First india ahmedabad edition-09 november 2020

PM Modi flags off RoPax ferry service between Hazira and Ghogha
First India Bureau
Surat: The RoPax fer-
ry service between
Hazira of Surat dis-
trict and Ghogha of
Bhavnagar district
was inaugurated and
flagged off by Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi through video
conferencing on Sun-
day. Union Minister of
Ports, Shipping and
Waterways Mansukh
Mandaviya and other
state leaders were also
present at the inaugu-
ration.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, PM Modi said,
“People of Gujarat have
received their Diwali
gift. Everyone will ben-
efit from the ferry ser-
vice since it will boost
business prospects and
ensure better connec-
tivity. The RoPax ser-
vice between Hazira
and Ghogha will make
dreams come true for
the people of Saurash-
tra and South Gujarat,
as the journey between
the two has been short-
ened from 10-12 hours to
3-4 hours.”
He added, “Now, es-
sentials such as
fruits, vegetables and
milk can be easily
transported through
the RoPax ferry,
which will also cut
down on pollution.”
The PM also
thanked all the engi-
neers, workers, who
worked hard to devel-
op the facility despite
several challenges. He
stressed that efforts
had been made to
modernize the entire
ecosystem of the
coastal area in addi-
tion to development
of the physical infra-
structure.
Lauding the work ex-
ecuted by the Gujarat
government, Modi said,
“Gujarat has become a
gateway of prosperity
due to the efforts of the
government in ensur-
ing the development of
all types of infrastruc-
ture in the coastal area.
Over the past two dec-
ades, a unique model of
integrated port has
evolved from tradition-
al port operations in
Gujarat and has been
developed as a bench-
mark. The result of
these efforts is that the
ports of Gujarat have
emerged as major mari-
time centres of the
country. Last year, it ac-
counted for more than
40% of the country’s
total maritime trade.”
The prime minister
also urged people to opt
for local traders, arti-
sans and rural indus-
tries during the festive
season, to help promote
their work and also aid
them economically.
It will connect South Gujarat
and Saurashtra regions, cut
down commute by 7-8 hours
Notebandi was greatly
beneficial: PMModi
4 jawans, 3 militants
killed in J&K clash
New Delhi: Four years
after he announced a
surprise decision to re-
place nearly 86 per cent
of all of India’s cash
sending shockwaves
through the economy
which is yet to fully re-
cover, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Sun-
day defended the move,
saying it had reduced
corruption and in-
creased transparency.
On November 8, 2016,
with four hours’ notice,
PM Modi had an-
nounced the decision to
ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
notes from midnight.
People stood in
queues for weeks at
ATMs and banks to
withdraw new notes
which were rationed,
plunging businesses
into chaos.
In a famous speech,
he asked people to bear
the pain for 50 days and
if the situation did not
improve, he said, he
was ready for “any pun-
ishment”.
It took months for
people to get the cash
they needed and India’s
annual economic
growth slid from 8.25
per cent in 2016 to 5.02
per cent in 2019, accord-
ing to the World Bank.
Initially billed as a
silver bullet to elimi-
nate everything from
ill-gotten wealth to ter-
rorism, demonetisation
has been widely seen by
economists as a major
blunder.
Meant to wipe out
black money, the Re-
serve Bank of India
said 99.30 per cent of all
notes banned managed
to come back into its
system.
Srinagar: An officer of
the Army and three se-
curity personnel, in-
cluding a constable of
the Border Security
Force or BSF, were
killed in the line of duty
during a major anti-
terror operation along
the Line of Control or
LoC in Jammu and
Kashmir’s Kupwara
district, officials said.
Three terrorists were
also gunned down in the
anti-terror operation,
which took place in
north Kashmir’s Machil
sector, they said. This is
one of the biggest en-
counters in the Union
Territory since April.
Around 1 am, a patrol
party of the Border Se-
curity Force noticed
suspicious movements
near the Line of Con-
trol and challenged the
intruders, leading to a
three-hour gun-battle in
which a terrorist was
eliminated.
One BSF constable
was killed in action.
“Constable Sudip
Sarkar lost his life dur-
ing the operation in
Machil Sector. Rein-
forcements received
from Indian Army, the
Joint operation still un-
derway,” said the Bor-
der Security Force.
The gun-battle ended
around 4 am, as the
army moved in rein-
forcements.
Around 10.20 am,
more intruders were de-
tected approximately
Turn to P6
Washington: Presi-
dent-elect Joe Biden is
planning to quickly
sign a series of execu-
tive orders after being
sworn into office on
Jan. 20, immediately
forecasting that the
country’s politics have
shifted and that his
presidency will be guid-
ed by radically different
priorities.
President Biden will
rejoin the Paris climate
accords, according to
those close to his cam-
paign and commit-
ments he has made in
recent months, and he
will reverse President
Donald Trump’s with-
drawal from the World
Health Organization.
The 46th President
Biden will also repeal
the ban on immigration
from many Muslim-ma-
jority countries, and he
will reinstate the
program allowing
“dreamers,” who were
brought to the United
States illegally as chil-
dren, to remain in the
country, according to
people familiar with his
plans.
Tell people, my life is
under threat:Arnab
THUMPING WIN President-elect Joe Biden gestures while his first address to the nation.
ATTORNEY GENERAL REFUSES TO REVIEW
DECISION DECLINING CONSENT TO
INITIATE CONTEMPT AGAINST JAGAN
NCB HELD BOLLYWOOD PRODUCER
FIROZ NADIADWALA’S WIFE AFTER
MARIJUANA WAS FOUND AT HOMEINITIATE CONTEMPT AGAINST JAGAN
17°C - 34°C www.firstindia.co.in | www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia | instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 345
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
‘I’M HERE TO UNIFY’
Mumbai: Republic TV
Editor-in-Chief Arnab
Goswami, arrested in
connection with the
suicide of an interior
designer, was on Sun-
day shifted to Taloja jail
in Maharashtra’s
Raigad district from a
COVID-19 quarantine
centre in Alibaug, a po-
lice official said.
Goswami was moved
to the Taloja jail after he
was allegedly found us-
ingamobilephonewhile
in judicial custody at a
local school designated
as COVID-19 centre for
Alibaug prison in
Raigad district, he said.
The Raigad crime
branch found Goswami
was active on social me-
dia using somebody’s
mobile phone, despite
his personal mobile
phone having been
seized by police when
he was taken into cus-
tody on November 4, the
official said.
While being escorted
to Taloja jail, Goswami
shouted from the police
van, alleging that he
was assaulted by Ali-
baug jailer on Saturday
evening, his life was in
danger and he was not
allowed to speak to his
lawyer.
Jared Kushner, Donald
Trump’s son-in-law
and senior adviser,
has approached
the President about
conceding the closely-
fought election to
his Democratic rival
Joe Biden, according
to media reports on
Sunday. Kushner has
approached the Presi-
dent about conceding
the election, CNN
quoted two unidenti-
fied sources as saying.
Kushner approached
Trump on conceding
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi met senior
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
leader Lal Krishna Advani on
the occasion of his birthday
at the latter’s residence on
Sunday. He also lauded the
veteran leader’s role in taking
the party to the masses and
being a ‘living inspiration’
to BJP workers and the
countrymen.
Home Minister Amit Shah and
BJP President Jagat Prakash
Nadda were also present
to wish the veteran party
leader who turned 93 today.
In a tweet in Hindi, PM Modi
said that LK Advani played a
significant role in taking the
party to the masses and is
a ‘living inspiration’ to BJP
workers and the countrymen.
“Many congratulations to
Shri LK Advani Ji, who played
an important role in the
development of the country.
He is a direct inspiration to
millions of party workers as
well as countrymen. I pray for
his long life and healthy life,”
PM Modi tweeted.
Amit Shah also wished
Advani on birthday. “Advani
Ji not only contributed to
the development of the
country by his hard work
and selfless service but
also played a major role
in the expansion of BJP’s
nationalist ideology. I wish
him all the best on his
birthday and wish him good
health and longevity,” Amit
Shah tweeted. See also P6
A SPOONFULL OF CAKE
FROM MENTOR ON BIRTHDAY
The J&K anti-terror operation took place in Machil sector.
Arnab Goswami
46TH US PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN SEEKS TO ‘UNTRUMP’ AMERICA
US President Donald Trump
golfs at Trump National
Golf Club on Saturday.
PM Narendra Modi with Joe
Biden. PM Modi tweeted
this picture to congratulate
Biden on becoming the
46th President of the United
States. Congratulations @
JoeBiden on your spectacular
victory! As the VP, your
contribution to strengthening
Indo-US relations was critical
and invaluable. I look forward
to working closely together
once again to take India-US
relations to greater heights,
the PM tweeted.
PM MODI WISHES PRESIDENT BIDENWHAT PREZ BIDEN
MEANS FOR INDIA
Biden has always
advocated strong
Indo-US relations.
In 2006, three years
before he became the
Vice-President of the
US, Biden announced
his vision for the future
of US-India relations:
“My dream is that in
2020, the two closest
nations in the world
will be India and the
United States,” he
had said.
DEMONETIZATION 4TH ANNIVERSARY
Goswami shifted to Taloja Central
Jail for using cellphone in custody
P5 P6
NARENDRA MODI
@narendramodi
Demonetisation has
helped reduce black
money, increase
tax compliance and
formalization and given
a boost to transparency.
These outcomes have
been greatly beneficial
towards national
progress.
The African
American
community stood
up again for me.
They always have
my back, and I’ll
have yours. I said
from the outset I
wanted a campaign
that represented
America, and I
think we did that
I pledge to be a
president who
seeks not to divide,
but to unify. Now,
let’s give each
other a chance. It’s
time to put away
the harsh rhetoric,
lower the
temperature, see
each other again,
listen to each other

First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Marking
the fourth anniversa-
ry of the demonetiza-
tion drive initiated by
the central govern-
ment, the state unit
of the Congress party
on Sunday termed it
“a disastrous deci-
sion”. At a press meet
held at the Rajiv Gan-
dhi Bhavan in
Ahmedabad, Con-
gress state president
Amit Chavda demand-
ed an apology from
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi for aiding
the collapse of the
country’s economy af-
ter the failure of de-
monetization.
On November 8, 2016,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi, in an unprec-
edented televised ad-
dress, had announced
that Rs500 and Rs1,000
currency notes will no
longer be legal tender.
Chavda alleged that
the promises made by
PM Modi during the an-
nouncement of the note
ban have not been fruit-
ful. He asserted that the
country was facing an
economic slowdown
due to demonetization.
“Modiji had said that
demonetization will
eliminate black money,
break the back of ter-
rorism and strengthen
the economy of the
country. But, all we
have seen in the past
four years is the col-
lapse of our economy,”
he said.
He further stated that
with recession, unem-
ployment and inflation
rising, the entire coun-
try was going through
an economic depres-
sion because of a
“wrong decision taken
by the Modi govern-
ment, for which it
should apologize.”
NEWSAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: Joseph
R Biden Jr, who has
been elected as the
46th president of the
United States of
America, has been re-
ceiving congratula-
tory messages on his
win from world lead-
ers. But, the working
president of the Gu-
jarat Pradesh Con-
gress Committee
(GPCC) Hardik Patel
has asked for forgive-
ness from US Presi-
dent-elect Biden for
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi’s advo-
cacy for incumbent
US President Donald
Trump on his trip to
America last year.
Taking to social me-
dia platform Twitter,
Patel congratulated the
newly elected presi-
dent and vice president
of the USA. “Congratu-
lations to the Presi-
dent-elect @JoeBiden
and Vice President-
elect @KamalaHarris. I
am confident that you
and your team will
unite America and pro-
vide it with a strong
sense of direction,” he
tweeted.
Pleading absolu-
tion the GPCC work-
ing president tweet-
ed, “I ask for forgive-
ness on behalf of 130
crore Indians and am
certain that our na-
tion and states will
work earnestly with
the new government
of the United States
of America.”
Patel also stated that
it was “a mistake for the
Indian Prime Minister
Modi to interfere in the
internal affairs of an-
other nation and advo-
cate the candidature of
Trump. “Last year, our
prime minister had pro-
claimed on American
soil, “Ab ki baar, Trump
sarkar”. While it was a
clear case of interfer-
ence in another nation’s
internal affairs, I hope
India and Indians do
not have to pay the price
for this misadventure
under the Biden-Harris
administration,” wrote
Patel.
It is to be noted
that US President
Donald Trump had
organized a “Howdy
Modi” event in Hou-
ston, Texas to wel-
come Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to
America. PM Modi
had returned the fa-
vour and had organ-
ized a “Namaste
Trump” event in
Ahmedabad earlier
this year to welcome
the US president to
India and campaign
for his re-election to
office. The one-day
event was highly crit-
icized for wasting
Rs100 crore of tax-
payers’ money.
Hardik Patel says sorry
to US Prez-elect Biden
Indo-AmericanBera
re-electedtoUSHouse
ofRepresentatives
First India Bureau
Rajkot: For the
fifth consecutive
term, Gujarati-
American lawmak-
er Dr Ami Bera, a
native of the Ra-
jkot district, has
been re-elected to
the US House of
Representatives.
He had contested
the election in Cal-
ifornia’s 7th Con-
gressional District.
The Democratic
lawmaker’s father,
Batukbhai, a chemi-
cal engineer, had
moved to the US in
1958 with his wife
Kantaben. Bera was
born in 1965 in Los
Angeles. According
toreports,Batukbhai
has aided in numer-
ous developmental
projects in his native
village of Vadodar in
Rajkot district. The
family has also
helped their commu-
nity in recent years.
A first-genera-
tion American,
born and raised in
California, Bera
attended Califor-
nia’s public schools
and earned both
his BS and MD
from the Universi-
ty of California,
Irvine. With help
from his family,
scholarships, and
working part-time,
he put himself
through medical
school while tak-
ing advantage of
federally-funded
student loans, and
graduated with
less than $10,000 in
debt.
He credits much
of his success to his
country’s invest-
ment in him, and has
continued to work
towards ensuring
that the government
invests in hard work-
ing Americans to
keep the ‘American
Dream’ alive for the
next generation.
C o n g r e s s m a n
Bera is the longest
serving Indian-
American in the
Congress. He has
been living in Elk
Grove, California,
for the past 20
years with his wife
Janine, who is also
a medical doctor.
They are proud
parents to their
daughter, Sydra.
Notably, three oth-
er Indian origin law-
makers namely
Pramila Jayapal,
Rao Khanna and
Raja Krishnamoor-
thi have also won re-
election to the US
Senate.
CONGRESS DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM PM MODI
GPCC prez Chavda said that Centre’s decision to announce demonetization led to economic slump
THE CONGRESS LEADER TOOK TO TWITTER AND
ASKED FOR EXONERATION FROM PM MODI’S
PROMOTION OF INCUMBENT US PREZ TRUMP
AT FAULT
Congress leader Amit Chavda
Dr Ami Bera
(Left) US President-elect Joseph R Biden Jr, (Right) GPCC working president Hardik Patel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump upon their arrival in Ahmedabad for the “Namaste Trump” event.

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad/Rajkot:
After the state govern-
ment issued a notice
complying with the Su-
preme Court’s notifica-
tion on bursting fire-
crackers, the police de-
partments of
Ahmedabad and Rajkot
have announced that
firecrackers will only be
allowed to be burst for
only two hours on Di-
wali. The notification
will remain in effect
from November 9 to No-
vember 19 in
Ahmedabad and until
December 1 in Rajkot.
According to the noti-
fication, citizens will be
able to enjoy firecrack-
ers from 8 pm to 10 pm.
Fireworks have also
been banned in city
markets, public roads,
streets, around LPG gas
plantsandpetrolpumps.
A distance of 100 metres
is to be kept while burst-
ing fireworks in areas
near hospitals, courts,
educational institu-
tions, religious places.
An offense under Indian
Penal Code (IPC) Sec-
tion 188 will be regis-
tered against those who
violate the declaration.
Restriction has also
been imposed on fire-
crackers except those
imported through the
license issued by the Di-
rectorate General of
Foreign Trade (DGFT).
Fireworks with a lower
noise level than 125 deci-
bels or 145 decibels (C)
approved by the Petro-
leum and Explosives
Safety Organization
(PESO) may be sold or
used.
Firecrackers cannot
be sold or purchased
from online commercial
websites such as Flip-
kart and Amazon. It will
also be forbidden for
citizens to fly any type
of tukkal or Chinese
lanterns at night.
On Bestu Varsh
(Gujarati New Year),
Rajkot police have
permitted bursting of
firecrackers for 35
minutes from 11.55
midnight to 12.30 am.
Police permits Diwali fireworks only for two hrs
RESTRICTED ACCESS
Firecrackers with high decibel noise levels have been banned.
YOUTH KILLS MOTHER & SISTER
OVER PETTY ISSUE IN MORBI
First India Bureau
Morbi: A youth mur-
dered his mother and
sister over a frivo-
lous issue in Morbi
taluka’s Zinkiyali
village on Saturday
night. The accused,
identified as Devsib-
hai, has been arrest-
ed by the police and
will be produced in
court on Monday.
A criminal com-
plaint was filed with
Morbi taluka police
station by Mukesh
Bhatia, the cousin
brother of the accused.
On receiving the com-
plaint, police leapt into
action and nabbed
Devsibhai. The com-
plainant alleged that
his cousin murdered
his mother Kasturben
and sister Sangeetaben
in a fit of rage, when
they did not cook him
dinner.
Mukesh stated that
the accused Devsibhai
was angry with his
motherandsisterwhen
they chose to continue
arguing about an issue
and did not cook him
any dinner when he
washungry.Whenthey
did not cease their ar-
gument, the accused
split open the throats
of both his mother and
sister with a sickle one
after another.
At around 10.30 pm
on Saturday, Morbi ta-
luka police received
word about the crime
and promptly rushed
to the village. Upon
reaching, they found
the accused present at
the scene of the crime
and took him into cus-
tody. The weapon used
for the murders was
alsorecoveredfromthe
home of the accused by
officials.
The bodies of Kas-
turben and Sangeeta-
ben have been sent for
a post-mortem exami-
nation to Morbi Gen-
eral Hospital. Devsib-
hai was brought to the
police station where
his statement was re-
corded. He underwent
aCOVID-19testonSun-
day morning and will
probably face charges
of double murder and
possession of weapon.
Morbi taluka police station. —FILE PHOTO
THE REASON
1 killed, 1 injured, 2
missing, as car falls into
gorge in Uttarakhand
State adds 1,020 new
nCoV cases to its tally
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A pil-
grim from the state
lost his life while two
others went missing
after the car they were
travelling in fell into
the Alaknanda Valley
in Uttarakhand on
Saturday. Chief Min-
ister Vijay Rupani and
Union Minister for
Ports, Shipping and
Waterways Mansukh
Mandaviya reached
out to the Uttara-
khand government to
ensure that rescue
teams had been de-
ployed to search for
the missing persons.
According to infor-
mation obtained from
Surendranagar, three
youths from the district
had travelled to Badri-
nath. On their return
journey, their car fell
into a 300-meter gorge in
the Alaknanda Valley.
Unconfirmed reports
suggest that the acci-
dent had occurred near
Baldaura between
Joshimath and Badri-
nath.
According to sourc-
es, one of the youths
named Mrugesh
Rathod lost his life
while another pilgrim
Hitendrasinh Chau-
han suffered injuries
and was rushed to a
nearby hospital. Two
other youths Kri-
palsinh Jhala and the
car’s driver Dharam-
pal are still missing.
Uttarakhand’s local
rescue team has initi-
ated a search and res-
cue operation for
them.
A team led by Suren-
dranagar Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) gener-
al secretary Jagdish
Makwana has also left
for Dehradun to help co-
ordinate the rescue op-
eration for Kripalsinh
and Dharampal.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
state witnessed 1,020
new novel coronavi-
rus cases, taking its
tally to 1,80,699 pa-
tients, while the death
toll climbed to 3,763
after seven more peo-
ple succumbed to the
virus on Sunday.
In the first eight days
of the month of Novem-
ber, the state has added
7,755 cases at a daily av-
erage of 969 cases.
A total of 1,128 pa-
tients were dis-
charged on Sunday
taking the tally to
1,57,247. The number
of active cases stood
at 12,833, out of
which, 56 critical pa-
tients were reported
to be on ventilator
support.
The highest number
of cases emerged from
Surat (194) followed by
Ahmedabad (185), Va-
dodara (127), Rajkot
(113), Mehsana (75) and
Gandhinagar (66).
Other cases were re-
ported in Jamnagar
(26), Bharuch (21), Sa-
barkantha and Suren-
dranagar (20 each), Ba-
naskantha (19), Juna-
gadh (18), Patan (17),
Bhavnagar and Kutch
(14 each), Panchmahal
(12), Morbi (10), Anand
(9), Dahod and Gir Som-
nath (8 each), Kheda (7),
Amreli and Aravalli (6),
Tapi and Valsad (5),
Devbhumi Dwarka and
Mahisagar (4), Chhota
Udepur (3), Navsari
and Porbandar (2 each).
Of the seven deaths
on Sunday, two were re-
portedfromAhmedabad
and Surat each and oth-
ers from Banaskantha,
Gandhinagar, and Sa-
barkantha.
BJP MLA Jitendra
Sukhadia of Sayaji-
ganj constituency of
Vadodara city has
been infected with
COVID-19. After his
health deteriorated,
Sukhadia was imme-
diately shifted to the
COVID ICU ward of
Gotri Hospital for
treatment.
KIN OF PIPLAJ-PIRANA TRAGEDY DEMAND JUSTICE
SOG conducts
security check in
walled city area
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The kin
of last week’s blast vic-
tims of Sahil Enterprise
on Pirana-Piplaj Road
have continued their
quest of justice for their
loved ones. On Novem-
ber 10, the families of
the deceased and other
supporters plan to gath-
er outside Chief Minis-
terVijayRupani’shouse
to protest, sources say.
Independent MLA
Jignesh Mevani met
grieving family mem-
bers of the victims at
the VS Hospital on Sun-
day.
The state government
announced compensa-
tion of Rs4 lakh for the
kin of the victims after
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi expressed his
condolences on social
media platform Twitter.
On Sunday, family
members of the victims
protested against the
apathy of the state gov-
ernment regarding the
incident, sources said.
Four days after the inci-
dent occurred on the
outskirts of the city, the
families of those killed
have refused to accept
the bodies, which are
still in the morgue at VS
Hospital.
Urged on by a few so-
cial leaders, families
have been encouraged
not to accept the bodies
of their loved ones until
they receive proper
monetary compensa-
tion. The former have
asked kin of victims to
demand Rs20 lakh in-
stead of the Rs4 lakh
recompense announced
by the state govern-
ment.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With Di-
wali right around the
corner, Amdavadis
have thronged the
walled city area to
shop for festive essen-
tials. This prompted a
special sweep by a
Special Operations
Group (SOG) team in
the area on Sunday.
After receiving inputs
from the Intelligence
Bureau (IB), the SOG
conducted a security
check-up to avert any
attempt of terror at-
tacks in the run-up to
the festival.
The IB recently is-
sued an alert regarding
terror attacks during
Diwali. As a result,
along with police, all se-
curity agencies in the
city have become alert.
All congested areas in
the walled city were
checked for any unto-
ward incident or infra-
structure. The surprise
check was led by SOG
officials and all goods
and vehicles of traders
selling their wares at
themarketwerechecked
by bomb disposal and
dog squads. At the same
time, security agencies
have also sought details
of all the shopkeepers
who have been issued
notices by the police
commissioner regard-
ing sale of fireworks.
According to sourc-
es, surprise security
sweeps will also be
carried out at hotels,
terraces and malls in
the city. The police
will be keeping a close
eye on cramped spac-
es in the city, and con-
duct regular screen-
ing of areas with
bomb disposal equip-
ment.
Angry on not being served dinner, Devsibhai attacked them both with a sickle
Health workers storing samples for COVID-19 testing in Ahmedabad.
A picture of the three youths put up on social media during their trip.
NO CAUTION!
People thronged the Teen Darwaza market in Ahmedabad on Sunday to shop for festival
essentials ahead of Diwali. The lack of social distancing and negligent attitude towards
wearing masks point toward a bigger problem for authorities amid the COVID-19
pandemic.. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani with families of the blast victims
outside VS Hospital on Sunday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
A dog squad during the sweep near Bhadra Fort on Sunday.

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 345 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020
PLEASE
WELCOME JOE
BIDEN AND
KAMALA HARRIS!
t is against protocol, in a way, to
write about Kamala Devi Harris
becoming the next Vice President
of America instead of Joe Biden’s
hard-fought and well-deserved
victory over Donald Trump. It is not to down-
play the significance of Biden’s win but to
emphasise how Kamala has broken the pro-
verbial glass ceiling in more ways than one.
To begin with, she is the first woman to be
elected to the high office in America’s his-
tory. Two, she is the first black woman and
daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and
India to become the vice president of a coun-
try splintered on racial lines. She is as proud
of her womanhood as she is of the colour of
her skin. Simply put, hers is no mean
achievement. Together, Biden and Harris
promise to unite America and not divide it
like Trump who tried every trick to whip up
racial tensions.
However, credit must go where it is due.
Kamala, whose name Trump distorted and
mispronounced to insult, was Biden’s choice
after all. President-elect Biden has said that
he would be honoured to be serving with a
“fantastic vice president” Kamala Harris.
Trump, on the other hand, said it would be an
“insult” to America if she got elected. In a
more disparaging remark, Trump even called
her a “monster”.
Biden, a white, who will be the 46th Presi-
dent of the United States at 77, ran a biparti-
san election campaign with Kamala’s pres-
ence as vice-presidential candidate lending
credibility to his unifying appeal. In a speech
post his election, Biden told the American
peoplethatitwas“timetoheal”afterTrump’s
presidency left America badly bruised.
While voters have shown Trump the door,
the President himself has refused to concede
defeat. After prematurely declaring himself
the winner, he and his campaign have already
said that the “election is not over.” So what if
Trump, who has become the first President
in 30 years to not win a second term, digs his
heels in and refuses to leave the White House
saying that he’ll stay put for four more years
even after the new President and vice presi-
dent are sworn-in? That will be a hugely em-
barrassing moment for one of the biggest
democracies and create what we Indians
know as a constitutional crisis.
If Trump contests the results and there’s a
long legal battle, it will be difficult for the
Democrats to remove him from office. It will
then be interesting to see if Trump would at-
tend the inauguration ceremony as is cus-
tomary. To avoid that, Biden and Kamala
must emerge clear winners in states where
counting and recounting of votes is still on.
One only hopes that despite his doubtful in-
tentions, Trump would not rob Joe Biden of
a historic victory. But given Trump’s unpre-
dictability, one can only say, God, save Amer-
ican democracy!
IN-DEPTH
I
n day one, a newly inaugurated
United States President Joe
Bidenwillhavetoaddressadev-
astated economy – much like he
and former President Barack
Obama did a decade ago.
WHAT CAN THE
COUNTRY EXPECT?
Forecasting how the economy
will perform under a new pres-
ident is generally a fool’s er-
rand. How much or how little
credit the person in the White
House deserves for the health
of the economy is a matter of
debate, and no economist can
confidently predict how the
president’s policies will play
out – if they even go into effect
– or what challenges might
emerge.
Regardless, voters tend to
believe it makes a difference.
And going into the election,
79% of registered voters – and
88% of Trump supporters –
said the economy was their
top concern. Given that, his-
torical data suggests that
those who are concerned with
the economy have reason to be
fairly satisfied with the elec-
tion results: the economy gen-
erally fares better under Dem-
ocratic presidents.
INHERITING A
STRUGGLING ECONOMY
Biden will be inheriting an
economy with serious prob-
lems. Things have improved
markedly since the darkest
days – at least, so far – of the
pandemic back in the spring,
but the economy remains in a
dire state.
The latest jobs report shows
that 11 million people remain
unemployed – a third of whom
have been without a job for at
least 27 weeks – down from a
peak of 23 million in April.
Tens of thousands of small
businesses and dozens of ma-
jor retail chains have closed or
filed for bankruptcy. Many
states, cities and municipal
agencies are reeling from the
tremendous costs of spring
lockdowns. And the economy
has contracted 2.8% since the
end of 2019.
And that does not include
the impact of what some of-
ficials – including Biden –
have dubbed a “dark winter,”
as severe coronavirus out-
breaks in many regions of the
US prompt new economic re-
strictions.
DEMOCRATS HAVE A
BETTER RECORD
In trying to get a sense of what
kind of impact the election re-
sult will have on the economy,
the past is a useful guide.
I study how the economy per-
forms depending on which po-
litical party is in charge. Ear-
lier this year, I did an analysis
of this question, focusing on
1976 to 2016, and recently up-
dated the data to include 1953
through October of this year.
In general, since President
Dwight D Eisenhower took of-
fice in 1953, the economy – as
measured by gross domestic
product, unemployment, infla-
tion and recessions – has typi-
cally performed better with a
Democrat in the White House.
GDP growth has been signifi-
cantly higher. Inflation – a
measure of the change in pric-
es – has been lower and unem-
ployment has tended to fall.
The stock market tends to
perform better with a Demo-
cratic president, rising 11% per
year on average compared to
6.8% for Republicans. Despite
his claims to the contrary, the
stock market’s performance
underPresidentDonaldTrump
has been about average.
A SILVER LINING
In my analysis, I also examined
the impact of Congress and
how having all, part or none of
the legislative branch con-
trolled by the president’s party
affected the economy’s perfor-
mance.
Interestingly, the US has not
seen Democrats in control of
the White House and the House
of Representatives with Repub-
licans in charge of the Senate
since 1889, when Grover Cleve-
land was president. So my data-
set, going back to 1953, does not
shed any light on this particu-
lar legislative configuration.
However, I did find that the
economy did pretty well when
a Democratic president faces
either one or both houses of
Congress controlled by the op-
position. During the 144
months when one of those con-
ditions were true, the US was
never in recession. And when
Republicans controlled Con-
gress under a Democratic pres-
ident, average monthly unem-
ployment was the lowest of any
condition, at 4.85%.
Of course, this does not
mean a divided government
will lead to good results today.
A pessimistic take is that
there will be gridlock, and
nothing will get done. In order
to pass and sustain major ini-
tiatives, bipartisanship will
be needed.
There is an off chance that
Democrats take control of the
Senate if two runoff elections
scheduled for January in Geor-
gia both fall into the Demo-
crats’ column. Historically,
such a Democratic trifecta ex-
isted for 192 months, 14 of
which – 7% – were in recession.
Source: The Conversation
JOE BIDEN’S WIN SHOULD
BECAUSEFORCELEBRATION
O
Forecasting
how the
economy will
perform under
a new president
is generally a
fool’s errand.
How much or
how little credit
the person in
the White
House deserves
for the health of
the economy is
a matter of
debate, and no
economist can
confidently
predict how the
president’s
policies will
play out – if
they even go
into effect – or
what challenges
might emerge
Biden will be
inheriting an
economy with serious
problems. Things
have improved
markedly since the
darkest days – at
least, so far – of the
pandemic back in the
spring, but the
economy remains in a
dire state
he degree to
which about
half the US
electorate sup-
ported Donald
Trump in this presidential
election, following a steady
stream of outrages over
the past four years, is a sad
testament to how small-
minded a significant per-
centage of the American
public remains. The parti-
san battle lines have only
grown stronger and ap-
pear to be insurmountable,
at least in the short term,
as blue and red America
seem perfectly content to
lash out at each other in
perpetuity. The Founding
Fathers would be spinning
in their graves if they
could see what America
has become.
I published an article in
July 2016 stating that I be-
lieved that Donald Trump
had narcissistic personal-
ity disorder, and tried to
warn America what would
be in store for it if we
elected him president. Ex-
actly four years ago, on the
eve of the US presidential
election, I wrote an article
predicting that Trump
would win. My view was
based largely on the belief
that Hillary Clinton’s in-
tended “coronation” was
premature, that she was a
flawed candidate, and that
Trump had succeeded in
tapping into an important
vein in American political
culture — the neglected
blue-collar voter. I pub-
lished that article at 3:00
the morning after the elec-
tion, one of the very first
to have acknowledged the
birth of Trumpism.
“It is doubtful that
Trump will be able to heal
our terribly divided na-
tion, which he so handily
and successfully contrib-
uted to. Now that the battle
lines are drawn — between
those who cling to an ‘Ozzie
and Harriet’ vision of
America, in which every-
one is white, conservative,
straight and Christian, and
those who recognize and
accept the multi-racial,
ethnic, religious and sexu-
al orientation of this great
land — there is no putting
Humpty Dumpty back to-
gether again, certainly not
with a leader hell bent on
fanning tendencies toward
divisiveness, rather than
unity. While we are cer-
tainly not all going to be
joining hands together and
singing kumbaya, no mat-
ter who is president, we are
not going to get there by
having a Divider-in-Chief
at the helm.”
We have seen the result
of four years under his
thumb. America has rarely
been more partisan or di-
vided. Those who yearned
for an Ozzie-and-Harriet
vision of America have be-
come more emboldened
four years later, apparently
believing that America can
once again become a bas-
tion of white conserva-
tism, replete with racism,
bigotry and misogyny.
That is unlikely to happen.
America has become too
diverse, and sufficient pro-
gress has been made to-
ward equality to revert to
that sad vision. The parti-
sanship will surely only
continue to get worse in
the coming four years. The
question is, can we ever re-
turn to a time when bipar-
tisanship reigns?
To achieve that, Ameri-
ca will need a wholesale
change in how it is gov-
erned in Washington,
complete with cleaning
house, term limits, man-
datory accountability
pledges and an end to spe-
cial interests, lobbyists
and corruption, among
other things. There’s little
chance that will be hap-
pening any time soon. It
appears that we will have
to settle for just heading
down that road, which
would be a victory in it-
self, knowing that Ameri-
ca has saved itself from
perhaps insurmountable
damage of a second
Trump term.
Source: Fair Observer
America gets rid of Trump, but not Trumpism
T
It is better to strive in one’s
own dharma than to
succeed in the dharma of
another. —Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dr Harsh Vardhan
@drharshvardhan
Saffron ﬂower has found a 2nd
home in NE. Long restricted to
#Kashmir, sample farming of
saffron has been successfully done
in Yangyang, Sikkim after tests
revealed soil & pH conditions of the
region to be comparable to saffron
growing places of Kashmir
Anand Sharma
@AnandSharmaINC
Painful Images of people standing
in queues for months outside
banks begging for their own money
and hundreds dying, remain
etched in memory. India will not
forget, and history never forgive.
#SpeakUpAgainstDeMoDisaster

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IN PLAYFUL MODE...
Zebras play at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: Attorney
General K K Venugopal
has refused to recon-
sider his November 2
decision declining con-
sent to BJP leader and
lawyer Ashwini Upad-
hyay to initiate con-
tempt proceedings
against the Andhra
Pradesh chief minister
and his principal advi-
sor for making allega-
tions against judges.
The topmost law of-
ficer, in his reply to
Upadhyay’s letter seek-
ing reconsideration of
the decision, reiterated
his stand saying that
the issue of contempt
was between Chief Jus-
tice of India (CJI) S A
Bobde and Chief Minis-
ter Y S Jaganmohan
Reddy and his principal
advisor Ajeya Kallam.
Venugopal on Satur-
day also said in the re-
sponse that the lawyer
was not precluded from
raising this issue on his
own before apex court
judges or during the
hearing of a PIL filed by
him only seeking the
lifetime ban on convict-
ed lawmakers.
Upadhyay, on Novem-
ber 5, had urged Venu-
gopal to have a relook
on the decision and
said, “I humbly request
you to peruse these
points and kindly re-
consider the granting
of consent to my re-
quest.
“This is an issue of
great importance at a
time when our judici-
ary continues to be be-
sieged by attacks, he
said. —Agencies
AG refuses to reconsider decision to
initiate contempt against CM Reddy
INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020
New Delhi: The Con-
gress on Sunday con-
gratulated US Presi-
dent-elect Joe Biden on
his electoral triumph,
with party chief Sonia
Gandhi saying his
measured speeches
during the campaign
and stress on healing
divisions among the
people were greatly re-
assuring.
Gandhi also hailed
Vice President-elect
Kamala Harris’ suc-
cess as a “triumph for
Black Americans and
Indian Americans”.
The Congress chief
said she knew Harris
would work to heal and
unite a “bitterly divid-
ed nation”.
Sonia Gandhi’s felici-
tations came in con-
gratulatory letters sent
by her to both Biden
and Harris.
In her letter to Biden,
Gandhi conveyed the
party’s and her “warm-
est congratulations”
and said that like mil-
lions around the world,
the Indian people have
followed with great in-
terest the course of the
election during the last
12 months.
“We were greatly re-
assured by your meas-
ured speeches, stress on
healing divisions
among the people, and
promotion of gender
and racial equality,
global cooperation and
sustainable develop-
ment of all countries,”
she said.The Indian
people share these con-
cerns, and “we are con-
fident” that India and
the United States will
continue to work to-
gether, as in the past
decades, for the welfare
of the people of both
countries, the Congress
chief said.
Noting that business,
trade, education, tech-
nology and defence co-
operation have forged
strong bonds between
the United States and
India, Gandhi said that
under Biden’s “wise
and mature leadership,
we look forward to a
close partnership that
will be beneficial to
peace and development
in our region and
around the world”.
In her letter to Har-
ris, Gandhi said her
win is a victory for the
noble values enshrined
in the American Consti-
tution — democracy,
social justice, and ra-
cial and gender
equality.”It is a triumph
for Black Americans
and Indian Americans,
and for the humanity,
compassion and inclu-
siveness that you have
stood for throughout
your public and politi-
cal life,” she said.
“I admire the unwa-
vering courage with
which you have fought
for your convictions —
the beliefs and values
you imbibed from your
remarkable mother!”
she said.
As Vice President of
America, Gandhi said,
she knew Harris would
work to heal and unite a
“bitterly divided na-
tion”, that she would
strengthen the ties of
friendship with India,
and that she would sup-
port democratic values
and human rights
throughout the world.
“We hope we will
have the opportunity
soon to welcome you to
India, where you will be
warmly hailed not just
as a much admired lead-
er of a great democracy,
but also as a beloved
daughter,” Gandhi said.
Congress looks for-
ward to working with
you to further bonds be-
tween the world’s two
largest democracies,
Gandhisaidinherletter
to Harris.Biden defeat-
ed incumbent Republi-
can US President Don-
ald Trump in closely-
fought presidential elec-
tion, according to Amer-
ican media. —Agencies
Sonia sends congratulatory letters to
Biden, Harris, hails their poll victory
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath
said it would be after
five centuries that the
lights of happiness
would be lit at the Ram
Janmbhoomi site after
the ‘bhoomi poojan’’
for building the temple
this year.
While announcing
his government’s plans
to make this year’s Dee-
potsav at Ayodhya “his-
torical” after the pav-
ing of the way for the
construction of the
temple, the chief min-
ister also reiterated his
government’s commit-
ment to turn Ayodhya
into a major tourism
hub in the country.
A government
spokesman quoted the
CM as saying that the
Deepotsav this year
would be “nothing
short of a dream come
true” for millions of
people, not only in the
temple town and UP but
across the entire coun-
try and the world.
“It will be after 492
years that the lamps of
happiness will be lit at
the Shri Ram Janmb-
hoomi,” an official
statement said, adding
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath is person-
ally monitoring the
preparations for the
Deepotsava and has al-
ready seen presenta-
tions on what is to take
place and where.
After winning laurels
for organising a suc-
cessful, Kumbh at Pray-
agraj, the CM has now
set his eyes on the Dee-
potsava at the holy town
this year. —PTI
‘Ayodhya to see light of happiness
after5centuriesduringDeepotsav’
New Delhi: Demon-
etisation led to better
tax compliance and a
major push towards
digital economy, Un-
ion Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman said
on Sunday, the fourth
anniversary of the
contentious policy
announcement, even
as the Congress as-
serted that the move
was aimed at helping
a few of his “crony
capitalist friends”.
Underlining the
merits of demoneti-
sation, in a series of
tweets, Sitharaman
said: “To fulfill its
promise of freeing
India from corrup-
tion, the Modi govt
implemented De-
monetisation 4 years
ago on this day, today.
The move that was
an unprecedented at-
tack on Black Money
also led to a major
push to digital econ-
omy.”
Meanwhile, in a
video, Rahul Gandhi
said the question
was how the econo-
my of Bangladesh
“surpassed” Indian
economy as there
was a time when In-
dia used to be one of
the most high per-
forming economies
of the world.Gandhi
said the question is
how the economy of
Bangladesh “sur-
passed” Indian econ-
omy. —Agencies
Demonetisation
increased tax
collections: FM
Bhopal: A religious re-
treat, or ashram, of self-
styled godman “Com-
puterBaba”,whobacked
the Congress in Madhya
Pradesh bypolls held
last week, has been de-
molishedoverencroach-
ment, officials said.
Six people, including
the godman, have also
been arrested.
Thedemolitioncomes
days after voting ended
in Madhya Pradesh by-
polls, in which Namdeo
Das Tyagi, popularly
known as Computer
Baba, had campaigned
for the Congress.
Officials claimed that
Tyagi’s ashram en-
croacheduponalmost46
acres of land, which is
valued at around Rs80
crore. A team from the
Indore Municipal Cor-
poration and the district
administration cleared
this land reportedly two
months after Tyagi was
issued notices. —PTI
MP: Ashram of ‘Computer Baba’
who backed Cong demolished
Bijapur: A Naxal was
killed while two securi-
ty personnel sustained
injuries in an encoun-
ter in Bijapur in Chhat-
tisgarh on Sunday, po-
lice said.
The exchange of fire
took place at around
10:30 am near Bhat-
tiguda village under
Pamed police station
limits, on the border
with Telangana, a sen-
ior official said.
“The District Reserve
Guard (DRG), Special
Task Force (STF) and
CRPF’s Commando Bat-
talion for Resolute Ac-
tion (CoBRA) personnel
were carrying out a
counter-insurgency op-
eration along the
Chhattisgarh-Telanga-
na border since Satur-
day,” he said.
“The encounter took
place when the patrol-
ling team was cordon-
ing off a forest at
Makrajgatta hill this
morning. One Naxal
was killed and a huge
quantity of explosives
etc were found at the
spot,” he added.
CoBRA 204th battal-
ion constable Sandip
Ghosh and constable
Chandu Kadti of the
district police sustained
leg injuries after step-
ping on an iron spike
trap set up by the ultras,
the official said.
Further details of op-
eration are awaited.
Naxal killed in
Chhattisgarh
encounter, 2
jawans hurt
Adv Upadhyaya had urged AG Venugopal to reconsider decision.
Six people, including the godman, have also been arrested.
OUT ON BAIL, UP MAN RAPES,
KILLS 7-YR-OLD GIRL; ARRESTED
Sant Kabir Nagar: A man
was arrested here on Sun-
day in connection with the
alleged abduction, rape
and killing of a 7-year-old
girl, police said. Superin-
tendent of Police Brijesh
Singh said the girl had
gone missing on Novem-
ber 4 and her body was
recovered on Saturday.
During post mortem, rape
was confirmed, he said.
The arrested accused has
confessed to his crime.
He told police that on
November 4 when he saw
the girl all alone, he ab-
ducted her. The man then
took her to a jungle, raped
and then killed her, the
police officer said. Singh
said the accused was
recently released from jail
on bail in a case of having
unnatural sex with a boy.
MIZORAM TO PARTLY WITHDRAW
FORCES FROM ASSAM BORDER
Aizawl: Mizoram would withdraw a section of
its forces from the border with Assam and BSF
personnel will be deployed in their place, a senior
official said. The decision was taken at a meeting,
chaired by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar
Bhalla, between the CSs of Assam and Mizoram.
Addressing the press, Mizoram CS Lalnunmawia
Chuaungo said a unanimous decision was taken
that Mizoram will withdraw its forces from the
disputed areas and the blockade on National
Highway-306 on the Assam side will be lifted.
TEEN DIES AS MOTORBIKES
COLLIDE IN UP’S BANDA
Banda: An 18-year-old man died and two others
were seriously injured on Sunday, when the mo-
torcycles on which they were travelling collided
at Nadanmau village in Badausa police station
area here, police said. Badausa police station
SHO Arvind Singh Gaur said the two motorcycles
rammed into each other around 8 am and Deepu
alias Chhotu (18) died on the spot, while his
cousin who was riding pillion and the man riding
the other motorcycle got critically injured. The
teenager’s body was sent for a post-mortem.
DELHI GOVT TO SHARE EXPERIENCE
AT DIALOGUE ON ZERO EMISSION
New Delhi: Delhi govern-
ment has received invita-
tion from non-profit body
Climate Group to share its
experience at the ‘Race to
Zero Dialogues: Launch-
ing the global race to
zero emission mobility’,
according to an official
statement. Vice chair-
person of Dialogue and
Development Commis-
sion, Delhi, Jasmine Shah
will virtually represent the
Delhi government at the
event on November 11.
He will participate in the
session ‘Governments
leading the way’ to share
experiences on how gov-
ernments can effectively
lead the transition to zero
emission vehicles. Delhi
is among 4 global cities
chosen to share experi-
ences in the session.
Congress
@INCIndia
“Your victory is a
victory for the noble
values enshrined in the
American Constitution
- democracy, social
justice, and racial
and gender equality.”
- Hon’ble Congress
President Smt
Sonia Gandhi in her
congratulatory letter
to Vice President-elect
Ms. @KamalaHarris.
Harris would work to heal a ‘bitterly divided nation,’ Sonia said.
Nirmala Sitharaman
Yogi Adityanath

INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020
‘THIRD WAVE OF COVID-19 IN DELHI’Delhi has been witnessing a fresh surge in coronavirus cases amid the festive season
New Delhi: The na-
tional capital has hit
the peak of the third
wave of COVID-19, and
the number of cases
suggests that it has
been the worst since
the pandemic arrived
in the city, Delhi Health
Minister Satyendar
Jain said on Sunday.
He said the govern-
ment had no plans yet
to rope in hotels and
banquet halls to aug-
ment the bed capacity
for COVID-19 patients
as the AAP dispensa-
tion had increased the
number of beds in hos-
pitals of Delhi.
The national capital
has been witnessing a
fresh surge in coronavi-
rus cases amid the fes-
tive season and rising
air pollution. On Fri-
day, Delhi recorded over
7,000 COVID-19 cases
for the first time. The
city on Saturday report-
ed 79 deaths, the highest
number of fatalities in
over four months.
Jain, who is on an of-
ficial visit to Ra-
jasthan’s Dungarpur,
said the first wave had
hit its peak around
June 23 and the sec-
ond on September 17.
“The third wave of
COVID-19 is at its peak
in Delhi. The number
of cases suggests it is
the worst wave so far.
But the cases will
come down soon,”
Jain told PTI.
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra Chief Minister Ud-
dhav Thackeray on
Sunday hinted at reo-
pening places of reli-
gious worship, saying
a standard operating
procedure for avoiding
crowds and ensuring
physical distancing
there will be drafted
after Diwali.
In a webcast, Thack-
eray said he is getting
flak for going slow on
reopening of places of
religious worship.
“I am ready for
brickbats if it ensures
good health and safety
of citizens. How to
avoid crowds and en-
sure physical distanc-
ing in places of wor-
ship will be worked out
and a standard operat-
ing procedure will be
drafted after Diwali.
“We are so involved
in offering prayers
and may neglect COV-
ID-19 safety protocols.
What if a coronavirus
positive person infects
senior citizens from
our families who visit
the places of worship
he said.
Maha CM hints at reopening
religious places after Diwali
CM’S ORDER
India’s corona fatality rate on steady decline
New Delhi: India’s
Case Fatality Rate
(CFR) of COVID-19
has touched 1.48 per
cent and the country
continues to report
one of the lowest mor-
tality rates, as per the
Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare
(MoHFW) on Sunday.
The Ministry said
that the widespread
and comprehensive
testing, prompt trac-
ing, quick isolation,
and effective treat-
ment of severe pa-
tients in ICUs through
a standard of care pro-
tocol across govern-
ment and private hos-
pitals have resulted in
this outcome. It also
said that 22 States and
UTs demonstrated
CFR of less than the
national average.
India moving
ahead cautiously
at LAC: Sources
New Delhi: After the
standoff that lasted
more than six months
in eastern Ladakh, it
seems India and China
are close to a break-
through over disen-
gagement on the LAC.
The development is in
the process after the
eight-round of Corps
Commander level talks
between the two sides
held on November 6 in
Chushul.
“The two sides are
likely to disengage from
some of the friction
points in next few days
and they have been dis-
cussing the modalities
for doing so in a phased
manner,” defence sourc-
es told ANI.
“However, the Indian
side is moving ahead
cautiously on this mat-
ter as they want the dis-
cussions and agree-
ments to be implement-
ed on the ground,” they
continued.
In June also, the two
sides were discussing
disengagement when
the Galwan incident
took place in which 20
India soldiers lost lives
while a large number of
Chinese troops also lost
their lives.
After the 8th round
of talks, the two sides
have to discuss some
more issues to finetune
the present proposals
before acting on them,”
they added.
Nadiadwala’s house
raided by NCB,
wife held with weed
‘Pride of our village’: Kamala Harris’
ancestral village celebrates her victoryTiruvarur: US vice
president-elect Kamala
Harris’ ancestral vil-
lage in India made a
‘’rangoli’’ to congratu-
late her on election win
on Sunday.
Women in Thulasen-
drapuram village in
Tiruvarur district of
Tamil Nadu, the native
village of US vice pres-
ident-elect Kamala
Harris, drew a special
colourful ‘’rangoli’’ to
congratulate her. The
message says, ‘’Con-
gratulations Kamla
Harris, the pride of our
village,’’ along with
‘’Vanakkam America’’.
In addition to this, lo-
cals in Thulasen-
drapuram celebrated
her win by putting up
posters, distributing
sweets, and burning
firecrackers.
She has broken many
glass barriers by be-
coming the first wom-
an and Indian Ameri-
can to be elected as the
US vice president.
The village has been
in news since the day,
Democratic candidate
Joe Biden chosen Kam-
la Harris as his run-
ning mate and vice-
presidential nominee.
Kamala Harris was
born to a Jamaican fa-
ther and an Indian
mother Shyamala Go-
palan, who was born
in Chennai before she
moved to the US for
further study. Shy-
amala was a leading
cancer researcher and
activist.
Mumbai: In a major de-
velopment in the ongo-
ing drugs probe in
Mumbai and nearby
areas in connection
with the Sushant Singh
Rajput death case,
drugs have reportedly
been recovered from
the residence of Bolly-
wood film producer Fi-
roz Nadiadwala on Sun-
day. Meanwhile, NCB
continues to search and
raid as many as five lo-
cations, namely Malad,
Andheri, Lokhandwala,
Kharghar and
Koparkhairane.
News agency ANI re-
vealed that one peddler
has also been nabbed by
the NCB on the inter-
vening night of 7th and
8th November.
Following drugs sei-
zure at Firoz’s house,
the NCB has decided to
issue him summon to
appear before the agen-
cy for questioning, re-
ports have alleged. As
per a Times of India
report, Firoz’s wife was
questioned by the NCB
on Sunday.
Firoz is credited for
producing films like
Welcome Back, Phir
Hera Pheri, Welcome
among many others.
Meanwhile, Arjun
Rampal’s partner Ga-
briella Demetriades’s
brother Agisilaos, who
was arrested in connec-
tion with a drugs case
by the NCB, was grant-
ed bail by a special
court on Friday.
DRUG MESS
Patna: In the wake of
Bihar elections, Con-
gress leader Randeep
Surjewala on Sunday
asserted that the re-
sults of the Bihar elec-
tions would change the
dominance of caste
and religion in politics.
“Bihar will break the
caste and religion bar-
rier and will give way
for the rest of the coun-
try to follow. The
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty divided the country
through fear, hatred
and religion. Prices of
farm produce and aspi-
rations of the weaker
sections have taken a
backseat,” Surjewala
said in Patna.
The Congress leader
further said that Bihar
has always changed
the politics in the
country.
Gearing up for
launch of small
satellite launch
vehicles: K Sivan
UP govt to
launch website
for ‘virtual
Deepotsav’
Sriharikota: Indian
Space Research Organi-
sation is gearing up for
a series of missions, in-
cluding launch of small
satellite launch vehi-
cles, chairman K Sivan
said on Saturday.
He made the com-
ments after the success-
ful launch of earth ob-
servation satellite -
EOS-01- and nine cus-
tomer satellites on-
board its Polar rocket,
PSLV-C49, from this
spaceport, about 110 km
from Chennai.
According to ISRO,
those satellites which
weigh less and come
with limited launch op-
tions, can be sent on
Small Satellite Launch
Vehicles (SSLVs).
The earth observa-
tion satellite sent on
PSLV-C49 was weighing
around 630 kg.
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh government
will soon launch a
website to enable peo-
ple to take part in a
virtual ‘Deepotsav’
celebration, which
will take place on No-
vember 13.
As per a statement,
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi will also
participate in the vir-
tual ceremony that
will take place in the
Sri Ramlala Darbar in
Ayodhya, which will
be decorated with over
5.5 lakhs of diyas.
‘Bihar victory will beat
caste-religion politics’
Wrong to treat protesting farmers
as ‘enemies’: SAD chief to Centre
Amritsar: SAD chief
Sukhbir Singh Badal on
Sunday slammed the
Centre over the suspen-
sion of freight trains in
Punjab, saying it is
wrong to treat farmers
protesting against the
central agriculture laws
as enemies. The Rail-
ways on Saturday de-
clined to resume goods
trains in Punjab, saying
it will either operate
both freight and passen-
ger trains or none.
The train services in
Punjab are suspended
since September 24,
when farmers started
their rail roko agitation
against the central laws.
Goods trains had re-
sumed briefly after
farmer unions on Octo-
ber 21 announced ex-
empting them from
their “rail roko” stir but
the Railways suspended
them again, saying
farmers are still block-
ing the tracks.
Image for representational purpose only.
Uddhav Thackeray
K Sivan
Sukhbir Singh Badal
BIRTHDAY WISHES FOR ADVANI!
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda meet BJP leader LK Advani to wish him on his 93rd
birthday, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI
4 jawans...
1.5 km from the Line
of Control, leading to
a fresh gunfight in
which an army offic-
er and two jawans
died.
“Contact was re-
established at 1020
hours when heavy
fire was drawn by
own search parties
approximately 1.5
km from the LoC. In
the ensuing firefight,
two more terrorists
were killed. Own
troops suffered three
KIA (killed in action)
and two injured,” de-
fence spokesperson
Col Rajesh Kalia
said.
He added that the
injured soldiers have
been evacuated.
The operation is
still underway, the of-
ficial said.
Pakistan, officials
say, is making des-
perate attempts to
push in terrorists be-
fore the winter sets
in and mountain
passes are closed due
to snowfall.
Army has said that
a large number of
terrorists are wait-
ing on launching
pads across the LoC.
FROM PG 1Bihar victory will beat caste-
religion politics: Surjewala
Patna: In the wake of
Bihar elections, Con-
gress leader Randeep
Surjewala on Sunday
asserted that the re-
sults of the Bihar elec-
tions would change
the dominance of
caste and religion in
politics and hoped
that this would give a
new dimension to
electoral politics in
the nation. “Bihar
will break the caste
and religion barrier
and will give way for
the rest of the country
to follow. The Bharati-
ya Janata Party divid-
ed the country through
fear, hatred and reli-
gion. Prices of farm
produce and aspira-
tions of the weaker
sections have taken a
backseat,” Surjewala
said in Patna.
The Congress lead-
er further said that
Bihar has always
changed the politics
in the country and
highlighted that the
Rashtriya Janata Dal
(RJD)-Congress and
other left were not
fighting for power
but for change in the
system.

DANIEL GROS
E
lections tend to bring
differences to the fore.
That is certainly true
of the United States’
recent presidential election.
Among the most bitterly con-
tested elections in the country’s
history, the outcome will have
profound implications for many
aspects of US policy. And yet
there is one issue on which both
parties seem to agree: the need
to “stop” China.
The US government – and,
increasingly, the European
Commission – now largely be-
lieves that China has secured its
economic and technological
gains unfairly, thanks to its gov-
ernment’s pervasive influence
over the economy. Geostrate-
gists often push this view, imag-
ining that a government can
achieve technological superior-
ity by investing in the fashion-
able sectors of the day.
But a more thorough analysis
shows this to be misleading, at
best. The most “successful”
grand economic-development
plans usually go with the grain,
focusing largely on targets that,
given the economy’s fundamen-
tals, would be achieved anyway.
Crediting state intervention
when those targets are met is
thus inappropriate.
Japan provides a cautionary
tale here. During its post-1945
growth spurt in the 1970s and
1980s, the Ministry of Interna-
tional Trade and Industry
(MITI) acquired an almost
mythical global reputation for
the apparent success of its ef-
forts to channel resources to-
ward strategic sectors. Many
countries were advised to emu-
late its model.
But in the 1980s, Japan’s real-
estate bubble burst, and growth
slowed significantly. As it
turned out, many of the sectors
MITI supported had not actual-
ly succeeded. What had really
been driving Japan’s growth
was not MITI’s prescience, but
a high savings rate and the rap-
idly increasing education level
of a disciplined workforce –
much the same factors that have
driven China’s development.
Until fairly recently, China’s
leaders seemed to understand
the limits of state intervention.
In fact, the Communist Party of
China’s general advice to au-
thorities was to scale back the
state’s involvement in the econ-
omy, because state-owned enter-
prises (SOE) generally remain
far less efficient than private
firms, and only about one-third
as profitable.
And yet, while SOEs continue
to underperform, compared to
private firms, China’s leaders
have radically changed their
views on intervention. Now, the
conventional wisdom is that the
country owes its progress – and,
indeed, its emerging global dom-
inance – in some high-tech sec-
tors to the state’s guiding hand.
The true driver of China’s
success, however, is its high sav-
ings rate – nearly 40% of GDP, or
more than twice the rate in the
US and Europe. This gives Chi-
na massive resources for invest-
ment in establishing the funda-
mentals for technological lead-
ership. Notably, the country has
made enormous investments in
improving both the quantity
and quality of education.
Regarding secondary educa-
tion, China has already fully
caught up with the West in at-
tendance. And testing by the
OECD’s Program for Interna-
tional Student Assessment sug-
gests that Chinese secondary-
school students are far better at
solving problems than their
American or European peers.
Moreover, tertiary education
– the real key to technological
leadership – has exploded in
China over the last two decades.
According to the US National
Science Foundation, China now
produces more than twice as
many engineers, and more peer-
reviewed science and engineer-
ing publications, than the US.
Similarly, it has surpassed the
European Union in spending on
research and development, and
oncurrenttrends,itshouldcatch
uptotheUSoverthenextdecade
(some think it already has).
The US is haunted by the spec-
tre of a technologically domi-
nant China – and keen to ensure
it never materializes. And yet,
given China’s fundamentals,
there is little the US could do to
hamper, let alone arrest, its pro-
gress. Huawei is just one exam-
ple of a firm that has capitalized
on China’s pool of millions of
engineers to develop new prod-
ucts. Even if the US manages to
destroy Huawei, many other
Chinese high-tech companies
are destined to emerge, driven
by the same talent.
The so-called dual-circula-
tion strategy that is set to
shape China’s next Five-Year
Plan is perfectly in line with
the aforementioned fundamen-
tals. As China’s economy
grows, it is naturally becoming
less reliant on exports, and its
newly minted engineers will
master a growing number of
technologies. In other words,
the government’s plans for the
coming years would probably
materialize, even without state
intervention.
By contrast, the US strategy
– which begins with an econom-
ic “decoupling” from China –
has little chance of success. To
be sure, the decoupling itself
might be feasible. But it would
also be counterproductive.
Trade always implies a two-
way dependency. And while the
US might like the idea of being
“liberated” from China by sev-
ering trade ties, it would pay a
high cost for “liberating” China
from it. Shutting Chinese sup-
pliers out of the US market pro-
vides an implicit subsidy to
higher-cost producers. Ulti-
mately, the effect of reducing
bilateral trade would be equiva-
lent to that of Trump’s failed
tariffs against China: an implic-
it tax on US consumers.
And for what? Limiting Chi-
na’s access to some key US
technologies might make a dif-
ference in the short term, but it
is unlikely to slow down Chi-
na’s development appreciably.
The sheer scale of the human
and financial resources China
will be deploying over the next
decade means that it is well-
positioned to dominate many
high-tech sectors, with or with-
out US inputs.
The conclusion is clear: The
next US administration should
accept China’s continued eco-
nomic and technological rise. It
may not like the idea of China
overtaking the US – a milestone
that will probably be reached
within the next decade. But fur-
ther attempts to stave off that
outcome would be not only fu-
tile but also very costly.
SOURCE: PROJECT-SYNDICATE.ORG
TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020
THE US MUST ACCEPT
CHINA’S RISE
The US is keen to
ensure that a
technologically
dominant China
never materializes.
Yet, there is little
the US could do to
hamper, let alone
arrest, its progress

Ultimately, we all have to live a
life that we ourselves are
answerable to... not our family
not our friends. Choose that life today!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 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
Gandhinagar: The
Covid-19 crisis may
have crippled their
lives but a good mon-
soon has lightened up
the faces of farmers in
Gujarat as they look
forward to a blooming
season with Rabi sow-
ing kicking off.
Initial ground reports
suggest that the sowing
for pulses, mustard, sug-
arcane, coriander and
wheat has started on a
strong note as compared
to other spices crops
such as jeera (cumin
seeds), which is experi-
encing a slowdown, or
cereal crops.
The State Agriculture
Department data re-
vealed that overall by
November 2, a total of
1.44 lakh hectares have
been covered under rabi
crops, which is about
300% more than 33,860
hectarescoveredaround
the same time last year.
Most area is covered
under pulses at 46,390
hectares of which gram
is about 20,000 hectares.
Pulsessowingwasmere-
ly 6,939 hectares around
the same time last year.
Sugarcane sowing has
started with 61,997 hec-
tares as against 3,656
hectares last year.
Mustard sowing has
also gained momen-
tum with area under
cultivation at 6,835
hectares, as against
4,355 hectares report-
ed last year. Irrigated
wheat crop has cov-
ered 8,246 hectares so
far.
However, jeera — one
of the key rabi spices
crops — looks to be go-
ingslow.Farmersattrib-
utedaslowdowninjeera
cultivation to lower re-
alisation from the crop
as compared to last year
and increased moisture
in the land, which has
increased the risk of the
jeera plants getting in-
fected with diseases.
A Rajkot district
farmer, Ramesh Bhora-
nia, said rabi sowing
had started on a strong
note since there was am-
ple water available in
the reservoirs. This was
acknowledged by other
farmers and agriculture
department officials.
Last year the rabi
sowing was delayed by
over a month due to
muddy soil following
an unusually delayed
withdrawal of mon-
soon and followed by
the Maha cyclonic
storm. Farmers, how-
ever, explained that
while this year the
monsoon withdrawal
was delayed, dry and
bright sunny days in
the later parts of Octo-
ber month brightened
the prospects for rabi
cultivation. Gujarat’s
normal rabi sowing is
estimated at 34.38
lakh hectares.
Gujarat farmers happy as Rabi sowing begins on firm note
Over 1.44 lakh hectares have come
under rabi crops, which is 300% of the
corresponding period last year
ACHHE DIN!
PM pulls up a Gujarat transporter for overworking his drivers, asks him to recruit more
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In an in-
stance of how Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi has established
a direct connect with
the people, he repri-
manded a transporter
from Gujarat on Sun-
day for employing
less number of driv-
ers than required for
his trucks while also
eliciting a promise
from him to correct
this.
Modi then made light
of the situation by jok-
ingly telling the trans-
porter that the “Income
Tax people won’t come
looking for you if you
buy more trucks” and
asked him if he had
such plans. Both
laughed, but not before
the truck operator had
assured him to recruit
more drivers.
“Overworked driv-
ers can cause acci-
dents,” the Prime Min-
ister Modi said during
an interaction with
people via video con-
ferencing before inau-
gurating the Ro-Pax
ferry service between
Hazira in Surat and
Ghogha in Bhavnagar.
After the transporter,
Asif Solanki, said the
ferry service would be
of great help to him for
he would be able to rest
his drivers, Modi asked
him how many drivers
he had employed. When
he said 8, Modi asked
about the number of
trucks he had. Solanki
replied saying he had 6.
Modi rebuked him,
stating, “This is not fair,
you should employ 12
drivers for 6 trucks. You
take so much work from
drivers, this should not
be done,” Modi said.
Solanki said due to
the ferry service he
would not require more
drivers, to which Modi
replied that the ferry
service is starting from
today.
“The thing is when
drivers are overworked,
they fall asleep while
driving, which can
cause accidents and
whatever you have
earned will go away
with that accident,”
Modi said and took a
promise from Solanki
that he would employ
more drivers.
On a lighter note,
Modi then said the In-
come Tax department
will not raid Solanki if
he reveals his plan to
purchase more trucks.
The comment came af-
ter the transporter
smiled when the Prime
Minister asked him if
he was planning to buy
more trucks.
During the video con-
ference, Modi interact-
ed with people from Su-
rat and Bhavnagar on
how their life will be
impacted by the intro-
duction of the new Ro-
Pax ferry service.
The service will re-
duce the 375-km road
distance between
Bhavnagar and Surat
to 90-km by sea route
and the travel time
from 10-12 hours to
about four hours, a
release issued by the
Prime Minister’s Of-
fice (PMO) earlier
said.
BEYOND BJP: Modi displays his
direct connect with people
PM’S CAUTION
Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck a conversation with a transporter on Sunday.
Historic: Judge’s suo moto
action for compensation to
teenage rape victims
First India Bureau
Vadodara: In a his-
toric decision that has
inspired several judg-
es, Vadodara’s Addi-
tional Sessions judge
AJ Kanani in a suo
moto initiative on Sat-
urday directed to pay
interim compensation
of Rs 2.75 lakh to 2 mi-
nor rape victims.
Exercising his pow-
ers under the Gujarat
Victims Compensa-
tion scheme intro-
duced last year by the
State Government, the
9th Additional Ses-
sions Judge (Special
POCSO Court) grant-
ed compensation of Rs
2 lakh and Rs 75,000 to
the victims and asked
the District Legal Ser-
vices Authority to im-
plement the order.
This is an unprece-
dented order and has
inspired many judges
to follow suit and en-
sure that the victims
get financial assis-
tance on time. This
will be a new begin-
ning.
Two separate rape
cases were filed in
Savli taluka of Va-
dodara. In one case,
the victim would get a
compensation of Rs 2
lakh and in another,
Rs 75,000. The court
has also directed for
additional compensa-
tion to meet medical
and other expenses.
The compensation
amount is to be dis-
bursed within 2
months.
Under the Victim
Compensation Act,
the compensation for
death due to physical
violence has been
fixed at Rs 5-10 lakh.
For permanent disa-
bility, it is Rs 2-5 lakh
and Rs 2-4 lakh in case
of 40-80% permanent
disability. For partial
disability between
20% and 40%, victims
would get Rs 1-3 lakh
and Rs 1-2 lakh for up
to 20% disability.
Vadodara District Court. — FILE PHOTO
Shah asks A’bad officials to
promote organic farming
HC quashes sedition
case against journalist
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A meet-
ing of the District Devel-
opment Coordination
and Monitoring Com-
mittee of Ahmedabad
district was held under
thechairmanshipof Un-
ionHomeMinisterAmit
Shah on Sunday.
Addressing the re-
view meeting via video
conference, Shah direct-
ed to make Ahmedabad
district a model in the
country.The Union
Home Minister asked
the district administra-
tion to provide neces-
sary guidance to the
farmerstoemphasizeon
croprotationandturnto
organic farming.
After the meeting,
Ahmedabad District
Collector Sandeep Sin-
ghal said the district ad-
ministration was com-
mitted to provide best of
lifeandthrough“Disha”
system attempts are be-
ing made for the devel-
opment of the district.
District Development
Officer Arun Mahesh
Babu said that social se-
curityschemeswouldbe
given priority. The work
of as many as 23 depart-
ments was reviewed in
which schemes like
Smart City, Beti Bachao,
Beti Padhao, e-Gram-
Vishva Gram, among
others, were discussed.
The meeting laid spe-
cial emphasis on im-
proving the sex ratio in
the district. The admin-
istration informed that
projects like ‘Savayu
Sanman’ and ‘Kanya
Shakti Pujan’ had been
implemented for this
purpose.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Months
after Ahmedabad
journalist Dhaval Pa-
tel was arrested by
the Crime Branch and
slapped with a sedi-
tion case, the Gujarat
High Court recently
quashed the case on
him.
The Ahmedabad
Crime Branch had filed
a criminal case against
Patel, editor and owner
of ‘Face of Nation’, for
publishing a story spec-
ulating a change of
guard and that Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani
may be replaced.
Earlier the city ses-
sions court, while
granting regular bail to
Patel, had observed,
“Now reading of FIR
with all police papers
and different state-
ments, no such prima
facie serious offence is
made out.”
Meanwhile, Chief
Justice Vikram Nath
has decided to allow
advocates to sit in
their chambers from
November 23. Advo-
cates will be accessi-
ble from 10.30 am to 5
pm. The court library
and the Bar room will
be open for advocates.
Physical courts may
open from January 1,
2021.
EDUCATION FROM 'SCRAP'
Members of Sahin Foundation collected as many as 200 books for C.A., commerce,
engineering, law and architecture students from various scrapyards and created a library
in Ahmedabad's Danilimda area. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Good rains brought Rabi season cheers for farmers in Gujarat.
— FILE PHOTO
Amit Shah
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
3,763
DEATHS
1,80,699
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
1,989 DEATHS 2,11,310 CASES
DELHI
6,912 DEATHS 4,30,784 CASES
WORLD
1,259,346
DEATHS
5,05,15,504
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
85,41,173
CONFIRMED CASES
1,26,525
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
45,240 DEATHS 17,19,850 CASES
TAMIL NADU
11,344 DEATHS 7,43,822 CASES
KARNATAKA
11,369 DEATHS 8,44,147 CASES

fter conducting
auditions in
cities like
Jodhpur and
Udaipur, beau-
ty pageant
‘Elite Miss Ra-
jasthan 2020’ conducted its
first round of auditions in
Jaipur on Sunday, at Hotel
Hilton. 22 girls from in and
around the city were short listed
to be a part of the second round
in the city, which will take place
on 14 December, followed by the
finale of the pageant on 20 De-
cember.
Jagdeesh Chandra was the
chief guest at the event and
judged a few of the participants
based on their personality,
skills and talent. The judging
panel also included actress Kriti
Garg, Charvi Tanya Dutta, Aditi
Hundia, Akanksha Bhalla, and
Mona Gautam among various
others.
During the event, director Ku-
nal Sharma said, “With each
passing year, the magnanimity of
Elite Miss Rajasthan is expand-
ing as the platform to showcase
brilliant beauty and talent. We
are happy to see the enthusiasm
in the participating girls.”
“As the world is struggling
with the coronavirus pandemic,
we have tried our best to create a
virus-free environment for the
competition. Be it bio-secure bub-
ble protection or the usage of
masks and sanitizers, we are tak-
ing all necessary measures to
stay healthy and safe. Along with
these, we have taken special care
to maintain social distancing and
applied the clause of ‘No
Mask, No Entry’ for
the participants.”
AHMEDABAD, MONDAY
NOVEMBER 9, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
GLAMOUR ON RAMP
ELITE MISS RAJASTHAN 2020’S FIRST AUDITIONS IN THE PINK CITY WERE HELD ON SUNDAY,
WHERE 22 GIRLS WERE SHORT LISTED FOR THE SECOND ROUND!
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
A
Short listed contestants with the judges of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020
Jagdeesh Chandra with (from left) Nishi, Samriddhi,
Sonaxi, Daisy, Kriti, Yasheel Pandel, Gaurav Gaur,
Akansksha, Mona, Surbhi Joshi and Ishika
Jagdeesh Chandra at the judging panel,
alongside (from left) Kriti Garg, Akanksha Bhalla,
Mona Gautam and Ishika Dabhai

omewhere be-
tween now and
then I can imag-
ine a world with
no zoos, and
where animals
are free to roam
the earth. I can envision
marine life swimming
the oceans freely. I can be
entertained without an
animal being tortured. I
can have a conversation
where the term ‘working
animals’ is no longer
used. I can see enlight-
ened people who don’t
consider themselves dog
lovers for bringing home
a Saint Bernard in the
scorching weather of
Jaipur. I can perceive an
upper class with a con-
science. I am witnessing
an industrial revolution
that is now cruelty-free.
Imagination, my readers,
is a beautiful thing. What
then keeps us from trans-
lating this to reality?
Children will grow up
in a world that looks a
whole lot different than
the world we lived in.
Whether this will be a
good difference or bad, is
for us to decide. And
good and bad isn’t rela-
tive. The treatment of
animals and nature is
either good or bad. There
isn’t any in-between.
It is ok for children not
to frequent zoos, enjoy
animal performances in
circuses, buy tickets to
aquariums, ride ele-
phants and camels, and
plan their dream future
weddingwherethegroom
rides a carriage pulled by
a horse. Neither will they
have a bias towards inter-
national dog breeds. This
doesn’t mean that they
won’t be able to witness
nature in all its glory. It
just means that nature
will be witnessed in its
original glory. And this
would not take away from
their childhood.
Since forever the hu-
man race has made the
world dance to its tune;
we haven’t even spared
the king of the forest you
see! He is made to enter-
tain us in zoos and cir-
cuses. He is left to die in
poorly funded zoos. What
then is the purpose of
the Lion King and The
Jungle Book, if not to
teach us compassion and
co-existence? Or do we
engage in selective learn-
ing? With civilization,
animals and nature have
paid a hefty price. And
our population growing
exponentially and the
rise of the bourgeois has
continued to worsen the
plight of these innocent
creatures of God. We
have become so self-ob-
sessed that we exploit
the other life forms of
earth. We seem to have
forgotten that the world
does not belong to us
alone. That animals too
have a say in how they
want to be treated. Rath-
er they would better be
left alone!
On the other hand, I
feel the winds of change
blowing our way. The fu-
ture isn’t bleak after all.
Activists and concerned
humans are working
tirelessly to ensure
our children grow up
in a better world
where nature isn’t cap-
tive. Where humans and
animals can inhabit the
same earth peacefully.
There are court cases
and campaigns. There
are NGOs set up to cre-
ate awareness. The use
of animals in circuses is
being phased out. Zoos
are closing gates. The
air is beginning to feel
different. All thanks to
the new age activist.
It is a matter of great
pride that I am part of
this army of good Sa-
maritans. It is not to say
that I haven’t done all the
things I am protesting.
Neither does it mean that
I can right all the wrong
in the world. My parents
were unaware and I was
molded to never question
their ways. And, I must
pick the cause that
speaks most to me. But
knowing what we know
now thanks to the inter-
net and media would we
continue to mimic our
parents’ ways? Would we
still think selfishly about
us and our status in soci-
ety? Or would we choose
the better way?
And the better way is
always co-existence. If
we continue to exploit
nature for our greed,
that day may soon dawn
when nature will make
us dance to its tune.
Some say that COVID is
nature getting back.
Man must be shown who
is boss. I suggest we
mend our ways now for
the sake of our planet
and our children. Let us
rid the world of evil and
surface the true hero! I
can assume then that you
agree that our children
must grow up in a con-
scious world, not a utopia
but not a dystopia either.
10
ETCAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
UNNATI MALHARKAR, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Your plan on the social
front is likely to move along
smoothly. You will be able
to get the study stream you
desire on the academic front. Going is
likely to get better on the professional
front. Purchasing a new car or an
expensive appliance is indicated.
Children can keep you entertained.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You will be successful in
getting something you
wanted on the academic
front. Your contribution to
society is likely to get recognized and
win you fame. Investing in property
is indicated for some. A trip with
friends will be both enjoyable and
therapeutic.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Someone is likely to come
and make you participate
in something today. You
may become a proud
possessor of a house or flat. Family’s
support will help you concentrate on
important issues. Professionals may
have to wait for the right opportunity
to play their cards.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Your initiative on the social
front is likely to bring you
into the limelight. This is an
auspicious day for those on
the verge of booking a flat or an
apartment. A family youngster is likely
to do you proud. You may get a chance
to improve your professional skills.
Things do not appear too great.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Current job promises
greener pastures.
Academic excellence is
likely to open many doors
for you. Spouse can seem all
lovey-dovey today. Those new to the
job are likely to start the process of
establishing themselves in their new
environment.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Smooth sailing is foreseen
on the academic front. Your
respect and stature are likely
to enhance in your circle.
Some of you are likely to become the
proud owners of a landed property.
Someone’s advice may sound
distasteful, but it will be for your own
good.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
A scholarship is in the
pipeline for some on the
academic front. Shifting to
a bigger house is indicated.
You become more socially in by
taking the initiative of meeting
people. Home will be a happy place
as you manage to acquire all creature
comforts. Efficiency will increase.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You will need to give your
best in a competition to
make the grade. Slow and
steady wins the race and
you are on the winning path. This is
an excellent time to look up friends
and relatives you have not met in
years. You are likely to achieve the
unachievable goals.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Those in the service sector
will find the day favourable.
Excellent prospects on the
academic front may keep
you in an upbeat mood. This is a
great day for you, when you finally
get your way. Happy news on the
family front can be expected.
Enhances profits are foreseen.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Things move positively on
the academic front and
encourage you to give your
best. Good man manage-
ment will help you in completing a
project or assignment in time.
Blessings of someone close will find
you fulfilling your expectations.
Excellent news awaits you.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Lucrative opportunities are
likely to materialise on the
academic front. Your
popularity is all set to soar
by donating to charity. Some
additional perks can be expected by
those in the private sector. An
enjoyable outing is on the cards for
some. A promotion is in store.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Participating in an event
will be fun today. Good
grades can be expected by
those awaiting result on
the academic front. House owners
can expect a good rent. Family will
go all out to make you comfortable.
This is the day when you will be able
to take things easy profesionally.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
The world of
our childrenMARIAM ABUHAIDERI
thepersianladki@gmail.com
S

INJURED
A
ustralian actor Rebel Wilson got
injured while she was taking
“hot photos” with her friends on
the beach on Friday. The ‘Isn’t It
Romantic’ star revealed on her Insta-
gram Story that she was “banged up”
with scratches and bruises on the last
day of her vacation in Mexico. The
40-year-old star Wilson told her fol-
lowers, “Ok guys, there’s been a little
bit of a massive incident.” The actor
explained, “We’re here in Mexico
and we were taking hot photos out
at the beach. While we were doing
that, Nicole’s handbag washed into
the ocean.” —Agency
B
ollywoodstarAyushmann
Khurrana who discussed
premature balding in men
and the taboo attached to
dark-skinned people in India
through ‘Bala’ opened up about
his intentions on the first anni-
versary of the film, speaking
about social entertainers which
are now lovingly called ‘The
Ayushmann Khurrana Genre.’
Khurrana said, “When you
set out to change perceptions
and beliefs, you will need to
trigger a dialogue, you will
need to start a debate. I have
strongly believed that con-
structive conversation can
help us improve society at
large. My films have tried to
do just that and I’m extremely
proud of my bod.” —ANI
O
n the first anniversary of
comedy-drama ‘Bala,’ actor
Bhumi Pednekar opened up
about what makes the movie
an incredibly special film in her
great body of work.
Bhumi Pednekar who essayed the
role of a dark-skinned girl opened
up about her intent to do social good
with films and asserted that she
‘wants to leave behind a legacy with
good cinema.’ She said, “Bala is a
very special film. It’s
again a film where I got a
chance to experiment with
a powerful character. To
start with, what made this
collaboration really special
was my collaboration with
Ayushmann. This was the 3rd
time we were collaborating and as
luck would have it, it was again a
successful one and thank God for
that.” —ANI
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020
11
u p e r m o d e l
Hailey Bald-
win recently
denied that
she’s pregnant
with her first
child with hus-
band Justin Bieber. The
23-year-old model Bald-
win took to her Insta-
gram Story and told
fans that she was speak-
ing out before a tabloid
article incorrectly
claimed that she’s ex-
pecting. Instead, she
called for people to fo-
cus on “what’s impor-
tant AKA the election.”
Though Baldwin isn’t
expecting her first child
right now, she and the
‘Stuck With You’ croon-
er Bieber have been vo-
cal about their desire to
one day start a family.
The ‘Baby’ singer
said in a post, “I truly
desire healthy relation-
ships. I want to be moti-
vated by truth and love.
I want to be aware of
my blind spots and
learn from them! ... I
want to give up my self-
ish desires daily so I
can be a good husband
and future dad!”
—Agency
S
DENIED PREGNANCY
Hailey Baldwin
DOUBLE-MASK BANTER
GEARING UP
DEADLY
SHOOTOUT
G
earing up for a morning ride
on his motorbike, actor Shahid
Kapoor on Sunday treated fans
to a stunning picture as he channelled
his morning mood. The ‘Kabir Singh’
star posted a stunning picture to
Instagram in which he channelled
his morning mood while he heads
for a bike ride. He can be seen all
geared up for his morning ride with
his cool bike. Kapoor is seen wearing
a leather jacket pairing it with a pair
of cool pants and shoes. Showing off
his long hair, Shahid looks absolutely
handsome in the picture. Sharing
the picture with his fans, he wrote,
“#morningride.” —ANI
R
apper King Von is dead after
being shot during a confron-
tation outside a nightclub in
Atlanta. The 26-year-old music artist
was involved in a deadly shootout on
early Friday morning after two groups
of men exchanged gunfire during an
argument. Off-duty Atlanta police
officers were working at the club, the
Monaco Hookah Lounge, and they
opened fire as well. Six people were
shot and three of them, including
King Von, died from their wounds.
The shooting is being investigated by
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
and Atlanta Police Homicide. No
police officers were injured. —Agency
Leaving behind a legacy
2
020 has been a barren year for MCU fans as Black
Widow and Eternals, which were supposed to already
have been released by now, got
pushed back to 2021 instead. Holland
shared a snap of himself decked in
Spidey’s iconic red and blue costume
while striking the trademark pose.
However, a major change was noticed
as Tom also had a face mask on
adhering to the COVID-19 safety pro-
tocols while on set. The 24-year-old
actor couldn’t help but use a Spider-Man pun in his caption
as he wrote, “Wear a mask, I’m wearing two…” —Agency
C
ongratulating
US President Joe
Biden on his vic-
tory in the elec-
tions, actor Varun Dha-
wan on Sunday shared
all smiles picture wear-
ing a US flag pattern
printed suit. In the
post, Dhawan is seen
sporting a white suit
with patterns of the US
flag with the stars and
stripes. The actor is
seen posing for a pho-
to-shoot dressed in
theuniquesuitwhich
he paired with
red-tinted sun-
g l a s s e s
a n d
some gold rings.
Varun wrote, “”KUN-
WAR- BIDEN 2020
Hamare naye dost @
joebiden congratula-
tion #presidentno1
#kunwarsaab #
coolieno1 coming
soon.” —ANI
Congratulations
& Celebrations
BUZZ
Triggering a Dialogue
Ayushmann Khurrana
Varun Dhawan’s post
Tom Holland
King Von
Rebel Wilson
Bhumi Pednekar
Shahid Kapoor’s post

12
CITY BUZZAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
WHAT’S HAPPENING!
RAJ: Dr Sanjay Krishan
Vyas, Veterinary Doctor of
Government Hospital, Jodhpur
designed a wheelchair for a
posterior paralysed dog. The
dog can now walk by itself
and does not need any other
external support.
RAJ: Live show
of Golden Era of
Indian Cinema
2020 by Unique
Dream Builders
and Healthy
Smiles Group
took place on
Sunday. Show
organiser and
lead singer Dr
Sameer Sharma
informed that he
along with his
team presented
superhit
Bollywood
melodies during
the event.
RAJ: A special photoshoot was done on Saturday with eminent personalities
from Jaipur, who showcased the message of ‘Green Deepavali’, as the
government banned the firecrackers during the Corona pandemic.
RAJ: A seminar
was organised
by the group of
litterateurs in the
Pink City, on the
discrepancies
and insurgencies
scattered around
us, on Sunday. The
seminar included
Prabhat Goswami,
Bulaki Sharma,
Sunita Shanu, and
Shashank Dubey
among various
others, with Dr
Giriraj Sharan
Aggarwal and Dr
Rajesh Kumar
being the chief
guests.
RAJ: Dr Vimal
Kumar Kanwat
was nominated
by Dr Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan
Rajasthan
Ayurved
University,
Jodhpur as a
nominee on
the Board of
Management
for three years
with immediate
effect. GUJ: People enjoying the Pre Diwali celebrations at Mr Cafe, in Surat on Sunday.
—PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA
TipsforSafeDiwali
s you get busy in
the celebrations it
is also important
totakesomesafety
precautions; City
First shares a few
tips to celebrate
Diwali healthily and safely
amidst the pandemic!
Diwali, the festival of
lights is here! Diwali
means delicious food, ran-
goli, lights, and a display
of colourful fireworks.
There is no denying that
coronavirus has ex-
tractedallthefunout
of the festive season.
The truth, however,
is that this is the new
normal. Instead of
thinking about all the
things that won’t be hap-
pening because of the pan-
demic, it is time to think
about all the things to do to
keep this Diwali safe.
Go digital : Festivity is
all about togetherness and
strengthening bonds. This
festive season, try and ad-
just to the new normal by
celebrating digitally.
Don’t use sani-
tiser before light-
ing diya: Refrain
from using hand
sanitisers which are
alcohol-based before light-
ing diyas or candles. Sani-
tisers are inflammable
and can cause fire haz-
ards.
Keep water handy: In-
stead of carrying sanitizer
everywhere, you can con-
sider carrying water and
paper soaps. They are saf-
er, and you can easily wash
your hands anywhere
without the danger of
catching fire.
Maintain physical dis-
tance: Festivity is all
about togetherness and
strengthening bonds. But
this festive season, try and
adjust to the new normal
and avoid meeting people
physically.
Refrain from eating
outside: It is recommend-
ed that people should
avoid eating outside dur-
ing the festive season.
Also, nothing is better
than a home-cooked, tradi-
tional meal at a festival,
right?
Don’t forget your
mask: It is significant to
be responsible and take
mandatory precautions.
Covid-19 has made the use
of mask necessary. There-
fore, every time you step
out, don’t forget to cover
your nose and mouth.
CITY FIRST,
UTTAR PRADESH
I
n a 10-day Matikala
exhibition organ-
ised by the Matika-
la Board at the
Khadi and Village In-
dustries Board office
from5Novemberto13
November, more than
Rs 2.60 lac products
were sold on the
secondday.Mati-
kala craftsmen
from 14 dis-
tricts have ex-
hibited their dis-
tinctive products in
the exhibition. The
clay statues of Laksh-
mi-Ganesh, Terracot-
ta of Gorakhpur and
Black Patri of Mir-
zapur remain the
main centres of at-
traction among the
people. Apart from
this, designer diyas
made from clay, sculp-
tures, utensils, cook-
ers, embroidery and
water bottles are also
beinglikedbythepeo-
ple.
On the occasion,
Additional Chief Sec-
retary, Khadi and Vil-
lageIndustriesf Uttar
Pradesh Dr Navneet
Sehgal said that “the
exhibition has been
organised to encour-
age the artisans asso-
ciated with tradi-
tional art and to
provide a big
market by
bringing the ar-
tefacts from dif-
ferent places on one
platform. There is a
lot of enthusiasm
among the buyers to-
wards the exhibition.
Along with this, due
to the good sales of
artisans’ products on
the Deepawali festi-
val, their morale has
increased, while they
are also getting eco-
nomical benefits.”
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
JCB Prize for
LiteratureCITY FIRST
‘M
oustache’ by S. Hareesh,
translatedfromtheMalay-
alambyJayasreeKalathil,
was announced the win-
ner of the Rs 25-lakh-JCB Prize for Lit-
erature.Thewinnerwasannouncedby
Lord Bamford,
Chairman,JCBin
a first-of-its-kind
virtual awards
ceremony. Ha-
reesh’s debut nov-
el, which is a con-
temporaryclassic
mixing magic,
myth and meta-
phor into a tale of
far-reaching resonance was the unani-
mous choice of the jury.
S. Hareesh’s Moustache is the sec-
ond debut novel as well as the second
Malayalam translation to win the
award. Hareesh will also receive the
Prize trophy, which is a sculpture by
Delhi artist duo Thukral and Tagra
entitled ‘Mirror Melting’. The book
was selected by a panel of four judg-
es: Aruni Kashyap, writer and trans-
lator; Tejaswini Niranjana, professor,
cultural theorist and author (Chair);
Ramu Ramanathan, playwright and
director; and Deepika Sorabjee, Head
of the Arts & Culture portfolio at
Tata Trusts. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Successful
exhibition
Journey to the
melodious tunes
CITY FIRST
I
n the Facebook Live
series of Rajasthan
Progressive Writers
Association, music
critic Pawan Jha on
Sunday brought the
struggle of Bikaner res-
ident Ghulam Moham-
mad, the music director
of the film ‘Pakiza’, live
on screen.
Pawan Jha, in a
series of songs,
showed a view of
the Ramniwas
Bagh of Jaipur,
Chand Bawdi, Jais-
almer sand dunes and
Udaipur in 1960, saying
that cinema has saved
vibrant geographical
history.Hetoldtheinter-
esting tales of the shoot-
ingof thefilm‘DoBoond
Paani in Rajasthan’.
On this occasion,
Progressive Writ-
ers Association
general secretary
Ishamadhu Talwar
said, “‘Rajasthan: The
Journey of The Har-
monics’ program’s
fourth series will be re-
leased next month.”
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
CITY FIRST
U
nder the Memorandum
of Understanding
signed between Dev San-
skriti University, Harid-
war and Bikaner Technical Uni-
versity, ‘Gyan Diksha Program’
is going to be organised at the
beginning of the new session in
all the affiliated engineering
colleges of the state. The pro-
gram will be a part of the cul-
tural exchange of both univer-
sities on the topics of religion,
spirituality, social and Vedic
culture.
On the occasion, Vice-
Chancellor Prof. HD
Charan said, “Vedic re-
naissance is necessary
for students in the chang-
ing form of higher and tech-
nical education through cul-
tural exchange, coordination of
education and culture.”
While giving the official in-
formation, Assistant Public Re-
lations Officer of the Universi-
ty, Vikram Rathod said
that recently, Vice-Chan-
cellor Chinmay Pandya of
Dev Sanskriti University, Harid-
war and Dr HD Charan, Vice-
Chancellor of Bikaner Techni-
cal University, have concluded
an MoU under which Dev The
University has decided to im-
plement the ‘Gyan Diksha Pro-
gram’ at Sanskriti University,
Haridwar as an innovation in
all the associated engineering
colleges. A detailed study of the
program has been done and a
roadmap has also been set for
implementation in the affiliated
college. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
GYAN DIKSHA PROGRAM
KARISHMA
GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
A
Pawan Jha

First india ahmedabad edition-09 november 2020

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