21082021 first india ahmedabad

KHEDA SOG BUSTS CHILD TRAFFICKING RACKET
First India Bureau
Nadiad: Kheda police
have busted a child
trafficking racket and
arrested four women in
this connection, in-
cluding the mother of
an infant who was to
have been sold for Rs6
lakh. The Kheda Anti
Human Trafficking
Unit (AHTU) is now in-
vestigating the extent
of the racket and is
looking into whether
this gang has sold other
infants.
Inspector VK Khant
told First India that the
SpecialOperationGroup
(SOG)women’steamhad
received specific infor-
mation that a gang of
women were exploiting
poor pregnant women
from other states, by of-
fering them good prices
for their babies. The in-
fants were being deliv-
ered in Nadiad and then
sold, he added.
To nab the gang, Sub-
Inspector RD Chaudha-
ri pretended to be a cus-
tomer and, with the
help of two other wom-
en, contacted one Maya-
ben Dable, who then ar-
ranged a meeting with
Monika Shah and Push-
pa Pateliya. When the
PSI told them she want-
ed a baby, the women
demanded Rs6 lakh as
payment. As soon as the
dummy customer
agreed, the women
brought the infant baby
to the meeting place in
a matter of minutes.
PSI Chaudhari then
alerted her team who
rushed in and arrested
the three women. Dur-
ing questioning, they
disclosed that the in-
fant’s mother had
checked into a hotel.
The cops raided the ho-
tel and arrested Radhi-
ka Gedam. During pri-
mary questioning, Nag-
pur-native Radhika told
the police that she had
desperately needed
money and hence
agreed to sell her baby
for Rs1.5 lakh. She came
into contact with Moni-
ka and Pushpa through
Mayaben, who was an
acquaintance.
SOG have booked all
four women under vari-
ous Sections of the In-
dian Penal Code dealing
with selling any person
as a slave, conspiracy
and abetting.
Kheda in-charge Superintendent of Police Arpita Patel with the
four accused behind her.
DESPERATE MEASURES
Rescues infant
who was to be
sold for `6L
AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 265
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD LUCKNOW
Kadahar: The Taliban
entered at least two of
India’s consulates in Af-
ghanistan on Wednes-
day, searched for docu-
ments and took away
parked cars, govern-
ment sources said today
,
expressing worry that it
meant the group is act-
ing against the assur-
ances its leaders have
been giving to the world.
Members of the Tali-
ban “ransacked” the
Indian consulates in
Kandahar and Herat,
which are closed, ac-
cording to the sources.
They “searched clos-
ets” in Kandahar for
papers and took away
vehicles parked at both
the consulates.
“We expected this.
They ransacked the
place searched docu-
ments and also took
away our parked vehi-
cles from both embas-
sies,” a senior officer
said. Days before the
raid, the Taliban had
reached out to Delhi,
saying that did not want
India to evacuate diplo-
mats from its Kabul em-
bassy. Sources say the
government had re-
ceived messages from
the group’s Qatar office
assuring them of the
safety of Indian staff
and security personnel.
The messages - sent
from the office of Ab-
bas Stanikzai, the chief
of the Taliban’s politi-
cal unit - were routed
via contacts in Kabul
and Delhi.
New Delhi: Amid rise
of the Taliban in Af-
ghanistan, Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Friday emphasised
that while “destructive
and terror forces” may
be dominant for some
time, their existence is
not permanent.
In a virtual address,
he cited the example of
the historic Somnath
temple, which despite
being torn down sever-
al times over centuries,
has managed to stand
the test of time.
“Somnath temple
has been broken sever-
al times over centuries
and attempts have been
made to destroy the
sculptures as well,” PM
Modi said.
“However, it won the
test of time and these
attempts; standing
back up again and
again,” he added.
The Prime Minister
was laying the founda-
tion stone for several
upcoming projects in
Somnath, including —
Somnath Promenade,
Somnath Exhibition
Centre, Parvati Temple
and reconstructed tem-
ple precinct of Old
(Juna) Somnath.
“Forces that strive
for destruction and
those who follow the
ideology of creating
empires out of terror
can dominate for some
time, but their exist-
ence is never perma-
nent as they cannot sup-
press humanity forev-
er,” he added.
During the event, PM
Modi stressed on the
importance of religious
tourism in the country
.
WILLWORLDRECOGNISETALIBAN?
A woman holds a photograph during a protest to raise awareness regarding the situation in Afghanistan outside EU headquarters
in Brussels. The European Union has no immediate plans to recognize the Taliban after their sweeping victory in Afghanistan but
will talk with the militants to ensure that European nationals and Afghans who have worked with the EU can leave safely.
Taliban ransack
2 Indian missions,
take away cars
PM: Terror dominates
for some time, but
existence temporary
The incident happened at the Indian
consulates in Kandahar and Herat,
which are closed, according to sources
PM Narendra Modi’s remarks
came days after the Taliban
managed to swiftly seize
control of Afghanistan.
Assistant Commandant Sudhakar Shinde and ASI Gurmukh
Afghan migrants including a
little girl sit in countryside in
Bitlis Province in Turkey as
they wait for refuge.
AFGHANS AT RISK
HAVE NO CLEAR WAY
OUT, SAYS UNHCR
New Delhi: Most Afghans
are unable to leave their
homeland and those who
may be in danger “have no
clear way out”, the United
Nations refugee agency
said on Friday. “The vast
majority of Afghans are
not able to leave country,
said UN refugee agency.
TALIBAN CHIEF MAY
BE IN PAK ARMY
CUSTODY: SOURCES
New Delhi: A senior Indian
government official has
indicated that Taliban
supreme leader Haibatul-
lah Akhundzada may be in
the custody of the Pakistan
Army, and that he has not
been seen by the Taliban’s
senior leaders and fighters
in the past six months.
TALIBAN WAITING TO
FORM GOVT UNTIL
AUG 31 AS US EXITS
Kabul: An Afghan official
familiar with talks with the
Taliban anonymously said
that the group does not
plan to make any decisions
or announcements about
the upcoming government
until after the August 31
when the United States
withdrawal date passes.
‘OVER 18,000 PEOPLE
EVACUATED SINCE
TALIBAN TAKEOVER’
Kabul: Over 18,000 people
have been flown out of
Kabul since
Taliban took
over, a NATO
official said
on Friday. Thousands of
people, desperate to flee
the country, continued to
throng the airport.
AMARINDER, SIDHU FORM 10-MEMBER
STRATEGIC POLICY GROUP FOR BETTER
PARTY-GOVT COORDINATION IN PUNJAB
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief
Minister Amarinder Singh
and his detractor Navjot
Singh Sidhu, the new State
Congress president, on
August 20 agreed to set
up a 10-member ‘Strategic
Policy Group’ to further
expedite the implementa-
tion of various government
programmes in the State.
The move comes even as
recent appointments by Mr.
Sidhu strongly indicate his
unrelenting slant against
the Chief Minister. To be
headed by the Chief Min-
ister, the group will have
Local Government Minister
Brahm Mohindra, Finance
Minister Manpreet Singh
Badal and Social Security
Minister Aruna Chaud-
hary as members, along
with Mr. Sidhu, the four
party working presidents
— Kuljit Singh Nagra,
Sukhwinder Singh Danny,
Sangat Singh Gilzian and
Pawan Goel — besides
Pargat Singh.
New Delhi: Congress
interim chief Sonia
Gandhi Friday chaired
a virtual meeting of the
leaders of Opposition
parties amid efforts to
evolve a common strat-
egy against the ruling
BJP-led NDA govern-
ment ahead of several
key state elections and
2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Stating that the ulti-
mate goal is the 2024
Lok Sabha elections,
the Congress president
underlined that opposi-
tion parties “have to
begin planning system-
atically with the objec-
tive of giving to our
country a government
that believes in the val-
ues of the Freedom
Movement and in the
principles and provi-
sions of our Constitu-
tion”.
Apart from the Con-
gress party, representa-
tives of 18 Opposition
parties attended the
meeting.
The meeting witnessed the participation of
chief ministers of four states— Mamata Ba-
nerjee (West Bengal), MK Stalin (Tamil
Nadu), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra),
and Hemant Soren (Jharkhand).
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
GUJARAT
INDIA
36,571
new cases
540
new fatalities
17
new cases
00
new fatalities
FB removes
Rahul’s post
with family of
Dalit victim
Two ITBP personnel
die in Maoist attack
‘Injustice to have
SC only in Delhi’
New Delhi: Facebook
on Friday took down a
post shared by Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi, which had pic-
tures of him with the
family of a nine-year-
old Dalit girl who was
allegedly raped, killed,
and forcibly cremated
at a crematorium in
New Delhi.
Facebook said the
post, shared on Insta-
gram, a platform it
owns, was in violation
of its policies.
The company in-
formed Gandhi that his
post had been taken
down, along with the
reasons for the same.
The action comes days
after Facebook wrote to
Gandhi, asking him to
take down the post.
Raipur: An assistant
commandant of Indo-
Tibetan Border Patrol
(ITBP) and his col-
league were killed in a
Maoist attack in Chhat-
tisgarh’s Narayanpur
district on Friday, news
agency PTI reported
quoting a senior police
official.
The deceased person-
nel have been identified
as Assistant Comman-
dant Sudhakar Shinde
and Assistant Sub
Inspector (ASI) Gur-
mukh.
The attack took place
near Kademeta camp of
the ITBP’s 45th battal-
ion. As per preliminary
reports, an ITBP squad,
which was out on an
area domination opera-
tion, was fired upon by
a small action team of
the Maoists, when it
was approximately 600
metres away from the
camp. Following the
ambush, the Maoists
fled the spot after loot-
ing one AK-47 rifle.
Chennai: Madras High
Court judge Justice N
Kirubakaran Thursday
said the presence of the
Supreme Court only in
New Delhi was an injus-
tice to those who didn’t
live in and around the
national capital, and
urged the apex court to
reconsider setting up
regional benches across
the country
.
Justice Kirubakaran,
one of the senior-most
judges of the Madras
High Court, retires
from service on Friday.
His remarks were made
in a speech he delivered
on Thursday at a fare-
well event held for him.
“Keeping the Su-
preme Court in New
Delhi alone is injustice
done to most of the peo-
ple. It is said the Su-
preme Court on the ad-
ministrative side reject-
ed the setting up of re-
gional benches. I hope
the Supreme Court
would reconsider the
decision and permit the
setting up of regional
Benches,” Justice Kiru-
bakaran said.
Mumbai: Sensex slumped 300 points
on Friday ending 300.17 points or
0.54 per cent lower at 55,329.32,
while the broader NSE Nifty declined
118.35 points to 16,450.50.
New Delhi: The CBI has written to the West Bengal Director General of
Police to provide details of all cases of murder, attempt to murder and rape
reported during post-poll violence in the state, officials said on Friday. The
CBI has set up four teams, each headed by joint directors Ramnish, Anu-
rag, Vineet Vinayak and Sampat Meena, to probe the political violence.
New Delhi: Zydus Cadila’s Covid
vaccine ZyCoV-D on Friday received
emergency use authorisation from
DCGI and it will be administered to
people 12 years and above.
SENSEX
DOWN 300
PTS; NIFTY
AT 16,450
CBI SEEKS DETAILS OF
MURDER,RAPE CASES
REPORTED DURING POST-POLL
VIOLENCE FROM WB DGP
THREE-DOSE
VACCINE FOR
12+ YEARS
GETS NOD
...said Justice Kirubakaran, one of the
senior-most judges of the Madras
High Court, in his farewell speech
Timetoriseabovecompulsions:
Oppn talks unity at Sonia meet
At 19-party meet, Congress Interim President calls on
Opposition leaders to plan systematically for 2024 polls
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2021
02
First India Bureau
New Delhi/Somnath:
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi on Fri-
day inaugurated and
laid the foundation
stone of multiple
projects in the tem-
ple town of Somnath
through video con-
ferencing.
The projects inaugu-
rated include the Som-
nath Promenade, Som-
nath Exhibition Cen-
tre, and the recon-
structed temple pre-
cinct of Old (Juna)
Somnath. The Prime
Minister also laid the
foundation stone of
Shree Parvati Temple
during the event.
The temple is pro-
posed to be construct-
ed with a total outlay
of Rs30 crore. This
will include temple
construction in Som-
pura Salats Style, de-
velopment of Garbha
Griha and Nritya
Mandap.
Chief Minister Vi-
jay Rupani, who was
present at the event in
Somnath, stated:
“Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi has given
a new vision to the de-
velopment of Somnath
in last 10 years.”
Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah and Un-
ion Minister of State
(MoS) for Tourism
Shripad Naik also par-
ticipated in the via
video conferencing.
“The developments
will attract tourists to
the temple,” Shah said.
The Somnath
Promenade has been
developed under the
PRASHAD (Pilgrim-
age Rejuvenation
and Spiritual, Herit-
age Augmentation
Drive) Scheme at a
cost exceeding Rs47
crore, release from
the PMO release
said.
The Somnath Exhi-
bition Centre, devel-
oped in the premises
of ‘Tourist Facilita-
tion Centre’, displays
the exhibits from dis-
mantled parts of the
old Somnath temple
and its sculptures hav-
ing Nagar style temple
architecture of old
Somnath.
The reconstructed
temple precinct of
Old (Juna) Somnath
has been completed
by Shree Somnath
Trust at a cost of
Rs3.5 crore. This
temple is also re-
ferred to as Ahilya-
bai Temple since it
was built by Queen
Ahilyabai of Indore
when she found that
the old temple was in
ruins. The entire old
temple complex has
been holistically re-
developed for the
safety of pilgrims
and with augmented
capacity.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
COVID-19 pandemic
has spurred an in-
crease in healthy
eating to boost re-
covery and build im-
munity, but this
change could end up
costing common folk
quite a packet. The
prices of pulses and
lentils—among the
cheapest sources of
protein—have risen
by over 15% since
last year.
Prices of all the
pulses have risen by
Rs10 to Rs20 per kgon
average. Pigeon pea or
tuvar, the most com-
monly consumed vari-
ety of legumes now
costs Rs110 per kg in
the main grocery mar-
ket, up from Rs90 per
kg last year. This is de-
spite government
measures to bring
down prices by Rs10
per kg over the past
month. The prices of
all other pulses, in-
cluding black gram
(urad), red lentils
(masoor) and green
gram (moong) have all
registered increases
between 4% and 14%
over the last year.
With the festive
season around the
corner, observers
say this increase
could put a serious
dent in the budgets
of families.
Pulses Current rate Old rate
Chana 70 60
Chawli 90 80
Kabuli chana 110 95
Math 100 90
Chola 100 85
Moong 90 80
Vaal 110 80
Rajma 110 90
Tuvar 110 90
Moongdal 95 80
CM Vijay Rupani and his wife Anjaliben Rupani performed a puja at the Somnath Temple on
Friday. Tourism minister Jawahar Chavda (on the CM's left) was also present.
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: Former
Congress MLA and
now BJP leader Al-
pesh Thakor on Friday
compared the Karjan
gang rape with that of
the Nirbhaya rape
case, and took a swipe
at local political lead-
ers, including the in-
cumbent Karjan MLA-
-the BJP’s Akshay Pa-
tel--for not meeting the
victim’s family
.
Meanwhile, Karjan
MLA Patel said that he
is been in constant
touch with the victim’s
family despite being
away on a walking pil-
grimage to Ambaji.
Thakor met the wom-
an’s family during a
visit to Dethan village
and offered his condo-
lences.
“This Nirbhaya of
Gujarat wants justice. I
strongly condemn this
incident and urge the
government to take up
the matter in a fast-
track court. All the cul-
prits, in this case,
should hang till death,”
he said, adding that it
was a shame that not a
single political leader
had visited the victim’s
family yet.
However, political ob-
servers have called the
trip--and his comments-
-a desperate effort to
stay relevant.
Analyst Hari Desai
called Thakor’s state-
ments an attempt to
prove he “still exists”.
“Thakor lost the last
election despite claim-
ing to be at the right
hand of Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani. It might
seem that he is trying to
do something for his
community, but it is
much likelier to be an
effort to remind the
party high command
that he still exists, with
an eye on the December
2022 elections,” Desai
remarked.
On the other hand,
senior political journal-
ist Dilip Patel feels that
Thakor’s Dethan trip
was decided by the BJP.
“The BJP has been
open in playing caste
politics since 2017. So,
this--sending Thakor,
who belongs to the same
community as the vic-
tim--could be a way for
the BJP to send a mes-
sage of solidarity with
the woman’s family,” he
said.
“If Thakor was truly
worried about the com-
munity, he would have
demanded that the state
stop illegal liquor dens.
After all, he had given
the government a list of
5,000 such operations
across the state back in
2016,” he added.
PM inaugurates, lays foundation for multiple projects in Somnath
PM has given a new vision to
the development of Somnath in
last 10 years: CM Vijay Rupani
CRUCIAL READ
VALSAD DDO INTERACTS
WITH SARPANCHES
Valsad: District Development Officer Manish Gur-
wani on Friday
interacted with
the sarpanch-
es of villages
in Kaprada
taluka, where
he instructed
them to create
awareness
about the
government’s
COVID-19 vaccination drive. He also visited the
local community health centre and inspected the
facilities. Earlier, he had planted saplings in Moti
Korvad village of Dharampur taluka, using the
Miyawaki technique.
KUTCH COLLECTOR INSPECTS
KHAVDA POLICE STATION
Kutch: Collector DK Praveena visited the Khavda
police station and inspected the station diary
and other records. She also visited the Khavda
community health centre and checked facilities
and doctors’ presence. In a meeting at the district
headquarters in Bhuj, she also reviewed the ef-
ficiency and functionality of water committees.
BANAS DAIRY’S EFFORTS
FOR AFFORESTATION
Palanpur: Banas Dairy Chairman Shankar
Chaudhary and the forest department have joined
hands to increase afforestation in the Jasor hills
to ensure adequate food for wild animals. To this
end, Chaudhary, along with hundreds of villagers,
came together to sow seed balls.
MOS HOME UNVEILS STATUE
OF MAHARANA PRATAP
Jamnagar:
Having
completed 11
years in of-
fice, Minister
of State for
Home Prad-
ipsinh Jadeja
unveiled a
statue of
Maharana Pratap at Khambhaliya during a tour of
Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar.
BHAVNAGAR GETS NEW
AIR CONNECTIONS
Bhavnagar: Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotirad-
itya Scindia and
Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani on
Friday virtually
flagged off
Spicejet’s new
flights connect-
ing Bhavnagar
with Delhi, Surat
and Mumbai. Earlier, Bhavnagar was only con-
nected to Mumbai with flights that flew only twice
or thrice a week. Bhavnagar MP Bharatiben Shiyal
and Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasa-
ma were present at the event in the Bhavnagar.
CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION
The hospital staff at Vadodara's SSG hospital celebrated by playing garba and distributing
sweets after going 24 hours without admitting a single new COVID-19 patient. During the
pandemic's deadly second wave earlier this year, hospitals in the city and across the country
were overcrowded, with the state facing a shortfall of hospital beds, medical oxygen, and
other critical equipment.
Soaring price of pulses
hits consumers hard
One of the
cheapest sources
of protein,
legumes have
seen an uptick in
consumption in
pandemic
WHY IS ALPESH THAKOR MEETING
THE DETHAN VICTIM’S FAMILY?
CONCERN FOR THE COMMUNITY, OR A POLITICAL PLOY, OBSERVERS ASK
Case update
Six men, staying in
a colony of labour-
ers, were arrested
on Wednesday for
allegedly raping
and murder-
ing a woman
(37) in a Dethan
farm when she
had gone to cut
grass for fodder.
On Friday, they were
produced before
First Class Judicial
Magistrate Court,
where police de-
manded seven days
remand. However,
the court has granted
five days police
remand, meaning
the accused will now
appear in court next
Wednesday.
BJP leader Alpesh Thakor
PULSE RATE
(Rs per kg)

GUJARAT
03
GUJARAT
03
CRUCIAL READ
TWO ARRESTED FOR
STEALING FROM GODOWN
Vadodara: City police have arrested two people,
one of whom is
a former
employee, for
allegedly
stealing Rs4.94
lakh in cash
from a Jio Mart
godown on the
city’s Koyli-
Refinery Road.
According to
police, the employee would occasionally go to the
office to get information and then carried out the
theft with the help of his associates. The accused
broke the godown’s lock and stole Rs4.94 lakh
cash from the locker. The police began an
investigation based on the complaint and
obtained CCTV footage from around the godown.
The accused was identified as Jaideep Solanki, a
former employee of the company. Harshad
Padhiyar, one of his associates, assisted him.
SALESMAN DUPES
JEWELLER OF `2.76 CR
Surat: A wholesale jeweller has accused his
employee of duping him of gold worth Rs2.76
crore in one year. The local crime branch has
launched an investigation. According to the
complaint filed by Haresh Jhalavadiya, who owns
Lakshmi Narayan Jewellers in the city’s
Mahidharpura area, Jhalavadiya hired his long-
time friend Mukesh Modi as a salesman while
expanding his business last year. Modi is accused
of stealing 6,471.506 grams of 18-carat gold
worth Rs2,69,08,522, and 148.410 grams of
24-carat gold worth Rs7,34,630. Modi allegedly
took pieces saying he would deliver them to
traders, but sold them on the side and kept the
money. He is now absconding. Jhalavadiya said
he did not realize the scam sooner since Modi
had told him the traders had promised to pay for
the pieces after the pandemic.
MARITIME SEARCH AND
RESCUE WORKSHOP HELD
Okha: The Indian Coast Guard conducted a
Maritime Search
and Rescue
Workshop on
Thursday in
Okha on various
initiatives
towards
comprehensive
preparedness,
capacity
building, greater
cohesiveness and collaboration among various
stakeholders. ND Bhetariya, Sub Divisional
Magistrate, Devbhumi Dwarka, was the Guest of
Honour for the event. Officials from Indian Navy,
state administration, representatives of the
fishing community, Indian National Centre for
Information Services, Gujarat Maritime Board and
VTMS Okha also participated in the workshop.
The event was conducted with the aim to create
awareness on various safety measures and
assistance to distressed individuals at sea.
ABHAYAM VADODARA
RESCUES TROUBLED GIRL
Vadodara: The Abhayam team attached to the
Bapod police station came to the aid of a 28-year-
old woman who was being harassed by a youth
who had been calling and texting her incessantly.
They caught the youth and gave him a stern
warning. He then apologized in writing and
promised not to bother her any more. Police
sources said the two had been in a relationship,
and he had wanted to marry the girl. She had said
that she would marry him if her parents permitted
the match. However, her parents objected and she
broke off the relationship, but he continued to
hound her even after she became engaged to
someone else. He allegedly threatened her, saying
he would not let her marry anyone else. She told
the police that she had even quit her job due to
his harassment.
FAMILY DONATES DECEASED
TODDLER’S EYES IN SURAT
Surat: A couple from the city decided to donate
the eyes of their
three-year-old
son who died in
a car accident
on Thursday.
The couple
made the
donation as they
want his eyes to
live on in the
body of another
person. Sandeep Jain’s son Sevar was the
youngest of three children. An unidentified car
driver struck the boy while he was playing with
his friends near his home on Thursday. A police
team has also arrived on the scene and is
investigating the incident. Dr Tejash Chauhan, the
Civil Hospital’s medical officer, informed the
couple that their selfless act would benefit
another family in need. According to Dr Shakti
Ablia (medical officer), this is the first case in the
city where a three-year-old’s eyes have been
donated to a hospital. Typically, about 65% of eye
donations are made by senior citizens.
First India Bureau
Porbandar: A farmer
who took his own life
by consuming poison
on Thursday night left
behind suicide note in
which he has alleged
that he was mentally
tortured and threat-
ened by BJP leaders to
give up his land. As of
Friday evening, the po-
lice were yet to file a
complaint in the
death.
Virambhai Shida, the
brother of the deceased
Thebabhai,toldthelocal
media: “Vikram Ode-
dara, Pankaj Majithia
and Jeeva Odedara have
been pressuring my
brother to sell them our
ancestral land in Dhar-
ampur for the throwa-
way price of Rs10 lakh.”
He continued: “Two
days back, Vikrambhai
called my brother and
threatened to break the
arms and legs of the en-
tirefamilymemberif we
did not hand over the
land.”
He alleged that
Vikrambhai claimed
that he is politically well
connected and no one in
authority would take
heedof theircomplaints.
The family has re-
fused to accept Thebab-
hai’s body until a crimi-
nal complaint is lodged
against the three men.
Local sources say that
Vikram Odedara is for-
merpresidentof theBJP
Porbandar district com-
mittee and Pankaj Ma-
jithiaissittingpresident
of BJP city Committee.
Vikram Odedara and
Pankaj Majithia have re-
futed all allegations.
Meanwhile, another
farmer, Bhanubhai
Joriya (47), hanged
himself in Dhoraji
fearing crop failure.
Farmer kills himself after being
pressured to sell land for `10 L
Guj to take break from vax
drive for Raksha Bandhan
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Gujarat government
on Friday announced
that the ongoing COV-
ID-19 vaccination
drive will be suspend-
ed on August 22, on
account of the Rak-
sha Bandhan festival.
Inastatement,Deputy
Chief Minister Nitin Pa-
tel,whoisalsothestate’s
health minister, said the
decision to take a day’s
break on Sunday (Au-
gust22)wastakensothat
women health workers
involved in the inocula-
tion drive can celebrate
Raksha Bandhan with
their families.
Patel’sannouncement
comes on a day when the
state administered more
than 2.75 lakh COVID-19
dosesof thevaccine,tak-
ing the overall number
of dosesadministeredin
Gujarat to 4.22 crore.
Meanwhile, the state
reported 17 fresh cases
of COVID-19 in the 24
hoursended5pmonFri-
day
, taking the total case
load to 8,25,272 since
March last year. With no
freshfatalities,thedeath
tollremainedunchanged
at 10,078, an official said.
With 14 people getting
discharged, the recov-
ery count reached
8,15,008, which is 98.76
per cent of the tally,
leaving the state with
186 active cases, includ-
ing six patients on ven-
tilator support, he said.
The tally in Dadra Na-
gar Haveli and Daman
Diu remained un-
changed at 10,629, while
the recovery count in-
creased by one to touch
10,622,leavingtheUnion
Territory
, which has
seen four deaths so far,
with three active cases.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
High Court of Guja-
rat has directed the
Rajkot district Pan-
chayat to pay Rs5
lakh compensation to
the family of a teach-
er who died on duty
while travelling to
school on a holiday.
The division bench
comprising Justice
Vineet and Justice
Umesh Trivedi allowed
a partial petition of
Suresh Nayani has di-
rected the District col-
lector to disburse Rs2 in
the form of a cheque in
the name of the peti-
tioner, and put Rs3 lakh
in a fixed deposit with
the State Bank of India
in the name of the peti-
tioner and his two chil-
dren.
The court concluded,
granting ad hoc lump
sum compensation for
the benefit of petitioner
and his two children
would be lawful and
necessary to meet the
ends of justice and
would be in the fitness
of things.
Nayani’s wife Rekha-
ben, who had been
working as a “Vidhya
Sahayak” at a panchay-
at-run school, drowned
on her way to work on
August 09, 2007, after be-
ing called into school on
a public holiday for the
Viranjali Van Mahot-
sav. The only route from
her house to the school
was via a culvert, which
was overflowing due to
heavy rains on the day
of the incident. Rekha-
ben is believed to have
been swept away by the
rushing waters. Her
body was recovered two
days after her death.
The family had previ-
ously been denied com-
pensation on the
grounds that she was
yet to complete five
years of regular service
at the time of her death.
Dist panchayat to pay `5L in teacher’s death
LAWFUL NECESSARY
High Court of Gujarat. —FILE PHOTO
Thebabhai’s grieving relatives.
FACED WITH `1 CRORE DEBT,
MAN COMMITS SUICIDE
Vadodara: A clerk at
Gujarat Energy Devel-
opment Corporation
committed suicide after
allegedly being har-
assed by money lenders.
The victim’s wife has
demanded that those
responsible face harsh
punishment. Accord-
ing to the information
available, Sanjaybhai
Bhikhabhai Patanwadia
was a resident of Mal-
harpura village in Dab-
hoi taluka. He worked as
a clerk in the Panigate
office of the power
distribution company.
According to police,
despite paying Rs7 lakh
against a capital of Rs3
lakh, the lenders alleg-
edly pressed him for
the capital and interest.
Sanjay, who had a debt
of Rs1 crore, couldn’t
take the harassment any
longer and committed
suicide.
SAYING IT WITH FLOWERS
Members of Ahmedabad’s Malayalee community put the final touches to a ‘pookalam’, on
the auspicious day of Uthradam, observed the day before Onam, when King Mahabali is
believed to begin his four-day visit to see his people. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Thebabhai Shida left behind a suicide note alleging he was tortured and threatened by BJP leaders
High Court orders Rajkot civic
body to pay family of deceased,
who died while on duty
POCSOaccusedsays
he’llelopewithvictim
again,herdadkillshim
First India Bureau
Rajkot: City police
have arrested two
men for allegedly
murdering a man
accused under the
Protection of Chil-
dren from Sexual
Offences (POCSO)
Act. The deceased
had allegedly
taunted his victim’s
father saying he
would elope with
the minor again,
thus causing his
wrath.
Rajkot’s Deputy
Commissioner of Po-
lice Praveenkumar
Meena told the media
that a video clip in
circulation on social
media late Thursday
showed a person be-
ing attacked with a
sharp weapon in the
area under the Tho-
rala police station.
“A team rushed to
the location and be-
gan an investiga-
tion,” he said, adding
that CCTV footage
and technical sur-
veillance helped the
police identify the
deceased as Vijay
Mer, who had been
released on bail in
July.
Vijay had eloped
with a minor girl in
October last year and
the couple had gone
into hiding. They
were found by the po-
lice in Junagadh in
April, and Vijay was
arrested under POC-
SO and sent to jail.
In his police com-
plaint, Vijay’s broth-
er Ashwin said, “Vi-
jay had been sitting
with some friends
near the roll press
unit around 8.30 pm
on Thursday, when
two men on a two-
wheeler attacked him
with a knife and sick-
le and fled.” He iden-
tified one of the as-
sailants as Suresh,
the father of the mi-
nor girl.
DCP Meena said
that Suresh and his
associate were ar-
rested late night.
During primary
questioning, Suresh
told the police that,
ever since Vijay was
released on bail, he
had been threatening
to elope with his
daughter again. He
also taunted him,
saying that Suresh
was a coward and
could not do any-
thing to him. This an-
noyed Suresh so
much that he decided
to kill Vijay.
Suresh and his associate have been apprehended.

PERSPECTIVE
04
lVol2lIssueNo.265
l RNINO.GUJENG/2019/16208.
Printed and published by Anita
Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Ex-
press Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar
Printing Planet Survey No.148P,
Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. San-
and, Dist. Ahmedabad. Publishedat
D/3023rdFloorPlotNo.35Titanium
Square,SchemeNo.2,ThaltejTaluka,
Ghatlodiya,Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief:JagdeeshChandra.
Editor:AnitaHadaSangwanresponsible
forselectionofnewsunderthePRBAct
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
There isn’t enough
darkness in all the world
to snuff out the light of
one little candle.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Make In India’s milestone moment
- World’s first DNA based COVID-19
vaccine, ZyCoV-D gets Emergency Use
Authorization for 12 years and above.
Congratulations to Zydus Group esp.
all scientists involved in this success
under Mission COVID Suraksha.
Subramanian Swamy
@Swamy39
Doval and Jaishankar should carefully
follow the information given to Prof
Nalapat by a credible source that of
the six factions within the Taliban, two
of them are committed to Pakistan
military, one bought by China, the
remaining are free Pashtuns not with
China or Pakistan.
TOP TWEETS
TALIBAN BEGIN
TO SHOW THEIR
TRUE COLOURS
AS PEOPLE PANIC
ictures and informa-
tion from Kabul con-
firm that the Taliban
have not undergone
any change of heart
as they claimed on TV channels
and at the first press conference
addressed by their leaders. It
turns out that their talk of am-
nesty to government employees
and assurance of freedom to
women, especially journalists, is
farce. One woman TV presenter
was shown interviewing a Tali-
ban leader but another woman
was turned back from her media
office because she was a woman.
Her male colleague was allowed
to work. Whether in sports, gov-
ernment jobs, doctors and teach-
ers, women find their lives
turned upside down. The night-
mare of Taliban 1.0 is back to
haunt them. The apprehension
is palpable among the people of
Afghanistan.
What about Afghanistan’s
neighbours?Russia,Pakistanand
China are happy that they will be
able to fill the void created by the
Allied forces led by the US. India
is keeping watch on Taliban but
also Pakistan which “subverts”
resolve to fight terrorism”.
P
few days after the
Supreme Court’s
Collegium cleared
the names of
threewomenjudg-
es,oneof whomcouldbecome
the first woman Chief Justice
of India subject to the Central
government approving their
names,theApexCourtpassed
another order to end gender
inequality in the country
. In
an interim order on Wednes-
day
, Justices SK Kaul and Hri-
shikesh Roy allowed women
to sit for the National Defence
Academy (NDA) exams, pav-
ing their path for permanent
commissions through this
route. The NDA entrance ex-
ams are due on September 5.
InanorderpassedinFebru-
ary2020,JusticesDYChandra-
chud and Ajay Rastogi direct-
ed the government to ensure
that women Short Service
Commission(SSC)officersget
permanentcommissioninthe
Army
. The judges also wanted
women officers to be consid-
ered for command positions.
A “policy decision” allowed
women’s recruitment in the
Army through the IMA and
Officers’ Training Academy
but not through the NDA. The
court was upset that the Ar-
my’s mindset was “discrimi-
natory” while the Navy and
AirForceweremore“liberal”.
About147womenSSCoffic-
ers were allowed permanent
commission and were as-
signed roles in Army Medical
Corps, Intelligence, Army
Ordnance Corps, Army Avia-
tion,ArmyAirDefence,Judge
AdvocateGeneral(JAG),engi-
neering, education and ser-
vice corps. Women have been
aspiring for combat roles
which they have been denied
for various reasons.
The three service chiefs
visited the NDA on Friday to
take stock of infrastructure
needed for training and ad-
ministration. The NDA is
gearing up for the intake of
women cadets who will be
trained for future roles, pos-
sibly, as combat officers.
WILL ARMY OPEN COMBAT
ROLES FOR WOMEN
In an order passed in
February 2020, Justices
DY Chandrachud and Ajay
Rastogi directed the
government to ensure that
women Short Service
Commission (SSC)
officers get permanent
commission in
the Army
A
POSITIVEOUTLOOK
TO KEEP OUR INNER GEARS IN CONTROL…
Let’s ponder a little on the
steel industry, there is a
renowned name amongst the
world’s biggest industrialists,
Mr. Andrew Carnegie and he
has mentioned a very
interesting fact in his
biography. According to Mr.
Carnegie, the secret behind
his success was the ability to
see things with a fresh
outlook, in a different light,
differently from others
ob Selden, a renowned author,
once quoted a beautiful story
.
I was traveling by train
from Circular Quay to Cen-
tral (in Sydney) one morning
some years ago. Quietly sit-
ting there reading, I found
myself suddenly listening to
the train guard’s announce-
ment. Normally when the
guard makes an announce-
ment, rather than the record-
ed message, it’s often quite
dull or hard to understand.
But this one was different.
As I looked up from my pa-
per,Inoticedthatotherpassen-
gers (previously engrossed in
their smartphones or tablets)
were also looking up and ap-
pearedtobelistening.Notonly
that, everyone was smiling!
Why so much attention for
this message? The guard said
something along these lines,
‘Good Morning, Ladies, Gen-
tlemen and Children, it’s
7.35amfromPenrithtoCentral
and you’ll be pleased to know
that we are right on time. This
means that we’ll get you to
where you’re going in plenty
of time. And what a lovely
morning it is in Sydney today
.
The sun is shining, the tem-
perature is about 21 degrees,
birds are singing, and all’s
right with the world. I trust
you have a great day wherever
you’regoing.Thanksforcatch-
ingmytrainthismorningand
I hope to see you again soon.
Have a great day
.’
How contagious this an-
nouncement was! It made
everyone smile and almost
everyone started talking
about the guard’s message
and how it made everyone
feel good. In fact, one of the
passengers, after exiting the
train, rushed towards the
guard and said, “Well, I just
wanted to thank you for your
phenomenal message this
morning on the way from
Circular Quay to Central
The message was so upbeat
and pleasant. Most impor-
tantly
, it got everyone’s atten-
tion and had everyone smil-
ing. Thank you so much for
giving me and the other pas-
sengers such a good start to
the day
. Please keep doing it.”
While going through this
story by Bob, I was just think-
ing, how could the guard
spread such happiness all
around? And I realized, one
of the factors behind his hap-
piness is a positive outlook
towards life. Same thing
holds true in the case of Busi-
ness also.
If you are able to see things
with a new, productive and
innovative approach, then no
one can stop you from becom-
ing a good and capable leader.
Another big benefit is that
you will never feel stressed in
any given situation. If a situ-
ation is not according to your
expectations, it won’t make
much difference to you and
you will be able to maintain
your mental equilibrium.
Let’s ponder a little on the
steel industry, there is a re-
nowned name amongst the
world’s biggest industrial-
ists, Mr. Andrew Carnegie
and he has mentioned a very
interesting fact in his biogra-
phy
. According to Mr. Carne-
gie, the secret behind his suc-
cess was the ability to see
things with a fresh outlook,
in a different light, differ-
ently from others. He says, “I
had seen my parents strug-
gling to get jobs. I had closely
experienced need and pover-
ty since childhood. The remi-
niscence of those days is dis-
turbing even today
. But I took
up that situation as a chal-
lenge. At a very early age, I
decided that I will look at this
world with my own, new
found vision, and from any
given situation, I will find an
opportunity for myself. I will
not cry. I started my own
small business. I knew that if
I have to sustain in the fierce
competition, then I have to
change the perspective of the
other person in a given situa-
tion, and for that, I need to
change my perception first.
Positive thinking is the
cause of success and happi-
ness. Positive thinkers will
look at circumstances realisti-
cally
, search for ways to im-
prove a situation, and try to
learn from their experiences.
It brings optimism into their
lifeandmakesiteasiertoavoid
worriesandnegativethinking.
Weallhaveourupsanddowns,
and what’s happening to those
around us has a big impact on
it. It’s harder to be positive
when life is dragging you
down. However, regardless of
our circumstances, as leaders,
we have to hold ourselves to a
higherstandard.Ourattitudes
not only affect us, but the per-
formance, happiness and out-
look of our teams too.
You owe it to yourself and
your team to take a moment
today to think about your
outlook. If you have a posi-
tive outlook, then only you
can be a better leader.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
B
Positive thinking is the
cause of success and
happiness. Positive
thinkers will look at
circumstances
realistically, search for
ways to improve a
situation, and try to learn
from their experiences. It
brings optimism into
their life and makes it
easier to avoid worries
and negative thinking
BHAVESH UPADHYAY
Business/ HR Expert

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INDIA
05
Ujjain: Seven persons have been arrested for
allegedly shouting provocative slogans includ-
ing “Pakistan zindabad” in Geeta colony area
of Ujjain, police said on Friday. The incident
took place during an event on the occasion of
Moharram on Thursday night, said Ujjain Super-
intendent of Police Satyendra Shukla. He denied
the incident was a reaction to the administra-
tion’s decision to ban public processions.
SEVEN HELD IN MP’S UJJAIN FOR
SHOUTING PROVOCATIVE SLOGANS
CRUCIAL READ
ODISHA CM NAVEEN PATNAIK LAUNCHES
SMART HEALTH CARD UNDER BSKY
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
on Friday launched Smart Health
Card under Biju Swasthya Kalyan
Yojana (BSKY) from Malkangiri.
As per a statement released
by Odisha CMO, Smart Health
Card is an initiative taken by the
government to change the face of
healthcare services to people in
Odisha and is the first of its kind
service in the entire country.
MP CM PROPOSES TO NAME JABALPUR
AIRPORT AFTER RANI DURGAWATIT
Mumbai: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan on Friday
proposed that Civil Aviation
Minister (MoCA) Jyotiraditya
Scindia should rename Jabal-
pur airport as Rani Durgawati
Airport. Chouhan said: “If the
name of Jabalpur Airport is
changed after our pride Rani
Durgavati, then I understand
that her feelings will be respected.”
Mumbai: A 48-year-old man allegedly tried to
commit suicide outside the state secretariat Man-
tralaya in south Mumbai on Friday, police said. As
per preliminary information, the man identified as
Subhash Jadhav allegedly tried to consume pesti-
cide while standing in front of the entrance of the
secretariat building at 12 pm, an official said. The
man was immediately rushed to a hospital, where
his condition is stable, the official said.
48-YEAR-OLD ATTEMPTS SUICIDE
OUTSIDE MANTRALAYA IN MUMBAI
Rajiv Gandhi’s Policies Helped
Build Modern India, says Rahul
New Delhi: The Con-
gressonFridaypaidrich
tributes to Rajiv Gandhi
on his 77th birth anni-
versary
,withRahulGan-
dhi saying that the for-
mer prime minister was
a man with a tremen-
dous vision, whose far-
sighted policies helped
build modern India.
Rahul Gandhi paid
floral tributes to his fa-
ther at the former
prime minister’s memo-
rial, Vir Bhumi, and
spent some time there.
“Rajiv Gandhi ji was
a man with tremendous
vision, whose farsight-
ed policies helped build
modern India,” the for-
mer Congress chief
said in a Facebook post.
“He was a wonderful
father, a compassionate
andlovinghumanbeing.
He will always stay alive
in my heart. Paid my re-
spects to him at Vir Bhu-
mi,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Senior Congress lead-
ers Pawan Kumar
Bansal, KC Venugopal
and Indian Youth Con-
gress (IYC) chief Srini-
vas BV were among
those who visited Vir
Bhumi along with Ra-
hul Gandhi.
“A secular India alone
is an India that can sur-
vive,” Rahul Gandhi
posted his father’s quote
on Facebook.
“Remembering Shri
Rajiv Gandhi ji on his
birth anniversary,” he
said in a post.
Congress president
Sonia Gandhi paid trib-
utes to the former
prime minister at the
Parliament House.
Rahul Gandhi inau-
gurated a photo-exhibi-
tion dedicated to Rajiv
Gandhi, and it was or-
ganised by the Youth
Congress. He also un-
veiled a bust of the for-
mer prime minister at
the Youth Congress
headquarters.
Congress leader Pri-
yanka Gandhi posted a
picture of hers with Ra-
jiv Gandhi when she
was a child along with a
note which read, “The
brave do not fall silent
before injustice, they
speak up for what is
right and good, they do
not cower when it is
dark, they stand strong,
they spread the light of
truth across skies black-
ened by deceit. The
brave never die.” —PTI
Congress supporters pay floral tributes to the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 77th birth
anniversary, at Anand Bhawan, in Prayagraj on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
RAHUL PAYS TRIBUTE TO RAJIV
GANDHI ON 77TH BIRTH ANNIV
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
on Friday paid tribute to his father and
former Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi on his 77th birth an-
niversary at Veer Bhumi in
Delhi. “A secular India alone is
an India that can survive. Re-
membering Shri Rajiv Gandhi
ji on his birth anniversary,”
Rahul Gandhi wrote in a Face-
book post. Rajiv Gandhi was born on August
20, 1944. —ANI
RAJNATH ALSO PAYS TRIBUTE TO
RAJIV ON HIS BIRTH ANNIV
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
paid tribute to former Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi on his 77th birth an-
niversary at Parliament House
on Friday. “Paid tributes to
former Prime Minister of
India, Rajiv Gandhi ji on his
birth anniversary at Parlia-
ment House today,” the
Defence Minister tweeted.
Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid
tribute to his father. —ANI
‘RAJIV TALKED
ABOUT DIGITAL
INDIA YEARS AGO’
New Delhi: On the
occasion of the 77th
birth anniversary of
former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi on Friday,
Congress leader Adhir
Ranjan Chowdhury
said that Gandhi talked
about Atmanirbhar
Bharat and Digital India
way before the present
government. “Rajiv
Gandhi used to say that
India is an old country,
but a young nation. He
always talked about
making India strong,
independent and self-
reliant. Today, India is
talking about Atmanirb-
har, but Rajiv Gandhi
had talked about years
ago,” he said. —ANI
MAHA: POLITICAL
LEADERS PAY
TRIBUTE TO RAJIV
Mumbai: Leaders
across political parties
paid tributes to former
prime minister Rajiv
Gandhi on his 77th
birth anniversary here
on Friday. Maharashtra
Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray garlanded
the portrait of the late
Congress leader at his
residence Matoshree in
suburban Mumbai and
administered the Sad-
hbhavana Day pledge to
people present on the
occasion. About Rajiv
Gandhi, Deputy Chief
Minister Ajit Pawar said
the former prime min-
ister had prepared India
to face the challenges of
the 21st century. —PTI
I hope Cong
elects its prez
by 2024, says
Anurag Thakur
Shimla: Union Minis-
ter for Information and
Broadcast; Youth Af-
fairs and Sports Anurag
Thakur on Friday
flayed Congress for not
having a full party pres-
ident and said he hopes
that the party chooses
their president by 2024.
“I hope Congress par-
ty elects its president by
2024,” he said when a
reporter asked him
about the agendas, on
which Bharatiya Jana-
ta Party (BJP) will con-
test the upcoming elec-
tions, during a press
conference in Himachal
Pradesh’s Shimla. Anu-
rag Thakur embarked
on his Jan Ashirwad
Yatra on Thursday from
Chandigarh and held a
press conference today
in Shimla after flagging
off Fit India Freedom
Run 2.0 to celebrate the
last week of ‘Azadi ka
Amrut Mahotsav’.
The Union Minister
also remarked that he
has came into politics
when politics entered
sports.
“When politics came
in sports then I came in
politics. Before that I
was not there,” he said.
Several other Union
Ministers who were re-
cently inducted in the
Cabinet in July has
commenced their Jan
Ashirwad Yatra includ-
ing Union Minister of
Culture and Tourism G.
Kishan Reddy
. —ANI
CHHATRASAL STADIUM CASE: ACCUSED
ASKS COURT TO EXPEDITE PROCEEDINGS
New Delhi: One of the accused in the Chhatrasal Stadium
brawl case involving Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar in
which a wrestler died has moved a
Delhi court seeking the proceed-
ings in the matter to be expedited
in the “interest of justice”. Ac-
cused Anirudh Dahiya moved the
plea for preponement of hearing
as the matter, which was slated to
be heard today (Friday) by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate
Satvir Singh Lamba got adjourned to October. —Agencies
NEET-PG EXAM: HC NOT TO DIRECT
AUTHORITIES TO EXTEND LAST DATE
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has refused to direct the
authorities to extend the last date for completion of compul-
sory one-year internship to enable a candidate to participate
in NEET-PG examination to be held on September 11, say-
ing it cannot take up the task of administering the exami-
nation and fixing the schedule. The high court dismissed
a petition seeking to direct the examination conducting
authorities to extend the date of completion of internship
from September 30 to October 31. The petition was filed by
a doctor, who has completed MBBS and wishes to pursue a
post graduate degree. —PTI
SAINI CASE: PUNJAB MIN SEEKS REMOVAL OF AG, HOME SECY
Chandigarh: After the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered
release of former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in a cheat-
ing case, state cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on
Friday sought removal of the advocate general, home secretary
and vigilance bureau chief director for their “professional incom-
petence.” However, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asked the
ministers and party colleagues to “check facts” before making any
statement. —PTI
DESHMUKH CASE:
HC QUESTIONS MAHA
GOVT’S DECISION
Mumbai: The Bombay High
Court on Friday questioned
the Maharashtra govern-
ment’s refusal
to share certain
documents
with the CBI
for its probe
against former
state home
minister Anil
Deshmukh, and said that un-
less the documents are seen
how can the central agency
decide if there was any nexus
with him over alleged corrup-
tion in police transfers and
postings. The state govern-
ment had earlier claimed that
the documents sought by the
Central Bureau of Investiga-
tion (CBI) did not have any
relevance with the agency’s
corruption probe against
Deshmukh. —PTI
IN THE COURTYARD
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: After a
long gap of sixteen
months,theMinistryof
Information and Broad-
casting(IB)hasfinally
got a regular Secretary
in Apurva Chandra - a
1988batchIASofficerof
Maharashtra cadre. In
the absence of his re-
placement in the Minis-
try of Labour Em-
ployment (MoLE) it is
assumed that Chandra
would continue to hold
theadditionalchargeof
MoLE for now.
It is to be underlined
that the top administra-
tive slot in the IB Min-
istry has been vacant
since the migration of
Ravi Mittal to the Min-
istry of Sports in April
2020. In the intervening
period, Union Secre-
tary for Higher Educa-
tion Amit Khare (1985
batch IAS) held the ad-
ditional charge of the
IB Secretary
. The long
stop-gap arrangement
became a matter of gos-
sip in the corridors of
power.
Officials believe that
Khare’s tight-rope-
walk and maneuvering
kept him firmly en-
sconced in the hyper-
sensitive IB Ministry
.
After the recent Cab-
inet reshuffle, officials
were at a loss to figure
out how Khare contin-
ued to hold the addi-
tional charge even
though union minis-
ters Prakash Ja-
vadekar (IB), Dr.
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nis-
hank (HRD) and MoS
(HRD) Sanjay Dhotre
were ousted. It is said
that Khare’s ‘optics
management’ skills
might have done the
tricks. Yet it makes one
curious about the ur-
gency of change in IB
as this could have hap-
pened earlier also.
Against this back-
drop, Chandra may
have to go the extra
mile to impress the
PMO. It is said that his
previous track as DG
(Acquisition under the
Ministry of Defence
might have earned him
the confidence of the
top political leadership.
However, the IB Min-
istry is a different ball
game. Even then, those
who have worked with
Anurag Thakur when
he was MoS Finance
suggest that his grace-
ful behavior in the day-
today-dealings would
make Chandra navi-
gate his course with
ease. Another open se-
cret that may add to
Chandra’s comfort is
that like Khare, he too
might get the unstinted
support of PMO’s
Hiren Joshi to run the
Ministry with ease.
FINALLY, IB GETS A FULL-TIME SECRETARY:
CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR APURVA CHANDRA
Apurva Chandra
Anurag Thakur
YOGI MAY BE DECLARED THE CHIEF
MINISTERIAL FACE FOR 2022 ALSO!
Anita Hada
Lucknow: The mara-
thon 3 hour meeting be-
tween Union Home min-
ister Amit Shah, BJP
National President JP
Nadda, UP CM Yogi Adi-
tyanath, UP State Presi-
dent Swatantra Dev Sin-
gh and State Gen Secy
Org Sunil Bansal in New
Delhi on Thursday night
has re-triggered a spate
of speculations within
politicalcircles.Thelong
awaited reshuffle of the
Yogi cabinet has again
reared it’s head and ru-
mours are abound that
inclusion of new faces in
the ministry will occur
by end of August, as it
was kept in abeyance in
view of the recently con-
cluded monsoon session
of the UP Assembly
.
Sources indicate that
Yogi also clearly and
frankly expressed his
viewpoint that the party
should now officially de-
clare him as the Chief
Ministerial face of the
2022 elections also.
It is being said that
about six to seven minis-
ters could be added to
the Yogi cabinet. Names
in reckoning are Jitin
Prasada, Sanjay Nishad
of Nishad party, former
MP and BJP MLC Vid-
yasagar Sonkar and
four-time BJP MLA and
former UP BJP Chief
Lakshmi Kant Bajpai.
Among the issues
that came up for discus-
sion during that meet-
ing were upcoming UP
polls and quota for Ni-
shad community, which
has a significant elec-
toral presence in the
state. The ruling BJP is
likely to fix the caste
equations in the upcom-
ing expansion ahead of
the polls. Jitin Prasada,
the former union minis-
ter in the UPA govern-
ment who switched to
the BJP a couple of
months ago, is said to be
a renowned Brahmin
face, something that the
Saffron party has been
seeking in UP for a
while amid bubbling re-
sentment in sections of
the community. This
point was taken up in
the meeting at Amit
Shah’s residence on
Thursday night also, in
the wake of SP and BSP
making inroads into
wooing the Brahmin
community. The hurdle
for BJP is that Prasada
is not yet a member of
the legislative council
or Assembly.
The party poll strate-
gy also focuses on the
constituencies where
there are non-BJP
MLAs. It is said that one
selected BJP MP will be
responsible for four
such constituencies to
ensure party’s victory!
Governor Anandiben Patel, CM Yogi Adityanath and ACJ Allahabad HC Justice Munishwar Nath
Bhandari at Raj Bhawan, Lucknow during the event to felicitate National Lok Adalat judges.

New Delhi: The Break-
through infections of
coronavirus cases com-
prise a very high pro-
portion of the Delta
variant, the INSACOG, a
genome sequencing gov-
ernment consortium of
laboratories, has said.
Continuing COVID
outbreaks across India
are attributable to Delta
variant, a susceptible
population and reduced
vaccine effectiveness in
blocking transmission,
INSACOG added.
However, vaccination
continues to be very ef-
fective in reducing se-
vere disease and death,
and public health meas-
ures to reduce transmis-
sion and inoculation re-
main critical, INSACOG
stressed in its latest bul-
letin. “As of now, se-
quencing of vaccination
breakthroughs in India
is also showing a very
high proportion of Delta
variant. Probe for any
new variants are ongo-
ing,” the INSACOG said.
INDIA
06
IGI AIRPORT STAFFER HELD
FOR CARGO THEFT BY CISF
GAUTAM GAMBHIR LAUNCHES
THIRD ‘JAN RASOI’ IN PATPARGANJ
WE ARE GATHERING MOMENTUM
NICELY AHEAD OF T20 CUP: MORGAN
GIVE SECOND DOSE OF COVID VAX
PRIORITY IN PUNE: AJIT PAWAR
THOUSANDS OF WOMEN APPLY IN
MAMATA’S FINANCIAL AID SCHEME
MAN KILLED, ANOTHER INJURED IN
ILLEGAL MINING IN HP’S MANDI
The CISF has nabbed a staffer of the AISATS for allegedly
stealing and illegally trying to take out certain electronic
goods from the cargo area of the
Delhi airport, officials said on Friday.
They said the staffer A Sharma had an
official aerodrome entry permit (AEP)
of the Indira Gandhi International
Airport and he was intercepted by
the security personnel when he was exiting the terminal
area on Wednesday night. Three Lenovo brand electronic
tablets and a smart watch of Haylou company were recov-
ered from the man after he was searched by the CISF.
New Delhi: East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir launched the
third Jan Rasoi in his constituency’s Patparganj area here
on Friday.The community kitchen
has been developed by converting a
vacant Dhalav Ghar or a garbage stor-
age unit into a modern state-of-the-
art kitchen, and will provide healthy
meals to everyone for a rupee, to
serve hygienic and healthy food to poor people it added.
I’m proud that our third Jan Rasoi will be available to
serve the people of Delhi from August 20.
London: England captain Eoin Morgan says his team is
gathering momentum nicely as the last edition’s runners-
up hope to improve on their showing
in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Moved out of India due to the threat
posed by the COVID pandemic, the
mega event will be held in the UAE
and Oman from October 17 to Nov 14.
Morgan, whose team won the last edition of the tourna-
ment in 2016, has stressed on the importance of continu-
ing to play in the manner they have in the last two years.
Pune: Maha Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday
said the authorities in Pune have decided to complete
administering the second dose
of COVID-19 vaccines, following
which the first jabs will be given
to citizens. The state govt is taking
efforts to get maximum number of
vaccine doses for citizens, Pawar
said, after holding a meeting to review the COVID-19
situation.Currently, there are 898 government-run vac-
cination centres and 440 private ones in the district.
Kolkata: Women in West Bengal are making a beeline
to CM Mamata Banerjee’s latest gender specific
cash transfer welcome scheme
Lakshmir Bhandar. At stake is ₹
1,000 per month for women of
Scheduled Castes and Tribes and
₹ 500 for the rest. The forms for
enrolling in the scheme began to
be distributed since Monday. In the first three days,
30 lakh women signed up, last date for enrolment,
September 15, will be extended if needed said Mamata.
Shimla: A 57-year-old man was killed and another in-
jured in a landslide triggered by illegal sand mining in
Mandi district on Friday, a state disaster management
official said. Nand Lal died around 11 am in a landslide
caused by illegal sand mining in his Fhirnu village in
Karsog tehsil, he added. Another man, Ram Krishan,
who hails from Tewan village, also sustained injuries
in the incident, the official said. Krishan was shifted
to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) Hospital in
Shimla, he added.
CRUCIAL READ
Sena purify Thackeray’s
memorial post Rane visit
A LOCAL SHIV SAINIK APPA PATIL WASHED THE AREA, WHERE RANE
HAD OFFERED FLORAL TRIBUTE, WITH ‘GAU MUTRA’ COW URINE
Mumbai: A major con-
troversy broke out be-
tween the ruling Shiv
Sena and the principal
Opposition BJP in Ma-
harastra on Thursday
evening, as a group of
Shiv Sainiks “purified”
the Bal Thackeray me-
morial at Shivaji Park
in north-central Mum-
bai, hours after senior
BJP leader and Union
Minister Narayan Rane
paid homage to the late
Sena chief at the memo-
rial before launching
“Jan Ashirwad Yatra”.
Appa Patil, the memo-
rial care-taker and Shiv
Sena functionary,
washed the photo
frame of late Balasa-
heb with “Gomutra”,
performed “abshishek”
and placed flowers at
the memorial.
Union MSME minister Rane pays homage late Balasaheb at his memorial at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
‘REFLECTS THEIR TALIBANI THINKING’: FADNAVIS
Nagpur: Former Maha CM Devendra Fadnavis on Friday
slammed Shiv Sena workers, who reportedly “purified”
the memorial ,he also compared them to the Taliban. “This
is a sign of narrow mindset, the way some so-called Shiv
Sainiks have conducted this, I believe that they do not
understand Shiv Sena. It is a sign of wrong and negative
mentality, and this is Talibani thinking,” Fadnavis told.
Fadnavis said whoever indulged in this “purification” did
not understand the original Shiv Sena.
Hyderabad: Describing
former Prime Minister
P V Narasimha Rao as
the father of economic
reforms in the country,
Chief Justice of India N
V Ramana on Friday
said that dispute resolu-
tion though negotia-
tions and mediation is
part of Indian culture.
Speaking at the Reg-
istration of Trust Deeds
of the International Ar-
bitration and mediation
Centre here, Justice Ra-
mana said the city is
well placed to have an
international arbitra-
tion centre and the cost
of dispute resolution
through the centre
would be much cheaper
when compared to oth-
er countries.
“You know the father
of the economic re-
forms in the country is
none other than P V
Narsimha Rao, Telan-
gana Bidda (son of Tel-
angana). Under his
leadership, in India for
the first time economic
reforms started,” the
CJI said.
“This (arbitration
and mediation) is not a
new thing that we inno-
vated. You know that in
Indian culture we sort
out all our disputes
through mediation and
negotiation and concili-
ation. Every day we ne-
gotiate with our chil-
dren, brothers and
friends,” he said.
Supreme Court judge
Justice L Nageswara
Rao and former SC
Judge justice Ravindra
will be the life Trustees
of the Arbitration Cen-
tre here and they will
co-opt some more mem-
bers in future, Justice
Ramana said.
He said earlier for-
eign investors were ap-
prehensive about the
time taken for dispute
resolution process in
the Indian judiciary
and added that after the
Arbitration and Con-
ciliation Act came into
being in 1996, the mo-
mentum has started for
out of court procedures.
He asked the state
government and Telan-
gana High Court Chief
Justice Hima Kohli to
encourage companies
to settle their disputes
through arbitration
and mediation.
‘PV Narasimha Rao father of economic reforms in India’
CJI BATS FOR FORMER PM
Economic re-
forms started
in India for the
first time under
the leadership
of former Prime
Minister PV
Narasimha Rao,
Chief Justice of
India NV Ra-
mana said.
Didi moots panel of
leaders to decide on
events fight BJP
Pradhan: Youth will
be torchbearers of
a self-reliant India
RBI Guv backs
continued
policy support
to revive growth
Kolkata: West Bengal
CM Mamata Banerjee
on Friday proposed to
form a core group of op-
position leaders to de-
cide on joint movements
against the BJP ahead
of the 2024 Lok Sabha
polls.
Virtually attending a
meeting of opposition
partiesconvenedbyCon-
gress interim president
SoniaGandhi,theTrina-
mool Congress supremo
asked the opposition
leaders to keep aside dif-
ferences and put up a
united fight against the
saffron party
.
“Let us forget who is
the leader, let us keep
our personal interests
aside. Every opposition
party should be brought
in. People are the lead-
er. Let us set up a core
group and work togeth-
er to decide on the next
line of action and pro-
grammes, a senior TMC
leader quoted her as
saying at the meeting.
Banerjee also raised
the issue of how “im-
partial institutions like
the NHRC has been mis-
used by the central gov-
ernment to malign op-
position ruled state gov-
ernments”.
She also raised the
farmers’ issue and tor-
ture allegedly un-
leashed by the Centre.
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister of Education
Dharmendra Pradhan
said that with the spirit
of nation-first, youth
will be the torchbearers
of a self-reliant India of
the 21st century
. He said
this while inaugurating
the Pushpagiri Lecture
Hall Complex and Ri-
shikulya Hall of Resi-
dence at IIT Bhubane-
swar on Friday
.
On this occasion, a
Memorandum of Un-
derstanding was also
signed by Professor RV
Raja Kumar, Director,
IIT Bhubaneswar and
Ranjan Kumar Mohapa-
tra, Chairman, Skill De-
velopment Institute
Bhubaneswar in the
presence of the Union
Min. The MoU is for en-
hancing skill develop-
ment activities for un-
employed, under-em-
ployed and underprivi-
leged youth with techni-
cal education relevant
to the industry under
the expertise and guid-
ance of IIT Bhubane-
swar, informed an offi-
cial release by the Min-
istry of Education.
Addressing the par-
ticipants, the Minister
said that the Govern-
ment has taken vari-
ous steps to provide
opportunities to our
youth by supporting
higher education insti-
tutions in all possible
ways. Government
brought out the NEP
2020 based on the foun-
dation of Affordability,
Accessibility, Equity
and Quality.
“It is not merely a
policy but a vision doc-
ument for our future
which aims to establish
a student-centric educa-
tion system by empow-
ering the students with
flexibility and power of
choice,” he added.
Mumbai: Given the un-
certainties on account
of the COVID-19 pan-
demic, Reserve Bank
Governor Shaktikanta
Das opined that contin-
ued policy support with
a focus on revival and
sustenance of growth
was the most desirable
and judicious policy op-
tion at the moment.
Das, according to the
minutes of the MPC
meeting released on
Friday, also underlined
the need for closely
monitoring the price
situation with a view to
anchoring inflation ex-
pectations.
“The need of the
hour is twofold: first,
continue the monetary
policy support to the
economy; and second,
remain watchful of any
durable inflationary
pressures and sus-
tained price momen-
tum in key components
so as to bring back the
CPI inflation to 4 per
cent over a period of
time in a non-disruptive
manner,” he said. Var-
ma expressed reserva-
tions on this part of the
MPC resolution, ac-
cording to the minutes.
Breakthrough infections in India
show high proportion of Delta variant
Of the 30,230 samples of variants of concern sequenced, 20,324 were of Delta
36,571 NEW
CASES, LOWEST
IN 150 DAYS
With 36,571 COVID-19
new cases reported
in the last 24 hours,
India’s active tally has
dropped to 3,63,605,
which is the lowest in
150 days, informed
the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare on
Friday. With this, India’s
cumulative count has
reached 32,358,829
and the country’s active
cases account for 1.12
per cent of the total
cases, the lowest since
March 2020. The daily
positivity rate remained
below 3 per cent.
As of now, sequencing of vaccination
breakthroughs in India is also
showing a very high proportion of
Delta variant. Investigations for any new
variants are ongoing. —INSACOG
Srinagar: JK Police
chief Dilbag Singh on
Friday said militant
outfits were continu-
ously trying to foment
trouble to disturb peace
in the union territory
and asked the security
forces to remain alert
and keep elements pro-
viding support to mili-
tants under the radar.
Singh was in Kulgam
district of South Kash-
mir Range where he
chaired a security re-
view meeting with sen-
ior officials of the J-K
Police, the Army, the
CRPF and jurisdiction-
al officers, a police said.
Addressing the offic-
ers, the DGP stressed
for intensified cordon
and search operations
to eliminate the remain-
ing terrorists, he said.
Singh directed the of-
ficers to further
strengthen and aug-
ment the intelligence as
well as security grids in
their respective areas.
The police chief said
suspicious elements
providing any kind of
support to terrorist ac-
tivities should be kept
under the radar to foil
their attempts, he said.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan greets BJP
supporters during his visit to Barang, Trisulia, Cuttack, Nuapatna,
and Dhabaleswar on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee addresses a
press conference, at Nabanna,
in Howrah. —PHOTO BY ANI
Militant outfits trying to foment
trouble, disturb peace: JK DGP
N V Ramana

TALKING POINT
07
he announce-
ment by BHP, the
world’s second-
largest mining
company, that it
will shift its oil
and gas assets into a joint
venture with Australian
outfit Woodside iAs a clear
indication the “Big Austral-
ian” is getting out of the
carbon-based fuel industry
.
BHP has also been off-
loading thermal coal assets.
It sold its share in the Cer-
rejon coal mine in Colum-
bia to Glencore (the world’s
biggest mining company)
in June. It has written down
the value of its Mt Arthur
mine in Australia’s Hunter
Valley while it looks for a
buyer.
But if the oil wells, gas
fields and coal mines are
still there, what difference
do these asset sales make?
To answer this question, it
is necessary to understand
the broader logic of divest-
ment, as championed by the
divestment movement.
THE
DIVESTMENT
AGENDA
The immediate aim of the
divestment movement is to
end new investment in oil,
gas and coal, with the ulti-
mate aim of decarbonizing
the economy
.
Over the past few years,
with much prodding, finan-
cial institutions around the
world have adopted divest-
ment policies aiming to end
or reduce their involvement
in the carbon economy
.
The initial focus has been
on thermal coal, used in
electricity generation. Coal
mines and coal-fired power
stations have been excluded
almost entirely from global
financial market. New de-
velopments now rely al-
most exclusively on finance
fromChina,largelythrough
the Belt and Road Initiative
(and even this source is dry-
ing up).
In Australia, all the ma-
jor banks and insurers,
along with many superan-
nuation funds, having now
adopted policies to end
their involvement with
thermal coal. Now, atten-
tion is turning to oil and
gas.
Divestment policies, like
those of Westpac and the
Commonwealth Bank, now
commonly exclude new oil
and gas projects (though
there are often escape
clauses for companies with
policies “aligned with the
Paris climate goals”).
The recognition that oil
and gas has a limited future
is reflected in the massive
drop in “upstream” capital
expenditure on exploration
and development. Capital
expenditure in 2020 fell be-
low half the peak level of
2014, and only a modest re-
covery is expected after the
pandemic.
BHP’S CHOICE
BHP and others, therefore,
face a choice.
They can join the divest-
ment movement, by selling
carbon assets and focusing
on other mining activities
or on renewable energy
.
Alternatively, they can
become “pure play” coal, oil
and gas businesses, profit-
able in the short run but
increasingly excluded from
investment portfolios and,
ultimately, from normal fi-
nancial transactions like
banking and insurance.
This is the likely fate of
the Woodside-BHP joint
venture. The effect is simi-
lar to the “bad bank” struc-
tures created in the wake
of the Global Financial
Crisis to acquire non-per-
forming loans and other
dubious financial assets
built up during the pre-
2008 boom.
By offloading these as-
sets, taking some losses in
the process, the major glob-
al banks were able to recap-
italize and resume their
customary place at the cen-
tre of the financial uni-
verse.
KEEPING
INSTITUTIONS
HAPPY
The result will leave BHP
shareholders with two sep-
arate holdings — one in
BHP and one in the joint
venture. The institutional
shareholders who pushed
for the divestment will now
be able to dump these joint-
venture shares and retain
their holdings in BHP,
which will (once the re-
maining coal assets are
sold) now be safe from pres-
sure for divestment.
Pressure didn’t come
only from shareholders.
Banks and other key insti-
tutional players were also
key. Reports indicate the
“all-stock” deal with Wood-
side was chosen precisely
because it would have been
impossible to arrange bank
financing for the new ven-
ture.
Banks will now be free to
continue dealing with BHP,
one of their biggest custom-
ers, while leaving the oil
and gas venture to lower-
tier lenders willing to take
the financial and reputa-
tional risk.
A JUSTIFIABLE
EXIT STRATEGY
It may be argued that, rath-
er than disposing of its oil
and gas assets, BHP should
have taken action to shut
them down.
This argument has been
put forward both by envi-
ronmentalists and Ivan
Glasenberg, the chief ex-
ecutive of Glencore, the
only major global miner to
have chosen to stay in the
coal business. Glasenberg
has argued divestment is
pointless because it sim-
ply makes fossil fuel as-
sets “someone else’s is-
sue”. Better to retain own-
ership of coal mines and
phase them out gradually,
he says.
Whether Glencore ever
delivers on this strategy re-
mains to be seen. But in
light of the whole divest-
ment agenda, BHP’s move
is clearly more than a port-
folio rearrangement.
For now, “pure play” oil,
gas and coal companies can
continue to generate prof-
its. As global corporations,
banks and insurers with-
draw from the sector, how-
ever, the capacity of the re-
maining firms to resist
regulatory and legal pres-
sures to shut down will di-
minish.
Sooner or later, for exam-
ple, it’s likely courts will
find those responsible for
carbon emissions liable for
the damage caused by fires,
sea-level rise and other ef-
fects of climate change.
Without backing from
banks and insurers, the
costs of this litigation will
fall directly on carbon-
based corporations and
their shareholders.
BHP
, which was founded
in 1885 and plans to be
aroundforthelongterm,has
seen the writing on the wall.
It is getting out while it can.
T
The
GLOBAL
MARKET
has turned on
FOSSIL FUELS
—BHP
BILLITON/AAP
The divestment movement has lobbied institutions such as banks and universities to rid themselves of investments and relationships that mean profiting
from carbon emissions. —DAN HIMBRECHTS/AAP
The immediate aim of the
divestment movement is to end
new investment in oil, gas and
coal, with the ultimate aim of
decarbonizing the economy.
SOURCE:
THECONVERSATION.COM
BHP’s offloading of oil and gas assets is proof
JOHN QUIGGIN
Professor, School of Economics,
The University of Queensland

08
2NDFRONT
Zydus’ needle-free
vaccine gets approval
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The sub-
ject experts committee
of the Indian drug reg-
ulatorhasrecommend-
ed approving
Ahmedabad-based Zy-
dus Cadila’s three-dose
Covid-19 vaccine, Zy-
CoV-D, for emergency
use authorization
(EUA). This will be-
come the world’s first
DNA vaccine to get the
nod in any country
.
The generic drug-
maker, listed as Cadila
Healthcare Ltd, applied
for the authorisation of
the vaccine ZyCoV-D on
July 1, based on an effi-
cacy rate of 66.6% in a
late-stage trial of more
than 28,000 volunteers
nationwide. The com-
mittee added that Zydus
needs to submit addi-
tional data for the 2-dose
regimen of its vaccine,
ZyCoV-D would be-
come the fifth vaccine
cleared for use in the
country after locally pro-
ducedCovishield,Bharat
Biotech’s Covaxin, Rus-
sia’s Sputnik V and the
US-made Moderna.
The Ahmedabad-
based pharmaceutical
firm had on July 1 ap-
plied for emergency use
authorization of its Zy-
CoV-D three-dose Cov-
id-19 vaccine. The com-
panyalsosubmitteddata
evaluating a two-dose
regimen for the shot.
The SEC is likely to com-
parethedataandmakea
decision on its go-ahead.
The company con-
ducted the largest clini-
cal trial for its Covid-19
vaccine in India so far
in over 50 centres. This
was also the first time
that any Covid-19 vac-
cine has been tested in
the adolescent popula-
tion in the 12-18 years
age group in India.
Around 1,000 subjects
were enrolled in this
age group and the vac-
cine was found to be
safe and very well toler-
ated. The tolerability
profile was similar to
that seen in the adult
population. Primary ef-
ficacy of 66.6% has been
attained for sympto-
matic RT-PCR positive
cases in the interim
analysis. Whereas, no
moderate case of Cov-
id-19 disease was ob-
served in the vaccine
arm post administra-
tion of the third dose
suggesting 100% effica-
cy for moderate disease.
ZyCoV-D is a plasmid
DNA vaccine that pro-
duces the spike protein
of the SARS-CoV-2 and
elicits an immune re-
sponse mediated by the
cellular (T lymphocytes
immunity)andhumoral
(antibody-mediated im-
munity) arms of the hu-
man immune system.
The vaccine has
shown the efficacy of
66.6% against sympto-
matic Covid cases and
100% for moderate dis-
ease. It is an intrader-
mal vaccine, applied
using a ‘needle-free
injector’. Zydus claims
the needle-free system
can lead to asignifi-
cant reduction in side
effects.
THOROUGHLY TESTED JAB!
BIG PROMISE!
Arcelor Chairman and CEO Laxmi Mittal on Friday paid a visit to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani (left) in Gandhinagar. Mittal
promised an investment of Rs 1,00,000 crore in Gujarat, Rs 50,000 crore at its Hazira steel plant and Rs 50,000 crore in the
renewable energy sector.
Stingrays from Chennai give birth
to 7 pups in A’bad Science City
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Follow-
ing the conservation
efforts made by the
Ahmedabad-based
Science City, as many
as 24 stingrays were
brought to its aquat-
ic gallery from coast-
al cities of Chennai
and Kanyakumari.
Official sources
stated that the sting-
rays had adapted well
to the aquatic gallery
and have multiplied
themselves with the
birth of seven new
stingrays.
The officials also
said that the normal
size of the stingray lit-
ter varies but the birth
usually results in the
birth of one to six new
live pups. To provide
better nursing to the
young pups, the admin-
istration of the gallery
has kept the young
ones inside a quaran-
tine tank.
Officials added that
the species are very sen-
sitive as the young ones
are reproduced through
the ovoviviparous
method under which
the young ones are
hatched from eggs with-
in the body of the moth-
er stingray
.
The officials also
informed that the sev-
en young ones were
not born in one go
and four pups were
born in the first go
followed by two and
one pup in the second
and third cycle.
—FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Surat: Gujarat’s Minis-
ter of State for Health
and Family Welfare Ku-
mar Kanani has often
been at the centre of
controversies due to his
social media posts. This
time he was hounded
for raising public issues
when the elections are
just a year away
.
Kumar Kanani, who
belongs to Surat, was
recently trolled by neti-
zens for posting a letter,
which he had written to
the Deputy Commis-
sioner of Police (Traf-
fic). He was ridiculed on
social media though his
letter represented the
concerns of the citizens
in his constituency
.
His letter to the DCP
was to urge him to en-
sure that the police did
not harass people car-
rying bundles of em-
broidery work material
on two-wheelers in the
Varachha area. They
were often issued chal-
lans for three people
riding motorcycles and
violating the rule of
two persons on one ve-
hicle. Kanani’s letter
asked DCP Prashant
Sumbe to only fine peo-
ple without masks and
let others go instead of
being penalized ran-
domly
.
The post went viral
and several Facebook
users rushed in com-
ment sections to share
their opinions. Many
netizens expressed
their dissatisfaction
and distrust with the
police, while some oth-
ers taunted that all min-
isters suddenly remem-
ber people’s woes when
elections are around
but this “it is too late.”
A distressed netizen
wrote “If the police
didn’t bother about the
minister’s letter, they
would obviously not lis-
ten to the commoners.”
Netizens troll minister for raising public issues
ANGRY NETIZENS
MoS Health Kumar Kanani’s letter to
DCP to prevent harassment by traffic
cops was ridiculed in social media
Angry netizens ridicule minister on social media.
Three GRD members booked for raping minor girl
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Three GRD
members, along with a
friend, were booked for
allegedly raping a
16-year-old girl on the
pretext of checking and
extracting Rs 8,000 from
her. Three of them were
caught by the Savli po-
lice and one is still ab-
sconding.
According to the de-
tails given by PSI Alpesh
MahidafromSavliPolice
station, a couple was sit-
ting at Khakhariya ca-
nal, when GRD member
AnilGohilandhisfriend
arrived there. They
blackmailed the couple,
andthreatenedtocallthe
girl’s parents. They also
demanded money to set-
tle the matter.
Around the same
time, two other friends
of the accused, Jyendra
GohilandMaheshVasa-
va, arrived there and
four of them threatened
the couple and demand-
ed money
. The boy went
to a nearby ATM at
Halol to withdraw mon-
ey. Meanwhile, Anil
took the girl to his car
pretending to fill petrol
and raped her.
The matter was regis-
tered with the Savli Po-
lice Station and the
team caught the ac-
cused GRD Jayendra
Gohil, Mahesh Vasava
and Sangharsh Patel,
friend of GRD member
Anil Gohil. Main ac-
cused who is booked for
rape, Anil Gohil, is ab-
sconding while the oth-
er three have been
booked for extortion.
They will be arrested
after their RTPCR tests.
Defence lawyer seeks
Gujarat FSL report in
Dabholkar murder case
First India Bureau
Pune: On a day the ar-
guments about fram-
ing of charges against
those arrested in con-
nection with the mur-
der of rationalist Dr
Narendra Dabholkar
were expected to begin
at a Pune special court
on Friday, the defence
lawyer submitted an
application, seeking a
report from the Foren-
sic Science Laboratory
(FSL), Gujarat, which
the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI)
had filed in the Bom-
bay High Court in Jan-
uary 2017.
Advocate Prakash
Salsingikar, repre-
senting one of the ac-
cused, said the FSL
report submitted by
the CBI had not been
filed before the trial
court in Pune. He said
a copy of the report
was not given to the
accused and this was
important at the time
of arguments on fram-
ing of charges.
Special Judge S R Na-
vandar then asked CBI
counsel Prakash
Suryawanshi about the
FSL Gujarat report.
Suryawanshi told the
court he would take in-
structions from the in-
vestigating officer
about the report and
then make the submis-
sion. The court then
said the arguments on
framing of charges
would take place on
September 3.
Dr Dabholkar, found-
er of the Maharashtra
Andhashraddha Nir-
moolan Samiti (MANS),
was shot dead by two
assailants while he was
on a morning walk on
the V R Shinde Bridge
near Omkareshwar
temple in Pune on Au-
gust 20 morning in 2013.
He was 67.
Rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, who was murdered.
Stingrays
have adapted
well to the
aquatic
gallery and
have
multiplied
themselves
COP CULPRITS!
Police investigating at the spot. —FILE PHOTO
Ideas survive, beyond
generations and civilization;
they live on to give hope to others.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
—FILE PHOTO
ZYCOV-D FROM AHMEDABAD’S ZYDUS
CADILA IS WORLD’S FIRST DNA VACCINE

09
he grand finale of
Mrs Rajasthan 2021,
organised by Fusion
Groupinassociation
withHotelGrandSa-
fari, was held on Fri-
dayatNirmalaAudi-
torium, Pratap Nagar, Jaipur.
Himadri Bhatnagar was
crowned as Mrs Rajasthan
2021whileSapnaSingh,Navi-
ta Singla, Anjali Sogarwal
and Pooja Meena bagged the
title of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th
runner up respectively
.
JagdeeshChandragracedthe
occasion as the chief guest of
the grand finale and crowned
the winners.
In three fashion sequences
on the theme of western, tra-
ditional, Indo western and
sparkle designer outfits,
the top finalist models
walked the ramp to
winthetitle.Thepag-
eant began with pas-
tel theme dresses
from designer Sanjay
Sharma’s Royal Rajwada col-
lection. In the second round,
theparticipantsshowcased
the western collection.
The final round show-
cased the royal and rich
Indo-western collection
by designer Nirmal
Saraf from Panghat.
Organisers Yogesh
Mishra and Nimi-
sha Mishra shared
that, this is the big-
gest best beauty pageant of
Rajasthan and this time they
have connected, related, de-
fined and displayed this fash-
ion event in a different way to
give wings to the unfulfilled
dreams of the women sitting
at home.
Co-organiser Harish Soni
said that the beautiful makeo-
verof themodelswasdoneby
Geetu Sachdeva, director of
Sparsh.Theofficialphotogra-
pherof thispageantwasVasu
Jain while Shahrukh Khan
was the choreographer.
Arshad Hussain, Mukesh
Mishra,ArunaBeniwal,Kan-
chan Khatana and Mittali
Kaur were present in the jury
panel of the pageant while
Pawan Goyal, Pandit Suresh
Mishra, Ranveer Singh Pari-
har, Tarun Sharma, JD Ma-
heshwari,DevendraJhanwar
and BS Rawat were the guests
of honour.
The subtitle winners are
Khushboo Mandawariya as
Talented, Abhilasha
ChoudharyasPersonality
,
Navita Singla as Confi-
dent, Sapna Meena as
Sparkling Smile, Sapna
Singh as Ramp Walk,
Himadri Bhatnagar as
Photogenic, Kaushalya
KatariaasStyle Diva,Pra-
tima Bhardwaj
asBestHair,
Anjali Sog-
arwal for
I c o n i c
Eyes, Pooja
Sharma for Ra-
diant Skin, Tripti
Jain for Eternal Beauty
,
Shikha Jain for Viewers
Choice, Kavita Saini for
RisingStar,RajniVerma
for Vivacious and Ruby
Sharma for Timeless
Beauty
.
MANSI BACHANI
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T
Beauties of Mrs Rajasthan
Jaipur witnessed a
beautiful evening at
the grand finale of Mrs
Rajasthan 2021 where
Himadri Bhatnagar
was declared the
winner of the beauty
pageant while Sapna
Singh bagged the title
of 1st runner up!
(L-R): Anjali Sogarwal, Navita Singla, Himadri Bhatnagar, Sapna Singh, Pooja Meena
—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA
Jagdeesh Chandra crowning Himadri Bhatnagar with
(L-R) Mittali Kaur, Pawan Goyal, Yogesh Mishra,
Nimisha Mishra Aruna Beniwal
Jagdeesh Chandra addressing
the gathering
Himadri Bhatnagar From top: Kaushalya Kataria, Pooja Meena
The participants during the event
AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY
AUGUST 21, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

YOUR DAY Horoscopeby
SaurabbhSachdeva
Whatsapp Subscription
Subscribe “First India” Daily
E-News Paper For Free On Whatsapp
To Receive the Most Exclusive News from
the Power Corridors of Gujarat
10
ETC
PRERNA
CHALLANI,
Model
FACE
OF
THE
DAY!
Aries
MARCH 21 - APRIL 20
You may find it difficult
to convince a family
member regarding
something you want to
achieve. 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.
Gemini
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A new health routine
may start giving health
benefits. You gel well
with a new acquaint-
ance. Opportunities to
further your career will come only if
you make efforts. Self-discipline may
help you achieve peak physical fitness.
Financial scene is likely to stabilise once
you review your investment options.
Leo
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Your initiative will help
mend fences with
someone you were not
in talking terms.
Academic pursuits will
be fruitful. Taking up a regular fitness
routine will help you get into shape.
Increase in household expenditure is
possible, take all steps to cut it down.
Choose investment schemes wisely.
Libra
SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 22
Do not misunderstand
the motives of someone
trying to help you. A
friendly bet with a friend
may turn into a fight, so
be careful. Will power, will be your key
to remain in shape. An exciting time
lies ahead as travelling with friends is
foreseen. You are set to grow
professionally and attract new clientele.
Sagittarius
NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22
Some of you may feel
the home environment
serene and restful. There
is a fair chance of some
property getting allotted
to you. Good opportunities are likely to
appear on the academic front. Good
health is assured through own efforts. A
healthy bank balance will allow you to
buy a major item.
Aquarius
JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19
Positive steps may be
required to be taken to
restore perfect health. It
will be in your interest
to speed up a financial
transaction. You will come out with
flying colours in a competitive situation
on the academic front. Appreciation for
the work done on the professional
front is in the pipeline for some.
Taurus
APRIL 21 - MAY 20
Your performance may
leave you feeling good
today on professional or
academic front. A diet
plan adopted recently
will suit your system well and yield
good results eventually. Maintain
confidentiality regarding a property deal
being negotiated by you. A chance for
an outing with lover finally arrives.
Cancer
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
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. Good
negotiating skills are likely to bring a
lucrative deal within your grasp on the
professional front.
Virgo
AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23
Someone close may
pay you a visit and
brighten your day. You
will get the chance to
acquire new property at
good price. Health may become a
concern. Think twice before investing in
anything big. A debate with someone in
the knows is likely to open up your
mind to the possibilities at work.
Scorpio
OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Praise of a family
member will make you
proud. Getting unwell
due to changing
weather cannot be ruled
out for some. You may need to
monitor your finances. You are likely to
win the day on the professional front
by your original ideas. Keep options
open on investment front.
Capricorn
DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20
A new plot or house
can be acquired by
some. Be assertive in
dealing with workplace
issues, otherwise you
can be taken for granted. Joining
online exercise routine may prove
beneficial. Those trying to boost
income may figure out new ways. Luck
favours you on the academic front.
Pisces
FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20
Getting quality time at
home will help in
focussing on activities
you like. Your efforts at
work will be rewarded
by getting noticed by those who
matter. A balanced diet is the first step
in achieving good health, so stick to it.
Help people out as much as you can as
monetarily you face no problems.
rson Scott Card is an
American writer re-
nowned for his sci-
ence fiction works,
influenced by classic
literature and popular
fantasy
. He often uses
tropes from genre fiction. His
fiction, containing graphic vio-
lence, often features characters
with exceptional gifts who
make difficult choices with
high stakes. Card has also writ-
ten political, religious and so-
cial commentary in his col-
umns and other works. His
open opposition to homosexu-
ality provoked public criticism
and boycott of his works in the
early 20th century
.
‘Unaccompanied Sonata’ is a
short story by Orson Scott
Card, first published in the
March 1979 issue of Omni mag-
azine. It appears in his story
collections ‘Maps in a Mirror’-
under the subtitle- Fables and
Fantasies. “It is in fantasy that
we can most easily explore, not
human behaviours, but Hu-
manity
. And in exploring it, we
also define it; and in defining,
invent it. When a fantasist ima-
gines well- and writes evoca-
tively-manypeopledrinkinthe
story as if it were water, and
their lives till then a vast desert
in which they wandered with-
out ever realizing how much
they thirsted... There’s always
thehopethatatleastsomeread-
ers will dip into the old dry well
and find new water there,
seepedinfromanundiscovered
spring.” This story was nomi-
nated in 1979 for the Nebula
Award for Best Short Story and
in 1980 for the Hugo Award.
‘Unaccompanied Sonata’
gives a rare and extraordinary
insight into the minds and
emotions of musicians. The
leading character has a jour-
ney
,unlikeanythingwe’veseen
before. It is a thrilling, poetic
and thought-provoking sci-fi
story about Christian, a musi-
cal prodigy in a dystopian soci-
ety
. It’s a controlled world-
where everything and every-
one has their place and role to
be adhered to unquestionably
.
When Christian Haroldsen
was six months old, prelimi-
nary tests showed a predisposi-
tion towards rhythm and a
keen awareness of pitch. As a
two-year-old, his creativity was
exceptional, his curiosity insa-
tiable, his understanding of
music so intense that ‘the top
of all tests’ declared him a
“Prodigy”. He was taken away
from his parents and kept in an
isolated forest, so as to prevent
pollution of his original crea-
tivity by listening to any other
musician. He grew up cared for
by unsinging servants. The
only music he was allowed to
hear was “birdsong, windsong,
cracking of winter wood, thun-
der,rainontheroof,thechatter
of squirrels, and the deep si-
lence of snow falling on a
moonlessnight...Hehadtofind
music even w h e n
there was none to find.” He was
given a special ‘Instrument’ to
play
. It was his only compan-
ion, sole playmate. He learnt to
produce any and every sound...
And the word spread to the “Li-
censed Listeners”. They mar-
velled at the sweet-sadness of
this 7-year old’s music.
When Christian was 30, a
man secretly sneaked up to
him and gave him a recorder,
“This is the music of Bach. You
don’t know what you are miss-
ing”. He knew it was strictly
forbidden- but he was tempted.
The ‘Blind Watcher’ came, led
by his dog. “You have broken
the law. You’ll have to leave mu-
sic. It is now forbidden to you.”
It was an unbearable ban and
drove him to near madness. In
time, ‘The System’
trained him to deliver
doughnuts to grocery
stores in a truck. ‘Chris’,
the name was given to
him, tried to forget the mu-
sic- but an old, bro-
ken, dis-
carded piano in a bar lured
him. ‘The Watcher with no
ears’ arrived with his laser
knife and cut off all of Chris’s
fingers and both the thumbs.
Christian had broken the law
for the second time.
‘Sugar’, with his meaning-
less palms and useless knuck-
les, was given a third chance at
life by ‘The System’ with the
road-building crew.
The pain of sunburn, pulled
muscles, burning asphalt on
hot summer days- was made
bearable by the crew through
their continued singing.
Months passed. Sugar only lis-
tened, silently
. On a joint oath
of total secrecy and trust, the
crew forced Sugar to join in.
And he sang! His melodies
were so simple, repetitive and
catchy
, that soon everyone was
singing only his songs. The
‘unforgettable’ quality soon
brought ‘The Watcher’ back...
thistimewiththetoolthattook
his voice.
Christian was finally made
to wear a uniform with the
name tag, ‘Authority’. He was
now ‘The Watcher’. “The keys
of power were placed in the
hands of those who had most
cause to hate the system they
had to preserve”.
...In sorrow, he did his duty
.
...In sorrow, he grew old.
...But... ‘The System’ could
not check the popularity of
songs sung by Christian. His
music lived on... free!!!
‘Unaccompanied’ (solitary,
alone). ‘Sonata’ (a musical
composition, usually of a solo
instrument, involving
three-four movements)
sums up the complete
life of Christian- with
his music and upheavals
of life. The title itself is
ample testimony to
the genius that is
Orson Scott
Card.
Unaccompanied
Unaccompanied
SONATA
SONATA
DEEPAK
deepaklifemusings@gmail.com
DEEPAK’S CORNER
O
Orson Scott Card

Gentlemen and gentlemen, can I have your kind
attention, please? I, on behalf of all the gorgeous
sisters out there, have an appeal to make. We
do appreciate whatever you manage to conjure
and wrap up for us in the last 5 seconds for
Raksha Bandhan and may even spout a
customary smile. But having said that, once in
a while, you can actually use your brains and
move past that Cadbury Celebrations dabba.
Well, apart from ranting, I’m here to help our
dear brothers too. Here’s a list of everything that
we could really, really use to feel our day.
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2021
11
Rakhi
Rakhi
POORVI SINGHAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
STAYCATION
The pandemic has restrict-
ed our travel but, we can still
frolic around in a picturesque re-
sort if our brothers sponsor it. We
would love to sit by the pool, sip
on margaritas while posing for
the Gram! After all, a weekend
getaway is the dreamiest
present we could ask
for.
DAINTY JEWELLERY
Shell out some cash, guys and gift us
some dainty jewellery that we can just
throw on and slip out anywhere and eve-
rywhere. From hoops to layered neck-
laces, chunky rings to charm bracelets,
you have an array of options to pick
from. Browse online for jewellery houses
that have mastered the art of contempo-
rary accessories and look for statement
pieces in gold, rose gold and silver. Take
inspiration from your favourite celebri-
ties like Gigi Hadid, Deepika Padukone
and PeeCee to find just the pieces. Gift us
these sleek beauties to be our most fa-
vourite brother.
GIFT CARD
Shopping sprees where we just
don’t have to touch our wallets
are heavenly! Trust this mod-
ern lifafa and get us gift cards
from Nykaa, Myntra, etc to com-
pletely ward off the task of actu-
ally thinking of a present. Yes,
thank me later!
SPA DAY
Asoothingspadayafterahectic
workweek is all we need to reju-
venate ourselves. Visit the most
exotic spa in the city and con-
sider gifting massages with es-
sential oils, aromatherapy and
acupressure and I promise, we
willbeambrightwithhappiness.
If at all you get too confused by
the extensive options, consider
gifting a voucher.
Pampering ourselves
with indulgent, luxuri-
ous skincare products is
pure bliss. Bros, take a
note! Get a hamper cu-
rated with all our skin-
care essentials and
brownie points if it is
customised as per our
skin type. While you’re
at it, add in some hair
care products like se-
rums for that extra
touch.
BLUE LIGHT
FILTER GLASSES
With the world moving
online and work from
home routines, we just
can’t afford to develop
dark circles. Blue light
filter glasses not only
protect our under eyes
but also, reduce chances
of ageing and fine lines.
Yes, you can get these
beauties for your baby
sister even if she doesn’t
have a number. This way
you can even have fun
calling her ‘chashmish’.
PERSONALISED
SKINCARE
ROUTINE
GIFTS YOUR SISTER
GIFTS YOUR SISTER
ACTUALLY
ACTUALLY
NEEDS
NEEDS

21082021 first india ahmedabad

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