First india ahmedabad edition-17 july 2020

CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 232
26°C - 35°C
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
2,090
DEATHS
45,567
CONFIRMED CASES
KARNATAKA
1,037 DEATHS 51,422 CASES
RAJASTHAN
538 DEATHS 27,174 CASES
WORLD
5,89,222
DEATHS
1,38,10,247
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
10,04,590
CONFIRMED CASES
25,609
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
11,194 DEATHS 2,84,281 CASES
DELHI
3,545 DEATHS 1,18,645 CASES
TAMIL NADU
2,236 DEATHS 1,56,369 CASES
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: The
Centre’s team of medi-
cal experts will on Fri-
day visit hospitals in
Ahmedabad and Su-
rat, where they will
meet doctors, assess
the ground situation
and guide local teams
as part of their two-
day visit to the state.
The team compris-
ing Niti Ayog member
Vinod Pal, ICMR Di-
rector-General Dr Bal-
ram Bhargav, AIIMS
director Dr Randeep
Guleria, and Addition-
al Secretary of the Un-
ion Health Ministry
Aarti Ahuja is expect-
ed to spend half a day
in Surat before visit-
ing containment zones
in Ahmedabad in the
afternoon and meet-
ing with the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation later
in the day.
On Saturday, the offic-
ers will meet the Chief
Minister and other sen-
ior officers and share
their assessment and
will also make some rec-
ommendations to curb
the spread of corona.
In the past 24 hours,
the state government
has tested 11,463 sam-
ples across the state--
its highest number of
single-day tests yet.
Twenty-nine districts
and eight municipal
corporation areas have
reported 919 cases over
the past 24 hours. Ten
persons died: five each
in Ahmedabad and Su-
rat city.
As many as 265 cas-
es have emerged in
Surat district, giving
it the unenviable title
of worst-hit, with
Ahmedabad Turn on P6
Experts from Delhi on two-day visit to state
24 HOURS: 919 CASES, 10
DEAD, 828 DISCHARGED
TOTAL: 45,567 CASES, 2,091
DEAD, 32,174 DISCHARGED
India to resume int’l
flights to US from today
New Delhi: India has
established individual
bilateral bubbles with
France and the US that
will allow airlines of
each country in the pact
to operate international
flights, Civil Aviation
Minister Hardeep Singh
Puri said on Thursday,
adding that similar ar-
rangement with Ger-
many and the UK will
soon be permitted.
Air France will be op-
erating 28 flights be-
tween Delhi, Mumbai,
Bengaluru and Paris
from July 18 to August 1,
the minister said at a
press conference, add-
ing that American car-
rier United Airlines will
be flying 18 flights be-
tween India and the US
from July 17 to July 31.
—PTI
Passengers get temperature checks as they stand in a queue
awaiting a COVID-19 test at Sanathal crossroads, an entry point
into Ahmedabad city, on Thursday —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
FRIDAYBLOCKBUSTER
Aditi Nagar &
Kartikey Dev Singh
Jaipur: This Friday
willbringforththemost
awaited ‘cine’ in the his-
tory of Rajasthan as for
the first time in its pol-
ity, the future of two
‘warring’ armies de-
pends on a court hear-
ing, and as a result of
this, Friday, is being an-
ticipated, waited and
looked upon with equal
curiosity in both Gehlot
and Pilot camps.
This came about after
Sachin Pilot and 18 oth-
er dissident leaders on
Thursday moved the
high court, challenging
notices from the Ra-
jasthan Speaker over
Congress’s move to dis-
qualify them from the
state assembly. All these
19 were sent notices by
the assembly secretari-
at on Tuesday and al-
lowed up to Friday to
give their replies. The
notices said Speaker CP
Joshi will take up the
matter at 1 pm on Fri-
day. The notices were
served after the ruling
party complained to the
Speaker that the MLAs
had defied a party whip
to attend two Congress
Legislature Party meet-
ings, on Monday and
Tuesday.
The Pilot camp, how-
ever, argues that a party
whip applies only when
Assembly is in session.
Their petition first
cameupbeforethecourt
of Justice Satish Chan-
dra Sharma at about 3
pm. But the dissidents’
advocate Harish Salve
sought time to file a
fresh plea. Salve ap-
pearing for Pilot sub-
mittedthattheSpeak-
er’s notice should be
cancelled and should
be declared illegal.
At about 5 pm, the
dissident camp sub-
mitted an amended
petition and the
court referred it
Chief JusticeIndra-
jit Mahanty, for the
appointment of a two-
judge bench. Congress
chief whip Mahesh
Joshi’scounselsaidthen
that the matter will be
heard at about 7.30 pm,
but the bench did not as-
semble then and the
hearing was put off to
Friday.
Meanwhile, the mat-
ter is scheduled to be
heard before a division
bench of the Rajasthan
High Court at 1 pm Fri-
day, Turn on P6
HC ASKS PILOT TO
HOLD HIS HORSES!
New Delhi: China and
India are committed to
“complete disengage-
ment” of troops, and the
process is “intricate”
that requires “constant
verification”, the Indi-
an Army said on Thurs-
day after the fourth
round of marathon
military talks on de-es-
calation of the situation
in eastern Ladakh.
The army said senior
commanders of the In-
dian and Chinese mili-
tary reviewed the pro-
gress on implementa-
tion of the first phase
of disengagement and
discussed further steps
for “complete disengag-
ment”.
The Corps command-
ers held 15-hour-long
negotiationsinChushul
on the Indian side of
the Line of Actual
Control(LAC) from 11
AM on Tuesday to 2 AM
on Wednesday, covering
various aspects.
Jadhav ‘visibly under stress’,
access not credible: Govt
Reviving economy: PM
seeks inputs from babus
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi is
meeting top officials of
the finance and com-
merceministrieslateron
Thursday to assess the
impact of ongoing COV-
ID-19 pandemic on the
national economy, offi-
cial sources said. They
saidthePrimeMinister’s
focus will be on speedy
recoveryof theeconomy
which has witnessed a
slowdowninrecentquar-
ters due to falling con-
sumer demand.
During this one-and-
half-hour scheduled
meeting through video
conferencing, officials
from the finance and
commerce ministries
will make presenta-
tions on the situation.
According to sources,
the Prime Minister is
taking inputs from top
50 officials.
New Delhi: Indian of-
ficials who were al-
lowed to meet
Kulbhushan Jadhav—
the Indian national sen-
tenced to death in Paki-
stan on alleged charges
of espionage—were not
given “unimpeded ac-
cess”, India said on
Thursday.
The officials were
“prevented” from get-
ting his written consent
regarding legal repre-
sentation”. Jadhav, who
was accompanied by
Pakistani officials, was
under “visible stress”,
New Delhi also said af-
ter the two-hour meet-
ing. Consular officials
were allowed to meet
Jadhav ahead of the
July 20 deadline Paki-
stan has set for filing a
review petition. This
was the second time he
was allowed to meet In-
dian officials. The first
consular access was
given in September 2019
after an order from the
International Court of
Justice.
Islamabad earlier
said Jadhav has refused
a review of his case and
wants to appeal for mer-
cy. India said it was
proof of Pakistan’s
“reticence” to imple-
ment the order of the
International Court of
Justice in “letter and
spirit”.
—Agencies
An Indian Air Force Apache chopper flying over the mountains in
Leh on Thursday. —Photo by ANI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Kulbhushan Jadhav
‘Disengagement process
requires constant verification’
BLOCKBUSTERBLOCKBUSTER
advocate Harish Salve
sought time to file a
fresh plea. Salve ap-
pearing for Pilot sub-
mittedthattheSpeak-
er’s notice should be
cancelled and should
be declared illegal.
jit Mahanty, for the
appointment of a two-
judge bench. Congress
chief whip Mahesh
Joshi’scounselsaidthen
that the matter will be
heard at about 7.30 pm,
but the bench did not as-
semble then and the
hearing was put off to
Meanwhile, the mat-
ter is scheduled to be
heard before a division
bench of the Rajasthan
High Court at 1 pm Fri-
Turn on P6
‘Disengagement process
BLOCKBUSTER
HORSE TRADING AUDIO VIRAL:
SOG NABS MIDDLEMAN
Close on the heels of the audio going viral
on social media allegedly on horse trading
involving MLAs and ministers and a middle man,
the Special Operations Group (SOG) nabbed one
Sanjay Jain alias Sanjay Bardiya on Thursday
late evening. It is reported that the Jain is one of
the middleman who was tapped in conversation
with the MLA about horse trading. Jain is
reported to be a native of Lunkaransar of Bikaner
district and allegedly, has been involved in such
activities since 2013. it is also said that he has
good contacts with several IPS officers.
 Day of reckoning for Pilot?  Salve and Rohatgi as
Pilot’s lawyers also have a ‘message’ from New Delhi!
A viral audio that
could ‘rupture’ the
political scene in Raj!
Naresh Sharma
Jaipur: In what could
be termed as ‘rupture’
in Rajasthan politics,
three audio clips went
viral on social media
platforms on Thursday
late evening wherein,
it was alleged that
there were voices of
two ministers—a Un-
ion and a minister
from Rajasthan—one
MLA and a ‘middle-
man’. These clips are
said to be that of Vish-
vendra Singh, Bhan-
warlal Sharma and
Sanjay Jain.
First India does not
confirm the truth be-
hind audio being of
ministers or MLAs but
clips went viral & could
play a role in future
course of action in on-
going political drama.
In a late night
CMO press note,
Bhanwarlal Sharma
has been accused as
a habitual conspira-
tor and offender in
pulling down state
governments where
he has never succeed-
ed in his game plans
including his serious
attempt to throw out
Late Bhairon Singh
Shekhawat govern-
ment in the 90s,
when Shekhawat
was away to US for a
major heart surgery.
The transcript
First audio:
First Person: The fel-
low who is sitting in
Delhi has taken our
money. The first in-
stallment has arrived.
When are you meeting
again? Tomorrow?
Second man: See you
tomorrow morning at 8
o’clock. Turn on P6
CM ASHOK GEHLOT WILL HOLD A PRESS CON-
FERENCE TODAY AT 9:30 AM AT HOTEL FAIRMONT
CMR has become
the centre for
making fake
audios viral
—Satish Poonia
fake audio has
been released in
my name
—Bhanwar Lal
Sharma

Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupa-
ni laid the founda-
tion stone for devel-
opmental work aimed
at boosting religious
tourism in the state
through an e-launch
on Thursday. Various
projects will be com-
missioned by the gov-
ernment with an in-
vestment of Rs126
crore.
The biggest develop-
ment project unveiled
was pilgrimage facili-
ties to be established at
the Somnath Temple.
An allocation of Rs45
crore has been made
towards the project
which will provide var-
ious facilities to devo-
tees as well as tourists
who visit the jyotirlin-
ga. A Somnath Muse-
um will also be devel-
oped that will showcase
the history of the jy-
otirlinga and how it
was rebuilt post- inde-
pendence. The project
would also include a
world-class library,
where people or schol-
ars could imbibe
knowledge about spir-
ituality, the Purans, or
about Lord Shiva.
The CM expressed
his elation on the
commissioning of
the developmental
projects and facili-
ties at religious sites,
which will attract
more tourists to the
state. “These projects
will boost the local
economy and tour-
ism of surrounding
places. Earlier, tour-
ists were interested
in travelling only to
major tourist spots
but, since religious
places have been de-
veloped now with a
lot to offer them, ‘pil-
grimage tourism’ has
found many takers.
It has an important
role in boosting the
tourism economy,”
he stated.
He added that the re-
ligious tourism sector
has generated employ-
ment and seen overall
growth in the last two
years. A few places
which were previously
only visited by locals or
people from across the
country, now receive
visitors from all over
the world.
Similarly, the state
tourism department
is set to develop light
and sound systems
and restore various
structures of the Ju-
nagadh Fort with an
investment of Rs45
crore. It has also al-
located Rs20 crore
for the development
of the Phase-3 of the
Dinosaur Museum,
which has been estab-
lished at Balasinor in
Mahisagar district of
Central Gujarat. The
CM also laid the foun-
dation stone of the
museum via video
conferencing.
The state also plans
to develop facilities at
the White Rann of
Kutch, where the an-
nual Rann Utsav is or-
ganized, at a cost of
Rs10 crore. A Shrimad
Rajchandra Bhavan
will also be built with
an investment of six
crore rupees at Vava-
niya in Morbi district.
It is the birthplace of
renowned Jain poet,
scholar and philoso-
pher Shrimad Rajchan-
dra. A Vir Meghmaya
Bhavan will also be de-
veloped at Patan in
North Gujarat.
NEWSAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani with Dilip Kumar Thakore, Minister for Devasthan and Pilgrimage
Development, on his right, and Vibhavariben Dave, Minister of state for Devasthan, on his left, as he
dedicated development work at pilgrimages of Gujarat via video conference on Thursday.
Haresh Jhala
Vadodara: In a sur-
prising mismanage-
ment of data, the Va-
dodara Municipal
Corporation (VMC)
seems to have over-
looked updating the
death toll in the city
on its COVID-19 dash-
board this past month.
According to the data
available on it, not a
single Sars-CoV-2
death has occurred in
Vadodara since June
16. Although, the
dashboard does show
a spike in novel coro-
navirus cases and also
the patients dis-
charged post recovery,
but the death tally has
remained constant at
60 victims since last
month.
On June 16, one per-
son had died of COV-
ID-19, which took the
death tally of the city to
60 people. On the same
day, the number of posi-
tive cases reported in
Vadodara stood at 1,650
and over 1,094 had been
discharged till then. A
month later on July 15,
the dashboard updated
the positive cases to
3,296 and the number of
discharged patients to
2,433. But, the number
of deaths as on July 15
has not been updated. It
means that over the last
month not one person
has succumbed to the
deadly virus in Va-
dodara.
This revelation begs
the question if the peo-
pleburiedingraveyards
or cremated in adher-
ence to COVID-19 guide-
lines were from outside
the city. The Mataria
Muslim graveyard has
already buried 250 bod-
ies abiding by COVID-19
guidelines. It has a max-
imum capacity of 400
burials, said Mahom-
mad Rafiq, who pro-
vides burial services at
the graveyard.
Rafiq added that not
all people buried at the
graveyard are from Va-
dodara, a few people
buried there were from
Ahmedabad, Thasra
and other places too.
Similarly, until July
15, there was only one
designated cremation
site for Hindu COVID-19
patient deaths- the
Khaswadi crematori-
um. But, according to
sources, the crematori-
um has cremated over
59 people in adherence
to COVID-19 guidelines
this month alone.
VMC Fire Officer
Parth Brahmbhatt told
First India, “In the last
four months, the fire de-
partment’s morgue van
has answered over 260
suspected and positive
COVID-19 death calls
from the city alone. Be-
sides us, there are pri-
vate services also avail-
able to people.”
When asked about
the discrepancy in the
death toll data, Va-
dodara Mayor Jigee-
sha Sheth defended
the civic body. “VMC
has constituted a com-
mittee which has been
given the responsibil-
ity to ascertain and
declare whether the
death of a person has
occurred due to novel
coronavirus or some
other reason. There is
a possibility that the
numbers might have
been coming in late
because the commit-
tee’s impending deci-
sion. But, we are not
hiding anything from
the people.”
Notably, VMC desig-
nated three more cre-
matoriums to conduct
cremation of deceased
COVID-19 patients on
Wednesday.
NUMBER OF COVID-19 DECEASED HAS REMAINED CONSTANT AT 60 SINCE JUNE 16
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad/New
Delhi: The head of
one of the divisions
of Swaminarayan
sect, which has its
temple in Maninagar
area here in
Ahmedabad, died on
Thursday, the temple
authorities said. He
was 78.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi and Union
Home Minister Amit
Shahwereamongthose
who expressed grief
over the demise of Pu-
rushottampriyadasji
Maharaj--head of the
Maninagar Shree Swa-
minarayan Gadi San-
sthan.
“Acharya Shree Pu-
rushottampriyadasji
Swamishree Maharaj
was blessed with im-
mense wisdom. His
emphasis on commu-
nity service, educa-
tion and women em-
powerment will al-
ways be remembered.
I will never forget my
many interactions
with him. Om Shanti,
“the prime minister
tweeted.
“We will always re-
member Acharya
Shree Purushottampri-
yadasji Swamishree
Maharaj for his noble
service to society. He
worked hard to allevi-
ate human suffering
and further compas-
sion. He will be remem-
bered by countless peo-
ple, not only in India
but globally,” Modi said
in another tweet.
Meanwhile, the
home minister said Pu-
rushottampriyadasji’s
divine teachings and
selfless contributions
towards the welfare of
society had no paral-
lels.
In a message, Shah
also said the spiritual
leader’s life was full
of values and wisdom
and that he had self-
lessly devoted himself
to the greater cause of
humanity and blessed
and enlightened mil-
lions of lives.
Terming the death of
the spiritual leader an
“irreparable loss,”
Shah said he prayed for
his noble soul to rest in
peace and for strength
to his followers across
the globe.
Purushottampriya-
dasji Maharaj was
the fifth heir in the
lineage of ascetic
acharyas.
MODI, SHAH CONDOLE DEMISE OF SPIRITUAL LEADER
We will always
remember Acharya
Shree Purushottam-
priyadasji Swamishree
Maharaj for his noble
service to society.
He worked hard to
alleviate human
suffering and further
compassion. He will
be remembered by
countless people,
not only in India but
globally.
Acharya Shree Pu-
rushottampriyadasji
Swamishree Maharaj
ji’s life was full of
values & wisdom,
selflessly devoted to
the greater cause of
humanity. His passing
away is an irrepara-
ble loss. My deepest
condolences to his
followers all across
the globe. Om Shanti
Shanti Shanti.
‘Slip is showing’: No deaths in
a month, says VMC dashboard
CM Rupani kickstarts religious tourism uplift project
 With a total investment of Rs126
crore, facilities will be installed at
various sites across the state
The spiritual leader was laid to rest on Thusday.
Ruchi Thakar
Surat: With the
number of COV-
ID-19 cases on the
rise in their frater-
nity, Surat’s bank
employees are wor-
ried that they might
form the next batch
of superspreaders
of the Sars-CoV-2
virus.
To avoid this fear
from becoming a real-
ity, the Maha Gujarat
Bank Employees As-
sociation here has
written to District
Collector Dr Dhaval
Patel, Municipal
C o m m i s s i o n e r
Banchhanidhi Pani
and other authorities
asking that bank
branches be shut in
areas where a high
number of cases are
being reported. They
have also asked for
bank working hours
to be reduced.
So far, as many as
40 bank employees in
Surat have tested pos-
itive for COVID-19,
while one has died.
The letter from the
association points
out that the number
of cases has risen sig-
nificantly over the
past 10 days, putting
the city’s estimated
15,000 bank employ-
ees at additional risk.
The letter says,
“We demand that
the government cut
back the working
hours of banks so
that we report for
duty from 10 am to
2 pm,” and adds
that bank staffers,
especially in areas
such as Varachha,
Sarathana, Katar-
gam and Palanpur
Patia, could fall
prey to the virus if
proper action is not
taken in time.
The letter also says
that the number of
employees in the
branches should be
reduced and work
should be done with
less staff.
Bank workers fear
they could become
SUPERSPREADERS
Surat has about 15,000 bank employees
20-03-2020
22-03-2020
24-03-2020
26-03-2020
30-03-2020
01-04-2020
02-04-2020
05-04-2020
07-04-2020
09-04-2020
11-04-2020
13-04-2020
15-04-2020
17-04-2020
19-04-2020
21-04-2020
23-04-2020
25-04-2020
27-04-2020
29-04-2020
01-05-2020
03-05-2020
05-05-2020
07-05-2020
09-05-2020
11-05-2020
13-05-2020
15-05-2020
17-05-2020
19-05-2020
21-05-2020
23-05-2020
25-05-2020
27-05-2020
29-05-2020
31-05-2020
02-06-2020
04-06-2020
06-06-2020
08-06-2020
10-06-2020
12-06-2020
14-06-2020
16-06-2020
18-06-2020
20-06-2020
22-06-2020
24-06-2020
26-06-2020
28-06-2020
30-06-2020
02-07-2020
04-07-2020
06-07-2020
08-07-2020
10-07-2020
12-07-2020
14-07-2020
16-07-2020
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
Positive
TRANDS OF POSITIVE, RECOVERED AND DEATH CASES (CUMULATIVE) IN VADODARA AREA
Recovered
Death
Vadodara Municipal Corporation. — FILE PHOTO
@AmitShah@narendramodi

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020
PIL seeks compensation for
those affected by COVID-19
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A Public
Interest Litigation
(PIL) seeking financial
compensation for the
kith and kin of people
affected by novel coro-
navirus under the Dis-
aster Management
Act, 2005 has been
moved in the Gujarat
High Court. Petitioner
Neel Lakhani’s prayer
is that the Act itself
mentions payment of
compensation to those
affected by a disaster.
Lakhani has raised
an issue in his PIL un-
der various sections of
the Disaster Manage-
ment Act. The petition-
er’s submission is that
the central and state
government imposed
the first and second
lockdowns to control
the spread of COVID-19.
But, despite the precau-
tions taken, the virus
has managed to spread
across the nation, with
the number of cases
and deaths increasing
on a daily basis.
Due to the lockdown,
people have directly
and indirectly suffered
a lot, but those infected
with the virus have tak-
en a bigger hit, read the
petition.
The petitioner has
drawn the court’s atten-
tion towards Section 11
of the Disaster Manage-
ment Act, which states
that the central govern-
ment has to draw a na-
tional disaster plan for
the mitigation of the
effects of the same, but
unfortunately no such
national plan has been
made available till date.
Lakhani has also
highlighted Section(s)
12 (iii) and 12 (iv) of
the DMA, which clear-
ly mentions that every
person affected by the
disaster deserves to
receive compensation
for the same. Unfortu-
nately, no such com-
pensation has been
awarded to any per-
son directly affected
by the disaster so far.
The PIL petitioner’s
prayer before the high
court is to direct the
state as well as the cen-
tral government to cre-
ate funds and formulate
schemes under the
aforementioned sec-
tions of the DMA. It
should be for the pur-
pose of mitigation for
relief, rehabilitation of
victims. The petition
also asks that the court
direct respondents to
provide appropriate
compensation to people
or their family mem-
bers, who have directly
suffered or have been
affected by novel coro-
navirus. The petition is
likely to come up for
hearing soon.
Petition filed in the state high court invokes sections of Disaster Management Act
MAKE IT RIGHT
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Junagadh: Black
gram, jaggery and
asafoetida will be key
ingredients in an am-
bitious plan by the
Tourism Corporation
of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL)
to “conserve, restore
and develop” the cen-
turies old Uparkot
Fort in Junagadh. In-
augurated by Chief
Minister Vijay Rupa-
ni on Thursday, the
plan is expected to
cost the exchequer a
whopping Rs44.46
crore, and will use
only ancient meth-
ods—those that might
have been used when
the monument was
first built—to restore
it to its former glory.
As Deputy Executive
Engineer, TCGL, Shy-
amal Patel told First
India, “In the old days,
molasses or jaggery
water and black lentil
water were used for
bonding clay together.
Not only does this mix-
ture strengthen the
structure, but it main-
tains its stability in
extremely hot weather,
unlike cement, which
might crack. Similarly,
asafoetida serves to re-
move excessive vegeta-
tion. We will be using
these same methods
and ingredients in our
project.”
Marble stone dust
and gypsum will also be
used, and all cleaning
work will be done with
jets of water and soft
plastic brushes to en-
sure no stone is dam-
aged in the process.
Patel said that work
on the fort’s Ranakdevi
Palace, Anaj Bhandar
and two wells, will like-
ly take about 18 months
to finish.
“In addition to con-
servation and resto-
ration, we are also
planning some devel-
opmental work. If
the Archeological
Survey of India per-
mits, we are also
planning a sound and
light show at Uparkot,
along with audio
guides and digital
displays, and a 2.5
km walkway cover-
ing various struc-
tures inside the fort,”
Patel added.
The complex, which
is believed to be at least
900 years old, is spread
across about 70 acres of
land and has walls that
are 60-70 feet high.
Modern aids take a backseat as restoration begins on Uparkot fort
TRADITIONAL METHODS

Hing, gud and
urad dal key
ingredients in
recipe to
conserve and
restore an
archeological
wonder that is
hundreds of
years old
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: To clear
its backlog of trans-
plant surgeries, the
Institute of Kidney
Diseases & Research
Centre (IKDRC) will
perform two surgeries
every day from next
week. Due to the COV-
ID-19 pandemic, the
institution has racked
up a pile of more than
over 100 transplant
surgeries in the last
three months.
“Under the new set of
National Organ & Tis-
sue Transplant Organi-
zation (NOTTO) guide-
lines which factor in
COVID-19 precaution-
ary tests for cadaver
and live donors, we aim
to achieve our monthly
average of 30-40 trans-
plant surgeries,” Dr
Vineet Mishra, Direc-
tor, IKDRC-ITS said in a
statement on Thursday.
As per the plan, the
institute has decided to
admit the recipient pa-
tient a day before the
surgery, while the live
donor will be admitted
on the day of surgery
itself. The decrease in
the number of days for
hospitalization will
help the institute to en-
gage labour for an in-
creased number of
transplant surgeries.
Earlier, the hospitaliza-
tion of the recipient pa-
tient was a minimum of
10 days, which has been
reduced to three days
for post-operative care.
“The patient will be
shifted closer to his
home after ensuring
that facilities such as a
physician’s visit, pa-
thology labs, and the
enhanced use of tele-
medicine for post-oper-
ative care are available
to them,” explained Dr
Mishra, adding that
this would help the in-
stitute to catch up on
live donor transplant
surgeries performed in
pre-nCov days.
Last week, IKDRC
harvested four kid-
neys, two livers, and
one heart from two
brain dead people
from Surat and Ra-
jkot, giving a fresh
lease of life to seven
people in one go.
However, the cadaver
organ donor rate in In-
dia is abysmally low at
0.05 per million popula-
tion, in contrast to six
per million in Greece,
22 per million in the
United States, and 32
per million in Spain.
Will do 2 transplants a
day to clear pile: IKDRC
Situated in the foothills of Girnar hill, the fort is believed to be at least 900 years old.
—FILE PHOTO
—FILEPHOTO
Post-op
hospitalization will
now be just three
days, down from 10
Rain causes closure
of 19 roads in state
4.8 magnitude tremor hits
Rajkot,no major damage
First India Bureau
Rajkot: A month after
an earthquake hit Ra-
jkot, another 4.8 mag-
nitude tremor hit the
city on Thursday. Ac-
cording to the Nation-
al Centre for Seismol-
ogy, the earthquake
occurred at a depth of
10 km at 7.40 am. No
loss of life or property
was reported.
Rajkot residents re-
ported feeling under-
ground movement ac-
companied by a loud
sound at several loca-
tions around 7.40 am,
which left them puz-
zled. With the tremors
shaking buildings and
houses, people came out
in the open to wait out
the quake.
The epicentre of the
earthquake was located
at Bhayasar village sit-
uated at 18 kilometres
south-west of Rajkot
city. While there were
reports of cracks form-
ing in a few buildings,
the tremor was also felt
in Gondal, Amreli, Ju-
nagadh and Jamnagar.
The rooftop of a
school at Kolithal vil-
lage in Gondal was re-
ported to have fallen off.
However, there were no
casualties since the
school has been closed
due to ongoing novel
coronavirus pandemic.
State Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani personal-
ly spoke to all three col-
lectors of Rajkot, Am-
reli and Junagadh dis-
tricts and took stock of
the situation.
On June 15, an earth-
quake measuring 5.3 on
the Richter scale had
hit Rajkot city.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: As the
state continues to re-
ceive heavy rainfall,
roads in several parts
stayed close for traf-
fic on Thursday. With
Saurashtra being the
worst affected region,
the deluge has left
many districts flood-
ed in the past week.
Two state highways
of Jamnagar and Por-
bandar districts, two
main district roads of
Devbhumi Dwarka,
Porbandar and a total
of 15 panchayat roads
were closed for traffic.
“All these roads have
been severely damaged
due to heavy rains.
Therefore, vehicular
movement has been
suspended for a week as
repair work is being
conducted. The state
highways will remain
open partially after a
makeshift road is
ready,” said a senior of-
ficer.
Currently, there is an
upper air cyclonic cir-
culation over Bay of
Bengal, adjoining Odi-
sha which will move
towards the western
and central parts of the
country. This circula-
tion is likely to become
a low pressure, creating
a trough line to the Gu-
jarat coast. As a result,
heavy showers are like-
ly to hit the state on Fri-
day and Saturday.
Another cyclonic cir-
culation now lies over
the South Gujarat re-
gion, which may ensure
good rainfall.
Ahmedabad saw another evening of heavy rain on Thursday.
Asif Ganda’s gambling den raided, 99 arrested
First India Bureau
Surat: A gambling
den was raided by the
State Monitoring Cell
with help from local
police in Tulsi Phalia
area of Begumpura
extension of Surat
city on Thursday af-
ternoon. Over 99
gamblers have been
arrested from the in-
famous Asif Ganda’s
two-storied house.
Notably, the site of
the gambling opera-
tion is located near
the local Mahidhar-
pura police station.
According to reports,
Ganda ran the gam-
bling den with closed
shutters. Hundreds of
gamblers used to come
to the den every day
even amid the COVID-19
crisis.
Due to the delicacy
of the operation and
the location of the den,
the State Monitoring
Cell enlisted the assis-
tance of local police in
conducting the raid.
Since the Begumpura
extension is a sensitive
area of the city, the Cell
took no chances with
the execution of the op-
eration.
Police seized goods
including gambling
cards, stakes coins,
cash, mobile phones
and laptops from the
site. The den had been
functioning right under
the nose of Mahidhar-
pura police station, suc-
cessfully slipping under
the radar of the cops.
With the number of
COVID-19 cases on the
rise in the diamond city,
local administration
Surat Municipal Corpo-
ration (SMC) has ad-
vised people not to
switch on ACs in shops.
But, the gamblers fear-
lessly conducted the
whole operation in a
closed air-conditioned
house. Therefore, the
raid at Ganda’s den has
caused a stir at the local
level. However, the op-
erator of the gambling
den is still absconding.
FINE FEATHERED FLOCK
They say birds of a feather ﬂock together, but here we see a pair of crows join a few black
ibises and white herons atop a lamp post at the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday.
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
The operation was located near the local police station.
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 232 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020
aima’a al-Hari-
ri, a 17-year-old
Syrian refugee
living in the
Za’atari refugee
camp in Jordan, had been
regularly attending school
before the Jordanian au-
thorities introduced a nec-
essary lockdown to combat
the spread of COVID-19.
“When the coronavirus
appeared, they shut down
all the classrooms and we
didn’t have teachers we
could interact with any-
more,” Taima’a says. “I
was starting to do charity
work with [refugee] chil-
dren with cancer, but that
was put on hold.”
Although the pandemic
has affected children and
young people around the
world, refugees like
Taima’a have been espe-
cially hard hit. These chil-
dren have long suffered
multiple deprivations:
they were forced to flee
wars and emergencies,
sometimes without family,
and are struggling to sur-
vive with no familiar com-
forts. And now COVID-19 is
exacerbating their hard-
ships.
Even before the pandem-
ic, only half of the world’s
refugee children of prima-
ry-school age were receiv-
ing formal education, and
only 22% of children of
lower-secondary-school
age were. Moreover, chil-
dren living in extreme pov-
erty – including refugees –
are vulnerable to forced
labor and trafficking, put-
ting them at further risk of
being out of school.
Lack of access to formal
education is just one of
many challenges that refu-
gees face. Health care and
sanitation – critical to pro-
tecting large refugee popu-
lations living in camps –
were already inadequate
before COVID-19 struck.
And with parents now less
able to put food on the ta-
ble for their children, star-
vation is a far greater
threat than the pandemic
itself, as recent warnings
and budget cuts by the
United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP)
and the Food and Agricul-
ture Organization have
made clear.
Today, 80% of refugees
liveincountriesthatarenot
equipped to support them.
Turkey is home to 3.7 mil-
lion refugees, while Ugan-
da, Pakistan, and Sudan to-
gether host almost four mil-
lion. Jordan and Lebanon
have long been home to ref-
ugees, who account for al-
most one-third of each
country’s population. Be-
cause over half of the
world’s 26 million refugees
are children – some 300,000
of whom are unaccompa-
nied–defendingtheirrights
is a vast challenge.
We are working on the
ground with youth activ-
ists from the 100 Million
campaign for children’s
rights, who are continuing
their efforts despite COV-
ID-19. They include Seme
Ludanga Faustino, a South
Sudanese refugee who in
2017 co-founded the youth-
led organization I CAN
South Sudan in the Bidi-
bidi refugee camp in Ugan-
da, home to the world’s big-
gest concentration of un-
accompanied minors.
Faustino’s organization,
which was set up to use the
arts to provide trauma re-
lief to unaccompanied
children, has shifted to dis-
tributing soap and con-
ducting home visits to
teach them how to keep
themselves safe from the
coronavirus.
Against this back-
ground, rich-country gov-
ernments are behaving
shamefully, spending tril-
lions of dollars to mitigate
the effects of COVID-19 on
their economies while
leaving countries with
large refugee and dis-
placed populations strug-
gling to cope.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.PROJECT-SYNDICATE.ORG
Protecting refugee children during pandemic
T
These children
have long suffered
deprivations: they
were forced to
flee wars and are
struggling to
survive with no
familiar comforts
Blessed is the one who
perseveres under trial
because, having stood the test,
that person will receive the
crown of life that the Lord
has promised to those who
love him. —James 1:12
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
@DrRPNishank
There is no age limit to ‘Learning.’
Lakyntiew Syiemlieh, a 50-year-
old working mother, just proved
it. I am so glad to hear that she
recently cleared her class XII board
exams after a gap of 30 yrs. What
an inspiration! Congratulations.
Shashi Tharoor
@ShashiTharoor
In BJP’s Orwellian regime, not
only is propaganda adopted as a
strategy, it is advertised with such
unashamed brazenness. No doubt
they study the techniques of
Goebbels with great devotion!
pathway to becoming the
workforce and the working
engine for the world as an
exemplary, a nation needs
two things, Human resources
and the ability to drive that
resource. A group of people,
led by a cause and proper
communicative leadership
can be an asset to the organi-
zation or the nation. Leaders
are not responsible for the
results; they are responsible
for the people who are re-
sponsible for the results.
Education, across the globe,
is said to play a vital role in the
social and economic reforms of
the nation but it also is national
security the issue because if we
do not equip the population at a
large with these skills of learn-
ing, they might land up being
misled and devastate the com-
munity and the society with
disruptive ideas of violence
turning this so-called resource
from a dividend into a disaster.
We in India, have the peo-
ple, but do we as a nation,
have the ability and the lead-
ershiptotransformtheminds
of this valuable resource
through the virtue of educa-
tion to make them equipped
and skilled in different pro-
fessions to march towards
excellence as a country.
The Strategy for every goal
needs to be visualized until the
end with an obsessively de-
tailed discussion of implement-
ing a system in place before the
first step, in reality, is executed
to achieve that goal. Bobby
Knight, said “The key is not the
will to win. It is the will to pre-
pare to win that is important”.
India, as a nation stands on
the verge of becoming a su-
perpower through industri-
alization on the terms of be-
ing self-reliant and can com-
pete China over the years to
become the world’s first
choice of the destination for
industrial and logistical es-
tablishments but for that we
not only need skilled labor
but also well-educated minds
led by efficient leadership to
make India, a global destina-
tion for industrial entrepre-
neurship. The increase in
perception is the beginning
of a transformation. When
we would learn more, we will
earn more and for this, we
must have the following to go
hand in hand.
UNBIASED
EDUCATION TO ALL
Over the last few decades,
though we have, as a nation,
taken prominent steps for
equality in education award-
ed by the right to education
act, the aim of the leader-
ship should be 100% literacy,
irrespective of the genders
as today also one out of
three women in the country
are uneducated.
The success of a democratic
nation completely depends on
its education standards and In-
dia has proudly managed to
reach a benchmark where the
majority can read and write in
our young nation. The new tar-
get should be that we must in-
clude the excluded from educa-
tion unbiased of their castes,
religion, and regions.
WIDER EDUCATION
NETWORK
The country, today, is walk-
ing on a formidably depend-
able platform and is increas-
ing schools, colleges, and
universities. We have several
good education institutes for
higher education and vari-
ous other super specialty
subjects. We proudly flaunt
with IIT’s which is an exam-
ple of a high-end institute
for education in the country
but the fact is that platforms
like these are small islands
of excellence whereas the
need for the hour is to build
a kingdom of knowledge
with superior quality. The
higher education of the
country simply does not
meet the standards to out-
stand in the world and we
need massive expansion in
this regard.
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
A country with 1.3 billion-
plus people cannot afford to
stand with a shortage of
skilled labor like plumbers,
masons, carpenters, electri-
cians,etc.andthusaprogram
should be in place to teach the
youth about vocational train-
ing as well. The trend in the
country still is that a cob-
bler’s son will become a cob-
bler. It should be entertained
to the population at large to
take up these courses because
theseinformal,unstructured,
blue-collared skills and pro-
fessions are the real game-
winners in bringing about
the industrial revolution.
Growing business trends tell
the way ahead is about vertical
leadership where the wide web
of customers and employees
are parallel segments which
needs product knowledge at
regular intervals. Though cus-
tomer service is very important
but employee skill development
would play a more vital role in
industrial transformation and
the Indian economy as a whole.
The challenges are huge,
but if we get a leadership
with a vision of knowledge
and education – we can say
this loud and clear to the
world – INDIA IS COMING !!
Youth and Education
The asset, to overtake China?
A
Success of a
democratic
nation depends
on its education
standards and
India has
managed to
reach a
benchmark
where the
majority can
read and write
We in India, have the
people, but do we as
a nation, have ability
and the leadership to
transform the minds
of this valuable
resource through the
virtue of education to
make them equipped
and skilled
YASH
KALRA
The writer is a motivational
speaker, visiting faculty to speak
on management in various
universities by choice and an
event manager by profession
IN-DEPTH
HACKERS SEND
TWITTER IN A TIZZY
nanunprecedenteddevelopmentTwitter
accounts of famous and powerful people
and companies were hacked in presum-
ably a scam involving digital currency,
Bitcoin. Those whose accounts were
hacked included former US President Barack Oba-
ma, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, SpaceX CEO
Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, presidential
candidate Joe Biden, celebrity American rapper
Kanye West and former mayor of New York Mike
Bloomberg.ThecompanieswhoseTwitteraccounts
were also hacked included Uber and Apple.
The anonymous hacks first attacked Elon
Musk’s account by posting multiple messages
promising to “double” payments to his bitcoin ad-
dress. Messages on Biden’s and Gates’ accounts
read, “I am giving back to the community. All Bit-
coin sent to the address below will be sent back
doubled! If you send $1000, I will send back $2000.”
Twitter responded with @TwitterSupport say-
ing, We are aware of a security incident impacting
accounts on Twitter. We are investigating and tak-
ing steps to fix it. Conspiracy theorists immedi-
ately began looking into possible angles to the
hacking of Twitter these accounts.
Does it all have anything to do with Twitter CEO
Jack Dorsey taking a hard line against US Presi-
dent Donald Trump’s tweets glorifying violence?
In a first, Dorsey had decided to hide all such
tweets by Trump who retaliated by diluting legal
immunity to social media giants over content.
I
INVOKING GOD TO
SAVE KARNATAKA
arnataka which was being applauded not
very long ago for its effective use of tech-
nology to trace, test and treat Covid-19
patients now finds itself at the receiving
end for the fast rising novel coronavirus
graph in the state, more particularly in Bengaluru.
Of the 80 deaths in Karnataka on Wednesday, 60
were reported from the state capital. Similarly of
the state’s total of 27,853 active cases, Bengaluru
accounted for a sizeable 17,051 cases. A despairing
scenario indeed. To add to people’s despair the state
health minister B. Sriramulu said, “What can the
government do? Only God can save us now.”
Coming from the health minister the statement
was not only startling but also irresponsible. True,
when it comes to the pandemic not just Bengaluru
but the entire country is at God’s mercy as tracing
and testing of patients becomes a big challenge.
But the health minister is expected to instill con-
fidence in the people and not leave it to God to sal-
vage the situation when there are less than 30,000
active cases. After all, the government did make
arrangements for quarantining 100,000 patients in
March and expected 1.6 per cent of the 6.5 crore
population to get infected. The government turned
complacent after the initial slow increase in cases.
In this hour of crisis a reported feud between
three ministers---Sriramulu, medical education
minister K. Sudhakar and revenue minister R.
Ashoka---is not helping matters. Chief Minister
BS Yeddyurappa, who doesn’t seem to be in com-
mand, must take effective control to ramp up trac-
ing and testing to avert a disaster.
K

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020
New Delhi: Union Rail-
way and Commerce
Minister Piyush Goyal
on Thursday said that
the Indian Railways
will become the world’s
first large, clean rail-
ways and move towards
100 per cent electrifica-
tion in the next three
and half years.
Speaking at the Con-
federation of Indian In-
dustry’s (CII) event on
‘Towards a Self-Reliant
India: Renewable Ener-
gy Manufacturing’, Go-
yal said, “Prime MInis-
ter Narendra Modi had
said that India has be-
come a model for the
world when the transi-
tion to renewable ener-
gy is mentioned.
“Today, every willing
citizen has access to
power at affordable
prices. And, we have in-
vested deeply in the
transmission sector for
widespread availability
of sector. I do hope the
states support us to
make power 24×7 avail-
able at affordable pric-
es,” the Minister said.
Emphasising on re-
newable energy, Goyal
said that dependency
on fossil fuel is not via-
ble. “Along with envi-
ronmental benefits, re-
newable energy is good
for the nation economi-
cally. In renewable en-
ergy, we have been able
to bring in scale, in-
crease demand and re-
duce prices. We are see-
ing people wanting to
go in for renewable en-
ergy,” Goyal said.
“For renewable en-
ergy to further pro-
gress, we need to en-
hance our manufactur-
ing and become self-
sufficient and need the
support of the states,”
he said. Talking about
the national transport-
er’s plans to go green by
2030, the Minister said,
“Railways will move to
100 per cent electrifica-
tion in the next three
and half years and 100
per cent ‘net zero’ op-
erator in the next 9-10
years.
“By 2030, each one of
us will be a proud citi-
zen, owning the world’s
first large clean rail-
ways,” Goyal said.
The Indian Railways
has initiated a number
of major initiatives to
mitigate global warm-
ing and combat climate
change. According to
the Railway Ministry
officials, the national
transporter has com-
pleted electrification of
more than 40,000 route
km (RKM), which is 63
per cent of the broad-
gauge routes, in which
18,605 km electrifica-
tion has been done dur-
ing 2014-20.
Railways has fixed a
target of electrification
of 7,000 RKM for 2020-21.
All routes on broad-
gauge network have
been planned to be elec-
trifiedbyDecember2023
& Railways is focusing
on electrification of the
last-mile connectivity &
missing links, officers
said. —Agencies
‘Rlystobeworld’s1stlarge,cleanentityby2030’The sector will move to 100% electrification in next three & half years & 100% ‘net zero’ operator in next 9-10 years, Piyush Goyal said
New Delhi: In the
run-up to the 2nd Min-
isterial meeting of the
India and US Strategic
Energy Partnership,
scheduled on July 17,
2020, Minister of Pe-
troleum and Natural
Gas and Steel, Dhar-
mendra Pradhan,
along with US Secre-
tary of Energy, HE
Dan Brouillette, co-
Chaired industry-level
interaction, organised
by US-India Business
Council (USIBC).
During these inter-
actions, Pradhan in-
vited US companies
and investors to engage
and invest in India in
new opportunities.
“There have been a few
collaborative efforts
between Indian and
American companies
in this sector, but it is
far below their poten-
tial,” said Pradhan.
He noted the resil-
ience of the US-India
Energy Partnership
and characterized it as
one of the most dura-
ble pillars on which
India-US Strategic
Partnership rests.
“Even during these
challenging times, In-
dia and the US have
been working in close
collaboration, be it in
stabilizing global
energy markets or in
collaborative efforts to
address COVID-19. In
today’s turbulent
world, one constant is-
and always will be -the
strength of our
bilateral partnership,”
he added.
The Minister had
also separately Chaired
an industry-level inter-
action organized by US-
India Strategic Energy
partnership (USISPF)
on Tuesday. —ANI
PradhaninvitesUSinvestorstoseize
opportunity in India’s growth story
Anirudh Tiwari
Bhopal:Days after a
Dalit family was beaten
up by cops in MP’s
Guna district, Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP)
chief and former Chief
Minister of Uttar
Pradesh Mayawati hit
out at the BJP govern-
ment in the state over
the issue and asked for
strict action against
those responsible. A
farm belonging the the
Dalit family was also
destroyed by the dis-
trict administration
with the help of a JCB
machine. State Home
Minister Narottam
Mishra said, “This is
Madhya Pradesh, there
is rule of law here. A
high-level inquiry has
been ordered into the
incident. The team
from Bhopal will go to
Guna to investigate the
matter and the culprits
will not be spared.” Af-
ter the instruction of
Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan, SP
and Collector of Guna
were replaced. Tarun
Nayak has been re-
placed and Rajesh Ku-
mar Singh has been
made the new SP.
The video of police
mercilessly beating the
farmer and women
members of his family
went viral in no time
and on Wednesday the
incident hogged wide
space on social media
sending jitters to Mad-
hya Pradesh state capi-
tal and Home minister
Dr Narottam Mishra set
up a probe panel of sen-
ior police officers by
evening regretting the
incident. Condemning
the incident, the BSP
chief on Thursday took
to Twitter and said, “To
force a couple to at-
tempt suicide by de-
stroying the crops from
the JCB machine in the
name of encroachment
by the Guna Police and
Administration of Mad-
hya Pradesh is highly
condemnable. The na-
tionwide condemnation
of this incident is natu-
ral. Government should
take strict action.”
Speaking about Ra-
hul Gandhi’s tweet
about the incident,
Mishra said, When
there was a government
of Rahul Gandhi, then
officers were posted un-
der the prepaid system.
Home Minister Dr
Narottam Mishra, who
issued orders for remov-
ing Collector S Viswana-
than and SP Tarun Nay-
ak on Thursday, hit back
at Congress party say-
ing during Kamal Nath
government police-ad-
ministration used to see
prepaid transfers.
“When two kids were
abducted in Satna, they
returnedonlyaftertheir
death,” added Mishra.
Guna: Oppn hits out at BJP-led govt
over cops beating Dalit couple
A video that went viral on social media showed cops beating the
man with batons while his wife & others were trying to save him.
POLICE ATROCITY
New Delhi: Delhi HC
reserved its order on
the bail plea filed by Re-
ligare Finvest promoter
Shivinder Mohan Singh
in connection with a
money laundering case.
A bench of Justice
Anup Jairam Bhamb-
hani reserved the order
after hearing the sub-
mission from both
sides. Senior Advocate
N Hariharan, appear-
ing for Singh, told that
ED has already filed its
prosecution complaint
and therefore no pur-
pose would be served by
keeping his client in
further custody. —ANI
SC reserves order
on Shivinder
Singh’s bail plea
RELIGARE MONEY
LAUNDERING CASE
New Delhi: SC pulled
up Central govern-
ment for not making
timely appointments
of judicial members
in the Armed Forces
Tribunal (AFT) and
directed it to do the
same within a period
of one month.
A three-judge bench
headed by CJI Sharad
Arvind Bobde also said
that the court is in-
clined to extend by 3
months the tenure of
officers retiring on
July 22 and 23. “We will
extend the tenure. In
the meantime, Union
can make regular ap-
pointments,” CJI Bob-
de said directing the
Central government to
make appointments in
one month.
Pulling up the Attor-
ney General, the CJI
said, “When we ena-
bled you to make ap-
pointments, you
haven’t done anything.
Why must we give you
directions every
time?” —ANI
SC directs Centre to make new
appointments in AFT in one mth
NITISH KUMAR VS OPPOSITION
AFTER 260-CR BRIDGE FIASCO
Gopalganj: A link road
to a new bridge in Bihar
opened to public a month
ago by CM Nitish Ku-
mar was washed away
due to heavy rain. As
the opposition attacked
Nitish Kumar saying the
bridge had collapsed, his
government and party put
out strong denials. The
road was near Sattarghat
Bridge on the Gandak Riv-
er in Gopalganj, around
150 km from Patna. Op-
position leaders, Tejashwi
Yadav of RJD and Madan
Mohan Jha of Congress -
tweeted pictures alleging
the “brand new Sattarghat
Bridge has collapsed
just a month after it was
inaugurated by CM Nitish
Kumar.” Over Rs 260
crore was spent on the
bridge, they said.
MAN WHO INVESTED ABU
SALEM’S MONEY IN DELHI, HELD
Noida: A key aide of 1993 Mumbai blasts case
convict Abu Salem who worked in his illegal
property business in Delhi-NCR has been arrest-
ed by the Special Task Force (STF) of UP police,
ofﬁcials said. “Gajendra Singh had taken Rs 1.80
crore from a Delhi-based businessman in 2014 in
a property-related case. When he was pressured
to return the money, Singh had Khan Mubarak’s
shooters open ﬁre at the businessman in sector
18 of Noida,” Additional Superintendent of Police,
STF, Raj Kumar Mishra said.
SENSEX JUMPS 420 PTS,
INFOSYS STOCK UP 9 PERCENT
Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices closed 1
per cent higher on Thursday led by smart gains
in IT stocks.The BSE S&P Sensex wound up
the volatile trading session 420 points or 1.16
per cent higher at 36,472 while the Nifty 50
edged higher by 122 points or 1.15 per cent
at 10,740. Except for Nifty realty, all sectoral
indices at the National Stock Exchange were
in the green with Nifty IT up by 2.8 per cent,
pharma by 1.6 per cent, auto by 1.1 per cent
and private bank by 1 per cent.
INDIA-BHUTAN OPEN NEW TRADE
ROUTE TO EASE CONNECTIVITY
Thimpu: India and Bhutan
have opened a new trade
route between Jaigaon in
West Bengal and Pasakha
in Bhutan. “Delighted
that since yesterday a
new trade route has been
opened between Bhutan
& India. This link be-
tween Jaigaon and Ahlay,
Pasakha will facilitate
connectivities between
our two countries in
these COVID 19 times,
further strengthening our
special relationship. A
step forward!” Ambas-
sador of India to Bhutan,
Ruchira Kamboj said in a
tweet. Indian Embassy in
Thimpu in a press release
said an additional Land
Customs station has been
opened at Ahllay, Pasakha
by the Government of
India on July 15.
IN THE COURTYARD
Today, every willing citizen has
access to power at affordable pric-
es. And, we have invested
deeply in the transmission sector
for widespread availability of sec-
tor. I do hope the states support us
to make power 24×7 available at
affordable prices.
—Piyush Goyal, Railway Minister
New Delhi:Delhi HC has issued
notice to Air India Limited on a
plea filed by a pi-
lot commander
associated with
the airline, who
had participated
in several evacuation flights to dif-
ferent countries, seeking to with-
draw the resignation tendered by
him. A bench of Justice Jyoti Singh
issued notice to airline & slated
matter for further hearing on Aug 4.
New Delhi: SC asked the Centre&
J&K administration to file a de-
tailed affidavit on a contempt peti-
tion for allegedly violating its
judgement over internet restric-
tions in the Union Territory.
A three-judge bench headed by
Justice NV Ramana, also compris-
ing Justices R Subhash Reddy & BR
Gavai, while hearing PIL filed by
Freedom for Media Professionals,
directed the Centre & J&K to file
their affidavits within a week.
HC NOTICE TO AIR INDIA
ON PILOT’S PLEA
SC SEEKS RESPONSE OF
CENTRE IN J&K NET CURB
Kolkata: Calcutta HC
CJTBNRadhakrishnan
has said that he would
want to be addressed as
‘Sir’ by all judiciary of-
ficers in Bengal and An-
daman instead of ‘My
Lord’ or ‘Lordship’, as
was the practice so far.
In a letter to the dis-
trict judges and chief
judges of lower courts
in the state and the An-
daman and Nicobar Is-
lands, High Court Reg-
istrar General Rai Chat-
topadhyay conveyed the
message of the chief
justice, an official said
on Thursday.
The chief justice has
expressed the desire
that “henceforth offic-
ers of district judiciary,
including members of
Registry of the Hon’ble
High Court would ad-
dress the Hon’ble Chief
Justice as ‘Sir’ instead
of ‘My Lord’ or ‘Lord-
ship’, in conformity
with the applicable ju-
dicial and administra-
tive precedents”, the
letter said. —PTI
Palghar: The Maha-
rashtra Criminal Inves-
tigation Department
(CID)filedachargesheet
in a court against 126
accused in the Palghar
lynching case in which
two monks and their
driver were beaten to
death by a mob exactly
three months ago.
The CID filed the
4,955-page chargesheet
in the court of Judicial
Magistrate First Class
(JMFC) at Dahanu ta-
luka in Palghar dis-
trict located adjoining
Mumbai, the probe
agency said.
The team probing the
incident examined 808
suspects and 118 wit-
nesses to collect strong
evidence against the ac-
cused, the CID said in a
release.
In all, 154 persons
were arrested and 11 ju-
veniles in conflict with
law, were detained.
None of the accused has
been released on bail so
far, the release said.
“The chargesheet
was filed by Dy SP (CID)
Vijay Pawar, the IO, at
the JMFC court in Da-
hanu against 126 ac-
cused,” it said. They
were charged with mur-
der, armed rioting and
using criminal force to
prevent a public serv-
ant from doing is duty,
among other offences.
Call me ‘Sir,’not ‘My
Lord: CJ Calcutta HC
Palgharlyncing:CIDfiles
chargesheet against 126
FUTURE READY

GOLD SMUGGLING CASE
INDIAAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020
New Delhi: India has
recorded 32,695 new
COVID-19 cases in the
last 24 hours, taking the
tally to 9,68,876, Union
Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare on
Thursday, said. The
country at present has
3,31,146 active cases and
6,12,815 coronavirus pa-
tients have been cured/
recovered.
1,118 people have suc-
cumbed to the deadly
contagious disease
since Wednesday. The
death now toll stands at
24,915.
Of the 24,915 deaths,
Maharashtra has re-
ported 10,928 fatalities,
Delhi 3,487, Tamil Nadu
2,167, Gujarat 2,079, Ut-
tar Pradesh 1,012, West
Bengal 1,000, Karnata-
ka 928, Madhya Pradesh
682 and Rajasthan 530.
Andhra Pradesh reg-
istered 452 deaths in
Andhra Pradesh, Telan-
gana 386, Haryana 319,
Punjab 221, Jammu and
Kashmir 206, Bihar 180,
Odisha 77, Uttarakhand
50,Assam46,Jharkhand
38, Kerala 35.
20 people have lost
their lives due to the
COVD-19 disease in
Chhattisgarh, 21 in Pu-
ducherry, 18 in Goa, 11
each in Himachal
Pradesh and Chandi-
garh, 3 each in
Arunachal Pradesh and
Tripura, two each in
Meghalaya and Dadra
and Nagar Haveli and
Daman and Diu, while
Ladakh has reported
one fatality.
Maharashtra contin-
ues to record highest
number of cases.
2,75,640 people have
been affected by the cor-
onavirus disease so far.
There are 1,12,099 active
cases & 1,52,613 have
been cured. — Agencies
India records highest single
day spike of 32,695 new cases
COVID UPDATE The death toll now stands at 24, 915 & Maharashtra continues to record the highest number of cases in the country
New Delhi: India's
pharmaceutical indus-
try will be able to pro-
duce COVID-19 vac-
cines not just for the
country but also for the
entire world, according
to Microsoft co-founder
and philanthropist Bill
Gates. A lot of “very im-
portant things have
been done” in India and
its pharma industry is
doing work “to help
make the coronavirus
vaccine building on
other great capacities
that they have used for
other diseases”, said
the Co-Chair & Trustee
of Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation.
Speaking in a docu-
mentary - COVID-19: In-
dia's War Against The
Virus, Bill Gates said In-
dia also faces a huge chal-
lenge due to the health
crisis because of its gi-
gantic size and urban
centres with a lot of
population density.
Commenting on the
strength of India's phar-
ma industry, he said,
“India has a lot of capacity
there - with the drug and
vaccine companies that are
huge suppliers to the entire
world. You know, more vac-
cines are made in India
than anywhere - starting
with Serum Institute, that's
the largest.” I am excited
that pharmaceutical in-
dustry there will be able
to produce not just for In-
dia but also for the entire
world. What we need to
reduce the deaths and
make sure we are im-
mune, which is how we
end the epidemic.” —PTI
India can produce
COVID-19 vaccines for
entire world: Bill Gates
Bhubaneswar: In
view of the rising
COVID-19 cases,
Odisha government
on Thursday, im-
posed a 14-day lock-
down in four dis-
tricts and entire
Rourkela Munici-
pal Corporation
area of Sundergarh
district.
Odisha Chief Secre-
tary Asit Tripathy
informed that the
lockdown restric-
tions will be
clamped in Gan-
jam, Khurda, Cut-
tack and Jajpur dis-
tricts along with
the entire Rourkela
Municipal Corpora-
tion area. The lock-
down restrictions
will come to effect
from today.
“From ongoing sur-
veys, it is learnt
that nearly two-
third of active cases
and new case load
which accounts for
nearly 66% of cases
have been reported
from Ganjam, Cut-
tack, Jajpur and
Khurda. Hence, we
have decided to im-
pose 14-day lock-
down till July 31,”
said Tripathy.
New Delhi: As many as
99 doctors in the coun-
try, a majority of them
general practitioners,
have succumbed to
COVID-19, the Indian
Medical Association
(IMA) said on Wednes-
day, and declared a red
alert for medicos and
medical administrators
asking them to raise
their guard.
According to IMA
National COVID regis-
try data, of the total
1,302 doctors infected
with COVID-19, 99 have
succumbed to the dis-
ease. Of those dead, 73
were above the age of 50
years, 19 in the age-
group of 35-50 and sev-
en below 35 years, the
data showed. “IMA de-
clares RED ALERT to
doctors and medical ad-
ministrators to raise
their guard. If COV-
ID-19 mortality has to
be lessened, it has to
start with doctors and
hospitals,” the doctors’
body said in a state-
ment. A feedback sys-
tem from doctors, em-
ployees & public needs
to be put in place. —PTI
14-day
complete
lockdown
in Odisha
IMA issues ‘Red
Alert’ for medicos
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adi-
tyanath directed officials on Thursday to prepare
a concerted strategy for effectively checking the
spread of COVID-19 and communicable diseases.
In a meeting with senior officials, the chief minis-
ter also called for daily review of the prevailing
situation by the nodal officers appointed in differ-
ent districts, according to an official statement.He
stressed that special cleanliness and sanitisation
drives should be carried out across districts, and
asked officials to ensure proper medical screening
and supply of clean potable water.
Yogi calls for concerted
strategy to curb Corona
Kolkata: Who is the
boss at state-run uni-
versities - is it the Gov-
ernor-cum-Chancellor
or the Education De-
partment?
This question trig-
gered a showdown be-
tween West Bengal Gov-
ernor and the state gov-
ernment, with Jagdeep
Dhankar accusing the
state of politically con-
trolling education.
“Education is politi-
cally caged, politically
controlled. The politi-
cal grip on education is
frightening,” Dhankar
tweeted on Thursday
after no one turned up
for a virtual conference
he had called of Vice-
Chancellors from 23
universities on Wednes-
day. Dhankar blamed
the government for this
situation.
The West Bengal gov-
ernment has appealed
to UGC to rethink its
decision to hold final
semester university ex-
ams by September in
view of the epidemic.
The Governor said he
too was in touch with
the UGC chairman on
the issue.
“IntheseCovidtimes,
I wanted to fathom the
problems of colleges
and universities and
called a virtual confer-
ence of Vice-Chancel-
lors. But it was opposed;
it is a war-like situa-
tion. The roof has fallen
on our heads (sic),” he
said at a press meet.
Even as Bengal Gov-
ernor Jagdeep Dhankar
was speaking, Bengal's
Higher Education de-
partment tweeted a let-
ter to the Governor say-
ing he was going “be-
yond his jurisdiction”
with his “action”.
The state govern-
ment said it was “sur-
prised” at Dhankar's
tweets and cited Rule
8(5) of the State Uni-
versities (Terms &
Conditions of Service
of the Vice Chancel-
lors & the Manner and
Procedure of Official
C o m m u n i c a t i o n )
Rules, 2019. —Agencies
BengalGuv,Govtinrowover
‘Politicallycaged’education
Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala CM Pinarayi
Vijayan announced
that government has
suspended his for-
mer principal secre-
tary M Sivasankar, a
senior IAS officer, for
flouting service rules
amid reports of his
imminent arrest in
gold smuggling case.
Vijayan said the ac-
tion was taken on the
basis of an inquiry
conducted by a two-
member panel head-
ed by chief secretary
Viswas Mehta.
“Inquiry report
pointed out that
there were some laps-
es on his part and he
violated all-India ser-
vice rules,” said the
CM. The opposition
Congress and BJP
said the CM cannot
get away with action
against his former
secretary. “He took
action against his
secretary since nee-
dle of suspicion is
turning towards
him. We want the
CM’s resignation”
said BJP’s Kerala
unit president K
Surendran.
Considered close to
Vijayan, he was re-
moved from the pow-
erful principal secre-
tary’s post after re-
ports surfaced that he
was allegedly close to
oneof thekeyaccused
in gold smuggling
case Swapna Suresh.
He was grilled by Cus-
toms department for
ninehoursonWednes-
day. Officials found
discrepancies in his
statement & decided
to call him again for
questioning. They
also said his arrest
was imminent.
Mumbai: Two people
died and at least 15 were
injured in two incidents
of building collapse in
Mumbai on Thursday
as rains lashed the city,
officials said.
While two persons
died after a portion of a
‘chawl’ (tenement) col-
lapsed in suburban Mal-
vani, many people were
feared trapped under
debris after part of an
old building collapsed
in south Mumbai’s Fort
area, civic officials said.
A part of a three-sto-
rey chawl in Malvani
Gate Number 5 area in
the western suburbs col-
lapsed around 2.30 pm.
Four fire engines, a res-
cuevanandambulances
were rushed to the spot
and 15 people were res-
cued from the debris,
said the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation.
While two persons
died, 13 others were in-
jured, said a BMC offi-
cial. Elsewhere, at least
two persons were in-
jured and several others
were feared trapped un-
der debris after a corner
portion of an old six-
storeybuildingcollapsed
in south Mumbai’s Fort
around 4.45 pm. Eight
fire engines, two rescue
vans and ambulances
were rushed. Mayor
Kishori Pednekar also
visited the spot. —PTI
Kerala govt suspends
CM’s former secretary
Twodeadinbuildingcollapse
incidentsasrainslashMumbai
The incident took place around 4.43 pm at the Bhanushali
building in Fort near Lucky House.
Friday blockbuster...
which is also the dead-
line that the Speaker’s
office gave the MLAs to
file their replies to the
notices. Interestingly,
Abhishek Manu Singh-
vi, who is also a Con-
gress leader, is slated to
represent the Speaker’s
office while Harish
Salve and Mukul Rohat-
gi, who have represent-
ed the BJP-led govern-
ment at the Centre in
the past, are the lawyers
for the Pilot’s camp.
On Thursday, Con-
gress chief whip Ma-
hesh Joshi, who had
written to the Speaker
seeking the MLAs’ dis-
qualification, also ap-
proached the court, ask-
ing to be heard before it
passes any order.
Notably, If the Con-
gress dissidents are dis-
qualified, the current
strength of the state
assembly will reduce to
181, slashing the half-
way mark to 91 and
seemingly making it
easier for Chief Minis-
ter Ashok Gehlot to re-
tain majority support.
In the 200-member as-
sembly, the Congress
has 107 MLAs and the
BJP 72.
A viral...
First man: Don’t come
till 11 am.
Second: I have to come
back the same day.
First: No.
Second: Why.
First: We cannot take it
back.
Second: Let’s do it in the
morning, I have some
other work in Delhi. I
will settle it at 8-9 am,
then will meet when
you say. Less on the
phone.
First: Now we will move
legally. Second: Your ac-
tion has been reduced.
First: How.
Second: Which line are
you taking?
First: Yes, we are taking
the line.
Second: You are with
them only. First: Yes.
Second: Chandna did
not receive a call.
First: No, nor did I.
Second Viral Audio:
First man: You are
alone?
Second man: Yes.
First: The number will
be completed in two-
three days. Second: Yes.
First: I have told that
there are 2 people who
are hesitating, their
talk is direct with you.
There is no problem
anywhere, work will be
done immediately. Sec-
ond: Yes.
First: Now if I give the
list of Sachin, then tell
me, sir, my point is kept,
don’t take names. Sec-
ond: Yes, I will say.
First: Please talk to Ga-
jendra ji.
Second: I’ll get it done
now. First: Do it.
Third person: Gajendra
Singh speaking Ma-
haraj.
Second: Bless you, may
you win. Third: Hey you
are victorious.
Second: The number
will be completed in 1-2
days.
Third: Sanjay ji also
spoke. Now we have to
wait 8 to 10 days. Raj
cannot stay in the fence
for so many days. As
soon as they come out
they will come to them-
selves. Second: I also
understand that Raj
does not run from the
hotel. Number is not
force. The rest would
have become a matter
of Sanjay. I do not have
a name in the list. Ok
sir
Third audio:
First man: Hello
Second man: Yes okay
sir, the whole thing is
done. There is no doubt.
First: Yes, now there is
no government, so all
efforts have to be made.
Secondly, it is okay for
you, but you see, once
the numbers become
stronger, I have already
told you the entire pro-
gram.
First: Yes, okay.
Second: I have a respon-
sibility for you.
First: Okay.
Second: Your seniority
will be taken care of.
Don’t worry. First:
Okay. Now just Chetan
Doody and Balwant
Poonia will come
First: Chetan Doody
will also come, Balwant
Poonia will also come,
and more will come.
Second: That will be
good.
Experts from...
and Vadodara next in
line.
Apart from these, Ra-
jkot saw 51 cases in 24
hours,whileBhavnagar
saw 50, Junagadh, 39,
and Surendranagar and
Kheda witnessed 20
each.
In the past 24 hours,
522 samples were
tested in Vadodara, of
which 74 were posi-
tive. As on Thursday,
there are 770 active
cases, with 125 pa-
tients on oxygen sup-
port and 38 are on
Bipap machines. New
cases have been re-
ported from Sama,
Manjalpur, Makarpu-
ra, Gorva, Chhani,
Navapura and other
areas. Cases have
emerged even from
villages like Por, Baj-
va Dabhoi, Simli and
Padra. Bharuch dis-
trict recorded 38 cases:
17 from Bharuch, 13
from Ankleshwar.
FROM PG 1
PB CAPS TREATMENT RATES
FOR PRIVATE HOSPITALS
Chandigarh: The Punjab has fixed the coronavi-
rus treatment rates for private hospitals in order
to check profiteering. The rates, finalised for
private hospitals and medical colleges by the Dr
K K Talwar Committee, cover isolation beds, ICU
treatment and hospitalisation charges, per day of
admission. The rates have been fixed at Rs 9,000
for NABH accredited hospitals (including private
medical colleges without PG/DNB Course) and Rs
8,000 for non-NABH accredited hospitals. —PTI
GOVERNOR SPEAK

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020
T
he list of famous figures whose
Twitter accounts were hijacked
by scammers on Wednesday
reads like a Who’s Who of the
tech and celebrity worlds: Tesla
boss Elon Musk, Amazon chief Jeff Be-
zos, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, for-
mer president Barack Obama, current
Democratic nominee Joe Biden, celebri-
ties Kanye West and Kim Kardashian,
billionaires Warren Buffett and Mike
Bloomberg, the corporate accounts of
Apple and Uber, and more besides.
The point of the hack? To lure follow-
ers into sending US$1,000 in Bitcoin,
with the classic scammer’s false prom-
ise of sending back twice as much.
After a preliminary investigation,
Twitter said it believed the incident was
“a coordinated social engineering attack
by people who successfully targeted
some of our employees with access to
internal systems and tools”.
The details are still far from clear, but
it seems likely someone with adminis-
trative rights may have granted the
hackers access, perhaps inadvertently,
despite the presence of two-factor au-
thentication on the accounts – widely
considered the gold standard of online
security. It appears insiders may have
been involved, although the story is still
unfolding.
The use of the niche currency Bitcoin
limited the number of potential victims,
but also makes the hackers’ loot impos-
sible to trace. Ironically enough, Bitcoin
is a currency designed for a post-trust
world, and the anonymity of its transac-
tions makes the hackers even harder to
track down.
The question of who polices the vast power accrued by social media platforms is
a crucial one. Twitter’s reaction to the hack – temporarily shutting down all ac-
counts verified with the “blue tick” that connotes public interest – raised the ire
of high-profile users (and prompted mirth among those not bestowed with Twit-
ter’s mark of legitimacy). But the underlying question is: who decides what is
censored or shut down, and under what circumstances? And should companies
do this themselves, or do they need a regulatory framework to ensure fairness
and transparency?
Broader questions have already been raised about when Twitter, Facebook
or other social media platforms should or should not censor content. Facebook
was heavily criticised for not removing oppressive posts about Rohingya Mus-
lims in Myanmar, and what the United Nations referred to as a genocide ensued.
Twitter much later suspended some accounts that had been inciting violence,
with some criticism.
What is the responsibility of such platforms, and who should govern them, as
we become more heavily reliant on social media for our news? As the platforms’
power and influence continue to grow, we need
rigorous frameworks to hold them accountable.
Last month, the Australian government
pledged a A$1.3 billion funding increase and
an extra 500 staff for the Australian Signals Di-
rectorate, to boost its ability to defend Australia
from attacks. Australia’s forthcoming 2020 Cy-
ber Security Strategy will hopefully also in-
clude strategies to proactively improve cyber
security and digital literacy.
In an idea world, social media giants would
regulate themselves. But here in the real world,
the stakes are too high to let the platforms
police themselves.
This is not the first time we have seen the complex and profound impact social media
can have. In 2013, hackers gained access to @AP, the official Twitter account of the
respected Associated Press news agency, and tweeted:
Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is Injured.
The stock market dived by US$136.5 billion almost immediately but bounced back
within six minutes, illustrating the interconnected systems that move so quickly a hu-
man cannot intervene - algorithms read the headlines and the stock market collapsed,
albeit fleetingly.
By shorting stocks, whoever hacked AP’s Twitter account stood to make enormous
profits from the temporary stock market tank. We do not know what the financial ben-
efits, if any, to the hackers in 2013 were.
This week’s Twitter hack definitely had financial motives. The Bitcoin scammers in
this recent hack netted more than US$50,000.
More sinister still, however, are the implications for democracy if a similar hack
were carried out with political motives.
What if a reliable source, such as a national newspaper’s official account, tweets that
a presidential candidate has committed a crime, or is seriously ill, on the eve of an elec-
tion? What if false information about international
armed attacks is shared from a supposedly reliable
source such as a government defence department?
The impacts of such events would be profound, and
go far beyond financial loss.
This is the inherent danger of our growing re-
liance on social media platforms as authoritative
sources of information. As media institutions de-
cline in size, funding and impact, the public increas-
ingly relies on social media platforms for news.
The Bitcoin scam is a reminder that any social
media platform can be hacked, tampered with, or
used to spread false information. Even gold-stand-
ard technical systems can be outwitted, perhaps
by exploiting human vulnerabilities. A disgruntled
employee, a careless password selection, or even a
device used in a public space can pose grave risks.
Whom do we trust? Who’s in charge?
n SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION n CONCEPT: RAKSHITA PAREEK n DESIGN: SITARAM SHARMA
Stakes too high in the real world!
VIRTUAL HACKING
The Twitter
hack targeted
the rich and
famous.
But we all
lose if trusted
accounts can
be hijacked

People could do much better in
life if they had the wisdom and
experience of the elderly when
they are young.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020www.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
Ahmedabad: Months
after they almost
brought the State
Government to its
knees, restless unem-
ployed youth in Guja-
rat have upped the
ante again -- through
the social media --
threatening to boy-
cott the upcoming as-
sembly by-elections
if the recruitment
process is not expe-
dited.
The educated jobless
youth have already
launched different agi-
tations for recruit-
ment, but now they
have held out the threat
to boycott the upcom-
ing by-elections and
panchayat polls.
One estimate puts
the number of edu-
cated unemployed in
Gujarat at 10 lakh.
The government has
announced several
exams but has not
initiated any process,
while in many cases
youngsters are await-
ing their appoint-
ment letters. There
are some exams that
have also started.
Meanwhile, Yuvrajs-
inh Jadeja, who had
become the face of the
LRD protest (Lok Rak-
shak Dal) and leader of
Yuva Rojgari Bachavo
Samiti, has raised the
issue through social
media.
“There are around
30 to 35 lakh unem-
ployed educated
youth. There are
thousands of pend-
ing applications with
the government, and
around 4,000 are
such where they are
awaiting their ap-
pointment letters,”
Jadeja said.
He said the govern-
ment wakes up only
when an election is
near. “The government
makes tall claims and
tries to woo each class
by big promises. The
leaders will again hit
the streets for cam-
paigning but we want
to be clear that must
first complete the re-
cruitment process and
then ask for votes.
First, finish the re-
cruitment process and
then hold the elec-
tions,” Jadeja asserted.
JOBLESS YOUTH TAKE E-ROU TE, SAYS NO WORK, NO VOTE
RESTLESS YOUNGSTERS
 They threaten govt to boycott
upcoming assembly by-polls and
panchayat elections if recruit-
ment process not completed
Youth leaders in Gujarat have threatened to boycott upcoming assembly by-elections if the
government doesn’t initiate recruitments.
COVID SCARE : Key agri
markets in Gujarat shutFear created in agriculture & commodity markets has forced suspension of auctions
Shishir Awasthi
Ahmedabad: With sev-
eral traders contracting
the dreaded coronavirus
and many more scared,
the agricultural trades
in key Gujarat markets
have been badly hit even
as several of them have
downed their shutters
for auctions.
In North Gujarat’s
prominent grain market
at Himmatnagar in Sa-
barkanthadistrict,some
traders at the Agricul-
tural Produce Market
Committee(APMC)have
tested positive for the vi-
rus and the market yard
has been closed till July
31. “It is difficult to en-
sure social distancing
and keeping a watch
over every individual if
he has a mask on or not.
So in the interest of
farmers, traders and
buyers, the auctions
have been suspended till
July 31,” Ashok Shah, a
grain merchant in Him-
matnagar, said.
Himmatnagarisakey
marketplace for wheat
and castor trade. “Most
of the grains are trans-
ported to South India,
Mumbai and
Ahmedabad.Sincethere
are no buyers, there is
great uncertainty on
payments and deliveries
at far locations. So, it is
best to wait for the situ-
ation to normalise,”
said Rafiq Ahmed Veka-
ria, an office-bearer at
the local merchants’
association.
Farmers are waiting
with small quantities of
agricultural produces,
including wheat, maize
andcastorasmostof the
rabiseasonarrivalshave
taken place. “However,
we were seeing thin sup-
pliesfromfarmers,”said
Shah. Meanwhile, Un-
jha,thecountry’slargest
cumin seed market, has
implemented the odd-
even formula with jeera
(cuminseed)andisabgol
(psyllium husk) auc-
tions to take place on
every alternate days i.e.
Monday, Wednesday and
Friday, while all other
commodities, including
fennel seeds, are auc-
tioned on the remaining
days. “The move is to re-
duce crowding at the
market and avoid the
spread,”saidanotefrom
the Unjha market au-
thorities. In Saurashtra,
Mahuva market yard in
Bhavnagar district has
also announced a 10-day
shutdown. The APMC
authorities here an-
nounced suspension of
operations from July 16-
27. However, fresh vege-
table auctions are con-
tinuing. At, Mahuva,
one of the country’s
largest onion markets,
most of the crop had al-
ready arrived and few
farmers were bringing
their produce for auc-
tions. As Mahuva had
started seeing daily new
Covid-19 cases, the auc-
tionsweresuspendedfor
the next 10 days.
Several agriculture produce and commodity markets have downed shutters following Corona scare.
Experts panel to
check Covid hosps
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
State Health Depart-
ment has constituted
an experts committee
to inspect, supervise
and provide guidance
to dedicated Covid-19
hospitals, as directed
by the Supreme
Court.
There are 11 doctors
on this committee, in-
cluding Deputy Direc-
tor (Medical Education)
Dr Gunvant Rathod, Dr
Saugata Chatterji and
Professor of Medicine
at Jamnagar Medical
College. Others are
from Ahmedabad Civil
Hospital and Gandhina-
gar GMERS colleges.
The experts will in-
spect facilities and med-
ical practices at these
hospitals and will guide
the doctors there should
they feel the need to
make amends.
They will also submit
an Action Taken report
to the Health Depart-
ment, along with audio-
visual reports. Before
leaving the hospitals,
they will discuss non-
compliance of Covid-19
treatment practices
with the stakeholders.
The Health Depart-
ment claims that the
committee has
chalked out a plan to
strengthen public
health facilities and
will play an impor-
tant advisory role for
the State Govern-
ment.
This is the second
such committee being
formed to help the state
government to prepare
short, medium and long
term public health
plans.
MARKETS SHUT
SEVERE UNEMPLOYMENT
Cong backs teachers,
Doshi undertakes fast
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad : Thou-
sands of teachers
across the state have
joined a digital pro-
test demanding reg-
ular grade pay from
the State Govern-
ment in accordance
with their recruit-
ment process. The
government had en-
forced a cut in the
pay grade of teach-
ers in 2010. Taking
up cudgels for them,
Gujarat Congress
chief spokesperson
Manish Doshi ex-
tended the party’s
support to the teach-
ers and demonstrat-
ed by a symbolic on-
line day-long fast
from his residence
on Thursday.
“The State Govern-
ment needs to focus
on education reforms.
There is a dire need to
improve the existing
educational provi-
sions. There are thou-
sands of youngsters
who have cleared
competitive examina-
tions and are awaiting
their job postings,” as-
serted Doshi.
“Youths who have
passed mandatory ex-
ams such as Teachers
Aptitute Test (TAT)
and Head Teacher Ap-
titude Test (HTAT)
want employment.
But, instead of re-
cruiting young guns,
the government is
slashing the salaries
of teachers who are
currently on the pay
roll,” he added.
Over 65,000 school
teachers have been af-
fected by this revision
of pay grade who
launched a digital
protest to voice their
frustration.
In an appeal to all
citizens, Doshi
asked them to pledge
support to the pro-
test by demonstrat-
ing at their respec-
tive homes, since a
protest cannot be
held publically due
to the novel corona-
virus outbreak.
GCMMF to elect chairman,
vice-chairman on July 23
First India Bureau
Anand: Gujarat Coop-
erative Milk Marketing
Federation (GCMMF),
which markets the
Amul brand products, is
slated to elect its chair-
man and vice-chairman
on July 23, on conclu-
sion of their tenure of
two and a half years.
Since its inception in
1973, the Federation
never had an election
and the member-dairies
would unanimously se-
lect the chairman. And
till 2015, there was no
post of vice-chairman,
which was created by
amending the law to ap-
pease BJP MLA and
Panchmahal Dairy
Chairman Jethabhai
Bharwad. He was the
first vice-chairman.
The State’s 18 dairy
unions on the board de-
cide whether to hold
elections or unanimous-
ly select the chairman
and vice-chairman. Of
the Federation’s total
1,300 vote, the highest 25
per cent voting share
(320) is of Banas dairy.
BJP’s OBC leader and
Banas Dairy Chairman
Shankar Chaudhary,
who is vice-chairman
of Gujarat State Coop-
erative Bank, is likely to
throw his hat in the
ring. It remains to be
seen if chairmen of
other dairies will sup-
port him.
In January 2018, the
Federation had unani-
mously elected sea-
soned cooperative lead-
er and Kheda District
Milk Producers Union
Limited Chairman
Ramsinh Parmar as the
Federation’s chairman
and he too is in the race
for another term.
GCMMF, the marketer of Amul products, will elect its new
chairman and vice-chairman next week.
The State Government needs to
focus on education reforms.
There is a dire need to improve
the existing educational provisions.
There are thousands of youngsters who
have cleared competitive examinations
and are awaiting their job postings.
—Manish Doshi, Gujarat Congress Chief Spokesperson
India’s edible oil exports
dip 15% in current fiscal
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: India’s
edible oil exports
have dipped 15 per
cent in the first
quarter of the cur-
rent fiscal and this
is likely to fall fur-
ther, given that the
minimum support
prices (MSP) of soy-
bean and rapeseeds
have been pegged
quite high.
The Solvent Extrac-
tors’ Association, in a
press statement, stat-
ed that edible oil ex-
ports were of 5.79 lakh
tonne between April
and June and this is 15
per cent lower than
the corresponding
quarter in FY ‘20.
Oilmeals export
stood at 6.84 tonne and
it was 2.29 lakh tonne
in June, which is
around the same of
over 2.28 lakh tonne in
June 2019.
During the first
quarter, the country
exported 1.29 lakh
tonne soybean, 2.88
lakh tonne rape-
seed, 98,787 tonne
rice bran and 62,821
castor seed meals.
Castor seed meals
export this time is
one-third compared
to previous year,
while rice bran ex-
port is 23,000 tonne
higher than last
year and soybean oil
export is down
27,000 tonne.
Kandla Port enjoys
33 per cent share, fol-
lowed by JNPT-Mum-
bai, Mundra and Kol-
kata.
Edible oil exports fall in first quarter.

AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY
JULY 17, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
DECK THE NECKWorn by everyone around the world, necklace is the type of
jewellery that is loved by all age groups to add a spark to their outfit
ecklace, worn
around the neck,
is one of the most
elegant pieces of
jewellery. These
are also one of
the earliest types
of ornaments
worn by the hu-
mankind. To
some, it is just
a piece of jew-
ellery, but to
some, it is a
symbol of
status,
wealth and also religion.
The main thing that holds
a necklace or a neckpiece
together is a chain, band
or a cord that is wrapped
around the neck.
On one hand, there are
artificial necklaces that go
with the fashion in trend
and are much affordable,
and on the other, there are
the ones that are rendered
in precious metals like sil-
ver, gold and platinum.
These also include pre-
cious and semi-precious
materials like diamonds,
pearls, emeralds, rubies,
sapphires, and the list can
go on.
There are various types
of necklaces that are worn
by women, like- Choker:
which is a short
length necklace
worn closely
around the
neck; Lavalier: the one
that ends in one large-size
pendant; Bib: it is wider at
the front and tapers to-
wards the back; Flapper:
the ones that are made of
pearls and necklaces and
were the most iconic ones
back in the 1920s; Collar:
these are the ones that lie
flat to the body and are
more freestyle; Fringed:
the ones that are made of
a round chain with a
fringe in the front; Pen-
dant: the ones that have
an ornament that hangs
freely in the front; and
there are so much more.
With the other piec-
es of jewellery that
are available, the
necklaces are
considered to be
one of the most
important ones
for decorating the
body and lighting up the
entire outfit. The durabil-
ity of any necklace de-
pends upon the type of
metal it is made of and the
quality of the same; it also
depends upon the quality
of the stones used for its
decoration. Since these
are fragile, necklaces need
to be taken care of really
well. You’ve to Turn to P12N
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
RHYTHM SANADHYA, Entrepreneur
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
TJeopardise someone’s
safety for self gain should
be avoided, you are a good
person and don’t let anyone
else influence you otherwise. On
professional front, you need to be
more alert and careful of your work.
Your opinions are of great value to
your children when they go astray.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Fulminating against evil
practices will be the best
thing to do. A good bank
balance will allow you to
experiment with businesses. If you
are tired of the monotonous way of
life, try and incorporate new hobbies
in your routine. You are all about
fitness and routine these days.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Lustre on face is the
indication of a good news
on its way. Sometimes
taking advices is not so
bad so listen to the one who is trying
to save you some time. You are likely
to do more work than is required
from you because you will feel really
happy doing the work that you love.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Peculiarity is often noticed
and can benefit you more
than you can ever imagine.
You are stubborn when it
comes to getting things that you like.
You are a sweet person to sweet
people and a devil for all the devils.
You have your parents hand on your
head and nothing can harm you.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Overblown by your hard
work in projects, you
seniors are going to
reward you. You will be all
time lost in reading, you may also go
for books shopping. Avoid taking any
legal actions to get your money back,
give some time and you will have it
without any problem.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Bestow your blessings and
good wishes on someone
who really needs them right
now. Justice is very
important if you are the one who is
asked to judge. You will complete the
given task in record time and will get
free from the extra burden. You are get
a surprise call from someone dear.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Quietude mode will benefit
you as a mental therapy
therefore take your space
and spend some time
alone. You will find your own way on
professional front. No opposition can
stop you from getting what you want
on career front. You love to interact
with people in ongoing basis.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Cocky personality and
straight forwardness is
your personality trade-
mark. Someone will share
you workload today but express your
gratitude by doing the same for this
person in the near future when
chance comes.You will grow very
sensitive towards a family member.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Gravitating towards
someone in office is
indicated by cards. You are
a brainy person and find
logic in everything. Remain regular in
with your studies to keep up to date
with everyone else. You have many
options in life and to choose the right
one also depends totally on you.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Killjoys are everywhere but
it totally depends on you if
you let them do their job or
not. Judicious spending is
what you have been practicing for
sometime now. On professional
front, you may get nominated for
some award. Catch up with your
friends even if its on phone.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Besmirch your family’s
name is very easy
therefore think before you
decide to do something
from which there is no looking back.
Your well being is in the well being of
your family, such a large hearted
person you are. You are somebody
who can sacrifice anything for kids.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Enduring financial
pressures in the past has
made you this strong
person that you are today.
If you get a chance to see your
family, don’t miss out on it. On office
front, all you need is a planned
schedule and then see how fast
things will work for you.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
TURNINGFANTASIESINTOREALITIESomewhere, some-
one has been des-
perately hoping
that Hollywood
would get around
to making a movie
adaptation of the
late-’70s TV show “Fantasy
Island.” Meanwhile, it
would seem that the rest of
usthatis,thefilmgoingpub-
lic are just extras in an elab-
orate cautionary tale de-
signed to teach that person
alesson.Thepointbeing:Be
careful what you wish for;
suchcornyoldTVseriesare
bettersuitedforrerunsthan
for reboots. As suave yet sin-
ister host Mr. Roarke warns
the half-dozen expendable
douchebags, guests who’ve
traveled to this enchanted
retreat to live out their wild-
estdreams,‘Fantasiesrarely
play out as you would ex-
pect.’
This one at least packs
the novelty of having been
reconfigured into a Blum-
house horror movie. That
means a chance to explore
the shadowy corners of a
property originally de-
signed to accommodate a
parade of flashy guest stars,
à la ‘The Love Boat’ before
it although that show
doesn’t accommodate a
zombie outbreak
nearly so easily. In
remaking Gene
Levitt’s prime-
time series,
“Blumhouse’s
Fantasy Is-
land” leans
into the natu-
ral darkness of
its namesake
while mistak-
enly assuming
that millennials
know or care the
slightest thing
about it. On one
hand, Blum-
house’s “Fantasy
Island” seems
unlike-
l y
to satisfy anyone who re-
members the vintage ABC
show or its short-lived 1998
revival, swapping out the
weekly pleasure of watch-
ing Roarke torment the re-
volving cast of has-beens
(TV stars like Peter Graves
and Maureen McCormick
found intermittent work af-
ter their hit series were
canceled) for a more convo-
luted plot in which the is-
land engineers a series of
deadly scenarios for a
bunch of shallow nobodies
(over-actors like Lucy Hale,
Maggie Q, and Portia Dou-
bleday).
Director and co-writer
Jeff Wadlow must have im-
pressed someone with his
take on the material, with
its “Cabin in the Woods”-
like ambitions. The fin-
ished film plays at times
like an out-of-control pitch
meeting, lurching from one
ostensibly clever idea to the
next without taking the
trouble to connect the dots,
or even to remain consist-
ent with the two simple
rules it sets out for itself.
First, only one fantasy per
person (no do-overs, unless
the do-over itself happens
to be your fantasy). Second,
each guest must see his or
her fantasy through to its
natural conclusion — and
they inevitably “turn twist-
ed” after a time. Whose fan-
tasy is this, again? Oh right,
yours. And if such titilla-
tion does it for you, then the
ensuing assortment of
cheap thrills just might suf-
fice. For a horror remake of
“Fantasy Island,” however,
the PG-13 rating doesn’t al-
low for much in the way of
actual scares. It may be
more practical to think of
the movie as a hybrid of
various genres, as each
character’s fantasy takes
the shape of a different
kind of film.
JD dreams of “having it
all,” so Roarke leads him
and Brax to a crazy back-
yard bash cribbed from pot-
head house-party movies
like “Old School” and “This
Is the End” (minus any-
thing that would have
pushed the film into R-rated
territory). Gwen regrets
turning down a boyfriend’s
marriage proposal five
years earlier, so Roarke con-
jures a soft-focus romantic
scene straight out of the
Nicholas Sparks playbook.
Patrick always wanted to be
a soldier, so he gets to play
“Platoon” alongside the
hero dad he never knew.
The only one who seems
to be sticking to the horror
genre is Melanie, who longs
to get back at the girl who
bullied her in high school,
Sloane (Doubleday). Roarke
instructs her to take the el-
evator to the basement of
the island mansion (whose
exterior does a fine job of
matching the one seen on
the show), where a torture-
porn scenario awaits:
Sloane sits strapped into a
dental chair, while a dia-
bolical surgeon (Ian Rob-
erts) with an autopsy saw is
prepared to make her pay.
Again, things can only go so
far within the confines of a
PG-13 rating — which
comes as a relief in this
particular situation.
It takes the characters
nearly an hour to under-
stand the idea that they’re
getting to experience their
fantasies. Maybe that’s be-
cause, instead of paying
$50,000 for the privilege the
way they did on TV, they are
all winners of a contest
whose details are never di-
vulged. Given that change,
few will be surprised to
learn that they’ve been as-
sembled for the amusement
(or revenge) of someone
else, although the movie
doesn’t explain why that
person is allowed to violate
the first rule of Fantasy Is-
land.
No matter. Wadlow has
designed the experience
like a ride, whisking audi-
ences along quickly enough
that they’re not meant to
dwell on plot holes. Grant-
ed, it’s hard to predict
where the plot is headed
when the core premises are
constantly in flux.
S
Sources: https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/fantasy-island-review-1203502991/

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