162309540808062021 first india ahmedabad

Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: As per
the opinion of an in-
cumbent Saurashtra
MLA, the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) “does
not need to do anything
for the upcoming 2022
state assembly elec-
tions because the gov-
ernment machinery is
doing their work, which
will ensure the party’s
win with help on such a
massive scale.”
The MLA has further
stated that all govern-
ment departments,
from ASHA workers or
Gram Sevaks to district
collectors, are busy pro-
moting the BJP’s propa-
ganda.
Meanwhile, even the
opposition Congress
party’s MLAs suspect
that the ruling party
may be using govern-
ment resources to pro-
mote themselves. Echo-
ing the fear, Gujarat
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittee (GPCC) chief
spokesperson Manish
Doshi said, “It (using
state machinery for
propaganda) has been a
tradition in the state for
more than a decade
now. They (BJP) first
lure people under the
pretext of some govern-
ment scheme and then
inject the BJP propa-
ganda into them. There
is no Government of
Gujarat (GoG) in the
state, but only a BJP
government.”
Adding that the ‘sys-
tem’ was started by the
then Chief Minister
Narendra Modi to use
money and muscle pow-
er. “Even today, at the
grassroot level, govern-
ment employees do not
talk about government
schemes, but use the
names of individuals to
explain them. It is a
well-planned and deep-
rooted strategy,” he al-
leged.
Speaking on the mat-
ter, Shamshad Pathan,
spokesperson of All In-
dia Majlis-e-Ittehadul
Muslimeen (AIMIM)
party said that there
was a strong nexus be-
tween Congress and
BJP in the state. “With
other political parties
foraying Turn to P6
‘Shri Kamalam’, the BJP Gujarat headquarters in Gandhinagar.
An incumbent people’s representative
has made the claim; Cong calls it “well-
planned strategy”, BJP refutes allegation
Govtmachinery‘campaigning’fortheBJP:SauMLA
POLITICAL PROWESS
—FILE PHOTO
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 192
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD LUCKNOW
SUPREME COURT SHOWS THE WAY...
In a single stroke, PM Modi dramatically
regains his declining ‘corona’ popularity!
‘FREEVACCINATIONFORALL’
PM announces
centralised inoculation
drive, states to get
vaccine for free
Vaccine supply would be
increased significantly
in the country in the
coming days
From June 21,
all citizens above
18 years will get
free vaccines
80 crore
Indians to get
free ration till
Diwali this year
Mohd Fahad/Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: By taking a
clue and rather converting
it into an ‘opportunity’ by
taking the Supreme
Court’s recent negative re-
marks questioning the ra-
tionale and wisdom of the
Centre to leave subject of
the vaccination for 18+
citizens chargeable or not
to the states, the Prime
Minister Narendra Modi,
in a single stroke, in his
Monday5pmaddresstothe
nation, turned the tables
by announcing free vacci-
nation for all citizens in-
cluding ages 18-44 and that
Centre will provide free
vaccine to the states.
According to political
observers, with this major
political-economic-socio
relief corona package an-
nouncement, the vision-
ary PM has dramatically
regained his declining
popularity in these Corona
times. Turn to P6
WE WILL TAKE CARE
OF 25% STATE SHARE
LIFE IS ASSOCIATED
WITH EVERY DOSE
WE MET
ALL THE
DEMANDS
OF THE
STATES
ALL JABS
FIGURES
WENT UP
SINCE
2014
VACCINE RATE BIG
ACHIEVEMENT
COVID PROTOCOL IS
CRUCIAL FACTOR
PRIVATE HOSPITALS
CAN STILL PROCURE
OUR GOVERNMENT
IS WITH THE POOR
PROVED THE WORLD
WRONG WITH JABS
HEALTH INFRA WAS
RAMPED UP IN APRIL
1 Two weeks into May,
states began to say
that the centralised system
(of vaccine distribution)
was better. We will take
care of the 25% work
given to states.
3 Every dose of vaccine
is important. A life is
associated with one dose.
States will be informed
about the number of doses
they will be getting a week.
4 A lot of demands
were raised that the
states should get rights for
their own Covid manage-
ment. We accepted their all
their demands.
9 Whether it’s polio or
Hepatitis B, country
had to wait for decades. We
launched Mission Indrad-
hanush and the vaccine
coverage went up by 30%.
6 To produce vaccines
at such a fast rate is a
big achievement but it has
its limitations. Vaccination
first started only in a few
developed countries.
8 The anti-Covid
protocol is the most
important factor in the fight
against this invisible virus.
Vaccine is like a protection
cover against this.
2 Only free vaccines
will be provided (to
states). But those who
don’t want free vaccines
can get vaccinated at
private hospitals. Private
hospitals can still procure.
5 Pradhan Mantri
Garib Kalyan Yojana
extended till Diwali. The
government is with the
poor during this pandemic.
Over 80 crore people will
get ration till November.
7 The whole country
was talking about
how we are going to save
such a huge population.
We launched 2 made-in-
India vaccines in just a
span of one year.
10 ICU ventilators
were ramped up.
During second wave, there
was unbelievable demand
for the medical oxygen. We
ran Oxygen express, IAF
and Navy were involved.
Top10
quotes
‘LEARN FROM
POLL WINS
AND DEFEATS’
New Delhi: Be it victory or defeat, the BJP should assess its performance in detail so
that it can prepare for future polls. In West Bengal, the party should see how TMC
worked its way back to a big victory in the recent Assembly polls after its poor perfor-
mance in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when BJP had won 18 of 42 seats in the state, sug-
gested PM Modi while addressing party general secretaries before upcoming polls.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses
the nation, in New Delhi on Monday.
Mumbai: Sensex jumps 228 points,
Nifty ends above 15,750 led by IT,
banks and auto. Sensex rises to
52,313 Nifty 81 Points To 15,752.
New Delhi: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said he will go
to space when his company, Blue Origin, launches
its first passenger-carrying mission on July 20. The
billionaire, who plans to travel alongside his brother,
Mark, made the announcement in an Instagram post.
Ahmedabad: Oil companies again
increased rates of fuel. Petrol costs went up
by 26 paise per litre, while diesel increased
by 31 paise per litre. Currently, petrol is at
Rs91.74 and diesel is priced at Rs92.24.
NIFTY AT 15K+,
SENSEX GAINS
228 POINTS
AMAZON CEO
IS HEADING
TO SPACE
PETROL,
DIESEL PRICES
HIKED AGAIN
CRUCIAL READ
UDDHAV TO MEET
PM TODAY OVER
MARATHA QUOTA
‘20 HELD, BJP NETAS
QUIZZED IN BLACK
MONEY CASE’
RESUMPTION OF ECO
ACTIVITIES NO EXCUSE
FOR LAXITY: KEJRIWAL
18 DEAD IN FIRE AT
PUNE SANITISER
FIRM,STAFF MISSING
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray will meet Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
in Delhi on Tuesday. CM
would lead a delegation
that includes Deputy CM
Ajit Pawar to discuss
issues like Maratha and
OBC quota, and Cyclone
Tauktae relief measures.
Thiruvananthapuram:
The statements of 96 wit-
nesses were recorded IN
Kodakara case investiga-
tion. As many as 20 ac-
cused have been arrested
and legal action has been
taken. Of the Rs 3.5 crore
looted, Rs 1.12 crore was
used to purchase 347
grams of jewellery, Kerala
CM told the Assembly.
New Delhi: The resump-
tion of economic activities
in Delhi should not cause
laxity in Covid-19 ap-
propriate behaviour, Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal
said Monday, as markets
lifted shutters and the
metro started operating.
He reiterated the need to
bring the economy back.
Pune: At least eighteen
employees of a chemical
factory in Maharashtra’s
Pune have died and
several are missing as a
massive fire broke out in
the sanitiser-manufac-
turing unit of the firm on
Monday. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has con-
doled the deaths of
the workers.
DILIP KUMAR’S HOSPITAL PIC SHARED;
SAIRA SAYS DON’T FALL FOR RUMOURS
Mumbai: A picture of Dilip Kumar from the
hospital along with a note from his wife
Saira Banu was shared on Dilip’s Twitter
account on Monday evening. The veteran
actor was hospitalised on Sunday morning
after he complained of breathing issues.
He has been diagnosed with bilateral pleural effusion.
‘DECISION ON ALLOWING PUBLIC ON
MUMBAI LOCAL TRAINS NEXT WEEK’
Mumbai: The decision to allow general public to travel on
Mumbai’s local trains will be taken after a week, depending
on the Covid-19 situation in the city, Mumbai Mayor Kishori
Pednekar said on Monday. Addressing media, she said that
local trains are currently only running for essential services.
With ‘caste’ explanation, Bengal
Governor fends off Moitra’s charge
Kejriwal launches ‘Jahan
Vote, Wahan Vaccination’
New Delhi: Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal has announced the
‘jahan vote, wahan vac-
cination’ campaign in
the national capital. Ke-
jriwal said that the aim
is to vaccinate all people
above 45 years against
COVID-19 in Delhi with-
in the next four weeks.
“Under this cam-
paign, we will tell people
to visit their designated
polling stations to get
vaccinated. Our goal is
within four weeks if
there is no shortage of
vaccines. BLOs would
reach out to people and
ask them to go to their
polling stations,’ Kejri-
wal said.
Kolkata: Trinamool
MP Mahua Moitra and
Bengal Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar
have picked up where
they left off Sunday
night - with TMC MP
Mahua Moitra nee-
dling him over his “job
description” and six
members of his “fami-
ly” having been appoint-
ed as Officers on Special
Duty (OSD) to his office.
Dhankhar had hit
back on Monday morn-
ing after a caustic Sun-
day night Turn to P6
HARBHAJAN SINGH
APOLOGISES FOR
KHALISTAN TRIBUTE
Amritsar: Just a day after
Harbhajan Singh faced
flak for paying tribute to
Khalistani
terrorist
Jarnail Singh
Bhindran-
wale, the
Indian
cricketer on Monday
issued an apology on
Twitter. Clarifying that it
was a ‘WhatsApp forward’
that he posted in ‘haste,’
Harbhajan Singh admit-
ted to his mistake and
stated that he does not
subscribe to the views
reflected in the post that
he shared on Sunday.
...campaign to get
jabs to all above 45
yrs within four weeks
SUVENDU ADHIKARI IN DELHI
TODAY, TO MEET SHAH, NADDA
New Delhi: BJP MLA from West Bengal Suvendu Adhi-
kari has been summoned to Delhi on Tuesday, where he
is expected to take part in meetings with Union Home
Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda.

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021
02
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat High Court on
Monday refused to
interfere in the mat-
ter pertaining to ex-
aminations of law
students enrolled at
the Gujarat Univer-
sity. It observed that
the onus to decide on
online or offline ex-
aminations for stu-
dents lies with the
Bar Council of India
or the university.
The university’s
Master of Laws (LLM)
and Bachelor of Laws
(LLB) students had
challenged its May 10
notification, wherein it
had announced com-
mencement of offline
examinations from
June 10. The students
had suggested that in
the wake of COVID-19
case surge, the univer-
sity should provide
them with the option of
appearing for examina-
tions online or grant
mass promotions.
During the hearing,
Gujarat University sub-
mitted that it had post-
poned offline examina-
tions. In response, the
students cited the prec-
edent set by the Alla-
habad High Court, by
constituting a commit-
tee headed by a former
high court justice to
recommend sugges-
tions for the examina-
tion issue.
Meanwhile, a public
interest litigation (PIL)
against permitting a
salt processing unit to
be set up near the black
buck sanctuary near
agricultural land was
disposed of by the High
Court on Monday. The
presiding bench ob-
served that the petition
had been moved with
the intention to create
propaganda. It also re-
marked that there was
no reason to file a sepa-
rate petition when a
similar one was al-
ready pending in the
court.
In another petition,
the court directed the
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC) to
provide alternate hous-
ing to people who lost
their homes to make
way for the High Speed
Bullet Train project.
Around 308 persons liv-
ing in JP Chali of Sa-
barmati area in
Ahmedabad have had
to give up their proper-
ties as the land was ac-
quired by the govern-
ment for the bullet
train. In 2018, the peti-
tioners’ homes were
demolished. The state
government had sub-
mitted that alternative
housing for the peti-
tioners should be pro-
vided by the Western
Railways.
WORDS OF WISDOM
WILL NOT INTERVENE IN
LAW EXAMS MATTER: HC
BETTERPOLITICKINGTHANPOLICING,KEYTOPLUSHPOSTINGS
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Public
servants crack civil ser-
vices examinations and
then get posted with the
impression that the
confidential appraisal
reports are based on
their real performanc-
es on the job. There was
a time when perfor-
mance was the only cri-
teria for appreciation,
promotion or pay scale
hike. But, now public
servants are often stuck
with postings that they
do not want, mostly due
to politics.
The First India team
recently overheard a
conversation between
police officers, where a
senior officer was dis-
pensing advice to a
junior officer on how
to keep landing post-
ings of their choice.
The senior boasted to
the junior officer,
“How do you think I
keep getting plush
postings? For more
than 15 years, I have
been landing postings
of my choice. All these
years, you must have
seen me in uniform
only a few times.” He
then advised the jun-
ior officer to be profi-
cient at politicking
and keeping ministers
happy. “You should be
better at politicking
than policing. This
strategy gets your
name listed in the good
books of political mas-
ters as well as their op-
ponents,” he said.
Elaborating on what
politicking entails, the
senior police officer
said, “You must know
the requirements of
your political masters
and then work on deliv-
ering it before they ask
you to. On other occa-
sions, you must allow
the issue at hand to rise
to a level that makes po-
litical masters realize
that only you can re-
solve their problem.
When that assignment
is granted to you, then
you work to deliver.”
Besides the leaders
of the ruling party, the
senior officer also sug-
gested keeping political
leaders from the oppo-
sition party happy
. This
is to prevent them from
making noise about
your work and staying
under the radar.
The officer also cited
a few recent examples
of politicking and fail-
ure to do so; where a
district superintendent
officer, who was honest
and good in policing,
was transferred, be-
cause he failed to acqui-
esce to the request
made by a member of
parliament (MP). The
MP put pressure on the
state government that
sent the officer pack-
ing.
Further, he gave the
example of an officer,
who has been promoted
three times while serv-
ing at the same post.
“Each time, the post
has been elevated for
him. Why? Because this
officer is not only good
at politicking, but has
successfully kept him-
self under the radar.
Such officers are al-
ways preferred by po-
litical leaders and they
take care of them,” he
asserted.
In conclusion, the
senior police officer
gave his two cents on
how to have a success-
ful career without any
hassles. “Just cracking
cases or being a good
investigator may get
you good confidential
reports and official ap-
preciation but, it all
comes with tension and
pressure. On the con-
trary, if you can strike
a balance between good
policing and politick-
ing skills, you will live
a life of ease,” he said
as he signed off.
Says BCI or
GU will take
a call on
scheduling
online or
offline
examinations
for students
LOWER COURTS BEGIN
PHYSICAL HEARING
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Subor-
dinate courts in Guja-
rat resumed physical
hearing of cases from
Monday after the High
Courtdirectedthemto
operate in this mode
with strict adherence
to social distancing
and other standard op-
erating procedures.
Last week, the HC
had issued a circular,
directing subordinate
courts to resume phys-
ical functioning with
regularworkinghours
from Monday
. Howev-
er, those courts in mi-
c r o - c o n t a i n m e n t
zoneshavebeentoldto
continue hearing cas-
es virtually
.
Physical hearings
in courts in Gujarat
were cancelled last
year in view of a spike
in COVID-19 cases.
In November, how-
ever, all courts, except
those in Ahmedabad,
Vadodara, Rajkot and
Surat, were allowed to
resume physical hear-
ing of cases.
At the beginning of
March this year, the
HC had also allowed
courts in these four
cities, except those lo-
cated in micro-con-
tainment zones, to
hear cases physically
.
In April, after a se-
vere spike in cases
during the second
wave, physical hear-
ings were again
shelved. Meanwhile,
the HC also started
regular functioning
from Monday, though
in virtual mode, after
restricting itself in
the second week of
April to hearing only
urgent matters.
The metropolitan magistrate court in Mirzapur area of A’bad
reopened for hearings on Monday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: On May
10, popular Gujarati dai-
ly Divya Bhaskar
claimed that the state
had issued 1.23 lakh
death certificates since
January this year,
against 58,000 for the
same period last year--
and that the state had
been playing down the
death toll caused by the
novelcoronavirus.When
the state disagreed with
thesenumbers,thenews-
paper asked the govern-
ment to share accurate
details about nCoV
deaths and those due to
comorbidities.
Now, the paper, on its
website, divyabhaskar.
co.in, has released a day-
wiselistingof deathdata
its journalists have un-
covered at Ahmedabad’s
Civil Hospital.
Accordingtothisdata,
which the paper says
comes from the 1,200-
beds COVID-19 hospital
at the Medicity campus,
just that one facility ac-
counted for the death of
as many as 3,416 COV-
ID-19 patients in one
month. This data is for
the period from April 10
to May 09 and clearly im-
plies that the state gov-
ernment has been seri-
ously under-reporting
the deaths caused by the
novel coronavirus, the
report says.
Interestingly
, this is
hardly the first time the
state has been accused
of playing down COV-
ID-19 fatalities. It even
split the death lists into
separate categories:
“nCoV deaths” and “co-
morbid deaths” and an-
nounced just the data
from the “nCoV death”
column.
Divya Bhaskar’s latest
report says that civil au-
thorities have either not
mentioned a cause of
death,ormentioned“sus-
pected” before COVID-19
in the paperwork for a
largenumberof the3,416
deaths witnessed at the
Medicity campus from
April 10-May 09. Many
deaths were also attrib-
uted to various comor-
bidities, with just a few
being called what they
were--COVID-19 deaths.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Five over-
passes, two foot over
bridges, and a pedestri-
an bridge will be con-
structed on the busy SP
Ring Road in
Ahmedabad to ease traf-
fic,officialssaidonMon-
day
. In addition, 10 over-
passes will be construct-
ed at other junctions.
The Ahmedabad Ur-
ban Development Au-
thority (AUDA) will
build 10 bridges at 10
junctions over the next
two years, at a cost of
Rs660 crore. Work will
also begin on a pedes-
trian bridge, including
five overpasses, a foot
over bridge, and a three-
layer underpass. Ten-
ders for these 10 flyovers
will be issued soon, once
AUDA’s Detailed Project
Report (DPR) is ap-
proved.
AUDA has submitted
its DPR to the Asian De-
velopment Bank for the
construction of nine
more flyovers and one
underpass on SP Ring
Road around
Ahmedabad city
. The de-
velopment body plans to
construct 10 more flyo-
ver-underpassjunctions
on the city's SP Ring
Road, according to the
DPR. Tenders for these
10 flyovers will be issued
once AUDA’s DPR is ap-
proved.AUDAestimates
that the tender process
will be completed by Au-
gust 2021 and work will
start.
Further, the
Ahmedabad-Gandhina-
gar National Highway
connecting Chiloda to
Sarkhejisbeingwidened
at a cost of Rs867 crore.
The fast-moving and lo-
cal traffic separate lane
concept along the lines
of Delhi-Gurgaon High-
way will end the road
crossingat27majorjunc-
tions and 57 minor ones
on SG Highway
. A total
of 11 underpass-fly over-
bridges will take shape
in this project. Work is
underway on a 4.18 km
elevated highway be-
tween Sola Bhagwat and
Zydus Junctions. There
will be a three-layer sys-
tem at the Vaishnodevi
Circlejunction,meaning
no vehicles will have to
halt there.
AHMEDABAD’S SP RING ROAD TO GET FIVE NEW FLYOVERS
Project to cost about Rs 660 crore
be completed in 2 yrs, AUDA says
Bopal flyover on SP Ring Road. —FILE PHOTO
Gujarat High Court . —FILE PHOTO
First India brings you an excerpt from
the advice passed down from a senior
police officer to his junior
3,416 nCoV patients died
in a month at A’bad’s Civil
Hospital, says report
Ahmedabad Civil Hospital (Asarwa). —FILE PHOTO
Guj govt had
reported 3,578
deaths in the
entire state and
just 698 in
Ahmedabad for
the same period
Date State Ahmedabad Civil campus
deaths (Data collected
by DB)
April 12 55 20 122
April 15 81 28 125
April 16 94 26 126
April 17 97 25 151
April 19 117 23 162
April 21 125 23 150
April 23 142 22 129
May 04 131 23 122
FUDGED NUMBERS?

GUJARAT
03
`24KCREXPANSION:STATEGOVT,
IOCLINKMOUFORINV’DARAPLANT
Move will hike capacity at the Koyali refinery to 18 mn tonnes per annum
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The In-
dian Oil Corporation
Limited has signed a
memorandum of un-
derstanding with the
Gujarat government
in the presence of
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani and Union
Minister of Petrole-
um and Natural Gas
Steel Dharmendra
Pradhan on Monday
to set up six petro-
chemical projects
around Vadodara.
The projects com-
bined will entail an
investment of
Rs24,000 crore, and
will create job oppor-
tunities for about
25,000 people.
The projects will in-
clude LuPech project
for petrochemicals,
Acrylics-Oxo Alcohol
project at Dumad near
Vadodara, infrastruc-
ture for KAhSPL at JR
Dumad, shifting of
LAB TTL facility in Du-
mad and New Flare at
JR and hydrogen dis-
pensing facility
.
During his address,
CM Rupani highlighted
Gujarat’s position as a
leading state in the field
of oil and petrochemi-
cals. “As a result of the
transparent policies,
acceleration of ‘Ease of
Doing Business’ and fa-
vourable environment
for industries, Gujarat,
in spite of the covid
pandemic has for the
fourth year in a row,
maintained its number
one position as the
highest recipient of FDI
in the country,” he said.
In his address, Prad-
han said, “Gujarat has
become the first choice
of investors as in its
roots is Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s vision
that implements new
plans for the holistic de-
velopment of the state’.
Pradhan also com-
mitted that these pro-
jects would be complet-
ed on schedule and in-
augurated by PM Modi.
“These projects will
enable large-scale di-
rect and indirect em-
ployment opportunity
during the peak con-
struction period and
later for the operation
of these facilities. Dur-
ing the construction
stage, around 125 mil-
lion person-hours of
employment will be
generated. The total
investment outlook for
these projects in differ-
ent execution stages is
a p p r o x i m a t e l y
Rs24,000 crore,” IOCL
chairman SM Vaidya
said in a release.
IOCL’s Gujarat refin-
ery also plans to imple-
ment India’s first hy-
drogen dispensing facil-
ity as a clean fuel initia-
tive, with an eye to-
wards fuelling hydro-
gen buses plying be-
tween Vadodara and
Kevadia and Sabarmati
Ashram.
Officials display the agreement as CM Vijay Rupani and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan look on.
BIG PLANS
First India Bureau
Rajkot/Surendrana-
gar: Five teenage boys
drowned in two sepa-
rate incidents in
Surendranagar and
Rajkot district, offi-
cials said on Monday.
A search operation is
still underway for two
bodies, they added.
On Sunday evening,
two boys, around 13
years of age, fell into a
canal of the Narmada
network near
Khamisana village in
Surendranagar’s Wad-
hwan taluka, Fire Of-
ficer Chhatrapalsinh
Zala said.
“They fell inside
while trying to drink
water from the canal.
Due to the water level
being high, we could
not start a search op-
eration on Sunday
night. After the water
level was brought down
on our request, we be-
gan looking for the
bodies on Monday
morning but the search
has been in vain so
far,” Zala said.
In the second inci-
dent, which also took
place on Sunday even-
ing, three teens, identi-
fied as Sahil Makwana
(18), Pankaj Vasvani
(18) and Sumit Marathi
(19), drowned in a
check dam on Khirsara
road in Jetpur town in
Rajkot, Inspector SM
Vasava said.
“After passers-by
alerted the police about
a body floating in the
dam, a search operation
was mounted. The bod-
ies of the three boys
have been fished out by
fire brigade divers.
They had gone in for a
swim and drowned,”
Vasava said.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Gujarat
is likely to receive rain
over the next five days
due to two cyclonic cir-
culations, the India
Meteorological De-
partment said on Mon-
day
, predicting light to
moderate rains with
thunderstorms.
Currently
, a cyclonic
circulation is prevailing
oversouth-westernMad-
hya Pradesh, with a sec-
ond circulation spread
over the north-eastern
Arabian Sea off the
coast of South Gujarat.
While both these forma-
tions are above sea level,
they may still cause rain
with lightning strikes,
and winds of 30-40 kmph
over the next five days.
On Day 1, rain is ex-
pectedinDaman,Dadra-
Nagar Haveli, Mahisa-
gar,Dahod,Panchmahal,
Kheda,Anand.OnDay2,
Ahmedabad,Bhavnagar,
Amreli, Rajkot, Botad,
Surat, Bharuch, Navsa-
ri, Valsad, Daman,
Dadra-Nagar Haveli,
Gir-Somnath,Junagadh,
Porbandar, Rajkot, Diu,
Surat, Bharuch, Va-
dodara, Navsari, Valsad.
Daman, Dadra-Nagar
Haveli,Gir-Somnath,Ju-
nagadh, Porbandar, Diu,
Daman will see rain on
the third day; Dadra-Na-
gar Haveli, Kheda,
Panchmahal, Dahod,
Mahisagar, Gir-Som-
nath,Junagadh,Bhavna-
gar, Amreli, Rajkot, Por-
bandar Diu, and Daman
on Day 4, and Dadra-Na-
gar Haveli, Kheda,
Panchmahal, Dahod,
Mahisagar, Gir-Som-
nath,Junagadh,Bhavna-
gar, Amreli, Rajkot, Por-
bandarandDiuonDay5.
5 teen boys drown
in separate incidents
Cylonic circulation
to bring more rain
over next 5 days
The next five evenings could bring thunderstorms. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Gujarat
Maritime Board
(GMB) will set-up the
country’s first inter-
national maritime ser-
vices cluster at GIFT
City in Gandhinagar,
as a dedicated ecosys-
tem comprising ports,
shipping, logistics ser-
vices providers and
government regula-
tors, all present in the
same geographic vi-
cinity
.
The cluster will fur-
ther leverage the prox-
imity and accessibility
of these stakeholders to
enable synergetic col-
laboration, GIFT City
said in a statement.
“Establishing a mari-
time cluster is a much-
needed step towards ad-
vancing India’s creden-
tials and economic via-
bilityinthissector,”said
Tapan Ray
, MD and
Group CEO, GIFT City
.
GIFT City is India’s
first operational smart
city and international
financialservicescentre
(IFSC).
Avantika Singh, vice-
chairman and CEO of
GMB, said this will be
the first-of-its-kind com-
mercial maritime ser-
vices cluster in India
which has been concep-
tualizedtoenhancecom-
petitiveness and self-suf-
ficiency in the maritime
sector and provide one-
stop solutions.
“GIFT City provides
us with a seamless envi-
ronment to create a ro-
bustmaritimefraternity
and strengthen its value
chain. It has state-of-the
art infrastructure and
world-class banking fa-
cilities and institutions,
thatwillbebeneficialfor
fostering innovation,
economic viability
, col-
laboration and business
opportunities for the
cluster,” she added.
The cluster intends to
host an array of mari-
time industry players,
including government
regulators, shipping as-
sociations and business-
es; intermediate servic-
es providers—shipping
finance, marine insur-
ance, maritime arbitra-
tors, maritime law
firms—and support ser-
vices providers such as
maritime education in-
stitutes.
GMB to set-up international maritime services cluster at GIFT City
FIRST IN INDIA
GIFT City. —FILE PHOTO
Cluster will be one-stop ecosystem
comprising ports, shipping,
logistics services providers and
government regulators
Guj sees 11 deaths, 778 cases, 2,613 recoveries
as daily jump falls, vaccine doses approach 2 crore
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat reported 778
fresh cases of COV-
ID-19 and 11 fatali-
ties in the 24-hour
period ended 5pm on
Monday, taking the
tally to 8,17,012 and
the death toll to 9,944
since March last, the
state health and fam-
ily welfare depart-
ment said.
Ahmedabad report-
ed three COVID-19 fa-
talities, Surat two, Va-
dodara one, the depart-
ment said.
With 2,613 patients
being discharged dur-
ing the day, the state’s
cumulative count of
recoveries rose to
7,90,906, leaving the
state with 16,162 active
cases, the department
said in a release.
Gujarat’s case recov-
ery rate improved fur-
ther to 96.80 per cent
on Monday.
At 181, Vadodara re-
ported the highest
number of new cases
in Gujarat in the day,
followed by 120 in
Ahmedabad, 115 in Su-
rat, 47 in Rajkot, 24 in
Jamnagar, and 16 in
Bhavnagar, among oth-
er districts, it said.
The department also
said that 306 patients
recovered, and 33,680
people were vaccinat-
ed in Ahmedabad on
Monday. In Vadodara,
471 patients have re-
covered and 10,316 pa-
tients were vaccinat-
ed; and in Surat, 23,161
patients have been
vaccinated.
A total of 2,59,192
people received COV-
ID-19 vaccine jabs in
Gujarat on Monday,
taking the count of
doses administered so
far to 1,86,55,846, it
said.
A total of 1,86,825
doses were adminis-
tered to people in the
age group of 18 to 44
years in the day, rais-
ing the number of the
beneficiaries in this
group in Gujarat to
26,62,353.
A man gets his vaccine at a centre in Ahmedabad’s Juhapura area. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
COVID-19 UPDATE
TOTAL CASES
8,17,012
CASES IN A DAY
778
TOTAL DEATHS
9,944
DEATHSINADAY
11
ACTIVE CASES
16,162
RECOVERED
TOTAL
7,90,906
RECOVERED
IN A DAY
2,613
V’DARA 181
A’BAD 120
SURAT 115
RAJKOT 47
JUNAGADH 51
JAMNAGAR 24
GIR SOMNATH 24
COVID-19 norms
violated at BJP
event, six booked
First India Bureau
Junagadh: Six BJP
officials from Ma-
lia Hatina town in
Junagadh were
booked for alleg-
edly violating
COVID-19 proto-
cols at an event or-
ganised to wel-
come some people
who had joined it
from the Congress,
police said on
Monday.
More than 100
party workers had
assembled inside a
hall during the
event. Most were not
wearing face masks.
As a result, Malia
Hatina taluka BJP
general secretary
Aniruddh Dodiya
and five others have
been booked, an of-
ficial said.
“The event was
held without per-
mission, and social
distancing was not
maintained. Such
events are prohibit-
ed in Gujarat cur-
rently due to the
COVID-19 outbreak.
An FIR was lodged
under sections of
the IPC, Epidemic
Diseases Act, Disas-
ter Management Act
provisions after a
video of the event
was brought to the
notice of the po-
lice,” he added.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 192 l RNI NO.
GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and
published by Anita Hada Sangwan
on behalf of First Express Publish-
ers. 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, Ghat-
lodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief:
Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita
Hada Sangwan responsible for
selection of news under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Therefore do not be anxious
about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will be anxious
for itself. Sufficient for the
day is its own trouble.
—Matthew 6:44
IN-DEPTH
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
An E-book titled ‘20 Reforms in 2020’
was released today. It is a compilation of
defence reforms undertaken in the year
2020 by the MoD to bring about greater
cohesion and modernisation of the
Armed Forces through policy changes,
innovation and digital transformation.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Gujarat is known as the gas capital of
India. In a meeting today with Hon.
CM Gujarat Shri @vijayrupanibjp, we
discussed further strengthening the oil
gas infrastructure in Gujarat to establish
it as a national hub for petroleum,
petrochemicals and natural gas.
TOP TWEET
BSY TRUMPS
HIS DETRACTORS
ONCE AGAIN
arnataka Chief Min-
ister BS Yediyurap-
pa (BSY) has sur-
vived numerous at-
tempts by his detrac-
tors from within and outside to
unseat him and is likely to come
up trumps once again. He made
a comeback after being in the
wilderness on corruption
charges. In 2019 also he had to
tackle rebellion by ticket-seek-
ers for the by-elections. In Janu-
ary this year he reshuffled his
cabinet under pressure from
dissenters. One expected the
dissenters would let him rule in
peace. That was not to be. A
fresh move was launched by a
group of disgruntled MLAs for
his removal as the chief minis-
ter. Trouble began to brew after
BSY left out some legislators
while shuffling his pack. These
legislators wanted new faces to
be inducted into the ministry.
When BSY, who took oath in
July 2019, turned down their de-
mand, they threatened to ap-
proach the party high command
for his ouster. The buzz from the
BJP headquarters is that the
bosses will back BSY.
K
rime Minister
Narendra Modi’s
announcement on
centralized pro-
curement of vac-
cines for Covid-19 and free
shots for all who are above 18
yearsof agewillgoalongway
in boosting the country’s vac-
cination drive and addressing
the concerns of one and all.
The vaccination drive in
the country has been tardy
and hurdled by shortages and
pricing of vaccines. Last
week the Supreme Court
asked the Central govern-
ment to give a detailed reply
on its vaccination pro-
gramme. Constrained by the
unavailability of vaccines,
the states asked the Centre to
allow them to buy the shots
directly from manufacturers.
They even carried out a sham
exercise of inviting tenders
and claiming that several
manufacturers had shown in-
terest. The bubble burst when
the Delhi government an-
nounced that the manufactur-
ers refused to deal with them.
Afterthisthestateswentback
to the Central government to
say that it should be the one
purchasing and distributing
the shots. As differential pric-
ing was a major issue, and
there was a pressing demand
for free jabs for all, the issues
needed to be addressed.
The Opposition will con-
test the prime minister’s as-
sertion that vaccination pro-
grammes in the country took
off only after 2014. In fact the
BCG vaccine for TB was in-
troduced in 1948. In 1978 India
launched its Expanded Pro-
gramme for Immunisation,
later renamed Universal Im-
munisation Programme in
1985 and included vaccines
for eight diseases. In 2011 the
UIP was targeting 27 million
infants and pregnant women
every year. Also, the Serum
Institute of India was already
the world’s biggest vaccine
manufacturer before 2014.
MODI CHANGES
POLICY ON VACCINES
The vaccination drive in
the country has been
tardy and hurdled by
shortages and pricing of
vaccines. Last week the
Supreme Court asked the
Central government to
give a detailed reply on its
vaccination programme
P
PAKISTAN RETURNS TO
ITS OLD LOVE, AMERICA
China reacts like a ‘jilted lover’, Afghan Talibans angry, but assured of old ties
he “happy days” for Pakistan
appeartobedawningwiththe
renewal of “close and inti-
mate” ties with its estranged
ally, USA. A financial bonan-
za awaits the country in addi-
tion to the state-of-the art
military hardware, estimated
to be not less than 20 billion
USD to its security forces.
The credit for this resumed
US cooperation goes to the
Pakistani army chief, Qamar
Javed Bajwa, who has been
quietly planning for this re-
newal of strategic planning.
It is yet to be known whether
it was done in consultations
with the Prime Minister, Im-
ran Khan, and his cabinet.
Earlier, Bajwa had sur-
prised the civilian govern-
ment by implementing an
effective ceasefire on the line
of control in Jammu-Kash-
mir. He also successfully con-
vinces the Joe Biden admin-
istration about his country’s
intentions for “peace’ with
India; visits Saudi Arabia to
renew the warmth in the re-
lationship.
It is believed that he has
picked up from the pro-west
strategy of the army dictator,
General Mushrraf, and final-
ly decides to cooperate with
the USA, though many con-
sider it ‘razor-edge diploma-
cy’. Meanwhile, few are ready
to believe the Pakistani For-
eignMinister,ShahMehmood
Qureshi’sstatementthat“Itis
just speculative that Pakistan
would allow the United States
to operate a military base on
Pakistani territory or con-
duct “kinetic drone” opera-
tions against Afghanistan. It
isquiteknownthatevenwith-
out any recent agreement, US
aircrafts have been using the
Pakistani bases for refuelling
and other purposes. The only
difference will be that they
would shift most of the mili-
tary hardware from Afghani-
stan to Pakistan.
Bajwa is also making extra
efforts to convince the Af-
ghan Taliban that Pakistan’s
cooperation with the USA is
a part of helping the Ameri-
can forces to leave the region.
It is being felt necessary be-
cause Pakistan has already
been warned that the Afghan
Talibans are against any
American military presence
in the neighbouring coun-
tries. It might be attributed to
the recent statement of David
F. Helvey
, Assistant Secretary
of Defence for Indo-Pacific
Affairs, before the US Senate
Armed Services Committee.
It is yet to be seen what as-
surances Bajwa gives to Chi-
na. Meanwhile, China has al-
ready communicated its “un-
happiness’” through various
diplomaticchannels.TheChi-
nese reaction to the renewal
of US-Pakistanistrategicrela-
tionship is that of a “jilted
lover”, readying for a pro-
longed honeymoon, but sud-
denly abandoned. The recent
statement of Imran Khan on
the China –Pakistan Econom-
ic Corridor (CPEC) praising
China is considered as an at-
tempt to assuage its feelings.
The back room diplomacy
of the US special envoy to Af-
ghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad,
has reportedly played a key-
role in obtaining Bajwa’s
support. He recently told law-
makers at the Capitol that “It
is too pessimistic to predict
that the Kabul government
or Afghan military will be
quickly overrun by the Tali-
ban once US and coalition
forces withdraw.”
Meanwhile, the Afghani-
stan Defence Department of-
ficials have acknowledged
that thousands of vehicles,
weapons and other military
items from Afghanistan will
be in danger of being seized
by the Taliban. The equip-
ment may now be shifted to
Pakistan, but remain under
the American supervision.
Brig Gen Matthew Troll-
inger, Deputy Director of
politico-military affairs for
the Joint Staff, told the Sen-
ate lawmakers during a re-
cent hearing on Afghanistan
that “We will be transferring
facilities, some vehicles and
other equipment that the Af-
ghan national defence forces
can utilize in their on-going
efforts to secure the country
,”
He further stated, “We will be
retrograding equipment that
we’re able to bring back to
bases and stations in the con-
tinental United States as well
as elsewhere.” In a reply to a
question, those enemy fight-
ers in the region might steal
some of that abandoned and
gifted equipment, he did not
rule out such a possibility
.”
The officials from US Cen-
tral Command have stated
that the drawdown is be-
tween 13 per cent and 20 per
cent completed already. It
means that most of the mili-
tary equipment is yet to be
packed and moved, though
the US authorities have not
released specifics on the total
number of troops and the de-
tails of the equipment.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
Bajwa is also making extra
efforts to convince the
Afghan Taliban that
Pakistan’s cooperation with
the USA is a part of helping
the American forces to leave
the region. It is being felt
necessary because Pakistan
has already been warned
that the Afghan Talibans
are against any American
military presence in the
neighbouring countries
The back room
diplomacy of the US
special envoy to
Afghanistan, Zalmay
Khalilzad, has reportedly
played a key-role in
obtaining Bajwa’s
support
GOPAL MISRA
The writer is accredited as a Journalist
of Long and distinguished service with the
Press Information Bureau of the Information
and Broadcasting Ministry

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LEARN FROM BOTH VICTORY,
DEFEAT: PM MODI’S MESSAGE
Take a lesson from it and start preparing for the coming elections in UP
New Delhi: PM Modi
has advised his party
workers to take lessons
both from victory and
feat as the BJP prepares
for the next round of
elections, to be held in
five states. The big elec-
tion will be in Uttar
Pradesh -- politically
the most crucial state in
the country, which
sends the maximum
number of members to
parliament and is said
to hold the key to the
government in Delhi.
“Whether it is defeat
or victory, take a lesson
from it and start pre-
paring for the coming
elections,” PM Modi
was quoted as saying by
the party’s general sec-
retaries who attended a
meeting last evening at
the Prime Minister’s of-
ficial residence.
The last round of
election had proved a
mixed bag for the BJP.
Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat calls on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
PM MODI EXPRESSES GRIEF AS
LIGHTNING KILLS 20 IN BENGAL
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday ex-
pressed grief over
deaths of at least 20
persons due to light-
ning strikes in three
districts of south
Bengal and approved
an ex-gratia of Rs 2
lakh each from the
PMNRF for the next
of kin of those killed
and Rs 50,000 to those
injured.
“My thoughts are
with all those who
lost their near and
dear ones due to
lightning in parts of
West Bengal. May the
injured recover at
the earliest, Modi
tweeted.
Meanwhile, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah also expressed
condolence and
prayed for the speedy
recovery of those in-
jured. “The loss of
lives due to lightning
in different parts of
West Bengal is deep-
ly saddening. My sin-
cerest condolences.”
BCCI: IPL 2021
to resume on
September 19
Choksi disposed documents into
Caribbean Sea before arrest: Report
Roseau: Amid the con-
troversy surrounding
the arrest of fugitive dia-
mantaire Mehul Choksi
in Dominica, an eyewit-
ness account revealed
how Choksi was discov-
ered in the vicinity of
Roseau, where he was
captured by the coun-
try’s Criminal Investiga-
tion Department (CID).
According to the ac-
count of Dominican
resident Harry Baron,
Choksi started to run
when the police ap-
proached him while he
was disposing of some
documents into the Car-
ibbean sea.
The eyewitness said
police got suspicious
and ran after him, but he
could not run far and fell
twice and got caught
while escaping from the
police, says a report.
The eyewitness revealed
how he sustained inju-
ries amid the chase.
New Delhi: The Board
of Control for Cricket
in India (BCCI) has ze-
roed in on the date for
the resumption of the
14th edition of the In-
dian Premier League to
be held in UAE. The
first game on resump-
tion will be played on
September 19 while the
final will be hosted on
October 15 -- the day In-
dia will be celebrating
Dussehra this year.
Speaking to ANI, a
BCCI official in the
know of developments
of the recent meetings
between the BCCI and
the Emirates Cricket
Board (ECB) said the
discussions went well
and the Indian board is
confident that the re-
maining IPL games will
be held successfully in
Dubai, Sharjah and
Abu Dhabi.
Asked about the situ-
ation with regards to
the availability of the
foreign players, the of-
ficial said talks are on
and the Indian board
expects positive out-
comes.
“The discussions
have started and we are
keeping fingers crossed
that the foreign players
will be mostly available.
If a couple of them do
not manage to turn up,
we shall then decide on
the future course of ac-
tion. But keeping fin-
gers crossed for an
action-packed end to
the 14th edition,” the of-
ficial said. —ANI
20 held in Kodakara
black money case: CM
Kerala: Twenty per-
sons have been arrested
in connection with
Kodakara black money
case, in which the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leaders were also
quizzed by the special
investigation team,
Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan in-
formed the Kerala Leg-
islative Assembly
.
“The statements of 96
witnesses were record-
ed as part of the Koda-
kara case investigation.
As many as 20 accused
have been arrested and
legal action has been
taken. Of the 3.5 crore
looted, 1.12 crore was
used to purchase 347
grams of gold jewellery,
mobile phones and
watches. These items
were confiscated by the
police. The investiga-
tion is in full swing,” he
told the House in reply
to a notice of adjourn-
ment moved by Con-
gress MLA Shafi Par-
ambil on the issue. Giv-
ing details of the case,
Vijayan said that the
case was initially regis-
tered under Section 395
IPC based on the
complaint of one Sham-
jeer, that 25 lakh and
his car was stolen by a
group of people at the
Thrissur Kodakara by-
pass on April 3. Kerala
CM further informed
that the required infor-
mation has been pro-
vided by the investigat-
ing officer. —ANI
Pinarayi Vijayan
SC to Haryana: Remove illegally
built houses in Aravali forest area
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Mon-
day directed the Hary-
ana government and
the other authorities
concerned, to remove
around 10,000 houses
constructed illegally at
Khori village in Hary-
ana’s Aravali forest
area.
A bench of the Apex
Court headed by Jus-
tice A M Khanwilkar
and also comprising
Justice Dinesh Ma-
heshwari, in its order
directed the Municipal
Corporation of
Faridabad, Haryana,
and the concerned po-
lice (Faridabad) to en-
sure the eviction order
of it, within six weeks.
The Supreme Court
bench, while refusing
to stay the eviction of
these illegal construc-
tions, observed, “Land
grabbers can’t take ref-
uge of rule of law.” The
Apex Court was hear-
ing a plea seeking a
stay on the demolition
of around 10,000 hous-
es that had constructed
illegally at Khori Gaon,
Faridabad in Haryana,
believed to be in Ara-
vali areas. —ANI
CLIMATE CHANGE TO WORSEN
INDIAN MONSOON, WARMING
New Delhi: The Indian monsoon is likely to get
much more dangerous and wetter as global
warming alters the system, new research says.
India has witnessed a change in monsoon
pattern over the years as climate disruptions
take a toll on the system. The research published
in the journal Science Advances stated that
scientists analysed changes in the past million
years to conclude that monsoon is set for the
worse. “We find that the projected monsoon
response to ongoing,” the research paper said.
GAGANYAAN ON TRACK, ISRO TO
TAKE FINAL CALL ON LAUNCH
Bengaluru: The Indian
Space Research
Organisation (Isro) is on
track to launch the
uncrewed Gaganyaan
mission, which is part of
the space agency’s
ambitious project to send
humans to space. The final
call on the launch, likely in
December, will be taken
following assessment of
the mission once the
lockdown in Bengaluru is
lifted, sources said.
Proposed in 2018, the
mission has encountered
several delays owing to
the coronavirus pandemic.
The Karnataka government
had reimposed a lockdown
earlier this year to
contain the unabated
spread of the virus. The
lockdown is likely to be
lifted by June 15.
IN THE COURTYARD
Keep standby ventilators ready
for patient’s safety: Bombay HC
Mumbai: The Bombay
HC on Monday directed
the Government Medi-
cal College and Hospital
(GMCH), Aurangabad
to keep “standby venti-
lators” as “backup” to
ensure that “the treat-
ment or health of the
patients is not put to
jeopardy” in case the 18
repaired ventilators,
supplied by the Centre,
again malfunction. The
directions were issued
after MoHFW told the
bench that technicians
from the manufactur-
ing company Jyoti CNC
Automations, along
with two senior expert
doctors from Delhi, had
inspected and repaired
the defective ventila-
tors, making them
functional.
Priority given to
those who need
2nd dose: Delhi
New Delhi: The
Delhi government on
Monday informed the
Delhi HC that it has
directed that all private
hospitals and nursing
homes functioning as
vaccination centres
to ensure that the
Covaxin will be used
to vaccinate only those
people who are eligible
for second dose.
WhatsApp vs Govt: In two
cases, each side contradicts
HC refuses to stay pvt
school order on fees
New Delhi: Two cases
in Delhi High Court,
both Centre vs What-
sApp, have user priva-
cy at their heart. How-
ever, in each of these
cases, both sides have
made arguments that
are diametrically oppo-
site to what they have
argued in the other
case, throwing up in-
herent contradictions
in the positions they
have taken. In the first
case, WhatsApp is de-
fending its privacy
policy update of 2021,
which asks users to
sign up to its data-shar-
ing policy with Face-
book group companies,
while the Centre is op-
posing the policy
.
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court on Monday
refused to stay its sin-
gle-judge order allow-
ing private unaided
schools to collect an-
nual and development
charges from students
for the period after the
lockdown ended in the
national capital last
year. A vacation bench
of Justices Rekha Palli
and Amit Bansal is-
sued notice and sought
response of the Action
Committee Unaided
Recognised Private
Schools, which repre-
sents over 450 schools,
on the appeals of AAP
government, students
challenging the single
judge’s May 31 order.

Govt machinery...
into the state, it has set
a challenge to both the
BJP and the Congress.
That is the reason why
such allegations are
expected. The BJP has
been the party form-
ing governments and
registering easy wins
in the state for so many
years. It has happened
with the blessing of
the Congress party
only. Such allegations
are nothing but a hid-
den fear of losing pow-
er,” Pathan said.
Meanwhile refuting
all allegations of state
machinery being used
by the party, BJP
spokesperson Raju
Dhruv told First India,
“These are baseless al-
legations. The BJP has
stood with the people
be it the COVID-19 pan-
demic or the recent
Cyclone Tauktae. The
Congress may have to
experience an embar-
rassing defeat in the
upcoming state assem-
bly elections 2022 and
that is why they are
making such state-
ments. The citizens
know who stands with
them. If the Congress
really wants to make a
change in power then
they have to stand
with the people and
serve them without a
hidden agenda.”
‘Free vaccination...
“The Centre is taking
back total control of
vaccination now. It
will take over the 25
per cent doses as-
signed to states and
this will be imple-
mented in the next
two weeks. From June
21 (International Day
of Yoga), the Centre
will provide free vac-
cines to states,” PM
Modi announced in an
address to the nation,
in which he parried
criticism of his gov-
ernment’s policy and
a slow rollout that has
covered less than five
per cent of the popula-
tion .
“Whether it is the
poor, the lower middle
class, the middle class,
or the upper middle
class, under the cen-
tral government pro-
gramme, everyone will
get free vaccines,” the
Prime Minister said.
The Centre will buy
75 per cent of the vac-
cines produced by
companies, including
25 per cent assigned to
states. Private hospi-
tals will continue to
buy the remaining 25
per cent and inoculate
those willing to pay
for their jabs. They
can’t, however, charge
more than Rs 150 as
service charge per
dose over the fixed
price of the vaccine,
the PM said.
“75% of vaccination
will be free and under
the Centre, 25% will be
paid and by private
hospitals,” he said.
Under the earlier
policy, the central gov-
ernment gave free vac-
cines to those above 45
and frontline workers,
and left state govern-
ments and private hos-
pitals to administer
doses at a cost to peo-
ple between 18 and 44.
States were also pro-
viding free shots to
this group.
In a speech that took
on critics, PM Modi
put out an emphatic
defence of his vaccine
policy, which has late-
ly come under attack
by states, opposition
parties and the Su-
preme Court.
With ‘caste’...
tweet by Moitra sug-
gesting the “grim situ-
ation” in the state
would only improve if
he would “move your
sorry self... and the ex-
tended family you’ve
settled at Raj Bhavan
(the Governor’s offi-
cial residence)... back
to Delhi”.
Assertion by Mahua
Moitra in tweet and
media that six coter-
minous appointee
OSDs in personal staff
are relatives is FACTU-
ALLY WRONG. OSDs
are from three states
and belong to four dif-
ferent castes. None of
them is part of close
family. Four of them
are not from my caste
or state,” he said.
“This is unfolding
of ‘distraction strate-
gy’ to divert attention
from alarming law and
order scenario...
Would continue unde-
terred and with zeal to
serve the people of
state and vindicate my
oath of office under
Article 159 of the Con-
stitution,” he added.
FROM PG 1
INDIA
06
NATION’S SECOND WAVE BEGINS RECEDING
Country reported 1,00,636 fresh cases, lowest in 61 days, taking
infection tally to 2,89,09,975, active cases dropped to 14,01,609
New Delhi: India re-
ported 1,00,636 fresh
COVID-19 cases, the
lowest in 61 days, taking
the infection tally to
2,89,09,975, while the
number of active cases
dropped to 14,01,609, ac-
cording to the Union
Health Ministry’s data
updated on Monday
.
The death toll due to
coronavirus reached
3,49,186 with 2,427 new
fatalities, the lowest in
around 45 days, the data
updated at 8 am showed.
A total of 96,982 new
cases were recorded in
a span of 24 hours on
April 6. Also, 15,87,589
tests were conducted
on Sunday, taking the
total cumulative tests
conducted so far for de-
tection of COVID-19 in
the country to
36,63,34,111, while the
daily positivity rate
was recorded at 6.34 per
cent. It has been less
than 10 per cent for 14
consecutive days, the
ministry said. The
weekly positivity rate
has declined to 6.21 per
cent. The number of ac-
tive cases has reduced
to 14,01,609, comprising
4.85 per cent of the total
infections, while the na-
tional COVID-19 recov-
ery rate has improved
to 93.94 per cent.
People throng market during unlocking process of COVID-19 lockdown in Bhopal on Monday.
B’luru’s fatality
rate higher than
Karnataka’s
Kejriwal urges
people to follow
Covid norms
Bengauru: The number
of new coronavirus cases
in Bengaluru has been
reducing. But the case
fatality rate, or CFR, is
high. The number of
deaths reported from
Bengaluru have doubled
in the last month and was
at a cumulative total of
14,875 in data released
on Sunday. According to
this data, the case fatality
rate in Bengaluru was
7.71 per cent as com-
pared to the overall 2.62
per cent in Karnataka.
New Delhi: The re-
sumption of economic
activities in Delhi
should not cause laxity
in Covid-19 appropri-
ate behaviour, Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal said Monday, as
markets lifted shutters
and the metro started
operating. Markets
will open partially
with the government
enforcing an odd-even
rule under which 50
per cent of shops can
serve customers on a
given day, while metro
has been directed to op-
erate at 50 per cent
seating capacity.
No Covid funerals for two straight
days at East Delhi crematoriums
New Delhi: For the
first time in nearly
2 months, no bod-
ies were cremated or
buried as per Covid
protocols for 2 con-
secutive days Saturday
Sunday in East Delhi
Municipal Corporation.
There are 164 spaces
for cremation and two
burial grounds in the
jurisdiction of East
MCD. The cremation
grounds of East Delhi
had seen a peak of 100
funerals on May 1, the
highest ever recorded.
Over 50 bodies came
to their crematoria
daily in the last two
weeks of April and first
week of May. Mayor of
East MCD Nirmal Jain
said that for the past
two days no last rites
of Covid patients were
held in his jurisdiction.
IVERMECTIN, HCQ DROPPED FROM
ONE COVID TREATMENT LIST
New Delhi: Health Ministry’s Directorate
General of Health Services has issued revised
guidelines for management of Covid patients,
dropping ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and
favipiravir from its list of approved treatment
options. Guidelines, however, differ from
those provided by Health Ministry, which
recommends both ivermectin hydroxy-
chloroquine. New guidelines also do not
mention taking steam inhalation and the use
of vitamins for Covid treatment contradicting
advisory on Health Ministry website.
New Delhi: Countries are
rushing to vaccinate their
people to protect vulner-
able groups with some
experts anticipating a third
wave of the pandemic.
Shortage of vaccine supply
led to growing demands
for ramping up production
for billions of doses. Now,
scientists are exploring
ways to create new alter-
natives to the Covid-19
vaccine. An antibody nasal
spray is one of the options
scientists are explor-
ing. They have created a
hybrid antibody that has
been found to reduce the
amount of SARS-CoV-2
in the lungs of infected
mice. A study published in
journal Nature stated that
nasal spray of a designer
antibody offers strong
protection against variants
of coronavirus in mice.
Inside view of Delhi Metro.
Pune: 15 dead in factory fire,
search on for those trapped
Pune: At least 15 work-
ers died when a fire
broke out a chemical
factory in Urawade in
Pune district’s Mulshi
taluka on Monday
. More
people are feared
trapped in the fire at
factory of SVS Aqua
Technologies efforts
are on to rescue them.
Pune District Collec-
tor Rajesh Deshmukh
said while the fire has
been controlled, all the
areas of the factory
aren’t accessible yet.
“Fifteen bodies have
been brought out so far.
The search is still on
and the count may go
up. The total casualty
will become clear only
after the entire areas is
searched.” Deshmukh
who visited the site,
said an inquiry has
been instituted under
Sub-divisional Magis-
trate, Maval, with fire
officers and police offic-
ers as members, to de-
termine the cause of
the fire and if there
were any violation of
the safety measures the
plant should have been
following.
Deputy CM Ajit Pa-
war has announced an
ex-gratia help of Rs5
lakh to kin of deceased.
CBSE class 10 12 exams cancelled,
parents demand return of tests’ fees
New Delhi: With CBSE
having cancelled the
Class 10 and 12 exams
this year, parents have
raised a demand seek-
ing return of the exam-
ination fees collected
from students last year.
In 2020, the Delhi gov-
ernment had paid this
fee for all students stud-
ying in government-
run schools. However, it
couldn’t do the same
this year owing to a fi-
nancial crunch.
“In the past year,
CBSE had not agreed to
waive exam fees keep-
ing in mind technical
institutional require-
ments. After announce-
ment of cancellation of
exams, students of X
XII should be returned
the exam fee collected
by them,” a letter writ-
ten to CBSE by All India
Parents’ Association.
—FILE PHOTO
ONLINE TEST
IMA seeks PM’s intervention
to stop assault on doctors
New Delhi: Indian
Medical Association
(IMA) on Monday wrote
a letter to PM Narendra
Modi, sought his per-
sonal intervention to
resolve medicos’ body
pleas to ensure medical
professionals are able to
work without fear and
initiate action against
people who spread mis-
information regarding
vaccination drive.
“Any person(s) who
spreads misinforma-
tion against vaccina-
tion drive meant to fight
the COVID-19 must be
booked and punished in
accordance with law in-
cluding under the rele-
vant provisions of the
Epidemic Diseases Act,
1897, IPC Disaster
ManagementAct,2005,”
the letter reads.
IMA said all those in-
volved in such heinous
crimes ought to be pun-
ished so as to create an
effective deterrent for
other anti-social ele-
ments who may indulge
in attacking any health
careprofessionalsdoc-
tors engaged in war
against COVID. —ANI
HIGHLIGHTS
 Bengal govt cancels
state board exams
for classes X and
XII in view of Covid
crisis
 Punjab Extends Covid
Restrictions Till June
15, Some Rules
Eased
 Delhi civil defence
volunteer held for
posing as cop,
prosecuting Covid
violators
 India re-opens for
business as new
Covid-19 infections
hit two-month low
 Early diagnosis of
Covid-linked dis-
ease in children can
reduce morbidity,
say experts
 Passports of stu-
dents, athletes to be
linked with vaccina-
tion proof
 COVID-19: ISRO
develops 3 types of
ventilators, to trans-
fer technology
 27 Black Fungus
Patients Get Post-
Drug Vomiting,
Fever In Madhya
Pradesh
NASAL SPRAY DESIGNED FROM ENGINEERED
ANTIBODY COULD BOOST EFFICACY: REPORT
Covishield produced more antibodies
New Delhi: The Cov-
ishield vaccine pro-
duced more antibodies
than Covaxin, accord-
ing to a preliminary
study by Coronavirus
Vaccine-induced Anti-
body Titre involving
healthcareworkers who
havereceivedbothdoses
of either of the two vac-
cines. Seropositivity
rates to anti-spike anti-
body were significantly
higher in Covishield re-
cipients compared to
Covaxin after the first
dose, the study claimed.
The study is a pre-
print and has not been
peer-reviewed, so
should not be used to
guide clinical practice.
It said that both vac-
cines - Covishield and
Covaxin - elicited a good
response after two dos-
es, but seropositivity
rate and median anti-
spike antibody were sig-
nificantly higher in
Covishield. The study
involved those health-
care workers who have
been administered ei-
therof thetwovaccines,
Covishield and Covax-
in, and are with or with-
out past history of
SARS-CoV-2 infection.
We’ll probably need
booster shots for
Covid. But when?
New Delhi: Many people
are beginning to wonder
how long their protection
will last. Scientists are
asking questions about
COVID-19 booster shots,
but they do not yet have
many answers. The Na-
tional Institutes of Health
announced that it has
begun a new clinical trial
of people fully vaccinated
to see whether a booster
of the Moderna shot will
increase their antibodies.
Dilip Kumar is on O2 support,
not on ventilator, confirms doc
Mumbai: Dilip Ku-
mar’s doctor on Mon-
day denied reports that
suggest the veteran ac-
tor is on a ventilator at
Mumbai’s PD Hinduja
Hospital. “Veteran ac-
tor Dilip Kumar is on
oxygen support, not on
a ventilator. He is sta-
ble,” Dr Jalil Parkar,
the pulmonologist
treating the actor at
Mumbai’s PD Hinduja
Hospital, informed.
For the unversed, a
ventilator is used to
help people breathe
when they can’t breathe
on their own. It is a type
of life support.
The spokesperson for
Dilip has even urged
the media not to believe
in hoax news, assuring
the actor will be back
home soon.
Dilip Kumar
COVID-19
Raj govT files
caveat in HC before
dr Somya’s plea
Jaipur: The Rajasthan
government has filed a
caveat in the High Court
on Monday before the
petition of the suspend-
ed mayor of Jaipur
Greater Municipal Cor-
poration Somya Gurjar
and three other coun-
cilors. The high court
will now hear the side of
thestategovernmentbe-
forepassinganyinterim
order on the petition
challenging the suspen-
sion of the mayor and
the councilors. The
court has also decided to
conduct a judicial in-
quiry in the matter.

TALKING POINT
07
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
Seabirds
Seabirds
ARETODAY’SCANARIES
ARETODAY’SCANARIES
INTHECOALMINE–
INTHECOALMINE–

THEY’RESENDINGUSAN
THEY’RESENDINGUSAN
URGENTMESSAGE
URGENTMESSAGE
J
ust as caged canaries
once warned coal
miners of the risk of
carbon monoxide poison-
ing, free-flying seabirds
are now warning humani-
ty about the deteriorating
health of our oceans.
Seabirds journey vast
distances across Earth’s
seascapes to find food and
to breed. This exposes
them to changes in ocean
conditions, climate and
food webs. This means
their biology, particularly
their breeding successes,
can reveal these changes to
us on a rare, planet-wide
scale.
We collated and ana-
lysed the world’s largest
database on seabird
breeding. Our findings
reveal a key message: ur-
gency in the Northern
Hemisphere and opportu-
nity in the south.
The Northern Hemi-
sphere ocean systems are
degraded and urgently
need better management
and restoration. Damage
to Southern Hemisphere
oceans from threats such
as climate change and in-
dustrial fishing is accel-
erating, but opportuni-
ties remain there to avoid
the worst.
OCEANS AT A
CROSSROADS
Seabirds often travel far
across the planet. For ex-
ample, many sooty shear-
waters breed in New Zea-
land, yet travel each year
to the productive waters of
the northeast Pacific. Arc-
tic terns migrate even fur-
ther, travelling each year
between the Arctic and
Antarctic.
Scientists often use sat-
ellite-derived data sets to
determine, for example,
how the oceans’ surfaces
are warming or how
ocean food webs are
changing. Few such data
sets span the globe, how-
ever, and this is where
seabirds come in.
Over its long journey, a
seabird eats fish and plank-
ton. In doing so, it absorbs
signals about ocean condi-
tions, including the effects
of pollution, marine heat-
waves, ocean warming and
other ecological changes.
Seabird breeding pro-
ductivity (the number of
chicks produced per fe-
male per year) depends on
the food resources avail-
able. In this way, seabirds
are sentinels of change in
marine ecosystems. They
can tell us which parts of
oceans are healthy
enough to support their
breeding and which parts
may be in trouble.
DECIPHERING
SEABIRD
MESSAGES
In some cases, seabirds
tell us directly about ma-
jor distress in the oceans.
This was the case in 2015-
16, when around a million
emaciated common
murres died, many wash-
ing up on beaches from
California to Alaska. The
seabirds experienced se-
vere food shortages
caused by an acute ma-
rine heatwave.
In other cases, seabird
health can hint at longer-
term and more subtle dis-
ruption of ocean ecosys-
tems, and we are left to
decipher these messages.
In this task, seabird
breeding provides impor-
tant clues about marine
food webs that are other-
wise difficult or impossi-
ble to measure directly,
especially at global scales.
Thankfully, seabird scien-
tists around the world
have consistently meas-
ured breeding productivi-
ty over decades.
Our research team in-
cluded 36 of these scien-
tists. We collated a data-
base of breeding produc-
tivity for 66 seabird spe-
cies from 46 sites around
the world, from 1964 to
2018. We used the data to
determine whether sea-
birds were producing rel-
atively more or fewer
chicks over the past 50
years, and whether the
risk of breeding failure
was increasing or de-
creasing.
STRIKING
FINDINGS
In the Northern Hemi-
sphere, breeding produc-
tivity of plankton-eating
birds such as storm petrels
and auklets increased
strongly over 50 years, but
breeding productivity of
fish-eating birds declined
sharply
.
In the Southern Hemi-
sphere, by contrast, breed-
ing productivity of plank-
ton-eating seabirds de-
clinedweakly
,butincreased
strongly for fish eaters.
In short, fish-eating sea-
birds in the north are in
trouble. Decreasing breed-
ing productivity leads to
population declines, and
the low breeding rate of
seabirds (many species
only have one chick per
year) means populations
recover slowly
.
More worrying, though,
were our findings on the
risk of breeding failure.
In the Southern Hemi-
sphere, the probability of
breeding failure was low
throughout the study pe-
riod. The same was true
for Northern Hemisphere
plankton feeders. But fish
eaters in the north showed
dramatically increasing
risk of breeding failure,
most acutely in the years
since 2000.
Importantly, increasing
risk of breeding failure
was also much higher for
seabirds that feed at the
ocean’s surface, such as
black-legged kittiwakes,
compared with those that
feed at greater depths,
such as puffins.
WHAT THIS
TELLS US
Unfortunately, these re-
sults match what we know
about human-caused dam-
age to the ocean.
First, many pollutants
such as plastics collect
close to the ocean surface.
They are often eaten by
surface-feeding seabirds,
potentially hampering
their ability to produce
chicks.
Similarly, the rate of
ocean warming has been
more than three times fast-
er, and the change in num-
ber of marine heatwave
days twice as large, on av-
erage, in the Northern
thanSouthernHemisphere
over the past 50 years.
Likewise, northern
oceans have sustained in-
dustrial fisheries for far
longer than those in the
south. This has likely re-
duced food supplies to
Northern Hemisphere
fish-eating seabirds over
longer periods, causing
chronic disruptions in
their breeding success.
But human impacts in
the Southern Hemisphere
are accelerating. Ocean
warming and marine
heatwaves are becoming
more intense, and indus-
trial fisheries and plastic
pollution are ever-more
pervasive.
We must heed the warn-
ings from our seabird “ca-
naries”. With careful plan-
ning and marine reserves
that take account of pro-
jected climate change, the
Southern Hemisphere
might avoid the worst con-
sequences of human activ-
ity. But without action,
some seabird species may
be lost and ocean food webs
damaged.
In the Northern Hemi-
sphere, there is no time to
waste. Innovative manage-
ment and restoration plans
are urgently needed to
avoid further deteriora-
tion in ocean health.
Rate of warming of the surface ocean over the past 50 years.
Seabird breeding success is a good indicator of ocean health.
—SHUTTERSTOCK
Many sooty shearwaters breed in
New Zealand then migrate to the
northeast Pacific.
—SHUTTERSTOCK
In the Southern Hemisphere, there’s
still time to reverse the oceans’ plight.
—SHUTTERSTOCK
DAVID SCHOEMAN
Professor of Global-Change Ecology,
University of the Sunshine Coast
BRIAN ALLAN HOOVER
Postdoctoral Fellow, Chapman
University
WILLIAM SYDEMAN
Adjunct associate, University of
California San Diego

08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Swedish
home furnishing major,
IKEA, has launched its
online operations for
customers based in Gu-
jarat’s three cities,
Ahmedabad, Surat and
Vadodara.
IKEAIndia,partof the
Ingka Group, which has
set up physical stores in
Hyderabad, Navi Mum-
baiandMumbai,hasfur-
ther increased its online
presenceinMumbai,Hy-
derabad and Pune.
The omnichannel
Swedish retailer will of-
fer over 8,000 home fur-
nishing products in
these Gujarat cities via
mobile shopping app
and ecommerce.
Kavitha Rao, Country
Commercial Manager,
IKEA India said, “We
are very excited to bring
our passion and knowl-
edge for home furnish-
ings to the many people
of Ahmedabad, Surat
and Vadodara through
the IKEA shopping app
and online store.”
The company will of-
fer the full range of
IKEAproductsandsolu-
tions for every part of
thehome,includingbed-
rooms, kitchen and din-
ing, living, outdoors,
workspaces etc. for the
many people.
“As we continue to
battle the global pan-
demic, many people are
shopping online, and we
are happy to bring home
furnishings closer to
more people in India
and enable them to shop
safely from their
homes,” Rao said.
IKEA will deliver to
all pin codes in these
threecitieswithaseven-
day delivery time.
The online store will
offer 1,000 products
priced below 200. Prices
of all products will be
the same across India,
both in offline and on-
line stores, a statement
said. To be affordable to
many more customers,
IKEA has been lowering
prices on some of its
popularproductsaspart
of its New Lower Prices
initiative over the last
year, it added.
Swedish firm IKEA’s digital footprint in Gujarat
GLOBAL PRESENCE
The furnishing major has launched
online stores for customers in
Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara,
would deliver at all pin codes
‘` 30K cr dvpment works
started in Guj despite Covid’
CM virtually throws open ` 232.5 cr development projects in hometown Rajkot
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Gujarat
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani on Monday
virtually inaugurat-
ed Rs.232.50 crore de-
velopment works in
his hometown Rajkot
at an event organised
at the Pramukh Swa-
mi auditorium in the
city.
The projects include
lucky draw of light-
house aawas yojana
built under the Prad-
han Mantri Aawas Yo-
jana (PMAY) by Rajkot
Municipal Corporation
for Rs.118 crore and
draw for the Rs 69.63
crore PMAY built un-
der the city urban de-
velopment project.
Rupani also virtu-
ally inaugurated and
laid the foundation
stone of various de-
velopmental works to
be undertaken at dif-
ferent wards of RMC
which are estimated
to cost Rs 37.69 crore
and development pro-
jects worth Rs 9.18
crore under Rajkot
Urban Development
Authority.
Speaking on the oc-
casion, the Chief Min-
ister said during the
past one and a half
years the State Govern-
ment had been instru-
mental in dedicating
Rs 30,000 crore worth
development works de-
spite Gujarat being in
the grip of the Covid-19
pandemic.
He added that his
government was deter-
mined to fulfill basic
necessities of the peo-
ple, including housing,
water, health, cleanli-
ness, transportation
and education.
Rupani assured the
people that the govern-
ment was alert and ful-
ly equipped to face the
much-feared third wave
of Covid 19. Despite
government efforts, the
percentage of people
coming forward for vac-
cination is not promis-
ing at least in the rural
areas. Seeking support
of the citizens, Rupani
said efforts were being
made to vaccinate
around 3 lakh citizens
on a daily basis.
Mayor Pradeep Dav
gave the inaugural
speech and gave high-
lights of various devel-
opmental works under-
taken by RMC, while
RMC Commissioner
Udit Agarwal gave a
brief about various
projects.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With a
continuous fall in Cov-
id-19 cases, the Gujarat
Government gave more
relaxations for public
movement from Mon-
day and all government
offices began regular
functioning, while other
offices and businesses
wereallowedtofunction
for longer hours.
A big relief came for
commuters in
Ahmedabad city with
the AMC resuming
AMTS-BRTS service af-
ter a long gap of 80 days.
Buses, though with
only 50% passenger ca-
pacity, will run from 6
a.m. to 8 p.m. On Mon-
day, the first day, the
number of passengers
in AMTS and BRTS bus-
es was low. Very few peo-
ple were seen at the bus
stand. While the buses
would run with 50% ca-
pacity
, there were fewer
people taking public
transport perhaps be-
cause of apprehensions.
There are several
guidelines to be fol-
lowed to use public
transport now. The pas-
sengers will be given
tickets upto the desig-
nated places only
.
Needless to say,
wearing a mask is a
must, and if anyone is
caught spitting or
without a mask, a fine
of Rs 200 will be levied.
Also, thermal scanning
will be done before tak-
ing the employees on
duty. Moreover, sanita-
tion would be done
daily inside and out-
side the buses.
The Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation lost
crores of rupees of in-
come when the bus op-
eration was hit. An esti-
mated 5 lakh people
used to travel in AMTS
on normal days and it
clocked a daily income
of around Rs 25 lakh.
With the onset of the
Covid-19 epidemic, the
number of passengers
dropped by 50%.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani virtually inaugurating development
projects in Rajkot at a function, attended by officials and others.
Man celebrates 37th b’day
by paying fees of 37 kids
Man kills wife over
domestic dispute on
Jamnagar street
Rajkot admin ropes
in psychologists for
vaccine awareness
First India Bureau
Jamnagar: A village
primary teacher in
Jamnagar district was
stabbed to death by her
husband over a domes-
tic issue while she was
on way to school, which
opened for online edu-
cation on Monday. The
man has been arrested.
Neetaben Dabhi, 45, a
resident of Vrindavan
society and working as
a teacher in a primary
school at Thavariya vil-
lage, was on way to
school early morning
when her husband
stopped her in Ma-
haprabhuji ni bethak
area.
Before she could un-
derstand anything, he
pulled out a knife and
started stabbing her. Af-
ter suffering severe in-
juries, she collapsed on
the spot.
A citizen informed
the police control room
and A division Police
Inspector A J Jalu and
his team rushed there.
An ambulance was
called, but Neetaben
had died. After
panchnama, the body
was sent for postmor-
tem.
Police Inspector Jalu
told the media that ac-
cording to eye witness
accounts Praful had
committed the offence.
He was soon nabbed.
Praful told the police
that he was tired of a
domestic dispute with
his wife for several
months and so he de-
cided to end it all by
killing her.
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot: The Rajkot dis-
trict administration has
roped in psychologists
to create awareness
about Covid-19 vaccina-
tion after a low turnout
of rural masses for it,
especially those above
45 years.
Gripped with wrong
beliefs, there are villag-
es that have reported
zeroorverylowpercent-
age of people taking the
jab. Now, the psychology
department of Saurash-
tra University has been
asked to cover 96 villag-
es in the district.
“Probably, this is the
first time any district
administration has
sought help from psy-
chologists. The health
workers are trying their
best, but it seems people
are locked up in wrong
beliefs,” assistant pro-
fessor Dr. Dhara Doshi
told First India.
“We started work on
Saturday
. We four pro-
fessors have covered 10
villages while our stu-
dents are doing similar
work in Porbandar and
Jamnagar.”
Doshi said, “The vil-
lagers have various rea-
sons and excuses for not
getting vaccinated.
They warmly welcome
us but the moment we
talk about vaccination,
they clam up and tell us
not to come again for
this. We need to keep
trying as it is difficult to
convert their mindset in
the first attempt.
Though some agreed af-
ter much persuasion.”
First India Bureau
Surat: In the present
times when many chil-
dren have lost their par-
ents while many have
lost their jobs. In a hu-
mane gesture, a textile
trader from Surat cele-
brated his birthday by
paying up the school
tuition fees of as many
as 37 needy students.
Textile trader Sam-
ratbhai Patil said,
“There are many chil-
dren who have lost their
parents. So I came up
with an idea of adopt-
ing them. I would adopt
21 children, who have
lost their father or
mother to Covid-19, and
aren’t able to complete
their education. I will
bear the cost of educat-
ing 21 of them one year,
including the internet.”
All these children
live and study in labour-
dominated Limbayat,
Dindoli and Godadra,
and many couldn’t pay
fees were excluded from
studies. “I am paying
fees for further studies
to 37 children on the
occasion of my 37th
birthday. All the par-
ents have been given
cheques in the name of
the school.”
MAJOR PROPERTY TAX RELIEF
GUJARAT UNLOCKS MORE
Chaos on Jamnagar street after the murder.
Psychologists visiting villages to create awareness.
Monday brought a big relief for commuters in
Ahmedabad with the resumption of AMTS-BRTS
bus services, though with 50% capacity
With more relaxations in place from Monday, all government offices in Gujarat began normal functioning, while bus services resumed in Ahmedabad. — PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
—FILE PHOTO
To ensure perfection in your
work, strive for excellence in
day-to-day habits.
—Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY
JUNE 8, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
PRIDE OF
Rajasthan
emina Miss India
Rajasthan, Aruna
Beniwal is a
19-year-old model
and dancer who is
also pursuing her
Bachelors in Com-
merce. She exhibits un-
flinching eagerness and
an ability to stay positive
and self-motivated. Aru-
na is an ‘A’ certified NCC
cadet and while attend-
ing various NCC camps,
she found her hidden
talent for rifle shoot-
ing. When asked
about how she devel-
oped an interest in
modelling, she said,
‘Back in my school
days, I never be-
lieved in getting
into modelling
and was more of
a tomboy but
my friends al-
ways encour-
aged me to get into it.’ About her
journey, she shared that she was
hauled into the auditions of Miss
Rajasthan 2019 by her sister
where she secured the position
of 1st Runner-up. After that, she
achieved the title of Miss Tal-
ented 2019 and Miss Photogenic
2019. She didn’t stop here and
decided to follow her career in
this field.
She said, ‘Organisers of Miss
Rajasthan, Yogesh Mishra Sir
and Nimisha Mishra Ma’am en-
couraged me to participate in
Femina Miss India which was a
very big step for me and without
their support, I could not have
represented Rajasthan so beauti-
fully at such a prestigious na-
tional platform.’ Aruna proved
herself and made it to the top 15
in Femina Miss India. She is a
girl who is beautiful inside out.
She wants to help and assist un-
derprivileged children and pro-
vide them opportunities to show-
case their talents. Also, she is
working to spread awareness
about modelling as a career field
by encouraging young girls of
the state.
Aruna is preparing herself to
represent India on an interna-
tional platform and bring the
crown home. Apart from
this, she wants to be-
come a successful
actress in near fu-
ture. On asking
about what ad-
vice she wants
to give to the
youth, she said,
‘Be proud of
your work but
never be satis-
fied enough,
always thrive
for more and
work towards a
well-defined
edition of
yourself’.
MANSI BACHANI
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Self-motivated and talented girl Aruna Beniwal, who
recently represented Rajasthan in Femina Miss
India shared her experiences and journey full of
dedication in an exclusive interview with City First!
F

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
DRISHTI RAWAT, Model
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
A family elder will
be full of praise
for the help you
are rendering. A
well-planned trip
promises a great
time in future
. Day seems
favourable for
builders and property dealers. Academic
pursuits will be fruitful. Taking up a
regular fitness routine will help you get
into shape.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You may enjoy
yourself at work
more than usual
today, because
of the changed
environment.
Those wanting
to rent out their
premises are
likely to find
an ideal party. Getting unwell due to
changing weather cannot be ruled out for
some.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
An out of town
official trip
may give some
respite to those
wanting a change
from their dull
routine .A new
plot, house or
apartment can
be acquired by
some. You are likely to find yourself
in high spirits and raring to undertake
anything and everything today!
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You may find
it difficult to
convince a family
member regard-
ing something
you want to
achieve. Some of
you may feel the
home environ-
ment serene and
restful. There is a fair chance of some
property getting allotted to you. Good
opportunities are likely to appear.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Start saving for
renovating an old
house. Joining
coaching classes
for improv-
ing academic
performance is
foreseen. Positive
steps may be
required to be
taken to restore perfect health. It will be
in your interest to speed up a financial
transaction.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Chance of moving
to a new location
on transfer is
likely for some. A
property matter
is likely to be
resolved amicably.
Clarity of mind and
retentive power
will help you forge
ahead on the academic front. Some of you
can safely say goodbye to depression, as
positivity enters your life once again.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
A property matter
you had been
worried about
will be amicably
settled. Getting
quality time at
home will help
in focussing on
activities that
appeal to you.
A balanced diet will be the first step in
achieving good health, so stick to it. Help
people out as much as you can.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Family and
finances can get
you thinking and
contemplating.
Efforts may be
required to get
something done
at home. Maintain
confidentiality
regarding a prop-
erty deal being negotiated by you. Your
performance may leave you feeling good
today on professional or academic front.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Your efforts at
work will be richly
rewarded by
getting noticed by
those who matter.
A new idea on
the home front
looks promising
but needs to be
given shape.
You will get the opportunity to acquire
new property at a good price. Health may
become a concern.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Those new on
the job will have
to strive hard
to show their
worth. A family
youngster may
look up to you
for help and
guidance. You gel
well with a new
acquaintance. Opportunities to further
your career will come only if you make
efforts. Self-discipline may help you.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Choose your
mode of convey-
ance carefully for
a safe journey.
A friendly bet
with a friend or
a colleague may
turn into a fight,
so be careful.
Will power, will
be your key to remain in shape. You will
need to choose the investment schemes
wisely to ensure profitable returns.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Those selling
property may
find the market
hot but may
not find many
takers. Things
are likely to move
favourably on
the professional
front. Health
may become a concern. You will need
to muster all your persuasive powers to
swing a deal in your favour.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
very human being is
a product of his
time and time is al-
ways in perpetual
motion. Literature
documents this man
and his times - the ‘
man’ representing men,
women and transgenders.
This means literature is a
gateway to the past, a projec-
tion of the present and im-
agination of the future. It
tells you stories of people
who walked on the earth dur-
ing a particular period, the
habitats they built, the hous-
es they destroyed, the wars
they fought, the peace that
was achieved, the crimes
they committed, the compas-
sion some of them shown,
the social norms that were
forced, rebellions and reun-
ions are all documented in
the words of literature and
here again, not as a stale
document of some archives
but in the form of vibrant
stories of so many charac-
ters. Collective memories in
form of fiction finally be-
come the history of societies
as narratives define a whole
civilization at a given period.
Words have plenty of psy-
chological energy that is ca-
pable of changing society
and challenging the mighty.
This is one reason why dicta-
tors and authoritarian rulers
hit at them first. History is
full of wrongful torture, jail
and discredits to authors and
intellectuals though they
constitute an almost negligi-
ble minority in overall num-
bers of any nation but are
the first target of the power
to be. So many of them faced
guillotine in past and are be-
ing shot dead during the pre-
sent. Why are powerful peo-
ple of the world afraid of
frail-looking and almost re-
clusive thinkers? Authors
and writers don’t seek power
but just dare to pen down
what they could see what oth-
ers are unable to do. The
thinking people try to dis-
mantle the talisman power-
seekers weave and hence are
at risk of being silenced ei-
ther by persuasion or coer-
cion. All this means that lit-
erature is a powerful tool
that can change the human
mind which then starts
thinking logically
.
A genuine work of litera-
ture mirrors societies dares
to speak about their weak-
nesses, highlights their
strengths and exposes their
hypocrisy and doublespeak.
Even a cursory look reveals
the fact that a closed society
rarely produces great au-
thors. Saudi Arabia, China,
North Korea have hardly one
or two globally recognized
authors. All these nations are
doing well economically but
the monotony of human ex-
change would take its toll in
not so distant a future if rad-
ical reforms are not under-
taken in the field of litera-
ture and arts. Every hum-
drum situation ultimately
implodes on people and na-
tions. Modern media like TV
,
YouTube etc provide infor-
mation but cannot replace
fiction. The work of fiction
takes you to kings and
queens, saints and prosti-
tutes, tycoons and beggars,
slaves and masters and so
many other subjects. It, thus,
exposes you to their lives and
times which otherwise you
would have remained oblivi-
ous of. Over some time when
you remain a conscious read-
er, the work of literature
starts changing you by in-
creasing the level of depth of
your thinking. You become
less emotional and more logi-
cal, start analyzing a situa-
tion rather than get swayed
by it. The bias and prejudice
becomereplacedbyopenness
to accept any situation and a
questtofindasolutionrather
than giving up if the solution
is adverse or painful.
The books commonly sold
on railway stations and air-
ports are mostly entertain-
ers, not the real literary ma-
terial. They are a plot well
written but a work of true
fiction is an expression of a
deeper thought process. The
author delves into times,
characters and situations
and brings forth a story that
covers a large number of
things like geography, cus-
toms, rituals, lifestyle, habits
and so many more. There are
occasionswhenareaderfeels
like being there with the sto-
ryteller transcending time.
These situations are enlight-
ening as well as pleasurable
and are great food for the
thought process. The charac-
ters of the books which one
have read in life may come to
rescue many times in life. A
regular habit of reading wid-
ens horizon and depth of
thinking - a very useful tool
in modern times of urban
and restricted living.
Poems and songs have trig-
gered the fall of regimes and
social revolutions but to un-
derstand the soul of a poem
you need a poetic heart. Dra-
ma, too, is a less recognized
fieldof literaturethathasleft
its footprints on the timeline
of human history
. Theatre,
though overshadowed by cin-
ema, still survives and might
make a comeback. Litera-
ture, thus, gives us so many
options to choose but one has
to develop an aptitude to
change which can only be
done by becoming a genuine
reader, free from prejudice
and show off. As far as intel-
lectual benefits are con-
cerned, it is the reader who is
placed in a more favourable
situation. A successful au-
thor writes for livelihood, he
uses his creativity to compile
a great story
, full of ideas but
it is the reader who awakes
from an intellectual slumber,
an act that could be life-
changing. Stories are the
most potent influencers. If
we take note of one thing
which is so common to come
to our notice is that all the
religions initially grew on a
story, the philosophy came
much later and there is no
needtocommentontheinflu-
ence of religious books on
human societies. Remove the
story and the religion might
be in deep trouble. Litera-
ture, hence, should be given
its due place in life if you
wish to attain complete
health which includes physi-
cal, mental, social and intel-
lectual or spiritual aspects.
Buy a book, read it and see
yourself changing every day
.
E
DR RAMAWTAR
SHARMA
ramawatarf132@gmail.com
LIFESTYLE: WHY WE
NEED LITERATURE

K
angana Ranaut, who courts contro-
versy with her tweets continuously
has done it again, but this time on
Instagram after her
twitter a/c was suspended.
Yami Gautam whose big
news of marriage with di-
rector Aditya Dhar recently
broke the internet has at-
tracted attention from all over
the nation, but, what the comment
section has to display is yet an-
other story. One of her co-
stars, Vikrant Massey joking-
ly commented, ‘Pure Pious
like Radhe Maa!’ Kangana
couldn’t resist her effort of not
taking the jab against another
actor as she commented, “kahan se
nikla ye cockroach..lao meri chappal. (From
where did this cockroach come, someone get
my slipper). —City First
A
ctress Shilpa Shetty Kun-
dra took to social media
to express her observa-
tions about environment
on the occasion of World Envi-
ronment Day on Saturday. Tak-
ing to Instagram, Shilpa said
that human beings staying in-
doors over the past one year
has helped the ecosystem
regain some balance. The
actress also re-
minded once
things get re-
stored to the
‘old normal’
as it was before
the pandemic, we
must not forget to
treat nature with
respect.
—Agency
ETC
11
A
s the legendary actor of Indian Cinema,
Dilip Kumar, is currently in the hospital,
his fans have been relying on his Twitter
handle for health updates. Amid this, ru-
mours about his condition also have been circulat-
ing on social media and now, his family friend has
made a special appeal to the media to verify the
information about his condition from the senior
actor’s Twitter handle. Faisal Farooqui took to
Dilip Kumar’s official handle and lauded the media
for the job in reporting. —Agency
n June 4th, we
were blessed
with the arrival
of our daughter,
Lili,” proud par-
ents Harry and
Meghan shared
in a statement, as per
Archewell’s [Harry and
Meghan’s non-profit or-
ganisation) official web-
site, announcing the birth
of their second child,
daughter Lilibet Diana
Mountbatten-Windsor.
While things between The
Duke and Duchess of Sussex
and the royal family have
been tense over the years, since
stepping back from their senior
royal roles, they were set aside for
the arrival of the littlest addi-
tion. The first thing that Harry
and Meghan did after welcom-
ing baby Lili was phone Queen
Elizabeth as well as the rest of
the family to inform them
about the good news. Calls
went to Harry’s father Prince
Charles as well as brother
Prince William —Agency
I
f you’re looking for your
dose of ‘sunshine music’
this week, Calvin Harris
has you covered with By
your side. The Summer sing-
er spoke of his fondness for
British vocalist Tom Gren-
nan, whose voice, he had said,
instantly appealed to him,
and with whom he collabo-
rates in this offering that’s
both sophisticated and
groovy at once. Simple but
comforting, the lyrics
promise of better times
ahead, a hope the world
is currently clinging on
to. With all the trin-
kets that make it ra-
dio-ready, he is set to
provide another
party anthem.
—Agency
A
ctor Clarence Wil-
liams III, widely
known for the crime
drama series ‘The
Mod Squad’ and comedy film
‘Half Baked’, has passed away
at the age of 81 due to colon
cancer. The veteran actor’s
management team confirmed
the news of his demise on
Sunday, saying Williams had
actually passed away on Fri-
day in Los Angeles due to co-
lon cancer. Williams’ career
hadspannedoverfivedecades.
He had a long history with his
craft. The late star started his
acting career in the 60s as a
theatre actor and broke
through on Broadway with a
Tony award for his work in the
movie ‘Slow Dance on the Kill-
ing Ground.’ —Agency
A
mid the ongoing COV-
ID 19 pandemic, Yeh
Jawaani Hai Dee-
wani fame Evelyn
Sharma has went ahead to tie
the knot with fiance Tushaan
Bhindi in Australia on May
15. On Monday, sharing the
first photo from the intimate
wedding, Evelyn informed
fans. Actor Evelyn Sharma,
who is known for her perfor-
mance in the film Yeh
Jawaani Hai Deewani, has
gone ahead to marry her fi-
ance, Dr Tushaan Bhindi, in
a private ceremony in Bris-
bane, Australia.
—Agency
L
ate Sushant Singh Rajput,
the charming actor who
was both a philosopher and
artist, tops the list of ‘The
Times 50 Most Desirable Men
2020’. On the coveted list are men
under 40 across various fields
who have created an impact and
won our hearts. This ranking is
based on votes cast in an online
poll, along with inputs from an
internal jury. Though he is no
longer amidst us, he has become
a larger-than-life persona and
will continue to live in our memo-
ries for a long time. An actor par
excellence, SSR continues to
reign our hearts through his var-
ied performances. —Agency
O
n June 4, Angelina Jolie turned 46
years of age and celebrated it with
her six favourite people, i.e. her and
Brad Pitt’s children - Maddox, 19,
Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and twins
Vivienne and Knox, 12. Given the tight-knit
bond between Angie and her wonderful kids,
the Eternals star was treated like a queen by
her family on her special day. “They had a
great day celebrating at home, and the kids
surprised her with a special dinner out,” a
source shared with People about Angelina’s
exciting celebration. —Agency
SPECIAL DINNER
Verify Health Updates
Blessed
Blessed
with a
with a
GIRL
GIRL
‘O
LOVEFOR
LOVEFOR
MotherNature
MotherNature
By Your Side Sad Demise
Evelyn weds
Tushaan
Still ruling
hearts
A
ctress Mrunal
Thakur, who
has the films
‘Toofan’, ‘Jer-
sey’ and ‘Aankh
Micholi’ lined up, said
that she has always
taken projects which
will help her survive long-
er in the industry
. The ac-
tress says that she has al-
ways focused on giving her
best performance in every
role. “I am glad that cinema
is reaching a wider audi-
ence. But I never choose my
films thinking that I will be
a star. I want to survive
longer here. One thing
that lasts longer is talent
and performances,” she
told. —Agency
Not to become a
Not to become a
‘STAR’
‘STAR’
Angelina Jolie with her children (from left)
Knox-Leon, Vivienne Marcheline, Pax Thien,
Shiloh, Zahara Marley and Maddox Chivan
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Shilpa Shetty Kundra
Calvin Harris
Evelyn Sharma and Tushaan Bhindi
Late Clarence Williams III
Late Sushant Singh Rajput
Mrunal Thakur
...Yami Gautam’s post
Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar
Kangana has
done it again
Kangana Ranaut

162309540808062021 first india ahmedabad

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