First india ahmedabad edition-19 october 2020

Horse-trading is a trait of Congress, not BJP: CR Patil
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
state unit president
of the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) CR
Patil on Sunday ac-
cused Congress of
horse-trading and de-
nied all allegations
made by the opposi-
tion party.
Currently on a tour
of South Gujarat, Patil
initiated the political
campaign for the Kar-
jan seat on Sunday. No-
tably, BJP candidate for
Karjan, Akshay Patel
had stated on Saturday
that he had been of-
fered Rs52 crore to
switch sides last year.
This statement came
after Congress
launched the ‘Gaddar
Jaichando Jawaab
Aapo’ (Traitors Re-
spond) campaign
against the defectors
and accused them of
being ‘bought’ by the
BJP for Rs16 crore each.
In response to the
horse-trading allega-
tions, Patil said that
the issue will not
harm the BJP be-
cause those who re-
signed from their po-
sitions as MLAs have
done so for larger
public interest. “Con-
gress was the one that
had ‘bought’ every-
thing even during
Chimanbhai Patel’s
tenure as chief minis-
ter, and also when
Shankarsinh Vaghela
was the CM. There-
fore, ‘buying’ and
‘selling’ is a habit
that Congress suffers
from,” he alleged.
He added, “The tick-
ets granted to the turn-
coats were promised
prior to my appoint-
ment as the state unit
chief. The MLAs will
have to present them-
selves before the peo-
ple again after joining
the party and get re-
elected if the people
provide them with a
mandate.”
Talking about the
campaign activities, Pa-
til said, “People are ex-
cited. They have bene-
fited from the work
done by the state gov-
ernment and the
schemes implemented
by the central govern-
ment. On the other
hand, the way incum-
bent MLAs left Con-
gress, shows increased
distrust in the party.”
Patil and BJP or-
ganization general
secretary Bhikhub-
hai Dalsania along
with the incharges
and co-incharges of
the state assembly
seats up for polls have
embarked on an or-
ganizational tour. On
Sunday, the state unit
chief and state vice-
president Bhargavab-
hai Bhatt were pre-
sent in Karjan. While
Bhikhubhai Dalsania
and Shankar Chaud-
hary will travel to
Morbi and Limbdi
districts to provide
guidance to party
workers on election
management and or-
ganizational matters.BJP state unit president CR Patil
The BJP state unit prez shoots
down all allegations made by
the opposition party on Sunday
AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 324
CLEARING
THE AIR!POLLUTION MAY
INCREASE VIRUS
TRANSMISSIBILITY
‘KERALA PAYING PRICE FOR
NEGLIGENCE DURING ONAM’
NO FRESH LOCKDOWNS
RECOMMENDED: GOVT PANEL
Kolkata: The West Ben-
gal BJP, as part of its
strategy to connect
with the masses during
the festive season, has
made arrangements to
live-stream Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi’s
address to the people of
the state, sources in the
saffron party here said.
Inafirst,thestateBJP
Mahila Morcha—wom-
en’s wing of the party—
will be organising Dur-
ga Puja at EZCC in Salt
Lake. According to the
sources, Modi’s virtual
address on ‘Maha Sas-
thi’ will set the tone for
Durga puja this year.
“PM Narendra Modi
ji’s address will be
streamed live at EZCC
as well as 10 other puja
pandals across the state.
Turn to P6
Beijing: The presence
of the People’s Libera-
tion Army is increasing
in China’s southeast
coast as it prepares for
a possible military in-
vasion of Taiwan, ac-
cording to defense ob-
servers cited by South
China Morning Post.
According to the
sources, Beijing is re-
placing its old DF-11s
and DF-15s and deploy-
ing its most advanced
hypersonic missile DF-
17 in the region.
Turn to P6
New Delhi: BrahMos
supersonic cruise mis-
sile was successfully
test fired on Sunday
from the Indian Navy's
indigenously-built
stealth destroyer INS
Chennai, hitting a tar-
get in the Arabian Sea,
the Defence Research
and Development Or-
ganisation (DRDO) said
on Sunday.
The missile hit the
target successfully with
pin-point accuracy af-
ter performing high-
level and extremely
complex manoeuvres.
BrahMos as 'prime
strike weapon' will en-
sure the warship's in-
vincibility by engaging
naval surface targets at
long ranges, thus mak-
ing the destroyer an-
other lethal platform of
Indian Navy.
"BrahMos, the super-
sonic cruise missile
was successfully test
fired today on 18th Oc-
tober 2020 from Indian
Navy's indigenously-
built stealth destroyer
INS Chennai, hitting a
target in the Arabian
Sea. The missile hit the
target successfully with
pin-point accuracy," the
DRDO said in a tweet.
—ANI
New Delhi: A govern-
ment-appointed scien-
tific committee has said
the Covid-19 epidemic
seems to have peaked
and is now on the de-
cline, and is likely to
run its course by Febru-
ary next year.
The committee, head-
ed by Professor M Vid-
yasagar of IIT Hy-
derabad, has used com-
puter models to map the
trajectory of the epi-
demic in the country. Its
key finding has been
that the disease is likely
to have peaked in the
middle of September,
and the total number of
infections in India is
unlikely to exceed 106
lakh (10.6 million). So
far, 75 lakh people in In-
dia have been infected,
of which nearly 66 lakh
have recovered.
Meanwhile, senior
doctors said that air
pollution may increase
transmissibility of the
virus making people
more vulnerable to the
disease and aggravat-
ing COVID-19 situation.
They warned that those
who have had the infec-
tion in the past may
also have to face new
challenges. With win-
ters approaching and
easing of the Turn to P6
Related reports p6
New Delhi: With Kerala witnessing a spike in coro-
navirus infections recently, Union Health Minister
Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the state was paying
the “price for gross negligence” during Onam
festivities when unlocking of services along with an
increase in travel for trade and tourism led to the
spread of COVID-19. The minister said this ought
to serve as a good lesson for all the state govern-
ments that were being negligent in planning for the
festival season. This festive season, charity must
take precedence over celebrations, Vardhan said.
“My own celebrations too shall remain subdued due
to the heart-rending impact of COVID-19 on lakhs
of corona warriors across the world battling for us,”
the minister stated.
New Delhi: No fresh lockdowns should be imposed
on district or state level to contain the spread of
COVID-19 unless there is an imminent danger of
healthcare facilities
being overwhelmed,
according to a gov-
ernment-appointed
committee chaired by
IIT Hyderabad profes-
sor M Vidyasagar. The
committee has also
claimed that if all pro-
tocols are followed, the pandemic can be controlled
by early next year with minimal active symptomatic
infections by February-end. Turn to P6
COVID HAS PEAKED IN INDIA
CAN BE REINED IN BY FEB: EXPERTS
BrahMos missile test
fired from Arabian Sea
Various versions of the BrahMos including those which can be fired from warships, submarines and
fighters jets have already been developed and successfully tested. —FILE PHOTO
PLA is prepearing for a possible military invasion of Taiwan.
PM’s address to go live
in 10 WB puja pandals
Democracy passing through most
difficult time: Sonia attacks Centre
New Delhi: Congress
president Sonia Gandhi
on Sunday presided
over a meeting of par-
ty’s general secretaries
and state in-charge
where she attacked the
BJP-led government,
saying the democracy
was passing through
“most difficult time”.
In a video message
posted on Twitter by
Congress from its offi-
cial handle, Gandhi is
heard saying that her
party’s aim is to keep
struggling for the coun-
try. “Our root mantra is
to serve people. Today,
democracy is passing
through its most diffi-
cult time, voice of vic-
tim is being sup-
pressed.” Turn to P6
Bully China preps for possible
military invasion of Taiwan!
SECOND WAVE OF FLOODS HIT
PARTS OF HYD AS RAINS RETURN
Hyderabad: A fresh spell of overnight heavy rains
caused flooding on Sunday in parts of the city and
left 3 people dead in separate rain-related incidents
just days after it witnessed one of the worst deluges
in recent times following unprecedented downpour
in over a century, police and civic officials said.
The latest rains since Saturday evening led to lakes
and other water bodies overflowing with the water
inundating several low-lying areas, including parts
of the city affected last week, here and the outskirts,
they said. A total of 37,409 families were affected in
various localities that were inundated in the city. P6
India Gate is barely visible as the
air quality falls in the national capital.
26°C - 36°C
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OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

NEWSAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020
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Goodchapter:‘Wealthy’parentstopitchinfor‘poor’parentswithfees
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Lending
a hand to support par-
ents struggling to pay
the reduced school
fee, Ahmedabad-
based Udgam School
for Children (USFC)
and Zebar School for
Children (ZSFC) have
launched an innova-
tive campaign. The
schools have come up
with a social platform
where financially
sound parents can
waive their right to
the 25% reduction in
fees in favour of those
who are still finding
it difficult to pay the
school fees of their
children. In compli-
ance with the state
government’s resolu-
tion, both USFC and
ZSFC had announced
a relief of 25% in an-
nual fees for the aca-
demic year 2020-21.
Speaking on this ini-
tiative, Manan Choksi,
Executive Director, Ud-
gam School For Chil-
dren and Zebar School
For Children said,
“Though the state gov-
ernment has clarified
the ambiguity sur-
rounding school fees for
the current academic
year, we had received
many requests from
parents asking for fur-
ther reduction in fees
citing multiple reasons
such as job loss, in-
crease in medical ex-
penses.”
He added, “At the
same time, many gen-
erous parents had ap-
proached us to extend
their help by passing
on their fee cut to the
parents who needed
it. Considering our
own expenses, we
were not able to re-
duce the fees beyond
25%. We realized the
intensity of the situa-
tion and came up with
an idea to act as a
bridge between both
sets of parents.”
Parents can register
themselves with the re-
spective class teachers
of their kids and ex-
press their need for ex-
tending or receiving
help. The school man-
agement will then pre-
pare a list of such par-
ents and then pass on
the relief. The schools
will maintain complete
confidentiality of the
parents who have come
forward to help, whilst
keeping transparency
regarding the applica-
tion of their funds.
l Udgam and Zebar School
for Children have created a
social platform where parents
can pass on their 25% fee cut
to parents in need of help
Udgam School for Children.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: After
the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party, now
Congress has pre-
pared a list of 30
star campaigners
from the party. It
also includes veter-
an Congress leader
Ahmed Patel, who
may be seen cam-
paigning in the
state for the upcom-
ing state legislative
assembly by-elec-
tions.
Senior leaders have
already started cam-
paigning in the con-
stituencies where the
election is slated to be
held on November 3.
Owing to the COV-
ID-19 pandemic, can-
didates have taken to
reaching out to the
voters through differ-
ent mediums such as
door-to-door cam-
paigns, social media,
among others.
The bypoll cam-
paign planned by
the opposition par-
ty is according to
the taluka seat.
Meetings at the mu-
nicipal level will be
addressed by the
party for all the
eight constituencies
up for by-elections
on October 31.
Notably, it is for the
first time that the par-
ty has appointed sen-
ior leaders as in-
charges for each seat.
Several meetings will
be conducted by sen-
ior party leaders that
will determine the is-
sues each candidate
will base their cam-
paign on.
The star cam-
paigners named by
Congress include
Ahmed Patel, Rajiv
Satav, Amit Chavda,
Paresh Dhanani,
Deepak Babaria,
Madhusudan Mis-
try, Arjun Modhwa-
dia Siddharth Patel,
Shaktisinh Gohil,
Hardik Patel, Nar-
esh Raval, Tushar
Chaudhary, Lalji
Desai, Ami Yagnik,
Naran Rathwa, Ji-
tendra Baghel,
Biswaranjan Mo-
hanty, Sagar Rayka,
Kadir Pirzada, Jag-
dish Thakor, Raju
Parmar, CJ Chavda,
Shailesh Parmar, Dr
Jitu Patel, Gaurav
Pandya, Kishan Pa-
tel, Virji Thummar,
Gyasuddin Shaikh
and Ashok Punjabi.
But, the party has
not included a state
spokesperson on the
campaign trail for the
by-elections.
AHMED PATEL AMONG 30 NAMES IN
CONG’S STARRY POLL LIST
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Former
Congress MLA from
Dang district Man-
gal Gavit, along
with 500 activists,
formally joined the
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) by
sporting a party
scarf at an event in
Ahwa on Sunday.
With Gavit’s induc-
tion into the ruling
party, Dang politics
has heated up. After
resigning from his po-
sition as an MLA,
Gavit had sought a
ticket from the BJP in
the by-elections but
he was not granted
one. Interestingly, he
had attributed his
resignation to the fact
that there had been
no development in the
state as there was a
BJP government in
power.
Post his induction
into his new party,
Gavit said, “I have
joined the BJP for
the development of
Dang. Other leaders
of the Dang Con-
gress are also join-
ing the BJP with
me.”
On Gavit’s inclu-
sion into the BJP, state
cabinet minister Gan-
pat Vasava, who was
present at the event in
Ahwa spoke of gifting
the Dang assembly to
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi, who had
won from the tradi-
tionally Congress-fa-
vouring constituency
by accumulating more
than 50,000 votes.
“Gavit has voluntarily
joined the BJP for the
development of Dang
district without put-
ting forth any condi-
tions,” he added.
Meanwhile, more
than 100 members
of the BJP’s IT cell
joined Congress par-
ty on Sunday in the
presence of party
state unit president
Amit Chavda. On the
other hand, over 200
Congress workers
joined the ruling
party, including ex-
isting panchayat
members, in Morbi.State cabinet minister Ganpat Vasava welcoming Mangal Gavit to the party with a sweet.
Former Dang MLA Mangal Gavit joins BJP
Hardik Patel
Shaktisinh Gohil
Ashok Punjabi
Tushar Chaudhary
Amit Chavda
Paresh Dhanani
Virji Thummar
Rajiv Satav Siddharth Patel
THE VETERAN
LEADER MAY
BE SEEN
IN ACTION ON
THE BYPOLL
CAMPAIGN
TRAIL
Ahmed Patel

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The nine-
day festival of Navratri,
celebrated in honour of
the divine feminine
holds a special value in
the lives of Indians.
During this time, tradi-
tionally, devotees
throng the famous Am-
baji temple in Madhu-
pura for a chance at a
darshan of the goddess.
Religious intentions
aside, the 200-year-old
temple itself has a rich
history, which draws
visitors during the fes-
tive season.
A few centuries ago,
Narbheram Prabhuram
Bhatt of Kapadvanj was
a big trader of ghee.
Once, a sculptor came
to Kapadvanj to sell two
idols of Ambaji god-
dess. The sculptor
asked Narbheram to
buy the idols at a rea-
sonable price. Narbher-
am said he could give 17
pots of ghee in ex-
change for the two idols
since he could not af-
ford to pay for it. The
sculptor accepted this
offer and gave him the
idols in exchange for 17
pots of ghee.
After taking the two
idols from the sculptor,
Narbheram sold all his
belongings, including
his house, and left for
Ahmedabad for the bet-
terment of his busi-
ness. On the way, Narb-
heram gave an idol of
Ambaji to the priest of
the Utkantheshwar Ma-
hadev temple. He asked
for a piece of land for
the construction of a
temple in Ahmedabad.
The trustees of the tem-
ple met and ceded to his
request. They allotted a
piece of land for the
construction of the
temple, where the stat-
ue of Ambaji Mata was
set up. Fast-forward 200
years, and the deity is
still worshipped at the
same spot in Madhu-
pura.
This Navratri, ar-
rangements have been
made to go out directly
for darshan, said Nirav
Bhatt, priest of the tem-
ple. “The darshan tim-
ing has been changed
for devotees during
Navratri. The temple
was open till late at
night until 11 pm. Dur-
ing the festival period,
it will remain open un-
til 9.30 pm instead. Dev-
otees will not be able to
participate in the morn-
ing and evening aarti,”
he said.
For devotees, Mataji’s
darshan will take place
every day on the Mad-
hupura Ambaji Face-
book page.
200-yr-old Madhupura temple to stream Mataji’s darshan on FB
BLESSINGS OF THE GODDESS

A trader estab-
lished the reli-
gious site after
bartering 17 pots
of ghee for two
idols—one of
which is here,
and the other is
at the Utkan-
theshwar Ma-
hadev temple The idol of Ambaji in the Madhupura temple.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOTHER
Cops barely seem to notice the queues of devotees awaiting their turn for a glimpse of the
goddess at the historic Bhadrakali temple on the second day of Navratri in Ahmedabad’s Old
City area, on Sunday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Agriculture to be the growth
engine for Gujarat’s economy
Haresh Jhala
Rajkot: By some esti-
mates, some Rs2,500
crore will be in the
market by Diwali—
which could be a
game-changer for the
state economy that
has been hit by the
triple whammy of
the pandemic, lock-
down and the eco-
nomic downturn. In-
terestingly, this in-
flux is expected to
come from the agri-
cultural sector, which
looks set to rebound
from its own recent
worries, including
monsoon-induced
damage to about 30%
of the crops in the
state.
Cooperative leader
and chairman of the
Rajkot Agriculture
Produce Market DK
Sakhiya says that many
crops have seen a good
harvest. Citing the Ra-
jkot APMC as an exam-
ple, he told First India
that the turnaround
could be a game chang-
er. “Our daily turnover
is going to touch Rs10
crore. Farmers are
bringing in huge quan-
tities of crops for sale.
So, we estimate that
farmers will be paid
about Rs300 crores at
the Rajkot APMC alone
over the next month,”
he said.
Further, the Gondal
market yard also ex-
pects a daily turnover
of about Rs8 crore
soon, meaning the
monthly payout to
farmers would be
around Rs240-260 crore.
The Jasdan market
yard already has a
turnover is of Rs2-3
crore and, once fresh
onion starts arriving,
the Mahuva market
yard will see a daily
turnover of Rs6-7 seven
crore, Sakhiya also
said, adding, “If we
count the bigger mar-
ket yards—like Unjha,
which has a higher
turnover that ours
does—the picture gets
even brighter.”
He highlighted the
fact that in most cases,
farmers put off big pur-
chases and other
planned expenditure
for the period immedi-
ately after the sale of
their harvest. “The mo-
ment the farmers get
paid for their crops,
they begin to make big
purchases. Starting
from the input for the
next season’s crop, to
family needs, vehicles,
fast-moving consumer
goods, gold, jewellery,
clothes—everything is
bought in large num-
bers just after the har-
vest is sold—especially
if there is an upcoming
marriage in the family.
So, the festive season
and the sale of crops
will kick off the pur-
chasing power of the
rural market.”
He also firmly be-
lieves that, this time,
the economy of the
state as well as that of
nation will be revived
by the agriculture sec-
tor rather than the
manufacturing, min-
ing or service sectors.
As a final argument, he
says that, even if farm-
ers do not spend, they
will then park their in-
come in fixed deposits
or other financial in-
struments, meaning
that banks will have
more cash on hand to
put in the market.
Farmers tend to put off big purchases until just after their harvest is sold. —FILE PHOTO
CASH CYCLE
B’nagar downpour ruins
10K sacks of peanuts, onion
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The of-
ficial monsoon sea-
son may have ended
almost three weeks
ago, but the rains do
not seem ready to bid
farewell to Gujarat.
Unseasonal rains
lashed Bhavnagar on
Sunday, drenching
about 10,000 sacks of
groundnut and onion
crops that had come
in for sale at the lo-
cal market yard. In
addition, several
tonnes of other pro-
duce were also
soaked in the intense
downpour.
While Junagadh re-
ceived more than inch
of rainfall in an hour
on Sunday, heavy rains
were also reported in
Morbi, Khambhaliya,
Upleta, Kutiyana and
Jamjodhpur. Parts of
Ahmedabad also rain
on Saturday night.
In addition, a light-
ning strike caused sig-
nificant damage to
house in Bhavnagar
which was being used
as a storehouse of sev-
eral types of electrical
equipment. Lightning
also caused one death
in Dori village of Bhuj
and injuries to two peo-
ple near Upleta.
Meanwhile, Saurash-
tra is also experiencing
the effects of a depres-
sion in the Arabian Sea,
with many parts of the
region reporting gusty
winds and lightning.
According to the me-
teorological depart-
ment, heavy rains
could continue until
October 20 due to the
deep depression.
While onion and
groundnut crops have
already reached the
markets for sale in
massive quantities,
farmers fear that any
more rain could severe-
ly damage a large por-
tion of the cotton crop
even before it reaches
the market.
Discussion on public health
in times of COVID-19 held
No mass promotions on the
cards, education dept says
Southwardtrendcontinues,
nCoVcouldbeslowinginGuj
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A 2018
study showed that
outdoor air pollution
causes 6,70,000 deaths
each year in India.
The next year, the
Centre launched a Na-
tional Clean Air Pro-
gramme (NCAP) to
reduce pollution lev-
els by 20-30% by 2024
in 122 cities where
current air pollution
levels exceed the na-
tional standards. Yet,
it took the nationwide
lockdown to drasti-
cally reduce air pollu-
tion in India.
“COVID-19 has dem-
onstratedthatIndiancit-
iestoocanhavecleanair
and blue skies. Through
the creation of scientifi-
cally guided source
emissiondatabases,crit-
ical early warning sys-
tems, and robust air
quality management
plans, cities in India can
achieve good air quali-
ty,” said Dr Gufran Beig,
Programme Director &
Senior Scientist, SAFAR
Programme, Indian In-
stitute of Tropical Mete-
orology. He was one of
several local and inter-
national experts speak-
ing at a virtual round-
table discussion titled
‘Air Quality and Public
Health in India: Risks
from Climate Change
and COVID-19’.
The discussion also
looked at how air pollu-
tion has worsened the
health impacts of the
pandemic. “Continu-
ous assessment of cru-
cial public health indi-
cators has the potential
to help us identify and
prioritize interven-
tions that can improve
the effectiveness of cli-
mate change interven-
tions. Measuring air
quality linked health
indicators can help
Ahmedabad and other
cities to achieve their
NCAP targets and cre-
ate healthy, sustainable
communities,” said Dr
Dileep Mavalankar, Di-
rector, Indian Institute
of Public Health, Gan-
dhinagar (IIPH-G).
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat’s education depart-
ment has rubbished
all rumours that pri-
mary schoolchildren
would receive mass
promotions for this
academic year.
On Sunday, the de-
partment issued a clari-
fication stating that the
government currently
has no plans for mass
promotion of students
in schools. The state-
ment issued by the edu-
cation department said:
“At present, the govern-
ment has no plans of
mass promotion of stu-
dents in Classes I
through VIII. News re-
ports that the govern-
ment is thinking about
mass promotion of
these students are false
and baseless. People are
requested not to get mis-
led due to such reports.”
Several schools have
indicated that they
would resume on-cam-
pus education after Di-
wali.Giventhatacadem-
ic sessions in schools
havebeenonpausesince
March due to the pan-
demic, many schools
have slashed their sylla-
bi by 30% for this year.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The re-
cent downward trend
continued on Sunday,
with the state witness-
ing 1,091 new COV-
ID-19 cases and nine
deaths over 24 hours.
With this, Gujarat has
seen a total of 1,59,726
positive cases and
3,638 fatalities.
According to the COV-
ID-19 bulletin issued by
the health and family
welfare department, Su-
ratagainhadthehighest
number of fresh cases
with 239. Cases also
emerged in Ahmedabad
(183),Vadodara(119), Ra-
jkot(107),Jamnagar(84),
Gandhinagar (46),
Mehsana (38), Junagadh
(32),Surendranagar(21),
Sabarkantha (20), Am-
reli (19), Bhavnagar and
Patan(18each),Bharuch
(17), Banaskantha and
Kutch (15), Gir Somnath
and Morbi (11 each),
Anand, Narmada and
Panchamahal (10 each),
Dahod (9), Devbhumi
Dwarka and Kheda (7
each), Chhota Udepur
and Navsari (5 each) Ma-
hisagar (4), Aravalli and
Valsad (3 each), Botad
and Tapi (2 each) and
Porbandar (1).
Of the nine reported
deaths five were from
Ahmedabad, two in Su-
rat and one each in Gan-
dhinagar and Vadodara.
Good harvests in many crops could pump as much as `2,500 cr back into the market by Diwali
Many schools have indicated a return to campuses after Diwali.
Onions in an APMC market yard. —FILE PHOTO
The state has tested 53,74,429 samples for COVID-19 so far.
1,091 cases, nine
deaths take state tally
to 1,59,726 cases,
death toll to 3,638
—FILEPHOTO
—FILEPHOTO

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 324 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, OCTOBER 19, 2020
uring crises
and disasters,
alcohol and oth-
er drug use of-
ten changes.
But the changes are not
straightforward and im-
pacts may be different for
different groups of people.
There doesn’t seem to
havebeensignificantoverall
increases or decreases in al-
cohol or other drug use dur-
ingtheCOVID-19pandemic,
but some groups are at in-
creased risk. And access to
treatment is more limited
for those who need it.
IT’S A COMPLEX
PICTURE
There’sabitof dataaround,
but the picture is still not
quite clear. As researchers
from the Centre for Alcohol
PolicyResearchatLaTrobe
University have argued in
an editorial published to-
day, we need more research
to understand the influence
of the pandemic on use.
There were some early
indicators of increases in
Australians’ alcohol con-
sumption as the pandemic
hit, possibly related to in-
creased stress. But that ef-
fect seemed to reduce as we
settledintothenewnormal.
At the beginning of COV-
ID-19 restrictions in March,
Commonwealth Bank re-
ported spending had in-
creased on alcohol, but this
was then reversed in April.
And in April, a study by
the Foundation for Alcohol
Research and Education
found that most people
who had stockpiled alcohol
reported drinking more.
Also around the same time,
Australian Bureau of Sta-
tistics data showed more
people had increased their
drinking (14.4%) than had
decreased it (9.5%).
By May, the Australian
National University found
more people had decreased
their drinking (27%) than
had increased it (20%). The
Global Drug Survey be-
tween May and June found
similar results among the
mostly young people who
responded.
However, alcohol use
seemed to increase among
some groups, possibly
those who are more vulner-
able to harms.
In both the ABS and
ANU studies, more women
had increased their drink-
ing than decreased it,
which seemed to be related
to higher stress linked to
increased responsibilities
at home.
Inasurveyof peoplewho
use illicit drugs, more peo-
ple increased (41%) than
decreased (33%) drinking.
And among people who in-
ject drugs around 11% re-
ported increased drinking.
There have also been in-
dicators that family vio-
lence has increased during
this time. Alcohol and oth-
er drug use is a risk factor
for family violence.
A survey of treatment
services found that among
services that reported
changes in demand, most
had an increase. Most ser-
vices also reported that
mental health problems,
family violence and finan-
cial stress had all increased
among people who use
their services. These fac-
tors can make treatment
more complex.
There is some evidence
fewer people accessed med-
ication treatment for opi-
oids during the restric-
tions, like methadone.
COVID-19 restrictions
have changed the way
many services offer treat-
ment. Most residential re-
habilitation services have
reduced the number of
places available so they can
ensure physical distancing.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
COVID changed the way we use drugs and alcohol
D
You should never engage in
action for the sake of reward,
nor should you long for
inaction. —Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
@DrRPNishank
Under the #NewEducationPolicy,
all Higher Education Institutions
will be transformed into large
multidisciplinary universities
and clusters. Watch the video to
know more about the Institutional
Restructuring and Consolidation.
#NEPTransformingIndia
KC Venugopal @kcvenugopalmp
While the Union Govt & Kerala
Govt are playing the blame game,
the active cases are skyrocketing
in Kerala & the entire country,
putting the lives of people in
grave danger. Now is the time for
coordinated action to control the
spread & to support the poor not
play blame games.
INDIATO FAREWORSE
THAN BANGLADESH
he International Monetary Fund’s lat-
est report on the World Economic Out-
look has caught the country’s attention
as it said that an average Bangladeshis
per capita income in the 2020 calendar
year is set to be higher than that of an average
Indians. This was not the case until a few years
ago when India was much ahead of its eastern
neighbour. The gap narrowed due to Bangladesh’s
rising exports, high savings, and investments. In
India’s case, savings and investments remained
low for which the blame can be put on the pan-
demic. The IMF predicts India’s per capita GDP to
contract by 10.3 percent in 2020 to settle at $1877,
while that of Bangladesh will rise by 4 percent to
$1888. If the forecast comes true, India will also
lag behind Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka. The
decline will also be the third steepest fall globally
after Spain and Italy.
The IMF forecast comes soon after the massive
fall in the country’s Q1 GDP and Reserve Bank of
India’s projected GDP contraction of 9.5 percent
in the entire fiscal. That makes the IMF’s predic-
tion even worse. However, the important aspect of
the report is that India’s per capita is expected to
grow at 8.2 percent, compared to Bangladesh’s 5.4
percent in 2021.
This does not mean that India’s economic
growth story can be junked on the basis of the IMF
report. To understand the report better one must
consider the fact that India’s population is higher
than that of Bangladesh. And the population is an
important variable to calculate per capita income.
T
IN-DEPTH
HUNGER IN INDIATOO
HIGH FOR COMFORT
hen it comes to managing the hunger of
millions of poor, India’s performance
has been disappointing as it continues
to be in the “serious” category. It ranks
97 among 107 countries in the Global
Hunger Index 2020. In the 2019 Index India ranked
102nd out of 117 countries. What is embarrassing
is that in this year’s index Pakistan, Myanmar, and
Bangladesh ranked higher than India at 88th, 77th,
and 75th, respectively, although they too are in the
“serious” category. Nepal at 73rd place and Sri
Lanka at 64th are also better placed. Besides, these
two countries are in the “moderate” category. In
other words, neighbours have fared much better
in fighting hunger than India.
What the hunger index tells us is that a big
chunk of the population is undernourished with
high wasting and stunting. In the case of stunting
the Index recorded a rate of 37.4 percent. Stunting
is a result of chronic undernourishment which
retards linear growth or height of children under
the age of five years. The rate of wasting, which
happens due to inadequate nutrition, stands at 17.3
percent in India. In wasting, children have low
weight for their height.
These data reveal the underside of India’s
growth story. Undernourishment, wasting, and
stunting prove that the level of deprivation in the
country remains high despite various policies to
improve the situation. Clearly, there’s some lacuna
in implementation and monitoring also is weak.
The contributing states in India’s high rank in
hunger index are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Mad-
hya Pradesh. The time for them to act is now.
W
ajasthan Governor Kalraj
Mishra, who completed one
year in office last month,
wants to make Rajbhawan
an ideal example for the
country for which he did
something new every day
while focusing his thinking
and vision on the develop-
ment of the state. The 2020
year has been challenging
for the entire world due to
coronavirus spread and
amid the pandemic Mishra
was very concerned for the
health and livelihood of the
people of Rajasthan and
tirelessly tried to help the
people of the state.
There was unique coordina-
tion among the Governor,
Chief Minister, and the opposi-
tion and all tried to protect the
state from the Covid-19. The
governor has to act on consti-
tutional grounds and the state
government works for the all-
round development of the
state. With the coordination of
the Governor and the state gov-
ernment, round-the-clock de-
velopment of the state takes
place in a better way.
Mishra wants an overall
development of Rajasthan
and therefore he often talks
with the chief minister and
praises the state govern-
ment for good works and if
there is any deficiency, he
calls the Chief Minister sep-
arately and holds talks.
In order to make Rajbhawan,
Jaipur an ideal in the entire
country, Mishra decided to
build a constitution park here.
On the completion of one year
as Rajasthan Governor, a book
‘New Thinking-New Dimen-
sions’ was released by chief
minister Ashok Gehlot and
Speaker of legislative assem-
bly CP Joshi.
The book, which is a com-
pilation of works and
achievements of one year,
also has a detailed explana-
tion of various points of
higher education and things
about the development of
Rajasthan.
Chief Minister Ashok Ge-
hlot has also praised the Gover-
nor. He said that Mishra likes
to work with out of the box
thinking and his personality
and work is unique. “Mishra is
the Governor who himself
calls the Chief Minister, and
worries about the state. During
the corona pandemic, he spoke
to MLAs and District Collec-
tors. His sensitivity, behavior,
and personality are worthy of
reverence. Mishra is an experi-
enced person and society is get-
ting the benefits of the long
political experience of Mishra.
Rajasthan is fortunate to
have got a Governor like
him, who has got mixed with
Rajasthan in a short time,”
he had said during the book
launch.
Rajasthan assembly Speaker
CP Joshi termed Governor as
the guide of the state and said
the state is progressing due to
his inspiration. The state has
got the cooperation of the Gov-
ernor, Chief Minister and the
opposition during the Covid-19
pandemic.
The book was launched in
a simple ceremony held at
Raj Bhavan during which
chief secretary Rajeeva
Swarup, Principal Secretary
to the Chief Minister Kul-
deep Ranka, Secretary to the
Legislative Assembly Pramil
Kumar Mathur and Amit
Mishra, son of the Governor
were present.
The book has been pub-
lished by the Governor’s Sec-
retariat. The 168-page book,
divided into thirty-six chap-
ters, talks about the Gover-
nor’s own talk, his initiative,
innovation, Rajasthan, Rajb-
hawan, and the functioning of
the Governor’s Secretariat.
The inspiration for the book is
Governor Kalraj Mishra him-
self. The Governor’s Secretary
Subir Kumar directed the
book and guidance was given
by principal OSD Govind Ram
Jaiswal and was edited by Dr
Lokesh Chandra Sharma.
The book also has a com-
bination of pictures of the
Governor’s meetings and
celebrations.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
‘NEW THINKING
NEW DIMENSIONS’
Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot has also
praised the
Governor. He said
that Mishra likes to
work with out of the
box thinking and his
personality and
work is unique.
“Mishra is the
Governor who
himself calls the
Chief Minister, and
worries about the
state. During the
corona pandemic, he
spoke to MLAs and
District Collectors.
His sensitivity,
behavior, and
personality are
worthy of reverence.
Mishra is an
experienced person
and society is getting
the benefits of the
long political
experience of Mishra
RAJASTHAN ASSEMBLY SPEAKER CP JOSHI
TERMED GOVERNOR AS THE GUIDE OF THE
STATE AND SAID THE STATE IS PROGRESSING
DUE TO HIS INSPIRATION. THE STATE HAS
GOT THE COOPERATION OF THE GOVERNOR,
CHIEF MINISTER, AND THE OPPOSITION
DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
DR LOKESH
CHANDRA SHARMA
THE WRITER IS ADPR
AND EDITOR SUJAS
R

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020
Patna: Lok Janshakti
Party (LJP) president
Chirag Paswan on Sun-
day said that he wel-
comed any attack on
him by the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)
leaders and even by
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi if it satisfies
Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar's agenda,
but he advised the lead-
ers to “use the words
wisely”. His remarks
came a day after BJP
leader and Union home
minister Amit Shah
commented on his “Ha-
numan of Modi” re-
mark, saying “LJP pres-
ident should not har-
bour any illusions”.
“He (Nitish Kumar)
has wasted most of the
time to show how LJP
and BJP are divided.
The Chief Minister is
fielding all big BJP
leaders to speak against
me. I just want to say
that they are free to
speak against me. I
would even say that if
the Prime Minister
wants to say something
against me just to sat-
isfy the chief minister,
he can,” Chirag told
ANI here.
Chirag also said that
Bihar chief minister
Nitish Kumar should
thank BJP for follow-
ing the coalition reli-
giously.
“Nitish Kumar Ji
should thank the BJP
colleagues that despite
all the resentment
against the Chief Min-
ister, they are playing
coalition religiously
and every day they give
certificates to Nitish
Kumar Ji that they are
not with Chirag,” he
tweeted.
Chirag again
thanked PM Modi for
supporting him during
his tough phase and in-
spired him to bring out
'Bihar first Bihari first'
vision document.
“Prime Minister is
in my heart. Prime
Minister Modi was
standing with me when
I was alone outside my
father's ICU. He gave
such an honour to my
father. Should I forget
all that? He has loved
like a father, this is my
personal belief just
like religion,” Chirag
Paswan said.
“I have brought the
'Bihar first Bihari first'
vision document after
getting inspired by PM
Modi. He is my inspira-
tion,” he added.
Criticising the Bihar
Chief Minister, Chirag
said, “I believe Bihar
CM's stopped envision-
ing policies and become
saturated. He is anti-
youth and dismisses
young leaders, calling
them inexperienced but
himself started as a
young activist during
the JP movement. We
are aware too and can
think for Bihar. The
state has given him 15
years already.”
LJP will not contest
seats where BJP will be
contesting, however, it
will fight against Jana-
ta Dal (United) in polls
Bihar with 243 As-
sembly seats will go to
polls on Oct 28, Novem-
ber 3 & Nov 7. —ANI
‘NO QUALMS ON CRITICISM, BUT
BJPSHOULDUSEWORDSWISELY’
LJP President Chirag Paswan speaks to media as he performs rituals of his father, in Patna on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Save criminals, Rahul Gandhi said, tagging a report claiming a BJP MLA saving a criminal.
I would even say that if the PM wants to say something against me just to satisfy the CM, he can, LJP President Chirag Paswan said
Patna: Amid the ongo-
ing campaining in Bi-
har for the ensuing
State Assembly polls,
Bihar BJP poll in-
charge Devendra Fad-
navis on Sunday said
that people's trust in
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi will not only
benefit his party but
also its allies.
“A lot of enthusiasm
is seen among people,
wherever we go in Bi-
har and take Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi's name. The coun-
try and its people have
placed their trust in PM
Modi. This trust will
benefit not only us but
also our allies,” Fad-
navis, who is a former
chief minister of Maha-
rashtra told reporters.
The BJP and the JDU
had agreed to contest on
121-122 seats respective-
ly in the 243-member as-
sembly. The JDU, which
has a share of 122 seats
according to the under-
standing, has given
seats to Hindustani
Awaam Morcha of Jitin
Ram Manjhi from its
quota.
BJP had earlier this
week formally inducted
the Vikassheel Insaan
Party (VIP) into the Na-
tional Democratic Alli-
ance (NDA) and as-
signed the party 11
seats as part of seat
distribution among al-
lies for the Bihar polls.
—ANI
‘People’s trust in
PMModiwillbenefit
BJP and allies’
Patna: RJD leader and
Mahagathbandhan's
Chief Minister face
Tejashwi Yadav has hit
back at Bihar CM Nit-
ish Kumar accusing
him of being a vision-
less leader. “Nitish Ku-
mar's first and last love
is the CM's chair. Does
he have a vision for Bi-
har? If yes, then why
doesn't he share it? How
will he eliminate unem-
ployment? Why does he
not speak on migration,
poverty, starvation?
Youth knows that if
NDA isn't defeated,
such a useless govern-
ment won't do anything
for the unemployed,”
Tejashwi Yadav said.
“In the greed of power,
Nitish-BJP has ruined
two generations of Bi-
har. Due to the wrong
policies and decisions
of the Chief Minister,
today Bihar has become
the centre of unemploy-
ment. Why does the CM
never speak on these
important issues?”—ANI
Nitish Kumar is
visionless, has
ruined Bihar,
says Tejashwi
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
hit out at the Uttar
Pradesh government
over media reports of
rising incidents of
crime against women
in the state. Instead of
protecting women, the
state government was
trying to “save crimi-
nals”, the Congress
MP said, tagging a re-
port which claimed
that a BJP MLA alleg-
edly took away a man
accused of harassing a
woman from police
custody.
“How it started “Beti
Bachao” (save daugh-
ter), how it's going
“Apradhi Bachao”
(save criminals),” the
Congress leader tweet-
ed sharing the report
on the social media
platform.
According to the me-
dia report, the BJP
MLA forcefully en-
tered a police station
along with his party
workers and took away
an accused in a moles-
tation case.
The report was also
shared by Gandhi's sis-
ter, Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra, who questioned
the state government
for the allegedly deteor-
ating law and order sit-
uation in the state.
“Will the UP CM
tell that this is happen-
ing under which “mis-
sion”? “Beti bachao”
(Save daughters) or
“Apradhi bachao” (save
criminals)?” Vadra
tweeted.
The Congress has
stepped up its attack on
UP government par-
ticularly after the Hath-
ras incident. —ANI
GandhishitoutatUP
govtoverwomensafety
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Party (SP) president
Akhilesh Yadav
charged the Uttar
Pradesh government on
Saturday with surren-
dering before criminal
elements because of
which women are not
safe in the state.
“Sisters and daugh-
ters cannot be safe till
the BJP government is
there in Uttar Pradesh
as this government has
surrendered before
criminal elements,” he
said in a statement is-
sued by the party.
Daughters, mothers, sis-
ters, villages and cities
are different but their
fate is the same, Mr Ya-
dav said. The state is
fast turning into “bar-
baric Hatya Pradesh”
he said. —PTI
‘UP govt has
surrendered
before
criminals’
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
claimed double stand-
ards by media in its re-
sponse to fatal attacks
on sadhus, alleging that
such deaths were por-
trayed as ‘adharma,’
when they happen in
Maharashtra but are
brushed of as ‘inci-
dents’ elsewhere.
Referring to killing
of two sadhus in Pal-
ghar district in April,
Sena leader Sanjay
Raut claimed that simi-
lar incidents in other
parts of the country
were not viewed with
same fervor. “Two sad-
hus were murdered by a
mob in Palghar and this
incident created a furo-
re in the country. In the
last four days, four sad-
hus were killed in UP
and one in Rajasthan.
In Rajasthan, the priest
was burned to death.
Nothing happened,”
Raut wrote in party
mouthpiece “Saama-
na”. “When Palghar in-
cident took place it is
‘adharma’ & if this hap-
pens in other places
then it is just an inci-
dent. How is this possi-
ble?” he asked. —ANI
Palghar incident is adharma:Raut
Kolkata: West Bengal
Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar wrote to
state CM Mamata Ba-
nerjee over the custo-
dial death of one Madan
Ghorai.
The letter read, “Re-
cent custodial death of
Madan Ghorai alias Ka-
lipada Ghorai of village
Kanakpur in East Mid-
napore district, is yet
another horrifying in-
stance of dehumanis-
ing torture, assault and
death in custody.”
“There is outrage at
such lawlessness in
state and outside, and
consequent to October
8 police excesses Bal-
winder Singh is al-
ready poster boy for
blatant Human Right
violations in the State,”
it said.
“Madam Chief Min-
ister, high time you re-
deem your constitution-
al oath and enforce rule
of law.” —ANI
Guv writes to Mamata
over custodial death
2 WOMEN JUMP OUT OF RUNNING
CAB AFTER DRIVER MOLESTS ONE
Amritsar: Two women
in Amritsar sustained
injuries after they jumped
out of a running cab when
its driver allegedly tried to
molest one of them, po-
lice said. A third woman
was also in the cab and
was rescued by locals
who chased and inter-
cepted the vehicle when
they saw the duo jumping
out of the taxi, police said,
adding that the driver was
later arrested. SHO Robin
Hans informed, “When
the taxi was on the way,
its driver started molest-
ing one of the three wom-
en. But as she resisted,
he started to increase the
vehicle’s speed. However,
she, along with one more
woman, jumped out of
the running cab,” the
SHO said.
UP: EX- JAWAN ACCUSED OF
KILLING MAN IN COPS, HELD
Delhi: A former army man accused of shooting
another man dead in presence of the police
in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, has been arrested.
Dhirendra Singh - who had filed a “surrender
application” at a court in Ballia - was caught on
the Lucknow-Faizabad highway, said the Special
Task Force. STF said he had fled to Bihar after the
shooting and at the time of arrest, had returned
to Lucknow, probably to find a hideout with
someone he knew. A surrender application allows
an accused to surrender directly before the court.
HATHRAS VICTIM’S FAMILY
PROBED BY CBI FOR 5 HOURS
Hathras: The CBI questioned family members of
Hathras incident victim for almost five hours. The
CBI is probing the torture and alleged gang rape
of 20-year old Dalit woman who died in a Delhi
hospital last month. The victim’s sister-in-law
said the team asked her questions related to the
case. “They did not ask me many questions. They
asked me about Chotu, but I don’t know him.
They have taken victim’s clothes with them. They
carried out questioning for hours. We did not
face any pressure,” she said.
SEEMA MUSTAFA CHOSEN AS PREZ
OF EDITORS GUILD OF INDIA
New Delhi: Seema
Mustafa, the Editor of The
Citizen, has been elect-
ed as President of the
Editors Guild of India. The
announcement came after
the results of an online
election held on October
16 were declared. In the
same election, Hardnews
editor Sanjay Kapoor
was elected as General
Secretary. Anant Nath,
the Editor of The Caravan,
was elected unopposed as
Treasurer, the statement
said. Mustafa succeeds
Shekhar Gupta, the Edi-
tor-in-Chief of ThePrint,
while Kapoor and Mr Nath
will take over from AK
Bhattacharya, the Editorial
Director of Business Stan-
dard, and Sheela Bhatt,
the Contributing Editor of
Rediff.com, respectively.
New Delhi: Soon af-
ter Congress leader
Shashi Tharoor's
criticism of the Un-
ion government on
its handling of COV-
ID-19, condition of
Muslims and treat-
ment meted to Indian
citizens from the
Northeast on a Paki-
stan-based platform,
BJP has rechris-
tened Rahul Gandhi
as Rahul Lahori.
BJP Spokesperson
Sambit Patra said
“We in BJP will start
calling him Rahul
Lahori and hence-
forth I too will ad-
dress Rahul Gandhi
as Rahul Lahori. A
debut rally for him
has already been
done in Pakistan by
Tharoor,” the BJP
leader added. —ANI
‘RaGa should be
called Rahul Lahori’
A lot of enthusiasm
is seen among
people, wherever
we go in Bihar and
take Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's
name. The country
and its people have
placed their trust in
PM Modi. This trust
will benefit not only
us but also our allies.
—Devendra Fadnavis
Bihar BJP poll in-charge
Tejashwi Yadav
Sambit Patra
Jagdeep Dhankhar
Akhilesh Yadav
Sanjay Raut

INDIAAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020
INDIA 06www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Covid has...
coronavirus-induced
lockdown, Delhi-NCR is
bracing for months of
poor air quality. The na-
tional capital’s air qual-
ity was in the ‘poor’ cat-
egory on Sunday morn-
ing. According to doc-
tors, respiratory ill-
nesses like viral influ-
enza increase with a
spike in pollution levels
as poor air quality leads
to inflammation in the
lungs making it more
vulnerable for the virus
to penetrate.
“It would be a taxing
time for testing centres
as they have to cater to
people with coronavi-
rus and also non-COVID
patients with similar
symptoms,” said Dr
Neeraj Nischal, an as-
sociate professor in the
Department of Medi-
cine at AIIMS. —Agencies
No fresh...
The 10-member panel
which conducted a
study on “Progression
of the COVID-19 Pan-
demic in India: Progno-
sis and Lockdown Im-
pacts” has pointed out
that with no lockdown,
the pandemic would
have hit India very
hard with a peak load
of over 1.40 crore cases
arriving in June. “The
existing personal safe-
ty protocols need to
continue in full meas-
ure. Otherwise we will
see a sharp rise in in-
fections.
PM’s address...
The names of the ten
pandals are yet to be fi-
nalized,” BJP state vice-
president Partap Ba-
nerjee said.
Various cultural pro-
grammes, including
gigs by folk artistes,
have been lined up at
EZCC next week. BCCI
president Sourav Gan-
guly’s wife Dona, a re-
puted Odissi danseuse,
and her troupe will be
performing at the inau-
guration ceremony, Ba-
nerjee said.
Eyes set on Assembly
elections, likely to held
in April-May next year,
both the TMC, BJP are
going all out to woo peo-
ple and strengthen their
vote banks.
Bully China...
“The DF-17 hypersonic
missile will gradually
replace the old DF-11s
and DF-15s that were
deployed in the south-
east region for dec-
ades,” the source was
quoted by SCMP.
Even though Taiwan
has never been con-
trolled by China’s rul-
ing party, Chinese au-
thorities insist that the
self-governing island is
an integral part of
their territory, with
president Xi Jinping
refusing to rule out a
military force to cap-
ture it if necessary.
According to the
Canada-based Kanwa
Defence Review, satel-
lite images show that
both the Marine Corps
and Rocket Force bases
in Fujian and Guang-
dong have expanded.
“The size of some of
the missile bases in the
Eastern and Southern
theatre commands
have even doubled in
recent years, showing
the PLA is stepping up
preparations for a war
targeting Taiwan,” the
further stated.
The information re-
garding the possible
deployment of hyper-
sonic missile comes
amid heightened ten-
sions between China
and the US, with is-
sues pertaining to dis-
agreements over Tai-
wan and the COVID-19
pandemic.
During an inspec-
tion of the PLA’s Ma-
rineCorpsinChaozhou
City, Xinhua said Xi
told the soldiers to
“maintain a state of
high alert” and called
on them to be “abso-
lutely loyal, absolutely
pure, and absolutely
reliable”.
China in recent
years has also in-
creased military drills
around Taiwan, with
almost 40 Chinese war-
planes crossing the
median line between
the mainland and Tai-
wan on September 18-
19 -- one of several sor-
ties the island’s Presi-
dent Tsai Ing-wen
called a “threat of
force.” —ANI
Democracy assing...
The Congress will hold
a nationwide protest
against the Hathras in-
cident on October 26.
The party will also pro-
test against the farm
laws at all party district
headquarters on Octo-
ber 31, said Congress
sources.
The decision was tak-
en during AICC meet-
ing chaired by Congress
president Sonia Gandhi
with the general secre-
taries and incharges.
She has asked all the
general secretaries and
state incharges to reach
out to people and farm-
ers who are in distress.
“Atrocities on Dalits
have reached a new ze-
nith. Instead of honor-
ing the law and grant-
ing adequate protection
to India’s daughters,
BJP governments are
siding with the crimi-
nals. The voice of op-
pressed families is be-
ing suppressed by the
agencies of the State. Is
this the new Raj Dhar-
ma?” said Sonia Gandhi
during the meeting.
“To take on these
challenges and stand
with the people is what
defines the Congress. I
am confident that all of
you would toil hard and
stand up to the forces at-
tacking India and its
people. Let us join
hands to defeat the anti-
democracy and auto-
cratic designs of BJP,”
she added. —ANI
FROM PG 1
‘Congratulations to PM
of NZ, Jacinda Ardern’
PM Modi hails New Zealand counterpart’s poll victory
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
has congratulated his
New Zealand counter-
part Jacinda Ardern
on her resounding vic-
tory for a second term
in office.
“My heartiest con-
gratulations to the PM
of NZ, Jacinda Ardern,
on her resounding vic-
tory. Recall our last
meet a year ago and
look forward to work-
ing together for tak-
ing India-New Zea-
land relationship to a
higher level,” Modi
said in a tweet.
Ardern has served as
the 40th Prime Minister
of New Zealand and
leader of the Labour
Party since 2017.
New Zealand voted to
award Ardern a second
term in office on Satur-
day. Ardern’s liberal
Labour Party won a his-
toric mandate by secur-
ing 49 per cent of the
vote in comparison to
the 27 per cent bagged
by its primary challeng-
er, the conservative Na-
tional Party.
In fact, this is the first
time since New Zealand
implemented a propor-
tional voting system 24
years ago that a single
party won an outright
majority of seats in Par-
liament. Ardern was
voted to the top job in
2017 when her Labour
Party entered into an al-
liance with two other
parties.—Agencies
PM Narendra Modi congratulates his NZ counterpart Jacinda
Ardern on her resounding victory for a second term in office.
Hyderabad: A fresh
spell of overnight heavy
rains caused flooding on
Sunday in parts of the
city and left three people
dead in separate rain-
related incidents just
days after it witnessed
one of the worst deluges
in recent times follow-
ing unprecedented
downpour in over a cen-
tury, police and civic of-
ficials said.
A total of 37,409 fami-
lies were affected in
various localities that
were inundated in city
due to floods and ration
kits and blankets were
beingdistributedamong
them, a release from
GHMC said. At least 3
people including two
children died in rain-
related incidents report-
ed from different parts
of the city over the past
24hourshere,policeand
civic officials said. A
five-year-old girl died
early Sunday in a wall
collapse while a 4-year
boy died after falling in
a pit at a construction
site which was filled
with rain water. The
Met forecast more rains
till October 21. Mean-
while, bodies of 2 people
were washed away in
Gaganpahad area here
following heavy rains
on Sunday.—PTI
2nd wave of floods hit parts of Hyd
Gorakhpur will be devp
into a textile hub: Yogi
SHAH OFFERS PRAYERS
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday offered prayers at the Bahuchara Mata
temple in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. On the occasion of Navratri, he took part in the arti at the
temple which is located in his paternal hometown, Mansa. He had also urged people to
follow all COVID-19 related guidelines and stay safe during the festive season.
‘We must let charity take precedence’
New Delhi: Union min-
ister for health and fam-
ily welfare Dr Harsh
Vardhan on Sunday
urged the citizens to be
mindful of their role in
defeating Covid-19 dur-
ing upcoming festivi-
ties. “This Navratri I
urge you to be mindful
of your role in defeat-
ing Covid-19. As we bow
down in prayer, we must
keep the sacrifice of
lakhs of Corona warri-
ors in our thoughts,
those who’ve lost their
lives and those who’re
battling the dreaded
disease to save us,” he
said as he answered
many inquisitive social
media interactors on
the sixth episode of
‘Sunday Samvaad’.
He exhorted citizens
to honour the PM’s call
for ‘Jan Andolan’ and
religiously follow Covid
appropriate behaviour
reiterating that celebra-
tions must be limited to
homes and practised in
a traditional fashion.
We must let charity
take precedence, donate
with a large heart to
under-privileged,” said
Dr Harsh. ANI
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister for Health and
Family Welfare Dr
Harsh Vardhan on Sun-
day said that as of now
no mutation of corona-
virus has been detected
in India.
Dr Harsh Vardhan
remarked that although
there are no intranasal
COVID-19 vaccines un-
der trial in India at the
moment, Serum India
and Bharat Biotech are
expected to pursue clin-
ical trials of such vac-
cines in India in the
coming months on re-
ceipt of regulatory ap-
proval.
‘No mutation of coronavirus
has been detected in India’
Dr Harsh Vardhan
India’s Covid-19
tally reaches
74,94,552
Bharat Biotech
inks deal with
Washington
Univ for vax
New Delhi: With a
spike of 61,871 new
COVID-19 cases and
1,033 deaths, India’s
Covid-19 count reached
74,94,552 on Sunday, ac-
cording to the Ministry
of Health and Family
Welfare.
It includes 7,83,311 ac-
tive cases & 1,033 deaths
in 24 hours. Maharash-
tra is the worst affected
state by in the country.
New Delhi: Union
Health Minister
Harsh Vardhan on
Sunday informed
that Bharat Biotech
will develop an in-
tranasal vaccine for
Sars-CoV-2, the vi-
rus that causes Cov-
id-19. The minister
said that the Hy-
d e r a b a d - b a s e d
drugs and vaccine
research and manu-
facturing company
has entered into an
agreement with
Washington Uni-
versity and St. Lou-
is University for the
trials of the nasal
vaccine candidate.
“It (Bharat Bio-
tech) has entered
into an agreement
with Washington
University’s School
of Medicine under
which the company
will conduct trials,
produce and market
an intranasal vac-
cine for the COV-
ID-19,” Vardhan
told virtually at
Sunday Samvaad.
‘Pollution draw
back can’t be
resolved in a day’
BARC India
slams
Republic TV
New Delhi: UnionEnvi-
ronment Minister
Prakash Javadekar on
Sunday said the pollu-
tion problem cannot be
resolved in a day and
continuous efforts are
needed to tackle each of
the contributing factors.
“Dust suppressant and
water sprinklers are
used to tackle it. We
have also been asking
all agencies, govern-
ments and corpora-
tions, to close unpaved
roads,” Javadekar
said.“Air shed is large
and includes Ra-
jasthan, Haryana, UP,”
he adds. —PTI
Mumbai: Broadcast
Audience Research
Council (BARC) India
has slammed news
channel Republic net-
work for disclosing con-
fidential communica-
tion and misrepresent-
ing the same.
“BARC India has not
commented on the ongo-
ing investigation and it
is providing necessary
assistance to the law en-
forcement agency,” the
body said in a statement
released on Sunday.
“BARCIndiaishighly
disappointed with the
actions of the Republic
network by disclosing
private and confidential
communications and
misrepresenting the
same. BARC India reit-
erates that it has not
commented on the ongo-
ing investigation and
without prejudice to
BARC India’s rights, it
expresses its dismay at
the actions of the Re-
public Network,” it fur-
ther read.
‘THIS NAVRATRI BE MINDFUL OF YOUR ROLE IN DEFEATING COVID’
Gorakhpur: Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath has
said that Gorakhpur
will be developed into a
textile sector hub.
The chief minister
made this announce-
ment on Sunday during
his brief visit here.
It will give an impe-
tus to the ready-made
garment industry in
eastern Uttar Pradesh,
he dadded.
Besides boosting the
textile industry that
also falls in the category
of One District One
Product (ODOP), it will
also generate employ-
ment opportunities for
the workers who have
returned to the state
from various places
during the lockdown.
The chief minister,
while interacting with
the representatives of
the Chamber of Indus-
tries (COI) of Gorakh-
pur, said that in order to
encourage self-employ-
ment, the government
is also planning to es-
tablish a big training
centre. According to a
survey, about 12,000 mi-
grant workers associat-
ed with the textile in-
dustrieshavecomeback
to Gorakhpur and ad-
joining districts during
the lockdown.
“The government is
making serious efforts
for employing them at
places near their native
places and most of them
have already been em-
ployed. Bigger industri-
alist should also come
forward,” UP chief min-
ister Yogi added.—ANI
UP CM LAUDS EFFORTS OF COI
Yogi Adityanath
GHMC personnel carries out a rescue operation to move flood-
affected people to a safer place following heavy rains, at Hafiz
Baba Nagar in Hyderabad on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
My heartiest con-
gratulations to the
PM of New Zealand
@jacindaardern on
her resounding vic-
tory. Recall our last
meet a year ago
and look forward to
working together
for taking India-NZ
relationship to a
higher level.
A team of doctors check patients at CWG village Covid-19 care
centre, near Akshardham in New Delhi on Sunday.—PHOTO BY PTI

Y
ou wear
y o u r
m a s k ,
keep six
feet between your-
self and others and
are committed to
safety. But the
measures that
help minimize
your risk of COV-
ID-19 can also
have an impact
on your interac-
tions with others.
As you stroll
the aisle of a su-
permarket, you ap-
proach someone who
looks familiar. To
avoid an awkward ex-
change, you flash them a
friendly smile. It’s not un-
til you pass you remem-
ber: Your smile was hid-
den behind a mask. Un-
loading your groceries at
home, you see your neigh-
bor. You excitedly ask her
how she is, but when she
doesn’t respond, you wor-
ry your mask has muffled
your voice.
As the head coach for
Mississippi State Universi-
ty’s Speech and Debate
Team, my job is to teach ef-
fective communication.
Without question, masks
have disrupted social interac-
tions. But communication has
many components. You can
adjust and enhance your com-
munication by focusing on
some of the other pieces that
aren’t hidden behind a mask.
You might be sur-
prised how
much information is
conveyed by the
body itself.
For instance, when
someone is happy,
they stand up
straighter and lift
their head; when
they are sad, they
slouch and drop their
head; and when they
are angry, their
whole body tenses
up. Learning how
people use their bod-
ies to convey emotion
may help reduce the
uncertainty you feel
when communicat-
ing with someone in
a mask.
Become aware of
your own body lan-
guage, too. When en-
gaged in a conversa-
tion, you can appear
more attentive by
turning your body
toward the individu-
al, leaning in or nod-
ding. To let another
person know you
want to start speak-
ing, straighten your
posture, hold up
your index finger or
nod more frequently.
Finally, be aware
that imitating the
posture of another
person can increase
how much they like
you and even agree
with you.
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE CONCEPT: MONI SHARMA DESIGN: CP SHARMA
TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020
HOWTOPUTYOUR
POINTACROSS BODY LANGUAGE
While masks may make
conversations feel more
daunting, you are equipped to
communicate, even with part
of your face concealed.
Before your next interac-
tion with a friend, think of
ways to improve your connec-
tion. Pull your hair back so
they can see your eyes clearly
and find a quiet place to talk.
Use your body and voice to
convey the emotions you fear
your mask might hide. Maybe
most importantly, don’t ex-
pect it to go perfectly. Just
like any conversation, mis-
takes will be made.
When someone can’t un-
derstand you, try rephrasing
your statement, saying it a bit
more slowly and enunciating
more. If you are struggling to
understand someone else, try
to ask close-ended questions,
like “Do you want to go to the
park?” instead of open-ended
ones, like “Where do you
want to go?”
By all means, continue the
proper measures to keep
yourself safe, but don’t ne-
glect your relationships as a
consequence. Social distance
doesn’t have to mean socially
distant.
Facial expressions are the
primary way people ex-
hibit emotion and decipher
the feelings of others. Happi-
ness, sadness, surprise, dis-
gust, fear and surprise can be
communicated through facial
expressions alone. But when
part of the face is masked, it
becomes more difficult to rec-
ognize these cues.
If you cannot read some-
one else’s emotional state,
your ability to empathize
with them may be compro-
mised. Likewise, if your own
mask is hiding your emotion-
al state, others may not be
able to empathize with you.
Wearing a mask can also
make you feel more distract-
ed and self-conscious, further
weakening your connection
to others.
Fortunately, you can regain
some control over communi-
cation by working with what
you have left – the eyes. If you
want to increase understand-
ing with a masked individual,
you should look them in the
eyes – which may be easier
said than done. Eye contact
triggers self-consciousness,
consumes extra brain power
and becomes uncomfortable
after only three seconds. But
bear in mind, eye contact can
also make you appear more
intelligent and trustworthy.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
THE FACE
Don’t forget the impact of
your voice. It’s not just
what you say, it’s how you say
it. Along with the actual
words, you also use volume,
tone, pauses and fillers to con-
vey your message. For in-
stance, a lower-pitched whis-
per may denote sadness or
insecurity, whereas a higher-
pitched shout could show an-
ger or intensity.
Try this – say the phrase “I
didn’t see you there” as if
you were scared. Now pre-
tend you are happy. Now con-
fused. Chances are, anyone
listening to you could easily
identify your emotions with-
out even seeing you. While
studies show that masks do
not significantly alter your
voice, you may feel that your
speech gets muffled when
wearing a mask.
If you feel the need to speak
louder, just be aware that rais-
ing your voice can alter the
message you are trying to
send. Changing the tone of
your voice can change the
whole conversation, so in-
stead of increasing volume,
try improving enunciation.
THE VOICE
Maskedcommunication!

A promise is a powerful thing. It
is a commitment of self, our
efforts and also a message of hope
for the coming day. A promise is faith in
ourselves and the goodness of the world.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
Facing criticism for banning Navratri events, Gujarat CM hardsells the Covid reason
Darshan Desai
Gandhinagar: For the
last two days, Gujara-
tis are surprised to
hear Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani speak-
ing in their cell phone
caller tune instead of
the six-month-old hab-
it of a woman’s voice
advising Corona care.
Aware of the criti-
cism his government is
facing for banning all
Navratri events and the
handlingof theCovid-19
crisis, Rupani is going
all-out to urge people to
appreciate the situation
and exercise restraint
this season.
The caller tune has
Rupani asking people to
exercise “Sanyam (self-
restraint)” during the
Navratri festival, main-
tain social distance,
wear masks and keep
using soaps and sanitiz-
ers. However, to ensure
it does not get repetitive,
his voice could be heard
on an average 4 to 5
times out of some 10
calls made from a cell
phone.
Days after he got him-
self tested for the dread-
ed virus twice to demon-
strate the importance of
timely Covid-19 tests
andcoinedanewslogan,
“Test is the Best”, the
Chief Minister has been
stressing yet again that
the pandemic has as-
sumed serious propor-
tions.
There had been seri-
ous criticism among the
medical fraternity and
stricturesfromtheGuja-
rat High Court about
woefully inadequate
testing for the virus for
more than 4 months till
mid-July.
Till then, the highest
number of daily tests
was just 6,000 whereas
other States were al-
ready testing people in 5
figuresforlong.Thegov-
ernment had signifi-
cantly increased the
tests much later in Au-
gustandthereafter,after
which Rupani gave the
“test is best” slogan.
AsonSunday,Gujarat
had over 1.59 lakh posi-
tive cases and 3,638
deaths, with 14,436 ac-
tive cases.
The nine-day dance
festival is a tepid affair
this year because of the
Covid-19 scare. And the
State Government’s de-
cision to ban all large
gatherings has irked
many.
The social media is re-
plete with criticism that
the government had no
fear of Covid-19 while
continuingwiththeState
Assemblyby-electionson
November 3. Similarly,
the Opposition also
joined the media to ask
howwerepoliticalrallies
of BJP President CR
Paatil allowed. He him-
self got infected later.
As against this,
ironically, the State
Election Commission
had postponed the
elections to local self-
governments, includ-
ing key municipal cor-
porations,by3months
though they were
scheduled in Decem-
ber.
KEEP ‘SANYAM’: CM Rupani’s
caller tune appeals people
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has lent his voice to a cell phone caller tune with an appeal to people to
exercise restraint this Navratri.
Darshan Desai
Ahmedabad:Mahatma
Gandhi’sgrandsonGo-
palkrishna Gandhi on
Sunday spoke like a
true messenger of the
Father of the Nation as
he quite poignantly
conveyed that India
could have been better
placedtofightCovid-19
pandemic if it had not
got carried away by an
excess of urbanisation
and industrialisation.
The occasion could
not have been more apt
than the 101st Founda-
tion Day of the haloed
Gujarat Vidyapith set up
bytheMahatmaonOcto-
ber 18, 1920, in the real
spirit of swadeshi and
‘nai taleem.’ A retired
diplomat and former
West Bengal Governor,
Gopalkrishna Gandhi
delivered his video ad-
dress in Hindi.
Making a strong case
to reconsider the coun-
try’s economic policy, he
saidif Indiahadfollowed
a more holistic politico-
economic policy it could
have handled the corona
crisis differently. The
policy since Independ-
enceandcontinuingnow
has caused huge urbani-
sation and migration of
farmers towards cities.
He asserted that the poli-
cies had “unsettled a
huge population” and
was forcing farmers to
migrate to the cities in
largenumbers.And,this
only spurred the pan-
demic.“Economicpolicy
of liberalisation, privati-
sation, or globalisation,
whatever we call it,
caused a huge popula-
tion unsettlement, and
not resettlement. The
way the population is
growing in cities is fan-
ning today’s pandemic,”
Gandhi said.
“Will not the pandem-
ic increase due to the
movementof thepopula-
tion towards the city? It
is more than necessary
today to reconsider our
economic policy,” he
said. “Had we followed a
different policy, we
should have got more
hospitals, hostels for
nurses, lab technicians,
and not giant industrial
projects at government
level, and large numbers
of temples, mosques, at
social level.
“If this goes away, the
threatof anewpandemic
will remain, unless is-
sues of massive popula-
tiondisplacement,urban
squalor, lack of hygiene
and negligence of people
areaddressed.“Thispan-
demic has come after 100
years, but who knows, a
new virus may emerge
everyyear,”Gandhisaid.
‘Excessive urbanisation has queered the pitch for Covid-19 fight’
MAHATMA’S CENTURION VIDYAPITH
On Gujarat Vidyapith’s 101st Foundation Day,
Gandhi’s grandson says wrong policies have
‘displaced huge populations’
Gujarat Vidyapith, which was set up by Mahatma Gandhi on
October 18, 1920, entered its 101st year on Sunday.
Fake ‘Aquaguard’ makers
nabbed in Ahmedabad
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Naroda Police have
arrested 2 persons
after a complaint by
leading water puri-
fier and vacuum-
cleaner brand Eure-
ka Forbes that de-
tected and seized
huge stock of dupli-
cate products worth
Rs 15.56 lakh in
Ahmedabad.
Theseizureincludes
2,000 cartridges and
150 units of RO Con-
sumable kits fraudu-
lently carrying the
Eureka Forbes brand
name and having du-
plicated several visual
features of the com-
pany’s products.
Subsequently, the
firm filed an FIR and
the Naroda Police ar-
rested Nirajsingh Vi-
nodsingh Bhadoria
and Rahul Mukeshlal
Oberoi, partners of ‘R
Pure Water Technolo-
gy’, under the Copy-
right Act and various
sections of the Indian-
Penal Code (IPC).
The company stated
in the complaint that
the substandard
spares carried the
names and address of
EurekaForbesasman-
ufacturers and also its
contact details and
email ID to register
complaints. This cre-
ates confusion among
the customers to tell
thegenuinepartsfrom
the duplicates.
The manufacturers
of the seized products
had violated copy-
rights of EFL and
‘Aquaguard’ brand
names, it said.
In an official state-
ment, Shashank Sin-
ha, Chief Transfor-
mation Officer of
Eureka Forbes said,
“Fighting malprac-
tices such as these
has been a sustained
battle for us at EFL.
The consumers are
often lured with
lower prices, and
end up buying fake
or assembled prod-
ucts, while we al-
ways encourage to
verify genuineness
of the product by fo-
cusing on delivery
and post-sales ser-
vice.”
2 BTP CANDIDATES AMONG 102 VALID
NOMINATIONS FOR NOV 3 BYPOLLS
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Two
candidates from vet-
eran Adivasi leader
Chhotubhai Vasava’s
Bharatiya Tribal
Party (BTP) are
among the 102 candi-
dates whose nomina-
tions were found val-
id for bypolls to 8
Gujarat Assembly
seats after scrutiny
of forms for the No-
vember 3 vote.
The BTP has fielded
Mahendra Vasava and
Babubhai Gavit from
Karjan and Dangs
(Scheduled Tribe) re-
spectively.
Nomination forms of
33 candidates were re-
jected out of a total 135
received in a scrutiny,
though the final num-
ber of contestants
would be known after
the last date of with-
drawal on October 19, a
release from the State
Chief Electoral Office
said.
As of now, Morbi
leads with 20 candi-
dates, followed by Ab-
dasa with 19, Limbdi 14,
Gadhada 13, Dhari 12,
Karjan 11, Dang 9 and
Kaprada 4, it added.
Nominations of 75
Independents and
those from lesser
known outfits like Ba-
hujan Mukti Party,
Bharatiya Jana Pari-
shad, Bahujan Maha
Party, Vyavastha Pari-
vartan Party, Yuva Jan
Jagruti Party and
Rashtravadi Jan Chet-
na Party also have been
found valid, the press
release said.
The BJP’s Prady-
umnsinh Jadeja and
Congress’ Shantilal
Shendhani are main
contestants from Ab-
dasa, while the fight
is between BJP’s Kir-
itsinh Rana and Con-
gress’ Chetan
Khachar in Limbdi,
and in Morbi, BJP’s
Brijesh Merja is pit-
ted against Congress’
Jayantilal Patel.
With the scrutiny of forms done, there are 102 valid nominations for
the Nov 3 assembly bypolls in Gujarat.
ELEPHANTONTHEROAD(ORINROOM)!
An elephant with the mahout over it crossing the busy Jamalpur Cross-roads near
Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad on Sunday. — PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Eureka Forbes has approached Naroda Police Station against makers of duplicate products.
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
3,638
DEATHS
1,59,726
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
1,747 DEATHS 1,73,266 CASES
DELHI
6,009 DEATHS 3,31,017 CASES
WORLD
11,16,927
DEATHS
4,01,50,986
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
75,46,882
CONFIRMED CASES
1,14,621
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
42,115 DEATHS 15,95,381 CASES
TAMIL NADU
10,642 DEATHS 6,87,400 CASES
KARNATAKA
10,478 DEATHS 7,65,586 CASES
SUPREME IRONY!

osing in a bikini is a
tough job. It’s not al-
ways as easy as it
sounds, is it? I mean,
we’ve all been there:
you choose a cute,
flattering suit to
wear to the beach and you’re
feeling confident. You want
to show it off, whether it’s be-
cause your look is a brand-
new purchase or you just
happen to match with your
beach towel. But then, once
you get all set up, well, what
the heck do you do?
We aren’t all supermodels,
so at the risk, you feel any bit
awkward about launching
yourself in front of the
camera, we came up with
some ideas for you.
PLAY WITH CONFIDENCE
The first step is
that you need to
make sure that
you are confident
in your own skin.
This doesn’t mean
that you have to be
a certain size.
LOCATION
When it comes to lo-
cation sometimes
Beach is ideal but it’s
not always necessary. Some-
times it’s best to get a little
creative to give a fresh ap-
proach to your swimwear
line. You can use a back-
yard location with a pool.
Always keep at eye on
shadows, backgrounds,
and spaces that can offer
great coverage if shot.
SHOOT NATURAL LIGHT
Always choose natural
light over studio espe-
cially when shooting
swimwear lines. When
working in natural
light, golden hours
work best. But
let’s be real, they don’t al-
ways fit into everyone’s
schedule. If that’s the case
always find spots of shade
that give a soft light. Also,
shadows are good and can
create a moody and more
professional editorial look to
your shots.
CHOOSE FLATTERING ANGLES
Gettingtherightanglesmeans
doing a few test shots to see
whatyouwant.Amakeupart-
ist that is familiar with bi-
kini shoots can help
give your models
have a sunkissed
glow. If you
can’t afford a
makeup art-
ist don’t
worry! To
get great
shots direct your
poses that feel
natural. If
somethingisnot
working, play
around with the
background and
unconventional
poses.It’sgood
to stay with-
in the rules
of photog-
raphy but
it’s also
okay to
break them.
We know a
lot of work goes
behind a perfect
bikini shot,
but someone’s
gotta do it. If
it’s not Kim
Kardashian, it
might as well
be you.
P
AHMEDABAD, MONDAY
OCTOBER 19, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
SHOOT THE 2-PIECECITY FIRST DRAWS YOUR ATTENTION TO SOME SOLID IDEAS,
TO CREATE FLATTERING TWO-PIECE SHOTS IN A FEW SIMPLE
WAYS; BECAUSE WHY NOT?
KARISHMA GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

Helen Reddy’s music made
women feel invinciblehow business”,
Helen Reddy once
said, “was the only
business that al-
lowed you to earn
the same salary as
a man and to keep
your name”.
The singer and actress
best known for her trail-
blazing feminist anthem I
Am Woman has died in Los
Angeles, aged 78. She was
one of the most famous
Australians in the world
during the 1970s, and an
icon of women’s liberation.
Born in Melbourne in
1941 to vaudeville perform-
ers Max Reddy and Stella
Lamond, Reddy learned to
sing, dance and play piano
as a child. By her late teens,
she was performing in her
father’s touring show.
At 20, she married the
musician Kenneth Weate.
The marriage was brief
and, after it was over, she
and her daughter Traci
moved to Sydney.
Ambitious and keen to
try her luck in the United
States, in 1966 she entered
and won a singing competi-
tion. A trip to the US and a
recording contract were
her prize. Arriving in New
York with three-year-old
Traci, the promised con-
tract evaporated. Reddy
performed in clubs in the
US and Canada to stay
afloat.
She had the good fortune,
however, to meet the expat
Australian journalist Lilian
Roxon (author of the
groundbreaking Rock Ency-
clopedia) who organised a
rent party for Reddy on her
birthday. There, she met her
second husband (and man-
ager) Jeff Wald. They mar-
ried shortly after, moving to
Los Angeles in 1968.
PERSISTENCE
Reddy and Wald initially
encountered resistance
from the music industry
when trying to build her
career. But their persis-
tence paid off: in 1970 she
recorded a cover of I Don’t
Know How to Love Him
from the musical Jesus
Christ Superstar. The song
made it to number 13 in the
US charts and number one
in Australia.
After moving to Los An-
geles, Reddy became in-
volved in the women’s
movement. As she recalled
in her 2005 memoir, The
Woman I Am, her growing
interest in women’s libera-
tion drove her to try to find
songs that expressed her
pride in being female.
Unable to find one, she
“finally realised I was go-
ing to have to write the
song myself”. While Ray
Burton wrote the music,
the lyrics to I Am Woman
were Reddy’s.
‘SHE MAKES EVERYTHING
POSSIBLE’
While I Am Woman made
Reddy famous, her Grammy
acceptance speech in 1973
made her notorious: thank-
ing “God, because she
makeseverythingpossible”.
Her win was said by Bris-
bane’s Courier Mail at the
time to have “sent a thrill
through the bra-less bos-
oms of Women’s Libera-
tionists around the world.”
Reddy followed I Am
Woman with a string
of pop hits over the
following five years
including Delta Dawn
and Ain’t No Way to Treat
a Lady.
She built a successful ca-
reer in television, film and
theatre, with roles in Air-
port 1975 (1974) and Pete’s
Dragon (1977), guest
appearances in TV
series including
The Love Boat
(1977–87) and Fan-
tasy Island (1977–
84), and even had
her own variety
program, The Hel-
en Reddy Show in
1973. She was award-
ed a star on the Hol-
lywood walk of fame
the following year.
She performed until
the early 2000s, released
her memoir in 2005, and
was inducted into the
ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006.
While she kept a lower
profile in the last years of
her life, she appeared in the
2017 Women’s March in the
US. A biopic directed by
Unjoo Moon, I Am Woman,
was released on Stan just
last month.
10
ETCAHMEDABAD | MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
RUPAL VERMA, Artist
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Life is beautiful and
embrace people if they love
and respect you, without
really doubting too much.
All those working on a commission
basis may have to drive a hard
bargain to have their way. You will
work towards something that is not
easily doable.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Your Proximity to someone
may be alarming for your
spouse so either come
clear or make sure there is
no misunderstanding. If you are self
employed then you may plan to get
into an allied field for results.
Academically you may need to try
hard for your chances to increase.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Be careful while
negotiating with someone
about family related matter
to avoid getting short
changed. Professionally all the hard
work that you have done in the past
will pay you now and that will give a
boost to your career. You may try
other options to make money.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
If you want to stand out
then take initiatives at
workplace as this will add to
your professional reputation.
Do not allow any one’s intervention if
you are assigned a duty to take care of
a project as you are entrusted with this
responsibility because of a reason and
your ought to achieve it.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Please learn to manage
your time as any addiction
to pastime hobbies can
make your work suffer. You
are innovative and full of ideas in you
office work. The member of your
family may need some counselling
and this change his/ her for better,
make sure to fully cooperate.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Your senior may be keeping
an eye on everyone and this
is the time for you to
impress them by all your
upto date work. To avoid any
humiliation please take your tasks
seriously when it comes to studies.
Adopt a helping attitude and assist
people who are in need.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
If you own a business then
there is a good news, your
project is likely to become
financially viable. Before
taking up any other work in hands,
focus and prioritise getting things in
order at your workplace. In social
life, the initiative that you took in the
past with give fruitful results.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You see life from a
different perspective and
you don’t need to explain
the whole world. As you do
not have any definite objective in life,
you may continue to remain
perplexed until or unless you decide
to get focused. Do not be bias
towards who needs to be pulled up.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You will no longer continue
to have a laid back attitude
at work and the change in
your behaviour will
impress your boss. You will also
continue to poke your nose in other
people’s business. Rejoice as family
outing is on the cards today and you
will have a lot of fun together.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You must not live your life
in fear because of anything
even if it’s covid right now,
just keep safe and try to
live a normal life. Karma is real and
nobody can escape from the
consequences if one tries and go
against the people who stood by at
the hour of need.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You have the capability of
persuading people, use it
for someone’s benefit.
Tensions at home will be
perceptible but you will succeed in
cooling down the temperament of
the family member. Try to give your
best at work if you want to impress
yours seniors and your colleagues.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Be very honest in the
matter of hearts. Please
show support to a younger
one in your family to
increase their performance level on
academic front. You may get time for
leisure pursuits but don’t get
disappointed by limited options as
covid has caused problems.
S
Source: https://theconversation.com/helen-reddys-music-made-women-feel-invincible-147179

A
ctors Bhumi
Pednekarand
Rajkummar
Rao will be-
gin shooting for their
upcoming project
‘Badhaai Do’ in Janu-
ary 2021.
The ‘Dum Laga Ke
Haisha’ actor an-
nounced the news on
her Twitter where
both the actors were
seen congratulating
each other as they
shake hands, like the
film title. “Aye @Raj-
kummarRao time to
say #BadhaaiDo,
let’s meet on the set,
January 2021. Bring
it on @JungleePic-
tures,” tweeted Ped-
nekar. The makers
of 2018 comedy-dra-
ma ‘Badhai Ho’ an-
nounced the second
part of the fran-
chise titled ‘Badhai
Do’ in March.—ANI
I
t was a Holy and Lonely night
on Saturday Night Live cour-
tesy Justin Bieber. The interna-
tional singer brought the two
recently tracks on the stage this
weekend and it was a sight to watch. The
25-year-old singer first performed Holy. The
SNL stage was transformed into a make-do
chapel where Justin was seen wearing a
white turtle neck and a pair of dark coloured
pants topped with a winter hat. The singer
sang the most portion of the song solo before
Chance The Rapper joined him. As the duo
approached the ending. —Agency
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020
11
CHEESYDATE
t has been a few weeks since Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid welcomed their daughter. Although the model and singer
haven’t revealed the name of the little one, we’ve got a couple of glimpses of baby ZiGi. While it is understandable
that the little munchkin has the couple busy, Gigi and Zayn are making sure to take some time out and enjoy a few
date nights. The new mama took to her Instagram Stories and shared a glimpse of their latest date night.
Though the Pillow Talk crooner and model weren’t seen in the frame, Gigi shared a picture of a plate of “cheesy
garlic pull apart” and announced that it was a meal that ZiGi were enjoying on their date. —Agency
I
A
ctor Shahid Ka-
poor on Sunday
completed the
schedule of the
upcoming sports drama
‘Jersey’ in Uttara-
khand.
The ‘Kabir Singh’ ac-
tor also extended his
heartfelt gratitude to
the Uttarakhand Gov-
ernment for their sup-
port during the shoot-
ing of the film. Taking
it to Twitter, the 39-year-
old star wrote, “It’s a
wrap on this schedule
of #Jersey. I would like
to thank the Govt of Ut-
tarakhand for support-
ing and putting in place
efficient policies that
enabled us to safely
shoot and wrap the
schedule of our film in
the many beautiful lo-
cations of the state.”
—ANI
SPIRITUAL
I
ndian spiritual leader Sadhguru recently bond-
ed with Hollywood actor Will Smith and shared
pictures from their rendezvous. Sadhguru took
to Instagram and shared a bunch of photos with
the actor in the frame. In the first photo, the spir-
itual leader was seen posing with The Fresh Prince
of BelAir star before a picture revealed Smith and
Sadhguru shared a hearty laugh. In another pic-
ture, Smith and Sadhguru were seen deep in their
conversation as Sadhguru keenly listened. —Agency
S
anya Malhotra is
undeniably one
of the most tal-
ented and versa-
tile actress. Her confi-
dence and detailed
character work shines
in all her roles. She
wedged her way into
our heart as the won-
derful Renee Sharma
from Badhaai Ho and
never left.
As the movie turns 2,
Sanya says that the
movie will always hold
a special place in her
life and has been an in-
credible experience
working on it. She excu-
des, “What I really liked
about Badhaai ho was
the script - the uncon-
ventional story. Bad-
haai Ho was not just an
ordinary experience for
me, it was a pathbreak-
ing project for me. I
worked really hard on
the movie and it will
always be close
tomyheart.”
—Agency
AFRAIDOFLOVE
T
he drama sur-
rounding Demi Lo-
vato and Max
Ehrich’s abrupt
end to their engagement
came as a shock to every-
one. Now, it looks like
Ehrich has taken some
inspiration from his ex-
fiancée to use music as a
catalyst of removing out
your frustrations of a
broken relationship.
Making his singing de-
but, Max recently
dropped a new single ti-
tled Afraid along with a
melancholic music video
which sees the 29-year-old
actor playing the piano in
front a green screen as
the earth, sea, desert, city
life and more engulf him.
The Walk. Ride. Rodeo.
star sings the blues about
how he’s afraid to love
someone with his whole
heart. —Agency
Emotional
performance
G
orging on
piping hot
jalebis in
chilly
Manali, actor
Shilpa Shetty
Kundra sharing a
glimpse of her
‘Sunday Binge’
said that she
just can’t re-
sist the deli-
ciousness of
the sweet.
The actor
noted in the
caption,”
Weather: Su-
per Cold
Jalebi: Su-
per Hot (de-
licious
and
crunchy )
Some
matches
are truly
made in
heaven. All
necessary pre-
cautions were
taken before we
indulged our-
selves; and I, final-
ly, did a #Sunday-
Binge on the sets
after sooo
looonnggg, but I
just couldn’t re-
sist.”
—ANI
SUNDAY
BINGE
Gigi Hadid
...her post
Max Ehrich & Demi Lovato
Shilpa Shetty Kundra
Justin Bieber
Will Smith with Sadhguru
Sanya Malhotra
AAPKO BADHAAI
Rajkummar Rao &
Bhumi Pednekar
BADHAAI DO ‘Badhaai Ho’ turns 2
Schedule Wrap
for ‘Jersey’
Shahid Kapoor in ‘Jersey’

CITY FIRST, GUJARAT
aatha in Sankskrit
means a verse of a
poem. Storytelling
through jewellery is
one of the highlights
by Harit Zaveri Jew-
ellers who for gen-
erations have helped women
design their dreams by their
ornaments. Each new collec-
tion has a narrative of its
own that transfers you to that
place in time. The
Gaatha range is just
that, jewellery that is
timeless, unique mas-
terpieces that remind
you of your ancestors who
have left behind heirlooms
for generations to come.
These heirlooms take you
down memory lane, to think
of the time your grandmoth-
er’s wrinkled hands, as she
pulled out that red velvet
potli, kept safely inside
amidst her treasured memo-
ries. As hearts skipped a beat
and your watchful eyes
waited in awe to see
what she was about to
unveil, on her finger
would gleam an old ruby
wedding ring which shone
bright as her eyes still young
in her ancient beloved face.
Enveloped in layers and lay-
ers of beautiful stories, nar-
rating each story one by one
in her caring voice, she re-
vealed the timeless treasures
and tales kept close to her
heart for ages.
With Navratri being one of
the most celebrated Hindu
festivals, the newest collec-
tion Gaatha is an opulent dis-
play of modern craftsman-
ship merging seamlessly
with the traditional. Conven-
tional kundan and polki sets
are featured in this range
that promise to make every
special occasion even more
memorable.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
12AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY BUZZ
WHAT’S HAPPENING!
THENAVRATRI
EDIT!
Introducing Gaatha, the
new collection of
jewellery by Harit Zaveri
Jewellers in Ahmedabad
CITY FIRST
I
n a live webinar—‘Keep Your
Eyes, Keep Your Vision Intact’
hosted by the IAS Literary
Society, Rajasthan on their
Facebook page, viewers
learned about how to take
care of their eyes and differ-
ent eye conditions on Saturday
evening. The webinar was ad-
dressed by Head Retina - Ophthal-
mology, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Am-
bani Hospital, Dr Niren Dongre. He
was in conversation with Secretary,
IAS Literary Society, Rajasthan,
Mugdha Sinha. The webinar was
held as a part of YASH (Year of
Awareness on Science and Health),
2020 Dialogue Series.
Talking about the condition
of dry eyes, Dr Dongre said
that increased lifespan of the
population, people wearing
contact lenses, increased usage
if computers, more number of peo-
ple getting LASIK, pollution and
dry environment are a few causes
of dry eyes.
ALL ABOUT EYES
CITY FIRST
E
stablished with a vision to bring about in-
novation in higher education and learn-
ing in emerging areas of the knowledge
society, the not-for-profit NIIT University
(NU) organised its 10thConvocation Ceremony
in the Virtual Reality mode, keeping in view the
safety measures triggered by the COVID-19 pan-
demic. The Virtual Convocation Ceremony was
attended by outgoing students and their par-
ents, current students, industry leaders, promi-
nent guests, and faculty members.
Nandan Nilekani, the chief guest on the oc-
casion, congratulated all the students on their
success. He hailed NIIT University for keeping
technology as one of the core principles and us-
ing cutting-edge tech to overcome the challeng-
es in these difficult times.
VIRTUAL REALITY
CEREMONY
CITY FIRST
D
n y a n e s h w a r
Mulay has been
appointed as the
Head of Inter-
Ministerial Committee
to connect PIO/NRI
Scientific and Ac-
ademic Commu-
nity with India.
Council of Scien-
tific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) has
constituted an Inter-
ministerial Working
Group to work towards
the development of a
single national Portal
titled ‘Pravasi Bharati-
ya Academic and Scien-
tific Sampark (PRAB-
HASS)’, under the
chairmanship of Dr
Dnyaneshwar Mulay, a
member of National
Human Rights Com-
mission, India and a
former career dip-
lomat. This is in
alignment with
the Prime Minis-
ter’s vision of ‘Aat-
manirbhar Bharat’.
Prem Bhandari said
he had a great time
working with Dr Dn-
yaneshwar Mulay when
he was the Consulate
General of India, New
York. He was a
great supporter
of Jaipur foot
and because of
Dr Mulay’s mo-
tivation they
had the first
Jaipur foot
U.S.A camp held
in Kolhapur in
2014. Prem
Bhandari also
told that he
called Dr Dn-
yaneshwar Mu-
lay as the ‘Passport man
of India’.
During his time, am-
ple of passport offices
were open in places like
Rajasthan Udaipur,
Jhalawar, etc, lakhs of
passports were distrib-
uted and most impor-
tantly a Passport fare
was held in Jodhpur
where he visited. He
was happy to report
that he will be working
withDrMulayinModi’s
vision of Aatmanirb-
har Bharat and take
this initiative to new
heights.
Aatmanirbhar Bharat
CITY FIRST
I
n the ongoing online
series on Facebook
by Rajasthan Pro-
gressive Writers As-
sociation today popular
story writer and jour-
nalist Tasneem Khan
was in conversation
with the noted story
writer Manish Vaidya.
Tasneem said that every
child has the right to
dream but they cannot
be fulfilled unless their
family agrees. In a reply
to a question she said
thatshewasthefirstgirl
from her community in
Didwana who attended
the college and subse-
quently joined the world
of journalism and liter-
ature. She further added
that her well-educated
mother constantly in-
spired her to read litera-
ture and literary maga-
zines which encouraged
her to dream and gave
the courage to get into
this field.
RAJ: A beautiful art using pencil colours on the
occasion of Navratri was made by Anupama
Purohit from Jaipur.
RAJ: Rajasthan Fashion Awards Season
4 will be organised virtually on 25
October by Rajasthan Dreams Fashion
in Jaipur with Gaurav Pratap Singh and
Charu Singh as the organisers. The
brand ambassador of the event will
be celebrity astrologer Surabhi Gupta,
while Bollywood actress Pooja Chopra
will be the celebrity guest.
RAJ: Campus placement season has begun for Poornima Group’s students. For batch 2021,
virtual placements are being conducted by various national and multinational companies. In
the next month, students of Poornima Group will have online recruitment drives by about 25
companies. It is expected to select more than 700 students.
RAJ: Rajasthan’s
talented violinist Gulzar
Hussain started the Net
theatre series program
with Raag Kalyan on
Saturday. Gulzar took a
plunge and presented
‘Pal pal mori baahein
fadke’ composed by
the Ustad Fayyaz Khan
of Agra house. Gulzar
also performed on-
demand from an online
audience. The program
was started by anchor
and journalist Sunil
Sushila Sharma.
RAJ: In the hard times of the Corona pandemic, ration kits were distributed to the needy
families. Organizer, Michael Castelino makes sure that on 15th of every month, 20 people
receive a kit of dry ration material. Dr Ritu Mehra distributed ration kits to the families.
GUJ: Women performing garba in the compound of a housing society on AEC Road in
Ahmedabad on Sunday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
GUJ: The ban
on commercial
garba events has
not dampened
the festive spirit
of revellers, as
a woman was
seen purchasing
traditional
ornaments from
a vendor on the
second day of
Navratri in Lal
Darwaza Market
in Ahmedabad
on Sunday.
—PHOTO BY
HANIF SINDHI
G
RIGHT TO DREAM
Gyaneshwer Muley welcomed by Prem Bhandari and others
at Jodhpur airport, when he came to inaugurate the Passport Mela
—FILEPHOTO

First india ahmedabad edition-19 october 2020

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