Ajit Doval held a
video call with Chinese Foreign
Minister and State Councilor
Wang Yi, on Sunday. Both sides
agreed that it was necessary
to “ensure at the earliest
complete disengagement of
the troops along the LAC.”

NEWSAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 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: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday
paid homage to Dr
Syama Prasad Mook-
erjee, the founder of
Bharatiya Jana
Sangh, on his birth
anniversary and said
that his thoughts and
ideals give strength
to millions across the
country. “I bow to
Dr Syama Prasad
Mookerjee on his
Jayanti. A devout
patriot, he made
exemplary contri-
butions towards In-
dia’s develop-
ment. He
m a d e
c o u r a -
geous ef-
forts to
further
India’s unity. His
thoughts and ide-
als give strength to
millions across the
nation,” PM Modi
tweeted.
Union Minister
Prakash Javadekar
also paid tribute to
Mookerjee and said
that he sacrificed his
life for the unity and
integrity of India.
Mookerjee was
born on July 6, 1901,
in Kolkata. He was a
prominent Indian
politician, barrister
and academician
and served as the
Minister for
Industry and
Supply in
the Jawaha-
rlal Nehru
cabinet.—ANI
Darshan Desai
Surat: Powerful
South Gujarat BJP
MP CR Patil on Mon-
day prevailed upon
Surat Municipal
C o m m i s s i o n e r
Banchhanidhi Pani,
through Chief Minis-
ter Vijay Rupani, to
reverse his order of
closing down all the
textile markets in the
city till July 13.
The city’s key textile
industry, which has re-
ported over 250 corona
positive cases during
Unlock 1.0, was about
to be ordered shut after
the Surat Municipal
Corporation officials,
along with a police
team, sealed five textile
markets on the Ring
Road after finding nine
cases.
Infuriated by this,
textile traders in
these markets sought
the intervention of
CR Patil, who won
the 2019 Lok Sabha
elections with a re-
cord margin of over
7 lakh votes from
Navsari, which was
more than that of
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi.
Patil immediately
called the municipal
officials and ordered
them to reopen the
markets and close
shops in only those
wings of the market
where cases had been
reported. The SMC had
to re-open the markets.
The sealed com-
plexes include the
busiest Surat Textile
Market, JJ Textile
Market, Millennium
Market and
Raghukul Market,
which have thou-
sands of shops sell-
ing synthetic sarees
and dress materials.
Speaking to First In-
dia, CR Patil pointed
out, “There are around
27,385 shops in the tex-
tile markets providing
direct or indirect jobs
to around 1.5 lakh peo-
ple. Now, SMC wanted
to shut all shops since
9 people were found
Covid positive in re-
cent days.
A team of police,
along with SMC per-
sonnel, were deployed
to forcefully shut down
the shops.”
The Navsari MP
went on, “I also got
requests from some
shop owners. After
this, I had a talk with
the Chief Minister
and asked SMC to
barricade the areas,
which are suspected.
Sealing the entire
area does not prove
anything, it will only
hit people more.”
“We have asked the
SMC to cordon off
the areas, which are
prone to the infection
or from where the sus-
pects were found and
the rest of the markets
should be opened,”
Patil asserted.
CR PATIL DIALS CM RUPANI, GETS SURAT
TEXTILE MARKETS RE-OPENED
DADAGIRI: BJP TOP BRASS BROWBEATS TALUKAS,
WORKERS OVER CHOICE OF CANDIDATESDistrict committees asked to help ensure victories, former MLAs within party toe the party line
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
state unit of the Con-
gress party has initi-
ated the selection
process of candidates
for the impending by-
elections of the eight
Assembly seats,
which were necessi-
tated after eight of
its MLAs tendered
their resignations.
Party leaders have al-
ready held several
meetings with locals
at the constituencies
in the fray.
The party has ap-
pointed in-charges
for by-polls that are
likely to be held in
the final week of Sep-
tember this year. The
eight constituencies
up for by-election in-
clude Abdasa (Kutch
district), Limbdi
(Surendranagar dis-
trict), Morbi, Dhari
(Amreli district),
Dangs, Kaprada (Val-
sad district), Karjan
(Vadodara district)
and Gadhada (Botad
district).
It seems like the par-
ty may field more
Patidar leaders and
women candidates in
the by-elections this
time. For the Abdasa
seat, the party is likely
to favour a Patidar
leader or an existing
member of the state
unit, among which
Kishorsinh Jadeja,
Ramesh Dholu, Visanji
Pachani, and Iqbal
Mandra’s names are
said to be in the run-
ning.
When it comes to
Dhari, former MLA
Virji Thummar’s
daughter and active
youth Congress lead-
er Jenny Thummar
and Surash Kotadia
are likely to get tick-
ets.
Since Dangs falls in
the tribal belt of the
state, tribal leader
Suryakant Gavit or
Mukesh Patel, mem-
ber of panchayat are
among top contend-
ers. Senior Congress
leader Haresh Patel
and Vasant Patel, son
of former MLA Bar-
jur Patel are being
considered for the
Kaprada seat.
For the Limbdi
seat, party leader
Bhagirathsinh Zala
and former panchay-
at president Kalpana
Makwana are in the
running to contest in
the by-elections.
The candidate for
Morbi will, in all likeli-
hood, be a Patidar. Con-
tenders for the constit-
uency include Patidar
Anamat Andolan Sami-
ti (PAAS) leader Manoj
Panara and panchayat
president Kishor
Chikhalia.
Karjan may see ei-
ther former MLA
Chandu Dabhi or Nila
Upadhyay battling it
out in the by-polls.
Cong gears up to select bypoll candidates
Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani addressing party workers in Abdasa last month.
PM: Mookerjee gave
strength to millions
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: Elect-
ing officials in a de-
mocracy is a long-
drawn process which
takes into considera-
tion the will of its
people. But, it seems
that the democratic
process does not hold
much merit with po-
litical parties, where-
in the top leaders
choose the candidates
to run in elections. On
these lines, Bharati-
ya Janata Party
(BJP) state leaders
have already se-
lected candidates
for the impending
State Legislative
Assembly by-elec-
tions. The whole pro-
cedure of selection
does not include any
say of the taluka or
district party commit-
tees. Further, if any
party worker even
plans to contest elec-
tions, they are si-
lenced and asked to
toe the party line.
The BJP state core
committee had gath-
ered on June 29 and ap-
pointed two
in-charges
for each
of the
eight as-
s e m bly
seats in
the fray
for by-elections. It was
publicly stated that
they will guide local
committees for the by-
elections and there was
anticipation of discus-
sion and selection of a
panel of candidates
among party commit-
tees. But, as per party
sources no such exer-
cise took place.
A district commit-
tee member wish-
ing anonymity told
First India that,
two newly appoint-
ed in-charges vis-
ited him and informed
him that selecting the
candidate to run in
elections was the state
unit’s prerogative.
And that they had to
ensure victory for the
candidate contesting
on the party ticket.
He added, “They in-
quired about the party
vote share in 2017 As-
sembly elections and
the 2019 parliament
polls. The in-charges
also inquired about
each polling booth and
their agents, how active
the taluka and district
committee was and
which programme had
the district committee
organized last.”
Valsad district Com-
mittee General Secre-
tary Mahendrabhai
Chaudhary told First
India, “The party has
decided to field former
Congress MLA Jitubhai
Chaudhary from the
Kaprada constituency, a
decision which was ac-
cepted by the district
committee.”
Even former MLAs,
who were keen to
contest the by-elec-
tion, had started to
consult party work-
ers and taking meet-
ings are now toeing
the party line. A five-
term MLA from the
Morbi constituency
Kantilal Amrutiya
told First India, “The
party has decided to
field Brijesh Merja
as its candidate for
the Morbi seat and
I will continue my
work for the party.”
Interestingly, on the
very next day of Mer-
ja’s resignation,
there were banners
and posters right in
Amrutiya’s village
and in Morbi oppos-
ing Merja.
A member of the BJP
since 1995 and also for-
mer MLA from the Kar-
jan constituency Satish
Patel said, “I have
worked with total dedi-
cation and commitment
for the party, even when
the Karjan seat was
reserved for
S c h e d u l e d
Caste/ Tribes.
Now, the party
has decided to
give a ticket to
turncoat Akshay Patel,
but I will work for the
party without any res-
ervations. I have even
convinced my followers
and fellow workers to
contribute their bit for
the party.”
After Akshay Patel
resigned as Congress
MLA, Satish Patel had
called two meetings. He
was joined by Bharuch
MP Mansukh Vasava
for one of the meetings.
But now, he is
also falling in
line and
s t a r t i n g
work for
the chosen
candidate.
BJP workers at a party meeting in Amreli district. —FILE PHOTO
Former MLA Satish Patel Former MLA Kantilal Amrutiya
BJP MP CR Patil

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020
State gets committees for bio-medical waste
As nCov cases rise, OSD appointed
for New Civil Hospital in Surat
Govt health department sets up one committee each at state and district level for management of COVID-19 medical refuse
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: In a
surprise move, the
state health depart-
ment on July 1 issued
a circular notifying
the constitution of a
state-level advisory
committee for bio-
medical waste man-
agement and also a
district-level moni-
toring committee for
bio-medical waste
management.
According to the cir-
cular, the state-level ad-
visory committee will
be chaired by state Prin-
cipal Secretary (Health
and Family Welfare)
Jayanti Ravi, whereas
the district-level moni-
toring committee will
be headed by the dis-
trict collector.
The state-level com-
mittee will have 12
members other than
the chairman which
will include experts
from the Gujarat Pollu-
tion Control Board
(GPCB), Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation
(AMC), Indian Medical
Association (state pres-
ident), and also a mana-
gerial level employee
of bio-medical waste
incineration or any
other representative of
common bio-medical
waste treatment facili-
ty will be member of
the committee.
The objective of this
committee will be to en-
sure the disposal of bio-
medical waste as per
the bio-medical waste
(management and han-
dling) rules underlined
by the Ministry of
Health Research in 2016
with an amendment in
2018. Although the cir-
cular clearly states to
implement the rules of
2016, the committee
should have been con-
stituted in March to
monitor and implement
the guidelines for cor-
rect disposal of COV-
ID-19 bio-medical waste.
One of the roles of
the state advisory com-
mittee will be to ensure
the allocation of ade-
quate funds for the
management of bio-
medical waste. Apart
from that, the procure-
ment of waste and also
treatment equipment
would also fall under
the responsibilities of
the committee. The dis-
trict-level committee
will monitor bio-medi-
cal waste management
in the district and also
advise the GPCB on the
implementation of bio-
medical management
guidelines.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Owing
to a sudden surge in
the number of COV-
ID-19 cases, Surat’s
tally of new cases has
reached 1,181 in a span
of six days, taking the
toll of cases in the city
to 5,894. Despite the
rapid transmission of
infection, the New Civ-
il Hospital continues to
be run by an in-charge
superintendent.
In order to tackle the
escalating situation in
the diamond city, the
state government ap-
pointed retired super-
intendent Dr Mahesh
Vadhel as Officer on
Special Duty (OSD) for
the hospital.
Surat Municipal
Commissioner Banch-
hanidhi Pani on Mon-
day appealed to the
citizens living in Ka-
targam, Varachha-A &
B and Rander zone ar-
eas to take more pre-
cautions, which recent-
ly saw a rise in the
number of cases. Su-
rat-based Congress
party’s spokesperson
Naishadh Desai tested
positive for Sars-CoV-2
and has been under
home isolation.
In the past 24 hours,
the state tested 6,349
samples and as of Mon-
day it reported 8,573 ac-
tive cases. Out of
which, 69 are on venti-
lator support and 8,504
are in stable condition.
Further, Dahod DDO
Rachit Raj also tested
positive for Covid-19.
According to
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC),
there are 3,153 active
cases in the city with a
death toll of 1,447 pa-
tients. The active cases
were reported from the
West Zone (606), North
West Zone (479), South
West Zone (467) and
East Zone (463), with
the rest of the four
zones accounting for
the remaining cases.
Former Chief Minis-
terShankarsinhVaghe-
la successfully beat
COVID-19 and has been
discharged from the
hospitalinAhmedabad.
Medical waste dump on the premises of Civil Hospital (Sola),A’bad.



ICMR GUIDELINES FOR WASTE MGMT
HC grants conditional bail to
RTI activist murder convicts
Make VS
Hosp fully
operational:
Man to HC
Alpesh Thakor writes to CM Rupani for
pay grade appeal on teachers’ behalf
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
state high court on
Monday granted con-
ditional bail of four
days to former Mem-
ber of Parliament
(MP) Dinu Bogha
Solanki, who was sen-
tenced to life impris-
onment for involve-
ment in the murder
of Right to Informa-
tion (RTI) activist
Amit Jethwa. The ex-
BJP lawmaker had
filed a bail plea to at-
tend the funeral ritu-
als of his elder sister.
A high court division
bench comprising Jus-
tice Sonia Gokani and
Justice NV Anjaria
granted bail to Solanki.
In its order dated July 3,
the court directed the
Sabarmati Jail authori-
ties to test both Solanki
and his nephew Shiva
for COVID-19. It also
stated that they should
only be allowed out on
bail if they test nega-
tive. Solanki has been
granted a bail of four
days and his nephew re-
ceived two days.
They were also asked
to post two bonds of one
lakh rupees each as
surety for the bail. Both
Solanki and his nephew
have been instructed to
return to Sabarmati
Jail by Thursday even-
ing and Tuesday after-
noon. They have also
been directed not to
contact any of the wit-
nesses of the prosecu-
tion or the victim.
The court has also
asked Junagadh po-
lice to provide police
protection to the
Jethwa’s family for
the duration of their
bail.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: As part
of an ongoing agita-
tion by primary teach-
ers of government
schools, a virtual
movement demanding
the restoration of
their pay scale was
launched by over
65,000 educators on
Monday.
These teachers have
found a supporter in
BJP leader and for-
mer MLA Alpesh Tha-
kor, who has written a
letter to the State
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani and requested
him to look into the is-
sue to dispense justice
to them.
In his letter, Thakor
has drawn the atten-
tion of the CM to the
plight of teachers,
who stand to lose over
Rs8,000-Rs10,000 in
income. He stated that
teachers played a very
important role in
building the future of
the state as well as the
society.
The former MLA
also pointed out the
extra duties per-
formed by teachers
apart from teaching.
He termed the lower-
ing of their pay scale
as unjust and asked
the top brass to re-
store it to Rs4,200
without putting forth
any conditions.
According to a circu-
lar of the state finance
department, the pay
grade of teachers who
started teaching from
2010 onwards will be re-
duced from Rs4,200 to
Rs2,800.
Teachers across the
state have been post-
ing their grievances
on social media and
appeal for the reversal
of this order.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
husband of a preg-
nant COVID-19 pos-
itive woman who
died because of de-
lay in care at VS
Hospital has ap-
proached the state
high court with an
appeal to direct lo-
cal civic body
Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corpora-
tion (AMC) to make
the hospital fully
operational.
Abdullakhan Ra-
himkhan Pathan has
moved a civil appli-
cation before the
high court with a
prayer to club it with
the Public Interest
Litigation (PIL) on
novel coronavirus.
His submission was
that his wife Rozmi-
nabanu breathed her
last on June 22 with
two unborn babies in
her womb, due to
sheer negligence on
part of doctors at VS
Hospital. He claimed
that the doctors took
45 minutes to recom-
mend a transfer to
LG Hospital.
The petitioner
complained that
since his wife had
COVID-19, two hospi-
tals had refused to
treat her. And since
VS Hospital was not
taking on surgeries
or admissions, he
lost his wife and two
unborn babies.
VIRTUAL MEET AND GREET
A staffer facilitates a video call between a novel coronavirus positive patient and their
family member at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad on Monday. —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE
New Civil Hospital in Surat.
Slain RTI activist
Amit Jethwa
Teachers at a protest in Gandhinagar. —FILE PHOTO
—PHOTOBYNANDANDAVE

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 222 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 | TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020
UGC OUGHT TO
HASTEN EXAM
GUIDELINES
n the midst of controversy over
Indian Council of Medical Re-
search trying to hasten the pro-
cess of vaccine development, In-
dia overtook Russia to become
the third worst-hit country by Covid-19.
With close to 700,000 cases against the com-
munist country’s tally of 673, 564, India is
now behind US and Brazil after a record
spike of nearly 25,000 new cases. It now has
19,289 fatalities against Russia’s 10, 027.
The only glimmer of hope lies in the recov-
ery rate which is almost 61 per cent. Maha-
rashtra continued to lead the table in India
with southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kar-
nataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
kept adding cases at a pace faster than the
country’s growth rate. Not that Delhi is far-
ing any better with nearly 100,000 cases.
The high recovery rate doesn’t mean that gov-
ernments are lowering guards yet. As state after
state mobilise resources to save lives, many of
them are cancelling university examinations to
prevent the pandemic from spreading among
the youth. Rajasthan became the latest state to
cancel all university examinations for the aca-
demic year 2019-20. Chief Minister Ashok Ge-
hlot said in a tweet that the government has
decided “not to hold graduate and post-graduate
examination in all universities and technical
institutions” for the current academic year. The
government said that the students will be pro-
moted to the next class and their marks will be
decided according to the guidelines of the Min-
istry of Human Resource and Development.
Punjab government also cancelled all ex-
aminations but left the universities with
the option of holding planned online ex-
aminations. Earlier, Odisha, Madhya
Pradesh and Haryana had announced can-
cellation of examinations in their respec-
tive states. Lucknow University has also
cancelled its exams scheduled to begin
from July 7. Some of Maharashtra’s stu-
dents are in a state of flux, while others
will have no exams.
Like in Rajasthan, students in other states
too will be promoted and their marks deter-
mined as per MHRD guidelines which are yet
to be finalised. The marking system could leave
lot of deserving students sulking and the unde-
serving ones happy. More worrying is the idea
of having a generation of ‘promoted’ students
in the country.
The delay in finalisation of guidelines
for the conduct of exams by a special com-
mittee appointed by the University Grants
Commission (UGC) is at the root of the
problem. It led to speculation among stu-
dents that the exams will be put off. The
committee chairman RC Kuhad has said
that it will be a few more days before the
guidelines are submitted to the UGC.
This sluggish approach of the committee on
an issue concerning the fate of thousands of
students is lamentable. The government would
do well to hasten this process instead of raising
“unrealistic hopes” for a Covid-19 vaccine.
IN-DEPTH
I
f the United
States had
quick-thinking
and efficient
leadership, the
pandemic would have in-
fected about 100,000 people
and killed only a couple
thousand.That’stheexperi-
ence of South Korea, times
seven to account for the dif-
ference in population.
If the United States had
overwhelmed but reasona-
bly sensible leadership, the
coronavirus pandemic
would have racked up
somewhere near a million
infections at this point and
killed about 36,000 people.
That’s what would have
happened here if we’d had
a German-style response.
Instead, as of the begin-
ning of July, the infection
rate in the United States is
a world-leading 2.7 million
andthedeathtollhastopped
128,000. There are countries
with worse death rates per
million people, but, with a
couple of exceptions,
they’re either small (like
Belgium) or presided over
by leaders (like Boris John-
son in the UK) as idiotic as
ours. That is tragic enough.
But now comes Act Two.
If the United States had
practically any administra-
tive team other than the
Trump-Penceclownshow,it
wouldhaveatleastflattened
the curve at this point, no
matterhowmanyinfections
and deaths had occurred
during the first wave of the
outbreak.Americanswould
then be cautiously enjoying
their summers, bracing for
a second wave of infections
that most epidemiologists
have predicted for the fall.
Instead, while Europe and
much of Asia are tracking
down and containing small
pockets of infection that
reach at most into three dig-
its, the United States is deal-
ing with its highest daily
number of infections yet —
over 50,000 a day.
Rememberthoseearlysta-
tisticsabouthowmanymore
tests South Korea was con-
ductingperdaycomparedto
what the United States was
doing in a week? We are cur-
rently suffering the conse-
quences of that disparity.
Every day, the United States
is now adding three times
the number of infections
that South Korea has had
during its entire outbreak.
TheTrumpadministration’s
response to the threat of a
second wave is, why wait?
Donald Trump doesn’t
like masks. He has refused
to wear them. He has ig-
nored the advice of health
officials, members of his
administration and his
congressional enablers.
Trump is such an outlier
on the mask issue that even
Dick Cheney has consent-
ed to being photographed
wearing facial protection.
Astonishingly, the presi-
dent said, in an interview
with The Wall Street Jour-
nal, that some people are
wearing masks “to signal
disapproval of him.” To the
extent that people associate
Trump with death itself or
are wearing masks so that
they can live long enough to
vote the Grim Reaper out of
office, the president is right.
The pandemic in America
has indeed become all about
Trump:hisappallinginepti-
tudeandsociopathiccruelty.
Trump not only went
ahead with the rally last
month, he seemed to do eve-
rything possible to ensure
that it would be a public
health hazard. His advance
team had eight people who
tested positive with the dis-
ease. His organizers re-
moved stickers from seats
that were designed to main-
tain a modicum of distance
between audience mem-
bers. In the end, the 6,000
people who showed up were
all crowded together like
sardine superspreaders.
Most followed their leader
by not wearing masks. Tul-
sa subsequently experi-
enced a new uptick in COV-
ID-19 cases, though it’s not
clear how many can be
traced back to the rally.
That’s because Oklahoma
has an inadequate contact
tracing system.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM
Trump is playing peekaboo with the pandemic
I
nticipatory bail was granted
by Karnataka High Court to
a 27-year-old man against
whom FIR was lodged under
section 376 of the Indian Pe-
nal Code for committing
rape on a woman.
Justice Krishna S. Dikshit
took serious note of the uncom-
mon fact that the women, after
being ravished, had conveni-
ently gone to sleep.
The Judge while granting
bail to the accused, also con-
sidered the fact that the vic-
tim had gone to the office in
the odd hours and she enjoyed
drinks with the accused.
Anticipatory bail is granted
under Section 438 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure by the
Sessions Court/High Court, is-
suing directions to the con-
cerned Police station to release
the accused on bail in the event
of his/ her arrest. The peculi-
arity of this section is that the
accused is not required to ap-
pear in court when the matter
is taken up. The material that
is considered by the court is the
case diary of a police station
where the FIR is lodged.
Based on half-cooked ma-
terial of the case diary, the
court considers the plea of
the accused.
It appears that Karnataka
High Court, based on facts be-
fore it, prima facile was of the
view that the victim was a con-
senting party.
Since full facts are not be-
fore me I refrain myself
from making any comment
on the order passed by Kar-
nataka High court but if the
matter would have been be-
fore me I would have asked
the prosecution following
questions:
z Whether the investigation was
conducted from the angle that
the drinks had matter which
could cause unconsciousness?
z Whether the glass from which
the victim allegedly sipped the
drink, was examined by FSL
(forensic science laboratory)?
z Whether the offence of rape
was committed before taking
drinks or afterward?
z What was the relationship
between the accused and the
victim? Whether the victim
was a staffer in the ofﬁce of the
accused?
z Whether custodial interroga-
tion was necessary for extract-
ing the truth?
z What was the status of the
accused?
After considering the an-
swer to these questions it
could be very well inferred
the fact situation. The sleep
of the victim could be the ef-
fect of intoxication.
The State of Karnataka in
the facts of the case is required
to file SLP (Special Leave Peti-
tion ) in the Supreme Court.
assailing the order.
In the SLP along with oth-
er legal questions, the force
of the arguments may be
used on the question of cus-
todial interrogation. In our
country sexual offences are
increasing day by day. Now It
is on the judiciary to strike
the balance. The culprits,
these days are intelligent
enough with the invention of
the internet. They are well
versed in new techniques for
committing offences.
What is argued on behalf of
the accused may be thorough-
ly considered by the court but
the rights of the victim may
also be looked into. It is well
settled that one can not have
sex even with a woman of easy
virtue without her consent.
Having forcefully sex even
with wife by her husband
without her consent amounts
to the offence of rape.
The accused persists in en-
joying whiskey which is
gulped by her in large quan-
tity and she lost sense. Tak-
ing advantage of the situa-
tion the accused commits
sexual intercourse with her,
the act of the accused is also
an offence of rape.
The sleep of the victim was
the aftereffect of a heavy dose
of liquor gulped by her on be-
ing persisted by the accused.
In the SLP it may be stated
that this possibility can not
be ruled out that the accused
made a sketch to have sex
with the victim and thereaf-
ter filled colours in the
sketch. She was requested to
reach his office as she was
urgently required. When
she reached, she was offered
liquor and she was persuad-
ed till the last moment until
she agreed to consume liq-
uor. She was treated nicely
and when she lost senses
rape was committed on her.
In Alwar (Rajasthan) a for-
eigner woman agreed to have
sex with a young man but with
a condition that he will use a
condom before sex.
The young man failed to
abide by the condition and
had sex with the woman.
Even though the woman con-
sented to have se but it was
treated conditional consent
and the case under Section
376 of Indian Penal Code was
registered against the young
man for committing offence
of rape and he was arrested.
In the eyes of the judiciary,
the accused and the victim both
standonequalpedestals,andthe
judiciary is required to strike
the balance between the two.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Judiciary should strike a balance
vis-a-vis rights of accused & victim
A
In the SLP along
with other legal
questions, the force of
the arguments may
be used on the
question of custodial
interrogation. In our
country sexual
offences are
increasing day by
day. Now It is on the
judiciary to strike
the balance. The
culprits, these days
are intelligent
enough with the
invention of the
internet. They are
well versed in new
techniques for
committing offences
THE JUDGE WHILE
GRANTING BAIL TO
THE ACCUSED, ALSO
CONSIDERED THE
FACT THAT THE
VICTIM HAD GONE TO
THE OFFICE IN THE
ODD HOURS AND SHE
ENJOYED DRINKS
WITH THE ACCUSED
JUSTICE
SHIV KUMAR SHARMA
Former Judge Rajasthan High
Court and Ex-Member of Law
Commission of India
They live in wisdom who see
themselves in all and all in
them, who have renounced
every selfish desire and sense-
craving tormenting the heart.
—Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
Rahul Gandhi belongs to that
glorious dynastic tradition where
as far as defence is concerned,
committees don’t matter, only
commissions do. Congress has
many deserving members who
understand parliamentary matters
but one dynasty will never let such
leaders grow. Really sad.
Anand Sharma
@AnandSharmaINC
Reports of Chinese troops
withdrawal from Galwan Valley
is a positive development.
Disengagement and de - escalation
on LAC is a priority. India must
insist for pullback in Pangong Tso.
There is need for eternal vigil.

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
has once again targeted
the Narendra Modi gov-
ernment, calling its de-
monetisation policy and
implementation of
Goods and Services Tax
(GST) failures. He also
said that these policies
along with the govern-
ment’s failure in han-
dling of the coronavirus
situation will be studied
by the Harvard Busi-
ness School.
“Future HBS case
studies on failure: 1.
Covid19. 2. Demonetisa-
tion.3.GSTimplementa-
tion,” Gandhi said on
Twitter.
He also attached a clip
of Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi’s address to
the nation, superimpos-
ingagraphwhichshows
the number of Covid-19
cases rising in the coun-
try and India reaching
the third spot globally.
Gandhi and his Con-
gress party have been
attacking the govern-
ment over the Covid-19
situation in the country,
comparing its policies
with those of the west-
ern countries. He has
alsoheldaseriesof talks
with public intellectuals
and business leaders
where Gandhi accused
the government of cen-
tralising the power. He
also talked about the mi-
grant workers and the
poor people who were
hurt the most by the
Covid-19 lockdown. —ANI
‘Govt failures to be studied at Harvard’
New Delhi: BJP Presi-
dent Jagat Prakash Na-
dda on Monday, said
that Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi has not
attended a single meet-
ing of the Standing
Committee on Defence,
however, he continues
to demoralise the na-
tion and question the
valour of the armed
forces.
“Rahul Gandhi does
not attend a single
meeting of Standing
Committee on Defence.
But sadly, he continues
to demoralise the na-
tion, question the val-
our of our armed forces
and do everything that
a responsible opposi-
tion leader should not
do,” Nadda tweeted.
“Rahul Gandhi be-
longs to that glorious
dynastic tradition
where as far as defence
is concerned, commit-
tees don't matter, only
commissions do. Con-
gress has many deserv-
ing members who un-
derstand parliamenta-
ry matters but one dy-
nasty will never let
such leaders grow. Re-
ally sad,” Nadda added.
Rahul Gandhi had on
Friday said that the
voices of “patriotic
Ladakhis” must be
heard and ignoring
them would cost India
“dearly”. —ANI
‘RaGa continues to demoralise the nation’He belongs to that glorious tradition where as far as defence is concerned, committees doesn’t matter, only commissions do, Nadda tweeted
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Mon-
day set aside the Delhi
High Court order seek-
ing records of judicial
proceedings before spe-
cial courts in Delhi and
Mumbai in connection
with the transfer of ac-
tivist Gautam Nav-
lakha to Mumbai in
Bhima Koregaon case.
A bench headed by
Justice Arun Mishra
said that Delhi High
Court should not have
entertained interim
bail plea of Navlakha
in Bhima Koregaon
case as the case comes
within the jurisdiction
of BombayHighCourt.
The bench also ex-
punged adverse re-
marks made for the
National Investigation
Agency (NIA) by a sin-
gle-judge bench of Del-
hi High Court, while
allowing the plea.
Appearing for the
NIA, Solicitor General
Tushar Mehta told the
bench that the Delhi
High Court had passed
an “unprecedented”
order for “house cus-
tody” for Navlakha
and he was given pro-
tection while in house
custody.
At the time of the
surrender, Delhi was
under lockdown after
which Navlakha
moved his plea in Del-
hi HC, said Mehta add-
ing that a request was
later made for a pro-
duction warrant from
the Bombay HC & spe-
cial judge on judicial
side in Bombay passed
the order. —ANI
Bhima Koregaon Case: SC sets
aside HC order on NIA’s plea
Jammu: The National
Investigation Agency
(NIA) has filed a charge
sheet against suspend-
ed deputy superinten-
dent of Jam-
mu and Kash-
mir Police
Davinder Sin-
gh for his asso-
ciation with
t e r r o r i s t
groups in
Kashmir val-
ley, officials
said Monday.
Singh was arrested in
January this year for
providing safe passage
to terrorists Naveed
Babu, Rafi Ahmed Rath-
er and Irfan Shafi Mir.
Earlier last month, a
Delhi court had granted
bail to Davinder Singh
after the Delhi police
failed to file
charge sheet
against him
during the
statutory peri-
od of 90 days
in a conspira-
cy case.
The Delhi
police’s spe-
cial cell had
filed a case against Sin-
gh, for alleged criminal
conspiracy and activi-
ties against the interest
of the country. —ANI
NIA files charge sheet
against Davinder Singh
New Delhi: The Delhi
HC on Monday said that
it will hear on July 13
the final arguments on
a batch of petitions re-
lated to the Jamia vio-
lence, which took place
in December last year.
A division bench of
Chief Justice DN Patel
and Justice Prateek Ja-
lan said that it will hear
final hearing on these
petitions on July 13 and
asked to place before it
a consolidated list of is-
sues, to be considered
by the court.
Senior advocate Col-
in Gonsalves, appear-
ing for one of the peti-
tioners, also agreed to
delete some objectiona-
ble portions form re-
joinder after SG Tushar
Mehta raised objections
and court intervened.
“Why personal allega-
tions against any xyz...
Everyone was arguing
so nicely...” Chief Jus-
tice Patel said asking to
delete the objectiona-
ble content pointed out
by Mehta. “We appreci-
ate the stand taken by
senior advocate Colin
Gonsalves,” the bench
said after Gonsalves
agreed to delete cer-
tain portions from the
rejoinders. —ANI
Delhi HC to
hear final
arguments
on July 13
JAMIA VIOLENCE
Kanpur: The Office of
UP DGP announced on
Monday, that bounty on
the arrest of the main
accused of Kanpur en-
counter case, Vikas
Dubey, has been in-
creased to Rs 2.5 lakhs.
Vikas Dubey is the
main accused in Kan-
pur encounter case in
which eight police per-
sonnel lost their lives.
Currently, a search
operation is underway
for Dubey in Kanpur
encounter case, in
which a group of assail-
ants allegedly opened
fire on a police team
which had gone to ar-
rest him. Eight police-
men were killed in the
incident.—ANI
Bounty increased on Vikas Dubey to
`2.5 lakh,posters put up at toll plazas
KANPUR SHOOTOUT
KIREN RIJIJU GREETS DALAI LAMA
ON HIS 85TH BIRTHDAY
New Delhi: Union
Minister Kiren Rijiju on
Monday conveyed his
greetings to Tibetan
spiritual leader the Dalai
Lama on the occasion
of his 85th birthday and
said his values and ideals
are the guiding light
towards love and peace
for entire humanity. “On
the auspicious occasion
of the 85th birthday of His
Holiness The 14th Dalai
Lama, I offer my deepest
reverence, prayers, and
wishes for his long and
healthy life. His values
and ideals are the guiding
light towards love, peace
and compassion for entire
humanity,” Rijiju tweeted.
The minister also posted
his picture with the Dalai
Lama where the latter is
holding his hand.
Sensex jumps
466 pts on
global cues
Mumbai: Equity indi-
ces traded with a posi-
tive bias throughout
Monday’s session amid
a strong rally in all ma-
jor sectors. At the clos-
ing bell, the BSE S&P
Sensex was up by 466
pts or 1.29% at 36,487
while the Nifty 50 edged
higher by 156 points
Nifty pharma slipped
by 0.6% but all other
sectoral indices at NSE
were in the green with
Nifty auto gaining by
2.8 per cent. —Agencies
SUSHANT SINGH CASE: DIR
BHANSALI RECORDS STATEMENT
Mumbai: Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali ar-
rived at Bandra police station on Monday to join
investigations in the death of actor Sushant Singh
Rajput. Bhansali has been summoned by the
Bandra police to record his statement and will be
questioned regarding the films he had offered to
the late actor, which didn’t materialise. Bhansali
arrived at the police station at around 12:30 pm
and was accompanied by his lawyer and a few of
his staffers. Over 29 persons have recorded their
statements until now.
MP CHIEF MINISTER CHOUHAN
CALLS ON VICE- PRESIDENT
New Delhi: MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on
Monday called on V-P M Venkaiah Naidu here.
Chouhan, who had recently inducted 28 ministers
in his council of ministers, has been meeting the
central leadership of BJP. Though there has been
no official comment, the issue of allocation of
portfolios to newly-inducted ministers has been
the focus of the meets. “Shri Shivraj Singh Chou-
han, CM of Madhya Pradesh called on the Vice-
President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi
today,” Vice -President’’s Secretariat tweeted.
LAST DATE FOR AADHAAR-PAN
LINKING EXTENDS TO MAR 31, 2021
New Delhi: The govern-
ment extended the last
date for linking Aadhaar
and PAN to March 31
next year. The decision
was taken keeping the
COVID-19 pandemic and
the resulting difficulties
in mind. “Understanding
and keeping in mind the
times that we are in, we
have extended deadlines.
PAN - AADHAAR linking
can be done till 31st
March, 2021. We do hope
this helps you plan things
better,” the (IT) Depart-
ment tweeted. Earlier, in
another big relief to tax
assessees, the IT Depart-
ment had extended the
last date of payment of
self-assessment tax, in
case of tax liability upto
Rs 1 lakh till November
30, 2020.
New Delhi: The World
Bank signed a 750 mil-
lion dollar (about Rs
5,600 crore) agreement
with the government
for MSME Emergency
Response Programme
to support the increased
flow of finance into the
hands of micro, small,
and medium enterpris-
es (MSMEs) severely
impacted by the Cov-
id-19 crisis.
The programme will
address immediate li-
quidityandcreditneeds
of nearly 15 lakh viable
MSMEs to help them
withstand the impact of
the current shock and
protect millions of jobs.
This is the first step
among a broader set of
reforms that are needed
to propel the MSME sec-
tor over time. The
agreement was signed
by Sameer Kumar
Khare, Addl Secy at
Dept of Economic Af-
fairs, on behalf of gov-
ernment & Junaid Ah-
mad, Country Director
(India) on behalf of
World Bank. Khare said
that the Covid-19 pan-
demic has severely im-
pacted the MSME sec-
tor leading to loss of live-
lihoods and jobs. —ANI
World Bank, India sign $750
million programme for MSMEs
BJP National President JP Nadda pays tribute to Bharatiya Jan Sangh leaders Syama Prasad
Mookerjee and Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay on the occasion of former’s birth anniversary, at BJP HQs.
IN THE COURTYARD
‘PAK OFFICIALS
WERE USING
HIM TO GET
SENSITIVE INFO’
UP GOVT FALSELY PROPAGATING
THAT CRIME IS OVER: PRIYANKA
New Delhi:
The National
Investigation
Agency on Monday
said that Davinder
Singh was in touch
with certain officials
of the Pakistan High
Commission in
New Delhi through
secure social media
platforms. The NIA
chargesheet said
that Singh was
being groomed
by the Pakistani
officials for
the purpose of
obtaining sensitive
information.
New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
said that UP accounts for one-third of the total
crimes against Dalits. Taking to Twitter, Congress
leader slammed Adityanath government for falsely
propagating that there is no crime in the state and
said that crime against women in UP
increased by 21% from 2016 to 2018.
“UP accounts for one-third of the
total crimes against Dalits. Crime
against women in UP increased by
21% from 2016 to 2018. Surprising-
ly, instead of fixing accountability
on crimes, the UP govern-
ment kept falsely propa-
gating crime is over”,
she tweeted. —ANI
New Delhi: In wake of
reports that Chinese
Army has retreated two
km behind the LAC, the
Congress, which has
been questioning the
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Chinese
transgressions, on
Monday credited the
armed forces for the de-
velopment.
“We know that the
PLA can''t withstand
the Indian forces, so
they have retreated but
the Prime Minister has
to reply to tough ques-
tions,” part spokesper-
son Pawan Khera said
at a press conference
here on Monday.
The PM should him-
self come forward and
tell what is the truth
though in the all-party
meeting, he had said
that no Indian territory
has been occupied, he
said. —Agencies
‘Credit to armed forces for
Chinese army retreat’
It's not
important that
Rahul Gandhi
attended a
meeting or not
but the
important thing
is the questions
that Rahul
Gandhi is asking
on Chinese
transgressions.
—Pawan Khera,
Congress spokesperson
3 MORE COPS SUSPENDED
He (Rahul Gandhi) does not do any work
and just keeps on agitating. A person full of
negativity will see everything as negative.
He is always complaining. They (Congress) fail to
see all that is being done in the field of agriculture,
sports, for women’s rights and business
—Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister of Minority Affairs

New Delhi: The gov-
ernment is not consid-
ering any proposal to
merge the Central
Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) and Central
Board of Indirect Taxes
and Customs (CBIC),
the Union Finance Min-
istry said on Monday.
The Centre refuted as
“baselessandunverified”
a media report which
claimed that the Union
government is consider-
ing a proposal to merge
the CBDT and CBIC.
As per the Ministry
of Finance, a leading
newspaper published a
news item which stat-
ed that the Govern-
ment is considering
such a proposal.
“This news item is
factually incorrect as
the Government has no
proposal to merge the
two Boards created un-
der the Central Boards
of Revenue Act, 1963,”
the Ministry said.
Itaddedthatthearticle
was published “without
due verification of facts
from the authorities of
Ministryof Finance.The
merger had been recom-
mended by TARC earlier,
butitwasnotacceptedby
the government, Minis-
try said. —ANI
FINANCE MINISTRY’S TAKE
INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020
2008 BATCH IFS OFFICER UMESH
KUMAR QUITS
A 2008 batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) AGMUT
cadre officer, Umesh Kumar has resigned from
the service with effect from July 31, 2020.
IPS OFFICER SUDHEER KUMAR
REDDY GOES ON INTER CADRE
DEPUTATION TO AP
An inter cadre deputation of Sudheer Kumar
Reddy, from Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh, has
been approved for an initial period of three years.
He is a 2010 batch IPS officer.
SS SANDHU UNLIKELY TO BE NEW
CHIEF SECRETARY OF UTTARKHAND?
The name of Sukhbir Singh Sandhu was be-
ing bandied around as next Chief Secretary of
Uttarkhand in August after the superannuation
of incumbent Utpal Kumar Singh in July. The
extension to present posting as Chairman,
National Highways Authority of India, reduces the
possibility for the same.
WILL UTTARAKHAND CHIEF
SECRETARY GET EXTENSION?
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh
is expected to get six months extension in service
beginning August 1. He is a 1986 batch IAS of-
ficer. If no extension, 1987 batch IAS officer Om
Prakash may be appointed Chief Secretary.
AJAY PRAKASH SAWHNEY TO BE NEW
CHIEF SECRETARY OF ANDHRA PRADESH?
In all probability, 1984 batch IAS officer Ajay
Prakash Sawhney will succeed Nilam Sawhney in
September as Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh.
Nilam Sawhney has been given a three months’
extension from July 1.
DEEPAK KUMAR GETS SECOND
EXTENSION AS CHIEF SECRETARY,
BIHAR
The Government of India has extended the term
of Deepak Kumar for yet another six months till
February 28, 2021. Kumar who belongs to a 1984
batch is presently Chief Secretary of Bihar.
C0J VENUGOPAL CONTINUES AS
CHIEF RESIDENT COMMISSIONER,
ODISHA BHAWAN
C J Venugopal will remain holding an additional
charge of Chief Resident Commissioner of Odis-
ha Bhawan in New Delhi. He is a 1988 batch IAS
officer of Odisha cadre.
POWERGallery
Saurashtra
inundated...
A bridge, estimated to
have been constructed
in 1991, collapsed on the
Bamnasa Padodar Road
over Sabdi River in Ke-
shod taluka of Jun-
agadh district. Vehicle
movement has been
stopped and no casual-
ties have been reported.
The highest rainfall in
Rajkot district was re-
corded in the Padad-
hari taluka which re-
ceived 172 mm showers
followed by Rajkot city,
which recorded 119 mm
of rainfall.
To help with relief ef-
forts and curtail the sit-
uation early, the state
government deployed
the National Disaster
Relief Force (NDRF)
teams for rescue opera-
tions in Kutch, Rajkot
and Surat on Monday.
The IMD has forecasted
heavy rainfall in Sau-
rashtra, Kutch and
some parts of South and
Central Gujarat over
the next three days.
Varsities to...
(pen and paper) online
blended (online and of-
fline) mode as per feasi-
bility and suitability,”
according to the UGC
guidelines. Union HRD
Minsiter Ramesh
Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
tweeted, “The UGC has
revisited its earlier
guidelinesrelatedtouni-
versity examinations.”
The minister said it
has been formulated
“in view of the safety,
career progression
and placements of the
students and their
larger interests, after
consulting” the home
ministry and the
health ministry. —PTI
SC dismisses...
after hearing argu-
ments from petition-
er-advocate Reepak
Kansal and other re-
spective parties in the
matter.
“Why you have raised
this issue?” the bench
had asked during the
last hearing, to which,
Kansal had replied, his
writ petition seeking
One Nation One Ration
Card was not listed.
Kansal had said that
many influential ad
popular lawyers cases
are listed, but his and
other not influential
lawyers’ cases were not
being listed. —ANI
Doval knocks...
and stepwise de-escala-
tion in the India-China
border areas,” the
MEA said.
It said Doval and
Wang re-affirmed that
both sides should
strictly respect and ob-
serve the LAC and
should not take any
“unilateral action” to
alter the status quo and
work together to avoid
any incident in the fu-
ture that could disturb
peace and tranquillity
in border areas.
Meanwhile, in the
first sign of de-escala-
tion of tension in east-
ern Ladakh, the Chi-
nese Army has removed
tents and started to
withdraw its troops
from Galwan Valley as
decidedduringhigh-lev-
el talks between the two
militaries, government
sources said on Monday.
China’s People’s Lib-
eration Army was seen
removing tents and
structures at patrolling
point 14, the sources
said, adding rearward
movement of vehicles
of Chinese troops was
seen in the general area
of Galwan and Gogra
Hot Springs.
They said disengage-
ment of Chinese troops
in the area has begun as
per decisions arrived at
during the Corps Com-
mander-level talks.
The sources said
there was clear sign of
withdrawal of struc-
tures and troops from
the patrolling point 14
in Galwan Valley and
that they are likely to
move back more than a
kilometre in the area.
China criticises...
The US Navy said over
the weekend that the
USS Nimitz and the USS
Ronald Reagan along
with their accompany-
ing vessels and aircraft
conducted exercises de-
signed to maximize air
defense capabilities,
and extend the reach of
long-range precision
maritime strikes from
carrier-based aircraft
in a rapidly evolving
area of operations.
China claims almost
all of the South China
Sea and routinely ob-
jects to any action by
the U.S. military in the
region. Five other gov-
ernments claim all or
part of the sea, through
which approximately 5
trillion in goods are
shipped every year.
New expat...
According to latest data
from Johns Hopkins
University, more than
49,000 cases of corona-
virus have been report-
ed in the country.
The report stated
that ‘last month, Ku-
wait’s prime minister,
Sheikh Sabah Al Kha-
lid Al Sabah, proposed
decreasing the number
of expats from 70 per
cent to 30 per cent of
the population’. —ANI
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: To im-
prove highways, a rank-
ing system will be intro-
duced based on perfor-
mance audit of roads,
NHAI said on Monday.
NHAI has been man-
dated the task to devel-
op, maintain and man-
age National Highways,
the arterial roads of the
country, for inter-state
movement of passen-
gers and goods.
“In its effort to im-
prove the quality of
roads,NHAIhasdecided
to undertake perfor-
mance assessment and
rankingof thehighways
in the country,” NHAI
said in a statement.
The assessment audit
and ranking of NHs are
aimed to take corrective
recourse,whereverneed-
ed, to improve the quali-
ty and provide higher
level of service to high-
way commuters, it said.
The assessment pa-
rameters are based on
different international
practices and studies
for bench-marking
highway performances
in Indian context.
“The criteria for the
assessment have been
broadly categorised in
three main heads: High-
way Efficiency (45 per
cent), Highway Safety
(35 per cent) and User
Services (20 per cent),”
it said.
‘NHAI to rank highways to
ensure high quality roads’
New Delhi: Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal on Monday said that
despiteDelhi'sCOVID-19
cases having almost
reachedthe1-lakhmark,
peoplemustnotpanicas
the recovery rate in the
national capital now
stands at 72 per cent.
“The number of COV-
ID-19 cases have almost
reached the one lakh
mark in Delhi. However,
there is no need to be in-
timidatedbythenumber
onelakhasalmost72,000
people have also recov-
ered from the virus,”
said the Delhi Chief
Minister.Hefurthersaid
that Delhi's COVID-19
recovery rate now
stands at 72 per cent
which “is pretty big be-
cause it signifies that
even though people are
testing positive, they are
recovering as well”.
“Close to 20,000-24,000
samples are being tested
inthenationalcapitalon
a daily basis,” he added.
The national capital's
COVID-19 cases are also
nearing the 1-lakh mark
with 99,444 coronavirus
cases and 3,067 deaths,
according to the Union
Health ministry. —ANI
WITH DELHI’S RECOVERY RATE AT
72 PC, NO NEED TO PANIC: KEJRI
New Delhi: Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
walsaidthatthenumber
of ICUbedsatRajivGan-
dhiSuperSpecialityHos-
pital has been increased
from 45 to 200 to treat
coronavirus patients.
Kejriwal and Dy CM
Manish Sisodia paid a
visit to Rajiv Gandhi Su-
per Speciality Hospital
in order to review COV-
ID19 preparedness. “Del-
hi government's Rajiv
Gandhi Super Speciality
Hospital is playing an
important role in the
fight against COVID-19.
Thestaff of thishospital
isworkingdayandnight.
Around 1,000 patients
have been discharged.
Thecapacityof ICUbeds
has been increased from
45bedsto200bedsinlim-
ited time and resources.
We have asked the hospi-
talauthoritiestoincrease
it to 500 in the coming
times,” he said. —ANI
200 ICU beds available in Delhi Hospital
Arvind Kejriwal & Manish Sisodia felicitate patients after recovery at a hospital in New Delhi.
Kathmandu: Nepal”s
ruling communist
party”s crucial Stand-
ing Committee meeting
to decide PM K P Shar-
ma Oli”s future has
been postponed until
Wednesday,accordingto
sources. The reason for
the postponement was
notimmediatelyknown.
On Saturday as well,
the meeting was post-
poned for Monday as
the top leaders of the
Nepal Communist Par-
ty (NCP) required more
time to forge an under-
standing on the out-
standing issues.
Thecrucialmeetingof
the NCPâ ™s 45-member
Standing Committee, the
most powerful body of
the party, was scheduled
to be held on Monday.
Top NCP leaders, in-
cluding former PM
Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Prachanda, have de-
manded PM Oli”s resig-
nation, saying his re-
cent anti-India remarks
were “neither political-
ly correct nor diplomat-
ically appropriate.” —PTI
Nepal’s ruling party
meet deferred again
No proposal to merge CBDT,
CBIC, says Centre
Chandigarh: In a ma-
jor development in a
five-year-old theft of the
Sikh holy scriptures in
Punjab, the Special In-
vestigation Team (SIT)
made controversial
Dera Sacha Sauda sect
chief Gurmeet Ram Ra-
him Singh, who is serv-
ing a 20-year jail sen-
tence for raping two of
his disciples, an accused
in the case. He was
named as a conspirator
in the crime, a senior
police official told.
The SIT, led by DIG,
Jalandhar Range, Ran-
birSinghKhatra,hadar-
rested seven Dera Sacha
Sauda followers from
Faridkot district for
stealing a “bir” of Guru
Granth Sahib from Burj
Jawahar Singh Wala vil-
lage in June 2015. The
case was registered in
Faridkot. Among the ar-
rested accused, five were
sent to judicial custody
by a Faridkot court on
Monday.
In 2015, two people
were killed in police fir-
ing and several others
injured in violent clash-
es during protests
against incidents of
sacrilege of holy book
at Behbal Kalan and
Kotkapura towns.
Ram Rahim
made accused
in theft of Sikh
holy scriptures
NATIONAL POSITIVE RATE AT 6.73% OVER 10 MILLION TESTS DONE: ICMR
New Delhi: The coordinated efforts of Centre & state
govts to effectively manage COVID-19 pandemic
has resulted in reduced COVID-19 positive rate
in the country. The national coronavirus positive
rate stands at 6.73 per cent, as per the MoHFW
on June 6. Further, the tests conducted per million
population in the country is at 6,859. The Centre has
emphasised on increasing testing, prompt contact
tracing and timely clinical management of the cases.
New Delhi: India has conducted over 10 million (1
crore) tests to diagnose COVID-19 so far, officials
from the ICMR said, as the cases of coronavirus rose
up to 6,97,413 in the country. In the past 24 hours,
about 1,80,596 samples were tested on July 5 in the
country with a total of 1,00,04,101 samples have been
tested till date. A senior ICMR official said, “In the last
14 days, average tests were 2.15 lakh and in last five
days 1 million tests have been conducted respectively.”
HOME QUARANTINE
KP Sharma Oli.
In its effort to
improve the
quality of
roads, NHAI has de-
cided to undertake per-
formance assessment
ranking of highways.
—Nitin Gadkari,
Union Minister
I urge all those who are eligible to come
forward and donate plasma. There is
no need to worry as it will neither cause
any pain nor any weakness. We have set up the
plasma bank at the ILBS which is a non-
COVID hospital. Those donating plasma are
doing selfless service to society.
—Arvind Kejriwal, CM, Delhi

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020
ersonal protective equipment
has arguably become the most
sought-after commodity in the
world. The Covid-19 pandemic
has led to a global shortage of
this equipment. This has cre-
ated an opportunity for gar-
ment factories across Asia,
which have lots of spare capac-
ity because their clothing is in
much less demand than usual.
High street chains in the UK
and elsewhere could have im-
mediately paid their garment
suppliers to make PPE rather
than clothes, but did not. Many
simply cancelled millions of
orders, which ended up putting
thousands of Asian workers
out on the streets. Many gar-
ment workers didn’t even re-
ceive monthly wages due to
them. This was despite global
campaigning by trade unions,
such as those in Bangladesh.
Only a few western brands
such as Barbour eventually
started converting their supply
chains to make PPE. In most
cases, Asian manufacturers
just took their own initiative.
ASIA’S BIG SHIFT
China was already the largest
PPE exporter before the pan-
demic, providing almost half of
the world supply of face masks,
protective gowns, gloves and
goggles in 2018. In the first two
months of 2020, China’s PPE
exports dipped by about 15% as
its own demand for these prod-
ucts rose sharply, with the gov-
ernment preventing some con-
signments from leaving the
country.
However, from March, Chi-
nese PPE exports rebounded as
the virus spread West. China
was able to meet these orders
with help from many garment
manufacturers, in a bid to an-
swer mounting calls from other
countries for tighter quality
control of PPE.
Elsewhere, Sri Lanka has se-
cured a significant niche in the
PPE supply chain, having won
at least US$500 million in or-
ders during the crisis. Notably,
lingerie manufacturer MAS
Holdings advertised a move
into PPE production using its
trademark slogan, “Change is
Courage”.
Malaysia has enjoyed a mas-
sive rise in rubber gloves ex-
ports.Withasmuchas65%of all
medicalglovesmadeinthecoun-
try, the US embassy tweeted in
March that “the world relies on
Malaysia”. The country has also
seen numerous garment busi-
nesses moving into PPE.
Meanwhile, India is now the
second largest PPE producer
after China, having only started
making this equipment earlier
in the year. India was manufac-
turing 450,000 PPE suits a day
in May, and aiming to hit two
million by the end of June.
While Indian production has so
far only targeted the domestic
market, the government has
just announced it will soon al-
low the export of five million
PPE suits a month.
Bangalore is producing 50%
of India’s PPE kits, thanks to a
garment centre dominated by
the Gokaldas empire, which
employs thousands of women.
Production has also risen mas-
sively in Tiruppur in Tamil
Nadu state, normally a T-shirt
centre. Over 600 Indian compa-
nies are now lab-certified for
PPE, including top garment
and textile exporters Alok In-
dustries, JCT Phagwara, Goka-
ldas Exports and Aditya Birla.
With a population of well
over a billion, and around 37,000
public health facilities, India
needs a staggering quantity of
PPE as the pandemic worsens.
As it emerges from a tough lock-
down that still threatens an eco-
nomic crisis, the country
should arguably make PPE for
all workers in sectors that need
to reopen, such as agriculture.
This would get the economy
moving, while employing even
more people in PPE production.
Yet producing billions of PPE
kits may be unviable – even the
fast-fashion supply chain can
only churn things out so fast.
There are also serious issues
about environmental waste and
disposable equipment, both in
India and around the world.
Beyond Asia, the PPE supply
chain has also extended to gar-
ment factories in countries
such as Kenya and Madagascar.
This is being supported by the
World Bank, again with a view
to sustaining employment.
JOBS AND ABUSES
On the positive side, this shift
into PPE has protected and cre-
ated jobs. In India, where global
buyers like H&M continue can-
celling orders and labour pro-
tests roll on, PPE production
may mean re-employing at least
some of the hundreds of thou-
sands of garment workers who
joined the exodus of migrant
labour leaving cities early in
the pandemic. In Sri Lanka,
PPE is potentially providing a
livelihood for 300,000 workers.
On the other hand, there’s so
much pressure to keep up with
orders that it is possible that
many factories are running
sweatshop conditions and other
abusive practices carried over
from their usual operations.
The PPE supply chain was al-
ready known for labour abuses.
For instance, recent evidence
indicated the use of child la-
bour in surgical instruments
production in Pakistan. In Ma-
laysia, there are media reports
of Nepali migrant workers in
rubber glove factories being
subjected to severe abuse.
In China, recent findings sug-
gest the widespread use of Uig-
hur forced labour in numerous
sectors, potentially including
PPE. During lockdown in India,
some states have suspended ex-
isting legislation, making it
possible for factories to use
forced labour. Others have
passed legislation extending
the working day from eight to 12
hours. At the same time, it is
worth pointing out that some
countries such as Sri Lanka are
known to impose more rigorous
standards on their factories.
More generally, garment
workers worldwide may not ac-
tually have access to the PPE
equipment they make. They de-
serve to be included in the list
of key workers in responding to
the pandemic. We tend to think
of the key workers helping us
as only being in our own coun-
try, but this is clearly mistaken.
As such, we should be par-
ticularly concerned about la-
bour abuses, and do whatever
we can to oppose them. Those
who are saving our lives should
not themselves live their lives
under threat. These workers,
who were the backbone of the
global economy, are now stitch-
ing its safety net.
P
nSOURCE:THECONVERSATIONnCONCEPT:DIVYAHEMNANI
nDESIGN:SITARAMSHARMA
High street chains in the UK and
elsewhere could have immediately paid
their garment suppliers to make PPE
rather than clothes, but did not. Many
simply cancelled millions of orders, which
ended up putting thousands of Asian
workers out on the streets. Many garment
workers didn’t even receive monthly wages
due to them. This was despite global
campaigning by trade unions, such
as those in Bangladesh
How Asia’s
FACTORIES
switched to
CLOTHING
MAKING PPE

Competition is necessary, it
brings out the best in the product
and the people, just ensure it is
healthy.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 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
Surat: With the sudden
surge in coronavirus
cases in the diamond
city, a newly-created
182-bed hospital by
BJP’s Majura MLA
Harsh Sanghavi and his
friends will have spe-
cially-made cardboard
beds in it.
A video from Surat
on the social media
shows a team from the
Atal Samvedana Cov-
id-19 Care Hospital as-
sembling 182 beds made
of cardboard.
Sanghavi, also the na-
tional vice-president of
BJP Yuva Morcha
(BJYM), who set up the
facility at SMC’s Com-
munity hall in Althan
area, shared a video of
the team assembling
the bed. “These light-
weight, reusable and
eco-friendly beds are
coated with waterproof
material,” he says.
The easy to assemble
low-cost beds are made
with high strength cor-
rugated board which is
convenient to transport
and put together in
barely five minutes.
According to re-
searches, this concept
of corrugated card-
board bed is more rele-
vant during Covid-19
mainly for its dispos-
ability factor. Card-
board surfaces can stay
infected only for 24
hours whereas they
stay a little longer on
plastic and metal sur-
faces, three and seven
days, respectively.
This innovative con-
cept has been recog-
nised by the Prime Min-
ister’s Office (PMO) as
one of the top 10 innova-
tions during the COV-
ID-19 crisis.
According to reports,
50,000 beds are in use in
India today across 30
cities and over 100 fa-
cilities. The manufac-
turer has received in-
quiries for them across
the world – from Eu-
rope, Australia, Africa
and the Middle East.
Gujarat witnessed a
new high of 735 corona-
virus cases during the
last 24 hours, with the
tally reaching 36,858
positive cases.
Innovation: New Surat hospital to have cardboard beds
UNIQUE INITIATIVE
Upcoming Covid hospital in Surat will have cardboard made
strong beds.

This innovative
concept has
been recognised
by the Prime
Minister’s Of-
fice (PMO) as
one of the top
10 innovations
during the
COVID-19
crisis
GREEN BEDS
GOD’S GIFT
A baby without
foodpipe
survives on
dadi’s love. Dr
Anirudh Shah,
a city-based
pediatric
surgeon, said
that Umar, the
son of a fruit
seller from
Kheda, was
born with a
rare condi tion
– oesophageal
atresia and
duodenal atresia.
“Having one of
these conditions
is unusual but
presence of both
is rare,” he said.
Shishir Awasthi
New Delhi/
Ahmedabad: Why did
lakhs of migrants
workers start walk-
ing out of Gujarat in
a huff during the four
phases of lockdown?
The answer has come
from none other than
the Central Govern-
ment, which says Gu-
jarat distributed only
one per cent of the
foodgrains supplied
to the States under
the Atmanirbhar
Bharat package an-
nounced by Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi.
Looking at the latest
data from the Union
Ministry of Consumer
Affairs, Food and Pub-
lic Distribution, re-
leased last week, Union
Consumer Affairs Min-
ister Ram Vilas Paswan
stated that the poor per-
formance of most states
is a matter of concern.
The data shows that
only 13% of the 8
lakh metric tonnes of
free food grains allo-
cated for returning
migrant workers un-
der the Atmanirbhar
Bharat package has
actually reached the
migrants during May
and June.
As many as 26 states
lifted their full quota.
But, some states like
Gujarat, Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu did not distribute
even 1% of the food
grains, according to the
official data.
The government
had announced that 5
kg of food grains and
1 kg of pulses would
be distributed free to
all migrants, when
there was widespread
criticism of the lack
of government help
for them.
Of the 8 crore mi-
grant workers who
should have benefited
from the programme,
only 2.13 crore got the
promised subsistence
package.
The states lifted
80% of the 8 lakh
metric tonnes of food
grains allocated un-
der the programme,
but distributed only
1.07 metric tonnes till
June 30. Rajasthan
was the best perform-
er, having distributed
about 95% of its allo-
cation, followed by
Karnataka.
As for Gujarat, this is
not all. A rapid survey,
done by the Centre for
Labour Research
(CLRA), Habitat Forum
(Inhaf), Mashal and So-
ciology Department of
Savitribai Phule Uni-
versity, Pune, in April
and May 1, found that
only 35 per cent of the
migrants in Gujarat got
any help from the gov-
ernment.
It was also found that
most of the foodgrains
was provided to them
by the NGOs.
What is more, the
survey learnt that as
many as 92% of the
labourers had not
been paid any sala-
ries for the lockdown
period.
Latest Central Govt data shows Guj, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu distributed 1% of grains under Atmanirbhar package
TALL CLAIMS!
Gujdistributedonly1%grainstomigrants
Hungry migrant workers were reduced to an almost hand-to-mouth situation during the lockdown.
Satavtocontinueas
AICCin-chargeofGuj
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Even as
speculations are rife
that the Gujarat Con-
gress may face the up-
coming assembly by-
elections under a new
AICC in-charge, highly
placed party sources in
NewDelhihaveasserted
that Rajeev Satav would
continue and there is no
question of any change.
Satav is being re-
portedly blamed
among Congress cir-
cles in the State for be-
ing unable to check the
exodus of eight MLAs
in favour of the BJP
during the recent Ra-
jya Sabha elections.
“He will continue to be
the in-charge,” a high-
ly placed source told
First India.He was ap-
pointed AICC general
secretary in charge of
Gujarat affairs months
ahead of the 2017 assem-
bly elections. The party
fought the polls then un-
der the overall supervi-
sion of senior leader
Ashok Gehlot, who later
became the Chief Min-
ister of Rajasthan.
First India Bureau
Surat: Surat Munici-
pal Commissioner
Banchhanidhi Pani
on Monday directed
all the diamond units
and markets to re-
main shut till July 13,
after hundreds of
Covid-19 cases were
reported from this
key industry of the
city since Unlock 1.0.
The decision was tak-
en after a significant
number of diamond
polishers and unit own-
ers tested positive.
Since Unlock 1.0, some
600 diamond polishers
have tested positive.
The officials of the
Surat Municipal Cor-
poration informed
that most cases
among diamond pol-
ishers were reported
from Katargam zone
and Varachha areas.
“We have found that
no proper guidelines
are followed in the dia-
mond markets and fac-
tories. Permission to
resume operations will
be given to these units
if they follow the civic
body’s Covid-19 guide-
lines and standard op-
erating procedures,”
Pani said.
But as of now, the
diamond industry has
been ordered closed
completely till July
13. A decision on re-
opening would depend
on how the coronavi-
rus situation evolves
during the week.
Surat has been re-
porting 200 plus cases
since June 29, and has
overtaken Ahmedabad
in its daily Covid-19
case count. Till now,
nearly 600 diamond
workers and their kin
have tested positive in
Surat that has a case-
load of nearly 6,000 and
this is the second high-
est after Ahmedabad.
FIREATINDIANBANKATM
REDUCES`10LAKHTOASHES
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A freak
fire at an ATM of the In-
dian Bank in
Ahmedabad’s CTM area
reduced as much as Rs
10 lakh to ashes on Mon-
day morning. The mas-
sive fire, which took
place at the ATM located
in Jashodanagar, con-
sumedtwocashdispens-
ing machines as well as
a passbook printer lo-
cated in the room out-
side the bank. Bank of-
ficials put the total dam-
ageatRs16lakh,accord-
ing to fire brigade offi-
cials. The firefighters
from the Ahmedabad
Fire Brigade responded
immediately to the mas-
sive blaze but could not
preventthedamage.One
firefighting vehicle was
dispatched to the site
and it brought the blaze
under control, prevent-
ing the fire from spread-
ing to the bank branch
as well, which is located
right next to the ATM.
The cause of the fire is
yet to be ascertained, ac-
cording to officials.
An ATM booth caught fire in the CTM area of A’bad on Monday.
RAMBHAI’S POSTCARD A
DAY TO PLANT TREESFirst India Bureau
Himmatnagar: Ramb-
hai Charan, a 62-year-
old retired primary
school teacher in Gu-
jarat’s Sabarkantha
district, has single
handedly planted
more than 5 lakh
trees in his village.
And he goes about in-
spiring other people
to follow his lead, us-
ing rather unique
tools — letters and
postcards.
“I got into the habit
of writing a letter every
day to my closest
friends and relatives,
and I continue to do so
till today. At the end of
each letter I would sign
off by praying for their
good health, requesting
them to save water, and
requesting them to
plant one tree,” says
Rambhai.
Rambhai’s habit of
signing letters with
those three sentences
started in 1985 after
he attended a talk.
“The same day, I pur-
chased a postcard for
15 paise and wrote
the first letter to my
sister. I signed it with
those three lines. And
I continued the prac-
tice,” says Rambhai.
He also started send-
ing the letters to
strangers.
This man writes a letter everyday inspiring people to plant at
least one sapling.
Municipal Corporation orders all
diamond units shut for a week
Adani signs
pact with
Kalpataru
Ahmedabad: Adani
Transmission Ltd
(ATL) said on Monday
that it has signed de-
finitive agreements
with Kalpataru Power
Transmission Ltd
(KPTL) for acquiring
Alipurduar Transmis-
sion Ltd in a manner
consistent with a trans-
mission service agree-
ment and applicable
consents.
The enterprise val-
ue for the project is
Rs 1,286 crore. The
acquisition is expect-
ed to be completed in
a few months after all
necessary regulatory
approvals and other
consents.

here are days when
you are in no mood
to smile and yet the
situation requires
you to present a
smiling face. Or
someone cracks a
not-so-amusing joke and ex-
pects if not your laugh, at
least a smile. The soulless
smile that you then flash is
the forced smile. While your
lips try to look happy and
smiling, your eyes betray it.
However, there are various
types of smiles- a lot more
than just a fake or genuine
one. All look pretty much
the same, but the context,
the personality, cultural
norms and small changes in
the physical appearance
of the grin gives it a
distinct meaning.
TIGHT LIPS SMILE
A tight-lipped
smile is used for
masking true
emotions and
can be an ex-
pression of
fear, shyness,
anger or re-
straining of
thoughts
and atti-
tude.
HALF SMILE
Half smile is one of the more
confusing expressions we
have - simply because it’s so
ambiguousinitsappearance-
it’s asymmetric.
OPEN MOUTH
SMILE
Surprisingly,
the big open
mouth smile is
also a fake.
But it has a
certain magic,
especially in
photographs as it
instils the ap-
pearance of joy
and carefree at-
titude.
FAKE SMILE
This smile lacks eye involve-
ment and suggests that the
person is feigning true hap-
piness. When people tell us
to “smile for the camera,”
odds are that we engage in a
fake smile.
SEDUCTIVE AND
FLIRTATIOUS SMILE
When people try to be se-
ductive, they typically dis-
play positive affect, a slight
smile that accompanies di-
rect eye contact, with a slow
glance away, but still hold-
ing the smile.
SARCASTIC SMILE
This smile suggests a
positive emotion, but the
eyesoftengiveitaway:There
is a look of disdain. Some-
times, a sarcastic smile can
look crooked, demonstrating
the conflicting emotions of
amusement and dislike. The
expression is obvious and
gives clear sarcastic signals.
WIDE SMILE
This type of smile, if genu-
ine, should always extend to
the eyes which squint in re-
sponse to the flexing of mus-
cles.
In fact, the act of smiling
activates neural messaging
that benefits your health
and happiness. Whichever
the smile you choose, just
remember that each time
you smile, you throw a little
feel-good party in your
brain, so keep smiling!
MUSKURAAHATCITY FIRST TAKE A LOOK INTO THE TYPES OF SMILES TO GIVEYOU AN IDEA WHAT TO LOOK FOR AND
EMPHASIZE ON THEIR DISTINCTIVE FEATURES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ‘THAT’ SMILE MEANT
AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY
JULY 7, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
T
KARISHMA
GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
GLOW:Ariotousportrayalofwomen’swrestling
hen has TV ever de-
picted women of
every shape and
hue throwing off
allvanityandslam-
ming each other
into the floor with
abandon? Never. Or, at least,
rarely. Liz Flahive and Carly
Mensch’sbrilliantnewshow
about a bunch of misfit
women in 1985 Los Angeles
joining forces (and I mean
forces) to make a pilot for a
TV show, The Gorgeous La-
diesof Wrestling(orGLOW),
is a fictionalised account of
the true story behind an 80s
wrestling franchise.
Dreadful alcoholic mi-
sogynist director Sam Sil-
via (terrific standup Marc
Maron) puts out the call for
“unconventional” women
to attend a mystery audi-
tion in an out-of-town gym.
Among them is Mad Men
and Community’s Alison
Brie as serious actor Ruth
Wilder. She is at a low ebb
when she arrives to find all
the other women who can’t
get cast in 80s Hollywood
sitting on benches, unsure
what they are doing there.
The women in this are
real – not Hollywood “real”.
A breastfeeding woman
looks like we do, half hang-
ing out of her bra with a bag
of peas over the bleeding
nipple her son’s just bitten.
The fat women are fat, not
just a tad over a size10.They
say and do things that wom-
en on TV usually don’t.
Ruth looks as if she is be-
ing cut from the auditions
when her friend Debbie
(NurseJackie’sBettyGilpin)
arrives,screamingbluemur-
der and accusing her of
sleepingwithherhusband.It
should be an “oh, come on”
moment but every time this
show pulls a similar set-
piece, I find myself whoop-
ing American-style rather
than booing. “Is this real?”
asks one of the girls as the
two women scrap. “Who
cares?”repliesanother,sum-
ming up both wrestling and
theessenceof thisshow.Brie
and co are grabbing my
hand,pullingmethroughthe
ropes and I’m going with it,
grinning like a giddy fool.
The two women are
forced to work together
justastheirfriendshipun-
spools, director Sam has a
past that is about to catch
up with him, and the oth-
er women take it in turns
to ease their way to the
front as the episodes go on.
And there are so many sur-
prises. Rhonda, the quirky
Britishgirlwiththefamiliar
face, turns out to be singer
Kate Nash in a brilliant
break-outrole.Sheisatonce
dazzling and a total natural.
There are so many
magnificent wom-
en in this cast,
all of whom
had to learn
hardcore wrestling moves
to make the fake look “real-
fake” and not “body-dou-
bled fake”.
Sydelle Noel as ex-film
star Cherry Bang has quiet
power and a nice line in put-
downs. When spoilt rich kid
Melrose (Jackie Tohn)
winds her up, she chokes
her with a “sleeper hold”
until she passes out. “That’s
lunch,” she deadpans and
leaves the ring.
The one thing the awful,
bourbon-soaked director
gives the women (while hav-
ing his cake, naturally) is
an opportunity to express
themselves on screen in
an unselfconscious, pow-
erful way. Yes, the TV
pilot is funded by a giddy
rich boy with a Malibu
beach house and a robot
butler, but it’s the women
who take charge. I haven’t
seen a US show as smart,
grimy, snappy and ludi-
crous in a long time. It is
everything I want right
now with a big, lurid cherry
on top. If GLOW isn’t the
best fun you have in front of
a screen this year, I’ll give
you 10 bucks.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/
Community’s Alison Brie stars in this smart, grimy, ludicrous dramedy set against the weird, Spandex-heavy backdrop of 80s grappling!
W
FACEOFTHEDAY
VAISHALI SONI, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Buoyant temper is what you
are known for and people
love to be around you. No
one can beat you in
financial management but at the same
time you like to spend a lot on
accessories and clothes. You can start
a new business but you must be
mentally prepared for the hard work.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Exemplary behaviour on
professional front will be
rewarded in near future.
Keep away from people
who are not very clear with sides.
Don’t be confused about your future
just take a leap of faith. God is going
to bless you with a beautiful life
partner.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Highbrow critics is what
you must be prepared for
when it comes to your
business related
speculation. Today may be a wake up
call for you. Love your life and be
happy no matter what. Be grateful for
what you have. Make sure to express
your love towards your parents.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
YAttainment of goals is
possible and you will
surprise many around you.
You are motivated to try
something new in life. Some of you are
very enthusiastic about your career
even amidst the pandemic, in a way its
a good thing as you should always be
optimistic and hopeful.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Risible entertainment
fascinates you and you will
indulge in it more than
usual as of now to divert
your mind from something else. You
are a great friend and without
expecting much from someone you
always tend to give. You will be in a
cheerful mood today.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Accuracy in tallying your
accounts is must so try to
be focused while doing the
same. You are your parents’
pillar of strength and they are very
lucky to have you in life. You have an
active lifestyle and people derive
motivation from you. You will give
some inspirational lecture to your kid.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Travesting anyone by
making false stories is not
who you are and do not
forget that. Save money
and save as much as you can, this
money will be of big help in future
and you will be proud of yourself that
you decided to sacrifice your few
desires in the fast for amazing future.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Gyrating with happiness
even if its not a big thing is
what makes you special.
You light up the room with
your mere presence. Seeing the
current situation there can be delays
in your plans of abroad education.
You may invest in some business
which involves some kind of metal.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Quibbling in professional
life is not a good thing to
do so keep that in check.
Today everyone will ask for
you for something or the other,
basically you will be more in demand
than usual. You can become a good
teacher as you like to educate people
about things and you also love kids.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Inducing positivity is what
you must focus on doing
right now as far as your
business is concerned.
Where there is hope, everything is
possible. Good work speaks for itself
therefore let your performance speak
and don’t waste time in proving your
worth by talking.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Uncanny personality will
walk into your life and will
make your life heaven. You
will help an office
subordinate when other will refuse to
support him/her. There are chances
that you may switch your field for
monetary gains. Your spouse can
handle domestic matters better.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Sartorial fashion is a very
prominent part of your
personality. Gains from
parents is indicated. You
are a champion in turning things in
your favour. You can easily
manipulate people. Stand by the side
of people who are right even if some
people around you don’t agree.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva

CALLING OUT PEOPLE
S
inger and actress Hi-
lary Duff is calling
out people on irre-
sponsible behaviour
amidst the Coronavirus
pandemic. Lizzie
McGuire star Hilary
Duff isfedupwith
people who are
not following
social distanc-
ing practices
and who are
not wearing
a mask
while in
public. The 32-year-old ac-
tress witnessed a crowded
house party where no one
was wearing masks while
she was driving around Los
Angeles with her husband
Matthew Koma and daugh-
ter Banks on the Fourth of
July. Hilary took to Insta-
gram to share her annoy-
ance, “We took two walks
today. Took a family nap.
Tookadrive.Drovebyarag-
ing house party on Mulhol-
land. A**holes. No masks
(of course). Girls in bathing
suits and Louboutins
waiting to get in like a
line at a club,” the
Younger star wrote.
She added, “Cali-
fornia is in bad
shape (in so
many ways) but
doesn’t every-
one think we
all want to go
out freely
and travel
and enjoy
summer. It
r e a l l y
seems like
Americans
just don’t
care about
each other…
somehow this
pandemic has
turned into a
political stance
between par-
ties…that’s a head-
scratcher for me.”
—Agency
A
s Bollywood actor Ranveer
Singh rang in his 35th birth-
day on Monday, the film fra-
ternity extended their wish-
es on social media. Veteran actor
Anil Kapoor on Monday put out a
heart-warming post on Twitter for
the birthday boy.
Sharing an adorable throwback
video hugging Ranveer, actor Bhumi
Pednekar shared an adorable wish
for the birthday boy on her Insta-
gram story. “Happy birthday, Ran-
veer Singh.” “Kya bolti public, Ran-
veer Singh, you’re all heart and ba-
hut hard,” she added.
Celebrity fashion designer Manish
Malhotrasharedathrowbackvideoof
Ranveer on Instagram, wherein the
actor is seen gracing the ramp. Along
with the video, he not-
ed,“The#oneandon-
ly #charming
# l o v i n g
#styleinflu-
encer #fabu-
lous supreme-
lytalentedbirth-
day boy @ranveers-
ingh ...#happybirth-
day #love #ran-
veersingh”.
—ANI
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020
11
igi Hadid started 2020 on a good
note as the 25-year-old super-
modelandZaynMalikwillsoon
be embracing parenthood.
While Gigi is due in September,
it is reported that the young
couple will be having a baby
girl. During a recent Instagram Live,
when a fan asked Hadid as to how she
doesn’t have a tummy during her preg-
nancy,Gigihasquipped,“Thisangleand
the really baggy jumpsuit make for an
optical illusion.” When a British publi-
cation posted an article about the Live
claiming that the model has been dis-
guising her baby bump, Hadid clapped
back at them in a series of tweets. “Dis-
guise ....? I said in a baggy jumpsuit the
front and side views are visually differ-
ent stories- not that was intentional or
I was trying to hide anything. Will be
proud and happy to share “insight”
when I feel like it, thanks,” Gigi tweeted
and added, “For now I am proudly ex-
periencing and sharing this time with
my family and loved ones.” —Agency
G
EMBRACING
PARENTHOOD
LOVEPOURS
IN FOR RS!
S
haring
a n
adora-
ble pic-
ture with her
brother from the
childhood, actor
Shraddha Kapoor
on Monday sent
birthday wishes to
brother Siddhanth
Kapoor with a
pricelessthrowbackpicture.
The ‘Street Dancer 3D’
star posted the picture on
Instagramwheresheisseen
with her brother as they
both look into the camera.
The picture captures the ut-
ter innocence of the broth-
er-sisterduo.Alongwiththe
lovely picture, the ‘Stree’
actor penned the unique
birthday wish, “Today is a
VERY special day! It’s my
brothers birthday!!! My
bringer of joy, silliness,
strength, my conscience
keeper and major TP part-
ner, Happy Birthday Bhai-
ya!!! I love you mostest @
siddhanthkapoor.”
The picture hit more
than 40,000 followers in-
cluding Varun Dhawan’s
like. On seeing the post,
brother Siddhanth show-
ered love on sister and com-
mented, “Love you, btw
your straight face in this
photo is just EPIC.”
Her ‘Baaghi’ co-star Ti-
ger Shroff, too extended the
birthday wishes and wrote
in comments, “Happy
birthday bully @siddhan-
thkapoor have an amazing
year.” —ANI
BIRTHDAY WISHES FOR BROTHER
A
kshay Kumar on Monday lauded the decision
of the Ministry of Home Affairs to recruit
transgender officers in the assistant comman-
dant ranks in the Indian Paramilitary force.
Terming the move as a “progressive” one, Kumar
shared a tweet by the IPS officer Dipanshu Kabra and
said that he hopes that other profession too open
the doors to the community. “Brilliant news! Now
that’s a progressive move by the government in
therightdirection.Ihoperestof theoccupations
in the country follow suit,” he tweeted.
“Historic move towards #Equality. Offi-
cials of @BSF_India, @CRPFIndia & @
DGSSB told @HMOIndia that they will
recruittransgenderstotheOfficerCadre
Posts of Assistant Commandments.
This will deliver a very positive mes-
sage to the society and strengthen our
Social Fabric,” Kabra tweeted. Kumar
is currently gearing up for his upcom-
ing film ‘Bell Bottom’ which is all set to
go on the floors in August this year. —ANI
PROGRESSIVEMOVE
Gigi Hadid
...her post
Shraddha Kapoor
Akshay Kumar Ranveer Singh
...her post
Hilary Duff

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