First india ahmedabad edition-07 january 2021

State to resume academic session on campuses from Jan 11
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: After
staying shut for most of
last year, schools and col-
leges will finally resume
the academic session for
classes X and XII as well
as final year students
pursuing undergraduate
and postgraduate de-
grees, from January 11.
The decision was taken
by the state government
after a cabinet meeting
on Wednesday. Students
will be required to pro-
duce written consent of
their parents in order to
attend classes on cam-
puses but online classes
will continue for those
who opt for them.
Announcingthestate’s
decision,stateEducation
MinisterBhupendrasinh
Chudasama said, “There
is no question of grant-
ing mass promotions to
students. Examination
papers will be set in ac-
cordance with the sylla-
bus taught to students.
This will be applicable to
schools affiliated with
every education board.”
He added, “The COV-
ID-19 Standard Operat-
ing Procedure (SOP) laid
downbytheUnionHome
Ministry will be strictly
implemented. To that
end,guidelineshavebeen
issued to school manage-
ments with instructions
to effectively implement
them. Schools will have
to keep sanitizers at the
entry gate and the tem-
perature of school staff
and students will have to
be recorded with a ther-
mal gun.
Turn to P6All schools have been instructed to implement the COVID-19 SOP efficiently.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Students of Class X, XII and
those in the final year of UG
and PG programmes will be
able to attend classes
GO ROBOT!
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court will on
January 11 hear a batch
of pleas challenging the
new farm laws as well
as the issues related to
the ongoing farmers’
protest at Delhi borders.
A bench headed by
Chief Justice SA Bobde
on Wednesday observed
that there is no improve-
ment on the ground re-
garding farmers’ pro-
tests, following which
the Centre conveyed to
the court that “healthy
discussions” are going
on between the govern-
ment and farmers over
these issues.
Attorney General KK
Venugopal said there is
a good chance that par-
ties may come to a con-
clusion in the near fu-
ture and filing of re-
sponse by the Centre on
thepleaschallengingthe
new farm laws might
foreclose the negotia-
tions between the farm-
ers and government.
While informing the
bench that talks are go-
ing on Turn to P6
Farmers during the ongoing agitation against the new farm laws, at Ghazipur border in New Delhi
on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Centre conveyed to the court that “healthy discussions”
are going on between the government and farmers
NO IMPROVEMENT AT ALL, KEEP
TALKS ON WITH FARMERS: SC
Apex Court to hear pleas
against anti-conversion
laws in UP, Uttarakhand
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on
Wednesday agreed to
hear petitions challeng-
ing the constitutional
validity of the laws
passed against unlaw-
ful religious conver-
sions by the states of
Uttar Pradesh and Utta-
rakhand. A bench head-
ed by Chief Justice S A
Bobde, however, re-
fusedto stay the provi-
sions of the laws and
issued notices to both
state governments on
two different petitions.
The court’s decision
came in response to a
bunch of petitions
which challenged the
validity of the laws.
One of the pleas filed by
Advocates Vishal
Thakre, Abhay Singh
Yadav and Pranvesh, a
law researcher, con-
tended the laws “cur-
tails the Fundamental
Rights of the citizen of
India…disturbs the Ba-
sic Structure of the
Constitution as laid
down by the Law”.
Their plea says the
Act and the ordinance
are “against the provi-
sions of Special Mar-
riage Act, 1954 and it
will create fear in the
society” as even those
who are not a part of
any such activity can be
falsely implicated. The
plea urges the court to
direct the states “not to
give effect to impugned
provisions/ordinance
and withdraw the same
or in the alternative
modify the said bill”.
Another plea by NGO
Citizens for Justice and
Peace (CJP) says provi-
sions of the Act and Or-
dinance violate Article
21 of the Constitution
as it empowers the State
to suppress an individ-
ual’s personal liberty.
“The Act and Ordi-
nance”, it submits,
“seemed to be premised
on conspiracy theories
and assume that all con-
versions are illegally
forced upon individuals
who may have attained
the age of majority”.
Supreme Court
issued notices to
both state govts
on 2 petitions
DRESS REHERSEL TODAY FOR
FARMERS’ R-DAY ‘TRACTOR MARCH’
The leaders of the farmers unions demanding
repeal of the three new farm laws are now readying
for a ‘Tractor March’ announced by the Samyukta
Kisan Morcha on the Eastern and Western Periph-
eral Expressways on Thursday. Farmers leaders
said the ‘Tractor March’ would be a trailer of the
‘Republic Day Parade’ scheduled on January 26.
BRING NEW LAWS:
CM AMARINDER
URGES PM MODI
Chandigarh/ New Delhi:
Punjab Chief Minister
Amarinder
Singh, who
has been
a vocal
critic of the
centre’s farm
laws urged Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to “bring
in new laws after consul-
tation with farmers” and
resolve the months-long
standoff. Undeterred by
winter chill, thousands
of farmers, mostly
from Punjab, have been
protesting against the
legislations on the out-
skirts of Delhi since late
November.
The two laws are unconstitutional
as both attempt to control the life
of the residents of Uttarakhand
and Uttar Pradesh and to not allow them
to take charge of the significant decisions
in their life —Says the plea
Cook eggs, meat fully,
says Giriraj on bird flu
New Delhi: There’s
nothing to worry about,
animal husbandry, fish-
eries and dairy minister
Giriraj Singh said dish-
ing out some cooking
tips so people can steer
clear of the Avian Influ-
enza, or bird flu, which
is doing the rounds in at
least four states.
Cook eggs and meat
fully, the Union minis-
ter said seeking to allay
fears about transmis-
sion of the zoonotic dis-
ease from poultry to
humans.
“In some places there
have been reports of
migratory and wild
birds dying from bird
flu. Cook the meat and
eggs completely before
eating. There is nothing
to worry. All possible
help is being given and
states have been alert-
ed,” Singh tweeted in
Hindi.
Giriraj Singh also
shared a status report
of the Avian Flu spread
in Himachal Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh, Kera-
la and Rajasthan, where
12 epicentres have been
identified. Turn to P6
50-yr-old woman gangraped, murdered
in Badaun; 2 held, temple priest booked
First India Bureau
Badaun: In yet another
incidentthathasshaken
the conscience of the
country and reminded
many of the gruesome
2012 Nirbhaya gan-
garape, a 50-year-old an-
ganwadi worker was
gang-raped and mur-
dered allegedly by a
priest and his two ac-
complices in Budaun
districtof UttarPradesh.
While the priest is on
the run, his two accom-
plices were arrested
late night on Tuesday
after the post-mortem
report confirmed rape,
police said on Wednes-
day, adding the woman’s
leg and a rib bone too
were found fractured
and there were severe
injuries in her private
parts.
The incident, which
triggered an uproar in
political circles, took
place on Sunday and
the matter came to light
when the priest and his
accomplices took the
body to the victim’s
home, saying it was
found in a dry well in
the temple premises.
An FIR was regis-
tered two days later af-
ter the autopsy con-
firmed rape and the two
accomplices of the
priest were nabbed, the
police added.
About the incident,
Badaun’s Senior Super-
intendent of Police
Sankalp Sharma said,
“The post-mortem re-
port confirms rape and
there are injuries in her
private parts and a frac-
ture in the leg.”
She suffered a rib
fracture too, he added,
citing the autopsy re-
port. Turn to P6
Giriraj Singh
Amit Shah to visit
Mizoram between
January 9-10
New Delhi: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah will visit Mizo-
ram between Janu-
ary 9-10, government
sources said here on
Wednesday. Recently,
Shah visited Imphal
to lay the foundation
stones for several
multipurpose pro-
jects.
The BJP formed a
government in Ma-
nipur for the first
time in 2017, having
constituted a coali-
tion with the Nation-
al People’s Party,
Naga People’s Front
and the Lok Janshak-
ti Party, with Singh
sworn as CM on
March 15. —ANI
Woman’s leg,
rib bone found
fractured and
there were
severe injuries in
her private parts
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AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 44
OPINION EDITORIAL BY RAJAN
VISHAL IAS, JOINT SECRETARY, CM
OFFICE, GOVT. OF RAJASTHAN P4
4 WORKERS DIED AND 6 FELL ILL DUE TO
INHALING TOXIC GAS THAT WAS LEAKED AT
SAIL’S ROURKELA STEEL PLANT IN ODISHA
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
PERSPECTIVEJAIPUR | THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021
04
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epap
er/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
I facebook.com/thefirstind
ia I instagram.com/thefirstin
dia
G Vol 2 G Issue No. 212 G RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur.
Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
potifyofferedthe
promise that, in
theageof digital
downloads, all
artists would get
paid for their music, and
some would get paid a lot.
Lorde and Billie Eilish
showed what was possible.
Lorde was just 16 when,
in 2012, she uploaded her
debut EP to SoundCloud. A
few months later, Sean
Parker (of Napster and Fa-
cebook fame) put her first
single — “Royals” — on his
popular Spotify Hipster In-
ternational playlist. The
song has sold more than 10
million copies.
Eilish’s rags-to-riches
story is a little murkier.
But the approved narrative
begins in 2015, when the
13-year-old uploaded
“Ocean Eyes” (a song writ-
ten by her older brother) to
SoundCloud. She was “dis-
covered”. Spotify enthusi-
astically promoted “Ocean
Eyes” on its Today’s Top
Hits playlist. She is now
the youngest artist with a
billion streams to her
name, and Spotify’s most-
streamed female artist for
the past two years
THE NEW HIT SQUAD
Streaming now accounts
for more than half of re-
corded music revenue. Spo-
tify has about a third of the
subscribers paying for mu-
sic streaming. Playlists
overtook albums as the
preferred way of listening
to sequences of songs
about five years ago.
Appearing on a promi-
nent Spotify playlist is
therefore a big deal.
Economists Luis Aguiar
and Joel Waldfogel calcu-
lated (in 2018) that a song
appearing on Today’s Top
Hits was worth about 20
million extra streams and
US$116,000 to US$163,000 in
royalty payments. That
was when Today’s Top Hits
had about 18.5 million sub-
scribers. It now has more
than 26 million.
With so much power,
what will Spotify do next?
The answer, apparently,
is to run a pay-to-play “ex-
periment”, dropping Spoti-
fy’s “crystal clear” commit-
ment in 2018 that “no one
can pay to be added to one
of Spotify’s editorial play-
lists”. But now there’s this:
In this new experiment,
artists and labels can
identify music that’s a pri-
ority for them, and our
system will add that sig-
nal to the algorithm that
determines personalised
listening sessions.
The catch is musicians
must accept a lower pay-
ment — a “promotional
recording royalty rate”
— on any song streamed
as a result.
POWER IMBALANCE
After the most difficult
year for many working mu-
sicians in memory, Spoti-
fy’s new strategy has been
compared, imperfectly, to
the days of radio stations
and presenters seeking
bribes from record compa-
nies to play their songs.
There’s a key difference.
Now Spotify is the most in-
fluential radio program-
mer on Earth, deciding the
new songs millions of lis-
teners hear in any minute.
And instead of a handful
of record companies, every
aspiring musician is now
able to record and upload a
song. Spotify gets about
40,000 new uploads a day.
Spotify says it paid more
thanUS$3.5billiontorights
holders in the first nine
months of 2019. But sur-
veys of musicians suggest
very few can make a living
from streaming. A British
survey has found eight in
10 musicians earned less
than £200 (A$355) a year
from streaming, with 90%
saying streaming account-
ed for less than 5% of their
earnings.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
Musicians’ dilemma in Spotify’s pay-to-play plan
S
You, yourself, as much as
anybody in the entire
universe, deserve your love
and affection. —Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
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Promoted by Vrion Global Pvt. Ltd.
nIndia,thestigmaassociated
with menstruation persist-
ing over generations has led
tothesubjectbeingdiscussed
in hushed whispers and be-
hind closed doors. Menstrua-
tion and menstrual hygiene
practices face social, cultur-
al, and religious restrictions
and are further intensified in
rural areas, particularly in
states like Rajasthan. Women
are often denied access to ba-
sic hygienic conditions as
well as awareness about bod-
ily functions that affect their
overall physical and mental
well-being.
In Rajasthan, barely 36%
of women have access to the
essentials needed to manage
their menstruation. These
‘needs’ include the availabil-
ity of menstrual hygiene
products such as sanitary
pads, provision of ‘safe’ and
hygienic-sanitary spaces as
well as accurate information
related to periods. This defi-
cit in needs being met does
not vary by age indicating
that a majority of women
are unable to access services
related to their Menstrual
Hygiene Management
(MHM) needs throughout
their reproductive years.
The taboos, stigma, and
culture of secrecy around
menstruation make many
boys and men nervous about
menstruation including its
acknowledgment of buying
menstrual products for their
partners. A study conducted
in an urban college of Ben-
galuru showed that only 30%
of the boys had correct
knowledge about menstrua-
tion. The knowledge among
rural boys is even worse.
Boys are kept out of the dis-
cussion related to menstrua-
tion, due to social-cultural
norms that render the sub-
ject taboo. Another study un-
dertaken in 3 states of India
showed that most of the boys
poorlyunderstandmenstrua-
tion in terms of biology. How-
ever, they are cognizant of
the cultural restrictions
placed on girls during men-
struation as they see their
mothers and sisters follow
the unwritten code of con-
duct and rules of segregation
laid down for menstruating
women such as not dining
with members of the family,
not entering the temple or
even the kitchen. Hence, boys
remain ill-informed and de-
velop misconceptions about
this natural biological pro-
cess. Even in schools, sepa-
rate sessions are conducted
withgirlsonmenstruationas
it is considered a girl’s issue
and not required for boys.
The COVID-19 pandemic
and consequent lockdown
restrictions have further ex-
acerbated the situation for
women and girls. Restricted
mobility, scaling down of
services, and prioritizing of
emergency measures over
other essential health ser-
vices have worsened access
to menstrual hygiene prod-
ucts and services. The cas-
cading impact of a country-
wide lockdown and disrup-
tion of supply chains has
severely affected the availa-
bility of menstrual products
like sanitary pads, critical
for the safe and hygienic
well-being of adolescent
girls and women.
As per data from a Rapid
Assessment Survey conduct-
ed by the Population Founda-
tion of India in May 2020,
nearly 73% of surveyed ado-
lescentgirlsinRajasthanhad
an unmet need for sanitary
napkinsduringthelockdown.
Theconsequencesof disrupt-
ed supply chains are felt most
acutely by the marginalized,
particularlywomenandgirls.
While families are confined
to their homes due to the pan-
demic,theage-oldsilenceand
stigma on menstruation are
being reinforced.
The pandemic has intensi-
fied challenges that women
face due to gender-based in-
equality and social restric-
tions and it is the need of the
hour for men to rise to the
occasion. In our patriarchal
society, men can be the agen-
cy to bring the desired
change. They are the prima-
ry decision-makers which in
turn directly impacts their
partners and children. Their
decisions affect the use of
resources within the house-
holds and also access to ser-
vices, including health. The
well-documented story of a
social entrepreneur, Mr.
Arunachalam Muruganan-
tham is a classic example of
the role men can play in
busting myths and normalis-
ing the discourse around
menstruation. The fact that
a Bollywood blockbuster
called Pad Man was made in
2018, bears testimony to his
popularity and acceptance
of his efforts in the main-
stream media.
From a ban on advertise-
ments on sanitary napkins
in 1990 to the success and
popularity of Pad Man, In-
dia has indeed come a long
way. While digital move-
ments like ‘The Period Girl’,
#WhispersBreakSilence,
#FreePeriods, #KeepHerGo-
ing, ‘Red Dot Challenge’and
the ‘Menstrupedia’ comic
book developed to destigma-
tize the subject have been
successful in metropolitan
areas, menstruation contin-
ues to be a taboo topic in
tradition-bound regions of
the country. Also, none of
the campaigns involve men
and boys on the issue. There
is also a dearth of male role
models in India who have ad-
dressed issues related to
menstruation. It is ironic
that while the word ‘men’ is
present in the word ‘men-
struation’, in practice, it is
completely absent.
The participation of men
in Menstrual Hygiene Man-
agement (MHM) is essential.
Not just girls, boys too need to
be educated about menstrua-
tion and reproductive health
and empowered to be able to
talkcomfortablyandcandidly
about periods. Engaging men
and boys from a young age is
critical to normalize the dis-
course around menstruation
for everyone, regardless of
their gender. The culture of
silence and lack of acknowl-
edgmentamongmenhastobe
shattered through well-inte-
grated social and behaviour
change campaigns that en-
courage conversations and
break down myths around
menstruation. This will lead
them to influence and posi-
tively impact the experience
of girls and women of men-
struation in many roles – as a
husband, brother, father,
teacher, peer, and policymak-
er. Consequently, young girls
will be able to grow up into
confidentandhealthywomen
and ensure that they act as
equalpartnersinsocietaland
community development.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
IN SEARCH OF MORE ‘PAD’ MEN
IN INDIA DURING COVID-19
I
In Rajasthan,
barely 36% of
women have
access to the
essentials
needed to
manage their
menstruation.
These ‘needs’
include the
availability of
menstrual
hygiene
products such
as sanitary
pads, provision
of ‘safe’ and
hygienic-
sanitary spaces
as well as
accurate
information
related to
periods.
THE TABOOS, STIGMA,
AND CULTURE OF
SECRECY AROUND
MENSTRUATION MAKE
MANY BOYS AND MEN
NERVOUS ABOUT
MENSTRUATION
INCLUDING ITS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF
BUYING MENSTRUAL
PRODUCTS FOR
THEIR PARTNERS
RAJAN
VISHAL
JOINT SECRETARY,
CM OFFICE, GOVERNMENT
OF RAJASTHAN
‘CHUPPI TODO-
SAYANI BANO’
Rajan Vishal, IAS, who
launched a campaign
on Menstrual Health
Management (MHM) ‘Chuppi
Todo-Sayani Bano’ (Break
the silence and be smart) for
adolescent school girls as
District Collector, Nagaur &
Alwar. More than 2,20,000
school girls were educated
on MHM, given informative
booklets, IEC material, and
sanitary pads, and were
motivated to speak on this
issue by specially oriented
teachers. The learnings were
further reinforced by monthly
meetings in presence of their
parents; guardians, teachers,
and School Management
Committees. In addition,
Rajasthan’s first sanitary
napkin manufacturing
unit operated by women’s
Self Help Group was also
established in District
Nagaur. These measures not
only made the women SHG
members economically self-
reliant but also acted as an
effective IEC tool to educate
and enlighten rural women
on the sensitive issue and
emboldened their self-esteem.

NEWSAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
most crucial compo-
nent for the success-
ful implementation
of the vaccination
drive against novel
coronavirus is cold
chain and vaccine lo-
gistics management.
According to one of
the reports published
by the Health and
Family Welfare De-
partment on ‘Effec-
tive Vaccine Manage-
ment Assessment’,
there are several gaps
that the state is fight-
ing against. Around
the calendar year, the
state focused on
boosting the immuni-
ties of children and
pregnant women, and
now the same ma-
chinery will be used
for COVID-19 vaccina-
tion.
The report has been
prepared using a global
tool of effective vaccine
management with the
support of the state im-
munization cell and
United Nations Interna-
tional Children’s Emer-
gency Fund (UNICEF),
National Cold Chain &
Vaccine Management
Resource Centre (NC-
CVMRC), New Delhi.
The findings un-
earthed in the report
include good practices
and gaps identified
along with district-spe-
cific recommendations
were given to all 33 dis-
tricts of the state.
“The report was re-
leased recently which
underlined one-year
field reporting and sur-
vey. After the findings
were released, few mat-
ters have been focused
on by the state and
training has been initi-
ated to fix the gaps,”
said a source, privy to
the development.
The state achieved a
consolidated 88% score
in vaccine arrival, 86%
score in temperature,
building equipment,
transport and vaccine
management each. The
score in categories of
storage capacity, stock
management and dis-
tribution were 81%,
84% and 82% respec-
tively. Low scores have
been observed in MIS
and support functions
at 67% and mainte-
nance and reporting
that were observed to
be at 72%.
Meanwhile, the re-
port mentioned that a
total of 20 districts
were above the target
of 80%, and a total of 13
districts were below it.
Kheda, Mehsana,
Ahmedabad, Junagadh
and Amreli were the
top five districts for the
criteria score. Whereas,
Surat, Panchmahal,
Valsad, Bhavnagar, and
Surendranagar were
bottom five districts for
criteria scores.
Among urban pock-
ets, the Ahmedaabd,
Surat and Gandhina-
gar corporations were
the top three districts
for criteria scores.
The report also men-
tioned that maximum
daily cold boxes and
vaccine carrier’s stor-
age capacity was not
sufficient at primary
and sub-national vac-
cine stores.A health worker being ‘administered’ the COVID-19 vaccine during a dry run at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Gujarat health department report points out
several gaps in vaccination drive routine
As per ‘Effective Vaccine Management Assessment’, the state needs to pull up its socks when it
comes to efficient vaccine administration logistics in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A peti-
tion has been moved
before the Gujarat
High Court demand-
ing the non-usage of
certain words used
to describe people
belonging to Sched-
uled Caste(s). Ac-
cording to the peti-
tion, the words were
“humiliating and in-
sulting” to members
of such communities
and so must be
erased from official
documents or com-
munication issued
by the state govern-
ment.
Petitioner Chirag
Parmar through the
Public Interest Litiga-
tion (PIL) wants the
court to intervene and
direct the state’s So-
cial Justice and Em-
powerment Depart-
ment to cease usage of
such words. His prayer
is the prohibition of
words like dedh,
chamar, chamadia,
chambhar, chamgar,
bhangi, garoda and
garo, either in written
or verbal communica-
tion. Parmar suggest-
ed the use of other
words such as Rohit,
Rohitdas, Vankar, Gu-
ru-Brahman and Val-
miki to denote the
caste of a person.
The petitioner stat-
ed that these words or
caste surnames were
used with the inten-
tion to humiliate or
insult members of
Scheduled Caste(s).
He pleaded the court
to direct the police to
register a case against
person(s) using these
words to humiliate or
insult a person be-
longing to such com-
munities, under the
Prevention of Atroci-
ties Act.
Parmar cited his
own example and told
the court that belong-
ing to a Scheduled
Caste himself, he has
faced the humiliation
such words invoke
upon usage. He added
that those words
sound more like ver-
bal abuse and hence
must be banned imme-
diately. The petition is
likely to come up for
hearing next week.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) seems to
be gearing up for the
upcoming local body
elections of six mu-
nicipal corporations,
55 nagarpalikas, 31
district panchayats
and 231 taluka pan-
chayats, that are
likely to be held in
February.
State unit president
CR Patil and other sen-
ior office-bearers have
been meeting with var-
ious wings of the party.
After briefing the In-
formation & Technolo-
gy (IT) and media cells,
they met with various
cells of the party. Patil
emphasized on the im-
portance of reaching
out to the constituents
aggressively. The party
chief stated that if
each section of the so-
ciety is tapped into
then, it will not be dif-
ficult for the party to
win seats in all pan-
chayats, nagarpalikas
and also continue to
hold office in the six
municipal corpora-
tions.
Moreover, it is neces-
sary for Patil to cap-
ture power in all 31 dis-
trict panchayats in or-
der to achieve his tar-
get of 182 seats in the
2022 assembly elec-
tions.
On Tuesday evening,
Patil had conducted as
session with the par-
ty’s media and IT cell
office-bearers, where
they were briefed on
the marketing and pro-
motional campaigns of
the developmental
work undertaken by
the state and central
governments.
CR Patil —FILE PHOTO
BJP chief &
leaders meet with
various office-
bearers ahead of
local body polls
PIL for ban on ‘ insulting ’ surnames
of Scheduled Castes moved in HC
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) has published
a list of voters ahead
of the local body polls,
and a total of 149 vot-
ers have been regis-
tered under the third
gender. The highest
number (13) was re-
ported in the Kuber-
nagar ward.
Of the total 48 wards
of the local civic body,
eight wards do not have
a single third gender
voter registered. Ac-
cording to the voter list,
there are 11 wards
which have more than
one lakh registered vot-
ers. A total of 1,26,014
voters have been report-
ed in Vatva, which ac-
counts for the highest
numbers.
The Jodhpur ward
has a balanced gender
ratio as compared to
other wards which have
49,911 male voters and
48,859 female voters.
An increment of
6,61,254votershavebeen
reported in the last five
years. In the 2015 AMC
election, the city had
38,91,081 voters, a num-
ber which has swollen to
45,52,334 voters in this
year’s voter list. There
has been a significant
rise in male voters from
20,42,587 to 23,76,676
while the number of fe-
male voters has in-
creased from 18,48,494 to
21,75,550.
149 registered as third gender voters for AMC polls
THE VOTEBANK
All wings of the
party have been
briefed on how to
put together
promotional
campaigns
Gujarat High Court —FILE PHOTO
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021
AMC only cares about
Hindu crematoriums:MCC
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) has appoint-
ed staffers to look
after cremation
grounds for Hindu
citizens. But, unfor-
tunately no staff
has been allocated
by the local civic
body for the crema-
tion of people be-
longing to any other
religion, alleged Mi-
nority Coordination
Committee of Guja-
rat convener Muja-
hid Nafees.
AMC is governed
by the Bombay Pro-
vincial Municipal
Corporations Act,
1949 and the responsi-
bility of proper dis-
posal of dead bodies
lies with the munici-
pal commissioner.
Moreover, pursuant
to Section 320, 321 of
this Act, he/she is re-
sponsible to provide
proper management
for disposal of the
dead bodies, irrespec-
tive of their religion.
Nafees further stat-
ed that the oversight
of the AMC makes it
clear that it has failed
to act in accordance
with the BPMC Act
and Article 15 that
underline the funda-
mental rights of all
citizens as enshrined
in the Constitution
of India.
“I have asked for
time to send a letter
by email to discuss
this issue but the non-
response to it shows
that the municipal
commissioner does
not respect the funda-
mental rights of every
citizen, as enshrined
in the Constitution
and also has a dis-
criminatory atti-
tude,” asserted the
convener.
The accused are suspected to have generated Rs 10K cr fake invoices in credit fraud
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Cen-
tral Goods and Ser-
vice Tax (CGST) de-
partment suspects
that the Rs 72 crore
credit scam they have
unearthed could be
bigger than primary
investigations imply.
The accused might
have generated
Rs10,000 crore worth
of fake invoices and
passed on credit of
Rs300 crore, cheating
the Central govern-
ment, officials said.
The Anti-Evasion
WingCGST(Ahmedabad
North) had carried out a
search at the residence
of BharatbhaiBhagwan-
das Soni in New Ranip
residence, and found
fake invoices for the sale
andpurchaseof gold,sil-
ver and diamonds. Ini-
tially, the search team
found fake invoices
amounting to around
Rs2,435 crore and had
passed on Input Tax
Credit (ITC) to buyers to
thetuneof Rs72.25crore.
Soniwasarrestedinthis
connectionand,onbeing
produced before the Ad-
ditional Chief Metropol-
itan Magistrate in court,
was sent to 14 days’ judi-
cial custody.
Ahmedabad North
Commissioner Amar-
jeet Singh in a press
statement announced
that,aftergoingthrough
the documents seized
from Soni, the depart-
ment has noticed that
Soni was issuing fake
invoices for purchase
and sale. The depart-
ment initially believed
that Soni had generated
fake invoices to the tune
of Rs7,250 crore and was
accountable for a Rs210
crore ITC scam. How-
ever, it has revised its
estimates and believes
that around Rs10,000
crore in fake invoices
were generated and
Rs300 crore ITC has
been passed.
In response to the de-
partment’s application
seeking Soni’s custody,
the Additional Chief
Metropolitan Magis-
trate Court has issued
notice to the accused
and will next hear the
issue on Thursday.
`300crGSTscaminvolving
`2Kcrfakebillsunearthed
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With the
7th International
Communication Man-
agement Conference
beginning today at
MICA, more than 300
research scholars and
industry experts will
come together to ex-
perts discuss and un-
derstand the newer
narratives in a chang-
ing world over the
next three days.
Moody College of
Communication, the
University of Texas at
Austin is MICA’s aca-
demic partner for this
edition of ICMC.
With industry-led
talks, business leaders’
panels, and teach-in ses-
sions with experts, the
platform will provide
insights into emerging
trends, ideas, practices,
and approaches to-
wards building a more
equal and empathetic
tomorrow. The papers
submitted for the con-
ference are around the
theme of “Creativity &
Culture for Manage-
ment in a Changing
World”—such as Com-
munication Strategies
During Pandemic; Cul-
ture, Online Privacy
and Brands; Shifting
Paradigms in Educa-
tion; and Evolution of
Fintech Post Pandemic.
Other papers include
being presented cover
topics including Desti-
nation Crisis Commu-
nication; How Digital
Marketing Tools Are
Helping Start-UPS to
Survive the COVID-19
Pandemic; and Virtual
Try-on Technology in
Retail Fashion: Rein-
venting Consumers
Confidence in the Post-
COVID Era.
MICA to host int’l conference on changing world
EXPERT SPEAK
5 held as A’bad
crime branch
solves 2 robberies
Father-son
duo dupes
bizman of
`28L in Surat
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Officials
of the Ahmedabad De-
tection of Crime
Branch (Crime
Branch) have arrested
five men and recov-
ered Rs3,20,000 from
the accused, after solv-
ing two robberies
which took place in
the city last week. The
accused have also ad-
mitted to carrying out
similar operations in
Mumbai, officials said.
Earlier, the police
had circulated CCTV
footage of the two crime
scenes—a pan shop in
Krishnanagar and a
jewellery store in
Nikol—where armed
robbers had made off
with Rs30,000 from Gay-
atri Traders in the first
case and Rs2,60,000 cash
and Rs 4,17,000 worth of
gold and silver jewel-
lery, in the second case.
The perpetrators had
used the same modus
operandi in both rob-
beries: opening fire af-
ter their left the shops,
to frighten the public.
Assistant Commis-
sioner of Police (Crime
Branch) DP Chudasama
identified the five ac-
cused as Rajveesinh
Gaur, Satyendra Singh
Gaur, Sukendrasinh
Narvariya, Dipak Pari-
har and Ajay Maratha.
The autorickshaw they
used to commit their
crimes has also been
seized.
A sixth member of
the gang, Sudhir Fauji
is absconding but the
police here say they are
confident of arresting
him soon.
The Crime Branch
will seek the remand of
the five men arrested
on Wednesday, to ex-
tract more information
about any other offenc-
es they might have
committed.
First India Bureau
Surat: A father-son
duo from Ahmedabad
duped a businessman
of Surat’sWorldTrade
Centre of Rs27.99 lakh
and also threatened to
kill him.
According to police
sources, Ankit Butani
(35) filed a complaint
against Atul and Par-
shottam Patel, who
live in Ahmedabad’s
Bopal area.
Butani, the owner of
ABtradinginSurat,said
that the Patels—who are
proprietors of a yarn
company—initially
made prompt payments
when dealing with his
firm.However,theytook
Rs27.99 lakh worth of
materials on credit be-
tween April 1 and Sep-
tember 21, 2019, and still
haven’t paid their dues.
When Ankit persisted in
asking them to cough up
the money owed to him,
the Patels threatened to
kill him.
“I had gone to their
house to ask for the
money. Not only did
they refuse to pay, they
also told me never to re-
turn,” Butani report-
edly told the police.
The ﬁve accused and the cops who arrested them.
Moody College of Communica-
tion, the University of Texas is
academic partner for 7th ICMC
MCC convener Mujahid Nafees. —FILE PHOTO
Demands a place to
conduct funerals for
each religion with
officer-bearers to
supervise them
After days of decline, new nCoV cases show slight uptick
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: After a
consistent decline in
COVID-19, the state
saw 665 new COV-
ID-19 cases—a slight
increase from Tues-
day’s 655 cases—in
the 24 hours ending 5
pm on Wednesday.
This takes Gujarat’s
total case load to
2,49,126 since March.
Meanwhile, with
more than 20 employees
of Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani’s office testing
positive for the novel
coronavirus, visitors
have now been banned
from entering Swarnim
Sankool 1.
At least 879 patients
were discharged from
hospitals across the
state through the day,
meaning that 2,36,323
patients have recovered
from the infection so far.
However, the day also
brought four more fa-
talities caused by the
Sars-CoV-2 virus.
Ahmedabad city, Gan-
dhinagar, Rajkot City
and Surendranagar
each reported one death
on Wednesday. The
state’s total death toll
due to COVID-19 now
stands at 4,329.
At 139, Ahmedabad
registered the highest
number of new cases in
the state, with 135 of
these recorded in ur-
ban areas and only four
from the district’s ru-
ral parts.
Vadodara reported
new 127 cases of the in-
fection in the last 24
hours, overtaking Su-
rat. The Vadodara city
reported 100 cases,
while the rural pocket
reported 27 cases. Surat
recorded 124 cases,
were in the city record-
ed 105 cases and the dis-
trict reported 19 cases.
There are currently
8,594 active cases in Gu-
jarat, with 60 patients
on ventilator support.COVID-19 testing in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO
TAKING
NO
CHANCE
A civic worker
sprays disinfectant
around the avian
section of the
Kamla Nehru
Zoological Garden
in Ahmedabad’s
Kankaria area on
Wednesday, as
a precautionary
measure against
the spread of bird
ﬂu. In addition to
birds, it also affects
humans as well as
other animals.
—PHOTO BY
HANIF SINDHI
MICA campus, Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO
NUMBERS GAME
665 new cases, four
fatalities take state
tally to 2,49,126
cases, toll to 4,329
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

G Vol 2 G Issue No. 44 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-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021
potifyofferedthe
promise that, in
theageof digital
downloads, all
artists would get
paid for their music, and
some would get paid a lot.
Lorde and Billie Eilish
showed what was possible.
Lorde was just 16 when,
in 2012, she uploaded her
debut EP to SoundCloud. A
few months later, Sean
Parker (of Napster and Fa-
cebook fame) put her first
single — “Royals” — on his
popular Spotify Hipster In-
ternational playlist. The
song has sold more than 10
million copies.
Eilish’s rags-to-riches
story is a little murkier.
But the approved narrative
begins in 2015, when the
13-year-old uploaded
“Ocean Eyes” (a song writ-
ten by her older brother) to
SoundCloud. She was “dis-
covered”. Spotify enthusi-
astically promoted “Ocean
Eyes” on its Today’s Top
Hits playlist. She is now
the youngest artist with a
billion streams to her
name, and Spotify’s most-
streamed female artist for
the past two years
THE NEW HIT SQUAD
Streaming now accounts
for more than half of re-
corded music revenue. Spo-
tify has about a third of the
subscribers paying for mu-
sic streaming. Playlists
overtook albums as the
preferred way of listening
to sequences of songs
about five years ago.
Appearing on a promi-
nent Spotify playlist is
therefore a big deal.
Economists Luis Aguiar
and Joel Waldfogel calcu-
lated (in 2018) that a song
appearing on Today’s Top
Hits was worth about 20
million extra streams and
US$116,000 to US$163,000 in
royalty payments. That
was when Today’s Top Hits
had about 18.5 million sub-
scribers. It now has more
than 26 million.
With so much power,
what will Spotify do next?
The answer, apparently,
is to run a pay-to-play “ex-
periment”, dropping Spoti-
fy’s “crystal clear” commit-
ment in 2018 that “no one
can pay to be added to one
of Spotify’s editorial play-
lists”. But now there’s this:
In this new experiment,
artists and labels can
identify music that’s a pri-
ority for them, and our
system will add that sig-
nal to the algorithm that
determines personalised
listening sessions.
The catch is musicians
must accept a lower pay-
ment — a “promotional
recording royalty rate”
— on any song streamed
as a result.
POWER IMBALANCE
After the most difficult
year for many working mu-
sicians in memory, Spoti-
fy’s new strategy has been
compared, imperfectly, to
the days of radio stations
and presenters seeking
bribes from record compa-
nies to play their songs.
There’s a key difference.
Now Spotify is the most in-
fluential radio program-
mer on Earth, deciding the
new songs millions of lis-
teners hear in any minute.
And instead of a handful
of record companies, every
aspiring musician is now
able to record and upload a
song. Spotify gets about
40,000 new uploads a day.
Spotify says it paid more
thanUS$3.5billiontorights
holders in the first nine
months of 2019. But sur-
veys of musicians suggest
very few can make a living
from streaming. A British
survey has found eight in
10 musicians earned less
than £200 (A$355) a year
from streaming, with 90%
saying streaming account-
ed for less than 5% of their
earnings.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
Musicians’ dilemma in Spotify’s pay-to-play plan
S
You, yourself, as much as
anybody in the entire
universe, deserve your love
and affection. —Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dr Harsh Vardhan
@drharshvardhan
Under #ayushmanbharat
program, there is a special
focus on screening diabetes,
hypertension among other
diseases. Meticulously framed
guidelines have been issued to all
AB-HWCs to provide quality care
for the elderly. @MoHFW_INDIA
Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal
‘Brand India’ Creates Global Waves:
At `1.6 lakh crore, India receives
highest inﬂows from Foreign
Institutional Investors, among
emerging markets, in 2020. This
achievement is an indisputable
indication of world’s trust in PM @
NarendraModi ji’s reforms
nIndia,thestigmaassociated
with menstruation persist-
ing over generations has led
tothesubjectbeingdiscussed
in hushed whispers and be-
hind closed doors. Menstrua-
tion and menstrual hygiene
practices face social, cultur-
al, and religious restrictions
and are further intensified in
rural areas, particularly in
states like Rajasthan. Women
are often denied access to ba-
sic hygienic conditions as
well as awareness about bod-
ily functions that affect their
overall physical and mental
well-being.
In Rajasthan, barely 36%
of women have access to the
essentials needed to manage
their menstruation. These
‘needs’ include the availabil-
ity of menstrual hygiene
products such as sanitary
pads, provision of ‘safe’ and
hygienic-sanitary spaces as
well as accurate information
related to periods. This defi-
cit in needs being met does
not vary by age indicating
that a majority of women
are unable to access services
related to their Menstrual
Hygiene Management
(MHM) needs throughout
their reproductive years.
The taboos, stigma, and
culture of secrecy around
menstruation make many
boys and men nervous about
menstruation including its
acknowledgment of buying
menstrual products for their
partners. A study conducted
in an urban college of Ben-
galuru showed that only 30%
of the boys had correct
knowledge about menstrua-
tion. The knowledge among
rural boys is even worse.
Boys are kept out of the dis-
cussion related to menstrua-
tion, due to social-cultural
norms that render the sub-
ject taboo. Another study un-
dertaken in 3 states of India
showed that most of the boys
poorlyunderstandmenstrua-
tion in terms of biology. How-
ever, they are cognizant of
the cultural restrictions
placed on girls during men-
struation as they see their
mothers and sisters follow
the unwritten code of con-
duct and rules of segregation
laid down for menstruating
women such as not dining
with members of the family,
not entering the temple or
even the kitchen. Hence, boys
remain ill-informed and de-
velop misconceptions about
this natural biological pro-
cess. Even in schools, sepa-
rate sessions are conducted
withgirlsonmenstruationas
it is considered a girl’s issue
and not required for boys.
The COVID-19 pandemic
and consequent lockdown
restrictions have further ex-
acerbated the situation for
women and girls. Restricted
mobility, scaling down of
services, and prioritizing of
emergency measures over
other essential health ser-
vices have worsened access
to menstrual hygiene prod-
ucts and services. The cas-
cading impact of a country-
wide lockdown and disrup-
tion of supply chains has
severely affected the availa-
bility of menstrual products
like sanitary pads, critical
for the safe and hygienic
well-being of adolescent
girls and women.
As per data from a Rapid
Assessment Survey conduct-
ed by the Population Founda-
tion of India in May 2020,
nearly 73% of surveyed ado-
lescentgirlsinRajasthanhad
an unmet need for sanitary
napkinsduringthelockdown.
Theconsequencesof disrupt-
ed supply chains are felt most
acutely by the marginalized,
particularlywomenandgirls.
While families are confined
to their homes due to the pan-
demic,theage-oldsilenceand
stigma on menstruation are
being reinforced.
The pandemic has intensi-
fied challenges that women
face due to gender-based in-
equality and social restric-
tions and it is the need of the
hour for men to rise to the
occasion. In our patriarchal
society, men can be the agen-
cy to bring the desired
change. They are the prima-
ry decision-makers which in
turn directly impacts their
partners and children. Their
decisions affect the use of
resources within the house-
holds and also access to ser-
vices, including health. The
well-documented story of a
social entrepreneur, Mr.
Arunachalam Muruganan-
tham is a classic example of
the role men can play in
busting myths and normalis-
ing the discourse around
menstruation. The fact that
a Bollywood blockbuster
called Pad Man was made in
2018, bears testimony to his
popularity and acceptance
of his efforts in the main-
stream media.
From a ban on advertise-
ments on sanitary napkins
in 1990 to the success and
popularity of Pad Man, In-
dia has indeed come a long
way. While digital move-
ments like ‘The Period Girl’,
#WhispersBreakSilence,
#FreePeriods, #KeepHerGo-
ing, ‘Red Dot Challenge’and
the ‘Menstrupedia’ comic
book developed to destigma-
tize the subject have been
successful in metropolitan
areas, menstruation contin-
ues to be a taboo topic in
tradition-bound regions of
the country. Also, none of
the campaigns involve men
and boys on the issue. There
is also a dearth of male role
models in India who have ad-
dressed issues related to
menstruation. It is ironic
that while the word ‘men’ is
present in the word ‘men-
struation’, in practice, it is
completely absent.
The participation of men
in Menstrual Hygiene Man-
agement (MHM) is essential.
Not just girls, boys too need to
be educated about menstrua-
tion and reproductive health
and empowered to be able to
talkcomfortablyandcandidly
about periods. Engaging men
and boys from a young age is
critical to normalize the dis-
course around menstruation
for everyone, regardless of
their gender. The culture of
silence and lack of acknowl-
edgmentamongmenhastobe
shattered through well-inte-
grated social and behaviour
change campaigns that en-
courage conversations and
break down myths around
menstruation. This will lead
them to influence and posi-
tively impact the experience
of girls and women of men-
struation in many roles – as a
husband, brother, father,
teacher, peer, and policymak-
er. Consequently, young girls
will be able to grow up into
confidentandhealthywomen
and ensure that they act as
equalpartnersinsocietaland
community development.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
IN SEARCH OF MORE ‘PAD’ MEN
IN INDIA DURING COVID-19
I
In Rajasthan,
barely 36% of
women have
access to the
essentials
needed to
manage their
menstruation.
These ‘needs’
include the
availability of
menstrual
hygiene
products such
as sanitary
pads, provision
of ‘safe’ and
hygienic-
sanitary spaces
as well as
accurate
information
related to
periods.
THE TABOOS, STIGMA,
AND CULTURE OF
SECRECY AROUND
MENSTRUATION MAKE
MANY BOYS AND MEN
NERVOUS ABOUT
MENSTRUATION
INCLUDING ITS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF
BUYING MENSTRUAL
PRODUCTS FOR
THEIR PARTNERS
RAJAN
VISHAL
JOINT SECRETARY,
CM OFFICE, GOVERNMENT
OF RAJASTHAN
‘CHUPPI TODO-
SAYANI BANO’
Rajan Vishal, IAS, who
launched a campaign
on Menstrual Health
Management (MHM) ‘Chuppi
Todo-Sayani Bano’ (Break
the silence and be smart) for
adolescent school girls as
District Collector, Nagaur &
Alwar. More than 2,20,000
school girls were educated
on MHM, given informative
booklets, IEC material, and
sanitary pads, and were
motivated to speak on this
issue by specially oriented
teachers. The learnings were
further reinforced by monthly
meetings in presence of their
parents; guardians, teachers,
and School Management
Committees. In addition,
Rajasthan’s ﬁrst sanitary
napkin manufacturing
unit operated by women’s
Self Help Group was also
established in District
Nagaur. These measures not
only made the women SHG
members economically self-
reliant but also acted as an
effective IEC tool to educate
and enlighten rural women
on the sensitive issue and
emboldened their self-esteem.

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021
‘FARM UNIONS WILL ARRIVE AT
SOLUTION AFTER DISCUSSION’Govt of India is committed to the welfare of farmers, min Narendra Singh Tomar said
New Delhi: Union Ag-
riculture Minister Nar-
endra Singh Tomar on
Wednesday said those
farmer unions, which
are protesting against
the farm laws, will un-
derstand the idea be-
hind bringing laws for
reforms in the agricul-
tural sector and active-
ly arrive at a solution
after discussion.
“The government of
India is committed to
the welfare of farmers.
We meet those who are
supporting the laws
and those opposing it.
I am sure that farmer
unions who are agitat-
ing will understand
the idea behind agri-
culture laws and they
will think about the
welfare of farmers and
actively arrive at a so-
lution by a positive dis-
cussion,” Mr Tomar
told reporters.
As the deadlock pre-
vails after several
rounds of talks with
the Centre, farmer un-
ions on Tuesday hinted
at intensifying their
protest against conten-
tious agriculture laws
and said that they
would boycott Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
and its allies in Nation-
al Democratic Alliance
(NDA). Farmers have
been protesting at the
gates of Delhi since No-
vember 26 last year
against the newly en-
acted farm laws -- Farm-
ers’ Produce Trade and
Commerce (Promotion
and Facilitation) Act,
2020, the Farmers (Em-
powerment and Protec-
tion) Agreement on
Price Assurance, and
Farm Services Act,
2020, and the Essential
Commodities (Amend-
ment) Act, 2020. -—ANI
New Delhi: “Challeng-
es keep coming up in
life, but even in adverse
circumstances if we
don’t give up and fight
resolutely then that is
our real victory,” Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi has said in a letter
to a hearing and speech
impaired woman who
sent a picture of a ‘ran-
goli’ portrait of the PM
made by her on Diwali.
Vandana, a 23-year-
old from Surat, Gujarat,
sent the picture of the
rangoli to PM & was
elated to get a reply. She
got a lot of inspiration
from it, her brother Kis-
hanbhai Patel said.
He said his sister is
suffering from hearing
and speech impairment
since birth and is learn-
ing art at a coaching
institute. Vandana’s
life-like rangoli of the
PM was appreciated by
several people. Rangoli
is an art form in which
patterns and portraits
are created using col-
oured rice powder, sand
or flowers. In a letter to
Vandana, PM said that
obstacles and challeng-
es keep coming up in
life, but even in adverse
circumstances if we
don’t give up and fight
resolutely then that is
our real victory. —PTI
Kolkata: West Bengal
Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar on Wednes-
day said that no Indian
can be ‘unconstitution-
ally’ branded as an out-
sider in any part of the
country.
Dhankhar, while ad-
dressing a press meet at
Kolaghat during his
visit to Purba Medin-
ipur district, also said
he will do ‘everything
possible’ to ensure free
and fair state assembly
elections likely to be
held in April-May.
‘No citizen of this
country can be branded
as an outsider in any
part of India. It is un-
fortunate that some
people in West Bengal
are describing those
coming from other
states as outsiders. This
goes against the idea of
the Constitution,’ he
said in response to
questions on the TMC’s
outsider-insider debate.
The ruling party in
West Bengal has alleged
that the BJP is bringing
‘outsiders’ to the state
to win the assembly
elections. Dhankhar
urged everyone to en-
sure that there is no vio-
lence in the upcoming
elections. ‘I urge every-
one to ensure that there
is no bloodshed in this
election. Is the gover-
nor doing anything
wrong by making such
a request? ‘It is my duty,
the duty of all of us to
ensure that there is no
violence during the
elections, which should
be free and fair,’ he said,
in an apparent refer-
ence to the TMC’s criti-
cism of Dhankhar
‘transgressing’ his con-
stitutional limits. He
also urged public serv-
ants to maintain politi-
cal neutrality and not
carry the baggage of
‘political police’.
Invoking freedom
fighters from the undi-
vided Medinipur dis-
trict, the governor said,
‘We have to save democ-
racy. —PTI
New Delhi: Delhi and
the national capital re-
gion will experience a
drop in temperature
from today morning
after western distur-
bance affecting north-
west India move east-
ward, the India Mete-
orological Department
(IMD) said on Wednes-
day.
Dense to very dense
fog will prevail in most
parts of Punjab, Hary-
ana, western Uttar
Pradesh, northern Ra-
jasthan and Delhi-NCR.
The western distur-
bance that was effect-
ing northwest India has
currently moved east-
ward, for which the ef-
fect will be mostly over
western Uttar Pradesh.
Under the influence
of western disturbance
from January 2 till Jan-
uary 6 (today), signifi-
cant rainfall occurred
in plains of northwest
India, due to which,
there is a significant
amount of moisture
across the region.
Kuldeep Srivastava,
Head of the IMD’s re-
gional weather fore-
casting centre, New
Delhi told ANI, “To-
morrow morning, 8 de-
grees Celsius is expect-
ed followed by a fur-
ther decrease in tem-
perature. On 8th morn-
ing, 7 degrees Celsius
is expected over Delhi-
NCR and most part of
the plains of northwest
India.”
Low temperature is
conducive for the for-
mation of fog. —ANI
SPICEJET TO OPERATE 21 NEW
FLIGHTS FROM NEXT WEEK
New Delhi: SpiceJet said
on Wednesday it would
operate 21 new domestic
and international flights
from January 12. The
airline will introduce two
weekly flights on the route
from Mumbai to Ras
Al-Khaimah in the UAE
and increase frequency on
the Delhi-Ras Al-Khaimah
route to four weekly
flights, according to a
statement. It will connect
Jharsuguda in Odisha with
Mumbai and Bengaluru
with new flights, and op-
erate bigger B737 aircraft
on the Delhi-Jharsuguda
route instead of the Q400
aircraft, “thereby offering
additional capacity”, the
release said. Currently,
the Indian carriers are per-
mitted to operate 80% of
their pre-COVID flights.
MUM MAYOR PEDNEKAR GETS
DEATH THREATS, FILES CASE
Mumbai: The Mumbai
mayor Kishori Ped-
nekar filed a complaint
on New Year’s Eve
against an unknown
person for threaten-
ing her life. The case
has been registered
in the Azad Maidan
Police station over
death threats given to
the Mayor. She had
received a call by an
anonymous person on
December 22, 2020,
who threatened to kill
her. She informed her
nearby police station
and a case was filed
on December 31, 2020
The police investiga-
tion is underway.
CONG MULLING OPTIONS TO
APPOINT NEW STATE CHIEFS
New Delhi: The Con-
gress is set to appoint
new state Presidents
for Telangana, Maha-
rashtra, Jharkhand and
Uttarakhand, sources
said. In Telangana,
state President Uttam
Reddy has resigned
while in Maharash-
tra and Jharkhand,
the state chiefs have
become ministers in
the governments and
in Uttarakhand the
proposal to replace
the state President is
pending approval. The
Congress is contem-
plating appointing a
new state President in
Jharkhand.
SENSEX SNAPS 10-SESSION
WINNING RUN, DROPS 264 PTS
New Delhi: The Domes-
tic equity benchmarks,
Sensex and Nifty broke
their 10-day winning
streak as the two ended
half per cent down on
Wednesday, dragged
by losses in Reliance
Industries, ITC and
Infosys. After hitting its
record intra-day high
of 48,616.66 in early
trade, the S&P BSE
Sensex pared all gains
to end 263.72 points or
0.54 per cent lower at
48,174.06 Similarly, the
broader NSE Nifty fell
53.25 points or 0.38% to
14,146.25. It touched a
record peak of 14,244.15
during the day. On the
other hand, PowerGrid,
Bharti Airtel, ONGC &
UltraTech Cement were
among the gainers.
IN THE COURTYARD
Mumbai: Central
government is doing
politics over farm-
ers’ protest against
the three agriculture
laws, Shiv Sena said
the government
at the Centre does
not want to resolve
farmers’’ issues and
is playing “meeting-
meeting” with them.
Through its mouth-
piece Saamna, the
Shiv Sena said so
far 50 farmers have
lost their lives on the
borders of freezing
Delhi, and yet they
are not ready to back
out without the laws
being repealed. “The
government has no
interest in it & is
doing politics & the
farmers’’ movement
has to continue,” the
party said. —ANI
GOVT HAS NO
INTEREST IN
PROTEST: SENA
Fighting challenges in life
resolutely is real win: PM
No Indian can be branded as outsider in
any part of country: Jagdeep DhankarFound proof against Arnab in
TRP case: Mumbai Police to HC
Arup Kumar sworn in
as CJ of AP High Court
‘Will ensure
best weapons
for soldiers’
SC refuses to
consider plea
to stop use
of EVMs
Dense fog expected in Delhi-NCR from today
NARENDRA MODI ‘EARNED & ACHIEVED’
PRIME MINISTERSHIP: PRANAB IN MEMOIR
FLIGHTS SUSPENDED IN VALLEY
Mumbai: The Mumbai
Police on Wednesday
told the Bombay High
Court that “some evi-
dence” was found
against Republic TV
and its editor-in-chief
Arnab Goswami in the
Television Rating
Points (TRP) scam
case, and therefore, it
did not want to contin-
ue granting them any
protection from any
coercive action.
However, as the HC
adjourned the matter
without hearing any
arguments during the
day, the police agreed
to continue its previ-
ous assurance of not
taking any coercive ac-
tion till January 15, the
next date of hearing in
the case.
The alleged fake TRP
scam was unearthed
last year after the
Broadcast Audience
Research Council filed
a complaint alleging
that certain television
channels were rigging
their TRP numbers, ap-
parently to generate
more revenue from ad-
vertisements. —PTI
Amaravati: Arup Ku-
mar Goswami was on
Wednesday sworn in as
the Chief Justice of
Andhra Pradesh High
Court. Governor
Biswabhusan Harichan-
dan administered the
oath of office to Justice
Goswamiatabrief func-
tion in Vijayawada. Jus-
tice Goswami, who was
previously the Chief
Justice of Sikkim High
Court, was last week
transferred as the Chief
Justice of AP in the
place of Justice J K Ma-
heshwari, who was
shifted to Sikkim. Chief
Minister Y S Jagan Mo-
han Reddy, Chief Secre-
tary Aditya Nath Das,
Principal Secretary (Po-
litical) Praveen Prakash
and other officials were
present on the occasion.
Ministers, Judges of the
High Court & legislators
attended the event. —PTI
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment will ensure
that “the best of weap-
ons and protective ar-
mour” are provided to
the soldiers, Minister of
State for Defence Shri-
pad Naik said. Naik
handed over the
100,000th Bullet Proof
Jacket (BPJ) to Army
Chief General M M Nar-
avane at a ceremony, the
Defence Ministry said.
The minister said BPJ
has been appreciated by
Indian soldiers who are
using them on the bor-
ders & in countering
insurgency. —PTI
New Delhi: The SC on
Wednesday refused to
entertain a plea seeking
direction to the Election
Commission of India to
stop the use of Electron-
ic Voting Machine
(EVM) & use ballot pa-
pers in forthcoming
elections. The petition
said EVMs must be re-
placed across India with
traditional ballot papers
& voting through ballot
papers is a more reliable
& transparent method
for the electoral process
of any country. —ANI
Farmers ride a tractor during a protest against the new farm laws at Delhi-Gazipur border in new
Delhi on Wednesday. —Photo by ANI
PM Narendra Modi
Jagdeep Dhankhar
Arup Kumar Goswami
Arnab Goswami

State to resume....
The state government
has also been consider-
ing reopening schools
for students of other
classes. A decision and
subsequent announce-
mentmaybemadesoon.
Earlier, the govern-
ment had declared re-
sumption of academic
session on campuses
from November 23, but
due to a surge in COV-
ID-19 cases post Diwali,
themovewaspostponed
indefinitely.
Meanwhile, Chief
MinisterVijayRupanion
Wednesday launched
www.mmuy.gujarat.gov.
in portal (Mukhya Man-
tri Mahila Utkarsh Yoja-
na)whereinprogrammes
and schemes related to
women will be covered.
No improvement...
betweenthegovernment
andfarmersina“healthy
atmosphere”, Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta
said that these matters
should not be listed for
hearing on January 8.
AfterhearingVenugo-
pal and Mehta, the top
courtadjournedthemat-
ter for Monday. “We un-
derstand the situation
and encourage consulta-
tion. We can adjourn the
mattersonMonday(Jan-
uary 11) if you submit
thesameduetotheongo-
ing consultation pro-
cess,” the bench said.
On Monday, talks be-
tween the Centre and
farmerunionsremained
inconclusive over two
keydemands—repealof
the newly enacted laws
and provision of legal
guarantee on the mini-
mum support price —
with the two sides draw-
ingthehardlineontheir
respectivepositions.The
talkswillresumeonJan-
uary 8 when the two
sides sit across the table
for what will be the eight
round of negotiations
ever since the protests
that brought farmers
from Punjab and Hary-
ana to the gates of Delhi
on November 26.
Cook eggs...
Lakhs of birds, mostly
migratory, have died
acrossIndiainthelast10
days. While some of the
affectedstateshavestart-
ed culling birds, regulat-
edthesaleof poultryand
related products, their
neighbours are keeping
a check on inter-state
movement, especially in
the border districts. To
contain the spread, the
central government has
issued an advisory and
set up a control room in
NewDelhitomonitorthe
situation.
50-yr-old...
The SSP said the station
house officer (SHO) of
Ughaiti police station
has been suspended for
“delay in informing
higher authorities, lax-
ity in taking action, der-
eliction of duty and fail-
ure in taking speedy
action”. “The 50-year-
old woman, who had
gone to a temple on Sun-
day, was found dead un-
der mysterious circum-
stances. Family mem-
bers of the woman have
accused the temple ma-
hant (priest) and his ac-
complices of raping and
murdering her. Based
on this, a case was reg-
istered against the ac-
cused. Two of the ac-
cused persons were ar-
rested on Tuesday night
while the mahant is still
absconding,” he said.
Four teams have been
formed to nab the
priest, the SSP said.
Following the inci-
dent, Bareilly ADG Avi-
nash Chandra too visit-
ed the crime spot and
announced a reward of
Rs50,000onthearrestof
the absconding priest.
The case was regis-
tered on Tuesday after
the post-mortem report
came. “Based on com-
plaints of the family
members and the post-
mortem report, a case
has been registered un-
der section 376D (gang-
rape) and 302 (punish-
ment for murder) of
IPC,” the SSP said.
He said a second
opinion on the post-
mortem report is being
sought from medical
experts and only after
that, any conclusion
can be reached.
Asked if the incident
resembles the 2012 hor-
rific Nirbhaya gang-
rape case, the SSP said,
“It will be wrong to link
this incident to any pre-
vious incident. Let’s
wait for the medical ex-
amination report.”
Budaun chief medi-
cal officer, Dr Yashpal
Singh said the woman
died of trauma and ex-
cessive bleeding.
Endorsing CMO’s
opinion, Budaun Dis-
trict Magistrate Kumar
Prashant said, “What-
ever help can be given
from the department, it
will be given.
She was an angan-
wadi sahayika (helper).
We are also paying at-
tention to the security
of the family.”
The victim’s son said
his mother had gone to
offer prayers at the tem-
pleonSundaybutshedid
not return home within
the expected time.
It was only around 11
pm that the temple
priest and his two aides
came to their house and
handedoverherbody,he
added. —With agency inputs
FROM PG 1
INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021
New Delhi: Consider-
ing the possibility of
spread of avian influ-
enza virus or bird flu to
humans and other do-
mesticated animals and
birds, the Ministry of
Environment, Forest
and Climate Change on
Tuesday directed all
states and Union Terri-
tories (UTs) to take all
possible steps for con-
taining the spread of
the disease.
As per the govern-
ment's notification, the
Ministry asked the
States/UTs to take up
surveillance and moni-
toring of birds, for any
signs of disease, and
take appropriate meas-
ures for controlling it,
on priority.
This Ministry vide
letter dated January 3,
2021, had also forward-
ed generic guidelines
relating to avian influ-
enza to the Chief Wild-
life Wardens of all
States/UTs and had re-
quested for taking im-
mediate steps for con-
taining the spread of
the disease.
Earlier today, the
Ministry of Fisheries,
Animal Husbandry and
Dairying confirmed
avian influenza, cases
have been reported
from Rajasthan, Mad-
hya Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh and Kerala. It
was informed after the
samples from these
states were tested posi-
tive by the Indian Coun-
cil of Agricultural Re-
search-National Insti-
tute of High-Security
Animal Diseases (IC-
AR-NIHSAD). —ANI
Centre directs states, UTs to take
possible steps for containing flu
BIRD FLU: Raj, MP, HP and Kerala confirmed avian influenza cases
New Delhi: Amid the
Income Tax Depart-
ment's probe, Robert
Vadra, the son-in-law of
Congress interim presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi on
Wednesday said that
the intelligence agen-
cies are harassing him
as no tax evasion has
been done by him.
"23,000 documents
were taken away from
my office. Every ques-
tion they asked was an-
swered clearly. There is
no tax evasion. They
send us notices in every
two to three days. I
would say it is harass-
ment because if we are
to answer the same
question 10 times then
there is a problem,"
Vadra said. While say-
ing that he has been co-
operating with the En-
forcement Directorate,
Income Tax department
during questioning.—ANI
Vadra alleges ED,Tax
dept of harassment
Mumbai: The agency
is probing her role in
the alleged bank loan
scam.
The ED has issued
fresh summons
against Varsha Raut,
wife of Shiv Sena
leader Sanjay Raut,
for a second round of
questioning on Janu-
ary 11 in connection
with the 4,300 crore
PMC Bank money
laundering case, offi-
cial sources said. Var-
sha Raut was grilled
and her statement re-
corded under the Pre-
vention of Money
Laundering Act by
central probe agency
for the first time on
January 4 at its office.
The agency is prob-
ing her role in the al-
leged bank loan scam
with regard to trans-
fer of 55 lakh funds
by the wife of an ac-
cused in the case,
Pravin Raut, apart
from some other
transactions.
ED summons Sanjay
Raut’s wife on Jan 11
KEY APPOINTMENT IN 2021.. CBI CHIEF?
Who will succeed Rishi Kumar Shukla as CBI
Director in February ? It is said that either 1983
batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre Shukla
will get further extension or an additional charge
will be given to some other officer. In case new
face is appointed as CBI Chief then NIA Chief Y C
Modi, a 1984 batch IPS officer of Assam Megha-
laya cadre, is said to be the choice of the Govern-
ment. In case there is any surprise then only PM
Narendra Modi can tell to this country.
WILL YADAV GET POST -
RETIREMENT ASSIGNMENT?
If sources are to be believed, Vinod Kumar Yadav,
retired, CEO and Chairman, Railway Board is likely
to get some post retirement job. This is yet to be
seen whether central government engages him or
UP govt gives him some responsibility.
WILL TWO SECRETARIES BE
APPOINTED ON CONTRACT?
Corridors rumours say that the Government is
likely to appoint two more Secretaries on con-
tract basis. Presently, the Culture Secretary is on
Contract basis.
AMIT KUMAR AGRAWAL RE-
DESIGNATED AS ADDL PRINCIPAL
SECRETARY TO CM OF HARYANA
The post of Amit Kumar Agrawal has been
re-designated from Deputy Principal Secretary to
Chief Minister to Additional Principal Secretary to
Chief Minister in Haryana. He is a 2003 batch IAS
officer of Haryana.
13 IAS OFFICERS PROMOTED
TO JAG IN HARYANA
As many as 13 IAS officers of 2012 batch have
been promoted to Junior Administrative Grade
(JAG) in Haryana. The officers are: Ms Amna
Tasneem, Dhirendra Khadgata, Ajay Singh Tomer,
Ms Priyanka Soni, Shaleen, Dharamvir Singh,
Dharmender Singh, Ms Ritu, Ram Kumar Singh,
Sushil Sarwan, Manoj Kumar, Shakti Singh and
Jai Krishan Abhir.
KOLKATA MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONER,
BINOD KUMAR PROMOTED TO HAG
Binod Kumar, Commissioner Kolkata Municipal
Corporation, has been promoted to the Principal
Secretary grade (Higher Administrative Grade)
in West Bengal. He is a 1996 batch IAS officer of
West Bengal cadre.
19 IAS OFFICERS OF 2005 BATCH PROMOTED
TO SUPER TIME SCALE IN WB
been promoted to Super Time Scale in West Ben-
gal. The officers include: Mrs Smita Pandey, Dr
Vijay Bharti, Shubhanjan Das, Samir Kumar Bhat-
tacharyya, Chandan Chayan Guha, Rajat Kumar
Bose, Tapan Kanti Rudra, Kaushik Halder, Narayan
Chandra Sarkar, Tashi Dhendup Sherpa, Kajal Ku-
mar Bhandyopadhayay, Mrs Sunrita Hazra, Arun
Prasad Sen, Sudip Kumar Sinha, Achintya Kumar
Pati, Mrs Ujjain Dutta, Bijan Mandal, Sumanta
Kumar Ghosh and Rajsekhar Bandopadhyay.
21 IAS OFFICERS OF 2008 BATCH IN
WB AWARDED SELECTION GRADE
been awarded Selection Grade in West Bengal.
The officers are: Ms V Lalithalakshmi, Sourav
Pahari, Ms Mukta Arya, Devi Prasad Karanam,
Shakeel Ahmed, Uttam Kumar Patra, Santanu
Saha, Nirmalya Ghosal, Anindya Narayan Biswas,
Rabijyoti Majumdar, Tarun Kumar Mukhopadhyay,
Dipankar Chowdhury, Rabindra Nath Sarkar, Ms
Esha Sengupta, Ms Samistha Das, Nilanjana
Sandilya, Soumya Purkait, Ms Dipika Sanyamath,
Sristidhar Santra, Pemba Tshering Sherpa and Ms
Mousmi Chattaraj Chaudhari.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
New Delhi: The num-
ber of people who have
tested positive for the
new UK variant of
SARS-CoV-2 in the
country has climbed to
71, the Union Health
Ministry said on
Wednesday.
These 71 cases in-
clude the 58 which
were announced by the
ministry till Tuesday.
“The total number of
cases infected with the
new strain of the novel
coronavirus first re-
ported in the UK now
stands at 71,” the min-
istry said.
Comprehensive con-
tact tracing has been
initiated for co-travel-
lers, family contacts
and others. Genome se-
quencing on other spec-
imens is going on, the
ministry said.
The presence of the
new UK variant has al-
ready been reported by
several countries in-
cluding Denmark, the
Netherlands, Australia,
Italy, Sweden, France,
Spain, Switzerland,
Germany, Canada, Ja-
pan, Lebanon and Sin-
gapore.
The government of
India took cognizance
of reports of virus re-
ported from UK and put
in place a proactive,
preventive strategy to
detect, contain the mu-
tant variant, it said.—PTI
UK strain count touches 71 in IndiaComprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others
The samples of all UK returnees found positive in RT-PCR test will be genome sequenced by a
consortium of 10 government labs i.e. INSACOG.
Culling of birds being done to prevent the spread of bird flu as H5N8 virus has been reported in two
districts of Kerala Alapuzha and Kottayam, in Alapuzha district on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: Union Civil
Aviation Minister Har-
deep Singh Puri on
Tuesday said that the
government is review-
ing the situation and it
has allowed limited re-
sumption of civil avia-
tion with the United
Kingdom.
"We took a decision
on limited resumption
of civil aviation traffic
between India and the
UK based on an assess-
ment of available facts
as available with our
medical professionals.
We decided that RT-
PCR test which was
done 72 hours ahead of
travelling was not
enough," Puri told. "So,
we made it compulsory
to test again on arrival.
We will review the situ-
ation if any steps have
to be taken. So far it is
the limited resumption
of civil aviation with
the UK. The total num-
ber of flights to UK has
been reduced from 60 a
week to 30," he added.
"If the situation de-
mands that we need to
take more steps, we are
constantly reviewing
the situation," the min-
ister added.—ANI
Centre allows limited
resumptionofflightsto,
from United Kingdom
NEW COVID-19 STRAIN
PMC BANK FRAUD CASE
VAX MOCK DRILL IN CHHATTISGARH TODAY
TRADE WITH FEW
SOUTH STATES
BANNED IN MP
2,403 BIRDS DEAD IN HIMACHAL
10,500 BIRDS TO BE CULLED IN KOTTAYAM
Shimla: With over 2,400 birds dead so far in
Himachal Pradesh, the state has been put on high
alert for avian influenza and officials are monitor-
ing the situation according to state forest minister
Rakesh Pathania. “119 samples of poultry have
been sent to a lab in Jalandhar for the test. We are
collecting poultry samples from different parts of
the state,” said state’s agriculture minister Kanwar.
Kottayam: Kottayam District Magistrate M Anjana
on Wednesday said stringent measures are being
taken to contain the spread of bird flu in her dis-
trict, including culling of 10,500 birds around the
affected area. "Post-operative sanitisation work will
also be completed after the culling of the birds. We
are doing surveillance in all the panchayats in the
entire district," the district magistrate Anjana said.
Bhopal: The MP
government has
banned chicken
trade with a few
southern states for
a limited period in
view of the bird flu
outbreak in parts
of MP, a govern-
ment official said
on Wednesday. CM
Chouhan directed
officials concerned
to take preventive
measures for it.—PTI
Robert Vadra
Hardeep Singh Puri

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021
I
n Charles Dickens’
famous 1843 ghost
story, A Christmas
Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge
is visited by the Ghosts
of Christmas Past,
Christmas Present and
Christmas Yet to Come.
However, we do not
need supernatural pow-
ers or a ghostly escort to
travel in time to holidays
past, present and future,
at least not in our minds.
The ability to remem-
ber our past and imagine
our future relies on the
uniquely human gifts
psychologists call retro-
spective and prospective
memory.
What memories are
we thinking of as we
head towards a holiday
season unlike any we’ve
had before? What memo-
ries will we think back
on when our break is
over? Will we recall our
COVID Christmas fondly
or will we hope to put
2020 behind us?
AMANDA BARNIER
PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR (RE-
SEARCH PERFORMANCE) AND
PROFESSOR OF COGNITIVE
SCIENCE, MACQUARIE UNI-
VERSITY
What use is memory anyway? Memory builds resilience
M
emory serves
many impor-
tant psycho-
logical and social func-
tions. It helps us navi-
gate everyday situa-
tions, such as remem-
bering gifts we need to
buy or where we’ve
parked our car in a
crowded shopping cen-
tre. It helps define who
we are as people, our
values, rituals and be-
liefs. It allows us to
learn from the past, and
then to predict and nav-
igate the future. Finally,
it helps shape and deep-
en personal and social
bonds with friends,
families and communi-
ties.
For many people, hol-
idays are a time when
we do our favourite
things—holiday rituals,
family traditions,
longed-for getaways—
the kinds of things
we’ve always done at
this time of year.
We organize our life
stories—our autobio-
graphical memories—
according to reliable
patterns of life events
or “life scripts”. But
this year, we can’t do
some things in the same
way. We can’t travel to
all the places we usually
would; family and
friends might not be
able to visit; and impor-
tant events may be post-
poned or restricted.
The good news is any
new rituals, traditions
or holiday experiences
we adopt this year may
be especially memora-
ble and meaningful.
That’s because we’re
particularly likely to re-
member novel, rather
than routine, events.
For instance, in 10
years’ time, we may be
more likely to remem-
ber the holiday season
when we shared embar-
rassing family stories
via Zoom than ten years
of “normal” Christmas-
es before or after.
O
f course, these
holidays will
still have their
challenges. We might
be inclined to forget
2020 entirely. But there
is value even in memo-
ries of stressful events.
In a trial published
earlier this year, Mac-
quarie University
psychologist Mo-
nique Crane and her
colleagues asked peo-
ple over 50 to reflect
on stressful or chal-
lenging events dur-
ing a busy Australian
Christmas period in
2018.
In this type of re-
flection, known as
guided self-reflection,
the researchers asked
study participants to
recall stressful experi-
ences and then ana-
lyse what happened
and how they behaved.
People in the study
were also asked to con-
sider how they would
tackle a similar situa-
tion in the future.
The researchers
found self-reflection
led people to rate
themselves more resil-
ient (agreeing with
questions like “I tend
to bounce back quick-
ly after hard times”),
and feeling less
stressed and more pos-
itive during the previ-
ous two weeks. This is
compared to people in
a control group, who
talked about resilience
but did not recall and
reflect on their own
experiences.
In other words,
stressful events dur-
ing Christmas be-
came an opportunity
for positive growth
when people reflect-
ed on memories of
their experiences
and used them as
building blocks for
more resilient re-
sponding in the
future.
SOURCE : THECONVERSATION.COM
W
hether good
or bad
events, the
very act of recalling
memories delivers oth-
er important benefits
when we remember
together. Across a se-
ries of studies, my col-
leagues and I show
talking with family
and friends about life
events supports or
“scaffolds” individual
memories.
In a study published
earlier this year, we ar-
ranged for families of
mothers, fathers and
their two primary
school-aged children
to complete a Hallow-
een-themed obstacle
course in a park.
A few weeks later we
asked them to remi-
nisce about this event
in mother-child, fa-
ther-child and sibling-
siblingpairs.Although
mothers and fathers
were most successful
in helping their chil-
dren to remember,
even our littlest par-
ticipants asked ques-
tions and offered their
own memories in ways
that encouraged and
supported their memo-
ry partner’s recall.
Remembering to-
gether is just as valu-
able, perhaps more so,
as we age and if our
memories start to
fade. In a second
study, we asked long-
married couples—
people married on
average for 50 years—
to recall their wed-
ding day. We first
asked husbands and
wives to remember
separately. A week
later, we asked them
to remember together.
Couples recalled
many new details
when they remem-
bered collaboratively
compared to alone.
Remembering to-
gether strengthens
personal and social
connections. In a year
that has challenged
these connections and
isolated many of us,
telling stories and
sharing memories
with our loved ones—
even of these difficult
and unusual times—
may support and pro-
tect both our psycho-
logical and cognitive
health.
Benefits of remembering together
Christmas can be stressful. But remembering and reﬂecting on these experiences can actually help
us in the future.
We may be more likely to remember the holiday season when we shared embarrassing family stories via Zoom than 10 years of “normal” Christmases.
Why it’s important to remember our COVID-19 holidays, good or bad
Looking back at 2020,
a week into 2021

Swallow harsh words that
will hurt others- you will
save yourself and others
from discomfort.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
CLASS 3 & 4 STAFF AT CIVIL AND COVID-19 HOSPITALS HAVE NOT BEEN PAID WAGES FOR 3 TO 4 MONTHS
First India Bureau
Surat: The emergen-
cy services at the Su-
rat Civil Hospital
were disrupted on
Wednesday after
class 3 and 4 employ-
ees went on a strike,
for the second time in
two days, in protest
against non-payment
of salaries for 3 to 4
months.
They suspended
work first on Tuesday
but withdrew after the
hospital superinten-
dent promised them to
clear their payments
the next day. They went
on a flash strike on
Wednesday after the
promise was not kept.
On Wednesday,
around 800 angry em-
ployees staged a pro-
test outside the su-
perintendent’s office
and the Covid-19 hos-
pital to protest and
the police had to be
called in to ensure
the situation did not
go out of control.
Around 800 class 3
and 4 employees, who
have been working on
contract basis with the
Civil Hospital, are de-
manding that their sal-
aries of 3 months be
cleared forthwith.
The strike has af-
fected the function-
ing of Civil and Cov-
id-19 hospitals as the
contract-based sani-
tation workers from
25 wards, 4 OT, 25
OPD centers suspend-
ed work. Currently,
60 permanent em-
ployees have been
hired.
Anita Sikandar, who
lives in Maan Darwaja
area and works at the
Covid-19 hospital, faint-
ed during the strike
since she had not eaten
any food. A widow, An-
ita Sikandar has been
working at the hospital
for the last 8 months
and the staff said she
had not received salary
for 4 months.
She was taken to
the Surat Municipal
C o r p o r a t i o n - r u n
SMIMER Hospital
with the help of 108
ambulance services
since the emergency
service at the Civil
Hospital was also
closed.
The only relief for
the patients was that as
many as 125 nurses did
not join the strike to
take care of the pa-
tients admitted at the
hospital.
Left high & dry sans 3-month
salary, hosp staff strike work
Jail inmate
plea for
more time
with kin
rejected
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A
special court here
has rejected the
plea of an
Ahmedabad serial
blast accused to al-
low his family
members more
timetomeethimin
jail. Rejecting the
plea of accused
Mohammed Shafi
Ansari, the court
observed that if he
was allowed more
time with his fam-
ily, it might cause
heartburn among
other accused per-
sons in the jail. An-
sari had sought
time for one hour
instead of 20 min-
utes at present.
Amid the Cov-
id-19pandemic,the
governmenthadis-
sued guidelines
that restricted the
visit of family
members and law-
yers to meet with
inmates in jail,
onlyfor20minutes.
AAP slaps legal notice
on Guj DyCM for anti-
farmer remarks
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Aam
Aadmi Party’s (AAP)
Gujarat deputy chief,
Bhema Chaudhary,
on Wednesday issued
a legal notice to Dep-
uty Chief Minister
Nitin Patel seeking an
unconditional apolo-
gy for his speech in
which he allegedly
compared protesting
farmers with Khal-
istanis and the ‘Tuk-
de Tukde Gang’.
The notice stated that
Patel in a recent speech
said the protesting
farmers were hand-in-
glove with ‘China’. He
also accused the minis-
ter of comparing them
with ‘Khalistanis’ and
the ‘Tukde Tukde
Gang’.
Chaudhary said
such statements had
hurt him deeply as a
farmer. He sought an
unconditional apolo-
gy from Nitin Patel
within 7 days of the
notice.
The legal notice said
the minister comment-
ed that the farmers
were protesting for Pa-
kodi and Pizza spon-
sored by some anti-na-
tional elements. The
AAP leader said he sup-
ported the peaceful pro-
test against the bills
passed by the BJP gov-
ernment.
If the minister
doesn’t apologise with-
in 7 days then Chaud-
hary plans to sue the
minister in court for his
remarks.
Thousands of farm-
ers are protesting at
Singhu Border near
Delhi against the con-
troversial farm bills
passed by the NDA
government.
LEFT IN LURCH
Over 800 class 3 and 4 employees of the Surat Civil and Covid Hospitals staged demonstrations in
protest over non-payment of salaries.
First India Bureau
Surat: It is known
that Prime Minister
Narendra Modi al-
ways replies to al-
most all letters and
greetings he receives,
especially those with
a sentimental value.
In a similar instance,
a young hearing and
speech-impaired wom-
an from Surat was
pleasantly surprised to
receive a reply from
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi after she sent
him his rangoli portrait
made by her on Diwali.
The Prime Minister
wrote to Vandana, 23,
“Challenges keep com-
ing up in life, but even
in adverse circumstanc-
es if we don’t give up
and fight resolutely
then that is our real vic-
tory.”
The Prime Minister
also wished a bright fu-
ture for Vandana and
hoped that she scales
new heights in the field
of art and education.
In her letter to Prime
Minister, Vandana de-
scribed him as an inspi-
ration.
Her brother Kishanb-
hai Patel said Vandana
was elated by Modi’s
reply and felt inspired
by it. He said his sister
was suffering from
hearing and speech im-
pairment since birth
and is learning art at a
coaching institute.
Vandana’s life-like
rangoli of the prime
minister was appreci-
ated by several people.
Rangoli is an art form
in which patterns and
portraits are created us-
ing coloured rice pow-
der, sand or flowers.
PM’s letter to speech-impaired girl moves her
MOTIVATIONAL WORDS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi writes
inspiring letter to Vandana, 23, of Surat
who gifted him a rangoli portrait of
him that she made
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Housing, office sales pick up in
A’bad in second-half of 2020
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: After
the initial slump and
hiccups following the
Covid-19 crisis, sales
of residential units
and office spaces have
recovered by 58% and
66% respectively in
the second half of
2020 over the first
half.
According to a report
by Knight Frank India
released on Wednesday,
Ahmedabad has
emerged as the most af-
fordable market among
the top-8 cities in the
country.
The report stated that
the sales also reported
significant improve-
ment during the fourth
quarter of 2020 as
against the previous
quarters.
However, annually,
sales of residential
units and office trans-
actions registered a de-
cline of 61% and 15%
respectively in the pre-
vious year.
Compared to the first
half of 2020, launches
of new residential pro-
jects improved 81% in
the second half of the
year, though annual
launches of new pro-
jects declined 36% to
7,372 as against 11,487
launches in 2019, said
the report.
As for office trans-
actions, completion
of new projects wit-
nessed a slight fall of
3% in the second half
of 2020 to 2.5 million
square feet, compared
to 2.6 million sq ft in
the first half.
FACING THE AXE
Teams of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation demolished 6 under-construction tenaments
being built illegally in Juhapura area on Wednesday after issuance of notices and other
process. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Court orders
firm to return
2015 fixed
deposit money
RMC holds
fire mock-drill
at 7 city
hospitals
First India Bureau
Navsari: A consumer
forum has directed a
Mumbai-based firm
and its agent firm here
to return fixed deposit
money to its owner with
7% interest from July,
2015, when the deposit
matured.
Jyoti Bodaliya, 64, a
resident of Navsari,
had lodged a complaint
with Navsari District
Consumer Redressal
Commission in Novem-
ber, 2015, against Mum-
bai-based Plethico
Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
and its agent Western
Securities in the city
after she did not get her
fixed deposit amount
after maturity.
Bodaliya had depos-
ited Rs 25,000 on 12.5%
interest on fixed deposit
on 36 months maturity
period. The fixed depos-
it period was July, 2012
to July 2015 and she
would get Rs 36,167 on
maturity.
After the maturity
period was over, she
contacted the company
to return her money
back. The company as-
sured that they would
give it in a month but
did not return it. She
later approached the
consumer court in
Navsari.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: With an aim to
ensure safety of pa-
tients during fire and
educate hospital staff
about safety meas-
ures, the fire and
emergency depart-
ment of Rajkot Mu-
nicipal Corporation
on Wednesday con-
ducted a mock-drill at
7 hospitals in the city.
Different fire brigade
station officers and
staff conducted the drill
where the hospital staff
was provided practical
training on precaution-
ary measures to be tak-
enduringfiresituations
and evacuation of pa-
tients to safer places.
The hospitals, which
were covered, include
Madhuram Hospital,
Synergy Star, Synergy,
Sterling, Wockhardt,
J.J. Patel and Kamdar
Rajya Vima Yojna Hos-
pital.
The fire department
has intensified its role
by taking stern meas-
ures right from issue of
fire NOC, to proper in-
stallation of fire equip-
ment, its working condi-
tion and training to hos-
pital staff as also high-
rise buildings after 6
patients had died at the
Uday Shivanand Cov-
id-19 Hospital last year.
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister
Nitin Patel.
—FILE PHOTO
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
4,325
DEATHS
2,48,581
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
2,723 DEATHS 3,11,111 CASES
DELHI
10,625 DEATHS 6,28,352 CASES
WORLD
18,83,304
DEATHS
8,72,15,449
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
1,03,88,061
CONFIRMED CASES
1,50,272
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
49,759 DEATHS 19,50,171 CASES
UTTAR PRADESH
8,433 DEATHS 5,89,611 CASES
KARNATAKA
12,124 DEATHS 9,24,137 CASES

AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY
JANUARY 7, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
n the third day of the
finale week of Miss
Rajasthan 2020, a
photogenic round
was held at Hotel 5
by Oyo Metropolitan
on Wednesday. In as-
sociation with Fusion Group
and Umang, Miss Rajasthan
2020 is the most prestigious
beauty pageant across the
state.
Fashion photographer
Vasu Jain conducted the pho-
toshoot and gave various tips
for professional poses to the
finalists. Along with that,
a session for supermodel pos-
es was conducted by fashion
photographer Manish Ladha,
followed by a makeup work-
shop by Deepali Chugh, Ayan
Chugh and Vijay from Sizzlin
Scizzors Jaipur.
Jagdeesh Chandra hosted
a motivational and inspira-
tional session for the final-
ists. He encouraged them to
be independent and confi-
dent in all situations. It was a
beautiful end to the day, in-
deed. According to show di-
rector Yogesh Mishra and
associator Anuj Chandak, a
meditation session will be
conducted by meditation ex-
pert Nirmala Sewani on the
fourth day, that is, today.
The grand finale of the
event will be held on 10 Janu-
ary, where the renowned de-
signers Nirmal Sarraf and
Anand Sarraf will be show-
casing their royal collection.
SMILE PLEASEThe photogenic round of Miss Rajasthan 2020 was held
on Wednesday evening, where the finalists of the beauty
pageant presented their best glamorous poses!
MANSI BACHANI
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
O
—PHOTOSBYSANTOSHSHARMA
Finalists of Miss Rajasthan 2020
Jagdeesh Chandra with Nimisha Mishra, Mitali Kaur, Mansi Bachani, Mansi Bainada, Simran Sharma, Yogesh Mishra and the finalists of Miss Rajasthan 2020
Yogesh Mishra
Priya Malpani
Shubhi Dhaneta
Chiranshi Mathur
Priyanka Gopaliya
Sonam Rathore and Shreya Jain

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
SHRISHTI KHATRI, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You will be motivated to get
back into shape and may
even join a gym. A bonanza
on the financial front
cannot be ruled out. You are likely to
take a break from your hectic work
schedule just to get in touch with your
inner self. You are likely to benefit
from a property related matter.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
If health is an issue with
you, expect to resolve it
soon. Things begin to look
up on the financial front as
gains accrue. Blaming someone else
for your mistakes on the work front
may show you in a bad light. Those
staying separated from the family are
likely to get a chance to visit home.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Some of you may get a
step closer to coming back
in shape. Someone may
seek you out for monetary
help, so keep some excuse ready if
you are not in the mood for charity.
Your professional stars are on the
ascendant and will help make your
mark on the career front.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Eating right and remaining
active are the only ways for
you to keep good health.
Cutting corners and
tightening belts will help you save a lot.
Carelessness at work can get you on
the wrong side of a senior. A family
gathering is likely to provide you a
chance to meet everyone.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Keeping good health may
become an obsession with
some. Starting something
new on the professional
front is likely to have better financial
prospects. Encouraging develop-
ments on the career front are
foreseen for some. A family issue
may require urgent attention.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You will need to adhere to
strict dietary control to keep
good health. Previous
investments promise to keep
some cozy on the financial front. On
the professional front, you may find
sharing someone’s workload a bit
distasteful, but you will keep up the
façade of a willing worker.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You are likely to enjoy
good health as you resolve
to take up some physical
activity seriously. You will
be able to effectively curb expenses
by taking some drastic measures.
You will have to put your trust in
people, if you want to establish
yourself on the professional front.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You will manage to steer to
total fitness by adhering to
your daily routine. A small
financial crisis may
threaten you, but you will steer
through it successfully. Disinterest
will be apparent in a task assigned to
you. Caring and sharing at home is
likely to keep you happy.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You will remain careful of
your health to prevent
recurrence of an old
ailment. A source of
income threatens to dry up and may
require your personal attention.
Satisfaction on the professional or
academic front may elude you, but it
will not deter you to perform well.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Keeping good health may
become your motto soon,
as you take positive steps
towards a healthy lifestyle.
Financial position will remain
satisfactory, but overspending should
be guarded against. A satisfying day
is foreseen for professionals. A
marriage proposal can be received.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Your focus can be health at
this juncture and taking up
an exercise regimen just to
come back in shape cannot
be ruled out. False promise of good
returns from a dubious scheme is
best ignored, if you want to save
money. You will find things moving
the way you want them.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Health front looks healthy,
as you find yourself fit and
energetic today. You will
need to do some financial
planning before putting money in
your dream project. A chance to
become part of a prestigious
organization is on the horizon for
some.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
020 has been a
mentally exhaust-
ing year for pretty
much everyone on
this planet. This
year came with its
flaws but it did
bring some good changes
in point of views of people
regarding many things.
For example, our attitudes
towards what we are eat-
ing and how we are doing
it along with the way we
shop have changed for
good.
Home-dining has taken
on a greater significance
with almost a large num-
ber of people. Mealtimes
have become more event-
ful and this has driven
more and more people to
recreate restaurant-style
meals at home.
So, as this difficult year
ended, foods which are be-
lieved to boost mental
health and help reduce
stress are on the top of the
list for many consumers,
regardless of their ethnic-
ity or palate style.
Customers still appear
to be keen on escalating
the plant-based constitu-
ent of their diets. More
specifically, interest in
plant-based protein, as an
alternative to animal-de-
rived one, and dairy has
seen a significant rise.
The concept of seasonal
produce is now well under-
stood by most because of
the long-lasting lockdown
and restrictions. So, fresh
garden vegetables and
fruits are likely to take
preference over foreign
ones in 2021. Organic food
will play a big role in men-
us of the restaurants and
other eateries.
Imported, frozen and
packaged products will be
less favoured by most. We
can already see many res-
taurants every day serving
foods that are grown,
picked and processed per-
sonally by them. Why?
Consumers think local
equals freshness.
Pandemic led restricted
travel, work and study
from home and tighter
wallets are giving way to
change of food style. And
there are signs that the
shift is here to stay as the
growth of home-delivered
food and cloud kitchens
have definitely escalated.
Regional food will con-
tinue to surge in the com-
ing year, so will the lesser-
known cuisines. India has
one of the most diverse
and complex cuisines in
the world. No doubt the In-
dian/Asian vegetarian
cuisines are on a roll to
popularity with every
passing day.
With people still reluc-
tant to dine out, the focus
in the coming months is
going to shift to ease of
cooking and eating. People
will, for foreseen future,
prefer long drives and pic-
nics in open rather than
staying indoors.
One of the key food
trends for 2021 will be the
rise of the ‘sophisticated’
dessert, with the mixing
of several other elements
like a little bitter in the
sweets like dark bitter
chocolate, salty flavours,
subtle milk desserts, green
tea, ice cream and ginger
flavours.
Some food trends that
need to be tried at least
once are mentioned above.
Let’s Discuss Which Food Trends
WILL ROCK IN 2021
ABOUT CAULDRON SISTERS
Ratika & Richa Khetan, two
Sisters, started Cauldron
Sisters in 2015. It started as
an exotic food gift hamper
business, but their love for
food encouraged them to
start culinary workshops,
food deliveries, and slowly
and gradually it turned huge
as restaurants and cafes
started approaching them for
consultancy.
1
Packaged Uncooked Pizza: The kit comes with pizza
base, the pizza sauce, cheese, toppings and some
pretty easy to follow steps. You just need to assemble
and pop it in the oven/microwave at the suggested settings
and you are good to go.
2
Packaged Gol-Gappa: The delicious snack comes in
an easy to assemble kit. The water mix, the fillings
and the ‘gol-gappas’. Mix the water mash the filling
and you can have India’s favourite ‘chat’ at home.
3
Sandwich Kits: Easy to make sandwiches with all the
ingredients in the packet. One only needs to gather
them and grill the sandwich, or do as suggested in
the steps.
4
Packaged Mom Food: All the ingredients and the
recipe with step-wise instructions are provided to
make that delicious food to resemble your mom’s
cooking.
5
Cakes Kits: The packets have all dry and wet ingredi-
ents packed separately that need only be mixed well
and put in the oven/microwave. Some even include
the dish (aluminium/plastic) for baking the cake.
2

First india ahmedabad edition-07 january 2021

First india ahmedabad edition-07 january 2021

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