11042022_First India_Ahmedabad.pdf

First India Bureau
Banaskantha: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Sunday said
that ‘border tourism’
will help boost border
security and connect
citizens to BSF person-
nel, instilling a feeling
of respecttowardsthem.
Shah was speaking
after inaugurating the
‘Seemadarshan’tourism
project at Nadabet along
the India-Pakistan bor-
der in Banaskantha dis-
trict.
The project has sev-
eral attractions, includ-
ing the ‘Beating Retreat’
ceremony
,onthelinesof
the exercise held on the
Wagah-Attari border in
Punjab.
Shah said such a tour-
ismprojecthereinGuja-
rat will help generate
employment and stop
migration of people
from border villages.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi has taken
several initiatives to de-
velop border infrastruc-
ture with an aim to en-
hance border security
and the Seemadarshan
project is one of them,
he said.
“The border tourism
will help boost border
security, increase peo-
ple’srespecttowardsthe
Border Security Force
(BSF) personnel and
helpconnectpeoplewith
the security force..I am
sure this project will
achieve all these three
goals,” Shah said.
The beating retreat
ceremony here will be-
come a major attraction
for tourists, said Shah,
who was accompanied
by Gujarat Chief Minis-
ter Bhupendra Patel.
Shah said Prime Min-
ister Modi had dreamt
of developing border
tourism and also took
several initiatives to de-
velop infrastructure
with the aim to enhance
border security
.
Praising the BSF’s
contribution towards
the nation’s security
from both external and
internal enemies, Shah
said the country is safe,
developing and moving
rapidly at the global lev-
el because of the BSF
jawanswhoaredeployed
in harsh conditions,
thousandsof kilometres
away from their fami-
lies.
“The BSF holds sev-
eral medals and carries
with it stories of su-
preme sacrifice. The en-
tire country takes pride
in the bravery shown by
theBSF,”theUnionmin-
ister said.
Shah said unless a
person visits and sees
forhimself themultifac-
eted ‘Seemadarshan’
project, he will not be
able to understand it
properly
. Turn to P6
Amit Shah inaugurates Nadabet Seemadarshan
‘`125 crore
project will help
boost security,
add 5L jobs’
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was accompanied by Chief Minister
Bhupendra Patel, at Nadabet on Sunday. —PTI PHOTO
AHMEDABAD l MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 135
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, is not conducting any probes in India,
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in a statement, categorically denying
the Congress’ claims. On Friday, a Congress MLA from Karnataka alleged that the
US’ FBI is investigating a “billion dollar Bitcoin scam” in India. “This is to inform
you that FBI has not sent any team to conduct a probe in the matter,” the CBI said.
FBI NOT PROBING
BITCOIN SCAM IN
INDIA: CBI JUNKS
CONGRESS CLAIM
A 26-year-old spectator Dashrath Jadhav, who jumped the barriers and ran into
the field and gave fist bumps to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during match no. 18
of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal
Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune
was arrested by police on Sunday for invading the pitch and stopping the play.
PITCH INVADER
GIVES FIST BUMPS
TO KOHLI, ROHIT AT
IPL, ARRESTED
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Islamabad: The oppo-
sition parties in Paki-
stan on Sunday nomi-
nated Shehbaz Sharif
of Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz as their
joint candidate for PM
polls. Khan’s Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI)
party also nominated
65-year-old former for-
eign minister Shah Me-
hmood Qureshi as its
candidate.
Pakistan Peoples Par-
ty chief Bilawal Bhutto
is likely to be appointed
as next foreign minister.
Meanwhile, after Pa-
kistan’sNationalAssem-
bly voted out PM Imran
Khan during no-confi-
dencemotion,Khantook
toTwitterandsaid,“The
freedom struggle begins
again today after 1947”.
Kyiv: A new grave with
dozens of civilian
Ukrainians was found
on Saturday in Buzova,
a liberated village near
the capital Kyiv that for
weeks was occupied by
Russian forces, a local
official said.
Taras Didych, head of
the Dmytrivka commu-
nity that includes Buzo-
va and several other
nearby villages, told
Ukrainian television
that the bodies were
found in a ditch near a
petrol station.
The number of dead
is yet to be confirmed,
reported news agency
.
“Now, we are return-
ingtolife,butduringthe
occupation we had our
‘hotspots’, many civil-
ians died,” Didych said.
Jairam Thakur won’t
be replaced,will lead
Himachalpolls:Nadda
Northeast groups oppose
central govt’s Hindi move
New Delhi: In a sur-
prisinganddaringstate-
ment, BJP National
President JP Nadda, by
virtually exercising this
authority as the
party chief, has
surprised every-
one in Shimla and
New Delhi by say-
ing that the next
assembly polls in
Himachal Pradesh,
scheduled to be held
later this year, will be
held only under the
leadership of the state’s
present Chief Minister
Jairam Thakur, whose
removal was being spec-
ulated in media for last
couple of months. Ac-
cording to political ob-
servers, normally such
major policy deci-
sions and an-
n o u n c e m e n t s
have been in the
past made by
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
and Amit Shah, but this
time Nadda has availed
his ‘opportunity’ to con-
vey BJP high com-
mand’s decision about
the political future of
Jairam Thakur.
Several Northeast-
based organisations,
including Assam’s apex
literary body, the Asom
Sahitya Sabha, have
urged the Centre to roll
back its decision to
make Hindi compulsory
till Class X in the region.
In a statement on Sat-
urday, the Sabha said
thatitopposedthemove.
The statement said,
“The Union Home min-
ister should have in-
stead taken steps to de-
velop Assamese and
other indigenous lan-
guages. Such steps spell
a bleak future for Assa-
mese and all indigenous
languages in the North-
east. The Sabha de-
mands that the decision
be revoked.”
Meanwhile, Tamil na-
du’srulingDMKonSun-
day ‘warned’ the Centre
against imposing Hindi
saying the Tamil people
still remembered the
anti-Hindi agitation by
late party patriarch M
Karunanidhi, implying
that they would not al-
low it to happen.
STAGE SET FOR NEW
PM SHEHBAZ
PTI’s Qureshi also throws in hat,
Bilawal next foreign minister likely
Freedom struggle begins again: Imran’s
1st words after being losing midnight vote
Immigration authorities on high alert; Imran’s PTI warns
to withdraw lawmakers, launches stir against new govt
Imran Khan
@ImranKhanPTI
Pakistan became an
independent state in
1947; but the freedom
struggle begins again
today against a foreign
conspiracy of regime
change. It is always the
people of the country
who defend their sover-
eignty democracy.
Dozens of Ukrainians
found in grave near Kyiv
In this image provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, center, and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, center left, walk in downtown Kyiv.
RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS DESTROY
UKRAINIAN MILITARY CONVOY
AFTER EID, WILL
NAWAZ RETURN?
COMING HOME
OF THE SHARIF
OPENING WITH
INDIA POSSIBLE?
T’GANA CABINET’S
DHARNA IN DELHI
PM MODI, BIDEN’S
VIRTUAL MEET TODAY
UKRAINE: DNIPRO AIRPORT‘COMPLETELY
DESTROYED’ BY RUSSIAN SHELLING
Russian attack helicopters have destroyed a
convoy of Ukraine’s armoured vehicles and anti-
aircraft warfare, the news agency Interfax reported
on Sunday, citing Russia’s defence ministry.
“Attack helicopters KA-52 ... destroyed weapons
and military equipment of the armed forces of
Ukraine,” the agency cited the ministry as saying
in a statement. Ukrainian military officials were not
immediately available for comment. Reuters was
not immediately able to verify the report.
With brother Shehbaz
at helm and not without
nod from Army, it won’t
be wrong to guess that
ex-PM Nawaz Sharif will
be paking his bags in
London for a homecom-
ing, provided authorities
let go of his cases as
part of some ‘behind
close-door deal’. Let’s
wait and watch!
By ousting Imran Khan,
Nawaz Sharif’s brother
Shehbaz Sharif has
shown that he still holds
the cards to be back
in the game. He has
worked his way into get-
ting the support of the
Pakistan Army.
Imran Khan attacked
PM Narendra Modi and
the RSS in last two-
and-half years of him
heading the country. His
ouster makes it relatively
easier for New Delhi and
Islamabad to start diplo-
matic conversations.
The entire Telangana Cabinet
and its 107 TRS MLAs will hold
a protest at Telangana Bhawan
in Delhi on Monday, on the ‘dis-
criminating’ issue of the central’
government’s decision to not
procure paddy from the State
of Telangana. P5
Amid hectic diplomatic activity
with growing pressure from the
West on India’s oil deals with
Russia, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi will virtually meet with US
President Joe Biden on Monday.
The Ukraine situation expected
to come up in meet. P6
The airport in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro
has been completely destroyed in fresh Russian
shelling, a local official said Sunday. “There has
been another attack on Dnipro airport. There is
nothing left of it. The airport itself and the infra-
structure around it has been destroyed. Rockets
keep flying and flying. We are seeking to clarify
information about victims.,” the head of the city’s
military administration, Valentin Reznichenko said.
Congress can’t set own house in
order: Maya hits back at Rahul
New Delhi: Responding
to Rahul Gandhi’s
“Mayawati didn’t fight
for Dalits retort” Bahu-
jan Samajwadi Party
(BSP) on Sunday said
that Congress must get
theirownhouseinorder
rather than intruding
into her party affairs.
“Congresscan’tmend
its own way and can’t
set its own house in or-
der but is intruding into
our matters. Congress
and Rahul Gandhi
should think 100 times
before commenting on
the BSP
,” said Mayawati
while addressing a
press conference.
BSP president’s re-
sponse comes after Ra-
hul Gandhi on Saturday
while addressing a
gathering at a book
launch event said that
BSP supremo Mayawati
did not put in her full
efforts in the 2022 as-
sembly election due to
political pressure by
the BJP.
19 Lankans reach TN on boat,
seek asylum as crisis spirals
Chennai:Asmanyas19
SriLankanTamilsfrom
Jaffna and Mannar
reached Dhanushkodi
in Tamil Nadu on boat.
These people, seeking
refugeinIndia,saidthat
living in Sri Lanka has
become very difficult
due to the severe eco-
nomiccrisis.Theprices
of essential commodi-
tiestherehaveincreased
tremendously
.
Till now, a total of 39
people,includingwom-
en and children have
reached the Indian
coast to seek asylum.
Neighbouring Sri
Lanka is currently fac-
ing its worst economic
crisis in recent history
.
POWER INCOMING: Shehbaz Sharif
BSP Supremo Mayawati Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
POWER OUTGOING: Imran Khan
We don’t hug PM
forcefully: Maya
...call it ‘imposition’; DMK too hits out at Centre
Sri Lankan refugees

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Days af-
ter state Education
Minister Jitu Vaghani
stirred up a controver-
sy regarding the qual-
ity of education in Gu-
jarat, now a
Bharatiya
Janata
Party
(BJP) leader has ques-
tioned the state of edu-
cation. Comments
posted by the party’s
Amreli district com-
mittee former presi-
dent Dr Bharat
Kanabar on Twitter
have further exacer-
bated the already burn-
ing issue.
In his tweet, Dr
Kanabar posted, “We
have learnt to write ‘K’
for kamal (lotus), but
not ‘Ksh’ for shikshan
(education), even
though we have 900 uni-
versities and 40,000 col-
leges. In our nation,
education has become a
commodity, which the
buyer and seller are not
ashamed of. The educa-
tion sector is infected
by viruses like paper
leaks, cheating in ex-
ams, fake degree certifi-
cates.”
The BJP leader also
posted the photograph
of a Bihar examination
centre with his tweet.
Moments after his
post went up, Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)
leader and Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal took a dig at him
by posting a tweet on
his page. “Now, even
BJP leaders are ques-
tioning the quality of
education in the state.
Leaders’ rising above
the party line for qual-
ity education is raising
questions. In 27 years
of rule, the BJP has
failed to provide qual-
ity education to the
people of Gujarat.
They should join
hands with AAP and
bring an AAP govern-
ment (to power) in the
state,” he wrote.
In response, Dr
Kanabar took to Twit-
ter and clarified his
stance on the issue
fearing backlash. “My
tweet is about overall
education quality
across the nation. I
have used the photo-
graph of a Bihar exam
centre. The issue is to
bring in change in the
education system and
(improve its) quality
.
Neither the AAP
nor the Congress
should be happy
(about this). I have
been a BJP worker for
the last 35 years, and
always will be.”
PAYING OBEISANCE
The finest legal minds in the country attended a mahaarti at the Shoolpaneshwar Mahadev Temple located on the banks of
the Narmada River near Kevadia on Sunday evening. They also enjoyed a water light show and the illuminated corridors of
the temple. The delegates-- including Supreme Court Chief Justice NV Ramana, Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Aravind
Kumar as well as chief justices and registrars of various states-- are stationed at Tent City at Statue of Unity for the
two-day National Judicial Conference.
Debate underlines the state of education in
Gujarat’s government schools. —FILE PHOTO
Controversy on quality of
education in Guj heats up
BJP leader
tweets about
commercialization
of education
sector; AAP Chief
Kejriwal calls on
citizens to grant
mandate
in polls
Dr Bharat Kanabar.
LRD EXAMINATION
Two cheating incidents reported
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Dur-
ing the Lok Rak-
shak Dal (LRD) re-
cruitment examina-
tion held in the
state on Sunday,
two cheating cases
were reported. Ac-
cording to LRD
Board Chairman
Hasmukh Patel, no
irregularities were
uncovered, except
for two incidents of
copying.
The LRD board
conducted the exami-
nation at 954 centres
across Gujarat state
amid tight security
arrangements. The
examination was
held in cities of
Ahmedabad, Va-
dodara, Surat, Ra-
jkot, Anand, and Gan-
dhinagar, for which,
a total of 2.95 lakh
candidates appeared.
Following repeated
incidents of competi-
tive examination pa-
per leaks in the past,
Gujarat state police
ensured proper assis-
tance to prevent such
incidents. Each ex-
amination centre had
one police inspector
and 20 to 22 consta-
bles stationed.
Special arrange-
ments were also
made by the Gujarat
State Road Transport
Corporation(GSRTC)
for LRD examinees.
Each division was in-
structed to give prec-
edence to examinees
travelling from bus
depots and dropping
them off at their cen-
tres on a priority ba-
sis. Drivers were also
asked to stop the bus
if an examinee
wished to get off
upon reaching their
destination, even if a
stop had not been
scheduled.
POLICE TO THE RESCUE
Lending a helping
hand to LRD ex-
aminees, officials of
Vadodara Harni po-
lice helped a group
of candidates reach
their exam centre on
time on Sunday. Due
to sudden changes
in their centre
locations, candidates
were left stranded
at Jay Ambe School
in Amit Nagar. They
had to reach Jay
Ambe School behind
Rhythm Hospital on
Sama-Savli Road,
which was facilitated
by police officers in a
bus called from their
headquarters.
First India Bureau
Bhuj: Barely five days
after government
spokesperson an-
nounced that the state
had 6.5 crore tonnes of
fodder in store for the
summer, cattle-rearers
in Kutch have begun are
complaining about a se-
vere shortage, which
has driven up the rates
of green and dry fodder.
They have demanded
that the state govern-
ment intervene by re-
leasing a good quantity
of fodder at subsidized
rates.
The challenge facing
the cattle-rearing com-
munity in Kutch is that
they have to depend on
storage units at Vi-
ramgam, Dholka, Tara-
pur, Bagodara and in
central and south Guja-
rat for the dry fodder.
With the price of petro-
leum products steadily
increasing, transporta-
tion costs have risen,
leading to a cascading
effect in which grass
prices in Kutch are also
hit.
Pastoralists in Kutch
say that green fodder,
which was available at
Rs100 for 20kg, now
costs Rs150 for the
same quantity. Simi-
larly, the price of corn
feed has gone up from
Rs80 to Rs130. Two
months ago, dry fodder
cost Rs1,100 for a 50kg
bag. It now costs
Rs1,700-Rs1,800 a bag.
According to local es-
timates, there are more
than two lakh heads of
cattle in Kutch. Each
adult animal requires
20kg of fodder per day
.
Given that most dairy
farmers also have do-
mestic animals and
poultry, the demand for
animal feed is likely to
rise further as the mer-
cury rises.
Cattle-rearers have
demanded that the state
should start distribut-
ing grass at a subsi-
dized rate at the earli-
est, otherwise it will be
difficult for the cattle to
survive in Kutch.
High fodder prices hit cattle-rearers
Upward trend
in fuel prices,
transportation
costs are
leading to
shortages
There are more than two lakh heads of cattle in Kutch, with each
adult needing 20kg of fodder per day. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
family of 55-year-old
woman from Bavla in
Ahmedabad district
volunteered to do-
nate her organs after
she was certified
brain-dead while un-
dergoing treatment
at Civil Hospital, ear-
lier this month. Inci-
dentally, this is the
51st organ donation
at the hospital.
After consulting
with her family, Takhu-
ben Parmar’s son, a
sanitation worker, took
the momentous deci-
sion to donate two kid-
neys and the liver to
patients.
Parmar was sent to a
local Bagodra Hospital
for a health checkup on
April 05 after becoming
physically weak and ex-
periencing high blood
pressure. She was re-
ferred from Bagodara
village to the govern-
ment hospital in Bavla
for a CT scan. Diag-
nosed with a cerebral
haemorrhage, Takhu-
ben was then sent to
Ahmedabad’s Civil
Hospital for treatment.
Doctors declared her
brain-dead after three
days of intensive thera-
py. The Civil Hospital’s
SOTTO (State Organ
Tissue and Transplant
Organization) team pro-
vided a full explanation
to the family and urged
them to consider donat-
ing her organs. Her
loved ones recognized
the value of organ do-
nation and consented to
donate her kidneys and
liver.
“Our family mem-
bers opted to donate
their organs with the
hope that they could be
utilized by someone in
need, rather than
merge into the panch-
mahabhuta (five ele-
ments of the uni-
verse),” the relatives
explained.
On people opting for
organ donation, Dr
Rakesh Joshi, Civil
Hospital Superinten-
dent, said, “With the
joint efforts of the soci-
ety, government, chari-
table organizations and
media, awareness about
organ donation is in-
creasing. As a result,
incidences of organ do-
nation have increased
in the state.”
Family of brain-dead woman donate organs to save lives
NEW LEASE OF LIFE
lll
After receiving
confirmation of
Lakhuben
Parmar’s health
condition, her
relatives
stepped up and
donated her
kidneys and
liver
Candidates undergo a pat down outside an exam centre in
Navrangpura area of Ahmedabad.
Thousands of LRD examinees converged at Ahmedabad’s
main bus terminal Gita Mandir to return home after their
examination on Sunday.
—PHOTOS
BY
HANIF
SINDHI

GUJARAT
03
Poliefireteargasshellsatmobs
amidRamNavamistone-pelting
Shops, vehicles damaged in groups clashes in Himmatnagar, Khambhat
HAPPY FEET
A ‘Kids Mini Marathon 2022’ event was organized in Vadodara city by Akshar Public School in Tarsali area on Sunday
morning. Around 750 children took part in the run under various age categories to promote healthy living. Meanwhile,
in Surat, a ‘Ramathon’ was held for school kids up to the age of 11 years to celebrate ‘Ram Navami’ on Vesu Magdalla
Road. Flagged off by Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, approximately 500 kids participated in the run.
MINI
RUNNERS
First India Bureau
H i m m a t n a g a r /
Khambhat: Clashes
broke out between
two communities in
Himmatnagar and
Khambhat cities in
Gujarat on Sunday
during the Shobha
Yatra processions
taken out to mark
Ram Navami,
prompting the police
to fire tear gas shells
to control mobs who
pelted stones at each
other and damaged
shops and vehicles at
both places.
A third incident, of
a religious flag being
burnt in Dwarka, was
also reported on Sun-
day evening.
Members of two
communities hurled
stones at each other
when a Ram Navami
procession reached Ch-
hapariya locality in
Himmatnagar city in
the Sabarkantha dis-
trict in the late after-
noon, a police official
told the media here.
“Police fired five
tear gas shells to con-
trol the situation,” the
official said.
However, local sourc-
es say that a few min-
utes later, the two
groups regrouped with-
in a few minutes and
started attacking each
other again. They also
torched a Royal Enfield
motorcycle and four
other vehicles.
Later, the additional
policeforcewasbrought
in from outside the city
to bring the situation
under control, the offi-
cial added.
Sabarkantha District
Superintendent of Po-
lice Vishalkumar Va-
ghelaandtwoothercops
were injured in the inci-
dent, along with several
citizens, officials said,
adding that the exact
number is still unclear.
In Khambhat town
in the Anand district, a
clash broke out during
a Ram Navami proces-
sion wherein stones
were pelted and shops
and vehicles were dam-
aged by two groups, a
control room official
said, adding that tear
gas shells were fired.
Police deployment in
other towns of Anand
district has also been
increased to ensure that
no untoward incidents
occur, an official said.
The processions
were taken out on the
occasion of Ram Nava-
mi celebrated as the
birthday of Lord Ram.
Additional police personnel have been deployed to Himmatnagar (seen here) and Khambhat.
State schools lack basic
infrastructure: AMC LOP
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: She-
hzad Khan Pathan,
the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corpora-
tion’s (AMC) Leader
of Opposition, stat-
ed he discovered
that many munici-
pal schools lacked
basic facilities and
failed to maintain
cleanliness.
During a state-
wide school inspec-
tion, Pathan found
that many schools
lacked proper drink-
ing water arrange-
ments, computer labs
were gathering dust,
and bathrooms were
dirty. The LOP visit-
ed Rakhial’s Gujarati
School No. 1 and
Urdu School No. 2.
He also claimed
that RO machines at
a school had deterio-
rated and were no
longer working.
The debate about
Gujarat’s and Delhi’s
educational models
has heated up in re-
cent days. In the run-
up to Gujarat’s as-
sembly elections.
Arvind Kejriwal, the
AAP’s national con-
venor, had previous-
ly accused the BJP of
failing to deliver on
its promises in the
education sector.
The condition of a
school in Behrampu-
ra is such that the
students of Class 5
did not know how to
read English, Pathan
added. The chairman
of the school board
was also informed
about all this.
First India Bureau
Surat: Textile traders
in the city who do
business in Sri Lanka
are experiencing
trouble receiving pay-
ment for orders worth
Rs100 crore.
Hit by the worst eco-
nomic crisis it has ever
experienced, Sri Lanka
is struggling to pay for
essential imports after
its foreign exchange re-
serves dropped 70% in
two years.
Surat delivers month-
ly shipments of textile
material worth Rs20
crore to Sri Lanka. How-
ever, businesspersons
havestoppedtakingnew
orders due to the pres-
ent emergency in the
island nation.
“The demand for gar-
ments in the interna-
tional market is high. In
terms of the textile mar-
ket, Sri Lanka is a good
place to do business.
About 90% of textiles
are shipped to Colombo
from Tamil Nadu dis-
tributors in cities like
Chennai and Tiruchira-
palli,” said a spokesper-
son for the Federation
of Surat Textile Traders
Association).
“The market, on the
other hand, is in a horri-
ble state right now. The
textile material shipped
from Chennai to Sri
Lanka never arrived,
and neither did their
money
. Chennai’s pay-
ment of Rs100 crore and
more is stalled.”
First India Bureau
Surendranagar: Six
persons were arrested
by Surendranagar po-
lice on Sunday for pos-
session of dynamite
worth Rs3 lakh with
the intention of using
it to dig a well in Kor-
da village of Chuda
taluka. Incidentally
,
five of the six accused
belong to the state of
Rajasthan.
After receiving a tip-
off that a group of men
had arrived in Korda vil-
lagewithdynamite,Chu-
da Police Inspector V V
TrivedialongwithaSpe-
cial Operations Group
(SOG) group carried out
a search at the farm of a
Hirabhai Rojasra in the
wee hours of Sunday
.
On inquiry
, farm own-
er Hirabhai is said to
have told the police that
he had called Dinesh
Singh Gehlot and his
team from Rajasthan to
dig a well on his farm for
Rs2.50 lakh. Gehlot and
his team had come
armed with gelatin and
dynamite sticks. As Hir-
bhaiandGehlotbothdid
not have license to use
the explosives, police
seized the material
worth Rs3,71,225 and ar-
rested them.
Police also learnt that
Gehlot has worked for
several farmers in the
Surendranagar district
in the past. An expert at
digging, he is known to
complete a project be-
tween two to two-and-a-
half-month’s time. He
also admitted to digging
three wells recently
, for
which he brought illegal
gelatin and dynamite
sticks and detonators
from Rajasthan.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Gujarat
reported 22 new
COVID-19 cases on
Sunday
, which raised
its infection tally to
12,24,047, the health
department said.
Nobody died due to
the infection during the
day
, which kept the fatal-
ity count unchanged at
10,942.
With seven patients
getting discharged on
Sunday
, the recovery fig-
ure rose to 12,12,976, it
said in a release.
The state’s tally of ac-
tive cases now stands at
129, with one of these
patients being critical.
As many as 6,490 peo-
ple were given anti-coro-
navirusvaccinedoseson
Sunday
.
Gandhinagar city re-
ported the highest num-
ber of 10 new infection
cases, among others.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
Surat delivers monthly shipments of textile material worth Rs20 crore to Sri Lanka. —FILE PHOTO
Five of the six men arrested are from neighbouring Rajasthan.
Payments of `100 cr stuck in SL, Surat traders say
6 arrested for holding illegal dynamite
Guj sees 22 new cases,
active tally now at 129
Mild tremor hits
Kutch; 5th seismic
activity in a month
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A
tremor of magnitude
3.2 hit Kutch district
on Sunday, but offi-
cials said there was
no report of any cas-
ualty or property
damage.
The tremor was re-
corded at 12.49 am,
with its epicentre
one km west-south-
west of Rapar in
Kutch district, at a
depth of 12.2 km, the
Gandhinagar-based
Institute of Seismo-
logical Research
(ISR) said.
According to data
from ISR, this is the
fifth tremor of mag-
nitude 3 or more to be
recorded in the dis-
trict in the last
month.
The four previous
tremors were report-
ed near Rapar, Dud-
hai and Lakhpat
towns in the district,
ISR data shows.
As per a district
administration offi-
cial, there was no re-
port of any casualty
or damage to prop-
erty
.
Kutch district is
located in a very
high-risk seismic
zone and low-intensi-
ty tremors/earth-
quakes regularly oc-
cur there.
On January 26,
2001, a massive earth-
quake jolted the dis-
trict, killing 13,800
people and injuring
nearly 1.67 lakh oth-
ers.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 3 l Issue No. 135
l RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf
of First Express Publishers.
Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet
Survey No.148P, Changodar-
Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist.
Ahmedabad. Published at D/302
3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium
Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej
Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Govt. creates matrix for 50 agricultural
products with good export potential
to further enhance farmers’ income.
Building the road ahead after record-
breaking $50 billion exports in 2021-22.
Shashi Tharoor
@ShashiTharoor
I was brought up to believe that piety
prayer were private, emotions were
to be expressed behind closed doors,
“grace under pressure” was the ideal,
you worked hard to make your
successes look effortless. None of
those values or standards of behaviour
are upheld any longer.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The power of God is with
you at all times; through the
activities of mind, senses,
breathing, and emotions;
and is constantly doing all
the work using you as a
mere instrument.
—The Bhagvad Gita
IN-DEPTH
EVEN ATHEISM CAN
HURT SENTIMENTS
OF THE MAJORITY
COMMUNITY
his conference had
nothing to do with
Islam or Christianity
.
Nor had it anything
to do with Hindu
bashing. Yet it was not allowed
to be held by the Pune Police as
Sunday was Ram Navmi day and
the event may have caused law
and order problem. The event
was the seventh edition of the
Atheist conference organised by
the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Vi-
char Manch, Pune. Incidentally,
Bhagat Singh believed in Athe-
ism. The police told the organ-
izers that certain groups felt that
the Atheist conference on Ram-
navmi was meant to hurt the
sentiments of believers. This is
strange logic which does not al-
low room for lack of one’s belief
in god. The event could have
been allowed out of deference to
Bhagat Singh.
India has a miniscule number
of atheists---33,000 according to
the 2011 census, who can hardly
hurt a religious majority’s senti-
ments. Atheism was propagated
in ancient India by the philoso-
pher Charvaka’s who rejected
the notion of karma, afterlife
and supernaturalism.
TOP TWEETS
T
n a historic first
Imran Khan Niazi
was ousted from
power after a post
midnight vote on
a no-confidence motion
moved by the opposition par-
ties went against him. One
must appreciate the Pakistan
Supreme Court which did not
succumb to any pressure and
ensured that the due demo-
cratic process was followed.
Helped by the National As-
sembly speaker Prime Minis-
ter Imran Khan tried every
trick to have the no-trust
shelved so that he could re-
main in power but it wasn’t
his day
. Now former Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sha-
rif’s younger brother She-
hbaz Sharif is likely to be
elected the next prime minis-
ter. He’ll be heading a dispa-
rate group and may find the
task of leading the country
very challenging. Unlike the
ace cricketer who has a spot-
less image barring a few per-
sonal weaknesses, Sharif is
on bail in a money launder-
ing case in a multi-billion
rupee sugar scam. He was
also lodged in Lahore jail in
another money laundering
case and was released only
last year.
With such baggage, he may
not be an ideal choice for the
prime minister’s post but
he’s a product of democra-
cy’s strange ways. Not only
will Shehbaz have to keep an
eye on the criminal cases
against him, but he also has
the daunting task of pulling
Pakistan’s economy out of
the quagmire as Imran’s beg-
ging trips abroad were of no
help. Inflationary woes were
exacerbated by Imran’s in-
sensitive remark that he was
not in politics to check prices
of “aloo and tamatar”. De-
spite that he retains some of
his popularity and can’t be
written off just yet.
IMRAN KHAN CANNOT
BE WRITTEN OFF
Not only will Shehbaz
have to keep an eye on
the criminal cases
against Imran
Khan, but he also has
the daunting task of
pulling Pakistan’s
economy out of the
quagmire as Imran’s
begging trips abroad
were of no help
I
he Maharashtra government
is attempting, to eliminate
Chandrapur’s dubious title
as the state’s most polluted
city and district, located at
the eastern edge of Maha-
rashtra’s Vidarbha district.
The Chandrapur adminis-
tration has set up a body
called the District Level Pol-
lution Control Agricultural
Compensation Committee to
look into the effects of coal
pollution and fly ash on the
district’s food and other rev-
enue-generating crops. The
committee will be chaired by
the District Collector, with
members including the Dis-
trict Superintendent of Ag-
riculture and the Chan-
drapur Zilla Parishad CEO,
as well as the Maharashtra
Pollution Control Board
(MPCB). According to dis-
trict administration, the ag-
ricultural department will
evaluate crop health
throughout a two-year evalu-
ation that will begin this
Kharif season (beginning
June 2022) with help from lo-
cal academic institutions.
Farmlands within a 500 m
to 1 km radius of coal-fired
industries, including the
Chandrapur Super Thermal
Power Station, will be exam-
ined as part of this. The ef-
fects of coal pollution in the
form of fly ash on food crops
in these farmlands will be
compared to those in areas
where industries are not pre-
sent. If the evaluation re-
veals a drop in crop yield or
blackening of crops near in-
dustries, the coal-fired com-
panies will be responsible for
compensating farmers for
the revenue lost in terms of
the crop area. The crops fo-
cussed in this analysis will
include - cotton, soybean, tur
pulses and paddy. The same
exercise will be conducted
during the Rabi season (Octo-
ber onwards).
Following an investigation
by the MPCB into each indus-
try failing to meet standards
under the Air (Prevention
and Control of Pollution)
Act, 1981 and The Water (Pre-
vention and Control of Pollu-
tion) Act, a separate commit-
tee - Taluka Level Pollution
Control Agricultural Com-
pensation Commitee - headed
by the Tehsildar, BDO, Talu-
ka agriculture officer, among
others, will design a compen-
sation framework for farm-
ers. The action comes after
Maharashtra Cabinet Minis-
ter Aaditya Thackeray filed a
written response to BJP MLC
Chandrasekhar Bavankule’s
query in Maharashtra legis-
lature on March 24, 2022. The
event in issue, according to
Bavankule, occurred in Jan-
uary 2022, when cotton fields
in an area near coal enter-
prises were blackened owing
to pollution from coal trans-
portation. Bavankule ques-
tioned if it was true that pol-
lution had harmed the envi-
ronment and was impacting
not only cotton and soybeans
but also other crops, citing
industry non-compliance.
Thackeray responded by
confirming that the impact of
coal pollution on crops near
industries was indeed true, as
evidenced by a letter from the
District Superintendent of
Agriculture, Chandrapur, dat-
ed February 25, 2022, stating
that pollution was affecting
the growth of cotton and soy-
bean crops, and production
was declining. The Minister
went on to say that the State
EnvironmentDepartmenthad
requested a thorough report
fromDistrictCollector’soffice
and that the MPCB had issued
a spate of notifications and
had also terminated the bank
guarantee for enterprises that
did not follow the Pollution
Control Rules.
The impact of fly ash on
crops in Chandrapur is a
double whammy, as the dis-
trict is already grappling
with the effects of climate
change on agriculture, with
research indicating reduced
crop growth and production,
water scarcity, soil fertility
reduction, poor quality yield,
and late or no seed germina-
tion as a result of changes in
rainfall and temperature pat-
terns, as well as crop residue
burning. Over the last six
years, the Maharashtra gov-
ernment has paid out Rs.
171.37 crore in compensation
to residents of Chandrapur
who have sustained losses as
a result of climate-related ca-
lamities such as floods,
droughts, and excessive rain.
Apart from being a key ti-
ger destination in the country
(Tadoba Wildlife Sanctuary),
Chandrapurdistrictisknown
for its huge coal mines. The
district’s mineral-based in-
dustrial expansion and fast
urbanisation have inevitably
resultedinpollutionandenvi-
ronmentaldeterioration,with
wide-ranging consequences.
According to the State’s Eco-
nomic Survey report issued
last month, Chandrapur dis-
tricthas1,751industries,with
272 (16%) of them being red
category industries, predomi-
nantly coal-fired. Action tak-
en by MPCB over the past
year for violations at Chan-
drapur included issuing 5
closure notices to coal fired
industries, 85 show cause no-
tices including those to the
CSTPS, and bank guarantee
forfeited to the tune of Rs. 47
lakh across energy and ce-
ment industries.
Chandrapur has the dis-
tinction of being Maharash-
tra’s most polluted city and
the only city in state where
pollution levels didn’t de-
crease during the Covid-19
pandemic-induced lock-
downs. the MPCB plans to
open two additional Continu-
ous Air Quality Monitoring
Stations in Chandrapur next
month, as well as expand its
Online Continuous Emis-
sions Monitoring System to
include all red-category sec-
tors by the end of the year.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
BADRI CHATTERJEE
The writer is a Contributing Author to
First India as well as Communications
Engagement Strategist with Asar, which is a
research and communications startup that
seeks to address the big environmental and
social challenges facing India
If the evaluation reveals a
drop in crop yield or
blackening of crops near
industries, the coal-fired
companies will be
responsible for
compensating farmers for
the revenue lost in terms of
the crop area. The crops
focussed in this analysis
will include - cotton,
soybean, tur pulses and
paddy
Maha commissions coal pollution
study to assess impact on crop yield
...to issue compensation to farmers facing revenue loss
—
P
HOTO
BY
YOGESH
DUDHPACHARE
The impact of fly ash
on crops in Chandrapur
is a double whammy, as
the district is already
grappling with the effects
of climate change on
agriculture, with research
indicating reduced crop
growth and production,
water scarcity, soil fertility
reduction, poor quality
yield, and late or no seed
germination as a result of
changes in rainfall

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INDIA
05
JAGAN REDDY REVAMPS ANDHRA
CABINET, INDUCTS FRESH FACES
Representation of SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes rises to 68 per cent
Hyderabad (Agencies):
Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister Jagan Mohan
Reddy
,keepinghisprom-
ise of June 2019 of re-
vamping his cabinet in
the middle of his term,
has reconstituted it. The
new cabinet has a mix-
ture of senior and expe-
rienced leaders as well
as fresh and young faces
for balanced govern-
ance. While the seniors
will bring in their exper-
tiseandexperienceonto
the table, the young lead-
ers will bring in innova-
tiveideasandinitiatives,
focussing on people-ori-
ented governance.
The previous minis-
ters, however, will be
given responsibilities
in the party so they
can make use of their
experience to ensure
the party’s victory in
the upcoming assem-
bly and general elec-
tions in 2024.
From the beginning,
the representation Red-
dy gave to the Sched-
uled Castes and Tribes,
minorities and back-
ward classes is unprec-
edented in Andhra
Pradesh and the same
continues in this cabi-
net as well.
In 2019, when Reddy
formed his cabinet, 56
per cent of his 25 minis-
ters were from the
Scheduled Castes and
Tribes, Other Back-
ward Classes and mi-
norities.
This time, the Chief
Minister has increased
their representation to
68 per cent.
In the previous cabi-
net, there were 5 mem-
bers of the Scheduled
Castes, one from Sched-
uled Tribes, 7 members
of the Other Backward
Classes, one from mi-
nority. This time, the
representation has
been increased by 17 –
11 from the Backward
Classes, 5 from Sched-
uled Castes and 1 from
Scheduled Tribes.
During Chandrababu
Naidu’s tenure ‘starting
in2014,theOtherCastes
representation was 13
while the Scheduled
Castes, and Backward
Classes was 12. Of the
12, no ministry given to
leaders from the Sched-
uled Tribes and minor-
ity communities.
The same ratio was
again maintained in
2017, when the cabinet
was revamped.
TheScheduledTribes
were included in
Naidu’s cabinet only
four months before he
completed his tenure.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Of the 10 ministers retained from the previous
cabinet, three are from Scheduled Castes, five
from Backward Classes and two from other castes
Discontent in Sidhu
camp after Congress
appoints new Pb chief
Chandigarh (Agen-
cies): The appointment
of three-time MLA and
former National Youth
Congress President
Amrinder Singh Raja
Warring as the new
Punjab Congress chief
has left former party
chief Navjot Sidhu’s
camp fuming.
While Navjot Singh
Sidhu congratulated
the new Congress chief,
new CLP leader Pratap
Singh Bajwa and Depu-
ty CLP leader Rajku-
mar Chabbewal, his
supporters openly criti-
cised the decision an-
nounced on Saturday
night.
“Congratulations to
Raja Warring and
Bharat Bhushan Ashu
wish them the best al-
ways .” Navjot Sidhu
tweeted after the new
appointments were an-
nounced on Saturday
.
Former Amargarh
Congress MLA and a
staunch Sidhu sup-
porter Surjit Singh
Dhiman, while react-
ing to the new appoint-
ments, said that the
new PCC chief is “a
novice and the deci-
sion to appoint him as
PCC Chief will be a set-
back to the party.”
“The present Con-
gress chief is the most
corrupt and the deci-
sion to appoint him is
wrong,” Dhiman said.
Former Punjab Congress chief
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Mess staff
stopped from
serving non-veg:
2 student groups
clash in JNU
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Twogroupsof
students clashed on
Sundayafternoonin
the Jawaharlal
Nehru University
(JNU) campus, al-
legedly over meat
being served in the
hostel canteen on
the occasion of Ram
Navami.
The incident took
place at Kaveri hos-
tel at 3:30 in the af-
ternoon.
The Jawaharlal
Nehru University
Students’ Union
(JNUSU) has al-
leged that the Akhil
Bharatiya Vid-
yarthi Parishad
(ABVP) members
assaulted the mess
secretary and
stopped the staff
from serving meat
dishes in the hostel.
Shiv Sena has become pseudo-secular,
says Fadnavis citing calendar in Urdu
Mumbai (PTI): The
ruling Shiv Sena has
become “pseudo-secu-
lar” as a worker from
that party has printed
a calendar in Urdu in
which founder Bal
Thackeray is ad-
dressed as “janab”,
Maharashtra BJP lead-
er Devendra Fadnavis
said on Sunday.
He was talking to re-
porters while cam-
paigning for Kolhapur
North Assembly bypoll
scheduled for April 12.
“The Shiv Sena has
become pseudo-secular.
However, we are not
against any religion or
theirbeliefs,”theformer
chief minister claimed.
Fadnavis condemned
the MSRTC staffers’
protest outside NCP
chief Sharad Pawar’s
home on April 8 but
also attacked leaders
from some parties for
blaming the BJP for the
incident.
BJP leader and former Maharashtra CM Fadnavis.
‘Hanuman chalisa’ outside Shiv
Sena HQ: 4 MNS workers held
Mumbai (ANI): Four Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena (MNS) workers have been detained by the
Mumbai police after they played the ‘Hanuman
Chalisa’ in front of the Shiv Sena headquarters
in the Dadar area of the city. The workers had
mounted a loudspeaker on the roof of a cab
which also had a placard with pictures of Hindu
god Lord Ram and the MNS chief Raj Thackeray,
with “Shree Ram Rath” written on it. The police
reached the spot and shut down the prayer hymn,
they also seized the vehicle and the loudspeaker.
The Shivaji Park police are questioning four men
in the matter. Reacting to the provocation, Maha-
rashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray said that this
is an attempt to revive a “dead party”.
Paddy procurement: T’gana Cabinet
to stage ‘Maha Dharna’ in Delhi today
New Delhi/Hy-
derabad (Agencies):
The Telangana Rash-
tra Samithi (TRS) is all
set to launch a mega
protest in New Delhi
on Monday against the
Centre’s decision to
not procure paddy
from the State.
On Monday, the en-
tire Telangana Cabinet
and its 107 TRS MLAs
will hold a protest at
Telangana Bhawan in
Delhi, on the issue of al-
leged discrimination
against the state in pad-
dy procurement.
Demanding the Cen-
tre to procure the entire
paddy from Telangana
during ongoing Rabi
season, state ministers,
MPs, state legislators
and other public repre-
sentatives of TRS will
stage the protest.
Chief Minister K.
Chandrasekhar Rao is
likely to lead the sit-in,
though the party is yet
to announce this offi-
cially. KCR, as Rao is
popularly known, is
camping in the national
capital for the last six
days on personal work.
Over 1,000 leaders
from the TRS will par-
ticipate in the protest,
the first public protest
by TRS in the national
capital over the issue of
paddy procurement.
Thepartyalsoexpects
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU)leader Rakesh Ti-
kait and leaders of oth-
er farmers’ groups to
participate and show
their solidarity
.
BKU LEADER RAKESH TIKAIT AND OTHER FARMERS’ GROUPS TO PARTICIPATE IN TRS PROTEST
A billboard carries the picture of Telangana Chief Minister KCR
demanding ‘One Nation One Paddy Procurement Policy’.
Yechury re-elected
as CPI(M) General
Secy for 3rd term
T h i r u v a n a n -
thapuram (Agencies):
CPI-M General Sec-
retary Sitaram
Yechury will contin-
ue in the post for a
third term. This was
announced at the
party’s 23rd party
Congress venue on
Sunday
.
Yechury was re-
elected as the general
secretary along with
a 17-member polit-
buro and an 85-mem-
ber central commit-
tee during the 23rd
party Congress.
Sitaram Yechury
was first elected as
the party general sec-
retary during the
21st party Congress
at Visakhapatnam in
April 2015. He was re-
elected to the post at
the 22nd party Con-
gress at Hyderabad
on April 18, 2018.
He succeeded
Prakash Karat as
the general secre-
tary of the party
who held the post
from 2005 to 2015.
LDF convenor and
Kerala CPI-M former
acting secretary, A.
Vijayaraghavan has
been made the new
politburo member
from Kerala. All In-
dia Kisan Sabha
president Ashok
Dawale and Dalit
leader Ram Chandra
Dome are also the
two new entrants to
the party’s highest
decision-making
body, Politburo.
BJP rolls out its ‘Mission 150+’ plan
for Karnataka Assembly elections
Bengaluru (Agen-
cies): After the party
won four out of five
states in the recent as-
sembly polls, the BJP
has started prepara-
tions for the Karnataka
assembly polls sched-
uled mid next year. The
party is working on
‘Mission 150+’ for the
assembly polls in 2023.
Recently, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah visited the south-
ern state to take stock
of the preparations and
asked the party cadre to
hit the ground running
to achieve ‘Mission
150+’. It is learnt that
Shah has given specific
work to be completed
and said that more will
be assigned in the fu-
ture.
“Elections will be
held next year. Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi ji’s ‘naam’ and
‘kaam’ (name and
work) is everywhere in
the country and the
state government is
also doing good work.
We will definitely
achieve our ‘Mis-
sion150+’. Amit (Shah)
bhai ji has given cer-
tain directions to the
state unit on how we
should work on the
ground. The state unit
executes the directions
on the ground. We will
contest the Karnataka
election on Prime Min-
ister Modi’s name and
work and the work of
the BJP government in
the state. We will again
come to power for sure,”
CT Ravi, BJP national
general secretary and
member Karnataka as-
sembly
, told media.
Srinagar (Agen-
cies): Twoterrorists
were killed in a gun-
fight with the secu-
rityforcesinCentral
Kashmir’s Srinagar
district, officials
saidonSunday
.Both
have been identified
as Pakistani nation-
als and were in-
volved in an attack
on CRPF personnel.
“Two Pakistani
terrorists who were
involved in recent
terror attack on
CRPF Personnel,
neutralisedinSrina-
gar Encounter.
Arms and ammuni-
tion, other incrimi-
nating materials re-
covered,” Jammu
and Kashmir Police
quoting Inspector
GeneralPoliceKash-
mir zone Vijay Ku-
mar, tweeted.
“Today’s encoun-
ter in Srinagar is
one of the best ex-
ample of how an in-
vestigation of ter-
ror-crime led to anti-
terror encounter.”
JK:Two Pak
terrorists killed
in gunfight with
security forces
BrahMos misfiring:
IAF probe finds
more than 1 guilty
New Delhi (ANI): In
less than a month, the
IAF has completed its
inquiry into the
BrahMos accidental fir-
ing case and blamed
more than one official
from the missile squad-
ron for the incident for
whichtherewould“swift
andseverepunishment”.
The inquiry into the
March 9 incident was
done by Assistant Chief
of Air Staff Operations
(Offensive) Air Vice
Marshal RK Sinha
where during routine
maintenance and in-
spection, a BrahMos
missile got fired acci-
dentally and landed up
in the Mian Channu
area of Pakistan.
RAM CHANDRA
DOME TO BE 1ST
DALIT POLITBURO
MEMBER: CPI(M)
Kolkata (Agencies):
Seven-time MP and
the CPI(M) Central
Committee member
from West Bengal,
Ram Chandra Dome
will be the first
Dalit representative
in the Politburo,
which is the highest
decision-making
body of the party.
Sources in the
CPI(M) told media
that the party’s
Central Committee
meeting.
Mahila Cong chief confronts
Irani on inflation during flight
Nitish to be Bihar CM till NDA govt
exists, says Upendra Kushwaha
New Delhi (ANI): Ja-
nata Dal (United) Par-
liamentary Board
Chairman and Former
Union Minister, Upen-
dra Kushwaha, on
Sunday reiterated that
Nitish Kumar is Chief
Minister of Bihar and
will hold the post till
the NDA government
remains in Bihar be-
cause he is its leader
of NDA.
Speaking to media,
Upendra Kushwaha
said that the alliance
of JDU with the BJP is
under the leadership
of Nitish Kumar in Bi-
har and as long as there
is an alliance with BJP
in the state, Nitish Ku-
mar is its leader.
New Delhi (Agencies):
A video of Union Minis-
ter Smriti Irani being
confronted by Mahila
Congress chief Netta
D’Souza on the issue of
inflation has gone viral.
Thetwowereonboard
a Guwahati-bound flight
and the conversation
took place as the plane
landed and passengers
started disembarking.
D’Souza asked Irani
about the rising fuel
prices to which Irani re-
plied that the Centre
has been helping the
poor through various
welfare programmes.
Congress leader Netta D’souza
and Union Minister Smriti Irani.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar with JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha.
Sitaram Yechury

INDIA
06
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: In the re-
cently concluded as-
sembly elections in five
states, the BJP fared
better in all places ex-
cept Punjab. In UP, the
party defied the nega-
tive forecasts of many
political analysts and
achieved a thumping
majority
.
The BJP camp is
brimming with enthu-
siasm after a big hard-
won victory
, but instead
of resting, party strate-
gists are busy with
their next mission-2024.
The party aims to get a
far higher vote share in
the next general elec-
tions than in the year
2019. By the way, party
workers in all the states
have been mobilized in
this mission. But in UP,
the most populous
state, there is a special
attention on this mis-
sion. Having ana-
lyzed the poll results of
2022, party strategists
have come to the con-
clusion that the benefi-
ciaries of central and
state welfare schemes
have played a decisive
role in the historic vic-
tories.
According to a highly
placed BJP source, even
though the party won a
landslide victory, this
time the SP alliance led
by Akhilesh Yadav had
created uncomfortable
situations before the
party. Because of this,
it had become a diffi-
cult challenge for the
party to gain the trust
of the OBC and dalits
voters in many seats.
Taking lessons from
this, now the party
strategists are cam-
paigning in the direc-
tion of social justice, so
that the party’s hold on
caste equations can be
strengthened in future.
The party has em-
barked on a nationwide
public relations cam-
paign to widen its vote
base, combining its so-
cial justice campaign
with its fundamental
tenets of Hindutva.
Through a mega out-
reach drive like ‘Social
Nyay Pakhwada’, the
plan is being imple-
mented to assure the
beneficiaries about the
future plans and
strengthen the party’s
base by winning trust.
The party’s well oiled
machinery has been
rolled out to streamline
such outreach drives.
BJP camp starts planning the roadmap for the 2024 elections
LOOKING FAR AHEAD
New Delhi (PTI):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi will hold a vir-
tual meeting with US
President Joe Biden on
Monday to review bilat-
eral cooperation and
exchange views on re-
cent developments in
South Asia and the In-
do-Pacific and global is-
sues of mutual interest,
the MEA amd US an-
nounced on Sunday
.
The Ministry of Ex-
ternal Affairs made an
announcement on Sun-
day about the virtual
meeting.
“The two leaders will
review ongoing bilater-
al cooperation and ex-
change views on recent
developments in South
Asia, the Indo-Pacific
region and global issues
of mutual interest,” the
MEA said.
PM Modi, Biden to hold virtual
meeting ahead of 2+2 dialogue
Meeting aimed at further strengthening bilateral comprehensive global strategic ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting US President Joe Biden at
the White House in US. —FILE PHOTO
Ahmedabad (PTI):
dra Modi on Sunday
said the coronavirus
has not gone away and
keeps resurfacing, and
cautioned people not to
let their guard down in
the battle against the
pandemic.
Nobody knows when
the ‘bahurupiya’ (one
that changes form) Cov-
id-19 will resurface,
PM Modi said, adding
that administering
nearly 185 crore doses
of vaccines to control
its spread was made
possible due to public
support.
He was addressing
via video conferencing
the Mahapatotsav pro-
gramme of Maa Umiya
Dham at Vanthali in
Gujarat’s Junagadh dis-
trict, as part of the 14th
foundation day celebra-
tion of the temple of
Maa Umiya, considered
as the deity of Kadva
Patidar community
.
The PM urged devo-
tees of Maa Umiya to
turn to natural farming
with the aim to save
Mother Earth from the
scourge of chemical
fertilisers.
He also asked people
to a pledge to partici-
pate in creating 75 ‘Am-
rit Sarovars’ (lakes) in
each district as part of
the Azadi Ka Amrit Ma-
hotsav, being organised
to mark 75 years of In-
dia’s Independence.
“Covid-19 was a big
crisis, and we are not
saying that the crisis is
over. It may have taken
a pause, but we never
know when it will resur-
face. To stop this, nearly
185 crore doses of vac-
cines were adminis-
tered, which surprised
the world,” he said.
The PM also said the
devotees of Maa Umiya
should undertake a pro-
ject to take care of the
health of malnourished
children and anemic
mothers at the village
level. The ‘Maa Umiya
Trust,’ which manages
the temple, should or-
ganise competitions at
the village level promot-
ing good health of chil-
dren, he said.
Covid not over, is changing
forms and resurfacing: PM
‘DON’T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN’
New Delhi (PTI): The
stronger the farmers be-
come, the more prosper-
ous New India would be,
draModisaidonSunday
and asserted that the
‘PM Kisan Samman Ni-
dhi’ giving new strength
to crores of tillers.
Taking to Twitter, the
PrimeMinistershareda
graphic which stated
that Rs 1.82 lakh crore
havedirectlybeentrans-
ferred to the bank ac-
counts of 11.3 crore
farmers. The graphic
stated the benefits farm-
ers received under the
'PM Kisan Samman Ni-
dhi' and other agricul-
ture-related schemes.
Thecountry is proud
of our farmer brothers
and sisters. The strong-
er they become, the
more prosperous the
New India will be. I am
happy that PM Kisan
Samman Nidhi and oth-
er schemes related to
agriculture are giving
new strength to crores
of farmers in the coun-
try,” Modi said.
Stronger farmers become, more
prosperous India would be: PM
Lucknow (PTI): Sama-
jwadi Party chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav on Sunday
claimed that the Uttar
Pradesh government
has failed on all fronts
and the BJP is insensi-
tive towards the prob-
lems of the youth. “Law
and order, education
and health are in very
bad shape. There is re-
sentment among people
related to teaching
work,andtheyouthsare
angry
. This is because
the attitude of the BJP
towards the problems of
the youth is insensitive.
“The youth raises its
voice, but the police
wields a cane to silence
his voice. Now, no one
believes in the hollow
claims made to the
youth about providing
jobs ,” the SP chief said
in a statement. He said
the people in the BJP
want to rule the state by
making people feel
afraid. “This is highly
condemnable in a de-
mocracy,” he said, add-
ing that the saffron par-
ty, owing to its antics,
has defamed Uttar
Pradesh. Attacking the
BJP, the SP chief said,
“The government first
announces vacancies in
various departments,
then comes out with ad-
vertisements regarding
recruitment, and then
claims about giving em-
ployment on a large
scale. “But, there is a
flaw in the intention of
the BJP government,
due to which there are
question paper leaks of
various examinations.
And, the examinations
are cancelled.”
BJP govt in UP has failed on all fronts: Akhilesh
Colombo: Former
Prime minister of Sri
Lanka Ranil Wickrem-
esinghe on Sunday ac-
cused the incumbent
governmentof plunging
the country into a deep
economic and political
crisis with its incompe-
tenceindealingwiththe
financial challenges
while also stating that
the utter failure has led
to a situation where the
people are standing in
long queues.
It never happened in
our time...when our gov-
ernment was here there
were no queues of the
people to buy the basic
necessities. But it's all
happening because of
the incompetence of the
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
governmentinthecoun-
try
, former PM said.
Wickremesinghe also
stated that when he was
the PM in 2019 the coun-
try's economy was in
healthy status with cap-
ital surplus but the in-
competency of the cur-
rent government has
brought the people on
the streets.
Ex-Lanka PM thanks
India amid eco unrest
Bilaspur (ANI):
Bharatiya Janata Party
chief Jagat Prakash
Nadda on Sunday said
that apart from BJP,
there is no political par-
ty in the country that
runs without promot-
ing familism and added
that, because of this
reason many of the op-
position parties have
limited themselves to
mere regional parties.
Nadda was address-
ing a roadshow in Bilas-
pur on Sunday. Ad-
dressing a gathering
today, Mr Nadda said,
“In the recently con-
cluded Assembly elec-
tions, we all witnessed
that Yogi Adityanath
became the Chief Min-
ister of UP for the sec-
ond time in a row.”
All parties, except BJP,
promote familism:Nadda
Washington: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have arrived in
the US capital to attend the India-US ‘2+2’ ministerial
dialogue in Washington on Monday — the first under
the Biden administration. To be held under the shadow
of the Ukrainian crisis, the ‘2+2’ ministerial is reflec-
tive of the significance the two governments attach to
this bilateral relationship, which former PM Atal Bihari
Vajpayee described as natural allies.
DEFENCE MIN RAJNATH SINGH, EAM
JAISHANKAR IN US FOR ‘2+2’ TALKS
New Delhi (ANI):
Amid a strong push
by Central government
for ‘Make in India’ in
defence sector, the
Defence Ministry has
formed a committee
under a three star-
rank officer to decide
on the curtailed deal
for buying predator
drones from the US.
As per the plans, India
was earlier planning
to acquire 30 of these
high-altitude long-
endurance drones
equipped with strike
capability, including
missiles, which were
to be equally distrib-
uted among the three
services. “A commit-
tee has been formed
under a Lieutenant
General-rank officer to
decide on the number
of predator drones
that the three services
should buy to meet
their requirements till
the time indigenous
development of similar
equipment can be
done,” Government
sources said.
PANEL TO DECIDE ON
CURTAILED PREDATOR
DRONE DEAL WITH US
Precaution dose of vax
rolled out at pvt centres
A healthcare worker inoculates a beneficiary with a
precautionary dose in New Delhi on Sunday.
New Delhi (ANI):
India on Sunday be-
gan administering
precaution dose of
Covid-19 vaccines to
all aged above 18
years, who have com-
pleted nine months
since the administra-
tion of their second
dose, at private vac-
cination centres.
The Centre has
told all States and
UTs that the precau-
tion dose will be of
the same Covid-19
vaccine which has
been used for ad-
ministration of the
first and second
dose and that pri-
vate vaccination
centres can charge
up to a maximum of
Rs 150 per dose as
service charge over
and above the cost
of the vaccine.
Union health sec-
retary Rajesh
Bhushan, also in-
formed that no fresh
registrations would
be required for pre-
caution dose as all
due beneficiaries
are already regis-
tered on CoWIN.
HIGHLIGHTS
l Shanghai residents
question human
cost of China's
Covid quarantines
l India records
1,054 fresh Covid
cases, 29 more
deaths
l Over 17.47 crore
Covid-19 vaccine
doses available
with States, UTs:
Centre
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav —FILE PHOTO
BJP chief JP Nadda
‘LAW ORDER,
EDU HEALTH
IN BAD SHAPE’
“There is resent-
ment among people
related to teaching
work, and the youths
are angry. Law and
order, education and
health are in very
bad shape. This is
because the attitude
of the BJP towards
the problems of the
youth is insensitive.
“The youth raises its
voice, but the police
wields a cane to si-
lence his voice. Now,
no one believes in the
hollow claims made
to the youth about
providing jobs,” the
SP chief said in a
statement.
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
FROM PG 1
Amit Shah...
“OnlywhenyouvisitNa-
dabet and go to the bor-
der,youwillknowunder
whatdifficultconditions
oursecurityforceworks.
It will instil a feeling of
patriotism among chil-
dren,” he said.
Shahsaidaboosttolo-
cal tourism due to the
project will help resolve
theissueof migrationof
people from border vil-
lages in search of work.
“I can very well imag-
inethattheNadabetbor-
der tourism project will
generate employment
for at least five lakh peo-
ple of Banaskantha dis-
trict,” he said.
The Rs125 crore tour-
ism project aims to offer
citizens an opportunity
to see first-hand the life-
style of BSF personnel
deployed at the Indo-Pak
border to protect the
country
. The people
would get to observe
their living conditions,
their duties and patriot-
ism,asperagovernment
statement.
Tourist facilities and
special attractions at the
site include arrival pla-
zas, a lounge, parking
facilities, an auditorium
with a seating capacity
of 500people,achanging
room, shops and restau-
rants, a ‘Sarhad Gatha’
exhibition centre and
museum, decorative
lighting, solar tree and
solar rooftop panels.
A monument, titled
‘
Ajay Prahari’, has been
erected at the site in the
memory of soldiers who
sacrificed their lives
while protecting the na-
tion.
Tourists will also be
able to see various weap-
ons of the Indian Army
andBSF
,suchassurface-
to-surface and surface-
to-air missiles, T-55
tanks, artillery guns,
torpedoes, wing drop
tanks and MiG-27 air-
craft, the government
release said.
ENJOYING SAFARI!
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Assam Agricultural Minister
Atul Bora enjoying a Jeep Safari during their visit to Kaziranga
National Park, in Nagaon on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
CM Yogi listens to people’s problems at Gorakhnath Temple
premises on Sunday.

BIZ BUZZ
07
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
New Delhi (PTI): Fi-
nance Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman is sched-
uled to meet heads of
public sec-
tor banks (PSBs) on
April 23 to review per-
formance of the lend-
ers and progress made
by them on various
schemes launched by
the government for re-
vival of the economy
battered by the pan-
demic.
This is the first full
review meeting after
presentation of Budget
2022-23. Banks would
be urged to sanction
loans for productive
sectors to accelerate
revival of the econo-
my, sources said.
According to
sources, there
would be a compre-
hensive review of
various segments
and progress in gov-
e r n m e n t
schemes including
Emergency Credit Line
Guarantee Scheme
(ECLGS).
In the Budget,
ECLGS was extended
by a year till March
2023. Further, the guar-
antee cover for the
scheme was expanded
by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs
5 lakh crore. The cover-
age, scope and extent of
benefits under ECLGS
3.0 pertaining to hospi-
tality, travel, tourism
and civil aviation
sectors were ex-
panded.
A l s o ,
the credit limit for eligi-
ble borrowers was in-
creased to 50 per cent of
their fund-based credit
outstanding from 40 per
cent earlier. The en-
hanced limit is subject
to a maximum of Rs 200
crore per borrower.
Since its launch in
May2020,loansworthRs
3.19lakhcrorehavebeen
sanction till March 25,
2022. About 95 per cent
of theguaranteesissued
are for loans sanctioned
to micro, small and me-
dium enterprises.
New Delhi (PTI): Glob-
al energy gi-
ant Shell will foray into
retailing LNG for long-
haultransportationlike
trucks, with its first fill-
ingstationcomingupin
Gujarat this year as it
bets big on the Indian
gas market, a senior
company official said.
Shell operates a 5
million tonnes a year
liquefied natural gas
(LNG) import facility
at Hazira in Gujarat
and has a small net-
work of petrol pumps.
It is now looking at
the LNG for trucks/
buses market as a
growth avenue.
“We are looking to de-
velopourown LNG sites
andretailstationsinthe
country
,”NakulRaheja,
country head
of Shell Energy India,
told PTI.
“So we are working
now on our own expan-
sion plans in this place
and if things go to plan,
thenwithinthiscalendar
year we should have our
first site ready selling
LNG as a transport fuel
to heavy duty vehicles in
the state of Gujarat and
we are going to follow
that up with a few more
sitesnextyear,”headded.
Panaji (PTI): As part
of its plan to shift to-
wards “green steel”,
a Vedanta group firm
has said it is working
on a solution to use
hydrogen instead of
coke in its manufac-
turing process so as to
reduce carbon emis-
sions.
Vedanta’s Sesa Goa
Iron Ore Business said
it is looking for a tie-
up with IIT-Bombay to
carry out a research
for manufacturing pig
iron ore using hydro-
gen in place of coke.
The solution is aimed
at reducing carbon
emission in the pro-
duction process and
will help manufacture
green steel (an out-
come of a climate-
friendly process).
New Delhi (PTI): Total
outstanding dues owed
by electricity distribu-
tion companies (dis-
coms) to power produc-
ers increased by 17.3 per
cent year-on-year to Rs
1,23,244 crore in April
2022, as per official data.
Discoms owed a total
of Rs 1,05,029 crore to
power generation firms
in April 2021, according
toportalPRAAPTI(Pay-
ment Ratification And
Analysis in Power pro-
curement for bringing
Transparency in Invoic-
ing of generators).
On a sequential basis
too, total dues in April
2022 increased from Rs
1,17,390 crore in March
2022.
The PRAAPTI portal
was launched in May
2018 to bring in trans-
parency in power pur-
chase transactions be-
tween generators
and discoms.
In April 2022, the to-
tal overdue amount,
which was not cleared
even after 45 days of
grace period offered by
generators, stood at Rs
1,04,885 crore as against
Rs 84,376 crore in the
same month a year ago.
New Delhi (San Fran-
cisco): TikTok’s mete-
oric rise has baffled
Meta (formerly Face-
book) as the Chinese
short-video app is set to
overtake the global ad-
vertising share of mi-
cro-blogging plat-
form Twitter and photo-
sharing platform Snap-
chat this year.
Moreover, TikTok is
predicted to catch up
with Google-owned
YouTube by clocking
$23.6 billion in ad reve-
nue by 2024, reports The
Guardian.
“Lastyear,itovertook
the global ad take of
Snapchat,” the report
said on Saturday
.
TikTok, which was
banned in India in June
2020 along with several
Chinese apps in the first
lot, is likely to triple its
global worldwide ad rev-
enues $11.6 billion this
year -- more than $10.44
billion for Snapchat
and Twitter combined.
A TikTok user spent
19.6hoursonaverageper
month on the app last
year,accordingtodata.ai,
which is equal to Face-
book which is seeing its
user growth stalled, and
dwindling among the
Gen Z and millennials.
While Facebook still
has 2.9 billion monthly
active users and Insta-
gram nearly 2 billion
andMetaregistered$118
billion in revenue last
year, the Mark Zucker-
berg-run company is
worriedatTikTok’srise.
Facebook has been
losing users for quite
some time while Tik-
Tok’s usage is rising in
the US.
Meta’s recent earn-
ings report said that Fa-
cebook’s active users
droppedbyalmost5lakh
at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, Tik-
Tok emerged as the top
grossing non-game app
in Q1 2022, generating
$821 million in consum-
er spending in the
quarter.
India's gold imports surge to $46.14
bn in FY22 on higher demand
BMW eyes 'mega year' in
India; to launch 24 products
New Delhi (PTI): India's gold imports, which
have a bearing on the
country's current account
deficit (CAD), rose by
33.34 per cent to USD
46.14 billion during the
2021-22 fiscal on account
of higher demand,
according to official data. Gold imports were
worth USD 34.62 billion in 2020-21. The
surge in gold imports during the last financial
year contributed to the widening of the trade
deficit to USD 192.41 billion, against USD
102.62 billion in 2020-21.
New Delhi (PTI): German luxury automotive
group BMW is expecting a 'mega year' in
India in 2022 having clocked 25 per cent rise
in four-wheeler sales and 41 per cent jump
in two-wheelers in the first quarter despite
challenges of semiconductor shortage, war in
Ukraine and shutdowns due to COVID-19 in
China, according to a senior company official.
The BMW group has also lined up 24 products
to be introduced in India this year -- 19 in the
four-wheeler segment, including the all-electric
sedan i4 in May, and five motorcycles through
its BMW Motorrad
division. The group’s
two-wheeler sales
grew by 41.1
per cent at
1,518 units
during the
period.
Fb worried as TikTok set to eclipse Twitter, Snapchat ad share
New Delhi (PTI):
Electric vehicle retail
sales in the country
witnessed over three-
fold jump last fiscal
with two-wheeler
offtake leading the seg-
ment, according to
data compiled by auto-
mobile dealers’ body
FADA.
Total electric vehicle
(EV) retails reached
4,29,217 units in 2021-22,
a rise of three-fold from
1,34,821 units in the fi-
nancial year 2020-21,
the industry body said.
Total EV sales had
stood at 1,68,300 units
in the 2019-20 fiscal, it
noted. According to the
Federation of Automo-
bile Dealers Associa-
tions (FADA), electric
passenger vehicle re-
tail sales stood at 17,802
during the last fiscal,
up over three-fold from
4,984 units in FY21.
Home-grown auto
major Tata Motors led
the segment with re-
tails of 15,198 units and
a market share of 85.37
per cent in the vertical.
The Mumbai-based
company’s retail sales
stood at 3,523 units in
2020-21. MG Motor In-
dia settled into the sec-
ond place with sales of
2,045 units last fiscal
with a market share of
11.49 per cent.
It had retailed 1,115
units in the 2020-21 fis-
cal.
Mahindra Mahin-
dra and Hyundai Mo-
tor India stood at third
and fourth places with
dispatches of 156 and
128 units respectively,
both settling for a mar-
ket share of less than 1
per cent. MM and
Hyundai had sold 94
and 184 units respec-
tively in the 2020-21 fis-
cal, FADA data said.
Electric two-wheeler
retail sales last fiscal
stood at 2,31,338 units,
a jump of over five-fold
from 41,046 units in
2020-21, it stated. Hero
Electric led the seg-
ment with sales of
65,303 units, grabbing
28.23 per cent share in
the domestic market.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE RETAIL SALES ZOOM
OVER THREE-FOLD IN LAST FISCAL
Discoms’ outstanding dues to gencos
rise 17.3% to `1,23,244 crore in April
5G spectrum prices may
push players up against
the wall: COAI DG
Global smartphone
applications chip mkt
grows 23% to $30.8 bn
New Delhi(PTI):
Apex telecom industry
body COAI has as-
serted that spectrum
pricing should be
kept conducive to
market conditions
as 5G entails upfront
capital investments with
monetisation spread
over a long-haul, and
pricing radiowaves
high will only push the
players up against the
wall. The stage is set
for Telecom Regula-
tory Authority of India
(TRAI) to come out with
its recommendations
on 5G spectrum pricing
and other modalities for
upcoming auctions, and
the announcement from
the sector watchdog
is expected anytime
now. Norms will also
be worked out for new
frequencies such as
526-698 MHz and
millimetre band, that is
24.25 - 28.5 GHz.
New Delhi (PTI):
Amid the acute
demand-supply gap,
the global smart-
phone applications
processor (AP)
market grew 23 per
cent to $30.8 billion
in 2021, a new report
has said. Qual-
comm maintained
its smartphone AP
leadership with a
38 per cent revenue
share, followed by
MediaTek and Apple
with 26 per cent
each, according to
market research firm
Strategy Analytics.
Apple, MediaTek,
Qualcomm and
Unisoc
gained market share
while HiSilicon and
Samsung LSI lost
share. “For the first
time on an an-
nual basis, MediaTek
overtook Qualcomm
in units and estab-
lished over 75 million
unit-leads in smart-
phone APs in 2021,”
said Sravan Kun-
dojjala, Director of
Handset Component
Technologies service
at Strategy Analytics.
MediaTek capitalised
on Qualcomm’s
defocus on mid and
low tier 4G LTE APs
and gained volume
share” Kundoj-
jala said.
Vedanta to use
H2 instead
of coke in
manufacturing
FM to meet PSBs’ heads on April 23
to nudge them for credit expansion
BULLISH ON INDIAN GAS MARKET SHELL TO SET UP LNG STATIONS
Total electric vehicle
retails reached 4,29,217
units.Tata Motors led
the segment with
retails of
15,198 units

08
2NDFRONT
4 HELD FOR LEAK OF CLASS X BOARD
EXAM HINDI PAPER ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Main accused Taviad shared it 30 min before the exam ended, police looking into how he got it
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Hin-
di paper of the ongo-
ing Gujarat Second-
ary Education
Board’s (GSEB) Class
X examinations was
leaked on social me-
dia platforms 30 min-
utes before its culmi-
nation on Saturday.
The leak has caused a
stir on social media
and an investigation
has revealed that the
paper was shared
multiple times in the
Dahod district. Police
have arrested four
persons in connection
with the case and are
investigating further.
According to offi-
cials, a person named
Amit Taviad leaked the
paper on social media
30 mins before the ex-
amination ended.
Paper of the Hindi
examination, which
was held at centres
across the state on
April 09, was shared
online along with an
answer key on a Face-
book account. A man
named Ghanshyam,
who lives in Nani San-
jeli, was reportedly
first sent the paper by
a Suresh Damor at
11.52 am.
Primary interroga-
tion of Damor has re-
vealed that his son Chi-
rag was one of the can-
didates appearing for
the Class X Board ex-
aminations. Shailesh
Patel, a native of Kali-
bel in Mahisagar dis-
trict and a teacher at
Vrindavan Ashram
Primary School in
Nani Sanjeli, had ap-
proached his alumnus
Amit Taviad, who lives
in Methan of Singwad
taluka, to procure the
exam paper for him,
said officials.
Taviad then sent the
Hindi paper to Suresh
Damor from his mobile
at 10.47 am. Suresh
then called his friend
Jayesh Damor to have
the paper printed.
Jayesh called him to
his residence and then
sent the paper to his
relative Ghanshyam
Charel to get it printed.
The police are still
unclear as to how Ta-
viad managed to se-
cure the question pa-
per and are investigat-
ing further. They have
arrested Ghanshyam,
Suresh, Shailesh and
Jayesh for their in-
volvement in the case.
Students appeared for the Hindi paper on April 09. —FILE PHOTO
PAPER TRAIL
Man killed over `1 beedi
as murders rise in Surat
First India Bureau
Surat: Local police
have arrested two
17-year-olds for the
murder of an un-
known man, whose
body was found in
Katargam on Thurs-
day. Officials say
their primary inves-
tigation has revealed
that the two minors
stabbed him to death
in a fit of rage after
he refused share his
beedi—worth Re1—
with them.
This is just the most
recent in a spate of
“petty” murders Surat
has witnessed in the re-
cent past, officials say.
According to police
records, the city has
seen 24 such cases in
just the past four
months.
On February 13, po-
lice found the body of
a dead woman near
Ramnagar slum, who
it later turned out had
been smothered by her
lover for lending her
uncle Rs2,000.
In another case, sev-
en people murdered the
owner of an electrical-
appliances store, be-
cause he “would not”
sell them cooking oil.
All seven had been
drunk at the time, and
looted cash and jewel-
lery from their victim’s
body before fleeing.
Similarly, there have
been two other cases,
with one man being
killed over a kite worth
Rs10, and another, over
Rs500 he had borrowed
from his friend.
Surat-based psychia-
trist Dr Pranav Pachhi-
gar attributes this re-
cent rise in violent
crime down to an ina-
bility to cope with fi-
nancial instability,
which has been increas-
ing steadily over the
past two years. “Most
crimes are motivated by
jealousy and money
. No-
ticeably, since the pan-
demic began, there has
financial instability has
risen, and people are
failing to cope with
that,” he said.
First India Bureau
Navi Mumbai: Apr 10
(PTI) Gujarat Titans,
who have become the
team to beat in its debut
IPL season, would aim
to build on a dream start
against an inconsistent
Sunrisers Hyderabad
here on Monday
.
Three consecutive
wins in the IPL have
given Gujarat Titans the
momentum and they
showed against Punjab
Kings that they can win
in any situation.
Skipper Hardik Pan-
dya will need to show-
case his tactical acumen
against Sunrisers, who
earned their first win
against CSK but still are
placed in the bottom
half of the points table.
Gujarat have found
different match-win-
ners in every game
while Sunrisers, who
got a win after a horren-
dous start to their cam-
paign, would like to
keep improving with
every game.
At the DY Patil stadi-
um, focus again will be
on young Shubman Gill.
He has been in prime
form and posted his
highest IPL score
against Punjab Kings.
The elegant right-
hander would however
need support from Mat-
thew Wade, who has the
ability to play big shots
and Sai Sudarshan, who
also chipped in with a
useful knock in the last
game.
In the last outing
against Punjab, Rahul
Tewatia found his mojo
with two sixes and
emerged as the match-
winner.
Titans are up against
death overs specialist
Bhuvneshwar Kumar,
the raw pace of Umran
Malik, the yorkers of T
Natarajan and classical
off-breaks of Washing-
ton Sundar.
Add to it the varia-
tions brought in by
lanky South African
pacer Marco Jansen, the
batters could encounter
a tough time.
Gujarat’s bowlers on
the other hand have
been right on the money
.
Hardik’s four overs
can change the complex-
ion of the game while
another pacer who can
wreak havoc is Lockie
Ferguson. Mohammad
Shami too has been im-
pressive with the new
ball.
The other important
cog in their wheel is
Rashid Khan, who is ca-
pable of running riot
and can pose challenges
to his former team SRH.
For the Sunrisers, af-
ter failure in the first-
two games, skipper
Kane Williamson got a
start and would be keen
toscoreabigoneagainst
Gujarat.
Both the teams are
unlikely to tinker with
the winning combina-
tion and considering
dew, the toss becomes
crucial as it has proved
to be the case in most
games.
Gujarat Titans, the team to beat, take on inconsistent SRH
IPL 2022
lll
Skipper
Hardik
Pandya will
need to
showcase
his tactical
acumen
against the
Sunrisers
‘India has 217
bits of space junk
orbiting Earth’
First India Bureau
New Delhi: India
has 103 active or
defunct spacecraft
and 114 objects
categorised as
‘space debris’ in
orbit and it has
embarked on a re-
search to reduce
such fragments
from outer space.
Currently, ISRO
has taken up re-
search activities to
study the feasibility
and technologies re-
quired to undertake
active debris remov-
al (ADR), Minister
of State in PMO Ji-
tendra Singh told
parliament.
Active Debris Re-
moval is one of the
methods suggested
by the Space Debris
Research Commu-
nity to curb the
growth of space de-
bris, he added.
Gujarat Titans celebrate their win against Punjab Kings. —FILE PHOTO
HANGING OUT
Workers look miniscule as they carry out renovation on Ahmedabad’s revolving restaurant,
Patang, perched high above the city on a giant scaffolding. Given that there is little to no
safety gear visible, this is not a task for the faint of heart. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
16 new mothers die
each month in Delhi’s
4 major govt hospitals
Ahmed Nouman
New Delhi: Despite ef-
forts to bring down
the maternal mortal-
ity rate, 16 women die
after childbirth every
month in four major
government hospitals
of Delhi.
The hospitals made
this information avail-
able in response to sepa-
rate applications filed
by PTI-Bhasha under
the Right to Informa-
tion (RTI) Act.
According to the in-
formation received,
1,281 women died after
childbirth between Jan-
uary 2015 and Septem-
ber 2021 at the All-India
Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS), Ram
Manohar Lohia Hospi-
tal (RML), Safdarjung
Hospital and Sucheta
Kriplani Hospital.
Safdarjung Hospital
is the worst off, given
that, on average, more
than 11 women lost
their lives after delivery
every month for the
past 81 months.
The RTI applications
had asked how many
babies were born in
these hospitals between
January 2015 and July
2021, how many women
died after delivery and
what was the reason for
their death.
In response, Safdar-
jung and Sucheta Kri-
plani Hospitals provid-
ed numbers up to Sep-
tember 2021, while the
other two hospitals pro-
vided figures up to July
2021. More than 2.73
lakh children were
born in the four hospi-
tals during this period.
Accept the change with positivity
and you will see a dramatic
change in its face.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

ashion modelling is
more than a profes-
sion, it is a way for
the model to express
herself through a
certain line of cloth-
ing and makeup.
Modelling is undoubtedly
the most popular modern
goal among young women of
all backgrounds. It is the
most difficult occupation,
which requires passion and
patience, this is not unques-
tionably limited to the world
of fashion, but also encom-
passes other well-known vo-
cations. The gorgeous beauty
Amrita gives a sneak peek
about her journey as a model
in a conversation with City
First.
When asked about her
journey the ravishing beauty
said,” I’m a 22-year-old girl
from Panipat who is current-
ly residing in Delhi to pursue
my goal and build a career
out of it. My bachelor’s de-
gree was in computer sci-
ence. My modelling career
began in 2018 when I entered
a contest and afterwards be-
gan working as an Instagram
influencer. As a model, I’ve
worked with several well-
known brands. I’ve also
worked with several well-
known designers and celeb-
rity makeup artists.”
When asked about the
hardships faced during her
remarkable journey, Amrita
said, “Because of my job, I
have to live away from my
parents, which is difficult for
me because I am a family-
oriented girl. My family has
always been supportive, but
due to society’s preconceived
beliefs about models and
their careers, they occasion-
ally try to persuade me to
stop modelling and find a
good partner. I persuaded my
parents to let me pursue
modelling.”
She also added “I re-
ally enjoyed and
also learnt quite
a bit from the
Queen of cos-
mos event
held at Fair-
m o u n t
Jaipur and I
am really
grateful to
J a g d e e s h
C h a n d r a
Sir and
First India
team for
this won-
derful op-
portunity”
We asked
her about
her future
a s p i r a t i o n s
and she told us
“After 20 years, I
want to see myself
in a position where
I am an example to
many other young
women from small
towns, and they as-
pire to be like me. I
want to start a
grooming school for
everyone interested
in working in this
field and provide them
with free training. I
want to reach new
heights in this indus-
try, but I also want
my parents to be
right beside me,
supporting me
at all times.”
F
AHMEDABAD | MONDAY,
APRIL 11, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
City First offers you
an exclusive
interview with
Amrita Khurana, a
stunning Delhi-
based fashion diva
who has carved a
name for herself in
the industry and
serves as an
inspiration to many
young people who
aspire to work in
the industry
DEVANSHI MUDGAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
BEAUTEOUS STARLET
BEAUTEOUS STARLET
AMRITA
AMRITA
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO

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10
here are dozens
of spells that are
used by the char-
acters in Harry
Potter’s fictional
world of wizard-
ry. From Expecto
Patronum to Avada Ke-
davra each spell has a
unique story but to know
the darkest secrets behind
these magical quotes we
have to dig into the histo-
ry of Hogwarts.
Ever since becoming
popular, the Harry Potter
series has been among the
most frequently chal-
lenged books, as meas-
ured by the American Li-
brary Association. While
the series was welcomed
by many parents and
teachers for getting chil-
dren interested in read-
ing, not to mention being
a good story, others feel
that the series presents
dangerous ideas and atti-
tudes that are bad for
readers.
In some parts of the
United States and the
United Kingdom, Potter
books have been banned
from being read in school,
taken out of libraries,
and even burned in pub-
lic. Omg, why on earth
such a masterpiece is
banned? To my surprise, I
discovered that some
spells used in Harry Pot-
ter were actually real.
Even the decision to re-
move Harry Potter books
from the St. Edward’s li-
brary was widely mocked
on social media by fans of
the popular series.
The names of many of
the spells are indeed de-
rived from other languag-
es, especially Latin. How-
ever, for the most part,
they aren’t proper words.
Author J.K. Rowling
created words that resem-
ble other words with real
meanings.
A CLOSER LOOK AT A
FEW SPELLS …
Here’s a closer look at
some of them: The
spell Alohomora is used
to open and unlock doors.
The word is supposedly
from the West African
Sidiki dialect and means
“friendly to thieves.”
Need to make invisible
ink appear? Try the
spell Aparecium, which
supposedly derives from
the Latin appareo, mean-
ing “to become visible or
to appear.”
Here’s a fun one: Conf-
ringo. It causes something
to explode in flames. The
spell is likely derived
from Latin and means “to
break in pieces, to bring
to nought.”Densuageo is
derived from two Latin
words: dens, which means
“tooth,” and augeo, which
means “to enlarge.” The
spell causes the victim’s
teeth to grow quickly.
The spell Episkey is de-
rived from the
Greek episkeu, which
means “repair, restora-
tion.” It’s used to heal mi-
nor injuries, such as Har-
ry Potter’s broken nose
in Half-Blood Prince. Pro-
tego Horribilis is also
used in Deathly Hallows.
It provides protection
against Dark Magic and
comes from the Latin pro-
tego, meaning “to
protect,”and horribilis,
meaning “horrible.”
Scourgify
, which is a spell
used to get something
clean, such as Hedwig’s
cage, is likely a play on
the word scour.
The spell Taranta-
llegra makes a victim’s
legs dance uncontrolla-
bly. It’s likely that it com-
bines the Italian allegra,
which means “joyful,”
and tarantella, which is a
Southern Italian folk
dance with rapid move-
ments.
Even Harry Potter bans
have a long history: As
the Daily Telegraph
notes, the books
were repeatedly
banned by schools
and targeted by
church-spon-
sored book
burnings
between
1 9 9 7
a n d
2007,
when the seven volumes
in the series were pub-
lished. Author J.K. Rowl-
ing was frequently ac-
cused of promoting Sa-
tanism and glorifying the
occult, and the American
Library Association
found that between 2000
and 2009, the books were
among the most likely
to be challenged by
parents objecting to
their inclusion in school
libraries. Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI even
weighed in on the contro-
versy when he was a car-
dinal, writing in 2003 that
the books “deeply distort
Christianity in the soul
before it can grow prop-
erly.”
All the above informa-
tion has proved that cer-
tain types of magic are
possible outside the
school as else or are y’all
still waiting for your Hog-
warts letter?
HOGWARTS AND ITS
BANNED HISTORY!
Are you too riddikulusly obsessed with Harry
Potter? And have you ever wondered how the
names for Hogwarts’ spells were created?
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
T

ETC
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11
TOGETHER FOR
ETERNITY!
B
rooklyn Beck-
ham and Nico-
la Peltz are of-
ficially mar-
ried. As confirmed by
People, the couple
tied the knot on Sat-
urday in a lavish
ceremony held at
Pelz’s family es-
tate in Palm
Beach, Florida.
The duo said “I
do” in presence of their close family and
friends, including celebrity guests like
Serena Williams,
—Agency
T
amanna Bhatia lives by
the rule ‘no pain, no
gain’. The Baahubali
star has shared anoth-
er inspiring update from her
daily routine. Recently, she
posted a workout video from
her gym session on Insta-
gram. She was seen indulging
in some intense weight training
to maintain her toned physique.
The F3 star opted for a grey
co-ord athleisure for her
day at the gym. This lat-
est clip was captioned,
“You have it, don’t
hide it”. — Agency
M
otherhood is
agreeing with
Shriya Saran.
Whenever the
Drishyam actress gets a
breather from work, she
likes to spend her time
with hubby Andrei Ko-
scheev and her daugh-
ter Radha. Shriya
Saran started her
Sunday with
some playtime with the 1-year-old. In the
pics, the Awarapan actress posed with
Radha’s toys and in others, she is seen
capturing the adorable movements of her
little bundle of joy
. —Agency
D
eepika Padukone took
her fans back in time
on Sunday afternoon
as she dished out an
extremely special piece of
work from the archives.
Turns out, the actress
gave a shot at writing po-
etry when she was only
12-years-old. Taking to
Instagram, Deepika
shared a photo of the
poem she wrote when
she was 12 and hilari-
ously called it her
first and last attempt.
The actress wrote a
rather lengthy
poem of at least 3
stanzas. —Agency
IT’S A GOOD
NEWS!
J
ennifer Lopez and Ben
Affleck left fans sur-
prised with their en-
gagement news over
the weekend. After rekindling
their romance last year, the
couple took a big step into
their relationship as they got
engaged again after two dec-
ades since their first engage-
ment. Affleck proposed to JLo
with a green ring that holds a
special meaning for her.
The singer’s massive spar-
kler is reportedly an 8.5-carat
green diamond stone that
could range between 8 to 10
USD million. —Agency WISHES- FULL
OF LOVE!
K
risten Stewart is a year
older and a year ‘flyer.’ On
Saturday, the Academy
Award nominee celebrated
her 32nd birthday with her fian-
cée Dylan Meyer, who posted
a shot of them leaning in for
a kiss over a birthday cake.
Captioning it “Another
one around the sun and
you’re out here getting
flyer every year,” The cou-
ple recently walked the
redcarpettogetheratthe
94th Academy Awards
where Stewart
received her
first-ever nom-
ination for
best actress af-
ter portray-
ing Princess
Diana in Spen-
cer. —Agency
FINAL OF FAST
FURIOUS!
T
he Fast
and the
Furious
f r a n -
chise is set to
wrap up
with its fi-
nal two films
and after addi-
tions such as that of
Cardi B in F9, its sequel is
looking even brighter with
the addition of MCU
star Brie Larson. The Cap-
tain Marvel star is joining
the Fast and Furious fran-
chise and an announce-
ment for the same was
made by Vin Diesel on
Instagram. Describing
the Oscar-winning actress as a
“profound soul”, Diesel wrote,
“Yeah yeah yeah… you see this
angel over my shoulder cracking
me up, you say to your self that’s
Captain Marvel”.
—Agency
riyanka Chopra is the
newest mum on the
block as she welcomed
her first child via sur-
rogacy in January this
year. However, the ac-
tress has also kept up
with her work commitments.
Looks like the weekend was an-
other project on the cards for
Priyanka Chopra as the actress
headed out to Los Angeles
where she is currently based.
Delighting her fans, Priyanka
dropped a selfie, or rather a
carfie, as she snapped a picture
while in her car. —Agency
P
CarfieTrending!!
LOVELY SUNDAY!
BRAHMASTRA
POSTER LAUNCH
LADY IN BLACK!
A
ll eyes are on Ranbir Ka-
poor and Alia Bhatt ever
since the news of their
wedding has come out.
Well, the lovebirds have recently
wrapped up the shoot of their
much-awaited film Brahmastra.
We have all seen the first look of
Ranbir and Alia respectively and
on Sunday, just a few days ahead
of their wedding, Ayan Mukerji
dropped a poster featuring the
two together and called it the love
poster of Brahmastra. Along with
it the filmmaker also hinted at
some ‘extra love in the air these
days’. —Agency
S
hruti Haasan does not shy
away from sharing up-
dates from her personal
and professional life on
social me-
dia. The
Premam ac-
tress is in
Guwahati
at the mo-
ment for
the Rongali
Bihu cele-
brations in
Assamwith
her boy-
friend San-
tanu Haz-
arika for an event. She recently
dropped some stunning pictures
from her visit. The star looked
pretty as a picture in a black saree
with golden embellish. The look
was enhanced multi-fold with tra-
ditional jhumkas and bangles.
—Agency
Fit to Fight!
Fit to Fight!
“I Am”
Priyanka Chopra
Jennifer Lopez
Deepika Padukone Kristen Stewart
Shruti Haasan
Brroklyn Beckham
and Nicola Peltz
Shriya Saran
Brie
Larson
Tamanna Bhatia
Poster of the movie

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