First india ahmedabad edition-14 january 2021

AHMEDABAD L THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021 L PAGES 12 L 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 L VOL 2 L ISSUE NO. 51
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR,
AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
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The office of First India
will remain closed on
January 14, on account
of Makar Sankranti.
There will, therefore, be
no edition on January 15.
HOLIDAY NOTICE
HC notice to Guj univ in plea alleging SC/ST students kept out of Sanskrit studies
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Faced
with an impassioned
petition alleging a
casteist conspiracy to
deprive Adivasi schol-
ar students from ad-
mission to the San-
skrit Department to
pursue doctoral stud-
ies, the High Court has
issued a notice to the
Gujarat University
seeking its reply by
February 4.
Aspiring candidate
Dave Jay has moved a
special civil applica-
tion in which he has
alleged that economi-
cally backward stu-
dents from the Sched-
uled Tribes and Sched-
uled Castes, wishing to
pursue a doctorate in
Dev Bhasha Sanskrit
(the language of the
Gods), were deliberate-
ly being denied admis-
sions despite being
meritorious.
The petitioner has
submitted a merit list
before the court to es-
tablish that the depart-
ment head had acted
arbitrarily and violat-
ed admission norms
and done injustice to
meritorious backward
class students.
PhD guides have ad-
equate number of va-
cancies to provide
guidance to students
and yet they have been
denied admission to
this section. “It seems
there is a conspiracy to
ensure that Adivasi
students don’t get a
chance to learn the Dev
Bhasha, Sanskrit,” the
petitioner asserted.
He also alleged that
the head of the San-
skrit Department,
Kamlesh Choksi, had
even violated the reser-
vation rules while ad-
mitting students for
PhD in Sanskrit lan-
guage.
“The head of the
Sanskrit department
has acted arbitrarily
and not followed reser-
vation norms for
Scheduled Caste and
even Other Backward
Classes,” the petitioner
asserted.
He went on to state
that students from se-
lected communities
were being allowed to
pursue PhD in the lan-
guage of the Gods, as
though the head of the
department wanted to
intentionally disallow
the backward classes
to learn it.Gujarat University
Washington: The Dem-
ocrat-controlled US
House of Representa-
tives on Wednesday
opened debate on a his-
toric second impeach-
ment of President Don-
ald Trump over his sup-
porters’ attack of the
Capitolthatleftfivedead.
Lawmakers in the
lower chamber are ex-
pected to vote for im-
peachment around 3:00
pm (2000 GMT) -- mark-
ing the formal opening
of proceedings against
Trump. Withatleastfive
Republicans joining
their push to impeach
President Turn to P6
Impeachment
vote: Will Prez
Trump survive?
ACB TRAPS DAUSA,
BANDIKUI SDMs
TAKING BRIBE
RAHUL IS BACK!
Two RAS officers and
a petrol pump owner
were arrested by
ACB in cases of graft
in Dausa district on
Wednesday. The ACB
was keeping an eye in
the matter since Dec
17 after the complaint
reached it. The trap
started at 8 am on
Wednesday and 3
accused said they did
not demand money
but borrowed it from
the complainant. ADG
Dinesh MN said more
officers may come
under the radar. P8
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi returned to India
on Wednesday after a 16-
day overseas trip. Rahul
had left on a foreign tour
on December 28. He will
be reaching Madurai in
Tamil Nadu on Thursday
at 11:15 am to participate
in a Jallikattu event.
Lucknow: The manda-
tory display of notices
for marriage of inter-
faith couples will be op-
tional from now, the Al-
lahabadHighCourtsaid
today in an order that is
likely to bring relief to
inter faith couples.
The court said the
publication of such no-
tices “would invade in
the fundamental rights
of liberty and privacy”.
They would also affect
the couple’s freedom to
choose marriage “with-
out interference from
state and non-state ac-
tors”, the court said.
A section of the Spe-
cial Marriages Act,
1954, requires an inter-
faith couple to give
written notice of the
marriage to the District
Marriage Officer. The
law says such notices be
displayed Turn to P6
No need to display notice
for inter-faith marriages,
says Allahabad High Court
30-DAY NOTICE UNDER SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT
VIOLATES PRIVACY, MAKE IT OPTIONAL: COURT
Ready to vaccinate India
as Covaxin reaches 11 states
New Delhi: With less
than a week left before
India starts its nation-
wide inoculation drive,
batches of coronavirus
vaccine are being
shipped to multiple
parts across the country.
After Serum Insti-
tute’s maiden consign-
ment of Covishield vac-
cines took off for Delhi
from Pune on Tuesday,
Bharat Biotech also dis-
patched the first batch-
es of Covaxin, its two-
dose Covid-19 vaccine,
to 11 cities across India.
The Hyderabad firm
said it had successfully
shipped the first batch
of the vaccines to Gana-
varam, Guwahati, Pat-
na, Delhi, Kurukshetra,
Bangalore, Pune, Bhu-
baneswar, Jaipur, Chen-
nai, and Lucknow.
As many as 3 crore
healthcare and frontline
workers will be the first
in line to receive the
shot. Pune’s Serum In-
stitute of India and Hy-
derabad-based Bharat
Biotech Turn to P6
The first batch lands in Ganavaram, Guwahati, Patna, Kurukshetra,
Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Chennai & Lucknow
PM MODI LIKELY
TO OPEN VACCINE
DRIVE ON JAN 16
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi will likely
inaugurate vaccination
drive via video
conferencing on
January 16. PM Modi
will likely interact with
health workers at some
locations on the day
of the launch of the
vaccine drive, select
hospitals in states like
UP, Haryana and Delhi
have been asked to
make preparations.
INDIA WANTS PFIZER TO DO LOCAL
STUDY FOR COVID VACCINE NOD
New Delhi: Any vaccine maker, including
Pfizer Inc, which has sought emergency-use
authorisation for its
Covid-19 shot in India,
must conduct a local
“bridging” safety and
immunogenicity study
to be considered
for the country’s
immunisation
programme, said a
senior government
official. Serum Institute of India has done a
similar study on more than 1,500 people over
months before seeking and receiving emergency
approval in the country.
New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on
Security (CCS), led by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, on Wednesday ap-
proved the purchase of 73 Tejas LCA
(Light Combat Aircraft) fighter jets and
10 trainer aircraft for a cost of around
Rs 45.7 crore. The Tejas Mk-1A LCA is
an indigenously designed and manu-
factured fourth-generation Turn to P6
India to buy 83 Tejas Light
combat aircraft for `45,696 cr
JOLT TO YOGI GOVT?
The judgment comes in the
backdrop of the rising cases
under the new anti-conversion
law in Uttar Pradesh. Sixteen
cases have been lodged in
UP since the conversion law
kicked in on November 28.
AMIT SHAH @AMITSHAH
In a big move to boost indigenous
defence manufacturing sector,
the cabinet chaired by PM Shri
@narendramodi ji has approved
the procurement of 83 Light
Combat Aircraft Tejas for
Indian Airforce from our
prestigious Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
PEOPLE BUY KITES AT A SHOP AHEAD OF THE MAKAR
SANKRANTI FESTIVAL IN MUMBAI.
A MAN IN MUMBAI RIDES A UNICYCLE TO CREATE
AWARENESS ON DANGERS TO BIRDS.
A WOMAN PAINTS A RANGOLI IN FRONT OF HER HOUSE ON THE EVE OF MAKAR SANKRANTI IN LANKAMURA
VILLAGE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF AGARTALA ON WEDNESDAY. —PHOTOS BY PTI
WISH YOU HAPPY
UTTARAYANAn extravaganza of worship, food, kite flying and joy combine to create a spectacle that
celebrates the harvest festival. Frenzy of kite flying from parks, rooftops to even streets
marks the religious as well as seasonal observance, that is dedicated to Lord Surya,
the Sun God while relishing on pakwaans as the day progresses. With the corona
pandemic still looming large, the day will provide a pleasant escape from gloomy days.
BHARAT BOITECH
@BHARATBOITECH
A moment
of pride and
accomplishment
as the first
consignment of COVAXIN™ is
dispatched from Bharat Biotech
today at 1:00 AM, IST. The
indigenous vaccine is all set to
vaccinate the nation against the
dreadful #SARS_CoV_2

NEWSAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 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:Thefes-
tivalof Uttarayancomes
with its share of acci-
dents and subsequent
injuries to humans as
well as birds and other
livingcreatures.Inorder
to tackle the large num-
ber of medical emergen-
cies that are reported
today, the 108 emergency
services have deployed
ambulances equipped
with medical staffers at
strategic points in the
city.
Around622ambulanc-
es and 4,000 staffers will
be on duty for emergen-
cy services on Uttaray-
an.Also,37‘compassion’
ambulances have also
been deployed to admin-
ister treatment to birds.
The ambulances will
be allocated as per data
analysis of Uttarayan
for the past 10 years.
Normally, the emergen-
cy services receive 2,000
calls daily, the number
rises 24% on the day of
Uttarayan and 17% the
next day. In most cases,
injuries occur due to ac-
cidents.
The ‘compassion am-
bulance’ campaign will
administer medical as-
sistance to birds who
sustain injures during
the festival. Generally,
37 Karuna (compassion)
ambulances have been
deployed in the field, but
on Uttarayan, over 50
birds will be deployed to
execute the ‘Karuna’
campaign.
Jaswant Prajapati,
COO, Emergency Man-
agement and Research
Institute (EMRI), in-
formed, “We are
equipped to respond to
expected emergencies
due to the festive season
at the 108 Emergency
Response Centre. We
can respond to more
calls if we are allocated
anadditionalnumberof
emergency officers and
doctors. This Uttarayan,
we wish everyone stays
safe, but if there is an
emergency, citizens
must remember that 108
servicesarefreeandcan
be availed of with a sin-
gle phone call.”
622 AMBULANCES, 4K STAFFERS ON
STAND-BY MODE FOR UTTARAYANEmergency services to remain vigilant today as the city celebrates the kite-flying festival
AIMIM on track to
contest local body polls
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Ahead
of local body polls,
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani-led govern-
ment announced its
decision to recruit
6,616 academicians
for higher education
positions in the state
on Wednesday. CM
Rupani also conduct-
ed meetings regard-
ing the ‘Karuna Ab-
hiyan’ programme
and reviewed the
state’s preparedness
to save the lives of
birds on the kite-fly-
ing festival of Utta-
rayan.
Announcing the re-
cruitment decision,
state Education Minis-
ter Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama said, “The
government will cre-
ate a total of 6,616 new
posts with the vision
to build careers by pro-
viding employment op-
portunities in the field
of higher education as
well as secondary edu-
cation in the state.”
The decision will
definitely provide a
much-needed boost to
the education sector.
Elaborating on the
important move, Chu-
dasama added, “Over
927 assistant profes-
sors will be recruited
in non-government
grant/aid colleges
through a centralized
recruitment process.
Services of these acad-
emicians will be en-
gaged in over 44 differ-
ent subjects.”
The last date for on-
line application for re-
cruitment of assistant
professors (adhyapak
sahayak) has been set
at January 20, 2021. In-
terested candidates
can peruse details of
the recruitment pro-
cess on www.ras-
cheguj.in).
Furthermore, the
state government will
also recruit over 5,700
assistant teachers in
n o n - g o v e r n m e n t
grant/aid secondary
and higher secondary
schools. Of these, 3,382
assistant teachers will
be recruited in higher
secondary schools and
2,307 in secondary
schools.
Of the 3,382 assis-
tant teachers, 624 will
be for English, 446 for
Accountancy and
Commerce subjects,
334 for Sociology, 276
for Economics, 254 for
Gujarati and other
subjects.
Similarly, out of the
total of 2,307 assistant
teachers in secondary
schools, 1,037 will be
for Mathematics and
Science subjects, 442
for English, 289 for So-
cial Science subjects,
234 for Gujarati and
other subjects.
Meanwhile, CM Ru-
pani has insisted that
people involved in res-
cuing and administer-
ing medical assistance
to injured birds must
use a PPE kit. Around
20,000 PPE kits have
been distributed free
of cost. Around 421
healthcare centres, 71
mobile vans, 37 ‘Karu-
na’ (compassion) am-
bulances and 529 vet-
erinarians, in addition
to, officials and volun-
teers will be a part of
the ‘Karuna Abhiyan’
this year.
Additional Chief
Secretary Dr Rajiv
Gupta said, “A large
number of birds and
animals have been
saved under this initi-
ative. This year, more
than 250 voluntary or-
ganizations will sup-
port the state govern-
ment in its efforts for
this noble cause.”
Govt to recruit 6,616 new profs &
teachers to boost education: CM Rupani
STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Kite-flying enthusiasts thronged Delhi Darwaza and Raipur markets to purchase kites ahead of Uttarayan on Wednesday.
Medicated tape must be wrapped
around fingers before flying kites
Do not stand on smooth, rough or weak-
ened surfaces/terraces
Children should fly kites under the
supervision of an adult guardian
Do not attempt to jump from great heights
All two-wheeler vehicle owners
must wear a helmet while driving
Don’t run to catch kites on public roads
In case of injury, dial 108 Do not attempt to retrieve kites from elec-
tric wires or poles
Have a first aid kit handy Do not get on roofs or ceiling with weak
structural integrity
DOS AND DON’TS UTTARAYAN PREP BY 108 EMERGENCY SERVICES
 The location of 108
to strategically deter-
mine response to any
kind of emergency.
 108 ambulances
to stay equipped with
all the medicines,
primary treatment
equipment and trained
personnel needed to
save lives of humans
and animals alike.
 All pilots, EMTs and
doctors have been
asked to remain vigi-
lant when ambulances
traverse on roads.
 Higher number of
ambulances will be
deployed in areas
from where more
emergency calls
are received from
citizens.
Ambulances, trained personnel to
save lives of birds and animals this
Uttarayan under ‘Karuna Abhiyan’
(R to L) Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Forest and Environment Minister Ganpat Vasava, Water Supply Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya, Minister of State
for Panchayat Jaydrathsinh Parmar and Minister of State for Environment Raman Patkar at the ‘Karuna Abhiyan’ meeting on Wednesday.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: As the
schedule for the up-
coming local body
elections is poised
to be announced
post Uttarayan, po-
litical parties in the
state are gearing up
for action. And now,
the Asaduddin
Owaisi-led All India
Majlis-e-Ittehadul
Muslimeen(AIMIM)
have made their in-
tentions clear by an-
nouncing their alli-
ance with the Bhar-
tiya Tribal Party to
contest local body
polls.
According to sourc-
es, former Congress
MLA Sabir Kabliwala
is the front-runner for
the post of state party
organization chief.
“The launch of the
party in the state will
be declared soon after
Uttarayan. I am ready
for whatever respon-
sibility the party
gives me,” Kabliwala
told First India.
Recently, a meeting
was held between
BTP members and
Muslim leaders to de-
cide on the structure
of the organization,
sources said. Earlier
this month, BTP
chief Chhotu Vasava
had stated that Owai-
si was with the people
of India, who are
fighting to protect the
Indian Constitution.
“We will fight for our
rights that have been
taken away by the
Narendra Modi-led
government. It has
done nothing for the
poor. We will contest
the upcoming local
body elections with
AIMIM,” said Vasava.
Both the parties
are of the opinion
that the people of Gu-
jarat will choose
them as an alterna-
tive to the ruling BJP,
sources said.
As per sources,
former Congress
MLA Sabir Kabliwala
is the front-runner
for the post of state
party prez
AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel met with BTP’s Chhotubhai Vasava at the latter’s residence at Jhagadia in
Bharuch district earlier this month.
—PHOTOSBYHANIFSINDHI
Medical workers of the Karuna Chritable Trust operate on an
injured bird in an operating room set up in Dariyapur area of
Ahmedabad.

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021
Senior citizen self-immolates
and jumps to death inA'bad
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A sen-
ior citizen set him-
self on fire and
jumped to death from
his apartment build-
ing on Wednesday, po-
lice officials said. He
was taken to a nearby
hospital where he
was declared dead by
doctors.
According to a
Ghatlodia police sta-
tion officer, Om-
prakash Kodiyara im-
molated himself by
pouring sanitizer and
torching himself be-
fore jumping from the
fifth floor of his resi-
dential building.
Ghatlodia police have
registered a case of
accidental death, but
further investigation
will depend on the
post-mortem report.
To ensure that
none of his family
members noticed the
extreme step, Kodi-
yara poured sanitiz-
er on himself in the
balcony and then
jumped from the fifth
floor of his apart-
ment. A fire brigade
team reached the
spot and doused the
fire, following which,
an ambulance also
arrived and took him
to a nearby hospital.
Police have recov-
ered a suicide note,
which has been writ-
ten in Malayalam.
Only after translation
will the reason for
Kodiyara’s extreme
step be ascertained.
Officials added that
the body has been sent
for an autopsy and
that they are investi-
gating the case. Ghat-
lodia police have also
recorded statements
of family members of
the deceased.
TheassociationhasallegedrevengebythecivicbodyasthelatterallegeddiscrepanciesinbillsofnCoVpatients
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad:Inastrong
condemnation of the lo-
cal civic body’s actions,
Ahmedabad Hospitals
and Nursing Homes As-
sociation president Dr
Bharat Gadhavi stated
thattheAhmedabadMu-
nicipal Corporation
(AMC) was “out for re-
venge” when it issued a
show cause notice to
CIMSHospitalforincon-
sistencies in bills. The
civic body also imposed
a fine of Rs5 lakh on the
private hospital.
“We stand by the hos-
pital management of
CIMS. The notice issued
by AMC is a vendetta
and showcases its vin-
dictiveness. This has
happened after the hos-
pital recently exposed
one of their officers for
demanding bribes,” Dr
GadhavitoldFirstIndia.
Echoingasimilarsen-
timent, former AMC
Leader of Opposition
Dinesh Sharma, said,
“The Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(AMC) was allegedly out
for revenge when it re-
cently issued a show-
cause notice to CIMS
Hospital.”
The municipal corpo-
ration has claimed that
the hospital had several
inconsistencies in the
reimbursement bills
submitted for treatment
of COVID-19 patients
under the AMC quota.
Civicofficialsstatedthat
they have sought clarifi-
cationregardingthedis-
crepancies; including
missingmedicalrecords
and reimbursing bills
above the prescribed
rates;fromthehospital’s
administration within
seven days.
But, Sharma said that
AMC only took action
against CIMS because
the hospital’s adminis-
tration had allegedly
filed a case against dep-
uty municipal health of-
ficer Dr Arvind Patel for
his alleged involvement
in a bribery case.
“This is nothing but a
case of revenge that has
been served cold. The
AMC officers were in
correspondence with
the ACB (Anti-Corrup-
tion Bureau). As some
time has passed, the
AMC is now targeting
CIMS,notanyotherhos-
pital. The entire modus
operandi of AMC has
been to save the big fish
involved in the case,” as-
serted Sharma.
According to the
sources, the civic body
has taken this action
just so that the hospital
withdraws their com-
plaint against the AMC
officer. “The trap has
been laid by the AMC so
that the case will be
withdrawn because
their officers must be
savedatanycost,”added
the sources.
AHNA REBUKES AMC OVER
NOTICE TO CIMS HOSPITAL
First India Bureau
Surat: The Surat Air-
port will soon join the
ranks of airports of
mega cities such as
Delhi, Mumbai and
Chennai to become a
‘silent’ airport. As of
January 15, there no
boarding announce-
ments will be made at
the airport.
According to the
Airport Authorities of
India (AAI), respec-
tive airlines will noti-
fy passengers about
any change in timings,
and baggage delivery
belts through SMS. In
case of changes in
boarding gates, an-
nouncements will be
made, airport officials
said. The decision was
taken after extensive
consultation with all
stakeholders.
An airline passen-
ger from Surat, Rajesh
Modi said: “The at-
mosphere will be bet-
ter and peaceful. But,
even if a small mis-
take is made, then pas-
sengers will suffer.”
Now, only emergen-
cy announcements
will be made at the air-
port once the security
hold area falls silent.
“The idea is to re-
duce noise pollution
by ceasing airport-
wide announcements
through the public ad-
dress system, which
now continue almost
non-stop in the secu-
rity hold area. Only
important announce-
ments will be made
through the public ad-
dress system, such as
boarding gate changes
or sudden disruption
in flight schedule be-
cause of weather,” an
official said.
Airport director
Aman Saini stated,
“The decision to
make Surat Airport a
silent airport was tak-
en after consultation
with all the stakehold-
ers. Surat will join
other silent airports
in the country such
as Mumbai, Chennai
and Delhi.”
Surat Airport to cease all airport announcements from Jan 15
CURBING NOISE POLLUTION
A'bad teen arrested
for kidnapping
neighbour’s minor son
Class XII student in
J’nagar tests +ve;
4 deaths in state
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: City ru-
ral police on Tuesday
arrested a teenager for
allegedly kidnapping a
minor and demanding
a ransom from the vic-
tim’s parents. The
teenager will be pro-
duced before a juve-
nile court by police.
According to officials,
the teenager devised a
plan to target his
neighbour’s minor
son and demand Rs30
lakh from the child’s
parents.
Police added that
the boy had been res-
cued after a police
team carried out an
overnight operation.
After receiving a tip-
off, the 17-year-old was
arrested from the
outskirts of the
city. Police say that be-
fore the child was ab-
ducted, the accused
had worked to build
the trust of the child.
He used to buy choco-
lates for him often
and even take him on
rides on his two-wheel-
er vehicle.
After demanding Rs
30 lakh, police officials
got the accused to ‘set-
tle’ for an amount of
Rs5 lakh. They were
able to track the teen
down and apprehend
him near Geratpur-
Bareja railway line.
Ahmedabad City Rural
sources say that the ac-
cused was trying to
take the child to
Himachal Pradesh.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Just
three days after schools
were reopened for the
Class X and XII across
the state, a student en-
rolled in Hunnar Shala
(school) in Jodiya of
Jamnagar district has
tested positive for COV-
ID-19.Ontheotherhand,
a continuous decline in
the number of fresh cas-
es has been witnessed in
the past few days.
On Wednesday, a total
of 583 people were re-
ported to have been in-
fectedwithnovelcorona-
virus, taking the infec-
tion tally to 2,53,744.
Four patients suc-
cumbed to the virus, of
which, two died in
Ahmedabad city, which
one fatality was report-
ed in both Panchmahal
and Surat city. The
state’s death toll owing
to the pandemic stands
at 4,354.
At least 792 patients
were discharged from
across the state on the
day. So far, 2,42,164 pa-
tients have recovered
from the infection in
the state.
At 116, Ahmedabad
recorded the highest
number of cases-- 111 of
these cases were report-
ed from urban areas and
only five from the rural
parts. It was followed by
Vadodara which report-
ed 109 cases. While the
city reported 81 cases,
rural pockets reported
26 cases.
Further, Surat report-
ed 98 cases whereas 84
casesemergedinRajkot.
Schools resumed classes on campuses on Jan 11.
With this
move, the
diamond
city will join
other ‘silent’
airport
cities in
the country
such as Delhi,
Mumbai and
Chennai
Ghatlodia police station.
CIMS Hospital,Ahmedabad
Police have
recovered a suicide
note that has been
written in
Malayalam, body
has been sent for
an autopsy
Girnar Ropeway is the ‘Best Unique
Tourism Attraction of Gujarat’
First India Bureau
Rajkot/Gandhinagar:
The recently inaugurat-
ed Girnar Ropeway has
been recognized as the
‘Best Unique Tourism
Attractionof Gujarat’at
the recently held Tour-
ism Awards 2020.
The award ceremony
was inaugurated by Gu-
jarat Chief Minister Vi-
jay Rupani at GIFT City,
Gandhinagar on Mon-
day. Built by Usha Breco
ataninvestmentof Rs130
crore, the award was be-
stowed to the Girnar
Ropeway by state Tour-
ism Minister Jawahar
Chavda and Minister of
State for Tourism Vasan
Ahir. It was accepted by
Deepak Kaplish, Region-
al Head (West) on behalf
of Usha Breco.
The ropeway is touted
to be one of the most
modern and sophisti-
cated ropeways in the
country.Itisalsoclaimed
to be the longest temple
ropeway in the world.
According to reports,
the Girnar Ropeway has
ferried close to 2 lakh
passengers since it was
inaugurated by Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
on October 24 last year.
It is expected to play
the role of a catalyst in
thedevelopmentof tour-
ism and allied business-
es in Girnar and Juna-
gadh, and also boost the
inflow of visitors to the
holy trifecta of Girnar,
Somnath and Dwarka.
The ropeway has ferried over 2 lakh passengers since its unveiling
by PM Modi on October 24 last year.
COZY COMFORT
A family
seated
around a
bonﬁre warm
themselves
on a cold
wintry
Wednesday
night on
Ashram
Road in
Ahmedabad.
— PHOTO BY
HANIF SINDHI
Surat Airport.
THE CLAIM
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI

l Vol 2 l Issue No. 51 l 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 14, 2021
04www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
sJoeBidentakesoathasthe46th
Presidentof theUSAnextweek,
it’stimetolookbackonTrump’s
tenure. Last week’s events at
Capitol Hill, when Trump sup-
porters lay siege on some of the
most hallowed institutions of
US democracy, indulging in ar-
son, violence and vandalism,
theyalsosealedthelegacyof the
outgoing President.
No American President has
ever bowed out of office with
such disgrace evoking such all-
round disgust. Not just democ-
racy but even decency in public
life will be served better on see-
ing the exit of a man who intro-
duced words like post truth in
our lexicon and almost made a
virtue of speaking and spread-
ing lies and hate. While a lot of
countries saw through the
fraud that he was and some
global leaders even had public
spats with him (Angela Markel
for one), we were amongst the
global outliers. We went over-
board feting him, whatever one
may say about the needs of our
foreign policy.
The Supreme Court may
have stayed the controversial
farm laws but the agitating
farmers are not going any-
where soon. This is one politi-
cal battle which is causing con-
siderable unease in the govern-
ment as other than the farm-
ers, the government seems to
have the measure of the rest of
the opposition. But more on
the state of the opposition and
the resultant dominance of
BJP in the context of national
political discourse on another
occasion.
The Supreme Court decision
to stay the farm laws and ap-
point a committee (whose
members are not acceptable to
protesting farmers for they
have all gone public with their
pro farm laws views in recent
past) has thrown up larger is-
sues of separation of power as
envisaged in our federal polity.
Can the apex court over-ride
the executive? Is the Supreme
Court over-stepping it’s brief,
setting a dangerous precedent?
These are issues which need
serious deliberation if our con-
stitutional framework and in-
stitutions— already under
stress—are not to be furthered
weakened.
Talking about Rajasthan,
two of the state’s principal po-
litical players were in the news
these past few days. One was
Vasundhra Raje, and the other
Sachin Pilot.
It is no secret that Vasundhra
Raje remains the tallest and
most popular leader of the BJP
in Rajasthan. In terms of popu-
lar appeal she can be compared
to Amitabh Bachchan in his
prime when he was seen as
number1-10(andtheotherstars
could be counted only from
number 11) on box office perfor-
mance. Just like everyone and
their uncle knows about this
box office strength of the two
term CM Raje, everyone also
knows about how she is not ex-
actly a favourite of the Prime
Minister and Amit Shah. This
uneasy relationship between
the top two in Delhi and Raje
casts a shadow on all discus-
sions and speculations when-
ever anything worthwhile is
being discussed in the context
of Rajasthan BJP. So when the
state BJP chief Satish Poonia
talked about a pro Vasundhra
Manch being set up across the
state by her supporters, he may
have been aiming to let the cat
out of the bag but he ended up
by setting the cat amongst the
pigeons. What I mean is that the
entire controversy — more im-
agined than real in my opin-
ion—only helped focus atten-
tion once again on Raje, further
reiterating her position as the
main dramatis personae in Ra-
jasthan BJP. In favour or out of
favour, she remains the fulcrum
of BJPpolityinthestatearound
which everything revolves.
Now we come to Sachin Pilot
whose attack on RSS led to a
series of speculative reports
aimed at deciphering a deeper
design into his statement. Does
it mean he has closed for good
the door on the BJP? Was he
trying to ingratiate himself to
the congress leadership by
launching a frontal attack on
the RSS? I believe this whole
episode was another example
of much ado about nothing.
Sachin Pilot has done his cal-
culation and knows quite well
whichsideof hispoliticalbread
is buttered. Regardless of what
happened in August last year,
Pilot is going to stay put — now
and forever—in the congress.
Time is on his side and he has a
brighter and more secure fu-
ture in the congress vis a vis
BJP. Also, he is in a comfort
zone in the congress which is
the outcome of his background
as well as present worth.
As the Indian eleven pre-
pares for the fourth test at Bris-
bane, the ongoing Gavaskar
Border series has re-estab-
lished Test Cricket as the real
thing! We had become so used
to the adrenaline rush of the
limited overs version that one
had forgotten the grace, poise
and dignity of the longer ver-
sion. And with drawn tests, like
the one in Sydney, also throw-
ing up such suspense & com-
bative spirit, no lover of the
game can now even rue a no
result outcome after 5 days!
For the Indians there have
been big positives in the ongo-
ing series. Despite being
mauled in the opener and then
losing Virat Kohli to paternity
leave, the team was written off
before it clawed back magnifi-
cently to level the series in the
next game and followed it up
with a cliff hanger of a draw in
Sydney. The team showed it has
both depth and character. The
last few weeks down under
have also proved that the team
is bigger than any individual.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
AS I SEE IT
A
The Supreme
Court decision
to stay the farm
laws and
appoint a
committee
(whose
members are
not acceptable
to protesting
farmers for
they have all
gone public
with their pro
farm laws
views in recent
past) has
thrown up
larger issues of
separation of
power as
envisaged in
our federal
polity
SANJEEV
SRIVASTAVA
TALKING ABOUT
RAJASTHAN, TWO OF
THE STATE’S PRINCIPAL
POLITICAL PLAYERS
WERE IN THE NEWS
THESE PAST FEW DAYS.
ONE WAS VASUNDHRA
RAJE, AND THE OTHER
SACHIN PILOT
The author is a well known political
& foreign affairs commentator and
former India Editor of the BBC
t’s time we all
make peace
with our planet
— you and me,
parents, profes-
sionals, leaders and the
upcoming generation. All
of us have to make 2021 the
Year of Peace. Here’s why:
We’re at war with our plan-
et. Even if we declare a
truce today and start to live
more sustainably, it will
take decades, if not centu-
ries, for Earth to recover.
COVID-19, now responsi-
ble for nearly 2 million
deaths worldwide, emerged
because of habitat en-
croachment and destruc-
tion. Meanwhile, the last
decade was the hottest on
record, while events like
hurricanes and raging
wildfires increased in fre-
quency and intensity be-
cause of climate change.
Air pollution now kills 9
million people every year.
The concrete, metal, plas-
tic, bricks and asphalt we
produce now weighs more
than all living things on
our planet.
In our oceans, two-thirds
of commercially harvested
fish species are overex-
ploited. By 2030, there will
be more plastic than fish in
the sea. Coastlines are
eroding, and cities are
sinking as sea levels rise.
Mangroves and reefs that
ordinarily protect them
are either being cut down
or are dying from climate-
induced changes like ris-
ing sea temperatures. Be-
cause of the greenhouse
gasses pouring into the at-
mosphere every day, our
planet is heading for a 3˚C
to 5˚C rise in global tem-
peratures that will wreak
havoconourhealth,wealth
and world.
Living out of balance
with the environment is
culminating in a pressing
existential crisis. Instead,
imagine waking up every
morning in 2021 with the
intention to make peace
with the planet. Each of us
can be the change we need
by pushing our leaders in
the public and private sec-
tors to be better stewards
of the Earth. With that in
mind, here’s my New
Year’s resolution. These
are the four actions I will
ardently advocate leaders
take to help us all make
peace.
GO GREEN
Investing in green infra-
structure can solve our en-
ergy and infrastructure
needswhilerestoringbiodi-
versity, which has suffered
over recent decades. Na-
ture-based solutions such
as using dunes and marsh-
es to protect our coastlines
shield us equally or better
than sea walls. Simultane-
ously, these can help us
meet Paris Climate Agree-
ment targets by reducing
global atmospheric carbon
emissions by up to one-
third. It is cheaper to build
a renewable energy power
plant than it is to operate an
old coal one. We won’t just
see benefits for our health
and environment. Such in-
vestments come with sub-
stantial financial opportu-
nities. The UN estimates
that green technologies can
create at least 18 million
jobs worldwide.
SOURCE: FAIR OBSERVER
2021 is the year to make peace with our planet
I
Know that wisdom is such to
your soul; if you find it, there
will be a future, and your
hope will not be cut off.
—Proverbs 24:14
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dr Harsh Vardhan
@drharshvardhan
Protecting our farmers against
losses the vagaries of nature,
PM Fasal Bima Yojana completes
5 years today. With increased
coverage, crores of farmers have
benefitted from the program.
Rs 90,000 cr claims have
already been paid to farmers.
#FasalBima4SafalKisan
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavadekar
Happy to note that the most valued
clean energy automaker @Tesla kicks
off India operations by registering
itself in Bengaluru as a precursor to
setting up an RD unit in India. This
will further boost the electric mobility
push by Modi government.
single-judge Bench of the Allahabad
High Court has, in a significant judg-
ment ruled that “publication of notice
and inviting objections to the intended
marriage” under the Special Marriage
Act “would invade the fundamental rights of lib-
erty and privacy, including within its sphere free-
dom to choose for marriage without interference
from state and non-state actors, of the persons
concerned”.
Interpreting Sections 6 and 7 of the Special Mar-
riage Act, Justice Vivek Chaudhary ruled that “it
shall be optional for the parties to the intended
marriage” whether to publish or not a notice invit-
ing objections to their proposed marriage. In case
they do not make a request for the publication of
a mandatory 30-day notice, the “Marriage Officer
shall not publish any such notice or entertain ob-
jections to the intended marriage and proceed
with the solemnization of the marriage”, Justice
Chaudhary ruled as “the matter related to funda-
mental rights of a large number of persons”.
The judgment not only strikes down Sections 6
and 7 of the Special Marriage Act which is obstruc-
tive but it also has a bearing on the recently passed
Uttar Pradesh ordinance on unlawful conversions.
The UP law has made it mandatory for inter-faith
couples to register under the Special Marriage Act
and provides for objections to be filed by all and
sundry. The provision allowed “state and non-state
actors” to blatantly harass inter-faith couples. Sev-
eral Muslim men have been jailed on mischievous
complaints of fringe elements.
The welcome judgment comes at a time when
some BJP governments are out to crucify love in
the name of love jihad.
A
IN-DEPTH
ALLAHABAD HC’s
WELCOME ORDER
NOT EVEN A MURMUR
OVER FUEL PRICES
he New Year began with petrol prices
being hiked by 26 paise per litre in Del-
hi on January 6. It is now selling at Rs
84.45 for a litre, an all-time high. Diesel
prices also saw a 25-paise increase. The
hike came after a 29-day pause and was attributed
to the global rising trend in oil prices. Brent crude
is priced at $56 a barrel, which is much lower than
$70 a barrel in 2018. In reality, the nearly 70 per
cent tax is a major contributor to the high prices
of fuel in India. These taxes can be reduced but
with the economy slowly emerging from the Cov-
id-19 related crisis, the government is least inter-
ested in helping the consumer. After the Centre
hiked duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per and
Rs 13 per litre respectively, India became the
country with the highest taxes on fuel. Yet the
demand for petroleum products which saw a
sharp decline by 49 per cent in April last year,
increased by 2.5 per cent before the onset of fes-
tival season in October. This has made petrol
pumps the best tax collectors.
Surprisingly, there is not even a murmur of pro-
test from consumers even though the daily com-
mute has started to pinch the pockets of most of
them. The government in the meantime is raking
in the moolah to prepare a cushion for a probable
fiscal deficit or providing cash benefits in the
forthcoming budget. However, the consumer won’t
be amused if fuel prices continue to sky-rocket at
the present rate.
T

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021
JK L-G VISITS FAMILY OF
GOLDSMITH KILLED BY TERRORIST
Srinagar: JK Lieutenant
Governor Manoj Sinha
visited the family of
goldsmith Satpal Nischal
who was shot dead by
terrorists at his shop here
on December 31, just
days after he had obtained
a domicile certificate.
The Lieutenant Governor
expressed solidarity with
the bereaved family, an
official said. Condemning
the killing strongly, Sinha
said a high-level investi-
gation has already been
initiated. He assured the
family that those involved
in the heinous act will be
brought to justice soon.
The Lieutenant Governor
offered condolences to
the family members of the
deceased, saying such de-
spicable and cowardly act
will not go unpunished.
EC TEAM HOLDS REVIEW
MEETING IN GUWAHATI
Guwahati: A six-mem-
ber team of the Election
Commission of India
(EC) held a meeting
with senior government
officials to review pre-
paredness for Assam
Assembly polls due in
March-April. The EC
team, led by director
general Dharmendra
Sharma, held a review
meeting with Jishnu
Baruah other senior
officials. On Monday,
the poll panel held
a review meeting in
Dibrugarh with the
deputy commissioners,
election officers and
senior police officials
of 20 election districts.
MUMBAI SECOND MOST
CONGESTED CITY IN WORLD
New Delhi: Mumbai
is the second most
congested city in the
world after Moscow in
2020 in terms of traf-
fic, as per latest report
released by TomTom
Traffic index which
conducted a study in
416 cities across 57
countries. Bengaluru
New Delhi rank 6th
8th in the list of
most congested cities.
Mumbai’s position
worsened from fourth
spot in 2019 and 2018.
Bengaluru improved
its position from fifth
to sixth with 51% of
congestion compared
to 71 per cent in 2019.
SENSEX ENDS LOWER AFTER
CHOPPY TRADE; MM SOARS 6 PC
Mumbai: Retreating
from its record peak,
equity benchmark Sensex
ended 25 points lower
after a volatile session as
investors booked profits
amid mixed cues from
global markets. After
gyrating over 721 points
during the day, 30-share
BSE index ended 24.79
points or 0.05% lower
at 49,492.32. It scaled a
record intra-day peak of
49,795.19. The broader
NSE Nifty inched up 1.40
points or 0.01 per cent to
its fresh closing record
of 14,564.85. The index
touched a lifetime high of
14,653.35 during the day.
MM was the top gainer
in the Sensex pack, rally-
ing around 6 per cent, fol-
lowed by SBI, ITC, NTPC,
Bharti Airtel and ONGC.
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
hit out at the central
government on Wednes-
day saying that the
death of 60 agitating
farmers did not embar-
rass the Union govern-
ment but the tractor
rally, which was sched-
uled to be hold by them
on January 26 (Repub-
lic Day) would embar-
rass them.
Gandhi tweeted,
“The Modi government
was not embarrassed by
the death of more than
60 farmers but they are
embarrassed by the
tractor rally!”
Farmers on January
7 took out a tractor rally
at the Delhi borders to
protest against the
three new farm laws.
This rally is a rehearsal
for a more massive rally
they have planned for
January 26 if their de-
mands are not met.
On Tuesday, the Su-
preme Court stayed the
implementation of
three farm laws and
asked the committee
formed by it concerning
the laws to submit its
report within two
months.
The court said the
first sitting of the com-
mittee, formed to listen
to the grievances of
farmers and views of
the government, should
be held within 10 days.
Farmers have been
protesting at the differ-
ent borders of the na-
tional capital since No-
vember last year,
against the three newly
enacted farm laws --
Farmers’ Produce
Trade and Commerce
(Promotion and Facili-
tation) Act, 2020; the
Farmers Empower-
ment and Protection)
Agreement on Price As-
surance and farm Ser-
vices Act 2020 and the
Essential Commodities
(Amendment) Act, 2020.
—ANI
MODIGOVTNOTEMBARRASSEDBYDEATH
OFFARMERSBUTBYTRACTORRALLY:RaGa
SC to examine
plea to keep
adultery a
crime
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on
Wednesday issued no-
tice on the Centre’s plea
that a 2018 apex court
judgment to decrimi-
nalise adultery under
Section 497 of the Indi-
an Penal Code should
not be applicable to the
armed forces.
A bench headed by
JusticeRFNarimanand
comprising Justices
Navin Sinha and KM Jo-
seph also sent the case
to the Chief Justice for
listing it before a five-
Judge bench that had
decriminalisedadultery.
The top court had then
noted that it can only be
a ground for divorce.
Attorney General KK
Venugopal, represent-
ing petitioner Defence
Ministry, submitted
that armed force per-
sonnel can be dismissed
from service on ground
of unbecoming conduct
on account of adultery
with brother officers’
spouses.
New Delhi: TheCentral
government on Wednes-
day told the Delhi High
court that drafting of
the revised National
Litigation Policy (NLP)
is underway.
NLP wasformulated
by the Ministry of Law
and Justice to bring
down the litigation from
government agencies by
making them more re-
sponsible in filing cases.
On being informed by
the counsel appearing
for the Additional So-
licitor General Chetan
Sharma of the revised
policy, a Division Bench
of Chief Justice DN Pa-
tel and Justice Jyoti
Singh adjourned the
matter for February 12.
The court was hear-
ing a plea seeking direc-
tion to the Central gov-
ernment through Law
Secretary, Department
of legal affairs to uni-
formly implement NIP
launched on June 23,
2010, along with pro-
gressive changes subse-
quently brought into
such policy, if any,
amongst all Ministries,
Departments, Instru-
ments, PSUs and Appa-
ratus under Respond-
ent’s control. —ANI
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court ordered
States Union Territo-
ries (UTs) to take a deci-
sion by January 31 on
the opening of Angan-
wadi centres across the
country, except in case
of containment zones
in view of COVID-19.
A Bench headed by
Justice Ashok Bhushan
also directed the States
and UTs to ensure that
nutritional standards as
provided under the food
safety law reach preg-
nant women, lactating
mothers and children
suffering from malnu-
trition. The apex court
also ordered the Minis-
try of Women and Child
Development to take a
decision by January 31.
The UTs States
make arrangements of
opening Anganwadis
only after consulting
their respective State
Disaster Management
Authorities, said the
apex court, adding that
complete redressal
management should be
put in place. —PTI
IN THE COURTYARD
RevisedNLPunderprocess,
CentretellsDelhiHighCourt
SC orders on opening of
Anganwadi centres
New Delhi: The Su-
premeCourtonWednes-
day took suo moto cog-
nizance on issues relat-
ing to pollution in the
Yamuna river.
A Bench headed by
Chief Justice of India
SA Bobde also issued
notice to Haryana gov-
ernment on the plea of
Delhi Jal Board which
complaint that highly
pollutant water is being
released by Haryana.
Senior advocate
Meenakshi Arora ap-
pearing for Delhi Jal
Board argued that the
Yamuna water being
supplied by Haryana to
Delhi has high ammo-
nia levels. Arora told
the Bench that ammo-
nia mixing with other
pollutants could cause
cancer. The DJB said in
Haryana Sewage Treat-
ment Plants (STPs)
don’t work causing high
ammonia level and
making the water unfit
to drink. It also filed a
plea against the Hary-
ana government for
dumping untreated dis-
charge in the Yamuna
which was spiking the
level of Ammonia,
thereby making it “un-
fit” water to be supplied
to Delhi people. —ANI
SC takes suo moto cognizance over pollution in Yamuna
TEMPORARY GURDWARA SET UP AT
SINGHU BORDER AMID FARMER PROTEST
FARMERS BURN COPIES OF AGRICULTURE
LAWS ON LOHRI IN PUNJAB
New Delhi: A temporary Gurudwara has been set up at the Singhu
border, where the farmers are protesting. According to Charanjeet
Singh, a member of the Gurudwara, the Gurudwara has been set up
for six days and many people are coming to pray for the souls who
lost their lives during the protest. “We are doing an ‘Akhand path’
(ritual worship) to honor the souls of the people who have died.
This will be set up for about six days so that people can continue to
pray. We want to honour not just those farmers who died here, but
also across Maharashtra, UP and other states,” Singh told ANI.
Chandigarh: Farmers in Punjab on Wednesday burnt copies of the
Centre’s three new farm laws at several places on Lohri as a mark
of protest against the legislations. The harvest festival of Lohri
is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana and other parts of north India.
Bonfires are an important part of the festivities. Protesting farmers
owing allegiance to different farm bodies held protest at many
places in the state and burnt copies of new agriculture laws. Farm-
ers also shouted slogans against the BJP-led Centre and slammed
the government for not acceding to their demands.
Farmers and Farmers’ leaders shout slogans as they
burn the copies of three farm laws while celebrating
Lohri during the protest against the three farm laws
at Ghazipur Border and Singhu Border in New Delhi
on Wednesday. —PHOTOS BY ANI
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
takes a dig at Centre over death
of 60 agitating farmers during
protest against 3 new farm laws
Millions
expected to
attend
Kumbh Mela
Haridwar: Hindu pil-
grims flocked to the
Ganga river on Wednes-
day, shrugging off the
risk of coronavirus a
day before the start of
the Kumbh Mela -- a reli-
gious festival that at-
tractsmillionseachtime
it is held. Despite India
having the second most
coronavirus infections
in the world -- and more
than 150,000 deaths -- the
virus has not stopped
devout Hindus from
making the pilgrimage.
“The pandemic is a
bit of a worry, but we
are taking all precau-
tions,” said organiser
Siddharth Chakrapani,
who expected between
8,00,000 to 10 lakh people
to attend on Thursday
alone. “I’m sure Maa
Ganga will take care of
their safety,” he added.
As per Hindu mythol-
ogy, gods demons
fought a war over a sa-
cred pitcher containing
the nectar of immortal-
ity. Drops fell at four dif-
ferent locations, which
now alternate as hosts
forimmensegatherings.
Haridwar is the host,
and several million peo-
ple were expected to
throng the holy city in
Uttarakhand over the
coming seven weeks.
Amit Shah to
celebrate Uttarayan
in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah will reach
Ahmedabad on
Wednesday evening.
Reports said the minis-
ter is in the city to cel-
ebrate Uttarayan with
his family. He will also
attend a meeting of the
Somnath Trust sched-
uled for later.
Every year, the top
BJP leader celebrates
the festival with party
workers but this time
due to the notification
issued by the state gov-
ernment, sources said
Amit Shah will cele-
brate the festival with
his family. The notifica-
tion prevents outsiders
from taking part in Utt-
arayan in residential
societies.
He will also attend an
online meeting of the
Somnath Trust which
will also be attended by
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi and BJP lead-
er Advani.
The meeting will
among other things also
decide who will replace
Keshubhai Patel who
was the chairman of
the trust. The position
fell vacant after the for-
mer Gujarat CM passed
away. Keshubhai was
first appointed a trustee
of the Somnath Trust in
1999 and five years later
was elected chairman
of the board of trustees.
Since 2004 he continued
to hold the post even af-
ter PM Modi and Amit
Shah became part of the
board of trustees.
—FILE PHOTO

Ready to...
received the Drug Con-
troller General of In-
dia’s approval on Janu-
ary 3 for “restricted”
use of their Covid-19
vaccines in an “emer-
gency” situation.
The first consign-
ment of Covidshield
vaccine from Pune-
based Serum Institute
of India arrived at the
Cochin international
airport on Wednesday
morning. Special re-
frigerated vans were
arranged to transport
the vaccine safely to
respective centres. An-
other flight is expected
to reach Thiruvanan-
thapuram internation-
al airport this after-
noon. National Health
Mission sources said
of the 4.33 lakh doses
of the vaccine, 1,100
would be sent to Mahe,
which is an enclave of
Puducherry and lies
between Kozhikode
and Kannur districts.
Impeachment
vote...
Donald Trump over the
storming of the US Cap-
itol, Democrats in the
House of Representa-
tives stood poised for a
history-making vote to
try to remove the presi-
dent from office.
With eight days re-
maining in Trump’s
term, the House will
vote on an article of im-
peachment accusing
the Republican of incit-
ing insurrection in a
speech to his followers
last week before a mob
of them stormed the
Capitol, leaving five
dead.
That would trigger a
trial in the still Repub-
lican-controlled Sen-
ate, although it was
unclear whether
enough time or politi-
cal appetite remained
to expel Trump.
Democrats moved
forward on an im-
peachment vote after a
effort to persuade Vice
President Mike Pence
to invoke the 25th
Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution to remove
Trump was rejected by
Pence on Tuesday
evening.
“I do not believe that
such a course of action
is in the best interest
of our Nation or con-
sistent with our Con-
stitution,” Pence said
in a letter to House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
No need...
in the official’s office in
case anyone wants to
object to the marriage
within 30 days on the
ground that it would
contravene the usual
rules, including age,
mental health and cus-
toms of their communi-
ties.
In a 47-page judg-
ment on Tuesday, Jus-
tice Vivek Chaudhary
said couples can now
give a written request
to the Marriage Officer
“to publish or not to
publish a notice”.
India to...
fighter with critical op-
erational capabilities
that include an Active
Electronically-Scanned
Array (AESA) radar, an
Electronic Warfare
(EW) suite, and is capa-
ble of air-to-air refu-
eling (AAR).
“The LCA Tejas is
going to be the back-
bone of the IAF fighter
fleet in (the) years to
come. LCA-Tejas incor-
porates a large number
of new technologies,
many of which were
never attempted in In-
dia,” Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh tweeted,
adding that the deal
was a “game-changer
for self-reliance in the
Indian defence manu-
facturing (sector)”.
Singh said the deal
would also “considera-
bly expand the current
LCA ecosystem and
help in creating new
job opportunities”, as
well as changing the
Indian aerospace man-
ufacturing sector.
“The LCA-Tejas pro-
gramme would act as a
catalyst for transform-
ing the Indian aero-
space manufacturing
ecosystem into a vi-
brant Atmanirbhar-
self-sustaining ecosys-
tem,” he wrote.
In a statement issued
Wednesday evening the
government said the 73
Tejas LCA fighter air-
craft would become “a
potent platform to
meet the operational
requirements of the In-
dian Air Force”.
“It is the first ‘BUY
(Indian-Indigenously
Designed, Developed
and Manufactured)’
category procurement
of combat aircraft
(with an indigenous
content of 50 per cent
that will reach 60 per
cent by the end of the
programme),” the gov-
ernment statement
said.
In May last year the
Air Force operational-
ised its second squad-
ron of home-made
Tejas fighter jets, as-
signing them to its No
18 Squadron - the ‘Fly-
ing Bullets’ - based at
Sulur near Coimbatore
in Tamil Nadu. The
squadron was equipped
with the fourth-genera-
tion Tejas Mk-1A LCA
aircraft.
FROM PG 1
INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021
KEY APPOINTMENT IN
2021 : CEO NITI AYOG
There are indications that there will be new CEO of
the Niti Ayog in May. Present CEO Amitabh Kant
may be given another important assignment. Who
will be new CEO ?
HANS RAJ VERMA TO BE NEW CHIEF
SECRETARY OF TAMILNADU ?
Hans Raj Verma is likely to be appointed new Chief
Secretary of Tami lNadu on February 1. He is 1986
batch IAS officer.
RAJNI KANT GUPTA TO BE
CHAIRMAN, IT SETTLEMENT
COMMISSION ?
Rajni Kant Gupta is being tipped to be Chairman
of the Income Tax Settlement Commission. He is
1984 batch IRS (IT) officer.
RP THAKUR IS NEW VCMD, AP
STATE TRANSPORT CORP
RP Thakur has been appointed as VC MD,
Andhra Pradesh State Transport Corporation (APS-
RTC). He is a 1986 batch IPS officer of AP cadre.
MRS MALIKA GARG JOINS AP GOVT
ON INTER CADRE TRANSFER
Mrs Malika Garg has joined Andhra Pradesh
Government on inter cadre transfer. Mrs Garg, who
belongs to a 2015 batch IPS officer of West Bengal
cadre, was posted as Additional SP, Administration,
Krishna District in Andhra Pradesh.
MORENA GETS NEW SP
COLLECTOR IN MP
Sunil Kumar Pandey has been appointed as new
SP, Morena and Bakki Karthikeyan will be new
Collector, Morena in Madhya Pradesh.
ANIL VERMA EMPANELLED AS
ADDITIONAL SECRETARY IN GOI
Anil Verma has been empanelled for holding Ad-
ditional Secretary/Additional Secretary equivalent
posts in Government of India. He is a 1989 batch
IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.
MEETA R LOCHAN EMPANELLED AS
Meeta R Lochan has been empanelled for holding
Additional Secretary/Additional Secretary equiv-
alent posts in Government of India. He is a 1990
batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.
VIJAY BHUSHAN PATHAK
EMPANELLED AS ADDITIONAL
SECRETARY IN GOI
Vijay Bhushan Pathak has been empanelled for
holding Additional Secretary/Additional Secretary
equivalent posts in Government of India. He is a
1990 batch IAS officer of Sikkim cadre.
SHASHANK GOEL EMPANELLED AS
Shashank Goel has been empanelled for holding
Additional Secretary/Additional Secretary equiv-
alent posts in Government of India. He is a 1990
batch IAS officer of Telangana cadre.
SUNDEEP KUMAR NAYAK
EMPANELLED FOR ADDL SECRETARY
EQUIVALENT POSTS IN GOI
Sundeep Kumar Nayak has been empanelled for
holding Additional Secretary equivalent posts in
Government of India. He is a 1988 batch IAS officer
of JK cadre.
I C P KESHARI EMPANELLED FOR
ADDL SECRETARY EQUIVALENT
POSTS IN GOI
ICP Keshari has been empanelled for holding Addi-
tional Secretary equivalent posts in Government of
India. He is a 1988 batch IAS officer of MP cadre.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
New Delhi: According
to various paramilitary
top officials, paramedic
staff and doctors will be
vaccinated in the first
phase followed by all
paramilitary staff,
which is close to about
10 lakh people.
Around 25,000 total
of all paramilitary par-
amedics and doctors
will be vaccinated in
the first phase.
The Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF)
sources claimed that
3,300 para-medics and
doctors will get vacci-
nated in the first phase,
while registration is
currently on for the
next phase. So far, a to-
tal of 1,92,000 CRPF
jawans have been regis-
tered. CPRF is in the
process of getting
1,55,000 more jawans
registered for the sec-
ond phase.
Similarly in the Indo-
Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP), which is also
taking care of various
COVID centres, includ-
ing the world’s largest
COVID centre in Delhi’s
Chhatarpur area, has
completed registration
for all jawans and offic-
ers, close to about 1
lakh. Almost 2,500 doc-
tors and paramedics of
the ITBP will be vacci-
nated against coronavi-
rus in the first phase.
Jawans deployed in
forwarding areas in
Ladakh will be vacci-
nated through special
camps that will be set
up by local administra-
tion at the location it-
self and they will not
require to travel to Leh
to get vaccinated, an
ITBP official said.
In the Central Indus-
trial Security Force, all
jawans have been regis-
tered for the COVID-19
vaccine drive. —ANI
DOCTORS PARAMEDICS TO GET VAXParamilitary forces have started gearing up for the highly anticipated vaccine drive scheduled to start from January 16
SERUM DISPATCHES 90 % VACCINES
TTT
‘102 INFECTED
WITH UK STRAIN’
Kolkata: The Trina-
mool Congress on
Wednesday appealed to
the Left Front and the
Congress to back West
Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee in
her fight against the
“communal and divi-
sive” politics of the BJP.
Elections to the
294-member state as-
sembly are due in April-
May.
“If the Left Front and
the Congress are genu-
inely anti-BJP, they
should be behind
Mamata Banerjee in
her fight against the
communal and divisive
politics of the saffron
party,” senior TMC MP
Sougata Roy told re-
porters.
TMC supremo Mama-
ta Banerjee is the “real
face of secular politics
against the BJP”, he
said. Roy claimed that
none of the schemes
launched by the BJP-led
government at the Cen-
tre has worked success-
fully.
Referring to cattle-
smuggling that has
kicked up a political
storm in poll-bound
West Bengal, Roy said it
is the duty of the Bor-
der Security Force
(BSF) and not the state
police to prevent this.
“The BSF, which is
under the central gov-
ernment, looks after the
borders of the country.
It is their duty and not
that of the police to pre-
vent cross-border smug-
gling of cattle,” the
TMC MP said.
Launching a stinging
attack against Union
Home Amit Shah, who
had visited the state last
month, the senior law-
maker said, “Instead of
having lunch at differ-
ent places, he should
have visited the border
to check whether the
BSF is doing its job
properly or not.”
Responding to a que-
ry whether BJP state
chief Dilip Ghosh will
be the saffron party’s
chief ministerial candi-
date for the elections,
he said it is an internal
matter of the BJP.
“Diamond Harbour
MP and TMC youth
wing chief Abhishek
Banerjee has a much
greater political experi-
ence than Ghosh, who
has joined politics only
in 2015, but even he nev-
er claimed to be the CM
face of the TMC,” he
added. —PTI
New Delhi: India has
postponed its pulse po-
lio immunisation drive,
scheduled for January
17 as part of the Nation-
al Polio Eradication
Programme, due to un-
foreseen activities, the
Union Health Ministry
said. “This is with refer-
ence to letter noT-
13012/0112020-lmm re-
garding the scheduled
dateof PolioNIDround.
In this regard, this is to
inform that due to un-
foreseen activities, it is
decided to postpone the
scheduled Polio NID
round from 17th Janu-
ary 2021till further no-
tice,” said notice by Ad-
visor on Reproductive
and Child Health (RCH)
Pradeep Halder. —ANI
TMC appeals to Left, Cong to back
Mamata against ‘divisive’ BJP
Annual pulse
polio drive
postponed
New Delhi: The North
and South Delhi Mu-
nicipal Corporations on
Wednesday banned the
sale of chicken in their
respective regions, fol-
lowing confirmation
earlier this week of
bird flu cases in the na-
tional capital. Hotels
and restaurants were
warned against serving
egg-based dishes or
poultry meat.
“All meat and poultry
shops and meat process-
ing units in areas under
NDMC are prohibited
(from) selling (or) stor-
ing poultry or pro-
cessed, or packaged,
chicken meat with im-
mediate effect, till fur-
ther orders,” the North
Delhi Municipal Corpo-
ration order said.
‘All restaurant own-
ers are directed not to
serve poultry meat,
poultry product or any
egg-related dishes... or
action will be taken
against them,” the or-
der said.
“Whosoever defies
the order, his/her trade
licence will be suspend-
ed,” the SDMC order
added. —PTI
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directorate
has arrested former
TMC MP K D Singh in a
money laundering case,
sources said. They said
Singh has been placed
under arrest under sec-
tions of the Prevention
of Money Laundering
Act (PMLA). The Trina-
mool Congress (TMC)
party is led by West
Bengal CM Mamata Ba-
nerjee and Singh is
stated to be not involved
in the party affairs for
quite some time. The
central probe agency
had carried out search-
es at the premises of
Singh and those linked
to him in September,
2019 in connection with
two PMLA cases. —PTI
Ujjain: Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) Mem-
ber of Parliament (MP)
Pragya Singh Thakur
on Wednesday said that
Congress has always
abused “patriots” while
slamming party leader
Digvijaya Singh for
calling Mahatma Gan-
dhi’s assassin Na-
thuram Godse “first
terrorist”.
“Congress has al-
ways abused the patri-
ots. He has said ‘Bhag-
wa aatank’ (Saffron ter-
ror), what can be worse
than this?” Thakur told
reporters here when
asked to comment on
Digvijaya Singh’s re-
mark. The Congress
leader’s remark came
after the Akhil Bharati-
ya Hindu Mahasabha
opened a library (Gyan-
shala) dedicated to
Godse in Gwalior.
In 2019, the Lok Sab-
ha MP from Bhopal had
triggered uproar dur-
ing a discussion in the
lower house on the Spe-
cial Protection Group
(Amendment ) Bill by
DMK member A Raja,
interjected with a re-
mark purportedly in
praise of Godse. How-
ever, later on, she
claimed that she was
referring to Udham
Singh. —ANI
ED arrests
former TMC
MP KD Singh
‘Congress has always
abused patriots’
Restaurants warned, sale of chicken
banned in several parts of Delhi
HEALTH DEPT
ISSUES ADVISORY
First batch of Covishield vaccine from Serum Institute of India,
Pune, arrived at Dehradun airport from Mumbai airport through
Spice jet flight, in Dehradun on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Mamata Banerjee

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021
The US House Speaker was a prime target of the conspirators in
the insurrection, but she has her own conspiratorial targets
Who Is
Nancy Pelosi
Enabling?
A
long with Vice
President
Mike Pence,
House Speaker Nan-
cy Pelosi was one of
the politicians most
directly concerned
by last week’s assault
on Congress. Her
own office was rav-
aged. The marauders
sought her wherea-
bouts as she was be-
ing evacuated. As-
sessing the damage
in the aftermath of
the mayhem, Pelosi
could begin to com-
prehend the truly
evil intent of the in-
surrectionists. On
January 10, she de-
scribed the invasion
of the Capitol as the
work of “a well-
planned, organized
group with leader-
ship and guidance
and direction. And
the direction was to
go get people.”
We now know that
she was a prime tar-
get alongside Pence,
whom the crowd was
seeking to lynch. In
other words, it wasn’t
a protest or an occu-
pation, but a poten-
tially murderous as-
sault on lawmakers.
Most analysts fo-
cused on the rioters
themselves and the
link with President
Donald Trump, who
commanded the
crowd to gather at
the Capitol and pre-
pare for a fight. Pelo-
si peered further into
the evil plot, demon-
strating an investiga-
tive acuity worthy of
Sherlock Holmes. Not
only did she connect
the threads dangling
for the past four
years inside the
brains of prominent
Democrats — a list
that includes Adam
Schiff, Chuck Schum-
er and herself — her
far-sighted global
perspicacity bore its
most compelling fruit
when she identified
the Moriarty of the
tale, the hidden ring-
leader no one in
Washington or the
media dared men-
tion, but only she
could suspect:
Vladimir Putin.
On her congres-
sional website, Pelosi
laid out in detail her
impeccable logic:
“And the message
that it sent to the
world, a complete
tool of Putin, this
President is. Putin’s
goal was to diminish
the role of — the
view of democracy in
the world. That’s
what he has been
about. And, again,
his enabler has been
Donald Trump for a
long time.”
PETER ISACKSON
T
he richly diplo-
maed Demo-
cratsatthehigh-
est level of national
politics know for a fact
thatRussiaisnolonger
the communist Soviet
Union.Buttheyalsoap-
pear to believe that the
Americans who vote
for them haven’t yet
caught up with the
news. The occasional
Freudian slip made
even by people in the
intelligence communi-
ty reveals that Ameri-
cans are still prone to
categorizing Russia as
the ideological enemy
of the US. The reflexes
spread through the me-
dia for half a century
during the Cold War
still exist. Politicians
who see the advantage
of appealing to those
reflexes will not hesi-
tate to do so.
Every administra-
tion since the end of
World War II has re-
quired the existence of
a stable enemy that the
media could highlight
and instill in people’s
minds as the principal
threat to the integrity
of US democracy, if
only to justify the in-
creasingly bloated mil-
itary budget. This has
never been more true
than over the past two
decades, in which the
amount spent by the
Pentagonhasinreality
— when something
called “adjustments”
are taken into account
— consistently exceed-
edbyasmuchasamul-
tiple of three the allo-
cated budget.
This week, in an in-
terviewwithLeeCamp,
the economist Mark
Skidmore explained
how the audit he con-
ducted with Laurence
Kotlikoff revealed that
over a 15-year period,
the Defense Depart-
ment had effectively
spent $21 trillion that
appeared in its ac-
counts in the category
of adjustments.
Kotlikoff admitted
that the team of audi-
tors was “left with hav-
ing to decide whether
or not we ‘trust’ that
government authori-
ties are sharing accu-
rate information.” He
added that “Greater
transparency is need-
ed to re-establish pub-
lic trust. Instead, we
are blocked from ac-
cessing any further
information.”
Given this betrayal
of trust, should anyone
be surprised that large
segmentsof theUSpop-
ulationrefusetobelieve
the statistics presented
to them by the govern-
ment and the media?
The rioters on Capitol
Hill knew nothing
aboutthescandalof the
Pentagon’s true budget.
They believed, thanks
toTrump’slies,thatthe
election had been
rigged. But their action
reflects a more general
breakdown in the trust
Americansnowhavein
their institutions.
If the real budget of
the Pentagon is closer
to $2 trillion than to the
$740 billion voted on at
the end of December, it
would be true to say
that Congress and the
House majority leader,
Nancy Pelosi, have
beenplayingtheroleof
“enabler” of a monu-
mental fraud that has
consequences far be-
yond the dickering of
the two parties over
fictional budgets. The
true accounting gives
us an idea of the real
cost of a military pres-
ence across the entire
globe. The Pentagon’s
figures dwarf the
amounts allocated to
social needs. It isn’t
only about dollars, but
about trust. The US
now has no choice but
to see enemies every-
where, which means
paranoia has become
the norm.
As the Trump White
House gives way to the
Biden regime and new
questionsof howmany
trillions of dollars will
be required for a new
stimulus, the popula-
tion will be expecting a
new transparency
based on something
that reflects tangible
reality rather than fic-
tional plots. Every new
administration prom-
ises to rebuild public
trust. Trump said he
would clear the swamp
but simply made the
air around it poison-
ous. Building trust is
easier to accomplish
when leaders agree to
rid themselves of their
dependence on para-
noid delusions.
O
n her website,
Pelosi added a
few more de-
tails to cement her
claim: “That’s why I
said in that photo
when I’m leaving his
meeting, ‘With you,
Mr. President, all
roads lead to Putin.’
Putin wants to under-
mine democracy.
That’s what he’s about
domestically and in-
ternationally. And the
President gave him
the biggest of all of
his many gifts to Pu-
tin, the biggest gift,
yesterday.”
If politics, especial-
ly in Washington, has
become incorrigibly
hyperreal, there are
times when, thanks to
voices like Pelosi’s, it
also becomes surreal.
Many members of
last week’s mob were
agitated by their qua-
si-religious belief in
the conspiratorial
ravings of QAnon. All
were motivated by the
belief that President
Trump had charged
them with a mission
to restore order (by
creating disorder). In-
side the building were
people like Pelosi,
Schiff and Schumer,
who have long been
entertaining their
own conspiracy theo-
ry. Four years on, that
repeated mantra
known as Russiagate
has come to resemble
a mental disorder.
As a significant seg-
ment of the American
population was intent
on demonstrating not
just “who we are” (Joe
Biden’s expressed
concern) but “how we
think” (irrationally)
and “how we behave”
(rowdily), Pelosi was
turning the investiga-
tion of a crime into a
casus belli, a call for
war with Russia. This
suggests that the soon-
to-be-enthroned Biden
administration, well
stocked with milita-
ristic hawks, may be
tempted to be the tail
that wags the dog, pro-
moting a costly and
risky new Cold War
leveled not against
Trump’s declared en-
emies, Iran and Vene-
zuela, but against the
nation whose econo-
my and system of oli-
garchy was put in
place and managed by
American advisers,
consultants and spies.
Donald Trump’s se-
ditious criminal ac-
tions last week should
not be understated.
Though Republicans
deny the gravity of
Trump’s role, AP cor-
rectly describes it in
these terms: “The
mob got explicit
marching orders from
Trump and still more
encouragement from
the president’s men.”
The article quotes
Trump lawyer Rudy
Giuliani’s exhorta-
tion, “Let’s have trial
by combat.” It men-
tions the active role
former Trump associ-
ate Roger Stone and
National Security Ad-
viser Michael Flynn
played in instructing
the crowds to fight “a
battle between good
and evil.”
Pelosi’s fantasy
that Donald Trump’s
motives boiled down
to fulfilling Putin’s de-
signs clearly belongs
to the realm of con-
spiracy theories. That
Russian or Chinese
leaders might have a
feeling of schaden-
freude as they
watched the events
unfold would surprise
no one. But hinting at
a causal connection is
not just irresponsible
but a symptom of psy-
chosis. Does the 25th
Amendment apply to
the speaker of the
House? If American
voters are condemned
to selecting which of
the two parties’ con-
spiracy theories they
prefer as the basis of
the policy they will be
governed by, it is fair
to say that the decline
of US democracy is
nearly complete.
III
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
Historical NoteContextual Note
Today’s Daily Devil’s
Dictionary definition:
Enabler: A useful idiot who only exists
to do the bidding of the true puppet mas-
ter responsible (in a paranoid person’s
imagination) for everything considered
wrong with the world.
The ofﬁce of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was
vandalized in the US Capitol riots —SUSAN WALSH/AP
Police ofﬁcers clashing with rioters at the US Capitol building last week —JULIO CORTEZ/AP

Greetings on Makar Sankranti.
Flying high as a kite and touching
the heights while keeping attached
to our roots is true success.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: With a
view to ensuring that
there is no laxity in fol-
lowing Covid-19 safety
protocols ahead of the
popular Uttarayan fes-
tival, the Gujarat Po-
lice have tightened its
vigil against violators
of the norms and col-
lected a hefty fine of Rs
3.63 crore between Jan-
uary 8 and January 11.
The penalty for not
wearing a mask in pub-
lic places in the State is
Rs 1,000.
Gujarat Director
General of Police Ash-
ish Bhatia has asked
all police officers in
districts and cities of
the state to strictly im-
plement the SOPs and
to make sure that peo-
ple wear masks and
maintain social dis-
tancing.
Official sources said
the State Government
had become tough after
it burnt its fingers by a
lax attitude ahead of
the Diwali festival
which led to a fresh
spurt of the Covid-19
cases after the pandem-
ic’s curve seemed to be
flattening.
On an average,
around 9,000 people
were fined every day
during these 4 days as
on January 11, a State
police press release
said. “A penalty of Rs
3.63 crore was collected
from 36,510 people for
moving out without a
mask or spitting in
public,” the police said.
As many as 1,763
FIRs were also regis-
tered during this pe-
riod against those not
adhering to various
directions issued by
the administration to
curb the spread of
coronavirus, the re-
lease said.
Since night curfew
(from 10 pm to 6 am) is
in force in Gujarat’s 4
major cities -
Ahmedabad, Rajkot,
Vadodara and Surat,
police arrested 2,944
people found roaming
during the night be-
tween January 8 and 11.
Gujaratis fork out `3.63 cr in 4 days for violating Covid-19 norms
DGP Ashish Bhatia has asked all
police officers in districts and cities
to strictly implement the SOPs
TIGHTENING SCREWS!
Gujarat Police tightens vigil on Covid-19 safety protocol violators. —FILE PHOTO
Court upheld questions raised by farmers’ body if Covid-19 rules did not apply to ruling BJP
Darshan Desai
Ahmedabad: The Guja-
rat High Court on
Wednesday directed the
Surat Police Commis-
sioner -- and by implica-
tion the State Home De-
partment -- to grant per-
missiontoGujaratKhed-
ut Samaj to hold a public
meeting, upholding the
leadingfarmerorganisa-
tion’s argument that the
rules to hold rallies
could not be different for
the ruling BJP.
The GKS had moved
the high court after the
Surat Police Commis-
sioner denied permis-
sion to the organisation
to hold a public meeting
onJanuary3,2021,citing
Covid-19 norms as well
as that a farmers’ rally
could have speeches
against the three contro-
versial farm laws of the
Centre. In its submis-
sions, the GKS through
its counsel Anand Yag-
nik wondered that the
police department was
turning a blind eye to
rallies held by Gujarat
BJP President CR Paatil
attended by thousands
in gross violation of all
socialdistancingnorms.
As against this, all
rules are being applied
in the case of farmers
whosereputedorganisa-
tion was seeking a prop-
erpermissionwithinthe
Covid-19 norms. The
GKS cited observations
by the Supreme Court
and argued that they
could not be prevented
from holding a meeting
on an assumption,
whereas freedom of ex-
pression was a funda-
mental right.
Inresponsetothepeti-
tion seeking permission
to hold a farmers’ meet-
ing during this month,
Justice Vipul M Pancho-
lionWednesdaydirected
the respondent, the Su-
rat Police Commission-
er, to let them hold the
meeting taking into con-
sideration the organisa-
tion’s arguments. The
respondenthasalsobeen
directedtoignoreitsear-
lier order denying per-
missionfortherally.The
GKS has been asked to
submit a fresh applica-
tion with new dates.
The GKS advocate as-
serted that the decision
of the Surat Police to
deny permission to the
farmers body “is fatally
discriminatory.” Anand
Yagnik wondered that
“the ruling BJP headed
by its (Gujarat) presi-
dent CR Paatil gets per-
mission now and then
to hold meeting/s to
express support in fa-
vour of the three farm-
ers’ legislations.”
GUJHCTHUMBS-UPFORFARMERS,
ASKSCOPSTOALLOWPUBLICRALLY
—FILE PHOTO
DOUBLE STANDARDS!
5 destinations outside
Guj to have trains to
Statue of Unity
New speed limits at 50 km to 120 km
First India Bureau
Kevadiya: Kevadiya
town in Narmada dis-
trict where Statue of
Unityislocatedwillsoon
be linked to 5 major des-
tinations outside Guja-
rat, including Varanasi,
Dadar(Mumbai),Hazrat
Nizamuddin (New Del-
hi), Rewa and Chennai,
through express trains.
Ahmedabad city will
be linked to Kevadiya
through Jan Shatabdi
Express, while a MEMU
(Mainline Electric Mul-
tiple Unit) train will be
run from Kevadiya to
Pratapnagar in Va-
dodara.
These trains will be
virtually flagged off by
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on January 17,
when he will also inau-
gurate a new railway
station at Kevadiya,
about 5 km from the
Statue of Unity.
The new eco-friendly
railway station at Ke-
vadiya will have water
harvesting and solar
systems, and Rs 691
crore has been spent for
a 80-km railway line to
the town. The work on
30-km Vadodara-Dabhoi
line and 18-km Dabhoi-
Chandod line have been
completed, a 32-km line
connecting Chandod to
Kevadiya is nearing
completion.
The eco-friendly Rail
Bhavan here made at a
cost of Rs 20 crore will
have solar panels to gen-
erate power.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: With a
view to checking rash
driving on the state,
national and express
highways as well as
the cities in Gujarat,
the Commissionerate
of Transport has is-
sued a fresh notifica-
tion stipulating speed
limits on various roads
in the state.
Under the new noti-
fication, the speed lim-
it ranges from 50 km
an hour on rural roads
to a maximum of 120
km an hour on express
highways.
The speed limit for
the state highways
has been fixed at 80
km per hour, while it
is 100 km in the case
of national highways.
The fastest people
could drive in the ar-
eas covered under the
8 municipal corpora-
tions in the State is 65
km per hour. They in-
clude Ahmedabad, Va-
dodara, Rajkot, Surat,
Jamnagar, Bhavnagar,
Junagadh and Gan-
dhinagar.
On rural highways,
there is a ceiling of 50
km, according to the
new notification from
the Commissionerate
of Transport.
Statue of Unity. —FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
ED attaches 4 Rajkot properties in
`6.32 cr money laundering case
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Four commer-
cial premises in Rajkot
and one in Mumbai
have been provisional-
ly attached by the En-
forcement Directorate
(ED) in a fraud case
involving amounts to
the tune of Rs 6.32
crore.
The agency on
Wednesday stated that
the total worth of the
properties is around
Rs. 4.87 crore belong-
ing to Kalpesh Daftary,
director of Sunkkalp
Creation Pvt. Ltd and
other accused Piyush
Viramgama.
The action has been
initiated under the pro-
visions of Prevention
of Money Laundering
Act, 2002 (PMLA). “In-
vestigation under
PMLA was initiated by
the ED on the basis of
FIR registered by Cen-
tral Bureau of Investi-
gation, EOU, New Del-
hi against Daftary and
others for committing
fraud to the tune of Rs.
6.82 crores.
Investigation re-
vealed that Daftary
along with Niyaz
Ahmed, Piyush Vi-
ramgama, Vijay Ga-
dhiya and others
forged 13 Vishesh Kri-
shi and Gram Udyog
Yojana Licences (VK-
GUY) and got them
fraudulently sold to
Reliance Industries
Ltd. (RIL) under the in-
voices of operating
company Hindustan
Continental Ltd,” the
ED said in a statement
on Wednesday.
The license is used to
promote export of agri-
culture and forest pro-
duce among others.
“Investigation also re-
vealed that the amount
of Rs. 6.8 crore received
for purchase of 13 VK-
GUY licenses was si-
phoned off through ac-
counts of various oper-
ating companies.
—FILE PHOTO
Police keeping
close watch on
terraces of people
to ensure they
maintain social
distancing and
mask norms
on Uttarayan
on Thursday,
in old city area
of Dariyapur in
Ahmedabad.
STRICT
VIGIL
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
4,354
DEATHS
2,53,744
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
2,742 DEATHS 3,14,091 CASES
DELHI
10,707 DEATHS 6,30,892 CASES
WORLD
19,77,799
DEATHS
9,23,09,996
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
1,05,02,548
CONFIRMED CASES
1,51,671
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
50,221 DEATHS 19,78,044 CASES
UTTAR PRADESH
8,514 DEATHS 5,94,175 CASES
KARNATAKA
12,149 DEATHS 9,28,806 CASES

AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY
JANUARY 14, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
he First India family
celebrated the festival
of Lohri with Jagdeesh
ChandrainJaipur.Var-
ious renowned glam-
ourous faces of the city
were present during
the fun-filled evening, which
made it a lot more special.
JagdeeshChandralittheholy
fire flanked by Syed Umar, Ani-
ta Hada, Kriti Garg, Ashok
Singh and all the glam guests.
The group went around the
holy fire in the traditional
manner gently tossing pea-
nuts and popcorn in the
fire even as Madhu Bhatt
sang the old Lohri songs.
Mohit and Garima Ja-
joo, Kriti Garg, Yasheel
Pandel, Yogesh and Nimi-
sha Mishra, Gaurav Gaur,
Akanksha Bhalla and Pawan
Tank graced the evening with
their presence. Models of Miss
Rajasthan, Elite Miss Rajasthan
models and Miss and Mrs India
Glam girls were also present
during the celebratory evening.
The beautiful and gorgeous an-
chors of First India News car-
ried the evening with their zest.
Shweta Mishra anchored the
games and the dances with her
usual grace.
The scenario of the evening
was as such, that the girls were
dancing around the bonfire on
dhol beats in colourful attires,
and singing folk songs while en-
joying tasty Lohri sweets.
The celebration was very
unique as people not only fol-
lowed the usual rituals of the
festival but also spiced it up by
playing various interesting
games, a folk singing perfor-
mance by Madhu Bhatt and Zu-
ber Khan, and beautiful Punjabi
Bhangra performances by
Krish Production House, Delhi
which was done by professional
dancers Pawan Kumar Nayak,
Sonu Jha, Aman Kaur, Sonia
Kaur, Jasvinder Singh, Ravin-
der Singh, Paramjeet Singh,
Birju and Rakesh.
This dance was choreo-
graphed by Krish Baghela and
coordinated by Khushi Khan-
delwal. There were smiling
faces all around, spreading the
message of unity and positivity
which can help us fight with
any difficulty of life!
Lohri is the first Indian traditional festival of the year, which is
celebrated to dodge all the negativity and welcome positive vibes all
around. The First India family, along with various
renowned faces of the Pink City came together and
celebrated this gorgeous festival in full swing!
MANSI BACHANI
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T
Jagdeesh Chandra with Garima and Mohit Jajoo, along with Gaurav Gaur and Kriti Garg
—PHOTOSBYSANTOSHSHARMA
Krish Production House performing Bhangra
Kriti Garg
Divija Gambhir
Riya Sain
Jagdeesh Chandra, along with the First India family and the renowned faces of Jaipur, kick-starting the Lohri celebration

10-11ETCAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
SHEHER KI LADKI-City First
shares a
few more
glimpses of
the Lohri
celebration
held in Jaipur!
—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA
THUMAKKDI
Jagdeesh Chandra along with the First India family
and all the guests present during the celebration Jagdeesh Chandra with Garima Wadhwa, Khushi Ajwani, Sushmita Thukran, Ruchi Jha and Arushi Singh
Jagdeesh Chandra with Divya, Kiran, Ragini,
Muskan, Rishika, Jyoti, Pawan Tank, Radha and Kirti
Jagdeesh Chandra with Mona Gautam, Kriti Garg and Gaurav Gaur Jagdeesh Chandra with Akanksha Bhalla, Gaurav Gaur and Kriti Garg
Mansi Bachani, Akanksha Bhalla, Divija Gambhir,
Swati Jangid and Isha Agrawal among others
Clockwise: Akanksha Bhalla, Swati Jangid and Isha Agrawal
enjoying themselves during the event
Kriti Garg grooves to the Punjabi tunes,
while others look on
Riya Suledia
Isha Agarwal
Arpita Singania enjoying her timeMadhu Bhatt adding a flavour of folk songs during the celebration
Girls gathered to kick-start the event
Jasveer Singh, Rishika Mudga, Riya Sain and Sonu Jha performing Bhangra
Khushboo, Ayushi, Deepa, Jyoti and
Megha enjoying themselves
Divija Gambhir dancing with performersPerformers during the event
During the ‘Gidda‘ dance performance
Performers during the evening
Yasheel Pandel with Riya Suledia, Radhika Chaudhry, Ruchika Soni,
Isha Agarwal, Pratibha Chaudhry and Sapna Bundwal

This
Makar
Sankranti
we can’t go
for the religious
dip because of the co-
rona pandemic. Instead
of getting into a gather-
ing, I’ll prefer to celebrate
it at home with my loved
ones. I’ll cook the delicious
jaggery-til ladoos with my
mom and learn the whole
tradition and fill the sky
with colour kites.
—ARUSHI VERMA,
Uttar Pradesh
12AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY BUZZ
s the country
celebrates Makar
Sankranti today,
let’s all wish to
have a fun year
ahead, filled with
happiness, ener-
gy and love. Makar Sank-
ranti is a day dedicated to
the Lord Surya, and devo-
tees mark this day by tak-
ing a holy dip in the river
Ganges.
According to the Hindu
calendar, this festival is
also celebrated as the har-
vest festival and marks
the arrival of spring,
which eventually means
that the days tend to be-
come longer. Well, as most
of you would know, this
day is synonymous with
kite flying too, and people
especially in Rajasthan
and Gujarat go gaga over
this festival. As fun as it
sounds, this is also one of
the festivals that is ex-
tremely harmful to the
birds because of obvious
reasons.
City First got in touch
with a few of its readers
from Rajasthan, Gujarat
and Uttar Pradesh, asking
about how they plan to cel-
ebrate Makar Sankranti
this year, and what are the
kind of precautions they
would be taking for the
same.
• Inputs from Tanvi Sharma
and Monica Prabhakar
UDI UDI JAAYEUDI UDI JAAYE
City First wishes its readers a very Happy Makar Sankranti. May this festival fill your life with
lots of energy and enthusiasm, and help you get all the happiness and prosperity!
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
A
Even though I
am very fond
of this festival,
I don’t really
know how to
fly a kite. Be-
ing one of the
most popular
festivals of the
state, I believe
this would be
a great opportunity for the people
after COVID, to meet their family and
friends and celebrate a festival after a
really long time. But I’m just bothered
about the safety of birds and people
on two-wheelers during this festival,
as they are impacted the most. I wish
a very happy and safe Makar Sank-
ranti to all the readers of First India!
—RISHI MIGLANI, Rajasthan
This year,
I will
celebrate
Sankranti
with my
family and
some close
friends,
as COVID
precau-
tions are
still to be taken care of. So, it’s
always better to stay home and
enjoy it. This year, I won’t be
flying the kites, as it’s harming
the birds, and I am an animal
lover, so thinking about their
safety made me take this step.
I wish everyone a Happy Makar
Sankranti.
—KAPIL MATLANI, Rajasthan
Uttarayan has always been more about
my Mom’s birthday as the dates are the
same. But this time, it’s special as I’m
home for her birthday and to celebrate the
festival of kites. It’s Undhiyu and Chikki
time with some kite seeing and work.
Glad I can do it all together with my family
this time. As a precaution, this is definitely
going to be Family and Me time.
—BHOOSHA THARYANI, Gujarat
Every
year we
celebrate
Sankranti
with small
pooja at
home fol-
lowed by
eating til
Laddu and
Khichdi.
For me Sankranti is all about
meeting relatives and friends
and eating food together. This
year as I am away from home
i already miss my family and
those fun activities we use to do
it together. My favourite part is
flying kites and looking at the
colorful sky.
—SHEFALI SHUKLA, Gujarat
This year due to COVID, my family and I
couldn’t go out to the temple and have the
big ceremony with our extended family.
Instead, I’ve opted to stay at home and
have a small get together, keeping in
mind the norms like social distancing and
sanitizing regularly amid enjoying lots of
good food.
—MALTI DEVI, Uttar Pradesh
SHEHER KI LADKI-SHEHER KI LADKI-
THUMAKDITHUMAKDICITY FIRST SHARES A FEW MORE GLIMPSES OF
THE LOHRI CELEBRATION HELD IN JAIPUR!
—PHOTOSBYSANTOSHSHARMA
Kriti Garg and Mona Gautam dancing Shaan, Mukesh, Megha, Shweta and Jyoti
Chiranshi Mathur, Ankur Shrivastava, Karishma Tak
and Aditi Sharma during the performance
Sneha Rathore, Madhu Bhatt,
Nishita Sankhla and Radha
Krish Production House performing Bhangra
Jagdeesh Chandra and Swati Jangid
Kriti defeating Mona during
an arm-wresting competition
Jagdeesh Chandra with Kriti Garg
Arpita Singania enjoying her time
Girls caught candid while clicking
a selfie to remember
the fun moments
Kirti Tank, Pawan Tank and Jyoti Singh
Ruchika, Sapna,
Radhika, Swati and AkanshaSonu Jha and Jasveer Singh
Yogesh and Nimisha Mishra with their son Suryansh
Jyoti and Riya during a competition

First india ahmedabad edition-14 january 2021

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