First india ahmedabad edition-11 september 2020

CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 286
26°C - 36°C
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
3,167
DEATHS
1,09,627
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
1,192 DEATHS 97,376 CASES
DELHI
4,666 DEATHS 2,05,482 CASES
WORLD
9,10,950
DEATHS
2,81,94,321
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
45,52,021
CONFIRMED CASES
76,277
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
28,282 DEATHS 9,90,795 CASES
TAMIL NADU
KARNATAKA
A’BAD CIVIL HOSPITAL DENIES RTI REGARDING COVID-19 INFO
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: In a bla-
tant denial of the
Right to Information
(RTI), an appeal by a
local Congress leader
asking about the
number of COVID-19
deaths in the city has
been rejected by Civil
Hospital (Asarwa).
Ever since the pan-
demic first broke out in
the state, concentrated
efforts have been put in
by various government
authorities in the state
to conceal information
from the citizens. With
the number of COV-
ID-19 cases and the
death toll reaching a
seemingly stagnant fig-
ure, people have ex-
pressed concern about
censoring of official
data by the government.
An application by
Congress leader Jo-
her Vora before the
Civil Hospital (Asar-
wa) regarding the ac-
tual number of COV-
ID-19 deaths in the
city was denied.
Notably, the Asarwa
campus of the Civil
Hospital was one of the
most discussed hospi-
tals during the months
of April and May, for its
mismanagement of
data and unreliable ser-
vices to COVID-19 pa-
tients. Family members
of several patients were
not even informed
about the death of their
loved ones for days.
In the hospital’s de-
fence, the denial of
the RTI petition was
purported by hospital
authorities citing var-
ious reasons under
the Epidemic Diseases
Act, 1897- set of regu-
lations regarding nov-
el coronavirus- which
the state government
described as the Guja-
rat Pandemic Diseas-
es COVID-19 Regula-
tions 2020.
“I was shocked that
they refused to share
COVID-19 information
and instead issued a cir-
cular. It mentions a
highlighted point, ‘To
avoid the spread of any
rumour or unauthor-
ized information re-
garding COVID-19, no
person/institution/or-
ganization will use any
print Turn to P6
A petition had been filed by
Congress leader Johar Vora
seeking death toll data
NO DICE
—FILE PHOTO
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Thurs-
day ordered interim ex-
tension of loan morato-
rium till 28 September,
directing banks not to
tag any loans as non-
performing till further
directions. The apex
courtadjournedthecase
for the last time, grant-
ing the Centre, Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) and
bankstwoweekstowork
together and file a con-
crete reply on their
stand on waiving of in-
terest charged during
the moratorium period.
The interim order
was passed by the apex
court bench headed by
Justices Ashok Bhush-
an and comprising R
Subhash Reddy and MR
Shah Turn to P6
New Delhi: Indian
Army has occupied
heights overlooking the
Chinese Army posi-
tions at Finger 4 along
Pangong lake.
The operations to oc-
cupy the heights were
carried out along with
the pre-emptive actions
to occupy heights near
the Southern bank of
Pangong Tso around
August-end, sources
said on Thursday. “In-
dian Army has occu-
pied heights overlook-
ing the Chinese Army
positions at Finger 4
along the Pangong Tso.
These operations were
carried out along with
the pre-emptive actions
to occupy heights near
the Southern bank of
Pangong Tso around
August-end,” a source
told ANI.
Sources said the Chi-
nese Army had occu-
pied the heights near
the Finger 4 but the In-
dian Army Turn to P6
RAFALE’S ROAR
RATTLES CHINA
Ambala: In a clear ref-
erence to China over
the tense border row
in eastern Ladakh, De-
fence Minister Ra-
jnath Singh on Thurs-
day said the induction
of five French-made
multirole Rafale jets
into the Indian Air
Force is a “big and
stern” message to
those eyeing India’s
sovereignty.
The first fleet of Ra-
fale jets was formally
inducted into the
‘Golden Arrows’
squadron of the IAF at
the Ambala Air Force
station in presence of
a galaxy of dignitaries
including French De-
fence Minister Flor-
ence Parly, Chief of
Defence Staff Gen Bi-
pin Rawat and Air
Chief Marshal RKS
Bhadauria.
“The induction of
Rafale jets is a big and
stern message for the
entire world, especial-
ly to those eyeing our
sovereignty. This kind
of induction is very
important for the kind
of atmosphere that
has been created on
our borders,” Singh
said at the ceremony.
French Defence
Minister Florence
Parly on Thursday
said India will have
an edge over the en-
tire region in defend-
ing its people with the
induction of Rafale
fighter jets, an event
she described as a
symbol of the rela-
tionship between the
two countries. She
said India and France
are now writing a new
chapter in their de-
fence ties. She said
the programme to de-
liver the 36 aircraft to
India meant a lot.
Turn to P6
INDIA OCCUPIES MORE
HEIGHTS AROUND LADAKH
SC: EMI moratorium
extended till Sept 28
INDIA-CHINA FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET IN MOSCOW
Mumbai: Two police
complaints have been
filed against Bollywood
actor Kangana Ranaut
for allegedly insulting
MaharahstraChief Min-
ister Uddhav Thackeray
and creating communal
disharmony among the
public at large.
One of the complaint,
filed by Arun Shreekant
Mishra at Dindoshi po-
lice station, accused
Ranaut of defaming and
creating communal dis-
harmony among the
public at large. Mishra,
in his complaint, said
that Ranaut made in-
flammatory and deroga-
tory remarks aainst Ud-
dhav Thackeray.
“Ranaut has compared
the alleged incident
happened against her
with the Pundits of
Kashmir and by doing
this she has tried to
create disharmony
against a specific com-
munity which is also
against the law,” the
complaint said. TurntoP6
Plaint against Kangana for insulting Uddhav
Mumbai: Reliance In-
dustries is offering to
sell a roughly $20 bil-
lion stake in its retail
arm to Amazon.com
Inc, Bloomberg News
reported on Thursday,
citing one unnamed
person with knowledge
of the matter.
The oil-to-telecoms
conglomerate led by bil-
lionaire Mukesh Am-
bani, which has already
raised $20 billion in this
year from investors in-
cluding Facebook and
Google, Turn to P6
RIL offers Amazon $20
bn stake in retail arm
Bulls cheer as
RIL powers big
gains in Sensex
Mumbai: Equity bench-
mark indices were on an
upswing on Thursday
following a spurt in
Asian markets with
Reliance Industries and
banking stocks leading
the rally.The BSE S&P
Sensex closed 646
points or 1.69% higher
at 38,840 while Nifty 50
gained by 171 points or
1.52 per cent at 11,449.
Turn to P6
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is meeting his Chinese coun-
terpart Wang Yi in an attempt to defuse tension after a spike in hostilities along
the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two nations.
The foreign ministers are in Moscow to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Or-
ganisation (SCO) meeting. They met at a Russia-India-China lunch earlier. The
Jaishankar-Wang talks are taking place against the backdrop of a fresh stand-
off at the southern bank of Pangong Tso on Monday. In the confrontation, shots
were fired for the first time along the LAC in 45 years.
Indian Army consolidates its position around Pangong Tso Lake in
Ladakh, which allows dominance in Moldo Garrison & Spangur Gap
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinas Foreign
Minister Wang Yi, pose for a photo on the sidelines of a meeting of Foreign Ministers of SCO, in
Moscow on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Kangana Ranaut reaches her Bandra office where demolition
work was carried out by BMC, in Mumbai on Thursday. ANI Photo
IAF pilots before flying the first batch of five Rafale aircraft during its
induction ceremony, at the airbase in Ambala on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaks
during a joint press briefing, in Ambala on
Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

NEWSAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CM Rupani gives `400 crore in assistance to 23 lakh farmers
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupa-
ni on Thursday dis-
tributed Rs400 crore
to over 23 lakh farm-
ers as benefits under
the Saat Pagla Khed-
ut Kalyan Yojana and
the Mukhyamantri
Pak Sangraha Struc-
ture Yojana pro-
grammes. Addition-
ally, heavy rainfall
across the state
washed out internal
roads in several
towns. The govern-
ment released Rs160
crore in funds for
road repair in 155 na-
garpalikas.
Addressing the me-
dia, the chief minister
asserted that the nagar-
palikas must expedite
resurfacing work of
roads. Ahead of nagar-
palika elections in the
state, this statement
from thestatechief does
not seem out of place.
Earlier in the day,
Rupani unveiled the
Saat Pagla Khedut
Kalyan Yojana pro-
gramme and distrib-
uted financial assis-
tance of Rs400 crore
to 1.25 lakh farmers.
Under the Mukhy-
amantri Pak Sangra-
ha Structure (Go-
down) Yojana, the
storage capacity of
the state’s godowns
will be increased by
23.32 lakh tonnes and
crop wastage will be
prevented over the
next three months.
The Kisan Parivahan
Yojana aims to enable
farmers to easily deliv-
er their produce to oth-
er markets and earn
more income. The max-
imum amount of finan-
cial assistance for farm-
ers looking to purchase
small vehicles has been
fixed at Rs75,000.
The CM also e-
launched the Saat
Pagla Khedut Kalyan
Yojana at an event or-
ganized by the state
government’s Depart-
ment of Agriculture
and farmers welfare
and cooperative or-
ganizations at 80
places in 33 districts
across the state from
Gandhinagar.
Under this scheme,
seven steps will be taken
for the benefit of farm-
ers including agricul-
ture and economic up-
liftment, new crop pro-
duction, crop storage,
distribution, cow-based
farming, Kisan Pariva-
han Yojana and Mukhy-
amantri Pak Sangraha
Structure Yojana.
Talking about the
initiatives, CM Rupa-
ni said, “Gujarat has
become a leading role
model for balanced
development with
new technology and
modern farming
methods in agricul-
ture, industry, and
service sectors. Apart
from that, under the
Kisan Parivahan Yo-
jana, farmers will be
able to prosper eco-
nomically by selling
farm produce in mar-
kets by transporting
the harvest in their
own small vehicles.”
l Nagarpalikas with damaged
roads due to rainfall get `160
crore for resurfacing work
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani presents a cheque to a farmer on
Thursday. The funds will facilitate construction of a godown. The
former is flanked on the left by Minister of State for Agriculture
and Panchayats, Jaydrathsinh Parmar.
PROVIDING AID
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
State Election Com-
mission recently is-
sued notifications
regarding new city
limits along with
the reserved cate-
gory seats inducted
intotheAhmedabad
Municipal Corpo-
ration (AMC). The
commission also
granted 10 days’
time to citizens to
come forward and
put forth their
grievances, re-
garding both no-
tices, if any.
According to city-
based activist Muja-
hid Nafees, the time
given for a response
is not adequate, espe-
cially amid the COV-
ID-19 pandemic. “The
notification men-
tions 10 days’ time
for suggestions and
opinions of the peo-
ple. Last time, when
a similar move was
pulled ahead of local
body polls, the com-
mission had granted
30 days’ time,” as-
serted Nafees.
“Under the
Standard Operat-
ing Procedure
(SOP), people are
not allowed to
gather in one place
in large numbers.
With the upcoming
election of local
bodies, the dura-
tion of 10 days is
just isn’t enough
time,” he said.
City activist seeks
more time to discuss
notices on city
delimitation,civic polls
State govt continues toprevaricate on Navratri decision
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Almost
two weeks after the
issue was last ad-
dressed, the state gov-
ernment is still unde-
cided on whether or
not to allow Navratri
festivities amid the
ongoing health crisis.
Deputy Chief Minis-
ter Nitin Patel on
Thursday repeated the
message that, “The
state government will
take a decision on
Navratri at the appro-
priate time after consid-
ering all aspects, in-
cluding the number of
cases of COVID-19,
guidelines from the Un-
ion Home Ministry and
the health department.”
With this, he ech-
oed the what Minister
of State for Home
Pradipsinh Jadeja
had said in Vadodara
on August 29.
Patel said the state is
monitoring the health
situation on a daily ba-
sis. “The state is well
aware that people are
keen to celebrate the
nine-night festival but
the situation is differ-
ent this year. In such a
situation, whether to
grant permission de-
pends on the spread of
the virus. We will also
look at the precautions
that need be taken, such
as how many persons
can be allowed to par-
ticipate so that social
distancing is main-
tained before saying yes
or no for Navratri. The
state government will
take appropriate deci-
sion at the right time,”
he reiterated.
Patel also under-
played the Opposi-
tion’s demand for the
question hour in the
upcoming Assembly
session, saying that
the government had
merely suggested its
cancellation.
“Whether or not to
keep it is the preroga-
tive of the Assembly
Speaker and the Busi-
ness Advisory Commit-
tee, which includes op-
position party members
as well,” he said but
pointed out that the
state intends to table
about 22-24 bills to be
enacted, and will hence
require time to debate
over these.
“If we keep ques-
tion hour, we can
hardly discuss 25-30
questions in five days,
which is meaningless.
Instead, it is better to
eliminate question
hour, take up only ur-
gent questions and
give quality time for
bills, since these are
important for the pub-
lic at large,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel —FILE PHOTO
The state recently issued a notification on expanding city
limits. —FILE PHOTO
Haresh Jhala
Palanpur: The state
highwaywasblocked
in protest on Thurs-
day, but there were
no shouted slogans
and no black arm-
bands. Instead, there
was some mooing.
There was also a lot
of honking, as traffic
piled up behind hun-
dreds of heads of cat-
tle that had been re-
leased onto the street
by local panjarapoles
(cattle shelters) des-
perately seeking fund-
ing from the govern-
ment to meet fodder
needs as private dona-
tions dry up. The po-
lice had to intervene
before the panjarapole
trustees had the cattle
driven back to their
sheds.
Trustees of 154
panjarapoles in Ba-
naskantha district
have been agitating
for 15 days, demand-
ing financial help
from the state to feed
the 70,000 heads of
cattle—including a
number of cows—
under their care.
Jagdish Solanki, a
trustee of the Kant
Panjrapole, told the
media, “Private dona-
tions to panjarapoles
have shrunk since the
COVID-19 pandemic
have adversely affect-
ed trade and industry.
The state helped for
the initial two months,
with the financial aid
of Rs25 per head of
cattle, but then it
stopped releasing
funds.”
Solanki said the
issue has been taken
up with all the
MLAs, some MPs
and even ministers
but, except for one
or two, no one has
come forward to
even offer to use
their influence to
ask the state to re-
lease more funds for
the cattle.
Banaskantha MP
Parbat Patel has writ-
ten to Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani, request-
ing that he release
funds for the cattle
shelters.
Solanki adds that
the situation has be-
come dire. “There
are 14 panjarapoles
in Lakheni village.
Every day, 15-20 ani-
mals are dying be-
cause of starvation.
We expect similar
stories to emerge
from neighbouring
v i l l a g e s — w h e r e
shelters are run by
trusts—soon.”
Defending the state
government, Deesa
MLA Shashikant
Pandya said that the
state government is
always concerned
about cows and the
state is committed to
not allowing any
cows to die because
of fodder shortage. If shelters can’t afford fodder, many animals will have to live on the streets. Shelters say the state had given aid of Rs25 per animal in the first two months of the COVID-19 crisis, but then stopped.
WHO LET THE COWS OUT?
FACING MONEY
TROUBLES,SHELTERS
RELEASE CATTLE OUT
ONTO THE HIGHWAY
IN PROTEST
—FILEPHOTOS

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: To mark
World Suicide Day on
Thursday, city-based
Udgam School for
Children launched a
week-long campaign
called “#ItisOKto-
Fail”, with the aim of
fighting the stigma
surrounding mental
health and encourag-
ing counselling for
stress and depression.
During the week, the
school’s teachers will
convey message about
the importance of life
and moving forward to-
wards one’s goals with-
out worrying about fail-
ures. Students and par-
entswillalsoparticipate
inthecampaignbyshar-
ing their own stories of
success and failure, as
well as by raising aware-
ness on the importance
of mental health with
write-ups, drawings and
paintings on various so-
cial media platforms
with the hashtag, #Iti-
sOKtoFail.
Speakingontheinitia-
tive, the school’s Execu-
tive Director Manan
Choksi said, “According
todatafromtheNational
Crime Records Bureau,
suicide claimed 10,159
students in 2018. This
means that 28 students
ended their lives every
day in 2018. While it’s
easy to applaud success
and mock failure, the
needof thehouristocre-
ate positivity, and build
students up, rather than
knock them down. With
this initiative, we expect
the management and
teachers, as well as stu-
dents and parents, to
speak up on how they
moved on from failure
with a positive attitude.”
“The campaign will
emphasize the message
that,‘ItisOKtogetfewer
marks in exams. It is OK
tofailtheracejustbefore
the completion line. It is
OKtohavelossesinbusi-
ness. It is OK to get fired
from a job and it is OK to
fail in a relationship.
What is not OK is to end
your life because of bad
phase’,” he added.
As part of the cam-
paign, teachers at Ud-
gam School for Chil-
dren will use online
communication plat-
forms to explain the im-
portance of life and
how urge students to
seek help if they are de-
pressed due to failure.
Students who are par-
ticularly afraid of fail-
ing in the exams will be
counselled individually
over the phone or via
video call.
School launches #ItisOKtoFail campaign to ease pressure on kids
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
Students of Udgam School for Children. —FILE PHOTO
l Week-long initiative by A’bad-based Udgam School for
Children began on World Suicide Prevention Day
ALL ABOARD!
City buses left the main terminal in Ahmedabad’s Lal Darwaja for the ﬁrst time in six months on Thursday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Surat’sRatnakalakarVikasSanghprez
commitssuicideover‘financialpressures’
AMC has no record of graveyard burials: RTI
First India Bureau
Surat: Jaysukh Ga-
jera, president of the
Ratnakalakar Vikas
Sangh, who fought
constantly for the
rights of gem workers
in Surat was found
dead by drowning on
Thursday morning.
His body was recov-
ered from the Tapi
river but police and
fire services person-
nel. It is believed that
he took his own life.
Kamrej police have
begun an investigation.
While the police are
yet to find a suicide note,
those close to him say he
had been facing severe
financial constraints for
some time and was un-
der a great deal of pres-
sure.
Gajera had gone miss-
ing on Wednesday night.
His family and friends
began to look for him
when they could not
reach him on his mobile
phone. Family members
laterfoundhisshoesand
bike on the bridge in
Kamrej.Heisbelievedto
have jumped into the
river from this bridge.
Localsfoundhisbodyon
Thursday morning and
informedthepolice,who
have now sent it for a
post-mortem exam.
Gajera was a vocal
proponent for their wel-
fare. After lockdown
ended, he had been try-
ing to bring back mi-
grantworkersbyprovid-
ing them facilities like
train tickets, accommo-
dation and healthcare.
He was also working to-
wards getting workers
who had been let go due
tothepandemicreinstat-
ed in their old jobs.
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: The offi-
cial COVID-19 data re-
leased by the
AhmedabadMunicipal
Corporation (AMC),
which is believed to
have been under-re-
ported,hassentupsev-
eral red flags about the
intentions of the local
administration. This
has compelled many
people to file Right to
Information (RTI) peti-
tions to try and coax
outtheactualdata.Un-
fortunately, even the
dataonrecordwiththe
local civic body has re-
mained incomplete,
with the civic body de-
nying having records
of graveyard burials.
Congress leader Jo-
her Vora had filed an
RTI application before
AMC demanding to
know the total number
of cremations and buri-
alsconductedwithinthe
civic body’s limits.
In response, he was
handed over data of
AMC-runcrematoriums,
in which, the number of
cremations in January
(3,335), February (2,933),
March (2,685), April
(3,052), May (6,147) and
June (4,968) were listed.
There was no data on
graveyards in the city.
As per the data re-
ceived from civic body
officials,theyearof 2019
saw less number of
deaths than the month
of May this year. In May
2019, the number of
deaths reported in both
graveyards and crema-
toriums stood at 3,066.
Vora asserted that the
RTI stated that the civic
body doesn’t keep a re-
cord of people buried in
graveyards. “It was a
strange response. They
do keep a record of the
city and its citizens
from cradle to grave.
They are the authority
which issues death cer-
tificates, irrespective of
the fact whether some-
one was cremated or
buried in a graveyard,”
he stated.
Jaysukh Gajera. —FILE PHOTO
1,332 fresh cases and 15 fatalities in 24 hours take tally to 1,09,627 cases, death toll to 3,167
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
state health bulletin
data released on
Thursday does not re-
flect COVID-19 cases
detected in
Ahmedabad city, rais-
ingthequestion,“Who
is underplaying data,
the Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation or
the state’s health de-
partment?” Sources
say that 422 rapid an-
tigen tests were posi-
tive in just two wards,
but the state bulletin
shows only 148 cases
from Ahmedabad city.
According to sources
in the AMC’s health
team, who did not wish
to be named for fear of
professional blowback,
Chandlodia ward alone
witnessed 262 new cases
from the 12,141 tests con-
ducted by the Ognaj Ur-
banHealthCentre(UHC)
teamonThursday.Inthe
Bodakdev ward, 12,300
tests were conducted,
confirming 160 infected
cases. The northwest
zonealonehad344cases.
Senior officers of the
AMC could not be
reachedforcommentde-
spite several attempts.
Considered a VIP
ward, Bodakdev is home
to about 15 High Court
judges and more than
100 IAS/IPS officers.
As many as 64 resi-
dentdoctorsatAMC-run
hospitals have tested
positive in the past two
days—26 from SVP Hos-
pital, 30 from LG Hospi-
tal, and eight from
Shardaben Hospital.
Four have relapsed.
Similarly, the state
health bulletin states
there was one death in
Rajkot on Thursday, but
localmediahasreported
30 deaths—from the city,
rural areas and neigh-
bouringdistricts—inthe
past 24 hours.
In the past 24 hours,
the state has conducted
72,151 tests, confirming
1,332 positive cases. Fif-
teen patients died in 24
hours.Thestatenowhas
16,230 active cases, with
91 patients on ventilator
support.
Surat remains at the
top even after two
months, with 278 new
cases, of which 176 were
recorded in the city and
102 from rural areas.
Cases also emerged in
Rajkot (150), Vadodara
(124), Jamnagar (105),
Bhavnagar (64) Gandhi-
nagar (38), Junagadh
(37), Patan (31), Amreli,
(30) Panchmahal (30),
and Morbi (27).
The surge in cases in
Rajkot has resulted in a
shortage of beds, with
just 20 beds now availa-
ble in private hospitals.
Hence, the local admin-
istration has arranged
for 40 more beds in Gen-
esisHospitaland60beds
in Doshi Hospital.
Who is underplaying nCov
data to mislead Ahmedabad?
A medic takes a break during a testing drive at the Ahmedabad station. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
IMA Rajkot
issues red alert
for doctors
First India Bureau
Rajkot: The Indian
Medical Associa-
tion (IMA), Rajkot
Chapter, has issued
a red alert for doc-
tors in the district.
Doctors practising
medicine have been
advised to take ad-
ditional precau-
tionary measures
during interactions
with patients as
well as staff.
Dr Jay Dhirwani,
IMA, Rajkot chapter
president told First
India, “The sudden
spike in COVID-19
cases with more than
100 doctors getting in-
fected with Sars-
CoV-2,compelledusto
issue an advisory in
the form of a red alert
for doctors.”
Headded,“Thecur-
rent situation in the
district is akin to the
worryingconditionin
Ahmedabad two
months ago. The viral
load may be low but
transmissionof infec-
tion is very high in
Rajkot.Therefore,if a
large number of doc-
tors get infected, the
situation may take a
turn for the worse.
Currently, there are
1,800 doctors associ-
atedwithIMARajkot,
and this means that
5.55% have already
been infected with
nCov. It is imperative,
now more than ever,
that all doctors take
additional precau-
tions and stay safe.”
Dhirwani further
stated that while di-
agnosing patients,
doctors do take ample
precautions such as
donning a PPE kit,
gloves, masks and
other headgear. But,
they do not keep their
guard up while inter-
acting with staffers.
Since, one cannot de-
termine whether
someone is a carrier
of Sars-CoV-2, IMA
advises doctors to be
careful in their deal-
ings with everyone.
“It seems that we
have learnt from oth-
ers’ experience and
therefore I endorse
theassociation’sadvi-
sory for doctors. Due
to these new guide-
lines,nowdoctorswill
postpone surgical ac-
tivities, which makes
them susceptible to
the virus,” said Dr
Sureja Darshan, Hon-
orary Secretary, IMA,
Rajkot Chapter.
Rajkot Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
Audio book
launched on
Dr Kurien
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Nirmala
Kurien unveiled an
audio book titled “The
Man Who Made the
Elephant Dance” on
Wednesday, during a
webinar held to mark
the eight death anni-
versary of her father,
Dr Verghese Kurien.
The audio book, based
on his biography, “I
Too Had a Dream”
was released on drku-
rien.com, a website
dedicated to the Milk-
man of India.
The webinar was at-
tended by eminent per-
sonalities of dairy in-
dustry and associates
and around 1000 par-
ticipants who have been
directly or indirectly
been associated with
Dr. Kurien and his insti-
tutions.
During the event,
Nirmala shared her
childhood memories
with her father of how
he always believed in
equal opportunity for
all and excellence in
any work that you do.
AMC ofﬁce. —FILE PHOTO

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 286 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
ven before Don-
ald Trump was
elected in 2016,
he had been
providing Unit-
ed State’s late-night TV
show hosts with ample fod-
der for comedy.
These late-night TV
shows are the spearhead of
political satire for liberal
America, and many take
their orientation from The
Daily Show, which began
in 1996. With John Stewart
as host after 1999, it devel-
oped a mixture of political
and news satire that be-
came a popular genre.
Following Trump’s elec-
tion victory, humour was
quickly seen by disoriented
liberals as both a balm and
a weapon. The veteran TV
host David Letterman
claimed that “comedy’s one
of the ways that we can pro-
tectourselves”fromTrump.
Late-night comedy be-
came the bellwether of this
trend and the intensified
focus on political satire
proved a ratings hit for
many of the hosts.
The Daily Show, helmed
by Trevor Noah since 2016,
and its offshoots – The Late
Show with Stephen Col-
bert, Last Week Tonight
with John Oliver and Full
Frontal with Samantha Bee
– led the way. Meanwhile,
The Tonight Show with
Jimmy Fallon and Late
Night with Seth Myers also
pushed into more political
material and Saturday
Night Live drew interest in
its cold openings that regu-
larly focused on Trump.
For liberals, satire fed
into a desire for narratives
thatwouldexplainTrump’s
election and continued au-
thority, and also stoked fan-
tasies about his inevitable
fall. But there was no evi-
dence that political satire
attacking Trump had
slowed Trump’s race to the
presidency – or would lead
to his defeat. Instead, it
functioned mainly as a
form of wish-fulfilment
and catharsis for those citi-
zens traumatised by
Trump’s 2016 victory.
SATIRICAL
SHORTCOMINGS
For all the satirical activity
in the first year of Trump’s
presidency, questions
about the quality and effi-
cacy of these shows’ pro-
motion of political satire
soon began to emerge.
Some liberal and progres-
sive commentators called
them out as “lazy” and “in-
effective”.
More and more voices
complained that Trump
was resistant to satire, ar-
guing that he embodies
irony and hyperbole, that
he was an “already a walk-
ing caricature of himself”.
The writer and producer
Armando Iannucci, who
created the HBO satire
Veep, underlined the prob-
lem for satirists.
“Just read him and you
have found the joke about
him,” he said. “It comes
out in what he says, which
leaves people like me
slightly redundant other
than just to point it out.”
As humourists have be-
come more conscious of
these shortcomings and
challenges, they have
pushed back against those
with high expectations for
political comedy.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY HAS CHANGED
POLITICAL SATIRE FOR EVERYONE
E
How much better to get
wisdom than gold! To get
understanding is to be
chosen rather than silver.
—Proverbs 16:16
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
@DrRPNishank
#NEP2020 entails that wherever
possible, the medium of
instruction until at least Grade
5, but preferably till Grade
8 and beyond, will be home
language/mother-tongue/
local language. #ShikshakParv
#NEPTransformingIndia
Mallikarjun Kharge
@kharge
Both the organized & unorganized
sector has been hit badly & the
Ministry of Labour has been
missing in action. The 20 lakh Cr
package is a non starter & with
rising unemployment & dwindling
economy, the future is bleak.
India is victim of bad governance
by Modi. #SpeakUpForJobs
tagflation is a macro-economic
situation characterized by in-
creasing inflation, high unem-
ployment, and negative or stag-
nant economic growth.
Conventionally, high infla-
tion is an indicator of a grow-
ing economy as the demand
pushes the prices of products
and services. To sustain flour-
ishing demand, purchasing
power is essential. Purchasing
power is prevalent when the
economy is performing on low
unemployment. Moreover, low
unemployment is a factor of
growth in economic activity as
the corporations seek to access
the labor force to achieve po-
tential expansion. Therefore,
the three elements are inter-
linked and stimulate the econ-
omy by working harmoniously.
Stagflation stems from an oil
crisis in the 1970s which was
sparked due to an increase in
prices of oil after the Organiza-
tion of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) issued an em-
bargoagainsttheWesternCoun-
tries. The rise in the price sig-
nificantly affected the produc-
tive capacity of the economies.
HOW IS STAGFLATION
ADDRESSED?
To alleviate a recessionary
economy, a Government aims
to increase the money supply
in the economy to boost public
spending. On the contrary, in-
flationary pressure on the
economy is subdued by re-
stricting money supply, which
means pushing borrowing
rates to the higher side making
money expensive. Opposite re-
sponses to inflation and reces-
sion make dealing with stagfla-
tion a challenge.
As per the theory, if inflation
were to keep on rising, unem-
ployment will witness a surge
again as corporations will car-
ry lay-offs unable to sustain
increasing labor costs. There-
fore, inflation is the first ele-
ment that needs caution. Right-
ly so, the Government has
changed its accommodative
stance in terms of further RBI
rate cuts in the latest Monetary
Policy Committee (MPC) meet-
ing. A rate cut is not anticipat-
ed in the near future.
The next course of action is
to provide supply support to the
economy by incentivizing the
business to produce more. In-
centives can be in the form of
corporate tax reductions, loos-
er business regulations, etc.
HOW TO INVEST
DURING STAGFLATION?
The way to generate or preserve
wealth during stagflation is by
routing your investments
through securities that focus on
yielding profits. Assets provid-
ing an internal hedge to infla-
tion serve as the best prospects.
Interest rates are unable to
keep up with inflation during
recessionary phases, suggest-
ing that Government bonds or
other money market instru-
ments are rendered inefficient.
The purchasing power of in-
vestments in low yielding secu-
rities lags behind inflation.
Investing in stock markets is
ideal given that the capital is
deployed toward defensive sec-
tors and the companies chosen
have strong balance sheets of-
fering growth potential. Gain-
ing exposure by going long on
sectors such as Energy, Con-
sumer Defensive (food and
utilities), Healthcare, and Util-
ities can prove beneficial to
stock portfolios. These sectors
over-perform during economic
downturns as they pass on the
rising costs to the consumers
as reflected positively in sector
turnovers.
An alternative to investing
in the stock market is investing
in commodities through direct
purchase on the exchange or
through Exchange Traded
Funds (ETFs).
WHAT IS THE CURRENT
TREND OF INFLATION,
UNEMPLOYMENT & GDP?
Inflation, resulting from sup-
ply-chain disruptions during
complete lockdowns is the lat-
est of worries. RBI set an infla-
tion target band of 4-6 percent.
As an outcome of this out-
break, the inflation rate has
surpassed the tolerance level
of the Central Bank. RBI has
cut policy rates by 115 bps amid
the pandemic to aid borrowing
and survival. The inevitable
expansionary stance has given
way for inflation to surge.
Unemployment data for Au-
gust goes to show that after wit-
nessing a recovery in July num-
bers, the unemployment rate
has shot up to 8.4% from 7.4%.
The rural economy has contrib-
uted primarily to this increase
as the Kharif crop sowing sea-
son marked its end. Moreover,
the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee
(MGNREG) experienced a loss
of work, unable to provide ma-
terial jobs to the participating
labor force.
The negative 23.9 percent
GDP growth of Q1 2020 is
alarming in that the activity
rate captured by the economic
indicator is at its decadal low
on the back of nation-wide
lockdowns.
An uptick in economic activ-
ity prioritizing demand revival
can give way to a solid rebound
in the discussed parameters.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
IS INDIA STARING DOWN THE
BARREL OF STAGFLATION?
S
Stagflation
stems from an
oil crisis in the
1970s which was
sparked due to
an increase in
prices of oil after
the Organization
of Petroleum
Exporting
Countries
(OPEC) issued
an embargo
against the
Western
Countries. The
rise in the price
significantly
affected the
productive
capacity of the
economies
AS PER THE THEORY, IF INFLATION WERE TO
KEEP ON RISING, UNEMPLOYMENT WILL
WITNESS A SURGE AGAIN AS CORPORATIONS
WILL CARRY LAY-OFFS UNABLE TO SUSTAIN
INCREASING LABOR COSTS
SWAMY’S
‘COMPLIMENT’
FOR POKHRIYAL
he Joint Entrance Examination (Main)
for engineering was held amid the pan-
demic as planned, despite protests from
students over the risks they were re-
quired to face. But with the Supreme
Court also weighing in against those opposing the
holding of examination last week, students were
left with the difficult choice of either writing the
examination or dropping out. A controversy has
broken out over how many of those who down-
loaded the application actually appeared with sen-
ior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy suggesting
that conducting the tests at this juncture was not
a good idea.
After the Union Education Minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal claimed that the number of JEE Main
applicants stands at 8.58 lakh, Swamy said that out
of 18 lakh students who were supposed to appear
only 8 lakh turned up for the exam. This, the Rajya
Sabha MP said, was a “disgrace for the nation
which extols vidhya and gyan!!”
This led to a twitter exchange between the two
BJP leaders. In a sarcasm-laden tweet Swamy
said, “With my compliments, Minister! I will soon
tweet what the Ministry of Education stated to the
SC as candidates registered State wide and abroad
at 953,473 at 660 centres. The Minister’s tweet for
me to see his facts was 8.58 lakh. Now whose is
official?”
When Pokhriyal insisted the figure was 8.58
lakh, Swamy responded with a document to sup-
port his claim. Pokhriyal must know that it is not
easy to refute Swamy’s facts. The education min-
ister will not admit to the poor turnout and in-
stead blame it on students.
T
IN-DEPTH
KANGANA STICKS TO
SCRIPT,TAKES ON CM
t’s a full blown war between Kangana
Ranaut and the Shiv Sena-led govern-
ment in Maharashtra with the BJP
fighting a proxy war. Direct support for
the Bollywood actress has come from
Union minister Ramdas Athawale who met her to
extend his support. Workers of Athawale’s party
the RPI (A) were at the airport to ensure she has a
trouble-free exit from the airport. She has also got
support from chief minister of Himachal Pradesh
and former CM of Maharashtra.
The actress has it relatively easy because of
the indirect political patronage she is currently
enjoying. The BMC welcomed Kangana’s in
Mumbai demolishing her office for illegal con-
structions. Although the demolition work was
stopped after the high court’s intervention, the
ongoing drama is far from over. At least for the
Sena, as Sanjay Raut said, the Kangana “episode”
is now over.
The language Kangana Ranaut is using against
Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena smacks of her po-
litical tutoring as it is heavily loaded with political
jargon. When she called Shiv Sena as Sonia Sena or
spoke of her office as Ram mandir and referring to
Babar she was clearly speaking the BJP’s language.
It was expected that the BMC will quarantine
the actress but was spared because she is in Mum-
bai “only for a week”.
I

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
Villages should become pillars of
‘ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT’
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Thursday said that vil-
lages should become
the pillars of “At-
manirbhar Bharat”
which will enrich the
villages further and
strengthen them.
The comments of the
Prime Minister came
on the occasion of the
digital launch of the
Pradhan Mantri Mat-
sya Sampada Yojana
(PMMSY).
“Today the schemes
that have been initiated,
the thought behind that
is that our villages be-
come pillars of an ‘At-
manirbhar Bharat’. The
attempt is that now in
this century - Blue Revo-
lution means work re-
lated to fisheries, White
Revolution means dairy
work, Sweet Revolution
means honey produc-
tion. It will enrich our
villages further,
strengthen them,” the
Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister
also launched the e-Go-
pala App for farmers
along with several oth-
er initiatives in the fish-
eries and animal hus-
bandry sectors in Bihar.
“Pradhan Mantri
Matsya Sampada Yoja-
na has been set with
this goal in mind. Today
the scheme is being
launched in 21 states of
the country. Over 20
thousand crore rupees
will be spent on this in
the next 4-5 years. Out
of this, work worth Rs
1,700 crores is being
started today,” he added.
The Prime Minister
further said that with
the establishment of
pisciculture facilities in
various places in Bihar,
fish producers will get
new markets for their
produce.
“In Patna, Purnia,
Sitamarhi, Madhepura,
Kishanganj and Sa-
mastipur many facili-
ties have been inaugu-
rated and the founda-
tion stone laid. With
this, fish producers will
get new infrastructure,
modern equipment,
new markets will also
be available,” he said.
“Keeping in mind the
trade of fish in every
part of the country, in
the sea and riverine ar-
eas, for the first time
such a big plan has been
made in the country. Af-
ter independence, many
times more investment
is being made on the
Prime Minister’s Mat-
sya Sampada Yojana,”
he added. —ANI
‘FCRA registration to
Golden temple
path-breaking move’
NewDelhi:UnionHome
Minister Amit Shah on
Thursday said the the
government’sdecisionto
allow the Golden Temple
in Amritsar to receive
foreign funds is a path-
breaking move and it
willonceagainshowcase
the outstanding spirit of
service of the Sikh com-
munity.
On Wednesday, the
HomeMinistryapproved
registration of Sri Har-
mandir Sahib under the
Foreign Contribution
(Regulation)Act,2010,al-
lowing it to receive for-
eign funding.
Golden temple in Am-
ritsar is also known as
Sri Harmandir Sahib.
“ThedecisiononFCRA
at the Sri Harmandir Sa-
hib is a pathbreaking one
which will once again
showcasetheoutstanding
spirit of service of our
Sikh sisters and broth-
ers,” Shah tweeted.
He said PM Modi is
blessed that ‘’Wahe Guru
ji’’ has taken ‘’Seva’’ from
him. The FCRA registra-
tionhasbeengiveninthe
nameof the‘’Sachkhand
SriHarmandirSahebSri
DarbarSahebPunjabAs-
sociation’’, a body set up
in 1925.
Union Food Process-
ing Minister and Akali
Dal leader Harsimrat
Kaur Badal thanked
Shah for granting the
FCRA registration to the
Golden temple.
“Happy to share that
MHA has granted ap-
proval under FCRA to
Sri Harmandir Sahib.
This will enable the
shrine to receive ‘’sewa’’
from all over the world &
go a long way in propa-
gating Gurusahab’’s phi-
losophy of ‘’sarbat da
bhala’’.I’’mgratefulto@
AmitShah Ji for making
this possible,” she tweet-
ed on Wednesday.
The FCRA registra-
tion will be valid for a
period of five years,
sources said. —PTI
India-Singapore trust
strengthened amid
Covid-19: Prez Kovind
New Delhi: Noting mu-
tual cooperation be-
tween India and Singa-
pore during the corona-
virus pandemic, Presi-
dent Ram Nath Kovind
on Thursday said the
crisis has further
strengthened the exist-
ing ties of friendship
and trust between the
two nations.
Kovind’s remarks
came after accepting a
Letter of Credence from
the Singapore High
Commissioner, Simon
Wong Wie Kuen in a vir-
tual ceremony.
Speaking on the oc-
casion, the President
conveyed his warm
wishes to the High
Commissioner on his
appointment.
Also congratulating
the Singapore govern-
ment on conducting the
general elections in
July, the Kovind noted
that bilateral relations
between India and Sin-
gapore have deepened.
He also thanked Sin-
gapore for its strong
support to India at mul-
tilateral forums, includ-
ing the UN Security
Council. —Agencies
PM Narendra Modi addresses after launching the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and
e-Gopala App for farmers along with several other initiatives in the fisheries and animal husbandry
sectors in Bihar, via video conference in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
PURI TO REVIEW DARBHANGA,
DEOGHAR AIRPORTS ON SEP 12
New Delhi: Union Civil
Aviation Minister Hard-
eep Singh Puri will visit
the states of Bihar and
Jharkhand to review
Darbhanga and Deoghar
airports on September
12. “Airports Authority of
India (AAI) is developing
these airports. With the
operationalization of these
airports, air connectiv-
ity of the region will be
improved. Further, it will
give an impetus to local
tourism and will generate
employment in the region.
These airports, through
connectivity and in-
creased economic activity,
would contribute to the
overall economic devel-
opment of the people of
these regions,”Aviation
Ministry said in a state-
ment.
JHA TO BE JT OPPN CANDIDATE
FOR RS DY CHAIRMAN POLL
New Delhi: Various opposition parties on Thurs-
day decided to field RJD leader Manoj Jha as
their joint candidate for Sep 14 election of the Ra-
jya Sabha deputy chairman, sources said. He will
file his nomination papers in presence of leaders
of various oppn parties. Jha will contest against
NDA’s nominee Harivansh of the JD-U. Harivansh
was RS deputy chairman till his previous term
was over. He has since been re-elected from
Bihar. RJD and JDU are arch-rivals in Bihar where
assembly elections will be held very soon.
HEAD CONSTABLE DIES OF
ACCIDENTAL FIRING IN KURNOOL
Kurnool: A head constable from the Andhra
Pradesh Special Police 2nd batallion reportedly
died due to accidental firing from his service
pistol in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district on
Thursday morning, informed police. The head
constable identified as Soloman Raju was then
taken to the Government General Hospital in Kur-
nool for treatment, but was declared dead by the
doctors. The police officials have registeed a case
under section 174 of the CrPC at the Kurnool 4
town police station. Probe is underway.
UNION MIN MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI
IN LEH FOR 2-DAY VISIT
Leh: Union Minister for
Minority Affairs Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi reached Leh
for a two day-visit to the
Union Territory of Ladakh
on Thursday. He was
welcomed by Ladakh MP
Jamyang Tsering Namg-
yal, among others. On
his first day of the visit,
Naqvi chaired a depart-
mental review meeting
with administration of the
Union Territory. Namgyal
tweeted, “Minister for
Minority Affairs Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi chairs
departmental review
meeting with adminis-
trators of Union Territory
of Ladakh.” Naqvi is
expected to be visiting
various places in Ladakh.
He will also be interacting
with BJP State Executive
Members.
PM also launched e-Gopala App for farmers along with several other
initiatives in the fisheries & animal husbandry sectors in Bihar
‘e-Gopala will
free farmers
from middlemen’
New Delhi: PM Naren-
dra Modi, at launch of
the e-Gopala app for
livestock owners in Bi-
har, said that the app
will give farmers the
freedom from middle-
men and provide all in-
formation related to
productivity, health and
diet for the cattle.
“Along with the good
breed of animals, the
correct scientific infor-
mation about their care
isequallyimportant.For
this, technology has
been continuously used
for the past years. In this
direction, the ‘e-Gopala’
app has been started to-
day,” he said. “The e-Go-
pala app will be a digital
medium that helps live-
stock owners. It will be
easy to choose advanced
livestock. They will get
freedom from middle-
men. This app will give
all information related
to productivity, health
and diet for the cattle.”
AMIT SHAH @AMITSHAH
Sri Darbar Sahib’s divinity
gives strength to us.
For decades, the Sangat
worldwide was unable
to serve there. Modi
Government’s decision
to allow FCRA to the Sri
Harmandir Sahib deepens the
connect of Seva between the Sangat globally and
the Sri Darbar Sahib. A blessed moment!
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: The SC
sought the attorney
general’s help to exam-
ine larger issues in-
volved in contempt
cases with respect to
procedures and situa-
tions which led to judi-
cial corruption allega-
tions in a 2009 con-
tempt case against
Prashant Bhushan.
Athree-judgebench,
headed by Justice AM
Khawilkar, deferred
the hearing and im-
pleaded attorney gen-
eral KK Venugopal in
the 11-year old con-
tempt case.
The case will be next
heard on October 12.
Senior advocate Ra-
jeev Dhavan, repre-
senting Bhushan, ap-
prised the bench that
Venogopal had men-
tioned his will to assist
the court, for this case,
during the previous
hearings.
The bench also com-
prising Justices
Dinesh Maheshwari
and Sanjiv Khanna
passed directions for
the case records to be
sent to Venugopal. The
court sought help of
the attorney general
as amicus curie for as-
sistance in this case.
An amicus curie is
one who is not a party
to a case but assists a
court by offering in-
sight that has a bear-
ing on the issues in the
case. —Agencies
PRASHANT BHUSHAN CONTEMPT CASE
SC SEEKS ATTORNEY GENERAL’S
HELP ON WIDER ISSUES New Delhi: In a first,
Members of Parliament
in Lok Sabha will have
to register their attend-
ance digitally using a
mobile application - At-
tendance Register App
amid coronavirus pan-
demic. According to
sources, the app is de-
signed by the National
Informatics Centre
(NIC) to curtail the risk
of COVID-19 spread as
they will not have to use
or touch the attendance
register.
MPs have to be pre-
sent inside the Parlia-
ment to register them-
selves using the coor-
dinates provided by
the app.
“The app will work
only in the Parliament
premises. The MPs will
have to take their face
shot and upload it to
identify themselves.
Then they have to regis-
ter themselves and their
attendance will be
marked in the safest
way possible in this pan-
demic,” added a senior
official. —ANI
LS MPs to
mark
attendance via
mobile app
2G case: HC issues notice to A Raja, others
New Delhi: The Delhi
HC on Thursday is-
sued notice to all the
respondents on the
early hearing applica-
tions moved by En-
forcement Directorate
(ED) and Central Bu-
reau of Investigation
(CBI) in the appeals
challenging the ac-
quittal of former Un-
ion telecom minister
A. Raja and others in
the 2G spectrum allo-
cation case.
The next date of hear-
ing is on 21 September.
The court has directed
all respondents to file
replies, if any.
Justice Brijesh Sethi
has also reserved his
order on the applica-
tion moved by a firm,
which was acquitted
in the 2G scam-related
money laundering
case, seeking to re-
lease its properties
worth Rs 22 crore at-
tached by ED. —ANI
President Ram Nath Kovind received credentials from HE Simon Wong Wie Kuen, High Commissioner
of the Republic of Singapore through video conference, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

INDIAAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
A’bad Civil...
or electronic media for
information regarding
COVID-19 without prior
permission of the
Health and Family Wel-
fare department’” Vora
told First India.
Meanwhile, RTI ac-
tivist Harinesh Pandya
termed the refusal a
‘mechanical’ denial.
“The hospital cannot
deny information un-
der RTI. It must share
the information re-
quested for in the larger
interests of the public
or else it will be deemed
a grave violation of the
RTI Act,” he said.
According to Section
8(2) of the RTI, “Not-
withstanding anything
in the Official Secrets
Act 1923 (19 of 1923) nor
any of the exemptions
permissible in accord-
ance with subsection
(1), a public authority
may allow access to in-
formation, if the public
interest in disclosure
outweighs the harm to
the protected interest.”
Supporting the RTI
petition, activist Ma-
hesh Pandya said that
for the sake of medical
ethics, any patient’s
name cannot be re-
vealed, but they (hospi-
tal authorities) cannot
deny issuing relevant
data. “The government
is answerable to the
public. The applicant
must appeal to the high-
est authority and ap-
proach the commission-
er to invoke Section 18
of the Act,” he said.
Even the Sardar
VallabhbhaiPatel(SVP)
Hospital denied reveal-
ing the same informa-
tion by invading any
patient’s privacy.
Rafale’s roar...
Meanwhile Singh said
the government is deter-
mined to do “everything
possible” to protect In-
dia’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
Singh’s stern mes-
sage to the neighbour-
ing country came hours
ahead of an expected
meeting between Exter-
nal Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar and his Chi-
nese counterpart Wang
Yi on the margins of a
SCO conclave in Mos-
cow. —ANI
India occupies...
has now occupied the
heights which overlook
the Chinese positions at
heights including the
Green top.
The Chinese have
been sitting at Finger 4
from around April-May
timeframe but have re-
fused to disengage from
there and other friction
points in eastern
Ladakh sector.
In another develop-
ment, armies of India
and China held interac-
tions at Brigade Com-
mander-level and Com-
manding Officer-level
in eastern Ladakh on
Thursday which are
aimed at keeping the
communication lines
open between the two
sides. —ANI
Plaint against...
It said that Ranaut, on
September 9, circulated
a video on social media
in which she used “in-
flammatory and deroga-
tory words” against Ud-
dhav Thackeray and by
doingthisshehas“tried
to diminish the charac-
ter and challenged the
dignity” of the CM of
Maharashtra.
Another complaint,
filed by advocate Nitin
Mane at Vikhroli police
station, also accused
Ranaut of insulting the
CM. Meanwhile, in an-
other development the
BMC has issued a show-
cause notice to designer
Manish Malhotra for
‘unauthorised con-
struction’ in his resi-
dential premises.
SC: EMI...
while hearing a batch
of petitions seeking
waiver of interest, or
waiver of interest on
interest on the suspend-
ed EMIs during the ex-
tended moratorium pe-
riod amid the nation-
wide lockdown due to
the covid-19 outbreak.
The apex court will
continue hearing in the
case on 28 September.
The three-judge
bench took on record
the submissions made
by the solicitor general
Tushar Mehta, repre-
senting the Centre.
RIL offers...
is willing to sell an up to
40 per cent stake in the
retail business to Ama-
zon, the agency report-
ed. Neither Amazon nor
Reliance Industries re-
sponded to requests for
comment. Reliance Re-
tail, with close to 12,000
stores selling a wide
range of products, ac-
quired rival Future
Group’s retail arm last
month. —Agencies
Bulls cheer...
Most sectoral indices at
the National Stock Ex-
change were in the
green with Nifty PSU
bank gaining by 2.46 per
cent, private bank by 1
per cent and financial
service by 0.7 per cent.
Among stocks, index
heavyweight Reliance
Industries hit a record
high to Rs 2,314.65 per
share, up 7.1 per cent on
BSE —ANI
FROM PAGE 1
WHO WILL BE THE FIRST
CHAIRMAN, NRA ?
The million dollar question is - who will be the
first Chairman of the newly constituted National
Recruitment Agency (NRA) ? One thing is certain
that any retired IAS officer is likely to be ap-
pointed the first Chairman. Names of some IAS
officers, sources say, are already doing the round
for the post.
WHO WILL BE NEW SECRETARY,
DOPT ON OCT 1 ?
All eyes are on the appointment of new Secretary,
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), as
the incumbent Dr. C Chandramouli is superannuat-
ing on September 30, 2020.
ARUN KUMAR MEHTA TO JOIN GOI
AS SECRETARY
Arun Kumar Mehta is all set to join the Govern-
ment of India as Secretary. He is 1988 batch IAS
officer of J & K cadre.
IRS OFFICER DHEERAJ GARG TO
JOIN GOVT OF HARYANA ON
DEPUTATION
Dheeraj Garg will be joining the Government of
Haryana in Excise & Taxation department on depu-
tation basis. He is an IRS-IT officer.
MS. NILA MOHANAN APPOINTED AS
DEPUTY SECRETARY, DOPT
Ms. Nila Mohanan has been appointed Deputy
Secretary in the DoPT. She is a 2007 batch IAS
officer of AGMUT cadre.
ABHIRAM SANKAR APPOINTED AS
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, LBSNAA,
MUSSOORIE
Abhiram G Sankar has been appointed as Deputy
Director at Deputy Secretary level in theLBSNAA,
Mussoorie. He is a 2011 batch IAS officer of
Karnataka cadre.
IRS OFFICER TO BE OSD TO
MAHARASHTRA MINISTER
Sachin Balasaheb Sawant has been appointed OSD
to Uday Samant, Minister of Higher and Techni-
cal Education, Maharashtra. He is a 2008 batch
IRS(C&CE) officer.
TRANSFER ORDER OF IAS OFFICER
CANCELLED
The MHA has cancelled the transfer order of
Mukesh Prasad to A&N Islands. Now he will
remain with the Delhi govt. He is a 2007 batch
AGMUT cadre IAS officer.
AJAY KUMAR SINGH IS PRESS
SECRETARY TO PRESIDENT
Ajay Kumar Singh has been appointed as Press
Secretary to the President on contract basis.
DEPUTATION TENURE OF RAKESH
AGGARWAL AS JOINT DIRECTOR, CBI
EXTENDED
The deputation tenure of Rakesh Aggarwal work-
ing as Joint Director in CBI, has been extended for
a period of two years till September 2, 2022. He is
a 1994 batch IPS officer of HP cadre.
GANGADHARAN STANDS RELIEVED
TO JOIN MINISTRY OF CULTURE
C Gangadharan stands relieved to join as Director,
Ministry of Culture. He is a CSS officer.
P C KOUL PROMOTED AS ADDL
SECRETARY, LOK SABHA
P C Koul, Joint Secretary, has been promoted as
Additional Secretary in Lok Sabha.
MRS ABHA SINGH PROMOTED AS
ADDL SECRETARY, LOK SABHA
Mrs Abha Singh Yaduvanshi, Joint Secretary, has
been promoted as Additional Secretary in LS.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
UTSTOTESTALLSYMPTOMATIC-VENew Delhi: Union
Health Ministry has
noted that in some large
States, symptomatic
negative cases tested by
Rapid Antigen Tests
(RAT) are not being fol-
lowed up by RT-PCT
testing. The Guidelines
of ICMR as well as the
Union Health Ministry
clearly state that the fol-
lowing two specific cat-
egories of persons must
necessarily be retested
through RT-PCR tests:
(1) All symptomatic
(fever or cough or
breathlessness) nega-
tive cases of Rapid An-
tigen Tests (RAT).
(2) Asymptomatic
negative cases of RAT
that develop symptoms
within 2 to 3 days of be-
ing tested negative.
In this background,
the Union Health Min-
istry and ICMR have
jointly written to all the
States/UTs and urged
them to ensure that the
all symptomatic nega-
tive cases of RAT are
mandatorily retested
using the RT-PCR test.
This is necessary to en-
sure that such sympto-
matic negative cases do
not remain untested
and do not spread the
disease among their
contacts. This will also
ensure early detection
and isolation/hospitali-
zation of such false
negatives. It has also
been reiterated in the
joint letter that while
the RAT is being used to
increase access and
availability of testing
in the field, RT-PCR re-
mains the gold standard
of COVID tests.
New Delhi: Test,
treatment and con-
tainment is the motto
of the government of
India for dealing
with COVID-19 pan-
demic, said BJP lead-
er Anil Jain on
Thursday.
Replying to Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi’s allegations
regarding Central
government’sincapa-
bility in dealing with
the prevention and
management of COV-
ID-19 pandemic, Jain
said people around
the world have recog-
nised and praised the
Indian government’s
efforts.
“People know that
the steps that were
taken were necessary
and if not taken on
time, we would have
been in a far worse
situation,” said Jain.
He accepted that
the spread of COV-
ID-19inthecountryis
increasing, but added
that the capability of
the country to deal
with the pandemic is
also increasing. “The
average recovery rate
in the country is in-
creasing. The mortal-
ityrateinthecountry
isfarlesserthanmost
country around the
world. If cases are in-
creasing, our capabil-
ity to deal with them
is also increasing,”
he said.
‘Test, treatment,
containment’
government motto
Serum halts India trials
of Covid-19 vaccine
New Delhi: Serum In-
stitute of India on
Thursday said it is put-
ting on hold clinical tri-
als of an experimental
COVID-19 vaccine for
which it has been en-
listed to manufacture a
billion doses. “We are
reviewing the situation
and pausing India tri-
als,” SII, the world’s big-
gest vaccine manufac-
turer by volume, said in
a brief statement. The
pause by Serum Insti-
tute came after the
Drugs Controller Gen-
eral of India (DCGI) is-
sued it a show-cause no-
tice asking why trials
shouldnotbesuspended
in India until patient
safety is established.
Union ministry stated that such symptomatic negative cases could remain RT-PCT untested
Mamata govt has ‘anti-
Hindu’ mindset: Nadda
New Delhi: “Even Ra-
bindranath Tagore’s
legacy was sullied by
TMC-backed land mafia
at Visva-Bharati Uni-
versity at Santiniket-
an,” BJP president JP
Nadda said
Launching an attack
on the ruling Trina-
mool Congress in WB,
BJP chief JP Nadda on
Thursday accused the
Mamata Banerjee gov-
ernment of having an
“anti-Hindu mindset
and spawning political
violence in the state,
which has claimed the
lives of over 100 BJP
workers”. The fact that
West Bengal is going to
elections next year was
not lost on Nadda as he
accused the TMC gov-
ernment of pursuing
“minority appease-
ment” policies.
“When the entire
country was watching
the ‘bhoomi pujan’ (of
Ram temple in Ayod-
hya), Mamata Banerjee
imposed a lockdown in
West Bengal on August 5
to prevent people from
being part of the occa-
sion at the local level,”
Nadda said while digi-
tallyaddressingthenew-
ly-formed state commit-
tee of the saffron party.
“In sharp contrast, lock-
down was withdrawn
due to Bakrid. This
shows that the state gov-
ernment’s policies are
driven by an anti-Hindu
mindset and appease-
ment politics,” PTI quot-
ed Nadda as saying. Lay-
ing the roadmap for next
year’s assembly elec-
tions, Nadda said, “In
2011, we had a 2% vote
share in Bengal with 4
seats. In 2014, we got 2
seats but vote share rose
to 18%. In 2019, we got a
vote share of 40%. We
have to continue at the
same speed and in the
coming elections, we’ve
to defeat TMC.” He also
accused Banerjee of be-
coming “a barrier be-
tween the people of Ben-
galandgoodschemesthat
wouldbenefittheneedy”.
LAYING THE ROADMAP
New Delhi: The Presi-
dent of India, Ram Nath
Kovind on Thursday ap-
pointed veteran actor
Paresh Rawal as the
new chairman of the
National School of Dra-
ma (NSD).
The school made the
announcement about
its new chairman
through a tweet. “We
are glad to inform
‘Hon’ble President of
India @rashtrapatib-
hvn has appointed re-
nowned actor & Pad-
ma Shri @sirpare-
shrawal as chairman
of @nsd_india.’ NSD
family welcome the
legend to shower his
guidance to NSD for
achieving new
heights,” stated the
NSD tweet.
Paresh Rawal will be
taking over the position
of chairman from
prominent theatre art-
ist Arjun Deo Charan
who is chairing it at
present. —ANI
Paresh Rawal is
new NSD chief
Deepak Kochhar was arrested
since he remained evasive: ED
Mumbai: The ED
which arrested Deepak
Kochhar, husband of
former ICICI Bank CEO
Chanda Kochhar, over
allegations that he had
received Rs 64 crore for
his company from the
Videocon International
Electronics Ltd (VIEL),
said that he remained
evasive on the ques-
tions of “money trail”
in connection with a
money laundering case
involving loan to the
tune of Rs 1,730 crore to
Videocon group and
Venugopal Dhoot.
Deepak was arrested
on Monday by the ED
sleuths after several
hours of questioning at
its Mumbai office under
the sections of Preven-
tion of Money Launder-
ing Act (PMLA).
Patna: Former Union
minister Raghuvnash
Prasad Singh, 74, on
Thursday quit the RJD
amid speculation that
he could join the ruling
Janata Dal ( United), or
JD (U), ahead of the as-
sembly polls in Bihar
due next month.
“ I hav e stood solidly
behind you for 32 years
after the death of [for-
mer Bihar chief minis-
ter] Jannayak Kar-
poori Thakur. But not
anymore. I have re-
ceived lots of affection
from the party, sup-
porters, and people.
Forgive me,” Singh
wrote in the note.
Senior RJDleader
Raghuvansh
Singh quits party
A Healthcare worker collects swab sample from a woman for COVID-19 testing in New Delhi.
JP Nadda addresses West Bengal BJP State Executive Meeting
via video conferencing, in New Delhi.

RATHERTHANCOUNTINGCALORIES,THEREIS
ADIETTHATCOUNTSMACRONUTRIENTS(FATS,
CARBOHYDRATES,ANDPROTEINS)FOUNDIN
THEFOODSANDDRINKSWECONSUME
W
hile reducing calorie
intake is a proven way
to reduce your weight,
there’s no shortage of
diets promising the same results
but with more flexibility. One such
popular diet is “If It Fits Your Mac-
ros” (IIFYM), which offers users
less restriction in what they eat,
while still guaranteeing results.
Rather than counting calories,
IIFYM counts the daily macronu-
trients (fats, carbohydrates, and
proteins) found in the foods and
drinks we consume. Many people
like the diet because it offers flex-
ibility and allows them to consume
any food as long as it fits into their
daily macronutrient (“macro”) re-
quirements.
However, there’s currently no
scientific research that has specifi-
cally examined whether counting
macros is as effective as
other methods in achiev-
ing different weight goals.
Past research has looked
into the effects of reduc-
ing or manipulating indi-
vidual macros for weight
loss, such as comparing the
effect of consuming a low-fat
versus low-carbohydrate diet
or comparing four diets con-
taining different proportions of
fat, carbohydrate and protein.
Ultimately, researchers found no
significant, long-term difference
between the diets on how much
weight they helped people lose –
and all are difficult to adhere to in
the long term.
As such, this makes it difficult to
know whether counting calories or
macros is more useful when it comes
to your different body weight goals.
SOURCE:THECONVERSATION
CONCEPT:DIVYAHEMNANI
DESIGN:CPSHARMA
MUSCLE GAIN
O
ntheoppositeendof thespectrumarepeo-
ple looking to gain weight to build muscle.
Someone looking to gain muscle would
need to increase their basic daily protein intake
to around 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram
of body weight for muscles to repair any micro-
damage that occurs from resistance or strength
training which is necessary for muscle growth.
As well as protein, energy and carbohydrate
needs must also be met to ensure the body has
enough fuel available to work out. This is where
keeping track of macros, instead of counting
calories, could be useful to ensure all protein and
carbohydraterequirementsaremet.Timingsof
macros are also important for muscle
growth. Research shows regular protein
intake throughout the day and after
exercise, rather than large single
doses, is recommended for mus-
cle growth and refuelling. Ulti-
mately, which method you
choose for altering body
weight and composition
dependsonyourgoals
and how motivat-
ed and tech
savvy you
are. If you
are keen t o learn more
aboutthenutrientsinthefoodyouareeatingthen
counting macros may be for you. For those who
find endless counting and monitoring tedious it
maybeeasiertofollowmoregeneralguidancefor
weight loss or maintenance or for bulking up.
TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
CALORIES
MACROS
OR
T
he basic principle to
achieving weight loss is
eat less energy than your
body requires on a daily basis
andyouwillloseweight.Anydiet
can lead to weight loss as long as
this basic principle is applied.
The tricky part is establish-
ing what our energy require-
ments really are. The most
practical and accurate measure
of this, indirect calorimetry (a
measurement of the gases that
we breathe from which energy
expenditure can be estimated),
is still not 100% accurate. And
the prediction equations com-
monly used in dietary counsel-
ling and by online apps to set
calorie intake goals for weight
loss are even more inaccurate.
This is especially so in those
who are overweight or obese
due to the equations being
based on body weight, and not
taking account of fat mass.
But whether you’re counting
calories or macros, you still
need this starting point to work
from to keep within your tar-
gets. While our actual energy
requirements are uncertain
and can vary greatly depending
on how active we are, our re-
quirements for macronutrients
are more certain, based on gov-
ernment guidelines.
An advantage of counting
macros is that it ensures that
some essential nutrients are
incorporated into your diet,
instead of focusing solely on
calories. Counting calories
takes no account of nutrients.
And while it seems obvious
that choosing wholesome nu-
tritious sources of calories is
better than processed, high-
sugar and saturated fat foods,
you could hypothetically eat
seven chocolate bars (each
worth 228 calories, a total of
1,596 calories) and still lose
weight if your total energy
expenditure is around 2,000
calories a day.
Macro calculations are esti-
mated based on body weight,
height and activity levels and
can be adjusted to your weight
goal. While fewer restrictions
on what to eat may be a bonus
for some on IIFYM, for others
keeping track of macro intake
and hitting those targets can be
difficult and time consuming.
Whatever you’re counting
you’llrequireanaffinityforread-
ing food labels and keeping a re-
cord of all foods and fluids con-
sumedthroughouttheday.While
therearenumerousonlinenutri-
tional databases and apps that
help you track macros and calo-
ries, they may not always be ac-
curate either. Plus there’s the
added complication that we may
not actually absorb all of the en-
ergyornutrientsthatfoodlabels
list, making it even harder to
meet specific targets.
Additionally, neither method
will guarantee that you meet all
of your other nutrient require-
ments. For example, as macros
only focus on carbs, protein and
fats, they may overlook the im-
portance of other vitamins and
minerals, such as vitamin A,
which are essential for staying
healthy and preventing defi-
ciencies. Unless combined with
dietary advice about making
permanent changes to a healthy
balanced diet, neither method
is a long-term solution to
weight loss or maintenance.
WEIGHT LOSS

If you act and think as per what
is right and wrong and the value
system, not personal gain- then
you are a man of integrity.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
THEY SAY NOT ALL PARENTS’ INCOME HIT, SO DISCOUNT SHOULD BE ONLY FOR NEEDY
Haresh Jhala
Ahmedabad: Left
with a Hobson’s
choice over the issue
of fees for lockdown
period, private
schools in the State
have come up with a
solution of sorts.
They submitted in the
Gujarat High Court
on Thursday that they
were willing to work
out a fee discount
scheme but only for
deserving students
and not for all.
This was after the
State Government
pleaded before the High
Court that it could not
implement the direc-
tion issued by the court
to issue a circular on fee
exemption. The govern-
ment had pointed out
that after the court’s in-
structions it convened
meetings with an open
mind with the Self-Fi-
nanced (private)
Schools Management
Association twice, but
to no avail.
They had turned
down the State’s pro-
posal to give 25 per
cent discount in
school fees to all stu-
dents. Following this,
the high court had
sought the schools’
reply in the ongoing
hearings over the is-
sue.
In its response to the
court, the association
submitted that the
school managements
had agreed to the State
Government’s sugges-
tion against any fee
hike for the current aca-
demic year. However,
the discount formula
suggested by the State
was not viable.
The association stat-
ed that the management
was ready to work out a
discount from 10 per
cent to 100 per cent but
only on a case-to-case
basis and not across the
board.
Strongly defending
the position taken by
the Self-Financed
School Management
Association, its presi-
dent Ajay Patel from
Rajkot asserted that,
“It is not that the in-
come of the parents
of all the students
has been adversely af-
fected during the Cov-
id-19 crisis.”
“Parents of a good
number of students are
working with the corpo-
rate sector and their
incomes have not been
affected. Why should
the schools’ manage-
ment give discounts to
students from such fi-
nancially sound back-
ground,” he went on.
Ajay Patel said the
schools’ management
were in fact willing
“to give even 100 per
cent fee exemptions
to students whose
family have lost their
source of income.”
Schools agree to fee discount, but
‘only for those hit more by Covid’
PRACTICAL SOLUTION?
Autorickshaw
owners move Guj
HC for govt aid
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Au-
torickshaw owners
have approached the
Gujarat High Court
seeking a directive to
the State Govern-
ment to provide them
financial assistance
since their incomes
took a big hit during
the Covid-enforced
lockdown period and
beyond.
Jagrut Auto Rick-
shaw Drivers Union
has filed a public in-
terest litigation
through advocate K R
Koshti. Before the
first lockdown was
imposed on March 21,
their average month-
ly income ranged
from Rs 12,000 to
15,000andthisstopped
completely for over 2
months, the Union
submitted. TheUnion
said several auto driv-
ers and owners had
committed suicide be-
cause of financial cri-
sis. Though they had
representedtheircase
before the govern-
ment,therewasnoac-
tion and so they ap-
proached the high
court. Citing instanc-
es of other states, the
Union submitted that
the government
should compensate
them too. Andhra
Pradesh Government
gave financial assis-
tance of Rs 10,000 to
2.62lakhautoandtaxi
drivers, while Karna-
takaGovernmentpro-
vided relief of Rs
5,000, the Union stat-
ed.
Two more
persons held
with Meow
Meow drug
ITIs TO REOPEN FROM SEPT 21 BUT IN PHASES
First India Bureau
Surat: Days after the
Special Operations
Group (SOG) nabbed 2
persons with 100 gm
of banned drugs
called mephedrone,
popularly known as
Meow Meow, 2 more
persons were arrested
on Wednesday in the
same trail with the
same synthetic stimu-
lant worth Rs 3.25
lakh from Dindoli
area in Surat.
They bought the drug
from Imtiaz Malek, who
was caught with 100 gm
of the same substance
and currently under
custody of Puna police
station, a police official
said.
The 2 were caught
with 60.5 gm of me-
phedrone under the
Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Sub-
stances (NDPS) Act.
They have been identi-
fied as Anil Prajapati
and Debashish alias
Sunny Chaudhary.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Gujarat Government
on Thursday an-
nounced that Indus-
trial Training Insti-
tutes (ITIs), which
were shut because of
the nationwide lock-
down, would reopen
on September 21.
The decision has
been taken in view of
an advisory by the Min-
istry of Skill Develop-
ment & Entrepreneur-
ship to reopen ITIs.
Additional Chief Sec-
retary (Labour and Em-
ployment) Vipul Mittra
said to ensure social
distancing and in view
of capacity and space
constraints, the ITIs
would have staggered
batch timings.
“The classes for
courses of 6 months, 1
year and the second
year of 2-year courses
will commence from
September 21, while
classes for the first year
of 2-year courses will
start from October 1.
We have issued instruc-
tions to ensure that
guidelines issued by the
State Government, the
Ministry of Home Af-
fairs, and the Ministry
of Health & Family Wel-
fare are adhered to,”
Mittra said.
The examinations for
various courses will be
held in November.
Shah kickstarts welfare
schemes in Gandhinagar
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Thursday inau-
gurated Rs 15.01 crore
development schemes
in Gandhinagar district
and city, while also lay-
ing the foundation for
projects worth Rs 119.63
crore.
The schemes, which
he inaugurated and
launched for his Gan-
dhinagar Lok Sabha
constituency through
video conferencing, in-
clude Smart City pro-
jects, upgradation of
gardens, road widening
and new classrooms in
Girls School. Gujarat
Deputy Chief Minister
Nitin Patel also attend-
ed the function from
Rupaal village.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Shah said, “I am
confident that under
the leadership of the
Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi ji, we
all will endeavour to
make Gandhinagar a
model Lok Sabha con-
stituency.”
The union minister
said the country was
fighting the Covid-19
crisis under the leader-
ship of Modi and in Gu-
jarat under the steward-
ship of Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani.
“As a result of these
continuous efforts,
there has been a decline
in the casualty rate
while the recovery rate
had improved,” Shah
said.
However, the Union
Home Minister stressed
on public awareness
and strict maintenance
of social distancing
norms by the people to
tackle the pandemic.
Gujarat Secretariat. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Bhavnagar: All her
small world came
apart for Rehmatben
Sheikh, a resident of
Konjdi village in
Bhavnagar district,
first after her two sons
lost their jobs during
the Covid-enforced
lockdown in March.
And then, her work as
an agricultural la-
bourer stopped.
This jolt came during
the Rabi harvest period,
which would otherwise
bring in a decent
amount of money. Al-
though her sons got
some earnings through
works under NREGA,
theincomewaswoefully
inadequate to meet the
expenses.
Just then came a
blessing in disguise in
the form of an initia-
tive called ‘Gardens
of Hope - Emergency
Kitchen Gardens’.
Started by Gujarat
based NGO, Utthan, the
programme is helping
rural communities in
four Gujarat districts of
Bhavnagar, Dahod, Ma-
hisagar and Panchma-
hal to grow their own
chemical-free food at
home so that their nutri-
tional needs are met de-
spite the financial
crunch during the lock-
down and the conse-
quent livelihood crisis.
What makes this initia-
tive stand out is that
each family growing
vegetables will have to
share the produce with
3 other families who do
not have land, water re-
sources or currently not
growing vegetables.
Rehmatben joined the
trainingsessionsongar-
dening conducted by Ut-
than in May-June. Since
she did not have enough
space in her backyard,
she decided to begin
farming on her rooftop.
“We received a gar-
dening kit with seeds
(150 grams per person)
and organic fertiliser
forfree—andusingthat
I set up my garden. I am
growing cluster beans,
bitter gourd and okra,
and share the produce
with 3 other families.
This solution is helping
all of us save money and
get healthy food,” says
Rehmatben.
Now that she has ac-
quiredtheexpertise,she
is planning to increase
her production post
lockdown and earn a
stable income from it.
Rehmatben’s family is
one of the thousands of
families who are reap-
ing benefits under this
sustainableprogramme.
What’s cooking? All not lost for Covid-stung Rehmatben
OUT-OF-THE-BOX IDEA
A cooperative kitchen garden started by NGO Utthan is helping thousands of villages tide over Covid-19 crisis.
 A cooperative of sorts initiated by NGO ‘Utthan’ is
helping thousands of families in 4 Gujarat districts
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday virtually inaugurated
development works in his Gandhinagar constituency.
WHITHER
MODEL
STATE?
Notwithstanding the
tall claims of Gujarat
being a model state of
development, there are
still villages which do
not even have arterial
roads. People in Ganava
village in Sabarkantha
district's Poshina taluka
have to carry their sick
people in a cloth bag
of sorts to the nearest
hospital.
I am confident that under the lead-
ership of the Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi ji, we all will en-
deavour to make Gandhinagar a model Lok
Sabha constituency.
—Amit Shah, Union Home Minister and Gandhinagar MP
—FILEPHOTO
—FILEPHOTO

AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY
SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
City First digs into the fusion of science and fashion to make a wearable
technology & how these innovations are transforming the fashion industry today!
KARISHMA GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
cience plays a major role in the
design development of fashion
clothing and accessories, just a
glimpseintothepastwillconfirm
enough to be true. It’s not a jum-
bled business of clothes and col-
ours, loosely thrown together,
rather, a well-organised industry driven by
thesciences,frommarketresearchtoweav-
ing, printing, dyeing, pattern making, and
incorporating scientific interventions that
support artist’s continuum.
How about having a single garment that
onecanusebothinthesummerandwinter
one that would change texture, colour and
evenshapeinresponsetoexternalenviron-
ments? How about wearing an electric
lights garment with the sensor to turn on
and off the lights, when required? All these
are gradually transcending from being
mere fantasies to reality.
Let’s look at how the future and already
present technology can reshape the fash-
ion landscape. Digital clothing that incor-
porates sensors in the very clothing that
one wears and other fascinating possi-
bilities lie in store-courtesy the largely
interdisciplinary explorations into the
field of fabric and fashion technology.
The performative nature of fashion
makes it a perfect medium for exploring
these new ideas. Especially in the context
of dialogue between the body of the wear-
er and their environment, including in-
teractions with other individuals.
Attheperipheryof awiderconversation
about FashionTech, in both digital/web-
based and wearable based technologies is
the integration of multi-disciplinary sci-
ences into product concepts. Incredible
hybrid products are growing out of inter-
disciplinarycollaborations,usingtheskills
of scientists, computer engineers, manu-
facturers and fashion designers.
Collaborations are leading to exciting
new products by utilising the skills of dif-
ferentindustriestocreatesomethinginven-
tive and efficient. These infinite possibili-
ties have more space to evolve yet, but with
a continuous stream of the new and excit-
ing pushes, the fashion industry is not far
away from reaching the goal towards the
future of fashion.
S

10
HOLLYWOODAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
DISHA MADAN, Content Creator
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Be soft with your tone when
talking with your seniors.
Solve your problem before
it gets out of your hands. In
life things do not always happen
according to our plans, its ok to
change your plans and readjust
overtime. You work hard and then
play hard.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Remember those whelped
you in challenging times so
that you can someday
return their favour without
asking. Seeking comfort in life isn’t a
problem but only seeking comfort
all-time with not willing to do
anything is a big problem. Adjusting
nature is what makes you special.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You are a person with good
looks. Trust your instincts
thats all. In business
sometimes you loose and
sometimes you gain but you have to
keep moving forward. You are filling
your karma bank balance with good
deeds. Doubtful nature becomes very
irritating for others to tolerate.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Giving lectures to others is
easy but practising what you
preach isn’t. Scoring high
percentage in not necessary
but knowing everything that has been
taught is very very important. Available
information must be used to its full
potential and it can change the course
of your research.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
On home front, some thing
are best left for no
discussion. Health is fine
as per your cards. Getting
rewarded is sure shot thing but when
is the question. Your spouse will give
you the wings to fly high. Curious
nature is a sign of active intelligent
brains. Love yourself.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Excellent cooking skills has
helped you in winning your
spouse’s heart. You are very
conscious of how you look
and you take your dressing and
aesthetic very seriously. You have a
hard shell wrapped around you but you
are very soft from inside. Helping
someone is a good thing to do.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
If you have unconsciously
made some mistake then
don’t get too hard on
yourself. Do as you wish
as long as you are prepared for the
consequences. Be professional when
it comes to dealing with official
matters. Make peace with your past.
You are very curious by nature.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Always taking side of
someone irrespective of
the fact if they are right or
wrong needs to be
stopped. You can confess to your
parents if you think you have done
something wrong as only they can
protect you. Limits and few set rules
are very important for everything.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Every time whenever you
achieve something always
express your gratitude to
people who contributed in
your journey. Don’t be scared of what
will happen in the future, you just
need to relax and enjoy your present
or least try to live and breathe free.
Your expressions make things clear.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
A business person needs
an investor and for that
you need to look for the
right person. Any tempting
deal which leads you to compromise
on your ethics shall be avoided for
sure. Finally you will get something
that you have been waiting for. Life
goes around in circles.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You can very quickly fool
people into believing what
you are saying. Working
without breaks isn’t good
for your own health so don’t take it
lightly. Pursue your career as per
your liking and most likely it will be
something either related to medicals
or law. Self control is appreciative.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Curing the need to do
something without really
giving ay though is a
mature thing to do. Making
big decisions after carefully planning
and evaluating all the options is a
sure shot thing. Creating hope for the
one who has lost is a great move.
Blessings from elders is certain.
hris Hemsworth is Holly-
wood’s leading man, liter-
ally. Maybe it’s his Aus-
tralian-ness. Maybe it’s
his hobbies (surfing, box-
ing). Maybe it’s that he
plays a Norse god, com-
plete with godlike biceps. He is the
man who plays one of Marvel’s fit-
test, most muscular superheroes.
We all know the Flan-Haired
One came to fame as a stoic alpha-
god in Thor. Even in his artis-
tic breakout—in Rush—he was a
hard-drinking, model-shagging
Formula One racer. And with a
packed slate of starring roles in
2015, from playing the world’s
toughest hacker in Blackhat to re-
prising his role as the God of Hair
and Hammer in Avengers: Age of
Ultron, Hemsworth isn’t letting off
the gas.
Hemsworth the rare Hollywood
leading man who is actually ro-
bust and manly in the characters
he plays. He’s not a Method guy.
His philosophy, cribbed from An-
thony Hopkins on the set
of Thor is “Don’t bring it home.
Don’t even bring it to the makeup
trailer.” That’s not to say he hasn’t
endured some intense physi-
cal prep, most recently limiting
himself to 500 calories a day on
the set of Ron Howard’s upcoming
whaling saga, In the Heart of the
Sea, to achieve that emaciated
castaway look. But the craziest
thing Hemsworth’s done to get
into character was sit in Michael
Mann’s office and learn to type.
For ten weeks.
His most critically acclaimed
films include the comedy hor-
rorTheCabinintheWoods(2012).
He also had filmed Men in Black:
International, the reboot of the
MiB franchise that Hemsworth
co-helms with Tessa Thomp-
son, and starred in the Netflix
thriller Extraction, After be-
ing watched by 90 a million
households in its initial
month of release, the mov-
ie broke Netflix’s view-
ership record previ-
ously held by Bird Box.
Hemsworth’s charis-
ma holds together
whenever it threatens to
spin apart. He won
the Teen Choice
Awards for Choice
Sci-Fi Movie Actor.
He has also been
honored with Brit-
ish Academy
Film Awards,
People’s Choice
Awards. MTV
Movie Awards
and Critics’
Choice Awards
In 2019, Hems-
worth launched a
fitness app called
Centr, focused on how to train,
eat, and live better.
The Manliest Man in
HOLLYWOOD
GURMAN SINGH
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
C
Formula One racer. And with a
packed slate of starring roles in
2015, from playing the world’s
toughest hacker in Blackhat to re-
prising his role as the God of Hair
and Hammer in Avengers: Age of
Ultron, Hemsworth isn’t letting off
Hemsworth the rare Hollywood
leading man who is actually ro-
bust and manly in the characters
he plays. He’s not a Method guy.
His philosophy, cribbed from An-
thony Hopkins on the set
of Thor is “Don’t bring it home.
Don’t even bring it to the makeup
trailer.” That’s not to say he hasn’t
endured some intense physi-
cal prep, most recently limiting
himself to 500 calories a day on
the set of Ron Howard’s upcoming
whaling saga, In the Heart of the
Sea, to achieve that emaciated
castaway look. But the craziest
thing Hemsworth’s done to get
into character was sit in Michael
Mann’s office and learn to type.
His most critically acclaimed
films include the comedy hor-
rorTheCabinintheWoods(2012).
He also had filmed Men in Black:
International, the reboot of the
MiB franchise that Hemsworth
co-helms with Tessa Thomp-
son, and starred in the Netflix
thriller Extraction, After be-
ing watched by 90 a million
households in its initial
month of release, the mov-
ie broke Netflix’s view-
ership record previ-
ously held by Bird Box.
Hemsworth’s charis-
ma holds together
whenever it threatens to
spin apart. He won
the Teen Choice
Awards for Choice
Sci-Fi Movie Actor.
He has also been
honored with Brit-
ish Academy
In 2019, Hems-
worth launched a
fitness app called
Centr, focused on how to train,
eat, and live better.

T
erming a document stating
that BMC had sent a notice
regarding unauthorised
constructioninherMumbai
in 2018, as “fake,” actor Kangana
RanautonWednesdaysaidthatBMC
had never “sent any notice” to her
until Tuesday.
The ‘Queen’ actor took to Twitter
to share a copy of the said docu-
ment and accused the Maharash-
tra government of “spreading
fake” information. “Paid sources
of Maha government are spread-
ing fake info, BMC never sent
any notice to me until yesterday,”
she tweeted. “In fact I got all the
documents cleared myself from
BMCforrenovations.[?]@myb-
mc [?] at least have the cour-
agetostandbyyouraudacity.
why lie now?,” she added.
The document dated Oc-
tober 20, 2018, had been
doing rounds on Twitter
sinceWednesdaymorning.
OnThursdayafternoon,Kan-
gana reached her office in
Mumbai after the act took
place. —ANI
A
sIndianfilmdirector
Anurag Kashyap
celebrated his 48th
birthday on
Thursday, stars in the Bol-
lywood industry wished
him on social media.
His daughter Aaliyah
Kashyap was one of the first
ones to wish the filmmaker on
social media. While she
took to social media to
wish daddy on his birth-
day, Aaliyah posted two
pictures on her Insta-
gram stories to wish
him and alongside the
photos, she wrote,
“Happy Birthday
Papa. Love you and
miss you so much.”
Later, Taapsee Pannu,
who has worked with
Anurag in Manmarzi-
yaan, took to Insta-
gram to pen a note for
her ‘punching bag’.
Sharing a photo
with the birthday boy,
Taapsee’s note read,
“Happy Birthday to
my official punching
bag!” —Agency
W
hile Natasha Ro-
manoff’s fate in
‘Avengers: End-
game’ destroyed
MCU (Marcel Cinematic Uni-
verse) fans, it was indeed a
pleasant, welcome surprise
that a Black Widow movie
was in the works. Set at a
time period between Cap-
tain America: Civil War
and Avengers: Infinity War,
we get in touch with Nat’s
previous comrades before be-
coming an Avenger. In a recent
interview, Johansson spoke
candidly about the feminist
themes in Black Widow. “I
think this film, in particular,
is very much reflective of
what’s going on in regards to
the Time’s Up movement and
the #MeToo movement,” Scarlett
disclosed. The 35-year-old actress
felt that it would be such a miss if
they didn’t address that stuff and
take that head-on. Moreover, the
Oscar-nominated star shared with
Empire that for Black Widow di-
rector Cate Shortland, it was so
important to make a movie about
“women who are helping other
women, who lift other women up out
of a very difficult situation.” —Agency
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
11
ours after Ankita Lokhande
penned an elaborate letter
explaining her stand on Su-
shant Singh Rajput’s death
probe, Shibani Dandekar
called out the actress. She
said Ankita has played “a
major role in this witch-hunt.”
“Such a grotesque letter by (Anki-
ta). This princess of patriarchy who
has never dealt with her own relation-
ship issues with Sushant, clearly she
wants her two seconds of fame and
has capitalised on Rhea being target-
ed. She has played a major role in this
‘witch-hunt’ and she needs to be called
out! She also just needs to shut the
hell up. Enough Ankita! No one has
more hate in their heart (?) than you,”
Shibani wrote.
The backlash came after Ankita
said, “When she very well knew about
his mental state by publicly stating
that he was in depression. Should she
have allowed a depressed man to con-
sume drugs? How is that going to
help? His condition would deteriorate
to a level that would make a man take
the action that SSR has allegedly tak-
en. She was the closest person to him
at that time. On one hand, she says
she was coordinating with all the doc-
tors for his betterment of health on
request of SSR, and on the other
hand, she was coordinating drug lo-
gistics for him.” —Agency
H
SHIBANI SLAMS ANKITA
M
e g a s t a r
A m i t a b h
Bachchan,
weeks after
recovering from COV-
ID-19, is back to shooting
andiscautiouslyfollowing
all the necessary precau-
tionary measures.
Thelegendaryactor
is currently shoot-
ing for his much-
loved television
quiz show ‘Kaun
Banega Crorepa-
ti,’ and has been
sharing pictures
from the set on social me-
dia platforms. Bachchan
who is shooting for the
12th season of the famous
show took to Twitter dur-
ing the wee hours of
Thursdayandsharedacol-
lage of his pictures from
the show’s set. The picture
features crew members of
the show clad in PPE Kits,
masks, gloves, and shields
as they give some final
touch-ups to the superstar.
Alongside the pictures,
the ‘Sholay’ actor tweeted:
“be safe .. be in precaution
..atworkandincaution..”
On August 24, announc-
ing the beginning of the
shooting for the new sea-
son of his show, Bachchan
wrote: “It’s back to work ..
in a sea of blue PPE .. KBC
12 .. started 2000 .. today
year2020..20years!Amaze
.. that’s a lifetime.” —ANI
The feminist
theme in BW
Birthday wishes for
Anurag Kashyap
BIG B BACKTOWORK
AK Drinks Cow Urine Everyday
D
uring an interesting live session on Instagram, Bear Grylls,
Akshay Kumar and Huma Qureshi had quite a fun chat. Bear and
Akshay spoke about their episode of ‘Into The Wild’ which both
of them had shot together. Huma asked them about the ‘elephant poo
tea’ that they were seen consuming during the show’s promo. Surpris-
ingly, Akshay went on to say that it wasn’t anything new for him, as he
drinks cow urine every day, keeping the Ayurvedic in mind. —Agency
‘BMC NEVER SENT
ANY NOTICE’
Shibani Dandekar
Ankita Lokhande
Kangana Ranaut
Anurag Kashyap
Amitabh Bachchan
...his post
Bear Grylls & Akshay Kumar
Scarlett Johansson
...her post

First india ahmedabad edition-11 september 2020

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