First India-Jaipur Edition-14 May 2021

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JAIPUR l FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 336
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
IF COVISHIELD, THEN ATLEAST
3-MTH GAP BETWEEN DOSES
l SARS-CoV-2 illness should defer Covid
vaccination for 6 months after recovery
l Pregnant women can choose vaccine,
lactating women eligible after delivery
New Delhi: The Union
Health Ministry on
Thursday accepted the
recommendation of the
expert panel to extend
the gap between the
first and second dose of
the Covishield vaccine
to 12-16 weeks. The cur-
rent gap between two
doses of the vaccine is
6-8 weeks.
Earlier in the day, the
National Technical Ad-
visory Group on Immu-
nization had recom-
mended the same to the
Centre. No changes,
however, have been
made to the interval of
Covaxin.
“This is beneficial
both from the efficacy
and the immunogenic-
ity standpoint. This is
a very good move be-
cause this is based on
data that the govern-
ment received on the
basis of which they
made a good scientific
decision to increase
the gap,” Adar Poona-
walla was quoted as
saying.
The panel also said
that pregnant women
can choose their vac-
cine and lactating wom-
en will be eligible after
delivery
. Currently nei-
ther is eligible to get the
shots. Turn to P6
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
INDIA
3,62,727
New cases
4,129
New fatalities
RAJASTHAN
15,867
New cases
159
New fatalities
‘Sputnik V will be in
India from next week’
New Delhi: Amid re-
ports of the shortage of
Covid-19 vaccine in var-
ious states, Sputnik vac-
cine has arrived in In-
dia, and “hopefully” it
will be available in the
market from next week,
said Dr VK Paul, mem-
ber (health) of the NITI
Aayog, on Thursday
.
“Sputnik vaccine has
arrived in India. I’m
happy to say that we’re
hopeful that it’ll be
available in the market
next week. We’re hope-
ful that the sale of the
limited supply that has
come from there (Rus-
sia) will begin next
week,saidDrPaulwhile
addressing media.
He said the produc-
tion of Sputnik is
scheduled to begin in
India by July. “Further
supply will also follow.
Its production will be-
gin in July and it is esti-
mated that 15.6 crore
doses will be manufac-
tured in that period,”
Dr Paul said. Turn to P6
Attempt to reopen Assam’s NRC,
appeal in SC for reverification Israel strikes: 600; Hamas: 1,600
rockets; Deaths: 83 (17 children)
Four killed in boiler
blast in Tamil Nadu
Guwahati: “Major ir-
regularities” have been
detected in the lists of
the National Registry of
Citizens in Assam and a
comprehensive re-veri-
fication should be con-
ducted, the state’s NRC
coordinator Hitesh Dev
Sarma has sought in a
petition filed in the Su-
preme Court.
The irregularities, he
said, have been detected
in the final draft as well
as the supplementary
list. While ineligible
names were included,
many eligible names
have also been excluded,
he said in his petition.
Turn to P6
Gaza: The death toll
from more than two
days of Israeli strikes
on Gaza has risen to 83,
the health ministry con-
trolled by the territory’s
Islamist rulers Hamas
said Thursday
.
The dead included 17
children, while 487 peo-
ple have been wounded,
the ministry said.
The Israeli military
said it had struck Gaza
more than 600 times
since Monday evening
while Hamas has fired
more than 1,600 rockets
towards Israel. The ex-
change of airstrikes in-
tensified after clashes
outsideAl-Aqsamosque
in Old Jeruselum.
Cuddalore: Four per-
sons, including a wom-
an, were killed in a boil-
er blast at a pesticide
manufacturing indus-
try at SIPCOT Industri-
al estate in Kudikadu
village near Cuddalore.
Fifteenpeoplesustained
injuries in the blast.
Theincidentoccurred
at 07:45 am at Crimsun
Organics chemical com-
pany
. The plant was un-
der operation with 19
regular company staff
and 18 contractual la-
bourers. “The boiler
mixer machine burst, in
which chemical gas
emerged from the fur-
nace of the boiler and
spreadnearbyfirewhich
resulted in a fire acci-
dent around the plant,”
the police said.
CJI CONSIDERS
LIVE TELECAST OF
SUPREME COURT
New Delhi: Chief Justice
of India NV Ramana on
Thursday said he was
actively considering the
proposal to live telecast
the proceedings of the
Supreme Court. The CJI,
however, said before
initiating concrete steps in
this regard, he would seek
general consensus among
his colleagues in the Su-
preme Court.
CM questions poor quality of ventilators bought from PM Cares Fund
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot has
raised questions on
ventilators procured
from PM CARES Fund
and sent to the state.
He said that the un-
ion health ministry
should investigate how
such defective ventila-
tors were procured.
The Government of
India had made 1900
ventilators available to
the state from the PM
CARES Fund. The Gov-
ernment of India was
responsible for the in-
stallation and mainte-
nance of these ventila-
tors, Gehlot said.
He said that as per the
doctors, many of these
ventilators have techni-
cal shortcomings due to
which can prove to be
dangerous for patients.
Doctors said that the
ventilators have the
problem of pressure
drop. These ventilators
shut down after work-
ing for 1-2 hours con-
tinuously. These in-
clude the sudden de-
crease in PiO2, the fail-
ure of oxygen sensors
and compressors, ac-
cording to
Theissueof problems
in the ventilators was
raised in a covid review
meetingon5AprilbyDr.
Lakhan Poswal, the
principal of Udaipur’s
medical college.
Apart from Ra-
jasthan, different prob-
lems in these ventila-
tors have also been re-
ported in the media in
Madhya Pradesh, Pun-
jab, Maharashtra and
Gujarat.
Gehlot informed that
in order to make the
centre aware of the
problem of these venti-
lators and to get them
fixed as soon as possi-
ble, two letters were
written by the Govern-
ment of Rajasthan at
the Secretary level and
one letter at the minis-
ter-level to the Govern-
ment of India.
“For the mainte-
nance of these ventila-
tors, the company ap-
pointed by the Govern-
ment of India had asked
to send 11 members to
Rajasthan but only 6
people are working here
and they too have lack
of experience and they
are unable to fix prob-
lems,” he said.
The chief minister
said that the union
health ministry should
investigate how such
defective ventilators
were procured.
Meanwhile, Gehlot
also expressed concern
over the occurrence of
black fungal disease
among corona patients,
saying that the Centre
should take it seriously
.
“It is very worrying
to see cases of mucor-
mycosis (Black Fungus)
disease among patients
who have been cured of
corona in various states
of the country, includ-
ing Rajasthan. It has
been reported that this
disease is increasing in
patients with diabetes
cured from corona,” Ge-
hlot said in a tweet.
Turn to P6
Gehlot also expressed concern over the occurrence
of black fungal disease among corona patients,
saying that the Centre should take it seriously
PM to interact with DMs of 100
districts having high covid load
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
will interact with dis-
trict magistrates of 100
districts with high case-
loads of COVID-19 in-
fections in two meet-
ings on May 18 and 20,
government sources
said on Thursday
.
While DMs of 46 dis-
tricts from nine states
will be part of the first
meeting, those from 54
districts from 10 states
will attend the second
meeting, they said, add-
ing that respective chief
ministerswillbepresent
in these interactions.
This will be the first
such interaction that
the prime minister will
have with top district-
level administrative of-
ficers on the COVID-19
situation.
So far, he has held a
number of meetings
with chief ministers
from across the country
and also, in some cases,
from high caseload
states on the pandemic
situation since its first
outbreak in 2020.
Turn to P6
Vaccination on
India dominant
variants remains
uncertain: WHO
New Delhi:New strains
wof the Covid variant
found in India are dead-
lier and more infec-
tious, the World Health
Organisation has said
on the country’s corona-
virus situation in a
weekly update. It also
says the potential im-
pact of these mutations
on the effectiveness of
vaccines is uncertain.
The B.1.617 variant
first detected in India in
October and now found
in 44 countries, has a
higher rate of transmis-
sion and reduced sus-
ceptibility to neutrali-
sation antibodies.
Around0.1percentof
the Covid-positive sam-
ples in India have been
genome sequenced.
According to WHO,
the B.1.17 variant found
in UK Turn to P6
LOCKDOWN EXTENDED
IN BIHAR TILL MAY 25
NHRC NOTICES TO
CENTRE, UP & BIHAR
OVER BODIES FOUND
FLOATING IN GANGA
32 MINOR GIRLS OF A
LUCKNOW SHELTER
HOME TEST POSITIVE
OF CORONAVIRUS
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar on Thursday
announced the extension of
the lockdown in the state
till May 25. CM Kumar
made the announcement
after chairing a high-
level meeting, convened
to take a decision on the
lockdown, which was in
place from May 5 to 15.
“Reviewed the lockdown
in Bihar with colleagues
in the council of ministers
and officials. The positive
outcome of the lockdown
is evident,” CM tweeted.
New Delhi: The National
Human Rights Commis-
sion (NHRC) has issued
notices to the Union Jal
Shakti Ministry, Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar, after
receiving complaints
about several bodies
found floating in the
Ganga river in the two
states. In its statement,
the NHRC said that it
seems the public authori-
ties have failed to take
concentric efforts.
Lucknow: Around 32
girls of Rajkiya Children
Shelter home (Girls) have
tested positive for covid.
Out of those infected, two
are pregnant while one is
specially abled. Although
the report was received
three days ago, but no
action was taken. Now,
while the pregnant and
specially abled girls will
be isolated in shelter
home, 29 others will be
shifted to isolation centre.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
PM Narendra Modi
CJI NV Ramana
Palestinians walk next to the remains of a destroyed 15 story
building after being hit by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza on Thursday.
216 crore vaccine doses to be available in 5 months between
Aug-Dec, enough to cover all, central govt said on Thursday.
GAZA GOES DOWN
Kathmandu: With opposition parties fail-
ing to stake their claim to form govern-
ment by the deadline set by President
Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister
KP Oli is all set to be re-appointed as
Prime Minister barely three days after
he lost the vote of confidence in Parlia-
ment. The Chief of the Nepali Congress,
Sher Bahadur Deuba, informed his party
colleagues and other allies shortly ahead
of the deadline that he could not manage
a majority to stake the claim for the post
as such has decided to withdraw from
the race. While formal withdrawal by the
leader of the main opposition left Presi-
dent Bhandari with no option other than to
invite Oli again. PM Oli had lost the
vote of confidence vote on Monday after
28 members of his party abstained,
reducing him to a minority.
OLI SET TO BE NEPAL
PM AGAIN AS OPPN
FAILS TO STAKE CLAIM
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot greeted the people of the state
on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr which is being celebrated amid
ongoing Covid pandemic on Friday.

RAJASTHAN
JAIPUR | FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2021
02
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Since the for-
mation of the Congress
government in Ra-
jasthan, the wait for
thousands of Congress
workers sitting at the
district and block level
for political appoint-
ments is getting longer.
First, due to internal
tussle and now second
wave of Corona, about
30,000 political ap-
pointments have been
stuck in the Congress.
By the time the corona
is normal, its chances
are also low. At pre-
sent, no leader in the
government and or-
ganization is in a posi-
tion to tell when politi-
cal appointments will
take place.
PCC president Go-
vind Singh Dotasra
said political appoint-
ments in government
committees at the dis-
trict and block levels
will happen only after
the corona situation
normalises. The exer-
cise at the organisa-
tion level in the Con-
gress was almost com-
plete. There have been
some political appoint-
ments at the state lev-
el, but not at the dis-
trict block level.
Due to the orders of
the High Court, it was
necessary to make ap-
pointments in many
Constitutional Com-
missions, so also many
appointments were
made at the state level
first. State Congress in-
charge Ajay Maken
gave the deadline twice
but now he is also silent
on political appoint-
ments. The state Con-
gress had demanded the
names of activists with
political appointments
from the Congress
MLAs and the leaders
involved in the execu-
tive in February itself.
Long wait! 30K posts stuck due to Covid
No leader in govt or organisation is in a position to tell when these will take place
POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS
Usually abuzz with activity,
the Pushkar Sarovar, wears a
deserted look on Thursday on
the eve of Aakha Teej, even
as a kid seems to be having a
field day on finding the Sarovar
deserted due to strict lockdown
in place across state.
—PHOTOS BY ANAND SHARMA
LOCKED-DOWN
Vaibhav’seffortsgetJodh
110 Oxygen cylinders
THE CYLINDERS CAME FROM GUJARAT ON THURSDAY
Rajiv Gaur
Jodhpur: All India
Congress Commit-
tee member and
RCA President
Vaibhav Gehlot
is actively in-
volved in provid-
ing relief to Corona
victims since the last
year and has played an
important role in ensur-
ing facilities for the
residents of Jodhpur.
In his efforts to help
the people, Vaibhav Ge-
hlot sent 110 oxygen cyl-
inders to Jodhpur,
which reached the Ma-
thuradas Mathur Hos-
pital in Jodhpur from
Gujarat on Thursday
.
MLA Manisha Pan-
war handed the oxygen
cylinders to Mathura-
das Mathur Hospital
Administration on Vai-
bhav’s behalf.
PCC Secretary Shra-
van Patel, Marudhara
Industries Association
president Bhanwarlal
Chopra, Association
Secretary Nilesh San-
cheti, Jain Yuva Sangh
president Satish
Chopra and Regional
Manager of RIICO San-
jay Jha were present on
the occasion.
AICC member Vaib-
hav Gehlot said that the
government of Ra-
jasthan is handling the
pandemic with all seri-
ousness and constant
efforts were being made
to get medical facilities
in Jodhpur as needed.
As such, new projects
and facilities were also
being made available
through public repre-
sentatives.
A total of 110 oxygen
cylinders had been
sent from Gujarat to
Jodhpur and similar
efforts would continue
till the need was ful-
filled, he said.
Dr Sahadev takes up issue of
drinking water for 120 villages
Nagaur: Senior Con-
gress leader and Zila
Parishad member Dr.
Sahadev Chaudhary on
Thursday discussed in
detail about 31 drinking
water tanks for 120 vil-
lages of Jayal tehsil to
address drinking water
problem.
Dr. Chaudhary said
that the hamlets which
are deprived of the ca-
nal water should be
added in Phase-1 of the
scheme to provide canal
water. He requested the
district collector Jiten-
dra Kumar Soni to up-
date the list of hamlets
on IMIS website.
For the scheme, chief
engineer Dinesh Goyal,
superintendent engi-
neerMahendraPrakash
Soni and Mohan Kadela
are preparing proposals
for technical approval
for 486 villages. They
will prepare a report by
June 15.
Dr Sahdev Choudhary holding discussions with officials over
drinking water for 120 villages of Zayal tehsil on Thursday.
MLA Manisha Panwar handed oxygen cylinders to Mathuradas
Mathur Hospital Administration on Vaibhav Gehlot’s behalf.
Poonia: State govt
long trying to hide
its shortcomings
Raj govt failed to
manage corona,
says Devnani
Focus on better
facilities: Ramlal
tells PSK
Jaipur: Rajasthan BJP
president Satish Poonia
on Thursday accused
Congress government
in the state of misman-
agement during the
COVID-19 crisis. “The
Congress government
has been long trying to
hide its shortcomings,
weaknesses and incapa-
bilities by blaming the
Centre,” he said in a vir-
tual press conference.
“The Centre is ready
todevelopallfacilitiesin
Rajasthan, from oxygen
to Remdesivir injections
to ventilator...and is do-
ing so. Despite this, Con-
gress leaders are weak-
ening people’s morale
through their blatant
statements,” he said.
Poonia requested CM
Ashok Gehlot to “follow
the spirit of cooperative
federalism” in the fight
against corona. Refer-
ring to a letter written
by BJP National Presi-
dent JP Nadda to Con-
gress leader Sonia Gan-
dhi, he said that during
the pandemic, the oppo-
sition should have
played a positive role in
the country
, by building
confidence and boosting
people’’s morale. He fur-
ther said that through
thehelplinesrunbyBJP
,
people and the govern-
ment were getting help
with oxygen and Remde-
sivir injections. —PTI
First India Bureau
Ajmer: BJP has once
again accused the state
govt of suffering from
Modi phobia. Devnani
called a press confer-
ence, accusing the state
govt of being negligent
in corona management
and said that adequate
supply of oxygen and
ventilators was being
done by the centre but
the state govt was accus-
ing the centre as they
failed to manage the epi-
demic. He said demand-
ed that the government
is charging a hefty fee
even if there is a plasma
donor available.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: BJP State
Chief Spokesperson
and MLA Ramlal Shar-
ma responded to Trans-
port Minister Prataps-
ingh Khachariyawas
and told him to focus on
providing better facili-
ties for the COVID pa-
tients. He asked what
the state government
did with the 1500 venti-
lators that were sent
from PM CARES fund.
He questioned what the
government did with
the money allotted for
setting up oxygen
plants in Jaipur, Ajmer,
Bikaner and Alwar.
BIKANER TURNS 534
Happy Birthday! The city of Bikaner celebrates its 534th
Birthday on Friday, however, the Kotgate area wears a
deserted look due to strict lockdown put in place. The
streets and terraces of the city, which used to see large
number of enthusiastic people flying kites on Akshaya
Dwitiya wear a deserted look on Thursday.
Covid centre soon in
Fatehpur: Dotasra
First India Bureau
Sikar: Education
Minister and PCC
Chief Govind Do-
tasara reached
Fatehpur SDM office
and felicitated the
Bhamashah who
spent lacs of rupees
on 57 oxygen cylin-
ders and donated
them to the govern-
ment. Dotasara, MLA
Hakam Khan, NPA
President Mustaq
Nazmi and SDM Dr.
Pratibha Singh ex-
pressed their respect.
These oxygen cylin-
ders will be used in
Fatehpurdistricthos-
pital’s COVID centre.
He thanked all the
authorities and gov-
ernment officials
who are helping the
masses during this
crisis. He said that
the chief minister is
constantly trying to
help people.
He also announced
that they will start a
COVID hospital in
Fatehpur. The Bha-
mashah will also pro-
vide oximeters and
medicines to the ru-
ral areas.
O2
IN REMEMBRANCE
Ashok Gehlot
@ashokgehlot51
My tributes to the in-
nocent victims of 2008
serial bomb blasts in
#Jaipur on the 13th
anniversary of the tragic
event. We stand in
solidarity with the family
members of the victims.
Dr.RaghuSharma@RaghusharmaINC
13 years ago on 13 May 2008 we lost
many of our citizens from Jaipur in
bomb blasts. Terror has no place in
a civilized society. I pay my tribute to
all those killed in the blasts.
Dr. C.P. Joshi
@drcpjoshi
My humble tribute to
the victims of 2008
Jaipur Bomb Blasts
on the anniversary of
the great tragedy. My
condolences to the
family members of the
victims.
Photojournalist Suman Sarkar re-visited some spots which
were rocked by bomb blasts 13 years ago on Thursday.
Cops pay tributes to policemen who were martyred in bomb
blasts in Jaipur on May 13, 2008.
—PHOTO
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA
Satish Poonia

JAB-LESS
DRY DAYS AHEAD?
Despite the strengthening of vaccination structure in the state, the challenge is being faced in
the absence of vaccine, over 20L doses are urgently needed: Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Health Minis-
ter Dr Raghu Sharma
said that vaccination is
being affected due to
lack of vaccine supply
in the state. He said
that the state govern-
ment is constantly try-
ing to contact the cen-
tral and vaccine supply
company, but no posi-
tive response is being
received.
He said that vaccina-
tion is not only affect-
ing people in the age
group of 18-44 years,
but people above 45
years are also facing
problems regarding. He
said that the number of
people above 45 years of
age in the state is about
29 million. If 10% of the
waste is also included,
then about 45 million
doses are needed for
this age group. Howev-
er, due to non-continu-
ous supply of vaccine,
only about 1,45,000 peo-
ple have been vaccinat-
ed in the entire state.
This number also in-
cludes all age groups
and the number of first
and second doses.
PREPS FOR VAX ON
TRACK IN STATE
Rajasthan has devel-
oped a capacity of up to
7L doses/day
. As a result
of this, 80% of the peo-
ple above 60 years of age
have been given 1st dose
and about 33% have
been given 2nd dose,
while in the category of
45 to 60 years, 64.4% of
the people have been
given the first and 27.4%
of the second.
ONLY 6.5 LAKH
DOSES RECEIVED
Number of people in the
age group of 18 to 44
years in the state is
more than 3 crore.
Therefore, about
3.75 crore doses
have been or-
dered by the de-
partment to
Serum In-
stitute. In
COVID
VACCINE
(Top) A board outside vaccination centre says, ‘There will be no vaccination here on
Thursday’, people speak to guard about vaccine. —PHOTOS BY SUMAN SARKAR
Rajendra Rathore @ Rajendra4BJP
Is it not true that according to your declaration in the
state, it was decided to have free vaccination of eligible
people between the age of 18 to 45, which is 3.75 crore.
It is expected that there will be vaccination of the
eligible people remaining soon after the global
tender, which will reduce the chances of break-
ing the security cycle. Also that, to increase the
capacity of vaccine production in the country, the
Central govt is providing financial assistance to
pharmaceutical companies. Covishield manufac-
turers Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech have also placed new
orders for the purchase of cocaine for May, June and July so that
the vaccine supply is not reduced.
the first 12 days of May
,
only6.5lakhdosescould
be received from the Se-
rum Institute. Dept has
spoken to the company
officials for more than
8Ldoses,butsituationis
not clear.
VACCINATION TO
CONTAIN SPREAD
IN RURAL AREAS
The availability of
v a c c i n a t i o n
should be more so
that rapid inocu-
lation can be done
in rural areas.
To prevent
the spread
of infec-
tion, it is necessary that
people apply masks,
strictly follow norms.
Lockdown has been im-
posed to reduce the im-
pact of the infection, so
it must be followed.
BLACK FUNGUS
INFECTION WORRY
Cases of black fungus
are increasing in pa-
tients recovering from
Covid. About 2K such
cases have been report-
ed across country
. State
government is cautious
& instructions have
been given to RMSCL to
buy injections needed
to prevent it.
Ghar-GharAushadhiYojana!People
to be made aware of med plants
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Shreya Guha,
Principal Secretary, For-
est has asked to finish all
preparations for ‘Ghar
Ghar Aushadhi Yojana’.
She said that state govt
wants people to be aware
of the benefits of medici-
nalplantssothattheycan
alsoincreasetheirimmu-
nity at home. Principal
Chief Conservator of
Forests Shruti Sharma
said Jpr, Jodh, Ajmer, Bi-
kaner, Bharatpur, Kota &
Udaipur are informed
about progress of
scheme. Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests
(Devp) Dr Deep Narayan
Pandeysaidthattheywill
distribute four medicinal
plants–Tulsi,Ashwagan-
dha, Giloy and Kalmegh.
Dr Deep Narayan Pandey and Shruti Sharma in meeting on Thursday.
RAJASTHAN
03
FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL!
The police undertake a flag march in the Walled City area on Thursday to creat awareness, among the public, regarding the
strict lockdown that is in place in state till May 17. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA
Rly coaches for Covid
care, lack facilities
First India Bureau
Jaipur: With the in-
creasing cases of coro-
na and shortening beds
in hospitals last year,
Indian Railways made
2,500 isolation coaches
across the country for
patients. NWR also pro-
duced 266 such
coaches, however,
even after 1 year
these coaches
have not been
used in the state.
The railway ad-
ministration pro-
duced the highest num-
ber of isolation coaches
in the Ajmer division. A
total of 85 coaches were
produced in Ajmer divi-
sion, 83 in Jodhpur divi-
sion, 50 in Bikaner divi-
sion and 48 in Jaipur
division. But not a sin-
gle coach has been used
in the state. Railway
administration has tak-
en back 70 of the 266
coaches for their use.
But there are still 196
coaches reserved as
Covid isolation coaches.
The supply of oxygen in
these coaches and put-
ting them in suita-
ble places is also a
big problem. An-
other problem
with these coach-
es is that they can
be stationed at a place
where there is a suita-
ble arrangement for
charging and water fill-
ing. Apart from Jaipur,
this arrangement is pos-
sible only at big sta-
tions. It seems they can
be used only when govt
& railways get into a
discussion.
COVID-19 UPDATE
TOTAL CASES
8,21,525
CASES IN A DAY
15,867
TOTAL DEATHS
6,317
DEATHS IN A DAY
159
ACTIVE CASES
2,11,889
RECOVERED
TOTAL
6,03,319
RECOVERED
IN A DAY
12,929
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
IRS Rajesh Meena
died from Corona
He was posted as
Additional Income
Tax Commissioner
in Bharatpur
`1L fine if wedding
is organised till May
31, many marriages
are solemnized on
occasion of Akshaya
Tritiya on Friday
2 oxygen tankers
arrived in Jaipur
from Gujarat with
32.86 MT of oxygen,
now they are being
sent by road to Agra
Vaccination
sessions for 45
plus people will
not be held today
while campaign will
continue for 18+
5,63,000 18 plus
administered 1st
dose since May 1,
1,75,000-2,00,000
people are taking
jabs daily in State
Work order
for Municipal
Corporations has
been issued to set
up medical oxy
plants in 59 cities
2
6
4
1
5
3
RAJASTHAN GOVT
MOVES SC ON
OXY SHORTAGE
Rajasthan govt has
approached SC seeking
intervention of court
to address the issue
of shortage of oxygen.
Govt filed an affidavit
saying the state requires
allocation of an addition-
al 560 MT of oxygen by
May 18 from the centre.
Of this, the state govern-
ment has demanded
200 MT from Jamnagar.
Seeking directions to the
centre for arranging 55
cryogenic tankers. The
state informed court that
the number of active
cases is likely to in-
crease 2.85L by May 18.
The affidavit was filed
suo moto but hearing
could not be conducted
on Thursday. The date of
hearing is not fixed yet.
BJP MLAS
THREATEN
HUNGER STRIKE
Accusing the govern-
ment of discriminat-
ing against Beawar in
medical arrangements
for Covid-19, BJP MLA
Shankar Singh Rawat
has opened a new front
against the government.
Rawat has warned of a
hunger strike outside
SDO’s office if the
oxygen shortage in
Beawar. MLA Rawat
said that if I can die
from a hunger strike,
but people should not
die due to oxygen. In
Beawar, patients from
four nearby districts of
Ajmer, Rajsamand, Pali
and Bhilwara get admit-
ted. BJP MLA Phool
Singh Meena blamed
state government for
rising cases in Udaipur.
FOUR IN POLICE CUSTODY FOR
REMDESIVIR BLACK MARKETING
Sriganganagar police has succeeded in
arresting four people on Thursday for black-
marketing of life-saving Remdesivir injection
in the treatment of Corona after the recent
black-marketing of oxygen. Simultaneously,
the police have also recovered 2 Remdesivir
injections from the accused. Kashyap Singh,
in-charge of the DSP team led by SP Rajan Du-
shyant, arrested 4 people, including the director
and stockist Sahil of Rajendra Medical Store,
Birbal Chowk, selling Remedisivir injection
for Rs 27,000. 3 days ago, DSP team caught
hospital staff for black-marketing of oxygen.
A man receives Remdesivir injections from CMHO after
doctors’ approval. —PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR
Bikaner
579
Sikar
583
Alwar
771
Bharatpur
609
Jodhpur
1074
Ajmer
493
Bhilwara
380
Chittor
496
Kota
740
Jaipur
4099
Udaipur
997
Dausa
403

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 2 Issue No. 336 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur.
Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
he Pakistani establishment, a
common euphuism used about
thearmyanditsproxieslikethe
Inter-ServicesIntelligence(ISI),
appears to have made up its
mind to get rid of the present
incumbent, Prime Minister Im-
ran Khan, and perhaps, for this
Shahbaz Sharif, the leader of
the country’s main opposition,
Pakistan Muslim League-Noon
(PML-N) was released for initi-
ating a meaningful dialogue
with his brother Nawaz Sharif,
a former three-time prime min-
ister, in London.
The establishment’s effort to
end the current political stale-
mate received a setback, when
Shahbaz was prevented from
boardingaLondon-boundflight.
The senior Pakistani jour-
nalists and commentators like
Nazam Sethi are convinced
that Khan has finally‘burnt his
boat with the armed forces. It
is quite well-known that Imran
Khan and his party, Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came to
power with the help of the es-
tablishment, but due to the PTI
government’s poor govern-
ance, the establishment is to-
tally ‘disillusioned’ with the
Khan and his party
. It is widely
believed that Shahbaz was fly-
ing to London with a few pos-
sible solutions to end the cur-
rent political stalemate be-
tween the opposition parties
and the establishment.
The establishment is report-
edly angered by not allowing
Shahbaz to visit his brother in
London, though he had the
High Court’s permission to fly
to London. Earlier, Shabaz, a
former Punjab chief minister
and the leader of the Pakistan
Muslim League-Noon (PML-N)
was released on bail, much
against the wishes of the Khan
government.
Maryam Aurangzeb, the par-
tyspokeswoman,andthedaugh-
terof NawazSharif,hasaccused
the government that Shabaz
was deliberately stopped by the
immigration officials at the air-
portwhenhewasgoingtoboard
a London-bound Qatar Airways
flight. The Lahore High Court
had permitted Shahbaz to leave
Pakistan and stay abroad for
treatment till early July this
year, but the government law-
yers did not oppose the judicial
order in the court, but decided
to prevent him from flying. The
court had acted on a petition
from Shahbaz that as a cancer
survivor he now needed treat-
ment outside of Pakistan. The
immigration officials deployed
at the airport have claimed that
Shahbaz, who faces corruption
charges in three separate court
cases, is still on the black list,
but it is being asked that how
could the officials ignore the
court’s directive.
During the past six months,
the huge rallies of the Pakistani
Democratic Movement (PDM)
held in Pakistan’s major cities
from Karachi to Peshawar and
especially in the major cities of
Punjab, Lahore and Multan,
have unnerved the establish-
ment. The 11-party coalition of
the PDM is headed by Jamait
Ulema-e-Islam chief, Maulana
Fazal-ur-Rehman and the other
major parties are PML-N and
Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP).
Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman had
played a key-role in supporting
the Taliban, but in recent
months, his relationship with
thearmyhassuffered.Underhis
leadership,thePDMhasalsode-
cided to resign en-masse from
thePakistanNationalAssembly
to force fresh polls; however, the
reluctance of the PPP has de-
layed the resignation pro-
gramme, because the PPP lead-
ership felt that they might face
the dismissal of the PPP-ruled
Sindh government, and there
wouldbenosubstantialpolitical
gainsforthem,whilethePML-N
might sweep the new elections.
The weakening of the PDM
mighthavepleasedtheestablish-
ment,butthechargesagainstthe
army for supporting Khan and
his party
, PTI, has given it a bad
name, especially in Punjab,
whichhasthelargestnumberof
soldiers and officers in the coun-
try’s defence forces. The army
does not want to lose its popular
baseinPunjab.Itisalsointerest-
ingtonotethatKhan,acricketer-
turned politician, is aware of
thesenewpoliticalmoves.Apart
from implicating the opposition
leaders in various cases, he is
also trying to win back his old
friend Jehangir Tareem, a sugar
businessman;butTareem’sclose
nexus with the establishment
needs to be watched. Khan can-
not be sure of Tarem’s support,
but he is trying to win back all
possible supporters.
There are many permuta-
tions and combinations in the
new political adjustments,
such as PML-N may be given
Punjab, and a new coalition
government under the leader-
ship of the PPP might be
formed at the federal level with
a section of the PTI members
in the National Assembly. It is
estimated that with the shift-
ing of only seven members
from the treasury benches to
the opposition, the Khan gov-
ernment would collapse.
However, the establishment is
keen that before the end of the
Khan government these new
possible political proposals
should be approved by Nawaz
Sharif. For this Shahbaz was ex-
pected to travel to London under
thepretextof medicaltreatment.
He could have done the crucial
politicaldiscussions,whileseek-
ing medical treatment in Lon-
don. The issue of his proposed
trip to London may again be
taken up before the High Court.
It is, however, certain that it
would be difficult for Khan to
prevent Shahbaz’s journey to
London, because the establish-
ment is for reconciliation.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
IMRAN KHAN PREVENTS
SHAHBAZ FIGHT TO LONDON
The Pak army is keen for a political reconciliation, but crucial talks with Nawaz Sharif delayed
T
The senior
Pakistani
journalists and
commentators like
Nazam Sethi are
convinced that
Khan has
finally‘burnt his
boat with the
armed forces. It is
quite well-known
that Imran Khan
and his party,
Pakistan Tehreek-
e-Insaf (PTI)
came to power
with the help of
the establishment,
but due to the PTI
government’s poor
governance, the
establishment is
totally
‘disillusioned’
with the Khan
and his party
THERE ARE MANY
PERMUTATIONS AND
COMBINATIONS IN THE
NEW POLITICAL
ADJUSTMENTS, SUCH AS
PML-N MAY BE GIVEN
PUNJAB, AND A NEW
COALITION GOVERNMENT
UNDER THE LEADERSHIP
OF THE PPP MIGHT BE
FORMED AT THE FEDERAL
LEVEL WITH A SECTION
OF THE PTI MEMBERS IN
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
GOPAL
MISRA
The writer is accredited as a Journalist
of klong and distinguished service with
the Press Information Bureau of the
Information and Broadcasting Ministry
he recent vio-
lence at the al-
Aqsa mosque/
Temple Mount
area and in the
Old City of Jerusalem has
spiralled into something
bigger and more danger-
ous. Clashes between Is-
raeli security forces and
Palestinian protesters at
the weekend have left hun-
dreds injured. Tensions
rose further on Monday
and Tuesday after Israeli
airstrikes launched in re-
taliation for Hamas rocket
attacks killed 35 people, in-
cluding 12 children, in
Gaza City
.
This latest episode can-
not be attributed to a single
cause. It should rather be
connected to a broader
landscape of destabilising
factors whose cumulative
weight led to the current
crisis after months of incu-
bation.
A chain reaction was
nevertheless triggered by
ongoing attempts to evict
Palestinian families living
for generations in the east
Jerusalem neighbourhood
of Sheikh Jarrah. A legal
battle is being waged be-
tween the Palestinian resi-
dents and Nahalat Shimon
– a settler organisation tied
to the Zionist movement in
Israel which is trying to
alter east Jerusalem’s de-
mographics in favour of a
Jewish population.
Support towards the
Sheikh Jarrah families in-
stantly came from several
Palestinian constituencies,
including an unprecedent-
ed number of Arab citizens
of Israel from Umm al-
Fahm and Jaffa. At the
same time, thousands start-
eddemonstratingatDamas-
cus Gate which in recent
weeks has become east Je-
rusalem’s “Tahrir Square”
– the centre of Egypt’s 2011
“Arab Spring” revolution.
Manyof theprotesterswere
Muslim worshippers who
came together at the gate
after having attended
prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque.
It is worth noting that
the crisis unfolded during
the final days in the holy
month of Ramadan: the cli-
max of the Islamic calen-
dar but also the most vola-
tile time of the year in Je-
rusalem. On Friday May 7
alone, some 200 Palestini-
ans were seriously injured
and many more were ar-
rested following fierce con-
frontations with the Israeli
police.
Israelipolicewereaggres-
sive in their attempts to
curbdemonstrations,which
soon backfired with an with
anexpansionof Palestinian
protests across Jerusalem,
the West Bank and many
Arab villages in central and
northern Israel.
TURMOIL ON
BOTH SIDES
Inability to contain vio-
lence in Jerusalem and
other occupied territories
is partly a result of inter-
nal issues with both the
Palestinian leadership and
the Israeli government. On
the Palestinian side, there
is a power struggle taking
place between Hamas and
the president of the Pales-
tinianAuthority
,Mahmoud
Abbas. Hamas deliberately
heightened tension with
Israel by firing rockets
from Gaza as a propaganda
strategy to build political
capital at Abbas’ expense.
He, in turn, has postponed
elections to the Palestinian
Legislative Council for fear
of losing ground against
his Islamist rivals.
Israeli politics, mean-
while, has reached a debili-
tating impasse after four
general elections failed to
establish a workable gov-
ernment. This has had se-
vere ramifications for the
handling of the crisis.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
Politics behind the latest explosion of violence in the Holy City
T
When a person dwells
longingly on sense objects, an
inclination towards them is
generated. This inclination
develops into desire and
desire gives rise to anger.
—Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
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With a view to strengthen and
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launched ‘POSHAN Tracker’ App
in March 2021. App developed as
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will be vital in improving maternal
and child health.
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Shining example of Digital health
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Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
IN-DEPTH
OPPN COMES TOGETHER
TO TAKE ON MODI
n a significant show of unity, 12 Opposi-
tion parties and four chief ministers
came together to demand free vaccina-
tion against Covid-19 and suspension of
work on the Central Vista and use its
funds “for procuring oxygen and vaccines, in-
stead”. Central Vista is Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s ambitious project. BJP president JP Nadda
had attacked the Congress for targeting Central
Vista while its own party’s government in Chhat-
tisgarh was busy constructing a “new Raipur”
with new Assembly building, new residences for
the governor and chief minister and several other
structures. Soon after Nadda’s jibe, Chief Minister
Bhupesh Baghel ordered a halt to the entire pro-
ject. The move will put further pressure on the BJP
against Central Vista.
The joint Opposition demanded in a letter to the
PM that vaccines should be centrally procured
from global and local sources by the Central gov-
ernment which should then distribute them for
“free and universal vaccination”. The leaders
urged the prime minister “to invoke compulsory
licensing to expand domestic vaccine production.
Spend budgetary allocation of Rs 35,000 crore for
the vaccines”. The signatories to the letter includ-
ed Congress president Sonia Gandhi, D. Raja (CPI),
Sitaram Yechury (CPM), Sharad Pawar (NCP), for-
mer Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda (JDS), Ud-
dhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena), Mamata Banerjee
(TMC), MK Stalin (DMK), Hemant Soren (JMM),
the last four are all chief ministers. The letter was
sent a day after Nadda accused Sonia of spreading
panic and misleading people on the pandemic.
I
TOUGH TIMES AHEAD
FOR W BENGAL CM
amata Banerjee’s stupendous victory in
the Assembly elections notwithstand-
ing, the recent post-poll violence in West
Bengal has given ammunition to the
BJP. The Union Home Ministry has a
valid reason now to keep breathing down her neck
through the state governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The Home Ministry has drawn a line of distinction
between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress with
the 77 newly-elected BJP legislators being given X
category security cover by the Central Industrial
Security Force. Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of
Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, enjoys Z
category with a posse of Central Reserve Police
Force men deployed to protect him. Adhikari de-
feated Mamata from Nandigram constituency
. It is
rare to see central para forces protecting opposi-
tion party MLAs but West Bengal politics are dif-
ferent and with BJP in power at the Centre it was
easy
. The decision to provide the BJP MLAs with
a special security ring was taken after intelligence
inputs and post-poll violence in the Cooch-Behar
district in which 16 people belonging to both the
parties were killed. That there’s no love lost be-
tween Dhankhar and Mamata is an old story. Al-
though a governor’s powers are limited, Dhankhar
continues to exercise them as much as he can. Last
September Mamata wrote a letter to Dhankhar
urging him to “refrain from surpassing” the CM
and her council of ministers.” But Dhankhar is
carrying on regardless as he planned visit to
Cooch-Behar, prompting CM to request him not to
“violate long-standing protocols.”
M

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INDIA
05
BIHAR: WARD BOY ARRESTED OVER
ALLEGED SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Bhagalpur (Bihar): A
ward boy of a private
hospital in Bihar’s Bhagal-
pur was arrested after a
woman alleged that he
had sexually harassed
her while she was taking
care of her Covid-positive
husband and mother.
As per a release, an FIR
was filed on Tuesday at
the Patrakar Nagar Police
Station after the incident
was also brought to light
on social media. The
arrested hospital staff,
Jyoti Kumar, was arrested
later in the day after the
FIR was filed. In a similar
incident earlier last week,
the Indore police on
Friday arrested two ward
boys of the Maharaja
Yeshwantrao Hospital
for allegedly molesting a
patient. —ANI
GROUP OF AUTO DRIVERS
STARTS ‘JUGAAD AMBULANCE’
Pune (Maharashtra): A group of auto drivers in
Pune on Thursday started ‘Jugaad Ambulance’ --
an initiative to ferry COVID-19 patients in the city.
According to ‘Jugaad Ambulance’ initiative leader
Keshav Kshirsagar they have installed oxygen
support in three of their autos to help people who
are facing difficulties in finding beds in hospitals.
“These oxygen cylinders can last up to 6-7 hours.
We have a helpline number for patients to contact
us. We have trained our drivers on how to give
oxygen to patients with full precautions.”
FOUR DIE IN ROAD ACCIDENT
IN ANDHRA PRADESH
East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh): Four people
died while five others sustained injuries in an
accident on Thursday at Peddapuram Town of
Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district.
According to Peddapuram Sub Inspector Balaji,
four people including, a five-month-old baby,
one woman, and two men died in the accident.
“The car was crossing the industrial area of Ped-
dapuram at around 4.30 am, when hit by a lorry.
Four people including, a five-month baby, one
woman, and two men died,” said Sub Inspector.
2 NAXALS KILLED IN ENCOUNTER
WITH MAHARASHTRA POLICE
Gadchiroli (Maharashtra):
Two Naxalites were killed
on Thursday in Maha-
rashtra’s Gadchiroli after
an encounter with the
C-60 unit of the State
Police. According to
Superintendent of Police,
Gadchiroli, the encounter
took place in a forest of
Dhanora Tehsil. “Two
Naxalites have been killed
in an encounter with
C-60 unit of Maharashtra
Police in a forest of Dha-
nora Tehsil in Gadchiroli
district,” Goyal informed.
A similar incident took
place on April 28 where
two more Naxals were
killed in an encounter
with the police. “Incrimi-
nating materials have
been seized from the
spot,” informed Ankit
Goyal. —ANI
PM MISSING WITH VACCINES,
OXYGEN, MEDICINES: RAHUL
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi at-
tacked Prime Minister
Narendra Modi alleg-
ing that he is ‘missing’
just like COVID-19 vac-
cines, oxygen and medi-
cines and claimed that
all that remained is the
Central Vista Project
and PM’s photos.
In another tweet, he
accused the govern-
ment of “abdicating”
its duty towards the
citizens as the pandem-
ic rages on and insisted
that people must come
together for others in
need.
“The prime minister
is also missing, along
with vaccines, oxygen
and medicines. All that
remain are the Central
Vista Project, GST
(goods and services tax)
on medicines and the
prime minister’s photos
here and there,” Rahul
Gandhi said in a tweet
in Hindi.
The former Congress
president has been ex-
tremely critical of PM
Mod-led government’s
handling of the corona-
virus crisis and de-
manded answers as the
nation suffered from
the lack of oxygen,
medicines and vaccines
as cases surged in the
second wave of COV-
ID-19. Meanwhile on
Wednesday, leaders of
12 opposition parties
wrote a letter to PM
Modi, seeking a free
mass vaccination. —PTI
Companies will benefit if
States compete for
vaccination: Congress
New Delhi: As sev-
eral State govern-
ments are contem-
plating to float global
tender to procure
Covid vaccines, the
Congress has raised
an alarm that ulti-
mately it will benefit
the companies if
state governments
compete with each
other.
Congress leader
Manish Tewari said,
“It does not require
rocket science to fig-
ure out that if differ-
ent Indian States
compete for vaccines
in international mar-
ket manufacturers/
suppliers will go
laughing to the
bank.” “Until Until
this architecture has
been put in place in
cahoots with the
manufacturers,” he
added. Manish
Tewari’s remarks
came after BMC is-
sued a global tender.
Bengal facing twin challenges
of pandemic poll violence
Cooch Behar (WB):
Claiming that people,
who cast their votes as
per their choice, are be-
ing subjected to attacks
in WB, Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar on
Thursday said while
the country is facing
the COVID crisis, the
state is grappling with
the twin challenges of
the pandemic and the
post-poll violence.
The governor said he
was shocked by inci-
dents of attack follow-
ing the assembly elec-
tions, and decided to
visit various places af-
fected by violence.
‘The country is fac-
ing the COVID crisis,
and West Bengal is fac-
ing twin challenges of
the pandemic and un-
precedented post-poll
violence only on the
ground that some peo-
ple decided to vote as
per their own choice,’
he said while embark-
ing on a visit to various
places in Cooch Behar
district. He said that
everyone who took the
law into their hands
must be brought to
justice. —ANI
Guv shown
black flags
at Sitalkuchi
Cooch Behar: West
Bengal Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar
was on Thursday
shown black flags at
Sitalkuchi, where
five persons died on
election day, when
he went there to
visit people affected
in POSTviolence.
Kolkata: West Bengal’s
ruling Trinamool Con-
gress alleged that gov-
ernor Jagdeep
Dhankhar, who visited
post-poll violence af-
fected areas of Cooch
BehardistrictonThurs-
day ignoring the advice
of the state govern-
ment, violated constitu-
tional provisions.
The governor, in his
reply, said that he was
discharging duties
mandated by the Con-
stitution and his visit to
Cooch Behar was to
share the pain and ago-
ny of the people suffer-
ing from post-poll
violence. —PTI
Gov’s visit unconstitutional:TMC
Jagdeep Dhankhar
IN THE COURTYARD
PNB scam: Mumbai court issues
show cause notice to Nirav Modi
Mumbai: A special
court here has issued a
Public notice to fugi-
tive diamond mer-
chant Nirav Modi,
wanted in India for al-
leged fraud and money
laundering in the PNB
scam case, asking why
his properties should
not be confiscated un-
der the Fugitive Eco-
nomicOffenders(FEO)
Act. Special Judge V C
Barde has also asked
Modi to appear before
the court on June 11.
The court said if the
accused failed to ap-
pear, it will proceed
with action against
him under the FEO
Act.
The special court
had in December 2019
declared Nirav Modi a
fugitive economic
offender, on a plea of
the Enforcement Di-
rectorate (ED), which
is conducting a probe
into the case.
“I, V C Barde, Spe-
cial Judge, PMLA, 2002
and Fugitive Econom-
ic Offenders Act, 2018,
issue NOTICE to you
to show cause as to
why the properties
mentioned in the
application (ED’s
plea), in which you
have pecuniary
interest and/or other-
wise, should not be
confiscated under the
said Act,”the recent
notice said. —ANI
Nirav Modi
SC asks govt to
consider realities
of migrants
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Thurs-
day told Centre that it
has to consider harsh
realities in connection
with migrant workers
during the lockdown
announced by various
state governments.
A bench comprising
Justices Ashok Bhush-
an and M.R. Shah said
it is inclined to pass di-
rections to NCR states
to have community
kitchens and to facili-
tate transportation of
migrant workers who
are willing to return.
Opposition-ruled states misleading
people on vaccines, says BJP
New Delhi: As several
states complained
about shortage of vac-
cine, the BJP blamed
opposition-ruled states
for allegedly mislead-
ing people. The party
said that first the oppo-
sition demanded a lib-
eralised vaccine policy
and when states were
empowered to procure
directly and the vacci-
nation group was ex-
panded, they are again
complaining. The BJP
on Thursday released a
video of statements of
Congress leaders and
Health Ministers of
o p p o s i t i o n - r u l e d
states. In a video, the
health ministers of
Jharkhand and Chhat-
tisgarh, and Congress
leaders were seen ques-
tioning the efficacy of
the vaccine. Shared a
three-minute video on
Twitter, National in-
charge of BJP’s Infor-
mation and Technology
department, Amit
Malviya. —ANI
A patient taking a dose of Covaxin.
Amid flak, Maha
DyCM cancels
appointment of PR
Mumbai: The opposi-
tion BJP on Thursday
hit out at the Maharash-
tra government for its
decision to allocate
nearly Rs six crore for
appointing a private
agency to handle the so-
cial media accounts of
Deputy Chief Minister
Ajit Pawar amid the
raging COVID-19 crisis.
Under fire over the
decision, Ajit Pawar
said there was no need
to appoint any agency
.
Modi to release 8th instalment of
financial benefit under PM-KISAN
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
will release the 8th in-
stalment of financial
benefit under the Prad-
han Mantri Kisan Sam-
man Nidhi (PM-KISAN)
scheme on Friday,
May 14.
“Tomorrow is a very
important day for the
crores of farmers in the
country. I will get the
privilege of releasing
the 8th instalment of
Prime Minister Kisan
Samman Nidhi through
video conferencing at
11 am. On this occasion,
I will also communicate
with my farmer broth-
ers and sisters,” Prime
Minister informed in a
tweet.
According to PM’s Of-
fice, “This will enable
the transfer of more
than Rs. 19,000 crores to
more than 9.5 crores
beneficiary farmer fam-
ilies. PM will also inter-
act with beneficiaries
during the event. Union
Agriculture Minister
will also be present on
the occasion.
Notably, under the
PM-KISAN scheme,
with a benefit of Rs 6000
per year.” —ANI
PM Narendra Modi
Maj Gen SK
Singh to head
Base Hospital
New Delhi: Senior
plastic sur-
gery spe-
cialist Ma-
jor General
SK Singh
was ap-
pointed as
the new head of the In-
dian Army’s Base Hos-
pital in Delhi Canton-
ment on Thursday. Till
now, Major General SK
Singh was posted at
Military Hospital in
Lucknow where he was
looking after COVID-19
treatment of military
personnel and ex-ser-
vicemen along with the
running of medical fa-
cilities for civilians.
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
The prime minister
is also missing,
along with vaccines,
oxygen and medi-
cines. All that remain
are the Central Vista
Project, GST (goods
and services tax) on
medicines and the
prime minister’s pho-
tos here and there.
Rahul Gandhi
President extends Eid greetings, urges
everyone to follow Covid-19 guidelines
New Delhi: President
Ram Nath Kovind on
Thursday greeted citi-
zens on the eve of Eid-
ul-Fitr and urged all to
follow rules and guide-
lines to defeat the coro-
navirus pandemic, and
work for the well-being
of society and the
country.
In his message, the
president said, “The
auspicious festival of
Eid-ul-Fitr, which
marks the end of Rama-
dan, is celebrated as an
occasion to strengthen
the spirit of fraternity
and harmony.” Eid-ul-
Fitr is also an occasion
to rededicate oneself to
the service of humani-
ty and to improve the
lives of the people in
need, the president
said.
“Let us all resolve to
deal with this pandemic
of Covid-19 by following
all the rules and guide-
lines and work for the
well-being of society
and the country,” Ko-
vind said. —ANI
People offering Namaz on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. —FILE Photo
Armies of India,
Pakistan exchange
sweets at LoC
SRINAGAR/JAMMU:
The armies of India
and Pakistan on Thurs-
day exchanged sweets
at LoC in Jammu and
Kashmir on the occa-
sion of Eid-ul-Fitr, de-
fence officials said.
“On major festivals
like Eid, Holi, Diwali
and respective Nation-
al days we exchange
sweets and pleasant-
ries,” a spokesperson
said in Srinagar.

INDIA
06
CM questions...
The Centre should take
it seriously and conduct
research to prevent it.
Also, necessary medi-
cines and injections
such as amphotericin
should be arranged,
which can be used in the
prevention and treat-
ment of this disease.
Gehlot once again
raised the matter of is-
suing different tenders
to buy coronavirus im-
munization vaccines by
different states.
“So far, 11 states have
shortage global tenders
to buy vaccines due to
lack of vaccines in the
country. Due to this,
states will get vaccines
at different prices.
On the global tenders
by states for the pro-
curement of corona
vaccine from abroad,
the chief minister said
that it would have been
good if the Centre
would have taken out
global tenders and
made vaccines availa-
ble to the states in a
planned manner.
PM Narendra Modi
will hold dialogues with
the collectors of dis-
tricts where corona in-
fection is high. CM
Ashok Gehlot will also
attend the virtual dia-
logue which will be held
on May 18 and 20 .
In Rajasthan, Jaipur
is the most affected dis-
trict.
Meanwhile, chief
minister Ashok Gehlot
and wife Sunita Gehlot
have been tested nega-
tive for coronavirus.
They remained un-
der home quarantine
for two weeks.
Attempt to...
The draft citizen’s list
of August 2019 had left
out 19 lakh people. Most
are those who did not
provide adequate docu-
ments to prove their
citizenship claims, offi-
cials had said.
State leaders of the
BJP have been demand-
ing re-verification
since the lists were pub-
lished. Himanta Biswa
Sarma, who took the
oath as the state’s Chief
Minister this week, had
tweeted, “The Names
of many Indian citizens
who migrated from
Bangladesh as refugees
prior to 1971 have not
been included in the
NRC because authori-
ties refused to accept
refugee certificates”.
‘Sputnik V...
Notably, Sputnik V is
the third vaccine India
has given go-ahead to
after Covishield, de-
veloped by Oxford Uni-
versity and AstraZen-
eca and Covaxin, the
indigenous vaccine
manufactured by
Bharat Biotech. Cov-
ishield is manufac-
tured by the Serum
Institute of India.
Meanwhile, Russian
scientists claimed the
Phase 3 trial of Sputnik
V Covid-19 vaccine is
clear, transparent and
fully complies with the
regulatory standards
that exist for provision
of clinical trial data,
said a report in IANS.
PM to...
According to the latest
data from the Union
Health Ministry, just
ten states account for
over 72 per cent of new
COVID-19 cases report-
ed in a span of 24 hours
and these include Ma-
harashtra, Delhi, Hary-
ana, Uttar Pradesh,
Kerala, Karnataka, Ta-
mil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, West Bengal
and Rajasthan.
Also, just ten states
account for 74.30 per
cent of the new deaths.
India added 3,62,727
new coronavirus infec-
tions in a day taking the
COVID-19 tally of cases
to 2,37,03,665, while the
death toll rose to
2,58,317 with 4,120 daily
fatalities, according to
the Union Health Min-
istry data updated on
Thursday
.
Vaccination on...
and the India-dominant
B.1.617 have “begin to
wane in recent weeks”,
but worryingly, there
are more dangerous
mutations of the B.1.617
now - the B.1.617.1 and
B.1.617.2.
“Preliminary analy-
ses shows B.1.617.1 and
B1.617.2 have substan-
tially higher growth
rate suggesting poten-
tially higher transmis-
sibility,” says the WHO
update.
“B.1.617 sub-lineages
appear to have higher
rates of transmission,
including observed
rapid increases in
prevalence in multiple
countries (moderate
evidence available for
B.1.617.1 and
B.1.617.2).”
12 To...
The panel also stated
that those having labo-
ratory test proven
SARS-CoV-2 illness
should defer Covid-19
vaccination for six
months after recovery
.
According to the Un-
ion Health Ministry’s
current protocol, vac-
cine is to be taken four
to eight weeks after re-
covery from Covid-19
infection and pregnant
and lactating women
are not to be adminis-
tered the shots.
FROM PG 1
Plateauingindailycases,
decline in +ve too: Govt
187 dists see continuous dip in cases in last 2 weeks: Health ministr
New Delhi: Plateauing
in daily new COVID-19
cases and positivity
rate has been recorded
in the country over the
past three days, the gov-
ernment said on Thurs-
day, but added 10 states
still have a positivity
rate of 2% or more.
According to the gov-
ernment, the number
of districts with week-
on week rise in COV-
ID-19 tests, yet decline
in positivity rate has
increased from 125 in
April 22-28 to 338 be-
tween May 6 and 12.
Addressing a press
conference, a senior of-
ficial, also said as
many as 12 states have
more than 1 lakh active
COVID-19 cases, while
24 states have more
than 15 per cent case
positivity rate.
Delhi, Haryana and
Uttar Pradesh are
among 10 states that ac-
count for 72.42 per cent
of the 3,62,727 new cas-
es in the country in a
span of 24 hours, the
Union health ministry
said on Thursday.
Kerala, Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, West Bengal
and Rajasthan are the
other states in the list
of 10.
Maharashtra report-
ed the highest daily
new cases at 46,781. It is
followed by Kerala
with 43,529 while Kar-
nataka reported 39,998
new cases.
India’s total active
caseload has increased
to 37,10,525 and now
comprises 15.65 per cent
of the country’s total
infections. A net in-
crease of 6,426 cases has
been recorded in the ac-
tive caseload in a day
.
—PTI
COVID patient gets an oxygen facility in a BMTC bus parked in
front of Town Hall, in Bengaluru on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Peak will come,
virus can again
emerge: Govt
A youngster getting vaccinated in Delhi.
Covaxin phase 2, 3 clinical trial for 2-18 yrs cleared
New Delhi: Covaxin
trials on children from
two to 18 years were
cleared by the Drugs
Controller General of
India (DCGI) on Thurs-
day. This is the first
time in India that a Cov-
id vaccine will be tested
on children.
Covaxin maker
Bharat Biotech said its
phase 2 and 3 trials
would be carried out on
“525 healthy volun-
teers”.
According to a gov-
ernment statement, the
drug regulator accepted
the recommendation of
an expert committee on
vaccines after careful
thought.
The trial involves two
vaccine doses injected
at day 0 and day 28.
The trials are to take
place at various sites,
including AIIMS, Delhi,
AIIMS, Patna and Med-
itrina Institute of Medi-
cal Sciences, Nagpur.
On Tuesday, the Sub-
ject Expert Committee
(SEC) on COVID-19 dis-
cussed Bharat Biotech’s
application requesting
permission to conduct
phase two and three tri-
als “to evaluate the safe-
ty, reactogenicity and
immunogenicity of Co-
vaxin jabs in children
aged 2 to 18 years”. —PTI
Puri,Tharoor
spar over
vaccine policy

z Health Ministry denies
media reports claiming
‘non-functional’ ventila-
tors at Faridkot hospital

z Serum Institute CEO
promised to deliver 1.5
cr Covishield doses to
Maharashtra after May
20, says Rajesh Tope

z Reduce GST on vac-
cine, COVID drugs to 0%,
release rice subsidy: MK
Stalin to PM Modi

z Madhya Pradesh CM
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
announces free education
for kids orphaned due to
COVID-19

z EC defers legislative
council polls in 9 seats in
AP, Telangana

z Health Ministry’s
eSanjeevani telemedicine
service records over 50
lakh consultations

z State-wide restric-
tions that were put in
place by the Maharashtra
government to curb the
spread of the COVID-19
infection will continue till
June 1.

z Employees at cre-
matoriums, cemeteries
demand priority in vac-
cinations

z India welcomes ship-
ment of 10,000 rapid
testing kits from Korea

z Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar extends
lockdown till May 25
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister Hardeep Singh
Puri and Congress MP
Shashi Tharoor sparred
on Twitter, with the
BJP leader accusing
Congress leaders of
fuelling vaccine hesi-
tancy and Tharoor hit-
ting back, saying when
will the Centre take re-
sponsibility for its
“manifest failures” of
policy rather than
pointing fingers at the
Opposition.
—PTI
‘Should we hang
ourselves over non-
availability of vax?’
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister for Chemicals and
Fertilisers DV Sadan-
anda Gowda on Thurs-
day remarked that
should the people in the
government hand them-
selves over it.
“The court has with
good intention said
everyone in the coun-
try should get vacci-
nated. I want to ask
you, if the court says
tomorrow that you
have to give this much
(of vaccine), if it has
not been produced yet,
should we hang our-
selves?” PTI quoted
Gowda as saying. —PTI
Delhi has surplus oxy, will give
to states that need: Dy CM
New Delhi: After near-
ly two weeks of fighting
it out in the Delhi High
Court and hitting out at
the Centre for not giv-
ing enough oxygen re-
quired to treat COV-
ID-19 patients, Delhi
Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia on
Thursday informed
that the national capital
now has a surplus of
oxygen.
While addressing a
press conference, Siso-
dia said that after as-
sessing the COVID-19
situation, Delhi now
requires about 582 met-
ric tonnes of oxygen a
day and the surplus will
be given to other states
that need it.
“Today, after an as-
sessment of the COV-
ID-19 situation, Delhi’s
oxygen need is 582 MT
per day. As a responsi-
ble government, we will
give the surplus oxygen
to the States who need
it,” he said. He added
city’s positivity rate is
down to 14 per cent with
10,400 cases recorded in
a 24-hour period. —ANI
Manish Sisodia
New Delhi: As the
country battles the
second wave of COV-
ID-19, the govern-
ment Thursday said
thevirusmayemerge
again and so prepa-
rations have to be
made at the national
level in collaboration
with states, infra-
structure needs to be
ramped up while
curbs and appropri-
ate behaviour must
be followed.
Dismissing allega-
tions that the govern-
ment was unaware
of the intensity of
the second wave,
NITI Aayog member
(health) Dr V K Paul
said, “We kept warn-
ing again and again
from this platform
that the second wave
of COVID-19 will
come. “It was said
that the sero-positiv-
ity is 20 per cent, 80
per cent of the popu-
lation is still vulner-
able and that virus
has not gone any-
where and other
countries were also
witnessing a re-
surge.”
At a press confer-
ence, Paul said, “The
prime minister had
conveyed the country
about the emerging
second wave on
March 17 without
creating panic and
had said that we have
to fight it.” “Was
such a peak expect-
ed,” he said, “well, no
modelling can pre-
dict the size of a peak
as the unexpected
behaviour virus is
well known.” —PTI
Several Delhi
vaccination
centres shut
New Delhi:
Several vaccina-
tion centres where
Covaxin is being
administered in
national capital
on Thursday
remained closed
for the age group
of 18-44 years
due to its non-
availability. —ANI
COVID HIGHLIGHTS
Bharat Biotech said trial will be carried on 525 healthy volunteers.
Centre should float
global vax tenders:
Delhi Health Min
Actively considering
live telecast of SC
proceedings: CJI
New Delhi: Delhi
Health Minister Saty-
endar Jain on Thurs-
day said that he has
suggested to the Un-
ion Health Ministry
that the Central gov-
ernment should float
a single global tender
instead of various
states to purchase
COVID-19 vaccines.
Addressing a press
conference, the
health minister said,
“I suggested the
Health Ministry if
the vaccine has to be
purchased from for-
eign countries, then
instead of different
states floating differ-
ent global tenders,
the Centre should
purchase these vac-
cines on behalf of the
states,” he said.
“If in the interna-
tional market, Delhi
UP
, Karnataka, Kera-
la go separately to
purchase COVID vac-
cines, then it will be
an insult for the
country
,” he added.
Jain said 2 vaccine
manufacturers in In-
dia, Bharat Biotech
and Serum Institue
of India should share
their formula with
other firms to in-
crease vax produc-
tion. —ANI
New Delhi: Chief
Justice of India NV
Ramana on Thurs-
day said that he is
actively considering
the proposal to tele-
cast live proceedings
of Supreme Court.
“I am also actively
considering the pro-
posal to live telecast
the proceedings of
the Supreme Court.
However, before initi-
ating concrete steps
in this regard, I plan
to seek general con-
sensus among my
colleagues in the
Court,” the Chief
Justice said. In 2018,
the apex court or-
dered live-streaming
of Supreme Court
proceedings saying it
will increase the
transparency of judi-
cial proceedings,
however, the neces-
sary amendments to
the Supreme Court
rules have not yet
been made to frame
the modalities of the
process.
CJ Ramana was
speaking at launch of
the mobile applica-
tion which will ena-
ble journalists to re-
port virtual proceed-
ings without having
to visit court during
pandemic. —ANI
UPSC Civil Services pre
postponed to Oct 10
New Delhi: The
Union Public Ser-
vice Commission
(UPSC) on Thurs-
day postponed the
civil services pre-
liminary exami-
nation, scheduled
to be held in June,
to October 10 in
view of alarming
COVID situation.
The commis-
sion conducts civil
services examina-
tion annually in
three stages -- pre-
liminary, main
and interview -- to
select officers of
Indian Adminis-
trative Service
(IAS), Indian For-
eign Service (IFS)
and Indian Police
Service (IPS)
among others.
“Due to the pre-
vailing conditions
caused by the nov-
el coronavirus Un-
ion Public Service
Commission has
deferred the civil
services (prelimi-
nary) examina-
tion, 2021, which
was scheduled to
be held on 27th
June, 2021. Now,
this examination
will be held on
10th October,
2021,” a statement
issued by the com-
mission said. —PTI

NEWS
07
First India Bureau
Jaipur: A week after
eight Asiatic lions test-
ed positive for Covid-19
in Hyderabad zoo, a lion
in Jaipur zoo has tested
positive for Coronavi-
rus. The lion named
Tripur, living in Nahar-
garh Biological Park,
tested positive for COV-
ID by the Indian Veteri-
nary Research Institute
(IVRI)- Bareilly
.
While Tripur was
positive for SARS-CoV-2
that causes COVID-19,
the sample reports of a
panther, a white tiger
and a lioness from
Jaipur, were inconclu-
sive. The 13 animal sam-
ples received from Ra-
jasthan’s capital in-
clude three lions, three
tigers and one panther.
After the report came
positive, samples of all
the big cats were sent to
IVRI.
The chain of trans-
mission of the virus
could have taken place
through asymptomatic
human carriers like
caretakers of the ani-
mals.
The park was closed
on 17 April as per the
direction of the state
government in view of
the spread of Coronavi-
rus. The director of
IVRI informed the me-
dia about the positive
report in Bareilly on
Wednesday but the au-
thorities in Jaipur
could not confirm it on
Thursday and were try-
ing to hide the report.
On the other hand,
the member of state
wildlife board Simrat
Sandhu has suggested
coordination with the
experts on the matter.
The founder of Sariska
Foundation Dinesh
Durrani expressed con-
cern on the report.
LionTripurfound+veatNahargarh Cairn Oil starts
production from
its tight oil project
Cairn Oil Gas in Aishwariya Barmer Hills in Rajasthan.
Lunaram Darji
Barmer: Cairn Oil
Gas, Vedanta Limited,
India’s largest private
oil and gas exploration
and production compa-
ny, has achieved a sig-
nificant milestone by
starting production
from its NA #01 facility
in Aishwariya Barmer
Hills in Rajasthan. The
project is a first in
Cairn’s tight oil portfo-
lio with a growth poten-
tial to contribute 20% to
the company’s vision
production.
The project has been
executed in collabora-
tion with leading global
oilfields services com-
pany, Schlumberger. It
took more than 900 days
and over 3 million man-
hours to complete the
entire surface facility,
including activities like
hot work, equipment
erection, hydro testing,
hot tapping, commis-
sioning, electrical sys-
tem charging, tie-in
with a live existing fa-
cility, and well hookup.
Speaking about the
project, Prachur Sah,
Deputy CEO, Cairn Oil
Gas, Vedanta Ltd.,
said, “The ABH tight oil
project is yet another
example of our commit-
ment to growing India’s
EP sector through the
deployment of ad-
vanced technologies.
Gautam Reddy, Man-
aging Director, India
and Bangladesh,
Schlumberger, said,
“Schlumberger thanks
Vedanta for the oppor-
tunity to work together
as growth partners to
achieve Vedanta’s vi-
sion to produce 50% of
India’s oil and gas. The
partnership has wit-
nessed operational ex-
cellence while main-
taining safety and op-
erations integrity as
the top priority
.
Cong control room pulls up
socks to help Covid patients
First India Bureau
Jaipur: In this Pan-
demic time, the state
Congress control room
is working hard to pro-
vide help to Corona pa-
tients. Necessary sup-
port from the govern-
ment is being provided
through all district and
block organisations.
Nearly 4,000 Covid re-
lated problems were re-
ceived by the PCC from
across the state, out of
which 90 percent were
resolved. There were
many interruptions in
service work. Congress
leader Vijay Saraswat,
who was serving the
PCC control room, died
after being corona posi-
tive. The PCC Covid
control room is getting
requests for supplying
oxygen and now, the
problem of vaccination
is also taking a toll.
Now, 18 plus youths are
demanding vaccina-
tion, queries regarding
ventilators and Remde-
sivir injections are also
in high demand. The
control room communi-
cates its problems to the
CM cell.
Bail to Asaram: HC seeks med
report; next hearing on May 21
First India Bureau
Jodhpur: Asaram Ba-
pu’s petition for bail
was heard by the Ra-
jasthan High Court
bench of Justice Sand-
eep Mehta and Justice
Devendra Kutchwaha
on Thursday. High
Court has sought a new
health report from
AIIMS and postponed
the hearing till May 21.
Till then Asaram will
be kept in AIIMS. Covid
positive Asaram Bapu’s
health is improving and
his BP and oxygen lev-
els are normal.
After testing positive
for the coronavirus,
Asaram had filed a peti-
tion for two-month-long
interim bail for which
AIIMS asked for a
health report. On
Thursday, the petition
was heard by the bench
of Justice Sandeep Me-
hta and Justice Deven-
dra Kutchwaha in the
High Court.
Asaram’s lawyer Sid-
dharth Luthra has re-
quested in this online
hearing for a bail so
that he can get treat-
ment in Kerala.
Tripur was positive for SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19, while sample reports of other animals were inconclusive
TRANSMISSION
The lion Tripur
at Nahargarh
Biological Park.
EFFORTS OF BARMER CONG
MLA PROVIDE SOLACE TO
COVID PATIENTS
The hectic efforts of Congress
MLA Mevaram Jain have helped
a lot the patients of Covid-19 not
only in Barmer but other adjoining
districts. People of the region are all
praises for this MLA whose untiring
work has brought relief to the
needy. During the last one and half
years the Barmer district hospital,
where Jain’s entire attention is
concentrated, has changed a lot
as he has been reaching out to
the patients in the hospitals every
day with all types of required
relief. Since Jain has been closely
coordinating with the hospital
management he has been keeping
away from his family members to
avoid infection.
Angry villagers set
police jeep on fire
First India Bureau
Tonk: Upset over the
death of a man in po-
lice custody, angry vil-
lagers have set police
jeep of Nivai police sta-
tion on fire and dam-
aged other property
.
Incident happened
after the suspicious
custody death of a man
under Duttwas police
station of the district
on Wednesday night in
Jagsara village.
SP Om Prakash said
that Lakshmi Narayan
Meena’s brother Pappu
Meena was going out
of the village when liq-
uor contractors Bharat
Singh, Ghanshyam,
Jagdish and Kalu took
him for selling illegal
alcohol. After taking
him to police station,
they started beating
him. He was died
around 8 p.m. The de-
ceased’s brother has
filed a murder charge
against 7 people and
the police have ensured
justice.
When police failed to
trace the alleged kill-
ers, villagers didn’t
even let the body go for
postmortem as the po-
lice was not investigat-
ing the case properly
.
Angry villagers torched the police jeep in the police station.
BSF jawan
shoots self
dead in Raj
Jaisalmer: A jawan of
the Border Security
Force (BSF) has shot
himself dead using his
service rifle, police
said on Thursday
.
According to police,
The incident took place
in Shahgarh Balj area
here on Wednesday,
they said. The jawan,
identified as Prem Sin-
gh Yadav, had returned
to duty on April 30 after
a one-month vacation
in Madhya Pradesh’’s
Bhind.
ABSFofficerreached
the spot after receiving
the information and
Yadav’’s body was
handed over to him af-
ter postmortem, the
police said. —PTI
Mevaram Jain
The jawan, identified
as Prem Singh had
returned to duty on
April 30 after
vacation
IPS Pankaj
Choudhary
reinstated
after 2 years
First India Bureau
Jaipur: After 2 years
and 2 months of con-
stant struggle, Pankaj
Chaudhary, a 2009
batch IPS of Rajasthan
cadre, has finally been
reinstated in the Indi-
an Police Service.
Pankaj Chaudhary
admitted his joining on
Wednesday late night
to the state govern-
ment.
He has been reinstat-
ed by a CAT order is-
sued on December 10,
2020, asking for his re-
instatement.
This order of CAT
was challenged in Del-
hi High Court by the
state government but
both the courts upheld
the decision taken by
the principal bench of
CAT and finally led to
the reinstatement of
Pankaj Chaudhary in
the state police.
FOR WAR ON CORONA
`2 CRORE
from the MLA’s
funds to facilitate
vaccination of people
by MLA Pratapalal
Gameti of Gogunda
` 1CRORE
by Ajmer Dairy to the
Chief Minister’s Covid
Care fund to help the
Covid patients.
2 OXYPLANTS
by MLA Danish Abrar
from his MLA fund
to help the Covid
patients in the state.
OXY BANK
district Collector of
Ajmer inaugurated an
oxygen bank in the
district. The oxygen
bank was built with a
fund of Rs. 14,52,000
donated by the people
of Ajmer. 20 Oxygen
Concentrators have
been procured by this
fund.
1-DAY SALARY
State Election
Commission
employees have
donated a day’s salary
to CM Relief Fund.
The employees of
the State Elections
Commission in wake
of the second wave
of Corona pandemic
voluntarily decided to
donate a day’s salary
to CM Relief Fund.

Eid Mubarak, may it bring
peace, harmony and good health
to each one of us!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21
Rajendra Chhabra
Jaipur: The State Gov-
ernment does not know
about the whereabouts
of a senior IAS officer
and the Chairman of
Revenue Board Ajmer,
R Venkateswaran since
the last two months
ever since the Anti-Cor-
ruption Bureau raided
the Revenue Board Of-
fice in Ajmer.
The officer last at-
tended his office in the
last week of March af-
ter which, he went into
‘home- isolation’ due to
contracting the Corona
infection. He was last
seen at RUHS Hospital
in Jaipur on April 5 in
order to acquire treat-
ment for the deadly vi-
rus infection. But his
whereabouts are not
known since then.
There is no informa-
tion about him in the
CM office and Chief
Secretary’s office and
no officer in the Depart-
ment of Personnel is
aware of his wherea-
bouts. Despite holding
such an important post,
he has not been in touch
with the Chief Secre-
tary, Principal Secre-
tary to CM and DoP
Secretary in the last
two months, which is a
very unusual and seri-
ous matter.
The Anti-Corruption
Bureau had taken ac-
tion on the Board mem-
bers and some advo-
cates and arrested
them for bribery. The
office of Ven-
kateswaran was also
seized and the ACB of-
ficials had said that he
will also be questioned
over the graft charges.
However, due to lock-
down, the ACB action
slowed down and no
information was pro-
vided by the ACB
whether he was inter-
rogated or not.
The official neither
informed the govern-
ment about Corona
infection nor applied
for leave. He also did
not inform whether he
has recovered from
the infection.
According to some
reliable sources, he
has not attended office
after the ACB raid at
his office.
Sr IASofficer’sconspicuousabsenceraiseseyebrows!
MATTER OF CONCERN
First India Bureau
Jaipur: State Health
Minister Dr Raghu
Sharma extended his
greetings to people be-
longing to Muslim
Community on the oc-
casion of the festival
of Eid-ul-Fitr, which
will be celebrated
across the country to-
day and has also ap-
pealed to them to cele-
brate this festival at
home. At the same
time, the Minister also
appealed to follow the
ban on the wedding
ceremonies to be held
on the occasion of Ak-
shay Tritiya also
known as AkhaTeej.
Dr Sharma in his ap-
peal said, The cases
of Covid-19 are con-
tinuously increasing
in the state. The state
government has also
imposed a lockdown
till May 24 to break the
chain of infection. On
the occasion of Eid-ul-
Fitr, one should cele-
brate the festival with
their respective fami-
lies in confines of
their homes by follow-
ing the 'Red Alert Jan
Anushasan Pakhwada'
(Public -Discipline
Lockdown).
The Health Minister
further added that peo-
ple of all religions
should observe reli-
gious customs, festivals
safely in confines of
your homes. No one
should visit religious
places of worship and
should offer prayers
from their homes so
that the chain of infec-
tion can be broken.
Dr Sharma said that
during the lockdown
permission to host a DJ
night, Baraat proces-
sion, nikasi, party etc.
related to a marriage
ceremony, have been
banned till May 31. He
urged people to post-
pone such functions till
the end of May
.
Celebrate in confines of your
homes: Dr Raghu to masses
The Health Minister while extending his greetings on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr and Akshay Tritiya,
urgedpeopletofollowRedAlertPublic-DisciplineLockdowntohelpcurbthespreadofCovid-19infection
Dr. Raghu Sharma
@RaghusharmaINC
The government is
fully alert and ready
to face any chal-
lenge.
Collective efforts
must to break virus
chain, says Birla
ALARMING! SC/ST RAPE CASES
INCREASED BY 17.31% IN 2020
CS inspects facilities at
Beelwa Care Centre
NO MASS EID
PRAYERS AT
MOSQUES
First India Bureau
Kota: Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla on
Thursday, laid empha-
sis on collective efforts
to break the chain of
Coronavirus.
Interacting with the
people of the Bundi
through Video Confer-
ence, he said that peo-
ple in rural areas are
also being infected
rapidly in the second
wave of Corona which
is a matter of grave
concern for everyone.
In some of the vil-
lages, the infection
rate is more than 25
percent which is a hor-
rifying situation.
The speaker said
that the infection
spreads rapidly and the
infected person’s condi-
tion deteriorates very
fast because of the fall-
ing level of oxygen.
Birla suggested to
form a team of ‘Coro-
na warriors’ including
3 to 5 persons at ward
and village levels to
create awareness
about the infection.
Some of the people at-
tending the VC told
Birla that there is no
facility for Corona
testing in the rural ar-
eas, the LS Speaker as-
sured them of all pos-
sible help.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: The Congress
government in Ra-
jasthan said that regis-
tration of false cases
due to free registration
of FIRs has led to an in-
crease in the number of
rape cases against SC/
ST women in the state.
In reply to a question
asked by the LoP Gulab-
chand Kataria during
the budget session, the
government has admit-
ted that the number of
rape cases against SC/
ST women has in-
creased. Government
replied saying that rape
cases against SC/ST
women increased by
17.31% in 2020 as com-
pared to 2018. As per
Home Department,
1,467 cases of rape with
SC women were regis-
tered in three years
from 2018 - 2020 of
them, 555 cases were
found to be false during
the probe.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: CS Niranjan
Arya inspected the Rad-
haswami Satsang Hall
Covid Care Centre at
Beelwa praised the
arrangements. He also
instructed officials to
further improvise. He
also interacted with pa-
tients their families.
Arya took feedback
from patients regarding
arrangements at the
Centre to which the ad-
mitted patients and
their relatives praised
the arrangements.
Many family members
also expressed grati-
tude for these arrange-
ments. Arya also in-
spected JDA’s control
room, OPD help desk
during his visit.
First India Bureau
Jaipur/Ajmer: Sever-
al Islamic religious
leaders clerics have
appealed to the people
of Jaipur to celebrate
Eid-ul-Fitr in their
homes in view of the
outbreak of the second
wave of Covid-19. Chief
Qazi Rajasthan Khalid
Usmani, Mufti Moham-
mad Zakir Nomani
(Jaipur) Naeemuddin
Qureshi of Jama Mas-
jid issued statements.
Even Dargah of Sufi
Hazrat Khwaja Moi-
nuddin Chishti Eid-
gah in Ajmer won’t host
Eid-ul-Fitr prayers this
year. Dargah Nazim de-
cided this in consent
with Ashfaq Hussain
Anjuman Syedzadgan
Secy, Syed Wahid Hus-
sain Angarashah
City Qazi, Tausif Ah-
mad Siddiqui.
Labourers at 22 sites
in Kota getting food
and jobs: Dhariwal
First India Bureau
Kota: On the initia-
tive of Chief Minis-
ter Ashok Gehlot to
ensure that no one
slept hungry in state
during the Jan Anu-
shasan Pakhwada
and on the instruc-
tions of UDM Minis-
ter, Shanti Dhariwal,
free food is being dis-
tributed to labourers
at 22 places of work
in city under the In-
dira Rasoi Yojana in
Kota district. Besides
this, employment op-
portunities is being
provided to needy la-
bourers in the state.
Dhariwal said that
the intention of gov-
ernment was to pro-
vide employment to
needy workers on
time and no citizen
should sleep hungry,
for which, food is be-
ing distributed free
of cost to the workers
employed at work-
places from Indira
Rasoi Yojana.
Dhariwal also in-
formed that Urban
development institu-
tions have been in-
structed to stop mi-
gration of workers in
the state and to em-
ploy them at nearby
places during the Jan
Anushasan Pakhwa-
da. Under this initia-
tive, fresh food is be-
ing provided to work-
ers by team of Mu-
nicipal Development
Trust the Munici-
pal Corporation at
identified work sites.
The Minister in-
formed that develop-
ment works are be-
ing carried out in
Kota district by Mu-
nicipal Development
Trust and the Mu-
nicipal Corporation,
wherein, a large
number of labourers
are employed.
To stop migration
workers, the agen-
cies have been in-
structed to assess
employed workers
and provide meals to
them at their respec-
tive places of work
twice a day
.
Government exempts annual renewal of
membershipundercashtransferscheme
DEFEATING COVID, RANKA’S WAY!
Jaipur: Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot has de-
cided to exempt the an-
nual renewal of mem-
bership under the
Palanhar Yojana in
view of the adverse cir-
cumstances arising due
to the coronavirus pan-
demic. The Palanhar
Yojana is a monthly
cash transfer pro-
gramme that aims to
nurture, educate and
provide healthcare to
orphans and other vul-
nerable children in a
family setting.
In order to get assis-
tance under the pro-
gramme, beneficiary
children have to do an-
nual renewal every aca-
demic session. “For the
payment of assistance
up to June 2021 to the
children benefiting un-
der the Palanhar Yoja-
na, it has been decided
to exempt from manda-
tory renewal for 2020-21
due to the COVID-19
pandemic,” the Chief
Minister said in a state-
ment. The programme
is available for all chil-
dren under the age of 18
years who have lost ei-
ther one or both par-
ents, or whose parents
fall into any of the fol-
lowing categories - di-
vorced, abandoned or
suffering from HIV /
AIDS, leprosy or disa-
bility
.Underthescheme,
Rs 500 per month is pro-
vided to children up to 6
years of age and Rs
1,000 per month to chil-
dren between 6 and 18
years. —PTI
First India Bureau
Jaipur: With the en-
tire country including
Rajasthan reeling un-
der the rage of the
pandemic, many peo-
ple infected with Cov-
id-19 are getting well
and beating Corona
with a combination of
willpower, positive
thinking, Naturopa-
thy, Ayurveda Yoga.
On similar lines,
Principal Secretary
Kuldeep Ranka shared
his experiences about
how he was able to over-
come Covid-19 during a
video conference with
Chief Minister Gehlot,
Dr Raghu Sharma and
leading doctors.
While explaining the
traditional methods,
Ranka expressed full
confidence in Naturopa-
thy
, Ayurveda medicine
and Yoga. He said that
he only got the RTPCR
test done and though Dr.
Sudhir Bhandari did
ask him to undergo
HRCT as is the norm, he
resisted and said, “Let
me try my own treat-
ment first, will get it
done if needed.”
Usually, Corona trou-
bles the nose, throat
and lungs.
“I tried the Kunjal
Kriya for its preven-
tion. I drank 6-7 glasses
of lukewarm lemon and
saltwater daily on emp-
ty stomach in this Kri-
ya,” he said.
During this process,
the cough accumulated
in the body is taken out
through vomiting. I also
used the other process
known as Jalneti,
where lukewarm water
of salt is extracted from
one nostril to the other.
This action is repeated
four times a day. Apart
from this, I did Pranay-
am repeatedly during
the day
.
Moreover, he also
poured a spoon of luke-
warm ghee into each of
the nostrils. “Heat half
a lemon once a day and
add black pepper to it.
This helps in taking
out the throat phlegm,”
he added.
He concluded by say-
ing, “I have also been
successful in taking out
phlegm using turmeric,
ginger and alum. Pra-
nayam too has played a
bigroleinincreasingthe
capacity of the lungs.”
While he was shar-
ing his informational
experience, he got rapt
attention from all
those in the VC, includ-
ing the CM.
Ranka expressed
full confidence in
Naturopathy,
Ayurveda Yoga
R Venkateswaran
Shanti Dhariwal CS Niranjan Arya inspects the
Radhaswami Satsang Hall
Covid Care Centre on Thursday.
CM Ashok Gehlot
Om Birla during the VC.
Kuldeep Ranka

JAIPUR, FRIDAY
MAY 14, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Eid ul-Fitr brings a message of hope as always and as the nation
grapples with one of the worst crisis ever, we all wish ki ‘dua kabool ho’!
A prayer and a goodwill message reach out to each and everyone
fighting a battle for self and others. It’s time for the message of love and
brotherhood of Eid to imbue the surroundings and for us to pledge
support and love for each other, to stand by our people! Ameen!
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
MOONIE, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You may go for a cheat
meal all as a reward for
maintaining good health. If
you have been struggling
with money then that’s a thing of a
past now as money will flow in from
all the directions. In office, you will
support your colleague by sharing
his/her work pressure.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
A profitable day is also
indicated for professionals.
There is much that needs
to be done, so tighten your
belt. Good health is likely to provide
you with oodles of energy and enable
you to finish your work in a jiffy.
Budgetary planning will be required
for those going in for a renovation.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
At work, you are likely to
remain in control and see a
project to completion.
Financially, you remain in a
comfortable situation. Travelling long
distance is not recommended today.
Shifting into a new house is possible
for some. Someones encouragement
will keep you going.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
A child or younger sibling
can make you proud by his
or her achievements. Good
health keeps you energetic
all throughout. A get together can
prove expensive and pinch your
pocket. Booking a new property is
indicated. Students are likely to fare
well and achieve their goals.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Your professional rivals are
likely to punch holes in
your cost-cutting ideas for
a project. Disagreements
with a family member is possible.
Those proceeding out of town are
likely to make good speed and reach
their destination without any
problems.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
An argument with senior can
make you feel insecure. You
may find the atmosphere on
the home front serene and
most welcoming. An alternative to your
staple diet may prove immensely
enjoyable. Excellent showing on the
academic front is likely to add a feather
to your cap.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Some of you may get tied
up in office and reach
home late today. It may
become difficult to find
time for family today, but you will be
able to make up for it later. Giving
out property on rent at favourable
terms and conditions is indicated for
some property owners.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Parents or elders may nag
you into doing something
you don’t want to, but you
will manage to wriggle out
of it! Accompanying a family
member overseas or out of town
cannot be ruled out for some.
Chances of getting hoodwinked in a
property deal look real.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
A profitable venture is
likely to fill up the coffers
of some businesspersons.
You may be held responsi-
ble for a deed that you have not
committed at work. Fitness classes
will prove immensely beneficial,
especially for those in the middle age
group.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
On the financial front, a
new source of income is
likely to be tapped soon
that may get your coffers
brimming! Health counselling will do
wonders for those longing to come
back in shape. You are likely to win
much appreciation by completing a
task in record time.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
This is a very positive day,
in which you get to achieve
much. It is important to get
back into the thick of
things on the work front. Family
grapevine can be abuzz with the
latest gossip about you. Renovation
work of a property owned by you is
likely to enhance.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
A practical solution may be
found for a complex
problem on the profes-
sional front. Support of
family members is assured. Some
builders may start thinking in terms
of a township soon. Someone with
questionable manners can irritate
you a lot.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
he story goes that these
were invented by a chef to
a Nawab (nobleman) who
had lost all his teeth due to
his general overindul-
gence. To keep enjoying
his chef’s food, the Nawab
asked the chef to create something
that meant he could eat meat with-
outhavingtochew.Thisgaveriseto
the shami kebab.
Shami kababs are boiled or sau-
teed minced goat meat and chick-
peas (chana daal) with whole hot
spices(garammasala,blackpepper,
cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves),
wholeginger,wholegarlicandsome
salttotasteuntilcompletelytender.
Onions, turmeric, chilli powder,
egg, chopped green coriander,
choppedgreenchilliesandchopped
mintleavesmaybeaddedinprepar-
ing kebab. Garam masala powder
(ground spices) may be used in
place of whole hot spices.
The cooked meat is then ground
in such a way that it is fibrous and
does not become a paste. It is then
shaped into diamond or round pat-
ties and is shallow fried. With a rise
in vegetarianism and veganism,
various new methods and recipes
of making Shami kabab have
emerged in the subcontinent.
MANOJ EDWIN
Nibolson’s Kitchen
T
R
ogan josh was brought
to Kashmir by the
Mughals, whose cui-
sine was in turn influ-
enced by Persian cuisine, and
is one of the main dishes of the
wazwan. Rogan means clari-
fied butter (ghee) or fat in Per-
sian while josh is heat or pas-
sion. Another interpretation
of the name Rogan josh is de-
rived from the word Rogan
meaning red colour (the same
Indo-European root that is the
source of the French rouge and
the Spanish Rojo and josh
meaning passion or heat.
Whatever the origins of the
name, this is one delicious
dish.
I adapted the recipe from
’Cooking Delights of the Maha-
rajas’ by Digvijaya Singh.
 1 kilo Mutton (1000 grams)
 300 grams ghee
 4 teaspoons grated ginger
 300 grams curd
 Salt to taste
 Hing – a pinch dis-
solved in water
 Saffron – a pinch
dissolved in water
 10 dried red chil-
lies (optional)
 2 teaspoon Kash-
miri Mirch powder – for
colour
MAKE POWDER
 4 large black carda-
moms
 20 green cardamoms
 8’’ cinnamon
 30 black peppercorns
 10 dried red chillies – remove
seeds if you wish to make it less
spicy
 2 tablespoons whole coriander
seeds
METHOD
 Heat ghee, add meat and hing
water, stir on high heat to seal
meat, cook covered on medium
heat for 10 minutes till water
dries out.
 Add dried red chillies if using,
whipped curd along with ginger,
bhuna well and cook covered.
 When meat is 90% done add all
other spices, mix well… and on
a low heat cook covered for 30
minutes allowing the masalas
and meat to cook under dum
till the meat almost falls off the
bone and only the ghee remains.
Here hing, ghee and lots of
tenders and
slow cooking under dum play an
important role. Hope you enjoy
the beauty of the dish just as
much as I did.
KASHMIRI ROGAN JOSH RECIPE
Shami Kebab Recipe
Minced lean mutton from leg 1
kilo. 200 grams split grams (Chana).
Salt to taste. Red Chillies whole 10
nos. Sliced onion 1 large. Ginger
scraped 20 gms. Garlic chopped 20
gms. Garam Masala powder 15 gms.
Curd 100 gms. Onions chopped 100
gms. Green chillies finely chopped 10
gms.
Wash and boil the minced meat
with all the mentioned ingredients
above with 12 cups of water for one
hour. When the meat is tender, dry
the liquids completely. Grind the
meat very finely
. Divide into 20 equal
parts. For stuffing, mix chopped on-
ions, green chillies. Flatten each
part of the meat, put in its centre one
part of the stuffing and shape into a
ball, wetting hands with a little wa-
ter to give kebabs a smooth and even
shape. Heat the ghee in a frying pan
and shallow fry the kebabs on me-
dium heat till golden brown.
DELICACIES
Eid-ul-Fitr

ETC
11
he time of the year when the
air gets filled with rejoicing
and colours. As Ramadan
draws to a close, Muslims all
over the world will be celebrat-
ing Eid ul-Fitr on Friday
, May
14. However, this year too, the
celebrations will look quite differ-
ent but that does not mean you
can’t be all dressed up and cele-
brate at home, does it? When it
comes to Eid, we all want the spe-
cial kind of outlook to garner all
the praises of the day. With that
thought, City First brings you a
few of the best exuberant styles
to help you rock your Eid look.
THE HIJAB LOOK
Hijab is a crown for so many
hijab loving girls. There
isn’t one dress that can’t
look good with hijab.
And experimenting
with the different ways
in which one can wear
this crown is always
fun.
THE SAREE LOOK
You can’t go wrong
with an absolute
timeless classic- Sa-
ree, paired up with
accessories. You
could also opt
for some col-
o u r f u l
chunky afghan jewellery to give it
an uber-chic look.
THE LEHNGA-CHUNNI LOOK
If you love to wear Lehnga-chun-
ni, make sure to pair it with some
heavy jewellery and a nice hair-
style to complete the look. It’s
probably one of the best looks to
obtain your traditional gaze.
ANGHARKAS
This traditional frock style dress
has made a comeback for the fes-
tive season, the longer the Ang-
harka, the better. It can be worn in
an array of different designs and
materials like floral prints or
printed chiffon. You could opt for
an embellished design as well if
you want to go for a more
decked up to look.
CHAAND RAAT
MUBARAK
KARISHMA GWALANI
Karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
T
The renowned model/ac-
tor Shabnamistan Jabeen
believes, “Eid is one of the
perfect festivals where we
scream our fashion skills
while holding our modesty.
But this time as the covid
crisis, we can’t step out to
shop for what we exactly
want. So for me, an ideal
look would be sober and
elegant. I would love to
pair my new mulmul white
kurta with net borders and
soothing semi palazzo pant
decking up with a beautiful
red dupatta. For the festive
feel, I would love to add
some oxidized jewellery
and bangles to it.”
Shabnamistan Jabeen
CITY FIRST BRINGS YOU A FEW OF THE BEST EXUBERANT STYLES
TO HELP YOU ROCK YOUR EID LOOK AND WITH
THAT THOUGHT, WE WISH EID UL-FITR MUBARAK TO EVERYONE!

First India-Jaipur Edition-14 May 2021

First India-Jaipur Edition-14 May 2021

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First India-Jaipur Edition-14 May 2021