06012022 first india ahmedabad

CMinauguratestwo-dayint’leduconferenceinA’bad
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Gujarat
Chief Minister Bhupen-
dra Patel on Wednesday
inaugurated a two-day
international confer-
ence of academic insti-
tutionsaheadof the10th
Vibrant Gujarat Global
Summit to be held Janu-
ary 10-12.
During the inaugural
ceremony of the mega
eventfocusingontheim-
plementation of the Na-
tional Education Policy
,
2020 (NEP-2020), Patel
launchedthesecondedi-
tionof theStudentStart-
up and Innovation Poli-
cy (SSIP 2.0) in the pres-
ence of dignitaries from
India and across the
world.
The five-year tenure
of the SSIP-1 will end on
January 10. Hence, SSIP
2.0 was unveiled on
Wednesday and will re-
main in force till March
2027, a government re-
lease said.
The new policy aims
to establish an innova-
tion and incubation cen-
tre in each of the 90-odd
universities in Gujarat.
Other objectives of
the policy include pro-
viding financial assis-
tance to school and col-
lege students to build
prototypes and proof-of-
consents, financial as-
sistance for filing at
least 1,000 Intellectual
Properties (IPs) and
building a pre-incuba-
tion support system in
500 institutions and uni-
versities.Thepolicyalso
aims to upscale nearly
1,500 student start-ups
and incubate 500 start-
ups through iHub, a
state government initia-
tive, the release stated.
Over 2,000 MoUs will
be signed between vari-
ous government enti-
ties, universities and
institutions during the
event, the release said.
Around 120 panel
speakers, including 40
from abroad, will be
sharing their experi-
ences across 21 different
sessions during the two-
day seminar at Science
City
, the state has previ-
ously said.
Australia, Canada,
Norway, the UK and
France have joined as
partner countries for
this conference, while
theBritishCouncil,Aus-
tralia India Business
Exchange and Institute
of International Educa-
tion are among the key
institutions which have
joined as international
participants. Turn to P6
Mega event to focus on the
implementation of NEP-2020
11 L NEW VOTERS
ENLISTED
As many as 11,15,312 new
voters have been added to
the list as part of the Elec-
tion Commission’s drive to
update the voters’ list. Of
these, 6,51,075 are in the 18-
19 age group, while 6,52,274
voters are in the age group
of 20 to 29 years. With this,
Gujarat now has 4,84,72,764
voters, including 2,33,85,448
female voters, 2,50,86,028
male voters, and 1,288 vot-
ers from the third gender.
CM Bhupendra Patel
addressed the International
Conference of Academic
Institutions in A’bad on Wed.
Nepal PM Deuba to
meet PM Modi in Guj
Shirish B Pradhan
Kathmandu: Nepal
PrimeMinisterSherBa-
hadur Deuba will meet
his Indian counterpart
Narendra Modi during
the Vibrant Gujarat
Summit next week as
part of his four-day visit
to India.
Prime Minister Modi
is hosting the Summit
from January 10 to 13 in
Gujarat. Deuba is set to
leave for India on Janu-
ary 9 to attend the global
summit, according to
sourcesatthePrimeMin-
ister’s private secretari-
at. This will be Deuba’s
firstofficialvisittoIndia
after assuming power in
Julybuthissecondmeet-
ing with Modi. Earlier,
the two leaders met
briefly during the Glas-
gow Climate Summit in
November. —PTI
PM Modi
New Delhi: Pilot error
was the likely cause for
thechoppercrashthatled
to Chief of Defence Staff
General Bipin Rawat’s
deathlastmonth,sources
said on Wednesday
.
Sources said the Mi-
17V5 helicopter carry-
ing Gen Rawat, his wife
Madhulika,and12other
armed forces personnel
- from the Sulur Air
Force base in Tamil Na-
du’s Coimbatore to the
Defence Staff Services
Colleges in Wellington
- crashed after a CFIT, or
Controlled Flight Into
Terrain, occurrence.
CFIT occurs when an
airworthy aircraft,
while under the com-
plete control of the pi-
lot, is inadvertently
flown into terrain, wa-
ter, or an obstacle.
According to the
IATA (International Air
Transport Association),
the term refers to acci-
dents in which in-flight
collisions with terrain,
water, or another obsta-
cle occur without indi-
cation of loss of control.
The United States’
FederalAviationAdmin-
istrationsaysCFITis‘’...
an unintentional colli-
sion with terrain
(ground,mountain,body
of water, or an obstacle)
while an aircraft is un-
der positive control.”
AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 43
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
The Pune police on Wednesday took custody of controversial godman Kalich-
aran Maharaj from Raipur in connection with an alleged inflammatory speech
case registered against him and five others last month. He was brought to
Pune following a transit remand granted by a Raipur court. Later in the day,
a Pune court sent Maharaj in one-day police custody till Thursday.
BSE Sensex gained 367.22 points (0.61 per cent) to reclaim the 60,000 mark
and end at 60,223.15 while the Nifty 50 rose 120.00 points (0.67 per cent) to
settle above the 17,900 mark at 17,925.25. Earlier in the day both the indices
had begun on a choppy note moving in a narrow range in the opening deals.
the gains on Wednesday were led by Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance.
PUNE COPS ARREST
KALICHARAN
MAHARAJ FROM
CHHATTISGARH
SENSEX RISES 367
PTS TO RECLAIM
60K-MARK, NIFTY
ABOVE 17,900
CDS Rawat crash: Pilot error
in cloudy weather,says report
3rd arrest in case
of app hosting
doctored photos
New Delhi: A team of
cyberpoliceofficialsfrom
the Mumbai Crime
Branch Wednesday ar-
rested one more accused
from Uttarakhand for al-
legedly posting obscene
and derogatory content
on an application, which
hosted doctored photo-
graphs and objectionable
commentstargetingMus-
limwomeninthecountry
.
The accused was iden-
tified as Mayank Rawat,
21, a student who was in
touch with the other ac-
cused in the case, Shweta
Singh, 18, and Vishal Ku-
mar Jha, 21.
The police said the
three are part of a larger
team.
Men walk on a road during season’s first snowfall, on the outskirts of Srinagar. Kashmir received fresh snowfall, forcing
suspension of air traffic to the valley as authorities carried out snow-clearance operations in all major towns. P6
58,097
New Delhi: India on
Wednesday reported
58,097 fresh COVID-19
cases in the last 24
hours, 55 per cent
higher than Tuesday’s
37,379 cases. This is
twice the number seen
only four days ago.
The country report-
ed some 9,000 cases on
December 28, so the
count has now gone up
more than six times in
just eight days. India
has 2,135 cases of the
Omicron variant - the
most in Maharashtra
with 653 cases, fol-
lowed by Delhi with
464 cases.
The weekly positiv-
ity rate is 2.60 per cent;
daily positivity rate is
4.18 per cent. Positivi-
ty rate is the percent-
age of all Covid tests
that are actually posi-
tive. It will be high if
the number of positive
tests is high, or if the
number of total tests
is low.
Several states have
announced restric-
tions like night curfew
as Covid cases contin-
ue to rise. Page 3
...new covid cases
clocked in country
NEW HOME
ISOLATION RULES
 The Centre on
Wednesday released
revised guidelines
for home isolation of
mild/asymptomatic
Covid-19 cases.
 According to the
new guidelines, a
patient under home
isolation will stand
discharged after 7
days from testing
positive.
 Provided the
patient has no fever
for 3 successive days
and they shall con-
tinue wearing masks.
There is no need for
re-testing after the
home isolation period
is over, the new guide-
lines stated.
Tamil Nadu: Night
curfew, shutdown
Chennai: In view of
the surge in Covid-19
cases in Tamil Nadu,
Chief Minister MK
Stalin announced that
a night curfew (from
10 pm – 5 am) will be
imposed in the state
from Thursday, Janu-
ary 6 and a complete
lockdown will be ob-
served on all Sundays.
CM urged all to follow
Covid guidelines.
61 resident doctors
at JJ hosp test +ve
Mumbai: Amid the
alarming rise in COV-
ID-19 cases, a total of
61 resident doctors
were found COVID-19
positive at the JJ
hospital in Mumbai,
informed Maharash-
tra Association of
Resident Doctors.
Meanwhile, samples
of 1,827 passengers
on board the Cordelia
cruise ship were sent
for COVID-19 testing.
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
GUJARAT
3,350
NEW CASES
1,637
NEW CASES IN A’BAD
PMNOTSAFEINPUNJAB!
MODI SKIPS FIROZPUR RALLY OVER ‘SECURITY BREACH’
AS PROTESTERS BLOCK FLYOVER ENROUTE
The PM landed in Bathinda on Wednesday, from where he was to go to
National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain
and poor visibility, the PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear
1 When the weather didn’t improve, it was
decided that he would travel by road.
Later, he had to return to Bathinda airport
2
Later, he had to return to Bathinda airport
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s (in circle) cavalcade
was stranded on a flyover
for 20 minutes as protesters
blocked his way in Punjab.
Mohd Fahad
New Delhi: Prime Min-
isterNarendraModican-
celled his programme in
Punjab on Wednesday
after a massive security
breach left him stuck on
ahighwayfor20minutes
because of protesting
farmers. In a spiralling
row in election season,
the BJP accused Pun-
jab’s ruling Congress of
“murderousintentions”.
Visuals from Bathin-
da showed the Prime
Minister’s convoy on
the flyover, surrounded
by Special Protection
Group (SPG) personnel.
PM Modi was seen wait-
ing in a black armoured
Toyota Fortuner ringed
by SPG officers. Barely
a few feet from his car
were clusters of people
and policemen. Images
tweeted by a BJP work-
er showed posters held
up as the PM’s car drove
by
. A BJP bus following
the convoy was heckled
by protesters.
PM Modi cut short
his visit and returned
to the airport.
MHA SEEKS REPORT
FROM PUNJAB GOVT
New Delhi: The Minis-
try of Home Affairs has
sought a report from
the Punjab government
asking how the PM’s
cavalcade was stranded
on a flyover for over 15
minutes due to a protest,
when his programme
had been duly com-
municated to the state
police. “Such dereliction
of security procedure in
the Prime Minister’s visit
is totally unacceptable
and accountability will
be fixed,” tweeted Union
Home Minister Amit Shah.
QUIT: AMARINDER TO PUNJAB CM CHANNI
Chandigarh: Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder
Singh slammed the state’s Charanjit Singh Channi
government. “Complete failure of law and order in
Punjab, CM and HM Punjab, in particular. When you
cannot provide smooth passage to the Prime Minister
of the country and that too just 10km from the Pakistan
border, you have no right to stay in office and should
quit!” read his tweet.
I had been up till
late night over-
seeing security
arrangements for rally.
The PM’s road plans were
made at the last minute,
he was earlier supposed to
travel by helicopter
Charanjeet Channi, Punjab CM
We in BJP want
to know who in
the Punjab gov-
ernment gave informa-
tion about the prime min-
ister‘s route to individuals
who planted themselves
atop the flyover?
Smriti Irani, Union Minister
Apne CM ko
thanks kehna, ki
mein Bhatinda
airport tak zinda
laut paaya.
Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister to officials
before leaving Punjab
Hospital Staffers arrange beds as part of preparations for the
third wave of COVID-19 in Coimbatore.
A PARADISE CALLED KASHMIR
A PARADISE CALLED KASHMIR
YOU READ IT FIRST INDIA ON DECEMBER 9, 2021

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Bhuj: Members of Kuk-
ma village balika pan-
chayat on Tuesday paid
a visit to the district de-
velopment officer, dis-
trict collector and other
officials to demand a
public toilet for women
in the village. They also
demanded public trans-
port service connecting
their village with the
taluka headquarters.
Located 11 kilometres
from the Kutch district’s
capital town of Bhuj,
Kukma village’s popula-
tion is 7,216 people. Of
these, 3,483 are females
and 3,733 are males.
Serving as the balika
panchayat sarpanch is
Urmi Chad, who was
elected to the post last
year. Speaking to First
India, Urmi said, “I
went with balika pan-
chayat members to
make a representation
regarding our issues to
the District Develop-
ment Officer Bhavya
Verma and Collector
Praveena D K, as well as
other officers.”
Narrating the ordeal
of women in their vil-
lage, Urmi informed,
“There is no public toi-
let in the village. One
has been under con-
structionforalongtime,
so we requested the of-
ficers to get it completed
at the earliest.”
Naku Rabari, one of
the members of the ba-
lika panchayat, stated,
“
All families do not have
individual toilets in-
stalled. Female mem-
bers that do not have
personal toilets are left
with no choice but to go
out in the open for defe-
cation. They cannot use
the toilet of a neighbour
or go in public due to
safety concerns.” As
public transportation is
also an issue for us, we
have requested district
authorities to com-
mence public transport
connecting our village
and neighbouring vil-
lages with Bhuj, she
added.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: On
Wednesday, a Koli com-
munity delegation led
by the former Water Re-
sources Minister Kun-
varji Bavaliya met with
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) state unit presi-
dent CR Patil in Gan-
dhinagar. Surprisingly,
former BJP MP from
Surendranagar Devjib-
hai Fatehpura was not a
part of this delegation.
He has levelled allega-
tions that Bavaliya’s
delegation comprised
those who believed in
Congress’ ideology
.
Just three days ago,
Bavaliya and Fatehpu-
ra were seen together at
the community meeting
held in Rajkot. They ad-
dressed members and
expressed their inten-
tions to take up the in-
justice done to their
community and fight
for the cause together.
However, their unity
did not last two days as
Fatehpura has claimed
to have been betrayed
by Bavaliya and an-
nounced that he will
form a ‘Valinath Sena’
of community mem-
bers from taluka to dis-
trict level. He also stat-
ed that only Bavaliya
Kolis had met Patil, and
he will lead a delegation
of Chuvaliya, Talpada
and Ghedia Kolis to
meet the state BJP chief
separately
.
According to sources,
many Koli leaders are
unhappy with Bavali-
ya’s style of function-
ing. In fact, veteran
community leader from
Gir Somnath Jethabhai
Jora was also not part
of the delegation led by
Bavaliaya on Wednes-
day
. Jethabhai told First
India, that “no one from
the Gir Somnath dis-
trict was called for the
meeting.” Other BJP
leaders who had joined
the delegation led by
Bavaliya were Juna-
gadh MP Rajesh Chu-
dasama, former Rajula
MLA Hirabhai Solanki,
among others.
“Despite our domi-
nance on many state as-
sembly seats, no MLA
from the Koli commu-
nity was made a cabinet
minister. It is an injus-
tice. However, we sup-
port the BJP and there
is changing that,” as-
serted a senior commu-
nity leader.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: In re-
sponse to Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) leader Yu-
vrajsinh Jadeja’s alle-
gation of playing a key
role in orchestrating
irregularities in an on-
line examination held
for the recruitment of
engineers for the Guja-
rat Energy Transmis-
sion Corporation Lim-
ited (GETCO), Aravalli
district Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) Gen-
eral Secretary Awad-
hesh Patel has accused
him of defamation.
Meanwhile, Jadeja has
announced that there
is more to reveal in the
recruitment scam.
Following Jadeja’s
disclosure, police had
detained one of the ac-
cused, Arvind Patel,
and interrogated him
for nine hours on Janu-
ary 04. On Wednesday,
Awadhesh Patel ad-
dressed media persons
and said, “I switched
off my mobile phone
because I was mentally
drained. If I have any
involvement in the
exam scam, I will not
cooperate in legal pro-
ceedings. Yuvraj must
prove that I have taken
money from the stu-
dent in question, or I
will file a defamation
suit against him.”
He added, “I have my
suspicions but I do not
want to reveal any-
thing right now. This is
a political defamation
stunt.”
Defending himself,
Patel also said, “I am
involved in animal hus-
bandry and agricul-
ture. I do not run any
educational classes nor
do I have any teachers
on payroll. The local
panchayat elections are
over, and I found out
that yuvraj had come to
Dhansura (in Aravalli
district), which is why
this (exam scam allega-
tion) seems to be a con-
spiracy
.”
Harshad Nai, who
has also been accused
of involvement in the
exam scam, has
claimed that he is inno-
cent.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A Con-
gress corporator from
theChandkhedawardof
the Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation (AMC)
has moved a petition be-
fore the Gujarat High
Court pleading cancella-
tionof theannualflower
show to be held at the
Sabarmati Riverfront.
In her petition, Ra-
jshri Kesri has submit-
ted that the AMC’s rec-
reational, cultural and
heritage committee met
on December 01, 2021,
where it was decided
that the flower show
wouldbeshiftedfromEl-
lisbridge to near Sardar
Bridge this year. “On De-
cember 09, the AMC
standing committee
passed a resolution au-
thorizingthefundingfor
the flower show,” she
stated.
Pleading her case, the
petition mentioned,
“Over the last few days,
there has been a huge
rise in COVID-19 cases
in the city
. It would be
dangerous for the flower
show to be organized in
the city at such a time.
The Omicron variant is
spreading at a much
faster pace than other
nCoV variants. Accord-
ing to the state health
development COVID-19
website, the doubling
rate is two to three days.
If the flower show goes
ahead as scheduled, it
will put the lives of citi-
zens at risk.”
Thepetitionerfurther
submitted that if the
flower show is organ-
ized, the corporation
plans to allow 400 visi-
tors every hour. “In 11
hours, around 4,400 visi-
tors will be visiting the
show. Even if the COV-
ID-19 Standard Operat-
ing Procedure (SOP) is
strictly followed, such
public events can multi-
ply cases in the city
,” she
warned.
Cong AMC councillor pleads HC for flower show cancellation
PLEA FOR LIVES
Preparations underway for the annual flower show at Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad.
GHCAA DEMANDS VIRTUAL HEARINGS
KOLI REPORTCARD
WHAT IS BALIKA PANCHAYAT?
—PHOTO
BY
HANIF
SINDHI
Are Kolis divided ahead
of 2022 poll campaign?
Koli community leaders with BJP state unit president CR Patil at party headquarters ‘Shri Kamalam’ in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.
FORMER BJP MP DEVJIBHAI FATEHPURA WAS CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT
FROM BAVALIYA’S DELEGATION MEET WITH PARTY STATE PREZ PATIL
Election training of young girls at Kunariya village balika panchayat. —FILE PHOTO
Kukma village balika panchayat
demands toilet, public transport
Many families do
not have personal
toilets which force
women to defecate
in the open; several
villages cut-off
from Bhuj town
AWADHESH PATEL CRIES DEFAMATION,
AAP’S JADEJA SAYS ‘MORE TO COME’
AAP leader Yuvrajsinh Jadeja (centre) had earlier made
revelations about the GSSSB exam paper leak. —FILE PHOTO
CLASSICAL TUNES
Sitarist Amita Dalal was
accompanied by Sapan Anjaria
on tabla on Day 05 of the Saptak
Music Festival held at LD Arts
College campus on Wednesday.
Enthralling the audience with his
performance, vocalist Pandit Rattan
Mohan Sharma was supported by
Ramkumar Mishra on tabla, Hemant
Bhatt on pakhawaj and Nilay Salvi
on harmonium in the second session
of the day. The final performance of
the evening was Pandit Hariprasad
Chaurasia’s spellbinding flute music.
—PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI

GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Jaladhi
Parmar, a Class III
student from Anand
Vidya Vihar, secured
a gold and a silver
medal to rise to No. 1
in her age group at
the 59th National
Roller Skating Cham-
pionship held in New
Delhi and Mohali De-
cember 11-22.
Jaladhi, who has been
skating since she was
five years old, said she
practised around four
hours a day to prepare
for the national-level
event organized by the
Roller Skating Federa-
tion of India (RSFI). She
won two silver and a
bronze medal in the 41st
Gujarat State Roller
Skating Championship
2021toqualifyfortheNa-
tional competition.
“Jaladhi’s victory is
as a result of her deter-
mination and hard work
coupledwithherparents
support.Weareproudof
her and we hope she in-
spires her colleagues,”
the principal of Anand
Vidya Vihar said.
“We enrolled her in
skating when she was
five years old, and now
her hard work has paid
off ! Usually, she prac-
tises at the skating rink
at Gotri, but during the
pandemic, she’s been
skating on the terrace
of our residential com-
plex, Jaladhi’s mother
Urvashi said.
RSFI’s contests span
multiple age categories
and disciplines includ-
ing skating, artistic
skating, roller freestyle,
and roller scooter.
Class III V’dara student skates her way to glory at nat’l contest
GOING FOR GOLD
A triumphant Jaladhi after her win.
Jaladhi Parmar, who brought home
a gold and a silver at 59th National
Roller Skating Championship is
now No 1 in India
Trucker from Punjab held in
foiled bank loot at Pipavav port
COPS TO TRACK PARTIALLY VAXXED PERSONS
AMID DEMAND TO SUSPEND OFFLINE CLASSES
WOMAN THROWS HER 2 KIDS
IN WELL, COMMITS SUICIDE
Mukesh Kumar to head health dept
as active tally crosses 10K in state
First India Bureau
Amreli: Pipavav Port
police have arrested
one Dharampreet Sin-
gh in a foiled bank
robbery at a private
bank. Singh is cur-
rently receiving treat-
ment for a bullet
wound sustained
when the cops shot at
him after he tried to
attack them with an
iron rod.
On receiving a tip on
Wednesday morning
that someone had bro-
kenintothelocalbranch
of Axis Bank and was
trying to loot it, a police
team led by Sub-Inspec-
tor Dipsinh Tuvar was
deployed to the bank
premises, where they
found the front gate
locked and undisturbed.
However, a rear window
had been broken. After
setting up a perimeter
around the bank, the
team challenged the
would-be looter who
then jumped out of the
windowwithanironrod
and tried to injure the
police officer who, in
turn opened fire, shoot-
ing Singh in the foot.
The cops then rushed
Singh to the hospital for
treatment.
During primary ques-
tioning, Singh revealed
that he is a truck driver
from Punjab. He had
come to pick up goods
from the port, and tried
his luck at the bank
since there was no secu-
rity guard there. How-
ever, the bank’s CCTV
security system alerted
its headquarters, which
in turn called the police.
Amreli district Super-
intendent of Police
Nirlipt Rai, the Local
Crime Branch and Spe-
cial Operation Group
team are now investigat-
ing further.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation has
given the police a list
of six lakh people who
are yet to receive the
second dose of the vac-
cine against COV-
ID-19. “People are not
coming forward to get
the second dose even
though they have re-
ceived the first one. So
we have roped in the
police to help. They
will find the roughly
six lakh people who
are overdue for their
second dose and call
them to complete the
vaccination,” an AMC
official said.
The cops are not hap-
py with the additional
workload. “The police
force is already spread
thin. In addition to our
regular responsibilities
of maintaining law and
order, a large contingent
of police personnel have
beendeployedfortheup-
coming Vibrant Gujarat
Summit. Now this will
add further pressure on
an already overworked
force,” a senior police of-
ficer told First India.
Meanwhile, the de-
mand for the suspension
of in-person or “offline”
education in schools is
getting louder.
In a letter to Educa-
tion Minister Jitu Va-
ghani, the Gujarat Rajya
Nagar Prathmik Shik-
shak Sangh said, “Over
the past week or so, the
confluence of Omicron
and COVID-19 has been
growing rapidly in ma-
jor cities (metropolitan,
municipal areas) across
the state. Teachers and
students in primary
schools and secondary
schools of various cities
in the state are also be-
ing infected. Offline edu-
cation in primary
schools has been sus-
pended in various states
of India. We request the
Gujarat government to
do the same from Janu-
ary 10.” The letter adds
thatitisunreasonableto
expect little children to
follow COVID-19 proto-
cols religiously
.
Meanwhile, two
schoolsinAhmedabad—
UdgamandZebar—have
taken the decision to
hold only online classes
for all their students.
The Congress too has
demanded that in-per-
son classes be suspend-
ed. Congress leader
Parthivraj Kathvadia
said, “Who will be re-
sponsible if the kids get
infected? I am appeal-
ing to the education
minister to think about
their safety
.”
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
state government on
Wednesday gave addi-
tional charge of the
Health Department to
the Principal Secre-
tary in the Urban De-
velopment Depart-
ment, Mukesh Kumar
after IAS officer
Manoj Aggarwal,
who was heading the
state’s Health Depart-
ment as its Addition-
al Chief Secretary
tested positive on
Tuesday.
The daily COVID-19
cases in Gujarat on
Wednesday crossed the
3,000-mark for the first
time after May 26 last
year with the addition
of 3,350 infections, rais-
ing the state’s tally to
8,40,643.
Gujarat had reported
3,794 cases on May 23,
2021. The daily tally had
crossed 3,000 again on
May 26. The day before,
Gujarat had seen 2,265
new cases.
A total of 236 patients
were discharged after
treatment, which in-
creased the overall
number of recoveries
in Gujarat to 8,19,523.
The active tally is
now at 10,994, while an-
other fatality in Amreli
took the total death toll
to 10,126.
Minister of State for
Narmada, Kalpasar and
Fisheries Jitubhai
Chaudhari on Wednes-
day said he has tested
positive for COVID-19
for the second time in
nine months.
Meanwhile, Gujarat
also reported 50 new
cases of the Omicron
variant on Wednesday,
taking the tally of such
cases in the state to 204.
First India Bureau
Dahod: A woman al-
legedly threw her two
minor children into a
well before herself
jumping into it in Da-
hod district apparent-
ly following a domes-
tic dispute, police said
on Wednesday
.
The incident took
place on the outskirts
of Degawada village in
Devgadh Baria taluka
on Tuesday
.
Minakshi Harijan
(30), who was married
for 12 years, left her
home in the morning
along with her two chil-
dren, saying she was go-
ing to collect firewood,
an official said.
When she did not re-
turn till late evening,
her family members
tried to contact her on
her mobile phone, but
in vain.
Later, a cattle grazer
heard a mobile phone
ringing outside the
well. He picked up the
phone following which
the woman’s family
members came to know
about the incident. Her
slippers were also found
near the well, the offi-
cial said. Fire personnel
were subsequently
alerted and they fished
out the bodies of the
woman, her daughter
aged seven and a four-
year-old son from the
well, he said.
The woman took the
extreme step apparent-
ly following a dispute
with her in-laws, the of-
ficial said.
Further investiga-
tion into the case is on,
he added.
SPIRITED EFFORT
AMC GIVES POLICE PERSONNEL LIST OF 6 LAKH PERSONS TO CALL AND ENCOURAGE TO TAKE 2ND DOSE
COVID-19 UPDATE
1,637 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD
ACTIVE CASES
8,19,523
TOTALRECOVERED
236 MORE
IN A DAY
8,40,643
TOTAL CASES
3,350 CASES
IN A DAY
10,126
TOTAL DEATHS
10,126
01 DEATH
IN A DAY
OMICRON CASES: 204; NEW: 50
HEED THE
KITES!
A kite seller displays kites
with reminders to wear
masks to protect against
COVID-19 in the run-up
to Uttarayan on the Jan
14. Meanwhile, the state
has announced that the
International Kite Festival
will be held at the Statue of
Unity next Monday.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
2.5K PARENTS GET JABS WITH THEIR KIDS
A young student gets a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in A’bad. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
4 DIE AS WALL COLLAPSES

PERSPECTIVE
04
lVol3lIssueNo.43
l 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: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
What is extremely worrisome is that
this incident was also a big security
lapse as far as the PM is concerned.
Protestors were given access to
the Prime Minister’s route while the
Punjab CS and DGP gave assurances
to SPG that the route is clear.
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
Warm wishes and greetings to senior
BJP leader, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi ji
on his birthday. He is widely respected
for his scholarly pursuits and rich
contributions towards strengthening
the party and the nation. Praying for
his long and healthy life.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
There has to be evil so
that good can prove
its purity above it.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
AMID COVID SURGE
CONGRESS SETS
EXAMPLE, DEFERS
POLITICAL EVENTS
TOP TWEETS
he Congress has set
an example by put-
ting on hold all its
planned rallies in Ut-
tar Pradesh in view
of the frighteningly rapid in-
crease in active Omicron cases
in the country. The party took
the decision after criticism for
holding girls’ marathons. Other
parties would do well to also de-
fer their scheduled political
events which are used only to
tell people about what they pro-
pose to do in future. The BJP is
said to be preparing for virtual
rallies. Over 58,000 Covid cases
were recorded in the country as
the Omicron variant spread ex-
ponentially across the world.
Uttar Pradesh goes to poll
along with Punjab, Uttara-
khand,GoaandManipuraround
the time when the caseload is
likely to peak. The Election
Commission has already re-
viewed the Covid situation amid
demands to delay the elections.
A similar situation had arisen
in the 2020 Assembly elections
in Bihar when virtual rallies
were introduced but that did not
help in preventing huge crowds
from gathering at venues.
T
nvestigation into
the Bulli Bai app
case in which ob-
jectionable mes-
sages were up-
loaded alongside doctored
photographs of Muslim wom-
en has led to a shocking rev-
elation of how hate has poi-
soned young minds.
The three persons arrested
by Mumbai’s cyber cell in-
clude two 21-year-olds, one of
them an engineering student,
and a girl aged 18. Mayank
Rawal, who is from Uttara-
khandlikethegirl,waspicked
up by police on Wednesday
.
The other two were arrested a
day earlier. The accused had
used an open-source software
platform GitHub to upload
photos of Muslim women for
auction on the Bulli Bai app.
Earlier, an app named “Sulli
Deals” was used to upload ob-
jectionable content and in-
vited people to bid for Muslim
women whose photos were
accessed from their social me-
dia sites, morphed and put up
for auction.
That a teenage girl was
heading the group posting
communal and embarrassing
posts about women comes as
a bigger shock. Her co-ac-
cused, an engineering stu-
dent from Bengaluru, had
created a fake account in the
name of Khalsa supremacist
to give the campaign a more
sinister angle of maligning
the Sikh community
.
The involvement of young
students in such a disgusting
and shameful activity should
cause concern in every right
thinking person. The BJP,
Central and state govern-
ments, leaders of ultra-right
outfits, parents and teachers
must realise the danger
which the hate-mongers are
putting our youth in. Society
in general will bear the brunt
if corrective measures are
not taken. Counselling will
help but for that politicians
and society elders must shun
their communal mindsets.
POISONING OF YOUNG
MINDS MUST STOP
Accused had used an
open-source software
platform GitHub to upload
photos of Muslim women
for auction on Bulli Bai
app. Earlier, an app named
Sulli Deals was used to
invite people to bid for
Muslim women
I
WORLD ECONOMY IN 2022: BIG
FACTORS TO WATCH CLOSELY
ill 2022 be the year where the
world economy recovers
from the pandemic? That’s
the big question on every-
one’s lips as the festive break
comes to an end.
One complicating factor is
that most of the latest major
forecasts were published in
the weeks before the omicron
variant swept the world. At
that time, the mood was that
recovery was indeed around
the corner, with the IMF pro-
jecting 4.9% growth in 2022
and the OECD projecting
4.5%. These numbers are
lower than circa 5% to 6%
global growth expected to
have been achieved in 2021,
but that represents inevita-
ble rebound from reopening
after pandemic lows of 2020.
So what difference will
omicron make to the state of
the economy? We already
know that it had an effect in
the run-up to Christmas, with
for example UK hospitality
taking a hit as people stayed
away from restaurants.
For the coming months, the
combination of raised re-
strictions, cautious consum-
ers and people taking time off
sick is likely to take its toll.
Yet the fact that the new vari-
ant seems milder than origi-
nally feared is likely to mean
that restrictions are lifted
more quickly and that the
economic effect is more mod-
erate than it might have been.
Israel and Australia, for ex-
ample, are already loosening
restrictions despite high case
numbers. At the same time,
however, until the west tack-
les very low vaccination rates
in some parts of the world,
don’t be surprised if another
new variant brings further
damage to both public health
and the world economy
.
As things stand, the UK
thinktank CEBR published a
more recent 2022 forecast just
before Christmas. It predict-
ed that global growth would
reach 4% this year, and that
total world economy would
hit a new all-time high of
US$100 trillion (£74 trillion).
THE INFLATION
QUESTION
One other big unknown is in-
flation. In 2021 we saw a sud-
den and sharp surge in infla-
tion resulting from the resto-
ration of global economic
activity and bottlenecks in
the global supply chain.
There has been much debate
about whether this inflation
will prove temporary, and
central banks have been com-
ing under pressure to ensure
it doesn’t spiral.
So far, the European Cen-
tral Bank, Federal Reserve
and Bank of Japan have all
abstained from raising inter-
est rates from their very low
levels. The Bank of England,
on the other hand, followed
the IMF’s advice and raised
rates from 0.1% to 0.25% in
December.
POLITICS & GLOBAL
TRADE
The trade war between the
US and China looks likely to
continue in 2022. The “phase
1” deal between the two na-
tions, in which China had
agreed to increase its pur-
chases of certain US goods
and services by a combined
US$200 billion over 2020 and
2021 has missed its target by
about 40% (as at the end of
November).
The deal has now expired,
and the big question for in-
ternational trade in 2022 is
whether there will be a new
“phase 2” deal.
Elsewhere, western ten-
sions with Russia over
Ukraine and further escala-
tion of economic sanctions
against Putin may have eco-
nomic consequences for the
global economy – not least
because of Europe’s depend-
ency on Russian gas. What-
ever happens politically, it is
clear that Asia will be very
important for growth pros-
pects in 2022. Major econo-
mies such as the UK, Japan
and the eurozone were all
still smaller than before the
pandemic as recently as the
third quarter of 2021, the lat-
est data available. The only
major developed economy
that has already recovered its
losses and regained its pre-
COVID size is the US.
On the other hand, China
has managed the pandemic
well – albeit with strict con-
trol measures – and its econ-
omy has achieved strong
growth since the second
quarter of 2020.
As for India, whose econo-
my has seen double dips dur-
ing the pandemic, it is show-
ing a strong positive trend
with 8.5% expected growth in
the year ahead. I therefore
suspect that emerging Asia
will shoulder global growth
in 2022, and the world’s eco-
nomic centre of gravity will
continue to shift eastwards at
an accelerated pace.
THECONVERSATION.COM
W
MUHAMMAD
ALI NASIR
The writer is Associate Professor
in Economics and Finance,
University of Huddersfield
The trade war between the
US and China looks likely
to continue in 2022. The
“phase 1” deal between the
two nations, in which
China had agreed to
increase its purchases of
certain US goods and
services by a combined
US$200 billion over 2020
and 2021 has missed its
target by about 40% (as at
the end of November)
As things stand, the
UK thinktank CEBR
published a more
recent 2022 forecast just
before Christmas. It
predicted that global
growth would reach 4%
this year, and that total
world economy would hit
a new all-time high of
US$100 trillion
(£74 trillion)

To Receive Free Newspaper
PDF Daily
Whatsapp:
http://bit.ly/whatsappahm
Telegram:
https://t.me/firstindiaahmedabad
Click the above link☝ subscribe us on your
preferred platform.

Kabul: The Taliban
have announced a state
of emergency in Af-
ghanistanasheavysnow
andrainfallcontinuesto
batter the country, re-
ported local media.
Provincialauthorities
have been directed by
the Officials of the State
Ministry for Disaster
Managementforfurther
preparedness for rain
and snowfall, reported
Khaama Press. Materi-
als to the provinces have
been sent to states to as-
sist people during the
snow and rainfall and
their distribution is un-
derway, said Muham-
mad Amin Mubariz, an
official of the ministry
.
Afghanistan’s 32 out of
34 provinces are wit-
nessing repeated snow,
rainfall and it has
clogged routes. Due to
the massive rainfall,
floods also erupted in
several provinces.
Salang highway that
connects Kabul with
Northern provinces has
been left clogged due to
heavysnowfallandwind,
said Khaama Press. —ANI
INDIA
05
New Delhi: After 'Bulli
Bai',Facebookpagesand
a Telegram channel al-
legedlytargettingHindu
women have now sur-
faced. Union Minister
for Electronics and In-
formation Technology
Ashwini Vaishnaw on
Wednesday assured ac-
tion against them and
saidthatthechannelhas
been taken down.
In reply to a com-
plaint on Twitter re-
garding the Telegram
Channel, Vaishnaw
said, Channel blocked.
Government of India
coordinating with po-
lice authorities of states
for action. Several abu-
sive pages and groups
on Facebook have also
surfaced, compaints
against whom had been
tweeted by a Twitter
user, to which Union
Minister of State for
Electronics and Infor-
mation Technology Ra-
jeev Chandrasekhar
said that had he has di-
rected the concerned
authorities to inform
Meta and to get them
taken down.
Have directed Gov-
ernment of India MeitY
team to inform Meta
and have it taken down,
Chandrasekhar said in
a tweet.
The IT Ministers
were replying to com-
plaints of a YouTuber
by the name of Anshul
Saxena, who alleged
that the Telegram chan-
nel, groups and pages
on Facebook were tar-
geting Hindu women,
sharing their photos
and abusing them.
According to Saxena,
the Telegram Channel
wascreatedinJune2021.
Earlier, based on the
complaint of a woman
journalist at the Delhi
Cyber police station in
whikch she alleged that
her photos were upload-
ed on the website 'Bulli
Bai' to target her, and
harass and insult Mus-
lim women. —ANI
GovtblocksTelegramchannel
fortargetingHinduwomen
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said govt coordinating with police authorities of states
Image for representational purpose only.
Jharkhand: Atleast six
people were killed while
several injured in a col-
lision between a bus
and a tanker in the Am-
dapara area of
Jharkhand's Pakur on
Wednesday
.
As per the Varun
Ranjan, District Col-
lector of Pakur, 15 peo-
ple have been injured.
Further details are
awaited. —ANI
16 killed as bus
collides with truck
in Jharkhand
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Wednesday condoled
the death of Padma
Shri recipient Sind-
hutai Sapkal stating
that the renowned so-
cial worker would be
remembered for her no-
ble service to society
.
“The life of Dr Sind-
hutai Sapkal was an
inspiring saga of cour-
age, dedication and
service. She loved and
served orphaned, trib-
als and marginalised
people. Conferred with
Padma Shri in 2021,
she scripted her own
story with incredible
grit,” tweeted Rashtra-
pati Bhavan.
“Sindhutai Sapkal
Ji’s life is an inspiring
example of social ser-
vice. Her selfless dedi-
cation service-orient-
ed works shaped lives
of children. She also
supported several un-
derprivileged fami-
lies,” tweeted Om Birla.
PM Modi condoles
demise of Sindhutai
Taliban declares emergency
amid heavy snow, rain in Af
Image for representational purpose only.
AKHTAR URGES COMPASSION FOR
ALLEGED ‘BULLI BAI’ MASTERMIND
INDIANS ARE SUCCUMBING TO HATRED:
MALLIKARJUN KHARGE ON BULLI BAI ROW
After an 18-year-old woman was arrested by
the Mumbai police in connection with the Bulli
Bai app controversy, veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar
expressed his views on the same, urging
people to forgive her as the young
girl reportedly lost her parents to
cancer and COVID-19 recently.
Akhtar, who has been actively
sharing his opinions on the case,
took to his Twitter handle on
Wednesday to ask netizens
to show compassion
and forgive the girl.
LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, “It’s
distressing to see 18-21 year olds committing
crimes sparked by the radicalism of RSS and BJP’s
ideology.” Kharge said the youth are
succumbing to hatred. “Instead of
excelling in education employ-
ment, they have become pawns in
the hands of BJP-RSS,” he said.
The Mumbai police have arrested
three persons in the case, two
from Uttarakhand and one
from Bengaluru, who are in
their early twenties.
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: The Cen-
tral government on
Wednesday informed
the SC that there was a
“compelling need” to
appoint Indian Police
Service (IPS) Rakesh
Asthana as the Delhi
Police Commissioner
taking into considera-
tion the national capi-
tal’s “extremely chal-
lenging situations” of
public order on na-
tional security
.
The MHA, while jus-
tifying the appoint-
ment of Asthana as the
Delhi Police commis-
sioner, informed the
apex court through an
affidavit that Asthana
was appointed police
chief of Delhi as a
“special case of public
interest”.
The affidavit was
filed on a plea of NGO
CPIL against the Delhi
HC order of upholding
Asthana’s appoint-
ment as police chief.
Asthana appointed police chief
considering riots: MHA in SC
New Delhi: TheCentral
government on Wednes-
day requested the Su-
preme Court to allow
commencement of the
counselling for NEET-
PG saying doctors con-
cerns for counselling
are genuine.
Solicitor General
Tushar Mehta appear-
ing for Centre told a
bench headed by Jus-
tice DY Chandrachud,
“Let us proceed with
the counselling. We are
at a point where coun-
selling is stuck. We
need doctors and their
concerns are genuine.”
Centre urges SC:
Allow NEET-PG
counselling
DELHI HIGH COURT HEARS
FUTURE GROUP APPEAL
New Delhi: Future Retail and its promoters
have filed appeals before the division bench
of the Delhi High Court challenging the or-
der passed on Tuesday that dismissed the
Group’s petitions for termination of the Amazon
arbitration. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday
dismissed the pleas moved by Future Group
companies seeking a direction to the arbitra-
tion tribunal, adjudicating Amazon’s objections
against Future Group’s deal with Reliance, to
take a decision on their application for terminat-
ing the arbitration proceedings before moving
any further. The appeal will be listed before the
Chief Justice of Delhi High Court at 02:15 p.m.
on Wednesday, it added.
Anita Hada
New Delhi: Since form-
ing the government at
the Centre, all the peo-
ple who were nominat-
ed to the Rajya Sabha by
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi are retiring
this year as seven of the
12 nominated quota
seats are falling vacant.
Journalist Swapna
Dasgupta, who was
nominated twice in one
term,isretiringinApril
this year. Veteran BJP
leader Subramanian
Swamy is also retiring
in April itself.
Apart from these, Ma-
layalam film actor
Suresh Gopi, Olympic
medalist boxer MC
Mary Kom, Bengali ac-
tress Roopa Ganguly,
who played Draupadi in
the Mahabharata seri-
al, well-known intellec-
tual Narendra Jadhav
and Chhatrapati Samb-
haji, one of Shivaji Ma-
haraj’s descendants, are
retiring this year.
Of those retiring, two
are Bengalis, two Mara-
this and two from South
India. This time it will
change so that a better
regional balance is cre-
ated. Generally, no one
is sent to RS for two con-
secutive terms in nomi-
nated quota. But this is
not a rule. Dasgupta,
who contested Assem-
bly polls of West Bengal
by resigning from RS
last year, lost, and was
re-nominated by the
party to Rajya Sabha.
Therefore, he may get
a chance once again.
But the rest of the MPs
are finding it difficult to
get a chance.
Suresh Gopi has left
the party disappointed
and Roopa Ganguly also
did not prove to be very
useful. On top of that,
she has also started giv-
ing statements against
party. Swamy is also
continuously opening a
front against the Modi
government.
That’s when it seems
that new faces will be
brought in most of the
seats. Instead of well-
known leaders, un-
known people can get a
chance, much like how
Ramshakal of Uttar
Pradesh got a chance.
WATCH OUT FOR NOMINATED
QUOTASEATSINRAJYASABHA!
Mahesh Sharma
Jaipur: Whenever Bi-
har Chief Minister Nit-
ish Kumar feels he is
getting weak politically
or has to give a message
to his ally, the BJP, he
goes on a tour and al-
most all of his such
journeys start from Val-
mikinagar. The region
has great religious, his-
torical and political sig-
nificance.
This time Nitish has
set out on a Samaj Sud-
har Yatra social reform
journey
. For him social
reform means prohibi-
tion of alcohol. Interest-
ingly, he came to know
of this meaning only
five-six years ago be-
cause before that he was
distributing licences of
liquor shops in every
nook and corner of his
state. But now he has
engaged the police and
administration of en-
tire state to implement
the prohibition law.
However, both the
timing and purpose of
his visit are very clear.
He is traveling to give a
message to his ally BJP
.
He is connecting direct-
ly with the people and
discussing the politics
with the local leaders
wherever he is going.
He knows that without
him the BJP will not be
able to form the govern-
ment in the state and
PM Narendra Modi
needs him in the 2024
elections. That is why
he is showing attitude
to the state leaders of
the ally-party
.
Recently
, by-elections
were held for two as-
sembly seats in Bihar.
JanataDal-Ucandidates
were contesting on both
these seats and BJP
leaders were helping
them, but in a casual
way. Despite this, JDU
won both the seats.
Meanwhile,therewas
a split in the Lok Jan-
shakti Party and five
out of the six MPs, who
have the open support
of Nitish Kumar’s party
,
were on one side. In this
way
, Nitish has avenged
the defeat caused by
LJP in the Assembly
elections.
Nitish has also in-
cluded the lone MLA
who won from LJP, in
his party
. All these inci-
dents brought back the
confidence of the Chief
Minister and he decided
to reply to the state-
ments of BJP leaders.
It may be noted that
BJP leaders had said
many times in the past
that Nitish is the CM of
circumstances and is
sitting on the throne by
the grace of BJP
.
Encouraged by the
victory in the by-elec-
tion, Nitish started the
yatra and with the sup-
port he is getting in the
yatra, he is also giving a
message to the BJP that
if it is in power, it is be-
cause of him.
On the issue of caste
census and special cat-
egory status, he has
got the support of the
main Opposition party
RJD, while the BJP is
opposing it. But Nitish
does not care about that
protest!
Nitish Kumar’s Samaj Sudhar Yatra has a message for ally BJP!
BIHAR POLITICS

INDIA
06
New Delhi: The Centre
on Wednesday said the
upsurge of Covid-19
cases is happening in
cities and the Omicron
variant is the predomi-
nant circulating strain.
It also noted that the
precautionary dose of
Covid-19 vaccine for
healthcare and front-
line workers as well as
those above 60 years
with comorbidities will
be same as the first two
doses of the vaccine.
“Upsurge of infec-
tions is happening in
cities. Omicron is the
predominant circulat-
ing strain and mass
gatherings need to be
avoided to reduce the
speed of the spread of
infection.
“India reported over
6.3 times rise in Covid
cases in the last eight
days. There has been a
sharp rise in case posi-
tivity from 0.79 per cent
on December 29 to 5.03
per cent on January 5,”
they said.
They said six states/
UTs now have over
10,000 active Covid
cases. —Agencies
PRECAUTIONARY DOSE OF VACCINE FOR FRONTLINE WORKERS AS WELL AS
THOSE ABOVE 60 YEARS WILL BE SAME AS FIRST TWO DOSES OF VACCINE
Indiastaringatfull-blown crisis,
6 fold increase in cases in 8 days
Dr. VK Paul interacts with Dr. Balram Bhargava during a media
briefing in New Delhi on Wednesday —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: A Covid-19 patient being treated at Covid Care Centre, Commonwealth Games Village,
in New Delhi on Wednesday. —ANI PHOTO
Chahal hails vax
drive in Mumbai
Mumbai: Mumbai
on Wednesday saw a
39 per cent jump in
daily cases over
Tuesday as it record-
ed 15,166 new cases
of coronavirus in 24
hours — the highest
since the outbreak of
pandemic in 2020 —
with three related
deaths.
BMC Commission-
er Iqbal Singh Cha-
hal said that Mum-
bai is more than pre-
pared to fight against
the Covid because of
its excellent vaccina-
tion programme and
will soon achieve the
100 per cent vaccina-
tion target in the city
.
Chahal hailed vac-
cination drive and
said BMC will com-
plete vaccination for
nearly 37,000 kids by
Thursday
.
“We have 2.1 mil-
lion vaccine availa-
ble with us in stock,
14 lakhs in private
hospitals and 7 lakhs
in BMC. There is no
shortage of vaccine,
the last mile is re-
maining because in
Covishield there is
84 days gap. People
who are not due, we
can’t vaccinate
them. But if the pe-
riod is reduced we
could have achieved
100% by now of sec-
ond dose also,” Cha-
hal said.
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister of Minority Af-
fairs Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi on Wednesday
said that there is no
need to panic due to the
fear of the spread of
Covid-19 infection due
to electoral rallies in
the forthcoming assem-
bly polls. He added that
the country has enough
resources to deal with
Covid-19.
“There should not be
any kind of panic re-
garding Covid-19. We
should plan, take pre-
cautions, should try for
prevention. There is no
need for panic due to the
rallies,” he said. —ANI
Mumbai: Amid a surge
in Covid-19 cases, the
Mumbai civic body has
made rapid RT-PCR test
mandatory for the pas-
sengers coming from
at-risk and high-risk
countries and the UAE
at the international air-
port, a senior civic offi-
cial said on Wednesday
.
A day earlier, confu-
sion was created due to
misinterpretation of
revised guidelines by a
civic official who had
said that the Brihan-
mumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) had
made rapid RT-PCR test
compulsory for all the
international passen-
gers at the Mumbai air-
port, sources said. —PTI
Kolkata: BJP national
president JP Nadda
postponed his West
Bengal visit amid the
surge in Covid-19 cases
on Wednesday
.
“In view of the evolv-
ing Covid-19 situation,
BJP national president
JP Nadda’s scheduled
visit to West Bengal on
9-10 January stands
postponed,” said the
state’s BJP unit.”
“Fresh dates for his
visit will be announced
in due course,” added
the state BJP unit. West
Bengal recorded 9,073
new Covid-19 cases on
Tuesday taking the to-
tal to 16,64,301. —ANI
New Delhi: With the
increasing demand for
the ban on election ral-
lies amid the surging
Covid-19 cases in the
country, BJP national
general secretary CT
Ravi on Wednesday said
that the party will fol-
low 100 per cent Covid
behaviour during its
rallies and added that
BJP is also prepared for
conducting these rallies
virtually if the EC man-
dates so. —ANI
New Delhi: The Sub-
ject Experts Commit-
tee (SEC) of the Drug
Controller General of
India (DCGI) on
Wednesday granted
approval to Bharat
Biotech for conduct-
ing intranasal phase 3
trials and heterolo-
gous trials for COV-
ID-19 booster intrana-
sal vaccine for those
who have taken both
the doses of Covaxin
and Covishield.
The SEC has asked
the Hyderabad-based
vaccine manufactur-
er to submit its re-
vised protocol
for trials.
“After detailed de-
liberation, the SEC ‘in
principle’ agreed for
the conduct of both
phase 3 superiority
study and phase 3
booster dose study in
parallel in the light of
the pandemic situa-
tion. Accordingly,
Bharat Biotech has
been asked to submit
the protocol(s) as rec-
ommended for ap-
proval,” reads the
SEC minutes of the
meeting. —ANI
New Delhi: Over one
crore children in the
age group of 15-18 years
have received the first
dose of Covid-19 vac-
cine till this afternoon,
said Union Health Min-
ister Mansukh Man-
daviya on Wednesday
.
“Superb enthusiasm
among Young India for
Vaccination. Over 1
crore youngsters be-
tween 15-18 age group
have received 1st dose
of vaccine that too on
the 3rd day of vaccina-
tion drive for children. I
appeal to all eligible
young friends to get vac-
cinated at the earliest,”
tweeted Mandaviya.
PM Modi had on De-
cember 25, 2021 an-
nounced that the vacci-
nation for the age-group
15-18 years is scheduled
to begin from Monday
while administration
of third dose for the vul-
nerable categories is to
commence from Janu-
ary 10, 2022.
In the context of the
vaccination of the age
group 15-18 years, the
Union Health Secretary
informed the States and
UTs that only ‘Covaxin’
is to be administered
in this population
category
.
Those with the birth
year of 2007 or before
will be eligible for vac-
cination under this cat-
egory
. —ANI
No need to panic: Naqvi
RT-PCR must for fliers
from risk countries
Covid upsurge alters
Nadda’s Bengal tour
Desi kit Ok’d
to detect
Omicron
Will adhere to norms at
poll rallies, says CT Ravi
SEC OK’s trials of intranasal jab
Over 1 cr teens aged 15-18
have received vax so far: Min
A girl reacts while receiving a dose of Covid-19 vaccine, at a
hospital, in Prayagraj on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Srinagar Airport cancels
8 flights due to snowfall
Hyderabad: As the
Centre proposes to raise
the marriageable age
for women to 21 years
from 18 years, Telanga-
na Waqf Board chair-
man Mohammed Sal-
eem has said that board
has accepted the deci-
sion on Triple Talaq,
but will not accept this.
Speaking with ANI
on Tuesday
, Saleem said
that Qazis of Telangana
had conducted a meet-
ing and have come to a
conclusion that raising
the marriageable age
for women to 21 years is
“impossible”.
“As written in Islam,
both boys and girls
should be married off
as soon as they mature.
Earlier, the age of 18
years was made manda-
tory; we followed and
accepted that, but now
21 years is not accepta-
ble,” he said.
He also appealed to
the public of Telangana
to not panic “because
the bill has just reached
the sub-committee and
will have to pass a long
procedure thereafter.”
“Even after that,
there is two years time.
We will take this matter
to the CM K Chan-
drashekar Rao and
raise the voice to stop
the Bill,” he added.
He further added that
the change in marriage-
able age will “spoil the
life of children”. “They
are asking to marry
children at the age of
21; they get matured in
Class X.” —ANI
Srinagar: Eight flights
have been cancelled
from Srinagar airport
after poor visibility was
reported due to light
snow on Wednesday
.
“Poor visibility due
to light snow prevails at
our airport. Following
flights have been can-
celled till now:- Indigo
137 to Delhi, indigo 6738
to Jammu, Indigo 2015
to Delhi, Indigo 2364 to
Delhi, GoFirst 358 to
Delhi and Vistara 611 to
Jammu,” Srinagar Air-
port tweeted.
“All other flights are
also delayed due to poor
visibility,” Srinagar
Airport Director said.
Earlier on Tuesday,
continuous snowfall
and poor visibility re-
sulted in 42 cancella-
tions across all airlines.
According to IMD,
Srinagar will continue
to witness moderate
snow in the coming sev-
en days. —ANI
SRI JAGANNATH
TEMPLE ACT 1954
TO BE AMENDED
Bhubaneswar: Odisha
Cabinet approved a pro-
posal to amend the Shri
Jagannath Temple Act
1954 to facilitate speedy
disposal of cases relating
to alienation of land be-
longing to Shri Jagannath
temple. Briefing newsmen
after the meeting, Law
Minister Pratap Jena said
the govt will promulgate an
Ordinance. The power will
be delegated to the Temple
administration and the Dis-
trict collector for disposal
of the cases relating to
sale, lease and mortgage
of land registered in the
name of Lord Jagannath.
EX-BJP MLA ESCAPES
NAXAL ATTACK, 2
BODYGUARDS KILLED
Jharkhand: A former BJP
MLA from Manoharpur
was attacked and two of
his bodyguards were killed
by Naxals in Jharkhand’s
West Singhbhum district
on Tuesday, police said.
The ex BJP MLA Gu-
rucharan Nayak was at a
felicitation ceremony of
local sportspersons at a
ground in Goilkera Police
station limits when there
was a sound of gunshots.
One of his bodyguards es-
corted him to Sonua Police
station and he escaped
without any injuries. The
body of one of the guards
was recovered last night.
CRUCIAL READ
TEWARI URGES PM MODI TO ANNOUNCE
BHARAT RATNA FOR BHAGAT SINGH
New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit
to the poll-bound State of Punjab on Wednesday, Congress
MP Manish Tewari has urged him to announce Bharat
Ratna for freedom fighters Bha-
gat Singh, Shiv Ram Rajguru
and Sukhdev Thapar.
Tewari also demanded renam-
ing of the Chandigarh Airport as
Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh
International Airport.
People under an umbrella walk during fresh snowfall, in Srinagar
on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

z Do not give painkillers to teens after Covaxin
shot, says vaccine-maker

z IIT Guwahati Now A Containment Zone After 60
Test Positive On Campus

z 31 Students In Karnataka Medical College Test
Positive For Covid

z Another 143 passengers on board cruise ship
test positive in Mumbai

z Five Bihar cabinet Ministers test Covid positive

z Five IAS officials have tested positive for
Covid-19 ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit,
official sources said.

z Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa +ve

z Sonu Nigam, family test Covid positive in Dubai

z Amitabh Bachchan’s staff tests positive

z TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty tests positive

z Sourav Ganguly’s daughter, 3 other family mem-
bers test Covid positive
New Delhi: An RT-PCR
test kit for detecting
new coronavirus vari-
ant Omicron has been
developed in India in
partnership with Tata
MD and the Indian
Council of Medical Re-
search (ICMR), said Dr
Balram Bhargava, Di-
rector General of ICMR
on Wednesday
.
He further informed
that the testing kit has
been approved by the
Drugs Controller Gen-
eral of India (DCGI).
“Omicron detecting RT-
PCR kit has been devel-
oped in partnership
withTataMDandICMR
and it has been ap-
proved by DCGI. —ANI
Kolkata: It’s West Ben-
gal CM Mamata Baner-
jee’s 67th birthday on
Wednesday. “Hearty
birthday wishes to
Mamata Banerjee Ji ,
Chief Minister, West
Bengal, wishing you
good health, well-being
and long life,” Lok Sab-
ha Speaker Om Birla
said on Twitter.
Taiwan: Taiwan has re-
ported another incur-
sion by Chinese war-
planes as two military
aircraftof thePLAenter
the island’s air defence
identification zone.
“2 PLA J-16 entered
Taiwan’s ADIZ on Janu-
ary 5, 2022,” Taiwan’s
Ministry of National
Defence tweeted. —ANI
Leaders wish Didi
‘health and long
life’ on birthday
Chinese warplanes
enter Taiwan’s air
defence zone
SITUATION GRIM ALL OVER WORLD!
TelanganaWaqfopposesmarriageBill
CM inaugurates...
In his inaugural address, Gujarat Education Minis-
ter Jitu Vaghani announced that the state govern-
ment is planning to centralise the placement pro-
cess and also planning to establish a central data
centre to provide “equal opportunity to students
living in remote areas”. Speaking on the occasion,
the chief minister exuded confidence that the new
National Education Policy will ensure “good gov-
ernance in the education sector”.
FROM PG 1

BIZ BUZZ
07
New Delhi: India’s ser-
vices sector activity
moderated in De-
cember as busi-
ness activity
and sales
rose at a
softer pace,
while price
pressures
and the pos-
sibility of
new waves
of COVID-19
affected busi-
ness sentiment, a
monthly survey said
on Wednesday
.
The seasonally ad-
justed India Services
Business Activity In-
dex fell from 58.1 in No-
vember to a three-
month low of 55.5 in
December. The rates of
expansion moderated
but were nevertheless
“marked” by historical
standards, the survey
said.
For the fifth straight
month, the services
sector witnessed an ex-
pansion in output. In
PMI parlance, a print
above 50 means expan-
sion.
“2021 was another
bumpy year for service
providers, and growth
took a modest step
back in December.
Still, the latest read-
ings pointed to robust
increases in sales and
business activity com-
pared to the survey
trend,” said Pollyanna
De Lima, Economics
Associate Director at
IHS Markit.
Moreover, owing to
the buoyant perfor-
mances seen in Octo-
ber and November, the
average growth rate for
output over the third
quarter of fiscal 2021-
22 was the strongest
since the three months
to March 2011, Lima
noted.
Underlying data sug-
gested that the latest
increase in new orders
was centred on the do-
mestic market, as new
business from abroad
fell further. The deteri-
oration in internation-
al demand was linked
to COVID-19 restric-
tions, particularly
around travelling.
On the employment
front, the December
data showed renewed
job shedding in the ser-
vice economy, but the
rate of contraction was
only slight. Firms gen-
erally suggested that
employment levels
were sufficient to cope
with current work-
loads.
“Uncertainty sur-
rounding the outlook,
and a general lack of
pressure on capacity,
led to a renewed fall in
employment during
December. That said,
the decline was mar-
ginal, and a recovery is
expected this year
should demand for ser-
vices remain favoura-
ble,” Lima said.
Business confidence
strengthened during
December to a four-
month high, but senti-
ment remained sub-
dued in the context of
historical data.
Some firms foresee
further improvements
in demand and expect
marketing efforts to
bear fruit. Others were
concerned that the re-
covery could be damp-
ened by price pressures
and potential new
waves of Covid-19. —PTI
INDIA’S SERVICES SECTOR
RUPEE JUMPS 23 PAISE TO CLOSE AT
74.35 AGAINST US DOLLAR
Mumbai: The rupee surged 23 paise to close
at 74.35 (provisional) against the US dollar
on Wednesday, tracking gains in domestic
equity markets. At the interbank forex market,
the local unit opened up at 74.54 against the
greenback and witnessed an intra-day high
of 74.30 and a low of 74.55. It finally settled at
74.35, a rise of 23 paise over its previous close. —PTI
GOLD PRICE JUMPS `154, SILVER
RALLIES `352
New Delhi: Gold in the national Capital on
Wednesday jumped `154 to `46,969 per 10
grams amid a rally in international precious
metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.
In the previous trade, the precious metal
settled at `46,815 per 10 grams. Silver also
rallied `352 to `60,725 per kg, from `60,373
per kg in the previous trade. —PTI
I-T REFUNDS OF `1.50 LAKH CRORE
ISSUED TILL JAN 3
New Delhi: The Income Tax Department
on Wednesday said it has issued refunds
of over `1.50 lakh crore so far this fiscal
year. This includes 1.1 crore refunds of
Assessment Year 2021-22. “CBDT issues
refunds of over `1,50,407 crore to more than
1.48 crore taxpayers from 1st Apr,2021 to 3rd
January,2022,” the I-T dept tweeted. —PTI
activity hits 3-month low in Dec
SLIP FROM 59.2
PV retail sales dip 11%
in December amid
SEMICONDUCTOR WOES
New Delhi: Passen-
ger vehicle retail
sales in India wit-
nessed an 11 per
cent year-on-year
decline in December
as semiconductor
shortage continued
to impact the seg-
ment, automobile
dealers’ body FADA
said on Wednesday
.
The passenger ve-
hicle (PV) retail
sales last month fell
10.91 per cent to
2,44,639 units
from 2,74,605
units in De-
c e m b e r
2020.
“ T h e
month of
D e c e m -
ber is
u s u -
ally
seen as a high sales
m o n t h
where OEMs con-
tinue to offer best
discounts to clear
the inventory due to
change of the year.
It was, however,
not the case
this time
around as re-
tail sales con-
tinued to dis-
appoint, thus
wrapping up
an underper-
forming calen-
dar year,”
FADA President
Vinkesh Gulati
noted. With semi-
conductor shortage
continuing to play
spoil-sport, passen-
ger vehicle sales in
spite of huge book-
ings in Dec closed in
red, he added. —PTI
TWO-WHEELER SALES REMAIN LOW
The
passenger
vehicle (PV) retail
sales last month fell
10.91% to 2,44,639 units
from 2,74,605 units in Dec
2020.
New Delhi: Over 45
million Indians satiat-
ed their food crav-
ings by dining out
at their favourite
restaurants in 2021,
with Delhi again
emerging as the
country’s Dining
Capital, according
to a report.
An average bill
of `2,670 was paid
in 2021 as com-
pared to `1,907 in
2020, according to
the report by India’s
largest dining out and
restaurant tech plat-
form Dineout.
About 45 million In-
dians saved `1,360 crore
while booking 8,588 ta-
bles per hour using Di-
neout in 2021.
Delhi bagged the title
of “Dining Capital of
India” for the third time
in a row accounting for
32% of the total diners
in India followed by
Bengaluru at 18%.
Butter Chicken, Dal
Makhni and Naan yet
again won the league
making North Indian
food a hit among Indi-
ans at 38%, Chinese at
18% and Continental at
16%, acc to the report.
The City of Lakes,
Udaipur, is the new
‘City of Love’ with 44
per cent of its bookings
under ‘Table for 2’,
whereas the cities of
Agra and Ludhiana had
the maximum ‘Table for
4’ reservations, the re-
port findings showed.
Owing to the higher
disposable income
thanks to our WFH
lifestyles, luxury
dining across In-
dia has in-
creased by
as much
as 120%
and fine
dining by
1 0 5 % ,
and the
average
n u m b e r
of diners per
booking has also
risen. —PTI
45 mn+ Indians dine out at their favourite restaurants in 2021
Sensex zooms 367
points to reclaim 60K
Mumbai: Rising for
the fourth straight
session, equity bench-
mark Sensex rallied
367 points to reclaim
the 60,000-mark on
Wednesday, driven by
strong gains in bank-
ing and financial
stocks amid a support-
ive trend in European
equities.
The 30-share index
surged 367.22 points or
0.61 per cent to end at
6 0 , 2 2 3 . 1 5 .
Similarly,
the broader NSE Nifty
rose 120 points or 0.67
per cent to 17,925.25.
Bajaj Finserv was
the top gainer in the
Sensex pack, rising
over 5 per cent, fol-
lowed by Bajaj Fi-
nance, Kotak Bank,
Axis Bank, Tata Steel,
HDFC Bank, Asian
Paints and ICICI
Bank.
On the other hand,
Tech Mahindra, Info-
sys, HCL Tech, Wipro
and PowerGrid were
among the laggards.
—PTI
New Delhi: The cost
of debt-funds for the
states has touched the
highest level so far this
fiscal with the weight-
ed average cut-off
crossing the 7.16%
points at the latest auc-
tions, up 11 bps over
the past week, reflect-
ing the hardening
yields even for the gov-
ernment securities.
The hardening of
the rates at the first
auction of the quarter
comes in the wake of
the expected large sup-
ply of debt from the
states, as indicated for
Q4 at `3.2 lakh crore,
up by `10,000 crore.
Nine states on Tues-
day raised `18,900
crore at the latest auc-
tion of state develop-
ment loans. The auc-
tion was just 2% lower
than the indicated
amount for this week,
which is among the
highest drawdowns so
far this fiscal year,
Aditi Nayar, the chief
economist at the rat-
ing agency Icra said.
Even though the
weighted average ten-
or remained un-
changed at 12 years in
line with the last auc-
tion, the weighted av-
erage cut-off rose
sharply by 11 bps to
7.16% from 7.05%, re-
flecting a large supply
for the quarter.
On the other hand,
the weighted average
cut-off for the 10-year
loans hardened by 10
bps to 7.13% today
from 7.03% last Tues-
day, Nayar said.
Meanwhile, the
benchmark 10-year G-
secs yield rose by 4 bps
to 6.52%from the last
auction. Accordingly,
the spread between the
10-year weighted aver-
age SDL and 10-year
G-sec yield widened to
61 bps from 55 bps, she
added. —PTI
9 states onTuesday
raised `18,900
crore at the latest
auction of state
development loans
STATES PAYING
THROUGH THE
NOSE FOR DEBT
Cairn withdraws all
lawsuits against India
New Delhi: Cairn En-
ergy has withdrawn
all litigations in the
retrospective tax case,
which will allow the
Government of India
to nullify previous tax
demand and refund
the taxes collected in
this regard to the com-
pany
.
Cairn Energy “has
entered into the final
stage in its undertak-
ings with the Govern-
ment of India by with-
drawing Indian and
global appellate and
enforcement proceed-
ings,” the company
said in a notice pub-
lished in a newspaper
on Wednesday. “This
action is the final nec-
essary step by the
company under the
rules of India’s Taxa-
tion (Amendment Act)
2021.”
—PTI

We all make errors, all humans
do - but to stay wrong makes no
sense.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
HC notices to state, police
over ‘fake encounter’ plea
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat High Court on
Wednesday issued no-
tices to the state gov-
ernment, DGP and oth-
ers over a plea alleging
the “fake encounter” of
a man and his minor
son who were shot dead
by the police of Bajana
station in Surendrana-
gar district on Novem-
ber 6, 2021.
The public interest
litigation was filed by
SohanbenMalek,whose
father Hanifkhan Jat-
malik and brother
Madeenkhan Jatmalik,
were killed in what the
plea alleged to be “a
fake encounter”.
The division bench
of Chief Justice Ara-
vind Kumar and Justice
Ashutosh Shastri is-
sued notices to the re-
spondents, including
the state government,
director-general of po-
lice, Surendranagar su-
perintendent of police,
Gujarat Human Rights
Commission and seven
officials of Bajana po-
lice station, returnable
on January 18.
Through her lawyer
YatinOza,Malekargued
that the accused police
official shot her father
and brother dead and
then went on to make a
false case against them,
their family members
and neighbours, accus-
ing them of forming a
mob to attack them.
The petitioner stated
that several offences
were registered against
her father, but this did
not give an “automatic
licence” to the respond-
ent police officials “to
carry out a fake en-
counter”.
Malek prayed for in-
vestigation by a higher
authority against the
policemen of the Baja-
na police station—espe-
cially sub-inspector
Virendrasinh Jadeja—
who committed “an il-
legal act of killing her
father and brother”.
A “false” FIR was
also lodged by the sub-
inspector of Bajana po-
lice station on Novem-
ber 7, 2021, alleging that
a mob of 15-20 people—
including the deceased,
two septuagenarians
and a person with 50%
disabilities—had at-
tacked the police team
when it tried to arrest
and put her deceased
father in the vehicle,
the petitioner claimed.
The police team alleg-
edly reached Malek’s
homeinaprivatevehicle
on November 06 and
dragged her father to-
wards the vehicle. Her
14-year-old brother
rushed to ask the police-
menthereasonandstart-
ed following his father.
Seeing this, the ac-
cused sub-inspector
shot him “point-blank
in the chest”, the plea
stated, adding, “On see-
ing his son being shot in
cold blood, the petition-
er’s father got angry
. As
he came to see the child,
he was also shot dead.”
When the neighbours
gathered, the police-
men “made out a false
case stating that father
and son were killed in
self-defence,” it also
said.
The police were har-
assing the family mem-
bers and their lives
were also at stake, the
petitioner claimed.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: The psychol-
ogy department of
Saurashtra Univer-
sity has demanded
to make psychology
a compulsory sub-
ject from standard
eighth in schools.
The head of the
psychology depart-
ment Dr Yogesh Jog-
san on Wednesday in
his letter to the Guja-
rat education minis-
ter, Jitu Vaghani,
highlighted the psy-
chology of young-
sters today. Speaking
to First India, he said,
“Our study shows
that the future of
children will be in
great difficulty if
something is not done
now. Children are af-
ter the materialistic
world, especially mo-
bile and gadgets,
which hampers their
psychological, spirit-
ual, moral and social
development. They
are physically ma-
tured but have seri-
ous lacuna when it
comes to mental ma-
turity.”
“Psychology study
will help students
gain self-control on
many aspects and
make them mentally
strong to face any
situation,” he said.
Since the first
wave of nCoV, the
department was a
pioneer in the state
to start counselling
by setting up a coun-
selling centre in Ra-
jkot. Since then,
they have counselled
around 6,300 chil-
dren between the
ages 14-18 years and
also above.
“Our study found
that around 13.8%
children have social
media addiction,
13.14% visit porn
sites, 6.21% suffer
from social person-
ality disorder apart
from other issues.
These are serious is-
sues, as it can result
in suicides, issues
on self-develop-
ment, create a rift
between children
and parents, pre-
vent them from be-
coming self-reliant,
and generate fear,”
Jogsan added.
Rajkot: Children tend
to insert foreign ob-
jects in their ears, nose
or mouth and, so was
the case of four-year-
old Mohit from Rajkot.
ENT surgeons removed
a 1.5-centimetre metal
bolt from his nose.
Mohit, son of Manoj
Joshi, while playing
had put a metal bolt
inside his nose. The
screw had gone deep
inside the nose, mak-
ing it extremely diffi-
cult for the parents to
pull it out with their
hands.
Speaking to First
India, ENT surgeon
Dr Himanshu Th-
akkar said, “Normally
children tend to put
things in their ears,
nose and mouth with-
out knowing the se-
verity of the condi-
tion. Mohit’s case was
no different, but he
forcefully pushed the
bolt far behind. Luck-
ily, his father saw it
and the child and was
brought to me. We
safely removed the
bolt with an endo-
scope and a camera.”
Dr Thakkar added
doctors removed the
bolt without giving an-
aesthesia to the child.
Thankfully, there was
no bleeding.
“Had the bolt entered
the wind, air or food
pipe or if there was
bleeding during the re-
moval, it could have
resulted into a disas-
ter,” said Dr Thakkar.
First India Bureau
S u r e n d r a n a g a r :
Three persons were
killed and two others
injured after an uniden-
tified vehicle hit their
autorickshaw in Suren-
dranagar district, po-
lice said on Wednesday
.
The accident took
place late Tuesday
night near Chuli village
on a national highway
connecting Dhran-
gadhra to Halvad in the
district when the vic-
tims were returning
home after work in a
factory, an official from
Dhrangadhra taluka
police station said.
The autorickshaw
was going towards
Kutch district when it
was hit by the speeding
vehicle. Two men and a
woman,intheagegroup
of 18-19 years, died in
the accident, he said.
Besides, two other
women were injured
and undergoing treat-
ment at a medical facil-
ity, he said, adding that
all the victims hailed
from Jiva village in the
district.
Efforts were on to
trace the vehicle which
hit the autorickshaw,
he said.
Gujarat High Court
(Clockwise) 4-yr-old
Mohit, ENT surgeon Dr
Himanshu Thakkar and
1.5 cm bolt recovered
The autorickshaw was going towards Kutch district when it was hit.
Make psychology a compulsory
subject: Saurashtra University
1.5 cm metal bolt removed
from 4-year-old boy’s nose
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Around 29
families of Taliya Bhat-
ta area of Dabka village
in Padra are constantly
living in fear of being
attacked by an aggres-
sive male buffalo. Many
of them especially, chil-
dren and senior citi-
zens, are forced to live
on trees to save them-
selves. The Gram Pan-
chayat team have failed
to catch the animal.
The fierce male buf-
falo has attacked the vil-
lagers several times
thus, forcing kids and
senior citizens to live
on trees especially, at
night.
“The male buffalo at-
tacked around 10 to 15
people including, chil-
dren, in the past 10 days.
We live in constant fear
and have requested the
administration to catch
the animal”, said one of
the villagers Sajan
Vaghela.
“The animal lives
here and has been cre-
ating chaos ever since
he was injured by a
burning cycle tyre
thrown at him. We
have also informed the
RFO and, they told us
to make arrangements
at the local level. We
tried catching him
twice but have failed in
our attempts,” said
Mahesh Jadhav Sar-
panch Dabka Gram
Panchayat.
Dr Nadeem Sheikh,
Assistant Director Ani-
mal Husbandry Dis-
trict Panchayat Va-
dodara, said, “We get
involved in such situa-
tions only when the
gram panchayat seeks
our help. That is when
we will tranquillize
and catch the animal.
As of now, we haven’t
received any request
but will check on the
matter from our end.”
Angry male buffalo attacks villagers in Padra
IRE-STRUCK BOVINE
lll
After getting
injured by a
burning tyre,
the animal has
been looking
for revenge
against
residents Kids sitting on a charpoi on a tree top to save themselves from the angry male buffalo.
3 killed, 2 injured after vehicle rams auto
Woman
submits that
cops killed her
father, minor
brother ‘in
cold blood’
NEW CHAPTER
Former Chief
Secretary of
Gujarat, Anil
Mukim (IAS,
retd) was
sworn in as the
chairperson
of the Gujarat
Electricity
Regulatory
Commission by
Chief Minister
Bhupendra Patel
on Wednesday.

AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY
JANUARY 6, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Aa ab laut
chalein...
This Throwback Thursday we try to take a look on the other side
with ‘Jis Desh mein Ganga Behti hai’, a movie which
romanticised dacoits (like so many others) and gave much food
to the ‘surrender’ campaign in vogue at the time!
aivety rules the mov-
ie, Raj Kapoor has
played a simpleton in
many movies but Jis
Desh mein Ganga be-
hti hai takes the cake,
literally. I do not re-
member liking the movie but
the song…Aa ab laut cha-
lein… still holds me en-
thralled. Padmini leading the
contingent of soldiers across
the barren wasteland with
the camera zooming in on her
face and Raj Kapoor with his
signature haircut singing …
tujhko pukaare desh tera… it
is pure beauty and an emo-
tional high! Lata’s alaap will
give you goosebumps. The
meandering convoy of da-
coits, women and children in
bullock carts with Pran as
Raka, in one of his most
memorable roles, walking in
defeat but it is actually vic-
tory! For me the song is a
symbol that we can go back,
we can rise after we have fall-
en, there is hope in darkness
and the sheer tug of home
which is undeniable for all
living things!
Padmini, is someone I re-
member with her bosom
heaving in O’ Basanti pavan
pagal and then the ‘torn
shirt’ scene in another Raj
Kapoor magnum opus, Mera
Naam Joker but apart from
that she is simply beautiful!
Her character is gutsy and
feminine, she stands up for
herself, is fearless and yet so
caring – Padmini is worth a
watch as is Lalita Pawar in a
courageous mother-wife role.
One of the best characters
is Raka, Pran is simply amaz-
ing in the role. He brings
ruthlessness to his role and
plays it to the hilt, a true-blue
daaku, using Raj Kapoor to
loot a wedding which finally
results in a wake-up call for
the latter.
The visuals are striking in
the movie and the landscapes
beckon, even after decades!
The music and songs are
memorable. Begaani Shaadi
mein Abdullah Deewana and
Tum bhi ho …hum bhi hain…
both are still popular and
hummable!
The movie is socialist and
reformist, it is life with rose-
tinted glasses – but some-
times we need that..don’t we?
A one-time watch definitely!
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
N

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
PIYU THAKKAR, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
you may have a very
refreshing day. Visiting a
mall or watching a movie
with family may be the
highlight of the day for some. You
may enjoy travelling to a tourist
destination recommended by your
friends. Reignite the flickering
romance in your life.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Something you have
implemented at work is
likely to profit the company
and get you noticed. You
are likely to celebrate the
achievement of a family youngster in
a grand way. Shifting into your very
own house may soon become a
reality.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You will derive great
benefit from an exercise
routine that you keenly
follow. Extra workload is
foreseen at work, but nothing that
you cannot handle within office
hours. Taking the family on a trip
seems impossible today due to your
professional commitments.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Your financial situation is set
to improve, as earning
opportunities come to you.
Help from co-workers in a
time consuming task will be
forthcoming on the work front. Support
of family will encourage you to take up
a challenge. Socially, your presence
will be much looked forward to.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Previous investments may
give you good returns.
Some of you may decide to
follow in the footsteps of
celebrities and visit the very same
exotic destination that they had been
to.No amount of excuses will dispel
lover’s suspicions about your tenden-
cy to stray the path.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Money coming from various
streams will keep you in an
elated state of mind. A new
fitness regime that you have
adopted promises to keep you in good
health. Getting old furniture
upholstered may be the priority of
some homemakers. Your search for
perfect partner may soon be over.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Your stars favour a bright
beautiful day . A setback
you have recently
experienced can make you
come out stronger. Tax advisor will
be a big help in saving taxes, so
don’t hesitate to contact one.It is
difficult for the relationship of friends
turned lovers to fall apart, so relax.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Some clarification will need
to be sought on a financial
issue before you take the
next big step. A project left
halfway by someone else may come
on your shoulders, but your efforts
will be acknowledged. Some of you
are all set to enjoy a splendid
vacation.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Money put together on
previous occasions is likely
to come in handy now. A
family youngster is keen to
learn from you, so don’t disappoint.
Settling down in a new house is
indicated for some.You may have to
awaken partner’s interest in you once
again.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Continue doing whatever
you are doing to remain
healthy. Some of you will
have to curb your
splurging ways. Family life will cruise
along smoothly with much love and
bonhomie. Don’t speed up on the
road. Chance of moving to a new
location is likely for some.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You may find the day most
auspicious. Your
knowledge about your line
of work will be roundly
appreciated and get you the thumbs
up from higher ups. Friends and
family may get together to give you a
surprise. Business travel may leave
little time for romance.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
A vacation you only
dreamed about is likely to
become a reality very
soon. Healthy eating will
help prevent digestive ailments.
Money will be no constraint in buying
what you like. Driving down with
lover to a happening place is
indicated today.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
octors in Indore
are of the opinion
that forgetfulness
in young days
could be an after-
math of Covid-19
and also a symp-
tom of ‘post covid psycho-
sis’.
As you grow old, the is-
sue of forgetfulness starts
becoming common by the
day
, especially when you hit
the 60s. But having diffi-
culty in remembering
things in your younger
days is not a positive sign.
Many may consider it to be
Alzheimer’s, but it is not
what you think it is.
Generally, forgetfulness
can be related to ageing,
head trauma (or injury), or
other conditions or disor-
ders, but new research has
found out that forgetting
things in old age is deemed
normal, but it is not the
case with those in the
prime of their age.
Forgetfulness in young
people may lead to severe
disorders such as Amnesia,
which may also occur in
children. However, in the
post-pandemic world, doc-
tors think that Covid-19
does not only impact one’s
physical health but mental
as well. And this has be-
come a major cause of con-
cern. But around the world,
doctors now are research-
ing new mental health
side effects from the virus.
Even though the number
of patients who reported
Covid-19 psychosis is con-
sidered to be small in
numbers or even rare
for that matter, doc-
tors suggest that it does
have affected patients.
Dr Subhash Garg,
Head of Department
Occupational Thera-
py at Sri Aurobindo
Institute of Medi-
cal Science, In-
dore, says that
some of the
covid-19 con-
tracted pa-
tients have
been diagnosed
with ‘Post Cov-
id Psychosis’. Explaining
what the term means, Dr
Garg says, “Covid Psycho-
sis is a mental disorder in
which patients have an im-
paired sense of reality. Pa-
tients have reported forget-
fulness such as keeping a
key at a place and then for-
getting about it. While
these may be smaller things
to forget, some patients
have also reported severe
symptoms such as halluci-
nations, delusions,
restlessness and
i r r i -
tation among others.”
But how to tackle the psy-
chosis? To this, Dr Garg
says that one must see a
doctor immediately, and at
the same time, can do ac-
tivities that help the brain
function properly
.
“Keeping your brain
busy with an activity or an
exercise can prove to be
beneficial. Solving cross-
word puzzles, writing with
a non-dominant hand and
doing single leg balance are
some of the exercises that
can be considered,” Dr
Garg said.
He also spoke of Cogni-
tive Behavioural Ther-
apy (CBT) that one
can undergo based
on a doctor’s sug-
gestion. CBT is a
common talk
therapy in
which thought
patterns that af-
fect your emo-
tions are changed
in such a manner
that it has a positive
impact on one’s be-
haviour”.
The oth-
er meas-
u r e s
that Dr
Garg suggest are of per-
forming Yoga and meditat-
ing regularly
, as well as hav-
ing a nutritious diet which
includes eating fruits and
vegetables rich in antioxi-
dants, omega-3 fatty acids
and having nuts, legumes,
beans and lentils, etc which
help in increasing the
brain’s prowess.
IS MY FORGETFULNESS NORMAL?
DOCTORS SUGGEST COVID-19 COULD BE A POSSIBLE REASON
SHIVANI SHRIVASTAVA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
D
Dr Subhash Garg

Earmuffs/ear warmer: It is
one of the most essentials
in winters. It keeps our
ears warm. They look ex-
tremely cosy and stylish..For me,
it’s my favorite. Winter acces-
sory. It’s so comfortable and
also doesn’t mess
with my hair. No
matter how cold
it is I can always
feel comfortable
with my muffs.
If there is any-
thing I would
suggest to ev-
eryone, it’s ear
muffs. I mean
just look how
cute they are!
They come
in so many
different
styles to so
they go with
anything.
—Vanshika
Jain, Delhi
WINTERS ARE A GREAT TIME TO LET YOUR CREATIVE SIDE COME OUT.
EXPERIMENT WITH COLOURS AND LAYERS TO BRING OUT YOUR VISION
OF A PERFECT OUTFIT. HERE ARE SOME OF THE CITY FIRST READERS
WITH THEIR FAVOURITE WINTER ACCESSORY THAT CAN SPARK UP
YOUR OUTFITS.
ETC
11
ccessorising an outfit
can bring life to it.
Any outfit with the
right accessories can
be a red carpet outfit,
and winters are a
perfect time to try
out new ways to accessorise.
From boots to mufflers, gloves
to beanies, everyone has their
own style of dressing in win-
ters. To keep yourself warm
and still look photo-ready is a
real puzzle to solve. I person-
ally love boots and how they
can transform any outfit with
minimal effort. City First ran
an extensive interview with
some of its readers from dif-
ferent cities to see what turns
their outfits from Nay to Yay.
Read ahead for some finspo!
DEVANSHI MUDGAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
A
Glam up your
Glam up your
WINTER FITS!
WINTER FITS!
You can never go wrong
with boots. I think that
if you style them, boots
can go with literally anything
in your wardrobe. Plus, they
keep you warm and com-
fortable. If there’s any winter
accessory that can make a
simple winter outfit glam-
orous, its boots. I have
billions of them and I still
don’t hesitate when I see
new ones.
—Himadri Mudgal,
Rajasthan
Winters are my favorite weather because of how many
extra things we can wear and look stylish and warm. My
favorite accessory has to be a beret or a beanie, they’re
practical as they keep you from getting a headache and
also cover bad hair days. You can style beanies in
so many ways its crazy. They look fantastic with all
the layers.
—Mansi Yadav,
Uttar Pradesh
Chilling Winters are
here and it only means
one thing, layering;
and scarves are my ultimate
favorite accessory to style. It
can be used around the neck,
waist or even over the gloves.
Another accessory I love are
gloves, the latest Gucci lace
ones look adorable as well as
chic. From classy to preppy,
gloves look good with every-
thing.
—Shivali Verma,
Uttar Pradesh
You can never go wrong
with boots. I think that
if you style them, boots
can go with literally anything
in your wardrobe. Plus, they
fortable. If there’s any winter
—Himadri Mudgal,
favorite accessory has to be a beret or a beanie, they’re
practical as they keep you from getting a headache and
also cover bad hair days. You can style beanies in
so many ways its crazy. They look fantastic with all
the layers.
—Mansi Yadav,
Uttar Pradesh
here and it only means
and scarves are my ultimate
favorite accessory to style. It
can be used around the neck,
waist or even over the gloves.
Another accessory I love are
gloves, the latest Gucci lace
ones look adorable as well as
chic. From classy to preppy,
gloves look good with every-
—Shivali Verma,
Uttar Pradesh
The winter winds make me
feel like I will turn into an icicle
anytime. Thank gods I have my
mufflers. They look super cute and also
keep me from getting wind chill. I can
style them in so many ways and they
spice up my outfits like nothing else. I
can just hide in my little muffler if i get
cold and still look super cute!
—Swapnika Bharadwaj,
Rajasthan

12
CITY BUZZ
he Design-
er’s Class™,
a first of its
kind holis-
tic e-learn-
ingplatform
focusedsole-
lyonthedifferentver-
ticals of Design, is
here to make premi-
um design education
accessible for all,
across the length
breadth of the
country
. Covering
the varied verticals
of design ranging
fromfashion,interior
design, photography,
makeup, UI/UX, fash-
ion fine jewellery
and a lot more, The
Designer’s Class is
conceptualised to be
consumed by anyone
and everyone– start-
ing from school chil-
dren in the 6th grade,
youngadultsworking
or studying in design-
based industries,
homemakers who are
passionate about
learning design even
design entrepre-
neurs.
The first month of
theDesigner’sClass™
features courses by
industry leaders: Abu
Jani Sandeep Khosla,
Masaba Gupta, Payal
Singhal,KunalRawal,
ArpitaMehta,Jayanti
Reddy
,RheaKapoor
and Tanya Ghavri,
and aims to revolu-
tionize the design ed-
ucation landscape
with its comprehen-
sive course content.
Learners will be
awarded certifica-
tions post completion
of assessments,
signed by the design-
ers themselves.
Director Samarth
Bajaj said “Our main
aim is to make design
accessible to all age
groups – whether
you’re figuring out
your future career
path at 16 or want to
acquire a new design
skill at 60 or if you
want to upgrade your
current skillset and
add value to your re-
sume, finally mak-
ing you eligible for
that promotion
you’ve been yearn-
ing for.
—PHOTOS BY
SHAZID CHAUHAN
CITY FIRST
he rehabilita-
tion of degrad-
ed marshes at
Delhi Develop-
ment Authori-
ty’sKalindiBio-
diversityParkhashelped
attract migratory birds.
A flock each of nearly 50
bar-headed goose and
greylag goose was spot-
ted for the first time at
theparkwhilethenorth-
ern shoveller, common
coot and greater painted
snipe have become a
common sight there. Ka-
lindi Biodiversity Park,
setaroundtwoyearsago,
islocatedontheYamuna
floodplain at Kalindi
Kunj in southeast Delhi.
The floodplain wetlands
havedegradedduetothe
discharge of around
2,000 million litres per
day of raw
sewage into
drains from au-
thorised and unau-
thorised colonies. As
part of DDA’s biodiver-
sity parks programme, a
team from the Centre for
Environmental Manage-
ment of Degraded Eco-
systems (CMEDE) has
been working on these
wetlands, with 30 acres
now restored and anoth-
T
he pitchers are
ready to impress
and the sharks are
ready to invest.
Shark Tank India is an Indian
business reality television
series airing for the very
first time on SonyLIV. The
show is an Indian franchise
of the American show Shark
Tank. It offers a platform
for entrepreneurs and
innovators to present their
business ideas to a panel
of renowned investors
a.k.a sharks, who further
decide to invest in these
companies. According to
Sony TV, the show received
62,000 aspirants across
India, out of which 198
businesses were selected
to pitch their ideas to the
“sharks”. The guest panel
includes- Ashneer Grover- MD
and Co-Founder of BharatPe,
Anupam Mittal - Founder
CEO of People Group,Aman
Gupta-Co-Founder CMO of
boAt,Vineeta Singh-CEO Co-
Founder of SUGAR Cosmetics,
Namita Thapar-Executive
Director at Emcure Pharma,
Ghazal Alagh- Co-Founder
CIO of Mamaearth, Peyush
Bansal-Founder CEO of
Lenskart.com.
T
he official Twitter
handle of DCP
South-East Delhi
updated that
Commissioner of Delhi Police
Rakesh Asthana visited South
East Delhi District on Tuesday.
He began the day by giving
a crime review. After which,
he inaugurated ‘VATSALYA’, a
creche, and ‘Vyayam Kaksh’,
a gym on the premises of
Sarita Vihar Police Station.
Further, he presented trophies
of the winner and runner-up
team of Gali Cricket T-20
Tournament 2021-22 and
also presented Veer Bijendra
Shaurya Puraskaar to women
and children in the name
of Martyr of Parliament
Attack.r - Executive Director
at Emcure Pharma, Ghazal
Alagh- Co-Founder CIO of
Mamaearth, Peyush Bansal -
Founder CEO of Lenskart.
com.
Designer’s
Class
Class
T
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
cityfirstdel@gmail.com
THE
SHARKTANK INDIA STREAMING NOW!
DELHI HAPPENINGS!
DELHI HAPPENINGS!
The guests have arrived!
T er 160 hectares still to
be revived. Scientist C
R Babu, head of CME-
DE, said, “The restora-
tion of wetlands has led
to migratory birds com-
ing to Kalindi Biodiver-
sity Park.” Yasir Arafat,
thescientist,KalindiBio-
diversity Park, said,
“Over 130 resident and
migratory birds can be
easily spotted here. Last
year, there were fewer
species.”Amongthevisi-
tors sighted are the
marsh harrier, common
coot, northern pintail,
common pochard, fer-
ruginous pochard, wag-
tails, bluethroat, red-
throated flycatcher and
the black redstart.
Around 40 glossy ibises
have also been seen. The
constructed wetlands
are created using plants
and boulders that pre-
vent raw sewage from
entering the Yamuna.
Different fishes have
also been introduced in
the wetlands.
—cityfirstdel@gmail.com
Payal Singhal, Kunal Rawal, Sandeep Khosla, Anaita Shroff
Samarth Bajaj, Tanya Ghavri, Jayanti Reddy and Arpita Mehta
Payal Singhal
Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla
Rhea Kapoor
Kunal Rawal
Masaba Gupta Arpita Mehta
Poster of the show
Devanshi Mudgal
Tokri, India’s lead-
ing e-tailer for
handicraft and
hand-loom prod-
ucts, forecasts the
trends for 2022 in
fashion, home decor,
and accessories includ-
ing shopping prefer-
ences that have changed
in the last two years due
to the pandemic.
Sustainable products
are trends are long-last-
ing and make the fash-
ion world go round.
Here are some of the im-
portant trends for 2022
that will remain rele-
vant for years to come.
FASHION WITH
COMFORT
The trend of comfort-wear will
reign in 2022. Casual and lounge
wear clothes like oversized tops
to pure cotton palazzo pants,
kurta to satin pyjamas, and
dresses in fine quality cotton
and exquisite hand loom fabric
will be a trendsetter (AM to PM
fashion) for everyone.
SUSTAINABILITY
IN HOME DECOR
Items made of natural
materials like bamboo and
Sabai grass will be in demand
in the home décor segment
this year. From vibrant table
runners to hand-carved
natural wood coasters; it’s the
year for decorating home with
handcrafted products.
SUSTAINABILITY
IN ACCESSORIES
Men and women adorning
jewellery made of natural
stones, opaque crystals
set, and plenty of silver
that will elevate the existing
wardrobe will be the new
favourites in fashion trends.
Other accessories like cloth
handbags, silk bands, and retro
scarves will give a glamorous
finish to everyday looks.
TRENDING WITH
EMBROIDERIES
Embroidery in apparel and
fashionable pieces like belts,
hats, dresses, shoes will make
them even more colourful
and unique. Embroidery
styles like Kashidakari, Rabari
Embroidery, Gara Craft, etc. will
be trending.
“We hope the forecast
offers perspective be-
yond the fashion trends
and helps people under-
stand what's trending
and suitable for every-
day life and embrace a
'new normal' together.
At iTokri, we aim to pro-
mote sustainability as a
lifelong choice because
of the benefits it offers
and help our customers
look and feel the best
way possible.” Says Ni-
tin Pamnani, Co-Found-
er, iTokri.
I
‘Sustainability will be In’ Lifestyle Trends to watch out!
Delhi Development Authority Khalini Biodiversity Park
Block Art Prints Natural Dyed
Cotton Unisex Polo T-shirt
Sabai Grass Bread Basket
Madhubani
Bamboo Wood Wall Clock
Stone Brass Necklace Traditional Phulkari Heavy
Embroidered Chinnon Fabric
Cotton Handbag
Migratory birds

06012022 first india ahmedabad

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to 06012022 first india ahmedabad

Similar to 06012022 first india ahmedabad (20)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (15)

06012022 first india ahmedabad