Prime Minister Narendra Modi digitally flagged off eight trains connecting the Statue of Unity in Kevadia to various Indian cities. He also inaugurated Kevadia railway station, the nation's first greenfield railway station. Modi further inaugurated the Dabhoi-Chandod Broad Gauge railway line and Chandod-Kevadia New Broad Gauge Railway Line. The Statue of Unity has emerged as a major tourist destination, boosting employment. Over 50 lakh people have visited the statue since its inauguration, more than visitors to the Statue of Liberty. A survey estimates 1 lakh people will be able to visit Kevadia through the new railway network.

1. First India Bureau
Kevadia: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
digitally flagged off
eight trains connect-
ing the world’s tall-
est statute to various
cities of India. He
also inaugurated the
newly built railway
station at Kevadia,
which is the nation’s
first green-field rail-
way station. In addi-
tion, the Prime Min-
ister also inaugurat-
ed the Dabhoi-Chan-
dod Broad Gauge
railway line, Chan-
dod-Kevadia New
Broad Gauge Rail-
way Line, Dabhoi
Junction, and the
new building of
Chandod Railway
Station.
Governor Acharya
Devvrat and Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani
were present at the Ke-
vadia railway station.
During his virtual
address, the Prime
Minister said, “The
Statue of Unity at
Kevadia has emerged
as one of the finest
tourist destinations
on the globe thereby
opening doors of em-
ployment and self-
employment for the
tribal people. This
project is truly in
tune with the vision
and mission of ‘Ek
Bharat, Shrestha
Bharat’ of Sardar
Patel. It will connect
the culture, heritage
and tribal traditions
of the region to vari-
ous parts of India
and the world.” More
than 50 lakh people
have visited SOU
since its inaugura-
tion. This is higher
than the footfall at
Statue of Liberty in
the Unites States. A
survey states that as
many as 1 lakh peo-
ple will be able to
visit Kevadia
through the railway
network.
The Ekta Mall will
empower tribal women
by engaging them in
handicrafts and his-
torical art. This will
also help in showcas-
ing tribal art to the
world. About 200 hous-
es have been converted
into home-stays, to fur-
ther boost employment
opportunities.
PM appeals to follow Sardar’s vision ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’
To dedicate
Ahmedabad
Metro phase
II on Monday
SOU CONNECT
The newly built Kevadia railway station is the nation’s first green-field railway station.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
HI-TECH MASS TRANSPORTATION
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AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 54
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi has been invited
by the United Kingdom
to attend the G7 summit
to be held in the coun-
try’s Cornwall region
in June. The group that
includes the world’s
seven leading demo-
cratic economies -- UK,
Canada, France, Ger-
many, Italy, Japan, the
USA -- and the Europe-
an Union, will discuss
global issues like the
coronavirus pandemic,
climate change and
open trade. UK Prime
Minister Boris John-
son, who had cancelled
his India visit for this
year’s Republic Day
event because of the de-
tection of the mutant
strain of the virus in
Britain, is likely to visit
the country “ahead of
the G7”, a press state-
ment read.
Apart from India,
Australia and South Ko-
rea have also been in-
vited to the summit.
“UK Prime Minister
Boris Johnson will use
the first in-person G7
summit in almost two
years to ask leaders, in-
cluding Indian Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, to seize the op-
portunity to build back
better from coronavi-
rus, uniting to make the
future fairer, greener
and more prosperous,”
the statement read.
Turn to P6
BorisinvitesModiforG7,may
visitIndiabeforetheSummit
New Delhi: More
than 224,300 people
have been vacci-
nated against the
coronavirus dis-
ease so far, out of
which only 447 re-
ported adverse ef-
fects and only
three had to be ad-
mitted to hospitals,
the Union health
ministry said on
the second day of
the nationwide
vaccination drive
on Sunday.
17,072 people re-
ceived the vaccine
on Day 2 of the vac-
cination drive in
six states said
Manohar Agnani,
a senior health
ministry official
Lucknow: Amid specu-
lation as to the future of
babu turned netaji AK
Sharma, in UP politics,
highly placed sources
in the power corridors
of BJP and in the know-
how of developments in
the state reveal, that
Sharma can be named
as the deputy chief
minister of Uttar
Pradesh with an impor-
tant and impressive
portfolio of Home and
Department of Person-
nel. However, it is said
that there will not be an
addition to the already
existing two DyCM po-
sitions rather the cur-
rent Deputy CM -
Dinesh Sharma - will be
moved to the equally
important position of
Chairman of the Legis-
lative Council since the
current Chairman -
Ramesh Yadav’s term
ends on January 30.
447 REPORTED
ADVERSE
EFFECTS AFTER
VACCINATION, 3
IN HOSPITAL: GOVT
SHARMA MAY GET HOME AND DOP
Nepal will be
1st to get our
vaccine: India
New Delhi: The Naren-
dra Modi government
has given iron clad as-
surances to Nepal that
it will be among the
first countries to re-
ceive India developed
twin Covid-19 vaccines,
supply schedule of
which will be an-
nounced in the coming
week. This assurance
was conveyed to Nepa-
lese foreign minister
Pradeep Gyawali dur-
ing his visit to New
Delhi for the Joint Com-
mission Meeting with
external affairs minis-
ter Subramanyam Jais-
hankar.
SC TO HEAR PLEAS ON
FARM LAWS TODAYApex Court will also hear plea on proposed tractor march on Jan 26
New Delhi: Five days
after it stayed the imple-
mentation of the new
farm laws till further
orders, the Supreme
Court will on Monday
hear again the pleas re-
lating to contentious
laws as well as the ongo-
ing farmers’ protest at
Delhi borders.
The top court will also
hear the plea of the cen-
tral government, filed
though the Delhi Police,
seeking an injunction
against the proposed
tractor march or any
other kind of protest by
farmers which seeks to
disrupt the gathering
and celebrations of Re-
publicDayonJanuary26
During the hearing,
the apex court may take
into account the matter
of recusal of a member
of the four-member pan-
el set up Turn to P6
DOUBLING FARMERS’
INCOME MODI GOVT’S
PRIORITY: AMIT SHAH
 Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said
doubling farmers income was the biggest prior-
ity of the Narendra Modi government and that the
three farm laws would
ensure manifold hike
in their earnings,
reported PTI.
 Since coming
to power, the Modi
government had
increased the budget
for the farm sector
and also MSP for
various crops, he
said. “I want to say
that if there is any big
priority of the Narendra Modi government it is to
double the farmers income,” he said at an event in
Kerakalmatti village in Karnataka.
 Amit Shah also listed out various central pro-
grammes for the welfare of the farmers.
Farmers sitting inside their tractor-trolley amid their protest
against the new farm laws at Singhu Border in New Delhi.
FIle photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with
British counterpart Boris Johnson.
AK Sharma
ebutant Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur punched above
their weight with splendid half-centuries to keep Australia at bay
and India bullish after an engrossing third day’s play in the series-
deciding fourth Test here on Sunday. Australia’s openers — David
Warner (20) and Marcus Harris (1) — saw out six overs, and
extended the home team’s lead to 54 by stumps after India’s first
innings ended at 336. However, Australia’s lead could have been much more had
it not been for a delightful 123-run partnership for the seventh wicket between
Washington (62) and Shardul (67), who defied and then attacked the rival bowl-
ing attack with gusto at the hostile Gabba track in Brisbane.
D
We expect that farmers discuss
the laws clause-wise on January
19 and tell government what they
want other than the repeal of the laws
—Narendra Singh Tomar, Agriculture Minister
AFTER PANEL DEBACLE
Ati
Sundar
Thakur!

2. NEWSAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021
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31 PRIVATE CORPS TO OPEN MARKET IN STATE SOON
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With the
ongoing farmers’ agita-
tion in the country, the
farming laws that have
invited private players
in the agriculture sec-
tor do not seem to have
lost their impetus. De-
spite protests by fam-
ers for almost two
months, the Gujarat
State Agricultural Mar-
keting Board has grant-
ed permission to 31 pri-
vate companies to open
a market in the state
where purchase and
sale of agricultural
produce will be under-
taken. In the wake of
this new development,
state legislative assem-
bly Leader of Opposi-
tion Paresh Dhanani
has alleged that the
government has paved
the way for the corpo-
rates to take over the
agricultural sector at
the cost of cooperative
societies.
The new agricultural
laws have called for the
abolishment of the AP-
MCs (Agricultural Pro-
duce Market Commit-
tees) to reportedly “cut
out the middleman be-
tween farmers and buy-
ers of their produce”.
However, this particu-
lar caveat has been
heavily opposed by
farmers across the
country. It has resulted
in adversely affecting
such cooperative sec-
tors and committees in
the state.
Currently, there are
224 such cooperatives,
which are all in bad
shape. “Despite the co-
operative sector not do-
ing well, why are a
handful of corporate
excited to open mar-
kets? There are even
markets that have
stopped releasing pay-
ments to their employ-
ees after the new agri-
cultural laws were an-
nounced. Three APMCs
namely Dhari, Hansot,
and Mangrol, intro-
duced a pay cut when
the new ordinance was
introduced. Kutiyana
APMC laid off people,”
stated Dhanani.
“There are some AP-
MCs who do not have
land to conduct busi-
ness. They include
Kotda Sangani,
Kadana, Sojitra and
Umargam. Other AP-
MCs have pushed mer-
chants out of their
market yards and Bar-
avala and Umrala mar-
kets have closed down
due to lack of income,”
added Dhanani.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat Pradesh Con-
gress Committee
(GPCC) has an-
nounced a ‘Maha Jan
Sampark Abhiyan’ to
be held for the next 10
days. The campaign
will include massive
public meetings in
102 district panchay-
ats, 8 taluka panchay-
ats, 21 municipalities
and 6 municipal cor-
porations of the state,
where leaders will
meet the citizens and
discuss the problems
faced by them. These
issues will then be in-
cluded in the party’s
manifesto for the up-
coming local body
elections, likely to be
held next month.
“For the next 10 days,
the GPCC will launch
the ‘Maha Jan Sam-
park Abhiyan’ in all
district panchayats, ta-
luka panchayats, mu-
nicipalities and munic-
ipal corporations of
the state. In the forth-
coming local body
polls, the Congress
party plans to under-
stand the problems en-
countered by people.
The selection process
of Congress party can-
didates for polls is cur-
rently in its final stag-
es,” said Rajiv Satav,
state incharge of All
India Congress Com-
mittee (AICC).
Elaborating on the
candidates being fi-
nalized for upcoming
polls, Satav said,
“Around 50% of the
tickets will be offered
to new faces this time
around. Also, elected
representatives who
have been active with
the party will be giv-
en tickets to contest
polls.”
GPCC president
Amit Chavda said,
“Keeping in view the
current situation in
Gujarat, the Congress
party has launched its
‘Hello Gujarat’ cam-
paign to address the
concerns of the people.
It has revealed that
there is a huge commu-
nication gap between
the government offi-
cials and the public.”
The ‘Maha Jan Sam-
park Abhiyan’ will be
launched across Guja-
rat from today, in
which a total of 20
leaders including all
senior leaders of the
GPCC, office-bearers
of the state organiza-
tion as well as elected
representatives will
interact with people in
every corner of the
state. Set to culminate
on January 28, the
campaign will focus on
problems such as farm-
er hardships, electric-
ity, water for irriga-
tion, roadways, water
scarcity, recession and
corruption.
Cong to embark on ‘Maha Jan
Sampark Abhiyan’ from today
Several APMCs in the state have reported low income and possible shut down post the implementation of the new agricultural laws. —FILE PHOTOS
Forest dept issues
leopard alert in
Ahmedabad’s Vastral
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
state forest depart-
ment has found
tracks of a leopard in
the Vastral area of
the city. Preliminary
investigation has un-
earthed the suspicion
that the big cat may
have entered the area
in search of prey.
Taking quick ac-
tion to ensure that
none of the citizens
become victims of
the leopard, the de-
partment has issued
notificationsandleaf-
lets in the Vastral
area. It has appealed
to local residents not
to venture out of
their homes at night.
Officialshaveadvised
that when stepping
out in the evening, all
citizens must carry a
torch with them.
Those associated
with the animal hus-
bandry sector have
also been asked not to
sleep on open
grounds until either
the forest depart-
ment captures the
leopard or receives
confirmation that it
has returned to its
habitat.
Teams have been
deployed to trace the
tracks of the leopard
in the area so that it
can be captured be-
fore any domestic
animal or human be-
comes its victim.
The temple compound in Vastral where the leopard’s tracks
were found.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In a
shocking incident,
tortured by her
brother-in-laws men-
tal harassment, a
woman consumed
pills and phenyl in an
attempt to commit
suicide in the city. El-
lisbridge police have
lodged a complaint
against the woman’s
brother-in-law for
blackmailing, rap-
ing, mentally tortur-
ing and abetting her
suicide.
Tripada (name
changed), a resident of
Ambawadi area of the
city, had gone to Bora-
na village in Limbdi
taluka of Surendrana-
gar district to attend
her niece’s wedding in
2018. That is where she
met her distant cousin
Yogesh Rathod, who
then visited her resi-
dence in Ahmedabad
on February 06, last
year on her son’s first
birthday party.
In her complaint,
the 30-year-old stated
that on the day of her
son’s party, Rathod
showed her photo-
graphs and videos of
her taking a bath.
When she asked him
about it, he respond-
ed that he had record-
ed it all whenever he
visited her residence
in the past. “He forced
me to have physical
relations with him
and blackmailed me
by threatening to
show the pictures and
videos to my children
and husband,” stated
the complainant.
“On December 13 last
year, Yogesh visited me
at my Ambawadi resi-
dence where he threat-
ened and raped me
again. He warned me
that if I did not marry
him, he will reveal eve-
rything to my family
members,” she added.
In order to buy his
silence, Tripada stole
jewellery and cash from
her home and fled to
Surendranagar to meet
the accused. She was
once again raped by
Rathod on December
15. Two days later, the
victim consumed pills
and phenyl to take her
life. She is currently
undergoing treatment
at a hospital.
Police have regis-
tered a case against
the accused under
various sections of
the IPC and launched
a manhunt to appre-
hend Rathod.
Woman attempts suicide, blames
brother-in-law for blackmail and rape
EXTREME STEP
The Gujarat Agricultural Marketing Board has granted approval to the new development even as farmers continue their protest
GPCC prez Amit Chavda announcing the launch of the campaign in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Despite the cooperative sector not
doing well, why are a handful of
corporate excited to open markets?
There are even markets that have stopped
releasing payments to their employees after
the new agricultural laws were announced.
Three APMCs namely Dhari, Hansot, and
Mangrol, introduced a pay cut when the
new ordinance was introduced. Kutiyana
APMC laid off people.
— Paresh Dhanani, Leader of Opposition
Tracks of the big
cat have been
found in the area;
residents have
been asked to stay
in and not venture
out at night
Threatened by the
accused with
pictures and videos,
the victim even stole
jewellery and cash
from her own home
to ‘buy’ his silence,
to no avail
Party leaders will interact with the people for the next 10 days and address various issues ahead of local body polls

3. GUJARATAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021
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13,274 CoronaWarriors
vaccinated on Day 1 in Guj
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: On
the first day of the
COVID-19 vaccina-
tion drive, a total of
13,274 people in-
cluding medical su-
perintendents and
health workers
across the state
were given their
first doses of the
vaccine. The second
dose is to be taken
after four weeks. It
is to be noted that
the state has re-
ceived 18,000 doses
of the vaccine.
In Gujarat, Day 1 of
the national immuni-
zation drive saw
health workers and
others who have been
working on the front-
lines of the state’s bat-
tle against the Sars-
CoV-2 virus take their
jabs at 161 centres be-
tween 11 am and 6 pm.
This included doctors,
nursing staff, techni-
cians, ward boys,
nurses, and cleaners.
Senior doctors were
the first to receive
their shots and then
took charge of vacci-
nating the others.
About 82% of the
vaccination target
was achieved, the
state government’s
health department
said. However, in
Ahmedabad, only
1,115 health workers
took the vaccine,
against the govern-
ment’s estimated plan
to vaccinate 2,000 peo-
ple at 20 centres in the
city.
Arrangements had
been made to give 100
persons the shot at
each of the centres,
but health workers in
Ahmedabad seemed
reluctant to come for-
ward. As a result, the
city only managed to
hit about 60% of its
target.
Vaccination will
continue in the same
manner, until about
4.40 lakh “Corona
Warriors” including
medical staff, and po-
lice, revenue, and pan-
chayat personnel are
vaccinated.
Two in uniform allegedly extorted NRI and then robbed him of cash and valuables at check point into A’bad
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A week
after the Isanpur po-
lice booked two home
guard jawans for ex-
tortion, the Ramol po-
lice have now regis-
tered a complaint
against two more
jawans for robbing
and extorting an NRI,
on Saturday evening.
Interestingly, the cur-
rent case seems to
have had officials
stumped for close to a
month.
In his statement,
43-year-old US-resident
Snehal Jasubhai Patel
toldthepolicethathefre-
quently makes trips to
his hometown of Unjha
in Mehsana district.
This time, he landed in
Mumbai in December,
and after going through
a home quarantine, he
andhiscousinweredriv-
ing down to Unjha. On
December10,whenPatel
and his cousin entered
Ahmedabad city from
the Express Highway,
theirvehiclewasstopped
by two persons in khaki
uniforms. Patel in-
formed the two jawans
that he was carrying a
bottle of alcohol, pur-
chased from the liquor
shop at the Mumbai In-
ternational Airport.
Armedwiththisinfor-
mation, the two jawans
threatened to file a com-
plaint against them and
seizetheirvehicle.Even-
tually, Patel gave in to
their arm-twisting and
paid them Rs18,000 and
gave them the alcohol he
had been carrying.
It wasn’t until much
later that Patel realized
that persons in khaki
had robbed him of his
sunglasses, wireless
headphones and had
even taken leather belts.
He complained about
the incident to
AhmedabadPoliceCom-
missioner Sanjay Sriv-
astava, who then in-
structed Deputy Com-
missioner (Zone-5) to
lookintotheallegations.
After almost a
month’s inquiry, the
DCP (Zone-5) was final-
ly able to identify the
two home guard jawans
and lodged a complaint
against them.
Another police case lodged
against home guard jawans
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Most
government agencies
have been advocat-
ing—and also practis-
ing—going paperless
ever since the Centre
launched the Digital
India campaign. How-
ever, in order to main-
tain digital records,
officials first need to
digitize old, offline re-
cords.
This seems to be a
problem for the
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation, which has
admitted to not having
birth records for at least
one of its centres.
“This is a really
strange reply. In fact,
this exposes the corrupt
and careless system of
the health department.
First they refused to
give us information,
even after filing an RTI
application. The, when
we filed an appeal, the
medical officer gave a
written reply that there
are no records available
for the Chimanlal Chho-
talal municipal clinic
and maternity home,”
said Munaf Memon,
who asked for the infor-
mation.
Memon went on to
say that this reply
raised many questions.
“How come records of a
unit managed by the
AMC is not available?
How many deliveries
were recorded between
1955 to 1990? I was in-
formed that there is no
record or register
which contains details
of the mother, child,
and their addresses,” he
said.
Memon added that he
suspects the records
were destroyed inten-
tionally. If that is true,
he said, those involved
must be punished to the
fullest extent of crimi-
nal law.
“This issue must be
investigated thorough-
ly. I suspect the same is
the case with other ma-
ternity homes and oth-
er records. Those in-
volved must be pun-
ished,” he added.
A’bad civic body accepts not having detailed birth records in RTI
MISSING DATA
Cops trying to identify
person whose skeleton
was discovered in field
State sees minor
uptick in daily jump
with 518 new cases
First India Bureau
Valsad: Police are try-
ing to identify skeletal
remains found a skel-
eton in a sugarcane
field in Sonavada vil-
lage falling under the
jurisdiction of the
Dungri police station.
Having conducted the
panchnama, the police
have sent the remains
for postmortem.
Officialssaidtheysus-
pect that the deceased
wasagedbetween30and
35 years.
Dungri Police Station
officer said that Suman
Patel, a farmer in Sona-
vada, had called to in-
form the police that he
had found a skeleton in
his field. When they
reached the spot, senior
policeofficersfoundthat
the skeleton had been
burnt. They also discov-
ered a half-burnt pair of
jeans.Theofficerfurther
said that farmers work-
ing in Patel’s field had
found the body first and
informedthefieldowner.
He added that the skele-
tonmayhavebeenburnt
when the workers burnt
the stubble after the sug-
arcane was harvested.
The police have
checkedmissingpersons
cases but have not found
anyone matching the
skeletal remains.
The remains will next
besenttotheDirectorate
of Forensic Sciences for
further examination.
Thecaseisbeinginvesti-
gated by Sub-Inspector
JS Rajput.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Sunday
brought 518 fresh cas-
es of COVID-19 across
the state, taking the
total case load to
2,55,872 since March
2020. This is a slight
rise from Saturday’s
505 cases. However,
there was a drop in the
number of fatalities,
with Ahmedabad re-
porting the only two
deaths across the state
in the 24 hours ended
5 pm on Sunday. Guja-
rat’s total death toll
has now reached 4,365.
Ahmedabad also re-
ported the highest num-
ber of new cases in the
past 24 hours. However,
not a single district re-
ported more than 100
cases. Ninety-four of the
99casesreportedonSun-
day in Ahmedabad dis-
trictwerereportedareas
underthemunicipalcor-
poration, and five in ru-
ral pockets.
Vadodara reported 89
cases—63 cases from ru-
ral pockets, and 26 cases
from urban areas. Surat
reported 86 cases, of
which 78 were from the
city and eight cases,
from rural areas.
Atotalof fivedistricts
reported zero new cases:
Valsad,Navsari,Mahisa-
gar, Aravalli, and Dang.
COVID-19 testing in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTOThe remains being transported for postmortem
In order to
maintain
digital
records,
officials
first need to
digitize old,
offline re-
cords—which
the AMC
doesn’t have
A medic is vaccinated in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The case has been registered at the Ramol police station. —FILE PHOTO
Kin of woman killed in accident suspect murder
First India Bureau
Surat: The parents of
a 21-year-old woman,
who died after being
rammed by a car
from behind on a
morning walk on
January 8, have ac-
cused her husband
and father-in-law of
having her murdered
to benefit from the
Rs15 lakh life insur-
ance they had taken
out in her name.
The police had initial-
ly registered a case of
accidental death, but
havedecidedtolookinto
the new allegations.
According to a com-
plaint filed by the fam-
ily of the deceased,
Shalini had married
Anuj Yadav in 2017.
“She was harassed
from the start, and her
in-laws also demanded
dowry,” her father re-
portedly told the police.
“The family usually
never wake up before
10am, but somehow
they were awake that
day at 5am,” he added.
COOL BOAT!
Amdavadis lined up on the Sardar Bridge to check out the AMC’s new mini cruise vessel on Sunday. The fully
air-conditioned 70-person craft is currently parked on the Sabarmati river near NID. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
BIZARRE INCIDENT
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
518 new cases, two
fatalities take state
tally to 2,55,872
cases, toll to 4,365

4. G Vol 2 G Issue No. 54 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021
04www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
IN-DEPTH
n India, agriculture, with its al-
lied segments, is the key to eco-
nomic wellbeing. It is the larg-
est source of livelihood of a
country with such a massive
population. 70% of rural
households are still subordi-
nate to agriculture for their
livelihood, with 82% of farm-
ers being small and marginal.
The Indian agriculture sector
contributes 18% to GDP or
Gross Domestic Product and
employs 50% of our workforce.
Up to 80 % of the workforce in-
volved in agriculture consists
of the women population.
We grew up thinking and
conceiving the notion of a
farmer as a male. Farming has
manifested itself as a male-
dominated profession. Women
are often absent from these
farming narratives. Farmers,
in general, are perceived as
men by any politician, media
houses, or any other organiza-
tion. A woman doesn’t get fea-
tured as much as a man when it
comes to the agriculture sector.
MSSwaminathan,thefamous
agricultural scientist, says,
“some historians believe that it
was women who first domesti-
cated crop plants and thereby
initiated the art and science of
farming. While men went out
hunting in search of food, wom-
en started gathering seeds from
the native flora and began culti-
vatingthoseof interestfromthe
point of view of food, feed, fod-
der, fiber, and fuel“.
And then, what happened to
this promising, aspiring fe-
male farmer. Over time her
narrative got forgotten. From
the forefront, she went to back-
doors. With the current mas-
sive protests by Indian farm-
ers, the question remains to be
answered, where our female
farmers are? Their day does
not end with the fieldwork,
then remains the household
work to be finished and chil-
dren to be taken care of. Indian
Women farmers are mired with
responsibilities. It makes them
hugely occupied. There are
very feeble chances of their be-
ing seen on the streets of India
to protest against bills.
A Fistful of grains offered to
the market has never got a
place in the science or socio-
political journals but it is the
genesis of toil and sweat that
thrives potentially on the foot-
prints of those forgotten fe-
male farmers. Inherent gender
bias in the economic system,
for example regularly limits a
woman’s access to credit.
That’s especially true for small
stakeholder female farmers in
developing countries such as
India where cultural norms
and lack of collateral often pre-
vent women from getting rec-
ognition. Without adequate
funds for capital investments,
female farmers are less likely
than men to buy and invest in
fertilizer, drought-resistant
seeds, sustainable agricultural
practices, and other advanced
farming machines and tech-
niques that increase crop
yields. Talking to various fe-
male farmers of Rajasthan I
have felt their vocal urgencies
of these constraints.
Empowerment through
grassroots innovation is slow
to reach the thriving borders of
the villages where the woman
is working hard that too utterly
unnoticed. It is worth question-
ing the gender stereotypes in
agriculture by making woman
farmers more visible. Repre-
senting over half the workforce
in farming and harvesting, In-
dian women have an essential
role to play in an agricultural
workforce. The rural frontier is
the backbone of the economy
of a country like India and the
narrative of female farmers
needs to be addressed. While
they go missing from the
streets of protests, we need to
pay heed to where their ener-
gies are invested. Despite
heartbreaking conditions such
as physical constraints, it is
worthy to remember how re-
sourceful these women could
be to society. Female farmers
put extra effort (worldwide,
women work more hours per
year than men), but unfortu-
nately, they substantially lag
behind their male counter-
parts when it comes to crop
yields and earnings.
A government and society
mustbeinclusiveof theneglect-
edworkforceof femalefarmers.
Some would say that it is the
basis of welfare others would
daunt the spirit of constitution-
al mandates. Both perspectives
are valid. What remains to be
addressed is the idea of equita-
ble representation of women
through regional diversity. In a
state like Rajasthan, it becomes
all the more vital where a wom-
an as a whole is not that privi-
leged. Worldwide, women are
impressively demonstrating
that they are willing and able to
usetheirskillsandgrowingself-
determination in order to di-
rectly increase social and finan-
cial prosperity.
Accepting or refusing bills is
one side of the story. One
should thoughtfully evaluate
that protesting farmers do not
represent the right proportion
of our agricultural workforce.
Now is the time to recognize
and appreciate the forgotten
contribution of female farm-
ers. They also have personal
stakes in these protests.
THE FORGOTTEN VOICE OF
INDIAN FEMALE FARMERS
I
MS
Swaminathan,
the famous
agricultural
scientist, says,
“some
historians
believe that it
was women
who first
domesticated
crop plants and
thereby
initiated the art
and science of
farming. While
men went out
hunting in
search of food,
women started
gathering seeds
from the native
flora and began
cultivating
those of interest
from the point
of view of food,
feed, fodder,
fiber, and fuel”
DR JYOTI
JOSHI
A government and
society must be
inclusive of the
neglected workforce of
female farmers. Some
would say that it is the
basis of welfare others
would daunt the spirit
of constitutional
mandates
The writer is a Germany based
business coach and English
language trainer
illions of people
across the world
have been in-
fected with
SARS-CoV-2,the
virus that causes Covid-19.
Countries are also now em-
barking on massive vacci-
nationcampaignstocontrol
the virus and protect their
most vulnerable citizens.
One of the biggest ques-
tions remaining is whether
vaccination and/or prior
infection with SARS-CoV-2
offers lasting protection
against this deadly virus.
The good news is that im-
munology is, at last, reveal-
ing some clues.
To understand whether
immunity is possible – and
why this has even been
questioned – it is impor-
tant to consider the nature
of SARS-CoV-2. It is a beta-
coronavirus, and several
betacoronaviruses already
circulate widely in hu-
mans – they are most famil-
iar to us as a cause of the
common cold. However,
immunity to cold-causing
viruses is not long-lasting,
leading many researchers
to question whether long-
er-term immunity to
SARS-CoV-2 is possible.
However, studies consid-
ering the closely related
betacoronaviruses that
cause the diseases Mers
and Sars offer a glimmer of
hope. With these viruses,
immunity has proved more
durable. Could this be true
for immunity to SARS-
CoV-2 too?
WELL-TRAINED
PROTECTION
The first of the body’s im-
mune cells to respond to an
infection are designed to
attack the invading sub-
stances to try to control the
infection’s spread and lim-
it the damage done. The
immune cells that respond
later that are responsible
for immunity are known as
lymphocytes, which in-
clude B cells and T cells.
Lymphocytes need time to
learn to identify the threat
that they are facing, but
once trained they can be
rapidly deployed to seek
and destroy the virus.
Our T cells and B cells
work together to combat
infection, but they have
quite different functions
that enable them to deal
with a huge variety of
threats. B cells make anti-
bodies that neutralise in-
fections. T cells are broadly
divided into two types – T
helper cells and cytotoxic T
cells. Cytotoxic T cells di-
rectly kill viruses and cells
that viruses have infected.
T helper cells support the
functioning of B cells and
cytotoxic T cells. Collec-
tively these are known as
“effector” cells.
Studies have now dem-
onstrated the critical role
that these effector cells
play in the fight against
Covid-19. Once the infec-
tion is gone, these cells
should then die off in or-
der to avoid causing exces-
sive damage in the body.
But some effector cells
persist. In an early piece of
research yet to be reviewed
by other scientists, func-
tional T cells have been de-
tected six months after in-
fection. Similarly, even pa-
tients who have had mild
Covid-19 have detectable
antibodies six to nine
months after infection.
However, antibodies do
wane over time, so these
antibodies against SARS-
CoV-2 could eventually dis-
appear.
Source: The Conversation
Will vaccines offer lasting protection against Covid-19?
M
You should never engage in
action for the sake of
reward, nor should you
long for inaction.
—Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dr Harsh Vardhan
@drharshvardhan
Journey to world’s tallest marvel, the
#StatueOfUnity has just been eased!
8 new trains improving connectivity
to Kevadiya & other railway projects
inaugurated by Hon’ble PM Sh
@narendramodi Ji will act as a
catalyst for overall socio-economic
development of the region.
Mallikarjun Kharge @kharge
Lakhs of senior citizens,women,
children & youngsters have been
protesting for months during the
pandemic, many have died, 9
rounds of negotiations have failed &
it is hurting local economies. Things
are not looking up & I think it is
time @rashtrapatibhvn intervenes
fter insurrection at Capitol, Washington
DC is under lockdown amidst the threat
of violence from right-wing white su-
premacists. Thousands of National
Guards have beefed up security around
the US capital. Dozens of people are on the terrorist
watch list. The rest of America is under surveil-
lance like never before in apprehension of violence.
Itisanunprecedentedandunbelievablescenariofor
thosewhohavelookedatAmericandemocracywith
envy as the storming of the seat of power happens
mostly in countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, and
some other African countries. An opinion piece in
TheNewYorkTimesvividlydescribedtheeventsof
January6,“Lawmakersandstaff memberscowered
under tables, texting panicked family and friends.
Members of the mob spoke openly of assassinating
members. Bones were broken. Blood was spilled.
Lives were lost. At least five deaths have been tied
to the attack.” Americans believe that until the
swearing-in of Joe Biden is over President Donald
Trump remains a potent danger to the stability of
his country.
The President-elect is moving ahead for the oath-
taking day fully prepared for the challenges that lie
ahead. Besides having Kamala Harris, Biden’s in-
duction of 25 Indian Americans for key responsi-
bilities in his administration is a sign that liberal
democracy’sfutureisstillsafe.Creditmustbegiven
to America’s judiciary for not succumbing to pres-
sureandseveralRepublicanPartyleadersforstand-
ing by the truth despite pressure from Trump and
his aides.
A
AMERICA HOLDS HOPE
FOR DEMOCRACY
TAKE A TRAIN TO
MODI’S GUJARAT
rime Minister Narendra Modi may be
busy with a lot of other pressing issues
but he has never stopped thinking of
making Gujarat vibrant. Lately, he has
been focusing on boosting tourism in the
state. In October 2018 he inaugurated the Statue of
Unity, the world’s tallest statue, of Sardar Vallabhb-
hai Patel on the iconic leader’s birth anniversary. In
2020 he launched a seaplane service between the
Statueof UnitynearKevadiainthestate’sNarmada
district to the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad.
Even though Covid-19 was on the rampage in the
country,Modilaunched17tourismprojectsnearthe
Statue of Unity. During his visit, he inaugurated
Aarogyavan, which has 1000 species of medicinal
and herbal plants and a lotus-shaped pavilion for
indoor plants, the world’s fastest built jungle safari
with a geodesic dome for an aviary. Other projects
includedUnityGlowGarden,athemepark,andspe-
cial lighting at the Narmada Dam. To ensure that
Gujarat remained within the reach of tourists, the
prime minister flagged off eight trains from differ-
ent parts of the country to Kevadia, the site of the
Statue of Unity. The new trains will connect Keva-
dia to Varanasi, Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency,
Hazrat Nizamuddin, Rewa, Chennai, Dadar,
Ahmedabad, and Pratapnagar. The train link will
boost tourism in Gujarat’s tribal region and to the
Statue of Unity. The Ahmedabad-Kevadia link is
special because of the Vista-dome coach of the Jan-
shatabdi Express which is equipped with rooftop
glasses and a better viewing area. Clearly, the
prime minister is determined to make his state a
top-notch tourist destination in the country.
P

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6. INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021
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ODISHA: STF BUSTS ORGANISED
CARGO THEFT RACKET, 10 HELD
Cuttack : A Special Task
Force (STF) of the Crime
Branch busted an organ-
ised cargo theft racket
near Cuttack district and
over 50 metric tons of
Low Ash Metallurgical
(LAM) Coke worth Rs
13,50,000 was seized,
said Director General of
Police (DGP) Odisha,
Abhay on Sunday. The
racket was busted on Sat-
urday and as many as 10
persons have been arrest-
ed. On the basis of reli-
able information, the STF
team conducted a raid
at “Baba Dhabaleswar
Koila Dipu” regarding
organized cargo theft and
illegal unloading of costly
materials/cargo from in-
terstate transport vehicles
by miscreants by the side
of NH-55 yesterday.
FIRST-EVER SNOWSHOE RUN
ORGANISED IN SRINAGAR
Srinagar: In a bid to
boost winter sports in
Kashmir, the Snow-
shoe Federation of
India organized a
snowshoe run cum in-
teraction programme
in Srinagar amid the
heavy snowfall. Ath-
letes took part in this
run, which is played in
high snowfall regions
like Europe. Gulzar
Ahmad, who is part
of the Snowshoe
Association, said that
the snowshoe run was
organised in Srinagar
keeping in view the
scope of the sport in
a winter tourism place
like Kashmir.
2 MIGRANTS WITHOUT VALID
DOCUMENTS HELD IN DELHI
New Delhi: 2 Rohingya
migrants from Myan-
mar were arrested after
they were found living
in Uttam Nagar’s Hast-
al Village without valid
documents, the Delhi
Police informed on
Sunday. As per a state-
ment, the two persons,
namely Hamil Hussain
(23) and Nabi Hus-
sain (22) entered India
illegally on November
1 last year from the
Bangladesh border.
“On January 15, 2021,
a case under Section
14 of the Foreigners
Act was registered and
an investigation was
taken up.
TMC APPOINTS SATABDI AS VICE-
PRESIDENT OF PARTY’S WB UNIT
Kolkata: A day after
she dismissed specula-
tions about joining BJP,
Trinamool Congress MP
Satabdi Roy was appointed
as the vice-president of the
party’s West Bengal unit.
The TMC informed that Sa-
tabdi Roy, along with party
leader Moazzem Hossain
and Shankar Chakraborty
is appointed as vice
presidents of the West
Bengal unit of the party.
“The All-India Trinamool
Congress (AITC) under the
guidance and inspiration of
party Chairperson Mamata
Banerjee is pleased to
announce new members
for posts in WB Trinamool
Congress State Commit-
tee. Please note the rest
of the functionaries are
to remain the same,” the
party’s statement said.
New Delhi: A day after
India rolled out the
world's largest inocula-
tion drive against COV-
ID-19, the Congress on
Sunday asked whether
the government plans
to provide free vaccines
to all Indians, especial-
ly the underprivileged
and the poor, and when.
Congress chief
spokesperson Randeep
Surjewala said that
though the government
claims it will cover
three crore people in
the first round of the
vaccination drive, it is
yet to clarify if the re-
maining population of
India will get a vaccine
and whether they will
get it for free.
"Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi and the BJP
government need to an-
swer...Who will get free
corona vaccine? How
many people will get
the free corona vaccine?
Where will you get free
corona vaccine," he
said. Surjewala also
raised questions over
the pricing of the two
vaccines -- Covaxin de-
veloped by Bharat Bio-
tech and Covishield
from the Oxford/Astra-
Zeneca stable manufac-
tured by the SII -- ap-
proved for emergency
use in India and asked
why the government
has not put them in the
National List of Essen-
tial Medicines.
The Congress gener-
al secretary asked why
the government should
pay Rs 95 more to
Bharat Biotech for a
vaccine that has been
developed with the ex-
pertise and experience
of Indian Council of
Medical Research sci-
entists. "Should the
price of such a vaccine
not be cheaper than the
AstraZeneca-Serum In-
stitute? Why is the price
of corona vaccine Rs
1,000 per dose in the
open market," he asked.
He said the govern-
ment should demand
transparency from com-
panies on the cost of
production and profits.
The cost of vaccina-
tion of healthcare and
frontline workers will
be borne by the central
government. —PTI
Chhapra: Leader of
Opposition in Bihar As-
sembly and Rashtriya
Janata Dal leader
Tejashwi Yadav on Sun-
day reached Chhapra
and met the family
members of IndiGo air-
lines manager Rupesh
Kumar Singh who was
shot dead by unidenti-
fied bike-borne men in
the Punaichak area of
Patna on January 12.
Before leaving for
Chhapra, Yadav had
said: "Going to meet the
family of Rupesh Sin-
gh. No arrests made yet.
DGP says the crime rate
was higher in 2019, has
come down now but for
16 years, Nitish Kumar
has been CM. If police
behave like this, one
can understand the
ground reality." "Re-
questing Nitish Kumar
with folded hands...We
know that you're weak
CM but for the sake of
your position, please
don't let human lives be
sacrificed. It is your (Bi-
har CM) responsibility
to control crime in the
state," he added.
Yadav said Bihar is
becoming crime capital
of the country and
those sitting in power
in the State are protect-
ing the criminals.
Yadav said, when Ru-
pesh Kumar Singh was
murdered, CM Nitish
Kumar released a press
release that culprits be
arrested. "Who is he
making an appeal to?
He has been CM for 16
consecutive years and
also has the Home De-
partment in his portfo-
lio. Who is he making
an appeal to? Opposi-
tion?" asked Yadav.
Earlier, Yadav had
also said that rumours
have been circulating
that ministers in the Bi-
har government might
be involved in the mur-
der of the IndiGo air-
lines manager Rupesh
Kumar Singh. —ANI
New Delhi: Two Chi-
nese nationals, who
were arrested in a mon-
ey laundering case, &
sent to 14-day remand
of the Enforcement Di-
rectorate, said ED.
Two Chinese nation-
als Charlie Peng & Cart-
er Lee were produced to
a court which sent them
to 14-day remand, ED of-
ficials said. "They have
been accused of alleg-
edly running a hawala
racket to the tune of Rs
1,000 crore. In 2020, ED
has registered a case of
money laundering
against a Chinese na-
tional after their prem-
ises were raided by the
Income-tax depart-
ment," they added.
PARADE REHEARSAL ON FULL SWING
Indian Army
Soldiers take part in
Republic Day parade
rehearsal, at Rajpath
in New Delhi. As
the national capital
recorded a minimum
temperature of six
degrees Celsius
on the day, Indian
Soldiers were
seen giving the
final touch to their
Parade rehearsal
on Sunday. With
just 8 days to go,
Indian marching
contingents are
leaving no stone
unturned to give
their best, while
keeping the ‘new
normal’ in mind.
Two Chinese
held in money
laundering
Tejashwi Yadav meets kin of slain
IndiGo manager Rupesh in Chhapra
Will poor & helpless get
vax for free? asks Cong
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav meets the family of Rupesh Singh,
IndiGo manager who was shot dead in Patna on Sunday.
Health workers watch prime minister Narendra Modi virtual launch covid-19 vaccine drive.
ROLL-OUT PLAN?
New Delhi: On Sunday,
the Centre and protest-
ing farmers remained
at loggerhead over the
contentious agri laws
on Sunday with the
farmers saying they
will go ahead with the
proposed tractor pa-
rade in Delhi on Repub-
lic Day and Union agri-
culture minister Naren-
dra Singh Tomar stat-
ing that the government
is not ready to discuss
the complete withdraw-
al of the laws.
The withdrawal of
the laws is the main de-
mand of the farmers,
who have staged a pro-
test at Delhi’s borders
for over 50 days.
Bharatiya Kisan Un-
ion (BKU) leader Rake-
sh Tikait on Sunday
said that farmers are
prepared to protest
against the farm laws
“till May 2024”, and
termed the ongoing agi-
tation as an “ideologi-
cal revolution”.
Meanwhile, at a rally
in Karnataka, Union
home minister Amit
Shah said that “dou-
bling” farmers’ income
was the “biggest prior-
ity” of the Narendra
Modi government and
that the three central
farm laws will ensure
manifold hike in their
earnings.
Addressing a press
conference at the Sing-
hu border protest site,
farmer union leader Yo-
gendra Yadav said, “We
will carry out a tractor
parade on the Outer
Ring Road in Delhi on
Republic Day. The pa-
rade will be very peace-
ful. There will be no
disruption of the Re-
public Day parade. The
farmers will put up the
national flag on their
tractors.”
The Centre had
moved the Supreme
Court seeking an in-
junction against the
proposed tractor march
or any other kind of
protest by farmers
“which seeks to dis-
rupt” the gathering and
celebrations of Repub-
lic Day on 26 January.
The matter is pending
in court.
Another farmer un-
ion leader, Darshan Pal
Singh, alleged that the
National Investigation
Agency (NIA) is filing
cases against those who
are part of the protest
or supporting it.
“All farmer unions
condemn this,” Pal said,
referring to the NIA
summons reportedly is-
sued to a farmer union
leader in a case related
to the banned Sikhs For
Justice outfit.
While addressing in
on Sunday, Tikait said
the farmers want a le-
gal guarantee on Mini-
mum Support Price
(MSP). —Agencies
‘READYTOPROTESTTILLMAY2024’
Members of Bahujan Samajwadi Manch take part in Maati Sankalp March in solidarity with farmers
who are protesting against the new farm laws, at Ghazipur border in New Delhi, on Sunday
Ludhiana: Punjab
farmers have left from
Ludhiana for Delhi to
participate in a tractor
parade on Republic Day
as a mark of protest
against the farm laws.
"We are leaving for Delhi
with our tractors and
will continue to do so till
January 24. Around 11
thousand tractors will be
making a move to Delhi
from Ludhiana itself. In
total, one lakh tractors
will participate in the
Republic Day tractor
parade from Ludhiana,
Amritsar, Faridkot, and
Bhatinda districts," said
a farmer. Protesting
farmers and their lead-
ers have said that they
will take out a massive
tractor rally in Delhi on
January 26 in protest
of the three contentious
farm laws.
New Delhi: The protesting farmers
refused to call off their Republic Day
tractor rally today, and said the probe
by the National Investigation Agency is
meant to break their big protest. Today,
as the agency summoned 40 people, In-
cluding farmer leader Baldev Singh Sirsa
for questioning in a case related to the
banned outfit Sikhs For Justice, farmers
alleged that the government has resorted
to “atrocities”. The government is op-
posing the tractor rally legally, the matter
will be heard by the Supreme Court
tomorrow. “Action is being taken against
those who cooperate in the movement,”
alleged a farmer leader. “We condemn
the action the NIA is taking, we will fight
against it legally, not only in the court.
The government’s attitude is oppressive,”
he added. In a tweet, Shiromani Akali Dal
leader and former Punjab Chief Minister
Parkash Singh Badal called it an attempt
to intimidate the farmers. “Strongly
condemn Centre’s attempts to intimidate
farmer leaders & supporters of KisanAn-
dolan by calling them for questioning by
NIA & ED. They aren’t anti-nationals. And
after failure of talks for the 9th time, it’s
absolutely clear that GOI is only trying to
tire out farmers,” his tweet read.
WON’TCALLOFFTRACTORRALLYONR-DAY,SAYPROTESTINGFARMERS
FARMERS LEAVE FOR DELHI TO
TAKE PART IN TRACTOR MARCH
—PHOTOBYANI
—PHOTOBYANI

7. INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021
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SC to...
byittolistentothegriev-
ances and make recom-
mendations to resolve
the impasse. Bhupinder
Singh Mann, president
of BKU (Mann) and
chairman of All India
Kisan Coordination
Committee had recused
himself from the court-
appointed panel two
days after he was includ-
ed in it, saying “I will al-
ways stand with my
farmers and Punjab”.
The committee com-
prised Bhupinder Singh
Mann, national presi-
dent of Bhartiya Kisan
Union; Dr Parmod Ku-
mar Joshi, Director for
South Asia, Internation-
al Food Policy Research
Institute; Ashok Gulati,
agricultural economist
andformerchairmanof
the Commission for Ag-
ricultural Costs and
Prices; and Anil Ghan-
wat, president of Shet-
kari Sanghatana.
On Saturday, a farm-
ers’ organisation ap-
proached the Supreme
Court urging it to recon-
stitute the four-member
committee appointed by
thecourttointeractwith
representatives of farm-
ers and government for
an amicable resolution
of the differences over
the new farm laws. The
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(Lok Shakti) in its plea
pointed out that one of
the four members,
Bhupinder Singh Mann,
has backed out of the
committee, and the oth-
ers — Ashok Gulati,
Pramod Kumar Joshi
and Anil Ghanwat —
have already taken posi-
tions in support of the
farm laws. The farmers’
bodywonderedhowthese
threememberscouldsub-
mit a report without bias
when they had already
backed the laws “made
andpassedbytheCentral
government without
enough discussion with
farmers”.
Boris invites...
Thethreecountrieshave
been invited to the sum-
mit as guests to “deepen
theexpertiseandexperi-
ence around the table.”
Highlighting the
growing cooperation be-
tween India and the
United Kingdom over
the fight against the
coronavirus, the state-
ment read: “As ‘phar-
macy of the world’, In-
dia already supplies
more than 50% of the
world’s vaccines, and
the UK and India have
worked closely together
throughout the pandem-
ic. Our Prime Ministers
speak regularly and
Prime Minister John-
son has said he will visit
India ahead of the G7”.
FROM PG 1
Statue Of Unity gets more tourists
than Statue Of Liberty: PM ModiAhmedabad: More
tourists visit the Statue
of Unity in Gujarat
than the Statue of Lib-
erty in the US, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi said on Sunday,
adding almost 50 lakh
tourists have visited the
former since it opened
two over years ago.
In his address after
flagging off eight trains
to Kevadia from across
India via video confer-
encing, PM Modi said
that with increased
connectivity over a
lakh people will visit
Kevadia daily, as per a
survey.
PM Modi inaugurat-
ed the Statue of Unity,
billed as the world’s tall-
est, in October 2018 on
the occasion of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel’s
143rd birth anniversary.
Besides tourists visit-
ing the Statue of Unity,
locals will be the big-
gest beneficiary of the
new rail connectivity,
PM Modi said. Even the
pilgrims visiting a few
centres located in the
region will get the ben-
efit of new trains to Ke-
vadia, he added.
“Today, Kevadia is no
longer a small block lo-
cated in a remote area
of Gujarat but is emerg-
ing as the world’s big-
gest tourist destination.
More people have start-
ed visiting the Statue of
Unity compared to the
Statue of Liberty. After
inauguration, nearly 50
lakh people visited it.
“Despite everything
remaining closed for
months during corona-
virus pandemic, the
number of tourists vis-
iting Kevadia is increas-
ing fast,” PM Modi said.
“It is estimated in a
survey that as the con-
nectivity increases,
over one lakh people
will visit Kevadia daily.
A small, beautiful Keva-
dia is a good example of
how economy and ecol-
ogy can both be devel-
oped in a planned man-
ner while saving the
environment,” PM said.
“Tourists visiting the
Statue of Unity will get
the benefit of this rail
connectivity, but this
connectivity is going to
change the lives of peo-
ple of Kevadia. It will
bring new opportuni-
ties of employment and
self-employment,” he
said.
“This rail line will
also connect important
places of faith like Kar-
nali, Poicha &
Garudeshwar. And it is
true the entire region is
filled with spiritual vi-
bration. And with this
facility, it is a big gift for
those who generally
visit here for spiritual
reasons,” he said.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing at the flagging off ceremony of eight trains connecting different regions of the country
to Kevadiya, Gujarat, through video conferencing with chief ministers of different states, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Bhopal: A 13-year-old
girl was kidnapped and
gang-raped by nine men
in Madhya Pradesh’s
Umaria district twice
within five days, the po-
lice have said, adding
seven people have been
arrested so far in the
case. According to the
police, the 13-year-old
girl was first kidnapped
by a young man known
to her on January 4 and
then raped by him and
six of his friends for
two days.
Before letting her go
on January 5, the ac-
cused threatened to kill
her if she told anybody
so she did not file a com-
plaint. The horror was
repeated six days later
as she was again kid-
napped on January 11
by one of the seven men
who raped her before
and then held captive in
jungles as well as a road-
side eatery, where three
of them again raped
her, the police said.
After being let go by
the three accused, she
was kidnapped again
and allegedly raped by
two truck drivers, be-
fore she managed to flee
and return to her house
on Friday early morn-
ing, they added. The in-
cident was reported to
the police on Friday af-
ter which multiple
teams conducted
searches.
On January 9, a
48-year-old woman was
raped by a man with the
help of four others in-
side her hut in Sidhi
district, police said.
The main accused in
the case also allegedly
inserted an iron rod in
the private parts of the
woman, who has two
young sons. All the five
accused have been ar-
rested.
Two days later, a
13-year-old girl was kid-
napped by her neigh-
bour, who then alleged-
ly raped the teenager
and murdered her in
Khandwa district.
Just a day later, a
young woman was as-
saulted by her husband
and father-in-law, sus-
pecting her of infidelity
in Ujjain district.
13-year-old raped twice by 9
in 5 days in MP: Police
WOMEN SAFETY UNDER SHIVRAJ GOVT
New Delhi: With elec-
tions in West Bengal
slated to be held later
this year, the West Ben-
gal unit of BJP has
asked its central leader-
ship to send Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi,
party chief Jagat
Prakash Nadda, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah and Uttar Pradesh
CM Yogi Adityanath,
more frequently in the
state to attend rallies,
sources said.
As per sources, BJP
is also planning to cele-
brate Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose’s birth
anniversary function to
be attended by the PM
in a grand manner. The
party is also planning to
carry out a rath yatra in
the state. In 2019, the
party wanted to carry
out a similar yatra but
was unable to do so.
BJP demands more rallies of Nadda,
Shah, Adityanath before elections
Recently, the state unit of the party held a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP party
chief JP Nadda, in which the preparations for elections were reviewed. —FILE PHOTO
Legendary musician Ustad
Ghulam Mustafa dies at 89
Mumbai: Legendary
Indian classical musi-
cian and Padma Vib-
hushan awardee Ustad
Ghulam Mustafa Khan
died on Sunday after-
noon at his residence in
Mumbai. He was 89.
Ustad Ghulam Mustafa
Khan’s daughter-in-law
Namrata Gupta Khan
said that the veteran
breathed his last at
12.37 pm. “In the morn-
ing he was fine. We had
a 24 hour nurse at
home. During his mas-
sage he vomited and I
ran immediately his
eyes were shut and he
was breathing slowly. I
tried connecting to doc-
tors and when they
came he had already
died,” Namrata told
PTI. She said the family
is in shock due to his
sudden death as he was
keeping well.
Ustad Ghulam
Mustafa Khan had suf-
fered a brain stroke in
2019 and left side of his
body was paralysed.
Intense cold wave conditions to rise over next 2 days
New Delhi: Parts of
north India remained
under the grip of an in-
tense cold wave on Sun-
day with night tempera-
tures dropping below
the 5 degrees Celsius-
mark at some places
and dense fog envelop-
ing several areas.
The minimum tem-
perature in Delhi
dropped to 5.7 degrees
Celsius but it is likely to
rise over the next two
days due to a change in
the wind direction,
IMDsaid. The national
capital will see shallow
fog on Monday morning
and light rain is likely
to occur, the IMD said.
The city’s minimum
and maximum tempera-
tures are expected to
settle around 8 and 17
degrees Celsius. An
IMD said easterly winds
are blowing in Delhi
that are not as cold as
northwesterly winds
coming in from the
snow-clad western Him-
alayas. Hence, the mini-
mum temperature is
likely to rise by a few
notches over the next
two days.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s
air quality index (AQI)
improved slightly to the
‘very poor’ category
from ‘severe’ on Satur-
day as favourable wind
speed helped in disper-
sion of pollutants. The
city’s AQI was 329 at
8.30 pm on Sunday.
An AQI between zero
and 50 is considered
‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satis-
factory’, 101 and 200
‘moderate’, 201 and 300
‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very
poor’, and 401 and 500
‘severe’. —PTI
Filmmaker-actor
Mahesh Manjrekar
booked for
‘slapping’ man
Mumbai: A case has
been filed against film-
maker-actor Mahesh
Manjrekar for allegedly
slapping and abusing a
man in Pune. According
to the case registered
against Mahesh Man-
jrekar, the incident took
place on Friday night
near Yavat village on
Pune-Solapur highway.
Thecomplainant,Kai-
las Satpute, had alleged
that his vehicle hit Ma-
hesh Manjrekar’s car
from behind after the
filmmaker applied sud-
den brakes. After this,
Manjrekar then stepped
out of his car and both
of them had an argu-
ment, following which
Manjrekar slapped &
abused him. He later
filed a police complaint
against the filmmaker.
Police has now regis-
tered a non-cognisable
offence under relevant
Indian Penal Code Sec-
tions against Mahesh
Manjrekar.Thenational
award winning film-
maker has directed crit-
ically-acclaimed Hindi
films like “Vaastav” and
“Astitva”, and a number
of Marathi movies.
Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan
Fog shrouds parts of the national capital, at the Ghazipur area in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray on
Sunday said his gov-
ernment is commit-
ted towards incorpo-
rating into the state
the areas of Karna-
taka where Marathi-
speaking people are
in majority.
This will be the “true
tribute” to martyrs of
the cause, the Chief
Minister’s Office (CMO)
said in a tweet.
Maharashtra claims
Belgaum and some oth-
er areas, part of the
erstwhile Bombay Pres-
idency but currently in
Karnataka, on linguis-
tic grounds.
Maharashtra Eki-
karan Samiti, a re-
gional organisation
fighting for the merg-
er of Belgaum and
some other border ar-
eas with Maharash-
tra, observes January
17 as the ‘martyrs’
day’ for those who
laid down their lives
for the cause in 1956.
“Bringing Karnata-
ka-occupied Marathi-
speaking and cultural
areas in Maharashtra
will be the true tribute
to those who accepted
martyrdom in the
boundary battle. We are
united and committed
towards it. Respects to
the martyrs with this
promise,” the CMO
tweeted.
Maharashtra claims
certain areas, including
Belgaum, Karwar and
Nippani which are part
of Karnataka, contend-
ing that the majority of
population in these ar-
eas is Marathi-speak-
ing. The dispute be-
tween the two states
over Belgaum and other
border areas is pending
before the Supreme
Court for many years.
Thackeray last year
appointed Maharash-
tra ministers Eknath
Shinde and Chhagan
Bhujbal as co-coordi-
nators to oversee the
state government’s ef-
forts to expedite the
case related to the
boundary dispute.
Will incorporate ‘K’taka-occupied
areas’ into Maha: Thackeray

8. TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021
07www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Trump’s ImpeachmentTrump’s Impeachment
Should Be Just the BeginningShould Be Just the Beginning
Accountability cannot be complete until Donald Trump, hisAccountability cannot be complete until Donald Trump, his
grifter family and his acolytes are driven from our midstgrifter family and his acolytes are driven from our midst
L
et’s start with a
little good news.
It appears that a
new US president will
be inaugurated on Jan-
uary 20, and, when the
Congress convenes for
the first time after that,
there will be a thin
Democratic majority in
both the House of Rep-
resentatives and the
Senate. Given what has
transpired in America
over the last four years
and the desperate and
violent acts at the US
Capitol on January 6,
this transfer of power
may be enough to allow
celebration for a mo-
ment that a majority of
those who voted in the
recent elections gave
the nation a chance at
governance.
However, neither a
good government nor
actual good governance
is even close to being as-
sured. First, there will
be those, maybe Presi-
dentBidenhimself,who
willspeaktoamoderate
response to what we
have witnessed over the
last days and years, and
the terrible toll it has
taken on so many peo-
ple. I hope that voices of
immoderation prevail
when order is restored,
at least until the seeds
of publicaccountability
have taken root. The
good news will not last
beyondthevirtualinau-
guration parade unless
the new president has
nerves of steel and no, I
repeat, no illusions
about governing in
partnership with Re-
publicans in some faux display of “unity.”
M
oderated re-
sponses to
immoderate
actions are doomed to
fail and serve only to
further enable those
willing to destroy to
achieve their ends. In
the instant case, there
must be a quick and
decisive immoderate
response, albeit a
non-violent response
freed from revenge as
its motive. That re-
sponse must be seen
as urgent and restora-
tive. If not, this mo-
ment will be lost, and
the nation will again
descend into govern-
mental dysfunction
in the face of the mul-
tiple challenges of
the pandemic, eco-
nomic disarray, sys-
temic racism and so-
cial injustice.
As we anticipate a
new day dawning, one
of the vestiges of
days past should dis-
appear from our dis-
course — the notion
of alternate reality.
Not only is there no
such thing, but there
cannot be such a
thing, unless there
are also alternate
facts. There is reality
and there is fantasy.
When willful inges-
tion of fantasy over-
whelms reality to
drive political agen-
das and actions, you
get the United States
of America. It is sim-
ply time for this to
end.
The nation cannot
expect to move for-
ward while treading
water beneath the
surface. We must find
a way to rescue those
souls drowning in a
sea of fantasy largely
of their own making.
I love the First
Amendment, but this
crucial foundation of
America’s constitu-
tional democracy was
adopted in 1791. Oth-
er than falsely shout-
ing “fire” in a crowd-
ed theater, there is
little public knowl-
edge about the limita-
tions of free speech,
including the extent
to which provoking
insurrection in a
crowded city is pro-
tected by the First
Amendment.Further,
it bears noting that
neither the internet
nor social media was
around in 1791, and
that the First Amend-
ment is a prohibition
only of governmental
activity even in its
broadest reading.
Without attempt-
ing a First Amend-
ment primer, it is safe
to say that a great
many people in Amer-
ica’s delusional home
of free speech believe
that the right to free-
dom of speech is
some kind of abso-
lute. Since it is not an
absolute and has next
to nothing to do with
private action, it
should be safe to note
that there is a lot of
room to debate the ex-
tent to which Ameri-
ca’s vile social media
cesspool can be sub-
ject to limitation and
control. Whatever
else can be said, the
First Amendment is
not a license to mon-
etize “free” speech,
nor is it a shield that
amoral peddlers of
snake oil can use to
avoid responsibility
forthedamagecaused
by their wares.
S
ince much of
the fantasy at
large in the
land, including the
fantasies that
brought armed
thugs to the US Cap-
itol, has been well
documented for
quite some time, the
postmortem review
should take a hard
look at why it took
an armed insurrec-
tion to expose a fun-
damental flaw in the
notion that “moder-
ation” can be an ef-
fective response to
venal delusion when
that delusion takes
hold in the body pol-
itic. And, further, it
should consider
why it took an
armed insurrection
to finally raise the
stakes on those who
generate, spread,
consume and defend
the fantasies.
Then there is the
tactical disconnect
apparent in law en-
forcement planning
and the initial re-
sponse to what readily
should have been seen
as a clear and present
threat of violence. A
mob of white insur-
rectionists storms the
Capitol, with little to
no resistance. Mean-
while, pleas for assis-
tance are slow-
walked, and the insur-
rectionists are al-
lowed to calmly walk
away from the bat-
tered scene of their
crime carrying their
spoils of war. The in-
citer-in-chief is ab-
sent from the fray,
watching it all on tel-
evision, while his Ma-
rie Antoinette seem-a-
like is finishing a
White House furnish-
ings photo shoot.
So it goes in be-
nighted America. I
can hardly wait for
the next Black Lives
Matter protest that
threatens prompt ser-
vice at a coffee shop
where the police
move in to forcefully
restore “law and or-
der” at a point of a
gun and arrest every-
one who is black or
cares about pervasive
racism. Being a black
protester in America
just got even more
perplexing. Perhaps
the key to “peaceful”
protest is to wrap
yourself and your
cause in the Ameri-
can flag or some flag-
branded garb that
says you and your
cause are not a threat
to law enforcement or
to its cause.
There finally may
be enough palpable
outrage among
some in the nation’s
political class, may-
be enough to ensure
the security of the
presidential inaugu-
ration. Meanwhile,
the scum is fleeing
from Trump’s orbit,
leaving in their
wake a dysfunction-
al national govern-
ment, over 380,000
coronavirus deaths,
a vaccination free-
for-all and ever-
lengthening food
lines. I hope that all
will be investigated,
their professional
lives ruined and the
guilty eventually
charged. That is
what accountability
looks like to me.
However, accounta-
bility cannot be com-
plete until Donald
Trump, his grifter
family and his aco-
lytes are driven from
our midst, charged
with crimes where
applicable and
shamed into irrele-
vance. Trump’s sec-
ond impeachment
should be just the be-
ginning. That may
seem immoderate,
but so be it.
IMMODERATE ACTIONS POSTMORTEMLARRY BECK
SOURCE: FAIROBSERVER.COM

9. Connections are crucial for us.
Connect to nature, family and
ourselves are what make life
worth living.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Palanpur: It was dur-
ing the last week of
November that the Al-
lahabad High Court
stateed that, “Right to
choose a partner, ir-
respective of religion,
is intrinsic to right to
life and personal lib-
erty,” and quashed an
FIR alleging kidnap-
ping, forcible conver-
sion and under
POSCO Act against a
man accused of force-
fully “converting and
marrying a Hindu
girl.”
This is at least one
instance where the par-
ents made allegations,
driven by the propan-
gandist “love jihad” ,
against the religion of
the groom.
Police sources told
First India that Isha
and Mustafa (names
changed to protect iden-
tity) are happy with the
marriage, both knew
each other since their
school days. The girl
has not made any alle-
gation against the
groom, but the parents
have filed the case.
Her parents were
against the decision of
their daughter marry-
ing a man from another
religion. Vishwas Bhatt
(name changed) in his
complaint has alleged
Mustafa (name
changed) has produced
fake documents of his
daughter being married
to him.
Vishwas alleged that
Isha and Mustafa got
married on December
30 at a village on Abu
road, but, on that date
his daughter Isha was
on duty with the dis-
trict collector office,
where she is employed
on an 11-month con-
tract. He has even al-
leged that the priest
who blessed their mar-
riage has denied con-
ducting any marriage.
‘False’ love jihad complaint worries Guj couple
This is at least one instance where the
parents made allegations, driven by the
propagandist “love jihad” , against the
religion of the groom.
FICTITIOUS ‘JIHAD’
The National Family Health Survey found that the urban-rural gap was significant in Gujarat
Shishir Awasthi
Ahmedabad: A higher
proportion of children
under the age of 5 in the
villages had diarrhoea
than their counterparts
in the cities in 17 of the
22 Indian states and Un-
ion territories (UT) cov-
ered by the 2019-2020 Na-
tional Family Health
Survey (NFHS-5).
This urban-rural gap
wassignificantinMaha-
rashtra — in the two
weeks prior to the sur-
vey, 6.6 per cent children
in the urban areas and
10.7 per cent in the rural
areas had the disease.
This was followed by
Gujarat where 5.7% per
cent children in the cit-
ies and 9.7% in the vil-
lages contracted diar-
rhoea.
Bihar reported the
highest rural (12.6 per
cent) and urban (13.9 per
cent) prevalence among
major states.
In Sikkim, Ladakh,
Meghalaya, Andaman &
Nicobar Islands and Mi-
zoram, there is a higher
prevalenceof diarrhoeal
diseases in urban areas
as compared to rural ar-
eas. Diarrhoea is one of
the leading causes of
deathsinchildreninthis
age group globally and
claimsapproximately1.1
lakh lives in India every
year.
Compared to the find-
ingsinNFHS-4,theprev-
alence of disease in chil-
dren under five in-
creased in half of the
states and UTs covered
in the recent survey.
Bihar recorded the
highest overall preva-
lence in diarrhoeal dis-
eases, up from 10.4% in
NFHS-4 to 13.7% in
NFHS-5.
This was followed by
Meghalaya at 10.4 per
cent, Maharashtra at 8.9
per cent and Ladakh at
8.5 per cent.
In the five years since
thelastsurvey,thepreva-
lence reduced in states
like Jammu & Kashmir
(5.6%), Himachal
Pradesh (4.7%), Mizo-
ram (4.3%), Nagaland
(3.4%),Telangana(7.4%),
Goa(3.2%)andLakshad-
weep (2.3%).
The disease burden,
however, grew the most
in Ladakh and Sikkim.
Prevalence in Ladakh
went from 3.1 per cent in
2015-2016 to 8.5 per cent
in 2019-2020 and that in
Sikkimwentfrom1.8per
cent in the previous sur-
vey to 5.5 per cent in the
latest.
PROSPEROUS STATES’ KIDS
SUFFER FROM DIARRHOEA
CHANGING
NUMBERS
Surat-Kolkata IndiGo
flight’s emergency
landing in Bhopal
First India Bureau
Surat; An IndiGo Air-
lines flight carrying
172 passengers from
Surat to Kolkata had
to make an emergen-
cy landing in Madhya
Pradesh’s Bhopal on
Sunday. The plane
made an emergency
landing due to a tech-
nical glitch, accord-
ing to officials.
Airport director Anil
Vikram said that the
IndiGo flight had to
make an emergency
landing just after 12
pm. As per a news agen-
cy, the pilot decided to
make an emergency
landing after smelling a
foul odour. The aircraft
is being inspected at
Bhopal airport.
Anil Vikram said,
“The IndiGo Airlines
flight from Surat to
Kolkata carrying 172
passengers made an
emergency landing at
12.04 pm on Sunday.
The landing was safe.
The pilot informed
the ATC (Air Traffic
Controller) about the
technical glitch and
made an emergency
landing safely.”
Of the 172 passen-
gers that were aboard
the flight, 19 had to trav-
el to Guwahati and Am-
ritsar from Kolkata.
These passengers were
sent to Bengaluru by
flight to help them get
connecting flights to
their destinations, he
said.
DyCM throws open Sardar
Patel town hall in Unjha
First India Bureau
Unjha (North Guja-
rat): Gujarat Deputy
Chief Minister Nitin
Patel on Sunday laid
the foundation stone
of a 700-seat Rs 7.90
crore town hall in
North Gujarat’s ma-
jor agriculture centre
Unjha, which is a part
of his native Mehsana
district that he repre-
sents in the State As-
sembly.
On this occasion, Pa-
tel announced the new
auditorium of the hall
as Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel. He performed
ground-breaking for Rs
13 crore works includ-
ing construction of a
new primary school.
He listed the works
done by him since 1977
through his political ca-
reer in different roles.
He said a six-lane high-
way construction work
is underway on
Mehsana–Palanpur
route.
Patel said the high-
way would have a provi-
sion of a service road
and would even be bet-
ter than Mehsana–Vi-
japur– Himmatnagar
highway.
Patel thanked
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani, who also has
the Urban Develop-
ment department un-
der him, for the devel-
opment works he in-
augurated on Sunday.
Mumbai cops
bust Gujju
shopping fraud
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Cy-
ber Cell of the
Mumbai police has
arrested a 32-year-
old Gujarat man
for allegedly dup-
ing customers on
the pretension of
shopping. The in-
vestigation re-
vealed that the ac-
cused identified as
Ashish Ahir (32)
has allegedly
duped 22,000 peo-
ple across the coun-
try mostly women
to the tune of Rs 70
lakh, said police.
According to the
police, Ahir created a
shopping portal
named ‘Shopiiee.
com’ and claimed to
sell women dress ma-
terials, imitation
jewellery and house-
hold items at throw-
away prices. The ad-
vertisement of the
products generally
made on social media
mostly Facebook
where customers
have been lured with
lucrative discount of-
fers, said police.
As the customers
clicked on links they
were taken to the
shopping portal
where customers can
buy their desired
products. Branded
products have been
kept for sale at a
throw-away price.
The customers most-
ly attracted due to
the lucrative offers
ended up paying
through online trans-
fer as the portal
doesn’t have cash on
delivery option. How-
ever even after pay-
ing advance the cus-
tomer ended up be-
ing duped, said po-
lice.
TAMING IT!
A trainer preparing a three-year-old Badal horse near Nirma University grounds on the SG
Highway in Ahmedabad on Sunday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Nitin Patel addressing a crowd after inaugurating a town hall in
Unjha.
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
4,365
DEATHS
2,55,872
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
2,746 DEATHS 3,14,920 CASES
DELHI
10,746 DEATHS 6,32,429 CASES
WORLD
20,35,270
DEATHS
9,51,86,434
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
1,05,71,658
CONFIRMED CASES
1,52,447
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
50,438 DEATHS 19,90,759 CASES
UTTAR PRADESH
8,570 DEATHS 5,96,137 CASES
KARNATAKA
12,166 DEATHS 9,31,997 CASES
—FILEPHOTO
—FILE PHOTO

10. londes have a
fascinating his-
tory, both in hu-
man origin, mi-
gration, culture
and ancient my-
thology. In West-
ern culture, blonde hair
is typically associated
with naivety, youth and
innocence, but cultural-
ly has seen a remarkable
transition from its roots
to where it is today. The
general explanation as to
how blondes came into
being, is the lack of a pig-
ment called eumelanin.
This pigment deficiency
is what gives blondes
their hair colour. It may
be a western concept, but
it has marked its evolu-
tion in many other coun-
tries including India.
Every now and then
you’ll see that platinum
blonde, or dirty blonde,
or some other kind of
blonde hair colour top-
ping the trend of the sea-
son. There are a number
of theories about why
blonde hair has the ap-
peal it does. The two
most likely to me are rar-
ity and youth.
Glorious though it
may be, but caring for
blonde hair can be a real
hassle. Here are a few
tips that can help you
with the process.
1
Choosing the
right product: As
a blonde, you
should be gentle
and wash less, whatever
that means for your hair
type. When it comes to
choosing a shampoo and
conditioner, look to for-
mulas designed specifi-
cally for maintaining and
protecting your colour.
2
Keeping it hy-
drated: If you’re
not a natural
blonde it general-
ly means your hair is
damaged and dehydrat-
ed, or in other words, ex-
tremely thirsty. You’ve
got to nourish it daily
with a leave in-treat-
ment that will repair
and seal the cuticles.
3
Shield your
hair: Hats and
scarves are the
best immediate
defence, but if the
hair is going to be in
direct sunlight, use
products with UV
filters.
4
Use Pro-
tection:
Y o u ’ l l
want to
be sure to use
heat protect-
ant sprays be-
fore touching
a wand to
y o u r
strands.
Also, be sure
to lower the
temps so
you’re not fry-
ing off your
hair in the
process of
making it
wavy.
AHMEDABAD, MONDAY
JANUARY 18, 2021
09
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Blonde andBlonde and
BEAUTIFULBEAUTIFUL
CITY FIRST BRINGS YOU A FEW GOLDEN TIPS TO
KEEP YOUR BLONDE LOCKS LOOKING LIKE
YOU’VE JUST STEPPED OUT OF THE SALON!
KARISHMA
GWALANI
Karishma.gwalani
@firstindia.co.in
B

11. 10
ETCAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
FAIZA SAYYED, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
A senior will repose full
faith in you for tackling a
man management situation
at work. Situation on the
financial front will remain satisfactory,
despite rising expenditure. A property
issue may create tension. Those
preparing for an important exam will
have to work hard.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
A profitable day is also
indicated for professionals.
There is much that needs
to be done, so tighten your
belt. Good health is likely to provide
you with oodles of energy and enable
you to finish your work in a jiffy.
Budgetary planning will be required
for those going in for a renovation.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Good diet and regular
exercise will keep you both
physically and mentally
robust. At work, you are
likely to remain in control and see a
project to completion. Financially,
you remain in a comfortable
situation. Travelling long distance is
not recommended today.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Your efforts on the
professional front will be
noted by those who matter.
A child or younger sibling
can make you proud by his or her
achievements. Good health keeps you
energetic all throughout. A get together
can prove expensive and pinch your
pocket.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A new exercise regime may
need to be dovetailed to
your requirements to
benefit. Your professional
rivals are likely to punch holes in
your cost-cutting ideas for a project.
Disagreements with a family member
is possible. Those proceeding out of
town are likely to make good speed.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
An alternative to your staple
diet may prove immensely
enjoyable. An argument with
senior can make you feel
insecure. You may find the atmosphere
on the home front serene and most
welcoming. Places of tourist attraction
may be on the agenda of those
travelling on a pilgrimage.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Self-discipline and not
succumbing to temptations
will help in maintaining
good health. A few may get
tied up in office and reach home late
today. It may become difficult to find
time for family, but you will be able
to make up for it later. Candlelight
dinner will be romantic.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Time has arrived to reap
rich rewards of your hard
work. Parents or elders
may nag you into doing
something you don’t want to, but you
will manage to wriggle out of it!
Accompanying a family member
overseas or out of town cannot be
ruled out for some.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
A profitable venture is
likely to fill up the coffers
of some businesspersons.
You may be held responsi-
ble for a deed that you have not
committed at work. Fitness classes
will prove immensely beneficial,
especially for those in the middle age
group.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
On the financial front, a
new source of income is
likely to be tapped soon
that may get your coffers
brimming! Health counselling will do
wonders for those longing to come
back in shape. You are likely to win
much appreciation by completing a
task in record time.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
This is a very positive day,
in which you get to achieve
much. It is important to get
back into the thick of
things on the work front. Family
grapevine can be abuzz with the
latest gossip about you. Ensure
adequate security in a long journey,
as stars for travel are not too bright.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Taking up a good health
scheme will prove
beneficial. A practical
solution may be found for
a complex problem on the profes-
sional front. Support of family
members is assured in whatever you
undertake. Some builders may start
thinking in terms of a township soon.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
manage PR and
animal care for a
40-yr old animal
charity hospital
in Jaipur- Help in
Suffering. Such a
gratifying work
profile it is: to serve those
who cannot express their
pain. The look in their
eyes when I give them love
and care and the tail wag-
ging when they are meet-
ing their new forever fam-
ily is something that can-
not be expressed in words.
I am glad the lockdown
happened and I am glad
that I am in the vocation
that I am in.
Yet, it can also be dis-
heartening at times. When
we have to admit aban-
doned animals when we
have to take in young
motherless pups, when we
have to bury the ones that
don’t make it, and when
adopted pups are returned
to us.
Yet, ask me if I would
want it any other way, and
you know my answer. Very
few people understand the
challenges of running an
animal shelter. Fewer vol-
unteers and even fewer
would care to support the
work of animal welfare.
And yet animal charities
face a lot of criticism on
various fronts from these
very people.
Let’s understand then
the challenges animal
shelters and hospitals
face.
1
Overcrowding: A
shelter is no place
for healthy pups.
Shelters are usually
rife with infectious virus-
es and by bringing in
healthy pups and kittens,
people subject them to the
same infections. Picking
healthy pups from the
streets and dropping them
off at shelters is not ani-
mal welfare. If manage-
ment refuses to take on
healthy pups, take a mo-
ment to understand their
reasoning. Puppies, just
as other animals are hap-
pier in their natural habi-
tat. If the street is their
home, know that being
confined or being taken
away from their mother is
stressful for the pups. In
the words of a street dog,
a day of freedom is better
than a lifetime in captivi-
ty. If a shelter is over-
crowded, puppies will
eventually perish due to
infections even though
they came in completely
healthy. Quit blaming the
staff for the passing of the
animal. This one is your
own doing. Save the shel-
ter space for those that
need them the most: sick
and injured pups.
2
Lack of local sup-
port: NGOs are de-
pendant on funds
and support. It is a
known fact that most ani-
mal charities are support-
ed by international do-
nors. But the government
has lately toughened
FCRA policies. As a result,
getting international
funds has become very dif-
ficult. It is time then, that
local people come together
and support the work of
the animal charities in
their city because after all
the charity benefits them
the most. It is easy to criti-
cize the charity for any
mishaps. But how many of
you have chosen to volun-
teer there or support them
in kind or tried to under-
stand their challenges.
3
Ignorance of dog
adopters: There
is a general trend
of people wanting
to own a pedigree dog.
This when shelters are
struggling to get their In-
die pups adopted. People
call to inquire if we have
any pedigree pups for
adoption. It is heartbreak-
ing that Indie pups are
considered inferior to
those of an international
breed. When animal ac-
tivists explain to people
that Indie pups are more
suited to Indian weather,
it is as though they are
talking to a wall. Interna-
tional celebrities also
adopt from shelters and
they adopt dogs local to
their city or country. Why
then do we as Indians
want to adopt breeds not
natural to our country?
As a result of this shel-
ters continue to be over-
crowded.
4
Short Staffed:
Shelters are often
short-staffed. It is
humanely impossi-
ble for shelters to individu-
ally take care of every pup
that comes in. Volunteers
can help ease the burden
however they too have tim-
ing limitations. To expect
that a shelter would pro-
vide the best care, would
be naive. They are all try-
ing to do their best with
the available resources.
Try volunteering instead
of criticizing.
5
The little ones
need special care:
Leaving very young
pups in the care of
shelters is not a wise deci-
sion as the little ones need
frequent care and feeding.
Sign up as a foster family
so the pups can have a
chance at life. Stop by and
talk to your local shelter,
and find out how you could
be of help.
Remember to be part of
the change you would
want to experience in oth-
ers. Begin then with you
coming forward to help the
puppies and the shelters
that care for them.
Of Pups andOf Pups and
SHELTERSSHELTERSMARIAM ABUHAIDERI
thepersianladki@gmail.com
I

12. B
ollywood star Taapsee Pan-
nu who will be seen essay-
ing the role of a sprinter in
her upcoming sports dra-
ma ‘Rashmi Rocket’ on Sunday
treated fans to a glimpse from her
‘healthy indulgence’ in laddoos
and revealed that she isn’t a ‘pro-
tein bar kind of person’. She cap-
tioned the image, “Not a Protein
Bar kind of person. What works
for me are laddoos approved by my
superwoman @munmun.Ganeri-
wal .” —ANI
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021
11
Anniversary Special
S
haring a love-soaked
picture of himself
and his actor-turned-
writer wife Twinkle
Khanna, superstar Akshay Ku-
mar on Sunday marked his 20th
marriage anniversary on Sunday.
The ‘Housefull’ actor shared
thepicturethatseeshiswife’s
hands circled around his
shoulders, on Instagram.
Kumar complimented the
post with a short note about
his “partnership” with Mrs.
Funnybones and also shared
howshecontinuestomakehis
heart flutter even after “20
years of togetherness.”
“The surest I’ve ever been of
a partnership...twenty years of
togetherness and you still make
my heart flutter and sometimes
even drive me up the wall,” he
wrote. —ANI
A
day after India began the vac-
cination drive against
COVID-19, megastar Am-
itabh Bachchan on Sun-
day expressed happiness over
the “proud” moment. The actor
took to Twitter to expressed
hopefulness towards making In-
dia COVID-19 free. “It was a proud
moment when we made India polio
free; it shall be just as proud a moment
when we make India COVID-19 free. JAI
HIND,” he tweeted. —ANI
Expressing Pride
A
king a walk down the
memory lane, Bolly-
wood star Farhan
Akhtar on Sunday
marked his father Javed
Akhtar’s 76th birthday by
digging out a priceless
throwback picture.
The ‘Zindagi Na Milegi
Dobara’ star took to Insta-
gram to share a monochro-
matic picture of his father
and himself, from his child-
hood days The picture,
which looks like a blast
from the past showcases
a younger Farhan who
is in his childhood
days, as he
stands near
his father
Javed, as he
holds the
‘Rock On’
star from
arms. “Happy
birthday Pa. Love
you. @jaduakhtar,”
Farhan captioned the
image. —ANI
B
ollywood star
K a n g a n a
Ranaut, who
will be seen
essaying the role of
Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister and actor
Jayalalithaa, on
Sunday paid tribute
to MG Ramachan-
dran (MGR) on the
occasion of his
104th birth anni-
versary.
The ‘Queen’ star
took to Instagram
and shared a short
clip that features a
montage of pictures
featuring the late AI-
ADMK founder-actor.
The short clip plays
with a voice-over that
says, “ MG Ra-
machandran, a
Thalaiva of Tamil
Nadu who emerged in
the field of politics and
acting for 50 years and be-
came the god of millions.”
—ANI
A
fter making fans wait for what seems
like a lifetime, Warner Bros. has fi-
nally released the brand new Tom
Jerry trailer for Tim Story’s upcom-
ing live-action and a hybrid film adaptation
of the iconic
cartoon series.
This story
shows the ri-
vals living it
up in one of
the finest New
York City ho-
tels, where the
hotel staff aka
Chloë Grace
Moretz is in
charge of get-
ting rid of the rodent--Jerry as the hotel pre-
pares for the “wedding of the century.” The
film will be hitting Indian cinemas on Febru-
ary 19 and will be available to watch in Eng-
lish, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. —Agency
J
eopardy! fans re-
cently expressed
their wish to trib-
ute for the late
game show host. The fans
have been petitioning to
get the show’s iconic
stage dedicated to the
longtime host, who host-
ed the widely popular
game show for more than
30 years, Alex Trebek passed away died in
November at the age of 80 after losing a battle
with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. There is also
a petition on Change.org, which reads: “He
inspired millions of his fans ever since he
started hosting the syndicated version of
‘Jeopardy!’ in 1984.” —Agency
H
ollywood veteran
Kate Winslet re-
centlylookedback
at her beloved
movie Titanic, and re-
vealed that it wasn’t such
a great time for her on the
personal front even
though the world loved
themovie.The45-year-old
Oscar-winning actress
spoke to Marc Maron on his podcast and
shared that after the movie was released, she
was subjected to a lot of bullying because of
it. She told Marc Maron that she “was subject
toquitealotof alsopersonalphysicalscrutiny,
and criticized quite a lot — the British press
were actually quite unkind to me.” —Agency
A
fter wrapping up
the shoot of Sha-
hidKapoorstarrer
sports-drama ‘Jer-
sey,’ during the coronavi-
rus pandemic, makers of
theflickareallsettobring
the film in theatres
around Diwali festivities
on November 5. Kapoor
shared, “JERSEY releas-
ing in theatres this DIWALI 5th November
2021.Thetriumphof thehumanspirit.Ajour-
ney I am so very proud of. This ones for the
TEAM.” —ANI
TRAILER OUT!
THE PETITION
TITANIC EXPERIENCE
DIWALI RELEASE
he year 2020 saw many
couples bond during the
lockdown. Ben Affleck
and Ana de Armas were
among them. The actors
met on the sets of their
upcoming movie Deep
Water, following
which they
b e g a n
d a t -
ing.
Over the past few months, they
made their relationship official
on social media, bonded with
Affleck’s children which he
shares with Jennifer Garner
and moved in together. While
the couple appeared madly-in-
love, it has been rumoured that
Affleck and Armas are headed
for a split. If a report by
InTouch is to be believed, the
couple’s honeymoon phase has
ended and the duo has gotten
into “huge fights.” An alleged
source claims that for Armas,
her “career will always come
first.” While Affleck wants to
see her succeed, he is appar-
ently “needy and feels lost and
lonely when she’s off galli-
vanting the world without
him.” —Agency
HUGE FIGHTS?HUGE FIGHTS?
T
Tribute!
Laddoos over protein barsLaddoos over protein bars
Priceless
Birthday Wish
Ana de Armas
Poster of the film
Late Alex Trebek
Kate Winslet
Shahid Kapoor
Amitabh Bachchan
... her post
Taapsee Pannu
Farhan Akhtar’s post
Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna
Kangana Ranaut
... her post

13. 12AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY BUZZ
CITY FIRST
T
he first audition
of Miss Diva Ra-
jasthan2021-Sea-
son 3 was held at Black
Box, Jaipur on Satur-
day. More than 300
charming divas
decked up for this oc-
casion. The first round
consisted of a display
of their catwalks and
introduction. Organ-
iser Suresh Pradhan
and Director Samrat
Rathore introduced
the following jury
members: Aman Ma-
heshwari, Payal Shar-
ma, Shipra Sharma,
Sonali Sharma, Preeti
Choudhary and Aditi
Sharma. The second
round of the audition
will be in February,
followed by the finale
in March.
CITY FIRST
T
he audition round
of Mr, Miss and
Mrs Icon India
2021 was organised in the
Pink City at Hotel B One
Pride on Sunday after-
noon. Actor Amardeep
Phogat was a part of the
auditions as the celebrity
guest and jury member.
A total of 50 finalists will
be selected for the final
show to be held on
March 4 at Hotel KK
Royal in Jaipur, after au-
ditioning the partici-
pants in the various cit-
ies of the country.
Show organizers
Samarth Bansal and
Neeraj Popli mentioned
that the finalists will be
given various opportuni-
ties, based on their re-
spective talents.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
IAS Dr Jogaram and IAS
KK Nirala celebrated their
birthdays on Sunday,
January 17. We wish them
all the best!
HAPPY B’DAY!
RAJ: A 7 years old student
of Jayshree Periwal High
School, Jayaditya Gautam
was added in ‘India Book
of Records’ for making the
largest portrait using paper
quelling. He made a portrait
of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
with 4230 (0.5 cm × 30 cm)
paper strips and the final
result of the portrait is 42
inches × 28 inches.
GUJ: People were seen enjoying their Sunday with their family
members at Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
RAJ: In the series of Net-theat on Saturday, Mohammed Vakil
filled the atmosphere with the melodies of his ghazals. The
program was conducted by Janmani Udghoshika Mridula Bhasin.
Mohammed Vakil heralded the journey of his Ghazals with Gulzar
Hussain on Ladle violin, Meraj Hussain Sangat on tabla and
Ashfaq Hussain on keyboard.
A new Haryanvi song ‘Phuljhadi’ by silver mines
music channel featuring Deepti Chaudhary and
Vikram Chaudhary was released on 11 January. The
music of the song is given by Harish Pandit and Seenam Katholik.
RAJ: The concluding day of the online
workshop on ‘Art of Embroidery’
organised by Department of Art
Culture, Government of Rajasthan
and Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) was
held on the Facebook page of JKK.
The workshop was conducted by Dr
Meena Jhala. During the workshop,
viewers learned about design
conceptualization, working different
stitches, adding 3D effect, filling work,
design explorations and much more.
Pranav Kharbanda a corporate expert
has set a ‘World Record for India’s
and World’s longest and largest HR
Training Session Marathon’ in which
students and HR corporate leaders
participated nationwide and abroad,
to learn innovative methods. The
training session was conducted on
26 and 27 December via Zoom
meeting. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi
and Veena Vermani graced the
occasion as Guests of Honour.
THE SHINING DIVAS!THE SHINING DIVAS!
—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA
And the award goes to...
CITY FIRST
T
he 7theditionof theRa-
jasthan International
FilmFestival(RIFF)ac-
credited by the Federation of
Film Societies of India (FFSI)
(North Region) will be organ-
isedbytheRIFFFilmClubin
a Hybrid Format from 20 to
24 March in Jaipur and
Jodhpur, Rajasthan. This
year the theme for the RIFF
2021 is ‘Music in Cinema’.
RIFF 2021 will also celebrate
the Pre Foundation Day of
Rajasthan.
Founders of the Ra-
jasthan International Film
Festival (RIFF) Somendra
and Anshu Harsh shared that
Om Puri was a part of RIFF
since the first edition. So to
keep his memory, RIFF an-
nounced the special ‘Com-
mon Man in Cinema’ award
will be given each year in the
presence of Om Puri’s wife
and son, Nandita Puri and
IshaanPuri(OmPuriFounda-
tion ) Mumbai. In the 2021 Edi-
tionof RajasthanInternation-
al Film Festival (RIFF), Om
Puri Foundation and RIFF
announced that this award
willbegiventowell-knownIn-
dian Actor, Yashpal Sharma.
CITY FIRST
T
he Mega Boot Camp
of upcoming AU
Bank Jaipur Mara-
thonorganisedbySanskriti
Yuva Sanstha and World
TradeParkwasheldonSun-
day at Central Park, Jaipur.
Hundreds of Jaipurites
were seen sweating during
the camp. A boot camp is an
intensive workout session
that helps raise endurance
levels. Runners worked out
under the guidance of Ma-
hesh Divedi (Coach VJ) and
Dinesh Chaudhary (Coach
DC)atthisMagaBootCamp.
Onthisoccasion,Muke-
shMishra,CEOof AUBank
Jaipur Marathon, shared
thatthereisalotof enthusi-
asm among Jaipurians re-
garding the upcoming ver-
sion of the marathon.
Bhavana Pandey, Neelam Kothari Soni, Maheep Kapoor, and
Seema Khan were spotted in Jodhpur, Rajasthan as they are
in the city to shoot for their upcoming series, ‘Fabulous Lives
of Bollywood Wives’ which will be streamed on Netflix. They
are shooting for the second season of the series, after a great
response from the viewers on the first season.
SPOTTED!
BOOT CAMP
CITY FIRST
A
National Symposium was organised on
Friday entitled ‘Looking through inter-
mediate lenses: inclusive and green
growth’ by the Department of Economics and
Psychology at St. Xavier’s College, Hathroi Fort,
Jaipur. The program focused on the importance
of inclusive research and development. Dr Adi-
ti Sawant, President, Department of Economics,
St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, addressed the sub-
ject as the key speaker.
CITY FIRST
People’s Literature Festival
(PLF) or Jan Sahitya Utsav
will be held online this year
in February pioneered by
RajasthanProgressiveWrit-
ersAssociation.PLF’sChief
ConvenorIshmadhuTalwar
conveyedthatthisyear’sses-
sionswillfocusonJawahar-
lal Nehru and Mahatma
Gandhi featuring Purushot-
tam Agarwal. PLF is about
to put a spotlight on the lov-
ers by introducing a session
on ‘Love’s Bazaar and Love
Jihad’ on Valentine’s Day.
Apart from these, there will
be a session on the book on
Late Actor Irrfan, women’s
writing in Dalit literature
and vintage session.
PLF online
—PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA
SHOWCASING WOMEN POWERCITY FIRST
anish Ladha
Photography
organised a
launch event
for its 3rd edi-
tion of Fash-
ion Calendar
2021 at G Club, Jaipur on
Sunday evening. The cal-
endar features super-
women personalities,
who are an inspiration to
society and excel in their
job field with a unique
style and fashion state-
ment.
These personalities
were also presented In-
spiring Super Women
Awards for their contri-
butions.
Each year, fa-
mous Fashion and
Lifestyle photographer
Manish Ladha takes dif-
ferent themes for his
Fashion calendar.
The motive for his 3rd
edition Super Women
Fashion Calendar 2021
was to create awareness
about societal and envi-
ronmental issues, along
with promoting equality
between genders.
The awardees under
different categories were:
Social Entrepreneur-
Apra Kucchal, Business
Woman- Poonam Madan,
Industrialist- Pramila
Gupta, Academician- Jay-
shree Periwal, Digital Ru-
ral Education - Prerna
Soni, Doctor- Dr Shivani
Swami, Politician- Rakhi
Rathore, Govt. Adminis-
trative Services- AD. DCP
Sunita Meena, Choreogra-
pher/Dancer- Charvi
Bhardwaj, RJ- RJ Devan-
gana, Young Achiever RJ-
RJ Naini, Anchor- Preeti
Saxena, Fashion Design-
er- Pallavi, Media/Jour-
nalist- Madhulika Singh,
Actress- Lekha Prajapati,
Model- Kanchan Khatana,
Musician- Sarita Dwivedi,
NGO (Social Upliftment
of Girl Child)- Major Dr
Meeta Singh, Event Or-
ganiser- Nimisha Mishra,
Sports Person- Surbhi
Mishra, Beautician/
Makeup Artist- Rinki Vi-
jay, and Lawyer- Archana
Mantri. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
—PHOTOSBYSANTOSHSHARMA
M
THE HUSTLE BEGINS
—PHOTOBYSANTOSHSHARMA
Participants of Miss Diva Rajasthan 2021
From left: Versha Mittal Gupta, V.S Tanwar, Yogesh Mishra, Dr Shyam Agrawal, Rajeev Arora,
Sanjay Sardana, JD Maheshwari, Manish Ladha, Anshul Jain and Ramkishan Soni
From top left: Versha Mittal Gupta, RJ Devangana, Madhulika Gupta, Sarita Dwivedi, Suneeta Meena,
Poonam Madan, Rajeev Arora, Anshul Jain, Kanchan Khatana, Nimisha Mishra, Archana Mantri, Rakhee Rathore
From bottom left: Shivani Swami, Madhulika Singh, Prerna Soni, Major Dr Meeta Singh,
Preeti Saxena, Rinki Vijay and RJ Naini
WHAT’S HAPPENING!
National Symposium
During the event
During the session
During the Boot Camp