First india ahmedabad edition-26 april 2020

The picturesque Pir Panjal ranges can be seen at the
backdrop of Dargah Hazratbal in Kashmir on Friday. A day
ahead of the beginning of the holy month of Ramzan, an
eerie calm has descended at the shrine, following lockdown
prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile with the
sighting of the moon, the first roza of the month will be on
April 25. PM Narendra Modi has extended his greeting to the
people on the occasion of Ramzan. —ANI
RAMZAN
MUBARAK
New Delhi: The govern-
ment said on Friday the
nationwide lockdown an-
nounced by Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi was a
timely step, without
which there would have
been an estimated one
lakh COVID-19 cases in
India by now.
In a press briefing, of-
ficials said the virus out-
break is under control in
the country and credited
a robust surveillance net-
work along with imple-
mentation of the lock-
down and other contain-
ment measures for it.
Of the 11 empowered
groups formed to suggest
measures to ramp up
healthcare, put the econ-
omy back on track and
reduce misery of people
once the lockdown is lift-
ed, chairman of Empow-
ered Group One and Niti
Ayog member V K Paul
said according to their
analysis, lockdown has
been effective in slowing
the rate at which COV-
ID-19 cases is doubling in
India, and it now stands
at 10 days.
“If we go back to March
21, the cases were dou-
bling in around three
days. An important turn
came on March 23 after
the Janata Curfew had
happened. The direction
changed and the doubling
rate increased to five. By
then, we had already put
in place travel restric-
tions and had created an
environment of social
distancing. Turn on P6
LOCKDOWNCONTAINED
CORONAMARCH:GOVT
New Delhi: The corona-
virus pandemic has
taught the country “to
be self-reliant and self-
sufficient” and not look
for solutions abroad,
Prime Minister Naren-
draModitoldgrassroots
leaders on Friday as he
stressed that every vil-
lage, district and state
should be able to pro-
vide for its basic needs.
Applauding people
for their grit in fighting
the COVID-19 outbreak,
Modi said the collective
power of villages is
helping country move
forward and compli-
mented the rural India
for its simple and moti-
vating mantra of Do
Gaz Ki Doori to popu-
larise social distancing.
The slogan given by
the rural India showed
the wisdom of the peo-
ple , he said.
PM said skills and
knowledge of people
are put to test during
the time of a crisis, but
India’s villages have
displayed the best of
their efforts to fight the
pandemic. Turn on P6
PM Modi salutes
gritty rural india
Delhi-Meerut Expressway wears a deserted look during nationwide
lockdown as a preventive measure against spread of COVID-19—ANI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with Sarpanchs from
across the nation via video conferencing, on the occasion of
Panchayati Raj Diwas in New Delhi on Friday. —ANI
UP TO BRING HOME
STRANDED MIGRANT
LABOURERS
Lucknow: The UP government
will bring back labourers strand-
ed in other states because of the
coronavirus-forced lockdown,
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
said on Friday, and directed of-
ficials to prepare an action plan in
this regard. At a review meeting
with senior officers here, Yogi
asked them to prepare a list of
people stuck in other states and
have completed 14-day quaran-
tine there so that they can return
home in a phased manner.
TIGRESS DIES IN DELHI
ZOO, SAMPLES SENT
FOR CORONA TESTING
New Delhi: A tigress died in
Delhi Zoo on Wednesday due
to “kidney failure” and authori-
ties have sent her samples for
coronavirus testing. The 14-year-
old big cat named Kalpana died
around on Wednesday evening
and the carcass was cremated on
Thursday following direction to
minimize human-animal interface,
an official from the Environment
Ministry said. Tigress had grown
frail. Post-mortem revealed high
creatinine levels, the official said.
New Delhi: Centre on Friday said
COVID-19 situation is especially
serious in major or emerging hot-
spot areas including Ahmedabad,
Surat, Hyderabad and Chennai.
Home Ministry said that violations
of lockdown measures reported
in some parts of the country pose
a serious health hazard to public
and may lead to the spread of
COVID-19. Earlier home ministry
sent four interministerial teams to
Gujarat, Telangana and Tamil Nadu
to asses the ground situation. —ANI
SITUATION ESPECIALLY
SERIOUS IN 4 CITIES: MHA
India has the least
number of corona
positive cases among
some major countries
at 5 lakh COVID-19
tests mark, said Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
on Friday. “At the 5 lakh
tests mark, India has
of the least number of
COVID-positives among
some major countries,”
the Prime Minister
tweeted. He further
informed that NaMo
app users can now see
interesting facts and
steps taken by the Centre
to contain corona spread.
INDIA HAS LEAST
COVID CASES: PM
India would have had over one lakh COVID 19 cases by now if containment
strategies like lockdown & robust surveillance network was not put in place
PANCHAYATI RAJ DIVAS
Commissioner Nehra at risk of whiplash with U-Turn on COVID-19 estimate
First India News
A h m e d a b a d : I f
Ahmedabad’s Munici-
pal Commissioner Vi-
jay Nehra is to be taken
at face value, the rate of
doubling of COVID-19
cases fell by half in the
span of a few hours in
the city.
In his morning bulle-
tin, he claimed that the
cases of Sars-Cov-2 in-
fection were doubling in
the city every four days.
He expressed great hope
that the city would
achieve the “very diffi-
cult task” of bringing
the four-day doubling
rate to an eight-day one.
By 8.30 pm, the official
line was that the city
was already seeing an
eight-day doubling rate.
The swift turnaround
does not bode well for
Nehra. At best, he was
misinformed in the
morning and attempted
to fix his mistake in the
evening. At worst, he’s
fudging numbers. Ei-
ther way, he does not
seem to be fully aware
of the situation, much
less in control of it.
Theeveningpressre-
leasestated:“COVID-19
cases in Ahmedabad
Cityaredoublingevery
eight days.”
This is a far cry from
Nehra’s extensive state-
ment from earlier in the
day.
“At present, the
rate of doubling of
cases Turn on P6Fogging in progress at the main offices of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 149
27°C - 40°C
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
www.firstindia.co.in
www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia
instagram.com/thefirstindia
COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
1,95,153
DEATHS
28,00,262
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
780
DEATHS
24,447
CONFIRMED CASES
GUJARAT
127
DEATHS
2,815
CONFIRMED CASES
CORONA IN GUJARAT
In the last 24 hours, the state recorded
191 COVID-19 positive cases taking the
total toll to 2,815. With 15 deaths, the
death toll currently stands at 127.
For more, see P3
USA 903,773 50,988 +752
SPAIN 219,764 22,524 +367
ITALY 192,994 25,969 +420
GERMANY 154,159 5,653 +78
UK 143,464 19,506 +768
TURKEY 104,912 2,600 +109
IRAN 88,194 5,574 +93
CHINA 82,804 4,632 +2
RUSSIA 68,622 615 +60
BRAZIL 51,073 3,407 +94
BELGIUM 44,293 6,679 +189
COUNTRY TOTAL TOTAL NEW
CASES DEATHS DEATHS
GLOBAL STATE
OF AFFAIRS
WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO
LAST UPDATED: APRIL 24, 2020, 11:00 PM
43,822
SAMPLES TESTED
41,007
NEGATIVE CASES
0
UNDER EXAMINATION
IN GUJARAT
DISTRICT TOTAL TOTAL NEW
CASES DEATHS DEATHS
AHMEDABAD 1821 83 14
VADODARA 223 11 0
SURAT 462 14 1
BHAVNAGAR 35 5 0
RAJKOT 41 0 0
GANDHINAGAR 19 2 0
PATAN 15 1 0
BHARUCH 29 2 0
ANAND 36 2 0
PANCHMAHAL 13 2 0
CHHOTA UDEPUR 11 0 0
KUTCH 6 1 0
MEHSANA 7 0 0
PORBANDAR 3 0 0
GIR SOMNATH 3 0 0
DAHOD 4 0 0
BANASKANTHA 16 0 0
JAMNAGAR 1 1 0
MORBI 1 0 0
SABARKANTHA 3 0 0
BOTAD 12 1 0
KHEDA 5 0 0
ARAVALLI 18 1 0
NARMADA 12 0 0
MAHISAGAR 9 0 0
TAPI 1 0 0
VALSAD 5 1 0
NAVSARI 1 0 0
DANG 1 0 0
TOTAL 2815 127 15
Says city would see anything
between 25K to 8 lakh cases,
depending on when you asked him
Our target is to bring down this rate
to eight days. This will be a very dif-
ficult task because very few countries
have achieved it. Vijay Nehra, 12.30 pm
COVID-19 cases in Ahmedabad City are dou-
bling every eight days. AMC Press release, 8.30 pm

NEWSAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. —FILE PHOTO
Free wheat and rice distribution to NFSA beneficiaries to start today: CM
First India News
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani’s
government will start
distributing free wheat
and rice to NFSA (Na-
tionalFoodSecurityAct)
cardholders from Satur-
day. This programme is
meant to benefit those
NFSA cardholders who
regularly buy rations
fromfairpriceshopsand
have received free ra-
tions distributed at the
beginning of April.
Information and
Broadcasting Secre-
tary and Secretary to
the Chief Minister
Ashwani Kumar, who
made the announce-
ment, said the distri-
bution will continue
until April 29. The
state will provide
3.5kg wheat and 1.5kg
rice per head. So, if
four family members
are registered on one
card, they will receive
14kg wheat and 6kg
rice, he explained.
The state government
has also decided to re-
sume operations at sub-
registrars offices out-
side municipal corpora-
tion and Nagar Palika
areas. There are 98 sub-
registrar offices across
the state outside urban
areas. Anyone interest-
ed in getting their reve-
nue documents of prop-
erty or land sale/ pur-
chase deals registered
willhavetogetanonline
appointment and pay
the revenue duty fees
online. They will have to
follow the corona proto-
col strictly.
The state govern-
ment has also decided
to test pregnant wom-
en for COVID-19, fo-
cusing on those who
might give birth in
the next five days, and
especially those who
have been living in
cluster containment
areas, hotspot areas
and shelter homes.
With the state gov-
ernment having relaxed
lockdown norms for
medium, small and mi-
cro enterprises, 40,000
units have resumed op-
erations in the first five
days, meaning five lakh
workers are back at
work. Similarly, with
the state permitting de-
velopment projects to
resume conditionally,
work has restarted on
about 573 real-estate
projects, providing
work to 20,000 workers
after a month of unem-
ployment.
On Friday, 4,42,860
quintals of commodi-
ties were traded at 127
market yards. Of that,
wheat accounted for
2,42,904 quintal and
castor for 1,23,389.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel participated in a video conference with Union Health Minister
Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday. —FILE PHOTO
State to also test heavily
pregnant women for infection in
the run-up to their delivery date
HM TO
DISTRIBUTE
60,000 KITS TO
NEEDY PEOPLE
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah will
distribute 60,000
ration kits to needy
people in the
Gandhinagar Lok Sabha
constituency. He has
appealed to people to
wear face masks while
venturing out.
SINGAPORE PM
DIALS UP MODI TO
DISCUSS CORONA
rime Minister
N a r e n d r a
Modi had a
t e l e p h o n e
conversation
with his Singapore
counterpart Lee Hsien
Loong during which
both the leaders
stressed the impor-
tance of the India-Sin-
gapore Strategic Part-
nership amid corona-
virus pandemic.
The two leaders
talked on Thursday and
exchanged views on the
health and economic
challenges posed by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
They agreed to work
together to address the
present and future
challenges posed by
COVID-19, according to
an official statement.
During the call,
Prime Minister Modi
promised to provide
allpossiblesupportfor
maintaining supplies
of essential goods, in-
cluding medical prod-
ucts, to Singapore. He
also expressed his ap-
preciation for the sup-
port being extended to
Indian citizens in Sin-
gapore.
The duo updated
each other on the meas-
ures being adopted in
their respective coun-
tries to tackle the pan-
demic and its economic
and social effects.
Both leaders
stressed the impor-
tance of the India-
Singapore Strategic
Partnership in the
present context.
Prime Minister Modi
also conveyed his best
wishes for the health
and wellbeing of the
peopleof Singaporedur-
ing the present crisis.
With 1,684 more
COVID-19 cases re-
ported in the last 24
hours, India’s count of
coronavirus cases has
reached 23,077, in-
cluding 17,610 active
cases, said the Minis-
tryof HealthandFam-
ily Welfare on Friday.
Meanwhile, Singa-
pore has reported
12,075 coronavirus cas-
es so far. —ANI
P
We are just performing the duty
we were elected for: MP CR Patil
AMC to focus on the elderly,
vulnerable sections of society First India News
Navsari: Lending a
helping hand to those in
need, Lok Sabha MP
from Navsari, CR Patil
has mobilized booth
representatives of BJP)
in the district for the
distribution of food.
Around 1.70 lakh people
have received food pack-
ets under this initiative
so far. Apart from
grains, cooked meals
are also being distrib-
uted to those with lim-
ited or no access to food.
Talking about the ini-
tiative with First India,
Patilsaid,“Assoonasthe
lockdown was enforced,
wedecidedtoimplement
this initiative by work-
ing for 24-hours in shifts
in order to provide food
to the maximum num-
ber of people. Initially, it
washardtocomprehend
who was receiving food
and who wasn’t. So, a
meeting of stakeholders
was called where it was
decided that a booth-
wise election strategy
will be implemented to
understand the demand
and fulfill it. We also dis-
cussed the plan with
MLAs of Limbayat, Ma-
jura, Udhana and
Choryasi and managed
to reach all our party
booth representatives in
these areas.”
He added, “There is a
famous Surti saying,
‘Nobody can sleep hun-
gry here, anyone can
get food and shelter to
survive here’. All we
are doing is keeping
with the proverb and
ensuring that no person
is wanting for food.”
The presidents are re-
sponsible to provide
food to the needy in his
ward.Peoplejusthaveto
register at the MP’s of-
fice. They can also
download the CR Patil
app of Navsari Lok Sab-
ha and get a detailed
idea of who should be
contacted.Sofar,around
50,000 people have been
aided. In two days,
around 15,000 kg rice,
4,000 kg dal and 700 l oil
have been distributed.
“If there are people
with no access to food,
they can directly reach
my office, and request
for grains or meals. It is
our duty to serve the
people who have chosen
us as their representa-
tive. We are working
day and night to pro-
vide food to each person
in need around the
city,” Patil stated.
First India News
Ahmedabad: With the
rising number of COV-
ID-19casesinthecity,the
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC) has
nowfocuseditsattention
to senior citizens and
other vulnerable sec-
tions of society. Under
the leadership of munic-
ipal commissioner Vijay
Nehra, the local civic
body has roped in 3,000
teacherstosurveyhealth
data of the elderly citi-
zens in the city.
The civic body has
also procured data from
the state government on
pensioners and senior
citizens to monitor their
well-being. The munici-
pal commissioner ap-
pealed to senior citizens
to stay indoors and re-
quested young members
of families to go out and
fetch supplies instead.
AlongwithlocalNGOs
and a few educational in-
stitutes, AMC has pro-
vided meals to the needy
on their doorstep. An e-
rickshaw service was
also run with 10 vehicles
to sell vegetables along
with a self-help group to
providevegetablesinthe
societies across all
wards. There are more
than 50 such vehicles
currently selling vegeta-
bles in the city.
With five IAS officers
reporting to him, Nehra
hasvowedtodefeatnovel
coronavirus by May. In
one of his video bulle-
tins, he announced that
if people follow strict
lockdown, then the day
when the COVID-19 is
uprooted in the city is
not that far.
The COVID Care Cen-
tre (CCC) at Samaras
Hostel of Gujarat Uni-
versityistoutedtobethe
largest care facility for
patients who have tested
positive for the disease,
with a capacity to house
over2,000patients.There
are indoor games facili-
tiesforthepatientsalong
with fully-furnished
rooms, free Wi-Fi, tele-
phone, a community ra-
dio, yoga room, library,
TV rooms, music on de-
mand, among others.
Now, the civic body is
on the hunt to search for
another place which can
actasacarecentreandac-
commodate 4,000 asymp-
tomatic patients who do
not require ventilators.
MP CR Patil
Municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra

COVID DAILY CASES
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2 5 6 6 5 3 5 5 5 5 6 4 9 5 8
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46
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45
79 78
124
176
251 247
215
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135
332
150
15
as on 23.04.2020
GUJARATAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020
First India News
Ahmedabad: When the
world seems to be going
to pieces, it’s always
good to have one’s faith
in humanity restored.
This is what happened
at the dedicated COV-
ID-19 hospital in
Ahmedabad.
In a heartwarming
display of care, medical
staff of the hospital
looked after three chil-
dren of a male novel
coronavirus positive
patient since April 20.
After the kids arrived at
the hospital with the
suspect patient, they
were admitted to the
isolation ward along
with their father.
The hospital’s dean
Dr Maitray Gajjar im-
mediately decided to
conduct COVID-19 tests
on all three children to
ascertain whether they
were positive patients
or not. When the re-
ports arrived, the medi-
cal staff was relieved to
discover that Janaki (3),
Shailesh (6) and Arun
(10) had tested negative.
The children were
kept in the kids’ ward
under observation for
three days and provided
with toys and choco-
lates. The doctors and
other staff took care of
them by providing them
with timely meals. Af-
ter the observation pe-
riod was over, it was
decided that the kids
will be shifted to a shel-
ter home in Shahibaug
for their own safety.
They were transported
to the home on Friday.
Hosp staff take three kids under their wing
While Janaki (3), Arun (10) and Shailesh (6) have tested negative for the virus, their father is still
admitted and recieveing treatment. for COVID-19
POSITIVE INFLUENCE
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: DThe
city’sJamalpurareahas
seen twice as many
deaths as usual since
the Sars-Cov-2 virus hit
the locality which had
been under curfew until
6 am on Friday. Accord-
ing to a report that has
gone viral on social me-
dia,asmanyas66people
have died in that pocket
in the past 24 days. Local
community leaders say
Jamalpur usually wit-
nesses around 40 deaths
in a month.
Firoz Rechadivala,
president of the Chhipa
community, is quick to
clarify that not all
deaths were caused by
COVID-19. “About 15 to
17 of the deaths in Ja-
malpur have been
caused by the novel
coronavirus,” he said.
Rechadivala oversees
the local cemetery also.
“Some people were
suffering from other ill-
nesses. But, still, the
number of deaths is
very high compared to
the monthly average,
with 66 people dying in
24 days,” he said, add-
ing, “Most of the people
in Jamalpur are from a
poor background. Stay-
ing in a cramped space
with little supplies may
have caused their health
to deteriorate. Stress
and other illness could
be the reason for their
death.”
Locals say that the re-
port of the deaths has
created quite a stir, and
not for any right rea-
sons.
“We are checking the
claims. All of the names
in the list are from one
community,” said Atiq
Saiyad, social workers
and an advocate.
He said that those
who have died were suf-
fering from one or other
illnesses. “In one case in
Khamasa Khadki, a sen-
ior male was suffering
from renal issues. He
went for a routine check
and was admitted to the
hospital. He died on the
third day and his corona
positive report was de-
clared two days after
this death,” said Saiyad.
In a similar case in
Maruvas, a 55-year-old
man fell sick on April 12.
“He got fever on April 15
and two days later he
died. He was having
other health issues and
due to his tobacco con-
suming habit his immu-
nity was already low,”
he added.
With COVID-19, death rate
doubles in Jamalpur areaLocality sees 66 deaths in 24 days against normal average of 40 deaths in 30 days
A man looks out of a window in Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur area, where movement is still restricted.
HOSPITALIZED KHEDAWALA REACHES OUT TO THE COMMUNITY
Jamaat responsible for
for virus spread: CM
First India News
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani
during a Facebook live
segment blamed Tab-
lighi Jamaat attendees
for the spread of novel
coronavirus infection
in the nation. He also
assured citizens in the
state that the govern-
ment was ready to tack-
le the health situation
if the number of COV-
ID-19 cases increase.
In the last 24 hours,
the state recorded 191
COVID-19 positive cases
taking the total toll to
2,815. With 15 deaths,
the death toll currently
stands at 127.
State Principal Secre-
tary (Health) Jayanti
Ravi on Friday said the
highest number of new
cases were reported
from Ahmedabad (169).
Of the state total of 15
deaths, 14 were reported
in the city.
Meanwhile, in Surat,
Sanjay Nagar falling
under Limbayat has
been declared a cluster
containment area.
Around 17,580 people
have been asked to re-
main at home.
Further, the Indian
Council of Medical Re-
search has approved a
corona testing lab at
GMERSMedicalCollege
in the Gandhinagar Civ-
il Hospital campus.
A woman ACP has
been confirmed posi-
tive case, as are 70 AMC
employees. Also, 17 SRP
jawans have been in-
fected and police have
quarantined at least 90
others jawans.
Four army jawans infected
with Sars-CoV-2 in Vadodara
First India News
Vadodara: Four army
jawans have been con-
firmed as COVID-19
positive cases and are
currently undergoing
treatment at GMERS
Hospital in Gotri area.
The Vadodara city
health team is tracing
those who may have
come into contact with
the jawans over the past
few days. Meanwhile,
the army has quaran-
tined 28 other jawans
who had come in con-
tact with these jawans.
Vadodara municipal
medical officer Dr De-
vesh Patel rubbished
rumours that the
jawans had withdrawn
money from the same
ATM, and contracted
the virus from there.
So far, there is no rea-
son to believe that an
ATM could be the
source of origin of the
infection, he said.”
Argument over tobacco leads
man to murder youth in Kutch
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot: Sanjay
Shankar (22) was mur-
dered by Jawahar Hira
Baazigar (40) over to-
bacco at their commu-
nity mohallah in Ad-
ipur, Kutch on Friday
afternoon.
“Sanjay, his father,
Jawahar and a few other
people were all sitting
together at one place in-
side their mohallah
when someone asked
Jawahar for some tobac-
co. He responded that he
did not have any and
pointedoutthatSanjay’s
father had some. When
Jawahar tried to put his
hand inside the pocket
of Sanjay’s father, an an-
noyed Sanjay rebuked
him. This led to an argu-
ment during which
Baazigar suddenly went
inside his house and re-
turned with a knife. He
then attacked Sanjay in-
juring his neck,” Anjar
DySP DS Vaghela said,
adding, “The blade cut
the main blood vessel of
the youth and he was de-
clared dead.”
Meanwhile, someone
broke stole tobacco and
cigarettes from a paan
shop in Ahmedabad. No
police complaint has
been filed, but addicts
are thought to be re-
sponsible for the theft.
TeachersdemandPPEkits
fordoor-to-doorsurveys
First India News
Ahmedabad: Primary
school teachers from
district panchayat-run
schools gathered in
good numbers at a
school campus in the
city on Friday, to de-
mand Personal Protec-
tive Equipment (PPE)
kits. The teachers
staged a protest against
the door-to-door survey
duty assigned to them
in wake of the novel
coronavirus outbreak.
On condition of ano-
nymity, a teacher said,
“We are not against
performing our duties.
Whenever we have
been assigned any
work, we have always
completed the given
tasks. After the COV-
ID-19 outbreak, we
were assigned to sit at
fair price shops, we did
that too. But, we also
fear contracting the vi-
rus and just want the
protection of PPEs.”
Expressing her an-
guish, another teacher
stated, “We have not
been provided with face
masks, gloves or sanitiz-
ers. And yet, the state
government wants us to
conduct door-to-door
survey. We have contin-
ued to perform our duty
as government employ-
ees but, isn’t the govern-
ment risking our lives?”
Interestingly, this is
not the first time that
teachers at primary
schools have protested
and demanded protec-
tion from the virus.
Earlier teachers at pri-
mary schools run by
the Ahmedabad munic-
ipal corporation had
also put forth the same
demand.
A teacher takes a survey at Shah E Alam area of Ahmedabad.
Whenever we have been assigned
any work, we have always complet-
ed the given tasks. But, we also fear
contracting the virus and just want the pro-
tection of PPE kits.
—Teacher on survey duty
Muslims cremate
Hindu neighbour
First India News
Ahmedabad: The
phrase ‘Care for thy
neighbour’ holds true
for residents of Khan-
pur area in the city.
Mandakini Tripathi,
75, passed away due to
internal injuries after
taking a fall in her
home at Usha Kiran
Apartment on Thurs-
day. Since she did not
have any close relative
in Ahmedabad, local
residents took the re-
sponsibility to conduct
her final rights.
AIUTC General Sec-
retary Dr Hakim Yasir
and LIA Relief Trust
(UK) local representa-
tive Sahal Qureshi came
forward to ensure that
Tripathi’s final rights
wereheldaspercustom.
“We found she had a
nephew in America, but
he could not make it for
the funeral. So, we com-
pleted all the rituals at
home and later took her
body to the Dudheshwar
crematorium for crema-
tion,” said Qureshi.
SEEKING & FINDING
The Chand committee looks for the moon to mark the start of the holy month of Ramzan (left); the moon makes an appearance.
26 HELD FOR ASSAULT: DGP
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
—PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE & HANIF SINDHI

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 149 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, APRIL 25, 2020
CENTRE-BENGAL
CONFRONTATION
OVER LOCKDOWN
here’s no love lost between West
Bengal Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar, Chief Minister Mama-
ta Banerjee and the Centre. With
the Bharatiya Janata Party des-
perately trying to dislodge the Trinamool
Congress (TMC) from power, it has been a
no holds barred struggle between the two.
They have been at each other’s throat ever
since the BJP won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha
seats in the state, causing a significant dent.
With assembly elections due in May 2021,
relations between the BJP, governor and
Banerjee are bound to remain sour.
Mamata sees Dhankhar as a man with an
agenda. Last year in December the governor
was not allowed to enter the state assembly
building through the gate designated for him
despite prior intimation of his arrival. He had
to enter the building through another gate
meant for media persons. A “humiliated”
Dhankhar called it an “insult to the people of
the state and the Constitution”.
A month before this, the chief minister
accused the Narendra Modi government of
snooping on her and sought an investigation
in the “illegal surveillance”. The governor
countered by saying it was in Mamata Ba-
nerjee who was indulging in “unauthorised
electronic surveillance” on civil servants,
activists, journalists and political workers.
ThosefamiliarwithWestBengalpoliticswould
knowthatMamataBanerjeeisnotacoypolitician
whocanbemessedwith.Sheearnedherspursby
ousting the CPM government and is a hardened
street fighter. Her belief in confrontational poli-
tics has remained unchanged. So it is no surprise
thatshehasonceagainhitbackatDhankharwho,
in a letter to the chief minister, has said that she
wasdivertingpeople’sattentionfromherfailures
infightingcoronavirusandopenlyappeasingmi-
norities.Dhankharaccusedherof making“mon-
umental blunders” in dealing with the pandemic
and described her appeasement of Nizamuddin
markaz participants as “most unfortunate”.
Dhankhar’s attack was in response to a
strongly-worded letter from the chief min-
ister in which she reminded the governor
that she was an elected representative and
appointed. She charged the governor with
interfering in the administration’s func-
tioning time and again.
The latest spat between the state and the Cen-
tre is based on the allegation that the TMC gov-
ernment has failed to strictly impose the lock-
down. The chief minister alleged that fake news
was being spread about the state. She also de-
nied that Covid-19 fatalities were being under-
reported. Difference in the total cases claimed
by the state (503) and the Union home ministry’s
figures of 514 does create doubt. The Inter Min-
isterial Central Team visiting Kolkata has
sought a detailed report on the functioning of
the state’s coronavirus death audit committee.
In a significant remark earlier, Dhankhar
reportedly said that Mamata Banerjee gov-
ernment be shown the door for her shoddy
enforcement of the lockdown rules. Could
Bengal be headed in that direction?
IN-DEPTH
T
n India, during
the 1918 influ-
enza pandemic,
a staggering 12
million to 13
million people died, the
vast majority between the
months of September and
December. According to
an eyewitness, “There
was none to remove the
dead bodies and the jack-
als made a feast.”
At the time of the pan-
demic, India had been un-
der British colonial rule
for over 150 years. The for-
tunes of the British colo-
nizers had always been
vastly different from those
of the Indian people, and
nowhere was the split
more stark than during the
influenza pandemic, as I
discovered while research-
ing my PhD on the subject.
The resulting devasta-
tion would eventually lead
to huge changes in India
– and the British Empire.
KANSAS TO MUMBAI
Although it is commonly
called the Spanish flu, the
1918 pandemic likely be-
gan in Kansas and killed
between 50 million and
100 million people world-
wide. During the early
months of 1918, the virus
incubated throughout the
American Midwest, even-
tually making its way
East, where it travelled
across the Atlantic Ocean
with soldiers deploying
for World War I.
Introduced into the
trenches on Europe’s
Western Front, the virus
tore through the already
weakened troops. As the
war approached its con-
clusion, the virus fol-
lowed both commercial
shipping routes and mili-
tary transports to infect
almost every corner of
the globe. It arrived in
Mumbai in late May.
When the first wave of
the pandemic arrived, it
was not particularly dead-
ly. The only notice British
officials took of it was its
effect on some workers. A
report noted, “As the sea-
son for cutting grass be-
gan...people were so weak
as to be unable to do a full
day’s work.”
By September, the story
began to change. Mumbai
was still the center of in-
fection, likely due to its
position as a commercial
and civic hub. On Septem-
ber 19, an English-lan-
guage newspaper report-
ed 293 influenza deaths
had occurred there, but
assured its readers “The
worst is now reached.”
Instead, the virus tore
through the subcontinent,
following trade and postal
routes. Catastrophe and
death overwhelmed cities
and rural villages alike.
Indian newspapers report-
ed that crematoria were
receiving between 150 to
200 bodies per day. Accord-
ing to one observer, “The
burning ghats and burial
grounds were literally
swamped with corpses;
whilst an even greater
number awaited removal.”
THE FALLOUT
In the end, areas in the
North and West of India
saw death rates between
4.5% and 6% of their total
populations, while the
South and East – where
the virus arrived slightly
later, as it was waning –
generally lost between
1.5% and 3%.
Geography wasn’t the
only dividing factor, how-
ever. In Mumbai, almost
seven-and-a-half times as
many lower-caste Indians
died as compared to their
British counterparts –
61.6 per thousand versus
8.3 per thousand. Among
Indians in Mumbai, socio-
economic disparities in
addition to race account-
ed for these differing mor-
tality rates.
The Health Officer for
Calcutta remarked on the
stark difference in death
rates between British and
lower-class Indians: “The
excessive mortality in
Kidderpore appears to be
due mainly to the large
coolie population, igno-
rant and poverty-strick-
en, living under most in-
sanitary conditions in
damp, dark, dirty huts.
They are a difficult class
to deal with.”.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM
Spanish flu played a part in India’s freedom struggle
I
In India, during the
1918 influenza
pandemic, a
staggering 12
million to 13
million people died
I can do all things through
him who strengthens me.
—Philippians 4:13
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Strong Panchayats lead to
a stronger democracy and
help in delivering the beneﬁts
of development to the last
mile. Compliment Hon. PM @
narendramodi ji for launching
the e-Gram Swaraj & Swamitva
Yojana on #PanchaytiRajDiwas
to accelerate the pace of
development in our villages.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
On the Forefront to Combat
Coronavirus: Using innovative
technology and novel thinking,
Railways has created a new remote-
controlled device to serve isolated
patients in hospitals. Now, patients
can be properly taken care of, while
maintaining social distance.
ight now, life situations are
confronting us in a certain way,
probably like never before for
this generation. Compared to
how the coronavirus is
spreading in some of the
other nations, in India we
are way better that way be-
cause we did a little pre-
emptive action. It is an ex-
ceptional job by the authori-
ties in India – the doctors,
the forces, and the govern-
ment decision-makers. For
as dense a population as we
are, this is a phenomenal
work. But unfortunately, about
five hundred infected people,
from a certain religious group,
have gone missing. Authorities
are searching for them, but
they are just not traceable. I
hope they lie low and do not go
here and there because these
five hundred people could in-
fect another hundred thousand
people in the next month or
two, all by themselves.
And some young people
are little strutting around
saying that they won’t die,
that only old people die. But
it is getting them too now; a
few young people have died.
Maybe it is because of other
conditions they had or there
was no medical care, or may-
be the virus is learning to
work on them also. We don’t
know, but it is beginning to
happen. And some of those
young people that I know, who
got infected and recovered, af-
ter more than a month, they
are still not able to breathe
properly. If they just walk hun-
dred-and-fifty feet, they will
have to stop and rest. They are
breathless. Though they are
young and the fever has gone,
their breathing capabilities
have not come back.
So, this is a time where the
choices we make, how we be-
have, is going to have acute con-
sequences.
The nature of life is such
that in what you think of as
yourself, life, and death are
packed in the same package.
Love and hate, people can
hold in the same heart; at
the same time, they can love
one person and hate another.
Turmoil and tranquillity
are also held in the same
package. Whatever you nor-
mally think of as opposites
of life are all packed, not
separately, but in the same
package. If you pick love,
you are one way; if you pick
hate, you are another way. If
you pick joy, one way; if you
pick misery, another way. The
creation is so compassionate.
If you want to suffer, you have
the freedom to suffer! It is just
a question of choice because
everything is packed in the
same package.
Right now, with the virus,
it is up to you – becoming
vulnerable and becoming
strong are both in the same
package. Someone may
think, “I didn’t do anything,
how did I get the virus?” Ah,
that is the whole point; you did
not do anything. You did not
wash your hands, you did not
sanitize yourself, you did not
take care – so you got it.
This happened in Tennes-
see. A man who was stand-
ing for a minor office in the
city was doing door-to-door
campaigning. He knocked
on a door, and a lady opened
the door for him. He told her
what all he intends to do for
the town and why she should
elect him. She smiled at him
and said, “You are my sec-
ond choice.”
“Oh, really! Who is your first
choice?”
She said, “Well, just any-
body!”
So, you need to pick your first
choice. If you are conscious, you
will choose what you want.
MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE
AGAINST CORONAVIRUSThe nature of life is such that in what you think of as yourself, life, and death are packed in the same package
R
Compared to
how the
coronavirus is
spreading in
some of the
other nations,
in India we are
way better that
way because we
did a little pre-
emptive action.
It is an
exceptional job
by the
authorities in
India – the
doctors, the
forces, and the
government
decision-
makers. For as
dense a
population as
we are, this is a
phenomenal
work
The nature of life is such that in what you think of as
yourself, life, and death are packed in the same
package. Love and hate, people can hold in the
same heart; at the same time, they can love one
person and hate another. Turmoil and tranquillity
are also held in the same package
SADHGURU, ISHA FOUNDATION
Ranked amongst the fifty most influential
people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic,
visionary and a New York Times bestselling
author Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma
Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017,
the highest annual civilian award, accorded for
exceptional and distinguished service

INDIAAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020
Kolkata: The war of
words between the
West Bengal govern-
ment the Raj Bhavan
escalated further on
Friday as Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar ac-
cused Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee of
“explicitly appeasing”
the minority commu-
nity in an 11-page
strongly-worded letter.
The letter follows an
“initial response” by
Dhankhar to Mamata's
letter on Thursday in
which he reminded the
chief minister of her
“Constitutional obliga-
tions in relation to me.”
Mamata had accused
him of “repeatedly in-
terfering” in the func-
tioning of her govern-
ment and said he has
forgotten that she is the
“elected chief minister
of a proud Indian state”
whereas he is a nomi-
nated Governor.
Referring to Baner-
jee's letter, Dhankhar
said the Chief Minis-
ter's outburst is an alibi
strategy to cover up
“monumental failures”
in tackling the COV-
ID-19 pandemic in the
state.”Your communica-
tion is part of the alibi
strategy that emanates
from a script that seeks
to cover up monumental
failures in these chal-
lenging times by a series
of blunders,” the Gover-
nor said in the letter.
“Your appeasement
of the minority commu-
nity was so explicit and
awkward on the Niza-
muddin Markaz inci-
dent. This is most un-
fortunate and cannot be
appreciated,” he said.
He was apparently re-
ferring to an event
where Banerjee was
asked to comment on
the Tablighi Jamaat
congregation in the na-
tional capital.
Dhankhar urged the
Chief Minister “to
shun politics and con-
frontational approach”
as her conduct is only
“compounding the mis-
eries” of the people of
the state. The letter is
in response to Mama-
ta's accusation that
Dhankhar was repeat-
edly interfering in the
functioning of the
state administration.
In a strongly worded
five-page letter to the
Governor,whichMama-
ta released to the pub-
lic, she asked him to
judge who has “crossed
the limit of constitu-
tional dharma and de-
cency” between the two
constitutional function-
aries. Banerjee said
Dhankhar has forgotten
that she is the “elected
Chief Minister of a
proud Indian state”
whereas he is a nomi-
nated Governor.
“You have to judge for
yourself, whether your
direct attacks on me,
my ministers, officers,
your tone, tenor and
language, which in
mildest words of ex-
treme moderation, de-
serve to be character-
ized as parliamentary,
your holding press con-
ferences against the
state government of
which you are a gover-
nor, your repeated and
consistent interference
in the administration
of my ministries make
it clear as to who has
flagrantly transgressed
constitutional dhar-
ma,” she wrote.
“This response be
taken as initial one & a
thorough one will be
imparted to you today
with complete docu-
mentation so that peo-
ple of the state, as you
say, are made aware and
come to know the series
of acts of indignities
heaped by you, your
ministers on the Gover-
nor all through. Your
constant refrain of gov-
ernor being ‘nominat-
ed’ is lamentable and
can be ascribed only to
elementary ignorance
of the Constitution, the
Guv responded.
Reminding Mamata
of her oath as CM & the
oath taken by him, he
“spelt out” Articles 166
and 167 of the Constitu-
tion and Rules of Busi-
ness 27 and 30 at the end
of the letter. —Agencies
WAROFWORDSBETWEENWBGUV&CMESCALATES,
DHANKHAR ACCUSES MAMATA OF ‘APPEASING’ MINORITIES
The 11-page letter is in response to Mamata’s accusation that Dhankhar was repeatedly interfering in the functioning of the state admn
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with WB Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. —FILE PHOTO
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
said that Panchayati
structure has an impor-
tant role to reach out to
every needy amid COV-
ID-19 crisis.
“Today on National
Panchayati Raj Diwas,
my greetings to vision-
ary and creator of local
self-governance, Rajiv
Gandhi ji, all heads,
Panch and members of
local bodies. In #Cov-
id19 crisis, Panchayati
structure has also an
important role to reach
every needy in the coun-
try,” Gandhi tweeted.
Earlier in the day, PM-
Modi interacted with
Sarpanchs from across
the nation via vc. —ANI
‘Panchayati
structure should
reach out needy’
New Delhi: Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
reviewed the operation-
al preparedness as well
as measures to fight
COVID-19 in a video
conference with opera-
tional commanders of
the armed forces along
with Chief of Defence
Staff General Bipin
Rawat. Chief of Army
Staff General MM Nar-
avane, Chief of Navy
Staff Admiral Karam-
bir Singh, Air Chief
Marshal RKS Bhadau-
ria, Defence Secretary
Dr Ajay Kumar and Sec-
retary Defence (Fi-
nance) Gargi Kaul par-
ticipated in the confer-
ence. Singh appreciated
the role of the Armed
Forces for assistance
extended to civilian ad-
ministration and pre-
paratory measures tak-
en to fight COVID-19.
Singh directed forces to
initiate measures to
spend financial re-
sources, avoiding wast-
age in view of the eco-
nomic burden imposed
by COVID-19. —ANI
Defence Min reviews Army ops
Rajnath Singh reviewing operational preparedness with various Commanders- in- Chief via vc.
Lucknow: UP govern-
ment led by CM Yogi
Adityanath on Friday
nominated 15 senior
IAS officers as nodal
heads of those districts
that have reported 20 or
cases of coronavirus.
The officers who have
bene designated as nod-
al officers include.
These officials along
with other senior police
personnel, will oversee
the arrangements made
in their respective dis-
tricts to battle the coro-
navirus. —ANI
Nodal officers
for sensitive
districts in UP
Do not visit mosques during
Ramzan: Owaisi to people
Hyderabad: Hy-
derabad MP Asaduddin
Owaisi appealed to peo-
ple to cooperate with
Anganwadi workers do-
ing door-to-door screen-
ing, and requested them
not to visit any mosque
during Ramzan amid
the coronavirus lock-
down. Owaisi said, “We
should all cooperate
with our lifesavers who
are doctors, nurses, po-
lice and ASHA workers.
We cooperate with the
employees who are
coming for screening in
GHMC areas, as most of
the cases are from that
place. Now that the
Ramadan season is go-
ing to start, I request
you all not to pray in
mosques. Nobody
should come out after 7
pm as it is curfew time,
Owaisi added. —ANI
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court has said
that Centre and Delhi
governments are doing
their best to provide
food, dry ration and
other essential items to
people in need, particu-
larly the migrant and
daily wage workers,
who are going through
a tough time due to the
lockdown imposed to
contain the spread of
COVID-19.
A Division Bench of
Justice Hima Kohli and
Justice Subramonium
Prasad made the obser-
vation while hearing a
petition, filed by Na-
tional Campaign Com-
mittee for the Eradica-
tion of Bonded Labour
India News Communi-
cation Ltd, seeking sup-
ply of food and dry ra-
tion to migrants and
daily wage labour at
relief camps in the na-
tional capital. Advocate
Sneha Mukherjee, ap-
pearing for the petition-
er, told the court that
there have been several
instances where the mi-
grant and daily wage
workers who are resid-
ing in some campus
have gone without food.
Mukherjee said that
in order to maintain so-
cial distancing, the en-
tire family cannot be
expected to go to the
cooked food distribu-
tion centres which are
located 1 to 1.25 km
away from the labour
camps to collect the
ready meals on a daily
basis and therefore,
members of such fami-
lies who are unable to
go to the centres, are
denied food packets.
The court asked the
government whether a
Nodal officer can be ap-
pointed for all seven
clusters and their
names and mobile num-
bers provided to coun-
sel so that the Nodal of-
ficer can be approached
in case any difficulty is
faced. —ANI
Centre,Govtdoingtheirbesttohelpneedy:HC
New Delhi: CMArvind
Kejriwal and Dr SK Sa-
rin, Director, Institute
of Liver and Biliary
Sciences on Friday re-
quested the recovered
coronavirus patients to
donate blood plasma so
that the critical pa-
tients can be saved from
organ failure.
'Central government
had given us permis-
sion only for limited tri-
als of plasma therapy
on serious patients at
LNJP hospital. In next
2-3 days, we will con-
duct more trials & then
we will seek permission
next week, for all the
serious patients,' Kejri-
wal said. “As there is no
vaccine yet to treat the
coronavirus patients,
the government and the
doctors are working
hard to bring in a treat-
ment to prevent the
deaths of coronavirus
infected patients,” said
Dr Sarin, during a vid-
eo-conference. —ANI
Donate blood plasma to
save lives: Kejri to patients
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
addresses a press conference.
WB GUV SPEAK
SPEED NEWS
Corona
SOUTH KOREAN EMBASSY SERVES
MEALS TO OVER 4,000 PEOPLE
4-MONTH-OLD, INFECTED WITH
COVID-19, DIES IN KOZHIKODE
WILD ANIMALS RECLAIMING STREETS
IN KERALA IN LOCKDOWN
MALE NURSE AT
AIIMS DELHI
TESTS POSITIVE
MAHA: 14
DEATHS, 778
MORE CASES
New Delhi: With an aim to support India's
effort in tackling COVID-19, South Korean
Embassy provided meals to more than 4,000
people in New Delhi. In partnership with An-
namrita Foundation, non-profit organization,
ambassador Shin Bong-Kil and other staff
members of the embassy served meals to
around 1,000 people each at four hunger shel-
ters. The food was distributed while strictly
adhering to social distancing rules.
Kozhikode: “A 4-month-old child from Malap-
puram who had tested positive for COVID-19
yesterday, lost her life today morning at
Kozhikode Medical College. The child was un-
dergoing treatment for heart-related problems
for the past 3 months and had pneumonia,”
Malappuram District Medical Officer said
while informing about the case.
Idukki: As people are compelled to stay in-
doors due to coronavirus induced lockdown to
curb the spread of virus, wild animals have
come to reclaim the streets that was once their
domain. Wild animals are being seen wander-
ing the streets of Munnar in Kerala. Rare pic-
tures and videos of wild animals roaming the
city streets are being shared online. There
have been multiple citing of elephants, includ-
ing star elephant Padayappa, during the lock-
down. People have named the elephant after
the Rajanikanth movie ‘Padayappa’.
Doctors sanitize their hands while collecting samples from
the suspected patients for the test of COVID-19 in New Delhi
on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: At least
40 healthcare staff
including doctors,
nurses and para-
medics at AIIMS are
under self-quaran-
tine after a 35-year-
old male nurse test-
ed positive for COV-
ID-19, informed
AIIMS authorities.
All these health pro-
fessionals were post-
ed at the Gastroen-
terology Dept.
Mumbai: 14 more
COVID-19 deaths &
778 new coronavirus
cases have been re-
ported from Maha-
rashtra on Friday.
The total count of
coronavirus cases in
the state has
climbed to 6,427,
said the state Public
Health Department.
With 14 more deaths,
the toll due to infec-
tion has risen to 283.
THE PETITION
AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi distributes PPE kits to warriors.
New Delhi: In the
backdrop of COV-
ID-19 pandemic, Del-
hi Police on Friday
appealed people to of-
fer prayers and have
‘sehri’ (pre-dawn
meal) at their homes
during the holy
month of Ramzan.
“I wish people on
Ramzan. I appeal to
people to offers
prayers and have
‘sehri’ (pre-dawn
meal) at home during
the holy month.
Azaan should be of-
fered as per the
guidelines of the Na-
tional Green Tribu-
nal. Please do not
venture out of your
homes during the
lockdown,” MS
Randhawa, Delhi Po-
lice PRO said in a
video message. Rand-
hawa also urged peo-
ple to not violate
lockdown guidelines
and continue their
cooperation with
Delhi Police in the
fight against COV-
ID-19. —ANI
Offer prayers at home
during Ramzan: Cops“My heartfelt
greetings and best
wishes to all Muslim
brothers and sisters
and their families in
the Happy month
of Ramadan, from
Alsubuah till the
evening (fasting)
and daily work, as
well as Tilawat-e-
Quran, Namaz and
in this duty month
of Tarawih, etc.
Zakat (donation) are
special features of
this month.”
—Mayawati
BSP chief

INDIAAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020
REVIEW OF 1989 BATCH IPS SOON
Review of 1989 batch IPS officers for empanel-
ment to the rank of ADG in the Government of
India is expected to take place soon. A couple of
IPS officers are to be cleared.
FIELD MARSHAL IN IAS AND IPS?
Field Marshal means who doesn’t retire. In IAS,
it is said 1964 batch IAS officer N K Singh and
in IPS, 1975 batch officer Vijay Kumar is Field
Marshal. Presently NK Singh is Chairman of the
Fifteenth Finance Commission, while Vijay Kumar
is senior security adviser in Home Ministry.
WHO LOOKS AFTER ACC IN PMO?
In power corridors, it is said that Joint Secretary
in the PMO, V Sheshadri is looking after the
ACC cases. He is a 1999 batch IAS officer of the
Andhra Pradesh cadre.
SANDHYA RANI PROMOTED AS
MEMBER, POSTAL SERVICES BOARD
Sandhya Rani, CPMG, Telangana circle, has been
promoted as Member (Banking and DBT), Postal
Services Board. She is a 1987 batch officer of
Indian Postal Service.
PRANNOY SHARMA IS ALSO SECRETARY,
POSTAL SERVICE BOARD
Prannoy Sharma, DDG (IR&GB), Postal Director-
ate, has been assigned an additional charge of Sec-
retary, Postal Services Board until further orders.
He is a 1998 batch officer of Indian Postal Service.
THREE IAS OFFICERS OF
MAHARASHTRA EMPANELLED AS
SECRETARY IN GOI
Three 1988 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS officers
have been empanelled as Secretary in Govern-
ment of India. They are: Apurva Chandra, Arvind
Singh and Sanjay A Chahande.
EMPANELLED 2000 BATCH IRTS
OFFICERS STILL AWAITING
PROMOTIONS
The 2000 batch IRTS officers who were empanelled
under Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) in the
Railways are still awaiting their due promotions.
SN GUPTA APPOINTED CFO OF
JAMMU & KASHMIR BANK
Jammu & Kashmir Bank has appointed Satya
Narayan Gupta as Chief Financial Officer of the Bank.
JUSTICE DIPANKAR DATTA
APPOINTED CJ OF BOMBAY HC
Justice Dipankar Datta, Judge of the Calcutta
High Court, has been appointed as the Chief Jus-
tice of the Bombay High Court with effect from
the date he assumes charge of his office.
JUSTICE BISWANATH SOMADDER
APPOINTED CJ OF MEGHALAYA HC
Justice Biswanath Somadder, Judge of the Alla-
habad High Court, has been appointed as the Chief
Justice of the Meghalaya High Court with effect
from the date he assumes charge of his office.
SAVANUR VISHWAJITH SHETTY
APPOINTED ADDL JUDGE OF
KARNATAKA HC
Savanur Vishwajith Shetty has been appointed as
an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court,
for a period of two years with effect from the date
he assumes charge of his office.
VIJAY SHARMA BEING POSTED IN NFR
Vijay Sharma, on his return from deputation to
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, will be
posted in Northeast Frontier Railway. He is an
IRAS officer.
RAKESH RANJAN SELECTED FOR
DEPUTATION TO RCIL
Rakesh Ranjan presently posted as CCE in East
Central Railway has been selected for depu-
tation to RCIL as General Manager (Tech.),
Bangalore for a period of three years. He is an
IRSSE officer of 1998 batch.
POWERGallery
Commissioner
Nehra...
in Ahmedabad is four
days, which means
that cases double ev-
ery four days. If this
rate continues, we
will have 50,000 cases
by May 15 and around
8 lakh by May 31,”
Nehra had said in the
video, streamed on
live videos on social
media platforms
around 12.30 pm.
He went on to say,
“Our target is to bring
down this rate to eight
days. This will be a very
difficult task because
very few countries have
achieved it. If this hap-
pens, we will have
10,000 cases by May
15 and around 50,000
by May 31. The US and
Europe currently have a
four-day doubling rate,
and only South Korea
has achieved the eight-
day rate.” He had point-
ed out that the civic
body was working hard
to bring down the rate
of doubling.
“On April 17, the city
had 600 cases and, on
April 20, the figure was
1,200. This means the
cases were doubling
over a three-day period.
Oureffortsfirstbrought
have down to a four-day
doubling rate. If we can
slow down the doubling
rate to eight days, our
cases will be only 10,000
by May 15 instead of
50,000. Similarly, the
cases will be just 50,000
by May 31 instead of the
estimated eight lakh,”
he had said in the morn-
ing bulletin.
He had even sound-
ed hopeful. “If we can
achieve a 10-day dou-
bling rate, we will see
only 7,000 cases by
May 15 and 20-25,000
cases by the end of
May. While this is
very difficult to
achieve, we are confi-
dent we can do it if we
have the full coopera-
tion of the people.” As
of Friday, Ahmedabad
had reported 1,821 cases
and 83 deaths.
Lockdown
contained...
“There were some dis-
turbances in between
and we went back a lit-
tle. But from April 6, the
doubling time started
improving,” he said.
Paul also said the big
decision of imposing
the nationwide lock-
down taken by the
prime minister has
“proved to be very time-
ly and beneficial”, as
shown by the change in
the growth trajectory of
India’s COVID-19 cases.
“The curve has begun
to flatten. Had we not
taken the decision of
clamping the nation-
wide lockdown, we
would have had around
1 lakh COVID-19 cases
by now, as per a reason-
able estimate. Now, the
outbreak is under con-
trol,”EmpoweredGroup
Onechairmansaid.Offi-
cials, said these projec-
tions are based on
growth pattern at a par-
ticular time.
PM Modi...
Notwithstanding the
limited resources at its
disposal, India has tak-
en the challenge proac-
tively and showed its
resolve to move forward
with new energy and
new ways, he said.
The prime minister
was interacting with
gram panchayat heads
and members to mark
Panchayati Raj Divas
on Friday. The pro-
gramme was scheduled
to be held in Jhansi, Ut-
tar Pradesh but was
held by a video bridge
following the coronavi-
rus-induced lockdown.
Applauding people
for observing lockdown
rules, he said it is be-
cause of them, the en-
tire world today is
talking about how India
has responded to the
COVID-19 outbreak.
“COVID-19 is a huge
crisis for the world but
people of India have
shown grit in this fight.
We are fighting this and
we are moving ahead
with new ideas to tackle
the virus,” Modi, who
used a ‘gamcha’ as face
mask, said.
Heads and members
of gram panchayats
from across the country
shared their experienc-
es in handling the crisis
and conveyed to the
prime minister that
people are religiously
following the lockdown.
During the interac-
tion, a gram panchyat
member of Jammu and
Kashmir said amid this
crisis respect and sus-
pect for the people
should go hand in hand
to ensure that spread of
the virus is checked.
He also launched
Swamitva Scheme,
which provides for an
integrated property val-
idation solution for ru-
ral India. —Agencies
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: Congress
leader Randeep Singh
Surjewala on Friday,
hit out at the Centre af-
ter it announced freez-
ing the hike in dear-
ness allowance (DA) for
the central government
employees and dear-
ness relief (DR) for the
central government
pensioners till July
next year.
He said instead of
giving relief at the time
of economic slowdown
and income crisis due
to coronavirus crisis,
the government is add-
ing insult to injury.
“Only a month ago, on
23 March 2020, the Modi
government passed the
budget of Rs 30,42,000
crore. Naturally, the ac-
counts of income and
expenditure are clearly
given in the budget.
Then within 30 days of
presenting the budget,
what is the Modi gov-
ernment trying to prove
by cutting dearness al-
lowance of army per-
sonnel, government
employees and pension-
ers?” Surjewala said in
a press conference via
video conferencing.
“On April 23, 2020, af-
ter the Finance Minis-
try issued an order that
the dearness allowance,
dearness relief and all
the old and future in-
stallments have been
deducted from the
backdate i.e. January 1,
2020, to June 30, 2021. It
was also issued an or-
der that no dues from
January 1, 2020 to June
30, 2021 will be paid to
any employee or pen-
sioner,” he said.
Speaking further, the
Congress leader said:
“With this unjustified
deduction, about Rs
37,530 crore annually
will be deducted from
the salary of about 113
lakh soldiers, employ-
ees and pensioners.
These 113 lakh employ-
ees include 49.26 lakh
employees and 61.17
lakh, pensioners. Rs
11,000 crore will be de-
ducted from 15 lakh sol-
diers and about 26 lakh
military pensioners.”
Surjewala said that
the Modi government is
cutting the income of
soldiers, government
employees, pensioners
and middle class rather
than cutting their “use-
less and unnecessary”
expenses. Govt has not
dismissed Central Vista
Project worth Rs 20,000
crore, he added. —ANI
Cong attacks Modi govt on DA freezing
New Delhi: The News
Broadcasters Federa-
tion, is concerned and
shocked on the recent
attempt to attack Arnab
Goswami, Managing
Director and Editor-in-
Chief of Republic TV,
and his wife, by a sec-
tion a particular politi-
cal party in Mumbai,
while they were driving
back home from work.
The NBF notes that it
is deplorable to know
that the alleged political
party, which claims to
standforFreedomof Ex-
pression,has resorted to
personalattacks,includ-
ing filing of FIRs in var-
ious states across the
country, against Arnab
Goswami, for perform-
inghisprofessionalduty
as a journalist.
Journalists are pro-
fessionals and reflect
the views and senti-
ments of the larger
people. Instead of en-
gaging in a democratic
debate, such incidents
of harrasement and at-
tempt to physically at-
tack the individual is
shocking and highly
condemnable.
“The News Broad-
casters Federation
strongly condemns the
attempt to attack on-
Arnab and his wife,
while he was perform-
ing his professional
duty,” said R Jai Krish-
na, Secy-Gen, NBF.
“The attack on Arn-
ab Goswami, Editor-in-
Chief and Managing
Director of Republic
TV, will not be taken
lightly. We stand by
Arnab and will do
whatever required in
this fight. Attack on
media will not be toler-
ated,” said Sanjive
Narain, Founder, Prag
News (Assam)
“Sorry to know about
this (incident). The
Government should
provide sufficient per-
sonal security,” to pre-
vent any future instanc-
es, said Anand Sankesh-
war, Managing Director
of Digvijay News (Kar-
nataka).
“It is very shock-
ing,” said Sreekantan
Nair, MD, Twentyfour
News. “We strongly
protest against the in-
cident, and request the
police to take immedi-
ate action to arrest the
culprits.”
“We at Itv network
condemn this cowardly
act of violence against
Arnab goswami and his
family in today’s india
this is unacceptable
and must be condemned
by all,” said Kartikeya
Sharma, Promoter, ITV
Network.
“It’s disgrace for
someone to attack on
Arnab & his wife. Such
a cowardly act is deeply
condemnable and
shouldn’t be taken so
easily. This is the price
a journalist gets for
raising Relevant ques-
tions it’s a shame,” said
Shankar Bala, CEO,
Fourth Dimension.
NBFstronglycondemnsattackonArnab
Mumbai: A petition
was filed in Bombay
High Court on Friday
seeking to transfer the
investigation into the
Palghar incident, in
which two Sadhus and
their driver were killed
by an angry mob, to the
National Investigation
Agency (NIA).
The petition, filed by
Mumbai-based lawyer
Ghanshyam Upadhyay,
also sought directions to
the Central government
and Palghar SP to sub-
mit a report to the NIA
with a view to enabling
the agency to make a
decision about taking
over the investigation.
“The investigation of
the case so transferred
by this court to the Re-
spondent Number 4
(NIA) be monitored by
this court and the same
is directed to be carried
out within some time-
bound manner and the
Respondent No 4 be fur-
ther directed to submit
their periodical reports
to this court,” the peti-
tion said.
The matter is ex-
tremely serious in na-
ture and also has far-
reaching consequences
since powerful persons
seem to be involved and
appear to be kingpins
of the criminal conspir-
acy, plea said. —ANI
Transfer probe to NIA: Plea in HC
PALGHAR MOB LYNCHING
New Delhi: Petroleum
and Natural Gas Minis-
ter Dharmendra Prad-
han has called upon all
the stakeholders in the
LPG cylinder supply
chain to work diligently
and in a systematic
manner to speedily in-
crease the delivery of
free refills to PMUY
beneficiaries.
Under the Pradhan
Mantri Garib Kalyan
package, over 80 million
PMUY beneficiaries are
eligible to get three free
cylinders over the next
three months, read a
statement. He held a vc
with District Nodal Of-
ficers of Oil Marketing
Companies across the
country on Thursday.
Pradhan called upon
the DNOs to adopt the
best practices to en-
hance efforts. —ANI
‘Deliver free cylinders to
PMUY assignees, fast’
Dharmendra Pradhan held a vc with District Nodal Officers.
New Delhi: The Centre
has sought to investi-
gate allegations against
election strategist
Prashant Kishor taking
a cargo flight from New
Delhi to get to West Ben-
gal, officials aware of
the development said.
The enquiry began
following news reports
alleging that the elec-
tion strategist had been
summoned by West
Bengal CM Mamata Ba-
nerjee to handle the
state government’s re-
sponse over its tussle
with the central govern-
ment regarding actions
taken to tackle corona-
virus situation in the
state. —Agencies
Centre to probe
Kishore’s travel
during lockdown
New Delhi: In a first,
the CRPF inducted 42
Directly Appointed Ga-
zetted Officers (DAGOs)
into its rank through e-
Passing out Parade
(PoP) in view of the so-
cial distancing norms
to contain the COVID-19
outbreak. The 51st
batch of the DAGOs
presented the PoP at the
Central Reserve Police
Force CRPF) academy
in Gurugram. —ANI
42 CRPF officers
via e-passing
out parade
Pathankot: Punjab's
youngest sarpanch Pal-
lavi Thakur was sur-
prised when she re-
ceived a phone call from
the PMO informing her
that Narendra Modi
would talk to her in the
next half an hour. “It
was really a surprise
forme,”saidthe21-year-
old, who was one of the
many members of the
panchayati raj system
Modi spoke to on Pan-
chayati Raj Diwas.
Thakur was elected as
the head of Hara village
in Pathankot district's
Dhar block when she
was 19 years old. The
PM and the sarpanch
spoke about the differ-
ent measures being
taken at the village in
the wake of the COV-
ID-19 outbreak and on
the use of fertilizers
and urea. PM appreci-
ated Thakur for “prop-
erly” taking care of vil-
lagers in difficult times.
Punjab’s youngest sarpanch interacts with PM,gets praise
MAKING A REMARK
I am delighted to hear
that the Supreme Court
has given me protection
from arrest. I am deeply
grateful to the SC for also up-
holding my constitutional
right to report and broadcast
and for defending my free-
dom of expression and my
freedom as a journalist.
—Arnab Goswami, President , NBF
EDITORS GUILD CRITICISES ASSAULT

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020
The entire Manas is
composed as a set of
three dialogues of which
oneisbetweenKakbhush-
undi (so called because
Rishi Bhushundi was in
theavatarof acrowatthat
time), and Garuda, the
King of the Birds. In Ut-
tarkhand, or the epilogue
totheManas,Garudaputs
seven questions before
Kakbhushundi to clarify
his own doubts and, per-
haps, to test the knowl-
edge of Kakbhushundi.
Dohas 120 and 121 of Ut-
tarkand, and the related
Chaupais, together form a
part of these seven ques-
tionsandtheexplanations
for them given by
Kakbhushundi. In media
reports, there is often a
complaint by the news-
makers that their words
have been quoted out of
context. Tulsidas might
have legitimately ex-
pressed the same annoy-
ance, if he was still
around.
Questions 6 and 7 were
- what is the greatest sin,
and what are the diseases
of the mind? Rebirth as a
bat comes in the context
of committing heinous
sins and its consequences
on the nature of the next
birth. Kakbhushundi ex-
plains that those who crit-
icise Shiv or the Guru are
condemned to a rebirth as
frogs, while denouncers
of Brahmins will be re-
bornascrows.Peoplewho
arrogantly talk ill of God
and the Vedas would go to
hell,andrebirthasanowl,
the fate of the critics of
saints. As a part of that
discourse, rebirth as bats
is mentioned as the pun-
ishment for those who
condemneveryone.Tosay
that Tulsidas predicted
that bats would descend
on the earth to terrorise
allhumanbeingswithdis-
easerelatedtothemwould
be stretching the meaning
of these verses composed
by Tulsidas beyond recog-
nition.
Kakbhushundi did ex-
pound on the nature and
types of diseases of the
mind (Manas Rog), but
had no occasion to speak
of physical ailments akin
to that caused by the coro-
navirus. The principle ad-
vocated was that desire or
lust (Moh) is the root
causeof allmentalillness-
es. Infatuation, limitless
greed, anger, jealousy,
wickedness and other
such sentiments, with
very few aware of the en-
tire list, are the underly-
ing cause of all physical
ailments. Just one disease
is sufficient to kill any-
body, and there are so
many around. When all
living beings suffer from
mental ailments, how can
peace (Samadhi) be at-
tained? Discipline, Reli-
gion (Dharma), ethical
conduct, dedication (Tap),
knowledge, rituals (Yag-
ya), charity and many
similar palliatives may be
tried. But none of them
cure mental disease. The
blessings of Ram can
alonedestroyallailments.
That is the gist of the rel-
evant passages from the
Ramcharitmanas. Trying
to link them to our cur-
rent pandemic is unrea-
sonable, as some experts
ontheManashavealready
declared.
OPINION BASED ON
DISTORTED FACTS
DID GREAT SAGES
AND PRECEPTORS
FORESEE THE
PANDEMIC?
Covid-19 pandemic has
engulfed our attention
these days. Social media
is, as usual, active on this
topic also. Many posts,
dealing with the claim
that great sages and
preceptors foresaw the
prevalent pandemic,
are going viral
T
he Covid-19 pan-
demic has en-
gulfed our atten-
tion these days.
Social media is, as usual,
active on this topic also.
Many posts, dealing with
the claim that great sages
and preceptors foresaw
the prevalent pandemic,
are going viral. One of
them caught my atten-
tion. It goes something
like this –
“Are some stanzas of the
epic, Ramayan, coming
true today? Our current
experience is described in
Dohas 120 and 121.” The
concerned post goes on to
quote the relevant por-
tions.
“Sab kai ninda je jad
karhin, te chamgadur
hoi avatarhin.
Kam bat kaf lobh
apara, krodh pitta nit
chhati jara.
Ek byadhi bas nar
marhin, ei asadh bahu
byadhi.
Ehi bidhi sakal jeev jag
rogi, sok harash bhay prit
biyogi.
Ram kripa nasai sab
roga, jaun eh bhanti ba-
nay sanjoga”
The viral post explains,
“when condemnation in-
creases in the world and
sins multiply, then bats will
be born on the earth. Dis-
ease related to them will
spread in all directions.
People will die because of
this disease, and there is
just one panacea – remem-
ber God, charity and live in
Samadhi, or under lock-
down.”
MAHENDRA SINGH
DG Income Tax
Investigation, Rajasthan
An opinion based on
distorted facts gar-
nering a viral following
may appear surprising.
But that is the new nor-
mal for our world closely
connected through the
social media platforms.
‘Post Truth’, as a term,
came up in the context of
the Trump Election and
the Brexit Vote. Oxford
Dictionary in 2016 accept-
ed it as the word of the
year. However, the Cam-
bridge Dictionary pro-
vides an apt meaning - re-
lating to a situation in
which people are more
likely to accept an argu-
ment based on their emo-
tions and beliefs rather
than one based on facts.
The Manas is a gem of
devotional poetry in the
vernacular language that
made it accessible to the
common man. It has
many layers of deep phil-
osophical meaning em-
bedded in its text for the
seeker to try to fathom.
Sadly, an attempt is being
made to use it, as a drunk
would use a lamp post –
for support rather than
illumination. We often
end up finding what we
seek.
‘REMEMBER GOD, CHARITY AND LIVE IN SAMADHI’
An opinion based on distorted facts garner-
ing a viral following may appear surprising.
But that is the new normal for our world closely
connected through the social media platforms.
‘Post Truth’, as a term, came up in the context
of the Trump Election and the Brexit Vote. Ox-
ford Dictionary in 2016 accepted it as the word
of the year. However, the Cambridge Dictionary
provides an apt meaning - relating to a situation
in which people are more likely to accept an
argument based on their emotions and beliefs
rather than one based on facts.
The Manas is a gem of devotional poetry in the
vernacular language that made it accessible to
the common man. It has many layers of deep
philosophical meaning embedded in its text for
the seeker to try to fathom. Sadly, an attempt
is being made to use it, as a drunk would use
a lamp post – for support rather than illumina-
tion. We often end up ﬁnding what we seek.
FEAR OF INFECTION AND DEATH UNLEASHED BY COVID-19
DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

It is important to stay connected with your family
and loved ones in these times. Reach out to those
whom you haven’t talked to or seen in years. Connect,
the distance is physical, it doesn’t have to be emotional.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 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 News
Ahmedabad: Ineter-
ministerial teams
(IMCT) constituting of
public health special-
ists and officers of the
National Disaster Man-
agement Authority
(NDMA) will visit state
hotspots Ahmedabad
and Surat to monitor
the Covid-19 situation
in the state. The Union
Home Ministry has sent
four new inter-ministe-
rial teams to monitor
the COVID-19 situation
in Gujarat, Telangana
and Tamil Nadu, offi-
cials said on Friday.
Earlier the ministry
had sent the six previ-
ous teams to Maha-
rashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan
and West Bengal to re-
view the implementa-
tion of the lockdown
measures after the as-
sessment of ground
situation in identified
select districts. These
teams, headed by Ad-
ditional Secretary-
level officers, will
visit Ahmedabad and
Surat (in Gujarat),
Hyderabad in Telan-
gana, Tamil Nadu
state capital Chennai,
Home Ministry Joint
Secretary Punya Sali-
la Srivastava said. The
team is to leverage the
state government for
management of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
As against politically
floated myth the teams
are deputed under the
authority conferred on
the Central government
under Section 35 of the
Disaster Management
Act, 2005 which states
that“thecentralgovern-
ment shall take all such
measures as it deems
necessary or expedient
for the purpose of Disas-
ter Management”.
Two of these teams
have been sent to Ben-
gal -- one to Kolkata,
Howrah, North 24
Parganas, East
Medinipur; and the
other to Jalpaiguri,
Darjeeling and Ka-
limpong. The teams
sent to Bengal had
kicked up a contro-
versy, with Chief
Minister Mamata Ba-
nerjee saying it was
against the spirit of
federalism since the
state government had
not been consulted
before such a move.
The teams which
were sent earlier
have already shared
its insights with the
respective state govts
beneffiting them im-
mensely. It told In-
dore authorities that
out of its 17 contain-
ment zones 20 were
critical. The state gov-
ernment has intro-
duced ‘saudapatras’ to
decongest ‘mandis’
which are proving ef-
fective, she said, citing
inputs from the team.
Srivastava said the
IMCT in Mumbai has
suggested installing
portable toilets in
Dharavi, a densely-pop-
ulated slum area of the
city which has report-
ed over 200 coronavirus
cases, to augment the
number of community
toilets. IMCT had also
suggested quarantin-
ing 2000-3000 people
apart from ramping the
testing facilities to
strengthen the fight
against Covid-19 in Ma-
harashtra.
IMCT, NDMA teams set to monitor Covid-19 hotspots in Gujarat
REVIEW BY CENTRE
NPG Bauxite industry demandsurgent relief!Export is the only option for NPG Bauxite as it has no domestic market, for competitive pricing waive off 15% Export Duty!
First India News
Ahmedabad: The Fed-
eration of Indian Min-
eral Industries (FIMI)
has requested the Fi-
nance Minister to bail
the industry out of the
fix it is in which has
been accentuated by the
ongoing lockdown re-
strictions. In a repre-
sentation by FIMI to
FM Nirmala Sitara-
man it has asked to
immediately waive
off the export duty
levied on the non
plant grade (NPG)
Bauxite which typi-
cally produced in
states of Gujarat and
Maharashtra. The
representation stated
that the bauxite de-
posits occurring In
India’s west coast (low
in alumina content 38-
45 per cent and high
in silica content 7 per
cent) are technically
not suitable an d eco-
nomically unviable
for the Indian refin-
ers/smelters. It thus
requested that as ex-
port of this mineral is
the only alternative,
export duty should be
removed to enable the
mineral to be priced
competitively.
Currently the Baux-
ite, used by domestic
refiners and smelters,
attracts an export duty
of 15% irrespective of
it being high grade or
low grade or usable by
domestic industry or
not. “Considering that
low-grade bauxite
(non-plant grade
bauxite) is unsuitable
and uneconomical for
the consumption of
the domestic alumini-
um industry and with
a view to have opti-
mum utilization of
our low-grade miner-
al resources, we re-
quest that the export
duty imposed at 15
per cent on exports of
bauxite may kindly be
withdrawn complete-
ly.” FIMI Secretary
General R K Sharma
said in his letter to
the finance minister.
India is gifted with
about 3,896 million
tonnes of Bauxite re-
sources and it was
placed 6th in the global
rank in 2015. All of In-
dia’s alumina and alu-
minum producers have
their own captive mines
or meet their require-
ment from mines locat-
ed in eastern and cen-
tral India, which con-
tain plant grade baux-
ite. So mines in west
coast, particularly in
thestatesof Gujaratand
Maharashtra with low
grade bauxite produc-
tion depend only on ex-
ports. China was the
prime market for ex-
ports but according to
FIMI the export duty
hasmadeIndianBaux-
ite noncompetitive
and the market has
been captured by pro-
ducers in Indonesia,
Malaysia and Guinea.
Indian Bauxite ex-
ports which peaked to
8.91 million tonnes in
the year 2015-16, have
sharply declined to a
meager .50 million
tonne during the year
2019-20 (April-Janu-
ary).FIMIattributesthe
export duty to be the
main reason for the
sharp downfall.
READY AND WAITING!
Circles and movement routes are marked at ticket windows and railway platform for those
standing in queue at Ahmedabad railway station ahead of resumption of passenger train
operations post lockdown period
Bank Employees plea for
shift or branch closure
10 cr Hydroxychloroquine
tablets reserved for nation!
Doc ‘in dock’ for
flouting norms
First India News
Ahmedabad: Antici-
pating a big rush once
lockdown is lifted and
also considering the
rising number of co-
rona positive cases in
various clusters the
Maha Gujarat Bank
Employees Associa-
tion (MGBEA) have
asked to temporarily
close branches locat-
ed in the red zones. In
a representation to
the State Level Bank-
ers Committee (SLBC)
the employees health
concerns have been
put forth citing pre-
sent scenario.
Citing that five
bank employees in
Gujarat have tested
positive for coronavi-
rus infection and ex-
pressing concerns over
fear of contamination
to bank employees, the
representation states
“60% of the cases in
Ahmedabad are
spread within 8.7
square Km area and
in these areas, social
distancing is a chal-
lenge.
Thus, we seek to
close bank branches
situated in these are-
as temporarily. In
fact, bank branches of
red zone area should be
closed or relocated to
other area branches
within a 5 km vicinity,
banks can function al-
ternatively.”
First India News
Ahmedabad: Indian
DrugManufacturersAs-
sociation(IDMA)hasas-
sured the country of no
shortfall to meet the do-
mestic demand of Hy-
d r o x yc h l o r o q u i n e
(HCQ). Viranchi Shah,
Chairman, IDMA Gu-
jarat chapter said,
“Our current produc-
tion capacity of HCQ
is 35 to 40 crore tablets
a month. This is 10
times more than our
requirement. There is
no shortage of HCQ in
India. India holds al-
most 70% of global
capacity of manufac-
turing HCQ.” The tab-
let has traditionally
been used to treat dis-
eases like Malaria and
certain Arthritis anc
the consumption dur-
ing last year was 2.4
crore tablets against
the mammoth produc-
tion capacity.
With Covid-19 threat-
ening the world, new us-
age of the drug is being
experimented globally
amid mixed reports on
results. “India is one of
the leading manufactur-
ers in pharmaceuticals.
We export medicines to
almost every country
globally.Evenduringthe
lockdown with support
of the Modi-govern-
ment, we have been able
to maintain the manu-
facturing and supply of
the medicines. We are
also in the position to
cater to the internation-
al demands of medi-
cines,” informed Vi-
ranchi Shah.
Shah pointed out at
the problems faced by
the manufacturers in
the initial phase of the
lockdown related to the
travel of their company
employees but the govt
resolvedthemswiftly.He
also mentioned limita-
tion of workers but
didn’t consider it a ma-
jor crisis as the industry
knew to concentrate of
essential medicines as a
priority.
First India News
Vadodara: Perhaps the
police is left with no op-
tion but to register cases
against qualified per-
sonswhentheydon’tfol-
low much publicized
socialdistancingnorms.
Police booked a homeo-
pathic doctor Shahida-
banu Shekh when she
was found to have made
8 women patients sit
next to each other in her
Nisar Manzil apartment
clinic in wadi area.
Sheikh has been booked
under IPC Section 188
and under sections of
the Disaster Manage-
ment Act and Epidemic
Diseases Act. The govt
has been appealing
through mass media to
maintain social distanc-
ing and if doctors don’t
follow it then it would
become impossible to
contain the virus, Al-
though the doctor man-
aged to flee from the
spot when the police
reached her clinic but
she is being looked out.
First India News
Gandhinagar: AYUSH
department of the
state govt has started
treating the asympto-
matic Covid-19 pa-
tients at Covid Care
Centre in Samras
hostel of Gujarat
University in
Ahmedabad. Immu-
nity is the key word
in the coronavirus
infection and that is
what the Ayurvedic
treatment focuses
on. According to
Director of Ayush
department, Vaid-
ya Bhavna Patel,
Ayurvedic treat-
ment has given
good results in pre-
vention of Covid19
through increase
of immunity.
Increase in immu-
nity of Covid19 posi-
tive patients who are
asymptomatic is
equally necessary.
Ayurvedic method
treatment of asymp-
tomatic positive pa-
tients of Covid 19 has
been started from
Friday. The team who
has taken the initia-
tive forward consists
of District Ayurve-
dic Officer Vaiya He-
mant Joshi with a
team of two medical
officers(Ayurved)
and five Post Gradu-
ate scholars.
It is noteworthy
that Principal Sec-
retary (Health) Dr.
Jayanti Ravi had
facilitated Ayurve-
dic and Homeo-
pathic treatment to
more than 6,000
a s y m p t o m a t i c
quarantined per-
sons earlier across
the State. When
tests were run on
them, only 11 tested
positive for Covid 19.
These 11 cases had
taken only 3-day
Ayurvedic treatment
instead of full 7-day
course. Generally, out
of total tests 3-10%
suspects are found
Covid19 positive.
Policemen patrol a street during lockdown to control the spread
of the new coronavirus in Ahmedabad.
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
Bauxite, used by domestic refiners and smelters, attracts
an export duty of 15% irrespective of it being high grade or
low grade or usable by domestic industry or not. Consider-
ing that low-grade bauxite (non-plant grade bauxite) is unsuita-
ble and uneconomical for the consumption of the domestic alumin-
ium industry and with a view to have optimum utilization of our
low-grade mineral resources.
—RK Sharma, Secretary General, Federation Of Mineral Industries
Ayushdeptstarts
treatmentfor
Covid-19patients

AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY
APRIL 25, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Bae Worth
Watching!
CITY FIRST
he year 2020 was
awaited for many rea-
sons and the Bay-
watch documentary
slotted for an April
2020 release, was defi-
nitely one of them.
With the Worldwide lockdown
at present, there is no update
on the release of the documen-
tary of this most-watched TV
show during its tenure from
1989-2001.
Filmmakers Matthew Felker
and Brian Corso lined up some
of the show’s top-billed cast
members to take a walk down
memory lane for Baywatch and
talk about their time on the
show and the hours they spent
in skimpy red suits. But be-
yond the iconic beachwear, the
Documentary will take a deep-
er dive into the cultural impact
of the long-running syndicated
show. Further, it will investi-
gate the cast, their participa-
tion, anecdotes from filming,
and where they are now.
Baywatch, the American
drama television series is
about the Los Angeles County
lifeguards as well as Hawaii
Lifeguards who patrol the
beaches of Los Angeles Coun-
ty, California, and Hawaii,
starring David Hasselhoff. The
show led to a spin-off, Bay-
watch Nights, and three direct-
to-video films: Baywatch the
Movie: Forbidden Paradise,
Baywatch: White Thunder
at Glacier Bay, and Bay-
watch: Hawaiian Wedding.
We have a special connec-
tion to Baywatch as our very
own Priyanka Chopra made a
glam Hollywood movie debut
as vampy Victoria Leeds in
Baywatch, the R-rated movie
remake of the campy TV se-
ries. The former Miss World
rocks power outfits and 5-inch
Louboutins as an evil real-es-
tate developer able to look
meddling lifeguard Mitch Bu-
channon (6-foot-5 Dwayne
Johnson in the role made fa-
mous by David Hasselhoff)
dead in the eye.
“Being a villain is awesome.
It’s so good to be bad,” says
Chopra. She surprised her-
self by gleefully unleashing
her “inner Victoria” each
morning on the set. “It’s like,
why do I like being evil so
much? Why
do I have
so much fun tor-
turing people?”
It’s this kind of un-
bridled baddie joy that
compelled director Seth
Gordon to cast Chopra af-
ter a Skype call to dis-
cuss a part for her as a
lifeguard. Gordon saw
her dark side and imme-
diately changed the
film’s planned male bad-
die from Victor to Victo-
ria while rejiggering the
shooting schedule to ac-
commodate Chopra’s
Quantico work.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
A walk down memory lane for ‘Baywatch’,
with flashbacks of TV series and Hollywood Film
T

n the dark of night, a
striking figure decked
out like a film-noir
femme fatale material-
izes along a road side,
toting leather luggage
and a Singer sewing ma-
chine. She is clearly dressed to
impress with her crimson lip-
stick, white gloves, cocked-just-
so chapeau, wavy blonde locks
and a black-and-white ensemble
that conforms to her womanly
shape as if it were her birthday
suit.
She takes a slow drag on her
cigarette and issues this state-
ment of intent that is more of a
warning than greeting: “I’m
back, you bastards!”
If that weren’t enough, a car
stops and a uniformed constable
gets out. He briefly stares before
inquiring, “Is that, uh … Dior?”
It’s quite an entrance in quite
a movie. However, when it comes
to “The Dressmaker,” nothing is
ever enough. And that is its main
problem.
Another woman who can
rightfully proclaim, “I’m back,”
is Australian director and
screenwriter Jocelyn Moor-
house. She made a splash in the
‘90s with “Proof,” “How to Make
an American Quilt” and “A
Thousand Acres,” before taking
time off to raise her family.
Now, 18 years later, she has
adapted a book by Rosalie Ham
with a script co-written by hub-
by P.J. Hogan of “Muriel’s Wed-
ding” fame that is positively ex-
ploding with a surfeit of pent-up
creative energy that unfortu-
nately doesn’t know when to
stop.
Not that “The Dressmaker” is
ever dull and is even more than
occasionally delightful in its
nuttiness. This ultimately ex-
hausting tilt-a-whirl of a revenge
tale set in 1951 that takes place
in the mythical dusty Down Un-
der hamlet of Dungatar embrac-
es all manner of influences—
spaghetti Westerns, a Tim Bur-
ton-esque aesthetic, a warped
world view that rivals John Wa-
ters, a small mob of morally cor-
rupt Dickensian-style eccentrics
and a story whose wild tonal
shifts range from Tex Avery car-
toony to Douglas Sirk melodra-
matic.
The lady above is one Myrtle
“Tilly” Dunnage (Kate Winslet,
providing a captivating harbor
in this storm of kookiness),
who has returned to the
community that once ban-
ished her as a child. She
is ostensibly there to
care for her dotty
crank of a mother,
Mad Molly (a cantan-
kerously cagey Judy
Davis, nearly unrec-
ognizable until her
character regains
her wits and pret-
ty much steals
the movie), who
has been living
in pungent
squalor. But Til-
ly also is clearly
out to right
some wrongs
while shedding
a light on a
tragic incident
from the past
that she can’t
quite recall.
All that
sounds
quite
logical, until Tilly, who learned
how to make haute-couture de-
signs while in Paris, hauls out
her sewing machine and starts a
business doing fashion makeo-
vers for Dungatar’s frumpy fe-
male citizenry. This budding
Edith Head also has an unusual
way of attracting her first cus-
tomers: She disrupts a rugby
match by showing up in a curve-
clinging scarlet gown before
changing into an even more
striking Rita Hayworth-inspired
black dress—eventually causing
the opposing team to lose by sim-
ply stripping off its matching
jacket. It’s as if “Project Run-
way” took over the Super Bowl.
In the midst of all this, we are
rushed through introductions to
a raft of quirky characters.
Some make an instant impres-
sion, such as Hugo Weaving’s
slyly campy rendition of a cross-
dressing police sergeant who
can’t help but hungrily caress
Tilly’s luxurious fabrics with
his eyes (shades of his drag
queen in “The Adventures of
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”).
Then there is Liam Hemsworth
as hunky farmer Teddy, who
quite fancies the reluctant Tilly.
Until now, I have primarily
thought of this actor as
Chris Hemsworth’s young-
er, less talented but equally
strapping brother. But work-
ing in his native Australia
seems to have unleashed a
very fetching devil-may-care
nonchalance that casts
quite a masculine spell.
Also, please note that al-
though they are meant to
be contemporaries, Win-
slet’s a luscious 40 years
old while Hemsworth is
26—and it doesn’t
make a whit of differ-
ence. Gender parity at
its finest.
Naturally, evil also
lurks in Dungatar and it
takes several forms, in-
cluding a hunchback
town pharmacist and wife
abuser who greets Tilly by hiss-
ing, “Your mother’s a slut and
you’re a bastard,” the rumor-
mongering female schoolteacher
whose lies caused Tilly to be
forced out of town and the wom-
anizing councilman who tor-
ments his clean-freak wife. By
the time a rival seamstress
strolls into town slinging her
own Singer, Moorhouse is clear-
ly guilty of over-accessorizing
her already jam-packed fable.
Still, certain individual scenes
are gems and stand out like state-
ment pieces. Davis is at her riot-
ous best when she accompanies
Tilly and Teddy on a date to see
“Sunset Boulevard” at a local
cinema. Molly’s repulsed reac-
tion to the gorgon-like visage of
Gloria Swanson’s aging movie
queen is beyond priceless—espe-
cially when the silent-screen diva
puts the moves on William Hold-
en’s gigolo of a screenwriter.
Source: https://www.rogerebert.com/re-
views/the-dressmaker-2016
10
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FACEOFTHEDAY
ASHLESHA AHLUWALIA, Influencer
I
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
A fun trip with family is on
cards for some. On
academic front, you will be
very busy in doing your
preparations that you will have no
spare time for leisure. You will keep
your promises as far as helping
someone with money is concerned.
You will complete a project.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You must learn to maintain
good relationships on work
front as you cannot be
blunt with people at work.
Romance is in the air for you and you
will spend some amazing time with
you love today. You may think of
buying a property but the only
problem is the area.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Your spouse will give you
special treatment today for
all your love and sincerity.
You will feel on the top of
the of the world today and you will
spread happiness wherever you will
go. You will be mentally very relaxed
on professional front as you have
managed to finish your work.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You will go out of your way
to help someone with their
personal problems. You will
meet someone who shares
same ideologies like you. You are
person of strong resolve and you don’t
stop until you have accomplished
whats in your mind. Your family may
demand your time.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
People will not only notice
your hard work but will
also appreciate you for it.
You will be able to
successfully negotiate. Exercises
alone won’t help you, you have to
careful consider what you put in your
belly. Many opportunities will knock
at your door.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You need to not only
understand what your
partner wants but also make
sure to deliver it. On
professional front, you will meet the
expectations of your boss. In financial
matter, you know hat needs to be done
and you tend to make no mistakes.
Doing some charity is on your mind.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You are soon moving
abroad to your place of
desire for permanent
settlement. You usually
don’t sit at peace until your work is
done. You are a tough, strong person
by heart but you don’t forgive people
who play with your sentiments. You
are a one man army.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You will benefit from
buying or selling the
property about which you
have been thinking for
quite some time. Look for the
strengths rather than the weakness.
You are very serious about your
career and you don’t tolerate any
mistake in your work.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
On professional front, you
colleagues or your boss
may give you a surprise
party for your sincere
effort in some project. Always be
optimistic when it come to love.
Homemakers will spend the whole
day in resetting and arranging things
in the house.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Things are getting easy for
you on academic front as
you have starting exerting
more than you ever have.
Love life is secure for you. All your
worries will vanish once you get the
promotion and hike which will
happen soon. You may feel very
emotional about your parents.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You may excel in some or
the other sports an there is
no harm in taking it
seriously for once. Some
of you have really started earning
well and you are professionally
growing day by day. A good news is
waiting for you on professional front.
You are about to achieve something.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You have a good family life
and you are very emotional
about them. You need to
wait until you find a good
life partner. You are good at
managing your expenses and savings
as much as possible. On professional
front, you will come across every
kind of person.
THE DRESSMAKER

B
ollywood actor-producer
Anushka Sharma’s first
web production, an
Amazon Original se-
ries, ‘Paatal Lok’, will
launch on May 15. Amazon
Prime Video on Friday un-
veiled the logo and the re-
lease date of the series pro-
duced by Anushka’s Clean
Slate Films.
The series features actors
Neeraj Kabi, Jaideep Ahlawat,
Gul Panag, Swastika Mukher-
jee and Abhishek Bannerjee.
It is based on a crime thriller
book written by Sudip Sharma,
who previously worked on ‘Udta
Punjab’ and Anushka’s first pro-
duction ‘NH10’.
As per the press release is-
sued by the makers, the series
explores the ‘dark bylanes of
immorality’. Inspired by the
ancient realms of Swargalok
(heaven), Dharti Lok (earth),
and Paatal Lok (netherworld),
the neo-noir series delves into
the interplay within the four es-
tates of democracy. —Agency
E
ver since her debut film
‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ in
2015, Bhumi Pednekar has
worked in films that carry
a social message. The actress
says she has mostly gravitated
towards cinema that is mean-
ingful and leaves an impres-
sion.
“I believe all of us have the
power to make the world a
better place in our own
unique ways. I try and do
that through my cinema and
the way I lead my life,” said
Bhumi.
“I have mostly gravitated
towards cinema that is
meaningful and leaves a
message. From ‘Dum Laga
Ke Haisha’ (against body
shaming) to ‘Toilet: Ek
Prem Katha’ (women’s hy-
giene) to ‘Saand Ki Aankh’
(women empowerment), I
have deeply connected
with these films. I would
like my films to leave a
positive message on soci-
ety and thankfully my
films have done so effec-
tively in their own way,”
she added.
Bhumi says she
wants to walk the talk
when it comes to lead-
ing a conscious way of
life. The actress pledges to
work hard towards cli-
mate conservation as it is
the need of the hour.
—IANS
K
ajol is badly missing
her mother, veteran
actress Tanuja, amid
the coronavirus lock-
down. Taking to her Insta-
gram, Kajol posted a pic-
ture in which she is seen
sharing smiles with her
mother.
“Friday...miss my mom.
It’s all our 45 day quaran-
tine anniversary,” Kajol
captioned the image.
Many fans left heart
emojis on the mother-
daughter’s picture. On
the work front, Kajol
will be seen making her
digital debut with Netf-
lix’s film ‘Tribhanga’,
which is directed by Re-
nuka Shahane. It is dra-
ma set in Mumbai, weav-
ing a complex tale that
goesbackandforththrough
three generations of the
same family, from the late
1980s to modern-day. Ac-
tors Mithila Palkar, Tanvi
Azmi and Kunaal Roy Ka-
poor will also be seen in
pivotal roles. —IANS
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020
11
Unplanned
Holiday!dah Sharma feels
the best trips in
life are the ones
that aren’t
planned.
“I truly believe
that the impromp-
tu ones without months of
planning, no maps, no itin-
erary but with your close-
knit group of friends are
the ones which are the
most memorable,” Adah
said.
She is thrilled about her
web show, ‘The Holiday’,
which streams on MX
Player. The show promises
to take the audience
through one of the most
memorable bachelorette
trips that Patrick, Ar-
maan and Kabir, played
by Priyank Sharma,
Aashim Gulati, and Veer
Rajwant Singh, throw for
their best friend and bride-
to-be, Mehak, played by
Adah.
Talking about the show,
she said: “‘The Holiday’ is
all about fun and brings
out the emotions of true
friendship. I don’t think
anyone has watched a
bachelorette before where
a girl goes with 3 of her
best friends who happen to
be boys. Now, since no one
can go for a Holiday for a
while, we’ll take them with
us on our Holiday!”
—IANS
A
Content-driven
cinema!
MISSING MOM!
JOURNEY TO
THE DARK!Celebration amid
LOCKDOWN!
V
arun Dhawan rang in his 33rd birth-
day amid lockdown with his near and
dear ones at home. As the actor is
spending quality time with family
during home quarantine, he received a sur-
prise birthday gift from them at midnight.
He took to Instagram Stories where he
shared a photograph of his modest celebra-
tion at home. The actor shared a picture of a
heart-shaped chocolate cake. He then shared
another image of himself posing with his
cake. Varun Dhawan also gave a surprise to
his fans on his birthday by coming LIVE on
his Instagram in order to celebrate his special
day with his fans. In other news, Varun has
provided free meals for doctors and health-
care staff who are leading the nation’s fight
against the COVID-19 pandemic. —Agency
Poster of ‘Holiday’
Bhumi Pednekar
... her Instagram post
Kajol
Anushka Sharma
Varun Dhawan
Still from the video

First india ahmedabad edition-26 april 2020

First india ahmedabad edition-26 april 2020

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