First india ahmedabad edition-22 march 2021

‘Only ‘symbolic’ Holi puja allowed, Dhuleti prohibited’
NOT A COLOURFUL HOLI
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With the
festival of Holi only a
few days away, the state
government on Sunday
barred people from con-
ducting Dhuleti and Ho-
lika Dahan celebrations
in public. “Only sym-
bolic Holi puja will be
allowed but no gather-
ings are to be organized
on Holika Dahan,” said
Deputy Chief Minister
Nitin Patel.
He added that the de-
cision had been taken
in a core committee
meeting headed by
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani. “Due to surg-
ing COVID-19 cases,
public Dhuleti celebra-
tions will be not al-
lowed, in order to curb
the spread of the virus.
Even in private residen-
tial societies are not to
engage in Dhuleti cele-
brations this year,” he
stated.
After attending a Gu-
jarat state cooperative
banks event later in the
day, Patel told media-
persons that around
four to five types of
COVID-19 strains were
found to be active in
various districts of the
state. He assured that
the government was
“doing its best to curtail
the spread of novel cor-
onavirus” through con-
tact tracing and testing.
Patel added that eve-
ry individual that test-
ed positive for the virus
but showcased mild
symptoms was being
kept under home isola-
tion. Only those in crit-
ical condition or very
high viral load were be-
ing admitted to hospi-
tals and administered
treatment there.
Talking about the on-
goingvaccinationdrive,
the DyCM said that ini-
tially it was being con-
ducted six days a week
but as cases have
surged, the vaccine was
being administered to
citizens even on Sunday
now. At over 2,500 pri-
vate and public centres,
the COVID-19 vaccina-
tion drive is underway
and till date, over 36
lakh citizens have been
vaccinated, he added.
The deputy CM also
informedthattherewere
four to five novel corona-
virus strains active in
various districts but the
most deadly UK strain
had not spread widely in
Gujarat. “This is good
news for the state. The
spike in COVID-19 cases
may not jump rapidly
, as
it happened in the UK,”
he said. Turn to P6
—FILE PHOTO
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Pa-
tel announced the govt’s decision
on Sunday, which was necessi-
tated by a spike in nCoV cases
CAA promise, free edu for women
in BJP manifesto for Bengal polls
Kolkata: Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on
Sunday released BJP’s
manifestofortheAssem-
bly polls in West Bengal.
The manifesto, called
‘Sankalp Patra’, prom-
ised to implement CAA
and stated that refugees
who have been staying
in Bengal for 70 years
will be given citizen-
ship. Each refugee fam-
ily will get Rs 10,000 per
year for 5 years, Shah
said. The manifesto
also promised to pro-
vide free education for
women from kindergar-
ten to the postgraduate
level and 33% reserva-
tion for women in state
government jobs.
AssertingthattheBJP
does not believe in vote-
bank politics, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah, in a jibe at the
TMC over its “appease-
ment policies”, Turn to P6
Union Home Minister Amit Shah
releasing BJP’s manifesto.
Real change coming to Bengal: PM
Modi warns Mamata in her own den
Bankur: With less than
a week for the first
phase of Assembly elec-
tions, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi ad-
dressed a rally in Ben-
gal’s Bankura district
on Sunday, where he ac-
cused Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee of
failing to develop the
state over the past 10
years and warned the
chief of the ruling Tri-
namool that “aschol
poriborton asche” (real
change is coming).
The Prime Minister
also mocked Mamata
over comments calling
on party workers to
keep an eye on EVMs
(electronic voting ma-
chines) during elec-
tions for fear of tamper-
ing. He said this showed
the Trinamool was an-
ticipating defeat in the
forthcoming election.
“BJP will bring
‘aschol poriborton’ to
Bengal. Game of cor-
ruption - cholbe naa
(won’t be allowed)!
Game of syndicate -
cholbe naa! Game of cut
money - cholbe naa!” the
Prime Minister said.
“(We will) bring a
government in Bengal
that will ensure money
from government
schemes reach the poor.
(We will) Turn to P6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at the crowd during a
public meeting in West Bengal’s Bankur on Sunday.
ParamBir’s‘chakra’entangles
Maharashtra Vikas Aaghadi
The alliance leaders will meet in Delhi today and take a decision on
Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who belongs to Sharad Pawar’s NCP
A girl in Tanzania carrying water back home.
World Water Day is a day to consider the
impact of clean water in the world, and make
a difference. This year the theme is of ‘valuing
water’. In view of groundwater crisis in country,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch
‘Catch the Rain’ campaign on the occasion.
The present challenge is that on one hand
when measures are initiated to implement
water conservation for saving depletion of
groundwater level, the unchecked boring and
ground water extraction fails the efforts.
New Delhi: The final
decision on Maharash-
tra Home Minister Anil
Deshmukh, battling
corruption allegations
by former Mumbai po-
lice chief Param Bir
Singh, lies with Chief
Minister Uddhav
Thackeray, ally Nation-
alist Congress Party
chief Sharad Pawar
said on Sunday.
He, however, ques-
tioned the timing of
the allegations by Sin-
gh, who was replaced
over lapses in the
Mukesh Ambani secu-
rity scare probe days
before.
Pawar said he would
suggest an independ-
ent investigation.
A senior leader of
the state’s ruling alli-
ance said that the alle-
gations against Desh-
mukh are “serious”
and Chief Minister Ud-
dhav Thackeray thinks
he has to go.
The alliance leaders
will meet in Delhi on
Monday and take a de-
cision on Deshmukh.
BJP workers protest against Maha Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in Mumbai. —PHOTO BY PTI
Allegations against Anil
Deshmukh serious: Pawar
LS Speaker Om
Birla tests covid
positive, admitted
to AIIMS, stable
Mumbai: NCP chief
Sharad Pawar on Sun-
daysaidformerMumbai
police chief Param Bir
Singhhadtoldhimthere
was political interfer-
ence in his department.
“The allegations
raised by former Mum-
bai police chief Param
Bir Singh against Ma-
harashtra Home Minis-
ter Anil Deshmukh are
serious,” he said.
Turn to P6
New Delhi: Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla was
admitted to the AIIMS
COVID Centre here for
o b s e r v a -
tion on
March 20
after test-
ing posi-
tive for
coronavirus, and he is
presently stable, the
hospital said on Sunday
.
Turn to P6
JULIO RIBEIRO SAYS
WON’T HEAD PROBE
Mumbai: Retired IPS of-
ficer Julio Ribeiro, whose
name was suggested by
NCP chief Sharad Pawar
and BJP leader Devendra
Fadnavis to probe the al-
legations levelled against
Home Minister Anil Desh-
mukh by former Mumbai
top cop Param Bir Singh,
has said he would not
want to be part of the
inquiry. “If I am asked, I
will refuse.” he said.
AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 116
10 Facts of Crisis
784 million people around the world are without basic
water access. That’s more than twice the population of
the United States.
More people die from unsafe water than from all forms
of violence, including war.
Two billion people, or about 1 in 4, lack access to a
toilet or latrine.
Diarrheal diseases, caused primarily by unsafe water
and poor sanitation, kill more children under 5 years old
than malaria, AIDS, and measles combined.
Diarrheal disease kills one child every 60 seconds.
About a quarter (22%) of health facilities in Least Devel-
oped Countries have no safe water.
In sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls spend an esti-
mated 40 billions hours a year collecting water.
An estimated 400 million school days are lost each year
due to water-related diseases, with 272 million lost to
diarrhea alone.
Lost time gathering water significantly reduces produc-
tive farming time for women in parts of the develop-
ing world. With safe water nearby, it’s estimated that
women could feed 150 million of the world’s hungry.
For every $1 invested in safe water and sanitation, a
yield of $5 to $28 USD is returned in increased econom-
ic activity and reduced health care costs. Access to safe
water stimulates the economy for the long-term.
DAY TODAY
WORLD
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar
addresses media in Mumbai.
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OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD
& LUCKNOW

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021
02
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‘TECHNICALLY SUPERSEDED’ GMC TO
PRESENT ITS BUDGET ON MARCH 23
The civic body has lagged behind in its official undertakings, be it the general board meet or elections
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Gandhinagar Munici-
pal Corporation (GMC)
may pass its budget on
March 23, if the elec-
tion commissioner
grants approval. The
GMC is technically su-
perseded because be-
fore the local body pass-
es the annual budget
for the next fiscal, the
state election commis-
sion has announced
elections.
Sources privy to the
matter said that the or-
ganization is technical-
ly superseded. But, will
be allowed to present its
budget on Tuesday, all
the same.
Talking about the de-
velopment, Leader of
Opposition Shailen-
drasinh Bihola said
that the budget has
been awaiting approval
of the general board for
the past two months. “It
has been two months
since the standing com-
mittee passed the budg-
et. But somehow, the
mayor has not called for
a general board meet-
ing yet,” Bihola told
First India.
He further stated that
generally the local
body’s budget must be
passed by February 20,
in case there are any
changes in the taxes.
“The budget has not
passed yet and the gen-
eral board meeting is
likelytobeheldonTues-
day, with the prior per-
missionof thestateelec-
tion commission. How-
ever, this process seems
dubious but because the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) is ruling in GMC
and the state,” he added.
Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation office.
First India Bureau
Rajkot/ Vadodara:
Govind Patel, a
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) MLA
from Rajkot, has stat-
ed that the novel cor-
onavirus “does not
infect hardworking
people”. Patel went
on to say that his par-
ty members were
among them and
hence cannot con-
tract the virus. His
statement has
sparked outrage on
social media.
The Rajkot district
administration called
a meeting of nodal of-
ficers on Sunday to
review the COVID-19
situation in the dis-
trict, owing to a surge
in cases. Post the
meet, Patel was cor-
nered by mediaper-
sons and asked about
the irresponsible be-
havior of political
parties during the re-
cently concluded lo-
cal body elections. In
response, Patel de-
fended the ruling par-
ty and said, “Novel
coronavirus does not
affect those who work
hard. Because our
party workers are
hard workers, none
of them have fallen
ill.”
When the party
nominated Bhupatb-
hai Bodar as the Ra-
jkot district panchay-
at president last week,
BJP workers gathered
in large numbers, in
violation of the COV-
ID-19 protocols. Ac-
cording to sources,
many BJP workers
and leaders were seen
in public without
masks.
In Vadodara, sev-
eral BJP leaders and
workers took part in
a religious proces-
sion. Ranjan Bhatt,
the city’s Lok Sabha
MP, is currently re-
ceiving treatment
for the virus in a
hospital and has re-
quested everyone
who came in contact
with her to get test-
ed. Senior leader
S h a b d s h a r a n
Brahmbhatt and
MLA Shailesh Me-
hta have both tested
positive for the virus
and have been kept
in isolation for 14
days. Shakuntala
Shinde, a former
BJP councillor, re-
cently succumbed to
the virus.
COVID-19 does not affect hardworking people: BJP MLA
MAJOR VERBAL GAFFE
Govind Patel
had been asked
about the
callous
behaviour of
politicians
during local
body elections
as well as other
gatherings
Cong smells a rat in
medicine prof promotions
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Taking
issue with the promo-
tions granted to pro-
fessors of govern-
ment-run medical col-
leges, the Congress
party on Sunday op-
posed the move by
stating that the eleva-
tion was approved
without consultation
of the guidelines by
the Gujarat Public
Service Commission
(GPSC).
Congress party
chief spokesperson
Manish Doshi at-
tacked the state gov-
ernment regarding
irregularities in the
promotions or trans-
fers granted in gov-
ernment medical
colleges.
“Why did the GPSC
not send a list of can-
didates for the promo-
tion of medicine pro-
fessors? Why has the
state health depart-
ment ignored seniori-
ty criteria for the pro-
motions? And what
was the reason for the
department to with-
hold the promotion
file for a long time?
The state health min-
ister must respond,”
insisted Doshi.
He also alleged that
promotions had only
been given to these
senior doctors and
professors who fol-
lowed the instruc-
tions of the govern-
ment or labored
against proposals that
were opposite to those
of the government.
“On the other hand,
the ones who raised
doubts over the func-
tionality of the Dha-
man-I ventilator dur-
ing the primary in-
spection were de-
prived of a promo-
tion, despite being
meritorious,” said the
spokesperson.
Commenting on the
lack of acknowledge-
ment over crucial
matters from the state
health minister, Doshi
said that the health
department allegedly
collected crores of ru-
pees each year in the
name of outsourcing
or contracts. He also
accused him of being
silent on the corrup-
tion engaged in by
contractors in items
including masks, san-
itizers, injectable
drugs during an ongo-
ing pandemic.
Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi
Rajkot BJP MLA Govind Patel
Congress appoints old guards in
A’bad, Surat; workers unhappy
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat Pradesh Con-
gress Committee
(GPCC) president
Amit Chavda on Sun-
day announced the
appointments of two
new city incharges of
Ahmedabad and Su-
rat namely Chetan
Raval and Naishad
Desai respectively.
Chavda mentioned
that the resignation let-
ters of Ahmedabad city
president Shashikant
Patel and Surat city
president Babu Rayka
were accepted by the
party leadership. Both
Patel and Rayka had
tendered their resigna-
tions soon after the lo-
cal body elections deba-
cle, where the party
lost big.
But, the new ap-
pointments have not
gone down well with
workers in both cit-
ies. Raval, who has
been the Ahmedabad
city incharge in the
past, was removed af-
ter protests from lo-
cals as he never had
an impactful repre-
sentation. On other
hand, Surat party
workers believe Desai
to be too old for the
role and he is already
serving as the presi-
dent of the Indian
National Trade Union
Congress (INTUC).
On the other hand,
Desai is a veteran Con-
gress leader and had
previously contested
the Lok Sabha elec-
tions. He has been one
of the most well-
known politicians of
Surat and knows the
city well, which was
the reason for his ap-
pointment.
“Why is the party not
appointing new faces
as incharges? The re-
cent selection of candi-
dates seems to have
been taken under pres-
sure. The party needs
to complete its organi-
zation appointments
that have been vacant
for almost two years
now. The party contest-
ed local body elections
and was defeated mis-
erably,” said a senior
Congress leader.
The party needs to
form an organization, a
move that will be help-
ful in the 2022 general
elections. But, as of
now, the party has be-
come directionless and
is taking trivial deci-
sions instead of over-
hauling,” added the
leader.
Congress office in Ahmedabad —FILE PHOTO
Chetan Raval and
Naishadh Desai will
now head the city
organizations of the
party
CODE OF CONDUCT IMPLEMENTED
GMC LoP Shailendrasinh Bihola

GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Amreli: A woman
lodged a complaint
against Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP)
councillor from Sa-
varkundla of Amreli
district for demand-
ing sexual favours on
Sunday afternoon.
After receiving re-
ports of the allega-
tions levied against
corporator DK Patel,
the party suspended
him until further no-
tice.
Purvaben (name
changed) filed a crimi-
nal complaint against
Patel under the Indian
Penal Code for demand-
ing sexual favours, un-
wanted advances and
trespassing.
The complainant
stated that she is a wid-
ow and mother of three
daughters who has re-
cently relocated to Sa-
varkundla town. She
came in contact with
Patel, who is the in-
cumbent councillor of
Savarkundla nagarpa-
lika, in 2018 to get her
daughter’s school leav-
ing certificate, as she
had wanted to move to
Surat for business. The
lockdown last year ad-
versely affected her sa-
ree business and she
was forced to return to
Savarkundla after al-
most one-and-a-half
years in Surat.
On March 7, she
was allegedly visited
by Patel at her resi-
dence and when she
inquired about the
Pradhan Mantri
Awas Yojana, the
councillor asked her
to visit him at his
farmhouse for two
hours with her
daughter. He also fol-
lowed her to the bed-
room, where he alleg-
edly grabbed and at-
tempted to molest
her.
In the First Informa-
tion Report (FIR), she
also stated that she re-
ceived a call from a
Vicky Patel who made
the request for sexual
favours. The complain-
ant has revealed that
she is in possession of
three such telephonic
call recordings in sup-
port of her claim.
When she narrated
her ordeal to her father,
he supported and en-
couraged her to go
ahead and file an offi-
cial complaint against
Patel.
BJP councillordemandssexual
favoursfromwoman,suspended
DK Patel was accused of misconduct by the party after his call with the complainant went viral
Cases surge as 1,580
get infected, 7 die
Low dam on Mahisagar River to supply water to 49 villages
First India Bureau
Vadodara: The state
government has ap-
proved the construction
of a weir (low dam) on
the Mahisagar River,
which will create a nine
kilometre-long reser-
voir that will control
the upstream water
level. The Gujarat gov-
ernment has set aside
Rs380 crore for the pro-
ject, which will be built
between the cities of
Vadodara and Anand.
Inaddition,theriver’s
total water reserve ca-
pacity will be increased
to 38.50 lakh square me-
tres, according to an of-
ficial statement. The
new construction will
benefit 34 villages in the
Vadodaradistrict’sSavli
taluka and 15 villages in
theAnanddistrict’sUm-
reth taluka. In total, 49
villages will receive ir-
rigation water, while the
groundwater will be re-
charged. The height of
theweirwillbe5metres.
Executive engineer of
the project VB Parmar
said that the water sup-
ply department expects
theweirto“rechargeun-
dergroundwaterhelping
irrigationfacilitiesreach
up to four kilometres
from the river bank on
both sides.” It is also ex-
pected to provide water
for over 72,000 hectares
of agricultural land.
Over 400 wells in 49
villages will also be re-
vived with water and as
the underground water
isrecharged,theamount
of electricity consumed
for agricultural purpos-
es will decrease.
Earlier this month,
Vadodara-based Par-
yavaranSurakshaSami-
ti had issued notices to
the concerned district
authorities, requesting
action to prevent irre-
versible damage to the
Mahisagar River.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: With
the festival of Holi
around the corner, the
novel coronavirus in-
fection tally continues
to climb every day
. On
Sunday
, a total of 1,580
new COVID-19 cases
were reported in the
state taking the case-
load tally to 2,87,009
since the pandemic
outbreak struck in
March last year.
In the highest single
day death toll of 2021,
seven patients suc-
cumbed to the virus
on the day
. Three
deaths were reported
inAhmedabadcity
,fol-
lowed by two in Surat,
and one each in Gan-
dhinagar district and
Vadodara city
. The to-
tal death number now
stands at 4,450.
Ahmedabad Munic-
ipal Corporation led
the nCoV infection
chart with 443 cases,
followed by Surat Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(405), Vadodara Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(112), Rajkot Munici-
pal Corporation (109),
Surat district (105),
among others.
While Banaskantha
district did not report
a single fresh COV-
ID-19 case on Sunday,
over 14,590 citizens
were vaccinated
across the state—the
highest ever.
Owing to the sud-
den rise in cases, the
state government has
put more emphasis on
the importance of vac-
cination. The inocula-
tion drive was extend-
ed to seven days a
week and people were
administered the vac-
cine shot on Sunday
too.
16-year-old UP
teen meets parents
after 120 days
First India Bureau
Surat: A 16-year-old
youngster was reu-
nited with his par-
ents after 120 days,
with assistance of a
children’s care home
in the city and police.
Found wandering
the streets in the
Pandesara area in
January this year,
the teen was sent to a
children’s home for
treatment.
It was revealed that
he was from Uttar
Pradesh and had
cometoSuratlooking
for a job. The police
didnotknowtheteen-
ager’s name or home
address and had no
way of contacting his
family members. He
underwent 60 days of
treatment to recover
fromhismentalinsta-
bility and identified
himself as Karan
Rampreet Sharma
(16). The police con-
tacted his parents,
who corroborated his
identity through a
video call.
Narrating their
story
, Karan’s father
said that his son had
been working in the
villagetohelpthefam-
ily with money
. “How-
ever, when the wage
rate was reduced, he
ran away from home
to earn money
. I am
happy to have him
back,” he said.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A Spice-
Jet flight enroute
from the city to Jais-
almer made an emer-
gency landing back at
the Ahmedabad air-
port after failing
three landing at-
tempts in the Ra-
jasthan city. Accord-
ing to sources, the
plane was unable to
land because of a
technical glitch. The
aircraft hovered in
the air for nearly an
hour, causing panic
among the passen-
gers, sources added.
The flight, however,
returned to Ahmedabad
and landed safely. An-
other attempt at reach-
ing the destination was
made two hours later
and the plane landed in
Jaisalmer without a
hitch.
On Saturday, the
SpiceJet SG3010 flight
took off from
Ahmedabad’s Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel Air-
port at 12.05 pm. Upon
arrival at the Jaisalm-
er airport, the pilot at-
tempted a safe landing
but his effort was un-
successful. He even at-
tempted to land the
plane safely from vari-
ous angles, but could
not. The plane hovered
in the air for almost an
hour before returning
to Ahmedabad.
Two hours after get-
ting redirected to
Ahmedabad, the flight
took off for Jaisalmer
again, where it landed
safely at 5.15 pm on
Saturday.
According to sourc-
es, several passen-
gers were in distress
and began crying out
of fear. The flight at-
tendants had to reas-
sure passengers who
were concerned
about their safety.
The incident had a
particularly negative
impact on the flight’s
female passengers,
according to BS Mee-
na, director of the
Jaisalmer Airport
Authority.
Jaisalmer-bound plane makes emergency landing in city
MINOR SCARE
The SpiceJet
flight took off
from A’bad,
couldn’t land at
its destination
in three
attempts & was
directed back;
finally landed
in the Raj city
at 5.15 pm
Karan Rampreet Sharma
First India Bureau
Surat: Aspirants of the
Gujarat Public Service
Commission (GPSC) ex-
aminations were left to
their own devices after
Surat Municipal Corpo-
ration (SMC) shut down
public transportation
in the city on Sunday
.
Examinees had trou-
ble reaching their ex-
amination centres and
a few had to pay double
fares to make it to their
destinations on time. A
total of 13,696 exami-
nees were registered in
the city. The examina-
tion was conducted in
accordance with the
COVID-19 protocol
guidelines.
The examinations of
Gujarat administrative
Class-I, civil service
Class-I and Class-II and
Gujarat municipality
chief officer service
Class-II were conducted
by the GPSC at 46 ex-
amination centres in
Surat city. Police Com-
missioner Ajay Tomar
imposed necessary re-
strictions,whichbarred
gathering of more than
four persons within a
100-metre radius of an
examination centre.
No public transport leaves
GPSC aspirants stranded
NOWHERE TO HIDE
Suffering from
mental turmoil, he
had been taken in
by a children’s
home in Surat
FOR A WORTHY CAUSE
On the eve of World Water Day, the city’s water body —the Sabarmati River—reflected the lights decking the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation (AMC) office and the Riverfront in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The day is marked every year to
advocate the sustainable use of freshwater resources and create awareness about millions living without access to safe
drinking water. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
—PHOTO
BY
HANIF
SINDHI
Aspirants in a parking lot near
an exam centre in Surat.
Mahisagar River. —FILE PHOTO
Crowds at local markets of Teen Darwaza and Bhadra Fort may
increase as other shopping outlets, malls remain closed in A’bad.

l Vol 2 l Issue No. 116 l 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
PERSPECTIVE
04
espite Pakistan undergoing
the worst phase of its exist-
ence, it is unwilling and un-
relenting as far as terrorism
is concerned. Despite being
on the grey list of Financial
Action Task Force (FATF) for
the last more than two years
and likely to be pushed into
the Black List if it does not
report 100 % compliance, it
has yet to give up terrorism
as an instrument of its state
policy. Economically, Paki-
stan is at its lowest ebb with
the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) for the current finan-
cial year hovering around
minus 1.9 % gradually de-
clining every year from 5.5%
when Imran Khan assumed
office. The country is bur-
dened with debt and borrow-
ings. It is passing through the
deadly cycle of borrowings to
repay debt. As of date, Paki-
stan owes Rs 14 trillion to
domestic creditors and $116
billion to foreign borrow-
ings. When Saudi Arabia de-
manded the return of a third
installment of $ 1 billion, Pa-
kistan had to take a commer-
cial loan of $ 1.5 billion from
China. UAE has further add-
ed to the woes of economi-
cally beleaguered Pakistan
when it demanded a return
of $ 1 billion which it had de-
posited with the State Bank
of Pakistan and has now
reached its maturity
.
Pakistan is not only facing
an economic collapse but is
also facing hostility and iso-
lation from many Muslim
countries including some of
its most trusted allies in the
past. Despite this Pakistan
continues to invest heavily in
its Army and nuclear pro-
gramme. It hogs almost one-
fourth of the total budget and
6 to 7 percent of the nation’s
meagre GDP
. Pakistan Army
has invested heavily in ter-
rorism including narco-ter-
rorism and cross border ter-
rorism forms an essential
part of the warfighting strat-
egy of the Pakistan Army
, the
virtual ruler of the country
.
Pakistan, therefore, looks
for newer methods to be
adopted by its deep state to
promote cross-border terror-
ism. On the one hand, it has
tried to buy peace with India
through a ceasefire agree-
ment on the LoC while on the
other it continues to change
its modus operandi to pro-
mote cross border terrorism
to avoid the wrath of the
FATF and prove its inno-
cence to the global commu-
nity by playing the victim
card. The entire emphasis of
the new terror tactics of Pa-
kistan to appear to be di-
vorced from terror-related
happenings within India par-
ticularly in J&K. Through all
these cosmetic changes it in-
tends to convey to the global
community that there is a
homegrown militancy in
J&K which has an indige-
nous character and Pakistan
is not involved in it. But con-
trary to this fact remains
that there are 250-300 terror-
ists waiting in the launch
pads within Pak territory
awaiting an opportunity to
infiltrate across the LoC/IB,
as claimed by the Director-
General of Police J&K in an
informal press conference
held a few days back. Paki-
stan is also trying desperate-
ly to spread the arc of terror-
ism back across the Pir Pan-
jal particularly in the Mus-
lim majority districts adjoin-
ing the Valley which were
also referred to as Greater
Kashmir by none other than
the Pakistani dictator cum
President Pervez Musharraf.
After having failed to
achieve the desired result
through merely changing the
names of tanzeems (terrorist
outfits) operating in Kash-
mir from LeT, JeM and HM to
TRF, Lashkar-e-Mustaffa and
Al Badr, it has now resorted
to spread of “Lone Wolf” ter-
rorism, the technique em-
ployed successfully by global
jihadi radical Islamic terror
outfits like ISIS or Al Qaeda.
India so far has remained
free from Lone Wolf terror-
ism despite occasional
threats. A Lone Wolf terror-
ist does not allow allegiance
to any particular terror out-
fit but is ideologically at-
tached to them after being
convinced of the purpose
through social media/inter-
net. A lone wolf terrorist acts
alone rather than as a part of
a larger operation planned
by a particular tanzeem. The
term has been derived from
wolf behaviour. Normally a
pack animal, a lone wolf is
an animal that acts indepen-
dently or generally lives or
spends time alone instead of
with the group. Identifying a
lone wolf is a very challeng-
ing task without cooperation
of the general public because
they do not rely on the over-
ground network which re-
mains on the radar of the
security forces. A very strong
ground level intelligence net-
work would be needed to pre-
empt any lone wolf attack.
Lone wolf attacks can
cause mayhem and large
scale causalities as crowded
places are usually chosen as
the targets by trigger-happy
or moron lone wolf warriors
who are radicalised to the ex-
tent that bloodshed and dead
bodies act as an elixir to seek
the ultimate. Though these
individuals seem to be acting
alone, there are often ties be-
tween lone wolves and ter-
rorist organisations for ex-
ample, terrorist backed on-
line content and usually re-
ceive online instructions.
Lone wolf attacks, in which
extremist individuals trans-
late their beliefs into violent
actions, are hard to detect
and prevent. In coordinated
terror attacks, the chances of
competent intelligence agen-
cies detecting the perpetra-
tors are much higher. To
their credit, the U.K.’s intel-
ligence wings of terror in-
fected European countries
and Homeland Security de-
partment of USA have foiled
dozens of terror attacks but
they continue to be victim of
low-tech lone attacks, where
the attacker either used vehi-
cles to run over people or
launched knife attacks. Post
Pulwama, Pakistan has real-
ised the futility of coordinat-
ed big attacks and remains
worried of likely Indian re-
sponse to the same and hence
has now decided to embrace
the Lone Wolf tactics.
The other shift in the ter-
ror tactics include the use of
Sticky Bombs to target civil
and security forces vehicle.
As is evident from the name,
it is an Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) tied to a magnet
which can easily be stuck to
a parked or slow-moving ve-
hicle and detonated remotely
.
Increased reliance on IEDs is
another shift because suc-
cessful IED blasts result in
mass causalities. Sticky
bombs as well as Lone Wolf
attacks are also ideal weap-
ons for targeted/ political
killings. The logistics im-
passe of supplying arms and
ammunition and other war-
like stores due to a very
strong anti-infiltration grid
on the LoC is being overcome
through drone dropping and
tunnelling. Frequent use of
drones for dropping weap-
ons, ammunitions and explo-
sives is being resorted to.
Tunnels are being dug along
the IB in the plains of Jam-
mu and Rajasthan.
Internet and encrypted so-
cial media platforms have
become preferred means of
communication. Numerous
sites are feely available to
learn assembly of various
types of IEDs including
sticky bombs. Hard line ideo-
logical literature meant to
woo, brainwash and radical-
ise the youth is also available
on different media platforms
in local Indian languages in-
cluding South Indian lan-
guages apart from Bengali,
Punjabi and Kashmiri. To
overcome the problem of ter-
ror financing newer methods
and sources are being ex-
plored. Nepal is emerging as
a new route of hawala fund-
ing instead of traditional
routes of the Middle East and
Bangladesh.
Due to unrelenting and
sustained operations of the
security forces in J&K and
the intelligence agencies and
local police in other states
terrorism is on the decline.
Ostensibly
, despite Pakistan’s
claim to the contrary, it does
not suit the terror nation’s
designs. It at any cost wants
to keep tied down in internal
security and keep Kashmir
on the boil. Pakistan would
encourage the local criminal
elements to enter the space
vacated by the declining ter-
rorism. The recent arrest of
a terrorist with desi-katta (lo-
cal made revolver) indicates
that the criminals are happy
to don the mantle of terror-
ism to promote their crimi-
nal activities and settle per-
sonal scores. Moreover, there
is a distinct shift in procure-
ment of local made weapons
from Bihar by the terrorists
as well. This is also a Paki-
stan backed move since it
was finding difficult to justi-
fy large caches There is a
semblance of hope that due
to FATF threat, economic
pressure and financial com-
pulsions Pakistan would re-
frain itself yet knowing the
past pattern, competing in-
terests and domination of
the Pakistan Army India
needs to exercise prudent
caution despite peace over-
tures from our untrustwor-
thy neighbour.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
THE NEW TERROR TACTICS OF PAKISTAN
D
Pakistan,
therefore, looks
for newer
methods to be
adopted by its
deep state to
promote cross-
border terrorism.
On the one hand,
it has tried to buy
peace with India
through a
ceasefire
agreement on the
LoC while on the
other it continues
to change its
modus operandi
to promote cross
border terrorism
to avoid the
wrath of the
FATF and prove
its innocence to
the global
community by
playing the
victim card. The
entire emphasis
of the new terror
tactics of
Pakistan to
appear to be
divorced from
terror-related
happenings
within India
particularly in
J&K
Pakistan is not only facing an economic collapse
but is also facing hostility and isolation from
many Muslim countries including some of its
most trusted allies in the past. Despite this
Pakistan continues to invest heavily in its Army
and nuclear programme. It hogs almost one-
fourth of the total budget and 6 to 7 percent of
the nation’s meagre GDP
n 399 CE, Faxi-
an — a monk in
China’s Jin Dy-
nasty — went
on a pilgrimage
to the Indian subcontinent
to collect Buddhist scrip-
tures. Returning after 13
years, he spent the rest of
his life translating those
texts, profoundly altering
Chinese worldviews and
changing the face of Asian
and world history
.
After Faxian, hundreds
of Chinese monks made
similar journeys, leading
not only to the spread of
Buddhism along the Nir-
vana Route, but also open-
ing up roads to medicine
men, merchants and mis-
sionaries.
Along with the two other
great translation move-
ments — Graeco-Arabic in
the Umayyad and Abbasid
periods (2nd-4th and 8th-
10th century) and Indo-
Persian (13th-19th centu-
ries) — these events were
major attempts to translate
knowledge across linguis-
tic boundaries in world
history
.
Transcending barriers
of language and space, acts
of translation touched and
transformed every aspect
of life: from arts and crafts,
to beliefs and customs, to
society and politics.
Going by the latest casu-
alty in the heated — but
necessary — debates
around representation in
our creative and cultural
arenas, none of this would
be possible today
.
We live in a world rife
with controversies around
cultural appropriation and
identity politics. The pow-
er differentials created by
the twin forces of colonial-
ism and capitalism are be-
ing interrogated in every
realm today
.
It was only a matter of
time before these burning
issues ignited the art of
translation.
Usually invisible and
taken-for-granted, acts of
translation take place
around us all the time. But
in the field of literary
translation, questions of
authorial voice and speak-
ing position matter.
Marginalised creative
practitioners and their
growing audiences assume
importance in a global pub-
lishing regime controlled
by a dominant minority
wielding majority power
over issues of representa-
tion.
So it is fitting that some
have drawn attention to the
myriad spoken word art-
ists eminently qualified to
undertake translation in
the Netherlands. And
Dutch agents, publishers,
editors, translators and re-
viewers could certainly
broaden their horizons and
embrace diversity
.
Nevertheless, if humans
only translated the famil-
iar, how would we ever
have an inkling of the as-
tonishing world out there
that is not familiar?
The task of literary
translation entails grap-
pling with profound differ-
ence, in terms of language,
imagination, context, tra-
ditions, worldviews.
None of this would enter
our quotidian conscious-
ness but for the translators
who step into uncharted
waters because they have
fallen in love with another
tongue, another world.
TRANSLATION IS
RESISTANCE
Translators ferry across
the meaning, materiality,
metaphysics and all the
magic that may be un-
known in the mediums and
conventions of their own
tongue. The pull of the
strange, the foreign, and
the alien are necessary for
acts of translation.
It is this essential ele-
ment of unknowingness
that animates the transla-
tor’s curiosity and chal-
lenges her intellectual met-
tle and ethical responsibil-
ity
. Even when translators
hail from — or belong to
— the same culture as the
original author, the art re-
lies on the oppositional
traction of difference.
Through opposition and
abrasion, a creative trans-
lation allows for new mean-
ing and nuance to emerge.
Source: The Conversation
Is this the end of translation?
I
Let him not deceive another
nor despise anyone
anywhere. In anger or ill
will let him not wish
another ill. —Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
Happy to announce that @moefcc
has selected one forest area in each
state this year to conduct LIDAR
technology survey for the first time
in India wherein the entire valley will
be mapped digitally through drones.
#InternationalDayofForests
Mukul Wasnik
@MukulWasnik
An extremely serious situation
that reflects on the grave law
order situation in Uttar Pradesh.
Will the most powerful in Delhi
Lucknow take cognisance of this?
“Will Consider Shifting Trial”:
Allahabad High Court On “Threat”
To Hathras Family
BRIG VETERAN
ANIL GUPTA
The author is a Jammu
based veteran, political
commentator, columnist, security
and strategic analyst

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INDIA
05
Golaghat: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Sunday lambasted the
Congress party’s five
guarantees announced
as part of its manifesto,
ahead of the three-
phased assembly polls
in Assam and said the
party’s rule will instead
guarantee reign of cor-
ruption, nepotism, in-
stability, appeasement
and fake promises.
Modi campaigned at
Bokakhat in Golaghat
district for Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and
ally Asom Gana Pari-
shad’s (AGP) candi-
dates and urged voters
to reject Congress and
return the BJP-led gov-
ernment to power. AGP
president Atul Bora,
who is a minister in the
state cabinet, is contest-
ing from Bokakhat,
which will go to polls in
the first phase on
March 27.
“Those who ruled
Assam for over 50 years
are these days giving
five guarantees to peo-
ple of the state. But As-
samese people are
aware of the intentions
of these people, who
have the habit of mak-
ing false promises. Sell
dreams to the poor, tell
lies,” said Modi. —ANI
Congress only sells dreams to the poor: Modi
PM MODI REACTS ON : Congress guarantee to bring a law that nullifies the CAA, five lakh government jobs, raising tea workers’ wages
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Sunday (March 21, 2021) visited the boll-bound
Assam and stated that the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) government will continue in the
state. PM Modi during a public rally in Assam's
Bokakhat said, It is now decided that Assam will
get 'doosri baar, BJP sarkar', doosri baar, NDA
sarkar, doosri baar, 'double engine ki sarkar'.
The Prime Minister's comments came ahead of
the Assam Assembly polls, where the Bharatiya
Janata Party will seek its second tenure.
Guwahati: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sat-
urday slammed the Narendra Modi government
for “increasing” the problem of unemployment
in the country. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi
says about ‘Make in India’. But go to any part of
the country, you will find that the unemployment
problem has risen in every state,” Gandhi told a
crowd at a rally in poll-bound Assam’s Mariani.
The Mariani seat, where the fate of candidates is
determined by tea garden voters, has been held
by the Congress for 15 years.
‘DOOSRI BAAR, BJP SARKAR’ IN
ASSAM, SAYS PM MODI
MODI WARNS VOTERS OF CONGRESS
'LIES' IN POLL-BOUND ASSAM
Jorhat: Congress lead-
er Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on Sunday
slammed the Bharatiya
Janata Party alleging
that it has not fulfilled
the promises of provid-
ing employment to peo-
ple of Assam, imple-
mentation of Assam
accord (clause six) and
increase in wages of tea
plantation workers.
While addressing a
public rally in Assam's
Jorhat, she said, BJP
did not fulfil its promise
to give twenty-five lakh
jobs, they didn't imple-
ment Assam accord
clause 6 to protect the
culture of Assam. She
claimed that BJP back-
tracked on its promise
that the Citizenship
Amendment Act will
not be implemented in
the state. —ANI
BJP govt did not fulfill
its promises in Assam,
alleges Priyanka
Mumbai: Former
Mumbai Police com-
missioner Param Bir
Singh on Sunday con-
firmed that the letter to
Maharashtra chief
minister Uddhav
Thackeray was sent
from his email id. The
chief minister's office
had on Saturday said
that letter from Singh,
in which he detailed
how the state home
minister Anil Desh-
mukh had asked arrest-
ed Mumbai Police
officer Sachin Vaze to
collect 100 crore for
Deshmukh every
month, was received
from a different email
address, not his official
one and was without
Singh's signature.
The chief minister's
office also said that the
new email address
needs to be checked for
which home ministry
was attempting to con-
tact Singh. Deshmukh
had refuted all the alle-
gationsagainsthimsaid
that he is filing a defa-
mation suit against the
former Mumbai Police
Commissioner. Desh-
mukh also said that the
police officer made
these false allegations to
save himself. —ANI
Param Bir Singh confirms he sent
letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister
Bengaluru (Karnata-
ka) : RSS General Sec-
retary Dattatray Hosa-
bale on Saturday said
Uttarakhand Chief
Minister Tirath Singh
Rawat is capable of an-
swering on his 'ripped
jeans' remark and add-
ed that there is no rea-
son to link everything
to the RSS.
The person, whose
name you took, is capa-
ble of answering. Peo-
ple express views.
Whether it's right or
wrong is something
which must be asked of
them. No reason to link
everything to RSS, he
said when asked to com-
ment on Rawat's 'ripped
jeans' remark.
The newly appointed
Uttarakhand chief min-
ister recently stirred a
row by saying that
women wearing ripped
jeans send a wrong mes-
sage to society
. —ANI
New Delhi: In his ad-
dress at the 18th annual
convocation of NIT Ro-
urkela on Sunday
, Presi-
dent Ram Nath Kovind
said that engineering
institutions should
move towards more ho-
listic and multi-discipli-
nary education with
increased emphasis on
arts and humanities
and noted that NIT Ro-
urkela has already
adopted this approach
to a certain extent.
President Kovind
also said that girls
should be encouraged
to pursue technical edu-
cation and excel in the
same manner as they do
in other areas, a state-
ment issued by the
Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The President said that
one of the objectives of
the National Education
Policy is to make India
a global knowledge su-
perpower. —ANI
RAWAT CAN JUSTIFY HIS
REMARK: DATTATRAY
Kovind emphasised on
girls’ in technical edu
Bengaluru: Amid
farmers' protest at Del-
hi borders against the
central farm laws,
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU) leader Rakesh Ti-
kait suggested farmers
in Karnataka should
organise a protest in the
state similar to that of
Delhi and gherao Ben-
galuru from all sides.
Addressingafarmers'
meeting in Shivamogga
on Saturday
, Tikait said
a strategy has been
made to snatch farmers'
land in the state.
There are lakhs of
people gheraoing Delhi.
This fight will go on for
a long. We need to start
such protest in every
city until these 3 black
laws are taken back and
the law on MSP is not
brought.Youneedtorun
a protest in Karnataka.
A strategy has been
made to snatch your
land.Bigcompanieswill
do farming... Labour
lawshavebeenamended
to employ cheap labour
You need to make a 'Del-
hi' in Bengaluru, Tikait
said. —ANI
Make‘Delhi’ in Bengaluru,gherao
city from all sides: Tikait to farmers
CANDIDATES STAGE SEMI-NUDE
PROTEST IN MADHYA PRADESH
Gwalior (MP): Alleging
Vyapam scam part two,
candidates who had
appeared for the Agri-
culture Extension Officer
and Agriculture Devel-
opment Officer (ADO)
exams in February this
year conducted by the
Madhya Pradesh Profes-
sional Examination Board
(PEB), took to the streets
of Gwalior to stage a
semi-nude protest against
alleged irregularities in
the conduct of the exams.
VyapamVyaysayik Pareek-
sha Mandal (Vyapam) is
the Hindi acronym for the
Professional Examination
Board. Sudhir, from the
Krishi Mahavidyalaya,
Gwalior said, “We have
gone naked to protest
and unclothe the corrupt
policies.”
34 HELD IN DELHI FOR RUNNING
FAKE CALL CENTRES
New Delhi: Thirty-four people have been arrested
for allegedly extorting money from foreign
nationals under the pretext of them being from
the US Drug Enforcement Agency, apple technical
support and McAfee antivirus support, said Delhi
Police. Other than the above-said scams, the
main accused namely Kshitiz Bali, Abhishek and
Dhananjay Negi were running two illegal call cen-
tres from a building in Uttam Nagar from where
they used to send voice recordings to foreign na-
tionals, pretending to be US Drug Enforcement.
ODISHA CM CONDOLES
DANCER LAXMIPRIYA DEMISE
New Delhi: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
on Sunday expressed his condolences over the
demise of renowned Odissi dancer Laxmipriya
Mahapatra and announced a state funeral. “CM
Naveen Patnaik has expressed deep grief at
the passing away of renowned Odissi dancer
and wife of late Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra,
Smt Laxmipriya Mahapatra. Remembering her
contribution to promotion of Odissi, government
announced state funeral for late Smt Mahapatra,”
Chief Minister Office, Odisha tweeted.
CENTRESETSSTAGEFORATTRACTING
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS TO INDIA
New Delhi: Ministry of
Education is deliberating
on measures to increase
the number of interna-
tional students coming to
India for higher studies.
In a review meeting of the
Ministry’s Study in India
Programme with partner
institutions yesterday,
Secretary Higher Educa-
tion Shri Amit Khare said
that the criteria for insti-
tutions partnering under
the programme will soon
be revised so that more
institutions that have the
necessary infrastructure
and academic quality can
join the programme. He
also said that no distinc-
tion will be made be-
tween private and public
institutions in matters of
supporting international-
ization.
New Delhi: Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)
national president JP
Nadda is scheduled
to unveil the party's
manifesto for the
upcoming Legislative
Assembly elections
in Assam on March
23. Elections for the
126-seat Assam as-
sembly are sched-
uled to take place in
three phases from
March 27 to April 6.
The results will be
announced on May
2. Speaking at a pub-
lic rally Modi said
that 'doosri baar,
BJP sarkar'.
JP NADDA TO
RELEASE BJP'S
MANIFESTO ON
MARCH 23
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign
rally for Assam Assembly polls, in Golaghat district on Sunday.
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
Lucknow: A trustee
of a 350-year-old
mosque in Lucknow
on Saturday ap-
proached the Su-
preme Court to op-
pose a PIL that chal-
lenges provisions of
a 1991 law prohibit-
ing the filing of a
lawsuit to reclaim a
place of worship or
seek a change in its
character from what
prevailed on August
15, 1947.
A bench headed by
Chief Justice S A
Bobde, on March 12,
had agreed to exam-
ine the controversial
provisions of the
Places of Worship
Act, 1991. —ANI
TRUSTEE MOVES
SC ON
RELIGIOUS
PLACES LAW
FUTURE RETAIL,
DELHI HC
CHALLENGING
BENCH ORDER
New Delhi: The Future
Group has moved the
division bench of the
Delhi High Court
against the order passed
by the single-member
bench, which has direct-
ed to stay its Rs 24,713
crore deal with Reliance
Industries to sell its re-
tail and wholesale busi-
ness. The Kishore Biya-
ni-led group firm, Fu-
ture Retail Ltd (FRL)
has now filed an appeal
before the higher bench
of the same High Court
against the orders
passed by a single-mem-
ber bench of Justice J R
Midha, Future Retail
said in a regulatory fil-
ing. “The company has
filed an appeal.”—ANI
Kochi: BJP candi-
dates have ap-
proached the high
court over rejecting
their nomination pa-
pers. The plea will be
considered in the af-
ternoon. The court
has agreed to con-
vene a special sitting.
The pleas were filed
by the NDA candi-
dates of Thalassery
and Guruvayoor.
The candidates
have sought to pro-
vide them the oppor-
tunity to contest. On
Friday, the nomina-
tion papers of NDA
candidates in Thalas-
sery, Guruvayoor,
and Devikulam were
rejected. In Deviku-
lam as the nomina-
tion papers of AIAD-
MK, an NDA ally got
rejected, BJP de-
clared their support
to an independent
candidate. In Deviku-
lam as the nomina-
tion papers of AIAD-
MK, an NDA ally got
rejected, BJP de-
clared their support
to an independent
candidate. Haridas’s
nomination papers
were rejected as form
A didn’t have the
name and signature
of the party’s nation-
al president.—ANI
BJP approached High
Court over rejecting
nomination papers
Patna: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
on Sunday slammed the Maharashtra Home
Minister Anil Deshmukh over corruption al-
legation and asked: If Rs 100 crore was the
target by him then what was the target by other
ministers?Targeting Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray, the BJP leader said that he has lost
the moral authority to govern the state.
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra Navnirman Sena
(MNS) chief Raj Thack-
eray said state Home
Minister Anil Desh-
mukh should resign
in the wake of allega-
tions levelled against
him by former Mumbai
Police Commissioner
Param Bir Singh.
Union Minister Anurag
Thakur on Sunday
said a serious probe
should be conducted
into the allegations of
extortion against Anil
Deshmukh raised by
Maharashtra's former
police commissioner
and said the letter by
the senior officer.
PRASAD SLAMS ANIL DESHMUKH
OVER CORRUPTION ALLEGATION
DESHMUKH
SHOULD RESIGN
ANURAG THAKUR
URGES PROBE
GOVT IS HELPING FARMERS: RAHUL
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Param Bir Singh
Ram Nath Kovind
Rakesh Tikait
Dattatray Hosabale

‘Only ‘symbolic’...
Defending the local
body elections as well
as the India-England
cricket series, Patel
said that the virus
spread in places where
neither the election nor
the cricket matches
were held. Citing the
example of neighbour-
ing state Maharashtra,
Patel asserted that the
virus transmission had
happened much faster
there than Gujarat.
Assuring that there
were enough beds avail-
ableingeneralhospitals,
DyCM stated that over
70%bedsingovernment-
run hospitals were for
novel coronavirus pa-
tients. Clearing the air
about the night curfew
extension, Patel claimed
that if restaurants and
hotels had been allowed
to stay open till late at
night,itmayhavecaused
the virus to spread.
Allegations against...
It was Param Bir Singh
who had decided to rein-
state Assistant Inspector
Sachin Waze into the
force last year, Pawar
said.“ParamBirSinghis
making wild allegations
because he was removed
as Mumbai Police Com-
missioner,” he added.
Pawar informed that
efforts are on to destabi-
lise the Shiv Sena-NCP-
Congress government
in Maharashtra but all
suchattemptswillprove
futile. “I don’t know
whether efforts are be-
ingmadeornottotopple
the government (Maha-
rashtra). All I can say is
that these will have no
impact,” he added.
On whether Desh-
mukh should continue
as Home Minister, Pa-
war said the decision
lies with CM Thackeray
.
Reacting to Pawar’s
statements, BJP leader
and former chief minis-
ter Devendra Fadnavis,
while reiterating his
party’s demand of the
Home Minister’s resig-
nation, said an impar-
tial probe will not be
possible till Anil Desh-
mukh is in office.
Real change...
bring a government that
sends tolabas (extortion-
ists) to jail,” he added,
repeating the BJP’s alle-
gations of corruption
andextortionismagainst
theTrinamoolCongress.
“Anticipating defeat,
Didi has already started
questioning the EVMs
(electronic voting ma-
chine) which had
brought her to power 10
years back,” he added.
OnSaturdayMamata,
addressing a rally in
East Midnapore, said
the BJP did not fight
elections in a democrat-
ic manner and urged
Trinamool workers to
guard EVMs after vot-
ing in each phase.
“The EVMs should be
tested 30 times before
the start of the polls to
ensure there is no foul
play
.But,If anymachine
develops faults, please
remain calm until it is
repaired,” she said. The
PM, whose BJP has ac-
cused the Trinamool of
deliberately stalling im-
plementation of central
government schemes,
questioned Ms Banerjee
over the lack of infra-
structure in the state.
The PM also referred
topostersthatshowedBa-
nerjee “playing football
withmyhead”-thepopu-
lar sport has emerged as
a political metaphor
ahead of elections - and
said “you can kick my
head... but I will not let
you kick ‘vikas (develop-
ment)’ out of Bengal”.
“Didi You can keep your
foot on my head... you
can kick my head... but I
will not let you kick ‘vi-
kas’ out of Bengal. I
want to tell didi some-
thing from Bankura... I
keep my head bowed at
alltimestoservethepeo-
ple of Bengal,” he said.
CAA promise...
said on Sunday that his
party, if voted to power
in Bengal, will ensure
no curb is imposed on
Durga and Saraswati
puja.
Shah, during a rally
in Purba Medinipur dis-
trict,reaffirmedthatthe
BJP will build ‘sonar
Bangla’ over the next
five years, propelled by
the party’s double-en-
gine government at the
Centre and the state.
“Under the TMC rule,
school teachers in Ben-
gal were beaten up for
organising ‘Saraswati
puja’. The court had to
intervene to ensure
Durga puja is celebrat-
ed in the state. Do you
want this government?
“The BJP, after coming
to power, will see to it
that Durga puja and
Saraswati puja are held
without hindrance. No
one will be stopped
from organising any re-
ligious festival,” the
home minister stated.
LS Speaker...
“He is stable and all his
parameters are nor-
mal,” the All India In-
stitute of Medical Sci-
ences said in a state-
ment. According to the
hospital, Birla (58) test-
ed positive for the coro-
navirus infection on
March 19. He was ad-
mitted to the AIIMS
COVID Centre for ob-
servation the next day
.
FROM PG 1
INDIA
06
New Delhi: India re-
corded 43,846 new Cov-
id-19 cases in the last 24
hours, marking the
sharpest single-day rise
in almost four months
andtakingitstotalcases
to 11.5 million.
The number of fatali-
ties has risen to 1,59,755
with 197 news deaths,
data by the union health
ministry showed Sun-
day
. Maharashtra, Pun-
jab, Madhya Pradesh
and Tamil Nadu are
among states reporting
a surge in coronavirus
cases, prompting the au-
thorities to lock down
worst-hit districts and
restrict public gather-
ings.
The county has ad-
ministered more than
4.36 crore vaccine doses,
with over 16 lakh people
being inoculated in the
last 24 hours.
India has 3.09 lakh
“active” cases, while
1.11 crore people have
recovered. Maharashtra
reported 27,126 new cas-
es, while Punjab had
2,578 on Sunday
.
Maharashtra, Kerala
and Punjab cumulative-
ly account for 76.22 per
cent of India’s total ac-
tives.
The media agencies
reported that Madhya
Pradesh has announced
a one-day lockdown in
state capital Bhopal, In-
dore and Jabalpur every
Sunday
. Schools and col-
leges in the three cities
have been closed till
March 31. —Agencies
NATION SEES BIGGEST DAILY RISE IN 4 MONTHS
43,846 new cases in the last 24 hours, marking the sharpest single-day rise and taking its total cases to 11.5 million with 197 news deaths
New Delhi: As India wit-
nessed the highest daily
tally of COVID-19 cases
this year, the Union Health
Ministry said on Sunday
that Maharashtra, Kerala,
Punjab, Karnataka, Guja-
rat and Madhya Pradesh
account for 83.14 per
cent of the new infections.
Maharashtra reported
the highest daily new
cases at 27,126. It is
followed by Punjab with
2,578 while Kerala re-
ported 2,078 new cases.
Karnataka, Gujarat and
Madhya Pradesh reported
1,798, 1,565 and 1, 308
infections in a day. India
recorded 43,846 new cor-
onavirus cases in a day,
the highest single-day rise
so far this year, taking the
nationwide COVID-19 tally
to 1,15,99,130.
Besides, 197 deaths
were reported in a span
24 hours, the ministry
said, adding six states ac-
count for 86.8 per cent of
the new deaths. —PTI
Nagpur: Restrictions im-
posed in Nagpur district
will continue with some
relaxations from March
22 to March 31 in view of
rising coronavirus cases,
Maharashtra Energy Min-
ister Nitin Raut said on
Saturday. In Nagpur city,
restaurants and eateries
can operate till 7 pm while
shops can remain open
till 4 pm, and all offices
-- private and government
-- can function with 25
per cent staff. Nagpur is
under complete lockdown
since March 15 which is
to continue till Sunday.
Mr Raut, who is
guardian minister for the
district, held a review
meeting with local of-
ficials and also consulted
experts, journalists and
representatives of all po-
litical parties on continua-
tion of restrictions.
5 STATES ACCOUNT FOR OVER 83 PER
CENT OF NEW COVID CASES: HEALTH MIN
RESTRICTIONS IN MAHA’S NAGPUR TO
CONTINUE WITH PARTIAL RELAXATION
Chandigarh: More
than 6 crore doses
of COVID-19 vac-
cine have been sent
to 76 nations, while
4.5 crore doses have
been administered
to beneficiaries in
the country till now,
Union Health Minister
Harsh Vardhan said
on Sunday. He also
called for making
the vaccination drive
a “Jan Aandolan”
(mass movement).
“Until this morn-
ing, nearly 4.5 crore
COVID-19 vaccine
doses have been
given to the people
in this country. More
than six crore doses
have been sent to 76
nations,” Mr Vardhan
said during a media
interaction at the
Institute of Microbial
Technology (CSIR-
IMTECH).
“Our Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi and party (BJP)
president JP Nadda
have called for mak-
ing the vaccination
drive a ‘’jan andolan’’
(mass movement),”
he said.
In a major boost
to entrepreneur-
ship in life sciences,
Mr Vardhan, the
Minister for Science
and Technology
and Earth Sciences,
inaugurated IMTECH
Bio-Innovation Centre
which is an extension
of the Atal Incubation
Centre (AIC)-CCMB,
Hyderabad.
The aim of the IM-
TECH Bio-Innovation
Centre is to become a
hub for life sciences,
biotechnology start-
ups and MSMEs from
all over the country in
a short span of time.
MORE THAN 6 CRORE VACCINE
DOSES SENT TO 76 NATIONS
Jorhat: Launching a
frontal attack on Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, Congress leader
Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on Sunday al-
leged he is sad about a
tweet by a “22-year-old
woman” but not for the
flood-ravaged people
of Assam.
A day after PM Modi
raised the toolkit issue
and alleged Congress
conspiracy in it at a
poll rally in Chabua in
Assam, the daughter of
late Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi, lament-
ed that Modi was silent
about people’s suffer-
ing in perennial flood
and “attack on culture”
by the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act.
Last year’s flooding
of the Brahmaputra
and its tributaries dur-
ing the pandemic af-
fected some 2.8 million
people in Assam.
“I was listening to
the Prime Minister’s
speech yesterday. He
very seriously said
that he was very sad
about a development. I
thought he would
speak about Assam’s
development or how
BJP worked in Assam.
“But I was shocked
to hear that the PM
was talking about a
tweet by a 22-year-old
woman. He said the
Congress conspired to
finish the tea industry
of Assam. He was also
sad about the Con-
gress mistakenly put-
ting two wrong pic-
tures on social me-
dia,” Vadra said. —PTI
‘PM sad for tweet by
22-yr-old woman, but
not for flood-hit people’
New Delhi: India has
marked a key mile-
stone in universalis-
ing primary health
care with the target of
operationalising 70,000
Ayushman Bharat-
Health and Wellness
Centres (AB-HWCs) by
March 31 being real-
ised ahead of time, the
Union Health Ministry
said on Sunday
.
Till date, about 41.35
crore people have ac-
cessed care in these
AB-HWCs and about 54
per cent of them are
women, the ministry
said. The feat of scal-
ing up primary health
care facilities at this
pace despite the COV-
ID-19 pandemic was
enabled by a high de-
gree of coordination
between the Centre
and states and union
territories, foresight
in planning, flexibility
in adaptation, stand-
ardization of process-
es, and regular inter-
actions at all levels for
monitoring and
prompt redressal of is-
sues, it said. This is
testimony to the pro-
cess of effective decen-
tralisation and coop-
erative federalism, the
ministry said.
The launch of
Ayushman Bharat-
Health and Wellness
Centres marked a wa-
tershed moment in In-
dia’s public health his-
tory, the ministry said.
“This mission mode
approach also aimed at
realising India’s vi-
sion of universal
health coverage,” the
statement said. —PTI
Thiruvananthapuram:
Union minister Anurag
Thakur on Sunday hit
out at the CPI(M)-led
LDF government for
registering a case
against Enforcement
Directorate officials
probing the gold smug-
gling case, saying any
attempt to hamper it by
such acts “clearly shows
whatistroublingthem”.
“If they try to ham-
per progress of the on-
going investigation by
filing a police case
against ED officials, it
clearly shows what is
troubling them.
“... they are unable to
answer questions raised
by these officials”, the
union minister of state
for Finance and Corpo-
rate Affairs told report-
ers in Thiruvanan-
thapuram. —PTI
New Delhi: Senior BJP
leader Defence Minis-
ter Rajnath Singh on
Sunday told the city
unit of the party to de-
ploy“pannapramukhs”
across Delhi, as they
are its biggest strength
and can make it win in
the national capital.
The “panna pramukh”
or page in-charge is the
first point of contact for
most voters in the BJP’s
election management
machinery
.
Mr Singh, who inau-
gurated the Delhi BJP’s
executive committee
meeting, said panna
pramukhs should help
create awareness about
schemesprogrammes
started by the Modi gov-
ernment. The govern-
ment has proven “track
record in good govern-
ance and develop-
ment... we have always
done what we promise”,
Mr Singh told Delhi
BJP leaders. “Panna
pramukh should be de-
ployed in Delhi. I think
it is the most important
post and the biggest
strength of the party
... I
can say it with convic-
tion it can take the BJP
to a win here,” he said.
Mr Singh said the
panna pramukh is more
important than a presi-
dent of the party’’s state
unit and that he should
be honoured. —PTI
‘70K primary health centres operationalised’
Min slams Kerala govt
over case against
probe agency officials
Panna Pramukhs BJP’s
strength: Rajnath Singh
Need to work
on reusable
rocket tech:
Madhavan Nair
Bengaluru:Indianeeds
to strive towards mas-
tering reusable rocket
technology, give thrust
to global marketing and
learn from SpaceX
founder Elon Musk’s
business model to tap
full potential in the
space field, eminent
space scientist G Mad-
havan Nair said.
The former Chair-
man of Indian Space
Research Organisation
(ISRO) said there is a
vast scope to launch for-
eign satellites and also
provide space-related
services in the global
market. “We (India)
have basic technology,
capability to launch
earth observation and
communication plat-
forms. But we have
missed the opportunity
in global marketing,”
Mr Nair said. India of-
fers satellite launch ser-
vices at 30 to 40 per cent
lower costs compared to
international prices, ac-
cording to him. “Natu-
rally, there is a good po-
tential for capturing
more and more of
launchesfromcountries
which have no such ca-
pability
,” he said. —PTI
The Security personnel checks commuters on road during complete lockdown amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in Bhopal on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: IndiGo
handed over a pas-
senger from its Ben-
galuru-Kolkata flight
to security agencies
at the destination
airport for not wear-
ing a mask despite
repeated warnings
from the flight crew,
government officials
said. The Directo-
rate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) had
last Saturday asked
airlines to de-board
passengers who
do not wear masks
“properly” despite
repeated warnings.
The passenger
on IndiGo’s 6E938
Bengaluru-Kolkata
flight on Saturday re-
fused to wear a mask
despite repeated
warnings from the
flight crew, the of-
ficials noted. —PTI
INDIGO SENDS
PASSENGER TO
SECURITY FOR
NOT WEARING
A MASK
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addresses public rally
ahead of Assam Assembly polls, on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Rajnath Singh

What happened after the
Earth’s early
magma oceans
detected in 3.7
billion year-
old Greenland
rocks
Big Bang?
Big Bang?
E
arth hasn’t
always been a
blue and green
oasis of life in
an otherwise inhospitable
solar system. During our
planet’s first 50 million
years, around 4.5 billion years
ago, its surface was a hellscape
of magma oceans, bubbling and
belching with heat from Earth’s
interior.
The subsequent cooling of the
planet from this molten state, and the
crystallization of these magma
oceans into solid rock, was a defining
stage in the assembly of our planet’s
structure, the chemistry of its sur-
face, and the formation of its early
atmosphere.
These primeval rocks, containing
clues that might explain Earth’s hab-
itability, were assumed to have been
lost to the ravages of plate tectonics.
But now, my team has discovered the
chemical remnants of Earth’s mag-
ma oceans in 3.7 billion year-old
rocks from southern Greenland, re-
vealing a tantalizing snapshot of a
time when the Earth was almost en-
tirely molten.
Hell on Earth
Earth is the product of a chaotic early
solar system, which is believed to have
featured a number of catastrophic im-
pacts between the Earth and other
planetary bodies. The formation of
Earth culminated in its collision with
a Mars-sized impactor planet, which
also resulted in the formation of
Earth’s moon some 4.5 billion years
ago.
These cosmic clashes are thought
to have generated enough energy to
melt the Earth’s crust and almost all
of our planet’s interior (the mantle),
creating planetary-scale volumes of
molten rock that formed “magma
oceans” hundreds of kilometres in
depth. Today, in contrast, Earth’s
crust is entirely solid, and the mantle
is seen as a “plastic solid”: allowing
slow, viscous geological movement a
far cry from the liquid magma of
Earth’s early mantle.
As the Earth recovered and cooled
after its chaotic collisions, its deep
magma oceans crystallized and so-
lidified, beginning Earth’s journey to
the planet we know today. The vol-
canic gases which bubbled out of
E a r t h ’ s
c o o l i n g
magma oceans
may have been decisive in
the formation and composition of
our planet’s early atmosphere –
which would eventually support life.
Geological search
Finding geological evidence for the
Earth’s former molten state is ex-
tremely difficult. This is because mag-
ma ocean events are likely to have
taken place over 4 billion years ago,
and many of the rocks from that peri-
od of Earth’s history have since been
recycled by plate tectonics.
But while rocks from this period no
longer exist, their chemical traces may
still be stored in Earth’s depths. So-
lidified crystals from Earth’s cooling
period would have been so dense that
they’d have sunk to the base of Earth’s
mantle. Scientists even believe that
these mineral residues may be stored
in isolated zones deep within Earth’s
mantle-core boundary
.
If they do exist, these ancient crys-
tal graveyards are inaccessible to us –
hiding far too deep for us to take direct
samples. And if they were to ever rise
to the Earth’s surface, the magma
ocean crystals would naturally under-
go a process of melting and solidify-
ing, leaving only traces of their ori-
gins in the volcanic rocks that make it
to Earth’s crust.
Crystal clues
We knew Greenland would be a
good place to search for these traces
of Earth’s molten past. Our sam-
ples originate from the Isua su-
pracrustal belt in southwestern
Greenland, which is a famous
area for geologists. At first glance,
Isua’s rocks
look just
like any mod-
ern basalt
you’d find on the
sea floor. But these
rocks some of the
oldest in the world, believed
to be between 3.7 and 3.8 billion years
old.
On analysing Isua’s rocks, we dis-
covered unique iron isotope signa-
tures. These signatures showed that
the region of the mantle from which
the rocks had formed had been sub-
jected to very high pressure, over 700
kilometres below Earth’s surface.
That’s exactly where minerals formed
during magma ocean crystallization
would have been located.
But if these rocks did indeed bear
traces of crystallized magma ocean,
how did they find their way to the
Earth’s surface? The answer lies in
how the Earth’s interior melts,
producing volcanic rocks on
the planet’s surface.
Melting
rocks
When re-
g i o n s
of the
E a r t h ’ s
semi-solid mantle heat up
and melt, they rise buoyantly to-
wards the Earth’s crust, ultimately
producing volcanic rocks when the
magma reaches the surface and cools.
By studying the chemistry of these
rocks on the surface, we can probe
the composition of the material that
melted to form them.
The isotopic makeup of Isua rocks
revealed that their journey to Earth’s
surface involved several stages of
crystallization and re-melting in the
interior of the planet – a kind of dis-
tillation process on their way to the
surface. But the rocks that emerged,
located in present-day Greenland,
still retain chemical signatures that
connect them to Earth’s magma-cov-
ered past.
T h e
results of our
work provide some
of the first direct geo-
logical evidence for the signa-
ture of magma ocean crystals in vol-
canic rocks found on Earth’s surface.
Now, we’d like to understand whether
other ancient volcanic rocks across
the world can tell us more about
Earth’s former magma oceans, or
whether we’ve instead stumbled
upon a geological oddity: more of a
one-off clue.
If other volcanoes may have
spewed similar geological artefacts,
we might also look to modern erup-
tion hotspots such as Hawaii and Ice-
land for further isotopic novelties
that speak of Earth’s ancient past.
It’s possible that more primordial
rocks may be found in the future
which could help us understand more
about the Earth’s violent, magma-
covered past.
an otherwise inhospitable
solar system. During our
planet’s first 50 million
years, around 4.5 billion years
ago, its surface was a hellscape
of magma oceans, bubbling and
belching with heat from Earth’s
The subsequent cooling of the
planet from this molten state, and the
crystallization of these magma
oceans into solid rock, was a defining
stage in the assembly of our planet’s
structure, the chemistry of its sur-
E a r t h ’ s
c o o l i n g
magma oceans
Isua’s rocks
look just
like any mod-
ern basalt
you’d find on the
sea floor. But these
rocks some of the
E a r t h ’ s
semi-solid mantle heat up
and melt, they rise buoyantly to-
wards the Earth’s crust, ultimately
producing volcanic rocks when the
magma reaches the surface and cools.
By studying the chemistry of these
results of our
work provide some
of the first direct geo-
logical evidence for the signa-
ture of magma ocean crystals in vol-
canic rocks found on Earth’s surface.
Now, we’d like to understand whether
other ancient volcanic rocks across
the world can tell us more about
Earth’s former magma oceans, or
TALKING POINT
07
SOURCE : THECOVERSATION.COM
HELEN M WILLIAMS
Reader in Geochemistry, University
of Cambridge
4 billion years ago, the Earth was composed of a series
of magma oceans hundreds of kilometres deep
—LARICH/SHUTTERSTOCK
The
rocks
sampled
in
our
study
where
acquired
in
the
Isua
region
of
Greenland
—AUTHOR
PROVIDED
The Earth is now composed of the inner core, the outer
core, the lower mantle, the upper mantle, and the crust
—ALEXLMX/SHUTTERSTOCK

The best leader does not do the
greatest things but he is the one
who inspires others to do their best
and more!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Gujarat-
based Dalit and human
rights organisation,
Navsarjan Trust, has
initiated a campaign to
donate a coin with a
message against un-
touchability to the Cen-
tral Government to be
etched in the founda-
tion of the new Parlia-
ment building.
These coins will be
made from the brass
utensils and articles
collected from the peo-
ple of Gujarat.
The initiative was
launched by Navsarjan
Trust from its campus
at Nani Devati village
near Sanand on Satur-
day
. On the first day, the
organization received
over 500 kg brass uten-
sils and articles from
people. It is planning to
collect around 2,000 kg
brass to be converted
into a 1,111 milligram
diameter coin with the
question – Will the 1947
dream of untouchabili-
ty-free India be a reality
in 2047? – engraved on it
along with the images
of Dr B R Ambedkar-led
Mahad Satyagrah.
Then, it is planned; the
coin will be given to be
laid in the foundation
of the new Parliament
building.
Martin Macwan, the
founder of Navsarjan
Trust said, “New Par-
liament building is
coming up. We must
have a beautiful new
building. But the ques-
tion is what will happen
with having a new Par-
liament building? Be-
cause, even after 75
years of the Independ-
ence, untouchability is
still prevailing. So, the
message is if it is one
country, then there
should be only one na-
tion. Because of un-
touchability, it is like
two nations in every vil-
lage.” “We have a cul-
tural tradition that
when we build a new
house, we put a brass
article in its foundation
for peace and prosperi-
ty
. Similarly, we want to
give this 2000-kg brass
coin to be laid in the
foundation of the new
Parliament building,”
he added.
SYMBOLIC GESTURE
Dalits organisation Navsarjan Trust is get-
ting made a 2,000-kg coin made from
brass vessels collected in donations
Brass vessels collected by Navsarjan Trust to be used to create special “anti-untouchability” coin.
(inset) Navsarjan founder Martin Mcwan.
GUJARAT DALITS BRACING UP FOR A FIGHT
The murder of a Dalit farmer and RTI activist by high-caste members has raised the hackles of the community in Guj
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
2016 Una torture of
Dalits may have all
but forgotten, but at
least one recent inci-
dent has brought to
light that the tor-
ment that the com-
munity suffers in Gu-
jarat is far from over.
Hundreds of Sched-
uled Caste men and
women from all over
the State last week
gathered at Sanodar
village in Bhavnagar
district last week to
mourn the death of a
fearless farmer who
was done to death by
headstrong Darbars on
March 2.
But they also took
an oath of sorts to
fight for justice. A
s t r o n g l y - wo r d e d
memorandum de-
manding one-acre
land and lifetime
pension for 50-year-
old Amra Boricha’s
family was handed
over to the district
police chief immedi-
ately after the prayer
meeting.
But they didn’t stop
at that. They repeated
these demands at an-
other large gathering
of Dalits at Sanand
near Ahmedabad on
Saturday.
And on Monday,
the Dalits, who are
angry over Boricha’s
daylight brutal mur-
der inside his own
house by 10 higher
caste men with
swords, spears and
steel rods, plan to as-
semble at the
Bhavnagar district
collector’s office to
submit another
memorandum of de-
mands, including a
licence for a revolver
for protection of the
lone Dalit family in
the village.
Independent Dalit
MLA Jignesh Mevani
also raised the murder
issue in the State As-
sembly on Thursday
and Friday demanding
to know why the negli-
gent and irresponsible
police sub-inspector,
an accused in the case,
had not been arrested
so far.
The angry Dalits
have decided not to
stop at even these
memorandums. On
Ambedkar Jayanti on
April 14, as many as
3,000 Dalits have
threatened to take out
a ‘Lalkaar Yatra’ (Chal-
lenge March) to agitate
against the torture
they faced at the hands
of the higher castes.
Jignesh Mevani as-
serted that, “On
April 14, we will take
out the rally and will
try to get the posses-
sion of 14 land par-
cels in Gujarat which
have been allotted to
landless Dalits but
have been wrongful-
ly occupied by upper-
caste people.”
He pointed out that
Boricha was attacked
not only because he
was a Right To Infor-
mation (RTI) activist,
but also constantly
complained against
the attempts of the
Darbar community to
usurp his land and
house. He was assault-
ed as many as 13 times,
allegedly thrice in the
presence of policemen.
Mevani says, “That
Boricha was assault-
ed as many as 14
times shows that
there is blatant dis-
regard for the rule
of law under the Vi-
jay Rupani regime,
which calls itself a
sensitive administra-
tion.”
Guj HC notice to Euro School for
cancelling students’ registration
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Guja-
rat High Court has is-
sued notice to the Euro
School and directed the
District Education Of-
ficer (DEO) to initiate
steps if anyone can-
celled a student’s school
registrationwithoutany
valid reason.
Anshuman Shastri
has informed the court
that his daughter Shara-
rat and Yugma’s online
education has been dis-
continued by the Euro
School claiming that
they are not paying the
fees.Theschoolisinsist-
ingthattheypaythefees
asaskedandfixedbythe
Fees Regulation Com-
mittee.
Justice Umesh Trive-
di issued notice to the
Euro School manage-
ment returnable before
the next hearing on
April 19. The petitioner
had submitted that the
schoolmanagementwas
not providing the school
leaving certificate and
marksheet for Yugma
and discontinued online
classes of Shararat. He
also pointed out that
though the DEO had di-
rected the school man-
agement to resolve the
grievances, the former
was adamant.
The DEO in a notice
has asked the school
management not to mis-
interpret the high court
relief granted for fees
and that it was not with
retrospective effect. So
the parents couldn’t be
asked to pay fees accord-
ingtothedemandraised
by the management for
2017-18 and 2018-19 and
the relief was only lim-
ited to 2019-20.
—FILE PHOTO
Somnath
Trust initiates
not-for-profit
tour package
First India Bureau
Prabhas Patan:
TheSomnathTrust,
which manages the
famous jyotirling,
has launched a not-
for-profit packaged
tour service con-
necting Somnath to
coastal union terri-
tory Diu.
The package tour
costing Rs 500 per
person includes
sightseeing, lunch
and to-and-fro
transportation by
bus. The tour in-
cludes sightseeing
of various locations
in Diu such as Gan-
geshwar Mahadev,
Nagoa Beach, Mar-
ket, Church, Muse-
um, Khukri and
Fort.
A fixed Gujarati
lunch will be also
provided during the
tour. The bus with a
capacity of 23 pas-
sengers will depart
from Somnath at 8
am.
Bookings will be
done at the Som-
nath Trust office on
a first-come-first-
served basis. A lo-
cal senior citizens
club of Veraval par-
ticipated in the
maiden journey
soon after the
launch of tour
package.
TEST OF A LIFETIME?
Anxious students at a Gujarat Public Services Commission (GPSC) exam centre at the Diwan
Ballubhai School in Paldi area of Ahmedabad on Sunday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
GOVT STAFFER BOOKED FOR DIVERTING
`9 LAKH OF WIDOWS, SENIOR CITIZENS
39 students at North Gujarat
hostel test Covid-19 positive
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Acomput-
er operator at the Vi-
ramgam mamlatdar of-
fice in Ahmedabad dis-
trict has been booked for
allegedly polishing off
Rs 8.9 lakh government
funds meant for benefi-
ciaries of central and
state governments’
schemes related to wid-
ows and senior citizens.
Police said Bijal Tha-
kor,aresidentof Mandal
in Ahmedabad, was
working as a computer
operator on contract at
the mamlatdar office for
4 years until August last
year. His job was to enter
and file data as well as
verify forms of recipi-
ents of various govern-
mentschemeslikeIndira
Gandhi Vidhwa pension
scheme, Indira Gandhi
Vrudhhpensionscheme,
and Gujarat Vidhwa Sa-
hay Yojana.
A police complaint
Jayesh Patel, the deputy
mamlatdar, said officials
hadfirstnoticeddiscrep-
ancies in August 2020
when Thakor had alleg-
edly siphoned off Rs 3.52
lakh meant as funds for
recipients under the
schemes. Many benefi-
ciaries had died but Tha-
kor kept siphoning off
the money
. After his dis-
crepancies were caught,
hewasmadetoreturnRs
3.52 lakh to the mamlat-
dar office and was subse-
quently sacked.
Later, a software audit
found out the accused
had also siphoned off Rs
5.38lakhfrommorethan
20 recipients of the 3
schemes over the last 4
years. And, as on March
17, he was yet to return
Rs 2.8 lakh.
First India Bureau
Himmatnagar (North
Gujarat) : As many as 39
students staying in a
hostel in North Guja-
rat’s Sabarkantha dis-
trict on Sunday tested
positive for coronavi-
rus, a senior health of-
ficial said.
The group, compris-
ing 20 boys and 19 girls,
of a hostel run by Sahy-
og Kushtha Yagna
Trust, were detected
with the infection a day
after 292 students were
tested, said Sabarkan-
tha Epidemic Medical
Officer Chirag Modi.
“Most of those who
tested positive are with-
out symptoms and have
been taken home by
their parents. Some of
them are admitted in a
hospital,” he said.
“Two days ago a hos-
tel warden tested posi-
tive after which we de-
cided to get the students
tested and 39 reports
returned positive,” said
Suresh Soni, coordina-
tor of Sahyog Trust.
Sabarkantha has so
far reported 3,281 cases
and 3,191 recoveries.
A’bad District Superintendent of Police headquarters.—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
FEARLESS
ACTIVIST
—FILE PHOTO
Dalits to donate brass coin with Gandhi’s message for new Parliament

AHMEDABAD, MONDAY
MARCH 22, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
he Fashion Connect
set the bar high with
the completion of its
very successful sea-
son-9 on Saturday at
Oaks Ibn Battuta,
Dubai. With the
huge response and neti-
zens going gaga over the
exemplary line up and
digital readiness, the
first international Fash-
ion Connect scored an
amazing win over the
fashion industry
.
The evening was
graced by Sheikh Juma
Al Maktoum Bin Al
Maktoum, Yakoob Al
Ali and Rizwan Sajan,
who highly appreciat-
ed the show.
“I’d like to thank the
people of Dubai and Okas Ibn
Battuta for such a nice wel-
come. I’d like to thank
SheikhJumaAlMaktoum
BinAlMaktoum,Yakoob
Al Ali and Rizwan Sa-
jan. I’d also like to
thank Jagdeesh Chan-
dra to encourage me
to think out of the
box. With the huge
response that this sea-
son witnessed, we are think-
ing to go international every
year and very soon, we will be
announcing the date of Sep-
tember season,” the brand am-
bassador Rishee Miglani said.
“It was a spectacular show. I
was thrilled by the response
we got from the audience.
I look forward to coming
here again and doing the
show next year as well,”
show director Lokesh
Sharma said.
It’s definite to say that
the Saturday evening was
filled with astonishment
and admiration for the
impeccable designs pre-
sented,redcarpetlooks,
round table, audiences
from the different cul-
tural background en-
joyed the event and are
looking forward to the
10th season of The Fash-
ion Connect!
DUBAI
WANTS MORE...
DUBAI
WANTS MORE...
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
CITY FIRST BRINGSYOU SOME MORE GLIMPSES FROMTHE GRAND FASHION
CONNECT EVENT HELD IN DUBAI ON MARCH 20, SATURDAY!
T
Jagdeesh Chandra in conversation with
Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum Bin Al Maktoum
Rishee Miglani and Aparna Bajpai greeting Yakoob Al Ali
Jagdeesh Chandra with (from left) Lokesh Sharma,
Rizwan Sajan, Rishee Miglani and Priya Jethani

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
HIMANSHI PARNAMI, Doctor
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
A new property acquired by
you will start giving good
monetary returns. A family
member may try to stand
on his or her own two feet. You will
be able to wrap up a lot of work on
the professional front by your
efficiency. On the financial front, you
can afford to go beyond the budget.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
An assignment given to
you on the academic front
will be completed most
satisfactorily.Those trying
to extend their leave will succeed.
You manage to save enough to
organise a grand function or an
event. Aches that had been troubling
some for long are set to disappear.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
A shopping spree is on the
cards, as you are in mood
to splurge today. Enjoying
the company of like-
minded people is foretold. You may
prove yourself to be a bright spark
on the academic front solely by your
sterling performance. A piece of
property selected will be yours.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Keeping fit can become your
focus, for which you may
join a gym or start an
exercise regimen. You are
likely to realise the importance of
someone in your social circle, whom
you used to dismiss out of hand.
Whatever new you have introduced on
the work front will work out fine.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Remaining involved on the
academic front may make
you cover up whatever had
been missed. Someone’s
support on the family front will prove
most reassuring. You may feel
mentally at ease regarding some
positive developments on the
professional front.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Someone with his or her
self-interest in mind is likely
to appease you. Things are
slated to turn for the better
for you on the social front. Keeping up
with others on the academic front may
prove an uphill task for some.
Homemakers will find the day fruitful,
when they manage to make changes.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Real estate dealers are
likely to have a field day.
You will remain most
understanding on the
family front and will successfully
cater to the moods of spouse.
Getting noticed by those who matter
is possible at work. You will be in a
position to earn well and party hard!
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Those studying are likely to
come into the good books
of their teachers. Your
travel stars seem strong
and may take you out of town on a
vacation. The day seems profitable as
you gain from a previous investment.
Bring about a change in lifestyle just
to get into shape.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Some of you are likely to
ace a competition or exam
on the academic front. You
will need to do some quick
thinking today at work, if you don’t
want to get cornered. Commission
agents and middlemen will be able to
earn well today. Take steps on the
health front.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Those planning a relaxing
time at home can end up
doing household chores!
Keep all your options open
on the academic front to increase
your chances of success. Busi-
nesspersons will be able to benefit
from a new marketing strategy. You
may increase earning.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Those looking for
accommodation can expect
to find one that meets their
requirement. You can
count on the total support of family
members in domestic matters. You
are likely to give your career a boost
by impressing those who matter on
the professional front.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Honour and prestige is in
store for those in the field
of education. Luck favours
those buying or selling
property. The day promises a lot of
excitement on the domestic front. A
project will be completed to the
complete satisfaction of seniors at
work.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
o many people
bring pups and kit-
tens of only a few
days to our shelter.
The story is almost
always the same.
Happen to hear
some faint meows in your
nearby area? Think you
might have come upon a dis-
covery of an abandoned kit-
ten or litter of kittens? Well
more often than not mama
cat is not too far away and
has not actually discarded
her babies. Here are some
suggestions on what your
next step should be:
DO NOT DISTURB THE KITTENS
It is best to 1st observe from
a distance for a few hours to
determine if mom is re-
turning to her nest. The
mother cat may be out
searching for food, taking a
break, or even hiding from
you. If you see kittens and
no mom, wait a few hours
before trying to rescue
them. The kittens have a
better chance of survival
with their mom. If mom re-
turns, the best thing you
can do is place some fresh
cat food and water out for
her. It is best not to continue
to check on them more than
once a day as not to disturb
the nest.
Worst case scenario: It’s
been a few hours, no mom
in sight.
The kittens appear to be
abandoned, what can you
do to help? Once you re-
move the babies, you must
keep them at an appropri-
ate body temperature. Us-
ing a box with clean, soft
towels, and hot water bot-
tles make a nest and place
the kittens in the box. Keep
them away from drafts and
out of humidity
. They need
a room that stays close to 90
degrees for the first two
weeks of age, then the tem-
perature can be lowered to
80 degrees. Unweaned kit-
tens need round-the-clock
care and monitoring.
The kittens will need to be
bottle fed with milk replac-
er every 2-3 hours (includ-
ing overnight) and kept
warm and dry
.
 If you, a neighbor, friend,
or relative are able to take
on this responsibility
, you
can give these abandoned
kittens a shot at life! If
your schedule does not al-
low for it, there may be
resources in the commu-
nity to help. Be aware that
most local shelters do not
have the staff to feed kit-
tens around the clock and
mortality rates in these
kittens are very high.
FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS
DO NOT FEED COW’S
MILK, SOY, or RICE MILK.
Milk replacement (kitten
formula) and nursing kits
can be purchased at pet
stores. Goat milk is a good
alternative to cow milk as
it has lower percentage of
lactose. Follow the instruc-
tions on the packaging for
cleaning and preparing the
bottles, nipples, and for the
appropriate mixing ratio of
the milk replacement. Al-
ways test the temperature
of the milk on your own
wrist. Wash your hands be-
fore and after handling the
formula and feeding the
kittens. Do not feed kittens
on their backs. Place them
on their stomachs and gen-
tly lift their chins. Rub the
nipple back and forth
across the lips and gums
until the kitten begins to
taste the formula and latch-
es on. Remember to tilt the
bottle up 45 degrees so that
the kitten is not sucking in
air. You can also try a sy-
ringe or eye dropper. Kit-
tens will usually stop suck-
ling when they are full. Do
not feed too fast or force the
formula. Kittens eating for-
mula need to be burped.
This is performed by keep-
ing them on their stomach
and either placing them on
your lap or on your shoul-
der and then gently patting
their backs.
The label on the container
of kitten formula you pur-
chased should indicate the
recommended amount to
feed a kitten according to
body weight. If a kitten
cries, she is either cold or
hungry. A contented kitten
sleeps quietly. YOU CAN-
NOT MISS A FEEDING IN
NEWBORN KITTENS!
 Newborns up to 1 week
old – feed every 2 hours
day and night (YES, you
need to wake up at night)
 1 – 2 weeks old – feed eve-
ry 3 to 4 hours day and
night.
 3 weeks old – feed every 4
to 5 hours day and night
 4 weeks old – feed every 5
to 6 hours day and night
 If you do not feed a baby
kitten on schedule it can
go into hypoglycemic
shock and die. You MUST
feed the kitten on time
and all throughout the
night.
 After about 4-5 weeks the
kittens should be weaned
and they can be fed a
high-quality kitten
canned food in a very flat
or shallow dish.
 Make sure they have
clean water to drink at all
times. They should also
be able to use the litter
box by this time. Use clay
litter only. Do not use
clumpable or scoopable
litter for baby kittens. It
will get in their paws and
they will get sick if they
lick it off.
 Once the kittens are
about 8-10 weeks they are
ready for adoption after
you have done ALL of
their recommended medi-
cal work and they are
spayed/neutered.
POOP AND PEE
Until the kittens can uri-
nate and defecate on their
own (about 3 weeks of age),
they must be stimulated to
relieve themselves. Wet a
cotton ball with warm wa-
ter, and gently rub the anal
and genital area. They will
begin to go within 1-2 min-
utes. It’s very important to
do this after each meal. The
urine should be a pale yel-
low or clear. If it is darker,
the kitten may need more
formula. The stool should
be a pale to dark brown and
partially formed. Too firm
of a stool indicates dehy-
dration or not enough for-
mula.
Happy Kittening!
Is that a
Is that a meow
meow?!
?!
S
MARIAM ABUHAIDERI
thepersianladki@gmail.com

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021
11
THE COURIER
D
ominic Cooke’s
crisis drama
‘The Courier’
scripted by Tom
O’Connor revolves
around a Cold War spy,
Greville Wynne played
by Benedict Cumber-
batch and his Russian
source, who try to put an
end to the Cuban Missile
crisis. It’s based on a real-
life event about a high-
placed Russian with classified information. A
solid spy drama with layering to the appetite for
thrills, this film starts off on a rush with montages,
music and action while dialogues play on, setting
the tone for some choreographed excite-
ment. Towards the climax, the pace slows
down and the thrill-heavy moments be-
come spare. Cumberbatch’s ability to
play ordinary even
when involved in
extraordinary
events is im-
peccable.
—Agency
Vacaying!
Vacaying!
D
aniel Radcliffe has
joined the star cast
of Paramount’s
rom-com drama
‘The City Of D’ by taking
a villainous role in the
film. The movie which
also stars actors Sandra
Bullock and Channing
Tatum as leads will re-
volve around a reclusive
romance novelist, who
was sure nothing could be
worse than getting stuck
on a book tour with her
cover model. Following
the idea, the story moves
on after a kidnapping at-
tempt that sweeps them
both into a cut-throat jun-
gle adventure, proving life
can be so much stranger,
and more romantic, than
any of her paperback fic-
tions. —Agency
A
fter making
his return as
the Joker in
Zack Sny-
der’s ‘Justice
League’, Hollywood
star Jared Leto re-
cently spoke about
taking on the incred-
ible role once again.
While appearing on
‘The Late Show’, Leto
expressed how grate-
ful he was to be a part
of Snyder’s ‘Justice
League’ and referred
to the ‘Snyder Cut’ as
one for the ages. The
movie will mark Le-
to’s first comeback as
the fan favourite Jok-
er after portraying
the classic DC villain
in 2016’s ‘Suicide
Squad’. —Agency
The City of D COMEBACK
W
ith Umesh
Bisht’s directo-
rial ‘Pagglait’,
where Sayani
Gupta plays the other wom-
an, she explains the chal-
lenges of playing a charac-
ter that has often been as-
cribed as the villain. Por-
traying the role of Aksha-
na, who happens to be the
central character Sand-
hya’s (played by Sanya Mal-
hotra) late husband’s para-
mour, Gupta says, “[The
audience] would have al-
ready developed a soft
corner and invested in
Sandhya’s story by the
time Akshana enters
the film. To then play
the other woman be-
comes tricky. Of
course, people are go-
ing to feel, ‘here comes
the villain’, but she is
not the villain of the
story
. They have a past
together, but that
doesn’t mean she has
wronged Sandhya in
any way
.” —Agency
New Look Out!
A
L Vijay directorial Thalaivi is un-
doubtedly the most anticipated
film this year. The Kangana
Ranaut starrer has grabbed eve-
ryone’s attention since the film’s produc-
tion was first announced. Kangana took
to her Instagram handle to share a post-
er from the film. In the photo, the diva
can be seen donning a beautiful purple
coloured dress. The aesthetically pleas-
ing picture captures the actress placing one
hand on a leafy pillar while she looks in the other
direction. —Agency
Big Announcement
R
ani Mukherji celebrated
a milestone on Sunday!
The actress not only cel-
ebrated her 43rd birth-
day but also completed 25 years
in the Hindi industry. And the
actress used this special occa-
sion to announce her new
project. Rani Mukerji is all
set to star in a thriller dra-
ma titled Mrs Chatterjee vs
Norway. Directed and
written by Ashima Chib-
ber, the film will be
produced by Nik-
khil Advani,
Madhu Bho-
jwani, and
Monisha Ad-
vani.
—Agency
H
ailey Baldwin has
opened up for the first
time about her mar-
riage with pop singer,
Justin Bieber. “I was
married when I was 21,
two months before I
turned 22, which is in-
sanely young. And
sounds almost ridicu-
lous when you say it
out loud,” said the mod-
el. “Although I do think
for somebody like me
and somebody like Jus-
tin, it’s different. We’ve
seen a lot for our age. We
have both lived enough
life to know that’s what we
wanted,” she added. She
admits that the couple do
“fight at times”, but the
“work” they put in to stay
together doesn’t feel much
like “work” simply because,
“I love him so much”.
—Agency
Tisca Chopra was spotted enjoying the serene beauty of Hawa Mahal, Jaipur
on Sunday.
r i y a n k a
Chopra loves to
treat her fans
with pictures
and videos of
her life on so-
cial media. The
actress has always
been active on all digi-
tal platforms. The ac-
tress has recently pub-
lished her book which
is already receiving a
good response from
the people. And now to
make our Sundays
more special, Priyan-
ka shared a throwback
picture from her Baha-
mas vacation with
hubby Nick Jonas.
—Agency
P
Akshana revealed
SPOTTED!
It’s different!
HARMAN WEDS SASHA
W
ith two crazy days of
a pre-wedding party
and Sangeet, Harman
Baweja and Sasha
Ramchandani tied the knot in
an intimate and traditional Gu-
rudwara ceremony on Sunday
morning. The couple kept their
wedding style quite subtle and
elegant. —Agency
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Benedict Cumberbatch
Rani Mukherji
...Kangana Ranaut’s post
Hailey Baldwin
Shruti Sharma, Sanya Malhotra, and Sayani Gupta
Jared Leto
Daniel Radcliffe
Harman Baweja and
Sasha Ramchandani

First india ahmedabad edition-22 march 2021

First india ahmedabad edition-22 march 2021

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First india ahmedabad edition-22 march 2021