First india ahmedabad edition-12 november 2020

Schools and colleges to reopen from November 23, says Guj govt
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
state government has
decided to reopen
schools and colleges,
which have been shut
since March due to
the COVID-19 pan-
demic, from Novem-
ber 23. All education-
al institutions will
have to abide by the
Centre’s standard op-
erating procedures.
Announcing the state
government’s decision
on Wednesday, Educa-
tion Minister Bhupen-
drasinh Chudasama
said, “Only school stu-
dents of Classes IX
through XII and final-
year college students
will be asked to attend
classes in person. That
too is optional. Any stu-
dent who wishes to at-
tend school will need a
permission letter from
their parents.”
He stressed that
while attendance is
“not compulsory,”
parents are expected
to pick and drop their
children in personal
vehicles and not any
mode of mass trans-
portation--not even
school vans.
Chudasama went on
to explain that schools
will have to follow an
odd-even system. “So,
students of Classes IX
andXIwillattendschool
for three days in a week,
and students of Classes
X and XII will attend
classes the other three
days,” he said, adding
that students will have
to maintain social dis-
tancing norms by stay-
ing at least 2m apart.
The management of
schools and colleges, in-
cluding medical and
paramedical colleges,
will have to ensure that
students and staff are
not allowed entry with-
out a mask. In addition,
they will have to make
ample amounts of sani-
tizers and hand-wash-
ing facilities available to
staff and students, and
also check their temper-
ature using a thermal
gun while entering and
exiting the campus.
Chudasama also said
thattheseinstitutescan-
not hold any public
prayers and sports ac-
tivities.Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama —FILE PHOTO
SOP should be strictly followed
by schools and colleges
PARENTS PROTEST
Parents and guardians in Surat are protest-
ing the state’s decision to reopen schools on
November 23. “Why should only parents be
held accountable? The state is asking us to
sign permission letters but is not willing to
take responsibility for our children,” stated
Umesh Panchal. Rekhaben Miteshbhai Rathore,
another guardian, said, “The medical fraternity
has also said it is unsafe to send kids to school,
so why is the government taking such a deci-
sion? If school administrators give a written
guarantee, then I will consider it.”
16°C - 33°C www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 348
JAVADEKAR HOPEFUL OF NEW
AIR QUALITY COMMISSION
REDUCING POLLUTIONP5 P6
CHIRAG BURNT HIMSELF WITH HIS
OWN ‘CHIRAG’: HAM CHIEF MANJHI
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Address-
ing enthusiastic BJP
workers following the
victory of NDA in Bi-
har and impressive
show in the bypolls,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Wednesday
said the saffron party
now had its footprint
across the country and
the results had made it
clear that people would
now support only those
who work honestly for
development.
“Polls results have
endorsed the way we
have tackled Covid-19
pandemic. No re-polling
and peaceful conduct of
voting were the distinc-
tive features of Bihar
elections. Earlier there
used to be news of
booth capturing,” Modi
said. The PM, Turn to P6
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
will inaugurate the
Institute of Teaching and
Research in Ayurveda
(ITRA) at Jamnagar in
Gujarat and National In-
stitute of Ayurveda (NIA)
at Jaipur in Rajasthan
on the fifth Ayurveda
Day on November 13
via video conferencing,
a statement said on
Wednesday.
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment has brought
OTT platforms like Net-
flix, Amazon Prime
Video and Disney+ Hot-
star besides other on-
line news and current
affairs content under
the ambit of the Minis-
try of Information and
Broadcasting, giving it
powers to regulate poli-
cies and rules for the
digital space.
So far, there was no
law or autonomous
body governing digital
content in India.
According to a notifi-
cation issued by the
Cabinet Secretariat on
Tuesday night and
signed by President
Ram Nath Kovind, the
decision has been taken
in exercise of the pow-
ers conferred by clause
(3) of article 77 of the
Constitution,byamend-
ing the Government of
India (Allocation of
Business) Rules, 1961
and it will come into ef-
fect immediately.
“These rules may be
called the Government
of India (Allocation of
Business) Three Hun-
dred and Fifty Seventh
Amendment Rules,
2020. They shall come
into force at once.
With this, the Infor-
mation and Broadcast-
ing Ministry has the
power to regulate poli-
cies related to news, au-
dio, visual contents and
films available on on-
line platforms.
The decision came in
less than a month after
the Supreme Court
sought the Centre’s re-
sponse on a PIL for reg-
ulating the Over The
Top (OTT) platforms by
an autonomous body.
Now, the OTT plat-
forms, which were hith-
erto unregulated, are
expected to come under
rules and regulations.
Turn to P6
A JUBILANT MODI ENDORSES
NITISH’S CANDIDATURE AS CM
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on
Wednesday granted in-
terim bail to journalist
Arnab Goswami in the
2018 abetment to sui-
cide case, saying it will
be a “travesty of jus-
tice” if personal liberty
is curtailed”.
The apex court also
expressed concern over
state governments tar-
geting individuals on
the basis of ideology.
The court granted in-
terim bail to two others
in the case—Nitish Sar-
da and Parveen Rajesh
Singh—on personal
bond of Rs 50,000 each
and directed that they
shall not tamper with
the evidence and shall
cooperate in the probe.
A vacation bench of
Justices DY Chandra-
chud and Indira Baner-
jee, which ordered that
the accused shall not
try to meet any witness
in the case, said their
release should not be
delayed and the prison
authorities should fa-
cilitate this.
The bench said per-
sonal bonds are to be
furnished to Superin-
tendent of Taloja jail
instead of the magiste-
rial court.
During the day-long
arguments, the top
court said if state gov-
ernments target indi-
viduals, they must real-
ise then that there is
apex court to protect
the liberty of citizens.
Observing that it
would be a travesty of
justice if personal lib-
erty of a person is cur-
tailed like this, the
bench also expressed
concern over state gov-
ernments targeting
some individuals on the
basis of ideology and
difference of opinion.
We are seeing case af-
ter case where high
courts Turn to P6
Proactive CEC transforms ECI for
better election management
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: The 2020
Bihar Assembly elec-
tions and bypolls in ten
states will go down in
the history of India’s
democracy as one of the
finest moments for the
Election Commission
of India. For, in these
few months, ECI, head-
ed by Chief Election
Commissioner Sunil
Arora has proved that
challenges, how so ever
gargantuan, can be
overcomethroughsheer
will and hard work.
With Corona proving
to be a major hurdle to
the democratic process,
ECI was faced with a
tough task of making
right decision and in
thesetoughtimes,Arora
proved to be a resilient
pillardevisingnewways
to counter problem as
well as ‘reinventing’
election process. Wheth-
er it was Rajya Sabha
election, bypolls in ten
states, or Bihar election,
ECI has done an exem-
plary work. Turn to P6
Suicide case: SC grants
interim bail to Arnab
Govt to regulate online space, social sites
The court expressed concern over state govts targeting
“individuals on the basis of ideology, difference of opinion”
Thanking JP Nadda, PM said mantra
for party’s victory was Sabka saath,
sabka vikas & sabka vishwas; results
endorsed the way we tackled COVID
Patna: Chief Minis-
ter Nitish Kumar
Wednesday “saluted”
people for giving ma-
jority to the NDA in
Bihar and thanked
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi for his
support.
“I salute people for
the majority they
have given to the
NDA. I thank Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi for his sup-
port,” Kumar tweeted
in his first reaction
after the ruling coali-
tion won majority in
Bihar. The NDA won
125 seats in the
243-member Bihar as-
sembly against 110
clinched by the oppo-
sition Mahagath-
bandhan to pave the
way for a fourth suc-
cessive term for Ku-
mar in the office.
Meanwhile, Bihar
Deputy CM Sushil
Modi reiterated that
Nitish will be CM of
Bihar. More on P5
Nitish salutes people
for giving NDA majorityThank you, not
just because people
voted for us but
because we all
celebrated this
festival of
democracy with
great enthusiasm...
The election may
have been held in
only some parts of
the country but
entire country’s
attention was
focused on news
channels, Twitter
and the election
commission’s
website
—Narendra Modi, PM
PM TO INAUGURATE
AYURVEDA
INSTITUTES IN
JAIPUR, JAMNAGAR
NITISH KUMAR
@NITISHKUMAR
The people
decide. I bow to them for
giving the NDA a majority.
I also thank PM Modi for
his support.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
flanked by senior BJP leaders
Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Rajnath
Singh during the celebrations
following the victory of NDA
in Bihar Elections, at BJP
headquarters in New Delhi on
Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Sunil Arora
BIHAR
ASSEMBLY
243
125
NDA
1
LJP
110
MGB
7
OTHERS

First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The fes-
tival of lights, Diwali,
will be celebrated all
across the country
from November 14 on-
wards this year. One
of the most popular
festivals in Hinduism,
it symbolizes the vic-
tory of light over
darkness, good over
evil. The five-day fes-
tival begins with
Dhanteras and ends
with Bhai Dooj. It is
widely associated
with Goddess Laksh-
mi but is also connect-
ed to the return of
Lord Rama to Ayod-
hya accompanied by
his consort Sita and
brother Lakshmana,
after killing demon
king of Lanka Ravana
and completing 14
years in exile.
People observe fasts,
decorate their homes
withlights,diyas(earth-
en lamps), rangolis and
flowers. Believed to be
an auspicious time,
guests are also wel-
comed with dry fruits,
sweets,andothersnacks
into homes.
This year, two (tithis)
Kali Chaudas and Di-
wali are falling on the
same day, according to
the English calendar.
This means that Novem-
ber 14 will be marked as
Kali Chaudas and on
the same day, the mahu-
rat for Diwali will com-
mence from 2.17 pm.
Talking about the
festival, Ahmedabad-
based astrologer
Mukund Pandya said,
“The festival of Di-
wali has three ele-
ments chaudash,
amas and ekam. This
year, the Swati Nak-
shatra has fallen on
Saturday which is
considered an auspi-
cious day. So, the fes-
tival of lights will
begin on November
14 from 2.17 pm on-
wards and last until
10.36 am on Novem-
ber 15.”
Headded,“Dhanteras
and mahurat for Lak-
shmi Poojan will begin
on November 13 at 5.58
pm and end on Novem-
ber 14 at 5.58 pm.”
For businesses, the
period between Sarvar-
tha Siddhi Yoga to Di-
wali (November 11 and
14) will be extremely
auspicious. It may also
be very beneficial for a
new business ritual.
People looking to buy a
vehicle may also go
ahead and make the
purchase.
Anil Ramrakhiya-
ni, a businessman
based in Ahmedabad,
said, “We perform Di-
wali pooja on three
days- Diwali, Bestu
Varsh (Gujarati New
Year) and Bhai Dooj.
On Dhanteras, the
male members of the
family perform a
pooja at our office and
home. On Diwali day,
we make special haat-
dis (earthen pots)
filled with sweets and
other ingredients
needed in a ritual for
all the male members
in the family. We ob-
serve this ritual be-
cause we believe that
it brings us wealth
and happiness.”
NEWSAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
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First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With
city police restricting
fireworks to only two
hours this Diwali and
banning regular
crackers, there is con-
fusion among Amda-
vadis about the kind
of crackers to pur-
chase from shops. The
surge in air and noise
pollution also prompt-
ed Ahmedabad’s law-
keepers to discourage
the sale of firecrack-
ers containing harm-
ful chemicals such as
gunpowder. But, since
both the ‘green’ and
regular crackers
come packed in simi-
lar boxes, it has be-
come difficult for peo-
ple to differentiate
between the two and
make an informed
choice.
Ahmedabad city po-
lice commissioner San-
jay Srivastava has is-
sued a notification ac-
cording to which police
had banned trading,
stocking and bursting
of regular crackers. It
has allowed only ‘green’
crackers to be burst be-
tween 8 pm to 10 pm on
Diwali.
For customers, the
big question is how to
identify which crackers
are green and which are
regular. Although the
government has asked
firecracker manufac-
turers to print unique
codes on the boxes with
QR codes sharing pro-
duction and emission
details, most of the
cracker boxes in the
market are missing that
information.
Ahmedabad’s leading
firework traders Ashish
Khajanchi of Ambica
Fireworks told First In-
dia, “Green crackers
are manufactured and
traded on a large scale.
But, they are packed in
regular cracker boxes.
The process of coming
up with a separate pack-
aging for ‘green’ crack-
ers will take a year or
two.”
The difference be-
tween regular and
‘green’ crackers is that
the former contains
gunpowder and other
combustible chemicals
which cause striking ef-
fects and explode when
ignited. But, the latter
have chemicals such as
aluminium, barium, po-
tassium, carbon or oth-
ers that contain lower
or negligible amounts
aimed at reducing emis-
sion by 15-30%.
These ‘green’ crack-
ers have been devel-
oped by the Indian
Council of Scientific
and Industrial Re-
search (ICSRI) and
National Environ-
mental Engineering
Research Institute
(NEERI). A few of
them are named ‘Safe
Water Releaser
(SWAS)’, ‘Safe Mini-
mal Aluminium (SA-
FAL) and ‘Safe Ther-
mite Cracker (STAR)’.
THE SPIRIT OF
DIWALI
First India Bureau
Vadodara: In 1930, Fa-
ther of the Nation Ma-
hatma Gandhi had led
the Dandi March in
protest against the
tax levied on salt. The
roads that fall on the
route of the historic
march that was con-
ducted 90 years ago
were declared herit-
age roads by the cen-
tral government in
2004. And now, the
state government has
decided to declare the
trees that fall on the
route and under
which Bapu addressed
public meetings as
‘heritage trees’.
According to sources,
the entire 384 kilometre
stretch from Gandhi
Ashram in Ahmedabad
to Dandi in Navsari dis-
trict, passed through six
districts. During the
march, Bapu used to ad-
dress meetings either
under trees or in play-
grounds. The state for-
est department has
identified around 19
trees, where Gandhiji
held gatherings. Inter-
estingly, most of them
were found to be banyan
trees.
“The Bharuch Forest
Department has zeroed
in on six trees and a
house where Bapu halt-
ed for a night. The in-
formation is backed up
by relevant documents.
A few of these trees are
around 125 to 130 years
old,” said Bhavna De-
sai, Bharuch Forest Of-
ficer.
She added, “A team of
officials will visit all
these sites and corrobo-
rate the claims made
before sending detailed
proposals to the central
government, with the
recommendation to de-
clare these trees as her-
itage trees.”
The trees identified
in different districts
are situated at Sabar-
mati Ashram in
Ahmedabad, Kheda
Vasna in Matar talu-
ka of Kheda district,
Ras Kanpura in Bor-
sad taluka of Anand
district, in Vedach,
Kareli, Gajera, Ankhi,
Bhuva, Tralsa, Mang-
rol of Bharuch dis-
trict, Vanaz village in
Dindoli of Surat dis-
trict and Kharadi vil-
lage of Navsari dis-
trict.
Trees on Dandi March route to
now have heritage importance
Most of these public gatherings were conducted under the shade of banyan trees.
The spots
where Bapu
addressed
public
meetings will
be determined
by the state
government
PM Modi likely to visit
Kutch on November 30
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
foundation of the
biggest renewable
energy park in the
country will be laid
by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in
Kutch on November
30. He will also dedi-
cate a desalination
plant in Mandvi.
According to sourc-
es, the 30,000 MW solar
park will be set up by
a host of state and cen-
tral government pub-
lic sector companies.
It will be established
on 60,000 hectares of
land at an investment
of Rs1.25 lakh crore.
In December 2019,
at a Federation of In-
dian Chambers of
Commerce and In-
dustry event in
Ahmedabad, state
Energy Minister
Saurabh Patel had
shared that a solar
park would be estab-
lished in Kutch and
that the state gov-
ernment was plan-
ning to add 30,000
MW non-convention-
al energy production
to the state’s energy
arsenal by 2022.
PM Modi’s impend-
ing visit to Kutch
means that the project
has received the green
light from the Minis-
tryof Defenceandwill
go ahead as planned.
Moreover, a desal-
ination plant to be
set up in Mandvi
will also be dedicat-
ed by the prime min-
ister. Sources added
that it was in the
tentative pro-
gramme, and the fi-
nal schedule is
awaited.
He will lay the
foundation of a
30K MW solar
park and a
desalination
plant in
Mandvi
This year,
the nation
will
celebrate the
Festival of
Lights on
November
14
Packaged in similar boxes, Diwali shoppers buying
crackers are having a hard time telling them apart
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Businessmen buying chopdas (account books).
Amdavadis confused
between regular and
‘green’ fireworks
‘Green’ firecrackers being sold at a shop in Ahmedabad. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
—PHOTOSBYHANIFSINDHI

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
AMC CAPS MASS TESTING, AMID RISE IN COVID-19 CASES
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
novel coronavirus is
again rearing its head
in Ahmedabad, but
the Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation
has put a cap on mass
testing and has also
decommissioned 28
walk-in testing cen-
tres, thus going
against the prescribed
policy of track, test,
and isolate.
With the Diwali sea-
son and the onset of
winter are expected to
bring an increase in the
number of cases of in-
fluenza and other viral
fevers, the civic body
will only be testing pa-
tients who show symp-
toms of fever, disre-
garding the other symp-
toms of COVID-19.
Ahmedabad topped
the list of fresh cases
after a gap of nearly
three months, with 207
cases, followed by Surat
(184), Vadodara (130),
Rajkot (124), Mehsana
(70), Gandhinagar (47),
Banaskantha (41), Pa-
tan (38), Jamnagar (32),
Sabarkantha (23), Mor-
bi (22), Surendranagar
(21), Bharuch (18),
Panchmahal and Juna-
gadh (17 each), Anand
and Bhavnagar (14
each), Kheda and Kutch
(13 each), Dahod (12),
Mahisagar (11), Gir So-
manath (7), Narmada
(6), Navsari and Tapi (4
each), Devbhumi Dwar-
ka (3), Chhota Udepur
and Porbandar (2 each)
and Botad (1).
RMC issues guidelines on
nCoV safety ahead of Diwali
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic,
the Rajkot Municipal
Corporation (RMC)
has issued safety and
precautionary meas-
ures for citizens to
safeguard themselves
from contracting the
deadly virus. In or-
der to ensure that
people remain safe
while celebrating Di-
wali, a notification
mentioning guide-
lines to be followed
while bursting crack-
ers, meeting family
and friends, foods
and beverages to
serve to guests, has
been released by the
local civic body.
According to the
RMC health depart-
ment, social distancing,
wearing masks and car-
rying sanitizers is a
must when stepping
out. But it warned peo-
ple against having sani-
tizers on hand while
bursting firecrackers,
since they contain alco-
hol, which is highly
flammable.
“Traditionally, peo-
ple meet relatives and
friends to wish them
and seek blessings.
They usually shake
hands or touch feet,
which should be avoid-
ed this year. Instead,
keeping distance and
folding hands in a nam-
askar is best to stay
safe. Sanitization of
hands also should be a
must for every guest
who enters the home,”
read the press release.
It added, “Masks,
sanitizers and pulse
oximeters should be
given as Diwali gifts.
Coloured mouth fresh-
eners that use artificial
sweeteners should be
avoided and cloves, car-
damom, dry fruits, ses-
ame and aniseeds
should be served as al-
ternatives.”
RMC also suggested
healthier options for
drinks served to guests
such as turmeric or
masala hot milk, green
tea, masala tea or cof-
fee, lemon and honey
juice, ukala, fresh
fruit juice, coconut wa-
ter or plain hot water.
For snacks, it advised
people to prepare
dhokla, upma, idli,
sprouts or fresh fruit
pieces for presenting
to visitors.
The state testing 52,973 samples on Wednesday. There are now
12,245 active cases in Gujarat, with 74 patients on ventilators.
POSITIVE PROGNOSIS
They have undergone a medical check-up which will show who had, in fact, been drinking
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Gandhinagar police
has arrested 20 peo-
ple for violating the
Prohibition Act dur-
ing a party at a farm-
house in Santej talu-
ka’s Ranchhodpura
village. One of the
accused is the son of
the Congress party’s
Ahmedabad city
president Shashi-
kant Patel. Police
sources said they
have launched an in-
vestigation and will
try to find out from
whom the youths,
who are all between
18 and 21 years old,
sourced the alcohol.
The arrests followed
a raid by senior offic-
ers of the Gandhina-
gar District police,
who were tipped off
about the private party
at Shramdeep farm-
house.
Police officials told
First India that, when
the raiding team en-
tered the premises,
some of the revellers
attempted to dispose
of the evidence by
throwing two bottles
of liquor over the com-
pound wall. However,
the police have recov-
ered the bottles as well
as the boxes they came
in, and have estab-
lished that alcohol was
being consumed at the
party.
According to Kalol
Deputy Superinten-
dent of Police VN
Solanki, 20 youth—in-
cluding Shashikant Pa-
tel’s son, Dev—from
well-to-do families had
been celebrating the
birthday of their
friend, Manus Desai.
The police have im-
pounded seven cars
and 21 mobile instru-
ments worth a total of
Rs89 lakh from the ac-
cused, who have all
been sent for a medical
check-up at the Gener-
al hospital.
“The blood alcohol
level in the report will
tell for certain who
had been drinking.
Right now, they have
all been booked under
the Gujarat State Pro-
hibition Act,” a police
official said.
The police are also
investigating who
owns the farm house
and whether it was
leased specifically for
the party or not.
Cops nab Cong leader’s son,
19 others for imbibing alcohol
AMC demolishes building
over illegal power supply
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Es-
tate team of the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation on
Wednesday began
the demolition of an
illegal seven-storey
building near Teach-
er’s Colony on the
Sonal Cinema Road
in Juhapura. The
building in ques-
tion—Zoya Residen-
cy, which houses
both commercial
and residential
units—came to the
notice of the civic
body after its build-
er, Nazir Vora was
fined by the electric-
ity company Torrent
Power Ltd, for al-
leged irregularities.
A Torrent Power
official had lodged a
cheating complaint
at the Vejalpur police
station, in which the
complainant alleged
that Vora had been
cheating the compa-
ny by getting elec-
tricity directly. An
investigation re-
vealed that a 20-me-
ter length of wire
used for Torrent
Power electrical con-
nections was found
from Vora’s bunga-
l o w - f a r m h o u s e
“Zubeda Farm”.
Following the po-
lice complaint by
Torrent Power, as
well as from other
people who reported
illegal electrical con-
nections in their
bungalows and
shops—all built by
Vora—a team of 150
personnel including
50 from Torrent Pow-
er and DCP Prem-
sukh Delu carried
out a raid on Wednes-
day. The teams found
illegal electrical con-
nections which they
disconnected by pull-
ing out the wiring.
The AMC team then
proceeded to demol-
ish the ground floor
of Zoya Residency.
Vora is believed to
have charged tenants
Rs500-1,000 as “elec-
tricity bills” each
month for the power
from his illegal con-
nections.
An AMC team demolishes Zoya Residency amid police guard.
The arrested youth, all between 18 and 21 years old, had been celebrating a friend’s birthday.
Rajkot Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
OPEN
ONCE
MORE
The night-time
vegetable market
in Ahmedabad’s
Chandlodia area
was reopened on
Wednesday, with
social distancing in
place, after being
shut for six months
due to the spread of
the Sars-CoV-2 virus.
—PHOTO BY
HANIF SINDHI
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: This
year’s festival of
lights will be a spar-
kling one for six-year-
old Dhanesh Vasave
from Surat. The little
boy has won a three-
year medical battle to
win back his happy
childhood.
Vasave was diagnosed
with a congenital ail-
ment of posterior ure-
thral valve which led to
kidney failure at the age
of three. He was operat-
ed upon for corrective
surgeries but the result-
antkidneyfailureforced
him into dialysis—until
a team of paediatric
nephrologists at the In-
stitute of Kidney Dis-
eases and Research Cen-
tre (IKDRC) took up the
challenge and overcame
it with flying colours.
“Our team decided to
try peritoneal dialysis
as per established
norms of paediatric
nephrology but unfortu-
nately due an infection
meant we had to remove
the catheter,” Dr Kin-
nari Vala, Department
of Paediatric Nephrolo-
gy at IKDRC said.
The team then turned
to haemodialysis, a pro-
cedure designed for
adults. The procedure
was done around the
neck region through a
temporary catheter to
ensure the proper flow
of blood to the dialyzer.
But another infection
meant this effort also
failed. “Our third at-
tempt to create an AV
fistula in the upper arm
of an artery to a vein
worked and Dhanesh
had problem-free dialy-
ses till he received a kid-
ney the transplant
through cadaver pro-
gramme,” he added.
Since the procedure,
Dhanesh’s weight has
doubled from 10 kg, and
he has gained a normal
heightwithgoodenough
cognitiveabilitiestojoin
a regular school. “
Under the school
health programme run
by Government of Guja-
rat every child diag-
nosed with any vital or-
ganailmentisentitledto
a free of cost treatment
atIKDRCirrespectiveof
their socio-economic
background,” explained
IKDRC Director Dr
Vineet Mishra.
“For every 10 chronic
kidney disease (CKD)
adult patients in India,
there is one CKD child,”
Dr Mishra said, empha-
sizing the point that an
earlydiagnosisimproves
patients’ chances.
Paediatric nephrologists at IKDRC gift joyful Diwali to Surat kid
IKDRC. —FILE PHOTO
 Ill since he was three years old,
the six-year-old boy is now healthy
enough to go to a regular school
RED-HANDED
1,125 cases, 6
fatalities take tally to
1,83,866 cases and
death toll to 3,779
—FILEPHOTO

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 348 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
ndia and Pakistan were born
together and got separated at
birth. While India has focused
on secular credentials and
growth, while Pakistan em-
braced extremism. Today after
73 years, there is no comparison
between the two. In the last 73
years, Pakistan has moved on a
self-destruction course steadily
with some leaders like Presi-
dent Zia giving it extra push
towards death and destruction.
In the past 40 years, its per cap-
ita income has suffered almost
a 90 percent net deficit relative
to India and the gap is rising.
Unfortunately, when it comes to
basic human rights and civil
liberties, Pakistan is at least 100
years behind the modern world.
It’s a typical “Salim-Javed” type
story of Bollywood films where
one brother follows the right-
eous path and prospers while
another rebel against society
become a terrorist and ulti-
mately dies a horrible death.
RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM
Pakistan was born as an inse-
cure nation and grew up with a
revisionist culture, feudalistic
mindset, racial and lingual prej-
udices and ideological fault
lines. Pakistan, on its partition,
had over 13 % minorities resid-
ingwithinanIslamicpopulation
of 76 million. Today the minori-
ties have declined to under 2.5 %
living life virtually under seize
with Blasphemy laws, human
rights violations, forced conver-
sions, military oppression, and
systemicpersecution.Armyand
Islamist Mullahs are acting as
thecustodiansof thisdisruptive
ideology and defenders of radi-
cal Islam while politicians act as
stooges. The nexus of the Army,
the ruling elite, and the mullahs
has turned this country into a
place where only one-sided nar-
ratives against the world are al-
lowed to live, according to the
rules set by this troika.
RECENT CHAOS
IN PAKISTAN
ARMY POLICE CLASHES:
The recent revolt by top police
officers against the Army in
Pakistan’s Sindh province was
unprecedented and shook the
country’s military. A ‘civil
war’-like situation developed
in Pakistan amid reports of
clashes between the Karachi
Police and the Pakistan Army
in the recent past, challenging
the supremacy of Pak Army,
for the first time. This was not
a protest against an elected
government or Prime Minister
Imran Khan, but against the
Army in Pakistan, which is su-
preme and never challenged.
UNREST ON THE RISE
THE MILITARY-LED: Govt of
Islamabad is perpetuating the
barbarism, holocaust, massa-
cre, and genocide creating dis-
sension and unrest. Out of the
four provinces of Pakistan,
three are simmering and the
fourth is caught in the division.
Even the so-called autonomous
territories of POK and Gilgit-
Baltistan remain a flashpoint
with oppression and fascism at
the hands of the Pak Army. In-
deed, there are no parts of Pa-
kistan which have remained
unaffected by terrorism, dis-
criminatory policies, and eth-
nic or sectarian/religious in-
duced turmoil. This is the saga
of a nation which has been
dismembered (East Pakistan)
earlier and yet again, awaiting
an impending implosion.
POLITICAL UPHEAVAL:
There is too much chaos in the
Pakistani polity now. PM Imran
Khan is heading a lame-duck
govt with Army in full control.
Out of senses, Imran Khan
called Osama Bin Laden a
‘Shaheed’ (martyr) and the
FATF promptly extended Paki-
stani presence in its grey list.
The Afghan situation is only
worsening.Thereisactivecollu-
sion between TTP and Afghan
Taliban. FATA is in bad shape.
All things considered, there is
chaos in Pak polity. How long
will PM Imran Khan be able to
holdontohischair,istobeseen?
FRAGILE ECONOMY: The
Pakistani economy is now be-
low the dumps. Their combined
debt to IMF, the Gulf States, and
China must be beyond count.
Manufacturing and exports
have collapsed. External remit-
tances have dried up. Locusts
have hit agriculture. There is
uncontrolledinflation.Pakistan
has once again turned to its all-
weather friend China for a loan
of $1 billion to repay a $1 billion
loan taken from Saudi Arabia.
Overallthecountryissteepedin
debt, especially to China.
SURRENDER TO CHINA:
The bear hug of friendship
from China is squeezing Paki-
stan, sparking fears that the
country may be heading into a
giant debt trap, to a point where
the bonhomie could even en-
croach on its sovereignty. Paki-
stan owes China double the
amount it owes to the IMF. It’s
surprising how the bankrupt
nation is getting submerged
deeper and deeper into China’s
debt trap. Pakistan is no longer
a hot favourite of the USA and
Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it has
no choice but to fall in line with
China, at the dictated terms.
CONCLUSION
The condition of Pak is critical
with financial bankruptcy, sec-
tarian violence, police-Army
clashes, and rising unrest
amongst the masses. It sur-
vives on a Chinese respirator,
on the verge of slipping into
comma, with a fragile economy,
poor human development in-
dex, alarming unemployment,
and now in the Chinese debt
trap of CPEC. This country is
also the notorious epicenter of
breeding, harbouring, and ex-
porting terrorism beyond its
national boundaries. It is time
that the gods of this country
realize that by creating fear
and denying basic rights and
justice to the masses they are
gradually moving toward their
own self-destruction. For India,
having chaos in it’s neighbour-
hood is not a happy situation.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
PAKISTAN ON SELF
DESTRUCT MODE
I
Pakistan was
born as an
insecure nation
and grew up
with a revisionist
culture,
feudalistic
mindset, racial
and lingual
prejudices, and
ideological fault
lines. Pakistan,
on its partition,
had over 13 % of
minorities
residing within
an Islamic
population of 76
million. Today
the minorities
have declined to
under 2.5 %
living life
virtually under
seize with
Blasphemy laws,
human rights
violations, forced
conversions,
military
oppression, and
systemic
persecution
THE PAKISTANI ECONOMY
IS NOW BELOW THE
DUMPS. THEIR COMBINED
DEBT TO IMF, THE GULF
STATES, AND CHINA
MUST BE BEYOND COUNT.
MANUFACTURING AND
EXPORTS HAVE
COLLAPSED. EXTERNAL
REMITTANCES HAVE
DRIED UP
reliminary data
from the Pfizer/
BioNTech Cov-
id-19 vaccine
trial suggests it
provides 90% efficacy at
preventing the disease. At
the very least, this news
will result in a large sigh
of relief across the vaccine
community. It signifies a
breakthrough – it is the
first announcement that a
vaccine can protect against
SARS-CoV-2 infection in
humans.
This shows it can be
done. But how well it can
be done is still a big ques-
tion that no one has the
answer to. These results
are promising, but there is
a lot more we now need to
confirm.
The 90% efficacy is a
strong result, but we
should remember that this
is an interim analysis,
based on 94 cases of the
disease that have occurred
across those receiving ei-
ther the vaccine or a pla-
cebo. Pfizer has noted in its
trial protocol that it needs
at least 164 cases of the dis-
ease to occur across the
study to reliably assess the
vaccine’s efficacy.
If subsequent cases oc-
curmorefrequentlyamong
those who have had the
vaccine rather than the
placebo, then this efficacy
figure will fall. So we do
not yet know if this num-
ber is truly reflective of the
vaccine’s protective ability
– meaning crucially, we
need to get to the end of the
trial.
But if this is the case,
why announce these inter-
im results now? An interim
analysis of trial data like
this is not uncommon, par-
ticularly in phase 3 vaccine
trials, as it is not unusual
for trials to fail during test-
ing. Therefore, you need to
determine as soon as you
can, with as much robust-
ness as you can, whether
pursuing the trial is worth-
while. Continuing when
things are futile is a waste
of resources – and in some
cases unethical.
The only way to see
whether continuing is the
right option is for the tri-
al’s independent data and
safety monitoring board to
look at some or all of the
results. For Covid-19,
where time is a major con-
straint, many efforts have
been made to incorporate
interim analysis into stud-
ies in a way that provides
an answer, with some con-
fidence, in as timely a man-
ner as possible.
This interim review was
therefore planned at the
start of the trial and has
fulfilled its purpose. It is a
very positive signal that
the trial needs to continue
– even if the actual data
from the review leaves us
with many questions.
One key thing these in-
terim results do not tell us
is how long protection
lasts. Participants in this
phase 3 trial received two
doses of the vaccine, and
measurement of its effica-
cy was taken seven days
after the second dose was
given. This is likely around
the height of the initial im-
mune response. It will be
really important to under-
stand how durable this ini-
tial protection is after this
point.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
How well Pfizer’s Covid vaccine works
P
Better than a thousand
hollow words, is one word
that brings peace. —Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Ravi Shankar Prasad @rsprasad
Along with electronics and
telecom sectors, PLI in other
sectors of the economy, is
indeed a visionary decision
taken by PM @narendramodi in
boosting the economic growth,
developing #AatmaNirbharBharat
and creating employment
opportunities for Indian youth.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
PM Shri @narendramodin in his
address today requested Odia
brothers and sisters to support
local artisans, craftsmen and
businesses and also follow
Covid-19 appropriate behaviour
and take all precautions ahead of
the festive season.
NEXT STOP BENGAL,
AS BJP MARCHES ON
ith Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United
having been reduced to a minor status
in the NDA, it can be said that Bihar is
in Bharatiya Janata Party’s bag. The
party got together at its headquarters
in Delhi on Wednesday to celebrate the big victory.
Like in his campaign speeches, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi stressed development as he spoke
of politics in the 21st century. People will vote for
those who work for the country’s progress. Indeed,
voters in Bihar found the prime minister’s assur-
ance on the development of the state more credi-
ble. The reason why the people keep reposing their
trust in the BJP is good governance, Modi said and
mentioned all the states where it has returned to
power election after election. He recalled how the
party operating from two rooms and with a two
percent vote share has grown to reach every heart
and rise to power in faraway Manipur and other
eastern states.
The prime minister attacked family-run parties
from Kashmir to Kanyakumari said that they pose
a threat to the nation. With elections in Tamil
Nadu due next year, the reference to DMK and AI-
ADMK was obvious. With the party engaged in a
bitter struggle for power in West Bengal where
polls are due next year the prime minister, without
naming the state, said that the killings of BJP
workers won’t fetch votes.
The celebratory event and the prime minister
indirectly mentioning West Bengal will galvanise
workers to take on Mamata Banerjee’s challenge.
Having won in Bihar, it is only natural for the BJP
to have Bengal in its cross-hairs.
W
IN-DEPTH
COVAXINE ENTERS
EFFICACY TRIALS
lose on the heels of American pharma
giant Pfizer claiming 90 percent efficacy
of their Covid-19 vaccine, India’s Bharat
Biotech in collaboration with the Indian
Council of Medical Research has started
the third phase clinical trial of its Covaxin. The
trial is being conducted at 25 centres in the country
involving 26,000 participants, with the vice-chan-
cellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Prof Tariq
Mansoor, registering as the first volunteer. The
university’s JN Medical College and Hospital is
one of the centres where trials will be done.
Pfizer’s claim on the vaccine’s efficacy has raised
confidenceinnationsbattlingCovid-19.Allhopesare
pinned on early availability of a vaccine to fight the
viruswhichisstillraginginseveralcountries.Amer-
ica reported a two lakh single-day spike, France over
38,000 new cases, and UK 22,885 new cases. India too
is witnessing a spurt and 44,000 new cases. The ur-
gency for a vaccine is therefore understandable. The
problem with Pfizer’s vaccine is that its availability
in India may not be possible because of the require-
ment of deep freeze, production, storage, and trans-
portation networks to ensure the cold chain does not
break.Itsproductionissaidtobecostlyandshelf life
short which will make it unaffordable in India.
The start of the third phase clinical trial of Co-
vaxin is a big development. An indigenously devel-
oped vaccine will be much cheaper than Pfizer’s
and depending on how the government prioritises
its distribution, much more easily accessible to the
domestic patient. Of course, everything will de-
pend on the vaccine’s efficacy during the trial.
C
MAJ GEN
CP SINGH, RETD
The writer is a scholar soldier
accredited with MA, MSc, LLB,
MBA, M Phil (Def Mgt) and M Phil
(International Strategic Affairs)

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS AFTERMATH
There is no confusion on the issue, the decision was taken before the polls and it will remain same, said the Bihar Dy CM
Nitish will be Bihar CM: Sushil Modi
Patna: Bihar Deputy
Chief Minister and BJP
leader Sushil Modi on
Wednesday reiterated
that Nitish Kumar will
be Chief Minister of Bi-
har and said, “there is
no question of replac-
ing him”.
While replying to a
question over JDU)
chief, Nitish Kumar’s
future in Bihar, the BJP
leader said, “There is
no confusion on the is-
sue of Nitish Kumar as
Chief Minister of Bi-
har. The decision was
taken before the polls
and it will remain
same.” “In alliance,
sometimes a partner
wins more and the oth-
er one is able to secure
fewer seats. But we are
equal partners, people
voted for NDA,” he add-
ed. While reacting over
a question on LJP, chief
Chirag Paswan, the BJP
leader said, “He is not
part of our alliance in
the state. I don’t want to
say anything about it.”
On a question regard-
ing Chirag Paswan’s
status in the Central
government, the BJP
leader said, “I don’t
know, I am only con-
cerned with state poli-
tics, representatives of
Central government
can give you an answer
about this question. But
he is surely not a part
of Bihar-NDA.” —ANI
SHAHCONGRATULATESJPNADDAON
NDA’SVICTORYINBIHARASSEMBLYPOLLS
New Delhi: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah visited the resi-
dence of Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) na-
tional president JP Na-
dda to congratulate
him for the party’s vic-
tory in the Bihar As-
sembly polls.
Shah said that BJP is
dedicated to the devel-
opment of the country
under the leadership of
dra Modi. “I congratu-
lated BJP national pres-
ident JP Nadda at his
residence on the occa-
sion of the party’s vic-
tory in the Bihar As-
sembly Election and
by-elections in several
other states. We, the
workers of the party,
are dedicated to the de-
velopment of the nation
under the leadership of
PM Modi ji and Nadda
ji,” Shah tweeted.
Earlier, the home
minister had expressed
gratitude towards the
people of Bihar for
choosing development,
progress, good govern-
ance, and giving a “full
majority” to the Nation-
al Democratic Alliance
in the state. —ANI
At Cabinet
meet, mins
laud PM for
Bihar poll win
New Delhi: Union Cab-
inet ministers on
Wednesday thanked
dra Modi for the victory
of the National Demo-
cratic Alliance (NDA)
in the Bihar Assembly
polls and the by-polls
across the country.
Sources claimed that all
Ministers, who virtual-
ly attended the Cabinet
meeting, congratulated
PM Modi and dedicated
the victory of Bihar to
his vision and support
that he enjoys amongst
the masses.
It was one of the mo-
ments that made the
meeting even more
pleasant, stated one of
the highly placed sourc-
es. “The Prime Minister
was smiling when he
was congratulated on
the victory. He was look-
ing happy,” said anoth-
er source.
“Can he not be hap-
py? He has all the rea-
son to be. The victory
wasn’t an easy one and
his charisma did won-
ders for the party as
well as for the NDA,”
added another source
with a broad smile.
The PM was the lead
campaigner for the
NDA alliance. —ANI
After MP, Digvijaya Singh now wants to
destroy Bihar: JDU’s Sanjay Singh
Digvijaya: BJP destroyed legacy of Ram
Vilas Paswan, reduced Nitish’s stature
Patna: Hitting back
at senior Congress
leader Digvijaya Sin-
gh for advising Chief
Minister Nitish Ku-
mar to leave Bihar
and enter national
politics, Janata Dal
(United) leader San-
jay Singh on Wednes-
day said that Digvi-
jaya wants to “destroy
Bihar like Madhya
Pradesh”.
“He (Digvijaya) has
already destroyed
Madhya Pradesh, now
he wants to destroy
Bihar as well. It will
be better if he keeps
his advice to himself
and Congress. We do
not need it. Congress
is already sinking,
whoever gets on
board, will sink with
them,” Singh.
Reacting to RJD
and Congress’ matter
of raising the issue of
Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar allegedly in-
fluencing the count-
ing of votes, Sanjay
Singh said that they
should accept their
“defeat”.
“The public holds
the power in a democ-
racy. People gave their
mandate to Nitish Ku-
mar then why is that
mandate being at-
tacked? One should
accept their defeat.
the JDU leader said.
Bhopal: Senior Con-
gress leader and for-
mer CM of Madhya
Pradesh, Digvijaya
Singh accused BJP of
destroying the legacy
of late Ram Vilas Pas-
wan and reducing the
stature of Chief Min-
ister Nitish Kumar by
its “kootneeti” in Bi-
har. After losing the
Madhya Pradesh by-
polls and Bihar As-
sembly elections 2020,
Congress leader Dig-
vijaya Singh in a se-
ries of tweets said,
“BJP has reduced Nit-
ish’s stature by its
strategy and ended
the legacy of Ram Vi-
las Paswan ji.” Nitish
Kumar-led NDA re-
tained power with an
absolute majority in
with 125 on Wednes-
day. However, Chirag
Paswan’s LJP, which
fielded 137 candidates,
managed to secure
only one seat. Singh
has also advised Nit-
ish Kumar to leave
Bihar and enter na-
tional politics.
“Nitish ji, Bihar
has become small for
you. You should join
national politics. Do
not let the Union’s
policy of ‘divide and
rule’. Help all social-
ists believe in the sec-
ular ideology. Do con-
sider,” he added. —ANI
Patna: Taking a dig at
Lok Janshakti Party
(LJP) President Chirag
Paswan for contesting
against the National
Democratic Alliance
(NDA) in the recently
concluded Bihar As-
sembly election, Hindu-
stani Awam Morcha
(HAM) chief Jitan Ram
Manjhi on Wednesday
said he burnt himself
with his own lamp.
“ Apne chirag se
bhasm ho gaye hain wo
(he burnt himself with
hisownlamp),”quipped
the former chief minis-
ter whose HAM won
four seats on Tuesday.
Chirag translates to
lamp in English. The
HAM leader went on to
say: “There’s a saying
don’t cut the branch on
which you sit. Chirag
Paswan worked to-
wards defeating the fold
he was part of. The re-
sult is clear, the branch
has been cut, but he also
fell,” Manjhi said.
Paswan’s LJP had
broken away from the
NDA and contested 137
seats in Bihar, but end-
ed up winning only one
seat as compared to two
last time. —ANI
Chirag burnt himself with his
own ‘chirag’: HAM chief Manjhi
‘Bihar Cong chief Madan
Mohan Jha should resign’
My aim was to dent JDU,
not to affect BJP: Chirag
Patna: Bihar Congress
leader Rishi Mishra on
Wednesday said that
Congress state chief
Madan Mohan Jha
should resign on moral
grounds over party’s
performance in assem-
bly elections as it could
win only 19 seats of 70 it
contested.
“Our government
could not be formed be-
cause of Congress state
president President
Madan Mohan Jha. He
has been doing politics
in Mithilanchal for 40
years. Rashtriya Janata
Dal (RJD) gave you 70
seats and you won only
19. The Left parties per-
formed better than Con-
gress. I request Soniaji
to save us. Jha should
offer his resignation on
moral grounds,”
Mishra told reporters
in Patna.
He said tickets were
not distributed in prop-
er manner and several
candidates were not
even aware of gram
panchayats in their con-
stituencies. —ANI
Patna: Lok Janshakti
Party (LJP) chief Chi-
rag Paswan on Wednes-
day said that it was his
aim to dent the Janta
Dal-United (JDU) votes
in the electoral battle
and also make sure that
his candidate should
not affect the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP). “It
was my aim to dent JDU
and I worked on it. I also
focused that we should
not affect the BJP and
asked my workers to
support it. My aim was
to provide more seats to
BJP and damage to
JDU. The LJP will im-
prove its performance
in 2025,” Paswan said.
Paswan was satisfied
with the LJP’s perfor-
mance in the polls and
will prepare for the 2025
Bihar election. —ANI
Owaisi: AIMIM ready
for Assembly polls in WB
Hyderabad: All India
Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-
Muslimeen (AIMIM)
chief Asaduddin Owai-
si on Tuesday stated
that he is ready to fight
next year’s Assembly
polls in West Bengal.
Lok Sabha member
from Hyderabad, Owai-
si said, “We will contest
election in West Bengal,
if our party member is
ready to fight. Will sure-
ly take a decision on it.”
The Hyderabad-based
party, AIMIM made
gains in the recently
concluded Bihar As-
sembly elections. The
party has won five con-
stituencies, in the
state’s Seemanchal re-
gion - Baisi, Amour,
Kochadhaman, Baha-
durganj and Jokihat.
Party was also able to
secure a vote share of
1.2 per cent in the total
votes polled.
AIMIM had fielded
candidates under the
umbrella of “Grand
Democratic Secular
Front”whosechief min-
isterial candidate was
Rashtriya Lok Samata
Party (RLSP), chief Up-
endra Kushwaha.
West Bengal Assem-
bly elections are sched-
uled to be held in 2021.
With 294 seats, a keen
contest awaits the state
as Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) tries to
wrest power from
Mamata Banerjee’s Tri-
namool Congress. —ANI
WIN IN 5 CONSTITUENCIES OF BIHAR
IN THE COURTYARD
Sivasankar, his CMO
team was aware of gold
smuggling: ED tells court
Kochi: Accused Swap-
na Suresh has disclosed
that former principal
secretary of Kerala
Chief Minister’s Office
M Sivasankar and his
team were fully aware
of the gold smuggling,
the Enforcement Direc-
torate submitted before
a Kochi court on
Wednesday.
The ED, in its report,
submitted that Swapna
Suresh was shown cer-
tain Whatsapp messag-
es exchanged between
her and Sivasankar and
asked to explain the
context, after which she
said that Sivasankar
and his team at the
CMO were fully aware
of the gold smuggling
and other electronic
items sent through the
diplomatic channels.
“Sivasankar was also
aware of the kickbacks
given by Unitac Build-
ers to Swapna and her
close associates includ-
ing Khalid, CFO, UAE
Consulate in lieu of fa-
cilitating the award of a
contract from Red Cres-
cent under the Life Mis-
sion Projects. Out of
which, an amount of Rs
1 crore (approx) which
was subsequently
seized by NIA from the
lockers belonging to
Swapna, which were
opened on the direc-
tions of Sivasankar and
was meant for
Sivasankar,” the ED
submitted.
After hearing the
submissions in the mat-
ter, the Principal Ses-
sions Court in Kochi
extended by one day the
ED custody of
Sivasankar. —ANI
Nothing more important
than preserving life: SC
New Delhi: Supporting
the ban on firecrackers
in view of the COVID-19
pandemic, the Supreme
Court on Wednesday
dismisses a plea against
the ban of firecrackers
in West Bengal during
the ongoing festive sea-
son including Diwali.
A bench of Justices
DY Chandrachud and
Indira Banerjee dis-
missed a plea challeng-
ing the Calcutta High
Court order against the
firecracker ban. “We
understand these festi-
vals are important. But
when lives are at peril,
any effort to save hu-
man life should be
made... We are very con-
scious about the impor-
tance of festivals but we
are living amidst the
pandemic and everyone
should come out to sup-
port the decision which
improvesthesituation,”
Justice DY Chandra-
chud observed.
“There cannot be an-
ything more important
than the preservation
of life in the current
pandemic. Life is itself
in danger now and peo-
ple should come togeth-
er to deal with the prob-
lem,” he added.
Calcutta High Court
had last week issued a
ban on the sale and
bursting of firecrackers
across West Bengal dur-
ing the festival season
including Diwali, Chatt
Puja, Kali Puja, etc in
view of the COVID-19
pandemic. —ANI
Espionage
case:HC seeks
report on
journo’s arrest
New Delhi: Delhi
High Court sought
a status report from
the Special Cell of
Delhi Police on the
bail plea of free-
lance journalist Ra-
jeev Sharma, who
was arrested in an
espionage case un-
der the Official Se-
crets Act. A bench
of Justice Anu Mal-
hotra directed the
police to file a sta-
tus report on the
bail plea moved by
Sharma’s counsel
senior advocate Dr
Adish C Aggarwala
and lawyers Aditya
Singh and Akshat
Goel, and listed the
matter for further
hearing on Decem-
ber 2. —ANI
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pays tribute to India’s ﬁrst Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on
his birth anniversary in Patna on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Sanjay Singh Digvijaya Singh
Chirag Paswan
Jitan Ram Manjhi

INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
A jubilant...
who was joined by
Home Minister Amit
Shah, Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh and par-
ty’s National President
JP Nadda on the dais,
said the election was a
victory of the develop-
ment works in Bihar.
Thanking Nadda for
the victory, the PM said
the implications of the
results are far-reach-
ing. “From east to west,
from north to south, we
won. It was an exten-
sion of what happened
in 2019 Lok Sabha elec-
tions. If you are work-
ing tirelessly for the
development of the
country, voters will re-
ward you,” Modi said.
In his victory speech,
the prime minister at-
tributed BJP’s electoral
success to BJP’s gover-
nance. “ When people
think of governance,
they think of BJP,” the
PM said.
Without naming Con-
gress, the Prime Minis-
ter slammed the fami-
ly-run parties from
‘north to south’ and
said these parties are
threat to democracy.
Nadda too hailed the
victory of ruling NDA
in Bihar assembly polls,
saying people of the
state have chosen ‘vi-
kasraj’ instead of ‘gun-
daraj’. Speaking at the
event Nadda said the
verdict shows how Nar-
endra Modi govern-
ment has taken welfare
schemes to the masses.
Suicide case...
are not granting bail
and failing to protect
personal liberty of peo-
ple, the bench said.
The bench asked Ma-
harashtra whether
there was any need for
custodial interrogation
of Goswami, and said
the issue pertains to
personal liberty .
Whatever be his ide-
ology. Least, I don’t
even watch his channel.
But, if in this case Con-
stitutional Courts do
not interfere today, we
are travelling the path
of destruction undeni-
ably, Justice Chandra-
chud said, adding, the
point is can you deny
personal liberty of a
person on these allega-
tions. If the govern-
ment targets individu-
als on this basis...You
may not like television
channels but this
should not happen, the
apex court said.
Govt to...
At present, the Press
Council of India regu-
lates the print media,
the News Broadcasters
Association (NBA) rep-
resents the news chan-
nels, the Advertising
Standards Council of
India regulates adver-
tising, while the Cen-
tral Board of Film Cer-
tification (CBFC) moni-
tors films. —ANI
Proactive CEC...
But for ECI to reach at
these heights of profes-
sional abilities, better-
ing itself in every man-
ner and handling the
affairs in a proactive
manner, it has taken
nearly three years of
time. As soon as CEC
Sunil Arora took over,
he started a metamor-
phosis of the EC offi-
cials by holding train-
ings for them to take up
the challenges of the
future.
CEC Arora usherd
in several electoral
reforms as well for
the voters. With over
70 recommendations
for electoral reforms
pending with the Cen-
tre, the Election Com-
mission of India has
pushed on these with
the law ministry. The
amendments needed
for linking voter ID
with Aadhaar, allow-
ing multiple registra-
tion windows to a
new voter and ensur-
ing gender neutral
rights for ‘service
voter’ are at the top
of the agenda.
The meeting held be-
tween the full commis-
sion, led by the chief
election commissioner,
and the law secretary
EC has urged the gov-
ernment to expedite
implementation of
simpler amendments
of laws that can help
increase voter turnout
and the voter base.
In fact one evident
change that the ECI un-
derwent was its PC on
Bihar election results
at 1 AM wherein the EC
was extra sensitive to-
wards criticism and
addressed all the is-
s u e s / a l l e g a t i o n s
promptly. They even
changed language of
the PC to Hindi after
they were criticized for
speaking in English re-
cently.
All these changes
have been imparted by
the proactive and pro-
gressive approach of
CEC Sunil Arora, who
has brought the level
of transparency equiv-
alent to US and Euro-
pean nations, where
the people are kept up-
dated at regular inter-
vals during ther
course of counting of
votes. On these lines,
ECI was also very
prompt and systemat-
ic in updating the peo-
ple about status of
counting.
FROM PG 1
Pollution with COVID-19 may
worsen situation: Guleria
Synergise to save
water, life and
planet: Shekhawat
‘High levels of air pollution will lead to an increase in mortality’
Image for representational purpose only.
Image for representational purpose only.
New Delhi: High levels
of air pollution, com-
bined with Covid-19
will not only aggravate
severe disease but can
also lead to an increase
in mortality, said All In-
dia Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi,
Director, Randeep Gule-
ria on Wednesday.
Speaking to ANI, Gu-
leria said increased air
pollution, specially dur-
ing winters, can help
the virus in surviving
longer, thereby affect-
ing more people. He
also added that both af-
fect the lungs and blood
vessels, thereby aggra-
vating to the impact.
“If you have high lev-
els of air pollution, es-
pecially during winter
months, then due to pol-
lution and inversion,
pollutants stay at
ground level for a long-
er period of time and
the virus can also sur-
vive for a longer period
and therefore can
spread to others. Also,
air pollution itself
causes inflammation in
the lungs, it causes in-
flammation in blood
vessels, and this has
been documented in a
large number of stud-
ies. Covid-19 also affects
lungs and blood vessels
so a combination of air
pollution and Covid-19
can cause more severe
disease,” Guleria told
ANI in an interview.
‘Delhi’s 3rd
Covid peak
longer than
previous ones’
New Delhi: The du-
ration of the third
peak of the spread
of COVID-19 in the
national capital is
longer than those
of the previous
peaks but it may
subside in the next
few days, Delhi
Health Minister
Satyendar Jain said
on Wednesday.
Interacting with
reporters, he assert-
ed that the city gov-
ernment has signif-
icantly ramped up
testing by nearly
three times on an
average per day
compared to the
number of tests
conducted when the
second peak had hit
around September
16, when over 4,000
daily cases were be-
ing reported.
India, China agree
on three-step
disengagement plan
New Delhi: In a major
development, the ongo-
ing India-China border
conflict may be re-
solved soon as the ar-
mies of the two coun-
tries have agreed for
disengagement from
parts of the Eastern
Ladakh sector under
which they would be
moving back to their
respective positions be-
fore April-May time-
frame earlier this year.
The disengagement
plan was discussed be-
tween the two sides
during the 8th Corps
Commander-level talks
which were held on No-
vember 6 in Chushul.
As per the disengage-
ment plan which is to
be carried out in three
steps in one week from
the talks in the Pan-
gong lake area, the ar-
moured vehicles in-
cluding tanks and ar-
moured personnel car-
riers were to be moved
back from their front-
line deployment to a
significant distance
from the Line of Actual
Control (LAC) by both
sides, sources told ANI.
As per the discus-
sions, the disengage-
ment of tanks and ar-
moured personnel car-
riers was to be carried
out within one day.
New Delhi: Gajen-
dra Singh Shekha-
wat, Ministry of Jal
Shakti has given the
National Water
Awards in 16 differ-
ent categories in
which Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, and
Rajasthan bagged
the first, second, and
third prize.
The 2nd National
Water Awards cere-
mony was held on
Wednesday which
was addressed virtu-
ally by Vice-president
M Venkaiah Naidu in
the presence of Shek-
hawat. Naidu called
fora‘JanAndolan’on
water conservation
and underlined the
importance of peo-
ple’s participation to
make it a success.
Complimenting all
the winners, includ-
ing Tamil Nadu, Ma-
harashtra, and Ra-
jasthan, he empha-
sised that the awards
are meant to not only
recognize the good
work done but also
aims at motivating
stakeholders for ef-
fective management
of water resources in
the country.
Harak Singh
Rawat sentenced
to 3 months
imprisonment
Dehradun: Cabinet
Minister Dr Harak Sin-
gh Rawat has been sen-
tenced to an imprison-
ment of three months
and a penalty of Rs 1,000
by Rudraprayag District
Court for misconduct
against the government
employees during 2012
assembly elections.
During the 2012 Utta-
rakhand assembly elec-
tions, Dr Rawat and his
supporters were booked
for misconduct and in-
dulging in violence
against govt employees.
MANAGEMENT
AUTUMN COLOURS
Tourists walk along Chinar trees undergoing autumnal changes, at the Nishat Mughal
Garden in Srinagar on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘Hopeful of new Air Quality Commission’
New Delhi:UnionEnvi-
ronment Minister
Prakash Javadekar on
Wednesday expressed
hope that the newly-con-
stituted Commission for
Air Quality would re-
duce pollution in Delhi.
Speaking at the sec-
ond Good Air Summit
organized by the Inte-
grated Health and Well-
being (IHW) Council in
Delhi, the Environment
minister also said that
Rs 85,000 crores have
been invested in the im-
plementation of the BS-
VI standard with BS-VI
engine fuel, which
could reduce pollution
by up to 70 per cent. “I
am hopeful that the
Commission for Air
Quality Management
will reduce pollution
further. We have also in-
vested Rs 85,000 crore in
implementing the BS-VI
standard - with BS-VI
engine and fuel, pollu-
tion can be reduced by
70 per cent. The number
of trucks entering Delhi
has also reduced by
50,000,” he said while
addressing the partici-
pants of the event.
NAGENDRA KUMAR TO BE
MEMBER CBIC ?
Chances of D P Nagendra Kumar becoming new
Member of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes
and Customs (CBIC) are now rated high. IRS
(C&CE) officer of 1985 batch who is youngest in
his batch is presently posted in Bangalore.
WHY DID DG LEVEL IPS OFFICER
JYOTIRMOY CHAKRAVERTY OPT
FOR VR ?
1986 batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IPS officer
Jyotirmoy Chakraverty who was scheduled
to retire in March 2022 has taken Voluntary
Retirement (VR). He was Spl DG, SSB when he
opted for VR. Though he was empanelled as DG
in the Union Government, he didn’t get posting
as DG in any CAPF.
NOW NO MAJOR CHANGES IN BIHAR
BUREAUCRACY
Since NDA has retained the power in Bihar
therefore chances of major changes in the
bureaucracy are unlikely, if Nitish Kumar
continues as CM.
CS LIKELY TO BE CHANGED IN BIHAR
In Bihar chief secretary is likely to be changed.
Deepak Kumar is already on extension. He is a
1984 batch IAS officer.
MS. MANISHA CHOUDHARY TO JOIN
AGMUT CADRE ON ICD
Ms. Manisha Choudhary is joining AGMUT cadre
Chandigarh segment on inter cadre deputation
(ICD) for a period of three years. She is a 2011
batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre.
VISHAVAJIT SAHAY RELIEVED TO
JOIN AS ADDITIONAL SECRETARY &
FINANCIAL ADVISOR, S&T
Vishvajit Sahay has been relieved of cadre
responsibility in order to join central deputation
as Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor,
Department of Science & Technology. He is a
1990 batch IDAS officer.
MUKESH MANGAL RETURNS TO
PARENT CADRE
Mukesh Mangal, Director in the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA), has been given premature
repatriation in order to avail of the benefit of
promotion. He is a 1992 batch ITS officer.
VIRESH KUMAR BHAWRA LIKELY TO
JOIN CENTRAL DEPUTATION AT
ADGP LEVEL
Viresh Kumar Bhawra is expected to join central
deputation at Additional DGP level. He is a 1987
batch IPS officer of Punjab cadre.
D TIRUMALA RAO LIKELY TO
JOIN CENTRAL DEPUTATION AT ADGP
LEVEL
D Tirumala Rao is expected to join central
deputation at Additional DGP level. He is a 1989
batch IPS officer of AP cadre.
IRPS OFFICER ANAND MADHUKAR
RETURNS TO PARENT CADRE
Anand Madhukar, OSD (JS level) in the
Department of Financial Services, has been given
premature repatriation to his parent cadre on
personal grounds. He is a 1997 batch IRPS officer.
G ANUPAMA IS ALSO NODAL OFFICER
FOR GITA MAHOTSAV IN HARYANA
Ms G Anupama, Secretary to Governor, Haryana
and Principal Secretary, Forests & Wildlife
Department, is appointed as Nodal Officer for Gita
Mahotsav 2020, in addition to her present duties.
She is a 1991 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
at the Second National
Water Awards distribution
ceremony.
Prakash Javadekar
REDUCE POLLUTION

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
The Whales and Cli-
mate Program is
the largest project of its
kind, combining hun-
dreds of thousands of
humpback whale sight-
ings and advanced mod-
elling techniques. Our
aim is to advance whale
conservation in re-
sponse to climate
change, and learn how
it threatens their recov-
ery after decades of
over-exploitation by the
whaling industry.
Each whale season
between June and Octo-
ber, I sail out to the open
ocean. This means I
have unique opportuni-
ties to see and engage
with whales, especially
during the breeding sea-
son. The following pho-
tos show some of our
breathtaking encoun-
ters, and can remind us
of our marine ecosys-
tem’s fragile beauty.
During one of our
boat-based surveys on
the Gold Coast, we en-
countered this acrobat-
ic humpback whale calf,
shown in the photos
above. We counted 254
breaches in two hours,
making it the record
holder of most breach-
es in our 10 years of ob-
servation.
To check on whales’
health, we collect and
study the air they ex-
hale through their blow
hole (“whale snot”), and
measure their size at
different times of the
year. The photo above
shows me tagging a
whale with CATs suc-
tion cup tags, to collect
data on short term
changes in their move-
ment patterns.
In regions where the
whales adapt to ocean
changes and, as such,
move closer to shore for
feeding and shift their
breeding grounds,
there’s a higher risk of
entanglements and oth-
er human encounters.
This is particularly con-
cerningwhentheytravel
outside protected areas.
Look closely and you
can see a newborn
humpback, just one to
three days old, resting
on its mother’s head.
In the first days of
life, baby humpback
whales sink easily and
aren’t able to stay on the
water surface for long.
They need their moth-
ers’ support to stay on
the surface to breathe.
Once they’ve gained
enough fat from the
mothers milk they be-
come positively buoy-
ant (meaning they can
float), making it easier
for them to breathe.
PROTECTING WHALES
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
NOTES FROM THENOTES FROM THENOTES FROM THE
FIELDOlaf Meynecke,
Research Fellow in
Marine Science,
Griffith University
N
o v e m b e r
marks the
end of the
whale sea-
son in the Southern
Hemisphere. As sum-
mer approaches,
whales that were
breeding along the
east and west coasts
of Australia, Africa
and South America
will now swim fur-
ther south to feed
around Antarctica.
This annual cycle
of whales coming
and going has taken
place for at least
10,000 years. But ris-
ing ocean tempera-
tures from climate
change are challeng-
ing this process, and
my colleagues and I
have already seen
signs that humpback
whales are changing
their feeding, migra-
tion and breeding
patterns to adapt.
As krill stocks de-
cline and ocean cir-
culation is set to
change more drasti-
cally, climate change
remains an unprece-
dented threat to
whales. The chal-
lenge now is to fore-
cast what will happen
next to better protect
them.
WHALES ARE
ADAPTING TO
WARMING
WATER, BUT
HOW MUCH
CAN THEY
TAKE?
I’m part of an inter-
national team of
researchers trying to
learn what the next 100
years might look like
for humpback whales in
the Southern Hemi-
sphere, and how they’ll
adapt to changing ocean
conditions.
Whales depend on re-
curring environmental
conditions and oceano-
graphic features, such
as temperature, circula-
tion, changing seasons
and biogeochemical
(nutrient) cycles. In
particular, these fea-
tures influence the
availability of krill in
the Southern Ocean,
their biggest food
source.
Whales are particu-
larly sensitive to this
because they need enor-
mous amounts of food
to develop sufficient fat
reserves to migrate,
give birth and nurse a
calf, as they don’t eat
during this time.
In fact, models pre-
dict declines in krill
from climate change
could lead to local ex-
tinctions of whales by
2100. This includes Pa-
cific populations of
blue, fin and southern
right whales, as well as
fin and humpback
whales in the Atlantic
and Indian oceans.
Still, when it comes
to their migration and
breeding cycles, recent
studies have shown
humpback whales can
adapt with changes in
ocean temperature and
circulation at a remark-
able level.
Humpback whale hunt krill with bubbles.
In a long term study
from the Northern
Hemisphere, scien-
tists found the arrival
of humpback whales
in some feeding
grounds shifted by
one day per year over
a 27-year period in re-
sponse to small fluc-
tuations in ocean tem-
peratures.
This led to a one-
month shift in arrival
time, but a big con-
cern is whether they
can continue to time
their arrival with
their prey in the fu-
ture when the water
gets warmer still.
Likewise, in breed-
ing grounds near Ha-
waii, the number of
mother and calf
humpback whale
sightings dropped by
more than 75% be-
tween 2013 and 2018.
This coincided with
persistent warming in
the Alaskan feeding
grounds these whales
had migrated from.
But humpback
whales shifting their
distribution and be-
haviour can cause un-
expected human en-
counters, and cause
new challenges that
weren’t an issue pre-
viously.
Research from ear-
lier this year found
humpback whales
switched to fish as
their main prey when
the sea surface tem-
perature in the Cali-
fornia current system
increased in a heat-
wave. This has been
leading to record
numbers of entangle-
ments with gear from
coastal fisheries.
And between 2013
and 2016, we docu-
mented hundreds of
newborn humpback
whales in subtropical
and temperate shal-
low bays on the east
coast of Australia,
1,000 kilometres fur-
ther south from their
traditional breeding
areas off the Great
Barrier Reef.
However, since
these aren’t designat-
ed calving areas, the
newborns aren’t well
protected from getting
tangled in shark nets
or colliding with jet
skis or cruise ships.
WHALES CAN ADAPT TO WARMING
WATER, BUT AT WHAT COST?
A humpback whale ﬁn. —OLAF MEYNECKE/AUTHOR PROVIDED
AFINALNOTE
Duringoneof ourland-
based whale surveys
this year, a keen whale
watcher approached us,
and we helped him find
the whales with our bin-
oculars.Iwillneverforget
thejoyinhisfacewhenhe
spotted them. It’s a joy I
hopemanyfuturegenera-
tions can experience. To
ensure this, we need to
understand how we can
best protect whales in a
changing climate.
Breaching humpback whale in front of buildings.
—OLAF MEYNECKE/AUTHOR PROVIDED
The author holding a rod to tag a whale. —OLAF MEYNECKE
A newborn calf resting on its mum’s head.
—HOWARD CHEN/GETTY IMAGES
Close up of a humpback whale’s mouth.
—OLAF MEYNECKE/AUTHOR PROVIDED
Photo of a whale underwater. —VANESSA MIGNON
LOSING KRILL IS THE BIGGEST THREAT

Season’s Greetings on the
occasion of Dhanteras. May this
auspicious day bring wealth,
health and happiness into our lives.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
RAJASTHAN, KERALA, GOA EMBRACED THEM WITH CARE
Shishir Awasthi
Mumbai: The Inter-
state Migrant Policy
Index (IMPEX) devel-
oped by a Mumbai-
based research non-
profit India Migra-
tion Now (IMN), has
indicated that several
states like Gujarat
and Delhi with a size-
able influx of mi-
grants have faired
poorly in integrating
them within the sys-
tem.
Asagainstthis,ithas
found that Kerala, Goa,
Rajasthan and Andhra
Pradesh were among
the most successful
States in integrating
migrant workers dur-
ing the year 2019.
The states’ perfor-
mances have been as-
sessed on eight policy
areas spanning more
than 60 policy indica-
tors. India’s average
IMPEX score in 2019
for 28 states and the
Union Territory of
NCT Delhi is 37 out of
100. It reflects the
limited attention
paid to integration ef-
forts in the destina-
tion states. Kerala –
at 57 – scored the
highest, followed by
Goa and Rajasthan at
51.The states of Ma-
nipur, Jharkhand,
and Tripura were at
the bottom, with
scores of 19, 23, and
26. With a score of 34,
the capital too ranked
near the bottom.
The index ranks and
compares all the states
of India based on their
migrant integration
policies. According to
IMN: “The comparison
exercise allows for the
evaluationandcompar-
ison of what state gov-
ernments are doing to
promote the integra-
tion of migrants in the
major migrant receiv-
ing states of India.”
The index addresses
questions like which
Indian states have the
most migrant friendly
policy regimes, how
does India’s migration
related policies com-
parewiththerestof the
world and what are the
benchmarks for inte-
gration policies of in-
ternal migrants in In-
dia?
Inter-state migra-
tion is a key income
generating strategy
for low-income house-
holds in India. “But
despite the impor-
tance of migration
for a large majority
of Indians, migrants
continue to face sig-
nificant barriers in
their destination
states. The impact of
state borders is sig-
nificant and large on
migration levels
within India,” the in-
dex said.
GUJ FARES POORLY IN INTEGRATING
MIGRANTS IN ITS MILIEU
13-yr-old delivers
baby at Jamnagar;
the girl was raped
First India Bureau
Jamnagar: In a bizarre
incident, a 13-year-old
in Jamnagar has given
birth to a child forcing
the hospital and police
authorities to investi-
gate a rape that went
unreported.
The 13-year-old from
a village in Dhrol talu-
ka came to the GG Hos-
pital in Jamnagar with
severe labour pains.
Dhrol police said af-
ter it was informed of
the incident later,
nabbed one Anesh
Bhuriya, a farm labour-
er in Tarana Dhar area.
The teenager, who
works at a farm, was
brought to the GG Hos-
pital early on Tuesday
morning. Officials said
the mother and child
are doing fine.
The hospital authori-
ties found something
suspicious when they
realised that the patient
was just 13 years old.
They later informed the
police who then also
questioned the teen.
Police also checked
the Aadhar card of the
teen in which her date
of birth was mentioned
as January 1, 2007. Lat-
er the teen and her sis-
ter and brother-in-law
told the police about
what happened.
Thegirlsaid7months
ago when she was work-
ing at a farm in Anand-
par village in Dhrol,
another farm labourer
Anesh Bhuriya raped
her thrice.
Courtgrantsbailto
58-yr-oldrapeaccused
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A local
court in Ahmedabad
has granted bail to a
58-year- old man ac-
cused of rape of a mi-
nor who was forced
into sex by another
accused who threat-
ened to kill her par-
ents.
Court while granting
bail to the accused Kam-
lesh Shah observed that
as the chargesheet has
already been filed there
is no possibility of tam-
pering with evidence.
Also at a time of pan-
demic, the trial will con-
sume some time and
hence the accused was
granted bail.
Advocate Utkarsh
Dave representing the
petitioner submitted be-
forethecourtthatallthe
allegations against the
accused are baseless
and fake.
He said the petitioner
suffered from blood
pressure and diabetes.
He argued that neither
was the victim abducted
nor forced into a physi-
calrelationshipwiththe
accused.
Alsothechargesheet
didn’t specify the
same either. The peti-
tioner further argued
through his counsel
that he was the sole
breadwinner of his
family and should be
granted bail.
Migrants are used only as a resource and hardly accepted as part of the system.
First India Bureau
Surat: The Central
Bureau of Investiga-
tion (CBI) on Wednes-
day stated that it had
registered a case
against a Surat-based
private company and
others, including its
17 former office-bear-
ers and directors, and
unknown public serv-
ants on allegations of
cheating Union Bank
of India to the tune of
Rs 43 crore.
A CBI official said
that it registered a case
against Surat Mandvi
Vibhag Sahkari Krishi
Udyog Mandli Ltd and
others for cheating the
Union Bank of India to
the tune of Rs 43 crore
between 2013-15.
It said that it was fur-
ther alleged that Union
Bank of India had sanc-
tioned loans worth Rs 40
crore under Union
Green Card Scheme in
the names of 1,728 farm-
er members of the said
company or society and
the said loan amount
was disbursed into the
current account of said
company or society,
which did not further
distribute the said
amounts or equivalent
raw materials to the
farmers. The said loan
accounts became NPAs.
The CBI conducted
searches at five loca-
tions in Surat including
office and residential
premises of the ac-
cused.
The official said
that the agency regis-
tered another case
against a Hyderabad-
based private compa-
ny and others includ-
ing its MD, ED, Direc-
tor, valuer, advocate
and unknown public
servants of IFCI Ltd
on allegations of
fraud in IFCI Ltd.
CBI books agri cooperative for duping Bank
‘COOPERATIVE’ SCAM
Besides officials of the agri-
cultural cooperative, CBI has
booked several govt officials
Surat police nab youth trying to
blackmail top woman govt official
First India Bureau
Surat: A top govern-
ment official in Surat
had the shock of her
life when her private
photos in her mobile
phone got into the
hands of a youth who
threatened to release
them on the internet
if she did not suc-
cumb to his demands
for money.
The women later ap-
proached the cyber cell
of the city police who
nabbed the youth from
Delhi.
Cyber Crime police
sources said that the
top-level government
official who lives in
Adajan area in Surat
had forgotten her phone
in an autorickshaw.
The phone also had
several private photos
of theofficer.Thephone
was eventually recov-
ered by one Najeem Pa-
tel, a resident of Surat.
He then called up the
owner (the top govern-
ment official) and
threatened to release
her private pictures on-
line.
He demanded money
and blackmailed her to
not release the pictures
online. The woman
then approached the
Cyber Cell. The cops
with the help of techni-
cal surveillance nabbed
Najeem Patel from Del-
hi.
Patel originally be-
longs to the Limbayat
area in Surat.
Najeemwhoworked
as a labourer in Delhi
said he used to drive
an auto rickshaw in
Surat. In January
this year, he came
across the mobile
phone of the woman
in his auto.
NEGLECTING
MIGRANTS
—file photo
Narayan Sai
moves HC seeking
bail to meet father
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Self-
styled godman
Asaram Bapu’s son
Narayan Sai, who is
serving life impris-
onment in a rape
case, has moved the
Gujarat High Court
seeking interim
bail of 10 days to
meet his parents.
The matter is likely
to be heard on De-
cember 2.
Advocate Rafik
Lokhandwala, repre-
senting the petition-
er Narayan Sai, filed
an application before
the Gujarat High
Court stating that
the petitioner has
not met his father
Asaram Bapu, who is
serving life impris-
onment in Jodhpur
Jail, for the last 7
years.
It further stated
that Asaram Bapu,
87, is the spiritual
guru of Narayan Sai
and he needs to meet
him for the fulfil-
ment of his spiritual
sadhana as well as
for the love and affec-
tion he has for his
father.
The petition
states that the Su-
rat Sessions Court
had directed jail
authorities to ar-
range a meeting be-
tween Narayan Sai
and his father if it
was feasible as per
jail manual but the
jail authorities had
failed to do so.
Narayan Sai’s
mother Mataji
Laxmidevi Harpala-
ni, 77, is completely
bedridden and re-
quires supplemental
oxygen support at
home, the petition
says.
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
3,779
DEATHS
1,83,844
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
2,019 DEATHS 2,17,151 CASES
DELHI
7,228 DEATHS 4,59,975 CASES
WORLD
12,85,014
DEATHS
5,21,49,585
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
86,69,744
CONFIRMED CASES
1,27,945
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
45,560 DEATHS 17,31,833 CASES
TAMIL NADU
11,415 DEATHS 7,50,409 CASES
KARNATAKA
11,453 DEATHS 8,53,796 CASES
Asaram’s son Narayan Sai
—file photo
—file photo

iwali is one of the
most awaited festi-
vals of the year, and
with everything
happening around
this year, the festi-
val of lights this
time is going to be even
more precious. Dhanteras,
the first festival of the Di-
wali season, is associated
with purchasing new items,
jewellery and gadgets.
Since the festival calen-
dars are acting up a bit
weird this year, Dhanteras
will be celebrated on two
days- 12 and 13 November,
which is today and tomor-
row. The festival is set to
begin today, 12 November at
9:30 pm, and end tomorrow,
on 13 November at 5:59 pm.
More than the gadgets or
the jewellery, the biggest
‘dhan’ or wealth is that the
kids and women of the soci-
ety are safe, protected and
succeed in holding their
heads high.
Talking about the history
of this festival, it was be-
lieved that it was on this
day that Goddess Laxmi
emerged from the ocean
when it was being churned
with a pot of gold and
wealth. The God of Ayur-
veda, Lord Dhanvantari, is
also worshipped on this day.
Lighting up the place
with diya all around is what
this festival is all about,
apart from purchasing
things, in order to radiate
positivity. Well, it is some-
thing that everyone needs
right now, isn’t it?
When it comes to dressing
up, opting for festive outfits
is the most sensible thing to
do, as you would invite the
feel of a festive season, in
and around you. Like how
every other festival has its
own colour dedicated to it,
gold is the colour which is
worshiped the most during
Dhanteras. It is a common
thing among women to opt
for gold outfits, and pairing
the same with contrasting
colours. Oh, and how can
we forget the amazing jew-
ellery? That brings in the
entire essence of the festive
season.
City First wishes you a
very Happy Dhanteras.
May this festival bring
happiness and harmony in
your lives, and give you
enough wealth to provide
you comforts you have ever
wished for!
The festival of lights has finally begun, as today marks the very
first occasion- Dhanteras. So, let’s shop our hearts out!
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
D
AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
NUPUR SINGH, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Good opportunities will
come to those who have
cleared a tough
competition. Your
reputation on the social front is set to
enhance. Excellent opportunities may
knock at your door. Professionals will
be able to give their best in a new
situation.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Going will be good on the
academic front. You may
wait for someone’s
invitation for a trip. Your
professionalism in handling problem
areas will be appreciated. Tenant
troubles are foreseen for some house
owners. You will find family life more
than fulfilling.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
This is the right time to go
for a new academic
pursuit. Your desire for an
exciting time on the social
front is likely to be fulfilled today.
Those looking for buying a house can
get a good bargain. Appreciation is in
store for some homemakers. A
professional victory is yours.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You will have to be more
focussed on the academic
front. You may get busy
organising something on the
social front. You may need to put your
ideas into action, if you want to prove
yourself. A party may be thrown in
your honour at work. Your good
performance is likely to be noticed.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You will need to put your
best foot forward on the
academic front. Excess in
food and drinks can get
you out of action. A new deal is likely
to come through and give you a taste
of success. Those fond of travelling
may get their chance soon. This is
the time when you enjoy yourself.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Good performance on the
academic front will help
enhance your reputation at
work. Some favourable
developments on the social front are
foreseen. Buying new furniture or a
major appliance is possible. With good
networking, a prized posting can be
yours. You will get your money back.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Your image on the social
front is likely to get a
boost. Getting into a
favourable situation on the
academic front is possible. Good luck
promises to brighten your day. Some
positive changes can be expected on
the home front. This seems a good
day for job seekers.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You will manage to achieve
what you had aimed for on
the academic front. A
celebration can find you in
your element today. Praise and
honour are likely to greet you in
something that you have managed to
achieve. You will be a pillar of
strength to a friend or associate.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Good preparation by
students will help restore
their confidence. Your
performance at work will
be commendable. Your own
happiness is in your hands today.
Spouse may need her space, respect
that. This is a favourable day for
completing pending jobs.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
A previous investment
matures and promises to
brighten the bank balance.
Some of you can get lucky
and get selected by campus
recruiters. A family youngster is
likely to do you proud. A business
trip is indicated and will achieve
much.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You are likely to take up
someone’s cause and earn
appreciation from all
quarters on the social
front. Remaining on the good side of
those who matter on the academic
front will help you achieve much.
Good tidings of your well wishers will
keep you going.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Success is foretold on the
academic front. Your
reputation is likely to boost
your image on the social
front. On the work front, you will
manage to keep your superiors in
good humour. This is an excellent
day to spend time with family. A
good job opportunity is yours.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
OVID, the global
pandemic has
largely subdued
the vibe, energy
and celebra-
tions. During
this festive sea-
son, it is imperative that
we start the journey to
end the darkness within
our lives. Fill it with
love and light. Whether
it is changing our life-
style into a healthier
one or becoming a bet-
ter person. This is an
auspicious occasion to
start on these life chang-
es. Whatever comes our
way, let us strive to han-
dle it gracefully. Life of-
fers its wisdom gener-
ously. Everything teach-
es. Not everyone learns.
Sadhguru has ex-
pressed it succinctly- “I
have been trying to
knock sense into all of
you for years. No use.
This little invisible vi-
rus comes and does it”!
In its own way, Covid
has taught us many in-
valuable lessons. It’s
not how we make mis-
takes but the way we
correct them that de-
fines us. IT’S A WAKE-
UP CALL!
NO LARGE GATHERINGS
Let us celebrate togeth-
erness by maintaining
social distancing.
MASK UP
Let your eyes show the
emotions. Cover up the
nose and mouth prop-
erly. Protect yourself
and others.
GO DIGITAL
On-line school. On-line
office. Why not virtual
socializing. Connect
with family and friends
around the globe. Cre-
ate memorable mo-
ments. Make the most
of technology. Resist
forwards. Call. Talk.
Connect. Convey emo-
tions. Share warmth.
Create rapport. Make it
personal.
CELEBRATION TIME
Bring in joy and gaiety
to your home. Involve
the family in the festive
decor. Try your culinary
skills. Say NO to outside
food. Wake up the artist
within you and make a
Rangoli.
PROTECT YOUR LOVED ONES
This is the time to sit
back, reflect and realise
the fragile nature of
our existence. Careless-
ness can be critical for
the vulnerable members
of the family and socie-
ty.
LESS IS MORE
Keep it simple. Let’s go
back to our grassroots
traditional feel of the
festival. No jazzy elec-
tric lights. Relax. Step
out. Admire the divine
celestial display of the
Amavas night skies.
BE SAFE
Focus on washing hands
with soap and water
rather than using sani-
tizers, which can be
highly inflammable. Be
safe.
SAY NO TO FIREWORKS
Complete boycott by
ALL is the need. The air
pollution level is al-
ready alarmingly high.
To make it more toxic
would be fatal during
the Covid times. Let us
not choke the earth or
even ourselves to death.
CHEERS
Enjoy the cool nip in the
approaching winter
breeze and bring
warmth to some needy
hearth. Wrap a blanket
around the homeless
person sleeping on the
footpath. Donate. Help.
Share. Care.
GRATITUDE
Be thankful for the
warmth of your home.
Food on your table.
Your leisure time. Ac-
knowledge the selfless
service of not just the
medical professionals
but also the security
agencies, police, work-
ers who manage the es-
sential services. They
risk not just their own
lives but also that of
their families. DO what
you can. Every gesture
counts.
NOSTALGIA
The senior citizens will
definitely remember the
simple joy of ‘kheel-
patasha- khilauna’ the
sugar candies of our
childhood. That’s how
our Diwali day dawned!
Can we not treat some
jhuggi kids to those
childhood treats and
share their joy.
THE GOLDEN WARM FLAME
Let’s purchase the sim-
ple, marvelous hand-
made mitti-deeyas, dis-
played so artistically on
the footpaths. Behold
the family ritual of fill-
ing oil, making the
wick, lighting them, the
artistic display on walls
& narrow ledges, pro-
tecting the flame from
the breeze, basking in
the warm glow... Can
this bliss ever be repli-
cated!!!
DECLUTTER
Clean up your surround-
ings, home, life, your
relationships. Make
space. Give space. A joy-
ful, positive, responsi-
ble person can better
deal with challenging
situations.
NURTURE NATURE
It is essential. It is for
your own survival. This
is no service. By exploit-
ing the present, we are
doing irreversible dam-
age to not just the flora
and fauna but to our own
future. This is the time to
express our love, com-
passion, gentleness, hu-
manity. Greed is insatia-
ble. For everyone’s needs,
nature has enough. It is
the most benevolent.
DEEP BREATHE
Conscious breathing &
daily pranayam can
boost lung strength,
manage respiratory ail-
ments, improve immu-
nity, lower stress and
enhance the quality of
life. Strengthen your-
self. The wholeness of
life is health. Radiate
exuberance and joy.
GO WITHIN
Meditate. Bless all.
Light the divine deepak
within. Focus on the
NOW. The more we be-
come conscious of our
actions, the more we
gain control over what
happens within us.
TAKE CARE & BE SAFE!
DIWALI AMID THE CORONAVIRUS
SO DIFFERENT, YET THE SAME...
DEEPAK
deepaklifemusings@gmail.com
C
DEEPAK’S CORNER

NO PLANS OF A BABY
W
ith almost every cou-
ple announcing preg-
nancy news on social
media, fans won-
dered if Vatsal Sheth and Ishi-
ta Dutta are also embracing
parenthood soon. A recent post
of the duo left fans wondering
on the same, who commented
asking the couple if they are
the next to make this an-
nouncement. Ishita and Vat-
sal have a hilarious spin to
the comments and clarified
that there is nothing like
that and it is just the holiday
weight showing.
Ishita said that while eve-
ryone has been going on a
spree when it comes to spec-
ulating this, there is no
truth to it whatsoever. She
said, “No not true, not preg-
nant just a little holiday
weight and a hint that I should
hit the gym.” —Agency
risten Bell and her hus-
band Dax Shepard are
parents to Lincoln, 7, and
Delta, 5, but they have
never shown their faces on
social media. Now, Kristen
is explaining why her kids
haven’t been seen on social media.
“My feeling is that I chose a career
in the public eye. I chose to be quoted,
I chose to have my picture taken,”
Kristen told Romper. “I don’t know
them yet. I don’t know if they will want
that. So I really don’t have the right to
choose for them.” —Agency
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
11
MIKKELSEN’S NEW ROLE
A
ctor Johnny Depp’s hasty
exit from the Fantastic Beasts
franchise was indeed a shocker
for many fans. As revealed by the actor
himself, Warner Bros. requested Depp to
resign from the role of Gellert Grindel-
wald which he accepted amid recently
losing the UK libel suit. In Warner Bros.’
statement, whilst confirming Johnny’s
departure from Fantastic Beasts fran-
chise and thanking the 54-year-old actor
for his work on the films to date, the
studio also confirmed that Grindelwald’s
role will now be recast. And, who’s the
frontrunner to replace Depp as Grindel-
wald? According to reports, it’s Mads
Mikkelsen! —Agency
GOT SAGA REVEALED
J
ason Momoa is revealing that he
and his family were “starving”
after his character was killed off
of Game of Thrones in 2011 before
the show became a mega-hit. After
Khal Drogo’s exit from the show,
the 41-year-old “spent several years
struggling to pay the bills” at his
home with Lisa Bonet and their kids
Lola and Nakoa-Wolf. “I mean, we
were starving after Game of Thrones,”
Jason told. “I couldn’t get work. It’s
very challenging when you have
babies and you’re completely in debt.”
Things improved for him when he was
cast in 2016 s Justice League and
subsequently, Aquaman. —Agency
TOUCHED!
F
arhan Akhtar on Wednesday
shared a heart-touching clip
featuring a former prima
ballerina dancer Marta C Gonzalez,
who suffered from Alzheimer’s
disease. In the clip, the ballerina
after hearing music from ‘Swan
Lake’ performs the dance steps
while sitting on a wheelchair.
Farhan in the caption, shared that
the clip was forwarded to him, and
thanked its creator too. He noted,
“This is the most beautiful thing
you will see today. This video was
forwarded to me and I thank the
person who created it and shared it
with the rest of the world.” —ANI
No public
Eye
K
MISSING FROM STAGE
B
ritney Spears wants to
be freed from her fa-
ther. The pop star’s
moves have been miss-
ing from stage and screen in
a career hiatus that shows no
signs of ending, but she’s
been making all kinds of ma-
noeuvres in court in an at-
tempt to gain greater control
over her life and money after
12 years of a court conserva-
torship run mainly by her
dad, James Spears. According
to reports, on Tuesday after-
noon, a Los Angeles judge
will hear arguments on
Spears’ requests, the boldest
of which would remove James
Spears as co-conservator for
what his daughter says is an
unwillingness to share con-
trol of her more than USD 60
million in assets. —Agency
‘One of my
many firsts’
T
alking about one of her very
first things that she has ever
done, actor Taapsee Pannu on
Wednesday got all set to start
the race and shared a glimpse from
the track and field from upcoming
sports drama ‘Rashmi Rocket’.
She posted an intriguing picture on
Instagram, in which she is all pumped
up to start the race. Taapsee captioned
thepostas,“Getset.....#RashmiRocket.
This one is going to be one of many
firsts!” (with running emoji). —ANI
MID-WEEK
THOUGHTS
I
ndulging into some
mid-week thought
process, actor Sha-
hid Kapoor on
Wednesday shared a
‘balance sheet of life’
that involved facts to be
taken care of, alongside
a quote by Persian poet
Rumi.
The ‘Kabir Singh’
star shared a post on In-
stagram, in which he
delineated deep motiva-
tional thoughts.
Sharing the post with
his fans, he also penned
down a quotation of the
famous Persian post-
Rumi. It read,- “The
WOUND is the place
where LIGHT enters
you . . . - Rumi.” Within
a few minutes of shar-
ing the post, fans start-
ed thanking him for the
morning motivation.
—ANI
Kristen Bell
... her post
Mads Mikkelsen Farhan Akhtar
...his post
Jason Momoa
Shahid Kapoor
Vatsal Sheth and Ishita Dutt
...his post
Taapsee pannu Britney Spears

o celebrate the begin-
ning of the most
awaited festival
of the year
with sweet-
ness and mer-
ry, the ‘Festive
Fusion Dessert Food Fes-
tival’ has been organised by
Oven- the bakery at C-Scheme.
The festival offers the delight-
ed pleasure of delicious Indi-
an sweets with Western fu-
sion. They have decided to
serve some oven special sweet
delights to the Jaipurites, like,
Leaf Kesar Badam, Thandai
Square, Crackle Kiwi Moose,
Belgian Pettifer, Gulab Heav-
en, etc.
Mayank Gopaliya from
Oven – The Bakery said,
“Keeping the special eye on
sanitation also, desserts have
been specially prepared, egg-
less. We have thoroughly used
some of the Indian spices and
ingredients like saffron, car-
damom, black cardamom, co-
conut, rose water, dry fruits,
cinnamon, khus-khus, etc. To
serve a variety of flavours
to the food lovers, we will
also serve OvenSpecial
Pizza, Garlic Bread and
Potato Buns with the des-
serts.” —City First
NEHAL NAYAR
P
rints Valley, a
clothing brand
from the Pink
City seeks to
bring the timeless cul-
ture of Indian Hand-
crafted Clothing and
also vibrant prints. As a
brand, they constitute
to men, women and
kids’ wear, and special-
ising in printed men
shirts.
The brand will be
launching its ‘Ikkat
Tribe’collectionpostthe
Diwali festival, focusing
on a wide range of Ikkat
prints. The team at
Prints Valley has al-
ways ensured that
the product range
gives the customer
the kind of confidence
they require.
Owner of Prints Val-
ley, Shankar Rawat stat-
ed, “Each product goes
throughextensiveexper-
imentations and quality
checks before it finally
reachesthecustomer.We
workcloselywithourar-
tisans to create unique
hand block prints that
are made using natural
organic dyes making the
garment skin-friendly
and durable.”
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
RAJ:
Computer-
based test for
the vacant
posts of Station
Controller/Train
Operator is being conducted by Jaipur Metro
Rail Corporation on Thursday, 26 November
from 02 pm to 04 pm at various examination
centres in Jaipur. In the upcoming days, the
hall ticket will be released on the Jaipur
Metro website. Candidates should visit
Jaipur Metro’s website for the information
issued in this subject from time to time.
12
CITY BUZZAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel shared glimpses from their brother
Aksht’s pre-wedding festivities on social media. Kangana looked gorgeous in a beautiful
outfit as she joined her family at the Mehendi ceremony of her brother in Udaipur.WEDDING BELLS!
DURING THE DAY!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
GUJ: After five days of maintenance, Seaplane Services resumed for citizens from Sabarmati
RiverFront to Kevadiya Statue of unity on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
RAJ: Youth Congress leader Sagar Sharma met and interacted with Congress workers while
on his visit to Gram Panchayats Sadapur, Bidla, Dhanma, Kushayta, Naya Gaon and Undri in
Kekri on Wednesday.
RAJ: Babu Bazaar link road was seen bright with the Deepawali Lighting on Tuesday.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
GUJ: To celebrate the Diwali festival uniquely, members of ‘Seva ej Jivan’ distributed food and clothes
to needy people on Wednesday at Chanakyapuri area of Ahmedabad city.—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Jagdeesh Chandra greeted Senior Editor Syed Umar on his birthday on 11th November,
Wednesday. Seen here during the cake cutting are special guests Kriti Garg and Yasheel
Pandel along with the entire First India family.
HAPPY B’DAY!BUZZ!
IPS (RAJ) Dr Amrita Duhan
celebrated her birthday on
11 November, Wednesday.
We wish her all the best!
Festive Fusion Dessert
Envision X VendestoCITY FIRST
T
he two-day event, ’En-
vision X Vendesto’ or-
ganised by the De-
partment of Com-
merce in collaboration
with the Department
of Management start-
ed on Monday, 9 Novem-
ber, in the virtual pres-
ence of Jesuit authorities,
faculties, guests and the stu-
dents. The event deliberated
over the new challenges that
people are encountering on
the virtual platform that has
become pervasive in the post-
Covid world. Arjun Desh-
pande, founder
and CEO of Ge-
neric Aadhaar, a
philanthropist
and an innova-
tor, hooked the
aspiring minds
with his riveting
talk on relieving
oneself from the
pressure from
parents, peers and society
and focusing on what lies
within to ignite one’s spark
and passion.
The fest provided a great
learning curve for the
students, besides dou-
bling up as a vessel of
fond memories. This
year was extra special
as students from haloed
educational institutions
such as Narsi Monjee, Mani-
pal, SKIT, DU, Amity, JKLU,
Bhowanipore, Maharani,
Mithibai and our very own St
Xavier’s, Nevta, participated
in the event.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
VALLEY
OF PRINTS
FOOD FESTIVAL
T
Mayank Gopaliya
Kangana Ranaut
Rishee MiglaniShankar Rawat
During the session

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