India ups naval vigil in Indian Ocean amid China tensions

CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 215
29°C - 38°C
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
1,828
DEATHS
32,023
CONFIRMED CASES
MAHARASHTRA
7,610 DEATHS 1,69,883 CASES
TAMIL NADU
1,141DEATHS 86,224 CASES
DELHI
2,680 DEATHS 85,161 CASES
WORLD
5,06,091
DEATHS
1,03,32,175
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
5,67,233
CONFIRMED CASES
16,904
DEATHS
UTTAR PRADESH
672 DEATHS 22,828 CASES
RAJASTHAN
405 DEATHS 17,660 CASES
Unlock 1.0 throws up alarming Covid numbers in Surat
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: Bask-
ing for long in an all-
is-well belief, Unlock
1.0 has thrown open a
can of worms in dia-
mond city Surat with
every single day since
June 1 bringing in a
bunch of corona posi-
tive cases.
The numbers speak
-- as on June 1, Surat
had 1,659 positive cases,
and, in a space of 28
days, as on June 29, the
number stood at a
whopping 4,630. In oth-
er words, an average 106
cases every day.
On Monday, Surat
Municipal Corpora-
tion declared Hira
Bazar of the Mahid-
harpura area as a new
cluster containment
zone covering 1,262
houses. A total 217
cases were reported
during the last 24
hours, 185 of which
were from the city and
32 from rural areas.
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani is likely to chair
a meeting on Tuesday to
decide the guidelines
for Unlock 2.0 on the ba-
sis of the Central Gov-
ernment’s directives to
this effect.
Meanwhile in
Ahmedabad city, the
Agriculture Produce
Market Committee
market remained
closed on Monday in
protest against the
district administra-
tion’s decision to al-
low only 43 traders to
conduct trading on a
daily rotation basis.
They claimed that
only 43 traders could
not meet the needs of
the city.
In Mandvi constitu-
ency, the Congress
Anandbhai Chaudhary
while participating in
protest against the
price hike in petrol die-
sel has boycotted wear-
ing face masks, he al-
leges that the state is
misleading people on
corona and it’s spread.
According to the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation,
there were 2,936 ac-
tive cases as on Mon-
day morning, while
the death toll stood at
1,387. Of total active
cases, 645 were from
the West Zone, 439 in
the South and 438 in
the North.
InVadodara,thereare
612 active cases, of
which 129 are on oxygen
support and 32 are on
ventilators. New cases
have emerged from
city’sLalbaug,Chokhan-
di, Vaghodia, Dabhoi
Road, Ajwa Road, Bajva
Road, new VIP Road,
Mandvi and Turn on P6
GUJARAT
REPORTED
626 FRESH
CASES AND 19
DEATHS
DURING LAST
24 HOURS,
TAKING THE
TOTAL TO
32,023 CASES;
SURAT SAW
2,971 CASES
SINCE JUNE 1
MASK BOYCOTT!
New Delhi: After
weeks of escalated ten-
sions between India
and China following
the violent clash at Gal-
wan Valley in Ladakh
earlier this month, both
the countries have
agreed to hold a weekly
dialogue at the Working
Mechanism for Consul-
tation and Coordination
(WMCC) meeting to re-
solve the dispute.
India and China will
once again engage in
Corps Commander level
talks on Tuesday begin-
ning 10.30 am. Accord-
ing to reports, the third
round of military level
talks will be held on the
Indian side this time.
Meanwhile, after Indian
Navy was asked to raise
its alert level in the In-
dian Ocean Region
whereChineseNavyhas
been making regular
forays, they held a cru-
cial exercise with Japa-
nese Navy in the Indian
Ocean region, an area
where Chinese naval
vessels and submarines
aremakingfrequentfor-
ays. India and Japan are
part of the influential
“Quad”orQuadrilateral
coalition which also
comprises the United
StatesandAustralia.Ac-
cording to sources,
“This time the Corps
Commander level
talks will be held
in Chushul on the
Indian side. The
last two meetings
were held in Moldo
ontheChineseside,”
said sources while
adding that the agenda
of the meeting would be
to take forward the pro-
posals made Turn on P6
Social media was
flooded with pictures
of Chief Justice of
India SA Bobde sitting
on a Harley Davidson
superbike, prompt-
ing several reactions
among netizens. The
64-year-old, who was
an ardent biker when
he was a lawyer, was
photographed check-
ing out a guest’s mo-
torbike at a ceremony
in Raj Bhawan.
CJI
Swagger!
MODI’S DIGITAL STRIKE ON
59 CHINESE MOBILE APPs
Terrorists attack Pakistan
Stock Exchange; 11 killed
Karachi: Four heavily
armed militants, be-
lieved to be from a
banned Baloch terror
group, on Monday made
a brazen attempt to take
over the Pakistan Stock
Exchangebuildinghere,
killing four security
guards and a police of-
ficer & two civilians be-
fore being shot dead by
security forces.
The militants, who
arrived in a car around
10 am, opened indis-
criminate fire and
lobbed grenades at the
main gate of the multi-
storey building situated
in the city’s high-secu-
rity commercial hub as
they tried to storm it.
Armed with automat-
ic machine guns, gre-
nades and explosives,
they tried to Turn on P6
New Delhi: Modi-led
NDA govt on Monday
banned 59 mobile apps,
including China’s Tik-
Tok, SHAREiT and We-
Chat, terming them
prejudicial to sover-
eignty, integrity and
national security.
In an official state-
ment, the IT Ministry
said it has received
many complaints from
various sources, includ-
ing several reports
about misuse of some
mobile apps available
on Android and iOS
platforms for “stealing
and surreptitiously
transmitting users.
Full report P6
‘Govt ‘extorting’ people
with fuel price hikes’
New Delhi: Congress
president Sonia Gandhi
on Monday attacked the
BJP government at the
Centre for raising fuel
prices 22 times since the
lockdown, accusing it
of extorting people, and
sought an immediate
rollback of the hikes.
She charged the gov-
ernment with profiteer-
ing at the expense of the
people, saying its duty
wastohelpthemintimes
of crisis and not make
profits out of their hard-
earned money. Turn on P6
Geelani
separates
from
Hurriyat
Srinagar: Veteran sep-
aratist leader Syed Ali
Shah Geelani on Mon-
day an-
nounced
his disso-
c i a t i o n
from the
faction of
the Hur-
riyat Conference that
he floated in 2003 by en-
forcing a vertical split
in the amalgam.
In a four-line letter
and an audio message
to the media, a spokes-
person for the 90-year-
old leader said, “Geela-
ni has announced com-
plete dissociation from
Hurriyat Conference
forum.” Geelani said
the activities of Hurri-
yat Conference mem-
bers currently in Paki-
stan-occupied Kashmir
were being investigated
by the amalgam for var-
ious allegations.
In his 2-page letter, he
referred to inaction by
Hurriyat members post
the abrogation of the
special status of J&K,
and the division of the
erstwhile state into two
Union territories. —ANI
Maha lockdown
extended
till July 31
Mumbai: The Maha-
rashtra government on
Monday extended the
coronavirus-triggered
lockdown till July 31
without providing any
further relaxations
amid mounting cases of
COVID-19 in the state.
Announcing the ex-
tension, an order issued
by Chief Secretary Ajoy
Mehta saidwearingface
covers or masks, main-
taining social distanc-
ing, restricted gather-
ings, and other meas-
ures shall continue to
prevail.
Turn on P6
Security forces kill all 4 terrorists who attacked Pakistan Stock
Exchange in Karachi on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
AMID CHINESE PERFIDY, INDIA UPS VIGIL
ON SEAS, TO SIT ON TABLE FOR TALKS
GALWAN VALLEY CONFLICT
SURVEILLANCE ON
INDIAN OCEAN
 The Indian Navy has increased its
surveillance missions and beefed up operational
deployment in the Indian Ocean region.
 Is also ramping up its operational cooperation with
various friendly naval forces like the US Navy and
Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in view of the fast
evolving regional security landscape, said sources.
We are increasing
surveillance to
track Chinese activities
in Indian Ocean region.”
MILITARY EXPERT
StatesandAustralia.Ac-
cording to sources,
“This time the Corps
Commander level
talks will be held
last two meetings
were held in Moldo
ontheChineseside,”
said sources while
adding that the agenda
in Indian Ocean region.”
MILITARY EXPERT
ON SEAS, TO SIT ON TABLE FOR TALKS3rd
meeting between
XIV Corps Commander
Lt General Harinder
Singh and South
Xinjiang Military Region
Commander Major
General Liu Lin
June 6
and June 22
meetings were held at
Moldo on the Chinese side
while Tuesday’s meeting
will be at the border point
in Chushul
PMO INDIA @PMOINDIA
Prime Minister @
narendramodi will
address the nation at 4
PM tomorrow.
UNLOCK 2 ON TILL JULY 31
Wide yellow circles are made for people to maintain social
distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Mumbai.
Shut: Metro, schools,
colleges; Int’l flights
to remain grounded
New Delhi: Union
Ministry of Home Af-
fairs (MHA) has is-
sued new guidelines
for Unlock 2 to open
up more activities in
areas outside the con-
tainment zones.
According to the
new guidelines which
will come into effect
from July 1, the pro-
cess of phased re-
opening of activities
has been extended
further. After exten-
sive consultation
with States and Union
Territories, it has
been decided that
schools, colleges and
coaching institutions
will remain closed till
July 31.
“Domestic flights
and passenger trains
have already been al-
lowed in a limited
manner. Their opera-
tions will be further
expanded in a cali-
brated manner. Night
curfew timings are
being further relaxed
and curfew shall be in
force from Turn on P6
NOT ALLOWED
A health worker collects a swab sample from a woman at an
urban health centre in Vejalpur area of Ahmedabad.
—PHOTOBYNANDANDAVE

NEWSAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: After
registering a won at
the recently conclud-
ed Rajya Sabha elec-
tions, the state unit
of Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) is gear-
ing up for Gujarat
Legislative Assembly
by-elections. Despite
receiving no official
word from the Elec-
tion Commission of
India (ECI) regard-
ing the election
dates, the ruling par-
ty seems to be in no
mood to slow down.
Running high from
the momentum from
their triumph in the
RS polls, the party
organized a core
c o m m i t t e e
meeting at Ka-
malam in
Gandhinagar
on Monday, to
discuss future
agendas.
To guide the
state unit, National
Joint General Secre-
tary V Satish, who is
in-charge of the
West Zone, was pre-
sent at the gathering.
He was joined by Un-
ion Minister of State
for Agriculture and
Panchayati Raj Par-
shottam Rupala.
Addressing the me-
dia, BJP Spokesperson
Bharat Pandya said
that two in-charges
had been appointed for
each assembly seat. He
added that the state-
level coordinators will
be State Vice President
Bhargavbhai Bhatt
and former minister
Shankar Chaudhary.
Several key deci-
sions were taken re-
garding the party’s
forthcoming plans at
the meet. One of the
main decisions taken
by party leaders was to
appoint two in-charges
for each constituency,
with one from the state
government and an-
other from the party. A
total of 16 in-charges
have been appointed to
ensure smooth sailing
for the party in the im-
pending Assembly by-
elections for eight
seats.
Another main
resolution passed
was the extension
of the current
party State Unit
President Jitubhai
Vaghani’s tenure.
Even though his ten-
ure ended in Decem-
ber last year, Vagha-
ni has continued to
discharge his duties
of his position. With
the Assembly by-
elections and civic
polls in the pipeline,
it is likely that he
will hold on to his
tenure until January
next year. But, if the
by-elections are held
in January, then the
possibility of party
re-organization in
the near future can-
not be ruled out.
According to sourc-
es, there was talk of
appointing a new
state unit president
before July this year,
but it could lead to
re-organization of
the state unit as well
as the district and
city committees. But,
if one re-organiza-
tion is postponed,
other state organiza-
tions will be swept in
the cascading effect.
Therefore, the party
decided to keep the ap-
pointment for a later
date.
If a party has to take
a call on whether or
not to replace the state
unit president, it also
has to decide if it has
any plans to reshuffle
the state cabinet. A
very delicate subject
which comes into
play while choosing
the state unit presi-
dent is the caste
equation. Since,
the party cannot afford
to lose its strongest
vote bank – the Patel-
community- the party
chief or the chief min-
ister has to be from the
community. The BJP
has been making pro-
gress when it comes to
the Other Backward
Class (OBC) to tap into
the tribal vote bank,
which was once a
stronghold of the par-
ty’s political opponent
Congress.
With Vaghani lease, poll-smart BJP gets active,
WAITS FOR BALLOT DATESBJP to appoint two in-charges for each constituency, one from govt, one from organisation
Constituency In-charges
1. Abdasa Education Minister Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama, State General Secretary
KC Patel
2. Limbdi Agriculture Minister RC Faldu,
Party leader Nitin Bhardwaj
3. Karjan Minister of State for Home
Pradipsinh Jadeja, State General
Secretary Shabdsharan Brahmbhatt
4. Dangs Forest and Environment Minister
Ganpat Vasava, Party leader
Purnesh Modi
5. Kaprada Minister Ishwarsinh Patel, State
General Secretary Bharatsinh Parmar
6. Morbi Energy Minister Saurabh Patel, State
Vice President IK Jadeja
7. Gadhada Water Supply Minister Kunvarji
Bavalia, State Vice President
Gordhan Jadafia
8. Dhari Minister of State for Food and Civil
supplies Dharmendrasinh Jadeja
Party leader Dhansukh Bhanderi
IN-CHARGES FOR EACH SEAT
of Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) is gear-
ing up for Gujarat
Legislative Assembly
by-elections. Despite
receiving no official
word from the Elec-
tion Commission of
India (ECI) regard-
ing the election
dates, the ruling par-
ty seems to be in no
mood to slow down.
Running high from
the momentum from
their triumph in the
RS polls, the party
organized a core
Gandhinagar
on Monday, to
discuss future
To guide the
state unit, National
Joint General Secre-
tary V Satish, who is
in-charge of the
Addressing the me-
dia, BJP Spokesperson
Bharat Pandya said
that two in-charges
had been appointed for
each assembly seat. He
added that the state-
level coordinators will
be State Vice President
Bhargavbhai Bhatt
and former minister
Shankar Chaudhary.
have been appointed to
ensure smooth sailing
for the party in the im-
pending Assembly by-
elections for eight
seats.
Another main
resolution passed
was the extension
of the current
discharge his duties
of his position. With
the Assembly by-
elections and civic
polls in the pipeline,
it is likely that he
will hold on to his
tenure until January
next year. But, if the
by-elections are held
appointing a new
state unit president
before July this year,
but it could lead to
re-organization of
the state unit as well
as the district and
city committees. But,
if one re-organiza-
tion is postponed,
other state organiza-
tions will be swept in
the cascading effect.
Therefore, the party
decided to keep the ap-
pointment for a later
date.
If a party has to take
a call on whether or
not to replace the state
unit president, it also
has to decide if it has
any plans to reshuffle
the state cabinet. A
very delicate subject
which comes into
play while choosing
the state unit presi-
National Joint General
Secretary V Satish
National Joint General
Secretary (organisation)
V Satish, Union Minister of
State (Panchayati Raj and
Agriculture) Parshottam
Rupala, BJP State
President Jitubhai Vaghani,
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani
and Deputy Chief Minister
Nitin Patel at the BJP core
committee meeting held at
Gandhinagar on Monday.
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: With
the aim to develop a
self-sustained water
supply in govern-
ment-run schools,
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani launched a
rainwater harvesting
project via video con-
ferencing in Vadodara
district on Monday.
The project will ena-
ble all primary and
secondary schools in
the region to meet
their water needs lo-
cally rather than de-
pending on other sur-
face or groundwater
resources.
Talking about the ini-
tiative, Rupani said,
“There are more than
30,000 government-run
primary schools across
the state. If each school
takes a leaf out of the
book from the schools
in Vadodara district, it
will resolve the water
shortage issue in all
schools.”
The Vadodara dis-
trict administration
completed a rainwa-
ter harvesting project
at over 1,000 govern-
ment primary and
secondary schools
across the district in
a short span of nine
months. The project,
which was completed
in phases at a total
cost of Rs6 crore, re-
ceived financial sup-
port from public en-
terprises under Cor-
porate Social Respon-
sibility (CSR) activi-
ties and also through
various government
grants such as the
District Mineral
Foundation Fund. Un-
der the project, ap-
proximately 10 crore
litres of rainwater
per year will not go
wasted and put to
proper use.
Applauding the ef-
forts of the Vadodara
district administra-
tion, Rupani said,
“Water is a gift given
by God and we must
use it judiciously
keeping in mind our
future generation.
We should all put in
collective efforts to
conserve water by
adopting ancient tra-
ditions of under-
ground water storage
tank systems.”
He also called for
rainwater harvesting to
be implemented at all
government schools
and offices in the state.
The chief minister
also laid the foundation
stone of various
schemes at Dabhoi via
video conferencing and
released a book titled
‘Varsha Jalnidhi’.
Rupani was joined
by Speaker of Guja-
rat Legislative As-
sembly Rajendra
Trivedi, State Educa-
tion Minister Bhu-
pendrasinh Chudasa-
ma, Secretary to the
Chief Minister
Ashwani Kumar and
other MLAs, MPs, of-
fice-bearers of Va-
dodara city and dis-
trict in this e-launch
via video conference.
(L-R) Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi, Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani and State Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.
CM Rupani calls for rainwater harvesting in all govt-run schools
ALL FOR WATER CONSERVATION

Launches
the project
in Vadodara
virtually,
initiative to
cover 1,000
schools in
the district
CRUCIAL MOVE

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020
Haresh Jhala
Ahmedabad: The state
high court on Monday
allowed a petitioner to
circulate a Public Inter-
est Litigation (PIL)
challenging the Univer-
sity Grants Commis-
sion (UGC) decision to
conduct university ex-
aminations and admis-
sions in colleges.
Priyank Pandya and
others have moved a pe-
tition challenging the
UGC’s resolve to grant
permission to universi-
ties to hold final exami-
nations. The petition-
er’s submission is that
the statutory body’s
guidelines for examina-
tions were ‘contrary
and vague, which could
create inequality and
chaos in the education
system and also jeop-
ardize the safety and
welfare of students and
the society at large.’
According to the peti-
tioner, the examination
dates announced by
UGC were arbitrary in
nature. Therefore, the
decision comes as bad
news in the eyes of the
law and needs to be
quashed and set aside.
The petitioner fur-
ther argued that the an-
nouncement came post
Unlock 1.0, when the
reopening of schools,
colleges, educational
and training institu-
tions was to be decided
on in its second phase,
that too in consultation
with concerned stake-
holders. A call on this
issue was to be taken in
July, based on the feed-
back received from var-
ious states and union
territories. The peti-
tioner termed the
UGC’s decision ‘contra-
ry to said agreement.’
It was also pleaded
by the petitioner that
the court must inter-
vene and put a stay on
these examinations im-
mediately. The petition
also stated that the
UGC submit all griev-
ances it received from
students, student un-
ions and parents re-
garding the concerned
issue. Also, it should
elaborate on the steps
taken by the task forces
of the body to assuage
the grievances. The pe-
titioner asked to direct
the respondent on how
to hold examinations
and prepare standard
operating procedures
in wake of the novel
coronavirus outbreak.
HC allows PIL challenging UGC’s university exams decision
EDUCATIVE MOVE
 Petitioner calls for the court’s
intervention to resolve matter
Cong goes ‘traditional’
at RMC board meeting
Gujarat Congress chief, 50
workers detained by cops
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot: The ongoing
protests against fuel
price hike continued
on Monday when Con-
gress corporators of
the Rajkot Municipal
Corporation (RMC)
reached the local civic
body’s general board
meeting by commuting
through traditional
modes of transporta-
tion including horses,
horse carts and bicy-
cles. The party mem-
bers also chanted slo-
gans against the inef-
ficiency of the Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
government in control-
ling the rising prices.
Leader of opposition
Vashram Sagathiya
and corporator Mak-
bool Daudani rode
horses to reach the
RMC general board
meet organised at Pra-
mukh Swami Auditori-
um. Corporators Jag-
rutiben Dangar and
Jayaben Tank used a
horse cart for their
commute there and
Congress women wing
head Gayatriba Vaghe-
la, Vijay Tank and Man-
sukhbhaiKalariyarode
bicycles to the meeting.
Protestors were
seen carrying placards
and banners with
‘Mongha karya petrol
na daam, Bhajap (BJP)
ne aapo have aaraam’
(Get rid of BJP for in-
creasing fuel prices),
written on them.
Meanwhile, one of
the corporators named
Sneha Bipin Dave ar-
rived for the meeting on
a stretcher in an ambu-
lance all the way from
Ahmedabad. When Ra-
jkot mayor Bina Achar-
ya asked Congress
members to bring Dave
insidetheauditoriumto
markherpresence,they
protested against the
humanitarian attitude
of BJP. In all the ensu-
ing brouhaha, the meet-
inghadtobeendedin30
minutes.However,Dave
was marked absent.
Members of the op-
position party were
also detained by the
police, a move which
was called out by them
by terming it, ‘the
death of democracy.’
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: Gujarat
Congress president
Amit Chavda and
nearly 50 other party
workers were de-
tained in Ahmedabad
on Monday while
they were trying to
take out a rally
against the fuel price
hike enforced by the
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) Central
government.
“They were not giv-
en permission for such
a gathering,” said a
senior police official.
The opposition party
also organized similar
protests in Rajkot, Va-
dodara and Surat dis-
tricts of Gujarat and
demanded roll back of
the hike.
Congress MLA Gyas-
uddin Shaikh was de-
tainednearSardarBaug
areawhiletryingtotake
out a rally against the
increased prices of pet-
rol and diesel.
The Congress work-
ers gathered in a busy
area without procur-
ing any prior permis-
sion. We have detained
nearly 50 protesters,
including Chavda and
Shaikh, for holding
protests and trying to
take out a rally without
permission,” said
Dharmendra Sharma,
Deputy Commissioner
of Police, Zone 2.
Before being de-
tained, Chavda
slammed the govern-
ment over the fuel price
hike and also for deny-
ing permission for the
protest. “This govern-
ment is not ready to
understand the plight
of the people, who were
first hit by novel coro-
navirus and now by the
fuel price hike. We will
continue to raise the is-
sues concerning citi-
zens, who were literally
abandoned by this gov-
ernment. We want the
Centre to roll back the
hike,” Chavda stated.
Diesel price scaled a
new high on Monday
after prices were
hiked for the 22nd
time in just over three
weeks, taking the cu-
mulative increase to
Rs11.14 per litre.
The continuous rise in petrol and diesel prices has sparked protests across the state
Leader of opposition Vashram Sagathiya and corporator Makbook Daudani. (Inset) Women
corporators holding placards at the meet.
Congress party members chant slogans against the Central Government during a protest against
fuel price hike at Sardar Baug in Ahmedabad on Monday. (Inset) A bullock cart pulls a car during
the protest. —PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE
AAAAAA
KIND ACT DISMISSED
CCCCCC
GOING OLD SCHOOL
Central Zone bucks up,
only one case reported
No ration, employment for Dalits
First India Bureau
Surat: The Dalit com-
munity staged a pro-
test at the Surat Collec-
torate on Sunday. Ac-
cording to protestors,
the state government
failed to provide them
ration supplies, which
led to the outcry. They
also demanded em-
ployment opportuni-
ties for unemployed
youngsters of their
community. More than
100 people were de-
tained by police since a
large number of peo-
ple had gathered at the
spot with no prior per-
mission.
After being assured
by the state government
about the distribution
of free ration among
daily wagers, the un-
derprivileged people
from the Dalit commu-
nity complained that
they did not receive any
benefits of the initia-
tive. They also lament-
ed about the lack of jobs
leaving them financial-
ly insecure.
IMD forecasts moderate to
heavy showers in the stateFirst India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Starting
out as a buffer zone,
then a red zone before
being declared as a
COVID-19 hotspot in
the city, the Central
Zone has had quite a
cumbersome journey
amid the novel coro-
navirus outbreak.
But now, the zone has
bounced back from
having hundreds of
cases to reporting
just one case of Sars-
Cov-2 on Sunday. Ac-
cording to officials, it
is a good sign for the
people living in the
Central Zone.
On the other hand,
other zones that come
under the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation
(AMC) have been re-
porting new COVID-19
cases in the double dig-
its. According to the list
shared by the local civic
body, the East Zone re-
ported the highest num-
ber of cases on Sunday
at 46, followed by the
West Zone (39), North
Zone (33), Southwest
Zone (32), South Zone
(27) and the Northwest
Zone (20).
Currently, there are
191 active cases in the
Central Zone, which
again is the lowest
among all zones.
Though, the highest
number of COVID-19
positive cases so far,
has been reported in
the Central Zone,
which stands at 4,007.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
weatherman has pre-
dicted steady showers
across the state in the
coming days, with some
pockets likely to receive
heavy rainfall.
According to the
weather bulletin,
light thunderstorms
with lightning and
surface winds of less
than 40 km/hr (in
gust) accompanied by
moderate rain is very
likely at isolated plac-
es in all districts of
the Saurashtra- Kutch
region. On the other
hand, isolated places
in the districts of Sa-
barkantha, Dahod,
Valsad, Junagadh,
Amreli and in Da-
man, Dadra Nagar
Haveli will, in all
probability, receive
heavy showers.
On Monday, some
parts of the state re-
ceived light to moderate
rainfall while a few
pockets received more
than one inch of rain-
fall in 24 hours. Gondal
of Rajkot district re-
ceived 100mm of rain-
fall between 4 pm to 6
pm. And, Songadh of
Tapi district received
45mm of rainfall from 4
pm to 8 pm.
As per the rainfall
pattern and the Indi-
an Meteorological
Department (IMD)
forecast, Lower Nar-
mada, Tapi Basin,
Damanganga, and
other independent
basins are expected
to receive light or
moderate showers at
isolated places in the
next 48 hours. But,
no flood-like situa-
tion is expected to de-
velop in all three
river basins and inde-
pendent basins.
A containment zone in
Jamalpur area. —FILE PHOTO
Rain pattering down hard on Ashram Road in Ahmedabad.
AAA
BAN ONLINE CLASSES FOR TODDLERS
—FILEPHOTO
WORK MODE ON
Farmers plant saplings in a paddy ﬁeld located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on Monday.
—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 215 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 | TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020
He gives strength to the
weary and increases the
power of the weak.
—Isaiah 40:29
Spiritual
SPEAK
hree countries
– the United
States, Brazil,
and Mexico –
account for
nearly half (46%) of the
world’s reported COV-
ID-19 deaths, yet they
contain only 8.6% of the
world’s population.
Some 60% of Europe’s
deaths are concentrated
in just three countries –
Italy, Spain, and the
United Kingdom – which
account for 38% of Eu-
rope’s population. There
were many fewer deaths
and lower death rates in
most of Northern and
Central Europe.
Severalfactorsdetermine
a country’s COVID-19 death
rate: the quality of political
leadership,thecoherenceof
the government’s response,
the availability of hospital
beds, the extent of interna-
tional travel, and the popu-
lation’s age structure. Yet
one deep structural charac-
teristic seems to be shaping
the role of these factors:
countries’ income and
wealth distribution.
The US, Brazil, and
Mexico have very high
income and wealth ine-
quality. The World Bank
reports the respective
Gini coefficients for re-
cent years (2016-18) at
41.4 in the US, 53.5 in
Brazil, and 45.9 in Mexi-
co. (On a 100-point scale,
a value of 100 signifies
absolute inequality, with
one person controlling
all income or wealth, and
zero means a completely
equal distribution per
person or household).
The US has the highest
Gini coefficient among the
advanced economies, while
Brazil and Mexico are
among the world’s most un-
equal countries. In Europe,
Italy, Spain, and the UK –
with Gini scores of 35.6,
35.3, and 34.8, respectively
– are more unequal than
their northern and eastern
counterparts, such as Fin-
land (27.3), Norway (28.5),
Denmark (28.5), Austria
(30.3), Poland (30.5), and
Hungary (30.5).
The correlation of
death rates per million
and income inequality is
far from perfect; other
factors matter a lot.
France’s inequality is on
par with Germany’s, but
its COVID-19 death rate
is significantly higher.
The death rate in rela-
tively egalitarian Swe-
den is significantly high-
er than in its neighbors,
because Sweden decided
to keep its social distanc-
ing policies voluntary
rather than mandatory.
Relatively egalitarian
Belgium was battered
with very high reported
death rates, owing part-
ly to the authorities’ de-
cision to report probable
as well as confirmed
COVID-19 deaths.
Moreover, higher ine-
quality leads to lower social
cohesion, less social trust,
and more political polariza-
tion, all of which negative-
ly affect governments’ abil-
ity and readiness to adopt
strong control measures.
Higher inequality means a
larger proportion of low-
income workers – from
cleaners, cashiers, guards,
and delivery persons to
sanitation, construction,
and factory workers – must
continue their daily lives,
even at the risk of infec-
tion. More inequality also
means more people living
in crowded living condi-
tions and therefore unable
to shelter safely.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM
How inequality fuels COVID-19 deaths
T
Top
TWEET
Dr Harsh Vardhan
@drharshvardhan
#covid19lockdown cannot hinder
an innovative mind! The National
Innovation Foundation–India (NIF), an
autonomous institute of @IndiaDST,
recognized the work of an #Assam tea
garden owner, for having developed
a tea dehydration machine & an agar
wood oil extraction machine.
Anand Sharma
@AnandSharmaINC
A government that ruined the
economy by its monumental
mismanagement is now proﬁteering
at the cost of the people who
are suffering, by raising petrol
& diesel prices without any
justiﬁcation as crude prices at
historic lows in the global market.
#SpeakUpAgainstFuelHike
oday when the world is
watching China’s aggressive
transgressions on the Line of
Actual Control with India,
rarely does anyone know the
historical context of how this
border emerged in the first
place. It was due to an intrep-
id military genius called
Zorawar Singh Kahluria.
The treaty of Chushul signed
in 1842 between ‘Sri Sarkar
Khalsa Ji’ (the Lahore Darbar)
and the Dalai Lama of Tibet
not just marked the conclusion
of the campaign, it defined and
demarcated the border be-
tween India and Tibet in mod-
ern times.
ThiscampaignintoLadakh
and Tibet was led by Zorawar
Singh, a Dogra Rajput gen-
eral in the service of Raja-i-
Rajgan Gulab Singh of Jam-
mu, who was a subordinate
ruler owing allegiance to the
Sikh ruler at Lahore.
But the army marched under
the sovereign banner of Sarkar
Khalsa Ji of Punjab and its
then Maharaja Sher Singh son
of the legendary Sher-e-Pun-
jab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Indian history books bare-
ly do any justice to Zorawar
Singh’s desire and persis-
tence to acquire the Western
Tibetan territory, and thus
his role in defining the criti-
cal northern Indian border.
Zorawar Singh had expressed
his readiness to ‘kindle the
fires of victory’ and take pos-
session of Tibet when he met
the then Maharaja, Ranjit
Singh, in village Jandiala
Sher Khan in March 1836; a
request which was politely
declined by the Maharaja.
This has been documented by
Sohan Lal Suri who wrote
history in 5 volumes, a monu-
mental work in Persian called
Umdat ul Tawarikh keeping
a record of all important
events at the Lahore court.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s ap-
prehension can be understood
from the letters of French bota-
nist Victor Jaquemont which
gives insight into his conversa-
tions with the Maharaja. The
wily monarch quizzed him on
Tibet. Victor described it as a
poor country with cold weather
and barren land where subsist-
ence was very difficult. This
and other intelligence made
Ranjit Singh mentally write off
the adventure.
But ambition motivated
Zorawar Singh and he re-
mained adamant in his desire
for acquisition and glory. Fol-
lowing the victory over
Ladakh in 1836, he again
sought permission of the Ma-
haraja to attack Tibet and an-
nex it to the Khalsa Sarkar,
which was declined again cit-
ing it as being an inopportune
time for the invasion. The as-
tuteMaharajawaswellaware
of the problems such an inva-
sion may lead to given the dif-
ficult terrains and long lines
required for logistics.
Zorawar Singh had better
luck with Maharaja Ranjit Sin-
gh’s successor Sher Singh, who
agreed to his long-pending pro-
posal of wanting to invade Ti-
bet, and the rest is well, not
very well documented history.
None of the Indian books
on Zorawar Singh mention
that he led Sikh soldiers in
his campaign to Ladakh and
Tibet. In his book ‘Footprints
in the Snow: On the Trail of
Zorawar Singh’ the then Brig-
adier GD Bakshi, gives credit
to Sikhs for the revival of
military spirit in the region
and acknowledges Maharaja
Ranjit Singh as a ruler with a
vision who modernised his
army. It says, “The Dogras
under Gulab Singh and Zora-
war Singh were part of this
Sikh military renaissance”.
The Ladakh and Tibetan
campaign of Zorawar Singh
and the subsequent treaty
eventually formed the basis of
the McMohan Line, the border
agreed by British India and Ti-
bet in 1914. China disputes its
legal status and on that basis
has occupied the area of Aksai
Chin which belongs to India. At
the time of the campaign in
1841 –China had no role, mili-
tarily or otherwise.
Zorawar Singh is not seen
as an aggressor by Tibetans
but remembered in a more
positive light because his
campaign and the subsequent
treaties between Tibetans and
Lahore Darbar proves even
now that Tibetans had a le-
gitimate claim of sovereignty.
It is perhaps time to rewrite
the campaigns of General Zora-
war Singh by incorporating Ti-
betan and other non-Dogra
sources.TheJammu&Kashmir
Rifles, an infantry regiment of
the Indian army, celebrates 15th
AprileveryyearasZorawarDay
to commemorate the birth and
career of the legendary com-
mander who is considered as an
architect of this regiment,
which now takes recruits from
J&K and Himachal Pradesh.
Zorawar Singh is duly
credited with the conquest of
Ladakh, which remained,
culturally, Tibetan Buddhist.
He later led a successful cam-
paign against Gilgit-Bal-
tistan (now part of Pakistan
administered Kashmir) in
1839-40. However, he is most-
ly remembered for his daring
campaign in Tibet in 1841
and enjoys an iconic status
among the Hindu Dogra com-
munity of Jammu.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
ZORAWAR SINGH KAHLURIA
THE GENERAL WHO
WANTED TO WIN TIBET
T
None of the
Indian books on
Zorawar Singh
mention that he
led Sikh soldiers
in his campaign
to Ladakh and
Tibet. In his book
‘Footprints in the
Snow: On the
Trail of Zorawar
Singh’ the then
Brigadier GD
Bakshi, gives
credit to Sikhs for
the revival of
military spirit in
the region and
acknowledges
Maharaja Ranjit
Singh as a ruler
with a vision
who modernised
his army. It says,
“The Dogras
under Gulab
Singh and
Zorawar Singh
were part of this
Sikh military
renaissance”
SHUBHRANSHU
SINGH
The writer is a corporate professional,
marketing leader, columnist and a social
and political commentator. He writes
on brand building, marketing, history,
politics, technology and business
Zorawar Singh is duly
credited with the
conquest of Ladakh,
which remained,
culturally, Tibetan
Buddhist. He later led
a successful
campaign against
Gilgit-Baltistan (now
part of Pakistan
administered
Kashmir) in 1839-40
IN-DEPTH
CONGRESS MAKES
FUEL PRICES A
RALLYING POINT
he hike in fuel prices may not be
hurting the supporters, better
known as bhakts, of the Naren-
dra Modi-led government as they
may have either cushioned them-
selves against its impact or they feel obliged
to defend the government against all criti-
cism. Even some ministers of the Union
cabinet who used to take to the streets at
the smallest hike when the Congress was
in power are in the forefront to defend the
indefensible.
With no other opposition party ready to ques-
tion the government, the Congress finds itself
alone while taking on the Modi government,
whether it is Chinese transgression or the fuel
price crisis. While former president Rahul
Gandhi has persistently raised the Chine issue,
Sonia Gandhi, the incumbent party chief, has
been raising the red flag over oil prices.
On Monday she attacked the BJP govern-
ment for raising fuel prices 22 times since
the lockdown was imposed in March. Call-
ing it extortion and profiteering at the cost
of the people, she demanded immediate
rollback of the prices. She also urged the
government to withdraw the rise of excise
duty on petrol and diesel since March.
The increase in excise was effected at a time
when crude oil prices were relatively low at
$23.86 a barrel. An official was reported to have
said, “The revenue generated from these duties
shall be used for infrastructure and other de-
velopmental items of expenditure.” He had
gone on to add, “Retail sale prices of petrol and
diesel will, however, not change on account of
increase in duties, so it will have no impact on
the consumer.”
Launching a nationwide campaign
“Speak Up Against Fuel Hike” Sonia said
in a video message, “I, along with all Con-
gressmen and others, together with de-
mand from the Modi government to imme-
diately roll back the increase in prices of
petrol and diesel raised during this crisis
due to the pandemic.”
Lashing at the government, Sonia said that
instead of helping people in these difficult
times the government was busy filling its cof-
fers. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
joined the campaign on social media.
The country-wide protests are planned to
be launched between June 30 and July 1 at
the tehsil, block and district levels. In some
states, party members responded by stag-
ing protests.
The BJP now says that the party cares more
for the poor than the Congress party. Petroleum
minister Dharmendra Pradhan blamed the
pandemic for the sky-rocketing prices. “De-
mand for petrol went down by 70-80% in April-
May months in the country which directly im-
pacted the economy,” he said. He said that
prices in India will stabilise in sync with glob-
al markets but wondered why Congress-ruled
states weren’t reducing excise duty.
With Unlock 1.0 the demand has gone up.
As fuel prices soar, it is people’s turn to feel
the pinch.
T

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020
New Delhi: Keeping up
with his daily criticism
of the Centre, Congress
leader Ra-
hul Gandhi
on Monday
again took
a swipe at
the Modi
g o v e r n -
ment for
the rising fuel prices
and urged people to join
the protest against it.
Gandhi took to Twit-
ter to show his resent-
ment and stated,
“Come and join
#SpeakUpAgainstFu-
elHike campaign.”
This came after the
state-run oil marketing
companies raised the
prices of petrol and die-
sel on Monday, a day
after there was no hike
in rates that were in-
creasing continuously
for three weeks.Diesel
price on Monday scaled
a new high after prices
were hiked for the 22nd
time in just over three
weeks, taking the cu-
mulative increase to Rs
11.14 per litre. While,
petrol price was in-
creased by 5 paise per
litre and diesel 13 paise
a litre across the coun-
try, according to a price
notification of state oil
marketing companies.
The Wayanad MP
also shared a video
wherein a person could
be heard saying that the
government is “rub-
bing salt on the wounds
of people” by increas-
ing the prices at a time
when people are either
unemployed or not re-
ceiving salaries.
“Amid coronavirus
pandemic and tensions
with China, the Centre
has left the common
man to fend for them-
selves. It is looting the
country by increasing
the price of petrol and
diesel from the past 21
days. The poor and mid-
dle class people are
helpless,” the video nar-
rated. The video, shared
by Rahul Gandhi, went
on to urge people to
raise their voice against
hike, so that it lands on
‘deaf ears of the govt.’
“The Modi government
has ‘unlocked’ the Co-
rona epidemic & petrol-
diesel prices,” tweeted
Gandhi with a graph
showing a spike in Cor-
onavirus cases and fuel
prices. —Agencies
‘Speakupagainstrisingfuelprices’RaGa shared a video wherein, a person could be heard saying that the government is ‘rubbing salt on the
wounds of people’ by increasing prices at a time when they are either unemployed or not receiving salaries
Congress leader DK Shivakumar with Congress leader Siddaramaiah carries a bike on the shoulder
in protest against fuel price hike, in Bengaluru on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Vaishali
New Delhi: Amid the
rising fuel prices, Union
Petroleum Minister
DharmendraPradhanon
Monday hinted that the
prices of petrol and die-
sel in India may soon
comedown.“Worldecon-
omy as well as Indian
economy is going
through a challenging
time. Due to COVID19
pandemic, energy indus-
try is going through a
tough time. Demand for
petrol went down by 70-
80% in April-May
months in the country
which directly impacted
economy,” the minister
said, amid protests by
the Opposition over the
skyrocketing fuelprices.
“Now the demand is
picking up again. No
one can predict oil pric-
es, but we've estimated
that as prices in interna-
tional markets stabilise,
prices in India will also
stabilise,” the Petrole-
um Minister said.
Fuelpricesmay
comedowninIndia
soon,saysPradhan
Bengaluru: Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
along with Congress leaders rode a bicycle from
his residence to Minsk Square to protest against
the hike in fuel prices. KPCC President DK Shi-
vakumar too accompanied him.”We are carrying
out our duty. At the time of UPA government's
rule, when there was any hike in fuel prices, sev-
eral BJP leaders had made bold statements. It is
ironic that at the time of this COVID-19 pandem-
ic, even despite the price of barrels falling, they
have increased fuel prices,” said Shivakumar.
SIDDARAMAIAH RIDES BICYCLE TO
PROTEST AGAINST PRICE HIKE
Rampur: Union Minis-
ter Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi said that the
Gandhi family is unable
to understand that the
current government is
not that of former PM
Dr Manmohan Singh
which they used to re-
mote control.
Reacting to Congress
leader Abhishek Manu
Singhvi's comment
stating, that PM-
CARES Fund has re-
ceived donations from
Chinese companies
which is ‘alarming for
national security,’ Naq-
vi said, “Gandhi family
is not able to under-
stand that this is not
Manmohan Singh's
government which they
used to remote control.
Modi government is
dedicated to nation’s
development & securi-
ty. Congress should
stop giving dictation.
Congress party is fitted
in a family photo frame
& will never accept
ground reality.” —ANI
‘This isn’t govt which Gandhis used to control’
New Delhi: Terming
India and Bhutan rela-
tionship as 'truly
unique', External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar said the two
countries are fighting
the coronavirus pan-
demic together and as-
sured that New Delhi
stands with Thimphu in
dealing with challenges
post the global crisis.
The minister's re-
mark came at the sign-
ing ceremony of Con-
cession Agreement for
600 MW Kholongchhu
JV-Hydroelectric Pro-
ject in Bhutan. The
agreement was signed
between Bhutan gov-
ernment and Kho-
longchhu Hydro Ener-
gy Limited. Jaishankar
called the joint project
as yet another mile-
stone in “diverse” and
“multi-faceted bilater-
al cooperation” be-
tween the two neigh-
bouring countries. “600
MW Kholongchhu JV-
Hydroelectric Project
is the first joint ven-
ture to be implemented
in Bhutan. I congratu-
late both for this feat,”
he said. —ANI
‘India stands together with Bhutan
in dealing with various challenges’
Anirudh Tiwari
Bhopal: The way for
first cabinet expansion
of BJP government in
Madhya Pradesh, is
now cleared. After sev-
eral rounds of meetings
with BJP High Com-
mand in Delhi, names
of 25 to 28 ministers
have been finalised for
the Cabinet. For the
first time in MP, the
post of Dy CM is being
created in a BJP gov-
ernment. According to
sources, it has been
agreed to make Scindia
supporter, Tulsi Silavat
& senior BJP leader and
Home Minister Narot-
tam Mishra asDy CM.
Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan imme-
diately left for Delhi af-
ter returning from
Tirupati, wherein, he
held met with BJP Pres-
ident JP Nadda and
Home Minister Amit
Shah as well as Agricul-
ture Minister Narendra
Singh Tomar.
MP: PAVING WAY FOR
CABINET EXPANSION
New Delhi: Delhi HC
extended the suspen-
sion of the function-
ing of the HC and
courts subordinate to
it till July 15 in view of
the ongoing coronavi-
rus pandemic.
Taking note of the
prevalent situation in
Delhi, the Adminis-
trative and General
Supervision Commit-
tee of Delhi HC said
that the regular func-
tioning of high court
as well courts subor-
dinate to it shall con-
tinue to remain sus-
pended till July 15. All
the pending matters
listed before the court
in this period will
stand adjourned.
It said that the sus-
pended functioning of
HC of Delhi shall
stand extended till
July 15 on same terms
as contained in order
dated June 13. How-
ever, hearing in ur-
gent matters would be
held via VC. —ANI
New Delhi: The Del-
hi HC adjourned to
July 6 hearing on sev-
eral petitions relat-
ing to the violence
that erupted in and
around the Jamia
Milia Islamia (JMI)
University in Decem-
ber last year.
A division bench
presided by Chief
Justice DN Patel and
Justice Prateek Jalan
adjourned the matter
as many of the par-
ties had not received
a copy of the replies.
The Crime Branch of
Delhi Police had ear-
lier submitted before
HC their response on
several pleas, includ-
ing one filed by law-
yer Nabila Hasan
through advocates
Sneha Mukherjee
and Siddharth Seem
seeking action
against cops over Ja-
mia violence.
Police said that
there is no need for a
separate inquiry as it
is already probing
the matter. —ANI
Functioning of Delhi
HC,district courts
suspended till Jul 15
Hearing on pleas
related to Jamia
violence adjourned
New Delhi: Masood, a
so-called commander
of terrorist group Hiz-
bul Mujahideen, was
killed by security forc-
es in an encounter in
south Kashmir’s
Anantnag district on
Monday. Masood was
the last surviving ter-
rorist from the Doda
district, Jammu and
Kashmir police chief
Dilbag Singh said.
Masood was wanted
in a rape case in Doda
and had joined the Hiz-
bul Mujahideen when
he was on the run, the
Kashmir police said. He
had shifted his area of
operation to Kashmir.
“Doda district in
Jammu Zone becomes
totally militancy free
once again as Masood
was a last surviving
terrorist of the Doda
District,” Dilbag Sin-
gh said. “Doda district
in Jammu Zone be-
comes totally militan-
cy free once again as
Masood was a last sur-
viving terrorist of the
Doda District,” Dilbag
Singh said. —ANI
Dodaismilitancyfree,afterHizb
terroristkilledinencounter:Cops
U’KHAND GOVT TO BEGIN
CHARDHAM YATRA FROM JULY 1
Dehradun: Uttarakhand government will begin
the Char Dham Yatra for residents of the state
from July 1, Uttarakhand Chardham Devastha-
nam Board Chief Executive officer said. “Uttara-
khand government will begin Char Dham Yatra
for the residents of the state from July 1, follow-
ing standard operating procedure (SOPs) issued
by the government in view of COVID-19,” the
board said. It said that people from containment
zones and quarantine centres within the state will
also not be allowed to take part in pilgrimage.
DEFENCE MIN LAUNCHES NEW PORTAL FOR SECURITY CLEARANCES
New Delhi: Defence
Minister Rajnath
Singh on Monday
launched a new
portal for according
security clearances
to various organisa-
tions for projects in
areas nearby defence
installations and also
for RSSE activities in
Indian Territorial Wa-
ters and EEZs, said
the Office of Defence
Minister. The newly
developed Ministry of
Defence portal will fa-
cilitate the applicants
in submitting their
proposals online for
seeking MoD Security
Clearance. The online
system will establish
an effective, speedy
and transparent
mechanism to pro-
cess these proposals,
said the officials.
‘PUNJAB TO BE SHORT OF 30,000
CR IN REVENUE THIS FISCAL’
Chandigarh: Punjab
Chief Minister Captain
Amarinder Singh said
that the state is estimated
to be short of Rs 30,000
crore in revenue this
financial year due to the
ongoing coronavirus
pandemic.“I have just
sent to the Prime Minister
a memorandum of the
Government of India
seeking fiscal and non-fis-
cal assistance from the
government. We have
covered all our areas. We
estimate, that by the end
of this financial year, we
will be short of about Rs
30,000 crore in revenue,”
Singh said in a press
conference.He observed
that trade is going down
and added that the Goods
and Services Tax (GST)
will be reduced.
IN THE COURTYARD
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Minister of Petroleum
& Natural Gas and
Minister of Steel,
Government of India.
Views personal. RTs
not endorsement.
Unlike @INCIndia’s
legacy of transfer-
ring money into the
accounts of mid-
dlemen, ‘National
Daamad’, ‘The Family’
and Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation, Modi ji’s
DBT is about putting
money in the hands
of the poor, farmers,
migrant workforce
and women.
‘BORN TO FOREIGNER, CAN'T BE PATRIOT’
New Delhi: Delhi HC refused to entertain
a PIL seeking uniform standard operating
procedure for arrests claiming there are no
guidelines for the same in Gazette of India.
A division bench of CJ DN Patel and Justice
Prateek Jalan disposed of the plea filed by
Abhijit Mishra but granted him liberty to
approach an appropriate forum if there is a
violation of legal provisions concerning ar-
rest in any individual case. Mishra, in his
plea, said that to date there are no uniform
guidelines or SOPs in regard to arrest of
citizen as published in the Gazette of India.
HC junks plea seeking
uniform SOP for arrests
Pune: Congress staged
a protest in Maharash-
tra’s Pune against the
surge in petrol and die-
sel prices across the
country.
Congress leader Bala-
saheb Thorat said: “The
protest is happening all
over the country today.
When petrol diesel pric-
es are hiked it impacts
common man, today
when the common man
is in problem already
due to coronavirus the
government is putting
another burden on them
by increasing petrol and
diesel prices.” Former
MLC Mohan Joshi “To-
day the prices in the in-
ternational market are
less but still govt is tak-
ing more money from
Pune for fuel. The gov-
ernment should pro-
vide fuel at the price of
international crude oil
price,” he said. —ANI
Maharashtra Cong
joins the protest

INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020
Unlock1.0...
Khodiyarnagar areas,
and Padra, Savli, Bhayli
Road, Karodia, Samiyala
andChandodruralareas.
Though the Vadoda-
ra health statement re-
ported two deaths on
Monday, there was no
mention of it in the
state health statement.
In Bharuch, two pa-
tients died of Covid-19
and the number of
deaths has reached 13,
according to the dis-
trict administration.
Ten fresh cases were
reported on Monday,
taking the total to 220.
In Rajkot, there are a
total of 98 active cases.
Of these, 29 are being
treated in private hospi-
tals and 69 in the gov-
ernment-run civil hos-
pital. There are 36 cases
in the city and 33 in ru-
ral areas.
Shut: Metro,...
10 pm to 5 am. Further,
relaxations in night
curfew have been given
for the seamless opera-
tion of industrial units
in multiple shifts,
movement of persons
and goods on National
and State Highways,
loading and unloading
of cargo and move-
ment of persons to
their destinations after
disembarking from
buses, trains and air-
planes,” MHA said.
Dates for the opening
of activities will be de-
cided separately, based
on the assessment of
situation, MHA said.
Lockdown shall con-
tinue to be implemented
strictly in the contain-
ment zones till July 31.
The new guidelines,
issued on Monday, are
based on feedback re-
ceived from States and
UTs, and extensive con-
sultations held with re-
lated Central Ministries
and Departments.
“Shops depending
upon their area can
have more than five per-
sons at a time. However,
they have to maintain
adequate physical dis-
tance. Training institu-
tions of the Central and
State Governments will
be allowed to function
with effect from July 15,
2020. SOP in this regard
will be issued by the De-
partment of Personnel
and Training, Govern-
ment of India,” MHA
said. —ANI
Maha lockdown...
No new loosening of
curbs have been an-
nounced and relax-
ations granted earlier
under “Mission Begin
Again” will continue
for citizens.
The order clearly pro-
hibited inter-district
movement of people as
well as long-distance
travelling without any
emergency. —PTI
Amid Chinese...
by both the countries for
disengagement.
It is also being said
that all contentious ar-
eas during the ongoing
standoff will be dis-
cussed in tomorrow’s
meeting to stabilise the
situation along the Line
of ActualControl(LAC).
The last two meetings at
the Corp Commander
level were held on June
6 and June 22.
‘Govt ‘extorting’...
Participating in the
Congress’ “Speak Up
Against Fuel Hike”
campaign across the
country, she said on the
one hand, the COVID-19
pandemic was wreak-
ing havoc and on the
other, the rise in petrol
and diesel prices was
making life very diffi-
cult for the people.
The Congress
launched the country-
wide campaign on Mon-
day to press the central
government to roll back
fuel prices as they were
hurting the common
people. Party leaders
Rahul Gandhi and Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra
also joined the cam-
paign on social media,
and urged people to join
them in pressing the
government to reduce
fuel prices.
“I, along with all Con-
gressmen and others
together, demand from
the Modi government to
immediately roll back
the increase in prices of
petrol and diesel raised
during this crisis due to
the corona pandemic,”
Sonia Gandhi said in a
video message.”—PTI
Terrorists attack...
enter into the com-
pound leading to PSX
building through a
parking lot but security
forces foiled their at-
tack within the com-
pound itself, Deputy SP
Jamil Ahmed said. DG
Rangers Sindh Ma-
jor-General Omer
Ahmed Bokhari, said
the attackers intended
to not only enter the
building but also carry
out violence and hold
people hostage.
“The PSX is an im-
portant symbol of eco-
nomic activity hence
the objective of these
militants was to in-
crease casualties here
and hold hostages.
Four security guards,
a police sub-inspector
and two civilians were
killed in the heavy ex-
change of fire at the
PSX compound. —PTI
FROM PG 1
KAUN BANEGA CAG?
It will not be a surprise, if former Finance Sec-
retary, Hasmukh Adhia is appointed as new CAG.
He is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.
NOW TWO VACANCIES IN CBDT
There is a shortage of two Members in the
CBDT. After the retirement of Akhilesh Ranjan in
November last, second vacancy has been caused
because of the superannuation of PK Dash.
Now third vacancy is expected in July. And the
Chairman will also retire in August. Why so much
delay in appointments in the CBIC and the CBDT?
ORDERS OF DR RAJ KIRAN RAI AS
UBI MD & CEO ISSUED
Orders regarding the tenure extention of Dr Raj
Kiran Rai, MD & CEO of Union Bank of India,
were issued on Monday, the sources said.
NOTIFICATION OF PP SENGUPTA
FOR MD & CEO OF INDIAN
OVERSEAS BANK TO BE
ANNOUNCED ON TUESDAY?
Notification for appointment of P P Sengupta as
MD & CEO of Indian Overseas Bank is expected
today. He is supposed to take over on July 1.
K RAJESWARA RAO IS NOW
ADDITIONAL SECRETARY, NITI AAYOG
K Rajeswara Rao, Additional Secretary, Ministry
of Mines, has been appointed as Additional Sec-
retary, NITI Aayog. He is a 1988 batch IAS officer
of Tripura cadre.
VINI MAHAJAN SUPERSEDES FOUR
OFFICERS TO BECOME PUNJAB CS
Vini Mahajan, a1987 batch Punjab cadre IAS
officer, appointed Chief Secretary of Punjab,
has superseded four IAS officers including KBS
Sidhu of the 1984-batch, senior-most officer in
Punjab due to retire in July 2021. Three other
officers, all of 1985-batch, are Satish Chandra
currently Home Secretary who retires in Sep-
tember 2020, Kalpana Mittal Baruah, who retires
in November 2020 and Arun Goel, who retires in
December 2022.
PESB YET TO HOLD INTERVIEWS
FOR CHAIRMAN, SAIL
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) is
yet to hold interviews for the post of Chairman,
Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), falling vacant
next year on January 1, 2021. The names of five
internal candidates including two Directors and
three Executive Directors are doing the rounds
for the post, informed the sources.
PP SHARMA APPOINTED SC’S
VACATION OFFICER FOR AUG 2020
Prem Prakash Sharma, Deputy Registrar in the Su-
preme Court has been appointed as Vacation Officer
in the Supreme Court for month of August 2020.
SASHI SHANKAR RELIEVED TO JOIN
CENTRAL DEPUTATION
Sashi Shankar, DCF, Chittorgarh, has been
relieved to join central deputation as Assistant
Inspector General of Forests (Central), Regional
Office, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Cli-
mate Change, Dehradun. He is a 2009 batch IFS
officer of Rajasthan cadre.
GOPAL MEENA IS ALSO ADDITIONAL
CEO IN BIHAR
Gopal Meena has been assigned an additional
charge of Additional Chief Electoral Officer (ACEO) in
Bihar. He is a 2007 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre.
SAJEEV KRISHNAN QUITS AS PART-
TIME CHAIRMAN OF DHANLAXMI BANK
Sajeev Krishnan, Part-time Chairman and
Independent Director of Dhanlaxmi Bank, has
resigned from the Board of the Bank w.e.f June
29, 2020 due to personal reasons, informed a
few reliable sources from the Bank.
POWERGallery
New Delhi: The Delhi
government will set up
a plasma bank to help
Covid-19 patients in the
city, announced chief
minister Arvind Kejri-
wal at a press confer-
ence this afternoon. It is
likely to be the first such
bank in the country.
Use of plasma thera-
py involves injecting
blood-component plas-
ma extracted from a
cured coronavirus pa-
tient into a positive case.
The plasma of a cured
patient is considered to
carry virus-fighting an-
tibodies which boost the
immune system’s re-
sponse to the disease.
Plasma is the almost-
clear liquid left behind
afterredandwhiteblood
cells and platelets are
removed from the blood.
The plasma bank –
which will operate
largely like a blood
bank – will be set up in
the Institute of Liver
and Biliary Sciences
(ILBS) hospital in south
Delhi and the services
can be availed by pa-
tients admitted in both
government and pri-
vate hospitals, but it
has to be recommended
by a doctor, the chief
minister said.
He further said, “The
Delhi government has
decided to set up a plas-
ma bank in ILBS Hospi-
tal. This will probably
be the first plasma
bank of the country.
Any Covid-cured indi-
vidual would be able to
donate plasma and ac-
tive Covid patients ad-
mitted in both private
and government hospi-
tals would be able to
avail it. But only a doc-
tor can recommend
plasma therapy and it
cannot be randomly
sought by any Covid pa-
tient. After recommen-
dation, the concerned
hospital has to inform
ILBS for plasma.”
He said that govern-
ment is working out the
modalities of plasma
bank & they shall be fi-
nalised in another two
days.” The CM also an-
nounced an honorary
amount of Rs 1cr to
family of Dr Aseem
Gupta, who died of Co-
rona. —ANI
‘Delhitogetplasmabanksoon’
The plasma bank at ILBS Hospital, will probably be the first such bank of the country
New Delhi: India’s cor-
onavirus recovery rate
has reached 58.67 per
cent as the gap between
recoveries and active
cases stands at 1,11,602,
according to the Union
Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare
(MoHFW).
A total of 12,010 COV-
ID-19 patients have been
cured in the last 24
hours. According to the
Ministry on Monday,
the total coronavirus
cases in the country
stands at 5,48,318 in-
cluding 2,10,120 active
cases, 3,21,723 cured/
discharged/migrated
and 16,475 deaths.
“The gap between re-
coveries and active cas-
es is 1,11,602 as of today.
So far, as many as
3,21,722 patients have
been cured of COV-
ID-19. The recovery rate
continues to steadily
improve. It has reached
58.67% amongst COV-
ID-19 patients today.
During the last 24
hours, a total of 12,010
COVID-19 patients have
been cured. Presently,
there are 2,10,120 active
cases and all are under
active medical supervi-
sion,” said a release by
MoHFW. —ANI
India’s recovery rate
reaches 58.67 pc: Govt
New Delhi: Congress
MP Abhishek Manu
Singhvi, who is being
treated for corona-
virus, tweeted on
Monday that while he
didn’t need plasma
“by god’s grace” as
he had a mild infec-
tion, he had pledged
his own as it was
the most effective
remedy available. The
Congress spokesper-
son tested positive
for the virus last week
and has been in home
isolation.
Puducherry: Puduch-
erry Chief Minister
V Narayanasamy
and the staff at his
residence on Monday
tested negative for
COVID-19.However,
the Chief Minister has
been advised seven
days home quaran-
tine, Director of Health
and Family Welfare S
Mohan Kumar said.
Narayanasamy and
staff at his residence
underwent examina-
tion for COVID-19 on
Sunday after one of
the staff had tested
positive a few days
ago. The chief minis-
ter and all the 52 staff
tested negative. —ANI
ABHISHEK MANU
SINGHVI IN HOME
QUARANTINE
PUDUCHERRY CM
TESTS NEGATIVE
FOR INFECTION
Ashwini K Singh is new BSF south Bengal IG
Kolkata: Ashwini Ku-
mar Singh took over as
the new IG of BSF’s
south Bengal frontier
that mans over 940 kilo-
metres of the India-
Bangladeshinternation-
alborder,aseniorofficer
said.Singhisa1984-batch
officer of BSF cadre.
Singh, who took over
from incumbent Y B
Khurania, also under-
took a tour of the border
areas in Malda district
and reviewed the secu-
rity preparedness.The
IG asked troops to en-
sure“zero”trans-border
crimes. He also asked
his personnel to use
technology tools to pre-
vent cross-border
crimes, an official said.
RAIN RELIEF...
A man holding an umbrella is silhoutted during light rainfall in Jalandhar. —PHOTO BY PTI
COVID 19 UPDATE
50L PPE SUITS’
MONTHLY EXPORT
Arvindkejriwal
@Arvindkejriwal
“Dr Aseem Gupta, a
senior doctor of LNJP
Hospital succumbed
to Covid yday. He was
known for going out
of his way to serve
his patients. We have
lost a very valuable
fighter. Delhi salutes
his spirit and sacri-
fice. I just spoke to
his wife and offered
my condolences and
support.”
New Delhi: In a huge
move, the Central Gov-
ernment on Monday
decided to ban 59 mo-
bile applications linked
to China on grounds of
national security.
A formal order, ask-
ing phone companies to
block the applications,
was issued after weeks
of discussions that
started much before the
Ladakh border standoff
with China.
The government said
the apps were blocked
“in view of information
available they are en-
gaged in activities
which is prejudicial to
sovereignty and integ-
rity of India, defence of
India, security of state
and public order.”
The statement from
the Ministry of Elec-
tronics and Informa-
tion and Technology
said it had received an
“exhaustive recommen-
dation” from Indian Cy-
ber Crime Coordination
Centre & MHA.
The ministry said it re-
ceived representations
from people on “security
of data & risk to privacy”
regarding few apps.
Digital strike on China!
Govt bans 59 China-linked phone applications
APPS THAT HAVE BEEN BANNED

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020
HEADING
BACK TO THE
ne of the most
profound ways
the COVID-19
pandemic has af-
fected our lives
has been in the
way we work. For people
lucky enough to keep their
jobs, and for those of us in
professions where it’s pos-
sible, working from home
has become the new nor-
mal.
Australia’s success in
“flattening the curve”
means restrictions are
now being lifted. With this,
many employers are bring-
ing their staff back into
the office, or at least con-
templating doing so.
But as the current out-
breaks in Victoria show,
it’s dangerous to think
we’re now safe from the
threat of COVID-19.
So, what do we need to
consider as we take those
first tentative steps back
into the office.
O
FOR PEOPLE LUCKY ENOUGH TO KEEP THEIR JOBS, AND FOR THOSE OF US IN PROFESSIONS
WHERE IT’S POSSIBLE, WORKING FROM HOME HAS BECOME THE NEW NORMAL
In many workplaces, em-
ployees share a small office
space, work in an open-plan
office, or use “hot desks”
that are shared between
several different employees
on different shifts.
Workers in these situa-
tions are often required to
work for long periods in
environments that make it
hard to maintain the recom-
mended 4m² distancing rule.
This combination —
several hours spent in
close contact — increases
the risk of COVID-19
transmission. This is il-
lustrated by an outbreak
in an open-plan call centre
in Seoul, where more than
43% of workers contracted
COVID-19 during February
and March.
While there’s a lot we
still don’t know about
SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus
that causes COVID-19, we do
know it spreads most effec-
tively from person to person
in droplet form. Infected
people emit these droplets
when they sneeze, cough,
and even speak.
Those droplets can be
transmitted directly through
the air — say when an infec-
tious person coughs in the
direction of someone else
close by — or they can settle
on surfaces, where they can
remain viable for hours.
The virus enters the body
of a non-infected person
through contact with mucous
membranes in the nose,
mouth or eyes and attaches
to cells in the upper res-
piratory tract to establish
infection.
OFFICE WORKERS
FIRST, HOW DOES THE VIRUS SPREAD?
First, each employee in a
shared office should be
able to have at least 4m²
to themselves. If this isn’t
possible, it would be a good
idea to stagger staff or allow
them to continue working
from home for now.
Second, think about
airflow. Small offices often
have insufficient airflow to
dilute the virus, and, if an
infectious person is present,
could end up with high con-
centrations of viral particles
over the course of an hour
or so.
Conversely, higher rates
of airflow combined with
poor ventilation can also
lead to infection, as droplets
can be carried further.
So where possible,
increase ventilation and
air exchange in open-plan
workspaces. Increasing the
ratio of fresh air intake to
recirculated air can reduce
the concentration of virus
particles in air conditioned
spaces. Even simply open-
ing windows can reduce
viral spread.
Third, cleaning proto-
cols need to be increased.
Where once a twice weekly
visit from a contracted
cleaner to vacuum the
floors, empty the bins and
quickly wipe over surfaces
was considered sufficient,
during COVID-19 you need
to ensure a thorough daily
clean of all surfaces.
Frequently touched sur-
faces, such as desks, light
switches, door handles,
phones, staircase railings,
touch screens, keypads,
taps and toilets should be
given special attention and
may require more frequent
cleaning.
Fourth, if a worker be-
comes sick with respiratory
symptoms, isolate them
from other staff and ar-
range for them to go home.
Advise them to get tested
for COVID-19 and not return
to work until they have a
negative result.
Similarly, reinforce the
message, “if you’re sick, get
tested and don’t come to
work”. Now more than ever,
the culture of “soldiering
on” while unwell puts others
at risk. Finally, you might
also consider asking em-
ployees to wear face masks
at work. Face masks are un-
likely to protect the person
wearing them but can limit
the disease being spread by
coughs and sneezes.
Cramped shared offices
and free-for-all hot-desking
are both known for their
negative impacts on quality
of workplace life. The results
are often interpersonal
conflict, reduced productivity
and higher rates of sickness.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR EMPLOYERS
First, you should clean
equipment like key-
boards, phones and mice
regularly, and definitely
between each user if
desks are shared. Simply
wipe your desk and equip-
ment with a domestic
spray cleaner.
Second, the best pro-
tection against the virus is
personal hygiene. Wash-
ing your hands with soap
and water offers excellent
protection against SARS-
CoV-2. When you can’t
wash your hands, use
an alcohol-based hand
sanitiser instead.
You should wash or
sanitise your hands
regularly throughout the
day, especially any time
you touch anything you
suspect someone else has
recently been in contact
with.
Third, maintain a dis-
tance of 1.5m from other
people to protect yourself
from airborne droplets.
Fourth, practise good
respiratory hygiene by
coughing and sneez-
ing into a tissue or the
crook of your elbow. This
prevents viral particles
spreading over surfaces
and toward people around
you.
Lastly, if you have any
symptoms, don’t go to
work. Get tested as soon
as possible and stay at
home until you receive the
results.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR EMPLOYEES
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

Perseverance is hard work. It is
hard work continued, once you
finished working hard on
something which is still not complete. It is
also the key to success!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
Dr. Anita
New Delhi: Congress’
senior Rajya Sabha
MP and AICC Treas-
urer Ahmed Patel on
Monday gave out a
clarion call to the
people to fight the
“ b a c k - b r e a k i n g ”
hike in petrol and
diesel prices imposed
by an “insensitive
and selfish” govern-
ment till it is rolled
back.
“It is a high time
that we see through the
game of this BJP Gov-
ernment to misguide
and mislead us and
fight for this just de-
mand.
It is not about the
Congress or any other
party, it is the serious
issue that needs to be
understood,” Patel
twitted in a video mes-
sage, as part of the
“Speak Up Against
Fuel Hike” campaign
across the country by
the Congress.
The Congress
launched the country-
wide campaign on
Monday to press the
central government to
roll back fuel prices as
they were hurting the
common people.
“First in the name
of notebandhi, then
GST and now when
corona has hit the
common man so
hard, the govern-
ment has hiked the
prices when it is
very much possible
to bring them down,
given the low crude
oil prices,” the
Congress leader as-
serted.
Patel went on, “In
such tough times,
this government is
forcing out money
from the pockets of
the poor; what
should I call this,
nothing but a white
loot’’! This is such an
insensitive govern-
ment, which thinks
people would any-
way vote for them.
And whenever the
elections come -- in
this case, they know
it is four years away
-- they will use the
same loot money to
woo the people.”
PATEL’s CLARION CALL: Fight ‘looters & selfish’ government
ANGRY OUTBURST!
CM assures saints, Manek
willtenderapologytoBapu
A delegation of saints met CM to ask what action was being taken against Dwarka ex-MLA
Shishir Awasthi
Gandhinagar: In-
censed over the misbe-
haviour of BJP leader
from Saurashtra Pa-
bubha Manek with
prominent spiritual
preacher Morari Bapu
recently, a delegation
of saints from differ-
ent religious places in
Gujarat on Monday
called on Chief Minis-
ter Vijay Rupani de-
manding to know what
action was being taken
against him.
After the meeting,
the saints told medi-
apersons that Chief
Minister Rupani had
given them an assur-
ance that Pabubha
Manek would visit
Mahuva to meet Mo-
rari Bapu at his ash-
ram and tender an
apology for his be-
haviour
Manek, whose
election as an MLA
from the Dwarka
constituency was re-
cently invalidated by
the Gujarat High
Court, had earlier
this month charged
towards Morari
Bapu at a public
function in a fit of
anger apparently to
harm him. It was be-
cause of the inter-
vention by BJP MP
Poonam Madam and
others present that
Manek was unable to
reach closer to the
spiritual leader.
The Dwarka BJP
leader was angry
over Morari Bapu’s
public remark two
years ago that Lord
Krishna had set up
the rule of “dharma”
everywhere else but
could not do so in
Dwarka, a video of
which went viral re-
cently. Morari Bapu
has already apolo-
gized for that remark
more than once.
A day after this inci-
dent, a group of saints
had called on Morari
Bapu to inform him
about their decision to
meet the Chief Minis-
ter over this issue.
State Education Minis-
ter Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama and Guja-
rat BJP Spokesperson
Bharat Pandya had
also called on Morari
Bapu later for a recon-
ciliation.
Besides Chudasama
and Pandya, Minister
of State for Home
Pradipsinh Jadeja and
other leaders were also
present on Monday
when the saints were
in Gandhinagar to
meet the Chief Minis-
ter.
A long-time MLA
from Dwarka, Pabub-
ha Manek’s appeal to
the Gujarat High
Court to let him move
the Supreme Court to
seek a stay order was
also refused. Justice
Paresh Upadhyay had
stated, “This request is
rejected, considering
the fact that, the very
acceptance of the
nomination of the re-
spondent No.1 was il-
legal... The said ille-
gality cannot be per-
mitted to be perpetu-
ated any further.”
Congress leader Ahmed Patel at his residence in New Delhi.
ROBOT FIRE-FIGHTER
Ahmedabad Fire Brigade’s 1 crore fire robot Sheshnag capable of operating at a high
temperature of 400 degrees.
Law student seeks live
access to HC hearings
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A young
law student has
knocked the doors of
the Gujarat High
Court seeking open
public access to
courts when they con-
duct virtual hearings.
A third year law stu-
dent at Nirma Univer-
sity, Pruthvirajsinh
Zala, has filed a public
interest litigation stat-
ing that the present sys-
tem of virtual hearings
provides video links to
court proceedings only
to the advocates con-
cerned while it all re-
mains “inaccessible” to
the people, including
the litigants, media and
law students.
Zala went on to ar-
gue that even in nor-
mal circumstances,
physical hearings
ought to be made
more accessible by
setting up live-stream-
ing mechanism, in
terms of Section 327
of CrPC and Section
153B of CPC, that re-
late to open trials and
access to the public
during hearing of cas-
es before the Court.
He contended that
the right of access to
justice flows from Arti-
cle 21 of the Constitu-
tion. “The concept of
justice at the doorstep
would be meaningful
only if the public gets
access” to the live pro-
ceedings since it would
provide an opportunity
to the people to witness
proceedings in having
an impact on their lives,
the petitioner stated.
He has cited the in-
stance of the Kerala
High Court, which has
successfully started
live-streaming of court
hearings through the
Zoom App.
MLA’S ANGER
A group of saints met CM Vijay Rupani over BJP leader’s insult of Morari Bapu.
State govt to provide farmers
aid for‘desi’ cow breeding
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: With
many farmers be-
lieved to be adopting
cow-based ‘natural’
farming in Gujarat,
the State government
has announced a fi-
nancial assistance for
farmers to cover main-
tenance of the cattle.
The government has
announced to provide
`900 per month per ani-
mal assistance to all
such farmers, who are
using only indigenous
cow breeds for natural
farming, using their
manure and gau mutra.
The assistance amounts
to `10,800 annually for
each registered farmer.
The farmers are re-
quired to register them-
selves on the State Gov-
ernment’s iKhedut por-
tal to avail the benefits.
“The registered farmer
will get quarterly pay-
ment of `2,700 directly
in their bank account.
The decision is aimed at
doubling farmers’ in-
come as envisioned by
the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi,” a Gu-
jarat Government state-
ment said.
“This is a timely and
encouraging support
from the Government.
In past couple of years,
we have seen many
farmers turning to com-
plete natural farming
using inputs from in-
digenous cow breeds.
As of today, about 5,500-
5,700 farmers across the
State are involved in
such natural farming.
“With this support,
the government has
provided encourage-
ment to farmers to
have more indigenous
cows,” Praful Senjali-
ya, a farmer leader
and expert on cow-
based farming, said.
Two Filipinos test Covid
positive at Alang yard
4 persons drown in a
stream in Jamnagar
First India Bureau
Bhavnagar: Two Fili-
pinos and two Indians,
including the captain
of a ship, were among
those who tested posi-
tive for coronavirus at
Asia’s largest Alang
ship-breaking yard in
Bhavnagar district on
Monday.
The two foreign na-
tionals were among the
14-membercrewwhohad
beachedavessel“MVJa-
karta” on Saturday at
Alang and were immedi-
ately quarantined.
Ever since Alang
ship-breaking yard re-
started after the lock-
down, the district ad-
ministration has laid
out a procedure where
the crew of vessels com-
ing to the beach at the
yard to be dismantled
are quarantined in a
special facility set up at
a hotel in Bhavnagar,
about 50 km from Alang.
The vessel had
beached on plot number
134 belonging to Ma-
havir Steel.
“The crew of the ship
was quarantined at a
paid quarantine facility
at a hotel in Bhavnagar
and the samples were
taken on Sunday,”
GaurangMakwana,Dis-
trict Collector said.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Four persons,
including two children,
drowned in a stream
whiletheywerecrossing
it on a mobike between
Udaipur and Sattapar
villages of Jamjodhpur
taluka in Jamnagar dis-
trict on Monday.
Police said while they
fished out the bodies of
Awal Sindhav (27) and
his sister Manju Solan-
ki(33),theyweresearch-
ing for the bodies of
Anandi Solanki (13) and
Minal Solanki (3), both
daughters of Manju.
Police said the inci-
dent occurred while
Sindhav was driving
Manju and her daugh-
ters on his bike from
her in-laws place in Ra-
navav of Porbandar dis-
trict to their home in
Udaipur.
“It appears that Sind-
hav misjudged the
depth of the water and
decidedtodrivethrough
his bike on which Man-
ju and her daughters
were seated. When he
reached the middle of
the stream, the current
in the water was so
strong that it swept
away within seconds,”
said VD Rawaliya, head
constable with Jam-
jodhpur police station.

The Cong leader
says though peo-
ple suffered from
‘notebandhi’ and
GST and are
passing through
the worst phase
post-Covid-19
outbreak, the ‘in-
sensitive’ BJP
Govt takes people
for granted
We welcome the
decision to ban
Chinese apps. In
light of the grave
intrusion of our ter-
ritory & the unpro-
voked attack on our
armed forces by
the Chinese army,
we expect our
government to take
more substantial &
effective measures
@ahmedpatel

t one time,
t h i g h - h i g h
slits were a
rage but those
days are by-
gone, high
and higher
slits are all the rage
with the celebrities
but also make heads
turn like never before!
From the thigh-
high slits, we have
moved to the waist-
high slits or a slit all
the way! This fashion is
now increasingly com-
mon among the town
celebrities too across.
Before you decide to
carry the slit, City
First brings you a few
tips so that you make
heads turn for the right
reasons and not for a
fashion blooper!
Follow these tips
and you will have peo-
ple wondering what
sartorial sorcery
have you been up to
carry the slit with
such aplomb!
The first and
foremost is to
make sure the
dress fits like a
glove, there
should be no
extra spaces
for the dress
to move or
lift up. Or if
you don’t
have the fig-
ure to carry the slit in a
long flowing skirt which
looks lovely too, use strap-
less undies to ensure
there is no nudity in case
the dress moves. Also, re-
member high slits are
only for the night parties,
a modest slit is a norm for
the day, purely to ease
movement. The day time
slit skirts look good with
high boots and neon
sneakers too.
You don’t actually have
to go with a thigh-high
slit. You can take a mid-
calf or just a small slit.
Just the idea of having a
front or side slit will add
to your look and you can
decide the length as per
your choice and comfort.
Keep the focus on the legs
subtly and please ensure that
the legs being shown-off are
worth it, waxed, moisturised
and toned or you can wear
light skin colour stockings
too if you want. And make
sure you wear the highest
heels you can comforta-
bly walk in for the even-
ing party look. Mono-
chrome with the slit
with a few accessories
as possible, is the look
to kill for. Splits work
best when everything
else is covered. So, if
you are showing off
your legs, give the
cleavage a rest.
Last and the
most important is
comfort, don’t
show off the skin
you are not com-
fortable with. The
style will seriously
take a back seat if
you are not confi-
dent and comfortable.
AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY
JUNE 30, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
SPLIT THE
STYLESlits have taken over the world of fashion
by storm in more ways than one!
A
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

atisfying their creative ap-
petite and delivering path-
breaking campaigns since
2010, Pathfynder has been
handling 360 degrees
branding for various in-
dustry segments and
brands across Pan India. It has been
the proud pioneer of social media
in Rajasthan since it was started by
the visionary, Gaurav Hajela. Apart
from being the lead photographer
with unmatched energy levels,
Gaurav heads the marketing and
video production wing along with
his wife Anisha who heads the con-
tent department and manages the
day to day operations. The duo has
created some unique campaigns for
their clients in the past. Various
brands have increased their aware-
ness and created a good relation-
ship with their audience because of
their campaigns.
 How do you manage to deliv-
er excellence in these challeng-
ing times?
After the world has been hit by this
pandemic called COVID, like every-
one, we too were confined to our
houses. This was very challenging
as team Pathfynder was left with no
set working hours and all the team
members were working 24*7 for the
customers during the lockdown. Be
it a big or small brand, at this time
everyone wanted to grab the atten-
tion on digital media as the time
spent by masses on digital media
increased manifolds. Despite the
challenges of work from home, our
team was working each day without
complaining to achieve excellence
day-in-and day-out. In fact, we suc-
cessfully launched and carried out
some dynamic campaigns for our
new and existing customers during
the lockdown. I believe that the de-
terminationtowinisthebetterpart
of winning,andourteamstrivesfor
this in any circumstances.
 Digital transformation for
brands has become almost
mandatory in a very short time.
As a digital agency, how are
you handling this process?
Post lockdown, we are getting
many inquiries because people
have realized that now they can
not ignore the digital platform.
With so many businesses/ emerg-
ing struggling for visibility, any
brand can easily lose focus. And let
us not forget that even now we are
in partial lockdown. Hence people
are still confined to their houses.
We are helping our clients to focus
on what they are best at like plan-
ning for the present and future of
their business. And we will take
care of their digital presence to
reach out to a wider audience espe-
cially in today’s time.
 How do you define these test-
ing times in terms of branding?
Consumers/clients expect more
mindfulness in these testing times
by addressing the larger issues
than being just opportunistic and
marketing their products. This is
not an ideal time for direct product
marketing. Compassion and con-
cern towards society and human-
ity is the need of the hour.
We are driving our strategies to
communicate around the purpose
and values of a brand instead of
resorting to product push strate-
gies. The empathetic communica-
tion to connect with consumers
will now define the success of
brands while reinstating positivity.
 How has COVID affected your
Business?
As said, with all the negativity and
issues that COVID has presented
for businesses, I think it’d be naive
of us to not see this as an amazing
opportunity to challenge our busi-
ness model and use it to generate
newer, smarter, more robust busi-
ness strategies. As an entrepre-
neur, you have to see this as just
another business challenge and
face it proactively rather than sim-
ply placing yourself in ‘defensive
mode’. After the COVID-19 crisis, it
is expected that the need for digital
promotions will increase. Compa-
nies will invest in digital more
than ever. We are geared up to get
involved in new campaigns to help
companies in their digital brand-
ing as well as transformation.
About the new office
space: Visualizing the
growing need for digitali-
zation and to strike a
chord with this new de-
manding situation, Path-
fynder took a step further
and has redefined its
creative space as they
moved-in to a brand-
new office. Boasts of
stunning views, quirky
interiors with an ele-
ment of yellow and
grey, the new office
set up is not only
inviting but stirs
the team to deliver
the best. The state-
of-the-art décor has
deeply looked into
every aspect of
space planning and
presentation. With
dedicated sections for
Content writing,
graphic designing,
photoshoots and video
editing, each individu-
al has a lot to perform
and perform to their full
potential.
 What makes you take
this decision to shift to a
brand new workspace
when the world is
learning to work
from home.
A creative person can’t work
from home. We need a lot to
feed our creativity. “This new
space situated in the centre of
Jaipur is an exciting, creative
and progressive hub with an
amalgamation of culture and
character, says Gaurav. When
everything around us was so
negative and depressing, I want-
ed to design a space with only
positive vibes in every corner. A
visit to this premise is not just a
visit to an office but it is a visit to
free-flowing positivity. And of
course, a good cup of coffee is also
one of the excuses.”
FACEOFTHEDAY
DIVYA CHOUDHARY, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Exquisite site will catch
your attention for building a
new house. You will get
full family support in new
business ventures you share a very
special bond with your father and he
is both your best friend and your
mentor. You may take help from a
health care expert.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Put a Pep in your step
while working towards
your goal. Goddess of
money has blessed you
with money comfort and security.
Luck is favouring you in every way
today. There is a happy atmosphere
at home today and you will simply
relax and breathe fresh air.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Helming an organisation is
not a child’s play and you
are doing a commendable
job. You may get reminded
to get it touch with someone from
the past and a long lost relationship
may revive. You will find yourself free
of any pain that you had for some
time. You may deal in profit.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Philanthropic work is a good
way to channelise your
energy in doing something
worthwhile. Money is no big
deal for you as you always earn back
the money you loose such is your luck.
Don’t let your piled up work become
insurmountable, you must stop
procrastinating.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A whimsical sense of
humour is your trademark.
You will get some
outstanding investment
opportunities today that will make
you financially stronger even for the
future. You may have to lead your
team to do extra work so make sure
to be very convincing.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Hoarding essentials may be
on your priority list.
Investments are returns are
all under your control and
you have worked very hard to be at the
current position in life. Things are
moving smoothly as far as your career
is concerned. Pursue what you truly
want to and don’t compromise with it.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Solemn music makes you
think deeper. You like to
spend some good quality
time with your loved ones
everyday. You want to become rich
and powerful and you will surely
succeed in your endeavours. You
take care of people around you and
stand by their side.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Quirky sense of humour
put you off. You will make
big profits from clinching a
lucrative deal. You will
surely get shortlisted and you will get
the appointment letter from your
dream firm. Today you may be in the
mood to reminisce therefore you
may sit back at home and smile.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Venting your anger on
someone close should be
avoided. Your parents will
help you in times of
financial crisis be rest assured but
first you must try on your own to get
out of it, remember there is always a
way. Your good karma will recipro-
cate with interest.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Laden with responsibilities
and still you smile. Some
people deliberately like to
friendship you for your
money and status, keep miles away
from such people. On professional
front, the atmosphere is office is
highly competitive so make sure you
are seen and heard.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Stand by the side of people
who are left destitute
because of this pandemic.
You may go for some
speculative business or job. You
share a keen interest in stock market.
Your work contribution on
professional front will give your
image some must needed boost.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Hustle bustle should be
avoided when it comes to
building a firm. You are
very kind to other and
without giving a second thought you
go out of the way to help others and
sometimes even at the cost of your
own well being so please take care of
that. Try and eat healthy food today.
GO DIGITAL!
S
10
ETCAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Sushmita Sen wearing Jaipur Jewellery by
Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jeweller during IIJW Mumbai
Anisha and Gaurav Hajela
View of ‘Pathfynder’
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva

S
hilpa Shetty Kundra on Sun-
day penned an appreciation
note for Sushmita Sen’s
comeback with web series
‘Aarya,’ and said that she’s so happy
to see her ‘back with a bang.’
The ‘Life In a Metro’ star put out a
throwback picture with the former
MissUniverseandheapedpraiseson
her and the web series. Beginning
theappreciationpostwitharainbow,
Shilpa shared, this
Lockdown has
taught me a few
things, the
first being
how impor-
tant it is to
appreciate if you do then acknowl-
edge and also Praise... I feel we are so
miserly with praise ..” and added
that she’d binge-watched the web
series ‘Aarya’ on Sunday.
Appreciating the splendid per-
formance by Sen in the series,
the ‘Apne’ star added, “So (Sun-
day) binge-watched #Aarya
, and I have to say I’m
soooo sooo happy to
see you back ( with a
bang) WWWHH-
HAATTT a splen-
did job, such a
nuanced per-
formance.”
—ANI
D
isney+ Hotstar is look-
ing forward to hosting a
bunch of Bollywood
movies in the coming
months. Films such as Sadak 2,
Bhuj, The Big Bull and Laxmi
Bomb are all skipping theatri-
cal releases and arriving
straight to the streaming app.
The announcement was made
during a special live event on
Monday evening, attended by all
the big stars of the movies, in-
cluding Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn,
Akshay Kumar, Varun Dhawan
and Abhishek Bachchan. The
films will be released between
July to October, starting with late
actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s Dil
Bechara.
All actors shared posters of
their upcoming movies, Ajay said
the good thing about the pandem-
ic is how the industry has realised
how they can release their films
on digital. “We can make more
films, we can make a different
kind of films for theatres and dig-
ital platforms,” he said.
Akshay said that wearing the
sari in the movie was graceful. He
appreciated how women are able
to do so many things while wear-
ing a saree. Also, Varun spoke
about Vidyut Jamwwal and Ku-
nal’s films Khuda Hafiz. —Agency
R
eese Witherspoon had a hilarious en-
counter with a Carrie Underwood fan!
On Sunday, Reese Witherspoon took to
Twitter to share an incident where a fan
came up to her and confused her for country
singerCarrieUnderwood.“Tothewomaninthe
parking lot who just asked me if I was Carrie
Underwood,” the Wild actress wrote on the so-
cial media platform. “You officially made my
day,” Witherspoon sweetly wrote in response to
the misrecognition. The ‘Two Black Cadillacs’
singer caught a wind of Witherspoon’s tweet
and replied to her fellow doppelgänger, writ-
ing, “YOUR day?!?!?!?! That lady just made my
whole life!” On top of that, the woman who
allegedly mistook Witherspoon for Under-
wood took to Twitter to share her run-in with
theLegallyBlondeactressonTikTok.Saying:
“Okay, so craziest things just happened. I’m
with my husband eating at —Agency
ailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber recently
escaped for a quarantine getaway to Utah.
The quintessential couple headed on a road
trip from California to Utah and won the in-
ternet with their PDA. Justin and Hailey
shared a romantic moment while on their road
trip and left their fans gushing as they
gave a glimpse of the same on social media.
Hailey Baldwin took to her Instagram
handle a day ago and gave fans a
sneak-peek into their Utah road trip.
“Went on a road trip pt. 1”, Hailey
Baldwin captioned her post as she
shared a few snaps from her vacay
with her hubby. One of the pic-
tures shows Hailey chilling
in the pool and soaking the
sun in a yellow bikini. An-
other picture shows Hai-
ley and Justin Bieber
giving each other a
romantic peck on
the lips. Hailey also
shared a picture of a
pair of blue slip ons
with a smiley face on
it. Her brown hat gives
a glimpse of her holi-
day mood. —Agency
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020
11
TRIBUTE TO THE
DEAR FRIEND
B
humi Ped-
nekar on
M o n d a y
pledged to
feed over 550 im-
poverished fami-
lies as a mark of
tribute to late Bol-
lywood actor and
her ‘Sonchiriya’ co-
star Sushant Singh
Rajput.
Pednekar made
the announcement
through an Insta-
gram post where
she shared a pic-
ture of the depart-
ed actor and penned
down a note along
with it. “I pledge to
feed 550 impoverished
families through the
Ek Saath Foundation
in the memory of my
dear friend. Let us
show compassion and
love towards everyone
that is in need, now more than ever,” Pednekar
wrote. The two actors shared screen space in the
Abhishek Chaubey directorial. Rajput was found
dead at his Mumbai’s residence this month. The
detailed post-mortem report has also confirmed
that he died by “asphyxia due to hanging.” —ANI
ESCAPE
GATEWAY
H
K
hloe Kardashian turned 36-years-old
on June 27, and her sister Kylie Jen-
ner was sure to give her a bash just as
extravagant as the birthday celebra-
tions she gave her daughter, Stormi. If
you’ve been following the Kardashians
then you know how extravagant their par-
ties can get, and this one for Khloe’s
birthday was no exception. From inflat-
able slides and giant cakes to throw pil-
lows, this cele-
bration had
everything.
S p r e a d
across Kylie
J e n n e r ’ s
s p r a w l i n g
m a n s i o n ,
Koko’s birth-
day celebra-
tions were ex-
travagant be-
yond imagi-
n a t i o n .
G e t t i n g
into detail,
there was
even an inflat-
able slide with
Khloé’s face at the top, an
array of balloons, including
some that spelled out Khloé’s
nickname, Koko. —Agency
Extravagantcelebration
Mis-recognised
LIGHT, CAMERA,
ANNOUNCEMENT
‘LOVED EVERY BIT’
feed 550 impoverished
families through the
Ek Saath Foundation
in the memory of my
dear friend. Let us
show compassion and
love towards everyone
that is in need, now more than ever,” Pednekar
Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin
Bhumi Pednekar
...her post
Shilpa Shetty Kundra
...her post
Khloe Kardashian;
(inset) her post
Still from the live session
Alia Bhatt
Reese Witherspoon
...her post

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