First india ahmedabad edition-23 may 2020

Guj sees 363 cases, 29 deaths and 392 discharged in 24 hrs
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: In ostrich
fashion, the state health
department seems to be
burying its head in the
sand when it comes to fac-
ingrealityintheCOVID-19
crisis. Since of late, it has
been choosing to focus on
what it calls the recovery
rate, which is in fact mere-
lyarateof discharge,even
asitignorestherisingcase
numbers in districts like
Surendranagar,Sabarkan-
tha, and Junagadh.
The sole piece of good
news is that sample test-
ing seems to be on the
rise again, with 6,410
samples—the highest in a
single day so far—being
tested on Friday.
The state has a total of
13,273 cases, of which 363
cases were reported in the
last 24 hours. Twenty-nine
patients died bringing the
state’stollto802.Asmanyas
392 people were discharged
bringing the state’s total to
5,880 discharges so far.
Turn on P6
Police and BSF jawans check and sanitize each person entering and exiting Ahmedabad’s red zone area of
Jamalpur. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
6,410 samples,
the highest in
a single day so
far, were tested
on Friday
Tally up to
13,273 cases
with 802 dead
and 5,880
discharged
CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 177
26°C - 43°C
OUR EDITIONS:
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
802
DEATHS
13,273
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
1,24,073
CONFIRMED CASES
3,707
DEATHS
WORLD
3,35,218
DEATHS
52,26,101
CONFIRMED CASES
Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Superintendent Dr MM Prabhakar
in an interview on a local television channel admitted that the
dedicated 1200-bed COVID-19 hospital had only 180 ventilators,
and said they could have saved more lives if they had more
ventilators. The state information press release states that the
hospital has 212 ICU beds with ventilators. Dr Prabhakar added
that the hospital has demanded more ventilators since 80% of
patients prefer civil hospitals across the state.
MORE VENTILATORS COULD HAVE SAVED
MORE LIVES: CIVIL SUPERINTENDENT
45 DEAD AS PLANE
CRASHES IN KARACHI
Karachi: At least 45 people
were killed when a Pakistan
International Airlines plane
with 99 people on board
crashed into a densely popu-
lated residential area near
the Jinnah International
Airport here on Friday, offi-
cials said, days after the COV-
ID-19-induced travel restric-
tions were lifted.
FlightPK-8303fromLahore
was about to land in Karachi
when it crashed at the Jinnah
Garden area near Model Col-
ony in Malir, just a minute
before its landing, they said.
The PIA Airbus A320 carry-
ing 91 passengers and eight
crew members has crashed
landed into the Jinnah hous-
ing society located near the
airport, a spokesperson of
the national carrier said.
Earlier, a PIA spokesper-
son and many media reports
said that there were 107 peo-
ple on board the aircraft.
Turn on P6
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
Deeply saddened
by the loss of life
due to a plane crash
in Pakistan. Our
condolences to the
families of the de-
ceased, and wishing
speedy recovery to
those injured.
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Friday announced Rs
1,000 crore relief pack-
age for West Bengal and
Rs 2 lakh each for the
kin of deceased and Rs
50,000 for the injured in
the destruction caused
by cyclone Amphan. He
also announced finan-
cial assistance of Rs 500
crore and ex-gratia of
Rs 2 lakh to next of kin
of deceased & Rs 50,000
to seriously injured for
the affected in Odisha.
PM said all aspects
relating to rehabilita-
tion, reconstruction
will be addressed and
the Centre will always
stand with West Bengal
in these testing time.
He heaped praise on
CM Mamata Banerjee
saying, “Under the lead-
ership of CM Banerjee,
West Bengal is doing its
bit in fighting the crisis
situation caused by cy-
clone Amphan,”
Turn on P6
Modi visits Bengal and
Odisha gives `1,500 cr relief
#CycloneAmphan
PM Narendra Modi conducts aerial survey of areas affected due to Cyclone, in Bhubaneswar.
New Delhi: Congress
president Sonia Gandhi
came down heavily on
the government over
the COVID-19 situation
in the country on Fri-
day and alleged that it
has abandoned any pre-
tence of being demo-
cratic and forgotten the
spirit of federalism.
Addressing a meet-
ing of 22 Opposition
parties convened
through video-confer-
encing to discuss the
situation arising out of
the coronavirus pan-
demic, she alleged that
the government is un-
certain about the crite-
ria for enforcing lock-
downs and has no exit
strategy from it.
Turn on P6
Economic package a cruel joke on the
country; govt has no exit strategy: Sonia
She said this while addressing meeting of 22 like-minded political parties via vcFirst India Bureau
Jaipur: The stand-off
betweenBJP-ledUPgov-
ernment and Congress
party over buses has
now taken an ugly turn
withBSPchief Mayawa-
ti slamming Rajasthan
government for de-
manding payment of
overRs36lakhfortrans-
porting students of UP
from Kota to Agra and
Jhansi,saying,themove
shows its “depravity”
and “inhumanity”.
There is no love lost
between Mayawati and
Rajasthan Congress
since she has accused
the party of poaching
her 6 MLAs. Gehlot govt
has sent a bill to UP gov-
ernment asking reim-
bursement for trans-
porting students from
Kota to UP. On this issue
UP Dy CM Dinesh Shar-
ma said the bill was the
reflection of Congress’s
doublespeak.
Bus Politics
takes an
ugly turn!
Declare cyclone
national calamity,
demands Oppn
New Delhi: Twenty-two
Opposition parties urged
the Centre on Friday to
immediately declare the
devastation caused by
Cyclone Amphan in Odi-
sha and West Bengal as
a national calamity and
called for helping the two
states. They said relief
and rehabilitation should
be the topmost priority
at this juncture.
AI RESUMES BOOKING
OF DOMESTIC FLIGHTS
New Delhi: Air India on Friday started
booking for domestic flights amid
lockdown. “We have started bookings
for domestic flights,” said Air India
in a statement. It will operate a total
of 8,428 flights each week for the
next three months from 25 May
to 25 August as govt announced
resumption of domestic flights.
‘INDIA HAS ONLY
0.1 MILLION CASES’
New Delhi: In a country of 1.35
billion people, there are only
0.1 million cases of COVID-19,
said Union Health and Family
Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in his
address after taking charge as the
chairman of the WHO Executive
Board on Friday. P6
COVID-19 IMPACT: RBI
CUTS KEY INTEREST RATES
Mumbai: RBI on Friday reduced repo
rate by 40 basis points to 4% and
extended loan repayment moratorium
for another three months up to
August 31. As a result, the reverse
repo rate stands at 3.35%, said
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The
monetary policy committee voted 5:1
in favour of the decision.

First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupa-
ni’s government has
again clarified that
the odd-and-even sys-
tem is meant only for
shops and commercial
establishments not
dealing with essential
commodities. Shops
selling essential goods
can open all seven
days. Similarly, the
government has is-
sued circular stating
that petrol pumps situ-
ated on highways can
function around the
clock; the fixed timing
is only for petrol
pumps situated within
city limits.
The state govern-
ment’s clarifications are
aimed at dispelling con-
fusion, since many trad-
ers dealing in groceries
and other essential
goodswereundertheim-
pression that they have
to stay shut every alter-
nate day.
Meanwhile, Infor-
mation and Broad-
casting Secretary and
Secretary to the Chief
Minister, Ashwani
Kumar said here that
APL (Above Poverty
Level)-1 cardholders
in Ahmedabad are be-
ing given free rations
at 750 Fair Price
Shops. Most of the
4.50 lakh APL-1 card-
holders have benefit-
ed from the free ra-
tion programme, and
the remaining will be
covered by Saturday
evening.
In the rest of the state,
cardholders under
NFSA (National Food
Safety Act) are being
given free rations for
May. So far, 45 lakh fami-
lies have benefited from
the scheme. There are
68.80 lakh NFSA, Antyo-
daya and BPL cardhold-
ers in Gujarat. In April,
around 3.25 crore people
benefited from the free
ration programme.
Kumar also said that,
asof Thursdaynight,699
trains had left from the
state carrying 10.50 lakh
migrantworkerstotheir
home states. By late Fri-
day night, 55 more trains
left the state with anoth-
er 85,000 workers.
The state govern-
ment is also increas-
ing the number of
beds it has available
for patients of COV-
ID-19 in Ahmedabad.
There will now be
1,906 beds in Medicity-
-as the Civil Hospital
campus is officially
called--alone. This in-
cludes 1200 at the ded-
icated COVID-19 hos-
pital, 262 at the Guja-
rat Cancer and Re-
search Institute, 216 at
the IKDRC (Institute
of Kidney Diseases
and Research Centre)
hospital and 228 at UN
Mehta Hospital. There
are 212 ICU beds with
ventilators and mul-
tipara monitors at the
dedicated COVID-19
facility. Around 336
beds have oxygen fa-
cilities, and the hospi-
tal has 96 dialysis
units. As many as 612
assistant doctors and
interns are serving at
these hospitals around
the clock.
USA 1,631,838 97,019 +665
RUSSIA 326,448 3,249 +150
SPAIN 280,117 27,940 —
BRAZIL 314,769 20,267 +185
UK 254,195 36,393 +351
ITALY 228,658 32,616 +130
FRANCE 181,826 28,215 —
GERMANY 179,410 8,325 +16
TURKEY 154,500 4,276 +27
IRAN 131,652 7,300 +51
CANADA 81,767 6,180 +28
S ARABIA 67,719 364 +13
BELGIUM 56,511 9,212 +26
MEXICO 59,567 6,510 +420
CHILE 61,857 630 +41
COUNTRY TOTAL TOTAL NEW
CASES DEATHS DEATHS
GLOBAL STATE
OF AFFAIRS
WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO
LAST UPDATED: MAY 22, 2020, 11:30 PM
NEWSAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020
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Highway petrol pumps can function 24/7,
no odd and even system for essential shops
APL-1 CARDHOLDERS IN A’BAD BEING GIVEN FREE RATIONS AT 750 FAIR PRICE SHOPS
SAMPLE RECEIVED
SAMPLE NEGATIVE
0
UNDER EXAMINATION
1,72,562
1,59,289
IN GUJARAT
DISTRICT TOTAL TOTAL NEW
CASES DEATHS DEATHS
AHMEDABAD 9724 645 26
VADODARA 771 35 0
SURAT 1256 57 0
RAJKOT 83 2 0
BHAVNAGAR 114 8 0
ANAND 87 9 0
BHARUCH 37 3 0
GANDHINAGAR 201 10 2
PATAN 68 4 0
PANCHMANHAL 71 6 0
BANASKANTHA 99 4 0
NARMADA 13 0 0
CHOTA UDEPUR 22 0 0
KUTCH 64 1 0
MAHESANA 95 4 0
BOTAD 53 1 0
DAHOD 32 0 0
PORBANDAR 5 0 0
JAMNAGAR 46 2 0
MORBI 2 0 0
SABARKANTHA 63 3 0
ARAVALLI 93 3 0
MAHISAGAR 77 1 0
KHEDA 57 3 1
GIR SOMNATH 38 0 0
VALSAD 18 1 0
TAPI 3 0 0
NAVSARI 14 0 0
DANG 2 0 0
SURENDRANAGAR 21 0 0
DWARKA 12 0 0
JUNAGADH 18 0 0
AMRELI 2 0 0
OTHER STATES 5 0 0
TOTAL 13273 802 29
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GUJARAT: CONG,
BJP HUFF & PUFF
OVER DHAMAN-1
VENTILATORS
Darshan Desai
Ahmedabad: Even as
the “inept” handling of
the Covid-19 crisis has
drawn considerable crit-
icism for the Gujarat
Government, the contro-
versy over the alleged
failure of the ‘Make In
India’ Dhaman-1 ventila-
tors seems to be proving
the swan song of Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani.
The Opposition Con-
gress, that has often been
proved too docile to take
on the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi-guided
State Government, is
now going hammer and
tongs against the present
BJP dispensation in Gu-
jarat. And is finding a
resonance too.
The Congress has now
made a serious allega-
tion that the Gujarat
Government was “play-
ing with the lives of coro-
navirus patients to pro-
mote ‘Dhaman-1’ ventila-
tors made by a firm alleg-
edly “owned by Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani’s
friend.”
Obviously put on the
back foot, the BJP has
dubbed the Congress’
allegations as baseless
and said the opposi-
tion party was malign-
ing the image of a lo-
cal manufacturer after
continuously defend to
install the ventilators.
The government has
also claimed that the
machines were as good
as any other ventilator
and that it has been
certified by a centrally
accredited laboratory.
Rajkot-based firm Jyo-
ti CNC developed Dha-
man-1 brand of ventila-
tors and donated 866 of
them to the government
in April at a time when
there was an acute short-
age of these machines
following the coronavi-
rus outbreak. This is one
of the explanations -- or
defence -- that is being
continuously provided
by Principal Secretary,
Health, Jayanti Ravi.
The Gujarat unit of
the Congress, however,
has termed these ex-
planations as too weak
and alleged that owner
of Jyoti CNC, Par-
akramsinh Jadeja, is
“Rupani’s friend” and
so the government is
going out of the way to
defend this procure-
ment.
“Dhaman-1 is not a
ventilator at all. It’s just
a mechanized ambu bag
to supply oxygen to the
body. We are not against
any company. But we
firmly believe that these
so-called ventilators
were procured just to
promote a company
owned by the CM’s
friend,” alleged Con-
gress spokesperson Man-
ish Doshi.
Doshi has pointedly
asked the State Gov-
ernment to disclose
how many patients
were put on Dhaman-1
support and how many
of them died.
The entire controver-
sy was sparked off after
the Ahmedabad Civil
Hospital, in a letter to the
government, sought
more advanced ventila-
tors claiming that Dha-
man-1 was unable to
serve the purpose.
The BJP tried to
take shelter under the
claim that even HLL
Life Care, a central
PSU, has placed an or-
der to procure 5,000
Dhaman-1. But inquir-
ies by First India with
HLL have revealed that
this may not be true
since the company has
denied this (First In-
dia, May 21, 2020).
But the BJP continues
to defend it. “We con-
demn Congress’ attempt
to malign the reputation
of a local manufacturer
and donor. Congress
must clarify whether
they are against the con-
cept of `Vocal For Local’.
This ventilator has re-
ceived approval from
three different testing
entities,” said Gujarat
BJP Spokesperson
Bharat Pandya.
The Dhaman-1 controversy has
come as a challenge to the Rupani
Government’s clean image
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The lock-
down imposed due to
the COVID-19 outbreak
in the state has not only
adversely affected the
health of citizens but
also the state treasury.
The state has lodged an
average loss of income
to the tune of around
Rs6,500 to 7,000 crore
per month which means
it has lost Rs13,000 to
Rs14,000 crore in the
last two months, ex-
cluding the VAT income
usually garnered by the
treasury.
With the state in a tight
spot, relaxations in the
lockdown have kicked off
the economy but, it may
take another month or
two for the state to recover
from the monetary blow.
By the time that happens,
income loss may increase
to a limit that forces the
government to cut back
on fund allocations for a
few development projects
in order to maintain the
grants for health, educa-
tion, food supply, water
supply and agriculture.
The 2019-20 revised
budget estimated for
the revenue receipt was
Rs14,9827.45 crore and
against that, the state
had expected a revenue
receipt of Rs16,2447.46
crore in the current fi-
nancial year. An expen-
diture plan of
Rs16,1658.07 crore was
formed by the state on
the basis of these reve-
nue receipts.
When the state an-
nounced its intention to
pay the salaries and pen-
sions of all government
employeesforthemonthof
April on time earlier this
month, the finance depart-
ment had sprung into ac-
tion calculating how much
the government will have
to shell out for the salaries
andpensionsforthemonth
of May. Why was this ques-
tion on its mind remains a
mystery because, all trade
andindustrieshavebeenat
a standstill since the lock-
down on March 24.
Taking into account the
state’s income of Rs6,873
croreinApril2019(CGST/
SGST/IGST/Cess and
Rs6,606 crore in May 2019,
the state earned just a few
hundred crores in April
and May 2020. One of its
major income resources,
petrol and diesel did not
generatemoneywithsales
dropping to just five per-
centinthemonthof April.
State finances bleeding? More
than 13K crore revenue lost
G’nagar adopted strategy
of contact tracing
through nodal officers
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: The
COVID-19 outbreak in
the state has present-
ed an enormous chal-
lenge to the govern-
ment. In order to com-
bat the deadly virus,
all district collectors
have been trying inno-
vative methods to con-
trol its spread in their
respective districts.
The Gandhinagar
district collector
Kuldeep Arya has
adopted a strategy
under which a nodal
officer was appointed
for each positive case
reported. The re-
sponsibilities of
the nodal of-
ficer assigned
to a case in-
volved tracing
and tracking down each
person who had come in
contact with a Sars-
CoV-2 positive case.
Elaborating on his plan
of action, Gandhinagar
district collector Kul-
deep Arya told First In-
dia, “We primarily fo-
cused on contact trac-
ing and appointed nod-
al officers to handle
each case. Then, we
worked on build-
ing adequate
capacity in
hospitals to
tackle the
outbreak,”
he said.
Gandhinagar district
collector Kuldeep Arya
Border Security Force (BSF) personnel pass closed down shops while
on patrol during lockdown in Danilimda area of Ahmedabad.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel
launched Dhaman-1 in April. —FILE PHOTO
CM Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel taking a
meeting with officers via video conference. —FILE PHOTO
—Pic for representational purpose only

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020
Tanvi Sharma
Surat: It is referred to
as the king of fruits
but, mango has also
not been left out from
the effects of the lock-
down. In fact, more
than 10,000 farmers
in South Gujarat face
the possibility of los-
ing crores in revenue
this year.
“Surat APMC (Agri-
cultural Produce Mar-
ket Committee, which
sold 19 crore kilograms
of mangoes in the year
2019, has sold only 60
lakh kilograms of man-
goes after the lockdown
was imposed in March
this year,” said Com-
mittee chairman Ra-
man Jani.
Traders who sold mil-
lions of quintals of
mangoes every year
during the summer
from March 20 to April
31, which amounts to 50
days, fear the worst in
wake of the COVID-19
epidemic. With around
10 tonnes of mangoes
being exported from Su-
rat every year, traders
are worried that it will
be impossible for them
to send any of their pro-
duce abroad this year.
According to farm-
ers, 60-70% of the man-
go crop was harvested
last year while, this
year the harvest has
dropped to 30-35%. With
over 90 million kilo-
grams of mangoes
hanging in the or-
chards, a minimum loss
of approximately Rs15
crore is expected by
farmers this year.
APMC secretary
Nilesh Thorat said,
“In 2019, over 1,89,941
quintals of mangoes
were sold from AP-
MCs across the state
and 6-10 tonnes were
exported overseas.
Despite a lull due to
the lockdown, sales
have started looking
up since May 10,
which has placated
the farmers a bit.”
He added, “Farmers
in South Gujarat stand
to lose at least Rs10-15
crore income.”
South Gujarat farmers worry King of Fruits will bring losses
LOCKDOWN WOES
In ‘testing’ error, SVP
discharges +ve patient
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: Blun-
ders will never cease,
it seems, at COVID-19
hospitals. After the
Civil Hospital’s late
admission gaffe, now
Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel (SVP) Hospital
has come under scan-
ner for negligence,
when one of the ad-
mitted patients was
discharged by hospi-
tal staff claiming that
he had tested negative
for novel coronavirus.
Vastral resident
Harsh Asrani had test-
ed positive for COV-
ID-19 after his sample
was taken on May 16.
Three days later, he
was taken to the Civil
Hospital for treatment.
“After my report came
out positive, they said
that all my family
members had tested
negative, except my fa-
ther. He was admitted
to the hospital on May
19 and discharged on
May 21 when his report
came back negative. A
few hours later, at
around midnight, he
was called again and
the hospital authori-
ties informed him that
he had tested positive.
Now, my whole family
is in the hospital,” said
Asrani.
According to Asra-
ni’s claims, the hospital
is chaotic and lacks
proper management.
Meanwhile, officer
on special duty Rajiv
Gupta on Friday
claimed that local civ-
ic body Ahmedabad
Municipal Corpora-
tion (AMC) had
achieved 38.1% per-
cent rate of discharge
on May 21, which was
a jump from the
15.38% clocked on
May 5. It is to be not-
ed that former AMC
commissioner Vijay
Nehra went on leave
on May 5. Two days
later, the Indian
Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) re-
vised the discharge
policy of COVID-19
patients by granting
discharge to asympto-
matic patients with-
out tests.
Medical staff at SVP Hospital’s COVID-19 ward. —FILE PHOTO
Civic body ignores `49.61 ceiling, allows Amul parlours to sell them at `65 each
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat Medical Services
Corporation Limited
(GMSCL) in a circular
issued on March 30
had declared that the
maximum selling
price of the N95 mask
would be Rs49.61.
However, in a curious
move, the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corpora-
tion (AMC) has ig-
nored the GMSCL no-
tification and granted
permission to Amul
parlours to charge
Rs65 per mask.
“With the number of
COVID-19 cases out of
control, people are be-
ing left to fend for them-
selves. Since it is man-
datory to wear masks in
public, AMC gave per-
mission to Amul par-
lours to sell N95 masks
at an escalated price,
way beyond the limit
set by GMSCL. This is
an open attempt at loot
by the government,”
said Manish Doshi,
chief spokesperson of
the Gujarat Pradesh
Congress Committee.
“The government
is thinking of profit
even in such perilous
times. There are
many people who
cannot afford to buy
masks. The govern-
ment must rational-
ize prices at this
time. The entire sys-
tem has spent crores
of rupees without
tenders as the pan-
demic is an emergen-
cy,,” he added.
Nishit Vyas, general
secretary of Gujarat
Congress told First In-
dia, “There are many
companies which have
been manufacturing
N95 masks since March.
But they are now avail-
able at competitive pric-
es. Why is the govern-
ment not revising the
prices? This scam is
just the tip of the ice-
berg. Are they fighting
against the virus or pro-
moting corruption?”
questioned Vyas.
GMSCL N95 mask price cap
merely a suggestion for AMC
A man buys a mask at an Amul parlour in Ahmedabad. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Politicos
campaign for
COVID-19
awareness
First India Bureau
Surat: In a campaign
aimed at creating
awareness about novel
coronavirus in the City
Light area of Surat,
various politicians took
to the streets and urged
citizens to follow all
guidelines set by the
government.
The group of politi-
cians included Mem-
ber of Parliament
(MP) CR Patil and
MLA Harsh Sanghvi
who marched with
banners in hand and
asked people to wash
hands frequently,
practice social dis-
tancing and not ven-
ture out needlessly.
The campaign, which
started with police ban-
dobast, saw Sanghavi
urging people to cooper-
ate with authorities and
stay safe. MP Patil
roped in a few shop
owners and people on
the streets into the cam-
paign drive by present-
ing them with banners
on COVID-19 and pre-
cautions to take to pre-
vent infection. He also
asked shopkeepers to
wear masks at all times
and keep sanitizing liq-
uid at their shops for
customers.
Private hospital treatment for city cops
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: City po-
lice personnel infect-
ed with Sars-CoV-2
will now be treated at
private hospitals,
with bills being borne
by the department.
The move lends con-
siderable weight to the
complaints from the
common man regarding
the quality of health-
care being provided at
the Civil Hospital.
When Ahmedabad
traffic head constable
Vishnuraj Chauhan ap-
proached SVP hospital
on May 12, he was told
to check with the Civil
Hospital, since SVP
was full.
He was not tested de-
spite presenting with
COVID-19 symptoms.
Eventually, paid a pri-
vate lab Rs4,500 to run
his samples, and tested
positive. Even after
this, it took considera-
ble pressure from
above for him to be ad-
mitted to the Civil Hos-
pital and begin being
treated.
City Control Room
DCP Vijay Patel told
the media that per-
sonnel in the eastern
part of Ahmedabad
will be treated at
Shalby Hospital. They
are in talks with a
number of hospitals
in the western part of
the city.
As many as 280 police personnel have been infected with
COVID-19 in the line of duty in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO
BJMC interns allege senior
doctors missing from action
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Medical
interns at BJ Medical
College (BJMC) have
accused their seniors
of shirking duties,
leaving them overbur-
dened in a series of
tweets. They say sen-
ior doctors have not
been discharging their
duties in the COVID-19
ward, leaving intern
doctors alone to treat
infected patients, and
thus overburdened
and exposed.
The tweets came
from handle @bjmcin-
terns, which appears to
have been created espe-
cially for the com-
plaints.
One intern wrote,
“We have often become
victims of the frustra-
tion of senior doctors.”
The tweets also cov-
er the need for justifi-
able work distribu-
tion among health-
care workers and say
that intricate proce-
dures needing special
skills should be the
responsibility of
qualified doctors.
The interns point
out that since they
lack expertise, train-
ee doctors should
only work as assis-
tants in all proce-
dures.
Additionally, BJMC
interns also requested
that all interns from
colleges not equipped
with COVID-19 wards
be deputed at the 1,200-
bed dedicated hospital.
NO REVISION
MOBILE COVERAGE
A man rides a two-wheeler set up with a temporary shield to protect himself from the summer sun in Ahmedabad.
Locusts return, attack 31
villages in 9 districts of state
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Over
the last few days,
crops in 31 villages of
12 talukas in nine dis-
tricts of the state
have been affected by
swarms of locusts.
These species of short-
horned grasshoppers
have spread from North
Gujarat to South Guja-
rat and Saurashtra re-
gions. According to the
state agriculture de-
partment, disinfection
work on lands affected
by them has already
commenced.
State agriculture
minister RC Faldu
said, “Locusts have hit
Banaskantha, Patan,
Kutch, Morbi, Suren-
dranagar, Bhavnagar,
Ahmedabad, Gandhi-
nagar and Amreli.”
Around 150 to 2,000
hectares of agricultur-
al area has been affect-
ed but, crops have not
been damaged on a
large scale.
Faldu also assured
farmers by stating that
276 teams have been de-
ployed in the field for
survey and disinfec-
tion. So far, 9,925 hec-
tares of area has al-
ready been surveyed
and locusts have been
spotted on 190 hectares
of land. The authorities
have sprayed 173 kilo
litres of insecticide
across on 112 hectares.
OVERTIRED

This year, the
harvest has fallen
to 30-35%,
leaving more that
90 million kg of
fruit on the trees
and farmers
expecting losses
of approximately
Rs15 crore
—PHOT BY NANDAN DAVE

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 177 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020
BATTERED
BENGAL NEEDS
MONEY SANS
POLITICS
or a state battling Covid-19 pan-
demic, Cyclone Ampham couldn’t
have landed at a worse time. In the
aftermath of devastation caused
by Ampham, West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the loss
of property could be to the tune of Rs 1 lakh
crore. For a state already reeling under a fi-
nancial crisis due to lockdown, the loss will
indeed be staggering. She described the havoc
wreaked by the cyclone as “I have not seen
such devastation in my life”.
Here were two natural calamities requiring
different responses. To avoid Covid-19 one is
supposed to wear masks and maintain social
distanceof sixfeetwithoneanother.Butwhen
a cyclone is barrelling through with all its
force, wearing mask and keeping distance be-
come irrelevant as saving lives and property
becomes the number one priority. Thanks to
Sunderbans which lay in the path of the
storm, major cities were saved far greater de-
struction. Authorities were now rushing re-
lief to areas already hit by coronavirus.
What was good about the latest natural ca-
lamity was that bitterness between Kolkata
andNewDelhihasbeenkeptasideforthetime
being. PM Modi undertook an aerial survey
along with Mamata Banerjee. He announced
an interim financial aid of Rs 1000 crore for
relief and rehabilitation. He later held meet-
ings with officials to discuss the situation.
The PM said in Basirhat, “Rs 1000 crore ad-
vance assistance will be given to West Bengal.
All aspects relating to rehabilitation and re-
construction will be addressed. We all want
West Bengal to move ahead. The Centre will
alwaysstandwithWestBengalinthesetesting
times. We will work together to ensure that
Bengal stands on its feet again.”
On PM’s financial aid Banerjee was guard-
ed. She told journalists, “He (PM Modi) an-
nounced Rs 1,000 crore but did not clarify if it
will be advance or package. He said he’ll de-
cide later on but he said it may be advance
also. In this hour of crisis, we all must work
together.”
GovernorJagdeep Dhankharwhoisalways
at loggerheads with the chief minister, tweet-
ed, “Super cyclone #Amphan has caused un-
precedented havoc and disaster. People suffer-
ing is unimaginable. Urge all including NGOs
to swing into action to provide relief to the
needy. Am awaiting report @MamataOfficial-
so (sic) that all other steps @PMOIndia may
be urgently taken.”
Mamata Banerjee has been complaining
about lack of financial help from the Centre
to fight Covid-19. “We have not received any
financial help to fight the Covid-19 pandemic
till date,” she said after Amphan left a trail of
destruction. The centre and state will make
separate assessments of the damage done by
the cyclone to decide on the exact quantum of
financial aid for the state. Hopefully, the two
can keep politics aside in people’s interests.
IN-DEPTH
F
n this period of Lockdown, I got
the chance to read again the sto-
ries of ‘Panchtantra’ which we
all must have read or heard at
least once in our childhood. The
stories which were written in the
3rd Century BC are relevant in
today’s time that it gives the feel-
ing as if the stories have been
written just today. Having
crossed my childhood, adult-
hood and a part of my profes-
sional life too, I find the stories
not only relevant to our person-
al lives but also to our corporate
strategies. I have listed down
some of the stories in brief
which are most relevant to draw
inspiration from and can be
read to form the marketing and
business strategies, especially
amidst the corona crisis.
MONKEY AND
THE CROCODILE
There lived a monkey on an ap-
ple tree by the side of a river in
which lived a crocodile. They
become friends. Monkey used
to fetch the crocodile sweet ap-
ples every day, in turn, the
crocodile used to take the mon-
key for a ride of the river. One
day, while on the river tour
with the monkey, the crocodile
desires to take out the mon-
key’s heart. Hearing this mon-
key doesn’t panic and cooly
responds that he has forgotten
his heart at home on the tree.
Lesson learnt: One, in your
difficult times, do not panic,
remain calm and patient and
tackle the situation with a
solution. Two, be careful in
choosing your channel part-
ners. A lesson is learnt from
the crocodile too that we
shouldn’t get complacent and
shouldn’tstartcelebratinguntil
the target is achieved.
THE BLUE JACKAL
A hungry jackal wandering in
a jungle is chased by a group of
dogs. The jackal falls into a tub
of blue dye and becomes unrec-
ognisable. He starts projecting
himself as a representative of
the god and tries to rule over
the dogs. The jackal’s false cov-
er is blown in the rain and the
dogs eventually kill him.
Lesson learnt: You cannot
change reality. In the zeal to
take control of the market,
it is common for the compa-
nies to over project their
products. Once the reality is
exposed, not only they lose
their new customers but also it
leads to the cancellation of
some existing orders.
THE BRAHMIN AND
THE THREE THIEVES
A brahmin once gets a goat as
his fees for conducting a ritual.
On his way home, he comes
across a gang of three thieves,
who turn by turn make him be-
lieve that what he has got is not
a goat. The first thief makes
him believe that the goat he is
carrying is not a goat but a
snake, the second thief makes
him believe that the goat the
brahmin is taking along with
him is a dead cat and the third
one makes him believe that the
brahmin is carrying some wild
plant on his shoulders. The
brahmin, believing them, gets
scared and abandons the goat
whichthenthethievesrelishon.
Lesson learnt: A lot of
times, you are pulled down by
others which makes you feel
that your product is worth-
less. Quite a lot of ‘Start-Ups”
abandon their projects or sell
it to their rival competitors
for peanuts falling prey to the
advises that their projects
have no value, that they will
not sustain in the market,
that what they have incepted
is not suitable for the current
market etc.
PIGEONS CAUGHT
IN A HUNTER’S NET
Once a flock of pigeons gets
caughtinanetbyahunter.They,
instead of fighting the problem
individually and instead of try-
ing to pull the net in their own
directions decide to fly all to-
gether along with the net to
reach their friend, a mouse who
cuts the net for them all.
Lesson learnt: We should
not leave our fellow industry
colleagues in difficult times.
The government is likely to
announce some industry-
specific packages to counter
the damage caused by coro-
na crisis. If the industry is
united and raises its common,
larger concerns in unison then
only will it catch the eye of law-
makers.
THE RABBIT WHO
KILLS THE LION
This is one of the very well-
known stories of the ‘Panchtan-
tra’ tales wherein a rabbit who
is sent as the lion’s prey. He
takes the lion to a well and
shows him his image in the wa-
ter and makes him hear his own
roar echo through the well mak-
ing him believe that there exists
another lion like him. The lion
jumps in the well to kill the
other lion who never was.
Lesson learnt: We must fo-
cus on the solution rather
than getting nervous with
the problem. Big players in
the market try to dictate
their rules. But, if they are
tackled well and shown the
mirror that they too are vul-
nerable to failures and can be
overtaken by a small player
with a good idea, they too can
be countered.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
STRATEGISING BUSINESS
AMIDST CORONA CRISIS
DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE STORIES OF ‘PANCHTANTRA’
I
You cannot
change reality.
In the zeal to
take control of
the market, it is
common for the
companies to
over project
their products.
Once the reality
is exposed, not
only they lose
their new
customers but
also it leads to
the cancellation
of some existing
orders
ALOK
GUPTA
We should not leave
our fellow industry
colleagues in difficult
times. The
government is likely
to announce some
industry-specific
packages to counter
the damage caused
by the corona crisis
The writer is President of the
Estate Agents Association of
India, Central Zone One
mong its many
other effects,
the COVID-19
crisis has inten-
sified the pre-
existing geopolitical rival-
ry between China and the
United States. This tension
has led many to warn of
the “Thucydides trap,” a
term coined by Harvard’s
Graham T. Allison to refer
to the heightened risk of
conflict when an emerging
power threatens to dis-
place an established one.
Allison’s theory takes its
name from the ancient
Greek historian Thucy-
dides’ chronicle of the
Peloponnesian War, in
which Sparta defeated the
rising city-state of Athens.
One important detail of
this historical touchstone
has passed largely unno-
ticed, however, even amid
the ongoing pandemic: the
determining factor in
Sparta’s victory was a
plague that killed about
one-third of Athens’s pop-
ulation, including Pericles,
the city’s leader.
Before COVID-19, how-
ever, Western societies had
largely forgotten how
much structural harm a
disease can cause – even
though cholera and malar-
ia epidemics are currently
ravaging the poorest parts
of the world, and global
AIDS and swine flu pan-
demics have killed many in
recent decades.
Scientists had been
warning us for years of an
imminent pandemic of a
respiratory virus equal in
severity to the 1918-19 flu,
yet we were insufficiently
prepared to contain the
spread of the new corona-
virus. That was mainly due
to the initial heedlessness
shown by leaders in ad-
vanced economies, com-
bined with developing
countries’ chronic vulner-
ability, which overshadows
their greater experience in
managing epidemics.
Although the coronavi-
rus is having an impact
across the board, owing to
its virulence and the vir-
tually unprecedented
shutdown of much of the
global economy, it is un-
doubtedly aggravating
pre-existing social ine-
qualities within and
among countries.
Every day, health work-
ers and others with essen-
tial jobs risk infection, of-
ten without adequate pro-
tection, and for wages that
do not reflect the funda-
mental value of their ef-
fort. Likewise, many sec-
tors particularly affected
by economic lockdowns
face an uncertain future.
And the challenge is even
greater in middle- or low-
income countries, owing
to their meager fiscal ca-
pacity, large informal
economies, precarious
health-care systems, and
deficient sanitation.
For all of these reasons,
the severity of the current
circumstances compels us
to redesign our social con-
tracts. In developed coun-
tries, where neglect of the
real economy has allowed
inequalities to erode so-
cial cohesion, the most ur-
gent priority is to protect
workers in essential sec-
tors adequately and com-
pensate them materially –
and not just with applause,
albeit well-deserved – for
their contribution to our
wellbeing. In order to en-
sure a broad-based eco-
nomic recovery, we must
provide a minimum safety
net for all those who have
lost their jobs because of
COVID-19.
Nor, of course, can less
prosperous countries be
forgotten. That means al-
leviating their debt bur-
den, helping them to ob-
tain medicines and medi-
cal supplies on equal
terms, and guaranteeing
their access to a COVID-19
vaccine when it becomes
available.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM
Learning the lessons of coronavirus pandemic
A
The challenge is
even greater in
middle- or low-
income countries,
owing to their
fiscal capacity,
large informal
economies
Those who cannot renounce
attachment to the results of
their work are far from the
path. —Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Our Odia people have been
dauntless in the face of danger and
possess an undaunted resolve to
tide over crisis. PM @narendramodi
ji’s govt. is committed to address all
aspects related to the rehabilitation
and reconstruction to ensure
Odisha emerges stronger.
Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal
The regulatory and policy
announcements by RBI will
help ease ﬁnancial stress and
preserve ﬁnancial stability.
These include extension of the
moratorium on loan EMIs upto
August 31, 2020, increase in
export credit limit and extension
of time for payment on imports.

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020
New Delhi: Delhi CM
Arvind Kejriwal ex-
tended support to his
counterparts in West
Bengal and Odisha,
Mamata Banerjee and
Naveen Patnaik respec-
tively, in the wake of the
destruction caused by
cyclone Amphan.
“Dear Mamata Baner-
jee didi, on behalf of the
people of Delhi, I extend
our full support and
solidarity with you and
the people of West Ben-
gal in the wake of the
destruction caused by
cyclone Amphan. Kind-
ly let us know if we
could help in any man-
ner in this hour of cri-
sis,” Kejriwal tweeted.
In another post, he
wrote, “Dear Naveen
Patnaik, on behalf of
people of Delhi, I extend
our full support with
you and the people of
Odisha in the wake of
the destruction caused
by cyclone Amphan.
Kindly let us know if we
could help in any man-
ner in this hour of cri-
sis.” Patnaik also spoke
to Banerjee and offered
to give all possible sup-
port to Bengal in view
of damage caused by
cyclone Amphan. —ANI
Kejri extends support
to Mamata & Patnaik
CYCLONE AMPHAN
Kolkata: West Bengal
CM Mamata Banerjee
expressed her gratitude
to President Ram Nath
Kovind for personally
calling her to convey
support amid the crisis
in the state due to cy-
clone Amphan. Taking
to Twitter, Banerjee
wrote, “I sincerely
thank the President
Ram Nath Kovind Ji,
for personally calling
me to convey his sup-
port and concerns for
the people of Bengal in
this unprecedented
time of crisis because
of Amphan Cyclone. We
are extremely grateful.”
Meanwhile, Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Friday conducted an
aerial survey of areas
affected by cyclone Am-
phan in West Bengal.
The PM was accompa-
nied by Mamata Baner-
jee. The senior leaders
were seen wearing
masks as a precaution-
ary measure against
COVID-19. —ANI
CM MAMATA
THANKS PREZ
NATH KOVIND
FOR SUPPORT
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister Piyush Goyal wel-
comed the Reserve
Bank of India’s (RBI)
move to cut repo rate
and reducing the re-
verse repo rate saying
that it will boost de-
mand amid COVID-19
by extending affordable
credit to MSMEs and
other businesses.
The RBI slashed the
repo rate by 40 basis
points to 4 % & extend-
ed loan repayment
moratorium for anoth-
er three months up
to August 31. The re-
verse repo rate stands
at 3.35%.
Repo rate is the rate
at which a country’s
central bank lends
money to commercial
banks, and the reverse
repo rate is the rate at
which it borrows from
them. This comes as
the country has been
under lockdown for
nearly two months to
prevent the spread of
coronavirus. —ANI
It will boost demand
amid COVID-19: Goyal
Mumbai: Former Ma-
harashtra CM Devendra
Fadnavis and other BJP
leaders staged a ‘Sarkar
Jagao’ demonstration
outside their party of-
fice, demanding the
state government to an-
nounce a Rs 50,000-crore
package for farmers, la-
bourers and workers of
the unorganised sector.
“We have started the
‘Save Maharashtra’
campaign as it is the
worst hit COVID-19
state. This campaign is
not ‘Sarkar Bhagao An-
dolan’, but ‘Sarkar Jag-
ao Andolan’ he said.
Speaking about condi-
tion of farmers, he said:
“Farmers are in dis-
tress. Kharif season is
starting. Framers do
not have money. The
government should an-
nounce Rs 50,000 crore
package for those who
work in villages and in
unorganised sectors.”
Claiming that Ud-
dhavThackeray-ledgov-
ernment in Maharash-
tra has failed on all
fronts, he said: “Pa-
tients are not getting
ambulances on time.
They die after sitting for
8 hours on roads, no
food is available in quar-
antine centres and no
beds in hospitals. Pri-
vatehospitalsarecharg-
ing in lakhs and poor
cannot afford treatment
expenses. The govern-
ment did not acquire
any private hospitals
even after announcing
their acquisition.” —ANI
Fadnavis, others stage ‘Sarkar Jagao’ protest
Devendra Fadnavis along with party leaders holds placards as they demonstrate at party office in Mumbai.
New Delhi: Activist
Gautam Navlakha, who
is facing a probe by the
NIA for his role in Bhi-
ma Koregaon violence
case, moved Delhi HC
seeking interim bail on
medical grounds. The
petition, filed through
advocate Warisha Fara-
sat,washeardbyabench
of Justice Anup Jairam
Bambani today. Nav-
lakhaiscurrentlylodged
in Delhi’s Tihar jail.
Navlakha, in his pe-
tition, said that he is a
senior citizen suffer-
ing from colonic poly-
posis, chronic gastritis
and lactose intoler-
ance and has recently
been diagnosed with
high blood pressure by
the doctor at Safdar-
jung Hospital, which
increases risk of his
morbidity. Bail appli-
cation said that Nav-
lakha, who is 67-yrs-
old, is particularly vul-
nerable to catching
any infections, espe-
cially in a crowded en-
vironment like prison.
NavlakhamovesbailpleainHC
New Delhi: A petition
was filed in SCseeking
directions to Central
government and other
authorities concerned
to pay compensation to
the family of all the
migrant workers who
died, or were injured
during the lockdown.
The petition, filed by
advocate Reepak
Kansal, sought direc-
tions to the respond-
ents - concerned Au-
thorities/ Depart-
ment/ Governments -
to build up coordina-
tion & ensure health
facilities to injured
migrants worker at
their respective place.
“The SC should also
pass appropriate order
directing the respond-
ent to save migrants
labourers from atroci-
ties of police/security
agencies during this
nationwide COVID
lockdown crisis,” it
said. —ANI
Compensation for workers:Plea in SC
New Delhi: Delhi HC
has advised RS Media
Advisory Committee
to consider giving per-
manent passes to free-
lance journalists for
the coverage of the
parliamentary pro-
ceedings. Justice
Navin Chawla ob-
served: “As noted here
in above, there is no
challenge to the deci-
sion of MAC taken in
its meeting on
19.11.2011.
Therefore, this
Court refrains itself
from proceeding
further with such
consideration. How-
ever, it would be advis-
able for respondents
to revisit its
Guidelines for issu-
ance of passes keep-
ing in view Article
19(1)(a) of the Consti-
tution of India.” —ANI
‘Think of Permanent
passes to journos’
New Delhi: Delhi HC declined to stay the
conviction of former Jharkhand CM Madhu
Koda in a coal scam saying it will not be apt
to facilitate him to contest polls for any pub-
lic office, till he is finally acquitted. Justice
Vibhu Bakhru said the wider opinion was
that persons charged with crimes ought to be
disqualified from contesting elections to pub-
lic offices and therefore, it would not be apt
to stay Koda’s conviction to overcome the
disqualification incurred by him. —PTI
HC DECLINES CONVICTION OF
FORMER J’KHAND CM KODA
Lucknow: Police have
registered an FIR af-
ter receiving a
W h a t s A p p
m e s s a g e
threatening
to kill UP CM
Yogi Adity-
a n a t h . T h e
sender used ob-
jectionable lan-
guage against Adity-
anath in the message
sent on police head-
quarter’’s WhatsApp
number, calling him a
threat to particular
community, a
senior police
officer said.
The unknown
senderthreat-
ened to blow
him up with a
bomb. Senior
officers were in-
formed when the mes-
sage was received
around Thursday mid-
night. —PTI
Bomb threat against
Yogi, police files FIR
Ayodhya/Lucknow:
The ‘’unearthing’’ of
ancient religious arte-
facts from the Ram
temple site in Ayodhya
is being seen as a ‘’vali-
dation of the faith of
millions of Hindus
who believe that Ram
was born here’’ by the
saints in Ayodhya.
Acharya Satyendra
Das, chief priest of the
Ram temple, said, “The
recovery of these items
should be a lesson for
those who had been de-
nying that the mosque
was built after demol-
ishing the temple.”
Mahant Raju Das of
the Hanuman Garhi
temple said that the
idols and artefacts
found during the level-
ling of the temple site
further underlined the
court verdict which ac-
cepted that the temple
existed here. “There
should be no room for
any doubt now,” the
Mahant of the temple
added expressing his
views. —Agencies
Artefacts at
temple site
validate faith:
Ayodhya saints
AIR I NDIA RESUMES BOOKING FOR
DOMESTIC FLIGHTS IN LOCKDOWN
New Delhi: Air India start-
ed booking for domestic
flights amid COVID-19
lockdown. “We have start-
ed bookings for domestic
flights,” said Air India. The
airlines will operate a total
of 8,428 flights each week
for the next three months
from May 25 to August
25 as the Central govern-
ment has announced the
resumption of domestic
flights. Civil Aviation
Minister Hardeep Singh
Puri said that minimum &
maximum fare for three
months has been set for
domestic flight services,
which resume from May
25. In case of Delhi, Mum-
bai, minimum fare would
be Rs 3,500 for a journey
between 90-120 minutes.
The maximum fare would
be Rs 10,000.
COLOUR-CODED MASK RULE IN
SOUTHERN NAVAL COMMAND
New Delhi: The Kochi-based Southern Naval
Command of Indian Navy has asked its person-
nel to use colour-coded coronavirus masks that
match their uniforms. The rule had to be imple-
mented as personnel were wearing colourful
masks in units and ships. They’ve been asked
to put on white masks with white uniforms, and
black or navy blue masks with other ceremonial
uniforms, officials said. Defence Security Corps
and fire services personnel wearing khakhi uni-
forms have been asked to wear khakhi masks.
AFTER ANTI-PIRACY OPS, INS
SUNAYNA RETURNS TO KOCHI
Kochi: INS Sunayna, an offshore patrol vessel,
has returned to Kochi after being deployed for
80-day anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden
without entering any port.She was fuelled and
provided supplies by the US and Indian Navy
tankers during the period, Defence PRO, Kochi
said. INS Sunayna, the second Saryu-class pa-
trol vessel of the Indian Navy, was designed and
constructed indigenously by the Goa Shipyard
Limited to undertake fleet support operations,
coastal and offshore patrolling,
INDIA POST OFFICE RESUMES
BOOKING FOR INT’L SPEED POST
New Delhi: India Post Of-
fice has resumed booking
for international speed
post to 15 countries and
international tracked
packet services to already
available destinations
amid the lockdown, said
Union Minister Ravi Shan-
kar Prasad. While delivery
timelines will depend
on aviation services, the
booking for other inter-
national parcel and letters
remain suspended. “India
Post Office resumes
booking for Interna-
tional Speed Post to 15
countries & Int’l Tracked
Packet Services to avail-
able destinations. Delivery
timelines will depend on
aviation services. Booking
for other Int’l Parcel and
Letters remain suspend-
ed,” Prasad tweeted.
The widespread
devastation caused
by cyclone Amphan
in West Bengal and
Odisha is disturbing.
My condolences to the
families of those who
have perished and I
pray the injured make
a speedy recovery. I
offer my support to
the brave people of
these two states in
this time of crisis.”
—Rahul Gandhi,
Congress Leader
Dear Mamata Baner-
jee didi, on behalf of
the people of Delhi,
I extend our full
support and solidar-
ity with you and the
people of West Bengal
in the wake of the
destruction caused
by cyclone Amphan.
Kindly let us know if
we could help in any
manner in this hour of
crisis.
—Arvind Kejriwal,
Delhi CM
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in conversation with Guv Jagdeep
Dhankhar before receiving PM Narendra Modi at Kolkata Airport.
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: Railways
opened its reservation
counters for booking
& cancellation of re-
served tickets. “From
today booking/can-
cellation of reserved
tickets shall also
be available at Post
Offices, Yatri Ticket Su-
vidha Kendra licensees
& through authorised
agents of IRCTC
along with Passenger
Reservation System
counters of reservation
centres& Common
Service Centers.”
RESERVED
TICKETS
New Delhi: In view of fourth phase of COVID-19
lockdown, Delhi HC has further suspended the
functioning of all
subordinate courts
and district court of
Delhi till May 31.
Earlier the HC had
suspended the func-
tioning till May 23. It
further ordered that the matters listed in the
subordinate courts from May 26 to May 30 be ad-
journed en bloc. —ANI
SUSPENSION OF FUNCTIONING OF
HC EXTENDED TILL MAY 31
BHIMA KOREGAON CASERBI’S MOVE TO CUT REPO RATE
“Welcome @RBI’s
move to cut Repo Rate
by 40 basis points
from 4.4 % to 4%
and reducing Reverse
Repo Rate to 3.35%.
This will boost demand
amid COVID-19 by
extending affordable
credit to MSMEs &
other businesses,
helping realise PM
@NarendraModi ji’s
vision of #AatmaNirb-
harBharat,”
—Piyush Goyal,
Railways Minister

INDIAAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020
BARRING ONE, NO 1986 BATCH IPS
OFFICER IS DG IN CPO’S
Barring one in BPR&D, no 1986 batch IPS officer
has been so far posted in any Central Police
Organisation as DG. Half a dozen empanelled IPS
officers of this batch are waiting in the wings.
WHO WILL SUCCEED ALOK
PATERIA IN CISF?
Who will succeed Alok Pateria as Special DG in
the CRPF on June 1 ? Although couple of 1988
and 1989 batch IPS officers are in the run but no
name has so far been finalised.
WILL AGRAWAL BE NEXT CAC?
P K Agrawal, Addl Chief Advisor (Cost), is likely to
be next Chief Advisor Cost (CAC) in the Ministry
of Finance. After Ms Sethi, CAC, he is the senior
most ICoS officer and belongs to 1985 batch.
KAILASH KUMAR AGGARWAL
RETURNS TO PARENT CADRE
Kailash Kumar Aggarwal, Joint Secretary,
Ministry of Shipping, has been given premature
repatriation to his parent cadre on the grounds
of availing promotion in the cadre. He is a 1987
batch IRSE (Civil) officer.
REENA SINHA PURI RETURNS
TO PARENT CADRE
Reena Sinha Puri, Joint Secretary & Financial
Adviser, Ministry of Coal, has been given pre-
mature repatriation to her parent cadre on the
grounds of availing promotion. She is a 1987
batch IRS-IT officer.
JUSTICE SANGITA DHINGRA SEHGAL
LIKELY AS CHAIRPERSON, DSCDRC
Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal, Judge of the
Delhi High Court who resigned w.e.f May 30,
2020 is likely to join as Chairperson of Delhi State
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
RS DHILLON TO TAKE OVER AS CMD,
PFC ON JUNE 1
Ravinder Singh Dhillon, Director (Project), PFC, will
be taking over the charge as Chairman-cum-Man-
aging Director, Power Finance Corporation (PFC)
on June 1, 2020. The tenure of present incumbent
Rajiv Sharma is coming to an end in May.
RAM NARAYAN DUBEY TO JOIN AS
DIRECTOR (FIN), NCL ON JUNE 1
Ram Narayan Dubey, GM, CIL, will be taking
over the charge as Director (Finance), Northern
Coalfields Limited (NCL) on June 1, 2020.
ANURAG SHARMA TO JOIN AS DIRECTOR
(ONSHORE), ONGC ON JUNE 1
Anurag Sharma, ED, ONGC, will be taking over
the charge as Director (Onshore), Oil & Natural
Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) on June 1,
2020. He will succeed incumbent Sanjay Kumar
Moitra retiring in May.
THREE AAI OFFICERS GET
NEW ASSIGNMENTS
Manoj Gangal has been posted to RED, ER while
A K Verma, GM (ATM), Ahmedabad will get
the charge of APD, Ahmedabad and Capt. R K
Malik, ED (Security) will look after the work of
ED (Admn/HR) under the Airports Authority of
India (AAI).
VIJAY PRAKASH RETURNS
TO PARENT CADRE
Vijay Prakash, Director in the Department of Land
Resources, has been given premature repatriation
to his parent cadre with the condition of extended
cooling off. He is a 1996 batch ITS officer.
RAJESH KUMAR SAHU APPOINTED
AS DS/DIRECTOR, TOURISM
Rajesh Kumar Sahu has been appointed as Depu-
ty Secretary/ Director in the Ministry of Tourism.
He is a 2010 batch IRS-C&CE officer.
POWERGallery
Guj sees...
Of the 6,591 active
cases in the state,
Ahmedabad accounts
for 5,421. The city has
racked up a total of
9,724 cases, 645 deaths
and 3,658 discharges.
Morbi and Dangs
are the only two dis-
tricts in the state to
have zero active cases.
Surendranagar and
Junagadh, both of
which had zero cases a
few weeks ago, now
have 21 and 18, respec-
tively. Sabarkantha
now has 63 cases. Even
Gandhinagar now has
more than 200 cases.
More than 80 of the
roughly 90 staffers at
the Ahmedabad Cancer
Hospital have been in-
fected with Sars-CoV-2,
although most of them
are asymptomatic. Four
firemen have
home-quarantined after
presenting with a cough
and cold.
Jamalpur Congress
MLA Imran Khedawala
has demanded that the
authorities reclassify
Jamalpur area as an or-
ange or green zone
since positive cases
have reduced there.
Three employees of
Cadila pharmaceuti-
cals have died due to
COVID-19 while 26 oth-
ers are under treat-
ment. The company’s
plant situated at Trasad
was closed after reports
that 21 employees tested
positive.
In Mehsana, the
second twin born to
Hasumatiben from
Molipur village has
also tested positive.
After an inmate
tested positive for
COVID-19 at the Su-
rat Lajpore jail, au-
thorities there are
taking steps to quar-
antine other inmates
who had come in con-
tact with the infected
person.
45 dead...
Faisal Edhi of the Edhi
welfare trust told re-
porters that so far 45
bodies have been recov-
ered. 19 bodies have
been shifted from the
crash site to Jinnah
hospital and another 20
to Civil hospital. The
minister said there are
three survivors includ-
ing President of the
Bank of Punjab Zafar
Masood. He called up
his mother to inform
her of his well-being.
Modi visits...
adding, “Dealing with
COVID-19 requires so-
cial distancing whereas
battling the Amphan
cyclone requires people
to move to safer areas.
Despite these contradic-
tions, West Bengal un-
der the leadership of
Mamata ji is fighting
well. We are with them
in these adverse times.”
Prime Modi reached
West Bengal on Friday
where Governor Jag-
deep Dhankhar and Ma-
mata Banerjee receive
him. PM Modi, accom-
panied by Mamata,con-
ducted aerial surveys
of the cyclone-hit areas.
After this PM went to
Odisa and was received
by CM Naveen Patnaik
and Governor Ganeshi
Lal on arrival at Bhu-
baneswar Airport.
PM also held a review
meeting with senior of-
ficials and minister of
the state in Bhu-
baneswar where Pat-
naik, Union Ministers
Dharmendra Pradhan
and Pratap Sarangi
were also present. —ANI
Economic
package...
She said the govern-
ment has “cruelly ig-
nored” scores of mi-
grant workers and the
13 crore families in the
bottom half of the pop-
ulation as no financial
relief has been provid-
ed to them.
“The prime minis-
ter’s announcement of
a grand Rs 20 lakh crore
package on May 12 and
the finance minister
spelling out its details
over the next five days
have turned out to be a
cruel joke on the coun-
try,” she said.
The Congress chief
said there is no indica-
tion either as regards
whether Parliament or
its standing committees
will be summoned to
meet to discuss the situ-
ation. “The government
has abandoned any pre-
tence of being demo-
cratic and all power is
now concentrated in
only one office -- the
PMO,” she said.
The Congress chief
said it is the duty of the
opposition to offer con-
structive criticism and
suggestions, and be the
voice of the people.
The leaders of 22 op-
position parties, includ-
ing TMC supremo Ma-
mata Banerjee, Shiv
Sena chief Uddhav
Thackeray, JMM leader
Hemant Soren, NCP su-
premo Sharad Pawar,
DMK leader M K Stalin
and JD(S) leader HD
Deve Gowda, besides
CPI-M’s Sitaram Ye-
chury and CPI’s D Raja
participated. Congress
leaders Rahul Gandhi,
AK Antony, Ahmed Pa-
tel, Ghulam Nabi
Azad, Adhir Ranjan
Chowdhury and Mal-
likarjun Kharge were
also present. —ANI
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: In a coun-
try of 1.35 billion peo-
ple, there are only 0.1
million cases of COV-
ID-19,saidUnionHealth
and Family Minister Dr
Harsh Vardhan.
“Today we have a
mortality of 3 % only.
In a country of 1.35 bil-
lion, there are only 0.1
million cases of COV-
ID19,” said Dr Vardhan
in his address after
taking charge as chair-
man of the WHO’s Ex-
ecutive Board. “India
faced COVID-19 in a
proactive and pre-emp-
tive way, with un-
matched scale and de-
termination. The re-
covery rate is above
40and doubling rate is
13 days,” he added.
“I am aware I am en-
tering this office at a
time of global crisis on
account of this pan-
demic. At a time, when
we all understand that
there will be many
health challenges in the
next two decades. All
these challenges de-
mand a shared re-
sponse,” he said.
Dr Vardhan took up
the new assignment at
the 147th session of the
WHO Executive Board,
being held virtually.
WHO Director-Gen-
eral Tedros Ghebreye-
sus welcomed him for
the new role: “I would
like to congratulate and
welcome Dr Harsh Var-
dhan on his election as
the new chair. Dr Harsh
Vardhan, you have a
tough act to follow but
I’m sure you will do it
with the same energy
and commitment as Dr
Nakatani.” —ANI
‘India has only 0.1 million cases’There are a total of 1,18,447 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, says Health Ministry
New Delhi: The Union
Health Ministry on Fri-
day said that the dou-
bling rate of Covid-19
cases now stands at 13.3
days, which is far better
than 3.4 days since the
beginning of the lock-
down. Covid-19 cases
would have also in-
creased exponentially
in the absence of the
lockdown, it added.
Emphasising the im-
proved mortality rate,
the ministry said the
Covid-19 fatality rate
has dropped from 3.13
per cent to 3.02 per cent,
and the authorities in-
volved in tackling the
viral infection are con-
centrating on contain-
ment measures and
clinical management of
cases. India is currently
in the fourth phase of
the lockdown which
was imposed on March
25 to contain the out-
break of coronavirus.
“We need to save the
country from deaths
due to Covid-19,” the
ministry said. —ANI
Covid doubling rate
now 13.3 days: Centre
New Delhi: Minister of
Environment, Forest
and Climate Change,
Prakash Javadekar
launched NBA-UNDP
India’s Biodiversity
Samrakshan Intern-
ship Programme and
addressed the virtual
celebration of Interna-
tional Day for Biologi-
cal Diversity on Friday.
In his address Ja-
vadekar stated that In-
dia has 2.5 % of the
world’s land mass, 16 %
of human as well as cat-
tle population, but the
country has still pre-
served around eight%
of world’s bio-diversity.
“That is the strength
and cultural impact of
Indian philosophy. In
India you live with na-
ture and we think the
whole universe and
every life is precious
life. Be it an ant, birds
or any other animal.
This is how Indian phi-
losophy gives us train-
ing to be with the na-
ture and therefore India
could preserve this
kind of bio-diversity.”
“We can teach the
world how to preserve
bio-diversity with our
experiences which we
are ready to share with
others. I welcome those
countries who want to
improve their bio-diver-
sity scenario to share
our experiences with
them,” he added. —ANI
Biodiversity Day:
Samrakshan Internship
Programme unveiled
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister Dharmendra Prad-
han on Thursday re-
viewedpipelineprojects
worth approximately Rs
8000-crore, under vari-
ous stages of implemen-
tation and called for
complete indigenisa-
tion in these projects.
“Minister of Petrole-
um and Natural Gas and
SteelDharmendraPrad-
han on Thursday re-
viewed pipeline projects
worth approx. Rs. 8000
Crore, under various
stages of implementa-
tion by oil and gas com-
panies. Pitching for Aat-
manirbharBharat,Min-
ister Pradhan called for
complete indigenisation
in these projects,” said a
press release from the
Ministry of Petroleum
& Natural Gas.
The press release
further said, “GAIL is
processing line pipe
tenders of more than
Rs 1000 crore for
around 1 Lakh MT
steel procurement by
September 2020 for pro-
gressive supply of 800
Km line pipe from do-
mestic bidders. This
quantity is expected to
be doubled by the end
of current financial
year to boost Make in
India initiatives and
further the goal of a
self-reliant India.”
Project work along
the Pradhan Mantri
Urja Ganga, JHBDPL
pipeline,hasresumedin
fullswingpostlockdown
and is gearing up to con-
nect Eastern India with
the West to Central nat-
ural gas pipeline corri-
dor for boosting gas-
based economy in the
country. —Agencies
Pradhan reviews projects worth `8000cr
New Delhi: At a time
when the Centre is issu-
ing a list of defence
items that can’t be im-
ported, Army Vice
Chief Lt Gen SK Saini
said the import ban list
would not restrict forc-
es from procuring
niche technologies
from abroad.
“The Army Vice
Chief, however, as-
sured that the import
ban list will not re-
strict the forces to pro-
cure niche technolo-
gies from abroad,” said
an Army release.
The Central govern-
ment recently an-
nounced that to reduce
dependence on imports,
the Defence Ministry
would issue a list of
military items, which
cannot be imported and
have to be acquired
from indigenous sourc-
es only.
The Army Vice Chief
was addressing a webi-
nar on defence industry
opportunities. In his
speech, the Vice Chief
urged startups & MS-
MEs to come up with
technological solutions
to military challenges &
advised that the use of
these technologies con-
currently in civil do-
main will help bring
down their costs. The
Army Vice Chief also
echoed the call for
‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’,
call given by PM Modi,
saying the announce-
ments will have positive
impact on India’s de-
fence acquisition. —ANI
‘Importbanlistwon’trestrictprocurement’
I am aware I am
entering this office at
a time of global crisis
on account of this
pandemic.I feel deeply
honoured to have the
trust and faith of all
of you. India, and my
countrymen, too, feel
privileged that this hon-
our has been bestowed
upon us. I will work to
realise the collective
vision of our organiza-
tion, to build the collec-
tive capacity of all our
member nations and to
build a heroic collective
leadership.
—Harsh Vardhan
Health Minister
New Delhi: Union Minister
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi al-
leged that Congress leaders
are trying to politicise the
coronavirus pandemic when
they should rather “try to
rebuild confidence among
people”. “We were hoping
to get a bill from Priyanka
Gandhi for the pictures they
clicked of the buses sent to
Uttar Pradesh. If you have
done some good for people,
don’t quantify it in terms of
money. We are waiting for
the day when they [Con-
gress] would send a bill to
Yogiji for those pictures.”
DON’T POLITICISE A PANDEMIC SITUATION: NAQVI
THE UNVEILING
In his speech, the
Vice Chief urged
startups & MSMEs
to come up with
technological
solutions to military
challenges

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020
THE UNSPOKEN REASON FOR
LOCKDOWNS
T
he COVID-19
pandemic is
the first major
global crisis in
human history to be
treated as a mathemati-
cal problem, with gov-
ernments regarding
policy as the solution to
a set of differential
equations. Excluding a
few outliers – includ-
ing, of course, US Presi-
dent Donald Trump –
most political leaders
have slavishly deferred
to “the science” in tack-
ling the virus. The
clearest example of this
was the UK govern-
ment’s sudden shift on
March 23 to an aggres-
sive lockdown policy,
following a nightmar-
ish forecast by Imperial
College London re-
searchers of up to
550,000 deaths if noth-
ing was done to combat
the pandemic.
Such modeling is the
correct scientific ap-
proach when the ques-
tion debars experiment.
You can test a new drug
by subjecting two
groups of lab rats to
identical conditions, ex-
cept for the drug they
are given, or by admin-
istering it to randomly
selected humans in
clinical trials.
But you can’t deliber-
ately insert a virus into
a human population to
test its effects, although
some Nazi concentra-
tion-camp doctors did
just that. Instead, scien-
tists use their knowl-
edge of the infectious
pathogen to model a dis-
ease’s pattern of conta-
gion, and then work out
which policy interven-
tions will modify it.
Predictive modeling
was first devel-
oped for malaria over
a century ago by an
almost-forgotten Eng-
lish doctor, Ronald
Ross. In a fascinat-
ing 2020 book, the
mathematician and
epidemiologist Adam
Kucharski showed
how Ross first identi-
fied the mosquito as
the infectious agent
through experiments
on birds. From this
fact, he developed
a predictive model
of malaria transmis-
sion, which was later
generalized as the SIR
(Susceptible, Infected,
and Recovered) model
of contagious-disease
epidemics.
The question that
interested epidemiolo-
gists was not what trig-
gers an epidemic, but
what causes it to end.
They concluded that
epidemics end naturally
when enough people
have had the disease
so that further trans-
mission rates decline.
Basically, the virus runs
out of hosts in which
it can reproduce itself.
In today’s jargon, the
population develops
“herd immunity.”
The science de-
veloped from Ross’s
original model is
almost universally
accepted, and has
been fruitfully applied
in other contexts, like
financial contagion. But
no policymaker is pre-
pared to allow a killer
epidemic to run its
natural course, because
the potential death toll
would be unacceptable.
After all, the 1918-
19 Spanish flu killed
some 50-100 million
people out of a global
population of two
billion: a death rate
between 2.5% and 5%.
No one knew for sure
what the COVID-19
death rate would have
been had the spread of
the coronavirus been
uncontrolled.
Because there is
currently no COVID-19
vaccine, govern-
ments have had to find
other ways to prevent
“excess deaths.” Most
have opted for lock-
downs, which remove
entire populations from
the path of the virus
and thus deprive it of
hosts.
PREDICTIVE MODELING WAS DEVELOPED FOR MALARIA
Two months into the Euro-
pean lockdown, however, the
evidence suggests that these
measures on their own have not
had much medical effect. For
example, Sweden, with its ex-
ceptionally light lockdown, has
had fewer COVID-19 deaths rela-
tive to its population than tightly
locked-down Italy and Spain.
And while the United Kingdom
and Germany have both been
aggressively locked down,
Germany has so far reported 96
deaths per million inhabitants,
compared to 520 per million in
the UK.
The crucial difference between
Germany and the UK seems to
lie in their respective medical re-
sponses. Germany started mass
testing, contact-tracing, and iso-
lating the infected and exposed
within a few days of confirming
its first COVID-19 cases, thus
giving itself a head start in slow-
ing the virus’s spread.
The UK, by contrast, is
hobbled by incoherence at the
center of government and by
what former foreign secretary
David Owen (himself a medical
doctor) has called the “struc-
tural vandalism” inflicted on the
National Health Service by years
of cuts, fragmentation, and
centralization. As a result, the
country lacked the medical tools
for a German-style response.
Science cannot determine
what the correct COVID-19
response should have been
for each country. A model
may be considered validated
if its predictions correspond
to outcomes in real life. But
in epidemiology, we can have
confidence that this will hap-
pen only if a virus with known
properties is allowed to run
its natural course in a given
population, or if there is a single
intervention like a vaccine, the
results of which can be accu-
rately predicted.
Too many variables – includ-
ing, say, medical capacity or cul-
tural characteristics – scrambles
the model, and it starts spewing
out scenarios and predictions
like a demented robot. Today,
epidemiologists cannot tell us
what the effects of the current
COVID-19 policy mix will be.
“We will know only in a year or
so,” they say.
The outcome will therefore
depend on politics. And the
politics of COVID-19 are clear
enough: governments could
not risk the natural spread of
infection, and thought it too
complicated or politically fraught
to try to isolate only those most
at risk of severe illness or death,
namely the 15-20% of the popu-
lation aged over 65.
The default policy response
has been to slow the spread of
natural immunity until a vaccine
can be developed. What “flat-
tening the curve” really means
is spacing out the number of
expected deaths over a pe-
riod long enough for medical
facilities to cope and a vaccine
to kick in.
But this strategy has a terrible
weakness: governments cannot
keep their populations locked
down until a vaccine arrives.
Apart from anything else, the
economic cost would be un-
thinkable. So, they have to ease
the lockdown gradually.
Doing this, however, lifts the
cap on non-exposure gained
from the lockdown. That is why
no government has an explicit
exit strategy: what political lead-
ers call the “controlled easing”
of lockdowns actually means
controlled progress toward herd
immunity.
Governments cannot openly
avow this, because that would
amount to admitting that herd
immunity is the objective. And it
is not yet even known whether
and for how long infection
confers immunity. Much better,
then, to pursue this goal silently,
under a cloud of obfuscation,
and hope that a vaccine arrives
before most of the population is
infected.
SCIENCE CANNOT DETERMINE CORRECT COVID-19 RESPONSE
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: ABHISHEK SHARMA
Governments cannot openly admit that the
“controlled easing” of COVID-19 lockdowns in fact
means controlled progress toward so-called herd
immunity to the virus. Much better, then, to pursue this
objective silently, under a cloud of obfuscation, and hope that a
vaccine will arrive before most of the population gets infected

Our future, within certain limits,
is still in our hands. Our attitude
in the present will decide our
future. Be hopeful and optimistic.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat High Court has
taken a serious note of
the alleged ill-treatment
to Covid-19 patients at
the Ahmedabad Civil
Hospital in Ahmedabad
and stated that the pa-
tients should not feel
they are being treated
like animals.
Second Division
Bench of Justice JB
Pardiwala and Justice
Ilesh Vora is hearing
a suo moto petition
initiated by the high
court itself clubbed
with other PILs.
The other PILs cov-
ered a wide range of
related issues like the
incessant corona
spread, facilities at
government hospi-
tals, exorbitant
charges levied by pri-
vate hospitals to treat
corona patients, is-
sues of migrant work-
ers and new discharge
policy implemented
by the State Govern-
ment.
The bench observed
that poor and needy
people come to the civil
hospital for treatment
and they should be
treated on humanitari-
an grounds. When a pa-
tient leaves hospital, he
should feel satisfied
with the treatment re-
ceived.
The court also cited
several news items
published in newspa-
pers criticising the
hospital environment
and asserted that this
was not at all an ac-
ceptable situation.
Advocate-General
Kamal Trivedi assured
the court on behalf of
the State that within
one week, the govern-
ment will try to resolve
these issues. The Advo-
cate-General submitted
a 142-page action taken
report on various sub-
jects like arrangements
being made for migrant
workers to send them
home, testing capacity
and facilities in the
state and other issues.
The high court re-
frained from passing
any order about the de-
cision of the
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation to go for a
complete week-long
lockdown from May 6.
On this, the bench ob-
served that the officers
would have to take
harsh decisions to con-
trol the situation.
Patients should not be treated like animals at Civil Hospital: HC
STRONG WORDS
First India Bureau
New Delhi/
Ahmedabad: The Cov-
id-19 crisis may not
have hit the rural popu-
lace as much as their
urban counterparts but
its cascading effect has
almost crippled the ag-
riculture sector with
more than 50 per cent
farmers reporting
heavy losses.
A survey of 1,500
farmers in 200 dis-
tricts across 12 states,
including Gujarat,
Rajasthan and Maha-
rashtra, has found
that more than half
the farmers who har-
vested their crops suf-
fered a lower yield
during the nation-
wide lockdown, as
against the last sea-
son.
The lockdown also
forced 55 per cent of the
farmers to store their
crops as they were un-
able to sell them.
The survey was con-
ducted by the Harvard
TH Chan School of Pub-
lic Health, Public
Health Foundation of
India and Centre for
Sustainable Agricul-
ture from May 3 to May
15, 2020.
Farmers across
Andhra Pradesh, Bi-
har ,Gujarat, Hary-
ana, Karnataka, Mad-
hya Pradesh, Maha-
rashtra, Punjab, Ra-
jasthan, Telangana,
Uttar Pradesh and
West Bengal were
roped in for the
survey.
Losses for 40 per
cent of the farmers
who experienced a
yield loss, occurred
from a lack of labour,
storage or transport
options, said the sur-
vey. Weather was also
cited as a reason for
the loss in yield by
80 per cent of the
farmers.
Around 30 per cent
of them were unable
to harvest their crops
because of issues re-
lated to the lockdown,
said the survey.
Out of the 63 per
cent farmers who
could harvest their
crops, 22 per cent had
to store their crop due
to lockdown related is-
sues. Around 12 per
cent farmers were still
trying to sell their
crop, while 44 per cent
farmers managed to
sell their produce.
In Gujarat and Ra-
jasthan, for example,
while 83 and 86 per
cent of the respond-
ents respectively har-
vested their crops,
only 18 and 10 per
cent respectively were
able to sell it.
Around 52 per cent of
the respondents were
small and marginal
farmers, 6.7 per cent
were landless farmers,
19.9 per cent medium
farmers and 20.7 per
cent were large farmers.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: A woman and
hersonwereattackedby
a leopard in their farm
on Friday morning in
Amreli district of Guja-
rat. They were admitted
to a hospital and their
condition was stable.
Forest officials said
the incident took place
in Dhari area of Sar-
asiya range in Gir East
division. A 40-year-old
woman Railaben Ra-
faliya and her 15-year-
old son Gaurang re-
ceived injuries. There
is a storage room in
their farm in Bhader
village where they had
stored onions. The door
of the storage was open
and a leopard managed
to get inside.
When Rasilaben and
her son entered the stor-
age room around 8.30
am, the leopard first at-
tacked Rasilaben who
sustained injuries.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Shivam
Solanki, who lost his
arms and a leg in an ac-
cident at the age of 12,
has scored 92 per cent
marks in the state board
exams for the science
stream of Class XII.
Speaking to a section of
the media, Solanki said:
“I want to become a doc-
tor. If not, I want to
serve people by joining
any other related ser-
vices.”
“I used to study the
whole day before the ex-
ams. Teachers used to
revise the syllabus fol-
lowing which I have
scored 92.33 per cent,”
he said. “I want to con-
vey a message to the
students, who have
passed the exams, to
work hard in the future
to achieve their goals,”
he added.
Solanki also encour-
aged the students who
have scored less marks,
to work harder and do
well in the future.
Solanki’s father is a
fourth class employee
in Vadodara Municipal
Corporation. When
Solanki was 12-year-old,
he lost both his hands
and one leg due to
touching the high-ten-
sion wire.
First India Bureau
Surat: Two migrant la-
bourers travelling from
Surat to Bijnor in west-
ern Uttar Pradesh were
on Friday killed in an
accident in Buland-
shahr district, 102 km
from Delhi. Their mini-
truck overturned after
hitting an electric pole.
The survivors includ-
ed a woman with her
two young children who
all went in an ambu-
lance with the bodies.
Just a day ago on
Thursday, a 57-year-old
worker from Aska in
Ganjam district report-
edly died in a bus near
Punjipathar in Lakhan-
pur block. He was re-
turning along with
other migrant workers
from Gujarat.
It is unclear wheth-
er the man, Bhaskar
Nahak, died of com-
plications relating to
Covid-19. He sudden-
ly collapsed in the bus
and his co-passengers
immediately in-
formed Aska BDO
and Ganjam Collector
of his death.
First India Bureau
Mehsana: Twinbrother
and sister, born six days
ago in North Gujarat’s
Mehsana district, have
tested positive for coro-
navirus, becoming the
state’s youngest victims
of the viral infection, an
official said on Friday.
A woman from Moli-
pur village in the dis-
trict, who had tested
positive for the virus,
gavebirthtotwinsatthe
Vadnagar Civil Hospital
on May 16, said Manoj
Daxini, district develop-
ment officer.
Itinitiallyflummoxed
the doctors since the
boy was tested positive
and his twin sister was
negative. The doctors
later sought re-testing,
to find now that both are
infected.
“This is the first case
in Gujarat where new-
born infants, that too
twins, have tested posi-
tive for coronavirus.
While the male infant
testedpositiveonMay18,
the baby girl’’s reports
cameonFriday,”hesaid.
Both are stable.
“The woman hails
from Molipur village,
where several COVID-19
cases were detected af-
ter three persons who
had returned from
Mumbai tested posi-
tive,” Daxini said.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The cy-
ber crime police has
filed a complaint
against seven people
and a social media
group for indecent posts
against Hindu deities
and Gods “intended to
hurt religious senti-
ments and cause enmi-
ty between religious
groups.”
A complaint was
filed against Facebook
account-holders Jag-
dish Goswami, Mo-
hammad Ali, Mofizul
Haque, Datta Tilewad,
Sham Singh, Moham-
mad Irfan, Bilal Hus-
sain and a Facebook
Public Group which
had indecent posts.
According to the
complaint filed by the
cyber crime PSI, the
eight had posted “ob-
scene photos and
posts against Hindu
Gods and deities to
provoke and hurt Hin-
du sentiments.”
Jagdish Goswami had
posted indecent photos
of Hindu Gods and dei-
ties on May 17 and had
made “vulgar com-
ments.” Mohammad Ali
hadpostedobscenecom-
ments on his wall
against Hindu deities,
Mofizul Haque had post-
ed vulgar comments
against Hindu scrip-
tures on his wall.
The others including
Datta Tilewad, Sham
Singh, Mohammad Ir-
fan, Bilal Hussain and
theFacebookGrouphad
also posted “provocative
and obscene” comments
on their walls and in the
group.DataTilawatwho
claimed that his social
media group has 2,100
active members posted
such pictures. Dinesh
Kumar Swarnkar too
had posted adverse com-
ments against Hindu
deities.
For 60% farmers,a good crop
is much ado about nothingThe extended lockdown forced many to keep their bumper harvests in stores
Police book 7 for ‘indecent’ religious posts
Newborntwins
Gujarat’syoungest
Covid-19victims
Leopard attacks
woman, her son
Shivam’s handicap
too small for his
will to top 12th First India Bureau
Vadodara: A woman
threw her two sons in a
well allegedly to kill
them and escaped in the
Rayanvadia village in
Halol taluka of Panch-
mahal district. The in-
cident took place on
Thursday night over a
petty squabble in the
family.
Pratap Rathwa, a res-
ident of Rayanvadia,
told the police that he
had gone to the Surya
village during the day
on Thursday. He
claimed that he re-
turned home in the
evening. At dinner
time, he claims, he
asked for food.
According to Rath-
wa, his wife Champa
did not reply initially
and then picked up a
quarrel. Rathwa said
Champa then called up
her father. She later left
home with their sons
Pradeep (9) and Pratik
(7). He claimed she
went to a well in a farm
nearby and threw her
children in a well and
escaped.
Woman
throws two
sons in well
3 migrants die
in separate
accidents
SERPENTINE QUEUES
Bhachau. With the government launching a self-help scheme, long queues were seen in
various parts of the State. But in Bhachau in Kutch, people queued up under a scorching to
buy things, including pan-masala and beedi-cigarettes. A special Pan Masala Bazaar was set
up at Sadbhavna Ground at Bhachau with the help of police.
Youngest Covid-19 patients in Gujarat; the twins, boy and girl,
were born in Mehsana to a corona-positive woman
Handicapped boy came off with flying colours in 12th Board exams.
Cyber crime police book seven for indecent social media posts
against deities.
ISSUES GALORE!
Out of the 63 per cent farmers who could
harvest their crops, 22 per cent had to store
it. Around 12 per cent farmers were still trying
to sell their crop. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, 83
and 86 per cent of the respondents respec-
tively harvested their crops, but only 18 and
10 per cent could sell it.
UNDER ‘WRAPS’ !

AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY
MAY 23, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
o matter how
many dresses
we have
squeezed into
our over-
stuffed closet,
we can always
justify browsing the year’s
summer dress trends
and buying a few more.
From simple cotton
sundresses to silky shifts,
these summer dresses are
in our wardrobes for
years, but that does not
mean we should not treat
ourselves to a
trendy piece or
two when the
s e a s o n
c h a n g e s .
Summer is
definitely
one of the
most fun times of the year
to play around with your
style and summer dresses
are without a doubt the
easiest way to perfect your
seasonal style. You don’t
need to worry about coor-
dinating complicated out-
fits, just throw it on, add a
pair of shoes, a designer
handbag and you’re done.
Whether you’re after
something casual or a style
that’s a bit fancier, a dress
is a great way to ensure you
feel confident. Long-time
back, the long summer
dress was considered to be
reserved for celebrity’s do-
main, but the fashion in-
dustry has made a remark-
able improvement
in recent years
and that has
c h a n g e d
the com-
plete sce-
nario. Now,
there are so
many dressing
styles available in
the market that fits
your budget and can
give you a stunning look
with easy to pull-off
style.
You can play
with the evergreen
sleeveless dress-
es, mini skirts,
backless ban-
deau, tied with a
Knot bikini, spa-
ghetti strap
striped, belted
and wraps waists,
and of course, you
can wear whatever
your little heart de-
sires. Moreover, mini-
malist linen high-cut,
belts and hoops, underwire
tops are always a safe trend.
Be it for clothes or accesso-
ries, the more information
you have the better. If the
summer season is giving
you a tough fight against
sunburn, then you give it
much more tough
fight with your mini-
malistic style. Wheth-
er white or colourful,
mini or maxi, dresses
are the statement piec-
es and they will help
you to look effortlessly
laid-back.
KARISHMA
GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@
firstindia.co.in
N
SUMMERY
IN AND OUT!Flowery comfortable cotton dresses are the perfect way to
beat the heat and as temperatures continue to rise and the
online shopping and other options open, stock up on yours!

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
AKSHARA SHARMA, Writer
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
No pain no gain, remember
this when it comes to
building a strong physique.
You need to work hard to
get positive results to justify the
financial risks that you have taken in
the past. Some of you may feel
tempted to enter the world of real
estate business.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Get up from the bed and
go for a walk, it’s not the
time to feel lethargic. You
must not trust anyone just
like that, they may have an axe to
grind. On professional front, your
boss will appreciate you for all the
efforts you have been putting into the
projects lately.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Health wise you are doing
good and if you are
worried about extra
pounds then you must
indulge yourself in regular fitness
regime. On work front, today you
may need to put in extra effort to
receive any appreciation from the
boss.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You are very careless about
what you put in your belly,
high time to mend your
ways. You may keep an eye
on someone to take advantage of it
later but that not a good practice. On
professional front, it may get totally
necessary for you to upgrade your
skills for any promotion.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You may be willing to join
some new fitness class,
without hesitation go
ahead. Professionally, you
must stay alert as someone could be
planning a plot against you. You may
feel bored with your current job or
work but don’t make quick decisions
as these are very temporary feelings.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Your health needs attention
and you must take all the
protective measures well
and in advance. On
professional front, you may be
assigned with lot of responsibilities
and you may find it difficult to cope up
with the work pressure. Your income
will increase.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You are keeping up well
with the fitness routine that
you have recently started
following. On professional
front, you will get all mental and
work support from your colleagues.
You may also be asked to meet
someone important to fix a deal,
make sure you put in all your efforts.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Meditate every morning to
keep your mind relaxed.
You must not feel effected
by what other think about
you. Your wish to settle outside the
current city or country may come
true very soon. Overall business of
the company may threaten your job
position.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Today you may feel a little
low health wise but it’s
quite temporary. This may
not be the right time to try
and convince people about your
aspirations as they may simply reject
your views. But that doesn’t mean
that your path is not correct, keep
moving ahead with confidence.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
To avoid any stomach
related issue you must take
care of what you eat. You
must take your close ones
into your confidence so that you can
discuss all your worries with them
openly. Favour the one who is right,
don’t be bias towards anyone. You
must try harder.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Your health may start to
suffer because of your
tight work schedule. On
the other hand taking time
off is also not possible. Your family
expects you to give more time. On
academic front, some of you are very
careless and this ongoing behavior
can ruin things for you so be careful.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Try to wake up early every
day as this alone may
change the way you feel.
Your pockets are full of
money today so go ahead and spend
a some on leisure. On professional
front, be straightforward about
money. Before entering into any busi-
ness with your client you must talk.
n these times of
the Corona pan-
demic, all that we
think of is how
deadly it is and
how to protect
ourselves. For the
last two months, what we
have been counting are the
positive cases and deaths
due to corona. We have
been doing anything and
everything to keep our-
selves safe- Be it locked
down in our houses or re-
maining away from our
near and dear ones etc. We
have been showing tre-
mendous solidarity to-
wards COVID WARRIORS
and have been conveying
thanks by clapping, light-
ing diyas, and by shower-
ing flowers. Everyone
thinks that these people
are risking their lives for
our safety, working hard
for hours wearing uncom-
fortable PPEs.
Here a question comes to
my mind. I want to ask my
fellow countrymen, have
you ever counted, how
many of our soldiers have
died (martyred) while
serving our country. Have
we ever shown gratitude to
them like COVID WARRI-
ORS? We all take martyr-
dom as such a casual thing.
It hurts to even think that
for our society, it’s such a
normal course for a soldier
to give up his life because
it’s his job and he is paid
for it.
We have to understand
that nobody can be paid to
die. Supreme sacrifice for
the motherland is totally a
choice by people with a
heart of steel. Joining the
Army is a conscious
choice, a calling, and a way
of life for certain people.
Not everyone can don the
uniform and the camou-
flage as gallantly as they
do. It’s a general concep-
tion that the life of army
personnel is very rosy and
exciting. EXCITING… Yes,
it is because every single
day is a battle between life
and death. Guarding the
frontiers, staying for
months in a jungle without
proper food, water and
sleep, leaving behind their
spouses, children and par-
ents, may look exciting
only to bystanders. One
requires grit, determina-
tion, courage, fortitude
and a nerve of steel to do
what they do and yet smile.
Whether it is standing in
-25°C at the Siachen Gla-
cier, sitting in ambush
whole night for terrorists
in the valley, or carrying
out surgical strikes across
LOC – they do it all, every
day and with no fuss.
The army truly exempli-
fies their motto- ‘Seva Par-
mo Dharam’, meaning ser-
vice before self. The nation
and countrymen come
first, always and every
time. Defense Forces are
the last hope of the Nation
and they never fail, wheth-
er it’s guarding the bor-
ders or anti-terrorist op-
erations or natural calam-
ity or even pandemic. We
never leave the task unfin-
ished, be it revenge for Uri
or Pulwama or Handwara.
‘Are we actually worthy of
this sacrifice?`
I urge my countrymen
to please be worthy of the
sacrifices made by these
brave men. Take out a little
time to show your love and
solidarity towards them.
Shower some flowers to
the warriors when they
come home wrapped in tri-
colour. Pray for their safe-
ty and their families. Light
a few diyas to remember
them and express our grat-
itude towards them and
their families who so he-
roically send them to bor-
ders. Pray for these brave
hearts, who continue to do
the nation proud, by exhib-
iting indomitable spirit in
the line of duty. Please sa-
lute their valour, their su-
preme sacrifice and pay
homage to them. And nev-
er ever call them “be-
chare”. Because they de-
serve praise and NOT sym-
pathy; they are strong in
their heart and their mind,
benevolently dedicated to
the tricolour; they are
whom we call the fearless
Army men.
NEERA SINGH
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
LET’S NOT FORGET
I
The army truly exempli-
fies their motto- ‘Seva Par-
mo Dharam’, meaning ser-
Army men.
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
Neera Singh has beenan active member ofthe Army Officer’sWives Association for35 years and very pas-sionate about theArmy way of life.

First india ahmedabad edition-23 may 2020

First india ahmedabad edition-23 may 2020

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