First india ahmedabad edition-05 may 2020

84,648
SAMPLES TESTED
78,844
0
NEGATIVE CASES
UNDER EXAMINATION
IN GUJARAT
DISTRICT TOTAL TOTAL NEW
CASES DEATHS DEATHS
AHMEDABAD 4076 234 26
VADODARA 385 27 2
SURAT 706 31 1
RAJKOT 61 1 0
BHAVNAGAR 74 5 0
ANAND 75 6 0
BHARUCH 31 2 0
GANDHINAGAR 77 3 0
PATAN 21 1 0
PANCHMAHAL 45 3 0
BANASKANTHA 39 1 0
NARMADA 12 0 0
CHHOTA UDEPUR 14 0 0
KUTCH 7 1 0
MAHESANA 32 0 0
BOTAD 33 1 0
DAHOD 7 0 0
PORBANDAR 3 0 0
JAMNAGAR 4 1 0
MORBI 1 0 0
SABARKANTHA 5 0 0
ARAVALLI 20 1 0
MAHISAGAR 36 0 0
KHEDA 12 0 0
GIR SOMNATH 3 0 0
VALSAD 6 1 0
TAPI 2 0 0
NAVSARI 8 0 0
DANG 2 0 0
SURENDRANAGAR 1 0 0
DWARKA 3 0 0
TOTAL 5804 319 29
CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 159
27°C - 42°C
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
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COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
2,50,155
DEATHS
36,13,084
CONFIRMED CASES
GUJARAT
319
DEATHS
5,804
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
44,870
CONFIRMED CASES
1,524
DEATHS
USA 1,200,794 69,064 +466
SPAIN 248,301 25,428 +164
ITALY 211,938 29,079 +195
UK 190,584 28,734 +288
GERMANY 165,745 6,866 +11
RUSSIA 145,268 1,356 +76
TURKEY 126,045 3,397 +56
BRAZIL 101,826 7,051 +26
IRAN 98,647 6,277 +74
CHINA 82,880 4,633 +3
CANADA 59,858 3,767 +85
BELGIUM 50,267 7,924 +80
N’LANDS 40,770 5,082 +26
ECUADOR 31,881 1,569 +5
COUNTRY TOTAL TOTAL NEW
CASES DEATHS DEATHS
GLOBAL STATE
OF AFFAIRS
WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO
LAST UPDATED: MAY 4, 2020, 11:00 PM
If Saurashtra’s diamond workers go home, it will be with stipulations: CM
Gandhinagar: While
the state government
will soon decide wheth-
er diamond workers in
Surat can return to
their native villages or
towns in Saurashtra, it
is likely that travel per-
missions will come with
certain stipulations.
These may include rou-
tine screening, home-
quarantine and even
staying away from Su-
rat for at least a month.
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani, in consulta-
tion with senior offi-
cials and various dis-
trict collectors, will
takeacallonthewhole
operation of getting
the workers to their
homes, Information
and Broadcasting Sec-
retary and Secretary
to the Chief Minister
Ashwani Kumar said
on Monday, adding,
“Once the plan has
been finalized, an an-
nouncement by respec-
tive district authori-
ties will soon follow.”
He added: “At least
five lakh diamond
workers are natives
of Saurashtra, most-
ly from the districts
of Bhavnagar, Botad
and Amreli. They will
be allowed to return
to their native villag-
es or towns, but with
caution.”
Kumar has previous-
ly said that diamond
workers planning to
leave the city will be
screened and those with
symptoms like cold,
cough or fever will not
be allowed to leave Su-
rat. Once they reach
their native village or
town, they will be
screened again and
asked to undergo home
or institutional quaran-
tine for 14 days.
Once they reach
their home village or
town, workers will
have to stay their for
a minimum of one
month before return-
ing to Surat. The ex-
ercise is being carried
out in the interest of
curbing the spread of
corona and also for
the safe journey of
workers, Kumar said.
In the past three days,
a total of 21,500 passen-
gers have left for their
home states of Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and
Orissa in government-
provided Turn on P6Chief Minister Vijay Rupani —FILE PHOTO
Five lakh diamond workers are natives
of Saurashtra, mostly from Bhavnagar,
Botad and Amreli First India News The Centre has permitted clinical trials on COVID-19
patients at Ahmedabad’s BJ Medical College as part of
the World Health Organization’s Solidarity Trial. Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani had taken up the issue with the
central government. Four patients will participate in
the clinical trial. The state has also for such permis-
sion at SVP hospital, GMERS Gotri in Vadodara,
Government Medical College in Vadodara, Surat’s New
Civil Hospital and Rajkot’s PDPU Medical College.
GUJ GETS PERMISSION FOR SOLIDARITY
CLINICAL TRIAL FOR COVID-19
FAREENOUGH! Never talked about charging migrants workers  85% fare borne by railways,
15% by state govts, says Centre  Every PCC shall bear the cost for rail travel,
says Sonia Gandhi  Bihar & MP have decided to fund rail travel of its workers
New Delhi: The Indian
Railways has said that it
is charging only standard
fare in Shramik special
trains from State Govern-
ments, which is just 15 %
of the total cost incurred
by Railways.
“The Railways is not
selling any tickets to mi-
grants and is only board-
ing passengers based on
lists provided by States,”
said sources from the
Ministry of Railways.
The Railways is running
Shramik special trains
keeping berths empty in
each coach to maintain
social distancing, said
sources adding the trains
are returning empty from
destinations under lock
and key. Free food and
bottled water is also be-
ing provided to the mi-
grants by Railways.
“The Railways has run
34 Shramik special trains
so far from different parts
of the country and is ful-
filling its social responsi-
bility of providing safe
and convenient travel es-
pecially to the poorest of
the poor in a time of cri-
sis,” the sources added.
Thespecialtrainsarebe-
ing run to transport mi-
grant workers, pilgrims,
tourists,studentsandother
persons stranded at differ-
ent places in the country
due to lockdown. Turn on P6
New Delhi: Congress in-
terim President Sonia
Gandhi on Monday said
thatherpartywillbearthe
cost for rail travel of every
needymigrantworkerand
labourer to their respec-
tive home towns during
the lockdown.
She said that Congress
had taken the decision as
the Centre and Rail Min-
istry had completely ig-
nored party’s repeated
requests to ensure provi-
sions of “safe and free
rail travel of migrant
workers and labourers to
their home-towns.” “In-
dian National Congress
has taken a decision that
every Pradesh Congress
Committee shall bear the
cost for the rail Turn on P6
Bonding over booze:
People give social
distancing a miss!
New Delhi: Liquor
shops reopened across
the country in the non-
containment zones after
40 days from Monday
with people queuing up
inlargenumbers,giving
social distancing norms
a toss at some places.
MHA had extended
the 40-day nationwide
lockdown from Monday
for two more weeks and
allowed liquor and to-
bacco shops to open in
the green and orange
zones. Many liquor
shops had to be shut as
people, who gathered
outside the outlets, did
not follow social dis-
tancing norms, while in
some cases police had to
use mild force to dis-
perse the unruly crowd.
Large number of peo-
ple made a beeline in
Uttar Pradesh that reo-
pened 26,000 liquor
stores, while Rajasthan
had to close most of the
shops where social dis-
tancing norms were not
being followed.
Asperthegovernment
notification, shops sell-
ing liquor have to ensure
social distancing and
also make sure that not
morethanfivepeopleare
presentatonetimeatthe
shop. Turn on P6
Cong to pay rail fare of
needy migrants: Sonia
Migrants from Nagpur arrive at Lucknow railway station by a special
train on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
SPREADING “DEADLY VIRUS LIKE TERRORISM”: MODI
ON PAK AT NON-ALIGNED SUMMIT
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday
delivered a sharp takedown of Pakistan during a video
address to the summit of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM),
pointing to its focus on terror even amid the coronavirus
pandemic. Without naming Pakistan, PM Modi said,
“Even as the world fights COVID19, some people are
busy spreading some other deadly viruses such as
terrorism, fake news and doctored videos to divide
communities and countries”. P6
New Delhi: Centre said it will be
“facilitating return of Indian nationals
stranded abroad on compelling
grounds in a phased manner,” from
7 May. “Travel would be arranged
by aircraft and naval ships. Indian
Embassies and High Commissions are
preparing a list of distressed Indians.
INDIA TO BRING CITIZENS
STRANDED ABROAD FROM MAY 7
BEACONof
HOPE
The Keukenhof flower garden in Holland, with its seven million
spring-flowering bulbs, is the most ‘beautiful spring garden in the
world’. For the first time in its 71-year history, it is closed due to
coronavirus lockdown. However, its magnificent blooms can still be
seen in all their multi-coloured glory—virtually—thanks to Dutch
photographer Albert Dros, who was given exclusive access to the
Garden of Europe. Gardeners had been working hard to prepare the
site for its annual flower festival, planting 7million bulbs!
Liquor shops reopened on Monday but
were shut down as crowd became unruly;
In Raj shops will now open on Tuesday
after proper barricading, said Excise Dept

NEWSAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
After 53 cases in 13 days Gandhinagar gets choosy about letting people in
First India News
Gandhinagar: On
April 20, there were
17 cases of COVID-19
in Gandhinagar. On
Sunday, there were
70. This giant leap
has mobilized the dis-
trict administration
to control the entry
of people, especially
those coming from
the neighbouring
hotspot that is
Ahmedabad.
Just last week, the
state government had
decided that govern-
ment employees would
report for duty across
departments, although
Class III and IV staff
were limited to 30% at
a time. However, Gan-
dhinagar police on
Monday asked a su-
pervisor of the Gen-
eral Administration
Department to return
to Ahmedabad. He
was told that only of-
ficers of the Deputy
Secretary level or
above were allowed in
the Secretariat.
Vikram, an employee
of a private firm at Gan-
dhinagar’s Infocity, was
asked to return to
Ahmedabad on the
grounds that private
firm employees are not
being issued passes for
inter-district travel.
Similarly, a general at-
tendant with the State
Bank of India was
asked to go to
Ahmedabad since only
managers and higher
ranks are allowed in
Gandhinagar. Rutvik
Patel, who works at Ma-
hatma Mandir, had to
return to the city for
similar reasons.
Last Friday, the
state government as-
signed senior IAS of-
ficer Additional
Chief Secretary Ra-
jeev Gupta to super-
vise and monitor the
situation in Gandhi-
nagar. By Sunday
evening, a meeting
led by him decided to
declare Goenka Hos-
pital as a dedicated
Covid-19 hospital.
From May 5, all COV-
ID-19 patients will be
admitted there. Aash-
ka Multispeciality
Hospitals and SMVS
Swaminarayan Hos-
pital have also been
declared dedicated
COVID-19 hospitals.
In a single day, 147
samples were tested in
Gandhinagar, 34 of
which were from poten-
tial super spreaders.
Over the next two days,
2,500 houses will be
surveyed--and 100-150
samples collected--in
Sector 24, where a high
number of cases have
been reported. Authori-
ties have also decided
to increase daily test-
ing in the containment
area to 200, for which
1,000 kits are being
made available.
With most entry points to Gandhinagar shut, only Ch road remains open, leading to heavy traffic
around Ch-0 circle. —FILE PHOTO
In addition to restricting entry
from Ahmedabad, district also
announces extra sampling
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: Sample
testing has become one
of the most important
aspects in the fight
against coronavirus.
And to that end, the
sample testing capacity
of state laboratories has
increased by 239% than
what it was until April
26, in just 1 week. But
even with 4,500-5,000
sample tests daily, the
state has lagged behind
the neighbouring state
of Maharashtra in
terms of testing. The
state health secretary
Jayanti Ravi has stated
that state’s sample test-
ing capacity per day
stood at 3,770 samples
until 3rd week of April.
In a comparison of
statistics, the total pop-
ulation of the state is 6.5
crore and that of Maha-
rashtra is 12.49 crore.
Until Sunday, the total
number of COVID-19
confirmed cases in Ma-
harashtra were 12,974,
whereas the state’s
number stood at 5,428.
While the number of pa-
tients who have recov-
ered from the virus and
discharged in Maha-
rashtra is 2,115 patients
and 1,042 in Gujarat.
The death toll is Maha-
rashtra and Gujarat is
548 and 290 respectively.
If the total number of
sample testing conduct-
ed in the two neighbour-
ing states till April 29 is
taken into considera-
tion, Maharashtra has
conducted tests on
1,37,153 samples against
Gujarat’s 59,488. The
state has struggled with
its sample testing capac-
ity, which was less than
50% of what Maharash-
tra logged. But, after the
ICMR granted approval
for pool testing, the
state’s capacity has now
doubled. On an average,
the state conducts test-
ing on close to 4,500-5000
samples a day. And yet,
it is nowhere close to
Maharashtra’s daily log.
On April 27, the state
tested over 2,485 sam-
ples in a span of 24 hrs,
whereas, it tested 5,944
samples on May 3. On
the other hand, the av-
erage testing capacity
of Maharashtra in 24
hrs is 8,000 samples.
And on May 3, it tested
over 9,047 samples,
which are 3,103 more
tests than Gujarat.
A doctor wishing an-
onymity told First In-
dia, “It’s not just a ques-
tion of laboratory test-
ing capacity it also has
to do with state’s will-
ingness to accept com-
munity transmission &
conduct community
sampling as per ICMR
guidelines or not.”
GujtestingratedoublesbutlagsbehindMaha
Medical check at Dhal ni pole. —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE
HIV positive youth
recovers from COVID-19
First India News
Ahmedabad: The Hu-
man Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV) is a disease
which compromises the
immune system of any
individual. A 27-year-
old HIV patient, who
had been infected with
COVID-19, recovered
and was discharged
from hospital on Mon-
day. The youth, who had
tested positive for novel
coronavirus on April
15, signifies a ray of
hope for COVID-19 pa-
tients with co-morbid
conditions.
The patient had been
suffering from HIV for
the last two and a half
years with severe acute
blood binding short-
age. In addition, he
was severely anae-
mic at the time of
admission to the
hospital with a
haemoglobin level
of 2.3%.
The patient
was adminis-
tered three
blood trans-
fusions in or-
der to ensure
that his body fights the
Sars-Cov-2 virus and
does not give in to it.
According to the offi-
cialpressreleaseof civil
hospital, “The patient
was admitted on April
15 along with other
co-morbid patients
in the designated
COVID hospital.
The hospital staff
including doctors
and nurses took
extra care while
treating him.
And it is be-
cause of their
treatment, that
the patient has
won the battle against
COVID-19.”
AMARINDER WRITES TO SHAH, ‘CAPTAINS’
STRANDED WORKERS PLIGHT, SEEKS SPL TRAINS
SINGH HAS ALSO WRITTEN A LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI TO DIRECT GOVERNMENT
INSTITUTES IN CHANDIGARH AND PUNJAB ‘TO AUGMENT VIRAL TESTING CAPACITY OF 2,000 DAILY’
unjab Chief
Minister Cap-
tain Ama-
rinder Singh
on Monday
wrote to Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
seeking his interven-
tion to arrange spe-
cial trains to send
stranded migrant la-
bourers back to their
home states from
Punjab, news agency
ANI reported.
On Sunday, Singh
took to Twitter and an-
nounced that he will be
taking up the matter
with the Centre.
“I will be taking up
the matter with Cent-
er to take immediate
steps for the safe &
early departure of mi-
grant workers, desir-
ous of leaving, to their
respective States.
Punjab Govt will look
after you in every way
till GoI makes neces-
sary arrangements. I
request all to cooper-
ate,” the chief minis-
ter tweeted on Sunday.
Singh has also written
alettertoPrimeMinister
Narendra Modi to direct
governmentinstitutesin
Chandigarh and Punjab
“toaugmentviraltesting
capacity of 2,000 daily”.
“Have written to re-
quest PM @Naren-
draModi Ji to direct
Govt of India insti-
tutes in Chandigarh &
Punjab i.e. PGI & IM-
TECH-CSIR Chandi-
garh, IISER Mohali,
NIPER Mohali, NABI
Mohali, and Central
University Bathinda to
augment viral testing
capacity of 2,000 dai-
ly,” his tweet read.
Over 500 migrant
workers stranded in
West Bengal due to na-
tionwide coronavirus
lockdown reached
Bharatpur in Rajasthan
in 17 buses on Monday
morning,saidanofficial.
On Friday, the Centre
gave in to pressure from
state governments
which had been de-
manding special trains
to take the stranded
workers home. The
ministry rolled out the
special trains on Friday
and operated the first
train between Telanga-
na and Jharkhand.
Normally, it said in
the guidelines, the
trains will be run for
distances more than
500 km and will not
stop at any station be-
fore the destination.
Each train with full-
length composition
with social distancing
(not counting the
middle berths) can
carry about 1,200 pas-
sengers.
The government has
mandated that migrant
workers returning
home should be placed
under home quarantine
to protect the local pop-
ulation from the spread
of coronavirus. —ANI
P
Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Punjab Chief
Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. —FILE PHOTO

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
First India News
Gandhinagar: Even as
Ahmedabad crossed the
4,000 mark, districts
such as Bhavnagar,
Anand, and Gandhina-
gar seem to be compet-
ing among themselves
for the highest day-on-
day increase in COV-
ID-19 cases. Bhavnagar
now has 74 cases after a
one-day increase of 21
cases, while Anand has
75, and Gandhinagar, 77
cases. Jamnagar dis-
trict, which is in the
green zone, has three
new positive cases.
With 259 new cases
and 26 deaths,
Ahmedabad accounts
for 70% of new cases
and 73% of deaths
across the state. As of
Monday, the state has a
5,804 cases (4,076 in
Ahmedabad) and a
death toll of 319. The
total number of dis-
charged is now 1,195,
with 153 recovered pa-
tients being discharged
in the past 24 hours. Su-
rat has 706 cases and
Vadodara has 385 cases.
According to Princi-
pal Secretary (Health)
Jayanti Ravi, there are
25 patients on ventila-
tor, as of Monday. In a
bid to curb mortality
and aid recovery rates,
the state has decided to
enlist the expertise of
private doctors in criti-
cal care. The city’s best
pulmonologists and
critical-care specialists
will now visit critical
patients and help doc-
tors at the Civil Hospi-
tal decide the best
course of treatment.
The state has also de-
cided to conduct re-
search on the symptoms
of COVID-19 and its co-
morbid conditions to
further aid in the treat-
ment of patients.
Meanwhile, Surat
Municipal Commission-
er Banchhanidhi Pani
said that the city’s test
positivity rate is 5.3%,
while the mortality rate
is 4.6%, and the recov-
ery rate, 37%. This has
improved by seven
times in the last few
weeks. People are also
being fined for not abid-
ing by lockdown and
other norms. Twenty-
one people have been
fined Rs 21,500 for not
following social distanc-
ing, and Rs 32,650 is re-
covered from 30 persons
for not wearing masks.
A’badjumps past4kasmortalitydipsWith 259 new cases and 26 deaths, city accounts for 70% of new cases and 73% fatalities, state tally nears 6K with death toll at 319
EXPERT ADVICE
Weekly screenings
for super spreaders
Active cases in the city are down 4%
First India News
Ahmedabad: With
more than 200 vendors
in the city getting in-
fected by the novel coro-
navirus, city municipal
commissioner Vijay
Nehra on Monday de-
clared them super-
spreaders. In order to
contain the infection,
now vendors will be is-
sued cards after a thor-
ough health screening.
These cards will be val-
id for a week’s time, and
would need to be re-
newed each week.
All street vendors ac-
tive in the city will need
to go undergo a manda-
tory screening process
to be conducted by
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC) and
receive cards required
to run their businesses.
They will need to go
throughanotherscreen-
ing after a week after
which they will be is-
sued another card. The
responsibility of the is-
suance of cards has
been given to the staff-
ers of AMC’s estate de-
partment.
“All vendors will be
issued another card af-
ter their weekly health
assessment,” said Neh-
ra in his video briefing
on Monday.
The super-spreaders,
who mostly sell vegeta-
bles on moving carts,
are believed to have in-
fected a large chunk of
citizens, who came to
them for their daily es-
sentials.
First India News
Ahmedabad: The city
has recorded 3,817 cas-
es and 208 deaths due
to novel coronavirus
so far. In his daily
briefing on Monday,
municipal commis-
sioner Vijay Nehra
said that the incre-
ment of active cases
has gone down by 4%.
On the city’s case
doubling rate, Nehra
said, “Until April 15,
the case doubling rate
was 4 days which was
improved upon from
April 18-27, when the
doubling rate in-
creased to 8 days. The
rate of increment of
active cases was 10%
which decreased to 8%
from April 18-27, and
now has dipped to 6%.”
This means that in a
span of two weeks, the
rate of active cases
has decreased by 4%.
“Our aim is to hit
zero case doubling
rate by the end of this
month. If there is a
sudden spurt in cases,
the health department
will not be able to con-
trol it. Therefore, it is
imperative that the in-
fection be contained
now,” he added.
Further, the munici-
pal commissioner also
addressed the unpleas-
ant smell emanating in
some parts of the city.
“The smell in the air is
due to a fire at the
Khodiyar container
depot and it will be re-
solved in a few days.”
The few bridges still open in Ahmedabad are turning into traffic bottlenecks such as the one seen here near Subhash Bridge.
Women flock to buy vegetables amid the lockdown. —FILE PHOTO
After thorough health
screening, vendors
will get cards that will
be valid for a week
Surat’s diamond industrialists denied entry to BDB
First India News
Surat: Eight diaman-
taires from Surat were
denied permission to
enter Bharat Diamond
Bourse (BDB) at the
Bandra-Kurla complex
in Mumbai on Sunday,
despite having special
permission from the
Surat district collector
and the customs depart-
ment to complete an ex-
port order.
Thebusinessmenalso
obtained permission
from the Gem & Jewel-
lery Export Promotion
Council (GJEPC) to re-
lease parcels of dia-
monds stuck at Mumbai
port and to send parcels
from Surat via Mumbai
to Hong Kong. They had
received permission
from the customs de-
partment to send par-
cels worth about Rs400
crore to Hong Kong in
two days.
Sanjay Paldia of Pal-
diaBrothersandBharat
Gujarati of Bhagwati
Gems said that the BDB
association instructed
them to get permission
from the Mumbai po-
lice, which they were
denied.
Two more
arrested under
PASA: DGP
First India News
Gandhinagar: During
the lockdown period,
people are
not just
confront-
ing police
that try to
effectively
implement
lockdown
but are at-
tacking them too. The
state police invokes Pre-
vention of Anti Social
Activities Act (PASA)
against such accused.
Thus far, 54 have been
arrested under PASA.
Two persons, one
each from Rajkot and
Banaskantha were ar-
rested under PASA and
sent to jail, said Guja-
rat’s Director General
of Police Shivanand
Jha on Monday.
Shivanand Jha
IPS Gotru is Spl
Commissioner
First India News
Gandhinagar: The
state has appointed Dr
Neerja Gotru as Special
Commissioner (Admin-
istration)of Ahmedabad,
elevatinghimfromJoint
Commissioner. He will
continue to hold addi-
tional charge of ADGP
(State Monitoring Cell).
IPS NN Komar, IGP
(Gandhinagar-Law&Or-
der) will hold additional
charge of ADGP (Law
and Order), IGP HG Pa-
tel is placed at the dis-
posal of Surat Police
Commissioner.
It is impera-
tive that the
infection be
contained now. Our
aim is to hit zero case
doubling rate by the
end of this month.
—Vijay Nehra,
Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner
Patient numbers at OPD
clinics fall 90%, docs say
First India News
Ahmedabad: With the
state allowing general
practitioners to reopen
out-patient depart-
ments (OPDs), around
3,994 clinics had started
attending to patients,
according to data re-
leased on Saturday.
However, physicians
say patient numbers
have dropped by 90%.
“We receive around
8-10 patients for consul-
tation per session,” said
Dr Mitesh Shah, who
practises in the Satel-
lite area. He added,
“Usually, even patients
who come on appoint-
ments end up waiting
for their turn. But with
the lockdown, the situa-
tion has reversed.”
Dr Shah also said:
“Most patients who ap-
proach us either have
anxiety, insomnia, an
irrational fear of get-
ting infected with COV-
ID-19, or fear financial
ruin because of the ex-
tended lockdown.”
Dr Manhar Jogi from
South Bopal too has
seen a drop in number
of patients. He said, “I
attend to patients, but
ensure minimum con-
tact with them. Most
patients who come in
complain of stress, hy-
pertension and fear of
being infected with the
virus. Usually, consults
are to determine wheth-
er they have coronavi-
rus or not.”
“People have started
eating home-cooked
food and that may be
taking care of many ac-
tual health problems,”
Dr Shah opined.
People line up outside a clinic in Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur area.
FLAMES AND ASHES
A massive fire near
Sabarmati Acher Cemetery
engulfed 60-70 huts on
Monday. Ten fire brigade
teams were seen dousing
the flames and working
to save other structures
nearby from catching
fire. No casualties
were reported. The 108
ambulance service was
also present at the spot. It
remains unclear as to how
the huts caught fire since
their residents walked to
Godhra amid the lockdown.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot: There are a
few for whom the lock-
down has presented it-
self as a boon which
they have turned it
into a positive opportu-
nity. After a Rajkot
firm started manufac-
turing in-house low
cost ventilators, two
other companies in the
city have come up with
an indigenous fully au-
tomatic N-95 mask
making machine and a
fabric production ma-
chine required for the
N-95 mask.
A Rajkot-based firm
named Pelican Rotoflex
Pvt Ltd claims to have
made the country’s first
N-95 mask production
machine with a capaci-
ty to produce 25,000
masks per day. Bharat
Shah, the company’s
managing director said,
“It took a team of 150
engineers 20 days and
over 1,000 indigenously
made parts to build the
machine that automati-
cally manufactures
masks with an automat-
ic ear loop welding.
Currently, the company
plans to keep up with an
in-house production to
supervise the ma-
chine’s functioning. We
expect to produce five
such machines in the
next two months.”
Company sources
say, “We plan to go into
mass production of
masks which means
that the price of the
N-95 mask would come
to around Rs75.”
Similarly, Rajoo Engi-
neers Ltd, market lead-
ers in blown film lines
and thermoformers in
the Indian subconti-
nent, are also in the pro-
cess of developing a ful-
ly automatic N95 mask
making machine, with a
capacity to churn out
50,000 masks per day.
Rajesh Doshi of Ra-
joo Engineers told First
India, “An N-95 ma-
chine from China, Tai-
wan or Korea costs
around $25,000. Our ma-
chine will be built at
Rs95,000 to Rs1 crore.
Our team has been
working continuously
since the last 15 days
and has finished de-
signing the machine.”
He added, “We are
also developing a ma-
chine that can pro-
duce a special type of
meltblown non-woven
fabric used in the N95
mask. We expect both
machines to be opera-
tional in the first week
of June.”
Two Rajkot firms set to start manufacturing N95 masks
HOME-GROWN SOLUTIONS
Pelican Rotoflex’s fully automatic N-95 mask-making machine.
It took a
team of 150
engineers
about 20 days and
more than 1,000
indigenously made
parts to build the
machine.
—Bharat Shah,
MD, N95 mask manufacturer
—PHOTOBYNANDANDAVE

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 159 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
SONIA GANDHI
PUSHES BJP
ON BACKFOOT
he Congress Party moved to the
centre stage of national politics
with Sonia Gandhi’s announce-
ment to pay for the migrant
workers’ journey back home. In
an oblique reference to Trump’s Gujarat
visit, she wondered why a govt spent Rs 100
crore to transport and provide food for one
public event in Gujarat cannot extend the
same courtesy to migrant workers. Suggest-
ing lack of compassion on part of the Cen-
tral government, she also asked why the
railway ministry which gave Rs 151 crore to
the PM Cares fund was not large-hearted
enough to bear the cost of the displaced
workers headed home.
The Congress Working President describ-
ing the migrant labourers, who have been
forced to return to more secure and familiar
environs after the sudden lockdown rendered
them jobless and hungry, as the backbone of
the economy and ambassadors of the coun-
try’s growth. In a letter, she said, “When our
Government can recognize its responsibility
by arranging free air travel for our citizens
stranded abroad, when the government can
spend nearly Rs 100 crore on transport and
food, etc for just one public programme in
Gujarat when the Rail Ministry has the lar-
gesse to donate Rs 151 crore to the PM’s Co-
rona fund, then why can’t these essential
members of our nation’s fabric be given a
fraction of the same courtesy.”
After pushing the BJP on the back foot by
taking up the cause of migrant workers who
were being asked to pay for their rail ticket
and food packets, Sonia found herself on the
same page as Subramaniam Swamy, Rajya
Sabha MP of the ruling party. Echoing her
views in stronger words Swamy tweeted,
“How moronic of the Government of India to
charge steep rail fares from the half-starved
migrant labourers! Indians stranded abroad
were brought back free by Air India. If Rail-
ways refuse to budge then why not make PM
CARES pay instead?”
Comparing the scale of “the tragedy” with
the movement of millions of refugees from
Pakistan, Sonia said, “Post the partition of
1947, this is the first time India witnessed a
tragedy with such massive human cost…”
Although some BJP leaders hit back at the
Congress for the statement, the government
swung into damage control as the govern-
ment apparently agreed to bear 85 percent of
the cost with the states left to bear the re-
maining 15 percent. Swamy’s second tweet
cleared the air, “Talked Piyush Goel office.
Govt will pay 85% and State Govt 15%. Mi-
grant labour will go free. Ministry will clari-
fy with an official statement.”
Amit Malviya of the BJP tweeted that
Railwayshadalreadysubsidised85percent.
Heeding Sonia’s Rajasthan CM Ashok
Gehlot promptly announced that the
state will pay the labourers rail fare.
At the end of the day, Sonia seemed to
have won this round of political war.
IN-DEPTH
T
n the face of the present un-
precedented crisis, the country
has seen an alarming spurt in
the number of instances where
clinical establishments, includ-
ing hospitals, have refused
treatment of non-covid19 ail-
ments, and consequently,
turned away patients. Some of
these patients ultimately
succumbed to their ail-
ments. The reasons for the
denial are aplenty ranging
from the compelling lack of
requisite medical equipment
to insufficiency of manpow-
er and other resources, to
the fear of COVID-19 mani-
festation in the subject seek-
ing treatment, etc. The suffi-
ciency, or otherwise, of the
justifications notwithstanding,
the incidents highlight the ex-
istence of a much greater co-
nundrum. There is a need to
resolve the apparent incom-
patibility between the citi-
zens’ fundamental right to
healthcare and the right to
safety and security of the
medical practitioners, espe-
cially in such testing times.
The situation may be best un-
derstood through the prism of
the legislation holding the field
governing doctors.
In India, doctors are gov-
erned by the Indian Medical
Council (Professional Con-
duct, Etiquette and Ethics)
Regulations, 2002, pre-
scribed by the Medical
Council of India. Although
the council is now defunct on
account of repeal of its parent
legislation, these regulations
continue to hold the field being
saved by the transitory provi-
sions in the new enactment.
The regulations begin by re-
minding that the prime object
of the medical profession is to
render service to humanity
and that whoever chooses this
profession, assumes the obliga-
tion to conduct himself in ac-
cordance with its ideals. Fur-
ther, it is unequivocally stated
that a physician is free to
choose whom he will serve. He
should, however, respond to
any request for his assistance
in an emergency or whenever
temperate public opinion ex-
pects the service. The regula-
tions conclude, lest one forgets,
any violation of these regula-
tions shall constitute profes-
sional misconduct and render
the physician liable for disci-
plinary action. The liability
may even arise in tort, thereby,
giving rise to a claim for dam-
ages.
The resounding mandate
of the paramountcy of sav-
ing life was cited with ap-
proval by the Supreme Court
in the celebrated case of Pt.
Parmanand Katara v. Union
of India and Ors, wherein
the court went further to
hold that whenever the pro-
fessional is unable to render
the requisite services to save
the life, he must assist the
patient in reaching the prop-
er expert, as early as possi-
ble. There is, therefore, a statu-
tory obligation, and not merely
a moral duty, to treat patients
when called upon. Interesting-
ly, the Law Commission of In-
dia, under the chairmanship of
Justice M. Jagannadha Rao, in
its 201st report proposed law
for imposing stricter statutory
duties and corresponding lia-
bilities on hospitals and practi-
tioners in emergency care.
However, the recommenda-
tions never made it to the stat-
ute book.
Seen from the other side, it
is equally incumbent upon the
government in a welfare state
to ensure the protection of its
frontline warriors. Those who
work tirelessly, day in and day
out, to keep us in the comforts
of our homes, should not be
subject to unnecessary harass-
ment from others. The right to
work without fear enures in
them as also the right to not
be bound to treat each and
every person asking for his/
her services. Where the ail-
ment is one not in the range of
expertise of the treating doc-
tor, he may even refuse the
treatment and refer the patient
to another physician. Any inca-
pacity detrimental to the pa-
tient or which can affect his
performance can be reasonable
ground to refuse treatment.
Such incapacity may even be
on account of inadequate
equipment or protective gear.
There is, therefore, a need to
harmonize the apparently
conflicting rights of doctors
vis-à-vis the society, so as to
prevent the addition of an
unwanted dimension in our
fight against the pandemic.
After all, the law is a watchdog
and not a bloodhound.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
I
DHRUV
GUPTA
The writer is a practising
advocate in the Supreme
Court of India
COVID-19andtheemergentneed
toharmoniserightsofdoctors
The right to
work without
fear enures in
them as also the
right to not be
bound to treat
each and every
person asking
for his/her
services. Where
the ailment is
one not in the
range of
expertise of the
treating doctor,
he may even
refuse the
treatment and
refer the patient
to another
physician
There is a need to
resolve the apparent
incompatibility
between the citizens’
fundamental right to
healthcare and the
right to safety and
security of the
medical practitioners,
especially in such
testing times
ristotle was
right. Humans
have never been
atomized indi-
viduals, but
rather social beings whose
every decision affects other
people. And now the COV-
ID-19 pandemic is driving
home this fundamental
point: each of us is morally
responsible for the infec-
tion risks we pose to others
through our own behavior.
In fact, this pandemic is
just one of many collective-
action problems facing hu-
mankind, including cli-
mate change, catastrophic
biodiversity loss, antimi-
crobial resistance, nuclear
tensions fueled by escalat-
ing geopolitical uncertain-
ty, and even potential
threats such as a collision
with an asteroid.
As the pandemic has
demonstrated, however, it
is not these existential dan-
gers, but rather everyday
economic activities, that
reveal the collective, con-
nected character of mod-
ern life beneath the indi-
vidualist façade of rights
and contracts.
Those of us in white-col-
lar jobs who are able to
work from home and swap
sourdough tips are more
dependent than we perhaps
realized on previously in-
visible essential workers,
such as hospital cleaners
and medics, supermarket
staff, parcel couriers, and
telecoms technicians who
maintain our connectivity.
Similarly, manufactur-
ers of new essentials such
as face masks and chemical
reagents depend on im-
ports from the other side of
the world. And many peo-
ple who are ill, self-isolat-
ing, or suddenly unem-
ployed depend on the kind-
ness of neighbors, friends,
and strangers to get by.
The sudden stop to eco-
nomic activity underscores
a truth about the modern,
interconnected economy:
what affects some parts
substantially affects the
whole. This web of linkag-
es is therefore a vulnerabil-
ity when disrupted. But it
is also a strength, because
it shows once again how
the division of labor makes
everyone better off, exactly
as Adam Smith pointed out
over two centuries ago.
Today’s transformative
digitaltechnologiesaredra-
matically increasing such
social spillovers, and not
onlybecausetheyunderpin
sophisticated logistics net-
works and just-in-time sup-
ply chains. The very nature
of the digital economy
meansthateachof ourindi-
vidual choices will affect
many other people.
Consider the question of
data, which has become
even more salient today be-
cause of the policy debate
about whether digital con-
tact-tracing apps can help
the economy to emerge
from lockdown faster.
This approach will be ef-
fectiveonlyif ahighenough
proportion of the popula-
tion uses the same app and
shares the data it gathers.
And, as the Ada Lovelace
Institute points out in a
thoughtful report, that will
depend on whether people
regard the app as trustwor-
thy and are sure that using
it will help them. No app
will be effective if people
are unwilling to provide
“their”datatogovernments
rolling out the system. If I
decidetowithholdinforma-
tion about my movements
and contacts, this would ad-
versely affect everyone.
Yet, while much infor-
mation certainly should
remain private, data about
individuals is only rarely
“personal,” in the sense
that it is only about them.
Indeed, very little data with
useful information content
concerns a single individu-
al; it is the context – wheth-
er population data, loca-
tion, or the activities of
others – that gives it value.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM
Coronavirus & the end of individualism
A
THE SUDDEN STOP
TO ECONOMIC
ACTIVITY
UNDERSCORES A
TRUTH ABOUT THE
MODERN,
INTERCONNECTED
ECONOMY
Be not quick in your spirit
to become angry, for anger
lodges in the heart of fools.
—Ecclesiastes 7:9
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Ahmed Patel
@ahmedpatel
Deeply distressed to hear about
the passing away of Shri Ramesh
Dutta, former Deputy Mayor
(MCD) and a committed Congress
worker. My condolences to his
family and well wishers
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Welcome the decision of GOI
and thank Hon. PM Shri @
narendramodi, HM Shri @
AmitShahand EAM @
DrSJaishankar ji for the
timely decision to bring back
Indian nationals from abroad.
#IndiaFightsCorona

QUENCHING THIRST...
A man drinking water using tube-well in Kolkata on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
New Delhi: More than
11 lakh samples have
beentestedforCOVID-19
as of Monday morning,
according to the Indian
Council of Medical Re-
search (ICMR).
“A total of 11,07,233
samples have been test-
ed as on May 4, 9 am,”
ICMR said.A day earli-
er, the medical research
body had said that cur-
rently there are 315
government and 111
private laboratories,
operational and report-
ing to it. According to
ICMR, there are 363
labs, including govern-
ment and private, con-
ducting Real-Time RT
PCR test for COVID-19
in the country. While 42
laboratories are en-
gaged in TrueNat Test
and 21 for CBNAAT
Test in India. India’s
count of COVID-19 cas-
es has reached 42,533,
including 1,373 deaths,
according to the Minis-
try of Health and Fam-
ily Welfare on Monday.
2,553 more coronavirus
cases were reported and
72 people succumbed to
infection in the last 24
hours. Currently, there
are 29,453 active cases
while 11,706 patients
have been cured. —ANI
MORE THAN 11 LAKH SAMPLES
TESTED FOR COVID-19: ICMRIndia’s count of COVID-19 cases has reached 42,533, with 1,373 deaths, says Health Ministry
IMedics collect samples from a COVID-19 patient to test the status of his infection at Chaudhary
Brahm Prakash Ayurved Charak Sansthan in New Delhi on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Kolkata: West Bengal
has the highest mortal-
ity rate in the country
at 12.8 per cent, Inter
Ministerial Central
Team (IMCT) leader
Apoorva Chandra
wrote in his final obser-
vations to state Chief
Secretary Rajiva Sinha,
before leaving for Delhi.
“This extremely high
mortality rate is a clear
indication of low test-
ing, weak surveillance
and tracking,” Chandra
said in the letter.
A discrepancy has
been brought to the fore
in the number of COV-
ID-19 cases reported by
the state in its medical
bulletins and its com-
municationwiththeUn-
ion government, Chan-
dra noted in the letter.
The team, led by
Chandra, returned to
the national capital af-
ter having completed
two weeks of stay in the
city. —ANI
Bengal has highest Covid-19
mortality rate: Central team
Police instruct women to wear mask at a govt hospital in Kolkata.
New Delhi: The SC re-
served its order on a
batch of petitions
seeking restoration of
4G internet services in
J&K claiming the 2G
service available in the
Union Territory is not
sufficient for educa-
tion and business pur-
poses amid the ongo-
ing coronavirus-in-
duced lockdown.
A three-judge bench
headed by Justice NV
Ramana said that it is
taking into considera-
tion all the issues in
the matter and that it
does not require any
additional material in
the case. “We will pass
appropriate orders in
the case,” Justice Ra-
mana said.
During the hearing,
attorney general KK
Venugopal said that the
orders that have been
passed specifically stat-
ed that restrictions of
internet speed are re-
quired for national se-
curity. Venugopal said
that it's about the pro-
tection of the lives of
the entirety of the pop-
ulation of Jammu and
Kashmir and not just
the COVID-19 patients.
Petitions need to be
examined against the
larger public interest of
national security, he
added. —ANI
SC reserves order in plea to
restore 4G Internet in J&K
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Mon-
day refused to consider
a plea against the buri-
al of the bodies of
those who died of COV-
ID-19 at three cemeter-
ies of Mumbai's Ban-
dra area, saying the
Bombay HC should de-
cide it finally within a
period of two weeks.
A bench of Justices R
F Nariman and Indira
Banerjee said HC,
which was already
hearing the matter,
should consider the is-
sue. The court asked the
petitioner Pradeep Gan-
dhy to press for orders
before the High Court.
The petitioner chal-
lenged the validity of
the Bombay High
Court's interim order
of April 27, refusing to
stay burial of such de-
ceased at Ward Konkani
Muslim Cemetery no.
80, Khoja Sunnat Jamat
Kabrastan Bandra West
and KhojaIsna Ashari
Jammat Kabrastan
Bandra West.
The petitioner was
apprehensive of a “po-
tential catastrophe”
that may befall upon
the residents living in
the densely-populated
surrounding area
over there.
“Intheabsenceof any
interim protection, the
petitioners’ writ peti-
tion would be infructu-
ous as the burial process
will continue and irre-
versible damage would
be caused to the neigh-
bouring area. —ANI
Plea seeking stay
on corona victims’
burial, dismissed New Delhi: SC on Mon-
day, declined to enter-
tain a plea challenging
appointment of a judi-
cial officer as judge at
the Karnataka High
Court minutes before
the swearing in.
The Bench, compris-
ing Justice Deepak
Gupta and Justice An-
iruddha Bose, took up
the plea through video
link at 10 a.m, half an
hour before the sched-
uled swearing in of
judges in the Karnata-
ka High Court.
The petition was dis-
missed 15 minutes be-
fore judicial officer Pad-
maraj N Desai was to
take oath as an addi-
tional judge of the high
court. Dismissing the
plea, the court said it
couldn''t entertain such
a plea at the eleventh
hour, also it interfered
with the presidential
order on the judge''s ap-
pointment.
The appointment was
challenged by Shi-
vamogga Principal Dis-
trictJudgeRKGMMMa-
haswamiji referring to
breach of seniority and
also sought stay on the
swearing in. —ANI
SC junks plea
against K’taka
judge’s
appointment
WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY OF
ARMY MEN KILLED IN HANDWARA
Srinagar: The Indian Army held a wreath-laying cere-
mony for security personnel who lost their lives in the
Handwara encounter in J&K. Colonel Ashutosh Shar-
ma, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh Kumar and Lance
Naik Dinesh Singh had lost their lives in the Handwara
encounter on May 2. While four Army personnel and a
police Sub-Inspector lost their lives in the encounter.
DELHI AIRPORT UNVEILS PLAN
FOR PASSENGER TRAVEL
New Delhi: GMR-led Delhi International Airport
Ltd (DIAL) has come up with robust planning for
travel of air passengers when the COVID-19-led
lockdown ends. The measures include use of so-
cial media and in-airport channels to inform pas-
sengers about the importance of social distanc-
ing, wearing a mask at all times, hand hygiene,
printing boarding pass at home and highlighting
their name and flight details to reduce touch-
points at the airport. The SOP details the usage of
areas and need for disinfection.
UNITY AWARD: LAST DATE OF
NOMINATIONS EXTENDED
New Delhi: The last date of invitation of nom-
inations for Sardar Patel National Unity Award
has been extended till June 30, the Ministry of
Home Affairs said.The Centre has instituted the
award as the highest civilian award in the name
of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, for contribution
in promoting unity and integrity of India. The
award seeks to recognise the notable and inspir-
ing contribution made by individuals or institu-
tions or organizations in this field and reinforces
the value of strong and united India.
NMCG’S IDEATHON TO FIND RIVER
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Mumbai: The National
Mission for Clean Ganga
(NMCG) on May 1 organ-
ised an IDEAthon event to
explore how the current
Coronavirus crisis can
shape the river manage-
ment strategies for the
future. The event that was
based on the ‘The Future
River Management’
witnessed participation of
over 500 expert panelists
from various countries
and international organi-
zations. The NMCG had
organised the event under
the Ministry of Jal Shakti
and NIUA. The ministry in
its statement said that the
river cities need a special
focus to capitalize on not
only the socio-cultural
significance of the river
but also the ecological
importance.
New Delhi: Two floors
of the Border Security
Force headquarters in
Delhi have been sealed
after a staff member
was tested positive for
COVID-19, officials said
on Monday.
The eight-storeyed
BSF head office is lo-
cated in the CGOs com-
plex on Lodhi road that
also houses the CRPF
headquarters, which
was placed under simi-
lar sealing on Sunday
after two staffers tested
positive.”A head con-
stable of the BSF work-
ing in the force head-
quarters has been
found COVID-19 posi-
tive late night on May 3.
He last attended office
on May 1,” a BSF
spokesperson said.
“He was working in
an office on the 2nd
floor. Offices on first
and second floors of the
headquarters have been
closed as a precaution,”
he said.
All those who came
in his contact have been
identified and quaran-
tined. They will also be
tested for coronavirus,
he added.
The BSF head office
houses the office of its
Director General (DG)
and other senior com-
manders apart from its
operational and admin-
istrative wings.
Prior to the detection
of the case, the spokes-
person said the head-
quarters was closed
early by 4.00 pm on Fri-
day as a special precau-
tionary measure.
Officials said this
was done as the head
constable had then ex-
hibited some illness
symptoms and he was
immediately sent for
medical care.
All attending staff
vacated offices. —ANI
Two floors of BSF HQs
sealed after staff
member tests positive
New Delhi: India on
Monday, lodged a strong
protest with Pakistan
over a recent Pakistan
SC order that allows for
the conduct of the gen-
eral elections as well as
setting up a caretaker
government ahead of
the polls in Gilgit-Bal-
tistan. The region is
claimed by India as part
of the Indian state of
J&K. A statement from
the Indian foreign min-
istry said India sent the
protest note to a senior
Pakistan diplomat.
“The Government of
Pakistan or its judici-
ary has no locus standi
on territories illegally
and forcibly occupied
by it. India completely
rejects such actions and
continued attempts to
bring material changes
in Pakistan occupied
areas of the Indian ter-
ritory of Jammu and
Kashmir. Instead, Paki-
stan should immediate-
ly vacate all areas un-
der its illegal occupa-
tion,” the Indian state-
ment said.
The statement said
it has clearly been
conveyed to the Paki-
stani side that the en-
tire Union Territories
of Jammu and Kash-
mir and Ladakh, in-
cluding the areas of
Gilgit and Baltistan,
are an integral part of
India by virtue of its
fully legal and irrevo-
cable accession. —PTI
India demarches
Pak diplomat over
Baltistan issue
THE ORDER
Srinagar: Three
paramilitary troop-
ers were among four
persons killed in a
brief shootout at
Wangam area of Qa-
ziabad Handwara in
north Kashmir’s
Kupwara district on
Monday.
Militants attacked
92 bn CRPF (A Coy)
party at Wangam at
around 5:32 pm. In
the attack, two CRPF
men were killed on
the spot while two
others suffered inju-
ries in the shootout.
Both the injured
were shifted to hospi-
tal where one among
them succumbed on
the way, they said.
The paramilitary
troopers retaliated
and the exchange of
fire continued for
around five minutes,
they said.
As the guns fell si-
lent, one more body
was spotted near
the shootout site
and investigations
have been launched
to ascertain whether
the body is that of a
civilian or someone
else, they said.
PRO CRPF Pankaj
Singh told that mili-
tants attacked the
CRPF party at
Wangam. —Agencies
3 CRPF men among 4 killed in Handwara

INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
WHO WILL BE NEW DGP OF
HIMACHAL PRADESH?
Who will succeed Sitaram Mardi as DGP of
Himachal Pradesh on June 1 ? In all probability,
1989 batch IPS officer, Sanjay Kundu will suc-
ceed him. If Kundu declines the offer, then his
batchmate SR Ojha may be called from central
deputation to take over as DGP.
WHO WILL BE NEW CHIEF
SECRETARY OF KERALA?
In Kerala, the Government goes by seniority.If this
principle is taken into account 1986 batch IAS officer
Vishwas Mehta will succeed Tom Jose on June 1.
ASWANI BHATIA TO BE NEW MD OF SBI?
Managing Director & CEO at SBI Mutual Fund
Ashwani Bhatia is likely to become new MD of
the State Bank of India.
FOUR IAS OFFICERS, OUT OF 24,
OF 1988 BATCH, POSTED AS
SECRETARIES IN GOI
Out of total 24 empanelled officers of 1988 batch,
only four IAS officers have been posted as Secre-
taries, while the postings of seven officers of this
batch presently on central deputation, were up-
graded to Secretary level in Government of India.
14 UBI GMS TO BE PROMOTED
TO CGM RANK SOON
A total of 14 general managers of Union Bank of
India will be promoted to chief general manager
rank soon. The bank will start the evaluation pro-
cess soon for all 55 GMs to promote 14 of them.
LT GEN SUKHDEEP SANGWAN’S
TENURE AS DG, ASSAM RIFLES,
ENDING NEXT MONTH
The tenure of Lt Gen Sukhdeep Sangwan, SM,
Director General , Assam Rifles is ending on May
13, 2020.
SIKKIM IS COVID FREE AND SIKKIM
CADRE IAS OFFICER RAJE DOES
SAME WITH MP DISTRICT
2007 batch Sikkim cadre IAS officer Jitendra
Singh Raje, who is currently on deputation
to Madhya Pradesh as District Collector in
Neemuch, has made the district ‘COVID-19 free,’
which is now a ‘Green Zone.’ Incidentally, Sikkim
is also now entirely ‘COVID-19 free.’
LT GEN KJS DHILLION ASSUMES
CHARGE AS DG, DIA
Lt Gen KJS Dhillion has assumed charge as Director
General, Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy
Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Intelligence).
SHRIKANT MADHAV VAIDYA TO
SUCCEED SANJIV SINGH AS
CHAIRMAN, IOCL ON JULY 1
Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Director (Refineries),
IOCL, will be taking over the charge as Chairman,
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) on July 1.
He will succeed present incumbent Sanjiv Singh
retiring in June, 2020.
SCI CHAIRPERSON HK JOSHI
CONTINUES ADDITIONAL CHARGE
OF DIRECTOR FINANCE
HK Joshi, Chairperson & Managing Director,
Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), will continue
holding an additional charge of Director (Fi-
nance), SCI till June 19, 2020.
17 IAS OFFICERS OF 2019
BATCH TO JOIN UP
After completion of Foundation Course at
LBSNAA, Musoorie, 17 IAS officers of 2019
batch, who have been allotted UP, will join their
cadre next week. The state govt has issued their
posting orders as Asstt Collectors in various
districts. Accordingly, Divyanshu Patel, Bara-
banki, Junaid Ahmad, Bareilly, Gunjan Dwevedi
and Sandya Chabra, Bulandshahar, Diksha Jain,
Mathura, Anurag Jian, Gorakhpur, Himanshu
Nagpal, Saharanpur, Soumaya Gurunani, Meerut,
Ankur Kaushik and Amit Kale, Agra, Amritpal
Kaur, Muzzafarnagar, Lakshami M, Hardoi, Suraj
Patel, Bahraich, Manish Meena, Varanasi, Puja
Yadav, Kanpur, Prashant Nagar, Ayodhya, Sumit
Yadav, Deoria and Pranata Aishwarya, Lucknow.
POWERGallery
If Saurashtra’s...
transportation. This is
in addition to those who
have returned to their
native states like Mad-
hya Pradesh and Rajas-
than in private vehicles.
The state govern-
ment on Sunday has
granted permission
for MSMEs to start
production in green
zone areas like Jam-
nagar and Junagadh.
As many as 3,000
units have resumed
operations on Day
One, Kumar said.
Fare enough!...
Sources said
Jharkhand, which has
received two trains till
now, has paid its dues.
Originating states like
Rajasthan and Telanga-
na are also paying for
the travel of workers in
their states. Gujarat, the
sources said, roped in
an NGO to pay for part
of the services.
Sources, however,
added that Maharash-
tra is making the mi-
grants pay some
amount of the fare.
Maharashtra Minister
Nitin Raut has written
to Chief Minister Ud-
dhav Thackeray, re-
questing him to bear
the cost of ticket. —ANI
Cong to...
travel of every needy
worker and migrant la-
bourer and shall take
necessary steps in this
regard. This will be the
Indian National Con-
gress’ humble contribu-
tion in service of our
compatriots and to
stand shoulder to shoul-
der in solidarity with
them,” a statement is-
sued by the Congress
interim President read.
She stressed upon the
importance of workers
terming them “ambas-
sadors of our nation’s
growth” and alleged
“when the Rail Ministry
has the largesse to do-
nate Rs. 151 Crores to
the PM’s Corona fund,
then why can’t these es-
sential members of our
nation’s fabric be given
a fraction of the same
courtesy, especially free
rail travel, at this hour
of acute distress?”
“Our workers and la-
bourers form the back-
bone of our economy.
Their hard work and
sacrifice are the founda-
tion of our nation,” the
statement read.
She equated the lock-
down phase with that of
post-partition and said,
“Post the partition of
1947, this is the first
time India witnessed a
tragedy with such a
massive human cost as
thousands of migrant
workers and labourers
were forced to walk
home several hundred
kilometresonfoot-with-
out food, without medi-
cines, without money,
without transportation,
without anything ex-
cept for the desire to re-
turn to their families
and loved ones.” —ANI
Bonding over...
Liquor shops across
Noida and Greater Noi-
da witnessed scores of
customers queuing up
right from 10 am, as the
sale of liquor resumed
for the first time since
the nationwide lock-
down came into force on
March 25. In an official
order on Sunday, the
Gautam Buddh Nagar
administration allowed
opening of retail and
wholesale licensed li-
quor stores from May 4
between 10 am and 7 pm
with certain restric-
tions. Chaotic scenes
outside liquor stores in
some parts of UP were
witnessed, while else-
where serpentine
queues were seen. —ANI
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: Congress
leader Priyanka Gan-
dhi Vadra hit out at the
Centre asking that if
the government can
bring back Indians
stranded overseas
through air, free of cost,
then why cannot it give
free rail travel facility
to labourers amid lock-
down.
“The workers are na-
tion builders. But today
they are stumbled.
When we can bring
back stranded Indians
free of cost by airplane,
when we can spend Rs
100 crore on Namaste
Trump event from the
government treasury,
when the Railway Min-
ister can give Rs 151
crore in PM's Care
Fund, then why cannot
the workers get the fa-
cility of free rail travel
during this epidemic?”
she said on Twitter.
“The Indian National
Congress has decided
that it will bear full ex-
penses of rail journey
of workers returning
home.” Congress had
taken the decision as
Centre & Rail Ministry
had completely ignored
party's repeated re-
quests to ensure provi-
sions of ‘safe & free rail
travel’ of migrants. —ANI
‘Whycan’tworkerstravelforfree?’
Only 610 COVID-19 cases from 112
backward dists,says Amitabh Kant
New Delhi: Amitabh
Kant, Chairman of EG
6 and CEO NITI Aayog,
said that
only 610
covid-19
c a s e s
have been
reported
from 112
backward
districts of the country.
“We have worked there
with Collectors in 112
backward districts,
which we call aspira-
tion districts that come
under the aspirational
district programme.
Till now in those 112
districts, only 610 cases
have been reported that
is only 2 % of the na-
tional level infection.”
MIGRANTS’ TRAIN FARE
CENTRE BEHAVING
LIKE EAST INDIA CO.
New Delhi: Congress
spokesperson Jaiveer
Shergill said,
“Both in the
lockdown and
demonitisation,
BJP govern-
ment behaved
like the East
India Company
by looting the common
man, ignoring the pain
of the weaker sections
of society, focusing on
filling government cof-
fers rather than pocket
of the people of India.”
“Three I's, ill-planning,
insensitive ap-
proach and irra-
tional decision
making, are the
common traits
exhibited by the
BJP govern-
ment during
demonitisation and
lockdown causing pain,
anguish and distress to
the vulnerable sections
of the society,” added
Shergill.
‘BIHAR GOVT TO PAY RAIL FARE
OF STRANDED WORKERS’
Patna: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said that
stranded people of Bihar, including migrants
and students, coming back to the state via
special trains will not have to pay for rail
tickets and their fare will be paid by the state
government. “Once they reach Bihar they
will be kept in quarantine and after 14 days
will be allowed to go back to their final des-
tination. Everything will be paid by the Bihar
government,” he said. “A quarantine centre
has been set up. All of them will be staying at
the quarantine centre for 21 days. They will
be given an amount of Rs 1000 each.”
The Indian National
Congress has decided
that it will bear the
full expenses of the
rail journey of the
workers returning
home.
—Priyanka Gandhi
Congress General Secretary
On the one hand, the
Railways is charg-
ing ticket fare from
migrant workers
stranded in various
states of the coun-
try, on the other
hand, the Ministry of
Railways is donating
Rs 151 crore in PM-
CARES Fund. Solve
this puzzle!
—Rahul Gandhi
Congress Leader
New Delhi: India has
seen almost 70 per cent
decline in oil and gas
demand but has been
able to fill its strategic
reserves of petroleum
products, Petroleum
and Natural Gas Minis-
ter Dharmendra Prad-
han said on Monday.
Pradhan held a social
media live conversation
to address the concerns
of people in the wake of
situation created by
Covid-19.
Responding to a ques-
tion on oil price and de-
mand, he said the world
is seeing reduction in
demand due to the Cov-
id-19 pandemic and
lockdown.
“India has also seen
almost 70 per cent de-
cline in oil and gas de-
mand. The oil and gas
sector is going through
unprecedented chal-
lenges. Despite chal-
lenges, our refineries
are operating, supply
chain working. India
has been able to fill its
strategic reserves of
petroleum products.
Our oil companies have
procured almost 7
MMT oil at low prices.
Almost 20 per cent of
our demand has been
stored. —Agencies
‘Gas demand 70%
down but India filled its
strategic reserves’
Today we are
entering third
phase of the
lockdown. Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
said ‘Jaan hai to Ja-
haan hai’ and fol-
lowed it up with the
mantra ‘Jaan bhi aur
Jahaan bhi’. We have
to follow the lockdown
while slowly resuming
economic activities.
Dharmendra Pradhan
Minister for Petroleum & Gas
New Delhi: The well-
ness & beauty industry
units must register
t h e m -
selves un-
der MS-
MEs to
avail ben-
efits from
v a r i o u s
schemes,
said Union Minister Ni-
tin Gadkari on Monday.
Interacting with the
members of the well-
ness and beauty indus-
try through a video con-
ference, Gadkari said:
“This industry should
register under the MS-
MEs so that they can
benefit from various
schemes of the Minis-
try of MSME.” —ANI
‘Beauty industry
should register
under MSME’
New Delhi: Addressing a media briefing here
today, Joint Secretary (Home
Affairs), Punya Salila Srivastava
said: “MHA has asked states to
ensure that there are no issues in
inter-state cargo movement. MHA
Control Room Number 1930 and
NHAI helpline number 1033 may
be used by drivers / transporters
to lodge any complaint pertaining to lockdown.”
New Delhi: With 1,074 COVID-19 patients getting
cured in the last 24 hours, India's recovery rate has
further moved to 27.52%, said the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare. Talking to media, Lav Agarwal,
Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare, said: “A total of 1,074 people have been cured
in the last 24 hours. This is the highest number of
cured patient in a day. 11,706 people have been cured
till to date. The recovery rate is 27.52 per cent. —ANI
MHAADVISORYOVERRISINGINFECTION
1,074 COVID-19 PATIENTS CURED IN 24 HRS
New Delhi: In a veiled
attack on Pakistan,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi said at the vir-
tual Non-Aligned Move-
ment (NAM) summit
that while the world is
fighting the novel coro-
navirus, some people
are busy spreading oth-
er deadly viruses such
as terrorism and fake
news.
"Even as the world
fights COVID-19, some
people are busy spread-
ing some other deadly
viruses such as terror-
ism, fake news, and doc-
tored videos to divide
communities and coun-
tries," the Prime Minis-
ter said taking a swipe
at the neighbouring
country without nam-
ing it. Pakistan has
been continuing its at-
tempts at cross-border
infiltration of terror-
ists even as the world is
battling the challenge
thrown by coronavirus.
Its leaders have peddled
fake videos in order to
create divisions. Secu-
rity agencies have
traced thousands of so-
cial media handles
based in Pakistan
spreading fake news.
The Prime Minister,
in his remarks through
video conferencing,
said India is taking care
of its citizens against
COVID-19 and is also ex-
tending help to others
and has ensured medi-
cal supplies to 123 part-
ner countries including
59 members of NAM.
He said the humanity
today faces its most se-
rious crisis in many
decades.
"At this time, NAM
can help promote global
solidarity. NAM has of-
ten been the world's
moral voice. To retain
this role, NAM must re-
main inclusive," he
said.
He said India has
shown how democracy,
discipline, and decisive-
ness can come together
to create a genuine peo-
ple's movement.
"During this crisis,
we have shown how de-
mocracy, discipline, and
decisiveness can come
together to create a gen-
uine people's move-
ment. Indian civiliza-
tion sees the whole
world as one family. As
we care for our own
citizens, we're also ex-
tending help to other
countries," the PM said.
"Despite our own
needs, we have ensured
medical supplies to our
123 partner countries
including 59 members
of NAM . We are active
in global efforts to de-
velop vaccines.” —ANI
Modi takes up ‘terror virus’ at NAMVEILED ATTACK
New Delhi: The Union
Health Ministry said
the disease curve is
relatively flat as of
now, while 2,533 new
cases, which is the
highest number of cas-
es in a single day, were
reported in the past 24
hours, and needed a
collective effort to pre-
vent peaks.
Joint Secretary,
Health, Lav Agarwal,
said In the last 24 hours
1,074 recoveries (high-
est in one day) were re-
ported. As the curve is
relatively flat as of now.
If we work collectively,
peaks may not come,
but if we fail then, we
may see spikes in cas-
es,” said Agarwal. —ANI
‘Covid-19 curve
relatively flat now’
If we analyse
the closed data
of COVID-19
cases and calculate the
outcome ratio that indi-
cates the status of cases
as in whether they have
recovered or died, then it
is found that outcome
ratio has increased from
80:20 from April 17 to
90:20 on Monday.
—Lav Agarwal,Joint Secy,MoHFW

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
ARE STRINGENT LOCKDOWN MEASURES
EFFECTIVE IN CURBING COVID-19 SPREAD?
An R(eff) of less
than one means
each infected person
spreads the virus to
less than one other
person, on average.
By keeping R(eff) be-
low one, the number
of new infections
will fall and the vi-
rus will ultimately
disappear from the
community.
Conversely, the
larger the R(eff) val-
ue, the more freely
the virus is spread-
ing in the commu-
nity, and thus the
faster the number
of new cases will
rise. This means a
higher number of
cases at the peak of
the epidemic, a
greater risk of the
health system be-
coming over-
whelmed, and ulti-
mately more deaths.
T
o understand
the spread of
Covid-19, the
pandemic is more
usefully viewed as a
series of distinct lo-
cal epidemics. The
way the virus has
spread in different
countries, and even
in particular states
or regions within
them, has been quite
varied.
A New Zealand
study has mapped
the coronavirus epi-
demic curve for 25
countries and mod-
elled how the spread
of the virus has
changed in response
to the various lock-
down measures.
The research,
which is yet to be
peer-reviewed, clas-
sifies each country’s
public health re-
sponse using New
Zealand’s four-level
alert system. Levels
one and two repre-
sent relatively re-
laxed controls,
whereas levels three
and four are stricter.
By mapping the
change in the effec-
tive reproduction
number – R(eff), an
indicator of the ac-
tual spread of the
virus in the commu-
nity – against re-
sponse measures,
the research shows
countries that im-
plemented level
three and four re-
strictions sooner
had greater success
in pushing the R(eff)
to below one.
EFFECTIVE REPRODUCTION NUMBER – R(EFF)
ASTUDYHASMAPPED
CORONACURVEFOR25
COUNTRIESAND
MODELLEDHOWTHE
SPREADOFTHEVIRUS
HASCHANGEDIN
RESPONSETOVARIOUS
LOCKDOWNMEASURES
HERE ARE SOME OF STUDY’S FINDINGS FROM STATES AND NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
The effect of Australia’s
strict border control
measures, implemented
relatively early in the pan-
demic, can clearly be seen
in the graph below. Federal
and state governments
introduced strict social
distancing rules; schools,
pubs, churches, commu-
nity centres, entertainment
venues and even some
beaches were closed.
This prompted the
R(eff) value to drop
below one, where it
has stayed for some
time. Australia is rightly
regarded as a success
story in controlling the
spread of Covid-19, and
all states and territories
are now mapping their
paths towards relaxing
restrictions in the coming
weeks.
SINGAPORE
Singapore is a lesson
on why you can’t ever
relax when it comes to
coronavirus. It was hailed
as an early success story
in bringing the virus to
heel, through extensive
testing, effective contact
tracing and strict quaran-
tining, with no need for a
full lockdown.
But the virus has
bounced back. Infec-
tion clusters originating
among migrant workers
has prompted tighter
restrictions. The R(eff)
currently sits at around
two, and Singapore still
has a lot of work to do to
bring it down.
Individually, these
graphs each tell their
own story. Together,
they have one clear
message: places that
moved quickly to imple-
ment strict interventions
brought the coronavirus
under control much
more effectively, with
less death and disease.
And our final example,
Singapore, adds an
important coda: the situ-
ation can change rapidly,
and there is no room for
complacency.
ITALY
Italy was relatively slow
to respond to the epi-
demic, and experienced
a high R(eff) for many
weeks. This led to an
explosion of cases which
overwhelmed the health
system, particularly in
the country’s north. This
was followed by some of
the strictest public health
control measures in
Europe, which has finally
seen the R(eff) fall to
below one.
Unfortunately, the time
lag has cost many lives.
Italy’s death toll of over
27,000 serves as a warn-
ing of what can happen
if the virus is allowed to
spread unchecked, even
if strict measures are
brought in later.
UNITED KINGDOM
The United Kingdom’s
initial response to Cov-
id-19 was characterised by
a series of missteps. The
government prevaricated
while it considered pursu-
ing a controversial “herd
immunity” strategy, before
finally ordering an Italy-
style lockdown to regain
control over the virus’s
transmission. As in Italy,
the result was an initial
surge in case numbers, a
belatedly successful effort
to bring R(eff) below one,
and a huge death toll of
over 20,000 to date.
NEW YORK, USA
New York City, with
its field hospital in
Central Park resembling
a scene from a disas-
ter movie, is another
testament to the power
of uncontrolled virus
spread to overwhelm the
health system. Its R(eff)
peaked at a stagger-
ingly high value of eight,
before the city slammed
on the brakes and went
into complete lockdown.
It took a protracted battle
to finally bring the R(eff)
below one. Perhaps
more than any other city,
New York will feel the
economic shock of this
epidemic for many years
to come.
SWEDEN
Sweden has taken a
markedly relaxed
approach to its public
health response. Barring
a few minor restrictions,
the country remains more
or less open as usual,
and the focus has been
on individuals to take
personal responsibility
for controlling the virus
through social distanc-
ing. This is understand-
ably contentious, and
the number of cases and
deaths in Sweden are far
higher than its neighbour-
ing countries. But R(eff)
indicates that the curve is
flattening.
A health worker uses an infrared thermometer
to measure the temperature of a laborer at the
construction site of a residential building in
Ahmedabad. —PHOTO BY REUTERS
A police officer raises
a baton at a man who,
according to police,
had broken the social
distancing rule, outside
a wine shop during an
extended nationwide
lockdown in New Delhi,
India.
—PHOTO BY REUTERS
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

First India News
New Delhi: Veteran
CongressleaderAhmed
Patel on Monday called
upontheparty’srespec-
tive state units, includ-
ingGujarat,toorganise
allpossibleresourcesto
help migrant workers
buy train tickets to en-
able them to return
home with COVID-19
lockdownbeingextend-
ed till May 17.
“As directed by Con-
gress President, in my
capacity as Treasurer
(All India Congress
Committee), I request
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittees to mobilise all
possible local resources
to help migrants pur-
chase tickets to get back
home,” Patel tweeted.
“Let us make this into
a people’s move-
ment, please con-
tact AICC if you
require assis-
tance,” he said.
This came soon after
Congress’ interim
President Sonia Gan-
dhi issued a statement
announcing that her
party will bear the rail
travel cost of every
needy migrant worker
wishing to return
home. She asserted the
Congress had taken the
decisionaftertheCentre
and Union Railway Min-
istry had completely ig-
nored party’s repeated
requeststoensureprovi-
sions of “safe and free
rail travel of migrant
workers and labourers
to their home-towns.” In
an order issued on May
1, the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) allowed
the movement of mi-
grant workers, tourists,
studentsandotherper-
sons stranded at dif-
ferent places
through special
trains.
Choose happiness and good
health. Work towards the goals.
These are a way of life, not just
an aim.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
The near silence of the
NHRC is surprising
Two major human rights
abuses have occurred
during this pandemic &
we are yet to hear from
this constitutional body
1) Forced exodus of poor
migrants on foot
2) Stigmatisation of a
community contrary to
WHO guidelines
@ahmedpatel
First India News
Ahmedabad: Ahmed-
abad, the city that host-
ed Namaste Trump
event, have reported
over 4,000 Covid-19 cas-
es and 234 deaths, while
it accounts for over 65
percentof theGujarat’s
total positive cases and
70percentof thedeaths.
To put things in per-
spective, the first con-
firmed case was report-
ed in the United States
on January 20 where a
man in his 30s devel-
oped symptoms after re-
turning from a trip to
Wuhan.
Exactly 10 days lat-
er, India reported its
first Covid-19 case in
Kerala, with the pa-
tient having a travel
history of Wuhan.
And on February 24,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi held the Na-
masteTrumprallyatthe
newly-created Sardar
Patel Stadium in
Ahmedabad, where a
staggering 125,000 peo-
ple, including hundreds
of foreign citizens, were
present. The event, “Na-
maste Trump“, was in
response to the “Howdy
Modi”eventheldinHou-
ston, Texas, in Septem-
ber last year.
The ‘Namaste
Trump‘ event took
place at a time when
the world was already
plagued by the deadly
coronavirus pandem-
ic, at a time when the
World Health Organi-
sation (WHO) was con-
sistently urging peo-
ple to maintain social
distancing.
The Prime Minister
held a rally with the
crowd of thousands just
to show his self pro-
claimed friendship with
the President of the
United States. Modi put
his own citizens, espe-
cially in Ahmedabad, at
stake for the Trump
event amid the pandem-
ic and got nothing, even
the White House has un-
followed Narendra Modi
on Twitter.
Desperate to go home, migrants pelt
stones at police in South Gujarat
Police officers detain people during a protest by migrant workers demanding to return to their home states in Surat, on Monday.
First India News
Surat : The Surat po-
lice lobbed teargas
shells and resorted to
lathicharge to disperse
hundreds of migrant
workers who clashed
with the cops and pelted
stones at them near a
village in Surat district
on Monday. The work-
ers were desperate to
return home, even as
the third phase of lock-
down started.
Similar clashes
erupted in Rajkot
when scores of la-
bourers took to the
streets demanding
that they be dis-
patched to their
hometowns. In Surat,
some migrant work-
ers even had their
heads tonsured in
protest when they
were unable to go
back home.
In Vareli village in
Surat district -- home to
the famous Garden Silk
Mills -- hundreds of mi-
grant workers clashed
with police while de-
manding for arrange-
ments to help them re-
turn home. They even
pelted stones at the po-
lice, forcing the latter to
lob teargas shells and
lathicharge the work-
ers. Some vehicles
parked on Surat-Ka-
dodara road were also
damaged, police said.
Meanwhile, at least
50 migrant labourers
got their heads ton-
sured in Surat's Pan-
desara locality after
being unable to leave
for their native places
in Uttar Pradesh and
Jharkhand.
Theyclaimedthattwo
days ago their buses
were given permission
to leave Gujarat, but
they were prevented for
lack of "valid permis-
sion". One of them even
rued that they had not
even been returned the
bus fare they had man-
aged to arrange with dif-
ficulty. "Many of us sold
off our watches and mo-
bile phones to arrange,
but we are back to
square one,” he said.
In Rajkot, hundreds
of migrant workers
took to the streets in
Shapar-Veraval indus-
trial area. However, the
police negotiated peace
with them later.
Some migrant work-
ers also gathered out-
side the Rajkot collec-
tor's office to fill forms
for returning home,
saying they had no food
and money to sustain
their livelihood.
One of the workers, a
native of Badaun in Ut-
tar Pradesh, said he
filled the form as told by
police.
Restless workers also take to streets in Rajkot’s industrial suburb industrial suburb of Shapar and Veraval
FRUSTRATION UNLIMITED!
First India News
Rajkot: After Congress
president Sonia Gandhi
announced that the po-
litical party will be
bearing the cost of train
fares of migrant work-
ers heading home, Ra-
jkot Congress has
launched a helpline
number to address
problems faced by the
workers. A team of
eight members has
been assigned the re-
sponsibility to help the
workers.
On Sunday and Mon-
day, migrant labourers
had gathered in large
numbers at various
places seeking arrange-
ments to help them
reach their native
towns/villages.
“The majority of
migrant workers are
uneducated. They do
not understand Eng-
lish or Gujarati. How
will they fill online
forms as required by
the government? To
remedy that, we have
set up a helpline
number through
which the labourers
will receive the help
they need,” said op-
position leader at
RMC Vashram Sa-
gathiya.
Rajkot Cong launches
helpline for migrants
First India News
Ahmedabad : Human
rights activists in Guja-
rat have taken up cudg-
els for the Muslims over
hate campaigns in the
social media blaming
the community for the
spread of coronavirus
in the State. They have
filed hundreds of FIRs
and more than 1,000
people have also been
booked.
The activists led by
lawyer Shamshad Pa-
than, representing
Alpsankhyak Adhi-
kar Manch, have tak-
en up the fight.
Pathan asserted that
an “intensely malicious
campaign” is going on
in the social media, par-
ticularly after the Tab-
lighi Jamaat incident.
“The social media plat-
forms are replete with
posts blaming Muslims
for spreading the virus,
which could have very
serious ramifications
if left unchallenged,”
he said.
Pathan has also
raised complaints
over some public
prosecutors in a Na-
diad court putting up
communal posts.
“These people repre-
sent the government
in court, what justice
you expect when they
behave like this,” he
asked.
However, he praised
the police for doing “a
great job” and lodging
hundreds of FIRs as
well as arresting over
1,000 people.
Director-General
of Police Shivanand
Jha has stated that
nearly 700 FIRs have
been lodged against
the social media posts
peddling fake news or
rumours and 1,302
people have been ar-
rested, while 575 so-
cial media accounts
have been suspended.
Patel asks party units
to buy migrants’ tickets
Rights activists fight hate
campaigns through cops
Gujarat trumpeted ‘NamasteTrump’ as world cried corona
Vashram Sagathiya, LoP RMC
Social media platforms are full of
posts blaming Muslims for spread-
ing the virus and this could have se-
rious consequences if left unchallenged.
—Shamshad Pathan, Human rights lawyer
YOU READ IT FIRST IN FIRST INDIA MAY 04, 2020
As directed
by Con-
gress Pres-
ident, in my ca-
pacity as Treasur-
er, I request
Pradesh Congress
Committees to mo-
bilise all possible
local resources to
help migrants
purchase tickets to
get back home,.
—Ahmed Patel,
Congress leader
Rlys made `69L in
moving migrants
SOCIAL DISTANCING, WHAT’S THAT?
Gujarat trumpeted ‘NamasteTrump’
YOU READ IT FIRST IN FIRST INDIA APRIL 19, 2020
Angry migrant workers damaged a car inVareli near Surat on Monday.
First India News
Ahmedabad:Apoliti-
cal slugfest may have
begun in the wake of
the Gujarat govern-
ment charging for
tickets to send strand-
ed migrant workers
back home to Odisha,
BiharandJharkhand,
but the Indian rail-
ways has already
made a cool Rs 69 lakh
from the special train
faresinallof 72hours.
In all, nine spe-
cial trains each car-
rying 1,200 passen-
gers or migrants
have left for these
three States in the
last three days.
According to the
Railways Director
at Surat, C R Garu-
da, “The Railways
have made a collec-
tion of Rs 59.64
lakh from passen-
gers in seven Odis-
ha bound special
trains while the col-
lection from one
train to Patna is Rs
76,800 and another
to Dhanbad in
Jharkhad has yield-
ed Rs 8.58 lakh.”
Each ticket to Odi-
sha cost the workers
Rs 710 while it is Rs
715 for Dhanbad and
it is Rs 640 for Patna.

For India, the mega fund-
raiser concert, which was
live-streamed on Face-
book on Sunday, saw a
massive Hollywood and
Bollywood participation.
Amitabh Bachchan, Ak-
shay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan,
Aamir Khan, Ayushmann Khur-
rana, Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer
Singh, Tiger Shroff, Vicky Kaush-
al, Vidya Balan, Katrina Kaif, Rani
Mukerji, Arjun Kapoor and Diljit
Dosanjh were among 85 artists
who participated in the virtual
concert to raise funds for those af-
fected by the novel coronavirus.
Also joining in were Priyanka
Chopra and Nick Jonas, Anushka
Sharma and Virat Kohli, Kareena
Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan,
and Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek
Bachchan.
International stars including
Jack Black, Will Smith, Russel Pe-
ters, Mick Jagger, Nick Jonas, Joe
Jonas and Sophie Turner were
also part of the concert. Everyone
did their bit to entertain the audi-
ence while performing at the noble
show, which was organised by
filmmakers Karan Johar and Zoya
Akhtar. Over Rs 3 crore was raised
by the end of the four-hour digital
concert. All the proceedings will
go to India COVID Re-
sponse Fund. Am-
itabh Bachchan gave
a tribute to the late
actor and his close
friend Rishi Ka-
poor during the
concert. SRK and
Hrithik turned
singers.
A y u s h m a n n
Khurrana, who is
also an estab-
lished singer,
sang ‘Ik vaari’
and ‘Mitti di
k h u s h b o o ’ .
Akshay Ku-
mar recit-
ed a poem,
titled ‘Tumse Ho Nahi Paega’.
Aamir Khan and his wife, film-
maker Kiran Rao, spoke about
how important it is to extend sup-
port to the needy. They also sang
‘Jeena isi ka naam hai’.
Alia Bhatt, along with sister
Shaheen and composer Ankur
Tewari, sang ‘Ik kudi’ from her
film ‘Udta Punjab’ while Priyanka
Chopra Jonas too recited a poem
on the current situation. Madhuri
Dixit Nene performed her rendi-
tion of popstar Ed Sheeran’s Per-
fect with son Arin on the piano
and Anil Kapoor urged everyone
to become ‘Mr India’ by staying at
home. Farhan Akhtar along with
his band performed the songs of
‘Rock On’, while the film’s com-
poser trio, Shankar Ehsaan Loy,
belted out some of their blockbust-
er hits. Abhishek Bachchan spoke
of about how memes are lighten-
ing up the mood of people during
the ongoing serious health crisis.
The concert for
OUR TIMES!Bollywood & Hollywood came together for
#IForIndia fund raiser concert online on
Sunday, showing solidarity across the globe!
I
AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY
MAY 5, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
—IANS

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
very person, every society,
every country works with
hindsight, a.k.a. experience.
What sets individuals,
communities and Nations
apart is working with fore-
sight !!
Our great Nation has been running
with a very noisy system of democracy.
It is good, as long as it allows discussion
& debate.
Our country has been running on a
‘first-past-the-post’ election system.
Though not truly representative of ma-
jority opinion, at least it has worked far
better than autocracies. !!
We had our share of huge problems
like Wars with neighbours, Emergency,
communal strife, droughts, floods,
earthquakes, terrorism, assassinations,
economic meltdown, etc .
But the Govts of the day always over-
came them in some ingenious way or
the other .
SO FAR SO GOOD!!
That was the OLD NORMAL.
Now, within a matter of weeks the
Corona Pandemic has upended EVER-
THING !!
The 5 Trillion Dollar question is : Do
we continue as before, with everybody
talking in different voices to score sub-
tle or crude political brownie points ??
The answer, my dear Countrymen, is
a resounding NO, NO, NO !!!
WHY??......You may ask!!
If 40% of the people trust the Govt they
voted for, there are still 60% who will
either be mistrustful or, at best, scepti-
cal about the Govt’s motives.
Ruthlessly efficient work (a euphe-
mism for Hard decisions), is urgently
needed at the ground level to control
this scourge and satisfy millions of hun-
gry stomachs.
HOW DO WE ACHIEVE
THAT??
It would be stupid to expect our simple
citizenry to participate proactively or
to co-operate fully.
So far we have not been able to do
that. If we are a smart Nation we will
pick up these signals :
 After the 24th March announcement
by our PM for complete lockdown of
our country , some 120million (12
crore) stepped out onto the roads and
walked back to their distant homes
defying that order.
 There were news about riots and ar-
son in Surat.
 Legislators celebrate birthdays/mar-
riages etc with hundreds of fawning
supporters , etc etc.
Don’t these early signs ring a loud Gong
in the National Consciousness ??
What is the best course of action ??
ANSWER : Leaders of all parties have
to set an example via Statesmanship.
They have to override parochial
thinking.
RAINU SINGH
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
E
UNITE or
PERISH !!
SOLUTION
 Freeze the current political system
where it stands. All parties agree
to resume from that point once we
are fully rid of this Corona scourge.
 Form a National Govt with a sim-
ple agenda to defeat this enemy,
save the economy and keep the peo-
ple from hunger.
This show of unity and statesman-
ship will galvanize the Indian pub-
lic like never before........ even more
than the freedom movement !!
Respected Lawmakers, don’t sit
glued to your seats of power. These
seats will be restored ‘status quo
ante.’
 The PM will head the National
Govt, Cabinet will have representa-
tives from all parties with a solid &
simple programme to defeat the
disease, protect the economy and
feed the have-nots.
Hon’ble Legislators, please listen, you may
not be left with anything to Govern if we de-
lay and make another mistake.
Many may think it is a far-fetched idea.
More will pooh-pooh this suggestion. Surely
there is nothing to see in the rear view (hind-
sight) as such a situation never passed us
by. Normal vision will not suffice as the
clouds are too dark !! National leaders
will need foresight to UNITE to defeat the
Beast growling in the dark forest ahead
.........at the end of a literal DEAD END !!
Once Victorious on those 3 fronts, we
shall return to business as usual.
There is just no time to weigh the pros and
cons. Either we get the public behind the Govt
en masse or we risk losing everything !!
CHOICE IS CLEAR : show statesmanship to
save our country, or chase mirages of narrow
political objectives !!
FACEOFTHEDAY
SHILPA AGRAWAL, Model
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You must save to buy a
new vehicle. On
professional front, you
must look for the right
opportunity at the right time. Your
family is trying their best to help you
in fulfilling your dream. You will start
with a new business soon and don’t
worry funds will be taken care of.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You will come up with
many new ideas today, on
professional front. Your
payment that has been
stuck for a long time will get released
today. Don’t worry too much about
your sibling’s future, everything will
be just fine. Your friends are really
precious for you.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You will be financially
independent soon.
Overseas travel is on the
cards for the sole purpose
of business. You must do whatever it
takes to reach your destination as
you are not one of those who gives
up easily. Don’t get in any
controversial relationship.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You will derive immense
satisfaction in helping
someone in need. Try and
maintain healthy relationship
with your colleagues for the sake of
peace of mind. Possession of property
is on the cards. Avoid being
overconfident and make sure to go
through the whole thing again.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
New financial prospects
will come for you. You love
to do shopping and
sometimes your obsession
exceeds your necessity, please work
on it. Adventure lovers will have
some good time today. Don’t be high
headed in the matters of love. You
are working on your temperament.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Good work in project will be
really admired by your boss
who may recommend your
name for something big in
future. Money comes from inheritance
for you. You will your inner strength
today and remember anything is
possible if you decide on it. Don’t
hesitate from helping your friends.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Money flows and money
flows out, its a cycle so
you should never worry.
You will solve a critical
problem in office today. You will go
and meet your parents today after
long time. Let nothing affect your
spirit. Love life keeps you satisfied
and you love your partner.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You will get promotion in
your current job but you
may be in dilemma, if you
want to continue or not. A
new source of income will help those
who are in state of taking caring of
the parents. Avoid any legal
complications with your sibling for
property.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You can say goodbye to all
your worries as a new
phase of life will start
soon. You can expect a
baby, so congratulations is on the
cards. An outing with the family is on
the cards. Keep away from evil eyes,
don’t reveal your plans to anyone
except someone close.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You will quit your major
old bad habit today. Don’t
be hasty in the matter of
love, give time and take
time. You can expect some guests at
home today. Some of you will enjoy
the new phase of your life. A school
or college picnic is on the cards for
some.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
On professional front, you
may spoon feed a junior in
office today. Your finances
are at place and you are
doing what you must in your best
capacity to build a life that you want.
You may travel with your near and
dear ones to a far distance place.
Romance is in the air.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You will excel in anything
that will devote time to.
Make sure to use soft,
humble words with your
lover today. Remember to go to the
gym if you have enrolled. Your prior
commitments will keep you busy
today. Your efforts in academics will
be appreciated by everyone.

An artistic
TRIBUTE!
S
tar couple Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and
Abhishek Bachchan’s daughter Aaradhya
paid an artistic tribute to all the frontline
workers who are combating COVID-19.
Both Aish and Abhi took to Instagram to share
a picture of the doodle by their little in-house
artist The doodle featured two hands joined with
‘Thank You’ and ‘Dhanyawaad’ written on them
while sketches of frontline workers like health-
care workers, teachers, media professionals,
police officials, army personnel, and sanitisa-
tion workers are seen surrounding the thank-
ing hands.
The lower portion
of the sketch fea-
tured Aaradhya
standing and holding
the hands of her par-
ents who are both seen
standing on her either
side. The 8-year-old
also sketched the
necessary precau-
tionary measures
against COVID-19
in her tribute to
frontline workers.
—ANI
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
11
Admires SRK’s
ENERGYajol is a great admirer of super-
star Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘wonder-
ful energy’. Kajol recently con-
ducted a session called #AskKajol
on Twitter, answering a lot of
fans’ queries.
When a Twitter user asked her
about one thing she likes the most in SRK,
Kajol said: “His amazing energy.”
Kajol and SRK have worked together in
several movies like ‘Baazigar’, ‘Kuch Kuch
Hota Hai’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’
and ‘My Name is Khan’.
Another user shared a still of the two
actors from their movie ‘Kuch Kuch
Hota Hai’. Reacting to it, Kajol wrote:
“Memories and Friends. Two
words.” On the film front, Kajol
will be next seen in Netflix’s
‘Tribhanga’. —IANS
K
SUNNY PRANKS
ON HUBBY!
S
unny Leone pulled a
prank on her hus-
band Daniel Weber
by making him be-
lieve that she had acciden-
tally chopped off her fin-
ger.
Sunny took to Instagram
to share the video of the
same. In the video, she cries
out for help, shouting out
to her husband that she has
chopped off her. Daniel
comes in running and pan-
ics, and runs around as he
tries to figure out how he
can help.
However, when Sunny
draws his attention towards
the phone, he understands
that he was being recorded
all the while, and this was
just a prank.
When Sunny asks Daniel
how much he enjoyed the
prank, he said: “Generally,
I am a pretty serious person
in life. That is just my per-
sonality. I actually don’t
even like pranks that much.
I don’t even like pranks on
other people and I definite-
ly don’t like pranks on me.
So, if you want me to rate
your prank, I think it’s a
zero because I hated that it
was done on me.” —IANS
ents who are both seen
standing on her either
side. The 8-year-old
also sketched the
necessary precau-
tionary measures
against COVID-19
in her tribute to
frontline workers.
—ANI
Nicole’s huge
INFLUENCE!
S
inger Keith Urban says his wife and ac-
tress Nicole Kidman has been a huge
influence on his creativity. In a recent
interview, Urban also shared that he has
zero interest in acting. “I have zero interest in
acting. Nic (Nicole Kidman) has zero interest in
being a musician. It makes for a harmonious
flow in our house. But there’s no question that
Nic has been a huge influence on my creativity,
simply for the way she approaches things in
such a bold way. Curiosity makes her go toward
something regardless of whether she thinks she
can do it or not,” he said. —IANS
A
mid the lock-
down due to
coronavirus,
actressEmma
Stone has shared a
mental health advice,
urgingpeopletospend
more time writing in-
steadof fretting.Since
May is mental health
awareness month,
Stone has shared
words of support to
the people struggling
during the COVID-19
pandemic. “Many of
us are dealing with
isolation, anxiety and
uncertainty during
this COVID-19 crisis,
and this includes the
17 million kids and
teens in America
that’s one in five who
have a mental health
disorder,” she said.
—IANS
A
fox reportedly killed several chickens at
Grammy-winning singer Ed Sheeran’s
farmhouse amid lockdown. According
to a source, it was his property in Suf-
folk, England, which was attacked by foxes.
“He’s lost a couple in recent weeks and they are
not so easy to replace with the nation being in
lockdown. So, he’s made sure their coop is dou-
bly secure so he doesn’t lose his entire stock to
foxes,” a source told the portal. The source add-
ed, “Ed is very much in tune with nature and
loves fresh produce from his gardens so he
doesn’t want he lose any more of his girls to
foxes.”
Ed recently revealed that he has been garden-
ing under quarantine. Along with wife Cherry
Seaborn, Ed is growing organic fruit and vege-
table in a greenhouse. —IANS
Urging people!
SNACK ATTACK
Kajol
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
... her Instagram post
Ed Sheeran
Emma Stone
Nicole Kidman with Keith Urban
Sunny Leone
... her Instagram post

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