05092021 first india ahmedabad

Union Minister Athawale advocates special reservation for Patidars
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Union
Minister of State for
Social Justice Ram-
das Athawale on Sat-
urday said rather
than being clubbed
in the OBC reserva-
tion category, Guja-
rat’s Patidars should
be put in a reserva-
tion special category,
alongside Maharash-
tra’s Marathas and
Haryana’s Rajput
community.
While addressing
the media here, Atha-
wale also stated that
only families with an
annual income of
less than Rs8 lakh
should get reservation
benefits.
Asked about a re-
cent remark of Guja-
rat deputy Chief Min-
ister Nitin Patel that
people would be able to
talk about Constitu-
tion and secularism
only so long as Hindus
are in majority, he said
there was no possibil-
ity of Hindu popula-
tion dwindling.
“There is a need to
control the population
for the development of
the country, irrespec-
tive of whether it is
the population of Hin-
dus or Muslims,” said
the minister, who
heads the Republican
Party of India (Atha-
wale group), a constit-
uent of the National
Democratic Alliance
(NDA).
“If we adopt one
family, one child
(policy), we would be
able to reduce popu-
lation. For now we
have ‘hum do,
hamare do’.… Our
party’s stand is that
to reduce popula-
tion, there should be
a law for ‘hum do,
hamara ek, (one fam-
ily, one child),” Atha-
wale said.
Dismissing Atha-
wale’s statement on
reservation, Deputy
Chief Minister Nitin
Patel said that the Par-
liament had left states
to decide their OBC
lists and that the views
of Central leaders or
other parties have lit-
tle value.
“As soon as the
rules are formed the
state government too
will start the process
of preparing the list
of castes to be in-
cluded in the OBC
list,” he said. Ex-
plaining the process,
Patel said represent-
atives of communi-
ties wanting to be
included in the list
will file the requisite
applications, after
which the govern-
ment will conduct a
study to decide if a
particular commu-
nity is socially and
economically back-
ward. Only deserv-
ing castes and com-
munities will be in-
cluded in the OBC
list, he said.
Dy CM Patel says views
irrelevant since Parliament gave
states power to decide OBC list
Ramdas Athawale.
CELEBRATORY KILLING!
17 KILLED AFTER TALIBAN FIRE
WEAPONS TO REJOICE ‘PANJSHIR FALL’
While Taliban said their fighters had seized
control of Panjshir, the last province in
Afghanistan holding out against the Islamist group
1 Leaders of opposition
to the Taliban have
denied the fallen claim
2
Kabul: At least 17 peo-
ple have been killed in
Kabul after Taliban
fighters fired weapons
into the air in celebra-
tion. Taliban fired guns
into the air Friday night
to celebrate gains on
the battlefield in Pan-
jshir province, which
still remains under the
control of anti-Taliban
fighters.
Sources in the Tali-
ban told news agency
Reuters Saturday its
fighters had taken Pan-
jshir Valley, the final
holdout in its quest to
seize Afghanistan.
However, resistance
leaders denied the
claim. “News of Pan-
jshir conquests is circu-
lating on Pakistani me-
dia. This is a lie,” said
Ahmad Massoud, who
is leading the rebels.
Meanwhile, former
president Hamid Kar-
zai in a statement has
asked to stop the fight-
ing and resolve their is-
sues through talks, Tolo
new agency reported.
Women gather to demand their rights under the Taliban rule during a protest in Kabul on Saturday. The Taliban have promised an
inclusive government and a more moderate form of Islamic rule than when they last ruled the country from 1996 to 2001. But many
Afghans, especially women, are deeply skeptical and fear a rollback of rights gained over the last two decades.
FRESH FIGHTING
IN PANJSHIR
Kabul: Fresh fighting
has been reported in
Afghanistan’s Panjshir
Valley, the final pocket of
territory which remains
out of the hands of
the Taliban. One of the
resistance leaders in the
valley, Amrullah Saleh
admitted conditions are
difficult, with the Taliban
closing phone, Internet
and electricity lines.
FIRST DOMESTIC
FLIGHT TAKES OFF
Kabul: The first domestic
flight from Kabul took
off on Saturday. The
airport had been closed
since the last evacua-
tion flight took off on
September 1. Al-Jazeera
earlier reported a Qatari
technical team was as-
sessing damage at the
Kabul airport.
NEW AF GOVT
BY NEXT WEEK
Peshawar: The Tali-
ban have postponed
the formation of a
new government for
next week, spokes-
man Zabiullah Muja-
hid said on Saturday,
as the insurgent
group struggles
to give shape to a
broad-based and in-
clusive administration
acceptable to interna-
tional community.
EC THROWS
IN A SURPRISE!
... Declares bypoll for
Mamata’s home
constituency, 3 other seats
New Delhi: While
the nation was anx-
iously waiting for
next year’s Assembly
polls announcements,
the Election Commis-
sion, amid covid
scare, made an unex-
pected announce-
ment on Saturday in
terms of bypoll for
the Bhabanipur con-
stituency — Chief
Minister Mamata Ba-
nerjee’s home turf —
in Kolkata. The bypoll
is set to be held on
September 30 while
the votes will be
counted on October 3.
The seat fell vacant
after veteran Trina-
mool Congress leader
and minister Shovan-
dev Chattopadhyay’s
post-poll resignation.
Apart from Bhaba-
nipur, elections in
West Bengal’s Sam-
shergunj and Jan-
gipur and Odisha’s
Pipli constituencies
will be held on the
same day
.
Covid protocols
will be main-
tained during
polls. In indoor cam-
paigns, not more than
30% of capacity and in
outdoor campaigns not
more than 50% of the
capacity will be allowed.
The number of star cam-
paigners has also been
restricted and regula-
tions will be there for
door-to-door campaigns
—Election Commission
Modi to visit US, meet
Biden later this month
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi is
expected to travel to
Washington DC and
New York in the last
week of September, ac-
cording to top govern-
ment sources. This will
be his first visit to the
United States since
President Joe Biden as-
sumed office early this
year.
If the schedule works
out as per ongoing dis-
cussions, the window of
opportunity that is be-
ing explored is Septem-
ber 22-27, said sources.
This will be Modi’s
first in-person meeting
with Biden.
The two have met vir-
tually on at least three
occasions — the Quad
summit in March,
the climate change
summit in April, and
the G-7 summit in June
this year.
Narwal, Bhagat
scoop gold at
paralympics
Manish Narwal Pramod Bhagat
Tokyo: Shooter Man-
ish Narwal smashed a
Games record while
shuttler Pramod Bha-
gat yet again asserted
his supremacy with his
gold-winning perfor-
mance as India’s tally
swelled to 17 after a
four-medal show on a
memorable penulti-
mate day at the Tokyo
Paralympics, here on
Saturday. Meanwhile,
shooter Singhraj Adha-
na won silver to make it
a sensational one-two
finish for the country
.
Union home and cooperative minister Amit Shah
handed over Union Home Minister’s Trophy and
a Scroll to Rajasthan Police Academy Director ADG
Rajiv Sharma at a national level event held at the
Bureau of Police Research and Development in New
Delhi on Saturday. The RPA has been selected as
the Best Police Academy for 2019-20 by the home
ministry. IGP CRPF Hemant Priyadarshy, who is
former Director RCA, was also gifted a disc and a
scroll on the occasion.
RAJASTHAN POLICE ACADEMY
CHOSEN BEST IN COUNTRY
Protection of individual liberty,freedom of
expression most crucial in democracy: Shah
New Delhi: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Saturday said
the most important
thing in a democracy is
a citizen’s independ-
ence and freedom of
expression which is di-
rectly linked to good
policing, and this needs
to be continuously im-
proved.
He said ‘beat consta-
ble’ deployed at the low-
est level of the police
system makes the “big-
gest contribution” to-
wards making a democ-
racy successful by pro-
tecting the common
man.
Delivering the key-
note speech during the
51st foundation day
event of the Bureau of
Police Research and De-
velopment (BPRD),
the minister said de-
mocracy cannot be suc-
cessful if law and order
is not good.
“Democracy is our
nature... this was our
character even before
independence and we
accepted this after gain-
ing freedom. The big-
gest thing in a democ-
racy is a person’s inde-
pendence and freedom
of expression,” he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah felicitates Olympics silver medal
winner boxer Mirabai Chanu during the 51st foundation day event
of the Bureau of Police Research and Development in New Delhi.
The home ministry
is doing a number
of things to bring
about radical changes
in the IPC, CrPC and
the Evidence Act
—Amit Shah,
Union Home Minister
CORONA CATASTROPHE
GUJARAT
INDIA
42,618
new cases
330
new fatalities
15
new cases
00
new fatalities
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 279
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI
Muzaffarnagar: Farmers protesting against the
three farm laws of the Centre will be organis-
ing a ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ in Muzaffarnagar
on Sunday. According to farmer leaders, dis-
cussions will be held on various farmer issues.
FARMERS’
MAHAPANCHAYAT
AGAINST AGRI
LAWS IN UP TODAY
Mumbai: NIA submitted chargesheet against
10, including dismissed Mumbai Police API
Sachin Waze and retired ACP Pradeep Sharma,
for planting gelatin sticks in an SUV near the
residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.
ANTILIA BOMB
SCARE CASE: NIA
INVOKES UAPA,
NAMES 10
Kolkata: West Bengal BJP MLA Soumen Roy on
Saturday became the fourth legislator from the
Saffron party to rejoin Trinamool Congress since
the April-May assembly polls. He in the presence
of party secretary-general Partha Chatterjee.
GHAR WAPSI:
ANOTHER
BENGAL BJP MLA
REJOINS TMC

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2021
02
CRUCIAL READ
Navsari: District Development Officer Arpit Sagar
reviewed the functioning of the Integrated Child
Development Scheme and assessed the situation
of malnutrition among children and adolescents.
DO Sagar also visited Tesli village and a water
harvesting system being developed by a retired
teacher.
Panchmahal: District Collector Sujal Mayatra
reviewed child protection operations in a meeting
with the child advisory board. He has instructed
the authorities to stop child marriages and child
labour, and take action against those violating
child protection laws.
Navsari: BJP state
unit president and
Navsari MP CR Patil
flagged off a narrow-
gauge train between
Bilimora and Vaghai
on Saturday. The
new train is expected
to make commut-
ing easier for tribal
communities in Dang
district.
MP FLAGS
OFF NARROW-
GAUGE TRAIN
ARAVALLI SP
HOLDS LOK
DARBAR
DDO REVIEWS FUNCTIONING OF
ICDS, WATER HARVESTING
PANCHMAHAL DISTRICT
COLLECTOR REVIEWS CHILD
HELPLINE SERVICE
ENCROACHMENT CLEARING DRIVE BEGINS
ENCROACHMENT CLEARING DRIVE BEGINS
AT BANNI GRASSLAND
AT BANNI GRASSLAND
KUTCH COLLECTORATE AND FOREST DEPT TEAMS WORKING ON ORDERS OF
THE NGT, ALL FARMING ACTIVITIES TO BE REMOVED WITHIN SIX MONTHS
First India Bureau
Bhuj: Teams from the
Kutch district Collec-
torate and conserva-
tor of forest have be-
gun clearing en-
croachments on the
Banni grassland,
which are used by the
Maldhari community
for grazing domestic
animals. The action
comes following the
National Green Tri-
bunal’s (NGT) order
in May this year,
wherein it had direct-
ed authorities to pre-
pare an action plan
and finish clearing
all encroachments
within six months.
Talking about the
drive, Bhuj mamlatdar
(rural) Vivek Barhat
told First India, “Banni
grassland and the vil-
lages falling in its sur-
rounding area have not
been surveyed. It is a
protected area for graz-
ing under the Indian
Forest Act, 1927 but,
has become a place for
agricultural activities
by farmers over the
past few years. This has
happened because
there has been good
rainfall in the district
the last few years.”
He added, “Due to
farming activities, graz-
ing area for animals
shrunk and the issue
was taken up by the
Banni Pashu Uchherak
Maldhari Sangathan
before the NGT. After
hearing the arguments
of all concerned par-
ties, the tribunal direct-
ed the district collector
and forest department
to clear non-forest ac-
tivities from the Banni
grassland.”
The order implemen-
tation began a while
ago with clearing of
encroachment on 70
acres of land in Dad-
dhar village. Notices
were issued to en-
croachers in Mishriya-
do, Bhinrandiyara and
Reladi villages in Ban-
ni as crops like guvar,
castor were being
grown on 150 acres of
land by farmers.
The encroachment
drive gained momen-
tum in Bhinrandiyara
since the last week of
August this year. On
Saturday morning,
Mamlatdar Barhat and
District Conservator of
Forest MU Jadeja’s
team reached the vil-
lage and requested local
residents to cooperate
with the clearing pro-
cess.
Bhuj (rural) Mamlatdar Vivek Barhat convinces farmers to cooperate
with clearing encroachment from protected Banni grassland
Barhat coordinating with police officials.
BANNI GRASS-
LAND AREA
Spread over 2,618
kilometres, the Banni
grassland accounts
for almost 45% of the
pastures in Gujarat. It
comprises 48 hamlets/
villages organized into
19 panchayats. It has
a population of around
40,000 people. Two
ecosystems, wetlands
and grasslands are
juxtaposed at Banni.
The area is rich in
flora and fauna, with
192 species of plants,
262 species of birds,
several species of
mammals, reptiles and
amphibians.
Savli MLA Ketan Inamdar alleges
‘mismanagement’ at Baroda Dairy
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Ahead of
the annual online gen-
eral meeting of Baro-
da Dairy, the largest
co-operative dairy in
the district scheduled
for September 15,
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty (BJP) Savli MLA
Ketan Inamdar has
written to the state co-
operation minister al-
leging exploitation of
animal keepers and
corruption in pro-
curement of raw ma-
terials by the dairy
administration.
Recently, Waghodia
MLA Madhu Srivasta-
va had levelled allega-
tions of corruption pre-
vailing in Baroda Dairy
.
And now, MLA Inam-
dar has addressed 14 is-
sues pertaining to ex-
ploitation of cattle
keepers and corruption
in procurement of raw
materials at the dairy
.
“Cattle keepers are
being exploited in the
BJP-ruled Baroda
Dairy. Members are di-
rectly entitled to prof-
its, but the administra-
tion does not cut them
their share. As a result,
milk cooperative socie-
ties are closing down
and cattle keepers are
losing out on business,”
mentioned Inamdar, in
his letter.
He also alleged that
no advance payments
were given to cattle
keepers on festivals
like Raksha Bandhan
and others. “The old
price of maize was
Rs455 per kg and re-
cently it was increased
to Rs580 per kg, which
is causing financial
loss to the members.
Baroda Dairy buys var-
ious raw materials in-
cluding maize and it is
important to check if it
is adulterated,” he stat-
ed. In addition, Inam-
dar also made repre-
sentations to the coop-
eration minister on a
host of issues pertain-
ing to various mem-
bers. He also demanded
an inquiry into the on-
going mismanagement
at Baroda Dairy.
In pursuance of the
allegations levelled
by the Savli MLA,
Baroda Dairy Presi-
dent Dinesh Patel and
Vice President Gan-
pat Singh Solanki
said, “The allegations
levelled by the Savli
MLA are baseless. We
have not done any-
thing wrong and are
ready to face any in-
vestigation.”
Baroda Dairy Deputy Chairman Ganpatsinh Solanki (L) and Chairman Dinesh Patel addressing
mediapersons.
AMC bureaucrats and
councillors at loggerheads?
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A tussle
broke out between the
elected wing and bu-
reaucrats over sanita-
tion at the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation
(AMC) on Saturday
morning. Ghatlodia
councillors and ward of-
ficers of the new West
Zone held a meeting at
their office, where the
elected wing made its
representation on the
sanitation issue. How-
ever, they became en-
raged at the response
received from deputy
municipal commission-
er CR Kharsan. To bring
about a solution to the
problem, MLA Bhupen-
dra Patel, standing com-
mittee chairman Hitesh
Barot and co-treasurer
Dharmendra Shah
reached the spot and
vowed to conduct a joint
patrol every 15 days.
When elected repre-
sentatives reached the
meeting in Kharsan’s
chambers, they raised
the irregularities in
sanitation in their
ward. Hearing them
complain, the officer re-
sponded that the only
solution to the issue
was that he go and clean
the streets daily
.
Kharsan’s words did
not go down well with
the councillors who ex-
pressed their disap-
pointment. Then, a ver-
bal argument broke out
between the two parties
which ended with coun-
cillor Jatin Patel throw-
ing bottles and tearing
papers in the office and
sitting on dharna with
fellow councillors.
When asked about the
confrontation, Deputy
Chief MinisterNitinPa-
tel told mediapersons,
“It is the duty of the peo-
ple’s representatives to
aggressively work for
the people. Normally
, of-
ficers do not deny clear-
ing projects so there
must be some misunder-
standing. I do not have
detailed information
about the councillors’
protest.”
West Zone councillors protesting in Deputy Municipal
Commissioner CR Kharsan’s office.
Elected wing
officials held a
protest on Sat due
to lack of response
regarding sanitation
in their ward
Aravalli: District
Superintendent
of Police Sanjay
Kharat and his
team organized
a Lok Darbar for
victims of private
financiers. Com-
plaints of more
than 40 people,
about harass-
ment and extor-
tion by private
financiers, were
heard in person,
officials said.

GUJARAT
03
CRUCIAL READ
CM TO INAUGURATE NEW PLANT OF
V’DARA-BASED AMI LIFESCIENCES
Vadodara: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will inaugu-
rate the new research and development centre at
the Kharkhadi plant of
Vadodara-based pharma
firm Ami Lifesciences on
Monday, officials said. The
centre, which has capac-
ity to accommodate more
than 200 scientists at a
time, also includes a high-
ly sophisticated analytical
development laboratory
along with a USFDA-level documentation department, to
further expedite research. The site, which spans 10 lakh
sq. feet, can produce approximately 1,500 metric tonnes
of active pharmaceutical ingredients used in pharma-
ceutical products across cardiovascular, pain relief, CNS
agents, vitamins and other therapeutic categories.
COPS NAB 9 FOR CHEATING RETIRED
TEACHER OF `5L FOR ‘BLACK TURMERIC’
DUO DUPE GARAGE OWNER OF
`1.2 CRORE IN SURAT ‘LAND DEAL’
Surat: Lalgate police have lodged two case of fraud
against Rubina Multani and Janul, who allegedly
swindled lakhs of rupees from seven people under the
pretext of getting them jobs in the Surat Municipal Cor-
poration. The duo also duped a garage owner of Rs1.22
crore in a property deal. The first complaint was lodged
by Akib Mansur against Rubina Multani and Janul. While
the second case was lodged by Raju Vaghasiya against
the two fraudsters. The police have started an investiga-
tion but neither accused has been arrested so far.
CO-OP BANK LAUNCHES QUICK LOANS
FOR HAWKERS, SMALL BUSINESSES
Vadodara: In response to a request from Narmada
Development Minister Yogesh Patel, the Mehsana
Urban Co-operative Bank has announced that it will
give quick loans of up to Rs10,000 to vegetable
hawkers and small businesses in the city’s Man-
jalpur area beginning Saturday. Highlighting the
trouble faced by hawkers and small businesses in
getting loans and the high interest rates money-
lenders charge, the minister had said he would act
as guarantor if the bank lent them money. A bank
spokesperson immediately announced that such
people would be given easy credit.
Vadodara: Savli police have nabbed nine members
of a gang who allegedly cheated a retired teacher of
Rs5.75 lakh after promising to give him “black turmer-
ic”. Police
sources
said the
conmen
told
Sureshbhai
Phulabhai
Parmar
that they
could get him a good deal on the fictitious condiment
which had “supernatural properties” and was “used to
launch satellites as it has radioactive powers”. They
said it usually retailed at Rs10 crore per kg, but they
had a source that was selling it for a quarter of the
market rate. The former teacher handed over a “token
amount” of Rs5.75 lakh but got suspicious when the
men kept stalling instead of delivering the goods.
VAX DATA FROM BANASKANTHA
ROSY FAKE, ALLEGES VAV MLA
‘Not a single village in the district has completed 100% vaccination’
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: Back in
May, Banaskantha
district made head-
lines for having the
highest number of
vaccinations in the
country. Now, Vav
MLA Geni Thakor
has alleged that the
data provided by the
health department is
questionable at best.
The Congress law-
maker’s comments
come after Banaskan-
tha resident Dr Parth
Joshi posted on social
media that he had re-
ceived a vaccination
certificate in his fa-
ther’s name on Wednes-
day. His father died
four months ago.
The figures provided
by the health depart-
ment are random and
do not represent the
on-the-ground reality,
MLA Thakor said, add-
ing that not a single
village in the district
has achieved 100% vac-
cination, so far.
As of noon on Satur-
day, the government
claims to have admin-
istered 25,21,146 doses
of the COVID-19 vac-
cine in the district,
with 18,00,166 having
received the first dose
and 7,20,980 the second
dose.
“First, the locals
were afraid of taking
the vaccine due to the
myths surrounding in-
oculation. Then, when
they came around and
wanted to take the jab,
they were turned away
from vaccination cen-
tres with officials tell-
ing them that they had
already been vaccinat-
ed. Forget about 100%,
the district has barely
seen 10-15% inocula-
tion,” the Vav MLA al-
leged.
“I fear that the vac-
cine stock was either
destroyed or sold off.
Either way, it was not
used for the people. I
am challenging the
government and health
department to show
me any single village
of their choice where
they have done real
vaccination,” she fur-
ther stated.
It is to be noted
that the district in-
charge Vijay Nehra
had, in May, stated
that 98% of intended
beneficiaries in the
45+ age group in the
district had received
their first dose of the
vaccine.
District collector
Anand Patel did not
respond to calls and
messages from First
India regarding data
on the vaccination in
Banaskantha.
CONFLICTING
Crime Branch
joins infant
abduction probe
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: After
Sola High Court
police were unable
to make any head-
way in the abduc-
tion of an infant
from Sola Civil
H o s p i t a l ,
Ahmedabad police
commissioner San-
jay Srivastava has
asked the Crime
Branch to join the
investigation.
According to
sources, two police
inspector level offic-
ers from the crime
branch will assist 70
police personnel
from Sola police sta-
tion, who are on the
hunt for the kidnap-
pers.
Sarasvati Pasi, a
native of Amethi,
had delivered a
baby girl on August
31 at Sola Civil Hos-
pital. The infant
was abducted in the
wee hours of Thurs-
day from the prena-
tal care ward. At
around 2 am, Saras-
vati realized that
her baby was not in
the cradle and she
began looking for
her daughter along
with her mother-in-
law. When they
could not locate
her, they lodged a
complaint with
Sola police.
Till 1.30 am, the
baby was very much
in the cradle,
claimed Dr Bina
Soni, Superinten-
dent of Sola Civil
Hospital. “The ward
incharge doctor has
been asked to prof-
fer an explanation
for the incident. The
police are investi-
gating the case.
CCTV footage will
help them with the
probe,” she said.
While Sola police
had formed several
teams to investigate
the case, nothing
has been established
yet. Officials have
also not ruled out
the human traffick-
ing angle as well,
said sources. How-
ever, they have not
been able to crack
the case or find any
leads in any specific
direction
—FILE PHOTO
Guj sees 15 new
cases, no fatalities
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat reported 15 new
COVID-19 cases in the
last 24 hours which
took the infection tal-
ly in the state to
8,25,476, the health
department said on
Saturday evening.
With no new fatality
recorded in the state,
the death toll due to
COVID-19 stood at
10,082, it said.
As many as 16 pa-
tients were discharged
from hospitals which
increased the total of
recovered cases in Gu-
jarat to 8,15,246.
Vadodara district re-
ported the highest five
new cases, followed by
Surat with four and
Ahmedabad, Rajkot
and Kutch with two
cases each.
A total of 3,54,529
people were vaccinat-
ed against COVID-19
on Saturday, taking the
tally of doses adminis-
tered so far to
4,86,23,043.
There are 148 active
patients in Gujarat, six
of them being in criti-
cal condition, officials
said on Saturday.
COVID-19
UPDATE
8,15,246
+16
RECOVERED
IN A DAY
TOTAL
RECOVERED
8,25,476
TOTAL CASES
+15 CASES
IN A DAY
10,082
TOTAL DEATHS
00 DEATHS
IN A DAY
148
05 MAX
CASES IN
V’DARA
ACTIVE CASES
First India Bureau
Jamnagar: Bird-lov-
ers in the city ex-
pressed their outrage
after about 40 birds,
including 35 whistling
ducks and a hawk,
were found dead near
Jamnagar’s Lakhota
lake on Saturday. Of-
ficials say they have
launched an investi-
gation, but will only
know the cause of
death after the post-
mortem is completed.
A city official said
that teams from the
Jamnagar Municipal
Corporation and fire de-
partment rushed to the
spot when word of the
avian corpses reached
them. Ten bodies have
been sent to the veteri-
nary hospital on Sharu
Section Road, where a
panel of doctors are
studying them.
“The stomachs of all
the birds were found to
be empty, so we have
ruled out food poison-
ing,” one veterinarian
said, adding, “It is likely
that they died due to
contaminated water or
some other infection.”
An injured black-
winged stilt was also
found in the same spot,
andsentfortreatment.It
later died.
The lesser whistling
duckiscommonlyfound
in freshwater wetlands
with good vegetation
cover and often rest dur-
ing the day on the banks
or even on the open sea
in coastal areas.
40 birds die under mysterious
circumstances in Lakhota lake
Land-grabbing case filed against
builder, homeowners in Ahmedabad
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A crimi-
nal complaint under
various sections of
the Gujarat Land
Grabbing (Prohibi-
tion) Act, 2020, has
been filed against a
city-based builder at
Sola police station for
encroaching on gov-
ernment land.
In her complaint,
Hetalben Bharvad,
Chandlodia Revenue Ta-
lati of Sabarmati taluka
has stated that land sur-
vey number 169 measur-
ing 12,242 square metres
is owned by the state
government. “On this
government land, devel-
oper Gaffurbhai Desai
has illegally construct-
ed Krushnagar Society
,”
shementioned.OnApril
06, 2021, when the com-
plainant visited the resi-
dential society, she dis-
covered that it had been
constructed on govern-
ment land and sold to
citizens.
Ahmedabad district
collector Sandip Sagale
had reviewed the report
prepared by Hetalben
on August 31, following
which, he had directed
the officer to file a crim-
inal complaint against
the developer as well as
occupants of homes in
the housing society.
“The builder has made
profits by illegally en-
croaching on govern-
ment land. He con-
structed homes and
sold them to people,”
stated the complaint.
The case is investi-
gated by Deputy Com-
missioner of Police MA
Patel.
UNDER ATTACK?
It is not clear what caused the deaths, officials said.
The bodies of
about 35
whistling
ducks and a
hawk were
found; a
blackwinged
stilt was
found injured
Amethi native
Sarasvati Pasi had
delivered a baby
girl on Aug 31,
who was
kidnapped from
the prenatal ward
of Sola Civil
Hospital in A’bad
—FILE PHOTO

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol2IssueNo.279
RNINO.GUJENG/2019/79050.
Printed and published by Anita
Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Ex-
press Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar
Printing Planet Survey No.148P,
Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. San-
and, Dist. Ahmedabad. Publishedat
D/3023rdFloorPlotNo.35Titanium
Square,SchemeNo.2,ThaltejTaluka,
Ghatlodiya,Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief:JagdeeshChandra.
Editor:AnitaHadaSangwanresponsible
forselectionofnewsunderthePRBAct
IN-DEPTH
Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
Fruitful talks with Croatia’s Foreign
Minister @grlicradman Detailed
exchanges on full range of bilateral
cooperation, regional and global
issues. Committed to work with him to
take our ties to a higher level.
Smriti Z Irani
@smritiirani
India strikes one more medal
at #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics.
Congratulations to Manish Narwal
for his incredible performance and
resultant victory. His achievement will
inspire India’s young sporting talent.
More power to Manish! #Praise4Para
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
There are only two
mistakes one can make
along the road to truth;
not going all the way, and
not starting.
—Buddha
TOP TWEETS
SC RIGHTLY PUTS
INTERIM STAY ON
KERALA EXAMS
hen most schools in
the country did away
with physical exami-
nations to protect
children from Cov-
id-19, Kerala government’s deci-
sion to hold Class 11 examina-
tion was beyond comprehen-
sion. Especially when Kerala is
still reeling under the pandemic
the idea of exposing children to
virus is difficult to support. Of
all the Covid cases in the coun-
try, 70% are from the southern
state. Therefore, the Supreme
Court ordering interim stay on
class 11 school exams in Kerala
is in interest of students.
The Kerala govt allowed only
muted celebration of Onam but
violations of the order led to
Covid-19 upsurge. No lesson was
learnt from that experience.
In the same vein it is impor-
tant to recall BJP’s recent insist-
ence on celebrating Janmashta-
mi in Maharashtra with full
fervour to use religion for politi-
cal gains. Such political theat-
rics ought to be condemned and
eschewed during a pandemic.
Also recall how UP govt had to
be cajoled into banning Kaan-
war Yatra, a religious journey
.
W
aliban have as-
serted their right
to stand by Mus-
lims anywhere,
including in Kash-
mir. The assertion was made
by Taliban spokesperson Su-
hail Shaheen who was asked
by an interviewer, “We have
this right, being Muslims, to
raise our voice for Muslims,
in Kashmir, India, and any
other country
.” He further
said, “We will raise our voice
and say that Muslims are
your own people, your own
citizens. They are entitled to
equal rights under your
laws.” The statement comes a
few days after the group had
described Kashmir as “a bi-
lateral and internal matter”.
The new remark which is
soft and sensible on the face
of it has set off alarm bells.
The government, however, is
more concerned about ensur-
ing that Afghanistan’s terri-
tory is not used for terrorist
activity in India. This was
also conveyed to Taliban
leader Sher Mohammad Ab-
bas Stanekzai by the Indian
Ambassador to Qatar when
he met him in Doha recently
.
With the change in stance
there is apprehension that as
the Taliban government gets
going, the new rulers in Ka-
bul will have a closer look at
the global and regional situ-
ation. Former US envoy to
the United Nations Nikki Ha-
ley warned, “We need to
watch China because I think
you are going to see China
make a move for Bagram Air
Force base.”
The Taliban cannot be the
conscience keepers for the
Muslims of the World and
the government should be
alert to the fact that the ex-
cuse of lumpen elements
which go around harassing
Muslims in the name of reli-
gion, do not become an ex-
cuse for the likes of Taliban.
Of course, these elements
need to be strictly restrained
even courts have driven
home the point repeatedly by
indicting police for biased
investigations.
TALIBAN MUSLIM
REMARK SETS OFF
ALARM BELLS
The new remark which is
soft and sensible on
the face of it has set
off alarm bells. The
government, however, is
more concerned about
ensuring that Afghanistan’s
territory is not used for
terrorist activity in India
T
he evacuation of foreign citi-
zens and Afghan allies from
Kabul has been done under a
tight deadline and the risk of
terrorist attacks. Since Au-
gust 14, 2021, about 120,000
peoplehavebeenevacuatedby
countries around the world.
But thousands remain,
mostly local Afghan staff,
journalists, and human right
activists.
The situation still poses
serious challenges. The for-
eign nationals returning to
their countries will have to
deal with the trauma that
surrounded the evacuations,
those who could not get out
in time need alternative exit
plans, and Afghans who are
being hosted in countries
like Qatar will have to be per-
manently resettled.
Nevertheless, it would be a
mistake to allow the relative
success of the evacuation to
distract attention from the
far greater demands of dis-
placed and mobile Afghans.
INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PERSONS
One group is internally dis-
placed persons (IDPs). These
are people displaced within
their own country. It is esti-
mated that about 250,000 Af-
ghans have fled their homes
since the beginning of May,
bringing the total number of
IDPs in the country to about
3.5 million - the third-highest
worldwide.
In addition to seeking com-
mitmentsthatthenewAfghan
leaderswillnotprovidehaven
tointernationalterrorists,the
internationalcommunitywill
need to work with the Taliban
to manage the IDP crisis.
REFUGEES
If the initial promises of the
Taliban to respect women’s
rights and allow political plu-
ralism and dissent are to be
believed, we are unlikely to
witness a mass exodus of Af-
ghan refugees.
This may also be the case
because many Afghans who
would be at particular risk of
persecution by the Taliban -
especially the Hazara minor-
ity - had already fled in the
1990s, during the Taliban’s
previous regime.
DURABLE SOLUTIONS
Neighbouring Iran and Paki-
stan have adopted a hard line
against hosting Afghan refu-
gees because they already
host 3.5 million and 1.5 mil-
lion Afghans respectively.
Many of the refugees were
fleeing the Soviet invasion of
1979 and then the first Tali-
ban regime in the 1990s.
Because durable solutions
likeintegration,resettlement,
andrepatriationhavenotbeen
deployed effectively
, some of
themhavebeenhostedasrefu-
geesinbothIranandPakistan
for over 40 years. With new
refugees arriving, there is
need to rethink approaches to
displaced populations.
ASYLUM SEEKERS
The Afghans who are in the
most precarious position are
asylum seekers who have not
yet been granted refugee sta-
tus, rejected asylum seekers
who have been denied refugee
status, and undocumented
migrants who are not just in
neighbouring countries, but
also in Turkey and Europe.
As recently as August 2021,
six European countries
signed a letter encouraging
fleeing Afghans to return
home, despite the Taliban
gaining ground and pleas
from the Afghan government
to halt returns because of
growing insecurity
.
ROLE FOR THE
AFGHAN DIASPORA?
There are an estimated
150,000 Afghan Americans,
85,000 Afghan Canadians, and
50,000 Afghan Australians
who need to exert pressure on
their governments to protect
IDPs and refugees, respect
international law, and unlock
durable solutions.
If the international com-
munity is as serious about
the wider consequences of
recent developments in Af-
ghanistan as it has been
about evacuating citizens
and allies, then the hard
work really begins now.
SOURCE: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
T
This may also be the case
because many Afghans who
would be at particular risk
of persecution by the
Taliban - especially the
Hazara minority - had
already fled in the 1990s,
during the Taliban’s
previous regime.
AFGHAN
REFUGEE
CRISIS
WHAT THE
WORLD CAN DO
TO SOLVE THE

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INDIA
06
Kavita Pant
Gandhinagar: The
Congress party has
been stalling the deci-
sion of Gujarat for two
years and its state com-
mittee has not been
formed since the past 24
months.
After the Congress’s
poor performance in
the local body elections
in March, both state
president Amit Chavda
and legislature party
leader Paresh Dhanani
sent their resignations
to the high command,
but the decision on
their future has not
been taken for the last
five months. So, as a re-
sult, the entire Gujarat
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittee is in reality an
ad hoc committee.
The party organisa-
tion officially has only
three leaders with
Chavda as the state
president, Hardik Patel
as the working presi-
dent and Dhanani as
the leader of the legisla-
ture party
.
Chavda was made the
state president, but he
could not make the com-
mittee of the state, and
by that time his resigna-
tion too came. Remem-
ber, Gujarat is the first
experiment of Rahul
Gandhi, where he
formed a team of new
leaders at the cost of old
leaders. However, that
experiment seems to be
failing miserably and
still no effort is being
made to fix the organi-
sation there. In Gujarat,
Congress has senior
leaders like Bharat Sin-
gh Solanki, Shakti Sin-
gh Gohil, Arjun Modva-
dia, Tusharbhai Chaud-
hary, but the Congress
is stuck. Meanwhile,
there is news that
Bharat Singh Solanki
met election strategist
Prashant Kishor and
there is a discussion in
the Congress that
Kishor will be active
and will start working
for the Congress before
the Gujarat Assembly
elections that are to be
held at the end of next
year. However, it is cer-
tain that he will not
work as an election
strategist. It is possible
that he will do this work
as a Congress leader!
Gujarat Congress is stuck for past two years!
lll
Bharat Singh
Solanki met
Prashant Kishor
and there are
talks within
Congress that
Kishor will be
active start
working for
party ahead of
Assembly polls
New Delhi: A 20-day
mega event Seva and
Samarpan Abhiyan
will begin from PM Nar-
endra Modi’s 71st birth-
day on September 17 to
mark his “20 years in
public service”, the rul-
ing BJP has said. The
party plans to hold mas-
sive cleanliness and
blood donation cam-
paigns and multiple
events as part of the 20-
day celebrations - BJP
chief JP Nadda has is-
sued instructions to all
the state units for this.
Five crore postcards
will be sent from the
BJP booths across India
to the PM to congratu-
late him for his efforts
as party members com-
mit themselves to pub-
lic service. Hoardings,
thanking PM Modi “for
free food grains and
vaccination for poor”,
will also be set up as
part of the campaign.
—ANI
Anita Hada
New Delhi: Every-
one knows that
West Bengal
Chief Minister
Mamata Baner-
jee dreams of be-
coming the Prime
Minister. But has
someone shown her
the ‘grand picture’ of
becoming the Prime
Minister or is it that
after winning the elec-
tions in West Bengal,
thrice, she herself has
started thinking that
she can become the
Prime Minister?
To tell the truth,
both things are possi-
ble. It could be that
her election strategist
Prashant Kishor has
built this ‘castle in the
air’. But the trouble is
that after the political
instability of the 90s,
it has become an unde-
clared rule in India
that the leader of the
single largest party in
the Lok Sabha will be-
come the Prime Minis-
ter, no matter how
hung the Lok Sabha is.
So Mamata’s path is
not going to be easy.
Moreover, she
should also learn from
similar ambitions of
old satraps. Once upon
a time, many leaders
were shown such
‘dreams’ by their advi-
sors. Even Lalu Pras-
ad Yadav thought that
he would become the
Prime Minister and
Mulayam Singh Yadav
also had a similar as-
piration. Both these
leaders are now mar-
ginalised but Sharad
Pawar is still holding
out hope. He has been
dreaming of it since
1991. He tried it even
while being in Con-
gress and tried it even
after coming out of
Congress. Chandraba-
bu Naidu also dreamt
of becoming the
Prime Minister at
some point of time
and now Arvind
Kejriwal is also
engaged in
these ef-
forts. All
these are
examples
of contem-
p o r a r y
leaders. If we
talk about old
leaders, then
this list will be-
come very long.
New Delhi: Law has of-
ten been seen as a rich
man’s profession but
the situation is slowly
changing, Chief Justice
of India (CJI) NV Ra-
mana said on Saturday,
pointing out that there
is a “huge vacancy” of
judges and that the
country’s courts lack
proper infrastructure.
Chief Justice Rama-
na while speaking at an
event organised by the
Bar Council of India to
felicitate him, said “An
issue is that nobody can
guarantee stability in
the profession.” He said
he will present a report
on the infrastructure in
courts to Union Law
Minister Kiren Rijiju.
He also highlighted
lack of enough women
in judiciary and legal
fraternity. “I must ad-
mit that with great dif-
ficulty, we have
achieved a meagre 11
per cent women repre-
sentation in Supreme
Court,” he said. —ANI
I have known the Chief Justice of India not
just as judge but also as a human
being... He is good at being both.
CJI Ramana is not a god-fearing person
but a god-loving person. He is also le-
gally brilliant and impartial. He is the
‘karta’, or ‘one who acts’, of our lawyer
family. —Tushar Mehta, SG
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister for Power and
New and Renewable
Energy RK Singh on
Friday held an exten-
sive review meeting
with representatives
from the Ministry of
Power, Ministry of
Coal, Central Electrici-
ty Authority (CEA),
Railways, and the pow-
er PSUs.
Taking a detailed and
comprehensive review
of the coal stock posi-
tion at individual ther-
mal power plants
(TPPs), he directed the
officials to work in a co-
ordinated manner to
streamline the stock
and supply of coal, in
anticipation of the ris-
ing energy demand, a
release by the Ministry
of Power informed. Sin-
gh reviewed the day-
wise status of power
requirement and with-
drawal from the grid
state wise, the coal
stocks’ status, and the
Hydro Power genera-
tion.
He went into reasons
for shortfalls in power
generation, across pow-
er generation units.
The minister also
asked the power secre-
tary to look at the pos-
sibility of reducing the
benchmark of 14 days
of coal stocks to a
benchmark of ten days
of coal stocks for identi-
fication of plants to di-
vert coal to plants with
extremely depleted
stocks. —ANI
New Delhi: RSS-associ-
ated weekly magazine
Panchjanya has blasted
Infosys in its latest edi-
tion over the glitches
surrounding GST and
Income Tax portals.
Panchjanya has carried
a four-page cover story
on the Bengaluru-based
IT services company,
with Infosys founder
Narayana Murthy’s pic-
ture on it and text which
reads ‘Saakh Aur
Aghaat’ (Reputation
and Damage).
Article criticising In-
fosys’ handling of the
project wonders wheth-
er any “anti-national
power is trying to hurt
India’s economic inter-
ests through it”. Panch-
janya noted the regular
glitches have “brought
down the trust of tax-
payers in the Indian
economy”. —ANI
New Delhi: As the Con-
gress on Saturday de-
manded a Supreme
Court-monitored probe
into the alleged JEE
Main scam, Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
tweeted that the nation
owes a fair exam to the
students who prepare
very hard for such com-
petitive exams, “bat-
tling difficulties of vari-
ous kinds”. Centre is
better at providing cov-
er-ups, Gandhi said.
The CBI has regis-
tered a case against Af-
finity Education Pvt Ltd
and its directors on
charges of several ir-
regularities including
arranging proxy candi-
dates in exchange for
hefty money to guaran-
tee rank in the exam.
Seven persons includ-
ing two directors of pri-
vate institution have
been arrested in con-
nection with the case.
Directors Siddharth
KrishnaandVishambar
Mani Tripathi and an
employee of the institu-
tion have been sent to
CBI custody till Sept 9.
New Delhi: Sachin
Bansal, co-founder of e-
commerce giant Flip-
kart, has mounted a
court challenge against
ED, which has accused
him and others, court
records showed.
ED had in July issued
a so-called show cause
notice to Flipkart, its
founders, asking them
to explain why they
should not face a pen-
alty of $1.35 billion for
violation of laws be-
tween 2009 2015. On
Saturday Sachin urged
a court in TN to
quashagency’s notice.
—ANI
CRUCIAL READ
TEACHERS SHOULD ENSURE THAT KIDS
IMBIBE NOBLE SPIRITUAL IDEALS: NAIDU
Hyderabad: Ahead of Teachers’ Day celebrations, Vice
President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said that
teachers should ensure that
their students imbibe noble
spiritual ideals of ancient Indian
wisdom and take pride in the
country’s culture. Addressing
the students and teachers of Sri
Aurobindo International School
here, VP said, “Sri Aurobindo not only kindled a strong
desire for complete independence but also focused on
spiritual regeneration of the nation through his teachings
of Integral Yoga.”
FIR REGISTERED OVER DRAPING OF SYED
ALI SHAH GEELANI’S BODY IN PAK FLAG
Srinagar: Police has registered an FIR against the
draping of the body of hardline separatist leader Syed
Ali Shah Geelani in a Pakistani
flag after his death Wednesday,
officials said. A general FIR has
been registered by the Budgam
police but no arrest made so
far, they said Saturday. The
body of the separatist leader,
who died Wednesday night at
his Hyderpora residence after
prolonged illness, was draped in a flag of the neighbour-
ing country before it was buried at a graveyard in a
nearby mosque.
Captain: You’re
root cause of farm
law problem
Union Minister
Athawale bats for
one-child norm
Chandigarh: SAD,
under family of senior
leader Parkash Singh
Badal and his politician
children, is the root
cause of the festering
farmers’ problem in the
state and the country,
Punjab CM Amarinder
Singh said on Saturday
while attacking them for
“thrusting” controver-
sial farm laws.
Ahmedabad: Union
social justice minister
Ramdas Athawale on
Saturday said his party
supports one-child
policy as the population
growth in the country
needs to be controlled
for ensuring develop-
ment. To a question he
remarked there was
no possibility of Hindu
population dwindling.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO
MAMATA’S DREAMS?
Mamata Baneerjee
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav
Sharad Pawar
Chandrababu Naidu
Arvind Kejriwal
THOSE ASPIRING
FOR HIGH CHAIR!
CJI Ramana rues lack of
women in judiciary
5 Cr postcards, hoardings to
thank PM on his B’Day
AmidpowercrisisUnionMin
reviewsthermalpowerplants
‘We owe them fair exam’:
Rahul on JEE (Main) scam
Flipkart co
founder,Bansal
moves court
Glitches in IT
portals: RSS
attacks Infosys
New Delhi: In yet
another quick deci-
sion, the Supreme
Court’s Collegium
headed by CJ Rama-
na recommended 68
names in one go for
elevation as Judges
of various state High
Courts to Centre.
This could be seen
as a record number
of recommendations
by SC Collegium in
recent past to Centre
for appointment of
judges. Collegium
considered names of
112 candidates-82
from Bar and 31
from the Judicial
Service. —ANI
SC COLLEGIUM
RECOMMENDS
68 NAMES
New Delhi: Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)
national president Ja-
gat Prakash Nadda on
Saturday thanked the
people of the country
for their support and
blessing to the party
workers during Jan
Ashirwad Yatra.
He said that dur-
ing the 24,000 km
journey, more than
5,000 programs
received the affection
and blessings of the
countrymen “Grati-
tude to the people of
the country for giving
immense support
and blessings to the
members of PM Nar-
endra Modi’s cabinet
during Jan Ashirwad
Yatra.
Jan Ashirwad
Yatras: Nadda
thanks people
NV Ramana
PM Narendra Modi
Mamata Banerjee

TALKING POINT
07
DIGITAL TECH CAN ENHANCE OUR COGNITIVE ABILITIES
ISNOTMAKING
YOU DUMBER
YOU DUMBER
ISNOTMAKING
ISNOTMAKING
ISNOTMAKING
ISNOTMAKING
ISNOTMAKING
ISNOTMAKING
Smartphone
Smartphone
igital technolo-
gy is ubiqui-
tous. We have
been increas-
ingly reliant on
smartphones, tablets
and computers over
the past 20 years, and
this trend has been ac-
celerating due to the
pandemic.
Conventional wis-
dom tells us that over-
reliance on technology
may take away from
our ability to remem-
ber, pay attention and
exercise self-control.
Indeed, these are im-
portant cognitive
skills. However, fears
that technology would
supplant cognition
may not be well-found-
ed.
TECHNOLOGY
ALTERS
SOCIETY
Socrates, considered
by many to be the fa-
ther of philosophy
, was
deeply worried about
how the technology of
writing would affect
society. Since the oral
tradition of delivering
speeches requires a
certain degree of
memorization, he was
concerned that writing
would eliminate the
need to learn and
memorize.
Plato famously
wrote, quoting So-
crates:
If men learn this,
it will implant
forgetfulness in
their souls; they
will cease to exer-
cise memory be-
cause they rely on
that which is
written, calling
things to remem-
brance no longer
from within
themselves, but
by means of ex-
ternal marks.
This passage is inter-
esting for two reasons.
First, it shows that
there was an intergen-
erational discussion
concerning the im-
pact of new technolo-
gies on the cognitive
abilities of future gen-
erations. This is still
true to this day: the
telephone, radio and
television have all
been hailed as harbin-
gers of the end of cog-
nition.
That brings us to
the second reason why
this quote is interest-
ing. Despite Socrates’
concerns, many of us
are still able to com-
mit information to
memory when neces-
sary. Technology has
simply reduced the
need for certain cogni-
tive functions, not our
ability to execute
them.
WORSENING
COGNITION
Besides popular me-
dia’s claims, some sci-
entific findings have
been interpreted to
suggest that digital
technology can lead to
poorer memory, atten-
tion or executive func-
tioning. Upon scruti-
ny of these assertions,
however, one notices
two important argu-
mentative assump-
tions. The first as-
sumption is that the
impact has a lasting
effect on long-term
cognitive abilities.
The second assump-
tion is that digital
technology has a di-
rect, unmoderated im-
pact on cognition.
Both assumptions,
however, are not di-
rectly supported by
empirical findings.
A critical examina-
tion of the evidence
suggests that the dem-
onstrated effects have
been temporary, not
long-term. For exam-
ple, in a prominent
study investigating
people’s reliance on
external forms of
memory, participants
were less likely to re-
member pieces of in-
formation when they
were told this infor-
mation would be saved
on a computer and
they would have ac-
cess to it. On the other
hand, they remem-
bered the information
better when they were
told it would not be
saved.
There is a tempta-
tion to conclude from
these findings that us-
ing technology leads to
poorer memory—a
conclusion that the au-
thors of the study did
not draw. When tech-
nology was available,
people relied on it, but
when it was not avail-
able, people were still
perfectly capable of
remembering. As such
it would be hasty to
conclude that technol-
ogy impairs our ability
to remember.
Furthermore, the
effect of digital tech-
nology on cognition
could be due to how
motivated someone is,
rather than their cog-
nitive processes. In-
deed, cognitive pro-
cesses operate in the
context of goals for
which our motiva-
tions may vary. Spe-
cifically, the more mo-
tivating a task is, the
more engaged and fo-
cused we are. This
perspective recasts
experimental evi-
dence showing that
smartphones under-
mine performance on
tasks of sustained at-
tention, working
memory or functional
fluid intelligence.
Motivational factors
are likely to play a role
in research results, es-
pecially considering
that research partici-
pants often find the
tasks they are asked to
do for the study incon-
sequential or boring.
Because there are a lot
of important tasks
that we carry out using
digital technology,
such as keeping in
touch with loved ones,
responding to emails
and enjoying enter-
tainment, it is possible
that digital technology
undermines the moti-
vational value of an
experimental task.
Importantly, this
means that digital
technology does not
harm cognition; if a
task is important or
engaging, smart-
phones would not un-
dermine people’s abil-
ity to perform it.
CHANGING
COGNITION
To make use of digital
technology, internal
cognitive processes
are less focused on in-
formation storage and
computation. Instead,
these processes con-
vert information into
formats that can be of-
floaded onto digital
devices—like search
phrases—and then re-
loaded and interpret-
ed. This kind of cogni-
tive offloading is like
how people take notes
on paper instead of
committing certain in-
formation to long-
term memory, or when
children use their
hands to help with
counting.
The main difference
is that digital technol-
ogy helps us offload
complex sets of infor-
mation more effective-
ly and efficiently than
analogue tools, and it
does so without sacri-
ficing accuracy. One
significant benefit is
that the internal cog-
nitive capacity that
gets freed up from hav-
ing to perform special-
ized functions like re-
membering a calendar
appointment is freed
up for other tasks.
This in turn means
that we can accom-
plish more, cognitive-
ly speaking, than we
ever could before.
As such, digital
technology need not to
be viewed as compet-
ing with our internal
cognitive process. In-
stead, it complements
cognition by extend-
ing our ability to get
things done.
LORENZO CECUTTI
PhD Candidate, Marketing,
University of Toronto
SPIKE WS LEE
Associate Professor,
Management and
Psychology, University of
Toronto
D
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
Digital devices and technologies can
enhance the way we learn and work.
—SHUTTERSTOCK
Technologies like smartphones and digital
assistants can free us up to do more.
—SHUTTERSTOCK
YOUR
YOUR

TWO COPS ARRESTED FOR
ACCEPTING `50K BRIBE
Inspector PJ Makwana of Vyara and sub-inspector PM Amin were nabbed in an ACB raid
First India Bureau
Tapi: Two police per-
sonnel have been ar-
rested in Tapi district
for allegedly accept-
ing a bribe of
Rs50,000, which they
had sought in ex-
change for preparing
a favourable probe re-
port in a land-related
case, an official of the
Anti-Corruption Bu-
reau (ACB) said on
Saturday.
The accused, circle
police inspector PJ
Makwana of Vyara and
sub-inspector PM Amin
posted in Superinten-
dent of Police (SP) of-
fice, were arrested on
Friday, he said.
Refusing to pay the
bribe, the complainant
approached the ACB,
which then laid a trap
at the circle police in-
spector’s office in Vyara
and arrested the duo
while accepting the
money, the official said.
“Valod police had
registered an FIR
against the sister of the
complainant in a land-
related matter in Tapi
district. The accused in
that case had ap-
proached the High
Court of Gujarat with a
plea to quash the FIR,
following which it gave
a stay on it and sought a
report from the investi-
gating officer,” he said.
The matter was be-
ing investigated by the
circle police inspector,
who demanded a bribe
of Rs1 lakh from the
complainant to pre-
pare a favourable re-
port for submission in
the high court. It was
decided between the
complainant and the
accused that the for-
mer would pay the
money in two instal-
ments of Rs50,000
each, he added.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Breaking his
silence on the proper-
ty issue, Thakore Sa-
heb of the royal erst-
while family of Rajkot
Mandhatsinh Jadeja
on Saturday clarified
that the property of
his grandfather
Pradyumansinhji—
the last ruler of Ra-
jkot—was his personal
property
.
Jadeja’s elder sister
Ambalika Devi had
raised objections to the
application filed by him
at the Rajkot Collector-
ate to remove her rights
from the family’s ances-
tral property
.
Days later, Jadeja’s
nephewRanshurvirsinh
Jadeja had filed a civil
suit demanding his late
father Aniruddhsinhji’s
share in the ancestral
property
, which he
claimed to be valued at
around Rs20,000 crore.
“The property of
Pradyumansinhji was
his absolute own—pri-
vate, personal and self-
acquired,” Jadeja told
First India.
“During his lifetime,
Pradyumansinhji gave a
share to his sons Prahl-
adsinhji and Anir-
udhsinhji. Both waived
their rights, titles and
interests in the property
of Pradyumansinhji.
Theyalsogaveadeclara-
tion to that effect. The
plea of Ranshurvirsinh
to secure a share in the
property is totally base-
less and far from the
truth,” he added.
On his sister Amba-
lika Devi’s claims,
Jadeja said, “
As per the
will of Manoharsinhji
(Jadeja’s father), the
compensation was
paid to her. She saw,
confirmed and ap-
proved the will and
also executed the deed
of release before the
sub-registrar of Ra-
jkot. She also waived
her title and interest in
the property of Mano-
harsinhji,” adding,
“Both cases are mis-
leading and it is
against the law.”
Rajkot’s Thakore Saheb Mandhatasinh Jadeja
breaks silence on royal property dispute issue
ANCESTRAL RIGHTS
Mandhatsinh Jadeja.
—FILE PHOTO
The office of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. —FILE PHOTO
2 constables
suspended
for thrashing
Army man
First India Bureau
Junagadh: Two
police constables
wereonFridaysus-
pended on the or-
der of Junagadh
Superintendent of
Police Ravi Teja
Vasamsetty after a
video purportedly
showing them
thrashinganArmy
jawanwentviralon
social media, an of-
ficial said.
A video shot on
the night of August
29 in Padardi vil-
lage in Manavdar
taluka shows the
two cops—Rajesh
Bandhia and
Chetan Makwana,
attached to Bantva
police station—
beating Army
jawan Kanhabhai
Keshwala with a
stick as well as
punching him in
the presence of
other policemen
and villagers.
K e s h w a l a ’ s
mother Kaliben
told reporters her
son, who returned
to his village on
leave a few days
back, was thrashed
for no reason. How-
ever,somevillagers
said the police had
believed the Army
jawan was part of a
mob that attacked
them earlier, when
the team had come
to the village on in-
formation about
commotion follow-
ingalovemarriage.
Surat airport sees
five-fold rise in
passenger traffic
First India Bureau
Surat: With the num-
ber of COVID-19 cases
falling rapidly in re-
cent times, the city’s
airport has seen a
five-fold rise in pas-
senger traffic. In the
past three months,
the number of air
passengers flying in
and out of Surat has
increased from 15,000
to 78,000.
Airport director
Aman Saini told First
India, “RT-PCR tests
were made mandatory
at the airport in April,
in the wake of a second
wave of COVID-19 infec-
tions. This led to a de-
crease in passengers at
the airport. Now, with
positive cases reducing,
more passengers are
travelling again.”
While the airport saw
96,086 passengers in
March, the number
dropped to 48,089 in
April and 15,381 in May
.
With cases falling, 28,581
passengers used the Su-
rat airport in June,
56,630 in July
, and 77,790
in August.
Businessman Na-
gendra Yadav, who vis-
its New Delhi and Mum-
bai every month for
work, said that he had
taken to travelling by
road when the govern-
ment clamped down on
air travel. “Now that
restrictions have eased,
I’ve started flying
again,” he said.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: BMC Com-
missioner Iqbal Singh
Chahal’s war against
Corona took one more
leap on Saturday when
Mumbai did 1.3Lakh
vaccinations in one day
, on Saturday
. The good
news is that 80% of eli-
gible citizens of MCGM
has taken at least one
dose of vaccination.
Mumbai is now No.1 in
percentage terms
amongst major cities of
India and 30% of eligi-
ble citizens are double
vaccinated now.
Chahal said that only
vaccination with mask
up, can save us from 3rd
wave. Mumbai became
the first district in the
country to reach the
milestone of adminis-
tering over one crore
Covid vaccine doses, ac-
cording to Brihanmum-
bai Municipal Corpora-
tion (BMC).
RSS IS LOOKING
FOR LIBERAL IMAGE!
The Rashtriya Sway-
amsevak Sangh is
looking for an image
makeover and it is evi-
dent from a recent
meeting that it now
wants a liberal image.
A two-day coordina-
tion meeting of the
Sangh was held on Fri-
day and Saturday in the
Smriti Mandir campus
of Nagpur, which was
attended by the secre-
taries of all the affili-
ated organisations. On
behalf of the BJP, the
general secretary (or-
ganisation) BL Santosh
also participated in the
meeting.
Though the key agen-
da of the meeting was a
review of the central
government’s work, dis-
cussions about the im-
age makeover were also
held prominently
.
Even though the RSS
has described the meet-
ing as informal, there
were formal
d i s c u s -
sions on
many se-
rious is-
sues in it.
Taking a
big decision in this con-
templation meeting, it
has also been made clear
that now RSS will be in a
changed and new avatar.
For this, a new mantra
andmissionhasbeende-
cided by the RSS that it
willnowputforthits‘lib-
eralimage’andwillwork
tochangethemind-setof
Muslims towards the
Sangh.Intheensuingas-
sembly elections in five
states- Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Punjab,
Goa and Manipur, the
changed thinking of the
Sangh will begin to be
visible. RSS chief Mo-
han Bhagwat will begin
his new narrative by
keeping communal har-
mony at the ‘center.’
WHY AAP
COULDN’T HAVE AN
ALLIANCE WITH
SP?
Why did the AAP
,
which is trying to
find an alternative land
for politics, finally dis-
tancing itself from the
SP in UP? AAP and SP’s
electoralalliancewasbe-
ingheardforalongtime,
as its architect, UP in-
charge and RS MP San-
jay Singh had appeared
on a changed political
platform. Sources said
that Sanjay Singh had
severalmeetingswithSP
supremo regarding the
seat sharing. It was also
being heard that the
number of seats Akhile-
sh Yadav wanted to leave
forAAPraisedthevoices
of rebellion in AAP’s UP
unit. The news about SP
offering a seat to a prom-
inent Brahmin leader
Anoop Pandey
, the presi-
dent of the Purvanchal
cellof AAPandtheco-in-
chargeof UP
,onSPticket
surprised many
. SP was
offering him the desired
seat on the symbol of cy-
cle. AAP also took cogni-
sance of these reports
andthiscausedasetback
to the exercise of alli-
ance between the two
parties. Young voters
may also turn to AAP
,
which may affect SP’s
prospects on many ur-
ban and semi-urban
seats. If the people of UP
are attracted to the ‘Ke-
jriwal model’, then the
party can have a good
start in its first innings
in UP also.
WHY DOES NITISH
WANT TO GET RID
OF SAFFRON?
Is Nitish Kumar
the biggest
champion of opportun-
istic politics? That is
why his Hanuman, Lal-
lan Singh, calls him a
leader equal to JP while
to give edge to his lead-
er’s complacency, RCP
Singh calls Nitish a big-
ger leader than JP. KC
Tyagi, who emerged
from the socialist move-
ment, also calls Nitish,
a PM candidate.
In such a situation, it
seemsnaturalforNitish
to take steps to become
the face of the opposi-
tion unity
. Especially at
a time when a universi-
ty in Nitish’s home state
has removed the chap-
ters on JP and Lohia
from its syllabus and
replaced them with the
chapters on Pandit
Deendayal Upadhyay
and Syama Prasad
Mukherjee.Nitish’spar-
ty does not have a huge
supportbaseinBihar,so
from time to
time; he
has been
r i d i n g
on the
shoul-
ders of
Lalu Yadav or BJP. The
BJP, this time, has cut
Nitish down to size and
he is angry with this.
Therefore Nitish is in-
creasing friendship
with Lalu and Tejashwi.
On September 25, a big
rally has been called in
Jind, Haryana on the
birth anniversary of
Tau Devi Lal. In this
rally, many opposition
leaders and farmers
leaders will participate.
Nitish also has very
good relations with Ra-
hul Gandhi and a good
repo with Mamata Ba-
nerjee and Arvind Kejri-
wal too. The Congress
leadership seems deter-
mined that even if Rahul
has to step back from the
candidature of PM to
oustanddefeattheBJPin
2024 LS elections, it can
bet on faces like Mamata
orNitish.AcleverNitish
has understood this, so
he is slowly trying to get
rid of the BJP
.
WHAT WILL
HAPPEN TO ‘ABCD’?
Is Congress in-charge
of Bihar, Aadarniya
Bhakta Charan Das
(ABCD) going to leave?
After all, why is Rahul
Gandhi so angry with
him that for some time
now, Das has been ask-
ing for an appointment
with Rahul, but every
time he is getting ‘no’
fromRaGa’soffice.Actu-
ally
, Rahul wants that
Bihar Congress should
be revived, but the prob-
lem of Congress is that
neither it has any strong
organisation left in the
state, nor any strong
mass base. The party
also lacks a big face
there. Rahul wants to
give a new face to Bihar
Congress, for which he
needs a pro-active State
President there. Al-
though, Bihar has a sig-
nificantnumberof Dalit
voters,whoarenolonger
a part of the traditional
vote bank of Congress.
WILL DIGVIJAY GET
BIHAR’S CHARGE ?
As rebellion and agi-
tation boils in Dig-
vijay Singh’s veins, Ra-
hul Gandhi is probably
well aware of this, so he
has made Digvijay the
chairman of the newly
formed movement com-
mittee of Congress. Dig-
vijay is anyway in
search of a new role for
himself in the party,
there is a buzz that he
may be made the new in-
charge of Bihar in place
of ‘ABCD’ i.e. ‘Aadarni-
ya Bhakta Charan Das’.
Digvijay himself indi-
cated this during his re-
cent visit to Bihar. In the
Bihar Yatra, the party
had arranged for Digvi-
jay’s night stay in a hotel
in Patna. Digvijay told
hisspecialloyalistChan-
dan Bagchi that now he
would continue to visit
Patna,sohewouldprefer
to stay at Sadaqat Ash-
ram in Patna instead of
a hotel. Particularly
, the
party in-charge prefers
to stay in these rooms so
that party workers and
leaders can interact eas-
ily
. Digvijay Singh has
very old links with Lalu
YadavandNitishKumar
and the Congress top
leadership is confident
thatSingh’soldrelations
with both the leaders
will prove to be helpful
in re-establishing Con-
gress in Bihar.
KARNATAKA
FARMERS COME
FORWARD FOR
TALKS
The ‘State-Policy and
Planning Board’ of
Karnataka has done a
wonderful job. Due to
the efforts of a board
member, BV Anand,
several progressive
farmer leaders and or-
ganisations agreed to
hold talks with Karna-
taka Planning Commis-
sion on Wednesday. In
the meeting, the board
assured them to fulfill
the promises made to
them. Incidentally, the
very next day, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah was in Davangere,
where he was to inaugu-
rate three development
projects. Shah also
heaped praises on CM
Basavaraj Bommai say-
ing that he has taken
small but effective steps
in a short time.
...AND FINALLY
CM Yogi Adityanath
wants to expand his
cabinet prior to polls. If
sources are to be be-
lieved, he has also sent
the list of candidates to
be inducted in Cabinet
to PM for approval. The
PMO answered saying
that the PM is surprised
that with only a few
months are left for the
polls now, what’s the
need for Cabinet expan-
sion? Yogi generally
dislikes answering such
questions, he does what
he likes.
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB
RAMAN
The author is a journalist
and political commentator
and views expressed are
his personal
Mohan Bhagwat Nitish Kumar
Digvijay Singh
Yogi Adityanath
Greetings on Teacher’s Day. Once
we are open to learning, anyone
can be our teacher without the
boundary of age, class or position.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
DYNAMIC BMC
COMMISSIONER
Iqbal Singh Chahal

eachers are the core
of our life who teach
us not just the ‘cur-
riculum’ but also life
skills, they are our
guides and mentors,
and in school and
college life, also the topic
of endless discussion. We
have all had a ‘crush’ on a
teacher and have aped
some of them who were
fashion icons. We asked
some of our readers to
share which ‘on-screen’
teacher was their idol.
My hopeless romantic
friend, Deepak Rawat got
so excited with this ques-
tion that he just couldn’t
hold his horses. Well, lend
an ear to this guy
. “The one
teacher I think of in my
raunchiest of dreams has
to be Chitrangada Singh
from Desi Boyz. Had my
Economics teacher been
even a tad like her, trust
me, I would have scored a
perfect 100. Those body-
hugging dresses on a pro-
fessor is every guy’s
dream, believe me. Anoth-
er hot pot is Kiara Advani
from Lust Stories. At first,
she was like a damsel but a
few minutes into the film,
she was this teacher I
couldn’t resist. Trust me, I
can watch the iconic cli-
max scene on loop and not
get bored. Well, Gwyneth
Paltrow in Glee was no
less.”
A die-hard Bollywood
buff, Deepti Goyal is head
over heels for Miss Chan-
dani. She said, “Gosh, Su-
shmita Sen, hands down!
As a child, it was my
fantasy to be a teacher
like her. Miss Chan-
dani stole my heart
with her chiffon sa-
rees and sleeveless
blouse. Thanks to
Shah Rukh Khan and
Sushmita Sen, I used to get
very excited every time my
teacher’s pallu swayed
over my head. It would be
the highlight of my day!”
For a 20-year-old, Ei-
shaan had a really ‘Sufi
approach to this ques-
tion. With his hopes a lit-
tle too high, Eishaan
went, “Kurbaan’s Karee-
na Kapoor is my dream
teacher. As much as I
loved her Sufi andaaz, I
also enjoyed her acting,
for a change. I fell in love
with her deep, smoky
eyes and pink cheeks in
the movie. I think I also
appreciated the role be-
cause she is quite close to
the teachers we have in
real life. Well, if only
Saif weren’t
there...” Yes Ei-
shaan, Saif ’s
the only rea-
son you
aren’t with Karee-
na Kapoor Khan
yet!
Swiftly moving
on, Manasi Jaiswal
went all out with
her fantasies and
added a pinch of
spice to the list.
“Dude, you need to watch
Bad Teacher right now!
Elizabeth Hasley is the
coolest teacher ever. She’s
my soul sister, really.
She smokes pot in the
parking lot and has a
sugar daddy. What
even? Her classroom
gets a movie sesh
every time her class is
on. I’m telling you, she
is the ultimate uber-
cool professor.”
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
AHMEDABAD, SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 5, 2021
ON TEACHER’S DAY, CITY FIRST REACHED
OUT TO ITS READERS AND ASKED THEM
THAT WHO WAS THEIR DREAM TEACHER
WITH REFERENCE TO ON-SCREEN
TEACHERS DEPICTED IN VARIOUS MOVIES
FROM BOLLYWOOD AND HOLLYWOOD
KAASH,
KAASH,
MERI TEACHER
MERI TEACHER
AISI HOTI!
AISI HOTI!
POORVI SINGHAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T

railblazing shooter Avani
Lekhara on Friday became
the first Indian woman to
win two Paralympic med-
als by claiming the 50m Ri-
fle 3 Position SH1 bronze to
add to an unprecedented
gold she had secured earlier in
the ongoing Games here. Chief
minister Ashok Gehlot an-
nounced cash rewards for the
three state players who won
medals at the Tokyo event. Le-
khara will be given `3 crores
for winning gold in shooting.
Avani has been appointed as
the brand ambassador for the
Rajasthan government’s ‘Beti
Bachao and Beti Padhao’ pro-
ject under the Department.
In a letter sent to Avani by the
Minister of Women and Child
Development, Mamta Bhupesh,
it’s mentioned that Avani’s suc-
cess shall inspire the daughters
of the state. “Congratulations on
your incredible victory
. You have
earned recognition and pride for
the state by winning name and
fame. Rajasthan’s daughters will
learn to study hard and move
ahead like you,” Bhupesh said in
the letter.
When Avani was barely 11
years old, she was confined to a
wheelchair after an accident in
2012. After she laid hands on Ab-
hinav Bindra’s autobiography,
she was inclined to take up
shooting. In 2015 summer vaca-
tion, when her father took her to
a range, she decided to pursue
shooting as nothing more than a
hobby. But one thing led to an-
other and the rifle became Ava-
ni’s zeal for gold. In 2021, she
matched Bindra’s iconic Beijing
2008 moment when she won In-
dia’s first-ever medal in shoot-
ing at the Paralympics.
She is the daughter of Praveen
Lekhra, RAS Officer, MREC,
1994 Batch and Shweta Lekhara,
state government tax officer. Dr
Subir Debnath, MNIT Sports Of-
ficer Avani Lekhara’s coach who
has trained Avani said that the
19-year-old para-athlete’s suc-
cess at the Tokyo Paralym-
pics is due to her positive
attitude, intelligence
and extraordinary
talent.
Earlier, Le-
khara became
the first Indian
woman to win
a Paralympic
gold medal
after she
e q u a l l e d
the world
r e c o r d
with a
score of
249.6 in
the wom-
en’s 10m
air rifle
standing finals
(SH 1). Avani quali-
fied for the final fin-
ishing seventh
in the quali-
fication round with a total score
of 621.7. In the finals, she showed
her mettle, scoring 10 and above
with all but four shots. “I can’t
describe this feeling, I’m feeling
like I’m on top of the world. It’s
unexplainable,” Lekhara said
after winning gold.
I can’t express how I feel right
now. She has truly made our
dream come true. The bronze
medal that she won, I was
pretty sure she will bag
another award. She is a
strong contender. I
have been training her
for 6 years now. I have
been selflessly working
for this. I spent everything
from my own pocket for
providing training. I have
b e e n giving fitness and mental
training to these students. I used to take
different types of sports psychology tests.
It’s the victory of the entire country.
—DR SUBIR DEBNATH, COACH
Avani has brought laurels to the
country and made every faculty of
law at the University of Rajasthan
proud of her. Since the beginning
of her college, she has been very
sincere and passionate about her academ-
ics. Avani aspires to crack the Rajasthan
Judicial Service (RJS) examination
and I’m sure like her zeal towards
shooting, she will be able to work
hard towards her other goals
as well. The college was very
supportive. Even when she had
gone for tournaments, Avani
didn’t skip her exams and gave
her viva over a video call.
—DR SANJULA THANVI,
DIRECTOR, RU
10
ETC
AVANI LEKHARA: LEGEND @ 19
AVANI LEKHARA: LEGEND @ 19
I can’t express how happy and proud I am of my daughter right now. Parents
need to be supportive of their children and have faith in them. I always knew
Avani was meant for great things and that the accident wouldn’t stop her. This
is a victory that is dedicated to the entire nation. As a father what makes me
proud of her is how she has set an example for so many girls out there. Young
girls look up to her as an inspiration. She has already won so many hearts. Avani has
always been very dedicated and passionate about her work, be it sports or academics. I
am sure she has a long way to go. I always tell her to stay grounded to her values and be
grateful and I’m glad to see her come this far with her ethics and lovely nature.
—PRAVEEN LEKHARA, FATHER
Avani Lekhara won bronze in the
women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1
event with a score of 445.9 to
become the first Indian woman to
win two medals at the
Paralympics! City First
brings to you a few
people who have
played a major
role in her success
so far!
MITALI DUSAD
T
 Gold medal in 10m air rifle standing
at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
 Bronze medal in 50m air rifle stand-
ing at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
 World Rank 5 in R2 and 6 in R8
 Silver medal in R2 at the WSPS
World Cup Al Ain in 2021
 Silver medal in R2 at the WSPS
World Cup in Osijek in 2019
 Gold medals in the 10m Rifle,
Prone and 3P events at the World
Shooting Para Sport World Cup,
Dubai in 2018
 3 Gold medals and a Bronze medal
in the 63rd National Shooting
Championships, Bhopal in 2019
 3 Gold medals and one Silver medal
in the XIX Kumar Surendra Singh
Memorial Shooting Championship,
New Delhi in 2019
ACHIEVEMENTS AT A GLANCE
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
Avani Lekhara with her parents Praveen and Shweta
Avani Lekhara after winning the Gold Medal in
10m air rifle standing at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
Mamta Bhupesh’s Letter to Avani

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook. com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2021
11
BEYOND CHALK AND DUSTER
BEYOND CHALK AND DUSTER
I have always been in
love with teaching. As
a kid, I would often
imagine myself beside
the blackboard, check-
ing student’s copies, it
was all so beautiful back
in my mind, although,
the real task had been a
nightmare. But, being a
teacher reminds me that
I am going to be a part
of their growth and I can
help the kids become a
better version of them-
selves. I hope that I get to
meet my students soon.
—ANJU
My students are my life.
I care for them hoping
for nothing in return. I
feel responsible about
their growth. It gives me
immense pleasure when
I see them grow from a
young age and finally see
them graduate, take on to
the next challenge of life.
Sometimes my students
get back to me, some-
times they don’t. But, I
sleep peacefully, remem-
bering that I did what
I could, that I always a
pillar of support for them.
—ARCHANAVYAS
For me, teaching is the
noblest and the most
rewarding among all
the professions. The
best thing about being a
teacher is that you get an
opportunity to make a dif-
ference in the lives of the
children you’re working
with. I ensure that I do my
best to leave a positive
influence on my students.
Although due to Covid,
efficiency in imparting
knowledge and learning
has been a challenge.
—NORMAEKKA
I perceive teaching as
a holistic profession.
I strongly believe that
knowledge is a two-way
process. A teacher also
learns something new
from his/ her students,
since learning is a
dynamic process. For
me, teaching is to inspire
students to make them
better humans, confident
citizens and dedicated
people. I always promote
among them: spirit of
enquiry and self-reform.
—DRSAADULLAHKHAN
I enjoy not just teach-
ing but educating
young minds of the
future. I get to listen
to brilliant ideas all the
time. Due to online
teaching, the shy/
introvert students have
started answering
since no one sees them
and the barrier of being
laughed at has disap-
peared completely. But,
inefficiency has grown
as students have a lot
less activity now.
—SIBIAAUGUSTINE
My teacher who has
been and always
will be a source of
inspiration for me is
Happy Sir, we are still
in touch, I learnt from
him the art of rising
above your past mis-
takes. I imagine myself
changing my students’
lives just as he has
changed mine, become
a source of motivation
for them, especially
during such unexpect-
ed time. —TAMALIKA
CHAKRABORTY
I am probably new to
teaching than most
of my companions, I
never realized that I
always had it in me. It
gives me a chance to
be innovative at each
step. Every day is full
of surprises. When I
am in a room full of
dynamic students, I
hear these amazing
ideas and I am always
keen about learning
new things from my
students.
—SUNITACHOUDHARY
Teaching is my voca-
tion. I feel God has
chosen and called me
to spread his light of
love and knowledge. I
find joy in helping the
students realise their
uniqueness. Being
a teacher is being a
mother, mentor, guide
and friend to my
students. Post-Covid
teaching has been
quite challenging but
also a learning experi-
ence.
—SRVINITA,MSA
This is probably a grim
situation, first of all,
there’s no Teacher’s
Day without students.
All of us have suffered
mentally, psycho-
logically and physically,
because of Covid but
we have also coped up
with online teaching.
I definitely miss those
days when Teacher’s
Day was about spend-
ing time with students
and so much more than
just speaking virtually.
—SANDRA LEE
Oh how I miss being
surrounded by my
students today. Me
and my wife who is
also in the same field
very often discuss and
miss the environment
of a classroom when
sometimes the students
would argue with us and
sometimes agree. We
feel like magicians who
take over the stage and
begin our show. It’s not
always the best show,
but, it’s worth it!
—DRPANKAJSHARMA
Teaching has been more
than kind to me, it has
been an absolute boon. I
get to interpret the Arts,
engage with sharp, in-
quisitive minds. When we
teach Media studies and
literature. Both my stu-
dents and I, consciously
and often subconsciously,
interpret the Arts in the
context of history, culture,
society and theory. This
shift in perspective, when
you move from mere
entertainment to analysis,
is life altering.
—DRRITUSEN
Teaching is electrify-
ing. The class is such a
charged up place. Though
I have prepared for my
lectures always in spite of
having taught for two dec-
ades I feel nervous walk-
ing into every class every
day. However, once in the
classroom the students
have taken me places.
Their questions and their
interpretation has always
added to my perspective.
I live vicariously through
my students.
—DRSHREYACHATTERJI
Online teaching has been hard and I
miss my students especially on the
occasion, but I always encourage
my students to utilize this time as
much as they can. Use this time to
interrogate themselves as they have
received an ample opportunity to
introspect and grow.
—NEHAPAREEK
remember back in standard
fourth, I was asked to read out
a passage in front of the
school assembly
, shy and tim-
id as I was and a part of me
still is. Well, I froze in front of
everyone, couldn’t utter a
word, even though I prepared myself,
got every punctuation right, remem-
bered each word, but, I had failed,
terribly in fact. From that moment
onwards, I became a backbencher,
avoided as many students as I could.
Shobha Gupta, a teacher back then,
saw this change in my behaviour, she
knew she couldn’t touch my nerves
because that would remind me what
happened during the assembly
. But,
slowly and steadily she found out
ways to lift my spirits, making every-
one read a passage from books and
what was rather more important was
that she believed in me. She isn’t the
only teacher who has taught me great
lessons about failing and well, about
life. And, today especially
, I am full
of gratitude for teachers who have
taken an extra step in changing some-
body’s life with their smallest of ac-
tions. A big shout to all the teachers/
professors out there! Happy Teach-
er’s Day! Let’s hear what they have
to share today on the occasion.
TODAY, CITY FIRST REMEMBERS THE MEN AND WOMEN WHOM WE AS INDIVIDUALS HAVE HATED, LOVED, ADMIRED AND MOST OF ALL
LEARNT SOMETHING FROM. TO OUR GUIDES WHO HAVE HELPED US BECOME THE BEST VERSION OF OURSELVES, HAPPY TEACHER’S DAY!
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
I
Dr Shreya with her students

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
DELHI AUDITIONS OF ALL INDIA
BEAUTY PAGEANT, FIRST MISS
TEEN INDIA’21 (AGE CATEGORY:
13 TO 17YEARS) AND FIRST MISS
INDIA’21 (AGE CATEGORY: 18 TO
23YEARS) AN INITIATIVE BY
FIRST INDIA WILL BE HELD TODAY
AT HOTEL HILTON, NEW DELHI.
THE AUDITIONS SHALL BEGIN AT
10 AM. AN EMINENT JURY TEAM
AND MODELS WILL BE THERE TO
ASSESS AND MENTOR.
CITY FIRST
aipur Foot USA
and Gracious
Givers founda-
tion welcomed
Meenakashi Le-
khi, Minister of
State for Exter-
nal Affairs and Culture at
theJanAashirwadAbhar
event organised in New
York City
. Randhir Jaisw-
al, Consul General, New
York, was also present at
the event. Alok Kumar,
former FIA president
commenced the pro-
gramme with an in-
troduction. Prem
Bhandari, Jaipur Foot
USAChairmanandsocial
activist, spoke at the
event. He spoke about the
difficulties the Indian di-
aspora faced due to lock-
down and travel restric-
tions that came into place
during COVID and the
excellent support re-
ceived from MEA and sec-
retaries from Home, Ex-
ternal Affairs, and Civil
Aviation. He also briefed
about the partnership of
BMVSS, the parent or-
ganisation of Jaipur Foot
USA and MEA under the
‘India for Humanity’ ban-
nertoconductprosthetics
fitment camps to help
differently-abled people
around the world and re-
inforce India’s soft power.
He also thanked Prime
Minister Narendra Modi,
the guiding force and
blessed this partnership.
The host countries re-
ceived these 13 camps
very well and BMVSS
helpedover6000different-
ly-abled people. The Gov-
ernment of India provid-
ed funding for all these 13
camps and the Ministry
of ExternalAffairsoffices
coordinated and facilitat-
ed these prosthetics fit-
ment camps. Prem
Bhandari also extended
his heartfelt thanks to
Harsh Vardhan Shringla,
Foreign Secretary of In-
dia for extending the part-
nership to organise an-
other 12 prosthetic fit-
ment camps on a histori-
cal day, august 5, 2020.
Under this partnership,
BMVSS already conduct-
ed the first prosthetics fit-
ment camp last December
in Uganda. Bhandari reit-
erated the words of Pad-
ma Bhushan, DR Mehta,
Founder Chief Patron
of BMVSS, about the
bravery of our leg-warri-
ors, who conducted this
Uganda camp in the mid-
dleof theCOVIDpandem-
ic.
Bhandari also men-
tioned that he was relat-
ed to 6 million-plus OCI
cardholders who suf-
fered tremendously since
2019 due to cumbersome
renewal regulations and
administrative issues
when one is travelling
with OCI. These regula-
tions are eased, made
simple and frequent OCI
renewal is not required.
Meenakshi Lekhi, Minis-
ter of State for External
Affairs and Culture also
spoke on the occasion.
She highlighted that the
Indian diaspora acts as
goodwill ambassadorsfor
the country, and their
achievements in the pro-
fessional, business and
education fields add val-
ue to the country’s good-
will. She also appreciat-
ed the contributions of
the powerful Indian com-
munity in helping the
countrywheneverinneed.
She also highlighted the
COVID pandemic impacts
in India and the capacity
to deal with such grave
situations and coming to-
gether to dealing with
these. The contributions
of the Indian community
,
including doctors nurs-
es, oxygen help during
COVIDwascommendable.
A HELPING HAND
J
Kashwini, the
granddaughter of Sunita
and CM Ashok Gehlot and
daughter of Himanshi
and Vaibhav Gehlot,
celebrated her 12th
birthday on Saturday.
Kashwini spent the day
with her grandparents,
the heartwarming gesture
by Dadima Sunita Gehlot
of tying a ‘Raksha Sootra’
and putting a Tilak on her
forehead was her most
precious moment.
SPECIAL GREETINGS!
THE WAIT IS OVER...
THE WAIT IS OVER...
CONDOLENCE!
Jagdeesh Chandra
paid a condolence
visit to Kavita
Chauhan of the
First India family
on Saturday.
Thakur Kishan
Singh Chauhan
(Sri Sela), one
of the pioneers
of tourism in
Rajasthan left for
his heavenly abode
on August 28.
CITY FIRST
S
tate Bank of In-
dia is celebrat-
ing the 75th
year of In-
dia’s independence
as “Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav”. In this
connection, the birth-
day of former Presi-
dent of India Dr
Sarvepalli Rad-
hakrishnan was cele-
brated in a dignified
ceremony as Teacher’s
Day by the Jaipur Cir-
cle. On the eve of
‘Teacher’s Day’, Chief
General Manager of
Jaipur Circle, Rajesh
Kumar Mishra
honoured teach-
ers completed 75
years of age, Pro-
fessor Jawahar Lal
Bansal, Dr Vijay Shin-
de, Pandit Hari Dutt
Kalla, Dr R. B. L. Gup-
ta, Saroj Chauhan, and
Dr Padam Chand Jain
by presenting bou-
quets and shawls.
Mishra told that the
role of the teacher is
very important in eve-
ryone’s life. Teacher
plays a special role in
building society and
nation by awakening
the light of education.
Even though parents
may give birth to a
child, but a teacher
makes them better peo-
ple with their hard
work and dedication.
Special Ceremony by SBI
CITY FIRST
T
he Opulent
and Spectacu-
lar Jewellery
Exhibition in
Jaipur has been host-
ed by Akansha Bak-
shi and Dr Preeti
Bakshi on Saturday.
Renu Oberoi’s collec-
tion included some
of the most exclusive
diamond and pre-
cious stone jewellery
showcasing some of
the most luxurious
designs to some of
the big names from
Jaipur. The exhi-
bition would con-
tinue on Septem-
ber 5, 2021, Sun-
day as well.
The event was attended by
a few of the most sought after
names of Jaipur. Renu Ober-
oi’s showcase of Fine Jewel-
lery had all new designs dis-
played at Mariott, Jaipur. All
measures for safe shopping
were arranged. This expo is
a niche event exhibiting only
exclusive and high-end
branded gold and diamond
jewellery products, hosted by
Akansha Bakshi and Dr
Preeti Bakshi.
OPULENT JEWELLERY
EXHIBITION
Webinar @ SKIT
CITY FIRST
S
wami Keshvanand In-
stitute of Technology,
Management and Gra-
mothan(SKIT),Jaipur
organised a one-day webinar
on the Advanced Knowledge
and Rural Technology Imple-
m e n t a t i o n
(AKRUTI) tech-
nologies devel-
oped by BARC,
M u m b a i
through its Incu-
bation Cell on
September 4,
2021. The wel-
come speech of
the program was
delivered by Prof. Satyan Vi-
jayvargiya. Chairman SKIT,
Surjaram Meel was glad that
the webinar highlights both
rural cities and technology
which is the base of India. He
also conveyed his best wishes
for the webinar.
Baani Chitkara
Kriti Garg, Brand Ambassador First Miss India 2021
Riya Sain, Brand Ambassador First Miss India Teen 2021
Manya Pathak
KK Mehta, Chandra Mehta,
Meenakshi Lekhi and Randhir Jaiswal
Prem Bhandari presenting Jaipur Foot USA Souvenir
to MOS Meenakshi Lekhi and Randhir Jaiswal,
Consul General of India NY
During the ceremony
Akansha Bakshi and Dr Preeti Bakshi
During the session
CM Ashok Gehlot and Sunita Gehlot with
the birthday girl Kashwini and her proud
parents Himanshi and Vaibhav Gehlot

05092021 first india ahmedabad

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