First india ahmedabad edition-14 november 2020

AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 350
HOLIDAY NOTICE
The offices of First India will
remain closed on November
14, 15 and 16 on the occa-
sion of Diwali and Goverd-
han Puja and Gujarati New
Year. There will be no edition
on November 15, 16 and 17.
Wishes
HAPPY
Patna: Nitish Kumar
Friday met Bihar Gov-
ernor Phagu Chauhan
to hand over the resig-
nation of his ministry
and recommendation to
dissolve the state as-
sembly.
The Governor accept-
ed the resignation and
asked the JD(U) chief
to continue as the care-
taker chief minister till
the new NDA govern-
ment is formed.
Meanwhile, a joint
meeting of the NDA
partners in Bihar has
been scheduled on Sun-
day to finalise details
pertaining to the next
government formation,
including electing lead-
er of legislature party.
NDA’s Sunday
meet to decide
its Bihar ka neta
Indian Army smashes terror
launch pads across the LoC
after eight die in Pak firing
Srinagar: Eight people
including three sol-
diers, a Border Security
Force (BSF) officer and
four civilians were
killed when Pakistan
violated ceasefire on the
Line of Control (LoC) at
Uri, Nowgam, Keran
and Gurez sectors in
north Kashmir.
Among the four dead
civilians included a
woman and a seven-
year-old boy. All civil-
ians were killed in Uri.
Two civilians were
killed in Kamalkote vil-
lage and one each in
Balkote and Gokhan vil-
lages of Uri where
shells and mortars land-
ed in the villages close
to the Line of Control.
The Army blamed Pa-
kistan for the ceasefire
violation and said three
soldiers were killed in
the unprovoked viola-
tion. “Pakistan initiated
unprovoked ceasefire
violations along the
LoC, spread across mul-
tiple sectors to include
Dawar, Keran, Uri and
Naugam. Pakistan used
mortars and other
weapons,” said Defense
spokesman Col Rajesh
Kalia. He said that Paki-
stan deliberately tar-
geted the civilian areas.
“Our own troops re-
taliated strongly caus-
ing substantial damage
to Pakistan Army’s in-
frastructure and casual-
ties across the LoC. Sev-
eral ammunition
dumps, fuel dumps and
multiple terrorists’
launch pads have been
damaged.”
In Nowgam sector, a
BSF officer posted at
Atma complex was
killed in the shelling. He
was identified as sub in-
spector Rakesh Dobal.
SSP Baramulla Ab-
dul Qayoom said that
shelling is still going in
some areas of Uri.
“Four civilians were
killed in Uri and anoth-
er four were injured.”
The ceasefire viola-
tion was reported from
all the important sec-
tors starting from Uri to
Gurez.
Indian Army said in a statement that it had destroyed several
ammunition and fuel dumps and terror launch pads across the
LoC in retaliatory action.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar presents his resignation
letter to Governor Fagu
Chauhan as part of a formal
procedure for the formation of
the next government, in Patna.
PM MODI LIKELY TO SPEND
DIWALI WITH SOLDIERS AT
JAISALMER BORDER TODAY
Jaipur: Continuing the
tradition of spending
Diwali with soldiers,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Saturday
may visit Jaisalmer
to spend this Diwali
with the soldiers of the
Western border, re-
ports said. From 2014,
after he became the
Prime Minister for the
first time, he has been
spending the day with
soldiers. On Friday, a
day before Diwali, the
Prime Minister also
urged the countrymen
to light a diya as a
salute to soldiers who
“fearlessly protect our
nation”. “Words can’t
do justice to the sense
of gratitude we have
for our soldiers for
their exemplary cour-
age. We are also grate-
ful to the families of
those on the borders,”
PM said. In 2019,
Modi visited the “Hall
of Fame” in Rajouri
and also the Pathankot
Airbase.
I’ve nothing to do
with drugs: Arjun
New Delhi: The World
Health Organisation an-
nounced on Friday that
it will set up a Global
Centre for Traditional
Medicine in India, with
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi expressing
confidence that just like
thecountryhasemerged
as the ‘pharmacy of the
world’, the WHO institu-
tionwillbecomethecen-
tre for global wellness.
WHO Director Gen-
eral Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus made the
announcement in a vid-
eo message at an event
in which Prime Minis-
ter Modi dedicated two
future-ready Ayurveda
institutions in Jaipur
and Jamnagar to the na-
tion via video confer-
encing on the occasion
of the 5th Ayurveda Day.
The Institute of
Teaching and Research
in Ayurveda (ITRA),
Jamnagar (Gujarat)
and the National Insti-
tute of Ayurveda (NIA),
Jaipur (Rajasthan) are
both premier institu-
tions of Ayurveda in
the country.
The Jamnagar insti-
tute has been conferred
the status of an Institu-
tion of National Impor-
tance (INI) by an act of
Parliament and the one
atJaipurhasbeendesig-
nated an Institution
DeemedtobeUniversity
(De novo Category) by
the University Grants
Commission (UGC), ac-
cording to the AYUSH
ministry.
In his video message,
Ghebreyesus said, “I
am pleased to announce
that we have agreed to
open a WHO Global
Centre of Traditional
Medicine in India to
strengthen the evi-
dence, research, train-
ing Turn to P6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda
(ITRA) in Gujarat and the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) in Rajasthan during the fifth Ayurveda
Day, via video conferencing, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
WHO to set up traditional
medicine centre in India
PM MODI INAUGURATES PREMIER INSTITUTIONS
OF AYURVEDA IN RAJASTHAN AND GUJARAT
Mumbai: Actor Arjun
Rampal was today
questioned by NCB
for over six hours in
connection with the
anti-drugs probe.
Rampal clarified that
the substances found
during a NCB raid
on his residence this
week were part of a
prescription. “I am fully
cooperating with the
investigation. I have
nothing to do with
drugs. The medicine
found at my residence
was prescribed. The
prescription has been
found and handed
over,” he said.
I am pleased to
announce that WHO
Global Centre of
Traditional
Medicine will be
opened in India to
strengthen the
research of
traditional and
complementary
medicine
During coronavirus
period the demand
for Ayurvedic
products increased
rapidly all over the
world, he said
exports of
Ayurvedic products
increased by about
45 per cent in
September
Reliance Industries to invest $50 million in
Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Mumbai: Reliance In-
dustriestoinvestUSD50
millioninBreakthrough
Energy Ventures, a cli-
mate change company
owned by Microsoft co-
founder Bill Gates.
In a filing to stock ex-
changes, Reliance said
it will make the invest-
ment in tranches over
the next 8 to 10 years.
“The capital contri-
bution commitment of
USD 50 million consti-
tutes 5.75 per cent of the
size of the fund contem-
plated at present,” the
company said.
The transaction is
subject to approval
from the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI).
The oil-telecom-to-re-
tail conglomerate said it
has “entered into a de-
finitive agreement, for
making a capital contri-
bution,uptoUSD50mil-
lion, in Breakthrough
Energy Ventures II, L.P.
(BEV), a limited part-
nership, newly incorpo-
rated under the Dela-
ware State Laws, United
States of America.”
Breakthrough Ener-
gy Ventures is attempt-
ing to find solutions to
the climate crisis
through breakthrough
energy and agriculture
technologies.
It will invest the
funds raised, to support
innovation in clean en-
ergy solutions.
“The said investment
will be made in tranch-
es over the next 8-10
years,” it said.
BEV, the filing said,
seeks to find solutions
to the climate crisis by
flexibly investing to de-
velop breakthrough en-
ergy and agriculture
technologies.
“BEV will invest the
funds raised from the
investors to support in-
novation in clean ener-
gy solutions,” it said.
Devotees light diyas on the bank of Saryu River during
Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya on Friday.
5,51,000 DIYAS
ILLUMINATE AYODHYA

NEWSAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupa-
ni on Friday sent out
formal greetings to
the people of the
state on the eve of Di-
wali and the Gujarati
New Year. “May God
bless you all and
bring light in your
lives, and may the
New Year bring hap-
piness in your lives,”
he said.
“I hope the New Year
brings prosperity in all
of your lives. May God
give the people the spir-
it to fight against COV-
ID-19 and all devils,” he
added.
The chief minister
appealed to the peo-
ple to remember to
follow appropriate
precautions and the
Standard Operating
Procedures pre-
scribed for COVID-19,
even during the fes-
tivities. Further, he
asked the people to
come together to
make the slogan “Jit-
se Gujarat” a reality
by defeating the novel
coronavirus.
CR Patil, the Gujarat
unit president of the
Bharatiya Janata Party,
also sent out his good
wishes to the people of
the state on Friday.
He said, “May God
may bless the citizens
of the state and bring
them prosperity in
the new Vikram Sa-
vant year,” adding,
“On Diwali, Lord
Rama had returned
to Ayodhya from his
14-year vanvas. This
year, the aspirations
of crores of Hindus
have come true with
the groundbreaking
of the Ram Janmab-
hoomi Temple in Ayo-
dhya. May Lord Ram
fulfil your wishes.
Let us all give up neg-
ativity.”
CM Vijay Rupani wishes you a Happy
Diwali and Prosperous New Year
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Ram-
pant consumerism
during festivals is
what keeps traders
and businesses going
but, this year, owing
to the COVID-19 pan-
demic, the purchase
power of the public
has been affected by
numerous factors.
Economic slowdowns,
unemployment, price
escalation, online
shopping are a few
things that have ad-
versely impacted the
businesses of city-
based traders. There
has been decent con-
sumption of festival
commodities but the
overall rise expected
has not registered this
year.
“Usually, the lanes of
old city Ahmedabad es-
pecially near the Bhad-
ra Fort, Teen Darwaza,
Manek Chowk and Re-
lief Road do receive foot-
falls to the tune of lakhs
but the sale of goods has
not matched it this
year,” said Abdul Faru-
qiwala, owner of an
electrical lights busi-
ness.
He added, “We receive
over 200 inquiries from
customers about vari-
ous types of light fit-
tings but, hardly 10%
actually end up making
a purchase.”
According to Faruqi-
wala, there are two rea-
sons for the lack of-
sales—price inflation of
products and lower pur-
chasing capacity of the
public due to the pan-
demic.“Footfallincreas-
es our morale, but at the
end of the day low on
money cash counters
eventuallycoolitdown,”
he remarked.
Despite the market
price of gold current-
ly sitting at Rs50,700
for 10 gram, people
belonging to the upper
middle-class and rich
strata of the society
are buying it. “We
have had people buy
gold, silver jewellery
with advance booking.
Upper middle-class
and rich customers
have made purchases
of precious metals
and stones,” said
Dashrath Soni, a city-
based jeweler. Taking
quantity into consid-
eration, the market
has not made the
amount of sales usu-
ally seen during Di-
wali. But, due to price
rise the overall turno-
ver has been good for
jewellers. On the oth-
er hand, sales of gold
have dropped by 50%
in Surat this year.
Not only goods shops
but the garment shops
inthecityhavenotmade
a healthy number of
salesthisyear.MitJoshi,
owner of a garment
shop, said that he had
been expecting a rise in
sales over the past few
days thinking that peo-
plewillspendthebonus-
es they receive. But sur-
prisingly, there has not
beenenoughdemandfor
clothes. “I fear that even
middle-class customers
have either dropped
planstobuynewclothes,
since they will not be
visiting friends or rela-
tives this year or have
switched over to e-com-
merce websites to make
their purchases,” he
said.
Sweet shop owners
are also feeling the
heat this Diwali, with
the local civic body
conductingfoodhealth
drives and people opt-
ing for homemade
sweets and snacks.
“Customers are buy-
ing sweets, but as com-
pared to last year’s Di-
wali, the sweet con-
sumption per family is
down by almost 30 to
40%. We fear that most
of our stock will re-
main unsold,” said
Jayantibhai Nandi, a
sweet shop owner.
People buying gold and silver on the occasion of Dhanteras in Ahmedabad on Friday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
The pandemic
has adversely
affected market
sales of festive
goods, sweets,
gold and
garments
A DARKER DIWALI FOR TRADERS,
businesses this year
FINDING LIGHT AMIDST DARKNESS OF A PANDEMIC
Amdavadis did not let the ongoing health crisis
come in the way of their Diwali festivities. First
India photojournalist Hanif Sindhi captured a few
heartwarming moments as folks performed rituals,
and decorated their homes with colourful lights,
flowers, rangolis and diyas.

First India Bureau
Dahod: The Devgadh
Baria First Class Ju-
dicial Magistrate
Court has found a po-
lice officer guilty in
an offence of illegal
custody and custodi-
al atrocities against
a juvenile and has
sentenced him to
three years of im-
prisonment as well
as a fine. The police
officer, in question,
JB Gadhvi is cur-
rently the Deputy
Superintendent of
Police of Junagadh
district.
The case was regis-
tered in 2006, when
Gadhvi was a sub-in-
spector (SI) at the Dev-
gadh Baria police sta-
tion. He had picked up
Sarjan Kumar Pasaya
on December 13, 2006,
from Baina village,
and thrashed him with
a stick.
However, when he
learned that the boy he
had picked up was un-
der 16, Gadhvi released
him without filing any
case against him.
Deciding to fight
against the atrocity,
Pasaya he ap-
proached the court,
where he complained
about illegal deten-
tion and atrocity.
The court ordered an
inquiry into the alle-
gations. Based on the
investigation report,
a criminal complaint
was filed against the
police officer under
IPC section for pun-
ishment for causing
hurt, and voluntari-
ly causing hurt by
instrument.
During the trial, the
court was convinced
that the officer was
guilty of detaining the
boy illegally. There
were statements, medi-
cal reports and wit-
nesses in support of
the complainant that
proved the case.
The court order
has become the talk
of town and in the
police force, as this
is the first time that
a police officer has
been convicted in
such a case.
Gadhvi is likely to
challenge the court’s
order.
GUJARATAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020
Three-yearjailsentencefor
DySPincustodialviolencecase
The First Class Judicial Magistrate in Devgadh Baria passed its judgement against the police officer on Friday.
JB Gadhvi has been convicted of illegal custody and atrocities on a minor when he was SI
AMC seals 46 illegal
units in the South Zone
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: On
Friday, the civic
body sealed 46 units
in the South Zone,
mainly in three ar-
eas—Isanpur, Lamb-
ha, and Narol.
“What this means is
that there are sev-
eral such illegal fac-
tories and commer-
cial units function-
ing and there is a
need to identify and
seal those units,”
said a senior AMC
officer.
A blast in a chemi-
cal godown located on
Pirana-Piplaj Road in
the city on November
4 took the lives of 12
people and injured
several others. Fol-
lowing the incident,
Vipul Mittra, addi-
tional chief secretary
of the Labour and
Employment Depart-
ment has directed the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) to conduct a
survey and seal unau-
thorized and illegal
units across the city.
As a result, notices
have been served to 18
units that were oper-
ating without a prop-
er licence.
It is to be noted that
the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) has
formed an investiga-
tion committee. Un-
der the leadership of
a retired chief justice
of Delhi High Court,
the six-member com-
mittee has been asked
to submit its report
within a month.
The NGT has fur-
ther asked Mittra to
ascertain how such
units had been operat-
ing in the city without
any legal clearance.
He has also been
asked to take action
against those respon-
sible for the gaffe and
submit a report to the
tribunal.
THE CASE
Not so festive: State sees
1,152 new cases of nCoV
Man bludgeons brother to
death over abusive language
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat witnessed as many
as 1,152 new cases of
COVID-19 in the past
24 hours, taking the
number of infections
to 1,86,138 since the
first cases were re-
ported in March,
health officials said
on Friday evening.
The death toll due to
the novel coronavirus
in the state has
reached 3,791 with
six more deaths oc-
curring in the past 24
hours, they said, add-
ing that 1,078 patients
had recovered during
this period.
Of the six fatalities,
three occurred in
Ahmedabad, while
Gandhinagar, Surat
and Patan accounted
for one each.
Again, Ahmedabad
had the highest num-
ber of new cases, with
219. In addition, 186
new cases were regis-
tered in Surat, while
Rajkot saw 133 and Va-
dodara had 131. Cases
also emerged in Gan-
dhinagar (51), Mehsana
(47), and Banaskantha
(46), among others.
With Friday’s addi-
tions, the state health
department claims to
have achieved a patient
discharge rate of
91.31%.
With more than
53,900 tests conducted
in the last 24 hours, the
per million average
was 830.26 tests, the
health department bul-
letin said on Friday.
Till now, the state gov-
ernment has tests
67,34,467 samples for
COVID-19 since the out-
break of the pandemic.
Yet, Gujarat continues
to have as many as
12,387 active cases,
with 73 patients on ven-
tilator support.
First India Bureau
Botad: A simple re-
quest to tone down
u n p a rl i a m e n t a r y
language turned into
a death sentence for a
man in Gadhada
town of Botad dis-
trict on Thursday
night. Even more
horrific, the man was
bludgeoned to death
by his own brother in
a fit of anger.
Brothers Manglubhai
andKishorbhaiKhachar,
who lived in the same
house at the Sama Kan-
tha in Gadhada, got in to
an argument on Thurs-
dayevening.WhenMan-
glubhai started abusing
Kishorbhai, the latter
requested his brother to
not use abusive lan-
guage. When his request
wentunheeded,Kishorb-
hai repeated it. This an-
gered Manglubhai even
further. He then picked
upaheavypieceof wood
and started beating his
brother with it.
When the neighbours
responded to Kishorb-
hai’s screams for help,
they found him gravely
injured. They immedi-
ately rushed him to Gad-
hada hospital where he
was admitted in a criti-
cal condition. He was
later referred to the
Bhavnagar Civil hospi-
tal,wherehesuccumbed
to his injuries early on
Friday morning.
Amrubhai Bhisariya,
a cousin of the Khachar
brothers,filedacriminal
complaint against Man-
glubhai, in which he
states that the deceased
had sustained severe in-
juries to his left leg, his
hands and his face.
The Gadhada police
have registered the com-
plaint under the IPC sec-
tions of murder and in-
tentionallyinsultingand
provocation. Gadhada
Police Inspector Amit-
kumar Devdha is inves-
tigating the case.
Kishorbhai’s body
has been sent for a post-
mortem.
A medic checks a baby’s temperature in Ahmedabad’s old city
area, which has seen hordes of shoppers over the past few days.
The case has been registered at Gadhada police station.
‘KeepDA-IICTseats
forGujaratstudents’
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: After the
Admission Committee
for Professional
Courses (ACPC) pub-
lished details of va-
cant seats, the Con-
gress has demanded
that 30 seats at the
Dhirubhai Ambani In-
stitute of Information
and Communication
Technology (DA-IICT)
be reserved for Guja-
rat-based students.
These seats are cur-
rently reserved for na-
tional students under
the admission process
for degree courses in en-
gineering, which is con-
ducted by ACPC. Admis-
sions to institutions of-
fering special status
technical courses in the
state are split 60-40 be-
tween the ACPC and the
Joint Entrance Exami-
nation (JEE).
“The details of all va-
cant seats are available
on the DA-IICT website.
It is an injustice to meri-
toriousstudentsof Guja-
rat. The matter must be
looked into by DA-IICT
and the ACPC and re-
solved as soon as possi-
ble,” said Congress
spokesperson Manish
Doshi.
1,152 cases, six
fatalities take state
tally to 1,86,138
cases, toll to 3,791
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
DA-IICT —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With Di-
wali festivities, the im-
portance of 108 ambu-
lance responders
reaches an all-time
high. People celebrat-
ing the festival often
end up in unfortunate
situations and need
medical assistance.
Therefore, the loca-
tions of the 108 ambu-
lance service provided
by the state govern-
ment are dynamically
deployed after thor-
ough strategic plan-
ning to meet emergen-
cy calls. The planning
is based on analytical
work of seasonal
trends, pattern of
emergencies, and festi-
val season cycle dur-
ing the last 13 years of
operations.
Due to dynamic loca-
tion patterns, 108 ambu-
lances equipped with
life-saving drugs, equip-
ment and trained para-
medics are primed to
reach people in need of
assistance in the short-
est span of time and pro-
vide pre-hospital care to
victims.
All EMTs have been
asked to be extra cau-
tious while driving the
ambulances on roads.
Meanwhile, the
doctors at 108 GVK
Emergency Manage-
ment and Research
Institute (EMRI) have
enlisted a few do’s
and don’ts that citi-
zens must bear in
mind while celebrat-
ing Diwali in order to
prevent loss of eye-
sight, burns and oth-
er mishaps.
Theyalsoinsistedthat
people follow the COV-
ID-19guidelineissuedby
the state government.
Practicing social dis-
tancing, wearing masks,
sanitizing and washing
hands frequently were
encouraged by medicine
practitioners. The insti-
tuteissuedafewdo’sand
don’ts to keep in mind
while ringing in the fes-
tival of lights.
108 GVK EMRI shares tips for a safe Diwali amid pandemic
While ambulances will be stationed
across the city to help in case of any
emergency, doctors have issued do’s
and don’ts to follow this year
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
WHAT TO DO
Use firecrackers with low noise
levels
Burst them outside in an open
area
Wear cotton clothes
Eat homemade sweets and
food
In case of burn injury, wash it
with cold water for 20 minutes
Remove flammable items from
rooftops
In case of asthma, stay indoors
Keep a bucket of water or
sandbags nearby when burst-
ing fireworks
Drive carefully during night
hours and in traffic-heavy areas
WHAT NOT TO DO
Don’t burst crackers in restricted
areas
Do not introduce crackers in and
around factory premises
Do not wear synthetic clothes
Avoid eating sweets made of mawa
or khoya
Do not leave kids unattended
Keep away from trees and electrical
wires while lighting crackers
People with asthma or breathing prob-
lems must refrain from venturing outside
Usage of glass bottles/containers
must be avoided to burst
fireworks
Do not venture into cramped spaces,
roads, alleys in big vehicles
—FILE PHOTO
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 350 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 | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020
n the time of
COVID, greet-
ings are no
longer by hand-
shakes, hugs or
kisses on the cheek. An “el-
bow bump” is the preferred
pandemic greeting.
Although COVID trans-
mission in Australia is
now minimal and restric-
tions are easing, keeping
1.5 metres apart from peo-
ple outside your household
is still strongly encouraged
— meaning hugging is
therefore discouraged.
Some people who live
alonemaybynowhavegone
months without touching
or hugging another person.
While avoiding close con-
tact with others is one of
thekeymeasurestoprevent
virusspread,theironyiswe
probably need a hug more
in 2020 than ever before. So
how dangerous is a hug re-
ally in the time of COVID?
HUMAN CONTACT
IS IMPORTANT
Ourfirstcontactinlifeises-
sentially the hug; newborn
babies are constantly cra-
dled, nursed and cuddled.
We are principally so-
cial creatures, and this
need for human contact
continues into childhood
and adulthood.
Culturally, hugging
plays an important role as
an affectionate greeting in
many countries.
Its value is clearly dem-
onstrated in European
countries such as Italy,
France and Spain, where
hugging is common. It’s lit-
tle surprise many Europe-
ans are finding the new
way of living with COVID
hard to accept.
Australians, too, tend to
hug members of their fam-
ilies and close social circle.
While the act of hugging
may give us a feeling of
happiness and security,
there’s actually science be-
hind the benefits of hug-
ging for our mental health
and well-being.
Research shows skin-
to-skin contact from birth
enables babies’ early abil-
ity to develop feelings and
social skills, and reduces
stress for both mother
and baby.
When we hug someone, a
hormone called oxytocin is
released. This “cuddle hor-
mone” fosters bonding, re-
duces stress and can lower
blood pressure.
Positive touch, such as
hugging, also releases the
“happy chemical” seroto-
nin. Low levels of seroto-
nin, and of a related happy
hormone called dopamine,
can be associated with de-
pression, anxiety and poor
mental health.
“Touch deprivation” has
become a serious conse-
quence from the pandemic
and may have affected
many people’s mental
health, particularly those
living alone or in unstable
relationships.
Not only are we missing
out on the positive emo-
tions a hug can provide,
but we’re not getting the
biochemical and physio-
logical benefits either.
CAN YOU HUG
WISELY?
SARS-CoV-2, the coronavi-
rus that causes COVID-19,
is primarily spread from
person to person through
respiratory droplets emit-
ted when an infectious per-
son coughs, sneezes, talks
or even breathes.
We know we can con-
tract COVID through close
contact with an infected
person, so the act itself is
quite risky if you, or the
person you’re hugging, is
infectious. But we can’t al-
ways identify who has the
virus, making the risk of
SARS-CoV-2 transmission
via a hug difficult to assess.
Given people who are
asymptomatic and pre-
symptomatic have been
shown to be able to spread
the virus, a simple hug
may have serious conse-
quences.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
NO, A HUG ISN’T COVID-SAFE
I
He has the most who is
most content with the least.
—Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan @
dpradhanbjp
Additional `128.23 crore
approved for Odisha yesterday
will help in building resilience
against natural disasters &
dealing with post-cyclone crisis.
Grateful to PM @narendramodi
ji’s govt. for standing shoulder
to shoulder with the people of
Odisha, especially in tough times.
Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
@DrRPNishank
Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi
ji to dedicate 2 future-ready
#Ayurveda Institutions to India on
the occasion of 5th #AyurvedaDay.
Modern, state-of-the-art medical
institutes, ITRA Jamnagar & NIA
Jaipur will address the growing
demand posed by pressing
healthcare concerns.
et the festival of lights, light a
light inside the hearts of every
Indian to celebrate the valour,
strength, and courage of every
member of the Defense Forces
- who give up their joys of today
for our safe tomorrow!
As Indians, we have grown
up with the mythological sa-
gas of importance of cele-
brating Diwali as Lord Ra-
ma’s return to Ayodhya as a
symbol of victory of good
over evil, both contextually
and symbolically. Surpris-
ingly enough, as I grew up I
realized that this great festi-
val of Deepavali is not just
important to India but also
is an official holiday in Fiji,
Guyana, Malaysia (except
Sarawak), Mauritius, Myan-
mar, Nepal, , Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Suriname, and Trini-
dad & Tobago.
The glamour and the glory
of the Armed forces and their
families have always been a fas-
cinating and motivating influ-
ence in my life. As a child, I saw
the society at large indulging
in festivities of family get-to-
gethers, bursting firecrackers,
exchanging gifts, and immers-
ing themselves in boisterous
celebrations, I found my moth-
er always considering a family
next door for joining in every
pooja and the rituals of Diwali.
While most people would take
leave from work and office to be
home on this day, very seldom
I remember seeing our neigh-
bor on this great festival. It was
only after a few years that I
fathomed that the nation en-
joys the celebrations of festi-
vals only because my friend’s
father, like so many others of
defense forces were guarding
the frontiers of our nation at
the cost of their personal pleas-
ures and happiness.
Years went by and I found
myself to be in the DMS
boots of a soldier and my ab-
sence on Diwali at home be-
came a regular feature.
Army became the alma ma-
ter, a home away from home,
and my responsibilities had
to be honored above desires.
As a soldier experiencing
new vistas of secularism in
military the environment gave
a new dimension and perspec-
tive to my existence. On Diwali,
a centralized Pooja would be
held at SARVA DHARMA sthal
which is nothing but a prayer
place that houses pictures of all
religions and is visited by all ir-
respective of their religious
identity. Diwali Melas were the
most enthralling experience to
all families of all ranks with
Diya making and Rangoli com-
petitions amongst so many oth-
ers. Nostalgically I remember a
firecrackers show was always
followed by either a station
BARA KHANA (a grand meal
laid out for all officers and
Jawans) or a BARA KHANA at
a Unit level to mark the bonho-
mie amongst all members of
Olive Green. Breaking the
bread together with all its rev-
elries of singing regimental
songs with sporadic chanting
of war cries had an electrifying
impact on one and all.
Juxtaposed to this, a field
posting to snow-clad moun-
tains, sizzling desserts or
insurgency infested areas
has its different hues and
ethos of Diwali celebrations.
While in peacetime all would
gather for Lakshmi pooja, in
the field area, the religious
head called Panditji/ Gran-
thi/Maulavi would visit
each post to perform pooja
and bless jawans. Yes, it was
really inspirational to wit-
ness a symbolic Unit Mandir
visiting all the posts where
troops were deployed in dif-
ficult terrains. This was the
flexibility of approach and
sense of gaiety even in strin-
gent conditions that mark
the ESPRIT DE CORPS of
this marvelous force so
known for its discipline and
decorum.
However, now as a Veteran I
feel concerned that while on
one hand there is a tremendous
respect towards a soldier in the
society, on the other hand there
is a wanting need for greater
involvement of the policy mak-
ers towards the welfare and
wellbeing of the kith and kin
of our forces to ensure the
maintenance of the high stand-
ards and traditions of our de-
fense forces.
Dear friends, my extensive
tenure in the Olive Greens
has made me doubly sure
that all the childhood impres-
sions of good and evil are not
external as Rama or Ravana
but essentially an internal
process of evolution within
our inner core where we are
constantly at logger heads
with our everyday choices
and paths we take in our
lives. If meaningful tribute is
to be paid to the selfless ex-
alted sacrifices and services
of the armed forces then we
would have to make a con-
scious effort to create a soci-
etyof RavindraNathTagore’s
dream “Where mind is with-
out fear and the head is held
high” So that, there can be a
symphony of synchronized
efforts between the society
and the soldier.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
DIWALI WITH
DIFFERENCE
L
Juxtaposed to
this, a field
posting to snow-
clad mountains,
sizzling desserts
or insurgency
infested areas
has its different
hues and ethos of
Diwali
celebrations.
While in
peacetime all
would gather for
Lakshmi pooja,
in the field area,
the religious head
called Panditji/
Granthi/
Maulavi would
visit each post to
perform pooja
and bless jawans.
Yes, it was really
inspirational to
witness a
symbolic Unit
Mandir visiting
all the posts
where troops
were deployed in
difficult terrains
NOW AS A VETERAN I FEEL
CONCERNED THAT WHILE
ON ONE HAND THERE IS A
TREMENDOUS RESPECT
TOWARDS A SOLDIER IN
THE SOCIETY, ON THE
OTHER HAND THERE IS A
WANTING NEED FOR
GREATER INVOLVEMENT
OF THE POLICY MAKERS
TOWARDS THE WELFARE
AND WELLBEING OF THE
KITH AND KIN OF OUR
FORCES TO ENSURE THE
MAINTENANCE OF THE
HIGH STANDARDS AND
TRADITIONS OF OUR
DEFENSE FORCES
RETD. COL
ANUPAM JAITLY
Defence expert, Motivational
speaker & Corporate Trainer
IN-DEPTH
BJP USING RELIGION IN TN
TO CONSOLIDATE VOTES
emember how the Bharatiya Janata
Party appropriated Sardar Patel from
the Congress and built its own narrative
around the Sardar? By the time Con-
gress realized, it had lost Sardar Patel’s
legacy to the BJP. A similar narrative is unfolding
in Tamil Nadu where the BJP has upset its ally the
AIADMK by appropriating the legacy of its late
leader and former chief minister MG Ramachan-
dran.ThecontroversyeruptedastheBJPlaunched
an over three-minute promotional video on You-
Tube which first shows MGR who changes into
Narendra Modi whom it describes as ‘messenger’
of the legendary chief minister. The background
score talks of unity among people. The promotion-
al video was to be used in BJP’s controversial Ve-
trivel, also called Vel, yatra in the name of reli-
gion, which is another known stratagem used by
the saffron party to win a state election.
A miffed AIADMK protested the use of MGR and
pointed out that the two parties were ideologically
different and the BJP should use pictures of its
own leader. “No other party has the moral right to
use his (MGR) image,” the AIADMK reacted.
The BJP is as desperate to bring Tamil Nadu
under its rule as it is about winning West Bengal.
Like elsewhere in the country the BJP is using re-
ligion to pave its path before its top guns begin
talking about development. Vel yatra, which began
on November 6, is a step towards consolidating
backward Hindu votes as it celebrates Lord Muru-
gan. The party’s national president JP Nadda is
also expected to join the month-long yatra.
R
OBAMA’S APT SKETCH
OF RAHUL, RILES CONG
ormer US President Barack Obama’s un-
complimentary remarks on the Con-
gress leader Rahul Gandhi have met
with strong criticism from the party
leaders. In his memoir “A Promised
Land”, which has been published recently, Obama’s
biographical sketch of Rahul said, “Rahul Gandhi
has ‘a nervous, unformed quality about him as if
he were a student who had done the coursework
and was eager to impress the teacher but deep
down lacked either the aptitude or the passion to
master the subject’.” Obama’s assessment of Rahul
is apt as the Congress scion who turned 50 in June
this year, is still learning the ropes in politics.
Congress watchers have also been repeatedly
saying that Rahul Gandhi does not have the politi-
cal sagacity or acumen to pull his party out of the
depths it has sunk in. He has procrastinated on
decisions concerning leaders like Sachin Pilot and
Jyotiraditya Scindia and has led Congress to one
political defeat after another. So much so, that the
party is now being looked upon as untouchable.
Yet dynasts Rahul, his mother Sonia Gandhi, the
party president and Priyanka Gandhi, party gen-
eral secretary, are impervious to any suggestion
on rejuvenating the party.
Maybe it is time for a rethink on the part of So-
nia Gandhi, who is unable to shake off the old
guard. It is time for Sonia to reconsider the de-
mand of 100 Congress leaders who wrote to her
seeking a change in leadership. Unless the party
bosses are hell-bent on obliteration from the coun-
try’s political map, the reluctant politician should
be allowed to go.
F DIFFERENCEA

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WHO to...
and awareness of tradi-
tional and complemen-
tary medicine.”
“This new centre will
supportWHO’seffortsto
implementtheWHOtra-
ditionalmedicinestrate-
gy 2014-2023 which aims
to support countries in
developing policies and
action plans to strength-
entheroleof traditional
medicineaspartof their
journey to universal
health coverage and a
healthier, fairer and saf-
er world,” he said.
Traditional systems
of medicine such as
Ayurveda can play an
important role in inte-
grated people-centric
health services and
healthcare, but they
have not received
enough attention, the
WHO DG said.
Ghebreyesus also
lauded Prime Minister
Modi for his commit-
ment to the universal
coverage under Ayush-
man Bharat and evi-
dence-based promotion
of traditionalmedicines
to achieve health related
objectives.
ModisaidAyurvedais
India’s heritage whose
expansion entails the
welfare of humanity
and all Indians will be
happy to see that the
country’s traditional
knowledge is enriching
other countries.
“It is a matter of pride
for all Indians that the
WHO has chosen India
for establishing its Glob-
alCentreforTraditional
Medicine. Now work
will be done in this di-
rection from India,”
Modi said.
“I would like to thank
theWHOandparticular-
ly its Director General
Tedros for giving this
responsibility to India. I
am confident that just
like India has emerged
as the pharmacy of the
world, in the same man-
ner this centre for tradi-
tional medicine will be-
come the centre for glob-
al wellness,” he said.
Stressing on bringing
ayurvedaknowledgeout
of books, scriptures and
home remedies and de-
veloping this ancient
knowledge as per mod-
ern needs, Modi said
new research is being
done in the country by
combining information
received from modern
scienceof the21stcentu-
ry with India’s ancient
medical knowledge.
Noting that three
years ago, the All India
Ayurvedic Institute was
established here, he
said Ayurveda is not
just an alternative today
but one of the key basis
of the country’s health
policy. Modi informed
that work is on to devel-
op the National So-
wa-Rigpa Institute for
research and other stud-
ies related to Sowa-Rig-
pa in Leh. The two insti-
tutions in Gujarat and
Rajasthan which have
been upgraded are also
an extension of this de-
velopment, he added.
Congratulating the
two institutes for their
upgradation, the prime
minister pointed out
that they have more re-
sponsibility now and
hoped that they will pre-
pare syllabus for
Ayurveda which meets
internationalstandards.
He also called upon
the Education Ministry
and UGC to find new av-
enues in disciplines like
Ayurveda Physics and
Ayurveda Chemistry.
Modi also urged start-
ups and the private sec-
tortostudyglobaltrends
and demands and en-
sure their participation
in the sector.
Pointing out that
during the coronavirus
period the demand for
Ayurvedic products in-
creased rapidly all over
the world, he said ex-
portsof Ayurvedicprod-
ucts increased by about
45 per cent in September
this year compared to
the previous year.
Hesaidthesignificant
increase in export of
spicesliketurmeric,gin-
ger,consideredasimmu-
nity boosters, shows the
sudden boost in confi-
denceinAyurvedicsolu-
tions and Indian spices
in the world.
In many countries,
drinks related to tur-
meric are also increas-
ing and the world’s pres-
tigiousmedicaljournals
arealsoseeingnewhope
in Ayurveda, he noted.
Modi said that during
the coronavirus period,
the focus was not only
limited to the use of
Ayurveda alone but also
on research related to
AYUSH in the country
and the world.
“Ononehand,Indiais
testing vaccines, on the
other, it is also increas-
ing international coop-
eration on Ayurvedic
research to fight
COVID,” he said.
Modi pointed out that
research is going on in
more than a hundred
places including at the
All India Institute of
Ayurveda in Delhi
which has conducted re-
search related to immu-
nity on 80,000 Delhi Po-
lice personnel.
It may be the world’s
largest group study and
there are encouraging
results, he said. A few
more international tri-
als are to be started, he
added.
FROM PG 1
INDIAAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020
No official comment from Cong,
but party leaders attack Obama
Former US prez gets fire for his remarks on RaGa in his new book ‘A Promised Land’
New Delhi: After Ra-
hul Gandhi was re-
ferred to as a ‘nervous’
leader by former US
President Barack Oba-
ma in his book, Con-
gress chose not to com-
ment on officially,
though party leaders
criticized Obama.
Congress Chief
Spokesperson Randeep
Surjewala said, “May I
humbly remind certain
overzealous friends of
the media running a
sponsored agenda that
we don’t comment on
the individual’s views
in a book... In the past,
a leader has been called
“psychopath” and
“master divider” by
people and agencies. We
didn’t acknowledge
such comments!”
Though other party
leaders objected to it.
“Mr Obama, no one
can know the personal-
ity of any person in 5 to
10 minutes. Sometimes
it takes years. You are
wrong to judge the per-
sonality of Rahul Gan-
dhi ji. You will bite the
dust just wait for some
time,” said Udit Raj, a
party spokesperson.
Congress leader
Archana Dalmia tweet
ed, “We don’t need a Ba-
rack Obama to pass a
judgment on ‘Our Lead-
er’ Rahul Gandhi.”
While Acharya
Pramod Krishnan at-
tacked Obama and said,
“He has hurt the senti-
ments of crores of Con-
gress workers who con-
sider Rahul Gandhi as
God... Those who speak
truth are incompetent
andthosewhospeaklies
are competent and how
did Obama knew that he
is a bad student, was he
with him in the class.”
He termed Obama as an
“andh bhakt”. —ANI
THE REMARK
Former US President Barack Obama with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. —FILE PHOTO
Didn’t say loss in
Bihar due to party
leadership: Anwar
New Delhi: Clarifying
his earlier statement,
Congress leader and
general secretary, Tariq
Anwar on Friday said
that he did not mean
that the loss in Bihar as-
sembly elections was
due to the weak perfor-
mance of the party’s
leadership.
Tariq Anwar said, “I
didn’t say the loss in Bi-
har was due to party
leadership, I only said
we will analyse why we
lost. I also take respon-
sibility as I am from Bi-
har and I am also a gen-
eral secretary of the All
India Congress Com-
mittee (AICC). We will
sit and introspect. We
can’t undo what hap-
pened but will take
learning for future
polls.”
A day earlier, Anwar
said in a tweet, “We
must accept the truth.
Due to the weak perfor-
mance of Congress, Bi-
har was left out of the
Grand Alliance Govern-
ment. MIM’s entry into
Bihar is not an auspi-
cious sign.”
In Bihar elections
2020, of the 243 seats,
125 have gone in favour
of the ruling coalition
of the National Demo-
cratic Alliance headed
by Chief Minister Nit-
ish Kumar in the state
and 110 to rival Grand
Alliance. The Rashtri-
ya Janata Dal emerged
as the single-largest
party in the House with
75 seats. The Lok Jan-
shakti Party won only
one seat. —ANI
Mumbai: Dismissing
the allegations of ille-
gal land deal between
Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray clan and late
interior designer An-
vay Naik’s family, Shiv
Sena leader Sanjay
Raut on Friday said
that his party will en-
sure that BJP sits at
home for 25 years in Ma-
harashtra.
Raut slammed BJP
leader Kirit Somaiya
for making illegal land
dealing charges against
the Thackeray clan and
said: “All these allega-
tions are made to pro-
tect an accused. They
are calling the land deal
illegal but that deal is
completely legal, noth-
ing will be proved.” “We
will make them (BJP)
sit at home not only for
five years but for 25
years,” he added. The
Sena’s chief spokesper-
son’s response comes a
day after Somaiya
raised questions in con-
nection with purchase
of the land jointly by
Thackeray’s wife Rash-
mi and Sena leader
Ravindra Waikar’s wife
Manisha from interior
designer Anvay Naik.
In a tweet, Somaiya
asked whether the po-
litical families had any
business relations with
Naik, who committed
suicide with his mother
in 2018.
Reacting to the alle-
gation made over a land
deal with Anvay Naik,
Raut said, “BJP isn’t
standing for a woman
(wife of Anvay Naik)
who lost her husband...
We are trying to give
justice to that victim
women but the BJP is
trying to divert the in-
vestigation which is a
serious matter.” —ANI
New Delhi: Twitter on
Friday stated that they
had temporarily locked
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah’s account
“due to an inadvertent
error” on November 12
and clarified that the
decision was reversed
immediately and the ac-
count restored.
“Due to an inadvert-
ent error, we temporar-
ily locked this account
under our global copy-
right policies. This deci-
sion was reversed im-
mediately and the ac-
count is fully function-
al,” said a spokesperson
of the microblogging
site. Union Home Min-
ister Amit Shah’s Twit-
ter display picture was
on Thursday removed
by the microblogging
site, in response to a
“report from the copy-
right holder”. —ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
Tariq Anwar
BJPwillsitathomefor25yrsinMaha:
Rautrefutesillegallanddealallegation
Sanjay Raut
Twitter locks Amit Shah’s account
due to inadvertent error, restored
ED’s petition on Kochhars’ assets dismissed
Mumbai: In an alleged
misappropriation in the
ICICI Bank-Videocon
loan matter, the PMLA
Adjudicating Authority
has dismissed an appli-
cation filed by the En-
forcement Directorate
seeking attachment of a
residential flat belong-
ing to the Kochhars and
various wind power as-
sets belonging to
Nupower Renewables
Pvt. Ltd. and its subsidi-
aries. ED had also at-
tached cash of Rs 10.5
Lakhs.
Acting Chairperson
of Adjudicating Author-
ity Tushar V Shah stat-
ed that “the possibility
of a trial taking a long
time cannot justify the
apprehension that the
assets are being con-
cealed or transferred.
Therevelationof modus
would not lead to fritter-
ing of proceeds of crime
during the pendency of
the further investiga-
tion, as the nature of as-
sets concerned and ab-
senceof attempt,cannot
justify the invocation of
emergency provisions
of the second provison
of PMLA... For the rea-
sons flat of Churchgate,
Mumbai, held in the
name of Deepak Viren-
dra Kochhar is not in-
volved in money laun-
dering. For reasons
hereinbefore recorded
provisionally attached
assets of M/s NuPower
Renewables Pvt. Ltd.
and its subsidiaries
namely M/s NuPower
Windfarms Ltd. and
M/s Echanda Urja Pvt.
Ltd. are also not in-
volved in money laun-
dering, order said. —ANI
Bail plea of ‘Computer Baba’ rejected,
case filed for obstructing official work
Indore: Bail plea of
‘Computer Baba’, a for-
mer minister of Mad-
hya Pradesh, has been
rejected and a case has
been registered against
him for obstructing of-
ficial work in Indore on
Thursday.
Additional SP,
Prashant Choubey in-
formed that a case has
been registered against
Computer Baba and he
has been formally ar-
rested on Thursday.
Computer Baba, whose
real name is Namdev
Tyagi, and some of his
supporters were sent to
central jail by SDM on
the charge of obstruct-
ing official work on No-
vember 8. They were
detained for protesting
against the Indore dis-
trict administration’s
demolition drive.
The administration
has demolished Nam-
dev Tyagi’s alleged ille-
gal property from Am-
bikapuri temple and
encroachments in the
Super Corridor area.
Officials are also look-
ing into some bank ac-
counts and documents
of other assets of Com-
puter Baba. On Novem-
ber 9, Congress leader
Digvijaya Singh had
condemned the action
against Computer Baba
and termed it as politi-
cal vendetta. —ANI
Drug-case:
Arjun Rampal’s
friend arrestedIndia test fires
QRSAM
successfully
Mumbai: The Narcot-
ics Control Bureau
(NCB) has arrested
Paul Bartel, a friend of
Bollywood actor Arjun
Rampal, in a drug-re-
lated case here in
Mumbai.
Earlier on Thursday,
theNCBhadsummoned
Rampal to appear for
questioning in connec-
tion with a drug-relat-
ed case. Prior to this,
NCB officials had on
November 9 conducted
a raid at the residence
of Arjun Rampal and
seized some electronic
gadgets. —ANI
Balasore: India on Fri-
day successfully test-
fired the Quick Reac-
tion Surface to Air Mis-
sile (QRSAM) system
off the coast of Balas-
ore in Odisha. The mis-
sile hit its target direct-
ly during the test. The
missile launch took
place from ITR Chand-
ipur at 3.50 PM off the
Odisha coast. The mis-
sile is canisterised for
transportation, the de-
fence ministry said in a
release. —ANI
Chanda Kochhar and Deepak Kochhar. —FILE PHOTO
IMD predicts
thunderstorm in
TN, Puducherry
Chennai: Parts of Ta-
mil Nadu and Puduch-
erry may receive mod-
erate rain on Saturday,
said the India Meteoro-
logical Department
(IMD) on Friday.
“Thunderstorm with
light to moderate rain
likely to occur at a few
places on November 14
over Tamil Nadu, Pu-
ducherry and Karaikal
area. Thunderstorm
with heavy rain likely
to occur at isolated plac-
es over Tirunelveli, Ra-
manathapuram and
Thoothukudi districts
of Tamil Nadu,” IMD
said. The weather agen-
cy said that sky condi-
tions were likely to be
generally cloudy for the
next 48 hours in Chen-
nai city and neighbour-
ing areas. “Light to
moderate rain likely in
some areas. Maximum
and minimum tempera-
tures are likely to be 31
degree Celsius and 25
degree Celsius respec-
tively,” IMD added. —ANI
Amit Shah Namdev Tyagi

Greetings on Deepawali. May
Lord Rama bless us with peace,
prosperity and happiness today
and always.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
In recent bypolls, the Congress won only 11 of the 59 seats and couldn’t retain its own seats
Shishir Awasthi
Ahmedabad: While
the BJP rose to dom-
inance in Bihar in
the Assembly elec-
tions, it has reassert-
ed its supremacy in
the other states
where by-elections
were held this
month.
By-elections need
not always be taken as
political barometers
but the number and na-
ture of the seats and
the diversity of the
states where they were
held make them some-
what representative
and indicative of the
political mood.
That mood is clear,
with the BJP win-
ning 41 of the 59 by-
elections, snatching
most of the seats
from Congress or
other parties. It won
27 seats from Con-
gress in Madhya
Pradesh and Guja-
rat.
The seats in MP
were those vacated by
MLAs loyal to Jyotira-
ditya Scindia, who de-
fected to the BJP to
bring down the Kamal
Nath government. It
also won all eight seats
in Gujarat, six out of
seven in UP, two in
Karnataka and a seat
in Telangana, giving a
surprise blow to the
ruling Telangana
Rashtra Samithi
(TRS).
In Karnataka, it
won two seats which
had been held by
Congress and JD(S).
With the victories,
the BJP has further
consolidated its posi-
tion in states where
it is in power and has
shown the will and
ability to move into
new areas.
They show that the
economic downturn,
the distress caused by
the Covid-19 pandemic
and other issues high-
lighted by the Opposi-
tion have not made an
impression on the peo-
ple in any of the states.
The BJP’s perfor-
mance contrasts
with that of the Con-
gress. The former
gained what the lat-
ter has lost, and
more. While Con-
gress’ poor showing
in the Bihar elec-
tions was the main
reason for the fail-
ure of the Mahagath-
bandhan, which
needed only a few
more seats to reach
the finish line, the
by-elections were
disastrous for the
party. In most of the
seats, it was in direct
contest with the BJP,
and most were seats
which it had held.
NOT JUST GUJARAT, CONG SLIDE
CONTINUES IN OTHER STATES TOO
After A’bad, fire
breaks out in Surat
chemical godown
First India Bureau
Surat: Days after the
chemical godown ex-
plosion in
Ahmedabad, 2 inci-
dents of fire were re-
ported from Surat
and one of them was
in a chemical factory
godown. However, no
injuries were report-
ed in any of them.
A fire preceded by a
loud blast was reported
at the Gurukrupa In-
dustries in the Bhestan
area. Not only was the
unit shut down, the
panic created by the in-
cident led several pow-
erloom units to close
down immediately.
The second incident
was reported in a slum
in Udhana area of the
city. Here, a fire was re-
ported from the slum
where 3 shanties were
reduced to ashes. The
fire in the slums was
caused by bursting of
firecrackers in the lo-
cality.
Gurukrupa factory
incident is the scond
such incident in a
chemical factory in a
week. Earlier, a fire in
a godown where
chemical was stored
led to a blast in a tex-
tile unit in Pirana-
Pipdaj in Ahmedabad
area, killing 12 peo-
ple and injuring 10.
First India Bureau
Surat: Surat became
the first city to final-
ise a project under the
affordable rental
housing scheme for
migrant workers an-
nounced by the Cen-
tre in May, Secretary
of the Union Ministry
of Housing and Urban
Affairs (MoHUA) Dur-
ga Shanker Mishra
said on Friday.
The Covid-19 crisis
has finally shaken the
government towards
the plight of the mi-
grant workers, who
were already worse off
when the pandemic
struck.
The Affordable Rent-
al Housing Complex
(ARHC) scheme under
the Ministry’s Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana-
Urban (PMAY-U) was
announced by Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman on May 14 as
a part of the govern-
ment’s economic pack-
age in the wake of the
pandemic.
Under the scheme,
private firms will be
given unoccupied gov-
ernment housing pro-
jects to refurbish and
operate as rental hous-
ing.
Mishra said the Su-
rat Municipal Corpo-
ration had become
the first in the coun-
try to finalise an
ARHC for migrant la-
bour with 393 one-
bedroom flats in the
city’s Sachin area.
“These flats were
completed in 2014 by
SUDA & were lying va-
cant. Shripad Consult-
ants, Surat, won the bid
under Model-1 of
ARHC. They retrofit,
maintain & operate the
complex to house mi-
grant labour and pay 18
crore positive premium
to SUDA over 25 years,”
Mishra said in a tweet.
“This will provide
dignified living to mi-
grant workers, who are
coming back to cities,
close to their workplac-
es & will boost econom-
ic activities in multi-
farious ways,” he said
in another tweet.
Mishra urged other
States and cities to fi-
nalise bids for such
schemes.
Migrant Care: Surat’s first affordable housing project
REHABILITATION OF SORTS
The city has set up affordable
rental housing scheme for
migrant workers
CONGRESS FALL
BJP to continue
Bhupendra Yadav
as Guj in-charge
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The
BJP on Friday an-
nounced its new
team of state in-
charges, but has de-
cided to continue
Bhupender Yadav
as the in-charge for
Gujarat and Bihar.
Yadav will be as-
sisted by party na-
tional secretaries
Harish Dwivedi and
Anupam Hazara, ac-
cording to a state-
ment.
Among the new in-
charges, party vice-
president Radha Mo-
han Singh has been
appointed to the po-
litically crucial Uttar
Pradesh.
Kailash Vijayvargi-
ya will continue to be
the in-charge of West
Bengal and he will be
assisted by BJP na-
tional secretary
Arvind Menon and
party national IT cell
head Amit Malviya.
The appointments
come more than a
month after BJP
president J P Nadda
announced a new
team of party nation-
al office bearers.
Similarly, party na-
tional secretary
Satya Kumar, Sunil
Ojha and Sanjeev
Chaurasia will assist
Singh in Uttar
Pradesh. Singh will
also look after the
party’’s work in Ra-
jasthan.
The BJP has ap-
pointed party vice
president Baijayant
Panda as in-charge
of Delhi and Assam,
while its general sec-
retary C T Ravi will
be in-charge of Ma-
harashtra, Goa and
Tamil Nadu, the
statement said.
BJP Gujarat affairs in-charge Bhupendra Yadav.
COURTESY VISIT
Governor of Rajasthan Kalraj Mishra with Jagdeesh Chandra at Rajbhavan, Jaipur during a courtesy visit paid by the latter on the occasion of Deepavali on Friday afternoon.
A fire engulfed chemicals godown in Surat.
First housing colony getting ready in Surat.
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
3,791
DEATHS
1,86,116
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
2,044 DEATHS 2,21,471 CASES
DELHI
WORLD
13,04,480
DEATHS
5,34,30,713
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
87,61,510
CONFIRMED CASES
1,29,100
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
45,809 DEATHS 17,40,461 CASES
TAMIL NADU
11,454 DEATHS 7,54,460 CASES
UTTAR PRADESH

DILWALON KI DIWALI
irstIndiafamilycelebrat-
ed the Festival of Lights
on the eve of Diwali with
a feeling of togetherness
and joy of festivities.
Jagdeesh Chandra, Tol-
lywood actress Kriti
Garg, Founder of Hashtag Blunt
Yasheel Pandel, Gaurav Gaur,
Akanksha Bhalla and the beauti-
fulmodelsof EliteMissRajasthan
graced the occasion. Yogesh
Mishra and his team of beautiful
models of Miss Rajasthan graced
the evening with their presence.
The evening was a celebration
of Deepavali with team games,
singing and dancing by all the
guests present there. A special
show of the celebration same
was also recorded and will be tel-
ecast on First India News today
at 7:55 pm.
F
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
First India family wishes you a very happy and prosperous Diwali. May all your
wishes come true and you achieve everything you have ever wished for!
Jagdeesh Chandra with Kriti Garg, models, celebrities, special guests and Syed Umar with the First India family on the Deepavali celebration. —PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA
Jagdeesh Chandra with Akanksha and Kriti Arpita sets the stage on fire with ‘Sauda Khara Khara’ number
Jagdeesh Chandra with Akanksha and Gaurav
Yasheel and Meith Pandel
The two teams ‘Pataka’ and ‘Dhamaka’ make rangolis
during the festive games with Shweta anchoring the showClockwise: Ayushi Shekhawat,
Kriti Garg, Mansi Bainada and Tarannum Khan
AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 14, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09

10-11
SIYAVAR RAMCHANDRA KI JAI AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FIRST INDIA- JAIPUR. AHMEDABAD. LUCKNOW.
www.firstindia.co.in www.firstindia.co.in/newspaper /thefirstindia /thefirstindia /thefirstindia
TATA SKY - 1182, AIRTEL - 361, DEN - 334, HATHWAY - 780, SITI NETWORK - 369, FW Radiant - 340, Nxt Digital 331, RM NETWORK 122
CREDIBLE NEWS | CREDIBLE JOURNALISMNEWS FOR THE DISCERNING READER

12
CITY BUZZAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
DIWALI PUJAN!
SPOTTED!
Jagdeesh
Chandra with the
First India family
members at the
channel and
newspaper office
during the Laxmi
Pujan, organised
on Friday at
both places for
prosperity and
good health of
one and all.
—PHOTOS
BY SANTOSH
SHARMA
FROM PG 11
Bollywood
actor Rajiv
Khandelwal
was spotted
on Friday
morning at
Jhalana Leopard
Reserve in
Jaipur. Jaipur
happens to be
his hometown,
and he is in
the Pink City to
celebrate the
Diwali festival
with his family
members.
—PHOTO
BY MUKESH
KIRADOO
—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA
Shweta leads the bevy of beauties to the tune of the popular number ‘Lehenga’
Poonam grooves to the beats
Kriti Garg shows the way with her thumkas
as team ‘Dhamaka’ looks on
Mona Gautam aces
the traditional look
Megha feeds a sweet to a blindfolded Vaishali during
a game as Jyoti waits her turn with Shweta and Mansi
egging on the participants
DIGITAL
BAAL
MELACITY FIRST
O
n the occasion
of Diwali, a new
campaign, ‘Digi-
tal Baal Mela’,
will take place, espe-
cially for the children
of Rajasthan. In order
to improve the talent
of the children at
home, Rajasthan is go-
ing to host the first dig-
ital children’s fair in
the country. The Digi-
tal Baal Mela by LIC
will be hosting 10 types
of activities for the
children to participate
in it.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
DILWALONKIDIWALI
Shahnawaz clicks a selfie with Anita, Syed Umar, Nandini and Nehal
CITY FIRST
overdhanPujaorAnna-
koot will be celebrated
on 15 November, a day
which commemorates
the incident when Lord
Krishna lifted the Go-
vardhan Hill to provide
sheltertothevillagersof
Vrindavan from torren-
tial rains. As per the scrip-
tures, the folks of Vrinda-
van used to offer lavish meals
to the God of rain and storm,
Lord Indra to ensure that he
blessesthemwithproperrainfall
and good harvest. But Child
Krishna found the practice to be
too harsh for the small-time
farmers, and he convinced them
to discontinue making these of-
feringstoLordIndraandinstead
feed their families. This enraged
Lord Indra, who sent down rain
and thunderstorm out of anger
in Vrindawan. The rains contin-
ued for days.
The village folk were
afraid and they ap-
proached Krish-
na for help
who then
a s k e d
every-
one to proceed to the Govardhan
hill. When they arrived, Lord
Krishna lifted the entire hill
withhislittlefinger,peopletrick-
led under the hill to take shelter
from the storm. Krishna was
there for seven days, held the
mountain for 7 days on his little
finger. Finally, Indra had to bow
to the might of Krishna and stop
the rains. After this episode,
women of Vrindavan cooked 56
dishes for Krishna. It is believed
that Krishna took 8 meals in a
day. As he had stood there for
seven days without any food, the
women decided to make up for it
with a lavish Chappan bhog.
Thus,itcameoutthatGodwill
protect all devotees who take full
refuge in him. So, devotees offer
a mountain of food, metaphori-
cally representing the Govard-
han Hill, to God as a ritual re-
membrance and to renew their
faith in taking refuge in God.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
GovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhan
G
GovardhanPoojaiscelebratedimmediatelyafterDiwaliin
commemorationofLordKrishna’svictoryoverLordIndra
GovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhanGovardhan
HAPPYHAPPY

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