First india ahmedabad edition-19 august 2020

RUPANI GOVT PERMITS SKYSCRAPERS IN FIVE CITIES
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: In a
major change to the
Common GDCR (Gen-
eral Development
Control Regulations)
2017, Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani on Tues-
day approved the con-
struction of buildings
of 70 floors or more in
five major cities of
the state. At present,
builders have permis-
sion for construction
of up to 22 floors.
The new permission
will be applicable to
structures which are
taller than 100 metres in
Ahmedabad, Vadodara,
Surat, Rajkot and Gan-
dhinagar cities, an offi-
cial release from the
state government said.
The change is aimed at
helping to create de-
mand in the real estate
market and meet land
requirement shortage,
to this make property
more affordable in the
long run.
The state govern-
ment will set up a Spe-
cial Technical Com-
mittee (STC) in each of
the five abovemen-
tioned cities to ap-
prove proposals for
these skyscrapers. The
STCs will “advise the
competent authority
regarding the feasibil-
ity of development
proposals,” the release
said, adding that the
competent authority
may collect such addi-
tional processing fees
per proposal at the
time of submission of
the proposal, as it
finds necessary for
scrutiny by the STC.
Thenewrulesshallbe
applicable to buildings
taller than 100m and
with an aspect ratio of
1:9 (width and length ra-
tio). The provisions will
be applicable in D1 cate-
gory in the urban devel-
opment authorities of
Ahmedabad (AUDA),
Surat (SUDA), Vadodara
(VUDA), Rajkot (RUDA)
and Gandhinagar
(GUDA), where the per-
missible base FSI is
equaltoormorethan1.2.
The plot size to con-
struct a skyscraper
with a height of 100-
150m must be 2,500
sqm, and 3,500 sqm if
the proposed height is
above 150 m. The sky-
scrapers can only be
constructed if the ad-
joining road is more
than 30m wide.
The maximum FSI
(Floor Space Index) will
not be more than 5.4 in
any case. Premium FSI
will be available on a
chargeable basis. The
Premium FSI charges
willbe50%of Jantrirate
of Non-Agricultureland.
The buildings can either
be used for residential,
commercial, or recrea-
tionalpurposesoracom-
bination of the same.
Apart from prepara-
tion of a disaster man-
agement plan and an
Electric Charging facil-
ity in the parking zone,
a wind tunnel test of
the model structure has
been made compulsory
under the new rules,
the release said.
It is expected that the
new permissions will
not only Gujarat’s sky-
line to new heights but
will also show the
state’s mettle in terms
of infrastructure capac-
ity. With the construc-
tion of the skyscrapers,
the state’s urban infra-
structure will be able to
accommodate the ris-
ing population and gen-
erate more employment
for the dwellers.
CM Vijay Rupani
Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat,
Rajkot and Gandhinagar can
now get 70-storey buildings
CORONA
ALERT
AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 263
26°C - 31°C
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
www.firstindia.co.in
www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia
instagram.com/thefirstindia
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
2,822
DEATHS
80,942
CONFIRMED CASES
KARNATAKA
4,210 DEATHS 2,40,948 CASES
RAJASTHAN
898 DEATHS 63,977 CASES
TAMIL NADU
DELHI
WORLD
7,79,999
DEATHS
2,21,74,684
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
27,64,092
CONFIRMED CASES
53,018
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
20,687 DEATHS 6,15,477 CASES
Bhopal: Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
on Tuesday said neces-
sary legal provisions
will be made to ensure
that only local people
get jobs in the state gov-
ernment. He also said
resources of the state
are meant for residents
of the state.
“The state (BJP) gov-
ernment has taken an
important decision that
government jobs will be
given only to youths of
Madhya Pradesh. We
are making necessary
legal provisions for this
purpose. Resources of
Madhya Pradesh are
meant for children of
the state,” Chouhan said
in a video statement.
He, however, did not
elaborate on the pro-
posed legal provisions.
Later in a tweet ad-
dressed to youths, the
CM said, “From today,
the children of Madhya
Pradesh will have the
first right over the re-
sources of Madhya
Pradesh. All govern-
ment jobs will be re-
served only for the chil-
drenof MadhyaPradesh.
Our aim is to involve the
localtalentsintheuplift-
ment of the state”.
The MP CM said that
students of state will be
taken in government
services and “neces-
sary statutory provi-
sions will be made to
ensure this”.
In his Independence
Day speech, Chouhan
had announced that
preference would be
given to local people in
government jobs. He
had also said his gov-
ernment will devise a
mechanism to ensure
employment to youths
on the basis of their
marksheets of classes
10 and 12. Turn to P6
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: According
to highly placed sources
in New Delhi and
Jaipur, there will be no
new toppling effort or
no-trust motions in Ra-
jasthan assembly at
least for another six
months by the principal
opposition party BJP, or
any other group of re-
bel or disgruntled
MLAs against the Ge-
hlot government. While
reacting on Gehlot’s
trust vote victory, even
Union Jal Shakti minis-
ter Gajendra Singh
Shekhawat, in his Indi-
an Express function
speech two days back,
clearly indicated that
there will be no such
new move (no-Confi-
dence motion) in the
next 6 months, though
the party is always pre-
pared for any such un-
foreseen eventuality.
Now the party’s main
focus will be to win Pan-
chayat and Local Self
elections.
Notably, Gehlot gov-
ernment had won a re-
cord trust vote re-
cently in Ra-
jasthan Assem-
bly by a record
margin of 75
versus 123 not
out. Incidental-
ly, if the actual
voting would
have taken place
on that
day in the house then
BJP’s real strength was
reduced from 75 to 71
because 4 BJP MLAs, in
a mysterious move, had
opted out from the as-
sembly. Now a ‘red-
faced’ Gulab Chand Ka-
taria and Satish Poonia
have asked the four
absentee MLAs
to explain
their con-
duct by 20th
August.
According
to Gehlot
camp, even 6
more BJP
M L A s
were kept on the ‘re-
served list’ which could
have voted in favour of
Gehlot, if the situation
required. The Central
Congress and even BJP
leadership is ‘im-
pressed’ with Gehlot’s
smart move and tactics
to keep his 102 MLAs in-
tact for a period of more
than 35 days, against a
serious Pilot camp at-
tempt to bring Gehlot
government to minority
withanindirectsupport
of BJP, though, on the
face value, the saffron
party had always main-
tained that Rajasthan’s
political crisis was only
an internal feud be-
tween the two warring
Gehlot and Pilot camps
and the BJP has nothing
to do with the toppling
game plan.
Meanwhile, there is a
growing feeling among
the top BJP leadership
at the centre and in state
that their indirect or si-
lent association with
Sachin Pilot Turn to P6
Shivraj Singh Chouhan during the VC on Tuesday.
Govt jobs in MP only for local residents: CM Chouhan
SHIVRAJGETS
VOCALFORLOCAL!
NO NEW TOPPLING EFFORT FOR NEXT 6 MONTHS!
Amit Shah
admitted to
AIIMS, Delhi
New Delhi: Home Min-
ister Amit Shah has
been admitted to AIIMS
in Delhi for post-COVID
care, the hospital said.
“The Home Minister
has been complaining
of fatigue and body
aches for the past 3-4
days. He has tested neg-
ative for COVID-19,” the
statement by hospital
said, adding, “he has
been admitted for post-
COVID care. He is com-
fortable and is continu-
ing his work from the
hospital.” Shah was
discharged from Me-
danta Hospital, Guru-
gram on August 14, af-
ter testing negative for
COVID-19. —ANI
ASHOK LAVASA RESIGNS AS ELECTION
COMMISSIONER, TO JOIN ADB AS V-P
New Delhi: Ashok
Lavasa on Tuesday re-
signed as Election
Commissioner and
would soon be joining
the Asian Develop-
ment Bank as vice
president, sources
said. Lavasa was next
in line to head the EC.
Lavasa has sent his
resignation to Rash-
trapati Bhavan and
has requested to be
relieved on August 31.
He would be joining
the Philippines-based
ADB in September.
IPL 2020: Dream11 wins title
rights, Tata group stays away
New Delhi: Fantasy
gaming platform
Dream11 on Tuesday
won the IPL title spon-
sorship rights with a
bid of Rs 222 crore, re-
placing Chinese mo-
bile phone company
Vivo for a four and a
half month deal.
Dream11 has been
one of the IPL spon-
sors for a couple of
years now.
“Dream11 has won
the rights with a bid
of Rs 222 crore,” IPL
chairman Brijesh Pa-
tel said. It is learnt
that multinational
conglomerate Tata
group didn’t place a
final bid while two
education technology
companies – BYJUs
(Rs 201 crore) and Un-
academy (Rs 170
crore) – came second
and third respectively.
Turn to P6
ROHITSHARMA
AMONG 4 PICKED FOR
KHEL RATNA AWARD
 Indian opening
batsman Rohit Sharma,
wrestler Vinesh Phogat,
table tennis player
Manika Batra and Para-
lympian M Thangavelu
have been recommend-
ed for the Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna Award —
India’s highest sporting
honour.
 Rohit Sharma will
be the fourth cricketer
after legendary Sachin
Tendulkar, MS Dhoni
and Virat Kohli to be
conferred the award.
 India pacer Ishant
Sharma, male recurve
archer Atanu Das,
women’s hockey team
player Deepika Thakur,
cricketer Deepak Hoo-
da and tennis player
Divij Sharan were
named in a 29-strong
list of athletes recom-
mended for this year’s
Arjuna award.
Turn to P6
The committee also recommended
names of 29 players for Arjuna award
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Tues-
day refused to direct the
Centre to transfer the
contributions made to
PM CARES Fund for
battling the COVID-19
pandemic to the Nation-
al Disaster Response
Fund (NDRF). A bench
headed by Justice
Ashok Bhushan said
that voluntary contribu-
tion can always be made
to the NDRF as there is
no statutory bar under
the Disaster Manage-
ment Act. The judge-
ment came on a PIL,
filed by NGO Turn to P6
SC dismisses plea to
transfer PM Cares Fund
GREAT SIGH OF RELIEF FOR GEHLOT GOVERNMENT
Ashok Gehlot Gulab Chand Katariya Satish Poonia

Gargi Raval & Haresh Jhala
Ahmedabad: The
state government’s
decision to allow
70-storey buildings
has boosted the mo-
rale of real-estate de-
velopers but—to draw
from the philosophy
of a popular super-
hero—with taller
buildings come taller
responsibilities.
With Ahmedabad,
Vadodara, Surat, Ra-
jkot and Gandhinagar
set to receive facelifts,
builders say vertical
development will bring
down the prices of resi-
dential and commer-
cial properties. How-
ever, this development
will also cost more in
terms of infrastruc-
ture. So, it is unclear as
to how much advantage
will reach property
buyers.
On the plus side, tall-
er buildings could
bring benefits to those
forced to live in
cramped conditions,
especially since the
room-person ratio in
Gujarat is 1:70, a tight-
er fit than the national
average of 1:41.
Similarly, more peo-
ple living in smaller
spaces would also bring
in more taxes, which
could also be used to
further develop these
megacities, as was
done in Singapore and
other places.
Yet, as Pravin Ba-
vadiya, CMD of City
Estate Management,
said, “For the execu-
tion of this announce-
ment, the state govern-
ment and local authori-
ties will have to make
many changes in detail
rules and regulations.”
He, like many oth-
ers, said that, while
the primary an-
nouncement appears
beneficial to both
house seekers and
builders, there are
challenges ahead.
“The building mate-
rials will have to be
different from exist-
ing ones. Plus, at
least in Ahmedabad,
these buildings will
need to be earth-
quake resistant,” he
said.
It is to be remem-
bered that Ahmedabad-
-the state’s most popu-
lous city--saw several
buildings collapse or be
severely damaged in
the 2001 earthquake
that hit Bhuj, around
240 km away from the
city.
“Cities are the en-
gines of growth and
development world-
wide. As India is ex-
periencing rapid ur-
ban and economic
growth, there is a
need to accommodate
more people and jobs
in our cities. Howev-
er, this needs to be
both economically
and environmentally
sustainable,” said
Professor Jignesh
Mehta, Programme
Chair, Masters of Ur-
ban Planning, at the
CEPT University.
Mehta added, “Such
compact, mixed-use
vertical development
must be facilitated by
sufficient area under
street network, and
walkable urban blocks
of 100mx100m,or100m
x 150m and appropriate
underground infra-
structure and social
amenities. Such devel-
opment, if it comes up
around areas with pub-
lic transport like the
Metro rail or BRTS sta-
tions using the princi-
ples of Transit-Orient-
ed Development (TOD)
could help reduce peo-
ple’s dependence on
private vehicles, which
would also reduce con-
gestion.”
Aashil Patel, Direc-
tor of Remix Corporate
Services feels that the
announcement could
help the real-estate
market to bounce back.
“It can increase land
prices in accordance
with Floor Space Index
(FSI). In the coming
days, Ahmedabad city
is likely to see such sky-
scrapers planned along
the 132-foot-ring road,
Sarkhej-Gandhinagar
Highway and Sardar
Patel Ring Road,” he
said.
A number of exist-
ing buildings in these
areas are also likely to
be redeveloped under
the new rules.
Vadodara too is
likely to see sky-
scrapers coming up
in in Bhayali and
Sevasi areas, where-
-under the recently
approved town-plan-
ning scheme--most
roads will be at least
30m wide, Hemant
Patel, Chairman of
Vadodara’s chapter
of Confederation of
Real Estate Develop-
ers Association (CRE-
DAI) said.
Pritesh Shah, presi-
dent, CREDAI-Va-
dodara, is hopeful that
the city will start see-
ing such projects with-
in the next six to 12
months.
Aashil Patel’s first
impression is that such
vertical growth will not
add any burden on ba-
sic amenities. Citing
Mumbaiasanexample,
he said, “Mumbai has
manysuchskyscrapers
but there are no com-
plaints about a short-
fall in basic amenities.”
Hemant Patel and
Pritesh Shah are
both of the opinion
that the sector will
initially have to hire
experts and consult-
ants from outside but
will eventually evolve
to grow its own tech-
nologies and techni-
cal experts to execute
such mega projects.
In addition, in order
to abide by the national
building codes and
guidelines, each pro-
ject will also have to set
up its own firefighting
infrastructure and
even hire a small team
of firefighers.
“The structures will
have to be such that
they resist fire for at
least two hours,” Bas-
ant Kumar Pareek, In-
charge Chief Fire of-
ficer of the Surat Mu-
nicipal Corporation,
said. He added that the
Surat Fire department
is currently short of
500 firemen. “If such
skyscrapers are per-
mitted, each zonal of-
fice department will
need more equipment
and fire platforms for
rescue operations. It
will increase invest-
ment by local authori-
ties, too,” he said.
Further, the national
building codes require
high-rise buildings that
are 50m or taller to
have provisions for a
helipad on the terrace.
It has to be approved by
the authority. Such
buildings will need
enough open space in
the surrounding areas
and need internal and
external staircases. All
these will add to the
cost of the project. The
maintenance of such a
project too will be high-
-all of which could end
up costing future prop-
erty owners dearly.
NEWSAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Ru-
pani has assured
state police that
there will be no in-
tervention from the
state government
when it comes to the
modus operandi of
the force. He also
emphasized that the
police should strive
to discharge their
duties with courage
and bravery.
In a video confer-
ence with various po-
lice commissioners,
inspector generals
and district superin-
tendents of the state
on Tuesday, CM Rupa-
ni appreciated the ser-
vice of the police in
the fight against novel
coronavirus. He asked
the police to take strict
actions against all an-
ti-social elements in
the wake of the ongo-
ing health crisis.
The chief minister
also credited the de-
velopment and
growth seen in the
state to good and ef-
ficient policing. “It
is because of effec-
tive policing that the
crime rate in the
state is low. The
state will extend its
support to the force
by providing up-
graded technology
and equipment,” he
stated.
Advising the state
police to bring about a
change in its public
image, the CM said
that building a reputa-
tion of honesty and
stern action will pre-
vent several offences.
Minister of State
for Home Pradipsinh
Jadeja instructed
state police to show
zero tolerance to-
wards liquor con-
sumption in the
state and strictly im-
plement prohibi-
tion. He also appre-
ciated the work of
the police for using
technology to crack
cyber crimes and
helping people re-
cover their lost mon-
ey. Jadeja advised
that the police will
have to keep them-
selves updated about
new technology and
study the mindset of
criminals active in
cybercrime to meet
new challenges.
In a crackdown on
corruption within the
force, the state govern-
ment plans to increase
manpower to strength-
en the Anti-Corrup-
tion Bureau and ex-
pose corrupt officials.
Statewillnotinterfereinkhaki
affairs if actions legal: CM
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
WILL CHANGING SKYLINES
CHANGE GROUND REALITY?
Skyscrapers will raise land prices but it is unclear if
advantages will trickle down to end consumers
APPROVED SKYSCRAPERS IN GUJARAT
Name Height (m) Floors City
GIFT Diamond Tower 410 86 Gandhinagar
Gate Towers 1 & 2 362 70 Gandhinagar
Crystal Tower 1 & 2 276 65 Gandhinagar
Clippers Tower - 1 260 65 Gandhinagar
Naga Tower -1 & 2 230 54 Gandhinagar
Garba Tower 210 55 Gandhinagar
CONSTRUCTED AND UNDER-CONSTRUCTION
SKYSCRAPERS IN AHMEDABAD/GANDHINAGAR
Name Height (m) Floors City
GIFT 1 & 2 122 28 Gandhinagar
WTC Gift Tower 122 24 Gandhinagar
Sobha Dream Heights 102 33 Gandhinagar
Takshashila Air 79.48 25 Ahmedabad
FILE PHOTO OF PROPOSED NAGA TOWERS IN GANDHINAGAR
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020
Single-day of highest testing of 57K sees 1,126 fresh cases, and 20 deaths; 1,131 discharged in 24 hours; death toll has now reached 2,822
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat has now seen
80,942 people infect-
ed with the novel cor-
onavirus, and has
lost a total of 2,822
lives to the virus, ac-
cording to data from
the state govern-
ment’s health depart-
ment released on
Tuesday.
The day also saw the
state conduct a record
high of 57,234 samples.
Given that the govern-
ment has previously an-
nounced that the total
daily testing capacity at
state-run and private
laboratories is 10-11,000,
this mean as many as
46,000rapidantigentests
wereconductedonTues-
day.
While the numbers
may seem high, it is im-
portant to note that the
government has—over
thespanof fivemonths—
tested just 14,15,598 sam-
ples in a state with a
population of 6.5 crore.
Dang district has seen
thelowesttesting,with a
mere 3,969 samples, or
2.2% of the population,
having been tested.
According to Tues-
day’s health bulletin,
the highest number of
new cases, 252, came
from Surat: 175 from the
city and 77 from rural
areas. The New Civil
hospital in Surat is
treating 142 patients, of
which six are on ventila-
tors, 23 on BiPAP ma-
chines and 75 on oxygen
support. Meanwhile,
SMIMER is treating 88
patients, six of whom
are on ventilators, 20 of
whom are on BiPAP ma-
chinesand49areonoxy-
gen support.
Vadodara tested 1,894
samples, of which 111
came back positive.
There are 1,139 active
cases there, of whom 53
are on BiPAP machines
and 136 are on oxygen
support. BJP councillor
from Ward 17 Nilesh
Rathod has tested posi-
tive and is being treated
at a private hospital.
The Rajkot Municipal
Corporation conducted
tests on 1,500 sweepers,
68 of whom have tested
positive.
In addition, 165 cases
occurred in from
Ahmedabad; Rajkot had
98, Jamnagar, 58, Morbi,
46, Panchmahal, 39, Da-
hod 28, Gandhinagar, 27,
Banaskantha and
Bharuch had 26 each
and Mehsana had 18.
State’s total +ve cases cross 80K mark
nCov causes survival scare
for local Ganesh idol artisans
Disabled 21-year-old kidnapped,
gang raped by 5 men in Viramgam
Road near Mundra gets washed away as
93% of Gujarat’s talukas see rain in 24 hrs
Youth drowns in Jeramsar
Lake at water worship event
Ruchi Thakar
Surat: With the state
government calling
for low-key Ganesh
Chaturthi celebra-
tions this year in
view of the COV-
ID-19 pandemic, the
livelihoods of people
and small business-
es associated with
the festival in Surat,
will be adversely af-
fected. The festival,
which generates a
turnover of more
than Rs15-20 crore
every year, is set to
be observed with
minimal festivities
this year.
Over 70% of the
city’s population is di-
rectly involved in the
festival in some way.
Of these, nearly 20%
are indirectly respon-
sible for logistics and
other services.
Anil Biscuitwala,
President, Ganesh Ut-
sav Samiti, Surat—an
umbrella body coordi-
nating between the
local civic body Surat
Municipal Corpora-
tion (SMC) and
Ganesh mandals-
-said, “This year, the
situation is not the
same. We are facing
an extraordinary sit-
uation due to the pan-
demic,” adding, “The
health crisis will have
an adverse impact on
the livelihoods of ar-
tisans who make
Ganesh idol. It will
also affect the small
industry which works
during this festival
involving flower ven-
dors, electricians,
sale of items such as
bamboo for setting up
mandapas, transpor-
tation facilities,
among others.”
He also said: “More
than 65,000 Ganesh
idols were being in-
stalled every year but
this time, the number
is down to 10,000.”
Chetan Dummasi-
ya, an artisan who
sells his idols in the
Gopipura market, la-
mented, “We will nev-
er forget 2020. It is the
first time ever that we
have such a low num-
ber of orders. Our
survival is at stake.
Till last year, I used to
sell over 70 idols a day
and now can barely
manage 20.”
First India Bureau
Viramgam: A disa-
bled 21-year-old
woman was alleged-
ly gang raped by five
people, who then
dumped her by the
side of a road. The
assault, which could
be described as hor-
rific, occurred on
Saturday night, after
the woman was kid-
napped and taken to
an isolated location.
According to a First
Investigation Report
filed at the Viramgam
police station, an auto-
rickshawdrivernamed
Rahul Bharwad pulled
the woman, who has
75% disabilities, into
his vehicle. She had
been on her way to the
hospital where her
mother is working.
Bharwad sexually
assaulted her and
then called his
f r i e n d s — P a n c h a
Bharwad, Dashrath
Bharwad, Lakha
Bharwad and one
more unnamed per-
son—who also raped
her and then left her
on the side of a road.
She was unconscious
when members of
her family found her.
When she was re-
vived, she narrated the
whole episode to her
family and went to the
police station to file
her complaint against
the accused.
“It came to light that
the accused had con-
nections with some
senior Congress lead-
ers, who tried hard to
save them. However,
local youths resisted
and pressured the po-
lice into filing the com-
plaint,” said Sham-
shad Pathan, advocate
and a member of Alp-
sankhyak Adhikar
Manch. “We will sup-
port the victim, pro-
vide legal help, and
also fight the case on
her behalf pro bono,”
asserted Pathan.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The in-
cessant rain that has
been pelting the state
for the past few days
has resulted in floods,
road damage, and dis-
ruption in transport.
On Tuesday, the road
connecting Adani
Hospital to Samudra
Township in Mundra
got washed out due to
the heavy rains.
According to data
from the state govern-
ment, 234 of the state’s
251 talukas—93%—have
experienced rains in the
last 24 hours. It further
says that as many as 104
talukas received be-
tween1inchand11inch-
es of rain during this
time period.
The Kutch region has
already received
142.57% of its annual
average rainfall—mak-
ing the wettest part of
the state this monsoon
season so far—while
north Gujarat is the dri-
est, having received
60.88% of its annual av-
erage rainfall.
DolvaninTapidistrict
received the most rain-
fall across the state—
277mm, or 11 inches—in
the past 24 hours, fol-
lowed by Mandvi in Su-
rat, which got 252mm, or
10 inches, of rain.
The coming days will
continue to bring rainy
weather, according to
the India Meteorologi-
cal Department, which
has predicted heavy to
very heavy rainfall over
Maharashtra and Guja-
rat during the next four
to five days.
There is a rise in wa-
ter levels in the basins
of the Lower Mahi,
Lower Narmada, Low-
er Tapi, and Daman-
ganga rivers. Similarly,
the waters in the Nar-
mada, Tapi, Daman-
ganga are rising rapid-
ly and are expected to
rise even further due to
the heavy rainfall fore-
casted for the next four
to five days.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In a bi-
zarre incident, a youth
drowned in the Jeram-
sar Lake in Mundra,
where several people
had gathered to wel-
come fresh water in
the nearby dam. Local
BJP MLA Virendras-
inh Jadeja was also re-
portedly present at the
gathering.
Locals said there is an
age-old tradition to wor-
ship the water after rain-
fall. They also claimed
that the person who
drowned had participat-
edinaswimmingcompe-
tition during the event.
“The event was held
amid the pandemic,
when mass gatherings
are banned under the
Epidemic Diseases
Act,” Manish Doshi,
Chief Spokesperson,
Gujarat Pradesh Con-
gress Committee, said,
adding, “There was a
BJP MLA and a village
sarpanch, who were pre-
sent at the event and vio-
lated social distancing
norms. People are not al-
lowed to gather in one
place, but if the BJP or-
ganizes an event, large
numbers can be in at-
tendance. Also, when a
person died, the ruling
partydidnotevenbother
toknowthewhereabouts
of the deceased.”
A stall selling Ganesh idols in Surat.
The road connecting Adani Hospital to Samudra Township in Mundra.
Autorickshaw driver
grabbed her,
assaulted her and
then called 4 friends
COVID-19 testing at a residential society in Ahmedabad. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
A crowd gathered at the site of the accident.

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 263 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 | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020
Priorities for saving the private sectoror most coun-
tries,navigating
the protracted
economicslump
brought on by
COVID-19 is starting to look
more like a marathon than
a sprint. According to our
estimates at the Interna-
tional Finance Corporation
(IFC), domestic private in-
vestment and foreign direct
investment in emerging
economieswillfallthisyear
by almost $700 billion and
$250 billion, respectively,
and may not return to pre-
crisis levels until 2023.
Worse, the crisis is exact-
ing a massive toll on the
world’s poor and most vul-
nerable, jeopardizing dec-
ades of hard-won develop-
ment gains. The World
Bank warns that we are
about to witness the first
increase in global poverty
since 1998, with up to 100
millionpeoplebeingpushed
into extreme poverty.
How governments and
firms navigate this uncer-
tain period between shock
and recovery will deter-
mine whether there is a
sound economic founda-
tion upon which to revive
employment, long-term
growth, and global devel-
opment efforts. The situa-
tion demands that we reor-
ganize and fix markets.
Many companies have had
no choice but to reshape
their business models, now
that the pandemic is accel-
erating changes in how we
work, consume, and com-
municate. These trends
could reshape entire indus-
tries, creating opportuni-
ties for those with the in-
novative capacity.
But governments, too,
must seek creative ways to
adapt their economies and
protect viable firms, while
quickly unwinding those
that should disappear be-
cause they are insolvent or
obsolete. This will be a time
of trial and error, requiring
strategic vision and prag-
matism on the part of busi-
ness and political leaders.
Countries can do three
things to speed up the recov-
ery. The first task is to adapt
the rules of the game to new
realities. A prolonged crisis
means that emerging econo-
mies will increasingly find
themselves ill equipped to
help thousands of compa-
nies renegotiate their debts.
In many low-income coun-
tries,aninsolvencyproceed-
ing averages more than
three years, a half-year long-
er than the global norm. But
with informal out-of-court
mechanisms and simplified
court proceedings, govern-
ments can give viable busi-
nesses an opportunity to
weatherthestormandavoid
lengthy legal processes and
costly and cumbersome ne-
gotiations.Developingcoun-
tries can also increase the
thresholdforinsolvencyand
adapt debt-restructuring
rulestopreventunnecessary
liquidation of firms that are
struggling for no other rea-
son than lockdowns.
Second, governments
must adopt a “do-no-harm”
principle when organizing
their responses. Wherever
possible, the public sector
should limit or simply sus-
pend its arrears to private
contractors, especially in
job-rich sectors and critical
supply chains. That will
mitigate the damage to bal-
ance sheets, prevent viable
businesses from going
bankrupt, and limit the
kind of ripple effects that
could delay the recovery.
In Sub-Saharan Africa,
public-sector arrears rep-
resent 3.3% of GDP. Clear-
ing them could create the
equivalent of a large stim-
ulus package.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM
F
Virtue is persecuted
more by the wicked than
it is loved by the good.
—Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Ravi Shankar Prasad
@rsprasad
PM CARES is a registered public
trust made under Chairmanship
of PM @narendramodi for
emergencies like COVID19
whereas PMNRF was made in
1948 by an oral observation of
the then PM to serve the needs to
refugees from Pakistan etc.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal
@HarsimratBadal_
A humble tribute to the great
revolutionary leader Netaji
#SubhashChandraBose on his death
anniversary. #Netaji will always
be remembered for his courage,
patriotism & strategic prowess.
hat the Union and most state
governments were able to han-
dle the COVID crisis on the
front foot is not in doubt. Rath-
er the unity of purpose dis-
played by the political leader-
ship, the bureaucracy, civil so-
ciety and corporates made it
possible for India to tide over
this crisis, which could have re-
ally spelt disaster if the provi-
sions of the Disaster Manage-
ment Act was not invoked by
the executive authorities as
and when required.
In fact, it is important to note
that the policy instruments
and institutional arrange-
ments were in place when Co-
rona struck India. Through-
out the length and breadth
of the country, the leader-
ship provided by the district
magistrates, municipal com-
missioners and chief execu-
tives of Zila Panchayat have
been appreciated by one and
all. It is a reflection of their
training, spirit de corps, in-
formal interaction and the
ability to talk across states
that made a crucial differ-
ence. The movement of the
migrant workers, the logis-
tics with regard to their
quarantine and treatment,
ramping up the MNREGA
works in the rural areas and
mapping their competencies
for deployment after the
COVID was all done seam-
lessly. The extensive use of IT
platforms, including MyGov
and the documentation of the
Centre of Disaster Manage-
ment at the LBSNAA also
helped the district administra-
tions to seek references on best
practices and norms without
the usual hierarchical mode of
seeking information from
across states.
One must mention here that
over the last few years the
DoPT and the LBSNAA, the
apex training institution of the
country have been working in
sync to ensure that the orienta-
tion, methodology and content
of the training is geared to-
wards making the officers
aware of their eco-system, as
well as the expectations of
them. The focus has shifted
from content to context, from
information to institutional
settings and from individual
excellence to working in teams
and groups. Rather than look at
the teaching of economics, law,
management, public adminis-
tration in silos, the emphasis
today is on understanding the
deliverables in education,
health, agriculture and rural
development, among others.
The sequence in KSA (Knowl-
edge, Skills and Attitude)
framework has been reversed
– and the leitmotif for training
today is ASK (Attitude, Skills
and Knowledge). If officers are
endowed with a positive atti-
tude, a spirit of inquiry, and
empathy towards those who
need the state the most – skills
and knowledge would follow
quite easily. The government is
also quite clear that training is
not a onetime affair alone.
There is an increasing empha-
sis on mid-career training pro-
grams, and after the comple-
tion of the initial two-year
training program (both at the
Academy and in the districts,
officers return after the com-
pletion of ten, twenty, and thir-
ty years in the field. It is also
important to mention here that
for the last five years , the DoPT
also posts officers across de-
partments of the Union gov-
ernments as Assistant Secre-
taries, during which period
that are attached to a Joint Sec-
retary to understand the func-
tioning of the government of
India, and more specifically,
the nuances of interdepart-
mental co0ordnation. There is
thus a clearer understanding
of the Rues of Business as well
as the procedure to be followed
for preparing agenda noted,
memoranda for meetings and
notes for the consideration of
the Committee of Secretaries,
as well as for the Cabinet.
During the times of COV-
ID, while some training insti-
tutions closed down, the LB-
SNAA continued with the
key training programs for
officers in an online mode.
Not only classroom lectures,
but even negotiation mod-
ules, interaction with lumi-
naries, language classes and
counselor group meetings
were conducted online. Start-
ing with the morning yoga to
quiz programs, debates on
contemporary issues, dance
and sketching completions
and film festivals were held
over the Gyan portal of the
Academy. The National Police
Academyalsofollowedsuit,and
now the working protocols es-
tablishedintheapexinstitution
are being replicated elsewhere,
including the state training
academies.
If virtual is a new reality, the
DoPT and LBSNAA deserve ac-
colades for doing a great job.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
VIRTUAL IS THE
NEW REAL
T
Throughout the
length and
breadth of the
country, the
leadership
provides by the
district
magistrates,
municipal
commissioners
and chief
executives of
Zillah Panchayat
have been
appreciated by
one and all. It is
a reflection of
their training,
spirit de corps,
informal
interaction and
the ability to talk
across states that
made a crucial
difference
THE SEQUENCE IN
KSA (KNOWLEDGE,
SKILLS AND
ATTITUDE)
FRAMEWORK HAS
BEEN REVERSED –
AND THE LEITMOTIF
FOR TRAINING TODAY
IS ASK (ATTITUDE,
SKILLS AND
KNOWLEDGE)
The author is an IAS &
Director, Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of
Administration Mussoorie
and Honorary Curator, Valley
of Words: Literature and Arts
Festival, Dehradun
DR SANJEEV
CHOPRA
IN-DEPTH
BJP TO KEEP FB
OUT OF FIRING LINE
he political row over Facebook’s pro-
BJP bias has turned into a full-scale war
between the Congress and the ruling
party. The situation turned unsavoury
after Shashi Tharoor, who heads the Par-
liamentary Standing Committee on Science and
Technology, announced summoning Facebook ex-
ecutives to face the panel for their inaction against
some BJP leaders for their hate speech. Jumping
to Facebook’s defence, the BJP has announced it
will seek Tharoor’s removal.
The alacrity with which the ruling party moved
against the Congress MP makes one wonder why
it should go all out to shield the social media giant
if not for its own interests.
Ever since the massive data leak by Cambridge
Analytica, a political consulting firm that worked
for Donald Trump’s election victory, Facebook has
been mired in controversy. The row in India is not
about data protection but Facebook’s partisan role
when it comes to enforcing its hate-speech rules in
India. A recent article in the Wall Street Jour-
nal headlined “Facebook Hate-Speech Rules Collide
With Indian Politics---Company executive opposed
the move to ban controversial politician” said that
Facebookturnsablindeyeto hatespeechand objec-
tionable content posted by BJP leaders and workers
while blocking even mildly critical content posted
by those from the opposition. The Journal quoted
anexecutiveof FacebooksayingthatpunishingBJP
workers for violating rules will hurt the social me-
diagiant’sbusinessprospectsinIndia.Thisprompt-
ed Shashi Tharoor to summon FB executives.
Facebook insists that it prohibits hate speech
irrespective of one’s political affiliation but is yet
to block BJP leaders for their offensive posts.
T
CONG NOT LOSING
SLEEP OVER JHA
uspended Congress leader Sanjay Jha
set the cat among pigeons when he
claimed that about 100 leaders of the
party, including some MPs, have written
to party president Sonia Gandhi seeking
a change in leadership, an issue which has been
dogging India’s GOP after repeated setbacks, and
transparency in working committee elections. “It
is estimated that around 100 Congress leaders (in-
cluding MPs), distressed at the state of affairs
within the party, have written a letter to Mrs Sonia
Gandhi, Congress President, asking for a change
in political leadership and transparent elections in
CWC. Watch this space,” Jha tweeted last Monday.
The Congress denied the existence of any such
letter and accused Jha of playing into the hands of
the BJP to divert attention from the more pressing
issue of Facebook’s partisan role favouring the BJP.
In recent months, Jha has been openly critical of
the leadership’s indecisiveness in several important
matters like Jyotiraditya Scindia leaving the party
andSachinPilot’srecentepisode.Infact,Jhawassus-
pended after he questioned the party’s silence over
Sachin Pilot’s resignation. In an article in June, he
wrote, “The Congress…has demonstrated extraordi-
nary lassitude and its lackadaisical attitude towards
itsownpoliticalobsolescencehasbeenbaffling,tosay
the least (and this despite a whopping defeat in two
Lok Sabha elections and several reverses in states)”.
S

To Receive Free Newspaper
PDF Daily
Whatsapp:
http://bit.ly/whatsappahm
Telegram:
https://t.me/firstindiaahmedabad
Click the above link☝ & subscribe us on your
preferred platform.

INDIAAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020
‘COME UP WITH INNOVATION TO
SOLVE FARMERS’ PROBLEMS’
New Delhi: Emphasising
on the importance of
agriculture in India, Vice
President M Venkaiah
Naidu urged researchers
and scientists to come up
with innovations to ad-
dress the problems faced
by the farmers.Speaking
at a virtual meeting on
Tuesday, Naidu said,
“From providing timely
information to farmers
on various issues to
creating cold storage
facilities and supplying
new technologies should
be the focus of innovators
and researchers.” He also
stressed the need for pre-
venting farmer’s exploita-
tion by middlemen and
ensuring remunerative
prices for their produce.
He asked agricultural
firms to work in unison.
SATYA PAL MALIK APPOINTED
MEGHALAYA GOVERNOR
New Delhi: Satya Pal Malik was on Tuesday
transferred as Governor of the northeastern
state of Meghalaya, replacing Tathagata Roy who
completed his five-year tenure on the guberna-
torial post. A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique
said Malik has been shifted to Meghalaya, and
Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari
has been asked to discharge the functions of Goa
governor in addition to his own duties. There is
no fixed tenure for governors, but conventionally
it is considered for a period of five years.
SENSEX RALLIES 478 PTS;
NIFTY TOPS 11,350
Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 478
points, driven by gains in index majors Reliance
Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank amid
positive cues from global markets and sustained
foreign fund inflows. The BSE Sensex ended
477.54 points or 1.26% higher, while the NSE
Nifty surged 138.25 points to 11,385.35. UltraT-
ech Cement was the top gainer, rising over 3%,
followed by Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints
and Tata Steel. Reliance Industries and HDFC
Bank added most to the gains on the index.
ARMY BEGINS INVESTIGATION IN
ENCOUNTER OF 3 MILITANTS
Srinagar: The army has
begun its probe and re-
corded statements in con-
nection with last month’s
encounter in Shopian area
of South Kashmir after
families in Rajouri area
of Jammu region filed
a complaint with J&K
police about its members
missing from the same
region. Srinagar-based
Defence spokesperson
Col Rajesh Kalia issued
a statement saying a
high-level Court of Inquiry
into Operation Amshi-
pora in Shopian is under
progress. “Statements of
key witnesses are being
recorded and progress is
being monitored closely.
Additional civil witnesses
are being asked to depose
before the Court of Inqui-
ry,” he said.
He has all rights
to criticise me,
says Scindia
Indore: BJP leader
Jyotiraditya Scindia
responded to the criti-
cismbysen-
ior Con-
gressleader
Digvijaya
Singh “He
has all the
democratic
rights to say whatever he
wishestosay.Inademoc-
racy, there is only one
god, which are people.
They will decide who is
realandwhoisfake.It’sa
democracy, he can say
anything about. He is
also an elder to me.” —ANI
Set up high-level inquiry into FB hate
content, says Congress to Zuckerberg
New Delhi: Amid a
controversy over Face-
book allegedly favour-
ing “hate content” on
the social media plat-
form and the Congress
demanding a parlia-
mentary probe, Con-
gress General Secretary
KC Venugopal has writ-
ten to Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg, de-
manding a “high level
inquiry” into the con-
troversy by the social
media giant.
“Set up a high-level
inquiry by Facebook
headquarters into Face-
book India’s leadership
team and their opera-
tions in a time-bound
manner, and publish
and make transparent
all instances of hate
speech since 2014 that
was allowed on the plat-
form. Facebook India
should appoint a new
team so that the investi-
gation is not influ-
enced,” said Venugopal
in the letter.
The Congress said
that the party is disap-
pointed by the revela-
tions made in the US-
based Wall Street Jour-
nal’s article and added
that this is a “damning
and serious allegation
of Facebook India’s in-
terference in India’s
electoral democracy.”
The opposition party
has accused the BJP
and the RSS of control-
ling Facebook and
WhatsApp in India, as
the Congress on Sunday
alleged that the two had
attacked democracy in
the country and de-
manded a Joint Parlia-
mentary Committee
probe into alleged vio-
lations by the social me-
dia platform and its
messaging service.
Meanwhile, former
Congress chief Rahul
Gandhi tweeted: “We
cannot allow any ma-
nipulation of our hard-
earned democracy
through bias, fake news
& hate speech. As ex-
posed by @WSJ, Face-
book’s involvement in
peddling fake and hate
news needs to be ques-
tioned by all Indians.”
On Sunday, Cong ress
leader Rahul had tweet-
ed: “BJP and RSS con-
trol Facebook and
WhatsApp in India.
They spread fake news
and hatred through it
and use it to influence
the electorate. —ANI
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
We cannot allow any
manipulation of our hard-
earned democracy through
bias, fake news & hate
speech. As exposed by @
WSJ, Facebook’s involve-
ment in peddling fake and
hate news needs to be
questioned by all Indians.
Set up a high-level inquiry
by FB HQ into Facebook
India’s leadership team
and their operations in
a time-bound manner,
and make transparent all
instances of hate speech.
Facebook India should
appoint a new team.
KC Venugopal,
Congress General Secretary
‘India setting
air bubble
arrangements’
New Delhi: Part of
Central government’s
Vande Bharat Mission,
India is establishing bi-
lateral air bubble ar-
rangements with 13
countries. Making the
announcement on Twit-
ter, Civil Aviation Min-
ister Hardeep Singh
Puri on Tuesday said,
“We continue to further
strengthen the reach
and scope of VBM. Air
Travel arrangements
are already in place
with USA, UK, France,
Germany, UAE, Qatar &
Maldives. We are now
taking these efforts for-
ward and are negotiat-
ing with 13 more coun-
tries to establish such
arrangements,” Puri
said in a series of
tweets. —Agencies
SC verdict, a blow to Congress
Party’s cheap politics: Thakur
New Delhi: Union Min-
isterof StateforFinance,
Anurag Thakur has wel-
comed the decision of
Supreme court on PM
Cares fund saying this is
ablowtocheappoliticsof
the Congress party and
the victory of the truth.
He further said that
the fund was created in
the leadership of PM
Narendra Modi to pro-
vide relief to people
during the corona pan-
demic. “The verdict of
the Supreme Court is a
blow to the Congress’s
petty politics and agen-
da. The party did not
desist from its petty
politics and started mis-
leading the public at the
time of the Corona cri-
sis,” Thakur said.
“The creation of this
fund was considered
necessary to help the af-
fected people during the
timeof crisisordisaster.
But even in the time of
this disaster, the Con-
gressPartystartedprop-
aganda about the PM
Cares Fund. Today, the
Supreme court judg-
ment is very important
and it is the victory of
truth,” he said.
The Supreme Court
has decided to not give
order for fund transfer
from PM Cares Fund to
National Disaster Re-
sponse Fund (NDRF).
The decision not to pass
the order and the sepa-
ration of the two funds
has been given, the Min-
ister said, adding that
theverdicthasfailedthe
Congress-sponsored
propaganda.
Modi government is
following a ‘Zero Toler-
ance Policy’ against cor-
ruption & constitutional
institutions have vali-
dated it. “The govern-
ment works with hones-
tyandtherefore,itenjoys
peoples’ support. The
same honesty is also
there in the PM Cares
Fund,” he said.
“Government has pro-
vided Rs 3,100 crore as
corona relief package
including Rs 2000 crore
for procurement of ven-
tilators. 50,000 ventila-
tors have been made
available using the fund.
Rs 1,000 crore were given
to states for making ar-
rangements for migrant
labourers & Rs 100 crore
were sanctioned for con-
ducting research on co-
rona vaccine,” he said.
The govt works with honesty and thus, enjoys peoples’ support, the Union Minister said
Anurag Thakur
Netaji’s date of death
unknown: Choudhary
New Delhi: Congress
leader Adhir Ranjan
Chowdhury remem-
bered freedom fighter
Netaji Subhash Chan-
dra Bose, saying that
while it is believed that
the latter was a victim
of a plane crash in
Taihoku, it was never
been confirmed by au-
thenticated sources.
“The Tragic Hero Ne-
taji Subhash Chandra
Bose is said to have
been a victim of the
plane crash in Taihoku
today, however, it is not
confirmed by any au-
thenticate sources that
he died or not,” he
tweeted.
“He is the only Na-
tionalist Hero and a
world personality
whose only birth anni-
versary is celebrated,
nobody knows about
his date of death,” he
tweet.
The controversy still
continues over Bose’s
death in a plane crash
in Taihoku, on August
18, 1945. Govt formed
various panels to un-
cover the truth behind
the incident and Bose’s
disappearance. —ANI
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
‘Ally with govt for low-cost
housing for migrants’
Vaishali
New Delhi: The Minis-
ter of Steel and Petro-
leum and Natural Gas,
Dharmendra Pradhan
has appealed to steel in-
dustry leaders to part-
ner with the govern-
ment in providing low-
cost housing for mi-
grant labourers. Speak-
ing as the Chief guest at
a Webinar on ‘At-
manirbhar Bharat: Fos-
tering Steel Usage in
Housing & Construc-
tion and Aviation Sec-
tor,’ he referred to the
Ministry of Housing
and Urban Affairs’
scheme, and called
upon PSUs and steel in-
dustry leaders to part-
ner with the Govern-
ment in the project. He
said that the Govern-
ment has set a target of
providing 1 lakh such
houses, but the indus-
try should build many
more steel-intensive,
low-cost houses which
will be model for others
to emulate. The Minis-
ter said that the indus-
try should partner in
such welfare-oriented
initiatives of the gov-
ernment, as the Aatam-
Nirbhar Bharat seeks
to provide dignity and
self-respect to every
citizen of the country.
Mammoth projects
being undertaken by
ministries of Housing
& Urban Affairs & Civil
Aviation & their future
plans should be music
to the ears of steel in-
dustry, Pradhan said.
Dharmendra Pradhan
Transparency writ large on
PM Cares Fund, says Prasad
New Delhi: After SC
rejected a plea seeking
transfer of all contribu-
tions made to the PM
Cares Fund to the Na-
tional Disaster Re-
sponse Fund, Union
Law Minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad said
that transparency is
writ large on the PM
Cares Fund.
“Transparency is
writ large on the PM
Cares Fund both in
terms of legal require-
ment and transparent
management of funds,
which were received on
a voluntary basis. Our
govt has not faced even
a single accusation of
corruption.”
“It is not like the fam-
ily-run Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation which re-
ceived money from Chi-
na and also Prime Min-
ister’s National Relief
Fund,” he added. —ANI
Ravi Shankar Prasad
Pralhad Joshi @JoshiPralhad
Another blow to the nefarious designs of the
Gandhi family with the Supreme Court upholding
the validity of the PM CARES Fund. Will the Gandhi
scion apologise to the nation for misleading people?
Truth shines despite
Cong’s ill-intent: Nadda
New Delhi: BJP Presi-
dent JP Nadda de-
scribed SC decision on
PM CARES Fund as a
‘resounding blow to the
nefarious designs’ of
Rahul Gandhi and his
‘band of rent a cause’
activists. The apex
court has refused to di-
rect the Centre to trans-
fer the contributions
made to PM CARES
Fund for battling COV-
ID-19 pandemic to Na-
tional Disaster Re-
sponse Fund (NDRF).
“The verdict by Su-
preme Court on PM
CARES is a resounding
blow to the nefarious
designs of Rahul Gan-
dhi & his band of rent a
cause’ activists. It
shows that the truth
shines despite the ill in-
tent & malicious efforts
of the Congress party
and its associates,” Na-
dda tweeted. —ANI
JP Nadda
IN THE COURTYARD
VERDICT ON PLEAS OPPOSING
UGC CIRCULAR RESERVED
New Delhi: The SC reserved its order on a batch of
pleas challenging a circular of the UGC mandating
to conduct the final term exams in all affiliated
universities by the end of September.
A bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan reserved
the judgement and said it will also decide whether
the states will have power under the Disaster
Management Act to defer final examination till the
COVID-19 situation normalises. During the hear-
ing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for
the UGC, told the court that there was a political
somersault by the Maharashtra government in
this matter.
He said that on May 6, Maharashtra had constituted
a state-level committee by the Minister of Higher and
Technical Education. Their own committee recom-
mended that the exams can be conducted, Mehta said.
“One thing I must emphasise is that the deadline
was given for the benefit of the students. It’s not a
diktat. All universities have to start admissions of
postgraduate courses The country is working. These
students are 20/21 years old. Do you really think they
are not stepping out?” Mehta contended. —ANI
6 advocates to be
elevated as judges
of Delhi High Court
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court collegium has ap-
proved a proposal for ele-
vation of six advocates as
judges of the Delhi High
Court. The apex court
collegium, in its meet-
ing held on August 17,
recommended advocates
Jasmeet Singh, Amit Ban-
sal, Tara Vitasta Ganju,
Anish Dayal, Amit Sharma
and Mini Pushkarna, as
judges of the High Court.
The collegium headed by
Chief Justice of India S A
Bobde also approved the
proposal for elevation of
advocate Rajesh Kumar
Bhardwaj as Judge of
the Punjab and Haryana
High Court . —PTI

INDIAAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020
No new...
was an act of immaturi-
ty, where without doing
any proper homework
on their own, the party
over-trusted Pilot’s
claim that he enjoys the
support of at least 30
rebel Congress MLAs
and this disgruntled lot
may even cross the mag-
ic figure of 37. Now,
with the failure of Pilot
camp, the BJP leader-
ship feels a bit disap-
pointed and let down
and not happy with the
young leadership of Ra-
jasthan BJP, mainly
Satish Poonia and Ra-
jendra Rathore. Only
three days back, a major
‘dressing down’ was giv-
en to them by the top
leadership. In this en-
tire process, ‘Gajju
Bana’ has also lost his
‘marks’. Therefore, now
everyone in Jaipur has
been asked to keep mum
and not to do anything
on this front, till some
emergent situation aris-
es. JP Nadda, Vasund-
hara Raje and Bhupen-
dra Yadav are believed
to have convinced the
BJP high command that
to continue to support
Pilotmovewillbecount-
er productive for the
saffron party itself.
BJP and even the
‘reconciled’ Pilot camp
believe that once the
Gehlot government’s
cabinet reshuffle and
political appointments
are over, there will be
almost two dozen disap-
pointed MLAs who can
be a part of a fresh Ge-
hlot government top-
pling plan and in that
situation Pilot camp
MLAs may provide
some sort of a ‘moral
support’ to the princi-
pal opposition party.
But keeping in mind
Gehlot’s over riding
control and command
on at least 102 MLAs,
any fresh toppling plan
looks a distant dream.
Shivraj gets...
The then Kamal Nath-
led government had
also announced to re-
serve 70 per cent of jobs
in industrial units for
locals. Reacting to the
announcement made by
the CM, Nath, who
heads the state Con-
gress unit, said, “stu-
dents and youths of the
state should not be
cheated again as had
happened during the
earlier 15-year stints of
the BJP”.
Rohit Sharma...
The names were decid-
ed after the National
Sports Awards selec-
tion committee met on
Tuesday for deciding
the Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna, Arjuna and oth-
er national sports
awards.
IPL 2020...
Vivo and the BCCI sus-
pended a Rs 440 crore
per year deal for this
season owing to the bor-
der stand-off between
India and China. The
IPL starts on Septem-
ber 19 in the UAE,
moved out of India due
to the COVID-19 pan-
demic this year.
There are certain
questions about Chi-
nese company Ten-
cent’s investment in
Dream11 but one of the
BCCI insiders privy to
the development said
that it is less than 10 per
cent.
Dream11 is an Indian
company founded by
Harsh Jain and Bhavit
Sheth.
SC dismisses...
‘Centre for Public Inter-
est Litigation’, seeking
a direction that all the
money collected under
the PM CARES Fund for
the COVID-19 pandemic
should be transferred to
the NDRF.
PIL had also sought a
direction to the govern-
ment to prepare, notify
and implement a na-
tional plan under the
Disaster Management
Act to deal with the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The bench, also com-
prising justices RS Red-
dy and MR Shah, said
that a plan prepared by
the government under
the Disaster Manage-
ment Act was sufficient
for COVID-19 also.
The Centre had on
March 28 set up the
Prime Minister’s Citi-
zen Assistance and Re-
lief in Emergency Situ-
ations (PM CARES)
Fund with the primary
objective to deal with
any kind of emergency
situation like the one
currently posed by the
COVID-19 outbreak.
The PM is the ex-offi-
cio chairman of the
fund and the ministers
of defence, home and
finance are its ex-officio
trustees. During the
hearing in the top court
on July 27, the Centre
had defended the PM
CARES Fund saying it
is a public trust meant
to receive “voluntary
contributions” to fight
COVID-19 pandemic
and the budgetary allo-
cations for NDRF and
SDRF are not “being
touched”.
Solicitor General
Tushar Mehta said that
the PM CARES Fund is
a “voluntary fund”,
while funds to the
NDRF and SDRF are
made available through
budgetary allocations.
FROM PG 1
‘Take all precautions to keep
vector-borne diseases at bay’Govt is closely monitoring the situation & ensuring care to those affected, the PM said
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
urged citizens on Tues-
day, to take precautions
during the ongoing
monsoon season, not-
ing that this is the time
when tropical and vec-
tor-borne diseases
spread.
The government is
also closely monitoring
the situation and ensur-
ing care to those affect-
ed, he said.
“This is the season of
tropical and vector-
borne diseases. I urge
you all to take the right
precautions. The gov-
ernment is also closely
monitoring the situa-
tion and ensuring care
to those affected. Stay
safe, be happy,” he
tweeted.
He also tagged a DD
News report on precau-
tions to prevent vector-
borne diseases. —PTI
New Delhi: P M Modi
will announce results
of the fifth edition of
nationwide annual
cleanliness survey,
‘Swachh Survekshan
2020’, on Thursday, Un-
ion Housing and Urban
Affairs Ministry said.
Ministry spokesper-
son Rajeev Jain said
that 1.87 crore citizens
participated in the sur-
vey of 4,242 cities, 62
cantonment boards and
92 towns along the Gan-
ga river. Jain said that a
total of 129 awards will
be handed over to the
top performing cities
and states at the
“Swachh Mahotsav”
event. The Union Hous-
ing and Urban Affairs
Ministry, which is or-
ganising the event, said
that the prime minister
will also interact with
select beneficiaries of
the Swachh Bharat Mis-
sion-Urban - ‘swachha-
grahis’ & ‘safaikarmis’
(sanitation workers) --
from different parts of
the country through
video conference. —PTI
‘Swachh Survekshan 2020’ results on Thursday
PM Modi chairs a meet to review the preparations of National master plan via VC in New Delhi.
IAF deploys indigenous
LCA Tejas along Pak border
India’s COVID-19 tally crosses
27 lakh mark: Health Ministry
New Delhi: Amid bor-
der tensions with Chi-
na, the Indian Air (IAF)
Force has deployed the
indigenous LCA Tejas
fighter aircraft on the
western front along the
Pakistan border.
“The LCA Tejas was
deployed by the Indian
Air Force on the Paki-
stan border to thwart
any possible misadven-
ture,” government said
sources. LCA is India’s
first indigenous fighter
aircraft. After the in-
duction of the first two
squadrons, Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
recently said the deal
for the 83 Mark1A LCAs
will be finalised soon.
The deal, expected to
be worth over Rs 40,000
crore, will likely be the
largest-ever deal for an
indigenous equipment
in the country.
There were differ-
ences between the Air
Force and the produc-
tion agencies over spec-
ifications issued by IAF
but the then Defence
Minister, Manohar Par-
rikar, ensured that both
sides reached a middle
path and clearance for
83 additional planes
was given in 2016 by the
Defence Ministry.
In view of the Chi-
nese aggression on bor-
ders, the IAF had de-
ployed its assets along
the borders with both
China and Pakistan.
The forward airbases of
the force have been
equipped to take care of
situations along the
western and northern
fronts and have seen ex-
tensive flying opera-
tions in the recent past.
New Delhi: A spike of
55,079 cases took India’s
COVID-19 tally past 27
lakh on Tuesday just a
day after it crossed the
26-lakh mark, while
19.77 lakh people have
so far recuperated from
the disease pushing the
recovery rate to 73.18
per cent, according to
the Union Health Min-
istry data.
The COVID-19 case-
load stood at 27,02,742,
while the death toll
climbed to 51,797 with
876 people succumbing
to the disease in a span
of 24 hours, the data up-
dated at 8 am showed.
Case fatality rate
stands at 1.92 per cent.
There are 6,73,166 ac-
tive cases of coronavi-
rus infection in the
country which is 24.91
per cent of the total
caseload, while the
number of recoveries
has risen to 19,77,779.
India’s COVID-19
tally had crossed the
20-lakh mark on Au-
gust 7.
According to the In-
dian Council of Medi-
cal Research (ICMR), a
cumulative total of
3,09,41,264 samples
have been tested up to
August 17 with 8,99,864
samples being tested
on Monday. —PTI
New Delhi: India has
recorded the highest
number of COVID-19
tests in the last 24 hours
while the number of
people recovered has
now gone up to about
two million, Union
Health Ministry said.
Addressing a press
conference here, Union
Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan said
that case fatality rate is
below two per cent and
recovered patients are
2.93 per cent of active
cases. He said nearly 9
lakh tests were conduct-
ed in the last 24 hours.
“A total of 8,99,864
tests have been conduct-
ed in the last 24 hours.
Recovered patients are
morethan19.70lakhand
25 per cent of cases are
active cases,” he said.
Bhushan said that aver-
age recovery per day is
55,000whileweeklyposi-
tivity rate has come
down to 7.72 per cent.
“The average recov-
ery per day is 55,000.
More than three crore
people have been tested
so far. The weekly posi-
tivity rate has come
down from 10 per cent to
7.72 per cent. Keeping
two yards distance,
wearing mask and hand
cleaning is necessary,”
Bhushan said. —ANI
Nearly 9L tests done in the last
24 hours, highest so far: Govt
Medical team with new kits for COVID-19 testing in Lahaul Spiti. —PHOTO BY ANI
ABOUT THE AIRCRAFT
SC verdict on Rhea’s plea to transfer
case from Patna to Mumbai today
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court will pro-
nounce judgment on
Wednesday on actress
Rhea Chakraborty’s
petition for transfer of
FIR filed against her
alleging abetment of
actor Sushant Singh
Rajput’s death to
Mumbai.Chakraborty,
in her petition to the
apex court, had sought
the transfer of case
from Patna to Mumbai
jurisdiction. The
judgement will be
given by a bench of
Justice Hrishikesh
Roy at 11 am.
Accusing Rhea of
abetting his son’s sui-
cide, KKSingh, Ra-
jput’s father, filed an
FIR in Patna on June
25 against her, her par-
ents, Showik, Rajput’s
manager Samuel Mi-
randa and Shruti
Modi and unknown
persons accusing
them of cheating and
abetting his son’s
death. Singh has also
alleged financial ir-
regularities and si-
phoning off Rs 15
crore in his son’s bank
account in one year to
an unknown person’s
account, who is not
known to late actor.
New Delhi: The ED-
has recorded the state-
ment of KK Singh, fa-
ther of actor Sushant
Singh Rajput, in con-
nection with a money
laundering case probe
linked to his son’s
death, officials said.
They said K K Singh ,
was questioned and
his statement was re-
corded by the central
probe agency on Mon-
day here.Singh, a resi-
dent of Patna, had last
month filed a criminal
FIR with Bihar Police
againstRajput’sfriend
and actor Rhea
Chakraborty, her fam-
ily and few others al-
leging they abetted his
son’s suicide. Rajput,
was found hanging at
his Bandra (Mumbai)
home on June 14. Of-
ficials said Singh was
asked about the infor-
mation he has about
Rajput’s income, in-
vestments, profession-
al assignments and
relationship with
Rhea Chakraborty
and others. —PTI
ED records
statement of
Sushant’s father
Stand together to demand CBI
probe, says Sushant’s sister
‘Witnesses in Sushant Singh
Rajput’s case might get killed’
Patna: Sushant
Singh Rajput’s sis-
ter Shweta Singh
Kirti urged the peo-
ple to “stand togeth-
er” to demand a CBI
enquiry in the late
actor’s death case
in order to get jus-
tice. “We stand to-
gether as a nation
for CBI Enquiry!
Demanding an un-
biased investiga-
tion is our right and
we expect nothing
but the truth to
come out,” she
tweeted also tag-
ging PM Modi.
Patna: Niraj Singh
Babloo, BJP MLA
and a relative of
late Bollywood ac-
tor Sushant Singh
Rajput, on Tues-
daysaid, “Witness-
es are being threat-
ened, and Mumbai
Police is not even
providing protec-
tion to them. The
way things are un-
folding, the wit-
nesses might get
killed. We demand
that witnesses
should be given po-
lice protection,” he
said. —ANI
Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput Actress Rhea Chakraborty
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
This is the season of
tropical and vec-
tor-borne diseases.
I urge you all to take
the right precautions.
The Government is
also closely moni-
toring the situation
and ensuring care to
those affected. Stay
safe, be happy!

 make shopping lists (and stick to
them) when buying groceries and other
essential items
 set a timer to limit how long you
browse
 set constraints on how much you
spend
 if possible, use debit cards instead
of credit cards so you can only spend
money you have
 steer clear of “buy now, pay later”
services such as Afterpay
 if you have multiple credit cards,
consider closing them to limit your
ability to spend money you don’t have.
And don’t forget to reward your-
self (with something other than
shopping) when you meet your
goals.
Research has found these strate-
gies can help people reduce their
compulsive shopping.
If you have trouble reducing your
shopping behaviour on your own,
seek help from a professional. If you
visit your GP, they can refer you to
a specialist and provide you with a
mental health care plan, which en-
titles you to Medicare rebates for up
to 10 individual and 10 group ap-
pointments with some mental
health services in a year.
For many people, shopping
can be a social or leisurely ac-
tivity. It can feel good, and de-
sires to feel good (and not bad)
can get wrapped up with the
desire to buy and own materi-
al possessions.
In fact, research from my
(Melissa Norberg) lab suggests
compulsive shopping can be as-
sociated with a feeling of being
unable to deal with distress.
Problematic shopping also
may occur when people attempt
tocompensateforanunmetpsy-
chological need, such as a need
to feel competent, in control, or
connected to others.
People sometimes turn to
comfort products when they
feel unsupported by significant
others. They may buy compul-
sively when they feel ambiva-
lent or confused about their
sense of self.
Soit’snotsurprisingthatdur-
ing the pandemic, many people
report turning to online shop-
ping to cope with significant
changestotheirsocial,workand
family lives.
Australiaexperiencedasurge
inonlineshoppinginMarchand
April and online spending now
remains well above what it was
a year ago.
WHAT DOES THE
RESEARCH SAY ABOUT
ONLINE SHOPPING
AND ADDICTION?
If online shopping or
browsing is interfer-
ing with your life,
there are several
strategies you can try.
The first is to deter-
mine what triggers
your online shopping.
Are you trying to feel
better about yourself
or relieve negative
emotions such as
boredom, stress or
anxiety? Are you ex-
periencing poor sleep
or unhealthy eating?
(If so, upsetting
events might be more
difficult to manage).
If you tend to react
impulsively to situa-
tions, practise identi-
fying your urge to re-
spond and then sitting
with that discomfort
so that you can choose
a less impulsive and
more productive or
fulfilling response. Be-
ing able to tolerate
negative emotions
and respond flexibly
to stressful situations
is associated with
healthier outcomes.
Chatting on the
phone (or by text) with
a friend, doing a
peaceful activity (tak-
ing a bath, reading a
book), exercising, or
practising a hobby
can help you to feel
supported, relaxed,
and talented. These
activities also can
lessen anxiety and de-
pression.
Once you determine
what you can do in-
stead of shopping, de-
velop a daily schedule.
Having a schedule will
help you feel more in
control of your life
and reduce the time
available to shop on-
line. Try to set goals
and monitor your
shopping behaviour.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU WANT TO CUT BACK
TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020
ASCOVID-19QUARANTINESDRIVEUPPSYCHOLOGICALDISTRESS,MANYPEOPLEHAVEINCREASEDTHEIRSCREENTIME,
INCLUDINGONLINESHOPPING,TOCOPE.ONLINESHOPPINGDOESN’TPOSEAPROBLEMWHENUSEDASANOCCASIONALTREAT
IS ONLINE SHOPPING
BECOMING A
PROBLEM?
A
s COVID-19
quarantines
and lock-
downs drive
up psychological dis-
tress, many people
have increased their
screen time, including
online shopping, to
cope.
Like alcohol use —
or overeating, watch-
ing TV or surfing the
internet — online
shopping doesn’t pose
a problem when used
as an occasional treat.
For some people,
however, these behav-
iours can turn into
habits that are hard to
break.
Here’s how to know
when online shopping
becomes a problem and
what to do if it does.
HOW TO KNOW IF IT’S A PROBLEM
A behaviour becomes
an addiction when at
least three criteria
are met:
 the behaviour is
clearly excessive given its
context
 it causes signiﬁcant
distress or impairment for
the person or important
people in their lives
 it persists despite not
resulting in reward.
Shopping online for
your weekly groceries
would not usually be
considered a behaviour-
al addiction. Neither
would making COV-
ID-19 related online
purchases of exercise
equipment, office sup-
plies, or masks.
However, online
shopping might be
considered addic-
tion-like if you find
yourself doing the
following:
 spending a great deal
of time shopping
 buying a lot more than
you need
 ﬁnding it hard to stop
shopping even though
you rarely seem to enjoy
the stuff you buy.
Relationship issues
and financial hardship
are other key clues your
online shopping has be-
come a problem.
Some people may ex-
perience online shop-
ping problems without
even spending a lot of
money; just spending
excessive amounts of
time browsing products
may be enough to war-
rant reflection and pos-
sibly intervention.
YOU CAN
ALSO TRY TO
SOURCE:THECONVERSATION
CONCEPT:DIVYAHEMNANI
DESIGN:CPSHARMA

Do not be hasty to confront
people, confront your troubles
promptly though.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
Darshan Desai
Vadodara: Tom-
tommed as the Golden
Corridor of industrial
growth,theAhmedabad
Vadodara-Vapi chemi-
cal and petrochemicals
belt has also come to
represent a gateway of
toxiceffluents.Waterin
wells, ponds or rivers in
hundreds of villages
along the corridor
could neither be used
for drinking nor for ag-
riculture. It isn’t only
the people here who are
saying this, but also the
national regulator, Cen-
tral Pollution Control
Board, has stated it
time and again.
The latest known
victims of industrial
pollution are thou-
sands of people in at
least 12 villages in
Vadodara and
Bharuch districts.
They are stunned as
well as scared after
the Gujarat Pollution
Control Board
(GPCB) recently shot
off letters to them
seeking to seal their
borewells that feed
their fields and cat-
tle. The reason: Their
wells are contaminat-
ed with effluents.
They are stunned be-
cause they are being
blamed for toxic efflu-
ents released by hun-
dreds of industrial
units in the region. The
letters were sent on
July 15 and July 27 to 7
villages of Vadodara
district. And scared be-
cause people in at least
5 more villages may get
similar letters anytime.
Vadodara-based sen-
ior environmentalist
Rohit Prajapati told
First India that, “These
12 villages are only
those which are on the
official records receiv-
ing polluted water. I
have travelled through
many more villages
where the people are
scared that their wells
may also be sealed.”
Hesaid,“Therecould
not be a bigger irony
that though the villag-
ers know that these
wellsarecontaminated,
they keep quiet since
this is the only option
for them. Whatever lit-
tle they can use from
it.” And Prajapati won-
ders that the source of
this contamination,
which is the “polluting
industries pumping ef-
fluents into the ground
with impunity,” re-
mains untouched by
the authorities.
EnragedbytheGPCB
missives to the villag-
ers,theFarmersAction
Group(FAG),aGujarat-
based organisation, has
dashed off angry let-
ters to the GPCB chair-
man asking why such
an action is not being
initiated against indus-
trial units.
The FAG asserted
that if farmers’ bore-
wells were to be sealed
citing a Supreme Court
order of May 7, 2004,
theGPCBshouldsimul-
taneously “consider
sealing of all other
borewells emitting
chemicallypollutedwa-
ter, including all those
located within the in-
dustrial units.”
Prajapati told First
India that the Supreme
Court’s order was over-
arching and not to be
“selectively used.” He
and FAG point out that
the apex court’s order
must be implemented
“in letter and spirit,
and not in piecemeal.”
The FAG has pointed
outthattheapexcourt’s
order required that all
alternatives are put in
place. The Group said
the GPCB should in-
form all borewell own-
ers two months in ad-
vance “after making
appropriate arrange-
ments within six
months for drinking
water and water for ir-
rigation”.
TOXIC POT CALLS
THEKETTLEBLACKThousands of farmers in at least 12
villages in Vadodara and Bharuch
districts are angry that they are being
slapped notices to seal their wells,
though the chemical industries are
responsible for contamination of
groundwater here
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Three
government-run hospi-
tals in Gujarat have
adopted the latest LiFi
(light fidelity) technolo-
gy to treat Covid-19 pa-
tients and it has been
found to be better than
WiFi (wireless fidelity)-
based system.
Ahmedabad’s LiFi
technology innovator
Nav Wireless Technolo-
gies has set up LiFi-
based communication
facilities at Civil Hospi-
tal (Ahmedabad), Surat
Municipal Institute of
Medical Education &
Research (SMIMER)
(Surat) and Gujarat
Medical Education &
Research Society
(GMERS) Hospital, (Va-
dodara).
“Considering the in-
creasing cases of Cov-
id-19, the hospitals need
faster and safer commu-
nicationstospeedupthe
patients’ treatment and
that’s why the isolation
wards at 3 government
hospitals in Gujarat
have been equipped
with the latest LiFi tech-
nology. We have set up
LiFi-based units that
are completely Made in
India. LiFi- based Cen-
tralised Patient Moni-
toring System without
the internet at corona
wards is helpful to safe-
guard doctors and the
paramedical teams,”
said Hardik Soni Co-
Founder & CTO, Nav
Wireless Technologies.
“LiFiisamobilewire-
less technology that
uses light rather than
radio frequencies to
transmit data. In India,
Nav Wireless is the only
registered player work-
ing on LiFi technology.
Also, we are the only
company in Asia in the
LiFi sector to receive
and execute commercial
LiFi projects for the
healthcare sector,”
claims Pratik Parikh,
Head-Global Business
Development, Nav Wire-
less Technologies.
“GMERS has adopted
LiFi technology advan-
tages to protect and live
tracking of patients’
data. Constant monitor-
ing of the patient’s
health condition in hos-
pital is either manual or
wireless fidelity (WiFi)-
based system,” Dr Vijay
Shah, Executive Mem-
ber of GMERS Hospital,
Vadodara. He adds that
the, “WiFi-based system
becomes slow due to ex-
ponentially increased
scalability. In this sce-
nario, LiFi finds the
places wherever WiFi is
applicable to additional
features of a high-speed
data network. Apart
from speed, LiFi is a
more suitable in-hospi-
tal application for moni-
toring the patient’s con-
ditions.”
3 Gujarat Govt hospitals adopt LiFi system instead of Wifi
GAME CHANGER!
 A’bad firm bets big on light fidelity (LiFi) for Covid-19
treatment, says it is better than WiFi-based system
Ahmedabad based firm has developed LiFi (Light Fidelity) system
for public hospitals.
HISTORY OF POLLUTION
There could not be a bigger irony
that the villagers know that these
wells are contaminated because of
polluting industries, but still suffer since
this water is the only option for them.
—Rohit Prajapati, Senior Environmentalist and member of
SC-appointed Committee
Water in many borewells in villages in Vadodara and Bharuch districts has been contaminated.
More airports to be
privatised; decision
today, says minister
Covid-19 patient in home isolation
fleeced of ` 4,900 in Bhavnagar
CONSTABLE, WIFE COMMIT SUICIDE IN JAMNAGAR
NCC to expand
footprints in Gujarat
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Un-
ion Ministry of Civil
Aviation will place a
proposal for “fur-
ther” privatisation of
airports before the
Union Cabinet on
Wednesday, Minister
Hardeep Singh Puri
said. In the first
round of privatisa-
tion under the Naren-
dra Modi dispensa-
tion, the airports in
L u c k n o w ,
Ahmedabad, Jaipur,
Mangaluru, Thiru-
vananthapuram and
Guwahati were
cleared for operation,
management and de-
velopment through
public-private part-
nership (PPP) model
in February 2019.
Adani Enterprises
had won the rights to
run these six air-
ports.
Now, a decision on
Amritsar, Varanasi,
Bhubaneswar, In-
dore, Raipur and
Trichy is likely on
Wednesday.
Puri said during a
webinar on Tuesday,
“We are going to the
Cabinettomorrowfor
further airport priva-
tisation. We have got
many more airports
lined up , dozens of
them,andthe100new
airports we will build
between now and
2030.”
First India Bureau
Bhavnagar: The State
Government rule is
clear that none of its
agencies should
charge any money
from Covid-19 patients
under treatment in
the isolation of their
home. Probably una-
ware of this, a patient
in Bhavnagar paid Rs
4,900 to a stranger
who even gave him a
receipt for it.
Rohanbhai Vijaybhai
Joshi, a resident of Sub-
hashnagar Bholanath
Society, was kept in
home isolation for 14
days last month after
testing positive for the
coronavirus.
A few days ago, a
stranger came to
Joshi’s home and re-
covered Rs 4,900 from
him for treatment for
14 days. The person
also handed over a re-
ceipt of the Bhavna-
gar Municipal Corpo-
ration clearly stating
the purpose. Joshi
could not doubt his
intentions on seeing
this.
Alarmed by this, the
authorities at the
Bhavnagar Municipal
Corporation are learnt
to have initiated an in-
quiry into this. They
suspect this to be an in-
sider’s job since the re-
ceipt given to Joshi also
bears its number, 2776.
First India Bureau
Jamnagar: A police
constable and his wife
allegedly committed
suicide inside their
residential quarters in
Jamnagar city on Mon-
day night.
Bharat Jadav, 27, a
constable attached to
Panchkoshi ‘B’ Divi-
sion police station in
Jamnagar was found
hanging by a dupatta
tied to a ceiling fan in
his police quarter.
His wife, Jagruti,
was found lying dead
on the floor, police
said.
“Prima facie, this
is suicide. While Ja-
dav was found hang-
ing, his wife’s body
also had injury
marks on her neck
and she too perhaps
died similarly as an-
other dupatta was
found tied to the fan,”
Jamnagar SP Sweta
Shrimali said.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Two
days after Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
announced it in his
IndependenceDayad-
dress, the National
Cadet Corps (NCC)
announced on Tues-
day that it would ex-
pand its 3 units in
border areas of Guja-
rat and in Gandhina-
gar.
A total of 3,630
cadets -- 980 senior
division and 2,650
junior division --
will be enrolled in
the border talukas
of Abdasa, Na-
khatrana, Lakhpat
and Bhuj in Kutch
district, Santalpur
taluka in Patan dis-
trict and the Gan-
dhinagar taluka
where an Air Force
station is located.
Recently, Defence
MinisterRajnathSin-
gh approved a propos-
al by the NCC for a
major expansion in
the border and coast-
al districts, an official
release by the Press
InformationBureau’s
defence wing said.
Gujarat NCC to expand three border units.A Corona patient was duped while in home quarantine in Bhavnagar.

AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAY
AUGUST 19, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
LOOKING OUT FOR STYLE INSPIRATION WHICH WILL MAKE YOU LOOK CHIC YET MAKE YOU
FEEL COMFORTABLE? THEN YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE!
CHIC YET COMFYversized T-shirts
for women, com-
monly known as
‘Boyfriend T-
Shirts’ can never
go out of style.
Want to opt for a
comfortable outfit for
brunching with your
homegirls? Style a boy-
friend tee. Want to be
comfortable while sleep-
ing? Wear a boyfriend
tee. Well you see, it’s all
about comfort.
This term basically re-
fers to women’s clothing
modified from a men’s
garment to create a looser
fit than the usual women’s
tailored styles. This t-shirt
can be best styled with a
pair of jeans in various
other ways. Let’s see how
you can style a boyfriend
tee for a chic look!
GLAMOUR CHIC
To create the
perfect bal-
ance in your
super glam-
orous outfit,
you can go
for a boyfriend tee,
pair it with jeans and go
for bold lips and heels.
DRESS-TEE
As boyfriend tees are al-
ready oversized, you can
opt for an even oversized
boyfriend tee and wear it
as a dress. To make it
look more appealing,
grab a shirt and wrap it
around your waist, and
add a pair of sneakers.
You’ll not only look sexy,
but you’ll also be super
relaxed in it. Don’t forget
to pair it up with dan-
glers and a high bun!
OFFICE LOOK
This might sound unu-
sual, but boyfriend tees
can be a part of the per-
fect combo for office-
wear. All you have to do
is tuck it in the office
pants or a pencil skirt,
pair it with heels and
that’s it; you’re good to
go. To add more charm to
it, opt for a statement
necklace and the most ap-
propriate lipstick.
EVERYDAY CASUAL
A boyfriend tee is a per-
fect option when you
don’t know what to wear.
Just pair it up with your
most-loved jeans and opt
for matching sneakers.
Oh, and don’t forget your
sunglasses AND MASK
before you step out in the
scorching heat.
OVERSIZED EVERYTHING
If you plan to be extra
comfortable, you can go
boho. Opt for oversized
jeans or shorts and
pair it up with the
most comfortable
boyfriend tee. If
you’re opting for
this look, then
being comforta-
ble would be an
understatement;
you’re going to
love it!
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
O

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
AASHNA HEGDE, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Palmy days are back and
you will enjoy everything
that the time will enjoy.
Consider every option
possible before really making up your
mind for something. The key to
happiness is to forgive and move
forward because life is too short to
fight and put an end to relationships.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Ridiculing other people just
for the sake of your own
fun is a very mean thing to
do, if not you than don’t let
anyone do it too. Feeling burdened
and bored of studies is possible
today but thats just temporary. There
are high chances that your lover may
anyhow manage to meet you.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
It is your turn to make big
profits today and
somewhere inside you will
feel like celebrating.
Business plans will work out and
things will move in the direction of
your wish. You will introduce healthy
food options in your day to day meal
with a touch of innovation of recipes.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Putrid food is all that you
need to be careful about
today and the best way to do
so is to avoid eating outside
than home. To are passionate about
making money and having a bank
balance. You love your reputation and
you don’t let anything or anyone to
spoil it. You are living a good life.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Adventitious distortion of
traditions is not what you
plan to do so be careful as
in how your actions are
perceived. There is a chance that
someone ask you for a favour, on
professional front. You must think
before saying yes for a long term
commitment in a project.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Amorphous and leaderless
organisations are destined
to close down but your
abilities will revive one such
organisation and people will watch in
amaze. You are often tempted by
schemes that involves less risk even if
the profit is not that high as well. Your
family is all that you need right now.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You need to adopt an
adroit way to solve the
problem. Financially you
can expect to achieve
stability if the present uncertain
times are bothering you. Giving up
on yourself is just not an option for
you. Finally you will do something
that you weren’t able to do.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Dumbfounded by
someone’s intelligence you
may simply hire him/her
and it will be your best
decision of the day. Keeping an eye
on someone notorious will be the
right thing to do as far as your
business is concerned Don’t take
your boss’s order lightly.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Overindulgence in wrong
food and beverages will
come with a cost so please
stay miles away and adopt
healthy food habits. You will make a
move in professional life that will
decide your future in the company.
Making efforts and working very hard
is all that you can do.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Airworthy trips must only
be taken for urgent or
important matters
otherwise please avoid. At
home you will set some rules and
will expect everyone to follow them.
Giving and taking tension for
unimportant matters is such a waste
of time and energy.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Etiquettes are of utmost
importance to you and you
just can’t stand the
company of people who
lack it. Waiting space and giving
space, you are good at both. You
may be full of energy today but those
around you may feel dull. Take full
benefit of counselling session.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Opine to other only that
your follow yourself as you
can be put to test. You will
be involved today in
promotional activities concerning
your business. You will make it big
so be prepared if you see some
jealous faces around. You will gift
someone something really expensive.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
City First presents its reader the magical love story of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan. The story
will mesmerize you and bring you down to the magical moments of your love story!
ove stories aren’t al-
ways easy, but some
love stories are
meant to happen
and so, there is very
little that anyone
can do to change
what is destined to happen.
Some people believe in arranged
marriages, while some people
are there who win over someone
they love, with their love. Bolly-
wood bears testimony to so
many dramatic love stories,
those that one can never get
enough of, but at the same time,
there is so much that it also
makes us all believe in. And
when we talk about Bolly-
wood love stories, the King of
romance, Shah Rukh Khan is
the one who comes to our
mind. Despite the popularity, the
couple was successful in keeping
their relationship private.
Very few fans know that Shah
Rukh fell for Gauri when Shah
Rukh was 18 years old and Gauri
was just 14 years old. When Shah
Rukh got her number, he would
have called her pretending to be a
friend named ‘Shaheen’. Gauri
soon fell for Shah Rukh’s wit, con-
fidence and style, soon the two
started going out
The road from relationship to
marriage wasn’t easy for them to
settle down. They have faced hun-
dreds of hurdle during their
courtship. One fight even let
Gauri leave Delhi for Mumbai
without letting him know. Shah
Rukh followed her with just Rs
10,000 in his pocket to that city
which eventually became his
home. The couple was finally mar-
ried on October 25, 1991. But here
is a twist, they both got married,
not just once but thrice, and in dif-
ferent style. Shah Rukh and Gauri
first got married in court. Later,
the two wedded following the Hin-
du tradition on 25 August 1991 fol-
lowed by ‘Nikah’ on 26 August
1991.
After marriage, Khans move to
Mumbai as a way to escape the
feeling of loss left behind his
mother’s death. Six years after the
wedding, they welcomed their
first son, Aryan, on 13 November
1997. Since then, the celebrity
duo’s family has grown by two
more. Shah Rukh and Gauri’s
only daughter, Suhana, was born
on May 22, 2000, while their young-
est, Abram Khan came via surro-
gacy on May 27, 2013.
In all these years of the two be-
ing together, they have set out ma-
jor goals and raised the bar for
all things that people expect.
But well, now that they
have been together for al-
most 29 long years, fans
will love to get a lit-
tle insight into
how they have
been doing
during this
time of
the lock-
down.
POORVIKA AGRAWAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Gauri leave Delhi for Mumbai
without letting him know. Shah
Rukh followed her with just Rs
10,000 in his pocket to that city
which eventually became his
home. The couple was finally mar-
ried on October 25, 1991. But here
is a twist, they both got married,
not just once but thrice, and in dif-
ferent style. Shah Rukh and Gauri
first got married in court. Later,
the two wedded following the Hin-
du tradition on 25 August 1991 fol-
lowed by ‘Nikah’ on 26 August
After marriage, Khans move to
Mumbai as a way to escape the
feeling of loss left behind his
mother’s death. Six years after the
wedding, they welcomed their
first son, Aryan, on 13 November
1997. Since then, the celebrity
duo’s family has grown by two
more. Shah Rukh and Gauri’s
only daughter, Suhana, was born
on May 22, 2000, while their young-
est, Abram Khan came via surro-
BAADSHAH KI
ohabbat
L
Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan

A
s her father and legendary
lyricist Gulzar turned 86
on Tuesday, filmmaker
Meghna Gulzar expressed
love for the senior poet with a
short poem.
The ‘Raazi’ helmer took to Ins-
tagram to post a blurry mono-
chrome picture of her father
embracing her. She compli-
mented the picture with a
poem that speaks about her
faith in him and also sums up
the great bond shared by
the father-daughter
duo.
“I know I’m
protected, Be-
cause his
arms cradle
me. I know
I walk the
right path,
B e c a u s e
his little
f i n g e r
leads me.
He dab-
bles in
cellu-
loid, So I know I can see. I know I can
write, Because his ink flows in me. I
know I can. Because he believes. I
know I am, Because he is,” Meghna’s
poem read.
Though she did not extend birth-
day greetings to the lyricist in the
post, it was evident that she had
shared the post to celebrate her bond
with her father on the occasion of his
86th birthday. —ANI
A
ssam Chief Minister
Sarbananda Sonowal
on Tuesday thanked
actor Akshay Kumar
for his contribution of Rs 1 crore to-
wards the Assam flood relief. The
Chief Minister took to Twitter to extend
gratitude towards the star for always
showing sympathy and support at the time
of crisis. “Thank you @akshaykumar ji for your kind
contribution of Rs 1 crore towards Assam flood relief.
You have always shown sympathy and support during
periods of crisis,” Sonowal tweeted.
“As a true friend of Assam, may God shower all
blessings to you to carry your glory in the global
arena,” his tweet further read. —ANI
F
ormer Miss World and actor
Manushi Chhillar has col-
laborated with a non-profit
organisation for auctioning
her painting to raise funds for cor-
onavirus protection kits for the
frontline workers.
Chhillar who is an avid painter
has been roped in by SMILE foun-
dation for an online art exhibition
- Artwork for Heartwork. The en-
tire proceeds from the sale
of each of the artwork
will go towards pro-
viding hygiene kits
for the frontline
workers and their
families.
“While we have
been fortunate
enough to take care
of ourselves by stay-
ing indoors, there are
several heroes like our
farmers, truck driv-
ers and many more
who have been out,
day and night, to
deliver us joy in
every form with
not just their hard
work, but heart-
work,” the
23-year-old actor
said.
“Through this
artwork for heart-
workinitiative,I’m
expressingmygrat-
itude to all these
heart-workerswith
the team Smile
Foundation. They
will be support-
ing these unsung
heroes with hy-
giene kits,” she
added.
Elaborating
onthe“special
artwork” that
she has cre-
ated for the
coronavirus
w a r r i o r s,
the former
Miss India
urged peo-
ple to take
care of the
oneswhohave
beentakingcare
of the country by
fighting the virus on
the frontline.
“I have made a spe-
cial artwork for the
unsung heroes and I
am donating the same.
Let’s take care of the
ones who took care of
everyone’s happiness
with their heart-work,”
she said. —ANI
RAISING
FUNDS
ho doesn’t
love mon-
s o o n s ?
The year
till now as
a whole
has been a
bit frustrating,
but the people
did get a treat
from Stebin Ben
and Payal Dev af-
ter the release of
their new song ‘Baarish’.
Released on 11 August, the song
received so much love by the
netizens that it crossed 20 mil-
lion views in less than 5 days
of its release. The song fea-
tures ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Ke-
hlata Hai’ cast Mohsin
Khan and Shivangi
Joshi. Talkingabout
the song, Stebin said, “I have
always wanted to do a monsoon
song, and finally got an oppor-
tunity when Payal Dev reached
me for it. ‘Baarish’ is a very ro-
mantic song; if you love some-
one and couldn’t meet them
during the lockdown, you’ll be
able to relate to it very well.”
Stebin mentioned that his
experience with the song has
been great. “I’ve always wanted
to work with Payal Dev as I re-
ally like the texture of her
songs. I’m really glad about the
fact that I received this oppor-
tunity as the song is loved by so
many people out there. This
has really helped me boost the
self-confidence and it definitely
feels great.”
Since the song revolves
around the monsoon season,
Stebin shared his favourite
memory of the same. He men-
tioned, “Monsoon is always a
romantic weather and a special
one too. Travelling to Lonavala-
Lavasa from Mumbai has to be
the best memory; every Mum-
baikar can relate to me in this
case. But looking at the current
situation, that is something I
really miss and wish every-
thing becomes normal again so
that we can go back to the same
old life that we had.”
“This lockdown taught me a
lot of things and also helped me
focus more on my music and
health. Considering the fact
that you have to be an all-
rounder in the industry, it is
extremely important to take
care of yourself,” he added.
The singer started his jour-
ney as a playback singer in the
Bollywood industry last year
and has been loved by everyone
ever since. A few more amazing
songs are expected from Stebin
in the coming months.
ETCAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020
11www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Season of LOVE
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CITY FIRST, SINGER
STEBIN BEN TALKS ABOUT HIS NEW SONG ‘BAARISH’
P
riyanka Chopra Jonas previously con-
firmed that she had completed her memoir
“Unfinished”. The actress has now given us
a glimpse of the book and the fans cannot
wait to buy a copy. The actress took to her social
media accounts and shared a glimpse of the book
with her fans. The picture, which seems like an un-
finished covered of a book, features the name of the
memoir, the author’s name, the publication house and
a rough draft of where the logo would be placed.
The Sky Is Pink star shared the picture
and expressed she felt “amazing” to see
the book come to life on paper for the
first time. A few days ago, Priyanka
tweeted about sending the manu-
script of her memoir and shared
a few thoughts on the book. “Un-
finished is finished! Just about
sent in the final manuscript!
Wheee! Cannot wait to share
it with you all. Every word
in my memoir comes from
a place of introspection
and reflection into my
life,” she tweeted on Au-
gust 11. —Agency
GLIMPSE OF
‘UNFINISHED’
‘I am because he is’
W
hat came as a major surprise
announcement, it was recently
revealed that Doctor Stranger
star Kang So-ra is getting
hitched to her older non-celebrity boy-
friend. A ceremo-
ny was planned
on August 29 but
due to the COV-
ID-19 situation, a
small, private
gathering with
only their direct
families will in-
volve. Further-
more, the 30-year-
old actress shared
a heartfelt hand-
written note to
her fans on her
official fan cafe
Bling Bling to an-
nounce her wed-
ding herself.
In her letter, So-ra confessed that she
was nervous to reveal her good news
while thanking her fans for all the love
and gratitude they bestowed upon her
during the 11 years since she debuted.
Moreover, talking about her wedding, the
Revolutionary Love star gushed that she
has found a good person who she wants
to spend the rest of her life with and will
strive to show a happy married life. So-ra
also shared that she can’t wait to show
more sides of herself as an actress in or-
der to return the support. —Agency
WEDDING
LETTER
GREATGREAT
ContributionContribution
Meghna and Gulzar
Manushi Chhillar Akshay Kumar
Kang So-ra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
...her post
W
Stebin Ben

First india ahmedabad edition-19 august 2020

First india ahmedabad edition-19 august 2020

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (11)

Similar to First india ahmedabad edition-19 august 2020

Similar to First india ahmedabad edition-19 august 2020 (20)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

First india ahmedabad edition-19 august 2020