Indian newspapers in english first india-rajasthan-14 march 2020 edition

JAIPUR l SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 276
GEHLOT FOR
ALL SEASONS
Budget Reply
Aditi Nagar & Yogesh Sharma
he compensation
to farmers
whose crops
have been dam-
aged in the re-
cent hailstorm
in the state will
be paid in the ongoing
month, Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot announced on
Friday, saying that a special
girdawari has been ordered
which will be completed by
March 20. Gehlot also an-
nounced starting a special
petrochemical investment
area at Pachpadra in Bar-
mer district. The three time
chief minister made the two
major announcements on
Friday while giving his re-
ply on the Budget Appro-
priation Bill. Interestingly,
the state government will
also bring ‘Raj Neer Yojna’
under which no tax will be
collected from those house-
holds where monthly water
requirement is less than
fifteen thousand litres.
Moreover, the state govern-
ment will also change ten
lakh water meters in the
next three years for which a
provision of Rs25 crore has
been made.
Focussing more on farm-
ers, Chief Minister also an-
nounced the ‘Transforming
and Harvesting Agriculture
and Allied Sector in Ra-
jasthan (THAAR) project to
attract agricultural invest-
ment in the state. “The pur-
pose of this project will be
to lower the expenses in-
curred in agriculture and
increase farm income while
motivating information
technology in agriculture,”
Gehlot said, further adding,
“we will also form a new Pe-
troleum, Chemicals, Petro-
chemicals Investment Re-
gion (PCPIR) at Pachpadra
which will provide jobs
along with income genera-
tion opportunities for un-
employed youth in the state
in large number.”
The government will also
focus on bringing a new Avi-
ation Policy as Gehlot an-
nounced on Friday, to en-
sure that the basic infra-
structure related to aviation
in state is used optimally
and provide employment op-
portunities to youth in avia-
tion sector, a comprehensive
Civil Aviation Policy will be
brought.
Furthermore, Gehlot gov-
ernment will also under-
take exploration of potash
mineral in Hanumangarh
and Bikaner areas. “The ex-
ploration will be done
through Mineral Explora-
tion Corporation Limited
since this mineral is availa-
ble only in Hanumangarh
and Bikaer areas in the
country,” Gehlot said in his
reply. In order to further
motivate investors into in-
vesting in solar and wind
energy production in Ra-
jasthan, the Gehlot govern-
ment will also hold an inves-
tor summit. “We have re-
cently announced the solar,
wind and hybrid energy
policy. An investor summit
in these areas will be organ-
ised to bring in more inter-
ested companies and indi-
viduals to invest in Ra-
jasthan and generate ener-
gy,” the towering CM said.
Gehlot also announced
road construction, upgrada-
tions of schools, upgrada-
tion of electric grid, opening
of new agricultural mandis,
insurance cover to students
in madarsas among other
announcements.
T
—PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

INVESTOR FROM DUBAI
READY FOR ANOTHER TRY
An investor from Dubai is one of the most
talked about person in the real estate circles
of the state since he has made a ‘comeback’ to
the market by investing crores of rupees. The
investor has provided a much needed support
to a builder who was hanging by thread by
pumping crore of rupees in his projects and the
development is being seen as one which will
help in re-starting the projects to viability. Even
in the past too, this investor has saved a builder
but faced a loss of crores of rupees. However,
the builder, in whose project the investor has
made a major investment, has brought the man
back after much deliberations but the investor
is following the ‘once bitten, twice shy’ rule.
BUILDER ON THE BAD SIDE OF
MINISTER AND HIS SON
The anger of a former minister’s son is proving
costly to a builder. The minister, associated with a
dept involving in tours and travel, had made a major
investment with the builder but now the builder has
declared himself to be bankrupt. When the ex-min
approached the builder, various assurances on giving
back the money were given and in the meanwhile, the
builder was also sent to jail. However, once he came
out of jail, the minister’s son called the builder over
dinner. But instead of serving a meal, the son served
punches and blows to the builder and even made
the video of the ‘episode’. Now the builder is seeking
time from the minister to apologise for his ‘slip-up’
while those in the ‘know-how’ of this incident, are
hoping to have a look at the video.
FIRST INDIA spreads
its vistas... we shall
now recount bytes
and buzz in the real
estate sector
Check
Realty
TRIVENI KRUPA GROUP FINALISES DEAL
Triveni Krupa Group signed a 3075 square yard land deal, in Jaipur, worth Rs 31
crore, for construction of its RERA registered Golden Leaf project. Vipul Aggarwal,
Ram Agarwal are the directors of the group. There is an atmosphere of excitement in
the market for this project.
ARIHANT ZONE
PHASE-2 IN JODHPUR
Arinhat Super Structure Limited signed a
40 bigha land deal for the construction
of RERA registered project Arihant Zone
Phase-2 in Jodhpur. The project has been
pitched for Rs 32.88 crores. Piyush is the
director of the group. The market is excited
for this project.
NEWSJAIPUR | SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Congress, BJP candidates file
nomination papers in RajasthanJaipur: Congress and
BJP candidates filed
their nomination pa-
pers on Friday for the
Rajya Sabha elections in
theRajasthanAssembly.
The Congress had
named All India Con-
gressCommittee(AICC)
general secretary K C
Venugopal and Pradesh
Congress Committee
(PCC) general secretary
Neeraj Dangi, whereas
the BJP had named Ra-
jendra Gehlot as its can-
didate.
Bharatiya Janata
Party’s senior leader
Omkar Singh Lakhawat
surprisingly also filed
his nomination paper
on one seat, saying he
filed it following the di-
rections from the party.
The biennial elec-
tions for Rajya Sabha
will be held on three
seats in the state.
TheCongresshasfield-
edtwocandidatesandthe
opposition BJP has
named one candidate.
Venugopal said he is
thankful to the party
high command and
Congress leaders of the
state for showing trust
on him.
“I will raise the is-
sues of Rajasthan in
Rajya Sabha,” Venugo-
pal told reporters.
On the ongoing politi-
cal crisis in Madhya
Pradesh, he said the
Congress is dealing
with the challenge and
will be successful in
coming out the crisis.
BJP’s Gehlot blamed
the Congress govern-
ment in the state for its
failure on all fronts.
“I will strongly raise
the issues related to de-
velopment of the state
in the Rajya Sabha,” he
said.
TheRajyaSabhaseats,
presently held by Ram
Narain Dudi, Vijay Goel
and Narayan Lal Pan-
chariya,allfromtheBJP,
are going to be vacated
nextmonthaftercomple-
tion of their term.
Scrutiny of nomina-
tions will be held on
March 16 and nomina-
tions can be withdrawn
by March 18. If neces-
sitated, polling will take
place on March 26, from
9 am to 4 pm.
Rajasthan has a total
of 10 Rajya Sabha seats
and nine from those
seats, including three
whose tenure is going to
complete next month,
are from the BJP.
The Congress’s only
Rajya Sabha MP from
RajasthanisManmohan
Singh, who was elected
unopposed in the Rajya
Sabha bypolls held last
year after the seat fell
vacant following the de-
mise of BJP’s Rajya
Sabha MP Madan Lal
Saini, who was also the
party’s state president.
The Congress, which
came to power in De-
cember 2018, has a total
of 107 MLAs in the
house of 200 and the
BJP has 72 MLAs. —PTI
RS POLLS
CM Ashok Gehlot with K C Venugopal, Neeraj Dangi, Avinash Pande, Vivek Bansal and Subash Garg. —PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR
Rajendra Gehlot filing the nomination for RS polls in the presence of Surendra Singh Naruka,
Ramlal Sharma, Vasudev Devnani, Satish Poonia, Kailash Meghwal and Prasad Singh Singhvi.
Gehlot Govt weak so it can’t
last very long, says Poonia
First India News
Jaipur: On the ques-
tion of making Onkar
Singh Lakhawat a Rajya
Sabha candidate, BJP
State President Dr Sat-
ish Poonia said that we
have fielded our candi-
date with the hope that
there are other parties
besides Congress who
are angry with the func-
tioning of this govern-
ment. We will try our
best and move forward
based on dissent against
the Gehlot government.
Poonia also denied to
reveal of the BJP’s
strategy for the Rajya
Sabha elections, saying
that our strategy cannot
be disclosed.
Poonia added that the
raceof chief ministerial
post ambitions in Con-
gressstillremainstoday,
justlikeitwasbeforethe
assembly elections. Due
to this, there are issues
in the government,
which are visible out-
side as well. The govern-
ment is weak so it can-
not last very long and all
possibilities are alive.
We will not take any ini-
tiative and will take a
decision after assessing
created situation.
Onkar Singh Lakhawat filing nomination as Satish Poonia looks on.
DO OR DIE FOR IAS, BUT IT
DEPENDS ON GOVERNMENT
The case of senior IAS Praveen Kumar Gupta
is rather strange and curious. He has been
restless for a long time now for a deputation in
Delhi. During the last months of Raje govt, IAS
Gupta had formally applied for the deputation to
Delhi. He was assured of a positive action but
Gupta kept waiting while Raje govt. departed
without clearing the file. Although Gupta has
reason for limited happiness because Gehlot
govt. has brought him to mainstream Jaipur
from sidelines of Ajmer. But now he is eagerly
awaiting for his ultimate happiness by getting a
clearance to his file. Now the curious part of the
whole matter...Praveen Kumar Gupta is the only
IAS seeking deputation to Delhi and yet the state
govt. so far has been reluctant on the issue. This
assumes importance in the context of the fact that
the same govt. has permitted 5 IPS officers to
move to Delhi.The senior IAS moving to Delhi on
deputation joins as a Joint Secretary (JS) and then
he gets promoted to Additional Secretary (AS)
after due empanelment provided that the IAS has
served for 3 years as JS. 1992 batch IAS posted in
Delhi was empanelled in January 2020 for AS but
Rajasthan cadre IAS could not qualify for it as they
were not fulfilling the mandatory 3 year service as
JS. Now they have a ray of hope for empanelment
when the review happens. So if Praveen Kumar
Gupta does not join as JS in Delhi now then
he is sure to lose out three years later when
empanelment of 1995 batch for JS takes place.
OFF THE
RECORD
GUP
SHUP
TIFF BETWEEN COMMISSIONERATE AND PHQ
BRINGS SHAME TO RAJASTHAN POLICE
Collusion between the officers of Jaipur Commissionerate and PHQ has ultimately
discredited the Rajasthan Police itself. The CBI on court orders, has registered a case
against five persons, which includes four cops. The worst part is that one of the accused
in the case is a tiger. This has put the whole Khaki department in a tizzy. The matter
relates to cases registered in Jyoti Nagar and Shivdaspura police stations where the police
botched up its investigation by filing an FR just to favour one of the affected parties.
The accused officers favoured one party despite evidence pointing otherwise. The CBI
investigation will lay bare the way certain cops work in the state.
RECENT PROMOTION UNTIMELY FOR
THIS GAMA AND HIS SAHAB
Every Gama wants to be promoted to the post of a Peter and move
up in the hierarchy. But there is this gama who was recently
promoted as peter but he is reluctant to join the new battalion.
Strange? Well not so strange once you know the inside story. The
gama is being held by a big sahab who wants him to settle sweet
land matters before being relieved. The gama also wants to rake in
whatever he can before landing on a dry land. Whatever be the reality
but the department sure is analyzing the matter in their own way.
GAMA’S EXCISE POLICY INCLUDES
24X7 LIQUOR SALE
Agama posted in the eastern district of Jaipur commissionerate
has his ‘excise policy’ in place even before govt. could execute
its formal one. Gama is making handsome profit from the liquor
shops in his area. The recovery done by the gama is both cause of
concern as well as jealousy in the relevant quarters. There have been
complaints made to the higher ups in the matter but so far there has
been no action on the gama. By the way the ‘excise policy’ of this
gama allows liquor sale 24x7.
City Doc
appreciated
by India Book
of Records
First India News
Jaipur: Dr Akhilesh
Jain, HOD, psychiatry
of ESI Model Hospital
has been
accorded
apprecia-
tion by
I n d i a
Book of
Re c o rd s
for his large number of
awareness campaign on
mental health for public
and health profession-
als. Dr Jain has been
making public and
health professionals
aware about different
mental health problems
and related issues
through different medi-
ums since long.
He already is the re-
cipient of City of Graz
Award, UNESCO Haifa
India Award for best
poster, Urban Medical
Service Award, Pratib-
ha Kumari Award, Gau-
tam Oration Award and
many more for his con-
tributions in academics
and social work.
COURTESY MEET
Diya Kumari met Hardeep Singh Puri and urged him to look into improving air
connectivity to and from the city of Udaipur.
HOLY VISIT
Former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat, Congress leader Mukul Wasnik and
others offer prayers at Salasar Balaji temple in Churu.

Kartikey Dev Singh
Jaipur: All schools, col-
leges, coaching centres,
gyms, cinema and thea-
tres will be compulso-
rily kept closed till
March 31 after Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot
ordered the authorities
in this regard late on
Friday night.
Gehlot, while holding
a high profile review
meeting on Coronavi-
rus at CMR instructed
officials to issue an ad-
visory to people and re-
quest to reduce family
functions and weddings
to limited gathering.
However, the Board ex-
aminations will not be
affected by the order
and even the work at
medical and nursing
colleges will be carried
out. “Coronavirus
should not be feared,
but we appeal to people
to avoid going to places
of mass gathering or
crowded areas and to
use public transport
only if urgent,” Gehlot
appealed.
Can’t believe I’m free: Farooq after release from detention
Srinagar: Senior Na-
tional Conference lead-
er Farooq Abdullah on
Friday promised to be
in the Parliament in the
next two weeks as he
recovers from an eye
surgery, the former
Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister told the
media as he walked out
free after being in de-
tention for seven
months ever since the
abrogation of Article
370 on August 5 last
year.
“I can’t believe I’m
free. I hope everybody
else is released too. I
will attend Parlia-
ment if allowed. And
once I am there, I will
raise the problems be-
ing faced by the peo-
ple of Kashmir,” Ab-
dullah said as he
thanked “all those
who stood by me and
raised the demand for
my release.”
He underwent a mi-
nor eye surgery just
days before the Public
Safety Act (PSA) was
revoked. The former
Chief Minister met
mediapersons at his
residence in Gupkar
Road, which was
turned into a sub-jail
for his detention.
He was flanked by his
wife Molly Abdullah
and daughter Sara Ab-
dullah Pilot.
Congress leader Ra-
jeev Shukla on Friday
said that the detention
of former Union Minis-
ter Farooq Abdullah
should have ended long
ago.
“The detention of Fa-
rooq Abdullah should
have ended long ago. He
has always talked about
patriotism. He never
speaks anything
against the country.
Such a person did not
need such long deten-
tion. They should have
freed him much earli-
er,” Shukla told ANI.
The Jammu and
Kashmir National
Conference (JKNC)
on Friday welcomed
the release of former
Union Minister Fa-
rooq Abdullah from
detention asserting
that his release is a step
towards the “restora-
tion of genuine politi-
cal processes” in the
Union Territory.
“The Jammu and
Kashmir National Con-
ference welcomes the
release of Dr Farooq
Abdullah from deten-
tion under PSA. The
release is a step in the
right direction for the
restoration of genuine
political processes in
Jammu and Kashmir,”
said JKNC in a state-
ment. It will receive a
further fillip when par-
ty Vice President Omar
Abdullah and other po-
litical detainees are set
free, JKNC added.
Farooq Abdullah flanked by his wife Molly Abdullah and daughter Safia Abdullah at at his residence
in Gupkar Road on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Schools, colleges, cinema halls,
gyms shut in Raj till March 31
CM Ashok Gehlot held a meeting in wake of Coronovirus scare
at CMR where Raghu Sharma Subhash Garg, DB Gupta, Rohit
Kumar Singh, Vaibhav Galaria, Manju Rajpal, Rajababu Panwar,
Sudhir Bhandari and others were present.
Sachin Pilot @SachinPilot
Glad to hear the news of the release of
Former CM #FarooqAbdullah ji. I hope that
other former Chief Ministers detained in
J&K are also released soon.
Bhopal: Madhya
Pradesh Governor Lalji
Tandon has expelled six
rebel cabinet ministers
from the council of min-
isters as per the sugges-
tion of Chief Minister
Kamal Nath.
The six ministers
have rebelled against
the Kamal Nath gov-
ernment and have
been camping at a
Bengaluru resort
along with the other
13 rebel MLAs. The re-
bel MLAs had sent in
their resignation to MP
Assembly Speaker, but
they have been asked to
come in person to ex-
plain reasons for their
quitting.
The portfolios taken
away from the expelled
ministers have been re-
distributed.
Meanwhile, BJP lead-
ers Shivraj Singh Chou-
han and Jyotiraditya
Scindia also met with
the governor. As per the
sources, the BJP leaders
told the governor that
the Kamal Nath govern-
ment was in minority
and sought a floor test.
MPGuvexpels6rebel
mins,BJPseeksfloortest
Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath meets Governor Lalji Tandon, in
Bhopal on Friday. —ANI
CRUCIAL READ
REJECTED MERCY PLEA:
NIRBHAYA CONVICT MOVES HC
KULDEEP SENGAR, 6 OTHERS
SENTENCED TO 10-YR JAIL
New Delhi: One of the four death row convicts in the
2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, Vinay Shar-
ma, on Friday approached Delhi HC claiming that there
were procedural lapses and “constitutional irregularities”
in the rejection of his mercy plea by President Ram Nath
Kovind.The petition on Sharma’s behalf was moved by
his lawyer AP Singh who said matter has been filed in
HC registry.Plea claims that the recommendation sent to
the President to reject the mercy plea did not contain the
signature of Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain. P7
Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court on Friday sentenced expelled
BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and six others to 10
years imprisonment for the death of Unnao rape survi-
vor’s father. Sengar is already serving life imprisonment
for raping the minor. While sentencing them, District
Judge Dharmesh Sharma said, “There can be no deny-
ing that rule of law was broken. Sengar and his brother
Atul has been directed to give 10 lakh compensation to
family of the victim for loss of their father. P7
JAIPUR l SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 276
New Delhi: The concern
around COVID-19 outbreak
reached its zenith world-
wide, with many countries
going into quarantine, major
sports tournaments being
cancelled. On Friday, a
68-year-old woman died of
coronavirus in Delhi, the
government said. This is the
second death linked to the
global pandemic in the coun-
try. A resident of West Delhi,
she had come in contact with
her son who had contracted
the virus after travelling to
Switzerland and Italy last
month. On Friday, global toll
from the pandemic crossed
4,600, with more than 125,000
people in 118 countries in-
fected world-wide.
India on Friday declared
that masks, including N95,
and hand sanitisers as ‘es-
sential commodities’ in the
wake of coronavirus scare
leading to shortages and
black marketing of these
items. These items will re-
main under essential com-
modities segment till June-
end.
Centre also decided to al-
low international traffic
only through 19 border
checkposts out of 37 and de-
cided to continue suspension
of Indo-Bangladesh cross
border passenger trains and
buses till April 15, or earlier,
if so decided. Meanwhile, a
person who returned from
Italy was tested positive for
coronavirus at Army’s quar-
antine facility in Manesar.
CORO-NATIONS
FREEZEGLOBALLOCKDOWN
OVER VIRUS SCARE
Many countries go into quarantine; second death in India as a 68-year-old woman
dies in Delhi; Centre declares masks, hand sanitisers as ‘essential commodities’
SCHOOLS, COLLEGES
SHUT IN 11 STATES
IPL POSTPONED TILL APRIL 15 VIRUS SCARE @ ATTARI BORDER
SC TO ONLY HEAR
URGENT CASES
All schools, colleges, techni-
cal and vocational education
institutes have been closed in 11
states of Uttarakhand, Odisha,
Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur,
Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhat-
tisgarh in view of the possibility of
infection. JNU has suspended all
lectures, examinations and events
on its campus till March 31.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
on Friday decided to postpone the Indian
Premier League (IPL) to April 15, 2020, as a
precautionary measure against the ongoing
COVID-19 situation.There was speculation as
to what the board will decide amidst the ongo-
ing coronavirus scare, and finally postponing
the tournament came up as the solution. P9
Foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter In-
dia from Pakistan through Attari-Wagah border
from Friday evening onwards, a senior BSF offi-
cial said. Indian nationals who had gone across
border would be allowed to come back before
their visas expire. Pilgrims from Dera Baba
Nanak in Gurdaspur through Kartarpur Corridor
to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib will continue.
SC on Friday took note of global
pandemic and decided that only
urgent matters shall be taken up
for hearing and no persons except
concerned lawyers will be al-
lowed inside its courtrooms. The
decision was taken in a meeting
presided over by CJI SA Bobde
after taking note of the Centre’s
March 5 advisory cautioning
against mass gatherings.
C O R O N A V I R U S E F F E C T
The Union Ministry
of Health & Fam-
ily Welfare under
the central govern-
ment has launched
a helpline number:
+91-11-23978046 for
coronavirus-related
inquiry and support.
There are also sepa-
rate helpline numbers
for the different states
and union territories.
NEPAL
SHUTS
ACCESS
TO MT
EVEREST
CANADA
PM’s
WIFE
TESTS
POSITIVE
AUSSIE
HOME
MINISTER
TESTS
POSITIVE
Nepal government has cancelled
all expeditions to Mount Everest,
until further notice, due to
novel coronavirus outbreak.
The decision effectively ends
all expedition attempts on the
Everest for the year.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s wife
Sophia Gregoire, has tested positive
for Covid-19 after she showed flu-
like symptoms upon return from the
UK.Trudeau himself, who has been
in voluntary self-quarantine, is said
to be “in good health,” say reports.
Australian Home Affairs Minister
Peter Dutton has tested positive on
Friday. Earlier on Friday, Dutton did
not attend his usual Today Show
interview due to a “stomach bug”.
Dutton had recently returned from
a tour of the United States.
A child who tested negative for
coronavirus rides on a hoverboard
scooter, at the ITBP quarantine facility,
in Chhawla, New Delhi on Friday. —PTI
14°C - 28°COUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

First India News
Jaipur: After three
positive cases found in
Rajasthan, Governor
Kalraj Mishra on Fri-
day, reviewed the ef-
forts to contain the
Coronavirus. He also
appealed to the people
to be careful but not to
panic. The Governor
during a meeting at his
official residence, took
feedback from govern-
ment officials about
preparations to deal
with the Coronavirus.
Mishra asked people
not to be afraid of cor-
onavirus outbreak but
take precautions like
not shaking hands in-
stead greet people with
‘Namaste.’ He told
them to approach near-
by government hospi-
tal in case of cough
and sneezing. He said
that the State Govern-
ment has made effec-
tive arrangements to
check this virus but
there is a need to effec-
tively monitor these
efforts.
“People have the re-
sponsibility too to sup-
port the government’s
initiative to control the
virus,” he said, while
hoping that with com-
bined efforts Ra-
jasthan will overcome
this problem.
The Governor called
for safety arrange-
ments in Universities
besides seeking their
role in spreading pub-
lic awareness. He
asked to ensure setting
up of isolation wards
in every district and
providing safety kits to
medical teams. He said
that public places must
be sanitized to stop
contamination.
Chief Secretary DB
Gupta informed the
Governor that three
people have died in the
state, of which, two
were foreigners. He
further said that disas-
ter management plan
is being implemented
effectively.
Additional Chief
Secretary Rohit Ku-
mar Singh said that
ANM, Asha Sahyogini
and supervisory staff
at district, block and
sector levels are being
trained to check and
control cthe Coronavi-
rus. Besides, rapid re-
sponse teams have
been formed in vari-
ous government and
private hospitals. Ma-
jor General of South
Western Command has
also been asked to make
necessary arrange-
ments to contain the
Coronavirus, he in-
formed.
RAJASTHANJAIPUR | SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020
 A message of ‘Niro-
gi Rajasthan’ will be
delivered by cycling
1300 kms. The inititive
was taken to promote
Healthy Rajasthan,
Rajasthan tourism,
and organ donation
in the state. Health
Minister Dr Raghu
Sharma, Motidungri
Ganesh Temple Ma-
hant Kailash Sharma,
Dr GL Sharma will
show the green signal
today. The Cycle rally
will start from Moti
Dungri Ganesh temple
at 7 am.
 Well-educated
mother campaign
was the talk of the
day in the Parliament.
Union WCD Minister
Smriti Irani also ap-
preciated the cam-
paign. The campaign
has been started on
the initiative taken
by the Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla.
 Judgment on a
rape case of near Pali
was announced on
Friday. Accused Salim
a resident of Bali is
sentenced a 20 years
rigorous imprison-
ment. 52-year-old
Salim had raped a 3
and a half year old
child in Islam Nagar.
Judge Rajesh Kumar
(I) also imposed a ﬁne
of Rs 50,000.
 Another judgment
on a perilous case
related to kidnapping
and later murder for
ransom was an-
nounced. Accused
Shobhit Joshi, a
resident of Shyam-
nagar is sentenced to
life imprisonment. The
incident took place on
November 26, 2014
with victim Vishal Das.
Judge Bhanu Kumar
imposed a ﬁne of 22
thousand rupees and
acquitted Rahul Goyal,
Vishal Sharma and
Nitesh Khandelwal.
 DCP East Rahul
Jain conducted a raid
on Friday at Hotel Eth-
ics Sky Light in Bajaj
Nagar area. He got
information about use
of illegal Hookah bar
in the Hotel. Jain him-
self reached the Hotel
as a customer. A large
number of young men
and women were us-
ing the Hookah inside
the Hotel premises.
After observing, DCP
immediately called the
special team of East
on the spot. Police
seized a huge amount
of hookahs. Hotel
manager was also
taken into the custody.
The Manager of the
hotel is being inter-
rogated at Bajaj Nagar
police station.
BRIEF
in
TAKE PRECAUTIONS, GREET
WITH NAMASTE, SAYS GUV
Patwari in Nagaur
arrested taking a
bribe of `2000
2 Head Constables arrested
for accepting `2k bribe
Coronavirus outbreak: A meet was held to review effect of the virus on Rajasthan
First India News
Jaipur: The Rajasthan
Court Fees and Suits
Valuation(Amendment)
Bill 2020 was passed
with voice vote on Fri-
day. During the debate
difference cropped up in
the opposition. While,
manyoppositionlegisla-
tors opposed hike in the
fee for defamation suit,
deputy leader of opposi-
tion justified it.
The division in oppo-
sition benches, prompt-
ed parliamentary af-
fairs minister Shanti
Dhariwal to take a dig
at them saying that for
the first time the oppo-
sition was being seen
divided during debate
on a bill.
BJP MLAs Anita
Bhadel, Kiran Mahesh-
wari and Ashok Lahoty
opposed the proposal to
hike the court fee to file
defamation suit to Rs
25,000. However, he was
countered by his own
party leader Rajendra
Rathore who said that if
the court fee was re-
duced the court would
be swamped with defa-
mation suits.
First India News
Nagaur: Anti Corrup-
tion Bureau caught a
Patwari in Nagaur
Tehsil red handed while
he was taking a bribe of
Rs 2,000. According to
the information, Pat-
wari Ajit Singh, a resi-
dent of Jathera village
was time and again, de-
manding bribe in the
matter of land conver-
sion from Omprakash,
as his work for getting
theCashCreditloanwas
stuck. Omprakash got
furious due to this and
filed a complaint in Na-
gaur District ACB. ASP
Ramesh Morya, Nagaur
ACB took prompt action
after receiving the com-
plaint, by first verifying
the complaint and then
planned to trap bribe-
seeker Patwari Ajit Sin-
gh. Acc to the plan, the
complainant Om-
prakash contacted Pat-
wari Ajit Singh, when
thecomplainantreached
his office in Nagaur
tehsil, Ajit demanded
bribe and talked about
the land conversion. As
soon as Patwari Ajit
Singh took Rs 2000 as
bribe, the complainant
Omprakash signalled
the ACB team and the
teamcaughttheaccused
Patwari, who will be
produced in ACB court
on Saturday.
Patwari caught
receiving bribe
Kotputli: Another inci-
dent of bribery by a Pat-
wari came to light on
Friday, wherein, a Pat-
wari Hawa Singh of
Chimanpura Patwar
subdivision,wascaught
red handed by the ACB.
Patwari had demanded
Rs 1,500 from a farmer
in a land matter, on
which the deal was
fixed for one Rs one
thousand. Out of the to-
tal amount, Rs 500 were
taken earlier and the
remaining Rs 500 were
to be given on Friday.
The ACB caught pat-
wari as soon as the com-
plainant gave a hint and
signalled the ACB, after
the Patwari took theb-
ribe. The ACB team
seized the amount of
bribe from the accused
and arrested him.
First India News
Jaipur: A total of 101
farmers, including 41
women, continued
their protest “Zameen
Samadhi Satyagrah”
on the 14th day as well,
but the government
has been ignoring the
demands of the farm-
ers. The patience of
farmers has been shat-
tered and they are now
forced to take drastic
decisions.
The farmers were
waiting for the decision
of the government till
Friday evening. From
today, 5 farmers will go
on fast unto death. Also,
in the coming days,
farmers will call a ma-
hapanchayat in Nindar
and thousands of farm-
ers will decide to sit in
the Zameen Samadhi.
Governor Kalraj Mishra reviewed the measures to prevent the spread of Coronavirus at a meeting
at Raj Bhavan on Friday. DB Gupta, Rohit Kumar Singh, Vaibhav Galaria, Subir Kumar, Govind Ram
Jaiswal, Raja Babu Panwar and Dr Sudhir Bhandari also attended the meeting.
First India News
Jaipur: The Congress
legislatorsfromMadhya
Pradesh, who have been
camping in Jaipur fol-
lowing political trouble
back home, visited Sala-
sar Balaji on Friday.
The 80 Congress
MLAs who were shifted
to Rajasthan to avoid
poaching bid by the BJP,
had lunch at TGW hotel
before proceeding to
Balaji temple.
The MLAs who came
in a bus were greeted by
District Congress Presi-
dent Bhanwarlal Pujari.
There was tight police
security and the MLAs
alighted from the bus at
the temple’s entrance
gate before being taken
inside temple in a queue
for darshan.
Jaipur has become
centre of hectic political
activities after former
Union Minister Jyotira-
dityaScindia’sdefection
to BJP along with some
of his supporter MLAs,
which threatened to
destabilise Kamalnath
government.
The Congress then
brought 80 MLAs to
Jaipur to save the gov-
ernment by keeping
them away from any
poaching bid by BJP.
The MLAs are being
kept busy through vari-
ous activities.
The MLAs left the
guest house in Jaipur in
the morning at 10 AM.
They reached Baba Shy-
am temple around 12
AM. There was tight se-
curity and media was
now allowed to come
close to the MLAs. Later,
they left for Salasar.
Meanwhile former
Chief Minister of Utta-
rakhand Harish Rawat
has taken a dig at Jyoti-
raditya accusing him of
being power hungry. He
said that till recently
Scindia was critical of
PM Narendra Modi and
Home Minister Amit
Shah and now he is sing-
ing paeans to them.
Rawatwhoalongwith
AICC General Secretary
Mukul Wasnik, came to
Salasar to seek bless-
ings of Lord Hanuman,
said that Balaji would
steer the Congress out
of trouble. Both the
leaders accused Scindia
of being greedy.
“He has left the party
for sake of power. He
used to mock the Modi
and Shah but now sing-
ing their praise,” they
said. Both of them were
hopeful of positive end
to the crisis saying that
with blessing of Balaji
the Congress would
prove majority in the
House.
Cong legislators from MP seek blessings of Lord Balaji @ Salasar
ON A SPIRITUAL TRAIL

The MLAs who
reached Salasar
commuting in a
bus, were
greeted by the
District
Congress
President
Bhanwarlal
Pujari on Friday
BillforCourtFees&SuitsValuation
passedwithvoicevoteinAssembly
First India News
Jaipur: The Rajasthan
Urban Improvement
(Amendment) Bill, 2020
was passed with voice
vote in the state assem-
bly on Friday.
However, the opposi-
tion BJP alleged that
the government has
brought this bill to ne-
gate High Court order
in Gulab Kothari Vs.
State Government.
There were demands
to send the bill for seek-
ing public opinion and
objections were also
raised about lack of
clarification over defi-
nition of zonal plan.
AnIndependentMLA
Sanyam Lodha said,
“Going against the spir-
it of HC judgment in
Gulab Kothari’s case,
the government has al-
lowed society pattas in
back date.”
The independent
MLA from Sirohi lashed
out at the government
for violating master
plan while regularising
colonies. Lodha said
that the government
has obligation to pro-
vide well planned habi-
tation to the people who
voted for it.
BJP MLA and former
minister Kiran Ma-
heshwari said that the
government has made a
provision for sector
plan under master plan
and below it is scheme
plan but the bill should
have earmarked green
belt and commercial
area. She also demand-
ed a debate before ta-
bling the bill.
Former minister Vas-
udev Devnani alleged
that the government
was going to ruin 170
cities and rued that
there was no master
plan for undeveloped
cities.
UDH Minister Shanti
Dhariwal while re-
sponding to objections
raised by the opposi-
tion, alleged that all
the scams took place
during the previous
BJP government. When
deputy leader Rajendra
Rathore challenged
him to order inquiry,
the minister said that
your own MLA Gyan-
chand Parekh has re-
vealed the truth.
The minister further
clarified that for towns
with population of less
than one lakh, master
plan is the zonal plan.
He said that the court
had ordered to chalk
out zonal plan in cities.
According to him,
zonal plan has been de-
fined in the amended
bill.
Rajasthan Urban Improvement
Bill, 2020 passed in House
First India News
Jaipur: Anti corrup-
tion Bureau team de-
tained and arrested 2
Head Constables for
taking bribe of Rs 2000.
Arrested Head Consta-
bles took bribe from a
young man, to avoid
presenting him in the
court in a case of
breach of peace. ACB
Additional SP Mahesh
Meena told that a per-
son named Bashir
Khan, a resident of Al-
laudin Ka Nagla, came
to the bureau office and
filed a report in writing
that his son Salman
was arrested by Kotwa-
li police station in a
case of breaching of
peace during a quarrel.
In lieu of presenting it
in court, Head Consta-
bles Prahlad Singh and
Satveer Singh had de-
manded an amount of
Rs 2000 as bribe.
ACB's team conduct-
ed confidential verifica-
tion of the complaint
which was found to be
correct. As soon as Ba-
shir Khan gave Rs 2000
as a bribe to these two
policemen, the ACB
team caught both of
them red handed.
Currently, the ACB
team has arrested both
the Head Constables &
both will be produced
in the ACB court on
Saturday.
Zameen Samadhi strike
continues for 14th day
12th edition of
GITB shifted
First India News
Jaipur: In view of the
recent public health
concerns due to the
outbreak of COVID-19
in several countries,
Rajasthan Tourism in
consultation with FIC-
CI have decided to post-
pone the 12th edition of
the Great Indian Travel
Bazaar (GITB) sched-
uled to be held from 19
– 21 April 2020 at Jaipur.
R’THAN ASSEMBLY
ADJOURNED

New Delhi: The cen-
tral government’s
‘Namami Gange’ mis-
sion has improved the
water quality of Ganga
river, Home Minister
Amit Shah said on Fri-
day. Shah said the pro-
ject to clean Ganga, one
of the important rivers
of the country, has been
a success and the govt
will launch similar ini-
tiatives to clean other
rivers in the country in
coordination with the
respective state govts.
Shah was speaking at
a ceremony to receive
the participants of the
‘Ganga Aamantran Ab-
hiyan’, a month-long
exploratory open-water
rafting and kayaking
expedition, covering
2,510 kilometers from
Devprayag in Uttara-
khand to Ganga Sagar
in West Bengal. He said
the aim of various Gan-
ga missions is to ensure
that people are made
aware about the ecolog-
ical, cultural and his-
torical importance of
the river. —Agencies
INDIAJAIPUR | SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020
Bhopal: BJP and Con-
gress MLAs gathered at
Raja Bhoj airport on
Friday after they got to
know that MLAs sup-
porting Jyotiraditya
Scindia were returning
from Bengaluru.
MLAs of both the
parties shouted slogans
and even a scrimmage
was reported.
Twenty two MLAs re-
signed from Congress
soon after Scindia quit
the party. Out of these,
19 were in Bengaluru.
The resignation letters
of all the MLAs were
submitted to Assembly
speaker N.P. Prajapati
by a BJP delegation.
Thirteen of these
MLAs were returning
to Bhopal after Praja-
pati asked them to re-
port. Ministers Tulsi
Silawat, Govind Singh
Rajput, Prabhuram
Choudhry, Imarti Devi,
Pradyumna Singh
Tomar and Mahendra
Singh Sisodia along
with MLAs Hardeep
Singh Dang, Rajyavard-
han Singh, Brajendra
Singh Yadav, Jaspal
Jajji, Suresh Dhakad,
Jaswant Jatav, Santram
Sironia, Munnalal Goy-
al, Ranveer Singh Jatav,
OPS Bhadoria, Kam-
lesh Jatav, Giriraj Dan-
dotiya, Raghuraj
Kansana, Aidalsingh
Kansana, Biasahulal
Singh and Manoj
Chaudhary have quit
after Scindia resigned.
Twenty two MLAs resigned from Congress soon after Scindia quit the party. Out of these, 19 were in Bengaluru
BJP-CONGCLASHATBHOPALAIRPORT
Bhopal: Madhya
Pradesh Parliamenta-
ry Affairs Minister
Govind Singh has
handed a letter to the
Speaker requesting
him not to accept the
resignations of the
MLAs for now. There
was also a suggestion
that the Budget ses-
sion be deferred in
view of the threat of
coronavirus.
The Chhattisgarh as-
sembly session has al-
ready been deferred till
March 23. There have
been no positive cases
of the virus in Madhya
Pradesh so far. —Agencies
Congress
wants MLAs’s
resignations
rejected
‘MP govt stable,
nothing to worry’
Bhopal: Most of the 19
rebel Congress MLAs
from Madhya Pradesh,
including six ministers,
who have been camping
in Bengaluru, are ex-
pected to reach Bhopal
on Friday evening, par-
ty sources said.
After former Union
minister Jyotiraditya
Scindia quit the Con-
gress, 22 party MLAs,
including six minis-
ters - most of them
said to be his support-
ers - resigned from the
assembly earlier this
week, pushing the
Nath government in
major crisis.
Of the 22 rebel MLAs,
19 lawmakers, includ-
ing half a dozen minis-
ters, had e-mailed their
resignation letters to
Governor Lalji Tandon.
“Most of the 19 MLAs
have left Bengaluru
where they were stay-
ing. They will travel by
air and are expected to
reach here,” a Scindia
loyalist told the media
reporters.
In view of their ex-
pected arrival, security
at the Bhopal airport
has been beefed up.
The ruling Congress
has alleged that 19 of
the rebel Congress
MLAs, including minis-
ters, have been held
“captive” by the BJP in
a resort in Bengaluru, a
charge denied by the op-
position party. —Agencies
MP Cong MLAs to reach Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh Police on Friday imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) at Bhopal airport.
Bhopal: Just days af-
ter 22 MLAs resigned
pushing Congress gov-
ernment into crisis,
Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Kamal Nath
on Friday confidently
stated that his govern-
ment is “stable” and
there is nothing to
“worry” about.
The statement from
the CM came just hours
after meeting Governor
Lalji Tandon. Nath also
accused BJP of horse-
trading. “I have told the
Governor how MLAs
are being kept in captiv-
ity in Bengaluru and
how their resignations
arebeinggiventoSpeak-
er by a BJP leader. This
is a joke. This is a con-
spiracy by BJP. My gov-
ernment is stable and
there is nothing to wor-
ry out,” he said.
When asked to com-
ment on Jyotiraditya
Scindia exiting Con-
gress and joining the
rival BJP, he said, “
Only he can say why he
has gone.” —Agencies
Bhopal: Hours after
Jyotiraditya Scindia
joined Bharatiya Jana-
ta Party (BJP), the
Madhya Pradesh Eco-
nomic Offences Wing
(EOW) re-opened a six-
year-old forgery case
against him.
The development
came after Jyotiraditya
Scindia, who was a vet-
eran of the Congress
for almost 2 decades,
left the grand old party
and joined the BJP on
Wednesday.
The Madhya Pradesh
Economic Offences
Wing (EOW) has decid-
ed to begin the inquiry
afresh by re-verifica-
tion of facts in a com-
plaint against former
Union Minister Jyotira-
ditya Scindia and his
family, in which they
are accused of falsify-
ing a property docu-
ment while selling land.
Scindia has been ac-
cused of falsifying a
property document
whilesellinglandworth
10,000 crores.
The Madhya Pradesh
EOW has started an in-
vestigation. On Wednes-
day, Scindia joined BJP
in New Delhi in the
presence of party Presi-
dent Nadda. —Agencies
MP EOW reopens forgery case
against Jyotiraditya Scindia
New Delhi: Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman on Friday
said the government as
well as the RBI are
“closely monitoring”
the domestic and global
stock markets, which
are facing intense vola-
tility amid mounting
coronavirus fears.
Sitharaman also said
different departments
of the government are
working to provide re-
lief to industry, which
could be severely im-
pacted by the fast-
spreading virus.
“As it is global mar-
kets have all had severe
volatility and we are
also consciously moni-
toring all of them. It is
no consolation to say
that the stock markets
elsewhere have also
suffered. I am con-
scious of that but glob-
ally there is a serious
repercussion felt and
we are conscious of the
developments. Togeth-
er with RBI we are
closely monitoring,”
she told reporters.
After being battered
in the early session,
the BSE Sensex spurt-
ed 1,325.34 points and
the NSE Nifty rose
365.05 points to end in
the green.
Indian markets saw
their biggest intra-day
selloff in early session
on Friday, wiping off
nearly Rs 12 lakh crore
of investor wealth in
less than 20 minutes of
opening trade.
As coronavirus-led
recession fears trig-
gered panic selling
globally, both Sensex
and Nifty plunged
over 10 per cent in the
opening session, hit-
ting their lower
circuit levels.
Stock exchanges
halted trading for 45
minutes. Normal trad-
ing resumed at around
1030 hours.The last cir-
cuit freeze happened in
January 2008.
On coronavirus, the
finance minister said
the Centre is in touch
with the states and has
been continuously mon-
itoring the situation.
It has been made
sure that effective time-
ly steps are taken to
safeguard Indian inter-
ests and also to ensure
that Indians who trav-
elled abroad are tested
and monitored, she
said. Where necessary
and wherever possible,
they are being brought
back to the country,
she added. —Agencies
‘Markets being closely overseen’
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a press conference.
Home Minister Amit Shah speaks during Ganga Aamantran event.
New Delhi: The board
of ICICI Bank on Fri-
day approved an in-
vestment of Rs 1,000
crore in Yes Bank via
equity route. ICICI
Bank will acquire 100
crore equity shares of
Yes Bank at Rs 10 per
share, including a pre-
mium of Rs 8 per share.
“This investment is
likely to result in ICICI
Bank holding in excess
of 5 per cent sharehold-
ing in Yes Bank, with
the final shareholding
to be determined based
on the final Scheme of
Reconstruction and
share issuance thereun-
der,” ICICI Bank said.
The announcement
came as the Union Cab-
inet approved Yes
Bank’s restructuring
scheme to safeguard de-
positors’ interest and
ensure a stable finan-
cial banking system.
A day earlier, SBI had
announced an invest-
ment of Rs 7,250 crore
in Yes Bank through the
acquisition of 725 crore
shares at Rs 10 each.
SBI’s shareholding in
Yes Bank after recon-
struction will be within
the 49 per cent limit, it
said in a statement.
RBI had announced a
draft scheme of recon-
struction for the coun-
try’s fourth-largest
lender. The has imposed
a month-long moratori-
um on the bank and re-
stricted withdrawals to
Rs 50,000 per depositor
till April 3. —Agencies
ICICI Bank to invest
`1kcr in Yes Bank
via equity route
‘Namami Gange’
improved water
quality of Ganga
SEC 144 IMPOSED
DELHI ASSEMBLY PASSES
RESOLUTION AGAINST NCR, NPR
New Delhi: The Delhi
Assembly passed a
resolution against NPR
and NRC on Friday. The
resolution “earnestly”
appealed to the Centre to
withdraw and not carry
out the whole exercise
of NRC and NPR “in the
interest of the nation,
particularly when the
economy is witnessing
the worst-ever downslide
and unemployment is
witnessing a terrifying
growth, and with the
threat of the corona
pandemic looming large”.
It also said “should the
Government of India in-
sist on going ahead” with
the exercise, it should
be restricted to carrying
out the NPR only with its
2010 format and no new
ﬁelds added to it.
MARKETS TEST INVESTORS’
NERVES WITH WILD SWINGS
Mumbai: The BSE and NSE suspended trading
for 45 minutes a little past 9.20 am after the
Sensex and Nifty plunged in tandem. However,
domestic indices surged after trading resumed
as investors snapped up recently-battered stocks
available at attractive valuations. Expectations of
stimulus measures by the US and other countries
also buoyed sentiment, analysts said. Recov-
ering over 5,380 points from its intra-day low
of 29,388.97, the BSE Sensex ended 1,325.34
points or 4.04 per cent higher at 34,103.48.
NCAP ENVISAGES CITY-
SPECIFIC PLANS: JAVADEKAR
New Delhi: The National Clean Air Programme
(NCAP) is meant to ensure that the problem of
pollution is addressed at the local level and cities
have been asked to prepare plans to deal with the
issue, Environment and Forests Minister Prakash
Javadekar said. Javadekar said NCAP envisag-
es drawing city-speciﬁc plans. “Every city has
different pollutants and the sources also vary,”
Javadekar said. Replying to another question,
he said water bodies in the country are polluted
because 70 per cent of sewage goes untreated.
ORDINANCE FOR RECOVERY OF
PUBLIC PROPERTIES PASSED
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh cabinet on
Friday approved “UP
Recovery of damage to
public properties Ordi-
nance-2020” for recovery
of losses due to damage
to government and private
properties during political
processions. The decision
in this regard was taken
by a cabinet meeting
chaired by Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath on Friday
evening. “The cabinet has
approved UP Recovery of
damage to public prop-
erties Ordinance-2020
for recovery of losses of
government and private
properties during polit-
ical processions, illegal
agitations,” UP Minister
Suresh Kumar Khanna
told reporters after the
cabinet meeting.
SBI’S INVESTMENT
YYY
FM SPEAK
MP POLITICAL DRAMA

PERSPECTIVEJAIPUR | SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020
G Vol 1 G Issue No. 276 G 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: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PEOPLE’S HEALTH
PREVAILS OVER
CRICKET MANIA
fter days of speculation on will
BCCI, or will it not, postpone the
13th edition of Indian Premier
League over Covid-19 fears, it has
been finally decided to reschedule
thecricketing extravaganza.Instead of March
29, it will now be played from April 15 provid-
ed the novel Coronavirus dies out or is con-
tained. The first match was due to be played at
Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium. The Board for
Control of Cricket in India had earlier said
that postponement was not on the cards.
Considering that public health is more
important, postponement is definitely a
better option than the league being played
to empty stands as has been planned for
the India-South Africa one-day matches at
Lucknow and Kolkata, or without foreign
players. Sans spectators the franchises would
have lost a huge amount of gate money, the
chances of which were high as Delhi govern-
mentrestrictedthemaximumnumberof spec-
tators at a sporting event to 200, Maharashtra
governmentbannedthesaleof IPLticketsand
Karnataka also thinking of doing the same.
With a host of foreign cricketers play-
ing for different franchises, IPL without
them would have been lackluster and re-
duced to the level of Ranji Trophy match-
es. With the Ministry of External Affairs
rejecting Australian player David Warner’s
visa application and the government’s visa
ban on several countries already in place, in-
dications were that many foreign players’
participation would be in doubt.
“The BCCI is concerned and sensitive
about all its stake-holders and public
health in general and it is taking all neces-
sary steps to ensure that all people related
to IPL including fans have a safe cricketing
experience,” the BCCI said in a statement.
The IPL is not the only sporting event to
have been rescheduled in view of health haz-
ards posed by the Coronavirus which has
made people paranoid despite the World
Health Organisation’s appeal for calm and
precautions. India Open Badminton from
March 24-29 and India Super League final
on March 14 will be played in empty sta-
dia. Organisers have already started the
process of refunding ticket money.
Globally also various sporting events have
beendisruptedbythevirus.America’sNational
Basketball Association suspended games until
further notice after a player tested positive, soc-
cer world cup qualifiers in Brazil and English
Premier League matches have been postponed.
The biggest of them all, the 2020 Olym-
pics, is also under a cloud. The Olympic
flame was lit in Greece amidst lockdown
andif thedreadedviruscontinuestospread
Tokyo may have to take a call on whether
to postpone the event or keep spectators out
of the venue incurring heavy losses.
If that happens, Covid-19 would come to be
described as the biggest disrupter of normal
life in recent memory.
IN-DEPTH
A
merica has
been living on
hubris and bor-
rowed time,
mired in an
orgy of debt, delusion and
dogma. Its stock traders
have, for a decade now, cho-
sen to believe that events
which ordinarily would
have resulted in losses are
in fact causes for celebra-
tion in a marketplace that
has defied logic and gravi-
ty. The optical illusion is in
the process of ending.
Along the way, underly-
ing totems of bullish faith
have kept the party rolling.
These include the assump-
tion that the Federal Re-
serve will always do what
it takes to alleviate pro-
found market stress by cut-
ting interest rates and, in
the post-Great Recession
years, providing mone-
tary stimulus by means
of quantitative easing,
referred to as either the
Greenspan, Bernanke,
Yellen or Powell “put.”
In short, their actions
have comprised the belief
that the Fed will come to
the rescue during times of
extreme market stress. For
stock traders, the trope
has been: No need to
worry, the Fed will al-
ways be there to take the
buck, so load up on risk
because there is a floor
to any downside. More to
the point, the Fed will keep
the bull market in stocks
on its perpetual and seem-
ingly never-ending upward
trajectory.
FALL FROM GRACE
Nothing could interrupt
the perpetual bull market,
stock investors apparent-
ly believed, until a conflu-
ence of events — a global
pandemic, an oil price
war, a delusional presi-
dent and idiocy run amok
combined to smack Amer-
icans up-side the head
with a two-by-four. As the
world’s financial ba-
rometer, will even that
be enough to inspire
America’s market-mak-
ing stock traders and
algorithms to change
their ways?
As the global stock mar-
kets now endure their in-
evitable fall from grace,
irresponsible and amoral
money managers contin-
ue to tell their clients to
hold their portfolios in
place and ride the roller
coaster down, beating the
drum to continue invest-
ing in stocks that have a
long way to go before they
hit bottom. Greed and
hubris are alive and
well as the investment
industry proves, yet
again, that it has
learned nothing from
the Great Recession or
the series of other glob-
al financial catastro-
phes that took place in
the 20th century.
The trajectory toward
negative interest rates
merely inspires the in-
vestment community to
identify new ways to keep
the plates spinning. For
fast money traders, nega-
tive interest rates will be
another sure-fire winner.
They can make a lot on
money in a negative inter-
est rate environment
thanks to the duration
sensitivity of bond prices,
as long as they treat bonds
as a short-term upside
play.
Meanwhile, the
Trump administration
has had three months’
notice to order tens of
millions of test kits,
educate the public and
put mechanisms in
place to address the in-
evitable spread of COV-
ID-19 on America’s
shores. Since the out-
break began in China in
December last year, the
Trump administration
has mostly just sat on its
hands in collective denial.
This would be unforgiv-
able in most other coun-
tries and would cause ex-
isting governments to col-
lapse. In America, it mere-
ly serves to enhance the
political divide.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM
Will Corona break the financial market’s Hubris?
A
THE FED WILL
KEEP THE BULL
MARKET IN
STOCKS ON ITS
PERPETUAL AND
SEEMINGLY
NEVER-ENDING
UPWARD
TRAJECTORY
TOP TWEET
Shashi Tharoor
@ShashiTharoor
Welcome the belated release of
Dr Farooq Abdullah. I hope he will
soon resume his rightful place on
the front bench of the Lok Sabha,
where he can address with his usual
compelling vigour the issues facing
his state & the state of the nation.
His detention was a disgrace.
here is this tale about the wise
man and the fool. The wise man
does at once what the fool does
finally, said Niccolo Machiavel-
li, the father of modern politi-
cal philosophy and science.
Whether Jyotiraditya Scind-
ia is the wise man and Congress
a fool is best left for posterity to
decipher but current facts bode
a different political script.
This is not about Jyotira-
ditya Scindia who took 18
benefit-filled years to realise
that the grass on the BJP
side was greener. Nor is it
about the fall of Kamal Nath-
led Congress government or
the consequential rise of a
possible BJP equivalent in
Madhya Pradesh. Again, it is
also not about the political en-
gineering genius of Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi and his
party chief turned home min-
ister Amit Shah. This is about
the Indian National Congress.
In a canvass that spans centu-
ries many ‘Jyotis’ lighted up
and extinguished. Even father
Madhavrao left Congress and
returned to the fold for explora-
tionisthebirthrightof humans
so this too. The list is long.
ThefactisthattheJanSangh-
BJP-like most other parties - is
born out of the Congress gene
pool, Shyama Mukherjee and
all. But the rise of the Narendra
Modi -Amit Shah led BJP to na-
tional domination post
-2014 seeks a one point RSS
agenda.Congress must die for
the extreme right to build a
new national narrative. If it
involves denuding the Con-
gress of its bark and branch-
es so be it. Jyotiraditya is one
of many, poached nationwide
as part of this strategy.
Congress, in whatever form
it may be, is central to India. It
is the liberal-centrist forma-
tion that must lock horns with
the rightist BJP. It can bank on
the emerging left for grudging
support even as regional forces
prevaricate. These may be the
NCP-Shiv Sena in Maharash-
tra or the JMM in Jharkhand
who has chosen to go along
with the Congress. But if it
fails in this task the Con-
gress will be wiped out.
The Congress, however,
seems lost in the political
woods. It is teetering on the
brink because of its prolonged
indecisiveness caused by differ-
ences. Not within the party but
within the Nehru-Gandhi fam-
ily. An electoral debacle in 2019
saw Rahul Gandhi quit as party
chief but sister Priyanka seen
as a successor kept playing
wing-side but avoided centre-
play, creating confusion, the ag-
ing, and not-to-well Sonia Gan-
dhi took charge only to accentu-
ate the slide. Why? There is a
tussle going on within
the Congress between the
old guards who want to safe-
guard their citadels and the
young who would like to
forge a new path and take on
the Modi establishment
head-on. The day Rahul quit,
this young guard was orphaned
and the oldies ensured a clear
playingfieldfortheirilk-Kamal
Nath in MP and Ashok Gehlot
inRajasthantothedetrimentof
Jyotiraditya and Sachin Pilot.
As in individuals so in po-
litical parties age must give
way to youth but the old
guard surrounding Sonia
Gandhi is a coterie out to
scuttle what she most wants
- a place for Rahul under the
sun. This coterie has worked
overtime to disband, even dis-
perse all Rahul Gandhi favour-
ites.Thissamemodelplayedout
in other states of the country.
Jyotiradityaisjustoneexample.
Modi is a clear-headed,
calculating foe. He wants
and works to take the Con-
gress apart brick by brick.
And India’s sole stakeholder of
the independence struggle is
steadily sinking into a Modi
muddied quagmire, yet reluc-
tant to even raise its head and
even look around.
Congress needs to go no
further than Indira Gandhi
in lessons of revitalizing
their party. In fact, Rahul
began in right earnest, when
he started rebuilding the
moribund youth congress
through membership drives
and grassroots elections.
The impact was clearly visible
but the experiment fell by the
wayside when the old guard by-
passed the youth in ticket allot-
ment during the ensuing lok
sabha elections.
This was unlike Indira Gan-
dhi. Her leadership was deci-
sive. On numerous occasions,
Indira walked straight into for-
midable resistance by the old
guards led by the likes of
Morarji Desai, Nijalingappa,
Atulya Ghosh( the Congresso
or Syndicate Congress) as it
came to be known. Every time
she took on the old guard, she
created a new team. Written
off, every time there was a set-
back, she came riding back to
power after decimating her op-
ponents with a youthful team.
The loss of power in 2014 was
a classic opportunity for the
Congress to rebuild its organi-
zation. Rahul’s earnestness
paid dividends in Gujarat
Assembly elections in 2017
when the Congress scared
the daylights out of the rul-
ing BJP bringing it’s tally
down to less than 100 in a
182 member house but the
advantage was subsequently
frittered away after Rahul
relinquished charge.
Decisiveyouth-ledleadership
is the need of the hour for Con-
gress. It is still not too late to
rebuild the party from scratch,
whatever time it takes, more in
keeping with the aspirations of
a young India. Take a leaf out
of Indira Gandhi’s political
book and get to work. It can’t get
any worse, so no harm in clear-
ing all the old obstructions and
goingbacktothedrawingboard
with a new team to fashion a
new party. If you don’t, you per-
ish. India needs a strong and
vibrant Congress with its old
value system as a counterfoil
to the BJP.
And for those who left- and
there were many- they are best
forgotten. Those who go out
journeying on an ass, cannot
come back riding a horse!
Story is not Jyotiraditya, it is
Congress’ existential crisis
T
Congress,
however, seems
lost in the
political woods.
It is teetering
on the brink
because of its
prolonged
indecisiveness
caused by
differences. Not
within the
party but
within the
Nehru-Gandhi
family
RK
MISRA
The author is a veteran
journalist

INDIAJAIPUR | SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020
New Delhi: One of the
four death row convicts
in the 2012 Nirbhaya
gang rape and murder
case, Vinay Sharma ap-
proached Delhi HC
claiming that there
were procedural lapses
and “constitutional ir-
regularities” in rejec-
tion of his mercy plea
by President.
The petition on Shar-
ma’s behalf was moved
by his lawyer A P Singh
who said the matter has
been filed.
The plea claims that
recommendation sent to
the President to reject
the mercy plea did not
contain the signature of
Delhi Home Minister
Satyendar Jain. Vinay’s
mercy plea was rejected
on February 1. Accord-
ing to the petition, when
the issue was raised be-
fore SC, the Centre had
contended that Mr
Jain’s signature was ob-
tained on Whatsapp. It
further claims that
when the mercy plea
was moved the model
code of conduct (MCC)
was in force and Jain
was only a MLA candi-
date at that point of
time as polls had been
announced and there-
fore, he could not have
exercised the power of
Home Minister.
“To reject the mercy
petition, the powers
used are illegal, uncon-
stitutional, a miscar-
riage of justice and also
miscarriage of consti-
tutional values of Elec-
tion Commission of In-
dia,” petition said.
Nirbhaya convict moves HC
over rejected mercy plea
Convict Vinay Sharma’s mercy plea was rejected on February 1.
New Delhi: A Delhi
court sent suspended
AAP councillor Tahir
Hussain’s brother, Shah
Alam, and three others
to judicial custody for
14 days for the violence
in New Delhi’s north-
east area.
Besides Alam, Chief
Metropolitan Magis-
trate Pawan Singh Ra-
jawat sent Abid, Rashid
and Shadab to the cus-
tody till March 27.
Hussain’s brother
and others were arrest-
ed by Crime Branch of
on March 9.
“Alam was merely ar-
rested because Tahir is
his brother. There is no
evidence against him,”
advocate Sarfaraz Asif,
who is representing the
four accused, told IANS.
Tahir Hussain is in
the eye of a major con-
troversy for his alleged
involvement in the re-
cent violence in Delhi’’s
northeast area.
Hussain’s
brother sent to
judicial custody
for 14 days
New Delhi: Parlia-
ment on Friday passed
Direct Tax Vivad Se
Vishwas Bill, 2020 with
an aim to settle pend-
ing direct tax disputes
in the country.
The Bill, which will
provide taxpayers a lu-
crative opportunity to
settle direct tax dis-
putes within the cur-
rent financial year by
waiving interest and
penalty on their pend-
ing taxes, was passed by
voice vote and returned
by Rajya Sabha as it
was a money bill.
On March 4, Lok Sab-
ha had passed the Vivad
se Vishwas Bill with
certain amendments.
Moving the Bill, Fi-
nanceMinisterNirmala
Sitharaman said, large
number of appeals re-
lated to tax disputes are
pending at the various
level which are putting
pressure on the tax pay-
ers. She said, this bill
has been brought up
with the objective to set-
tle the tax dispute in an
efficient manner.
Congress member M
V Rajeev Gowda said
that bill has been
brought up in haste
and it provides the op-
portunity of one time
settlement.
He said, unrealistic
target of tax collection
is putting pressure on
the tax payers in the
form of tax terrorism.
Replying to the some
members who had
raised issues on the
bill asking how can the
Central Board of Di-
rect Taxes issue a cir-
cular on the scheme
before passage of the
bill in Parliament, she
said, “There is no
breach of privilege.”
The Minister also
said that the Bill will
give an option to tax
payers for settling dis-
putes. She also said that
the government would
send a circular to states
in all languages for pro-
viding detailed infor-
mation about the bill.
First proposed in Un-
ion Budget 2020, the Bill
was approved by the
Union Cabinet on Feb-
ruary 12. The Vivad se
Vishwas Bill aims to
resolve 4.83 lakh direct
tax cases worth Rs 9.32
lakh crore that are cur-
rently locked up in vari-
ous appellate forums
such as Commissioner
(Appeals), Income Tax
Appellate Tribunal,
High Courts, Supreme
Court and Debt Recov-
ery Tribunals.
Parliament passes Direct Tax
Vivad Se Vishwas Bill 2020
DIPLOMATIC RESHUFFLE ON CARDS
Whispers are that a key diplomatic reshuffle is on
cards in the next six months with new heads of
missions to be appointed in atleast 7 missions.
SINGH FOR CHAIRPERSON, SAIL?
A K Singh, Executive Director, SAIL, is whispered
to be in the race for the post of Chairperson,
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) falling
vacant on January 1, 2021.
ASTHANA STILL HOLDS ADDL CHARGE
Rakesh Asthana, DG, BCAS, will continue holding
an additional charge of Director General, Narcot-
ics Control Bureau (NCB) till the appointment of a
regular incumbent. He is a 1984 batch IPS officer
of Gujarat cadre.
CEO BHARATHI MAY GET EXTENSION
While rumours are still floating around that Mrs P
V Bharati, MD & CEO of Corporation Bank could
be moved to Union Bank of India Board, whispers
are that she may be offered an extension as MD
& CEO of Corporation Bank beyond March 31,
2020 as a special case as the Bank would be in
the midst of the merger with Union Bank of In-
dia—the date she is retiring. However, the tenure
of extension in not known.
SETTY AS NOMINEE ON YES BANK?
Whispers are that SBI Managing Director C S
Setty could be sent to YES Bank as SBI’s Nominee
because as DMD with SBI, he was In-charge of
Stressed Assets Group and has sizeable experience.
WILL RBI MOVE MAHAPATRA
TO YES BANK?
There is a curious case of Syndicate Bank MD &
CEO Mritunjoy Mahapatra whose name was in
circulation previously as ‘being moved to RBI’
but whispers are that the RBI may move him as
Additional Director in YES Bank.
SHIVALLI MAY RETURN TO PARENT
CADRE IN APRIL
Dr Shivalli M Chauhan presently on deputation as
Director in the Expenditure is expected to return
to parent cadre in the first week of April. Dr Chau-
han is a 1997 batch IDAS officer.
SAXENA TO BE POSTED IN IROAF
Sudhir Kumar Saxena on his return from depu-
tation to RITES is being posted as CAO (Energy
Management) at Indian Railway Organization for
Alternate Fuels. He is an IRSEE officer.
KUNDU MADE ADDL CS, FISHERIES,
Varinder Singh Kundu, Additional Chief Secretary,
Printing and Stationery, Haryana has been posted
as Additional Chief Secretary, Fisheries Depart-
ment, Govt of Haryana.He is an IAS officer of
Haryana cadre of 1986 batch.
GULATI MADE ADDL CS, PRINTING &
STATIONERY, HARYANA
Sunil Kumar Gulati, Chairman , Haryana Minerals
Ltd has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary,
Printing and Stationery, Govt of Haryana.He is an
IAS officer of Haryana cadre of 1984 batch.
QAMAR RELIEVED TO JOIN MOSPI
Tanweer Qamar Mohammad has been relieved to
join as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Statistics &
Programme Implementation. He is a 1994 batch
officer of Indian Postal Service.
3 IAS OFFICERS SHIFTED IN MAHA
Ranjit Kumar has been posted as Project Direc-
tor, Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society,
Mumbai, while Mrs Shweta Singhal was posted
as Deputy Secretary to the Governor, Rajbhawan,
Mumbai and A W Kakade is Managing Director,
SARATHI, Pune in Maharashtra.
KUMAR RECOMMENDED FOR CEO
State Bank of India has recommended Prashant
Kumar as new CEO of YES Bank.
RAGHAVENDRA VATSA PROMOTED
Raghavendra Vatsa, SP, CBI, has been promoted
as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He is a 2005 batch
IPS officer of Gujarat cadre.
RAUT PROMOTED AS DIG, CBI
Sharda Raut, SP, CBI, has been promoted as
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI). He is a 2005 batch IPS
officer of Maharashtra cadre.
MOHD SUVEZ HAQUE PROMOTED
Mohd Suvez Haque, SP, CBI, has been promoted
as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in Central
IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre.
PREM KUMAR GAUTAM PROMOTED
Prem Kumar Gautam, SP, CBI, has been promot-
ed as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in Central
IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
POWERGallery
NOT CONG, MODI GOVT GAVE TRUE
MEANING TO SECULARISM: BJP
New Delhi: BJP General
Secretary Bhupendra
Yadav has said not the
Congress, but the Naren-
dra Modi government has
given a true meaning to
the concept of secularism
in the country. Taking a
dig at Congress in RS,
Yadav said: “Congress
has always misinterpreted
secularism. Congress
is trying to become the
champion of secularism
by standing with the Shiv
Sena and the Muslim
League But Narendra
Modi’s government has
given true meaning to the
concept of secularism in
the country. Our secu-
larism is “Sabka Saath’’
Everybody’’s development
and everyone’’s faith. We
will move forward with
this brand of secularism”.
YOGI TO OVERSEE SHIFTING OF
RAM IDOL IN AYODHYA
Ayodhya: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Ad-
ityanath will participate in the rituals for shifting
of the Ram Lalla statue to the new makeshift
structure on March 25, which will also mark the
beginning of “Navratri’’. The Ram Lalla statue will
be shifted to a specially constructed structure
in Manas Bhavan to pave the way for the con-
struction of the grand Ram temple. According to
sources, Adityanath will reach Ayodhya on the
evening of March 24 and will offer prayers as
soon as the deity is installed in the new structure.
4G INTERNET WILL BE RESTORED
IN J&K TONIGHT: OFFICIALS
Srinagar: The J&K Union
Territory administration
on Friday said the high
speed 4G Internet ser-
vices would be restored
by later in the day evening
so that people of the
Valley can sit inside their
homes, thereby effectively
containing the global
pandemic COVID-19.
Talking to Radio Kashmir
government spokesper-
son Rohit Kansal said
the decision was taken in
a high level meeting on
late on Thursday chaired
by Lieutenant Governor
GM Murmu in Jammu.
“We thought of imposing
curfew but that won’t
keep people at home in
this part of the world.
Best is to give them 4G
speed internet,” Murmu
informed the reporters.
Mumbai: With seven
candidates, including
two women, in the fray
for the seven Rajya Sab-
ha seats in Maharash-
tra, the stage is set for
all getting elected unop-
posed, on the last day of
filing nominations, on
Friday.
Among the promi-
nent leaders who have
filed their nominations
are NCP President
Sharad Pawar, RPI (A)
President and Union
Minister Ramdas Atha-
waleandBJP’sChhatra-
pati Udayan Raje Bho-
sale. The others include
Shiv Sena’s Priyanka
Chaturvedi, who had
quit the Congress last
year, AICC General Sec-
retary and Congress
leader Rajiv Satav,
BJP’s Bhagwat Karad
andNCP’sFauziaKhan.
On the final day of fil-
ing nominations, only
seven candidates re-
mained the fray, the
scrutiny will take place
on March 16 and the last
date for withdrawals is
March 18, paving the
way for all the nomi-
nees getting elected
without a contest.
The retiring mem-
bers are NCP’s Pawar
and Majeed Memon,
Congress’ Hussain
Dalwai, Sena’s Rajku-
mar Dhoot, BJP’s
Amar Sable and BJP-
supported independ-
ent Sanjay Kakade.
Both the ruling MVA
of Sena-NCP-Congress
and Opposition BJP
are contesting as per
their respective
strength in the
288-member assembly.
The requisite num-
ber for a RS seat is 37
votes and with the cur-
rent party positions in
the state, Sena and Con-
gress will get one each,
NCP two and the BJP
will get three, including
Athawale who is sup-
ported by the party.
Maharashtra: 7 RS
candidates set to be
elected unopposed
IN THE COURTYARD
BJP ISSUES WHIP
SCINDIA IN RACE
New Delhi: The
Union Cabinet
chaired by PM Modi
on Friday approved a
four per cent hike in
dearness allowance
(DA) for central gov-
ernment employees.
“The Union Cabi-
net has approved four
per cent hike in dear-
ness allowance for
central government
employees,” I&b Min-
ister Prakash
Javadekar said.
The Cabinet ap-
proved an increase of
four per cent DA to
Central Government
employees and Dear-
nessRelief (DR)topen-
sioners with effect
from January 1, 2020.
This is over the exist-
ing rate of 17% of the
Basic Pay/Pension.
DA for Central govt workers hiked
COURT SENTENCES SENGAR,
6 OTHERS TO 10-YEAR JAIL
New Delhi: Tis Hazari Court on Friday sentenced
expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and six
others to 10 years imprisonment for the death of
Unnao rape survivor’s father. Sengar is already
serving life imprisonment for raping the minor.
District Judge Dharmesh Sharma said, “There can
be no denying that rule of law was broken. Sengar
was a public functionary and had to maintain the
rule of law. The way the crime has been committed,
it does not call for leniency.” Sengar and his brother
Atul has been directed to give 10 lakh compensation
to family of the victim for loss of their father. “There
are four minor children involved, three girls and
one boy. They have also been uprooted from native
place,” the judge said. Seven people, including
Sengar, his brother and two police personnel, were
held guilty for culpable homicide and criminal con-
spiracy, earlier this month. The case pertains to the
death of rape survivor’s father in custody on April 9,
2018. It was alleged that he was assaulted following
a quarrel with some of the accused in the case. He
was taken to the police station and then framed for
allegedly possessing an illegal firearm. He was sent
to custodial remand, during which he died.

Washington: The In-
dian Embassy in the US
has set up 24-hour hel-
plines to address ques-
tions on the recent trav-
el restrictions imple-
mented by New Delhi in
a bid to contain the
spread of the novel cor-
onavirus.
India reported its
first death due to coro-
navirus on Thursday as
the number of positive
cases soared to 74. The
deadly virus that origi-
nated in the Chinese
city of Wuhan in De-
cember last year has
claimed over 4,600 lives
and infected more than
124,330 people world-
wide.
In a statement the
embassy said it has set
up round-the-clock hel-
pline numbers “for que-
ries and clarifications
regarding the recent
travel advisory issued
by the government of
India for travel to India
in view of the spread of
coronavirus”.
Helpline numbers
are being operated at
the embassy in Wash-
ington DC and consu-
lates at Atlanta, Chica-
go, New York, Houston
and San Francisco.
India on Wednesday
suspended all visas, ex-
cept a few categories
such as diplomatic and
employment, till April
15 in view of the coro-
navirus outbreak,
which has been de-
clared a pandemic by
the World Health Or-
ganisation (WHO). The
suspension came into
effect from 1200 GMT
on March 13 at the port
of departure.
“All existing visas,
except diplomatic, offi-
cial, UN/International
organisations, employ-
ment and project visas,
stand suspended till
15th April 2020. This
will come into effect
from 1200GMT on 13th
March 2020 at the port
of departure,” an offi-
cial statement said is-
sued on Wednesday.
Visa-free travel facil-
ity granted to Overseas
Citizenship of India
(OCI) card holders is
also kept in abeyance
till April 15, it said.
TALKING POINTJAIPUR | SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020
Theaters, gyms ordered
closed in 6 Maha cities
THE CLOSURE ORDER WILL COME INTO EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MIDNIGHT, CM THACKERAY SAID, ANNOUNCING
THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS INVOKED THE EPIDEMIC DISEASES ACT OF 1897 TO TACKLE THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
Mumbai: In a drastic
step to curb the spread
of coronavirus, the Ma-
harashtra government
ordered closure of cin-
ema halls, gyms and
swimming pools in
Mumbai, Navi Mumbai,
Pune, Pimpri Chinch-
wad and Nagpur cities
from Friday midnight.
Making the an-
nouncement in the state
Legislative Assembly,
Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray said the gov-
ernment was invoking
the Epidemic Diseases
Act of 1897 from mid-
night.
Wherever possible,
companies should allow
employees to work from
home in view of corona-
virus threat, he said.
Thackeray an-
nounced that schools in
Pune and Pimpri
Chinchwad areas will
remain shut till further
orders.
However, the SSC ex-
ams in those schools
will continue as per
schedule, he said.
He also informed the
House that so far, 17 per-
sons have tested posi-
tive for coronavirus in
the state- three each in
Mumbai and Nagpur, 10
in Pune and one in
Thane.
The chief minister
also appealed to the peo-
ple to avoid visiting
malls.
Pune/Nagpur: One more person
was confirmed to have contracted
the coronavirus in Pune on Friday,
taking the number of COVID-19
cases in the city to 10 and that in
Maharashtra to 17.
The person who tested positive
for the virus in Pune on Friday had
travel history to the United States,
said divisional commissioner Deep-
ak Mhaisekar.
Earlier in the morning, two more
persons tested positive for the dis-
ease in Nagpur.
Two days after a 45-year-old man
was found to be infected with coro-
navirus in Nagpur, his wife and
friend also tested positive, Division-
al Commissioner Sanjiv Kumar had
said.
“The man had returned from the
US last week along with his wife and
the friend,” he had informed.
There are now ten confirmed
coronavirus patients in Pune, three
each in Mumbai and Nagpur, and
one in Thane.
3 more test positive for COVID-19 in
Maharashtra, number rises to 5
Govt makes
sanitizers,
masks essential
commodities
‘Animals can’t
transmit
COVID-19, stop
creating panic’
44 Indians evacuated from Iran shifted to
Naval quarantine facility in Mumbai
Mumbai: The Indian Navy on Fri-
day said that 44 Indian citizens who
have been evacuated from Iran,
have been shifted to the Naval quar-
antine facility at Mumbai.
Indian Navy spokesperson tweet-
ed that “44 Indian citizens have
been evacuated from Iran and shift-
ed to Indian Navy quarantine facil-
ity at Ghatkopar in Mumbai.”
External Affairs Minister of In-
dia, S Jaishankar, tweeted, “Second
batch of 44 Indian pilgrims has ar-
rived today from Iran. Our efforts to
bring back the others continue. @
India_in_Iran and our medical team
- keep up the good work. Appreciate
the support of Iranian authorities
and their airlines.”
On Thursday, Jaishankar had
said that a very detailed tracking
procedure was in place to prevent
the spread of coronavirus and un-
tested people cannot be brought
back to the country in a very severe
epidemic situation as the nation’s
health security has to be ensured.
Indian greeting
namaste gains
wide acceptability
New Delhi: “Na-
maste”, the Indian
way of greeting peo-
ple is gaining wide
acceptability in the
wake of the corona-
virus outbreak. Be it
US President Trump
or the French Presi-
dent Emmanuel Ma-
cron or British Roy-
alty Prince Charles.
Coronovirus, as
per the experts is
highly contagious
and is spread by
physical contact, one
of which is the hand-
shake. So, be it a com-
mon man or the pres-
ident or prime minis-
ter, it is the same for
everyone.
Ireland Prime
Minister Leo Varad-
kar in the Oval office
at the White House
on Thursday said,
“We didn’’t shake
hands today and we
looked at each other
and said what are we
going to do? Sort of a
weird feeling. We did
this (joined hands). I
just got back from In-
dia and I didn’’t
shake any hands
there. It was easy.”
Last week Israel
PM Benjamin Netan-
yahu too advocated
for Namaste way of
greeting. He asked
his fellow country-
men to greet each
other by folding
hands and saying Na-
maste as opposed to
shaking hands as
fears over the corona-
virus outbreak grow.
New Delhi: The govern-
ment on Friday declared
masks, including N95,
and hand sanitizers as ‘es-
sential commodities’ in the
wake of the coronavirus
scare leading to shortages
and black marketing of
these items.
These items will remain
under essential commodi-
ties segment till June-end,
a move aimed at ensuring
availability at reasonable
prices. The govt has noti-
ﬁed an order under the Es-
sential Commodities Act to
declare masks (2 ply and
3 ply surgical masks, N95
masks) and hand santizers
as essential commodities
up to June 30, 2020.
The decision has
empowered the Centre
as well states to regu-
late production, quality,
distributions of masks
and hand sanitiziers, and
also to smoothen sale and
availability of these items,
and carry out operations
against speculators.
New Delhi: Dispelling
rumours that animals
spread novel coronovirus
(COVID-19), former Union
Minister and animal rights
activist Maneka Gandhi on
Friday made it clear that
animals cannot transmit
the infectious disease and
many government and
private departments were
creating panic by dissemi-
nating false information.
The Lok Sabha member
said that such informa-
tion is totally “wrong
and misleading” and is
being spread by some
government departments,
insurance companies and
private companies.
She made the an-
nouncement at a time
when rumours are
spreading faster than
the disease itself. The
BJP leader said: “The
health department of this
country has clearly said
that animals do not have
coronavirus and they can-
not transmit coronavirus.”
Iran: Satellite images of mass graves in
the city of Qom suggest Iran’s coronavi-
rus epidemic is even more serious than
the authorities are admitting.
The picture show the excavation of a
new section in a cemetery on the north-
ern fringe of Iran’s holy city in late Feb-
ruary, and two long trenches dug, of a
total length of 100 yards, by the end of
the month.
They confirm the worst fears about
the extent of the epidemic and the gov-
ernment’s subsequent cover-up. The
deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi,
held a press conference to “categorically
deny” the allegations, but he was clearly
sweating and coughing as he did so. The
next day, Harirchi confirmed that he had
tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.
Bhopal: In the wake
of coronavirus out-
break, Madhya
Pradesh CM Kamal
Nath on Friday
chaired a meeting to
review the situation.
Several officials,
including the Chief
Secretary, Director
General of Police and
Principal Secretary
(Health Department),
attended the meeting.
The WHO on Wednes-
day declared corona-
virus outbreak a pan-
demic and expressed
deep concern both by
the alarming levels
of spread and severi-
ty and by the alarm-
ing levels of inaction.
The total number
of confirmed COV-
ID-19 cases across
India has risen to 75.
The country has also
reported its first cor-
onavirus death in
Karnataka, the
health ministry had
stated earlier.
Satellite images show Iran
has built mass graves
amid coronavirus outbreak
Kamal Nath holds
meeting,reviews
preparedness
IndianEmbassyinUSsetsuphelplines
toaddressqueriesonCOVID-19
Foreign tourists wear masks to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
Indian citizens evacuated from Iran being shifted to a quarantine facility at Ghatkopar in Mumbai.
Workers clean entry gates at Rajeev Chowk metro station
in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, in New Delhi.
A priest wearing protective masks as a precautionary
measure against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), offers
prasad to a devotee at Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai.
Content: Divya Hemnani, Design: Shyam Shonkiya
C R NAVIRUS

New Delhi: Top shut-
tlers from across the
world have hit out at
the Badminton World
Federation (BWF) for
taking the novel coro-
navirus outbreak ‘too
lightly’ and putting
them at ‘risk’ by going
ahead with its interna-
tional tournaments.
The coronavirus out-
break, declared a pan-
demic by the World
Health Organisation
(WHO) on Wednesday,
has led to nearly 5000
deaths globally.
It has also badly af-
fected the sporting cal-
ender with several
events across the world
being either postponed
or cancelled.
International stars,
including London
Olympics bronze med-
allist Saina Nehwal,
former World No 1 Kid-
ambi Srikanth and ex-
top 10 players Hans-
Kristian Vittinghus,
Paruapalli Kashyap
and Jan O Jorgensen
expressed their con-
cerns and asked the
BWF to suspend all its
upcoming tourna-
ments.
“I honestly don’t get
it! We should not be
travelling the world
playing badminton,”
Denmark’s Vittinghus,
a former World No. 8,
said in a post which he
has shared on his social
media accounts.
He urged the BWF to
follow other sporting
federations in suspend-
ing the events. —PTI
BWF has continued hosting tournaments
around the world despite the coronavirus
outbreak that has affected world sports
SPORTSJAIPUR | SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020
Kane tests negative
for COVID-19
Sydney: Australian fast
bowler Kane Richard-
son was on Friday
cleared of coronavirus
after his tests returned
negative, Cricket Aus-
tralia said. The right-
arm pacer, who re-
turned with the Aus-
tralian team from South
Africa earlier this
week, had informed the
medical staff of a sore
throat on Thursday and
was then sent for a pre-
cautionary COVID-19
testing. However, Rich-
ardson’s coronavirus
test returned negative
and he was on his way
to the Sydney cricket
ground where the first
ODI against New Zea-
land is taking place.
Man Utd beat LASK
in Europa League
Paris: Manchester
United won 5-0 at LASK
Linz behind closed
doors in the first leg of
their Europa League
last-16 tie, in a competi-
tion thrown into chaos
as a result of the coro-
navirus pandemic. Odi-
on Ighalo slammed
home the opener via the
underside of the bar
from 20 yards just be-
fore the half-hour, and
Daniel James added a
second with a sharp
run and finish just be-
fore the hour mark.
Juan Mata bagged a
third eight minutes
from the end and Mason
Greenwood and Andre-
as Pereira struck in in-
jury time, as United ex-
tended their unbeaten
run to 11 matches, with
nine clean sheets in
that time.
Aus defeat NZ by
71 runs in 1st ODI
Sydney: A spirited per-
formance guided Aus-
tralia to defeat New
Zealand by 71 runs in
the first ODI at Sydney
Cricket Ground here on
Friday. Chasing a mod-
erate target of 259, the
hosts bundled out the
Kiwis at 187 in 41 overs.
The match was played
at an empty stadium as
a precautionary meas-
ure amidst coronavirus
outbreak. Pacer Pat
Cummins and Mitchell
Marsh bagged three
wickets each while Josh
Hazlewood and Adam
Zampa scalped two
wickets each.
Mudit off to flying
start at Oman Open
Muscat: Indian pad-
dler Mudit Dani regis-
tered a 4-0 win to begin
his campaign on a high
note at the 2020 ITTF
Challenger Plus Oman
Open here on Friday.
Mudit Dani looked
dominating during his
convincing 11-6, 11-2,
11-5, 11-4 victory
against Oman’s Asad
Alraisi in the men’s
singles round-of-64
match. He will now
face Portugal’s Marcos
Freitas in the round-
of-32. Another Indian
player Manush Shah
also made his way into
the round-of-32 with a
4-1 win.
BRIEF
in
Tokyo: Japan is on
track to hold the Tokyo
2020 Olympic Games as
planned, top govern-
ment spokesman
Yoshihide Suga said on
Friday, after US Presi-
dent Donald Trump
suggested a possible
delay of a year.
“I am aware of Presi-
dent Trump’s com-
ments, but we are work-
ing closely with the
IOC, the organising
committee, and Tokyo
in preparing for the
Games as planned,”
Suga told reporters.
Trump said on
Thursday that officials
should consider delay-
ing the Games for a
year amid the coronavi-
rus pandemic, saying
the summer event
would not be the same
without spectators.
In a Friday phone call
between Trump and
Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe, the two leaders did
not discuss postponing
the Tokyo Games or
holding them without
spectators, senior gov-
ernment spokesman
Naoki Okada said. “The
prime minister said
firmly that he wanted to
win the battle with cor-
onavirus and make this
summer’s Olympics a
success,” Okada told a
media briefing follow-
ing the phone talks.
“President Trump said
he thought highly of
the effort.”
The two leaders did
not talk about travel re-
strictions between Ja-
pan and the US, Okada
said. —Agencies
Japan says Tokyo Olympics 2020 stays on track
DESPITE TRUMP’S SUGGESTION TO POSTPONE
Mumbai: The Board of
Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) on Friday
decided to postpone the
IPL to April 15, 2020, as
a precautionary meas-
ure against the ongoing
COVID-19 situation.
There was specula-
tion as to what the
board will decide
amidst the ongoing cor-
onavirus scare, and fi-
nally postponing the
tournament came up as
the solution. “The BCCI
is concerned and sensi-
tive about all its stake-
holders, and public
health in general, and it
is taking all necessary
steps to ensure that, all
people related to IPL in-
cluding fans have a safe
cricketing experience,”
the BCCI said in an of-
ficial statement.
The board has also
assured that it will
work in unison with the
Sports Ministry and
will adhere to the guide-
lines issued.
Earlier in the day,
Delhi’s Deputy CM
Manish Sisodia an-
nounced that all sport-
ing activities, including
the IPL, attracting a
large crowd turnout
have been banned
amidst the coronavirus
outbreak.
“Sports activities,
seminars, conferences,
we have decided to shut
them. No sports event
including IPL would be
allowed in Delhi until
the next order. Corona-
virus is spreading, we
have decided to main-
tain social distance, IPL
is a big event, many peo-
ple come from various
corners, I would also
like to appeal to the peo-
ple,” Deputy CM Delhi,
Sisodia, told.
Amidst coronavirus
fears, the cricketing
board had mainly two
options-- either post-
pone IPL or play it be-
hind closed doors.
The Central govern-
ment has suspended all
visas to India till April
15 as part of measures
to contain the spread of
the pandemic. If the
board decided to go on
with the tournament as
planned, then the avail-
ability of foreign play-
ers would have been in
doubt.
The 13th edition of
IPL was scheduled to
commence from March
29, with Mumbai Indi-
ans and Chennai Super
Kings meeting at the
Wankhede Stadium in
Mumbai for the first
match.
World Health Organi-
sation (WHO) on
Wednesday had de-
clared the coronavirus
outbreak a ‘pandemic’
and expressed deep con-
cern.
The coronavirus dis-
ease was first detected
in Wuhan in China’s
Hubei province, in late
December, and has
since spread worldwide.
—ANI
IPL POSTPONED TO APRIL 15 DUE TO CORONA THREAT
‘BWF putting players at risk,
taking things too lightly’
India-SA series called off due to COVID-19
New Delhi: The two re-
maining ODIs between
India and South Africa
in Lucknow and Kolka-
ta were on Friday called
off owing to the COV-
ID-19 threat as the coun-
try’s sports calendar
continued to go haywire
because of the global
pandemic.
“With the Indian Pre-
mier League being post-
poned, it only made
sense that at this point
of time, this series is
also called off. The
country is facing a seri-
ous pandemic,” a top
BCCI official said.
The first ODI be-
tween the two sides in
Dharamsala was
washed out. Both the
sides had reached Luc-
know on Friday.
“The South African
team will come to Delhi
and leave by taking at
the earliest available
flight,” he added.
The matches were
earlier planned to be
held behind closed
doors due to the govern-
ment directive, which
asked for sporting
events to be shut for
fans in view of the pan-
demic.
India has recorded
more than 80 positive
cases so far with the
global infected count
standing at over 100,000
patients. —ANI
Naresh Sharma
Jaipur: Team 61 Cav-
alry defeated the
team of Sports Min-
ister Ashok Chandna
8-4 at RPC ground on
Friday to enter the
final of the BM Birla
Cup Polo tourna-
ment. Aman Singh of
61 Cavalry scored 4
goals while Shub-
ham scored two
goals.
On behalf of the
Chandna team,
Ashok Chandna
scored four goals but
he could not avoid
his team’s defeat. 61
Cavalry will face
Central Academy in
the final. In another
match, Padmanabh
Singh of the Central
Academy led his
team to victory over
the Cavaliers by scor-
ing six goals.
61 Cavalry books
spot in final of
Birla Cup Polo
First India News
Rajkot: Skipper Jaydev
Unadkat on Friday pro-
duced a lion-hearted
spell when it mattered
the most against Ben-
gal, leading Saurashtra
to their maiden Ranji
Trophy triumph a year
after stumbling at the
last hurdle. The win
was achieved on the ba-
sis of first-innings lead.
Bengal had the upper
hand going into day five
after Anustup Majum-
dar (63) and Arnab Nan-
di (40 not out) shared an
unbeaten 91-run stand
in the final session
Thursday.
But Unadkat rose to
the occasion yet again
to script a historic vic-
tory. The left-arm pacer
had the in-form Majum-
dar LBW and Akash
Deep run out in a space
of three balls to turn
the game on its head.
Unadkat ended as the
season’s leading wicket-
taker with 67 scalps at a
staggering average of
13.23, one short of an
all-time record.
The morning session
yielded 27 runs and four
wickets with Bengal all
out for 381, giving Sau-
rashtra a 44-run first
innings lead. Bengal
needed 72 runs with
four wickets in hands.
In the second in-
nings, all Saurashtra
had to do was to bat out
the remaining time be-
fore both captains de-
cided to call off the
game and shake hands.
They eventually did
that after Saurashtra
sauntered 105 for three
in 34 overs.
With the win, Sau-
rashtra ended their
Ranji title drought
while a fighting Bengal
will have to wait longer
for their first crown
since the 1989-90 season.
Unadkat fires Saurashtra to
maiden Ranji Trophy title
Jaydev Unadkat
rose to the
occasion yet
again to script a
historic victory
Saina Nehwal
Paruapalli Kashyap
Kidambi Srikanth
Players in action during the match on Friday.
—PHOTOBYSANTOSHSHARMA

Indian newspapers in english first india-rajasthan-14 march 2020 edition

Indian newspapers in english first india-rajasthan-14 march 2020 edition

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Indian newspapers in english first india-rajasthan-14 march 2020 edition

Similar to Indian newspapers in english first india-rajasthan-14 march 2020 edition (20)

More from first_india

More from first_india (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Indian newspapers in english first india-rajasthan-14 march 2020 edition